Iczer-one Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Earth Child ❯ Iczer Two's Sensei ( Chapter 8 )

The Earthchild

 

(An Iczer/Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover)

 

Written by

Jim Robert Bader

 

Proofread by

Shiva Barnwell

 

(Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi,

Naoko Takeuchi, Toshihiro Hirano, & Hitoshi Okuda,

with ideas and suggestions by TH Tiger and Johannes Huber)

 

 

 

 

 

TEN YEARS PREVIOUSLY…

 

 

“Oh man, I'm starving!” Ranma declared as he balanced along the rail leading over the local canal, “I sure hope your mom's got something whipped up for us after our two week training mission. Of course with us out of her way she's probably got everything under control with the restaurant and everything. Wish I could have talked her into coming along with us this time out, but you know how your mom is about business…”

 

“I know, Poppa,” piped a six year old miniature “Ucchan” who dutifully trotted along behind her father, easily balancing on the rail in perfect imitation of his near-infallible sense of balance, “Momma works real hard sometimes, I wish she didn't have to…I wanna play with her too when we go out into the country…”

 

“Your mother knows her business is the only thing supporting us right now,” Ranma said softly, thinking with no small irony of his part in their financial situation, “Sometimes I wish I could do more to help out. Maybe if we opened a dojo and started taking in students that might do the trick. I've been spending a lot of time training with you, and you're turning into a first rate student, a real chip off the old Saotome block. Even Pop's impressed with the progress that you've been making.”

 

“Poppa,” little Sakura asked with a somewhat disquieted expression, “Why does Grampa live in a cage in the zoo instead of with us? Is it because he likes it better living with all the other pandas?”

 

“Hah,” Ranma smirked, “Good question. The answer is that he lost a bet with your grandmother, and Mom ain't the type you say `no' to when she's got her mind made up. Besides, Pop's basically a pretty lazy guy, and he's got a pretty cushy place lined up there with three meals a day, plenty of time to sleep, and lots of attention from the other lady pandas. Over all I think the zoo suits him just fine, and he's even helping out with their breeding efforts to restore the panda population…at Mom's insistence, no less.”

 

“Oh,” Sakura replied, not really understanding but not wanting to come across sounding like a six year old who did not know all of the answers, especially the obscure parts that could only be understood by grown ups.

 

“Yessiree, Mom's been doing all right for herself these last few years, and she's pleased as punch at the way you're blossoming out, little Cherry,” Ranma said as he flexed his arms and cupped his hands behind his head, “Pretty soon you'll be as tough as your Old Man, and you'll be whipping up okonomiyaki just as good as your mom, and maybe one of these days you'll meet a lucky guy like me who'll get swept off his feet by you and be happy for the rest of his life. `Course you still have to work a bit on your high jumps, but you'll get that down with a little more practice.”

 

“I'll train harder, Poppa, you'll see!” Sakura promised with childish enthusiasm, only to have her enjoyment subside a bit as she thought about what her life would be like growing up in a restaurant doing nothing but practice martial arts and make okonomiyaki. For some reason that did not sound like as much fun as she would have thought it should have sounded, as if something important were missing from the picture…like a sparring partner who could be her near-equal and come around to fight with her all the time, just like her father had Uncle Ryoga. The both of them always seemed to be having great fun together, even if they wound up destroying or renovating a good sized chunk of the neighborhood, and Uncle Ryoga pretended to be angry about something or the other…

 

“Heh, I know you will, Kid,” Ranma assured his daughter, “You're the best of the best, and you've got yourself a couple of great teachers…”

 

All at once the sound of an explosion rocked the air, nearly toppling the both of them off the rail and into the nearby canal. Sakura fought for her balance and lost, but her father neatly snagged her by her collar and caught his own weight with a desperate hand so that the two of them dangled by the rail listening to other explosions that shook the rail and threatened to topple them into the water.

 

“What the hell?” Ranma exclaimed as he lifted his daughter up to where she could scramble onto his back and cling to him for support, “Somebody declare war or Japan or something?”

 

“It sounds like one of your fights, Poppa,” Sakura noted as she settled into position.

 

“Somebody started a rumble without me?” Ranma snorted, “Can't have that! Hang on!”

 

With surpassing ease borne of long practice he hauled himself up over the rail, then stood with his daughter clinging firmly to his shirt as the both of them turned to look in the direction from whence the noise and explosions originated, only to mutually gape in astonishment at the sight of two huge forms battling it out together, both of them standing nearly as tall as Gojira and looking---if anything---five times more destructive.

 

“Kami-sama…” Ranma breathlessly murmured.

 

“It looks just like a giant robot fighting a monster, like on TV!” Sakura declared, being a little more mentally prepared to accept the concept as a reality than most adults.

 

“A giant monster fighting a giant robot?” Ranma blinked, then sighed, “Well…why not? This is Tokyo, and after all, I've seen weirder stuff than….THE RESTAURANT! UCCHAN!!” he cried as he belatedly realized just where the two giant robots were fighting.

 

“MOMMA!” Sakura cried out as the realization entered her tiny mind that her other significant parent might get trampled underfoot by these two battling monsters.

 

At once they set off at a run, Ranma's powerful legs carrying the both of them forward at a speed that defied normal human comprehension. He was already leaping high onto the roof of the first building that stood in his way while Sakura held on for dear life, her tiny heart hammering with fear as the both of them came within sight of a partially collapsed structure that had---until that very morning---been their home and place of business!

 

“KAMISAMA---UCCHAN!!!” Ranma cried, his own heart beating like a hammer in his chest as he closed the gap and got nearer to the signs of wreckage, his fears momentarily overwhelming him as he thought of his wife and their infant child being crushed under the debris, his worst fears realized with the suddenness of an earthquake. No sooner did he trot to a halt and set his daughter down but he began to furiously dig his way out of the rubble, ordering Sakura to stay back as he lifted huge beams and wall sections that outweighed him by many times, his fear adding to his already formidable strength as he cleared a path through the wreckage in search of bodies and (hopefully) survivors.

 

To amazement and relief he found his wife and infant son still alive, protected under a beam that was being supported by Ukyo's combat spatula, which had somehow not buckled under the strain of the collapsed structure. Ukyo was sheltering little Tenma with her body but looked up with relief when she saw her husband lifting away the debris, and in typical wifely overreaction she cried, “WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU, YOU JACKASS? WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED WAITING FOR YOU TO SHOW UP!”

 

“Sorry,” Ranma said, and promptly gathered the both of them into his arms as Sakura carefully picked her way through the debris in order to join them, rushing to embrace her mother just as soon as she realized that she was all right and her little brother was uninjured.

 

“Kami-sama…” Ranma breathed, “I thought I'd lost the both of you…”

 

“No such luck, Mister,” Ukyo sad as she hugged back with one arm, carefully cradling Tenma in the other, “You'll have to put off your womanizing for another day. Now…what the hell happened, and who knocked over OUR RESTAURANT???”

 

“I dunno,” Ranma said as he gathered his wife into his arms with his son looking round-eyed on her lap, “A couple of monsters were duking it out when I got here…”

 

Ukyo seemed to be in a mild state of shock as she took in the amount of destruction, then declared, “Our home! Who's gonna pay for all this???”

 

“The Insurance guys, mostly,” Ranma replied, his expression turning hard and grim as he added, “Kami knows you pay them enough…but as for the two guys who started this…they're gonna pay in spades, I promise!”

 

“Better get in line, Mister,” Ukyo growled, “I'm gonna give `em a piece of my mind for doing this to OUR house!”

 

“No,” Ranma said firmly as he set Ukyo down on the curb, well outside the range of destruction so far visited on the city block itself, “You stay here and watch the kids. This is one fight that goes to me, and you'd better say a prayer for whoever started this, `Cause I'm gonna finish it right now!”

 

“Go get `em, Poppa!” Sakura cheered as her father took off with a flying leap and headed in the direction of the renewed sounds of further fighting.

 

Given the size of the two combatants---and the extent of the devastation so far wrought by their continuing battle---it was not hard to track them down to the combat zone proper, though Ranma did experience a mild sense of disorientation considering the massive proportions of the combatants and a curious tension in the air that registered against his nape and arm hairs. Another time he might have shrugged the whole thing off and left it to the authorities to deal with this sort of problem, but he was angry and still afraid from having come so near to losing half of his close-knit family, and that gave him focus so that he was prepared to ignore any threat to his personal safety in order to obtain satisfaction for his sense of personal outrage.

 

Besides, he was far from the only victim of this struggle, and more than a few houses looked as though they had seen better days, which meant that the toll of injuries and possible deaths could not be adequately reckoned in a casual sweep of the place. A lot of people were having a “Very Bad Day,” and it was up to him to give a reckoning for this fiasco. That was why he shrugged off any qualms and misgivings that he might have about being “Only a Martial Artist” in the face of a clash between two titans.

 

Besides which, his well-honed combat senses warned him that one of the two parties was getting the worst of the fight handed to him. The robot had taken a few good shots to the monster's body, but his---no, make that HER, he realized with a closer look---best efforts seemed to be shrugged off as though they never happened. He could make out the massive levels of chi that both were pouring out…almost FIRE ALARM levels of raw energy that sizzled the air and made them both seem as if they were engulfed in flames that did not consume either great beast.

 

Unfortunately the giant robot was starting to slow down, and it was a little too shy of erecting its defenses in time as a giant tail lashed out to smash it like a club, and then the robot toppled over, crushing a major office building under its huge mass. When the massive hulk came to a final rest it did not move or get back up again, and the light within its eyes started to fade, which meant that it was effectively out of the battle. The left it vulnerable to further attacks by the triumphant monster.

 

What happened next even Ranma could not truly explain, save that he did what he did on impulse, having many times known what it was like to be at wits end in a battle. Without stopping to think about it he rushed to the side of the fallen robot, not even hesitating when he leaped onto its armored frame and stood over its inert mass, looking desperately for the hatch that he thought should be there leading to whatever command capsule was used by the pilot. How he knew that there would even be a pilot he could not have said if his life depended on it, only that he somehow knew that the robot did not control its own actions, that it had to have a human component, and---at the moment---that human was in need of a rescue. The rapid approach of the monster made the situation even more desperate, so in frustration he cried out, “WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU??? YOU'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!”

 

And then a truly strange thing happened…a figure emerged from the faceplate of the robot, literally seeming to flow up out of it mass to stand---however limply---atop the fallen robot staring at Ranma with a look of dull incomprehension while clutching one arm, which was dangling uselessly at her side.

 

“Who…are you…?” she asked, a tall and very willowy redhead in black and gold armor, her long hair hanging down her back while her bearings seemed to mark her as a warrior of some sort…though the pointed ears and overly large eyes made her appear to be somehow…alien…though still remarkably quite human.

 

“Are you all right?” Ranma impulsively asked her.

 

“I…function…barely,” the redhead gritted through clenched teeth, though it was plain enough that the only thing holding her upright was her own raw determination.

 

The monster was not rushing things as it approached them, taking its time as though to make sure that its foe was indeed truly defeated. The looming menace prepared to crush the insignificant insects that stood over the defective corpse of a defeated Iczer Robo. The redhead noted this with a strange sort of calm but spoke to Ranma instead of the monster, “You…must leave here…or it will…kill you…”

 

Those words decided the matter as far as Ranma was concerned. The redheaded woman was concerned for his welfare, therefore she could not truly be his enemy, nor could she be responsible for his restaurant being destroyed, which meant that the other guy was the one to blame for almost killing his Ucchan.

 

His fists started to glow as the rage gave way to something more powerful inside him, the fury of the DRAGON that burned within the Saotome breast. The Dragons of Outrage and the Tigers of Vengeance, as Cologne would have called them, were the two aspects to Ranma's warrior nature, and both were in complete agreement that the one who did this thing would have to PAY! Whoever or whatever this creature was, it was going DOWN, and in no gentle way! He gathered up the strength of his pride and his spirit, calling up a ball of raw chi energy that sucked in the power from the surrounding environment and formed into a spiritual bomb that he prepared to unleash upon the monster that dared to think of him as some insignificant insect!

 

The redhead's eyes went wide as this “normal human” drew raw power from the near-corpse of her Iczer Theta unit, and then all at once the man cried out, “MOKO TAKABISHA!!!!”

 

The burst of raw energy that flowed from his hands nearly toppled her over as Iczer Two stared incredulously at the ball of energy that lanced out and struck the monster full on the chest, EXPLODING INWARD like a shaped charge that punched through energy fields and armored defenses as though they hardly existed, unleashing the full fury of the blast INSIDE the monster, with devastating results!

 

Her enemy cried out and fell heavily to the ground, creating one final crater as its burning corpse caught fire from within. Like that, its hideous life was snuffed out as the fires of chi consumed it from within, leaving hardly more than a trace of ash to mark its passage a few minutes later. It was the most amazing sight she had ever directly witnesses, and…to think that it had been done by a mere human…a MAN no less! Unthinkable…impossible…but undeniably real!

 

The man turned from a grimly satisfied examination of his own handiwork to turn a concerned look her way once again, and once more he asked the question, “Are you all right?”

 

Iczer Two was unable to give an answer to that question, for she had exhausted the last of her reserves and lost consciousness mere nanoseconds later…

 

She awoke a short time later hearing voices speaking to her, and some concerned murmuring heard in the background. Words like, “She needs a doctor,” contrasted with more masculine tones responding, “Oh come on, Ucchan…look at her! You think any normal Doc's gonna know what to do with her in her condition?”

 

“Well…where are we going to put her, though?” the woman's voice said more practically, “The restaurant's been totaled! There are military guys all over the place and someone's bound to be asking all kinds of questions!”

 

“I ain't arguing with all that,” Ranma said, “I just don't think we can leave her here. She's badly hurt and needs some kind of attention. Unfortunately the only people I can think of right now are Doctor Tofu and the Old Ghoul.”

 

“Well, what about that big robot thing of hers?”

 

“I dunno…it just up and vanished right after the battle, like it'd been recalled by the manufacturer, or something. C'mon, Ucchan, we can't stand around here…we gotta take her someplace to get her patched up…”

 

“Oh…all right,” the woman said grudgingly, “Why is it I can never seem to say no to you?”

 

“Because I'm irresistible, of course,” the man said with obvious smugness, “But you know I'm right…and we have to do this.”

 

“All right then,” Ukyo sighed, “The Cat Café's the nearest place, so you take her there while I go with Tenma to visit Tofu. Sakura-chan, you stay with your father and do what he says, you got that, Sugar?”

 

“Yes Momma,” came the obedient tones of a much younger female, leaving Iczer Two with the distinct impression that she had been attended to by a human family unit.

 

That brought forward a new realization…she was being held in someone's arms…in the arms OF A MAN??? Unthinkable! Her very nature protested against this! Unfortunately her body did not seem to be obeying signals from her brain stem at the moment, which meant her internal damage was far more severe than she had realized, and there was only so much her internal repair centers could do to replace her damaged components. The only sensible course for her to take was to return to an inactive state and allow her body to effect repairs without conscious interference, and so she slumped back into unconsciousness and lost all sensation of her immediate environs, though---odd to say---she did feel somehow…comforted…as though she were in the arms of a loving parent…

 

 

 

 

A young Sayoko Kai was humming a merry tune as she headed off from school to her place of business. Being all of fourteen and cheerful by nature, she had not allowed herself to be deterred by the talk of some kind of monster fight in the city, reckoning that such things only tended to happen to other people.

 

She was somewhat disconcerted, however, when she got to the Furinkan Financial district and saw the actual damage that had partially destroyed her favorite okonomiyaki restaurant. The fact that it was partially destroyed did not particularly faze her, though…the place tended to get wrecked on occasions with a regularity that made it seem like just another day in the neighborhood. All it meant to her was that she would have to change her regularly scheduled lunch plans.

 

Too bad, she had been in the mood to sample some okonomiyaki, but Ramen noodles would do just as good. Besides, she was interested in seeing if that new waitress position was still open…nothing wrong with earning a little side-money to buy herself a new walkman without having to hit her Mom up for an increase in her allowance.

 

As she got near to her second-favorite eatery, however, a very strange thing began to happen. She felt an odd chill pass through her…and then a warming presence started to fill her very being. It was the oddest thing she had ever experienced, and the feeling got stronger the nearer she got to the restaurant. In fact, the moment she walked in through the front door the feeling became so strong that it made her forget all about her appetite as a kind…tugging sensation…drew her on towards the stairs which lead to the second floor, a place she had never before had the nerve to visit.

 

Cautiously creeping up the stairs she began to hear voices, one of them an old and gravelly toned matron who was---at that very moment---saying, “…You were wise to bring her here…former Son-in-law. She is not from this world and clearly would be at a disadvantage if treated to regular medicine. Fortunately there is something I may be able to do for this one as I believe that she is of a race known to the Amazons by legend.”

 

“Why am I not surprised?” a woman's voice asked dryly, “You Amazons make it sound like you know more about history than anybody else on the planet…”

 

“We do know more about history,” the leathery voice responded, “And I have lived a good deal of it myself, but the legend to which I am referring predates the Amazon tribes by a distant measure. In fact, it goes well beyond the point of recorded history into our furthest legends of an antique star-faring people said to be our ultimate ancestors.”

 

“You telling us that she's got something to do with an old legend?” a male voice asked incredulously.

 

“I do indeed,” the well-weathered voice said in reply, “According to the legend, our ancestors came from the sky and founded a tribe upon the earth that became the first Amazon civilization. They were said to have dwelled among the Gods in a time of the world's innocence, coming from a race of all female Gods who reproduced themselves without the need for a man. Over time they found it necessary to breed with the men of the Earth, but they set down laws to insure that their survivors would be strong and hardy, insisting that only the best of men could father Amazon children. This was many thousands of years ago, and the details are lost to the ages, but...I believe that our ancestors may indeed hail from the same place as this woman. Indeed, her likeness was engraved on one of our earliest treasures, which has been kept in trust by me and my family down through the ages.” Cologne—that was the owner of the café, she recognized her now.

 

“But I thought the Amazon High Council kicked you out of the tribe years ago,” the voice of the younger woman replied, “Are you saying that they allowed you to keep your treasures?”

 

“The are family heirlooms,” Cologne replied, “And I keep them with me at all times as some are magical amulets that have strange properties that would be too dangerous to permit them to remain at large in hands that might abuse them.”

 

“You mean like that Reverse Jewel thingie?” the man asked in tones that conveyed the impression of a wince, “Yeah...I can see that'd be a problem…”

 

“So…are you saying that your people might be descended from aliens with advanced technology, and this red-haired chick might be one of them?”

 

“It is a definite possibility,” Cologne replied, “And it does bear closer investigation.”

 

Red haired? Sayoko found herself compelled to move forward, easing her way up towards the room from which the voices originated, only to have the door slide to one side as a shrunken mummy of an old woman stared up at her with an owlish expression.

 

“Can I help you in some way, young lady?”

 

“Ah…” Sayoko hesitated, only to look past the withered troll as her eyes fixed like a magnet on a body laying flat upon a futon…a pale face with arching cheekbones and pointed ears framed by a shock of luxurious red hair causing her to start slightly. Without intending to be rude, Sayoko ease her way past the old woman, ignoring the two adults and young child who were eyeing her with curious expressions. Sayoko's eyes were purely focused upon the redhead, and with a strengthening of that peculiar sensation within her she knelt down beside the futon and studied the beautiful face as though in a trance of some kind. The face was so beautiful to her eyes that it almost hurt to look on her, and yet…also somehow so very familiar.

 

And then the redhead stirred, murmuring softly as eyelashes fluttered open and a pair of ruby eyes started to study the ceiling in mild disorientation. A moment later those eyes shifted towards Sayoko, and then an incredulous voice softly exclaimed, “You…?”

 

“That's…what I was just about to say…” Sayoko said in amazement, “It's…you! I…I remember you…from someplace…long ago…”

 

“You…” the redhead stared in amazement, “You…were just a child…how can you remember…?”

 

Impulsively Sayoko reached out a hand and sought out the arm of the redheaded woman underneath her covers. Sayoko's eyes widened slightly as she discovered that the woman was naked under her covers, but with a few fumbling efforts she managed to uncover a hand, and then she squeezed it ever so lightly. The two of them locked stairs, and in that moment recognition flowed between them, and nothing would ever be the same for either one of them ever again. Sayoko knew this with the whole of her being, and yet she smiled in delightful wonder, fully reconciled to the thought that she had just discovered the other half of her soul, a part she never even knew had been missing.

 

Amazement clashed with memories that awoke shame and dismay in the fallen Iczer, and yet Iczer Two could not turn away from those eyes that magnetically captured her heart and filled her being with a warmth that had never been there before. All at once her life seemed strange and new, and nothing would ever be the same…that she knew and accepted with the whole of her being. Her life as before had ended…a new life opened up to her as a part of her self became awake for the very first time in her existence…

 

 

 

 

Memories flowed as times passage became a mere ripple. Iczer Two remembered standing in a newly rebuilt restaurant watching as the man to whom she owed her very life surveyed the newly attached dojo with obvious approval. He then turned to his lady wife and said, “It's perfect!”

 

“It ought to be,” Ukyo replied, “Considering what it cost. Good thing those Insurance guys were willing to make a big settlement to get me off their backs, now we're almost ready for business again, once we restock the ingredients and post `Grand Reopening' signs out in front.”

 

“I am…sorry for all your troubles,” Iczer Two remarked, glancing down at the arm that was still slung in a sling and finding it strange to be wearing something besides her usual armor.

 

“Aw, don't sweat it,” her new (MALE) friend replied, “You were fighting for your life against that monster. Ain't like I can hold that against you, especially since it happens to me all the time.”

 

“Besides which, you creamed the guy who really was to blame,” Ukyo smiled affectionately towards her husband, adding a sour note at the end as she groused, “Too bad I couldn't at least get a few whacks in myself…I'd have liked to personally punch out the lights of whoever was behind that monster.”

 

“That would have been…something to see,” Iczer Two admitted, unable to help smiling as she contemplated the woman warrior, who was presently her VERY charming hostess, and definitely not one to be underestimated despite her being a “mere” human.

 

“Guess you'll be going back to your people now that you've started to recover your strength, huh?” Ranma asked of Iczer Two.

 

“I…was considering it,” Iczer Two remarked, all too aware of the eyes of Sayoko upon her, “But…I thought perhaps…since the war ended while I was…convalescing…that I might stay with you for a few more days, if that would not be too much trouble.”

 

“Hey, we're glad to have you around,” Ukyo smiled, “But won't your people be worried and come looking for you?”

 

“That might happen…eventually,” Iczer Two said, turning to study the face of Sayoko, “But there are…things of interest to me here…and I suppose a few days living among you would prove most…enlightening.”

 

“I'm glad!” Sayoko sighed with relief before glomping onto Iczer Two's good arm with undisguised affection, “I'd love to come visit your place with you sometime, but Mom thinks I'm neglecting my school work and hardly even lets me get out of the house anymore. When you do go back will you come and pay me a visit?”

 

“You would have difficulty ridding yourself of me,” Iczer Two replied with unusual affection in her voice, “But…you should respect your parents…and not neglect your studies.”

 

“Yeah, whatever,” Sayoko replied, resting her head against the taller Iczer's shoulder.

 

In truth Iczer Two was more indebted to Sayoko than even the child could truly know, having bonded with her through the process of Synchronization. As such, their link had triggered many biochemical changes within the star-faring warrior and given her more of a sense of what it truly meant to be…human. Synchronization levels were at only thirty-two percent so far and already the process of healing had been greatly accelerated within the flame-haired Iczer, lending her a strength such as she had never known before and leaving her feeling twice as powerful as she had been prior to their meeting.

 

That thought spurred her to ask the next question of her MALE benefactor, “Lord Saotome…”

 

“Just Ranma will do,” the jaunty male said with typical ease and good nature.

 

“I am…most impressed with you and the way you performed in that battle,” Iczer Two began to explain, “I was…wondering if you might be at all interested in…explaining the process by which a mere human gains the power to destroy an enemy that toppled my Iczer Robo.”

 

“Oh, you mean my Moko Takabisha?” Ranma smiled, “Ain't nothing too special about that. It's just a technique the old woman showed me a long time ago that concentrates my energy into a single attack, and I was pretty worked up about that monster destroying our restaurant.”

 

“Ah…yes…” Iczer Two winced slightly, unable to escape the suspicion that the damages to the restaurant were her doing, as judged by the nature of the footprint that had been found near to the wreckage, “But I was wondering…how exactly do you intensify it that way? I sensed that you were using emotion to bolster your power levels…”

 

“Sugar,” Ukyo explained, “The Moko Takabisha works on confidence and a strong ego, and that's something my husband here's got in spades. Ranchan just has to think of himself as powerful and invincible and it puts the other guy at a direct ego disadvantage.”

 

“Ego disadvantage?” Iczer Two raised a crimson eyebrow.

 

“Yeah,” Ranma replied, “According to the old woman, all things have an Ego, or a sense of self-integrity, that makes `em harder to destroy than just a bunch of dead matter. When a martial artist breaks a brick or a board he overcomes the ego integrity of that brick and board. It's kind of like…the board has its own ideas about itself…like it knows it's stronger than flesh and blood because wood's got a natural resilience, just like stone thinks of itself as hard and solid. What you gotta do is think of yourself as harder and stronger than either one of these things, and then you convince yourself that's the case and focus your chi into your strikes so that you ego beats out the ego of the thing you're punching…”

 

“Your ego overwhelms the ego of the thing you face,” Iczer Two murmured with a strange fascination, “I…think I understand…a little. Will you teach this to me?”

 

“You…want to learn from me?” Ranma repeated with an incredulous.

 

“I am…prepared to compensate you for your troubles,” Iczer Two said earnestly, “But I must know…I must learn how it is that a man such as you can become so powerful. I want to become more powerful than I am now…strong enough to overcome my enemies…strong enough to protect my people from future attacks. I will do whatever you ask of me just so long as you give me the chance to learn your methods.”

 

“Well…” Ranma ruffled the back of his head, “I dunno…it takes a long time to learn all about the Anything Goes system…”

 

“I think you will discover that I am a very quick study,” Iczer Two could not help smiling as she said this, “Nor will you be disappointed in me as a student. My intentions are fully honorable, and I swear that I will never abuse your methods.”

 

“Well,” Ranma glanced at his wife, who smiled back, so he said, “I guess it wouldn't hurt to take you on…and I could use the practice. I've never been a real sensei before, except with little Sakura here, but I'll need to learn if I'm gonna be doing this to earn a living.”

 

“I thank you,” Iczer Two half-bowed, then paused as she considered the girl clinging to her arm, then added, “And one other thing…I would like for Sayoko to also receive your training. Would there be any objections to her joining us in classes?”

 

“Well…she's not really a martial artist, but…I suppose I could teach her a few things,” Ranma said, “How about it, Kid? You game to learn something more useful than what they teach you in regular school?”

 

“You mean…me…study Anything Goes Martial arts?” Sayoko was incredulous, but then grinned broadly and added, “Cool! When do we start…?”

 

Memories blurred again, and then Iczer Two smiled fondly of the time when she had trained with Sayoko in the Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu, and how frustrated she had been to be thrown around by a “mere” human, and how she had grown to respect her new sensei, and the pleasures of learning how to fight with her own two hands rather than rely upon pre-programmed routines that were inflexible and much too predictable for her liking. Days had grown to weeks and weeks gave way to a full three months before the C'thuwulf, whom she'd kept informed of her whereabouts, had need of her and dispatched her sisters to recall her.

 

Iczer Three had been successful in that regard, coming upon the sight of Iczer Two training with Sayoko in some complicated katas, lightly sparring against each other as Iczer Two “took it easy” with her more human counterpart, the both of them relishing the chance to spend any time together as their Synchronization levels continued to rise ever higher.

 

It had been a surprising day for the Saotome clan when a short, silver-haired armored ragamuffin came upon them in the dojo, staring with large rounded eyes at the sight of her older sister dancing about the wooden floor with a human partner. She signaled Iczer One and soon the three of them were united, Iczer One and Three both marveling at the change that had come over their fierce warrior sibling, who greeted the both of them with such affection that it took them both aback and made them wonder if she had been replaced with a more human doppelganger…

 

“Those were good times,” Iczer Two said aloud as the memories began to fade back into the background.

 

“They were indeed,” Sayoko agreed, “But we've had lots of good times ever since.”

 

“Indeed we have,” Iczer Two remarked, the visual image of a naked Sayoko appearing in her equally naked arms as the two of them shared simulation together, “All the more special because they brought the two of us together.”

 

“You'd have found me eventually on your own,” Sayoko noted as she snuggled up into the virtual arms of her beloved partner, “After all…I was fated to be your partner.”

 

“You were indeed, and no other,” Iczer Two replied as she held the other woman as tightly as was prudent with a human, “If only Troi could know the joy that you always bring me…”

 

“She will…one of these days,” Sayoko replied, “After all…we had to wait until I was almost fifteen before we found each other, and who would have guessed it considering how our first meeting turned out?”

 

“The Venomoids knew, I suspect,” Iczer Two replied, “They seemed to know that there was something special about you even when you were all of five and an orphan. I am glad that the past changed so that you never suffered the loss of your mother…”

 

“Yeah, well, she doesn't exactly approve of me picking you for her `son-in-law,' but you're right…I'm still glad to have my mother be a part of the present picture.”

 

“As am I,” Iczer Two sighed in bliss, “Still and all…it has been close to ten years since I last saw my sensei. I wonder how he and his wife are faring these days?”

 

“Probably out raising hell with those cute kids of theirs,” Sayoko remarked, “I'll bet little Sakura's a real heart stopper these days…”

 

“Just like her mother,” Iczer Two mused simply, “Of course my sisters always thought it odd that I should take lessons in fighting from a `mere' human.”

 

“Well, us `mere' humans shouldn't be underestimated,” Sayoko said slyly, reaching out with a hand and cupping one bared breast of her partner to fondle her synthetic nerve endings.

 

“Oh yes indeed,” Iczer Two smiled in approval, enjoying the tactical sensation as though it truly were being done to her real body, “You humans are full of all sorts of interesting surprises, aren't you?”

 

“Count on it,” Sayoko smiled as she turned her head up and kissed her partner on her virtual mouth, even as her virtual hand began stroking its way down a virtual tummy in search of some virtual loins to play with, not that there was anything “virtual” as their love-play became more earnest…

 

 

 

 

THE PRESENT---FURINKAN FINANCIAL DISTRAICT

 

 

“…And that's how I wound up tutoring her big sister,” Ranma concluded to the astonished teenagers, “Which I was more than glad to do, especially since I got to play cupid with her and Sayoko.”

 

“Oh yeah,” Sakura blinked her eyes, “Now I remember this…ten years? Geez…I was hardly even six, it feels so ancient!”

 

“Not that ancient, Cute Stuff,” Troi remarked, “Of course it does remind me of what a little squirt I was back then, hardly even up to your chin, Rhea-chan,” she added as she affectionately ruffled the hair of the younger Iczer.

 

“I can't believe you guys knew each other that long ago,” Muku said, “How come none of us remember it? Guys? Any hints here?”

 

“Well,” Ken scratched the side of his head and thought a moment, “That is…sort of odd…I remember something happening in this neighborhood around ten years back, but…I can't seem to call up too many details…”

 

“Neither can I,” replied Perm, “And I find that lack…very disturbing…”

 

“Ten years ago,” Yui frowned, “What could have made us all forget about that?”

 

“I don't know,” Yumi mused, “But we were living in Jubaan at the time, and that's far enough away that we might have forgotten all about it…”

 

“Forgotten about what?” a new voice asked, causing Rhea to start as she turned to see a new face in the restaurant.

 

“It's nothing, Tenma-chan,” Ukyo said to a boy who looked to be around eleven years of age or so, who had just come into the restaurant dressed in a school uniform and carrying a bag of books over one shoulder, “Just us old timers having a little reminiscence about the old days…”

 

“Hey!” the boy brightened up as he caught sight of Troi and Rhea, “Who are these guys? Are you the one who owns that motorcycle outside?”

 

“Sure thing, Kid,” Troi grinned, “That's my little Harley.”

 

“Cool!” the boy tossed his book-bag on the counter and said, “Hey Pop, are we gonna work out today? You said when you were done with classes you'd show me how to do the Splitting Cat-Hairs maneuver.”

 

“Yeah, I did, didn't I?” Ranma beamed at his son, then included Sakura in his affable expression, “Why don't you and your sister change into your gi and we'll work out a little…if that's all right with your mother.”

 

“All right, you three,” Ukyo said with mock sternness, “Just as long as you clean up before dinner time and make sure to do your homework.”

 

“Yes Mom,” both older and younger sibling said together, exchanging glances before the boy turned his attention back towards Troi and added, “Are you here to work out? I'd love to see what you can do, lady…”

 

“I'll just bet you would,” Troi said with an affectionate smile, “But it's getting kind of late, and I was supposed to take Rhea-chan back to see her parents…”

 

“Do we have to leave now, Auntie?” Rhea asked, “I…like it here…”

 

“Hey, you're welcome to come visit at any time,” Ranma said, “If you really are Two's niece, then I'd love to see how much she's taught you. I understand you faced down the Kunos and cleaned up the deck with the both of them, which sounds about right and even counts as a tradition with us Saotome…no offense meant to you, kid.”

 

“None taken, Uncle,” Perm responded.

 

“You mean…work out…or give a live demonstration?” Ken wondered.

 

“Why not?” Yumi grinned, “I'd love to see how good she really is, and I'll bet she's already shown Muku-chan some moves to remember.”

 

“Guyyyys,” Muku winced, in spite of the fact that her own curiosity was piqued at the thought of seeing Rhea demonstrate her full potential.

 

“I would like that very much,” Rhea replied, pausing to glance down at her armor before saying, “But I…do not currently own a practice gi…”

 

“Oh, no problem,” Ukyo said, “We'll loan you one of Sakura's spare outfits. What do you say to that one, Sugar?”

 

“Mother!” Sakura sounded shocked at having her own property be “volunteered” in such a casual manner.

 

“Well,” Troi smiled, “I guess it wouldn't hurt to hang around a little longer…and it's been a while since I've seen the insides of your dojo. Tell you what…got a spare suit for me? I've picked up a few new moves of my own in my travels.”

 

“It's settled then,” Ranma smiled, “Everyone get suited up, class begins in about fifteen minutes.”

 

“Wonderful!” Rhea beamed happily, turning again those adoring eyes towards Muku, who found herself inadvertently swallowing under their full impact, “Thank you, Auntie!”

 

“Hey, what can I say?” Troi smirked, “I never could say no to you, little niece. Guess when you come right down to it, I'm easy…”

 

“I'll just bet you are,” Yui mused with a wary expression, earning a curious look from the Iczer in question, though Troi seemed to take it in good stride, deciding to size up this dark haired girl for closer scrutiny…later…

 

Muku wondered what it was about the very thought of seeing Rhea in something other than armor was causing her to feel…funny about it, but there was no denying that her curiosity had been piqued. She was about to learn even more about her new companion and what the other girl could do, which might help her further unravel the mystery about why this girl felt so oddly…familiar…and at any rate she needed a good workout. Her encounter with the Kunos had been much too brief for her liking, even taking into account the fact that it was Rhea who had done the actual fighting. There was more than pride behind her desire to work out, and until she knew for certain just what this strange feeling was that existed between herself and the other girl, she could know no true rest. She had to find out for herself just what this Rhea was made of.

 

Not in a literal sense, she sincerely hoped, though there was that **other** strange sensation which came over her as she contemplated Yumi's teasing innuendo. Just being around Rhea was making Muku feel very…odd in ways for which she had no rational explanation. She only knew that she was glad that the fiery gold haired living enigma would be hanging around for another hour or so…she had to know just why this girl was affecting her so, and what---if anything---Muku could do about it.

 

The answer had to lie with whatever strange place it was that Rhea called her home…a place that this older version of herself with the silver hair also called her “home base.” The mystery of these “C'thuwulf” and their curious links to the Amazons gave further legitimacy to her quest for knowledge. No doubt when she knew the right questions to ask she would comprehend the answers…she just had to be patient and let things unfold as they would on their own. If only she did not have this nagging sense that she was missing something very obvious that was out in the open…

 

Or perhaps something that had been forgotten? Either way, this day was turning out to be a time of curious revelations, and yet the more she found out the more mystified she became concerning Rhea Kano and Muku's own true feelings concerning the other girl. She just hoped that---by the time she figured it all out---it would not prove too late as she sensed that a point of no return was approaching rapidly, and with no idea of how to deviate from the path that she was taking. Events seemed to be gathering a life of their own, but for good or ill no one---as yet---could truly answer.

 

The answer lay with Rhea…and for now Muku could only sigh and hope to somehow survive the maelstrom that was certain to follow, feeling oddly comforted by the sense that Rhea would stand beside her…and dreading to know if that truly meant what it sounded like, or even if it were too late for her as something had already been yielded, and with nothing to do but to wait…and hope that they would have a future…one way or the other…

 

 

 

Continued

 

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