Previous chapter | Home | Next chapter
Sailor Ranko: Tunnel Vision: Chapter 7, Konatsu's Report.
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.
"Corporal, come in here." Sergeant Paul Miller commanded. He was not amused. Corporal Gonzalez requisitioned some cameras and remote video surveillance equipment and he wanted to know why.
Corporal Jose Gonzalez was a Hispanic man in his early twenties. Tall, thin and ready to change the world. Miller saluted and asked him to sit down. "I've looked over your requisition and before I approve it, I need to know why you need this equipment. It's expensive and your report was a little vague."
Gonzalez's spirits were raised at the news that he would actually get what he asked for. "I've observed damage on the test range that could only have come from the use of heavy ordinance. Probably C4, dynamite or TNT, but I hadn't been able to locate the individuals responsible since they seem to disappear before I can make a direct observation. I have with me," he reached into his briefcase and produced a manila envelope and placed it on the Sergeant's desk, "photos of five locations that have had heavy damage."
The Sergeant lit up his eyes and opened the envelope. It was filled with black and white eight by ten glossy photos of shattered rocks, open craters and burnt wreckage. "Any idea on who's doing this?"
"So far, the only conclusions I can come up with are domestic terrorists practicing with black market ordinance. Or worse, they are using homemade weapons. The damage is definitely not from small or large arms fire. I think they may have grenades or even RPGs. My main concern is the amount of ordinance used in these little jaunts."
"Where are you going to place the cameras? There isn't enough equipment available for five locations."
"I've found one location that was hit five times in the last two weeks. Check the map I gave you, it's marked location number two. If they continue their pattern, I should hit pay dirt in a few days."
"Are you sure this was not caused by previous practice runs? It could also be some of the Marines from Yuma Arizona. They tend to get bored."
"That's one of my first conclusions. However, last Thursday, the Yuma boys were on inspection and no one had left the base. The fourth set of pictures was damage caused on Thursday. Unless someone went AWOL, it wasn't the Marines."
"Damn, I was hoping to make them look bad." Miller stamped the forms, signed them and handed them to Gonzalez. "Here you go, now don't you dare lose or break any of that. Or it's coming out of your measly pay."
Gonzalez held in his glee. "Thank you sir." He stood up, saluted and left to get his equipment. He thought, "Whoever you pathetic rednecks are, you're mine."
Ryoga awoke in a small bed. He didn't remember how he got there. He realized he was naked under the covers and bolted upright. He looked around and found he was in a bedroom. The decorations were very feminine with pictures of flowers, stuffed pigs and awards dotting the walls. He examined the pink and white furniture and saw his clothes sitting in a chair.
The clothes were neatly washed and folded. He got out of bed and got dressed. On the desk next to the chair, he saw a framed photo of himself. Little x's were marked in pen on his cheek in the photo. Little hearts were drawn around the outline of his face. He turned the frame around and saw the words 'Ryoga Hibiki', with little hearts, happy faces and a little outline of a pig drawn around the name.
He put the picture down. He saw a stuffed toy pig. It was black and had a solid yellow bandanna tied to it. It was sitting next to the photo of Ryoga.
Ryoga felt good. This was not normal. He was not supposed to feel good. It made him uncomfortable. "This must be dream," he thought. "No one could possibly care about me like that. Could they?"
He crept up to the door and slowly opened it. He went into the hallway when a familiar voice called out, "AKARI! Someone's here to see you!" It was the old man that greeted him at the door. "I think he survived the night!"
Ryoga went to the railing that separated the hallway from the first floor. Ryoga was on the second floor with a great view of the living room below. Akari's grandfather was sitting in a simple chair smoking a pipe and told Ryoga, "She's outside doing her chores, slopping the pigs, you know, fun stuff, should be back in a moment. C'mon down son."
Ryoga went down and sat in a chair near grandfather. "You say you're her grandfather?"
"Yep, on her mother's side." He recalled Akari telling him that Ryoga was there when her other grandfather passed away.
"Oh, sorry about last night. I didn't expect Akari to hit me with warm water like that."
"Oh, nothing to be embarrassed about my son! I think she did that for my sake. She was carrying on for the longest time about you changing into a pig. I thought she simply lost her marbles. Hanging around pigs all day could do that you know. Now you show up and proved me wrong."
Ryoga looked away from grandfather. He didn't like anyone reminding him of his curse. "DAMN YOU RANMA!" Ryoga screamed in his head like so many times before.
"What's the matter son?" Grandfather was quick to pick up on emotions. He was not a man that could be fooled easily.
Ryoga looked back at grandfather. "Nothing."
"Nothing eh? P-Chan?"
Ryoga turned white. "P-P-P-Chan? Where did you hear that name?"
"From Akari of course. She said that some girl named Ranma told her. Sometimes I couldn't get my granddaughter to stop talking about you. She just kept going on and on about how you defeated Katsunishiki, her prize pig."
Ryoga stopped listening, just the mention of the name Ranma was enough to have him phase out of reality. He phased back in when Akari entered the room.
"Ryoga!" Akari ran toward him and grabbed him. "I've missed you so! Why haven't you come by sooner?"
"Uh... I... I..." Ryoga stammered.
"Got lost again?" Akari answered for him.
Ryoga looked down, depression set in, "Yeah."
Akari's contagious smile could cheer up almost anything. "C'mon, let me show you around." She took him by the hand and gave him a tour of the Unryuu sumo pig farm. Pigs? Why did it have to be pigs?
Grandfather kept a watchful eye on Ryoga. He wanted to make sure that this man was truly the right man for the job. Akari's other grandfather before he died swore up and down that the right man for her would be someone who could beat the family's prize pig. According to Akari, this was the man.
Hours passed by, Ryoga was actually laughing and smiling with Akari. Talking about his travels, his self-taught education, and his knowledge of science, language and martial arts. Grandfather picked up on everything. There was still a test he had to perform.
"Ryoga, I need you to go to the store for me son." He handed Ryoga a one thousand yen note and asked, "go down the street to the store and get me a dozen eggs. Bring back the change, got it?"
"Uh... Ok. I'll be back." Ryoga gulped. He was not sure he'll be back before the eggs expired. He went to the front door feeling depressed since he thought he was not going to see Akari for a while. As he left grandfather called out, "Akari needs those eggs."
Ryoga went to the front gate, and turned to the market. In a few minutes he entered the store, found the eggs, bought them and returned to the house.
Ryoga entered and announced, "I'm back." Grandfather was sitting in his chair facing the door with an evil grin on his face. He got up, thanked Ryoga, got his change and took the eggs to the kitchen. The refrigerator had plenty of eggs already so he had to make room to fit them in.
"He feels the same way about her," grandfather quietly said. Time to get to know my future grandson-in-law in detail.
Konatsu was waiting patiently for his mistress to awaken. The alarm clock went off and Ukyou hit the snooze again. This was not like her. She usually awoke with the sun and practiced martial arts cooking for an hour before breakfast. He was a little concerned that his mistress was slipping in her devotion to martial arts.
He practiced with his takemitsu in the main dining area until he heard his mistress get up. In a flash, he changed from his stealth ninja outfit into a pink and white flowered kimono with full makeup. He then knelt by Ukyou's bedroom door awaiting her instructions.
"Good morning Konatsu," Ukyou greeted her servant this way every morning. Konatsu was ever so grateful for the kind words he received from his mistress. It was infinitely better than the life he led with his stepmother. He had a stepmother who raised him in a world without kindness. A stepmother, who had a stepson, but raised him as a daughter and taught him the female ninja arts.
"I have news for you about Ranma and Akane." Konatsu proudly announced.
"You do? That was quick. What news?" Ukyou was curious, she barely remembered sending him out to Juuban to spy on Ranma.
"You were right. Akane is a Senshi." Konatsu looked at his mistress expecting her to be pleased with this information.
"You're kidding right?" Ukyou giggled.
"No. I saw her transform. Ranma too." He said with a straight face.
"Ranma?! You said Ranma? Please tell me you didn't say Ranma." Ukyou was shocked at this, this must be some sort of joke.
"Yes, he first splashed himself with a faucet, became a girl and then transformed into a Sailor Senshi. She then pummeled Happosai."
Ukyou was rather taken aback at this. "Ok, Konatsu, seriously, Ranma cannot be a Senshi."
"Yes he is."
"No way."
"I saw it with my own eyes."
"You must have been mistaken."
"No." Konatsu was frustrated. He was giving a truthful accurate report to his beloved mistress and she won't believe him.
"It's impossible, from what I heard, the Senshi are royalty of some kind. Ranma is definitely not royalty material. That jerk wouldn't last five minutes in the emperor's presence before he would insult him and get deported to Brazil." She burst out laughing, images of Ranma being booted from the emperor's palace flashed in her head.
"Mistress, with all my deepest respect. Ranma and Akane are both Sailor Senshi." Konatsu was saddened that he wasn't being taken seriously.
"Ok, so I take it that Akane is Sailor Mercury." Ukyou said between giggles.
"Actually no. She is Sailor Io. She made a speech announcing her name for Happosai."
"HAPPOSAI! She wouldn't give that lech the time of day! Sailor Io? That's a new one! HA HA HA!" Ukyou had never heard of Sailor Io. There were only ten as far as she heard.
Konatsu saw that this was going nowhere fast. "Ranma is called Sailor Sun. She made a speech to Happosai as well."
Ukyou fell to the floor laughing, she had seen pictures of Sailor Sun. She looked nothing like Ranma, girl or guy. Well she did have red hair, but she was not Ranma. "Now I know you are making this up! Ranma making a speech to Happosai! Ranma in a Sailor mini-skirt! Oh, Nabiki would kill for photos!" Ukyou was holding her stomach since it was starting to hurt.
Konatsu put the photos he was about to give Ukyou back into his pocket. The very thought that these photos getting into Nabiki's hands would dishonor his friendship he felt for the Saotomes. They helped him get away from his stepmother. "I'm sorry mistress. It was all a joke. I thought that this news would cheer you up." Konatsu lied. He felt really bad but he couldn't give the proof to the Saotome's secret unless he was sure that his mistress would not dishonor them by telling others.
Ukyou kept laughing for a minute until the joke wore off. "Thank you Konatsu, I really needed a good laugh. I must have been insane to even think that Akane could be a Senshi. Ranma... He he he..." She started giggling again.
Konatsu was disappointed. He had hoped that Ukyou trusted him that he would give totally accurate reports. He whispered, "Why disrespect me? I thought you were better than that."
Ukyou stopped giggling. She watched Konatsu sadly bow his head and sulk. "I didn't mean to disrespect you. I'm sorry I sent you to Juuban. I didn't know what I was thinking."
Konatsu barely spoke, "I love you Ukyou. Please don't laugh."
Ukyou knew that Konatsu loved her. She however didn't return that love since she was so focused on catching Ranma. All this time Konatsu was nothing more than a fixture at the restaurant. At this moment, she felt a tiny tinge of guilt and even started to see the form in front of her as a person. Ukyou took a deep breath. "I'll stop laughing my friend."
Konatsu felt a bit of pain with the word 'friend'. But then lit up and smiled at Ukyou. She said 'friend'! Now, will she ask me to go out with her on a date?
"Well, I've got to get ready for school." Ukyou smiled at Konatsu and closed her bedroom door. Ukyou thought about Konatsu. He was always there for her. She was just too blind to see it. It was good to have a friend who she could count on. She felt a bit happier than she felt in a long time. She dressed and left for school.
Later, after Ukyou had been gone for a while, Konatsu studied the photos of Sailor Io and Sun. The set of pictures that showed Ranko's transformation into Sailor Sun was absolute proof the she was a Senshi. He slid the photos in an envelope and put them away for now. Konatsu's eyes turned to hearts, "Oh to be a magical girl! Tee hee! I must ask Ranma about what it's like!"
Far away deep underground, messages, phone calls and emails were being sent worldwide to selected people, asking questions and getting answers. The list of candidates was narrowed. Missions have been selected and for some, already assigned. The seeds of discord have been sown.
Survival was assured.
Haruka sent Michiru and Hotaru to the park. Hotaru was happy to be spending time with Michiru-mama. It usually meant lots of ice cream and playtime. Haruka wanted to be alone so she can have a talk with Setsuna. Setsuna was holding back information. There was no doubt about that. Haruka pulled up the evening paper. There were riots in Bangladesh. Pakistan and India were positioning troops near Kashmir. Iraq was defiant again. North and South Korea were exchanging insults. China once again was demanding Taiwan to rejoin the mainland. Food riots were occurring in Russia.
Haruka didn't like to read headline news; she tossed that part of the newspaper onto the table and kept the sports section. She read about the current race results and hoped that one day soon she could go into professional driving. Nice dream, but being a Senshi was a bigger responsibility.
Earlier in the day, Haruka and Michiru looked into Michiru's Deep Aqua Mirror to see anything about the future. All it showed were people shouting and being paranoid. There was nothing but unrest. This only made Haruka more resolved to beat the secrets out of Setsuna.
Setsuna came home. She was quick to notice the lack of people in the house and tried to get out the door unnoticed. Haruka called out, "We need to talk, please sit down."
Setsuna knew she was busted. She reluctantly came to the dining room table and sat down. "Ok, what shall we talk about?"
"Don't give me that innocent routine! You know something and I want to know what it is!" Haruka was angry. She knew that Setsuna knows what the future holds, and if what they saw at Rei's temple last night was any indication; she needed to know how to protect her family.
"I already told you what I know." Setsuna answered.
"That's not good enough!" Haruka shouted. "Hotaru dreamed that Michiru and I died! Is my daughter going to be an orphan?!"
"I don't know."
"You don't know? The great Setsuna doesn't know? You expect me to believe that?" She slammed her fist on the table. Haruka was trying desperately not to reach across the table and throttle the information out of her.
"Fine, I'll explain, but the answer is as I said. I don't know." Setsuna reclined a bit in her chair to keep out of strangling distance. "I am not omnipotent, contrary to popular belief."
"Ok, explain." Now we are getting somewhere Haruka thought.
"We are dealing with a time fork. A splinter in time that should not exist."
Haruka relaxed a tiny bit. She gestured for her to keep talking.
Setsuna continued, "It's like this, it's possible for a future event to affect the past that causes the future event to happen. It's like a circle. Since the future event needs the past event to cause the future, this is a classic example of a time paradox."
Haruka started to feel a headache coming on.
"Now, this time loop occurred by an event about twenty years in a possible future. That event caused an event twenty years in the past. However, the event was undone years ago so the original event became a moot point. The time loop disappeared and all is right in the world. The entire timeline ceased to exist. It never happened."
Haruka was massaging her temples, "So, what is affecting the present?"
"I don't know." Setsuna answered matter of factly.
"And why not?"
"Because I don't know everything. The only clue I had was that a few weeks ago, I felt a time ripple. It was very faint, but it felt just like the one I felt twenty years ago. But it could not be the same event causing it."
"Are you sure about that?" Haruka was getting suspicious.
"I'm positive. The old event was cancelled out. It never happened." Setsuna spoke with an air of confidence.
"And how to you know this?
"Because doomsday had already past."
"Say again?"
"If the time loop was in place, we, all the Senshi, would already be dead years ago." Setsuna took a view out of the dining room window. "Since I can see Juuban in all its splendor right now. It means the time loop never happened and we have nothing to worry about." She bit her lip.
"What was the event?"
Setsuna paused. She closed her eyes, "The stuff of nightmares."
"End of the world?"
"Far worse. It was the end of everything. World War III." She opened her eyes and made a hint of a smile, "But it was stopped."
"How?"
Setsuna started staring into space. "We are not the only heroes on this planet. We must not blind ourselves into thinking that the Senshi are the only people in the world that can make a difference. We have to take our blinders off and stop looking at the world in tunnel vision. There are others everywhere who give their lives and sacrifice everything to protect our world. It was stopped by such a hero."
"Who was this hero?"
"It doesn't matter. He already saved the world. Because you and I are sitting here right now, he already succeeded. Everything he had done was wiped away by the ravages of time."
"So why the omens?"
"That's what I don't know." Setsuna got comfortable in her chair looking out the window admiring the view.
"What happened? Was it World War III?"
"Imagine your worst nightmare and multiply it one thousand fold. You might then get close to what that future was. I pray that that nightmare never comes to pass. Only the fact that doomsday should have already happened gives me comfort."
"Do you have any idea what the fire reading meant?"
"No. Please stop asking me. I really don't know." Setsuna gave a look that she was about to cry.
Setsuna was honestly telling the truth, for once, Haruka thought. She got up and went out the front door. She went to the park. She wanted to spend time with her family.
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