Disclaimer: Ranma and related characters were created by Rumiko Takahashi. Characters from Sailor Moon were created by Takeuchi Naoko. Gunnm created by Yukito Kishiro. All series are owned by their creators and several large corporations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Unlikely Couple: Chapter Three Ryoga frowned angrily. If he couldn't find the Crown Arcade soon, he'd be late for his date with Minako, which meant that he wouldn't be around to protect Ami if monsters showed up again. Growling in frustration, he lashed out, putting a sizable crater in a nearby wall. "My, you are a strong one, aren't you? I think you'll do just fine." The heavy bruising on Argentite's face only served to accentuate the cruel smile she wore. Ryoga spun on his heel, ready for a fight. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of the silver haired woman hovering in mid-air. Despite her battered appearance, she somehow seemed to radiate malevolence. Skipping several cognitive steps, Ryoga immediately leapt to the most convenient conclusion. "I won't let you hurt Ami!" Ryoga shouted, as he pulled a handful of bandannas loose and began to twirl them. "Another crazy one? Zaariki, subdue him." Argentite tossed a small metallic globe to the ground and then teleported away a split second before half a dozen razor sharp bandannas passed through the space she'd been occupying. Ryoga looked at the armored figure that arose in her place with grave misgivings. He didn't really care that the monstrosity was over twice his height. What he wanted to know was how something with two chain saws in the place of hands expected to subdue him. His question was soon answered, as the creature swung one arm in a sweeping arc towards him. He easily ducked underneath the blow, but couldn't suppress a shudder as the blade dug into the wall behind him and sprayed him with fragments of brick. Looking down into the alley, Argentite winced as the strange boy she was supposed to be capturing knocked Zaariki through the side of the building she was standing on. Randomly kidnapping martial artists was far too dangerous she decided. If Zaariki captured the boy she'd be happy to take credit. If not, she'd come up with a different plan. After the last time, she wasn't going to involve herself directly. ================= Once more the Hino shrine was the site chosen for a meeting of the Sailor Senshi. However, this meeting wasn't in response to some attack, but had instead been called by Ami, who claimed to have important news. "I think we have a clue as to what our enemy's after." Seeing that she had the attention of the other Senshi, Ami continued, "Minako noticed that most of the attacks so far have involved martial artists. So when she saw an ad for a dojo that was offering free lessons, she asked me to help check it out." "And you found something?" Makoto asked bluntly. "Not exactly. I, ah, did detect some unusual readings, but nothing definite." Inwardly, Ami debated telling the others about Ryoga, but Minako was right. She only had suspicions that he was connected with the Dark Kingdom and there really wasn't anything they could do even if he was. "How do you know that the Dark Kingdom's behind it then," Haruka questioned. "A lot of the attacks have occurred around dojos, but that's not proof." "There's more," Minako burst into the conversation, ignoring Artemis' warning glare. "That's right. Several martial artists have disappeared in the Nerima district. We already know one attack took place there." "How could I forget?" Usagi groused. Mamoru's unwilling entanglement with the girl he'd saved was still a sore point for her. "That's right. That girl the youma was attacking did seem to be a martial artist," Rei commented. "This isn't good." Seeing the curious looks that the other senshi directed at her, Makoto elaborated, "Somebody's going to have to go to Nerima to stop whatever is going on there and I'll be one of them. I have relatives living there." "I thought you didn't have any family." "Yeah, how come you never mentioned them?" "Everyone quiet. I can feel something." Quickly rising, Rei hurried to the door of the shrine and stepped outside, the other girls following. "What is it, Rei?" Usagi, asked steeping up beside the shrine maiden and ignoring the drizzle that had begun to fall. "I'm not sure. I'm sensing some kind of powerful energy, but it seems to be heavy, almost oppressive." "Could it have something to do with that?" Michiru asked, pointing at a blue-green column of energy towering hundreds of yards into the sky. "Well, maybe." ================= Ranma scowled in frustration as he wiped the first drops of rain of his forehead. Using a bike to patrol Juuban had seemed like a good idea and it certainly was far faster. However, that didn't mean that he'd found anything, and now the rain was threatening to transform him. "I suppose a giant sign lighting up the sky is a bit much to ask for. Or maybe not" Ranma's eyes widened slightly as she glimpsed a distinctive pillar of ki rising over some distant buildings. Pausing only momentarily to fix the direction in his mind, Ranma began pedaling furiously towards it. He barely noticed as the rain finally changed him. ================= With a helpless roar, the armored behemoth soared across the width of the alley and crashed through the far wall. Grinning widely, Ryoga leapt forward to press his advantage before Zaariki could regain his feet. Unfortunately, although he was able to easily dart past the twin blades that served in place of Zaariki's arms, a blind sweep of the youma's arm knocked him sprawling backwards. "Die!" Ryoga ignored his opponents bellowed pronouncement. Despite his superior skill, the fight wasn't going as well as he'd hoped. He was winning, but not fast enough. He hadn't fought anyone this tough since Lime and one mistake could be fatal. It was time to change tactics. "Shi Shi Hokodan!" Ryoga resisted the urge to celebrate as the bluish blast of energy slammed into Zaariki, causing him to howl in pain. Instead, he began to draw on his inner reserve of despair once more. Unnoticed, a single drop of rain fell from the sky. ================= "This must be where that light came from," Sailor Moon stated. The other Senshi ignored her comment as unnecessary. A deep crater, partially filled with rubble from collapsed buildings, stretched across the alley. "It looks like whatever caused it has already left." Stepping down into the crater, Sailor Uranus began to inspect the debris. "There must have been some kind of fight here." "I think you should be care-," The rest of Sailor Neptune's warning was cut off as a battered monstrosity lurched upright, throwing off a pile of wreckage. With a snarl of rage, Zaariki brought his remaining arm down in a wide arc, aiming directly at the startled senshi in front of him. "Fierce Tiger Shot!" A bright yellow sphere struck Zaariki's arm, deflecting the blade at the same time as Sailor Uranus dove to one side. While shouted attacks indicated that the other six senshi were directing their power at the hapless youma, Sailor Mercury turned and began to search for the source of the attack that had saved Uranus. It wasn't hard to find. Mercury recognized the petite red-head from both Uranus and Neptune's descriptions. Neither of them had mentioned the fishnet stockings or the high heels, but then they had glossed over a lot of details. Before she could speak, the mysterious figure leapt away and darted out of sight at breathtaking speed. ================= Blocks away, Ranma halted her blind flight and rebuked herself mentally. Running away just because there were a couple of mangy cats around wasn't going to impress anyone. Still, she'd been the one to come to the rescue, not that tuxedo wearing pretty boy that Akane liked. As she fished her backpack out from its hiding place, Ranma glanced around to ensure no one was watching. "Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken Revised: Saotome Quick Change Technique!" Being out of her embarrassing "costume" was nice, but there was still one more thing to take care of. Chuckling happily, Ranma unscrewed a thermos of hot water and poured it over her head. Retrieving his bike, Ranma began to pedal back to Nerima, when a though suddenly struck him. He was going to have to keep doing this. That girl might have died if he hadn't been there. Not only that he'd have to maintain his disguise. If the senshi met him while he was a guy, his incredible good looks and natural charm would cause more trouble than he cared to thing about. ================= "Are you sure it was her?" Sailor Mercury looked up at Uranus and shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. That was the first time I saw her and I didn't get a chance to scan her either." "Look what I found, Mercury." "Oh, you poor thing. Did you get hurt again?" After a hurried inspection of the small black form held in Sailor Venus's arms failed to reveal any injuries, she reached out and cradled her missing pet against her breasts. "You shouldn't run off like that, Aristotle. It's really dangerous." "Oh no! I forgot all about Ryoga. Bye everyone. I gotta go." Sailor Venus spun on her heel and dashed out of the alley, transforming back to her civilian identity as she did so. "We all should go as well. We don't want to draw too much attention." ================= Luna looked with distaste at the small animal sleeping on the center of Usagi's bed. It wasn't that she had anything in particular against pigs or even that it was dirty or poorly behaved. It was just the way it seemed so smug and self-satisfied while Usagi and the other girls fussed over it. If she'd been an ordinary cat it wouldn't be so relaxed. If Luna could have smiled she would have. Maybe it wasn't nice to mistreat dumb animals but the pig deserved a little scare. Crouching slightly, Luna silently leapt onto the edge of the bed and began to creep towards the center. Ryoga quietly fumed. Ami's mother was having guests over, so Ami had asked Usagi to look after him for the night. That was just a minor part of him being stuck as a pig though. The worst of it was that he wasn't strong enough. Even the Perfect Shi Shi Hokodan hadn't been enough to finish the monster off. Ranma would have been able to defeat it, Ryoga realized. But then, Ranma's ability to create new techniques on a moments notice had helped him to defeat Saffron. Pausing, Ryoga turned the thought over in his mind. New techniques. He wasn't strong enough but that would change. With his decision made, Ryoga abruptly became aware of another presence. Snapping his eyes open; he found himself face to face with Usagi's pet. Since he'd had the misfortune to visit Jusenkyo, he'd run from many things. A house cat, even one that could talk wasn't going to added to the list. Luna paused nervously. She didn't have much experience with this sort of thing, but she had an idea that this wasn't the usual course of events. Firstly, she never even known that pigs could growl. ================= "I can't tell you how glad I am that you guys are coming with me?" "Come on Makoto. These people are your relatives. They can't be that bad." Makoto stared at the gates that seemed to loom before her and then glanced back at Haruka. "Tatewaki isn't so bad as long as you've got something heavy to hit him with when he gets out of hand, but you've got to be careful with Kodachi. Don't eat anything she's cooked, don't accept any gifts from her and if she offers you flowers run." "You've got to be exaggerating." "Not really. In fact-," "Cousin Makoto, I welcome you and your companions to the noble Kuno estate. I hope you find the accommodations to your satisfaction." Makoto regarded the familiar figure in kendo garb with a mixture of exasperation and affection. "Hello Tatawaki. This is Michiru Kaioh-" "A name worthy of such a fair blossom," Kuno interrupted, offering Michiru a wide smile. "And this is her _good_ friend Haruka Tenoh," Makoto continued. "Of course." Kuno inclined his head as if in apology. "Shall I show you and your friends to your quarters?" "I think that would be best." ================= Usagi hummed happily to herself as she opened the door to her home. The rest of her family would be busy for the evening so she'd have the house to herself. She was just beginning to review her plans, when a black streak impacted with her chest, knocking her to the ground. Stunned, she watched another streak run past her and out into the street. "Luna?" Usagi stared incredulously at the small body lying on top of her. "Your finally back! That pig's a monster. You wouldn't believe what it tried to do to me. Why, it chased me all over the house." Usagi climbed to her feet and cautiously peered into the house. Her eyes widened at the sight of the over turned furniture and the wreckage strewn across the floor. "You did all of this?" "I told you it was the pig's fault," Luna commented crossly. "You can't be serious. Aristotle is barely half your size." Usagi's expression hardened as she stared down at Luna. "I bet you were chasing him. That's probably why he ran off. Ami's going to be really disappointed." "Chasing him? I already told you it was the other way around." "I can't believe that you'd try to blame Ami's pet for this. Next you'll be saying that he's an agent of the Dark Kingdom." "We never did find out what happened to Jadeite," Luna muttered under her breath. ================= Makoto looked around as she emerged from her new room. One advantage of staying with her admittedly crazy relatives was that they had plenty of room. They might be a little strange, but she'd dealt with worse since becoming a senshi. So had Haruka and Michiru for that matter. Everything would be fine. In fact, Haruka was just coming out of the room across the hall, she'd already lasted longer than the music teacher Kodachi had when she was seven. "I knew that you were exaggerating when you told us about your relatives, Makoto." "Well, you just don't know them as well as I do," Makoto stated grimly. "You're being absurd. Kuno's a bit stiff, but aside from that he isn't bad. In fact he took me on a tour of the estate. This place is amazing. I think you could land an airplane in the training hall." "Yeah. It is pretty big." Makoto paused for a moment as she realized something. "Kuno took you on a tour? Where is Michiru anyway?" "Kodachi is showing her around. Something about feeding her pet turtle." By the time Haruka realized that Makoto was moving she'd already turned the corner. ================= Argentite drew a deep breath and wiped the perspiration off her face as she materialized in Nerima. Her master was not tolerant of failure. If the senshi had beaten her, he might have been more understanding. He'd fought them himself. Unfortunately, she'd failed to capture what were supposedly ordinary humans. Well, she didn't intend to fail again. Her early successes might not have yielded what she'd sought, but they'd provide excellent raw material for her new plan End Chapter Three.