Insertion

 

    Part 72

 

    The beginning of something new

 

++++++++++

 

    It was a quiet day in the Hibiki household.
Usagi was 
doing her homework at the table, while
her mother sat with Dan and Carrot in 
the living
room. The three had separated only a few minutes
before just 
outside. To Usagi, it seemed as if her
mother had invited them over or 
something. It
wasn't a new development at any rate.

 

    Yohiko frowned at the two men as they stared
at the 
television and stood up, moving to the back
of the home and into her 
room.

 

    Carrot smirked at this and followed 
shortly
after.

 

    Dan glanced around and sighed. "Oh well. Come
on kid, 
you and I are going out," he said as he
stood up and walked over to 
Usagi.

 

    The girl looked up at him and blinked. "Huh?
I've got 
to do this for..."

 

    "It can wait, Carrot and your mother seem to
have 
something to discuss in private," said the
man with a rough sounding 
snort.

 

    The girl blinked at this as she just missed
grasping 
what he was telling her in a round about
way. "Um, sure I guess. Where are we 
going?"

 

    "I feel like a beer, but since you're coming,
I guess 
I'll have to make do with ice-cream."

 

    The girl smiled cheerfully at this and jumped
up from 
her seat. "Great!"

 

    "I just hope she doesn't eat as much as 
her
namesake," grumbled Dan under his breath as he
walked out the door 
after her.

 

    The girl didn't appear to hear him and
cheerfully 
rushed off in front of him. "Come on! I
know a great place near here!"

 

    "Yeah, yeah," muttered Dan irritably.

 

++++++++++++

 

    Carrot shoved Xianfu against the wall and
smirked as 
she stared at him. Neither of them was
wearing a shirt at the moment and they 
simply
stood for a moment as they were. Their eyes
warring with each other 
for dominance.

 

    Yohiko had her skirt hiked up around her
waist, and 
one of her legs was wrapped around the
man's waist.

 

    He smirked a little more and rubbed his hand
down her 
thigh, pushing her nylon stocking down a
little. "So, here we are 
again."

 

    The woman put her face up to his, their lips
only a 
hair's width away from each other. "So it
seems."

 

    "You don't look like you're enjoying
yourself," said 
Carrot with a small chuckle as he
shoved her up against the wall. His chest 
pushed
her breasts up against her body, sending
sensations coursing 
through her. Her nipples
hardened and she gave an almost mocking snort.

 

    "You disgust me."

 

    "I know," he replied calmly as he leaned in a
little 
more, touching his cheek against hers.
"Intoxicating isn't it?"

 

    "What? You think I care about you? Is that
it?" she 
snorted.

 

    "Care? I wouldn't say that," he said as he
breathed 
into her ear. The heat of his breath
causing her to shudder as she clutched 
at his back
a little tighter with her hands.

 

    "Stop teasing me then," she said coldly.

 

    "You've known me long enough to know that I
enjoy 
teasing you," he said in a soft whisper.

 

    "A little too much," she said as she pulled
his head 
back a little with her hand.

 

    "Sometimes," he replied. "Right now, you love
it 
though."

 

    "Do you hate me?" she asked calmly.

 

    "No, I don't," said Carrot as he pulled at 
her
pigtail, jerking her head back gently. "Ranma
does."

 

    "Does he? So, this is just you then?" she said
with a 
cruel smile on her face.

 

    "No, both of us seem to enjoy this pastime,"
replied 
the man coolly.

 

    "Both of you?" she said as she glared into his
eyes. 
The hatred there causing an exhilarating
tremor of fear to run down her 
spine.

 

    "I never forgave you for what you did to us,
but 
Ranma, has not accepted it. I doubt if he ever
will."

 

    "So, what do you think of me then? Is it 
love,
something I can throw in your face?" she said
coldly.

 

    "No, you're a real bitch, but you are
beautiful. I 
suppose that helps," said Carrot as
he kissed her roughly. She responded by 
pushing
back with as much force as he gave.

 

    Carrot felt her tongue push gently between his
lips, 
inviting him to open his mouth. He pulled
back and chuckled.

 

    "You don't get it at all do you?" he said 
to
her.

 

    She cocked her head in a slightly annoyed 
and
confused fashion.

 

    "Don't you understand woman? I am evil.
Everything 
dark in this world is mine, my doing,
my plan. I am the devil, and you, you 
are the
goddess."

 

    "Is that so?" she said with a small smirk of
her 
own.

 

    "You and Pissant represent the light, and
myself and 
Ranma are the darkness. He's fallen
from grace, not as innocent as he once 
was. I'm
cold, calculating, and evil. The emotion he feels
the most is 
anger and rage. We rule hell, and
you..."

 

    "I am what?"

 

    "You're justice, Pissant is kindness 
and
forgiveness," replied the man coldly. "You know
it, and it drives you 
up the wall that you're so
attracted to it." He whispered this into her 
ear
and kissed her neck, moving slowly down towards
her shoulder, stopping 
to suck softly with each
subtle movement of his neck. "You love it, 
because
you know it's wrong."

 

    She muttered through her soft moans. "What
does that 
make Dan?"

 

    "Neutral. He's the deciding vote, the one who
decides 
which of us will win, when it comes down
to a decision."

 

    "The middle ground?" she said as she pulled
his head 
back and gently nipped at his chin. "Is
that it?"

 

    "You're not a fool," replied Carrot calmly as
his 
hand caressed her breast softly. Their lips
met again, this time he welcomed 
her tongue and
responded with his own.

 

    "What is it that you get out of this?" she
asked 
coolly.

 

    "My reasons are the same as yours, lover," he
replied 
simply.

 

    "Love has no place with us. Don't call me
that," she 
said with a slightly angry snarl in her
voice.

 

    "Fair enough. You know, I'm the only thing
stopping 
him from killing you now," said the man
with a slight growl to his voice. "I 
almost want
to set him loose on you."

 

    "You won't though," she replied. "I know I'm
safe in 
your arms."

 

    "Are you?" he prodded as he kissed her cheek.

 

    "Oh yes," she said passionately. "You could,
but you 
won't. I don't think you ever will." She
could feel the waves of negative 
emotion pouring
from his soul. It sent a tingling sensation down
her body 
as her danger sense kicked in, adrenaline
coursed through her veins.

 

    Carrot chuckled as he brushed the soft flesh
of her 
neck with his hand, tracing her jawline
slowly. "You're right."

 

    "Why is that? Why won't you?"

 

    "Because I enjoy this game as much as you do,"
he 
replied simply.

 

    He squeezed her breast again and slowly slid
his hand 
down her belly.

 

    She pressed herself up against the wall as he
did 
this, aching for release. "Stop toying with
me."

 

    "I'll stop when I feel like stopping," he
replied 
with a cruel smirk. Once again, he had won
the battle of wills.

 

    "So what does that make us? Enemies?" she
snapped as 
she stared at him with an anger of her
own.

 

    "No, we're partners, and we always will be.
Family, 
mate, soulmate, opposites. We are a part
of a single being."

 

    "And this is your way of jerking off?" she
replied 
snidely.

 

    "Everyone needs a little release, and Hotaru
isn't 
here to play with us anymore," replied the
boy in an equally condescending 
tone.

 

    "So. Go ahead and vent then," she said as she
shoved 
him back away from the wall and forced him
down onto the bed, straddling him 
forcefully.

 

    Carrot smirked as she pressed down his
shoulders and 
stared him dead in the eyes,
signaling that she hadn't yet given up the 
fight
just yet. She leaned forward, brushing the tips of
her nipples along 
his chest as she did so. "Do you
want this body?"

 

    "Is this a trick question?" he responded
calmly, his 
smile never once leaving his lips
throughout all this.

 

    "I'm tired of playing, and I've got the
advantage 
now. No more talking, understand?"

 

    Carrot smirked as she locked her lips on his
again 
and forced her tongue into his mouth,
forcing her way through his teeth. His 
resistance
was minimal though. She broke off and he simply
chuckled.

 

    "Why do you kiss me, if you hate me?" he
asked.

 

    She narrowed her eyes at this and smiled 
back.
"Because it feels wrong. It's very satisfying."

 

    "So you admit I'm right?" he responded.

 

    "I never said you weren't," she said coolly.
Her hand 
slid under the waist of his pants, and he
arched his head back, finally 
submitting.

 

    "Hmmm. Good boy," she said with a slight
cooing in 
her tone.

 

    "Never have been," he said through a 
small
gasp.

 

    "Well, that's what makes this so
entertaining."

 

+++++++++++++++

 

    Dan sighed as he watched the girl eat yet
another 
bowl of ice cream. He'd only ordered one
for himself, and he was still 
picking at the soupy
remains.

 

    "That was great!" said the girl cheerfully.
"So, do 
you think they're done fucking yet?"

 

    Dan almost fell face first on the table. 
"What
the?"

 

    "Oh come on! I'm not that stupid! I may just
be a 
kid, but I'm not that young!" said the girl
as she laughed at him.

 

    "I know that, I was just surprised about how
you put 
it," he said a little sourly as he glared
at her for a moment.

 

    "Well, they don't seem to like each other
much," said 
Usagi. "It's weird really."

 

    "I suppose so, they didn't used to be this
bad," said 
Dan with a small shrug.

 

    "Really?" said Usagi in surprise.

 

    "No, before, she was just trying to kill us
all the 
time," said the man with a small shrug.

 

    "Oh," said the girl as she blinked at the
comment. 
"This is better than that though, right?"

 

    "Not really," said Dan with a small frown. "At
least 
she leaves me alone these days."

 

    "Why do you visit so often?" asked Usagi.

 

    "Because Carrot is a horny bastard, and so is
your 
mother," replied Dan with another shrug.

 

    "Hey!" cried the girl.

 

    "This from the girl who just told me that her
mother 
was fucking some guy right now?" snorted
the man in retort.

 

    "Oh, well I guess you've got a point there,"
grumbled 
the girl irritably.

 

    "Yeah, pretty much," he responded with a
slight 
frown. The voice in side his head was
scolding him angrily about speaking in 
such a
manner to such a young girl. He pinched his leg
and it quieted down 
for the most part.

 

    "What did you mean about 'namesake'?" asked
the girl 
suddenly.

 

    "Huh?" said Dan dumbly.

 

    "You said something about a namesake when we
left the 
house. Oh, yeah." The girl seemed to
remember something and Dan felt a sharp 
pain on
his leg.

 

    "Ouch! Damn it!" he cried irritably. "What 
the
hell?"

 

    "What do you mean eat as much as my
'namesake'? Are 
you callin me fat?"

 

    "Actually, she was as skinny as a bean pole.
Grew up 
to be quite a pretty lady," responded Dan.
"She could pack away twice as much 
ice-cream as
you just ate."

 

    The girl blushed at this and muttered an
apology. She 
looked up at him again and sighed.
"Her name was Usagi?"

 

    "Yeah. I'm not sure if your mother named her
after 
you, or if she just liked the name. We all
knew her, but Carrot and I knew 
her a lot longer
than your mother did." The statement was full 
of
half-truths, but Dan wasn't about to start
explaining that they were 
the Supreme Being reborn
in a human body...sort of.

 

    Dan looked at his watch and sighed. "Come on.
We 
should get back."

 

    The girl sighed and nodded her head. "All
right. 
Thanks Mr. Dan."

 

    "Whatever," replied the man with a shrug. "I
just 
wanted to get away from all that screaming
for a while. It's no place for a 
girl your age to
be either. Even if you have done it 
before
yourself."

 

    Usagi froze and stared at him. "Wha?"

 

    "Thought I didn't know about that did you?"

 

    "MOM TOLD YOU?!!!"

 

    "Naw, Carrot and I are in on the whole
'Shadow' 
thing," replied the man with a shrug. "He
thought it was funny as hell. Me, 
not so much."

 

    The girl blushed and quietly followed the man
as he 
went to pay the bill.

 

+++++++++++++

 

    Carrot sat up staring at the wall. Xianfu 
was
sleeping soundly beside him, her naked body
covered in the sheets. He 
mulled silently and
turned to look at her for a moment.

 

    "You think we had something to do with this?"
asked 
Ranma suddenly.

 

    "With what we've been doing? The way we feel
about 
her? No, I don't think so."

 

    "But?" insisted Ranma.

 

    "Right, but I also think we know about it, and
we're 
using it somehow."

 

    "How do you feel about her?" snorted Ranma.

 

    "If you're wondering if I'm in love with her,
no. I 
don't love her. I don't know what it is,
it's similar, but not love," replied 
Carrot
calmly.

 

    "So you like her?"

 

    "No more than you do, but it's different. I'm
not as 
direct as you, you should know that by
now," said Carrot with a small 
chuckle. "There is
some feeling there. It's a bond, I'd almost say
family. 
Not quite, more like I'm clinging to a
part of myself that I don't like, but 
I can't let
go."

 

    Ranma nodded at this. "I understand."

 

    "Same for you too huh?" said Carrot with a
small 
snort of amusement.

 

    "Shut up!" snapped Ranma.

 

    "Stop it," said Carrot coolly. "You and I both
know 
it's true. We're more connected to each other
than the others are. There 
isn't much you can hide
from me."

 

    "Same here, don't forget it," snapped Ranma.

 

    "Much as I hate to admit it, I do care. I
don't want 
her to die, she deserves us more,"
replied Carrot with a cold smile on his 
face.
"She'll get what she deserves."

 

    "Let me kill her," snarled Ranma.

 

    "No," replied Carrot.

 

    "You're going soft."

 

    "You've just grown to hard, that's all."

 

    "Going to hell will do that to a man," 
snapped
Ranma.

 

    "Didn't do it to me," retorted Carrot.

 

    "You're different, you've changed too. Not for
the 
better either," said Ranma.

 

    "Maybe so, but we fit our roles as well," said
Carrot 
with a somewhat broken grin on his face.
"You've got to learn how to calm 
down. You're as
bad as this Akane used to be sometimes."

 

    "I..."

 

    "We aren't in hell anymore Ranma," responded
Carrot. 
"He's dead, we've righted the wrongs,
we've won."

 

    "..."

 

    "Our real victory is yet to come, have
patience. 
We've got all the time in the universe."

 

    "Ya really mean that too," said Ranma. He
chuckled at 
the realization and shook his head.
"Tired yet?"

 

    "Naw."

 

    "Then why is she sleeping?"

 

    Carrot looked down at Xianfu and brushed her
hair out 
of her face with his fingers. She shifted
and muttered to herself in her 
sleep. His hand
paused over her neck for the briefest of moments,
and he 
smirked.

 

    He leaned in and kissed her, rolling onto her
a 
little.

 

    Slowly she opened her eyes and returned the
kiss. 
Neither one of them said a word.

 

+++++++++++++++

 

    It was morning. Carrot sat up and shielded
their face 
from the rays of the sun. He squinted
and groaned in irritation. "Damn. Why 
is morning
so damn early?"

 

    "Shut up," muttered Xianfu as she rolled over
onto 
her side and pulled the covers a little
tighter onto her body.

 

    Carrot froze. Very slowly, he turned his head
and 
looked at the small alarm clock that rested on
the small table beside the 
bed. He gasped when he
noticed the time. "Eight hours."

 

    "What's going on?" grumbled Ranma irritably.

 

    "Ranma, it's been eight hours. Something 
is
wrong."

 

    "Wha?" muttered the lazy voice.

 

    "Dan? You in here?" said Carrot.

 

    "Who are you talking too?" asked Xianfu as she
sat up 
and slammed her pillow into their faces.
She slumped back down and started to 
snore again.

 

    Carrot narrowed his eyes at her and jerked 
the
blankets away, tossing her roughly out of bed.

 

    "What the hell? You bastard!" screamed the
woman as 
she jumped to her feet. She paused and
blinked at him for a moment. "Again? 
Isn't it a
little early for this?"

 

    He looked down at himself and his clothes
melted into 
place, she did the same and frowned in
confusion.

 

    "Do you have Dan with you?" asked the 
man
calmly.

 

    "Huh?" she looked blank for a moment. "No.
Didn't he 
leave already?"

 

    "Shit," muttered Carrot. "We never went back
last 
night."

 

    "Huh?"

 

    "Something is up. We're still separated," said
Carrot 
as he frowned at her. "We never merged back
last night."

 

    "Maybe we did it in our sleep?" muttered the
woman 
irritably.

 

    "I don't think so, all of us at the same time
is 
unlikely," said Carrot as he glanced around.
"We should find Dan."

 

    "Maybe he did it?" she muttered.

 

    "That wouldn't have separated the three of
us," said 
Carrot.

 

    Xianfu frowned and opened the bedroom door.
She 
walked out into the hall and frowned as she
noticed the man sleeping with a 
bottle of alcohol
in his hand at the table.

 

    "Wake up idiot," she snapped.

 

    "Hun? Whazzis?" he muttered as he sat upright
and 
glanced around. "Hey. Took ya long enough. I
fell asleep waitin on ya."

 

    "Waiting on what?" asked Carrot.

 

    "For this thing to run out? What time is it?
How much 
we got left. I think my watch is busted,"
said the man irritably.

 

    "Shit," grumbled Xianfu.

 

    "Well, this is just great," muttered Carrot.

 

    "You're damn right it is, get out of my
house," said 
Xianfu as she smirked at them evilly.
"Both of you. You're not welcome 
here."

 

    "Heh. Yohiko Hibiki lives here," replied
Carrot as he 
shifted forms in front of her,
becoming a mirror image. "Yohiko Hibiki, has 
my
handwriting too. I'm also the one with all of our
financial 
information."

 

    The woman's face fell. "Shit."

 

    "Huh?" said Dan dumbly.

 

    "Well, looks like Yohiko Hibiki just got two
more 
roommates until we figure this out," said
Carrot.

 

    "Maybe we just improved a little. It's only
been 
eight hours," said Dan.

 

    "No, doesn't feel right. This is something
else. We 
should get ahold of Xellos."

 

    "I'm afraid you're quite separate, at 
least
temporarily. It will last quite a while though,"
said the voice as 
Xellos appeared in the room with
a smirk on his face.

 

    "What caused this?" asked Carrot.

 

    "This? Well, I'm not entirely sure..." said
Xellos 
with a smirk on his face.

 

    "Can it loon. I know you know exactly what's
going 
on," snarled Xianfu.

 

    "All right, you have me," said the man as he
backed 
away from the three angry stares. "Some of
it has to do with that little talk 
you had with
Carrot last night."

 

    Xianfu gasped. "What?"

 

    "You've started to realize your places in the
grand 
scheme of things, now it's time for that to
develop a little bit."

 

    Carrot frowned at him and shook his head.
"That's not 
all though. Is it?"

 

    "No, but the rest...is a secret."

 

    "From us?"

 

    "Only myself, and L-sama know the full
details. 
Nephrite only knows what he needs too,"
said the priest calmly. "I couldn't 
tell you if I
wanted too. My hands are tied, not that I would if
they 
weren't though."

 

    "I'm betting this was your idea, whatever it
is," 
said Dan as he glared at Carrot for a moment.

 

    The man in question froze and simply stared at
the 
wall, knowing better than to argue with that
statement. "Heh." Both Dan and 
Xianfu were glaring
at him.

 

    "At any rate, I've said what I need to. See
you 
later," the mazoku vanished from sight and the
trio all sat down at the 
table.

 

    "Not a bad deal," said Dan with a shrug. "I
get some 
'me' time."

 

    "Who has Pissant?" asked Carrot as he glanced
at the 
pair.

 

    "He does, the whiner always goes with him,"
said 
Xainfu as she pointed at Dan.

 

    "Yeah, irritating bastard," grumbled the man
sourly. 
"I can ignore him pretty good though. I
got lots of practice."

 

    "Yeah, whatever. "Well, I suppose we're free,
for a 
while anyway."

 

    "Vacation then?" asked Xianfu cheerfully.

 

    "I doubt if that'll happen," grumbled Carrot.

 

    "Yeah, I hate us," said Dan sourly.

 

    "We aren't sure how long we have either,"
pointed out 
Carrot.

 

    "So, we'll work this out later," agreed
Xianfu.

 

    "Now what?" asked Dan.

 

    "Well, I'm going to wake up my lazy good for
nothing 
daughter," snorted Xianfu.

 

    "Our daughter," replied Carrot calmly.

 

    "Yeah, you do that," snorted Dan.

 

    "We'll discuss that later," said Xianfu as she
glared 
at Carrot.

 

    "She was my idea, she's based on my real
daughter, so 
I do have a legitimate claim here.
Don't start getting pissy with me. You'll 
regret
it, and you know better than to cross me on
something like this," 
replied Carrot.

 

    "What does this matter to you?" she said with
a deep 
hatred lacing her voice.

 

    "I like her, Ranma is attached to her, plus he
wants 
to irritate you," said Carrot with a shrug.

 

    "And you don't?" snorted Dan as he pretended
to 
ignore the conversation.

 

    "Well, I don't think it's a bad idea if that's
what 
you're asking," replied Carrot cheerfully.

 

    "Dick," snorted Xianfu as she turned away.

 

    "And that's about all you're interested in
from what 
I gather," retorted Carrot as he picked
up a newspaper from the table with an 
indifferent
look on his face.

 

+++++++++++++++

 

    Carrot sighed as he walked through the streets
of 
Nerima with his hands in his pockets; or
rather, her pockets. She'd decided 
to go out as
Yohiko again whenever she was in this area of
town.

 

    She paused and stared at the empty building in
front 
of her and her smirk fell. "What?"

 

    The Cat Cafe was closed down.

 

    "When did this happen?" said the woman in
confusion 
as she stared at the note. It informed
anyone interested enough to read it 
that the
Amazon's had returned to China. "Whoa."

 

    Carrot shrugged and turned away, moving down
the 
street. It was somewhat unexpected, but not a
complete surprise. Soon enough, 
the Ucchan would
be closing down as well. Ridding the area of the
last 
remnants of what Carrot and Dan knew as the
'Nerima Wrecking Crew'.

 

    "Well. Wanna stop and grab a bite?" asked
Carrot as 
they looked towards the Ucchan.

 

    "Sure, why not?" replied Ranma.

 

    The plan was shattered as a young girl turned
the 
corner in front of a small construction site
down the street.

 

    "What the hell?" muttered Ranma in shock.

 

    "Hey! That's..." said Carrot dumbly.

 

++++++++++++++

 

    "Aiya! Is the end for me!" screamed the girl
as she 
dashed away. A dark mass of black crows
flew behind her, gaining ever closer 
as they
threatened to overtake her.

 

    She gasped as she felt someone grab ahold of
her and 
swat the birds out of the air as she dove
by them. The strange woman was 
flicking stones at
them from a small pile at the edge of the
construction 
site.

 

    The bird's dispersed and revealed an angry
looking 
birdman that glared at her savior angrily.

 

    "Kah! Give me that girl!"

 

    "Heh. Come get her," replied the 
woman
confidently.

 

    "Kah! You'll die then!"

 

    Yohiko jumped back with the girl in her arms
and 
dashed down the road.

 

+++++++++++++

 

    "Hmmm. Looks like it might rain again." Ryoga
Hibiki 
was walking down the road with his umbrella
held over his shoulder as he 
wandered aimlessly.
His thoughts floated around the strange girl he
had 
met recently. He'd seen her a few times, and
she was almost as aggressive as 
Usagi had been, if
not a little more. He wasn't entirely comfortable
with 
her, especially with her weird pig obsession.
That was for obvious reasons. 
However, he could
feel his resolve weakening.

 

    "Damn you Ryoga Hibiki! Why must you be so
spineless 
when it comes to women?" he lamented
angrily. He paused when he noticed a 
familiar
figure running down the road towards him. "Auntie
Yohiko?"

 

    "Ryoga! Catch!" cried the woman as she tossed
the 
girl to him.

 

    He caught her without thinking and blinked 
in
surprise as he looked down at the small Chinese
girl in his arms. 
"Huh?"

 

    "Aiya! I'm delicate!" cried the girl fearfully
as she 
landed on him a little roughly.

 

    Yohiko smirked as she turned to face off
against the 
birdmen.

 

    "Give us the girl landling!" snarled one of
the pair 
of birdmen who now hovered in the air
behind her.

 

    She chuckled and glared at them icily. "Who
are you 
calling a landling feather boy?"

 

    The pair gasped in shock and almost fell out
of the 
air.

 

Out of Yohiko Hibiki's back, were a huge pair of
bat-like wings. They 
gave her a ten-foot wingspan
as they spread out wide behind her.

 

    "Auntie?" muttered Ryoga in shock.

 

    "What is this?" cried one of the birdmen as 
he
floated up a little higher.

 

    "She's not a landling? What is she?" muttered
his 
companion in confusion.

 

    "I've never seen..." muttered the other
birdman 
dumbly.

 

    Yohiko rose into the sky, just as a light 
rain
started to fall around them.

 

    The birdmen crashed to the ground and glared
at the 
woman, to their surprise she was now slowly
descending towards them with huge 
flaps of her
wings slowing her decent. The pair now appeared to
be human, 
their wings gone, and their clawed feet
and hands replaced with human limbs. 
"It seems
you're the ones with the disadvantage now. 
How
interesting."

 

    "Damn you woman! If it wasn't for this rain,
we'd 
have kicked your sorry ass!" snapped one of
the two boys.

 

    "I seriously doubt that," said Yohiko coldly.
She 
swat them into the wall with one of her wings
and they slumped to the ground. 
Ryoga and the
little girl joined in beating them to the ground.

 

    "You saved me!" cried the girl as she looked
up at 
Yohiko and Ryoga. The woman was regarded
with more than a little 
caution.

 

    "Hmm. So, tell me what those flying rats from
Phoenix 
Mountain were doing chasing you little
girl?"

 

    "You are their enemy?" asked the 
girl
cautiously.

 

    Yohiko laughed. "No, but I've heard of them.
Don't 
worry child, my wings aren't real. My
clothes have a spell on them." It was 
the easiest
explanation and she shifted into a Chinese style
dress to show 
the girl. "I've seen your face
before. In a photo on the Jusenkyo guide's 
desk."
Another lie, but it was the best way to explain
her 
knowledge.

 

    "You are Honored Guest!?"

 

    "At one time," said the woman with a small
nod.

 

    Ryoga gasped at this, his umbrella faltered in
his 
grip for a moment, but he managed to catch it.
"You mean? You too?"

 

    Yohiko sighed. "Not really."

 

    "Oh! I'm so glad," said the boy with a
relieved 
sigh.

 

        "Thank you for saving me. I am 
Plum," said
the girl politely.

 

    "No problem. You'll be safe with us. Come on
and tell 
us about your little problem. Maybe we
can help you," said Yohiko.

 

    Ryoga frowned at this and looked at his 
aunt.
"Huh?"

 

    "Come with us, Ryoga," said the woman calmly.

 

    "I..." muttered the boy lamely. He sighed and
did as 
he was told, walking after his Aunt with
his head hung. "I wish, I wish, I 
wish I had a
spine..."

 

++++++++++++++

 

    Next Time: Kiima! Wai! Wai! ^_^


 

Perfect Carrot- Consuming the universe, one Aspect at a time.


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