"Bones" Juri flashed a smile to the intense, dark haired woman who watched the door at the Locket"Any trouble" Bones smiled back, the leather she wore glossy yet comfortable"Nothing to mention." She brightened"Oh, May's interviewing a candidate for the club." "Someone's interested in getting a job" Utena asked, her long pink hair flowing in waves down her back. A bit unusually she was wearing a short skirt, but both it and her top were colored black edged in pink, as usual. Juri felt a flash of relief, but she was wary, too. "So what do you think of her" the orange haired woman asked curiously. "She's got a good feel around her" Bones shrugged. Setsuna smiled, gently tugging on her lover Juri's arm"Shouldn't we head inside? That way you can meet her yourself." The four women went inside together, Anthy falling in beside Utena. "I always like visiting here" the dusky skinned woman murmured to Utena"it's such an interesting place." Hitomi bowed cheerfully, her gypsy costume making her look like a very odd fortune teller. "Good to see you" she said to Utena and Anthy, then turned to Juri"lots of costumes tonight, as well as a few new guests." "Thanks" Juri smiled, turning her eyes to the crowds and studying the people intensely. The theme this new years was dressing as your favorite historical figure, but people had chosen a broad deffinition of the word. Everything from cavewomen to astronauts were represented out there, along with figures clearly the product of pure imagination. "I knew I should have come in dressed in my Senshi fuku" Setsuna chuckled, her dark green dress hugging her beautiful body. "You look wonderful to me" Juri answered, earing a smile from her lover. "Yo, Juri" Tendo Nabiki weaved her way through the mob, the bookkeeper and accountant of the Locket wearing a karate gi for her costume. Behinder two oddly familiar figures followed. She waved to them"I'd like you to meet Doctor Ranma Saotome and her wife Katsumi Tendo." The redhead lpooked surprisingly mature, Juri found herself noting, with her long hair opulled back in a ponytail The lab coat she wore hugged a body that was still very athletic, but there was an overall look of contentment about her. Similarly Katsumi looked like the model of a happy bride, the brown haired woman holding on to her lover's arm happily. "Nice to meet you" Ranma shook Juri's hand firmly, but with the clear impression of great strength carefully held in check. "I like your club" Katsumi threw Ranma a impish look"and I intend to haul her up to the kareoke stage at least once." "Oh no..." Ranma was quick to protest. "Time slipped" Setsuna noted to Juri quietly"maybe 40 years" "How did you two..." Utena asked curiously. "It was shortly after Ranma and Akane broke up for the last time" Katsumi confided"we found ourselves thrown together by our father's promise." She smiled fondly"But I was surprised how gentle Ranma was once I got to kow him, how kind..." Ranma blushed, the redhead looking deeply embarassed. "I'm just glad that someone as wonderful as Katsumi could fall for me" she said. "With charm like that" a smiling Katsumi put her head on Ranma's arm as she said"you shouldn't be surprised." "Excuse me" Juri bowed slightly"but I need to attend to some business." "Well boss, good luck with the interview" Nabiki nodded"I think May and the new girl are up in your office." "You know" the black haired young woman in a simple black dress said as she took a drink of the red and gold cocktail"I never cease to be impressed by the sheer variety of drinks that you know how to prepare, Ryouko." "Thank you Kanako" the blue haired woman with crestent shaped scars on her cheeks grinned"but it's Minagi." "Sorry" Kanako Urashima bowed slightly, her face grave. "She does that intentionally" the little black cat on the bar remarked, batting playfully at the fingers that several bar patrons were offering it. "Hush, Kuro" Kanako scolded good naturedly. "Kanako-san" Anthy waved with a smile. She turned to Utena"I'd like you to meet Kanako Urashima, she's the landlord of the Inn I've been living in." "Tenjou Utena-san" Kanako looked at her thoughtfully then smiled slightly. "I've heard many good things about you." "Thank you" Utena bowed"Anthy speaks often of life at the Hinata Inn." "We'll miss her now that she's planning on leaving" Kanako noted. She looked impish"I take it you and Anthy are moving in together" Utena blushed. "Well, yes" she admitted. Kanako looked thoughtful. "We are building a new residence where the old annex used to be" she quietly revealed"with suites that are suited to more than one resident. Do you think you might be interested in one" Anthy looked hopefully up at Utena as she pointed out"We hadn't settled on where we were going to move to." Utena frowned slightlly as she asked"The residents aren't going to have issues with two women living together there" "They know Anthy fairly well by now" Kanako said simply"I think they would merely be happy for her." She paused then smiled"And from what I gather most of the residents think your courting is quite romantic." Utena looked at Anthy"They know about us" Antrhy looked mildly sheepish as she admitted"I did sort of ask around for some advice shortly after we were first reunited." "I believe Kitsune had a betting pool on for how long it would take for Anthy to land you" a deadpan Kanako revealed to Utena. Utena had to smile, shaking her head as she did so. "All right" she finally said"we'll try one of your suites, then." Kanako smiled just slightly"I look forward to getting to know you better." Juri left Sestuna at the bar to order them their usual drinks as she headed upstairs, walking down the hall to her office. She nodded to Excel and Hyatt emerging from one of the bedrooms upstairs, trying not to laugh as they tried to straighten out clothes after a quickie. "Miss Juri" May looked up with a smile from where the busty brown haired woman sat, a green haired young woman sitting nearby. "Ma'am" Alpha rose to bow, her smile gently. She looked tired but still energetic, her eyes welcoming the world around her. "My name is Arisugawa Juri" she offered the other woman her hand as she continued"it's nice to meet you." "My name is Alpha" she shook it back"I was looking for a temporary position." Juri had a good feeling about this girl, one clearly shared by May considering her happy smile. "Do you have any experience" she asked curiously. "I run my own cafe" Alpha explained as she added a bit wryly"though it isn't as busy as your club is." Juri noted that as she asked her"So why are you looking for a position here rather than running your cafe" Alpha looked a bit down"My cafe was badly damaged by a windstorm, and I need to raise money to try and rebuild." All right, Juri could respect that. "We'll give you a try" she said firmly"and if things work out, you've got the job." To be continued... The Staff: The bar’s owner is Arisugawa Juri, from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Ryouko and Minagi are from the series Tenchi Muyo. Cyberdoll May is from Hand Maid May. Excel and Hyatt are from Excel Saga. Hitomi is from Escaflowne, the movie. Bones is from Tendo Nabiki is from Ranma 1/2. And finally, Alpha is from Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Our Cast This Episode: Setsuna is from Sailor Moon. Utena and Anthy are from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Ranma and Katsumi are from Ranma 1/2. Lastly, Kitsune, Kanako Urashima and Kuro are all from Love Hina Again. Author's Note: Doctor Ranma Saotome makes a cameo appearance in my fic Bubblegum Crisis 2055: Megatokyo Burning and is loosely based on the manga and several fanfic author's interperatations of the character.
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