Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A New Future 2 - First Blood ❯ Breaking the News ( Chapter 4 )

This is an alternate history (both the world in general and the Senshi in particular) continuation for both Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2, set in a world with no space exploration, personal computers, cell phones, or anything else requiring a transistor. The Y rating is for violence in later chapters.

This was originally published by me under the name Anduril at Anime Addventures, with the only changes being a few corrections in spelling, punctuation and the occasional word choice. If you like the beginning of my story but think I've gone off the rails, or have your own ideas for a great branch-off, or think I'm taking too long to update and want to continue the story yourself, come to Anime Addventures and join in the fun!

I claim no ownership rights to any of the works of Rumiko Takahashi, Naoko Takeuchi, or anything in the GURPS Ogre and GURPS Tales of the Solar Patrol settings published by Steve Jackson Games. Everything else is mine.

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“She said what?! What do you mean, I can't help?!” Ranma shouted as she started to bounce to her feet, only to let out an “oomph!” as her legs collided with the underside of the table and she thumped back into the booth's seat.

“Sssh! Not so loud, you're attracting attention!” Chibi-Usa hissed from where she sat to Ranma's right beside the aisle.

Ranma shrank into herself, blanching and glancing around, then sighed in relief when she realized she couldn't be seen by the other patrons of the restaurant where Ranma and the younger two Tendo sisters were enjoying a rare meeting with Nodoka, along with the two youngest Senshi.

To Ranma's left, Nodoka gripped her daughter's hand briefly for comfort and the redhead straightened up again, her paleness vanishing as an angry flush replaced it. Much more quietly, Ranma hissed, “I'm a better fighter than any of them already, and once I've perfected the Cat Claws I'll be just as dangerous — what is big sis thinking?!”

From where Nabiki was sitting across from Chibi-Usa (and where she could keep an eye on the rest of the restaurant from their booth in the back), she drawled, “I'd say Usagi's thinking that she doesn't want to lose her little sister after barely finding her again. And isn't it a nice change of pace that your family wants you to avoid a fight because they love you?”

Ranma's gaze dropped, then she looked up as Akane, sitting across from Nodoka, finally lost her battle with mirth and slapped her hand across her mouth to muffle her peals of laughter. Hotaru, sitting between the two Tendo sisters, and Nodoka looked over at Akane in confusion as Ranma growled out, “Okay, Tomboy, what's so funny `bout Usagi saying I can't help fight?”

Finally suppressing her laughter, Akane whispered, “But Ranma, I want to help — I'm a Martial Artist too!” Then she lost control of her laughter again as her lover flinched and her flush deepened, while Nabiki snorted in amusement and Nodoka's confusion deepened.

“What am I missing?” the Saotome matriarch asked, and Akane once again fought her laughter into submission while a chuckling Nabiki told of all the times Akane had said something similar to Ranma when he told her to back off, worried about his fiancée's safety.

By the time she was done Ranma's mother and two friends had joined in with Nabiki's chuckles, and Ranma finally growled, “All right, so I'm bein' a little hypo- ... hypocritical. But it isn't exactly the same — I don't want ta charge in `til I'm sure I can actually help!”

Finally sobering, Akane gave her lover a firm look. “And I don't, either. But I do want to join in when I'm ready. And remember, you promised you'd really train me and let me know when that was — your word of honor, Ranma.”

Ranma nodded, unconsciously shrinking into herself slightly. “Yeah, I remember. An' I'll keep that promise. But —”

“But you feel the same way as Usagi,” Akane said with a soft smile, and Ranma sighed, then nodded,

“Yeah, I guess so,” she muttered. “But I'm not gonna let that stop me from helping.”

“So when do you think you'll be ready?” Chibi-Usa asked.

“At the rate I'm improving, few weeks at most,” Ranma said, and her pink-haired friend gave her a surprised stare.

“That soon?” she asked in a tone of disbelief, and Nabiki gave a bark of laughter.

“No,” the middle Tendo said, “that long — I've never known Ranma to take so long to perfect a new technique, if I'd been taking bets on it I'd have lost money.”

Ranma shrugged uncomfortably. “Before, I'd always seen the techniques performed by others. This time, I'm working it out myself. Besides, this time I'm workin' ta keep emotions outta it instead of usin' them ta power the claws. It's totally new ta me.” Embarrassed, the redhead glanced around while scratching the back of her neck, then nudged Chibi-Usa. “Let me out, I need ta use the restroom,” she muttered, and her friend slid out of the way, then sat back down and looked in confusion at the broad grins on Nabiki's and Akane's faces.

“Yes!” Akane enthused.

“ `Yes', what?” asked Nodoka from across the table, and Akane blushed, cringing slightly.

“Uh, `yes, Ranma's going to the restroom alone',” Akane reluctantly explained.

Nodoka frowned. “This is unusual?” she asked, and Akane and Nabiki glanced at each other. Nabiki shrugged, and Akane sighed.

“Uh ... don't let Ranma know I mentioned it, but yeah, it is unusual,” Akane said, looking worriedly in the direction of the restroom. “She ... well, she doesn't act as cocky as she did before ... well, you know when. Still, she has a `nothing bothers me' attitude all the time — but never goes anywhere in public without me or Nabiki along, except once with Kasumi when she visited while Nabiki and I were in school. Mostly, she just stays at the apartment and practices.” And then there's the nights she wakes up shaking and clutching at me, though at least those seem to be dropping off.

Hotaru placed a gentle hand on Akane's right shoulder. “She is getting better, though, isn't she? She certainly seems to enjoy our little outings to the park when we need more room to practice, and she definitely enjoyed our trip to the ice cream parlor.”

Taking a deep breath, Akane nodded. “Yeah, she's getting better, I'm sure of it.”

Everyone fell silent for a few minutes, then Nabiki spoke up. “She's coming back.”

“Right!” Akane said, pasting on a smile and looking over at Chibi-Usa. “So, Usa, you have any new ideas for Ranma's costume?”

“Oh, I have a few ...” Chibi-Usa said with a grin, and Nabiki quirked an eyebrow.

“Costume?” she asked, and Akane chuckled.

“Yeah,” she said, “if Ranma's going to be fighting alongside the Senshi she needs to look the part!”

“Is that so?” Nabiki said with a slow smile.

As Ranma approached the booth she shivered at the speculative looks directed her way from Chibi-Usa and Nabiki as the pink-haired girl hopped out to let her back into the middle.