Lines Of Destiny A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 Crossover
By Louis-Philippe Giroux <dragon@anime.sobhrach.com>
Thank you for all your comments! Keep'em coming! C&C is always welcome!!!
Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi and Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi. Please don't sue me.
The latest versions of the previous chapters are always the ones on my WWW page at http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~dragon/lines/lines.html
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Chapter 5
Ranma and Akane's search for an apartment wasn't going as well as they had initially hoped. The few places that were available were either too expensive or too run-down. It was getting late when they decided to call it a day.
They stopped in a restaurant located near Mizuharo University. After the waitress left, they settled back, waiting for their orders to arrive.
"Finding a decent apartment doesn't look like it's going to be easy," said Akane glumly.
"Yeah, not to mention that the rents are ridiculously high. Mom and Pop said they'd help with the money for the first year, but after that, we'll be on our own. Mom called it 'practicing the art of financial management' before we actually take over the Dojo," said Ranma. "I wonder where they got the money... Probably Nabiki."
"So what if we _do_ have to find jobs?" replied Akane. "It's not that bad and besides, I'm sure there will be plenty of job offers posted on the university campus tomorrow."
Ranma grimaced. "Speaking of tomorrow, maybe we shouldn't stay up too late tonight. I want to get some sleep to be able to get in a little practice tomorrow morning before registration."
Akane nodded. "Do you mind if I spar with you? I don't want to lose my edge either." She paused, becoming serious. "And this time, I want it to be *real* practice, not one of those fake practice sessions you've been giving me for the last year, okay?"
Ranma winced inwardly. During the last year, Akane had insisted that Ranma spar with her. Ranma had reluctantly agreed, but had constantly been holding back, knowing he would likely hurt Akane. It now seemed that Akane had known about it all along. Things could get ugly...
Ranma frowned a little: "Look, I just don't want to hurt you..."
Akane would have none of it. "No buts, Ranma! I need to get better if I'm going to run the dojo with you when we graduate," she insisted. Seeing Ranma waver, Akane used her most devastating weapon against Ranma (next to her mallet): the kawaii puppy-dog look.
Ranma's resolve crumbled to dust when he saw her use that look. He hated it, but he could never resist it when she looked at him like that. "All right, all right, you win. We'll spar for real," he said, defeated.
Akane's smile widened and she leaned over the table to kiss Ranma. "Thanks, Ranma," she said.
Ranma tried to frown at the illegal use of her kawaii smile, but could only manage a wry smile and a shake of the head.
The waitress then arrived with their meals and they dug in, speaking of mundane things. After the meal was finished, they resumed apartment-hunting for a while, but came up as empty-handed as before.
* * *
Back at the Hikawa Shrine, six young girls, a university student and two Moon cats had been having an interesting, if only moderately informative, discussion about Ranma and Akane. Speculations were flying around on the source of Ranma and Akane's mysterious abilities, but answers were not plentiful.
"Why don't we just ask him when he gets back?" suggested Usagi.
Makoto shook her head. "He didn't say anything about his abilities when he spoke to Rei and me. Do you really think he'll tell us all about it, Usagi-chan?"
Usagi looked sheepish.
"Don't worry, Usagi," said Ami. "I'm sure we'll find something."
"So Mamoru, you think Ranma might be your reincarnated sister from the days of the Moon Kingdom?" asked Rei.
Mamoru held his hands up. "I didn't say that, at least not exactly. I mentioned that Ranma reminded me of someone, but it's Hotaru who made the connection. I don't even know if the person I've been dreaming about recently _is_ Akana, though it would make sense."
Rei looked at Hotaru questioningly. Hotaru sighed: "I have difficulty believing it myself, especially since Akana's not even supposed to have been reincarnated. It's probably just a freak coincidence."
Rei had a pensive look on her face. Slowly, she turned to Ami. "Ami," she asked, "Your computer was built in the days of the Moon Kingdom, wasn't it? Would you by any chance have a picture of Akana somewhere in it?"
Ami raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. I'll see what I can come up with." She took out her computer and started typing away.
Rei turned to Hotaru: "And you say Ranma's wife looks like your brother from the Moon Kingdom."
Hotaru nodded sadly. "Yes. She looks a lot like Kanma, especially when she wielded that hammer of hers."
"But Akane can't be Kanma," she continued, shaking her head, "and neither can Ranma be Akana, because my brother died before the final assault on the Moon and we'd already know if Akana had been reborn."
Makoto let out an exasperated sigh. "Kanma, Ranma, Akane and Akana! Is it only me or does anyone else here thinks this is a very weird coincidence?"
"Is it coincidence to begin with?" replied Minako with an arched eyebrow.
Hotaru looked disturbed.
Luna moved forward and sat in front of Hotaru. "How can you be absolutely sure they died if no one ever found their bodies?"
"Kanma used to correspond with me almost every day, no matter where I was," said Hotaru. "His messages stopped sometime before the destruction of the Moon Kingdom, roughly at the same time as the first Youma invasions began. The Saturn Palace was among the first place that was destroyed. If he _had_ survived, he would've found a way to tell me, I'm sure of that."
Luna didn't look so convinced.
"What about Akana?" asked Mamoru. "If she _is_ dead, why would I be having dreams of her now?"
Hotaru sighed. "I don't know. Maybe you're just reliving memories of your past life. It doesn't necessarily mean anything. All I know about Akana is that she disappeared not long before the final assault. She probably died at the same time as my brother." Hotaru got up from her kneeling position. "Mamoru, the only one who could give you a more complete answer would be Akana herself; I'm sorry."
Mamoru turned to Luna, who understood the implied question. "I'm sorry, Mamoru. Despite the fact that Artemis and I have, somewhat suddenly, recovered a few of our memories concerning your sister, we don't know much more about her disappearance than Hotaru does."
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, broken by a small gasp from Ami. "Makoto, Minako," she said, eyes fixed on the computer, "I'm starting to believe the names _might_ mean something after all."
Mamoru instantly got up and headed towards Ami, as did the others in the room. Seeing that everyone was going to crowd around her, Ami decided satisfy everyone at the same time. "Just wait a second and I'll give you a picture everyone can see at the same time." Before anyone could ask what she meant, a three-dimensional image of Akana was floating in front of them.
"Since when have you been able to do that?" asked Makoto, impressed.
Ami looked sheepish for an instant. "Only since recently. I found out by accident I could generate holograms with my computer when I was using it a while ago."
"A _fortunate_ accident," said Mamoru, his eyes wide.
***
Meanwhile, Ranma and Akane were slowly walking back to the shrine. They were getting close when, as fate would have it, rain started to fall. Unfortunately, the rain was sudden enough so that Ranma was unable to get anywhere before the change was triggered. Fortunately, the street was almost deserted, so no one witnessed the change.
"I _hate_ it when this happens!", Ranma said in a disgusted voice, while slightly readjusting her cloth belt to fit her slimmer waist.
Akane shook her head. "This is going to be a bit of problem, you know. We'll have to wait until the rain stops to go back to the shrine."
"Don't I know it," replied Ranma in a dull voice. She looked around and saw a small cafe. "Let's wait out the rain in there, okay? If my clothes get too wet, hot water won't be of any use, I'll just turn right back into a girl."
Akane nodded and they headed towards the cafe. Akane took the time to take a good look at her red-headed companion's figure. Ranma's female body was no longer as short as it used to be. While Ranma's male form merely looked a bit more mature, his female form had had a growth spurt during the last year which now put her at equal height with Ranma's male form. Her face had also matured, as she no longer looked like a young girl anymore. She looked like an eighteen-year old young woman and was no less beautiful because of it. The only other characteristic that has truly changed was the length of Ranma's pigtail. For some reason, Ranma had decided not to trim his pigtail, and it now reached down a bit past down his shoulders, as it no longer curled upwards (though Akane privately thought the long pigtail looked better when he was female).
When they went inside the small cafe, they noticed it was empty, except for a young couple who was sitting together, having tea. The man was a bit taller than Ranma and had short, sandy blond hair, while the girl had turquoise hair that looked beautiful on her, reaching down just below her shoulder blades. Akane tried to remember where she had seen a girl with turquoise hair before, but couldn't quite place it.
They chose a table and each ordered a cup of tea while they waited for the rain to end. Akane initiated conversation in a low voice, since she didn't want to attract attention. "Ranma, we're going to have to find a way to explain your female side to your cousin, you know. The way you attract water is going to make it very difficult to keep your curse hidden."
Ranma scowled. "I have no intention of explaining my curse to Rei, Akane, and that's final. I don't need her to think of me as a freak and besides, we'll only be there for a few days, remember? She doesn't have to know anything."
Akane shook her head. "That's a good thought," she said, "but know very well you'll eventually get soaked. You're a water magnet; remember your own words?" she finished with a small smile. She looked down for an instant, deep in thought for a second and then looked back up with a grin. "If you really don't want her to know your secret, I could just simply introduce you as my 'cousin Ranko'. It's not as if we've never done it before."
Ranma sighed. "It'll have to do, I guess," she said in a resigned tone. "Well, at least it's not as if I don't have a lot of experience pretending I'm someone I'm not," she added wryly.
Silently, they went back to drinking their tea. A few minutes later, four scruffy-looking men entered the cafe and immediately spotted Ranma and Akane. Two of the men went towards the other couple while the other two came towards Akane and Ranma.
"Hey there, beautiful, wanna have a fun night tonight?" said the first one to Ranma, while the other man kept an eye on Akane.
"Get lost before I break your hands, moron," Ranma replied without even looking at him. A barely audible sigh emanated from Akane's lips.
The man seemed taken aback by Ranma's response, but kept going, nonetheless. "I know you want to have fun. I know a nice hotel nearby... the _special_ kind," he said in what was supposed to be a suave voice. He was about to put his hand on Ranma's shoulder when she looked at him with a glare that could have melted reinforced titanium.
"If you keep this up, the only place you'll be going to is a hospital. Now get _lost_!"
The other man started snickering at his companion's lack of success. The first man, however, decided to make a last attempt on Ranma.
"Come on, I'll show you a good time..." he started when he put his hand on Ranma's shoulder.
"I warned you..." Ranma growled. Before the either one of the men could blink, she grabbed the hand that was on her shoulder, squeezed and twisted the hand. Hard.
The snickers of amusement from the second man turned to a gasp when he heard several snapping sounds. Before he could do anything, his friend was laying on his knees on the floor, holding his hand and howling in pain. The second man was about to pounce on Ranma when he felt a strong blow to his head and collapsed.
Ranma looked from the man who was on his knees gasping, to the other man who was lying on the floor unconscious and finally to Akane, who was holding one of her bigger mallets over the unconscious man's head.
"I could've taken him, you know," Ranma told Akane flatly.
"True," Akane said, throwing a disgusted look at the fallen men, "but they were getting on my nerves too, Ranma."
Ranma smirked, but suddenly stopped when she realized that the other two men were harassing the couple at the other table were now looking at her. Behind the counter, the cafe's owner was growing increasingly worried.
"Kisamara!" the first one yelled, running straight at Ranma, fist raised, while the other stood back and pointed a knife in a threatening manner towards the other couple.
Ranma decided to end it as quickly as possible. Before the man had taken another step, Ranma had already gotten behind him and was twisting his arm backwards.
"Take you friends with you and leave _now_, unless you want me to show you how creative I can get when I'm _really_ pissed off," said Ranma in a threatening voice. She subconsciously "saw" the fourth man coming towards her, but she didn't even have to move.
As soon as the other man turned his attention to Ranma, the blond man shot up from his seat and swiftly kicked the knife away from the last man's hands. The last man tried to rush him, but he merely sidestepped and executed a throw which sent the man on the floor. It wasn't long before the blond man had him in a choke hold.
The girl with turquoise hair slowly rose up, a smile on her lips, and addressed the two helpless men. "I suggest you take the nice lady's advice and leave before something really bad happens. Wouldn't you agree, Haruka?"
The blond man, Haruka, nodded with a wide grin: "Why of course, Michiru! You know I don't like violence any more than you do."
Ranma raised an eyebrow at Haruka, but decided instead to address the man who was helplessly struggling in her arms. "We're giving you ten seconds to pick up your friends and leave before I start getting angry. I strongly suggest you use the time wisely." Releasing the man, she shoved him towards his two companions who were being watched over by Akane. Haruka also pushed her captive forward.
The men looked back at her, violence in their eyes. One of them even had the courage (or downright stupidity) to take a step back towards Ranma, who lost patience. If she knocked them out too, she'd have to drag him outside, something she didn't quite feel like doing. Instead, she glared at the man and summoned her battle aura.
The man who had stepped towards Ranma stopped in his tracks when he saw the air around the redhead begin to shimmer. It wasn't the sight as much as the feeling of danger which accompanied the manifestation that made him think twice before continuing.
"You've got five seconds left..." Ranma said menacingly.
Realizing that they didn't really want revenge _that_ badly, the men suddenly decided that it might be better for their long-term health to leave the cafe before the red-haired girl decided to make good on her threats. They quickly picked their companions and left, looking back fearfully at Ranma.
As the four men were leaving, Ranma idly considered hastening their departure with a Ki-blast, but restrained herself and dissipated her aura. She sighed. "Idiots..." she muttered in a sotto voice.
Behind the counter, the owner blew a sigh of relief at not having had _too_ much of a commotion and decided to ignore the visual effects that the red-haired customer had manifested just a moment ago.
While Akane was making her way towards the group, minus mallet, Ranma turned towards Haruka: "Are you okay? You weren't bad out there. You've got nice moves," she finished with a grin, completely mistaking Haruka for a man.
"Obviously not as nice as some of yours," replied Haruka, with a grin of her own. "I'm Ten'ou Haruka," she said, "and my lovely companion is Kaiou Michiru," she finished.
Ranma introduced herself and Akane. "I'm Tendo Ranko and this is my cousin, Saotome Akane. Pleased to meet you."
"Kaiou Michiru... The violinist?" asked Akane in a questioning voice.
"Yes, I do play the violin now and then," Michiru replied with a ghost of a smile.
"It's an honor to meet you Kaiou-san!" Akane said with excitement. "I really like your music!"
Michiru's smile widened. "Thank you very much."
Haruka was mildly miffed that Akane had not recognized _her_ name, but seeing Michiru and Akane deep in their own conversation, she decided not to interrupt. Haruka turned to Ranma. "So, where exactly did you learn _your_ moves?" she asked, intrigued with some of the style she had seen the readhead use.
Ranma shrugged. "Mostly my family's style. I've studied martial arts since I was old enough to walk, so I know a little of everything."
Haruka raised an eyebrow. "A little? Sounds to me like you're being very modest, Ranko-san. I don't know a lot of people who could possibly move as fast as you do and generate an aura as powerful as yours," she said. *Well, except possibly for the other Senshi, of course,* she added silently.
Ranma eyed the individual before her warily. For some reason, she felt a bit nervous about Haruka and she couldn't understand why. "Anyone can achieve that level of speed with enough training. The same with the aura. I'm just very good at martial arts."
Haruka nodded absently, though her eyes were still fixed suspiciously on Ranma. *Why am I getting weird vibes from her?* she wondered.
Ranma turned towards Akane before Haruka could continue probing for questions. "Akane, the rain's stopped. We should be heading back before it's too late. We've got registration tomorrow, so we should turn in early," she said, slightly stressing the last part.
Akane stopped talking with Michiru just long enough to notice Ranma looking at her with a 'Let's-Get-Out-Of-Here-Please!' expression. She was about to ask out loud what was the problem, but thought better of it. Reluctantly, she turned back to Michiru and apologized. "I really enjoyed talking with you, Kaiou-san, but my cousin's right; we really should be going."
Michiru looked disappointed for the briefest of moments, but smiled again. "Oh well, I enjoyed talking with you as well; perhaps we'll get another chance someday."
"I hope so," replied Akane.
And so, Ranma and Akane made their way to the counter, where Ranma ordered a cup of hot water to go, which the owner of the cafe was more than happy to provide free of charge.
As soon as they left the cafe, Ranma turned to Akane: "Let's move fast, I don't want them following us. That Ten'ou guy bugs me for some reason."
While they ran across the street until they were out of sight, Akane glared at Ranma. "If you'd merely knocked the moron out the old-fashioned way instead of scaring him off with your battle aura, Ten'ou-san probably wouldn't have 'bugged' you in the first place!" she replied, slightly angry. "Because of you, I didn't get to do a good first impression with Kaiou-san."
"Speaking of her, just how do you know her, anyway?" asked Ranma.
"Some of us happen to like music, Ranma. Kaiou Michiru is one of the most talented violin players around."
Ranma decided not to pursue the matter any further as they kept a rapid pace towards the Hikawa Shrine.
Inside the cafe, as soon as Ranma and Akane left, Michiru and Haruka looked at each other and nodded. Without a word, Michiru left some money on the counter and she and Haruka went outside to follow Ranma and Akane. When they got out of the cafe, though, Ranma and Akane were long gone.
"Well, _that_ was interesting, ne, Michiru?"
Michiru gave Haruka a dry look. "It could have been even more interesting if you hadn't pressed Ranko-san for answers. I was was starting to have a very interesting conversation with Akane-san." She paused for a few seconds. "Maybe it doesn't really matter, anyway," she said with a smile.
Haruka looked at Michiru and raised an eyebrow in question. Michiru smiled even more. "We have a *much* better way to find out the truth than to stalk them." While Haruka was giving her the odd eye, she reached in her subspace pocket and came out with an item that made Haruka smile wickedly.
The Deep Aqua Mirror.
Author's notes:
- Haruka: Yes, she *is* female, though Ranma will be referring to her in the male gender until he figures out the truth. I also know she plays the piano, but Akane was more interested in Michiru's talent that in Haruka's.
- Did Michiru and Haruka see Akane mallet the second punk? Not completely. They were busy with two punks of their own, remember?
- Why didn't Ranma just knock the punk out instead? She just got wet, she's cranky and it's that time of the month (kidding). She's just fed up of that kind of thing happening to her and is being increasingly hostile about it.
- Can Mercury's computer really do holographic projections? The short answer is no (at least not that I know of). I needed Mercury's computer to be capable of holographic projection and it didn't seem too hard to imagine the Mercury Computer being able to do exactly that.
End Chapter 5
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