Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Goddess ❯ Setsuna's Choice ( Chapter 11 )

 

A Ranma One Half/Sailor Moon/Ah! My Goddess crossover Fan Fiction

By Michael A. Ivins

 

Ranma, and all of his/her friends and family are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own any of them, nor do I own any of the characters from Ah! My Goddess or Sailor Moon. I'm writing this for fun, not profit. I'm so poor that suing me wouldn't do you much good.

 

WARNING: This is a sequel to a previous fic I wrote called, “Nodoka's Lessons.” That was a Lemon fic. While there won't be as much emphasis on sex (it will be more implied than described) in this sequel, it will deal with subjects like incest. If these subjects offend you, stop reading.

 

Chapter 11

Setsuna's Choice

 

When she got home Ranma went to bed and while her body relaxed her mind was furiously active. She studied the mass of her past life memories and noticed that they did indeed start with her life as Princess Ruby during the Silver Millennium. She wasn't sure but suspected that having the Senshi power bonded to her soul had something to do with the fact that she could now remember things from past lives at all.

 

With some effort she was able to stop the memories from intruding at random moments. The things Beldandy had taught her had given her the mental tools to do things she would never have believed possible. Looking into those past lives where she had been trained in martial arts she found she could transfer those physical skills from the old memories to current ones. After lying in bed for four hours she got up and went downstairs.

 

Nodoka look up and asked, “How are you feeling dear?”

 

Ranma thought about it. “Better. I think I've got the memories under control instead of them controlling me. I was also able to re-learn some of the skills I had in some of those past lives.”

 

She frowned. “I don't think re-learn is the right word for it but I guess that is the one that comes closest. I'm going to go out into the back yard to practice of my new… I mean old skills.”

 

As she worked at some of the katas she found that the old skills didn't feel any different from skills she had learned in her current life. They felt just like skills learned before but not practiced for a while. She caught herself grinning hugely. Weren't her sensei going to be surprised when she went for training the next day?

 

By the time Ranma had finished her practice it was dark. That fact didn't bother the red haired goddess. It seemed she could see as well in the dark as a cat could. She wasn't sure if that was from being a goddess or if it was a side benefit of the Nekoken.

 

That evening Akane and Nodoka were feeling a little too tired to begin on one of the energetic love-making sessions that Ranma engaged in these days. The goddess had to be content with just snuggling her lovers this evening. This was still enough to charge her energies, just not as much.

 

That evening she was more of a rescue worker than a crime fighter. There was only one mugging to stop. She pulled people out of wrecked cars and two burning buildings. She wondered if the street punks were starting to get wise and stay out of the area she had taken to patrolling. She resolved to expand her patrol area the next time she went out.

 

When Ranma got to the training the next day she felt she had turned a corner. Before it had seemed like the techniques being thrown at her were coming at just within her threshold. If they had been working any faster it would have been too much. Now that she had been able to access her past life memories the lessons felt more like review of old lessons than new material.

 

However, if Ranma was expecting her teachers to be surprised, she was disappointed. The reaction of her teachers was almost one of satisfaction, almost as if they were expecting this change in Ranma and had been planning for it. As it was the pace of the lessons was stepped up. If the flow of knowledge and techniques could have been compared to a garden hose at the start, it had become closer to a high-pressure water cannon.

 

While miffed that she had not been able to surprise her teachers she found that she could take the pace. In fact she was almost eager for the new flood of knowledge and techniques. She was soaking it up like a sponge.

 

As she was leaving the physical culture building in Heaven Ranma was met by Urd. The older goddess told her, “Your teachers are impressed. You are as good as the best they've taught.”

Ranma smirked. “I always said I was the best. But I'm guessing that's not the reason you came here today. You could have come to my house or called me on my communicator.”

 

“True,” Admitted Urd. “I came to tell you that your friend Sailor Pluto will get her chance for an appeal. She can speak directly to Kami-Sama. The appointment is this Friday morning. You will be given the time off training to bring her, but you must go to training after. You can also take her back to Midgard when she is done. She will be given instruction on how to find you. Playing shuttle service shouldn't take too much of your time.”

 

The redhead frowned. “I'm not sure if I should be hoping she gets her job back or not. I know it means a lot to her, but I really think she should get a break from it.”

 

The platinum blonde tried to assure her “I'm sure Kami-Sama will take her welfare into consideration as well as her performance in the job. You really care about her, don't you?”

 

Ranma explained, “In two past lives she was my wife. I loved her deeply. While I don't feel that strongly now, I do still care about her.”

 

Urd asked, “You are aware that the marriage vows say `til death do you part,' right?”

 

The younger goddess nodded. “Yes, I am aware of that. I think the fact that I was with her for two lifetimes may mean a love that goes beyond death.”

“Hmph, maybe.” She did not sound convinced.

 

“I'd better get going. I need to tell Setsuna so she can prepare herself.”

 

Urd wondered, “How does a mortal prepare for something like that?”

 

“I don't know.” Ranma shrugged. “By the time I had my appointment with Him I was already a goddess. I was so wrapped up in my situation that I wasn't really thinking about the implications of such an interview.”

 

Before Ranma could leave, Urd told her, “Since I was coming to meet up with you , I was asked to deliver a message. The other sex deities want to throw you a party to welcome you into their ranks. It will be next Sunday.”

 

She handed Ranma a slip of paper. “This has the address where the party will be held and it also has the phone number to call to let them know if you will or won't attend. You should know that any party the sex deities give it likely to include an orgy. Will that be a problem?”

 

The redheaded goddess thought about that. At one time she would have been intimidated by the prospect, but now, she felt she could take it in stride. She said, “I think I can handle it.” She looked at the paper and noticed that it also said, “clothing optional.” That also tended to support the contention that it was likely to be an orgy.

 

“Guest of honor at an orgy,” She thought. “That's going to be different.”

 

Ranma transported herself to the home of the Outer Senshi. Haruka answered the door and the red haired goddess politely asked if Setsuna was home.

 

The blonde looked worried. “She hasn't left her room. She seemed like she was cheered up after she got back from her… meeting with you. She's gotten depressed again. I'd appreciate anything you could do for her.”

 

Going to the indicated door Ranma knocked. A voice from inside the room called out, “Haruka, I told you before, I'm not in the mood. Leave me alone.”

 

The goddess knocked again and called through the door, “Setsuna, it's Ranma. Can I come in?”

 

“Ranma?” The door opened. The green haired woman looked depressed. She ushered the goddess into the room.

 

Ranma took a seat on the desk chair and said, “I thought I had you cheered up.”

 

The Senshi of Pluto sat on the bed. “I don't know. I just got to thinking and got depressed again.”

 

The goddess gave a sympathetic smile. “I don't know if you will find this good news or bad, but Kami-Sama has consented to give you an interview to state your case. You are to go there this Friday morning. I can take you there and drop you off.”

 

Her eyes went wide. “I'm supposed to talk to Kami-Sama?”

 

Ranma moved over to the bed to sit next to Setsuna. She hugged the smaller woman and told her, “Don't let that intimidate you. I've talked to Him and He was really nice to me.”

 

In a shaky voice Pluto said, “You weren't in trouble. You were the new goddess and He was trying to make you feel comfortable.”

 

Shaking her head Ranma told her, “You worry too much. He is a compassionate god. He has your interests at heart.”

 

The older woman looked doubtful.

 

Not sure how she would take this Ranma decided to tell her anyway. “I learned a meditation technique that lets me access memories of my past lives. I hope you won't be sad to learn that in the Kingdom of Lemuria I was Ranesh and during the Empire of Atlantis I was Seth-Ran.”

 

“My husbands?” The green haired woman looked in Ranma's eyes. “Those were both you? I watched you grow old and die… twice. That was why I never married again. I took lovers but never for more than a year or two.”

 

The goddess wasn't going to apologize. “I had no choice in the matter. I was a mortal man. As a male I had no senshi power to keep me young like you. Growing old is what mortals do.”

 

Setsuna frowned. “I don't understand. How can you remember these things?”

 

“It was explained to me,” Ranma said. “All living beings that have a soul and go through the cycle of death and rebirth have a sort of metaphysical `memory bank' that goes with them through all of their lives. Immortals have it too. That's because for a mortal through many rebirth cycles or an immortal through thousands of years of life can build up more memories that will fit in their physical brain. If the physical brain was all you had you would get to the point where you would have to lose old memories to gain new ones.”

 

The green haired woman protested, “But most people don't remember past lives.”

 

The redhead nodded. “I said the same thing. Normally it takes deep hypnosis, special meditation techniques or magic to get a mortal to remember their past lives. To prevent themselves from going mad, gods learn meditation and mental disciplines to organize their memories. The methods they use to access the `memory bank' will also work for a mortal turned god/dess to access the memories of past lives.”

 

She paused in thought. “When I first broke into the `memory bank' to pull out a memory of a cat that I loved, I opened up the connection between that and my physical brain, a connection most gods have. I didn't know it, but I would have had to learn the meditation to organize and control the memories anyway. I might otherwise have run the risk of losing my place in time. By that I mean I could have lost track of which life was the current one by getting lost in the memories of the past.”

 

“My divine teachers had been waiting for me to learn those memory management techniques. Now that I have they kicked my training into high gear. They are throwing knowledge and martial arts techniques at me as fast as they can now. The thing that amazed me is that I am taking it all in. Some of it is just covering stuff I knew in past lives.”

 

After a thoughtful pause she continued, “I'll still need to practice some of the physical skills. Even so, in a matter of weeks I should be able to learn more of the Art than I could have in a couple of lifetimes as a mortal.”

 

The Senshi of Pluto shook her head, “That's all very interesting but Ranesh and Seth-Ran… I loved both, never realizing they were the same person.”

 

The goddess admitted, “I loved you too, deeply and fully. But, while I was the same soul both times, it isn't really accurate to say that I was the same person. In each of those lives I had different childhoods, different personalities. There were similarities, but I wasn't really the same person. Remember also that at the time Seth-Ran had no memory of ever being Ranesh or Princess Ruby for that matter. Or at least he had no access to those memories”

 

She shook her head. “I still care for you, but the heat has cooled some. I have lived dozens of lives since both of them. I've been women and men and in most of those lives I was lucky enough to find love. Under the right circumstances I might grow to love you in this life as I did in the past, but you need to remember that I have two women in my life that I love passionately. Any new love we might build for each other would need to either work with or work around my current loves. I hope you can live with that.”

 

She thought about it. Finally Pluto said, “I admit that you don't look much like either my Ranesh or Seth-Ran. I can see a few personality traits that remind me of them, but that's all. Still, after meeting you I could feel that I should trust you and I feel I already like you, maybe even love you a little.”

 

The goddess nodded. “I felt that too. I couldn't see you as the cold-hearted bitch others portrayed you to be.”

 

The Senshi of Time felt herself experiencing emotions she hadn't felt in a very long time. Pluto leaned against Ranma. “Please tell me you will at least be my friend. I don't think I could stand it if you weren't in my life again.”

 

Ranma hugged the other woman lightly. “I can do that. After all, we are on the same team. There is something you have to realize, though. As a god/dess I have additional responsibilities. If the Senshi need me, call on me and I'll come if I can. There may be times when I can't come.”

 

Pluto nodded. “I can understand that.”

 

Ranma let out a sigh. “Kami-Sama has some kind of plan for me. He's not letting me know what it is for the present. I'd say it's a safe bet there is more to it than helping out people who are confused about their sexuality. Exactly what he had planned for me, I'll have to wait and find out. I will just have to throw myself into the training and learn all I can.”

 

She kissed Pluto on the forehead and told her, “I'll come by Friday morning to pick you up. I wish I could go with you for moral support, but they won't let me. You will probably be standing on the desk and He'll be in his full 100 meter tall god mode. Remember all of the foes you've faced and keep in mind that He's ultimately on your side. What He decides will be for the benefit of the most people, you included.”

 

She got up from the bed and left the room. As she headed out to the back yard she passed through the living room and noticed Haruka and Michiru trying to look like they were busily engaged in reading magazines. It didn't help the intended deception that Haruka's magazine was upside down. It was easy to guess they had been outside the door of Setsuna's bedroom, trying to eavesdrop. Ranma just smiled.

 

The rest of the week went by in a sort of blur. Training was a grind but one that Ranma was willing to endure. The goddess came by the Outers home early on Friday and they left immediately. The two popped out of the ground next to the building that housed Kami-sama's office. Having already given all of the advice she could, Ranma said, “Good luck,” and headed off to her training.

 

When Setsuna got into the office she looked at the desk and gulped nervously. As she looked she spotted a ladder that was actually built into the side of the desk at the corner. Although she didn't spot anyone at the desk, and there was no summons coming from that direction, she figured she would have to climb.

 

As she grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder a female voice came from the side. “That won't be necessary, Miss Meiyoh.”

 

She looked and spotted the circle of furniture that Ranma had described. Seated in a throne-like overstuffed chair was a woman with long silver hair with the long ponytails that Usagi used, but lacking the odangos. She wore an elegant white down and sported white wings just like Queen Serenity of the Mon Kingdom. “I'm going to make a guess and say you aren't my Queen.”

 

The image of the queen smiled and said, “You are correct that I am neither the Serenity you knew nor am I your friend Usagi. I took a form that you would be comfortable with. I am Kami-Sama.”

 

Setsuna gestured toward the desk. “I thought…”

 

The silver haired woman nodded. “I can see you have been talking with Miss Saotome. I did tell her I used the desk for disciplinary hearings and punishments. You are in an unusual position. For some of your work you are deserving of awards and commendations. For other things you deserve punishment. I have chosen to speak to you in more relaxed circumstances.”

 

Setsuna bowed. “I only ask for the chance to state my case.”

 

The simulacrum of Queen Serenity waved toward the couches and chairs “You have that chance. Please sit.”

 

The Time Senshi picked a chair that didn't look quite as comfortable as the rest. She didn't want to be get overconfident. The lack of comfort in the chair would remind her that she had to be on her game. She launched into her plea. The only times Kami-Sama interrupted was at points where Setsuna seemed a little confused. The deity never seemed to need clarification of anything else.

 

When the Senshi was finished, Kami-Sama nodded. “A highly emotional plea. You have argued that you should be forgiven your indiscretions because of your long and faithful service. You wish to go back to being the Guardian of the Gates of Time and promise to perform those duties responsibly in the future.”

 

Setsuna winced to hear her long and heartfelt defense summed up in so few words. Still she had to admit, “You have given an accurate summation.”

 

The Lunar Queen's demeanor was serious. “What guarantee do we have that you will not give into temptation again and try to shape the flow of time into something of your own choosing.”

 

Sailor Pluto insisted, “I give my word… my promise.”

 

The deity sighed deeply. “I wish that was sufficient. However your performance of late suggests that you cannot be trusted as you once could. I'm sorry but the only way you will be allowed to resume your duties as Guardian of the Time Gates is as instructor for your replacement. Have you considered the options for choosing a replacement?”

 

Not trying to hide her disappointment, Setsuna answered, “I have thought about it. If I must train a replacement then I'd like to have a child and train her.”

 

The silver haired woman nodded. “Do you have a candidate to be the father of this child?” The tone she used suggested that she knew exactly who Setsuna had chosen.

 

The green haired woman answered, “Saotome Ranma has already volunteered to be the father. She thought I was joking about having her male god form be father.”

 

The silver haired woman nodded her head. “I rather suspected you might choose that option. A child who is half divine and half Senshi would make a formidable Time Guardian. This option should also give you an additional sixteen to eighteen years to train your child and that's not counting the time for Miss Saotome's own children to be born and your own pregnancy.”

 

“I guess that was a factor in my choice.”

 

The Lord of Heaven nodded. “I won't tease you about this. I feel sure that the rest of the Senshi will do enough of that. Do you remember the condition attached to this option?”

 

Setsuna nodded. “You would assign a divine `advisor' to work with me until I have my replacement trained.”

 

“I already have an advisor in mind.”

 

The green haired Senshi wanted to know, “May I ask who you have chosen?”

 

The Lord of Heaven shook her head. “You may ask but I am not ready to reveal that just yet. The person I'm considering might not agree to the posting. Since it is outside of the scope of this deity's normal duties a refusal would be possible and allowed.”

 

Setsuna nodded, but thought she had an idea who was being considered.

 

The Lord of Heaven said, “I think we are finished here. I know you were going to go look for Miss Saotome to get a ride home but she is going to be too busy. I will send you back home myself.”

 

Before Setsuna even had time to wonder, she found herself back in her own home, sitting on her own bed. That was weird. She thought that maybe Kami-Sama wanted to notify Ranma of her future role in the succession of the Time Guardian. She wasn't sure why, but she had the idea that Ranma was the one being chosen as the advisor. She'd probably have to wait to find out.

 

Ranma was in the practice fields of the Physical Arts Center. She had learned how to manifest her wings and was now using them in simulated combat. She was a magnificent sight. She was a beautiful redhead who stood over six feet tall with a build like a fitness model. Her wings were feathered with both red and black in an eye pleasing pattern. The newest goddess wondered if that had something to do with the fact her hair was red in female form and black in male form.

 

As she practiced she was diving, rolling, climbing and a host of other maneuvers. In addition to just flying she was dodging low power energy blasts while firing off her own. She was getting skillful enough that she was pressing her instructor.

 

The mock combat was interrupted by the sound of piercing whistle. Normally the fighters would have ignored all outside distractions, but they had been told to stop when they heard this sound.

 

Ranma swooped down to the person who blew the whistle and landed, folding her wings. A moment later she caused her wings to vanish as she had been taught to do. She asked, “What did you stop us for? It was getting good.”

 

The god who was supervising the combat practice told her, “You'd better pull those wings back out and fly over to the Boss' office. Kami-Sama wants to talk to you.”

 

While Ranma flew off her sparring partner landed next to the instructor. “She is good. I never expected to get that kind of a fight or skill level out of a sex goddess.”

 

The instructor nodded. “I think the Boss has something special in mind for her.”

 

“I hope she gets posted to a combat unit. Skills like that are wasted on a sex goddess.”

 

The instructor nodded.

 

At the office Ranma was ushered right in. Again she found the form of a powerful and aged martial arts sensei seated in the big chair. Respectfully Ranma bowed, then said, “I was told you wanted to see me.”

 

“Yes, Miss Saotome,” the Chief Deity acknowledged. “Since you were the one who requested it, I'm sure you are curious to know how the interview went with Meiyoh Setsuna.”

 

“Yes I would like to know,” Ranma confirmed. “She was supposed to come to the practice field so I could give her a ride. She's not stranded is she?”

 

The Lord of Heaven smiled. “No need to worry. I sent her straight back to her bedroom.”

 

Reasonably, Ranma pointed out, “You could have just sent someone. You didn't need to tell me Yourself.”

 

Kami-Sama's manner became serious. “The resolution of this matter concerns you. I have already told Sailor Pluto that she may remain the Guardian of Time only for as long as it takes to train her replacement. Of the options available to her she has chosen to try and have a child to take her place. She wants you, in your male god form, to be the father.”

 

Ranma smirked. “Well, I did volunteer to let her use sperm from the fertility clinic that started this whole goddess business. I thought she was joking when she said it would be more fun for her to get pregnant the `old fashioned way.'”

 

Kami-Sama smiled and said, “You should expect someone who's been around as long as she has to be old fashioned.”

 

The redhead shrugged. “Well, if that's how she wants it, it will have to wait until after my twins are born.”

 

“I told her that,” confirmed the Chief deity. “She still seemed to want to do it that way.”

 

Ranma thought for a moment. “I'd like to find out what my wife thinks about it. If she's Ok with it, then I'm willing.”

 

Kami-Sama noted, “If she was willing to share you with your mother, she will likely be open minded about your wife from two past lives.”

 

With a nod, Ranma agreed, “You do have a point.”

 

Kami-sama said, “That wasn't the only reason I called you here today.”

 

Ranma just raised an eyebrow in an inquiring look.

 

Kami-Sama said, “Many have been speculating on the reason why you are getting such intensive training in such a broad range of subjects. They have all been saying that it is odd that a sex deity is being trained in so many disciplines.”

 

The goddess nodded but didn't comment.

 

He continued, “There have been others who have said that if you had been limited to just being a sex deity it would be a waste of talent.”

 

The redhead nodded again. “Is he ever going to get to the point?” She wondered.

 

The Lord of Heaven said, “I do have hopes for you. It is true that I want you to help people who are confused about their sexuality, but there are not enough of them to keep you really busy. In your conversations with Sailor Pluto did she tell you the conditions she would have to meet to resume the duties of Guardian of Time while she trains her replacement?”

 

Ranma nodded. She had heard this. “She has to have a divine advisor who will watch her to make sure she doesn't do stuff she shouldn't.”

 

With an earnest expression, Kami-Sama said, “I want you to be that advisor.”

 

“Me!” Ranma wasn't sure she was hearing right. “Are you kidding?”

 

“I'm quite serious,” the Chief Deity insisted.

 

Ranma just sat for several moments. Finally she said, “Please forgive me for saying this Kami-Sama sir, but I think that is a really bad idea.”

 

Kami-Sama inquired, “Why do you say that?”

 

It took a moment for Ranma to put into words just how bad an idea it was. “She's 20,000 years old and I'm a teenager. How could I advise someone like that? All that I know about time travel is from a little bit of messing around with the Nanban Mirror. Basically I learned that it's not something to be played with by people who don't know what they're doing.”

 

She paused then continued. “Here's maybe my biggest objection. I've never even seen the Gates of Time at least not in this lifetime. Sailor Pluto could do something bad with them right in front of me and if she told me it was normal work I wouldn't even know it wasn't.”

 

The Chief Deity clarified, “She will teach you how to use the Gates.”

 

“Huh? Are you saying you want me to become the new Guardian of Time?”

 

Kami-Sama shook his head. “No. You will be a reserve. Consider this: Sailor Pluto is a superhero, a dangerous occupation. If she were to fall in battle tomorrow there would be no one qualified to replace her as the Guardian of the Gates of Time. To use a mortal term, you will be our insurance policy.”

 

Ranma considered that but didn't comment. Kami-Sama continued. “With your talents and ability to learn new things you will learn in one year what it would take Pluto's daughter ten years. If Miss Meiyoh should fall before her daughter is fully trained you can step in to take over the job for the length of time it takes to complete the replacement's training. Guardian of Time is not a job for a deity to have and keep, but it one that a god/dess can fill at need.”

 

Kami-Sama paused again to let Ranma think about it. “Even before you learn how to operate the Gates you have the means to know if Pluto tries to `do something she shouldn't.' You have mastered empathy as quickly as expected. It won't be much harder for you to learn how to read minds of ordinary mortals. Pluto has a very disciplined mind so reading it will not be easy. However, with your abilities you can sense deception now. If Sailor Pluto were to lie to you, you would know it instantly. In time you will be able to do far more.”

 

Ranma looked confused. Kami-Sama smiled. “God or mortal, someone of your potential doesn't come along very often. If you agree to this you will soon be able to do the job better than Pluto can do it herself. (Please don't tell her I said that.)”

 

The goddess finally spoke, “So let me see if I understand this. You agree to my being father to Setsuna's child. You want me to be the `divine' advisor for her while we wait for my babies to be born and then again while we wait for her baby to be born. During the time I'm the advisor I'm to learn the job of Guardian of the Gates of Time so I can take over if Setsuna should die before she can train her daughter. I'm to be a backup to whoever is Guardian but only to train a new mortal to take over if needed. Did I sum that up right?”

 

The Lord of Heaven smiled. “You have the gist of it.”

 

Ranma frowned. “I don't know. I still think it's a bad idea.”

 

With a chuckle Kami-Sama said, “It would appear that I have more faith in you than you do yourself. Where is that confidence of yours?”

 

Where was her confidence? “If this was a martial arts challenge you were offering me I'd jump at it. If I didn't think I was ready, I'd train to get ready. What you are offering is something completely different.”

 

The man in the big chair offered, “If it helps you, try to think of it as a challenge.”

 

“Could I think about it for a while?” Ranma begged.

 

“You may have until Monday. If you chose not to take the job someone else will be assigned the advisor position. You would still be needed as father to Sailor Pluto's child.”

 

Ranma chuckled. “At least I'm pretty sure I know how to do that.”

 

“You'll need to get back to your training. There is something you are going to have to learn.”

 

“Oh?” Ranma sounded eager. She liked learning new things.

 

Kami-Sama said, “You would have been told that deities can teleport anywhere they want to go. Do you remember the explanation of why gods and goddesses use a transport medium instead of teleporting most of the time?

 

The goddess replied, “It takes less energy to teleport through a transport medium than `porting directly.”

 

“Correct!” The Chief Deity affirmed. “It should come as no surprise that some deities have more energy than others.”

 

In a musing tone Ranma commented, “So they're like people… I mean mortals. Some are strong, some weak and most in between.”

 

“Exactly true,” agreed Kami-Sana. “As a mortal you had one of the highest ki reserves of anyone your age. You had a reserve equal to masters of the art who spent decades to build it up. You had the potential to become one of the most powerful ki masters on the earth. I believe that you actually reached that rank in one of your past lives.”

 

When Ranma nodded, the Lord of Heaven continued, “When you became a deity your ki reserves increased. It wasn't just double or triple, it increased by a factor of more than fifteen times.”

 

Ranma frowned. “I didn't feel that much stronger.”

 

The other explained, “No, you wouldn't. That is an automatic mechanism that prevents you from being overwhelmed. If you could access all that ki reserve right from the start there is a good chance you would have hurt yourself and others around you. Thanks to the training you have undergone you are now able to access about half of that reserve.”

 

With a thoughtful expression, Ranma said, “Now that you mention it I don't think I've had to recharge as often lately as I did at first.”

 

Kami-Sama nodded, “As your training continues you will become able to access even more. When you have access to the whole reserve there are exercises you can do to expand the reserve even more. When you were a mortal your ki reserve was nearly equal to one of the weaker gods. When you reach your full potential you will be one of the strongest deities.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Indeed,” He affirmed. “Your reserves were increased even more when you gained your Senshi powers. Very soon you won't really need to conserve energy by using a transport medium. You have enough power to teleport direct. You may also be surprised to know that you also have a high reserve of mana. That was also increased by your Senshi transformation.”

 

Ranma had heard what mana was. “Yeah, I already learned a little bit about that. It was that technique that Aphrodite taught me.”

 

Kami-Sama smiled. “All deities have magic. You had enough of it when you were a mortal that you could have become a sorcerer instead of a martial artist had you wished. Although I do doubt that your father would have approved of you taking that path. He might have been willing to let you beme a battle mage. As I'm sure you haven't heard that term before it means a warrior who uses martial arts, ki techniques and magic. Your cousin is one. When you transformed into a deity your mana reserves increased by an even greater factor. You have twenty times as much mana reserve as you did as a mortal.”

 

Thinking about it a moment, Ranma said, “I'm guessing you sealed that or suppressed or something so I didn't blow myself up, right?”

 

“Right. Your training will start to include magic use.”

 

The redhead asked, “You mean spells and stuff?”

 

There was mirthful laugh. “You could say that. You will need to learn spells but there is more `stuff' as you call it than spells. I think you'll find it easier to learn than you think.”

 

Ranma considered that for a moment then said, “Oh, right. I think I used to be a sorcerer in one of my past lives.”

 

“Yes, that's it exactly. Your mana reserves wouldn't be so high now if you hadn't working on increasing them in that past life. Because of the Senshi magic that is bonded to your soul, characteristics like that will carry forward from one life to the next.”

 

Ranma took a moment to digest that. “Are you saying that I have more skills and abilities than the other Senshi because I went through the death and rebirth cycle while they were sent forward in time and were only reborn once?”

 

Kami-Sama nodded. “That is right. However, Queen Serenity knew what she was doing. If she had left the girls to the normal cycle of death and rebirth there was no guarantee that all would have been reborn close to each other in time.”

 

Ranma nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”

 

The Lord of heaven encouraged, “Well, you think about the job as Pluto's advisor. I'm sure you will want to talk to your wife and mother about being the father of Pluto's child. You should get back to your training now.”

 

Ranma agreed and left of the office.

 

 

Author's Note: Not as much happening in this chapter, but I needed it to move the story along.