Featherbrite's Tale, the Bet. Rough version
by Gregg Sharp based on Rumiko Takahashi's situations/char
other char TM other authors. Various authors also TM other
authors.
Metroanime@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/

"Traditional Japanese food seems largely composed of
'whatever didn't run away fast enough.'" -Mambo Jack,
1901?-1949?

"Fairness and justice are human concepts. They do not exist
in nature or in any magic of my kenning. I call it a
redeeming quality of your species to try to rise above its
environment, especially when considering all your
limitations." - Baron, red dragon of the Dire Straits

   7: Ucchan's Cat Cafe,
or "Love Shack"
--------------------------------------
 Ukyou Kuonji hadn't been quite sure what to expect upon
meeting the boy who had left her behind all those years ago.
She'd gone over a number of possibilities over the years in
preparation.

 She had envisaged him begging for mercy as she prepared to
crush him beneath her spatula. She had dreamed of him coming
for her, having escaped his father and confessing that he'd
never had a chance to tell her of his love.

 She had NOT envisaged him leaping about while being pursued
by a multilegged Thing out of some nightmare. Some woman
likewise leapt, flipping past the monster and throwing one
end of a chain at the long barbed tail that stabbed her way.

 "What the hell is THAT?!" Ukyou wanted a name for it.
Something to define it and lessen the queasy feeling she had
from seeing this abomination.

 She noted Ranma standing, ready to block or dodge the next
attack and Ukyou's own reflexes took over. Three throwing
spatulas were headed towards the boy before Ukyou had
realized she'd thrown them.

 He saw them coming and dodged. Unfortunately that meant
that he caught a stinger in the chest.

 Ukyou saw Ranma go down and wondered where her triumph was.
Weren't the heavens supposed to be split by lightning?
Wasn't there supposed to be the heady glow of vengeance at
long last delivered? Wasn't this supposed to feel good?

 The other girl who'd been with Ranma ran off. Ukyou
couldn't blame her, the creature before her was limned in
green fire now and doing a credible version of the "maniacal
villain laugh."

 "Uhm, Tendo-san?" Ukyou looked and saw where the older girl
was holding a wooden sword and backing nervously away from
the scorpion. Ukyou's eyes widened as she realized that
Kasumi was circling around towards Ranma's position. "You
idiot, get away from that thing! This is a job for..." Well,
heck, who *could* you call?

 "Foul beast whose perverted nature is at odds with the very
nature of this shrine!" A glowing form shot into the air
above the monster. "For disrupting this peaceful setting and
attacking an innocent, you shall be punished!"

 Ukyou's eyes got even wider as she recognized the form
hovering a good thirty feet up. "SAILOR AMAZON?!?! It wasn't
just special effects? In Osaka? Cool!" It had a name, it was
a youma, now it was less frightening.

 The scorpion scuttled forward almost over the fallen Ranma,
and looked up at the sailorsuited amazon. "Whatcha gonna do?
Any area effect you hit me with is gonna kill this
twit and I'm protected against any physical blows by my
flame aura. Stupid sylph."

 "If only I could do something like that," Kasumi said
softly.

 Ukyou glanced over then stared as the sword began to pulse
with a pinkish light.
-------------------------------------------------
 "This is Megumi Noguchi, from Osaka's Woodcrest Shrine."
The young and pretty student from Korobu Community College's
journalism department and her cameraman Kyoko Hiro did their
best speed up the hill. Strange greenish flames visible from
the shrine itself called them.

 And Megumi had just been praying for something that would
make the networks sit up and take notice! The kami were
being kind tonight.

 "We just saw those greenish... Oh my dear kami, it's a
MONSTER!. And... it's fighting Sailor Amazon!" Regional
pride stirred in the young reporter. They had youma battling
Senshi here in the Kansai area now. Hah! This would give her
MAJOR coverage as well as maybe get some of those movie
makers to realize that not everything revolved around Tokyo!

 "FIREBALL!" The youma threw a sphere of flames at the
flitting shape of Sailor Amazon.

 "Get a good shot of Sailor Amazon!" Megumi grinned as Kyoko
complied. With that figure and that short skirt, Sailor
Amazon would GUARANTEE her some major playage on the
stations. Heck, Megumi admitted she would have settled for
getting on one of the regional networks. "Oh, and that other
Sailor Senshi there next to the trees."

 The camera settled on the girl in what looked more like a
combination of formal gown and sailor suit than the costume
Sailor Amazon wore. Flickers of white and pink surrounding
her, as the other Senshi spread her hands wide. "ah Heavenly
uhm Healing err Escalation!"

 Megumi's eyes widened as she saw the ring of energy
expanding around the girl. It was similar to wings unfolding
and spreading. "Get a load of that! Focus on...uhm...Sailor
Angel!"

 The glow spread out from "Sailor Angel" and spread through
the clearing.
------------------Dock 13, Yokohama Commercial
Seaport------------------
 Two shadows flicked from the Myou No Maru to the dock, and
then into the city.

 Nathan lit up a cigar and considered the Yokohama skyline.
"I thought long hair was a sign of rank among these Chinese
amazons." It was hard to keep track of some of these odd
customs that changed all the time.

 Kissu's eyes flicked over to the short male and back to the
flitting figures of their latest passengers. It was nice to
know that he didn't know everything. "It is, to some extent,
but only among the warrior caste. All amazon women are
fighters, but there are those who spend all their time
training in the arts of war, warrior caste."

 "Yeah," Nathan agreed, THAT had been one constant among the
amazon groups he'd known over the years. There was the
militia, then there were the professional soldiers.

 "Rankings of caste in order of importance is Matriarch,
Elders, Lorekeepers, Warrior, Artisan, Farmers and Hunters,
Merchant, most Males. Healers and some other not considered
part of caste system so they free to associate with anybody.
For example, Tiger is a tracker and hunter, but is not
considered Warrior caste. She keeps her hair fairly short
because she doesn't like to bother with long hair. Same
basic deal with Rink and Pink. Rink's calling is Healer,
which uses a different rank symbology. Pink's calling is as
a Botanist/Lore Keeper, also different. They have short hair
for much the same reason as Tiger."

 Nathan nodded, showing that he understood. "So now they're
off after this 'Shampoo' and her 'fiance.'"

 "Apparently Rink and Pink's mother Link ran across the boy
and his father years ago and thought this was a suitable
match for one of her daughters. She picked Rink because the
boy
was some sort of musician and Rink enjoys some of that
stuff.

 "Anyway, due to some laws among the amazons, Shampoo ended
up sort of being engaged to Ranma as well. So there will be
a fight. It's a normal way of settling differences.
Naturally, the advantage is usually that of the Warrior."

 A third amazon passenger made his way onto the pier, bowed
and thanked a stack of crates for a nice voyage, then
started into the city.

 "And him?"

 "Mousse has been pursuing Shampoo for years. Not so much
love as an obsession." Kissu watched the younger man walk
into another stack of crates. "Some people not understand
the difference. Sad."
-----EYECATCH#1---------
 A hand spreads five cards out on a green surface. The back
of the cards has the series logo. The hand then uses a
single motion to flip all the cards over at once.
 King Of Hearts has Ranma's face, Queen Of Diamonds has
Nabiki's face, Queen Of Spades -Ukyou, Queen Of Hearts-
Kasumi, Queen of Clubs - Shampoo. A sixth card, the Joker,
is added, and the picture on that card is of Featherbrite
which winks at the viewer. A voice provides a single comment
(which changes from episode to episode) this time being:
Nabiki: "Have I got a deal for you..."
------Nerima, Japan----
 The coffeehouse was nice, brightly lit, and *just* the
thing for meeting people in the pre-school hours. This
particular one opened early enough to get the construction
workers who met here before going on to their various
jobsites. IE: heavy early.

 "Sailor Angel? Details?" Naoko pursed her lips as she
considered the Senshi Agent.

 "Let's just say that I fulfill a role with the Senshi
similar to that of Ami. I'm not a Senshi myself, but I,"
Nabiki paused as she sought a way to put her odd strobe of
precognitive dreams into order, "I see myself as their
information specialist. As such, I can help them without
getting personally involved."

 "You know how well that works," Naoko sipped at her coffee,
a latte, and reflected that the young girl hadn't picked a
terribly bad spot. Though watching grizzled overweight road
repair crewmen ordering a cafe mocha latte, frothed, had
been a bit strange. And they had a fair variety of green
teas here.

        "True," Nabiki agreed. Sooner or later she'd get
mixed up in this stuff. IF they had adventures. The monster
was strange, but had to be a fluke. No, she'd just be their
agent. The rest of that stuff had just been nightmares. That
was *all*. Talking cats was just something thrown in from
Takeuchi's own work.

 "So, about Sailor Angel?"

 "Ah," Nabiki sipped briefly at her "gunpowder" green tea.
She remembered the video, and though the image didn't quite
mesh with her sister, she had a feeling. "She's not much on
fighting, tries to find peaceful solutions, and is really
domestically inclined. Much smarter than she usually lets
on, finds herself caught up in all this and is unsure of
herself in this new arena."

 Naoko looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Homebody type,
eh? Yeah, I can see it. Now that my stuff is getting
mainstream and translated, some new archetypes are good."

 "Oh? The American deal go through?"

 "You know about that?! Oh, yeah. Of course. 'You have
sources.'" Naoko shrugged this off. "Nah, that's still in
debate. The press coverage of Sailor Amazon and videotape
got interest in a lot of odd countries. People are stating
its special effects and all, but now the series is going to
be released in Mexico, England, and Canada."

 "That's just from one videotape of Sailor Amazon in
action," Nabiki noted. "Now that the video from Osaka is
hitting the airwaves, with Sailor Amazon *and* Sailor Angel-
this should get even more interest going. We'll see what
happens with a few photos, ne?"
-----Ucchan's, Osaka-------
 Ukyou waited patiently, she understood patience. She was a
warrior, and a cook, both professions requiring that trait
in good measure.

 Ranma, having passed out yet again, was lying across a
bench. Ukyou's eyes focussed on him. It would be so EASY.
One movement with a razor sharp spatula across that exposed
throat, less than five seconds to cross the intervening
space and end ten years of suffering.

 Too easy. Too quick. And if the information she was getting
from the two women was any indication, justice wouldn't
really be served.

 "...and then we ended up in some odd places." Kasumi paused
for a moment. "Apparently the Faerie Realm operates by a
different set of physics than what we're used to. The rate
of passage of time is a variable, depending on where you are
within the Realm. So we had to remain pretty much in the
same area we appeared in. Then there's the problem where if
you enter the Realm, then walk across a field and re-enter
the Mortal World, you can be thousands of miles away from
where you started. Likewise, it is possible to go thousands
of miles in the Realm and only travel a few feet as far as
the Mortal World is concerned."

 "Shampoo not following much of this, and Shampoo was there
during it." The amazon shrugged. She was hearing it twice
too, as Kasumi was largely repeating what the pixie was
saying. "Shampoo not much concerned. We here now."

 "So let me get this straight." Ukyou held up a hand to
forestall any more of this. "Genma not only sold his son a
few times, this time he's also sold his son out. Now you,
Ranma, and the
Senshi here are all refugees from his latest scheme?"

 "Ukyou sum up very nicely." Shampoo nodded. "But Shampoo
not really Senshi. Shampoo is Amazon warrior and Champion,
but is no really Senshi."

 Ukyou stared for a moment. "Pardon me. You turn into some
sailorsuited supergirl who destroys monsters from another
plane of existence. What part of Senshi does this not
qualify as?"

 "Shampoo turn into Sailor Amazon. Is..."

 "Yes?"

 "Well, Shampoo not sure. But not Senshi."

 Ukyou perhaps wisely decided to table that issue for the
moment and get on with the important stuff. "So what about
my dowry? What about ten years of vengeance? What about me
renouncing my femininity and all that? How can I set all
that behind me without at least beating him up ONCE!"

 Shampoo frowned, then nodded. "Is vow. Is oath of honor.
Shampoo understand such things. Is very important in tribal
law and custom. Not understand what have to do with
femininity."

 Kasumi blinked. "Well, if it's about the value of the
yattai."

 "It's not just about the value of the yattai," Ukyou shot
back grumpily. "But that's as good a place to start as any."

 Kasumi looked to her "little sister." She had thought to
give this to Shampoo, or perhaps to Nabiki who knew how best
to handle something of value. Kasumi pulled a pearl the size
of a baseball out of her pack. "Maybe this?"

 Ukyou eyed the thing uncertainly. It kinda looked like an
oddly shiny cueball. "What is it?"

 "Is dragon's pearl," Shampoo said, raising an eyebrow.
"Also got three whiskers from dragon. Know too too delicious
recipe for Dragon Whisker Soup. Dragon's pearl is like
dragon's
heart. Dragon's heart source of physical strength, dragon's
magic is in pearl."

 Ukyou looked at her strangely. "Uh huh, yeah right." After
a moment, Ukyou took the object from Kasumi. "Odd, feels
kinda warm."

 Ranma moaned from his position on the bench, temporarily
drawing attention to him.

 Ukyou didn't notice the faerie on top of her head, working
at nudging perceptions just enough that Ranma would survive
the night. Otherwise she thought the odds good that Ranma
would be avenged by Shampoo shortly thereafter.

 She wondered if Ranma would mind if she just did a _tiny_
bit of meddling. If not, then this might be a good Candidate
#4!
-----------------
 Early morning in Nerima brought repeats of familiar scenes.
Or at least scenes that had become familiar. Nabiki yawned,
stretched, and surveyed the fridge before deciding if she
needed to hit the coffeehouse before going to school. The
alternative was breakfast here.

 Nabiki nodded at seeing the familiar signs that Akane's new
friend, Yoshinori Kitase, had been by. Not that Akane had
any feelings for this classmate who'd come in and proven
himself capable of "lending a hand" in the kitchen. Oh,
heavens no. Akane? Interested in some boy?

 The much appreciated moment of relaxation passed.

 "Nabiki!" Soun Tendo loomed forward.

 "Growf," chimed in the panda next to her father.

 "You must find your iinazuke!"

 [It is a matter of honor!] The panda waved a sign around.

 "Not to mention those nice men with all the scars and
tattoos want him or their money back, eh Mr Saotome?" Nabiki
chuckled and grabbed a rice ball.

 The panda flinched.

 Soun pressed forward. "And what of poor Kasumi? Who knows
what is happening to HER with that barbarian girl?"

 Nabiki cleared her throat. She'd gotten to like Shampoo.
Especially when it had become obvious that the girl came
from a violent culture, and the "barbarian" had no killer
instinct to speak of. Besides, Kasumi had reached through
the cultural shell and found a friend. Kasumi having friends
again was a GOOD thing, and both Nabiki and Akane had found
themselves warming to the Amazon as a result.

 "Not that there's anything wrong with barbarians, but..."
Soun realized he was talking about the warrior girl who'd
fought a vampire in defense of his house.

 "I've already determined, just for my own peace of mind,
that Kasumi and her friend are doing fine, Daddy. Not to
worry." Nabiki didn't bother to say HOW she knew. Everyone
knew that she'd suddenly started palming off her old jobs in
order to pursue "information acquisition" as a new source of
income.

 Genma and Soun had *especially* noted the new clothes, CD
player, laptop computer, and all the other little expensive
things she'd managed to start acquiring. She'd also taken to
snickering while using phrases like "honest living" and
"play by the book."

 Genma had tried sneaking into her room once but hadn't
found any clues as to where the girl was getting the money.
Nor was he able to find the cache of money he KNEW she must
have.

 "So where are they?" Soun looked ready to erupt in another
flood of tears.

 "Don't know, Daddy. Didn't check any further than that."
She hadn't bothered to keep tabs on their exact location,
after all. For some reason, the name Ukyo kept popping in.
Why a ward in Kyoto when everything from the I-ching to
Tarot said Osaka? Was it related to the idea Suzaku Park in
nearby Shimogyo ward was one of the "weak points" between
realities? And if there, why not the *much* more powerful
"weak point" at Mount Zao? Every answer seemed to raise more
questions.

 "Nabiki. I *insist* as your father. You *must* find Ranma
and your sister."

 Nabiki was aware of Akane stopping at the door and
listening. Akane had obviously missed the comment about
barbarian Shampoo, or she would have been mildly vexed.
"They're fine, Daddy. A little ways West of here, that's
all."

 [West?]

 "You know, like the Gero Spa." Which was true, the Gero Spa
was also west of Nerima.

 Genma ran to pack and start searching the Gero Spa for
Ranma. Soun wasn't so easily misled. Maybe once, but not so
much nowadays.

 "Nabiki. You *will* use your skills to hunt down Ranma and
Kasumi. As your father, I demand this."

 Nabiki was a little taken aback. Her father had grown a
spine? Most of the time she pretended not to be related to
him. "I'll think about it, Daddy."

 "We aren't finished with this conversation," said Soun
before going to join his friend.

 "Well, sis, I guess you're gonna have to go track 'em down,
aren't you?"

 "Akane, you know what'll happen if Ranma comes back here?"

 "Ha, I'd like to see those Yakuza try to get past ME."
Akane made a muscle gesture.

 Nabiki ignored her sister's false bravado. Yes, her father
had cornered her. Now she had a choice. On the one hand, she
could become *filthy* rich here using her new talents.
Corporate espionage alone could make her obscenely wealthy.
She could continue being a member of this family, could
continue on to become the CEO of a major company, could
continue to take bets and bribes and loans. She could
continue life here in much the same manner as before Ranma's
arrival.

 The time had come to choose. Shark or dolphin?
-----------------
 "Cat Scratch Fever" was playing on the jukebox (and
sounding really weird in Japanese)while Ukyou sighed and
experimented with a spam okonomiyaki. She had no idea what
was in the meat product, and after two bites decided she
didn't WANT to know. Some experiments didn't work out.

 Life had gotten so confusing. She'd almost killed Ranma,
but one revelation after another had left her with serious
doubts about her continuation of that particular path.

 That odd buzz or whatever seemed to have vanished at least.
That had been thoroughly annoying, whatever it was.

 Ukyou fingered a throwing spatula and considered. Ranma was
weak. From the way the two girls had talked, he had recently
been badly burned, drugged, tortured, beaten into near
unconsciousness, and even shot once during their attempt to
get back to Japan. THEN Ukyou had seen him, distracted him
in a fight, and he'd gotten pinned to the ground by a
poisonous stinger  roughly the size of her forearm. Any chi
reserves he had were darn close to used up, he had little or
none of this "magic" left to help him, and there was
apparently only so much that could be done for him at this
juncture.

 Ukyou Kuonji sighed and dropped her hand from the razor
sharp weapon. If she still had no doubt about Ranma's guilt,
all it would take is a few moments and his life would be
ended. That he'd apparently been through some weird times
was more than a little obvious.

 Ukyou started cleaning the grill, her mind going over
details while her body worked on the familiar chore. Ranma
had been sold off and betrayed by Genma. Just like her. Any
dreams of continuing the Saotome school must have died then
too. Just as her own dreams had been destroyed by Genma.

 She knew the haunted look in his eyes, she'd seen it
herself enough in the mirror. He'd just cut ties with his
past and had very little idea of what to do next.

 Finishing the grill and beginning to sweep, Ukyou stopped
and a hesitant grin began to form on her face. Revenge, she
realized, could take many forms. And how better to avenge
herself on Genma than by stealing his son?
-----UnSeelie Court-----
 Mists formed out of nowhere, then pulled back away to
reveal a figure in silvered armor. The figure strode to the
ornate chair formed of a living tree, and seated himself.

 "Milord, travel to and from the Mortal Plane is higher than
it has been in some time."

 Oberon, King Of The Elves, and Secret Ruler of the Unseelie
Court, gave a slight nod. He'd felt it himself.

 As he had not been immediately crushed, the functionary
decided to make his play now. "Milord, there have been
mortals within thy plane," the raven said slyly. "Here be
their likenesses."

 Oberon and his Court craned their necks, eager for a
glimpse at mortal visitors to the Realm.

 "A questing company?" A tentacled thing with razor sharp
chiton asked. "It's been a long time since I've tasted
mortal blood."

 The image of a purple haired warrior woman met with some
mutterings. Some decided that she was of faerie blood,
possibly oriad. The mutterings picked up pace with the image
of the brown haired housewife. Everyone knew warriors knew
how to fight. Housewives, on the other hand, could be
*really* dangerous. Worse, this appeared to be a *Japanese
housewife*! EVERYONE remembered the legendary Sachiko Oshima
and wanted nothing like *that* debacle to occur again.

 The image of Ryouga appeared and caused some consternation.
"That's the one that killed Greaket, Lord Of Toads!"

 Everyone noted the outburst from the octopus-faced entity,
especially when Oberon reduced it to the level of bubbling
ooze for daring to shout in his presence.

 Another warrior woman appeared, and then SHE appeared.

 Oberon grinned and leaned forward. "A half-mortal sylph?
How... interesting." He'd gotten tired of the usual consorts
and conquests he'd had of both the Seelie and UnSeelie
Courts, even a few trysts in Makai had failed to keep his
interest for more than a century.

 "Yes milord, I thought you'd be interested. She is a human
male who is cursed to transform into this shape."

 Oberon's grin didn't fade. She looked like she'd be
interesting. "Ravenhart, find that one again. Determine what
spells are upon her. Xandros, make a trip to the river Lethe
and fetch me an urn of it's waters. Keriv, make a trip to
the stream of Tireisas. Bring me five gallons of its
waters."

 Oberon had been getting bored. This looked as if it could
just be interesting.
-------------------------
 Soun fidgeted nervously at the table. Genma could go check
out the Spa without him, and he wanted to further impress
upon Nabiki the need for her to find Ranma.

 The schools *must* be united. There could be no other
acceptable outcome. And he could see that Ranma cared about
Nabiki. And it was just as obvious that Nabiki cared about
Ranma, weirdness and all. It was just that they had to be
forced together. There was no time for dithering.

 Yoshinori Kitase, Akane's new friend, was not acceptable.
Even if Akane succeeded in getting him into the martial
arts, he'd never have Ranma's skill or talents. He wanted to
be a programmer of RPGs, for crying out loud! Soun would
have forbidden the two to see each other but Akane's grades
were improving and the boy came by to cook for them. He was
teaching Akane how to  cook, gently and patiently - so it
was a slow process but he was doing it.

 Soun frowned. He'd wait a while, THEN he'd forbid the
match. It was unthinkable that Akane would develop a
relationship with a non-martial artist, so they'd accept
that. He was her father and he had to think about what was
right for the family as well as for his daughter.

 Back to Nabiki. He still didn't understand it all, but she
was both happier and more thoughtful than she'd been in
years. She was more... open. It was odd, and nice. But
better she be miserable and carrying on her duty, than happy
and shirking said duties. Bushido.

 After waiting as long as he could, Soun moved from his
place in the dining area. He gently rapped on Nabiki's door.
Getting no answer, he opened it.

 The bare sections of walls, open and empty closet,
carefully made bed, these all registered with Soun long
before he noticed the note on the pillow.

Dear Father,
     So basically you're saying "it's my way or the
highway?"
     I now know where Ranma is. I'm going to go join them.
If I can find a way to contact you without the Yakuza
knowing, I will. Just to let you know we're all safe.
     Love and kisses, Nabiki
PS: Don't get in between Akane and Yoshi. When was the last
time you saw her smile like that?
--------------------------
 Nabiki knocked on the tree, waited a few moments, then
shrugged and stepped into it. This had the effect of causing
one of her factors to faint. A moment later, Nabiki stuck
her head out of the apparently solid wood to wink at those
still conscious.

 "The Gateway is still open, as she promised. No sign of
Holly, however, I *do* see one of her friends. Hang on while
I see if he can help." Nabiki's head retracted back into the
wood.

 While everyone was discussing exactly what all this meant,
another figure stepped out of the wood. Fortunately, it was
a big tree.

 Unfortunately, one of Nabiki's other factors saw the figure
coming out of the tree and started running. Unfortunately
her fine attempt to run a two-minute mile came to a halt
when she discovered that you can't swerve around a telephone
pole at that rate of speed while looking over your shoulder
to see if THAT was following you.

 The ogre scratched his head a couple of times and wondered
if perhaps he had somehow done something offensive. Nabiki
stepped out of the tree a moment later, and calmed her
remaining panicked aides with a few gestures and comments.

 "Uhm, you're a friend of Holly's?" Nabiki looked over the
9'11" figure with the shoulders that were as far across as
she was tall.

 "Yes'm. She say she busy but ask Harold if he could help.
Harold help. Harold strong."

 "I noticed that, Harold. Let me politely suggest you take a
bath before the next time you help me out."

 Harold scratched his head. "Bath? Harold not sure what
mean."

 "Somehow I have no doubt about that at all. Can you handle
those boxes? I know some beings of Faerie can't handle iron,
so they're in cardboard boxes." Nabiki had been expecting
the wood nymph to be her main help.

 Harold thumped his chest, producing a sound more likely to
come from two boulders striking. "Harold is ogre. Harold
have ties to earth, iron hurt but no kill. Harold can do."

 "I see," Nabiki nodded. She'd have to read up on ogres
later.

 "Is that one sick?" Harold pointed at the one lying in a
faint. He tried smiling in a friendly fashion at the other
Mortals. It didn't seem to help.

 "Uhm, she's okay, really. Just resting." Ryomani was hoping
the big guy with the tusks wasn't inquiring if he could eat
Hitomi.

 "Oh. Resting. Harold see." Harold stacked four of the boxes
and lifted them. "Is question you can answer?"

 "Maybe. Careful with those boxes, now."

 "Holly read to Harold. Senshi die fighting Beryl. What
happen next?"

 Nabiki smirked. A fanboy whose physical strength was on the
level of hydraulic equipment. Having power over such a huge
and strong creature was kinda neat. "Well, let me tell you,
such information doesn't come cheap."

 "Hmmm. Figured." The ogre walked into the substance of the
tree.

 "Boss?!"

 "Don't worry about it, Ryonami. Nothing I can't handle."
Nabiki didn't think she was fooling Ryonami, but appearances
needed to be maintained. "I'll keep in touch. Check this
tree every so often. It's one of those Gates that's linked
to the phase of the moon, so only during new moons can it be
used for passage. I'd phone, but there's an off chance that
when I disappear they'll tap your lines for clues."

 "Gates," Harold rumbled as he came through. "You need Gates
to Faerie?"

 "Don't worry your head about it," Nabiki made an off-handed
wave.

 "Not. You wizard. Wizard worry about lots of things. Harold
just ogre. Nobody expect Harold to have answers." Harold
shrugged and grabbed the next batch of boxes.

 Nabiki's smile slipped a little. Harold's mode of speech
reminded her of Shampoo. A lot of people tended to write
Shampoo off as an idiot when she wasn't. Hmmm. Something
else to check on later. "Well, anyway, see you later."

 Turning and leaving her factors and friends behind was one
of the hardest things she'd ever done in her life. Nabiki
thought it odd that she was grinning like she was.

 Oh well, she had enough things to figure out now.
---------------
 Kasumi checked herself in the mirror one last time.

 "Kasumi look fine. You do good on placement tests!"

 Kasumi smiled and regarded her friend. "Are you sure about
this trip, Shampoo? You could study for a high school
placement test."

 "Shampoo need to check in with Great-Grandmama. Let her
know what going on and where am now. Shampoo be back in two
weeks time. Shampoo promise!"

 Kasumi nodded but regretted seeing the Amazon go. "Ranma
already gone?"

 "He study hard for placement test at new school. He do
okay, Shampoo is sure." Shampoo made a punching gesture. "Or
Shampoo come back and kick his butt for letting us down."

 Ukyou shook her head. "Okay, you two, get a move on. I need
to close everything up while we're at school. Kasumi, you'll
have a few hours to kill after your tests and before we get
back. Try Utsubo Park- the Science & Technology Center might
interest you."

 "Unn," Kasumi said, nodding. Some time to just think,
alone, sounded good. She and the others had been going
almost non-stop since leaving Nerima.
-----------------
 Kodachi squirmed. She screamed obscenities. She struggled
and insulted and howled. Her efforts were met with calm, and
kindness, and gentle words.

 A touch of liquid on her lips, and Kodachi found her body
gone limp and unresponsive. Giggling girls smoothed her fuku
and began brushing her hair. Figures darted in and out of
her vision. One of her hairs was pulled out and carried off
by some giggling green-haired girl.

 "There, there, child." One of the taller creatures eased
into her sight. "The Dark Kingdom influence upon you will be
lifted."

 Kodachi wanted to scream at them. The Sailor Senshi were
just characters in a story written for silly little girls.
It was FICTION! That the Saint Hebereke uniform had a vague
resemblence to the Senshi uniform was mere coincidence.

 Unfortunately, the beings in question had all heard about
how these manga-things were actually illustrated guidebooks
to life on the Mortal plane. Enchanted princesses, ancient
kingdoms, reincarnation, magical attacks and the more
fantastic elements of the story didn't strike anyone in the
area as being particularly farfetched. In fact, such things
made up day-to-day life in the Faerie Realms.

 Not finding an enchantment on Kodachi, they knew that
powerful magic must have been used. The kind that works
itself and leaves no trace, having permanently altered the
victim. Powerful magic was needed to restore the girl to her
normal heroic self.

 And if that wasn't possible. A fair approximation would
have to do. Earth couldn't be without one of its defenders,
and those youma looked a *lot* like some of the Unseelie.
Even their attacks were definitely Unseelie. And if they
were fighting the Unseelie, then it was only natural for the
Seelie Court to come to her aid!
---------------------
 Rink and Pink were almost at the Tendo dojo when suddenly
there was someone THERE.

 "<VANILLA!>" The two came to a halt. Vanilla gave Pink the
creeps. Always had.

 "<Are you two on a mission for the Elders?>" Vanilla deemed
it unlikely but they *might* have a legitimate reason for
their presence here.

 "<YES!>" Pink said quickly.

 "<NO!>" Rink said simultaneously.

 "<Errr, we're here to give a private message to Shampoo and
her fiancee.>" Pink recovered, thinking quickly. "<Very
important, but it is private between Elder Cologne and
Shampoo.>"

 "<I see.>" Vanilla nodded. "<Shampoo is not here any
longer. I am keeping watch for her over this household.>"

 "<Keeping watch?>" Rink repeated.

 "<Much magic has been done here. Shampoo's airen erected an
anti-shapeshifter ward a few nights ago, and a vampire died.
This has drawn the usual attention.>"

 "<Usual attention?>"

 "<I have slain two goblin spiders, and had to warn off a
tengu.>"

 Pink shuddered at the thought of goblin spiders. "<So where
is Shampoo?>"

 "<Back at the village, I think,>" Vanilla seemed to be in
deep thought. She knew that Pink lied quite easily, while
Rink disapproved of the practice. She'd therefore kept an
inobvious watch on Rink while appearing to just be listening
to Pink. Actually, Vanilla was now doing something she
rarely did. She was lying. "<She wanted to show off her new
husband before the two came back here to settle his
affairs.>"

 Pink swore. Rink growled.

 "<Have they consummated the marriage?>"

 Vanilla blinked and was aware that Rink was scrutinizing
her especially hard. Best to be honest and not give
everything away. "<No. I am reasonably sure they have not.>"

 "<Then it isn't official, Rink. You still have a chance!>"
Pink turned and began retracing her route, followed a moment
later by Rink.

 Vanilla frowned ever so slightly. That had been... quite
strange. She settled down and waited for the third goblin
spider to make its appearance. They always travelled in
threes.

 Of course, Vanilla had no way of knowing that goblin
spiders were also known as bog fairies.
-----------------
 Kasumi settled down on a bench near the "Okonomiyaki Den"
(Ukyou hated the name, but it was a rental franchise anyway)
and let herself relax for the first time in days.

 Time to sort things out, at long last.

 She thought back to when Ranma had been brought into the
destroyed kitchen, and Kasumi had noticed that giving him
the "puppy dog eyes" look usually caused the boy to crumble.
She had used it to full effect. He had been fairly
reluctant, saying how much this would take out of him, but
he'd done it.

 He had been about ready to keel over when he'd handed her
the last pan. The effort had clearly been enormous. Only the
knowledge of how improper it would look had kept Kasumi from
offering him support all the way up the stairs.

 That healing he'd done was also remarkable. She'd burned
her thumb, and badly, distracted by her conversation with
Featherbrite and something the faerie had done to Mister
Saotome years ago. Explosive flatulence? Oh my. Ranma had
been waiting for her to heat the teakettle and had settled
her down and healed the burn. He had kissed it, and made it
better.

 The girls in school had teased her unmercifully about
having a "Shouto complex" when she'd  been interested in an
underclassman back in high school. Maybe it was time to move
past that. Nabiki had indicated that *she* wasn't interested
in Ranma. Akane had declared that Ranma was entirely too
weird for her.

 Spotting a lingerie shop two doors away from the
Okonomiyaki Den, and remembered the purchases she'd made a
while back. Well, she had to watch her budget. Maybe later.
Besides, Shampoo was also interested in Ranma.

 Kasumi stopped at THAT. Her relationship with the Amazon
was odd, that was certainly true. Also unexpected. But in
other ways, quite nice. Even if the sight of the two of them
chatting happily away in the kitchen tended to discomfit
Akane a little. It was good to have a friend to chat with
and confide in. They had gone from awkward "sisters" to
become "buddies" in just a few days. They turned out to have
a lot in common, actually. Though trained first and foremost
as a Warrior, Shampoo's great love was for cooking. Though
Champion of her people, Shampoo was lonely and not
especially happy with the destiny that had been mapped out
for her.

 While they had both been busy in the kitchen, Shampoo had
spun stories of brave Amazon warriors of legend. Kasumi had
reciprocated with stories of Japanese legend and of her own
childhood. Shampoo had told of a particularly obnoxious boy
who just wouldn't take no for an answer. Kasumi related how
silly Doctor Tofu tended to act around her. Both had spoken
of the loss of their mother and how they had handled it.
Kasumi had taken over the position, whereas Shampoo had
thrown herself into her training. Both had found someone who
UNDERSTOOD, not everything, but enough.

 Kasumi smiled a little, thinking of the Amazon. Yin and
Yang indeed. She was calm where the Amazon was fierce. By
now, Shampoo was likely aboard a ship heading to China.
Determined to do her duties as a member of the heroic Amazon
tradition. And if she wanted to brag about being a Vampire
Slayer, well she was entitled, wasn't she? She was going to
miss Shampoo.

 The girl settled back onto the bench, watching clouds pass
overhead. Yes, the two of them *did* make an odd pair of
friends. It was nice to have someone OFFER to help, and it
had made the daily chores easier to have assistance. Though
Kasumi wondered about Shampoo's reference to a Martial Arts
Housekeeping style. Maybe that was what Akane needed...

 Kasumi sighed. Back to Ranma. She didn't want to think
about this too much but for some reason her thoughts circled
back around to Nabiki's fiance on a regular basis.

 OK. He was young. Sixteen and full of himself. Bursting
with energy and surrounded by more weirdness than in
anything she'd read in Tezuka's works. Fairies, vampires,
ancient Chinese curses, multiple fiancees, Yakuza, Chinese
Amazons, the friction between the Seelie and UnSeelie
Courts, childhood buddies that had apparently changed gender
along the way, and ersatz Sailor Senshi. She couldn't
believe she'd ever said that younger men were boring. Less
mature, perhaps, but boring? With a fiance that changed from
a tall and powerfully built young man to a slender winged
nymph with water?

 Kasumi blushed and corrected herself. *Nabiki's* fiance.
She'd started thinking of him as having been officially
dropped where she could casually catch him. Nabiki *might*
have just been protesting the engagement to maintain some
facade of control over the situation.

	Kasumi, very guiltily, found herself hoping that was not
the case.
==========================
well, instead of the Rune story, here's another possibility
that just occurred to me.

        Instead of Kuno drawing Wishbringer, it's Nodoka
Saotome who draws the sword forth.

Nodoka: "Three wishes. Ah. That would be nice. I would
simply wish that I knew what my husband and son have been up
to since they left."

Wishbringer: "Your wish is my command!"

Nodoka (blinking): "Jusenkyo? Catfist? The Tendo dojo? HOW
many fiancees? GENMAAAAAA!"

Of course, once there, she could use the second wish for
something like:

"I wish my son were a paragon of manliness, a truly manly
man!" (with results similar to Pervert 1/2 or Dragon's
Destiny or something even worse.)

And, of course, what would be the third wish? Something
about all these girls chasing Ranma, perhaps? Ah, but if
he's truly manly (by Nodoka's definition) then it would be a
pity that he's not able to marry more than one.

Hmmm. Considering Nodoka's definition of manly, could Ryo
Saeba (City Hunter) actually be her brother or at least a
relative?

heh heh.



-----------------------------------------
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/
metroanime@mindspring.com
"You make me open this," Di Na said, pulling a can of
spinach out of her shirt. "Ancient Chinese Amazon Special
Technique!"

ja ne, gregg