"Past, Present and Uncertainty."

By Julian Soullard (e-mail: [email protected])

 Chapter 14: And so begins round 2
 
 

 "I feel as if we've been walking aimlessly for hours." Ranma began.

 "Don't worry, I know this place like the back of my hand." reassured a voice coming from the gem the martial artist held, "Unfortunately, given my condition, I can't use my time traveling powers."

 "And the good news is?"

 "Like I said, this is my domain. And as such, I built a few back exits in case of emergency." the captive Pluto explained, "But still, it's advisable we keep on walking for a while and loose our enemies in case they're following us. Are you feeling okay?"

 "I'm all right." Ranma answered.

 The boy's ego wouldn't allow him to make any declaration which contradicted that statement. Even if he had a broken arm, just like now. Truth be told, Ranma could be a whole lot better. You didn't have to be a detective to see that. In more than one occasion he'd stumble during his walk because of the pain. But right after that he would say that he's all right. Pluto saw this, of course, and now she only hoped they'd be able to make it towards the next portal before Ranma crumbled.
 Inside the time stream your body didn't feel time passing by. Simply because time didn't pass. So you were never hungry or sleepy even if you stood in the same place for days. You didn't feel tired either. This was quite an advantage when you had to stay on guard in front of the Gates of Time like Setsuna did. But when you were wounded seriously, it became a huge burden. The pain kept on going and going like an Energizer bunny.

 "Is it much further?" Ranma asked.

 "Don't worry, we'll make it."

 If there was something Setsuna was good at, it had to be the way she answered a question without answering it at all. The martial artist began to be familiar with it.

***********

 "So how was it?" Minako asked with anticipated enthusiasm.

 "It was... nice..." Makoto shrugged shyly.

 "Just nice? How nice? Not-too-bad-nice? Really nice? or could-do-better-nice?" Usagi interrogated.

 "Just... nice."

 "That's it?" Rei went on.

 "Well it *was* our first date." the brunette defended herself.

 "But there's chemistry, right?" Minako continued.

 "Oh yeah."

 "Okay, so you two went and grab something to eat, and then where did he took you?" Usagi added.

 "Home."

 ...
 .....
 ......

 "You're kidding right?"

 "Not at all. We talked all day long. While we ate, while we walked. I tell you, it was really nice." she explained, "We got up to date on almost everything and I really enjoyed his company. To tell you the truth, it felt better than going to the movies or a night club. He was so... attentive."

 "Okay, but when he left, did he kiss you?" Usagi asked.

 "Girls, I don't think we should butt in on her love life like that." Ami spoke, although she didn't get much attention.

 "Yes." Makoto responded.

 "All right!!" her friends rejoiced.

 "He kissed me in the cheek."

 "Oh... well... it's a beginning, right?" Usagi stated.

 "And better of all, we can all return to the way we were." Rei added, "No more hiding, no more feeling awkward about it all. We can all work together once again."

 "Exactly." Ami said, "Although..."

 "Although?"

 "What about Haruka and Michiru?" the young genius asked, "Do they still see Trunks as an enemy?"

 Everyone in Hikawa Shrine stood silent. That was a little eventuality that they didn't took into consideration. Trunks problems with the Inner Senshi were pretty much wrapped up, but with the Outer Senshi, everything remained uncertain.

 Makoto had invited Trunks to a Senshi meeting which took place today. It would be nice to see him back in the group and she was sure that the hybrid hero could use a bit of 'welcome back' attitude from her friends in order to feel completely accepted once again. But she forgot about the two Outers and their strict 'no outsiders allowed' policy. Now that the topic had been tackled, the brunette found new preoccupations swirling around her brain.

 Without having to communicate her thoughts, The five girls and Mamoru stood up and went to the temple's stairs. Maybe this time they could prevent a confrontation.

**********

 Trunks looked at the stairs leading to the temple. He was supposed to meet the girls today, a day he looked forward to. Apparently, Haruka and Michiru looked forward to it as well. Otherwise they wouldn't have stand guard all this time, waiting for the time traveler to appear. Only this time Hotaru Tomoe had joined them.

 Yet again...
 Trunks let out a sigh.

 "Listen..." he began, but couldn't finish his sentence before the two girls turned their back on him and began to walk towards the temple. Hotaru remained still.

 "Hey, what..."

 "Are you coming or not?" Haruka asked directly, "The others are waiting."

 "You're not going to prevent that?" he asked surprised.

 "We were told of what you did for Mako-chan the other day." Michuru answered, "Although I can't say that we trust you completely, we have to admit that your concern for the girls is genuine."

 "I takes a lot of heart to risk one's life for someone else." Haruka added, "Even if Pluto isn't here to confirm your story, I suppose you really are on our side. Nevertheless we'll be keeping an eye on you."

 "I guess it's a start." Hotaru added as she came down to join the newcomer, "Don't worry, Trunks-san, that's just the way Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama like to keep things for the time being."

 "And what about you, Hotaru?" Trunks asked unsure.

 "That's Hotaru-chan" she said with a cute pout, "And you don't have to worry about me. We're friends, right?"

 "Of course we are." he declared convinced.

 "Well let's go then." she told him while holding his hand and pulling him upstairs, "There's people waiting for us. By the way, I like the new hair cut."

 "Thanks, although it's kind of an old hair cut." Trunks stated.

 As the four made their way upwards, the sound of several footsteps could be heard running towards them. Just as expected, Usagi, Minako, Makoto, Rei, Ami and Mamoru, had rushed to the entrance, expecting the worse.

 "Good morning, everyone." Trunks said politely.

 "Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru... Trunks..." Usagi began, "We thought that... well we... didn't knew you'd come here together."

 "Well here we are now." Haruka pointed out.

 "Is... everything all right?" Mamoru asked tentatively.

 "Everything is okay." Trunks responded.

 Makoto felt a great relief. It was all turning out for the best. No more fights, no more conflicts between friends. They could finally start working as a team. Now it was just a matter of time before they kicked the Masters of Tomorrow back to where they came from. She felt confident that they could achieve that with this renewed alliance.
 She looked at the man next to Hotaru and her heart drummed faster. He had short purple hair again. Just like in the old days. Although she admitted that his previous look was pretty hot, she preferred this one a lot more. As a matter of fact, that topic came out in the open during their last date... so to call it.

 "So, what's with the new hair?" she asked back then. Trunks simply ran his fingers through it a little intrigued, as if he looked for something.
 "You don't like it?" he asked.
 Makoto quickly corrected herself by telling him that wasn't so. She even said that it looked pretty good on him, but she was nevertheless curious to know what drove him to let his hair grow so long. The time traveler told her about the first time he 'tested' it back in the Chamber of Spirit and Time and after the Cell games. It was new and different from his regular cut, so he kept it like that for a while.
 "I like it. Although you looked more handsome with short hair." she added, and to be frank, she couldn't believe she actually spoke those words. Being that bold was normal behavior for someone like Minako, but it represented a whole new package for the brunette. Trunks smiled at the comment and, to her surprise, he didn't blush, unlike her who felt rather embarrassed.
 "You know what? I think I'll cut it back to the way it was."
 "You... you'd do that just because of what I said?"
 "Why not? Besides, now that I think of it, the Masters of Tomorrow must have seen me out of Super Saiyajin form while they held my body captive, so might as well get a new look and try to hide my natural form the best way I can."
 "Oh... right..."
 "And, since now I know you prefer it short, so much the better, right?"
 Was that a flirt? She couldn't feel sure. Or maybe she just wasn't used to the idea of Trunks flirting... but she felt it would be change she could easily get used to.

 "Well, let's go inside, shall we?" Rei proposed, forcing Makoto back into present time. "I believe we have a lot to talk about."

**********

 Arna walked carefully towards the laboratory's main room, making sure to keep her balance in order not to drop the food on top of the tray. Five whole days had passed, since Master Eron locked himself in the laboratory. Five days in relative terms, that is. Lord Kyristan used his power in order to make time in Dominia move a lot faster than the Outside. A trick he always used when he felt that his servants needed time on their hands to plot.
 In Eron's case, that meant studding Saiyajin DNA.

 If there was something Arna admired about her master, well... among several other things, it had to be he's dedication during work. Five days ago, Master Eron dismissed all of the laboratory's staff and remained alone inside. Working. Not much of a team player, many would think, and they wouldn't be wrong. When something new popped out, Eron wanted a crack at it on his own. That's the way he worked, and as rude and unprofessional as it might seem, it also brought good results.
 When Eron worked liked that, any assistant inside the room would be more of a burden to him than real help.

 But everyone had to eat, right? Even someone like Master Eron who had a genetically improved metabolism which could sustain him for days without any sort of food or drink. Surely he wouldn't mind if she just dropped something for him... and check out he was okay.

 She approached her fist to the door in order to knock, but doubted a moment. Using the reflection one of the metal walls provided, she tried to fix up her hair. He hadn't seen her in five days after all, so might as well look as good as one can.

 "Master Eron?" she asked while knocking.

 No answer.

 "Master Eron?" she repeated.

 Still no answer.
 Could something had happened? No choice, she had to go inside.

 The place was a mess. Things dropped everywhere on the floor in no particular order, almost no lights were on and the air felt thick, as if you just opened an old closet.

 "I thought I said no interrupting!!" shouted a voice from the darkness.

 That was Eron all right. His assistant gulped nervously. Maybe he wouldn't be so thrilled to be interrupted after all. Nevertheless, she went inside, not without some degree of fear.

 "Ma... Master Eron." she began, "I... just brought you some food. It's been five days since you last ate. I... I thought..."

 "Arna?" he asked, "Good. Come here quick."

 The girls spirit lifted up. Was he happy to see her? He was, wasn't he? He wanted to see her. Just her. Oh, she felt in heaven right now. Master Eron wanted to see her! She didn't waste any time and ran towards where he was.
 And there he was indeed. With his hair made a mess and in desperate need of a good shave, but he still looked magnificent to her eyes.

 "Look at this." Eron said excited, pointing to a screen, "I just made a breakthrough. I finally found out what makes this guy tick. Look at this: I stimulated his cells with electricity and look at what I discovered."

 The screen showed a big number of ordinary blood cells. Once the electricity was added, the structure and color of mentioned cells began to change from red to bright yellow, as well as showing several other changes in their metabolism.

 "This is it! This is what it's all about! I knew it! I just knew it!" he declared triumphant, "His emotional state can alter his own body, creating this! However..."

 "However?" Arna asked.

 "Look."

 The cells kept on glowing with a bright yellow aura. The glow became more intense each time and the metabolism more unstable. After waiting a couple of seconds, the cells exploded.

 "What happened??"

 "Energy overdose, I believe." Eron explained, "It's something I'm still trying to work out. My theory is that Saiyaman can call upon a special power, but must in some way keep it in control though concentration or something similar. Otherwise, he'd blow up himself."

 "But that would mean that he's able to control his body down to a molecular level." his assistant pointed out, "Just like yourself, Master Eron."

 "Not necessarily." the scientist stated, "You get to meet some very unusual people when you've been working with our Lord as long as I have. Molecular manipulation is just one of many ways one can control such power. We've faced other enemies who could also raise their power level through concentration. A particular discipline or state of mind which granted them the strength to fight."

 "But then how..."

 "The way I see it, Saiyaman's power comes from his emotions. Partially at least." he explained, "The angrier he gets, the more power he summons. Still, in order to control that power, he must have developed some sort of mind discipline to keep his body in control."

 "Getting angry while staying in control?" Arna inquired, "That's sounds rather complicated, if not almost impossible."

 "True, but you get to see strange things like that in this line of work." he confessed, "In any case, like you said earlier, it's also possible to control this power through molecular manipulation. In other words, I get to be a Super Saiyaman too."

 "But sir, is it safe to test on yourself so early?" he asked with concern.

 "No risk, no glory." he answered simply, "Go and bring everyone back, we'll start the tests immediately."

 "Now?"

 "Yes, now. As in right-this-minute. So stop standing there and move."

 "Yes, sir."

**********

 "And that's pretty much all of it." Trunks finished, "That's all I could get from Eron."

 "So, in other words, we're the prey." Minako stated.

 "These characters hunt for Essence Spheres, the stronger the individual, the stronger the Sphere." Michiru pointed out, "And the stronger the Sphere is, the more interest these Master of Tomorrow take in a person."

 "Namely, everyone sitting in this table." Rei added.

 "I guess it's safe to believe that." Trunks commented, "Judging from what you told me about last fight, Eron was pretty desperate in getting my Sphere. I would have thought he'd rather kill me instead."

 "Arlakk seemed very concerned in keeping us alive as well when we were heading towards their hideout seconds before it blew sky high." Haruka said

 "But now that we know this, what can we do?" Usagi asked, "I mean, we can't just stop showing up during an attack so they don't get our Essence Spheres. People need us."

 "According to what you've told us, Trunks, it seems that these invaders have been doing this for quite some time." Mamoru declared, "This may sound paranoid, but if that's the case, then they have enough experience dealing with guys like us."

 "Ahem!"

 "And girls too, of course." he quickly added.

 "Much better."

 "What I'm trying to say is that they probably know how we'll act given a certain situation." the tux dressing hero explained, "After all, their fighting techniques have proven that already. They constantly try to divide us and hit us in our weak points. If we don't show up, I'm willing to bet they'll just keep killing people to force us out to fight."

 "Then let's do something they don't expect." Haruka suggested.

 "Like what?" Makoto inquired.

 "If an enemy has a strong offense and a weak defense, he attacks constantly in order to force *you* to defend." the tall girl spoke.

 "There's no better defense than a strong offense." Trunks quoted, "It makes sense. After all, these guys like to call us 'defenders'. It's as if they assume we'll be defending the whole time."

 "If we hit them where they live, we can win."

 "Easier said than done." Usagi cut in, "The only clue on their whereabouts blew up a few days ago. Pluto could help... if we knew where she is."

 "Trunks, when was the last time you met with Sailor Pluto?" Haruka asked.

 "Now that you mention it... it's been a while." he noticed, "Shortly after I showed up to fight as Son Goku for the first time." (Waaaay back in chapter 8 to be precise)

 "This worries me." Haruka confessed, "Disappearing or showing up when she wants isn't rare in her. But if we're dealing with something that she doesn't know either, she would be here tossing some ideas with us as well."

 "That and the fact that she didn't even bother to explain us why she brought an outsider. No offense." Michiru added.

 "None taken." Trunks said, "In any case, it would've saved us a lot of trouble since the beginning. As for her whereabouts, I don't have the slightest clue. You guys know her better than me."

 "Don't worry. She's probably doing her own investigation." Rei declared, "That's the way she usually works. You're worrying too much. All this Masters of Tomorrow thing is making us paranoid."

 "Still, her unavailability isn't helping us." Ami pointed out, "We'll have to find a way inside their domain on our own."

 "Sure... does anyone have a dimentional warping machine at hand?" Rei asked sarcastically.

 "I think I know where we can get one." Ami answered.

 "Ami, I was joking." the priestess explained.

 "But I'm not." the genius told her.

**********

 "Jarek, confirm the temperature levels in section 2 trough 4." Sorine commanded.

 "Temperature stable in sections 1 and 2." said the huge man, "Raising temperature in sections 3 and 4 to 100º... 110º... 120º... 130º... Stop."

 "Insert alloys."

 "Inserting alloys."

 Sorine's Construction Center was a rather efficient place. Cold and lacking of all sense of working pleasure by a human being, but it was efficient to the core. Not a big surprise when you don't settle for anything less than perfection, like she does.
 For the past week, all the personnel had been working round the clock in order to complete project Dark Snowfall. Ever since the new Son Goku had found a way to brake inside her facilities, Sorine decided to move the project up to top priority and have it finished as soon as possible. The amount of information known by the enemy now was uncertain. Assuming Son Goku had made it back home.

 In any case, finishing all the ships and sending an attack before the defenders could get a chance to analyze the stolen information would be advisable.

 "Sorine." spoke a voice which was as colorful and warm as an iceberg.

 The two androids turned around to meet a projection of Lord Kyristan floating in mid air. They both bowed.

 "My lord?"

 "Eron is reaching an important part of his investigation." he explained, "Unfortunately, his Raiders aren't up to the challenge anymore. I want you to send a few Sentries to his facilities to help him train."

 "It shall be done, my lord."

 "And while we're at it, what is your advance on Project Dark Snowfall?"

 "We're not operating at our full capacity due to some technical problems." she spoke, "However, all should be ready in about a month."

 "No need to hurry, you can take all your time." Kyristan said, "We still have other cards to play before using Dark Snowfall. Send those Sentries as soon as time permits. I want you to send Jarek as well to supervise them and tutor Eron for hand to hand combat. If there's progress he'll eventually have to take on Eron as well to prove the extent of Saiya-man's DNA."

 Jarek was Sorine's right arm. And, even though she lacked of emotions, Sorine would have preferred to have him near to assist her instead of Eron. Asides from being a deadly death machine in hand to hand combat, which was the reason Kyristan wanted him transferred, Jarek was only second in intelligence after her, making him reliable in the Research Center as an operative. In days like these, where imperfection roamed everywhere, you needed all the good help you could get. But still, if the Lord wants, the Lord gets.

 "Acknowledged."

**********

 Ami walked back home. After discussing her idea among the group for a couple of minutes and approving it, everyone agreed that the session would be adjourned. There's wasn't much left to talk about anyway. Until either Pluto or the Masters of Tomorrow showed up, everyone would just have to wait and prepare themselves for any possible attack.
 The young genius just hoped that her idea would be fruitful once put into action. But even for that they would have to wait and see. So, for the time being, everyone would just have to go on living their routines.

 [Not a bad thing if you see it from Trunks and Mako-chan's perspective], she thought. [At least this 'stay on hold' situation will give them some time to share together.]

 And the two of them didn't waste a second at that. Once the meeting was over, they both agreed on going out on a date. No one dared to disapprove on that, of course. And certain comments from Minako and Usagi didn't take long to come out as well, encouraging both lovebirds to enjoy the date at its most. All of it said through the two blondes unique way to make people blush... which they managed successfully.

 As for Ami... well... she could use this time to study...

 Odd... why did this felt so unconvincing to her all of the sudden? Well, for one thing, she was always ahead of class in studies, but that wasn't new. And she kept on studying ahead for that matter. But... right now... why did the idea didn't sound so appealing? She still wanted to get a good college education, true. She still wanted to enter med school, very true. She still wanted to become a doctor, just like her mother, nothing was more certain than that.

 But why did she felt as if she was missing something in the equation?

 A few years back, there wasn't a doubt about it all. Her responsibilities were divided in two. Studying in order to accomplish her dream and saving the world as a Sailor Senshi (a very demanding obligation at that). She performed both with full determination and felt that everything in her life was in its place. But now... there was something missing. Her life lacked something. It lacked...

 "Ryouga?" she asked, "What are you doing here?"

 Indeed, it was the lost boy himself. Sitting next to the door to Ami's apartment and apparently waking up after she spoke his name. He blinked the confusion off his eyes a few times, then jolted up as if a spring had been placed on his rear end.

 "A... Ami, hi. I... I... was... I..." he began to babble nervously.

 "Hi." she responded, "Ryouga, what were you doing asleep there?"

 "Well... I... I came to see you, but there was no one at home." he explained, "So I waited for you to show up here."

 "Here? Outside?" she asked a little amazed, "Ryouga, for how long have you been here?"

 "Two days."

 Two days? He stood there for two days waiting for her? She didn't feel sure what to say about it. She had called her mom yesterday from Usagi's house to tell her that she would be spending the night at the Tsukino's and head to school from there. Ryouga must have arrived to her apartment that day. The girl couldn't help feeling a little guilty, even if none of it was her fault.

 "But why did you wait here for two days, you could've caught a cold!" she declared concerned.

 "Well... I... if I had moved, then I could've got lost and it would all be for nothing." the bandana boy explained.

 "For nothing?"

 "Well yeah. I've been trying to get here for weeks."

 "You... you wanted to see me? Especially me?" she asked, as she felt her cheeks flush gradually.

 "Yeah. I... here." she extended a box towards her, "I came to apologize for my behavior at the library. It was shameful for me to lose my temper like that and I offer you this gift as a way to say I'm sorry for all the inconvenience I caused."

 The way he spoke made Ami think that her friend had probably wrote the whole excuse on paper a while ago and rehearsed it each morning to sound as convincing and politically correct as possible. She accepted the box and gave him a sincere smile.

 "Ryouga, it's all right." she told him, "You don't have to go through all the trouble."

 "No, no. I made a mistake, I can't ignore that."

 The blue hair girl opened the box and her eyes widen once she saw its content. He had never given her something like this before. She pulled out a necklace and gave it a close inspection. Even if she wasn't an expert in jewelry, Ami could tell it was a fine work. The lace was silver and held a beautiful blue stone incased in a half ellipse. The whole thing wasn't big, but it was better like that, otherwise it would be too flashy.

 "It's... beautiful." she declared amazed.

 "Since blue is your favorite color I thought you might like it." Ryouga explained, "I mean, you don't have to wear it if you don't want to..."

 "Thank you so much!" Ami said thrilled, as she gave him a big hug. It was only three seconds later that she realized how bold and unlike her that gesture was and pulled out of reach quickly, quite embarrassed, [What came over me??]

 "I... er... I... I... you're welcome." said Ryouga, equally baffled.

 Then came a pause, and the two teens took those precious moments to inspect their own shoes. Right now, the only difference between tomatoes and them was that the first don't walk and wear clothes.

 "Why don't you come inside? I bet you're hungry from all that waiting." the girl suggested, "I'm not Mako-chan, but I guess I'll be able to prepare something to eat."

 "Don't worry, I already ate."

 "Then some tea perhaps?"

 "I wouldn't want to impose." the lost boy declared, "Besides, you might want to study and I wouldn't like to disturb you."

 "Not at all. I wasn't going to study anyway." Ami lied, much to her own amazement, but that really didn't seem to worry her now. Spending some time with Ryouga felt suddenly like a priority.

 "Well, if you insist."

 Minutes later, both were sitting in the living room with their respective tea cups. Ever since they arrived, Ryouga hadn't stopped grinning, which caught Ami's attention.

 "You look rather happy." she pointed out.

 "Well, things are going well I guess." he confessed, "So far everything is going ok."

 "Really? Tell me more."

 "Well, for one thing, I apologized to you and it went well." he began, "I was kinda nervous about it at first. And now..."

 "Now?"

 Ryouga got up and approached Ami. There was a sparkle of determination in his eyes and the girl lost herself in his look, fascinated.

 "Now the next big step." he said.

 "Next... big... step?"

 Ami's heart began to drum faster. Him... so close, the smell of his deodorant caressing her nostrils, the sun rays giving a gentle golden-reddish hue to his hair. It all awoke a desire in her she had never felt before. Was he going to...

 "Ami."

 "Y... yes..."

 "I've finally mastered it."

 "Yes, I do..." she said, her brain obviously not being present for the formulation of the phrase.

 "Excuse me?"

 "I... er... what? Er... I mean... I... er." she began to babble, now that she realized her mistake.

 "The technique." Ryouga explained, "The one I've been studying so I can defeat Ranma. Are... you... following me?"

 "Yes! Yes! Sorry, I had my mind elsewhere." she quickly tried to correct.

 [That's a first.] Ryouga thought, "Anyway, I finally mastered it. I'll be sending Ranma my challenge shortly. This is it Ami. This time I'll defeat him. I've already seen all the possible angles to it and it's flawless. Ranma can't win this time."

 "That's... nice..." she said, disappointment evident along her face.

 Ryouga had grown in the past years. Not only in size and age, but he had become more analytical too. A lot of people said that it was thanks to Ami's influence in him and it was a rather accurate assumption. Unfortunately, he became more analytical in things related to combat than the rest.
 Ami would have loved that Ryouga abandoned his quest for vengeance, but the lost boy was so fixated to it that any attempt to make him stop would be a lost of time.

 "I... see you're not too thrilled about this." Ryouga noticed, "Sorry, I guess I got so excited about it that I couldn't help talking about it. I know how you don't like all this."

 "And then what?"

 "Excuse me?"

 "Then what will happen, Ryouga?"

 "What do you mean?"

 "Let's say you beat Ranma, fair and square, now everybody knows you came on top. What happens next?" she repeated.

 "Well, I... I..." he began, and she could clearly see that there was a short moment of doubt, "Once I'd win, I would go to Akane and tell her what I feel."

 Ami so much didn't want to hear that particular last part, but she managed to keep control of the direction the conversation was going.

 "And if she says no?"

 Ryouga looked at her as if she'd just said the biggest dirty word ever heard by any man. The possibility of Akane saying 'no' hadn't been considered by him, curiously. Or maybe... it was something he really didn't like to think about. The mere idea of Akane saying no made his stomach hurt.

 "Why are you saying that?" he asked, rather hurt.

 "I'm not doing it in order to make you feel bad, Ryouga." she told him, "The last thing I want is to make you feel bad, but I think you're not looking at the big picture."

 "Meaning?"

 "I mean... you only look into the immediate future." she explained, "You think that your victory on Ranma will solve everything."

 "It'll make me feel better, that's for sure."

 "Yes, but what makes you think that Akane will develop a romantic interest in you if you defeat him?" she inquired, "After all, what if she's interested in Ranma?"

 "That's crazy!" Ryouga stated rather convinced, "you can see it as clear as day that they hate each other's guts. Ranma makes fun of her all the time and she can barely stand him for that."

 "And yet, each time Akane is in trouble, Ranma is the first one to run to her rescue." she added, "Ryouga, you *know* that, but you don't want to see it, and that's what worries me."

 "What I don't see is why you're trying to bring my spirit down." he declared, annoyed, "Ami, you don't like to see me fight, and I respect that. But fighting is a martial artist's way of life, that's my life and I was hopping you could respect that as well."

 "It's not that, Ryouga," she quickly corrected, "I'm just worried about you."

 "Well, you can stop worrying." the lost boy pointed out, now officially upset, "I'll do what I have to do. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I should be leaving now. Thanks for the tea."

 And without further comment, he got up, swung his backpack over his shoulder and marched for the door with a determined step. Ami barely got the chance to lay down her own cup and go after him when he was already halfway outside.

 "Ryouga, wait!!" she begged of him, "You don't understand!"

 "Oh, I understand!" he said coldly while turning back and freezing Ami with his glare, "I thought I could trust you by telling you what I feel, but I guess that was my mistake. Good bye, Ami."

 The door slammed behind him. Ami couldn't find the strength to make her legs move and go after him. A sudden pain emanated from her chest. A new sort of pain for her.
 Why? Why couldn't Ryouga see what she meant? Why did he had to get angry like that? Why did he have to be so fixated on Ranma?... and Akane... Why did he have to like *her* and not... and not... Why couldn't she just say it? Say it openly to him.

 Why?

 Ami approached her hand to the doorknob. She had to clear things up with him, but before she could open, a bright blue light exploded from the other side, making its way under and over the door, as well as from its sides.
 With a mixture of fear and surprise, Ami took a step back, but her desire to know what was happening became stronger. She opened the door and gasped in surprise.

 Right in the middle of the corridor, suspended in mid air, a humanoid form was trying to make his way through what seemed to be a portal of blue light. The strength of said light forced the Senshi to shield her eyes, but she remained firm.

 "What's going on here?" came Ryouga's voice from the stairway.

 He took the stairs on his way down, really annoyed for what she said. Why would she want to torment him like that? She wasn't like that at all. Ami always had faith in him. She always stood there for him when no one else did. Among the few people who were actually nice to him, genuinely nice who didn't sought to use him for some scheme like most people he knew, Ami came out on top. That's why she was so important to him. And that's why it hurt him so to see her against him.
 Ryouga didn't even managed to take ten steps down the stair when a burst of light surprised him from behind. He naturally turned around to see what it was, and he ran back up to Ami's apartment (fortunately not too far away from where he stood in order to get lost) to see if no harm had come to her. After all... this was Juuban, a place crawling with monsters of all sorts.
 As he made it to the corridor, he saw her by the door, looking at something coming out of a blue light window in bewilderment.

 "Stand back!" he ordered, as he placed himself between the girl and the new visitor. If it was one of those cat monsters, there was no way he'd let him touch her.

 The figure finally made its way inside this world. Although with some difficulty. He, you could tell it was a he as the light begun to slowly fade out, crumbled on his knees and arms, exhausted.
 The light, as well as the portal, finally vanished completely, allowing the two teens to see a guy around their age with a blue ninja suite. A suite Ami recognized easily.

 [Trunks' Son Goku costume!!] she realized.

 The figure took off his mask and hood with his remaining functional hand..

 "Ranma??" they chorused.

 "Sailor Senshi..." he gasped, using the remains of his strength, "Quick... must get to them..."

 And without further comment, he passed out, falling on the arms of the nearest person, in this case, Ryouga. Strange stuff wasn't something new to him, the lost boy got plenty of that in Nerima, but it usually revolved around Ranma doing something, not Ranma appearing out of thin air crippled. Although... now that you think of it, Ranma probably did something in order to get crippled. Still... getting a fill in on what just happened would be nice.

 "What just happened?" Ryouga asked, "How did he get here??"

 Unlike her friend, Ami had a few more clues. Number one, Trunk told them that Ranma was aware of the current attack from the Masters of Tomorrow and was somewhat involved, regardless of being warned not to. But that was just Ranma for you.
 Something fell from the martial artist's hand. A small jewel, the size of a nail. Purple in color. The girl picked it up and saw in amazement that none other than Sailor Pluto happened to be trapped inside of it. She couldn't hide her surprise.

 "Oh my God!" she declared.

 "What the..." Ryouga began, "Hey, how on Earth did Ranma get a hold of Sailor Pluto? Especially like that."

 This was a big dilemma. Ranma obviously needed medical help, but sending him to an hospital would take too long, not to mention that there would be several uncomfortable questions about how did he end up like this. Most likely, all of it had to do with the Masters of Tomorrow, and that meant that the Sailor Senshi should get to know the story before anyone else.
 Of course! The senzu! Trunks still had a bunch of those. With only one Ranma would be back in shape in no time. She just had to call Mako-chan through her comlink, she was certainly with him at the moment and then... Uh Oh...

 "We better get him to an hospital." Ryouga suggested, "His arm looks pretty bad."

 Ryouga... what was she suppose to do with him? She couldn't just chase him off when Trunks arrived, but there was no time left, one of her neighbors could show up any minute now. But if he stuck around then he'd find out that she was a Sailor Senshi. But... well... was that really bad? He had trusted her with his Jusenkyou curse... well... sort of. It was more like a thing that just happened. Awww, to Hell with it.

 "Ryouga, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone what you're about to see."

**********

 "So..." Makoto said.

 "So." Trunks repeated.

 "The movie  is over."

 "Yes, it is."

 "And everyone already left."

 "Yep, just the two of us here."

 "So."

 "So?"

 "Wellllll..." she began, as she closed up on him, "This *is* our second date, right?"

 "Yeah, I hope you enjoyed it."

 "I did, I did." she confessed, "buuut, well, since you're the kinda guy who don't kiss on the first date and this is the *second* date..."

 "I understand." he said, and she smiled, "you want me to buy you an ice-cream."

 "Trunks!!"

 "I was kidding, I was kidding!" he apologized between laughs, "Stop hitting my arm already."

 "Oh, as if that could hurt you!!"

 "But you're right." Trunks continued, as he turned more serious, "I spent a wonderful time with a wonderful girl, and I also wanted to do this a while back."

 Their faces approached slowly, but the mood came to a brutal end when Ami's voice came out of Makoto's wrist watch.

 "Mako-chan, come in!" she spoke, "It's urgent! Come in!"

 Ami was a very nice girl. Everyone agreed on that, but Makoto decided that she was going to kill her for this.

 "This better *be* urgent." she replied, "What's wrong?"

 "Is Trunks with you?"

 "Yeeeesss..." she was particularly long on the 'e' and 's' as a way to emphasize on the young genius' bad timing.

 "He has to come here now!" she declared, "I have Ranma dying in my apartment and Pluto trapped in a crystal! Tell him to bring a senzu and get here this second!"

 "What???" the brunette asked.

 "Copy that, Ami, I'm on my way!" Trunks replied, then turned towards his date, "I think you better get the others ready for another Senshi meeting in Hikawa Temple."

 "I will."

 And without even a goodbye kiss, Trunks dashed out of the movie theatre with a speed that would have made the Flash proud.
 Since time is relative according to the speed you're moving, this is basically how things happened:

 17 hrs. 42 min. 31 sec.
 Trunks lefts the movie theatre.

 17 hrs. 42 min. 32 sec.
 Trunks reached his apartment and picked up his senzu pouch.

 17 hrs. 42 min. 33 sec.
 Trunks left his apartment.

 17 hrs. 42 min. 34 sec.
 Trunks made it to Ami's apartment.

 And at 17 hrs. 42 min. 35 sec...

 "Who the heck is he??" Ryouga asked surprised as he witnessed the split second apparition.

 "Trunks, his arm is hurt really bad." Ami answered simply, "I think he just had an encounter with the Masters of Tomorrow."

 "Half a senzu should do." he noted, "As soon as he's okay, we're moving out of here. Has anyone else seen you?"

 "Er... excuse me..." Ryouga began.

 "Not yet, but my neighbors could show up any moment now." she informed.

 "Er... people?" Ryouga went on, trying to get some attention.

 "We're heading back to Hikawa Temple then."

 "<AHEM!!>"

 "And this is?" Trunks asked.

 "This is my friend, Ryouga." Ami explained, "He's somewhat involved now."

 "Nice to meet you, Ryouga," Trunks told him as he made Ranma swallow half a senzu, "I think you better stick with us now."
 
 

 End of chapter 14.

 See you in chapter 15...