Modu annyoung,
Here's the second side of Part 6. This will go to "C"
Side before advancing on to Part 7. Enjoy!
Fred
=====
<P><STRONG><EM><FONT face="Courier New">Fred Herriot AKA P'yeknu OR Gorgo</FONT></EM></STRONG></P>
<P>**** **** ****</P>
<P><A href="mailto:fherriot@yahoo.com">fherriot@yahoo.com</A></P>
<P>**** **** ****</P>
<P><A href="http://www.livejournal.com/~pyeknu/">http://www.livejournal.com/~pyeknu/</A></P>
______________________________________________________________________
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: LoneS-06B.txt
-- Desc: LoneS-06B.txt
"No...! This can't be...! It just CAN'T be...!!"
Zani shudders as his eyes scour the information scrolling
on his computer's viewscreen. The rotund, bespectacled man, looking
to be in his twenties though he was much older if measured in Terran
years, had the ability to tap directly into the computers of every
Niphentaxian agent in and around the Holy City. The observation
notes, drafts for amendments to the Book of Lum, copies taken from
the diaries of the Holy Apostles and the Holy Company currently
resident on Earth, administrative and logistical information,
even medical data -- it was Zani's for the asking.
As a Guardian, his purpose in Niphentaxian society was vital.
Since recorded history began on Phentax Two, the people of his world
had been caught in a vicious, endless cycle of Great Awakenings.
When some unique social fad witnessed by his countrymen would serve
as inspiration to create whole new societies which would stand the
test of time until yet ANOTHER unique social fad would steal away the
attention of the masses.
On one hand, this process kept Niphentaxian society dynamic,
allowing it to evolve to be the best it could be given the
limitations Zani's people were cursed with. On the other hand, being
addicted to basing one's whole society on other's risked leaving
Zani's people vulnerable to exploitation from all forms of tyrants,
both from within and without.
And then, there was the Prophecy...
Zani sits back in his chair, his mind rolling through the
information observers assigned to monitor the Fifth Holy Apostle
collected. That the Church of Lum now teetered on the brink of
ultimate disaster was a foregone conclusion. Even with the deaths
of three billion of the Faithful, the Church possessed strong
support. But that was now centred on the colonies, not the
Homeworld. Yes, there were many of the Faithful on the Homeworld,
but from what Zani had been able to learn, those who survived the
Cataclysm were of moderate sects. People who looked on Ataru
Moroboshi not as the Great Evil but as the Goddess' Beloved Darling.
And if all that wasn't bad enough, there were the heretics
to worry about. Ostracized from "proper" Niphentaxian society when
the Church of Lum became the One True Faith -- and now, no doubt,
longing for final retribution on their many tormentors. Add that to
the Goddess' demise and the murder of four of the Holy Apostles
not more than a week ago...
Now this...
THIS...!
"It will not be," Zani whispers. "It will not be..."
* * *
"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 Prologue.
**** **** ****
THE SIXTH PART, "B" SIDE - REALITY'S HEADACHES
"Is that Nihon?"
"Yes, Venerable. Those four large islands forming that
crescent-shaped archipelago there. The peninsula across the sea from
Nihon are the divided provinces of the Han-t'ich," the captain of the
Noukiite ship points as he guides his barque-like craft into orbit
over the Pacific.
Once, no more than a month ago as Terrans told time, no Noukiite
ship would have been allowed to remain for any time in this system.
If the stupid dog people from Uru didn't send one of their
battlewagons to chase the intruders out of "their" territory,
the fools from Triton might get upset and try to deluge the poor
traveller with a mountain of icy snow.
As to what the Zephyrites might have done, well...!
That sort of nonsense wouldn't happen again, the captain grins.
With Uru's leadership all radioactive dust over what remained of
Onishuto, the Oni fleet either turned to scrap or caught in the
throes of mass mutiny and the colony planets cut off from each other,
the dog people's dominance over this particular sector of space was
finished. Without their protectors, the Tritonians would have to
think hard and fast before trying to stand up on their own. Yes,
those ice lovers had considerable advantages, but in the end, they
were only one inhabited moon orbiting a planet rendered lifeless
thanks to the Seifukusu. The Dominion of Noukiios, born of a culture
five millennia old, one that weathered Urusian occupation and
centuries of economic blockade relatively unscathed, was no pushover.
Dismissing that from his mind, the captain gazes on his ship's
two passengers. "We'll be at the drop point in a few minutes,
Venerable Ones."
"Thank you," one of them gazed appreciatively at the older
man...
* * *
"I'd think Nassur would be better than this, Sei-chan."
A muscle over Seiko's eye spasms, then she sighs, tapping the
point to calm herself. Despite the chasm of mistrust and hatred
that had existed between Nassur and Lan for the past several years,
Sakiko just made a valid point. There was just NO way that Nassur
would actually risk the lives of four sentients, even if they were
clone-bioroids, as living targets to ensure Lum, Lan, Benten and
Oyuki would not be drawn into the multitude of vendettas focused
on the expat Vosian. Unless...
"They're Avalonians, right?" she gazes on the replica of Lum.
"All four of them," Sakiko nods, gazing absently on the replica
of her past-self. All four bioroids were dressed in the usual
swimsuit-like clothes their templates preferred. Oyuki's replica
even wore a kimono over her silver one-piece suit. A thoughtful
hum escapes Sakiko. "Sei-chan, could it be possible that Nassur
couldn't sense their brainwave patterns?" she gazes intently at
Seiko. "If our hosts are any example, Avalonians possess abnormally
strong mental shields. Maybe strong enough to mask themselves
from a Vosian's powers, just like Yehisrites can do."
Seiko returns her look, then nods. "Possible. And if
Nassur-chan trained these four to as high a standard as he could,
they could've easily avoided any serious injury if they were out in
the field."
"True. I guess we'll have to ask him the first chance we get,"
Sakiko grunts, then her eyes fall on the cryostasis chamber the four
Avalonians brought with them to Earth. "What about Ten-chan?"
Seiko shudders as she gazes on the body inside the stasis unit.
"Little left of him," she shifts herself over to run a hand along
the glass. "All I can sense from him now was that he met these four
close to Toshitto a week or so ago. Then some Ip'ihu ship ambushed
them. They were able to use the Central Warp Chamber to shift
themselves and Ten-chan to their home base on Io. After that..."
she shrugs. "I guess their first priority was keeping Ten-chan
alive and safe. Then they tried to come here to find Darling and get
his help. But..." she gazes on the closet.
Sakiko rises, walking over to the doorway leading into the space
Lum and Ten-chan used as their guest bedroom while they had been
living with Ataru. Scanning the doorframes, she scowls. "I guess
when they cleared this place out, Darling's friends were more
thorough that we'd've expected of them. I don't see any of the
target relay markers Oyuki-chan'd use to allow the Warp Chamber
to focus in on this beam-in point."
"Not that I'd expect that Darling'd ever allow Oyuki-chan
to do something like that in a place he lived in again," Seiko grins,
remembering the time B-Boy, the abominable snowman-like alien who
served as Oyuki's bodyguard, came through the Chamber to Earth in
pursuit of Ataru after he tried to seduce the Tritonian crown
princess. "Something tells me that if something like that ever
happened again, especially if it was anywhere close to Darling's
sisters, B-Boy'd be sent back to Triton in pieces."
"Wouldn't blame him," Sakiko smirks, having sensed what Seiko
had reminisced about. "Sometimes, Sei-chan, I think Oyuki-chan
needs a little humiliation just to remind her that she's not
perfect."
"She's not THAT bad, Saki-chan!" Seiko scolds, then jolts on
hearing a strange *thrummm!* echo through the open windows. "What
the...?!"
Both walk to the window, looking up to see a starship shaped
like a racing schooner of the early 1920s, its prow topped by a
snarling dragon's head, coming to a stop over Tomobiki High.
"Noukiite scoutship!" Sakiko's eyes widen in shock, then they start
to glow. "Beaming in someone..."
"Two young girls..." Seiko's own eyes glow as she focuses her
power on the two newcomers now standing by the front gate of Tomobiki
High. "Who could...?" she wonders, then a shocked gasp escapes
her. "Mother!!"
"What?!" Sakiko spins on her.
Seiko's eyes revert to normal as she turns to face her sister.
"They're..." she stops, then sputters, "...Darling's daughters!"
Sakiko gapes at her...
* * *
"AND THAT'S FOR PUTTING ME THROUGH ALL THAT CRAP, YOU
JACKASS!!!!"
Hinako winces as she hears Ukyou's battle spatula slam HARD into
the side of Haruka Kuonji's skull. Now sitting on the roof of the
old Shinto shrine her Onii-tama currently called home, the Staff of
Gihan in her lap, the youngest of Ataru's sisters gazes absently
on the cityscape.
Seeing how angry the okonomiyaki chef had become when her
baka-baka father refused to budge from his desire to see his child
marry Onee-tama, Hinako couldn't blame her for wanting to pound him
into the grass. While Hinako didn't have problems when it came to
her parents -- except for them living on the mainland and forcing
her to live on her own at Welcome House -- she knew classmates
at Stargazer West whose parents were on the road to breaking up.
*Stupid adults! Hina's glad she's still a kid!* the young girl
scowls as she focuses in the general direction of Tomobiki...
...then her eyes go wide on seeing something dive from outer
space to come to a halt over a point close to the centre of town.
"A spaceship?" Hinako stands up, holding the Staff close to her as
she tries to make out details. It wasn't a big ship, not like the
giant ship Miree and her family came from last night. Even more,
it was shaped like a sailing boat from here on Earth. What sort of
ship was that, anyway...?
"What the...?!"
"Ah!" Hinako turns. "Onii-tama!!"
Ataru walks up to stand beside her. "A Noukiite ship?" he
whispers, placing a reassuring hand on Hinako's shoulder. "What's
it doing here...?"
"They're the people Onii-tama helped, right?" Hinako points.
"Hai, Hina-chan, the very same..." he nods, then sighs. "Wait
here. I'm going to get some stuff, then we'll go see what's going
on."
He races back to his bedroom. Hinako watches him go, then
shudders delightedly as she holds the Staff against her chest.
*Waaaaaaai!! Onii-tama wants Hina to help Onii-tama with the
aliens!* she gushes, eyes sparkling as she focuses anew on the
visiting Noukiite ship.
Boy, now she was REALLY happy that she got Bou-san!
* * *
"Tell me something, Kay," Jay sighs, staring at the Noukiite
ship from the offices of the Special Committee on Alien Activities
located atop one of the three towers in the centre of Tomobiki.
"Are there days you wished you never got out of bed?" he waves at the
ship in question.
Kay closes up his work briefcase, then slips his sidearm into
its shoulder holster. "All the time, kid. Let's go see what they
want."
"What about those other aliens Ataru Moroboshi warned us about?"
"Feh, if they're being discrete about things, they can wait,"
Kay waves it off. "It's things like THIS..." he nods to the Noukiite
ship, "...that can start wars in the blink of an eye. Let's go."
"Right," Jay follows him out of the room...
* * *
"Ne, Shinobu-chan, is this NORMAL around these parts?!"
A depressed sigh escapes Shinobu Miyaki's lips as she stares
on the two diminutive people standing by the front gate. Jolting
on feeling Minako Sawada's hand squeeze her shoulder, Ataru's
ex-girlfriend glances at her new friend, then nods. "Yeah, this is
pretty normal, Minako-chan."
"So who the heck are those kids, anyway?" Tomomi Yoshino asks.
"What makes you think they're kids, Tomomi-san?" Momoe Marubeya
asks, standing behind the transplanted Hokkaidoite. "They could be
very short people like Cherry or that crazy underwear-thief
from Nerima."
"Well, they seem like kids to me," Tomomi admits, not wanting
to clue her new classmate in on her Avalonian powers. Sakura had
warned Tomomi and her friends yesterday that being a little TOO open
about their maternal ancestry could lead to a whole host of problems.
"Girls, I think."
"Hey, they're taking their hoods off!!" a boy standing by
another window calls out, then he gasps. "Geez, they're Klingons!!!"
"Kling-...?!" Shinobu blinks, then looks. Sure enough, both of
them had very prominent forehead ridges, though those seemed to
disappear under a massive amount of sky-blue hair. "Somewhat
like them, ne, Minako-chan?"
"Yeah! And they're both so kawaii, too!!" Minako smirks.
"There goes Onsen-sensei!" another boy points closer to the
school.
Everyone watches as the vice-principal storms out of the
building. "C'mon!" Shinobu waves Minako and Ryuunosuke with her to
the door.
"Right!" Minako nods.
She and the tomboy follow Shinobu out, they in turn followed
by Tomomi, Momoe, Kyooko Ikusawa and Kumiko Gekasawa. In a minute,
most of the rest of the class stream out. A minute after that, Mitsu
Hanawa steps inside. "Good morning, class...! Ara?! Where did
everyone go?!"
* * *
"So this is Tomobiki, eh?!" Kaneko looks around. "Quiet place."
"Wasn't so quiet when Papa was living here," Reiko warns. "What
would the name translate to in Nouki-e?" she stares at her sister.
"'Aich,' I think," Kaneko shrugs, then turns as a stocky man
welding a light wooden sword storms towards the twins. "Uh-oh!"
"Alright, you two!!" Onsen thunders as he stops before them,
shinai ready for action. "What makes you aliens think you can just
beam down and disrupt school with your ship flying overheard?!
Where's...?"
He stops, then looks up. The Noukiite craft is now soaring
away from Tomobiki, gaining altitude as it commences its trip home.
Onsen blinks, blinks again, then turns to the newcomers. "Where
are they going?"
"Back to our homeworld," Reiko replies as they shrug
nonchalantly. "They gave us a lift here so we can live with Papa and
Mama."
Onsen jolts. "'Papa?!' 'Mama?!' Who are they?!"
"Ataru Moroboshi and Ranma Saotome!" Kaneko replies.
The vice-principal relaxes. "Oh, Moroboshi and Saotome, eh...?"
It hits him. "MOROBOSHI?!! SAOTOME?!!" he thunders, causing
the whole school to quake. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT?!!"
"By the looks of it, Onsen-sensei, Ataru-kun adopted them."
Onsen spins around to see all of Ataru's would-be classmates
standing behind him, their eyes focused on the Noukiite twins.
Minako Sawada had spoken up. "What?!!" he shudders, then spins again
on Reiko and Kaneko. "Hey, wait a minute!!! Since when can
Moroboshi adopt either of you?!!"
"Because Papa helped us defeat the dog people!" Kaneko smiles.
"Ataru-kun was in a fight?!" Shinobu perks. "When was this?!!"
"Probably a couple of weeks ago, after Onishuto got nuked!"
Reiko and Kaneko turn before smiling. "Ah!! You must be from
your world government!" the former points as Jay and Kay approach.
"The very same, young lady! And welcome to Earth," the elder
of the two SCAA agents replies, they nodding in turn. "So what
brings a pair of nice girls like you two here to our little planet?"
"Because Papa and Mama live here, sir," Kaneko shrugs.
"And Ataru Moroboshi is your father?" Jay asks, drawing out a
very complex scanner. "I hope you got some documentation
to prove that."
The twins reach into their tunics and draw out small datachips.
Jay loads them into his machine. Kay glances over his partner's
shoulder as the readout comes up. Their eyes widen surprisedly,
then they exchange a look. "Nice guy!" Jay shakes his head, drawing
the chips to return them to Reiko and Kaneko. "So when was he going
to tell US about this?!"
"Probably when he expected them to come here, which certainly
wasn't today," Kay admits, turning back to the twins. "In the
meantime, girls, welcome to Earth. We'll be more than happy to help
you both settle in once you get back together with your father.
I assume that since you're both here, the war between your people
and the Urusians has come to an end."
"They found Heaven's Gate Bridge twelve hours ago," Kaneko
reports. "The cease-fire was declared four hours later. Once that
happened, Onee-chan and I were free to come here to be with Papa and
Mama."
"Well, let's hope this doesn't lead to a mass of Urusian
refugees coming this way," the older SCAA agent muses.
"Won't happen," Reiko shakes her head. "No Urusian'll be
allowed to come anywhere close to Earth for the next century.
Those're part of the terms we're going to force on them if they want
peace."
Silence.
"***SAY WHAT?!?!?!***"
The twins and the two SCAA agents duck as a massive aura of heat
washes over them from the direction of the school. Spinning around,
Reiko and Kaneko tense on seeing a sea of outraged looks emanating
from every teenage boy standing on the walkway. "No Urusian
permitted to come to Earth for a CENTURY?!!" Shinjin Koi, who, in the
wake of Aisuru Megane's death, had become the de-facto leader of
Lum's widespread fan club, points accusingly at the Noukiites.
"***WE WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!!!!***"
"***REVENGE FOR LUM-CHAN!!!!***" the other boys bellow.
Onsen howls as the boys trample him down, they reaching out for
the young alien girls who had crowed over the Urusians' defeat.
Before they could get within grasping range, Reiko and Kaneko bound
into the air, their eyes glowing as they use their telekinetic
powers to keep their well out of the boys' reach. Kay and Jay
scatter clear, their Lawgivers clearing their holsters as the boys
wind up in a dogpile of idiocy where Reiko and Kaneko once stood.
As their bellowed outcry becomes a chorus of grunts, curses and
pained yelps, the ominous *click-clack!* of an alien particle
musket's breech being locked into place turns everyone's attention
to the gate.
"And what are you clowns doing attacking my daughters?!"
The girls of Shinobu's class, well out of the field of fire,
pale on seeing Ataru now in a brown gi-like jumpsuit, a woodland
camouflage cape draped over his shoulder. In his hand is his
qu'f-piaqu'r, the barrel pointed to the air. Seeing Ataru, Reiko
and Kaneko gush. "PAPA!!!!"
The twins flying into his embrace, Kaneko ensuring that she
doesn't accidentally knock her father's musket out of his hand.
Ataru blinks, then clicking the safety on his weapon, allows the
alien rifle to rest on the ground so he could return his daughters'
hugs. Standing behind him, a confused Hinako stares at this Kodak
moment. "Onii-tama..."
The twins look, then squeal. "Auntie Hinako!!!"
Before the youngest of Ataru's sisters could react, twin
typhoons of alien love nearly knock her over. "HEY!!!" Hinako
screams out, trying to wrestle herself free from Reiko's and Kaneko's
embrace. "HELP!!! ONII-TAMA!!! HINA NEEDS TO BREATHE!!!!
WHO ARE THESE GIRLS, ONII-TAMA?!?!"
An explosion echoes from inside school grounds.
"'ONII-TAMA?!?!'"
Ataru notices that ALL his would-be classmates, even the three
half-Avalonians and the other Avalonian-like girl he can presently
sense in the school itself, are staring wide-eyed at him. Taking
a deep breath, he gazes on Kay and Jay. "Tell me something.
Have either of you ever had days like this?" he indicates the members
of the family with him, then the gaping people staring at him from
the direction of the school.
"Many times," Kay admits, then indicates Reiko and Kaneko.
"But taking these girls in was a pretty nice thing to do, Ataru."
Ataru shrugs. "They saved my sanity after I was forced to watch
three billion people die, Kay-san. What do you think I should've
done?"
Both SCAA men tense, exchange a look, then turn back to Ataru.
"You mean what went down on Phentax Two a few weeks ago? You were
there?" Jay asks. Seeing Ataru nod, the younger agent breathes
out. "Right..."
"Onii-tama...?!"
Ataru spins around as Hinako walks up. Reiko and Kaneko stand
behind their aunt, the former holding the Staff of Gihan.
"Onii-tama, are these girls...?!" Hinako waves to the twins,
"...REALLY your daughters?!"
"Hai, Hina-chan, they are," Ataru nods, scratching the back of
his head. "Sorry about that! I was waiting for a good time to tell
all of you about them! I didn't expect them to come here today,
though..."
Hinako blinks. "Onii-tama has daughters...?" she looks nowhere
in particular. "Onii-tama has daughters...!" she whispers again,
then screams out, waving her hands, "***HINA'S TOO YOUNG TO BE AN
AUNT!!!!***"
Ataru, Reiko and Kaneko fall flat on their faces. Jay tries
not to fall over laughing; Kay, at least, is able to keep his
composure. "Ataru-kun!!!" Shinobu storms up, pointing to Hinako.
"Who is she, anyway?!! Why's she calling you 'big brother?!!'
You don't HAVE any sisters!!!"
His eyebrow twitching, Ataru slowly gets back to his feet, then
glares intently at his questioner. Shinobu blinks, then pales as the
icy look coming her way sends a fearful chill roaring up her spine.
Finally, Ataru turns away. "That is none of your business anymore,
Miyaki-san."
Shinobu shudders, then drops to her knees as Ataru walks up to
Reiko and Kaneko. "C'mon, Hina-chan," he gazes at his sister.
"Let's go find a nice ice cream parlour so we can have some fruit
parfait with Jay and Kay!"
Hinako gushes. "Wai!!! Fruit parfait!! Fruit parfait!!"
She jogs off after her brother and his daughters. Kay and Jay
move to follow. Both stop on hearing the shuffle of many feet moving
towards them, then turn to see the members of Shinobu's class ready
to race off in pursuit of their former schoolmate and his family.
"Glasses!!" Kay barks.
Both SCAA agents slip on their Ray-bans, hands snapping to their
tunics to draw out devices similar to a hand-held mini-flashlight
doctors would use to examine one's ears and throat. Before the
hapless Tomobiki students could take another three steps, twin bursts
of light freeze them in place. Seeing that their neuralizers
had done their job, Kay and Jay slip off their glasses. "Okay,
people, back to class and don't EVER bother Ataru about his sisters
or his daughters again! Alright?!" Jay states.
No response. "Let's go," Kay waves his partner with him.
"Right."
They head off. The students remain frozen in place. Onsen is
still flat on his back behind them. In the back of the crowd, Minako
blinks, then turns to Tomomi and Kyooko. "So why doesn't Ataru-kun
want to talk about his family to everyone here?" the rose-haired
Avalonian asks.
"Probably because he's tired of being blamed for everything
under the sun by these jerks!" Kyooko snorts disgustedly. "I sensed
a couple of these boys were ready to call those girls Ataru-kun's
love children!"
"Jeez, I guess the intelligence level in this place IS shorter
than my shoe size," Tomomi groans. "Let's go back to class!"
"Hai!!" the others chime as they follow their friend back,
leaving their classmates frozen in place by the front gate.
"What happened to them?" a voice calls from their homeroom.
Minako, Tomomi and Kyooko look up. Gazing at them from the
window is a brown-haired girl distantly resembling Hotaru Tomoe from
"Sailor Moon." "They just got zapped for being idiots, Mie-san,"
Minako replies.
"Doesn't surprise me," Mie Seikou snorts...
* * *
"Slight headache, Nabiki-chan?"
Nabiki grunts, nodding as Miree draws her fingers away from the
younger woman's face. Both now relax in Nabiki's bedroom, sitting
on the bed so the Niphentaxian priestess could teach the younger
girl the finer points of mind-shielding. "Well, it was either this
or share my body with my brother," Nabiki pinches the bridge of her
nose, then stares at Miree. "Was it this hard for you when you got
your new body, Miree-san?"
"No, when I was placed into this body, the information
needed for me to make use of my powers was downloaded in it already,"
Miree chuckles. "I think that the next time we ask Hinako-chan
to use Bou-san in creating new Avalonians, we ensure they can adjust
immediately to their new abilities."
"Sounds like a plan," Nabiki agrees, then tenses on sensing
a wave of -- well, *something* -- come her way from the direction
of the kitchen. "What the heck...?" she peers in that direction.
"Who...?"
"Oh, that feels like Chieko-san," Miree smiles.
"Chieko?!" Nabiki perks, then feels her cheeks warm up. "Geez,
what's that girl doing here?! She knows if I'm absent from
school..."
"I think it's because she's very worried about you," the
priestess gives the younger woman a knowing look. "I don't know if
you realize this, Nabiki-chan, but Chieko-san is quite infatuated
with you."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then...
"Wh-what...?" Nabiki eeps.
"She loves you," Miree explains, gently grasping Nabiki's
hand. "And she's been in love with you for quite some time, if what
I sense of her feelings for you are even remotely true, Nabiki-chan."
Nabiki stares at her, not a sound escaping her as the bombshell
Miree just dropped on her head wrecks havoc throughout her mind.
Finally, she slowly shakes her head before staring once more in the
direction Chieko Fujii now sat. "I...! Damn, I knew she was leaning
that way, but...!!" she sputters before turning back to Miree. "Are
you SURE?!"
"Positive," Miree nods, patting Nabiki's hand. "It's nothing
at all to be ashamed of, of course. We're all functionally
bisexual, Nabiki-chan. If we sense strong desire from another woman,
we're geared to respond to it with the very same strength as we would
were it to come from a man."
"B-but..."
"Nabiki-chan," Miree gives the younger woman's hand another
squeeze. "I know -- at least from what I've been able to sense from
you up to this point -- that the idea of launching into any sort of
relationship is quite frightening to you. You value your sense of
self-control quite highly. And you're afraid that if you lose that
self-control, all those you care for will suffer in the long term.
Right?" her eyebrow arches.
"Y-yes..." Nabiki sputters, then takes several deep breaths
to calm herself. It only works to a point. "Miree-san, for heaven's
sake, I can't think of doing something just for myself right now, not
after what just happened to us! If I go off and leave my family
behind..."
"They can fend for themselves, Nabiki-chan. If they don't know
how, then they can learn," Miree assures her. "Look, do you want to
force your older sister to remain trapped inside this place? Forced
to set aside all her personal dreams just to cook and clean for you
and your siblings?"
"Hell, no!! Of course not!!"
"Fine! Do you want your younger sister to continue to believe
and act as if she's the centre of the whole universe, THEN without
either you or Kasumi being there to support her, she finds out that
things simply don't work that way?" Miree asks. "Do you want her to
suffer for her lack of knowledge when it comes to surviving in a
society like this?"
"No!" Nabiki snaps before the anger vanishes from her face.
"But, still..." she looks away before a shrug rolls her shoulder.
"I can't think of entering a relationship with anyone, especially
another woman, while I'm still here in Nerima, Miree-san! Chieko's
got few friends as it is and if she starts to date me..." a shudder
races through her as she pulls her hand away from Miree's grasp.
"People'll think that I'm just using her as some sort of sex toy or
prostitute! No one'd want anything to do with her..."
"Then maybe you should think of moving somewhere else."
Nabiki blinks, then nods. "Yes, but where?"
"Well, didn't Ranma once suggest to you that you might consider
going to the United States to pursue your post-secondary
education?"
"Yeah, but that's still a year away from me!" Nabiki nods. "And
Chieko's got two years to go before she graduates, Miree-san!
I..."
Miree nods. "You're afraid that if you do pursue a relationship
with Chieko-san, you'll end up inadvertently ruining her whole life.
Right?"
"Yes!" Nabiki firmly nods.
"Well, then, what makes you think that'll be the only outcome
if you do decide to reciprocate her feelings?" the priestess smiles.
"Huh?!"
Miree sighs, patting the younger woman's hand. "Nabiki-chan,
from what I can sense of Chieko-san, it seems that her life is a lot
more stable than you might first believe. And..." a pause, then,
"...from what also I can sense, she's as much afraid of hurting
you as you are her."
"She is?" Nabiki gapes.
"Hai," Miree nods.
"Oh, man...!" Nabiki's voice suddenly trails off as she senses
someone else come into the compound. "Who...?"
Miree looks outside. "It's Rinrin-chan!" she perks. "And
Yotsuba-chan's back, too! Looks like she did quite a bit of
shopping!"
Nabiki stands beside her. "Boy, she did," she whistles.
"I guess she really does have it in for Shinshi, ne?"
Both women laugh...
* * *
"So you want me to get the construction boys to build an
extension to your room so you and Shinshi-kun can live together,
right?!"
"Checky!" Yotsuba nods as Rinrin opens up her laptop computer.
"Okay, let's see what we can do," the teen inventor taps
controls to call up her datafiles on the rotunda at Welcome House.
As Rinrin plays with her machine, Yotsuba picks up the large
bags of clothing she had obtained for Shinshi, then drags them off to
the master bedroom. Chieko is presently in the kitchen with Kasumi,
preparing lunch. Akane has gone back to her bedroom to sleep some
more; with the revelations about Ranma tacked onto the sea of
problems her father just instigated with Nabiki and Shinshi, she
definitely needed a chance to relax and organize her thoughts.
Shinshi is asleep, he now using Souun's old room as his own; Miree
dealt with him before heading up to deal with Nabiki.
As a diagram of the rotunda's third floor appears on the
computer's viewscreen, the kitchen door opens. "Rinrin-san!"
Kasumi smiles, walking in with a tea tray. "Did your sister come
back?"
"She's carrying the things into your brother's room," Rinrin
reports as she traces a finger over the computer screen. "Okay..."
Her hands fly over the keyboard. "What are you doing?" Kasumi
asks.
"Yotsuba-chan asked me to put in an extension to her room so
that she and Shinshi-kun could live together," Rinrin reports,
giving the Tendou matriarch a smile. "Since we're putting in an
extension on the first floor for Aniki and Aneki, we can get the
construction crews to do this as well."
Kasumi's eyebrow arches. "Rinrin-san, do Yotsuba-san's
parents know about this?" she gazes concernedly on the teen inventor.
"At least her mother should be told. I mean, to start a
relationship..."
"Our parents don't really care about us anymore, Kasumi-san."
Silence falls over the sitting room as Rinrin's fingers continue
to dance over the keyboard. "Take me for example," she points to
herself, then nods thanks as Kasumi pours her a cup. "My mom and
step-dad left me at Welcome House two years ago so they could work
at a big science lab down in Osaka. Never told me why they did that,
you know," she sniffs. "Then Dad gets killed last year in a lab
accident. And Mom..." she stops, then shrugs. "She hasn't come
back. Hasn't wrote to me, called me or done anything of the sort.
I only found out who my real dad was when Negako-aneki came to the
Island and told us about Aniki. By then, all of us had pretty much
settled into the House, became friends and..." a smile then crosses
her face. "Then we learned we were all family, too! It..."
"Rinrin-chan..." Kasumi gazes sympathetically at her, then
reaches over to draw the teen inventor into a comforting embrace.
"You didn't deserve that..." she whispers. "You didn't deserve
any of that..."
"Oh, is Rinrin-chan giving you that old sob story?!"
Both look as Yotsuba steps into the sitting room. "How's
Shinshi-chan, Yotsuba-chan?" Kasumi lets Rinrin go, the latter going
back to work on her computer. "Miree-sama said he needed his sleep."
"Yotsuba knows that," the would-be detective sits down,
stretching herself. "Shi-chama's sleeping like the dead right now."
"Yotsuba-chan, don't say such unlucky things!" Kasumi gasps.
The younger girl laughs. "Oh, relax!" she waves Kasumi down.
"If you haven't clued into it by now, she's part-English,"
Rinrin explains. "Yotsuba-chan always tends to throw some strange
words and sayings out, even in Nihongo. You can't escape it!"
Yotsuba growls indignantly as Rinrin laughs. Kasumi tries not
to lose all deportment herself as the teen inventor gets back to her
machine. A minute later, Rinrin sits back. "Okay, here's what we'll
do..."
"What are you doing?" Yotsuba gazes on the screen.
"Well, I don't need a window for my lab room, so we'll let your
room come out the same distance as Aniki's room, then wrap clockwise
to cover the wall of my lab space," Rinrin points to the details.
"Hey, we could even board up the door to my lab, then you can shift
your front door to the hallway, at right-angles to the door to
Shirayuki-chan's room. You could use the hall space between the old
entrance to your room and the entrance to my room as a new closet,
turn your old room into a sitting room..."
Nodding, she gets to work drafting up the new plans. "Aaaah!
Don't take Yotsuba's ladder away, Rinrin-chan!!" the would-be
detective pleads.
"Oh, relax, relax!" Rinrin laughs. "No doubt, Aniki'd love the
idea of putting in a safety fence on the roof, not to mention your
ceiling." Playing with the built-in mouse on her keyboard, she nods.
"Okay! We'll put the ladder here, at the corner of the space beside
my lab. We'll turn the window into an emergency door between my lab
and your space, then keep the old door to my lab as another emergency
door. Sounds okay?"
"Checky!"
"My, are you sure you can do all this, Rinrin-chan?"
Kasumi asks.
"Sure! The family owns the House, after all!" Rinrin laughs,
then stops before looking anew at Kasumi. "Why don't you come live
with us?"
Silence.
"Rinrin-chan..." Kasumi gapes, startled by Rinrin's offer.
"I mean..." Rinrin grasps the older woman's hand. "I know this
is your family land, but with your dad in the asylum and you, Nabiki,
Shinshi-kun and Akane about to go to university in the next couple
of years, do you want to hang onto this place? You can stay with us,
you know."
"I...!" Kasumi blinks, then gently folds her other hand over
Rinrin's. "Rinrin-chan, you don't have to do this..."
"Yes, we do," Rinrin smiles. "Kasumi-san, do you want to know
why it was so easy for all of us to come together like we did?"
"Well, I suspect your birth-father's..." Kasumi catches herself.
"Other than that, of course!" Yotsuba laughs, then walks over
to sit on the other side of Kasumi from Rinrin. Reaching over to
grasp the older woman's hand, the would-be detective gazes warmly
into her eyes. "Ane-chama, you lost your mom a long time ago. And
your dad's gone now. Even though you're at the point where you're
ready and wanting to go out into the big world, you really don't have
much of a family left to fall back onto. That's not right,
especially after what your dad just did. So why shouldn't we help
you? It's what our family's done all these years."
Kasumi blinks, then her eyes mist. "You just called me..."
"Hai," Yotsuba nods, shrugging. "Yotsuba can't explain it.
When Yotsuba checked Shi-chama for the first time, it..." she glances
at her lap. "All Yotsuba could think about is that Shi-chama
was the first man other than Ani-chama that Yotsuba could really
learn to love. And if it does happen, then Ane-chama'll be Yotsuba's
sister-in-law. Ono-sensei told Yotsuba lots of nice things about
you, Ane-chama," she gazes tranquilly on Kasumi. The latter now
blushes at what Toofuu said about her. Yotsuba then sighs. "And,
well..." she frowns. "Yotsuba knows there's a chance that things
between Yotsuba and Shi-chama won't work out. Yotsuba thinks it's
really not checky, but..." she shrugs. "If Shi-chama doesn't want
Yotsuba as a lover, Yotsuba hopes Shi-chama'll have Yotsuba as a
friend."
"You're only fourteen, Yotsuba-chan," Kasumi warns. "Look at
all the trouble Ranma-chan and Akane-chan had in their 'engagement'
and they were SIXTEEN, for heaven's sake. You don't deserve that..."
"Yotsuba knows," the would-be detective nods, winking. "Yotsuba
also knows that this time, there won't be dumb parents or stupid
idiots with bokken trying to butt into the way. After all, if
Shi-chama, Na-chama and Ane-chama come to Promised Island, that
doesn't mean Kunou'll come!"
"The jerk might think he's king-shit here in Nerima, but he's
nobody where we come from," Rinrin smirks. "Okay, here we go!"
The others look. "Oh, my!!" Kasumi gasps...
* * *
"Feeling a little better, U-chan?"
Ukyou perks, then stares at Ranma. After the chef got finished
with her father, the Kuromoroboshi came along to dump him somewhere
outside Uenohara, near the border between Metro Tokyo and Yamanashi
prefecture. As planned earlier, Ukyou's father wouldn't be free of
the paralysis Cologne forced on him until late this evening. Long
before that, a clerk from the Court of Special Appeals would be by to
record Ukyou's complaint concerning his father's refusal to recognize
the legal changes concerning Ranma.
"It's nice to hear you call me 'U-chan' again," the chef smiles
as she lays back on the spare futon Ranma provided for her, her eyes
locked on the ceiling fan of the room Ranma now shared with Ataru.
"Hearing you call me 'Ukyou-san' or 'Kuonji-san' really got to me at
times, you know."
"I had no choice," Ranma admits, sitting beside her.
"Guess so," Ukyou closes her eyes. "Ran-chan?"
"What is it?"
"Did you ever love me?"
Ranma blinks, then sighs. "Depends on what type of love you
mean."
Ukyou gazes on her. "As a fiancee."
"No," the answer is automatic. "I mean, even now, it's so hard
for me to think of you as anything other than my best friend, U-chan.
I..." she closes her eyes. "I love you, but as a friend, not a
fiancee. I'll always be there to help you if you're really in a
jam..."
"You didn't act that way after the wedding," Ukyou warns,
closing her eyes. "I'd become a stranger to you. That hurt,
Ran-chan!"
Ranma gazes on her, then nods. "True, I did. And I'm sorry
I did hurt you, but from the moment you and Xian started lobbing
okonomiyaki and nikuman bombs in the middle of a dojo filled with
people who couldn't protect themselves from folks like us, I decided
a line had to be drawn. I..." she leans her chin on her knees. "I
only wish I had the ability to draw that line sooner. Maybe it
would've saved us a lot of trouble."
"Because of what Genma did to you, right? That whole business
with messing your mind up before you went on the training trip?"
"Yep."
Ukyou turns onto her side, gazing at Ranma. "Yeah, I guess that
didn't really help matters a lot. For all of us," she wryly smirks.
"Yeah, that's true."
"So where's Ataru-kun?"
Ranma shrugs. "Went off with Hinako-chan to Tomobiki. Some
alien ship showed up while you were pounding the snot out of your old
man. They went to check it out. Ataru told me they were Noukiites."
Confusion crosses Ukyou's face. "Who're they?"
"The people now pounding the living hell out of Lum's people,
the Urusians. It's a five-century version of what happened between
us and the Koreans some decades back. I've been to Noukiios myself,"
Ranma perks.
Ukyou jolts up. "WHAT?!! WHEN?!?!"
Ranma laughs. "Saturday night, Negako took me to this place
called 'Sanctuary' to help me overcome my fear of cats. It's..."
she stops, her hands shaking as she tries to muster the right sort
of words to describe that place, then she shrugs. "Well, it's a
place outside of time and space. I spent the equivalent of
thirty-eight days there. Went through my first period, plus came up
with some new moves while I was there. Along the way, Negako took
me to Noukiios so I could see it for my-..."
Her voice trails off on seeing the stunned look of disbelief
cross the chef's face. "That can't be true..." Ukyou sputters.
"Well, if you don't believe me, ask Negako. She'll confirm
it."
Silence falls as Ukyou considers her ex-fiancee's words, then
both perk as the door slides open, revealing Shirayuki. "Nee-sama,
your mom's here," the young chef reports. "She needs to see you."
Ranma blinks, then sighs. "Right," she stands, brushing off the
back of her chemise before heading to the door.
"You're gonna be okay, Ran-chan?" Ukyou senses a cloud of
uncertainty descend on Ranma's shoulders. "I know you broke off ties
with her..."
The redhead stops. "Yeah," she gives Ukyou a faint smile, then
follows Shirayuki out of the bedroom.
Ukyou watches her go, then sighs, reclining on the bed...
* * *
"Ohayou," Ranma nods on entering the living room.
"Ohayou, Ranma," Nodoka's eyes widen surprisedly on seeing the
chemise draped over her transformed child's body, then quickly
composing herself, she turns to Shirayuki. "I'd like to speak with
him alone."
"Hai!" the chef nods, then heads into the kitchen.
Ranma watches her go, then beckons her mother to the front
porch. "I'm glad to see that Genma didn't hurt you that much when
he took your sword away," she closes the door behind Nodoka.
"Yes, the wounds were light," Nodoka admits, bracing herself
for what she now had to ask of Ranma. "How are you? I didn't hear
many details about the fight at the school. He didn't hurt you, did
he?"
"He tried," Ranma admits. "He tried to skewer me with that
sword when I announced that the Court of Special Appeals had granted
my request to sever all bonds between myself and him. Hinako-sensei
nearly got killed along the way and..." she shudders. Nodoka didn't
need to hear about Ranma's delightful 'neko-self.' "Things got right
out of hand. It's a miracle no one got killed before the police
came. Genma..." she snorts. "He used a chi blast on riot police,
for crying out loud!"
"I know that part. That was right after you used some sort of
attack to sever his cursed side from his real side, right?"
"Hai," Ranma nods. "Right after, one of the cops gunned him
down. His body disintegrated when he died. Jijii explained that had
happened once when he tried to split a Nyanniichuan-cursed
guy into two parts."
"I see..." Nodoka's voice trails off, then she takes a deep
breath. "Well, it no longer matters. Whatever feelings I might have
had for him vanished sometime ago. All that bound me to him was
honour and the hope that, in spite of his mistakes, he did raise you
well. But after hearing about what he did to you BEFORE you left
home on your trip..."
"I know. So what brings you by?" Ranma perks up.
Nodoka gazes on her transformed child, then sighs. "Can't a
mother come visit her son, especially given the long separation
between us?"
The younger woman pauses, then sighs. "I'm sorry. I didn't
mean to sound rude, but I'm not used to idle pleasantries,
even from family."
A surprised look crosses her mother's face. "You've changed,"
Nodoka gazes intently at Ranma. "Considering the scant chances
you've had to spend time in a classroom before you came here, it's
surprising."
"Thank Tampopo-chan for that," Ranma smirks. "That's one of the
things she did for me while I was on my trip with her."
"I think I will," Nodoka laughs, clapping her hands delightedly,
then she takes a sombre breath. "Ranma, I don't wish to burden you
with this, but there is another reason I came to see you today."
"I take it this has something to do with your father."
Silence. Nodoka stares wide-eyed at her child. "Ranma..."
"Before you say anything, please let me explain," the younger
woman holds up a hand. "I've been told by Negako-san about the time
when Jijii, just before you were born, seduced your mom. And because
of that, your dad wouldn't like anything more than to stick it good
and hard into Jijii's back. And in doing so, he feels that seeing
me become part of his family in name and deed would help him towards
that end. Am I right?"
Nodoka takes that in, then nods. "Yes, dear, you are right."
"Then you can understand why I will refuse all attempts by him
or anyone of his family, including you, to bring me into the Asagaya
Clan."
The older woman jolts. "But Ranma, surely you..."
"I DO see that!!" Ranma cuts her off, then sighs. "Look, if
your dad wants to tear a strip off Jijii's hide, I can't blame him
for that! Heaven knows how many people Jijii's pissed off over the
years!" Her face turns into a steely mask as she stares at Nodoka.
"But I will say this. I have been used time and time again by
people, Genma above all, to pursue all sorts of stupid plots that
have not ONCE benefitted me! I've been caught at the short end of
the stick many times and I'm very tired of it!! If your dad wants
to go after Jijii for what he did to your mom, tell him to go right
to town! But don't involve me and don't involve my sisters!"
Nodoka gazes at her, then closes her eyes. "Is that why you
chose to sever all legal connections to myself as well as your
father?"
"Yes," Ranma evenly nods.
Silence falls over the porch as Nodoka considers that, then a
sad smile crosses her face. "I see, then. Very well, Saotome-san.
I will not bother you anymore about this matter. Have a good day."
She turns, marching off. Ranma watches her go, then as Nodoka
gets about halfway to the gate, calls out, "Your son is dead,
Asagaya-san!"
Nodoka stops, spinning around to stare confusedly at Ranma.
"I'm a girl not just in body now," the younger woman warns. "Thanks
to a hidden trick Jusenkyou saves for those people who don't change
back right away after they're initially cursed, I became a girl here
and here," she points to her head, then her heart. "Fortunately,
thanks to the Neko-ken, my brain was damaged to the point where that
metamorphosis didn't take effect right away. That damage has now
been repaired, so now Jusenkyou's FULL curse has taken effect over
me. So you can thank Genma for allowing you the chance to know your
son for a little while." Her smile slips. "And I'm no longer a
student of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu. Make sure you tell that coward
you call a father that when you see him next, Asagaya-san."
She turns to head inside. "Ranma...!" Nodoka stutters.
Ranma stops. "Get off the property. Or I call the police."
Nodoka freezes, then she jerkily nods, staggering through the
front gate. Ranma remains in place, then stares over her shoulder
at the empty gate leading into the shrine. "You stupid fool," she
hisses. "There's no way in hell that old fart'll be nice to you, no
matter WHAT you think!" she shakes her head, then steps inside,
slamming the door behind her.
"Anegimi-sama, that was your MOTHER!!"
Ranma jolts, staring at a shocked Haruka, then her shoulders
deflate. "I can't hope to help people solve their problems if they
refuse to see what problems face them, Haruka-chan," she admits,
moving to pass the other martial artist. "It's no different than
what happened to U-chan."
Haruka gently grips Ranma's shoulder. The redhead stops, then
sighs, turning to gaze on her future sister-in-law. "What happens
if she refuses to have anything to do with you again, Anegimi-sama?"
Haruka asks.
"You mean like some of the girls' moms and step-dads've
acted toward them that got them all sent to Welcome House?" Ranma
asks. Seeing Haruka nod, she takes a deep breath. "Haruka-chan,
I want to learn how to love Mom. I do. But..." she shudders.
"At the same time, I can't forgive her for literally ABANDONING
me to Genma when I was a child, even younger than Hinako-chan
is now! And she believed, for more than a DECADE, that a piece of
damned PAPER with my handprint on it mattered more than my own LIFE!!
And NOW she wants me to become part of her old family?! Where both
her older brothers BEAT her constantly when she was growing up?!
Where, when she decided to marry Genma, they DISOWNED her?! And now
her father is trying to get revenge from Jijii because Jijii seduced
her MOTHER?!"
She reaches up to squeeze Haruka's hand, then she guides it away
from her. "No. I can't do it, Haruka-chan. I finally, after so
long, have got FULL control over my life! I will not let anyone
take it away from me. If Mom has a problem with that, too bad! And
if her father's so hell bent on revenge against Jijii, that's just
too bad, too! Besides..." a snide grin crosses her face, "...if
Mom's mother was so won over by JIJII of all people, it makes me
wonder what sort of real *man* her father was!"
Haruka balks, then flusters. "Well...!"
"That's pretty raw, Ran-chan!"
Ranma glances at Ukyou, the chef now standing by the hallway
leading to Ataru's and Negako's bedrooms. "Well, what would YOU
think, U-chan?!"
Laughing, Ranma heads off to her bedroom. Ukyou and Haruka
watch her go, then exchange a look. "I never expected that from
Anegimi-sama," the latter admits, walking over to stand beside the
former. "She did try to be positive when she spoke of her mother
on the Island last week..."
"Did she really go to this Sanctuary place, sugar?" Ukyou asks.
"Hai, she did. Why do you ask?"
The chef shrugs. "I guess spending over thirty days in a place
like that would change anyone's attitudes. Especially given all the
changes Ran-chan's had to go through to get where she is now."
Haruka considers that, then nods. "Soo..."
* * *
Later...
"So Kunou refused to acknowledge what I said yesterday?"
"Hai, I'm afraid so," Chieko Fujii nods as she places a lunch
tray on Akane's work desk. "At first, he and all the other boys were
plenty pissed off that you didn't even bother showing up for the
fight. Then when the girls in the class started talking about your
oath, the news got to Kunou-sempai pretty quick. Before I left to
come look in on you and the Boss, I heard from one of Sempai's
classmates that after he was told of your oath, he started blaming
it on Ranma-kun's 'sorcery,'" she makes finger-quotes. "He vowed
to not stop until he exorcised the 'black magic' from your heart with
his trusty blade..." she giggles. "Yadadda, yadadda, yadadda...!"
Akane groans, she rising from her bed. "That idiot..."
"You're not going to win against someone like that, Akane-chan,"
Chieko sits on the bed, Akane taking her place at the desk. "And
with Ranma-kun gone, who's going to distract Sempai from coming after
you?"
Akane stops, then rests her arms on her desk. Chieko is quick
to see a quiver shaking her classmate's limbs. "You have a point,"
the youngest Tendou daughter admits as she moves to dig into her
food. "Ranma always was something of a distraction when it came to
Kunou, ne?"
"Hai," Chieko stares at the ceiling. "I'm going to miss him."
Akane blinks. "You won't be the only one."
The other girl gazes quizzically at her, then decides it
wouldn't be prudent to push matters further. Heaven only knew, Akane
had always been mercurial when it came to her engagement to Ranma
Saotome. Best to turn her attention back to more immediate matters.
"So what now? I don't think any of the guys were really swayed by
what you said yesterday. If you try to dodge around them, they'll
just keep coming after you."
"And if I fight them, I'm feeding into their delusions.
Dealing with Kunou ever since he made that ridiculous speech taught
me that."
"Pity you couldn't just pull up stakes and leave town."
Silence.
Akane blinks, staring nowhere in particular. "Leave town..."
"Eh?!" Chieko looks quizzically at her.
"Leave town," the youngest Tendou repeats, turning to stare at
her classmate. "You know, before Ranma came, Dad tried to get me
transferred to another school to get me away from Kunou. It was
blocked because school rules state the ONLY way a person could get to
transfer out of Furinkan is if they apply to go to a private school,
like Saint Hebereke..." a smile creeps across her face, "...or if the
whole family moves completely out of the district itself, say to
another town or prefecture!"
"Couldn't you try to transfer to Kolholz?!" Chieko asks.
"They're not that far away from here. It wouldn't be too much of a
hassle and I know it's not a private school like Saint Hebereke
or Seisyun!"
Akane shakes her head. "No. Something tells me Kunou's father
arranged to make sure no one could try to transfer there.
Besides..." a disgusted scowl crosses her face. "Mikado Sanzenin
goes there!"
Chieko winces. "Right..."
A knock is heard at the door. Both girls see Kasumi standing
in the hallway beyond. "Gomen nasai, but would you come to the
sitting room for a couple minutes, Akane-chan?" the eldest Tendou
daughter asks, giving them a reassuring smile. "There's something
we need to discuss right away."
"About what, Onee-chan?" Akane asks.
"Something Rinrin-chan just offered us," Kasumi replies...
* * *
"Reiko-chan, say 'Aaaah!!'"
"Aaaaaah!" Reiko mouths before swallowing the spoonful of fruit
parfait Hinako just offered to her.
Gazing at his sister as she feeds his daughters, Ataru tries
not to grin too much, then he notices Jay and Kay gazing at him.
"Never thought something like this would happen to a guy like me,
eh?" Ataru smirks.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Jay shrugs.
"I take it you were engaged in other activities with the
Noukiites during the last couple of weeks," Kay muses. "Your
daughters did imply that you did help them fight the Urusians,
you know."
"Obvious, ne?" Ataru thumbs the flap of his tunic.
The SCAA agents gaze at his clothing. The fabric, interwoven
in several layers, clearly wasn't Terran in origin even if it was
hued a nice earthy brown shade. And the glyphic symbols lining the
outer flap edge of his tunic, despite the close similarity to Korean
han'geul, did not arise of an Earth alphabet. A glance to Reiko and
Kaneko reveal that the just-arrived twins had the same tailor as
their father. "Why?" Jay asks.
Ataru stops, then takes a deep breath. "When Onee-chan took me
to Sanctuary so I could be trained in my family's Art, I learned
a lot about the direct circumstances surrounding my grandmother's
death." A pause, then, "The Urusian government was directly
implicated."
Kay and Jay exchange a look, then turn back to Ataru. "That
would be something for the Inquisition to investigate, Ataru," the
former notes.
"Who do you think I was with when I went to Uru?" Ataru replies.
"Ah!" the older men nod understandingly.
"Onii-tama!!"
Ataru turns to Hinako, the latter holding up an empty fruit
parfait bowl. "We need some more!" the youngest of the sisters
warns.
"Are you two still hungry?!" Ataru glances at his daughters.
"We're okay, Papa," Reiko grunts as the twins rub their tummies.
"Oh!" a knowing look crosses Ataru's face as he gazes on Hinako.
"Don't tell me that Hina-chan has to go on a diet!!"
Hinako jolts. "Onii-tama!!" Like Kaho, she HATED the "D" word.
Everyone laughs, then Ataru starts on hearing, "Anii!!!"
"Ah!! Mamoru-chan!! Kaho-chan!!" Hinako waves.
"Ani-kun!"
People scream out on seeing Chikage now standing behind Ataru.
Kaho cries out as her foot catches on a paving stone, then she
tumbles right in front of Mamoru. The athlete doesn't dodge in time,
resulting in her falling flat onto her face. Ataru winces on seeing
his sisters stumble about, then he gives the sorceress a knowing
look. "My dear Miss Hirosaki, could you POSSIBLY think of trying
NOT to scare the living daylights out of us whenever you pop up like
that?! Gods, you're worse than Cherry!!"
Chikage appears nonplussed, then she cries out as twin typhoons
snare her lower legs, nearly sending her to join Kaho and Mamoru
face-first on the tarmac. "Auntie Chikage!!!" Reiko and Kaneko gush
together.
Seeing this, Hinako giggles. "Silly Chikage-chan!"
Laughter fills the table as Mamoru picks herself off the ground.
"Anii, there's a problem!" she staggers over to Ataru's table.
"What sort of problem?" Ataru asks.
"Reigi-san just called us," the athlete explains. "Some people
just teleported into your old house some minutes ago. From where,
NO ONE has any idea! And two others broke in around the same time.
He's wondering if he should get the Kuromoroboshi over there to check
things out!"
Ataru's eyebrow arches, then he glances in the direction
of his old family home. His eyes narrow as he picks up several
strangely familiar chi signatures, then he turns to Chikage. "Who's
there?!"
"Lum and Lan -- or rather, their post-Crossing Over
incarnations," Chikage reports, drawing her crystal ball from under
her cape. She swings it in the direction of the old Moroboshi
home. "Plus Jariten and four Avalonians, physical/mental
replicas of Lum, Lan, Benten and Oyuki."
Ataru blinks. "Say what...?!"
"Ten's come back?!" Jay gapes.
"Let's get over there," Kay rises, waving for the cheque...
* * *
"So Ranma finally decided to leave this place, eh?!" Hiroshi
muses.
"Yeah, by the sounds of it," Daisuke sighs.
They now relax in the library, along with a good portion of
their class. It is morning study hall, the class before lunch.
Given the nearly eerie quiet of the first day of the new school term
-- what with no morning brawl between Ranma and Kunou, not to mention
the Horde o'Hentai going all out on Akane now that the engagement
between herself and Ranma has been thrown out the window -- the
members of Ranma's old homeroom subconsciously seem to be bracing
themselves for a massive explosion to come anytime soon.
Yuka walks up to sit beside them. "Hey, Yuka-chan, any news
about Akane?" Daisuke wonders as the boys automatically straighten
themselves.
"No, not really. Chieko-chan went over to look on them," Yuka
rests her chin on her hands. "She should be back by now..."
"So what happened?" Hiroshi asks.
Yuka gazes on them, then shakes her head. "No, nothing really
happened to Akane-chan. It's Nabiki that's the problem."
The boys take that in, then relax. "Oh, I get it," Daisuke
smirks, trying not to laugh. "Ol' Miss-Yen-on-the-Brain
Nabiki doesn't like the idea of Ranma leaving. After all, if he's
gone, she can't make any money off him, especially now that he's got
his modelling career going."
"Gee, that's just TOO bad!" Hiroshi snorts.
Yuka tries not to groan at the boys' automatic assumption
when it comes to Akane's sister and the way she often treated Ranma.
She then catches herself. "Yeah, I suppose," she admits. If Akane
had spoke the truth about this AND given the undeniable evidence
of past times Ranma found herself in trouble with her other suitors
and rivals, Nabiki did have many other ways of making money off her
sister's transformed ex-fiancee.
"Hey, check out Gosunkugi!" Daisuke hisses.
Yuka and Hiroshi look as the frail would-be voodoo sorcerer
walks into the library. Given the jaunty spring in his stride,
the slap-happy smile etched on his face and the sheer glow of LIFE
eminating from him, Hikaru's classmates have more than enough reason
to be concerned. "What the hell's wrong with him?" Hiroshi blinks,
then glances at his friend. "Hey, Dai, have you EVER seen ol' Spooky
act anything like THAT?!"
"Not me, dude!" Daisuke shakes his head.
Hikaru sits down at a table, then draws out a book to begin
studying. Ignoring the confused, wary and curious looks from his
classmates, he turns to the page he wishes to examine, then gets to
work. Minutes pass. People around him are quick to notice that
their frail classmate seems distracted by something. But as to what
it could be, no one has any idea.
There is one possible explanation, though. "Yuka, you sure
Akane hasn't been to school at all today?" Daisuke gazes on his
classmate.
"I'm sure," Yuka nods, then perks as the sound of many chatting
voices echoes from the hallway. "What the hell's that?" she rises.
Hiroshi and Daisuke follow her out of the library. Stopping
in the hallway, the three gape on seeing a small crowd surround
a cheerfully-smiling Akane Tendou saunter in. "Is that...?" Hiroshi
asks, then taking a careful look at the new arrival's flower-print
shirt and stylish slacks, shakes his head. "Oh, man!" he groans.
"Don't tell me Akane got herself caught in front of that magic mirror
Ranma ran into once!!"
"Kimiko-chan...?" Yuka whispers, her mind calling up words Akane
had told her last night about her own new twin sister.
Kimiko ignores the chattering people around her as she focuses
her psi-senses on the one she wishes to see. Quickly passing Yuka
and her companions by without a word of greeting, she peeks into the
library. "Hikaru-kun?!" she calls out, then on spotting the would-be
sorcerer in question, grins as she makes a beeline for his table.
"I have lunch!!"
Hikaru looks up from his book, then the whole world around him
goes totally pink. "Kimiko-chan!" stars sparkle in his eyes as he
zips up to grasp her free hand. "Oh, Kimiko-chan, I was just
thinking about you!"
Akane's twin blushes. "Hai, I know," she places the bento on
the table, then gently touches her own reddening cheek as Hikaru's
desiring gaze focuses on her. "Oh, Hikaru-kun, did any mean boy try
to hurt you today? I was SO worried about you, especially with that
awful Kunou person and what he's been trying to do with my poor
sister..."
"Who wrote THIS corny dialogue?!" Hiroshi tries not to gag.
"Who IS that, anyway?!" Daisuke wonders. "You'd figure any
double of Akane'd act somewhat LIKE her, for heaven's sake!!"
Yuka stops, then glares at him. "And what EXACTLY is Akane-chan
SUPPOSED to act like, Daisuke-kun?!" ice drips from every word.
Daisuke gulps, ducking Yuka's incensed stare. Suddenly,
an explosion knocks down the back doors leading into the library.
Sure enough, Tatewaki Kunou storms in, his eyes locked on the horrid
sight of HIS beauteous tiger being manhandled by that uncouth
Gosunkugi. "***HOLD!!!***" he bellows, swinging his bokken out to
strike the impudent junior student down. "***I GAVE NO BLESSINGS
TO THIS HIDEOUS UNION, GOSUNKUGI!!! UNHAND THE BEAUTIFUL AKANE
TENDOU THIS INSTANT OR FACE THE BLUE THUNDER'S WRATH!!!!***"
"Hikaru-kun, did someone say something?" Kimiko wonders, totally
oblivious to the oncoming kendoist moving to strike her boyfriend
down.
"I didn't hear anything, Kimiko-chan," Hikaru shakes his head.
"C'mon, let's go outside and have lunch! I'm starving!!"
"Hai!!"
Kimiko snares the bento, then nearly wrenches Hikaru's arm out
of its socket as she leads him out of the library. Kunou, totally
unused to being simply IGNORED like that, freezes in place for a
moment as his mind rolls over what he just witnessed. He quickly
recovers, immediately turning to pursue. "AH!!! So the devious
Gosunkugi joined forces with the villainous Saotome to keep my
tigress under their dark spells, has he?!! I SHALL NOT HAVE IT!!!"
he quickly moves to pursue. "HAVE AT THEE, BEAST!!!!"
"***HAPPOU-GOJUU-EN-SATSU!!!!***"
Kunou screams out as his fighting aura is sucked out of him,
then he drops to the floor as a now-adult Hinako Ninomiya walks up.
"Now, Kunou-kun, I don't think the students here appreciate having
their study hall interrupted by your mindless diatribes," the teacher
plants a firm foot on the downed kendoist's head. "Besides,
Gosunkugi-kun and that double of Tendou-kun DO seem a nice couple,
don't they?" she titters, then glances in the direction of the other
boys in the room, many of whom she knew were part of that squad of
delinquents who were ready to ambush and most likely RAPE poor Akane
when she came to school this morning. "Well?!" her eyes flash
dangerously as she holds up her fifty-yen piece. "DON'T they?!!"
The boys shudder, then slump in defeat. "Sensei, you're cruel!"
one poor fellow, a long-time member of the Horde o'Hentai, groans.
"Tough!" Hinako moves to leave. "Life itself's cruel! If I
catch anyone trying to harass Gosunkugi-kun about his relationship,
they'll wish they never heard of Akane Tendou by the time I'm
finished with them!"
She heads off. The boys watch her go, then begin to mutter
among themselves. Gazing on them, Yuka is quick to note that many
are certainly NOT pleased by this turn of events, though their fear
of Hinako's powers certainly prevents them from going too hog-wild
over this. "Well, I'm glad something's back to normal around these
parts!" Hiroshi muses. "Eh, Dai?!"
"Yeah, it is a relief, isn't it?!" Daisuke nods...
* * *
"Is THIS the place Onii-tama lived in?!"
"What a dump!!"
"Kaho's happy that Onii-chama's living in Welcome House now!"
As Ataru, Chikage, Jay and Kay step into the old Moroboshi
home to see what was going on, Hinako, Kaho, Mamoru, Reiko and Kaneko
wait by the front gate. "Ugh!! The stench of those uo-t'ich is
everywhere!!"
"Um, Kaneko-chan?!"
"Hai, Auntie Mamoru, what is it?!"
"What's an 'uuoh-tichu?!'"
"'Uo-t'ich,' Auntie Mamoru," Kaneko stifles a giggle. "It means
'dog people.' That's what we normally call the Urusians."
"Kaneko-chan's people don't like dogs?!" Hinako wonders.
"Hai!"
The sisters exchange a look. "What happens when they meet
Marie-chan and Michael?!" Kaho wonders, covering her mouth.
"Oh, it's okay, Auntie Kaho!" Reiko smiles.
"Why do you say that?!" Mamoru asks.
"Well, Earth dogs are related to Earth wolves and foxes, right?"
"Um...! Y-yeah, I think so!" the athlete stutters.
"On Noukiios, wolves and dogs are as separate as dogs and cats
are here," Reiko explains. "We call wolves *ip'i.* They're really
cool when you see them, but you *don't* ever want to get one angry
at you!"
The sisters stare at the twins, then nod. "Oh!"
"Hinako-chan," Chikage peeks out the front door.
"What is it, Chikage-chan?"
"Come in here, please. We need you," the sorceress beckons.
Hinako blinks, then taking the Staff from Reiko, follows her
sister into the house. Ascending to where Ataru's room used to be,
they step inside. Hinako stops on seeing Ataru kneeling beside some
small glass tube on a wheel-less cart, those two nice men from the
Men in Black beside him. Jay now scans what lies in the tube with
a tricorder. Seated on the empty bunk bed Ataru once used are two
casually-dressed women, one brown-haired, the other a redhead.
The brown-haired girl looked as if she is about to break down and
cry. Her friend -- sister? -- has a reassuring hand on the other's
shoulder. Laid out on the floor by the bed are four people Hinako
recognizes from the pictures her Onii-tama once showed her sometime
ago. All four of them are passed out, an old blanket spread out over
them. Before Hinako could think of their names, a whispered warning
from Bou-san brings her up short. *They're Avalonians?!*
the youngest sister wonders, then blinks as Chikage beckons her to
stand beside the glass tube.
"How bad is it?" Ataru wonders.
Jay looks at his tricorder, then shakes his head. "He's in a
really bad way," he slips the device into his jacket. "What happened
to him?"
"The Ip'ihu attacked him," Seiko mutters.
Ataru and the SCAA agents gaze curiously on her, then the former
sighs. "Must have been some fringe group, just like the people who
turned Onishuto into a radioactive parking lot," he grimaces.
"Mainstream Ip'ihu would never condone attacks on innocent children
unless they're directly related to members of the Urusian colonial
militia." Before Seiko could voice any sort of response, Ataru turns
to his sisters. "Hina-chan?!"
Hinako walks up, then shudders, her eyes tearing on seeing the
scarred body frozen within. "Onii-tama, is that...?"
Ataru stares at her, then nods. "Yeah, it is. You think you
can ask Bou-san to do something to help him?" he indicates the
cryostorage tube.
The youngest of the sisters blinks, then shakily nods as she
holds the Staff up. The focusing crystal glows for a moment as
streams of energy shower Ten-chan's unmoving body. Some seconds
later, the shower ceases. Hinako draws the Staff back. "Bou-san
says she can't help Ten-chan, Onii-tama," she sniffs. "Bou-san
says all those boo-boos hurt him too much. If he's taken out of the
tube, he'll go to the Very, Very Bright Place."
"Wonderful," Kay sighs, then glances at Seiko. "Your call."
Seiko gazes on her cousin, then takes a deep breath.
"Hinako-chan, is there ANYTHING your friend there can do for
Ten-chan?"
Hinako blinks, then cants her head as the Staff whispers
something into her mind. "You think so?!" she stares at the glowing
crystal, then listens to the answer before nodding. "Uhn!! Hina
knows what to do now!"
"That being?" Chikage asks.
In answer, Hinako hefts the Staff into the air. The focusing
crystal glows bright-white as an opaque beam of energy lances through
the ceiling and straight into orbit over Japan's most infamous
town. The room is bathed in blinding light for a moment, causing
everyone to squeeze their eyes shut or cover their eyes with their
hands. As soon as the light begins to fade, Ataru shakes his head
clear, then glances at the floor where Ten-chan's cryostorage
unit should be. It is there no longer.
"Wh-where'm I...?"
Hinako gushes, cradling the Staff close to her. "Haaaaaaai!"
she turns to Ataru. "Ten-chan's all cured now, Onii-tama!!"
"Huh...?" the raven-haired boy, appearing to be about five or
so, glances around the empty room before his brown eyes focus on the
two men in the black business suits. "Ah!! Kay-san, Jay-san!!
Am I on Earth?!"
"That you are, kiddo! Welcome back!!" Kay chuckles, reaching
over to give Ten-chan a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. "Feel
okay?!"
Ten-chan stops, then stares at his hands. Fortunately
for him, the Staff had draped his new body in an orange T-shirt
and jean jumper. "Feel a little weird..." he scratches the back of
his head, then freezes as his fingers detect something that should
be there but is NOT. "My horn...!" he blinks, a surge of panic
seizing him for a moment, then he looks around the room. "MY HORN!!!
WHERE'S MY HORN?!! WHO TOOK MY HORN AWAY?!?!"
His eyes stop as they lock on the dark-clad, purple-haired
woman now standing close to the door. Ten-chan freezes in place as
Chikage's looks sink into his mind, then hearts seem to glitter
deep in his eyes. "Pretty lady..." he croons, walking over to take
a closer look of the sorceress.
Watching this, Ataru sighs. "Well, at least THAT part of him's
back to normal," he glances knowingly at Kay and Jay.
"Darling..." Seiko's eyebrow twitches.
Ten-chan stops, then spins around to see the bearded young man
in the Noukiite travelling clothes. "Ataru?!" he gapes, then walks
up to stare intently at him. "How'd you grow a beard so fast?! And
what are you doing dressed like that?! If Lum-chan sees you like
that...!"
"Lum HAS seen me like that," Ataru indicates Seiko. "And, much
that I hate to bring you down to Earth, Ten, it really no longer
matters what she happens to think about me. In the meantime,
my sisters and I'll leave you to get reacquainted, not to mention
registered with Kay's people." He glances at Kay. "We'll be
downstairs while you finish up."
"Right," Kay nods.
Ten-chan watches as Ataru, Chikage and Hinako step out of the
room, then perks as Seiko steps up to kneel beside him. "What's
with him...?" his voice suddenly trails off as his eyes fix on hers.
"Lum-chan...?" he blinks, then turns as Sakiko comes up.
"Lan-chan...?"
"Hai, it's us, Ten-chan," Sakiko kneels beside Seiko.
Ten-chan glances at Sakiko, then Seiko, then back to Sakiko
again before he screams out, "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE, ANYWAY?!?!"
"It's a long story, Ten-chan," Seiko shrugs, then leans over to
draw him into her arms. "But it's so good to see you alive and
safe!"
Sobs soon take her voice away. Ten-chan stares at her, then his
own eyes water as Seiko's relief overwhelms him. In a minute, both
are holding each other tight, weeping in relief. Sakiko places her
hands on their shoulders, then soon finds herself drawn into a group
hug with her sister and her cousin. Watching this, Kay and Jay
exchange a look, then smile...
* * *
"Oh, Hina-chan?!"
"What is it, Onii-tama?"
"Where exactly did the Staff get the new body for Ten?!"
Hinako blinks, then stares quizzically at the Staff. "Hina's
not sure, but Bou-san told Hina the body was there and it had no soul
in it." She stops as the Staff whispers something to her, then she
nods. "Oh, Hina understands now!" she then stops herself. "But how
can that be?"
"What is it, Hinako-chan?" Kaho wonders. She, Mamoru, Reiko
and Kaneko had come into the house after their relatives had left
Ataru's old bedroom. They all now relax in the old living room.
Hinako stares at the cheerleader. "Bou-san told Hina that the
big-big ship there could only make Avalonians as young as Hina is.
But Ten-chan's even younger than Hina, yet there was a body on the
big-big ship there for Hina to use to let Ten-chan be with Lum again.
A BOY'S body, too! Hina doesn't understand..." her voice trails
off.
Ataru takes that in, then perks on feeling Chikage's hand
squeeze his shoulder. Glancing at the sorceress, he notes the look
on her face, then nods. "Well, we can ask Miree about it later,"
he shrugs.
"Why save him, Papa?"
Eyes lock on Reiko and Kaneko. The looks on the Noukiites'
faces speak volumes. "Reiko-chan, what do you think the Ch'uoeuk
would say if he found out that there're people out there willing
to attack and kill young children, even younger than you, just
because they're Urusian?"
"What about the Noukiite children who've faced the Ch'uoeuk
far too young, Papa? All because the Urusians couldn't let what we
did to them go, back during the Union Revolution and in the time
since," Kaneko counters. "Who answers for what happened to all of
them, Papa?"
"What DID happen to them?!" Mamoru asks.
"You know about the famine in parts of Africa?" Chikage
counters.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Imagine that on a planetary scale, multiplied four times."
Eyes lock on Ataru. "And the Urusians did THAT?!" Kaho
shudders.
"Yes," Ataru, Reiko and Kaneko answer as one.
"Why?!" Hinako sniffs.
Ataru gazes on the youngest of the sisters, then takes a deep
breath. "Because there were people on Uru who just didn't like the
Noukiites, Hina-chan. Just like there're people here in Japan who
don't like the Chinese or the Koreans, even those Koreans who were
born and raised here in Japan."
"But that's stupid!" Hinako protests. "They're nice people!"
"Yes, they are," Ataru nods. "But there're people in this
country who just don't care about things like that, Hina-chan.
Just like there're people who wouldn't care about descendants
of burakumin just BECAUSE their ancestors WERE burakumin! And..."
he takes a deep breath. "A lot of those people happen to be working
for the government. Just like there were a lot of stupid people
who hated the Noukiites who ran the government on Uru."
"And those are the ones Reiko-chan and Kaneko-chan, plus all
their friends, had to fight," Chikage glances knowingly on her
adopted nieces.
"Is that what we gotta do one day, Onii-tama?" Hinako asks.
Ataru notes the worried look deep in his sister's eyes, then he
sighs, reaching over to squeeze her shoulder. "Hopefully, no. But
with the way things in this country are going, Hina-chan..."
he shrugs.
"Bummer," Mamoru shakes her head...
* * *
Lunchtime...
"So this is actually a REPLICA of Akane-chan?!"
"Hai, that she is," Hikaru chuckles.
He and Kimiko sit under a tree on the front lawn of Furinkan
High, their lunch bento sitting between them. A gaggle of the voodoo
sorcerer's classmates, including Yuka, Hiroshi, Daisuke and Sayuri,
sit around them.
Sensing their curiosity about how could *he* win the heart of a
person who, physically, was Akane's twin, Hikaru gives them a
thorough briefing on how Kimiko had first met Ranma some months back,
then how (with the help of Ataru's sisters Negako and Chikage)
Kimiko had been given a life she could truly call her own. At the
end of that, his classmates are speechless for a moment, then Daisuke
sighs. "Gos, my friend, you are one lucky bastard, you know that?!"
he slaps the other man's shoulder.
Hikaru winces. "Y-yeah, I guess I am..." he stutters.
"Are you thinking of coming to school, Kimiko-chan?"
Sayuri asks.
Kimiko blinks, then sighs. "I'm not sure. Ranma-sama..."
-- she ignores the boggled looks everyone gives her on hearing THAT
particular honorific attached to Ranma's name -- "...did warn me not
to become like Kasumi-oneesama, so I might want to try to expand
my education. But it'll be hard given the way I came into this
world. I don't think the national education authorities anticipated
someone like ME whatsoever!"
"Yeah, that'd be a pain," Hiroshi nods.
"***GOSUNKUGI!!!!***"
The members of Hikaru's class moan. "Oh, shit, here he comes!"
Daisuke mutters as people turn to watch Tatewaki Kunou storm up,
bokken in hand. "The stupid idiot just does NOT know the word
'quit!'"
Hikaru sighs, then perks on feeling Kimiko giving him a
reassuring squeeze. Sensing her support, the frail sophomore
rises, then straightens himself. His classmates quickly clear a path
for the kendoist, though several remain close to ensure Kunou didn't
go hog-wild on Hikaru or Kimiko right away. "You wanted to see me,
Kunou-san?" Hikaru crosses his arms.
Kunou stops, then glares the voodoo sorcerer down. "You will
address me as 'Sempai,' you wretched cur! How DARE you lay your
unworthy hands on the beauteous Akane Tendou?! How DARE you presume
that you can avoid the Blue Thunder's edict when it comes to being
in Akane Tendou's presence...!"
"Kunou-san, I hate to bust your bubble, but you're wrong on two
counts," Hikaru chuckles. "First, Akane-san declared your oath
null-and-voice yesterday. Almost every girl in the class was witness
to that."
"Lies!!" Kunou proclaims. "The lovely Akane was under a
spell..."
"And second, this is not Akane Tendou," Hikaru indicates
Kimiko.
Silence.
"What?!" Kunou blinks.
"It's true," Hikaru nods. "This is Akane's adopted twin sister,
Kimiko Tendou. She's actually a minor kami who was trapped by an
evil wizard in a doll the pig-tailed girl found at a ryokan some
months ago."
Everyone stares at Hikaru as if he had just grown a second head.
Yuka, Sayuri, Daisuke and Hiroshi are quick to notice the light smile
on Kimiko's face, then nod understandingly. No doubt, Hikaru and
Kimiko had planned ahead for this very moment. Kunou stares
incredulously at Hikaru, then turns to Kimiko. "The pig-tailed
girl freed you...?!"
"Yes, she did," Hikaru answers for his girlfriend. "The
pig-tailed girl and Akane-san took great pity on Kimiko-chan,
so when the chance came, they tricked the foul magus Saotome into
creating a clone body of Akane-san's so Kimiko-chan here could have
a body for herself to use..."
Kunou howls. "VICTORY!!!" he screams, fireworks exploding
behind him as thunder rumbles through the air. "To believe that my
beautiful fighting tigress and my fiery pig-tailed goddess actually
tricked that dark sorcerer into doing what THEY bid him to do, not
he!!" His bokken stabs into the sky as a flash of lighting arcs
overhead, causing everyone to tense. "Now I, Tatewaki Kunou, the
Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, shall be victorious and claim the
hands and hearts of my three lovely maidens of battle..."
"Um, Kunou-san, there's a problem!"
The kendoist stops, then glares at Hikaru. "What do you mean?!"
"Well, when Kimiko-chan was given her new body, Saotome learned
he had been tricked by Akane-san and the pig-tailed one," the voodoo
sorcerer shrugs. "Well, you KNOW how much Saotome hates you, don't
you?! He..." Hikaru shudders, then indicates Kimiko. "He made it so
that no matter how much you try to win Kimiko-chan over, you CAN'T!!
The only way you could even hope to win Kimiko-chan over is to go
find Saotome and defeat him!!"
"I'm afraid the same applies to Akane-san and the pig-tailed
one," Kimiko adds, giving Kunou an apologetic look. "No matter how
much you try to attack them -- or ME for that matter! -- it'll fail.
The only way you can free them is to kill that horrible, horrible
Ranma Saotome!"
Silence falls as Kimiko's words swirl through Kunou's mind.
"Oh, by the way, Sempai, you better know that Ranma-kun transferred
out of Furinkan High School yesterday," Yuka helpfully adds, holding
up a finger.
"WHAT?!?!" Kunou jolts, then his battle aura flares, causing
everyone to step fearfully away from him. "So!!! Saotome thinks
he can escape the Blue Thunder's wrath?! He actually thinks he can
keep the Blue Thunder's three chosen ones away from him?! NEVER!!!
I SAY THEE NEVER!!!!"
With that, he storms off to the school building. The others
watch him go, then Daisuke sighs. "Somehow, I really don't think
Ranma's gonna appreciate us heaping that particular problem back on
him again!"
Kimiko chuckles. "Wait until he learns that Ranma-sama
is no longer on her parents' family register," she wraps an arm
around Hikaru's, she turning to gaze longingly at him. "Hikaru-kun,
shall we finish lunch?"
"Hai, hai!" Hikaru nods.
Everyone looks on them as they sit down. "So if Ranma's been
struck off his family register, what happens to him now?" Hiroshi
asks.
"That..." Kimiko impishly shrugs, "...is a secret."
Hearing that, everyone falls flat on their faces!
* * *
"Can you guys really do this?!"
"Sure we can!" Rinrin chuckles. The members of the Tendou
family, plus Miree and Chieko, relax around the sitting room table
as the teen scientist explains all the changes she plans to make to
the third floor of Welcome House's rotunda. Yotsuba sits to Rinrin's
right, she now resting herself against Shinshi's arm. "It's our
land, after all! Anyhow..."
She points to the first room counter-clockwise from the
stairwell. "The spare room here'll be Miree-san's," Rinrin gazes
at Miree. "If Negako-aneki wants to visit the Island, she could stay
with Aniki and Ranma-aneki in their bedroom on the first floor."
"Why won't she come live on the Island full-time?" Miree asks.
"Ane-chama suffers from hydrophobia," Yotsuba explains, then
turns to the Tendous, a knowing chuckle escaping her. "'Sides,
if Shi-chama and his family move out, what happens to Ane-chama's
friend?"
"You're going to make Ojii-san live with Negako-san at the
temple?" Nabiki blinks surprisedly. "With Kimiko-chan and most
likely Chigaiko-san living there as well? Do you really think that's
a good idea?!"
"Oh, I'm sure Aneki'll keep him in line," Rinrin laughs, then
her finger then moves to the next room displayed on the computer
viewscreen. "My room'll stay the same, but I'll move the main door
to be perpendicular to Miree-san's front door. I can use the extra
space for storage if I want. No problems there. Now, for the big
changes..."
Her finger shifts to Yotsuba's room. "We'll expand
Yotsuba-chan's and Shirayuki-chan's rooms out three metres.
Yotsuba-chan's room'll wrap clockwise to cover the wall space of my
lab, plus we'll throw a second floor onto it over half of the new
portion. Yotsuba-chan, you and Shinshi-kun'll stay on the third
floor, opposite my lab. The ladder to the roof'll be there, but
there'll be a safety fence put in just in case. I KNOW Aniki'll
want that 'cause you like going on the roof all the time."
Yotsuba sighs. "Yotsuba thinks Ani-chama worries too much!"
"That IS Ataru-kun's privilege AND responsibility as your older
brother, Yotsuba-chan," Kasumi intones as the others laugh.
"ANYHOW..." Rinrin's voice picks up in pitch to get everyone's
attention back to the matter at hand. "Nabiki-chan'll take the new
room on the fourth level. It'll big enough for you to have your own
private sitting area, plus you'll have a door to the roof of
Yotsuba-chan's part of the room so you can do some sunbathing.
Um..." she stares at the middle Tendou daughter. "Do you need
anything special put into your room?"
"Well, if you can put in some computer and telephone links
directly into my room, I'd certainly like that," Nabiki smiles.
"Nabiki-chan, I HOPE you're not going to do some of the things
you've done in Furinkan when you transfer to Stargazer West," Kasumi
warns.
Nabiki laughs. "Oh, RELAX, Onee-chan! I don't need to worry
too much about that anymore!!" she waves her sister down, then sighs.
"Like I said, this is crunch year for me and I'll need every
advantage I get."
"You're thinking of going to America when you go to university,
right?" Rinrin stares at the older woman.
"Most likely," Nabiki nods, then gives Rinrin a knowing look.
"Why? What school've you got in mind, Rinrin-chan? MIT or
Caltech?!"
"Haven't really thought about it yet since it's still a few
years away for me," Rinrin shrugs, then points to the viewscreen.
"Anyhow, the new space under Nabiki-chan's bedroom, plus
Yotsuba-chan's old bedroom space, can be used as a common area or we
could install a guest bedroom if you guys're interested. We could
save that for the future if you want."
Nabiki hums, then glances out the corner of her eye at Chieko.
There is a concerned yet supportive look on the redhead's face.
Taking a deep breath, she turns back to the teen inventor. "No,
Rinrin-chan, let's put in the guest bedroom now," she suggests.
"If we need it, it'll save up construction time and costs. If we
don't, then we don't."
"Okay," Rinrin nods, then taps instructions on her machine.
Instantly, the diagram is changed to show two bedrooms on the
third level. "What about us, Rinrin-chan?" Akane points to herself,
then Kasumi.
"Well, we'll expand Shirayuki-chan's room to mirror what we're
doing to Yotsuba-chan's room," Rinrin points out the details. "The
room next to Shirayuki-chan's room is the boy's washroom, so we'll
seal the window off completely. For safety's sake, we'll put in an
emergency door that'll exit directly onto the roof of the upstairs
part of Aniki's and Aneki's new space so that, if there's a fire,
you've got a way to get to safety," her finger traces over the
details. "We'll have three bedrooms here, with Shirayuki-chan's
old space as the common area. What I was thinking of is that
Shirayuki-chan takes the fourth floor for herself, then you and
Kasumi-aneki have the two bedrooms on the third floor."
"Will Shirayuki-chan mind having her room shifted around like
this?" Kasumi wonders. "This is a lot of changes to make,
Rinrin-chan."
"And is this rotunda going to hold up with all the changes?"
Nabiki adds. "Even if it is your property, there are building
standards..."
"Oh, relax, relax!" Rinrin waves the middle sister down, then
points to the diagram. "The House is modular in construction,
even if it sure as hell doesn't look like it. Everything'll
be fine. They anticipated expanding the rotunda when they first
built the place."
"That's a relief," Akane breathes out, then hums. "Ne,
Onee-chan, why don't you take this room..." she points to the new
room opposite the boy's washroom, "...and I'll take the one right
under Shirayuki-chan's room. Ne, Rinrin-chan, do you think you can
put a door to connect my room to the room under Nabiki's space? In
case Yuka and Sayuri come visit?"
"Oh, sure I can!" Rinrin taps controls on her machine to change
the plans, then turns to Yotsuba and Shinshi. "You sure you won't
mind this?"
"I've got no friends to speak of right now, Rinrin-chan.
Save for those who're already living at or will live at Welcome
House," Nabiki's twin brother shrugs, then gazes on Yotsuba. "How
about you, Yo-chan?"
"Yotsuba won't mind," the would-be detective smirks.
"Alright, then!" Rinrin continues to play with the keys...
* * *
"Um, Ranma-san, have you seen Sakuya-san anywhere?"
Ranma looks up from the novel she was reading to see Mikiko
Serizawa standing at the door to her room. "I think she left with
Haruka-chan an hour ago to do something, Mikiko," the martial artist
saves her page, then rolls to her feet. "Why? Is there something
wrong?"
"Um, n-no, not really, but lunch is almost ready," Mikiko frets
as she and Ranma walk into the common room. "Ataru-kun, Hinako-san,
Kaho-san and Mamoru-san've been gone for some time. I hope things're
alright."
"Well, they better be," Ranma muses as they sit down beside
Himiko Kawamura; the former captain of the Tomobiki High girl's swim
team is now watching the noon news on NHK. "If any of the clods
there even so much as LOOK the wrong way at Hinako-chan or the
others, Ataru'll go ballistic."
"Would he really?" Himiko gazes on the redhead.
"Bet on it," Ranma nods, then perks as Shirayuki walks in, a tea
tray in hand. "Hey, Shirayuki-chan, what's for lunch?!"
The chef places the tea tray down. "Nee-sama will definitely
like Hime's special lunch," she proclaims. "Hime made her toofuu
omelettes with sliced vegetables and ricotta cheese. Perfect for
growing girls and boys."
"Well, by the looks of it, Shirayuki-san, we're gonna be having
loads of seconds with the amount of people gone," Himiko warns.
"Soo desu no," Shirayuki smiles as she heads back to the
kitchen.
Negako steps in the room, followed by Aria and Karen. "I see
lunch is almost ready," the grandmistress takes her seat.
"Is this it?" Ranma glances around the room. "Where's U-chan?!"
"Oh, gomen nasai, Onee-chan," Karen looks apologetic.
"Ukyou-san went over to speak with Tampopo-san about what happened
this morning."
"Ah! Oh, that's a relief!" Ranma breathes out. "Lessee.
Ataru's gone to Tomobiki with Hinako, Kaho and Mamoru..."
"Chikage is with them," Negako reports.
"Right," Ranma nods. "Chigaiko's with her family for the day.
Kimiko's no doubt with Gos right now at school. Hope the dopes there
don't give her a hard time. Yotsuba, Rinrin and Miree are at the
Tendous." She looks at Aria. "Aria-chan, have you see Jonna or Orin
today?"
"We're right here, Ranma-sama," Jonna announces as she and Orin
step into the room, then they take their seats to both sides of Aria.
"Nee-ya," Aria reaches over to hold one of Orin's hands.
"It's good that Aria-chan's made a new friend, ne, Onee-chan?"
Karen smiles, gazing knowingly at Ranma.
"Yeah, it is," Ranma chuckles as Mikiko proceeds to pour tea for
everyone. "Has anyone see Marie-chan? She hasn't got lost..."
"Marie went to the park with Michael," Negako reports, then
perks. "Ah, she just passed through the front gate. Sakuya and
Haruka are..." she pauses, her eyebrow arching, then she smiles.
"Shirayuki!"
"Hai, Nee-sama?!" the chef calls back from the kitchen.
"Make extra food. We'll have guests today!"
"Hai!!"
"What guests?" Karen stares quizzically at the grandmistress.
In response, the door opens. "Tadaima!" Marie calls out as she
and Michael step inside, followed by Sakuya and Haruka.
"Oh, Sakuya-san, you're just..." Mikiko looks over, then her
eyes nearly shoot out of her hear on seeing the older woman in
Sakuya's company.
"Mikiko, wha-...?" Himiko stares at her shocked friend, then
looks herself before noting the older woman now in Haruka's company.
"Shirayuki-chan, we have guests!!" Sakuya calls out, then slips
to the side to allow her guest a clear view of the people seated
in the room.
Haruka does the same with the woman accompanying her. Silence
falls as the older women stare in shock at Himiko and Mikiko, then
both nearly keel over. Sakuya and Haruka help Tomomi Serizawa
and Mami Kawamura remain steady as their daughter get up, then race
into their embrace. "MOM!!!!" Himiko and Mikiko scream out joyfully,
then break down into tears as they sink to their knees, holding
their mothers for all their worth.
Watching them, the others in the room can only smile...
* * *
Later...
"Everything settled with them?"
"Yeah, it's all taken care of," Jay nods as he sits across from
Ataru in the old Moroboshi home living room. "Found out the story
-- or as much of it as I could -- concerning those replicas of Lum
and the others."
"That being?" Ataru asks.
"They're living targets. Specially built by the Niphentaxians
at Nassur's request so that if one of that guy's enemies decided
to target Lum or the others, they'd be the ones who'd eat lead. Or
whatever they use out there," the young SCAA agent rolls his eyes,
then sighs. "Funny thing is, I simply just CAN'T see a guy like
Nassur doing something like THAT!"
"Unless he never truthfully realized what those girls were,"
Ataru counters. "If what I understand of Vosians is true, if Nassur
couldn't scan any brainwaves from those four upstairs -- and if he
didn't take the time to scan them with a tricorder OR if they're
fitted with jammers that'd block or haze a tricorder scan -- he'd
have no choice but to think that they're very sophisticated
androids. After all, they don't look the least bit like Yehisrites,
do they?" a knowing smirk crosses his face.
"Yeah, that makes sense. I'd hate to break it to the guy if or
when he ever comes this way again," Jay nods, then perks as Kay comes
down.
"So what other business have you got for us today, Ataru?"
the older SCAA agent sits down beside his partner.
"Quite a bit, I'm afraid," the younger man scratches the back
of his head. "I've got three refugees from Phentax Two who've been
converted to Avalonians. One of my new girlfriend's friends was
cursed by water from the Springs of Jusenkyou in China, so we were
forced to steal two Avalonian bodies from that bioroid factory up in
orbit to help them out. Two of the so-called 'victims' of last
week's bombing at the school turned up alive and well, plus they're
also Avalonians. And THAT, my friends, doesn't begin to include
the fact that the bioroid factory itself is here."
"I've never even heard of these Avalonians," Kay shrugs. "How
long have the Niphentaxians been keeping them a secret?"
"Some decades, maybe a century," Ataru shrugs, then takes a deep
breath. "And the worst news of all is that Oogi himself is here."
Jay and Kay pale. "Oh, fuck!" the former spits out. "Damn,
when it rains, it fuckin' pours! We DON'T need that moron here!!"
"When was the last time you saw the esteemed president of the
Niphentaxian Union, Ataru?" the latter wonders.
"Lumukyou," Ataru reports. "Of course, when I last saw him, he
had just been disintegrated by the Staff of Gihan just before three
billion of his followers also took the Magic Carpet Ride to Eternity.
So I've really got no idea what shape he's in, but Miree -- she's
one of the refugees from that planet I told you about -- says that
he's still among the living."
"Oh, cute!" Jay shakes his head.
"What church is she from?" Kay asks.
"Hollywood. Ditto with both her daughters," Ataru reports.
"Well, that's a moderate sect, so we've got no real worries,"
Kay sighs, rubbing the side of his head. "Zed's NOT going to like
this!"
"Got that right," Jay snorts.
"Darling?"
They turn as Seiko walks into the room. "Problem?" Ataru asks.
"I..." the Oni-turned-Nendo-kata/Terran
balks on seeing the cold neutrality presently crossing her former
fiance's face, then she relaxes herself. Any sort of confrontation
between her and Ataru now would serve no purpose, especially
now that four of his sisters and both his adopted daughters were
outside waiting for him. And given that both his daughters were
Noukiites -- this, of course, didn't mention what either Chikage
or Hinako could do if their brother was threatened -- Seiko knew that
even if she did lose control of her temper, things wouldn't go well
for her, Nendo-kata powers or no. Taking a deep breath, she gazes
on the two SCAA agents. "Um, could we have some time alone, please?"
she asks.
"Sure," Kay nods as both rise. "We'll head over to take care
of those two girls who nearly died last week, Ataru. Where are
they?"
"Talk to Chikage," Ataru nods outside. "She'll help you."
"Right," Kay gives Seiko a concerned look, then both step out.
As soon as the door closes behind the two agents, Ataru takes
a deep breath, then gazes on Seiko. The latter shudders as she
returns his look, then bows her eyes. "Why are you so mad, Darling?"
she whispers.
Silence responds. Sensing he wanted her to better explain
herself, Seiko takes a deep breath, then walks to the window, gazing
outside. She sees Chikage chatting amicably with Kay and Jay.
Hinako is teaching Reiko and Kaneko how to play pattycake while
Mamoru and Kaho hover close to Chikage. Taking a deep breath, she
hoarsely asks, "Are you afraid that I'd actually hurt them?" she
turns to gaze once more on Ataru.
"It wouldn't be the first time you and your family would seek
to hurt my family and I," he responds indifferently. "Nor the first
time your race strove to place mine at a disadvantage for some
stupid, selfish reason. Oh! Forgive me, I forgot," he holds up a
finger. "You're not an Urusian anymore, Izumo-san, but a Nendo-kata.
I didn't mean to imply that anyone of the Great School would ever
cast such disUnity on another sentient race. Or maybe..." he lowers
his hand, "...you're angry that I eventually decided to throw my lot
in with the Noukiites against the Urusians."
Seiko gazes at him, then shakes her head. "I'm not angry about
that, Darling," she mutters, then sighs. "But I am curious as to
why. Even if m-my..." she stutters, then breathes out before
carrying on. "Even if the Urusians HAVE tried to oppress the
Noukiites over the past few centuries, those people DID use a nuclear
bomb that murdered my parents, nearly killed me and heaven only knows
how many more in Onishuto. They DID kill Rei..."
"Why do you care about Rei?!" Ataru asks. "When Lum first came
here to Earth, she was happier than hell to be away from that walking
stomach!" He nods upstairs. "I can see why your sister would be
concerned about him given Lan's feelings for the idiot, but why on
Earth would you care?"
"Because he didn't deserve to DIE!!!" Seiko snaps.
"And all those people on Noukiios and their colonies DID?!"
he bolts to his feet, the anger radiating like waves of exploding
plasma from his body. "Didn't you even ONCE ask yourself what was
going on?!" he demands, causing Seiko to duck. "You said back at
Tampopo's that your father tried to brush off what was going on
between your people and the Noukiites, but he didn't fully convince
you! Didn't it even occur ONCE to you that maybe you should've
tried to figure out what was going on?! Didn't you worry that maybe,
just MAYBE, your people were doing something very WRONG?!!"
Seiko stares in numb shock at him. Ataru scowls, then turns
away. "Oh, hell, no! Of course not!" he throws up his hands in
surrender. "The very idea of the daughter of one of the major clan
leaders on your planet, she who is also blood-descendant
of Uru's last emperor and thus, if the Urusian people wanted it,
could've become the new Empress, actually trying to concern herself
about LESSER people?! Oh, my GOD!!" he spins on her, clapping
his cheeks in mock-horror. "To even SUGGEST such a thing!"
"Don't you dare!" Seiko snarls. "I'm no Imperialist!!
I never was!"
Ataru gazes on her, then takes a step to glare into her eyes.
"Not according to Ando Pochik," he ruefully smiles before turning
away.
Seiko blinks, shock overcoming her wounded outrage as Ataru
places himself at one end of the room. "How do you know Ando,
Darling?"
"I met him the second weekend after you left in a place where
Onee-chan had taken me so I could learn the Art. A place beyond
the bounds of normal space and time," Ataru crosses his arms. "He
was leading a special strike team to assassinate key leaders on
Noukiios in hopes of turning the war back to Uru's favour." He takes
a deep breath before turning back to her. "I hear that, at the same
time I ran across your friend, the..."
"He was NEVER my friend!" she spits out.
"Oh?!" his eyebrows arch. "How was I supposed to know that?"
Silence falls as they gaze on each other, then Seiko looks away,
hugging herself as she stares out the window. "What did he tell
you?"
"Oh, he told me all sorts of things," he shrugs. "Confessed
that he always had an interest in you. At least..." he holds up a
finger, "...Ando didn't like the idea of that moron Rei marrying
you. But then, when he found out about our so-called
'engagement'..." Ataru ruefully chuckles as he lowers his arms. "Oh,
he didn't care at ALL for that. Not because of all the girl-chasing
I did before you left Tomobiki." The smile drops from his face.
"But because he felt it quite improper that a man of a 'future slave
race' to the restored Urusian Empire would even THINK of having close
relations with the Imperium's first Empress in almost two centuries."
Seiko quakes, then closes her eyes. "Why do you think I never
saw him as my friend?" she hoarsely whispers, eyes brimming with
tears as she tries to make some headway towards forging some sort of
reconciliation with Ataru. "Darling, I was never of that line of
thinking! Yes, I did some stupid, moronic things when I was here.
I admit it! I'm sorry those things happened!! But..." she shakes
her head, turning to gaze pleadingly at him. "You won the Tag Race,
Darling! I DID respect that!"
He looks at her, then sighs. "Clearly, Ando wasn't of the same
mind as you. Neither was that old, slobbering pervert he called
a father," he crosses his arms. "Ditto with Des Azu, Sil Dedron
and all the others of the 'Imperial Round' I helped capture for the
Noukiites and the Inquisition to have their way with the weekend
after I killed Ando. Those that poor fellow from Okusei didn't nail
with his fusion bomb, that is."
Seiko stares at him, then she timidly asks, "You killed Ando?"
"Yes. Slit his throat, then I dumped him into a convenient
time-tunnel that'll ensure his body remains adrift in limbo unto
Eternity," he nods matter-of-factly. "As for the rest of his crew,
after they were interrogated, Onee-chan killed them. After what they
saw I did to Ando, they were a lot more respectful of 'lesser'
people such as Onee-chan and I. So when we ended their lives, we
made sure they got nice graves."
Silence falls as Seiko tries to take all that in, then she gazes
intently at Ataru. "There's something more to this, isn't there?"
"What do you mean?"
"Darling!!" she snaps. "You've shrugged off insult after insult
from everyone around you! I can't possibly believe that you would
react to a simple racial slur from a sub-creature like Ando to kill
him!!"
Ataru takes a deep breath, then the rage burning in his eyes
fades. Seiko blinks confusedly, frozen still as he walks up to her.
He gently places a hand on her cheek, then leans up to kiss her
forehead. She remains in place, then stares wide-eyed at him.
"Darling..."
He steps back, a weak smile crossing his face. "I was worried
that the Psi-Unity part of the Crossing Over hadn't worked out like
it should."
Seiko looks nowhere in particular as she tries to interpret
what he just told her, then she looks back at him. "How do you
know?"
"About the Great School?" he shrugs, then sits down on the
floor. "My older sister, Nokoko -- she's Muchi's and Kinshou's
first child -- was sent to my uncle Komeru when she was three or so
to be raised by him. For three years, we were deliberately
made to believe that we were cousins, not brother and sister. When
Onee-chan was finally told the truth, she ran away from home -- and
wound up in the Outland dimension. There, she encountered a lost
school of Nendo-kata. Nine in all as I recall. Because the
Outland's certainly no place for a human to live, she had to merge
and Cross Over with that school's matriarch. She's been there ever
since."
Seiko considers that, then sits in front of him. "Then why
isn't she here? If she's the eldest-born, she should be the
Matriarch, not..."
"Internal clan politics," he rolls his eyes. "If Onee-chan
came back too soon, Sakuya-chan and the others..." he nods outside,
"...would've been left out in the cold. Hell, even now with Grandma
dead, there're those in my family who're pretty uncomfortable
about having children born out of WEDLOCK take charge of the Clan as
a whole. So..." he breathes out. "To ensure nothing bad happens
to Sakuya-chan and the others, Onee-chan has to stay away. It's..."
he closes his eyes. "Hard, but bearable."
"Oh, Darling..." her eyes mist.
"Relax, it's okay," he smirks. "Hell, you know me. Always
willing to buck ever damned social trend in this pathetic country
of hypocrites! Remember when Megane tried to rag me out when we were
making that movie just before you ran across Memory under Mendou's
cherry tree?!"
Seiko smirks. "As I recall, I was a little out of it then."
"Well, at least you got spared an earache from that jerk's
mouth!" Ataru grins, then shakes his head. "God, he was an asshole,
wasn't he?!"
"I suppose you could call him that," she nods.
Both laugh as the memories of the "pseudo-war" come back to
them, then Seiko reaches out with her hand to touch Ataru's knee.
"Why?"
Silence falls as he considers what to say, then he takes a deep
breath. "Ando killed Grandma," he hoarsely whispers.
Seiko's skin pales as he stands up, moving to gaze out the
window. "The night of the sixth day of the first Tag Race, Ando and
a small team used their spacializers to teleport into Grandma's
farm. By the time Brother Sunfire and his friends, much less the
Kuromoroboshi, could figure out what happened, it was too late. A
fast-acting, nearly untraceable poison tailor-made for Grandma had
done its work." He takes a deep breath. "At first, her death seemed
natural to the special investigators the Holy Inquisition sent to
look in on what happened. Then Negako-oneechan came back from her
travels and took a look herself. She..."
He pauses. Seiko blinks, then squeezes her eyes shut. "She
found out it was murder. And that someone from Uru..."
"Yeah," he nods.
"Then why didn't...?"
"Because they didn't have exact proof," he looks at her. "Much
that the Zephyrites do have an ugly reputation when it comes to
chasing after 'heretics,' the Cabal of Archbishops understand
what sort of things could result from calling a Holy Crusade, even
if it's meant to avenge the death of a Righteous Gentile." Turning
back to gaze out the window, he sighs. "So they decided to wait for
the right moment, then when the chance came, the Inquisition
would be sent in to deal with matters. Well..." a shrug rolls his
shoulder. "Thanks to Rei's moronic uncle and his covert support
for the colonial militias on Machibusu and elsewhere, that chance
came."
Seiko lightly smiles, an understanding nod turning her head.
"The Zephyrites never struck me as the types to engage in proxy wars,
Darling."
"Why do you think the Cabal went along with it?"
A chuckle escapes her. "That's scary."
"Agreed."
"Darling?"
"What is it?"
"Why go after all the others?"
Ataru purses his lips, then moves to sit beside her. "You know
the 'Kashin' was captured by the Noukiites the week before Onishuto
was destroyed, right?" he places a hand on Seiko's shoulder.
"Hai," she nods. "Dad really took it hard. He loved that
ship."
"Well, the Inquisition helped the Noukiites in that respect,"
he draws his hand back. "Once they captured the ship, people got
into its secure memory banks to find out everything they could about
what might have happened had I lost the first Tag Race." Taking
a deep breath, he gazes at her. "Your dad knew about Ando's
operation against Grandma."
Silence. Seiko blinks, then stares wide-eyed at Ataru.
"He...?"
"Hai," he nods. "I was told sometime after I dealt with Ando."
"Darling..."
Ataru takes a deep breath, then looks nowhere in particular.
"At that moment..." his voice turns hoarse as tears brim in his eyes.
"I never felt so...! So BETRAYED!!" he spits out, then gazes on her.
"I liked you dad, Lum! I liked your mom, too! I was SO envious
of you, you know that?! That you had two such wonderful, caring
people as your parents! Look what I had! A selfish bitch for a
mother and a lazy fool for a father, both of whom loved to blame me
for EVERYTHING that went wrong in their lives!!"
His fist squeezes. "And then to find out..." he rises, taking
a couple steps away from Seiko, "...that your father KNEW about what
happened to my grandmother?! He voted FOR the operation to occur,
Lum!!" he waves nowhere in particular. "He and everyone else on your
planet's ruling council VOTED to MURDER the only part of my family
-- this being before I met Sakuya-chan and the others -- who
truthfully, honestly cared for ME!! What the HELL was I supposed
to think after hearing THAT?!!"
He slumps against the wall, tears trailing down his cheeks.
Seiko rises, walking over to draw her arms around him. He returns
her embrace, squeezing his eyes shut as the conflicting emotions
arising from the events of the past two months storm through him.
She remains silent, daring not to speak anything that might rub Ataru
the wrong way, though deep in her own might, Seiko also weeps at the
level of trickery her people...
Her people...
No.
She is Urusian no longer.
Lum Redet is dead.
She is Seiko Izumo now.
She is Nendo-kata.
Sworn enemy of those sub-creatures and Purveyors of disUnity...
...including Lum Redet's father...
...who would bring harm to countless innocents...
...including the man in her arms.
The person she still loved more than Life itself.
They pull apart, gazing into the other's eyes. Seiko reaches
up to wipe his cheeks clean, then takes a deep breath. "Darling,
you had every right to do what you did," she tries to smile. "By
Urusian law and custom, you, as the blood-descendant of a Head of
House, had every right in the Universe to avenge her murder, by
whatever means possible. By Zephyrite law, the cold-blooded
murder of a Righteous Gentile can be answered with a Holy Crusade
in return. I'm glad that you and the government of the Holy Republic
decided to limit the reprisals to those who clearly deserved what was
coming to them. And..." she shrugs. "By Nendo-kata custom,
defending your Great School from the threats of such
sub-creatures..." she leans up to kiss him. "There is nothing wrong
with that, Darling."
Ataru gazes at her, then smiles, reaching over to gently grasp
her hand. Shifting that so he could kiss her palm, he gives her a
warm smile. "Thanks, Seiko-chan," he whispers, then draws her close.
"Darling?"
Both perk, then turn to see Sakiko standing at the doorway
to the living room. The sad look on the other Nendo-kata's
face speaks volumes. Ataru pulls away from Seiko, then allows Sakiko
to slide into his embrace. No words are said as Seiko adds her own
embrace to her sister's. They remain still for a moment, then pull
apart. Taking a deep breath, Ataru gently squeezes Sakiko's hands.
"I'm really sorry about Rei, Saki-chan. I may not've liked the guy
very much, but he..." his voice trails off.
"I know," Sakiko nods. "That's the sad fact about wars,
especially ones rising from all the years of hatred and mistrust
that were generated between the Urusians and the Noukiites. At least
it's over now..." her voice trails as she gives Ataru a glance.
"It IS over now, isn't it?"
"Hopefully, yes," he draws his hands back. "With the finding
of Heaven's Gate Bridge, the Noukiites've fully achieved their
primary goal: to avert any Urusian Imperialist restoration
and forever discredit the foundations towards any anti-Noukiite
feelings that wound up prompting things like the colonial militias
and all those absurd territorial claims on Okusei, Tunchusei and
Kurrusei. The secondary goal..." he holds up two fingers, "...which
is the one I'm very happy about, as are the Zephyrites, is to put a
total end to all forms of spacializer use. You guys have to admit
that using a time-travel device to 'correct' someone else's behaviour
is pretty selfish, ne?" he glances knowingly at Seiko.
"Not to mention using those devices to murder someone," Seiko
nods.
"Right," Ataru lowers his hand. "You can bet that those goals,
atop the renunciation of all Urusian first-contact claims on Earth,
will be what the Noukiites insist on before any final peace treaty
is made."
"I take it you insisted on that point, Darling?" Seiko asks.
"Sei-chan, it WAS the Urusians who insisted that I be the Terran
tag race champion, remember?" he gazes knowingly at her.
"Lucky for Earth that happened," Sakiko giggles, then quickly
sobers as she stares intently on Ataru. "But it isn't really over,
is it?"
He returns her look, then nods. "Hai. There's still one
problem."
Seiko: "Who?"
"Oogi."
Silence descends over the room, then Sakiko sighs.
"Wonderful..."
* * *
Minutes later, the three step into Ataru's old bedroom.
Ten-chan sits on the empty bunk bed. Kneeling on the floor beside
the transformed Urusian-turned-Avalonian is the replica of Benten.
Lum's replica sits to the opposite side. The doubles of Lan and
Oyuki are by the window, holding hands as they gaze on the
surrounding cityscape. As soon as Ataru and the Izumo sisters step
into the room, everyone gazes on them.
"Darling!!!"
To Ataru's shocked disbelief, all FOUR of the Avalonian replicas
had spoken that word. Before he could react, four typhoons of
lovable alien bioroid teens slam into him, nearly knocking him down
as they deluge him with a storm of warm kisses. "Hey, hey, HEY!!!
Cut it out, already!!" he tries to fight them off, then sensing
that the Avalonians certainly did NOT want to let him go anytime
soon, he relents. "Damn..."
Watching this, Seiko and Sakiko exchange a look, then laugh.
"Well, Darling, you DID once wish for a harem, didn't you?" the
latter smirks.
Ataru winces. "Me and my big mouth...!"
"Oh, don't be so shy, Darling," Oyuki's replica playfully
coos as she pulls away from him, giving him a sultry, doe-eyed
stare. "After all, unlike our templates, we KNOW what a good person
you are."
"After all, Darling, what Hensou here sensed through Lum..."
Benten's double indicates the replica of Lum, "...we ALL knew."
"Really?" Ataru blinks, then sighs. "Right."
"Waaaaai!! Now Onii-tama has Avalonians to play with!!!"
Everyone spins around to see Hinako standing at the doorway,
the Staff of Gihan in hand. Behind her are Mamoru and Kaho. Also
there is a very familiar ghost-cat. "Kota-chan!!!" Ten-chan leaps
off the bunk to race into Kotatsuneko's embrace. "Kota-chan,
what're you doing here?!"
The large cat-spirit shrugs. Hinako blinks as the Staff
translates his subtle message to his young alien friend, then she
turns to Ataru. "Onee-tama, Kotatsuneko-san says that he's really,
really happy that Ten-chan came back." A pause as Kotatsuneko
adds something more, then she carries on. "And Kotatsuneko-san
says that he hopes that Ten-chan won't be sent away again. It got
pretty lonely at times over the last couple weeks when he had no one
other than your old principal to talk to."
"Well, I think this time, things should turn out for the
better," Ataru sighs, then leans down to stare intently at Ten-chan.
"Though I DO hope that you'll be a little more careful, Ten. After
what happened last week at the school, not that many people here in
Tomobiki'd like it if they learned that you, much less Seiko-chan
here..." he indicates Seiko, "...actually did survive the whole fight
with the Noukiites."
Ten-chan blinks confusedly. "What happened, Ataru?"
Kotatsuneko quietly explains it to the young boy. Hearing
that, Ten-chan shudders. "You mean to say that Ryuunosuke's
boyfriend and those other girls got killed because of what Megane
and his dopes caused with the space-taxi and all of Earth's oil?!"
He then waves his hands as he shouts at the top of his lungs,
"***THAT WAS ALL MEGANE'S FAULT!!!!***"
"Ten, I think trying to put blame on something like that's kinda
really dumb now," Ataru warns, then takes a deep breath before gazing
on the four lovely replicas. "And speaking of which..."
"We gotta make them look normal, right, Anii?" Mamoru asks.
"Hai, hai!" Ataru nods.
Hinako perks, then listens to something the Staff tells her
before nodding. "Okay!! Hina'll make it all better!!" she holds
it up.
"Hinako-chan, what are you...?!" Kaho gasps.
The Staff flares to life. Everyone gasps as Hensou is bathed
from head to toe in bright white energy. A second later, the energy
vanishes, revealing a raven-haired Japanese girl with blue-grey
eyes, she dressed in a button shirt and knee-length skirt. Her long
hair is tied into two thick French braids wrapped from behind her
ears to come together at the top of her head. Seeing this, Ataru
and Seiko exchange a look. "Shinobi Nomade lives again," the former
chuckles, gazing back on the transformed Hensou.
Hensou perks, then steps into the bathroom to gaze on herself.
"Hai, Darling, I guess I do look like her, don't I?" she comes back,
leaning down to kiss Hinako's cheek. "Arigatou, Hinako-chan."
Hinako blushes, giggling cutely. "Well, Miss Saeru, would you
care to help these other ladies?" Ataru stares knowingly at his
sister.
"Hai, hai!!"
* * *
Ten minutes later, everyone steps out of the Moroboshi home.
Ataru gets Hinako to fix up the front door, then turns to his
transformed former fiancee. "You sure you won't have any problems,
Seiko-chan?"
"Oh, relax, Darling. We'll be fine," Seiko leans up to peck his
cheek, then waves to Hensou and the others. "Kay and Jay'll come to
our apartment tomorrow to get everything straightened around with
them."
"Well, don't be total strangers, alright," Ataru smirks.
"Hey, Anii, aren't we supposed to be going to the hot springs
sometime today?" Mamoru then perks up.
Ataru stops, then snaps his fingers. "Damn, that's right!"
"Darling, how can you think about going to the hot springs
with Oogi hovering over out heads?!" Sakiko demands.
"It was Negako-anee's suggestion," Mamoru shrugs. "After all,
we don't know spit about what's going on with that jerk. We can't
hit him head on if we don't really know what we're up against,
ne?"
"True," Seiko wearily nods. "It's a pity I never really thought
about dealing with that sub-creature before all this madness
happened. Well..." she winks at Ataru, "...be assured that THIS
time, Darling, you won't be fighting Oogi alone. Anyhow, we best get
going, everyone!"
"Hai!!" the others chime.
Ataru and his sisters watch as the Izumos, Ten-chan and the
others head off. As soon as they're sufficiently out of hearing
range, Kaho reaches over to tug Ataru's shirt sleeve. "Onii-chama?"
"Hmm? What is it, Kaho-chan?"
"Is Seiko-san going to be alright?"
He considers that, then smiles. "Hopefully, yes. For too long,
her life was dominated by the wishes of others who never could see
her as a *person.* All she was to people like them was a future
empress, goddess, idol star..." a snort escapes him. "Maybe she DID
realize that deep down. Maybe that's why..." he closes his eyes.
"Oh, Lum-chan..."
"Why she fell in love with you," Mamoru finishes.
Ataru considers that, then nods. "Yeah!" he stares at his
sisters, then waves them with him. "C'mon, let's get home. I'm
starving and I want to see everyone else's reaction when they meet
Reiko-chan and Kaneko-chan."
Laughter fills the air as they head off...
* * *
Sometimes later...
"Bwiiii..."
Making her way through the Tomobiki farmer's market, located
close to the town Ginza, Tamako Momose pauses on hearing that pained
squeal. Taking the time to do a thorough visual/empathic
scan of her surroundings, the raven-haired tomboy focuses on a small
black piglet painfully staggering down a side alley. Her eyes narrow
for a moment as she focuses her mental powers on the small animal,
then they widen as she detects something that should NOT emanate
from a simple farm animal. "A boy...?" she whispers, then quickly
paying for her purchases, heads off in pursuit.
Stepping into the alley, she places herself two metres behind
the piglet, who seems completely unaware that he is now being
followed. *Yes, clearly a boy...* Tamako grimaces. *In great pain.
What happened to him?* Pausing for a moment as she considers
what she should do, the raven-haired Avalonian nods determinedly
as she reaches down to scoop the piglet up.
As soon as her fingers make contact, images begin flowing into
Tamako's mind. She instantly moves to prevent the full typhoon
of pain, depression and shame emanating from the transformed
young man -- Ryouga? Yes, that was his name: Ryouga Hibiki! -- from
overwhelming her. Still, she cannot ignore what the poor fellow
just endured...! Was it only two days ago? So hard to tell with
this one, the Avalonian grimaces as she cradles him in her arms. His
time-sense was so terribly out of whack.
Why?
The transformed Ryouga shudders as he feels warm, soft arms
cradle him, then he looks up to gaze on a smiling face framed by
shaggy black hair and pierced with sullen blue eyes. Realizing
that yet ANOTHER pretty girl had just found him, Ryouga squeals,
his hoofs trying to scrape and kick himself free. No! Not another
one! After Akane, after Akari...
Akari...
Akari...
NO!!
Tamako gasps as she feels Ryouga's depression skyrocket to
heights she couldn't begin to imagine, his body glowing a sickly
green as some curious energy aura instantly encompasses him.
Realizing that he was about to let go with some sort of life-aura
attack, Tamako drops her purchases as she hefts Ryouga into the air.
Just in time; with a pained squeal, the transformed martial artist
lets go with a Shishi Houkoudan that roars into the early afternoon
sky. Seconds later, a burst of energy flares over Tomobiki, safely
away from damaging any buildings or hurting someone.
Ryouga collapses in Tamako's hand, a tired moan escaping him.
The Avalonian remains in place, then lowers her hand to prod the
transformed piglet. His body twitches slightly. *It's as if he
wants to die...* she frowns, moving to cradle him again. *What
happened to him?!*
"Tamako-chan!!"
She looks up to see Kanami Kurosu race into the alley, concern
burned in her sister Avalonian's face. "Oh, Kanami-chan, gomen!"
Tamako laughs embarrassingly, then she turns back to the dazed
Ryouga.
The taller woman slows down as her eyes focus on the transformed
martial artist, then she gives Tamako a curious look. "Who's he?"
"Ryouga Hibiki," Tamako explains. "Some sort of wandering
martial artist. I sensed him when I was in the market. But..."
she shrugs.
"How'd he get transformed into a piglet?" Kanami's eyebrow
arches.
"I haven't probed his mind to find out. He's..."
The other woman nods understandingly. With their powers,
Avalonians possessed considerable advantages over non-psi species,
advantages which could only be matched by races like the Nendo-kata.
Fortunately, the long-dead Sagussan scientists who launched Project:
Avalon fourteen millennia ago ensured that the bioroid race would
be always be governed by a strict code of ethics when it came to
using their powers. If such didn't exist, Kanami and Tamako knew,
the Niphentaxians would've been in enormous trouble the day they
discovered the bioroid factory on Phentax Twelve.
But that was beside the point, both sigh as they gaze on the
piglet in Tamako's hand. "He's been alone most of his life," Kanami
quickly notes. "Only a couple people have ever showed him real
kindness..."
"And he accidentally hurt one of them some days ago," Tamako
adds. "That's why he's suicidal now. He fears he may have killed
her."
"Did he?"
"Hard to tell," the raven-haired Avalonian shakes her head, then
gazes on her taller sister. "Well, he does need help..."
"No logical reason we shouldn't help him," Kanami nods. "I'm
sure the others wouldn't mind once they're fully appraised of the
situation. Is there a way to revert Ryouga-sama back to his natural
form, Tamako-chan?"
"Can't say...! Wait!" Tamako tenses as more images flow into
her mind from her fingertips. "Ah! Ryouga-sama is 'cursed.'
Some sort of semi-sentient metaphysical affliction, I believe.
It was forced on him when he travelled to a valley in China somewhere
a year or so ago. It's difficult to ascertain any sort of proper
time-sense with Ryouga-sama. I don't understand why. Anyhow, cold
water triggers the 'curse.' Heated water restores him to normal."
She looks around. "We should locate his personal belongings.
He normally has them in his personal possession."
Kanami hums, then reaches over to gently stroke the fur between
Ryouga's ears. The transformed piglet jolts, then his eyes blearily
open to gaze on whoever was touching him. As more of his mind
reverts to an alert state, images flow into Kanami's mind.
"Alright!" she pulls her hand away, then turns to race off. "Be back
in a minute."
She quickly exits the alley. Ryouga blinks, then grunts again
as Tamako's free hand strokes his back. "Do you like that,
Ryouga-sama?" the raven-haired Avalonian wonders as she turns him
around to gaze on her. "By the looks of it, you haven't had a very
pleasant week, ne?"
*Not really...* he mentally moans, then perks, dulled danger
senses coming to the fore. *Hey, wait a minute!! How'd you know who
I am?!*
Sensing his panic, Tamako giggles. "Oh, it's alright,
Ryouga-sama. I'm telepathic and empathic. That's how I was able to
sense your distress, not to mention learn your name and ascertain
the exact parameters of your curse. It's alright. You've nothing
to fear from me."
Ryouga blinks, blinks again, then shakes his head. *Is this a
dream...?* he wonders. Meeting a very nice girl who wasn't the least
bit bothered by his curse. Well, there was Akari, of course...
Akari...
Oh, no...!
Squealing, he slumps in Tamako's hand. A hand quickly rests
on his forehead. "No, no, Ryouga-sama, it's alright," she soothes.
"From what I've been able to sense from your memories, this Akari
person is alright."
Moaning, Ryouga blinks, shakily lifting his head to gaze into
her eyes. *Alive...?* he gulps, a faint spark of hope flaring in his
heart.
"Hai," Tamako nods, then perks on sensing Kanami approach.
In a minute, the taller Avalonian is back in the alley, a large
backpack with umbrella in hand. "Oh, there you are, Kanami-chan!
Any problems?!"
"Iie. This was a couple blocks over," Kanami nods somewhere
behind her, then she gazes at Ryouga. "Hopefully, no one stole
anything."
Staring at the taller woman, the transformed piglet blinks,
then turns back to Tamako. *Is she like you?!* he wonders.
"Hai, Ryouga-sama, I am," Kanami answers, then perks. "Oh,
gomen nasai. We haven't introduced ourselves," she politely covers
her mouth. "My name's Kanami Kurosu. This is my sister, Tamako
Momose," she waves to the other Avalonian. "It's a pleasure to meet
you, Ryouga-sama."
They bow respectfully to him. Glancing at one, then the other,
Ryouga tries not to pass out. TWO pretty girls, clearly very good
friends if the "sister" reference Kanami made hinted at anything
-- he is quick to note that there is NO family resemblance between
them. Could they be adopted sisters? -- treating him with kindness
and respect, almost...?
Reverence?!
What did he do to deserve something like THAT?!
Tamako: "Oh, dear! I think Ryouga-sama's a little
overwhelmed."
"He seems to be that, ne?" Kanami grins. "Well, let's get back
to our apartment so we can give him a chance to be normal again,
then we'll introduce him to Hiro-chan and Namie-chan. I think
they'll like him."
"Of course they will," Tamako smirks as she reaches down to pick
up her shopping. "Besides, Yukimi-chan needs the vegetables
for dinner."
"Hai, hai!"
The two exit the alley, heading for their apartment. Remaining
in Tamako's hands, Ryouga is seized by indecision. On the one hand,
what happened some days ago at Akari Unryuu's farm still loomed over
his soul like Damocles' sword. On the other hand, making the
acquaintance of two nice girls like Kanami and Tamako was like...!
Why, it was like the night Akane had found him immediately after his
second confrontation with Ranma post-Jusenkyou. Even better, Kanami
and Tamako knew immediately what his curse was all about. And best
of all, they didn't even CARE!
Were the Fates finally smiling on him for a change...?
* * *
"Tadaima!!"
"Oh, Onii-sama...!"
Ataru stops on hearing Sakuya's sing-song voice. Turning to
gaze warily on his sister, he is quick to notice the knowing look on
her face. "Um, is there a problem, Sakuya-chan?" he chuckles warily.
She walks up to him, piercing him with a very intensive gaze.
"Onii-sama, when were you finally going to tell us about our nieces?"
she purrs, one hand pointing in the general direction of his and
Ranma's bedroom.
Hearing her question, Hinako, Mamoru and Kaho, they now standing
behind their brother, exchange knowing smiles. "Well, they're kinda
hard TO explain, Sakuya-chan..." Ataru shrugs. "I mean, after all,
they..."
"Onii-sama, I'm too YOUNG to be called 'auntie!!'" Sakuya cuts
in.
"B-but..."
"Oh, so you would have preferred to have Ataru return from
Sanctuary little more than a mental vegetable, Sakuya?"
Sakuya jolts, then spins around to glare at Negako. "YOU
KNEW?!?!"
"Yes, I did," the grandmistress is unperturbed by Sakuya's
outburst. "Besides, the others seem quite willing to accept Reiko
and Kaneko."
"Onee-sama...!" Sakuya frets.
"I am certain that Shirayuki would love to try out several
of her more spicier recipes with Reiko and Kaneko," Negako adds.
"Noukiites, I discovered sometime ago, have quite a fondness for
spicy food."
"But, Onee-sama..."
"Sakuya-chan, are you afraid that people might actually think
you're old?" Ataru walks up to embrace his sister from behind. As
Sakuya stares at him, he leans up to whisper in her ear, "There's
not a wrinkle on you."
"Onii-sama..." Sakuya stutters, then stops. "There isn't?"
"Not a one," he shakes his head, leaning in to nuzzle her hair
behind her ear. "Besides, Ranma likes the girls, too. Do you really
think it'd be prudent for me to deny her anything, Sakuya-chan?"
"Um...!" Sakuya shudders, then relaxes. "No, of course not!"
she pulls away from him, then gazes intently into his eyes. "But
what happens when all this mess with the Urusians settles down
finally, Onii-sama? Are the MiBs going to let you keep them here on
Earth? People HAVE been talking about closing the doors on all of
them finally, you know!"
"That applies only to the Galactic Federation states,
Sakuya-chan," he cautions. "Noukiios is finally breaking away from
the rest of that lot, so it wouldn't apply to them in the long term.
Besides, given that Reiko-chan and Kaneko-chan are BOTH bioroids
cloned from DNA taken from the graves of several of Noukiios'
greatest heroes, I don't think they'll have an easier time of it if
they went back to the Dominion."
"Why not, Anii?!" Mamoru asks.
"Grave-robbing is a capital crime on Noukiios," Negako explains.
"Oh!" the other sisters nod.
Before Sakuya can say anything more, Himiko and Mikiko come up,
they accompanied by their parents. "Ataru-kun, there you are!" Mami
Kawamura beams as she fondly grasps his hand. "Is it really true
that you adopted those sweet little alien girls who came in with
Chikage-chan?!"
"Hai, hai, Mrs. Kawamura, I did," Ataru rubs the back of his
head, then indicates Sakuya. "Now, all I have to do is convince
Sakuya-chan here to accept them and I'll be fully in the clear!"
he winks.
"Onii-sama!!" Sakuya cries out.
"Oh, Sakuya-chan, stop that!" Mikiko gently scolds, walking
over to squeeze the other woman's shoulder. "They're both darlings
and I know they love you very much! Why are you being such a
stuck-in-the-mud about it?!"
An unintelligible answer escapes the eldest sister's lips. "Oh,
Mikiko-chan, that's enough of that! Give your friend time," Tomomi
Serizawa wags a knowing finger at her daughter.
"Hai, Mom!" Mikiko ducks her mother's look.
"Did you or the guys from the SCAA have any problems trying
to put your daughters' lives back in order?" Ataru wonders.
"Well, Kay-san said there were two ways we could've done this,"
Mami reports. "We decided that instead of treating them as legal
orphans and adopting them into our families, we'd just have the death
certificates revoked and go on from there. After all, according
to Chikage-chan and Negako-sensei, Himiko-chan and Mikiko-chan
didn't die at all."
Negako's eyebrow twitches on hearing the "sensei" title added
to her name. "Outside of the new powers this body of mine has, I
don't feel the least bit different than I did before Alhamzi blew up
the school," Himiko adds, then sighs, exchanging a knowing look with
Mikiko.
"I sense a 'but' in here somewhere," Ataru notes.
"Hai, there is," Mikiko nods. "Kay-san and Jay-san recommended
that for the time being, we should stay away from Tomobiki."
"Why?!" Kaho asks.
"Because of the way we came back, Kaho-chan," Himiko sighs.
"That makes sense," Ataru nods. "There're people out there
who'd gladly do anything, even kill, to find out how to literally
be reborn into something like an Avalonian. The advantages you girls
have now..."
"We know," Mikiko sighs, nodding.
"But we're not sure where we could send them," Tomomi shrugs.
"Both our husbands have very good jobs that haven't been affected
by the downturn in the economy, so we don't want to risk anything
that'd threaten that..."
"Understandable," Ataru nods, then blinks. "Hey, wait..."
"Onii-sama?" Sakuya stares at him.
He turns to the survivors of last week's bombing of Tomobiki
High. "How'd you two like to come to Stargazer West College on the
Island?"
The others currently attending that institution stare at him,
then grin. "That's a great idea, Anii!!" Mamoru nods excitedly.
"Himiko-san'd be a shoe-in for the senior swim team for sure!"
"But where would we stay?!" Mikiko asks.
"At Welcome House, of course!" Sakuya gazes knowingly on her.
"We're practically having the rotunda rebuilt right now, so we can
slap in some extra rooms for both of you! There's no problems
there!"
"You sure?" Himiko's eyebrow arches.
"Of course we're sure!!" Mamoru nods.
"This won't cost anything, will it?" Mami asks.
"Not a single yen, Mrs. Serizawa," Ataru shakes his head.
"Tadaima!!"
"Oh, Rinrin-chan, you're back!!" Sakuya gushes as Rinrin and
Yotsuba step into the old shrine. "Just the person I'm looking
for!"
"Something wrong, Sakuya-chan?" Rinrin blinks, then sees the two
older women standing beside Himiko and Mikiko. "Oh, you must be
Himiko-san's and Mikiko-san's mothers!!" the teen inventor smiles.
"Rinrin-chan, we need new rooms knocked into the rotunda for
Himiko-san and Mikiko-chan here," Sakuya indicates the other girls.
"Eh?!" Rinrin perks, then laughs. "Oh, that'll be easy! Ne,
Aniki, you think I should throw in some more space for Jonna-san
and Orin-san?"
Ataru blinks, then nods. "That'd be prudent. Ne, Hina-chan,
do you want Jonna-san to stay with you?" he stares at his youngest
sister.
"Hai!!" Hinako gushes, waving the Staff.
"We might as well do the same for Aria-chan and Orin-san,"
Sakuya chuckles, then stares at Rinrin. "Okay, Miss Genius, let's
get those floor plans out so we can make everyone feel right at
home!!"
"Hai!" Rinrin heads to the coffee table.
Most of the others follow her, people chatting excitedly
away. Yotsuba remains close to Ataru. "So you finally managed
to pull yourself away from Nabiki-san's brother, eh?" he gazes
knowingly at her.
She jolts, then flusters. "Ani-chama...!"
He laughs. "Oh, relax!" he reaches over to squeeze her
shoulder, giving her a warm smile. "I just want to make sure you'll
be alright with this guy. Even if he is a masculine version of
Nabiki Tendou..."
"Whom Ane-chama really has problems liking," Yotsuba cuts in,
batting Ataru's nose playfully. "Will you please RELAX, Ani-chama?!
Yotsuba's a big girl now! Besides, Yotsuba doesn't like the idea of
some creep coming along to take advantage of Shi-chama 'cause of what
Shi-chama is!!"
They stare at each other, then Ataru sighs, drawing her into an
embrace. "Oh, okay, I won't bother you about it anymore! Alright?!"
"Checky!!" she kisses his cheek.
"Papa?!"
Yotsuba spins around to see two girls looking like blue-haired,
fair-skinned Klingons standing a metre away from them. Ranma now
stands behind Reiko and Kaneko, a knowing smile on the martial
artist's face. "Waaai!!" Yotsuba gushes, whipping out her camera.
"Cute alien girl checky!!!" she announces, hopping to every possible
angle to get pictures of the twins.
Reiko and Kaneko exchange a look, then turn back to their
father. "Papa, is Auntie Yotsuba ALWAYS like this?!" the former
wonders.
Yotsuba instantly freezes, her jaw now drooping somewhere
near her knees as she stares wide-eyed at the twins. "'Auntie...?!'"
she sputters, then slowly passes out. "That's -- definitely
NOT -- checky...!"
Ataru sighs. "You get used to her after a bit, girls."
Ranma laughs...
* * *
To be continued...
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