Memories (a Ranma 1/2-with-cameos! fanfic)
by Nikholas "Mayhem" F. Toledo
The Ranma 1/2 Universe was created and therefore owned by Rumiko
Takahashi, Viz Communications and Shogakukan. If you do own Ranma and I
have failed to mention you, that is because I am not worthy to even write
your name since you are really incredible people and earn a million
dollars just to write up the characters in the Ranma 1/2 title. I would
also declare that I will not get a single cent from this work and that I
am only doing this to pass away time and for my own personal artistic
fulfillment.
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|Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!|
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Chapter Nine
The quiet before the storm
The clock ticked hollowly throughout the empty expanse of the
library. The musty silence of the shelves bore witness to the annals of
human history. The dying screams and glorious hymns of humanity, his
dreams and nightmares, triumphs and defeats, collected and compiled and
sorted.
There was a handful of people in the library, scattered among the
oak tables and cushioned chairs, each minding their own business.
They were effectively alone.
The pendulum swung quietly in its small universe, ending a cycle
and beginning another.
"Ah, excuse me. Are you using that book?" Tom Swift asked quietly,
trying very hard to ignore the fact that this girl (a cute one, at that)
was staring at him as if he were some kind of weird but interesting
scientific phenomenon (he meant that in a good way).
A few seconds passed by in silence.
Tom chose to talk again. Knowing that he needed to adapt to the
local culture, he picked carefully his next few words. In California, he
would have asked at what she was staring at. But, in Japan...
"Is there dirt on my face?" He smiled in such a way as not to
produce embarrassment. He was surprised when the girl blushed.
"Oh, have I been staring all this time?" she replied in perfect
English. "Sorry about that, I thought that you looked like someone I used
to know." She smiled. "Surprised, aren't you? It would be better for me
to practice my English, since it is a required subject here. I need all
the practice I could get." She reached downward to pick up the book.
Tom ventured, "You must be Ami Mizuno."
Ami straightened up with a start, hitting her head on the edge of
the table. Rubbing the sore spot on her head, she asked, "How did you -?"
Tom simply smiled. "It says so right here on your notebook," he
indicated the blue lettering attached to the said notebook. "There was a
significant chance that this notebook actually belongs to you and, since
there was even greater chance that the name on the front page belonged to
the owner of that notebook, unless, of course, that was the name of a
local star or famous person (some people do that) - I put two and two
together, and your reaction to my statement was proof of the fact that
your name is indeed Ami Mizuno."
He noticed her giggling and stopped his runaway train of thought.
"Oh, have I been speaking in jargon? Sorry 'bout that. Sometimes I think
that I'm talking to someone of my intellectual..." He was about to say
"level" but managed to stop himself in time.
He winced internally. "Gosh, that sounded bad. She might think that
I'm some kind of geek, or at least an egomaniac." He berated himself,
even more so when Ami stopped laughing, thinking that he had lost his
chance to take a peek at that book. "What the heck do I do now?"
If Ami did know what Tom was going to say, she took no notice of
it. "What if I were 'some people' and the name on the notebook was not
mine or, even more likely, that that notebook did not belong to me but to
someone else instead, what would you have done?"
Tom thought for a while. "I would have asked your name, then." He
paused, thinking. "Was I wrong? Are you not Ami Mizuno?"
"No, I'm actually Sailor Mercury, the intelligent (and beautiful)
Sailor Senshi, sworn to protect love and beauty wherever (and whenever)
evil should strike." She said it in this strange way that made you think
that it was true (most probably, because it was).
His jaw dropped at her rather tangential (at least from his
viewpoint) statement. "I... I'm sorry, but I don't think you look like -"
"No, no," she giggled. "It was a joke, all right? I didn't expect
you to believe that. Listen, if I were Sailor Mercury, would I be telling
my secret identity to any stranger, particularly this blond guy in front
of me, who has secret desires to see what the book I hold in my hand
contains?"
"Well... What if you really are Sailor Mercury and you just
pretended to be someone else that looked like any normal high school
student saying that she was Sailor Mercury, and denying it in such a way
as to make further conversation along that topic impossible, or at least
laughable, letting the ordinariness of her character speak for itself?"
"Because that's the same reason that Clark Kent could go around
joking that he was Superman (and he is) and no one would take him
seriously, because he looked like an ordinary mild-mannered reporter and
not a muscled man of steel. You're trying to deny a point by proving that
that point is true in a seemingly solid foundation of logic but however
built on a bank of wet sand that would cause the entire structure to
fall, if one simply looked beyond the obvious."
The two stared each other in gridlock.
Ami was the first to speak once again. "Well, if I were Sailor
Mercury, what would you do then?"
"I would have asked your real name then, Miss blue-green-haired-
girl-pretending-to-be-Ami-Mizuno-pretending-to-be-Sailor-Mercury," he
smiled.
Ami returned the smile. "You're pretty good at these mind games,
too. I could never beat -" She caught herself in mid-sentence. "Well, it
seems that we are back to square one. Let's call it a truce, then?"
"No more messy conspiracy theories or logic flaws or jargon," he
grinned, "at least for now."
"I can handle your jargon anytime." She sighed and reached out her
hand, "yes, you were right, I am Ami Mizuno - your logic flow was
excellent in coming to that deduction."
He shook the proffered hand in greeting. "And I'm Tom Swift."
But Ami's wasn't listening. She did not have to. "I know, Tom," she
whispered softly to herself. "I know..."
Lights flared on in the Furinkan High sub-basement. Instead of a
musty room filled with old and useless stuff, they revealed a
sophisticated command and control center equipped with cutting edge
technology. Computers, TV screens, and other weird equipment with
flashing lights waited patiently for the user to twist their knobs and
press their keys. It was enough to make any technogeek nosebleed in envy.
It was the real control center of the Cappuccino Consortium, the
*unrevealed* information headquarters of the school. Only a handful of
people have even seen this room, and a majority of the digits were
quietly delighting in the glow of the cathode ray screens.
"It's so nice to be back here, not like the Kendo Club Dojo," the
man known only as the Organizer relaxed in the comfortable Command Chair.
There was a section in the Consortium charter that called for the sharing
of resources of all the clubs who signed. "Only united can we, the
concerned clubs of Furinkan, slay the cursed conjurer of the ebon arts,
Ranma Saotome." (That part was made by Kuno, a diplomatic sacrifice to
make the Kendo Club happy.)
But it did not say *all* the resources. Kuno put more emphasis on
the words rather than their meaning, and the Chem Club's total resources
remained to be secret.
"Like what I told you, letting Kuno into the Consortium was a great
boost to us. The fool could be maneuvered in a thousand and one ways." He
noticed that the other person in the room wasn't listening. "Hey, I'm
talking here!"
The Adviser stood bent over the computer keyboard, deep in thought.
"Did the club double-check the 'D' equipment? I have a feeling that
there's something wrong in the equipment package we installed in the
Kendo Club Dojo. It could be the chi sensors or the audio amplifiers, I'm
not so sure..."
The Organizer sat smugly in his chair. "But, in the current
situation, they aren't vital equipment. At any other time, the chi
sensors would have been essential. However, with Ranma's current fighting
ability, the sensors would be next to useless. Ranma's chi signatures are
next to null right now."
"But, what if..."
The Organizer cut him off with a wave of his hand. "You worry to
much. If you want, compare the readings on the 'D' equipment with those
on the primary and secondary sensor array. They would match, I'm sure."
The Adviser threw up his hands in surrender. "Okay, you win."
He glanced over the control panel with a look of admiration. "Well,
thanks to the additional communications equipment we borrowed from the
journalism club, we can monitor the attack via remote control from this
secret location without anyone looking for us. I still don't trust the
apparatus we set up with the other clubs in the Dojo. They could have
damaged it without knowing -"
There was a rush of movement as the Organizer jumped to his feet.
He gasped out loud. "My God! I don't believe it." With a shaking finger,
he pointed on one of the monitors. "Maybe you're right! Triple-check all
the equipment, now! The alarms should be going off at full blast!"
The screen showed Happosai crawling around the bushes next to the
gym. It was the Adviser's turn to look smug. "I assure you, the sensors
are working properly."
"But, Happosai-"
He cut him off with a wave of his hand and paused for awhile,
enjoying the way the Organizer sweated in his chair. "That's the one I've
been telling you about. He would be the one to deal with Miss Hinako when
we attack."
As he spoke, the pervert on the screen took out a silky
handkerchief and twirled it around him. After the handkerchief had
stopped twirling, the old pervert had turned into an ordinary looking kid
with a camera, giving victory signs for the benefit of the viewers in the
room.
"Mr. Organizer, I would like you to meet Copycat Ken, the master of
disguise."
It could be safely said that Mikado Sanzenin had had a very boring
day. In fact, the entire student body of Kolkhoz High echoed the same
sentiments.
Everyone felt that there was something missing, which could be
explained by the fact that the other member of the only-once-defeated
Golden Pair of Martial Arts Skating was currently in jail, and unloading
the prescribed amount of wails and cries to the besieged police force of
Nerima.
Needless to say, everyone welcomed the breathing space.
It's not that Azusa was bad. She was sometimes very nice and cute,
and even had a small following of hardcore fans who treated her like a
goddess. But, with the devastating loss of her cute pig Charlotte, her
desire for cute stuff had deteriorated from something a little less than
a nuisance into something that looked a lot like Dracula's want for
blood.
Everyday, she ran around the school, carrying a small dictionary of
names, as she was picking up cuties at a faster rate that she could name
them. In the afternoon, a small truck would pick up her loot, driven by
the ever-apologizing Shiratori butler (with the British accent). But now,
the Kolkhozians were assured that the raiding would not come today.
All of that was ending now as, above the normal school din, the
wails and cries of angry women were heard. Everyone fled, each fearing
the return of Azusa, the harbinger of doom to all cute things who seemed
determined enough to take away everything that wasn't tied to the ground.
Only one man, who was used to the shrieks and cries of women,
stayed behind. Mikado Sanzenin knew only one type of womanly scream, that
directed in abject adoration towards him.
"Ah! At last. My fans have arrived!" He stood at the gates of the
school, crying out to the growing cloud of dust in the horizon. "Please,
will everyone just gently fall in line. There's enough of me for
everybody." He took out a pen with which to write his autographs, just as
the first batch of fans turned around the corner.
Happosai raced up and used Mikado's head as a springboard.
Behind him, a Sailor Senshi fired Love Me Chains at an alarming
rate, blasting everything that got in the way between her and the
pervert.
Behind Sailor Venus, an angry horde of women with pitchforks
marched through, determined to beat the old panty thief to a bloody pulp.
And, behind all of them, an armored tank battalion rumbled through
the school grounds, obstinate in the hope that they would succeed where
their American counterparts had failed.
The mob ravaged on to other things. Kolkhoz High was completely
leveled to the ground. Broken water mains spouted water all around. Only
the skating rink was left intact.
And Mikado's ego.
He smiled on the ground. "Women," he chuckled. "They can never have
enough of me," he said before he passed out.
Witnesses later said that it was Mikado's inflated ego that saved
him, much like an airbag in a car would function.
Captain Gloval sat uneasily at the command chair of the Eisenhower,
watching the seemingly random movements of the rest of the people in the
bridge. There was a war going on, and he had found himself, once again,
in the exact middle of everything.
And he thought that the next few days were going to be quite
relaxing.
"Sir, the hourly news report on the chase is coming in. Would you
want it projected on the main screen?"
Gloval slowly lit his pipe. "Yes, please do so." There was tension
in his voice. This was going to be pretty bad...
The main view screen showed a scene of unimaginable horrors.
There was this group of geeky kids dancing around with a large
purple dinosaur.
Quite a few people fell to the floor writhing in pain. "MAKE IT
STOP! MAKE IT STOP!" the hapless people screamed.
"Oops... Wrong channel..." A switch was flicked, and the screen
showed Happosai followed by a large cloud of dust. There was a lot more
of chaos in the news report, but it was infinitely better than the
dinosaur.
Gloval swiftly regained his composure (all captains are required to
recover their composure in the least amount of time). He asked, "so where
is the mob headed?"
A small map of Tokyo appeared at the lower half of the screen.
"Sir, the monster is reportedly heading to the Nerima district.
Incidentally, this was his calculated point of origin -"
He stood up in alarm. "The Admiral! Wasn't he going to Nerima?"
The impact of his words silenced the busy clatter of the bridge.
"Sir!" Lisa Hayes broke the silence. She staggered through the
bridge hatchway, still very much in shock with the early morning monster
attack. Captain Gloval made her sit in the command chair to weather the
spell of dizziness.
Weakly, she took out a sheet of paper from her pocket. "I have an
idea."
Minutes later, the flight deck was filled with the drone of
aircraft.
Ukyo stepped out of the darkness of the Furinkan High School
corridors and into the sunshine, but inside, she felt that she was still
in the dark.
Her mind was in turmoil, conflicting ideas wrestled in her head.
The warm breezes of the afternoon were no comfort. She sighed, "and I
thought that this was going to be a wonderful day..."
The wind blew throughout the empty grounds. She walked slowly to
the front gate. She found that she couldn't endure the rest of the school
day, especially with Ranma sitting to the left of her chair...
Tears came softly to her eyes. "Why..." she sobbed, trying to hold
the tears back but to no avail, "why does it have to be this way...?"
She had always dreamed of kissing Ranma. It was an irony that, not
so long ago, the thought of kissing him was a sign of sure madness. There
was no love, only a pure and raging hate that consumed her whole.
That raging feeling of hate filled her life, from the moment that
the yatai disappeared in the horizon. Ranma and his father not only stole
the family business, but also all her chances for a happy future. The
cart was all that their family had, and a pair of hungry stomachs took it
all away.
She had kept it all this time, her anger fueling her study of the
martial arts, to train against the raging seas. She had kept it all,
waking up each day thinking that this day would be the one where she
would get her revenge, anger making her go through each hardship of the
day, and putting her to sleep at night, where she would be filled with
dreams where Ranma dies in the end.
She had died when they left her, now it was his turn.
And it took just two words to turn years of amassed angst into pure
and unconditional love.
"You're cute," he said.
That single sentence melted through the walls she had erected
around herself and made her feel stirrings in the heart that she thought
were gone. It was as if she had lived in the darkness for so long that
she had forgotten what it was like to be in the light.
Those simple words sent her reeling through several planes of
ecstasy. She loved him! She loved him all this time and she never knew.
She loved him enough to hate him. She loved him enough to die for his
sake.
She began to think life in a new way.
She had her childhood, but Ranma ate it up.
She had her hate, but Ranma turned it into love.
All she had left was love - and that love filled every core of her
being.
But it's gone now, and nothing's left.
She sighed.
Why did she slap Ranma? She did not know.
Because she had expected Ranma to be afraid? Because she
anticipated Ranma's hesitation? Because he would think that it was her
first kiss and deserved to be somewhere special (not in the guy's
bathroom)? Or, was it...?
Because it wasn't Ranma's fault. For it wasn't Ranma she kissed
there. It was a different face she saw in that bathroom. A face that she
hated the same way she hated Ranma once.
A person that she wanted to...
A person that she would...
It was all his fault.
Because it wasn't her first kiss anymore.
Because he... That morning... Dr. Tofu's...
And she slapped Ranma for it?!?
Oh, Ranchan!
A sob forced its way to her lips, where minutes ago the one she
loved had touched her in a tender caress.
She knew then that she had lost him, forever.
The yatai curved down the bend of the road, a trail of dust marking
where it passed.
The bathroom door slammed in Ukyo's face, the hard thump dying on
the bathroom tiles.
He was gone now, just like before. But this time, there was no
hate.
Only a vast emptiness greeted her like a yawning pit, an emptiness
devoid of feelings.
She had died again that afternoon. A dark hole was all that was
left where her soul used to be.
There's nothing left. Nothing. No love. No hate. Nothing.
Except a boundless ocean of tears.
just tears...
tears...
...
"..."
The silence echoed throughout the empty corridors of Furinkan. But
no one was there to hear it, all of the students being kept behind locked
doors, frantically battling boredom, but to no avail. Out of the hundreds
that went to school everyday, only one heard the sound of silence.
Ranma stood with his back to the wall, carrying a small bucket of
water. The quietness of the corridor did little to calm the inner turmoil
he felt. Anger pelted his soul like torrents of rain in a hurricane.
Anger that flooded his being like a raging river. Anger that desperately
tried to cover an undercurrent of helplessness.
He gazed at his reflection on the water surface. On a regular day,
he could have carried four large buckets of water in each hand filled to
the brim with water. And that would have been just for fun. Why if he
wanted he could...
He sighed. Remembering what he could do just a few hours ago was
doing nothing to his current situation. "Drat, I knew that I shouldn't
have gotten out of bed. Maybe I lost my spleen or some martial arts
strength organ or something."
That morning, he was at his top form, at the pinnacle of years of
experience in the martial arts. Now, he was not even as strong as a
seven-year-old kid - maybe, six.
Six - he was six when he first met Ukyo. They got to know each
other because Ranma would always steal okonomiyaki from their cart. And
she would always try to beat him to a pulp. But he always won, because he
was stronger...
Stronger... That word did not apply to him anymore. Weakling was a
better word, an angry weakling.
Friend... that word did not apply to Ukyo anymore. Traitor... now
that was a better word.
Why? Because she wasn't there when he needed her.
Because she slapped him out of no reason at all.
"Why, Ukyo? Why? Did you love me just because I was stronger than
you? Did you love me just for that?"
His cries remained unanswered.
"I thought you really cared for me. I thought that you would be the
one to understand. Shampoo has those stupid tribal laws to think about.
Kodachi's <shiver>. And Akane..." He stopped, not daring to think.
"Because I'm weak, is that it? Is that it, Ukyo? Is that it?" He
cackled insanely. "Well, you're a dummy. All of you are dummies! I don't
care what you think! I don't need you! I don't need all of-"
His voice choked. His knees felt weak. Desperately, he looked for
something or someone who could support him, someone who would agree with
him.
The silence only mocked him even more.
He slumped back. There was nothing, there was no one.
The world jeered at him in the space between two thoughts.
His pop calling him a loser...
His mom calling him a girl...
Ukyo slapping him over and over again...
Kuno spouting words of victory...
Ryoga stealing his lunch...
The old woman on the street grinning grotesquely at him...
More faces appeared from the crowd, jeering and laughing at him
like some caged animal - because he was really caged.
There was nowhere to run. There was nowhere to hide. Nowhere from
the mad mad world that laughed and laughed and laughed...
A grim determination crept across his face. "I'm going to be strong
again," he proclaimed. "No matter what it takes, I'm going to regain my
strength. And then you're all going to pay. All of you." There was an
insane gleam in his eye. "No matter what it takes..."
The cold water inside the bucket rippled invitingly.
Soun sat quietly at the head of the dining table, gazing
thoughtfully over the muddy wreck of the koi pond.
The garden was a mess. The grass was trampled over, most of the
bushes uprooted, and there was this large ugly brown gash that passed
through the center of the pond that marked the passage of the largest yet
agglomeration of living things united against the master.
No, he recalled, smiling at the fond memory. There was a much much
larger one long ago when he and...
The ruined garden, the warm breeze, the sunshine filtering through
the leaves of the large oak tree at the southwestern part of the garden,
vied for his attention. He stepped out into the outside, feeling the way
the wind blew through his young face, a man at the peak of happiness.
He gazed around the lawn. Weeds grew everywhere. With a few years'
work, they could restore it to its former glory. He had seen that garden
in full bloom once not so long ago when he and...
The twinkling lights of the garden, the cool breeze ruffling the
leaves of the young oak tree at the far side of the garden called out to
him in an intoxicating rhythm of sight and sound, making him forget
Nabiki's warning.
He slipped away from the rest of the crowd and crept up on one of
the stones that surrounded the koi pond. The yellow-speckled carp looked
at him with its questioning eyes. With a sudden swish of motion, it
disappeared into the dark, the rippling image of the moon the only sign
of its departure. He reached out to touch...
Underwater was a very quiet place...
There were screams, and grand-aunt Nabiki was toweling a very wet
Soun dry amidst the amused stares of the visitors. "Soun," she
reprimanded, "why don't you look where you're going..."
"Soun," she said, "why don't you look where you're going?" A much
happier Soun grinned sheepishly from the muck that was the koi pond.
Kimiko shook her head smiling, her hair having that slight blue tinge in
the sunlight. "Well, you better clean up. We have a visitor..."
"Father, we have visitors." A much older Soun woke up to Kasumi's
call.
He grinned sheepishly at Kasumi, who was standing at the doorway.
"I must have fallen asleep," he said. Kasumi shook her head in disbelief
and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.
The drier, sadder, less young Soun gazed once more over the once
again ruined fishpond. The nonchalant sun cast broken shadows underneath
the scarred oak tree, sharing the same memories.
The glorious past... the nebulous future... touching reflections...
getting wet the next... unfulfilled promises... Kasumi's sad smile...
"where are you going?" the question echoed on and on... where did he go
wrong... who could answer...
The yellow-speckled carp looked at Soun with its questioning eyes
from the safety of its goldfish bowl.
Underwater was a very quiet place...
Blue aura raged somewhere.
She knew what she was going to do.
There was no other way to get him back.
The idea filled her with courage, shattering the cold grip of grief
around her heart.
"Before the day ends, Ranma..." Akane said quietly. "Before the day
ends..."
P-chan was running around in circles in the bathroom, trying to
look for the hot water faucet.
Cologne walked (skipped? pogo-sticked?) on her staff on her way
back to the Cat Cafe. Shampoo was walking slightly ahead of her, and
Mousse trailing behind.
There was something strange in the air, and she felt it, too. Three
hundred years of life had made her sensitive to strange subtle things
that, if left unattended, would surprise you like a truck of cigarette
lighters falling out of the sky on top of a tank of methane generated
from decaying organisms.
Something large, potentially explosive, and had an extremely bad
smell.
She eyed the soon-to-be leader of the Amazon Tribe, walking an
unreadable gait, smiling an unreadable smile. Cologne was aware that
Shampoo was still under the effect of #276, and the way she was acting
now scared even her.
She had to be sure what the status of the potion was. If she was
currently in love with Mousse and the duck-boy kissed her, it would be
curtains for Ranma.
But Shampoo was acting as if everything was back to normal. She
hated Mousse even after she sneezed. Cologne tossed a bag of pepper into
the air to check, but the results were the same. She inflicted severely
acute discomforts on Mousse even when the formula was supposed to be
active.
And there was something else about son-in-law that worried her...
Something strange about his aura that she recalled only now...
<CRASH>
For the fifth time on the way back, Shampoo tossed a few wayward
telephone poles on the hapless blind boy, leaving him slightly
lackadaisical to any form of walking in the near future. Cologne paused
to think as Shampoo walked on ahead.
After a few moments, she prodded the stick on Mousse's inert body.
"Get up, Mousse," she said. "There's something I want you to do for
me..."
The window chime twinkled softly, a haunting memory of a past
refrain...
Soun gulped as a man in uniform sat opposite him on the low slung
dining table. The Shinto priest sat to Soun's left. Both looked rather
glum and serious, even through the Shinto priest's overly decorated face.
He had this bad feeling that it might have something to do with the
master.
The priest looked uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and spoke.
"Mr. Tendo, I would like to introduce you to Admiral -"
"I'm the admiral in charge of the United States fleet stationed
temporarily here in Japan." He stretched out his right hand. The table
was quite long, and it took a good deal of stretching on both sides for
an effective handshake. "I think you must have seen from the TV about us
staying here for a while."
"You mean you're the one in charge of those big ships in Tokyo
Harbor!" Kasumi couldn't help but feel impressed. She cheerfully placed
the cups of ice tea on the table and sat opposite the priest. She met
Soun's puzzled look with a winning smile. "I can't believe we have such
an important visitor here."
The Admiral smiled at Kasumi's light-hearted air. "No, not really.
I'm not really that important. Sure, I may be in charge of a battle
fleet, but admirals are a dime a dozen. When I retire, ten would probably
rush to take my place."
Soun said, "surely, you jest. A man cannot hope to attain the same
level as yours without much hardship. I think that the reason that you
have become an admiral is so that you, excuse the play in words, would be
worthy enough be admired. And that my humble house be the temporary
resting place of a great man such as you, even though you deny it, is
truly a great honor, indeed."
The Admiral replied, "I think you wouldn't think so highly of me
when I have come to tell you the reason for my visit."
Soun gulped. This was going to be about the master...
The Admiral continued. "I came to ask for the help of the Tendo
Dojo about a serious matter that can cause grave repercussions in the
international community."
Soun sighed in relief. He, however, asked, "you mean you came to
ask the Tendo Dojo for help? You have an entire battle fleet at your
disposal, scores of well-trained men for armed combat. What can we do
that the United States Navy can't?"
The priest said slowly, "I think you already know what that is."
There was a few moments of silence in the room that nobody wanted
to break. What the Admiral was going to say might change their lives
forever. Soun gazed into the suddenly old and weary face of the Admiral.
He swallowed the bile that somehow managed to make its way to his mouth.
The wind tossed the window chime impatiently.
The Admiral said, "please. Do this as an act of service to your
country." He said continued, slowly, decisively, "Help us defeat the evil
monster Ranma Saotome."
Soun and the priest facefaulted.
"Oh my," Kasumi said. "Ranma isn't in that much trouble, is he?"
It was the Admiral's turn to be surprised. "You mean you know him?
Where? How?"
"Well..." Kasumi continued, "you see, he lives here."
"He lives here..." the Admiral repeated, not quite believing.
"And he's engaged to marry my younger sister Akane."
"Engaged..." The Admiral frowned at the mental image of "Ranma
Saotome" and some hapless girl. Like some sacrificial virgin to appease
the local dragon.
"Are you sure about this?" He wondered how a seemingly sane house
(at this time of day) could shelter the self-same monster that devastated
the West Coast.
The priest struggled to make himself heard. "I think we have some
kind of misunderstanding. Ranma Saotome's a good martial artist... Has
this problem with women... Occasionally called a pervert..."
"He sounds just like the monster..." the Admiral remarked.
"... and has a pig-tail."
The Admiral thought for a while. "Pig-tail... Well, that doesn't
match the description."
Soun said, "I assure you. That monster couldn't be the Ranma
Saotome we all know and love, uh, we all know around these parts. I don't
think Japan, or any other country for that matter, has any reason to fear
a sixteen-year-old boy."
The Admiral clarified. "Still, the fact remains that there is a
monster roaming around Tokyo. Right now, both our countries are doing our
best to contain him, but it seems that it's all for nothing. You see,
this was the same monster that arrived with the evil ogre in California
almost six months ago and we only managed to defeat one of them, with
considerable casualties- Mr. Tendo, you look a little bit pale. Are you
alright?"
Kasumi steadied her father, who looked like he was going to faint.
"Please," he said, "please continue."
The Admiral's face became serious once more. "Mr. Tendo, a very
important piece of equipment is onboard one of the ships of the fleet.
This entire joint military exercise is just a cover-up for additional
security, but it seems that an entire battle fleet won't be able to keep
it secure for long."
He said slowly, "in one of the ships is a two-ton containment unit
encasing an evil monster that feeds on human desire. It is the very
nature of his power to turn any human being against one another. Even the
holiest of people could be turned to evil."
Kasumi gasped, knowing exactly what the monster was capable of.
The priest said, "I'll be trying to help them reseal the evil oni,
but I think it would be a lot more difficult this time. Based on what the
Admiral said, it has become a lot more stronger, and with Happos- ow!"
Soun kicked the priest under the table. "I mean, the panty thief, finds
out, he may try to set it free."
The silence weighed heavily upon them once more.
Soun asked in a weak voice, "what... What do you want us to do?"
The Admiral said, in a voice that was almost a whisper, full of
hope yet not hoping, "When Ranma Saoto- I mean, the panty thief, ceases
his attacks, an armored caravan is going to pass by Nerima and try to
bury it under miles of rock - or somewhere, I don't really know. The
point is, we cannot let such an evil exist in this world, and I would
like your help. You've defeated the evil oni once. Please, even though it
seems hopeless, try to do so once again..."
And Soun once again, found himself making a choice he did not
really want to make.
A bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the silent corridors of
Furinkan High.
Klaxons rang throughout the mysterious Chem club headquarters. The
command center looked a lot more like the bridge from the Enterprise-A
under heavy Klingon attack, especially under the flashing red lights.
The Organizer stood from his command chair, calm under pressure.
"Mr. Adviser," he said slowly, imagining that he was going to ask him for
something not out of the ordinary, like a cup of coffee. "Can you Tell Me
Exactly WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!?" The Organizer liked coffee a bit
too much for comfort.
The Adviser winced as the ringing echoed in his ears. "Hey! You
don't have to shout! I heard you right the first time!" he shouted back.
His fingers flew over the keyboard, asking the same question.
Several graphs and a map of Furinkan High appeared on the screen, with a
bright yellow light at the center.
"Oh no..." the Adviser gulped. "It appears that Ranma has somehow
regained his strength!"
"WHAT?!? HOW?!? WHY?!?"
The Adviser looked at the figures on the screen. "It seems that the
data we gathered for Ranma's weakness was incomplete. The sudden surge in
chi signature occurred outside classroom 1-F. I'm uploading the data from
the surveillance camera on that sector..."
The screen showed a large puddle of water on the floor just as the
students inside rushed out to find what was going on.
The Adviser said slowly, "Ranma was right there a while ago."
"My God!" the Organizer yelled. "Don't tell me he's..."
"He regains his strength whenever he's a she," the Adviser
concluded.
"But Kuno..."
"It seems that Ranma's strength is worth a lot more to him than his
pride..."
The Organizer rushed to the communications desk. He began shouting
through the microphone. "Alerting all battle groups. Soccer and sumo
clubs, assemble at the designated places. Alpha and Bravo fighting
groups, proceed to classroom 2-E..."
The Adviser tilted the swivel chair backwards, cracking his
knuckles. "The attack of the Cappuccino has begun."
At the same time, elsewhere, another order was received by another
consortium whose goals coincidentally had the same name.
General Yamashita's eyes bulged out. "Well, that's one heck of a
good idea!" he exclaimed.
The tanks rumbled a lot closer to the monster's starting point.
Unmindful of the approaching doom, Rick Hunter leaned back on his
chair as he waited for the Admiral and the priest to emerge from the
Tendo Dojo. The weather was beautiful outside, and he felt his worries
being blown away by the warm breeze.
"Maybe the Admiral's right... Maybe this whole thing's
overblown..." The town was quiet and very much unlike the battle zone he
had imagined the first time he saw the monster. "This was the same place
we flew over this morning," he thought, letting his thoughts slide.
He remembered the people he had left behind on the other side of
the world - especially one particular Chinese girl.
How old was she when they met? She was sixteen, he remembered,
recalling the way her Chinese outfit danced with every step she took, her
bluish purple hair blowing in the breeze as she walked down the street,
the seductive smell of her perfume mixed with that of the appetizing
aroma of food from the restaurant that her family owned, the way that she
looked at him as she passed by the jeep which he was relaxing...
"Whataminute, was that..." Rick stood up and looked at the bluish-
purple-haired Chinese girl carrying a wooden box that screamed "RAMEN!"
He called out to her, "hey! Wait up!"
The girl turned around. "Nihao? What stranger want with Shampoo?"
Rick stared dumbfounded.
There was this bit of language barrier that had to be overcome, but
the conversation led from a "Sorry, I thought you were someone else..."
to a "Pay visit to Cat Cafe, best good Chinese food in Nerima! Oh,
Shampoo have free sample!" and a bowl of ramen passed hands. Shampoo
disappeared around the corner, continuing her way back to the Cat Cafe.
And when the Admiral and the priest stepped out of the Dojo, they
found a very calm and satisfied Rick Hunter with an empty bowl in his
lap.
A melancholy mix of metal and lace and tears walked past a small
mailbox. Moments later, a scream of anger and revenge and assorted curses
tore the air.
"Ranma Saotome! Prepare to die!"
Ranma-chan was running through the corridors of Furinkan High.
No longer were those walls a suffocating prison of the soul. No
longer were those rooms filled with traitors. No longer was the mad mad
world chasing at her heels spitting gore and spleens and laughing at her.
It felt so good to be free, so great to be free. Because she knew,
she finally knew how she really felt. She wondered why she had hated him
for so long when all he ever did was to protect her. She hated herself -
hated herself for only finding out now...
But what if she changed back to a guy? Would she hate him as much
as before? No, she thought. She couldn't face that fact. It would be
better to forsake her manhood than to hate the only person that loved her
for who she was...
"I'm coming," she whispered upon the breeze, "wait for me, Kuno."
Everyone scrambled outside the classroom, some trying to find out
what had happened, but mostly finding a real good reason to cut class.
There were only three people left in 1-F, and Akane was not one of them.
"Where's Akane?" Yuka asked Daisuke as they, too, prepared to
depart post haste. "And why are we going to follow Ranma around? You know
there's going to be a fight."
Daisuke declared, "I'm going to get to the bottom of this no matter
what it takes." He turned around, "Gosunkugi, do you want to come...?" A
chill wind blew through the window.
There were only two people left in the classroom now.
Nabiki was busy minding her own business (literally) when a very,
very strange thing happened.
First, the door crashed down with a bang and inside trod a very wet
Ranma-chan.
"Kuno!" she said, running up to him.
"Pig-tailed girl, my love!" Kuno jumped to his feet and ran towards
his beloved. "Oh! How I fain to see thee!"
The touching (yuck) scene was rudely interrupted when suddenly all
the boys in the classroom took out assorted martial arts weapons at some
hidden cue and began pummeling Kuno to the ground. Then, when he was flat
on his back, they jumped on top of him to make sure he won't do any
further damage.
Kuno felt the burning flame of his love strengthen him even more.
With a mighty heave, he stood up. "HA! YOU CANNOT STOP ME!" he cried.
Kuno and Ranma-chan met in a passionate embrace. "Kuno," Ranma-chan
whispered to his ear, "I'm soo afraid of hot water. Please, take me
somewhere cold, so that I can bask in the warmth of your love."
"Oh, pig-tailed girl, even if thou ask for the moon (and other
celestial objects too numerous to mention), I would gladly give them to
you."
<CRASH> Several soccer balls broke through the windowpanes. Then,
five masked men with jetpacks appeared, spraying hot water over the
newborn couple (gross).
Kuno pushed Ranma-chan aside. "WITH MY OWN BODY, I SHALL SHIELD
THEE FROM DEATH!" he screamed, then finding out that it was only hot
water, he ran away, bringing Ranma-chan in tow.
Instantly, the entire classroom followed them. They left a wet
floor and overturned chairs in their wake.
A smile crept over Nabiki's face. "Hmm..." she said. "This looks
interesting..." She called her business associates over, "Let's go,
girls; we have a job to do."
The Adviser's fingers flew swiftly over the keyboard. "I told you
Kuno can't be trusted," he said as the surveillance cameras recorded the
otherwise touching scene.
"Sumo club," he ordered over the transmitter, "bar all exits except
one. We need to lead them to the softball field. Rocketeers, proceed with
back-up plan."
Then, other alarms began ringing. On the radar screen, several dots
appeared from all directions, all converging towards them.
The Organizer's jaw dropped. "My God!" he said.
Max Sterling's eyes scanned the flight instruments. "I don't know
what this would do, but, here goes..." He and his squadron did several
fancy aerobatic maneuvers.
A few moments later, a large pink cloud began to take form over the
Furinkan High School field.
A beeper began to sound and Copycat Ken ran over once more his part
of the battle plan.
"Hmm..." he said, thinking. "Disguise myself as Happosai and
distract Miss Hinako." He smiled. "Sounds simple enough."
With a twirl of his handkerchief, he morphed into the panty thief
and jumped into the fray.
Right in front of an obscenely angry battalion of tanks.
"Eep..."
Kuno and Ranma-chan and the rest of the student body were led to
the center of the Furinkan softball field. Everyone was so busy shouting
and screaming that they did not notice the extraordinary thing that hung
over the sky.
In the history of war, there has been no greater lure against the
enemy.
Happosai couldn't believe his eyes.
"It's a bra!" he yelled, his eyes sparkling with happiness. "It's a
giant bra!"
With a few jumps, he got on the shortest route to Furinkan High
(with a detour passing through several clotheslines).
The angry mob at his heels followed, creating new streets behind
them.
Quietness descended once more upon the Tendo Dojo. The Admiral had
left a few minutes ago, leaving a faint glimmer of his presence behind.
Kasumi swept the yard, thinking once more about what had happened
as he left. She remembered leading the Admiral and the priest to the
front door. The Admiral was complimenting on what a nice young lady she
was when he suddenly stopped and looked at a picture of her mother that
stood beside the phone near the front door.
Kasumi noticed that there was a sad glimmer in his eye as he gazed
at the old photograph, and that his hand shook somewhat as he reached for
it.
"Tell me," he had asked, gazing with his sad eyes at Kasumi. "Is
this your mother?"
Kasumi replied, smiling, "Yes... but..."
The Admiral slowly put down the picture frame once more on the
table. "She was a very beautiful woman..." he said, then all the sadness
in his face vanished and was replaced with a smile. "She looks just like
you."
They left right after that, and Kasumi swept the same walk that
they had passed through, thinking. "Odd..." she thought, "I never told
him that mother..."
There was a scuffling sound somewhere in the bushes and out came a
very wild-eyed looking Ryoga.
"I'm sorry, Ryoga," she said, putting down the broom. "Akane and
Ranma are still in school. Would you like to have a cup of tea while
waiting?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, Kasumi," he replied, "but I have to go and look for
someone." Then he grinned sheepishly. "Could you please lead me to the
gate? I can't seem to find it."
"It's right behind you..." Kasumi led him outside. "I hope to see
you soon, Ryoga. It's been a long time since you last visited."
Ryoga waved goodbye. "Don't forget to bring souvenirs!" she said,
then felt a little bit odd.
She closed the door, leaving an empty street behind her.
Kuno and Ranma-chan found themselves at the center of the softball
field, surrounded by the members of the different clubs. Every possible
path of action had been calculated and dealt with by the members of the
Chem Club. There will be no second chances, at least for Ranma.
It will all end now, here in this field, at this time.
At the far end of the field, the soccer club stood waiting with
several balls, serving as suppressive fire. The Sumo club formed a
perimeter ring around the field, using their enormous bulk as a physical
impediment for anything going in or going out. The only way to escape was
to jump and the baseball and tennis club were ready with their equipment
that could hit, with pin-point accuracy, anything unusual flying above
the combat zone.
Inside the field itself, the rest of the Consortium approached
Ranma-chan (and Kuno) menacingly, with several members of Akane's
stormtroopers (sans one, who was afraid of heights) providing air cover
on fancy jetpacks also made by the technologically advanced techniques of
the Chem Club together with the innovative minds of people from the
Furinkan High workshop.
Against the united odds, Kuno stood defiant, like the captain of a
sinking ship against the raging waves. "Et tu, Kendo Club?" he asked the
bokken-wielding part of the mob. "Has the despicable leader you call the
Organizer paid thee thirty silver pieces as well? I do not know you! Thou
are not those I have labored so long to teach!"
The members of the club weren't impressed. "Upperclassman Kuno,"
one of them spoke up, "we've all wanted to do this for a long time." Some
even remarked from the back, "and to do him in with Ranma at the same
time -"
"Ranma Saotome? Here?" Kuno looked around, but only saw his pig-
tailed goddess. "I see that he has manipulated you all into his loyal
minions from hell. I can no longer consider you to be human beings any
more! But, fear not, for my legendary bokken is merciful, and I shall
destroy the source of all evil, for you to be released from the spell and
ones more heap your praises upon me." This was met with a lot of boos.
"LET'S GET HIM!" they all yelled.
Ranma-chan winked. "Don't worry, Kuno. Let's beat the living
daylights from these traitors!" She went into the freestyle Anything Goes
fighting form and began to glow a soft shade of red.
Kuno raised his bokken. To the surprise of onlookers, he, too,
began to generate a small blue battle aura. "THAT I SHALL!!!"
With a loud battle cry, the melee began.
To be continued...
03/28/98
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