Here is the first part of Eye of a Stranger Chapter 5.  This is perhaps the
longest fic I've written to date.  It has taken over 2 months but I think its
worth it and I hope everyone who reads it think so as well.  The quality of
this fic would not have been so if it weren't for Lord Talon who is my co
author.  He has many great ideas which has been or will be incorporated into
this fic.

Well enjoy

Long



* * * * *

      The night was dark and frigid, as the wind created the only sounds that
could be heard.  A woman, wearing a traditional blue kimono, was walking home
with a bag of groceries and a cylindrical bundle tied to her back.  Her name
was Nodoka Saotome.  She wouldn't usually be out this late but tonight was
special.  This night, she would be revealing to Ranma her family's most
guarded secret, a set of sword techniques that were feared throughout history
to those who knew its origin and name.  The techniques that she was going to
pass on to Ranma usually only had one wielder per generation, sometimes two
and Ranma was the chosen heir for his.  After 11 years, she could finally
teach Ranma in the true tradition of swordmanship.   

      Walking past an alley, Nodoka suddenly felt a chill.  She knew something
was wrong and started to walk faster.  Looking back she saw three men
following her.  Two were looking at her while the third seemed to be scanning
the distance for unknown dangers.  All three were tall and well built.  '
Avoid a battle when you can,' was one of the basic principles she was raised
on.     

      Not paying attention to where she was heading, Nodoka suddenly found
herself in an alley way, facing a dead end.  Looking around she found no
avenue of escape.  Glancing back she saw that the three men were now blocking
her only escape route.  Dropping her groceries, she loosened the cylindrical
bundle and drew from it her family's honored katana which she always carried
around with her.  

      As the katana was drawn it reflected the light from the full moon
overhead.  Looking at the men, she knew felt confident.  She was highly
skilled with the sword and though it had never been used to kill, Nodoka knew
that with it in her hands, she could hold her own.  This was something she
wanted to start teaching Ranma in as it was passed down to her from her
parents but couldn't until now.  

       The confidence that Nodoka felt soon crumbled at the sight of the gun
in one of the strangers' hand.  It was unnerving to see someone with a gun.
Japanese citizens were prohibited from carrying firearms.  Most criminals in
Japan didn't have access to one either.  At that moment she knew someone would
not live to see another sunset as she reversed the blade of her sword.

      "Nice looking knife you have there lady.  Just give up.  It'll be much
easier and we'll all have some fun.  How about it?" one of the three strangers
asked.  

      "Put the sword down and you won't get hurt; too badly that is," replied
the one with the gun.

      Steeling herself for what was to come, Nodoka knew she would be the one
to die this day.  She regretted many things in her life.  Letting Genma take
Ranma from her was near the top of her list.  Not being able to see Ranma and
say that she loved him before she died was what she regretted most.

      With all the choices that suddenly leaped into her head, to surrender
was not amongst them.  To give up was to stain her family's honor as well as
Genma and Ranma's honor.  Honor meant too much for her.  To live without honor
was not to live at all.  With a battle cry she launched herself at her
assailants thinking only, *Forgive me, Ranma.*  As the battle cry left her
mouth, tears flowed from her eyes.  She would never see her son, her manly
son, again.

      A loud gunshot could be heard across the neighborhood.  That sound also
echoed throughout the alley, followed by a loud clatter as metal met concrete.

* * * * *

      As Nodoka charged her assailants, her eyes widened as the hammer of the
gun unleashed a deafening sound.  As the bullet penetrated her body, she felt
blood trickle down her leg.  Though Nodoka had suffered many injuries in her
life and felt pain as well as pleasure, this was something new to her.  The
pain was immense, as it suddenly shot through her systems.  The bullet had
penetrated cleanly through her  body.  As she leaned against the wall she
could see one of the thug's face grinning with a look of, "I told you so."   

      "See what happens when you don't do what I say?" the man with the gun
spoke.

      Before she lapsed into unconsciousness, Nodoka could have sworn she saw
someone had leaped in front of her.  The blurred shape in front of her seemed
to be a young man with a white aura surrounding him.  *He's the one I've been
reading about in the paper,* she thought.  Trying to get a clearer picture of
the young man, Nodoka willed her eyes to focus but in her weaken state that
just increased the pain she felt all throughout her body, as it started to go
into shock.  She thought she saw a pigtail but in the darkness she could
hardly tell.  As the ground and dark skies appeared to merge, she heard the
young man shout, "..... over my dead body," before slipping into a deep sleep.

* * * * *

Creator of Kings and Lord Talon
Proudly present
A Crossover of the Biggest Stars
of
the Anime Fanfiction world!
Ranma � and Sailor Moon
in
EYES OF A STRANGER Chapter 5

* * * * *

The characters of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon was created by Naoko Taeuchi
while the characters of Ranma � Universe was the sole creation of Rumiko
Takahashi.  They are licensed to other companies.  All materials save the
environment and situations are being used without prior authorization.  This
is for entertainment purposes only and is not intended for material gains.  If
there has been an error in copyright, please email me.  I wish not to be sued
for expressing my interest in these series.

* * * * *

      Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Ranma was almost finished with his
nightly rounds when he saw in the distance a woman running from three men.
Speeding up, Ranma had lost sight of the group until he heard the sound of a
gun shot two buildings to his right.  Ranma's heart skipped a beat as he
realized that he might have been too slow to save another innocent victim.
Landing on one of the buildings that overlooked the alley, he could see the
lady leaning against one of the walls.  Ranma was angry with himself for not
stopping this and at the thugs for shooting a harmless woman, at night and
taking pleasure in it.  Knowing that he didn't have much time, Ranma leaped
down between the woman and the three thugs.  

      Seeing someone land between them and their night's pleasure, surprised
all three men.  Seeing that the hero-want-to-be was only a 17 year old boy,
their initial surprised was replaced with curiosity.  "Move out of the way
boy.  You wouldn't want to be hurt like the lady over there, would you?" the
man with the gun said.  

      "The only way you're touching her is over my dead body!" Ranma snarled
at the three thugs.  Turning around to see if the lady was alright, Ranma
paled as he recognized the lady to be his mother.  Scenes of Mount Phoenix
flashed through Ranma's head, this time the body in his hands was not Akane
but his mother.  Looking down, Ranma could see her blood on his hands as well
as hear her final words, "Why didn't you save me?"  Ranma's vision clear as he
found himself back in the alley, his mother was bleeding and the family's
katana was laying near her feet; stained with her own blood.  A cold rage soon
replaced Ranma's initial anger.  *I will not lose someone else I love,* Ranma
vowed.  The faint aura that had been surrounding him flared into an inferno of
pure energy.  The pure white light flickered and started to shift between more
violent colors, more commonly found around Ryouga: red, blue, purple and
green.  The alley started to darken as Ranma gathered more and more Chi.
Cracks started to appear on the concrete ground and the walls around him.  

      "Fuck!  Boss, I think he's the guy the papers have been talking about,"
the thug to the right of the man with the gun spoke; fear was evident in his
voice.  

      "What can he do?  I have a gun," the man tried to calm himself as well
as his subordinate.  Gripping the gun a little tighter to reassure himself,
the man smiled, showing his yellowish teeth.  Any shred of control which he
had held on to was gone as the glowing individual started to turn his way.  In
a panic the thug opened fired and emptied his gun.    

Quickly turning around, Ranma caught every single bullet.  Instead of dropping
them, he started to flick each bullet back at the three men, missing the head
of each man by mere inches.  Staring at the men that had done this to his
mother, Ranma's face was stern yet emotionless throughout this simple
exchange.  All the frustration he had suffered over the years started to play
through his mind.  He lost his home and a sense of family at the age of six
and for the next ten years, he traveled and endured hardships no one should
ever experience, especially someone as young as he had been.  Finally a year
ago, he found a new home and family in the Tendous but that too was stripped
from him as Akane died in his arms during his battle with Saffron.  Now,
someone else was going to take away the only reminisce of a home and family he
had left.  Thinking back, Ranma had only felt this angry once.  The last time,
he had killed Saffron.  In a low voice, filled with malice, "If she dies then
I will hunt all three of you down.  There won't be a single place on this
planet that would be safe for you.  Anyone who stands in my way, may it be
police, thugs, monsters, demon, or anything else that dirty mind of yours can
think up, I will kill.  When I do find you, I will send you straight to Hell."
Ranma warned.  Slowly picking up his mother, he leaped up into the air,
heading towards the closest hospital.

      All three thugs just stood there, unable to move due to fear.  They had
heard what happened to some of the various other groups that had crossed path
with the individual that had been before them.  Two of the thugs had lost
control of their bladder the instant those bullets flew past their head.  Each
had seen their life flash before their eyes as the young man in front of them
continued to speak.  They all had been threatened before but never by a guy
with glowing eyes.  They glowed with an eerie power yet that same power could
not mask the depression and death held within those two bluish-golden globes.
Staring at the spot where Ranma had last been, there was a circular depression
that reminded all three thugs of their impending fate should the lady die.  

      Pushing himself to the limit, Ranma raced to the nearest hospital with
his mother cradled in his arms.  Hopping from rooftop to rooftop, to avoid
traffic, Ranma scanned the distance for the hospital.  On the outside, Ranma
was calm with a look of determination in his eyes, but inside he was worried.
*Where is it?* Ranma mentally screamed.  Seeing a policeman below and checking
on the condition of his mother, Ranma knew that he didn't have much time.
Although he had stopped the bleeding, his mother had lost too much blood.
Leaping down in front of the man, "Where is the hospital?" Ranma demanded.

* * * * *

      "It's quiet today," Sergeant Tanaka commented.

      "Yeah, ever since word of the new vigilante started to spread, crimes
have been decreasing." replied his partner, Lee.

      "It does help that half of them are still in the hospital," Tanaka
joked.

      "Yea....Shit!" Lee yell in fright as his heart decided to stop for a few
moments.  In front of him was a boy in a red shirt and black pants, carrying a
woman.  Taking a few seconds to calm himself down, *Where in the world did
this kid come from?*  was Lee's first thought.

      As both men concentrated on Ranma, they heard him ask where the hospital
was.  As Tanaka started to give instructions on how to reach it, Lee took the
opportunity to take a closer look at the woman in Ranma's arms.

      "Shit!  Sergeant, the lady is hurt."  It was quite difficult to see the
wound and the blood due to the kid's red shirt.  "Call an ambulance."

      Before Tanaka had the chance to turn around, one of Ranma's hand darted
forward very carefully, trying not to upset his mother's wound any more than
possible, "Just tell me where the hospital is!" Ranma snarled.  *This is
taking too long.*  

      *The kid is stronger than he looks,* Tanaka thought, a bit shaken up.

      "Let him go, now!" Lee ordered, having drawn his gun.  With the
increased amount of crimes and strange monsters appearing in the last few
months, every officer had been given a gun.  

      "Tell me where the hospital is now!  I have no time to play games."
Ranma demanded, anger clear in his voice and posture.

      "Lee, put the gun away!" order Tanaka.  "Calm down kid.  Let me go so
that I can call for an ambulance for the lady you have in your arms." he tried
to calmly reason with the kid.

      "TELL ME WHERE THE HOSPITAL IS NOW OR ELSE!!" Ranma shouted.  

      Seeing that reasoning with the kid had failed, Tanaka humored him for a
moment by telling him the direction to the hospital.  *We could always catch
up with him when the ambulance arrives.  It's over five miles away and there
is no way the kid can get there in tim....*  Before he could finish his last
thought, Ranma had released his shirt and started to glow.

      Both men were shocked to see the kid in front of them glow and moments
later the lady in his arms as well that they took a step back.  Before either
of them could ask Ranma a question about his current condition, he had leaped
up onto one of the rooftops over 20 meters high and sprinted away.   

* * * * *

	"Slow night, huh?" a man called out.

      Dr. Aileen Mizuno looked up from the computer she was working on.  In
front of her was a man dressed in a lab coat.  "Sure is, Carlyle." Aileen
replied with a smile, "Seems like the sick and injured are taking the night
off.  Wish we could do the same, ne?" she commented wryly.  

      Laughing, "No break for us busybodies.  Let me go get some coffee.  Do
you want some?" Carlyle asked.

      "A cup would be nice right now," Aileen replied gratefully while
stretching a bit.  

      "Be right back."
  
      "Don't forget. I like mine with one shot of cream and ex..." she started
to shout at the retreating figure when he turned around with a smile.  

      "Extra sugar. Yeah, I remember!" he grinned back.  

      Dr. Mizuno let out a small sigh of contentment.  For a while, tension
had been high strung between mother and daughter.  Work kept her busy, mainly
due to the increased in attacks from monsters and the high crime rate.  On the
rare occasions that she had time to spend with Ami, her daughter was usually
out with her friends.  Recently though, the hospital had become better
staffed, reducing her workload and responsibilities, allowing her to spend
some time with Ami.  This brought another smile to her face.  Lately, Ami
appeared to enjoy tutoring the son of her friend, Ranma Saotome.  Last week,
she had found Ami in the kitchen, making cookies.  When she asked Ami who they
were for, Ami got a faraway look in her eyes and said that they were for a
special friend.  Aileen chuckled slightly at that memory.  Any other thoughts
were quickly forgotten as the silence was suddenly broken by loud shouting.

      "Someone please help my mom!!!  She's been shot!" the voice cried out.

      "Now, see here, young man. You just can't ... " a second voice began but
soon followed by a loud crash.  

      Aileen quickly got up and went to see what the commotion was all about.
In the doorway of the emergency room was a young man in his late teens,
carrying a woman's body.  Aileen quickly notified a couple of orderlies to
quickly prepare a gurney for the woman.  Aileen approach the young man, as a
couple of orderlies rushed a gurney into the room for the woman.  Taking stock
of the situation, "Now, what seems to be the probl...," the rest of her
sentence died in her throat as she saw who the young man was and who his
passenger happened to be.  

      "Mrs. Mizuno?  Are you a doctor here?" Ranma asked, calming down a bit,
having seen someone he knew.

      "Yes I am, Ranma." she answered.  "Tell me what happened."

      "Mrs. Mizuno, my mom's been shot. Please, save her! She's all I have
left!" he cried, his voice thick with unshed tears. 

Aileen had met Nodoka a few years ago.  She was one of the few people Aileen
could call a friend with her busy schedule.  Steeling herself, "She's going to
be all right, Ranma." she assured the young man.    

     Five hours after the incident, Dr. Mizuno went in search of Ranma.  He
had not been in the waiting room or the cafeteria.  On a hunch, she paid a
visit to the physical therapy room, where she found him doing some katas in
front of a mirror.

     "Ranma," she softly called out to him.  
  
      Hearing someone call his name, Ranma stopped with one of his legs
suspended in midair and faced her.

      She didn't know what amazed her more, the position she was seeing Ranma
in or the fact that he had been crying.  She could see the that his cheeks
were tear-stained, and his eyes were red and puffy but even with that in mind,
no one could miss the look of determination in his eyes.  He reminds me of
that other young man, Mamoru Chiba.  Both kept their feelings locked up within
them so deep that no one usually knew what they were feeling.  Clearing her
throat, "First off, your mother is going to live.  She was really lucky.  The
bullet had entered in through her abdomen and exited from the back, missing
every single vital organ.  However, she did lose a lot of blood in the
process.  I'm amazed that she survived this long.  Another piece of bad news
is that although the operation was a success, she had slipped into a coma.
We're not sure when she'll wake up." Dr. Mizuno had tried to break the news to
Ranma as gently as possible.

     "What about...?" Ranma weakly began.

     "Don't worry about the cost, Ranma.  She has medical insurance to cover
the cost.  She will be well taken care of, I promise you!" she declared
confidently.

     "Can I go see her?" he asked hesitantly.

     "Sure, but don't you think you should let your father know what has
happened?" she asked.  

      Ranma just snorted in disgust.  "I'd tell him, if it weren't for the
fact that Mom threw him out a short time ago.  For all I know, he's back with
the Tendous.  Stupid Oyaji deserved it too!  So, which way to my mom's room?"
he asked.  Dr. Mizuno gave him directions to his mother's room and soon left
to go make her rounds.  Following her directions, Ranma quickly found the room
his mother was in.  Opening the door and entering, he noted that the room was
large enough for two but at the moment it only held one occupant.  Seeing that
his mother was not dead, Ranma allowed a smile to reach his face.  His face
then became emotionless as he recalled the men who had shot his mother .
*They'd better pray that my mother wakes up soon or there will be three less
people in the world,* Ranma thought.  

* * * * *

	"Do you really need that?" Luna asked the girl with next to her.

	"I guess not!" Usagi answered with a pout.

	"Then, why are we spending our time looking at it?" Luna knew she wouldn't
like the answer to this.
 
	"Because, I'm picturing how Mamo-chan would react if he saw me in it." Usagi
said, cheering up again.
 
	"USAGI!" Luna scolded her charge, scandalized at the very idea.  Usagi just
giggled at her action.  The source of their discussion was a daring, low cut
evening gown, that left very little to the imagination.  Luna sighed as the
two continued on their journey through Downtown Tokyo.  *I really  shouldn't
complain.  This business with the Dark Moon coming back and this powered
vigilante has got everyone's nerves wound up tight.*  Luna deep in thought,
reflected back to an earlier Senshi meeting they had this afternoon.

* * * * *

	"Okay, we're here.  So, what do you want to talk about?" asked Haruka, "I've
got a tournament to get ready for next week and I don't have time to baby-sit
anyone."

	The Senshi had all gathered at the Cherry Hill Shrine to discuss the events
that had led them to this impromptu meeting.  As usual, Haruka found it
necessary to down-play the skills and power of the Inner Senshi, which
infuriated them to no end.  Secretly though, she only wanted to keep the Inner
Senshi safe and out of harm's way.

      "Why you arrogant blow-hard" fumed Makoto, as she was the one who
usually responded to Haruka's insults first.  "Just cause you're a little
stronger, doesn't mean you're better.  I've beaten dozens of guys who
thought they were better than me.  All of them lived to regret it!"

      "Is that so?  Any time, Makoto-chan.  Why not settle our differences
then.  Enter the tournament.  Make it to the finals and face me in front of a
group so that we'll know once and for all who is better." Haruka replied,
challengingly.

	"Why you..." Makoto growled and leapt to her feet but was restrained by
Minako.  Haruka also rose but was likewise restrained by Michiru.  Staring
into Haruka's eyes, "I accept."

     Ami looked at the group in front of her. "Guys, settle down and let's get
on with the meeting." Ami then tapped a number of keys on her computer "Okay,
according to my data, the glowing figure has appeared every night since the
fight with the droid a couple of weeks ago." she said.

     "So, is this figure part of the Dark Moon?" asked Minako.

     "I don't think so.  The actions aren't consistent with those of Dark
Moon nobles.  In fact, from everything that the sisters have told us about the
royal family, they would be more likely to kill anyone they ran across.  There
is one thing I have determined, whoever this figure is, they are very
thorough. Each attack is carefully orchestrated and his/her targets are human
predators themselves.  I estimate each fight lasting long enough to do serious
damage to the would be offenders and disappear before the police arrive." Ami
finished up her summary.  

     "Could this person be another Sailor Senshi?" asked Usagi.

     "Yeah, aren't we all accounted for?" Rei added.

     "There are others besides those that are representatives of this Solar
System."  Setsuna quietly commented.

     "So, what now?" asked Michiru.

     "I am afraid that we'll have to start our own nightly patrol of the
city.  Hopefully, between all of us, we should be able to find out who is
behind that glow" said Ami, as a determined look entered her eyes.