If one had a powerful enough telescope, one could see the surface of the moon. Enhancing that view, one could see the ruins of a long magnificent palace if the viewer was sensitive enough to higher planes of magic. It must have been grand in a time, long, long ago. However, no one lived there now.
No one, except...
"Are you sure that this is where they'll be, Tanthus?" asked Ambyra. Ambyra had been preparing her latest servant, when Tanthus had appeared in her chambers, claiming how he had found the enemies that she now so desperately sought. The same enemies who had killed all of her family while she was in another part of the solar system. They had all gone into the past and left her behind and alone.
That was until the Master came. He had shown her what had happened to her family, and who was responsible. Now, she would make them pay.
"I assure you, Lady Ambyra, my powers tell me that this is where they will all be gathering. You can pick them off one at a time or simply kill the lot of them," he told her.
She smiled in anticipation. *They will not escape me this time,* she swore. Turning to Tanthus, "Don't worry, I'll put in a good word with the Master when I have destroyed the enemy," she said, and teleported out.
Tanthus gazed back at his viewing crystal. *Yes* He thought wickedly *Run off to your doom, WITCH! When you are destroyed, as my magic tells me, I will have your place,* he chuckled nastily.
-----
Creator of Kings and Lord Talon Proudly present A Crossover of the Biggest Stars of the Anime Fanfiction world! Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon In "EYES OF A STRANGER" Chapter Eight
-----
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for coming. Quarterfinals will begin shortly. If you would all look up at the screens overhead, you will notice the participants. Please give them a round of applause."
Chiba Mamoru versus Ryouga Hibiki Tatewaki Kunou versus Tenoh Haruka Ranma Saotome versus Makoto Kino Eric Stryker versus Amy Anderson
"Isn't this exciting?" Minako exclaimed.
"Yeah! I know my Mamo-chan will win though," Usagi answered.
"Wish Ami was here to see this," Rei said.
"I wouldn't be too sure princess. I think Haruka has more than a good chance of winning," Michiru replied.
"Haruka-papa will win," Hotaru said.
"I just wondered why Setsuna wanted us to come in the first place?" Michiru asked.
"Me too," Rei answered.
-----
Quarter Finals
------
Tatewaki Kunou versus Tenoh Haruka
-----
Kunou swung his bokken a few times, warming up. *How the Kami must grace this tournament since I, the Blue Thunder, have entered,* he thought to himself.
Stepping up onto the mat, Haruka smiled. *So he's into kendou is he now?* she thought.
"I think you might be needing this?" someone said behind her.
Turning around, surprised, Haruka found a smiling Setsuna holding a bokken in her right hand.
"Uh. . . thanks," Haruka finally manage to reply. *How did she know I might need one?* "Setsuna, can you tell me why we were supposed to come here?" she asked.
"It's a surprise," Setsuna answered. *A surprise to me as well,* she thought to herself. Still, she wondered why her future self had forbidden her to look at what's to come.
"Figures," Haruka muttered to herself. From the sidelines, she could hear cheers and encouragement being shouted her way. The loudest was her Princess and Michiru.
Looking at his blond opponent, Kunou raised his bokken and pointed it at Haruka. "Know this, lowly peasant, that I, Tatewaki Kunou, the rising star of Furinkan High School, shall smite thee, lowliest of peasants, and then vanquish the evil sorcerer Saotome and free the beautiful Pigtail Goddess from his evil spell!" he exclaimed. From outside, people could hear thunder and lightning followed by rain after Kunou had finished his statement.
Haruka was amazed that her opponent had said all of that in one breath. "You can try," she smirked. *Ranma? Pigtail Goddess?* Haruka wondered though.
Getting into a loose stance, Haruka waited until the referee started the match. Kunou got ready as well, his stance was a very traditional one with the bokken held out in front, pointing at his opponent.
Raising his hands, the referee signaled the match to begin.
Kunou wasted no time, "Have at thee!" he shouted, closing the distance between him and his opponent and then executing a near perfect slash.
Haruka blocked the blow and delivered one of her own, which was blocked by Kunou. Raising one eyebrow, *He's good, though full of himself.*
As the match went on, it was clear to many people that the match was fairly even.
Looking over to Michiru, "Mama? Why is papa holding back?"
Smiling to Hotaru, "It would be unfair if Haruka-papa used some of her Senshi abilities on a normal person.
"Oh."
Staring at his opponent, "Though low born, you are a worthy opponent," Kunou had to admit. *No one had lasted this long with me before,* Kunou thought to himself. *Was he not the undefeated champion of Furinkan High? No, the world?* he thought.
"You have no idea," Haruka stated.
"Have at thee! Strike, strike, strike, strike!" Kunou shouted, unleashing his most powerful attack.
Having felt an unusual power building up in her opponent, Haruka tensed and got ready for whatever was to come. It was this preparation that had saved her, as she barely dodged out of the way of the first few stabs, Kunou had launched. Backing away from her opponent, Haruka stared at him with a different eye. No normal human should have been able to do that. The speed of each thrust was inhuman that even when she was out of Kunou's range the air pressure alone still managed to make numerous cuts on her gi.
Narrowing her eyes, Haruka started to take this match seriously. *He might be a Daimon in disguise,* she warned herself. Getting back to a ready position, Haruka drew forth a little of her Senshi powers.
"Warning to Tenoh Haruka. Stepping out of the ring again will lead to a disqualification," the referee warned.
In the crowd, many stared at the match between Haruka and Kunou.
"Luna, do you feel any negative energy from Haruka's opponent?" Rei asked.
Luna answered by shaking her head.
"Could he be like another Tuxedo Kamen?" Usagi asked.
Michiru was about to ask Luna if she was sure when she heard someone's comment.
"Wow! Someone else actually managed to avoid Kunou's special."
"Turning to the person who had spoken, "Excuse me, but could you tell me more about this Tatewaki Kunou?" she asked.
"Until last year, I never heard of anyone ever besting Tatewaki Kunou in a fight," he replied.
"He's that good?" Michiru muttered. *Hmmm. Interesting.* "You said he was undefeated until last year? Who bested him in battle?" Michiru asked, curious.
"Saotome Ranma and a girl by the name of Tendou Akane," he answered.
"Saotome-san doesn't seem to be that good," she commented, remembering the previous matches that he had fought and barely won.
"As far as I know, he's undefeated. Never lost a fight. Some say he could be the best martial artist of his generation," the young man answered.
"So you are saying he's holding back?"
"Yes. I saw him fight once. I was traveling through Nerima and I saw Saotome-san fight Hibiki-san. Let's say that the construction business will never fall into the red with those two around. Now if you excuse me, I would like to concentrate on the match. The boy with blond hair is quite powerful and skilled."
"Thank you." Turning her attention back to the ring, *You have no idea,* Michiru thought, after hearing the later part of his statement. As the fight continued, Michiru was not fully concentrating on the fight. She was thinking about the enigmatic Saotome Ranma.
In the ring, Haruka had finally been able to land a series of punch and kicks on her opponent yet for some reason, he still got up. *Man, this guy can take a punishment,* Haruka thought. Even though she was not transformed, being a Senshi gave Haruka a few perks. One was faster healing and the others were more power and speed, though not up to par with her transformed state. Still, it amazed her that this boy still stood after being repeatedly pummeled into the ground.
Getting up off the mat, "You think you can defeat the great Tatewaki Kunou? You are sorely mistaken. No man shall ever defeat me!!" he shouted.
Having finally had enough, Haruka, charged. Instead of going for the head, she aimed much lower. Dipping the tip of the bokken down, Haruka sliced upwards when she was within range. Seeing Kunou's eyes cross, Haruka smirked. "So you weren't wearing a cup, huh?" Haruka asked the slowly crumpling kendouist.
"What sort of man are you to strike so low. Not even the vile sorcerer Saotome would stoop to using such a tactic," Kunou managed to groan.
"This is anything goes and if you haven't noticed I am a female," Haruka stated, turning around and walking off.
"Such power," Kunou muttered, as his vision blacked. Just as he fell unconscious, a vision of Onna-Ranma, Akane, and Haruka popped into his mind, all cuddling close to him.
-----
Next up was Ranma versus Makoto.
Seeing that he was about to face one of Ami's friends, Ranma smiled. Bowing to his opponent, he got into a loosely ready stance. Ranma was taking Makoto more seriously than any of the other opponents had had faced in this tournament. He had fallen into a stance he had created himself that emphasized speed and precision. It was the first step in his attempt in creating a new branch of Anything Goes.
In earlier matches he had used straight kenpou, without deviating or adding to the base style. The reason for the switch was because of this feeling he kept getting from Ami and the four girls she usually hangs out with. He sensed a hidden power lurking within each of them yet it was so unlike ki or chi. He had felt something similar but could not place where and that was the base for his decision to finally use the one style he was sole heir to since Akane's death.
Makoto approached the ready line with an air of confidence. She'd seen how Ranma had faired in his earlier bouts and knew he was good but not good enough to beat her. He won most of his matches either by luck or by a slim margin. Bowing to Ranma, Makoto got into a classic karate stance. Having had to fight often and moved from place to place since she was young, Makoto had experienced many different varieties of martial artists. What puzzled her was the stance Ranma had chosen. It was different from the kenpou stance he had been using earlier.
"Go, Makoto!" Usagi cheered. "Go, Ranma! Make Ami proud!"
Makoto shook her head at the display a little embarrassed while Ranma's face took on a light reddish hue at the last part. Moment's later, Ranma shook his head, trying to get rid of the blush he knew was there.
Seeing the referee raise his right hand, both combatants got ready. The instant the ref's hand fell, Makoto launched herself at Ranma, hoping to catch him unprepared and ending the match quickly. She was surprised when her fist met only air.
Smiling inside as he dodged Makoto's fist, he backed away slightly while placing both hands behind his back. Tilting his head a little, he smiled.
"Wow! Ranma is really confident," Hotaru commented.
"He should be," Mamoru said, having finally reached the bleachers Usagi was sitting at. "After Michiru told me about how Ranma was holding back, I went and asked around. It seems that Saotome Ranma is quite a celebrity in the martial arts circles."
"Mamo-chan!" Usagi shouted, having discovered her one true love standing next to her.
"Not so tight, Usako. I have a match coming up and if you squeeze me any tighter, I might explode before the match," Mamoru said whenever he got enough air.
"Gomen," Usagi apologized.
"Anyways, I just wanted to check on some of the competitors. Want to see how well they fight before I meet them in the finals," he explained.
"Don't be too sure, my prince. You still have to get pass Haruka," Michiru grinned.
"Yeah! Haruka-papa will win!" Hotaru declared.
"Hehehe," Mamoru chuckled, a little embarrassed that he forgot that he had to face Haruka before reaching the finals.
"What about this Hibiki Ryouga?" Minako asked. "He's so cute with those fangs of his."
"Not many people know much about him except that he is Ranma's rival," Mamoru said.
"Be careful then," Michiru cautioned, "I don't want Haruka to lose the chance to beat you in front of the princess and millions of your majesty's loyal followers in the future," Michiru cautioned him with a feral grin.
Inside the ring, Makoto was tired and sweating. For the past half-hour, she had constantly been on the offense or if she tried to rest, the defense. Staring at Ranma, she was jealous that he had yet to break a sweat. *I'll get you if it's the last thing I do!* she swore.
As the match approached the hour mark, Makoto fell to her knees, panting.
"Give up?" Ranma asked.
"It's . . 'cough' . . not over yet . ." weezed Makoto.
"Yes it is," Ranma said and clocked Makoto with his right fist.
"Winner, Saotome Ranma!" the referee announced.
-----
Amy Anderson versus Eric Stryker
-----
Stryker looked at the crowd and gave his usual 'devil-may-care grin' and began his warm-ups. Stryker was known in many underground circuits. The reputation he had earned in most of them did were in no case related to the word fair play. When asked, he usually defended himself by saying, "Is it my fault I like breaking things?" or, "I didn't know he would fall apart that easily." It was this tendency to break things, usually parts of his opponents' body that earned him the nickname, 'The Crippler.'
Eric could have cared less what they thought of him. Fighting was his life and if anyone was stupid enough to step into the ring with him . . . well let's just say their lesson would be most painful, not that he minded of course. He just wished that some of his opponents were tough enough to take a beating so he could beat on them some more.
With this in mind, some would not fault him for his reaction when he saw this slip of a girl enter the ring.
"Are you nuts!" he complained to the referee. "This skinny little chick," Eric pointed at Ami, "won't last five minutes against me," he ranted.
"I'm sorry but she's your quarter final opponent. This is anything goes and females are allowed to fight the other gender," the referee replied.
Ami tilted her head and assessed her opponent. Having done that, she smiled sweetly at him, "So that means you're not going to fight me? I guess you're backing out then. What a relief, I needed a break before the semifinals," she said.
Eric stopped complaining to the referee and slowly swung his head in Ami's direction. That little dialogue had gotten his full attention. Eric stared at Ami for what seemed like an eternity opening his mouth once and then closing it. After a few more moments had passed, "Little girl, go home and play with your dollies before you get seriously hurt. If you don't, I will guarantee that you will not walk out of this ring on your own. I will personally snap both of those pretty legs of yours, dislocate both of your arms and then tie strings to them and have you dance like a marionette to a song of my choosing. After which, if I am nice, I will paint your face black and blue. Know that I fight to win," he threatened.
"Really? I thought that you talked your opponents into submission," Ami asked, using the same pitch most secretaries used to greet clients, the higher than normal voice. Ami smile grew a little as she saw Eric face get beet red. Normal Ami wouldn't taunt the person she was going to fight but had to see if it worked for her as well as it worked for Ranma-sensei. *Ranma-sensei's tactics work. I just hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew,* she thought to herself
The referee lowered his hand, signaling the fight to begin. As Ami had predicted, Eric came charging at her like a mad bull. 'If a guy is bigger than you, then he is usually stronger but slower,' Ami recalled Ranma's advice. Eric was fast but Ami was faster. This was evident when Eric's fist connected with air. Having thrown caution to the wind, Eric overextended when he missed Ami. This left Ami with a great opportunity to bring her knee straight into Eric's midsection. As he was doubled over and slowly backing away, she quickly delivered a roundhouse kick to his temple, sending him crashing to the mat.
Eric quickly recovered. This `little girl' he was so ready to teach a lesson to had just humiliated him at the outset of the match. *No one humiliates 'The Crippler' and gets away with it,* he swore.
Seeing that his female opponent had some skills, Eric started to circle her, trying to get a feel for her rhythm. Throwing a few jabs and quick kicks, he tested her defense. After he was satisfied that he had her pattern down, he began his assault. Throwing a fake punch, he was happy when he saw her take the bait.
Having dodged the punch, Ami realized too late that it was ruse as a side-sick from Eric connected with her midsection.
Seizing the initiative, Eric launched a combination of kicks and punches at Ami.
Ami was able to block most of them but not all and the ones that had gotten through rocked her enough that it left her wide open for a viscous roundhouse punch that sent her sprawling to the canvas.
Ami slowly got to her feet but had no time to recover as Eric was on her in an instant. Again he delivered a flurry of punches and kicks that Ami was hard pressed to block or avoid. Ami was sent sprawling to the mats once again when an axe kick connected.
"Get up!" Eric yelled at her, "I'm not through with you yet!" Still mad at the way she had made humiliated him at the beginning of the match, he came up to the slowly rising Ami, who was slowly getting to her knees and wiping a little blood from the corner of her lips, back down onto the mat.
There were many in the stands that were more than a little pissed at the way Eric was behaving. Many of the quarterfinalist were fuming at the blatant bad sportsmanship Eric was showing and swore that if he were to reach the semis, he would get his dues.
As Ami had gotten onto her knees, Eric threw a vicious kick, aiming to send her back onto the mat.
Seeing the kick, Ami reached out this time and grabbed his foot. Using some of her knowledge of human anatomy, as well as a dose of Ranma's teaching, she twisted his foot at a bad angle, causing him to drop to the mat howling in pain.
Ami got to her feet unsteadily but was able to stand nonetheless. Watching Eric struggle to his feet, Ami felt a little better as the magic given to her by being the bearer of the power of Mercury, healed her somewhat.
After somehow getting his foot to work again, Eric rose to his feet. There was nothing but fury in his eyes now.
Both of Ami and Eric were hurting and neither believed that the other was still up. At an unseen signal, both charged one another and started to exchange punch for punch and kicks for kicks.
Ami blocked a flying elbow from Eric while Eric shifted his left foot a small fraction, having skillfully avoiding the counter throw.
Disengaging, Ami was the first to act, lashing out with a double roundhouse kick.
Side-stepping the kick, Eric performed a low sweep, which sent Ami airborne. Eric cursed when he saw her roll with the fall, coming out none the worse.
An axe kick from Eric was blocked and a rising uppercut from Ami's counter split Eric's lip. This, of course, infuriated him even more. In the underground circuits, people feared him and most of the people he fought had the good sense to stay down but not his chick.
He decided it was time to bring this match to a close. He began launching a series of rapid high and low kicks, alternating between the two rapidly. By doing this, he was hoping to force Ami into adopting a pattern he was setting up. After he was satisfied that she would be locked in the pattern, he faked a high kick which, as he predicted, Ami moved to block the kick.
At that moment, Eric lashed out with a nasty stomping kick towards Ami's unprotected shin. He grinned ferally as he felt something crack from his kick.
Ami dropped to the mat, screaming in pain.
Eric looked down at his fallen opponent and smiled nastily. He did tell her to go home. Was it his fault that she hadn't listened? Now, she was paying the price. *Well that's the first leg, three more appendages to go,* he thought. The crowd roared it's disapproval but Eric didn't care. This match was his.
Ami gritted her teeth through the pain. All through her life, people thought of her as the weak one among her friends and, this . . . person had done the same. Treating her like she was weak. Well, she'd show him. Grinding her teeth and focusing, Ami was able to block most of it from her conscious mind. Reaching up, she removed the bandana that had been keeping her hair up wrapped it around her shin as she carefully got up. The crowd roared in approval!
Eric shook his head in disbelief after having turned around and seeing Ami on her feet. After a few seconds, his face lit up as he smiled. He had gotten what he wanted, an opponent who could withstand punishment. He quickly got into a stance, and waited for his to move. When she did, she would be his!
Ami saw that her opponent, despite the numerous blows she had given him was still capable of fighting. *I don't have much left in me,* she thought to herself. *I need to beat this guy. Need to prove that I can defend myself in battle and not be a liability but a commodity. I'm just not sure I can in this condition. I don't think I am fast enough to . . . avoid . . .*
The thought suddenly died as a plan emerged in her head. It was risky and she didn't know if she could successfully pull it off but this was the time and place to try. If she failed, at least she had done her best. *Now, how to get him to take the bait* She wondered and then smiled as an idea formed in her head.
"What are you smiling at, little girl?" Eric demanded of her.
She cocked her head. "Oh, just remembering how you said you fight to win. So far, this 'little girl' had taken the everything you've dished out, blow for blow, and I'm still standing," she smiled sweetly.
"You can't win! Your leg won't hold!" he told her
"I'm still standing here!" she reminded him.
Growing a little frustrated at his failed attempts to crush this puny little girl, Eric began attacking anew. There a gleam of insanity in his eyes that no one saw. Yet as each blow raced towards Ami, she somehow managed to dance her way around his attacks. She didn't even try and block or fight back.
With each successful dodge, Ami would add a little comment on how he could improve his techniques, even though some of them were wrong or just outright taunt the man.
"Too slow. Oops, almost got me but you have to extend some more. Whoa, that might've hurt if it had connected," Ami droned on.
"Fight me DAMNIT!" Eric roared at his opponent. He wanted to hear the sound of fist meeting flesh, even if the flesh was his own.
"And let you hurt my leg again? That's silly!" she responded.
"You die!" he screamed and charged at Ami, throwing caution to the win. The only thing on his mind now was the broken body of this girl. No one made fun of him.
As Eric made his charge, Ami pulled back and prepared for her final attack. She was gambling that it would take Eric out of the match with her health. As Eric got into range, Ami let out a fury of punches while silently calling out, "KATCHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" She didn't want Ranma to know she was at the tournament. Though her punches were quite a bit slower than Ranma's and less precise, it was enough to defeat her opponent. Lifting her head to see the outcome, she was happy when Eric crumpled to the mat as the crowd roared their approval of her performance. *I did it, Ranma-sensei!*
The referee raised Ami's hand, signaling the winner of the match. "The winner of the match, Amy Anderson!" Again, the crowds cheered her on. It was a hard fight but in the end she won. As she limped off the mat, she smiled. *The next monster that attacks us will be in for a very big surprise,* she thought.
-----
Chiba Mamoru versus Hibiki Ryouga
-----
As the referee led Ryouga to the ring, he asked him "Are you sure this is the way?"
The ref sighed in aggravation. "Yes, Mr. Hibiki, I am sure that it is the proper way. Look, there is your opponent now," her said, pointing to a young man wearing a black gi top and bottom combination.
Ryouga shrugged and stepped on to the mat.
Mamoru sized up his opponent. After making a couple of decisions on how to approach this fight, he decided on an answer as to how to deal with this opponent.
As the referee lowered his hand and cried, "FIGHT!" Mamoru quickly sprang into action. He sped across the mat, and delivered a flying kick to Ryouga. He followed it up with a couple of quick jabs, and a solid right cross that would have left most people sprawling on the canvas.
Unfortunately, that list did NOT include Ryouga Hibiki.
After absorbing the punishment from Mamoru's blows, Ryouga began his assault which consisted of two simple moves. A punch to Mamoru's midsection, which forced the breath out of him and a head-butt that, dropped him to the mat.
Ryouga looked own at his fallen opponent. Perhaps he had hit him too hard? Ryouga shook his head, *This guy was supposed to be a martial artist. He should have been able to take the hit.* Ryouga thought to himself. It never occurred to him that not all fighters had the endurance training that the Nerima gang had. Ryouga with the boulders, Ranma with the mallet, Kunou with the constant pounding from his two beloved and so forth. Ryouga walked off the mat as the referee declared him the winner still not having noticed Ranma or Kunou at the tournament.
-----
Seeing her Mamo-chan fall unconscious from two blows angered Usagi. She was mad at Ryouga for hurting her future husband and at Mamo-chan for losing so easily.
It was all Michiru and Minako could do to get Usagi in place and not draw too much attention.
"He'll be all right," Michiru assured her.
Finally relenting Usagi sat down a little worried until Haruka's match came around.
----
Semi finals
-----
Haruka versus Ryouga
-----
Looking around, Haruka was confused. *Where's my opponent?* she thought before going to ask the referee the same question that was plaguing her mind.
Looking a bit embarrassed, "We lost him," the female referee for Haruka's match replied.
"Lost him?" Haruka repeated trying to see if she had heard right.
"You see, the Hibiki boy has a bad scene of direction, as stated in his profile. Well, we turned our head away for a second and he was gone," the referee tried to explain.
"Lost him? I don't believe this," Haruka commented. *I was really looking forward to facing him too. I mean if someone could pound cape boy like that is someone I would like to challenge,* she thought.
"The winner is Tenoh Haruka!"
"Go, Haruka!" Michiru shouted. Although her lover had won due to a disqualification, she just felt like cheering Haruka on.
-----
Ranma versus Amy
-----
Ami smiled as she saw Ranma approach the mat.
Seeing his opponent, Ranma felt that she looked familiar. Heaven knows, there were enough people with a grudge against him. *It was all Oyaji's fault too,* Ranma thought.
Winking at Ranma, Ami bowed to the referee and then to Ranma.
He was confused. Why did the girl wink at him? Did she want a date or something?
Already knowing the outcome to this fight. Ami started to take off her belt she had gotten and handed it to the referee. Even if she had faced Ranma-sensei, that was no way she could go all out in her condition. It would take a few days before she healed completely. Bowing to Ranma once again, she left the mat.
Lifting the belt into the air, "Amy Anderson has forfeited!" the referee shouted.
-----
Finals
-----
Bowing to his opponent, Ranma once again felt that same hidden power within the blond boy he was facing. As he was studying his opponent carefully, a nagging feeling somewhere in the back of his mind told him that something was very familiar with this Tenoh Haruka. He reminded Ranma of Ukyou for some reason. Shaking his head, Ranma got into the same stance he had used with Makoto. If his instincts were right, this would be his toughest opponent throughout the tournament.
Looking over at the boy across from her, Haruka smiled. *There is no way I'm going to make the same mistake as Makoto did, especially not after hearing what Michiru found out about you,* she swore. Bring her hands up, she got into her variation of a karate stance.
Wanting to gauge his opponent, Ranma waved his opponent to make the first move.
Seeing the gesture, Haruka grinned. Shaking her head no, she copied the gesture, wanting Ranma to proceed.
Tilting his head a little, Ranma smiled. Taking two cautious steps forward, Ranma saw that Haruka had not moved. *He's confident,* Ranma told himself. The moment his back foot finished following the front, Ranma launched himself at Haruka. He had seen the boy move. Not many people could avoid Kunou's sword strike.
Ranma started to test Haruka's defense with a straight punch.
The instant Haruka saw Ranma rushing at her, *He's fast!* was all she could think at the time before concentrating on defending herself. Each attack was met with a solid defense.
*He doesn't have many holes in his defense,* Ranma was able to determine. Leaping backwards, he disengaged.
*He's better than I thought.* Taking a deep breath, Haruka sized up Ranma once more.
"Why don't you use the bokken?" Ranma suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Haruka replied, surprised at the sudden question.
"You're better with a sword in your hands," he commented.
Finally understanding, "It wouldn't be fair," was her reply.
Grinning, "Anything goes and you're going to need it if you have a chance of beating me," Ranma said.
Running her left hand through her hair, *Ranma had been constantly fighting his opponents on their own skill level. I don't think I can beat him in unarmed combat if he decides to up the ante and he did say that this was anything goes,* Haruka considered before nodding.
Haruka left the mat for a brief second to retrieve the bokken that Setsuna had given her earlier.
Seeing that both combatants are ready, the referee lifted and dropped his right hand, which was holding the flag notifying both fighters to start.
Haruka was the first to move. Closing the distance, she preformed a chest level slash that was meant to make her opponent duck where he would be at her mercy.
Seeing the bokken coming his way, Ranma decided to leap backwards, still wanting to test his opponent.
When Ranma did not duck, Haruka changed her original plan. Moving faster this time, Haruka reached Ranma the instant his foot touched the ground. Lashing out with a low swing, she followed up with a combination of high and low slashes. With the final swing in her combination, Haruka increase the speed of her blow to its maximum velocity.
The last swipe took Ranma by surprise as it came in faster than he had expected. Because of the position he was in at the moment, Ranma couldn't do much but moved with the blow, lessening the impact.
-----
Seeing the bokken connecting with her son, Nodoka winced. She knew how painful a blow like that could be, considering she was a master of the blade.
"Come on Ranma, you can do it!" she cheered her son on.
Throughout the tournament, she had watched and been impressed at the level Ranma had achieved. In some ways, she had to hand it to her husband for training Ranma so well. In others, Nodoka wanted to kill Genma. Still, she could do neither since for the past few weeks, Genma had disappeared without a trace. *He's running away from his responsibilities,* she thought.
Turning her attention back to the ring, Nodoka continued to watch her son when suddenly there was a huge explosion.
-----
In the ring, both Ranma and Haruka stopped when the explosion occurred.
People were running in every direction, away from the blast while others tried to help those caught in the blast zone.
Seeing that there would soon be trouble and a danger to the princess, Haruka slipped away to transform.
Ranma hardly noticed the departure of his opponent or the referee. He was scanning the area, search for his mother since he knew she was sitting near the blast zone.
At the same time, Usagi and the rest of the Senshi that were watching the final bout, transformed, getting ready to battle evil.
-----
As the chaos erupted all around Ranma, the young martial artist just ignored everything as his gaze was concentrated on the prone form of his mother's body, lying among the mass of people that were caught up in the initial explosion, signaling the appearance of the monster.
*Why? Why is this all happening to me. First the curse, then the multiple engagements, Akane's death and now this. When will I have a normal life. That monster is going to pay for hurting my mother. He is going to pay dearly.* Ranma thought darkly. Somewhere along the line, he started to exhibit a faint blue outline.
"So much energy," the Daimon said from the hole in the wall after doing a brief scan of the populace.
"Stop where you are!" a voice cried out from among the chaos.
"I am Sailor Moon!"
"Mars!"
"Neptune!"
"Venus!"
"Saturn!"
"We are the Beautiful Warriors, Sailor Senshi, and in the name of the Moon we will punish you!" Sailor Moon declared.
As the Senshi engaged the Daimon, Makoto, Michiru and Ami started looking for a place to transform.
"Hahaha! Is this a joke? I was sent to kill a few girls?" was the Daimon response to Sailor Moon's speech. "I'm so scared, five of you versus little o'me?" he smiled at the joke.
"Why you!" Mars shouted. "Mars Flame Sniper!" she shouted out the attack. Without moving, the Daimon was struck in the chest by Mars' attack.
"Yatta!" Mars shouted, before seeing the results of her attack. "What!"
"That tickled," the Daimon taunted, a faint glow appeared around his body.
"How about this? World Shaking!" Uranus unleashed her attack, having just arrived at the scene with Mercury and Jupiter.
Turning around to face the new threat, the Daimon glowed a little brighter after having been hit by Uranus's attack. "Is that all you have?" the Daimon mocked Uranus.
Seeing the creature glow brighter after being hit by Uranus's attack, Mercury activated her visor and scanned the Daimon. Analyzing the data, she soon grew pale at what she had discovered. "Wait! Don't att . . ." Mercury started to shout in warning but it was too late.
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
"Silence Glaive Surprise!"
"Moon Gorgeous Meditation!"
Seeing the combined attack of the Senshi streaking towards him, the Daimon just smiled. *Welcome to my home, the spider said to the fly,* he thought.
All seven attacks caused a huge explosion after impacting the Daimon.
While the other Senshi congratulated each other, Ami was in a panic. "Guys! It's too early for a celebration. The creature is not dead yet."
As if in confirmation of Mercury's warning, the Daimon walked out of the smoke. "Excellent deduction, Sailor Mercury but I'm afraid it's time to die."
"What? How can it be possible?" Mars shouted out in bewilderment. Similar statements could be heard from the rest of the Senshi.
"He absorbs energy," Mercury replied.
"I am quite impressed. For that, I should tell you my name. I am called, Akuma," he spoke. "It seems that all eight of you young ladies have an incredible high energy level. I will enjoy taking it from you."
"In your dreams, buddy!" Mars shouted, followed by similar statements from the other Senshi.
"How will you stop me? I am death. I will kill you and then take your power for myself."
In a blink of an eye, Akuma sprinted towards the Senshi. Cocking his right hand back and extending his left, "Have a taste of your own medicine! Mars Flame Sniper!" he shouted out. From his hands, a familiar attack streaked towards the group of heroines.
Diving for cover, "No fair! That's my attack." Mars voiced her protest.
"Who said life was fair, babe! How about this one! World Shaking!" The ground in front of Akuma exploded and a ball of energy raced towards the group of Senshi containing Mercury, Moon, Mars and Venus.
"Silence Wall!" Saturn called out her attack.
Seconds before impacting the four Senshi, the ball of energy collided with Saturn's power.
"Nice move, little lady. Too bad it will cost you. Deep Submerge!"
"No!" shouted Neptune.
No one could do anything as the ball of water smashed into Saturn and propelling her into the wall, unconscious.
"One down and seven more to go. Who shall be next?" Akuma teased.
-----
Across town, Ran had a huge smile on his face. "Wow! Can't believe how valuable diamonds are around here." he said, holding out his hands and concentrating, a diamond appeared. "Though it does take a bit out of me."
Whistling, *What should I get for Hotaru?* thought Ran. As Ran's attention was focused on what to buy for Hotaru, he felt a sharp pain. *Hotaru?*
-----
"Nine little monkeys jumping on the bed, six fell off and broke their head." Akuma sang a little nursery rhyme. "Isn't this fun? Soon you shall join your friends." he stated, staring at the remaining Senshi. Looking at the only male in the group, "You have been a bad boy, hurting me like that." Akuma said, dropping the unconscious Tuxedo Kamen onto the ground while plucking the rose embedded in his right arm.
Mamoru would have replied had he been conscious. He joined Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn, and Neptune in a deep sleep, against their will.
"We'll stop you if it is the last thing we do!" Sailor Moon shouted.
Both Mars and Uranus nodded in agreement.
"Hahaha!!! No one can st . . ." Akuma started to shout when the ground in front of him exploded from an energy blast. "What?"
Everyone turned to the source of the blast to see Ranma glowing bright blue.
-----
Slowly walking to the prone body of his mother, Ranma kept chanting, 'She's all right. She's just unconscious.' The closer he got the more certain that it was not all right. Ranma could not see her chest rising and falling. She was not breathing and there was blood everywhere. People were moaning all around. Ranma's attention was locked on his mother, lying there among the derbies. What angered Ranma the most was that the person/creature that had done this was still alive and was also bragging about it.
For as long as he could remember, martial arts was his life but it was also a game. It was like chess in a way. Every time it was either attack or counter-attack, when someone new showed up. He would always try to discover the other person's motive and then did what came natural to him after so long, try and win. If he lost, he would try again and again till he won. It wasn't until the incident at Mount Phoenix that things started to change. After Akane died, Ranma had looked deep within himself and swore that he would protect those he loved. Up until now he had thought that it was his fault that Akane had died and in part it was. Saffron never truly wanted to kill Akane, it just happened. The Lord of Mount Phoenix was not evil. He was protecting his home. Even after killing Saffron in a way, Ranma was still mostly innocent. That was until now, standing there and looking down at his mother's bloody body. He had broken one of his most sacred oath and had allowed his mother to fall victim to that monster. Not only that but she was still recovering from the shooting weeks earlier. Whatever happened, Ranma knew one thing. This monster would not leave this arena in one piece.
"You bastard! I'm going to tear you apart!" Ranma shouted, his attention having finally returned to the present. The ground around Ranma exploded. The updraft from Ranma's aura caused his clothes to ripple in every direction while his hair drifted upward.
Ranma's sudden rise in power did not go unnoticed.
"Oh my gosh!" Sailor Moon exclaimed.
"How?" Mars asked in awe at the display.
Uranus just stared at Ranma. There was something different about the young man this time that she had not detected throughout the tournament. *Was this why Setsuna wanted me here?* she thought.
"Do you think you can do better than these little girls?" Akuma asked, and sneered.
"Die!" was Ranma's single reply to the taunt. Cupping his hands in front of him, concentrating, a ball of energy started to form.
"No!" Uranus screamed.
Ignoring her warning, Ranma launched his chi sphere at Akuma, "Moko Takabisha!"
Impacting Akuma in the chest, he started to laugh. "Hahaha! Thank you for another technique."
"That was just a warning," Ranma said as he leaped at Akuma, leg outstretched.
Shaking his head at how naive the boy was, Akuma sidestepped the jump kick. Smirking, Akuma lashed out at Ranma with a roundhouse but was surprised to see Ranma dodge it while still in midair. *This might take a bit more effort,* Akuma thought, not wanting to waste one of the attacks he had collected, saving it for the Senshi.
That split second was all Ranma needed to plant his foot into Akuma's face. Using it was leverage, Ranma pushed off and executed a round house, that contacted with Ranma's right heel rocking Akuma backwards, off of his feet. "Have to do better than that, ba...ka!" Ranma taunted. His facial features were now that of the cocky martial artist he knew everyone hated but inside he was grieving. He had just lost his mother and now his innocence. He was going into a fight, with the intent to kill.
Getting to his feet, an enraged Akuma shouted, "You dare taunt the mighty Aku..." A punch to his midsection cut his speech short, leaving Akuma breathless.
Following the punch, Ranma unleashed two more followed by an open palm thrust upwards, that forced Akuma's head back. Taking advantage of his stunned opponent, Ranma threw an elbow strike that ended with Ranma delivering a leaping reverse side kick that pushed Akuma back some more.
"Hurt don't it."
"Die, insect! Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" Akuma shouted out in rage, releasing one of the attacks he had saved.
"Too slow," Ranma spoke and connected again with another punch.
In a fit of rage, Akuma threw a punch directly at Ranma's smirking face.
Easily side stepping the punch, Ranma caught the outstretched hand and bent it back against the natural flow of the arm.
"Arggg! Moko Takabisha!" Akuma unleashed the attack with his other hand, forcing Ranma to release it before he did any permanent damage.
"Nice but nothing beats the original."
"Why won't you just fall down and die!" Akuma's face was twisted with fury.
Ranma suddenly turned serious, "For what you did to my mother, I'll kill you."
On the sidelines, almost all but forgotten by Akuma, Usagi, Rei and Haruka stared in awe at the display of skill and power emanating from Ranma.
Rei shook a little in fear. She knew before hand that Ranma held some power but never imagine just how much. Looking at Ranma, she felt a tremendous amount of negative energy and that scared her.
Usagi just stared at Ranma, opened mouth.
Haruka was the only one that saw the goldish glint that had appeared in Ranma's gray blue eyes. "Masaka!" she swore, having finally realized what the difference was. *There's death in his eyes.*
Akuma was beyond furious, for the past 15 minutes, he could not for the life of him hit the human and what's more, he had used up all but one of his remaining attacks.
In the meantime, Ranma started to circle the Daimon. *I'm going to kill you now,* he swore.
"Stand still!" Akuma shouted in frustration. He felt uneasy. Something was wrong.
"You just signed your death wish," Ranma spoke, his voice devoid of feelings, totally concentrating on becoming one with the soul of ice within him.
"What?"
Haruka was the first to notice that something was terribly wrong. For the past few moments, Ranma had ceased any form of offense as he continuously dodged Akuma's attacks. The aura that had emanating from Ranma moments before had vanished. *Where did all of that power go?* Haruka thought when she suddenly felt a strong gust forming. In an enclosed building that shouldn't have any gust of wind at all. What made Haruka take notice even more was the gust of wind was coming from the two combatants and not the hole in the wall. *He's going to do something big!* she panicked. Rushing over to Saturn, Uranus hoped for a miracle.
Slowing completing the circle, Ranma gave little notice to those around him. All his thoughts were on the man in front of him, the one that had killed his mother. That final thought made concentrating on the Soul of Ice harder but it also pushed any thoughts of guilt out of his mind. This man/monster was going to die. "Hiryu Shoten . . ." Ranma shouted, clenching his fist, preparing to thrust it in the air. As he finished the move though, Ranma punched Akuma instead, releasing the full fury of the move into a single point on his opponent's body. "Ha!!!"
"Silence Wall Enclose!" another voice called out at the same time.
Within the dome, Ranma's final move created a vacuum, sucking all of Akuma's energy into Ranma's fist.
Feeling all his energy leave him, Akuma slumped forward. The only thing holding him up was the fist embedded into his gut.
For a few seconds, this lasted, until the full fury of the Hiryu Shoten Ha was released. Akuma's body could not handle the stress of the sudden loss of energy. So when the winds started to lash out at him, it blew him apart, vaporized by the shear amount of energy being released. The power behind one of Ranma's most powerful moves had no where to go afterwards, having been trapped within a protective dome and so expanded, engulfing Ranma in the process. In a bright flash of light, Saturn cried out as the Silence wall exploded. All the excess energy burst upwards, destroying the roof of the gymnasium. Rain poured through the hole and pooled around an unconscious female Ranma. The only sign of life was the slow rising and falling of her chest.
To be continued:
Author notes: Sorry it took so long. Many things effected the release date of this fic, most noticeably is the fight scenes, the hardest to write in my opinion.
Thanks to my pre readers: Octavian, Terry Aaron, Khyron the Backstabber, Trevor Hoffert, doug, William Dix, David Johnson, EricMcGinnis
Started May 13, 1999
Finished September 23, 1999