DRE Interlude: News from Nerima Disclaimer: It hasn't changed since the prologue Dear Tofu, It has been an eventful couple of months since we saw each other at Ranma's funeral, and I apologize for taking so long to write. As I'm sure you remember, Ranma's body turned into a beautiful frozen egg after cremation and we hoped that Ranma might be reborn in the same way as Saffron, the Phoenix you briefly met. Well, what you don't know is that a few weeks later Auntie invited us to her new home because the egg was hatching. SHE was the cutest baby I've ever seen, and Auntie Nodoka decided to name her Ranko. She had the most beautiful crimson and aquamarine hair; I've never seen anyone with anything like it, but it looked darling. What was truly amazing, however, were the wings, they seemed to be made of the clearest aqua-shaded water, filled with deep blue ice crystals. Ranko has grown extremely quickly and she's been a delightful child, though a bit rambunctious. She made a few nice friends with some other young girls in Juuban and they will be starting school soon, assuming the aging process is complete. Some of Ranma's memories have returned, but Ranko is a much happier child than he ever was. She's brilliant at martial arts, and amazingly enough, loves cats. Auntie has been very careful with whom she lets visit, but I'm sure they'd be very happy to see you again. She even pressed charges against Genma, but he fled the courthouse after nearly killing three police officers and is now one of the most wanted men in Japan. There have been rumors of sightings heading south from the city, but he hasn't been captured yet. That man deserves to rot for what he put poor Ranma through. Oh my, that wasn't very pleasant, I apologize for the outburst. I fear that he will come back into our lives far too soon, and with his skills, I'm not sure the authorities can do much to help. Father has been very reserved since the funeral. Ranma really brought daddy back to life for the first time in years, but it seems like he's retreated into himself once again. I suppose his greatest dream was to see one of us married to Ranma. It hardly seems fair that he has once again abandoned us. Perhaps he will grow out of it in time, but I'm starting to realize that daddy hasn't truly been a part of our lives since mother died and it was unfair of him to have pinned all his hopes on Ranma. I don't know how much longer I can stand to be cooped up here, caring for daddy. Grandfather Happosai is still up to his antics, though he spends more time in his room recently. I'm not entirely sure what he's up to, but he has been more serious lately. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm still leery of having him around the house. Father still refuses to kick him out, even though he makes all of us uncomfortable. I think in his own way he misses Ranma and their fights. Ranma's fiancées took his death especially hard. Akane was horribly depressed for about a week. She didn't want to marry him, but I think she felt somewhat responsible for his death and she told me that she had grown to see him like a brother. His death forced her to grow up a bit; I think she regrets how she treated him, but they were both horribly immature. Our parents didn't help the situation any either. She also finally admitted that she doesn't like boys romantically (it's about time), and I think it confused her that she had some feeling initially for Ranma's female form. Ranko's rebirth finally broke her depression and guilt. I think she sees Ranko as a cute little sister; I know I do. Akane also recently started dating Ukyo, and I don't think I've ever seen either of them happier. That was a huge surprise. While I was pretty sure that Akane was gay, I had no idea that Ukyo preferred women as well. They make each other happy though, and I think she is good for my little sister. They certainly make a cute couple. Ukyo was also depressed when Ranma died, but that's not surprising since he was her first and best friend. I suppose she also saw his female form as a potential love interest, but she must have realized that would have never worked. The biggest change however is that the Amazons have actually left Nerima and the Nekohanten has closed. I suppose that even if he had been reborn male, Ranma would have been far too young for Shampoo to court. I am surprised though that Cologne did not attempt to gain control of his egg. I believe Saffron may have threatened them if she did anything and I don't suppose Cologne was willing to risk war with the Phoenix. Nodoka also made it extremely clear that she would not tolerate any more interference in their lives from the Amazons. I do feel bad for Shampoo though; she was very broken up by Ranma's death. I wonder how she is doing. Ranma's final suitor, Kodachi, doesn't seem to acknowledge his death. Ranma was in female form at the funeral, and she has been crowing over her victory over 'the flame haired harridan,' and searching for her Ranma-sama. I think she needs help. Tatewaki has been loudly proclaiming his victory over 'the foul sorceror' while searching for his pigtailed goddess. The entire family is delusional. I wish there was a way to get them into an institution, but they have far too much sway in the ward. He has attempted to start the morning fights again, but Ukyo has made it *very* clear that she will not tolerate the boys annoying her girlfriend. Fortunately, she has been successful so far in preventing the hentai horde from making reappearing. Nabiki has been relatively unaffected, but I think that is just her way. She did stop selling her pictures of Ranma though, and I hope she regrets taking advantage of him. She seems quite fed up with daddy, but was very pleased when Genma was forced out. She goes off to college at Tokyu U for a business degree next semester, and guess what? I'm joining her! I would still like to become a doctor. Thank you so much for all of the books you loaned me over the years by the way, they've been a great help. I talked to someone in the medicine program there, and thanks to my knowledge, I have a full scholarship. Oh, Ryoga-kun stopped by the other day. I think he misses his battles with Ranma, but he's seeing that nice Akari girl now. He still gets lost easily, and he mentioned that he ran into you the other day. I do hope he realizes that Ranko is too small to play his usual games with because I'm sure he'll find his way to Juuban sooner or later. I do hope you are doing well Tofu, and if you can find the time, I think we should meet in Juuban so you can meet Ranko and her friends. They are so darling together. She makes me look forward to having children of my own someday, though I should like to have a bit of a career first. I've been a housewife for far too long already, and with Nabiki going off to college, this may be my last chance to escape the house and make a life of my own. I miss you greatly. Give me a call if you can make it sometime in the next two weeks before I move to the university to start the semester. Perhaps we can see each other more often now that I'm getting out of the house. I've been told that I'm very well prepared for the first semester's material thanks to all my reading, and if you have time, I've been told there are some excellent restaurants near the campus. With love, Kasumi Tendo AN: it seems like it is about time for a skip forward in time, before the saccharine nature of my current writing style gives everyone diabetes. I mean, I like cute, and I'm probably better at writing cute than I am at anything else, but if I don't move on nothing is ever going to happen in this story. However, it was suggested by a review from Skye Silverwing that I really didn't take care of a bunch of what's been going on in Nerima, and it really made sense as a way to cap what's occurred so far. And it even contained the perfect title for such an interlude. Thank you for the excellent idea. Next time we're going to move forward, school is going to start, and the girls will be done with the super-fast aging. There will be some adjustments the girls have to make still, but the combat is going to start as well. I have a good handle on what I want to accomplish emotionally and relationship-wise. Currently I'm leaning towards a modified Galaxia timeline since she IS the big baddy in the Sailor Moon universe (aside from Chaos itself), but I'm not sure exactly how to fit Ranko into that. But, my big question for the upcoming chapters: Would you prefer to see the Sailor Moon timeline preserved or not? Please let me know, and tell me why if you have strong opinions one way or another. Thank you for reading.
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Death Reborn Evolution
Chapter 06: Interlude: News From Nerima
By: Shanami