Chapter 4: Chain of Memories Disclaimer: See Prologue, it hasn't changed. "Throw the switch after I add the last ingredient dear," Tomoe Souichi instructed his wife Keiko as he created another testsolution in their subspace research laboratory. "Now," he cued after placing the concoction in the experimental space gate they had managed to build. Keiko flipped the switch and sent 10,000 V through a high current wire into the circuit. This triggered a buildup of power in a giant capacitor which then unleashed the power through the gate in a millisecond. Lightning arced back and forth over the surface of the gate before a huge bolt zapped the materials placed in the center. For a moment, it seemed as if nothing had happened, but then the mixture started to glow a brilliant white and expanded slightly before it shrunk rapidly and blackened. Small bolts of purple lightning arced off the shrinking mass. "Momma, I'm bored, come play with me, please?" little Hotaru asked as she peered through a crack in the door to the lab. The crackling mass expanding briefly once more, before shrinking down to a pinpoint; the ground started shaking knocking some vials to the ground where they shattered. "Hotaru-chan, get out of here!" Keiko yelled. "I'll be up in a minu" BOOM! A massive fireball consumed the gate and spread rapidly outward, engulfing Keiko instantaneously. "Momma!" Hotaru shouted as she bolted upright, her body covered in a cold sweat. "Momma," she murmured and started to cry. She ran out of bed and down the hall into Setsuna's room. Hotaru's shout had woken the house and Setsuna was rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she jumped out of bed to check on her daughter. "Oof." Hotaru slammed into Setsuna and started sobbing and babbling. "I was asleep and I saw the explosion and momma was on fire and and and," Hotaru sobbed and clung to Setsuna like her life depended on it. Michiru and Haruka looked in from the doorway, but Setsuna sent them a look that clearly said, "It's alright, I've got her. Go back to bed; I'll see you in the morning." "Shh, shh, it's okay little one," Setsuna murmured nonsense in Hotaru's ear while she stroked her back and cradled her against her chest. "No one can change the past, not even me. But I'm here now and so are your other mama and papa, and we aren't going anywhere. Would you like to stay with me tonight, honey?" Hotaru sniffled and hiccupped a bit and clutched tighter to Setsuna's chest. She nodded her head sleepily. "I love you Setsuna-mama," she mumbled out before falling back asleep, still holding Setsuna in a death grip. XXOOXX Hotaru was more clingy than usual at breakfast the next morning, as if she thought her parents were going to disappear. She was currently sitting in Michiru's lap while eating a bowl of cereal. With the exception of her brief trip to use the restroom, she had been holding on to at least one of her parents at all times. She had even forced Haruka to join her in the bath. Setsuna had filled both Haruka and Michiru in on Hotaru's nightmare, but she admitted to being at a loss as to how to cheer Hotaru up. "Hey, I've got an idea," Haruka pulled Setsuna aside during breakfast. "Why don't we ask if she wants to see her friends today? They can probably cheer her up." "Wow, that's surprisingly insightful Haruka," Setsuna said, drawing an indignant, "Hey!" from the wind senshi. "Keep her distracted for a couple minutes and I'll check." Setsuna headed to the den to make a few phone calls. Setsuna returned to the kitchen and dropped down to Hotaru's level. "Hotaru-chan, would you like to play with Ranko and Chibi-usa today? The Tsukinos have invited both of you over for the afternoon." Hotaru bounced out of Michiru's lap and gave Setsuna a big hug while babbling, "Yes yes yes, I'd love to, it'll be so much fun. Thank you Setsuna-mama!" XXOOXX Hot and muggy was the only way to describe a scorching July in Tokyo. It was still the middle of the rainy season but the temperatures easily rivaled the usual August heat, easily rising above 100o F (~38o C). Hot summers were the norm, but the combination of heat and humidity was still quite uncomfortable for the city's residents. Ranko spent as much time as possible at Hotaru's house or at the Crown because both buildings had air conditioning while her apartment did not. She also went swimming as much as possible because it was fun and helped keep her cool. Like most children, she became quite lethargic in the heat, but due to her unique nature the temperature had a much greater affect. She was actually subconsciously using her powers almost constantly to cool the area around her. While this continuously sapped her energy, it also built up her innate control of her magic and deepened her reserves greatly. She was not yet strong enough to really notice what she was doing; all she knew was that unless she was in water or A/C, she was tired and miserable. A month had passed since the slumber party at the Outers' home, and Setsuna had warned Nodoka about Ranko's incident in the bathroom. Nodoka was on high alert for another flashback, but nothing had really happening. With the exception of the heat, she was still an incredibly happy and bouncy girl, though she had grown even more in the past month. She was effectively an incredibly cute, vivacious six year old, and she had shot up a few more inches. Her crimson and aquamarine hair had grown out significantly, and Ranko now wore it in a high, spiraled ponytail, tied off with a light blue ribbon the same color as her eyes. She was wearing a stretchy shorts and backless halter combination in the same color blue with a picture of a pixie on the front. Her wings had developed as well, not growing longer, but developing a more defined shape. Where Saffron's wings took the form of large angel-style wings composed of pure flame in a feathered motif; Ranko's naturally curved downward and looked like a mixture of butterfly wings on the bottom with dragonfly wings on top composed of elaborate, ever-shifting patterns of deep blue ice crystals in aquamarine water. Ranko was also currently wearing a small, light pink apron with a unicorn on the front and flitting about the kitchen. Well, the apron used to be pink, right now it was almost entirely coated in flour and batter and Ranko had a big smudge of batter on her cheek. She was giggling while she splashed some milk into a big bowl. Nodoka indulgently watched as Ranko did a fair job of completely destroying the kitchen, or as she preferred to call it, baking cookies. "What do I do next momma?" Ranko asked while she stirred the bowl enthusiastically, splattering yet more batter on the countertops, on the floor, and of course, on herself. "Add some chocolate chips, mix them in, then we can put the batter on the baking sheets. Do slow down a bit daughter, they'll come out better if you mix slower," Nodoka chuckled a little and snapped a picture of Ranko. She looked utterly adorable attempting to cook. Nodoka got up and prepared a couple of pans for baking, then showed Ranko how to put the cookie dough on them. "Alright missy, off to the bath with you, these will bake while you get ready to go," she said. "Yes momma, I love you, bye!" Ranko flew up and gave Nodoka a kiss on the cheek before sprinting off down the hall to the furo. XXOOXX "Whee!" Hotaru shouted gleefully from the passenger seat of Haruka's convertible while they were driving. "Faster Haruka-papa, I wanna see 'Ko-chan now!" "All right squirt," Haruka responded and gunned the engine while pulling an intricate maneuver to avoid traffic involving three rapid lane changes. Traffic laws were more like… guidelines…to the Senshi of wind. Haruka was already a regular on some racing circuits, and was looking to make the move into motocross as well on her racing bike. "Hold on to something Hotaru-chan." Haruka pulled a quick e-break u-turn to cross four lanes of traffic and stop in a space just larger than the car directly in front of the Tanaka's apartment building. "Wow, that was fun Haruka-papa, can we do that again?" Hotaru asked as they got out of the car and walked to the buzzer. "Sure thing kiddo," Haruka said as she punched in the code to call Nodoka's apartment. "Just don't tell Michiru, okay?" "Alright Haruka-papa," Hotaru agreed. "Moshi moshi, Tanaka residence," Nodoka's voice floated over the intercom. "Momma, I wanna talk. Hi! This is Ranko, who's there, is it Taru-chan?" Ranko's bubbly voice broke in. "Hi 'Ko-chan! Hurry up!" Hotaru said. "C'mon momma, let's go, hurry up. They're here!" Ranko's voice was followed by a click as the connection closed. A minute later Ranko burst through the door of the building and slammed into Hotaru, nearly knocking her off her feet. Ranko did manage to restrain herself from picking Hotaru up and flying around with her, though she really wanted to. Nodoka had told her that she probably should keep the wings a secret when in public. "Hiya Taru-chan, guess what? I made cookies this morning to take over to Sa-chan's as soon as they invited us over. They're really yummy! Want one?" Ranko asked, talking at a speed that only Usagi could begin to rival. Haruka burst out laughing at her antics. "Oh, hiya Haruka-san, wanna try a cookie too?" "Sure thing Ranko-chan," Haruka said as they walked to the car. She called out, "I'll have her home by 9 o'clock, alright Nodoka-san?" "That would be wonderful Haruka-san. Goodbye Ranko-chan, have fun," said Nodoka. "I will momma! Bye bye, I love you," she replied. Haruka and the two girls got in the car, and took off down the street with only passing regard for the surrounding cars. It was Ranko's first time experiencing what driving with Haruka really meant and she was a little frightened. In the past Michiru had always been present and she was something of a calming influence on the volatile woman. "Whee! This is fun Haruka-papa, don't you think so 'Ko-chan?" Hotaru giggled from the passenger seat. "Erk, um, sure thing Taru-chan," Ranko gulped and covered her eyes as Haruka made a particularly daring passing maneuver. A few minutes later they pulled up in front of the Tsukino household and Haruka let the girls out of the car. She said, "Have fun, I'll be back to pick you up later," and sped off while they waved to her. The girls walked up to the front door of the house and rang the bell. They waited on the front step for a minute before the door opened and a smiling Usa snagged both girls in a hug. "Hi, c'mon in. You have to meet Auntie Ikuko, and the meatball head is home too." "Hey! Don't call me meatball head, Spore," Usagi yelled from the kitchen. "Auntie Ikuko, this is Ranko-chan, and you already know Hotaru-chan," Usa introduced the girls as they entered the kitchen. Ranko and Hotaru bowed briefly to the older woman. Ranko held out the platter she brought and said, "Nice to meet you Tsukino-san. I baked some cookies this morning to bring over, want some?" "Ooo, cookies?" Usagi's eyes got sparkly as she started to devour some of the treats. "Mmm, Ranko-chan, these are yummy." "Thank you! They're my first try," Ranko chirped and helped herself to a pair of the cookies. "Hey, leave some for the rest of us meatball head," Usa said as she too swiped some cookies. "Grr! Don't call me that," Usagi grumbled. "Hey, Taru-chan, 'Ko-chan, let's go upstairs and play," Usa said as she dragged the girls out of the kitchen. "This is my room." Usa spun slowly in the middle and looked back towards Ranko as Hotaru headed or the bed. "Like it?" Ranko slowly took in the room, which was decorated with a glaring amount of pink, but tastefully so. There were stars painted on the ceiling in a glow-in-the-dark paint, and a bunch of stuffed animals on various surfaces. Especially prominent were the stuffed rabbits. "Ya, it's a really nice room Sa-chan," Ranko replied. "Ooo, pretty kitty! What's your name little kitty?" she cooed as she spotted Diana and stroked her gently. "That's Diana Ko-chan, Usagi has a kitty named Luna, but Diana is way nicer," Usa said. "Purrrrrrrr." Diana leaned in to Ranko's hand and pushed up against it with a happy mewl. "Hee hee, soft! Aren't you just the sweetest kitty ever," Ranko cooed and cradled Diana in her arms. "So what'dya wanna play Sa-chan?" "Oh, I know, let's play Doctor," Usa said. Hotaru bounced excitedly on the bed. "I get to be the nurse! I wanna be a nurse when I grow up, so I get to be her," she said. "Ok, I'll be the doctor then," said Usa. "Which means you get to be the patient Ko-chan." "Alright," Ranko chirped. "Oh doctor, help me, I hurt my arm." She swooned. "I'll take a look at that ma'am," Usa said with mock seriousness. "But first, my nurse needs to see you." "Oh no Dr. Usa! It's terrible," Hotaru began with a look of horror on her face. "It appears the patient has hurt her arm, whatever shall we do?" "I think we need to amputate, Nurse Hotaru," Usa replied with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Eep!" Ranko yelled and bolted. She shouted behind her, "If you wanna do that, you've gotta catch me first!" while she sprinted down the hallway. The girls continued to play for an hour. They played a couple more rounds of doctor, switching roles. They also played house with each of them pretending to either be the father, the mother, or the daughter. While most girls would be a bit wary of playing the role of "papa," these three didn't even consider it strange given who Hotaru's parents were. Eventually, they tired of make believe games. They decided to head out to the Crown, but they needed to convince someone to go with them. "Hey Usagi-san/meatball head," they chorused. "Will you come out with us to go play at the Crown, pleaaase?" They turned a collective puppy-eyes look on her, and Usagi felt her will to protest the evil nickname evaporate. "Alright, but I'm bringing Mamo-chan with me," Usagi said with little hearts in her eyes. She pulled out her phone and dialed him. "Who is 'Mamo-chan' and why did Usagi-san look all funny when she was talking about him?" Ranko asked. "Oh, he's a really cute boy," gushed Usa as she blushed slightly. Usagi smacked her on the head lightly and said, "Oo, you stay away from my Mamo-chan, Spore." "Usagi is in looove," Hotaru and Usa chorused, causing Usagi to blush furiously as Ranko giggled at their antics. XXOOXX The four girls walked to the Crown Gaming Center where they met up with Mamoru. He'd come with a bouquet of flowers for Usagi, prompting her to gush over how romantic and dreamy he was. Ranko honestly couldn't see what was so wonderful about him; he was just some sappy boy. Usa had a little blush on her face watching him though, and Hotaru thought he was very sweet, even though she wasn't old enough to find him physically appealing. "Mamo-chan, this is Ranko-chan, one of Hotaru and Chibi-usa's friends. Ranko-chan, this is my wonderful Mamo-chan," Usagi gushed and glomped onto his arm. Everyone sweatdropped. "Um hi, nice to meet you, heh," Ranko stuttered out, feeling a bit awkward after Usagi's introduction. "A pleasure," Mamoru replied, also feeling a bit embarrassed by the situation. "Alright, enough, let's go play the Sailor V game!" Usa grabbed Ranko and Hotaru by their arms and dragged them deeper into the Arcade. They spent their change on games and ice cream, and Mamoru was shocked to see Ranko keep up with the human vacuums… that is, his future wife and daughter. Eventually, the girls decided they needed to go home to make it back in time for dinner. Usagi and Mamoru attempted to share a tender goodbye, but they were interrupted when the little girls said, "Ewww, gross," just as they were about to kiss. Mamoru decided to walk them home instead. He and Usagi held hands and walked at a sedate pace while the younger girls skipped around and ahead of them. Eventually they reached the gate to the Tsukino house, where they shooed the younger girls inside to share an actual farewell. XXOOXX Ikuko, being used to her daughter's and 'niece's' eating habits, prepared a virtual banquet for dinner. "Wow, this looks amazing Tsukino-san," Ranko said. "Thank you for having me for dinner." "It's no trouble Ranko-chan. Well, what are you all waiting for, itadakimasu!" They all dug in; Usagi, Usa and Ranko with what could be politely termed gusto. Even Ranko was satisfied by the quantity and quality of the food. After their meal, the three younger girls sat down to watch a movie. Usa wanted to watch a romance, but Ranko didn't want to watch "gross kissy scenes" all night long. Eventually, they settled on a foreign movie, "The Princess Bride," because Ikuko suggested it as a good compromise. It was appropriate for the age group, had enough romance to keep Usa happy, and enough comedy and other stuff to not bore the younger girls. Usagi decided to join them as well. They were all getting into the movie, when Usa loud declared, "I wish I had a boy as noble and handsome as Wesley," and sighing dreamily. To which Usagi replied, "Mm, he's cute, but he has nothing on my Mamo-chan." As usual, they started squabbling. The younger girls turned to them and said together, "Shh! We're trying to watch the movie, not you." They were all near tears when Wesley "died" and outraged when Buttercup was going to be forced to marry against her will. For some reason, the idea of a forced marriage really bothered Ranko though she didn't know why. Usa, who loved horses since she had a monstrous crush on Helios and his Pegasus form (she had earlier declared to anyone that would listen that when she was all grown up, she was going to make him her prince), was enraptured by the riding scenes. Hotaru thought the interplay between Inigo and Fezzik was hilarious, and just couldn't stop giggling. She would go on to say the word "inconceivable" far too much over the next week. They younger girls were all frightened when princess Buttercup was almost eaten by the screaming eel. Ranko and Hotaru had as to cling to Usagi until it was over. Usagi was just generally enjoyed the movie, though she found the younger girls' antics even more amusing. Ranko and Hotaru both clung back to Usagi with renewed vigor when the pirate almost fell off the cliff, which made the older girl smile softly at them. Nothing too noteworthy happened for the rest of the movie though they all enjoyed it with one exception. When the Dread Pirate Roberts and Inigo started to fence, Ranko stiffened up and her eyes glazed over. It was imperceptible to all but Usagi, who was still holding the girl. During each and every fight from then until the end of the movie, it would happen again. Usagi was slightly concerned, but Ranko made no mention of it, so she didn't say anything. Inside her head, Ranko was immediately categorizing the various moves the actors used, dissecting them and rebuilding the fights mentally. She didn't know why, but she really wanted to learn how to do what they were doing. By the end of the movie, Hotaru and Ranko, who were running mostly on adrenaline from the final battle sequence, had dozed off against Usagi, which prompted Ikuko to take a few pictures. Haruka and Michiru showed up shortly afterwards to take the sleepy girls home. XXOOXX The heat wave broke overnight, and Ranko was finally able to recover a proper amount of energy while she slept. For the first time in nearly three weeks, she woke up with the dawn and hopped out of bed. A mischievous smile crossed her face and her eyes lit up brightly as she sprang down the hallway, deployed her wings and burst into Nodoka's room with a battle cry of, "Morning momma!" as she pounced. "Oof," Nodoka gasped and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She was being hugged nearly to death by her incredibly bouncy daughter. "Good morning dear, did you have a good time last night?" she asked. "Yep!" Ranko replied as she jumped up and flew around the room. "We played a bunch and I got to meet Sa-chan's kitty and she was so cute and fuzzy and then we went to the arcade and met Usagi's Mamo-chan and then we played some Sailor V and some other arcade games and it was really fun and then we went and had dinner which was really really yummy and then we watched a movie!" "That's nice dear, what movie?" Nodoka asked after taking a moment to process her daughter's bubbly speech; it didn't help any that she was still half-asleep. "It was called The Princess Bride, it was really good, though there were some scary parts. There was a pretty princess and she had her prince save her a bunch and there were some really cool fight scenes and I wanna learn how to do that and the swordfights were really cool and can I learn how, please momma?" Ranko asked. "I suppose you are old enough to learn some martial arts if you want to, daughter," Nodoka replied pensively. She thought, 'Hmm, she still seems to have a fixation on martial arts. I did always want to pass my family's sword style down, and it seems like she doesn't mind weapons. I'll have to get her some unarmed instruction first though.' She continued, "Perhaps I can even teach you my family's blade techniques once you are a little older." "Ooo, that sounds like fun! Can we start? Huh momma, can we?" Ranko bounced up and down excitedly. "I'll see what I can do about setting up some lessons for later, alright honey?" Nodoka said. "Yes yes yes!" Ranko enthusiastically replied and slammed back into Nodoka for another big hug. Her stomach made a vaguely angry noise and Ranko had the good graces to look up sheepishly. "I'm hungry momma, can we have breakfast?" "Of course dear, would you like to help me make it?" Nodoka asked. "Oh, yes please momma," Ranko said. An hour, a destroyed kitchen, and a bath later, and Ranko and Nodoka were ready to find a dojo to sign Ranko up for lessons at. Unlike Nerima, Juuban did not have many to choose from and they only taught standard styles as opposed to ridiculous things like Martial Arts Tea Ceremony. There were two kendo dojos, though Nodoka planned on teaching Ranko the blade herself, a karate dojo, an aikido dojo and a kempo dojo. Nodoka debated started Ranko on either aikido, as her small stature would favor a soft art, or kempo, because it was versatile. Ranko just wanted to do both. Eventually they settled on kempo, though Nodoka had to promise Ranko that if she really liked it that she could also try aikido. They signed Ranko up for a beginner series of lessons that would begin later that afternoon, so they decided to get a bite out to eat beforehand. Nodoka bought some nikuman and takoyaki from a local vendor and they ate a quiet lunch in the park before heading back to the dojo. Entering, they saw the place had filled up a bit, and there were twenty other children of various ages stretching out. Ranko was the second youngest there, and the oldest looked to be in their mid-teens. After a couple minutes of limbering up, Ranko bounced around the room introducing herself while Nodoka went to sit with some of the other parents. An elderly man entered from the back of the building and cleared his throat. "Hello everyone. For those of you who do not know me yet, I am Li-sensei, and this is my dojo," he said. "Please separate into your usual groups, and those of you who are new, please join me in the front." All the children aside from Ranko and one other split into two groups; the older kids went to the right for the most part, and the younger to the left. At this point Makoto entered from the back of the building in a gi. "Hiya Makoto-san!" Ranko cheered. "Oh, hello Ranko-chan. Are you joining the class today?" Makoto asked. "Yep, I was watching a movie and the fighting looked really fun and I wanted to do it," Ranko replied. "Well, it can be hard work, but I hope you have fun. I'm assisting with the class, so when you move up to the more advanced group, I'll be teaching you," Makoto said. "Yay, that'll be fun!" Ranko said. "Alright, Makoto, please take your group through their beginning kata while I evaluate our new students," Li-sensei instructed. He turned to Ranko and the other new boy and continued, "Now, do either of you have any experience in martial arts?" The boy didn't have any, and Ranko wasn't quite sure how to respond. She said, "I've never done this before but I was watching a movie the other day and moves were just popping in my head so I decided I wanted to take some of the Art because it looked like fun." She gave a rather sheepish shrug. "Well, I suppose I'd better test you out then young lady. Let me see, Jun, please come here for a moment," Li-sensei said. "I want you to spar with Ranko here, she's not sure where she stands. Ranko, Jun is about the middle skill level for this group, I don't expect you to win, but do your best." "Hai sensei," both children responded and bowed. Jun got into a standard ready stance, one foot in front of the other and slightly to the side, hands up to protect his face and sternum. Ranko merely stood there, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Li-sensei's eyebrow arched, he recognized Ranko's stance as being deceptively mobile. 'This will be interesting,' he thought. After staring at Ranko for a moment, Jun was stumped. How did this girl intend to fight without taking a stance at all? He shrugged, figuring that he might as well get it over with, and sprung forward with a strong punch at her head. Ranko merely tilted her head to the side at the last moment and the punch missed by an inch. Jun, for his part, was shocked that she had dodged. He followed up with a quick jab-punch-roundhouse combo, each of which Ranko dodged with slight movements. Her brain was working overtime, as patterns and movements instinctively moved through her brain. Li-sensei arched an eyebrow, and the rest of the class stopped what they were doing to stare incredulously as the tiny new girl effortlessly evaded one of the decent regulars. Jun pressed the attack; he didn't understand how everything he was doing missed. "Gah, stop dodging and fight me!" he yelled as he pressed the attack once more with a powerful punch. Reacting on instinct, Ranko reached out and lightly tugged his fist, redirecting the momentum and plowing him face first into the wall. "Oops, sorry about that. Are you okay?" she asked as he groaned and pulled himself up. He spun around angrily, and was about to continue the assault when Li-sensei lightly laid a hand on his shoulder. "I think that's enough for now," he said. "Jun, please rejoin the group, you were doing very well until you lost your temper. Makoto, come here for a moment please." Makoto had been stunned by the level of skill Ranko possessed. As far as she knew, the six year old had absolutely no training, yet she had demolished a decently skilled green belt by moving in ways she had never seen before. Makoto was ranked at the second Dan level herself. "That was a very impressive performance Ranko-chan," Li-sensei began, "I'd like to see you do some kata, and then I want to see you spar with Makoto. Please show her the first 10 kata while I instruct the rest of the class." "That was great Ranko-chan! How did you do that?" Makoto asked as she ran Ranko through the first basic kata of the school. Ranko picked up the kata effortlessly, and hovering just out of reach was the thought that she had done this kata and many others before. Ranko leaned in and said in a strangely timid voice with downcast eyes, "Um, I'm not sure Makoto-san. I just had a feeling that I was doing the right thing. I didn't mean to hurt him." "You didn't do anything wrong," Makoto reassured her. "I was just curious, since you said you didn't remember any training." Makoto continued to run Ranko through the kata, only having to correct her stance once or twice. It was odd, the only time Ranko fouled up any of the moves were the two moves where a man would have struck out with a different limb. "That's very good Ranko-chan. You seem to be a natural at this," Makoto said. "Now, we are going to spar a little bit. Why don't you show me what you can do?" Makoto dropped into a modified stance that favored quick blows and a relentless offense over a strong defense. Ranko just resumed her bouncing with her hands lightly at her side and waited for Makoto to make the first move. Makoto started in at about 50% speed, she didn't want to overwhelm the girl completely. Ranko dodged the first punch-kick-uppercut combo with ease and struck back with a couple punches that Makoto swatted away. They broke apart and Makoto evaluated Ranko's moves. She seemed to flow from one stance to another with very little thought, and was fighting well above a beginner's level. If she didn't know that Ranko had never practiced before, she would have thought the girl had been fighting at competition level for years. Makoto upped the speed a little and blazed back in. Ranko responded by jumping over a kick and springboarding off Makoto's head. She throwing a punch as she passed over, which Makoto ducked with a leg sweep that connected and sent the smaller girl tumbling. Ranko rolled back and got back to her feet, and rushed back in with a flying feint kick that Makoto fell for, followed by a rabbit punch to her side that slipped through. Makoto batted the smaller girl away and dropped into a more balanced stance and rushed in. She was moving at almost 75% of her normal speed, and Ranko was still keeping up, but just barely. More blows were actually slipping in to hit the younger girl, and she was forced almost entirely on the defensive. Suddenly a punch blazed in at her head and time seemed to slow down for the young red/aquahead. She 'saw' the counter attack that would work the best. She reached out and attempted a throw on the incoming arm, but only managed tangle herself up in Makoto's arms as they fell to the ground together. "Alright, that's enough," Li-sensei interrupted them and the rest of the class broke out in applause. "That was quite a show you two put on, and a very interesting choice of moves at the end there, Ranko. If you were twice your size and had more strength, that counter throw would have been very effective." "Thank you sensei." Ranko blushed and looked down. "Everyone, please practice your most advanced kata for the rest of the time today. Makoto-san, please come speak with me for a moment," Li-sensei said and led Makoto to the back of the dojo where they started whispering back and forth rapidly. Ranko jumped over to Nodoka and said, "Hi momma, that was lots of fun! I really like this, can I keep doing it please?" "Yes, you may dear. That was a very impressive fight. You make me very proud, honey." Ranko blushed and hugged Nodoka. "Excuse me, Nodoka-san, Ranko-chan," Li-sensei walked over and interrupted them. "I'm afraid that Ranko will not be able to join this class anymore." "What, why not?" Nodoka said indignantly, while Ranko teared up and buried her face in Nodoka's kimono. "I'm afraid that if your daughter wants to study kempo at this dojo that she will have to return to my advanced class after passing a Dan ranking test. She is already far too advanced for anything less, though I'm stunned that a girl with no formal training could already qualify for a first dan." Ranko blushed so hard that even her neck turned red and a huge smile erupted on her face. "Can I momma, please please please?" Ranko bounced in Nodoka's arms and turned huge, shining eyes at her mother. "I suppose that would be best, dear. When could she challenge for Dan, Li-sensei?" Nodoka replied. "Well, as I am licensed to officiate. I would be happy to teach her the remaining kata after class is done today, and to allow her to challenge for Dan when she thinks she has mastered them. It would be an honor to teach such a prodigal student," Li-sensei said. "For the rest of class, please go with Makoto to learn more of the required kata." "Alright sensei," Ranko said, her face still slightly pink from praise. XXOOXX Makoto and Ranko spent the rest of the lesson running kata after kata with very few corrections. An hour later, Li-sensei joined them and taught Ranko the last 5 series that she would need to master and told her to return in one week to see if she could qualify for the advanced classes and her first Dan rank. "Goodbye class, please remember to practice your kata daily and I will see you all next lesson," Li-sensei announced to the group and bowed. "Goodbye Li-sensei!" The children chorused and bowed back before running off to their parents. "Did you see me momma, I did good, huh? That was soooo much fun, I can't wait to do more of this! Can you please teach me how to use your sword momma? The fencing was really cool! I want to do it too. Pleaase!" Ranko bounced merrily around Nodoka. "We'll see honey, I think you should focus on what you learned today before we start with the blade," Nodoka replied. "Now come on and get changed. We're going to meet Setsuna and Hotaru for dinner tonight, and we don't want to be late." "Okay momma, I can't wait to tell Taru-chan all about today," Ranko chirped and went into the changing room. "Excuse me. You are Ranko's mother, correct?" Makoto said as she approached Nodoka. "Yes, what can I do for you miss?" Nodoka asked. "It's Makoto. Please tell her that I had a good time sparring with her today, and tell her she did a really great job. I wish I was able to pick moves up the way she did today," Makoto said. "Oh, I will Makoto-san. Thank you for working with Ranko earlier," Nodoka said. "Not a problem, I have to leave. Please tell Ranko-chan that I'm looking forward to seeing her in the advanced class next week." Makoto bowed and ran off towards the Hikawa Shrine. XXOOXX Makoto sprinted up the steps to the Hikawa Shrine and threw open the door into the Senshi meeting room, panting heavily. "Whew, sorry I'm late everyone I was held up at the dojo," she gasped out. She looked around the room, and sweatdropped upon seeing just Rei, Ami, Haruka and Michiru present. "I guess I didn't need to run so fast, huh? Minako and Usagi are late as usual then?" Rei snorted, "Like meatball head would ever bother showing up on time." "I should have known," Makoto grumbled. "Where are Setsuna and Hotaru?" "We're here!" Minako and Usagi called out from the temple's entrance. "Sheesh, can you get any louder meatball head," Rei yelled back. "And why are you always late?" "Wah, Rei-chan is so mean," Usagi cried. "Alright, can we please get started," Ami said calmly, delaying the inevitable Usagi/Rei brawl. "Can we assume Setsuna and Hotaru have other plans?" "They're meeting up with Ranko-chan and her mother for dinner," Michiru said. "Speaking of… Haruka, you are coming with me to the dojo next week. Trust me, you'll want to see this," Makoto gushed. "Why?" Haruka asked. "Ranko-chan is the most brilliantly natural fighter I think I've ever seen. You really need to see this Haruka. She pushed me almost to my full speed, and get this, she said it was her first ever class." "Ok, I suppose I can join you," Haruka responded. "Hmm, Setsuna was awfully insistent that we go to the park the day the girls met," Michiru said pensively. "I wonder… no, there can't be any more of us, can there?" "You think Ranko-chan might be another Senshi, Michiru?" Ami said with her brow furrowed. "All the planets are accounted for." "I know, it's just, I've never seen Setsuna quite so pleased as when Hotaru and Ranko hit it off. And Makoto claims she's a natural fighter. Silver Millennium memories would explain that." "But Michiru, aside from Usagi, who we now know is the Princess, all of us are named for the planets. Unless, do you think she could be Sailor Terra?" Ami postulated. "Well, that or Sailor Sun. It would make sense, since Usagi draws her power from the moon that someone might be bound to the sun itself," Michiru said. "Hmm, give me a couple minutes," Ami said as she pulled out the Mercury computer and started typing rapidly. "Was there anything else we needed to discuss?" "Yeah, you were supposed to let us know how things went last week," Haruka said. "Oh, right. We managed to free the Sailor Quartet, and they returned to the future where they are supposed to guard Small Lady," Usagi began. "Then, Mamo-chan and I got trapped in a mirror." "We eventually managed to get them out," Minako continued. "Then, we took out Zircon, which just left Queen Nehellenia. Usagi actually managed to do something right for once and overpowered her," Rei concluded, to which Usagi let out a miffed, "Hey!" "Oh, and then we found out that Nehellenia was just really lonely, it was so sad," Usagi said. "So, I turned her back into a child and we sent her home. Hopefully everything will work out for her." "Alright. And Small Lady's task?" Haruka asked. "Helios is free and Elysion is safe. He's so cute, I'm going to make him my prince when I grow up," Chibi-usa sighed with hearts in her eyes. "Riiight," Haruka drawled and Rei snorted, "Like mother, like daughter." "Alright, anything else we need to know?" Michiru asked, pulling the group back on topic. "No, that pretty much sums it all up," Mamoru said. "Ha, got it," Ami said. Everyone turned towards her. "Mercury computer, display mode: projection, activate." A beam of light shot off the back of the Mercury computer and resolved itself into a holographic screen. "I managed to get a scan in memory of Ranko from the one time I met her. Mercury computer, display energy wavelength and pattern for subject: Tanaka Ranko." The light resolved into a 3-dimensional image of Ranko, 3 inches tall with her wings exposed. Pulses of blue light flowed in intricate patterns throughout her. "Display same for Chibi-usa and Hotaru." Two more beings of light resolved themselves next to the image of Ranko. "As you can see, all three girls, when untransformed, have pulses of energy following similar paths, with an origin near the sternum. This is the latent life energy that sustains them all. The Origin is where the heart crystal is located. You'll notice that Ranko's pulses are significantly brighter than either Chibi-usa's or Hotaru's, which indicates that she generates more latent life force than either of them does." The scouts looked at the images, and could clearly see that Ranko's energy pulses were much stronger. "Computer, show star seed and magical analysis for all three subjects, overlay Sailors Chibi-moon and Saturn for cross reference." The images changed, and instead of pulsing blue light, Ranko's body filled with a soft white light. In contrast, Chibi-usa and Hotaru's bodies contained an 8-pointed star near the center of their chests that were so bright as to be blinding, with a network of energy radiating out, Hotaru's in purple and Chibi-usa's in pink. The overlay from their Sailor forms showed the same energy pattern, but magnified a thousand-fold. "As you can see, even in civilian form, both Hotaru and Chibi-usa show a clearly formed star seed, which is the object in the middle of their chests. Ranko does not. While I do not have any scans of any of us before we first transformed, we can at least assume that Ranko is not an active Senshi. Also, her magical energy is of a different frequency than any of ours, and does not seem to match any magical signature stored in the computer from the Silver Millennium. This leads me to believe that she is not in fact a Senshi, though it is possible that she is inactive and her pattern will change upon activation," Ami concluded. "Brilliant, as always Ami," Setsuna said from directly behind Usagi, who jumped forward, clutched her heart and shouted, "Don't do that!" "So sorry, Princess," Setsuna said with mirth shining in her eyes. "You are quite right Ami-chan; Ranko-chan is not a senshi. Incidentally, there is no such person as Sailor Sun. It is extremely difficult to create planetary bindings, and the sun produces far more power than even Saturn. It could be bound, theoretically, but no normal human could possibly survive it. As for Sailor Terra, unless you are planning on getting a sex change my Prince," Setsuna smirked at Mamoru (who grimaced)," that is never going to happen." "How long have you been there, and aren't you supposed to be at dinner?" Haruka asked. "Oh, I ducked into the restroom for a moment to let you all know that you can take it easy for the next couple of months. There are no major incidents coming up, enjoy the break while you can. And some of you," she pointedly looked at Usagi and Minako, "need to catch up on your studies." "Aww, no fair!" they pouted. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must return before I'm missed," Setsuna said as she disappeared in a flash of pink light. "I hate when she does that," Usagi pouted. "Why can't she sneak up on anyone else? Ooo, is this new, I haven't read this one yet!" She grabbed a manga off a nearby table. "Usagi, give it back!" Rei yelled and they dissolved into their usual fight. Ami turned to Michiru and pulled her aside before they could be enveloped in the chaos. "I wonder why she was so interested in Ranko then, and I wonder how she's so good at fighting?" "I'm sure we'll figure it out, eventually," Michiru said. "I suppose we should save them from themselves." Michiru pointed at the brawling scouts. "Nah, they need to get it out of their system," Ami replied. XXOOXX Setsuna appeared in a bathroom stall at the restaurant, detransformed, and walked back out to her table. She and Hotaru had met Ranko and Nodoka at a relatively new place that specialized in ramen. Hotaru and Ranko were happily chatting away at the end of the table. Ranko said, "So we got there and the Li-sensei broke the class up into groups and then I got to spar with this boy and it was fun, but it was way too easy and I think I kina hurt him, though I really didn't mean to and I was afraid that he was going to be mad at me. But then guess what? Makoto-san was there and Li-sensei had me spar with her and she's really really good and we fought for a while and I just kinda knew what to do but at the end I messed up and she fell on top of me and it was kinda embarrassing. But then, Li-sensei told me that I couldn't be in his class, and it made me really sad because I was having so much fun." "What? Why not? That's so not fair, why can't you be in the class if you like it and you are kinda good at it already. How'd you get so good Ko-chan? I thought you hadn't done it before," Hotaru babbled back. "Just wait, it's actually really cool, and I have no idea how I did it. It just seemed totally normal, like I'd already done it once, but you'd think I'd remember that, huh? Anyway, he told me I couldn't be in his class, and I was so sad that I almost started crying, but then he said that if I learned a couple more kata he'd let me join the advanced class and give me something called a Dan rank already, which I think means something but I can't remember what. Isn't that really cool Taru-chan? Do you wanna do it with me next week, huh?" Ranko giggled a little bit. "Um, I'll think about it Ko-chan, but if you are gonna be in the advanced one that means I can't do it with you, right?" Hotaru said. "Oh, huh, I didn't think of that, I guess it would mean that, huh? Oh, but I'm gonna see if momma will let me try aikido too, if I start that do you want to try it with me, it'll be tons of fun, and it'd mean we'd get to see each other even more. You're my best friend, I think it'd be a cool thing to do together too," Ranko said. "Yeah, that could be fun, I'll check with Haruka-papa later. She loves martial arts and she'd probably be easier to convince than either Setsuna-momma or Michiru-momma," Hotaru responded. While the girls continued to chat about Ranko's class and what Hotaru had done over the past couple of days, Setsuna pulled Nodoka over to the side and said, "I was thinking, Nodoka-san, you will probably enroll Ranko at school next semester, assuming she finishes growing, right?" "Yes, I was planning on it Setsuna, why do you ask?" Nodoka responded. "Well, I thought that I might start tutoring Hotaru. I don't want her to be behind her classmates, and she will probably be starting in middle school. I may also hire a friend to help tutor some of the subjects, and I was thinking that perhaps you might want to include Ranko in her lessons," Setsuna explained. "That is a good idea. I can help as well on the days that I don't have to work." Nodoka worked part-time in a clothing store at a local mall. "I'm relatively good at Japanese history, and I've already started teaching Ranko to cook. Who did you have in mind to give them lessons?" "I was thinking Ami-san might be willing to, especially if we chipped in to hire her for a couple hours a week," Setsuna said. "She is the number 1 student in the country, and she has some experience tutoring already. I just want to make sure that Hotaru is ready for school when it starts, and I'm sure she'll pay more attention if she has a friend working with her." "That is a very good idea, Setsuna. I'd be happy to help hire a tutor for the girls. Ranko is very bright, but I didn't think about getting her ready for school. I guess I just didn't realize how far behind she would be if she doesn't start studying a bit. But, what grade level should we prepare them for?" Nodoka asked. "Well, before she was reborn, Hotaru was 13 years old. Didn't you say that you were told that Ranko would probably age until she was something similar?" Setsuna said. "Yes, Saffron told us that he normally aged rapidly to early puberty, and that we could expect the the same for Ranko. Why?" Nodoka questioned. "Well, if we prepare the girls to enter either the seventh or eighth grade at Juuban Middle School, they should be ready. After all, we can pick what age to register them for. And as I am an administrator in the school district, I can control their placement. I was planning on putting Hotaru back in eighth grade when she finished growing. I think they'd like to stay together, so you probably want to register Ranko for the same," she said. "Alright, when shall we start? Ranko is now taking some martial arts lessons a couple days a week, and I'm sure she'll try to convince Hotaru to join her," Nodoka said. "Well, how about we start tutoring them for a couple hours a day. I will see when Ami is available, and I will give them assignments when I'm watching them. You can do the same on days when you have both of the girls. We don't want to overwhelm them, but they have a lot of material to catch up on. Though, I assume they will probably remember some of it subconsciously. Hotaru had some memories return recently that we had to help her through. Speaking of which, has Ranko had any more issues?" Setsuna asked. "No, aside from her sudden desire to learn and skills in martial arts, nothing has happened of note," Nodoka said. "You don't think anything is wrong, do you?" "No, I'm guessing that she'll recover more soon though, Hotaru's memories have been speeding up as she's been getting older, and I'm guessing it will be the same for Ranko," Setsuna said. "I'll keep an extra close eye on her," Nodoka said. "Good," Setsuna said. "Oh, I believe that's our food." Business out of the way, Setsuna and Nodoka talked about such all important topics as clothing for the rest of their meal while Ranko and Hotaru discussed some anime they had watched the day before. XXOOXX Nodoka put Ranko to bed around 9 pm and read her a story. Ranko had curled up around a stuffed Princess Peach doll and dozed off while Nodoka read to her. She was mumbling cutely in her sleep and clutching the doll to her chest. Nodoka smiled softly, kissed Ranko on the forehead, and crept out of the room. She went into her own room next door and picked up a book of her own to read. She was just getting sleepy when she heard a bloodcurdling scream from the room next door. "Papa, no, no, not the pit again. Please PAPA." Nodoka bolted up and burst into Ranko's room to see her curled up tightly around her stuffed animal with her arms covering her head. "Help me papa, it hurts," Ranko whimpered and started sobbing, "it hurts. MOMMA HELP ME PLEASE." Ranko shivered violently and started to tremble uncontrollably. Nodoka rushed to Ranko's side, pulled her into her lap and cradled her closely. "Shh, it's alright little one. Mommy has you now," Nodoka whispered in Ranko's ear. "Mommy has you and isn't going to ever let you go." She continued to whisper assurances and make little noises while she gently stroked Ranko's hair. It took nearly an hour for the trembling to stop, and another twenty minutes before Ranko stopped sobbing. Ten minutes later, and she managed to uncurl slightly, grabbing Nodoka's middle in a death grip. Nodoka gently laid down with her daughter, still holding her close, and drifted off to sleep. XXOOXX Dawn broke over Juuban and Nodoka stirred to the sunlight. She blearily cracked her eyes open and thought, 'Huh, this isn't my ceiling, what happened last night?' Then, realization hit her with the force of a sledgehammer, and she desperately looked around for Ranko. She noticed a light weight on her chest and looked down, causing her to smile softly. Ranko was still clutched to her chest protectively, but the little girl had a content smile on her face and was using her breasts as a pillow. One hand still held the Princess Peach doll and Ranko snuggled in even tighter when Nodoka shifted slightly. Nodoka gently stroked Ranko's hair. "What happened last night sweetie? What could possibly have happened to you?" She murmured to herself. Twenty minutes later, Ranko stirred slightly and groggily opened her eyes. "Momma!" She clutched to Nodoka tightly and started to cry, breaking down into full blown sobs as Nodoka held her. "Shh, it's alright sweetie. Tell mommy what's wrong," Nodoka whispered soothing words to Ranko and rubbed her back. "I, I, I had a bad dream momma. A mean old panda took me away, and I was sad and you were standing there looking at me. And he was carrying me and there was a pit and I didn't want to go into the pit and it was really scary. And then when I said I didn't wanna go in the pit, the panda called me a weak little girl and I'm not weak am I momma, and I'm a big girl, I'm not little. And, and then he hit me and threw me in and then it was really dark and I heard k-k-kitties and they were sad and then it hurt, it hurt so bad momma and," Ranko bawled out and started sobbing harder. It took a couple more minutes for Nodoka to calm Ranko down enough for her to continue. "It hurt momma, it hurt so bad and I wanted you to save me, and I didn't think you were gonna come, and I was really scared. You'll always save me, right momma? And you won't let a panda take me away?" Ranko looked up with big, soulful, eyes which were red and puffy from crying. "Of course dear, I will always come for you if you need me, no matter what," Nodoka promised. "What happened next?" "Then, then you grabbed me momma, thank you momma, you saved me, I love you momma. And then you smacked the mean panda-man with your sword momma," Ranko hiccupped and giggled for a moment. Then her face fell and she started to cry more. "But, but, but then I saw the mean panda throw a boy in the pit momma and he was really sad and the kitties were hurting him but I don't think they wanted to. The kitties looked so sad too and they were all skinny and gross and dirty and I wanted to help the boy and the kitties but I couldn't momma." "It's alright honey, I'm sure they were happy that you wanted to help." "Can, can I have a kitty momma?" Ranko looked up hopefully, twin tracks of tears still moving down her face. "Maybe when you are older dear and we move into our new house. I'm sorry dear, but we can't have pets in the apartment," Nodoka said regretfully as she gently wiped away Ranko's tears. "Awww, but the kitties were so sad and I want to pet one to make it feel better," Ranko pouted. "Doesn't one of your friends have a cat daughter, perhaps you could go see it later," Nodoka pointed out. "Oh ya, Sa-chan has a kitty and her cousin has another kitty, and maybe I could go over there later to play, please momma?" Ranko asked. "I'll call Tsukino-san to see about that Ranko. We're meeting Kasumi for dinner tonight. Maybe your friends would like to come with us. Now why don't you go take a bath and get dressed, and I'll make some breakfast and see if I can't arrange something for later," Nodoka said. "Okay momma, I love you, you're the best momma eve." Ranko hesitantly released Nodoka and slowly made her way to the bathroom. XXOOXX "Ranko-chan, I called the Tsukinos and Setsuna, and both of your friends can come with us to Nerima for dinner. If we leave now, we will have half an hour at the Tsukino home before we need to leave for the subway station and Tsukino-san said you could play with their cats," Nodoka said as grabbed her wrapped sword and her purse. "Okay momma, c'mon, hurry momma!" Ranko shouted as she ran out the door and grabbed Nodoka's hand to pull her to the elevator and down the street. Nodoka giggled lightly at how enthusiastic Ranko was. When she learned that Ranko had a Neko-ken nightmare, she was worried that Ranko would gain Ranma's ailurophobia. Fortunately, it seemed that Ranko just loved cats all the more for it. Though she would probably never gain the ability to use the Neko-ken, Nodoka thought it was a good exchange. Ranko had been extremely clingy all day, which Nodoka was secretly glad for. She absolutely refused to let go of Nodoka for any reason, and seemed to want comfort at random times. The walk over was no different, though Ranko, being the impatient little girl that she was, dragged Nodoka literally the whole way to the Tsukino house before running up to the door and ringing the bell a couple times. Ranko bounced on her feet on the doorstep while they waited for someone to let them in. Ikuko opened the door and said, "Welcome to my home, it is a pleasure to finally meet you Saotome-san. Ranko-chan, Usa is upstairs in her room if you want to see her." "Thank you Ikuko-san, bye bye," Ranko said as she bolted up the stairs at high speed. "Please, call me Nodoka, Tsukino-san." "Only if you'll call me Ikuko." "Of course, Ikuko-san. Thank you for letting us come over. Ranko had a terrifying dream and really wanted to see the cats today," Nodoka said. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm happy to be able to help. Where was it that you were planning on taking the girls for dinner?" Ikuko asked. "There is a place in Nerima called the Ucchan that I was planning on taking Ranko to tonight to meet an old friend of mine. I thought she would appreciate having her friends with her, and it might get her mind off the dream from earlier," Nodoka said. "There is also some bad history between my family and Nerima, so I thought Ranko could use some support." "I understand," Ikuko said and squeezed Nodoka's hand. "I can't help but have noticed something, Nodoka-san, but I wonder where to begin. Ranko and Hotaru both are growing up far faster than either of my girls, and they both have come over here after having experienced some… rather disquieting dreams. I don't mean to pry, but what exactly is going on?" "Well, I suppose it would be for the best if you knew, after all, the girls spend so much time here I should have expected you to be curious," Nodoka sighed. "Ranko… was once a boy named Saotome Ranma…" Nodoka went on to explain much of the history of the events leading up to Ranko's rebirth as she knew it. She mentioned that something similar had happened to Hotaru, but that she didn't know the details and that both girls were occasionally receiving memories from their past life. For some reason, it all just came pouring out as she talked to Ikuko. She then tearfully explained the Neko-ken, which Ranko relieved the previous night. Nodoka sobbed out, "I still don't know how I ever let that, that panda take my child from me. I'm hardly fit to be a mother." She collapsed into tears. "You didn't know any better," Ikuko soothed. "And it seems like you are doing a wonderful job with Ranko. You're lucky you know, not everyone in your situation gets a second chance. Thank you for telling me this. I think you'd better go freshen up, I'll get the girls ready to go." "Tha, thank you Ikuko-san, I don't know what came over me," Nodoka sniffled as she rose from the table to go use the restroom. XXOOXX Ranko burst through Usa's door and pounced on her friend, who was reading a manga. "Hiiii Sa-chan!" she said as she lifted Usa up into the air and spun around a bit. "Gah! Ko-chan, lemme down," Usa said sternly, before breaking down into giggles. "Mmkay Sa-chan, whatchya reading?" Ranko asked as she drifted back to the ground and pulled in her wings. "Oh, just some Wedding Peach, wanna see?" Usa said. "Maybe later, is Diana around?" Ranko asked as she looked around the room. "Oh, Diana is probably just taking a nap under the bed. You can wake her up if you want," Usa replied. "Here kitty kitty," Ranko dropped to her hands and knees and looked under the furniture to find Diana, who yawned a big kitty yawn and stretched her back before slinking out from under the bed to investigate. "Huh, Small Lady, why'd you make me get up.. eep, I mean, meow?" Diana said. "Wow, you can talk? That's so cool! Can I pet you please Diana?" Ranko gushed. "I blew it again, huh?" Diana's tail drooped as she came out into the open. Ranko scooped her up and started rubbing behind her ears. "Aww, don't be sad kitty. Sou're just pretty, aren't you? And you must be even more special since you can talk," she said. "Puuurrrrrrrr, that feels sooo gooooood," Diana rumbled out sleepily, "Mmmm, puuurrrrrrrr." "Ko-chan, can you please, pretty please with a cherry on top keep this a secret, huh?" Usa wrung her hands nervously. "Sure, though I don't see what the big deal is. Diana is just special, aren't you girl? It's not like you are a magical girl or anything, are you Sa-chan? Naw, that'd just be silly," Ranko concluded. Usa sweatdropped, "Erm, yeah, that'd be crazy. But, please, don't let anyone know. It's very important." "Girls, time to go," Ikuko called out from downstairs. "Alright Auntie/Ikuko-san," they chorused. Ranko set Diana down on the bed and said, "Bye bye kitty," as they walked out. XXOOXX Usa and Ranko skipped ahead of Nodoka on the way to the subway station. They made a cute pair in their nearly matching outfits. Ranko was wearing a teal, backless sundress that emphasized both her eyes and the aquamarine in her hair and a pair of white sandals. The sundress had a floral print pattern in light green. She had her hair up in twin ponytails tied off with white bows and she had a butterfly ornaments in her hair near her temples. Usa was wearing a pale pink sundress that matched her hair and black sandals. Her hair was up in its usual double-odango'd style. Ranko had given her a third butterfly ornament, so she was wearing on her left temple. When they got to the subway station, they spotted Hotaru and Setsuna standing off to the side. Ranko and Usa sprinted ahead and hugged Hotaru. Hotaru was wearing a pair of simple denim shorts and a purple blouse. Her hair was loose, though Ranko took her second hair ornament and pressed Hotaru into wearing it so they could all match. Nodoka took Setsuna to the side to let her know what happened earlier with Ikuko, and to talk about Ranko's memories. Setsuna was expecting memory issues sooner or later, and told Nodoka, "That's what I was afraid of when she started to get impressions. Hotaru has had a couple nightmares about her past as well. I don't think there's anything we can do aside from being supportive of them. Now, why did you bring Ikuko in on this?" "Well, the girls spend so much time over at the Tsukino home. It was totally obvious that she knew something was going on. I mean honestly, the girls are growing over a year per month, there's no way we can hide what's happening Setsuna," Nodoka said. "True, and I suppose this means she'll be more prepared if either girl has an episode. What was the issue this morning?" Setsuna asked. "Ran, Ranko was remembering the start of the trip and the Ne..Neko-ken training," Nodoka whispered, her voice catching with emotion. "I wish I'd never allowed him to be taken, but well, Ranko seems to have handled it alright. How, I don't know. I mean, she just had memories of being mauled by starving cats rammed into her brain, dear goddess, will it get any worse?" she ranted. "They'll be fine, you'll see. Everything is going to be fine, Nodoka," Setsuna calmed the distraught woman. "You'd better hurry, or you won't catch your train. I'll take the girls tomorrow for their first lesson." "Alright, I'll bring Ranko over on my way to work, thank you again Setsuna." Nodoka composed herself and went to collect the girls. Meanwhile, Ranko was chattering away to Hotaru and Usa about her day. "And I had a really really bad dream last night where some sad hungry kitties were trying to eat me and a mean panda beat me up, but momma helped me." Hotaru wrapped Ranko up in a hug, sniffled and said, "The same happened to me. I, I dreamed about my mommy getting blown up, but Setsuna-momma came and made me feel better. She said the memories will stop eventually." "Memories? So these might be memories? But that doesn't make sense. I've never been thrown in a pit of starving cats before by a panda, have I? Oh, then I asked momma if we could get a kitty because the kitties were really sad, but she said we couldn't and it was really sad because I want to make a nice kitty happy. But then, we went over to Sa-chan's house, and I got to play with Diana, and she's such a cute and special kitty and, oh, wait I can't say, can I?" Ranko trailed off. "Actually, Taru-chan already knows. It's okay," Usa said. "Oh my god, Taru-chan, I want a talking kitty too! Diana is so cute and she's so nice. I wonder if I can get a kitty and teach her to talk but I can't get a kitty yet, oh well." Ranko pouted and the other two giggled at her. "Come on girls, let's get on the train," Nodoka interrupted them. "Yes momma/Nodoka-san," the girls said. XXOOXX They boarded the female only car because it was less crowded, and Nodoka didn't want to deal with wandering hands on top of keeping track of her charges. The train took them to the Shinjuku station where they changed for a line bound for Nerima. Thirty minutes later, they got off the train and made their way into the heart of Nerima. The girls were stunned by the worn look of Nerima. Almost everywhere they looked, there was damage to the sidewalks, streets and buildings. It was even worse than Juuban, and they dealt with consistent monster attacks. Nodoka caught them staring at the damage. "Remnants of martial arts battles," she explained while pointing to some of the cracks in the sidewalks. "Nerima is famous for the quality and quantity of martial artists it produces, though they tend to be a bit…indiscriminate in their disagreements." Ranko was assaulted by some phantom memories as she surveyed the streets, but they didn't make much sense. She had an impression of a man sticking a finger into the pavement and causing it to explode, before turning into a pig after getting blasted by a broken water main. She stopped walking for a moment and wavered. Nodoka picked her up and said, "Are you alright honey?" "Yes momma, I dunno what came over me," Ranko said. "I think I can keep going now." They reached the block where the Ucchan was located, and Nodoka noticed that the building that housed the Nekohanten was empty. The amazons had left after Ranma was killed, having no reason to stick around Japan any longer. Upon seeing the sign of the restaurant and the abandoned home of the Amazons, even more memories filtered into Ranko's brain and she clutched her head in pain as a migraine set in. Her eyes teared up and she gasped, "Owie, momma, it hurts. Wh-why do I know these places?" She started to cry as her headache overwhelmed her. "Shh, it's alright honey, everything will be just fine. Come on, we can see Kasumi if we go inside, would you like that?" Nodoka picked Ranko up and rubbed her back while Usa and Hotaru tried to comfort their friend. "Mmhmm, where's 'neechan?" Ranko mumbled out and rubbed her head. "I-I'm better now, you can put me down momma." Nodoka set Ranko down and held open the door. The group entered the Ucchan and Ranko spotted Kasumi sitting in a booth near the counter. Ranko's face brightened and she sprinted across the store, jumped table and landed in Kasumi's lap, hugging her fiercely and kissing her face. "Hi, I love you 'neechan. Guess what? Taru-chan and my new friend Sa-chan are here, do you wanna meet her, she's really fun. I had some weird bad dreams but I got to play with a kitty today, isn't that really cool? Her name is Diana and she's Sa-chan's kitty. She's so soft and fuzzy and nice and I wanna get a kitty but momma says we can't yet. C'mon, let's go see Sa-chan and Taru-chan now," Ranko burst out in one breath before jumping up and dragging Kasumi across the restaurant to meet her friends. "Neechan, this is my newest best friend Usa, and you already met my other best friend Hotaru. Sa-chan, Taru-chan, this is my Kasumi-neechan," Ranko introduced. The two girls and Kasumi bowed to each other before the group returned to their table. Kasumi turned to Nodoka and said, "I hope you don't mind, but Akane said she might drop by in a bit." "That won't be a problem, unless she makes it a problem. But she seems to have gotten better recently," Nodoka responded. "Ooo, yay! Akane is coming too, I haven't seen her in forever," Ranko said. Konatsu came over to the table after they all found their seats, though Ranko still latched possessively onto Kasumi. "Oh hello, Nodoka-dono, Kasumi-dono, it is good to see you both again," the kunoichi began. "Ah, and you must be the Ranko that Ukyo-sama mentioned, it's a pleasure. If you'll excuse me, Ukyo-sama wanted to take care of you herself." Konatsu bowed and walked away. Usa leaned across Hotaru to whisper to Ranko, "Wow, the waitress is so pretty and graceful. I wish I could be like that when I grow up." Ranko started giggling, she didn't know why, but the idea of Usa wanting to be like Konatsu struck her as really funny. "Meanie, I was being serious," Usa said. "Inconceivable," Hotaru giggled, which set Ranko off again. "You're not so good at serious. But that Konatsu is quite a lady, she reminds me a bit of Michiru-mama." Kasumi's tinkling laughter interrupted the little girls. She said, "Oh my, yes, Konatsu-kun is quite graceful, isn't he?" "HE?" All three of the younger girls shouted out. "Oh my, you didn't realize that Konatsu-kun is a boy?" Kasumi asked. "NO," the three stunned girls shouted. Ukyo chose that moment to come over to the table. "Hello Auntie, Kasumi, Ranchan, and who are these other girls?" she said. "Hi, do I know you? You called me Ranchan, so I guess you know me. I'm Ranko, but I guess you knew that already, huh?" Ranko said with her brow furrowed in confusion. Usa and Hotaru giggled at her, which caused her to pout at them. Nodoka intervened and introduced everyone. "Well, it's nice to meet you all. Any friend of Ranchan is a friend of mine," Ukyo said. "Though, I suppose I haven't seen you since you were just a baby Ranchan, so I guess it's alright that you forgot me. Call me Ucchan." Ranko's eyes glazed over once more as a few vague memories forced their way into her brain and she cried out a little in pain, clutching her head. "Owie, I hate when that happens, momma, why do I keep 'membering things that I didn't do?" "Later dear," Nodoka said. "Ucchan!" Ranko yelled as the memory overload stopped and she shot out of the booth to wrap herself around Ukyo's middle. "Hi there sugar," Ukyo said as she patted the little girl on the head. "What can I get for you all? The usual Nodoka, Kasumi, and a special for Ranchan?" "Yes, I think so," Nodoka said and Kasumi nodded. Hotaru ordered a small shrimp and Usa asked for the same as Ranko. Ukyo stared at the small pinkette incredulously. She said, "You do realize that the special is enough food to feed a family of six, right?" "Yup, sounds perfect," Usa replied with a smirk. "If Ko-chan can eat it, I can too." "Wanna bet?" Ranko said. "Sure, I bet I finish first!" Usa said. "O-kay, I'll believe it when I see it," Ukyo said before departing to work on their meal. Akane came in through the door shortly afterwards and looked around for her sister. Ranko saw her and bolted out of the booth, grabbing Akane in a hug and laying her out. Akane was stunned for a moment before she stood up and set Ranko down. "Hello there Ranko-chan, happy to see me?" she said. "Mhmm, hiya Akane! C'mon, foods coming and momma and Kasumi-neechan are over here and you need to meet Sa-chan and Taru-chan! They're my best friends. Sa-chan and I are gonna have a bet to see who finishes eating first, it's gonna be fun. C'mon, you gotta meet them," Ranko said as she dragged Akane through the restaurant to the table. Introductions were made and Akane managed to free herself from Ranko's grasp to sit next to her sister. She was amazed at just how happy and bouncy Ranko was, it was a large departure from the usually arrogant, serious boy that Ranma had been. Ranko had gone back to chattering away with her friends, while Nodoka and Kasumi smiled indulgently at them. "She really is something, isn't she imouto-chan?" Kasumi gently prodded Akane. "Yeah, its, I just was expecting to see more of *him* in her, but, well maybe this was for the best," Akane whispered back. Ukyo chose that moment to bring the food by, and set it down with a flourish. "Thanks Ucchan!" the younger girls chorused before setting in on their food. Hotaru, as usual, ate with impeccable manners. Usa and Ranko, however, tore into their meals with gusto, causing the Nerimites to stare in abject disbelief and with a small amount of disgust. "I never… wow, she was serious, I can't believe someone that size that isn't Ranchan can actually finish one of those," Ukyo whispered in shock. Akane recovered quicker, and in a surprisingly catty voice asked, "What, not even a hello for me Ucchan?" Ukyo turned and said, "Sorry about that, what can I do for you sugar?" "Oh, surprise me," Akane said. "Alright, I'll see what I can do," Ukyo said in a suddenly husky voice before throwing herself in Akane's lap and planting a slow kiss on the startled girl's lips. Akane was momentarily frozen with shock, but she got over it quickly and started to return the kiss with a moan. "Ewww, why do old people have to get all gross and kissy?" Ranko cried out, startling the two out of their kiss. They turned to the table with burning faces. Nodoka got a glint in her eye and asked, "So, Akane, is there anything you'd like to tell us?" Akane ducked her head and replied, "I think you can already tell Auntie." "Oh my, you didn't realize that Akane was always serious when she would go on about how much she hated perverted boys?" Kasumi asked. "Duh, boys are icky," Ranko burst out, and the table dissolved into giggles. It wasn't long before Ukyo had to return to the grill, and the dinner crowd kept her busily cooking for the rest of the night. The group finished their meal and chatted until Nodoka had to leave with the girls to catch a train home. XXOOXX AN: What would people think of a time-skip? I'm not sure how much more I want to write about Ranko/Hotaru as little girls, and I think that their friendships are pretty solid now. Also, with the exception of a couple events, most everything important has been touched on before puberty, and those could be handled with flashbacks. In all likelihood, there will be at least one more chapter with them as little girls, but beyond that I'm not sure.
http://www.ficsavers.com
Death Reborn Evolution
Chapter 05: Chapter 4: Chain of Memories
By: Shanami