Laying Of Hands

By: GaelicDragon

Disclaimer: I do not own the intellectual copyright to any of the characters that I use. Two different Japanese studios own them.

Chapter 1: Friends, bonds and revelations

It was another beautiful afternoon in Juuban, the birds were singing, sunlight filled the air and various students were coming home from school. The only thing marring this scene was the severely beat up looking teenager that looked like he tried to take on a wrecking ball and gave as good as he got. As the young man started to head toward the park, he started to look for a new friend that he had met a few months ago.

"Ahh, crap that hurts, who would of thought that Mousse and Kuno would have such a great team when they worked together. I can't believe that I had to use my Moko Takabishu against them. I have GOT to stop holding back on these fights," mumbles Ranma as he nears the park. His injuries were much more numerous than they usually were when he made this walk of pain. Of course, visiting Hotaru was something that he liked to do anyway. She was a sweet girl, even if he had to butter her up a little to raise her confidence level.

"I wonder if Taru-chan is here today. I know that I still owe her at least ice cream for healing some of that damage that I had last week," thought Ranma as he limped down toward the park. As Ranma thinks this he begins to blush, "I just hope that she doesn't ask me to be her sempai again, I don't know if I could say no to her again," thinks Ranma with a slight blush on his cheeks. As he turns toward the entrance of the park, he then notices a purple-eyed girl running toward him.

"Rammie! What happened to you!" shouts Hotaru as she runs towards Ranma from under her usual tree. Her whole face changes as she begins to take account of his current condition.

"What did those jerks do to you? And just WHY do you let them even hit you!" Screams Hotaru with a worried look in her eyes as she stops running and stops in front of Ranma.

"But, Taru-," stutters Ranma as he tries to get a word in edgewise.

"Don't Taru-chan me mister, I know that you could easily beat any of your friends into a pulp and only break into a light sweat," screeches Hotaru at point blank range.

"But, but, " was Ranma's rebuttal as Hotaru started to make hash out of anything that he MIGHT say.

"But nothing Ranma, you can't always depend on me being there to heal you. You know how draining it is on me," states Hotaru with a slightly exasperated look.

"Yes I know how draining it is on you Taru-chan. But, even with my accelerated ki healing, I still can't be completely healed in the little time that most of the so called 'Wrecking Crew' give me time for," groans Ranma as he starts to feel some of injuries. Even with his ki actively attempting to take some of the slack off of his abused body.

"Ok, I will heal you once more…but," replies Hotaru with one finger pointed at Ranma's chest.

"Thank you oh cute one," says Ranma with as much a bow as his body can handle at the moment.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, now hold still, this might sting" says Hotaru as she places her hands on Ranma's chest and begins to glow purple as her healing magic goes to work. Ranma slowly watches as Hotaru's purple aura slowly engulfs the major injuries that are located on his body.

"There all done Rammie, now I believe that you owe me ice cream and I need to talk to you Ranma," states a tired Hotaru as she grabs onto Ranma's wrist and starts to drag him in the direction of the Ice Cream store.

"About what" said a confused Ranma as he and Hotaru started to walk toward the new ice cream shop in Juuban.

"Our agreement from a few months ago," simply states Hotaru with a look over her left shoulder in his direction.

"Oh, that agreement. Don't I still have a few more healings left on that," stammered an increasingly nervous Ranma.

"Let's just enter the ice cream shop," said Hotaru as she turned and opened the door.

--Inside the Ice Cream shop--

'I sure hope that Rammie doesn't get upset with the fact that this agreement is magical. I know how much he distrusts magic itself. Will Rammie still trust me since I am a magical girl? What about when he finds out that I am more powerful than he is when I am in my Sailor Scout form,' worriedly thinks Hotaru as she begins to panic at Ranma's possible reaction. Her level of concern only increases as her imagination takes flight as possible scenarios unfolds in her mind.

"Wonder what is wrong with Taru-chan. And what did she mean about becoming the king of Saturn if she healed me thirty times? Oh, well now what do I want, Rocky Road or cookies and cream," thought a confused Ranma as he decides to put the confusing issue aside for a much for delicious choice.

As Ranma and Hotaru order their ice cream and seat themselves at a booth with a high back, neither of then notice a couple of high school girls from Juuban High with long blond hair starring at them.

"Was that Hotaru," whispers the one with the two long ponytails.

"And who is the HUNK," grunts the blond with the red ribbon in her hair. She was shocked, little Hotaru, the one that all of the Senshi had babysat, was on a DATE!

"Hush and we will find out," stated the blond with the ponytails. She was as curious as Minako, but she had a little more patience…ok, not THAT much more, but still more.

"So Ranma do you remember our agreement," stated Hotaru with a look as Ranma struggles to eat his ice cream at an extremely slow pace (he didn't know where Hotaru had pulled out that oversized can opener to begin with. He was also wondering how getting hit with the flat end of a thin piece of metal hurt worst than Akane's mallets).

"Yes, I do remember our agreement Taru-chan. Just out of curiosity, what does 'King of Saturn mean? I tried to look it up, but nothing comes up that makes sense," replied a slightly aggravated Ranma due to his lack of information. He hated riddles, and going over what Hotaru had told him seemed like one of Nabiki's games taken to the next power.

"Well, I'll tell you when we get back to my house, then there are a few things I need to tell you," says Hotaru with a downtrodden look. She had heard how Ranma didn't care much for magic. She knew that this was going to blow up in her face.

"Like what," asks a curious Ranma. Hotaru had a pensive look that was making him more and more concerned as time went on.

"Like what our promise entails" says Hotaru as she begins to finish the last of her ice cream. After finishing of her frozen confection, both of them exited the parlor and headed towards Hotaru's parents house.

--Later, at the Outers House--

"Well, Taru-chan. Here we are. Now what did you want to talk about," asked a now

even more curious Ranma. The walk from the ice cream parlor to here was driving him nuts with questions.

"I'll tell you once we get inside," replied Hotaru with a look in askance towards the heavens. Sometimes Ranma really wished that Hotaru wasn't as closed off as she was. Of course, losing that bet and having to go on that date with Hotaru without a shirt on did raise her social status. He was just glad she had dated his guy form at the time. Even if she had given a few looks of lust at his girl form.

"Just out of curiosity, why are you being so secretive all of the sudden," questions Ranma with a confused look on his face. Hotaru hadn't seemed this bashful since he really got to know her. Ok, she was still bashful with some topics, but not nearly as much.

"You'll find out, now get inside," nervously replies Hotaru as she opens the door to a nice two-story house. As she enters, she carefully enters and puts on her house shoes.

"Ok, ok, jeesh you are certainly pushy today Taru-chan," replies Ranma as she takes his shoes off and enters the house after Hotaru does.

"Mama! Papa! I'm home with a guest!" shouts Hotaru as she enters the living room.

"How was school today Hotaru" says Michuru as she walks into the living room. She had just been making some tea for Hotaru's return from visiting her 'mysterious stranger'.

"It was good, can you get Setsuna-mama and Hakura-papa to meet us in the dinning room," questioned Hotaru. She was rather curious to Hakura-papa's reaction to actually seeing Ranma. Hakura-papa was always overly protective of her, but she still loved her.

"Sure thing Hotaru" said Michuru as she turns around and heads toward the hallway.

"Did someone call my name?" said Hakura as she walked in from the garage wearing oil stained overalls and a grubby looking shirt. She had just been working on her car when she heard her adopted daughter.

"I didn't realize that Hotaru would start bringing in boys already" said Hakura humorously as she sets down a nearby towel on the chair before she sits in it. She almost completely lost her composer to laughter, when both Hotaru and the mysterious boy entered the living room. Of course, she hoped Hotaru didn't mind a fixer-upper that the boy seemed to be with the damage that his clothes showed.

"Yes, Setsuna. Hotaru is asking all of us to come and meet a friend of hers." Said Michuru as she and Setsuna rounded the corner.

"Could you please sit down," said Hotaru as she looks nervously at her odd parents and Ranma. Hotaru was nervous enough that even Ranma was beginning to take notice of it.

"Uh, Taru-chan? Could you tell me where your papa is? All of your parents seem to be women," said Ranma while looking around the room. He noticed that all of the women had amused glances.

"These are my parents Ranma," replied Hotaru in an awry tone. Only Ranma would see through Hakura's disguises with barely a glance.

"Oh, sorry about that" sheepishly said Ranma. Well, his pops raise him and look how he turned out. Hotaru seemed to be a good person, so he would reserve final judgment on the blonde for later.

"It's alright. They are my adopted parents. But, they are still very loving to me," said Hotaru with a small loving smile in the direction of the three women. The green haired woman almost seemed to swoon when she heard that. But, it could have been Ranma's imagination.

"Well, they seem to be better than my old man," was Ranma's gruff reply as the women give Ranma a weird look.

"A group of apes would have raised you better than your father, if what you told me was true," sarcastically states Hotaru.

"I think that your 'parents' want to know what's going on Taru-chan," replies an amused Rnama as he notices them getting impatient.

"Opps, sorry about that Mamas and Papa" said a blushing and embarrassed Hotaru

"No problem, the interplay was interesting," stated Hakura as she relaxes further into the chair.

"Ah, Hakura-san. Why are you giving me that weird look" stated a nervous Ranma.

"You look familiar. What is your name again," questions Hakura with a confused but curious look on her face.

"Ranma Saotome, why," worriedly replies Ranma as he begins to dread the response of another fiancé. Just his luck, she was one of those thespians that Ukyo called Akane when she asked if Akane liked girls.

"THAT'S why you look familiar," crows an excited Hakura. "You were the little boy that beat up that gang of bullies that tried to assault me for what I supposedly did to their sister." She couldn't believe that she would ever meet the young boy that had inspired her to start training in martial arts.

"I remember that, I never got your name though. Those punks sure couldn't fight for all their bravado," was the off-hand remark that Ranma gave.

"Um, Rammie. What are you and Hakura-papa talking about." Said a confused Hotaru.

"Oh, I meet Hakura a few years ago when some bullies were planning on doing something not nice to her," replied a now distracted Ranma as he tried to remember the incident.

"You saved Hakura-papa," stated Hotaru in full fangirl mode.

"No, just evened the odds a little," says an embarrassed Ranma. Those sakura petals and the odd strumming were begging to creep him out something fierce.

"Evened the odds my ass, you looked like you could have kicked their collective asses with a broken leg and a head cold," chuckled Hakura as Ranma just preceded to look more and more embarrassed.

"Uh, Hakura," asks Michuru as she looks at Hakura questioningly.

"Yes Michuru," replies a nervous Hakura as Michuru develops 'that' look on her face.

"Isn't that about the time that you met me," questions Michuru, as she wonders why her lover never mentioned this before.

"No, this was a couple of months before. When I was just starting to take martial arts classes," says a slightly embarrassed Hakura.

"Well, while this is interesting and all. I believe that Hotaru has something to tell us." Says Setsuna as she turns in Hotaru's direction. She almost had a smile crack through her normal façade when she was watching Hotaru look at Ranma as he looked nervously back at her.

"Well, over the past couple of months I have been healing Rammie's injuries about twice a week," stated a severely blushing Hotaru. Ranma can't help but feel embarrassed at the fact that he has to get healing from someone else.

"Yeah, I wonder what is making Taru-chan so nervous. She isn't normally this nervous about anything," thinks Ranma

"Well, to heal him a couple of months ago, I had to bond my power to him to completely heal him," replies Hotaru as she watches Setsuna look like she just sat on something deciding unpleasant.

"WHAT! What happened that you NEEDED to BOND him to heal him!" screams out Setsuna. When Hotaru flinched back, Ranma's protective nature kicked in and his aura screamed out around him.

"He was hit hard enough to launch him into the park and he hit two of the electrical wires. I….I…I almost couldn't heal him. I had to lightly bond my power to him," says a tearful Hotaru. In her grief she grabs a hold of Ranma and tries her best to become one with his arm.

Authors Notes:

Well, this is another revision of an old fic of mine. I plan on re-writing more of this story. Now all that I have to do is park my camel in the non-spitting section and I will be great.