Hell Hath No Fury
A Ranma/Sailormoon Crossover
By: Bob Lobster

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma. I don't own Sailormoon. Don't you have
someone with money to bug?


Chapter 3: Of Entrances and Exits

    Ranma was walking along the chainlink fence, heading home from his
dinner with Nabiki and somewhat forced trip down memory lane when a
slight tingle in the back of his neck, a subtle raising of the hairs
that he had grown rather accustomed to recently, warned him that he
was about to be attacked. Spreading his senses out, he 'felt' the area
around him for any sign of hostility and discovered a strong, yet
strange feeling, power source approaching rapidly from behind him. He
then heard a phrase, which had become so common around him since
arriving in Nerima that Nabiki was actually selling T-shirts with it
printed on them.

    "Ranma Saotome, Prepare to Die!!" The voice was unfamiliar, though
it struck a slight chord in his memory, but the words were so familiar
as to actually be slightly reassuring after the stressful day he had
just had.

    Staying still for a few moments, Ranma allowed his nameless
advisary to hold onto the belief that she(even with his back turned,
it was a rather simple matter to judge gender from the pitch of the
voice, although he had been fooled in the past) had the advantage of
surprise. It always surprised Ranma that his opponents seemed to
believe that they could yell death threats at the top of their lungs
and still expect to catch him off guard when they attacked. He wasn't
sure if it was that they were stupid, or that the enemies they were
used to fighting were stupid but they always seemed surprised when he
managed to escape their sneak attacks. Personally, he liked to believe
that they were just giving him an advanced warning so that they could
have a more fair battle, however he knew that was just his optimism
talking and the chances of it being true were pretty slim.

    Once he determined that his attacker was close enough to have
fully committed to their attack, Ranma leapt off the fence, arcing
almost twenty feet off of the ground, incidentally allowing the girl
attacking him to fly under him, before landing on the sidewalk beside
the fence. His respect for the girl he was apparently fighting rose
slightly when, rather than falling in the canal as he had expected her
to, she managed to grab ahold of the fence with one arm and halt her
forward momentum. The action bent the fence in towards the canal,
annoying Ranma slightly in that he wouldn't be able to walk on it
until it was fixed, but also managed to allow the girl to stop her
attack and pull herself back in his direction. With a surprisingly
graceful flip, considering the circumstances, she was back on solid
ground and facing him again, allowing Ranma to get his first good look
at his unexpected attacker.

    She was quite beautiful, that much was very easy to determine,
with flowing blonde hair, and long, barely covered legs, which caught
more than just Ranma's attention. Her mode of dress easily identified
her, with her white leotard-like body suit, short, orange skirt and
blue ribbons, as one of the vaunted Sailor Senshi. This, in itself,
should probably have put Ranma on edge, as they were rumored to be
quite powerful and also should have had him at least wondering why she
was attacking him. Such thoughts, however, fled his mind quickly upon
taking in her entire appearance when he realized exactly who she was.
The woman standing before him was Sailor Venus, the one Senshi who
Ranma really hated. The others were tolerable, if pathetic, in their
attempts to emulate his V-chan. They, at least, had their own
identities, and only used Sailor V as an influence, an inspiration in
their choice of costume and name. This one, however, wasn't content
with that. Sailor Venus took the entire matter to an extreme, copying
everything from her poses, to her hair style, seemingly attempting to
take all of Sailor V's following, now that Ranma's friend had
mysteriously vanished from the crime fighting scene. Ranma wasn't
fooled by appearances, though, whoever this girl was, she definitely
wasn't his V-chan. For starters, her costume was all wrong, Sailor V's
costume being closer to the Senshi's leader, Sailor Moon's. That
wasn't the deciding factor in his mind though. The thing that really
proved it to Ranma was Sailor Moon herself. The Sailor V Ranma knew
was strong, experienced and fiercely independent; the Sailor V he knew
would never allow someone as obviously inexperienced as Sailor Moon
act as her leader. In fact, it was Ranma's opinion that the appearance
of frauds like the Sailor Senshi that cause V-chan to retire in the
first place. Just something else to dislike them for.

    Having identified the aggressor,  and decided that he disliked her
enough not to question why she was attacking(afterall, it was bound to
be something along the lines of "You've ruined my life!" or "How dare
you run out on our engagement!" and, frankly, Ranma thought he was
better off not knowing.) Ranma began his tried and true icebreaker at
the start of any fight: he taunted her.

    "Woah, nice try there." Ranma began as he watched his opponent
size him up from where she was just entering a stance. He was
impressed, despite himself, at her well-balanced stance, indicating
some training. This, however, was offset by her obvious lack of self-
control, evidenced by the rage burning in her eyes. He decided to see
how far he could push that before she blew, though he didn't think it
would take long considering her obvious agitation. Putting on his best
smirk, he continued putting his most practiced conversational skills
to good work. "So, any reason yer attacking me, or is it just that
time of the month?"

     He smiled as she began to practically vibrate in her rage, before
the smile dropped from his face as she visible, though seemingly
forcibly, relaxed. She then took up a pose, which made Ranma silently
seethe in anger as it was very obviously stolen from Sailor V.

    "I'm the Pretty Soldier, Sailor Venus, and for years of mental
trauma, I'm gonna kick your fucking ass." Venus smiled viciously at
that and got back into her favoured stance, allowing the frown that
creased Ranma's face to calm some of her boiling anger. Unfortunately,
between the stress that she'd already endured during the day, and the
exhaustion she was feeling from her lack of sleep, she was finding it
more and more difficult to keep her cool before her hated enemy.

    Deciding that the longer she stared at him the better chance that
she'd loose her temper like she used to, Minako used his momentary
pause to launch herself at him in a blazingly fast straight punch,
pouring all her speed into finishing the fight quickly. Luckily for
Ranma, he had never actually let his guard down, being far too used to
his opponents attempting to use surprise against him, and he easily
dodged to the side, redirecting the punch and ducking under the
follow-up spinning back-kick. He jumped back as she finished up with a
thrusting sidekick, gaining himself some space to re-evaluate his
opponent. That attack had been extremely fast, and fairly skillful in
execution, though her lack of control over her temper was easily
showing as it dulled her reactions enough to allow him to easily evade
all her attacks. He had no doubt she could be better, but her
inability to manage her anger left little doubt in his mind that she
was about as much a real martial artist as Akane was.

    "Wow, impressive." Ranma managed in as innocent a voice as he
could manage. "A bit faster and you could probably match an old lady I
know. Don't feel too bad about her beating you though, she's pretty
mean on that cane of hers."

    Internally grinning, Ranma managed to retain his innocent look as
Sailor Venus began to shake, her hands clenching tightly into fists as
she tried to maintain both stance and concentration. Knowing that she
was just one push away from going over the edge, Ranma smiled brightly
at her before really cranking up the Saotome charm and continuing in a
cheerful voice. "Of course, you've still got a long ways to go to
catch up with her in other areas. But don't worry, looks aren't
everything, after all."

*********************************************************************

    The rest of the scouts stood on the sidewalk, still in civilian
form, watching as their teammate attacked a seemingly innocent and
admittedly rather cute young man. All of them were feeling extremely
foolish after falling for such a simple ruse, though none more than
Ami, as she felt that she should be far too intelligent to trick in
such a manner. Tricked she was, however, and now she had to content
herself with standing at the sidelines with the rest of her friends
and watch as Minako shattered their reputation by attacking someone,
for no particular reason, in broad daylight, on a fairly busy street.
If the Senshi had a PR agent, he'd be having a coronary right now.

    Thinking for sure the flying kick Minako began with would kill the
poor boy, Ami was suitably surprised when he leapt over the attack and
landed as if jumping twenty or thirty feet was nothing. Intrigued by
the power required to make a jump like that, she pulled her computer
out and quickly set it up to take some readings while she did some
quick calculations on the amount of force he had just exerted. Amazed
by her results, Ami was about to bring it to her friend's
attention(though they no doubt wouldn't appreciate it as much as she
did) when Minako made her entrance speak, shocking her so much she
almost dropped her computer.

    "Did....did she just say...what I think she did?" Usagi asked at
her side, mouth agape and voice a bare whisper.

    "Wow." Rei managed in a quiet, subdued voice, her surprise
rendering her nearly speechless, something Ami didn't think possible.
"I didn't even know Minako knew that kind of language."

    The others, Ami included, only managed weak nods at that
statement. The fact that Minako knew words like that didn't surprise
Ami so much, she had spend quite sometime fighting criminals before
joining the rest of them in fighting the monsters they tended to take
on all the time, so it wasn't surprising that she would have heard
things like that all the time. The fact that she had used such insults
at anyone, even an enemy, was what had Ami floored. This was the same
girl who had been know to complain about her "virgin ears" when Makoto
said things that weren't even half so offensive.

    Of course, that was when Minako choose to attack, and they could
only stare on with awe. None of them could remember any of them moving
that fast, ever. The exchange was short, but they could all see the
astounding level of skill Minako displayed, despite the ease at which
her target evaded her attacks. It made Ami wonder what Minako's skill
would be like if her anger and lack of sleep weren't dulling her
somewhat. Whatever she was missing from fighting tired, she was still
fighting at a level Ami couldn't recall ever seeing her at before,
which brought up the question of exactly how the boy was even keeping
up, let alone evading her with what looked like ridiculous ease. Was
he even human? It made her very glad she had turned on her computer,
the results of its scans would be very interesting indeed.

    Ranma than opened his mouth and commented on Minako's speed and
Ami could practically feel the raise in temperature as the fragile
hold Minako had on her temper began to break down. It was with a
surprising insight that Ami realized what was happening. In fact,
after the way Minako had described Ranma, making him out to be some
sort of evil demon who's only goal was to insult and humiliate her, it
came as an extreme shock for Ami when she realized the reason he was
insulting her like he was. It was such a shock that she said it out
loud, and quite a bit louder than she had intended. "He's goading her.
He's trying to make her mad."

    "Of course he is. He always does that." The voice came from beside
her, shocking her out of her reverie and attracting her attention,
along with that of her friends, to the pair of boys a little ways from
her, watching the fight. They were watching the fight with interest,
to be sure, but at the same time there seemed to be a sort of
familiarity in their eyes and ease in their stances that spoke volumes
of the normalcy of the situation before them. It was as if they saw
people fighting at this level on a daily basis. The one who had
spoken, the one with dark hair as opposed to his fair-haired
companion, glanced in her direction quickly before turning back to the
fight once more, although Ami could swear that his eyes were more on
Minako's legs than the fight itself.

    "What do you mean, he always does it?" She asked politely,
attempting to get more information out of an apparent source. Perhaps
the boys would even know how this Ranma person was able to do the
things he did.

    "It's the way Ranma starts all his fight." The boy responded,
glancing back once more, seeming to consider her for a moment, before
returning his eyes to the fight and continuing. "I asked him why once
and he said it was part of his school. You know, make 'em angry enough
to get sloppy and then finish 'em off. I think he almost takes pride
that he can piss anyone off enough to send them into a blind rage."

    Ami stared at the boy as he chuckled for a moment at his own
statement. It made sense, far too much sense. It was a very solid
strategy to win a fight. When your opponent got angry, they tended to
get sloppy, reducing all their skills to blindly swinging. The boy
then continued. "And it looks like he's managed it this time, too."

    Ami's eyes shot back to the fight as Minako screamed in rage and
ran at the boy, swinging wildly in an attempt to tag him. All of her
former skill disappeared as she degenerated into a style of attack
that even Usagi would be able to dodge, though her speed was still
incredible. All Ami could do is stare forward as her friend became a
wild beast, anger flowing off of the normally happy girl in waves that
Ami could practically feel from where she was. She tried to say
something to the boy next to her, but all she could manage was a soft
"Oh my." at the sight.

    The boy chuckled a bit at her surprise, as if he had fully
expected a famous super-hero to be reduced to a raging madwoman before
his eyes. He then commented, with a bit of humour in his voice. "Yeah,
he's impressive, isn't he?"

    At this point, his fair-haired friend spoke up. "I'm kinda
disappointed. I expected one of the Sailor Senshi to last longer than
that. Even Ryoga doesn't break down that quickly, and he's got the
quickest temper I've ever seen."

    The first boy seemed to think about that for a moment before
responding. "True, but she looked pretty pissed when she arrived.
Ranma's dad probably screwed her out of something at some point in the
past and now she's here for revenge. Besides, I think Ryoga's getting
used to Ranma's insults, it takes a lot longer than it used to for him
to lose it these days."

    "True, he has been calmer." The fair-haired boy responded, before
continuing. "Ranma's dad probably engaged them or something and then
ran out with the dowry."

    The dark-haired one laughed out loud at that comment, making Ami
stare at him in confusion. How could anyone consider such a thing
funny? She'd be horrified if it happened to her, yet they talked about
it like it was an every day thing. It was making her head hurt. "Heh,
she'll be added to the fiancee squad by the end of the day. Lucky
bastard, now he's even got a Sailor Senshi after him."

    "Looks like Ranma's gonna end it." The comment from the second boy
caused Ami to swing her head around just in time to watch the tail end
of the fight, far more questions on her mind then she started with.

*********************************************************************

    Ranma was getting bored. As much as he enjoyed taunting her into a
rage like he had, it was far too easy to do. Just another reason why
she was nothing like his V-chan, he supposed. She would never have
allowed herself to fall for his taunting that quickly. By the time he
had left she was able to ignore his insults for longer than most other
people Ranma had ever met, while this girl had falling into a rage
within the first couple insults. It was pathetic, really.

    It also reduced their fight to Ranma dodging her as she swung
powerful, yet horribly unskilled punches at him. She was so easy to
predict at this point that he was able to almost ignore her attempts
to hit him and allow his instincts to guide him, putting most of his
attention on keeping her in her present state by allowing the odd
comment to slip out.

    "Geez, is that the best you can do? I know little old men who can
kick better than that."

    "Wow, you almost got me with that one. Another ten feet closer and
I may've been in trouble."

    "Note for next time. If yer gonna come out in public in that
outfit, lay off the Twinkies."

    "Oh! Is that thunder? Wait, sorry, that's just yer thighs."

    "ARRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!!" Ranma grinned happily and silently
congratulated himself as his opponent turned a rather unhealthy shade
of purple at that last comment. He decided to himself that she'd
suffered enough and it was time to end it. He didn't think it was
possible for anyone to get much angrier than she was now, so taunting
her wouldn't be much fun after this point. Deciding on one final
humiliation, he led her in the direction of the bent point on the
fence where she had first attacked him. Maneuvering her so that she
was facing the canal he waited for her to attack him. He didn't need
to wait long.

    Screaming in rage, Venus charged at him swinging with what looked
like a particularly powerful right hook. Just as she was about to
connect, Ranma grabbed the fist and dropped backwards, planting one
foot on her stomach and rolling onto his back. Unable to stop her
momentum, Minako's eyes widened with surprise and she was shocked out
of her rage at the feel of Ranma's foot pressing into her abdomen
moments before he pushed off, sending her flying high over his head
and behind him. He rolled to his feet, turning to face her just in
time to watch with satisfaction as she sailed over the broken fence,
just high enough so she couldn't reach it for support, and landed with
a huge splash in the water below. Sauntering over to the edge, he
smirked down at her surprised and angry eyes for a moment before his
face suddenly turned serious.

    "Consider this a lesson for you and all your little Sailor V-
wannabe buddies." He began, his voice as serious as his expression,
causing the anger in Minako's eyes to turn into complete shock. "Next
time you decide an' impersonate a great fighter, start by learning how
to fight."

    With that, Ranma turned and walked away, leaving a shocked and
staring Sailor V sitting in waste deep water, unable to think of a
single thing to say.

*********************************************************************

    The girls all watched Ranma walk a few feet before leaping up onto
the roof of a nearby house and making his way from roof to roof until
he was out of sight. Once they could no longer see him, they ran over
to the fence to check on Minako, followed closely, though at a slower
rate, by the two boys they were speaking with before. Looking down
into the water they saw Venus still sitting in the water, staring at
the point Ranma had been standing with a vacant expression on her
face. She stayed that way for a few more moments, before slowly
standing up and leaping up to the street. The two boys moved towards
her, asking about an autograph, but she ignored them and quickly ran
from the scene, a bit unsteadily at first but quickly gaining speed,
in the direction of Juuban. Ami hoped that her friend was already, she
had looked so dazed when she left, but she knew that she couldn't talk
to her now. She resolved to go see Minako as soon as she got back to
Juuban herself. For now though, she wanted to know what the hell was
with those two guys.

    "Well, pay up, man." The dark-haired one said, grinning a bit at
his friend. The second boy grumbled about unfairness, but reached into
his pocket and withdrew his wallet. Pulling out several bills, he
handed them over to his grinning companion, who merely counted them
happily. "Oh, quit grumbling Hiroshi, that's what you get for betting
against Ranma. You should know better by now."

    The second one, Hiroshi, sighed, seeming to deflate somewhat
before replying in a dejected, yet resigned voice. "Yeah, I know,
Daisuke but, I mean, it was a Sailor Senshi. I thought she might've
had a chance on grabbing the first win. You know, before Ranma trained
and kicked her ass in the rematch."

    "Wait. You were BETTING on them?!" Makoto asked in astonishment.
In Juuban, when the Senshi were involved in a fight people generally
did the sensible thing and left the area in a hurry. That people
actually stuck around here was surprising enough, but that they were
comfortable enough with the fights to actually wager on the winners
was incomprehensible to her. Not to mention that the two boys both
immediately dismissed the chance that the Senshi in question would
actually win the fight, they just assumed that this Ranma would win,
if not now than in a rematch. What the hell was with this town?

    "Well, yeah." Daisuke said, sounding confused that anyone would
even suggest otherwise. "What else would you do at a fight? Although,
you get better odds if Nabiki or her lackey's are around to take bets,
but it looks like they missed out on this one. She's gonna be pissed."

    At this point Ami decided to get back into the conversation,
wanting to steer it back towards finding more information about Ranma
himself. The last thing they needed at that point was another name to
keep track of, this was confusing enough already. "You seem awfully
sure Ranma would win. Why is that? I mean, the Senshi are pretty
powerful, you know, and the one he fought didn't even use her
attacks."

    Hiroshi smirked a bit as Daisuke took on what he liked to call his
"professor" look, the one he saved for filling outsiders in on the
happenings of Nerima. "We knew Ranma'd win because he always wins in
the end. The only real question is whether he'll take them the first
time or get too cocky and get caught off guard. It happens from time
to time, but he always gets them in the rematch."

    Hiroshi decided that that was his cue to add in his two cents,
getting the girl's attention by continuing where Daisuke left off.
"The Senshi may be powerful - I mean, they take on those monsters in
Juuban so they'd have to be pretty tough - but Ranma's taken on guys
stronger than him before and, somehow, he always wins." He smirked a
bit before continuing, knowing what their reaction's going to be to
the next part. "There's even a rumor that he beat a god while he was
in China about a month ago."

    The reactions were exactly as expected: a mixture of surprise,
astonishment and, most prominently of course, disbelief. Hiroshi left
Daisuke to pick up the next part, which he did perfectly. "Of course,
it's just a rumor since Nabiki doesn't know what happened for once and
Ranma refuses to say anything. He just clams up tight whenever anyone
mentions the incident and you can't get a word out of him. Something
bad happened there, god or not, and it took a real toll on him. None
of us would be overly surprised if it was true though, not with the
things we've seen him do."

    "Wh...what have you seen him do?" Ami asked, shaken despite her
best efforts at the thought of a boy who could very well end up their
enemy being strong enough for his friends to think that defeating a
god wasn't a stretch. The thought of fighting someone that strong sent
her stomach into knots and she really hoped that Minako could sort out
her differences with him without involving the rest of them. Not that
she truly believed the god story, but after watching him fight and
easily defeat the most experienced of them as if she were a rank
amateur, it didn't seem like such a big stretch of the imagination.

    "Oh, just little things mostly." Hiroshi began, allowing them to
relax slightly, internally smirking at how much fun it was to play
with outsiders, before continuing in as innocent a tone as he could
manage. "You know, like jumping two or three stories."

    "Or throwing around boulders the size of small cars." Daisuke
threw in.

    "Or creating tornado's out of nowhere."

    "Or when he fought that giant eight-headed dragon."

    "And that giant minator thing that shows up from time to time. You
remember, Dai, the one with the wings."

    "And tentacles, he picked up tentacles."

    "Oh, yeah, he did, didn't he. Then there's those energy blasts he
and Ryoga throw around all the time. Those are pretty cool."

    "Yeah, I like those. Especially when Ryoga made a thirty-foot
crater with one. That was awesome."

    By now Ami's head was absolutely spinning. She glanced over at her
friends to see what they thought and felt a bit sorry for Usagi. She
obviously believed everything the two were telling them since she'd
gone pale, probably thinking about what he could do to Minako. Makoto
had a look of interest on her face, mixed liberally with a bit of awe
and a good deal of disbelief, while Rei looked like she was ready to
laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of the boys' claims. That thought
was immediately confirmed when she did laugh out loud, disrupting the
two's thoughts as they argued over something to do with chestnuts,
before addressing them.

    "You don't actually expect us to believe all that crap, do you?"
Rei managed once she had stopped laughing. "I mean, come on. He just a
normal guy, how could he do all that stuff."

    The two guys looked at each other, getting an expression on their
faces that just screamed out their amusement at the whole situation.
They seemed to agree on something and turned back, Hiroshi speaking
for them. "Well, you don't have to believe us, we're just some random
guys on the street. If you really wanna know the truth though, you
should see Nabiki Tendo. She's got pictures, video, the whole nine
yards and she knows nearly every story there is to tell about Ranma."

    "Just tell her Hiroshi and Daisuke sent you and she'll tell you
whatever you wanna know." The two smiled in a friendly sort of way and
Ami had a bad feeling that they really were telling the truth about
what they said. Then they both bowed a bit before Daisuke continued.
"Unfortunately, we have to go. It was nice meeting you though and if
you're ever in town again, look us up and we'll give you the tour." He
then winked at Ami, causing her to she blushed prettily, before they
both turned and began walking away, talking to each other about
Ranma's newest fight and the chances of a Senshi joining the ranks of
Ranma's fiancees in the near future, leaving behind four very confused
and slightly worried Sailor Senshi.

*********************************************************************

    By the time Minako made it home, she had once more pushed past her
confusion at Ranma's words and embraced the anger that came from his
various insults. It was, after all, much easier to stay made at the
bastard than to think about they way he seemed to actually be
defending her honour at the end. It'd probably been more effective
defense if he hadn't been defending her from herself, but that didn't
make the whole situation any less confusing. Not that one comment
could stop her from hating the asshole, but it certainly threw a
wrench in the whole "mortal enemies" thing that her enemy didn't hate
her as much as she once though.

    Although, it was probably just a matter of respecting a
particularly strong opponent. After all, she respected him on some
levels. Sure she hated him with a passion, but she couldn't not
respect someone who was that good at what he did.

    Turning her thoughts once more from those matters, her mind
quickly went back to the insults he threw at her and she began to
simmer once more in indignation. *Thunder thighs my ass.* She thought
to her self as she pushed through the door, grunting irritably at her
father when he yelled out a greeting. *I have perfect legs. After all,
guys wouldn't stare at them so much if they weren't nice.*

    Making her way upstairs, quickly telling her father that she was
tired and was going to go take a nap when her inquired about her bad
mood, she headed into her room, only to be greeted by a worried
Artemis. She smiled at him, though he could easily tell it was forced,
and walked over to her bed, plopping down face-first in the sheets
before he could say anything. Artemis hopped up on the bed beside her
as she turned over on her back and plodded onto her stomach, settling
down and letting her pet him a few times before saying anything.

    "You alright, Minako-chan? You look upset." He spoke gently and
waited patiently as she stroked his back a few more times before she
spoke up. She didn't get into these moods very often, but when she did
it was usually something bad and with her dreams last night, the best
he could do for her right now was be as comforting as possible.
Finally she opened her eyes up and looked at him and he felt a shiver
of dread run down his spine.

    "I met up with Him today." She said, causing the bottom to fall
out of Artemis' stomach as the implications of her statement sank in.
If she'd met Him, then He was staying in town somewhere. Which meant
they would most likely meet again in the near future, possibly causing
a repeat of the situation of two and a half years ago. With her
present mood, it was also rather easy to tell that she hadn't defeated
Him as she had wanted to since the first time they met, meaning she
would probably be searching Him out on a regular basis until she could
best Him. Also, given how much stronger she'd gotten over the last few
years, for Him to still be able to beat her meant that He had gotten
immeasurably better over the time apart. Frankly, present day Minako
would be able to stomp the boy she knew all those years ago so the
idea that He could still beat her scared Artemis more than he was
willing to let on. This was supposed to be a normal, human boy after
all. A lot stronger and better trained than most, he'd admit, but
still human. To be able to defeat a Senshi in one on one combat
without magic aid was thought to be impossible, yet here was a boy who
did it on a regular basis.

    Artemis kept all these thoughts silent for now and focused on
getting Minako to talk about what happened. "I...I see. What
happened?"

    "Can we talk about it later, Artemis? I'm really tired right now.
I just wanna sleep for a while, alright?" Minako's tone was slightly
pleading and Artemis was quick to give in. He knew that she hadn't
gotten much sleep last night and between the attack at lunch and the
business with the boy she was probably pretty worn out. Besides, he
knew that she'd talk to him when she was better rested and he was
certain that she'd come out of the experience alright this time. After
all, she didn't have her friends around last time to help her through
it. Perhaps she could even get their help in dealing with Him,
although he doubted she would ask. She really wanted to beat Him on
her own, even just once.

    "Alright, Minako-chan, you get some rest. We'll talk about it
later." Minako smiled a bit at him before thanking him quietly and
closing her eyes once more, casually stroking him down the back from
time to time as she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

*********************************************************************

    The four Inner Senshi made their way down the quiet street towards
Minako's house, talking with each other in hushed voices. During the
trip back to Juuban they had discussed, when there was sufficient
privacy to do so, all that they had learned today about their friend's
rival. Though they remained divided on the validity of the two boy's
words, they were all in agreement that, whatever his true strength,
Ranma was one person they didn't want to face if it could be avoided.
Usagi was still the most against fighting him, believing everything
that Hiroshi and Daisuke had told them, not seeing any reason for them
to lie. More than anything, though, she wanted to make sure that
Minako wasn't hurt by him at any point, since she seemed pretty
determined to continue fighting him. Rei was still at the other end of
the spectrum, believing that the two were merely trying to have fun
with a few gullible people, such as Usagi, she pointed out, by seeing
what they could make them believe. Makoto was happily fence sitting,
believing that whatever else, Ranma was an amazing martial artist and
someone she'd much rather learn from(or date, though she didn't say
that out loud) than fight.

    Ami, having talked with the two more while the fight was happening
than the others, wondered whether Ranma was really as bad a guy as
Minako made him out to be. She could obviously see that he wasn't
exactly a pleasant person to fight, those insults must have really
infuriated her friend and she didn't blame her, but his insults seemed
more to the point of getting her angry than being out of any sense of
malice. She also noticed that, despite how much Minako seemed to hate
him, Ranma seemed to hold Sailor V as someone he respected greatly.
This could, of course, be the respect one feels for a strong rival,
but it didn't feel that way when he spoke. It felt more like the
respect one holds for a revered friend.

    Having reached the gate to Minako's house, Ami shook herself out
of her thoughts and joined the others in heading for the door. Partway
there, she looked up towards Minako's window, wondering if their
friend had even come home right away, and saw Artemis looking down at
them. Ami stopped, causing the others to halt their forward motion,
before beckoning Artemis to come down so they could talk. He stepped
out the open window and leapt to a nearby tree, using it to climb down
to ground level before walking over to the group and jumping into
Ami's arms. The four Senshi headed towards the front of the house,
where they could talk without gaining too much notice. Once there, Ami
was the first to break the silence.

    "Artemis, did Minako-chan make it home alright?" Though Ami asked
the question she knew the answer already. Artemis wouldn't look as
worried as he did if she hadn't come home yet. Obviously he knew
something of what had happened and, since he had been with her during
her Sailor V phase, he no doubt knew the significance of her meeting
Ranma. He probably knew a great deal more than they did regarding the
matter, actually. Before he could answer her first question she
quickly tacked on another. "Can we talk to her?"

    Artemis sighed sadly, his head dropping a bit at thinking about
the situation, before turning his eyes back up to Ami. In an almost
resigned voice he answered her. "She made it home, but she collapsed
into bed almost as soon as she was in the door. She sleeping now and I
don't think it would be best if anyone disturbed her right now." Ami
had to agree with that, Minako had been awfully tired earlier and was
no doubt feeling even more so after her fight. Artemis glanced around
at all of them, seeing their questioning looks and continued, asking
the obvious question. "You were all there, I take it? When she meet
Him?"

    Ami smiled reassuringly at Artemis. It was obvious the situation
had made him uneasy, which was understandable given Minako's past
relationship with Ranma. She ran a hand over his head, hoping to set
him a little more at ease while she considered what to say. "Yes, we
were all there when she met Ranma." This caused Artemis's head to
shoot up, startling Ami slightly at the suddenness.

    "Ranma? His name's Ranma?" He seemed to mull this over for a few
moments as if fitting the name to whatever image he held of the boy.
He nodded to himself once, seeming to accept the name as belonging to
his ward's rival, before turning his eyes on Ami again. "Did she find
out his last name, as well?"

    "Yes, his name is Saotome." She saw Artemis go deeper in thought
for a moment and waited for him to pull himself out again before
continuing. "She met his father after the attack at lunch. He took
off, but she.......interrogated his friend, some guy named......Tendo,
I think. It was him that told us both Ranma's name and where to find
him."

    Artemis grimaced a bit at the situation before asking for
elaboration on one point. "Interrogated? She didn't hurt him, did
she?" He knew how fanatical the girl could get when dealing with Him.
He only hoped that she didn't do anything to damage someone who was
possibly an innocent in the matter.

    "No, no, nothing like that. She just scared him a bit, that's
all." Ami saw the look of relief cross Artemis's face and once again
wondered just how much her friend changed around the boy in question.
The look that had crossed Artemis's face had been one of real concern;
he had truly though she may have tortured the man to get the
information. Before she could ask anything else, Usagi beat her to the
punch.

    "She's gonna be alright, right?" She asked, the concern evident on
her face. "I mean, she seemed okay when she left, but you know her
best, especially in this situation. Is she gonna be alright?"

    "Oh yes, she should be fine. She's been through this before, and
she seemed to be taking it better than usual. As long as he didn't
hurt her, she should be fine." He seemed to mull this over for a few
moments, before continuing in a slightly concerned voice. "He didn't
hurt her, did he?"

    Ami was quick to placate him, his worry was obvious for anyone to
see. "No, he didn't seem to hurt her at all. He just sort
of.......played with her for a while and then took her out of the
fight. He never really hit her though."

    "Good, good." Artemis calmed down again, shaking his head
slightly, as if the thought of her being hurt was a silly one. "He
never had before, so I doubted it, but it has been years. He may have
changed." He considered something for a few moments, before adding in
a slightly conspiratorial voice. "Truth be told, though Minako will
tell you otherwise, he was always surprisingly gentle in their fights.
He always fought back, of course, and usually humiliated her in some
way or another, but he never really hurt her. Well, physically,
anyway."

    He left it at that, though they all knew what he meant. For her to
still be so angry with him, even years later, what she went through
must have been really traumatic to her. Though if the fights were
anything like the one earlier, they would be pretty hard on a thirteen
year old girl's psyche.

    Artemis jumped down from Ami's arms at that point and bid them all
goodnight, saying he wanted to stay with Minako, in case she woke up.
Though Ami offered to fill him in on everything that had happened, he
turned her down, stating that he would wait until Minako woke up. He
knew she would want to talk about it, afterall, and would be there for
her when she did. After that, he headed back up the tree and into her
window, leaving four still confused Senshi to make their way home in
silence, each hoping for the best for their friend.

*********************************************************************

    After the fight, Ranma spent some time simply jumping about the
rooftops of Nerima. It helped him cool off, feeling the breeze in his
face as he moved in ways that most people could never accomplish. The
fight had been decent, the girl was certainly fast enough to have
given him a run for his money. Unfortunately, it had been far to short
a time between the beginning of the fight and the point where she lost
control. This took most of the enjoyment out of it for Ranma as it
became a lot less a contest of skills at that point so much as a test
to see just how angry she could become. As much fun as taunting her
was, it just wasn't as satisfying as fighting someone who could keep
their cool. Sometimes he really missed fighting V-chan. Sure she was
pretty quick tempered at the start, but after the month's of fighting
it had gotten to the point where it took quite a while before he could
get her to lose it completely. Now those fights had been fun. Still,
he had enjoyed putting that phony in her place.

    Having cooled off from his fight, he made his way home, fully
expecting a confrontation with Akane, having been avoiding her all
day. What he didn't expect, though in retrospect he probably should
have, was Nabiki waiting for him when he entered. "hey, Nabiki. What's
up?"

    "Have a nice run, Saotome?" She smiled at him in a surprisingly
friendly sort of way, rather than her usual 'I know something you
don't know' manner. He knew, of course, that she already knew about
his fight earlier. The Sailor Senshi were akin to celebrities and a
visit by one of them was bound to be the talk of the town. Especially
when it included a fight with the largest source of rumours and such
in town. Rather than comment, he simply nodded at her and returned her
smile, hoping that it meant that he wasn't in trouble for any reason.
She got to the matter quite quickly, obviously deciding not to beat
around the bush too much. "I heard about your fight, of course.
Hanging out with old friends, were you?"

    He frowned a bit at her assumption that it was his old friend he
had been fighting with. It was strange that her sources had given her
such off information. "Nope. I'm not sure who told you otherwise, but
it wasn't V-chan I was sparing with, it was that Sailor Venus woman."
He could see the look in Nabiki's eyes, the one that said that she was
about to spring some bit of information on him, and for once he knew
what she was going to say. It just seemed the natural thing for her to
comment on. "And, no, despite what you may have heard, they're not the
same person. The fighting style was similar, but she was nowhere near
as good as V-chan. Venus has obviously studied her, but they're
definitely not the same."

    Nabiki seemed surprised by that, though whether it was from the
fact that she was wrong, or that Ranma knew what she was going to say
he couldn't tell. He simply allowed her the time to collect her
thoughts and answer him. "Hmmm, I guess that blows that theory out of
the water. Funny, I always thought that it was true, that they were
the same person. I guess you would be the one to know though." Ranma
was almost floored at that comment. The fact that Nabiki was admitting
that she was wrong was, while not a common occurrence, not
unprecedented either. The thing that stunned him the most was the fact
that she took his word over that of her contacts. "Oh, don't look so
stunned, Ranma-kun. It was all guesswork on whether they were the same
or not. Frankly, you're the only one I know of that's actually met
both of them, and while I may not trust you on everything, when it
comes to combat, you are the expert."

    It made sense, of course. Ranma was the one who had years of
training to recognize styles and abilities so he would definitely be
the one to ask about things of that source. Having seemingly found out
what she wanted to know, Nabiki left him at that, heading up to her
room to do her homework, though not before a final word. "Oh yeah,
Akane's looking for you. She looks pissed too, so be careful what you
say."

    And with that, she was gone, leaving Ranma to his own devices.
Sighing to himself, he figured it was probably for the best that he
found Akane now, knowing she would only get more upset if he avoided
her any longer. Continuing into the house, he headed out to the dojo
knowing, from the noise he could hear, that that was where Akane
currently was. Reaching the dojo doors, he opened them a little,
allowing himself a peak inside to see just how upset she was without
notifying her of his presence. Seeing her practicing, Ranma sighed to
himself again, this time in slight disappointment. Breaking bricks and
working on the training dummy were all well and good but he couldn't
understand how she thought she would improve when that was all she
did. Sure, every once in a while she would ask to spar with him, but
she got frustrated so easily that those sessions never lasted long and
she usually didn't ask again for a while. As if it was his fault she
was too slow to hit him. He certainly wasn't going to fight back until
she was good enough to handle it, which, right now, she wasn't.

    Stepping into the dojo, he made sure to let the door creak
slightly, announcing his presence. People tended to be upset when he
snuck up on them and the last thing he needed was her being even more
upset. Hearing him enter, Akane turned to face him, sweat shinning on
her forehead as she used the back of her hand to wipe it off. Seeing
who it was, she glared at him slightly, waiting for him to speak.

    "So....umm, how ya doing, Akane?" He knew it was lame, but he
couldn't think of anything else to say at the moment. He really didn't
want to argue with her, but he knew that just about anything he said
would bring them to that point. Sometimes he really hated his lack of
social abilities. "Nabiki said you were looking for me?"

    Akane scowled at him for a moment before sighing a bit as well and
answering him. "You've been avoiding me all day. I don't think it took
Nabiki to tell you I was looking for you." Ranma tensed slightly at
that, Akane being far too calm for his tastes. Not that he had any
desire to meet her wraith up close and personal but he was a lot more
used to her hot temper than this calm, if tired looking Akane. "Not
that it matters, I guess. Look, Ranma, I really don't feel like
arguing this time so why don't you just tell me about your so called
'V-chan' and get it over with."

    This attitude surprised Ranma enough that he didn't even come out
with any biting comment about how it was her that usually started the
fights, being the uncute tomboy she was. Instead, he merely told her
an abbreviated version of the story he had told Nabiki earlier,
leaving out much of the details and simply telling her of their
meeting and how they used to fight from time to time. She seemed a lot
less upset over the matter than Nabiki had, but then he left out a lot
of the more humiliating things he had told Nabiki about, so it was
only natural. She was still managing to build a bit of indignation at
the way he described some of their fights, but she held it in quite
well. When he finished, Akane simply nodded and looked thoughtful for
a few moments before continuing to the next question. "I heard you
fought her again earlier. I thought you said you haven't seen her in
years."

    "Naw, that wasn't V-chan. That was one of your Sailor Senshi
chicks, Sailor Venus." He answered, once again a little upset at how
many people simply assumed that they were one and the same. What
annoyed him the most about it was that it seemed to give validity to
what Venus was doing. Her cheap imitation was doing it's job as she
was taking most of V-chan's fame, taking credit for her early work and
getting her fans. It bothered him that such a cheap trip would work so
well. "She sucked anyway. No match for me."

    "They're the same person, Baka." Akane retorted, some of her anger
flowing back in at the insult to one of her idols. "And don't insult
the Senshi, they're great warriors!"

    Ranma snorted at the thought of those rank amateurs being called
great warriors. Despite having no intention of being pulled into an
argument, he couldn't help but throw in his two cents at her comment.
"I don't know about warrior, but she sure proved her swimming skills
when I threw her ass in the canal." He couldn't help but smirk at the
incredulous expression that crossed her face as Akane formed her
comeback, ending the brief lawl in their aggression and bringing their
talk back into the level of verbal sparring.

*********************************************************************

    Morning dawned bright and early for Minako. Despite her previous
day, she found herself looking forward to her day a good deal more
than one would expect. She knew that most people would expect her to
be upset over her lose the day before, and she was to an extent, but
she also knew that she wasn't fighting anywhere near her full level
either. She was powerful, much more than she had been those years ago
and, though she knew that he had improved since then as well, she felt
that she was good enough now to beat Ranma if she kept her cool. Today
was the day she would do it. Today, she would finally defeat the boy
who had put her through so much pain over the years and finally be
able to put the whole thing behind her.

    Humming softly to herself as she thought of the best strategy for
defeating her foe, Minako absentmindedly went through her morning
rituals, cleaning up and changing into her school clothes before
heading downstairs for breakfast. After a quick breakfast, she headed
back to her room where she was assaulted by a concerned, feline
advisor, demanding answers. He seemed surprised at her good mood, but
she got the feeling that he wasn't complaining at all, far too used to
seeing her crying or screaming after an encounter with Ranma. She
assuaged his fears, quickly filling him in on an abbreviated version
of the happenings from the day before and assuring him that she had
everything under control. Today she would end it, she would beat him.
Artemis wasn't as sure as she was and was quick to point out that she
had said this in the past.

    "Thanks for trying so hard to spoil my mood, cat." Minako said a
bit grumpily, not liking being reminded of her past failures. Artemis
had the good graces to look slightly guilty at that, but she picked
him up and hugged him a bit before putting him on the bed. "I'm a lot
stronger now, Artemis, and a lot more experienced. I can handle him
this time. I've just gotta keep my temper under control, I can't let
that bastard get to me." Artemis sighed a bit, knowing that she had to
do this, had to prove she could beat him, to get over it altogether.
Normally he would have balled her out for cursing, but he didn't
bother this time. It was almost a compulsion, when she spoke of him,
that she swear like a sailor. He briefly considered the pun inherent
in that thought but put it out of his mind to give her a last word
before she headed off to school.

    "I'm not saying you won't beat him, Minako-chan, I know you're
stronger now. Just be careful, alright, I don't want to see you hurt."
He gave her a pleading look, knowing that she tended to throw caution
to the wind at times when dealing with the boy in question. She gave
him a small smile, assuring him that she would, indeed, be careful in
dealing with Ranma, before reaching over to pick up her bag from the
corner of the room. Telling him to have a good day, she made her way
down the stairs and out the door, heading off to class refreshed and
on time for a change.

*********************************************************************

    When Ami arrived in class it was to a sight that surprised her.
Minako, earlier than her and wide-awake for a change. Not only that
but despite her mood from the day before and all that happened during
the day she seemed to actually be in a good mood. Worried slightly for
her friend's mental stability, Ami made her way over to Minako's desk
to inquire how she was doing. Minako noticed her first and greeted her
as she made her way over.

    "Good morning, Ami-chan. How are you?" She sure seemed chipper
enough, though Ami still worried for her. Minako had been rather upset
the night before and she had to wonder what could change her mood so
drastically. She put a smile on her face, she was glad to see her
friend feeling better, afterall, and returned her greeting, though
with a question included.

    "Good morning, Minako-chan, I'm doing well. You seem to be in a
lot better mood this morning." At this Minako grinned a bit
sheepishly, remember how bad a mood she'd been in the day before,
before her grin took on a more sinister note, though Ami doubted many
people would have noticed. It seemed like a normal Minako smile, but
there was something in her eyes that set off alarms in Ami's head.
Suddenly she had a bad feeling she knew why Minako was happy. She
glanced around the empty room quickly, making sure that there was no
one to overhear before continuing. "You're going after him again
today, aren't you?"

    Minako smiled brightly, seemingly not at all upset that Ami knew
what she had planned, and answered in a happy voice. "Yup, and I'm
gonna beat him this time. That asshole won't know what hit him." Ami
started a bit at the casual use of an obscenity on Minako's part,
wondering if she even noticed she was swearing. She would have to ask
Artemis about it sometime since it seemed to only occur when
discussing Ranma.

    "I don't know, Minako-chan, maybe you should just stay away from
him. He could be dangerous." She knew there was no real use in asking,
but she had to none-the-less. If there was any chance of talking her
friend out of this seeming obsession than she needed to try. Minako
only shook her head before looking at Ami a bit sadly.

    When she answered Ami, Minako spoke in a voice full of
resignation. "I can't give up, you know that. I have to beat him, if
only once, so I can put it behind me." She smiled sadly for a moment
before brightening considerably. "Besides, I know I can beat him. I
was tired and angry yesterday, so I wasn't fighting at my best. As
long as I can keep my cool, he doesn't stand a chance." Ami had to
admit, she was at least partially right. She had been very tired and
had lost her temper very quickly. Without those two factors slowing
her down, she had no doubt Minako would be a sight to behold in a
fight. Whether that would be enough to deal with the boy in question,
Ami had yet to figure out, however.

    "Alright, I didn't think I could talk you out of it anyway."
Minako smiled at her once more, happy that she wouldn't have to argue
with her friends. When Ami continued, however, Minako's smile dropped
a little. "I'm coming with you, though. You need someone there to
cover your back."

    "No. I don't want anyone there to interfere. This is my fight, it
has to stay that way." Minako had a determined look in her eyes and
Ami knew that she would have to fight hard to come along. Seeing how
determined Ami was, however, Minako continued before she could say
anything. "You can come on two conditions. One: that you stay
untransformed. I've decided to go in my old costume this time and I
don't want it being associated with the Senshi for now." Seeing Ami
nod, though reluctantly, Minako finished. "And two: you will not
interfere in any way, shape or form. This is my fight, it started that
way and it's gonna finish that way. You can come if you want, but I
don't want you interrupting this, no matter what happens. Are we
clear?"

    Ami thought about it for a few moments, considering exactly what
was being asked of her before answering carefully. "As long as the
fight stays clean, I'll stay out of it. If it looks like he's hurting
you in any way that he doesn't have to, I will interfere. That's the
best I can offer." Minako ran that through her head for a few moments
before nodding her accent. It was a good idea, she supposed, to have a
bit of back up, just in case things got out of hand. She didn't
believe it would happen, Ranma never really hurt her in their fights,
but it was still nice to know her friend cared. By then, people had
begun to filter into the room and they could no longer talk about it
so Ami made her way back to her desk to wait for class to start.

*********************************************************************

    Convincing the others not to come had been surprisingly easy. Ami
had merely explained to them that having the four of them present for
two Senshi sightings in as many days was too much of a risk to their
identities and that, on the off chance things got out of hand, one of
them should be enough to assist Minako, should she require it. So it
was that the two of them, in Senshi form, were making their quick way
across the rooftops in the direction of Furinkan High School in the
middle of the lunch hour. Though Ami was reluctant to push their luck
at getting back in time for class, Minako had insisted that it would
be the easiest way to find her quarry, already having knowledge of his
school's location from the previous day's excursion.

    It was surprisingly quick work to cross the roof tops to Nerima, a
great deal faster, in fact, than the bus had been and they found
themselves on a building overlooking the school in under ten minutes.
They stopped at that point and both leapt down into the ally next to
the building. After ensuring that there was no-one to see them, Ami
detransformed and Minako used her disguise pen to alter her appearance
back to that of her original Sailor V outfit. She smiled a little,
looking down at herself in an outfit she hadn't used in two years.
Somehow it just seemed appropriate to be finishing this fight in the
outfit she began it in. Besides, despite how much she liked her new
outfit, and she did a good deal, her old one still held a special
place in her heart. That and she thought the cut-off mid-rift looked
really sexy on her. Telling Ami that she would see her soon, she leapt
back up to the top of the building, watching as Ami made her way
across the street and into the school yard, mixing with the students a
bit there. She noticed that Ami got a few odd looks, probably due to
the fact that her uniform was different, but she seemed to know a few
of the people there and quickly started chatting with a couple of boys
Minako had never met before. She wondered briefly if her friend had
been keeping a secret boyfriend from them before dismissing it as
something she would bring up at a later date. Right now, her mind
needed to be focussed on the task at hand.

    Leaping across the distance, she landed lightly on the high,
concrete wall that surrounded the school and began visually sweeping
the area for her foe. It was only moments before her eyes fell on him,
speaking with a rather handsome boy selling what looked like
okonomiyaki. He was fairly close to the wall on which she stood,
though further down it, so she decided to use it for her dramatic
entrance. Running down the wall, she made her way until she was a much
shorter distance from him, within attacking range, and shouted out her
challenge.

    "Ranma Saotome!" She shouted, quickly gaining everyone's attention
in the vacinity. She barely noticed, her eyes only on the young man,
who's own eyes sparkled with recognition and amusement. It still urked
her slightly how he always seemed to find amusement in her entrances,
but they were a tradition that she wasn't willing to break. She would
fight him the way she always did, and it was that way that she'd beat
him. She'd been angry the day before, which is why she attacked so
hastily. This time, she would give him advanced warning, a fair fight,
so she could prove once and for all that she was the better. "For your
crimes of protecting your bastard father from my wraith, and the sin
of insulting me on far too many occasions to count, I'm gonna fucking
take you apart. Prepare yourself, Saotome, this time you're going
down."

    Not stopping to let him speak, she quickly made sure of her
position, seeing that there was no one between them or behind him,
before beginning the fight with her traditional move. "Venus Crescent
Beam!!" The blast of energy shot from her hands, blasting towards the
grinning boy who stood motionless in its wake. Not waiting to see him
dodge it, as she knew he would, Minako leapt towards him, following in
the wake of the attack with a flying sidekick. She saw him dodge to
the side, barely moving as she had expected, and allowing the attack
to dig a long trench in the ground behind him. Following up the
attack, her kick came much closer, forcing him to redirect it to his
right as he dodged even further left. Having counted on this, V
brought her foot to the ground, digging her heel in slightly to stop
her momentum, before using the remainder of it to spin into a
roundhouse kick towards his head. Ranma leaned almost ninety degrees
backward to evade it, before going into a handspring backward to gain
himself some space to breathe. After several handsprings he stopped
far enough back to put himself out of immediate attacking distance and
landed in a ready stance, smiling brightly at her.

    "V-chan!" He said brightly, gaining several surprised looks from
the people in the crowd. They all knew about Ranma's fight with Sailor
Venus the day before but none of them knew that he was so close to the
near-legendary fighter. Sailor V just growled slightly at the pet name
he had insisted on using for her since the day they'd met. Reminding
herself that she had to keep her temper, she visibly calmed, dropping
into a ready stance surprisingly similar to Ranma's and waited for him
to continue. "It's great ta see ya! Here I thought you'd retired or
something. I wouldn't 'a blamed you though, after seeing the losers
that came after you. It must be embarrassing seeing wimps like that
Sailor Venus out there, ruining your good name."

    Minako tried very hard to keep the scowl from her face as Ranma
insulted her other identity and her friends. She couldn't keep it off
completely though, and merely contented herself with knowing that
she'd finally wipe that annoying smirk off of his face and make him
admit that she was the better. "I'm not here to talk, Ranma." She
began, cutting off his opinion of Sailor Venus's fighting skills,
which he graded as slightly better than a trained chimp, before
continuing. "I'm here to fight. Let's go!" She then ran towards him
once more.

*********************************************************************

    As she made her way into the school grounds, Ami was very aware of
the looks she was receiving, no doubt from her uniform, which was a
great deal different from everyone else's. She was beginning to think
this was a really bad idea when she spotted someone she knew, if only
slightly. Or, more to the point, he spotted her and made his way over,
his friend following behind. When he saw that she had seen him, the
boy waved at her and continued making his way to her. She tentatively
waved back and waited for him to reach her. Once he had, he greeted
her in a friendly voice.

    "Hey, how's it going?" Daisuke began, once he had reached her. His
friend, Hiroshi, merely nodded to her from behind him. "Wha'cha doing
here this time of day? And where are your friends?"

    Ami almost felt a moment's panic at the thought of saying why she
was here, but remembered the excuse she had come up with on the way
and stuck to it. "I'm doing good. I'm just here to check out the
school since my mom was thinking of moving us here." She ignored the
bit about her friends, deciding to just change the topic instead. "How
are you two doing?"

    "Oh, we're doing well enough, considering we're at school." He
smiled jokingly at her, showing he wasn't overly serious. He then
seemed to come to a realization and spoke up on it. "You know, I don't
think we really introduced ourselves. I'm Daisuke, this is Hiroshi."
He said, pointing to his fair-haired companion, who smiled at her
before turning his attention back to some girls walking by. Ami
couldn't help but giggle a bit, having already known who they were
since they had mentioned their names the day before.

    "I know," She smiled, "You said that yesterday." Daisuke blushed
embarrassedly and was swatted over the head by Hiroshi, causing Ami to
giggle again before she introduced herself. "I'm Ami, it's nice to
meet you, again. So, what's this school like, anyway?" She asked,
playing her role of visiting student to the hilt.

    "Oh, it's not so bad. There's always good entertainment as Ranma
gets into one fight or another." He smiled a bit, remembering what he
was telling her and her friends the day before and how disbelieving
they were. If she decided to come here, she would definitely start
believing in a real hurry. He was about to say something of the sort
when a shout caught their attentions and all three turned to see
someone standing on the wall near Ranma. "Hey, isn't that that Sailor
chick from yesterday?" He asked nobody in particular.

    "No, that one was wearing a different outfit. That looks like
Sailor V to me." Hiroshi spoke up, staring at the girl yelling at
Ranma.

    Daisuke looked at his friend for a moment before turning back to
the girl on the wall. "Hmm, I think you're right." He seemed to
consider something for a moment and then spoke up again. "Didn't she
retire though?"

    Hiroshi laughed a little before responding. "Looks like she came
out of retirement just to fight Ranma. Wow, two Senshi in two days.
That's impressive, even for him." Suddenly the whole area lit up as
Sailor V fired off a huge blast of energy, which tore up a large
section of the ground after Ranma dodged it in a rather casual manner.
This was followed by a brief confrontation, which proved Ami right in
her theory about Minako's skill. Now that she was well rested and
fighting intelligently her skill level was higher than Ami had ever
seen it. Her speed was phenomenal and the shear skill she was showing
put even Makoto to shame. Yet, her opponent was still able to dodge
around everything she threw at him. It made Ami glad she had once
again set up her computer to scan the fight. She had yet to analyze
the readings she had taken the day before but she knew that between
what she got then and what she was getting now she should be able to
figure out how he did what he did.

    They stopped fighting for a moment and Ranma spoke up for the
first time, shocking all present.

    "V-chan?!?" Was repeated by all three of them incredulously as
even the desensitized boys were surprised by this latest development.
They all stared as Ranma went into a speech about how she should be
ashamed of the people who had replaced her and how he was glad to see
her back in the action again. Despite her normally calm nature, Ami
had to hold her temper as he began speaking badly of her and her
friends. She was brought out of her anger, however, when Hiroshi spoke
up again.

    "Wow, that was unexpected." Daisuke merely nodded as they watched
Sailor V run towards Ranma again for another exchange. "I wonder how
long he's known her. The only one he ever calls by a nickname is Ukyo
and he's been best friends with her since they were, like, six or
something."

    Ami glanced sharply at him for a moment, wondering if perhaps
Ranma didn't hate Minako quite so much as she did him. The evidence
seemed to point that way and she was having trouble coming up with any
other solution. Daisuke spoke up then, adding his two cents to the
topic. "There's gotta be more going on here than we know of. Maybe
they used to date or something."

    Ami had to refrain herself from laughing outloud at that. The
thought of Minako ever willingly dating Ranma, someone she would
sooner kill than talk to, was too ridiculous to picture. She decided
to throw in an opinion, if only to see what they said. "I don't know,
she doesn't seem to like him much. I can't really see them dating."

    Hiroshi smirked a bit at something, though Ami didn't really
understand what was funny about what she had said. He filled her in
quickly though, his eyes never leaving the fight. "Everyone who ever
comes looking for Ranma is pissed at him. They usually get over it.
The girls do, anyway, the guys usually just try to kill him all the
time."

    Daisuke spoke up again then, some amusement in his voice, though
she could sense a little sympathy as well. "It's usually because of
something his father did, though Ranma tends to get blamed."

    "I see." Was all Ami could say at this revelation. She was really
beginning to wonder if Ranma was all that bad a guy. She turned her
mind off of the matter as she set her eyes back on the fight.

*********************************************************************

    Minako jumped back from her latest assault to a decent distance
for a moment's rest. The sweat was dripping down her face and she felt
like she had fought three youma consecutively, but she was still going
strong. Best of all, she was still in total control of her temper.
Neither of them had scored a good hit yet but Minako knew it was
merely a matter of time before she broke through his defenses. She
tried her best not to take note of the fact that he wasn't sweating
nearly as badly as she was. Breathing deeply to settle herself, Minako
threw herself forward as fast as she could, pumping her legs to fly
into Ranma's guard in the hopes of getting to him before he could put
up a defense.

    The effort was for naught as the punch she had set at him was
deftly deflected, followed by him dodging both the following reverse
punch and spinning back-kick. As soon as V had finished her kick, she
was forced to block three punches as well, two mid-level followed by a
high punch. Ducking under Ranma's follow-up roundhouse kick, she
attempted to sweep his leg out from under him, only to have him use
her head as a handy surface to use for a handspring, pushing himself
behind her. She had expected this, however, having seen him do it
before and used her spinning momentum to turn her sweep into a
roundhouse of her own, managing to tag him in the chest for her first
solid hit in the fight. He flew back a ways before bringing himself to
a stop, one hand resting on his chest where she had hit him. Minako
smirked at him, but he only smiled brightly in return, irritating her
with his good cheer.

    "Hey, you've really improved." He said and for the first time
Minako noticed that he'd been surprisingly quiet throughout the entire
match. He had thrown in the odd comment about her stance, or how she
did a kick, but not so much as a single remark about her looks or
anything like that. It was surprising, but she decided not to dwell on
it. She was doing well and didn't want to get distracted by wondering
why he was acting differently. She saw him tense slightly and suddenly
got a very bad feeling. "You've definitely been practicing since the
last time we fought, but now it's time we got serious." He grinned at
her in that boyish way that she always lamented would have been cute
on anyone but him and ran straight for her, faster than even she had
been earlier. She quickly threw up her defense and was able to block
most of the incoming punches and kicks though several still made it
through her defenses.

    Ranma then pulled back a bit, giving her breathing room, before
darting in once more to land a few hits on her. This when on for quite
some time as he led her around the school yard in a seeming random
pattern, merely darting in and out, never letting her get up a decent
defense. Though the hits were never terribly hard, it was wearing
Minako down rapidly as she was unable to take a moment to regain her
breath. All the time, that infuriating grin was plastered on Ranma's
face, nearly driving all her work to keep her temper out the window.
She did manage to hold it though, refusing to give him that small
victory even if is looked like he'd win the fight. He stepped back for
a moment once more, giving her a bit of room for a moment before
flying in again, throwing several quick punches at her head and chest.
Rather than trying to block or dodge the punches, knowing they were
too fast for either, V tried, instead, to back up quickly to escape,
never noticing the slight ledge behind her foot. Tripped up, she began
to fall backwards and closed her eyes, expecting a painful crash. What
she wasn't expecting was to stop suddenly, almost horizontal over the
ground. Looking up to see what had stopped her, Minako almost stopped
breathing at the sight that reached her.

    Ranma stood above her, one hand on her shoulder, the other on her
lower back, holding her fast. She could feel his body pressed up
against hers and couldn't help but notice how warm it felt, how
pleasant. Looking at his face, which was so close that their noses
almost touched, she almost got lost in his blue eyes, the feeling of
his breath on her face causing her heart to beat faster and a pretty
blush to form on her face. His grin was gone now, in it's place a
serious look as he stared straight into her eyes. When he spoke, she
felt a shiver run down her spine, though she was hard pressed to tell
if it was from anger or lust. "Admit it," he said in a soft, sensual
voice. "You missed me."

    Minako was having difficulty breathing at all at that point, let
alone answering when suddenly his mouth quirked up into his grin once
more and she suddenly got a very bad feeling. Ranma quickly reached
his face up and kissed her on the tip of the nose, causing her eyes to
widen and the blush to increase on her face, before whispering one
more thing.

    "Bye." And then she felt the hands leave her back and only had a
moment to realize he had let go of her before she began falling again.
She got one glance of him turning and heading for the wall before she
hit the surface of the pool she had been standing in front of. Quickly
breaking the surface she sputtered in anger and embarrassment for a
moment before screaming in anger and hauling herself out. Getting to
her feet, she rushed in the direction she had seen Ranma go and
quickly leapt over the wall before her.

*********************************************************************

    Ranma was laughing internally as she stood on the other side of
the school wall, slightly damp from the puddle she had used to change
her gender. She made sure to keep a straight face, however, as she
waited for Sailor V to follow her. She didn't have to wait long,
however, as V soon leapt over the wall Ranma was now leaning against
and looked around for any sight of her, or him, as Sailor V believed.
She could barely hold in her laughter at seeing her frustrated look.
Sometimes having the curse was a good thing, she had never gotten to
see the expressions on V-chan's face after she got away from her
before.

    V quickly noticed Ranma standing there and turned towards her with
a slightly frenzied look on her face. Seeing the masked girl moving
towards her, Ranma tried to look as if she was surprised. V quickly
reached her and asked her where the black-haired boy had gone.

    "You mean Ranma?" Ranma asked as innocently as she could manage,
bubbling with laughter on the inside. "He barely touched down before
he was on the roofs. I wouldn't be surprised if he was halfway across
town by now."

    Sailor V gave a frustrated growl before jumping up on the
indicated roof and looking around. Not seeing her prey anywhere, she
screamed in frustration and jumped back down. She tried valiantly to
hold back her angry tears but she couldn't help but let them out a bit
as she banged her fist into the ground, imbedding it in the concrete.
Ranma was no longer laughing now but was getting a little worried. She
wasn't supposed to be this upset, she wasn't usually. She certainly
wasn't supposed to be crying. She was supposed to be cursing at him
and yelling about how she would get him the next time they met and
other such things. She wasn't sure why V-chan was so upset, but she
really didn't like it.

    "Hey, what's wrong?" Ranma asked in a slightly worried voice,
trying to keep the panic from showing. She really didn't deal with
tears well. "It was just a stupid fight, right? I mean, who cares if
you lost to Ranma. Everyone does."

    Sailor V turned towards Ranma, tears streaming down her face as
she regarded the shorter girl in front of her. She shook her head,
trying, to no avail, to wipe the tears away but they kept coming. "You
don't understand." She choked out. "I tried so hard this time. I....I
thought I'd finally get him." With a last sob she managed to get
herself together enough to stop crying as badly, shakily standing and
looking sadly at the girl in front of her. "If I could just beat him,
just once, I could forget about that bastard forever."

    Ranma's eyes widened slightly at that, her breath shortening as
she struggled to say something in reply. "He.......he can't be that
bad.......can he? I mean, he's.......he's always seemed nice enough to
me." She put a hopeful look on her face, praying that she had merely
misheard her friend when she spoke so badly of him. They were friends,
right? They always had been. Sure, Ranma liked to tease her a bit, and
goading her on in a fight was always fun, but that was just it, it was
all part of the fun.

    "You don't know him like I do. He's the meanest, most spiteful
bastard I've ever met." She shuddered a bit and Ranma wondered f the
mere thought of her was that distasteful. "He spent months torturing
me. I hate him so much. If I could just beat him once........" She
trailed off, her fist clenched as she thought about ways to defeat the
bain of her existence. After a moment she seemed to remember where she
was, looking back up to see Ranma staring at her with a slightly wide-
eyed expression. "Look, I gotta go. Thanks for listening."

    Ranma simply nodded, too stunned by her revelation to say
anything, and watched as one of the only friends she had left
disappeared over the rooftops and out of her life, joining the ranks
of people who hated her. She couldn't help but realize that for once
it was completely her fault as she had pushed her V-chan to such a
position with what she thought was harmless fun. She barely noticed
the few tears that made it down her face as she realized that she
truly had no friends left.



To Be Continued.........

Author's Note: Wow, that was really, really long. Ended it on a bit of
a downer too, but it'll get better.........probably, anyway.^_^;;
I don't really have much to say on this one except don't expect them
all to be this long, I just had a lot of ground to cover. I didn't
expect it to go this long, but I had the end worked out and didn't
want to stop till I reached it.
As usual, C&C is welcome, encouraged and heavily appreciated. It can
be sent to either my email at ranikkoku@hotmail.com or leave a message
on the guestbook of my website at www.geocities.com/ranikkoku
Thank for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.
Bob Lobster