~ New Moon ~
Chapter Ten

Hi minna! I finally got chapter ten done! Aren’t you all proud of me? *sweat drop* I know,
 I know. ‘You could’ve gotten it out sooner!’ and maybe I could’ve. Just had too much
 school and than that OTHER story of mine. *shakes head* Oh well. Remember, I want
 to know if it sucks! Nit picking is good as long as you give me suggestions at the same
 time. Remember, ((and don’t forget!)) I don’t own Sailor Moon or Ranma 1/2 so forget
 about trying to sue me. :P Ja ne! =^-^=

Notes: * * - Thoughts
-------- - Short passage of time

~Juban~

As Usagi and Ryoga were having their little encounters with the visiting aliens , Ann and
 Allen, Setsuna and Akane had almost reached the Cherry Hill temple. About to ascend 
the stairs in fact. They had both been mostly silent on the trip over. Akane because she
 was nervous to see Dr. Tofu and Setsuna because she was trying to figure out why 
everything was happening the way it was. 

*How is it that both of the prince’s found Princess Serenity before I was able to? Even 
with his curse my little brother was able to locate his fiance before me! I wouldn’t have 
minded so much if it weren’t for the fact that the Martian prince found her first. What
 was the Queen thinking when she promised her daughter to both of them anyways?*

Setsuna sighed in sudden frustration. Even after all these years she hadn’t been able to
 wriggle that answer out of the long dead monarch. At first Pluto had thought it was a 
political decision. After all, both Pluto and Mars were attractive goals for the ever growing 
nega-empire. Their planetary armies were numerous, as were there magical and
 technological skills. Mars was a target because of its close proximity to the moon and 
Pluto because of the fact that it was considered the doors from the outer solar systems
 to their own galaxy. 

*If only the princess had actually chosen between the two before her death. They were
 both so in love with her. Always fighting for her attention and trying to win her with gifts.
 Sometimes I wonder if my brother tried too hard.* She closed her eyes and tried to 
recall a memory of her and her brother. The royal families of all the planetary alliance 
had been invited to a ‘small’ ball in the princess’s honor. Princess Serenity had just
 finished her primary training with the silver crystal and her friends and distant relatives
 were coming to congratulate her. ((AN: Now, cue the tinkly music and misty fade out. . . *grin*))

~Flashback~

The royal princess and guardian of Pluto, Setsuna, was waiting patiently outside of her
 brothers chamber doors. He had insisted on ‘primping’ himself yet again and Setsuna 
couldn't deny it of him. *After all, If I do leave he may never make it to the ball thanks to
 that asteroid witch’s curse.* Even though she had already been at the post of Senshi 
of Time for quite awhile now she still couldn’t help getting a little impatient. *Waiting for
 the next possible paradox is better than waiting for a directionally challenged younger
 sibling.*

She sighed and leaned against the door slightly, making sure not to wrinkle the deep
 green dress she was wearing. She fidgeted with one of her elbow length gloves and
 then closed her eyes in thought. *I never thought he’s get this star struck over the 
princess. After all, he hasn’t proclaimed his love and neither has the Martian. I bet 
Bunny would pick the first to actually reveal what they felt. She’s a romantic after all.* 
Her thoughts drifted to the Martian royal and her mouth turned down in a slight frown.
 *Just like all Martians. Always blowing up at my brother for nothing and then turning
 around and insulting the princess. Meatball head of all things. Rei and him both! I 
guess that’s just the way that family shows how they feel.*

Since she was so engrossed in her own thoughts, she didn’t even notice when her 
brothers door opened. There stood a handsome, but nervous, young man in the full 
Plutarian royal colors and princely armor. The ensemble made the youth even more 
nervous however and as Setsuna didn’t seem to notice him he worked to distribute the 
weight of the metal more evenly upon himself. His sword end clanged against the dark 
marble walls however and Setsuna’s eyes flew open at the sound.

He stopped fidgeting and blushed slightly at the amused look he was receiving. “I think 
I’m all ready. Unless you see something I forgot to attach or something.” Setsuna grinned 
at the disgusted look on her brother’s face. *He looks quite handsome in the green. And
 that cape sets it all off even better. Now if only he’d stop fidgeting.*

As she continued her survey of the younger Plutarian something strange caught her 
eye. His black hair was hanging right in his eyes, masking them completely. “ Little
 brother! How do you expect to have the moon princess gaze into your eyes if she isn’t
 even able to locate them?!” She laughed and the young man in front of her blushed
 brightly. “I thought it would be best if I did it in a different way. I thought wrong. Now, I 
can’t get it to go back to the way it was!” He lowered his eyes and Setsuna giggled. 

“Here little brother, let me help.” She turned her head and surveyed the empty hallway. 
The only thing that caught her eye as being useful was the yellow and black 
cummerbund her brother was wearing. She grinned. *Why do mother and father have 
such strange colors for our royal family?* She pointed at said cummerbund and when 
the prince saw what she meant he shrugged and quickly removed it. 

Setsuna pulled a small pair of scissors out of her sub space pocket and quickly cut a 
strip of the spotted cloth and folded it and placed it on his head, effectively holding back
 the unruly hair. “There! Now you can see and Mother and Father won’t be able to say
 your out of costume!” The prince tried to survey her handy work but only managed to
 appear empty headed as he kept tilting his head back further and further to try and 
expose his forehead to view. Setsuna giggled again and quickly grabbed his hand.

“Come on. We have to teleport in at a certain time and we don’t want to be left out do 
we?” The prince shook his head and followed her in silence. Right as they were about 
to teleport away from the courtyard area of the palace the prince of Pluto turned to his
 sister with a grin. 

“Setty, I have a feeling something’s going to happen tonight. Something to do with 
Sere. Maybe. . . maybe I’ll finally defeat that Martian in battle and win her love!” Setsuna
 smiled reassuringly at her brother but inside she grimaced. She knew what was really 
going to happen that night. *Beryl*

~End Flashback~

Setsuna came back to the present, so to speak, and realized they were almost up the 
stairs. *Should I ever tell him?* At that thought they crested the top of the stairway
 mountain. There, in the courtyard, were four girls talking with a guy wearing glasses.
 Dr. tofu and the inner senshi. Everyone stopped what they were doing as the two drew
 nearer. When Dr. Tofu realized who it was he smiled.

“Akane! Glad you made it! Kasumi called not too long ago and said you were coming.
 Where’s your sister and her fiance?” Akane grinned and the other four girls got to their 
feet and walked slowly towards Setsuna, questions evident in their faces. 

“Well, another guy joined our little party and all three of them went to the mall together. 
They said they’d meet us over at Setsuna’s house. Or here if they get done early.” 
Setsuna gave them a look as if to say ‘I’ll tell you later’ and turned back to the two 
Nermian’s. 

Tofu’s brow wrinkled. “Setsuna? Who's that?” Setsuna bowed before Akane could 
answer for her. “Greetings Dr. Tofu, I’ve heard a lot about you from Rei. My name is
 Setsuna Meiou. I’m actually here to see these four.” She gestured to the four startled girls. 
Since when did Setsuna know about Rei’s uncle? And where is her old friend she said
 she was tracking down?

Rei decided to take charge in the silence that followed. “Um, yeah! This is that person I
 told you was coming Uncle! We’re going to have a study session and since Setsuna is 
so smart she said she would come and . . . tutor us.” The other three girls nodded their
 heads and Akane just watched them with a grin. 

“Really? Setsuna, is that how you met Usagi? She has had quite a few tutors and study
 buddies over the years.” She giggled slightly. “She’s always late and hardly ever pays 
attention so always gets behind. If Kasumi and I didn’t help her with her homework then
 I bet she’d be flunking by now!” She laughed again an this time Dr. tofu joined in. The
 others present were quite silent however. Did she just say Usagi?

“Actually, I only know Usagi through her birth parents. I used to work for them.” Akane’s
 mouth fell open in shock as Setsuna continued talking. “The really strange thing is that 
I went to your house to try and find Ryoga. You see, he’s an old friend of mine as well 
and I thought he might be able to help me with these four.” She gestured to the inner 
senshi as they all stared in silence. 

Akane came out of her shock and blinked a few times in thought. *So. Setsuna here
 used to work for Usagi’s birth parents? Hmmmm. But what did she mean when she said
 she came to our house to find Ryoga? Why would she think he was there?* “Why did 
you come to our house to find Ryoga?”

Setsuna smiled slightly. “You know about his sense of direction right? He could get lost 
in a room with only one door.” Everyone laughed a little at this and she smiled and
 continued. “I have actually placed a tracking system of sorts in his bandanas so that I 
am able to find him when I need to. Otherwise, I don’t think I’d ever see him.” 

Akane smiled and nodded her understanding. She then realized that she still didn’t 
know these girls. “I’m very sorry but I still don’t know your names. You are the ones that 
are going to be taking lessons from me and my sister correct?” The four girls nodded 
and Rei stepped towards Akane and bowed.

“My name is Rei Hino. I stay here at this shrine with my grandfather. That is Minako, 
Ami, and Makoto.” As she said their names each girl stood and bowed slightly. “We 
thank you for agreeing to give us lessons Akane san.” She bowed again and Akane 
grinned. 

“You don’t need to be so formal with me. Just call me Akane and it is actually a privilege
 to teach you.” Akane bowed with a slightly mocking grin and then straightened with a
 laugh. “Your other teachers will be Ranma Saotome and my sister Usagi.” Rei shot a 
quick look at Setsuna and received a small nod. She nodded back, a large grin now 
on her face.

“I think I may know who your sister is Akane. We have a whole pen pal tutor group
 thing. Does she have blond hair and blue eyes? Sort of lazy and a crybaby.” She 
giggled slightly at the amused yet confused look on Akane’s face. “Not to mention being 
a Meatball head.” Akane blinked a few times in recognition of the name.

“Hey! That’s what Ranma calls Usagi!” Rei blinked and the other four girls all looked at
 each other. Akane smiled. “In case you don’t know, Ranma is Usagi’’s fiance.” Rei and
 the girls gaped in surprise but Minako jumped forward with a grin. 

“Really? You mean Bunny really is engaged?! Wow! Is he kawaii?” Her eyes were all 
starry as she waited for a response and Makoto, Ami, Rei, and Setsuna all sweat 
dropped. Akane was blushing at her comment and tried to think of a good way to 
answer. *I can’t say he’s cute! He’s Usagi’s fiance and they might get the wrong idea, 
like I like him or something.* She shuddered at the thought although her blush deepened. 
*Who would like someone who changes into a girl? I don’t know why Usagi would even
 consider him for a husband!* “Well, I guess you could call him cute.” She blushed a 
darker shade of red and Minako let out a squeal. 

“Ooooo! I bet he’s a hunk! Usagi is so lucky!” Akane shook her head. “I don’t think 
she’s all that lucky. He may be cute and a really good martial artist but so far he hasn’t
 said anything nice to her! All he ever does is call her a meatball head or play some trick
 on her.” She frowned crossed her arms over her chest.

Minako blinked a few times then turned to Rei with a grin. “Hey! He sound just like you! 
All you ever used to do was criticize her and call her a meatball head too!” Rei blushed angrily and balled her hands into fists.

“Well it’s not like I mean it! I just say those things but I really do care for her!” She 
lowered her eyes and the other three girls fell silent. After Usagi had disappeared Rei 
had been very hard on herself for the way she had always treated her. She actually had 
blamed herself for Usagi wanting to leave. Ami smiled warmly at the raven haired girl and
 tried to reassure her.

“We know Rei. Maybe Ranma treats her like that because he likes her.” Makoto nodded
 and held up a V sign. “Ami’s right! And I bet Usagi knew you were just teasing too Rei.” 
She patted her on the back and Rei smiled slightly before turning back to Akane.

“I’m sorry I’m acting like this in front of you. I was mean to Usagi not to long ago and I
 thought she may have been upset with me.” Akane smiled brightly. 

“Well, I bet you’ll get the chance to apologize to her today! If I know Usagi she’ll 
probably get here early or something. She always turns up just when you need her.” All 
the girls smiled at the true statement. After all, Usagi had never actually let them down
in the past and whenever they had needed her help, she was there for them.

~Juban Mall~

Ranma jogged towards the food court, expertly dodging the early morning shoppers. As 
he was rounding the next corner however he ran right into someone, causing both of
 them to fall to the ground. “Owww! Why were you running around anyways Ranma?”
 He lifted his head and stared in surprise at who he had run into. 

“Usagi?” The blond nodded with a frown and started standing up. Ranma quickly
 jumped up next to her. “Why’d ya run out on me and pig boy back there?” He helped 
her get to her feet and picked up the small bag she had dropped. 

Usagi smiled at him and straightened her hair slightly. “Well, I thought maybe you two 
would want some time alone, being old friends and all.” She giggled at the incredulous 
look on Ranma’s face and hooked her arm through his. “Come on. We’d better find him 
before he gets too lost and ends up in America or something.” 

Ranma grinned slightly. *I wouldn’t mind if her just stayed lost!* “Maybe we should just 
go to Setsuna’s house or that shrine you were all talking about. I want to meet this Tofu 
guy your sister’s all ga ga for.” 

Usagi giggled slightly and glanced up at Ranma.“You know that she likes him?” Ranma 
rolled his eyes. 

“It's pretty obvious. She’s got a big thing for him huh? It’s weird to see her so excited
 just to see one guy. I thought she hated men.” Usagi smiled and didn’t answer. Instead,
 she reached for the small bag Ranma was holding. As he saw where her hand was 
headed his curiosity got the better of him and he reached into the bag himself and
 pulled out it’s contents.

“Perfume?” He wrinkled his nose and turned the bottle around in his hands. “Why’d you 
buy perfume Meatball head? Your feet smell or something?” Usagi’s face grew red and 
she made a grab for the bottle.

“Ranma! of course my feet don’t smell! I just thought that it smelled good so I bought it! 
Give it back before you drop it or something!” She made a grab for it again and with a 
small laugh Ranma held it over his head. They were on the second floor and as he
 moved farther away from her, and closer to the railing, he noticed the fountain down 
below. 

“Hey! Usagi! That statue looks sort of like you!” Usagi blinked and grabbed the bottle 
back from the distracted Ranma. With a grin she pocketed the small glass bottle and 
moved up beside Ranma. 

“Your right Ranma. Do you want to know why it looks so much like me?” Ranma
 continued studying it in silence and only nodded. “It’s my mother. She modeled for it
 before she died.” Ranma turned to Usagi slowly. Usagi’s smile stayed on her face but 
now her eyes were sad. He swallowed and leaned a little closer to her. 

“You miss her don’t you?” Usagi let out a choked laugh as she tried not to cry at the
 memories flooding her brain. “Is it that obvious?” She laughed again and suddenly 
Ranma found himself being hugged tightly by the crying blond. 

At first he was to shocked to respond than slowly he relaxed and rested his chin on the
 top of her head. *I hope she’ll be okay.* With a sigh he started rubbing her back and 
whispered softly that it would be alright.

~Right Behind Them~

Ryoga rounded the corner just as Usagi hugged Ranma. The very worst time for him to
 come upon the two. He watched in shock as Ranma hugged the girl he loved and she
 hugged him back. He felt something wet hit the back of his hand and glanced in 
surprise at the droplet of water. It was a tear. His own. He glanced back at the two by 
the railing and stared as Ranma lifted his head and their eyes met. 

~At the Railing~

Ranma couldn’t believe the feelings of protectiveness that he had for this short blond.
 He just wanted to hold onto her forever and make sure that she was always safe. 
That’s when he lifted his head and saw Ryoga. His body tensed and Usagi lifted her 
head and wiped the tears from her face. Then she spotted Ryoga.

“Ryoga! I thought you’d be lost for sure! I’m so glad that-” She was cut off by Ranma.
 “What are you doing here pig boy?” Usagi glared up at Ranma. “Ranma! Don’t be rude
 to Ryoga!” She walked towards Ryoga with a soft smile and as much as he wanted to
 run he just couldn’t tear his eyes from hers.

“Come on Ryoga. You too Ranma. I think I’m done shopping for the day. Lets see if we
 can catch those two at the shrine.” Ryoga was about to stutter and excuse not to go 
when he suddenly felt her hugging his arm fiercely. “I’m sorry I pulled that trick on you. 
Do you forgive me?” She turned her large blue puppy dog eyes up at him and he was 
barely able to stammer out a response.

“I- I forgi- forgive you.” Ranma watched with a scowl and then Usagi turned to him and
 grabbed his hand tightly. “You forgive me too don’t you Ranma?” He smirked at Ryoga 
and then smiled down at Usagi. 

“Yeah. Just don’t do it again meatball head.” Ryouga glared at Ranma and hissed over 
Usagi’s head, “I thought I told you not to call her that!” Ranma’s response was to stick 
out his tongue and then the three made their way to the exit, the blond oblivious to the 
small raspberry war going on over her head.

+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+

Okay! Here it is! The VERY long awaited chapter ten! Finished at last! Review! Ja ne!
stonekid@etv.net
Tsukino Neko
=^-^=

=^-^=