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 7: Trust
PsyckoSama (syp104@psu.edu)
http://www.fanfic.net/~psyckosama/

"Err... hi!" exclaimed Ranma in surprise.

Hotaru could not help but shudder as a chill of apprehension and panic 
slowly made its way up her back. This was a very bad thing.

"Good morning, Setsuna-mama!" she added. 

Mentally, Hotaru kicked herself. She should have anticipated this. 
Ranma was what Setsuna-mama called a 'Butterfly'. Of course she would 
keep an eye on him; while she couldn't see his future, she sure as heck 
would keep an eye on his past, curse included.

She looked over to her lover, and found her own fears reflected in 
"Ranko's" liquid-blue eyes. Slowly their hands met under the table. 
Whatever happened, they were in it together.

"Good morning, Hotaru-chan," muttered Setsuna, her eyes drilling into 
Ranma's.

The awkward silence remained for a moment, until Michiru decided to 
speak up. "So, Setsuna, you know Ranko-san?" 

"Ranko-san?" The outer most Senshi turned her head toward the two 
teens. Her features slowly softened as she saw the unease in the two 
youths' eyes. With a small smile on her face, which was now devoid of 
all obvious negative emotion, she turned back to Michiru. "Yes, I know 
Ranko-kun."

Both teens were visibly relieved. That had been a very close one. 
Hotaru didn't know what she would have done if Setsuna had let their 
secret out. 

She turned her head to Ranma, and smiled. Hopefully they could keep 
them in the dark for a little while longer.
  
"You didn't seem to happy to see her," commented Haruka.

Setsuna shrugged. "Well, it was a surprise. Seeing someone so close to 
the boy who impregnated your daughter first thing is not exactly a 
pleasant thing to wake up to." She paused for a moment and turned her 
head to Michiru. "Could you please get me something for my head? I have 
a horrible hangover."

The aquamarine-haired girl nodded, and left the room to get a bottle of 
aspirin. 

Hotaru pouted, and then glared at Setsuna. "It serves you right. How 
could you just go and get drunk like that!"

Setsuna blushed slightly. "I'm sorry about that, but I really didn't 
see *this* coming."

"You didn't see it coming?" Hotaru's eyes narrowed slightly as she 
continued, "How do you think I feel?" Hotaru's voice slowly calmed, 
taking on an uneasy tone. "I... I'm still a girl myself. I'm not ready 
to be a mother! What kind of parent can I be? I know nothing about how 
to take care of a baby."

"Hotaru?" 

Her head turned to the source of the voice. It was Ranma. When he had 
her attention, he slowly placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hotaru, 
you're gonna be a great mom."

Hotaru smiled, and tightened her grip on Ranma's hand. "You really 
think so?"

"Yeah, I do!" he exclaimed as he also tightened his grip.

Hotaru blushed lightly, and smiled. His confidence and support meant a 
lot to her. He was her partner. "Thank you, Ran... Ranko."

Setsuna smiled as shook her head. She had absolutely no idea why the 
hell Ranma was here, but if they kept this lovey-dovey crap up, their 
cover would be blown like Mt. Vesuvius on a bad day. She really needed 
to talk to them alone. She winced as another pang of pain screamed its 
way through her cranium. God, all this thinking was aggravating her 
hangover. 

"Here's your aspirin, Setsuna-san" said Michiru, as she re-entered the 
room with a bottle of painkillers and a cup of coffee.

The green-haired woman smiled widely as she snatched the precious 
painkillers from her fellow Senshi's hand. In one quick motion she 
removed the top, emptied some of the contents into her mouth, then 
chugged her coffee.

She let out a satisfied sigh, and laid her empty coffee mug on the 
table. "Thank you."

Michiru smiled, and returned to chatting with Haruka.

Setsuna closed her eyes and waited for the aspirin to kick in. In the 
meantime, she sampled the morning meal. "Michiru, you outdid yourself 
this morning."

"I made it," interjected Ranma.

Setsuna blinked, and looked down at the meal. "You made this?"

"Yep."

Setsuna laughed lightly, and said, "Let me guess... Martial Arts 
Catering?"  

The young redhead blinked, "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Shrugging, she replied in a sarcastic tone, "Lucky guess." 

"Hey, wasn't that mentioned in issue 7 of the Nerima Review?" added 
Haruka.

Ranma sighed and shook her head. "I'm so going to kill Nabiki..."

Setsuna shook her head, then continued, "I need to talk to you two 
after breakfast." 

"We're going out after I change," replied Hotaru. 

Setsuna smiled. "That's great, because I'm going the same way."

Ranma blinked, "We never told you where we're going."

Setsuna smiled mysteriously. "I know exactly where you're going. Would 
you like me to tell these two where and why?" She said, motioning to 
Haruka and Michiru. 

"That's-absolutely-positively-fine-you-can-come-with-us-if-you-want!" 
sputtered Ranma.

"I knew you would see it my way, Saotome-kun," replied Setsuna with a 
smirk.

"Where are you two going anyway?" questioned Michiru.

Both Hotaru and Ranma opened their mouths to give an excuse, but 
Setsuna cut them off. "Oh, give the kids some privacy."

"Setsuna..." grumbled Haruka, before Michiru cut her off.

"Haruka," Michiru interrupted, "Setsuna is right."

The blonde Senshi rolled her eyes, "I know that, I just hate being in 
the dark about things. They're making it sound like some strange 
conspiracy."

"Actually, that's exactly what it is," replied Setsuna, "Now that you 
know of our secret plan, we're going to have to have you 
deprogrammed..."

"Setsuna-mama has been watching the X-Files again," said Hotaru, as she 
shook her head.

"What? So I think David Duchovny's hot."

"And you always go off on that conspiracy theory stuff when you watch 
it," added Haruka.

"It's a joke," replied Setsuna.

"Not a funny one," replied Michiru.

Setsuna growled, and turned to Ranma, "Well, what do you think?"

Ranma stared blankly for a moment, then smirked. "I could tell you, but 
then I'd have to *kill* you."

Setsuna face fell, hitting her head against the table, while Hotaru and 
the others started laughing hysterically.

"I hate you," grumbled Setsuna as she sat up and picked a clump of rice 
out of her hair.

"You had that one coming," said Haruka, as the laughter died down.

"Oh, someone has something coming all right," grumbled Setsuna as she 
glared at Ranma.

"Well, I'm done," interrupted Hotaru as she pushed her emptied plate 
away.

Michiru turned to her daughter in concern. "Hotaru-chan, are you sure 
you ate enough? You are eating for two now..."

Hotaru blushed and said, "Michiru-mama, there's really no need to get 
worried."

Setsuna slowly shook her head, "Don't worry about Hotaru's eating 
habits. In a couple of months, you're going to be putting more effort 
into keeping the pantry stocked then making sure she eats enough."

Hotaru moved over to Ranma and whispered into his ear, "Keep them busy 
while I get dressed."

As Hotaru walked off, Setsuna spoke up. "Hotaru-chan, when you come 
down, can I see those sandals you bought?" 

Hotaru froze in place and began to mutter a few curses, then growled 
and twisted around, meeting Setsuna's gaze with a venomous glare. "No, 
there are no damn sandals! I was buying pregnancy tests! Now are you 
happy?" 

Setsuna winced, as Hotaru's angry tone heightened the already blazing 
agony of her hangover. "Um, sorry, Hotaru-chan. I... I, didn't know."

Hotaru sighed and irritably shook her head. As she exited the room, she 
was heard grumbling. "Sandals my ass..."

The room remained completely quiet and devoid of action for a long 
moment. Slowly, Ranma turned to Setsuna. "You sure know a lot about 
this stuff, you a mom?"

Setsuna shook her head. "No, I'm not, but with age comes experience."

Ranma blinked. Who was she kidding? She didn't move like a martial 
artist, and she couldn't be a day over 30, if that. "Age? Come on... 
you don't look much older than I am!"

Setsuna laughed dryly. "Another thing you learn with age, 'Not 
everything is as it appears to be'... and flattery will get you 
nowhere, mister."

Ranma rolled his eyes. She was sounding like Cologne. "Oh great, not 
another Old Ghoul..." as soon as the word left his mouth, his face bent 
into a large, comical smile. Did he just say that out loud?

"What did you call me?" hissed Setsuna.

Ranma gulped and quickly garbled out, "I-said-nothing-absolutely 
nothing! I-think-you're-an-oh-so-beautiful-young-lady!"

Setsuna shook her head a chuckled, "Much better."

"You know, Setsuna, it sounded like 'old ghoul' to me," said Haruka.

"Me too," added Michiru.

Ranma looked up at them, in a whimpery voice said, "Hey, who's side are 
you on?"

"Our own!" they replied in unison.

Setsuna's face twisted with barely contained laughter. "Saotome-kun, 
you really need to learn to keep your loud mouth shut."

"Ranko, I'm ready to go," said Hotaru as she reentered the room.

Ranma blushed as he looked over his future wife. She was dressed in a 
purple sweater, black miniskirt, low-heeled boots, and long black 
stockings that left just a small ring of skin visible between them and 
the bottom of her skirt. It was times like this that he was glad to be 
a man.

"Kawaii..." he mumbled to no one in particular as he gazed upon the 
angel before him.

Hotaru flushed red and looked down demurely. In Ranma's eyes, that only 
made her cuter.

"Okay, we're going now..." grumbled Setsuna as she got up from her 
seat, and all but dragged the teens out of the house.

Haruka and Michiru looked at each other as the room cleared.

Haruka sighed and asked herself, "Are they lovers?" 

"Most definitely," replied Michiru.

"You do realize that she's also sleeping with Ranko's *brother*."  
added Haruka.

Michiru sighed, "Who knew our Hotaru-chan would grow up to be a 
hentai..."

Haruka nodded. "The girlfriend I can handle, but a boyfriend too?"

The two lesbians looked at each other, and in one voice said, "Yuck..." 

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

When the three were a decent distance from the house, Setsuna spun 
around and glared both teens directly in the eyes, stopping them dead 
in their tracks. "Hotaru, Ranma, there better be a *damn* good 
explanation for this."

Ranma sighed, "Ok, what ya wanna know?"

"Well, for starters, why the hell were you in my house, and why are you 
hiding behind your 'Ranko' persona?"

Ranma shrugged. "I don't got nowhere else ta go. I was kicked out of my 
house and forbidden from staying at the Tendo's after I told my Old Man 
that I'm gonna do the right thing and marry Hotaru."

"And you're using you Ranko persona because they are more likely to let 
Hotaru's female friend stay over then the boy who got her pregnant," 
stated Setsuna.

Ranma nodded in acknowledgement.

"You know you've really dug yourself into a hole, Saotome."

"How?" he inquired.

"Michiru and Haruka are going to feel betrayed and manipulated, and for 
good reason. I recommend that you two tell them the truth as soon as 
possible. The sooner you tell, the less backlash you'll get," replied 
Setsuna.

"You're right, Mama."

"I understand," said the young martial artist.

Setsuna nodded, and started walking again, letting the teens lead. 
While they walked, she said, "I don't want to impose on your feelings, 
but do you really want to marry him, Hotaru?"

"*Yes*."

Setsuna smiled slightly. "While I'm slightly annoyed for reasons that I 
can't mention in present company, he's not a bad choice. He's honorable 
and caring." Setsuna sighed, shook her head, then continued. "Tell him 
the truth, Hotaru. He'll find out eventually, and it would be better if 
it was on your terms. Don't worry, he's trustworthy." 

Hotaru froze dead in her stride, and slowly turned around, a look of 
shear disbelief on her face. Did Setsuna just tell her to tell Ranma 
that she was Sailor Saturn? "Are you sure?"

Setsuna nodded to her adopted daughter. "Yes, while he's a crude, ill-
mannered chaos magnet who leaves nothing but madness and wreckage in 
his wake..."

"Hey!" interjected Ranma.

"...he is also one of those precious few individuals who possesses a 
pure and honest heart. If he gives you his word, he'll never..." 
Setsuna's face twisted into a small smirk, "...'squeal'."

"What are you two talking about?" inquired Ranma.

Hotaru gulped. She would have to tell him, but this was not the time or 
place. She was happy that she had been given permission, but at the 
same time, she was completely terrified at the prospect. Even though he 
hadn't thought she was a freak before, this would have to change his 
mind. "I'll tell you later. This is not the place."

"Err... okay..." he responded, not sure of what to make of this.

"So, where are you two headed?" asked Setsuna.

Ranma blinked, and gave her a inquisitive look, "You said you already 
knew!"

Setsuna laughed. "No, I didn't, but making you think I did had the 
desired effect."

"That was low, Setsuna-mama," grumbled Hotaru.

"As Ranma would say, 'Anything Goes...'," she replied.

Hotaru shook her head, and said, "We're shopping for an engagement 
ring." 

"Getting things done with, aren't we Saotome," commented Setsuna, as 
she dug through her purse. Moments later she pulled out a credit card 
and handed it to Ranma. "Get her a rock that'll make the other girls 
drool with envy." 

Ranma pushed it back towards her. "I want to buy her one with my own 
money. I don't want to have to depend on everybody for everything."

Setsuna shook her head, "Exactly how much do you have?"

Ranma blinked. "About 100,000 yen..."

Setsuna lifted her arms, refusing the card. "Keep it. 100,000 yen is 
not enough for a ring worthy of a girl like Hotaru. That card has a one 
million yen limit. Just buy what you want. Consider it a loan if you 
insist, you can pay me back when ever you want."

Ranma looked at the card, and then to Setsuna. "Thank you."

"No problem." she replied, waving it off. "I have more money in my 
mattress than I know what to do with..." 

Ranma looked at Setsuna slack jawed for a moment. "Wow... you're so not 
like Cologne..."

Setsuna blinked. "What the hell does that mean?"

Ranma shrugged. "For a moment, I thought you were like one of my 
'fiancée's' great-grandmother... You know, a nasty, manipulative, dried 
up, old troll..." A shojo wooden mallet, courtesy of Setsuna, 
interrupted Ranma's speech.

With an uncharacteristic angry twitch, she said, "First lesson you 
should have learned in life kiddo: know when to shut the hell up!"

"Arrogant old ghoul..." grumbled Ranma from underneath the wooden 
implement of feminine retribution.

Setsuna sighed, and turned to Hotaru. "As I was saying, he's a good 
kid, but needs to be house broken. I think you can pull it off... oh, 
and you two should cut down on the open displays of affection in front 
of the others. It might expose you before *you* tell them," Setsuna's 
eyes twinkled as she looked into Hotaru's "and you know what kinds of 
conclusions they would probably come to."

Hotaru blinked, and nodded. "Okay, Setsuna-mama..."

Setsuna smiled. "I take it Usagi and Chibi-Usa know about the curse?"

Hotaru nodded in confirmation. 

"I'd tell them about 'Ranko-chan', as soon as you can."

"Man, you hit like Akane," commented Ranma, as he lifted himself off 
the sidewalk.

Setsuna's eyes slightly narrowed, but she said nothing. The painkillers 
she had taken were slowly starting to take effect, dulling the 
agonizing pain in her skull, and slowly ebbing her vicious irritability 
level. 

She sighed, and rubbed her temples. "Look... you two just get the ring 
and have fun with the rest of that card's account. Consider it a gift" 

She turned to Ranma and her tone became far more serious, "I want you 
to tell me that you'll protect Hotaru and fight at her side no matter 
what the cost."

Ranma blinked, obviously confused by the idea of Hotaru in battle. 
"What do you mean?"

Her eyes narrowed, "I'm serious, Saotome Ranma!"

Ranma, taken aback by Setsuna's vehemence, agreed, "Okay, I will."

"Setsuna-mama!" objected Hotaru, fearful for Ranma's health. He was a 
human, a normal human. How could he ever hope to survive a battle with 
even a weak youma? Setsuna probably just signed his death warrant.

"Hotaru, trust me," snapped Setsuna. "Have him tell you about his 
fights. He'll tell you the truth."

A feeling of unease slowly twisted in Hotaru's gut. Ranma had mentioned 
a place called Jusendo, and that he had killed a god. Now Setsuna was 
all but affirming his claim. Could he really be that powerful? "Ok, 
Mama..." she whispered.

"Good," said Setsuna with a long sigh. Talking to herself, as much as 
to anyone, she said, "Well, I'm going to get out of here. I have a 
splitting hangover to nurse, and if I don't get an Espresso in the next 
forty-five seconds, I'm going to scream..." With a shrug and a wave, 
she started away from the youths. "Arrivederci..."

Ranma blinked at the shrinking image of the green-haired woman, and 
turned to Hotaru. "Man, she's weird."

Hotaru paused for a moment. "She usually is not like this. Must be 
stress... or her hangover."

"Okay," said Ranma, shrugging it off. "So, let's find you a ring."

Hotaru blushed, and latched onto Ranma's arm. "Ranma, could you tell me 
about Jusendo?"

"Okay, but can we get a cup of tea on the way? I want to turn back into 
a guy."

"No problem, so, about Jusendo..." 

Ranma sighed, and began to relate the story to his woman. "It all began 
when we got a call from the Jusenkyo guide..."

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

"And then Akane opened her eyes. I thought that things might calm down 
from that point on, and they did, for about a week," completed Ranma.

Hotaru looked blankly at him. Setsuna told her to believe this, yet it 
sounded like something straight out of a martial arts manga! Of course, 
it was not as if her life was significantly more believable. 

She smiled and gazed at her lover's face. They still had so much to 
learn about each other, but the more she learned, the more similar 
their lives appeared to be.

"Hotaru-chan, think this would be a good place to look?" said Ranma, 
interrupting her train of thought.

Her head tuned, following his outstretched hand to the welcoming sign 
of a jewelry store. She looked at the name for a moment. The Osa-P, 
where had she heard that name before? After a moment, she smiled in 
recognition. "I know this store! Usagi's friend Naru's mom owns it!"

Ranma blinked. "Who's Usagi?"

"She's..." Hotaru paused for a moment. "... a very close friend of the 
family!"

Ranma smiled. "Cool! Maybe we can get a discount!"

"Maybe," replied Hotaru.

The two youths entered the store. Hotaru smiled as she recognized the 
redheaded teller. "Hello, Naru-san!"
 
"Hello, Hotaru-chan!" replied Naru. She gazed at Ranma for a moment, 
then continued. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Hotaru nodded vigorously with a bright smile on her face.

"He's cute..." replied Naru. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she 
smiled. "Does he have a brother that's available?"

Ranma blushed and shook his head. "No."

"A shame..." commented Naru, looking down. After a moment her smile 
returned and she asked, "So what are you looking for?"

"A ring," replied Ranma.

"A ring?" Naru leaned towards the younger girl, with a glimmer in her 
eyes and continued, "As in an engagement ring?" 

Hotaru nodded, "Yep! We're getting married!"

Ranma's pulse quickened. Hotaru had said the "M"-word in reference to 
him. Quickly his head darted side to side in a comically exaggerated 
manner, scanning every minute detail of the room. 

Knowing his luck this would find a way to get back to one of the 
fiancées. He didn't know how, he didn't know when, but it would, and 
when it did he was a dead man, no questions asked and no quarter given. 

One of the girls could be in this room right now... All of Konatsu's 
ninja stealth secrets were for the asking to Ucchan! And 
Shampoo! Surely 'three thousand years of Amazon history' included 
stealth techniques as potent as the attacks he'd been taught. And...

Both girls ignored his fit of desperation and continued talking. 

Naru blushed and looked Hotaru dead in the eye. "So have you two...?"   

Hotaru's smile went ear to ear, and she nodded vigorously.

With a mischievous smile on her face, Naru looked Hotaru dead in the 
eyes, asking, "What's he like in bed?"
 
Hotaru blushed bright red, while Ranma turned an even deeper shade of 
green as this fed his raging paranoia. After a moment, despite the 
frantic objection and embarrassment on Ranma's face, Hotaru said, "They 
call him 'Ran Ma' for a reason."

Naru blushed beet-red and smiled. "Wild Horse... Oh my...!"

Hotaru giggled, and proudly hugged Ranma, whose brain had just about 
shut down. Ranma smiled blankly and looked toward his fiancée and her 
friend, and whimpered, "Rings, please?"

Naru pointed them to a row of cases, and said, "Just look around and 
tell me what you like!" 

Hotaru nodded absently as she gawked into the cases at the myriad of 
jewelry. She slowly scanned over each individual ring, her nose so 
close to the case that her breath was fogging the glass.

Ranma rolled his eyes. What was it with girls and jewelry? He had a 
much, much greater understanding of women then almost any man, but this 
was one of the many that always stumped him.

He looked at the display case before him, and started looking at the 
rings inside. All he could really comprehend what that there was lots 
of gold, lots of diamonds. Ouch, these were expensive. Setsuna had been 
right to give him that credit card; otherwise he would not have been 
able to afford anything but the most cheap and basic ring.

"Ranma!"

Ranma turned his head to look at Hotaru. He could tell by the 
absolutely enthralled expression on her face that she had found the 
one. "So what is it?" he inquired. He could already hear that credit 
card starting to cry.

Hotaru smiled widely and dragged Ranma over to a display case. Ranma 
immediately knew which one she wanted.

The ring containeda large violet jewel in a platinum setting surrounded 
by a small halo of diamonds. It was very beautiful, and just screamed 
expensive.

He looked over to Naru and said, "How much?"

Naru pulled the ring out of the case, and smiled at Hotaru. "Girl, you 
have good taste!" Her eyes then narrowed slightly and she gave Ranma a 
once-over. "You sure lover-boy can afford it?"

With a sigh, Ranma pulled out the credit card. "Charge it."

"Okay. It's normally 850,000 yen..."

Ranma's face warped into a sickened grimace. How would he ever be able 
to pay that back?

"But I'll sell this one to you at cost," continued Naru. "That'll be 
400,000 yen. Call it a 'friend-of-the-family' discount." 

"Thanks," replied a seriously relieved Ranma.

"No problem," said Naru as she ran through the ring out process. When 
she was done she looked to Ranma, and handed him a slip and the 
receipt. "Well, Saotome-san, sign this and the ring is yours." 

Ranma blinked and looked at the credit card. It had his name on it. How 
did she... Ranma shook his head. No, he would find that out later. 

With a shrug he signed the slip, returned it to Naru, then pocketed the 
ring box. 

"Oh, and you should really sign the back of that thing. You don't want 
to get ripped off," she added.

Ranma blinked. "Err... Okay."

"Thanks a lot. If you ever need something for your anniversary, just 
stop in. I could make you a nice deal!" said Naru with a smile. 

"Have a good one," replied Ranma with a shrug.

"You too." Naru turned her head to Hotaru and continued, "Goodbye, 
Hotaru-chan. Invite me to the wedding!"

Hotaru giggled and grabbed Ranma's hand. "I will, Naru-san."

With that said, the two were off. 

"So, where to now?" asked Ranma.

Hotaru gulped, and looked Ranma in the eyes. "Ranma... I have to show 
you something..."

"What?" he asked.

Hotaru shuddered slightly, and said, "You'll see."

Ranma did not really like the sound of that, but kept silent. It had to 
have something to do with what the green haired lady told her. The two 
walked for a little while until Hotaru stopped in front of a large 
building with a semi-secluded entrance. "This will do," she mumbled.

"What..." inquired Ranma, and he looked at the sign above the door. 
"You have got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed. This was a *love hotel*!

Hotaru sighed. "Ranma, we need *serious* privacy for this."

Ranma gulped, and said, "Okay."

With little else to be said, the two silently entered the hotel. 
Unfortunately, it was not unobserved. Across the street a blonde with a 
red bow in her hair had seen the whole exchange.

Minako's hand quickly darted to her wrist communicator.

"Makoto, you will not believe what I just saw!"