Part Seven
And the Verdict is?
Rushing Akane down to the infirmary of M.I.B.
Tokyo, Kasumi and Elle stabilized her condition. In
the control room, Zed listened as T made his final
report.
"Krin and his pirates have been safely locked away
awaiting transport to a prison colony," he said. A
quick glance to the side at Glator made him pause.
"Most of them," he corrected himself.
[Excellent. What about Akane and the Regent?]
"They are still in critical condition, and the
wounds Akane suffered did not help matters."
Zed nodded. [The Mocabian Fleet is just now
making orbit. You should be receiving them at any
moment.]
"They going to fly down?" asked Jay.
[Not exactly, Agent J,] replied Zed.
Glitters of light suddenly began flickering about
the room, growing brighter with each passing second.
The agents had to cover their eyes and when the it
faded, standing in a large group was the Mocabian
delegation. A good three meters taller than Glator,
the translucent multi-limbed beings stood surrounded by
a shimmering blue field of energy, looking about them
in search of their kin.
[The Regent?] said the center most Mocabian.
"Uh, yeah Scotty," replied Jay. "Down the hall,
catch the elevator, go straight, can't miss him."
The Mocabians stared at him, then the light
returned and they faded out of view.
Jay turned only to find Zed glaring down at him
with eyes slit.
[Scotty,] he seethed.
"Oh, there goes that Chi again," said Konatsu,
backing away from the screen.
Jay swallowed hard. "Didn't like my directions?"
he said.
Zed let out a deep sigh. [Why I keep you on, Jay,
I don't know. You are such a Lilieekiou.]
"Yo, T! You gonna tell me what that means now,
man!"
T chuckled. "Later, Jay," he said waving him
away.
"Naw man, none of this later stuff. You got the
Zedmeister talking smack now!"
[Later, Agent J,] said Zed. [Let's worry about
our charges right now than some nickname, that fits you
perfectly I might add.]
Jay held back his protest, shaking visibly. "You
gonna tell me before I leave Japan, T," he finished.
Half an hour later the doors opened, Elle leading
Kasumi and Akane inside. Akane looked a bit worse for
wear, but she was moving along under her own power.
Ranma was the first one to her side.
"Akane?" he asked.
She stopped, blinking her eyes for a moment then
looked up at him. "Ranma?" she answered.
Ranma hugged her tight.
"Unhand my fair Akane, you cur!" shouted Tatewaki.
"You better retract those paws, Ranma Saotome,"
Ukyo said edging out of her chair.
"RRRanmaaa!" growled Ryoga.
"Oh, stop it," scolded Elle. "Can't you see he's
just worried about her.
"He better worry about tomorrow, if there is one
for him!" snapped Shampoo.
Akane stood surprised by Ranma's show of emotions.
She drew back, gazing deep into his eyes. Ranma
realized his loss of control then, blushing as he
turned away. A gentle hand touched him on the
shoulder.
"Thank you for the concern, Ranma," she said.
"Yeah, ah, yeah just uhm, worried about you after
that cut you took from Krin!"
"The Mocabians healed it up," said Kasumi.
Akane parted her shirt showing them the spot where
she had been injured. Not a mark remained.
"Wow," gasped Tsubasa.
"Speaking of which, where are the Mocabians?"
asked Mousse.
A button on the console behind Ringo beeped
alerting him to an incoming signal. Dividing the main
screen, the image of the Regent appeared. Now shrouded
in a life protecting field, he raised a tentacle and
waved.
[I am grateful to you all for taking care of me in
my time of need,] translated the computer. [Especially
to you, Akane Tendo, for bearing me as long as you did.
You risked you life, and I am in your debt.]
Akane's cheeks flushed. "Please, I would do it
again if it meant saving a life," she replied.
[Such kind words. Take care my friends, my
Guardians.]
The screen faded.
"Well, looks like M.I.B. saves the world again,"
said Jay.
"Yes, but I would like to know one thing," said
Kodachi. "How did they get the Regent out of Akane?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know," said Elle.
"It wasn't just a quick `zip-zap' like they did
when they arrived?" asked Mousse.
Kasumi gave them all a slight shake of the head.
"Hmm, that might have been interesting to see,"
continued Kodachi. "Was there any pain involved?"
Tatewaki smacked his sister on the back of the
head. "Any pain involved. Such a demented mind."
"Sick, just sick, Kodachi," added Ukyo.
"I can see things are coming back to normal," said
T. "Guess this closes out the case."
[Not quite, Agent T,] said Zed. [There is still
one matter left uncovered.]
He gave the gang a knowing look and T understood.
"We will take care of it now, Zed."
[Let me know what the results are, T.]
Zed's image faded out.
"So what's he talking about?" asked Ranma.
Jay, Elle ,and T huddled before the main console
to confer a moment. They broke, turning to face them.
"It is time for you to make a decision," said T.
"A decision?" questioned Ranma, then he recalled
the special condition they were operating under. "It
is time for that, isn't it?"
"Yep," said Jay. "So what'ch y'all gonna do?"
"Believe me when I say I really think you guys
have strong possibilities in M.I.B.," added Elle.
"And I would not mind having you here working with
me," said T.
Ranma went into deep thought. Excusing himself,
he turned waving the rest of the gang over. They
huddled close, mild and sharp words passing back and
forth between them. The debate carried on for a few
minutes longer, then they all faced the agents again.
"So?" asked Jay.
A nervous silence passed, everyone looking at
Ranma. "Oh leave it to me to pass on bad new," he
said. Clearing his throat, Ranma stepped forward.
"As much as we like M.I.B., we've all decided we'd
like to go back to our regular lives."
"You see there is still a lot we'd all like to
do," Akane said. "A lot of things we haven't done, or
said yet."
"And it's not like we think the job sucks or
nothing," added Ryoga. Ukyo nudged him hard in the
side of the ribs.
"What he means is. . . we don't want our lives to
just end incomplete," she said.
"You're asking us to give up a lot of things,"
added Mousse. "You know, marriage, kids--."
"Wealth," commented Nabiki.
T felt disappointed. He liked this group but
understood where they were coming from. So long ago he
could remember having to make the same choice.
"Is that everyone's final choice?" he asked. The
gang nodded their heads. "So be it," said T with a
sigh.
"At least we can say thanks for the opportunity to
be M.I.B. agents," said Konatsu. "Now I know how to
exchange `Dap'. A strange American custom, but
interesting."
Jay laughed; Elle swatting him on the arm chiding
him about teaching bad habits to others. T whispered
something to Ringo and he briefly left the room.
"Hey, T," Ryoga said. "What are you guys going to
do about Glator here?"
T looked up at Glator. "We'll probably send him
to rehab instruction off world, then make him a Agent,"
he answered.
Glator grinned. "I would be honored," he said.
"That's got to be your doing, Elle," said Jay.
"Ryoga ain't got that kind of influence in him."
Elle shrugged. "So I made him the perfect Agent.
What I would do to get you under the light for a few
minutes."
"Dream on, girlfriend. Just keep your hands away
from those flash sticks when I'm around."
Ringo returned holding a Nuralizer in one
tentacle.
"Thank you, Ringo," said T taking it from him. He
powered it up.
"Are we ready?"
"Anytime you are," said Ranma.
The gang gathered together preparing themselves
for the upcoming flash. T waited for the others to don
their sunglasses, then held up the nuralizer.
"I will say I will miss you all," he said.
"Yeah, that goes for me too," added Jay. "Even
you, Saotome despite your hardheaded self."
"I'm not having any regrets, Jay," answered Ranma.
"Good bye everyone," Elle said. "Sorry we
couldn't convince you otherwise."
"Keep us in mind," said Mousse. The rest of the
gang shot him dark looks. "Hey, just for emergencies,
okay!"
Akane smiled at the M.I.B. agents. "I'm going to
miss you all too," she said.
T placed his thumb on the trigger. "No you're
not.".
FOOSH!
* * * * *
FOOSH!
Tatewaki Kuno blinked his eyes, focusing them as
they returned to normal. He was seated at the desk in
the family den, a relaxed feeling running through him.
He felt the suns warm rays beaming down over his
shoulder and leaned forwards to look at the clock on
the wall.
It read ten o'clock, quite early for him to be
stirring from a nap. Rubbing the bridge of his nose,
Tatewaki stared down at the papers covering the desk.
Ah, yes. Work, the instantaneous sleeping pill he
thought.
Something bothered him though. The day did not
feel right at all. It was as if he'd lost something,
some part of time that he could not recall at the
present moment. Standing up, he stood before the
window. A light moan sounded and he turned.
An arm raised up over the backrest of the couch,
Kodachi Kuno slowly sitting up from what appeared to be
a long and restful nap. She yawned and looked around.
"Tachi, what are you doing in my bedroom?" she
asked him.
"Bedroom? Kodachi, dear sister, you are in the
den."
Kodachi blinked. She looked around again.
"Well so I am."
"The question is, why?"
"I don't know, brother dear. It is quite
strange."
Tatewaki rubbed his chin. "Yes. I can't grasp
it, but I could have sworn I was on a mission of great
importance."
Rising for the couch, Kodachi walked over. She
frowned, apparently confused. "You know, I feel the
same way," she said.
"Strange. I know, why don't you go and feed
Mister Turtle some live kittens. That might shake that
feeling from your mind."
She drew back, repulsed by the thought. "How
vulgar, dear brother," said Kodachi. "Why would I want
to go and do such a terrible thing like that for?"
This was not like Kodachi thought her brother.
Turn down a chance to administer pain and undue
suffering?
"Are you alright, sister?"
Kodachi smiled. She gazed out into empty space,
and gave her head a brief twitch. "Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo
. . . I feel wonderful. In fact I feel like doing
something nice."
Tatewaki gaped at her. "Nice?"
"Yes. Something like, giving money to a charity.
What do you think?"
Frozen in shock, Tatewaki stared at her. "Lead
on," he finally said gesturing towards the double
doors. "This even I must see."
* * * * *
FOOSH!
Mousse and Shampoo blinked, gazing groggily around
them. They stood on the corner across the street from
the Neko Hanten, their delivery bikes resting on the
ground beside them. Wondering why they were just
standing there, the couple exchanged confused looks.
"What happen, Mousse?" asked Shampoo.
"Long delivery?" he replied.
Gazing back at the caf�, the two slowly reached
down and retrieved their bikes.
"We better get back before great grandma get
upset," said Shampoo.
They crossed the street and went around to the
back door. Slowly, Shampoo peered inside. The kitchen
was clear and she scurried in, Mousse following close
behind her. Grabbing their aprons, the two were just
about ready when Cologne bounded through the doors.
"Ah HA!" she cried, startling them.
"Great Grandma!" cried Shampoo cheerfully. "We
just get back and--,"
"So how was it?" Cologne asked.
"It?" questioned Mousse.
"You trip. How was your trip to the mountains?"
Shampoo shot Mousse a confused glance.
"Uhm, it was . . . fun," replied Mousse.
"Good, good!" exclaimed Cologne. "Can't have my
employees overworked now can we?"
She hopped over to a boiling pot and started
ladling out some noodles into a bowl. "So you two did
`commune' like I suggested," she said over her
shoulder.
This was getting strange to them. Cologne
authorizing time off, and allowing Shampoo to be alone
with Mousse? The elderly sage noticed their silence.
"What is wrong? You two did not get into a fight
now, did you?"
"No, great grandma. We just tired after long ride
back," answered Shampoo.
"I see," she replied. Hopping over to Mousse,
Cologne peered close into his eyes. "You do look a
little tired, Mousse. Come over here and sit down."
Mousse literally passed out from shock. He was
not used to Cologne ever caring about his well being
ever. The notion alone was worth printing in the daily
papers. Still amazed, he went over to the chair she
offered him and sat down.
"This isn't a trick is it, Cologne?"
"Why no, dear boy!" she replied. "I just want you
to be in top shape for work that's all. Shampoo, go
get your man a glass of water!"
"Yes, great grandm--,"
Now it was Shampoo's turn to stagger. She braced
herself against the side of the wall. "My man?" she
gasped.
Mouse, slumped down in the chair, could not
believe what he heard. "Her man?" he exclaimed.
"Why yes," replied Cologne.
"I not get it. I thought Ranma man for Shampoo.
Cologne sneered at her. "That useless lout!
Where did you get such a notion?"
"From you, great grandma."
"Bah! You silly thing. Ranma? Don't make me
laugh. Now hurry up and get that water."
Shampoo literally jumped. "Yes, great
grandmother!" she said scurrying out the kitchen.
"And some food too!" Cologne called after her.
Taking one of Mousse's hands in hers, she began
stroking it tenderly.
"Later on we must talk about your living
conditions, Mousse. I'm sure Shampoo will be more than
gracious to share space with you."
Mousse could not believe his sudden change of
luck. He was not sure, but something happened to them.
Sitting back, he let a smile come to his face.
For good or bad, he was not about to change
things.
* * * * *
FOOSH!
Ukyo blinked, shaking her head to clear her
vision. She stood behind the counter of Uuchans
holding a spatula in her hand, the sizzle of cooking
okonomiyaki filling the air. For a second she gazed
around sensing that something was not right, that she'd
missed something.
"Excuse me!" called a customer from down the
counter. "Can I get my order now?"
From out of the back, Konatsu appeared. "I'll
take it," he said to her.
Ukyo frowned. This wasn't right, she thought
staring at the man. Tsubasa came from around the
corner carrying a stack of dishes in his hands. He set
them down, and sighed.
"Boy, can these people eat," he said.
Ukyo set the spatula down. "Okay, what gives
here?" she asked them.
Konatsu arch a brow. "What is the matter, Ukyo?"
"You, you're the matter!" she replied.
Tsubasa leaned around Ukyo staring at Konatsu. He
gave him a brief once over, then drew back.
"Nope, don't see anything wrong with him," he said
taking the dishes in back.
"It's not his looks that's wrong, it's the fact
that he's here at all!"
"Did I miss a schedule change?" said Konatsu. He
excused himself from their customer and stepped into
the back office. "Hmm, I don't see any schedule
changes," he said as he walked back out holding a
calendar in his hands.
Ukyo stormed over and snatched it from him. Nope,
all the day time shifts for this month were filled with
his and Tsubasa's name. "This can't be right," she
said in disbelief.
Tsubasa stuck his head out of the back. "Why not.
After all you said we were the best daytime team you've
ever had."
"Well said my hard working brethren," joked
Konatsu.
"Gimme some `Dap'," replied Tsubasa.
The two exchanged a series of taps and Ukyo rubbed
her eyes. Those two, working together without fuss,
she wondered. Things were getting stranger to her as
the seconds passed. She reached down pulling a stool
out from beneath the counter.
"Ukyo, are you alright?" asked Konatsu.
"No . . . I could have sworn Ranma was scheduled
to work here during the days."
"Now that's cruel. Breaking him and Akane up
knowing that they need the time together to study for
test. Shame on you, woman."
Ukyo's head snapped up, locking angrily on him.
Her fury quickly passed, thinking how much sense the
arrangement suddenly made to her. Rubbing the side of
her head, she stood up.
"Yes, I completely forgot. I'm sorry."
"No harm done. What say we get back to work."
Konatsu winked, returning to the customers waiting
to place their orders.
Ukyo glanced at the schedule one last time, then
set it aside returning her attention to the patrons in
her restaurant.
* * * * *
FOOSH!
Akane Tendo stirred from her slumber, shifting
slightly in the bed she lay in. Her head rested on
something warm, but pleasantly firm and she smiled
rubbing a hand along the side.
That was until her pillow drew in a deep breath.
Immediately, Akane's eyes snapped open. She
looked up to find Ranma snoring lightly on his back,
oblivious to the world. Akane slowly drew back then
realized that she wore nothing more than the top of her
pajamas and a pair of panties. That was enough for
her.
She shrieked at the top of her lungs, grabbing the
covers from the futon and retreated to the far end.
Ranma woke up with a start, siting up looking around
frantically.
"Where's the fire, where's the fire!" he shouted.
"There's no fire you idiot!" shouted Akane.
"Ranma what the hell are you doing in my bedroom?"
Ranma stopped. His eyes roamed about the room,
noting his personal items as well as his fathers strewn
about.
"Uh, Akane I think you'd better look around
again," he said.
She did, letting out another shriek.
The door suddenly slid open, Ryoga's head peering
around the corner.
"Yo, Ranma. You guys finally awake, eh," he said
sliding the door all the way back.
There were no signs of anger in Ryoga's eyes,
Ranma turning his head to one side wondering what he
was about to do. Ryoga sat down at the threshold.
"So, learn anything?" he asked.
"How dare you, Ryoga Hibiki!" exclaimed Akane,
pulling the blanked up closer around her neck.
"What. How dare I do what?"
"Think Akane and I are having going ons in here,"
replied Ranma. "Don't look at me, I'm not even close."
A pillow hit him on the head. Ryoga burst out
laughing.
"I'm talking about all of the studying you two
have been doing these past few days," he finally
managed to say.
Ranma and Akane smirked at him. He pointed to a
pile of books and paper behind them. They sat
surprised, then grinned sheepishly at each other.
"Whoa, for a moment there my head was just
floundering around in gutter," said Ranma.
"Gee I . . . gosh I can't believe I thought that,"
Akane said. She hid her face behind her hands,
blushing like a young school girl.
"Nah, that will come in due time," joked Ryoga.
That made Akane sit up straight again, death in
her eyes.
"Temper, temper," said Ranma.
Nabiki appeared in the hall, counting a thick pile
of money in her hands. Noticing that Ranma's door was
open, she stopped.
"So the Dynamic Duo finally arise," she said
cheerfully. "For a moment I thought you guys were
dead."
"You wish, so you can rent out my room to some
ronin college student," said Akane.
Nabiki let out a hum, thinking. "That's not a bad
thought. Why didn't I think of that?"
The trio on the floor hung their heads.
Nabiki just shrugged. "Well I'm off to make
investments. Talk to you guys later."
"Hey Nabiki," Ranma suddenly called.
"What?"
"How long were we out?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Personally, I've
lost track of time myself. Feels like I've lost a few
days. Chow."
Ranma rested his head on his fist deep in thought.
"You know, I feel the same way," he said.
"Yeah. Like we've been asleep for over a day,"
added Ryoga.
"That's impossible, Ryoga," said Akane. "Somebody
would have checked on us for sure."
"Like Ukyo, or Shampoo," Ranma pointed out.
"Well that's how I'm feeling," he replied. "I
just know I've lost time somewhere, but I can't place
it."
"Going from physically lost to losing time.
That's bad Ryoga, a good sign of senility," Ranma said.
"Hey I'm not old!" shouted Ryoga. "At least not
yet."
The edge of a tray thumped against the side of the
doorway, Kasumi Tendo stepping around Ryoga to get
inside.
"I heard you two were awake," she said setting the
tray down between them. "So I brought you something to
eat."
They thanked her, digging into the mixed morsels
of food. Ranma invited her to stay and share their
meal, but she declined.
"I've got to get back to cleaning. Can you
believe I've let dust build up on the furniture? Such
a sloppy mode I've grown into."
Her comment made them pause, exchanging worried
looks. Kasumi left and Ranma sat back.
"Dust? In our home?"
"Not with Kasumi around," said Ryoga.
Akane sat wondering about what they said. She set
the food in her hands down and got up. "No sense in
worrying about it now, fellas," she said heading for
the door. "I'm going to clean up."
"But Akane, this is something straight out of the
X-Files. Who know what happened to us!" said Ranma.
She stopped, looking back over her shoulder.
"Then maybe we should try and forget about it. It
might be for our own good."
A strange smile creased her lips and she walked
off down the hall. Ranma furrowed his brows wondering
what she meant by that. He looked at Ryoga, but his
friend just shrugged.
"Don't ask me," he said.
* * * * *
Dusk was beginning to settle over Norita airport,
the whine of a private jet's engines whistling across
the isolated tarmac. Jay and Elle stood at the foot of
the steps saying their last good-byes to T and a
heavily disguised Ringo.
"You guys take care now, y'hear?" Jay said over
the background din.
"We will Jay," replied T shaking his hand. "I
can't thank you enough for the help you provided us to
bring Krin in."
"Yeah, well man if you guys need anymore support,
you can call us. We'll be back in a flash just like
Ghostbusters."
Ringo chuckled, muttering something up to T. He
laughed, patting him confidently on the back.
"What'd he say?" asked Jay.
"He said he's going to miss you and your humor.
Not everyday he gets a good laugh."
"Yeah well--. Okay that's one on you, man."
Ringo laughed harder; Jay giving him the eye as he
headed up the steps.
Elle walked up giving T a firm hug. "Stay in
touch, T," she said.
"I will. You just keep him out of trouble."
"It's a twenty-four and seven job."
She leaned over and kissed Ringo on the forehead.
"Behave."
[Fllyollik?] replied Ringo.
Elle wave, climbing up the steps. Once she was
safely inside, the automated aircraft retracted the
stairs, sealing the cabin shut. Jay stretched in his
seat, ready for some much needed rest.
"Man, I can't wait to put down a few dogs in my
stomach," he said. "Give me some steak and potatoes
any day."
Elle laughed. "Jay, you are such a Lilieekiou,"
she said.
Immediately, Jay sat up. "That's what I forgot!'
he exclaimed.
"What. What did you forget?"
"To find out what that Lillywhatever means!"
She stared at him. "You're serious?"
"You bet. If Big Zee is using it, I definitely
want to know what it means so I can make the proper
level of attitude adjustment."
Elle broke out laughing again, sitting back in her
chair. "Jay, Jay it's nothing really."
Jay shook his head. "Uhuhn, I'm not swallowing
that."
"What does it matter? We're leaving and I'd bet
Zed has probably forgotten it by now. So relax."
The plane started moving, Jay realizing it was to
late anyway to do much. He sat back, stretching out
again.
"Yeah, you're right. Probably just another way of
saying `incredible brother'."
Elle chuckled and closed her eyes. They were
silent for a moment, then Elle tipped her head towards
him.
"Clown," she said.
Jay let out a low grunt. It suddenly dawned on
him what she meant and he sat upright.
"Clown! . . . CLOWN!" he shouted totally
perplexed.
"Uh Huh."
In a flash, Jay undid the seatbelts. He ran over
to the cabin door and peered out the window at T and
Ringo.
"OH no, OH HELL NO!" he shouted thrusting an angry
finger at them. "Yo man, stop this plane! I got to
get out and dust me some ass!"
T and Ringo watch Jay raving through the window at
them. They smiled and started to wave.
"I'm gonna get you, T! Soon as this plane hits
the ground I'm on the next flight back. You best go
and hide real good, I mean really, REALLY good!"
"Jay, will you stop it and get back into your
seat," Elle called to him between her laughs.
Jay moved down the windows still ranting and
raving as the jet started pulling away. T frowned,
arching a brow.
"You don't think she told him, do you?" he said to
Ringo.
[Gipigoot,] answered Ringo with a nod.
"Hmm, oh well."
He shrugged, smiling and waving again as the jet
streaked down the runway and up into the evening sky.
FIN
