The rest of this series can be found at my homepage.
It's at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/4537

Disclaimer:  All characters portrayed in this story are owned by their
respective creators and companies.  I don't own any of them.  Please
don't sue me.

This story draws ideas from both the anime and manga of all the series
involved.

This is another part of Preludes and Interludes, which in turn is part
of my crossover series, Life and Times.

C & C welcomed.  Flames not.

Preludes and Interludes:  Hotaru

By

Donny Cheng

Present day...

	Hotaru gasped for breath.  Her arms and legs ached with exhaustion. 
Wearily she looked around at the others and was saddened to see none of
the others had collapsed yet.  Hotaru hated the frailty of her body. 
The others in Ranma-sensei's class hardly looked tired as they followed
the intricate motions taught to them.  Her eyes continued to wander
until they finally rested on the male figure ahead of her.  Ranma.

	Ranma moved with the grace of a cat, which no one in their right mind
would say to his face.  His muscles, still having a boyish softness to
them, rippled underneath the thin cotton gi that he wore.  Sweat danced
across his chest as he performed another kata.

	"Hotaru, Hotaru!"

	So entranced was Hotaru she nearly didn't hear her name being called
out.  She hid the blush that came to her face and smiled weakly at
Chibi-Usa, who practiced beside her.  "I'm alright, just a little
winded, that's all."  Hotaru forced herself to get up and continue.


			* * * * *

	The class finally came to an end.  Immediately, of course, the entire
student body ran up to Ranma asking for dates.  All of which were met
with glares from Ranma's 'fianc�es', who all had decided to preside over
the class to make sure no 'funny' stuff happened.  Seeing that Ranma,
who was in the middle, was getting quite a beating as the girls nearly
erupted into a brawl, the students finally decided to leave.  However,
each made a silent promise to herself that Ranma would be theirs
eventually before they left.

	"Hotaru, wait!"  Ranma called out.

	Hotaru stop and glanced up as Ranma came running up to her.  She had
been too tired and too shy to join her friends in the near fight to get
to him.  Which was why she was shocked to see him telling her to stop. 
He wouldn't be asking her for a date, would he?

	"Hotaru, I noticed that you stopped a lot during class.  Is there
something wrong?"  Ranma asked with concern.  To him, Hotaru had looked
like she was at the verge of collapse many times.

	Hiding her disappointment, she answered, "No, my body is naturally
weak.  I can only handle so much exercise a day."

	"That may be a problem then.  The class will become harder as we go
on."

	For a moment, fear arose within Hotaru.  She might have to quit this
class?  "I can try harder, sensei.  I really don't want stop coming to
this class."

	"Wait a second here.  Who said anything about quitting?  I'm just
saying that I might have to teach you something different.  Something
softer.  I do know more than one style you know.  I was thinking that
maybe we could build up your strength slowly with some easier forms."

	A blush was threatening to come to her cheeks when she heard Ranma's
words.  She and Ranma alone?  "You mean you're going to teach something
to only me?"

	"Well, the other's don't really need it and it might set them back. 
This training will probably eat up a lot of you spare time, time away
from your school friends."

	Hotaru looked at Ranma with a startled expression.  School friends. 
"No, I don't think that will be a problem."

	Ranma could have sworn he saw Hotaru flinch just a moment ago.  Was her
body that weak?  "Then we'll train every other day after school,
including the usual Saturday class, okay?"

	Hotaru gave Ranma a warm smile.  "Okay."


			* * * * *

	Hotaru followed Chibi-Usa and the other's back home for a short
distance before she noticed that she forgot to bring her gi with her for
cleaning.  She let the rest of the senshi know that she would only be a
minute and walked back to the Tendo's home.

	She slipped back inside and went to the dojo.  Her gi was neatly folded
and laying just outside the door where she had left it when she put on
her shoes.  As she went to get it, she heard shouting through the closed
doors of the dojo.  She stopped when her name was mentioned.

	"Come on, don't you think you girls are over reacting just a little. 
You don't really need to be with us when we train.  She's just a little
girl."  That was Ranma's voice.

	"Shampoo not like Ranma spending time with anybody but Shampoo." 
Obviously Shampoo's voice.

	"It's bad enough, you agreed to teach the rest of them on Saturdays. 
One of only two days free from school that we can go on a date."  That
was Ukyo's.

	"Hohoho!  As if Ranma-sama would ever go on a date with you.  They are
taking up precious moments between my beloved and I."  A loud crash
could be heard after Kodachi spoke.  The three were fighting again.

	"Like age has ever stopped a pervert like you, Ranma.  Does, Ms.
Hinako's little form or even that girl, who claims to be a goddess,
Skuld ring any bells?  If not, let me help you remember."  Akane's voice
rung in Hotaru's ears.

	Hotaru glanced up in time to see Ranma sailing through the sky.  Her
heart had lurched when he referred her to a little girl.  He didn't seem
to share the same romantic feelings that she had for him.

			* * * * *

	Ranma couldn't help but notice Hotaru's sadness.  Haruka and Michiru,
the 'parents', claimed that Hotaru was often like that.  But, Ranma
never believed them.  She seemed to be happy whenever he was around. 
"Is there something wrong, Hotaru-chan?"

	Hotaru blinked and looked up and Ranma as she stopped midway through
the kata.  Why did he have to be so nice?  It would have been better if
he was like the rest of her classmates.  False hope was definitely not
better than no hope at all.  "Um... No, everything's alright."  She then
continued on with the training as if to prove it.

	Now, Ranma knew something was definitely wrong.  Hotaru always looked
at him when he was talking with her.  She had her head down and looked
depressed.  Haruka and Michiru really hadn't been kidding.  Was it
something to do with school?  Usagi and the other's all treated Hotaru
well, but they couldn't be considered her peers.  Even her best friend,
Chibi-Usa, was of a different age bracket.  She was in a sense the
middle child of that close knit 'family' of friends.  He then realized
that he had never seen Hotaru with anyone from her school unlike
Chibi-Usa who was quite popular.  Ranma decided that maybe he would skip
school tomorrow.  If he found out she was being picked on...


			* * * * *

	Ranma stared as if the scene would change if he looked at it long
enough.  For one of the few times in his life, he was stumped.  He stood
hidden behind the tree as he looked in on the lunchtime activities of
Hotaru's school.  Boys either just hung out with their buddies talking
or played at some type of sports.  Girls sat together, apparently
gossiping the day away.  Well, nearly every girl.  Hotaru sat by herself
picking at her lunch.  No one was fighting with her.  No one was making
fun of her.  It was worse.  Hotaru was ignored.

	Ranma felt useless.  For all his prowess in the arts, he couldn't do a
thing.  There were no bullies for him to beat.  No wagging tongues for
him to stop.  It was no wonder that Hotaru was sad.  Ranma had first had
knowledge of what if felt like for a child to be alone.  Right now,
Hotaru needed a friend and that was one thing Ranma could be for her.

			* * * * *

	Hotaru ate alone.  This was usual for her.  She had never been able to
hide her ability to heal.  Her gentle nature always got the better of
her and she would try to ease the pain of some person that got hurt
within her vicinity.  When she did reveal her ability, she was always
considered a freak.  This school was better than most.  Here they didn't
go out of their way to be mean to her.  Here, they simply refused to
acknowledge her existence.  Which was why, her name being called out
surprised her.

	"Hotaru!"  Ranma felt every eye on him as he entered the school
grounds.  Jeez, hasn't anyone ever visited her here before?

	Unbeknownst to Ranma, the entire topic of discussion immediately
changed.
	"Hey, it's that martial artist everyone is talking about.  The new
champion of Nerima, after the defeat of that the Kuno guy."
	"He won all those medals during that Olympics thingie awhile ago."
	"Isn't he just awesome?"
	"Doesn't look like much to me."
	"Isn't that the cross dresser from Furinken?"

	Hotaru hardly heard the gossip around her.  "Ranma!  What are you doing
here?  Don't you have school today?"

	"Uh.. er.. I just came by to tell you that I wanted you to come for
training today too.  Yeah, that's it!  Hehehe!"  Ranma scratched the
back of his head nervously.  That sounded totally lame.

	"You could have just called, Ranma"

	"Oh, yeah!  Silly me.  Oh, what's done is done.  We were going to have
a test today anyway, so I didn't miss learning anything," Ranma grinned.

	Hotaru failed to see the logic in that, but said nothing.  Ranma's grin
was infectious and Hotaru soon smiled also.  They shared the rest of the
lunch hour together just idling about before Ranma finally left.

	Not a second had passed after Ranma had left, when what felt like the
entire school suddenly swarmed her.  All of them wanting to know about
Ranma.  They seemed to have all but forgotten her strangeness.  In fact
most of the school now took Hotaru in stride and figured that she had a
right to be different since she was a friend with Ranma.

			* * * * *

	Hotaru walked beside Ranma as they walked away from the school.  "You
didn't have to wait for me until school finished."

	"Er.. I had nothing better to do,"  Ranma said truthfully.  "I guess,
everything is alright now, hey?  You've been down lately."  A visit from
a friend seemed to make her happier and he had seen the result of his
visit.  He had unwittingly saved Hotaru's social life.

	Hotaru blushed.  She couldn't tell Ranma that the reason she had been
sad was that she thought she didn't stand a chance with him.  "Um.. Yes,
I'm alright now."

	Ranma beamed at her.

	Just a few years, Ranma, Hotaru thought to herself.  Just wait for a
few more years.

			* * * * *

Third Impact aftermath...

	Hotaru felt a sense of d�j� vu as she watched Ranma practice.  He was
as beautiful as she had remembered.  As part of the outer senshi, her
purpose was to protect the solar system from outside forces as a
separate force apart from the inner senshi.  She found herself alone
again most of the time as she didn't want to bud in on Mama Michiru and
Papa Haruka's time together.  Setsuna as always was always absent
watching the flow of time.  Most of her free time was spent watching
over Ranma.  She had been wrong to think that her shyness could be
overcome given time.

	<Snap>

	The sound of a twig snapping alerted both Hotaru and Ranma to another
presence.  She thought of getting away when his eyes suddenly caught
hers.  He had caught her watching him.  He was now looking at her with
expectant eyes.  Eyes the shone with fondness.  Gathering up her
courage, she went to chat with an old friend.  She briefly wondered
where that noise had came from.

			* * * * *

The End.  (maybe)