The characters in this story belong to their respective creators and copyrights. Ranma 
1/2 is the creation and intellectual property of Rumiko Takahashi. Sailor Moon is the 
creation and intellectual property of Naoko Takeuchi. All original content is the 
creation and intellectual property of Samuel Phoenix. Recognition is given to John 
Sanchez for a small kick of inspiration that helped produce this story. 
 
Awkward Consequences   
Chapter 2a: What Price Honor? Part 1 
PsyckoSama (syp104@psu.edu) 
http://www.fanfic.net/~psyckosama/

Ranma twitched, and chucked lightly. This was great. Just what he 
should have expected. How did he ever expect the kami to let him get 
away scot-free. Damn his friends, damn his family, and damn himself for 
being fool enough to get in this new mess in the first place. 

"Goddamn it! Why?!" He screamed as he punched the Mailbox next to him. 
The force of his blow struck the large reinforced steel container with 
the force of a cannonball. The blow crushed its front end, ripped it 
off its mounting bolts, and sent it through the air to cave in the 
front of a parked Toyota.

Of course this was going to happen. The kami would have it no other 
way. It would not do for Saotome Ranma to have a second's peace, or 
even a consistent level of madness.

"Ranma, are you ok?" asked Hotaru in a shaken, crying-strained voice.

He slowly looked up. Hotaru was clearly shocked by his display, and she 
was crying again. He let out a quiet sigh, a resignation to fate, and 
straightened up.

Taking a deep breath he spoke. "Hotaru, I can't ever say how sorry I 
am. This, this is all my fault. I'm so, so very sorry."

Ranma looked dejectedly at Hotaru, hoping for a reply. He could not 
blame the girl for being unnerved. He doubted that she had ever seen 
anyone do that to a mailbox. Even he was surprised that he got it to 
fly that far.

"Ranma, It's okay... It's not your fault." said Hotaru, matter-of-
factly. By now, she'd managed to compose herself. Her sleeves were very 
damp though.

Ranma shook his head. Naturally, she was wrong. She had been drawn into 
this quagmire he jokingly called a life, by his other curse: the 
inescapable chaos that infused every aspect of his existence. "No, it 
is my fault. It was my responsibility. I should have kept a clear head. 
I should have known better."

Hotaru blushed and shook her head, "It's not you fault. I was there 
too. I had a part in this, too."

Ranma nodded. Best not to let anger and self-pity cloud the issue. 
"How... how are you sure that you're..." 

He then thought for a moment. This was not the proper place for this 
conversation, and he was getting more than his fair share of attention 
from passers by. He shook his head, and sighed. Sending a Mailbox 
soaring into someone's front end would attract attention, after all..

Hotaru opened her mouth to speak but Ranma raised his hand to silence 
her. "Hold on a second... this ain't a good place to talk about this."

Hotaru looked around for a moment and noticed the amount of attention 
they were getting. She blushed brightly and nodded.

Before she could even yelp, Ranma lifted her up off her feet and 
bounded up onto a nearby rooftop. As he ran and hopped from rooftop to 
rooftop, he could not help but notice Hotaru relaxed in his arms. 
Almost like she trusted him. She was a fool to do so. He'd hurt 
everyone he'd ever met, and it looks like she was the newest victim on 
the list. 

After a few minutes, Ranma stopped near a single plastic lawn chair on 
the roof of the unoccupied building. Settling her down gently on the 
chair he turned and looked out over the roof's edge onto the bustling 
city below. That was why he came here. The view was great and it was 
one of the few places where he could go to have a moment's peace. It 
was the perfect place for a private conversation, and for deciding 
one's fate.

"So, Hotaru, how do you know that you're," Ranma blushed, "pregnant?"

"I'm a month and a half late with my period, I've been getting sick 
almost every morning for a month, and three home pregnancy tests can't 
go wrong. Proof enough?" 

Ranma gulped. How does one say this right, and not sound like an 
insensitive jerk? "Hotaru, are you... err... sure it is mine?"

Ranma was lucky. Hotaru did not take it the wrong way. "Yes Ranma. It's 
yours. You were my first," she flushed red and continued, "and my 
only."

Ranma sighed, and sat down on the roof. So much for escape. Before his 
life seemed like a cage to him. Trapped on four sides by the four women 
in his life. His mother, Akane, Ukyo, and Shampoo. Three fiancées and a 
seppuku pledge to entrap him and ruin his life.

Now he had to deal with this. The possible roof to his prison that 
would block out his last view of freedom. She moved the chair and sat 
down across from him. He glanced at her for a moment. She deserved to 
know what she had been pulled into.

"Hotaru, I'm sorry that you got dragged into this."

Hotaru blinked and looked at Ranma inquisitively. What was he talking 
about? "Dragged into what?"

Ranma groaned and rubbed his temples. "My life."

Hotaru cocked her head, and said, "It can't be that bad." She couldn't 
see his life being worse then her own.

Ranma laid back and sneered. Hotaru involuntarily shivered at the 
sudden drop in temperature. "Hotaru, you have no idea! I have three 
fiancées that I know of, and more out there somewhere. There are 
countless other people out to kill me. Hell, some of those probably 
hafta to do both. I'm cursed, and if I don't live up to my mother's 
twisted version of manliness I'm honor bound to commit seppuku."

This has to be made up. It's too weird. While her life was bad, what he 
just described was beyond twisted. Wait, what was that last part? 
Hotaru blanched, "Seppuku? Your mother wants you to commit seppuku? Is 
this some kind of sick joke?"

"Yeah, I wish! When my dad dragged me off on that training trip she 
made us sign a contract that said if I didn't become a 'man among men' 
we would kill ourselves."

Hotaru looked at him wide eyed. He sounded serious. Dead serious. She 
mentally kicked herself for that pun. After a moment she remembered 
that the trip had been ten years long. "How old were you?"

"Six."

Hotaru gawked at him. "Six! You were six! She expects you to kill 
yourself because of something you signed when you were six?" How could 
any self-respecting mother ask their child to kill themselves, 
especially over something they signed when they were that young!?

"I didn't exactly sign it," groaned Ranma.

Hotaru gave him a funny look. "What did you do." 

"I put hand prints on it. I think I was just playing in the ink or 
something," Ranma replied nonchalantly.

Hotaru blinked. He didn't even know what he was doing, and she holds 
him to it? "Your mother is insane."

"It's even worse with my curse," Ranma replied in a monotone.

Hotaru plopped onto the ground. So far this had been a very strange 
day, and she had a feeling that it was not done yet. Not by a long 
shot.

"So what else?" she asked.  

Ranma sighed, "Besides the multiple fiancées, and the constant string 
of people out for my head, not much."

"Explain the fiancées." Hotaru gave him a dirty look. She did know what 
was up, but if he was just some form of Casanova he was getting her 
glaive somewhere dark and tender.

"It ain't my fault. The first one is the girl you saw at the dojo, 
Tendo Akane. The second is my childhood buddy, Ukyo. Then you have 
Shampoo, the crazy Amazon chick."

Now she knew the identity of the 'competition', but how did he get 
engaged to them in the first place? She had heard him mention his 
father, but little else. "Explain."

Ranma scratched the back of his head. "I blame my old man. He engaged 
me to one of the Tendo daughters before I was even born, but that 
didn't stop him from engaging me to lots of girls, including Ukyo, for 
food and stuff. Even the whole Shampoo thing is because of his big 
stomach."

Hotaru gawked at him. "Damn..." 

This was just too screwed up. What kind of father did he have? Hotaru 
silently swore that she would never let his idiot parents near her 
baby. That was if... the other option, she just did not want to think 
about. 

Ranma laughed. "You have no idea. You just have no idea."

"Before, you mentioned a curse. What we're you talking about?"

"Hold on, I'll be back in a second. It'll be easier if I showed you," 
said Ranma as he jumped off of the roof. 

Hotaru wondered what he was doing. She stood up and walked over to the 
edge, just in time to see him jump back up. He was holding two paper 
cups

"What is this about?" 

Ranma sighed, "Two years my father took me to a place called Jusenkyo. 
Jusenkyo had hundreds of pools each with it's own curse. If you fall in 
one of the pools you're cursed to turn into what fell into it last when 
you get wet."

Ranma dumped one of the cups over his head, shrinking into his cursed 
form. "I fell in the Spring of Drowned girl."

"My god, you're a Starlight!" He had just turned into a girl. While she 
was not that surprised, as she had seen it before, it was still a 
shock. Oh well, at least he was cute both ways.

Ranma blinked. "A what?"

"Nothing. So, how do you turn back?" 

Ranma shrugged and dumped the other cup over her head, changing back. 
"Hot water." 

Hotaru sat and looked at him. He had just shown her some very strange 
things. How would he react to her secret? She though for a moment. She 
would not tell him that she was a Sailor Senshi, but she would show him 
her power of healing.

She sat down and looked at him for a moment. Did he have anything that 
needed healing? It would be best to ask. "Ranma?"

"Yeah, Hotaru?"

She gulped. She was about to be cast off and she knew it, but after 
what he told her, she felt he had to know. "Do you have any scrapes, 
bruises, or minor injuries?"

Ranma nodded. "Well, yeah. I was in a fight with my buddy Ryouga a few 
days ago. He gave me a few good blows to the ribs, and they're still 
kinda tender."

She giggled slightly at his bluster. "Show me."  

Ranma did as he was told and removed his shirt. Hotaru blushed as she 
saw his physique. Wow, was he was built. On the left side of his torso 
there was a faded blue discoloration. The remains of what had once been 
a very nasty bruise, maybe even lightly cracked ribs. Fighting down a 
blush she placed her hand on his side and tapped her powers.

Once the injury had faded to a healthy pink she removed her hand and 
stepped back. Hotaru gulped, and looked at Ranma with pleading eyes.

Please don't reject me. Please don't reject me. Please don't reject 
me...

Ranma gave his side an experimental poke and blinked. He smiled 
brightly and looked at Hotaru. "That was cool! Howd ya do it? Is it 
some kinda technique? Can ya teach me?" 

Hotaru's mouth was agape. He was not rejecting her. He actually thought 
it was cool! "You... you didn't think it was weird? You want to learn 
how?" 

Ranma laughed. "Of course it's not weird! Do you know how much I wished 
I could do that? Training would be a lot easier of you could make all 
your aches, pains, scrapes and bruises vanish when you were done?"

Hotaru was blown away inside. He did not think she was a freak. He 
actually envied her powers. "It's not a technique... it's a special 
power of mine." Hotaru gazed at her feet for a moment then looked back 
up to him, "You don't think I'm a freak?"

Ranma sat down across form her. "Of course not! You have a gift! How 
could a pretty girl like you ever think she was a freak?"

Hotaru suddenly jumped onto Ranma crying in joy. He didn't think she 
was a freak. He didn't care. Using all of her strength she embraced 
him. In a joyful voice she said, "Thank you, Ranma. Thank you."

Ranma's brain ground to a halt. There was a cute girl hanging off of 
him. No, she was not cute. She was beautiful. And she was hanging off 
of him. No python-squeeze glomp, but a soft, comfortable hug. He 
immediately scanned his surroundings, expecting Akane or one of the 
other girls to show up right about this moment. As she cried on his 
shoulder he was pleasantly shocked to see that not a mallet, spatula, 
or Amazon instrument of death flying at his location. Considering 
Hotaru's news, he guessed the kami had fulfilled their "Ruin-Ranma's-
Life" quota for the day.

He looked down at the back of Hotaru's head, and was actually tempted 
to run his hands through her silky, hair. She really was so beautiful, 
yet she could not see it. The contrast of her white skin and jet black 
hair made her look aristocratic while at the same time, slightly 
exotic. She had a kind and gorgeous face. He also noted, with a blush, 
that she also had a really killer behind.

"Ranma? Why are you looking at me like that?" Inquired Hotaru

Caught! Ranma blushed and rapidly looked away, waiting to and wondering 
what implement of pain Hotaru'd deservedly use on him for acting like 
such a pervert. Interestingly, he didn't remember what she'd used on 
him when they first met. "It's nothin', Hotaru..."

Hotaru sighed and looked down, moving away from him. "Ranma, am I 
really that hideous? Am I just a hideous freak?"

She wrapped her arms around her knees and forlornly down at the roof.

"Hotaru. I was wrong, you're not cute. You're beautiful. You're a babe, 
Hotaru!"

Hotaru shook her head, "No, I'm not. I'm alone. Almost everyone is 
afraid of me. I have almost no body who cares. It's because I'm a 
hideous freak. I'll... I'll always be alone." She rambled.

Ranma wondered where she got that idea. He was pretty sure he had 
complimented her, but that's not what she heard. How could someone so 
pretty so easily wrap herself in abject misery?

She was beautiful, she wasn't a freak. It was not her who was at fault. 
It was everyone else. 

"Hotaru. You're not a freak. You're gifted and beautiful. You're a very 
special person."

Hotaru looked up at him, tears pooling in her eyes. For a moment Ranma 
though he saw another look behind those tears. One he thought he 
recognized.

"Really?" she asked, with a sniff.

Ranma smiled. "Really."

Hotaru smiled at him. Ranma recognized the look. He did not like it. 

In a weak, anxious voice Hotaru said, "Prove it. Make love to me."

"What?!"

Notes: Please comment. All C&C will be appreciated, applause will be 
happily accepted, criticism will be considered, ideas would be useful, 
and flames will be quickly discarded. Thank ye! ^_^

Thanks to Strider, Thermopyle, Kit, and my others for suggestions, 
ideas, and listening to my near constant chatter. ^_^