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 Harold Ancell who has been a near constant source of input, information, and ideas. Circumstance and Consequence Prologue: Happy Birthday to Me... PsyckoSama (syp104@psu.edu) From the roof of the Tendo home, Saotome Ranma gazed at the sunset and basked in his own self-pity. In his hand was a single blue frosted bakery cupcake crowned by a single small candle. It was the solitary marker he had seen all day to commemorate the date of his birth, and he had bought it himself. This really irked him. Everyone else had birthdays. The Tendo sisters had rather garish affairs. Shampoo and even Mousse celebrated the Amazon way. Hell even Ryouga got a happy birthday and a pat on the back when he showed up. What did Ranma get? He got nothing, absolutely nothing. Not a celebration, not a cake, and even a single utterance of "Happy Birthday, Ranma". It was like they didn't care. He was the center of the all the chaos in Nerima. They had all done crazy things, life altering things directly because of him. He couldn't leave or escape, because they would hunt him down to the ends of the earth just to start the same crap all over again. Did they care? That was the question, and in his mind all signs pointed to no. They couldn't give a damn about him, or what he felt. If they did, the madness that was slowly draining his confidence, would have ended long ago. His very will to live was draining away. He was tough, but he was only human. Never a moment's peace, just constant anarchy with no respite. No matter what he did, it was never enough. He couldn't get rid of them, but he would rather die then forsake any one of them. It pained him to admit it, but they were his only friends. That is what made it just that much more pathetic. With friends like his, you'd rather have enemies. Part of him wanted it to end, but he could only see one out, Seppuku, but he really couldn't consider that an option. That would be giving up, and Saotome Ranma *never* gave up. No matter the odds, no matter the situation, no matter how many times he fell on his face, he always will win in the end. That is what has kept him alive, the hope of a brighter tomorrow where he could be happy and at peace. Unfortunately, hope can die... and his was slowly waning. "Oh, fuck it," grumbled the disgruntled youth as he cast away the cupcake. He was not Ryouga. He was not the type to sit around and feel sorry for himself. He was not a victim, he was a fighter, and tonight he would do something to fight this crap! But first, he really needed a drink... ----------------------------- Ranma looked at the place where he would get his poison. The guys from school were always acting as if this place was something special because they carried lots of imported liquor. Of course, at his college, there were too damn many Americans, and they probably just appreciated the reminder of home. Ranma could not see the appeal. A bar was a bar. You went there to get drunk, not for silly nostalgic reasons. He looked at the place for a moment. It was nothing special. A normal out of the way hole in the wall with a large neon sign simply labeled "Jack's" in English. "Oh well," remarked Ranma. Time to get smashed. The youth slowly slipped through the door and looked at the interior. Someone had gone to a lot of effort to make this place look like an old American style tavern. With a shrug he walked over to the bar and sat down. "Hey, gimme something strong!" The barkeep, a graying Gaijin in his mid fifties turned to the martial artist. "How old are you, kid?" He asked with a very heavy American accent. "Eighteen... No, wait. I'm Nineteen." mumbled Ranma, wondering what this was about. The man behind the bar gave Ranma a dirty look, and said, "Kid, you do realize the legal drinking age is twenty. Come back next year." Ranma sighed. This was wonderful! He was old enough to go through daily hell, be forced into marriage, and kill a fucking god, but he could not get a drink. "I'm sorry for bothering you, sir." With a scowl on his face, he started back outside, pushing his way through the crowded bar. He never got a break. ----------------------------- Setsuna sighed to herself as she gazed across the bar of Jack's, her personal haunt. It was the best place in the area to get imported liquor. She really hated Japanese booze. She guessed her centuries of traveling the world had given her a sensitive pallet. She looked down at her whisky shot. Was this her tenth or her eleventh? She gulped it down, then thought about the travesty that was her life. Oh, how she longed the travel to world, to once again visit the avenues of Paris, the fast paced bustle of New York, the classical charm of Rome and Athens, or one of a thousand other location she had been in her life. She had always relocated at least one every ten years. It spared her the pain of watching friends and lovers grow old and die before her eyes. The rebirth of the Senshi was both the best and worse thing that had happened to her in many, many years. They gave her both hope that her ten millennia of suffering would come to a happy conclusion, and a connection to the long dead civilization of her birth. She had been in Japan twenty years, ever since the rebirth of Neptune and Uranus. For the first time in thousands of years she was not able to run from death. Once again she had to watch friends and lovers, people she knew and cared about slowly rot away with the passage of time. Her immortality was a dire curse. Most people would love to live forever, but they did not understand the cost. You were doomed to be alone. Everyone you would ever meet was doomed to die in what amounted the blink of an eye. What was a human lifespan to a person who lived outside of time? That is why she was heading to this bar. To drink away her pain, and maybe find someone special for the night, so that for one moment she could have a connection with another human being. She just wanted a split second where she was not alone in the world. Setsuna was thrown out of her emotional monologue by a sharp impact as some one knocked into her shoulder. The impact upset the balance of her barstool, and sent her flying backwards. She winced as she prepared for the impact with the cold hardwood floor, but it never came. She slowly opened her eyes, and looked directly into a beautiful pair of gray-blue orbs. Eyes which mirrored her own suffering. "Err... I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to knock you over," muttered the blushing young man who owned the eyes, as he helped Setsuna back to her feet. "I'll be going now." He murmured as he walked away. Setsuna smiled. The boy was very handsome, and she could tell that there was something special about him. She was not letting this one go that easy. She grabbed the young man's arm, "Wait a second, at least let me buy you a drink. Most people would have just let me fall on my ass." "Sorry. I'm not old enough," he replied with a nasty expression. "The guy behind the bar refused to serve me. Guy can't even get a drink when he's having a bad day..." Setsuna shrugged, sat back down, and pulled Ranma onto the stool next to her. "Don't worry, I'll handle it." She turned to the barkeeper and said, "Hey, Jack! Two shot of Whisky. One for me, and one for my friend here." The old gaijin shot Setsuna a sour look. "Setsuna, you know how I feel about serving those damn ignorant college kids..." "Jack, just shut up and give me my drinks," replied Setsuna in a sarcastic tone. "Fine... but if this brat drinks himself into a stupor, it's your problem," grumbled the old bartender. Setsuna just glared at the man, who sighed and poured the drinks. "Drink up, kiddo!" said Setsuna jut before choking down her shot. Ranma looked at the miniscule glass. The only alcohol he had ever had was sake and maybe some beer. He slowly lifted the glass and swallowed the brown liquid within. He gagged. This stuff was nasty! "I take it you don't drink much," commented the green haired beauty who was sitting at his side. Ranma shrugged, "Not really... What's your name anyway?" The woman smiled and replied. "My name is Meiou Setsuna, and you're..." "Saotome Ranma," replied the young martial artist. "So Saotome-san, fancy another drink?" "Sure, this time I'll cover it," he said as he pulled out his wallet. Setsuna chuckled to herself. "Buying a lady a drink... what a gentleman!" Ranma couldn't help but laugh with her. It was not all that funny, but her laughter was infectious. The barkeep quickly refilled their drinks and was on his way. Almost in unison, they gulped down the hard liquor. "So, why are you so glum?" inquired Setsuna. Ranma sighed and looked down at the empty shot glass before him. "No one remembered my birthday..." "Well, then... Happy Birthday, Saotome Ranma!" Ranma blushed slightly, and looked down. "You, a perfect stranger, are the only person who wished me a happy birthday. Not my friends, not my enemies, not my fiancées, not even my damn parents. They didn't give a damn...." Setsuna blinked and gave Ranma a funny look. "Fiancées? Plural?" Ranma looked turned his head to the woman. "Yeah, I got three of em... It's all my old man's fault. He would engage me to lots of girls then run off with the dowry, and not I'm stuck with his mess." "That man should be shot on general principle." "Yeah, I almost agree with you," chuckled Ranma. He paused for a moment then said, "Most people don't believe me when I tell them that." She replied with a shrug. "I've seen a lot in my day, and you seem like the honest type. Just call me jaded." "Well, at least there is one person in the world who is not out to get me! I swear, everyone I ever meet is out to kill me, marry me, or possibly both!" exclaimed the pigtailed youth. He paused for a moment, and turned his head to Setsuna. "So, what's your story." Setsuna froze for a moment, lost in thought. "I... I'm a wanderer, a person without a place to call my own. I travel the world, never allowing myself to get tied down." "Why." "I... I don't want to talk about it. It's painful." Ranma nodded. "I understand." Setsuna chuckled lightly and shook her head. "No, you don't." Ranma's eyes narrowed slightly, and he replied. "Yes, I do. I am, or at least was a wanderer too. I spend ten years on the road training to be a martial artist. I had no friends, no family, and no roots. Just the Art and my baka old man." He paused, then continued, "And at least you can run from your demons. Mine will hunt to the end of the earth, and maybe then some." Setsuna slowly cracked a dour smile. "So, maybe you do." It was at that moment that their drinks were refilled. With a smile, Setsuna slowly lifted her shot, as did Ranma. The green haired Senshi held her drink toward Ranma, and with a look of irony on her face she said, "Here's to misery and the good company it brings!" Ranma chucked and bumped his glass against hers. "Cheers!" The two continued to drink and talk for over an hour. After about ten or twenty more shots Setsuna's alcohol resistance began to wear down while Ranma's superhuman constitution began to give up. Through slightly hazed vision, Setsuna looked over the young man at her side. Damn, he was cute. He was nice too, and they could actually sympathize with each other's problems. That in its self was something rare. He might be just what she was looking for... "Ranma?" asked Setsuna. The pigtailed youth smiled stupidly at the woman by his side. "Yeah, Set-chan?" Setsuna blinked. "Set-chan?" The drunken teen shrugged. "Hey, you look like a Set-chan to me." "Okay, fine. But if you call me Set-chan, I get to call you, Ran-chan." Ranma winced a little. "If you gotta... but I got some rough memories of that nickname." Setsuna shrugged. "Fine them I guess we'll have to add some good ones to it, eh Ran-chan?" "Fine with me!" laughed Ranma. "so, what ya wanna ask me." Setsuna's eye narrowed slightly, and she smiled seductively. "So, Ran- chan, you wanna stop by my place, hang out for a while, maybe have some fun?" This invite shocked Ranma clear out of his drunken haze. "Hey, Set- chan, the last think I need is another girl out to marry me!" Setsuna laughed. "I never mentioned anything of the sort. All I'm asking is for you to be my friend. Someone I can talk to. A best friend with 'benefits'." Ranma gulped. "Yeah, but sex don't got nothin' to do with that!" "Oh my naive little Ran-chan. That is the 'benefits'. All I want from you is friendship, and maybe some casual sex, and nothing more. I'm not going to try and kill you or marry you," commented Setsuna. Ranma looked at the beautiful woman who was offering herself to him. His mind was in conflict. His warning signals were flaring. This could mean nothing but trouble. To do so would be betraying his fiancées. His fiancées? What they hell did he care about their feelings? They just showed him how much they cared about him. They never listened to him, they always hit him, they treated him like a piece of meat, and they didn't even care enough to even say Happy Birthday! On the same note, Setsuna's offer sounded great: a real friend to talk to, and someone to help blow off three years of pent up sexual tension. That he could work with. The look of panic on Ranma's face slowly rose into a sly little smile. In a low, sure of himself voice he said, "Sure thing."