Minna-san,
I've decided that with the amount of stuff I want to
cover in Part 3 that I'll break it down into two
parts, an "N" (Nerima) Side and a "P" (Promised
Island) Side. Hopefully by doing this, I can stop
with the "forcing text on the next part" thing I've
done to date.
Enjoy!
Fred
=====
Fred Herriotfherriot@yahoo.com**** **** ****"Fanfiction IS Real Life!"**** **** ****
______________________________________________________________________
Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
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-- Desc: LoneS-03N.txt
"Onee-chan! Hurry up! It's time!!"
Ranma blinks, then sighs, looking over her shoulder. "Coming!"
She shudders, then gazes at the angelic image reflected in the
mirror. Perfect. So perfect! Opaque veil that covered herself
down to the back, but could be easily drawn away from her face.
Holding that down was a coronet of wild roses and daisies, that
hand-made. White wedding gown that discretely flashed bare
shoulders, bound in front by a red rose over her heart. No train
behind her. Bicep-length white silk gloves.
Result: one VERY beautiful bride!
Taking up her bouquet, she steps out. Karen awaits her, along
with Negako. The former, as one of the maids of honour, is in a
veil-less, pink version of Ranma's wedding dress. The latter is in a
ladies tuxedo with slacks. "Shall we begin?" Negako offers her arm.
"Hai," Ranma grins, slipping her arm around Negako's.
Karen in the lead, they step into the churchyard where Ranma
would at last be wed. A small crowd awaits them by the altar.
Karen's sisters form the rest of the bridal party as they escort
Ranma to join her beloved groom. As she goes up, the sisters sing
a passionate wedding song...
In a country churchyard, there's a Preacher, with his people
Gathered all around, to join a man and woman.
Spring is here and turtledoves are singing from the steeple.
Bees are in the flowers growing in the graveyard.
And over the hill, where the river meets the mill,
A lovely girl is coming down
To give her hand upon her wedding day...
As Ranma keeps her eyes locked on the altar, her peripheral
vision picks up a small crowd kept away from the main wedding party.
To her left are her beloved's so-called friends and family from
Tomobiki. To her right are her so-called friends and family from
Nerima. To ensure none of them caused any trouble, they were all
bound down in chains strong enough to take even Ryouga's Perfect
Shishi Houkoudan at point-blank range.
"Oh, the shame of it all..."
Ranma's eyebrow twitches. She thought all the fools had been
gagged so she didn't have to hear any of their words today.
"You failed me, Ranma! You are no man anymore!"
Ranma glares at Nodoka. "Well, I guess you'll have to commit
seppuku then, *Mother,*" she hisses, the scorn in her voice making
Nodoka turn away from her. "After all, what sort of *mother* were
you, anyway?"
She looks away as someone comes up to re-gag her mother, then
focuses on her awaiting groom, a glowing smile crossing her face...
Dressed in simple white and wearing flowers in her hair,
Music as she walks slowly to the altar,
And picking up his Bible, then the Preacher turns towards her.
"Will you take this man to be your wedded husband,
To honour and love in the eyes of God above?
Now let the people sing with me
These words to live forever in your heart..."
Negako guides Ranma into place, then falls in behind her. Her
eyes stinging with joyful tears, the bride gazes onto her groom as
the priest, a woman with green-streaked blonde hair and a star tattoo
by her right eye, begins the ceremony. Around them, the sisters
begin to sing...
"Let your love shine on!
For we are the stars in the sky!
Let your love shine strong!
Until the day you fly...!
Fly away..."
"I do," she then declares.
"I do," her groom echoes her.
Suddenly, the veil is drawn back, then they are passionately
kissing as the scene around them changes. Save for Negako and the
sisters, all who came to the wedding fade, melting into a sea of
headstones in a run-down graveyard in some wilderness village
somewhere in the world. Pulling away from her husband's comforting
embrace, Ranma looks around...
Many years have fallen on that golden country morning.
The graveyard's overgrown. The church lies in ruins.
Ivy on the walls and ravens wheeling 'round above me
As I made my way towards the last remaining headstone.
I fell to my knees, read the lines beneath the leaves
And suddenly, it seemed to me,
I heard the words, like singing in the trees!
Husband and wife walk between the markers. Ranma's eyes pick
out the ones with names she recognizes. How befitting. How sad.
She really tried to help them. Tried to make them understand
she couldn't be happy with them, binding her life to theirs. Why
couldn't they accept that? Why couldn't they just let it go and make
their own lives, as she made hers?
Why...?
"Let your love shine on!
For we are the stars in the sky!
Let your love shine strong!
Until the day you fly...!"
"For eternity, my love?" she gazes on her husband.
"For eternity, beloved," he returns her look.
They kiss again as the sisters sing the chorus once more...
"Let your love shine on!
For we are the stars in the sky!
Let your love shine strong!
Until the day you fly...!
Fly away..."
Without a backward glance, Ataru and Ranma Moroboshi turn away
from the graveyard -- and all the failed lives interred within -- for
the final time. As the sisters follow them into the bright future
ahead, Ranma sighs, then gazes fondly on the one person who truly
cared for her.
Yes. For Eternity, indeed...
* * *
Ranma's eyes flutter as she finds herself in a darkened bedroom.
Disorientation seizes her for a moment as she absorbs the unfamiliar
surroundings, then she relaxes as yesterday's events flow back into
her mind like an incoming tide. Shuddering as the now-dulled
images of burned and broken bodies half-buried in the wing of a
wrecked school pass her mind's gaze, she stands, then heads to a
window to gaze outside. It is near the cusp of dawn, the full moon
brightly shining in the greying sky overhead. The dawn of a day far
different than any she'd known before.
"Strange dream..." she mutters under her breath, then heads back
into her bedroom to get some more sleep. After yesterday's
events, she needed that more than anything else. They all needed
it, in fact.
Pausing before slipping back into her futon, Ranma stops, her
hand drifting up to gently rub her lower lip. It tingles at her
touch as the surging warmth of that dream-kiss flows through her.
Odd. Why would she feel something like THAT after being kissed by a
man? Hell, why was she dreaming of marrying a man? And why was it a
dream and not a nightmare? If she had been "engaged" to Ryouga or --
Ugh! -- Kunou...! THAT would be a nightmare ranking with the ones
she had about the pit of c-c-c-c-cats!
Was it because her "groom" was Ataru?
Why?
"Too weird," she shakes her head as she slips under the
covers...
* * *
Promised Island...
Chikage stares at her crystal ball.
"No, Ane-kun. Soon, it will NOT be weird at all..."
* * *
"Lonely Souls"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
**** **** ****
"In A Country Churchyard," written by Chris de Burgh.
**** **** ****
Based on "Urusei Yatsura" and "Ranma 1/2" created by Rumiko
Takahashi; and "Sister Princess," created by Naoto Tenhiro and
Sakurako Kimino. This story is set after the end of the "UY" and
"Ranma" manga series.
**** **** ****
NOTE: The writer's notes are at the end of the "A" Side of the
Prologue.
**** **** ****
THE THIRD PART, "N" SIDE - FAMILY NO MORE
The Tendou dojo, sometime after dawn...
"Oh, dear..."
"'S up, Kasumi?"
Kasumi blinks, then stares at Nabiki for a moment before her
eyes turn back to the disaster zone that had last night been a
spotless kitchen. The middle Tendou daughter joins her sister at the
doorway to take a look, then she stops brushing her teeth. "Akane
made breakfast again?!"
"No, I think she made something to take to Ranma-kun,"
the elder daughter sighs. She had noticed that a large sauce pan was
missing from the pile of cooking cutlery she kept under the sink.
"Oh, shit!" Nabiki grimaces, noting a bottle of linseed oil and
some drain cleaner in the open by the sink. "What the hell's wrong
with her, Onee-chan?! She should know by now that Ranma-kun ain't
gonna touch anything she makes if you or Auntie weren't watching
her!"
"This is not good," Kasumi shakes her head...
* * *
"WHY?!!"
Cologne sighs. "Ataru Moroboshi's sister discovered that fool
Genma manipulated certain of Son-in-Law's shiatsu points to inhibit
his ability to learn on his own free will. For YEARS, Son-in-Law
was deprived of his free will to do what he might desire. An
effective form of enslavement, I confess." A pause, then, "Negako
states she needs two weeks to effect permanent repairs to
Son-in-Law's mind. If Son-in-Law acquires Negako's aid in
eliminating his ailurophobia, you can add a month more. Until that
has passed, you will NOT harass or do anything else which Son-in-Law
might constitute as an attack on his person. Is that understood?"
Shampoo shudders, then sighs. Both were conversing in Mandarin,
occupying a window booth in the Nekohanten before opening for the
early morning crowd. "Great-grandmother, we have the means to help
fix Airen's mind ourselves. Even more so, we can take the chance
to fully win Airen away from Akane and Ukyou, not to mention that
honourless panda! Why are we letting the Moroboshis deal with this?!
We could lose Airen...!"
"Do we?!" Cologne's eyebrow arches. "Xian, you know as well as
I why our tribe entered into an alliance with the Moroboshis
and the McTavishes. In certain areas, THEY possess the greater
mystical knowledge. Believe me, Negako knows what she is doing,
Xian. Let her do her work."
Shampoo considers that, then sighs. "Great-grandmother,
I mean no disrespect, but I've never even HEARD of this Negako
Moroboshi! Who is she?! How does she have all this knowledge
in the first place?!"
The elder sighs. "Alright, you deserve to know that much, Xian.
Negako is none other than the living spirit of our allies' Art
brought into physical form five years ago at the behest of Ataru.
Her last host."
"***WAS HE OUT OF HIS MIND?!!***" Shampoo shrills, eyes wide.
Her fear was something Cologne understood well. The Nyu-che-zuu
annals rebounded with tales of the *saikoo jinseijitsu,* a sentient,
psychic database built up over many centuries by the Moroboshi
Clan. Those annals told the tale of how the *saikoo jinseijitsu,*
sometime two centuries ago, acquired free thought, then began a quest
to seize control of its hosts so it could live its own life. At the
first time the *saikoo jinseijitsu* managed to get free and tried
to escape, back in 1808 as the Western nations counted time, half of
Hokkaido was nearly destroyed.
"No, he wasn't insane. He was only twelve," Cologne shakes
her head. "And in his innocent way, he understood something we, with
our knowledge, experience and wisdom, couldn't accept. That the
being inside him only wanted to do things those such as you and I
take for granted. With the help of Nagai-chan's friends on Zephyrus,
that happened." A sneer then crosses her lips. "And because of that
simple act of good will, Ataru's honourless parents decided to
destroy not just his life, but Nagai-chan's, by manipulating
an equally naive Negako into erasing those parts of Ataru's memories
which centred on the other elements of his family."
Shampoo takes that in, then pales. "You must be joking!"
"Believe me, child, I wish I was not," Cologne mournfully
sighs.
Shampoo fights the urge to sweep her great-grandmother
into an embrace, allow Cologne the chance to weep for the loss of one
of her oldest and dearest friends. But that wasn't done in the
Nyu-che-zuu, even within the same family. It was a sign of weakness,
something that a warrior tribe didn't consider proper. Especially
when it concerned the honoured dead.
"So what is Negako like?" Shampoo wonders.
"Very cold and analytical," Cologne inwardly smiles.
"Possessing a skill level all the elders in the Council COMBINED
could not match. Also protective of Ataru for understandable
reasons. I caution you STRONGLY to not cross Negako on this matter
with Son-in-Law. Now is the time to wait, not advance. Besides,
the chances are there that Happy might decide, as is his right as the
grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu, to ask Negako to become
Son-in-Law's new primary teacher. You know what that means?"
"Aiyah...!" Shampoo's eyes swirl. To have children trained
in BOTH the millennia-old traditions of the Nyu-che-zuu AND the Path
of the Supreme Life, daughter-school to the legendary Star of Heaven
Path charted by the immortal Master Hosan over nearly five thousand
years?! That would be as inspiring as if one of the Nyu-che-zuu
married one of the McTavishes, their child winning the right to weld
that clan's mystic honour blade, the Sword of Scotia, much less
perhaps locating one of the Talismans of Angus...!
Taking a breath, Shampoo sighs. "Alright, I'll back away.
Airen needs time to heal, not more pain! CERTAINLY not from that
honourless panda or Akane! I can direct myself that way for now."
"Wise choice. Anyhow, we best prepare for the morning run."
"Hai!" Shampoo switches back to Japanese. Moving to step into
the main restaurant, she pauses, then stares back at Cologne.
"Hibaa-chan?"
"What is it, child?"
She takes a deep breath, then sighs, reverting to Mandarin.
"Do you think that even if Airen is healed, he might still want me?
You heard what he said yesterday when he helped Ataru save those
people at Tomobiki High."
"I did. And..." Cologne sighs. "It's too hard to speculate
now given how much is up in the air. Don't panic. You'll disappoint
yourself. And even if Son-in-Law might reject you, there are other
ways to bring him into the tribe even if we don't ask him to come to
the village. You know how Son-in-Law is willing to help out when it
comes to people in need."
"Hai, Hibaa-chan right," Shampoo nods, then heads out.
Cologne watches her, then nods. "You may have to keep that well
in mind when Ranma finally accepts what she's become, Xian," she
whispers...
* * *
Hikarigaoka Park, an hour later...
"Here you go. That must've been hard work yesterday, ne?"
"Hai, Fred-san, it was," Ranma grins, accepting the plate from
Fred Yamada, Nerima's acknowledged resident hamburger expert. A
retired Ground Self-Defence Force signals sergeant, Fred owned his
own yatai, keeping it close to Hikarigaoka to solicit customers.
To better understand his newly-chosen trade, Fred had spent time in
the United States to learn how to create the fast-food delight places
like McDonalds made famous. Fred also was a martial artist,
practising a variation of what the Kuonji family long ago perfected
using spatulas and other kitchen tools.
Fred then gets to work on Ataru's order, a copy of Ranma's.
"So you decided to leave Tomobiki and come live here, eh, Ataru-san?"
he puts a patty on the grill. "Think it'll be much of a change?
I've heard of how crazy things in Tomobiki got when Lum was living
there and all that."
Ataru hums, then shrugs. "To be honest with you, Yamada-san,
I just dunno. Personally, I just want to put those people behind
me. I sure as hell don't want them dead, for Heaven's sake, just out
of my life!"
"You sure proved that yesterday, even if the papers in Tomobiki
are giving Ranma-san sole credit for rescuing everyone," Fred snorts.
"How'd you learn that, Fred?" Ranma asks.
"Tampopo-san told me," Fred reports. His apartment was a
half-block from Tampopo Kamekichi's restaurant and the two, after
getting to know each other, had begun exchanging cooking tips.
"Fortunately, the papers outside of Tomobiki got everything dead on.
Why do they do that, anyway?"
"Typical Tomobiki mentality when it comes to me," Ataru snorts,
then nods thanks as Fred gives him his order. "If I do something
wrong, it's in every freakin' newspaper from Naha to Wakkanai.
If I do something right, it's not reported or else someone else gets
the credit. I guess I'm just used to it, that's all. Besides,
most of the players who tried to play volleyball with my life are
dead thanks to whoever blew up the school."
"Pretty raw thing to say, isn't it?" Fred muses, then places
Ataru's order on a plate before sliding that before his customer.
"That it is," Ataru acknowledges, then smiles. "Itadakimasu!"
The two demolish their orders in rapid succession, then after
paying Fred for his services, go for a walk around the park. "So the
girls want me to come visit them on the island, eh?" Ranma slurps
up the milkshake she got with her hamburger. "Is that gonna be a
problem, Ataru?"
"The family finances Welcome House in the first place, so it'll
be alright. 'Sides, we'll only be there until Sunday. School starts
for you -- for us, I mean -- next Monday, remember?" he gazes on her.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Ranma sighs. "I just hope I can continue
modelling while I'm going to school. It feels good to have my own
money for a change, instead o' borrowin' it from Nabiki all the
time."
"Not to mention being on the lookout for her and a camera
wanting to snap photos of you *au naturel,* ne?" he shakes his head.
"How'd you know?"
"Rinrin-chan found a site on the Internet that splashes some
pics Nabiki took of you to anyone who pops by," Ataru reports.
"I told her to whip up a computer virus to destroy it, plus any
hard-disk copies whoever set it up might have in reserve. If you
want her to, she'll try to trace down the name of whoever it was that
set up that site."
"Good. I'll pound the creep when I get the chance," Ranma
smirks, then blinks on sensing someone come into close range. "Oh,
no..."
"What...?"
"Ohayou, Ran-chan!! There you are!"
Ataru turns as a brown-haired girl in an okonomiyaki-ka's
gi walks up, a covered plate of hot food in hand. "Ukyou, I assume?"
"Yeah," Ranma mutters. "Ohayou, Ukyou-san. Is there a
problem?"
The chef balks, then shudders before calming herself. "No,
there's no problem, Ran-chan! I just brought you some breakfast!
I bet after what happened yesterday, you really worked up an
appetite...!"
"No, thanks. I just ate," Ranma reports.
"...so I made you your...!" Ukyou stops. "What did you just
say?"
Ranma gazes levelly at her. "I said 'No, thanks. I just ate.'"
Silence falls as Ukyou's mind tries to absorb what was just
said, then her jaw drops in shocked disbelief. Ranma? Her Ran-chan?
REFUSING to eat her cooking? What the HELL was THIS...?!
"R-r-Ran-chan...?"
Ranma sighs, then slurps down the rest of her milkshake.
Tossing the cup away, she reaches into her pocket to draw out a
wallet. Ukyou's eyes go wide on seeing that it is bursting with
10,000 yen bills. Ranma pauses as she does a quick mental
calculation, then she sighs, reaching into her wallet to draw out all
the large bills she had in her possession. "Hey, Ataru, can you
spare me about twenty now? I'll pay you back when I hit the ATM
later on today before we head off," she gazes at him.
"Sure," Ataru draws out his own cash-filled wallet, pulling
out two hundred thousand yen in cash, then hands it over.
"Thanks," Ranma takes that, then counts off fifty 10,000 yen
bills before handing that over to Ukyou. "There you go, Ukyou-san."
"I...!" Ukyou stammers, then stares wide-eyed at Ranma. "What
the hell's this?" she sputters, a sinking feeling pressing on her
heart.
"That's to pay for all the okononmiyaki I ate while I visited
your shop before the wedding. I am very sorry for not having
considered to pay for your services before. That will not happen
again," Ranma slips the bills into Ukyou's pants pocket before the
latter could refuse. "If it's not enough, I'll get you the rest of
it as soon as I can. In the meantime, I want to spend the day with
my friend. Have a good day, Ukyou-san."
She heads off. Ukyou remains in place, unsure of what to say.
She then jolts as Ranma calls out to her, "One other thing,
Ukyou-san."
Ukyou stares at her. "Friend or fiancee. Not both," Ranma
holds up a warning finger, then vanishes under the cloak of the
Umisenken.
The chef shudders, then drops to her knees, sobbing. Ataru
gazes at her, then his eyes narrow as he picks up the disturbed
chi patterns that could easily mark an Umisenken-masked
martial artist. Noting where Ranma is going, he then kneels beside
Ukyou. "Hey, you okay there?"
Ukyou jolts, then stares helplessly at him. "What do you
think?" she mutters, then reaches into her pocket to draw out the
cash. "Here! Give it back to her...!" she stops as Ataru shakes
his head. "Wha-...?!"
"I am Ranma's friend, Kuonji-san. Because of that, I don't want
to get dragged into your little fight with her over who ends up
getting to go to the altar with her," he reports. "Besides, she's
right, you know. From what I've heard, you're a very successful
businesswoman. Much that I do understand your reasons for being so
sentimental, so forgiving, when it comes to Ranma, it IS an unwise
thing to be giving away freebies."
"I have no choice!" she hisses. "If I don't marry Ran-chan..."
"You'll be thrown out of your family. Yes, I happen to know
about that," he nods. "Believe it or not, there's a way around it."
She stops, blinking. "What do you mean?"
"Let's just say there are families in this country who have,
for a very long time, strove to care for near-orphans like yourself.
Give them a home, a family who would truly love them, a base to work
from to keep their lives in order. My family's one of them. If you
really want to keep your family name, plus continue on in your chosen
field of work, we'd be willing to help." He reaches into his wallet,
then draws out a business card, handing it to her. "If you feel you
want to do that, go speak to this person. My uncle Komeru's his
legal guardian now. He can tell you a lot more if you want."
Standing, he moves to head off, then stares back at her. "Ukyou-san,
you're a bright person. You feel you're doing the right thing,
trying to honour your father's wishes this way. But in my eyes, what
happened to you was a crime called 'child abuse.' And on certain
planets I know of, child abuse is a capital crime. Have a good day."
He leaves. Ukyou watches him go, then stares nowhere in
particular. "'Child abuse is a capital crime,'" she whispers...
* * *
Nearby, Ranma sighs, sitting near a fountain as she watches
the wind gently shift the young evergreen trees to and fro. Shaking
her head as she remembers what Ukyou just tried to do, she takes a
deep breath. "Damn you, Oyaji..." she hisses. "And damn me for
listening to you..."
"Ranma!! There you are!"
Ranma perks, then looks left as Akane walks up to her. Cradled
in her right hand is a large sauce pan, covered with a tablecloth.
Tucked in her left arm is P-chan, a snickering look on the piglet's
face. Seeing that, Ranma tenses, a cold chill warping through her
body. Damn it all, what was this girl trying to do, anyway?!
"Ohayou, Akane-san. What brings you about this part of Nerima this
morning?" she crosses her arms.
Akane stops, placing the pot on the seat near Ranma. She
cradles P-chan close to her as she sits beside the breakfast she
made. "I came looking for you, silly!" she tries not to shiver at
Ranma's addressing her so formally. "I made some beef stroganoff
for you today! After what you did yesterday in Tomobiki, you deserve
something special!!"
Ranma blinks, then stares at the pot. Her nose is quick to
smell something that reminded her a lot of linseed oil, an agent
that, for some inexplicable reason, ALWAYS wound up in Akane's
cooking. Plus there was the faint odour of a bleaching agent. Odd.
Kasumi didn't keep bleach in the kitchen...! Unless Akane got her
hands on drain cleaner instead?
"Aren't you going to try it?" Akane wonders.
In her arms, the transformed Ryouga grins. Oh, here we go...
"Akane-san, have you tried it yet?" Ranma gazes at her.
Tee-hee-hee! Can't run from this now, Ranma...
"I made it for you, you dummy!"
Oh, yes! Open mouth and insert foot time...
"Did you get Kasumi's help? Or Mom's for that matter?"
Keep digging your grave there, you bastard...
"Hey, I can cook!! I don't need their help!"
Yes! Yes, let it come...
"No, Akane, you cannot cook."
P-chan jolts. Ranma's last words had been delivered in a cold,
neutral tone, one that nearly freezes everything around her in place.
A glance up to Akane sends a chill down P-chan's back; she is staring
at Ranma as if the slime was about to unleash Souun's Demon Head
attack.
"B-but you s-said..." she sputters, then ducks as Ranma stands.
"I told you once that you were *improving,*" Ranma glares at
her. "I said NOTHING about you being able to cook. Don't put words
into my mouth, Tendou-san. I'm tired of that, atop many other things
you've done to me since the day we met. Besides, I've already had
breakfast over at Fred Yamada's yatai. And since you don't seem to
trust your own cooking, then why the hell do you think *I* should
trust it? Hell, would P-chan there trust eating it?!" she indicates
the small piglet in Akane's arms.
Akane jolts, then shuddering as a familiar, almost welcome,
rage begins to billow inside her heart, stands. "Fine, then!! I'll
show you how good I've become!" She grabs a pair of chopsticks
from her skirt, then flipping the tablecloth off the pot, grabs some
of the contents inside between the chopsticks. Cradling P-chan in
her hand, Akane waves the morsel before him. "Here you go, P-chan!
Open up there!" she coos.
P-chan opens his mouth, not realizing the real danger in time.
As he swallows the acid-tasting food, his whole body locks up for a
moment. His normally sable fur turns into a psychedelic array of
colours before a pained "Bweee..." escapes his lips, his strength
failing. As consciousness fades, his last thought is, *I'll get you
for this, Ranma...!*
"P-chan!!!" Akane gasps, then cries out as Ranma snares the
piglet from her arms. She watches as her transformed fiance draws
out a packet of some powdery substance, then dumps that into P-chan's
mouth. Scooping up some water from the fountain pool, Ranma dumps
that down the piglet's throat. Instantly, the transformed Ryouga's
fur colour reverts to normal black, a weak "Bwee..." escaping him as
Ranma hands him back to Akane.
Akane gazes at P-chan, he trying to move again, then stares
up at Ranma. "Ranma..." she whispers, unsure of what to say now.
Ranma sighs, then holds up the packet in question. "I got this
from a friend of mine. It's an omniversal antitoxin that can protect
people from very bad cooking, like what you just created. Let P-chan
there rest for the remainder of the day. He should be back to normal
by tomorrow."
Hearing that, the dizzy P-chan blinks, then moans. *Damn you,
Ranma, WHY do you keep doing these things...?* he mentally rails.
*How can I keep on hating you after you keep doing THIS to me, you
bastard...?!*
"Ranma..." Akane shudders, then stares at P-chan before she sets
him on the bench. Rising, she slowly approaches her fiance, her eyes
buried under the bangs of her hair. Ranma gazes neutrally at her,
arms crossed. Akane stops before him, then glares into her fiance's
eyes. Ranma does nothing. Seeing that, Akane screams out, "YOU
JERK!!!!"
Her fist lashes to Ranma's cheek. Before it could come close,
Ranma's hand catches it, then twists it violently to one side.
Akane's scream turns into a shocked cry of pain as Ranma's free hand
lances at her right elbow. A solid *CRACK!* is heard as the fist
slams into the lower part of the upper arm bone, shattering it.
Akane howls in pain, her eyes wide with disbelief and stunned horror
as Ranma tilts herself to her side, cupping her free hand to form a
ball of chi. A GREEN ball of chi.
"R-r-ranma..." she sputters.
"Good-bye, Tendou-san. We're no longer engaged. And you're
a stranger to me," Ranma announces. "***SHISHI HOUKOUDAN!!!!!!***"
* * *
In another part of the park, a silent Ukyou Kuonji sits on a
bench, her mind rolling and re-rolling over what Ataru just said to
her. She then perks up on hearing the quasi-sonic boom that normally
accompanied a high-intensity chi attack before her eyes pick up
something flying away from the park. Watching it, the chef is quick
to notice that the hapless victim -- it sounded like the poor sucker
got nailed by Ryouga's attack -- is female. Then she gets another
quick look before the poor person begins to descend.
Wait a minute. That wasn't Ran-chan at all! That looked
like...!
Akane?
No WAY!!!
What the HELL just happened?!
Standing, she races to the part of the park where she assumes
the blast originated. No matter what, she had to find out what
happened...
* * *
"Damn her...! Damn her..."
P-chan stares wide-eyed at Ranma. Even though his body was
still recovering from the effects of Akane's cooking, he had still
seen what his rival had just done to his fiancee. Or was that
EX-fiancee now...? Ranma shudders, then lowers her head, tears
streaming down her cheeks. Seeing that, the transformed Ryouga's
eyes go wide. No! It wasn't possible! This was NOT possible!
Ranma NEVER cried, especially not in public...!
"So why aren't you attacking me now, Ryouga?"
The piglet grunts, then stares at Ranma. She now looks back at
him with pained eyes, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Well?"
she wonders. "What's wrong, *friend?*" she sneers, the scorn pouring
like Niagara Falls from her lips. "Too shocked to believe that I
could master something only YOU really could before the wedding?
Shocked to see me hit Akane after all the times she hit me? Shocked
that I told her the engagement was off?"
"Ran-chan!! What happened?!"
Ranma spins around, then tenses as Ukyou runs up. The chef
slows down, then quickly analyses the scene. Uh-huh. Pot of
SOMETHING there on the bench. No doubt, Akane had the same general
idea Ukyou had after what went down yesterday in Tomobiki...!
Wait a minute. Ran-chan could do the Shishi Houkoudan now. And she
doubted Ryouga could do that when he was in his cursed form. Then
that...! That meant...! Oh, no! No WAY!!
"Ran-chan...?" her jaw drops in shock.
Ranma relaxes. "Ukyou-san, you may feel free to tell anyone
who might be interested that I no longer recognize my so-called
'engagement' with Akane Tendou. Nor will I pursue an engagement
with either Kasumi or Nabiki Tendou. I no longer desire to associate
with that family."
Ukyou takes that in, then grimaces. "What happened?"
"Simple," a voice echoes from behind her. "It appears
Tendou-san didn't appreciate having her culinary shortcomings
shoved into her face, even after her so-called 'pet' nearly died
because of those shortcomings."
"Ataru!" Ranma perks.
Ukyou stares at him, then turns back to Ranma. "So even after
you save that jackass' life there..." she indicates the transformed
Ryouga, who perks up in shock on hearing that the chef knew his
secret, "...Akane tried to hit you?" she confirms. "What the hell
did you do to her?"
"Broke her arm, then chi-blasted her back to her house," Ranma
replies, then stares wearily at Ataru. "You think you can get Negako
to work a little faster on fixing me up, Ataru?"
Ataru shrugs. "I'll try."
"Fix you up for what?" Ukyou tenses. "What happened?"
Ataru gazes at Ranma. The latter blinks, then shakes her head.
"No. If you want to get the story there, Ukyou-san, talk to Elder
Cologne or Jijii about it. I'm not in the mood to talk about it."
She heads off. Ukyou turns to pursue. "Hey, wait a minute...!"
A Demon Head responds. "***LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!***"
Ukyou screams. Ranma storms off. Ataru watches her go, then
gazes on the abandoned pot of "beef stroganoff" Akane had made.
Taking a deep breath, he concentrates his ki into his hand.
"Kontou!!" he whispers as the chi blade forms, then he thrusts it
into the pot.
As soon as the chi blade makes contact, a wailing shriek escapes
from the pot as something tries to break free. Once the cut is made,
the object sinks lifelessly into the pot once more. He straightens,
allowing the blade to rest on his shoulder. "'It's aliiiiiiive!!'
NOT!!!!" he laughs, then waves at P-chan. "Have a nice day there,
Hibiki-san!"
He heads off, dispersing the blade. P-chan watches him go, then
his eyes swirl before he faints, a pained "Bweeee...!" escaping
him.
*It's the end of the world...!*
* * *
The Tendou dojo, minutes later...
"OH, MY!!!!"
"What is it, Kasumi...?! Eh?!! MY LITTLE GIRL!!!!"
Nabiki, Genma and Nodoka charge downstairs, then look out onto
the front lawn to see Kasumi trying to tend to a bruised and burnt
Akane, she having just smashed through the sakura tree to crash into
the rocks beside the koi pond. Souun knees beside his unconscious
child, twin jets of tears dousing everything as he bewails how badly
his precious little baby was hurt. "What on Earth happened to
her?!!" Nodoka charges out to help Kasumi carry Akane into the dojo,
laying her down on several floor mats.
"I..." Kasumi scans the wounds, then notices the bruising
around Akane's right elbow. A gentle touch with her finger causes
Akane to moan as she rolls onto her side. A glance to the youngest
Tendou's eyes reveals a semi-lucid look. Too dazed to answer
questions. Sighing, Kasumi races into the kitchen. "Don't move
that, Akane!" she warns. "It's broken!!"
She returns, drawing out a splint to lay against Akane's arm.
The others watch as the arm is properly bandaged, then tied against
Akane's side to restrict motion. "Nabiki, summon the ambulance,
please?! We need to get her to a hospital to have X-rays done on the
arm just in case!"
"Right!" Nabiki races off to make a call.
Akane is then eased onto her back, a pained moan escaping
her. By then, Genma is examining the wounds. "A very skilled
martial artist did this," he shudders. "No doubt, it was a surprise
attack of some sort."
Nodoka gasps. "But what sort of monster could do this to her?!
WHY would she be attacked this way?! Akane-chan's such a nice girl!"
"My little baby..." Souun burbles from the front lawn...
* * *
Within minutes, an ambulance's shrill siren soon echoes through
the neighbourhood. Kasumi rushes out to guide the paramedics
in, they carrying a stretcher. Akane is quickly loaded on, then
taken away, Souun and Kasumi going with her. The Saotomes stand at
the front porch, then Nodoka sighs, staring at her husband. "Come,
Genma. We best get to the hospital to ensure Akane-chan is well.
Nabiki!!" she calls back inside.
"What?!" Nabiki calls down from her room.
"Are you coming with us?!"
"Tell Otou-san and Nee-chan I'll be there in a little while!"
Nabiki assures them. "I gotta check out the health insurance
and all that!"
"Alright! We're heading out now!!"
With that, they depart. Nabiki relaxes by the phone, dialling
a number to contact the family's insurance agent. Once arrangements
are made, she hangs up, then sits back in her chair. "Who the hell
attacked her, anyway...?" she whispers, then perks as the phone
rings. "Hai, Tendou residence," she picks it up, then perks on
recognizing the caller. "Ukyou? What's wrong there?!" she demands,
then her eyes widen on hearing the chef's answer. "What...?"
she whispers, her jaw dropping.
"It's true," Ukyou replies. "Put simply, Akane just blew her
last chance with Ran-chan, Nabiki. And he said quite plainly that
he wasn't gonna marry you OR Kasumi for that matter. I don't know
why it led all the way to THAT happening, but Ran-chan said that
Happousai or Cologne would know the answer. He..." she pauses,
then sighs. "Didn't want to talk to me about it. Heck, he even used
a Demon Head to chase me away."
Nabiki blinks, then sighs. "Akane, you idiot...!"
"Got that right," Ukyou snorts, then sighs. "Look, I didn't
like the idea of Ran-chan doing that but I won't say Akane didn't
deserve something like that for all the crap she's pulled on him in
the past."
"Right..." Nabiki sighs. "Thanks for calling."
She absently hangs up, then rises, marching into the room where
Happousai now resided. The aged grandmaster of Musabetsu
Kakutou-ryuu is busy ironing his latest acquisitions. Nabiki sits
beside him, then crosses her arms. "I need to talk to you,
Ojii-chan. It's about Ranma-kun."
"I've been expecting that," he lightly smiles, then sets the
iron aside before staring at her. "Before you judge Ranma-chan
for what she just did to Akane-chan, you better listen to this,"
he holds up a finger.
"I'm listening..."
* * *
"Want to talk about it?"
Ranma blinks, then looks up as Ataru places a cup of tea before
her. Both now relax in the living room of the Moroboshi home. There
is a lost look on the former's face. As if she was wondering
how did she get to this place in her life, was there a way to go back
to the way things were before this -- and most of all, did she WANT
to go back to the way things were.
"Thanks," she takes the cup, then sips before absently staring
at the liquid inside. "I can't believe I did that, Ataru."
"What part?"
"All of it," she stares at him. "I...! Up to this point, I
never really thought of standing up to Akane like that. But...!"
her lips twist into a sneer. "Damn it all, I've saved her life gods
only know HOW many times! I KILLED for her once!! I gave up a
potential cure to save her from being cursed on Toma's stupid
island!! And THIS is the way she treats me, even NOW?!! What the
HELL did I do to deserve crap like THIS?!!"
Ataru remains silent as Ranma storms to her feet, then begins
to pace around. "And you wanna know what's gonna happen now?!" she
demands. "The instant they get wind of what happened...! Oh, hell,
NO!! That's not right at all!! No, no, no, no, NO!!! Ranma doesn't
HAVE the right to object to anything they say or do against him!!
If it isn't gonna be Mom sayin' I'm not manly 'cause I hit a girl,
it's gonna be Kasumi tryin' ta lay a friggin' guilt trip on me for
hurtin' her sister!" She slips into a faux-Kasumi accent. "'Oh,
Akane's really sweet! She's just a violent maniac at times!'"
Back to her normal voice. "Then there's Nabiki, who's fuckin'
prostituted every person she meets just to earn a quick buck or two
'cause her father's so fuckin' LAZY that he can't start teaching
classes! And please DON'T get me started on those slimebags Akane
and I have to call fathers!! And that's JUST my so-called 'immediate
family!!'"
She stops, then shakes her head, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"I'm tired of this shit, Ataru!" she whispers, then stares at him.
"I'm tired of it! I never really realized it until now, but I'm
TIRED!! I..." she sniffs, then sits beside him. "I just want it to
end! But I wanted to do it right for everyone, so there'd be no hard
feelings! But I can't DO that 'cause everyone's bein' a pack of
fuckin' assholes over this, sayin' their problems matter first and
the rest can go straight to hell!! Well, fine then! If that's what
they think, they can ALL go to hell!!!"
She looks away, shaking her head. Ataru blinks, then sips his
tea before sighing. "Now you know why I left Tomobiki."
Ranma looks at him. "What do you mean?"
He returns her look, then sighs. "For a long time, I pretty
much accepted all the crap that was happening around me. Even now,
all this time after I stopped doing it, I still don't understand
why I did what I did when I was living there. I just basically
ignored everything everyone else was saying about me, from Muchi and
Kinshou to everyone else in the whole damned town. I liked the idea
of girl-hunting. Hell, I liked the idea of girl-hunting with Lum
howling up my backside trying to make me stop! I..." he looks
nowhere in particular. "What was I back then, Ranma? Right now...!
I can't answer that. I really can't answer that."
He sips his tea. "Then one night, Onee-chan comes back and I
find out that for over five years, I've lived a virtual lie. And
that lie came about all because Kinshou really cared for nothing
more than getting her hands on Grandma's money. She never cared for
ME. She never REALLY cared for ME! What's worse, she bullied Muchi
into going along with it!! What did it lead to? It lead to Grandma
dying all ALONE, that's what?!" He sighs. "And because of that,
everything I did, both good or bad, was stained! My whole life was
a damned LIE, Ranma!! A pathetic lie!!
"So I decided I was going to take a serious look at what
happened from the day Onee-chan got taken out of my head to the day
she came back to me. And I was going to decide what I wanted to keep
and what I wanted to let go. And you know what, Ranma? When I got
done with that, I realized that I didn't want to have anything
to do with the people in Tomobiki anymore. I really didn't. I..."
he pauses, then sighs. "Lum was the only thing that I had in
Tomobiki that I did like. But I couldn't have her anymore. Soon
after I realized that, she died. So I have nothing that can bind me
to Tomobiki. That suits me just fine right now. Problem is..."
"Are they gonna leave you be?" Ranma nods understandingly.
"Yeah," he sighs. "Excluding Onee-chan, I've twelve sisters
I gotta worry about, Ranma. Chikage can protect herself. Haruka's
skilled in her own right. The rest of them, however, are vulnerable.
VERY vulnerable. Now, some of the potential problems got vaporized
yesterday, but some of them are still here. And I don't know what
the reaction'll be if those dorks DO find out about my sisters.
I really don't. I don't trust ANY of those clowns. I don't want to
drag my sisters into this mess, Ranma. I really don't. They're
all I've got left in the way of real family and I'll not have that
taken from me. Onee-chan, for her strengths and knowledge, does have
some weaknesses that could be exploited. So I need some more help.
A guarantee that I won't be doing this totally on my own."
They gaze on each other, then Ranma nods, giving him a warm
smile. "Yes, I'd be happy to help you guys. Believe me, if half the
garbage you've been through is anything like what I've lived through,
I wouldn't want to put kids like Hinako-chan and Aria-chan through
that!"
"Alright," Ataru nods. "Then I promise you this in return,
Ranma. If, in any way, shape or form, you feel you have to cut all
ties with the people here, my family and I can help you. If you're
made roonin, I can see to it you're adopted into our family. Any
threats your mother makes to you towards that end would be rendered
meaningless on the spot. And if she tries to press things, I'll make
DAMN sure hers and Genma's lives become a living HELL! That goes
ditto with the Tendous! Ukyou can be dealt with afterward. Kodachi
has no claim on you; it's all a balloon full of hot air waiting
for a needle to pop it! And if you ARE adopted into my family,
Xian-pu can no longer seek your hand in marriage since my clan, as
allies to the Nyu-che-zuu, are exempt from the Kiss of Marriage
laws."
"Really?!!" Ranma gapes, then smirks. "I rather like that!"
"I suspected you would. And if she sits back and thinks it
through, Elder Kun-lon would like it, too. Frankly put, Ranma,
you're not the type to marry into a clan like that one," he winks.
They laugh. "Good point," she holds up a finger, then sighs.
"Well, shall we wait until the storm comes down on us?"
"Let's..."
* * *
"Please tell me this is some insane joke!"
"No joke."
Nabiki blinks, then looks nowhere in particular. "And how long
has what Genma did been affecting Ranma-kun?" she gazes on Happousai.
"Since he was five, in or about," the aged grandmaster
sighs, then shakes his head. "On the one hand, I'm pretty damned
impressed that Genma managed to do THAT to Ranma-chan without me
noticing it. Hell, without even Cologne-chan noticing it, either?!
Whoo! On the other hand..."
"Your hopes for your 'heir' would go up in smoke if he was
turned into a mental vegetable thanks to my sister and everyone
else."
"Exactly," Happousai nods, then sighs.
"So what do you plan now?"
"Right now, Ranma-chan needs a chance to heal from the crap he's
been subjected to," the aged grandmaster sighs. "What Genma did
before he took Ranma-chan away from Nodoka, plus the Neko-ken,
then tack onto the things Akane-chan did to him, are the worst
problems. Ataru-kun and Negako-chan will help there. Once that's
done, we can decide what to do next."
"'We?'"
"Of course! Don't you want to get back into the Art,
Nabiki-chan?"
Silence. Nabiki stares wide-eyed at Happousai, then she shakes
her head. "How the HELL did you know about that, Ojii-chan?!"
"I can see it in your chi signature," he chuckles, then sighs.
"I take it Akane had something to do with what happened to your arms
five years ago, right? That's what made you stop practising
the Art?"
Nabiki blinks, then nods. "Yes."
"Well, maybe Negako-chan might help you there."
Her eyes widen. "But Toofuu-sensei said..."
"Nabiki, I told you what Negako-chan is," he sternly warns,
then sighs. "She has access to medicines and medical knowledge
neither Cologne-chan or I can touch. You go talk to her about this
and she'll help you. What she might demand of you won't be so bad in
the long term."
"Which would be?"
Happousai reaches into his personal hyperspace pocket, then
draws out a picture, showing it to Nabiki. "Look for yourself."
Nabiki looks. Ataru and a girl which probably might be Negako,
both surrounded by twelve younger girls, all of them appearing
as if they truly belonged at the Moroboshi siblings' side. "These
are Ataru-kun's younger sisters, right?" she stares understandingly
at Happousai.
"Right. Now remember what happened yesterday. Imagine what
some of those stupid lunkheads in Tomobiki might be thinking right
now. Do you REALLY want to see these girls, especially these three
young ones..." he points to Hinako, Aria and Kaho, "...hurt by the
likes of Mendou?"
"No, of course not!" Nabiki shakes her head, then sighs. "But
right now, Ojii-chan, I don't think Ranma-kun's gonna think very
highly of any of us in this house, not after what just happened
between him and Akane."
"I know, I know. Humour an old man for a second, Nabiki-chan,"
Happousai sighs. "I'm not gonna be long for this world. I know I've
done some pretty nasty things in my time. But I tried to make a few
lives better in my own way. I want to leave something good for
people to learn from when I finally go. Genma and your father wasted
their chances to do something good with what I gave them. It's a
damned miracle that Ranma's come out the way he has! A real MIRACLE,
Nabiki-chan! But..."
"He's just one person."
"Right. Now, Akane's got potential, but she's got to learn how
to bring that temper of hers under real, solid control. However,
you have the greater potential, Nabiki-chan. And all it needs for
you to get back into gear is to get your arms fixed up. Negako-chan
can help you. And the price for that help isn't really so bad in the
long term. In fact, if you help do that, you'll probably go far in
regaining some trust and respect with Ranma-chan. And in both of
you, plus Kurumi and Natsumi AND Akane when she finally grows up a
bit, I want to place the future of the Art." He puffs his pipe.
"Does that sound alright with you, Nabiki-chan?"
Nabiki sighs. "I'd have to think about it. I have to admit,
I am tempted. I've missed working out like I did before the
accident. And..." she sighs. "Maybe if I get back in gear, Dad
might decide to get off his lazy butt and make our dojo a viable
thing again! I know that after my accident -- adding that to Mom's
death, admittedly -- whatever heart he had in teaching got wiped out!
Maybe I can bring it back, but..."
"That's good," Happousai nods, then draws out a folded scrap
of paper to hand to her. "Here. That's where Ataru-kun and
Negako-chan live. If you hurry, you can try to arrange some things
with Ranma-chan there before she heads off with Ataru-kun to visit
his sisters. Then you'll have to deal with the rest of the people
in this house..."
"That's not going to be a treat, Ojii-chan."
"Life never is, Nabiki-chan," he cackles...
* * *
"Please tell me this is some insane joke!"
"Is no joke, Ukyou. Is truth."
Ukyou stares at Shampoo, both now relaxing in the Nekohanten
by the bar, then the former shudders. "Right now, I'm very tempted
to make some panda steak okonomiyaki!" she growls. "Fuck! You'd
think that after all the shit that jackass has put everyone through,
I'd believe anythin' he was said to have done to Ran-chan! But
something like THAT...?!" her voice trails off, then she shakes her
head. "Damn it all..." she whispers, then gazes quizzically
at the Nyu-che-zuu warrior-maiden. "So why aren't you or your
great-grandmother going out to help fix Ran-chan up, sugar?"
"It being done by person of allied clan of Nyu-che-zuu,"
Shampoo reports. "She adopted sister of Ataru Moroboshi. She also
grandmistress of Tiger-Spirit Clan family Art: the Path of the
Supreme Life."
"Saikoo Jinseijitsu-ryuu?" Ukyou blinks. "Never heard of it.
Then again, I never heard of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu until I met
Ran-chan." She falls silent, then sighs. "Then again, it's still
pretty damned shocking to me to see Ataru Moroboshi of all people
as a martial artist!"
"Hai, Shampoo think same way until Hibaa-chan explain what
Ataru's honourless mother did to him five years ago," Shampoo sighs,
then on seeing the chef's confused look, tells her what Cologne
told her earlier.
Hearing that, Ukyou winces. "Shit!" she spits out. "No wonder
he said yesterday that he was glad his parents were dead!!"
"Shampoo agree...! Oh, Hibaa-chan!"
Cologne pogo-sticks over to their table. "If you two girls are
interested in visiting Son-in-Law today..." she holds up a folded
sheet of paper, then wryly smiles, "...though I DO hope you'll
exercise a little caution given what his mood might be..." she hands
the paper to Shampoo, "...that is where Ataru and Negako Moroboshi
presently live."
Shampoo opens the note, scans it, then shows it to Ukyou. The
chef takes that in, then nods. "Kasugachou, huh? That's not too far
away. Let's get some things made up, then take them over for lunch."
"Hai!" Shampoo rises.
"Before you go there, Ukyou," Cologne reaches into her jersey,
then tosses a small bottle at the chef. "Put that into your batter
mix."
Ukyou catches it. "What's this stuff?" she glaces into the
bottle, noting that it was filled with a reddish-orange powder.
"It's a special herbal mix that's meant to help heal severe
brain trauma or other sorts of lasting neural damage," the elder
replies. "I'm sure that Negako's already giving Son-in-Law something
to help him heal, but the more he takes in, the faster the healing
process'll be."
"Sounds pretty logical. Why give this to me, then? And how can
I trust this IS what you say it is? For all I know, this could be
some sort of poison that might make me look bad in front of
Ran-chan."
"My dear, it's simple," Cologne smirks. "He knows you're not
the type of use poisons or any other sort of drug. Besides, if
Son-in-Law ISN'T healed, he won't be of any use to ANY of us.
Wouldn't you agree?"
Ukyou blinks, then nods. "Good point..."
* * *
Near the Tendou home, sometime later...
"Toofuu-sensei, is that you?! Where've you been all this
time?!"
A bespectacled chiropractor turns from hanging up his office
shingle, then grins. "Busy learning new things, Nabiki-chan,"
Toofuu Ono draws Nabiki into a warm embrace. "For the medical
profession, much like martial arts, learning never stops. How is
everyone right now?"
Nabiki pulls away, then sighs. "Good and not-so-good,
depending on who you're talking about, Sensei. A lot of things've
changed."
Toofuu sighs. "I'd suspect the primary changes would concern
what's happening between Ranma-kun and Akane-chan. How are they?"
She gazes on him. "Hard to say," her voice drops to a whisper.
"Six weeks ago, they were within a hair's breadth of getting married
there. I had to put the brakes on that because...!" she stops, then
shrugs. "Hell, you know how it is, Sensei! They're way too young
to get married!"
"In that, I agree with you, but you know how much your father
pinned his hopes on uniting the schools of your Art," he reminds
her.
"Yes, I know. And if they were given the chance, I'm sure
they'd've been happy to get married down the road. But guess what
happened? Not two weeks after the first attempt, Father and Uncle
tried to railroad them into another wedding ceremony, completely
ignoring the fact that Ranma-kun's got two other official suitors
plus a third would-be suitor in Kodachi Kunou! Well, after that
fight, Ranma-kun just went ballistic! And today..." she stops, then
shakes her head. "Akane pushed him over the edge."
He pauses, tensing. "And?"
"Well, according to Ukyou Kuonji, Ranma-kun no longer wishes
to have anything to do with our family anymore," Nabiki reports,
then takes a deep breath. "And according to Onee-chan, Ranma-kun
has finally reached his limit when it comes to tolerating Akane
hitting him all the time. This morning, Akane learned that the hard
way. She's now in hospital."
Silence.
"Ranma would NEVER hit a girl!" Toofuu states, wide-eyed.
"Oh? I take it you didn't see what happened yesterday on the
TV."
"No, I did see that. And I can understand why Ranma-kun
might've lost his temper then, especially after hearing about how
many people were killed in that blast," he notes, then blinks. "Wait
a minute..." he closes his eyes, then stares at Nabiki. "How long
ago did Ranma-kun meet Ataru Moroboshi? Has Ranma-kun met Ataru's
adopted sister Negako yet?"
"You know Negako?!" Nabiki's jaw drops.
"Yes, I do. By the tone of your voice, I think you just might
know exactly WHAT she is, too. Has Master Happousai told you
anything?"
"Told us everything yesterday after the fireworks at Tomobiki
High School stopped," she admits. "Matter of fact, Ojii-chan
told me today that Negako-san discovered last night that Ranma-kun's
been taking on some heavy damage in his brain from all of Akane's
mallet strikes and everything else that's hit his head over the last
while. To make sure he can heal from it, she manipulated his shiatsu
lines to break down his inhibitions when it comes to hitting people,
especially those he might care for. And..."
"How badly was Akane-chan hurt?"
"Shattered lower right upper arm bone and chi-burns on her right
side when Ranma-kun sent her flying from Hikarigaoka back to the
house," she chuckles. "Damn, the others are going to freak when they
find out."
"Unless they're told the right way."
"Right," she nods. "I'll do that with Onee-chan and Ranma-kun's
mom before dropping the boom on Dad and Uncle. I think when Auntie
learns about that, not to mention another thing Uncle pulled on
Ranma-kun when he was only five, any protests from him or Dad'll
be a lot of hot air."
"Oh? I thought Ranma-kun's mother was...! Oh, hello there,
Elder, Xian, Mu-tzu!" Toofuu glances past Nabiki as footfalls
herald the arrival of three Nyu-che-zuu warriors. "What brings you
about these parts?"
"Why, you of course, young man! It's good to see you again,"
Cologne grins as Shampoo and Mousse bow to the chiropractor.
The young warrior-maiden has a take-out box in hand for when she went
to see Ranma later. "I trust your training trip went well. You seem
to have learned a lot."
"Indeed I did, Elder," Toofuu admits.
"What of your problem with Kasumi Tendou, Doctor?" Mousse asks.
He sighs. "Hopefully, the 'love madness' that clicked in every
time someone spoke of Kasumi or whenever I saw her won't affect me
anymore while in her presence. I certainly can't be a competent
doctor to anyone if I lose total control of myself like that around
your sister there, Nabiki-chan. However, it does not mean I'm
totally rid of it, though."
"What do you mean?" Nabiki blinks, then looks past Toofuu as a
high-pitched *toot!* echoes through the streets. "What the hell is
THAT?!"
Hearing that noise, Toofuu jerks, then begins to sweat as his
glasses start to fog. "Oh, no...!" he whispers, his fingernails
presently under dire threat from chattering teeth. "Why am I hearing
THAT sound HERE?!"
"Eh?!" everyone looks quizzically at the chiropractor
as the road train from the Toranoseishin Tower slows down on
approaching his clinic.
"Ah! Ono-sensei!! What are you doing here?!"
Toofuu jolts, then turns, chuckling as he waves. "Oh,
Mamoru-chan, everyone, hello there!" he scratches the back of his
head as his eyes dart around the passenger compartment for a familiar
face. *Odd! The others're there. And I know their brother and
sister are somewhere in Nerima; I've sensed Negako-san since I came
back here! But where on Earth's...?*
"Ya, Toofuu-kun."
He jolts ramrod straight, then spins around to see an amused
Chikage gazing fondly at him. "Chi-chi-chi-CHIKAGE!!!"
he screams, nearly leaping out of his clothes at the sorceress'
surprise appearance -- not that the others who had been speaking
to the chiropractor weren't ALSO taken aback by Chikage popping
out of NOWHERE! -- then he feebly waves. "Ah, h-h-hello there,
Chi-Chikage-san! You're l-l-looking well, t-today."
"Oh, Chikage-chan, SHAME on you!!" Sakuya chuckles as the road
train stops, the sisters immediately disembarking. "Honestly!
Flirting around with a man nearly twice your age!!" she wags her
finger at the sorceress, a knowing smirk crossing her face. "What
would Onii-sama say?!"
"Sakuya," Chikage's voice is thicker than molasses in its
sweetness, that making Toofuu shudder as his glasses fully fog over.
"It's not my fault that Toofuu-kun here just happens to be a fan of
occult studies and spent some of his training journey with both
Ane-kun and my grandfather learning all that he could learn from
them. Ne, Toofuu-kun?"
"Ah...!" the chiropractor sputters, then gazes confusedly
at the sorceress. "Why, Marie-chan. Your complexion is almost
gone!" he starts to fret, ignoring the fact that the real Marie is
standing BEHIND him. "You should get out in the sun more often!
It's only healthy! Oh, hello, Michael!" he now speaks to Shampoo.
"My, you've grown. There's no need for you to sit up on your hind
legs like that! I have no...!"
"CHECKY!!!!"
A huge eye looms before him, causing Toofuu to scream out as he
nearly collapses embarrassingly on his backside. Seeing him freak
out at Yotsuba appearing so suddenly before him with her spy glass,
the other sisters laugh. "Toofuu-sensei's so funny!!" Hinako
giggles.
Yotsuba hums, then sighs, lowering her spy glass. "It appears
that no matter how much Ane-chama tried to help him get over this,
Yotsuba can only conclude that Ono-sensei is still under his
love-curse."
"Ah...! Ha...!" Toofuu breathes, then relaxes. "Oh, THANK you,
Yotsuba-chan!! I thought I'd never recover from that!"
"Poor man," Chikage shakes her head, then heads off.
The chiropractor warily watches her walk back to the road train,
then blinks as Nabiki gives him a knowing look. "Nabiki, it's not
what it seems like, for heaven's sake!" he immediately protests,
waving his arms.
"Sure, Sensei," Nabiki slurs. "I'm sure Onee-chan'll
be impressed when I tell her this one there," she turns to head off.
"Yotsuba'll have to tell Kasumi-san that Ono-sensei actually
fell in love with Chikage-chan's previous incarnation," Yotsuba
reports.
"EH?!!" everyone gazes at the would-be detective.
"It's true!" Yotsuba holds up a finger. "Yotsuba heard
Ono-sensei crying about his beautiful Princess who looks like an
older Chikage-chan one day and how he once had a nightmare about him
not being able to save her from some meanie death-spirit in a castle
one day. Yotsuba then found out Chikage-chan's grandfather
sent Ono-sensei into some spirit dimension where he could learn to
fight all sorts of bad ghosts and all that. It was so easy to
conclude, especially since Chikage-chan's little golden cross is the
same as the cross Ono-sensei's beautiful Princess had!"
"Waaai!!" Hinako cheers. "Toofuu-sensei can fight ghosts!!"
"YOTSUBA!!!" Toofuu screams, not totally mortified.
"Oh, it's SO romantic!" Marie swoons, clapping her hands
together. "To actually love someone even after they've died! Such
devotion!!"
"Marie-chan...!!" Toofuu moans.
Everyone living in Nerima sweat. "Those girls are cruel,"
Nabiki whispers to Shampoo. "I wonder if they treat Ataru-kun
the same way!"
"Shampoo not sure she want to find out," Shampoo nods.
"Hey, Doc! What're you doing back here?!" a voice then hails.
"H-hello there, Ukyou-san," Toofuu faintly waves as the
okonomiyaki chef comes up. Grateful that someone had arrived to
divert his attention from his reincarnated Princ-...! -- er, Chikage!
-- he notes the wrapped take-out box in her hand. "Um, oh! Did you
make that for Ranma-kun?"
"Yeah, I did!" Ukyou laughs. "I'm sure Ran-chan'll definitely
be glad to see you back! So when'd you get back, anyway?! Where'd
you go?!"
"Toofuu-sensei came to Promised Island last year to meet Hina
and Hina's sisters," Hinako answers before Toofuu could respond.
"That's when Toofuu-sensei trained with Onee-tama and fell in love
with Chikage-chan!"
"Hinako-chan!" Karen gently scolds before the chiropractor
could descend into another bout of hysterics concerning the
sorceress.
"But it's true!" Hinako gazes innocently at her.
Toofuu moans. "Well, if you're all looking to see Onee-sama,
Sensei, we're heading that way ourselves," Sakuya smiles. "She's
staying with Onii-sama and Negako-oneesama right now. Hopefully,
we'll try to coax Onee-sama to take the travelling rainbow back to
Promised Island."
"'Travelling rainbow?'" Nabiki blinks, wide-eyed.
"Yes, it's a pretty fascinating way to travel...! Urk!!" Toofuu
gargles on seeing Chikage glance his way. "Ah, ha-ha-ha-ha...!"
"Unfortunately, the normal ferry to the island's out of
commission because of engine troubles," Sakuya provides, then waves
the sisters back to the road train. "Whoever wants to come visit
Onii-sama, hop aboard!"
"Aiyah!! Shampoo want to come!"
"Wait for me! I gotta see Ran-chan, too!!"
"Shampoo, why must you go to...? *Quack!!*"
"Don't look, Aria-chan!" Haruka quickly covers Aria's eyes.
"Did something happen?" the young Parisian blinks confusedly.
"Forget it, Mister Part-time," Cologne grabs the transformed
Mousse by the throat. "You're not going to make a bad situation
even worse with your presence. Besides, you need to clean up the
kitchen. Let's go."
She pogos away, Mousse helplessly honking as the elder drags
him off. Nabiki watches them go, then looks at Toofuu. "I'll fill
you in on some more details later, Sensei. I have to speak to
Ranma-kun myself! Hey, girls, hold up a second!" she runs off to hop
onto the road train.
As it heads off towards Kasugachou, Toofuu ducks behind a bush
to avoid Chikage's glancing his way. Seeing that exchange, Haruka
shakes her head. "Chikage-chan, really! Must you do that to the
poor man?"
"He makes me laugh," the sorceress shrugs.
Some of the sisters snicker. Seated together by the left-side
door, Nabiki, Ukyou and Shampoo exchange a confused look. "Are ALL
these girls REALLY Ataru's sisters, Nabiki?" the okonomiyaki
chef whispers.
"Half-sisters. Same father, different mothers," Nabiki replies.
"Eh?! How that happen?" Shampoo wonders.
"Search me..."
"Ah!! Onee-tama!! Everyone, it's Onee-tama! Onee-tama!!"
They jolt, then crowd to the right side of the road train,
following Hinako's stare with their eyes to fall on a figure standing
by a telephone pole ten metres ahead. Sure enough, this girl is
dressed in the usual red Mandarin tang and jogging pants Ranma often
preferred. A large backpack with all the necessary camping supplies
sits on the ground beside her. And yes, she has the same body build
and blue eyes that Ranma has. However, her bright crimson hair is
styled in a graceful taper with long sidebangs and a bandanna holding
it away from her face. She is clearly missing a trademark pigtail.
"That's not Onee-chan, Hinako-chan," Karen notes.
"Sure looks like Ran-chan..." Ukyou muses, then blinks.
"Unless..." she gasps, then calls out, "Hey!! To-chan!! Is that
you?!"
The girl jolts, then looks up, her eyes widening. At that
moment, a raven-haired girl looking almost exactly the same as the
redhead steps out of a side alley, a backpack slung over her
shoulders. "Huh?! Onee-tama has two sisters?" Hinako blinks
confusedly, then jolts on hearing Ukyou's shocked gasp. "What's
wrong?" she stares up at the chef.
The raven-haired newcomer quickly looks their way. "Hey, stop
this thing, huh?!" Ukyou calls out to the driver, then as the road
train breaks, looks down as the two near-twins of Ranma's female
self come up. "Hey, To-chan!! What the heck are you two doing back
in Nerima?! And what the hairy heck happened to you there,
Ko-chan?!"
"Looking for Ranma there, U-chan!" the redhead tries to smile,
then sends a mildly annoyed look at her brunette near-twin. "As for
dum-dum here, she decided to have an accident at Jusenkyou when we
tried to get some Nanniichuan water for Ranma! Are you going to see
him?!"
"You betcha! I think he'll be damned pleased to see you two!"
Ukyou smirks, then gazes at Sakuya. "You mind them coming with us?!"
"I take it they're the magic mirror-twins Onee-sama told us
about," the eldest of Ataru's half-sisters winks knowingly at the
chef.
"WHAT?!?!" Nabiki snaps, then stares in shock at the two girls
by the road train before turning back to Ukyou. "Wait a minute!!!
How the hell did they get free of that damned compact?! I put them
there...!"
"Well, I'm afraid Ran-chan and Happousai didn't agree with what
you did," Ukyou opens the door for the mirror twins, helping them
aboard.
"Thanks," the redhead grunts as she sets her pack on the floor,
then gives Nabiki a knowing look. "And yes, you are right there,
U-chan. Ranma and Jijii DIDN'T like what you did to Kumiko-chan
and I. Neither did we."
Nabiki jolts, then shudders, remembering that as a woman, this
love-starved, would-be slut wouldn't be bound by the "no hit girls"
rule Ranma followed at that time in his life. "'Kumiko?!'"
Ukyou jolts, then stares at the brunette. "Hey, wait a sec'! I
thought you were gonna...?"
"Call myself 'Komakichi' like you proposed, U-chan?" she sighs,
then shrugs. "Well, unfortunately, unlike Ranma, I can't change
back into a man with hot water. I'm stuck this way for the rest of
my life."
The chef gapes, then sighs. "Oh, man! That sucks!"
"How awful!" Karen gasps.
"Not really," the redhead shrugs. "In her case, the Jusenkyou
curse mixed perfectly with the spirit that saw us both created.
After all, the person whose spirit enchanted that mirror WAS a
woman," She then notices the others staring at her. "Oh, dear! I'm
sorry. We didn't introduce ourselves! I'm Toshiko Saotome and this
is my...! Well...!"
"Brother-turned-sister, Kumiko Saotome. Pleased to meet you
all," the brunette bows respectfully. "So, U-chan, when exactly
did Ranma meet a yummy hunkster like Ata-...?! Hey!!" she gasps as
Hinako hugs her legs.
"Waaaaaa!! Onee-tama has sisters!!!" Hinako gushes.
Everyone else laughs, save Nabiki. The middle Tendou daughter
is busy staring at Toshiko and Kumiko, her eyebrows twitching
annoyingly. *Ranma-kun, I'm gonna KILL you for this!* she vows, then
mentally jolts as the image of a wounded Akane lying on the front
lawn on the Tendou home flashes through her mind. *Er, on second
thought...!* she frets...
* * *
Sometime later, the road train stops before the Moroboshi
home. Ranma is waiting by the gates. Quickly noting who had joined
the sisters on their journey from Tomobiki, her eyes widen.
"Toshiko!! Komakichi!! Hey, what're you...?! Oh, MAN, what
happened?!!" she gapes on seeing the transformation that befell the
woman born a man named Komakichi Saotome.
"Permanent curse courtesy of Jusenkyou!" Kumiko chuckles.
"Not that it really bugs me in the long term! And it's 'Kumiko'
now, Ranma. I..." she bows her head. "I'm sorry, but we couldn't
get any Nanniichuan water for you. After what happened to me, I..."
she shrugs.
Ranma gazes on her, then opens her arms, allowing her
mirror-twins to warmly embrace her. The sisters discretely pass by
quickly to give the Saotome siblings privacy. "Hey, it's okay! I
don't mind this as much as I did before. But are you sure about
this?!" Ranma stares at Kumiko.
"Yes, I'm sure! Relax!!" Kumiko laughs as they pull away from
her, playfully swatting Ranma's shoulder. She then indicates
Ukyou, who, with Shampoo and Nabiki, stayed back so they could have
a chance to chat with Ranma. "So what's this U-chan just told us
about the panda mucking around with your mind before he dragged
you off on your training trip?!"
"And what happened between you and that mallet-happy lunatic
this morning, anyway?" Toshiko demands, indicating Nabiki with her
own finger. "Miss Yen-on-the-Brain here just told me you got into
one hell of a big fight with Miss Mallets and that you broke off the
engagement."
Ranma sighs. "It's a long story. I'll tell you guys later.
Look, why don't you head on inside? I'll talk to these three alone."
"Okay," Kumiko waves as they head into the compound.
Ranma watches them go, then notices Nabiki staring at her.
"Why?" the middle Tendou daughter wonders. "You know how much
trouble those two caused, especially Toshiko there. I wasn't going
to..."
"Just because they were made by a magic mirror enchanted
by the soul of a girl that never knew real love doesn't mean they
have no feelings, Tendou-san," Ranma coldly replies, then stares
on her would-be suitors. "So what brings you two here to see me?
Who told you were I was?"
"Um, Hibaa-chan did," Shampoo tenses on sensing a storm of
anger, resentment and mistrust boil deep in Ranma's eyes. "Airen,
please, no hate Shampoo for only wanting what's best for Airen!"
she bows her eyes in shame. "Shampoo told what honourless panda did
to Airen! Shampoo..." she pauses, then sighs. "Shampoo glad
clan-sister Negako help Airen heal."
"Y-yeah," Ukyou bites her lip. "Look, Ran-chan, I know this
whole mess is makin' you feel trapped and all that, but..." her voice
trails off, tears brimming in her eyes. "Please, don't hate me,
Ran-chan. I only just want you to feel happy, for heaven's sake!
What's wrong with that?!"
Ranma stares at them, then sighs. Reaching into her jersey,
she pulls out a thick envelope, then hands it to Shampoo. "Give that
to your great-grandmother," she orders. "That's to pay for all the
food you've given to me since you came here. Don't worry; I've
already repaid the Tendous for all the new doors you blasted into
their house."
Shampoo jolts, then shakes her head. "No, is not..."
"No, Xian-pu," Ranma coldly replies. "That's the way it's gonna
be. I told you girls I was going to make this a level playing field
for all. I've already repaid the Tendous for their hospitality.
I've also repaid Ukyou-san, so now it's your turn. Take the money.
And I'll be gone from Nerima until Sunday, so don't come by here
looking for me hoping I'd go on a date with you, alright?" She turns
away. "Have a good day there."
She heads back to the house. Ukyou and Shampoo watch her go,
then exchange a stunned look. "Here, I'll give those to him," Nabiki
offers, then after they hand them the wrapped lunches, nods down the
road. "You guys better go before he does to you what he did to Akane
earlier."
"Yeah, I guess so..." Ukyou hoarsely whispers, then stares at
the middle Tendou daughter as she turns to leave. "Watch yourself,
Nabiki. Ran-chan's got no real reason to like you, remember?"
"Mercenary Girl better remember what Ukyou say," Shampoo adds.
They depart. Nabiki watches them go, then shakes her head
before heading into the compound. Ranma stands by the front door,
arms crossed. Inside, the sounds of laughter and excited chatter
echo from the living room. "So what do you want to see me about,
Tendou-san?" Ranma asks.
Nabiki stops before her, then sets the lunch boxes aside before
she takes a deep breath. "Ranma-kun, look. I happen to know what
happened between you and Akane this morning. I also happen to know
WHY it happened, too. I..." she stops, then lowers her head. "I'm
sorry, Ranma..."
"Why the hell are you apologizing for something your sister
did?" Ranma coldly wonders. "I'm through with all the damned excuses
about her, Nabiki. I'm through with bending myself over backwards
just to accommodate her. Hell, I WAS willing to give her a chance,
the same chance I'm giving Ukyou and Xian-pu. Who the FUCK does she
think she is, believing I'll keep on taking all that CRAP from her
just to make her happy?! Huh?!"
Nabiki balks, then shudders. "She's my sister, for heaven's
sake! Yeah, what she did to you was wrong, but her happiness
mattered more to me, to all of us!! What the hell were we supposed
to do anyway, huh?!"
Ranma sighs. "Maybe, instead of playing your stupid games with
me, you could've come up to me and explained a few things about what
was going on! Did you ever think of that or was that below you by
any chance? Hell, I'd think you would've realized from the start
that I'd be willing to help you out if you needed it! But no!" she
shakes her head, her voice picking up in volume as her eyes flash
with growing rage. "You just went off and acted like I was a totally
brainless moron, completely fuck up whatever chances I could've
got to make some real friends and maybe try to settle my problems
ahead of time! Even better, I just MIGHT have spared your family
some of the fallout that came with what Oyaji pulled on me!! And you
STILL expect me to honour that worthless agreement Oyaji made with
that asshole you call a father?! Get real, Nabiki! It ain't gonna
happen!"
Before Nabiki can protest, Ranma jabs a finger into her
breastbone. "And I've got a good idea what you might do now that I
put Akane into the hospital. You'll march over to where your family
and my parents are, let loose the fact that *I* was the one who put
Akane into intensive care and let them freak out just to see me
squirm. Well, it ain't gonna happen this time! I don't CARE what
your fool father thinks! I don't CARE what Kasumi thinks, either!
And I've got plans in place for Oyaji! I can deal with Mom, too!
They don't frighten me! They don't hold my respect! They don't have
a right to dictate how I will live my life anymore!!" She leans
close to Nabiki, her battle aura starting to flare. "In fact, I want
you to remember to tell Mom this: 'Honour is a sword shattered
on a rock!'" She pulls back from Nabiki, then taking the lunch boxes
Ukyou and Shampoo made, tosses them into a nearby garbage can. "Now
get off the property or I might decide to have the cops go after you
for child pornography! As a professional model in both my forms,
I have a right to do that! Ja!"
She heads inside. Nabiki watches her go, her eyes wide with
shock. "'P-professional m-model'...?" she sputters, then jolts on
feeling a powerful *presence* behind her. "Wh-who...?" she turns
around.
"Walk with me, Nabiki Tendou," Negako Moroboshi orders.
Instantly, the middle Tendou daughter falls in beside the
youthful-looking ninjitsu grandmistress as they head away from the
house. Still stunned by Ranma's words, Nabiki is unsure as to what
to say when Negako gazes on her. "Perhaps simply asking her
assistance in helping maintain your family's finances would have
served everyone better, Nabiki."
Nabiki returns her gaze, then turns away, trying to find her
voice before she finally blurts out, "I a-a-assume you m-must be
Negako."
"I am." A pause, as if she desires to let Nabiki hang there
in anticipation for a week, then she continues. "Threats against
someone do not always have to be physical, Nabiki. Psychological
threats, emotional threats, even simple invasions of one's private
space, can readily injure someone as easily as a physical blow. And
unlike Akane, whom Ranma has always tried to forgive for her many
assumptions concerning her, you have been a constant, consistent
threat since the day she learned of your hobby of selling
compromising pictures of her to Tatewaki Kunou."
Nabiki says nothing. "If you had approached Ranma honestly
from the start, explaining the situation concerning your family
finances, as you now know, she would have been pleased to assist,"
Negako adds. "Within reason, of course. If she did, she might have
discovered your own hidden interest in Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu,
perhaps even learned of what Akane did to you five years ago which
forced you to cease practising the martial arts."
Nabiki blinks, her face paling as Negako's dark brown eyes seem
to bore through all her defences, leaving the core of her soul bare,
wide open for the ninjitsu grandmistress to scrutinize to her heart's
-- did this creature actually HAVE a heart?! -- content. "H-how...?"
she sputters.
"Your body's chi patterns are an open book to me, Nabiki,"
Negako reports. "It is as easy for me to perceive your entire
well-being by analysing that alone, though I possess other means of
comprehending what happened to you throughout your life. As Happy
told you earlier, I can easily repair the damage to your nervous
system, thus giving your arms full range of motion. If you so desire
it, of course. In fact, the process by which I am helping Ranma heal
can be used by you. And since the wounds to your nervous system
are far less than Ranma's, I can easily deal with your problem in
three days. Again, if this is what you would desire, Nabiki."
Nabiki considers that, then she turns away, taking several
steps as her mind rolls through what Negako just said, then she gazes
intently at the latter. "So what's your price if I agree to let you
do that?"
Negako's lips lightly, VERY lightly, curl into a smile. "You
are cautious. An admirable trait in anyone, Nabiki. That is good."
Closing her eyes for a second, she then moves to stand beside the
middle Tendou daughter. "Nabiki, you love your family very much,
do you not?"
"Yes," Nabiki nods, blinking. Where was she going with this?
"Then you must now realize that if Akane is allowed to continue
your branch of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu, your family's legacy could
easily be lost IF Akane does not learn how to properly curb her
temper, plus dedicate herself more fully into studying the Art than
she does now. Correct?"
"Yes," Nabiki nods.
"Given your considerable skill in business, plus your prior
knowledge in your family's branch of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu
-- which can be easily augmented once your body is healed -- what do
you think your chances of allowing the Tendou dojo to expand would
be in the long term?"
Nabiki blinks, then slowly nods. "I'd say pretty good."
"Would you want to do that?"
"I..." a pause, then, "It depends." Taking a deep breath,
Nabiki turns away. "If you'd come three, four years ago offering
what you have, I'd would've jumped at the chance to carry on with the
Art. You're right. Akane was the one who hurt me. Everyone from
Toofuu-sensei on down said it was an innocent training accident,
but seeing how Akane acted afterward, I think deep down, she didn't
mind my turning away from the Art..."
"Deep down, she loathed you for your better skill and
self-control," Negako cuts in. "Indeed, if you had trained as long
and as intensely as Ranma, you would be her equal in every way.
Akane did not appreciate how good you were, so -- deep inside her --
she felt it alright to cast aside safety considering training.
Your injuries were the result of that."
Nabiki scowls. "I suspected that." She stares at Negako.
"Look, I'd be the first to agree that Akane's always been a spoiled
princess at heart, but I do care for her none the less. I can
forgive her. Hell, she was only twelve then. She didn't understand
what she did to me!"
"Then it is time for her TO understand many things," Negako
gazes on her. "If she is to be what she states she is, she has to
confront all her limitations. If she does not, she dooms herself.
Do you want that?"
"Hell, no!!" Nabiki barks.
"I did not believe so."
They continue to walk for a minute, then Nabiki sighs.
"Alright, then," she gazes on Negako. "I'd welcome your help in
getting me back in gear. What do you want me to do in return,
Negako-san?"
"You may feel free to reveal who injured Akane to your family
and Ranma's parents," Negako announces. "But as Ranma in effect
asked you to do, tell them EVERYTHING. I'm sure you know many ways
to do that."
Nabiki considers that, then nods. "I do."
"Splendid," Negako's light smile suddenly returns. "Also, feel
free to tell them that since Genma's periodic incompetence
as a martial arts instructor has led to the majority of Ranma's
problems, I will be speaking to Happy, as is my right as
grandmistress of Saikoo Jinseijitsu-ryuu, about taking over as
Ranma's instructor. And should Happy agree, Genma will have to fight
and defeat ME to win that right back. He will not win against me.
And should he try to perform any underhanded manoeuvres..."
"You'll kill him, right?" Nabiki smirks.
"No, I will do much worse. I will see to it that every illicit
act Genma has performed since Ranma's birth will be brought to the
attention of the police. Given the thievery ALONE he has performed,
he will most likely be on the run for the rest of his life. Since
I, as a responsible teacher, will endeavour to ensure Ranma remains
free of such unhealthy influence, Genma will not be able to..." a
pause as Negako seeks the right wording, "...slouch off the
consequences of his avarice on his child."
"Cruel," Nabiki purrs. Damn, she LIKED this
girl/woman/whatever! "I'll do that, Negako-san. I'll be back
sometime later today or tomorrow."
She bows, then races to the nearest bus stop. Negako watches
her go, then a light smile crosses her face as she heads back home...
* * *
Nerima General Hospital, an hour later...
"WHAT?!?!?!"
Nodoka and Kasumi sit across from Nabiki in the cafeteria
after they had a late lunch. Akane is in stable condition, though
still unconscious. Souun insisted on staying at her side, though,
because of his crying fits, Genma had to remain with him. To Nabiki,
that was fair enough. She needed the two idiots to stay well and
away while she was dropping some big bombs.
"My son...?!" Nodoka gapes. "HE hit Akane?!!"
"He was MADE to hit Akane, Auntie Saotome," Nabiki repeats.
"By WHO?!!" she shrills.
Nabiki sighs. She HOPED Nodoka might be calm enough to take
this. Oh, well, press on ahead...! "Negako Moroboshi."
"Why?!" Kasumi cuts in, placing a hand on Nodoka's to help calm
her.
"Brain damage."
Silence.
"My son...?!" Nodoka gapes, nearly choking on her words.
"Yeah," Nabiki sighs. "Now, here's the story..."
It takes five minutes. Sadly, the words she speaks aren't
enough to convince Nodoka. "I..." she sighs. "Much that I
appreciate Moroboshi-sensei's concern for my son, I can't accept
a situation where Ranma is made to deliberately attack his fiancee
like that, Nabiki-chan. It is wrong! I demand to see this woman
immediately to have this stopped..."
"I'm afraid that's now impossible," Nabiki shakes her head.
"Why?!"
"Because with the way this's been rigged, EVERYONE who has
threatened Ranma in ANY way, shape or form, even verbally, is now
seen as a threat and will be dealt with accordingly," Nabiki sighs,
then points to the wrapped katana in Nodoka's arms. "If you march
into Negako-san's house carrying THAT around, I can guarantee
that not only will Ranma-kun see YOU as a threat, Auntie Saotome,
he'd gladly renounce you once and for all."
Hearing that, Nodoka nearly keels over. "N-no...! H-he
wouldn't..."
"Yes, he would," Nabiki glares at her. "You want to know what
he just told me right now, Auntie? He said that he doesn't CARE a
whit about what I might think, what Onee-chan here might think...!
Hell, you know how he feels about Dad now! And he says he's prepared
to deal with you AND your husband!! And if you don't think that's
true, here's a message Ranma told me to tell you." A pause, then,
"'Honour is a sword shattered on a rock.' Guess what, Auntie? The
katana doesn't scare him anymore."
"Oh, my!" Kasumi gasps.
Silence falls as Nodoka stares wide-eyed at Nabiki, then she
begins to quake, pained sobs stealing her voice as the Saotome honour
blade is dropped to the floor. Kasumi moves to comfort her, but is
swatted away by Nodoka. The eldest Tendou cringes, then gets a
pleading look from Ranma's mother. Nabiki sighs, then sits down,
giving Nodoka a neutral look.
"I've lost my son..."
"No, Auntie, you haven't."
Nodoka gazes wearily at Kasumi. "Why...?"
"Because I believe I understand where Ranma-kun's coming from
now," Kasumi sighs. "Auntie, please don't think your son has failed
you. And don't think you've failed your son, either. In truth,
it is my family..." she points to herself, "...who've failed your son
and your family."
"Kasumi...?" Nabiki blinks.
"Don't you understand now, Nabiki-chan?" Kasumi gazes at her
sister. "Why Ranma-kun's so angry at us? It's not just because
of Akane-chan's abuse of him. It's not just because of what you've
done to him. Or what Father's tried to force him into doing. And
it's not just because of my attempts at ignoring the problem, either.
It's ALL of that put together, Nabiki-chan. And I think there's
something else, too..."
"Being?" Nodoka gently prods, wiping her cheek.
"It's the fact that we've not lived up to what Father promised
your father, Auntie," Kasumi gazes on her. "Don't you remember?
Ranma-kun gave us all that money, but he expressly FORBADE Father
from touching it and he stated that none of that money was to go into
repairing the dojo. Why? Because I believe, deep down, that
Ranma-kun doesn't want to shoulder the responsibilities
of a united Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu ALONE! And by all rights, he
shouldn't! After all the things he's done for us, he shouldn't
have to try to support a dojo that has no real future in it!" She
gazes on Nabiki. "I've never been really interested in the Art. And
after Mother died, I had no chance to really practice it even if I
wanted to. You were forced away from it because of that training
accident five years ago. And Ranma-kun can easily accuse Akane-chan
of not being a serious student in the Art. And what's worse, he'd
be RIGHT to do that! I...!"
Nodoka considers that, then stares at Nabiki. "Is this true?"
"About me and the Art?" Nabiki blinks, then nods. "Yeah, it's
true. I made it up to sixth-kyuu before I had a bad accident with
Akane-chan in the dojo five years back. It damaged the brachial
plexi nerve clusters in both my shoulders. Toofuu-sensei
told me afterward that if I didn't stop practising the Art, I'd might
end up losing use of my arms. It..." she closes her eyes. "That
hurt me a lot, Auntie. And it hurt Dad, too."
"Are you implying that Akane-chan intentionally hurt you?"
Nabiki jolts, then rapidly shakes her head. "NO!!! Of course
not!! But..." she pauses, then takes a deep breath. "I've always
had the better skill in the Art, Auntie. Akane's always been jealous
of that! And while she did...! Well, might've got out of hand when
it happened..." her voice trails off, then she sighs. "I will admit
that after I was forced out of the dojo, she tried to take my place.
But Dad had a lot of hopes pinned on me, so he might've...!
Well, I don't know," she shakes her head.
"I see," Nodoka sighs. "And this statement about Akane-chan's
abuse of my son leading to his current state. Is that true, too? I
know Akane-chan and my son have fought before, but to believe it went
THAT far..."
"Yes, Auntie, it's true," Kasumi nods.
"I see," the older woman takes a deep breath, then reaches
down to pick the honour blade off the floor. "So, in effect, you are
saying that my son is justified in ending the engagement between
our families."
The women exchange a look, then slowly nod. "Very well," Nodoka
sighs, then rises. "I desire to speak to both my son and
Moroboshi-sensei about this first, but I will also want a full
recounting of what Akane-chan has done to my son since the day they
first met. I'll obtain that later. Nabiki-chan, could you tell me
where Moroboshi-sensei now lives?"
"Are you sure you want to confront Ranma-kun now?" Nabiki
wonders. "Remember what I told you about what he said..."
"I know, dear," Nodoka nods. "All that tells me is that my fool
husband has succeeded in destroying what rapport I could develop
with my son. I've no intention of just standing by and allowing
that to remain."
"Okay, then," Nabiki rises. "Look, let me walk you over there.
It's not so far way; Negako-san and her brother live in Kasugachou
now."
"Alright, fair enough," Nodoka sighs, then gazes on Kasumi.
"We'll be back as soon as possible, Kasumi-chan. Please don't say
anything to your father or my husband just yet. Is that alright?"
"Of course, Auntie," Kasumi nods...
* * *
The Moroboshi home, sometime later...
"Hajime!!"
Haruka steps back after dropping her arm, clearing the field
for Ranma and Toshiko to grapple. As the sisters, Ataru, Negako
and Kumiko watch, the two fiery redheads slam together in a pair of
flying roundhouse kicks. The front gate opens as Nabiki slips in,
followed by Nodoka. Both stop, their eyes turned up to see Ranma
and her mirror-twin lash out at each other with variations of the
chestnut fist. The only thing missing from this now was the koi
pond, Nabiki whistles. *Not to mention a certain lazy-ass panda,*
she then wryly adds as she crosses her arms.
Ranma and Toshiko remain locked on each other, but Ataru is
quick to notice who had just arrived. Rising, he heads over with
Sakuya to greet the newcomers. "Mrs. Saotome, it's a pleasure
to meet you," he bows his head. "I take it you're here to speak to
your child. Or..." his eyes then turn towards Toshiko and Kumiko.
"Should I phrase that 'children?'"
"Yes, Ataru-kun, Nabiki-chan just told me about my son's
so-called 'mirror-twins,'" Nodoka nods, then blinks as the fighting
stops, Ranma gazing her way. "Ohayou, Ranma. How are you today?"
Ranma blinks, then curtly nods. "Mother."
The chill in her voice quickly gets everyone's attention.
"Why's Onee-tama so mad at her mama, Karen-chan?" Hinako whispers
to Karen.
"I don't know, Hinako-chan," Karen shrugs.
"I think you need a chance to speak to your mother there,
Ranma," Ataru gazes on his friend, then turns to his sisters.
"Girls?"
Quickly, they head inside. Negako remains in place. As Ataru
moves to head in himself, he pauses, his eyes narrowing. "Mrs.
Saotome?"
"Y-yes, Ataru-kun?" Nodoka quickly notes the ice in his voice.
"Do not presume to draw that sword on this property, especially
when it concerns my friend," he glares at her, then heads inside
with Sakuya.
Negako remains in place by the front porch. Toshiko and Kumiko
also remain silent, as does Nabiki. Nodoka blinks, then sighs before
gazing on Ranma. The latter does not return her mother's look. "I
take it you've been told about what happened this morning," she
adjusts her top.
"I...! Y-yes, I have," Nodoka flusters, then sighs. "It is not
your fault, Ranma. I've already been told by Nabiki-chan about what
Moroboshi-sensei there was forced to do with you and why."
Ranma blinks, then she gazes curiously at Nabiki. "Well, well,
well. She doesn't try to provoke a new fight. Shocking," she quips.
Nabiki ducks that look. Nodoka blinks, then sighs. "I also
support your decision to end whatever engagement might exist between
yourself and the Tendou family," she adds, gazing on Nabiki.
"Believe it or not, it is something that Kasumi-chan and Nabiki-chan
also support."
"Is it really? Well, their opinions no longer matter to me,"
Ranma shakes her head. "Personally, I should add that any attempts
at apologies by them..." she pauses, then sighs. "I shall not accept
at this time." Her eyes lock on Nabiki. "Leave, Tendou-san.
Don't try to stick around to listen in on what we're saying.
Negako'll sense you right away."
Nabiki blinks, then wordlessly nods as she heads out. Nodoka
watches her go, then turns back to Ranma. "Don't you believe that
was too harsh?"
"Oh?" Ranma's eyebrow arches. "And is taking nearly-nude
pictures of me when I least suspect it happening 'harsh?' Is putting
up to a selfish brat with delusions of grandeur 'harsh?' Is putting
up to two lazy-ass fools who only want to live off the products
of my hard work, especially when they want me to marry someone who's
a near-insult to her own school, 'harsh?' Mother, I don't deny for
a second that I've got my shortcomings, but I am SICK and TIRED of
all of you whining and crying about me being the only one to do the
right thing while the rest of you dance away in your petty little
fantasy worlds, thinking it'll be alright in the end!!"
Before Nodoka can protest further, Ranma points to the bundled
sword in her hand. "By all rights, I should take that away from you
and destroy it! Why? Because thanks to that thing you call a
husband, Mother, our family honour has been dragged into the friggin'
dungheap because he was too selfish to look out for anyone but
himself! And if you think that I'm wrong, I got a BIG news flash
for you!!" She points to her head. "How'd you like to know all the
interesting crap Oyaji did to me BEFORE he tricked me into puttin'
my palm-print on that stupid seppuku pledge?!"
"What...?" Nodoka pales.
"It is true."
Eyes turn as Negako walks up. "You want to do this there,
Negako?" Ranma gazes on the grandmistress of Saikoo Jinseijitsu-ryuu.
"If you wish," Negako gazes on her, then turns to Nodoka.
"Permit me to explain about Genma's attempt to dull your child's
thinking processes so that Ranma was forced to concentrate ONLY on
the martial arts..."
* * *
Two minutes later, a shrieking "***HE DID WHAT?!?!?!***"
echoes through the streets of Nerima, causing many to instinctively
duck.
Not fifty metres from the Moroboshi home, Nabiki jolts, then
glancing to where she came, shakes her head. "That fool's in for it
now..."
* * *
"AH-CHOO!!!!"
Genma moans as he rubs his nose, then stares at Souun, now
dozing beside Akane's bed. *Someone's thinking about me,* he
grimaces...
* * *
Nodoka is sheet-white. "My son...?!" she gapes at Ranma.
"Quite correct," Negako nods. Ranma, Toshiko and Kumiko are
still trying to recover from the sonic boom that echoed Nodoka's
scream. "It was blind luck, if you will, that Ranma was able to
develop to the point where he could manipulate his own chi to create
the Mouko Takaibisha attack, much less master the Shishi Houkoudan,
the Demon Head attack and several forms the Nyu-che-zuu currently
practice. But he was, since well before the day he first came to
Nerima, forced to look on EVERYTHING as a fight. He could not
conceive of trying to rationalize his way out of situations.
It is clearly Genma's overall intention to force Ranma to remain
locked in such a state so he would never break free of his control.
An effective form of enslavement, as Kun-lon put it this morning.
Tell me, Nodoka: is THAT state of affairs conducive to creating
your ideal of a 'man above men?'"
"I..." Nodoka winces, sensing the scowl crossing her transformed
child's face on hearing that phrase, then she bows her head. "No."
"I did not believe so," Negako lightly smirks. "Ranma's problem
first came to the attention of a friend of the family, Tampopo
Kamekichi. She is the one who aided Ranma in securing a job as a
fashion model during his last 'training trip' before he met Ataru
and myself. It was during that trip that Tampopo took notice of some
anomalies in Ranma's chi signature. That is when I was called in to
consult on this matter. Ataru also noticed something amiss with your
child. After I examined him last night, I put the safeguards
into place which affected Akane this morning, then began the
necessary repairs to his mind. That will take two weeks. But as you
might presently suspect, Genma, not to mention several others, will
not welcome this development. Thus, for the remainder of this week,
Ranma will spend time with Ataru and his sisters elsewhere. Ataru
will be able to begin the treatment." A chilly look then flashes
in her eyes. "Any attempt to interrupt that will not be tolerated,
Nodoka."
Nodoka gazes on her, then nods. "I can agree with that."
"You have no choice in that matter," the grandmistress
warns, then perks. "Oh, would you wish to know about the Neko-ken
training? I sense no one has yet told you about that act of lunacy
on Genma's part."
"'Cat Fist?!'" Nodoka tenses, then notices Ranma slightly
quivering on hearing that phrase. "What is that?" she demands.
Negako explains. Soon, another shriek echoes through Nerima...
* * *
"AH-CHOO!!!!"
* * *
"***HE DID THAT TO MY SON?!?!?!***"
"Yes," Negako nods.
Nodoka shudders, then stares at her child. "Ranma, I..."
Ranma returns her look, then sighs. "It's not your fault."
Hearing that, Nodoka brightens a bit, then she turns to Negako.
"Can you repair what happened to him? Help my son overcome his
fear?"
"That will take an additional four weeks beyond what has to
happen now," Negako reports. "Happy and I have discussed the
possibility of my taking over Ranma's training from Genma. Simply
put, the direction of Ranma's training leads away from the basic
tenets of your family's Art. Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu demands its
practitioners become as self-sufficient as possible. Genma clearly
did not desire Ranma to be that way. You may understand why, Nodoka.
What would you desire? A child that cannot truly think on his own,
cannot conceive of ANY life beyond the martial arts, thus forever
live in a sea of uncontrolled chaos? Or a child who can think on his
own, learn and understand what the consequences of his actions are,
appreciate there are other things in this life than martial arts?"
Nodoka shudders, now unsure as to what to say. "I believe,"
Negako carries on, "...that what Ranma SHOULD strive to become is not
a 'man above men,' but a 'gentle man.' As my family would define
such a term, a gentle man is one who is, in the end, as much master
of his destiny AND respectful of other people's destinies, as Fate
will allow. You and I, Nodoka, will agree that there are certain
matters that are beyond anyone's control in the end. Would THAT be
more to your satisfaction?"
Silence falls as Ranma's mother considers Negako's words, then
she nods. "Yes, I think that would be desirable..." her eyes then
fall on Ranma, "...if that is what you really want there, Ranma?"
The transformed martial artist blinks, then sighs. "I really
don't know what I want out of life now, Mom," she gazes on Nodoka,
all the anger and hostility gone from her eyes, replaced by a weary
sadness. "I used to think that the martial arts was everything
in my life. Now, I'm not so sure. And knowing how much he lied to
me, used me like that..." her teeth gnash together, then she looks
nowhere in particular. "I have to find out who and what I am now,
Mom. And I can't do that with Oyaji hanging over my head, with the
fiancees snapping up my tail and everything else. I just can't.
It's not fair to Ukyou or to Xian or to Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi,
either. And it's really not fair to me. Or to you. As for
Oyaji..."
"I can understand that," Nodoka nods, then sighs. "Certainly,
you could do with a lot less violence haunting your life." She then
turns to Negako. "After seeing what I have seen, not to mention
what Kasumi-chan, Nabiki-chan and you've told me, Moroboshi-sensei,
my son deserves a chance to learn how to live his own life. For that
to begin, there is something I must now do. Thank you for what
you've told me. It was informative..."
"Onee-tama?"
Everyone turns to see Hinako standing close to Ranma, a worried
look on the younger girl's face. "What is it, Hinako-chan?"
Ranma asks.
"Onee-tama, why are you so mad at your mama?" Hinako pleads.
Hearing that, Ranma blinks, then sighs. "No, Hinako-chan,
I'm not mad at my mom. I'm actually mad at my dad and a few other
people right now, but not my mom. It's okay," she gently ruffles
Hinako's hair.
Nodoka gazes on the young girl, then walks up. "Hinako-chan,
do you think I can count on you and your sisters to stay close to my
son? Er..." she then glances at Toshiko, then Kumiko. "My children,
that is?"
"Hai!" Hinako gushes.
Ranma grins. Nodoka then turns to the mirror-twins.
"I've been told of how you came into this world. I hope..." she bows
her eyes, "...that I will get a chance to know you as I've long
wanted to know Ranma."
"That depends on you, Saotome-san," Toshiko sighs.
"And what you do with your husband," Kumiko adds...
* * *
Nerima General Hospital, a half-hour later...
"Oh...! Wh-where am I...?"
"Akane!!"
Akane's eyes flutter, then she gasps as Souun's tears nearly
drown her. "D-dad!!" she cries out, then yelps as a jolt of hot pain
shoots up her right arm to nearly overwhelm her. "Hurts..."
she groans.
Before Souun could collapse into a crying fit, a nurse comes
in. "Please, Tendou-san, calm down!" she urges him, then stares
hopefully at Genma. "Sir, could you please escort him outside?"
"I..."
"Husband."
Genma jolts, then spins around to see Nodoka glaring at him from
the doorway. Nabiki and Kasumi stand behind his wife, both with
guarded looks on their faces. Seeing the burning outrage in Nodoka's
eyes, he winces, glancing around quickly to find a cup of cold water
so he could transform into a panda and duck whatever angry tirade
his wife was about to unleash. Before he could escape, Nodoka
glances at the nurse. "Please leave us alone for a while, miss.
We'll see to it Akane-chan isn't harmed."
"I...! H-hai," the nurse nods, then heads out.
The door is closed and locked by Kasumi. Nabiki poises herself
by the sink, taking the lone cup there in hand. Seeing that, Genma
pales, then turns to his wife. "Nodoka! What are you...?! URK!!!"
he yelps as the tip of her katana touches the flesh under her jaw.
"Nodoka, put that away!" Souun pleads.
"QUIET, Father!!" Kasumi snaps.
Hearing that, he jolts, then drops to his knees as tears burst
from his eyes, nearly flooding the room. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
My daughter just yelled at me!!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
"SOUUN, STOP ACTING LIKE A BABY!!! ACT YOUR AGE!!!" Nodoka
shrills, causing Souun to scramble away from her, he staring
wide-eyed at her.
"Nodoka, what is the meaning of this?!" Genma thunders, then
gulps as the katana's tip presses against his throat.
"N-n-n-Nodoka...!"
"'What is the meaning of this?' you may ask?" Nodoka growls.
"Very well, then, Genma. I will explain it to you in two words:
Neko-ken."
He pales. "B-b-but..."
"Silence!!" Nodoka snaps. "I've ALSO been told about what you
did to our son BEFORE you took him away from me! RETARDING him to
the point where he was not be able to take interest in ANYTHING
beyond the martial arts?!!"
"But, that was to e-ensure he would r-remain devoted to the
A-Art!"
"At the expense of his happiness?! At the expense of trying
to enjoy a normal life, have friends and a relationship of equals?!"
Nodoka snarls, then sighs. "Very well, then! If you are so
narrow-minded that you cannot think of anything but yourself,
I will speak to the Master about having Moroboshi-sensei
take over our -- MY -- son's training!! You have lost ALL rights
to consider yourself Ranma's sensei, Genma! And if you so much as
THINK of doing something to sabotage my child's life further,
remember that I can still hold the oath of seppuku over YOU if I feel
it necessary!! And this time, you will NOT be able to weasel your
way out of THAT, Genma!"
Genma gags. "N-n-n-Nodoka...! Y-y-you don't
u-u-understand...!!"
"What about joining the schools?!" Souun pleads.
She stops, then glares at him. "What schools are we talking
about, Souun?" Nodoka icily demands, making him duck her glare. "As
far as *I* can see, as far as my *son* can see, there IS no
Tendou-ryuu!!"
Hearing that, he starts to weep. "How can you say that?!!"
"How can I?!" Nodoka growls. "What were you thinking?!
That my poor son would have to do all the work maintaining YOUR dojo
while Akane here would do NOTHING to support her end of the
agreement?! While you and this imbecile I married here lived off
Ranma's efforts?! How DARE you presume such a thing of my son?! How
DARE you force all that on him?! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THAT!!!"
she shrills, causing Souun to drop to his knees.
"Nodoka, please..." Genma pleads.
She spins on him. "Yes, Ranma wants a challenge! In that,
Genma, you WERE right! But you were WRONG to assume you could
deliberately limit his opportunities to just the Art!! And you will
no longer be given the chance to limit his opportunities in the
future!! Understood?!!"
"H-h-hai!" he sputters.
"Good," she nods, then turns to glare on Souun, keeping her
katana in place to ensure Genma doesn't do anything to make matters
worse. "Now, as for you, Tendou-san. I find your hospitality
to be a little bit stifling, so I will take my leave of your home.
Furthermore, if you desire so much for one of your daughters to marry
my son, you will ensure she is trained to AT LEAST my son's
standards! And that does NOT include the use of chi-mallets
to give my son brain damage!! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!?!"
"I...! I...! I...!" Souun burbles.
"Nodoka...!" Genma pleads.
"SHUT UP!!!!" Nodoka barks her husband down, then turns to
leave. "As of this moment, your agreement with the Tendous has no
validity. If my son wants to marry someone, let him marry for love,
not your twisted concepts of honour! And if you have problems
with that, that's too bad, Genma! You've wasted all your chances
with him! And with me!!"
She marches out, slamming the door behind him. Genma blinks,
then drops to his knees in stunned disbelief. Souun shudders,
then wails, "NOW THE SCHOOLS WILL NEVER BE JOINED!!!!
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...!!!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!"
Both fathers duck Kasumi's shout. "Leave now!" the eldest
daughter waves to the door. "If I had half a mind, I'd see YOU..."
she glares at Genma, "...thrown back into the zoo where you belong!
At least THERE, you won't cause any more mischief! As for YOU,
Father, Auntie is right! It's time for you to start acting your
age!! And if it wasn't in part for you, Akane-chan might've BECOME
the type of martial artist that Ranma-kun COULD respect!! Now, get
out of here!!!" she points to the door.
They scramble out as fast as they can go. Kasumi slams the door
shut, then takes a deep breath. "Way to go, Onee-chan!!" Nabiki
chuckles, clapping her hands. "I haven't seen you do something
like THAT in years!"
"Got that right, Nabiki..." a weak voice echoes from the bed.
Both gaze on Akane. Though still drugged by heavy pain-killers,
there is a quirky smile on the youngest Tendou's face. "How're
you doing there?" Nabiki wonders as she and Kasumi walk up to stand
beside her.
"Not good..." Akane blinks, then closes her eyes. "I really
screwed things up this morning, didn't I...?" tears flow down her
cheeks.
"Pretty much so," Nabiki sighs. "You better get used to the
fact that things aren't going to happen between you two, Akane-chan."
Hearing that, Akane shudders. "No...! It can't end like
this..."
"It doesn't mean that Ranma hates you, Akane-chan," Kasumi
places a comforting hand on Akane's forehead. "Right now, he needs
time to himself. Time to learn who and what he wants to be. And
most of all, he needs time to undo all the damage Uncle's done to his
life. If you ever hope to be at least his friend, Akane-chan,
you've got to respect that."
"But I DO respect it, Onee-chan..."
"Not if it came to the point where you wanted to slug him for
his trying to save P-chan, Akane," Nabiki shakes her head.
Hearing that, Akane shudders. "He hates me..."
"No, he doesn't," Kasumi assures her, then sighs. "Akane-chan,
there's something that's just been discovered about Ranma-kun.
And it's because of that something that you wound up here. Listen
closely..."
* * *
The Moroboshi home, sometime later...
"So you want to stay here? Go to school here?"
"Hai," Chigaiko Inu nods, sitting across from Ataru in the
living room. Save for Shirayuki, the sisters were busy doing some
shopping at a nearby mall. The would-be chef is hard at work in the
kitchen preparing for an early supper, so that everyone could make
it back to Welcome House before sunset. Ranma was with Toshiko
and Kumiko at Tampopo's, she introducing the mirror-twins to her new
friend. Toshiko and Kumiko would be coming with the others to
Promised Island. Negako was somewhere in Nerima, but Ataru had no
idea where. Due to the ninjitsu grandmistress' acute hydrophobia,
she would remain in Nerima. "Let's just say after what happened
yesterday, I don't feel really safe in Tomobiki anymore."
"Did the staff find out you were absent yesterday?" he asks.
"Onsen did," she scowls. Like Ataru, Chigaiko had little
respect for Mark Onsen, much less other teachers at Tomobiki High.
"Unbelievable, isn't it? They all by ignore me in class, then when
it comes to 'special' events like that, they tear half the town apart
to track me down! Would you believe he came to our house this
morning to scream at me in front of my parents about not being there
for Lum's memorial service? After ten people got killed by that nut,
all because of that Oni and what she did?! Dad threw him out of the
house because of that, then stormed down to the school and got me
de-registered! But the problem is..." she shrugs.
"Going to any of the other schools in town isn't a wise choice?"
"Not really."
"How's the mood there after yesterday?"
Chigaiko blinks, then sighs. "Shock, mostly. You'd think after
what that Oni and her friends did, we'd be used to that sort of
thing. But..." she pauses, then nods. "And there's a lot of anger,
too."
"At me?"
"No! That's the crazy part!" she shakes her head, then sighs.
"I guess they're sort of angry at the outside world, especially
the news media like CNN and all that. I mean, what happened got
prime-time news coverage on NHK, but it didn't show up elsewhere!
It's like they were saying, 'So the school in Tomobiki got blown up
again? What else is new?!'"
He chuckles. "So they just learned the whole world doesn't
revolve around Tomobiki, have they? It's about damned time!" he sips
his tea.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"What about relatives of the dead? Any news on them?"
"Well, the Bodyguards' parents are just beside themselves.
This is their worst nightmare come true, you know?" A pause, then,
"Mom told me that at the emergency PTA meeting this morning, Megane's
mom wanted to force the mayor to cancel all thoughts of putting
a memorial up for Lum at the school, much less anywhere in Tomobiki.
It was unanimously passed, but the chances are there that Mendou
might try to ram it through anyway."
He shakes his head. "Idiot. Oh, speaking of sword-for-brains,
how is he, anyway? I noticed he got nicked a couple of times
yesterday."
"Nothing from him."
Ataru hums. "That could be dangerous. And his fan club?"
"The Rosebuds?" Chigaiko shakes her head. "Quiet. Rumour has
it they'll get together tonight to discuss what happened, but from
what I overheard on the street, people are right now too scared of
you to think of trying to pull the same stunt they did when you tried
to quit being class president. Nothing from Miyaki or Fujinami.
And since no one's ever taken notice of me, I doubt that stupid
monk'd follow me here to harass you."
Ataru smirks. "Well, I wouldn't be too bugged if he did follow
me here. Chikage-chan'd scare him and his niece off without breaking
a sweat. Not to mention what Onee-chan might do to them, too," he
smirks.
"Let's hope so," she sighs, then stares at him. "What's it
like?"
"What?"
"Having twelve girls like that pop up and say they're your
sisters? What was it like when you went to this Promised Island
place?"
"It was..." he sips his tea, then sets the cup aside. "Nearly
overwhelming. Almost like when Lum first came into my life."
Chigaiko's eyebrows arch. "How can you possibly compare getting
twelve sweet girls like that as your sisters to what happened between
you and Lum?!" she crosses her arms. "Don't tell me you actually
loved her?!"
He stares at her, then sighs. "I wanted to love her."
She stops. "Ataru-kun...?"
"Chigaiko-chan, look. I know you've got no cause to like Lum
and all that. I don't blame you for that. But..." he pauses, then
bites his lip. "Yeah, there were times I really hated some of the
stunts she pulled on me. But I wasn't any better, you know! And..."
he sighs. "There were times I kept pinching myself, wondering
what the hell I did to deserve someone like HER wanting ME of all the
guys in the whole damned galaxy almost to be her husband! I mean..."
a shrug rolls his shoulders. "I didn't know about you and how you
felt for me. And yeah, you were smart to not press things because
Lum would've had a big fit over it and all. Shinobu walked away from
me, not that I could really blame her for that. No one else really
cared for me. You know what Muchi and Kinshou did to me. I..."
"Without her being there...?" she whispers.
"I don't know what I might've done," he admits, then sighs.
"After she left and I went to the Island and met the girls..."
a content smile crosses his face. "It was Lum multiplied twelve
times. And what was even better, they were all blood-relations
to me, so I didn't have to worry so much about marriage, kids and all
that. I was free to date around, but then..." he pauses, then
shrugs. "Why did I need to date around? I had a family,
Chigaiko-chan. A real, honest-to-goodness family."
She blinks. "Don't you want a girlfriend, Ataru-kun?"
He considers that, then sighs. "I don't know if I'm really
ready for that sort of responsibility, even now, Chigaiko-chan."
"It's not a responsibility..."
"It is," he sighs. "Chigaiko, look. I'm flattered beyond
belief that you find me interesting and all, but..."
"I've got a right to feel that, buster!" she chuckles, trying
to lighten the mood, then leans her chin over her crossed fingers.
"You're the only man who remembered my name in that school, remember?
How can I NOT like a guy like you? Not even Mendou could ever do
that with me!"
"Love's gotta be more than that, Chigaiko-chan," he shakes his
head, then sighs. "Look, there're other things that I have to worry
about right now. It's not all over yet when it comes to folks out
there," he nods towards the ceiling. "And atop that, there's the
eventual reaction of people in Tomobiki to yesterday's events,
especially from Mendou..."
"Then he'll just have to learn how to leave you be," she reaches
over to squeeze his hand. "Ataru-kun, I'm on your side no matter
what. I've got no use for those idiots in Tomobiki, just like you
don't. Please. I want a break from them, too. Can't you help me at
least with that?"
"I...!" he readily nods. "Of course I can!"
"Okay, then," she lets his hand go. "And yes, if we did start
to date and work from there, I'd...! It'd be the happiest time of my
life! If you're not comfortable with it, I'll understand. I can
wait. But..." she gives him a pleading look. "You can't stop me
from dreaming, Ataru Moroboshi. I love you. And there's nothing
that'll change that."
"Got to come back to reality sooner or later, Chigaiko-chan."
"Maybe..."
* * *
Somewhere in Tomobiki, nightfall...
"Are we all here?"
People glance around the darkened ramen shop located on the main
road connecting Tomobiki with Nerima and Tokyo beyond. Dressed
in a panorama of school uniforms, the small group seated in three
booths and along some of the stools lining the counter are almost
all girls. There are several men in the group, seated off to one
side. One of them is none other than Soba, the hideously deformed
gang leader who had -- still had, in fact -- a deep lust for one
Shinobu Miyaki. Flanking him are his top lieutenants, Hitori and
Futari, the infamous Franken Twins. "Hai, Ogin, we're all here,"
one of the girls, a Butsumetsu Girl's High School senior, nods.
"Good," Ogin, self-appointed leader of the Rosebuds, nods.
"Let's get on with this. What news have we got about Mendou-san's
state?"
"He's recovering," Momoe Marubeya reports. "He'll have a scar
over his left eye, but that's it. Nothing lasting."
The other Rosebuds breathe out. "Well, that's good enough.
What news about the lunatic who blew up the damned school yesterday?"
another girl, this one from the Taian Institute, asks. "Any
friends?"
"Nothing. No one in the National Police Agency's saying
anything about it," a Shakkou Institute girl reports. "As to where
he comes from, he's reported to have come from Qatar. What group
he works for? We don't know. No one's saying anything, either in
the press or over the 'Net." A pause, then, "And we don't know if
he's still got friends out there."
"Oh, wonderful!" a student from the co-ed Butsumetsu High School
grumbles. "We could be facing another attack, then!"
"Maybe, but I doubt it," Ogin shakes her head.
People perk up. "What do you mean?" the Taian girl wonders.
"Simple," Ogin grins. "Remember who got killed yesterday.
Aisuru Megane and his three chief morons. Wasn't THAT interesting?
And beyond them, no one else who was really important or influential
in Tomobiki High when Lum was here. Mendou-san was hurt, but
clearly, he wasn't a target of this nut. The others? Ryuunosuke
Fujinami's nitwit father, Ataru-kun's so-called 'ex'-parents,
that tea shop cross-dresser and two others."
"Have they identified those two yet?" the Shakkou girl wonders.
"Two girls from Class 2-2, Himiko Kawamura and Mikiko Serizawa.
Himiko-chan was captain of the girl's swim team. Mikiko-chan
was..." Momoe stops, then sighs. "No one really special when you get
down to it."
"May they rest in peace," Soba gently intones.
The others look at the diminutive gang leader, then nod. "Yes,
no matter how we might think of them, they didn't deserve that, even
Megane and his loons," Ogin grimly nods, then sighs. "So, opinions?
What do you people think of a possible follow-up attack by Islamic
fundamentalists?"
Taian: "I'd say low to fair."
Shakkou: "Concur."
Butsumetsu Girl's: "Very low to nil."
Butsumetsu: "Fair."
Ogin blinks, then looks at Momoe. "I'm not the type to judge
that sort of thing without some hard evidence," the latter shakes
her head.
"Alright," the Rosebuds' leader sighs. "Let's keep our eyes
open just in case. If nothing happens by the end of next month,
we'll relax."
"By the way, the Hajj is coming soon," Hitori then speaks up,
making Futari to stare annoyingly at him; he always thought HE was
the smart one! "Lots of Muslims're gonna be off to Arabia there to
do their thing."
Ogin gazes at him, then nods. "Good point. Besides, given that
this idiot WAS from the Middle East, I think the police'll be keeping
a sharp eye out for everyone from that part of the world here in
Japan." A pause, then she takes a deep breath. "Now, the other
important thing..."
"What do we do about Ataru-kun?" the Taian girl wonders.
"Exactly. Momoe-kun, what can you tell us about Ranma Saotome?"
Momoe sighs, then does a quick recap of Ranma's life, relayed
to her first-hand by Nabiki Tendou. At the end, she concludes
with the battle on Mount Phoenix; the recent wedding troubles weren't
truly relevant. When the other Rosebuds and their allies hear THAT,
they all pale. "You mean to tell us that this Saotome guy...?"
the girl from Butsumetsu sputters, then blurts out, "...actually
killed a GOD to save his fiancee?!"
Shakkou: "Whoa!"
"Such devotion for the one he loves," Soba sniffs admiringly.
Some send the deformed delinquent annoyed stares. "You bet,"
Momoe nods. "Now, Nabiki-san's a pretty good judge when it comes
to martial arts skills. According to her, the chances are VERY good
that Ataru-kun is now either close to OR ON PAR with Ranma-kun.
And this Negako person, this being formed from this *saikoo
jinseijitsu* database that used to be in Ataru-kun's head..." a
shudder races through her. "She's better."
"Which means...?" Ogin prods.
"Which means that if Mendou-san or any of us push our luck with
Ataru-kun..." Momoe pauses, then looks out the window at the
surrounding cityscape, "...then we're potentially playing with
fire...! Huh?!"
"What?" Ogin wonders as they look outside...
...then gasp on seeing an arcing beam of bright light burst from
one of the three towers marking Tomobiki's downtown core. From well
over a kilometre away, it is hard for the Rosebuds to see what might
be on it, much less causing the light to form, but they can tell that
it seems to he heading south towards the distant Sagami Sea and the
Izu-shichi-tou.
"What the heck is that?!" Futari mutters.
Momoe shakes her head. "Search me..."
* * *
To be continued...
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