Minna-san,
Here's the first part of Part 4. For Parts 3 and 4, I
decided to use an "A" and "B" code to differentiate
the two parts of the story. Enjoy!
Fred
=====
Fred Herriotfherriot@yahoo.com**** **** ****"Fanfiction IS Real Life!"**** **** ****
______________________________________________________________________
Post your ad for free now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: LoneS-04A.txt
-- Desc: LoneS-04A.txt
In orbit over Tokyo...
"Oh, Lum-sama, forgive Your humble servant for failing You..."
The glowing figure in the middle of the circular chamber
prostrates himself before the exquisitely carved golden statue.
Life-size, it is a perfect representation of the Great and now
Immortal Lum, the Martyred Representative of Creation to Her Blessed
Children of Phentax Two. "Over three billion of Your faithful
were killed by the Great Evil, Oh Lum-sama. Many more, those who did
not fully accept the One True Faith in You, are now without proper
guidance from Your Ministry.
"Lum-sama, please, Your humble servant beseeches You.
"Grant me the strength to destroy the evil one who betrayed
You, flouted You, laughed at You, defied You!
"Grant me the strength to destroy all the evil one's allies
on the world below me, those who call themselves followers of the
'true faith,' who actually presumed they had the right to judge Your
Holy Apostles!
"Let me be Your terrible swift Sword of Justice upon those who
would spit upon You as the Great Evil spat upon You, Oh Beautiful
Lum-sama."
He bows again, then rises, allowing his astral body to quietly
drift out of the meditation chamber, leaving the icon to Lum alone
in darkness...
* * *
"Lonely Souls"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
**** **** ****
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 FOURTH PART, "A" SIDE - FREEDOM FROM THE PAST
Nerima, the Moroboshi home, sometime after dawn...
"Excuse me?! Is anyone here?!"
"Enter, Hinako."
Hinako Ninomiya steps into the compound of the old Shinto
shrine, looking around. The metamorphic teacher is in adult form
now, courtesy of two stray dogs who had been fighting a block away.
Presently, Negako sits on the front porch of the old shrine, gazing
dispassionately at her. Beside her is Chigaiko Inu, the ex-Tomobiki
High sophomore in slacks and a blouse. "You must be Negako
Moroboshi," Hinako bows. "I'm..."
"Hinako Ninomiya, homeroom teacher of Furinkan High School,
Class Two-Ef, for the coming year. That class being the one Ataru
and Chigaiko will be assigned to once all the necessary registration
is complete."
Hinako stops, paling. "How...?"
"It is my business to know these things, especially when it
concerns my brother, not to mention a student of a friend of mine."
Blink, blink. "That student being...?"
"You," Negako plainly answers, then rises. "Follow me."
They step inside. Hinako, used to more jovial greetings
from her students' parents, is clearly unnerved by the cold, crisp
manner Negako demonstrates. Gazing at the metamorphic teacher,
Chigaiko tries not to look too sympathetic. Negako, as Nabiki
surmised yesterday, clearly did not understand the concepts of tact
and civility. "Chigaiko, conclude your business with Hinako while
I prepare some tea," she orders.
"Ah, h-hai!" Chigaiko sputters, then as Negako steps into the
kitchen, gazes on the visiting teacher. "Sorry about that, Sensei."
"Is she NORMALLY like this?" Hinako returns her look.
"Hai, she seems to be. Er, let me get my student file."
She heads off. Hinako blinks, then sighs, sitting by the living
room table. Chigaiko quickly returns, a large envelope in hand. She
hands it to the teacher, who quickly opens it to scan the contents.
By the time Negako returns with a tea tray, Hinako is nodding at the
report cards. "A very good record, Inu-kun. Though I see some of my
fellow teachers from Tomobiki never thought to refer to you by name
in their reports..."
"That was a constant in my life while I was attending school
there, Sensei," Chigaiko admits. "For some reason, everyone at
school, save one person, never bothered to try to remember my name.
If they didn't have to take a look at the student nominal rolls in
class to remind them, they either said 'Hey, you!' or, if this was
basketball practice, they called me 'Yon-san.' I was given the
number 'four' on the team."
Hinako blinks, then shakes her head. "Disappointing,
I must say. Did you ever learn the reason why, Inu-kun? Did they
question something about your demeanor or your family ancestry
or some other stupid reason?"
"No, Sensei. Near as I could tell, it was a combination
of my being such a 'normal' girl mixed with my schoolmates'
attraction to a certain Oni bitch and a rich snob, both of whom I was
forced to call classmates."
The teacher considers that, then sighs. "Lum and Shutaro
Mendou, you mean?" On seeing Chigaiko nod, a resentful look burning
deep in her eyes, Hinako takes a breath. "Well, you will not receive
that sort of treatment in my class, I assure you. Granted, my class
in the future will have its share of eccentric personalities,
but I do my best to ensure all my students have a chance to involve
themselves in class work. I will not tolerate any delinquency
but I do strive to make the learning experience as enjoyable as
possible." She indicates the files. "And from what I see, you are
a good scholar, Inu-kun. I'll expect to see that in classes."
"Hai, Sensei, I understand," Chigaiko bows her head.
Hinako nods, then blinks. "By the way, if I may ask, who was it
at Tomobiki that remembered your name? Was it...?"
"Ataru-kun? Hai, it was. At least in THAT respect, Ataru-kun
did prove himself much better than that greasy-haired jerk Mendou!"
"I see. I must confess that I haven't heard many good things
about him," Hinako laments. "However, given Monday's events and
Moroboshi-kun's applaudable actions there, I shall wait to develop
my own judgement of him. In the meantime, Moroboshi-san,
do you have your brother's records?"
Negako hands another file over. Hinako scans through them, then
she frowns. "It seems to me the teachers there did not like him.
Except this Hanawa fellow," she points, then gazes on Negako. "Why
is that?"
"Mitsu Hanawa is a man who chooses to ignore unusual occurrences
by draping them in his own mind with a veneer of normalcy," the
grandmistress reports. "For example, he has never truly accepted
deep in his heart that Lum was an alien. And yes, he was the
exception to the rule when it came to adult teachers performing
their duties for Ataru. Most other teachers in Tomobiki my brother
dealt with were of the mind that if someone odd happened, regardless
of what really caused such TO happen, Ataru was solely to blame.
Hence, his words to his former teachers on Monday."
"I see. Would you say he's matured since he left Tomobiki?"
"He has. You will find him willing to give you the respect
you desire from him. If you treat him with fairness, he would look
upon you favourably, much more so than others in your class do.
Indeed, Ataru would view your chi-absorption abilities as merely
'par for the course.' He has encountered much worse, especially
in the time he has been with me. That, I believe, will grant you a
potential ally when dealing with the more malcontent elements among
the Furinkan High student body."
Hinako blinks, then realizes that Negako has prepared a cup of
tea for her. Sipping it, she gives the grandmistress a curious
look. "How is it you can speak of such things, Moroboshi-san?
Are you a telepath?"
"No, but I have several skills which allow me to understand
all that surrounds me," Negako calmly replies. "Looking at your chi
field alone, Hinako, tells me that you often use the abilities
Happy gave you to deal with thirty or so 'chronic delinquents'
at school. I should warn you that many of them now dream of the day
when your guard is down, then because they view you as subhuman,
they will seek to kill you."
Silence.
"Wh-what...?" Hinako gapes, her skin growing sallow.
"It is true. Further, they know that in your younger body, you
are much more vulnerable that you would be in your current form.
They will gladly seek to take advantage of that, Hinako. If you
wish, I could see to it they would have a much more difficult
time dealing with you."
"How so?"
"By allowing you to remain as an adult full-time."
Silence.
"R-r-really...?" Hinako stammers, a hopeful smile crossing
her face.
"Really," Negako nods. "I do not seek to curry favour for you
to treat my brother any better than his future peers by offering
you that, Hinako. My brother would not tolerate such actions from
me. However, you are Happy's student and Happy is my friend, so I
will deal with you in that matter. And I am speaking the truth when
it comes to potential threats from the 'chronic delinquents'
at Furinkan High, Hinako."
"I see..." Hinako gulps, then takes a deep breath. "Well, I
will consider your offer, Moroboshi-sensei. In the meantime,
I best get these files to the school so the staff may see them.
Excuse me..."
"Hinako?"
"Yes?" the teacher gazes on Negako.
"The first rule when dealing with me," the grandmistress
rises. "Do not call me 'Sensei.' I despise that title. My name is
Negako. Address me as that instead. I will tolerate '-san' but
nothing else from those beyond my immediate family. Furthermore,
inform Pauline that his frequent falsification of school policy will
not be tolerated by Ataru, especially when it concerns haircuts
and facial hair. My brother is forced now to wear a beard and
moustache, plus maintain his hair to the same length as Ranma
Saotome's. By the exact letter of the Furinkan High student's
handbook, he is not forbidden from removing such from his face."
Hinako blinks, blinks again. "Um, pardon me for asking but..."
"It is a medical matter," Negako explains.
"Oh, no, I wasn't concerned about that! But who's 'Pauline?!'"
Negako appears nonplussed, then sighs. "Pauline Kunou." Seeing
Hinako's eyebrow arch, she augments that with, "Your school
principal."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then...
"'PAULINE?!?!'" Hinako shrieks, then howls with laughter.
In a flash, she is back to her pre-adolescent form, though her
laughter doesn't abate. "His name is 'Pauline?!!' That's so
FUNNY!!!"
Negako gazes on her, then shakes her head before perking up as a
voice hails, "I'm here, Negako-san! Where are...?! Huh?"
"Ohayou, Nabiki-san!" Chigaiko giggles as Nabiki steps inside.
Nabiki stops on seeing her sister's homeroom teacher rolling
on the floor, howling her butt off. "What's so funny?" she stares
at Negako.
"Would you believe a person's name?"
Nabiki blinks, then shakes her head. "I've heard worse..."
* * *
Tomobiki, the Miyaki home...
"You did WHAT?!?!"
Shinobu chuckles. The Miyakis and their new houseguest
now relax around the breakfast table. "Ryuu-chan, you told me you
wanted a chance to bury your father at sea. What better place to do
that than the island? After all, that's where your father's friend
is buried, remember?"
Ryuunosuke blinks, then stares at her breakfast plate. "Um,
y-yeah, that's true! But why'd you ask Mendou to loan his helicopter
to take us out there, Shinobu?! I don't wanna be dependent on
him...!"
"Oh, Ryuunosuke, relax," Kimiki gently scolds. "Yes, that
fellow does seem to be a tad overpossessive when it comes to the
ladies he knows, but he is -- or rather, SHOULD be -- an honourable
fellow. And he is your friend and classmate as well, Ryuunosuke.
It should be alright."
"Well, if ya think so, Aunt Kimiki," the tomboy flusters,
then sighs.
"Dad, do you think we can ask Father Cristobal to do a service
for Ryuu-chan's dad?" Shinobu wonders.
Toshoba blinks, then sighs. "Well, I could call him..."
"Don't bother."
"Ryuu-chan!" Shinobu spins on her friend.
Ryuunosuke smirks. "Oyaji wasn't really a religious person,
Shinobu. If he ever had anythin' like a real religion, it was
worshipping the sea. I don't think he'd like it if some priest,
even if he's also your friend, did burial prayers for him. He was a
pretty simple guy even if he dreamed of ways to make it rich,
Shinobu. I want him to go the same way."
The Miyakis gaze on her, then nod. "Well, we could ask Father
Cristobal to offer some prayers to your father and Nagisa-chan
on Sunday when we go to church," Kimiki moderates. "Anyhow, dear,
I think it's time you went to work," she stares knowingly at her
husband.
"Hai, hai," Toshoba rolls up his newspaper.
"We better get to the school," Shinobu nods, gazing at
Ryuunosuke, then back at her parents. "We promised to meet
Mendou-san there."
"Yeah, let's go," Ryuunosuke nods...
* * *
Sometime later, the two young women walk through the front gates
of Tomobiki High School. Ryuunosuke carries the clay urn bearing
her father's ashes. Already, the Mendou Conglomerate's construction
crews are hard at work repairing the school's northwest wing. Parked
by the front door is a familiar military command car. "Mendou-san!!"
Shinobu waves on recognizing the person in the back seat, then she
notices the woman presently with him. "Oh, Asuka-san! Ohayou!!"
she forces a smile for Asuka Mizunokoji.
"Ohayou, Shinobu-san," Asuka's eyes sparkle with that eerie
light as she bows respectfully to her fiance's old girlfriend,
then they widen with delight on seeing the person with Shinobu.
"Oh, Ryuunosuke-oniichan!" she gushes, stepping out of the car, her
hands out. "Here, let me do that."
"Ah? O-oh!" Ryuunosuke nods, then hands the urn to her.
Asuka gently places the urn in the car's shotgun seat, then
turns to embrace one of her favoured "big brothers." "Oh, Onii-chan,
I'm so sorry about your father and Nagisa-oniichan," she stares
sympathetically at the tomboy. "Are you sure you'll be alright
with Shinobu-san's family?"
"Yeah, I'll be okay," Ryuunosuke nods, reaching up to give
Asuka's hands a thankful squeeze, then she stares at Mendou. "I
appreciate you doin' this for me, Mendou. Thanks," she bows to him.
"It was my pleasure, Ryuunosuke-san," Mendou returns her bow,
then shudders lightly as a flash of pain rips through his head.
"Mendou-san, are you okay?!" Shinobu reaches for him.
"I...! Oh, g-gomen," he stutters, then nods thanks as Asuka
walks around to sit beside him, she gently grasping his hand. "I
haven't fully recovered from Monday's events, it seems," he explains.
"Shit, you should'a stayed in bed, man!" Ryuunosuke protests.
"I...! No, it's alright," he shakes his head, then relaxes
as Asuka gently touches his temple, shifting her fingertips in a
circle to massage his skin. "I won't stay away from this,
Ryuunosuke-san. At the same time, I..." he turns to the school.
"I needed to see this, too."
They look. "To believe something like *this* happened,"
Shinobu laments, then gazes to where the statue of Lum had been. Her
eyes then widen on seeing that people had been by to lay flowers
and pictures at the shattered base. "Jesu Cristo..." she whispers,
walking over.
The others watch her, then Ryuunosuke follows. Asuka and Mendou
exchange a look, then she helps him out of the car. They join the
others by the memorial as Shinobu kneels, clasping her hands in
prayer. Gazing at the pictures placed there, Ryuunosuke sighs.
There was no picture of either her father or Nagisa. No pictures
of Ataru's parents either. A single bouquet of flowers had been laid
out before each of the Bodyguards' pictures. More flowers for the
two other girls who had died on Monday.
"At least they're happy now, I suspect," Mendou muses.
"What d'you mean?" Ryuunosuke stares at him.
"Aisuru, Daremo, Shitto and Urayamu," the scion of Japan's
richest family notes. Ryuunosuke and Shinobu gaze on him; it was the
first time that either girl had heard Mendou address any of them by
their given names. "They're with Lum-san in Heaven. Finally,
their devotion paid off."
"None of them should've died in the first place, Shuu-chan,"
Asuka notes, then stares quizzically at Ryuunosuke. "Onii-chan,
don't you have pictures of your father or Nagisa-san to put here?"
"Nah. Don't have nothin' recent of Oyaji and nothin' at all of
Nagisa," Ryuunosuke admits, then sighs. "Then again, there might
be somethin' on the island. We can check it out when we go there."
"That's a good idea," Shinobu rises, then crosses herself.
She then gazes on the northwest wing. "A pity, isn't it?"
"What is, Shinobu-san?" Mendou stares at her.
"About Alhamzi-san," his former girlfriend sighs. "We shudder
and scream at what he did, yet to him..." she closes her eyes, "...he
probably felt he was doing the right thing. The PROPER thing..."
Ryuunosuke spins on her. "What the FUCK is so 'proper' about
turnin' yourself inta some sorta smart bomb and killin' people?!"
"Do not be so surprised, Ryuunosuke-san. Not so long ago, we
did the very same thing to the Americans," Mendou muses.
She turns on him, then blinks. "The kamikazes, ya mean?" she
asks. Seeing him nod, she then wryly smirks. "Yeah, ya gotta point
there..."
"Ataru-kun's grandfather was a kamikaze pilot."
Eyes turn on Shinobu. "I didn't know that," Mendou admits.
"It was on TV Tokyo last night," she reports. "Yumoa-san
told reporters about what happened between his grandmother and his
mother and how it ended up with Ataru-kun suffering from selective
amnesia for five years. He even talked a bit about that Negako
woman. I..." she sighs.
"Shinobu-san, do you really want to deal with him again?" Mendou
asks. "After all, he clearly doesn't want to deal with you!"
"I HAVE to!!" she spins on him, her eyes brimming with tears.
Silence falls as they gaze on each other, then Ryuunosuke
moves to moderate. "Look, let's drop this, please! C'mon, let's
get to the chopper so we can get to the island and get it over with!
Please?!"
They stare on her, then fluster as they remember what brought
them to school today. "Gomen, Ryuu-chan," Shinobu lowers her eyes
ashamedly.
"I am also sorry, Ryuunosuke-san," Mendou bows, then glances
to the blue skies overhead. "Indeed, since it seems to be a very
clear day, why don't we leave now? We could make it to the island
before noon."
The others nod...
* * *
Promised Island, Welcome House...
A moan escapes from under the covers as a hand peeks out. It
shifts the blankets back to reveal a weary-eyed Ataru. As he rubs
the bridge of his nose to get the sleep from his eyes, his left arm
brushes against something soft and VERY feminine still hidden under
the blankets. He stops, then looks over, barely picking out locks
of bright crimson hair sticking from under the blankets. "Ranma...?"
he whispers, then pulls the covers away to reveal the transformed
martial artist, still asleep.
He is quick to note the dampness of her own cheeks, then
shudders as the memory of last night's conversation comes back to
him. After telling her about events on Phentax Two, both had broken
down and wept for the three billion misguided unfortunates
killed ultimately by the insane dreams of a man named Oogi. After
they had recovered, Ataru had decided to go to bed. Ranma had
stepped out of the room to let him sleep, but for the life of him,
Ataru had no idea when she had come back, much less why.
"Ranma..." he whispers, then gently strokes her nose. That
causes her to stir, her eyes fluttering. "Good morning," he smiles.
"Hunn...?" she blinks, then smiles. "'Morning. Feel better?"
"Why'd you come back?"
"I felt you didn't want to be alone after what you told me last
night," she admits, then sitting up -- *Thank the heavens she's
wearing pyjamas!* Ataru muses -- stretches herself. "Hope you didn't
mind."
He blinks, then hums. "Did I mind? A lovely woman like you
coming into MY room and spending the night with ME?! Should I've
minded?!"
She acks, then seeing a grin cross his face, gives him a glare.
At that moment, the door opens, revealing Karen. "Onii-chan,
breakfast is ready," she announces, then stops, her eyes widening
for a second. Before Ranma could think of saying something,
ANYTHING to explain what she was doing in Ataru's room, much less his
BED, Karen smiles. "Oh, Onee-chan, there you are!" she blushes.
"Breakfast is ready!" she waves.
Ranma watches her go, then stares at Ataru. "Are they normally
like that?!" she wonders as he stands up to stretch.
"You get used to them after a while," he shrugs.
"Aniki?!" Rinrin peeks into the room, nonplussed on seeing Ranma
in Ataru's bed. "Hi, Aneki! The Plato-mecha's ready. Reigi-aniki
delivered their ashes to Jii-san. That'll be waiting for us at the
dock."
"Ah...! 'M-morning, Rinrin-chan," Ranma waves.
The inventor leaves to be replaced by Kaho, pompoms in hand.
"Onii-chama, Onee-chama, are you going outside to get some exercise?"
"Ah, not today, Kaho-chan," Ataru admits, ignoring Ranma's
flustered look. "Ranma and I aren't in the mood and we've got to get
to the dock before noon if we're going to get back to the House
before nightfall."
"Oh, that's too bad," Kaho smiles, then steps out.
And in comes Shirayuki. "Ohayou, Nii-sama, Nee-sama. Should
Hime make one or two bentos for everyone today, Nii-sama?"
"Make it two, plus extras just in case some of us get a munchie
attack," Ataru smiles, glancing amusedly at Ranma.
The martial artist blushes. "Hai!" Shirayuki nods, then heads
out.
Ranma blinks, then sighs. "So what else happens on 'normal'
days here?" she slips out of bed, then moves to head out.
"What's 'normal?'" Ataru grins...
* * *
Nerima, the Tendou dojo...
"Kasumi, have you seen Nabiki this morning?"
"Oh, Nabiki-chan's busy with Moroboshi-sensei right now,
Father," Kasumi reports as Souun relaxes in the living room.
The Tendou patriarch perks, then looks over his newspaper.
"Is Nabiki working to bring Ranma-kun back to the house?!"
"I don't believe so, Father," the eldest daughter admits as she
walks into the living room with a breakfast tray. "As a matter of
fact, Ranma-kun is off with Ataru-kun for the remainder of the week.
Ranma-kun told Nabiki-chan that he wouldn't be back in Nerima until
Sunday..."
"Tadaima!!" a voice calls out.
"Akane-chan!" Kasumi gasps as Akane steps inside. Presently,
the youngest Tendou daughter's right arm is in a sling, a cast
immobilizing her arm from under her armpit to her wrist. "Welcome
back! How do you feel?"
"Hungry right now," Akane admits. "They didn't give me much of
a breakfast at the hospital before they let me go."
"Alright, then. I'll make something right away."
Kasumi heads back to the kitchen. Akane sits down, then looks
around. "So where's Uncle, Dad? Did he finally decide to move out?"
Souun jolts, then stares tearfully at his daughter. "Akane,
how can you say such a thing?!" he pleads. "Saotome-kun is a guest
here..."
"Gee, some 'guest!'" Akane cuts him off, then blinks on seeing
Genma step into the living room. "Oh, speak of the devil and you see
his horns!"
"Akane!!!" Souun burbles.
"Tendou-kun, we have a problem," Genma reports.
Souun gazes on him, then noting the scowl crossing his friend's
face, nods. Both rise, then walk out of the house. Akane watches
them go, then turns to Kasumi as the eldest daughter steps into the
sitting room, a small breakfast tray for her sister in hand. "What's
with them?"
"Let's find out," Kasumi sets the tray down.
Both head upstairs, then Kasumi leads Akane into Nabiki's
room. "Onee-chan, what are...?" the youngest asks, then stops as the
eldest sits at Nabiki's work desk. Kasumi opens one of the side
drawers to reveal a tape recorder. Scanning the buttons there,
Kasumi taps several, then hooks the recorder into a speaker beside
Nabiki's computer. Turning the volume low, she relaxes as Souun's
and Genma's voices echo from the speaker:
SOUUN: ...can't do that!!
GENMA: That old fart's going to do it, Tendou-kun!! And Nodoka's
helping him along! She's already filed divorce papers!!
SOUUN: But what about the schools?!
GENMA: Relax, Tendou-kun! As soon as we find the boy and get him
back to the house, I'll straighten him around, then make sure Nodoka
won't be able to touch him anymore!! Once that happens, old man
Asagaya won't be able to do a damned thing, especially if the boy
doesn't go along with Nodoka's idea of having him renounce the
Saotome name!
SOUUN: Then the schools can be united?!
GENMA: Exactly! But first thing's first! We have to find that
Moroboshi woman and make her remove whatever she did to the boy that
made him hurt Akane on Tuesday! We can't get anywhere with bringing
the schools together that if the boy ends up hurting or killing
your daughter if she tries to cook him another meal, Tendou-kun!!
Do you want that?!
SOUUN: OF COURSE NOT!!!
GENMA: Alright, then! You have to damn hell lean on Nabiki to tell
you where Moroboshi lives, then we'll deal with her together!!
A pause, then...
SOUUN: Saotome-kun, there might be another way.
GENMA: What do you mean?
SOUUN: What if we transfer the engagement to Nabiki?
"What?!" Akane hisses, then ducks as Kasumi shushes her.
GENMA: The boy HATES her, Tendou-kun!
SOUUN: Hai, true, but maybe, just maybe, that could change. I never
told you this, Saotome-kun, but Nabiki always had the better skill
in the Art. She was forced out of the dojo because of an accident
five years ago...
GENMA: So?!
SOUUN: Genma, yesterday, I saw Nabiki-chan come back from the local
martial arts supply store with a *gi* and *hakama!* That obviously
means she's prepared to go back into the dojo!! And if she's with
that Moroboshi woman and if that woman's as skilled as the Master
says she is...!
Silence, then...
GENMA: She's helping Nabiki heal?
SOUUN: Yes! We ARE dealing with a being possessing a thousand
years of knowledge that was initiated by the Master Hosan himself,
remember?! If we let that woman heal Nabiki, then I can get her into
the dojo and train her hard enough to make HER more attractive
to Ranma-kun! You know your son'll forgive next to anything,
especially when it comes to people who practice the Art! Look how
long he's tolerated Hibiki, for heaven's sake?!
A low hum rumbles from Genma's lips. Kasumi shakes her head,
then stares at Akane. The youngest daughter is shuddering,
her face downcast as tears flow. Kasumi reaches over to draw Akane
into an embrace...
GENMA: Alright! If Nabiki gets back into shape, I'll consider
moving the engagement to her. But what if Akane doesn't want it to
happen?
SOUUN: I think after what happened on Tuesday, your son's made it
clear that he won't put up to Akane-chan anymore, Saotome-kun.
Much that I DID want it to happen between them, it's clear to me that
Ranma-kun needs to start afresh. Besides, he's also tired of the
Kuonji girl and the China girl. And he certainly doesn't want
anything to do with the Kunou girl, if he ever did! And Ranma-kun
might be impressed when he sees Nabiki-chan show her passion for the
Art, Saotome-kun. If he sees that, I'm SURE that he'll be willing
to forgive what she did to him in the past!
GENMA: That good, eh?
SOUUN: Hai, that good!
Laughter echoes over the speakers.
GENMA: Well, you always were the optimistic one, Tendou-kun!
SOUUN: Hai, I was that, wasn't I?!
More laughter.
SOUUN: Saotome-kun?
GENMA: What is it?
SOUUN: Why did you do what you did to Ranma-kun when he was a boy?
Much that I've always know how devoted you were to teaching him,
doing THAT...
A sigh.
GENMA: I had no choice, Tendou-kun! I...
Pause, then...
GENMA: When the boy was a child, his ability to learn things was
simply phenomenal!! He could walk before he was two, was already
speaking full sentences before he passed his third birthday and could
read way past his age level before he turned four! But...! The boy
had no DISCIPLINE, Tendou-kun!! He was TOO curious for his own good!
Whatever crossed his path, he took instant, TOTAL interest in! Try
as I might, I couldn't force him to concentrate on the Art! Nodoka
was a problem, too! That's why I had to take the boy away from her!
But that STILL wasn't enough, so I had to find scrolls that allowed
me to focus the boy's learning skills on the Art! And it WORKED!!!
I WANTED him to be the best, Tendou-kun!! And with the gods as my
witness, I damn hell made sure he BECAME the best!!
"I can't believe that he's so blind," Kasumi whispers.
SOUUN: But still...
Another sigh.
GENMA: Souun, it's like I said yesterday! How could the boy have
saved Akane from Saffron if he hadn't been forced to train himself
as hard as he did in the Art? Yes, I missed out on some things that
might've helped him deal better with other people! I admit it! But
what do you want?! Do you want a skilled fighter, the BEST fighter,
for one of your daughters to marry or do you want to weep over your
daughters' graves?! Well?!!
SOUUN: I...! Yes, you're right, Genma! But maybe you should hold
off on trying that again with Ranma-kun until he cools off. With
what Moroboshi just did to him, if you try that on your son, he'll
kill you!!
GENMA: Feh! Don't worry about that, Souun! That's why we'll have
to go out and find that woman to make her UNDO what she did to the
boy...
Kasumi reaches over to click off the tape recorder, then setting
everything back to the way it is, waves Akane out of Nabiki's room.
They go to the elder daughter's room, then relax. "I don't believe
it," Akane whispers. "He doesn't care a damned bit about what Ranma
might want, what Ranma actually thinks or feels! All he cares about
is turning him into the perfect fighting machine to marry one of us!!
What's wrong with him?!"
"I don't know," Kasumi shakes her head. "It could be many
things, Akane-chan. Pride, greed, ignorance..." she pauses, then
takes a deep breath. "Or maybe a combination of all three. Who
knows? I..." she then smiles. "I'm glad that Father's trying to
stick up for Ranma-kun."
"You call THAT 'sticking up' for Ranma?!" Akane mutters.
The elder daughter blinks, then nods. "Hai, you have a point.
But..." she pauses, then gazes on her sister. "Akane-chan?"
"I still love him, Onee-chan."
Kasumi blinks, then sighs. "But does he love you now?"
Akane blinks, then lowers her head. "I hope he does," she
whispers, then stares at her sister. "So what do we do?"
"We wait until Nabiki comes back and tell her what happened,"
Kasumi sighs. "I want to know what Uncle was talking about
concerning Auntie's relatives. I think we may have to talk to
Negako-san about that, too."
Akane nods...
* * *
Promised Island, sometime before lunch...
"Well, here they are, Ataru-kun."
Ataru blinks, then gazes on the two clay urns now sitting on the
Plato-mecha's weather deck. Neither are marked. He takes a deep
breath, putting his chi-sensing ability under tight reign to ensure
he doesn't accidentally learn which urn contains who's ashes. "Well,
let's get these somewhere safe so the girls don't see them," he
sighs, picking up both.
Ranma and Reigi Yumoa watch as Ataru places the urns under a new
deckhead overhang topped with radar and sonar suites; they were
several of the improvements Rinrin worked into her submersible.
The overhang itself serves as the frame for an airtight bubble canopy
that created a special observation area whenever the Plato-mecha
was underwater. Complete with carpeted decks and several storage
boxes lining both sides of the ship, it was connected to the main
passenger compartment by a circular hatchway close to the open-air
observation tower above the control cockpit.
Drawing out a blanket from one of the storage boxes, Ataru
drapes that over the urns, then he sets everything in place to ensure
the urns didn't draw too much attention. Watching him, Ranma takes
a deep breath, then turns to Reigi. "What do you think about this?"
Reigi blinks, then shakes his head. "A waste, Ranma-san.
Much that I can understand why Kinshou wanted the best for herself
and Muchi, to do it THAT way..." he stops, then crosses his arms.
"Back before Negako-san was taken out of Ataru-kun's head, we often
used to get together as a family. Ataru, me, all of Oji-chan's
other wards. We were a happy family before that happened, Ranma-san.
And now, thanks to what Kinshou did..."
"Gotcha," she nods, then steps onto the Plato-mecha. "Ataru?"
He turns to her, then sighs. "Let's get the girls!"
"Okay!"
* * *
Twenty kilometres east of Promised Island, an hour later...
Ryuunosuke-jima -- "Ryuunosuke's Island" -- was the name chosen
by Ataru, Lum, Shinobu and Mendou for the small isle where Nagisa
Shinowataru and his father Shin had set up their teashop. That had
been supported by Nagisa; after all, he told Ryuunosuke later, a
"wife" had to give up her dowry to her "husband." That had earned
a full-tsunami wail from Fujimi Fujinami, resulting in him flying
on Air Ryuunosuke back to Tomobiki.
Ryuunosuke blinks as the memories of the day she met Nagisa
flash through her mind, then she looks out the window as the Mendou
Air Corps helicopter begins its final approach to the circular
dot of sand and rock named after her. A hand gently squeezes hers,
then she looks over to see Shinobu gazing warmly at her. Ryuunosuke
blinks, then gives her friend's hand a thankful squeeze as the pilot
flares his machine for landing.
Dust whirls up around the helicopter, then settles as the
engines are shut down. As soon as it appears clear, a Kuromegane
opens the doors, then helps Mendou step off. Everyone else
disembarks on their own power, though Asuka moves to support her
fiance. "We will wait here, Young Master," the Ray-ban bespectacled
bodyguard bows to his employer.
"Thank you," Mendou nods.
The four teenagers make their way past the boarded-up shop to
the other side of the island. Stepping back onto the beach, Shinobu
takes a deep breath of air, then blinks on seeing a low hump of land
dead ahead of her, that topped with what appears to be a statue.
"Eh?! What's that?!"
"What's...?" Ryuunosuke blinks, then her eyes lock on the other
island. "Oh, that! That's Oomure-jima! Nagisa told me about that
place."
"Do people live there?" Mendou wonders.
"Yeah, there's a small town on the north side, closest to
Odawara. About five thousand people, I think. Some of the fishermen
from there came by here when Nagisa and her dad were running their
teashop."
"I don't recall noticing that when we were last here," Mendou
sighs.
Ryuunosuke considers that, then shrugs. "Well, accordin'
to Nagisa, the folks there tend ta be pretty clannish. Can't stand
it whenever any 'mainlanders' come visit their island. Well..."
she looks at the urn bearing her father's ashes. "Might as well get
this over with."
"Ryuu-chan, do you want some help?" Shinobu wonders.
The tomboy blinks, then smiles. "Nah, I'll be okay. Thanks."
With that, she slips off her shoes and socks, then steps towards
the surf. Keeping her eye out for any foot-wounding obstacles
like sea urchins and the like, she allows the cold water of the
Sagami Sea to wash over her feet. Taking a deep breath, she heads
on, ignoring the fact that the water was soaking her jeans. By the
time the water gets to mid-thigh level, she stops, then looks at the
urn in her hands. A glance back reveals that she is twenty metres
or so from shore. With that, she smirks, then stares at the urn
anew. "You lost, Oyaji," she grins as she opens the urn. "I'm a
girl! And now there's nothin' you can do to change that, you dumb
fool!"
Dropping down, she allows seawater to flood the urn, then
closing the lid, winds up. A thought comes to her, then she places
the urn on the seabed. Reaching up to her top, she unbuttons
her shirt, then reaches in to get at her breast wrappings. Undoing
that, she gently pulls the cloth away from her body, then uses it to
tie down the urn's lid. "There!" she grins, then picking up the urn,
she winds up. "Off ya go, Oyaji!! Enjoy your fuckin' drinking
binges with Nagisa's dad for all I care!"
With a fling that could possibly be surpassed only by Shinobu
or Asuka, Ryuunosuke sends the urn out into deep water. She remains
still as the container bearing her father's ashes splash-lands
some dozens of metres away. It sinks quickly, carrying with it the
mortal remains and failed dreams of a man who couldn't see reality
with his own eyes. Ryuunosuke remains still for a moment, then
buttoning her shirt up, wades ashore.
Standing on the beach, Asuka stares quizzically at Shinobu.
"Is Onii-chan going to be okay, Shinobu-san?" she wonders.
"I think so, Asuka-san," Shinobu nods, then gazes heavenward.
*Dear Lord, please, I beg You, don't be angry at her,* she silently
prays...
* * *
"Well, it's a smoother ride now than last time!" Yotsuba admits.
People on the Plato-mecha laugh as Rinrin guides the submersible
east from Promised Island. It is doing a steady fifteen knots as it
heads toward several deep trenches in the seabed between the Island
and the Miura Peninsula separating the Sagami Sea from the Uraga
Passage and Tokyo Bay.
Relaxing on the observation tower, Aria, Kaho and Hinako watch
a small school of dolphins swim alongside the Plato-mecha.
Yotsuba stands by the ladder leading to the younger sisters' perch,
snapping pictures of the cackling sea mammals with her camera.
Chikage is opposite Yotsuba, gazing on her crystal ball as the wind
gently shifts her hair. The other sisters relax around the overhang
as Haruka prepares some tea. Ranma is asleep, her head in Toshiko's
lap as the latter gently stroke's her template's hair. Kumiko is now
showing some basic T'ai Chi manoeuvres to Marie on the starboard
side. Sakuya kneels beside Haruka, allowing Ataru to relax his head
in her lap. "Yeah, it sure is!" Mamoru gazes on Yotsuba. "Pity that
Rinrin couldn't make this thing go fast enough for water-skiing."
"Is that all you can think about, Mamoru-chan?" Karen giggles,
then gazes on her sister. "There's more to life than sports, you
know!"
The athlete blinks surprisedly. "There IS?!!"
Laughter echoes over the waves. "Let her have her fun, Karen,"
Ataru opens his eyes. "Rinrin, how far are we from the first
trench?!"
"Twenty minutes, Aniki," the inventor's voice echoes over a
speaker sighted directly overhead, that clicked on so Rinrin could
hear what was going on from the cockpit. "Good thing the sea's real
calm today. We're making pretty good time! Might want to do a speed
trial tomorrow."
"Hey, Rinrin, next time you make a boat, make a speedboat,
okay?!" Mamoru calls out, then lays down on the deck.
"Other projects come first, Mamoru!" Rinrin retorts. "'Sides,
you can buy a jetski if you're so hot to do some water-skiing!"
More laughter. Shirayuki then steps up from the main
compartment. "Here's lunch!" the chef announces, passing up some
bento boxes.
"Oh, great! I'm starved!!" Mamoru reaches for one.
"Make sure I get one!" Rinrin calls out.
"Hai!" Shirayuki nods as she passes more up-deck.
"Rinrin, alter your course east-south-east."
Everyone stares at Chikage. "Something wrong?" Ataru sits up.
"Not really, but I believe you would want to avoid close contact
with the people now on Ryuunosuke-jima, Ani-kun," the sorceress
reports.
"What island's that?!" Rinrin demands. "That's not on any
charts!"
"It's the small island due south of Fujisawa, Rinrin," Chikage
states. "Three kilometres off shore. It's dead ahead of us now."
"Wait..." Rinrin calls back. "Okay, I got it. Hey, Aniki,
is that the island Fujinami's dad bought for three hundred yen?!"
"Yeah, that's the one," Ataru nods, then blinks as Haruka hands
him a cup of tea. "Oh, thanks, Haruka-chan. Hey, Ranma, lunchtime!"
Instantly, Ranma sits up, looking around. "Lunch?! Where?!!"
Everyone laughs. "Who's on that island now, Chikage?" Sakuya
asks.
"Ryuunosuke-kun, Ani-kun's so-called 'ex,' Mendou and his
androphobic fiancee, plus a Kuromegane and a helicopter pilot,"
Chikage quickly reports. "I believe Ryuunosuke-kun has the same
intentions towards her father's remains as you do towards your former
parents' remains."
"Oh, wonderful," Ataru sighs. "Rinrin, go south-east!
I'm not in any mood to deal with those dorkheads today!"
"Hai!!" Rinrin calls back...
* * *
"Ryuu-chan, you look wonderful!!"
Ryuunosuke blushes as she gazes on herself in a mirror inside
the island's old teashop. Currently, she wears a knit V-neck sweater
over a white blouse, that over an ankle-length skirt. With her
breasts free of the wrappings she had used for so long, the tomboy's
curvy figure is on practical display for all to see. "Yeah, I do,
don't I?!" she flusters, then gazes at Shinobu. "Thanks,
Shinobu-chan! I really needed it."
"Hai, you did," Shinobu walks up to embrace her.
Ryuunosuke draws her close, then blinking, turns her head to
give her friend a kiss on the forehead. Shinobu freezes for a
second, then her eyes mist as she relaxes her head on Ryuunosuke's
shoulder. "I love you, Ryuu-chan," she whispers. "I'm so glad
you're finally free of that man."
"So am I," Ryuunosuke nods.
"It's a pity Nagisa-chan couldn't've lived to see this day."
The tomboy considers that, then nods. "Yeah, I know. He
deserved it as much as I did. Well..." she closes her eyes, then
gives Shinobu a warm hug. "Much that I know it ain't right to speak
ill of the dead, but maybe Nagisa was livin' on borrowed time 'cause
of the Great Sea Urchin."
A hum escapes the other woman. "Maybe. So what are you going
to do with this place? The island's in your name now, you know."
"Burn it."
Shinobu jolts. "What?!" she stares at Ryuunosuke. "Why?!"
"What do you think?" the tomboy lets her friend go. "For as
long as I could remember, all Oyaji talked about was tryin' ta make
Hamajaya work. At the same time, he kept harpin' on about how he was
so proud that I, his 'son,' was gonna take over the place when he
passed on. Well guess what, Shinobu? I don't friggin' CARE about
Hamajaya! As far as I'm concerned, this place and everythin'
Oyaji had's gonna go up in smoke."
"Ryuu-chan...!"
"No," Ryuunosuke shakes her head. "This place is worthless,
Shinobu. You know how much Oyaji supposedly 'paid' Nagisa's dad for
it. And..." she pauses, then sighs. "I just can't come back here
anymore, Shinobu. I wanna put everythin' here outta my life once and
for all!"
Shinobu stares at her friend, then nods. "Alright. But let's
do it right, okay?" she holds up a finger, then waves Ryuunosuke
with her.
The tomboy follows her outside, where Mendou and Asuka await.
Seeing Ryuunosuke as she was pretty much born to be, Asuka's eyes
widen, then she lowers her eyes, not wanting to insult her friend
by staring. Ryuunosuke is quick to notice, then she walks over to
place her hands on Asuka's shoulder. "Hey, you always knew I was a
girl, Asuka!" she grins.
Asuka jolts, then looks up, her eyes misting. "It was pretty
hard for me to accept that," she admits, then smiles as she warmly
embraces the taller girl. "And you'll still be an 'onii-chan'
to me."
Ryuunosuke blinks, then returns her embrace. "How about we make
that 'onee-chan' and I'll call it even, okay?" she muses.
Asuka blinks, then nods. "Hai, Onee-chan!"
The others smile. "Mendou-san, we need a favour," Shinobu
sighs.
"Anything within my power, Shinobu-san," he turns to her...
* * *
An hour later...
"Nii-ya, there's a fire!"
"Onii-tama, the whole island's on fire!!"
Ataru bolts up, then looks towards the observation tower.
"What?!" he automatically looks west towards Promised Island.
"No, Onii-sama, over here!" Sakuya points north-east.
Ataru turns to where the eldest of the sisters is pointing,
then his eyes widen for a moment. "What the hell...?" he walks to
the guardrail, then calls out, "Rinrin, what the hell's going on?!"
"Not sure, but radar's picked up a helicopter near
Ryuunosuke-jima," the inventor reports. "Nothing on any radio
frequency."
He blinks, then notices Chikage standing nearby, her crystal
ball held out before her. "What's going on, Chikage-chan?"
"It appears Ryuunosuke-kun has decided to do just more than bury
her father at sea," the sorceress reports. "She deliberately
set the teashop on the island alight. I believe all her father's
belongings were there."
"What little that abusive bastard had, you mean," Ataru crosses
his arms, then gazes towards the small island in the distance.
"Well, I could see her doing that, especially after what that moron
did to her."
"That's still a fire hazard, Ataru," Ranma reports.
Ataru gazes on her, then nods. "Rinrin!"
"What is it, Aniki?!"
"Call the Maritime Safety Agency!" he orders. "Tell them
there's a possible out-of-control fire on that island!"
"Right!"
"What about them, Ani-chama?" Yotsuba thumbs the urns.
Ataru blinks, then sighs. "Forget it!" he spits out, then
points down. "Everyone, head below. Rinrin, get this thing ready
to dive!!"
"Okay!"
The others quickly pick up their belongings, then head below
decks. In a minute, all that's left on the weather deck are Ataru
and Ranma. "You okay there?" the latter asks. "If they want to
fight, we can take them."
She nods towards Ryuunosuke-jima. He considers that, then
shakes his head. No doubt, Ranma suspected that once the call went
into the Maritime Safety Agency about the fire, Mendou might try to
back-trace it to Rinrin, which could lead the idiot right back to his
old rival. "No, I'm not going to provoke something with those clowns
anywhere close to them," he points down to indicate his sisters.
"It's not fair to them, Ranma."
Ranma considers that, then nods. "Yeah, you're right..."
* * *
Within ten minutes, the Plato-mecha submerges, altering course
due west for Promised Island. The urns bearing the remains of
Ataru's birth-parents were dumped overboard before the submersible
slipped underwater. Since the Mendou helicopter didn't come equipped
with any sort of anti-submarine warfare gear (a surprising omission
in the clan's capabilities given that several of the Mendou
Conglomerate's widespread properties lay on seashores), there was no
way anyone on Ryuunosuke-jima could learn that anyone, much less
Ataru Moroboshi of all people, had been in the area.
Not that they didn't have much time to consider something
like that. Just as the Plato-mecha had turned back for Promised
Island, a helicopter and three fast speedboats from the Maritime
Safety Agency had intercepted the Mendou machine before they could
fly back to Tomobiki...
* * *
Nerima, the Tendou home, after lunch...
"That idiot..."
"Tell me about it," Akane scowls.
Nabiki stares at her younger sister, then looks at the ceiling.
She sits at her work desk, having just listened to the recorded
conversation Kasumi made for her. Her sisters now relax on her bed.
"So what do you know about Auntie's relatives, Nabiki-chan?"
Kasumi asks.
"Pretty rich, somewhere in Kunou-chan's league, but that's going
down some since a lot of their wealth's invested in real estate.
That market's been VERY depressed as of late," Nabiki reports.
"Auntie herself has some choice bits of property in and around Tokyo.
She rents that out to store and restaurant owners to generate some
income for herself. All in her name. No, Genma can't touch that.
She also gets a stipend from her father to support her home. Reason
why...?" she pauses, then shakes her head. "I'm not too sure, but I
think it's to make her mind her own business. From what my
friends've told me, the only relative she has any frequent contact
with is her twin sister, Hisayo. Something tells me..."
"That her family didn't approve her marrying the panda?" Akane
asks.
"That. More likely, I think Auntie got pregnant, then was
forced into marrying Genma and thrown out of the house," Nabiki
concludes. "The marriage date and Ranma's birthday are only six
months apart."
"Oh," the other sisters nod understandingly, then Kasumi asks,
"Do you think you can talk to Moroboshi-sensei about it?"
"I'll do that tomorrow. By then, my arms should be back in gear
and I'll start training in earnest," Nabiki points to her shoulder,
then sighs, gazing on Akane. "Akane-chan, I won't take him away from
you."
Akane jolts. "But what about what Dad said...?"
"Akane, I think that if Ranma-kun's going to marry anyone,
he'll do it out of love, not because the panda tells him to do it,"
Nabiki warns. "That means you have a chance to get back in his good
graces since he *did* love you. Love can be rediscovered if it was
there, Akane-chan. If you don't pull any of the stunts you pulled
before, you'll be okay."
The younger sister blinks, then gives Nabiki a warning look.
"Then you'll swear never to butt in on our relationship ever again?"
"Don't need to do things like that these days, especially
with the money he has, plus the money he gave us," Nabiki admits,
then she gently sighs. "Besides, this is the crunch year for me. I
have to really start worrying about college even if Ranma-kun's
pretty much paid for it."
"Tokyo University?" Kasumi asks.
"Maybe. If I had the chance, I'd pick Harvard or one of the
other Ivy League schools in the States. They have the better
programs."
"You'll make it, Onee-chan!" Akane smiles, then leans her chin
on her raised knee. "I should start worrying about that, too."
"So should Ranma-kun," Kasumi muses.
"Oh, that'll be no problem," Nabiki notes. "Negako-san
told me that once she's undone the damage the panda caused him,
Ranma-kun'll have no problem in the future when it comes to
schooling. If he really goes hog-wild, he'll breeze through the
college entrance exams, then probably get a scholarship or two out of
the deal. If he doesn't get that, hell, he could pay his way right
through to a doctorate degree if he wanted to."
"That, I just HAVE to see," Akane shakes her head.
"Yes, it would be quite incredible to see, ne?" Kasumi smiles.
The sisters laugh, then Nabiki reaches into her shirt pocket
to draw out a cell-phone. That is wordlessly handed to Akane.
Glancing around, Nabiki then pulls out a pad of Post-It notes and a
pencil. She writes down something, then holds it up for Akane to
read: RANMA - DIAL #+9.
Seeing that, Akane asks, "Why did you...?"
"Umisenken," Nabiki rips the note off the pad, then crumples
it.
"He wouldn't...!" Kasumi pales.
"Bets?!"
The others consider that, then nod. "Call him tonight, when Dad
and the panda are off drinking, so they won't interfere," Nabiki
advises.
"Right," Akane nods...
* * *
Welcome House, that evening...
"Oh, so THAT'S how you do it!! Damn...!!!"
"Yeah! Easy, eh?!" Rinrin laughs.
Ranma smiles, then taps the RETURN key to memorize her latest
journal entry onto an ultra-high density diskette, that loaded into
one of Rinrin's spare laptops. After returning to the Island from
their aborted boat trip to the area around Ryuunosuke-jima,
Rinrin had offered Ranma a chance to get her own laptop computer,
an "Aneki Special" as the inventor called it. They haggled over it
for a while -- Ranma didn't want to get something like a computer
free of charge even if Rinrin liked making them -- then settled
on Ranma paying for the parts and Rinrin building it as a gift.
Ranma then made a startling -- to Rinrin, at least! --
revelation: she didn't know how the first thing about *using* a
computer despite the fact that there was a computer room at Furinkan
High! After all, computers had no practical use in martial arts,
either for training or fighting. Well, Rinrin decided, that would
change. Thus, for the last six hours, they had been in Ranma's
room learning the tricks. At the same time, Ranma took a chance
to transcribe her personal journal onto diskette.
"Sure is!" Ranma nods, then turns to Rinrin. "But how can I
make sure that Oyaji or Nabiki can't get their hands on what's on the
disk?"
"Well, your dad doesn't know anything about computers, right?"
"Yeah!"
"No problem. After all, if he destroys the diskette itself,
the information's lost. If he destroys the computer, the same thing
happens. I'm one of the few people in the country who uses that
specific model of UHD diskettes, though that can change. And if he
comes after me to get the information out, Aniki and Negako-aneki'll
deal with him then..."
"Not to mention me," Ranma assures her.
Rinrin blushes. "Hai."
"What about Nabiki?"
"Well, all you have to do then is secure your files under a
special encryption lock when they're loaded into your computer
hard drive. If you want to, erase and reformat the diskettes
to make sure there're no spare copies of your diary around. That's
easy to do. I write my own encryption programming and even the folks
working for Reigi-aniki at Toranoseishin say they're nearly
impenetrable. Nabiki doesn't have access to one of the Cray
supercomputers the Americans have, does she?" Rinrin asks.
"No, I don't think so, but it actually wouldn't surprise me if
she knew someone who did," Ranma ruefully muses.
"Well, if she tries to steal your computer, break her arms like
you did Akane," Rinrin chuckles, then takes the diskette in Ranma's
hand and slips that into a protective container. "There. Now..."
A *beep!* echoes from Ranma's slacks. Reaching in, she draws
out a cell-phone, then flips it open. "Moshi-moshi? Who's this?"
"Hi, Ranma. It's me."
Silence.
"Akane-san, how did you get my number?" Ranma's voice goes cold.
"Um..." the youngest Tendou's voice trails off as she senses
the sudden switch in Ranma's mood, then she coughs to clear her
throat. "Negako-san programmed your number into a cell-phone
she gave Nabiki."
Hearing that, Ranma sighs. "Oh, wonderful. Now everyone
knows..."
"That's not true!"
Silence, then Ranma sits back in her chair. "Excuse me,
Akane-san, but are we talking about the same Nabiki Tendou?"
A sigh. "Ranma, I know you don't trust her, but she knows when
to control herself," Akane immediately protests.
"Akane-san, if you're going to waste my time excusing your
sister's pathetic behaviour and giving me an earache and headache
along the way, then this conversation ends now. What do you want?"
Ranma demands.
Pause, then, "R-r-ranma...?" Akane stutters.
Longer pause, then, "Well?" Ranma prods.
"Ranma, you're being unreasonable!" Akane snaps.
"Too bad. You've been fuckin' unreasonable to me since the day
YOU walked in on ME in the damned furo, then started calling me a
pervert when I never did anything against you OR ANYONE ELSE!!"
Ranma snarls. "If you think I'm going to crawl back and let myself
be your pet punching bag again, you are VERY mistaken, Tendou. Now
what is it you want? You've got five seconds." She holds up a hand,
then turns her thumb in. "Four..."
"Ranma, stop this!!"
Down goes the index finger. "Three..."
"Why are you doing this...?!"
Middle finger. "Two..."
"Ranma, please...!"
Ring finger. "One..."
"I LOVE YOU!!!!"
Ranma jolts, her eyes widening in surprise at Akane's shout,
then she sighs. "No, you don't," she shakes her head. "Don't call
me again."
She cuts the connection, then slips the cell-phone into her
pocket. "Aneki, are you okay?" Rinrin gently prods, squeezing
Ranma's shoulder.
The martial artist blinks, then sighs. "I'd like to be alone
now."
"Okay."
The inventor steps out...
* * *
Hearing gentle sobs from her room, Kasumi races up to Akane's
door, then knocks. "Akane?! Akane-chan, are you alright?!"
she knocks again, then opens the door to look inside.
"Akane-chan...?"
The youngest Tendou is face-first on her bed, sobs stealing
her voice. The cell-phone is on the floor nearby. Seeing how
unstrung Akane has become, Kasumi immediately moves to comfort.
"There, there, Akane-chan..." she draws her sister into an embrace.
"It's alright..."
"N-no, it's n-not alright, O-onee-chan..." Akane moans, burying
her face into Kasumi's shoulder. "He h-h-hates me..."
"What happened?"
Akane shudders, then taking a deep breath to calm herself,
repeats the conversation she had with Ranma. Hearing her admit that
she had screamed out "I love you" to Ranma elicits a smile from
Kasumi. That instantly fades when she hears Ranma's reply, then she
droops her head on hearing what Ranma's parting words to Akane were.
"Oh, Akane..."
"Wh-what do I do n-now, Onee-chan?" Akane pleads.
The elder sister blinks, then shrugs. "I don't know..."
* * *
A knock is heard. "Come in!"
The door opens, revealing Ranma, now in pyjamas. Ataru stares
at her, then he blinks on seeing the neutral look on her face. "You
okay?"
"I..." Ranma begins, then sighs. "Can I sleep with you
tonight?"
He takes that in, then rises, walking over to place supportive
hands on her shoulders. "What happened, Ranma?" he gently prods.
"Oh, nothing much," she tries to smile. "Akane just called
me on my cell-phone. Negako gave Nabiki my number and she passed
it on to Akane."
Hearing that, Ataru winces. "Ranma, I'm sorry..."
"Nah, nah, it's okay," Ranma shakes her head. "Look, can you
ask Negako to make sure they don't have my number anymore?"
"Sure, I'll contact her right away," Ataru turns to his
computer...
* * *
"Oh, damn it, Akane, I'm sorry..."
"No, it's not your fault!!" Akane waves Nabiki down, then sniffs
before lifting up a cup of tea and sipping it.
The sisters sit around the dining table. "Maybe it'll be best
for us to leave Ranma-kun be for a while," Kasumi sighs.
"What about what Auntie's planning?" Akane wonders, gazing on
her older sister. "He needs to know about THAT at least!"
"He will be told."
The sisters jolt, then spin to the doorway. "Negako-san!!"
Nabiki gapes on recognizing the newcomer. "What the hell are YOU
doing here?!"
"Oh, Moroboshi-sensei, please, come in!" Kasumi smiles, then
rises to prepare some more tea for the ninjitsu grandmistress.
Negako watches her enter the kitchen, then moves to sit beside
Akane. "Your cell-phone, Nabiki," she holds out her hand.
Nabiki blinks, then sighs, handing it over. "I take it he asked
you to do this?" she wonders as Negako flips it open, then taps
controls.
"Through Ataru, he did. Did you write the number down?"
"No. No one else knows, not even Akane."
Negako hands the phone back. "You can control yourself if you
give yourself a chance, Nabiki. That will serve you well in the
future."
Akane gazes on the other woman, then sighs. "Sensei?"
"Do not call me that, Akane," Negako orders.
"Eh?! B-but...!"
"Relax, Akane-chan. Negako-san told Hinako-sensei the same
thing this morning when she came by to pick up Ataru-kun's student
records," Nabiki giggles on seeing Akane react to Negako's order.
"I..." Akane stutters.
"Why, Negako-san?"
Negako looks up as Kasumi steps into the sitting room, a new tea
tray in hand. As the eldest daughter prepares the tea, the
grandmistress sighs. "Easily answered. In the eyes of That Force
from which we all emerge at birth and will return to on our death,
we are all, in the end, the same. In the face of That, such
stratification as expressed by the use of titles like 'sensei'
is ultimately worthless. Further, as history has shown, the social
divisions between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' creates a level of
friction which has led to things such as crime and war. Why
propagate something which, in the long run, does more harm than
good?"
The sisters gaze on her, all clearly intrigued by her
explanation. "You are strong in your beliefs," Kasumi notes, handing
Negako a cup.
"And very direct in your dealings with others," Nabiki adds.
"I have explained why. Also, I've had little 'positive'
experience in dealing with others," Negako sips her tea. "Some might
say it jaundiced me when it comes to dealing with others. I
disagree. Most people cloak themselves needlessly for some of the
most curious, even foolish, reasons. Pride, insecurity, selfishness,
hatred, the desire to be seen as the most important person in the
group...! Feh! Meaningless in the end."
"You're a Taoist, then?" Akane gazes on her.
"Yes, I could be described as that. The basic foundations
of my family's Art is centred on Taoist theory. It is a belief that
eliminates the illusions and the falsehoods those who seek that
valueless chalice called 'power' blind themselves with, not to
mention those who are the victims of the power-seekers themselves."
A pause, then, "'Honour,' in the eyes of my family, is a concept
which demands the truth first and foremost. Throughout the years,
my family learned that Bushido does not facilitate the promulgation
of such truth. Hence, our Art is the art of the ninja, not the
samurai. Light blinds people, especially if the light is shined
directly into a person's eyes. Granted, there have been those
samurai and other such 'gentry' throughout history who have lived
very exemplary lives. But, as you can easily guess, they are VERY
few and far between."
"You reject our history?" Kasumi's eyebrow arches.
"No. My family rejects those who glorify the wrong lessons
that history teaches," Negako smiles. "We also do not allow the
'glory' history presents us to blind us from the truth, like so many
others seek to blind the new generation in school and elsewhere.
I believe the reason Ataru and Ranma have become friends is that
Ranma has come to share many of Ataru's attitudes, Kasumi. They have
led emotionally harsh lives. They have been raised to believe
certain things, then have come to realize those beliefs are all based
on lies perpetuated by those they once trusted implicity."
"Yeah, I can see that," Nabiki muses, then she perks on hearing
the faint sound of the front gate opening and closing. "Uh-oh..."
"Oh, it's Father and Uncle," Kasumi sighs.
Moaned singing waifs through the front doorway as two drunken
men stagger inside. They quickly stop on seeing the extra woman
sitting at the table. "Ara...?" Souun blinks. "Who's this, Kasumi?"
"Why, Father, this is Negako Moroboshi!" Kasumi grins, ignoring
the warning look from Nabiki and Akane's rolling eyes.
Silence.
"***WHERE IS RANMA-KUN?!?!?!***" Souun goes into Demon Head,
making his daughters scramble away from the coffee table.
Negako gazes impassionately on the hideous, twisted creature
floating before her, then yawns. "Pathetic," she holds up a finger,
then drops the boom. "Go to sleep, Souun. ***SEISHIN REEZAA
KOOSEN!!!!***"
A bolt of bright chi punches through the Demon Head, sending
Souun flying out of the house and into the koi pond. "Wow!" Nabiki
whistles.
Growling, Genma lunges for the ninjitsu grandmistress.
Before he could grab her, she disappears behind what the Tendou
sisters recognize as the Umisenken cloak. Genma slams into the
floor, then bolts back to his feet. "WHERE ARE YOU?!?!" a torrent
of spittle bursts from his mouth. "How dare you use MY technique
against me, you stupid girl?!!"
"Why, once you taught her your so-called 'sealed' techniques,
it then became *Ranma's* technique, Genma. And she gave me
permission to make use of it," Negako's voice seems to drift from
every corner of the room. "Sufficient, but it can stand to tolerate
some improvements."
Genma shudders, then laughs. "Hah!!"
He vanishes under his own cloak. "Oh, shit...!" Nabiki pales.
"***SEISHIN SHURIKEN ARASHI!!!!***"
A pained scream echoes from nowhere, then Genma suddenly appears
near the door. Slamming into him are invisible bolts of chi that
tear into his gi and skin. The sisters gape in disbelief as the
portly martial artist is blasted back by the invisible Psychic
Shuriken Storm, then he is punched HARD in the gut. The force of the
blow sends him flying into a koi pond just evacuated by a dazed
Souun. At that moment, Negako reappears.
"Wow..." Nabiki and Akane breathe together.
At that moment, Happousai returns from a late evening panty
raid. "Tadaima!!" the aged grandmaster bounces off Souun's head,
then lands beside Negako, dropping off his bag of silky delights.
"Oh, hello, Negako-chan. What brings you about this part of the
neighbourhood tonight?"
"Hello, Happy. Ranma asked me to ensure Nabiki could not spread
her cell-phone number to every interested party in Nerima."
"Ah...!"
"'Happy?!!'"
Both gaze on Souun. The Tendou patriarch is madly stammering,
his finger waving from Negako to Happousai to Negako and back.
"Y-you..." he stutters, then turns on Happousai. "Master, you KNOW
her?!!"
"Of course, boy!" Happousai smirks. "We've run across each
other many times over the last hundred years or so. Right,
Negako-chan?"
"Quite correct," Negako confirms. "Oh, Akane, come here."
Akane blinks, then walks over. Negako turns around, then gently
sliding the sling away from the younger Tendou's cast, taps several
points on the plaster. Everyone gapes as it crumbles into dust, then
Akane winces as the gentle shift on her upper arm sends waves of pain
from her shattered bone right into her brain. Negako places a hand
on Akane's elbow, then closes her eyes. A reddish aura then encases
the grandmistress from head to toe as chi energy pours into Akane's
body to instantaneously mend the wrecked bone, tendon and muscle
tissue. That lasts for a minute, then the aura immediately
fades, Negako releasing Akane's arm.
The younger Tendou jolts, then gasps on sensing no real pain
from her once-wounded extremity. Reaching tentatively to feel her
upper arm bone, she jerks as a brief burst of discomfort surges
through her arm. But it was clearly obvious to her that the bone was
whole and intact. "I..." she gapes, then stares wide-eyed at Negako.
"I...!" she shakes her head.
Negako looks away from her. "Kasumi, make sure for the next
three days that Akane consumes twice the amount of food she normally
takes. This will help restore her chi levels to normal. If Tatewaki
Kunou intends to re-initiate the 'Fight for Akane's Heart' Monday
morning, she will have to be in the best shape possible to deal with
her would-be suitors."
"I..." the eldest daughter blinks, then nods. "H-hai,
Negako-san, I'll see to it right away. Does Akane-chan need specific
foods?"
Negako turns to leave. "No. Standard diet will do her well for
the time being. Nabiki, be at the house tomorrow morning at the
usual time."
"Right," Nabiki nods.
Negako then catches herself. "Oh, one more thing," she reaches
into her top, then draws out a sealed package. "For you, Happy."
"What's this?" the aged grandmaster takes it, then sees through
the clear plastic that the package contains a very frilly bra and
panties. "Oh, for ME?!! Hot-cha!!!" he gushes, then rips it open
to draw out the newest parts of his collection. "Oh, so soft..."
he feels the silk on his skin, then tenses, his nose twitching.
"Wait a minute..." he takes a deep sniff, then blinks, his eyes
instantly misting over. "Ranma-chan..."
"What...?" Souun's jaw hits the patio. "No...!"
"Ranma-chan, you sweet darling!!" Happousai launches into his
own mega-wail. "You are SO devoted to your poor, suffering
master!!!" he rubs his face into the bra and panties. "Oh, such a
WONDERFUL present!!"
"Toshiko and Kumiko promise their own gifts to you as soon as
they can arrange for their delivery, Happy," Negako reports.
"Toshiko-chan and Kumiko-chan too?!" Happousai jolts, his eyes
misting over, then he screams out, "I'M THE LUCKIEST MAN ALIVE!!!!"
Shaking her head at her friend's antics, Negako steps towards
the front gate, then taps her foot on the ground. That sends a chi
pulse into the cherry tree overhanging the koi pond. Instantly,
a low-hanging branch breaks away, then drops right on Genma-panda's
head. The transformed martial artist grunts, then drops into an
unmoving heap in the water.
By the time the onlookers could turn pull their eyes away from
that scene, Negako is gone. "Wow...!" Akane whistles.
Souun shudders, then drops to his knees. "Oh, the schools
will NEVER be joined now...!!" he wails, dousing his patio with
tears.
His daughters ignore his moaned weeping. Happousai gazes on his
old student, then feeling Ranma's silky gift against his cheek, heads
upstairs. "I'm going to spend some time with Ranma-chan's
darling little gift for me! Good night, ladies!" he waves, then
bounds away.
"Good night, Ojii-san," Nabiki waves back, then as soon as the
aged grandmaster has bounded upstairs, snaps her fingers. "So THAT'S
how Ranma-kun got Ojii-san to play along with his last training
trip!"
"Very smart thinking on Ranma-kun's part, ne?" Kasumi wonders.
"Got that right, Onee-chan."
Akane shakes her head. "Ranma no baka..."
* * *
Welcome House, early next morning...
"Eh?! Onii-chan and Onee-chan are sleeping together?!"
"Hai!" Yotsuba nods, standing with Karen in the main foyer,
near the side door leading into the kitchen. "Yotsuba saw Ane-chama
walk into Ani-chama's room last night and she ASKED if she could
sleep with Ani-chama!!"
"She did?!" Karen gasps, then quakes delightedly. "Oh, that's
so WONDERFUL!! Onii-chan and Onee-chan are falling in love!"
"I think Aneki's still falling OUT of love when it comes to her
old 'fiancees.' She won't be able to do a damned thing with Aniki
until that's finally settled," a voice hails from the stairs behind
the other girls.
"Oh, Rinrin-chan, ohayou," Karen smiles as she and Yotsuba
watch the teen inventor come down the stairs. "Did you sleep at all
last night?"
"Yeah, got a bit," Rinrin assures her sister. "Finally got some
good molecular processors for Mecha-Rinrin, plus I'm getting parts
together for Aneki's computer. I think I'll skip the power trial
with the Plato-mecha today. After yesterday, I'm not in the mood to
sail around."
"That's wonderful," Karen beams. All the sisters knew the basic
details about Rinrin's penultimate private research project: to
create a realistic android replica of herself, one she calls
"Mecha-Rinrin." "How soon do you think you can hope to wake
Mecha-Rinrin-chan up?"
"Oh, not for a bit," Rinrin shakes her head. "I'm straying
into serious unknown territory here, Karen-chan. Worrying constantly
about that's going to get me nowhere fast. I'm kinda glad that I can
do things like make Aneki's computer. If I concentrate too much on
Mecha-Rinrin at any one time, I'll probably never be able to see her
fully functional!"
The others nod, then Sakuya steps out of the dining room,
heading for Ataru's. Knocking on the door, she calls out,
"Onii-sama? Onee-sama? Are you two awake? There's something
you have to see, Onii-sama!"
"Sakuya-chan, what's wrong?" Karen wonders as the others walk
up.
"Go see the Rinrin-Viewer," Sakuya points to the dining room.
The door opens, revealing Ataru, still in his pyjamas as he rubs
the sleep from his eyes. "Oh, everyone, hi!" he smiles. "What's
wrong?"
"You have to see this, Onii-sama," Sakuya guides him with her.
The others follow save Yotsuba, who slides up to the door
leading into her Ani-chama's room. Peeking in, she gasps on seeing
Ranma suddenly appear before her face. Fortunately, the martial
artist is in her pyjamas; she also just woke up. "Yotsuba, is it
even *remotely* possible that a person can do things in this place
without you constantly spying on them?" she grumbles, then closes
the door on the would-be detective's face.
Yotsuba sighs. Meanwhile, Ataru stands in the dining room,
gazing on the Rinrin-Viewer, now tuned to NHK News. "...hope that
in light of his actions on Monday after the school was destroyed,
Ataru Moroboshi would come home and be there for the memorial service
we plan for our lost loved ones today," Rui Megane is explaining
to what appears to be a conference somewhere in Tomobiki. "We
realize that thanks to past misunderstandings provoked directly
or indirectly because of that Oni girl..." -- Ataru is quick to note
the venomous outrage burning in Rui's eyes -- "...and her alien
friends, Ataru-kun might not, at this time, feel welcome in Tomobiki.
That is wrong. We want him to know that, regardless of what happened
in the past, that his home is here in Tomobiki..."
The screen flicks to an image of Reigi Yumoa, now in his office.
"So what's the real deal, Reigi-kun?" Ataru wonders.
"Believe it or not, the Tomobiki PTA *is* serious about wanting
you to come to the memorial service," Reigi reports. "As are a lot
of other people. Now, could that actually be some sort of scam to
draw you back to Tomobiki so that Mendou or someone else can come
after you? I'd say the chances are slim to nil. There's the threat
of it going public, right in front of the news media. And after the
lack of sympathy shown by the world news media after Monday's
bombing, that you would be set up for something like THAT wouldn't
go down well, especially among those who probably said 'good
riddance' when Lum and her friends were kicked off the planet."
Everyone turns to Ataru. He considers that, then shakes his
head. "No. I have no real reason to go to that service. I don't
want to show any sympathy for Ryuunosuke's old man. I ESPECIALLY
don't want to show any sympathy for Megane and his goofs. I hardly
knew Nagisa, much less Himiko and Mikiko. Look, Reigi, if someone
asks, tell them that while I was happy to help out on Monday, the
fact that I really didn't know or actually HATED the people who died
that day -- plus the fact that I wouldn't these days trust anyone
in Tomobiki more than I can throw them to the Moon -- made me stay
away. And if they got a problem with that, that's too bad..."
A hand falls on his shoulder. "Onii-sama, there's something
you CAN do," Sakuya leans up to him, then whispers in his ear.
Ataru listens in, then blinks. "You think so?"
"It's the right thing to do," she nods.
He considers that, then sighs. "Oh, alright."
"You want me to change that statement?" Reigi asks.
"Keep it the same," Ataru sighs. "Sakuya, Chikage and I're
gonna visit the Kawamuras and the Serizawas personally after the
memorial service is done and they're back home. Karen-chan,
can you contact the flower shop on Second Street there to get two
memorial bouquets made up right away?"
"I'll call them now," Karen nods, then heads out.
By then, Ranma has come into the room. "Hey, everyone, what's
going on here anyway? Oh, hi there, Reigi-san!" she notes who's on
the Viewer.
"Ohayou, Ranma-san. Oh, I just remembered!" the financier
holds up a finger. "Your mother's initiated divorce proceedings
against your father. I suspect that sometime very soon, she'll learn
of what Tampopo-san did to make sure you could work during your last
training trip."
Ranma considers that, then shrugs. "Oh, that's nice."
"Aneki, aren't you worried?" Rinrin asks.
"About Mom and Oyaji? Not really," Ranma shakes her head. "I'm
just tired of them pretending I don't really exist, Rinrin-chan.
If they want to break up and go their separate ways, that's okay by
me."
"Um, Ranma-san, there's a bit of a problem," Reigi warns.
"Being?"
"It turns out that there are more players involved," Reigi
sighs. "Grandmistress Negako warned me about this sometime
yesterday. It seems your mother's relatives are looking with VERY
envious eyes at your martial arts skills. They're hoping to take
control of them for their own benefit and they're planning to hook
you in by offering you the chance to use their family name as a way
to dissolve your engagements. Grandmaster Happousai is aware of this
now and we can pass it on to Elder Cologne if you want."
Ranma takes that in. "And their feelings for me?"
"Questionable at best."
"Another family of total jerks, you mean," Rinrin scowls.
"Oh, delightful," Sakuya shakes her head.
"Slam their faces into the dungheap for all I care, Reigi-san,"
Ranma sneers, then turns to head out. "I'm gonna visit Toshiko
and Kumiko at their cottage this morning if anyone's interested
in finding me."
"And if someone seeks to challenge you, Ane-kun?"
Ranma acks, stunned to see Chikage standing by the doorway.
Seeing the panicked look on the martial artist's face at the
sorceress' surprise appearance, the others laugh. Ranma considers
that, then shrugs. "Hell, I'll punt the jerks into the sea if I have
to. Toshiko and Kumiko can help if they're close by. Don't worry
about it, Chikage. Later, all!"
"Have fun, Ranma," Ataru waves as she heads out...
* * *
Minutes later, Sakuya peeks into Hinako's room. "Hinako-chan,
are you here?" she looks around, then sees the youngest sister
snuggled against her beloved Kuma-san, peacefully asleep. "Hey,
sleepy-head, it's time to get up!" Sakuya walks in to gently jostle
Hinako awake.
"Huh...?" Hinako moans, then sits up, looking quizzically
around the room before focusing on Sakuya. "Oh, Sakuya-chan,
what's wrong...?"
Sakuya smiles. "I need a favour from you and Kaho-chan,
Hinako-chan. It's something special for Onii-sama and Onee-sama!"
"What's that?" Hinako blinks...
* * *
Downtown Nerima, sometime later...
"The Tenchiaiki Juukazoku?!"
"Hai," Nodoka's lawyer, Maya Nishiki, nods. Also present in the
office is Nodoka's sister Hisayo. Despite their matching looks,
there is a world of difference between them. That is as readily
apparent as their clothing. Nodoka had come to today's meeting
in her usual dress kimono, the Saotome honour sword bundled and
cradled in her arms. Hisayo is dressed in a conservative business
suit, a briefcase by her feet.
"What exactly ARE the Tenchiaiki Juukazoku, Maya-san?" Hisayo
asks.
"The basic answer is that they're ten large families who, to
this day, feel themselves solely answerable to the Imperial
Household," Maya sits back in her chair. "Their traditional
task for society as a whole was to locate and aid those people who,
for whatever reason, were abandoned or exiled from their
birth-families or communities. It is a task they take with grave
seriousness, Hisayo-san. And it is a task that they have carried
out faithfully for the past thirteen hundred years."
Nodoka's and Hisayo's eyes widen. "Thirteen hundred years?!"
the latter exclaims. "Then why hasn't this ever appeared in a
history book?"
"Why?" Maya chuckles. "Could you imagine what could happen
if...?" she pauses, then sighs. "If people learned that there are
those out there in society who had burakumin ancestry? And yet those
people had ALL clues to that ancestry wiped out, then were given a
practical new identity -- a clean slate! -- to carry on their lives?
And no matter how much people would suspect the truth, they could
never produce the proof because all records of same had been wiped
off the face of the Earth?"
Nodoka shakes her head. "That's illegal!"
"Oh? And that makes persecuting burakumin legal?" Maya wonders.
"It's been done for years!" Nodoka states.
"So has this."
Silence falls as Ranma's mother considers that, then she asks,
"Why does this happen, Maya-san? Why is this allowed?"
Maya sighs. "Nodoka-san, under Article 14 of the Constitution,
it is against the law for anyone to discriminate against a citizen
of Japan, deny him or her the basic rights and freedoms guaranteed
by the Constitution, without due process of law. Article 13 of the
Constitution states that citizens of Japan have the right to the
pursuit of happiness. In effect, those who discriminate against
people because of burakumin ancestry, for example, are breaking
the basic law of Japan. However, we don't DO anything about it
because our society is more comfortable with keeping to old
traditions. One of which is to not 'rock the boat' and legislate
against those old traditions." She shrugs. "The Juukazoku families
seek to redress problems like that to the benefit of the victims."
"In other words, they keep a balance," Hisayo finishes.
"Exactly."
"And these families only respond to the Imperial Household
Agency?" Nodoka demands. "To the Emperor himself? Not the Diet?"
"Exactly," Maya nods. "As you probably are aware, there are
those families who, back in the old days, never prostrated before
the Shooguns, but swore absolute loyalty to the Emperor. The
Tenchiaiki Juukazoku are part of that group. And because of that,
they're given a lot of leeway when it comes to unique situations..."
she holds up a finger in a shushing motion, "...as long as they
handle the situation with discretion."
"That seems logical," Hisayo nods.
"And my son is now under the protection of one of these
families?" Nodoka presses. "And has been for the last month?"
"Yes," Maya nods. "An independent agent of the Juukazoku
learned of your son's problems and concluded that Ranma needed some
outside help to put his life in order. The specific charge brought
up was the possibility that your son has suffered from child abuse,
child neglect and practical spousal abuse. She then arranged to have
the people who've interacted with Ranma -- yes, Nodoka-san,
including you -- investigated to either prove or disprove those
charges. Once that is done and a case is made, it will then go
before the Court of Special Appeals. That's a branch of the Imperial
Household Agency, with power that equals the Supreme Court only in
family matters such as this. If the judge decides that the charges
are true, you and your husband BOTH will lose custody of Ranma. All
agreements made by either of you on Ranma's behalf will have no legal
standing. You could not threaten Ranma with disowning him. If he
wants to keep the Saotome name, he would have that power. It will
be as if he was starting a new branch of the clan, free from any
influence from either you or your husband."
"That's incredible!" Hisayo whistles.
"Yes, it is," Maya nods. "After that is done, Ranma could,
if he so chose, ally with one of the Juukazoku families. In fact,
I can tell you now that one such family has taken considerable
interest in him."
"Which one is that?" Nodoka wonders.
"The Moroboshi family of Sendai and Wakkanai."
Nodoka blinks. "Are they related to Ataru Moroboshi...?"
"Ataru-san is the Patriarch-in-Waiting of that family,
Nodoka-san," Maya warns. "When he becomes of age, he becomes the
Patriarch. His half-sister, Sakuya Sukeyama, is the
Matriarch-in-Waiting. When she becomes of age, she will become
leader of the clan. And by her word ALONE, Ranma could be, in
effect, adopted into the Moroboshi Clan. And if he wanted to stay
as 'Ranma Saotome,' he could. No one could stop it at that point."
Nodoka takes that in, then sinks back in her chair. "Gods..."
"Yes," Maya nods.
"What are my sister's options right now?" Hisayo asks.
The lawyer takes a breath, then sighs. "Very limited,
Hisayo-san. Even under a normal family court, Nodoka-san could
easily be accused of wilful child abandonment, if not collusion
to child abuse. The seppuku agreement Genma forced Ranma to
acknowledge would be seen as the ultimate proof of your negligence
towards your own child, Nodoka-san," she gazes at her client. "In
that case, you or Genma could disown Ranma and the normal courts
would have to acknowledge that. But with the Moroboshis and the
power of the Juukazoku behind Ranma now, plus the threat of facing
the Court of Special Appeals?" She shakes her head. "Impossible."
Nodoka considers that, then sighs. "That there is a family
willing to help my son come through this time in his life..." she
takes a deep breath, "...it makes me very happy, Maya-san. I want
my son to have a good life, a happy life. But..." she bows her eyes,
"...to be implicated as one who allowed her own son, her own
flesh-and-blood, to be hurt...?"
"People have different opinions about everything under the sun,
Nodoka-san," Maya warns. "I know you would never think of
intentionally hurting your child. But clearly, Ranma now has a very
different viewpoint of what place, if any, you have in his life. My
advice to you right now is this: seek your divorce from Genma, then
when he's out of the way, try to fully reconcile with Ranma. Most
of all, Nodoka-san, forget this whole idea of having him adopt your
maiden name. I don't think he'll accept that sort of thing.
Clearly, from what you've told me of what he's done in the last four
weeks, he wishes to live the remainder of his life as 'Ranma
Saotome.' Now he has the ability to do just that, Nodoka-san.
Don't try to take it away from him. It's his life. Let him live
it."
Nodoka considers that, then nods...
* * *
Promised Island...
*Oh, man! How the heck did I get on an island?!*
A panting black piglet with a tiger-striped bandanna wrapped
around his neck takes a careful view of the surrounding countryside.
His perch is the highest point on Promised Island: the top of the
grinning humanoid statue at the apex of Stargazer Park. Ryouga's
backpack and clothes, the latter tied around the straps so he didn't
lose them, lay by the statue's base. *Where the hell am I?!* the
transformed wanderer wonders as he takes in the view. *And how the
hell do I get back to Nerima?!*
"Hey! Who dropped this here?!"
P-chan blinks, then looks down to see a slender, teenage girl
balancing herself on rollerblades beside his pack. Squealing,
the piglet bounds off the statue, then makes a four-point landing
near the pack. Seeing that, the girl gazes quizzically at him, then
her eyes go wide. "Hey, you're Ryouga Hibiki, right?!" she points
at him, then skates over to scoop him up. "What the heck're you
doin' here on Promised Island?!"
"Bweep?!!" P-chan jolts, eyes wide. *Hey!! How do you know I
am?!*
Sensing the meaning of his squeal, Mamoru chuckles, then slides
over to scoop up his backpack. Seeing the athlete lift the pack,
which had his umbrella stowed atop it, without a struggle, the
transformed Ryouga grunts approvingly. Very few people could lift
his pack with one hand, especially when you included the umbrella.
"My big brother told us about you. He's Ataru Moroboshi," Mamoru
explains as she skates down the path towards Fifth Street, the
innermost of the "ring" roads circling part of the island.
Hearing that name, Ryouga jolts, then emits a tired "Bweep!"
*Ataru Moroboshi?!* he grumbles as dark thoughts flash through his
mind, then he gazes up on Mamoru. *Your big brother?! Oh, man! I
pity you!*
"Fortunately, you're in luck," Mamoru announces as she easily
curves around a corner, then takes a recently paved pathway towards
the southwest side of the Island. "Anee -- Ranma Saotome, I mean --
well, she's here on the Island with her sisters. I'll take you to
'em right now."
He jolts again on hearing his rival's name, then his eyes go
wide as two unfamiliar concepts Mamoru just mentioned roll through
his mind...
First: why was this girl calling Ranma "big sister?"
And second: when did Ranma supposedly GET sisters?!
His train of thought is interrupted when he notices Mamoru
skating towards what appears to be a sheer cliff. "Hang on tight,
Hibiki-san!!" the athlete laughs as she bounds up at the last minute,
then angles herself towards the patio of a seashore cottage some
metres below.
"BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...!!!!"
Mamoru tosses his pack and umbrella in the air, then lands on
one leg. Dropping P-chan to the deck, she then shifts on the other
leg as the pack, umbrella in place, lands in her outstretched
arms. Mamoru then skids to a halt by the edge of the patio, then
gently glides back to stop before the transformed Ryouga, giving
him a cute curtsey. "Here we are!"
P-chan tries not to sway too much as his mind rolls through
what he just experienced. *Oh, man, she's got LOADS of
potential...!* he manages to think before gloved hands pick him up,
then he's turned around to gaze into a tres-cute smiling face framed
by platinum blonde hair, topped with a frilly headband and pierced
by sparkling purplish-blue eyes. "Bweee...?!"
"Ah!" the girl gushes, then playfully rubs her nose against
P-chan's snout. "Bubu-san! Aria like Bubu-san very much," she
cradles him close.
The transformed Ryouga's eyes go wide. *'Bubu-san?!!'*
he tries not to moan. *Oh, man, that's even worse than 'P-chan!!'*
"Um, Aria-chan, that's Anee's," Mamoru warns.
Aria gazes on her. "Bubu-san is Nee-ya's pet, Mamoru-chan?"
"Um, y-y-yeah," the athlete flusters, wishing to hell that the
young Parisian could handle the whole concept of Jusenkyou curses.
That didn't mention, of course, the fact that Ryouga would be in his
birthday suit if hot water was applied to him now. There was NO WAY
that Guenevere would allow her ward to be subject to THAT! "Let me
hang onto him, Aria-chan," she lifts P-chan from Aria's grasp. "Anee
and Toshiko-san should be back from the convenience store soon, so
I'll give him to her then, okay?"
"Alright," Aria nods, then turns to leave. "Bye-bye, Bubu-san,"
she waves at the transformed Ryouga, then opening her umbrella,
heads up the rock stairs to the path leading back to Welcome House.
P-chan gives her a light squeal in return, then looks up at
Mamoru. The athlete remains in place until Aria is well out of
earshot, then looks down. "Sorry about that, but Aria-chan there
really freaked out when Anee transformed back into a guy right in
front of her. 'Sides, we really gotta get your clothes washed,
Hibiki-san. Let's go in." Sliding over to pick up his pack, she
skates into the cottage's living room. "Tadaima!!"
"Mamoru-chan, ohayou!" a voice that sounded exactly like Ranma's
as a girl hails from the kitchen. A second later, a raven-haired
girl who, save for hair colour and a different hairstyle, looked
EXACTLY like Ranma as a girl, steps into the living room. She is in
a white, strapless, thigh-high dress that hugs the curves of her
body, leaving NOTHING to the imagination. "What've you...?" she
notices the pack, then sees the piglet in Mamoru's other hand. "Oh,
Hibiki-san!! What are you doing here?!"
Ryouga's eyes go VERY wide as this doppelganger of Ranma leans
down to gaze fondly at him, giving him a perfect view of her cleavage
at the same time. "Not too sure yet!" Mamoru chuckles. "I found
him up atop the statue in Stargazer Park, then brought him down here.
Mind if I clean out his pack and put his clothes through the wash?
They need it!"
"Oh, I'll do that, Mamoru-chan," Kumiko holds out her hands.
"I've wanted the chance to meet Hibiki-san ever since Toshiko told
me of the times she stole kisses from him after she got out of the
mirror."
"Sure thing," Mamoru hands the pack and P-chan over.
*'Mirror?!'* P-chan perks, then glances up at Kumiko. *Wait
a sec'...! Akane told me something about that once...!*
"Nice ta meetcha, Hibiki-san," Mamoru turns to leave. "See ya!"
The athlete heads out. Kumiko sighs, then looks down on the
transformed Ryouga. "Well, let's get you to the washroom so you can
get back to normal again, then we'll worry about your laundry."
She carries P-chan into the bathroom. Glancing around, Ryouga
is surprised to see that for a cottage, this place had a modern furo
as well as a separate shower stall. Setting him on the linoleum
floor, Kumiko tosses the pack aside, then proceeds to fill and warm
the furo. "Let me see if I can salvage some clean clothes from your
pack, then get them," the raven-haired woman winks before carrying
the pack out of the room.
P-chan remains in place, his mind whirling in confusion as he
tries to put together this insane puzzle he just got dropped into.
All questions about Ataru Moroboshi and his very athletic sister
-- or should he say "sisters?" After all, Mamoru and Aria DID seem
pretty close -- are set aside as he tries to figure out where that
raven-haired near-twin of Ranma came from. And what the heck did a
mirror -- *Oh, what DID Akane say about that?!* he mentally roils
-- have to do with some girl named Toshiko?!
"Ah, Ryouga-sama! What are you doing here?!"
Ryouga jolts, then looks up to see a red-haired version of
Kumiko standing at the doorway to the bathroom. She is now dressed
in a black version of Kumiko's strapless dress, a bag of groceries
in hand. "Oh, did you just come back, Toshiko?!" Kumiko hails.
"Where's Ranma?"
"She'll be here soon," the redhead replies. "Mamoru-chan
wanted to talk to him for a minute. You warming up the furo for
Ryouga-sama?"
"Hai!"
"Okay!" Toshiko purrs. "Be back in a moment, Ryouga-sama,"
she winks as she steps out, her free hand hiking up her skirt a ways,
revealing to the transformed wanderer that she had a thong on under
the dress.
Ryouga blinks, then his eyes go suddenly wide as it finally
clicks in. Oh, no, no, NO!! It was HER!! That crazy, lovesick,
magic mirror-replica of Ranma female half's who kissed him in a park
in Nerima one day. What the HELL was she doing here?! Akane said
that Nabiki was going to get rid of her when the chance came! What
the hell went wrong...?
"Ryouga-sama?"
He looks to the doorway, then squeals on seeing Toshiko standing
at the doorway, now only in her thong -- and no bra to cover
those...!
Those...!
Those...
Oh, no!
NOW he was noticing how beautiful Ranma's female form was?!
P-chan's heart hammers in his brain as the smiling,
crimson-haired seductress walks up to scoop him into her hands, then
lift him to eye-level before bestowing a soft kiss on his snout.
That kiss overwhelms him, his eyes rolling into his head as the
strength in his body fails...
* * *
"Huh...? Where'm I...?"
Ryouga's eyes flutter as he finds himself staring at some
strange ceiling, a fan now whirling directly overhead. The wetness
encompassing him from mid-chest down seems a relief. Well, it was
hot water and he was human again! Looking around, he then jolts on
recognizing the room he was in. Before he could determine a path of
escape, a voice calls out from his right, "You okay?! The girls
didn't freak you out that much, did they?!"
He turns to see Ranma soaping herself down in the shower stall.
Seeing that her hair was mid-back length -- he did remember that
Toshiko and Kumiko had cut their hair to a taper on the neck -- he
relaxes, then jolts on realizing something else, something that sends
chills down his back. Ranma was bathing in HOT water. And she was
not a man.
"Ranma..." he gapes, his jaw drooping in shock.
Ranma blinks, then stares at him for a moment before turning
back to her ablutions. "I'm locked for the time being as a girl,"
she explains. "You met Aria-chan when Mamoru-chan brought you here,
right?" On seeing him nod, she continues. "Aria-chan's got a big
enough problem seeing me turn into a guy, so Ataru's elder sister
Negako asked to lock me as a girl while I'm with them. That's why
Mamoru-chan told Aria-chan you were my pet. You didn't want to end
up changing in front of her, didn't you?"
"I..." Ryouga blinks, then shakes his head. "No, of course
not! I...!" he pauses, then peers intently at Ranma. "Wait a
second! How many sisters does Moroboshi have in the first place?!"
Ranma sprays herself down, then shuts off the shower.
"Thirteen. Twelve half-sisters, including Mamoru-chan and Aria-chan.
Same dad but different moms. Then there's Negako. She's adopted.
The best martial artist I've ever met, even better than Jijii or
Elder Cologne TOGETHER!" She steps out of the stall, then checking
herself in the mirror to ensure she had no soap suds on her, moves
to step into the furo. "Shove over, Ryouga," she sits down, then
relaxes. "Aaah, that feels so good!"
Ryouga blinks, his mind whirling over these new factoids,
then he points to the doorway. "What about those mirror-clones
of yours?!"
"I didn't like the idea of Nabiki putting them back in that
mirror, so Jijii and I busted them out of the compact, then sent them
on their way," Ranma explains. "They decided to go to Jusenkyou
to get some Nanniichuan water for me, but Kumiko fell into the
Nyanniichuan. That mixed up with the spirit-magic of the mirror
and she got mentally turned into a girl. Soon afterward, they met up
with Herb and he locked her into place with the Chiisui-ton,
then they came back. They're gonna be living here from now on, so
PLEASE don't try to wreck the place, okay?"
"I...!" Ryouga blinks, then nods. "Oh, alright."
"Oh, I told them about Akari too, so you don't have to worry
about them trying to bed you," Ranma adds with a knowing grin, then
howls with laughter on seeing Ryouga's cheeks turn cherry red. "Oh,
RELAX, man!!" she slaps him playfully in the shoulder, then sighs.
"You gotta admit, they are starved for love. And you ARE a pretty
handsome guy, you know!"
"I...! Um, th-thanks...!" Ryouga flusters, then jolts. "Hey,
wait a minute! What the hell are you saying something like THAT to
me?!"
"Why not? It's the truth," Ranma shrugs.
Silence.
"Ranma, what's happened to you?" Ryouga gazes on her.
"A lot," she admits, then blinks as the door opens. "Hinako?!"
"Onee-tama, there you...! OOOPS!!" Hinako's cheeks redden on
seeing a strange man sitting beside Ranma, then she shies away. "Um,
g-gomen ne!"
Ranma chuckles. "Try knocking next time, Hinako-chan.
What's up?"
"Ah, y-yeah," the youngest of the sisters laughs, then waves
out of the bathroom. "Kumiko-chan told Hina that Hibiki-san's
clothes are gonna be done in an hour or so. Could Onee-tama come
back to the House after? Hina and Kaho-chan've got a big, big, BIG
surprise for Onee-tama!"
"A surprise?! For me?! Sure thing!" Ranma beams, then waves
Hinako out of the bathroom. "Now scoot, Hinako-chan!"
"Hai, hai!"
Hinako leaves, closing the door behind her. Ryouga blinks,
blinks again, then points at the door as he stares on Ranma. "Is
she...?"
"Ataru's youngest sister? Yeah," Ranma nods, then sighs, rising
as she stretches herself. "Oh, that felt good. Anyhow, I'm gonna
help make lunch with the girls. Try not to turn yourself into a
prune, okay?"
"Um...! Ah, r-right. Th-thanks," Ryouga nods as Ranma steps
out of the furo, then dries herself quickly before wrapping the towel
around her.
As she heads out, Ranma then stops, looking slyly back at her
rival. "Oh, by the way, Ryouga. If you DO happen to BE seduced
by my sisters, do treat them with kindness. They deserve it for all
their sufferings."
Ryouga acks, ducking himself under the furo water. Ranma laughs
as she heads out, closing the door behind her. A second later, he
bursts out of the water, his body quivering as a familiar anger wells
up. Then, it goes away as confusion settles on his mind like an
all-encompassing cloak. Gazing absently at the door where his rival
had departed, Ryouga shakes his head, a claw of -- well, FEAR! --
firmly grasping his heart.
Point: Ranma hadn't insulted him. That always had annoyed
Ryouga, especially when Ranma called him "P-chan" or "pork boy" in
front of Akane in a vain way of stepping around his promise to Ryouga
from long ago.
Point: Ranma had spoken to him with great civility. In fact,
Ranma had spoken with the clear, crisp sentences that denoted someone
who spent a lot of time in class. Something Ranma had NEVER been
able to do.
Point: Ranma had actually allowed himself to be locked as a
girl while he was staying with Ataru and his sisters. While trying
to not upset a girl as young as Aria seemed proper, it still would
grate on Ranma. By the way he had spoke about it when he explained
what had happened, Ranma clearly didn't MIND being locked as a girl.
THAT was a scary thought!
Point: Ranma had teased him, but it hadn't been malicious.
And yeah, he could see the humour behind it, given the mirror-twins'
origins.
All great improvements from the Ranma he had know before.
But still...
This was...
This was just not NATURAL!
What the HELL was going on here?!
* * *
Tomobiki, Niiza Temple, before lunch...
"Why isn't he here?!"
Ryuunosuke looks around. While the memorial ceremony for
Monday's victims, hosted by the only Buddhist temple in the town,
was just organized by the PTA yesterday afternoon, attendance
today is huge. An honour guard from the Mendou Panzer Division
lines the pathway to the shrine. Behind them are representatives
from the town's schools, they wearing black arm bands in salute to
their grieving peers from Tomobiki High School.
"Guess he didn't want to come," Ryuunosuke shrugs, standing
beside Shinobu and the other members of Class 2-4 near the shrine's
main entrance. "After all, he didn't really care for Megane and his
pals. Probably didn't really care for Nagisa either, much less
Oyaji. And we KNOW what he felt about his mom and dad. And..."
she pauses, then shrugs, "Well, I doubt he really knew the other
girls who got killed on Monday..."
Shinobu blinks, then lowers her head. "Oh..."
A bell rings. Everyone turns as the memorial procession
walks into the shrine grounds. Cherry leads the procession,
followed by the senior cleric of Niiza Temple. Junior monks lead
each memorial party into the grounds next. Each party is composed
of two Tomobiki High students holding a picture of the deceased,
they preceding the deceased's parents carrying their ashes. As the
procession passes the assembled students, they bow respectfully.
The temple's bell begins to toll as they head inside.
Watching them pass, Shinobu shudders, tears flowing down her
cheeks. Until now, a cloak of unreality had rested over her heart.
As if she was asking herself constantly, "Is this REAL?!" Now, there
was no doubt, not with the parents carrying the ashes of their
children into the temple.
Aisuru Megane.
Daremo Kakugari.
Shitto Paama.
Urayamu Chibi.
Himiko Kawamura.
Mikiko Serizawa.
Six lives snuffed out in a flash of light and flame and the roar
of Semtex, trigged by someone who no doubt looked on what had
happened in Tomobiki over the last two years as the Devil's
handiwork.
A hand rests on her shoulder. She turns to see Ryuunosuke
gazing concernedly at her. Shinobu nods appreciatively,
wiping her eyes as she turns back to watch the procession enter the
temple...
* * *
The ceremony is short, then the victims' ashes are taken out of
the shrine for eventual internment in the town cemetery. Along the
way comes an announcement from the chairwoman of the Tomobiki PTA,
Ayane Hozumi: a memorial to Monday's victims would be erected at
Tomobiki High School, on the spot once selected for Lum's memorial.
Watching the crowd, Shinobu is quick to notice the frustrated
looks etched into the faces of many of the Tomobiki High School boys.
No doubt, they felt, even in the light of Monday's tragedy, that Lum
still deserved her own memorial.
Would Mendou try to do something about it?
As the crowds break up, leaving Niiza-ji for home, Shinobu
and Ryuunosuke walk together. "He didn't show up," the latter notes.
"I know," the former nods.
"Shinobu, ya gotta let him go."
Shinobu stiffens, then relaxes, reaching over to gently grasp
Ryuunosuke's hand. "It's hard," she admits.
"How come?" the tomboy looks at her. "You pretty well dumped
him long before you and I ever met. Why are you still pinin' for the
guy?"
"I..." the other woman blinks, then shakes her head. "I don't
know, Ryuu-chan. I just don't know. I mean..." she bites her lip.
"I didn't like a lot of the things Ataru-kun did, just like everyone
else, but...! There were times he was so...! Well, so..." her voice
trails off.
"He wasn't being a jerk, right?"
Shinobu blinks, then nods. "Hai. Especially before Lum came
to Earth. I've cared for Ataru-kun for a very long time, Ryuu-chan.
Ever since kindergarten, when my cousin Hitomi and her family moved
to Nerima. The day she left, I thought the world had come to an end.
Then Ataru-kun came along and told me that Hitomi-chan wouldn't
be gone forever. That I'd see her again. I..." she grins. "That's
the day I fell in love with him, I guess. Or at least, I decided
I wanted him to be part of my life."
"By the looks of it, he don't agree to that anymore."
Hearing that, Shinobu bows her eyes. "Hai. It hurts,
Ryuu-chan."
"Maybe he's hurtin', too."
"What do you mean?"
Ryuunosuke considers that. "Well, I was thinkin' about what
Yumoa-san said to us on Tuesday. About Moroboshi feelin' that he had
no friends here, how happy he felt on leaving' this place.
Personally, if he wants ta go, Shinobu, I wouldn't hold him back.
And really, you shouldn't think of holdin' him back, either. But
maybe..." she takes in a breath, "...under all that happiness,
he's hurtin'. Maybe he's wishin' things could've been different,
but he's afraid that we won't bend for him anymore."
Shinobu nods, then looks across the street before stopping,
her eyes widening. "Ryuu-chan, look!!" she points.
Ryuunosuke stops, then looks before her jaw drops. "Well, I'll
be damned...!" she gapes on seeing a familiar young man standing
before the middle-aged couple the tomboy recognized as Himiko
Kawamura's parents. Then she notices that Ataru is not alone. "Who
are those girls?!"
Shinobu looks, then jolts, a faint flash of jealousy ripping
up her spine, then she calms herself. While both women, appearing
to be about their age, had wrapped their arms around Ataru's, they
did not seem to be projecting an aura of passionate intimacy towards
him, certainly nothing like what Lum did whenever she was around
her Darling. In fact, it seemed as if the two young women were close
friends, if not...?
*Oh, no! That's impossible!* Shinobu shakes her head.
Ataru was an only child, though she did remember him having
a cousin, a girl named Nokoko, living in Sendai. And he also had
that Negako woman too, though she felt a profound sense of disbelief
every time she recalls what Momoe Marubeya said about her on
Wednesday morning.
As they watch, the girl with the long ponytails hands Mrs.
Kawamura a beautiful bouquet. Respectful words are exchanged,
then the two parties part. Shinobu and Ryuunosuke watch the
Kawamuras leave, then notice Ataru and his lady companions head down
a side street. "C'mon," the former beckons the latter with her as
they cross the street to follow.
"Shinobu, this ain't a good idea," Ryuunosuke warns.
Shinobu shushes her. The two girls remain a respectful
distance behind Ataru and his companions. Too far to overhear
their very animated conversation, though it seems that the ponytailed
girl is the only one speaking to Ataru. The other one, the
purple-haired girl with the white cape with the red-and-white
crosses, keeps very quiet. Why?
A few more turns, then Ataru points towards one house. Shinobu
and Ryuunosuke watch as they walk up to the gate, then the ponytailed
girl presses the doorbell. A moment later, an elderly woman in
formal dress -- Mikiko Serizawa's mother, Shinobu and Ryuunosuke
immediately realize -- steps out to greet them. The caped girl draws
out a bouquet like the one Ataru had given the Kawamuras, then
greetings are exchanged.
"He's visitin' them privately," Ryuunosuke muses.
"I guess so," Shinobu sighs, a sense of relief flooding her
heart. Yes, Ataru had NOT truly walked away from Tomobiki. No
doubt, her former boyfriend was still concerned about what people
like Mendou might still do to him, but he had not totally forgotten
his old hometown. *If he really did hate everyone in Tomobiki,
he wouldn't have come at all,* she sighs.
"You okay?" Ryuunosuke wonders.
Shinobu blinks, then nods. "I'm alright."
Finally, Ataru and his companions bow to Mrs. Serizawa, then
turn away, heading up the street. As Mikiko's mother heads into her
house, the ponytailed girl draws out a cell-phone and makes a call.
Once that is made, she goes back to hugging one of Ataru's arms.
They head to one of the main streets leading downtown, then stand
under a leafless cherry tree. Shinobu and Ryuunosuke place
themselves behind a telephone pole, doing their best to not make
noise. At least here, they could overhear them.
"...PTA contacted Reigi-kun about your absence."
"Oh? They didn't vow Heaven's vengeance on me for my ignoring
their wishes to go to that memorial?" Ataru sarcastically
wonders.
"Not really," the ponytailed girl smirks. "They were saddened
that you didn't feel safe about coming to the service. Apologized
Reigi-kun's ears off for that. But they do want you to come see
them, Onii-sama."
*'Onii-sama?!'* Shinobu's eyes widen surprisedly.
"In a million years," Ataru shakes his head. "I've got other
things to worry about. Did Reigi tell them about how I felt about
those people?"
"I don't think so," the ponytailed girl shakes her head.
"Maybe you should've told Reigi-kun to speak of Megane and his
fools as 'traitors to the human race,' Ani-kun?" the other girl
muses.
*'Ani-kun?!'* Shinobu's eyes widen even more.
"Yeah, that might've made them shut up," Ataru chuckles,
then tenses on hearing a familiar *toot!* echo through the streets.
"There we are!"
Shinobu and Ryuunosuke watch as a stylized tractor, shaped like
an old-fashioned train, stops before Ataru and his companions.
He helps the girls get aboard the passenger compartment behind the
tractor, then turns to board. Taking a step, he stops. "By the way,
don't you have something better to do with your time than follow
me, Miyaki-san, Fujinami-san?!"
The Tomobiki High sophomores gasp as he gazes their way, then
before either could respond, he leaps into the compartment.
The tractor moves off towards downtown. Shinobu and Ryuunosuke
watch it go, then the former moves to follow. "C'mon!!" she beckons
her friend with her.
"No, Shinobu!" the tomboy remains still.
"Ryuu-chan!!"
"Forget it," Ryuunosuke shakes her head, keeping Shinobu in
place. With the latter's superhuman strength having vanished shortly
after Lum had gone home, there was no fear of Shinobu tearing her
friend's arm off to get free. "Didn't you see the look on his face,
Shinobu?" she points where the road-train had gone. "It's over. He
doesn't see you as a friend and he sure as heck doesn't see you as
his girlfriend anymore! Leave him alone, for heaven's sake! You're
only gonna hurt yourself, Shinobu-chan..."
"I...! N-NO!!" Shinobu screams out as she tries to pull free
of Ryuunosuke, then collapses on the sidewalk. "N-no...!
Ataru-kun..."
Ryuunosuke moves to help her back up, then she walks her home...
* * *
Promised Island, Welcome House, later...
"A wedding dress party?!"
"Hai," Hinako nods. Ranma is sitting with most of the other
sisters in the dining room. Shirayuki is busy preparing some
afternoon tea in the kitchen. Much to her annoyance -- though it
didn't really surprise her these days -- Ryouga had vanished after
his clothes came out of Toshiko's and Kumiko's dryer and they had
lunch at the cottage. The mirror-twins were busy tracing the
wanderer down. "We liked playing 'wedding' with Onii-tama before
he went to Sanctuary to train with Onee-tama."
"Perhaps it'll be enough to make Anigimi-sama relax after what
happened on Monday," Haruka adds. "Not to mention what he must've
endured when he spent a whole week away from the Island."
"Yotsuba only wishes she could've gone to Sanctuary with
Ani-chama and Ane-chama to check up on them," Yotsuba laments.
"What DID happen to him?" Mamoru sighs, then stares hopefully
at Ranma. "Hey, Anee, did Anii tell you anything?"
Ranma blinks, then sighs...
* * *
"And..."
Ranma shuddered. "And what, Ataru?" she soothed. "Tell me."
Ataru took a deep breath, then closed his eyes.
"Three billion died, Ranma. Three billion people died..."
* * *
"I'm sorry, Mamoru-chan, but I can't say anything."
"Why?!" Karen pleads. "He's our brother, Onee-chan!"
"I know, I know," Ranma assures her, then takes a deep breath.
"It's just that...! Well, first of all, I don't feel at liberty
to say something your brother told me in confidence. There's no
honour in that. And..."
"What?" Marie prods.
"It..." the martial artist pauses, then sighs. "Well, it's just
that it was something that...! It was so awful! Unlike ANYTHING
I could ever hope to describe to you people. I don't think it's
something that could come to hurt you. At least, Ataru pretty much
HOPES it won't come back to hurt you. You girls are so precious,
so important, to him. He doesn't want what happened to him to hurt
any of you. I know you love and care for him, but PLEASE don't ask
me about that anymore. He..."
The doors open, revealing Shirayuki with a tea tray on a
coaster. "Everyone, tea's ready!" the chef announces.
"Oh, thanks, Shirayuki-chan," Ranma smiles, grateful that the
younger woman had arrived to distract the other sisters from pressing
her further.
As tea is served, Karen walks over to kneel beside Ranma.
"Onee-chan?" she prods. As the martial artist looks at her, she
smiles. "I understand, Onee-chan. Onii-chan is so lucky to have you
as a friend."
Ranma gazes on her, then sighs. "You girls'd like it if I
became more than just Ataru's friend, wouldn't you?" her cheeks
redden.
"Hai, we would," Karen nods. "Please don't think we're pushing
you into Onii-chan's arms, Onee-chan. But we care for you just as
much as we care for him. We want you both to be happy. You deserve
it after all the things you've been through. And..." she pauses,
then looks down.
"You know about what Jusenkyou's supposedly gonna do to me once
Negako fixes up what the N-n-n-neko-ken..." Ranma stops, her body
slightly quivering as a cold feeling falls on her heart, "...did
to me."
Karen gazes at her, then squeezes Ranma's shoulder. "How could
that awful man do all those things to you?" she wonders.
"He wanted to create the perfect martial artist," Ranma shrugs.
"In a way, I can understand. Martial arts is pretty important
to Oyaji and he does have a lot of knowledge he wanted to pass on.
It's just..." she sits back in her chair, then nods thanks as
Shirayuki hands her a cup of tea. "It's the things he did to make
me into that perfect martial artist..." she then sips her tea before
relaxing. "That's what's bugging me. I mean, if he tried to do
something to make things right, that'd be okay. But no! He just
turned around and shoved it all onto me, telling me it was my 'duty,'
my 'responsibility' to make it right. Idiot..." she shakes her head.
"Pass the Buck-itis."
Both look as Yotsuba relaxes beside Ranma. "That's a pretty
interesting way of looking at it, Yotsuba-chan," Karen giggles,
then nods thanks as Shirayuki hands her a cup of tea before sitting
down.
"Never heard it called that before," Ranma shrugs.
"The way Yotsuba sees it, everyone Ane-chama's dealt with has
got it," the detective muses. "'Oh, no, it's not my fault! It's his
fault!' And it always leads right back to Ane-chama," she flips out
her spy-glass and gives Ranma a close inspection. "Now Ane-chama
wants to get away from that, but all of Ane-chama's so-called
'friends' won't let her."
"Selfish people," Karen shakes her head.
"Yeah, you got a point, Yotsuba," Ranma nods.
"Onee-tama?"
"Hmm? What is it, Hinako-chan?"
The youngest sister pauses as she glances down at her tea cup,
then sighs. "Can Onee-tama be Onii-tama's bride today?" she asks.
Ranma blinks, staring wide-eyed at Hinako as her question
rolls around her mind, then she sits back in her chair. "Well..."
"You don't have to if you don't want to, Onee-chan," Karen
prods.
Ranma blinks, then senses the others gaze on her. "I..."
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," Marie sighs. "But I have
to confess, you WOULD look so beautiful in a wedding dress,
Aneue-sama."
"Aria wants to see Nee-ya as a bride."
"Kaho thinks Onee-chama will be Onii-chama's perfect bride!"
"Please, Onee-tama?!" Hinako pleads.
Ranma shudders as a scream of denial surges up from the pit of
her stomach, then on seeing the pleading look on Hinako's face, she
looks down. *I'm still a guy...* she laments, then blinks as
Chikage's words from last night echo through her mind. *Am I...?*
Tears brim her eyelids as all the potential implications of her
embracing womanhood in its entirety sink into her heart. *I'm still
a guy...* she shudders, then looks at her hands.
"Onee-tama..."
Ranma jolts, then rises. "Excuse me."
She walks out of the dining room, breaking into a run as soon
as she hits the doorway. "Onee-chan!" Karen calls out.
Silence falls over the dining room, then Rinrin sighs. "We
pushed her too hard," she shakes her head. "We pushed her WAY too
hard."
"But she can't run away from it, Rinrin-chan," Karen warns.
"She can't possibly think of going back to those people,"
Mamoru protest. "After all the crap they heaped on her? Would she
go back?!"
"No, I do not believe she will go back to them," Haruka shakes
her head. "But if we are not careful, we might make her feel she has
no real home here either, Mamoru-chan. And if that happens..."
The other sisters nod, then Hinako rises, running out of the
room. "Ah, Hinako-chan, where are you going?!" Karen calls out.
Hinako stops by the doorway, then calls back, "Hina'll bring
Onee-tama back!" before racing out of the rotunda.
The others watch her go...
* * *
"So this is the only way on or off the island, huh?"
"Hai. Unless you want to wait for low tide and cross on foot.
Or perhaps convince Chikage-san to let you travel using one of those
magic rainbows of hers. Or you can ask Rinrin-san if she'll give you
a lift on her submarine," Jii-san gently puffs his pipe, relaxing
on his small boat's quarterdeck. Ryouga, now wearing clean clothes
for the first time in quite a while, stands on the dock, he gazing
at the tied-up Plato-mecha.
"Right," the wanderer nods, then glancing back on the Island
itself, blinks on seeing a red-haired young woman walk past the dock
from the direction of Welcome House. "Huh? Ranma?" he blinks,
then looks at the old fisherman. "I'll come by a little later,
Ojii-san. I hope."
"Take your time, son," Jii-san nods as Ryouga races off.
Fortunately for the wanderer, he is able to get to the steps
leading up to First Street without taking some wild, unwelcome
detour. "Ranma!!"
Ranma stops, then stares quizzically at Ryouga before looking
away. "Aren't you trying to get back to the mainland?" she mutters.
That pained, teary-eyed look is enough to tell him that
something was VERY wrong. "Hey, you okay?!" he reaches First Street,
then moves to grasp Ranma by the shoulder. Sensing that, she tenses,
then relaxes, reaching up to squeeze his hand in thanks. Ryouga
blinks, then sighs. "Ranma..."
"Sorry," she whispers, then wryly smiles. "What? Did you
expect me to pound the living daylights out of you like I did Akane
on Tuesday?"
He gazes on her, then sighs. "What's happened to you?"
"Oh, nothing. Everything. My whole life's being turned
inside-out as usual. Par for the course, I guess. But..." she takes
a deep breath, then turns to stare on him. "I'm just very tired of
it all. I'd think that after the wedding, things'd finally calm
down. Boy, was I wrong."
"Want to talk about it?"
She blinks, then her eyebrow arches. "Surprising, hearing
that from someone like you. Not that I don't mind being getting
a chance to talk."
Ryouga gazes on her, then draws his hand back. "You want to
know what's really surprising?" he lightly smiles. "What's really
surprising is that there's this person named Ranma. And yet this
person is nothing like the Ranma I used to know. And much that I
always hated the old Ranma..." he looks down, "...the new Ranma
scares the living daylights out of me."
She stares at him, then sighs. "I can accept that. Not that
I would intentionally want to make you scared of me. Despite all
that's been there between us in the past, I do want to be your
friend, Ryouga."
"Then tell me what's going on," Ryouga sighs.
"You got an hour or so? It's a long and VERY complicated
story..."
"Onee-tama!!!"
Ranma looks as Hinako jogs up. Seeing the worry on the young
girl's face, the martial artist shudders as a wave of guilt roars
up her spine. Instantly, she lowers herself, opening her arms as
Hinako races into her embrace, then Ranma boosts her into the air.
"Hina's sorry!!!" Hinako cries out, then buries her face into Ranma's
neck. "Hina didn't want to scare Onee-tama!! Hina only wanted
Onee-tama to be happy...!"
Ranma holds her close, ruffling Hinako's golden-brown
hair as she shushes her. "It's okay, Hina-chan, it's okay," she
soothes. "Onee-tama wants to be happy. But..." she pulls Hinako
away from her so they can gaze into the other's eyes. "Onee-tama
just doesn't know how to BE happy."
Hinako sniffs. "Has Onee-tama EVER been happy?"
"I don't know, Hina-chan. I just don't know," Ranma shrugs,
then gazes up at the statue in Stargazer Park before she smiles.
"Hey, you know what, Hina-chan? Ryouga and I're a little hungry
right now. You want to go to the snack bar on Third Street and have
some fruit parfait?"
The young girl cheers. "Waaai!! Fruit parfait! Fruit
parfait!!"
Ranma laughs as Hinako hugs her, then grabbing Ryouga by one
hand and keeping Hinako cradled close to her with the other arm,
heads downtown...
* * *
An hour later...
"Ryouga-san, say 'Aaaah!!'"
"Aaah!" Ryouga opens his mouth.
Hinako giggles as she scoops some parfait into the wanderer's
mouth, then turns back to her snack. Watching this, Ranma smiles.
She always knew that underneath his gruff exterior, Ryouga was a big
softie at heart. Hell, he was really no different than she in that
respect. Besides, Hinako could pretty much melt the heart of anyone.
*Except maybe Negako,* Ranma then ruefully muses before sipping
her milkshake. "Hey, you okay?"
Ryouga blinks, then sighs. "It's hard to believe."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"Do you believe it?" he gazes on her.
Ranma considers that, then sighs. "I may have no choice. After
all, the person who made that conclusion is an entity born from the
accumulation of almost a MILLENNIUM of martial arts knowledge.
She's backed by a woman who struck me from the start as being quite
honest when it comes to magic. And..." she shrugs. "In a funny way,
I almost WANT this to happen."
"Yeah, it would really shake a lot of people up," he nods, then
gives her a curious look. "Though some would accuse you of running
away."
"Well, **I** don't see it as running away," she chuckles,
then hums for a moment before shrugging. "If you want to get
technical about it, I'm using a revised version of the Saotome-ryuu's
Final Manoeuvre."
"Searching for your destiny," he nods. "Yeah, I can see that.
By the way, I saw some magazines that had some pretty good photo
layouts of you in both your bodies. Is that how you earned all that
money?"
"Yep. It was loads of fun, especially meeting all of
Tampopo-chan's friends. They..." she pauses, then sighs. "They made
it really easy for me. They didn't push me, didn't try to make it a
challenge or anything dumb like that. You know what, Ryouga? That
was the first time since..." she shrugs. "Well, since I can remember
that I did something I felt good doing. It wasn't like martial
arts training, though. It was a load of work. Believe me, it WAS
work! But I felt really good doing it."
"Will you keep on doing it?"
"You bet."
"What'll your dad do when he finds out?"
Ranma snorts. "I don't care about Oyaji anymore, Ryouga. If
there's one thing I've decided about over the last month that I know
was the right decision, it's to leave the panda once and for all. If
he tries anything to stop me, he's in for a very RUDE surprise."
A pause. "Besides, Mom's moving to divorce him. Even if I choose
to keep the Saotome name, I won't go back to the fool. But right
now..." her voice trails off.
"You're not sure if you want to go back to her, either?"
"Yeah. She's my mom and all that, but she wasn't part of my
life for ten years! I..." she sighs. "You've seen your mom, haven't
you?"
"Rarely," he admits.
"Why?" Hinako blinks, gazing concernedly at him.
The wanderer sighs. "Almost all my family's got a curse that
makes us get lost every time we go anywhere, Hinako-chan,"
he explains. "I got it from my mom. Dad doesn't have it, so we at
least have SOMEONE at home to keep the place whole and intact for
when we DO get home. But..."
"Do you miss your mom?" Hinako wonders.
Ryouga nods. "Yeah, Hinako-chan, I do. A lot. In a way, I'm
pretty lucky compared to Ranma. I've always known Mom's still alive.
When she was on her training trip, Ranma had NO idea if her mom was
alive or not. Her dad didn't tell her anything. And when she came
back..."
He grimaces. "How'd you learn that? From Akane?" Ranma asks.
"Yeah," he nods. "Speaking of which, what are you going to do
with Akane, Ukyou and Shampoo? If they find out about this...?!"
"If Negako and Chikage are right and this can't be changed,
there's nothing they CAN do," Ranma shakes her head. "'Sides,
if it happens, then all the engagements fly out the window. When
that happens, they finally get control of their lives again. After
all they've been through because of me, it's what they deserve,
man. You can understand that, can't you?"
"For Ukyou and a lesser extent Akane, I can certainly agree,"
he nods. "But Shampoo's a whole different story, Ranma."
"Not as bad as you might think. Shampoo's tribe has a special
law she can use in that case to avoid dishonour when she goes home.
I'll still be bound to the tribe, but as an adopted sister, not a
husband."
"Really?"
"Really. And don't repeat that."
"Right, right. Well, that's good. But what about Kunou?"
Ranma gives him a disgusted look. "What do you think, Ryouga?"
"Sorry, sorry!" he chuckles, then sighs. "Then again, it WOULD
be like your old man to get you engaged to Kunou if you do become
a girl!"
A shudder runs through Ranma. "Yeah, it would be, wouldn't
it?"
"Does Ryouga-san want Onee-tama to stay as a boy?" Hinako asks.
The wanderer considers that, then sighs. "Well, I admit that
I'm used to Ranma as a boy, Hinako-chan. And I can certainly
guess what sort of trouble she could be in for when this all happens
to her and everyone realizes they can't change it. I'm glad, at
least, that Elder Cologne and Happousai know about it and are trying
to help ease it along. But..."
"Doesn't mean I won't go easy on you next time you show up,
Ryouga!" Ranma wags a warning finger at him.
"And you think I wouldn't go easy on you?" he glares at her.
Hinako laughs. "Onee-tama has some funny friends!"
The martial artists smile, then Ryouga sighs. "Hey,
Hinako-chan, do you and your sisters REALLY want Ranma to marry your
brother?"
"Un!" she readily nods. "After all, Chikage-chan says that
Onee-tama and Onii-tama are going to get married. And
Negako-oneetama says that Onee-tama and Onii-tama are bound together.
Hina doesn't understand that, though. And Onee-tama and Onii-tama
are friends. And besides, if some creep like Kunou-san or Mendou-san
try to hurt Onee-tama and Onii-tama, they can help each other and
make the bad-bad people go away."
"The impeccable logic of an eight year old," Ryouga chuckles.
Hinako giggles. Ranma blushes. "Yeah, that's true, isn't it?"
she sighs, then rises. "Well, what say we get back to the House and
have a party? When do you want to go to the mainland, Ryouga?
Tonight?"
"Yeah, but I can stick around late. The guy running the ferry
doesn't make the last round trip until eleven o'clock."
"Let's go!" Ranma holds up a hand for the cheque...
* * *
Ten minutes later, the three walk hand-in-hand towards Welcome
House. Ranma is quick to see the small crowd standing by the
rotunda's main doors. Aria is the first to notice who is now
arriving on the grounds. "Nee-ya!" she calls out. "Everyone,
Hinako-chan brought Nee-ya back!"
The others cry out, then race over to confront the martial
artist. A teary-eyed Karen is in the lead. "Onee-chan, please,
I'm so sorry...!!"
"Hey, hey, it's alright, Karen-chan! It's alright!" Ranma
embraces her, then pulls back. Seeing the expectant looks on their
faces, she takes a deep breath, then smiles, her eyes sparkling.
"Hey, aren't we supposed to be having a wedding dress party or what's
the story?!"
Hearing that, the sisters cheer. "Wedding dress! Wedding
dress!!" Hinako leaps up and down, hugging one of Ryouga's arms.
"Hold it, guys! We got a problem!!"
Everyone stops, turning to Rinrin. "What problem?" Karen asks.
"Who's gonna play the priest?!" the inventor demands. "We had
Aneki play the priest when we had our first wedding party, but she's
in Nerima!"
Silence falls, then Ranma looks at Ryouga. "Hey, Ryouga, guess
what?" the former smiles knowingly at the latter.
"WHAT?!!" the wanderer jolts, paling. "You want ME?!! NO
WAY!!!!"
"Please, Hibiki-san?!" Karen pleads.
Now, as almost everyone in Nerima knows, it takes a LOT to
convince Ryouga Hibiki to do something he would normally be
uncomfortable with. But when said fellow is confronted with TEN very
cute girls giving him a chorus of pleading stares -- with obligatory
"Kusu!" from Aria -- even the mighty Ryouga can be laid low. "Oh,
alright, alright!! I'll do it!" he deflates, then chuckles.
"'Sides, it's only make believe!" he rubs his scalp.
"For now."
Surprised looks lock on Ranma. Seeing the light smile on her
face, the sisters shudder, then Yotsuba turns to Rinrin. "Call
Sakuya-chan! We have to delay Ani-chama's return until after
Ane-chama's ready!!"
"RIGHT!!!!" the other sisters cheer...
* * *
That evening...
"Honestly, Sakuya-chan!" Ataru mutters as he carries two large
bags of clothes and other accessories for Sakuya to the House,
following her and Chikage to the rotunda. "If you guys were gonna
pull a surprise on me, you could've chosen to keep me in town instead
of shopping in Shinjuku!"
"Onii-sama, relax!" the eldest of the sisters scolds, then
shudders excitedly. "Besides, I just couldn't walk away from that
sale!"
His eyebrows twitch. "Women!" he mutters under his breath.
"And to believe I once wished to have a harem of them?"
"We HEARD that!" Sakuya and Chikage gaze on him.
The door to the rotunda opens, revealing Toshiko, she now in her
dress kimono. "Ah, Sakuya-chan, Chikage-chan, Ataru-kun, you're
back!" Ranma's crimson-haired mirror-twin beams. "We're almost all
ready!"
"Ready for what?" Ataru wonders, then glances quickly inside
to see a sea of white and loads of flowers. "Oh!" his eyes widen,
then he sighs before giving them a knowing grin. "Girls, if you were
going to do another wedding dress party, that's hardly a surprise
to me!"
"Bets?" Sakuya smirks, then takes the packages from him. "Now,
get to the chapel and wait for us, Onii-sama! C'mon, Chikage!"
"Hai," the sorceress nods.
"You mean I finally get to see Chikage in a wedding dress?"
Chikage jerks, then flusters before giving Ataru a knowing
look. "Well, if you MUST insist, Ani-kun," she sniffles in
exaggeration.
"EH?!?!" a half-dozen voices cry out.
"Wai!! We're gonna see Chikage-chan in her wedding dress!!"
Hinako, all ready for the big "moment," races out to give Chikage
a hug.
Laughter echoes around the rotunda, then Ataru shrugs. "Well,
what the heck! We need something to make us smile! But first..."
He steps back from the others, then relaxes himself, extending
his right arm out. A ball of chi billows in the hand, then Ataru
makes a circular motion with it, leaving a trail of sparkles to form
something like a cocoon around him. Watching this, everyone is
spellbound. "Wow...!" Hinako's eyes sparkle as the air around Ataru
warps into a vortex.
"***JINFUKU HENSENKAZE KITEI: TAKISHIIDO FUKU!!!!***"
In a flash of exploding pyrotechnics, Ataru emerges in a
perfectly tailored white tuxedo, complete with obligatory red rose
on the lapel and dress gloves covering his hands. The girls gape
wide-eyed at him, then Rinrin squeals, "Wow!!! Aniki, where did you
learn THAT?!!"
"Sanctuary," Ataru sighs. "Took me over twenty tries to get it
right! Lucky thing Yotsuba wasn't there with her camera!"
"Yotsuba HEARD that, Ani-chama!!"
Laughter echoes around the rotunda as Ataru gives the sisters
a wave before heading to the chapel on the other side of Welcome
House. Stepping into the circular worshipping hall, Ataru takes a
deep breath, then stops, his eyes widening on seeing who was now at
the altar. "Hibiki?!!"
"Ah...! H-hi there, Moroboshi-san!" Ryouga, now in a sombre
black cassock sans clerical collar, waves as Ataru approaches.
Ataru crosses his arms. "How'd you get here? Ranma told me you
could get lost pretty easily, but I never suspected you'd come here!"
"Believe me, I'd love to know the answer to that one," the
wanderer chuckles, then sighs. "You know, you really got some nice
sisters."
Silence falls, then Ataru chuckles. No doubt, whatever anger
Ryouga might have felt towards him because of that incident in
Tampopo's on Monday had been washed away thanks to the wanderer
meeting Ataru's sisters when he came to the Island. "Who was it?"
Ataru walks up to stand by the altar.
"Um, first Mamoru-chan, then Aria-chan -- why is it she can't
take seeing Jusenkyou curses, anyway? -- then Hinako-chan..."
Ryouga jerks, then turns to the main doors of the chapel. "Ah...!"
Ataru blinks, then smiles as a stream of flower-bedecked
white pass through the doors. Counting off the ten of his sisters
who had waited at the House while he had been in Tomobiki, Ataru
greets them with a quick unveiling and a chaste kiss to the cheek
before they take their places in the pews. As the last take their
seats, rapid footsteps herald Sakuya's arrival; no doubt, she had her
wedding dress ready to go before she left the Island with Ataru and
Chikage. As the eldest of the sisters comes up to embrace and kiss
her Onii-sama, she whispers in his ear, "I don't know if Chikage's
going to come to this party, Onii-sama..."
Suddenly, a thunderous fanfare rings from the chapel's organ.
The sisters gasp in shock, then turn as one to the main doors.
Standing there is a lovely vision in pure crimson and gold, an opaque
lavender veil held down over a head of dark purple hair with gold
chains. "Waaaa!!" Hinako gushes as Chikage steps up to the altar.
"Chikage-chan's so pretty!!"
"Red is definitely her colour," Ryouga whispers to Ataru as
Sakuya makes way for the sorceress at the altar.
Chikage reaches the altar, then looks up at Ataru with a smile.
Unlike the other sisters, the sorceress doesn't carry a bouquet
of roses. Instead, she carries a painstaikingly crafted Celtic cross
pendant, the crucifix topped with a rose. "Here, Ani-kun," she takes
it and places it in Ataru's hands before leaning up to whisper in his
ear, "It was not meant to be between us this time. I will pray for
it to be so next time."
Ataru jolts, then blushes. "Chikage..."
"No matter what, I'll not let your heart to be sundered,
Ani-kun."
With that, she makes her way to the pews. Ataru remains in
place, then blinks as a new fanfare starts. Turning to the door,
he gapes on seeing Toshiko and Kumiko standing there. The
mirror-twins walk inside, preceding someone in white. The new
arrivals only have to walk halfway to the altar before Ataru realizes
who they are escorting. "Ranma...?"
"Oh, man...!" Ryouga whistles.
Reaching the altar, Toshiko and Kumiko part, revealling
a simply stunning vision in white and very pale blue, a coronet
of roses holding her veil down. A single red rose serves as the
clasp for her top. Her bouquet is the same as the other sisters'.
Ranma has little makeup on beyond lipstick and a touch of eye shadow;
clearly, less was best with her.
"Ranma..." Ataru repeats.
They stare at each other, then Ranma's cheeks redden. "They
talked me into it," she admits, then blinks as Ataru walks up to slip
Chikage's pendant around her neck. "Hey, what're you...?" she
blinks.
"Something to make it complete," he chuckles, giving Chikage
a quick glance. Seeing the sorceress nod in approval, Ataru turns
to Ryouga, a knowing grin crossing his face. "Okay, Reverend,
let's get on with it!"
"Hai!" Ryouga nods, then clears his throat before starting.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here this beautiful evening..."
As he does a good rendition of a normal wedding benediction,
Chikage gazes on Ranma, a touch of regretful sadness in her eyes.
*The die is cast,* the sorceress closes her eyes. *There's no
turning back...*
* * *
To be continued...
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
| Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
| Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'