In the Shadow of the Moon ch23

disclaimer - I don't own Ranma 1/2, Sailor moon, Ruroni Kenshin, or Negima. this work is purely for entertainment and not for profit

single quotes (' ') denote thoughts or telepathy

forward slash (/ /) denote translated speech

Ranma wakes up in the comfortable hotel room bed. He tries to reach for the clock to check the time but finds his arm is tangled up. looking down he notices his arm is being held down by a slender arm draped over it . He is only slightly relieved to recognize Inhoshi's red hair as he looks down her bare torso.

He would be pleased to realize that she was at least wearing a pair of the stretch shorts noriko had introduced him to. The limitation on this was caused by the fact that his other arm was presently under her waist and his hand was pressed against said shorts. Inhoshi had somehow fallen asleep with her legs locked around his and resulted in his hip being pulled so he was leaning into her smaller form.

All in all he would have expected to be killed by a jealous fiance, if found in this position less than two months ago. The covers shifted slightly and he discovered the additional reason he could not move his semi-free arm was the addition of another slender arm reaching over his to lay lightly on Inhoshi's hip.

Ranma was unable to turn his head enough to look at the other girl's face, but the feeling of something soft being pressed into his back made him realize that it must be Kaede comfortably laying against him.

This was confirmed when he felt her shift and lay her cheek against the base of his neck. "Ohayo Ranma-dono. did you sleep well?"

Feeling Ranma tense up underneath her, Kaede simply leans gently into Ranma until she feels him relax again. "Inhoshi-dono and I would not wish to harm you or cause you pain degozaru."

"So getting me drunk so you could play with me was not intended to hurt me?" Ranma asks quietly.

"There was a little hard cider in there but most of the drinks were sparkling grape juice." Kaede chuckles while leaning into Ranma a bit more. "It was fun watching Inhoshi stop being quite so innocent seeming last night. I promised to meet Kotaro-kun this morning for training, would you like to join us? We can get breakfast on the way, my treat."

Inhoshi chooses this moment to mumble and move around in her sleep. Given their relative positions this causes Ranma to blush deeply. Inhoshi's smile as she nuzzles into Ranma's chest makes him seriously wonder if she is only pretending to be asleep. To test this he reaches through their link and undoes her transformation. Bracing with his now free hand he keeps himself from rolling over on the deeply asleep cabbit. Ranma picks her up and gets out of the bed.

Ranma begins to turn back to the bed. "I think it would be fun to train with you and Kot..." Ranma is unable to finish his sentence as he notices Kaede had not bothered wearing anything to bed.

Kaede grins at him and slides from the other side of the bed. Gracefully bending over at the waist to get fresh clothes from her backpack by the curtained window. She chuckles when she looks back over her shoulder and Ranma has quickly done an about face.

"I think Kotaro-kun would appreciate you joining us. Konatsu-chan might be there as well." She says while sliding a pair of tight slacks up her legs. She finishes putting on a sports bra and a short sleeved shirt. Walking up behind Ranma she wraps her arms around his waist. Not feeling him tense this time, she whispers. "Thank you Ranma-dono."

--

Ranma had adjusted to Kaede's silent desire, to just be close to him, by the time they reached a small beach side cafe that was offering a breakfast buffet. He had to admit simply having a girl lace her arm through his, without latching on like a vice, was actually a pleasant experience.

Inhoshi was still deeply asleep on Ranma's head. Kaede had informed him that Inhoshi had put a lot of effort into using her own reserves of energy to transform herself last night, rather than be a drain on her partner. Ranma reached up to scratch Inhoshi's ears. Likely she would be out the rest of the day.

After paying for the meal Kaede helped Ranma carry several well stocked plates, as well as her own, to a table. They were settling down to eat, when they witnessed a yellow topped purple blur go by. Kaede grinned when the blur doubled back and dove under their table's floor length table cloth.

Ranma was slightly confused by this until a group of a half dozen pretty young women came into view. "Happi where did you get off too." One of them calls.

"Come on out cutie, you promised to spend the day with me, remember." Shouts another of the women.

This receives an aggressively negative response from the others and the budding cat fight wanders off in search of their target. Once the rising shouting had moved out of ear shot, Ranma glances under the table.

An oddly quiet Happosai upon seeing Ranma looking at him makes a whispered statement. "Ranma my boy, I humbly apologize for any times I made light of your situation. I never realized just how much danger could be involved in having so many girls clamoring for your attention."

Kaede makes a small laugh. Ranma was completely shocked at this and simply nodded his head. Happosai cautiously climbed out from under the table.

"So Happosai-sensei, what exactly brought all of that on?" Kaede asks with her patented grin.

Happosai scratches the back of his head, much like his student had when facing a similar circumstance. "Well since we arrived here in Kumejima, I decided to try my luck getting the attention of some of the ladies. I took several out on dates the first week and had some fun. The last several days though, the whole pack of them plus a few others seem to be waiting for me as soon as I try to leave the hotel."

"Well I can tell you from experience running won't help. The only thing I can offer is if you don't owe them anything, you need to put your foot down and say you won't have them hounding you." Ranma finally can't control his laughter anymore at being able to offer his sensei advice.

Happosai shrugs. "I guess I did make my own bed in this case. Thank you for the advice Ranma." Happosai begins to leave, but is sidetracked by the smile of the college age girl working the cash register.

Ranma and Kaede somehow manage to contain further chuckles until after Happosai made dinner arrangements for the evening with the young woman.

--

After finishing their meal, complete with a second trip for more food, Ranma and Kaede set out to find Kotaro. They find him walking along with Natsume, her freckles almost obscured by a blush, and the much taller Akira. Both girls are dressed in swimsuits and seem to be heading down to enjoy the beach for one of the last days before the trip ends.

"Hey yah Kota-kun, have you seen Konatsu?" Ranma calls to the younger boy.

"We saw him with Ucchan as we were leaving the hotel Ranma-niisan." Kotaro shakes his head sadly. "He asked me to say he would be spending the day with 'Ukyo-sama' and would not be joining us for training."

Kotaro cringes when Ranma cheers. "Way to go Konatsu."

Kotaro waves to the two girls he had been with as they leave to go to the beach.

"So Kota-kun why was Natsume-chan blushing like that?" Kaede inquires mildly.

"No clue Kaede-neesan." Kotaro shrugs. "I jus' said her swimsuit looked nice and she started stammerin'."

"Well the three of us can still get plenty of practice in before lunch." Ranma concludes while puzzling at Kaede's quiet chuckles.

--

At the Nekohanten, Ami and Har Bo are busy comparing the intelligence they had gathered on odd, non-demon, related activities within the Tokyo area. After they both confirmed that unless a celestial entity was actively using their powers, they could not detect their presence.

They are soon joined by Usagi, the amazon elders, and the two team leaders. Usagi starts the conversation by asking what they have learned.

Ami chews her lower lip while trying to think how to start. "We have to assume that by what Circe said, that none of the Senshi or Elders can be directly involved in investigating. We would be detected quickly." Smiling sadly at Mu Se she continues. "I fear that means we will have to rely on the amazon teams alone for direct investigation of possible hideouts."

Xian Pu grins at this. "You need not fear for us Ami-san, we can handle ourselves well."

Ku Lon smiles at this and keeps from laughing at Mu Se's irritation on missing the chance to try and reassure his lady himself.

Mu Se directs the next important question to Ami. "What are the locations you have found for us to investigate first?" His tone showed no hint that she could have possibly failed to find the trail they needed

Har Bo seeing the other girl blush took up the slack. "The most widespread thing that has started appearing is a rise in the number of high school and college age students being taken to hospitals by their parents after they collapsed from exhaustion. The common thread for most of them is that they reported having recently returned from going out dancing."

Once again directing his question to Ami, Mu Se continued. "Has there been any connection between them? Such as they all went to the same club."

Ami recovers enough to answer for herself. "There are many different night spots. While on a given night several might have gone to the same club, there is no connection between them from one night to the next."

"It seems we will have no choice except to split the children up into teams of two for safety and investigate as many places as they can in one night." Mas Cre sagely intones. "Fighting the demons that are still showing up will fall back to the Senshi."

Usagi nods. "I believe we are better prepared now thanks to your training Elder."

The meeting proceeds with them outlining their investigation strategy and deciding who will be paired together. Xian Pu refuses to team up with Bru Xi and insists on working with Par Fum. They decide that Po Mad might be best able to keep Bru Xi under control. Xin Chi will work with Bu Fer. Which leaves Mu Se and Har Bo to work together.

Har Bo leans over to whisper to Ami. "I promise to keep other girls from hanging of Mu Se for you." She says this with a sincere smile. Ami gratefully nods.

Mu Se notices it is near lunch time and quickly takes the opportunity to spend time with Ami. "As I won't be able to take you on any diner dates for the time being, will you allow me to be your escort for lunch today?" Ami quickly agrees and they make their exit.

--

Akane finds herself wondering if Ku Fei might be a sadist. After hearing the supposed training methods Ranma's father employed, she thought she was prepared for the worst there could be.

Ku Fei did not employ short cuts or bizarre methods, but she had set a punishing pace in their morning training. Akane would have felt better about this if a ten year old boy was not outperforming her in keeping up with their sensei.

'It was bad enough that Ranma was out classing me. Now this Negi is as well.' Akane thinks while gripping her hands into tight fists, watching the boy demonstrate a complex kata. Sighing her mood lightens a little. 'At least he is willing to take me seriously when we spar."

Akane attempts to reproduce the kata and Ku Fei does not spare her feelings in pointing out the flaws. After more than an hour of practicing the same kata, Akane finally is close to getting it right. She beams when the younger girl is also not sparring in her praise of Akane's progress.

--

Kasumi is also making the discovery that having taken a week off from training might not have been her best choice. She would not even consider not having spent that extra time with Tofu sensei, but her muscles are now protesting the pace Noriko is setting.

Nodoka, on the other hand, is showing the benefit of having Noriko focus solely on her, and is beginning to show the potential her father spent much of his time convincing her she did not have as a child.

Noriko did not let either of them slack but she congratulated each of the younger women when they succeeded in improving their technique.

Tofu-sensei and Kari with Akiri and Nabiki in tow joined them when they broke for lunch. After watching Akiri put away another meal that should have caused her to split down the middle, Nodoka and Tofu join Noriko for lessons in using spiritual energy. Kari takes Kasumi and Nabiki to a local shrine to help them in sensing the spiritual energy of a place.

"So are you going to teach us to cast a fire spell using wands like Negi-sensei did with Yue and Konoka?" Nabiki asks.

"Mages have to use a focus like a wand." Kari answers while summoning a crackling sphere of lightning to her hand. "Spirit creatures and their descendants do not need such a crutch. This is a primary requirement to be an enchantress. If you can not focus spiritual energy without tools you can not create new tools."

Dismissing the destructive sphere she continues. "While the direct effects such as spells are important. For an enchantress it is more important to know how to sense and gather energy to you." With a wink she finishes. "I thought for the sake of young lovers I would start by teaching you how to raise the available spiritual energy in the environment first."

Nabiki blinks at this, and Kasumi gets a mischievous grin shared by Kari as she slides out of her Jacket and hands it to Akiri. "Allow me to demonstrate." Kari says while walking over to a tall Japanese man with short black hair. "Pardon me sir, but could you help me with something?" Kari barely waits for an affirmative response before wrapping her arms around the man's neck and pulling his head down and capturing his lips in a passionate kiss.

The man lasts for only a very short time before collapsing to the ground with a goofy grin. Turning back to the other young women she lick her lips sensually. Causing a few more men who were nearby to pass out, much to one's female companion's consternation. "Now can either of you feel how much that increased the energy of the area?"

"I can definitely feel a change in the atmosphere." Nabiki replies with a smirk. "I am just not certain how it can be put to use."

"I fear I can not sense much at the moment Kari-san." Kasumi replies quietly.

Kari puts her right hand on her chin and adopts a thoughtful expression. "Well perhaps if we increase the atmosphere more."

Nabiki closes her eyes trying to feel the energy of the area and therefore does not see Kari approach. The kiss Kari gives Nabiki is too much for any living male who witnesses it, not to mention a few women,

Kasumi breaks down in laughter at her sister's expression. Kari looks into the slightly shorter girl's now saucer sized eyes and grins in a manner Happosai could appreciate. Leaning forward she slowly licks around the other girl's mouth. "Yummy, That was your first kiss wasn't it."

Kasumi glances around at the gathering pools of blood around the men who had almost regained their senses. "I definitely can feel the extra energy now Kari-sensei"

Kari steps back from Nabiki, who is slowly regaining her senses. "I won't hold it against you if you don't want to study with me anymore Nabiki-chan."

Nabiki inspects the collateral damage for a bit before she closes her eyes and breathes in deeply. Holding her hands in front of her she makes sparks dance between her fingers and grins with a warmth her former ice queen nature would never allow.

"I think I can live with the lessons you have to teach Kari-sensei." Nabiki replies without losing her grin.

--

Several days later Ranma and his mother find themselves welcomed into the real Saotome family home in Yokohama. Kasumi easily convinced her sisters to go with Tofu-sensei and herself back to Fukui to help get him moved to Mahora. Kari and Akiri left to return to Mahora with the others after giving Ranma hugs goodbye. Kari marveled at how much her older sisters strength had improved in the last month with their parting hug. Akiri was treated to a much more gentle hug before leaving with Kari.

Ranma found himself cornered for a long and lingering hug by a clone Kaede had left behind. The brief kiss she gave him before disappearing felt nice as well. Inhoshi was happily humming a tune on his shoulder through this. After a few days Ranma had accepted he could not discourage his partner from snuggling with him in human form at night. The cabbit girl let him have a small victory by formally stating he would allow her to share his bed, and only smiled happily

Atsuko was positively bouncing with joy at finally being able to host her nephew in her home. The rooms she gave to Ranma and his mother were spacious enough to make the guest room at the Tendo-ke seem a monk's cell.

Ranma was further surprised to be informed that the rooms were theirs as long as they want, and they both would be welcomed at any time. Atsuko proved this by taking them shopping for furnishings for the rooms and giving them security keys for the house.

After the last visit by an unwelcome ronin, Atsuko had invested in a very high tech security system. Which proved effective against every possible trick Ranma could come up with after volunteering to test it.

The next day was spent with Paru showing him all the sites the city had to offer, or at least was after she was able to pry Ranma away from playing .Hack//Infection with the promise of helping him find a copy of Mutation.

--

When Negi and company arrived back at Mahora they were surprised to find Eva declare her resort off limits. Saying she wanted to focus on practicing her new technique and did not have time to babysit. The girls agreed after seeing that Eva now had the appearance of a thirteen year old with the beginnings of more adult features.

While they were not completely convinced but were willing to accept her statement. They were slightly worried by Chacha-zero's maniacal laughter from the basement anyway.

Even Chamo came running quickly back out of the basement after going to check on his friend. His refusal to even think about what he had seen made the others decide to turn their curiosity elsewhere.

#special note - now might be a good time to put on music to suit a very dark atmosphere

Genma floated on the borders of consciousness thinking about what he had experienced over the last several months.

After he has collapsed with heat stroke the first day in the desert he was awakened by a splash of cold water, feeling the affects of a bad sunburn. He had felt frustrated that he had no way to try and collect the water that was quickly absorbed by the sand. He soon set out to create a burrow into a sand dune to sleep through the next day's heat.

The plan worked reasonably well until somehow a horde of scorpions invaded the burrow. Crashing out of the sand dune and frantically stomping the arachnids earned him his second case of heat stroke. The next day he was able to trap the bugs instead. After spitting them on a chopstick, acquired before leaving the hospital, he cooked them over a pocket mirror he had grabbed to look around corners.

Having eaten something he tried to sleep. That evening, Genma was able to get some water from the evaporative collectors he had setup before sunrise. With a little more energy now he tried to explore for a few hours to see if he could find a way out of this place.

Giving the attempt up as hopeless several hours before dawn he created a new burrow and reset his collectors. This time he was expecting something to happen but now instead of scorpions the burrow was invaded by poisonous snakes.

The traps prepared for small creatures failed, but his martial skills allowed him to kill the snakes before they could bite him. They made a nice meal for the fat martial artist.

Genma quickly realized this did not please who ever was out to make him miserable. After being knocked unconscious he found all of his supplies and tools had disappeared. He did not sleep at all the next two days or the intervening night.

Finally collapsing in exhaustion he slept for the entire day and was surprised to awaken unmolested that evening.

Genma was left alone to suffer with hunger and the little amount of water he could collect. Finally collapsing with dehydration after a week.

Genma was surprised to awaken falling through the sky again. The air was much colder this time and someone had shaved all of the fur off his panda form. He landed with a heavy splash in an ice cold river. Genma climbed out and happily slaked his thirst.

While not happy, he could survive better in the cold then in the heat. Summoning his Ki reserves he was able to craft an ice cave and dry some wood before hypothermia set in.

Genma was happy to discover his panda form's fur was restored after heating some water and then splashing himself with cold water again. Now he was well equipped to survive the cold.

Now he only had to wait and see what new thing his tormentor would do. Nothing happened for another week and his paranoia grew with every day.

Genma was jumping at shadows after another week had passed.

After another month he was beginning to believe that he might have been forgotten. He only wished he had been, after he began to be attacked daily by a group of three strange looking ten year old girls.

Every night he was beaten bloody by them and every day he would wake up with most of his worst injuries healed only for the cycle to repeat. The girls never spoke to him when he demanded to know why they were doing this. They only smiled evilly when he begged for mercy.

Genma lost track of how long this went on for, before things changed yet again.

His revery was rudely interrupted by being splashed by heated salt water. Genma screamed as the salt found every nick and cut in his skin. He looked over at one of his tormentors to find the girl who had splashed him was accompanied by what looked like a puppet wearing a maid's uniform and marking things on a clip board.

Chacha-zero smiled at Genma and finished checking off her list: shackles that could hold a demi-god, check; wooden horse covered with sandpaper, check; cat of nine tails with leather well cured by salt, check; Soon to be broken and beaten panda-man; check.

The nature of the puppet's cackle at checking the last item off the list made Genma's blood turn to ice.

notes:

.Hack/Mutation - second game in original series

I hereby declare that Kaede is the only girl in four different universes that I ever considered pairing up with Ranma for three reasons

1. No amount of danger or surprise, in two magical worlds, has ever succeeded in catching the young master kunoichi off guard or even causing her grin to slip

2. The level of caring and compassion she first shows the in over his head Negi, and later the depressed Kotaro, is just what the doctor ordered for Ranma's abused psyche

3. Most importantly of any female martial artist that has even been presented, Kaede is the only one I could see sharing Ranma's enjoyment of training trips. If Ranma suddenly decided to go on a training trip, be it for a weekend or years, the only question she would likely ask would be, "Should we pack food or do you want to join me in foraging for what we need?"