-*- mode: text; fill-column: 79; -*-

				     Shin
			       Silver Millennium
				  Monogatari

				   Episode 1
				 Introductions

--- 

Acknowledgements:
	TAKAHASHI Rumiko, without whom this story would not have a narrator ^_-
	TAKEUCHI Naoko, without whom this story would not have a purpose -_^
	Fumitsuna MARUYAMA, who's very useful post provided a lot of
information.  (this is available from venice.tcp.com as sailor_moon.info.gz)

	Any unusual weirdness or strange interpretations are my fault, so don't
blame the abovementioned for them ^^

	This story, while using characters and situations created by others, is
copyright © Suika Roberts, 1998.  Lawsuits would probably be bad for the
suer's image ^_^

-*-*-

	`Nikkeila' (I have just transliterated these into katakana for ease of
reading --R) for example, means spouse/lover/dear friend in about equal
amounts.  It can, and often is, used either as a denotative or a title.

	"Nikkeila, what are you up to?"
	or
	"My nikkeila went to the store, she'll be back in a little bit."

Contrast this with `chuukeila' and `nukkeila.'


	--From the unpublished essay ``Terms for `Lover' in the Language of the
	  Silver Millennium.'' written by Saotome Ranma in the late spring of
	  1989.

*-*

	I walk quickly, seething, thoroughly soaked, a great gaping hole in
my gut where Akane's reaction eats at me.  How could she react like that?  I
mean, Nabiki put me on the spot, asking how the fit was, what was I to do, lie
to her?

	I told the truth, it was a little tight (is a little tight, wish I
coulda changed before I fled).  I flapped the waist a little to attract Akane's
attention, really hoping she'd take the hint and fill the space with her
hands.  Then Nabiki had to ask about the fit at the waist, and Akane took her
bokken to me.  'Tisn't my fault I'm twelve centimeters shorter than she is.

	So I'm out in the rain again.  'least I'm a girl so I can drown my
sorrows in sweets.  Lessee, yeah, I've enough for a piece of cheesecake, some
other kinda pastry, and a cup of coffee.  Free refills are nice, but the real
reason I walk all the way to this shop is the heavy cream, the caffeine from
the coffee mixes with the triptophan in the cream, making for a really nice
deep melancholia.  Am I as pitiful as all that, that I need to drug myself in
order to appreciate being miserable?  'fraid so.

*whump* someone grabs my shoulders hard, and I look up into the face of the
person who ran into me.

	The girl who ran into me is a little taller than I am, maybe a meter
fifty-five, long black hair tied in Odango, and I face I really should
recognize.  She blinks at me, then smiles a very familiar smile before pressing
me back against a convenient wall, flattening herself against me, one thigh
slipping between mine, her lips pressed firmly to my own.  I close my eyes at
the wash of recognition, trust, love that flows through my mind.  She breaks
the kiss, and I open my eyes, confused by the way I feel until she speaks.

	``Nikkeila, you know the coffee shop up the street?  Meet me there in
about an hour.''

	``Hai, shuujin-chama,'' she laughs merrily, kisses me again,
``Nikkeila, what is your name, now?''

	``Tsukino Usagi.  Kimi wa?''

	``Saotome Ranma, shuujin-chama.''  She kisses me again, pinches my
nose and runs off.  She's always been so close to me, needed to demand what
I've needed to give.

	I pay for my coffee, set my saucer down at a table, my clothing cooling
from the air conditioning.  I fill my cup, contemplate the sheer agony it had
taken to convince her of the truth, watch the cream mix into the coffee.
Sitting down I worry about it, the number of times I'd had to repeat `I'm not
pretending to enjoy this for your sake!' anger and insecurity mixed in equal
parts, the three times it had overwhelmed me, and I'd blown up about it,
leaving us not speaking for days afterwards, . . . Serenity feeling guilty over
feeling guilty, me convinced that she didn't trust me, didn't love me, Mars
forced into the role of go-between, bridge, pillar, keeping things from falling
appart by sheer force of will, telling us, proving to us, that she would be
there, that she loved us both, would keep us safe, defusing our fears to the
point that we could see each other again.

	Cup's empty.  I refill it halfway with coffee, then to the top with
cream.

	I 'm only on my third cup by the time she shows up, a half-hour early.
She notices me with an answering smile and that flicker of her eyes I've always
appreciated.  Mercury, as usual, just stares at her hands, while Mars looks at
me blankly.  She's got to remember me.  Or maybe not, I didn't recognize Usagi
until after she kissed me.  I stroke my hand over her cheek, stretching up onto
my toes as I lean in, kiss her on the lips, my other hand on her shoulder.  She
stiffens, at first, almost starts to pull away, then suddenly pulls me into the
rib-squishing greeting-hug she's always used.  I break the kiss, my feet pulled
up, ask the question again.

	``Mars-chan, what's your name now?''  She smiles, a strange sight in
public, then I realize that she's in her skivies and everyone who remembers us
has died.  Or perhaps not everyone.

	``Hino Rei.'' I glance at Usagi-chama's face, and an awful though falls
on my head like a trainee who's flamed out her engines.

	``You don't remember each other, do you.''  The look they give me
confirms it, and some part of my mind puts forth the thought that it must be
because they were on their way into young adulthood, 57 and 62 to my late
adolescent 43, and would have a harder time integrating their memories into
their world-view.

	``Sit down.  I'll get you both coffee, but I can't remember what you
drink, Mercury-san.''  Mercury walks with me to the other side of the store,
looking at me in wonder.

	``How do you know that name?''

	``What?  Two cups of coffee, for here.  No, she's ordering
seperately.''  I hand over the money and take the cups, waiting for her to
follow me.

	``I knew you before, in the moon kingdom.  You were my elder sister's
ikkeila.'' She shakes at the word, and I grab her cup before it hits the
ground.  I suddenly learn the meaning of the word `flashback' as the scene
replays in full immersion technicolor, Beryl-neechan pulling a _sword_ from one
of the guests, red blood staining her gown, Beryl's dark colored armour slick
with it.  I rush in front of her, unmindful of the fact that I'm not in armour,
that my gown has an armour value of almost zero, look up into her face.

	``Beryl-neechan, where have you been?  Mercury-neechan's been worried
sick about you!''  She shakes her head, so I plunge on, ``She loves you, don't
let this hurt that, she can help you.  We all love you, I love you, please
. . .'' Somewhere I made a mistake, as Order grabs a firmer hold, and reason
speaks for her.

	``No you don't.  You hate me, everybody hates me.  Nobody could love
me, so you are lying in order to make me suffer again.''  I don't even see her
move, just notice that things get a little weird, and then I hit the floor,
trying franticly to move, my face against the tiles, and it all goes dark as I
realize that I can't feel my fingers.  I grab the counter, very glad that I'd
put the cups down, and pour two cups with shaking fingers, one with a lot of
cream and the other with a little cream, a little sugar, and a little lemon
(`just enough to make the milk curdle slightly').

	``What happened.''

	``Flashback.  I'll tell you all when we get to the table.

	``Coffee isn't quite the same as /Kesh'tat/, but it's quite close.''
the word is more difficult to pronounce than before, so I work my throat around
it a moment as I hand over the two cups, lots of cream to Mars--Rei, and the
other to Usagi-chama.

	``I . . . '' I stare at my cup, drain it off again, take the excuse to
get up and refill it, then sit back down and continue, ``I don't know how to
put this, at all.  You, Serenity and Mars, were,'' I break off again,
flustered, stare into my cup, ``We wanted to get married, you two already were,
but I wasn't old enough to be involved when that happened, we went out and had
the ceremony done, then Serenity-chama's parents went ballistic about her
marrying some commoner.  We probably shoulda noticed the Orderly influence in
that, but it went unnoticed and I stayed on as your lover anyway.''

	``Wasn't old enough?'' Rei asks me, interrupting.

	``You got married as young as possible, Serenity was twenty-four.  I
was all of seventeen at the time.  I may have blown through school, but at that
age I couldn't grok sexual desire.  I kept falling for my classmates, but it
was for romance and someone to hold me.''

	I notice the weird looks I'm getting, so I explain, ``Childhood was
longer then.  People were effectively immortal, so childhood stretched
somewhat.  That was a good thing, 'cause it was a rather selective stretching.
One would be walking and learning to talk by about eighteen months like now,
but at about three one's aging slowed down.  This gives one the advantage of
having about twenty years between toddlerhood and puberty to set up who one is,
make plans about what one want's to do with one's life, get thoroughly
educated, and run around being a kid before one has sex messing with one's
life.''  I take a deep breath, quaff down half my coffee, stare into the depths
of my cup, ``When I met you two I was a shouii in the Royal Guard, tricked out
in a shiny new set of V30 armour, too cool for my own good, just old enough to
be interested and young enough to be, `jailbait' is the modern term, I think.
All of twenty.

	``At that last party you were both young adults, Serenity, you were
fifty-seven, and Mars you were almost sixty-three.''  Mercury looks at me, and
I look for the numbers, ``Mercury-san, you were, to me, then, posilutely
ancient, all of a hundred and twenty.  I think the life-stage differences are
what is causing the problem, here.  All three of you are younger than I am,
now, right?  I was fourty-three, which is socially equivalent to sixteen now.''

	Mercury takes over, ``So our memories are there, we just have a harder
time getting to them, because we are not the kind of person we were when we
died.  I can see that.''  She drops her head, pulls a pen from somewhere and
starts writing equations on her napkin.

	``So, what do we need to do?''  I can't help it, I just start laughing,
and I grab Ma-Rei into a tight hug.

	``Sorry!  It's just that I'm used to it being the other way.  Memories
are associative, so one needs to do things that will bring them forward.  When
Usagi kissed me earlier it brought forth a couple memories, and following them
brought forth others.  If my guess is correct, then your memory chains are more
fragmented, and you will need more triggers to get things back.''

	``Makes sense.''  Usagi says, moving her chair before leaning across me
and grabbing Rei, kissing her soundly, lips and teeth parting between them,
with me squashed in their embrace, held.

	Mercury breaks things up, clearing her throat dramaticly.  ``You
probably haven't noticed, but people are staring.''  Both Usagi and Rei blush,
and it takes me a moment to realize why they would.  ``Ritsuko,'' I blink, for
hearing that name takes me by surprise, I don't know why, ``What was your
flashback?''

	``What is your name now?  My new one is Saotome Ranma.''  I whisper
across the table.

	``Mizuno Ami.''

	``Thanks.''  I continue in a normal tone, ``The flashback.  That last
Masquerade ball.  The alarms went off, the lights went out, then the backups
came on, and I see Beryl pull a sword out of one of the guests.  Her armour,
which doesn't match any kind I'd seen then, but looked like something from
Europe in the early middle ages, is slick with blood, and I tried to talk her
back from the other side.  Next thing I know I'm on the floor unable to feel
anything below my neck with a spreading darkness in my mind.''  Ami closes her
eyes.

	``I saw that.  Beryl took your head, then I guess she saw me, and came
over to me.  She said something silly about joining her, ruling the universe
together.  I told her that I couldn't, and when she asked me why I told her the
truth; I couldn't because it is evil, the universe doesn't care for ends, but
for means.  She looked like she was going to object, and I knew that if she
asked me again I'd give in.'' she takes a deep breath, ``So I pulled my dagger
from under my skirt and slipped it up under my ribs into my heart.  I think I
managed to say `I love you' one last time before I died.''

	I stare at her, shocked.  I'd expected her to tough it out, try to do
something, anything.  Then I try to figure out what I would have done, had it
been Serenity-chama or Mars-chan, and realize how hard a choice she faced.  Not
that it would have been.  Order needs someone without a dark side in order to
influence them, and Beryl was even more guileless than Kasumi.  Anyone who's
ever been angry enough to want to kill someone, or even just beat them up,
knows how to fight off the impulse.  Apparently Beryl never had, which is
amazing when one considers that she was two hundred fifty at the time.

	``Oh no.'' Rei's face is white, ``One of the generals mentioned that
their leader's name is Queen Beryl.''  A fist clenches over my heart; my eyes
seek Ami's and we nod at each other, speak almost in unison.

	``I'll help you get her back even if it kills me.''

<=>

	     When you came, you were like red wine and honey,
	     And the taste of you burnt my mouth with its sweetness.
	     Now you are like morning bread,
	     Smooth and pleasant.
	     I hardly taste you at all for I know your savor,
	     But I am completely nourished.
				-- "Decade" Amy Lowell.

	``Ara!  I need to get home, or my mother will worry.''

	``OK, Ami-chan.  I'll see you tomorrow to plan, right?''

	``Right, After school, with my computer, at Juuban.''  I knod in
agreement.

	As she starts to get up to leave, I remember something, and ask,
``Mercury-chan, could you get me an interface?  I hadn't checked my mail for a
couple days at the end there.''

	``Hai.  Internal, right?''

	``If you can.''

	``I'll see what I can do.''

	``Thank you.''  I wave as she walks out the door, then turn back to my
nikkeala, ``What do we do now?''  After I ask that, I realize just how afraid I
am of the answer, and look at my hands.  I look up at the touch of hands to my
shoulders, into Rei and Usagi-chama's faces.

	``What I'd like to do is have you both come back to the shrine with
me,''  Rei answers, ``'cause HiJiichan is off somewhere and won't be back for a
couple more days.''  That thought leads me to try and imagine the mess I'd be
in if I brought these two to _my_ house (actually the Tendou's, but I've still
lived there longer than I have in any one place since I started training).

	``That could be bad.''  Usagi-chama apparently feels the same.

	``Coming to my house?''

	``Trying to get reaquainted at my house.''

	``Yeah, I would think.''  Rei's voice is very dry, so like the Mars
that I remember.

	``My iinazuke would throw a fit.''  Both of them turn to look at me.

	``Iinazuke?''

	``How?'' Usagi aplifies.

	``It was arranged before either of us were born.''

	``Oh.  If she's cute, I don't see why we couldn't try. . . ''

	I cut her off, ``How'd you know this iinazuke is female?''

	``We're talking about you.''  Rei smiles down at me, and I have to
smile back, 'cause I know she's right.

	We walk for a while, and the familiar, slightly posessive, hand on the
small of my back more than makes up for the cold water still in my clothing.
After a block or two Rei slips her arm around my waist, pressing against my
side lightly.  I almost collapse under the sudden wave of . . . trust,
affection, warmth . . . all of those, and more, that weakens my knees.  I
contemplate stopping to gather them both into my arms, then realize that I will
probably end up gathered between them soon enough anyway, and just tug Usagi a
little closer to me.

	She comes willingly, and I rest my head on her shoulder for an instant,
awed by my luck, my sheer joy blinding me too all else.  I don't even notice
the route we take, my eyes closed to better enjoy the trip.

	``Wake up, nikkeila, we're there.'' Mars' --no-- _Rei's_ sweet voice
convinces me to open my eyes, and I pull my head up to smile at her.  She
suddenly bites me on the nose, releases me, and runs up the stairs towards a
temple.  I recognize it as I chase her, laughing.  I catch her at the top of
the stairs, pinch her ear, and run around behind the building, confident that
she'll follow.  Of course, I hadn't counted on Usagi running around the other
way, and she catches me easily, tackling me to the ground, only her hands
behind my head keeping me from cracking it horribly painfully on the ground.

	``Bloody heck.''

	``You didn't need to hit me that hard, you know.''  I smile up at her,
only knowing that she's better sense than to just sit there if we'd really
injured her hands keeping me from worrying.

	``Caught you both!'' Rei exclaims, scooping us both up in her arms and
carrying us inside.

	If you can't figure out what we do that evening, you don't need to
know.  If you can, I don't need to tell you, so I won't.

	Anyway, it was quite enjoyable, and I wake up in the morning slightly
stiff, pleasantly squashed under the mass of the other two.  I move slightly,
mainly to try and get my right hand into a more comfortable position, and
Usagi, who happens to be sleeping on it, wakes up.

	``Morning, Ritsuko-chan,'' she murmors sleepily, lifting herself
slightly so I can reposition my hand, after which she settles down against my
chest again.  I try to remember if I saw a clock last night, but can't.  My
slight squirming is enough to wake Rei-chan.

	``Morning, Ritsuko-chan.  The clock says it's six thirty,'' she mumbles
into my shoulder after a quick look up.

	``Ara!  I need to be at Fuurinkan by 8:30!'' I try and wiggle myself
out without disturbing the other two too much, but they wake up at that too.

	``I'll wash off, then could you show me the kitchen, Nikkeila?''

	``Yeah.  The bath is . . . let me show you.''  She leads the way to the
bath, and I wash myself off quickly with cold water, unwilling to change and
loose the lingering, pleasant, familiar strangness of the night before.
Usagi-chama and Rei-chan wash each other down, and I flee, dressed in a towel,
back to the kitchen.  Quickly I have the rice-cooker started, and have the rest
of breakfast almost made by the time they finish with their bath.

	``Breakfast will be ready shortly.  I can't stay long, I gotta run home
and change.''  I am not going to school in pink.  Not even if they're having
bonfires in hell.

	``OK.''  Usagi-chama sits at the table, and Rei-chan slides up beside
me, setting out the utensils.  ``You've slid right back into your usual
pattern.  Can't remember what mine was, but you feel right.''  Rei-chan kisses
me on the cheek, and the rice-cooker dings, indicating it's done.

	I rush through breakfast with my usual efficiency, present myself for a
kiss from each of them, Usagi-chama's almost making me decide then and there to
give in and spend the day in bed before I get a better grip on myself, then
flee out the door with a final smile and wave.

	About a half-hour later I slip into the Tendou house and silently
bounce up the stairs.  [I based this on my own personal speed (on bicycle) so
it isn't too outragious, I hope.  --S] I strip out of Akane's clothes, fold
them carefully, dress rapidly, then pause to look in the mirror before
realizing that I don't have one.

	``Baka ne, Rits-Ranma-chan,'' I tell myself before I leave the room,
worried that I might lose the bits of my new self I like.

	``Ranma!  Where were you last night?'' Akane yells at me, concern in
her voice.  I spin, look down the hall towards her.

	``Out.  I thought I should wash these before I give them back to you.''
I hold the bundle of pink cloth up for her.  She strides towards me rapidly,
takes it roughly from my hands.  I open her door, an she pushes past roughly,
slaps her clothing down on the bed far harder than she really needs to, then
comes back, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the stairs.  I break free of
her grip as she heads toward the genkan,

	``I left my shoes by the side of the house.''  I sit, slip them on, and
slide around to wait for her at the door.  She's still angry when she comes
out, so I walk at her side, worried.

	``What do you mean, `out'?''

	``I ran into some old friends, and ended up spending the night with
them.''

	``Like that?''

	``Yeah.  I guess they didn't relize that I'm a boy.'' am i?  no idea.
ah well.

	``How could they, with a figure like that!''

	``We met a very long time ago.''

	School passes quickly; Ritsuko's knowledge makes most of my classes far
easier than they were before, and they were never terribly hard.  The teacher
notices, but there is nothing to be done about that.  The other students wonder
at my arriving as a girl, but, other than Kunou, accept it.  Kunou I just have
to pound into a pulp several times; the nurse looks at me funny, for I had
never brought him in before, nor had he been bleeding.

	After school ends I look at Akane, wondering how best to escape.  I
decide on the truth.

	``Akane, I promised a friend that I would go shopping with her; I
should be back about dinner time.''  Akane looks at me like I've grown horns,
but nods slowly.

	``OK, see you when you get back.''

*-*

	``Sorry I'm late,'' I pant, my hands on my knees, ``Stopped to rescue
some kid's kitten from a tree.'' I shudder at the memory.

	``What's wrong?'' Mercury's voice is concerned.

	``I'm horribly afraid of cats, but by the time I'd realized why the kid
was crying I'd already promised to help.''

	``Why are you afraid?''

	``Training accident.  No, that's not right.  Oyaji being his normal
stupid self.'' I look at my hands, still amazed that I don't have any scars
from that.  ``We're going to the shop, right?''

	``Shop?''

	``Silver Millennium Military Maintnence Facility, Farside.''  I
straighten up finally, and Mer-Ami looks like she recognizes that name.

	``How are we going to get there?''  I look at her for a moment, trying
to figure out if she's joking.  After a moment I decide she isn't, and reply.

	``Hand me your computer, please.''  She pulls it out and hands it to
me, and I flip it open.  I'm presented with an unfamiliar interface, so I look
for a terminal window.  Eventually I find the pointer and pull one up, then do
an rlogin localhost, getting a familiar prompt at last.  I look, yep, lots of
mail, more than half of which I'd already read.  I leave it for later, sitting
on the ground while I look up the status of the various lunar facilities.
Everything in local orbit is gone.  The orbiters around the inner planets are
missing, and the larger of the outer-system orbiters as well.  The research
A.S. are mostly still about, but, from the posts to Usenet, have gotten even
stranger than they used to be.  Noa, Eltrium, and Luxion are still about, but
are hiding outside Pluto's orbit.

	I heave a deep sigh, and look into the Lunar facilities.  The palace is
pretty much a write-off, and the fuel dump went up at about the same time.
Nothing on Earthside is still functional.  Farside is in better shape, the
shop is habitable and the main warp generator are still functional.  I look
into the final thing, the most important one.

	/finger misato@yami/
\login:	misato			Name:	Katsuragi Misato
 directory: /nfs/home/misato	Shell: /bin/bash
 On since 64M	(    ) on tty7	7 seconds idle\
there were about seventy more `On since' lines, so I'll spare you.

	/write misato@yami/
	/Hora, iru kai?  Ritsuko dakara wa!/
	\^GRitsuko-chan?  Doko ni iru no?\
	/Chikyuu.  Mercury no ta-minaru no toko.  Wa-pu o akette?/
	\to the shop?\
	/pin-pon/
	\Ima sugu\ true to her word, the gate opens instantly, and I push
myself to my feet and wave Ami-chan to follow me.

	As I step through I'm accosted by a very familiar ghost.

	``Ritsuko-chan!  How have you been!  It's been so dull without you!
I've got so much data for you, it'll blow your mind.  Not literally, of
course.''  I reach out and cup my hand about her cheek, careful not to press to
hard and distort the force-fields that make up her almost corporeal form.

	``Nice to see you too, Misato.  'Neechan will probably want to look at
her backups, and I kinda need to get some things checked out and have a new
interface installed.''

	``Un.  Hey, Noriko came up with a very effective memory integration
algorithm.  We tried it on a lot of both normal and pathological cases, and the
A.S. came through just fine.  We even tried integrating a couple nat's, all
three major kinds, memories, both into A.S. and nats, with no problems!''
Misato bubbles, smiling, her short blond hair flashing about her face as she
turns to look at me.

	``Nice.  Have Noriko talk to Mercury-neesan about it, 'K?''

	``Un.  What do you need to get checked out, anyway?''  Behind me I can
hear Noriko's voice, she doesn't believe in wasting cycles on a corporeal form,
so Mer-Ami's squeak is almost understandable.

	``I picked up this curse, and I sorta ate a bowl of Dragon-Hair soup.''

	``Dragons don't have hair.''  Misato gives me a quizzical look.

	``Modern Earther-Zentraedi mythological type dragon.''

	``Oh.  I sorta thought they didn't exist.''

	``Same here.  Anyway, that makes my hair grow very fast whenever I'm
male.''

	``Oh, that's good.''

	``No, that's the curse.''

	``You turn into a male?''

	``Yep.  Grew up as one this time, too.'' Misato goes for the full `drop
jaw, gasp, and bring hand to face' fault.

	``Tell me about it.  Anyway, I need to make sure that the curse won't
mess with the interface, and I'd like to be rid of the effects of the Dragon's
beard hair.''

	``Let's just make sure this curse of yours works right . . . ''  A long
needle slips out of somewhere into Misato's hand, and she slips it into my arm.
``How does one trigger the change?'' she asks, staring distractedly at my arm.

	``Hot water.'' splash.

	``And to reverse it?''

	``Cold.'' splash.

	``OK, it changes things appropriately, and doesn't shift them relative
to your cells.  Your brain cells maintain their positions and all that.''
splash.

	``What was that for?''

	``It's better to shrink the electronics than expand them.''  I follow
her down the hall into the third theater, and lay down on the table.  The
claspers grab my face, pressing the pickups to my temples.

	/So, now what?/

	``Now we lay open the back of your head, and install the electronics.''

	/I kinda want one of those single-chip warp field generators that were
being developed.  I'd probably need a quantum flux generator too./

	``Those were abandoned because they have this really nasty habit of
blowing up when over stressed.''

	/Really?  Could you send the data this way?/

	``Sure.''  Interesting.  Yeah, a proper Dragon-half could take that
kind of force.  Hmm.

	/If one put a three pico-meter layer of cat 9 under the chip and route
all of the wires over the top, that would keep it from cooking my skull if the
thing blows.  Oh, and could I have the nanites dumped into this body?  40/40/20
rev 65 patch level seventeen or better?/

	``Yeah, we still have the data on those.  Pl17 is still the latest
version, though.  We didn't have anyone to experiment on, so 40/40/12/8 is
still in alpha.  The computer sims look good, but . . . ''

	/So did the sims for 51/49 ^^/

	``Precisely.  Remember, it'll take a couple weeks for the nanites to
finsh working you over.''

	/we probably need to modify them to not change when I do/

	``Yeah.''  I can see her frowning on the monitor.  My head looks kinda
funny with my scalp peeled back, but it looks like the implantation is almost
done.

	\Hey, Ritsuko-chan!  Longtime no see!\

	/Yeah, being dead will do that.  How have you been, Noriko?/

	\Fine.  The Gunbuster is working properly.\

	/I thought Serenity-ou vetoed that project./

	\She did.  I'm here, she's not, we're under budget.  Kazumi keeps
saying we should take it for a test run, but I figured we'd better wait for you
to get back from being dead.  What's it like, being dead?\

	/I don't really remember it.  Things went dark after I confronted
Beryl, then I started rememebering things after I ran into Serenity-chama./

	\Hun.  I dealt with that `Dragon's beard hair' thing, and tweaked your
nanites.\  Misato cuts in.

	/Thanks!  Oh, did that internal beam saber ever pan out?/

	\Yeah.  Works fine in Ryuu or Dragon-half, but it causes massive
problems for people who are more than half Zentradi.\

	/Could you install it?  I promise not to use it until after the nanites
are done with me. ^_^/

	\Come back when they're done, I know you too well.\

	/Aww. . ./ suddenly it feels like my arm has been dipped in molten lead
and my nerves are refusing to die.  then it stops.  /Oh, that's what you mean
by massive problems.  Just while it is being used, right?/

	\No, it does something to Zentradi nervous systems, and only a hard
reset will make the pain go away after activating the beam saber once.\

	/Ow.  Who was the experimental subject?/

	\Computer model.  We cloned up some Zentradi nerve tissue to check our
findings, though.\

	/OK.  I'll see you in a couple weeks./  the monitor shows that my head
has been closed up, and the claspers release.

	``Try it, please.''

	/Misato-chan?/

	\Hai!  ii yo.  You probably want your suit, right?\

	/Yeah, but didn't it go up. . . I had it in the shop because that set
of 141 engines was available, didn't I./

	\Pin-pon.  I took the liberty of installing a quantum flux generator to
power everything about two hundred thousand years ago.\

	/Thanks./ Something doesn't seem right about that, so I chase it about
for a moment, /Two hundred thousand years ago desu tte?/

	\Hai.  It's been almost half a million years.\  My knees get too
floppy, so I sit down rapidly on the floor.

	``Half a million years!'' I shout.

	``What?'' Ami-chan asks, sticking her head out of a door.

	``Misato just told me it's been half a million years.''  Ami-chan sits
down really quick too.

	``I know it shouldn't be so shocking; human archeaology has pretty much
followed the trail left as part of the settlement arangements, and things pan
out for it having been that long ago, but I have a bit of a hard time thinking
in that kinda long term.''  I nod, she's got that right.

	``Venus would probably be able to cope better.''  Ami-chan nods
agreement, Venus was older than the moon kingdom by a good two hundred years,
had fought in the Final War, and was the most genuinely happy of anyone in the
court.

	``Anything else you need to get?''

	``Yeah, I need to get my armor, and the ring should be done by now,''
I'd ordered it a week before that all happened, and was planning on giving
it the day after that last masquerade party, ``Misato hasn't handed over the
RNA dumps, and I need a spaud.''

	``You mean?''

	``Yeah, I had that nice one Serenity-chama got me with me at the
party.''

	``And it was destroyed with the ballroom.''  I nod sadly at her.

-

	I roll the three hoops in my hand, uncertain, then stuff them in my
pocket.  It was grown, painstakingly, from a single seed of alloy, never
seperated, triangular in cross-section with a single third-twist so that they
had only one side, one edge.  It had taken me hours to do the math on the warp
spell, and days to get it right; the three hoops actually a single lump of
alloy.  I know I've changed, however, from the Ritsuko who made this symbol of
a partnership that may not have stood the test of time, and that the other two
have as well.

	``Ritsuko?'' I look up from my feet at Usagi-chama's word, suddenly
struck by the changes in her; she was always so angry, that anger a driving
force, the one thing that seperated her from her family, her mother, that made
her so attractive.  I suddenly can't stand to watch her anymore; torn by the
picture of myself she reflects in her soft innocence.  Am I such a twisted
little bitch that I can't love anyone who isn't as torn as I?  Usagi-chama
seems so vulnerable; Serenity-chama was hard, strong, protective.  I force
myself to look back at her.

	``Usagi-chan,'' she flinches at the diminuative, ``I need to think
about this mess; I'm sorry, but you are not the Serenity-chama that I knew,
aren't my Akai Kiba,'' she blinks at the name she'd earned herself so long ago,
``And I am not Ritsuko.''  I force my eyes open at the sniffle I hear, staring
into Usagi's tearing eyes, ``This doesn't mean I can't fall in love with you; I
just don't want to wake up in your arms six years from now knowing that I'm
just hurting both of you by staying.'' I never could say such things well, now
is no different, and I'm crying again.  Usagi suddenly hugs me, pillowing my
face against her shoulder.

	``Shh, we'll work this out; last time you were crying because I was a
mean, nasty person who ripped peoples' throats out, and now you're crying
'cause I'm not.'' she shakes her head, ``People are such complicated beasts.''
I nod my agreement, ``I'll see you tomorrow, OK?''

	``OK.''  I peel myself from her, and she smiles that predatory grin I
still find so enchanting.

	``I'll see about getting my teeth fixed for ya.''  I almost melt,
almost stay there at the look in her eyes, the warm safe feeling throughout my
belly and the weakness in my knees it leaves me with.  Turning away I suddenly
feel how close she is to tears, and turn back.

	``Usagi-chama,'' she looks up, her eyes glittering, ``I just did a
whole bunch of RNA, and it always makes me maudlin and insecure.''

	``And after about sixteen hours you end up blowing up at trifles for a
few hours,'' her eyes are still glittering, but she's a lot calmer, ``How much
did you do?''

	``Six pills.  Four of Earth history and two of research results.''

	``And Misato never packs them lightly.''

	``Nope.  I'll see you 'bout five tomorrow, OK?  I should be decent
company again by then.''  She nods, giving me a weak smile.  I smile back and
leap to the roof.

-

	``Ranma?''  Akane's voice is concerned, I didn't think she would be.
Guess that just shows me how big a fool I am.

	``Yeah?''  I set my armour down in the genkan, glad to have the
seventy-five kilo mass off my shoulder.

	``Where have you been?  And what is that?''

	Heck with it, I can probably trust her, ``The moon, and this is a V-30
VolksJaeger battlesuit.''  She actually facefaults.

	``I don't believe you.''  She looks like she does, though.

	``OK.  Lemme see if I can help Kasumi with dinner.''  Akane facefaults
again; kinda shocking, that.

-

	``Yes, you may help.  Please pass me the tama-negi and chop the
daikon.''  Tears drip down my face at the normalicy of it all as I hand her the
onion.

-

	Pulling the spell-softened alloy of the armor's undersuit out, I stare
at the fulgin material, darker than the depths of space, trace the familiar
silver metallic trim, the three insignia on the right shoulder, the blue rose
of my callsign, the orange sunburst of Mars-chan's family, and Serinity's
silver crescent moon.  Old memories, old fears, old battles flash through my
mind, the strange doubling of my past spreading, easing somehow as it spreads.

	I gather the gloves and boots up, and slip up the stairs to my room,
no, it's the Tendou's guest room; I've never had anything of my own, really,
this life.  Stripping down, I stare at my body, so like Ritsuko's, pull on my
armour, the slight chill familiar against my skin, and streach about, working
it smooth, the skin-tight material fitting perfectly.  When I first tried it on
it didn't fit nearly as well, and only days of adjustment got it right.  I
settle to the floor, stroke my boots, the alloy glove-soft, the result of
hundreds of hours work by mages far more powerful than I, then pull them on,
and the gloves, stroke my face with them, the fulgin cold as ice against my
face, the silver just above blood warm.

	Peeling my gloves off again I pick up the katar's sheath, a sudden
flush of loss washing through me, the blade had been my mother's, and her
mother's before, a tradition so long no one had bothered to trace it properly.
I feel for it, the ancient spells distinctive signature, and find it intact.
Concentrating hard, I open a warp, pull a core from the solid rock it is
embedded in, and shatter the stone from around it.  I brush the fragments to
one side, feel the warm steel older than the whales.  I caress it, brush it
against my face, it's aura of power, chaos, age soothing me.  I slip it into
it's sheath against my belly and pull on my gloves.

	Suddenly the choice has to be made; cry or practice.

	The kata starts, I force my body through the unfamiliar Silver
Millennium forms, harder, faster, harder again.  After fighting through it
seven or eight times I begin the next one, letting the feed of music Misato
runs unendingly flow through me, fighting the urge to sync to the music my
Zentradi heritage gives me, struggling to use the music to boost my ki without
letting it control me.

    d~We got to move these refrigerators, we got to move these color TV's d~

	I let myself smile, keep the form to it's proper not-quite-rhythm,
begin again.

    d~I want my MTV! d~

	The song ends, and there is the usual four seconds of silence before
the next one begins.  I don't pay terrible much attention.

    d~Oh girls, just a wanna, just a wanna d~
    d~Satin sheets are very romantic/what happens when you're not there? d~

	I shift to the next one, the sun slanting across the yard, Oyaji just
staring at me, Akane looking worried, Kasumi smiling somehow sadly.

   d~Can't explain, I try to say to you d~

	The stars are out, shining down on me.  I'd almost expect them to have
moved, but they haven't; they're only blocked by the light pollution of Tokyo.
I force myself through the final move of the training sequences and let myself
drop, dropping the feed, tired as I've never been before, exhausted, cleansed
for a moment of my sorrows.  I force myself up, walk to the kitchen and drink
from the faucet for a long time, glad for the clammy chill of the suit as I
shake from immanent dehydration, my face damp with sweat, my hair plastered
flat with it.

	``Don't worry, Kaa-chan, I didn't overdo it too badly.''  Kasumi nods
dumbly at me, and I stumble around her and up the stairs, collapse on the floor
mostly inside the guest room.

-

	I start school the next morning feeling absotively rotten, about normal
for twelve hours after doing that much RNA; and stiff as a waterlogged planck,
about normal after doing something as stupid as last night's training session.
By lunch it is taking more and more effort to keep my temper, but at least I
don't feel like what the cat dragged in.

	Ryouga, I guess, must have luck as bad as his direction sense to find
me then.  If he'd not arrived until after school I'da just said I'm sorry and
gotten him lost to think about it.  He didn't and I didn't.

	``Saotome Ranma, prepare to die!'' the voice is familiar, and so is the
umbrella approaching from above.  I backflip up from where I'm sitting, grab
the umbrella between my boots, and disarm him.  The sudden flash of chasing
Oyaji, and the yellow and brown black-haired boulder I ran over after him, fill
in most of the remaining details.

	``Hibiki Ryouga.  I'm really sorry 'bout the duel, but I waited three
days!  You should've had better sense than to follow me to Jusenyou.''  I dodge
his frantic blow, ``I guess you fell into one of the pools, huh?'' he replies
with an angry roar and a blow I dodge.

	``OK, so I accidentally knocked you into a pool.  It coulda been worse,
I coulda seen you before I landed on your head and kicked you in the balls
first.''  suiting action to words I do just that.  He staggers satisfactorily,
and I laugh at him.  I'm such a fucking _bitch_ at this stage, and most people
have the sense to stay out of my sight until I'm over it.

	``Ryouga, if you don't want me to mess you up, you should go away and
come back when I'm in a better mood.  Or you can just lay there and I'll come
back when I think I can fight without trying to kill you.''  The stupid shit
gets up and comes after me.  I back hand him across the face.  The sickening
crack is the first sign that I've forgotten how weak calcium bones are, and the
sudden endorphin rush is the second.

	``Ranma?''  I guess the dimbulb finally realized I'm a girl.

	``Well, fuck.''  I pull the bones straight and wrap a quick splinting
spell around them, keeping them together and stiff.  ``Ryouga, you really
should leave me alone for a few hours, I'm not going to be very rational.''  I
pull the spaud from my belt left-handed and light it, the warm hum soothing me
a very slight bit.  Ryouga stares at the glowing blade, enraptured, for a very
long instant.

	``Ranma, I'm sorry.  I'll wait here until you feel better,'' he
suddenly babbles.

	``Don't wander off.'' I snap in reply, then curiosity overwhelms the
anger enough that I can ask, ``just what pool did you fall into, anyway?''

	``Small black piglet.''  Then that one Oyaji was gonna eat. . .

	``I'll kill the damn sheepfucker.''

	``What?''  I laugh at his confused expression.

	``You got grabbed by a panda and almost eaten, right?''

	``Yeah, how'd you know?''

	``'Cause the panda who was gonna eat you is Kusooyaji.  Stay right
here, and unless I get better control of myself soon, I'll bring you back a
nice panda-fur rug.''  How am I gonna deal with this?  Mars-chan'll help me,
wrap her wings about me and keep me from hurting anyone 'til it's over, 'til
I'm sane again.

-

	``Mars-chan,'' the raw need in my voice scares me, and the stares I
receive don't help, but she comes, leads me out of sight of her classroom
door.  I colapse sobbing against her, glad the anger has finally receded and I
can think straight again.

	``Ritsuko-chan, what's wrong?''

	``You talk to Usagi-chama last night?''

	``No,'' she sounds confused.

	``I did six pills worth of RNA last night, and just kicked a friend of
mine in the balls,'' she winces, ``broke my arm on his face,'' she hugs me a
bit tighter, I'm glad she doesn't insist on instantly looking into the matter,
that she trusts me to have dealt with it properly, ``And seriously contemplated
skinning my worthless excuse for a father.''

	``I take it that's all that happened?''

	``Isn't that enough?''

	``Yeah, but remember the last time you did this much data?''  Blessed,
how could I have forgotten that?  I nod weakly into her chest; at least no one
has bullet holes this time.

	``Good.  I'll buy you a cup of coffee.''  She wraps her arm lightly
about my waist and leads me down the hallway.

	``Don't you have to finish class?''  I mean, I'm ditching, but I kinda
figure it's better to ditch than risk ripping the teacher's throat open with my
bare hands . . .

	``It's just English, nothing important.''

	``You'll get in trouble.''  She laughs and shakes her head at me.

	``Don't worry 'bout me.  I kinda figure they'll kick me out soon as my
wings grow back.''  Mars-chan was a type 45 S&B, wasn't she.  Ryuu had a
fascination with chiroptera since they evolved, and the type 45 had the
prettiest wings of any Dragon-half modification, at least in my mind.

-

	She pulls into sight in front of the little shop, then into the small
area of motorcycle parking to one side, and I am instantly captivated.  She's a
1987 Kawasaki EX250, without a single scratch on her.  Rei-chan gets up to
look, and when she sees her gives me a swat on the shoulder.

	``Ever the mechaphile, aren't you.''  The affection in her voice would
make anyone else wonder.

	``Yep.''  I down the last of my coffee and head outside.  Her rider has
his helmet off, and is turning to come inside.

	``Hora, 'Niisan, nice bike.''  He smiles at me, and I give him that
crooked grin that's always gotten other people to let me play with their toys.

	``Thanks, would you like to ride her?''  Rei-chan suppresses a giggle
next to me.

	``I could?'' he nods, ``Thanks, 'Niisan.''  I slip the keys from his
hand and have the locks opened before he can sputter about my having
misunderstood him, slip them into the storage compartment under the seat, and
find that yes, I can just barely get the balls of both feet onto the ground at
once.  I slip the key into the ignition and hit the starter, listening to her
engine as she warms up.

	/Misato-chan?/
	\Yeah?\
	/Where's that helmet you said I had?/
	\shelf 12, 'bout midway down\ I open a small warp, pull it out, and set
it on the tank for a moment while I pull my gloves out of it, then pull it on
and do up the strap.
	/Thanks!/
	\Welcome.\

	``Don't worry, Rei-chan will stay here to make sure I come back, and
I've got my license.''  Rei-chan gives me a look that promises dire
consequences, and the guy just looks shell-shocked as I back her slowly out.

	The next hour is a blast.  She's not anywere near as powefull as an STX
booster, but they can't operate as near to the ground, either.  I take the
first while slow, keeping to the traffic rules, making sure I can actually
count on my new reflexes to keep her under control, then start on the stupid
but fun tricks.  I even manage to get her up on her rear wheel for a bit, more
through determination than engine power, but that isn't a bad thing.

	I refill her tank, slip a Y1000 note into the storage area, and head
back to the shop, park her again.

	Rei-chan glares at me, and the guy just stares at the dust patterns on
the tires; I did kinda push the limit on some of the later turns.  I pull off
my gloves and helmet, setting them down.

	``Thanks, 'Niisan.  Your friend is very nice.'' It takes him a moment
to realize I was referring to the bike.  ``Here,'' I hand him a second Y1000
note, ``For the tire wear.''  He takes it numbly, then looks up at me.

	``I'm glad you enjoyed it.''

-

	``Pretty,'' I say, admiring the TZR 250.

	``What's special about her?''  Rei asks, dropping her hand on my
shoulder.

	``Her expansion chambers come out the back of the cylinders, rather
than the front.  Cleaner gas path, pipes over the engines, rather than
underneath.''

	``Oh.  She's two years old.''

	``Yes.  Hmm.  Maybe I can find a CX650 Turbo.''

	``What's this?''  Rei asks about a little two-smoke with four
tailpipes.

	``TZ 500.  Two cranks.  Fast, but.''

	``You don't want it.''

	``Not right now,'' I stop to admire a somewhat grubby little
half-fared Ducati 750SS.  The tag is only a little outrageous.

	/Misato-chan?/
	\Yeah?\
	/How is the Duc, Mechanically?/
	\You can check that yourself, you know.\
	/But it is faster to ask you./
	\It's in great shape, mostly original parts, no QC problems, little
wear.\
	/Cash?/
	\Drawer 17.\
	/Thanks./

	I pull out the wad, and start counting.  The shopkeep appears with
promptnes.

-
	``Put this on.''  Rei-chan takes the helmet gingerly, but gets it on
easily, and gets the straps right on the first try.

	``Where are we going?'' she asks as she climbs on behind me, the engine
most of the way warm.

	``DMV.  I need to transfer Miya's title, get her registered, and then
insurance.''  Rei-chan nods against my back.  I back Miya out and pull into the
street, keeping to the limit, for it wouldn't do to get a speeding ticket
before I'm even officially a vehicle owner.

	``Cherish/Cherish/So tired of broken hearts/and loosing at this game
before I start . . . '' Rei-chan laughs against my back, for it is a bit of a
strain to force my voice low enough for the song.  I kinda lack English
language gender-indeterminate or female pronouns that fit the song, so I just
throw in whichever I think fits best as I hit whichever word I need to change.

-

	``Um, Ryouga-kun?''  He looks up from where he's sitting, and begins to
look very angry.  Rei-chan takes an agressive stance next to me, and I place a
calming hand on her shoulder.  ``Sorry I made you wait so long.  Anyway, I
can't cure your curse, but I can move the trigger point.''  Serenity-chama
coulda cured him outright, but I can't work that much power.

	``What?''

	``The temperature that your curse activates at.  I figure if I kick it
down to about negative 20 Celsius it will make changes infrequent without the
possibility of them being 90% fatal, as, say, negative 40 C would be.''

	``Why would negative fourty be bad?  Water freezes long before that.''

	``'Cause there are ways to get liquid water that cold, and if that were
to happen you would become a very hypothermic piglet, if not a pigcicle.''

	``Oh.'' he sounds scared, as well he should be.

	``Anyway, since I didn't bring you a panda-fur rug, could you show off
your directional curse, please?'' he nods, ``Good.  Which way is north?'' he
points the right way, ``The school building?'' he points at it, ``Right?'' he
points right, ``Left?'' he points left.  Then why does it take him four days to
get to a vacant lot a coulple hundred meters from his house?  ``Could you walk
towards the school?''  he starts off in the opposite direction, and the aura of
magic about him is impressive.

	/Nanae-san?/
	\Nan ja, Ritsuko?\
	/Ranma.  Um, I think you might be interested in this/ I encode and dump
the data on Ryouga up the link.
	\Un.  Give 'm an interface.\

	``OK, stop, please.''  I press my hand to his head and kick the trigger
point down.  ``OK, that deals pretty much with the Jusenkyou curse.  Nanae-san
will see what she can do about the directional one.''  I pull a portable
interface off a shelf and hand it to him.  ``Just wrap it about the back of
your head like so,'' I put it on him, ``And talk.  It works a lot like a
telephone, only this bit,'' I touch the point that sticks up over his right
ear, ``Can generate pictures as well.''

	/Nanae-san?/
	\You gave 'm one?\
	/Hai./
	\Yoroushi.\

	``OK, Ryouga-kun, show me this directional curse of yours,'' Nanae
tells him.

	Ryouga promptly wanders off, in good hands for once.  Rei-chan wraps
an arm about my shoulder and leads us back to Miya.



---
Log:
1998:		Wrote most of this chapter, all in a lump.  Posted, edited,
		modified.
2004:		Modified some more, added some more, some edits.
2006/Nov/11:	A couple little mods and a couple tiny edits