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Sailor Ranko: Tunnel Vision: Chapter 4, Old Business.
by
Rebecca Ann Heineman
Ranma 1/2 and the characters therein are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. Based on "Sailor Ranko" by Duncan Zillman and "Twice in a Millennium" by Kevin D. Hammel.
I don't own these characters. Please don't sue me, kill me or make me upload chapters to FanFiction.net without checking them.
Ukyou was preparing her restaurant for opening. It was going to be a busy day today. Konatsu was near the front entrance sweeping the floor. Ukyou was heating up the grill when Ranma entered and took his usual seat. "Hey Ranma honey, do you want the usual?"
"Oh, of course my dear," replied Ranma with a look of love in his face. Ukyou blushed and began to make a special okonomiyaki just for him. She poured all of her love into making it. Ranma never stopped looking at her during the whole time. She poured the sauce in the shape of a heart and wrote Ranma and Ukyou in the center of the okonomiyaki. She placed the meal on Ranma's plate and handed him the serving spatula. Ranma wolfed down the okonomiyaki in seconds and pointing to the empty plate, "more please!"
"Of course Ranma honey." This was the way it is supposed to be. Ranma at her beck and call, showering her with his love and appreciating everything she did for him. This was paradise. Ukyou always treasured these moments.
"You're the best Ukyou. No one cooks like you do." Ranma smiled and blew Ukyou a kiss. She blushed again and felt love fill her.
The bell rang near the entrance, alerting Ukyou that another customer was entering the restaurant.
Akane walked only a few steps into the restaurant and stood there. She called to Ranma, "Honey, are you done yet?"
"Yes, my dearest," and Ranma stood up and walked over to Akane. Ukyou gasped and called back, "Ranma? Where're you going?"
Ranma didn't stop. He walked up to Akane and embraced her. He placed his lips onto hers and made a passionate kiss.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!! RANMA!!!!" Ukyou cried. "You were meant for me! Can't you see that I'm the cute one! CAN'T YOU SEE I LOVE YOU?!"
Ranma and Akane totally ignored her. They simply wrapped their arms around each other and fell into the moment. They then pulled back from each other and held hands. At that instant, there was a bright flash behind them as bright as the sun. The room was engulfed in flames and Konatsu jumped in front of Ukyou. Konatsu screamed, as he was burned alive.
In the firestorm, Ranma and Akane transformed. Ranma became Ranko but with a difference. Her hair instead of a ponytail became a lion's mane of full red hair down to her waist. Akane's hair grew out to shoulder length and billowed in the rushing wind. Both girls glowed with an aura of flame and wore gold tiaras. A shockwave came and blasted in the windows showering the room with flame and debris.
Ukyou only had time enough before she burst into flame to notice that the two lovers went not affected by the wind in any way. Konatsu evaporated. Then Ukyou.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Ukyou bolted upright from her bed, bathed in sweat and breathing heavily. She reached over to the table next to her and got the dry towels that Konatsu had placed there for her. "What... What... a terrible nightmare!" Ukyou stuttered and she started to regain control of her breathing.
Konatsu was kneeling at the side of the bed. He was holding another towel out for her and had a look of deep concern for his mistress. "Anything you wish of me, my mistress?"
"Thank you, Konatsu." Ukyou finished drying her forehead and then lay back down in her bed. She thought about the dream. It usually ended with the two lovers going outside and Akane pulling her dad's okonomiyaki cart away with Ranma sitting on top. Ukyou would chase the cart and trip and fall. While holding her injured knee, she would watch the cart go over the horizon. This ending was different.
Ukyou closed her eyes. The ending was the same nonetheless. Ranma belonged to another. She shed a tear.
Ranma awoke on the sofa with his wife still sleeping in his lap. He gently stroked her dark hair and enjoyed the moment. Then came the usual chaos.
"Nihao Ranma!" Shampoo said as she smashed the wall next to the couple. Akane fell out of the sofa and onto the floor. Ranma stood up. "Don't you know that we have a DOOR?!"
"Ranma, go on date?" Shampoo was dressed in her blue Chinese silk miniskirt that left very little to the imagination.
"You've got to be kidding me?!? Didn't my marriage to Akane give you a hint?" Ranma could not believe this was happening again.
Akane was getting very angry. "We settled this already! Cut it out!"
"Akane get kiss of death. She must not be wife. You marry Shampoo." Shampoo went over to Akane and thrust her fingers toward Akane's neck. Akane dodged and kicked Shampoo into the wall.
"I am NOT doing this again, Shampoo!" Akane flared up her battle aura to full strength.
"Dear, you know what to do," Ranma just stood back to watch the spectacle.
Shampoo pulled herself out of the Shampoo shaped indentation in the wall and took a fighting stance. "Shampoo marry Ranma!"
"Sorry girl, he's already taken." Akane jumped at Shampoo who dodged downward and raised her leg in a kick. She connected to Akane in mid-air but Akane was ready for the blow. Akane bounced off the ceiling, flipped and planted her elbow right into the center of Shampoo's chest. Akane bounced off Shampoo and landed on her feet next to the stunned Chinese girl.
"Do you yield, Shampoo?" Akane towered over her victim.
Shampoo lay there for a few seconds, and then she forced herself off the floor and took an uneasy fighting stance. Slowly and with some effort she challenged, "Shampoo no yield."
Akane rolled her eyes. This girl just won't take a hint, Akane silently said to herself. She shouted back, "I don't want to hurt you, but Ranma is my HUSBAND! Don't you get it?"
"Ranma must marry Shampoo! He strongest man! He best husband for Shampoo!" Shampoo yelled. "He destined for Shampoo!" Shampoo suddenly leaped at Akane and stuck out two fingers in a killing blow. Shampoo directly aimed for Akane's neck.
Akane almost effortlessly did a roundhouse kick and deflected the blow. She followed with a head butt that knocked Shampoo out cold. "As I said before Shampoo. Ranma is mine! Cologne, show your face!"
Akane looked around the room to see where was Shampoo's grandmother. She was convinced that the old hag had somehow talked Shampoo into doing a rematch.
"I don't think she's here," Ranma said as he joined in the search for the phantom matriarch. "Cologne! Come out, come out wherever you are."
"You don't supposed she did this on her own do you?" Akane questioned.
"It's Shampoo. When she sets her mind on something, it's almost impossible to stop her. Remember that she chased me all the way from China."
"But that was because she wanted to kill you for beating her in a fighting match."
"Yeah, but I'm talking about when she came back the second time. All because I knocked her out when she came after me while I was a guy. She's one stubborn Amazon."
Shampoo started to move. Then stopped.
"What is all the commotion down there?!?" Soun came out of hiding and surveyed the damage to his home. Kasumi said, "Oh good, I'll get my bulk discount this month from the carpenter."
Nabiki looked down at the damage from her perch at the top of the staircase. "Well, well, well, it was so peaceful until you came back Saotome."
"Thanks, Nabiki." Ranma looked down at the Shampoo. Shampoo slowly got on her knees. She looked straight at Ramna.
"Why you no want Shampoo?" Shampoo pleaded.
"Because I love Akane."
"Shampoo kill Akane. You love Shampoo?" Shampoo pleaded with a look of hope.
"You kill Akane and you kill any hope that I could ever love you!" Ranma was angry now. "You want to murder my wife! Is that what you're asking?!"
Shampoo bent her head down. "Shampoo want strong son. Marry Shampoo." She slowly got up. Akane went back into a fighting stance. Shampoo with a defeated look went towards the hole in the wall that she entered from. As she was about to go outside she turned to Ranma and begged, "Please marry Shampoo. Shampoo accept Akane." She then got on her bike and quickly rode off.
"Now what does that supposed to mean Ranma?" Akane was a little worried. Shampoo never said anything like that before.
"How would I know? Do you think I know those crazy Amazon laws?"
Nabiki interjected, "It's pretty obvious Ranma. She wants to be your second wife."
"Second wife? Great, that's all I need. Akane, when's the next bus to Juuban?"
"In about an hour."
"Not soon enough! We're so out of here!"
Taking the hint, Akane rushed to the laundry and grabbed the bag of clothes. Ranma grabbed his birthday presents and they both rushed out the door.
Soun laughed the laugh of a madman. "Oh, Saotome, you have brought such excitement into a poor old man's life! I thank you!" He dropped to his knees and wept.
Nodoka sadly said as she climbed down the stairs. "And he didn't even say goodbye to me."
In an upstairs bedroom, a panda snored.
Ranma and Akane traveled only a single block. Akane knew what Ranma had planned. They ducked into an alley out of sight of anyone. They produced their transformation pens. Ranma cried out, "Sun Star Power, Make Up!" The stick produced a mist of water that changed Ranma to Ranko. And then her clothes faded away and she did a spin as her sailor scout uniform formed on her. Sailor Sun's pigtail disappeared into a full head of radiant red hair. Her red miniskirt, tall red boots and yellow bows formed the proper attire for a Senshi of the Sun.
Akane cried, "Io Lumina Power, Make Up!" and she spun around and her clothes fell away replacing them with her yellow miniskirt and white leotard. Sailor Io's uniform was very similar to the Senshi of Jupiter except for the trim being yellow instead of green. A pair of blue bows, one on the front and another on the back completed the outfit.
"Let's go home," Sailor Sun took her wife in her arms and beamed them out.
An instant later, Sailors Sun and Io appeared in their apartment. As usual, Sailor Sun plopped to the ground. Io however was woozy but not so tired that she wanted to lie down. "Sun, we should just practice your teleport until you don't get tired anymore. What if we appeared in a pit of youma?"
"Zzzz...."
"Nevermind." Sailor Io took the laundry bag and went to the bedroom. She had put most of the clothes away before she realized that she had forgotten to change back to Akane. She didn't care. She liked her uniform and how it really showed off her body. She looked at herself in the mirror. "I wonder if Ranma likes my hair this short? Or did he like it long when we first met?"
Sailor Sun finally got up. "Man, can the world stop spinning please?" Sailor Io came out of the bedroom.
"About time sleepy head. I think our next training session should concentrate on teleportation."
"I think I'm going to hurl."
"Are you making jokes?"
"No, I'm just dizzy. But it's going away." Sailor Sun stood up straight. "Ah, at least it goes away quickly."
"You're right. I guess you are getting used to it. Last time you were sleeping for fifteen minutes."
Sailor Sun yawned. "Still, this does take a lot of energy out of me. I wonder."
"Wonder what."
Sailor Sun sat on the couch. "Sailor Sun, that's who. Sailor Moon said that all the Sailor Scouts except for you were reborn from past lives. I remember fragments of mine, but they're so distant and murky. I remember my name was Angwyn. I was a commoner, unlike the other Senshi. I made something that linked my soul to the sun that gave me power far beyond what the other scouts have. In fact, it scares me a bit."
"Why is that?" Io asked, her curiosity piqued.
"I've got this attack called Solar Flare. I used it once in our training exercise when I was overzealous. It could have killed you. Thankfully I kept it controlled so it only blasted a rock. My normal attack is Searing Plasma Blast which is still more powerful than any of the other Senshi."
"But you kept it under control. That's why we practiced, so you can keep your powers under control."
"It's that I think I have even more powerful attacks. But if I use them, it could be fatal. You see, I think that's how I ended up dead."
"Oh." Sailor Io could only imagine what was going through Sun's mind right now. Remembering your own death was something Io never wanted to think about.
"I remember something about a battle with someone named Beryl. However, I think I died before the battle took place. Like I said, I'm not really sure. When I'm Sailor Sun," Sun stood up and curtsied pulling the edges of her skirt outward, "in my cute little dress, I can remember things a bit better. It's really weird."
Sailor Sun transformed back into Ranko. "Well, I guess we'd better think about how to rid ourselves of Shampoo."
Sailor Io transformed into Akane. "Shampoo is one determined girl. I beat her in a fair fight at the Cat Cafe. According to her laws, she should drop her claim."
"True. Unless there's another loophole in the book of Amazon law. When it deals with outsiders, Amazon law is open to interpretation. There's got to be a way to get her off my back for good. I'm not thrilled to the idea of her using some of her Amazon love potions on me."
"Now if only we could get her and Mousse together. That could solve the problem."
Ranko smiled an evil smile. Pure evil. "That's what we need to do."
"Shampoo isn't interested in Mousse. What can we do? "
"I have no clue."
In Juuban, on the other side of town, four Senshi lived in a small house. The Senshi of Pluto was reading her morning paper and saw a news article about the terrorist attack in Nerima. It read that the three victims of the terrorist were Chinese tourists who for some reason were targeted by the madman. The Chinese government had issued a formal protest to the Japanese government about the incident. The police were convinced that the man acted alone and will be issuing a final report in a few days. Setsuna thought about it and wondered if there was more to this than what met the eye. It was a strange coincidence that this occurred the day after she felt something in the timeline.
Setsuna spoke to Haruka, "I'll be back in a minute. I'm going to check something out."
"Minute? To whom?" Haruka knew that Setsuna could spend a year at the gates of time and be back in a minute to her.
"Never mind." Setsuna then produced her time key and gave it a wave.
"Well?" said Haruka as she grabbed the morning paper.
Setsuna gave a puzzled look. She waved her time key again. She looked at her time key. It looked fine. With a look of determination, she waved it again.
"Are you a cheerleader now?" Haruka was enjoying this show.
"Why yes I am!" Setsuna replied, dripping with sarcasm. "Give me an H! Give me an O! Yay Hotaru!" and Setsuna made a small leap in the air.
"Thank you Setsuna-mama!" happily cried Hotaru who appeared behind Setsuna.
Haruka just stared at Setsuna, she thought, "Has the time Senshi business finally made her crack?"
"Well, I need to get to work, I'll see all of you tonight." The Senshi of time walked out the door towards her job. She didn't dare give any clue to the rest of them that she was freaking out inside. Something was wrong with the timeline. She couldn't get to the gates of time. Did this mean that somehow someone or something destroyed it? "I could be out of my night job," she thought.
Happosai slowly dragged his sorry carcass back to the Tendo household. That gang of women was far more violent than Akane on a bad day. He barely remembered them cornering him and somehow he felt fire and lighting blasts hitting him. Where did those attacks come from? Usually Happosai's beatings were in the form of broomsticks, shovels and mops. Happosai thought about this and then it clicked.
Happosai gathered his thoughts. "Those girls know ki attacks! Ranma must be training those girls to defend themselves against me. Why the nerve of him! Teaching a class of women without inviting me! I must go to Juuban and check out this class. Hmm, maybe I can get to touch one or two of the pretty ladies while I'm at it. Hee hee hee."
Happosai dragged himself to the bath. He would go to Juuban another day. Today, he had to heal.
The attack went as planned. At precisely 44 hours, 22 minutes, 17 seconds the target was hit. A 3 second difference was acceptable variance.
Daisuke Himeko was convinced that he had no friends. His psychological profile said that he could be manipulated into believing that he could strike a blow against his former employer. Sarin gas was delivered to his home. Email and AIM chats helped convince him that he should kill those who he thought had hurt him. As predicted, he fell for the messages and found the targets.
The Chinese tourists were selected only to anger the Chinese government. Daisuke was selected as a test since he was the most unpredictable of the candidates chosen. Software was installed on his computer that wiped out all trace of his communication. There was no evidence other than what was left behind to give the police the idea that he acted alone.
The police had taken the bait. All intercepted reports agree that the police have dropped the case.
Phase two will begin after the candidates are given assignments and simulations are complete.
Countdown to phase two will begin soon.
Survival will be assured.
Author's Notes: Please review my story. It makes me feel oh so happy and keeps me from making that bump in the night sound you hear at midnight.
Last edited on October 5, 2002