The boat lands in Tokyo harbor. The gangplank is lowered, and its passengers begin to disembark. Cameras flash and people shout. “There they are!”
“That must be Herb, the Prince of the Musk.”
“They say he’s a descendant of a dragon. And those are his servants behind him. I hear they’re really strong.”
“That shrunken mummy must be the Elder of the Amazons.”
“I hear that even though she’s 300 years old she’s incredibly fast.”
“That must be her great grand-daughter.”
The finally person to exit gets the most attention. “Is that him?” One of the reporters asks. Cameramen focus in on the hooded figure that is making his way down the gangplank. The sword at his side tells many of the reporters who he is.
“That’s him! The Battousai!”
“They say he can cut through tanks with that sword of his!”
Cologne turns back to her hooded companion and asks, “So how does it feel to be back home?”
The young man smiles under his hood. “I’ve never had a home. I am still nothing more than a wandering warrior.”
“Still, having you on our side might help the peace negotiations. We can only hope that the Chinese finally decide to end this war. I’m sure they’ll send assassins after us.”
The young man strokes the handle of his sword with his gloved hand. “If that happens, Hitokiri Battousai will be ready.”
“We do not need Hitokiri Battousai right now, Ranma,” Herb says as he walks up to his allies.
“Please do not use that name. While in private I am Ranma. While I wear this hood I am the Battousai. But in public I am Hiko Seijo the 21st.”
Cologne smiles. “Everything is ready. I phoned our allies here before we left the mainland.”
“Good. Call me if you need me.” With that Ranma disappears from sight.
“Where did the Battousai go?”
“He just disappeared!” The reporters look around trying to find the Battousai. Cologne, Herb, Shampoo, Mint, and Lime smile. The reporters do not even notice a young man with a ponytail walk away.
Hotaru Tomoe frowns as she walks towards Juuban High. She hoped that this year would be better than her previous years. Hopefully this year no one would pick on her. Hopefully this year people wouldn’t call her a freak. Hopefully she would find some new friends. The year had started out all right. She was around her fellow Senshi and made a few friends through them. But the name-calling would not stop. She is running a little late and is moving a little faster than normal. She nearly runs into a male student as she enters the school building. “Excuse me,” She apologies.
“My fault,” He says. “Could you point me to the office?” He asks.
Hotaru looks up at the young man. She immediately blushes. (“Wow.”) Her mind shuts down for a second as she simply stares at the young man in front of him.
He waves a hand in front of her. “You all right?” He asks. (“She’s blushing. That’s not a good sign.”) Living with the Amazons has taught Ranma allot about women. (“When they blush…be afraid, be very afraid.”)
Hotaru shakes her head clear but can’t shake her blush. “Gomen,” She stammers. “It’s that way. You can’t miss it.”
“Arigatou!” He says with a slight bow.
Hotaru returns the bow. They each head off in opposite directions. (“I wish I had a boyfriend as handsome as him.”)
Ranma frowns slightly as he leaves the office. (“Damn government paperwork! ‘I phoned our allies…. Everything is ready.’ My ass everything was ready.”) It had taken a good deal of convincing from Ranma to get him into the school, and even then he was placed in with the freshmen. Saying that all of his identification had been destroyed in China had worked for the most part. Thankfully Shishou had already created an identity for Ranma or rather Hiko Seijo the 21st. According to the documentation that was available, Hiko Seijo the 21st was an orphan from Kyoto. Shishou had even got the age right and the signature was perfect. Ranma signs. (“I wanted a life that was at least semi-normal so I guess I’ll have to suck it up and go with it.”)
Elsewhere, Setsuna frowned as she watched a few events change. Somehow three small tribes in China had survived the might of the Chinese Government and were now thriving in the future. That wasn’t all that bad. In all honesty it was a pleasant surprise. These tribes would ally themselves with Neo-Queen Serenity in the future. That is, if there was a Neo-Queen Serenity. For some unknown reason the timeline had become unstable. Crystal Tokyo still seemed to be the future’s destiny. But there were slight changes here and there. The changes did not bother Setsuna. What bothered her was if someone was fooling around with Crystal Tokyo’s appearance and future, they could also destroy it. The main reason Setsuna was concerned was there was one future that did not have Crystal Tokyo present. In that future the Earth had been decimated by demons and all but one of the Senshi had been killed. Sailor Saturn was the only Senshi left. She and a few humans were fighting the demons, but it was a losing battle. They would be killed eventually. Looking at the different futures something clicked within Setsuna’s mind. “In almost every future Hotaru is different. Something will probably happen to Hotaru in the near future if I’m right.”
Hotaru sneezed. (“Somebody must be talking about me.”) She looked around and saw a few students whispering. (“Probably making fun of me.”) Paranoia is an odd thing isn’t it? It can make friends enemies and enemies friends. It can also drive young people to make some rather rash decisions. But paranoia helps keep a warrior on his or her toes.
The teacher enters the room and immediately everyone is in their seats. He shuffles a few papers before clearing his throat. “All right everyone, we have a new student today.” He motions for the person just outside the door to step in.
(“It’s him!”) Hotaru blushes beet red when she notices the young man entering the room.
“Hello, I’m Hiko Seijo,” Ranma says with a bow.
The teacher takes up from where Ranma left off. “Seijo just returned from China.” A few people begin whispering about the war in China. The teacher ignores them. “I expect you all to make him feel welcome here.” The teacher scans the room. “All right Seijo please take the seat next to Hotaru. Hotaru please raise your hand.”
Hotaru’s blush intensifies, but she complies. Ranma smiles as he sits down next to her. Hotaru looks to the ceiling and signs. (“I hope this isn’t Kami-sama’s idea of a bad joke.”) She looks at Ranma out of the corner of her eye. (“He’s so handsome!”)