Disclaimer: It's alive! Alive! Hahahaha! I've done it! It ali- . . . oops. Where did you get this defective brain from Igor? Ranma 1/2 and DBZ doesn't belong to me.

Chapter Two

By Michael Fetter

Hotaru rushed up the stairs with tears in her eyes. Ranko grimaced at the sound of the girl's door slamming shut.

The meeting with the Sailor Scouts had not gone as Ranko expected. In her time the Scouts were powerful, quiet, and carried within them steel that only looked like flesh. These girls were young. Young and innocent and it hurt Ranko inside to tell them the truth.

In a way, Ranko felt privileged to meet these girls before the war starts. It changed them, made them older than they should be. Likely because of the few girls Ranko had never met before. Mercury was smart and she looked a bit like Akane. They lost a valuable member before they came for Ranko's help.

The other Outers followed Ranko into the house. They watched her with some fear and resignation as she wandered into the living room to stare into the backyard. Michiru held Haruka a bit tighter and headed for the stairs after Hotaru. Haruka groaned with each step, her arm slung over her lover's shoulders. "Can you make it up the stairs."

"Try," Haruka slurred around a jaw of bruises. She, like Ryouko, did not believe Ranko could train them to be stronger than they were. The blonde thought better of it after Ranko knocked her around a bit.

Setsunna entered last and closed the door behind her. She hadn't spoken much during the meeting, simply watched Ranko describe the new threat the Time Gates had hidden from her.

Haruka frowned at the sight of Setsunna, "Dang, I thought she was straight."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," said Michiru.

That sent Setsunna's mind on a spin. She really needed to get new roommates or at least thicker walls. She eventually put it out of her mind to talk with Ranko. "What are you thinking of?"

There were many ways to answer that question, but Ranko was pretty sure no one was ready to hear some of the things she was worried about. She was given a second chance and she didn't want to lose anyone this time. To let them suffer like that again would be like putting a knife into her stomach. Instead, she said, "Do you mind if I sleep on your couch tonight?"

"No," Setsunna answered expressionlessly.

*~*~*

This world was strange. It was the same one she just came from, but Ranko had trouble trying to filter through its activity. There was nothing real here. People walked by her. Some of the women scowled at her clothing and men let their eyes linger. They weren't there though. These people were dead, walking corpses. How can they stare at her like this when she was the only living thing around?

The buildings in the market area were complete and inviting. None were leveled or sported holes the size of alien fists. The smoke screen of life wasn't fooling Ranko to the death contained within. The streets were concrete rivers of blood and the only thing these pleasant buildings were inviting was death. No one was prepared for the future and Ranko spat at them. How could they be so selfish?

In a window Ranko found a mannequin dressed in a light sundress. It was the same kind Setsunna had worn for their wedding night in an effort to be romantic. This one was not torn and scorched, but if Ranko looked just right at the window's reflection she was back in her own time. Silence of the cowardly hanging over the town, a stale, grimy smell clinging to the rubble, and Setsunna in a light red dress standing out like a mockery of hope.

"Meiou-san?"

Ranko shook herself from the memory. Wherever that Setsunna was she was gone now. This Setsunna had been nothing like Ranko's wife. It hurt the redhead to be so distant with the one she had held closest.

The blonde touched her arm and Ranko found herself staring sadly at a young couple of less than adequate fighters of love and justice. "Usagi. Mamoru." Ranko glanced at them then the dress shop window. What had she been thinking about? There was no time for dresses. Ranko's memories were just nightmares even in their brightest moments.

Mamoru had been there at the first meeting when Ranko told them of the future. Apparently they'd gotten visitors from the future before and were prepared for her speech. The boy remained close and supported Usagi and her friends when they declared they would defeat the new enemy. Ranko almost smiled as she crushed their hopes by showing off some of her own power. What children they were. Not the warriors Ranma had come to respect.

Flinching at Ranko's gaze, Usagi stepped closer to Mamoru's side. "What are you doing? Are you all right?"

In another few years Usagi would be rushing to her lover's side in hopes of saving him from a massive ki blast. "Mamo-chan!"

"Usagi!" Mamoru held out his hand to touch her as he lay bleeding on the ground. The Saiyajin above them laughed cruelly and ended their romance before they could share one more moment together.

Ranko's gaze hardened even further and she walked off. "I'm fine."

The two behind her were startled by her attitude and probably even frightened. Many of the fighters in this time were pathetic in comparison to her and Ranko felt the rising bile that came with the thought of using them in battle. Love and Justice didn't win peace, warriors did.

*~*~*

When everyone had assembled at the Masaki shrine it was past lunchtime and they chose to digest the food with conversation. Ranko had stared hard at the Moon cats that were ready to order the Sailor Scouts to attack Ryouko. Cats were just flea-ridden vermin good only as training tools if you starved them long enough. Ranma may not have appreciated the Neko-ken training, but that would change in time. Ranko had only spoken ill of her father's training to get Nodoka to chase him off. She didn't need spineless losers getting in the way of real training.

Twirling about the air in one of the katas of her own design, Ranko couldn't help but feel proud of the benefits Ranma was already starting out with. With Sailor Moon on call it was easy to 'purify' Ranma's mind and give him access to the Neko-ken's power. He'd also be getting the best of Amazon Wu Shu without the hassle of stupid challenges and abusive fiancées.

Without delving into her huge reservoir of ki, Ranko bound and flipped through the area with powerful yet quick martial arts techniques. All of her battles against the Saiyajins and their army had given Ranko strength and speed beyond what the others could achieve with the aid of ki.

Still breathing calmly, Ranko came to a stop after her last kata and closed her eyes. She could feel her aura turn restlessly and let a portion of it run free. Red energy swirled about her form; the anger within sparked against her skin.

Opening her eyes again, Ranko's face was a mask of concentration as she stared off across the lake. Taking a ready stance, she roared, "Snap Shot!"

An instant later Ranko stood on the opposite side of the bank with her aura twice as strong as before and held so tightly that it looked like red water. The next instant she appeared somewhere else on the shrine grounds. Treetops leaned away from her. Sand skittered off in small dust clouds. Water from the lake shot up in the wake of her passing. When it was over Ranko stood on the grass beside the Masaki home where she started. Breathing harder, Ranko slowly dropped her fists and let her shoulders sag. The new white doji she wore over her body suit held up surprisingly well.

The sound of clapping brought Ranko back to the world. Young Cologne stood beside a group of awed martial artists, Sailor Scouts, and alien visitors. "Very impressive."

Ranko smirked a bit coldly at Cologne. "I trained for years to find some way to level the playing field with the Saiyajins and their army."

"Did you create anything else?"

Ranko nodded. "Only one other, but it takes too long to build up the energy. We tried to hold the Saiyajins off once so I could ready it." Ranko broke off and looked away from the group. She hated thinking of these things, the past, the future. The stupid technique, she cursed herself. Ranko had known it would take too long, but the others saw its power and wanted to chance it. It had cost her dearly.

"Forget it," she muttered. Ranko moved into a fighting stance facing the crowd. "All right then. Let's see what kind of losers I'll be turning into fighters."

There was fear in their eyes when they faced off against Ranko, but none of them were cowards. If they wanted a chance against the Saiyajins they would have to trust Ranko.

Clenching her jaw, Cologne moved out first. The fight was spectacularly brief. Cologne hardest hits were barely felt and Ranko made no move to block them. Shiatsu points were overcome with a burst of ki from Ranko. The Splitting Cat Hairs technique did not confuse her, nor did the Hiryu Shouten Ha contain her. When Ranko was sure she'd seen enough, she walked right into Cologne's defenses and cracked her once over the head and dropped the purple-haired woman into unconsciousness.

Everyone swallowed as Ranko's eyes returned to the crowd. "Next."

*~*~*

"This isn't training," Makoto wheezed out as she continued to climb the shrine steps, "it's torture."

Ami grunted right behind her. "Her theory seems sound though."

"She didn't have to laugh when I told her I was a martial artist too," Akane winced with the next step.

Face red with the strain, Usagi tried to readjust the straps around her shoulders again. "Why are we doing this?"

Ami glanced back at her princess and offered a wane smile. The boulders on their backs weren't as large as the one on Akane's, but it didn't change how much pain they were in. Some people got out of this training, but people who had not trained seriously needed to catch up in what Ranko called "Basic Calisthenics". Unfortunately this was only the first exercise. "According to Meiou-sensei our strength and speed in our normal forms are relative to those in our Sailor forms. I've done the math and we are four times faster as Sailor Scouts and about ten times stronger. Unfortunately that doesn't even come close to Meiou-sensei's strength and if we want to fight these Saiyajins we're going to have to become at least as strong as her."

"No," Usagi whined, "why are we doing this?"

"Oh," Ami blinked and continued trudging up the mountainside. "For the safety of the planet."

There was a long silence broken only by the grunts and groans of the girls.

Rei grit her teeth after almost teetering backwards on the steps again. "No planet is worth this."

"I bet Meiou-sensei isn't going near as hard on the others. She just doesn't like us," Minako whined. "She's just bitter that we don't have all of those scars covering our beautiful skin."

Akane rolled her eyes and continued moving.

"Yeah," Usagi agreed, her eyes suddenly turning distant and glazing over. "She's probably keeping those cute boys to herself and enjoying some big bowls of ice cream."

Minako and Makoto both grinned as images of Ranma, Ryouga, and Mousse danced in their heads. The shirtless, sweating bodies kneeling about them. Perhaps Ranma would be holding some sweets out in both hands while Mousse stood to the side waving a big feather, and Ryouga's broad chest became the cushion the girls lounged upon.

Sighing at the same time they almost missed the sound of smacking flesh.

"What was that?" Tenchi asked. He and Yosho had been doing their best to avoid listening to the perverted girls in front of them. Actually, Tenchi was trying hard not to stare at Ami's butt only a few steps ahead of him.

Yosho grunted under his own boulder and turned his head in the direction the sound had come from. "It might be Meiou training the others."

"Oh, yeah?" Minako looked over speculatively. "I want to see."

"Me too!" Makoto agreed quickly.

Tenchi and Yosho shrugged their shoulders and decided to follow. They were fairly interested in what Ranko considered "Advanced Calisthenics".

They heard Ranko's voice. "No, you have to focus, Ryouga."

Crawling up behind one of the trees, Makoto and Minako peered around to get a look at what was going on.

The rest arrived soon after and watched the training as well. Ranko and Cologne were seated on tree branches holding ropes while Ranma, Ryouga, Shampoo, and Mousse were strung up in strange looking harnesses that left only a single finger free to move. Shampoo and Mousse looked to be hanging upside-down and unconscious while Ranma and Ryouga had bruises appearing over the exposed parts of their bodies.

"What are they doing?" Akane asked.

She got her answer when Ranko and Cologne released the ropes and two large boulders come barreling out of the trees to slam against the boys.

Grinning nervously, Usagi backed slowly towards the shrine steps. "Well . . . I'm sure they don't need us . . . we've got our own training and all."

Nodding quickly, the others broke for the steps. "Right!"

Ranko's cackling laughter made them shudder and inspired them to run even faster.

*~*~*

Ranma looked worn. Not surprising with the training Ranko had been giving him. Actually, Ranma didn't mind hard training. It wasn't often that he learned anything new anymore. His father had been very thorough in his martial arts education.

What he did mind was the extra 'workout' the others were giving him. Being connected to Akane as he was turned out to be quite painful. Whenever she messed up, he would pay for it. Akane was quite clumsy too. She tried hard, and Ranma helped, but it didn't always work. Akane was also easily frustrated and vented most often on Ranma. She had the strength to clock him over the tree line.

Ranma's school specialized in mid-air combat, but this was getting ridiculous.

Then there was Ryo-oh-ki. The little devil furball had zeroed in on him for its fun. At least she gave up after the fifth or so lap around the lake.

Ryouga still had his grudge and competed with Ranma in everything. They were fairly evenly matched with Ranma being a bit faster and Ryouga being a bit stronger. It wasn't a surprise that Ryouga achieved the Bakusai Tenketsu first. The Lost Boy gloated over that victory until Ranma tugged at his leash to pull him in the right direction. It was Meiou-sensei's idea, but for some reason the leash and collar made a lot of girls' blush.

Bedraggled and dirty, Ranma found some nice shade to cool down in after some speed and agility training. Everyone in the Advanced Training had held long canes that the trainee had to dodge as they circled him. It worked, but when Ranma missed he'd get a painful welt.

After some time, Meiou-sensei walked around the bend to find him sitting at the edge of the lake with the weird, giant tree in the center. She looked him over for a moment and then sat down beside him. "Well?"

Through the pain and exhaustion, Ranma was able to smile at the redhead. "Man, I've never felt this strong before."

Ranko nodded and let the quiet settle over them again. She was proud of him, of how fast he actually could improve himself given the chance. Ranko missed that. After the war started, training was no longer fun, it was a painful duty to live another day. "How's your mom?"

Ranma's smile turned a little quirky. "Good. She's got this weird manly idea about me, but it's nice having her here. Washuu-chan made all those extra rooms so she and the others could stay."

"Yes. Setsunna said she could take care of things for the others also," Ranko said. After a time she put her hand on the boy's shoulder and stood up. "It's time we took care of a small problem."

"Uh, problem?" Ranma tensed. He liked the training, but the smile on Meiou-sensei's face looked sinister.

"Yep, you're almost perfect, Ranma, but almost just isn't good enough."

He frowned and stood up. "What are you talking about?"

Ranko was glad she wasn't as short as she used to be. Now she could look Ranma evenly in the eye. "People are counting on you, Ranma. You can't let them down." She took his arm and started guiding him back to the house. "This life is a dark, deep pit. You can't be afraid to face your nightmares anymore, Ranma."

"What do ya mean?" Ranma looked confused and Meiou-sensei's sad smile. "Why are ya lookin at me like that?"

"There is something in you that can make you an invincible warrior." She looked away. "I need you to embrace it."

"Wha?" Ranma's eyes went wide as he figured out what she was talking about. He broke her grip and ran in a panic. There was no way he'd let himself be tossed into a pit of cats again. "No way!"

"Ranma!" Ranko frowned and took after the boy. She caught up with him easily and grabbed him about the waist; his arms stuck to his sides.

Ranma continued to thrash, kicking his legs and screaming in fear. "No. No, let me go."

People stopped in their training as Meiou-sensei entered the area with Ranma. The pig-tailed boy had been the cockiest person they'd ever known and now . . .

"What's going on?" Ami wondered.

Akane bit her lip in worry. "Meiou-sensei?"

Walking straight up to the blond with two ponytails, Ranko set Ranma on the ground and kept a hand on his shoulder to keep him from fleeing. "It's okay to be afraid, Ranma." The boy gave an indignant stutter and stared at her with wide, pained eyes. She smiled gently at him. "True strength comes from us overcoming our fears though."

Staring at her for a moment, Ranma bit down on his fear and forced himself to remain kneeling. He would overcome his fear. He would not run away. Not run away.

Confused, Usagi stared at the redhead. "Meiou-sensei?"

"Cleanse him, Usagi. It's time he mastered the Neko-ken," said Ranko.

Others arrived, attracted by the noise.

"What's the Neko-ken?" Rei asked of a pale Ryouga. The boy couldn't respond.

"Are you sure about this, Ranko-chan?" Nodoka asked from the back door, standing beside a hesitant Sasami.

Ranko's eyes remained fixed on Usagi and the girl nodded firmly in response. Her transformation sequence splashed light around the area and she stood with her scepter in both hands over Ranma. "Moon Healing Escalation!" Everyone looked away as the light turned blinding. They were aware of Ranma kneeling in the center as he screamed. When the noise and lights died off they found Ranma panting on the ground with no signs of injury. Usagi detransformed and smiled at Ranko. "Is that it? I did it, right?"

Watching Ranma, Ranko nodded with a grin and helped the boy to his feet.

Cataloguing the event on her computer, Ami turned to the redhead. "So what can Ranma do with the Neko-ken, Meiou-sensei?"

Before she could respond, two men rushed around the corner of the house.

"Ranma! Oh, what an worthless son I have!" Genma cried as he rushed forward.

Soun was beside his friend with tears streaming down his eyes. "We've found you! Now you and Akane can get married!"

Ranko knew the two idiots would find out where they were sooner or later, most likely from Nabiki. The timing actually couldn't be better. She nudged the boy. "Why don't you show them what you can do, Ranma."

He nodded at her, smiling broadly. "Surrre, Meiou-sensei."

Ranko blinked. Did he just purr?

Smirking, Ranma stalked towards the two men flexing his hands slightly. His already smooth motions were now even more graceful like a cat stalking a bird.

Stopping a few meters away, Genma pointed at his son. "Boy, stop acting like a girl! This is a matter of my retirement . . . I mean, family honor!"

Soun's tears turned into waterworks. "Wahh! My little girl is getting married!"

"Urk!" Ranma appeared in front of Genma suddenly with his hand in the man's stomach. The boy was crouched over in an aggressive combat stance.

People around the yard blinked at the speed of the attack.

"Wow," Akane muttered dumbly.

"Did you see that?" Usagi almost squealed.

"T-The N-Neko-ken." Genma stuttered as he took a few steps away from his son. "Ha! I knew you could master it, boy! Now you'll do as your father tells you!"

More tears. "Oh, Saotome, such a good heir you've made!"

Ranma's eyes narrowed at his father as he flexed his hands again. "You'rrre all dried up, pops. Now get lost. I've got trrrrainin ta do."

Genma fumed. "Boy, you will do what you're told like I raised you to. What can a weak, foolish woman teach you anyway?"

"Better things than you everrrr could, old man."

"I'll show you who is the better, boy. Kijin Raishu Dan!" Genma leapt into the air and kicked out with his leg, still a distance away from Ranma. The ground where the pig-tailed boy had been standing suddenly exploded from the vacuum blast.

Akane recognized the attack from when Meiou-sensei had challenged both fathers at the Tendou dojo. "Ranma!"

Ranko caught the girl before she could rush off. "It's okay, Akane. Let him deal with this."

The girl nodded, but she still looked worried like everyone else. Cologne stood staring numbly at the fight. A true master of the Nekoken had never been heard of even in her lifetime.

Ranma appeared out of the dust cloud without even a scratch and moved in swiftly towards his opponent. Skidding to Genma's backside, Ranma released a hail of ki powered punches. "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"

Genma cried out in pain as small ki claws shred his gi. Cuts began to appear, but Ranma obviously made sure to keep them shallow.

"An opening!"

Ranma jumped over a kick from Soun and grabbed the man's ankle. He tossed him aside as the man was obviously out of practice. "I don't think Akane would like me hurtin ya, Tendou-san."

With a pained expression, Genma slowly stood up to glare at his son. "Boy."

Narrowing his eyes, Ranma grabbed his father by the neck and slammed him into the ground face first. "My name is Ranma!"

Seeing his friend kicked down the shrine steps, Soun lumbered to his feet and left as well.

Ranma grinned, feeling immensely good about the whole thing. Turning back to the audience, he walked over to them.

Ranko examined the boy and smirked. "Nice job, Ranma, but what took you so long?"

He shrugged and made his way to a relieved Akane.

The girl blushed as she noted Ranma's smile held as he looked at her. He circled behind her and put his cheek against hers, purring. "Ranma, what are you- . . . Pervert!"

Akane's face was burning with embarrassment as Ranko turned to face her. "I told you about these outbursts, Akane." She shrugged and gave the girl a push in the direction Ranma had been belted to. "You better go get him before he runs off with an alley cat." Some people snickered and started returning to their training with the excitement over. Ranko glanced at Usagi and arched an eyebrow. "A bit out of practice, are we, Sailor Moon?"

The girl scratched the back of her head. "Oopsie."

*~*~*

"Quite an active woman, isn't she father?" Nobuyuki commented around a cup of tea.

"Determined I would say," Yosho responded.

The two sat silently as Ranko continued to train in the backyard. There was a glow about her that lit up the tree line in a soft blue like a guiding star lost in the darkness.

Minako looked tired as she walked into the living room in her pajamas with the rest of the group. With a long sigh she sat down beside Makoto and took a glance out the window. "Is she still at it?"

Ami nodded. "Meiou-sensei said we would get used to it after a while. She has an incredible amount of an energy and I would suspect it takes quite a lot of training to get her tired."

With a grin, Minako jerked her head towards their princess who looked about to drop. "It's certainly helped Usagi. She's been having less trouble getting out of bed these past few weeks."

"Where's Artemis?"

People glanced around for a moment until they found a black cat jumping onto the back of the couch. Ami missed Luna's scowl as she answered, "I believe the cabbit is chasing him around the house again."

Ryoko reached up and scratched Luna's head, her belly starting to show a little more. Tenchi hovered over her more much to Ayeka's annoyance. "You don't have anything to worry about, kitten. Ryo-oh-ki is just playing. She's too young for that sort of thing."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Luna responded primly.

People grinned, not in the least bit convinced. Luna sniffed and waltzed out of the room.

After a large dinner and a days worth of training, most of the people were feeling a bit lethargic, tired yet not sleepy. It was a content euphoria that let them get along with each other without arguing over anything. Since Ranko had found them, Rei and Usagi had gotten along much better in fact. The Outers felt more like comrades then they ever had before. In some ways it was like a large sleepover.

Ranko didn't like thinking of it like that. It seemed to make her and the boys uncomfortable.

"What happened to those other girls?" Akane asked. She and Ranma had taken over a spot by the wall. Akane says she just wants to make sure he doesn't do anything perverted and had nothing to do with how cute he is when he gets flustered, not at all. Nope.

From there they could see out into the backyard and follow Ranko's movements and it was easier than trying to convince Ryoko she wasn't so pregnant that she needed the entire couch. The rest just sat around the coffee table where various snacks could always be found since the house had two cooking savants.

"I believe Mihoshi and Kiyone had to return to their jobs," Ami answered.

Coming in from the backyard and closing her light computer, Washuu nodded. "I sent word to the Galaxy Police and they are setting up patrols outside the solar system to track incoming traffic. These Saiyajins are apparently a race of class A criminals with a record worse than Ryouko's."

"Hey!"

"They'll try to stop them from entering, but if they get past then we're on our own. Interstellar law and all." She took a seat at the couch and Ryoko obligingly moved her feet aside. Washuu was the only one who gained this respect, or fear. Tenchi was turned into a seat the last time he asked.

Clearing her throat, Sasami held up the kitchen phone. "There's a phone call for you, uncle."

Nobuyuki reluctantly looked away from Ranko and took the phone. "Thank you, Sasami."

Nodoka passed Nobuyuki through the kitchen door and sat down beside Sasami when Washuu forced Ryoko to give them room. Sasami smiled up to the older woman. "Thank you for your help around the house, Saotome-san."

"Oh, it was my pleasure, Sasami-chan, and please call me auntie," the woman said pleasantly.

"Okay, Auntie Saotome."

Makoto sighed. "Yeah, thanks for doing all the cooking, Sasami, Saotome-san. I'd help too, but Meiou-sensei keeps us busy all day long and I'm just too tired to lift a spoon at the end."

"Do you cook, Makoto?"

Usagi chirped in excitedly, "Mako-chan is a great cook. She won a chef award one time."

"That's quite an accomplishment," Nodoka nodded as the girl blushed.

Makoto stroked her ponytail and smiled in embarrassment. "I enjoy cooking. It's a good thing I'm so good at it."

Looking around the room, Nodoka smiled at the other girls. Even if she didn't think girls should be fighting, they all seemed like such nice young women. Maybe a few of them would become her son's mistresses! "How about the rest of you girls? What sorts of things do you like doing?"

"I sing. I plan to become an idol singer some day," Minako spoke up quickly. There were little stars in her eyes that brought out amused grins all around.

"I'm studying to become a doctor," Ami said in a small voice.

Nodoka nodded at them both. She moved to the girls closer to the last bits of food. The dark haired girl would frown at the blonde with ponytails, but remained at her side anyway.

Rei looked away from Usagi with a frown. "I'll take over at the family shrine after my grandfather." She nudged Usagi afterwards when people stared at her.

Clasping her hands together and staring at nothing, Usagi got a dreamy look in her eyes. "I'm going to be a princess in a magical kingdom and live happily ever after with my prince."

Rei clapped a hand over her eyes and stopped Nodoka before she could open her mouth. "Don't ask. That's all she ever thinks about."

Nodoka nodded. Some people just grew up faster than others.

Cocking his head, Ranma turned to Akane at his side. "How about you, Akane? What arrre you going to be?"

Akane blushed lightly. The purr in his voice made him sound very suave and sexy. She tried to ignore those thoughts. "I thought about being an actress."

"Really? I thought you wanted to take over your family dojo?" Haruka and Akane found they had quite a bit in common and spent some of their free time together talking.

Akane's smile thinned out a little. "Yeah, well, that's what I'll end up doing, but I'm sure I have time for other things first."

"I want to get out of this chain?" Ryouga said hopefully, shaking at the collar around his neck. Ranko had given it to him a while ago, with the steel spikes just like she wanted, and for some reason he hadn't taken it off. The other girls agreed he should keep it, but the way they smiled made Ryouga nervous.

Washuu glared at him irritably. "Forget it, Hibiki. I'm not spending another hour wandering around that mountain looking for you. I still don't know how you avoided my sensors."

"I'll watch him." Hotaru bounced up to sit beside the bandana boy. She grabbed onto his arm and smiled at his embarrassment cutely.

Michiru and Haruka stared at the two for a moment. Haruka frowned and started to get up. "Hotaru."

"Aw, that's so cute," Michiru smiled and pulled her lover back down firmly. Hotaru smiled victoriously.

Tenchi grinned and put down a new card in his game he was playing against Mousse who was going without his glasses at Ranko's orders. For a half-blind man he was doing surprisingly well. He wondered what sort of special training he'd been getting from Cologne-sensei. Tenchi caught his father coming out of the kitchen with a frown. "Something wrong, dad?"

"It was your school, Tenchi. I forgot to excuse you." There was disappointment in the words, but he didn't say anything further.

"That's one thing I don't miss. School was so boring," said Usagi.

Ami looked at her friend with a frown. "You need an education, Usagi. There isn't much you can do without one. Minako can't be an idol if she's a drop out. What would people think of her? And Makoto and Rei need to graduate to go to college. And I won't be able to get into medical school without it."

"Are you having second thoughts about this, Ami?" Washuu asked.

It took a moment, but Ami shook her head. "No, Washuu-chan. This is important, but I'm worried about what will happen to us when this is all over." She sighed deeply and looked away from the backyard. "I'm sure Meiou-sensei wants to protect us and the planet, but at what cost?"

"Oh, you're thinking that forgetting about your education will turn you into her."

Ami looked flustered and shook her head quickly. "I'm sure Meiou-sensei isn't stupid-"

"-but you don't want to end up like her." Washuu gave the apologetic girl a sad smile. In her life, Washuu had seen and done many things. But she tried to stay away from war. She had too much experience with such things in her own past. "Ranko lost a lot in the war of her past. Her ambitions and dreams were changed quite drastically with the loss of her family. There was no future for her any longer."

"Yes. Ranko is stuck in the past especially in her own mind." Cologne agreed.

Nodoka sighed. "Such a lovely young lady she is. I'm sure there must have been someone special Ranko was planning to become a wife for."

Ranma scowled at the sorrowful looks everyone was directing towards his sensei. "That's stupid." In a louder voice he growled at the other fighters. "Ranko-sensei has got to be the best martial arrrtist in the world. Why would she want to give it up to become some weak housewife when she can prrrotect so many people? It's the duty of a marrrtial artist to defend the weak." People looked at him with a little confusion, disdain, and annoyance. Ranma understood Ranko though. She wasn't someone's housewife and he doubted she'd ever wanted to be something like that. Ranko was stronger, more driven than that. The others just didn't understand, but Ranko was everything Ranma wanted to be. She had power, but there was also a fire that kept her pushing at herself. Snorting, Ranma flowed onto his feet with his Neko-ken grace and strode out the door. "I'm going to sparrr with her a bit before bed."

"But you still need something worth protecting." Cologne whispered in the quiet room. "I will talk to Ranko about making time for more practical studies."

Ami nodded. "Thank you, Cologne-san."

*~*~*

After eating and relaxing a bit, everyone declared it a night and headed for bed. Washuu had gone through and created pocket dimensions for the girls to sleep in when they started running out of room. The boys were stuffed into Tenchi's though. It didn't bother any of them too much since they were hardly in there. Cots were set up side by side and clothing was generally left lying around the room.

All the training, the physical abuse, this was one of the best times in Ranma's life. He lived to train, to become better, the best. He wasn't the only one though. It really was nice having Ryouga around. The other fighters were good, but no one else was as challenging. Ranko, Yosho, and Cologne were could easily trounce anyone in the group, but he and Ryouga were in the level just beneath them. Everyone should have a Ryouga Hibiki for a training partner.

"It's not funny," Ryouga growled pitifully.

Ranma continued to snicker. "Man, yourrr face was redder than Meiou-sensei's hairrr."

Ryouga paced about the room in his agitation. The chain was gone, but that didn't mean he couldn't get lost in the room. "Shut up, you jerk." The boy was probably unconsciously looking for a way to escape this latest embarrassment.

Following the boy with his eyes, Ranma grinned. "I'll watch Rrryouga at night to make surrre he doesn't wanderrr off. Hehehehe."

Mousse smiled at the two. Leaving the village had been better than he thought it would be. Ranko was hard on them, but he was stronger and felt even closer to Shampoo now. The other guys were different than he was used to, but he liked them. "Don't worry about it, Ryouga. Hotaru is just a little kid with a crush."

"She's only two years younger than us," Ryouga muttered.

Ranma sniffed in disgust. "I wouldn't call herrr a kid. Minako says she has the power to destroy the worrrld." It wasn't fair that someone should be stronger than him without training he thought. That and Hotaru was so young; she couldn't possibly be ready for that kind of responsibility.

The boys paused as they heard from a clatter out in the hall. Mousse frowned deeply and faced Ryouga seriously. "Hmm, Saotome might be right. You'd best keep her happy, Hibiki."

Ryouga groaned in dismay and blushed in embarrassment at the same time. The door opened and Tenchi stumbled into his bed without a word.

"How is your fiancée doing, Tenchi?" Mousse asked, lifting the boy's face off of his pillow. He looked weary.

Tenchi shook his head. "She's still upset about us not sleeping together, but I keep telling her how early I get up and she doesn't like that at all."

"She sure is milking the whole pregnancy thing. Sasami has been making treats for her almost non-stop. She'll get fat from them before she will from the baby!"

Tenchi caught himself before he nodded. "She's also been teasing Ayeka about it a lot. I hope they don't fight with Ryouko in the condition she's in."

They had all witnessed more than one such confrontation. "I wouldn't worrrry about it. Meiou-sensei seems to like herrr a lot and will stop them beforrre anyone gets hurt. They were probably frrriends back in herrr time."

"At least we're not as bad as Ranma and Mousse, eh Tenchi?" Ryouga grinned at the glowering boys. "We at least don't get clobbered on a regular basis by the girls."

Ranma shrugged and looked bored. "It's betterrr with the Bakusai Tenketsu training."

Mousse had tears in his eyes as he stared dramatically into the wall, only a few feet off of the moon. "This training is only bringing me closer to my Shampoo and someday she will realize we were destined to be together!"

Chuckling, Ryouga agreed. "She's at least more focused after being unable to beat you into submission the last few times."

"She came close." Mousse winced as he touched a sore rib. "But I accept these taps of love as marks of our eventual union."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Rrright."

Tenchi listened closely to the other boys. They were much better than he was and were thus further along in the regime. Sometimes they were on the same field in practice, but other times Meiou-sensei would take them somewhere more isolated for special techniques. "So what have you guys been learning? Meiou-sensei has just started me on that chestnut training thing."

The pigtailed boy acknowledged Tenchi's burnt hands. "What arrre we going to be doing, Rrryouga?"

"You're moving onto the Soul of Ice technique while I'm still stuck with the Revised Speed Technique." Ryouga sniffed angrily at the speed Ranma picked up most techniques. That and he feared he'd never get out of this revised speed training where the instructors would smack him with bamboo poles and he was only allowed to dodge.

"Oh yeah. My grandfather asked her about that one," Tenchi said. "Meiou-sensei says the original training involved a locker room and half-naked women. How that helped speed training is a mystery to me."

Mousse yawned. "Speaking of training, we should get to bed. I don't feel like being flung out the window if I accidentally sleep in."

"Agreed," the rest nodded and followed Mousse's lead.

There was silence in the house again. After all the activity recently it seemed wrong for the place to be so quiet.

That was ended moments later with a squeak from the floorboards outside their room.

"Stupid, Ryouko, trying to steal my Tenchi." Ayeka clasped her hands and looked mock-innocently at the wall. "But Tenchi, the bed is so cold without you." She snorted. "Give me a break. Monster woman." Standing before the door to Tenchi's room, Ayeka adjusted her nightgown and prepared herself to enter. "Well if she can seduce Tenchi then so can I. He won't even know what hit him, hohoho!"

Inside the room four boys grew massive sweatdrops.

"You think she knows we can hear her?" Mousse asked.

Tenchi buried his head beneath his pillow. "Oh, man."

*~*~*

Akane shook with rage as she entered the girls' bathroom. Her hand was a little red from smacking someone who'd gone through the Bakusai Tenketsu. "That perverted baka trying to sneak in here with me. And what the hell did he mean he wouldn't want to see me naked?"

Ryoko tried to make a calming gesture as the girl sat down. "Easy girl. Don't go getting your panties in a bunch. Washuu designed these so guys can't enter our bathroom no matter what. We're in a whole other dimension from them."

"Really?"

Apparently the news was a surprise to others. Ami glanced about the area. "Someone better tell Minako that. She's been searching the place for the men's side for weeks." She cocked her head suddenly. "How far does this place reach anyway?"

Ryoko shrugged. "You'd have to ask Washuu."

Ami grimaced at the thought of finding herself forced into another impromptu lecture. Washuu was interesting, but she could get a bit eccentric at times. "Uh, I think I'll just leave it a mystery."

"Good thinking," Ryoko nodded. "Still, you want to talk about perverts, you want Nobuyuki. Now that is a pervert."

"You shouldn't speak of my father-in-law like that Ryouko," said Ayeka without actually denying anything.

"Get over yourself, princess. Tenchi is mine."

Veins started to sprout on the Jurians forehead. "Why you-"

Akane tried to think about the man and couldn't recall anything bad. "What about Misaki-san? He seems all right to me."

The princess sighed. "You should have seen him before you arrived."

Ryoko started ticking off her fingers. "Peeping, taking pictures, the innuendoes . . ."

"Why's he so different now?" Akane cut in.

Both girls shrugged in shared relief. "Who knows? Maybe being surrounded by so many strong women has finally taught him a lesson."

"It might be something else," Ami suggested, pointing towards another hot spring.

"What do you mean, Ami?" Akane asked, looking over to see a redhead with her back to them.

Ami smiled. "Meiou-sensei definitely needs to learn to relax. Maybe a little pervert is what she needs?"

A cold chill snaked through Ranko's spine as she glanced at the giggling girls.

*~*~*

School. Ranko couldn't believe it. The kids actually wanted school. Since the war started, little things like that were left in the ruins. But even now, what good did that do?

It was a waste of time. Everyone here was a fighter of one type or another and would likely be fighting the rest of their lives. They were guardians or royalty. What did algebra have for them?

The fate of the world or the fate of the fate of their English test?

Cologne recruited Setsunna and the two of them ganged up on her and eventually got their way. Actually there was no doubt to the outcome when Setsunna was involved. So now after lunch there would be a few hours to let the kids learn whatever Washuu and Setsunna would be teaching them. Well, it gave Ranko some time to push herself a little harder.

"Meiou-sensei?" Ami spoke up after regaining her breath from another sparring session with her group. The Sailor Scouts mainly stayed to themselves in the training. Akane and Tenchi used to be with them, but they had been moved on to advanced training. This begged the question, "When do you expect we'll starting training with ki?"

It was a point of interest with the rest of the girls after seeing Ranma and Ryouga begin projecting their auras and using them offensively.

Ranko liked Ami because she was usually so smart. Usually.

Ami slowly became unnerved with the way Meiou-sensei was staring her in the eyes. "You don't think we'll get to the point where we can use our ki?"

Ranko sighed. "Among you only Rei can use her ki. She only has enough to make a fire get a little bigger then pass out after five minutes. Learning to use ki doesn't just happen with a little training."

It was harsh, but it drove the point home.

"I could do it," Rei muttered.

Ranko smiled indulgently. "Even after ten years of fighting you couldn't get a small battle aura flaring. Using ki requires a great deal of focus and control of your body from an early age. Maybe eventually, but we don't have time to wait."

Haruka frowned as she and Makoto stopped sparring. "What are we doing here then?"

"Look at them," Ranko said pointing off to the other fighters in training. Ranma was using his cold ki to lead Ryouga into a spiral as Cologne watched in approval. Akane stood facing off against Mousse and suffering a few cuts from his weapons. Shampoo and Tenchi were trading blows, but it was obvious Tenchi was the better. Each of them moved with grace and precision. Each of them was also glowing with ki to one degree or another.

Ranko turned back to look at the Sailor Scouts. "In this fight they are the stronger warriors. You don't have the skill or the speed to fight the Saiyajins up close. If you really want peace and justice you're going to have to fight this smart."

Most of the girls frowned. Ami considered what this enemy might be as if seeing it for the first time. Ranko could take anyone of them in a few seconds and the Saiyajins were even stronger than she was. The Sailor Scouts couldn't keep up, she was sure, so, "You want us as cover fire."

"Exactly," Ranko nodded. "You girls are the only ones with access to magic. Your strongest attacks worked very well in slowing the Saiyajins down when I needed some breathing room. But you couldn't stand up to them. So, since I can't train your magic ability I'm trying to make you strong enough to run from the Saiyajins if it becomes necessary."

Rei didn't like it. It felt like they were pieces of useless artillery. They were the Sailor Scouts and they had saved the world a dozen times already. But this they couldn't face? Her shoulders sagged. "I guess."

"Hey there, girls," Nobuyuki called from the house. "Ready for a little break? There's some lemonade in the house." He smiled as he walked over to their area with two glasses in his hands. He held one out to Ranko. "Meiou-san?"

Reaching for the glass reflexively, Ranko nodded to the man. She hadn't realizes how much of sweat she's worked up already. "Thanks." Staring up at the sky, Ranko sighed. "I didn't realize what time it was. Washuu will probably be starting your lessons soon."

"Oh!" Usagi suddenly shrieked and rushed for the house. "I didn't do my homework! Ami I don't suppose I could-"

"I thought they were tired," Ranko frowned.

Nobuyuki shrugged. "Kids these days are just full of energy."

Arched eyebrow, Ranko stared at the man for a moment and then walked for the house after the girls. "What are you doing home today? I thought you were an architect."

"I am," Nobuyuki smiled brightly. "Designed this very house, I did. I'm just between projects right now so I have a few days to myself before getting back to work."

Ranko nodded absently and stood beside him on the porch waiting for the others to return. "It's a nice house. Must have been peaceful with the shrine close by and the lake just down the hill."

Nobuyuki chuckled nervously as he heard Ayeka and Ryoko getting into another of their fights. "Peaceful is nice, but I rather like having all the girls around. It's like one big family."

Clacking of weapons halted and a cheer rose up among the fighters still on the mountain. Ranma and the rest were making mad dashes for the house when the smell of lunch reached them. Cologne and Yosho seemed to stroll through the carnage of the training grounds. It reminded Ranko of the careless way she used to treat her challenges as a kid. Fights with enemies resulted in major property damage, but she always came out on top. Ranko had started thinking she was invulnerable for a while.

She'd lost her family already. All Ranko had now were memories. The people around her looked like those she used to know, but they weren't the family she dreamed of. How could they be when they were dead.

"Take advantage of it while you still have it, Nobuyuki," Ranko advised.

Nobuyuki's tentative smile grew a little stronger as he stared at Ranko. He couldn't think of anything to say, but it didn't seem necessary either.

Behind the two adults, Minako and Makoto grinned.

*~*~*

Minako stood at the kitchen table with a stern look of wisdom on her face. "I still say nothing works better than see-through negligee." Wisdom doesn't mean intelligence.

"Do you want to suggest it to Meiou-sensei?" Ami asked.

Minako paused dramatically and then deflated. "What else do we have?"

After listening in on the conversation between Ranko and Nobuyuki, the girls had decided there was enough interest there to work on. Who knows, maybe after this the training would lighten up a bit and they could get some real time off.

"How about getting them to have some sort of chance meeting in the bathroom like in those love stories?" Makoto suggested. Her idea on how to start relationships wasn't that far off of Minako's.

Rei shook her head. "That only happens in mangas."

Suddenly, Usagi felt inspired. "Oh, we get Misaki-san to challenge her to a duel and when he defeats her he sweeps Meiou-sensei off of her feet and they ride off into the sunset on a white horse."

". . ."

Makoto pat Usagi's head gently and put a cookie into the girl's hands. "You've been reading those samurai mangas Misaki has stashed in that basement, haven't you?"

"Those things are rotting your small brain, meatball head," Rei growled.

The Outers had been pulled into this meeting as well, and while they hadn't contributed, the amusement value was enough reason to stay. Michiru sighed against Haruka's shoulder while her lover bit her lip to keep from laughing. Hotaru was fortunately tied up keeping Ryouga from wandering off and Setsunna was somewhere else.

Another lady did walk into their meeting however. Nodoka looked about the assembled girls. "What are you girls up to in here?"

"Oh, nothing." Minako put her hands behind her head and chuckled nervously.

Nodoka arched an eyebrow. "Really?" Moving in closer to inspect the girls' faces she asked, "It sounded like you were plotting something. Not thinking of sneaking into my son's bed at night, were you?"

"No!" A few girls did blush, but the one time Makoto had flirted with the boy Akane showed up with a flaming mallet. Ranma was apparently taken.

"Oh." Nodoka sounded slightly disappointed. "So what were you planning?"

Makoto grinned a bit. "Uh, we were thinking of ways to help Meiou-sensei loosen up."

"Ranko?" Nodoka thought about the woman and had to nod. "She is a bit serious. A little fun couldn't hurt. What have you come up with?"

The girls told the Saotome matriarch some of their best ideas as the woman listened patiently. When they were done she shook her head.

"Oh no, those would never do. We couldn't make Ranko or Nobuyuki do anything themselves. Men would make of such plans and Ranko is too prideful. But Nobuyuki is very manly and is just what Ranko needs."

Ami sighed in relief. This might have been her idea, but her friends' plans were just a bit over the top. "What do you suggest, auntie?"

Nodoka paused a moment to consider, and then a broad smile spread across her face.

The Inners smiled in response.

Haruka and Michiru felt a wave of dread.

Tenchi backed away from the kitchen slowly. He didn't need a snack that badly.

A minute later the group broke apart to set things in motion. As some of the girls began to work in the kitchen, others went exploring through the house, and Nodoka headed straight for the dojo.

As usual, Ranko and Ranma were moving at best possible speeds to beat the hell out of each other and call it training. Most of it Nodoka couldn't even begin to follow. She was proud of her manly son though. To find such a pretty teacher and be surrounded by so many lovely young ladies.

Ranko stepped back as Ranma lunged at her with a speed punch. "Good." A breeze brushed her hair off of her shoulder and she turned around to find Ranma bouncing off the dojo wall and returning with a sidekick. She chopped down at his ankle and palm thrust him in the sternum. "Keep your guard up, Ranma."

A longer exchange began as both fighters blurred and bound about the room. Ranko kept to blocking and dodging for a moment and them moved in to pass through Ranma's punches. One second he was standing up against her and the next he was planted like cheap wallpaper on the other side of the room. "A little faster on the return next time."

Ranma groaned as he picked himself back up.

Ranko smirked and waved him on with her hand. She planted herself firmly as Ranma charged in again and this time knocked away his attacks with her superior strength. He was taller than her, but she had the experience and power to more than make up for it. It was comical in a way to see a man being easily taken by a small woman. As Ranma became tired he also became sloppy. Ranko made sure he understood that. "Close up that hole!"

The pigtailed boy's eyes crossed as he fell to his knees with his crotch protectively in his hands.

Nodoka stepped in then with a cheery smile. "Ranma!"

"Huh?"

Her smile fell to motherly concern. "You haven't finished your homework yet, have you? Washuu-chan told me you weren't doing very well in her class."

Ranma blinked. A moment ago he'd been fighting at a level unthinkable only half a year ago. Now his mother wanted him to stop because his education wasn't so great? "Ah, mom," he whined.

Ranko decided to help Nodoka out and let Ranma leave with a little dignity that would have been swiped away with embarrassment. She mussed the boy's hair. "You're doing much better, Ranma. I didn't think you'd progress this much so quickly. You better go take care of your homework and rest."

Nodoka looked at her significantly. "And you, Ranko-chan. You skipped dinner again to continue training."

Shrugging, Ranko followed the mother and son out. "I suppose I should."

"We left some food for you in there. Come along Ranma," Nodoka indicated with a wave of her hand and then dragged Ranma along with her. She opened the door to the girls' room on the second floor. "Here."

Ranma's eyes opened wide in surprise. "But that's the girrrls' room."

An equally surprised Akane stared back at the two.

Without waiting, Nodoka shoved her son inside and closed the door behind him. She had to get back down to see how everything else was going. "Study hard, Ranma. I'm sure Akane-chan can help you!"

At the same time, Minako and Usagi had found Nobuyuki hiding out in his den. With a little coercion they had him heading for the dining room.

"I'm not that hungry, really," Nobuyuki complained while being manhandled by two teenage girls.

Minako squeezed the arm she held behind the man's back. "Trust us, Misaki-san. You look famished and you wouldn't want the food to go to waste, would you?"

Nobuyuki whimpered over the loss of feeling from his elbow down. "I suppose."

"Great."

Usagi waved happily as Nobuyuki was tossed into the room and the door closed behind him. The two girls rushed for the kitchen where the others were obviously watching.

Another door opened and Ranko took a look inside the room. She frowned upon seeing two lit candles. Did the power go out? She tested the light switch. "Why are the lights so dim in here?" She noticed the other person in the room a moment later. "Nobuyuki?"

The man blushed and made a small wave with his hand. "Eh, hello, Ranko."

"Were you working late too?" She indicated the two dinners and sat down.

Suddenly feeling the need to eat, Nobuyuki sat across from the redhead. "Sort of."

Ranko took in the aroma deeply. "Smells good."

"Yes," he agreed though he hadn't quite noticed the food yet. Ranko was eating for a minute before Nobuyuki realized he'd been staring. "S-So, uh, how is training coming along?"

Ranko paused in her eating to give the question some serious thought. "Not bad. I think the Sailor Scouts have nearly capped their abilities. I'll have to move on to strategy in a little while."

Nobuyuki nodded. "Is Tenchi doing well?"

"Pretty good." She watched the man puff up in pride a bit. "He's not at the physical ability of the other martial artists, but his practice with the Light Hawk will really come in handy defensively."

"That's my boy. I know he'd do great things in his life." A lull was hit in the conversation. Nobuyuki picked at his food and tried a bit. It was good. The girls must have made this special. He glanced at the redhead again and tried to swallow his nervousness. "Uh, well, Ranko . . . -chan. You're a very attractive young lady and I was wondering if possibly-"

Ranko's mind suddenly went into overdrive as she reviewed what she had seen thus far. Dim lights, candles, the see-through negligee Nodoka had stuffed into her pocket . . . "Uh, w-wait, Nobuyuki. I'm . . . I'm a lesbian." Close enough anyway.

Nobuyuki paused. "Lesbian?"

Someone in the kitchen started moaning.

Michiru jabbed them in the ribs. "Stop it, Haruka."

Nobuyuki blinked again. ". . . oh. Sorry about that."

Ranko mistook the man's hesitation for dejection. "Right. I mean, you're nice'n'all, but I just-"

Nobuyuki waved it aside as he went a little glassy-eyed. "Oh, I understand, Ranko. You can't blame a man for trying!" A gut-wrenching laugh broke through the room.

"I guess not." Ranko stared at the man oddly when a little blood started running out of his nose. "Nobuyuki?" His teeth shown through his grin and Ranko could swear she heard him muttering her name. She learned forward to hear better. "Huh?"

Nobuyuki continued to whisper. "Hehehe."

". . ." Ranko blinked and her face turned a bright red. Shocked, she jerked back and picked up one hand. "Pervert!"

SLAP!

Washuu took a sip of her tea as she sat at the kitchen table. "Thought it was obvious myself."

"With age comes experience," Setsunna intoned with a voice of wisdom.

"Indeed," Cologne agreed.

From upstairs, one of the bedroom doors opened and a pigtailed boy was sent toppling down the stairs followed by an irate scream. "Pervert!"

Nodoka and the Sailor Scouts sighed in defeat.

End Chapter Two

* * *

Not as long as before and not quite as exciting, but my stories are more than just fighting, unlike Dragonball Z.

Send C&C to jehtek@hotmail.com

Or visit my website at www.oocities.org/jehtek

Ja ne.