Subject: [FFML] [fanfic][R.5/AMG] Ashes - A Cinderella Story, Chapter 14
From: James and the Bluejay
Date: 7/11/2002, 12:03 AM
To: FFML


This chapter has been slow to finish, partly because of ailments
which I am sure you do not need to hear.  Be that as it may;
hope you enjoy.

James and the Bluejay, jeeades@wanderway.com
www.wanderway.com/cinder/ashes.htm
-----------------------------------------------
Disclaimer at end. In addition, no gerbils have been harmed in
the writing of this fanfic, except for 'Pierre' and 'Gwendolyn'
and 'Murgatroyd', who disappeared following a visit by Azusa and
have not been seen since.

                     ASHES - A Cinderella Story

                           Chapter Fourteen

                        Words That Make a Woman



   Threads you've chosen from the skein
   Weave a pattern in between
   The shuttle dances end to end
   Chapter Fourteen's set to spin.


HEAVEN WON'T BE HEAVEN WITHOUT YOU:

They entered like two battlers in the showdown of a grade 'B'
movie, from opposite ends of the public refreshment facility.

Slowly they stalked towards each other, their faces a mask of
concentration.  As they moved, they divested themselves of any
encumbrances that might get in the way when they went into
action.  At last they were face to face.

The smaller of the two frowned furiously.  She turned aside and
stepped off the stone ledge, growling, "That Loki made it sound
like a game, and now everything is going wrong!  I got wished
into the badlands, out past the yonder pits, and had to climb
out.  Then I got splashed with some noxious goop that screwed up
my appearance.  I was an old hag, then I started getting younger.
Now look at me!  If I hadn't washed it off, I'd be in diapers!"
A very youthful Marlar slipped into the water.  She submerged her
head beneath the steaming waters of the hot springs so she did
not hear Urd's reply.  Minutes later, Marlar emerged to sputter,
"Chemicals! Even here they use chemicals?"

"Fragrances," Urd corrected her, a tiny quirk to her lips.
"You mean you actually believed Loki?  I suppose that cute stunt
warning me about a worm virus in Yygdrasil was his idea."

"Of course it was his lame idea!  I would have done better!
And, of course I don't trust Loki!  But he appealed to Lord
Twoface, who backed up his request."

Urd's grin broadened, "I'll bet you've never heard of Lord
Twoface before.  New devil in the office?"

Marlar hesitated, glowering.  "He came from one of the darker
reaches, I heard."

"Let me tell you something.  I've seen Loki-sama get tight at
parties and do his 'splitting image' trick.  One time he
performed a wresting match by himself - an ogre and a
rock-dragon.  Oh, and he played the referee, as well."

"Oh, who cares?  I'm stuck with my own problems!  Nothing I've
tried will nullify this spell!  I'm stuck as a juvenile!"

"Awww.  I thought you looked cute.  About thirteen?"

"Grrrrr...If I wasn't supposed to be working with you, I'd...."

"Oh, all right, fourteen.  Steady down, I'll talk to Loki about
it.  Maybe he knows what made it stick," Urd made no attempt to
hurry, nor to hide her mirth. "You want me to tell him you've had
enough?"

Marlar slung water about as she shook her head.  "I'm going to
play this thing out!" she declared.  "You can't get rid of me
that easy!"

Standing with arms akimbo, Urd watched sunlit reflections from
the pool play across alabaster columns.  "Oh, by the way," she
added thoughtfully, "Since we are `working together' -  Morisato
is still off limits.  You'll leave him alone."

Marlar tilted her head pensively, pursed her lips into a tiny
smile, stuck out her chin and looked Urd square in the eye as she
replied, "No."

Urd smiled thinly.  "Just so we understand each other."

"I understand.  Wimp!"

"Care for a little bet?"

"Eh?" Marlar lifted her head to peer at her, "What kind of a bet?"

"Oh, that you don't get your man."

"I'll get him!"

"Two bottles of sake."

"You're on!  Oh, and I'll get that stupid PDA you tied around the
pig, too."

Urd looked blank for a moment, then answered automatically, "Fat
chance!" She grimaced at the time on her wrist display.  "Gotta
go.  Don't bother seeing me to the door, I'll just leave you a
little entertainment." She pressed a button on a bejeweled box
and dropped it onto the bricks as she left.  From speakers within
the box came a tinny disco beat, swelling in volume.

Marlar held her ears and railed, "You rat!  You know I can't help
dancing to disco!  I'll fall on my ass if I have to jump around
in this water and...hey, waitaminute...."  Urd was almost out of
earshot when the timbre of Marlar's voice changed from rage to
gloating.
                                                            
"That's one thing you won't use on me, next time!" Marlar exhulted
maliciously.  "It's time for me to go into the final phase of my
plan, and you won't delay me!  Temporary loss of my powers can't
stop me!  A few items from my workshop, and I will succeed!"  Of
course, the fact that her maniacal demonic laughter was expressed
in an adolescent falsetto voice might have made it sound a little
less ominous.

The Norn of the Past was too occupied with other things to
notice.  "Maybe it's about time I checked that temp's
background," Urd said to herself as she left the bathhouse.




BLACK CLOUD HANGING OVER MY HEAD:

      If earth did met heaven,
         what would they play?
      If heaven did meet earth,
         what would they say?

"There you are!  Right where I thought you would be!  Can I call
them, or what?"

Ryoga, who found himself facing a beautiful, platinum-haired
goddess, froze in his steps and said, "What?"

"Did you know that you are one very, very difficult person to
track down?" Urd took him companionably by the elbow and steered
him off the street, through the wayfarers shopping at the open
market.

"Uhhhnn...no?" Ryoga scratched behind his ear as he thought over
his situation.  This contemplation included being chased all over
Japan by a demoness, being yelled at and slapped by countless
women who felt that their wishes were taken too literally, being
grumped at by countless men because their wishes were not taken
literally enough, being chased by children who figured out that
he was involved when wishes were granted, being chased by hungry
animals and people because he was a pig, being turned into a pig
because of Ranma, when all the time he was in love with Akane who
did not know he existed.  In short, the contemplation took all of
two seconds, after which Ryoga shouted, "I wish you'd take this
magic stuff away from me!"

"Now, _that_ I can do.  In fact," Urd added, "This is the reason
I have been looking for you, to take back your bracelet and to
drain this power out of your aura."  She raised a slender
tree-branch, tapped Ryoga on the head three times, and said,
"There.  That should do it."

"Take this thing!" Ryoga said, attempting to remove the bracelet
from his wrist and shove it toward her.  The bracelet remained
stuck to his hand as if it had been glued, even though he shook
it fiercely.  He glared at it and blurted, "I can't turn loose of
it!"

"Oops," Urd said.  "The 'remove bracelet' spell doesn't seem to
be working.  No matter.  You won't be able to grant any more
wishes, and Marlar shouldn't be chasing you anymore.  Keep the
trinket as a souvenir."

Ryoga stopped struggling and looked at her hopefully.  He asked,
"Does that mean that I am back to normal?"

"Absolutely," Urd replied smugly as she wrapped the twig and
stored it away.

Ryoga turned to the nearest stone wall and prodded it with a
finger.  He proclaimed, "Bakusai tenketsu!"  He then gaped in
dismay at the huge balls of fuzzy glitter drifting down from the
ashen sky.

"That - is not supposed to happen, is it?" Urd asked, one hand to
her mouth.  There were tiny sparkles to the glitter, incandescent
trails scripted gold.  Something was wrong.  Very wrong.

Ryoga merely shook his head from side to side, watching the
descending spheres.  One popped into sparks before his eyes and
evaporated into a glowing mist.

"We need to test this," said Urd.  "Of course, it won't prove
anything if I were to make a wish, so we'll have to find a human
subject."

Ryoga nodded mutely and followed her as she approached a street
vendor who was taking down the sign from his cart.  The man
worked slowly, blinking tiredly as he finished tying up his
goods.  He brightened at the sight of a beautiful woman.

Urd positioned Ryoga by the vendor and asked, "If you could have
anything you wanted, what would you wish?"

The vendor eyed her appreciatively, evaluated his own
capabilities, and yawned, "I am a simple man, tired from a long
day's work.  I would wish for something small, and simple.  If I
could have anything I wanted, I would wish for...."

He fell over his cart, fast asleep.

"That was...strange," Urd said, uneasily.  They went to look for
another test subject.

Ryoga scratched his head again, looking back at the dozing
vendor. "Probably wanted to sleep for a week," he suggested.

"That's it!  But why did it happen before he could even finish?
Apparently, you still have the wish power, but it seems somehow
distorted," Urd thought frantically, then said, "It's as if
something were augmenting it.  Did Basho do anything to you?"

"Well," Ryoga slogged along in thought for a moment.  "He did
stop a tree from attacking me.  He said it was the work of a
demoness."

Urd hesitated, disturbed by a growing suspicion.  "What kind of a
tree?" she asked, unwrapping the slender branch and showing it to
him.

"That's it!  It was an ash."

"Oh, no!  When he stopped the tree from attacking you, he somehow
slipped part of his spell onto you.  Now, when I tried to remove
the spell, using an ash twig, the spell changed."

Ryoga eyed her.  "Is that bad?" he wondered.

"Actually, it depends on how the spell has been changed," Urd
said, raising a finger as she ennumerated the possibilities.  "It
could be a good change."

"I wish this dust would settle!" cried a shopkeeper who was
sweeping down the sidewalk in front of his store.  For five
minutes there was an inundation of biblical proportions.

"On the other hand...." Urd held up another finger, dripping wet.
She looked around for Ryoga.

"Buue?" There was a little black piglet looking up at her, with a
yellow bandana and a charm bracelet about his neck.

"Pork!" cried a nearby butcher, who closed and locked his store
with the speed derived from hard training under a master's
tutelage.  The butcher then raised a cleaver and approached.
"Here, piggie, piggie!"

"Bueeee!"  Ryoga was gone, pursued by the butcher.

"Hey, wait a minute!" called Urd, spinning around.  "Now, where
did he go?  This could get bad!"




HIROSHI (SUSPICION):

I was still shape-shifted when I arrived back at my apartment.  I
would have simply walked in, but my augmented senses warned me
that someone was waiting inside, watching the front door.

So I went around and sneaked in the back, the better to raid the
refrigerator.  Hey, a guy has to keep up his strength, doesn't
he?  Besides, I had been doing all that martial arts stuff.  I
was shoveling it in when I switched back to myself and my clothes
got all tangled.  Juggling orange juice, snack and tablecloth, I
didn't spill a drop.  Some things I could do better as myself.

With my mouth full I turned and there were Mom and Pops, standing
like temple statues.

Mom had a determined look on her face.  It was the last scene of
Act II, the critical confrontation.

"Hiroshi-chan," she announced, "we _have_ to talk."

"Right now?" I mumbled around the remains of a rice ball.  How
long had they been standing there?  Had they seen a slim, trim
athletic girl slip into the kitchen and metamorph into their son?
Was that why they were looking so grim?

"_First_, we have to tell you...." Mom was doing the talking.
Pops was standing like a rock in the middle of the door, blocking
my escape, and he let Mom have her say immediately.  That was
bad.  Usually, Mom lets Pops bluster until he runs down, then she
steps in and says what she was going to say in the first place.

She continued, "We have to tell you, son, that you won't be
bothered by that girl, anymore."

"Heh," I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry.  "What girl?" I
finally coughed.

"That's the spirit, my boy!" Pops burst out, but a cold look from
Mom deflated him.  "I said the wrong thing, huh?" he asked her.

She snubbed him to return her intense focus on me.  "_We_ have
taken _steps_ to remove a...a...a malignant influence from you
and your room," Mom said.  "Tomorrow, we shall warn your school
officials of the danger."

"Aww, Mom," I said with a big, brave grin. "I haven't been in any
danger!"

I hesitated.  I could never lie to Mom.  Yes, I had been in
danger.

"Anyway, not from any girl!"

Another hesitation, as she regarded me with one eye almost
closed.  Yes,  I admitted to myself.  From a girl.

"At least, not THAT girl," I ammended weakly, digging myself in
even deeper.

Mom was wearing her most fearsome expression.  "Hiroshi-chan,"
she breathed, "_that_ is what we must talk about."  Pops stood
aside and fidgeted, trying to look aloof.

"Son, your father and I have to ask you some questions.  Frankly,
Hiroshi-chan, you have been acting rather strangely lately,
and...."

"What's that in your hands, my boy?" Pops blurted.

"This?  Oh.  Heh," Mom could always make me talk.  Then, after I
started talking, Pops would blind-side me.  I was never any good
at dodging Pop's questions.  He had a way of boring straight
through my answers. "It's sort of a tablecloth from the Cat
Cafe," I stammered.  "Wrapped around a robe I borrowed from
Mousse."

"What are you doing with their tablecloth?" Mom wanted to know,
while Pops zeroed in on another area.

"Robe?" he wanted to know.  "I thought it looked like a dress.  A
girl's dress!"

"It belongs to a guy, Pops.  I borrowed it from him."

"Him?" he appeared relieved, but only momentarily.  With a twitch
to his left eye, he demanded, "Ain't Mousse that effeminant
waiter from that joint where your friends hang out?"

"You're thinking about Konatsu, Pops," I said.  "He works at
Ucchan's, but he hasn't been seen for the last few days."

"Why would you take their tablecloth?" Mom asked, covering her
mouth in apprehension.  "Did something come over you and make you
steal it?"

"I only borrowed it, Mom!"

"But whatever for?"

I bit my lip, wanting to tell the truth.  Mom had that effect on
me.  She could compel a master spy to give up his secrets.  Life
would have been so much more convenient if I could have complied.
However, I could imagine what would happen if I were to tell
them:

       'i wanted to be sure i was covered up, mom.'
       'why?'
       'well, the last time i turned into a girl, i was wearing
   underwear.'
       'shriek!' mom would collapse.
       'son, why were you wearing that sissy chinese robe? get
   your mom some water.  she fainted.'  (pops would ignore
   anything in my conversation with mom that he did not
   understand.  including the part about turning into a girl.)
       'because the tablecloth disappeared with the rest of my
   clothes, pop.'
       'you were running around nude?  what's wrong with that?'
       'i was a girl at the time, pop.'
       'so you had to steal this sissy robe? that's not very 
   manly!'


"It's for a class play," I lied. "Tomorrow.  They put me on the
scenery committee and told me to provide part of the costumes."

"Oh, that's good," Mom said, very relieved.  "I wish we could 
see your play, but we won't have time."

"We're only looking out for your welfare, boy." Pops said, his
doubtful eyes still on the bundle in my arms.

"Yes, there are such terrible things out in the world, waiting to
pounce upon our children," Mom said.  "That is why we worry about
the way you have been sneaking around, and hiding, and closing us
out of your life.  It is important that I can rely on you,
especially now, when...."

"Are you doing drugs, boy?"  Pops interjected.

"What?" As upset as I was about worrying Mom, having Pops
distrust me sent a shock wave to the center of my being.

"We will talk about it tomorrow night," Mom said, pressing her
palm to her forehead in real or dramatized pain.  On my way up
the stairs, I looked back and saw them huddled in conversation,
watching me.  Hainoko's door was closed.




LONG DISTANCE INFORMATION:

Urd adjusted the transendental headset and commanded, "System."

The responding voice was high, lilting, "Accessing."

"Ring Zero."

"Accessing."

"Peorth."

"Speaking," the voice solidified into granite.

"I'd like a little word on what I'm doing," Urd began,
intimidated in spite of herself.  She did not enjoy being
intimidated.  Since Peorth had taken on a position near the main
control, she had become...obsessive.  More so than usual.

"You're handling a console on the Goddess Relief Line.  Speaking
of which, there have been a few - minor - fluctuations reported,
lately."

Urd sweatdropped.  She definitely did _not_ like being
intimidated. "I'm also helping a friend, a high-ranking deity.  I
don't feel I have all the information I should have been given."

Peorth seldom laughed much anymore.  However, there was a grim
humor in her reply, "I would hardly call Loki a 'high-ranking'
anything.  You're taking a chance getting mixed up with him."

"I choose my friends," growled Urd.  "What's wrong with Loki?"

"Let's just say he has a few character traits that are...not
exactly aligned with absolute truth."

Urd set her teeth, holding back her automatic response.  To
Peorth, all character traits were flawed, except her own 'holier
than thou' attitude.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Urd said, hurriedly.  "I need some information
regarding Loki's arrangements."

"Denied."

"I'd like to speak to him, at least."

"Denied."

"All right.  Since I have your ear, I have been trying to reach
Belldandy and she is not available."

"In conference.  Out of deference for her assignment, the meeting
is being held on Earth."

"Skuld?"

"Also in a meeting."

"Then why the...heaven...wasn't I invited to this meeting?"

Peorth's reply was sardonic, "You had duties. Speaking of which,
I see you are involving a mortal in your dealings with Loki.
Surely you realize what jeopardy that entails, should your
'temporary services' cause trouble."

"I'll take responsibility for whatever he's done," growled Urd.
"You can bust my chops all you want to, but leave the hired help
out of it, okay?"

"Your privilige - and your responsibility.  We are holding them
blameless, for the moment.  You're the one who got creative with
her duties in the relief office."  Urd could almost see the ice
in Peorth's smile as she continued, "You aren't included in the
access list since we expect you to be very busy cleaning up your
mess.  I located Loki, but he had to attend some important
negotiations and he isn't available to explain anything.  Haven't
you gotten the drift, yet?  You have more pressing matters to
attend, such as reducing the fluctuation on your...oh, my."

"What?" Puzzled, Urd looked around the chamber and suddenly
backed away. "Yike!" she added, "I'll get back to you."  She
immediately summoned her non-cooperative monk helper.




FLATTERY, SEDUCTION, AND BRIBERY (GIVE ME MONEY):

"Just what are you up to, Daddy?" Nabiki breathed heavily as she
hid behind a column.  The building was a museum which had
recently opened a display of aquatic fauna, and Suon was standing
near the entrance, talking to a tall, statuesque woman in an
concealing costume.

Soun had proved elusive, a quality for which Nabiki had never
given him credit.  After leaving Hiroshi at the Cat Cafe, she had
spotted her father through a crowd of shoppers and had given
chase.  Once he had stopped to chat with someone in a robe, but
she could not get close enough without being seen to recognise
the other person.  Twice, Soun had glanced about as if expecting
discovery, and each time he had melted into the crowd while
Nabiki was trying to make herself invisible.

As Suon scanned the area a third person appeared, and they all
vanished.

"Dang!  They gave me the slip again! I'm almost certain that was
Miss Hinako with Daddy, and after he told us he wasn't interested
in her!" Nabiki fumed for a moment, "I'm going to find out where
you go to, Daddy!  I swear I won't give up until I do!"

Pre-occupied with her fuming, she almost ran into another person.
Since this person was only a little over a meter tall, Nabiki had
to bend over to speak to her.

"Hainoko-chan! What are you doing out here all alone?  Where are
your parents?"

Hainoko looked solemnly up at her, extended her lower lip, and
said, "Mommy don't know I'm running away."

"Oh, great," moaned Nabiki. "I've got a father going through his
second childhood, a client who's more trouble than Ranma, and now
I'm stuck with taking care of a runaway!"

"You don't have to take care of me," the little runaway backed
off.

"I'm stuck with you.  See, ordinarily, I'd just turn and walk
away, or call a policeman, or something.  But I made a stupid
wish that I didn't know was a wish and 'bam!'.  You're like
flypaper.  You show up everywhere I turn!  I can't get rid of
you!  Why can't you just stay home?"

"Hiroshi hates me," replied Hainoko, softly.  "Mommy is all tired
from taking care of both me and Hiroshi.  Maybe if I go away,
Mommy will get better.  It doesn't matter.  Nobody cares,
anyway."

"Oh, yes, they do!" Nabiki surprised herself by shouting, "Don't
you ever think that!  Of course they love you!  Your mother is
going to be hysterical when she finds you missing!"  Grabbing a
small hand and turning Hainoko around to face the way she had
come, she added, "You're headed home, right now!"

"Um...okay," Hainoko agreed reluctantly, seeing that she had no
choice.

"Listen to me, shrimp.  Go home.  Your mommy is going to want you
there, I promise you.  Will you do that?  What are you looking
at?"

"Your hair."

"There's nothing wrong with my hair!"

"I know.  I like it.  My hair is all long and tangly."

"Yeah, you're cute, too.  Come on.  I'm taking you home."

"Okay.  I'm tired, anyway."

Nabiki jumped a startled foot into the air as a short dumpling of
a woman, dressed in a kimono of finest silk, burst out of the
shrubbery.

"Welcome!" cried the woman.  It was the mother of the twins whom
Nabiki had visited in her capacity as Cinderella's agent.

"Welcome!" repeated the matronly woman.  "I am terribly sorry!  I
never properly introduced myself when we spoke, earlier!  My name
is Gouma! Can I get you some refreshments?"

"On a lawn in the middle of the night?" Nabiki asked.

"Oh, forgive me!  Prepare refreshments!" Gouman-chan's
bodyguards, Tengu and Matsoyuro, appeared at once.  They whipped
back a curtain and exhibited a tiny ice cream parlor, complete
with a table and chairs.  From behind the counter they produced
bowls of golden vanilla ice cream crowned with fruit and
chocolate, one for Nabiki and one for Hainoko.

"I presume there is a reason you are offering this to me," Nabiki
said, warily.

"When I make a mistake, I admit I was wrong!" Gouma declared.
"And now I admit that I was wrong!  You had every right to walk
out on my offer, and I am here to tell you that I am going to
make everything right!"

Nabiki stopped with the first spoonful dripping chocolate sauce
over the fine embroidered tablecloth.  "Exactly how 'right' are
you planning to make it?" she wondered aloud.

Gouma chuckled, in good humor.  "Why, anything you want it to be!
There is more than one way for us to get what we both want," she
purred.  "There is a fantastic swimming pool here on the estate.
You could host parties here, I would pick up the bill, and you
could invite all your friends.  If you wanted, you could even
charge them admission."

"You'd pay for the refreshments?"

"My husband owns a catering service, a movie theater, a radio
station, a limosine service, candy shops, dress shops.  He could
be very generous if I dropped a word in his ear.  He's such a
sweet, giving man."

"A giving man is nice," Nabiki reflected, glancing about the
impromptu shop with its expensive decorations, brand labels
showing.

"But there is something I would like to ask you to do," continued
the matron as she brought out another triple tiered multi-
flavored sundae.  "It would mean SO much to my sweet daughters if
your friend would sing for their birthday party."

"That shouldn't be too much trouble," Nabiki mused as she licked
the spoon and contemplated the second frozen confection.  "After
all, I AM her agent."

"They both are WILD about any kind of music, being children, and
they begged me to get Cinderella.  You know how children are."

"Um," Nabiki nodded before savoring the nougat ripple.  Hainoko
had stopped eating after the first statement and was following
Gouman-chan with her eyes while her lower lip protruded.

Gouman-chan continued, "Once they get something in their head,
they just have to get their way.  Their father and I will pay
anything to satisfy them."

"'Pay anything' sounds good, too."

"And you will be their hero!  You'll be bringing them their
favorite singer!  They'll probably use up their entire allowance
to pay you to bring her back!  Their allowance is in six figures,
of course.  Each.  Weeky."

Six figures.  At a minimum, that made 100,000 yen per week.
Multiply that by two.  If Hiroshi's misfortune continued for
several more weeks, that might mean.... Nabiki reached for
another bite as the money accumulated in her mind.  Hainoko's
solemn face interfered with her calculations and she had to do
them over.

"And, so, if, while she's singing for the party, if you could get
your friend to sing an extra song or two...you know, just for a
few friends."

"A few friends," Nabiki looked up at her.

"Very dear friends."

"With expensive recording equipment."

"They would SO love to have a souvenir of the event.  You'd get a
commission for each one, of course."

A huge cherry poised on a chocolate plateau before oozing toward
the cliff edge.  Nabiki watched it tobagan down the slope as she
debated with herself.  "That's right!" she mused, "My contract
says that I can't solicite jobs for Cinderella, but I can accept
any job offered by someone else!" [And that's an awfully tempting
offer!]

Hainoko tugged at her elbow to whisper, with a stricken
expression, "You wouldn't do that to Cinderella, would you?"

Nabiki had to concede that it was a very simple decision to make.
Say 'yes', make a bundle; or say 'no' and keep a whiny, snotnosed
kid from crying.

Kids cry all the time.  Who cares?  Nobody cared when she was
little and she cried.  Nobody but Mom....

"Make up your mind. I can't keep this offer open forever!"
Gouman-chan declared.  "After all, I have a lot of other rock
stars I could invite.  Why, I hear Rock Cliff is very available,
since Primrose has become so popular."

Nabiki took one look at Hainoko's brimming tears, clamped her jaw
down tightly, and growled between clenched teeth, "Aw, crap."

"Well?  What's it to be?"

"I'll have to think about it,"  Nabiki rose from the elegant
chair with the price-label dangling and pushed the pen away from
her as it were made of gold.  Solid, heavy gold.  With diamonds
embedded, in the kanji for Tendo, Nabiki.

"You're leaving?  I can't believe this!  You'll pay!  Worse yet,
your rock star will pay!" Gouman-chan indicated the pseudo-sumo
brothers, who grinned malevolently and cracked their knuckles in
anticipation.

"That's a chance he'll have to take," Nabiki told them.  "C'mon,
Brat, let's take you home.  You've already cost me a night's work
and untold thousands in yen."

Hainoko watched behind as she was carried away, twisting in
Nabiki's arms to keep the matron and her bodyguards in sight.
Then she turned to peer at the taut face of her bearer.

"Thank you, Aunty Nabiki," she whispered.

"Don't try to butter me up, kid, I'm still angry with you!"




HELP (I need somebody):

Waves of unease tinged in anger radiated off the silver-haired
woman.  Basho waited nervously as a no-longer seductive goddess
paced back and forth in front of a large stony mass.  Eventually,
Urd stopped pacing and commanded, "Read the message.  On the
block."

"`SUGGEST YOU MAINTAIN CONTROL OF WISH EXPENDITURE,'" Basho read.

He took in the gleaming letters etched into the one-ton mass and
gasped, "THIS is a message?"

"Your replacement, Ryoga, has begun to act...oddly," Urd said.
"Kami-sama noticed."

"Kami-sama blasts boulders to send messages?"  Basho gaped in
disbelief, even as he edged toward the exit.  Urd caught him and
steered him back to the message stone.

"No, Kami-sama is not so subtle," Urd assured him.  "But
Kami-sama noticed, and someone noticed that Kami-sama noticed,
and so on down the line.  This - " she patted the sleek stone
facing, " - is a routine memo block telling me to do something.
Since you are partly responsible, I thought you might want to
join in." The steel in her gaze told Basho that he had just
volunteered, "You ARE going to help me do something, aren't you?"

The pudgy monk nodded quickly and violently.

"Exactly what DID you use in your spell to protect my wishbringer
from Marlar?" she asked.

"A rune of benediction, a scribble of heavenly protection, and a
word of command to leave him alone."  Basho beamed, glad that she
seemed to be impressed with his acts.  Good deeds were the
foundation of his temple's teachings, and he had apparently
executed his task well.

Unfortunately, he was having trouble keeping his attention away
from her predominant features, or rather from her garments and
what they were displaying in provocative glory.  It did not help
that she insisted on standing close and leaning toward him.

"Benediction?" Urd leveled great, grey, questioning eyes at him.

"Oh, yes!  It is not good to take something from another creature
without offering something else in its place."

"Command?"  She leaned closer yet and Basho, eyes bulging, began
to sweat.

"I...I told the tree to refrain from trying to influence the wish
bringer."

"Protection?"

Basho beamed again and bobbed his shiny head.

Urd tapped her fingers against her hip.  Since the garment
boasted an elegant cutaway style, Basho's gaze bounced along in
sympathetic rhythm.  Her frown deepened as she listed Basho's
actions, below the level of his hearing.

Finally, she spoke aloud again, "You accomplished a 'scribble of
heavenly protection'?  Where did you learn this script?"

"Ah...I observed Sensei, one time, when he thought I was not
looking."

Urd pinched the bridge of her nose.  "I'm going to have his ass
for being that careless," she growled.  "The trouble is, I don't
know if it is part of a larger operation being conducted by - "
she paused and looked upward, " - higher authorities, or simple
bad luck.  Since the beginning of this farce there have been a
lot of odd things happening!"

After a few moments, Basho realized that she was watching him,
one eyebrow raised.  Since he was, in turn, watching her more
curvaceous aspects, he gave a guilty start before snapping to a
military attention, eyes straight ahead.

"You are dangerous, but I don't have time to go through your
training and filter what you should know from what you
shouldn't," she said.  "Find Ryoga Hibiki.  Take your
'protection' off him.  And continue to protect him from Marlar -
only do NOT use 'heavenly script' to do it!"

"Yes Ma'am-sama!" responded Basho, departing with alacrity.

Urd went back to her own search.  At the same time she listened
closely to her telltales, the anticipation of an actual dispatch
from Kami-sama causing a chill of apprehension.

"Oh, for the good old days," she muttered as she zeroed in on the
latest pig-sightings.




DEVOTED (To You):

"I'm home," announced Hainoko.  "You can quit hugging me and put
me down, now."

"I wasn't hugging you!" Nabiki protested, releasing her.  "I was
trying to keep you from falling.  If you get a scratch your
mother would make me pay the hospitial bill!"

"Okay," Hainoko peered up at her solemnly.  "I'll go in alone.  I
don't want them to know I've been out."

"Oh, yeah, now that you mention it, how's your Mom?  Not that I
care, but...."

"She's better, just tired a lot.  Bye."

"Bye, Runt.  And stay away from me.  I don't want you around. You
bother me."

"Okay, 'Biki-san.  Be careful going home."

"I will.  Don't get caught."

"Bye."

"Bye...arrrgh!  I'm leaving!  I'm going!"

Nabiki watched as the little girl shinnied up the tree trunk and
slipped into her own bedroom window.  She sighed and turned to
head home, growling, "Now I'm worrying about her falling out of a
tree while climbing in a window!  I'm going to KILL Ryoga for
this!"

>From an open apartment window came a shriek, "My baby! Where is
my baby?  Hainoko's gone!"

Nabiki stopped to listen to doors slamming, furniture being
moved, and lights flickering on and off as the apartment was
searched.  Shortly, Hiroshi called, "Here she is! In the
kitchen!"

"What?" came Hainoko's small voice, muffled as if impeded by a
bite of sandwich, "I was hungry!  What's the big deal?"

Nabiki decided it was time to raid the refrigerator, herself.
She looked back once, a tiny smile quickly replaced by a scowl as
she muttered, "Brat!"




SEARCHIN':

The little black pig had to be close.  Urd flew down the narrow lanes,
seeking frantically.  As she flew, she muttered, "I will not panic, I
will not panic, I will not panic...."

She overheard:

   "This just in!" warbled a television announcer, "Authorities
   are baffled by strange events across all of Tokyo - foreign
   princes and princesses, new automobiles, handsome men and
   beautiful women dressed in outlandish and ancient garb, piles
   of gold and jewelry have all appeared from nowhere, and for
   fifteen minutes the entire structure of Tokyo tower appeared
   to be built of...I don't understand...does this say
   'peppermint candy'?"

"Ohboy," Urd hissed through clenched teeth as she hurried on.

   A child's cry: "Mommy, I want a pet monkey!"

      -poof-

   A mother's screech: "Get that gorilla away from my child!"

   A vendor's lament: "Hey, leave my bananas alone!"

   An enthuiastic endorsement for bananas: "Hooh-hooh-hooh...."

Urd increased her pace, "I'm getting close.  Not time to panic,
yet.  I can still find him and stop him.  No panic.  No
panic...."

   A child's cry: "Daddy, can I have a boat?"

      -poof-

   An ocean liner's song: "BWOOOOOOOTT!"

   A vendor's lament: "Yaaaaaaah!  There's a steamship in the
   duckpond!"

Urd jerked her head around at the distant, angry growl of
thunder.

"Okay, time to panic, time to panic.  Basho!  Where the heaven
are you?"

And time passed, until the next day, about daybreak.




CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION:

"Akane!"

He staggered now and then as he made his way through the tangled
undergrowth, his steps dragging with fatigue.  One thought kept
him going, one word on his lips - Akane.

Life hangs by a thread in the jungle.  One false step and you
could be mired in quicksand, or snag your legs in the twisted,
tangled thorny vines that litter the jungle floor, or run head on
into a deadly fanged beast which will tear you limb from limb.

"R.r.r.r.r.rr...."

Ryoga had known the fear of pursuit.  That tiger, crashing
through the undergrowth in Burma.  The pride of lionesses which
had almost surrounded him on the veldt. Something which had
skittered close behind him across the Himalyan snowpacks, as
lightly as a blown leaf, though it must have weighed a quarter of
a ton.  Lastly, he had been pursued by a butcher.  He had fled,
as a pint-sized porker, beasts which could have paralyzed the
bravest of men.                                       

Sometimes he could hear them, calling from the shadows - 
fierce, menacing, slavering with blood-lust, wild for vengeance. 
The very sound of their breathing marked the vicinity of a killer.

"R.r.r.r.r.rr...."

Or worse.

Nothing, however, matched the unease he felt at this rumbling
snarl.  Every capable martial artist develops a sixth sense which
warns him of danger.

Sometimes, however, that sense is overshadowed by other emotions.
For instance, Ryoga was really, really, sad.

"Why can't I find Akane?"

Hacking his way through the dense tropical undergrowth did not
make him feel any better.  Still, after a while, even the most
severe distractions must subside - especially when the martial
artist is about to push through the foliage into the open, where
he is subject to attack.  Brushing aside the deep green fronds to
step over a stream, he paused.

That brook.

The grass alongside it had been manicured neatly.

Also, the banks of the stream had been lined with perfectly
fitted stones in an attractive arrangement which led naturally to
a paved walkway, where he found -

"R.r.r.r.r.rr...."

"Na...Nabiki Tendo!" Ryoga exclaimed, "What are you doing in
Sumatra?"

"Hello, Ryoga," purred Nabiki. "Or, should I say, 'Hello, Dead
Meat?'"

"Dead?  Meat?" Ryoga squeaked, "What kind of meat?"

Nabiki observed his flinch and pounced, "Oh, I don't know.
Chicken.  Cow.  Pork.  Take your pick.  Enjoy your last meal."

Ryoga managed to squeal, "Pork?  Last meal?  Do you know
something that I don't?"

Nabiki shook her head, not to answer his question but to express
annoyance at her own plight.  "How about you?" she snapped.  "Do
you know anything about a certain wish that you granted for me?"

"Ah...no?"

"Oh, come on!  You take one little statement out of context, and
then you blow it up into an affection for a horrid rugrat, and
you try to pretend you don't know what you did?  Why did you run
away?"

"I was being chased!  By a demon!  You'd run, too!"

"Oh, right.  Just where was this demon?  What does he look like?"

"She's a horrible old hag!  With gray, stringy hair, and a jagged
nose and ugly face!"

Nabiki stood, chin in hand, tapping the sidewalk with a toe. "And
she wants you because...."

"Because I grant w...I can't talk about it!  That's how she finds
me!"

"If you're trying to make me feel sorry for you, you are going to
about it the wrong way.  I didn't see anyone after you."

"She's looking younger, lately.  The last time I got away from
her, she was younger than you.  She rides around in this black
cloud, and...."

"Oh, wait.  I saw someone driving a black cloud.  I can't believe
I just said that.  But I did see someone, about half bimbo and
half 'the old woman in the well,'" Nabiki frowned. "You'd better
not be lying to me, Hibiki."

"I swear, Nabiki Tendo, I am telling the truth!"

"And where have you been, recently?"

"Ehheh.  I was...You want the truth?"

"Unvarnished.  Or else."

"In heaven?  With a goddess?  Getting my wishing abilities
removed?"

Nabiki stared in shock.  "You want to run that by me again?  It
sounded like 'I was getting my wishing ability removed.'"

"She tried!  But it didn't work!  Well, it did, sort of, that is,
she tried, but it made things worse."

"And now, you can't grant wishes?  You put me off with a trick
wish and then you dump the whole wish-giving thing before I even
have a chance?"

"Ah, no.  That's what I was saying!  I'm stuck with it!  And that
demon is still chasing me!  My life is a living hell!"

"Whew! I can breath again!  Does that mean you can still grant
wishes?  I'm glad of that!"

"All I wanted to do was to find Akane!  Soon the goddess will
succeed and I will never have another chance again to help Akane!
I have been trying to find the dojo, but everywhere I go is a
jungle!"

"That's because you are wandering around in the park,
knucklehead.  Now, about those wishes...."

"I have to find Akane!  Nothing else is important!  I want
to do some good for someone who deserves it!"

"How about moi?" She blinked at him in a coy pose, "I could still
use a few extra yen that I did not have to work for."

"I can't control it!  I told you!  I have no say, whatever, about
it!"

"Well, you'd better work on it, and no tricks!  I want a wish
that I can hold in my hand!  After all, I am a material girl."

"I can't find Akane!  The one person I want more to find than
anyone else in the world, and I can't find her!"

"I'll tell you what your problem is, Hibiki.  You obsess too much
over details.  By the way, you'd better calm down before you blow
a gasket."

"I don't care!  I cannot do _anything_ that I want to do!  I have
_nothing_, I can do _nothing_, I am worth _nothing_...."

"Hey, calm down, Ryoga!  You're starting to glow...."

"SHISHIHOKODAN!!!!"

"Oh, frack...."

"Nothing happened!  Even my most powerful chi blast has been
reduced to nothing!"

"I wouldn't say _nothing_ happened," Nabiki said, as she caught
the slip of plastic whirring down in the wind.  She read the
flowing characters on it which said, "Must be shared," admired 
the flourishes and pictures of birds and flowers outlining it, 
and heard the soft music.  

Her eyebrows ascended and she whistled.

"Say, Ryoga,  you know what you just did?  This says 'Wish
Certificate - Good for Three Wishes'!  Each!  Well, well, well,"
she purred "This could be the start of a profitable venture.
I'll just use the first wish to set myself up and rent the rest.
Each person gets three wishes.  Now, who would bid the highest to
get this little bit of plastic?  We'll just have to set up an
auction...."

   -ping-

Nabiki held up the plastic card, admiring the flourishes and
charming pictures.

"Say, Ryoga - you know what you just did?  This says 'Wish
Certificate - Good for Three Wishes'...well, well, well," she
purred. "This could be the start of a profitable venture.  Ranma
would pay a pretty yen for a chance to...."

   -ping-

Nabiki held up the card and admired the flourishes and charming
pictures, purring, "Well, well, well.  This could be...."

She stopped and shook her head. "I think I'm beginning to detect
a trend, here!  I can't have this card for myself!"

Ryoga was too busy looking in all directions to answer.

"No!" she cried, "I don't WANT to get all noble and self-
sacrificing!  It's mine, I tell you!  Mine!  All mine!"  A noise
echoed and Nabiki looked up and down the street.  Her attention
was drawn to a large sign advertising a local hotel.

She motioned Ryoga behind the sign, holding out her hand, palm
up.  "Don't worry, I'll ward them off.  Double rate for
non-disclosure," Nabiki smiled.  She folded the bills and waited,
the picture of innocence, admiring the dew-covered flowers along
the path.

She was about to step off the curb when Basho came running up,
holding his hassock high to clear his legs.  Nabiki raised one
eyebrow and waited for him to stop huffing.

"I am looking for Mr. Hibiki!" cried Basho.  "I must prevent a
horrible catastrophe!"

"Really?" Nabiki posed nonchalantly, tapping her chin, "Like,
say, raining wish certificates?"

Basho gobbled in horror. "Don't even joke about that!" he cried.

"Believe me, I would never joke about that.  So, tell me.  How
badly do you want Hibiki?"  There was a gasp of dismay from
around the sign.

"Very badly!" Basho stated.

"Exactly _how_ badly?" Nabiki said, ignoring the threatening
growl coming from behind her.

Basho stared at the upraised palm until comprehension dawned,
then withdrew bills from his pouch. "What kind of a mercenary are
you?" he complained.

"The vindictive kind.  I never forget a slight.  Or a misplaced
wish,"  Nabiki replied as she counted the notes, neglecting to
mention the misplaced wish certificate she had concealed in her
purse.  "Ask Ryoga," she added, pointing out Basho's quarry, who
had appeared angrily from behind the sign. "I think I'm going to
owe him a refund, darn it."

Nabiki watched them as they faced each other beligerantly. Basho
waved a wand, chanted a few lines, and Ryoga untensed so
completely he almost fell down.

"Looks like I got my ticket just in time," she sighed. "Oh, well.
You both might as well come in for breakfast.  I was just about
to invite Ryoga in, anyway,"

Turning the corner, she entered the gate to the dojo.  She held
tightly to the wish certificate, thinking, [Now, where can I hide
this so Ranma won't find it? I'll have to discuss the profit
aspect with him before I make any decisions.]

"That's odd," Basho tilted his head as if listening to some
distant sound.  "I was certain that I cured him entirely, and yet
I still feel some magic around.  What could it be?"

"Ah...maybe it's the wind," Nabiki nervously shifted the slip of
glittering plastic out of Basho's sight.  She spotted Akane and
Ranma arguing before leaving for school.  Akane had prepared 
bentos for both of them and Ranma was balking.  Nabiki smiled.

"Hi, Akane!  Morning, Saotome!" Nabiki hurried over to Akane.
"Hey, Sis, your bento box is about to fall out of your backpack.
Here, I'll adjust it."  It was the perfect plan.  Akane would not
notice the slim card and Ranma would stick his head into a live
volcano before he would go near Akane's cooking.  

"What's with Ryoga?" Ranma asked, "He taking to camping in the
kitchen?"

"Poor Ryoga," mused Akane.  "Is he alright?"

"He's fine," Nabiki assured them.  "Just too tired to make it
back to the dojo."  She waved them off and waited until they were
out of sight.

Now, all she had to do was convince Basho that Ryoga had not left
a legacy.  Turning to Basho, she said, "So.  You really did it."
She tapped the recumbent Ryoga, who rolled over and smiled in his
sleep. "You took away his ability to grant wishes?"

"Oh, absolutely," beamed Basho, only then noticing her dispirited
air. "Aren't you happy?"

"'Oh, absolutely,'" mimicked Nabiki in a convincingly agrieved
tone.  "I didn't get my wish, you idiot!  And, now I'll never get
one!  How could you do this to me?"

"Oh, I simply reversed a little heavenly script...Oops!  I wasn't
supposed to use that.  Anyway.  It all came out for the best,
didn't it?" Basho looked up to see apparent deep sorrow in
Nabiki's gaze.  For a moment the sight of her, moping away toward
school, brought a troubled cloud to his brow.  Then he
brightened.  "Of course!  Heavenly script!  That's how I can help
Hiroshi!"




END:  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Disclaimer:  The talented and beautiful Rumiko Takahashi and Viz
and a whole bunch more have dibs on Ranma et al, Fujishima
Kousuke and Animeigo take credit for associating Urd of Norse
mythology with kawaii features and a computer engineering degree,
Cinderella is an old fairy tale, which leaves me with Hainoko and
Kidori, who are derivative and probably belong to everyone. Basho
belongs to himself.  No reference to any present or past singing
group, rock star, entertainer, or agent is intended.  Not to
worry, since I don't intend to make any money off this, anyway.



             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'