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 11: A Mother’s Love PsyckoSama (syp104@psu.edu) With a tired groan, the ‘evil intruder’ stood up and looked the Senshi of the Moon dead in the eyes. With a loud crack, he twisted his neck to get the kinks out, then settled into a relaxed stance. The perturbed scowl on his face all but said, ‘You’ve got to be fucking kidding me’, and with a tired sigh he remarked, “Great, another one...” The pretty sailor-suited champion of love and justice blinked in surprise. “Another one?” The boy in the Chinese shirt sighed and whipped out a cigarette. Lighting it with a spark of ki, he took a long drag. Looking at Sailor Moon, he replied, “Yeah, another one. What is it with you sailor chicks and stickin’ your noses in other people’s business?” Sailor Moon scowled and began to quake in anger. How dare he?! How dare this... monster lecture her about butting in?! He was in her house, threatening her mother! Her grasp on her scepter tightened and her teeth clenched at his nerve. “It’s our duty to protect the innocent from monsters like you!” she exclaimed with great vehemence. He looked over to Ikuko and tiredly asked, "Do you need protecting?" Usagi was surprised when her mother shook her head. “Not at all, Ranma-kun... and don’t smoke in my house!” Ranma chuckled in embarrassment and flash incinerated the cigarette. “Gomen!” Usagi blinked. “’Ranma-kun?’” The boy replied, “I’m Saotome Ranma of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. If ya wanna fight me, let’s take this outside.” Usagi paused as she mentally added up all the factors. The father of Hotaru’s baby was named Saotome Ranma. Minako said that she saw him walking into a love hotel with Hotaru. Hotaru had described Ranma as a wonderful person and claimed that he was a powerful martial artist, but why then would he be threatening her mother, and why for that matter would her mother be acting like nothing was wrong? Oh, why did thinking have to hurt so much? As Usagi stood inactive trying to process the conflicting input and come to a conclusion, Minako decided to step up to the plate. With a growl she said, “I saw you walk into that love hotel with Hotaru-chan, you evil seducer of innocent young women! Your crimes will not go unpunished! As the Senshi of Love, I will PUNISH YOU.” Ranma blinked; then he scowled. “Hey! You’re Minako, ain’t ya?” Both senshi gagged in unison. “What would give you that kind of silly idea?” asked Venus, as she began to perspire. “Never heard the name.” Ranma growled. “Haruka-san was there when me an Hotaru were done. She said some chick named Minako saw us and ratted us out.” “Hehe...” Dreading what she'd find, Usagi turned to look for the source of the dull chuckle. It was her mother. Ikuko had stood, and was projecting an aura of intense scrutiny, directed solely at Venus and herself. Her head was tilted slightly forward and only a faint gleam came from the heavy shadows that hid her eyes, a gleam that Wiseman, Galaxia, and even Beryl herself would have envied. She had a very bad feeling about this. “I see...” Ikuko sighed, and regained her composure. In an unnaturally calm voice she said, “Ranma-kun, don’t worry yourself. I’ll handle this.” Usagi gulped, hard, and shuddered as an ice cold shiver made its way up her spine. She knew that tone, and she knew it well. Nothing good had ever come of it, at least not for her. Ikuko walked up to Sailor Moon and looked the senshi in the eyes. For a second she relaxed totally, closed her eyes, and took a very deep breath. The moment of serenity was not to last. “U-SA-GI!” Ikuko screamed in rage, her lungs somehow providing enough force to rattle the very foundations of the house. Sailor Moon shrunk back at her mother’s outburst. In one swift motion the woman grabbed her magic girl daughter by the ear, forcing her to bend at a very unnatural angle. Screaming loudly, but without the banshee-like force she had used before, she exclaimed “TSUKINO USAGI, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?” All Usagi managed to do was cry out in pain. If it wasn’t pain from the close-proximity sonic blast, then it was the fact that her ear was all but being torn from her skull by an exceptionally pissed off mother. Not seeing a coherent reaction from her daughter, and not particularly caring, Tsukino Ikuko began her mad maternal rant. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady! Not only do I find out that you’ve been running around fighting monsters, and demons, and god only knows what else in the middle of the night, putting your life in danger, when you really should have been sleeping and doing your school work, but you do so without telling you own mother, keeping her worried out of her mind for you for over four years! On top of that, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, busting into this house and threatening a guest, acting like some kinda of underdressed juvenile delinquent!? Has being Sailor Moon warped your mind, am I a failure as a mother, or are you just that overwhelmingly STUPID!?” Ikuko trailed off momentarily, panting for air. Minako chuckled dully at the... insane display before her and glanced over to Ranma. In an angry whisper, she hissed, “Great job, asshole.” “You’re next, young lady,” stated Ikuko between breaths, in the same frighteningly calm voice she used with Usagi right before she exploded. Ranma couldn’t help but snicker as Minako went bone-white. Having fully caught her breath, Ikuko continued. “Minako’s one of those underdressed vigilantes too I see, and, from the sound of it, so is poor Hotaru-chan! What about your other friends, huh? Ami, Makoto, Rei? What exactly are you girls? You dress like some pervert’s wet dream, running around in those silly Lolicon schoolgirl outfits all day long. Are you just devil hunters or are you something more extreme; like some kind of sick religious cult bent on world domination or something? Are you recruiting? What other poor girls have you drawn into your madness, how about poor, innocent Chibi-Usa? It looks like you conned poor Hotaru in, what about her? Where does the madness end Usagi?! Answer me, damn it... ANSWER ME!” Usagi stood in place, stupefied by the mental overload. “U-sa-gi...” snarled Ikuko in annoyance at her daughter’s lack of a response. “Please let go...” Usagi managed to mutter, her mind still stuck somewhere in a cloud of pain, confusion, and pure dread. Ikuko scowled and released her daughter. “You have some explaining to do.” Sailor Moon sighed and banished her costume. In a flash of multicolored energy and ribbons, she was standing in her street clothes. No use hiding it, the cat was out of the bag, and she was doomed. “Hai, Mama...” With the kind of stride usually reserved by dead men walking the last mile, Usagi walked over to the table and sat down, seemingly defeated. Ikuko sat down across from her daughter glaring at her with a level, interrogator’s gaze. “Get started, Usagi.” Usagi sighed and consigned herself to fate. “Where should I begin?” “How about ‘the beginning’, but first, why did you attack our guest?” --------- “Ikuko-mama?” All eyes turned to the stairs, and to Chibi-Usa who was looking into the room, clearly confused by the chaos. “What’s going on?” “Oh, nothing dear!” replied Ikuko in a jovial tone. “Usagi just got home.” Ikuko’s voice suddenly turned towards the dark side. “We’re having a little chat.” Chibi-Usa blinked in surprise and walked down the steps to get a better look. Mentally she categorized the situational elements. She did NOT like what she saw. First, there was Usagi sitting at the table looking like she was about to be executed in some horrible, horrible way. Then there was Ikuko-mama sitting across from Usagi wearing that same psychotically unhinged look that the Neo-Queen had used on her last time she’d snuck off with the Time Key to visit Hotaru-chan. Then, there was Ranma and Minako, no, correction, SAILOR VENUS, standing off to the side looking like a couple of idiots. So, that’s where she got it. NOT GOOD, NOT GOOD! She didn’t know what was going on but she damn well wanted to find out before this blew up in HER face! Chibi-Usa heard a squeak on the steps above her and look over. It seemed as if Hotaru wanted to know what was going on as well. Chibi-Usa paused for a moment, and blinked in surprise. Were Hotaru’s eyes *supposed* to be glowing? --------- Tomoe Hotaru was not having the best of weeks. In fact, in the last three to four days her mood had gone up and down more often then a pair of kangaroos in the mating season. She didn’t know if was her pregnancy hormones starting to kick in or the kind of crap that happened for the sole reason of making people’s lives that much more difficult, but it was really starting to get on her nerves. She was unsure of everything. She knew that deep down the apparent happiness she had since meeting Ranma was for the most part, a facade, a pitiful attempt to trick herself into believing that everything was going to end up just honki-dori. That was bullshit and she knew it. She was going to be a teen mother which would make her even more ostracized by the public, she was engaged to wed a man who, no matter how sweet he was, she barely knew, and the kind of emotional betrayal she’d suffered of the past few days at the hands of her family left deep scars. Earlier in the day Hotaru and her “beloved” had decided to do some soul searching followed by the kinds of wild and wacky adult activities that couples like to do in love hotels. What really made this “memorable” was the presence of her father figure at the door, a little bit of fun made possible by one “Aino Minako”, a girl who was standing less than five meters from Hotaru. “Excuse me, Chibi-Usa,” murmured Hotaru, in a sugar-sweet tone. Chibi-Usa moved to the side, letting Hotaru pass. Hotaru walked into the room, paying little attention to those around her. The object of her current displeasure was right in front of her, and the opportunity to express it was apparent. “Ranma?” she asked in the same frighteningly sweet tone, “I take it Ikuko-obasan has figured out the details?” “Ah, yeah,” replied Ranma. Hotaru nodded in affirmation and began walking toward Minako. In a flash of dark energy her sailor fuku appeared. There were no ribbons, no fancy transformation scene. Just BAM, one moment Hotaru, the next Sailor Saturn. It was not her regular uniform, the one she wore as Sailor ‘Super’ Saturn. It was the original, more severe and ominous one she’d worn during the final battle with Pharaoh 90. “Hotaru?” With a thunderclap, Hotaru punched Minako in the face. The blond senshi flew backwards against the wall and bounced off, leaving a Venus shaped indentation, right next to the Ranma shaped one. As Minako bounced forward, Sailor Saturn reached forward, and grabbed Minako under her breastplate, lifting the older Senshi off of the ground. She looked the other girl in the eyes with a glare that threatened great suffering if she was not satisfied with her answers. “Minako, you and I have to talk about ‘limits’,” stated Hotaru in a ironically congenial but cold tone. “What?” Minako squeaked, quite intimidated by her precarious position. It wasn’t every day Hotaru shifted into full fledged Sailor Saturn mode and physically intimidated someone after decking them. “Limits and respect for the privacy of others, Minako. Let’s go over what happened, shall we? You saw Ranma and I enter a love hotel earlier today and apparently considered it your solemn duty to spread the rumor as quickly as you possibly could.” “I thought he was taking advantage of you!” cried out the Senshi of Love. “I do not believe you. Not for a second.” Hotaru’s eyes narrowed and her tone became more heated. “You just wanted to spread the newest juicy rumor! That’s all! Do you know what happened because of it? Haruka-papa heard! When we left, she was waiting for us.” “Hotaru, I’m... I’m sorry!” Hotaru’s scowl deepened. “Sorry doesn’t cut it. Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to be ‘caught in the act’ by your ‘father’, especially after the crap I went through last night?” Hotaru scoffed. “Wait, I forgot. Your self-centered, trivially minded, boy obsessed fluff-brain personality frightens away all things male who are looking for anything deeper then a quick screw! Just because you can’t find someone who can stomach you for more then one night, doesn’t mean you should make others suffer because of your shortcomings!” Minako reeled at the harshness of the assault. Hotaru knew that the self appointed “Senshi of Love” was very sensitive about her inability to find a boyfriend. It gave her a very easy target, and memories of the insults to which she was oft victim to gave her one hell of an arsenal. Ignoring, or rather reveling in, Minako’s discomfort, Hotaru added, “I want to make this clear: you will never do it again.” Minako gulped and nodded. “I understand.” “You better...” Hotaru released her, throwing Minako to the floor. The blond senshi quickly scrambled away from Hotaru and stood on her feet. Hotaru sighed. She looked at the wall, looked back to Ikuko and blushed. “Ah, sorry about the wall, Ikuko-obasan...” ---------- Ikuko mutely looked around the room. She turned to Minako, who was about ready to soil her fuku. She turned to her daughter who looked damn intimidated. She looked to Chibi-Usa who seemed almost as confused as she was. She looked to Hotaru who was both apologetic and enraged. Finally she looked to Ranma, who seemed like nothing was amiss. Silently, Ikuko stood up from her seat, and walked into the kitchen. Moments later, she returned, holding a bottle of sake and a large water glass. She sat back down at her table, opened the bottle, and filled the glass, which she immediately drained. “Okay,” she asked in a tired, confused, and honestly overwhelmed voice. “What the hell is going on here?” Ranma stepped forward. “Okay, I can explain part of it. I’m used to being on the spot like this.” “I can imagine,” Usagi’s mother dryly remarked. Ranma smiled. “I don’t know much about the Sailor Senshi stuff besides what little bit Hotaru told me...” Ikuko glanced at Sailor Saturn, who shyly waved hello. “But I can explain why she was so mad at Minako.” Ikuko looked at Minako, who was still shaken. “Please do.” “Well,” Ranma started. “I’d say it’s pretty basic. We went into a love hotel so she could show me her senshi transformation and stuff. Minako over there saw it and apparently, she told everybody ‘bout it. Haruka found out where we were, and was there to greet us when we left.” Ikuko winced. She could remember how her father would have reacted, and after what Hotaru had gone through the night before... no wonder she was willing to wring the little gossip’s neck. Ikuko sighed and looked at the empty glass in her hands. She could feel the alcohol beginning to affect her. It was making all the stress just go away in a happy, alcoholic haze. She wasn’t drunk, just buzzed enough to take the edge off and keep her from killing her daughter. Looking over to the two sailor suited girls, she said, “Turn back to normal. I don’t want to have to explain what two of the Sailor Senshi are doing in my house if my son or husband happen to walk in.” They nodded and in a flash of color, they shifted back to their normal selves. “Mama?” asked Usagi, “Does this mean you’re not going to tell Daddy?” “Of course not! Your brother has never been able to keep a secret, and your father...” She sighed. “Your father is a good man and wonderful husband, but the poor darling would have a nervous breakdown if he found out that you were Sailor Moon.” “Does this mean I can still be Sailor Moon?” asked the odangoed girl. “Of course. You do a service for the community, and while I might not like the idea of my little girl running off to fight evil, it’s an important responsibility. Just in the future, do not keep things like that secret... AND DO NOT THREATEN HOUSE GUESTS!” Usagi gacked. “Yes Mama!” Ikuko sighed. “Good. I want you to know I’m proud of you. It takes... well, far more dedication than I thought you possessed to be a devil hunter.” Usagi brightened with pride. “I’m not going to ground you for being Sailor Moon. I’m not going to say anything else about those costumes...” Ikuko’s voice lowered. “I have this sinking feeling that they have some god-awful spinning-naked-in-a-light-show transformation effect but I doubt you have any choice in uniforms. I’m not laying blame for things you can’t help.” The four girls blushed. Ranma nodded with a shallow smirk. “But I still am grounding you.” Usagi winced. “But Mama... you said you were proud of me!” “No buts,” she snapped. “You attacked a guest and you’ve been keeping this secret for four years! You’re grounded for a month, and I want to know exactly what is going on. No more secrets, do I make myself clear, young lady?!” Usagi nodded. Ikuko stood to her feet and wobbled slightly. “I think I drank a little too much a little too fast...” Ranma immediately ran to her side and helped stabilize her. “Thank you, Ranma-kun.” She shook her head and pulled away from the young man. “I’m fine.” Ranma let her go and stepped back. “I’m going to go upstairs and lay down, and Usagi...” “Yes Mama?” “If it doesn’t involve classes or saving the world, you are not to leave this house.” “Yes Mama...” “Good,” stated Ikuko as she stood up. Looking at her daughter she said, “You are not to leave this house until we have a long talk. We have a lot of things to discuss.” Turning to the others she said, “Hotaru, I’m sorry that I couldn’t talk to you but I want you to know I’m here.” “Thank you, Ikuko-obasan.” “You’re welcome,” replied the woman. “Hey,” Minako elbowed Chibi-Usa, “What is she talking about?” The pink-tressed young woman scowled. “We’re going to have a very long chat, Minako...” Ikuko smiled and turned to Ranma, “You’re a nice young man.” “Ah, thanks...” “Take care of her.” Ranma blushed. “Thank you...” “Oh, what’s going on here?” whimpered Minako. “And as for you,” growled Ikuko as she looked at the Senshi of Love, “Learn to respect the privacy of others!” Minako shrank back a bit farther. “Can do!” “Ikuko-mama?” “Yes, Chibi-Usa?” “Would it be okay if I went out with Hotaru?” The odangoed girl asked in her cutest and most sugary tone. Ikuko sighed. “You have something to do with the senshi, don’t you?” Chibi-Usa gacked. Ikuko smiled lightly and shook her head. “Go out with your friend. I’ll talk to you about it later.” “Thank you, Ikuko-mama! See ya!” Chibi-Usa exclaimed as she walked down the steps. Ikuko shook her head and waved goodbye to her ‘niece’. Chibi-Usa smiled at Hotaru and motioned her head for the small girl to follow her. “Goodbye, Ikuko-obasan!” “Goodbye, Hotaru-chan.” “See ya, Ikuko-san.” “Goodbye, Ranma-kun.” Minako smiled and waved goodbye to Ikuko. In response the woman scowled slightly. “Goodbye, Aino-san.” Minako winced at the formality and quickly left, following the others. As soon as the four were clear of the front door, Chibi-Usa smiled at Hotaru. “Want to go shopping?” The black haired girl smiled slightly and looked over at Ranma. “Fine with me...” he sighed. “Just don’t expect me to play dress up doll.” Chibi-Usa pouted. “No fun!” “Chibi-Usa-chan!” Hotaru chided. “What are you two talking about?” Minako asked. Both of the younger girls glared at the blonde. “Ah, never mind...” “Let’s go, Hotaru!” Chibi-Usa exclaimed. “We have to buy you a whole new wardrobe!” Hotaru blushed deeply. “Isn’t it a bit early for that?” “It’s never too early to shop!” Usa replied. “Why does she need a new wardrobe?” Minako asked. Hotaru responded with a warning look. “Ah, Hotaru-chan?” Ranma asked, “I know she ain’t exactly your favorite person right now.” He paused, and added, “And she ain’t exactly mine, but she is your friend, right?” Hotaru sighed and glared at Minako. “I’ll tell you what is going on, but don’t just go around telling everyone,” Hotaru snapped. “Ah, okay... I can keep a secret!” “Like you kept the last one?” Chibi-Usa growled. “I didn’t know it was a secret!” “I might as well," Hotaru sighed. “Minako, I’m...” BEEP! BEEP! In one fluid motion, all three girls reached into their pockets and withdrew cell phones. “Hey, what’s that?” Ranma asked Hotaru sighed. “Our friend, Yoko is having problems. Oni attack at the park, we have to go help stop it...”