Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A New Future 2 - First Blood ❯ Battle's Eve ( Chapter 32 )

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 to make things clearer. 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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The large map unrolled, everyone gathered around (Akane passing chibi-Hinako off to Soun) as Kasumi circled the table and weighed down each corner before handing the bag back to Pluto and rejoining her stiff husband. The map turned out to be a detailed layout of the park and the streets surrounding it, down to the low hummocks and individual trees and benches ... and a circle of ten octagonal shapes with a tiny elongated oval in the center of the circle. Pluto handed the bag to Ranma.

Ranma took a deep breath, and glanced around, her eyes pausing for a moment on the three Amazon women. “The battlefield, people,” she said unnecessarily, “the anchors that need ta be destroyed, surrounding the gate that the bad guys will be comin' through. And here,” she continued, reaching into the bag to pull out a handful of translucent red and white crystals much smaller than the ones on the map's corners, “are where the invaders will be after they appear an' spread out.” She quickly laid out the white crystals in a circle around the anchors about two-thirds of the distance from the central gate to the streets that ran along the park's edges, with a crystal in the center by the gate. “This spot here,” she continued, touching the central crystal, “is their command post and a reserve.”

Picking up the red crystals she'd put to the side while laying out the enemy positions, Ranma placed them on buildings along an edge of the park that faced one of the flat sides of the oval gate, leaving the building in the center empty. “These buildings are where the Amazons are already waiting. The people that live there have been evacuated slowly and replaced by the Amazons over the past week, so as not ta be noticeable, and so have those here.” — She tapped the empty building in the middle. — “Our little trick worked, and the enemy will still be coming in when Pluto thought they would.”

Taking two more of the red crystals and placing them in a building on the opposite side of the park, she continued, “Right now we're in this building here, and it's from here that the Senshi and the Neriman people will be kickin' off the fight.”

“We'll be in two groups: Me an' Akane, Sailors Saturn and Chibi-Moon, Ukyo an' Konatsu, Shampoo an' Mousse in the first; and Sailors Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Endymion, Saotome-san, Soun-kun an' Hinako-kun in the second. Pluto will be watchin' the start of the battle from somewhere else, ta let the soldiers of the JSDF know when it's time fer them to join in. Once she does that, she'll join the second group.”

“But what of me?” Kuno demanded. “Surely I cannot be assigned any place on the battlefield other than at the side of my princess and her handmaiden!”

Perhaps a maid, but far from a maiden, Pluto thought wryly in a version of English centuries gone, remembering a few scenes she'd caught seconds of in the Time Gate before she was able to shift away. “Of course not,” she agreed blandly, speaking up as she turned to face the self-labeled samurai, ignoring the looks of betrayal being sent her way by Ranma and Akane. “But in this first assault, speed is of the essence and they must not be held back to your pace. You will need to join one of the Amazon contingents and fight your way through to them — no small task, but one well within your capabilities.”

As Kuno straightened, swelling with pride at the praise from the Lady Pluto of ancient history, the emerald-haired Senshi nodded to Ranma. Ranma glared at her briefly, then shrugged and reached down to slide the two crystals representing the Senshi and Nerimans off of the building, across the street, through the line of white crystals and into the middle of the map into contact with the white crystal there, then one to the far right of the circle of anchors and the other to the portal. “The Senshi and Neriman groups will break through the line, taking care a' the reserve — about fifty men — and command post. Then the Senshi will start on this edge of the circle and work their way back the way we came, with Mercury, Mars, Venus an' Moon handling destroying the anchors, an' Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saotome-san, Soun-kun and Hinako-kun providing protection.” Looking up at Genma and Soun, she added, “Hinako-kun isn't trained for hand to hand like the Amazons and other Nerimans and she can't heal like the Senshi, so the two of you are ta stick ta her at all times — keeping her safe is yer first job.”

“Of course, he will, Soun loves me!” Hinako announced brightly from where she stood beside her lover with his arm around her, before going back to playing with the white crystal she'd swiped from the map even as Soun's arm tightened slightly. Genma glanced over at the pair and rolled his eyes, grimacing, but nodded.

Ranma stared hard at Genma for a long moment, then glanced over at Akane, then at Xian Pu and Mu Tse bracketing them. “The second group will head for the portal. After the guards are dealt with I'll charge into the portal — the entrance will be on the side facing away from us, this side is tougher than anything we, or they, can do to it — to keep the rest of the enemy army bottled up, while Saturn will blow a hole through the enemy circle beyond. Saturn, aim at this building,” — she tapped the empty building between the ones with red crystals representing the Amazons — “an' don't worry about hurtin' innocents, as I said it's empty. After that, you guys will concentrate on keeping the enemy from retaking the portal and sending in people to attack me from behind.”

Turning her attention to the three Amazons, Ranma said, “Ren Sha, Shu Li, Ying Ying, the destruction of that building will be your signal ta start yer attack. Shu Li, yer group, along with Kuno, will charge through the hole that Saturn's opened and head straight for the middle, past the portal — your job is to keep the soldiers on the other side of the park away from us at the portal an' the Senshi as they destroy the anchors. Ren-sha, your group is to widen the gap and roll up the right flank. Ying Ying, you do the same on the left. Shu Li, Make sure you take Kuno with you when you return to your post, we don't want people makin' any more trips in an' out a' the apartments than they hafta.”

Shu-li nodded, eyeing Kuno speculatively. “Gladly, the girls will be happy to see him,” she said, a slight grin on her face.

The rest of the Amazons chuckled at the confused expression on Kuno's face (and the faces of most of the Nerimans and Senshi, though Genma looked envious), before Ranma resumed the debriefing. “Uhh ... right. Once I have the portal plugged and Saturn's opened the hole, Pluto lets the JSDF soldiers know it's time fer them ta move in. They're far enough back ta be outside the area the enemy will be spying out, however he does it, but have armored personnel carriers to bring them to the battle. Pluto says the enemy's protective field shuts down engines as well as protects against projectile weapons, so we can't use the APCs ta run over enemy formations, but they'll at least get the soldiers here in a hurry. Once here, they'll line up an' attack the enemy soldiers on the side of the park that we an' the Senshi attacked through, across from the Amazons.

“Between the Amazons on one side, the JSDF on the other, the Senshi and Nerimans and more Amazons in the center, we should be able to wrap things up and destroy the anchors long before the bad guys can bring up anything that can take me out an' let them get more men through the portal. When the Senshi are ready ta destroy the last one, Akane's come inta the portal ta let me know it's time ta get out.

“So, any questions?”

Kasumi raised her hand from beside her stone-faced husband. “Yes, where will Tofu and I be stationed?”

The Nerimans stiffened. “You, Kasumi?” Akane squeaked. “You aren't a martial artist, how can you help?”

“Over the past month I've been studying battlefield medicine,” Kasumi replied serenely. “I may not be able to fight, but I can help save lives.”

Akane opened her mouth to protest as her oldest sister looked between her and Ranma, only to pause when her lover gripped her elbow. “Her decision, not ours, or even her husband's, looks like,” the redhead quickly whispered in her ear. “If she's set on joinin' even with a kid on the way, we aren't gonna change her mind.” Akane considered briefly in the silence of the room, then relaxed and reluctantly nodded to her sister. Ranma said more loudly, “You an' Tofu'll be comin' in behind the Amazons with the other medics, that's probably where most a' the wounded will be before our soldiers show up.” An' where you'll be the safest. Kasumi didn't say a word, but her worried expression changed into a relieved smile even as her husband's shoulders slumped.

Ranma gazed sympathetically at her sort-of brother-in-law — at least her lover was a skilled fighter, flanked by experienced warriors even if she was going to be in the thick of the fighting instead of behind it. Finally, the redhead asked, “Any other questions?”

When nobody answered, she sighed with relief. “Okay, I guess we're done here. The bad guys will be poppin' in about first light, so everybody make sure you — an' yer people,” she added, nodding to the three Amazons, “are up an' ready.

“An' Saotome-san,” she continued, glaring at her father, “don't get drunk, an' don't harass any a' the women if ya wanna be in the fight and get yer lifetime drinkin' money — and any damage ya do here is comin' out `a yer first payments `till it's paid for.”

Genma glared back. “As if I'd want any of those man-hating bitches,” he growled, then turned and strode from the room.

Beside Ranma, Xian Pu chuckled. “Doesn't sound like he enjoyed the last few weeks of training,” she mused, and glanced over at Shu Li. “Jen Ni's reports were rather terse: `I'm still alive and unharmed, and Genma's an asshole', basically. Did she have anything to say when she got back?”

“Only that those were some of the most unpleasant weeks in her life, and you owe her a major favor for dumping the job on her,” Shu Li replied with a laugh. She strolled around to latch onto Kuno's arm, ignoring the way the kendoist stiffened at the self-assumed familiarity. “Come on, stud, since you're going to be going straight up the middle, you're with my battle group. Let's go.”

“Unhand me, woman!” Kuno snarled, trying unsuccessfully to shake her off. “I must present myself to my princess!”

Shu Li looked over at Ranma and Akane. The two girls glanced at each other, Ranma rolling her eyes (and suppressing the urge to flinch) before she noticed the worry in her lover's eyes. Sobering, she gave Akane a reassuring smile, took a deep breath, then nodded to Shu Li.

Shrugging, Shu Li let go of Kuno's arm. “Okay, but make it quick,” she said to Kuno's back as he strode around the table.

Ranma turned stiffly and Akane stepped around to her side, Pluto stepping back to disassociate herself. Xian Pu and Mu Tse stepped to the side where they would have a clear shot at Kuno, ready for anything — anything, that is, but Kuno falling to his knees and abasing himself at Ranma's feet.

As everyone but Pluto stared in shock, Kuno spoke, voice calm. “Your Highness, the Elder Cologne told me of the history we Japanese share with the Amazons, and who you have remembered yourself to be. My attempted advances on your person and failure to be there when you needed me are a blot on my honor that cannot be wiped away. I am needed for this battle, but once victory is ours I ask permission to commit seppuku.” Falling silent, he waited in the sudden ringing silence.

For long minutes Ranma stared at the back of the kendoist waiting patiently for her word at her feet, mind whirling. Finally, she forced herself into a semblance of coherence and sought her center. The result was not what she had expected. In the midst of the shock radiating from everyone around her she could sense, not the twisted, insane need to possess she had expected thanks to past experience, but a thread of pure serenity coming from her long-time stalker. He was serious.

And so was someone else. “Akane, center!” she hissed just as the raven-haired girl at her side was opening her mouth for what, from what Ranma was picking up, was going to be an epic rant.

Startled, Akane stared at her for a moment, the closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the burning anger faded from her ki. A moment later her eyes flew open in shock. “Whoa!” she breathed softly, staring at the kendoist — the samurai — at their feet.

For just a moment Ranma considered a future with no delusional, poetry-spewing fool haunting her, before firmly (and easily) rejecting the temptation. No, it's not like he chased ya down after The Day, an' he could have easy enough if he'd moved fast after Nabiki's visit. Puu's right, he, at least, is safe. “Get up, Kuno-san — Tatewaki-kun,” she said in a tightly controlled voice. Akane wasn't the only one that had less than pleasant memories thanks to the older boy. The redhead wondered fleetingly if her lover had ever had any dreams like she had, of a looming Kuno figure, a terrifying future; she'd never asked. “Forget it, ya aren't killin' yerself. Ya weren't much fun ta be around, but ya weren't like the Freak, either.” Much. Maybe. “An' ya weren't me or Akane's bodyguard, what happened had nothin' ta do with you. Just ... fight as good as ya can here an' get on with yer life.” Maybe there's actually a girl out there as nuts as he is that would make him happy — maybe Mom might know one? she thought half-whimsically, half-seriously as the samurai rose to his feet.

“You are truly forgiving, far beyond what this unworthy soul deserves, Your Highness,” the samurai said softly. “And tomorrow I shall honor that generosity with my skill, my body, and if need be my life.” He bowed deeply, and without waiting for a response strode to and through the door that Shu Li had been guiding him toward. The three Amazons followed, Shu Li looking speculatively at the samurai's back.

“Well, that was ... interesting,” Xian Pu mused as she and Mu Tse stepped back to their places at the sides of princess and consort. “And it looks like it gave Shu Li ideas — like maybe not sharing, this time. I wonder if Kuno'll turn out to be a Lancelot or a Galahad? My money's on the first.”

“No bet,” Mu Tse replied. “He's delusional, but not a complete idiot.”

“What are you two talking about?” Akane demanded as she shook off the shock of the last few minutes.

“An old Amazon tradition,” Pluto explained as she walked around the group and waved everyone, Nerimans and Senshi all, toward the door. “If possible, the afternoon before a battle, once all the usual final equipment checks are completed, the warriors will gather with the men and spend a few hours reminiscing about their shared lives. Then, once evening arrives, most of the ones already married or in a relationship — or perhaps thinking about starting one — will slip away to celebrate life in the most ancient way known to man. The rest will stay together and do the same.”

Ranma and Akane exchanged confused glances, but before they could ask Kasumi gasped, hands flying up to cover her mouth, framed by fiercely blushing cheeks. “Oh, my! You don't mean an ... an orgy?”

“Of course. Children conceived on such nights are considered a special blessing — the triumph of life over death,” Pluto replied, lips quivering for a moment before they settled into her usual distant expression. Glancing at the oldest Tendo sister out of the corner of an eye, she added slyly, “You mean you and Ono-san aren't planning just that — the sex part, at least? Alone, of course.”

Kasumi's blush actually intensified. “Uh ... well ... y-yes, we are....” she stammered.

“So are most of the rest of us,” Pluto said, then glanced around. “Well, maybe not Ukyo-kun, Konatsu-kun, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter, and definitely not Chibi-Moon and Saturn.” She mock-glared at the last two named. Chibi-Moon stuck her tongue out at her while Saturn laughed softly even as she blushed. “But the rest of you, including Moon once her husband gets off work ... what about you, Ranma, Akane?”

Ranma blushed. “Well, Mom's downstairs with Nabiki waitin' for us — didn't want Saotome-san ta know where she is, now that he's been told about the divorce proceedings. An' I wanna spar with Akane, see how she's done over the last couple'a weeks.”

“And after that ... ?”

“Well ... yeah....”

“And what about you?” Uranus asked, the blonde Senshi glancing slyly at Pluto. “Are you going to be ... joining us?”

“Uranus!” Neptune protested, lightly smacking her lover on the back of her head.

“It seems as if I'm not welcome, so no, I'm not,” Pluto replied haughtily, pointedly ignoring the chuckles around her. “Besides, I unfortunately have some business in China to look into that can't wait even for a prospective invasion. I won't be seeing any of you until tomorrow.” And with that, she was gone.

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Ukyo looked around as the group's chuckles died away after Pluto's disappearance and they continued toward the door. Ranma she counted a friend, but the rest ... other than Konatsu, they were at best distant acquaintances, at worst former enemies. But most were complete strangers, and strangers with shared secrets, and she had a sudden vision of the stilted silence as they tried to find something to talk about with her there. Besides, what are you going to talk about with Ranma, how much you enjoyed pissing off Akane when you were trying to keep them apart? Pluto was right — he ... she has her own life now, a life you don't fit into. And neither does Konatsu.

But Konatsu fit in very well in her life — had quietly, unobtrusively pushed his way in while she had blindly focused everything on Ranma, and the chef suddenly realized that after the past month, she could no longer imagine a life without the crossdresser as a part of it. Coming to a sudden decision, she called out, “Ranma! Why don't Konatsu and I skip the schmoozing and head straight to my room? We have some things we need to talk about.”

Konatsu's head whipped around as he stared at her in confusion. “We do?”

“Yeah, Sugar, we do.”

/oOo\

Hours later, a tired, angry, guilty and frustrated Pluto stepped in front of the Time Gates, allowing her calm, distant expression to twist into a snarl as soon as she was alone. What a fucking waste of time her afternoon had been — she was no closer to finding a way around the blank spot in the Himalayas. She could pinpoint the very moment that the Time Gates ceased to be able to focus on it, but it was huge, and she had no idea where in that vastness her enemy was hiding. And while the Jade Emperor crouching in his (presumably) opulent hole probably couldn't stop the future she saw coming, he would make the cost of getting there a lot bloodier. Unfortunately, so far she'd found no way to get to him before then, and had the dead bodies of would-be traitors to the Jade Emperor to prove it ... and the bodies of innocents caught in the crossfire.

Closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, the Senshi of Time forced herself to relax muscle by muscle. “Okay, Nimue, time to just let this one go,” she murmured to herself. “No more attempts to intervene until you have a location and a plan that's better than a long shot. So, let's see how everyone else is enjoying the evening, shall we?”

Focusing her will on the Time Gates, she smiled as the flickering images vanished to be replaced by the image of the common room Ranma had chosen for the after-briefing get-together. As she'd expected, considering the hour: Nabiki-kun, Nodoka, Usa, Hotaru, Ami, Rei, Makoto, all laughing at some story ... but no Ukyo or Konatsu. Banishing the view, she brought up the room where she knew Ukyo would be staying that night ... and a second later banished it. So, a happy ending for the faithful servant, and Ukyo's finally moving on. I'll have to remember to look ahead for a beautiful day for their wedding.

She briefly considered checking on the others no longer with the main group, but quickly rejected the idea. This early in the evening they'd be the same as Ukyo and Konatsu, or taking a short rest between bouts. Either way, she knew where they were without bothering to check.

Then she considered joining those still together, but soon rejected that, as well. While things in China had gone wrong even faster than she'd anticipated, leaving her with some unexpected free time, she didn't really feel in the mood for companionship. Or at least, that kind of companionship, it has been s few months since I visited Yosho.... Right.

Decision made, she quickly checked to make sure the Confederacy wouldn't jump the gun — no, the chance of them arriving before the morning's appointed hour was infinitesimal. So, that meant she could — and her thoughts stumbled to a halt as she brought up the image of Douglas MacKenzie's room at the palace at the Amazons' new village of Nikko, to find it empty. Okay, check the palace dojo, scan back to the last time he was there, follow him forward to the present — and Pluto's eyebrows rose as she watched the fast-scrolling image.

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Sergeant Douglas MacKenzie, US Marine Corp and temporary sensei for the Princess Yasuko and her consort Akane, looked up from where he lay on his bed in his temporary quarters as he suddenly sensed the presence of someone else in room to find the faceless but familiarly-shaped, fuku-clad form of his family's generations-long friend standing by the door. Set — sorry, Pluto,” he greeted her. “What are you doing here?”

“What, I can't visit an old friend?” the emerald-haired woman asked, as the fuku vanished to be replaced by a stylish but conservative skirt and business suit and her face came into focus.

“Setsuna, we aren't exactly `old friends',” MacKenzie replied, sitting up on the bed and waving toward the chair by the room's desk. “Before you asked for my help training the kids, I hadn't seen you since I was a kid myself, and before that ... well, I was your typical horny teenage boy and you were the family's impossible patron.”

“You didn't let that keep you from accepting my offer, that night before boot camp,” Setsuna said with a slight smirk.

“Like I said, typical horny teenage boy,” MacKenzie riposted, a fond grin spreading across his face at the memory.

“Yes, well, speaking of hormones, you aren't all that much older. I'm surprised you aren't with the Amazons you're going to be joining for the battle tomorrow.”

MacKenzie shrugged. “There isn't an individual woman down there that I really want to be with, and I've found that I don't really have a taste for orgies.”

“No, I imagine Xian Pu's with Mu Tse right now,” Setsuna said teasingly, then sobered even as the blonde American blushed. “Douglas, I know you can't be with the one you love, but do you think this time you can make an exception on not loving the one you're with?”

MacKenzie stilled, blush fading. “You?”

Setsuna nodded. “Me.”

“Why? I asked around — discreetly, I assure you — after I got home from boot camp, and found out that while you might pick the occasional lucky guy for a night's fun it was never more than once.”

“Because ...” Setsuna's voice trailed away as her eyes dropped to the floor. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Kami, this is hard! I've been the inscrutable fount of all wisdom and knowledge too long. Because ... there's a battle tomorrow, and I hate battles, because of how chancy they can be, how easily they can go wrong, and ... and I don't want to be alone, tonight.”

Staring at the vulnerable, frightened woman that had suddenly replaced his family's generations-long legend, MacKenzie finally rose to his feet and walked over to stand in front of her. Reaching up, he cupped her chin and lifted her head till her eyes met his. “I would be honored to help you forget, for awhile,” he whispered.

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A bit long for one of my chapters, it might actually be the longest I've posted. I thought about breaking it in half but decided to get the setup over with, even if objectively it doesn't really change how long everything takes — I write around my set number of words a day, on average, and call it good.

And yeah, I figure that because of the importance of the stakes at the level she plays, what really scares Pluto isn't pain or death, it's failure.

And in the interest of full disclosure, I basically lifted the “ancient Amazon tradition” from the Go-Backs in Elfquest Book 4. I figured it made sense as a way for a people that can lose a significant number of women in a bad war (since they're mostly the ones doing the fighting, not exactly a pro-survival trait) to push up the birthrate.