Greetings, folks!

Here is the first complete draft of Relatively Absent Chapter 8.
Standard warnings applies as usual. Read at your own risk. :)

Many thanks to the various FFML and IRC members who provided detailed C&C
of previous chapters. *MUCH* appreciated.

This is a Ranma crossover fanfic, so it's time for the
Standard Fanfic Disclaimer.
------------------------------------------------------------
All previously existing characters taken from anime series
and used in fan fiction stories are owned solely by their
respective copyright and trademark holders. I don't own them
and I don't make any claim to them. Original characters are
owned by myself and I reserve all rights to their use.
------------------------------------------------------------

The HTML version of the story along with previous chapter(s) can be found at:

          http://www.sfcmd.com/fanfic/relabs

The web site is commercial and banner free.

Gaijin Productions presents:
=============================================================
RELATIVELY ABSENT
    A Ranma 1/2 - Sailor Moon crossover fan fiction
      by Togashi Gaijin
    This story is set at the end of the manga's Herb/Mt. Horai
      story arc for the Ranma 1/2 side.
    It is set at the end of the amine's S (third) season for
      the Sailor Moon side.
=============================================================

Chapter 8: Interregnum

--- Sunday, March 6th ---
--- Suginami ---

Ranma woke up suddenly. She glanced up to the clock on the edge of the
bureau, which read 5:45 AM. {{This is starting to become a habit,}} she
growled to herself in disgust. {{One of the few times in my life I can
sleep in as long as I want, and I'm waking up even earlier than
usual.}}

{{Guardians require very little actual sleep, Ranma. However, if you
wish to indulge in unstructured rest periods it is a trivial task to
disengage the alarm monitor which is currently active.}}

"Morning, Eiko," Ranma said, snuggling underneath the down-filled
duvet. "Figures it would be something like that." She burrowed even
further down until only the very tip of her red pigtail could be seen
from the outside.

Her eyes suddenly crossed. "Hey, does this mean I've got some sort of
alarm clock stuck in my head now?"

{{Essentially, although the alarm monitor encompasses a significantly
greater range of functions,}} Eiko replied. {{It is one of a number of
autonomous utility routines which you can access without regard to your
current transformation state.}}

"That's nice," Ranma mumbled. She closed her eyes and spent several
minutes tossing and turning, trying without success to go back to
sleep. She finally rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling in
exasperation. "Great," Ranma said with a sigh. She might as well just
give up and get dressed ... and if she hurried, she'd even make it
outside in time to greet the sun.

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

"Midori-chan, may I come in, please?"

"Certainly, Obaasama," the brown-eyed girl replied, her attention not
wavering from the graceful performance outside.

Aiko frowned momentarily at the coldly formal tone of voice before
suppressing a sigh. She really couldn't blame the girl, after all. The
Yamada matriarch glided silently over to the younger girl and placed a
hand gently on her shoulder.

"She looks so serene when she's practicing ... like she doesn't have a
care in the world," Midori said in a soft voice.

"'He', dear, 'he'," Aiko admonished gently. "I know it's difficult, but
it's especially important at the moment to try and think of Ranma as a
'he', not a 'she'."

"Yes, Obaasama," Midori replied without inflection.

Aiko didn't bother suppressing the sigh this time. "I'm sorry, Midori-
chan. I didn't come up here to discipline you further. In fact, I owe
you a bit of an apology over last night."

Midori finally broke her gaze away from the window and turned around.
She was moderately surprised to find that her grandmother was almost
completely unmasked and that the wryly bemused grin Aiko had on display
was directed entirely inward.

"I wasn't entirely fair to you last night, was I?"

"Ummm ... well, I don't know, Obaasama," Midori temporized. She didn't
want to sound petty and agree wholeheartedly, but at the same time ... "I
shouldn't have left my surprise on display like I did last night - even
Sis noticed it right away."

"True," Aiko replied with a nod. "However, the punishment meted out was
entirely out of proportion with the transgression, and for that I
apologize. I *did* have a reason for being so ... emphatic, but it wasn't
fair to you when you had no knowledge of the most recent events which
had taken place earlier in Nerima."

Midori's stomach plummeted through the floor. She could tell that,
whatever Obaasama was about to tell her, it was NOT going to be good
news for her sorely-beleaguered cousin. She shifted away from the
window and sat down on the edge of her bed after her grandmother
appropriated her reading chair by the window.

"Midori-chan, I am going to have to rely heavily on your assistance
over the next several weeks," the Yamada matriarch said. "I've come to
trust your judgment in handling the girls and I see no reason to
interfere with the synergy the four of you have developed over the last
year."

Midori nodded, wondering briefly about the obvious circumlocution.

"The day before you called home from the hospital with word of Ranma,"
Aiko continued, "we decided to inform his mother about his apparent
demise. I'll admit to a certain amount of petty revenge, but I had also
hoped to break my daughter away from Genma with the eventual goal of
reclaiming our family ties."

Midori's throat had tightened considerably during her grandmother's
discourse. She could easily see the problem this could create.

Aiko's eyes were flint and the grin which previously graced her face
had long since vanished. "I was - in part - successful. Nodoka visited
the Tendous yesterday and publicly declared Genma ronin. Evidently she
also made a decent attempt at returning home with his head. Naturally,
Genma fled the scene."

Midori was somewhat surprised when Aiko shifted nervously in her seat.

"I wouldn't be so worried if that was the extent of the damage. As much
as Ranma undoubtedly *still* holds strong feelings for his father, a
stable environment with his mother included as a part of the family
would have eventually weaned him from his primary abuser."

Aiko frowned slightly before continuing. "However, I'm afraid my
darling daughter overreacted to the other item of information we
included. I had Seiko compile a summary videotape of Ranma's curse in
action and let Haru-chan deliver it along with the rest to Nodoka in
person. Not only did Nodoka declare Genma ronin, she also initiated
blood feud against the Tendous themselves."

Midori couldn't suppress her sharp intake of breath. This was bad, no,
worse than bad for Ranma. She firmly suppressed a guilty little part of
herself which was cheering loudly in celebration.

Her grandmother nodded in agreement. "You see the problem, especially
considering his demonstrated feelings for the two Tendou girls."

"Yes, Obaasama," Midori replied. "What do you need me to do?"

"Good girl." Aiko smiled with approval. "I need you to run interference
with the girls, Midori-chan. Let them know what is happening while I
try to straighten out the situation between Ranma-kun and my wayward
daughter. Also, be especially gentle and supportive with Haru-chan.
She's going to blame herself for this whole situation, since it was at
her initial request that we compiled the tape of Ranma's curse. You
*must* make her understand that the final decision was mine, and mine
alone."

Midori's eyes were huge. "Hai, Obaasama."

"One last thing," Aiko continued, her smile softening visibly. "Please
do your best to suppress your, umm ... artistic appreciations ... around
Ranma-kun for the next month or two. He's going to need good friends -
and *only* friends - around him for support to make it through this
period. You have my complete blessings in the long term, Midori-chan;
you know that. However, you will simply drive him away if he notices
you drooling down his cleavage anytime in the near future."

Midori was no longer overwhelmed; she was beet-red with embarrassment
instead. "I'll do my best, Obaasama."

"I'm sure you will, Mi-chan," Aiko said with a chuckle. She stood and
nodded towards the door. "We should probably head downstairs - Kumiko
will have breakfast ready right about now, and I for one do not want to
earn her ire by being late to a meal twice in one week."

--------------------
--- Ehime, Shikoku ---

Nyu Xian Pu sighed. She really didn't mind being out on the trail
again, and she didn't even mind being forced to carry all of their
equipment as a form of "training". She was an Amazon, after all, and
proud of her strength. She could even tolerate carrying Mu Se along,
especially since the stupid duck-boy was actually a duck at the time
and the cage he was in had to be ... delightfully uncomfortable. Xian Pu
easily could shrug all of that off.

What she had trouble coping with was her great-grandmother's presence
on the very top of her backpack and the nonsensical comments and
whooping noises she was voicing in some strange form of English. What
in the Goddess' name were "ridum cowboy" and "gettalong little doggie"
supposed to mean, anyway?

Oh well. At least they were getting close to where Mount Horai was
supposed to be. Maybe someone in that small cluster of farms ahead
could give them a little better information than the idiots and
perverts back in the resort town they had just left.

--------------------
--- Suginami ---

"No ..."

Aiko's initial concern blossomed into full-fledged anxiety when she saw
the depth of the despair that replaced the initial shock in her
grandson's eyes.

"No ..." Ranma's head swung slowly back and forth in denial.

There hadn't been any realistic way of softening the blow, either - her
daughter had left her very little room in which to maneuver. The best
that could be hoped for was to extricate everyone involved from the
tangle of obligations without resorting to fatalities. No one would
remain totally unscathed, however.

"Ranma-kun ..."

"... no ..." Ranma clenched her eyes closed. "... no ... no ... no ... no 
..." A
trickle of moisture began to track down the cheeks of the red-headed
girl.

"Ranma-kun," Aiko tried gently to interject, "there are a few things we
can ..."

"NO!" Ranma yelled, voice thick with anguish. A brief shudder rippled
through her body before she quite literally disappeared from in front
of the Yamada matriarch's eyes.

Aiko slumped visibly in her seat at the table.

"Damnation."

--------------------
--- Elsewhere ---

Ranma stumbled over to the Gate and collapsed to her knees face-first
against one of its supporting columns, the nausea from the
untransformed teleport simply adding to her turmoil.

{{Ranma?}}

"Why," Ranma croaked. She clenched her fist and slammed it against the
column.

*THUD*.

That hurt. *Good*.

"Why," she choked out again. *THUD*.

That hurt even more.

{{Ranma, that isn't a good idea.}}

*THUD*.

The physical pain was a welcome distraction.

{{Ranma, you ...}}

*THUD*.

{{... really need ...}}

*THUD*.

{{... to calm down.}}

Ranma threw back her head and screamed. She cocked her fist back; an
oily miasma of nauseating green-black ki boiled around her fist and
forearm.

[[Beta Override enabled]]

{{RANMA, ...}}

The fist shot forward with her entire strength behind it.

{{... STOP!}}

Ranma instantly froze in place when every voluntary muscle in her body
locked simultaneously for a brief moment.

[[Beta Override disengaged]]

She slowly turned her head to look at her clenched fist.

{{I'm sorry, Ranma, but as Guardian you are one of the few beings
actually capable of inflicting permanent damage on my physical
housing.}}

Ranma slowly turned her head back to stare at the fist-shaped dents in
the column support.

She blinked. Twice.

"Oh *kami*, Eiko. I'm sorry, I wasn't ... I didn't mean ..."

{{Understood, Ranma. You have been subjected to a large number of
consecutive overstress events without being given sufficient time to
properly reintegrate yourself. Such displays are to be expected.
However, I would appreciate if, in the future, you could target your
frustrations towards an object which wasn't quite as delicate as one of
my temporal stasis pods.}}

Ranma nodded silently.

{{I can direct you to several locations where you can engage in intense
localized destruction without inflicting permanent damage or attracting
undue attention. This would also allow you to familiarize yourself with
the first of your basic Guardian attack and defense spells.}}

Ranma slowly got to her feet. She took a deep breath before nodding
once.

"Sure, why not. What the hell. I've got to get used to those damn heels
at some point anyway."

--------------------
--- Nerima ---

A deep chime disturbed Nodoka's meditations. The sound represented
something of importance, but the interruption was brief and quickly
dismissed. The kendoka did not practice zazen, but her training allowed
her to reach hishiryo without it and she basked in the serenity of
thought without thoughts.

A second chime intruded a short time later, insistently demanding her
attention. It represented a solution, and answer of some form and it
served as a focus for the kendoka's will. Hishiryo was abandoned with a
flash of regret when awareness of the outside world was finally
restored.

The door gong was struck for a third time. The timing was early but not
unreasonably so.

Nodoka stood up from the table, pausing for a few seconds when a brief
wave of dizziness washed through her. The kendoka's first thought was
that she was out of practice; her second resulted in a mirthless
chuckle when she realized the absurdity of that reaction. She secured
her daisho and took a deep breath to center herself. The kendoka picked
up the scroll and tanto before striding calmly to the front door.

The man on the other side of the door was quite dashing. Black suit,
red tie, rugged good looks - Nodoka would have deemed him quite
'manly'. The kendoka did not; having forbidden herself from ever
uttering that phrase again.

"Yamada-san," the man said with a bow, "Your mother requests your
immediate presence. If you will please accompany me, there is a car
waiting to transport you to her house in Suginami-ku."

Nodoka nodded in acknowledgement. She strode out of the house, pausing
only long enough to close the door. The expensive black limousine
waiting at the street was no surprise; she entered the vehicle without
a second thought. Considering her mother's family, anything *less*
would have aroused her suspicion. She was grateful it provided such an
efficient shield from the mad cacophony of Tokyo traffic.

Yamada-san. It had been nearly two decades since the last time anyone
had addressed her by that name. Now it represented a priceless gift
from her mother. Another priceless gift had been bestowed upon her by a
young red-headed girl with emerald eyes. Harukichi. She was the proper
age to be one of many nieces the kendoka had yet to meet. She would be
thanked for her gift of honor.

She had her answer now. Once the kendoka verified her mother had also
so honored her son, she would be more than content to greet her
ancestors.

--------------------
--- Suginami ---

Aiko stared dejectedly at her cup, the remaining tea within had long
since turned cold. Damn it all, she had counted on being able to talk
to Ranma-kun long enough to explain some of the options available to
them. That vanishing act had been ... unexpected, and *extremely* ill-
timed.

"Okusama?"

Aiko looked up and over to the hallway door where Seiko was now
standing. She quickly composed herself when she saw her advisor
escorting a young man who had an irregularly shaped cloth bundle
cradled under his arm.

"Yes, Seiko?"

"Imagawa-san from the Nerima Ward Office has requested a few moments of
your time."

Aiko smiled in greeting. This must be an unofficial visit; the
bureaucrat was out of uniform.

"Welcome to Yamada-ke, Imagawa-san. Please take a moment and join me
for a cup of tea."

The nondescript official gave the Yamada matriarch an extremely deep
bow - for a moment Aiko was afraid the man was going to get down and
kowtow. "Yamada-sama, it sorrows me greatly that my current duties
prevent me from accepting your most generous offer. I have been
requested to deliver this to you." He walked over and placed the bundle
down on the table.

Aiko watched impassively while Imagawa-san repeated his bow and tried
backing out of the room. She didn't find his miss of the doorway,
followed by a panicked scramble to locate the proper exit path, amusing
in the least - the man was quite obviously terrified. Seiko followed
him out after a brief exchange of signs.

She hoped that the contents of the parcel contained the information
she'd requested earlier. Idle fools with more money than brains should
never be allowed to breed in the first place, and minor pests were best
dealt with well before they turned into serious opponents.

"Naomi-chan?" Aiko caroled out.

A few seconds later the black-haired maid entered the room from the
kitchen doorway. "Hai, Yamada-sama?"

"Please prepare another tea for Seiko and myself. I'm afraid I let this
one get a touch cold."

"Hai, Yamada-sama."

Aiko gave the mysterious bundle a quizzical look before moving it aside
to make room for the tea service. She allowed Naomi to pour her a fresh
cup before relaxing to wait patiently for her friend's return. The
delay was longer than expected - she consumed half the cup's contents
before Seiko reentered the room and sat down next to her at the table.
The two sat together in companionable silence until Aiko finished her
tea.

"How did Ranma-kun take the news?"

"Not well," Aiko said with a sigh. "He vanished before I was able to do
more than tell him about yesterday's events at Tendo-ke."

"Damn," Seiko replied in kind. "I was afraid of that when I saw your
expression a few minutes ago."

"I know. I just hope he comes back."

"Was it that bad?"

Aiko nodded. "Possibly." She set her tea cup aside and slid the parcel
back over in front of her. "Well, let's see what our friends have
managed to find out about the Three Stooges." Aiko unknotted the
drawstring before upending the courier bag, gently dumping the contents
out on the table. A half dozen scrolls tumbled out, each marked with a
distinctive clan mon.

Aiko turned sheet white. "No ..." she whispered, not hearing Seiko's
sharp intake of breath or the crash of shattered pottery which followed
immediately afterward. She snatched the lone unbound scroll from the
table and quickly unrolled it to unveil the final registry entries. The
scroll clattered to the table. Fists clenched, knuckles white, the
Yamada matriarch's entire body began to tremble.

"Nodoka, you *fool*," Aiko hissed. "What have you DONE?!?"

--------------------
--- Elsewhere ---

"Khronos Guardian Power, Make Up!"

Ranma gritted her teeth as she endured the humiliating display once
again.

{{Ranma, that's the thirteenth consecutive transformation cycle you've
completed. Do you find yourself any closer on being able to initiate
and control the sequence directly?}}

"Not really," Ranma growled. "I can feel *something*, but only after
the damn thing has already finished."

{{That is to be expected. It takes considerable experience in directing
the various spells before one is able to identify and isolate the
various force taps from your individual mana pool, and the
transformation sequence has traditionally been one of the more
difficult spells to master.}}

"It figures."

{{You would be well advised to begin by learning the basic attack and
defense spells first. The power flows are of higher intensity and
significantly less convoluted in those sequences, and are subsequently
easier to identify.}}

"Well, no one ever said it would be easy," Ranma grumbled. "However, I
do have to wonder what idiot came up with the whole sequence idea.
Jeez, even without considering the stupid ecchi outfits, if I ever got
into a situation where I really *needed* the power-up, the fight would
be long over with before I could transform."

{{I'm not quite sure I understand, Ranma.}}

"Oh, come *on*, Eiko," Ranma huffed. "The damned transformation easily
takes over a minute and a half - I've had entire *fights* take less
time than that!"

Eiko chuckled. {{Ranma, the entire transformation sequence takes
approximately one point six nine oh four seconds to complete from
beginning to end.}}

"NO WAY! I can feel every one of those damned ribbons individually!"

{{Nevertheless, the transformation sequence is completed in well under
two seconds. The spell temporarily boosts your temporal perception at a
ratio of sixty to one; for every minute of perceived time only a single
second of real time actually elapses. It *is* a training sequence,
after all.}}

"Oh," Ranma replied. "Okay, two seconds isn't so bad. I'd still like to
strangle the bozo who came up with these outfits, however."

{{You will discover that the Guardian uniform is practical as well as
decorative, Ranma,}} Eiko said, mirth still evident in its mental
voice. {{Now, if you will stand directly in front of my enclosure's
primary doorway, it is time you learned how to access and control the
spatial-temporal event viewer.}}

--------------------
--- Suginami ---

Seiko watched nervously while the diminutive Yamada matriarch fumed.
She could tell it was taking all of the older woman's willpower to just
sit there and think instead of leaping up and throwing everything
within reach across the room.

Aiko forced herself to calm down with difficulty. Of all the *stupid*
things she had ever done, THIS one certainly topped them all by a wide
margin. The current situation had NO up side to it at all. At best it
could permanently alienate Ranma from the family, and would more than
likely topple the precarious balance currently maintained between her
and her sons and trigger an internecine power struggle which would
completely rip the clan apart.

The only even remote chance she now had of salvaging both the clan and
her unexpectedly-ronin offspring would require them to be adopted by an
unrelated Nisei family and sent away to live in the States for at least
a decade. She'd have to call in a large number of favors quite rapidly
to make it happen, and it was horribly unfair to inflict that on Ranma
after all the poor boy had just been through.

Of course, she could simply retire and hand control of the clan over to
her eldest son, but the consequences of *that* action were ... unpleasant
in the extreme. Neither Ichiro nor Jiro had ever wanted anything to do
with the family Art. They'd both insist on making her immediately
dismantle the various networks she had built up so carefully over the
decades, without caring that such a hasty action would put virtually
every one of her associates at risk.

Not to mention the distinct possibility of significant backlash to the
clan itself, including their own family members - a danger neither of
her sons had been willing to acknowledge in the past.

DAMN that girl! Aiko was almost tempted to accede to her daughter's
request, except it wouldn't be fair to punish her for something that
basically wasn't her fault - and such an action would be *certain* to
destroy Ranma completely. She now realized that she had subconsciously
expected her daughter to behave according to her training instead of
acting in such an ... extreme ... manner.

"Seiko?"

"Yes, Okusama?"

Aiko began putting the Saotome registry scrolls back into their bag.
"We're going to have to start implementing a number of our remote
contingency plans. Concentrate on Ranma's and the girls' trusts first
and make sure everyone has up-to-date passports."

"Hai, Okusama."

"Contact our friends stateside and find out if there are any extended
safe houses available for Ranma and his mother. Burn whatever credit we
have to make that happen."

"Hai."

"Also, start putting out the word on the ..." Aiko frowned when the
hallway door opened. "Yes, what is it, Jun-chan?"

The green-haired maid bowed briefly. "I apologize for the interruption,
Yamada-sama, but Mugonno-san is here with two of his associates. He
requested that I deliver this to you immediately."

Aiko felt a headache coming on. That's *all* she needed now, a new job
request - right in the middle of a major crisis. She held a hand out
for the sealed envelope as Jun walked over to the table.

"Please inform Mugonno-san that I will be available in ..."

The Yamada matriarch choked off her comment when she saw the
chrysanthemum seal emblazoned on the envelope.

"... that it is convenient for me to meet with him now."

--------------------
--- Southesk Tablelands, Western Australia ---

Guardian Khronos spent a full minute gazing about at the vast expanse
of scrub blanketing the plateau in all directions.

"Kami-sama, I see what you mean by not having to worry about attracting
attention here, Eiko. There's not a lot in the way of obstacles around,
is there?"

{{No, there is not. This location has the additional advantage in that
any damage inflicted to the terrain over the next several weeks will be
repaired quite rapidly, at least until the end of the current monsoon
season.}}

Khronos nodded. "I wondered why it was so green in the Outback." She
looked over to the Primary Key in her right hand, the heart-shaped
Garnet Orb at its top glowing softly in the morning light. She could
see why P-chan had used that odd two-handed style when wielding it in
their first fight - the various protrusions and ornamentations up and
down the length of the staff would make it nearly impossible to employ
most of the standard bo forms.

Wait a minute ...

"Key Battle Mode Engage."

Khronos watched while the Key quickly smoothed itself out. All of the
protrusions collapsed into the main shaft and the Orb narrowed and
lengthened until it became an integral part of the upper shaft. She was
left holding a two meter long staff, the top marked by a twenty
centimeter section of solid garnet set back about ten centimeters from
the staff's end.

"Okaaaay ..."

{{Very good, Ranma. I will caution that you will be limited strictly to
attack and defense spells when the Primary Key is configured for Battle
Mode. In addition, spells can only be directed through the top end of
the staff where the Garnet Orb is embedded. The Key's Battle Mode must
be disabled before you will be able to access your entire repertoire of
Guardian spells.}}

Khronos swung the staff around experimentally for a moment before
flowing into the opening of Musabetsu Ryuu's beginning bo kata. She
stopped about halfway through - the staff now handled almost exactly
the same as one of her practice bos.

"Eiko, not that I'm complaining or anything," she said with a puzzled
look, "but can you tell me how the heck I knew how to do that in the
first place?"

{{A Guardian is automatically supplied with complete knowledge of the
various spell trigger phrases, Ranma - this knowledge was provided as
part of the imprinting procedure when you assumed office. Your internal
status monitor makes a set of the triggers available to your conscious
mind based upon your current ability to command the various mana flows.
The spells and their associated triggers are grouped into one of five
levels of increasing power and complexity. Your considerable pre-
Guardian training has allowed you to start at the third power level.}}

Khronos frowned. "Wait a minute, Eiko. Are you saying that I already
*know* how to use all of this Guardian stuff already? Isn't that like ...
well ... cheating?"

She felt Eiko's mirth in its voice. {{Not at all. Ranma, the knowledge
which has been provided to you should be considered to be the
equivalent of your martial arts training scrolls. You are being
provided with the proper tools with which to learn. Simply knowing the
spell triggers does not provide you with the wisdom of knowing *when*
it is appropriate to employ a particular spell, nor does it enable you
to wield your magics in an efficient manner. I would be sorely
disappointed if you were content just to use the default spell triggers
and their automated invocation sequences without attempting to
constantly improve both your usage efficiency and your understanding of
the underlying principles involved. Both will require a significant
effort on your part and will continually challenge your learning and
comprehension skills on an ongoing basis.}}

Khronos nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. It's sort of like practicing
katas."

{{Precisely, except that most of the practice required to truly master
the Guardian's various abilities are of a mental nature as opposed to a
physical one.}}

"Right. So what's first on the list?"

{{Two of the Guardian attack spells are direct analogues to a pair of
your special ki techniques. Scarlet Storm is equivalent to the Mouko
Takabisha, and Khronos Typhoon is similar to the Hiryuu Shouten Ha. You
will be pleased to know that the Khronos Typhoon does not require
leading your opponent into a spiral path, nor is it dependent on
maintaining differing ki temperatures. You would be advised to practice
each attack several times consecutively so that you can obtain a better
understanding on how your internal mana flows are constructed and
controlled.}}

The Guardian nodded in understanding. Hefting her battle staff in one
hand, she began the first of many training sessions now ahead of her.
Wisps of radiant energy coalesced around her staff as she initiated her
first magical attack.

"Scarlet ... STORM!"

--------------------
--- Suginami ---

Aiko sat patiently while Jun ushered the three ... agents ... into the
room. Mugonno-san she knew from previous visits; he was as non-descript
as ever. Average height, average weight, features neither excessively
hard nor soft, average-length black hair, brown eyes, and dressed in
the average Salaryman's suit and tie. Change the outfit and he would
blend in practically anywhere. Aiko knew he was somehow connected to
the Imperial staff, but that was about it - his own background had been
so tightly constructed even her networks hadn't been able to find out
much about him. Aiko respected the effort that level of detail
required.

His two companions, however, were an interesting study in contrast. The
first simply screamed "Intelligence"; he was wearing the current
unofficial uniform of the National Intelligence Directorate, consisting
of a black suit, white shirt, red tie, and black spit-polish shoes, and
had the rugged good looks common to most upper-level field agents. The
other appeared to be a Nisei in American Navy dress whites. Aiko noted
the man was exceedingly handsome: six foot one, one eighty five, mid-
twenties, short platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, perfectly chiseled
features, athletic build, and a gait which implied considerable combat
experience. Of course, the large quantity of service ribbons and awards
on his jacket did nothing to dispel the predatory aura surrounding the
Navy officer, nor did the SEAL insignia that sat on top the rows of
ribbons. Although his presence here implied some sort of liaison
position - American NSA, most likely - Aiko wouldn't be at all
surprised if his family belonged to one of the Clans.

Mugonno walked up to the table opposite Aiko and waited for his
companions to stop on either side before bowing.

"Yamada-dono."

"Mugonno-san."

"May I present my two associates: Shiroi-san, ..." Mugonno turned
slightly to his right.

"Yamada-dono." The black suited agent bowed sharply to the Yamada
matriarch

"Shiroi-san," Aiko replied with a nod.

"... and Lieutenant Commander Kuroi." Mugonno turned slightly to his
left.

"Yamada-dono," the Navy officer said with a bow.

"Kuroi-san," Aiko replied with another nod before addressing the group
as a whole. "Please be seated, gentlemen, and join me for a cup of
tea."

Mugonno bowed once more. "Many pardons, Yamada-san, but before we
partake in your generous hospitality, could you do the favor of reading
my lord's letter?"

Aiko arched an eyebrow and held Mugonno's eyes for exactly two seconds
before turning her attention to the sealed envelope in front of her.
Opening the letter revealed a single sheet of folded parchment. The
content of the message was ... unexpected.

         It is our pleasure to extend an invitation to our honorable
servant
         Aiko Yamada, her daughter Nodoka Yamada, granddaughters
         Ranko Yamada, Midori Yamada, family and staff, to attend us on
         this, the Sixth day of March in the year Nineteen Hundred and
Ninety
         Four, for a cup of tea.

         Signed,
         His Imperial Majesty Akihito, Emperor of Japan,
               Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum,
               Order of the Rising Sun, Order of the Sacred Treasure,
               Knight of the Garter, Grand Cross of the Order of St.
Olav.

         Her Imperial Majesty Michiko, Empress of Japan,
               Order of the Precious Crown, Order of the Sacred
Treasure.

"Please make the proper arrangements, Seiko-chan," Aiko said, handing
the invitation over to her friend and aide. "In the meantime,
gentlemen, do me the honor of sitting with me for a moment. Naomi-chan
was just about to serve tea before you arrived."

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

Seiko allowed her worry to show once she was out in the hallway. An
Imperial summoning, and there could be no other possible
interpretation, with Ranma-kun personally named by his female personae
did *not* bode well - especially considering no one knew exactly where
he was at the moment. She hurried over to the house phone and dialed a
five digit number, then hung up the handset and waited.

It took several minutes for the household staff to assemble in the
foyer. Naomi was still attending Aiko and her guests, but everyone else
was now present. Seiko nodded sharply before addressing the group.

"Aiko-sama and the family have been invited to the Imperial Palace for
tea. Kumiko, Naomi, and Jun will be coming along; everyone else will
assist with the preparations."

"Genjo," she said, looking at the Yamada chauffeur, "we'll be taking
both limousines today; Izo will be your other driver, Shiki-kun will
help you prep the cars. Hisato-san, you'll be in charge while we're
gone. Handle the door duties and inform me the instant Ranma-kun
returns."

Seiko turned towards the female members of the staff. "Sumiko's in
charge of the kitchen until we get back. Jun, we'll be wearing full
formals, so take Mariko with you and start assembling everyone's
outfits. Don't forget about Ranma-kun. Kumiko, open up the Bamboo and
Blossom rooms as a staging area. Asako will help. I don't know how long
it will be until Ranma-kun returns, so make sure everyone has a place
to sit comfortably once they're dressed."

"Dismissed." The staff members quickly hustled off to their assigned
tasks. Seiko picked up the house phone once more and began dialing
Midori's cell phone number.

--------------------
--- Southesk Tablelands ---

*Blink*: Khronos' staff disappeared when she stuffed it into storage
space.

*Blink*: the staff reappeared in her hand when she pulled it back out
again.

*Blink*: stored. *Blink*: retrieved. *Blink*: stored. *Blink*:
retrieved. *Blink*: stored. *Blink*: retrieved.

"Now *this* is cool!" Khronos beamed, quite pleased with herself. "I
won't have to worry about leaving it around for someone else to grab
when I get into a fight."

{{Ranma, you will need to be considerably more cautious in determining
which opponent can be safely engaged in physical combat. The majority
of entities you will face as Guardian will not hesitate to kill you if
you give them the opportunity, nor will they avoid inflicting
casualties on innocent bystanders. A significant number of them actual
revel in causing wanton death and destruction. You must fully embrace
the Warrior's philosophy when entering battle as Guardian.}}

Khronos deflated visibly. "You sure know how to kill a mood, you know
that?" She straightened up and sighed. "Look, I know I'll be forced to
make that decision at some point, but I'd like to delay that as long as
possible. I haven't had to kill anyone yet and I have no plans to do so
unless there is absolutely no other way around it."

She stored her staff and held her hands out in front of her. "Eiko,
I've been capable of killing with my bare hands for a long time now. I
don't think that anyone outside of Pops realizes just how much I have
to pull my punches to avoid injuring or killing someone when we spar. I
don't really like using a weapon; it's a lot easier determining the
exact force of a punch or a kick than it is for a blade or a staff.
Even then, there really aren't many folks around who can take an honest
punch. Ryouga's one of the few friends I have who even comes close, and
with him I'm pulling a good quarter of my power from every strike."

"Still," Khronos continued with a wry grin, "I will admit there are
times when having a bo around is rather handy - especially when Mousse
goes off on one of his blind temper tantrums. And *that* brings up an
interesting question."

She concentrated for a moment before disappearing.

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

Khronos looked around at the interior of the room. "Oops, wrong
doujou," she said quietly with a nervous chuckle. "Oh, well ..."

The fuku-clad girl traversed the familiar path over to the storage
cabinet where the practice weapons were stored. She was pleasantly
surprised when her boots didn't echo with each step across the hardwood
floor. The staves were leaning up against the side of the cabinet in a
small barrel - she picked out her favorite, a six-shaku white oak bo,
and smirked when it vanished into her storage space as easily as the
Key had.

Guardian Khronos returned to the Outback, leaving the Tendou doujou as
silently as she had arrived.

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

"Now, let's see if this works the way I think it does." Khronos
concentrated for a moment.

[[Battle Mode disengaged]]

Ranma wasn't expecting the whispered comment or the brief delay which
preceded her detransformation. Frowning, she pulled the Key out of
storage. It had reverted to its original form.

"I'll have to remember that," she said to no one in particular before
stashing the staff back into storage. "Now ..." She pulled the white oak
bo out with no more effort than she had when she was transformed. She
tried a few more times.

*Blink*: stored. *Blink*: retrieved. *Blink*: stored. *Blink*:
retrieved. *Blink*: stored.

"Okay, now for the *real* test." Ranma began one of her intermediate
kata which favored mostly defensive moves. Blocks and redirections
flowed effortlessly out amongst the punches and kicks of the
deceptively graceful dance until suddenly a bo was in her hands and she
launched herself into the offensive. The ends of the staff whistled
sharply through the air as the martial artist executed a series of
complicated and acrobatic attacks before returning to the defensive
once more.

Ranma spent well over an hour performing different styles of kata while
pulling the bo in and out of storage at various points. She quickly
discovered that, while she could easily store and retrieve the staff
with either hand, the staff could only be sent in and out of storage
while it was in a nearly vertical position and she could only use one
hand at a time to access the storage space. Once Ranma felt she
understood both the requirements and limitations of accessing her
storage space, she began improvising new kata that took full advantage
of this new ability.

The red-haired martial artist finally stopped and nodded in
satisfaction on her new accomplishment. This was going to be *very*
useful in the future. She stored the bo for a final time before pulling
out the Primary Key.

"Khronos Guardian Power, Make Up!"

Ranma concentrated on trying to feel the various flows of magic
surrounding her as the transformation sequence played out. It was quite
frustrating that she could only perceive the magic *after* the entire
sequence had completed.

At least she didn't have to spout off any corny "love and justice"
sayings; the stupid pose at the end of the sequence was bad enough.

[[Battle Mode engaged]]

"Huh?" Khronos watched while the Key automatically morphed back into
its fighting staff form. She was sufficiently startled that she held
the transformation's end pose for several seconds longer than
absolutely necessary.

{{Battle Mode is persistent between transformations, Ranma. The Key
must be configured for standard mode before the transformation sequence
can be invoked, so anytime you detransform while in Battle Mode it will
automatically disengage Battle Mode and restore it when you
retransform. }}

"Nice," Khronos nodded. "Hmmm. You know, I wonder ..." She stored the Key
before taking a deep breath.

"Scarlet ... STORM!"

A vibrant ball of bright red-orange energy shot away from the smirking
Guardian. "*Thought* so!" She frowned suddenly. "Eiko, was that shot
less powerful than before or am I just imagining things?"

{{You are quite correct in your assessment. The Garnet Orb acts as an
amplifier to all of your spells, increasing their relative power by a
significant amount. The lower level attacks are the ones most affected
by this power boost. Also note that the use of the Primary Key is
required in order to invoke nearly all of the mid and upper level
spells, including the Khronos Typhoon.}}

"Hmmm." Khronos' smirk returned full force. "Heh. Well, there's more
than one way around that. Mouko ..." She concentrated part of her essence
into her hands.

"... Takabisha!" A bright white ball of ki, slightly tinged with blue,
shot off into the distance.

{{Ranma, you may wish to start employing a different focus phrase for
your ki attacks while you are in a transformed state. The trigger
phrase you are currently using is quite distinctive and could easily
reveal your identity to an opponent. In addition, you should avoid
using any emotional focus for your ki attacks - you will find that they
are no longer necessary and they have the additional disadvantage of
being quite self-destructive in the long term.}}

"Huh?" Khronos stopped her practice to concentrate on her partner's
words. "Why do you say that?"

{{Constant use of an emotional focus will eventually link the emotion
directly to your ki flows. This then becomes the basis for all of your
thoughts and emotions. For example, your 'friend' Ryouga would be
increasing prone to suicide the longer he continues to employ the
depression-based Shishi Houkoudan. Your use of confidence as a focus
would eventually lead to your death in combat, since you would be
increasing inclined to ignore the actual dangers involved in favor of
basing your decisions on a false feeling of invincibility.}}

Khronos stood stunned.

{{I believe that is a sufficiently valid reason to discontinue the use
of an emotional trigger for your ki attacks, is it not?}}

"Yeah," she replied, eyes wide. "It sure is."

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

 >>> continued in part 2 >>>

============================================================
Mark Shurtleff
   email: gaijin@sfcmd.com
   irc alias: Gaijin -or- togashi_gaijin
   fanfiction homepage: http://www.sfcmd.com/fanfic
============================================================ 


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