"I guess changing Ucchan's mind like that was a big feat," Ranma allowed as she idly cleaned her glasses.

 

Nodoka nodded and then sighed. "It was also another case of my husband making well-intentioned efforts that are snarled by the caliber of his... associates. It's a shame that his actions ended up making that poor girl's delusions worse, but what could he do?"

 

"Ukyo does sound like a moody girl," Hotaru agreed as she studied the older woman's face. The thoughtful intensity Nodoka had was... disturbing.

 

"Did you talk to Mr. Tendo?" Ranma asked as she replaced her glasses. She wanted to move the conversation away from Ukyo. That well had gone dry.

 

"Yes, it was impressive. He managed to keep his story up."

 

"Story? So you know he's hiding something? About your husband?" Ranma asked with a bit of shock.

 

"Of course he's hiding something," Nodoka had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. "I'm sure Soun did something wrong and my husband is trying to fix his mess... again."

 

"Sorry Aunty, but this time Genma's in it as much Soun and Nabiki are," Ranma countered.

 

"Genma's always joined Soun in one crazy idea or the other, doing his best to keep Soun out of trouble. He would do his upmost to... minimize the damage."

 

Ranma turned her head. That excuse would almost work, if not for what those three had done for Mr. Huang. "No Aunty, not this time. I was there - it's part of why I left."

 

"Oh?" Nodoka asked. "You're saying my husband took the initiative on-" she looked to Hotaru. "-events?"

 

"Well... not really. Soun and Nabiki were more advanced, but he wasn't just going along with things."

 

"I'll have to talk with my husband to sort that out," Nodoka said stiffly.

 

"Because you can't trust Mr. Tendo," Hotaru noted.

 

"I see how this goes," Ranma smirked at her mother. "You're being logical. You need evidence."

 

"Is that so wrong to ask for?" Nodoka asked.

 

"Not at all," Hotaru said in a distant voice as she swiveled her head and stared at Nodoka. "But you are keeping things discrete, right?" Her hands clenched. "No one knows that you've been having these meetings, correct?"

 

Nodoka looked at the little girl for a long time. For a brief moment she appeared much older than normal. "No, of course not. Confidentiality is critical to both my professional and... personal life."

 

As silence enveloped the three, Ranma pondered the events that had led her to where she was and tried to guess at what rationalizations that Nodoka could come up with. to explain them. Without a doubt, she could sit there and cite example after example of Genma's misdeeds all afternoon and Nodoka would find a way to rationalize why they happened the way they did. Sitting back and resting against the back of the bench, Ranma absently continued to rub Hotaru's back and tried to think of a way to convince her estranged mother that not all was how she saw it.

 

"What kind of evidence would you need?" Ranma asked carefully. "The police are investigating, what would you do if Genma was caught in it?"

 

"Then I would have to ask the officer in charge what kind of evidence they had," Nodoka answered. "I'm sure that any possible indictment of my husband would not go very far. Police will need a lot of evidence before they even begin to make an arrest, especially given Soun's position on the town council." Nodoka paused and frowned.

 

Ranma sat and pondered.

 

"Evidence," Ranma mentally concluded. "She needs overwhelming evidence."

 

"You know that Genma has been hiding from you," Ranma announced suddenly.

 

"I gathered as much from Soun's demeanor," Nodoka said thoughtfully.

 

Ranma blinked. Once again her mother had thrown her a curveball. "So you... know?"

 

"Your employer is encouraging this investigation is she not?" Nodoka asked.

 

"Well yeah. They've been building the case for a couple weeks."

 

The older woman's shoulders sagged. "Then it's obvious, my husband has distanced himself with our son of course. Once again I worry."

 

"Huh?"

 

"As I said, the police do not work against shadows, they will only arrest when they are sure they will get a confession or enough evidence to get a conviction without." Nodoka's hands nervously tapped her briefcase.

 

"You're worried? You know Genma's a crook!"

 

Nodoka turned her eyes and glared at the younger redhead. "What I know is that the police are eagerly investigating a minor politician with a colored past. A small fish that happens to be a close friend of my overly-trusting husband. Yes, I'm worried."

 

"He sounds like a bad man to me," Hotaru noted.

 

Nodoka smiled weakly. "My husband should cooperate, I hope he has the sense to, and that is why he is hiding, not just from me, but from Soun."

 

"You... you think he's testifying to the police against Soun?" Ranma asked the disbelieve dripping on her voice.

 

"I know, one finds it hard to believe, but we both know sometimes... people will hold secrets, even from those they're closest to."

 

Ranma looked to Hotaru and coughed. "You can't... would he betray... no Genma's part of this."

 

"I know you don't think much of my husband, but he is a survivor. He will make it through this." Nodoka's eyes flickered down briefly. "Any way he can." She reached out and patted Ranma's hand. "He raised my son, and you know how adaptive and strong he is."

 

"It just seems... unbelievable," Ranma flatly said.

 

"Yes, but as I said, the police would have stopped by now if there wasn't something there. I'm as aghast as you." Nodoka squeezed Ranma's hand. "I thought Soun was one of Genma's better friends, and now what... those poor girls of his."

 

"So now you think Soun's some criminal mastermind?"

 

Nodoka snickered then burst into laughter. "Oh my, no," she said once she regained some composure. "You don't need to be smart to break the law. No, if there is something to this case, I'm sure Soun's a patsy. He always was, but he still should have known better."

 

Ranma blinked. That sounded exactly like what Huang had done. He was the mastermind and Soun, Genma, and Nabiki were all taken in. "That's... perceptive," Ranma allowed.

 

"It's just looking at the evidence, logically."

 

"Right," Ranma sadly remarked. "What if... what if Genma wasn't being honorable here? What if he was... misguided? Maybe he took your son and ran? What if he's protecting Soun, it is noble to stick with a friend no matter what."

 

Nodoka sighed. "You don't think that hasn't entered my mind? I know my husband." The older woman frowned. "He'll do what he thinks is best."

 

Pity grew in Ranma. "I didn't mean..." She paused and the sympathy for her father vanished. "No, I did. Look, you know he's not perfect. If he gets convicted? Will that be the evidence you need?"

 

"That won't happen, and even... even if it did, what will it prove?" Nodoka shook her head in disbelief. "Assuming it's on the level and that he's not making some noble sacrifice... again. That all the slanders about him are true? It'll prove that I've married a fraud, a con man. That I've been making excuses for him; that I've been covering him; that I've been fooled by him; that I've been his longest running mark?" She laughed sharply, but Ranma noticed her eyes dart about. Nodoka picked up her briefcase, stood and smoothed her coat.

 

"Well... not.. not like that," Ranma demurred.

 

"It can't be that way," Nodoka said her voice once again pleasant, even slightly amused. "You'll see, my husband is doing the right thing."

 

The older women glanced at her watch and stood up. "Dear me, I really must be going." She warmly smiled at Hotaru and Ranma. "It was lovely meeting you, see you both later."

 

"Uh bye, it was good seeing you too," Ranma said, a bit awkwardly.

 

Hotaru watched the older woman walk away. "So what's with your... Aunty? She knows her husband's a bad man, right?" she asked once Nodoka was out of earshot.

 

"I don't know, I really don't." Ranma admitted.

 

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The multistory mall was packed and rivers of shoppers, mostly teens, moved from one store to the next. From the third floor, Ranma hugged the rail and looked down into the open spaces that were formed by a courtyard of sorts all the way down to the ground floor. She was eyeing the lingerie shop that was shoehorned between a shoe store and a upscale dress shop.

 

Looking like any other school-girl on a Saturday afternoon, Ranma blended in the with crowd and watched the top of the head of one person in particular as she stood in front of a lingerie store and looked at the goods on display. Ranma stood and watched as Akane entered the shop with little hesitation.

 

Sighing softly to herself, Ranma looked about the surrounding crowds around on her level and the crowd directly below her, making doubly sure that Akane wasn't followed. A face in the crowd proved otherwise.

 

"Damn," Ranma swore to herself as she spied Nabiki just below were she was standing. Eyes narrowing, she watched as Nabiki placed what looked like a PDA type of device back into her purse. Lips firming, Ranma fought the surprising urge to leap down to the floor below and beat the living crap out of the one Tendo who had screwed her life up more than her father was capable of doing. Taking a controlled, calming breath, Ranma instead opted for a safer tack.

 

"Can't get rid of her without giving myself away. Damn," Ranma thought as her eyes darted about. "Gotta go with plan B."

 

Moving away from the railing, Ranma mingled with the crowd and flowed along with it - and froze. On the same floor, across from where she was standing, Ranma spied a shock of purple hair.

 

"Just great," she swore to herself. "Nabiki follows Akane, and Shampoo follows Nabiki."

 

Thankfully the Chinese Amazon was so intent on watching Nabiki that she failed to notice everyone else around her. Slipping back into the crowd, Ranma continued on until she reached the escalators. After making sure she was out of sight of Nabiki and Shampoo, she rode to the ground floor. Once there, Ranma then proceeded to the ladies room and instead of entering, passed through double doors marked "Authorized Personnel Only" and followed the slightly twisting service hallway.

 

Eventually, she ended up in front of a door with stacks of boxes on either side. The door was marked with the name of the lingerie store. Stealthfully she tried the door and, as expected, it was locked.

 

Sighing, she sized up the door like an opponent. "There's no other way," she concluded as she clenched her fist and drew it back, pausing to gather her strength, her fist shot forward and knocked on the door loudly.

 

After a short wait, an older, tall and slender saleswoman answered. "Yes? Wha- You're not supposed to be here, this is for mall employees only," she scolded the redhead.

 

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Ranma politely said in false ignorance while laying on the charm. "But I got turned around when I went to use the ladies room and now I'm really, really lost. Can you help me please?"

 

The saleswoman regarded the demure young woman with a curious eye before softening. "All right, just this once. Next time pay better attention to where you're at and where you're going," she scolded.

 

The saleswoman led Ranma through the back of the store, past the counter and onto the sales floor. "Thank you so much," Ranma said politely as she bowed to her savior.

 

The woman gave a noncommittal grunt and went to tend to a customer. Ranma ignored the frilly underthings for sale and headed toward a rack of bras off to one side, near the back. Standing there was one of the few people from her old life she could trust.

 

"Hey Akane!" She called out.

 

"Ranma!" Akane replied with a slight grin. "What took you? I was beginning to wonder."

 

"You were followed," Ranma said as she flipped though the rack of lacy bras for the sake of appearances; they were all too small for her. "I had to get in through the back."

 

"I was?" Akane asked, clearly surprised. "But I was so careful."

 

"I'm sure your were," Ranma said offhandedly. "I noticed that Shampoo was not following you, but trailing Nabiki. I think she put something on you to follow you; I saw her looking at some electronic thingy."

 

Akane blinked a few times, as she thought. "I can't see how..." then her voice trailed off.

 

Ranma noticed this. "Akane? What's up?"

 

Akane began to dig through her purse and produced a compact. "I knew I should have asked her why she gave this back to me," Akane exclaimed. "She never gives anything back that she steals."

 

Both girls examined the compact carefully. "I don't see anything special about it," Ranma said.

 

"Doesn't matter," Akane said. "As small as they make those things now-a-days, it could be fitted into the hinge."

 

"What are you going to do?"

 

"I'm going to get rid of it, that's what," Akane said sharply. "And then I'm going to have some words with my 'dear sister'."

 

"Wait," Ranma said as she took the compact from Akane. "Let's keep this quiet - okay?"

 

"Ranma?"

 

"No - listen, let's use this to lose Nabiki and Shampoo and when Nabiki asks you about your compact just tell her that you lost it while shopping," Ranma explained.

 

"But why?" Akane asked, somewhat frustrated.

 

"The more you let on that you know what's going on, the more pressure your sister and our fathers will put on you. Stay aware, but don't let on what you really know," Ranma firmly said. "Do you understand?"

 

Akane opened her mouth to say something but ended up just nodding.

 

"Okay, give me a minute," the redhead said as she slipped away from Akane and pretended to look at some garter belts. She eased behind a group of giggling teenage girls and surreptitiously slipped Akane's compact into one of the group's shopping bags. She then worked her way back to where Akane was waiting.

 

"What did you do?" Akane asked.

 

"Just making sure that we'll have the chance to get away," Ranma asked distractedly. She was watching the gaggle of girls gather up their shopping bags and head for the door.

 

"C'mon, let's see if this is going to work."

 

Carefully watching, Ranma pointed out to where Nabiki was standing on the next floor up. She looked rather bored and out of place as she obviously eyed the shop that Akane had entered. Ranma and Akane waited as the minutes ticked by.

 

"You'll think she'll ever leave?" Ranma hissed. She was determined to tell Akane everything today, no matter the interruptions.

 

"You know Nabiki when it comes to money..."

 

"C'mon Nabiki, check that thing-ama-jig," Ranma urged, even though there was no way for Nabiki to hear.

 

However, as if on cue, Nabiki reached into her purse and took out the device that Ranma spied earlier and looked at it. The surprised look on her face was priceless and she tried to quickly move through the thick crowd in the direction that the group of girls had moved off to. Akane made a move to the entrance of the shop, only to be stopped by Ranma's hand on her shoulder.

 

"Wha- I thought you wanted to get away," Akane exclaimed.

 

"I do. I'm just giving Shampoo time to keep up with your sister," Ranma replied.

 

A few moments later, both girls were at the opposite end of the mall, in a small boutique that sold cosplay costumes and accessories. The air was filled with an odd mixture of flowery perfume and latex; so much so that it stung Ranma's nose. Akane drifted midway into the store and looked at Ranma as she stared into the heart of the mall.

 

"You think we lost them?" she asked.

 

Nodding, Ranma turned to face Akane. "Yes, but it would be a good idea to get out of the mall all together."

 

Akane nodded in agreement.

 

"And Akane... er," Ranma stammered a bit, before finding her backbone. "We need to talk."

 

Soon the pair were crossing a windy street, heading away from the mall and the threat of discovery on Ranma's part. In mid crossing, the wind was such that both girls felt the need to hold down their skirts to keep them from billowing upward. Though the action was automatic, Akane noted that Ranma seemed to be more responsive in preserving her modesty than she was just a few short eight months ago. The hint at something more that was happening with her ex-fiancee surfaced, only to be pushed aside as another gust of wind threatened to expose more than she wanted.

 

Threading their way through the busy sidewalks, Ranma led Akane to a small cafe with an Italian theme. Once inside the noisy cafe, both had to pause at the door to allow their eyes to adjust to the dim interior. The smell of Italian spices and cheeses teased their senses, making their faint hunger grow into something substantial. Ranma took Akane by the hand and together they wormed their way to the back of the cafe, there they found and claimed a booth that was the furthest from the door. The lack of windows made Ranma feel more secure against being spotted, but also cut off possible avenues of escape if she was.

 

Relaxing into opposite sides of a U-shaped booth, Akane watched as Ranma removed a compact from her purse and straightened the few stray locks of curled hair that had become dislodged. After satisfying herself that everything was back in place she neatly closed the compact and replaced it into her purse.

 

Akane was studying Ranma's movements, as she had been doing over the last several months, and couldn't help but notice the changes in her ex-fiancee; Ranma's behavior had become less forced and more... natural. Ever since the kimono store Ranma had seemed... well, like one of the girls.

 

It was the little things like this that made her ill at ease; it was getting harder for her to see the boy that she once knew in the girl in front of her now. As it stood she had known the girl longer than the boy.

 

"I'm sorry this place is no Green Mountain," Ranma said as she rummaged through her purse.

 

"It's okay, really." Akane shook her head. "So," Akane began, shaking herself from her observations. "What do you want to talk about?"

 

Ranma started to look real uncomfortable for a moment, before firming her lips up. "It's about... us."

 

It was as if the din in the cafe had disappeared as both young women stared at one another. Akane had expected this and knew Ranma was driving at, but waited for the redhead to continue. When Ranma was not forthcoming, she prompted. "What about us?"

 

Ranma hesitated. In her mind she had rehearsed what she was going to say and how she was going to say it a dozen times. Now faced with the reality of actually speaking with Akane, Ranma found herself emotionally floundering.

 

"I got to do this," she mentally scolded herself. "I can't string Akane along like this... it isn't right."

 

"Akane, a lot has changed in the last-" but before she could continue, a waitress came up and interrupted.

 

"Hello, my name is Hitomi, I'll be your server today," the college-age woman said in a slightly robotic way. "Can I start you girls out with anything to drink or some appetizers?"

 

"Umm...," Ranma verbally staggered before finding her mental footing. "Yes. Two cokes and some breadsticks please," she managed out smoothly, looking up at the waitress. She then focused on the girl seated across from her. "How hungry are you?"

 

Akane blinked, then shrugged. "I haven't really eaten today," she replied. "I left early to get away from my sister... so I skipped breakfast."

 

"Okay," Ranma said merrily before looking up at the waitress again. "Two lasagnas - trust me Akane, you're going to love it - and could we have the breadsticks first?"

 

"Yes ma'am," the waitress replied as she jotted down the order. "I'll be right back with your drinks and breadsticks."

 

Alone again, Ranma sighed and refocused on the task at hand. God, she hated herself.

 

"Akane.. you're my friend - probably the best friend I've ever had," Ranma stated in a careful way that tried to cover for her fraying nerves. "I need to tell you something."

 

"Okay," Akane stated, hesitantly. The word 'friend' stood out in Akane's mind. Ranma was going to say it.

 

Ranma sighed heavily as she looked down as the table top. "Akane..."

 

"Yes?" Akane ventured, feeling a bit uneasy at Ranma's hesitance. The suspense was killing her. Though young, she had recognized the signs a while ago and knew that this was coming.

 

"Akane, have you ever thought of what would happen after... well, if our fathers were ever successful at getting us married?"

 

Akane blinked at the question, then batted in around a bit in her head. "Yes," she finally answered.

 

"Did you see anything good coming from it? Keep in mind how our fathers are," Ranma pointed out.

 

"I would - I would have liked to think that things would have worked out, but after the stunt that Nabiki pulled... not to mention the stunts your father pulled," she paused and look away, into the main part of the cafe. "And how you have changed... I don't know what to believe anymore." She wished Ranma would stop beating around the bush, but let her friend do it. Obviously, Ranma needed this.

 

Relieved a bit that Akane had not gone ballistic, Ranma schooled herself. She was about to go on, but stopped as the waitress brought out their drinks and breadsticks. Waiting until after the waitress was gone, Ranma idly picked up a breadstick and took a bite. Sizing up Akane, Ranma noted the almost bored and impatient look on her face.

 

"Akane, I... care about you," Ranma then paused. "No, I love you - but only as a friend. Between your dad and my dad's stupidity, I don't think it would've ever worked out. Hell, I'll go as far as saying that I didn't think we would've ever really had a chance."

 

Numbly, Akane nodded. Though she knew that Ranma was echoing her own thoughts, it was still hard to hear it aloud. The blow was softened by the months of separation. They had met often during that time, but it was like two girlfriends getting together than... possible lovers. She had even started to think of Ranma as her ex-fiance.

 

Ranma's words came as and expected relief. than Akane knew things were never going to be the same again. She sat there in silence for a moment, regarding the - woman - in front of her. "So... what now?" She asked plainly.

 

"I would like to have you as a friend Akane," Ranma said as she offered a breadstick to her. She was much relieved when Akane accepted and even took a bite. "I don't have too many friends... friends that know me as well as you do. I could really use more in my life and I thought maybe... you wouldn't mind?"

 

Swallowing her bite of breadstick, Akane paused to take a long sip of her drink. This gave her time to think of how to respond. "I think... I saw this coming Ranma," she finally said. "I mean, like you said, a lot has changed."

 

Ranma remained silent.

 

"When you started acting this way - like a... girl," Akane fumbled about, "it was just that: An act. Now you're..." she broke off and stared at the breadstick in her hand for a moment.

 

Ranma, having learned patience from dealing with Hotaru, waited quietly for Akane to gather her thoughts.

 

"It's like the act isn't an act anymore," Akane finally continued. "It's like you were never really a boy."

 

Lost on how to respond, Ranma stared at the dark blue-haired girl. Seconds ticked by as she tried to think of what to say; more importantly how she felt. "I know," Ranma said softly. "I don't know when it happened... it just seemed to."

 

A silence fell between the two, it was neither an awkward or comfortable one.

 

"So... are you a girl now?" Akane asked from across the table.

 

"I...," Ranma began, only to stop. Seconds dragged onto minutes before Akane prompted.

 

"Ranma?"

 

"I know I'm more comfortable like I am," Ranma conceded, then paused. "I don't know if the curse has anything to do with it - but I'm happier and more in control of my life than I ever had been. It may be a coincidence... I don't know..." Ranma voice drifted off before picking up again. "I can't see myself as a total girl, though - I mean, I can't think of guys in 'that way'."

 

Internally, Akane found some sense of relief in that last statement. "So, how do you see yourself?"

 

Ranma scrunched up her face as she wore a look of thoughtfulness, the look made her look adorable. After several seconds, Ranma replied. "I haven't exactly figured that out myself - yet. But it'll come to me in time."

 

Silence fell between the two. It was like neither one really wanted to know what the real answer to that question was.

 

"I'm sure... I'm sure it will," Akane sighed, sadly.

 

Ranma blushed. "I'm sorry, but..."

 

"No I'm not mad at you. You've changed. We've changed. You're right. I think of you as a girl too." Akane chewed her lip.

 

"What then?"

 

"I've been seeing policemen," Akane remarked. "I think so at least. There have been strange vans parked around. Kasumi says that there are rumors of a suspected spy ring with all the questions the neighbors are being asked."

 

"I bet Nabiki's crawling up the walls," Ranma smirked.

 

"Are you kidding? She can't see anything other than the carrot Huang's dangling in front of her nose." Akane smirked. People seemed to overestimate Nabiki's initiative, her older sister was actually quite lazy, especially about things she didn't think were important.

 

"So what's the matter? Huang and this mess will be cleared up."

 

"Yeah? And you can come back?" Akane laughed. "After Daddy and Nabiki and your father are... what in jail? Fined? What do you think will happen? You don't need to come back; you don't need any of us. Do you get it? You won. You're free!"

 

Ranma frowned. "You're jealous?"

 

"Of course. You have it made: this perfect job, plenty of money, great friends, your art, even a pretty fashion sense."

 

"But my mother. I never..."

 

"Wow, so worst case scenario you lose her, and only have dim childhood memories to remember her by." Akane scowled. "Join the club."

 

"I didn't," Ranma slumped back and held her hand over her eyes. "I'm sorry... I've been selfish."

 

"Least there's a tiny bit of that macho jerk still under all those curls," Akane gently teased. She scooted around the curvature of the booth until she was next to Ranma.

"It's not your fault," she reassured with a hug. "You've only done what you had too."

 

Ranma blinked away some tears before pulling her hand away.

 

"I'm not saying you should have stayed, or that you shouldn't have called the cops." Akane sighed. "It's just... I sometimes wish I had gone with you, or just left at all."

 

"Don't feel guilty," Ranma said hugging her friend back. "Where would I be without my tomboy friend?"

 

"You'd probably be feminized by your other two friends?" Akane smirked as she slid back to her end of the table.

 

"I'm the one growing out a nice perm," Ranma reminded as she ate her breadstick.

 

"True," Akane paused. "So how's things with Kimiko? Did you get some ex-girlfriends to talk with her about him?"

 

"Yes, we did," Ranma chuckled. "She seems to have cooled on him, but..."

 

"He's a smooth talker?"

 

"Even girls can be dumb."

 

"Here you go," Hitomi suddenly said, announcing the arrival of their food. The waitress placed a plate in front of each girl and refreshed the drinks. "Will there be anything else?"

 

"No... no thank you," Ranma said. "I think we'll be fine for a while."

 

"This is... lasagna?" Akane asked while studying the concoction in front of her.

 

"It's good... trust me," Ranma said as she cut herself a piece off and plopped it in her mouth.

 

"I'm surprised to hear that Shampoo was following Nabiki," Akane said quietly while examining her plate. The food was interesting and smelled good. "I've only seen her and her grandmother a few times after you left... now it seems that Cologne and Mousse have disappeared all together."

 

"Really?" Ranma said as she cut off a bite of her lasagna. It was nowhere near what Setsuna had treated her too, but it would do.

 

"Yes, I'm not sure what's going on – I've been avoiding the Cat Cafe since you left, but my friends at school that still go there told me something about Shampoo being left behind or something," Akane explained while copying Ranma's actions.

 

Ranma thought while chewing. "I'm surprised..." she said after finishing.

 

"Yes," Akane paused to sip at her soda; the lasagna was unexpectedly good. "I was really expecting them to make more of a pest of themselves, but they haven't even bothered me at all."

 

"Maybe they have and you never realized it," Ranma pointed out. "Did you ever wake up with your hair feeling oddly refreshed?"

 

Frowning, Akane was deep in thought, exploring her memories. "I... don't...," she paused a moment. "I'm not really sure," she admitted. "But I see what you mean."

 

Taking a sip of her own drink, Ranma absently nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if they'd questioned you while you were asleep," she commented. "All you really know is a phone number." Then it was Ranma's turn to pause in thought. "You know, I'm surprised that they didn't kidnap you and then call my number to draw me out."

 

Akane blinked at that. Kidnapping would be right up the Amazon's alley and was something that they were prone to do. She sat and puzzled over the fact that they hadn't tried that. "It is... odd," Akane admitted.

 

"What do you make of what your friends told you?" Ranma asked suddenly.

 

With firm lips, Akane though for a moment. "I think that Cologne and Mousse are either still looking for you or went back to China."

 

"What makes you think that they went back to China?"

 

"I don't know," Akane replied with a shrug. "All I know that no one has seen either one in about a month or more."

 

"Then why leave Shampoo behind?" mused Ranma aloud.

 

"Who knows?" Akane said somewhat irritably. "They never really played with a full deck – if you know what I mean; the Amazons never had the same rules as the rest of the world."

 

Nodding in agreement, Ranma said, "I'll be happy as long as I don't ever have to mess with them and their crazy laws ever again."

 

A creepy feeling passed over Ranma. "You know... outside of you and my mom, I haven't run across anyone that I knew from Nerima... I mean, I haven't even seen Ryoga."

 

"Ryoga," Akane spat. "Don't even mention him."

 

Rearing back in her seat at the tone in Akane's voice, Ranma stared back at Akane. "What... happened?"

 

"I found out that Ryoga was P-chan," Akane said darkly as she picked at her lasagna. "And after confronting him he had the gall to try and blame you for it."

 

"Er... imagine that," Ranma muttered.

 

"Yes, he said you did it to him and then covered it up," Akane scoffed.

 

"That's a lie; he tried it on me too," Ranma grumbled.

 

"Well, I sent him packing to Akari's."

 

"Who?"

 

"Oh.. yeah, you were gone when that happened," Akane said after taking another bite of lasagna; it tasted really good. "It's a long story, but Akari is a pig farmer that raises sumo-wrestling pigs..."

 

"Sumo... wrestling... pigs... ?" Ranma drawled out incredulously.

 

"No more weirder than Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, or Martial Arts Tea Ceremony," Akane pointed out.

 

"Right," Ranma agreed. "So what happened?"

 

"Well, Akari's grandfather told her to marry a strong man," Akane explained. "So she sent her Sumo pig out to beat up a bunch of men to find one and - well, Ryoga beat her prize pig in a fight and because of that, she fell in love with him-"

 

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ranma roared before covering her mouth, bringing her laughter down to tolerable levels. The other patrons glared at the redhead for disturbing their meals. "Sorry..." she wheezed out while waving her hands around as a form of apology. "It's just good to hear someone else being chased by a girl for a stupid reason."

 

Akane waited patiently for Ranma to stop giggling and had to stop herself a few times from joining her. The humor was infectious and the mirthful look in Ranma's eyes wasn't helping.

 

"Anyway," Akane continued with a roll of her eyes; this was too much like talking to her girlfriends back home. "They've had an on-again, off-again relationship. Well Akari is a sweet girl and she was determined to win that jerk Ryoga over."

 

"So now he's got girls after him and has stupid crap to deal with?" Ranma smiled; it was fun to hear gossip, especially when this nonsense was no longer happening to her.

 

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"Ranma, I'm going to be back later than usual today," Setsuna informed Ranma.

 

"Oh?" Ranma asked as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes. "Is there anything the matter?"

 

"Not really," the green-hair woman replied. "I have to go to the Tokyo Bay Observatory to watch the solar eclipse."

 

"Can I go?" Hotaru asked, her voice laced with excitement, as she helped Ranma with the dishes. It was a full eclipse, and she really wanted to see it, but her teachers were not about to let their students out for a mere celestial event.

 

"You have school," Setsuna replied with a gentle smile.

 

"It's only one day," Hotaru half-whined.

 

"C'mon squirt," Ranma said. "There will be other times."

 

"Oh poop," Hotaru said as she followed Ranma into the kitchen. "It's not fair."

 

"Well, life's not fair; believe me, I know that first hand," Ranma commented as she placed the dirty dishes into the sink for later washing. "You get use to it after a while."

 

Inside, Ranma wished that she could do something for Hotaru; the little girl had been looking so forward to it.

 

"I'm going to miss it too," Ranma lamented to herself. Not that she was interested in the eclipse at first, but after hearing Hotaru's excited descriptions of what an eclipse was, she made it sound like it was going to be a wondrous sight to behold.

 

"At least we'll get to see it on the news tonight," Ranma offered.

 

"It's not the same," Hotaru replied.

 

"I know. I'm sorry," Ranma said sincerely. "But we both have school... maybe something else interesting will happen to make up for it."

 

"I hope so."

 

Ranma regarded her charge for a few heartbeats. The disappointed look on Hotaru's was touching; Ranma knew she couldn't let Hotaru feel down.

 

"Tell you what," Ranma said with a grin, "how about I start you on the basics of ki manipulation when we get home tonight?"

 

Eyes alight, Hotaru looked up at her nanny. "You will?" She asked, thrilled.

 

"Sure," Ranma replied as she draped an arm across the smaller girl, leading them to the living room. "You've been working hard, it about time to notch up your training a bit."

 

"Will I be able throw those cool balls of ki like you can?"

 

"Er... giving time... and practice - yeah," Ranma responded. "But first-"

 

"I know: The basics," Hotaru interrupted. Ranma was always obsessed with making sure Hotaru had the basics down on anything that she taught her. Though Hotaru knew she needed to start with the fundamentals, she was always eager to jump ahead.

 

"Right," Ranma agreed heartily.

 

Returning to the living room, Ranma addressed her employer and good friend. "Would you like me to have dinner ready at a certain time?" Ranma asked Setsuna.

 

"No, that won't be necessary," the green-haired women replied as she headed for the door. "You two eat without me, I'll grab something to eat while I'm out."

 

Sharing a look, Ranma's heart skipped a beat. Setsuna seemed to hesitate also, as if there was something else she wanted to say. "I'll see both of you tonight," Setsuna finally said at the door.

 

"Bye Momma," Hotaru said as she ran up and gave a hug for good measure.

 

Setsuna smiled down at her daughter before looking up at Ranma. Though there was a connection that had been building between the two over the course of the last few weeks, Setsuna had been reluctant to really get too involved with her nanny. Ranma had quite enough on her plate without anymore needless complications.

 

"See you tonight," Setsuna settled for a goodbye.

 

Ranma merely smiled and nodded in reply. Life and emotions were getting frighteningly confusing. As the door closed behind the green-haired woman, Ranma pushed any distracting thoughts aside and started in on the task of readying Hotaru and herself for the day.

 

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Mathematics was a boring subject, but Ranma persevered. Sticking with something until you get it right was something that she learned from years of martial arts practice. It was unfortunate that she never applied that creed to anything else outside of that - that until Hotaru taught her. It didn't make the subject matter more interesting, but it did mean that Ranma was learning.

 

Halfway through the class, Ranma felt a wave of weakness pass through her. It was like suddenly she did not get enough sleep the night before. She looked out the window to look at the darkened landscape and chided herself for getting sleepy just because it got a bit dark. Forcing herself past the fatigue she felt, Ranma focused on the lessons that the teacher was giving; explaining how to find "x" on the chalkboard. From her book bag that was hanging on it's hook on her desk, she heard a single, quiet "ding-dong".

 

Ranma knew two things at that moment: One, it was her cellphone and two, no one would call her at this time of day unless it was an emergency. Standing, fighting the sense of dizziness that followed, Ranma excused herself from the class and stepped into the hallway, book bag in hand. Reaching inside, she extracted her cellphone and answered it.

 

"Hello?"

 

"Miss Saotome?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"This is Ikari, principal of Gaiden Home," the voice on the telephone said. "Hotaru passed out in class-"

 

"Is she all right?" Ranma interrupted.

 

"Yes, she seems fine now, but we think it would be best if she went home for the rest of the day," Ikari said. "We tried to contact her guardian, Miss Meioh, but we couldn't reach her."

 

"Set- Miss Meioh is doing some research, she's over at the Tokyo Bay Observatory for the eclipse," Ranma explained. "She's probably turned off her cellphone to not be disturbed."

 

"I see...," Ikari said in a thoughtful tone.

 

"I'll be there as soon as I can to pick her up," Ranma continued. "As soon as I inform my class."

 

"Thank you," a much relieved voice said. "Hotaru will be waiting for you in the nurse's office."

 

Shutting the cellphone, Ranma quickly did what needed to be done and was gone.

 

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"But I feel fine now," Hotaru protested in a small voice as the pair entered the apartment.

 

"I know, I know," Ranma patiently replied. "But the school is worried that you might be coming down with something," she said while mentally adding, "and I'm worried too."

 

"What about your classes?" Hotaru pointed out.

 

"I got it covered, squirt," Ranma answered as she took Hotaru's book bag and set it with hers next to the entryway. "Kimiko and Nami are going to give me a copy of their notes and any assignments that I might have missed."

 

"Oh..."

 

"And I talked to your teacher before I picked you up, so you won't miss anything either," Ranma concluded motheringly.

 

"Oh," Hotaru said with an odd mixture of disappointment and approval. She yawned grandly.

 

"Why don't you go lie down in your room?" Ranma suggested, feeling somewhat fatigued herself.

 

"But I'm not tired," Hotaru complained before yawning again. Ranma, not being able to stop herself, mirrored the younger girl's yawn.

 

"If you lay down and rest, I'll show you something new for karate," Ranma bribed, not wanting to fight Hotaru's emerging stubborn streak.

 

"You will?" Hotaru asked, wide-eyed.

 

"Promise," Ranma replied with a 'cross her heart' motion with her hand. "You don't even have to sleep, just rest."

 

"Well... okay," Hotaru reluctantly agreed.

 

Five minutes later Ranma peeked in on her charge and found Hotaru sprawled out across the top of her bed, softly snoring. Entering the room while shaking her head, Ranma crept closer to the sleeping girl. Looking down on Hotaru, Ranma couldn't help but note just how cute she was when she was asleep.

 

"Like a little angel," Ranma thought.

 

Grasping the blankets that Hotaru had kicked to the end of the bed, Ranma covered the girl. Hotaru responded by rolling over onto her side and giving a soft, contented sigh while snugging further into the blankets. Ranma smiled and felt internally warm and fuzzy about it.

 

"She really is cute," Ranma mused as she drew her hand over Hotaru's forehead, feeling for a sign of a fever and being relieved at finding none. Seeing that Hotaru was resting peacefully, Ranma claimed the chair at Hotaru's desk with the intent of watching over her for a while. Soon fatigue revisited Ranma as she yawned and stretched. Ranma rubbed her eyes. "She's not the only one that's tired."

 

Laying her head on the desk in such a way that she could still see Hotaru, Ranma drifted off into a deep slumber.

 

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Unlocking and entering her apartment, Setsuna tossed her keys onto the small alcove and kicked off her shoes. Her day ended sooner than expected and not on a good note either. It had started out well enough at Tokyo Bay Observatory as the eclipse began, that had changed rapidly as the Moon began to move across the disk of the Sun. That was when Setsuna felt something...

 

"It was like a ripple or... a wave in the fabric of space," she reflected on the moment. Whatever foreboding she felt as the body of the Moon ate away at the Sun, dimming the sky, it was nothing as to what came next.

 

During the second stage, when the eclipse was at it's height, the foreboding exploded into a force that slapped Setsuna's senses. It overwhelmed and smothered Setsuna, making her miss the eclipse - she didn't know it was over with until one of the astronomers asked her what she thought of it. Drenched in her own sweat, Setsuna felt as if darkness had touched the Earth - and it wasn't as harmless as the Moon's shadow.

 

"It was definitely a distortion in the space continuum," Setsuna thought as she continued to fuss over today's events. She recalled the panic she felt at the thought of something from another dimension crossed over into hers - and her futile attempt at investigating what was going on. "I wonder if that was the reason I couldn't transform?"

 

Worrying at the apparent loss of her powers, Setsuna made her way deeper into apartment. Shaking her head, making her long hair swish, Setsuna picked up the phone, paused, then set it back down. "I left messages," she thought to herself. "I just have to be patient. Haruka and Michiru will call me when they can."

 

It was after flopping onto the couch and rubbing her stocking feet together, Setsuna noticed the twin book bags by the door. "What are they doing home?" she wondered. "I better see what's going on."

 

Moving efficiently, Setsuna quickly made her way down the hall to Hotaru's room. There, she found her two house mates, one in her bed, the other slumped over the desk, both snoring lightly. Instead of going in and risk disturbing the two sleeping women, she settled for observing them from the doorway for a few long moments.

 

"They're so alike in some ways," she mentally marveled. Her grin widened a bit more as she realized something. "They're even snoring in sync."

 

She watched them both just a more minutes before retreating back into the living room.

 

"I'll ask Ranma when she gets up why they're home so early," Setsuna mused. "I hope it's nothing, but I have a feeling-" any more thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

 

Sighing, Setsuna diverted from her destination, the couch, and headed to the front door. With unexpected dread, she opened the door to find Hotaru's aunt and uncle standing there. The look on Michiru and Haruka's faces as she let them inside spoke volumes.

 

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Ranma woke with a sudden start. "Something's wrong," she thought, then stopped in mid-thought. She analyzed her feelings and turned them over in her head. It wasn't anything tangible, however the overpowering feeling of dread filled her.

 

Blinking a few times to clear the traces of sleepiness away, Ranma looked over to the bed where she expected Hotaru to still be sleeping only to find the bed empty. Her heart froze as the intangible dread notched up a bit, only to beat it back by will power.

 

"Probably in the living room watching another bad kung-fu flick," Ranma thought with a thin smile as she rose from the chair that she had napped in. "I hope it's not as lame as the last one, though," Ranma remembered the movie where the villain spit fire. "I had to explain to her that there were some things that martial artist just can't do."

 

She paused a bit and stretched, barely noticing that she really didn't have any kinks, stiffness or soreness that should have come from her uncomfortable sleeping position. Coming out of her stretch, she felt more energized than she should and exited the room in her quest to locate her charge. Quickly checking the living room, bathroom and finally Setsuna's bedroom Ranma's search yielded nothing.

 

"Where is she?" Ranma asked herself. It was a way of controlling the panic that was building up in her. "She knows she shouldn't leave - wait!" Ranma arrested the wayward thoughts as she looked at the time and smiled. "I bet Setsuna came home and took her somewhere to let me sleep," Ranma concluded.

 

Her panic subsided a bit as she scanned the living room again. "Yup. I bet that's what happened," Ranma thought calmer. "There's Setsuna's fancy shoes and... wait a minute," Ranma spied the alcove. "And there's Setsuna's purse! And her keys! She wouldn't go anywhere without those."

 

An eerie panic filled her; eerie because it really wasn't a true panic... is was more like a urgent calling, like a trick of the eye that kept pulling her attention elsewhere. In this case though, it felt like a pulling from within. Just as Ranma was going to delve more into this feeling, the door knocked.

 

Letting a breath out, Ranma smiled as she made another leap of logic. "Ah-ha!" She crowed mentally. "They locked themselves out; that explains the keys and everything."

 

Opening the door expecting a befuddled Setsuna and a possibly amused Hotaru, Ranma was disappointed to find that it was a friend from school, Nami. "Oh... hi," she greeted lamely.

 

Nami, still dressed in her school uniform, blinked at the redhead and then picked up her mood. "Are you all right?"

 

"Um... yeah," Ranma replied, brought up short. "What's... up?"

 

"Oh. I brought your homework," Nami explained as she dug through her book bag and produced several sheets of notes and held them out for Ranma. "There isn't much, but the English teacher wants us to read the next chapter in the textbook in preparation for next week... say... are you sure you're all right?"

 

"Oh, I'm fine," Ranma answered somewhat normally as she accepted the offered notes. "I was expecting someone else at the door."

 

"Oh? Who?" Nami asked with more interest that she should have.

 

Sighing internally, Ranma smiled at her boy-minded friend. "I'm waiting for Set- er, Miss Meioh and Hotaru to get back."

 

"Oh," Nami said with a tinge of disappointment. Her friend really needed to learn how to date, someone as nice as Ranma shouldn't be without a boyfriend. "How is Hotaru doing?"

 

"I put her to bed when I got home... I sorta fell asleep myself. When I woke up, she and Miss Meioh were gone," Ranma replied.

 

"They probably didn't want to wake you," Nami opined. "You did look rather unwell yourself when you left school."

 

"Er, yeah," Ranma agreed. "I did feel a bit worn down. Um, thanks for bringing my homework to me."

 

"That's what friends are for. See you in class," Nami said with a smile as she excused herself.

 

Setting the notes on top of her book bag where she could find them, Ranma returned to her original problem and rescanned the apartment. "Where did they go?" she asked herself distractedly. "If Setsuna took Hotaru to the doctor's she'd would have woke me or at least left a note."

 

Sighing, Ranma walked through the apartment again to gather any clues that she might have overlooked. However nothing was out of place or unusual except for the two missing women. The stillness and quiet of the apartment was closing in around her, making her feel very uneasy.

 

The feeling of dread started to flow through Ranma again as she realized that something was terribly amiss. "Maybe Michiru and Haruka know where they went," she thought as she picked up the handset of the phone - only to stop as a another feeling came to the fore.

 

Holding the phone and blinking, Ranma studied the feeling. The dread was still there but it was being forced aside by a sensation that Ranma could only describe as a calling... or an urge. Setting the handset down on its cradle, Ranma crossed the room to the large windows; hesitating a moment, she slid the tall glass door to one side and stepped out onto the narrow balcony. Peering out into the dusk-covered city, Ranma focused her attention to a particular spot.

 

"There is something... out there," she thought as she reentered the apartment, the feeling was that of ants crawling over her. Pausing to try to come to grips with the sensation, but it was so overpowering that all she managed to do was shudder a bit. Firming up her lips, Ranma stared off into the distance for another half-second before making her decision. "I'm going to find out-"

 

Any more thoughts were cruelly cut off as Ranma gasped as a red-hot heat exploded from her chest, radiated outward to her limbs and laying her low. She barely caught the edge of the dining room table, as her knees made contact with the carpeted floor. A powerful wave of dizziness swept in the wake of the burning sensation leaving trails of pain that racked through her; the dizziness grew in strength so that it sapped her strength.

 

"What in the hell was that?" Ranma thought as she tried unsuccessfully to climb to her feet; then her abdominal muscles contracted involuntarily. "Oh god..," she muttered as she leaned closer to the ground, fighting the dizziness and nausea for control of her stomach - and lost.

 

With a great heave, she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the carpet front of her, using what little strength she had left to keep herself from getting any on her. She felt shame at vomiting in the apartment. What made it worse was that the sensations that were making her ill kept ebbing and flowing like waves lapping on a sandy beach; steady, but not allowing the redhead a chance to collect herself.

 

"Oh god, I'm going to be sick again," Ranma mentally cried as she dry heaved painfully. "What in the hell is happening to me?"

 

She desperately attempted to regain control herself, but it was like a tidal wave building and there was no stopping it. Her breathing turned from gasping to a near hyperventilating pace as she knelt on the floor, clinging to the table edge as if it were the only thing keeping her from slipping into unconsciousness. Shutting her eyes tightly, Ranma tried to ride out this unexpected storm while fighting the losing battle for control. It was frightening.

 

"I got to get a hold of myself... Oh, oh, oh," she repeated as the sensations peaked. "... I'm... I'm scared," she admitted to herself.

 

Her mind racing in panic, Ranma swallowed hard and tried once again to center herself - and failed miserably.A new, more powerful sensation overwhelmed the others, displacing them. The intense burning from within grew again from a feverish sensation until Ranma thought she was going to spontaneously combust. With the nausea gone, Ranma managed to crack open her eyes a bit and crawl shakily away from the table.

 

"What in the hell is happening to me? Why am I so sick all the sudden?" She thought desperately and wondered in the back of her head if she would even survive this.

 

The fever grew and grew until it consumed her.

 

It climbed so quickly that there wasn't really any time for the sensation of pain to register. Nevertheless, Ranma screamed out involuntarily as she felt as if fire was slowly leaking from her very soul and being pulled outside of her. It was so sickening and disorientating that Ranma swore to herself that if she survived this, she would go to the nearest shrine and thank the gods. Her head pounded with every beat of her heart, and all she wanted was for everything to stop, but instead she found herself caught in the middle of a kaleidoscope of lights, colors, and sound.

 

- and then as quickly as it struck, it was over.

 

Still on all fours, Ranma's breathing slowed to almost normal levels. The burning was gone and in its place was a sensation of... healthy power? In spite of the ordeal, she found herself strangely energized. Blinking a few times to clear some spots that floated before her eyes, Ranma slowly pushed herself into an upright sitting position and checked herself for damage.

 

Studying her hands first, Ranma found them now gloved.

 

"What the-?" She thought as she tugged on the elbow length gloves, only to find that they were more like a second skin than apparel. They were impossible to remove.

 

"Aw man, more weird crap in my life," she concluded. Looking past her black gloved hands, she blinked as other changes started to register with her. Standing without any ill affects, Ranma took stock of these new changes.

 

Ranma now found herself, not in her school uniform, but in a modified version of her nanny uniform. The black skirt was slightly shorter than her usual uniform, but still modest in the fact that it still came to about mid-thigh. The top was as black as before, but the white collar was now much wider and now sported a bow that resembled the one from her school uniform. The bow now framed the emerald-green jewel that Setsuna had given her to wear when she started.

 

On the front, covering most of the skirt, was a modified white apron, with frilly ruffles, that tied in the back with an exaggerated bow. Looking over her shoulder, Ranma noted that her shirt appeared to be backless to just shy of the top of her skirt. Like the gloves she now wore, everything fit like a second skin and there was no taking it off.

 

Placing a hand to her forehead as if too mentally stabilize herself, Ranma felt something band-like resting there.

 

Idly rubbing her fingers together, she realized that her hand itched; not just any itch, but an itch that told her something was missing... something should be there. Focusing on her outstretched gloved hand, Ranma studied her palm, as if looking for answers there. All she saw was her empty hand encased in a black glove. Flexing her fingers, Ranma tried to imagine herself holding... something and as if to answer that desire, something did happen.

 

Looking on in fascination, Ranma watched as wispy tendrils of fog gathered in the palm of her hand. Blinking a few times to clear her eyes, Ranma stared as the fog thickened and clung to her hand like a living thing. In a slight panic, she shook her hand violently as if it were on fire, in an effort to rid herself of this latest development, but all that accomplished was to make the itching in her hand increase.

 

"What in the hell is going on here?" Ranma's mind screamed as she continued to frantically shake her hand. "First I get sick, then somehow I'm in this get-up and now my hand is smoking like it is on fire."

 

"The hell with this crap," she thought as she stopped flapping her hand about with the intention of maybe submerging it in water or washing it or something. That's when she noticed a definite change in the tendrils of fog that surrounded her hand. "Now what?"

 

Not quite believing what had just happened, Ranma blinked a few times as the smoke in her hand solidified into something tangible and real. Finding that blinking wasn't helping, she settled on rubbing her eyes with her free hand to see if that would help. It did not and the odd object was still in her hand. It was a rod about the length of her forearm topped with a orb with wings on it. Entwined around the shaft were two ornate snakes that wrapped around until they ended up facing one another with the orb between them.

 

After staring for unmeasured moments at the odd staff-like thing, it fell gracelessly from her nerveless fingers. The confirmation of the weird object's existence came as it made a solid 'thunk' against the hardwood floor. Staring down at the staff, Ranma tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened. She drew a blank.

 

"What in the hell is going on here!" She asked aloud, not caring anymore if she was heard. This was too much even for her. "This is getting freakin' ridiculous."

 

Sighing , she looked about her and blinked. And blinked again. Her surroundings had changed. No - not her surroundings she realized, but how she was seeing them. It was as if the everything now had an, for a lack of a better word, intensified look to them now. The colors were brighter - even the grays the darkness of the shadows in the room were pushed back and she could see everything down to the minutest detail.

 

"Too weird," she softly commented. She frowned at the bit of puke and decided that cleaning was something sane she could do.

 

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"Ranma?" Setsuna asked as she entered the apartment. She led a muted Hotaru inside.

 

"I don't know if we should have left her," Hotaru eventually stated as they made their way down the hallway.

 

Setsuna paused; she wanted to say that it was Senshi business and Senshi business wasn't Ranma's but... She stayed silent as she made her way to and poked her head in Hotaru's room. Seeing that Ranma wasn't where she left her, she assumed that she had woken up and was in her own room. Just as she was proceeding to Ranma's room to check on her, Hotaru called over to her.

 

"Setsuna-momma, Ranma's in here," the young girl motioned with her hand as she stood by the door to the bathroom.

 

Stepping aside, Hotaru allowed Setsuna to peek in and spy on the redhead as she dozed in the furo. "Ranma?" She verbally prodded, softly.

 

Ranma's eyes fluttered opened. "Oh hi," she winced as the queasiness in her stomach grew.

 

Setsuna detected Ranma's discomfort. "Are you all right?"

 

"I'm ..," Ranma paused. "No. I'm not."

 

"What's wrong? Upset stomach?" Setsuna asked softly as she sat on the edge of the furo. Hotaru entered the bathroom and hovered behind the seated woman.

 

"It's kind of a long story," Ranma replied softly as she leaned back into the warm water. "But to make it short I got sick and the next thing I know I'm wearing the most girly get-up you ever saw."

 

Setsuna paused in thought. "I don't know about that, I am in the fashion business." Setsuna frowned when she saw her joke fall flat.

 

Stealing a glance at Hotaru, who was now wearing a worried look. "Oh well," Ranma sighed. "I really don't know how to describe it," she said. "There was like... um... I got sick - to my stomach and all these lights started dancing around me and the next thing I know I'm wearing something that looked kinda like my uniform but I couldn't take it off."

 

Setsuna and Hotaru just stared at the soaking redhead.

 

"I'll never make fun of magical girls again," she quipped at her... housemates in a weak attempt at humor. "Say... where did you guys go?"

 

"We had a meeting," Setsuna stated flatly as she leaned over a bit to better look at Ranma. She noted that Ranma was now naked. "How did you get out of... whatever it was you were wearing?"

 

Ranma shrugged. "I don't know. After cleaning up my mess, I decided to have a soak. Sometime between cleaning and filling the furo, I ended up back in my normal clothes."

 

"I see." Setsuna thought a moment, and came up with the same disturbing range of options. "Hotaru, would you mind looking after Ranma for a bit?"

 

"I'm all right now," Ranma weakly protested.

 

"I'll be back in a moment," Setsuna continued as if she hadn't heard Ranma. She rose smoothly from where she was seated and looked down on the nanny. "I want to get something - it'll only take a moment."

 

A quick call, a transformation, leaving and returning took all of six and a half minutes in real time - subjective time, for Setsuna, she was away closer to twenty minutes.

 

"I should have done this when I said I was going to," Setsuna scolded herself as she emerged and detransformed in the living room. "I should have investigated Ranma's acquired healing ability more. I should have already scanned her with this."

 

She sighed heavily just outside the bathroom door, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. "I just got so caught up in the normalcy of life... and Ranma hadn't mentioned anything more... it just got slipped to the wayside."

 

Pausing outside the furo door as she heard Hotaru giggle at what was probably some story that Ranma was telling her, Setsuna allowed a pang of guilt to rip through her. If she was more forthright with Ranma, maybe she would not be feeling this way. She pushed the door open.

 

"At least we'll find out what's happening with Ranma tonight." Screwing her courage up, she reentered the furo, Hotaru's eyes widened a bit as she turned to the green-haired woman and saw what was in her hand.

 

"What's that?" The still soaking redhead asked.

 

"This is... a computer that should help explain what is going on with you," Setsuna answered confidently.

 

"How?" Ranma asked pulling herself up, despite the nausea.

 

"Remember when I promised to look into your healing powers?" Setsuna asked, side-stepping the question.

 

"Yeah," Ranma nodded, causing the room to swim a bit. "Yeah, I forgot all about that."

 

"Well this is going to help me," Setsuna said.

 

"Healing powers?" Hotaru asked in a thin voice.

 

Setsuna sighed. She considered asking Hotaru to leave, but decided against it. No matter what, there would be no more lies tonight. "Yes, Hotaru," Setsuna replied. "Ranma seems to have... acquired your gift."

 

Hotaru looked between 'mother' and nanny; a slightly distraught look came over her. "I'm so sorry."

 

"It ain'- that is, it isn't your fault," Ranma firmly corrected. "I told you weird stuff was always happening to me. It's no big deal."

 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hotaru asked, hands on hips and feeling slightly betrayed. Setsuna was about to answer, but was cut off by Ranma answering first.

 

"Because we didn't want you to worry about me," Ranma said. "You have enough to worry about without dealing with things that you can't control."

 

"But-"

 

"Hotaru-chan," Setsuna said gently. "We care enough about you not to burden you with it."

 

Hotaru seemed satisfied with that explanation for a moment - but only for a moment. "You still should have told me," she complained loudly. "I'm part of this family too."

 

"Okay, okay," Ranma reluctantly agreed while leaning back into the water; she wasn't feeling all that well and didn't feel like debating. "Next time something weird happens to me, you'll be the first to know."

 

During Hotaru's and Ranma's exchange, Setsuna had flipped open the small Mercury computer and began her scan. At first, what she was reading wasn't making much sense. "What in the hell is this?" She asked herself as she studied the readouts. "This pattern is clearly Hotaru's... but what is this here," she thought as she watched the two interactions of two distinct patterns. "This can't be happening."

 

The furo fell silent during Setsuna's preliminary scan and it was that quietness that drew her away from the Mercury computer's display and to her surroundings. She looked up at the worried face of Hotaru and down at the pensive one from Ranma.

 

"Did you find anything?" Ranma asked.

 

Swallowing a bit, Setsuna folded away the Mercury computer and looked down on the redhead. "You know that off-the-wall comment you made about never making fun of magical girls?"

 

"Er, yeah," Ranma said as she recalled saying something like that.

 

"Well... I think... I think you might be... a magical girl now," Setsuna said more bluntly than intended. She could not help it, she was more than rattled by what she had seen. For the first time in a long while, she had been completely surprised. It was not fun.

 

Silence ticked by.

 

"What!" Ranma half-shrieked. Then her voice than calmed a bit. "I can't be. I just can't be."

 

"She's just like us?" Hotaru piped up the question.

 

There was a pause in the room as Hotaru's question echoed about.

 

"W-what?" A confused Ranma stammered out.

 

Setsuna rubbed her head; she now regretted not asking Hotaru to leave. This was not anything like she was expecting and Hotaru's indiscreet question only complicated the matters. This was something that was not only unforeseeable but unprecedented.

 

"Ranma..." Setsuna began, only to stop a moment. "It is a long story."

 

Chewing her lip, the redhead look from back and forth between the two women; she decided to go for it. "Are you magical girls?"

 

Hotaru blushed and looked down as Setsuna merely nodded.

 

Despite herself Ranma smiled. "Funny skirt, bows, tiara?"

 

The violet-eyed girl coughed.

 

"Well, if you're going to be fighting monsters, it's a good thing I've been training you," Ranma commented in a half-daze. Sometimes her life was a little too weird even for her and she had not quite wrapped her mind around being a suspected "magical girl".

 

Hotaru nodded. "I knew there was something special about you."

 

"Why did you and Setsuna keep that from me?"

 

Hotaru frowned. "It's supposed to be a secret. I have a hard enough time with my healing."

 

"No one is supposed to know," Setsuna interjected. "Can you imagine the danger our friends and family would be in if the creatures we fought against knew who we were?"

 

Ranma stared a short moment at the green-haired woman. "Good point," was all she was able to muster for a response.

 

"Are you... mad at me?" Hotaru asked in an almost pained tone.

 

"No," Ranma replied automatically, aware of the young girls feelings. "It's just that... I would have at least would have liked a hint."

 

"Like I did when you got healing powers?" Hotaru asked softly, but somewhat pointedly.

 

"Er... yeah," Ranma fumbled about, before composing herself. "So, you're magical girls?"

 

"Why don't you get dressed first," Setsuna offered. "Then we'll explain everything."

 

Ranma nodded and reached for a towel and began drying off.

 

After getting dressed, Ranma eased herself onto her bed. She watched Hotaru climb up and sit across from her, it was as if the young girl was afraid to leave her nanny alone. Ranma paused and studied Hotaru. It was strange, Ranma considered, Setsuna knew someone who had a computer that could what... detect magical girls? Sense magical power? Ranma knew there was plenty of magic around, her current body was proof of that. "Why didn't she use it before?" Ranma muttered, adjusting how she sat on her bed.

 

"Because she didn't know you were going to become a magical girl," Hotaru innocently explained.

 

"And why do you two believe me? You haven't seen anything."

 

"You would never lie to us," Hotaru said in a stern tone that caused Ranma's heart to hurt. "Besides, we both have healing powers."

 

"It's okay," Ranma said as she pulled the smaller girl to her chest. "I know it's hard to fit in if you're strange."

 

Hotaru twisted to get more comfortable. "That's just a little bit of healing, not destruction... if they knew..."

 

"Destruction?" Ranma laughed and hugged her tighter. "I wouldn't care if you could destroy the universe. I'm your nanny; I know you."

 

"Really?" Hotaru brightened and rolled over so she could hug Ranma. "That's great!"

 

"How are we feeling?" Setsuna asked as she entered the room, carrying the small blue electronic device from earlier.

 

"Much better," Ranma replied as she hugged her ward. "What is that anyway? I don't recall ever seeing that around."

 

"Miss Ranma doesn't mind that I can destroy the Earth!" Hotaru happily piped up.

 

"Really? That's very good news," Setsuna with the same pride when Hotaru got a perfect score an exam. She smiled as she redirected herself to Ranma. "To answer your question, I altered the flow of time to go to another magical girl's house and borrow her super-powered magical computer."

 

Ranma sighed. "There are other magical girls? Is anyone here not a magical girl?"

 

"That's what this will find out," Setsuna said as she fiddled with the computer. She looked up to see Ranma frown. The older woman stepped over and sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry; I should have told you, I've spent my whole life living alone, living with secrets."

 

She looked at the computer display and put it down.

 

"I know about secrets," Ranma commented as she held Hotaru to her; she briefly wondered how Hotaru would react to her own past, but quickly pushed that aside. One disaster at a time. "So, what's the diagnosis?"

 

"I'm pretty sure you did transform," Setsuna said, picking the computer up again.

 

"Yeah, I cleaned up the puke to prove it," Ranma grumbled.

 

"You threw up?"

 

"I thought I told you."

 

"You told us you got sick, but didn't say anything about throwing up," Setsuna said worriedly.

 

"Oh... well... I did. I don't know how you guys deal with changing though. It's a horrible rush," Ranma felt her stomach buck at the memory.

 

"It shouldn't be like that," Hotaru said looking between her nanny and Setsuna.

 

Setsuna chewed her lip. "Would... would you mind transforming?"

 

Ranma paled at the thought. "I'm not sure how I did it the first time," she admitted. "It just happened."

 

Hotaru pulled herself away from her nanny and jumped onto the floor. "Maybe it would help if I... I show you mine? Okay?"

 

"Sure," Ranma said and was immediately bathed in otherworldly light as a giant bladed staff appeared in Hotaru's hands and her clothing vanished, to be replaced moments later via a combination of lights and gymnastics with a uniform that reminded Ranma of the reflection she saw a month ago.

 

"See? No sickness," Sailor Saturn said as she leaned on her glaive.

 

"No wonder you wanted to be trained on the staff. Saturn though?" Ranma asked recalling the phrase Hotaru had shouted.

 

"Yes, we're named after planets," Setsuna explained.

 

"Pluto's not a planet," Saturn teased.

 

Setsuna's eye twitched. "Yes, well anyway. I should show you mine."

 

Ranma smiled broadly at the transformation and nodded appraisingly at the skirt. "See this stuff looks good on you guys. Why don't you have aprons? How come I got the sucky transformation?"

 

"We won't know until you try it again," Pluto said leaning on her staff.

 

"Yeah, but like I said: I don't know how to do it. It kinda just happened."

 

"Must have been during the meeting, when our powers rebooted." Setsuna pondered. It was a rather silly experience. They "lost" their powers only to have them restored almost immediately. Maybe that's why the system reset, there was a new connection.

 

"So that's where you girls were. Big magical girl meeting?"

 

"Not that big, just Haruka and Michiru were there."

 

"Haruka? He's a magical girl! A girl?" Ranma laughed mirthfully; she could guess how hard it was on the guy. "Well I guess he could look good in a skirt."

 

"Ranma, Haruka is a girl," Pluto gently said.

 

The redhead blinked once and sighed. "Aw man... not again. You'd think I'd finally be able to spot cross-dressers."

 

Pluto shook her head. "Anyway, we all have a transformation item, which on our team can double as weapons," she said patting her big staff.

 

"Neptune's mirror isn't a weapon."

 

"That's right," Setsuna admitted. "Anyway you summon an item and transform with it."

 

"Summon an item..." Ranma voice trailed off.

 

"Picture it in your mind," Hotaru offered helpfully.

 

"Okay... there was-" Ranma began as she stood up.

 

"Hang on," Setsuna interrupted. "I want to get a reading on this - just in case something happens," she added as she reopened the Mercury computer and held it up. "Okay, try."

 

"There was like a weird snake stick thingy." As Ranma spoke the small rod with two intertwined snakes on the end appeared in a small cloud of fog in her hand. She would have jumped at the stick's sudden appearance if it were not for the nausea that grew in her as she was enveloped in a green light.

 

"Adorable," Saturn said, watching the new Senshi's uniform come into being.

 

"Yes the stockings are a nice touch, though the maid's cap is a bit much," Pluto appraised as she split her attention between Ranma and the computer's display. The Mercury computer's screen was going crazy as it tried to display everything that had happened at once.

 

"This pattern here must be Ranma's curse," Setsuna concluded as she studied the readings, ".. this one here matches closely to Hotaru's... but... what?" She studied an animation that displayed the interactions of the patterns. It formed a new pattern that would need more looking at though. "It almost looks like, Hotaru's gift might have tried to cure Ranma of his curse and it backfired... it combined... what in the hell is going on?"

 

"I love the apron," Saturn then noticed her nanny wobble as the transformation finished and moved to assist her, but Setsuna was already there.

 

Ranma found herself held by two strong arms. She looked over to see gloved hands holding her up. "Yeah... that wasn't fun."

 

"It's okay," Pluto said holding her by the hip. "Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

 

"No, I just need to sit down," Ranma said as the two eased her back onto the edge of the bed. The contact with Hotaru made most of the sickness pass, but even with that, Ranma felt unsteady.

 

"You're definitely a Sailor Senshi," Pluto looked at the readout. The amount of data generated was hard to decipher. "Not sure what of."

 

"Sailor Nanny!" Saturn gleefully suggested.

 

"I am dressed that way," Ranma weakly smiled as she held her belly. The sickness wasn't as bad as the first time; perhaps Hotaru's presence had helped eased it or something.

 

"Is it really that bad?" Pluto asked. "This thing doesn't say you're in any health danger."

 

"Neither does riding a roller coaster for an hour," Ranma sighed.

 

"Least you're not throwing up," Saturn offered.

 

"There's that kiddo." Ranma smiled. "So can I go back to normal? Or do we have to fight monsters?"

 

"Nope, we're good tonight. Do you know how to get back?" Pluto asked, keeping her expression cool. She had set the computer to analyze the recorded information of the transformation. It beeped once and readout that it would take a few hours to complete. Time enough to explain some things to the redhead. She looked up to see a very unsteady nanny.

 

"I figured it out, eventually," Ranma grumbled as she closed her eyes. After a moment, nothing happened. "Oh man, how do you girls do it?" she asked.

 

"Just picture yourself in your normal clothes," prompted Hotaru.

 

Ranma closed her eyes again and pictured herself in her regular uniform. Slowly she shifted back the clothes she had on before. When she opened her eyes she saw both of the other girls had detransformed. She sighed. "So now what?"

 

"Now we tell you everything," Setsuna explained. "How is your stomach?"

 

"Uh...," Ranma verbally stammered as she took stock in herself. "I'm much better - I think. Why?"

 

Setsuna smirked. "Hotaru get some antacids and some of that pink stuff from the bathroom." She stood up. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to settle your stomach as you get dressed."

 

"Huh?" Ranma asked before taking the medicine Hotaru had fetched. It did seem to help, a bit.

 

"If I'm going to tell you the story of a magical kingdom built on love and justice and then go to our role as protectors of humanity from all kinds of monsters, we're going to do it on the proper setting."

 

"What did you do?"

 

"I talked with Etsuko and I was saving it." Setsuna smirked. "But tonight is a special night. Oh I hope Green Mountain has an open room."

 

"I'm sure they can free one up for you in an hour or so," Ranma dryly remarked.

 

"Excellent, plenty of time," Setsuna said pulling out her phone.

 

"Wait, what am I going to wear?" Ranma demanded.

 

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"You really went all out," Ranma repeated as she got herself out of the cab. Her geta caught on the curb and she was kept from falling by Setsuna who was in her own kimono. Ranma was feeling much better and the freakiness to this evening's earlier events was diminished by the casualness of Setsuna's attitude. It was replaced by a slight detached, surreal feeling.

 

"But you look so pretty," Hotaru said as she hopped out in her yukata.

 

Ranma had on a light blue nagajuban with white snowflakes but it was obscured by a darker homongi that went from deep red to a brighter yellow with a large cloud pattern that flowed over her shoulders and sleeves. Her obi was a vibrant green and had leafless trees around the band. Her hair had been fluffed to add some more body and was pinned up with a few opal pins and ornaments that matched her brooch.

 

She eased up and kept her freshly manicured hand in Setsuna's while Hotaru took the other one. "You really picked this well," Ranma said as she licked her lips. She had gotten used to makeup, but what Setsuna had done was quite artistic, if a bit pale for her tastes.

 

"The fancy dress gave time for your stomach to calm," Setsuna smiled as the trio made their way to the restaurant.

 

The hostess warmly smiled at them when they entered. Compared to Miss Meiou's demands on the kitchen, getting a room open, even with the alterations, was easy. "You all look lovely," Keiko said with a small bow.

 

Ranma blushed while Setsuna smiled thinly.

 

"I'll show you to your table," Keiko said in a voice that was as smooth as silk as she stole one more glance at the three before leading them. Hotaru-chan was dressed cutely, and Miss Meiou had her classic sexy and powerful style, but Miss Ranma-chan was something else. She always dressed well, but tonight she looked the perfect part of a bauble for someone's arm.

 

"Here you go, enjoy," Keiko smiled as she slid open the door to the private room. "Congratulations," she whispered to Ranma when she walked past. Keiko had been in the kitchen and seen some of what Miss Meiou had ordered and had a fair idea as to what tonight would be about.

 

"Uh, thank you," Ranma said as she entered the room and was embraced by the soothing scent of warming soups. It was a small room, enough to comfortably fit a table for four. Oddly enough it had a U-shaped booth instead of chairs. The room itself was well appointed and dimly lit.

 

"I decided to start us off with something easy on the stomach," Setsuna said as she helped Ranma into the booth before sitting at her left.. "I'm sure if you pace yourself we won't have any leftovers."

 

"But that cheesecake was good," Hotaru pouted as she sat down at the small table to Ranma's right.

 

"Don't worry, I've got something better in mind," Setsuna smirked as she took a spoon of lobster bisque and offered it to Ranma.

 

"Oh nice," Ranma said after trying a taste. "So what's the story with you guys?"

 

Setsuna smiled and poured a bowl for Ranma and then herself. "Don't be bashful, they've made a bunch of soups for us to sample."

 

"Try the swordfish next," Hotaru said as she sipped at hers. "It's delicious."

 

Setsuna smiled. "It's a simple story really. There was once a very powerful but very wise and just queen. She had a castle on the Moon and ruled the entire solar system. The Sailor Senshi were her elite guard. The four innermost planets, excluding earth, were represented by one Senshi each who were the guardians to the princess, while the four outermost planets were her soldiers."

 

Ranma raised an eyebrow, but did not ask a question. She had finished her first bowl and wanted to see if Hotaru was right.

 

"That sounds almost... fairy tale-ish," Ranma finally commented.

 

"I know, it sounds silly, but you saw our pretty uniforms." Setsuna frowned and poked at her soup. "Of course it ended."

 

"That's why we're not living in a magical interplanetary kingdom," Ranma stated. She blinked. "Really, try the swordfish, Hotaru was so right."

 

Setsuna nodded. "I won't bore you with the details: our queen sacrificed herself to seal the monsters that had destroyed everything, but not before sending her daughter and her Senshi to be reincarnated in the future."

 

Ranma looked up from her soup. "Sealed?" She said with a slight shake of her head. "Oh man, even I know that's trouble. Let me guess: The monsters got loose and you guys had to fight them?" She asked as she made her way to a soup that smelled heavenly and only said "Bliss" on the nametag. She could see bits of prawn in it, however.

 

Setsuna nodded. "At first it was just the Guardian Senshi, but the threats got worse."

 

"Oh yes..." Ranma moaned as she swallowed the first spoonful. She didn't want to get too distracted from what Setsuna was saying, but the food here was too good.

 

"I see you found the chef's specialty," Setsuna smirked.

 

'What's in this?" Ranma asked after demolishing her first bowl.

 

"I think you should have some now," Setsuna mock whispered to Hotaru. "Your Nanny found her stomach again," she said patting the redhead's silk encased belly, a move that made Ranma feel oddly comforted.

 

"That's good," Hotaru said as she gave herself a small bowl of bliss before refilling Ranma's. With a smirk she then took a ladle and hovered it over Ranma's plum colored lips.

 

The redhead happily gulped it down and leaned back with a broad smile as the soup warmed her. "Ahh yes, much better."

 

Setsuna smiled and checked her watch, the second course should be arriving just in time. "Each of the senshi have power over different areas. I have time and space. Little Hotaru has rebirth and destruction."

 

Ranma nodded as she opened her eyes and sipped some more of her wonderful soup.

 

"You really like this," Hotaru noted. It was a delicious soup.

 

"Eating is something we have to do every day, and unlike breathing it's easy to vary it's effects for... artistic reasons," Setsuna said as she watched the redheaded lady finish her soup and begin to pout.

 

"I think we can finish on a nice beef broth," Setsuna said as she offered the steaming bowl to Ranma and gently raised it to her mouth.

 

After Ranma finished she leaned forward and smiled. "Yeah, eating is great. So, Hotaru's the big guns?" she said as she hugged the smaller girl.

 

"Yes quite the power. Our princess has more, but it's of a different nature."

 

"Well once you can destroy the whole planet what does a little more matter?"

 

Hotaru smiled and snuggled into Ranma's side.

 

Setsuna shrugged. "The point is that we ultimately serve our princess."

 

"But not bodyguard or stuff like that. That's the... guardian's job right?"

 

Setsuna nodded. She turned to see the door open and a group of waiters remove the old dishes and replace them with all the precision and elegance of a ballet.

 

Ranma's next question was cut off by the large platter of fish, rice, noodles, and shellfish put in front of her by two waiters. She hesitated as she looked over the immense