Queen Serenity blinked at the scientist, her white gold hair tied up in it's usual buns. "What do you mean," the queen leaned forward on her throne as she asked, "you can't seal off the hazardous area?" Rachel Guardian looked sheepish as the redhead consulted her notes, her breasts bouncing a little in the cutouts of her clothes. The new fashion of near nudity had nearly run it's course, but the clothes would linger for a time yet. "It appears," she said reluctantly, "that the springs at Jusenkyo mystically resist any attempt at sealing them." "Incredible," King Endymion muttered, "how...?" Kaede Guardian sighed, the black haired older girl pushing up her glasses. "The springs there in China seem to rise up through any barrier we place," Rachel's wife explained to them respectfully, "Ferro-concrete, Omni-steel, neo-titanium, it doesn't seem to matter what we use, it all failed." "Well," Queen Serenity frowned, "it looks like we'll have to go with option two." Sailor Mercury stepped forward from where she had been waiting, the blue haired woman nodding firmly. "If we can't interfere with the spring directly," she said briskly, "we can erect a force field over the area and prevent any more curses." Rachel smiled in apology, "Ma'am, in may not be that simple." Gesturing she said, "The locals have sent a representative." "Send them in," Serenity ordered curiously. A few moments later a eerily familiar redhead entered, dressed in a simple chinese blouse and shorts. Both rulers gazed at her in shock, stunned by the perfect resemblance to their long dead friend Ranma Saotome. Endymion nodded thoughtfully, "Cursed by the spring of drowned girl?" "Exactly," she smiled, "my name is Yuji Tendo, and I'm the current keeper of the shrine nearby the spring." "And you wish to prevent us from sealing off the springs?" Serenity asked, wishing she had a cup of hot water on hand to end the effects of the curse. Yuji smiled as she took a flask of water and splashed herself, shifting visibly from a redheaded girl to a taller brown haired young man. Putting the container away he said. "Yes ma'am, the springs are of enormous cultural and spiritual significance." "Apparently," Rachel said quietly from where she stood near the throne, "the local amazon tribe uses a temporary form of Spring of Drowned Man to... procreate." "Ah," Endymion blinked. "And," Yuji added, "adherents of the Saotome school of Anything Goes martial arts randomly dunk themselves in a spring as a test to see if they can cope with the cursed form." "Seriously?"Sailor Mercury frowned slightly. "The shrine we maintain at the spring helps control access," Yuji informed them, "and we have warning signs posted in multiple languages, just in case." "Like the infamous Genma," Serenity looked amused. Yuji smiled, "Exactly." Turning to Rachel and Kaede Serenity wondered, "If there any way to be sure the springs won't work their way around a force bubble too?" Rachel opened her hands helplessly, "To be honest ma'am, we don't know. Whatever power is feeding the springs, it clearly wants them to continue to exist." Endymion leaned over to whisper in Serenity's ear, then the blonde haired woman smiled slightly. "I think for the time being we'll monitor the situation," she announced, "and if things change we'll revisit the issue." "Thank you, my Queen," Yuji bowed respectfully before he, Rachel and Kaede all left the smaller throne room. "Sorry, Ami," Serenity quietly addressed her friend, "I know you'd have preferred a seal of some kind." "It's all right," Ami smiled wryly, "I know how unpredictable magic can be." Meanwhile, across the city a elevator hissed open as a Major Motoko Kusanagi emerged, her blue0black hair flowing around her face as she checked out the hallway. "All clear," the beautiful cyborg reported. Minako Aino shook her head, the slightly smaller blonde following her out. "You don't seriously expect a ambush, do you love?" she asked gently. Motoko slid down her shades a bit to give her lover a look, "Better not to take chances, hmm?" Pushing her sunglasses back up they went to the corner suite of their quarry, "Alucard confirms that she's home." "He didn't get spotted again, did he?" Minako wondered as she tidied up her simple blue sun dress. She thought about wearing a business suit, but figured something a little less authoritarian might be wise. "He's fairly annoyed with himself," Motoko sounded am used, "and I doubt he'll let it happen again. " She raised her hand to knock, "Should I...?" "Go ahead," Minako said, taking a steadying breath. After the knock it only took a few seconds for the door to open, but both women blinked in confusion on the sight greeting them. The redheaded young woman's hair was a mess, and she wore a hastily thrown on robe. "Yes?" she asked. "Ah," Minako felt herself smiling as she suspected what they might have interrupted, "I'm looking for Jun Fudoh?" The young lady frowned, "May I ask who's calling?" Motoko stepped up, "Just tell her Motoko and friend, please." "Right," the young lady proceeded to close the door in their faces. "Who was that?" Minako whispered, smiling. "Nadesico Kinomoto," Motoko whispered back, "the only daughter of Sakura and Tomoyo. You haven't met?" "Sakura's mostly kept her out of the public eye," Minako shrugged. After a few moments Jun Fudoh reopened the door, the tall woman looking nearly as rumpled as Nadesico was. Her eyes swept over the two of them as she said, "I was expecting Motoko, but not you." "Oh?" Motoko asked, looking at Jun warily. "I thought we should talk," Minako shrugged. A smile tugged on her lips, "We aren't interrupting anything, are we?" Jun's lips pressed flat with annoyance. "My friend stayed late last night," she said harshly, "she took the bed, I used the couch." Minako sighed, "I'm sorry, I was trying to be funny." Jun relaxed a little, studying the two women warily. "I don't think there's much to talk about," she said dryly. "How about," Motoko offered, "all is forgiven, please come home?" Jun gave her a look as Minako snorted. "I thought I was the goofball here?" she said, looking up at Motoko. "Sorry, couldn't resist," Motoko shrugged. Jun did her best to hide a smile. "Seriously," Minako said as she looked at Jun, "I came to apologize." "Eh?" Jun seemed surprised at that. "I was well aware that you had issues with the Sailor Senshi when I asked Motoko and Alucard to recruit you," Minako said, "I should have been up front with you, rather than keeping it a secret who I was." Jun frowned, studying Minako. She seemed sincere, but Jun also knew that you didn't get a job like Minako's without learning to lie when needed. Besides, Minako almost had to come clean at this point, considering how much Jun already knew. Still there was a basic feeling of honesty about her... "Let's talk about it later," Jun finally suggested. A slight smile, "I'd invite you in, but..." "Perfectly understandable," Motoko smiled slightly. "Same park you saw us meet with Alucard, tomorrow at noon?" Minako suggested. "I'll be there," Jun agreed. To be continued... Notes: Rachel and Kaede are both from Ragnarock City, a erotic manga by Satoshi Urushihara, the creator of Plastic Little and other works.
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