R1/2 -- Chris Collins (1clc0772@unixstew.tstc.edu)
Here we are! We've made it to the spine-tingling conclusion of
NYANNIICHUAN: Very Tragic Story! (CHEF'S NOTE: A tale of heartstopping
suspense, deptless intrigue, and rampant lesbianism!) (CUTE VOICE: Well,
you got one right at least.)
(OLD VOICE: HEY! I have a bone to pick with you, you no-account editor!)
(CUTE VOICE: *shiver* Coming from him, that scary.) (CHEF'S NOTE: What do
you want, Old Freak?) (OLD VOICE: Why did you have to hit me so hard last
time?!) (CHEF'S NOTE: .... Well, if I hit you softly, you wouldn't have
fallen unconscious, now would you?)
(OLD VOICE: !!!! But I missed Ranma's dream sequence...) (SUBTITLE: with
Miko topless...) (OLD VOICE: ...and I missed Ranma comforting Miko when she
was hurt...) (SUBTITLE: licking her face clean with her tongue...) (OLD
VOICE: and all the pretty ladies....) (SUBTITLE: and all the pretty
ladies....) (OLD VOICE: Hya!!! Cut that out! Who's doing that?!) [Yo, ya
remember me? Tha voice from oblivion at the beginning of the fanfic? I
didn't have nothin to do so I decided to learn how these things worked.]
(OLD VOICE: Why you.... You better stick to disclaimers, Sonny, or you're
gonna be in serious trouble!) (SUBTITLE: Ah, shove it up your ass.)
(OLD VOICE: But I wanna see the pretty ladies! I wanna I wanna I wanna!)
Could you please hold it down! I'm trying to start a show here. (OLD
VOICE: Quiet! No one's talkin to you!) Um, Ukyou, don't you still have
some latent, post-Miko aggressions to work out? (CHEF'S NOTE: *cracking
knuckles* I just might.) (OLD VOICE: eep.) (SUBTITLE: Oh shit.)
Shampoo! Hurry and pull the curtain! (CUTE VOICE: Ok! Hnnrrgh!)
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| An Iron Dagger Production |
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"Are you sure you're alright?"
"*sniffle* Don't worry, Guardian Spirit. I'm sure. *sniff sniffle*"
Ranma-chan, still in the guise of a harem girl, steadily followed the
cobbled path through the as yet unnamed town (NOTE: When I come up with a
name, I'll let you know.) with Miko cradled in her arms, right arm under
her shoulders and the left under her knees. Miko, her eyes closed and damp
with drying tears, nuzzled her head into Ranma's chest (actually, using her
right breast as a pillow) with her arm loosely draped around her savior's
neck. The mid-morning sun was to their backs, making them appear like an
odd silhouette to observers farther up the road.
But had Ranma not been too absorbed in thought, she would have noticed
that the street was deserted but for a few startled faces that ocassionally
peeped out of huts. (CUTE VOICE: You want Shampoo get tumbleweed props?)
She felt a great weight of apprehension, brought about by the dark-robed
figure's grave words, that kept her gaze shifting from Miko to the sky and
back to Miko--the time they spent together was becoming a precious commodity.
Ranma glanced down at the scratches and scrapes along Miko's extended arm.
"Are you REALLY sure you're okay? Maybe we should find someone to look at
those wounds."
Miko smiled and squinted her eyes open. "*sniffle* *giggle* Stop being
such a mother hen. I'll be fine."
Ranma tried not to sound panicky. "But... then why are you crying?"
Miko closed her eyes and continued smiling. "Because *sniff* I'm happy I
didn't lose you back there."
Ranma opened her mouth to say something more, then closed it again and
smiled as well. _I'm not sure what happened back there, but I'm glad
you're alright too. And I'll make sure you stay that way._
Miko's stomach growled and she giggled, "I'll feel better after I get
something to eat." Something about her voice sounded tired and unsure.
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| Written and Directed by: |
| Christopher Lee Collins |
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Miko clung tighter to her guardian's collar while Ranma pushed open the
door to Tan's inn. "Hn?" Ranma stood in the doorway and looked around,
puzzled. There were no people--only empty tables and chairs neatly
arranged, awaiting visitors. Even given the early hour, the place should
have been at least partially full. Ranma took a step forward and asked the
emptiness, "Is anybody here?" She was answered by a faint echo of her own
voice, then silence.
"Oh?" For a while, Miko glanced around the room in faint surprise, then
she giggled softly and snuggled herself into Ranma's shoulder. "*sniff*
Does this mean we're alone together?"
Ranma stiffened and shivered--her eyes grew wide and her pigtail stood at
a high angle--when she felt Miko's hot breath on her neck. She gasped,
"*Ack* Miko! What'r'ya doing!?" The girl in her arms giggled some more
and glided her lips across her guardian's exposed skin.
At that moment, almost to Ranma's relief, the kitchen door swung open,
albeit hesitantly, and a wooden salad fork prodded the air as if it might
be dangerous. Ranma and Miko became inhumanly still. A gruff but subdued
voice asked, "Miko? Is that you?" When the fork was satisfied with the
atmosphere, a hard-featured face peeked out of the doorway.
Miko turned and her face lit up in surprise, despite her annoyance for the
interruption. "Tan! Hi!" Ranma managed to produce an awkward, toothy smile.
Tan faultered and almost fell to the ground when he saw them, but held on
to the door to steady himself. Miko (who he assumed was the girl being
held since she responded to his call) and her guardian were dirty, beaten,
and their clothes were torn; they looked like they had just escaped some
freak mining accident. Tan stuttered a bit, then asked meekly, "Miko, are
you alright?" Feeling overlooked, Ranma made a sour face--he didn't ask
HER (Ranma)how SHE was doing.
Miko laughed playfully, "Don't worry. Guardian Spirit kept me from
getting seriously hurt." She warmly coiled her arms around Ranma's head
and neck, rubbed her face against Ranma's, kissed her, and purred, "We look
out for each other."
Ranma, sweating (CUTE VOICE: Ahem. Perspiring.), muttered out of the side
of her mouth, "You do realize I'm a girl right now?"
"Oh!" Miko, startled by the thought of how they must look, instantly
pulled her head away and stared at her guardian's shaken grin. Miko looked
stunned for a few seconds, then broke into an extremely innocent smile.
Tan raised an eyebrow.
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| Based on Characters Created by: |
| Rumiko Takahashi |
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Miko sat half-pouting and half-blushing as she shyly studied her guardian
from across the table, hoping she wasn't too mad at her. She started to
say something, then reconsidered.
Ranma sat with her back facing her friend to hide the fact that she was,
in fact, blushing a deeper crimson (almost matching her hair). She
couldn't bring herself to face Miko just yet. Instead, she had been
staring wide-eyed at the kitchen door with her hand to her chin ever since
Tan hastily left to fix them something to eat. By Tan's jittery reaction,
she had a gnawing feeling that he saw Miko's affection as more than
friendly--as did she--and her own current dress (or lack thereof) didn't
help matters.
Ranma glanced down at herself. She was wearing something designed to show
maximum flesh and maximum cleavage. She was sorely underdressed for the
time--Tan kept averting his eyes in modest denial--and she definitely
couldn't change into a guy in what she had on (that would be gross).
Without shifting her gaze, she hesitantly asked, "Miko, do you have
somethin I can wear... besides this I mean?"
Ranma sucked in a sharp breath and sat paralyzed when she heard Miko push
her chair back and start taking off her clothes. After a few seconds, Miko
sighed heavily and wearily reached over her guardian's shoulder to hand her
the bundled red and black outfit, saying almost subordinately, "Please,
take these. I don't have much material left."
Ranma stiffened and her eyes bulged. She gasped, "But what're you going
to wear? You can't...."
Miko laughed, "*sniffle* Don't worry, Guardian Spirit. I've already made
something for me to wear."
"Wha?" Ranma glanced over her shoulder.
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| Ranma Saotome and Miko Lee |
| in: |
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Ranma's mouth gaped as she stared unblinking across the table.
"I hope you like it? I only had scraps to work with--what with all the
fighting and sewing I've been doing--so this is the best I could do." Miko
was standing off to the side of the table, holding one arm outstretched in
mock-flourish while leaning on the table with the other to keep herself
steady; her limbs were trembling and she could have fallen at any moment,
but she was determined to give her guardian a fashion show.
(NOTE: I'll try and make this short.) Her new shirt looked like a
painting: above a field of tall, black (silhouetted), leaning grass rose a
hazy sunset, represented by a few strips of black across a deep crimson
sky, which faded into dark blue around the collar as if the colors had been
blended on an artists pallet; in stark contrast, her long, billowy sleeves
were light green with streaks of yellow flame that licked from her wrists
to her elbows. Her pants were a darker green with the same fiery streaks
of yellow from her ankles to her knees--and the pair fit MUCH more snugly
against her form than Ranma's baggy trousers did, better showing off the
soft curves of her hips. Ranma's jaw dropped to the table.
Miko found herself leaning heavily on the table after a short time and she
had to hold herself up with both arms or risk toppling backwards. The
whole table trembled with her legs as she carefully labored the few steps
back to her chair. She panted through her fatigue, "I had more green than
I thought... didn't have much yellow because its so hard to make..." She
pulled the collar of her blouse and looked inside. "...I must have used
more white than I thought because I only have a few scraps left." She
exhaled a deep breath of relief and wiped away a trickle of sweat after
finally sitting back down; then she regarded her clothes a few seconds
longer. "Maybe THIS would look better on you after all." She looked up.
"I could give you this one and...."
Ranma, who had been staring rather mindlessly awed, quickly shook her head
and started pulling her new outfit over herself. "Nonono, I think it looks
really good on ya...."
Miko squealed with delight.
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| NYANNIICHUAN: |
| Very Tragic Story |
| Part VII |
| "Preparations" |
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Tan strode through the door with two big bowls of rice and froze halfway
to the table.
Not only had one of the girls changed clothes (something more appropriate,
he was glad to see), but the other, the one who he thought was Miko
(actually Ranma) when he left, was indignantly digging deep inside her
blouse with one hand and into her pants with the other. A second later,
she produced the familiar skimpy uniform of veils like a slieght-of-hand
artist and handed it to the other, saying, "Well, here's a little more
material you can work with." (CUTE VOICE: Huh?) (CHEF'S NOTE: Buy a clue.)
The other girl (Miko) accepted the bundle and slipped it underneath her own
blouse, where it seemed to vanish. Tan felt dizzy watching the exchange.
"Hn?" Ranma and Miko both looked curiously at Tan, who seemed like he was
about to fall. Ranma sprang from her seat and rushed to the innkeeper's
side. She took the bowls of rice from his hands and gave him her shoulder
for support. "Are you alright? You don't look too good."
Tan regained his balance and took a step back in shock. Ranma shrugged
and set a bowl in front of Miko and the other opposite her, then walked
back to Tan and asked, "You wouldn't happen to have any hot water handy?"
Tan lazily pointed back to the kitchen. Ranma gazed into his blank face in
puzzlement, then shrugged and walked into the kitchen.
Tan watched the kitchen door with nervous interest. A few seconds later,
he heard a splash, and soon after, out stepped the dark-haired boy he saw
with Miko the other day (only moderately damp), and he was wearing the same
red and black outfit as the girl who entered.
Tan rubbed his temples and muttered something about drinking too much rice
wine in the morning (CHEF'S NOTE: Probably thinking about drinking more
often.), then fumbled back into the kitchen. Miko, long-faced, watched him
go. She glanced at her bowl, then the kitchen, then called after him,
"Tan! Could we please have some chopsticks to eat with?"
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| HAPPY THOUGHT: |
| Maybe Happy Will Die This Time |
| Like A Good Old Man. |
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Salon studied the half-dozen ex-harem girls standing at attention before
her like soldiers awaiting inspection and grunted with displeasure--which
the girls actually thought was kind of cute. They had stripped the veils
from their already-skimpy harem suits, making them, as they said, less
restrictive; for the task ahead, it would have been more appropriate if
they at least worn the guards' robes for protection, if not for modesty's
sake, but they would sooner run naked--in fact, if she mentioned it, they'd
probably jump at the idea.
Salon walked up to Komiki, who was standing at the far left of the line,
and stared suspiciously into the girl's smiling face--she seemed to be
bubbling with anticipation. The witchwoman asked coldly, "Could you not at
least spare a guard or two?"
Chun-Mae, who was standing behind her uneasy friend with her arms crossed,
huffed sourly. "The few guards we have are needed here to protect the
other girls--the sounds of the jungle frighten them--so unless you want to
forget the whole thing, this is what you have to work with." She frowned
and lowered her voice: "I would also prefer that they not go, but they
insisted..." She lowered her head. "...and I will not order them to stay."
Komiki clasped her hands together and bounced up and down. "Thank you,
Mistress Chun-Mae!" Salon groaned and closed her eyes in thought. While
the witchwoman wasn't looking, Chun-Mae gazed at her favorite harem girl
and mouthed the words "be careful". Komiki mouthed the words "I will" and
puckered her lips in a kissing gesture. (CHEF'S NOTE: *groan* I think I'm
going to lose my lunch.)
"Very well." Salon opened her eyes and Komiki immediately snapped back to
attention. Salon reached up as if plucking something from an invisible
shelf and six slender bracelets appeared in her hand, each on wrought of
twining strands of silver and gold with small, black stones imbedded at
intervals.
She handed one to Komiki, who looked at it like a complex puzzle, then
began her explanation: "You are to wear these bracelets at all times. Do
not take them off." She handed out another. "I realize that none of you
know very much of jungle survival. That is why I have empowered these
bands with the basics of my jungle knowledge." Chun-Mae raised her
eyebrows, impressed. Salon handed out the net two. "What I know you will
know. You will be able to move around swiftly without hesitation." She
handed the last two out. "Likewise, whetever you see, I will see. You are
now my eyes and ears in the jungle. I wish you well and hope you find what
I need to know." Chun-Mae cleared her throat and stared at Salon through
squinted eyes. Salon shrugged.
The witchwoman turned back and began the final inspection of her... spies.
She slowly walked back down the line. Each of the first three she passed
had fitted her bracelet on her left wrist, and each was still prodding the
piece of jewelry like a dead hamster. The next two had closed their bands
around their ankles and were standing contented, as it they now wore
symbols of status. Salon walked up to Komiki, who had her hands clasped in
front of her and was rocking back and forth on her heels, but she could see
no bracelet.
Salon raised an eyebrow. Komiki was smiling fiercely, as if she had just
made some ingenius discovery. "Where have you placed my gift? Have you
lost it already?" Komiki bounced and contained a squeal of excitement.
Salon frowned and walked away, grumbling. "When all this is over, I do NOT
want it back."
(CHEF'S NOTE: EEEW! I don't EVEN want to know!) (CUTE VOICE: Know what?)
(OLD VOICE: *sigh* Forgive her. She's still innocent of these things.)
(CUTE VOICE: What?)
* * * * *
The plants of the jungle seemed to come to life. Leaves rustled as if
dancing to a fast-paced song. Grass swayed wildly as a sharp breeze shot
past. Even sturdy trees hummed as their bark vibrated in the wind.
Twilight ran through the forest as fast as she could, huffing and panting.
Dodging jutting trees. Evading weblike vines. Hurdling stumbling bushes.
All thoughts of stealth and caution thrown to the wind and rustling leaves
she kicked up. All in an effort to keep up with the darting figure ahead
of her! The wraith that always seemed to stay the same distance ahead of
her no matter how hard she ran! The elusive form whose eratic flight
seemed a fit of fancy! The moron who had carried her master through just
about every inch of jungle from the once-palace to their cottage! Damn he
was fast! Didn't he ever tire?! Why couldn't he stop so they could all go
home!?!
* * * * *
Leaves spouted into the air like a fountain as the forceful gust blew
past. "WHERE IN THE SPIRIT'S LAND DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING!!!" Doshin
flailed his arms in an attempt to hit or choke or stun or otherwise subdue
Reikiba, but his blows were weakened by the fact that branches and moss
were slamming into him at an alarming rate. (NOTE: Imagine Ryouga plowwing
through the forest when he's trying to get to Tokyo.) (CHEF'S NOTE: Thank
you, I'd rather not.)
Reikiba, gasping for air, tightened his grip on the man in his arms and
yelled, "Don't worry, Mr. Lee, I think I've almost caught up with your
daughter!" then plunged through a dense hoop of foliage between two trees
without slowwing.
Doshin shrieked as a cluster of vines and moss tangled itself around his
head, almost pulling him from the samurai's grasp, but luckily, the vines
snapped. Afraid they might crash at such a high velocity, he quickly
heaved the plants to the side and began flailing his arms once more. "YOU
IDIOT! MIKO AND RANMA ARE THAT WAY!"
"Sorry!" Reikiba quickly turned to the right--in the opposite direction
his charge pointed! Doshin screamed and threw his arms in front of his
face when they almost skidded into a tree. Leaves flew into the air and
sprinkled the jungle like rain.
* * * * *
Twilight scittered around trees almost without touching the ground. She
was gaining. She'd bite the fang-toothed biped. That's what she'd do. To
hell with his aura! Then the nightmare could end and they could go home!
She burst through a dense cropping of bushes. She could see the samurai's
back, closer than ever, her master flailing madly in his grasp. She picked
up speed for a mighty leap forward.
Suddenly, a horrible, monsterous glob of vines and moss jumped from her
master's face to attack her. In a split second, it had her and she was
blinded.
After the vines ensnared the shimmercat, she tumbled across the ground and
through the tall grass like a large bowling ball, uprooting entire bushes
in her wake. She began biting and clawing at the tangled mass that had her
trapped, her fiery battle aura begining to flare.
It was several more seconds before she rolled to a stop in a small glade
with even more vines and moss clinging to her than before. She roared and
disappeared in a fighting dustcloud, her aura shining brightly. (CUTE
VOICE: Sheesh. It only moss.) A second later, the shredded remnants of the
creepers crumbled to cinders.
Panting wildly, she sat up and spat out some dried moss trailing from her
jaws. She squinted her eyes and swayed her head this way and that. She
had left a wide trail through the jungle where she had passed, it seemed.
The jungle noises had ceased for several long moments, then started back up
again. She could hear the rustling of leaves in the distance caused by
Reikiba's swift passage, but he was moving to fast, buzzing around the
jungle like a huge, annoying fly, and she couldn't get a lock on his
location. The rustling was getting closer. Twilight's eyes flew wide.
"Don't worry, Mr. Lee, we're almost there!" Reikiba burst out of one side
of the clearing and exitted through the other. Twilight whipped her head
around, trying to follow the movement.
"PUTMEDOWN!" Reikiba burst through the bushes behind the shimmercat and
bounded over her to disappear in the trees ahead of her. Twilight perked
her ears questionably.
"I think she's over here!" The samurai blur burst into the glade again,
her master shouting and flailing against trailing vines, and disappeared
just as quickly. Twilight groaned and lazily fell to the ground, resting
her chin in the dirt.
"PUTMEDOWN!" The blur burst in from the west and exitted east. "Just
alittle farther, I'm sure!" The blur entered north and went south.
Twilight sighed heavily and watched the samurai fly into and out of the
glade as if she were watching a heated tennis match. "THEY WENT THAT WAY!"
"Sorry! Almost there!" "WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?!" *zoom zoom zoom* "Wow, Mr.
Lee, your cat sure is fast!" Twilight groaned and shook her head. (CUTE
VOICE: *sigh* Can we go home now?) (CHEF'S NOTE: Uh, I second that motion.)
* * * * *
Salon shook her head as she passed adeptly through the jungle, slashing a
trail through the choking brush with her staff, but otherwise paying little
heed to what was in front of her. _That should keep those fools busy while
I attend to more important matters. Yet, I wonder if giving them such
powerful talismans was such a good idea._ She shook her head and sneered
in disgust. _It is not very likely that those dull-witted whores will find
anything useful anyway. .... If they do, I will... I will make them all
my apprentices._ She chuckled mockingly. _I would be willing to dance
naked for them if one of them could get me that idol._ (OLD VOICE: Promise?
I'll hold ya to it.) She shook her head again and spat, _But they will
probably just forget their mission altogether as soon as they find the next
person they can spread their legs to._ (CHEF'S NOTE: Ooooh, that was
cold!)(OLD VOICE: But not too far off the mark, I imagine.)
Suddenly, Salon froze in her tracks, her eyes growing wide in horror.
_What if... now that they're free to rome... they won't limit their desires
to the human species!_ She cringed back, almost falling backwards, and her
face contorted with fear. _And as long as they have those bracelets, I CAN
SEE EVERYTHING THEY SEE!!!_ Falling to her knees and tightening her hands
into fists, she threw her head back and howled, "WHAT HAVE I DONE!?!" (OLD
VOICE: At least that Komiki girl will have to take hers off first.) (CUTE
VOICE AND CHEF'S NOTE: EEEEEEEWWWWW!!!!!)
Salon started to cry out again, to beseech the gods as to why she was
being treated so harshly (CUTE VOICE: Oh, please.), when she heard a twig
snap behind her. She held her breath and listened. She could hear nothing
but a typical chorus of insects and a duo of twittering birds, but she
could FEEL someone's (or something's) presence behind her. Tightening the
grip on her staff, she quickly turned around.
With a monsterous snarl that echoed throughout the jungle, some kind of
large animal slammed into her and cast her breathlessly to the ground, its
great weight bearing down hard against her stomach. The witchwoman quickly
swept her staff under the beast, kicked awkwardly with her foot, and
launched the beast over her head. She immediately rolled to her knees,
gasping for air, as she heard... whatever it was... scamper into the
protection of the trees.
She scanned the jungle with narrowed eyes and held her staff ready. There
was something... unnatural... about the creature that just attacked her.
Even though she didn't get a good look at it, she could tell that it was
something she had never encountered before--it sounded like some kind of
dog, but it was too big to be any dog she knew existed.
Suddenly, she heard a sharp, low growl--it was behind her once more. But
this time she was ready. She swung around and yelled, "Fierce Hawk Talon",
sending her staff in a wide arc. But half-way through the motion,
something heavy hit her hand and she could feel something like a blunt
knife slash her wrist, sending the staff out of her grasp.
The witchwoman was thrown to a tree before she finally saw what her
attacker looked like. "By the gods...," she gasped before she was again
batted aside by one of the creature's powerful forelegs. She absorbed most
of the blow and forced herself to roll toward her fallen staff, whereupon
she scooped it up and held it defensively in front of herself.
The creature menacingly crouching before her was huge--nearly twice as
massive as the shimmercat that was Doshin's familiar (and probably at least
twice as heavy). It could have almost been called a wolf--it had thick,
gray fur, slender lupine legs, and a bushy tail. But its snout was too
short for a wolf, and its nose was upturned more like a pig's, and its paws
looked more like cloven hooves. However, its most distinguishing
features--that Salon was extremely wary of--were the two ivory tusks
jutting from either side of its jowls, each extending to a point just
beyond its snout. As Salon stared at it wide-eyed with amazement and a
little horror, she could have sworn that it was half wild boar.
The wolf-boar stamped a hoof against the ground and snorted, waking Salon
from her curious daze. It took a small step forward and grunted angrily,
then pawed the ground a few more times. Salon, regaining her senses once
more, brought her staff around to swat the animal away, but as if intuiting
her move, the wolf-boar ducked the swing and deflected it to the side with
a tusk. Salon looked both frightened and puzzled. The beast just snorted
again, apparently angrier, but did not attack. Salon got the impression it
was waiting for something.
Salon slowly retracted her weapon, then sat and stared into the creature's
face--something about it--HIM--seemed familiar. Another second and her
eyes snapped wide in recognition. She drew back a bit, as if expecting a
blow, and stammered, "P-Pae-Kau! Is that really you? It's nice to see
that you are well!"
The wolf-boar took a forceful step forward and swiped his tusks at her,
forcing her to fall on her back. Her legs were now pinned under the
beast's belly. She slowly curled her fingers firmly around her staff and
waited for an opening to strike. She tried to smile. "Pae-Kau. I have
not seen you since yesterday. Did you fall into another...." The
wolf-boar swiped again at her face, but seemed to intentionally miss.
Salon started to sweat. (CUTE VOICE: Ahem. Perspire.) The beast put his
face so close to hers that she could feel the hot, not-all-to-pleasant
breath from its nostrils on her mouth. She turned her face to the side to
keep from gagging--air wasn't the only thing coming from its nose. (CUTE
VOICE AND CHEF'S NOTE: EEEEEEEWWWW!!!) She gasped, "If this is about the
fur traders... I only meant that as a joke. You can understand...."
"Bwweeiiii!!" Salon suddenly brought her staff around and hammered it
into the creature's side, slamming him into a tree, then she instantly
sprang to her feet and prepared to finish it off. But to her surprise,
despite his great bulk, he jumped off of the tree as easily as a squirell
and landed in the same spot he was standing before, apparently unfazed by
the blow. He pawed the ground and snorted/growled fiercely.
The witchwoman hesitated, then brought her staff up to strike, but the
wolf-boar charged with amazing speed and she barely dodged, backing her
into a thick bush. She needed more room--the jungle was too dense for a
decent fight (CHEF'S NOTE: You mean one you can actually win). She took
another swipe at the creature, then ran into the thick of the jungle, not
waiting to see if the blow hit.
She bounded through the foliage as as gracefully as a fawn, barely
upsetting the leaves as she passed, following an erratic path through the
maze of vines and trees that would confuse even the most skilled tracker.
At first, her flight was panicked, her breathing harsh, sweat flying from
her brow. But she quickly slowed her pace when she imagined what she must
have looked like. She scowled and berated herself--how people would laugh
if they saw a sage of her standing bolting though the jungle like a
frightened little girl. She soon slowed to a halt next to a curtain of
hanging vines to look around and harden herself back to her normal self.
Her eyes widened when she heard a faint but steady rustling of leaves far
ahead of her; it got louder, but still barely a whisper, then quickly
receeded. _It is IMPOSSIBLE that he could be in front of me!_ She quickly
shook her head. That wasn't possible. _Pae-Kau would not make that much
noise on his worst days._ Someone else was in the jungle. She narrowed
her eyes and headed along a perpendicular path.
A few more steps and she reached what appeared to be a freshly-carved
trail--an unusual trail at that. It appeared that a heavy object had
recently plowed through rather recklessly--for as far as she could see in
either direction along the narrow path, grass had been crushed into the
ground and larger plants had been uprooted. She bent down curiously and
examined the ground--whatever it was was heading farther into the jungle.
She took a few steps in that direction to see if she could determine how
far the trail actually went.
After a few steps, she winced when she heard a sharp growl behind her.
_Damn, that was fast!_ Not even bothering to turn around, she ran down the
trail.
* * * * *
Twilight's ears perked when she heard someone scrambling up the cleared
trail behind her. The noise would not have caught her attention if she was
not hearing someone rushing through the jungle toward her from the opposite
direction as well. She did a quick doubletake in both directions, then
ducked, threw her paws over her head, and closed her eyes really tight.
"WE'RE ALMOST THERE MR. LEE!" "YOU IDIOT WE"VE ALREADY GONE THIS WAY!"
"CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT THIS PAE-KAU?!" "GRRROOAAARRR *snort*!" "Oops!"
!!CRASH!! "AACK!!"
Twilight slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her master was
sprawled on the ground in front of her, mumbling something to himself and
scratching his fingers in the dirt; the samurai was half-slumped against a
tree, moaning and rubbing his head (CHEF'S NOTE: Hoping to make a static
charge.). Twilight's eyes widened when she looked behind her. Staggering
from side to side was a massive creature that looked like a shaggy wild
boar--and it was bigger than she was; to its left, a woman wearing tiger
stripes crawled unsteadily to her hands and knees.
The tigerstriped woman looked up at her with surprise, then looked at her
master and scowled. The woman then boldly crawled over to the huge
creature and draped an arm over its neck to steady it; she whispered into
its ear--which Twilight could hear easily: "I propose we call a truce for
the time being." The creature cleared its head and saw who else was in the
clearing with him, then nodded in agreement.
Twilight immediately trotted to her master's side and demandingly nudged
him into coherence. He quickly noticed the large beast and the witchwoman,
and his eyes flew wide. He leaned forward and whispered into the
shimmercat's ear: "Go find Miko and make sure she is safe." He glanced at
Reikiba and added, "Take him as well. I will make sure they do not
follow." Twilight stared suspiciously at the samurai, then nodded. She
understood that he wanted go himself himself and leave the samurai behind,
but if anything bad happened to the moron, he would never forgive himself.
She didn't necessarily agree--but she understood.
Twilight rushed to Reikiba's side just as the withwoman and the wild boar
thing started advancing. Doshin reached for his bokken, but could not find
it--he must have lost it SOMEWHERE in the jungle. He glanced at Twilight
and shouted, "Go!" then spang forward into the the two attackers.
Twilight, not waiting to see what happened, dragged the half-conscious
samurai out of the area by the collar of his shirt.
* * * * *
Doshin made sure to hit the wolf/boar the hardest, since it would more
likely be the tougher opponent to take down. After tackling both at once,
he flung Salon over the creature's back--trying to use only as much force
as necessary, taking gender into consideration--then threw both arms around
the beast's neck and bashed its head against the ground.
Salon landed flat on her back on the opposite side of the boar, but
quickly used the fall's momentum to sommersault backwards and roll to her
feet. She brought her staff up for an energy attack, but Doshin was using
Pae-Kau's massive body as a shield (CHEF'S NOTE: Fat ass!). She yelled at
the wolf/boar to move out of the way, then took a step forward only to have
Doshin's foot swing around and hit her in the shoulder. She fell to the
ground, but not before kicking her attacker in the ankle.
Doshin clenched his teeth when the witchwoman hit his ankle. He wrapped
his arms tighter around the wolf/boar's neck and fell across its back. The
wolf/boar violently shook its head, the added pressure only bringing it out
of its daze faster. Still shaking its head, it growled/snorted and rolled
its eyes upward, trying to get a better look at who had just mounted it.
(OLD VOICE: Ah.... no, nevermind. even I have my limits.)
Salon smiled grimly at Doshin, then brought her staff around and whacked
Pae-Kau on the rump. His feral eyes flew wide and he jumped forward with
jarring force, making Doshin's teeth chatter. Pae-Kau then proceeded to
buck wildly like a wild bull trying to get the man off his back. Doshin
flopped around in the air, being beaten around like a dusty rug, and was
forced to tighten his hold even more. Despite his effort, he soon found
himself flying back-first into a tree. (CHEF'S NOTE: Did he stay on the
full eight seconds?)
Doshin quickly shook his head and sat up, and found himself staring into
the snarling face of the wolf/boar. He heard Salon yell, "Do not kill him!
He may be useful!" The wolf/boar turned to glare at her.
Doshin took this opportunity to punch it in the head. The beast faced him
and the punch landed square between the eyes. Doshin yelped and waved his
hand--it was like punching a stone wall. The wolf/boar just snorted.
Salon rushed up to glower at Doshin. When Pae-Kau brought his face closer
to Doshin, Salon slapped him on the forehead and scolded him like a child:
"Bad dog! Do not kill!" Pae-Kau glanced at her and growled.
"I wasn't about to let you kill him anyway." Doshin groaned at the
familiar icy voice that seemed to echo from the trees. Salon and Pae-Kau
turned the see the dark-robed man standing just inside the cover of the
jungle.
Pae-Kau started growling at the stranger, but did not approach him. Salon
stepped forward and folded her arms defiantly. She called to him, "So.
Are you here so that we may finish our fight?"
The dark man laughed aloud. "Not at all! I just dropped by to pick up an
old friend!"
The dark man pointed and Salon followed his finger to the spot where
Doshin had been slumped against the tree--but now he was nowhere in sight.
"What!" She quickly turned back, but the dark man was gone as well.
His icy voice echoed through the treetops: "You are not worth my time."
Salon gowled and clentched her fists, then, having no definite focus,
yelled at the sky, "Damn you! Give me my destiny!"
The dark voice snapped sarcasticly, "Pick another! Besides, do you not
have better things to do?"
Salon screamed, "Come back here!" but got no response. Soon, however, she
became aware that something was growling at her.
She faced forward just as Pae-Kau head-butted her in the stomach, knocking
her flat. It then stepped up and pinned her to the ground. Salon coughed
heavingly as air re-entered her lungs. Pae-Kau bared his teeth and stuck a
tusk under her chin, making her tilt her head upward. Salon wheezed,
"Wait. Might I interest you in a cure for your condition?" Pae-Kau lifted
his head and twisted it sideways in curiosity.
* * * * *
A dark shadow rose from the floor of Doshin's cottage. The shadow folded
outward and in its place stood two figures: the dark man and Doshin, who
was barely conscious and leaning heavily on the former. The dark man
frowned. "Well don't just flop around. Get our friend a chair."
A mini-pocket of darkness folded out in mid-air and a crow flew out,
heading straight for a chair. It rested on the backing, clutched it with
its tiny talons, and flapped its wings as hard as it could. Despite its
heavy panting, it lifted the chair and carried it across the room rather
swiftly.
The dark man set Doshin down on the seat and held him up until he could
keep his own balance, then said, "I must be blunt when I say that you are
getting old. Shadowfolds never made you dizzy when you were younger." He
stood up and rubbed his chin. "But I suppose getting beaten around by
that... creature may have had something to do with it." The crow hopped on
Doshin's shoulder and started pecking his head, but the dark man shooed it
away.
Doshin rubbed his face with his hands and groaned, "Where am I?"
The dark man stretched his arms and announced majestically, "Your humble
abode. It's not much, but its a place to hang your robe."
Doshin closed his eyes tight as he tried to recall an image--someone very
important. The thoughts wouldn't piece themselves together as quickly as
he would have liked, and he mumbled rapidly to himself until he finally
shouted, Miko! Is she alright?!"
The dark man patted him on the back. "Don't worry. I will take good care
of her."
Doshin stared at his former colleague with eyes full of panic. "Where is
she! I need to find...."
The dark man layed a hand on Doshin's and insisted, "Calm down, calm down.
I will take care of everything." He backed away, then raised a silencing
hand before Doshin could say something. "And if you are feeling up to it,
you may want to watch me battle the Emperor this mid-day. It would be a
shame if you miss it." At his final word, he became a shadow and dissolved
into the floor.
"But where is my daughter?!" Doshin quickly stood up to run to the door,
but his limbs were weaker than he expected and he collapsed to the floor.
HE shut his eyes and sobbed, "Please do not hurt her?"
* * * * *
Tan laughed, "You're joking, of course, Miko?" Miko's lips drew out in a
wide grin, almost making her spit out the rice she had practically
over-stuffed in her mouth. Tan looked at her curiously and rephrased his
question into: "You ARE joking?" Miko chewed and swallowed some of her
food before she felt confident enough to shake her head 'no'.
Tan stood over Ranma's shoulder with a lost look on his face. After
hesitating a few seconds while the initial shock of Miko's words faded, he
weakly pointed down at Ranma and sheepishly asked, almost whispering, "Do
you mean to tell me that this lad and that other red-headed girl are the
same person?" Miko nodded furiously, noticeably trying not to laugh.
Ranma sat hunched over in his chair with his arms folded tightly and his
brow furrowed in aggitation. He glared at Miko and grumbled, "This isn't
somethin I'm proud of, y'know. I don't go advertizin it to everyone I
meet." Miko pouted and shrugged apologetically.
Tan stood dumbstruck a few seconds longer, then glanced down and realized
Ranma's frustration. He nervously shuffled in place, then rested a hand on
his shoulder and stuttered, "I-I apologize for my rudeness. I-I didn't
mean to upset you, lad... uh... maam...."
Ranma groaned forcefully, "I'm a guy, okay!"
Tan took a step back and put both hands up defensively. "Pardon me. Of
course."
Ranma grumpily glanced at Tan, then glared at Miko once more and opened
his mouth to say something. Miko made her eyes shimmer with tears, hoping
to ask his forgiveness and avoid a lecture at the same time.
Tan, unaware of his customer's silent argument, composed himself and
unsteadily stated in Miko's direction, "I-I guess I shouldn't be surprised
to find that your guardian is a shapechanger--I've heard many tales of
spirits who changed their form...."
Miko shyly looked up at Tan and pursed her lips, trying not to giggle,
then pointed to Ranma, who was frowning and leaning on his elbow in
self-pity. Tan shifted his eyes back and forth from Miko to Ranma,
wondering what she was trying to tell him. Then it dawned on him--he was
trying to apologize to the wrong person!
He once again rested a hand on Ranma's shoulder and continued his speech
as if Miko had not interrupted him, "From what I've seen, your fighting is
inhumanly fast and effective... and awe-inspiring in itself..." Miko
nodded in full agreement. Ranma just sighed, finding the man's attempt at
flattery pathetic. Tan went on, "... also... from what I've... seen...
your body heals very quickly--I... um... the sword cuts you recieved
yesterday... are, um... I saw no scars... and in your... girl form, you
bear an uncanny resemblance to Miko.... So, you can understand that this
is not the first time you've surprised me." He nervously twiddled his
thumbs and waited to see if his feeble attempt at an apology was adequate
enough to make up for his thoughtless insult.
Ranma, still leaning on his elbow, waited a moment to see if Tan would say
anything more, then rolled his eyes upward and toned, "And your point is...?"
Tan started to sweat. He glanced around the room a bit, then stammered,
"What I mean is... that you are... a very astonishing person and... I
forgot my manners when Miko said that you were...."
Ranma decided he'd let the poor man off the hook. He smirked at Miko,
then said over his shoulder, "Hey, don't worry 'bout it. I get that
reaction alot." Tan slumped his shoulders and sighed in relief. Ranma
returned his gaze to Miko, who was glad to know that he wasn't angry with
her for telling his secret.
Tan, feeling the tension in the room lifting, crossed to the side of the
table and bowed. "May I refill your ricebowls?" Ranma and Miko looked at
the bowls in front of them, each less than half full; they both picked up
their chopsticks and quickly finished the contents (two seconds flat), then
handed the empty bowls to Tan, who joked, "That's another thing that
astounds me--your appetites." All three laughed.
As Tan was about to turn to leave, feeling that both his patrons were now
in good humor, he glanced at Ranma and praised, "Miko must be very special
to you if you carry around her visage as you do. She is very lucky to have
you as a protector." Miko closed her eyes and beemed with pride.
Ranma's smile instantly became a deep frown, and he slumped his shoulders
in defeat as thoughts of his conversation with the dark-robed wizard came
to mind. He looked like Miko because she WASN'T so lucky.
Tan was confused by Ranma's reaction. Had he once again said something
wrong? He wasn't sure. In case he WAS adding insult to injury, he turned
and quietly headed for the kitchen.
Miko, who had been happily revelling in her own thoughts, had not
witnessed the uneasy event. When she heard footsteps moving away, she
quickly snapped herself out of her daze and, just as Tan was almost through
the door, she called, "Tan, wait."
Tan turned around and the two stared at each other for a moment while Miko
played with her pigtail and tried to think of something to say. She was
really enjoying his company and didn't want him to leave--especially since
their conversation helped her to ignore the tiny voice in the back of her
mind that kept relaying the dark-robed stranger's forboding words. She sat
up straighter when she did think of something important she'd been meaning
to ask since her guardian carried her into the inn--something very curious.
She looked around the room and asked, "Where are all your customers? This
place is usually full by now."
Tan seemed shocked that she would ask such a question. He took a step
back out of the doorway and explained, "Earlier this morning, just before
dawn, there was another whirlwind--like the one that appeared over by the
springs a little further down the mountain. I didn't see it myself, but a
few people I managed to find told me it picked up near the Emperor's
palace. The whole town's scared and hiding--they say it's an evil omen. I
don't expect to get many customers today. Until you two came along, I was
considering not opening at all." Miko stared at him in wide-eyed confusion.
Tan continued with less certainty in his words, "I assumed, by all your
scratches and bruises, that you were unfortunately close to the disturbance
when it occured." He paused uneasily, then began to look worried. "I hope
your protector knows what he's doing--letting you come here to eat in your
condition. Not that I'm questioning his wisdom...." Tan, having more and
more trouble with his words, decided to exit to the kitchen before he said
something that might offend her guardian again. He called back before
shutting the door, "It might be a good idea to let your father look at
those wounds, Miko."
Miko nodded dumbly, still wondering about what he said about a 'whirlwind'
and 'evil omen'--what was all that about? She shrugged, then rolled up her
sleeves and studied the series of scars on her arms--no serious cuts, but
it did look bad and her skin did sting a little. She sighed and considered
aloud, "Maybe I SHOULD let Father have a look at my wounds.... It would be
kind of silly if, after everything I've been through the past few days, I
should die from an infection." She started to giggle, but she stopped
herself cold when she realized what she had just said.
She quickly rolled down her sleeves and sputtered, "I didn't mean it like
that, I...." When she faced her guardian, she paused, realizing that he
looked depressed. With rapidly-growing worry, she asked, "Guardian Spirit,
are you alright?"
"Hm?" Ranma looked up as if just noticing her presence--he hadn't been
paying attention to what she said. For several moments, they just stared
at each other in silence, each seeing something in the other's eyes that
bordered on deep concern.
They were both about to break the silence at the same time when they heard
a feminine voice crying from outside, "Cutie! Is that you?"
Ranma went pale when he turned and saw a familiar soft-featured, doe-eyed
brunette peering through one of the unshuttered windows by the exit. "Oh
no. Where did SHE come from?"
"Hn?" Miko blinked her eyes in confusion and shifted her gaze between her
guardian to the strange girl. "Who...."
Ranma stood up and took Miko's arm. "C'mon, we hafta get outa here."
Miko winced and pulled her arm back when he accidentally squeezed a
bruise. She narrowed her eyes at Ranma as she rubbed her arm. "What's the
hurry? Who...." Then she remembered where she had seen the girl's face
before--in the emperor's palace.
Komiki burst through the front door with her arms spread wide and cried,
"Cutie! You're alive!" Ranma froze, sure it was too late to run.
Miko, startled to see a nearly-naked girl rushing STRAIGHT TOWARD HER,
tried to jump from her chair to get out of her path, but her muscles were
still very sore and she could hardly bring herself to stand. When the
harem girl suddenly threw her arms around her shoulders and lifted her to
standing, she closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, imaging all of the
tender muscles in her upper body screaming at once.
However, to Miko's surprise, she felt no pain--in fact, the girl's arms
glided comfortably across her skin like silk. Miko, still holding her
breath, blinked her eyes open just as the harem girl kissed her full on the
lips. Miko's eyes flew wide in shock and she momentarily lost all control
of her motor functions.
Ranma was standing rigidly with his eyes closed, expecting to be glommed
at any second--but the glom never came. When he suspected something was
wrong, he slowly opened his eyes, then gasped when he saw Miko and Komiki
engaged in a deep, passionate kiss--well, Komiki seemed passionate while
Miko seemed more comatose.
After a while, Komiki also suspected something was wrong. Without
unlocking her lips from Miko, she opened her eyes and hummed questionably.
After another few seconds, she disengaged the redhead, gently set her back
into her chair, and stated quizzically, "That's not my Cutie." Miko stared
sightlessly into nothing and slumped in her chair.
Ranma took a nervous step back as Komiki took a step toward him; she gazed
deeply into his eyes and tilted her head to the side while she considered
something. Before Ranma had sense enough to take another step back, the
harem girl had latched herself onto his chest and buried her head in his
neck, bubbling, "Cutie! I didn't know you were a man too!" Ranma
gasped--how the heck did she know! (CUTE VOICE: Woman's intuition.) Before
Ranma could raise any kind of protest, Komiki aggressively threw her lips
over his.
Miko, regaining some coherency, slowly brought her hand to her mouth,
still able the feel the pressure the girl had applied. She shifted her
zombie-like gaze from the wall to her hand, then the kissing duo across the
table. Shocked, she slid completely out of her chair and onto the floor
with a thud.
"Hn?" When Komiki finally heard the sound, she turned and saw the
red-haired girl lying on the ground nearly under the table. She quickly
stepped away from Ranma when, just as suddenly as she had made this
discovery, the kitchen door opened and a tall, brawny man in drab, gray
clothes stepped into the room carrying two steaming bowls of rice.
As Tan stepped through the doorway, he asked, "Are you two alright in
here? I thought I heard noises...." His eyes instantly fixed on the
strange, new, dark-haired girl in the room, but he quickly turned his head
away when he realized that she was barely dressed.
Komiki stared meekly at the tall man for a few moments, unsure what to
make of him or if he was dangerous. When she felt safe enough, she let her
eyes wander away from him so she could see if the red-haired girl was hurt.
"Hn?" She quickly looked around the room and found that both the girl and
her Cutie were nowhere to be seen. She pouted and sighed deeply in
disappointment.
Tan, his eyes still turned away in embarrassment, asked unsteadily, "I-I'm
sorry, i-is there something I can do for you?"
Komiki stopped pouting and placed her hands over her stomach when her eyes
focused on the bowls of rice he was carrying.
* * * * *
Ranma cradled Miko in his arms as he jumped out of the second story window
of the inn and ran down the cobbled road out of town. Miko was still
unresponsive and seemed barely aware of her surroundings; her arms hung
limply at her side and she drooled out of the side of her mouth.
Ranma stopped just outside of town and asked, "Miko, are you alright?"
She just gurgled an answer. He felt a pang of worry, but he understood
what a tramatic experience it could be to be kissed by someone of the same
sex. (NOTE: When Mikado kissed Ranma-chan in 'Martial Arts Figure Skating'.)
He was about to set Miko on the ground when he glanced up at the sun--it
was nearly mid-morning! "Ga!" _Did we really spend THAT much time in
there eating?_ Something the dark-robed guy said came to mind--he was
going to fight the emperor at the rice field around noon. He had to find
the rice field!
He rapidly turned his head in all directions, hoping the rice field would
magically appear before his eyes. He then looked down at Miko and asked,
"Which way do I go to get to the rice field?" Miko gazed in his general
direction--actually, some point over his left shoulder--and slowly pointed
a finger away from the town, more in the direction of the Jusenkyo springs.
Ranma nodded, then sprinted off.
* * * * *
After taking a few more vague directions from Miko after he reached the
familiar multitude of cursed pools, directions that led him through a small
part of the jungle into a vast, open field, he reached a low hill
overlooking the rice field, which was situated on the far side of a wide,
gently-sloping valley resting at the foot of three more, steeper hills.
Looking down from the hills, it was easy to imagine the whole valley
turning into a small lake after a storm--however, the basin was only
moderately flooded now, even though there was a heavy rain only two nights
ago. There were few trees in the valley, and even fewer on the hills,
allowing the sun to warm the ground unhindered--the valley was still pure,
lush grassland, but the hilltops were beginning to show some erosion.
Ranma guessed that whoever worked the fields would have to be near-baked by
the end of the day.
He looked across the valley to make sure no one was down there--he had to
keep an eye out for the dark-robed guy, the Emperor, or whoever it was that
was supposed to have that goofy-looking statue--then he gently laid Miko on
the grass and crouched down beside her. She was still unresponsive and
staring blankly into space.
"Hey Miko, you alright? You've been like that for a long time now."
Ranma poked her in the arm a few times, then waved his hand in front of her
face; she moaned distantly in acknowledgement and took a swallow of her own
spit, so Ranma thought she might finally be coming out of her coma. (That
was a good thing, right?)
After a few more moments, she slowly brought her limp, right hand to her
mouth and started bouncing it in front of her face. Ranma was puzzled by
this until he started hearing her mumble something softly, although the
words were too slurred to make out. He brought his head closer to hers and
listened carefully. Her lips started moving, and she muttered the word
'kiss' twice, but her voice was so quiet that Ranma wasn't sure he heard
her right. He craned his head even closer. She dropped her arm back to
her side and muttered what Ranma heard as 'kiss me'. Ranma froze and a
shiver ran up his spine.
He wasn't totally opposed to the idea--as much as he hated mushy stuff.
He liked her alot, and he had a strong feeling she liked him moreso, but he
wasn't sure it would be right to kiss her. Not that Akane would find out
about it--she'd probably never speak to him again if she did. A part of
him that had been adventuring with her through Jusenkyo for the past three
days felt very close to her, whether it because of compassion, respect or
something more, but he wasn't sure he should.... But she was asking him,
wasn't she, and she did seem to 'need'... something--maybe the kiss would
somehow bring her out of her trance like a sleeping beauty.
Their faces only inches apart, Ranma whispered, "Are you sure?" Miko,
retaining her sightless gaze, muttered the same faint words: 'kiss me'.
Ranma sighed nervously, "If you really want me to... I mean... if you think
I should...."
He drew his head back a bit and took her whole face into his view. Her
mouth lay partly open as if in waiting, and foaming saliva her lips
sparkled inticingly in the sunlight. Her expression was that of an animal
that had been hit by a car and left on the side of the road, but her
features were still soft and Ranma still thought she was cute--maybe
alittle more.
For the more he looked at her, the more beautiful she did seem to him and
the more his tension eased. He felt a need to kiss her, and he hoped he
could live with that thought if he ever saw Akane again--he had considered
kissing someone else. Staring into her soft blue eyes, he slowly and
gently lowered his mouth to hers.
Suddenly, Miko screamed, "ACK! Gross!" Ranma instantly jumped back in
terror, his chest heaving wildly.
Miko was writhing on the ground like a grounded fish and rapidly wiping
her hands against her mouth and spitting as she shouted, "Ew! Ew! She
kissed me! Ew! I'm gonna be sick! Another girl...! Ew! Ew! Germs!
Get it off! *gag gag*"
Ranma stared at her wide-eyed in shock, realizing he misinterpretted her
words and almost made a mistake, but he felt relieved that she wasn't mad
at him.
Miko rolled to her hands and knees and continued spitting on the ground
while clutching her throat. "*gag* ...kissed me... gonna be sick... *cough
cough*" (CHEF'S NOTE: In short, she was coughing up a hairball.) (CUTE
VOICE: *laugh*)
She seemed to calm down a bit after several more coughing fits, but then
she started crying. She clutched her chest, lowered her head, and began
steadily weeping. Tears just seemed to spring to the surface of her
cheeks. She sobbed, "She kissed me... how... dare...."
Ranma, unmoving and unthinking, muttered, "Aren't you overreacting, Miko?
Ya were only kissed by another girl. It's not like...."
Miko looked up through her shimmering eyes and gave him a cold stare that
made him wince as if threatened by Akane's mallet. She yelled, "How would
you like it if your first kiss was another man?!"
When Ranma winced again, Miko suddenly softened up. Looking infinitely
sad, she stated, "I'm sorry," and crawled over to her guardian spirit. "I
didn't mean it." She reached out to him, but stopped herself and settled
on the ground. She looked down and started absently plucking blades of
grass from the ground. "I'm not mad at you..." She cluched a big wad of
grass and tore it from the ground, continuing, "not unless you were kissing
that... girl on purpose!"
Ranma moved back and started waving his hands in front of himself,
claiming, "No! It wasn't like that. She just... and I... didn't get away
in time...."
Miko nodded, but didn't look up. "Don't worry. I understand." Ranma
almost gasped in shock and relief, unaccustomed as he was to actually being
believed. Miko looked up and pursed her lips, trying to hold back another
sob, and stated, "I was just hoping... that my first kiss... could be
yours..." She looked downcast again and laughed weakly, "and I had... a
faint hope... that I could be your first too."
Ranma tried to smile and laugh, but he failed miserably. She wouldn't
have been the first--he shivered at the thought. As he thought about it,
he remembered something that Nabiki said to him after... his first
kiss--and although it may not have been the most appropriate thing to say,
it was the best thing he could think of. He half-smiled and said, "Y'know,
it doesn't really count if it was a girl--I mean... the kiss."
Miko looked up again, this time hopeful, athough not smiling. "You really
think so?" Ranma nodded sincerely. Miko thought about it a while, then
said, "Maybe you're right." Ranma felt relieved that his nod was sincere
enough.
Miko crawled up to Ranma and stared longingly into his eyes. Ranma felt a
bead of sweat form on the side of his head--he just realized he had
practically invited her to kiss him.
But instead of claiming her prize, she whispered, "Hold me." Ranma gulped
and started to shiver. Miko waited for him to respond, but when he didn't
do anything, she hissed forcefully, "Hold me."
Ranma, suddenly afraid for his life, wrapped his arms around Miko's
shoulders and pulled her close. Miko almost cried out in pain when her
bruised skin, however protected by two layers of clothing (hers and his),
collided with his; but she found his embrace well worth a momentary
discomfort, and she gently laid her head on his chest. Feeling safe and
secure, she allowed all of the muscles in her body to relax--and they
didn't feel as sore anymore.
She yawned into his shoulder and said, "Can you please lie down with me?
I'm very tired but I don't want to let go." Ranma, unsure at that point
whether it would be wise to hesitate or disobey, laid down on the soft
grass. Miko yawned again, then whispered, I'm sorry... I yelled at you."
and calmly fell asleep.
Ranma looked up at the sun--it was alittle past mid-morning, he guessed.
It would still be a while before the fight. It would probably be a good
idea to get some rest as well. He looked down at Miko's innocent,
soft-featured, slightly-scratched face and smiled--he would find a way to
save her. He brought a hand up to Miko's head to shield her face from the
sunlight.
* * * * *
Chun-Mae and nearly a dozen ex-harem girls cautiously followed the cobbled
road into the town Miko and Ranma had fled from. Most of the girls stood
back to back (in pairs), circling each other as they eyed the strange
wooden buildings.
"This place is creepy, Mistress," one girl whimpered as she clinged onto
the said empress's arm like a frightened child.
"Where is everyone? Shouldn't there be... people... in a place like
this?" The speaker clung to the back of another girl who was too
frightened to speak for herself.
Chun-Mae folded her arms, entangling the arm of the girl by her side, and
scanned the buildings along the road. "Hmmm. There should be. I think
they might all be merely hiding in their dwellings."
The girl at her side nodded. "I saw a few peeking from behind the doors
further back."
Chun-Mae turned to a few of the more level-headed girls and asked, "Are
you sure this is where Komiki said she'd be?" The girls nodded in unison.
One of the same girls asked, "Where are we, Mistress?"
Before she could answer, the door to a large, two-story building further
up the road opened and Komiki danced out. She waved, shouting gleefully,
"I've found food and rooms to stay in!" She jumped up and down a few
times, then ran back inside.
Chun-Mae smiled and started walking forward. "This is our new home--for
now. Joketsoku, I believe it is called. They should consider posting a
sign."
All the girls looked at each other, then followed their mistress.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(CHEF'S NOTE: NO! It can't be! Hahahahahahahaha...! It's just TOO
MUCH...! Hahahahahahahahahaha...!) (CUTE VOICE: Hn??? What so funny
Spatula Girl?) (CHEF'S NOTE: Sham... *snicker snicker* Hahahahahahahaha...!
Do you mean... *snicker* does this mean... that the mighty Amazons of
Shampoo's village... *faulter* were originally... LESBIANS! Hahahahaha...!
That sure explains alot!)
(CUTE VOICE: What! You stupid Spatula Girl! He no say that!) (CHEF'S
NOTE: *pffft* No. But he sure as well implied it! Hahahahahahahaha...!)
(CUTE VOICE: WHAT?!?! You no know what you talk about!)
(CHEF'S NOTE: So how 'bout it, Chief. Did I guess right? Hmmmm?) (CUTE
VOICE: It not true! Right, Wheelchair Boy?! .... Right!)
Uhhhhh.... *clear throat* Would you two please go clear the stage for the
final part of this production? I'm going to start the script right away.
(CHEF'S NOTE: *smirk* I thought you said this chapter would be the final
part.) I... um... well... the ending was more complicated that I thought
it'd be. (CHEF'S NOTE: Uh huh. Oh well.... Quality can't be rushed.
C'mon, Shampoo, it's your turn to do the lights. *pull by arm*) (CUTE
VOICE: Wait! He no answer Shampoo! It no true, is it?) Hmmm... and could
you get out all the special effects equipment we talked about, Ukyou?
(CHEF'S NOTE: No problem. C'mon Shampoo, it's your turn to get the
explosives out of storage. *pull by arm*) (CUTE VOICE: Wait! Why you no
answer question, Stupid Wheelchair Boy!) Uhhhh.... (CUTE VOICE: WELL???)
!BONK!
Uh... thanks, Ukyou. She's okay, isn't she? (CHEF'S NOTE: Lemme check.
*poke poke* Hey, Shampoo... I didn't hit ya too hard, did I?) (CUTE VOICE:
*gurgle* St..t....rl...) (CHEF'S NOTE: She'll be fine. .... *drag across
floor* Now c'mon, Shampoo, I'll let you sleep a few hours before we start,
okay?)
Phew. I hope she's in a better mood when she wakes up.
*clear throat* Well, as you can see, I'm going to have an eighth chapter
after all. Chapter seven ran longer than I thought it would--alot longer.
I'm not a very organized writer. I just start by making a bunch of
problems and raising a bunch of questions, then spend the rest of the story
trying like hell to answer the questions or solve the problems. I couldn't
have answered all the questions in chapter seven, so I decided I needed a
chapter eight--I have a tendency of making things more complicated than
they need to be anyway. Oh well. I'm sure anyone who appreciates the
story doesn't mind.
See ya next time. Shie shie.