Death Reborn Evolution Chapter 8: Schizophrenia Disclaimer: I own nothing involved of the source-works for this story and am using them for entertainment only. There is no profit involved in this at all, it is just for fun. XXOOXX Nodoka bolted upright from where she had dozed off face first against Ranko's bed as a wave of cool air caressed her face. She blinked bleary eyes before memories of the previous night slammed into her consciousness. Her eyes darted frantically around the room before locking on her daughter's prone form. "Oh Ranko-chan, please be okay," she murmured, gently stroking the sleeping girl's cheek. Ranko mumbled incoherently in her sleep and turned into the touch, bringing a relieved smile to Nodoka's face. Rising reluctantly, Nodoka made to leave the room, realizing that really needed sleep to be functional to face the next day. "Sleep well honey." However, mere moments after Nodoka withdrew her hand, Ranko's body tensed up with a whimper and a blast of chill air permeated the room. Nodoka spun back from the doorway and cradled her daughter against her chest. "Please be okay Ranko-chan," she begged, softly stroking her daughter's multi-colored hair as she lay down beside her daughter. Fifteen tense minutes later, Nodoka felt Ranko spasm once before snuggling tightly into her chest. Despite everything, and while she was still quite worried, this action left Nodoka feeling content. She eventually dropped back into a light doze, mother and daughter clutched tightly together. Ranko's body may have been stiff and unresponsive but her mind was still awhirl in an incoherent, overwhelming storm of experience as the combined sum of Ranma's seventeen years of life attempted to pack itself into her brain over the course of mere hours. Colors and lines and places blurred together, smells and tastes blended into a noxious barrage, and sounds filled her ears in a keening, high pitched buzzing. Images flashed in front of her eyes like some demented slideshow. A reflection of an older looking version of herself looking horrified back up at her out of the tranquil waters of a pool. The face fractured and split down cracks that flared with purple and blue fluorescent light while a soprano voice drifted in "H-hi, do… hi-hi-hi-hi… youfriends?" and an errant thought, 'Kawaii…' Ripping, tearing, getemoff getemoff, pain. Save me momma. Pain. Hissing. Yowling. Fish smells… Pulling out from the back of the blood red hair of the cracking, shattered image black tendrils stretched and pulled and a more masculine face exploded outwards, screaming as it tried to break free of the redhead to rebound back while the feeling of heat passed through Ranko's very psyche and a wave of flame wiped the scene clean. "Pre-pa-prepare… to… Rrraaanma. Pre-pa-pare…Rrraanma." Grunting, a sharp pain filled her belly and she felt herself being flung backwards, a demented looking man with a porcine maw and little piggy eyes stared at her hefting an umbrella of all things. "Die prepare!" And the very ground seemed to explode and flow up, shards impacting and melting into each other… The pig man meowed and she smelled mushrooms of all things as the pig man shifted and changed into a small little pig with a human face that started ranting in loud gibberish… A burning wave of pain hit her as water poured over her head and she saw a garden gnome cackling loudly and dancing a jig with a strange minotaur monster before her vision was obscured by a tornado of lingerie whose feminine smells overwhelmed her. The last thing she saw before cloth totally dominated her sight was a demonic looking head with rivers of newspaper pouring out of its eyes. She ripped and tore at the silken and cottony swarm trying to escape the noxious smell and taste of toxic waste. Gasping for breath, Ranko didn't notice as her body shifted slightly. Standing back up, she was blinded by a bright flash, like from a camera. Flinching back, her hand brushed against a long, protruding object on the top of her head… Bunny ears, she had bunny ears, and on further inspection, a tight black suit. She felt as if she was being pulled apart as another face pulled forward, halfway out of her own and in a deep, masculine voice repeated the phrase: "My name is sorry bout, my name is sorry bout," over and over and over. All the current stimuli abruptly disappeared, to be replaced by a complete absence of sight and sound. An indescribable, nauseating stench encompassing years worth of smells all packed into a moment left Ranko retching. The next thing she saw was what looked like a humanoid rose with golden petals twirling a ribbon and figure skating on floating icebergs battling a humanoid, purple furred cat wielding sticks with watermelons attached to them. Kaleidoscoping colors obscured her vision and a rush of sound racked her ears. Smiling lips hovered and bounced around in front of her, their color shifting continuously."So grandchi…die…perv…" she managed to make out above the incessant whistling in her ears. A lacy, mushroom patterned pair of half boxer-half panties drifted in front of the mouth before being split down the middle by an angry looking duck and eaten by a piglet, both of which melted together and grew upwards into a man, a man with a face on each side of his head, both ranting madly. Ranko could only make out vague death threats among the stream of invectives as the faces pulsated and tried to pull away from each other. "Stop, Stop, STOP!" Ranko mentally screamed in anguish and thrashed, clutching her head against the torrent of information, which, while lacking anything resembling coherency, was overloading all of her attempts to cope. And suddenly, mercifully, it did. The howling noise stopped, and the images merged into a frozen tableau that, while still hallucinogenic, no longer shifted relentlessly. Slowly crawling back to her feet, Ranko tried to catch her breath. Brushing sweat soaked hair out of her eyes and uncurling her wings, Ranko tentatively looked around. "What… what's happening to me," Ranko muttered, confused and scared. The last clear memory she had was of drinking the Phoenix potion. Unconsciously, Ranko's will exerted itself, attempting to bring order to the chaotic deluge. Moments later Ranko found herself peering into blankness, the stimulation that had set her nerves on fire almost completely absent. She could not call the space surrounding her dark, as she instinctively realized that she was completely absent of 'external' stimuli. Ranko looked inquisitively into the void surrounding her, for something, anything recognizable but all no matter where she looked, the blank expanse silently ignored any attempts at interaction, the few remaining images finished receding into the distance. "Wait!" She shouted, reaching out into the blank space. Eyes widening with panic, Ranko stumbled blindly forward, trying to find something, anything to interact with. But to all her efforts, she felt like she was trapped in her own space. She tried to run forward, but felt like she was shifting in place. Attempting to fly up, back, forward or sideways met with no air resistance and no change. Feeling scared and alone Ranko sank to her knees with tears gathering in her eyes. "S-some… someone help me," she broke down, curling in on herself. "I *sniffle* I don't wuh-want to be a…alone." After what felt like nearly an eternity, Ranko's sobs trailed off into exhaustion as the poor girl shivered in the featureless expanse. Still mumbling to herself, Ranko gasped when she felt a warm, soothing presence caress her shoulder. Spinning around and up, she frantically looked around to see a featureless, humanoid shaped yet still blank mass about a foot taller than her. "Wha…what are you?" she asked shakily. It just stood implacably before her. "What do you want?" she demanded, voice rising shrilly in panic. The blob seemed to gesture behind it, and Ranko was suddenly awash again in sensation but in a single image. She found herself once more halfway submerged in cool water looking at a reflection. But this time, she didn't see herself nor did the image spiral or shatter. Rather, she saw the featureless person looking back out from her reflection. Her hand brushed up against something solid and she turned to see a bamboo pole sticking up out of the pond. A faint voice seemed to speak inside her head, but it was too quiet to make out. She noticed that all around her were more pools with poles sticking out of them. Time seemed to rewind and she felt herself pulled out of the water and her body shifting, but suddenly it stopped as she saw a panda jumping at her with its paw extended to strike. Heat, fire, pain, desperation. A whirling blaze, consuming the landscape replaced the previous scene in her vision. Looking down, she saw herself clutching a staff with a crescent blade on the end. She looked back up to see a winged man, seemingly composed purely of flame. He taunted her and then battle was joined. She fought with a desperation she had never felt before; she had to prevent this monster from destroying the precious thing that she somehow knew resided in her pocket. The taunter laughed maniacally and she once again heard a voice upon the wind say a name, "Saffron." A tremendous ball of flame hurled in her direction and she knew that there was no way she could possibly dodge in time. "Hiryuu Hyo Toppa!" she screamed and a scythe of wind reached out to obliterate her foe. 'Funny,' she thought, looking down, exhausted and fading from her efforts, 'why don't I feel my breasts?' As she felt herself pass out, Ranko's world spun and, after the disorientation passed, she found herself following a fat man and towards a strangely familiar set of springs. Suddenly, she felt a jarring sensation and stopped while a black-haired boy seemed to walk out of her chest. He called out, "Hey pops, this don't look so tough," before jumping after the fat man, revealed to be his father. Sparring, they bounced around the springs, rebounding off the poles at impossible angles. "Hah! Take that pops!" she heard as the fat man splashed into one of the pools below. The scene shifted again and she found herself experiencing two different memories in a poorly integrated tandem. She was leading an evil, perverted little man backwards through a spiral while at the same time wearing incredibly skimpy undergarments and posing for pictures. Disgust and shame warred with pride in her appearance warred with desperation to succeed no matter what while the sum culminated in nausea as she tried to integrate both experiences simultaneously with only one body and one mind. As she reached the center of the spiraling motion, she felt her arm raising up into the air and with a scream of "Hiryuu Shoten Ha!" the diminutive pervert was launched skyward with a trailing "Sweeeeeeto!" while she stood serenely in the eye of a massive tornado, flickering between wearing red and black tangs and black lacy lingerie. The tornado guttered out abruptly as the scene changed again. Ranko watched as the boy walked down a fence top with Akane nearby. *Brrrring brrrrrring* the sound of a bicycle bell had the boy tensing up and the girl scowling. Mere moments later, a bike tire impacted the top of his head and forced him to the ground. A beautiful, purple-haired girl hopped off the bike and glomped onto the boy's arm. "Nihao airen!" she chirped. "L-leggo of me Shampoo," he stuttered out. "Ranma you pervert!" Akane yelled, smacking the boy into the distance with a hammer. 'Sheesh, Akane was really mean to that boy. I wonder what he did to make her so angry?' Ranko pondered. Suddenly, she felt as if she were falling through space and the world spun around her. Sharp pain shot through her head and she sat up with a groan, displacing a wet towel that had been laying across her brow. "Don't mind Akane, she's really a sweet girl except she's a violent maniac," Kasumi said. The scene froze abruptly and Ranko felt herself rewind as events reversed themselves from when Akane had clobbered her with a table for an incident in the bathroom. 'Weird, why was she calling that girl a guy and what was the deal with two girls marrying each other? Though I wouldn't think Akane would have a problem with it either, she is with Ucchan…' Ranko wondered. 'I didn't know Akane had such a temper, she's always been nice to me… but I guess that girl was pretty arrogant even if Akane didn't have as much up top as she did. She looked a lot like me and momma too, I hope I get a figure like that someday.' Ranko once again felt herself falling through space as the ground seemed to fall out from under herself. She absently noticed that a panda had just landed atop a bamboo pole above her with its hands out in a striking position and that she seemed to have misplaced her chest. *SPLASH* Water fountained into the air and Ranko felt her body shifting, protrusions growing rapidly on her chest and a piece of male anatomy she hadn't consciously noticed reverting to more familiar and more comfortable plumbing. But, before she could process that welcome change, the images stopped giving her a chance to catch her breath. The featureless humanoid blob had sharpened slightly, strands of black resolving into an inky black pigtail with hints of red on its head. 'This is so weird, wish I knew what was going on,' Ranko thought as once again her nerves lit up as her body morphed, this time contracting while multiple hues spiraled and shifted around her. Ranko found herself running through the trees in a very familiar park while giggling madly. 'Huh, this looks like the park we always used to meet Taru-chan in,' she thought. Ahead of her, a flying squirrel leapt from a tree branch and soared into the neighboring canopy. 'Cool!' she thought and started bouncing around the tree trying to climb it. "Ranma!" Nodoka's voice panted out as she sprinted into the clearing. She gasped in a few heavy breaths. "Don't run off like that!" "Sorry momma," Ranko heard herself respond. 'Ranma, why'd mom call me that?' Ranko thought. "That's alright dear," Nodoka composed herself and took the child's hand, leading the way back to the lake that Ranko had originally met Hotaru at. Ranko suddenly felt pain blossom in her knee as she tripped and fell, scuffing it. Nodoka pulled him into a soothing hug, whispering nonsensical encouragements. "Shh Ranma, it's okay, mommy has you," Nodoka cooed. The world dissolved away as if wind scattered it into motes of light. As her vision cleared, Ranko, still compacted back into the child's body found herself finger painting on a piece of paper at the urging of a shifty, beady eyed man. "Like that papa?" she asked. "Perfect my boy!" The man responded, a pleased glint to his eye. "Yay!" She ran off, she had to show her finger painting off to mommy, but huh, did that man call her boy? Oh well, showing mom was much more important. "Momma! Look! Daddy played with me and look what I made!" she said upon finding her mother in the kitchen. Nodoka took the paper and paled upon seeing the text. "Th-that's great dear. Why don't you go play with your crayons? Your 'father' and I have something to discuss." Nodoka fingered the hilt of her katana. Nodding happily, the child did and started drawing a picture of Nodoka and a big, happy penguin. The image on the paper cracked and another vision pushed itself through the seams. An endless number of scenes, most featuring a boy called Ranma but some featuring an older-looking, wingless version of herself played out in her head. XXOOXX Hours later, Nodoka woke as the sun streamed into Ranko's bedroom. She smiled worriedly down at her still inert daughter before reluctantly rising to begin her morning ablutions and to cook breakfast. She started the rice and miso before stopping for a brief wash and soak in the furo. After checking her breakfast preparations, Nodoka returned upstairs to try to wake her daughter. Ranko, however, remained completely unresponsive. With one last worried glance, she left the room. Kasumi joined Nodoka at the breakfast table, but neither felt much like eating. As Kasumi cleared the plates, Nodoka called Ranko's school citing that a medical emergency had occurred and that Ranko would be unable to attend classes for the day. She then called her employer and requested the day off for the same reason so that she could watch over her daughter. Afterwards, she forced a reluctant Kasumi to go to her classes before retiring back up to Ranko's room with a book to read and watch over her daughter. XXOOXX Usa and Hotaru were chatting with some of their other friends before the bell rang to begin their school day but they were getting nervous because Ranko wasn't there and, unlike Usagi, she was rarely late. "Where could Ko-chan be, it's not like her to be late?" Hotaru whispered as their homeroom teacher entered the room. The others just shrugged. "Good morning class," the teacher greeted as she entered the room. "Good morning Haruna-sensei," the students echoed dutifully, bowing before they took their seats. "Before we begin, Tanaka-san will not be joining us today. Would someone please volunteer to collect her assignments for her?" Ms. Haruna asked. "I can sensei," Hotaru offered. "Ah, very good Tomoe-san," Haruna responded. She proceeded to take roll before turning to the board to begin the day's lessons. "Why wouldn't Ko-chan come in today? She's never even late for school, do… do you think something bad happened to her?" Hotaru whispered urgently to Usa when Haruna-sensei wasn't looking. "We'll go check on her after school," Usa whispered back. "I'm sure everything will be fine." "I just hope she's okay," Hotaru replied, her voice trembling slightly with worry. "Me too," Usa whispered. XXOOXX "Auntie Nodoka, hello, are you there?" Usa called out. Usa and Hotaru had come straight over, stopping only to get some get-well cookies for Ranko. Food always cheered the hyperactive girl up. After all, they only knew that she was out for the day. She could have just had a cold. "Good afternoon girls, won't you come in," Nodoka greeted. The girls immediately noticed that Nodoka was slightly disheveled, though it wouldn't be obvious to a passerby. She was still dressed as immaculately as usual and made up as impeccably but there were subtle signs, especially her slightly bloodshot eyes that betrayed a restless night. "Auntie, is everything okay? Ranko never showed up to school and we were worried," Hotaru blurted out. Considering the normally implacable woman's frazzled state, Hotaru started to panic that something horrible had happened to her best friend. Nodoka sighed and led up the stairs towards Ranko's room. Stopping the girls at the door, she said, "You know Ranko-chan is slightly different from the rest of us, right girls?" They both nodded curiously. "Well, Ranko-chan had a bad reaction to some medicine last night and she's been unconscious ever since. She's… well, she seems to be okay but she just won't respond to anything. You can see her, if you like," Nodoka said, leading the girls into Ranko's bedroom. She looked progressively closer to breaking down as she talked about Ranko's current condition but held back under a thin veneer of stoicism. Hotaru hugged the clearly distraught woman around her waist. "I'm sure she'll be fine Auntie." "Yeah," Usa added, joining the hug, "are you sure you're okay though Auntie?" "I… I'll be fine dear. I'm… well, I'm sure nothing bad is happening but…" Nodoka trailed off with a jaw-cracking yawn. "Why don't you lie down for a few minutes Auntie? You look exhausted," Hotaru said. "But… I can't, I need to," Nodoka started to speak. Usa cut her off by chirping, "Oh, don't worry Auntie, we can watch her." "Yeah!" Hotaru said. "We have to tell her about everything she missed today, and we'll get you if anything happens. You really do look tired Auntie." "I… if you're sure you don't mind. I don't want to leave Ranko-chan alone," Nodoka said. Truthfully, she didn't want to leave her daughter at all but she had slept for less than three hours the previous night, mostly sitting uncomfortably in a chair. "Th-thanks girls, get me up if anything changes. Anything at all," Nodoka responded before pulling herself back together and walking back down the stairs to her own bedroom. Hotaru and Usa sat on the bed next to their comatose friend. Ranko was completely immobile and unresponsive aside from the random, slow drifting of the ice crystals floating in her wings which still wrapped around her torso and the rapid motion of her eyeballs behind closed lids. Hotaru flung herself at Ranko's inert form, sniffling. "K-Ko-chan, please be… be okay." Usa grabbed one of Hotaru's hands, focusing the distraught violet haired girl's attention on herself. "I," Usa's voice cracked slightly, "I'm sure she'll be fine Taru-chan. She has to be!" "Y-you really think so?" Hotaru asked. "Of course!" Usa responded. Pulling herself together, Hotaru hesitantly nodded. She sat back up and straightened her clothes out. Usa smiled encouragingly at her, but inwardly she was a bit worried too. The time traveling pinkette sighed, everything would work out in the end-it always did after all. Once composed, Hotaru and Usa each took one of Ranko's hands and they started filling her in on the events she missed at school that day. XXOOXX Ranko was still trying to make sense of the semi-chaotic imagery assaulting her psyche. Sure, it had slowed to a manageable stream, but she was still experiencing years of Ranma's memories with no semblance of order. The sheer quantity was overwhelming and there was no way that Ranko would remember the majority of it; however, a few moments stood out either by their intensity or by the frequency that they repeated. Among them were disgusting nightmares of Kuno proclaiming his love for the "pigtailed-girl" and Mikado's kiss from the ice rink. Each of those memories made her cringe. Completely opposite were the memories of Akane's cute smile which Ranko found incredibly arousing. And the heat of flame and death from the encounter with Saffron still shook Ranko even though she couldn't remember the exact events clearly. Currently, Ranko was experiencing the nekoken training again. She remembered the pit of cats vividly from a few years (subjective) previously when she experienced it as a flashback. This time, however, the panda was sometimes a fat man in a dingy gi wearing a bandana though in over half the trips back to the pit he remained a panda. Ranko could feel the ripping, tearing, clawing pain everytime she had to relive the pit. But, unlike Ranma who had been too young to know what was going on, she realized that the cats themselves were suffering too and valiantly tried to prevent a phobic reaction as she still really wanted to get a kitten. Maybe even one that could talk like Diana, though since she wasn't a magical girl she couldn't get a cute talking animal companion… 'wait, wings + ice magic + girl = magical girl,' Ranko thought with a mental giggle. 'Maybe that means if I get a kitten it'll be able to talk. That would be sooo cool!" Thus distracted, the vision faded away to be replaced by the most prominent of the scenes. Ranko, but a male Ranko chased the fat man from the pit over an innocuous group of springs with bamboo poles sticking out of them. As usual, the fat man, who Ranko had identified as "oyaji," even though she had no memories of having a father herself, had belittled her for "acting like a weak little girl" before sparring with him over the springs. After the dunking, a panda burst from the spring and knocked Ranko's body towards another spring where the blessed return to femininity awaited. However, this time, when Ranko hit the water, the memories stopped and she found herself staring as the previously shapeless, humanoid blob resolved to look like an older version of the boy she had witnessed and experienced life as through the visions. "Are you R-ranma?" she asked hesistantly, her voice catching slightly. The boy looked confused for a moment before shrugging and nodding. "Niichan!" she glomped onto him. Ranma reflexively started to squirm, nothing good ever happened to him as a result of a girl latching on to him. "It's great to finally meet you and mom'll be happy you're back and I know you'll be the bestest big brother ever and it's soo soo," Ranko babbled, words slurring together from the sheer speed of her outburst. The boy seemed incapable of processing it and just started to look confused. "Huh?" Ranma just looked lost, but since nothing negative had happened he hesitantly patted the girl on her back. "I said it's nice to meet you brother!" Ranko enthused. "What'cha talking about? I don't have a sister," Ranma responded, pushing her away. "Bu-but you're supposed to be my brother!" Ranko sank to her knees. "Sorry sorry! Don't cry, I'm really sorry!" Ranma panicked. Ranko looked up at him and giggled. "I wasn't crying silly. I'm just confused, mom said I had a brother named Ranma." "Well, in that case," Ranma laid a hand on her shoulder and smirked, "nice ta meet ya sis." An impish expression spread across Ranko's features and she blasted Ranma in the face with a nearly freezing ball of water to test out a theory she had. Sputtering, Ranma-chan shot a betrayed look at Ranko. "Hey! What'dya have to do that for?" "I wanted to meet my new big sister too!" Ranko enthused, though she did feel sorry for doing that to him. Shuddering slightly, she considered that she never really wanted to experience the reverse. "Psh, I'm not your sister," Ranma protested. "Sure looks like it from here," Ranko responded. "Naw, no matter what, I'm still a man. Even with this hot girl body, I ain't no girl," Ranma insisted. "And what's so wrong with being a girl?" Ranko asked icily. Ranma could feel, and even see the air visibly chilling as Ranko easily put the soul of ice to shame. Waving his hands frantically, Ranma blurted out, "Nothing, nothing. Hell, being a girl is great for scamming treats and eating ice cream." Ranko giggled and silently agreed, getting free food was a great perk of being adorable and knowing how to use it. "Just, no matter what I look like," Ranma continued, "I'm not one. I was born a man, raised ta be a man, and I'm gonna die as a man… even if I happen to be female sometimes." "Why didn't I get to meet you before?" Ranko asked. Ranma just shrugged. "Mom said you… you died?" Ranko looked confused. "Sure don't feel dead," Ranma replied. She stopped abruptly and looked up at him with a curious expression on her face. "This is all in my head, isn't it? Or at least I think it is… if it weren't, mom would have made sure you were around. So what are you doing in here?" He shrugged again, and responded, "I'm not really in your head silly." He poked her on the nose, prompting her to giggle. "So where are we then?" Ranko asked. "Oh, we're in your head," Ranma responded, speaking in her voice, which was slightly higher pitched than her older counterpart's female form. "B-but, then what… what is going on?" Ranko sunk to her knees, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. In a deeper, more masculine voice Ranma responded, "You already know," his voice suddenly shifted back to a feminine soprano, "that's the only reason I'm here after all." Wide-eyed, Ranko looked up. "M-memories? I… I have your memories… why?" she shouted. "I think you know the answer to that already," her older counterpart responded, body starting to waver and blur between Ranma's male and female forms. "No!" she burst, a few tears escaping her eyes. "I don't get it, am I going nuts?" The older boy, shifting fully back to male without water at all, just looked at her and shrugged. "Well, maybe. After all, you did just personify me in your head so you'd have someone to talk to." The surrounding space, which had been soothingly ordered since 'Ranma's' appearance started to shatter fractally into a spreading web of light. "But, but… why?" "You already know because I know. I'm just a representation you made up to deal with all these memories locked up inside your head. Well, we could be nuts too, I guess there's no way for us to rule that out," he chuckled. The cracks of light spider webbed around the two of them and started to spread faster. "I'm… am I… am I supposed to be… to be you?" she mumbled, more tears leaking out. "Is… is my life a lie, am I supposed to be…" Ranko thought about Hotaru and Usa, and her mother and her older 'sister' Kasumi and all the fun she'd had and then thought that maybe, just maybe none of it had been real. What if she wasn't real? Ranko broke down sobbing. Ranma laid a supportive hand on the younger girl's shoulder before shifting back to female and gathering her younger counterpart in her arms. She stroked Ranko's back until she had cried herself into exhaustion. As the younger girl finally settled down, Ranma said, voice shifting from female to male and back again, "Well, I am me, but you are we." At Ranko's disbelieving stare, he muttered, "sorry, heard something like that in a song once." Ranko, emotionally spent though she was, couldn't resist looking up at him incredulously and quipping, "Great… I really must be crazy if even the voices in my head refuse to make any sense…" Ranma erupted in laughter, causing Ranko to look rather put out before a weak smile formed on her face and a few giggles escaped her lips. The laughter was infectious and really, her statement was pretty funny. After he calmed down Ranma tipped Ranko's chin up to look into her eyes, which were still filled with confusion and tinged with a hint of fear. "Look," he began, "you're worried that you have to become me, right?" Ranko just nodded in response. "Only if you want to…" He slowly dissolved into motes of light which flowed into Ranko, warming her. As the surrounding dreamscape shattered and dissolved fully she could have sworn she heard Ranma's voice whisper, "Remember, you really are we. Part of you is me but just how much is up to someone far more important…" Gentle, but slowly brightening white light started to flood Ranko's awareness and a soft smile graced her lips. XXOOXX On her bed, Ranko's convalescing body tensed up and was wracked by small tremors. Her face scrunched up and a few tears leaked out. Her wings curled tighter around her body, pulsing brightly. "R-ranko? Are you okay?" Hotaru asked as she and Usa backed tentatively away from their friend. Light exploded from Ranko's body, blinding the other two girls. After clearing the spots from their eyes they saw that Ranko's body appeared to have relaxed fully. Hotaru rushed to the suddenly frost-coated bed and grabbed Ranko's sleeping form in a bear hug. "Please be okay Ko-chan," she pleaded. Ranko groaned and shifted into Hotaru's embrace, surprising the other girls. "I'll go get auntie!" Usa declared and raced out of the room. After all, they had promised to let Nodoka know if anything happened and a light-show followed by movement definitely qualified as a big something. "Ko-chan?" Hotaru asked tremulously. Ranko groaned again and her eyes fluttered open. She winced and shut her eyes at the sudden influx of light. Squinting, she looked up again. "T-taru-chan, wh-what are you doing here?" she croaked while thinking 'Man, what a crazy dream… it was just a dream, wasn't it?' But a large part of her knew somehow that it was something far more. "Ranko!" Hotaru squeezed her friend tighter. "Ranko-chan!" Nodoka exploded into the room and scooped her daughter up. "You're okay! Oh honey, I was so scared!" "Mooom!" Ranko whined but Nodoka just continued to fuss over Ranko, completely ignoring her protests to the giggling of the girls in the background. She was confused; why was everyone acting like she had almost died or something? "What are Sa-chan and Taru-chan doing here before school anyway? Oh my god, I'm gonna be late!" She started squirming and trying to struggle her way out of Nodoka's grasp. If even Usa was ready… then she probably didn't even have time to eat, much less bathe. "Um, it's after school Ko-chan," Usa replied. "We came over to check on you because you never showed up and we were worried." "Wh-what? I slept through school? No way!" Ranko said. She was shocked, she honestly didn't feel rested enough to have even slept through the entire night, much less nearly an entire day. "There's no way… unless that dream was… real," she muttered to herself though Nodoka managed to overhear her. "G-girls, could… could we have a few moments please?" Nodoka asked. "Uh… of course auntie," Usa replied. "C'mon Taru-chan." Hotaru looked vaguely mutinous at the thought of leaving Ranko behind but allowed Usa to drag her out of the room anyway. Meanwhile, Ranko's mind frantically tried to piece together everything that had happened over the past twenty-four hours. She vaguely remembered taking a potion to enhance her abilities before her mind had exploded with far too much information for her to process, even thinking about it sent a fresh spike of pain through her forehead. As soon as the girls had left the room, Nodoka carefully sat Ranko in her lap and buried her face in her daughter's hair. "It's… you just… you just collapsed on me. I… don't do that again honey!" Nodoka sobbed. Ranko's cheeks pinked slightly at the embarrassing position, but she was far less self-conscious with her friends out of the room. "Shh, it's okay mom, I'm fine… I think," she said and awkwardly patted her mother's back. "Oh Ranko-chan, I'm just so glad you're okay. I was so worried!" Nodoka sniffled a few times, pulling her daughter tighter into her embrace. "I… I don't think it would be a good idea for you to take another of those potions again," she said softly. "The… so the potion was real? Damn, I hoped that was all just a dream," Ranko muttered. Her mind was awhirl with frantic activity, trying to process just what all everything had meant. "Ranko-chan?" Nodoka prodded gently, her daughter was staring off into space mumbling to herself. "I gotta know for sure," Ranko mumbled. She looked up into her mother's concerned face. "Um… mom, I… well, I might just be going crazy but… I… could you tell me more about my brother?" Ranko asked. Blinking at the abrupt change in topic Nodoka looked at Ranko strangely. "Um, of course dear. Ranma was a very honorable, very strong boy and an excellent martial artist. I… it is my biggest regret that I let that… that man take him from me for so long. I never really got to know him before…. Why do you ask?" "I… well… I had some crazy visions about… well, I think they were about m- err, my brother. I think I was seeing his life somehow. That, or I'm just going crazy," Ranko chuckled nervously. "Wha-what do you mean honey?" Nodoka asked. "It… it was almost like I was him, or something but that's just crazy," Ranko responded in a small, fearful voice. She shuddered, prompting Nodoka to scoop her up into a hug again which helped calm her down. "Oh mom, there was so much of it… and… and it was completely overwhelming and I just couldn't make sense of any of it. I had to live through the… the pit again so many times and it hurt… it hurt so so much!" Ranko was sobbing now, cascading memories threatening to overwhelm her again. "Shh, I've got you honey. It's going to be okay," Nodoka soothed and whispered soothing nonsense into Ranko's ear while stroking her hair. Eventually the teen calmed down enough to continue. "I… I remember so much mom… it's like… it's like I really lived through it all. But… none of it makes any sense, I mean… gender curses, arranged marriages, martial arts princes? I'm either going nuts or… well, I think I'm just going nuts," she chuckled mirthlessly. "Well… Ran… Ranko-chan," Nodoka began nervously. "A lot of that stuff actually happened." "Then… then the drea-vision… the visions were real?" Ranko whispered. "I'm really… really," she trailed off. If those events had actually happened… she had to know "How did… how did Ranma d…die?" Ranko asked. Nodoka sighed. "Ranma and the Phoenix God-King Saffron fought a terrible battle… neither survived. Afterwards, Saffron realized that he had made a terrible mistake… and… and given your unique nature has been trying to make up for it since by arranging to help you learn magic." "Wait… what? You just said neither survived? So how… how do I have Ranma's memories, how is Uncle Saffron going to train me?" she trailed off. "How is any of that possible?" "That's rather, difficult Ranko-chan," Nodoka responded. "How to best explain? What do you know about phoenixes dear?" "Well, I know Uncle Saffron's one, will I get to meet him soon momma?" Ranko asked, slightly confused by the complete non-sequitur. "Probably sometime soon honey, but… well, you are similar to your uncle, at least, we think you have similar magic. Do you know anything about phoenix magic?" Nodoka prompted. "Sure! I remember a lot of fire and pain and a huge ball of firey death flying at me… err, Ranma. That sort of phoenix magic?" Ranko's voice slowly softened as she spoke. Her wings quivered slightly, she really didn't like where this conversation was going; it was confirming everything she had hoped that it wouldn't. "Well, that's one aspect of it. But phoenixes are famous mythological creatures because when a phoenix dies they combust and are reborn from the ashes of their old body," Nodoka sighed. She desperately hoped that Ranko would leave things be, she didn't want to have to explain Ranko's origins to the already confused girl and hoped that by pursuing the phoenix side of things, that maybe she could steer the subject matter to something safer. "That's interesting mom. So that's how Uncle Saffron can still help, but what does that have to do with me and the fact that I have Ranma's mem… Oh my god," Ranko was nearly whispering now, her eyes wide with horror as the last part of her dream- the meeting with Ranma- solidified itself in her consciousness. "A-are you trying to say that I'm… that I'm." Ranko took a gulping breath of air. "I'm… I was… it was real! Everything I saw was real!" Ranko's voice rose shrilly, "I was a boy? And now what. Am I slowly gonna lose me, turn into some macho, muscle bound idiot jerk? Taru and Sa-chan are gonna hate me and leave me and… and…" Ranko's nonsensical babbling broke down into shuddering sobs. "Shh, it's okay sweetie." Nodoka pulled Ranko's distraught form into her arms and gently stroked her back by the wing roots. Ranko latched on tightly and continued to bawl. "Your friends love you and nothing is going to change if you don't want it to. And you will always be my daughter, remember that." Nodoka cooed and whispered nonsensical little nothings into Ranko's ear. Ranko eventually cried herself out until she was just sniffling slightly in Nodoka's arms. She snuggled closer into her mother's chest and let up a bit on her extremely strong hug. "S-hic-sorry momma," she mumbled. "It's alright dear. Everything's alright," Nodoka soothed. "H-how can you say that momma. I feel like I'm going crazy. What if I… if I," Ranko trailed off, her face scrunching up again. "Shh, it's fine honey. No matter what, I will always be here for you. And I'm sure your friends will be too," Nodoka said. "Nothing will change the fact that I, we love you." Ranko looked up with shining, hope filled eyes before snuggling back into Nodoka's embrace. "I love you too momma. Th-thanks, I needed to hear that." "Come on dear, let's get you cleaned up. I'm sure your friends are worried about you, I know I was," Nodoka said. Ranko grimaced and rubbed her eyes. "I must be a complete mess." Nodoka giggled. "Yes, you really are dear." Ranko pouted in response, sending Nodoka into full blown chuckles. Ranko frowned when it seemed that her mom was making fun of her, but the laughter was infectious and soon Ranko joined her in surprisingly cathartic giggles. "Thanks mom, I needed that," Ranko said, smiling slightly. "Anytime," Nodoka took Ranko by the hand and led her to the bathroom. "Oh, I totally forgot about it but can I please please please get a kitty? You said we could get one once we got a house," Ranko pleaded when they reached the bathroom door. "Well, we can go look dear. I suppose it may be good for you to have a pet," Nodoka mused. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" Ranko nearly knocked Nodoka over with her enthusiastic bouncing. Nodoka giggled at the hyperactive thirteen year old's mood swing. As they walked into the bathroom, Nodoka mused that maybe, just maybe, everything would all work out… and hopefully without any more completely breakdowns. Ranko took one look in the mirror and grimaced at what she saw. Her eyes were puffy and red and her cheeks were blotchy and stained with tear-tracks. Her hair was tangled and damp with sweat and her soaked PJs clung to her frame. "Ugh, I look awful. Mom, can you tell the girls I'll be down after I wash up, I really need it," Ranko said, making a show of sniffing herself and scrunching her face up in disgust. "Of course dear," Nodoka said as she left the room. With another grimace, Ranko moved over to fill a bucket of water up from the cold water tap. Bracing herself, she dumped the cold water over her head and proceeded to scrub herself clean, twice for good measure. She used another bucket to rinse off before moving to stand warily before the hot water of the furo. 'Will I change?' she asked herself. Intellectually, she knew that nothing unusual was going to happen because SHE was not a boy cursed to turn into a girl but emotionally she was frightened of what the water signified. Shaking her head once to clear it and pasting a determined look on her face, Ranko sank quickly into the hot waters of the furo. When the semi-expected change never came she sighed, but whether it was from relief or disappointment she couldn't really say. XXOOXX Fifteen minutes later Ranko strolled out of the furo wearing a baggy pair of sweats and a loose, comfortable t-shirt while idly toweling off her damp hair. "Ko-chan!" Usa squealed and caught Ranko with what could only be described as a flying glomp, knocking her friend onto the floor. "Oof!" Ranko breathed out explosively. "Oww! Sa-chaaaaan," she whined, a smile ghosting across her face. "Sorry," Usa said, climbing off with an innocent butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth look. Ranko pushed herself to her feet and snorted "liar" affectionately to which Usa responded with a look that seemed to say "who, me?" Hotaru just giggled at their antics before sobering up. "You… you missed school earlier and we were so worried about you and then we saw you and you were just so still! I… what… what happened Ko-chan… are you okay?" she asked, trembling slightly. "I'm… you know what, I'm fine. I really am," Ranko responded with a sigh. "As to what happened… well, y'know I've been working on my magic for a while, right?" Hotaru and Usa both nodded in response with looks of anticipation mixed with concern on their faces. "Well… I've got an uncle, Saffron, who has similar powers but over fire. He sent mom a set of potions to help me gain better control of the magic, at least, that's what they're supposed to do… I think… mom didn't really explain it all that well. And… well, there were… side effects." Gulping, Usa asked, "What… what do you mean Ko-chan? Wha-what sort of side effects?" While they had never openly discussed it, both of the senshi had extensive experiences with magic gone bad, the Black Lady and Mistress 9 incidents featuring prominently in their minds and Ranko had plenty of memories of magical mistakes from Ranma's life, especially Jusenkyo. "Well… it," Ranko stuttered. She really didn't want to explain everything yet, even though she realized that eventually her friends would figure everything out. Rationally, she knew that nothing would really change between the three of them just because she had memories from… well, a past life was as good an explanation as any, but she was just so exhausted emotionally. It certainly didn't help that she was feeling slightly disoriented by her own body; even in female form Ranma had been significantly larger and more developed than she was. She could recall, garbled and fuzzy though the memories were, exactly what it felt like to live in both of Ranma's bodies. But, how to explain. She didn't want to lie to her friends; it didn't seem like the right thing to do and she knew now just how bad of a liar she really was from having watched Ranma's similar disability. "It… well, it just unlocked too much too fast," Ranko sighed. "It was just a little overwhelming… I promise, I'll tell you all about it later, but… but I'm fine, I really am. I'm just tired." Hotaru drew Ranko into a gentle hug. "I'm just so glad you're okay Ko-chan," she whispered, her hot breath tickling Ranko's ear, causing goosebumps to form across her skin. Ranko reluctantly pulled away and tried to hide her growing blush. Looking down at her feet and toeing the ground nervously she said, "Sorry to worry you all." "No probs girlfriend," Usa said, dragging the others with her over to the couch. "We'll still want to know what happened, but what's important is that you're alright." "Thanks!" Ranko said with a smile. She was glad that her friends were so supportive; it wasn't that she was unwilling to talk about the memories, not really, just that she still desperately needed time to process them beforehand. She absently raised a hand to the side of her head and magically siphoned the water out of her hair, across the room, and into the kitchen sink. Hotaru and Usa were stunned. They knew Ranko was relatively powerful, but never before had Ranko demonstrated such finesse or control. "Whoa," Usa exclaimed, "that's way better than a blow-drier!" "Huh?" Ranko looked confused. "Ko-chan, that was amazing! You just drew all the water out of your hair! You really weren't kidding when you said your powers matured!" Hotaru explained. "Oh, huh? Guess I did," Ranko replied absently. "Yeah, I guess that stuff mom had me take worked. I don't think I could have done something like that without concentrating on it before." "I wish I could do that," Hotaru said wistfully. "Well, I wish I could heal the way you can, that's so much more useful," Ranko countered. "True," Hotaru admitted. "Your new ability is really convenient though." "Yep, we are just so awesome," Ranko agreed, an arrogant smirk playing on her lips. "Bask in our presence Usa!" "Brat," the aforementioned pinkette swiped at Ranko, who dodged back and countered by throwing a pillow. Giggling, Usa caught the projectile and used it to smack at Hotaru. "Hey, don't pick on Taru-chan," Ranko cried out, grabbing another pillow and jumping into the fray. Soon all three girls were running around the room, laughing and launching pillows and stuffed animals at each other. Hotaru dodged out of the path of a stuffed bear and stumbled into Usa, who was pouncing at a distracted Ranko. All three of them went down in a tangle of limbs and laughter, but it signaled the end of the pillow fight. After relaxing for a few more minutes, Hotaru and Usa helped Ranko catch up on all her missing work from the day and the three girls did their homework together. XXOOXX Ranko woke the next morning and braced for the inevitable soaking. A moment later, she cracked her eye, confused at the complete lack of moisture involved in her waking. The fat panda hadn't thrown her out the window that morning, but that normally meant that Akane was due with a bucket. 'Wait, huh, where am… oh,' she thought. When she saw her Wedding Peach manga on the nightstand everything just clicked back into place. She wasn't staying at the Tendos and she wasn't about to get a rude awakening from an unwanted fiancée. Rather, she had woken up in her own room, just like she always did. Sighing, the slightly confused girl shook her head to clear it and dressed for her morning workout, her head still swimming with memories of what may as well have been a completely different life. Ranko began her workout by summoning up her powers and creating two short swords out of ice, marveling at just how easy it was. She then lost herself in a fast, graceful kata that looked more like dance than a potentially deadly martial art. Discarding the swords, she moved into a basic kempo kata to begin her unarmed practice for the morning. Her mind blank and her body reacting on instinct alone, Ranko flowed into a shifting, aerial ballet the likes of which hadn't graced Tokyo since Ranma's demise. She flew through an advanced Anything Goes kata with a new twist. The Saotome school was primarily an aerial art, emphasizing moves that used the opponents body against them to maintain airtime. Ranko, however, truly took to the skies and her wings blurred as she darted back and forth, fighting invisible opponents on all sides. Nodoka and Kasumi watched, enraptured, as Ranko reinvented forms that she had never been taught in this life but that were so deeply ingrained in her psyche that they just flowed naturally. As Ranko wound down into a cooldown, she was startled out of her reverie by enthusiastic applause. She turned to the onlookers and blushed slightly. "Ranko-chan, that was amazing," Kasumi gushed. "Aww, thanks 'neechan. It wasn't a big deal," Ranko responded, chagrined. "Oh, I beg to differ dear," Nodoka said. "That was very impressive, though I don't think I've seen you do that kata before." "Thanks mom!" Ranko chirped. "It just came to me. I knew it would be great though since I can actually fly!" Ranko bounded into the house to wash up and to grab breakfast. "Well, Genma's school was air-based. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she's remembering Anything Goes," Nodoka commented to herself, but Kasumi overheard and snorted uncharacteristically. "I guarantee the panda never looked so graceful practicing it," Kasumi commented. Nodoka responded with peals of laughter. XXOOXX Ranko was getting dressed in her uniform when Nodoka interrupted her, "Wouldn't you rather stay home today honey? I really think you should take it easy today and Dr. Tofu already excused you from classes." Her voice dropped down into a whisper, "I was so scared when you wouldn't wake, I just don't want anything to happen to you." Ranko launched herself towards Nodoka, whose arms gratefully encircled her daughter. Ranko felt healthy enough to make the effort to go to school but for once she really wasn't looking forward to it. Not that Ranko particularly enjoyed class, but she normally wanted to go anyway to see her friends. Today though, she was still feeling the after effects of having a lifetime of memories roughly shoved into her head. "It's okay momma," she said, hugging Nodoka back. "I'm okay, really I am." "Good, I just want to be absolutely sure that nothing else happens Ranko-chan. Plus, I already requested the day off from work and I thought we could spend the day together," Nodoka said. "That sounds great mom," Ranko replied. "I really didn't want to go back to school today anyway." Nodding in reply, Nodoka left the room to let Ranko get dressed. A few minutes later Ranko floated down the stairs clad in a pair of stretchy denim jeans and a red, backless halter top. She joined her mother in the kitchen where they cleaned up from breakfast and started some of the early preparations for lunch. OOXXOO That afternoon, Ranko decided to try to lose herself in some training. She wanted to distract herself from the foreign memories still clouding her head. As she began to move through a basic kata of Tai Chi to center herself, knowledge of one of Ranma's special techniques slammed into her brain, giving her not only something to try, but a massive headache. After taking a painkiller, Ranko searched through the cupboards of the kitchen for supplies but couldn't find what she was looking for. "Hey, um, mom… can, can you help me with something?" Ranko asked, shifting from foot to foot and avoiding eye contact. 'Hmm, I wonder what's bothering her now,' Nodoka thought. "Of course dear, what do you need?" "Well, I was… do we have some chestnuts I can have?" Ranko said. "I believe we have a bag of them, I'll toast some for you," Nodoka responded. She frowned slightly, confused by Ranko's strangely nervous behavior. Sure, Ranko had been feeling slightly off since she started integrating Ranma's memories, but this was completely out of character. "No, don't. I need them raw," Ranko said. "Why would you want to eat raw chestnuts dear?" Nodoka asked. "Um, it's kinda for some martial arts training that I remembered and really wanna try, please mom?" Ranko looked extremely excited as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "Pleeease, can I try it?" "Of course dear, do you need help with anything else?" Nodoka responded. She was very relieved that it wasn't anything serious. "Um, well… if you wanna help I need to build a fire," Ranko shifted nervously again. Nodoka arched an eyebrow and looked skeptically at her daughter. "And what precisely do you need a fire for?" "Well, ," Ranko burst. "What was that dear?" Nodoka asked. "Um, I kinda have to pull the chestnuts out of the fire without letting my hands get burnt," Ranko stated. "WHAT? Are you out of your mind young lady?" Nodoka screamed "It's a really cool technique and I know I can do it! I mean, I haven't really done it but I kinda have done it already. Please mom?" Ranko pleaded with wide lost-puppy eyes. "That still sounds far too dangerous Ranko-chan. Don't you think so Kasumi?" Nodoka found herself folding quickly under her daughter's gaze. Kasumi's brow furrowed as she tried to recall exactly where she had heard that before. "Well auntie, that sounds like the training for the Amaguriken. Isn't that right Ranko-chan?" "Mmhmm, it's called the Kachu Tenchin Amaguriken momma, it's a really cool speed technique!" Ranko bounced a few more times before jumping up into the air and flitting around excitedly. "It'll let me punch really really fast." She threw a couple quick jabs before flitting down and to the left and throwing two more. "Even so it sounds too dangerous. You've only been back on your feet since yesterday, honey. You should really make sure you're up to form before training at all, much less in a dangerous technique." Nodoka frowned and tapped her foot. "Aww, but I feel fine mom," Ranko wheedled. "Well, I still don't know…" Nodoka began. "Pleeeease! I promise I won't get hurt. You can do it with me if you want, please!" Ranko pleaded, her wings literally vibrating with excitement. "Oh, alright," Nodoka acquiesed. "But you can only try it with me around, okay?" "Thank you thank you thank you." Ranko grabbed her mother in a tight hug and lifted her a foot off the ground before starting to twirl. "P-put me down please Ranko-chan. I'm getting dizzy," Nodoka said. Ranko sweatdropped and set her mother down before landing and sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry bout that momma." XXOOXXOOXX Nodoka helped Ranko build a small fire in their backyard. After the blaze caught she handed Ranko the bag of chestnuts and watched with trepidation as her daughter tossed two handfuls into the center. Her hands absently convulsed a tube of burn ointment. "Ranko-chan, I'm really not sure about this. I don't want you getting hurt honey." "Don't worry mom, it's just special training. I'll master this easily," Ranko said. She took a deep breath and her arm blurred forward. Nodoka cringed, she knew her daughter was fast but there was no way she'd manage to actually get all those nuts out of the fire before burning herself. *SIZZLE* Steam billowed up from the fire and Ranko hastily pulled her arm back. "Ranko-chan!" Nodoka darted forward to grab her daughter but stopped short when Ranko turned back to her with a frown. "You're not… hurt?" "Huh? Nope, see, I'm fine." Ranko held up her unblemished forearm for inspection. "Okay! Again!" She turned back to the fire and her arms blurred forward again. *SIZZLE* More steam rose from the fire as Ranko's fist darted into the center to grab a nut and pull back. The arm shot forward again with another hiss of steam. This repeated for thirty seconds, each pass into the fire releasing small clouds of steam as the fire was slowly quenched. Ranko turned back to her mother holding up a handful of chestnuts but both the nuts and her arm were covered with a fine sheen of frost. Nodoka exhaled and smiled in relief. "Well dear, I'm sorry but I guess this training is a bust. Your body just won't let you get hurt by the heat." Ranko froze and her eyes glazed over as yet another memory slammed into her brain. XXOOXX A redheaded teenager threw her hands at the fire. 'Gonna get the chestnuts this time and get my cure!' "OWW! Hot!" "Ranma you idiot! You're never going to be able to do that, her full-body cat-tongue trick made you too sensitive to heat," Akane's voice said. Very depressed, the redhead slumped to the ground, thinking dark thoughts about being locked in her cursed form and life in general. A warm hand fell on her shoulder and knocked her out of her introspection for a moment. "Buck up son!" A deep masculine voice sounded in her head. "You'll find your solution at the fair, you'll see." She mentally snorted in contempt at the ludicrous assertion but decided that at least the festival would take her mind off her troubles. The scene shifted abruptly and Ranko found herself walking next to Akane, soaking in the sights, smells, and sounds of the carnival like atmosphere of the festival. "Step right up and catch the fish, 100 yen… catch em all and take em all free," another smarmy male said to two girls walking by a fish tank eating candied apples. Akane stepped up to the tank, paid the man, and thrust her net into the water but it broke almost immediately. "These things are defective!" she screamed. The redhead stepped up and grabbed a net before launching into the task at high speed. All of the goldfish went flying out of the tank into nearby buckets. "Naw, see, it ain't so hard if you're not so clumsy 'Kane," she said. 'Uh-oh,' the greasy booth-worker thought. 'I need something to stop her or I'll be ruined.. AHA!' "There's just one last part ladies, bare-handed piranha catching!" (Paraphrased from Vol. 4 of the R1/2 Manga) XXOOXX "Ranko dear, are you okay?" Nodoka laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder and shook her slightly. "Huh?" Ranko shook her head a little to clear it and was rewarded by a spike of pain behind her eyes. "Oww… my head hurts. Where are the fi-… oh, mom, what's happening?" she asked. "Are you okay dear, it looked like you went into a trance," Nodoka responded. "Momma, when is the next festival?" Ranko asked a bit woozily. "I think there is a festival in Nerima next weekend, why?" Nodoka's brows furrowed in confusion. "Remembered another way to train… catching fish," Ranko said. "That's how Ranma learned it, at a fish catching game." "That's good, I'm glad you aren't going to stick your hands into a hot fire again," Nodoka said. Ranko nodded her head and winced again. She took a step towards the house but started to sway. "Ooo, I don't feel so good momma," Ranko murmured. She staggered forwards a few steps. "Gonna catch me some piranhas 'Kane," she mumbled before collapsing into Nodoka's arms. "Piranhas?" XXOOXX That afternoon the Senshi gathered at the Outers' house to discuss recent events. Hotaru and Usa were missing, having gone over to see Ranko after school and to bring her back with them for dinner, but the rest were present. And Usagi wasn't even late for once, having been dragged directly over after school by the others. Luna had opened the meeting to bring everyone up to speed on Iron Mouse's debriefing, which she had overseen. "She was very confused," Luna said. "Her memories were severely fragmented, even to my mind-meld. Whatever method was used to control Iron Mouse was very powerful. I did manage to confirm that our enemies are trying to collect something called starseeds and that the leader is a woman with golden hair named Galaxia." All eyes turned to Setsuna expectantly. "What are you looking at me for?" she asked. "As if you don't know?" Haruka snorted. Setsuna arched a delicate eyebrow. "And what precisely is that supposed to mean?" "Well duh, you have the Gates, don't you know everything about this already?" Minako asked. Artemis just covered his head with his paws. His charge, while a brilliant leader in battle, was just so ditzy sometimes. Setsuna sighed, "Even I cannot look precisely into the future. The Gates are a tool, a powerful tool, but just a tool nonetheless. They are meant to help prevent paradox and changes to the timestream and while I can see likely futures and things gone past, that is it. The future is always changing, and even if it wasn't, there is no way for me to look at everything I might want to. There isn't a search feature on the Gates or anything like that." "But didn't you know everything about the Black Moon Clan?" Ami asked. "Yeah! You must have since you sent the spore back," Usagi said. "That was a special case… by traveling back in time they entered my domain directly," Setsuna replied. "Oh," Usagi sank back against Mamoru. "We'll just have to deal with things as they come then," Haruka said, cracking her knuckles. "Anything else on this subject?" Ami asked, trying to keep the meeting on topic. It had been remarkably productive so far, and she wanted to get through as much ground as possible before Usagi lost her interest and Rei started squabbling with her. "I think not," Setsuna said. "There is just one other thing to discuss then: Ranko." "What?" Rei nearly screeched. "You can't be serious." "And why not?" Setsuna responded. "Oh please! You mean you weren't joking about letting her fight with us?" Rei asked incredulously. "I don't have a sense of humor last I checked," Setsuna deadpanned, drawing chuckles from most of the others but a death glare from Rei. Leaning forward from his seat next to Usagi, Mamoru chuckled, "Very funny, Setsuna. But seriously, you intend to let a little girl fight with us?" Usagi smacked him on the shoulder. "Mamo-chaaan, don't be such a meanie! I wasn't much older when I became Sailor Moon!" "Sorry, sorry" Mamoru backpedalled quickly. He had no desire to upset Usagi and wasn't really all that invested with his point anyway. After all, if Pluto thought letting Ranko fight was a good idea, then it probably was. "That hardly matters, and as much as I like the girl, she isn't a senshi. I can't believe you'd consider letting her get involved, Setsuna," Luna dismissed. "Why should that be a big deal? Besides, it'd be nice to have some backup we can trust," Haruka interjected. "She's not a senshi, she has no place in this fight! I don't care if you think we can trust her, we cannot have our secrets getting out and we cannot involve other people in our fights," Luna insisted. "Luna, Ranko already knows who we are," Artemis pointed out. "Even so, we can't risk it," Luna stubbornly responded. "Why not?" Setsuna responded. "She's the same age as Chibi-Usa and Hotaru and they've been involved for a while now." "That doesn't make it right," Michiru said quietly. "What? Michiru, what's gotten into you? If Ranko-chan wants to help her friends, I say we let her," Haruka responded incredulously. "But she's just so young… they all are. It… I… it tears me up when Hotaru-chan and Chibi-chan have to fight… if something were to happen, I…" Haruka pulled Michiru into her lap and embraced her emotional lover. Michiru composed herself and said, "I'm sorry. I love Hotaru-chan as much as if I'd given birth to her myself and Chibi-chan is a very special girl. The thought of them hurt… and they have senshi magic to protect them. Ranko-chan is such a sweet little girl, and without a senshi transformation to protect her…" Haruka, the oft temperamental woman's voice surprisingly soft, responded, "I know hon, it scares me too, not that I'd normally admit it. But if it were me, and I knew my best friends were out risking their lives I'd let nothing stop me from making sure I did everything I could to help them out. I don't think we can deny that to Ranko. Sure, she might get hurt, but if something happened and we forced her to sit out… well, if it were me I'd beat myself up, wondering if I couldn't have made a difference." "Besides, she's really skilled already," Makoto butted in. "I swear, that girl is like a martial arts sponge. At the rate she's learning, she'll surpass me in a month and even you aren't that far ahead of me anymore, Haruka." "Damn, the squirt is getting good huh? Maybe I should invite her to spar with me," Haruka replied. "I think you'll be surprised, Haruka," Makoto said. "Looking forward to it, then," Haruka smirked. "That's all well and good ladies, and it is good to know that Ranko-chan can handle herself, but Michiru did have a very good point," Ami said. "Ranko-chan does not have a transformation like we do, it might be too risky for her to join in our battles without one." "And if that limitation were removed?" Setsuna asked. "Well, I don't really have a problem with it per se," Ami replied. "But really, shouldn't we let Usagi-chan decide, she is the Princess after all." "Very well, Usagi-chan, what do you think?" Setsuna prompted. "What.. huh? Sorry, why are we considering this again?" Usagi asked, drawing a round of groans from the other assembled senshi. "Usaaagi! You ditz, have you completely ignored everything we've said so far?" Rei steamed. "Ahhh, Rei-chan is being mean again!" Usagi wailed. "I just meant that it's obvious that she'll join us, even if I don't remember exactly why she wanted to in the first place." "Well, she said something about not wanting to let her friends get hurt if she could do something to help," Setsuna answered. "Sounds like fighting for Love and Justice, and that's good enough for me," Usagi cheerfully replied. Rei groaned, "Meatball head, don't you ever think about the details? Letting her fight with us is just asking for trouble. She could get hurt without a transformation and more importantly, even if she didn't get hurt, she won't have the disguise magic that keeps people from recognizing us." "See, it's too dangerous to let non-senshi get involved in senshi business," Luna added. A smug looking feline smirk graced her lips. "True, Ranko doesn't have a glamour," Setsuna admitted. "But creating a disguise shouldn't be a problem. We could just use Usagi's transformation pen to create an identity, though it doesn't provide any magical protection which is the only reason we haven't involved other people by using it in the past." "Um, I have an idea about that," Minako interrupted the byplay. "When we first met her, didn't Ranko recreate a fuku like ours? Why don't we just have her do that? She would even fit in with the team which would keep people from asking questions." There was, after all, a reason that the normally flighty blonde was considered the leader of the Inner Senshi, though that side of Venus usually only appeared in the midst of battle. "Yay, we get another senshi!" Usagi cheered. Most of the others just smiled at their leader's bubbly enthusiasm. Mars, on the other hand, just groaned. While she dearly loved Usagi as arguably her best friend, sometimes she wished that Usagi would just grow up a little-well, a lot, but she'd take whatever she could get. "So are we agreed then, Ranko gets to fight with us if we can figure out some sort of protection and disguise?" Setsuna asked. "Sure!" Usagi chirped, cutting off any objections the others might raise, not that anyone was really inclined to by that point. Rei recognized a lost cause when she saw one, and secretly could admit that a bit more firepower on the battlefield would be nice, and Luna realized that it would be utterly pointless to try to convince her Princess otherwise. "Anyone who fights for Love and Justice will always be welcome with us!" XXOOXX Hotaru, Usa and Ranko entered the house right before dinner. "We're home," the girls shouted as they changed into house slippers and walked into the living room. "Hello girls, did you have a good afternoon?" Setsuna asked. "Yes Setsuna-mama, we even finished all our homework, too," Hotaru responded. "Yeah, it was great, Auntie!" Ranko enthused. "I almost figured out a really cool technique. I'll get it down at the festival for sure!" "That's wonderful girls. We're just wrapping up a Senshi meeting, if you'd like to join us," Setsuna offered. "Yeah, c'mon and sit, we just finished deciding that you can fight with us, Ranko-chan," Usagi said. "W-wow, thanks, Usagi-san," Ranko replied. "Hey now, you can't go calling me san, now can you, Ranko-chan? None of that silly formal stuff with any of us!" Usagi replied. "Okay Usagi-chan." Ranko smiled back at the cheerful blonde. "The only issue we really had was figuring out how to get some magical protection and a disguise made up for you Ranko-chan. We thought you might be able to do something with your own powers," Ami said. "Oh sure, no problem. I make weapons and shields all the time and it's really easy now that my powers are finally getting stronger," Ranko said. "It shouldn't be a problem to make myself some magical body-armor." "Well, that would solve the biggest hangup we had, Ranko-chan," Setsuna said. "It would be best if you could copy our armor as it would help avoid a lot of unnecessary questions from bystanders." "That really shouldn't be much of a challenge," Ranko declared. "I want to see what you're going to look like!" Usagi enthused. "It would be best to have a demonstration," Ami commented. "That way we can tweak and add what we need to the disguise. And, if I'm correct and Ranko-chan forms a faux fuku out of her magically charged ice it might even mimic some of the innate magic protection provided by our armor, naturally to a lesser extent, but every bit helps." Fidgeting slightly under the combined attention of all the senshi, Ranko responded, "Um, if you think it is a good idea, I can try Ami-sempai. It would help if I had an example to model it off of though." "A uniform is the first thing you need Ranko-chan," Setsuna responded. "Hotaru, why don't you transform, you two are the closest in height to each other." "Okay Setsuna-mama," Hotaru responded. "Saturn Crystal Power, Makeup!" Light and ribbons engulfed her suddenly nude and twirling form. Moments later, Sailor Saturn touched down to see Ranko staring at her, blushing heavily and highly aroused. "T-taru-chan, you know that makes you naked, right?" Ranko squeaked. Hotaru "eep'd and blushed in response while the other senshi laughed and lightly ribbed her. After recovering her equilibrium, Ranko circled Hotaru slowly while studying the fuku. "Okay, I think I can do this," she said, her face scrunching up in concentration. Ranko's wings began to pulse as her magic built up before they wrapped around her body, a soft glow building up. They solidified into a white body suit of identical design to the actual thing with a short, ice-blue pleated skirt preserving some semblance of modesty. Instead of bows and ribbons, Ranko's body suit itself had stripes of blue-ice embossed on the white in the center of her chest and just above her butt. White gloves of extremely thin, flexible ice formed up to her elbows where they were capped by blue, and similar knee high boots formed on her body. Turning for inspection, the assembled senshi realized that, unlike their uniforms, Ranko's was largely backless. Rei was going to comment, but was cut off as another set of wings burst out from Ranko's back. Opening her eyes, Ranko looked around. "Well, what do you think?" she asked. "Wow, that looks great Ko-chan!" Hotaru gushed. "Aww, thanks," Ranko responded. She tried to take a step forward but got stuck. "Gah, I can barely move," she said. "Well, that does look to be solid ice, Ranko-chan," Ami said. "Of course it would be hard to move in. But I think I have a solution, do you think you could make something similar to chain mail, you know, many small interlocking rings or scales. That would preserve your flexibility while still providing some protection." "Wow, that's a great idea, Ami-sempai!" Ranko said. Concentrating, she carefully melted the bodysuit and skirt back into a pulsing ball of water in her hand. It flowed back out over her skin, copying the earlier pattern but on closer inspection, rather than the outfit being made of a solid sheet of ice, it looked to be composed of interlocking snowflakes. "Hmm, it still needs a tiara and choker, but otherwise that seems to be a very good facsimile of our actual costumes," Ami said. "Darn, I knew I forgot something!" Ranko said. She raised a hand to her head and forced more of her magic through it, causing a simple white circlet to form and repeated the process to create a snow white choker around her neck. One by one, the assembled senshi inspected and cleared Ranko's handiwork. "Um, not to be the naysayer of the group," Rei began hesitantly, "but what about her face? She still doesn't have disguise magic like we do." "Good point, Rei-chan," Setsuna responded. "I could probably teach Ranko, and the rest of you for that matter, the simple glamour charm that your disguise field is based on but none of you really have the required magical background right now. And before you ask," she continued with a look at Ami, "yes, we are all capable of doing magic beyond our elemental affinities. It is just significantly weaker and harder to learn. That goes for you too, Ranko. And you will all learn it eventually. But during the middle of a planet threatening crisis is not a good time to start you learning magic." "How about a face-mask like the one I used to wear in my Sailor V days?" Minako asked. "We could also have Ranko just use the disguise pen to change her face whenever we get into a battle. She can make her own magical armor for the defensive properties but protect her identity with magic," Ami said. "I think a mask would be better," Ranko said. "It'll look cool and I won't forget it if it is part of what I always make." Raising her hand once more, Ranko added a light, ice blue mask to cover her eyes and part of her face. "Well, if no one has any more objections?" Setsuna asked. After a moment of silence she continued, "Good. We need to figure out a name next, preferably something from this solar system so that Ranko-chan is clearly tied to us." Ranko took the opportunity to slough off the ice and reabsorb it into her wings. "Well, what about the Earth itself? There's no Sailor Earth or Terra, wouldn't that be the obvious choice since most of us are named for the planets?" Rei asked. "Tuxedo Kamen is Earth's representative. If he were female, she would be Terra," Ami replied. "I looked into Sailor Terra on the Mercury Computer back when we were still dealing with Beryl and looking for allies." "Okay, well if the Earth is out, how about the Sun. I mean, it seems obvious enough and it would certainly be powerful enough to support a senshi," Makoto said. "I think maybe a moon of some sort would be better," Michiru interrupted. "Ranko-chan doesn't use fire magic and there are many frozen moons around the outer planets." "A moon would be great!" Usagi chirped. "Then I'd not be the only one!" "True, Princess, and there are a number of good choices among the Outer planets," Setsuna responded. "Europa, Titan and most of Saturn's moons, Triton and Nereid and most of the rest of Neptune's moons, and Titania of Uranus' moons all are good options." "What about something from the asteroid belt?" Rei asked. "The Sailor Quartet are already associated with most of the larger, named asteroids," Setsuna reminded. "Oh yeah," Rei said. "Well aside from that, there are a number of other dwarf planets aside from Pluto that we could draw on for the naming scheme," Ami mused. *CRACK* The assembled Senshi and Ranko turned to see a red-faced Setsuna holding the shattered remains of her teacup. "Erm, sorry to bring that up that, Setsuna," Ami apologized. Haruka snickered at her housemate, drawing an evil eye from Setsuna which she playfully warded off. "I was actually thinking Sedna might be particularly apt," Ami continued, "Most of the suggestions so far have involved water or ice somehow. Sedna is not only composed primarily of ice, but is named for the Inuit goddess of the sea who, according to the legend I read, lives in the depths of the Arctic Ocean." "That would fit nicely, Ami-chan," Haruka commented. "And it won't seem strange at all to have another dwarf planet on the team," she finished with a playful smirk at Setsuna. "Haruka," Setsuna growled. "Kidding, just kidding," Haruka shrunk back fearfully under Setsuna's glare while Michiru stifled a chuckle. "I'm done, I'll behave." "Good," Setsuna responded, seemingly completely back to normal. The Inners giggled a bit at the playful interaction involving the normally unflappable Senshi of Time, and more than one of them resolved to try to get her out of her shell more often. "Hmm, we have a number of good options Ranko-chan. I think we should try to narrow the list down, though." "Alright, Auntie, what do you suggest?" Ranko asked. "Well, we go about this two ways, we can narrow down the list based on the physical characteristics or based on the mythological characteristics of each object. And I think we can eliminate the Sun straight out. For example, Europa is a great fit physically, as it is composed of water underneath a shell of ice which matches your natural powers quite nicely but the name is based on one of Zeus' lovers which I do not believe is particularly fitting in this case. However, most of our planetary ties don't necessarily fit either criterion particularly well. Nothing about Pluto physically or the name has to do with time, one would think that would be Hotaru's domain instead," Setsuna said. "But Mako-chan and Mina-chan's powers both match up really well with their planets mythologically," Usagi commented. "What?" Rei screeched, "How did you know that meatball head?" "Waaaaa! Rei-chan is being mean again. Waaa!" Usagi wailed playfully. Before the meeting could spiral out of control, Setsuna interrupted, "That was very insightful Princess," Usagi beamed in response. The others didn't need to know that she had read it in a manga and she got to act like the smart one for once, "but that seems to be more the exception for our group than the rule. At any rate, how do we want to do this?" "Um, why don't we run back through the options quickly and decide," Ranko said, effectively helping Setsuna stop the imminent fight. "Alright, well, what are your thoughts on Europa, Ranko-chan?" Setsuna prompted. "Umm, no offence but I don't think I want my name to make it seem like I'm Mako-chan's lover," Ranko said with a red face, causing the aforementioned senshi of Jupiter to blush atomically as well. Haruka let out a particularly loud snort at the comment and quipped, "Not into gorgeous older women, ehh Ranko-chan?" Most of the Senshi just sputtered in embarrassment, though Makoto and Ranko both ducked their heads and stared at the floor. Hotaru, however, frowned and looked sadly over at Ranko. Michiru, noticing this, smacked her lover on the back of the head, causing Haruka to spin around with a small yelp. "Hey! What'd you do that for?" she whined. Michiru just sighed in response. She loved Haruka to death, but sometimes her partner just didn't understand tact. "Right, I think that settles that," Setsuna pulled the attention back onto herself. "Moving on, next we had Titan as the foremost option of Saturn's moons, which would be quite fitting given how close you and Hotaru are. Physically, the match is only mediocre, as Titan does have some ice, but it is instead known mostly for its size. Of all of Saturn's satellites, the rings, Rhea or Enceladus are all physically better matches. However, the rings do not have formal names we could draw on and none of the moons have a name that fits well mythologically. Besides that, Enceladus is quite a mouthful." "Hmm, I like the idea of being associated with Taru-chan," Ranko mused, causing her friend to beam at her. "Can we keep Titan or Rhea in the list?" "Of course, Ranko-chan," Setsuna replied. "Continuing outward, of all of Uranus' moons, Titania is by far the best fit. From a physical perspective, the moon is covered in a layer of ice. From a mythological perspective, Titania is the queen of all fairies, and your wings certainly resemble those of the fae." "That one sounds really good too, gah, this is so hard," Ranko complained, the aforementioned wings twitching irritably. Setsuna smiled sympathetically, "Well, I suppose we should keep that one on the list then too. Neptune's moons Triton and Nereid both fit decently physically. Like most of the objects out that far in the solar system, they have any icy coating and both are named for the sea, Triton for a sea god and Nereid for sea-nymphs. And finally, continuing to the Kuiper Belt and beyond, we have Eris, which is named for the goddess of discord, chaos, and strife, and Sedna, which Ami-chan described expertly. There is also the Oort Cloud, which is composed primarily of comets. Sedna is sometimes considered part of the Oort Cloud and others part of the Kuiper belt." "Umm, I guess of those ones, I like the sound of Sedna the best," Ranko said after deliberating for a moment. "I don't really like the idea of being named for strife so Eris is out and Titania seems a lot more fitting than Triton or Nereid." "So that just leaves Titan or Rhea, Titania, and Sedna," Setsuna said. "Much as they all have their merits, I think Titania fits the best, if that meets with your approval." "Um, sure. I guess it makes the most sense," Ranko responded. "Great! It's all decided, let's eat!" Usagi said. XXOOXX AN: Sorry that took so long to put together. I've been rather busy, but as you can clearly see, I'm not dead and neither is this fic. I hope the wait was worth it, and I will try to keep updating on a faster schedule than once every 4 months. As always, comments and criticism are welcomed. And I'd like to give a huge thanks to Wyrd who essentially beta'd this entire chapter and the other people at fukufics for helping me edit this from an admittedly mediocre draft (that was finished in early August) into something that I hope was worth the wait.
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Death Reborn Evolution
Chapter 11: Chapter 8: Schizophrenia
By: Shanami