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"Oooh, don't BURN!! Don't burn!!" Akane Tendo commanded the charred piece of 'food' that she was cooking.

"Akane, take it easy..." Kasumi glanced over at her little sister and tried to calm her down.

"How could I take it easy when I've been trying so hard to cook this in time for dinner."

"I think you've been taking this a little too seriously, Akane. Why don't you take a break for a few hours? Why don't you ask Ranma to practice with you I the dojo or something, it'll help you relax."

Akane sighed and untied her apron. "All right, I guess I've just been trying too hard."

"Oh, Akane, don't worry, someday you'll realize that this is all just a step in the right direction."

Akane didn't answer. She headed to the dojo at the back of the house where she knew that Ranma was practicing with his father. She sometimes still wondered how the two martial artists could be so fast and skillful.

When the two paused for a break, Akane said, "Ranma, do you think I could practice with you for awhile?"

Genma cut in before Ranma could even open his mouth. "Of course, Akane dear. Ranma would be happy to practice with you. Ain't that right boy?!"

"Hey, nobody said nothun' about me practicing with a girl!"

"Fine, if that's how you feel, Ranma..!" Akane started to stalk off, angry and hurt. I just can't do anything right.

"Hey, Akane, I didn't mean it that way... All I'm saying is that I need to practice real hard cause pops signed me up for this National Martial Arts Tournament which he just told me about today." He glared at Genma.

"And when is this tournament going to be?" Akane paused at the dojo entrance to ruen around and cross her arms across her chest.

"Tomorrow morning." Ranma turned to glare at his father, who was sneaking off.

Akane suddenly lose her angry expression and smiled. "Well then, that means that we still have time to practice right? I can help you."

"H-hey! I didn't--!" Ranma waved her off frantically.

"Oh, come on, Ranma, don't be such a scaredy cat."

"Am not a scaredy cat! You want to fight, let's go!" Ranma got into a battle stance.

"All right!" Akne cheered before getting into position. "Aiyaa!" She charged at him and he jumped over her head and turned to face her again. To his surprise she had already turned around and was already recharging him again, catching him off guard. He blocked her punches and immediately went into the defensive.

"Oh come on, Ranma! You can't always go on the defense with me. Why don't you try a real fight this time?!"

"I don't ever fight with girls, Akane," Ranma said, jumping away from her high round house kick and landing a few yards away from her. She kept charging at him and her kept blocking, hoping to wear her down and finish this useless fight.

It was when she unexpectantly did a high jump kick when he was expecting for a normal kick did the fight end. Ranma blocked lower than he thought and her legs got tangled in his arms, pushing him off balance and making them both fall down.

Ranma landed on his back, subconsciously shielding Akane from the worse of the fall. He looked up at her just when she opened her eyes and shook her head to clear it. Ranma let down his guard for a few moments, enough for her to see that he was concerned about her. Seeing that she saw what was in his eyes, he gently shoved her away from him.

Both of them heaved a breath into their lungs. Akane stared sadly into Ranma's face, whispering, "When are you going to start taking me seriously, Ranma? Can't you see that I could be strong, too? I don't want to be useless all the time."

Ranma shook his head, "You're not useless, I just don't want you hurt, is all."

Akane's eyes began to gather tears and she shook her head in frustration.

"Hey! What's happening over there?!" Genma yelled from the other side of the dojo. Ranma and Akane both sat up, automatically dispelling the emotional situation they were in.

"Geez, Akane, you could have told me that you were gonna do that!" Ranma yelled.

"Ha! You're just mad cause I beat you!" taking up his queue.

"Am not!"

"Oh, grow up, Ranma! At least take defeat more nicely."

"How am I suppose to win that tournament tomorrow with you all over me like that?!"

"Me all over you?! Get real, Ranma!"

And so they continued arguing all the way to dinner, pausing only when they had their mouths too full with food.

 ********

"And up next. Ranma Saotome, age 17, from Nerima District...!" the announcer at the tournament called out.

"Gee, look at that guy, he kinda looks like my old boyfriend."

"Everyone looks like your old boyfriend in some way, Makoto. But I guess this time I don't blame you," Minako said laughingly. She glanced over at the boy who had just been called up to the platform. "He really is a hunk. I wonder if he has a girlfriend already."

"Don't get all your hopes up, girls," Rei said, not taking her eyes at boy. "That girl over there looks like she came with him."

"Hmm? What girl?" Minako asked straining her neck to see over the crowd.

"That one over there, the one with the panda."

Ami raised her gaze to scan the crowd for a panda. In a moment, she spotted it and the girl that Rei was talking about. She gasped when she saw the pair.

"What's wrong, Ami, never seen a panda before?" Usagi asked Ami.

Ami shook her head. "No, it's not the panda, it's the girl."

"What do you mean?" Rei asked, instantly suspicious.

"I know that girl."

"Huh?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"She's my cousin, Akane Tendo. We're distantly related but still...."

"Your cousin?" Minako asked. "How come you never mentioned it before?"

"Well, the link goes a long way, Mina-chan. But I remember visiting them in Nerima once in a while. I haven't seen Akane for a long while, and she probably doesn't even remember me."

"Well, why don't we go over and ask?" Makoto asked the group.

"Aren't you up soon, Mako-chan?" Usagi asked.

Mako paused and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. But don't worry, Ami, we'll go and see them after the tournament. They're bound to hang around."

"Yeah, considering how that guy, Ranma, seems to be the likely winner today," Mamoru said, speaking for the first time. He had been engrossed in the ongoing fight between Ranma Saotome and a well-known martial artist with narrow eyes and extremely long hair. From the back, Ranma's enemy looked like a big boned young woman.

Mamoru stood transfixed as he watched Ranma fight a hand to hand combat. Even without his extra senses that he gains from being Tuxedo Kamen, he could tell that Ranma has tremendous power in him and that he was holding back the majority of it.

Ranma was toying with the other guy and wasn't even distracted when the girl rooting at the sidelines kept shouting insults and demanding that he quit wasting their time. Not to mention the panda that constantly tried to get Ranma's attention with various signs and continuous growling.

The other girls had soon followed Mamoru's lead and were watching the fight carefully. They saw Ranma go on the defensive and occasionally leap over his opponent, in the effort of avoiding any of his attacks. The other man was becoming desperate and everyone could tell that he was losing control.

"Ranma, hurry up and finish him, already! Can't you see that he's losing control?! He might hurt you!" Akane shouted at Ranma.

"No sweat, Akane! He won't even touch me!" Ranma replied. His opponent, having heard the exchange and the hidden insult to his ability to remain in control, became more aggressive. He came at Ranma with all his combos, not caring whether his punches hit the mark or not.

"Ranma, stop being an idiot and stop it already!"

"Yeah, like she says, stop this or I'll make you wish that you've never been born!" Ranma's opponent said angrily.

Ranma scoffed. "Look whose talking! I ain't the one who's losing!"

"Why you little--!!!" The other boy threw a fake punch, moving quickly to the side to deliver another one to Ranma's ribs, his long hair flicking sharply in Ranma's face. Ranma, having been distracted by the panda waving a sign in front of him, took on the full impact without a blink. The enemy struck again, falling to his knees and making a foot sweep with one leg while moving the other leg in position for a double kick to Ranma's gut.

"That's it!" Ranma said wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. "I thought about not hurting you, but I guess you've been asking for it for awhile now...!!!"

Ranma charged at his opponent with a series of kicks, one after another, punctuating each one with a punch. He jumped high in the air for the third kick when suddenly his opponent disappeared.

"What the--?" Ranma caught himself from falling and in a blink he leaped back to put distance between him and the space where the boy with the long hair had occupied. A few feet away, the other boy was crouched on the floor of the platform, clutching at something in his midriff.

"Get it off! Get it off of me!!" he yelled out frantically. The crowd was in an uproar, not knowing what was happening to the young man.

"C'mon, sweetums, even with your big built you look attractive!!"

Immediately, Ranma recognized the voice. Before anyone else could see what was going on, he leaped to the other man and quickly grabbed the little 'thing' and managed to jumped all the way to the ceiling and disappear.

"Wholly! How'd he do that?!" Makoto exclaimed looking up at the roof beams where Ranma had jumped to and ran. "It must be more than twenty feet up!"

"Something's not normal here," Rei said, looking at Ami who responded with a nod. Quickly they ran towards the area where Ranma had disappeared to, leaving the others behind to follow if they wished.

Akane and Genma-panda had instantly figured out what had happened and ran for the exit, hoping to catch Ranma before he disappeared.

The boy on the platform still crouched, half-paralyzed with shock at what had just happened to him. He shuddered and wiped the cold sweat from his brow, hoping that nobody saw what had just been the most humiliating thing in his whole entire life.

And the crowd still cheered on, despite all the happenings.

********

Ranma continued to run with the bundle held tightly under his arms. He glanced back to see a few people running after him: Akane, the panda, and two other girls he didn't recognize. He looked down at the bundle in his arms.

"So what's your excuse this time, old man?"

The little 'thing' squirmed in his arms and looked up at Ranma with wide eyes, with pupils shimmering in tears and wet dark lashes fluttering at him. "Oh, Ranma!" it sobbed, "How could I ever thank you enough? You saved me from a very embarrassing situation."

"Hey, I didn't do it for you!"

"Still, m'boy, if weren't for you I would have...!" Happosai shuddered.

"Just what did you think you were doing anyway?!"

"I thought it was--- Oh the cruelty of nature to do that to me!!!!"

"Geez, calm down already!"

Ranma jumped high onto a roof, still choking Happosai under his arm. He looked back and was glad that he managed to lose his followers and so he found a convenient looking roof and sat down to catch his breathe, not that he needed it or anything, it was just something to do.

"Hey, I lost a tournament cause of you!"

"What do you care?! You know you'd win anyway!"

Ranma fumed. "It was a matter of pride in there!"

"Pride?!--" Happosai began before getting cut off by Akane and Genma-panda.

"Ranma! You okay?!"

"*You forfeited the tournament, boy! There goes the free dinner for a week grand prize*" the panda signed.

"Free dinner?!" Ranma yelled. "I put my honor at risk for this little pervert and free dinners?! I can't believe this!"

"Don't make so much out of it, Ranma," Akane told him, earning herself a glare from her fiance. "It was only a National Tournament."

Genma was beginning to moan and grump about the loss of the free dinners.

"Oh, shut your cryin' already, old man!" Ranma said to his father.

"I'm getting out of here while the getting is still cool," Happosai made his escape before the real fireworks between the three begun.

"I can't believe this! How am I suppose to show my face---"

"Everybody could see that you were better than that other guy so stop fishing for compliments, Ranma!"

"*How about the free dinner?*"

"Quit it about the free dinner already!"

"Ranma, you are so rude to your father! Even though he does deserve it you should--"

Rei and Ami followed the sounds of yelling and were greeted by the arguing trio.

Rei nudged Ami. "So what do you think? Anything suspicious about them?"

"I don't know. Do you feel any Negaverse vibes coming from them?"

"No, but there's something strange that's going on for sure," Rei narrowed her eyes at the trio and crossed her arms. She took note of the three and noticed that one of them was the one that Ami said was her cousin. "Hey, Ami, isn't that you're cousin over there?"

Ami had already realized that and was waiting for the moment to cut into the argument. "Yes. Her name is Akane Tendo. Her grandmother must be related to my grandmother since my mom was an only child."

"Well, why not renew your familial relationship and in the meanwhile, I could try to pinpoint the strange vibes that's emitting from them."

"Well---" Ami said reluctantly.

"Oh, c'mon. This is scout business, remember?"

"Alright." Ami timidly went towards the three, half-intimidated by their heated arguments. "Um...excuse me?"

The three ignored her and continued their angry conversation.

"Ranma, why don't we just leave this thing alone, already?!" Akane screamed.

"*Ranma, please go back there and win the free dinner*"

"Hey, why don't you go over there and fight if you want it so much?!"

"Um--EXCUSE ME!" Ami said for the third time. Her shouting cut off their remarks to each other.

Ranma was the first to turn around and note the stranger that stood a little behind Akane. Immediately he saw the resemblance to Akane-- the short dark bluish hair most of all.

"Hullo, can we help you?" Ranma asked, silencing his two companions.

Akane forgot her anger and turned to see the stranger that had come up behind her. Her eyes widened as she took notice of the girl.

"My name is Ami Mizuno. I was at the tournament that you had just ran away from---"

"See, Akane! It's already all over town that Ranma Saotome ran away from a fight."

"Oh come ON, Ranma. Everybody knows that you had to save that poor boy from Happosai."

Ami was confused. She didn't know what these people were talking about. How did Ranma save that boy that he was fighting against?

"So, is there anything that you needed, miss?" Ranma asked again.

Ami snapped out her daze. "Actually, I just wanted to meet my cousin," Ami turned to Akane and smiled. "I don't know if you remember me but I think we're related distantly."

"I'm not sure," Akane said, squinting. She could certainly see a resemblance, though. "How come we haven't kept in touch?"

"I don't really know. My mother travels a lot, and we ARE distantly related, so perhaps it wasn't intentional." Ami heard a cough behind her and remembered her friend. "Oh, by the way. I came with a friend, her name's Rei Hino."

Rei stepped up and bowed slightly to the group, who also greeted her accordingly.

Akane lose her initial hesitation and reverted back to her warm self. "Well, what a pleasant surprise then. I do hope that you'll both come home with me and have tea. We have a lot of catching up to do"

It being a Saturday afternoon, with no classes, Ami and Rei smiled and accepted.

Then Akane noticed that Rei was glancing at Ranma and the panda. Immediately her expression turned sour, both at the fact of Rei's interest in Ranma and the reminder of Ranma's previous attitude. So without thinking, Akane introduced them. "Oh, yeah. Meet Ranma Saotome and his father, Genma Saotome."

Rei and Ami's eyes bulged at the panda who held up and sign that said *How do you do?*

"F-father?" Rei asked incredulously.

Ranma smirked at the girl. "Maybe Akane can tell you over tea?" With that, he turned and began a slow pace towards the Tendo Dojo.

The two girls followed after a moment, strolling side by side with a resigned Akane.

**********

Hotaru Tomoe looked up at the clear blue sky and wondered how something so innocent looking could hold so many secrets. She lay on her back in the back yard of her foster parents' backyard, marveling at nature's beauty.

It was at the point of seeing the blurred figure of the moon at the corner of her eyes when everything in her vision went black. The blue eternal sky turned into midnight and the gentle breeze turned into an angry wind.

Hotaru sat up quickly, bracing herself for the vision that her destiny as Sailor Saturn had blessed and cursed her with.

It didn't take long as the figure of the Moon Princess appeared before Hotaru's eyes, standing calmly and serenely in the midst of chaos, clearly in danger of being consumed by the darkness. The princess's head lifted and her blue eyes met Hotaru's purple ones. The young girl felt panic and fear for the princess fill her entire being. For in those blue eyes, she saw first sadness then a blankness that indicated her soul's absence.

As sudden as it appeared, the vision disappeared. The sky was clear and blue once more, and the breeze gently caressed everything in its path. Everything had gone back the way it was, except for Hotaru who sat on the grass, her knees drawn to her chest by her arms, shivering.

******* 

Setsuna Meiou, otherwise known as Sailor Pluto, Guardian of Time, paused in her shopping. She looked to the skies and waited as an unfamiliar energy raced through the air. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and despite the warm weather, she shivered.

Then, as though nothing had happened, she tucked her head into her silk scarf and continued her progress through the city's shopping area.

End

By Mia

Email: kenshin_oro@hotmail.com