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Death Reborn Evolution
Chapter 09: Chapter 6: Ranko's Weekend

By: Shanami

 
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Death Reborn Evolution

Chapter 6: Ranko's Weekend

Disclaimer: It hasn't changed since the prologue, suffice to say I own nothing involved in nor am I profiting from this in any way.

XXOOXX

Ranko was nearly overwhelmed at the sheer number of people and the noise as she and five other girls stepped off of the female only car into the most crowded train station in the world. Ranko, Hotaru, Usa and her friend Momoko had been invited to go on a trip into Shinjuku by two other girls from their class: Nariko and Aoi. They stepped out of the station into one of the busiest shopping districts in the world.

It was an overcast and chilly Saturday afternoon, the girls having just been released from a half day of classes an hour previously. They were still wearing their school uniforms, consisting of a white blouse with a blue sailor style collar and matching skirt. They had rushed straight to the train station without bothering to change.

"Wow, this is amazing Nari-chan!" Ranko said as she took in the vista of Shinjuku's crowded shopping district. Amid the larger hotels, department stores and cinemas were countless electronic shops, boutiques, restaurants and street vendors. The dull skies were illuminated by neon lights and flashing advertisements. Ranko spun in a slow circle, taking it all in.

"Thanks for inviting us out," Hotaru said quietly. She was still rather shy around the other girls but she had been surprised with just how nice they all had been. Sure, she had real friends before, but aside from Ranko and the senshi, she had expected to be shunned by the rest of her classmates. She still hadn't revealed her healing powers though, years of taunts and bullying still had their effect.

"No problem!" Nariko chirped. "Glad you guys came, it's more fun like this and mom won't let me come into town by myself. So, what should we do first?"

Aoi said, "Well, I wanted to see the park while we were here but we don't need to start there."

Naturally, Ranko and Usa's stomachs chose that moment to make their opinions known. *Growl* Both girls blushed slightly before looking at a nearby takoyaki stand and turning to the group. "Let's get something to eat!" they said together, causing the others to giggle at them.

"Usa, don't you ever get full?" Momoko asked.

"Aww, c'mon Momo-chan, I'm hungry. I haven't had anything to eat since lunch," Usa whined.

"That was less than an hour ago," Aoi snickered.

"But it smells so good!" Usa said with hearts in her eyes.

"We're going to need to feed them eventually," Hotaru interrupted causing the other girls to start laughing as Usa and Ranko both flushed again. "Why don't we grab some snacks and eat them in the park?"

"Good idea Taru-chan!" Nariko said as she grabbed Hotaru's hand and dragged her off to get in the line for food. Hotaru blushed slightly before smiling broadly at the unexpected contact. Nariko's hand was slightly larger than her own and was pleasantly warm. More importantly, it meant something special, it meant acceptance.

The other girls joined them in line. They each bought a tray of octopus balls until it was Ranko's turn to order. As she approached the cart, her pupils dilated until her irises almost completely disappeared and her eyes literally sparkled as she bounced up to the vendor. A minute later, she joined the group a few feet away from the cart with six trays for herself, having gotten the last two for free. Usa caught up to them a minute later with five trays and they headed into the park.

"Wow Ko-chan, I didn't know you were such a flirt," Usa teased as they walked into the massive Imperial Gardens next to the train station.

"It just comes naturally," Ranko muttered, flushing. She looked up defiantly at her giggling friends. "I've got this cute little body, might as well use it for something important!" she shot back.

"What, scamming free food?" Aoi asked incredulously.

"Of course!" Ranko chirped as she happily popped another of the delectable octopus balls into her mouth with a little contented sigh. "Yummy."

Usa sighed, "I wish I could do that."

Nariko looked at them incredulously, "Is food all you ever think about?"

Hotaru and Momoko shared a glance before saying, in unison, "pretty much," causing the others to laugh.

Usa flushed and mumbled, "No… there's ice cream and… well, I think about other stuff." All the others broke down giggling. Usa looked put out for a moment before smirking. She put on a pensive face before bowing to Ranko and saying, "Will you accept me as your humble student sensei?"

"Of course, young one," Ranko said gravely, doing her best impression of an ancient monk. "I shall instruct you in this, my most sacred art." Everyone broke down giggling again before wandering further through the park enjoying the rest of their food and the well manicured gardens.

An hour later saw the girls wandering the crowded streets of the crowded shopping district, flitting in and out of various stores. Nariko had dragged them into a few music stores where she bought a cd by some new band she gushed about called The Three Lights who were, according to Nariko, "so cute." Ranko and Momoko had found an electronic drum machine to play with while the other girls were listening to demo tracks. They took turns messing around with the synthesizer, the monkey noises were a big hit. Aoi had dragged them into a few electronic stores where she picked up a new Pokemon cartridge for her Gameboy. Hotaru even managed to find a new lamp in a small antiques shop.

They spent most of the rest of their time window shopping at the clothing boutiques. Each had bought a few small items, but mostly they just spent the afternoon trying on different outfits. Currently, they were in a costume store and Usa was trying to get them to try on some of the Gothic Lolita style clothing. "C'mon, it'll be fun!" she wheedled.

"No way Usa, I'm not trying on any of that stuff," Hotaru said; Aoi nodded her agreement emphatically.

"Aww, c'mon. You'll try something on with me, won't you Momo-chan?" Usa turned her big shining crimson eyes on Momoko.

"Fine," Momoko sighed half-heartedly. "I guess we can look, but I'm not promising anything Usa!"

"Great, let's go!" Usa chirped. She grabbed a confused Ranko and dragged them towards the back of the store, "Come on Ko-chan, these losers just don't know how to have fun." The other girls just sighed, and followed them.

Ranko was confused, she didn't know why everyone was making such a big deal about trying on some clothing before she saw the selections and nearly went into diabetic shock. Now Ranko was a fairly normal young girl, meaning she liked cute things a lot. This, however, took that to such a disturbing level that it was all she could to do prevent her eye from twitching. Petticoats, row upon row of petticoats, black and pink lace, bows, frills and ribbons greeted the eye in a nauseating tableau.

"Ooo, look at this, it's soo cute!" Usa chirped. "You should try it on Ko-chan!"

"Usa, I really don't think," Ranko said.

Usa cut her off, "Aww, c'mon , it's just one outfit. Pleeeeeaase!"

"Fine," Ranko huffed before stalking off to a changing room. Usa looked on with a slight smirk on her face.

Hotaru smacked her on the shoulder. "That wasn't very nice Sa-chan."

"What? She'll look so adorable in that, besides, I'm not about to try any of this stuff on. I'd be so embarrassed, even if it's all so cute," she said.

"Oh no you don't," Nariko said. "You dragged us here, you're trying on something too." The others chirped their agreement.

"Fine, fine, I'll pick something out," Usa sighed. She went back to browsing the racks until she found the perfect outfit to compliment Ranko's. She joined Ranko in the changing rooms.

Ranko nervously peeked out from the changing room before she was seized by her friends. "Hey, let go," she said.

"Oh, come on, you've gotta show us what you look like Ko-chan," Hotaru wheedled.

"Hey, I don't see you in one of these," Ranko shot back.

"No, but we did get Usa to wear one," Hotaru smirked.

"Well, she can come out first," Ranko huffed.

"What, you can flirt completely shamelessly and you're embarrassed by a dress?" Nariko asked.

"I'm," Ranko flushed, "fine, I'm coming out. You better not laugh at me though." The dress consisted of a black, maid style dress with puffy shoulders and lace accents that fell to just above the knees. There was a black bow in the middle of her chest. The skirt was billowed out by multiple white petticoats. White stockings and black flats encased her legs and feet. She had white, elbow length gloves with little black ribbons at the top. A white lace choker with a black ribbon and matching headband completed the accessories. The entire outfit was finished by a pair of delicate looking fairy wings. It was all Hotaru could do to hold a straight face, the wings really made the outfit.

Aoi snapped a quick picture, causing Ranko's cheeks to flush pink. "What?" she said, "You look adorable."

"Thanks," Ranko muttered, cheeks still bright. "Where's Sa-chan? I want to get out of this thing."

"Aww, c'mon, you look really cute. I think you should get it!" Nariko said.

"No way," Ranko shot back. "I don't care if it's cute, this is really embarrassing. I don't see you wearing anything."

"True," Nariko shrugged her shoulders.

Usa poked her head out of her changing room a minute later. She caught sight of Ranko's outfit and smirked slightly before slinking over to join the group. "Hi!" she chirped from right behind Ranko, causing her to, "eeep!" and jump slightly.

"Don't do that!" Ranko said before she caught sight of Usa's outfit.

"Sorry," Usa shrugged unrepentantly. "So, what do you think?"

The Inners would have run off screaming about the return of Black Lady had they seen it. All Ranko could think was that the outfit was very Usa, well, as Usa as any loligoth outfit possibly could be. It consisted of a black, baby-doll style dress with bright pink ribbons on the puffed out sleeves that fell halfway to the elbow. A bodice design had been stitched over the chest in pink thread, accenting Usa's developing chest. The skirt had moons embroidered on the hem in pink thread. Black stockings and black and pink flats finished the outfit.

"Wow," Hotaru said, "it's very you, I think you should get it." The others agreed.

"I would, but I don't think I'd ever wear it," Usa said.

"Aww, c'mon, where are you going to find an outfit that perfect? And it's even on sale," Hotaru noticed. She leaned in and whispered, "I mean, it even has the moon thing going for it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll get it if one of you gets something to wear with me. Hehe, Usagi's gonna flip!" Usa crowed.

"Leave me out of this." Nariko backed away quickly. "I'd be way too embarrassed to wear something like that. Not that you guys don't look good or anything," she hastily added.

"Yeah, I don't think I could ever get away with wearing something like that, mom would flip," Aoi agreed.

"Momo-chan, you want to dress up with me sometime, right?" Usa wheedled.

"N-no thanks Sa-chan," Momoko replied. "This stuff is cute, but it's far too expensive for something I'd never wear."

"Well, I can't dress up like this on my own, how about you Ko-chan?" Usa asked.

"I, this is cute, but I really want to get out of it. This is sooo embarrassing." She motioned towards the wings. The whole thing was mortifying, and she was feeling rather confined. It was all she could to do keep her actual wings from deploying through the back of the dress. She had to get out of it, and fast. "Besides, I need to save my money for stuff for my room and you guys can help," she said before rushing back to the dressing room to change.

"Oh well, I don't suppose there's something here you'd want Taru-chan?" Usa asked.

"No, not really," Hotaru replied with a little blush. Her fashion sense tended to be towards low key, though still elegant clothing, possibly as a byproduct of having been an outcast in her previous life. While she was already much more open than before Hotaru still tended towards the innocuous look.

"Oh well, I'll hang on to it. Let's go try on some of the other costumes." Usa shrugged before changing back.

The other girls were much more enthusiastic about trying on some of the selections from the cosplaying side of the store. Ranko and Hotaru made a perfect Lina and Amelia from The Slayers. Usa was, ironically enough, talked into wearing a Sailor Moon costume. Momoko and Aoi made a pretty decent Dirty Pair and Nariko made a nearly perfect Skuld. The entire group put together a great rendition of the cast from Wedding Peach. The shop attendant graciously offered to take pictures for them, plus, the girls really did look adorable. After their impromptu fashion show, the girls spent another hour wandering around Shinjuku before they had to head back to the train station.

XXOOXX

An hour passed and the girls arrived back at Ranko's house. "Tadaima!" they called out as they entered the house.

"Join us in the den girls," Nodoka called back. A moment later, after exchanging shoes for slippers, the six teenagers marched into the den. As they entered the room, they were greeted by an attractive, middle aged redhead who was clearly Ranko's mother. "Hello dears, I'm Tanaka Nodoka, Ranko's mother. But you can call me Auntie Nodoka if you like. This," she gestured towards Kasumi, "is Tendo Kasumi. Why don't you get changed out of those uniforms and then tell us all about your trip?"

"Thanks, we will Mom/Auntie," they chorused before heading off to change into the comfortable street clothes that they'd given Ranko the day before, except for Usa and Hotaru who kept a couple outfits at the house anyway. The girls quickly changed, most into skirts or jeans with a t-shirt. Ranko, on the other hand, picked out a white skirt and yellow halter combo. Even with her wings concealed, Ranko was never truly comfortable with her wing roots covered.

As she changed, Momoko noticed something odd when Ranko took off the blouse of her uniform. "Oh my god, what's that?" she squealed, pointing at Ranko's back. The others looked over too, noticing what appeared to be a pair of matching aquamarine tattoos that started near Ranko's shoulder blades and wound their way down half way to her hips in an intricate, almost runic pattern.

"Wow, those are really cool tattoos Ranko, I can't believe your mom let you get them!" Aoi said.

"Did it hurt?" Nariko asked, lightly running a finger down one of the marks, making Ranko shiver at the pleasant sensation. "Oops, sorry. I, I should have asked if I could touch them," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Ranko stuttered out, her face was flushed and her eyes slightly glazed. She had forgotten that her wing roots were so sensitive and that most of her friends didn't know about them. "And, I don't remember if it was painful or not, I've always had them," she said.

"Why?" Momoko asked.

Ranko didn't really know what to say. She just shrugged. "I don't know, I think it's a family tradition or something. I guess I've never really thought about it."

"Well they're really cool Ko-chan!" Aoi said.

"Thanks!" Ranko chirped. "Come on, let's go back downstairs."

A few minutes later found six young girls showing off their purchases to the two women in the den. Hotaru's lamp was plugged in over in the corner and Ranko had opened up her new posters. "And then we went into this costume shop mom and Sa-chan made me try on a loligoth fairy outfit with her. It was cute I guess but it was really embarrassing. Her outfit was really cool though but she didn't buy it. Then we all put on some normal costumes," Ranko said.

"That sounds fun dear," Nodoka said, shooting an amused smile at Kasumi.

"Oh, Auntie, wait till you see the pictures. I'm gonna go get them developed tomorrow!" Usa jumped in to the conversation. "Ranko looked sooo cute in her outfit. She really should have bought it," she teased.

Ranko's cheeks flushed slightly. "Sa-chaan, stop embarrassing me," she whined.

Hotaru interrupted, "I can't wait to see the pictures from the other costumes. That was fun."

"Oh my, it sounds like you girls had a good trip," Kasumi said.

"Yeah, it was great. We should go again," Nariko replied.

Ranko's stomach decided it wanted to be a part of the conversation too. It growled angrily, demanding attention. Ranko flushed again.

"How can you possibly be hungry?" Aoi was aghast. "I mean, I could eat, but you had so much takoyaki in the park."

"A growing girl should have a healthy apetite," Kasumi snickered.

"Oneechan! Stop making fun of me," Ranko whined.

Hotaru couldn't help it, the expression on Ranko's face was just priceless. She burst out laughing.

"Not you too Taru-chan," Ranko pouted. Usa broke down into helpless giggles. Soon, everyone was laughing, even Ranko.

A few minutes later Nodoka said, "Well girls, why don't you set the table? Kasumi, help me get dinner out." Ranko, Hotaru and Usa set the table, telling the other girls to just sit down since they didn't know their way around the house yet. Nodoka and Kasumi came in carrying steaming dishes of fish, rice, and soup. They had cooked enough to satiate even Ranko and Usa.

After dinner, the girls went back up to Ranko's room to help her decorate it. When they finished, the room was transformed from a relatively barren but comfortable space into something that any teenaged girl could be proud of. Her bed was queen sized with blue drapes hanging from the ceiling with a few stuffed animals on the quilted bedspread. The nightstand now sported a lamp that Hotaru had helped her pick out for her old room with a violet shade. There was a pair of picture frames on her dresser. The first was a picture of a slightly younger Ranko and Hotaru hugging the stuffing out of Usa in the park. Each girl was wearing a sundress in their favorite color, Ranko in blue, Hotaru in purple and Usa in pink. The picture was in a frame decorated with glittery hearts and stars. The second picture featured a six year old Ranko sitting on Kasumi's shoulders playing with her hair with a big grin on her face in a frame decorated with anime style kittens.

The walls were decorated martial arts posters, cat posters and a poster from Ranko's favorite anime, Pretty Sammy. She also had a small display case containing a set of swords mounted on the wall. She had a few Dan ranking certificates framed nearby, having earned ranks in both kempo and aikido. After they finished decorating, they changed into their pajamas and went back downstairs to the living room.

Nodoka and Kasumi had already gone up to their rooms to read and study respectively, and to let the girls have the downstairs to themselves.

"So, what do you want to do?" Ranko asked as she plopped down on the couch.

"We could watch a movie," Hotaru suggested.

"We always watch movies, let's do something else," Usa said. "Ooo, I know, we should play Truth or Dare!"

"What's that?" Momoko asked.

"You know, you pick Truth or you pick Dare, and the person that asked you either gets to ask you a question that you have to answer or you have to do what they tell you to!" Usa was bouncing in her seat. "C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"Okay, I go first then," Momoko declared. "Hotaru, truth or dare?"

"Hmm, I guess I'll take a truth," Hotaru said.

"How about an easy one, what do you want to be when you're grown up?" Momoko asked.

"I've always wanted to be a nurse," Hotaru answered.

"Alright, you go next Taru-chan," Usa said.

"Okay. Aoi, truth or dare?" Hotaru asked.

"I'll take a dare!" Aoi declared and struck a valiant pose with her legs slightly spread, her head thrown back and her fist pumped into the air. The others giggled at her.

"You have to prank call your mom!" Hotaru said.

"Oh, that's good," Nariko said. "C'mon Aoi, do it!"

"Fine, where's the phone?" Aoi asked.

"I'll get it, gimme a minute," Ranko called over her shoulder as she padded off to the kitchen. She returned a minute later with the telephone handset. "Here you go," she chirped.

"Thanks," Aoi replied dryly. A prank call and a lot of giggling later and a pink cheeked Aoi turned to Ranko saying, "Your turn Ranko, truth or dare?"

"I'll take a dare too!" Ranko said.

Aoi smirked evilly. "Oh, I was hoping you'd say that. I dare you to kiss Hotaru!"

"Eep!" Ranko flushed. "Really?"

"Uh-huh," Aoi glanced between the two girls. "Unless you're scared…"

Ranko's eyes hardened. She glared at Aoi for a moment before turning to Hotaru and giving her a quick peck on the cheek causing both girls to flush. "There, I kissed Taru-chan, how was that?"

"Weak! Ko-chan you call that a kiss?" Usa wheedled, the other girls backing her up. "Do it for real."

"Hmph, I just did what she told me to," Ranko turned her nose up.

"That's not what Aoi meant and you know it Ko-chan," Usa said.

"Fine, I'll do it again but you have to do it first!" Ranko said indignantly.

"You'll do exactly what I do then?" Usa asked, sounding frightened.

"Sure," Ranko said, thinking that Usa would back down rather than kiss one of her best friends properly.

"Alright," Usa smirked. The pinkette slowly pressed her entire body up against Hotaru's before pulling the slightly taller girl's head down and forcefully pressed their lips together. Usa wound her fingers into Hotaru's hair and sucked on her lower lip until Hotaru's mouth parted enough to dart her tongue in. Hotaru's eyes bulged open in shock. A few seconds later, Usa slowly disengaged herself from her stunned friend and stalked sensuously towards Ranko. "Your turn."

Ranko's eyes bugged out and she stared worriedly at Usa's approaching form. She stuttered, "Wh-what do you mean S-sa-chan?"

Usa fell to the floor laughing. "Bwahahaha, the look on your face, hahahaha." Ranko looked miffed and swatted at her playfully. "Hahaha, okay okay, I'll stop I'll be good," Usa choked out, still snickering. She took a minute to get herself under control before gesturing to the still frozen Hotaru. "I mean you have to give Taru-chan a real kiss."

"Usa-chan, where did you learn to kiss like that?" a shocked Momoko asked. She had never seen her friend so forward, and with a girl no less.

"Oh, I had some very good teachers back home," Usa winked.

Ranko steeled herself and approached her first friend. "Taru-chan, are you okay with this?" she asked softly as she stepped up to the taller girl.

"I g-guess so," Hotaru replied. She blushed a bright, cherry red, thinking, 'Kami, I can't believe I just had my first kiss and it was my best friend and it was a girl. That was really nice though. Where the hell did Usa learn to kiss like that? Ehh, who am I kidding, it was probably Minako.'

Ranko, meanwhile, had closed the distance to Hotaru and tentatively pulled herself up against her friend before standing on her tiptoes. She lightly brushed her lips against the taller girl's. 'Damn, this is weird. Maybe if I can't see her face it'll be less awkward,' she thought as her eyes fluttered closed. She hesitantly pressed herself a little more firmly into her friend. Hotaru, sensing Ranko's nerves, deepened the kiss, her mouth moving back against the smaller girls and her tongue sliding its way into Ranko's mouth. A pleasant warmth started to build in Ranko's belly, and she moaned inadvertently as Hotaru's chest was crushed into her own.

A moment later a thoroughly confused and flushed Hotaru released the smaller girl, who stood there dazed with a serene little smile on her face. Usa broke into the scene with a catcall while the other girls just watched stunned. "Whoo, you go girl! Now that was a kiss!" Ranko jumped back and flushed bright red before she ran out of the room.

"I took it too far, huh?" Usa asked with a sheepish half frown.

"Yes, you did!" Momoko said.

"I'm sorry," Usa said looking down at her feet. "I guess that went too far, sorry Taru-chan. I'd better go find Ranko."

"N-no problem Sa-chan." Hotaru sat heavily on a nearby couch. They heard a door slam.

Ranko sat on the front steps of the house, her face as red as a tomato. The cool night air prickled her hypersensitive skin and soothed her swollen, puffy lips. She had a rather dazed, blank look in her eyes. Inside, her mind was raging. 'Why'd Usa have to make me do that, now everyone's gonna make fun of me. Taru-chan is a damn good kisser though, mmm. Gah, I did not just think that. Why did that feel so nice though?' She shuddered slightly at as she remembered the feel of her friend's body pressed up against her own. 'Gah, I'm so confused. I shouldn't feel so… turned on after kissing another girl. I suppose it was a good kiss. Nothing to worry about, I hope.'

The door slid open, though Ranko didn't notice it. "Ko-chan?" Usa began hesitantly. When she didn't get a response, she gently laid a hand on Ranko's shoulder, causing the smaller girl to jerk abruptly.

"Oh, hi Sa-chan," Ranko said as her shoulders slumped dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you. Can you forgive me?" Usa asked, her head bowed slightly and her toe tracing little patterns on the ground.

"I, yes, I guess I forgive you Usa," Ranko said. "I guess I kinda overreacted. Let's go back inside, I'm getting cold."

"Are, are you sure?" Usa asked as they walked back towards the living room.

"Yeah, yeah. No big deal," Ranko lied. 'I'm only incredibly confused right now, but I really don't want to think about it.' "I think I've had enough truth or dare though, maybe we can do something else?" she said as they walked into the room.

Fortunately for Ranko, no one mentioned anything when she got back. They spent the rest of the night watching some anime before crashing on the futons Nodoka had left out for them.

XXOOXX

Dawn broke over Juuban and slowly illuminated the Tanaka household. A stray sunbeam pierced through a crack in the curtains of the living room window and landed on Ranko's face.

Ranko blearily opened her eyes and thought, 'Huh? That's not my ceiling, where am I?' She yawned and pushed herself up onto her elbows, spying her friends laid out on futons and couches nearby. 'Oh right, the slumber party, how could I have forgotten that? Hmm, maybe I'll see if mom wants to practice until they get up.'

Ranko crept out of the room, taking care not to make enough noise to wake the other girls and set off upstairs in search of her mother. She knocked softly on Nodoka's door.

"Come in," a muffled voice responded.

Ranko opened the door and slipped inside. "Morning mom, want to practice a bit with me?" she asked.

Nodoka frowned slightly. "What about your friends dear, surely you'd rather spend time with them."

"They're still sleeping, I didn't want to wake them up so early. Just until they get up, please?" she pleaded.

"Alright dear, go get changed and I'll meet you outside," Nodoka said.

A few minutes later Ranko bounded down the stairs in her training outfit. Since the weather was still comfortable, this consisted of a pair of stretchy spandex shorts and yellow mesh tank top over a black sports bra. She went outside to find that her mother had already pulled out the training swords.

"Okay Ranko-chan, why don't you warm up for a bit? Then we can spar until your friends wake up. Remember, no using your powers with the others here," Nodoka said, picking up a full length bokken herself to run through a few light kata.

Ranko nodded and said, "Of course mom." She then ran through a few exercises before picking up a shorter practice sword. "Ready when you are."

Nodoka turned to her daughter and they bowed to each other before rushing in. Nodoka led in with a horizontal slash which Ranko jumped over, countering with an overhead strike. Nodoka brought her own blade up to deflect the blow. Ranko pressed the assault, her shorter blade allowed her to make quicker attacks.

Inside, the others started to stir to the sound of clacking wood. Hotaru was the first to rise, being a somewhat light sleeper herself. She was also used to training in the mornings herself, having picked up the habit after she started taking aikido lessons with Ranko.

XXOOXX

-Flashback-

A pair of seven year old girls bounced down the sidewalk to the exasperation of their minder for the day, Setsuna, on the way to a nearby dojo. Ranko had passed her first dan ranking test in kempo two weeks previously and had convinced Hotaru that it would be fun for them to both take up aikido. A combination of puppy-dog eyes on their respective guardians had quickly melted all resistance to the idea, so long as they kept up on their lessons with Ami.

"C'mon auntie Setsuna, hurry up!" Ranko said as she attempted to drag Setsuna down the street faster. "This'll be so much fun Taru-chan. I can't wait and then we can spar a bit and maybe momma'll show us how to use her sword!"

"Oh wow!" Hotaru's eyes got really wide as she thought about playing with Nodoka's sword. It was really shiny and cool looking and the few times they had snuck out to watch Nodoka practice had left the girls in awe. Hotaru squealed in glee and latched on to Setsuna's right hip. "Hurry up Setsuna-momma! I don't wanna be late!"

Setsuna smiled indulgently down at her daughter. "Don't worry Hotaru-chan. We'll be there in a minute."

"But I wanna be there now!" Hotaru sulked.

"Taru-chaaan," Ranko sang as she skipped around the stalled pair, "c'mon, let's go!"

"Kay!" Hotaru yelled and chased after Ranko as she ran away giggling.

Setsuna just shook her head and tried to choke down her mirth as she stopped at the entranceway to the local aikido dojo while her charges overshot it. She called, "Girls, we're here."

The two looked back before sprinting back to enter the dojo, practically vibrating with excitement. "This is gonna be so cool, Taru-chan!" Ranko chirped as she pulled a light blue gi on over her yellow top and stretchy shorts.

"Mhmm," Hotaru agreed as Setsuna helped her into her brand new violet gi.

The girls had been enrolled in a beginner session for children under the age of thirteen. They were tied for the youngest present with a small black-haired boy. A few minutes later, the sensei called the class to order while he had an assistant take Ranko and Hotaru to the side to judge their abilities. Hotaru was a rank beginner, but she had a ton of fun. Ranko, thanks to the often esoteric knowledge of Ranma percolating her brain had a lot of experience in martial arts in general, but while he had known many soft styles aikido wasn't one of them. Thanks to her general ability, she was rated as an orange belt.

Since they were roughly the same size, with Hotaru being just slightly taller than Ranko the girls were paired together for all of their exercises and often wound up falling to the floor in a tangle of laughter when one of them made a mistake. An hour later, Setsuna helped the exhausted girls drag themselves into Haruka's waiting car where they curled up together in the back seat to nap.

-End Flashback-

XXOOXX

The girls continued their lessons in aikido twice a week, though they had recently been moved up into a more advanced class. Ranko's innate martial abilities and Hotaru's random integration of Saturn's memories helped them improve drastically over the months/years they aged. Both had passed a ranking test for first Dan before the school year began.

Hotaru, hearing the obvious signs of martial arts practice, padded upstairs to Ranko's room to toss on some athletic clothing of her own. She snuck back outside, careful to not disturb the others and picked up a practice staff (the closest item Nodoka had to her Silence Glaive) to run through a bit of practice herself. The morning practices had done wonders for her stamina. She was no longer the weakest girl in her age group, rather, with the exception of Ranko, she was possibly the strongest and certainly among the most active.

The other girls, with the exception of Usa (who could easily sleep through a tsunami) slowly roused as the clacking noises from outside continue. Nodoka had managed to force Ranko onto the defensive, relying on her greater reach and strength but kept her abilities to a manageable level for her daughter.

Momoko, Aoi and Nariko groggily peeked out the window into the back yard before rushing out onto the porch to watch. "Whoa!" Momoko exclaimed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "They're really good, that's so cool!"

"Oh, good morning girls," Nodoka said, signaling for a halt. "Did you have a good night?"

"Yes auntie," they chorused.

"Good, why don't you girls go get cleaned up while I get breakfast ready?" she asked.

"Breakfast?" Usa appeared in the doorway looking around frantically, causing Ranko and the others to fall over laughing.

"It'll be ready in a few moments dear, now shoo," Nodoka said.

The girls trooped off upstairs and took turns rinsing off and changing into their clothes for the day before enjoying a traditional (and extremely large) breakfast prepared by Nodoka and Kasumi, who had volunteered to take the girls out to the arcade and for lunch afterwards.

The girls were walking down the street when Nariko looked at her watch and gasped, "Oh no, I really have to go home. Thanks for having us over Ranko."

"It was fun, I'm really glad you came," Ranko said with a huge smile.

"Why do you have to leave Nari-chan?" Usa asked, pouting.

"Gonna be late. Mom and I are going to see grandma and grandpa today. Gotta run!" Nariko said and sprinted off down the street.

The remaining girls and Kasumi continued walking to the Crown Arcade where they spent the rest of the morning playing the games. As usual, Usa started out by attempting to set a new record on the Sailor V machine. Well, actually she was just trying to improve her score enough that her future mother couldn't beat her at it. Ranko dragged Momoko off to play a racing game while Hotaru and Aoi faced off in a fighter.

Kasumi, on the other hand, commandeered a rather large table and was studying for a pharmacology test later that week. After a few hours passed, the girls crowded into the booth beside her. "Hey 'neechan, we're getting kinda hungry. Can we get lunch now?" Ranko asked.

"Sure Ranko-chan, let me just finish this page and we'll order," Kasumi replied.

"Whatcha reading 'neechan?" Ranko asked as she craned her neck to peek at the book over Kasumi's shoulder.

"Oh this, I'm reading about the complications of sulfa drug allergies in immunocompromised patients," Kasumi said absently.

Ranko locked eyes with Usa. "Boooring!" they chorused. Kasumi laughed lightly while the younger girls giggled at the pair's antics. A few minutes later Motoki came by to take their orders and they enjoyed a relaxing lunch.

After eating, the girls each went back to play one last game each while Kasumi packed up her school work. Ranko decided to go off on her own to play the latest House of the Dead game even though none of her friends wanted to join her.

"M-mind if I join you, Ranko?" a male voice asked near Ranko's ear.

"Eep!" she jumped and spun around, clutching her chest. "Don't do that!"

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he replied.

"Oh, no problem," she said as she gestured to the open space. "Sure, it'll be more fun with a friend. You're Jun, right?"

"Yep," he said as he put his coins into the machine and picked up the light gun.

Conversation halted as the game started and both turned their full attention to blasting zombies. "Shoot the head!" Ranko yelled when the gigantic zombie security guard started to attack.

"Right," Jun replied. They frantically emptied clip after clip into the zombie hordes. Ranko was having a blast; she'd never been able to play this game before as she had been too short to see over the console. Her nigh supernatural reflexes allowed her to hold her own in the unfamiliar gameplay. Jun, on the other hand, had played before, though he ran into far more trouble than she did.

They made it until nearly the end of the third level before Jun finally died. And without his help, Ranko was eventually overwhelmed. Afterwards, she turned to him and smiled brightly, making him gulp. "Thanks," she chirped, "that was a lot of fun!"

"No problem," he replied. As she started to turn and walk away he called out hesitantly after her, "R-ranko?"

She turned back around with a confused little frown on her pixie shaped face. "Yes?"

"W-would you maybe like to go see a movie with me sometime," Jun mumbled out.

"Are, are you, are you asking me out. Like on a date?" Ranko asked.

"Y-yes," he squeaked.

Ranko's mind was racing. Jun was a nice boy, and rather cute, but she didn't really feel anything particularly special just from looking at him. On the other hand, Jun was a nice boy and rather cute, and her friends were always gushing about the different boys and how they really wanted to have a boyfriend. Besides, if kissing Hotaru, who was another girl, felt so good then kissing a boy, and a cute one at that, would have to feel a lot better. She blushed at that thought. Besides, she thought, Ami-sempai's friends were always raving about how great having a boyfriend would be. "Um, I, I guess so," Ranko stuttered out.

Jun smiled widely. "How about Wednesday night then?" he asked, feeling much bolder since she had accepted.

"Um, I don't think my mom would really like me staying out on a school night," she replied.

"Well, we don't have classes next Saturday," Jun said thoughtfully. "How about Friday night?"

"Okay," Ranko agreed.

"Great, I've really gotta go, cya then!" Jun said.

Usa popped out from behind a nearby machine with Momoko. "Sooo," she drawled, "anything you want to tell us Ko-chan?"

"I, I don't know what you're talking about Sa-chan," Ranko replied.

"Suuure you don't," Usa drawled as they joined up with the rest of their group near the door exiting the Crown.

"She doesn't what?" Hotaru asked.

"Ko-chan doesn't want to tell us what she was talking to that cute boy about," Usa said.

"Oh, really? Who was it?" Aoi asked in full gossip mode.

"It was Jun," Ranko squeaked out.

"Oh, Jun's really cute, what'd he want?" Aoi asked conspiratorially, the rest of the girls crowding in to listen.

"He," Ranko's cheeks flushed, "."

"Oh my god, did you say he asked you out?" Aoi nearly squealed.

"Yes," Ranko mumbled.

"Wow, in school a week and you already have one of the cutest guys. I'm so jealous," Momoko sighed.

"Um, thanks I guess," Ranko said.

"So did you kiss him already?" Usa leaned in and asked.

"What!" Ranko shrieked. "You were right there Usa! Stop messing with me."

"Aww, but it's so much fun." Usa pouted.

Ranko just 'hmph'd' indignantly before breaking down giggling. Aoi and Momoko left to walk home together. Ranko, Hotaru and Usa continued to banter as they followed Kasumi back to the Tanaka home.

Meanwhile, on the Chinese coast, a waterlogged panda dragged itself to shore.

AN: Well, it's been a while since I seriously wrote for this story. I apologize for the delay. I wanted to have 1 more "normal" chapter before getting back into the plot to establish the personalities of the involved characters as they've been shaped by their non-canon experiences. I also wanted to establish a bit more of the girls' everyday lives before things got more complicated as I enjoy writing that part.

Next chapter will (probably) get back on board with the actual plot. As always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

 
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