The characters in this story belong to their respective creators and rights holders. 
Ranma 1/2 is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. Sailor Moon is the creation of Naoko 
Takeuchi. All original content is the creation of Samuel Phoenix. Recognition is given to 
John Sanchez for a small kick of inspiration that helped produce this story, and to 
Harold Ancell who has been a near constant source of input, information, and ideas. 
 
Awkward Consequences
Chapter 6: Into the Open Fire
PsyckoSama (syp104@psu.edu)
http://www.fanfic.net/~psyckosama/

Ranma groaned as he awoke. He hated getting up in the morning. Through 
a clouded mind he looked down at Hotaru, and froze.

He was in bed with a girl! Akane was going to... He blinked as the 
sleepiness cleared from his mind and he recalled the events of the 
previous day.

He smiled and thought of how they were intertwined. Her head was buried 
into his chest, and her body was pressed against his, while his arms 
were around her and his leg was thrown over her hips. It was kind of 
appealing, too bad he was stuck hiding in girl form. 

Hopefully, they could deal with this quickly, before she started 
getting big. He didn't want her to have to face the social problems of 
being a teen mother alone. It was his child too, and he would be at her 
side in this, no matter what.

He tightened his grip around her and laid his face on her head. Her 
silky soft jet-black hair glistened in the sunlight, and he could smell 
the sweet floral scent of her shampoo. The feelings prompted were 
almost forgotten to him. It had been so long since he had a chance to 
feel this way. He was calm, at peace, almost content.
 
He closed his eyes and lay by her side for what felt like a timeless 
eternity. He knew there was something special about her. She was so 
kind, so caring, so gentle, so... non-violent. He could feel something 
in his heart when he thought of her. He cared about this girl, deeply.  

After a while, he slowly squirmed off of the bed, managing not to 
awaken her. Laying like that with her was nice, but he had things he 
needed to get done. Besides, his muscles were starting to get very 
stiff.

As he stood up, Hotaru rolled over to the center of the bed. He 
chuckled when she did this. "Well Hotaru-chan, I see you don't like 
being squished on one side of the bed, either."

He slowly stretched to banish the inflexibility from his body. He noted 
to himself that when they get married, to make sure a bigger bed is 
part of the package. That bed was far too small for two people, at 
least in the long run.

He quietly dressed, putting on a simple pair of slacks and a Chinese 
shirt, the Saotome Ranma classic. 

Once he finished, he opened Hotaru's bedroom door, and began to slip 
out into the hall. He glanced around for a moment. Hotaru sure had a 
big house. It was really nice! He hoped that he could stay here for a 
while, he didn't want to be out on the street again. After having a 
place to call home for two years, he'd developed a hatred for being 
homeless.

He gazed back into Hotaru's room, at his mate. He hoped Hotaru didn't 
resent him. He had taken away her innocence, and felt like he was 
railroading her towards an early marriage.  He was sorry that he was 
putting her through all this.

He sighed and looked at his sleeping beauty. She looked so content, so 
at peace. She was far too good for him. 

Ranma re-entered the room and closed the door. He gazed down at her, 
and gave her a light kiss on the cheek, whispering, "I'm sorry, Hotaru-
chan. I'll do everything in my power to make it up to you."

He silently left room and started down the stairs. 

"Good Morning, Ranko-chan," said a voice from behind Ranma.

The cursed martial artist turned to see Hotaru's father figure coming 
down the steps behind her. The butch lesbian slowly scanned over 
Ranma's figure, taking time to appreciate every curve. It made him feel 
like a piece of meat.

"Err... my eyes are up here, Haruka-san," grumbled Ranma.

Haruka's eyes jetted directly level to Ranma. She looked like she had 
been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She laughed lightly and 
rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about how I acted last night Ranko-
chan, I just had things on my mind."

Ranma nodded. "She told you yesterday, right?"

Haruka blinked, then looked at Ranma funny. "You know?"

"Yeah, she told me yesterday too," answered the boy turned girl. 

Haruka scowled, and nodded. "So, what are you doing up? It's still 
pretty early."

Ranma smiled widely at Haruka, "I was going to go outside and do my 
morning katas."

At the mention of martial arts Haruka's eyes lit up. "You're a martial 
artist?"

Ranma smirked arrogantly, and said in a very sure voice, "I'm the 
best."

Haruka smiled at Ranma. Ranma recognized the look in her eyes. It was a 
challenge. 

"Prove it."

Ranma chucked to himself. While he seriously doubted Haruka would be a 
challenge, he always appreciated a chance to spar with a new person. 
Learning from your opponents and adaptation were the hallmark of the 
Anything Goes School.  "See ya outside."

The two women quickly slipped into the back yard. Haruka smiled as she 
took up a combat stance. Ranko was just standing there. She was 
watching her, observing her every movement.

The Senshi smiled, if the younger girl wanted to test her, she would 
show Ranko why she was the most skilled of the senshi. 

The two bowed respectfully, and with a resounding cry, Haruka charged 
forward and struck at Ranma with a skillful and lightning fast 
combination of blows, or at least that is what it would be in the minds 
of most people. To a world-class martial artist like Ranma, it was 
painfully slow and sloppy.

As Ranma dodged and wove around Haruka's fury of blows with seemingly 
inhuman levels of speed and grace, he analyzed his opponents style.

She was much faster then Akane, but not quite as skilled. Maybe she 
could give the tomboy a run for her money. It would be a crap shoot, 
but she might be able to get by on speed. 

Her style was a creative mixture of Kempo, Shotokan, some elements of 
Tai Kuan Do in the kicks, and some stylistic fragments of Wu Shu, 
probably picked up from watching one too many Kung Fu Action movies. 

Once he had a grasp of Haruka on the offensive, he decided to put the 
girl on the ropes. In a second Ranma was striking back at Haruka using 
speed the senshi could hardly believe. While Ranma was holding back on 
his offensive, he was still heartily pounding on the Outer. He found 
this disappointing.

The girl was too much like Akane: she depended on striking fast and 
soaking up blows. That in itself was curious because her endurance was 
really nothing special. 

As Ranma pressed his attack, he considered this. Haruka could be 
useful. While her relationship with Hotaru was strange to say the 
least, if she really did care for Hotaru, she might be able to assist 
in fighting off the fiancées. 

Ranma's eyes narrowed as Haruka tried to get off the proverbial ropes 
with an attack of desperation. The woman was getting sloppy, leaving 
herself open. Time to end this.

Ranma retreated back onto the defensive, and deftly dodged Haruka's 
attacks until he spotted a blatant hole, something to make the woman 
sore about. While he had learned that you should never belittle the 
skills of a semi-competent opponent, as it will enrage them, you still 
should shame them. Something to make them want to improve, face you 
again, and fight to win. 

A single overextended punch was all Ranma needed. He redirected the 
force of her punch, and flipped her. A simple technique that every 
Aikido white belt was taught in the first few lessons.  

Once Haruka had hit the ground Ranma turned around and walked to the 
older girl. With a smile on his face, he reached out his hand, and 
said, "Match?"

Haruka scowled at being so handily defeated. But while she was angry, 
she took her defeat in stride. "Match," she said, as she took the 
redhead's hand.

Ranma smiled, and pulled the Senshi back up to eye-level. In a friendly 
voice, she said, "Your not bad. You have potential. You really just 
need watch your defense. I really don't think you have the endurance to 
be able to just soak up blows like that."

Haruka nodded, but said nothing. The girl was right. She had become too 
dependent on her Senshi form's super-human durability by ignoring her 
defense and committing totally to the attack. 

Ranma looked at Haruka, deep in thought. She might not be skilled 
enough to handle it, but she was fast. Of course the question was 
should he. She probably would use these skills against him. While she 
would be no real threat, she could become yet another pain in the ass. 
No, that was not even a question. He was going to be a father, time to 
start acting like one. Put the child first.

"Could you please get me a few bags of chestnuts?" 

Haruka blinked at the unusual request. "What the hell do you need 
chestnuts for?"

'Ranko' smiled, and said, "I have a technique I want to show you. I 
think you'll be able to handle it. Among other things, the training 
method requires chestnuts."

Haruka nodded. She would get the damn chestnuts, but first she had to 
know something. "How did you get so damn good?"

The redhead smiled wearily. "I spent ten years on the road training. 
When most girls were playing with dolls, I was learning how to fight. 
The Art was my childhood, it was my mother, it is my life."

"You're kidding me!" said the blonde Senshi.

"I wish, I had no friends as a kid and the Art is really all I know." 
said Ranma as he shook his head.

"What kind of bastard would do that to a child?" asked Haruka.

Ranma scowled at the thought of his disgrace of a father. "My Old Man. 
I'm never going to pull any of the crap he pulled with my kid!"

Haruka blinked then looked at Ranma inquisitively. "You're a mother?" 
She gave Ranma's body a once over then continued, "You don't look like 
it."

Ranma backed up. Oh, he was not a mother, but he was soon to be a 
father. He had backed himself into a hole here. "Err... I mean when I 
have a kid!" 

"Oh..."

"About the technique," interrupted Ranma, cutting Haruka off, "You get 
the chestnuts, and I'll get the rest ready."

Haruka blinked, then shrugged. "Okay, so how many do you need?"

Ranma smiled evilly. "Get a lot of 'em. This'll take a while."

----------------------------------  

Haruka walked back towards the yard holding a shopping bag. They didn't 
have the nuts in the house so she had to go shopping. Ranko had really 
impressed her, so she might as well give her a chance. She wondered 
what kind of technique Ranko was going to show her. What kind of 
strange technique requires chestnuts to learn it? 

She blinked as she entered the back yard. Ranko was kneeling in a small 
clearing tending to a fire.

"Ranko-chan? What the hell? Was this just an excuse for you to roast 
chestnuts? If so, you owe me 5,000 yen."

Ranko motioned for Haruka to come over. Haruka did as she was told and 
knelt down next to Ranko. "What are you pulling here?" She asked. 

Ranko chuckled to herself, then took the bag from Haruka and threw a 
couple of handfuls of nuts into the fire. She then looked over, and 
into the blonde's eyes, saying, "I ain't 'pulling' nothing. The 
technique I'm gonna show ya is called the 'Kashuu Tenshin Amaguriken' 
for a reason. It's an ancient Chinese Amazon technique that had the 
Emperors of China shaken' in their boots for 3,000 years, or at least 
that's what they told me."

Haruka blanched at the name. "Imperial Sweet Chestnuts Roasting on an 
Open Fire Fist"? What kind of stupid name was that? "What kind of 
technique is it?" She asked.

Ranko smiled. "Speed."

Haruka nodded. There was just one thing that she didn't understand. 
Most martial artists were very secretive with their techniques. "Why 
are you showing me this?"

Ranko sighed and looked down, in complete honesty she said, "To protect 
Hotaru and her baby."

Haruka blinked. It was not like she couldn't already do a good enough 
job as is, but what could make Ranko so uneasy? Was there some new 
danger that only Ranko knew about? She needed answers! "What is 
threatening Hotaru-chan?"

Ranko sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "Ranma. He's got a situation 
goin' that's gonna blow up in everybody's face, and it's gonna go 
soon."

Haruka eyes narrowed for a moment. This was about *him*. "Explain."

"Ranma's engaged to multiple girls, and all of 'em are violent and 
crazy. When they find out about Hotaru there is going to be hell ta 
pay."

Haruka's eyes narrowed and her lip rose into a snarl with barely 
contained anger. "That little fucking bastard... first he strings along 
these girls then he knocks up my little Hotaru-chan?! I'll fucking kill 
him!"

"No, no, no!" exclaimed Ranma. "It ain't like that, it's my pop's 
fault!"

Haruka blinked, "Your pop?" Her eyes narrowed. "What's your 
relationship to him, are you his sister or something?"

Ranko smiled stupidly then choked out, "Well, you could say that..."

"Great, now I have the sister of the guy who got my little girl 
pregnant living with me!" growled Haruka. She then looked at Ranko 
funny and asked, "Why were you kicked out of your house anyways?"

"Ranma said that he was going to ignore the engagements, including the 
one engagement that our old man actually cared about, and marry Hotaru. 
I agreed with him and Pops kicked us out of the house over it."

Haruka features softened as some of her anger drained. He was willing 
to do what needed to be done, even if it cost him. She could respect 
that quality. "So what do you mean it's your father's fault?"

Ranko scowled bitterly. "He engaged him to all these girls so he could 
run off with the dowry! It ain't Ranma's choice!" as almost an after 
though she added, "Kami-sama only knows how many boys he probably 
engaged me to!"

"So where is your baka brother?" 

Ranko shrugged, "He's got important things he's gotta to take care of 
in Nerima. It's a real mess."

Haruka looked down at the fire, and asked, "Is your family name 
Saotome?"

"Yeah...."

Haruka smiled, and turned her head to the slightly shorter redhead. She 
had heard of a "Saotome Ranma" and a "Saotome Ranko" from Nerima. They 
were rumored to be among the best in Japan. For a martial artist of 
that caliber to consider you good enough to teach was both a privilege 
and an honor. "Thank you for being honest with me."

Ranko slightly winced and looked down. "Well, the chestnuts are done" 
she said, as she popped one into her mouth. She then handed a still 
warm nut to Haruka. "Want one?"

"Thanks," Haruka said as she ate it. It was warm and sweet. Then her 
train of thought halted. The fire was still going, she had just eaten a 
chestnut from it, and she hadn't seen Ranko use anything to dig one 
out. Haruka could not believe it, there was only one even semi-logical 
explanation. 

"Ranko, did you just do what I think you did?"

Ranko smiled, and said, "You catch on quick. Here, let me show you."

Ranko straightened up, turned to the fire, and cried out, "Kashuu 
Tenshin Amaguriken!" Her arms vanished in a momentary blur. When they 
jumped back into view she had two handfuls of freshly roasted 
chestnuts.

Haruka looked at her hand and gasped. "Amazing!" If she could have even 
a fraction of that speed in her normal form, then her speed as a senshi 
would be blinding.

Ranko smiled then dumped another couple handfuls into the fire. "Now 
it's your turn. When you can pull the nuts from the fire without 
getting burned, you will have mastered the technique." Ranko's eyes 
then narrowed, "I'm warning you now. Your hands *will* get burned, and 
it *will* hurt. One of the few truthful things my father has ever said 
was this, 'The path of a true martial artist is fraught with peril'."

"Okay, Ranko-sensei," cried Haruka as she prepared to begin her lesson.

"I recommend you take your shirt off so it does not catch fire," cut in 
Ranko.

"You first," she replied.

Ranko blushed, and said, "Hey, I don't think so!"

Haruka snickered, and unbuttoned her shirt, casting it to the side, 
away from the flames. With her upper body free of any flammable 
material, short of a gray sports bra, she once again took her place.

She looked to her teacher for the go ahead, and Ranko nodded.

Haruka smiled arrogantly. She would prove herself worthy of Ranko's 
confidence. With a cry of the mantra, she plunged her hands into the 
flame.

"Kashuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"

----------------------------------  

Hotaru smiled as she opened her eyes to the morning light. Her night's 
rest refreshed her. It was as if all the stress of the past day was 
washed away. Now here she was, in bed, with her Ranma, her lover, 
father of her child, and her soon to be husband.

She sighed as she thought of him. He was so cute, so kind, and so 
protective. The concern he had for her was sweet, but misplaced. While 
Ranma could do some amazing things, she highly doubted he or anyone he 
knew could threaten a Senshi. It was all going so fast, but she was 
happy to have someone like him.

Hotaru turned over to embrace him. He was not present. "Ranma?"

Her eyes quickly darted around the room. He was not in the room. His 
packs were still present, that was good, putting to rest any nagging 
fears that he may have abandoned her.

She was slightly annoyed, why couldn't he have waited for her to wake 
up? Oh well, he must have had something to do. With a yawn Hotaru stood 
up and stretched.  

She stood in place for a moment getting the kinks out of her back, then 
exited her room. She would get dressed later, she was hungry right now. 
As she opened the door, her nose was greeted by the sweet smells of 
breakfast, wafting up the stairs. It made her stomach rumble in 
anticipation. 

Hotaru giggled and rubbed her belly. "Calm down, little one. Mommy will 
feed you soon." She quickly walked down the steps to have her meal. 

When she entered the dining room, she was confused by what she saw. 
Haruka-papa was sitting at the table almost topless while Michiru-mama 
applied antiseptic cream to a collection of light burns that went up 
both of her arms. 

In a flash, Hotaru was next to her, healing her wounds. "What happened, 
Haruka-papa?" she inquired.

Michiru sighed and turned her view from Haruka's wounds to her 
daughter. In a slightly irritable voice, she said, "This baka tried to 
pull chestnuts out of a campfire with her bare hands."

Hotaru blinked. "She did what?" She looked at Haruka, and shook her 
head. "Why would you do something stupid like that?"

Haruka smiled, there was a edge of borderline insanity to it that made 
Hotaru uncomfortable. "It's part of a training technique that I'm going 
to learn! You should have seen Ranko-sensei!"

"Ranko-sensei?" repeated Hotaru, wondering what kind of screwed up 
training method of Ranma's would have Haruka-papa plunging her hands 
into an open flame.

Ignoring Hotaru, Haruka continued on her rant. "You should have seen 
her move! Wait, you couldn't have seen her move! She was just a blur! 
She pulled those chestnuts from that fire with ease! Imagine how fast I 
would be if I could pull off this technique normally!"

"Haruka!" cried Michiru, obviously worried about Haruka referring to 
her Senshi form with visitors in the house.

Haruka shrugged to her lover. She had said nothing that would give them 
away. Hotaru agreed that there was no need to worry. At least not 
yet...

"Where is Ranko?" wondered Hotaru as she finished healing one of 
Haruka's arms and went on to the next.

Michiru quickly realized that her services were no longer needed, and 
gave Hotaru the space she needed to work. "Your friend's in the 
kitchen. I had to tend to Haruka's wounds, so Ranko-san volunteered to 
cook breakfast." She then gave Haruka a dirty look and said, "I just 
hope this does not become an every day occurrence." 

"I'm not stopping until I learn this technique!" Haruka then turned to 
the kitchen door and yelled, "Do you hear me, Red? I'm going to master 
the Amaguriken!"

Seconds later, Ranma, clad in one of Michiru's frilly aprons leaned out 
of the kitchen door. "I'll believe it when I see it, slow poke!" He 
jumped back into the kitchen, but seconds later suck his head out 
again, "And one more thing, don't call me Red!"

"Sure thing, Babe!" Replied Haruka with her lips in a smirk.

All three girls started giggling when they heard the cry of 
exasperation that Ranma gave in return.

This entire exchange confused Hotaru. It was like Haruka-papa both 
respected and disliked Ranma. She referred to him respectfully as 
"Sensei" while at the same time they taunted each other constantly.

What could make her have that much respect for him? She doubted it was 
that silly, pulling chestnuts out of a fire, idea. That was not humanly 
possible, of course neither was jumping tall buildings in a single 
bound or crushing mailboxes like soda cans...

Of course, the big shocker to Hotaru was that Ranma could cook!

Moments later 'Ranko' came out of the kitchen, still dressed in 
Michiru's apron holding an oversized tray of food. Laying it on the 
table, he looked at the others and said, "Dig in!"

Hotaru could barely hold her surprise when she glanced at the meal. It 
appeared to be very well prepared! 

She slowly took a hefty helping for herself and sampled the cuisine. 
"Ran... Ranko-chan this is really good!" 

The boy in girl form blushed slightly, and said, "Thanks Hotaru-chan." 
Then Ranma sat down next to Hotaru, and grabbed a large helping for 
himself.

Hotaru blushed and looked at everyone. They were all eating together 
happily. It was like they were a family.

"So, how did you two meet?" asked Michiru. 
 
"I'm Ranma's twin sister..." rambled Ranma, hoping to convince the 
woman. 
 
"Yeah, that's right," muttered Hotaru. 
 
Michiru glanced at Haruka, then looked at them and said, "Are you 
serious?" 

Haruka, smiled at her lover. "That's right. She's Saotome Ranko, one of 
the best martial artists in the nation!" 

Michiru glanced at her lover. "If that's true, then I'm surprised 
you're not angry about the guilt trip she put you on last night."

Haruka eyes narrowed slightly, and she shot 'Ranko' a dirty look. 
"Yeah, what was up with that?"

Ranma shrugged. "I needed a place to stay, and it worked!"

Haruka smirked slightly. "That was a good one, Red. You really had me 
going..." She paused for a moment, and then continued in a very sultry 
voice. "I was like putty in your hands..."

Ranma blushed beat red and started looking down, muttering confused 
nothings. The implications of that statement were lost on no one.

Michiru blushed slightly, and cried "Haruka! She's a guest!"

Haruka laughed and looked to her lover. "Don't even try and say that 
you wouldn't like to see her in a little less then nothing... maybe she 
could join in one night..." 

"I will admit, she is very beautiful," replied Michiru as she gave 
Ranma a long, appreciating look.  

The redhead slowly started to shrink under the table to avoid the 
lecherous gazes of the two lesbians.

"Could you stop hitting on my girlfriend..." grumbled Hotaru under her 
voice.

"What was that?" asked Haruka.

"Nothing! Absolutely, positively nothing! Right, Ranko?" Stammered 
Hotaru.

"Err... Yeah! That's right!" Replied the brightly blushing redhead.

The two women across from the pair gave each other a knowing look, but 
said nothing.

The meal remained silent for several minutes. Ranma was the next to 
speak.

"So Hotaru-chan, we gonna go shopping after breakfast?" He asked. 
 
"For what?" 
 
Ranma rolled his eyes and glanced at Hotaru, "We talked about it last 
night." 
 
A bright flush made itself visible on Hotaru's cheek. He was talking 
about the ring! In a soft, wispy voice, she said, "Sure thing, 
Ranma..." 
 
Ranma gulped. His cover was blown! Maybe they missed it. 
 
"Did you just call her Ranma?" Asked Haruka. 
 
Or, maybe not. 
 
Hotaru blushed and shook her head. "No, you're just hearing things 
Haruka-papa! 
 
"I don't know," interrupted Michiru, "It sounded like Ranma to me too, 
but with names a similar as theirs, who can blame her for having a slip 
up." 
 
"Less talking, more eating," cut in Ranma, trying to divert the subject 
in his own crude way. 
 
Haruka laughed and said, "Can't disagree with that!" 
 
Michiru smiled and added, "Yes, Ranko-san. I really must compliment you 
on your abilities. This is delicious." 
 
'Ranko' smiled and said, "Thanks." 
 
Hotaru sighed in relief as Haruka and Michiru's conversation drifted to 
topics focused on their personal lives instead of hers. Maybe things 
would calm down. 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
Setsuna slowly wobbled her way down the steps. God her head hurt. It 
was as if a pair of African bull elephants were dancing a tango in her 
head. 
 
She really could not remember having a hangover this bad since maybe in 
'44 when she out drank that entire B17 bomber crew. After those fifty 
years she spent with the Norse, she would have sworn she was almost 
immune to the effects of alcohol. 
 
Of course, she did suck down an entire jug of 180 proof Kentucky 
moonshine. She really was lucky that she could see this morning. 
 
She really was not in good shape physically or emotionally. That 
"boyfriend" of Hotaru's was going to make her job as Guardian of the 
Time Gate much harder. How could she keep a close eye on the future if 
her vision was being constantly clouded? 

On the same note, she loved Hotaru very dearly and wanted her to be 
happy. It was a hard choice, duty or love. She could turn to Princess 
Serenity for guidance on this matter, but she already knew the answer: 
Love. 
 
With a painful sigh, Setsuna did something she loathed to do. She left 
it to fate. Butterflies are like bombs, the more you push them the more 
likely it'll be for them to blow up in your face. Besides, Ranma was 
not a bad sort. He was crude, but he meant well, and he could be a very 
powerful asset.  

She also noted, that in spite of her anxiety, not having to play the 
master manipulator was a weight off her soul. 
 
She winced as she smelled breakfast. While usually she would be happy 
to partake of the wonderful odor of a well cooked meal, all it did now 
was aggravate her already pounding hangover. 

Straightening her disheveled clothing, she walked into the dinning 
room. She was not pleasantly surprised by what she saw. The butterfly 
was in her house. 
 
Her eyes narrowed as the pain in her head increased ten fold. She sat 
down, smiled insincerely, and in an acidic voice she said, "Good 
morning, Saotome," while looking Ranma directly in the eyes.