This is the sequel to my earlier story 'Atonement'
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mredding/fanfic/atonement.txt
It's a lightly serious crossover. I'd almost like to call it a clich�
buster but it's not nearly as much of one as the first part was. Still,
I think I manage to turn at least one 'fic cannon' on it's head. ^_^
Any comments, suggestions, reactions, etc, are appreciated. I DID spell
check it, but this is still a quick first draft I tossed off today
during breaks.
Nightman
PS: Thanks to everyone who sent me the name of that fic. You can all
STOP NOW. ^_^
--------------
"I just feel awful about the whole thing," muttered Ryouga,
his chin in his arms as he slumped at the kitchen table.
"You should!" growled Ranma as he turned around, arms laden
with a large bowl of Lake Tun-Ting Chicken.
"Ranma!" yelled Peorth, her left eyebrow raised dangerously.
"Why are you taking his side of things?? He's the one that's
got us into this mess!" protested Ranma as he slammed the
bowl down on the table. Peorth just continued to scowl, and
despite the voluptuous goddess's clingy attire, Ranma turned
away and stalked back to the kitchen. Peorth glared after
him and then started serving the chicken onto the bed of
rice she'd already put onto a plate. She set it before
Ryouga.
"I'm not hungry," he mumbled, his eyes closed nearly to
slits.
"Well, eat anyway," she said crossly. "As your fianc�e, I
suppose I have to help you keep up your strength." At the
mention of the word 'fianc�e,' Ryouga's expression became
even more pained and he somehow managed to sink lower into
his arms. He really wished he could have gotten up and
yelled, "Ranma Saotome! It's all YOUR FAULT!" but for once
he not only knew it wasn't the truth, he couldn't bring
himself to start a fight anyway. After all, Ranma had given
up his only wish to remove Ryouga's more dangerous (and more
humiliating) curse. He just moaned and turned his head
sideways.
Peorth rolled her eyes and began eating. "Ryouga, have you
ever considered seeing a medical professional about your
depressive episodes?" she asked nonchalantly. Ryouga made a
noise even weaker than a moan.
��������������-��������������-�����������
Ranma 1/2 Meets Ah! Megami-Sama
in
"Contrition"
Act II of "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"
��������������-����������������-����������
Ryouga picked at his food. Peorth had set to with a hearty
appetite though. "Really, I suppose what I've heard about
the famous Kasumi Tendo is accurate," she said. "This is a
rather bland dish most of the time but this one has come out
with nice, delicate flavor. And the chicken is done just
right."
Ranma grumbled something and stuffed his mouth, not looking
at her. Peorth blinked, suspicious. "Ranma, Kasumi did NOT
prepare this dish?"
Ranma started doing his impression of Ryouga. Ryouga, on the
other hand perked up. As Ranma slowly colored, Ryouga
started to laugh. "You can COOK? Oh that's hilarious! Does
Akane know that even you're a better cook than she�"
Ryouga broke off because Ranma's foot was on his face. "Shut
up Pig Boy or I'll boot ya out into the yard again!"
"Go ahead Ranma, make my day!" Peorth gaped at the
incredibly clich�d and overly macho barbs that started
flying back and forth. She sighed and pushed her chair back.
If her new fianc�e wanted to play with the boys, well, she
guessed she'd just have to let him. Besides, Lake Tun Ting
chicken simply did not re-heat well, now that she thought of
it. She got up and walked into the kitchen.
Ranma and Ryouga were deep into a heated argument over the
fault for various ills of the world when the front door
opened and the Tendo sisters walked in, luggage in tow and
carried by their father and Genma Saotome. The two men
immediately dropped the several suitcases, Soun's eyes
beginning to water with happiness. "Saotome, do you smell
it?" cried Soun. "That delicate smell, that mouth water�"
Genma Saotome had already darted out of the hallway, to the
kitchen table, picked up a bowl and without any fresh rice
scraped the remainder of the chicken into it.
"Saotome how COULD you take the food out of my mouth in MY
OWN HOUSE??" protested Tendo.
"Because I know," garbled out Genma as he poured the chicken
down, "that as your guest you'd want me to have first crack
at this tasty chicken!"
Tendo took a deep breath and just as he was about to
explode, a full electric rice steamer was slammed onto Genma
Saotome's head. Ranma and Ryouga broke off their argument
and gaped, both the men turned their heads to look, and the
Tendo sisters entered the room with Kasumi letting out a
slightly above normal speaking tone, "Oh my!"
Peorth, clad in her form-flattering white outfit, sans
traveling cape, was holding the steamer. "That was MY dinner
you just scarfed down Mr. Saotome," she said in an extremely
cross manner.
"Oh my!"
"You can say that again sis!" said Nabiki in an intrigued
voice.
"Hello, who are you?" asked Akane, quite befuddled.
Peorth turned her angry glare away from Saotome and wiped it
off her face. She set the rice cooker on the table and bowed
properly. "My name is Peorth. Peorth Hibiki."
"Oh my!" said Kasumi. "Are you Ryouga's mother?"
"MOTHER??" shrieked Peorth.
"Um, sister?" hazarded Nabiki. Peorth still had one eye
wider than the other as she glared at the Tendo sisters as
if they'd walked in hailing the Dark One.
"Fianc�e," she said in a near-deadly tone. "I just thought I
might as well start using the last name now since otherwise
I'd have to give out something Norse and nearly
unpronounceable to you people."
"Fianc�e??" exclaimed Akane, gaping. "No way! You're
too...!" Peorth turned to look at her. Even though Akane
felt she was a pretty good martial artist, there was
something serious in that gaze, "Uh, I mean, Ryouga's too
young to ... well, you, you DO look like you're um, um..."
"At least 19," said Ranma dryly. Peorth's expression
immediately became cherubic.
"Really? You think so? Do you do you??" she said as she
grabbed him by the shirt.
"Uh yeah, now cut it out!" he said prying her grip from him.
"You just seemed a little bit older than Ryouga and that's
not a typical match, you know?"
"Riiight," said Peorth, tossing her hair to good effect.
"Sorry everyone, but my loss of more of that delicious
chicken Ranma cooked spoiled my temper. I'm very sorry." She
bowed to the Tendo household.
"OH, that's all right!" chirped Kasumi, her eyes nearly shut
she was smiling so intently. "God grant my kitchen isn't
totaled again," she thought to herself.
The Next Morning . . .
Kasumi was in the kitchen as Peorth entered, wearing a man's
dress shirt as a sort of nightie. Kasumi tried very hard not
to look at her askance. "Good Morning Ms. Tendo!" Peorth
said cheerily.
"Morning Ms. Hibiki," replied Kasumi. "Please, call me
Kasumi-chan."
"Oh, well, call me Peorth-kami then!" the goddess replied
breezily.
"Whaa-aat?" gasped Kasumi as her WOODEN MIXING SPOON FLEW
OUT OF HER HAND TUMBLING [slow motion shot here]END OVER END
OVER END AND ... HIT . . . THE . . . FLOOR wasting at LEAST
2 tablespoons of cake batter!!!!
Kasumi gaped at the mess on the floor.
"What a shame," said Peorth, sighing theatrically. "And it's
my favorite. Cherry." She made some gestures and the floor
miraculously cleaned itself. When Kasumi looked up Peorth
was wearing an ... outfit. It could be described as looking
like a black torso outfit with large brass bands of fabric
enfolding her like scrolls.
Kasumi, used to the wild vagaries of life around Ranma,
still found the transformation startling. "WHAT THE HECK!"
she yelled, then clasped her hands over her mouth at the un-
ladylike outburst. Peorth giggled.
"Sorry, that was a bit cheap of me. I wanted to see if I
could break your seemingly unflappable calm. Besides, you
sound just like someone I know and I couldn't resist baiting
you."
"I ... I don't see," Kasumi confessed.
Peorth gestured for her to sit down and explained who she
was and why she was there. Kasumi took it very well. ("More
tea?") Peorth did omit the part about Ryouga's curse being
lifted. As a well-prepared member of the Earth Assistance
Office, she had read the several folders of material on the
various members of the Tendo family and some of their
associates. She knew, for instance, that Kasumi had once
been granted a wish by Belldandy not very long after her
mother had passed away. ("I wish I could take mother's place
and cook and clean and keep everyone feeling safe and
happy...")
"So, you're now engaged to Ryouga because of what he
blurted?" summarized Kasumi. Peorth nodded and sipped her
tea.
"It's not that simple. I could have refused the wish but it
occurs to me that a better approach would be to move into
the area and see about helping him get his life in order.
Perhaps to find a REAL fianc�e." Kasumi nodded approvingly.
That's why I need your help. I need you to be an interim
goddess whenever I get busy with fianc�e duties."
"Oh, of course," agreed Kasumi. "I have just the recip...
WHAT??"
"It's no big deal," said Peorth. "My office is a little
short-staffed and if I have to stay here and focus on Ryouga
there are quicker wishes that need to be granted that aren't
going to be. I can get you a "learner's permit" so-to-speak.
You'd be something like a Goddess Third Class, Limited,
Severely. You wouldn't have any powers of your own but you
could channel wishes to the Yggdrasil system and that would
be enough for some of the simpler ones."
"But... but why me?" asked Kasumi totally flabbergasted.
Peorth shrugged.
"You're good and kind, trustworthy, and really you DO have a
little spare time don't you?" the goddess said, setting down
her cup and peering deep into Kasumi's eyes. "Besides," she
thought, "You've had a wish already, you can't abuse the
power, and you're so pure that even an Oni got bored when
possessing you."
Kasumi shook her head in wonder but did not answer for
several minutes. "I, I don't know if this is a good idea,
but if I can help you to help Ryouga and Akane's friends by
being here then yes, I'll do it." Peorth smiled widely and
clapped her hands. "Excellent! Let's get to work!"
"But what about breakfast??" Peorth snapped her fingers and
several bags marked "McDonald's" appeared on the table.
Peorth grabbed Kasumi's wrist and pulled her out of the
room.
A few days later at Furinkan High School
Ranma opened his bento box and frowned. There was a plastic
wrapped lunch from the deli section of the supermarket.
Again. Ryouga was sitting on the ground next to him; he eyed
it warily.
Poking the lunch diffidently, Ryouga commented, "It doesn't
look too ... fresh, if you know what I mean." Ranma glumly
looked at the food.
"I suppose it's all right ... if you're not used to Kasumi's
cooking. It sure as hell isn't anything like Akane's
cooking."
"Nope, lucky there," agreed Ryouga, totally unaware Akane
was approaching from 10 feet off and a bit to the side. In
shock, she dove behind a nearby tree. "Ranma insulted my
cooking and ... Ryouga agreed with him! Oh no! Can this mean
Ryouga's been lying about my cooking to keep me from feeling
bad?" She cupped her face in her hands. "Oh no! My cooking
totally SUCKS!!"
Meanwhile, back at the Tendo Training Hall...
"All right, I think you're ready for your first assignment
alone, Kasumi," said Peorth. "I'm really sorry about rushing
you like this, especially when you were able to put me up
here at your house in a spare room and let Ryouga crash with
Ranma and his father, but we haven't even had a date yet and
the Ultimate Force doesn't like wishes being delayed
willfully."
"It's all right," replied Kasumi brightly. She was in her
"goddess outfit." Really, it was her "rainy day shopping
outfit" plus she'd taken some blue eye liner and drawn
little Blue Seed-esque comma whorls on her checks and in the
middle of her forehead. They didn't look ... TOO odd.
"All right," said Peorth taking a deep breath. "Your client
is a very nice man. He's a pillar of the community, does
charity work, the whole nine yards. Just go up to him, skip
the preamble, and ask him if he had 1 wish in the world,
what would it be."
"All right," said Kasumi. "What's this man's name?"
"Doctor Tofu," replied Peorth.
"Oh! I know him! No problem!" exclaimed Kasumi as she
skipped off toward Dr. Tofu's clinic. Of course, within
minutes of visually committing to her destination, a secret
alert system went into place. The woman who always through
the wash water out her window used a mirror to flash a
signal to the woman with the clothes on the line down the
sidestreet; in turn additional signals were sent, whether
they were a sign in the window, a pot of flowers moved, or
something even more arcane. The result was that all the
clients waiting for the clinic bailed. Even the man with two
legs in casts grabbed his crutches and hobbled off.
"Hello! Doctor Tofu!" exclaimed Kasumi as she entered the
door.
"Kasumi!" he squeaked as his glasses fogged up with
excitement. He grabbed his anatomy reference skeleton,
Betty, and started waltzing around the room. "What can I do
for you Kasumi?"
"Doctor Tofu, if you had to wish for one thing in the world,
what would it be?" Doctor Tofu stopped and stood stock
still.
At school, Ranma finished the last of his packaged lunch
with great remorse. Ryouga looked on in sympathy. "If I knew
how to get there and back, I'd bring you some ramen or
something," he said. "Or you could just yell out Ukyou or
Shampoo's name, I'm sure they'd be here instantly with some
nice lunch."
Ranma shook his head. "No, thanks, that's QUITE enough..."
suddenly there was the sound of a softly muffled explosion
and a pillar of light rose up to the sky off in the
distance. Both boys exchanged a glance. "That looks like it
came from the direction of Dr. Tofu's place!" exclaimed
Ranma. "C'mon!!"
Back at the Tendo Training Hall
Peorth was reading an issue of Modern Photography magazine
when Kasumi came in, deflated, a hint of redness to her
eyes.
"Kasumi-chan! What's wrong? Was there a problem?" asked
Peorth, concerned.
"Noooo..." Kasumi began, haltingly. "I just ... I always
liked Dr. Tofu and I thought maybe, when Akane and Ranma
were married and out of the house that he and I might, that
is that we'd, well, but not now," she finished. Peorth
looked at her warily, concern mounting.
"Kasumi, tell me, what was the wish?"
Back at Dr. Tofu's clinic
Ranma and Ryouga arrived to find the clinic deserted
outside. "This looks bad," Ryouga said. "I wonder if
Kasumi's been here?"
"He might still be dangerous," replied Ranma, looking around
warily as if for an ambush.
"DOCTOR TOE FOOOO!!" cried out a woman's voice. "You can't
hide forever Dr. Tofu!!" The two walked into the examining
room where they immediately noticed that Dr. Tofu was hiding
flat against the wall and behind the movable privacy screen.
They were NOT expecting a buxom, blond haired woman with
sort of a Veronica Lake look standing naked at the end of
the room.
"Hiya boys!" she said cockily. "Have you seen my fianc�e Dr.
Tofu anywhere about?"
Both Ranma and Ryouga slowly turned beet red and then spun
so as to not look at her nakedness. "Ah, ah, WHO the heck
are ya?" yelled Ranma over his shoulder.
"Why, I'm Dr. Tofu's fianc�e, I told you that!" she chided.
"You know me. I'm Betty!!"
A loud yelling could be heard throughout the Nerima
district.
To be continued in Act III: Corruption