Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Project I: Zero Ranma ❯ Juuban's Zero ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Ranma helped Ukoyu down the street. Ukyou, who had a cast put on her ankle
smiled and thanked Ranma. It's been two days since the encounter. Luckily, it
was Friday, and there was enough time to go to the hospital without any
complications, like missing school.

"Like I said, Ucchan," Ranma continued his reply. "I think that brown really
suits you. You don't have to dye it purple like mom..."

"Oh, shut up Ranchan! You were just shocked to find out about mom's obsession!"
Ukyou said sweetly, half teasing.

Ranma was utterly shocked to see Nodoka's dark secret. Aside from wanting to
start a kendo school [hence the dojo], she is also an anime fan [bet you didn't
expect that!]. Her favorite... no scratch that. The whole Japan's favorite was
the Neo Genesis Evangelion, and most of the favorite characters included Misato,
especially during her rebirth in EVA-2. Misato was revived from the Third Impact
by Shinji, and she turned out to be the hero of the incoming wars against the
future 'humanoid' angels, fighting them with her sword, showing an honorable
side she rarely shown in the first EVA series. Many female fans of the series
copied her style. Nodoka was one of them. She changed her hair color to purple,
and even made it a bit longer. Ranma even met a gay male fan trying to get
Misato's boob job [Cup D, I presume...].

"Ugh... don't remind me... What's our first class?" Ranma asked, as they
approached the school gate.

"Math..." Ukyou replied.

"I wonder if I'll meet anyone interesting?" Ranma joked.

Inside the classroom, Ami sneezed.

-Omega X Present-

-Project: Zero Ranma-

-Chapter 4: Juuban's Zero-

Ami stared at Ranma when he came in class with Ukyou. (It's him! The same guy I
met!) she thought.

(Wow! He's cute!) Makoto and Minako both thought.

(CUTE!!! NO! I'm supposed to think about Mamorou!) Usagi thought.

Rei was... let's just say that she was copying her Evangelion counterpart,
staring out of the window.

Ranma saw Ami and smiled. He came right next to her. "Hey! I didn't know you
were also schooling here! Why didn't I see you yesterday?"

Ami sweat dropped. The five friends cut school that afternoon after their fight
with the werewolf youma, which was lucky because they needed the rest to fight
another one in the park.

"Ranchan, who is this?" asked Ukyou good naturedly, although there was hint of
venom in her voice.

"Oh, Ucchan, this is Miss Ami, the one who helped me find home. But why do you
ask anyway. After taking Math class with her, you should know her..." Ranma
wondered.

Ukyou was caught.

"Everyone rise, bow, sit down!" said the class representative.

Just as the teacher started teaching, Ranma snoozed of again.

=Lunch=

"Nice meeting you all..." Ranma said, greeting Ami's friends. Makoto and Minako
couldn't keep their eyes of him. He had the most handsome blue eyes they ever
saw. It reminded them of someone.

Ukyou clamped close to her 'brother' while they all ate at the cafeteria during
lunch. The girls usually talked about background stuff, Rei's Shrine girl mode
and other stuff. Well, most of them talked. Usagi was just imitating a vacuum
cleaner and nodded to everything everyone asked her, not really paying attention
to what they were asking her, eating her lunch and occasionally taking some from
Makoto.

Ranma laughed at the jokes, listened to them. He was interested in them, very
interested. They all had an aura which Ranma was sure he recognized before.

Ukyou was a good sport though. Actually, she wanted some female friends. Her
whole life, she only had male friends, and her female contact was so minimal
that she had no one to talk her heart out [maybe except Ranma...].

When the class bell rang, indicating the end of the break, both parties waved
goodbye as they went to separate classes.

=After school, at the Saotome's residence=

"Mom, we're home!" Ranma said.

"Oh, welcome back Ranma," Nodoka greeted back. "I'm preparing some snacks.
Hungry?"

"Very," Ranma replied.

Ukyou went to the kitchen as well. "Let me help you there auntie..."

"Thank you dear," Nodoka replied. "So Ranma, how was your day?"

"Oh, interesting," Ranma said, washing his hands in the bathroom nearby. "I met
four new girls."

Nodoka's eyes widened. (Oh my! My son is truly a man amongst men!) she thought.
(Now, how about grandsons?)

Ukyou, right beside the Saotome patriarch, also smiled. "They are his new
friends."

Nodoka's smile came down a bit but nevertheless, still smiled.

"They seem familiar," Ranma continued. "that's why I find them interesting," he
added in a whisper.

=Shinto Shrine, same time=

There was talk in the air. Makoto and Minako shared a few giggles, whispering
about Ranma, while Rei and Usagi were fighting over another Manga.

But Ami was frowning. Their last encounter with a youma, Ami did her freeze
attack on it, and it showed dislike to it. But it still attacked them. It was
like the attack was nothing but a pinch to the youma's heavy armor. And here
comes the black armored figure, doing an ice attack which the Mercury computer
scanned. Ami's eyes popped out when she saw the attack did was 5 Kelvin (-268
degrees Celsius), beating hers by a lot. And Setsuna's warning is beginning to
click in everything. What if that armor clad hero was really a bad guy?

(But that's almost impossible. After fighting those youma's, it is clear to him
that we are no match to it, much less to him. If he wanted to destroy us, he
would do so immediately,) Ami thought. (Unless he needed something from us,
keeping us alive while gaining our trust... Oh goodness, this is all making my
head hurt.)

A beep in the Mercury computer stopped most of the people in their tracks [Usagi
got the Manga back and was reading it, ignoring the beeping sound].

"What is it?" asked Rei.

Ami opened it and frowned. "We got another one..."

=Saotome's House=

The watch in Ranma's hand beeped and his head came up from his plate, face so
serious that Nodoka got worried.

"Ranma, what's wrong?" asked Nodoka.

Ranma looked back and smiled. "Nothing mom, just some stuff," he said. He took
his last bite of the okonomiyaki that Ukyou made and brought his plate to the
kitchen. "Mom, I'll be in my room!"

"Okay dear!" Nodoka replied. She turned her attention to Ukyou, smiling.

Ukyou, who didn't stop chewing, said "What?"

"Well, is my son... interested in any girl?"

Ukyou frowned a bit. "Auntie, I don't know what to say. He likes to have girls
around and treats him as a friend, but there is something I saw in his eyes..."

Nodoka stopped sipping her tea. "What?"

"Sadness..."

=Somewhere along the streets of Juuban=

The sun was setting down and the light of the sky turned from sky blue to brick
red. People who have been to Manila, Philippines could appreciate the setting
down of the sun in the Manila Bay. Or if feeling more romantic, Ireland is
another good place. Unfortunately, for Juuban, where the weird go out during
morn and night, sunsets are not really enjoyed, especially for the Sailor Senshi
trying to fight of another metallic looking youma.

"DAMN IT TO HELL! WHY CAN'T WE EVEN DAMAGE IT?" Mars bellowed, using her Flame
Sniper over and over again.

The youma looked different this time. It shrugged of the magic attacks like it
was nothing, attacked with tornadoes and green balls. It h ad an owly look,
flapped it's short wings, flying around them.

"It's playing with us," said Ami, who scanned the material for the armor. It
said 'Un-identifiable'. It was identifying most of the alloys, and basics. But
overall, the armor was still impenetrable to their standards.

Makoto was still trying to shock it, and Minako was still trying to hold the
youma down with her chain, but it just flew away high in the sky, swoop down and
throw some tornadoes.

Minako tried to wrap the bird yet again with her L.M.C. but it swooped towards
the left and sent three green orbs that were directly going to Minako. Venus
didn't have the time to dodge. She froze and covered her face with her arms,
waiting for the impact, but in a flash of light, she felt nothing. Opening her
eyes, she saw that she was saved yet again. The figure in front of her had his
back faced to her, and his long wavy back hair was tickling her a bit. He turned
to face her.

"You okay?" he asked.

Minako felt like she was killed and went to heaven. The voice of her hero was
ever so familiar. "Yes," she replied.

"Good, I'll take care of this," he said yet again. Rushing over the owl, he
slashed the air where the owl was flying moments ago. He missed. Using yet again
his Kuuenbu techniques, plus what his father taught him, Ranma seemed to defy
gravity as he tried to catch up with his enemy. The Senshi were in awe as they
saw Ranma trying to get to get his enemy. Finally, when Ranma's feet were about
to reach the ground, the owl threw a ball to the floor, hoping to catch Ranma in
a tornado.

Ranma smiled as he seemed to do another jump in the air, avoiding the tornado
and catching the owl by surprise. He slashed down, dragging the metallic bird to
the floor where he landed neatly right next to it. The bird finally talked.

"YOU! I WILL KILL..."

Ranma didn't let him finish. "Rakuhouha, 75% Power! GET READY!" and he slammed
his fist to the ground, sending rays of white energy at the enemy, who didn't
have the time to dodge as all the whole attack hit him. It screamed as he glowed
in grey colors, and glowed white, and finally exploded.

Ranma smiled a bit. He turned his face to the girls and smiled. "Hey, you girls
seem to come in when they appear," he said, "Are you like, defenders of the
earth?"

"Yes! I'm Sailor Moon, defender of love and Justice!" Usagi said, posing. "And
we are the Sailor Senshi!"

"I'm Zero," Ranma said. "See you girls again!" and he turned around and he
turned gray, became thin, and teleported out.

None of them spoke for a long time, and they stood there like idiots watching at
absolutely nothing when Minako finally spoke. "He's cute..."

Usagi was still posing when Luna came in. "I don't trust him."

"You never trust anyone, Luna," Usagi said to her cat.

Artemis came behind Venus. "What is his purpose? Why is he helping us?"

=Saotome's House=

Ranma teleported right behind the dojo as it seemed the best place since it was
a place no one would be present in normal circumstances. His armor was gone, a
trick Dr. Light taught him by explaining the rules of subspace pockets. (I
wonder who taught him the basis of such advanced Quantum Physics?) Ranma
wondered silently. Ranma was about to go straight to the house when he heard a
sound coming inside the dojo.

In the dojo, it was dark already, yet it didn't stop the Saotome patriarch to do
some katas with her boken. Fluid movements, speed, and unshowed power and style
captivated the watcher as he continued to assess the style Nodoka was using.
When she finished, he applauded.

"Wow, mom," said Ranma, impressed at the style. During his stay with Zero, he
learned multiple sword stance, but the one his mom did was a complete mystery to
him. "Who taught you how to do all that?"

Nodoka, shocked to know that her own son easily sneaked behind her, recovered.
"Why, your grandfather," she said. "Next time, we might him. I heard he has a
grandson about your age, and some other guests."

"Well, I was hoping for 'sooner', but it can't be helped. Wanna spar?" asked
Ranma.

Both positioned themselves. The dojo gave out sounds of whaps, grunts and thuds
as the two figures launched attack after attack, parrying with their respective
bokens. Ranma's speed was unbelievable, one of the advantages of his cybernetic
body, catching Nodoka of guard with some direct hits. But she retaliated with
skill, using mysterious forms and faints to catch him of guard. They both
stopped when Nodoka checked her watch and said something about the time.

Later, Ranma was in the bathtub, and the warm water relaxed his bio- metallic
muscles as he looked at the roof. (I've been here for almost thirty minutes.) he
thought. (Normally, I'd turn to a prune.) Sighing, he stood up and covered
himself with a towel before going to his room. (Dinner should be ready soon.)

Going to his room and dressed up in his normal clothes, he came down the stairs,
to find his mom watching T.V.

-Television-

The purple haired babe known as Misato was tying a string on the scabbard of her
sword.

"Let's do this," said Misato.

Shinji, the hero of the first Angel Wars had his head down.

"I'm sorry, Misato-san," he said. "If I only created a more perfect world. We
wouldn't have to do this."

Misato smiled. "There is no such thing as a perfect world, Shinji-kun," she
said. She stood up and kissed him in the lips. "That was an adult kiss."

"I know. If you come back, you'll give me more than that." Shinji replied. He
must have seen Misato's shock that he smiled. "You told me the same thing before
you died. You must've been drunk at that time."

Misato snapped. "I don't get drunk!"

Shinji just smiled as Misato left him. "Good luck." he whispered as he himself
turned his back and walked away from the park.

Going away from where Shinji was, Misato saw Kaji, with his handguns. "Are you
ready, Mi-chan?"

"You don't have to come, Kaji. I can deal with it," Misato said.

"I know. But I wont abandon my love because of something as childish as fear,"
Kaji replied. Bith walked towards the sunset, their face showing the seriousness
that was rarely seen. They both looked at each other and smiled. The screen
faded black.

=Usagi's home, living room=

"WAHH! Misato and Kaji are gonna end the Angel plague! They might die!!!" Usagi
said, crying waterfalls.

Usagi's four friends agreed. The Neo Genesis Evangelion-2 was getting more and
more dramatic as the series were ending.

"Where is Mamorou?" asked Rei. It's been almost five days since his
disappearance.

Makoto chuckled. "Ever since he fought that werewolf youma, and getting his ass
handed to him, he said that he was in Juuban General [hospital]."

Ami frowned. "Before, all he did was throw roses. Now, he tries to impress us
with by fighting with a stick."

"Don't make fun of my Mamorou!" Usagi said.

Minako smiled a bit. (If I find who that Zero is, I'll marry him!)

"DINNER!" a voice shouted down the hall.

"Coming mom!" Usagi said, standing up.

=Saotome's House=

"DINNER!" said a voice in the kitchen.

"Coming Uuchan!" "Yes dear," said two voices from the living room. Sounds of
footsteps rang louder as Ukyou came towards the table in the living room.

"WOW!" Ranma declared as she opened the door, carrying food in the tray. It
smelled delicious!

"Yes," Nodoka said. "I taught Ukyou to cook more than okonomiyaki."

"This is all good. But where the heck is pops. I know he wouldn't miss dinner."

=Bar=

"Oh my son! He has no honor!" Genma declared.

"We should have my daughters close to him so he can choose! Tell me again why we
can't just let Akane marry Ranma? Why does he have to choose?" asked Soun.

"Nodoka wouldn't agree!" Genma replied. "We should do this secretly!"

"Yes. Maybe I should transfer Akane and Nabiki to Juuban High? So they'll be
close!"

"What a great idea Soun!"

Both idiots stood up and said "OPERATION: HITCH 'EM TOGETHER!" and they took
their drinks.

"THE SCHOOLS WILL BE JOINED!" Soun declared.

(And I'll be able to retire!) Genma said.

To be continued.

/------------------------------------------------------ --------\

NEXT: ZERO VS. THE OUTER SENSHI!

Notes: Whew, that was a long one. NEXT Chapter, Ranma will finally meet Pluto,
Washu and his grandfather! Don't miss it!

\------------------------------------------------------------- -/