Minna-san,
FINALLY, Part 12 is done. Part 13 will be started up
today or tomorrow. That's the final "warm-up" scene
before the big fight between Oogi and Ataru.
Enjoy!
Fred
=====
Fred Herriotfherriot@yahoo.com**** **** ****"Fanfiction IS Real Life!"**** **** ****
______________________________________________________________________
Games, Movies, Music & Sports! http://entertainment.yahoo.ca
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: LoneS-12.txt
-- Desc: LoneS-12.txt
Somewhere in Tomobiki...
"M-m-m-mister P-p-p-president, is that y-y-you, sir?!"
A very rotund, thirtysomething man snaps to attention,
performing a perfect Mendou Clan salute to the image on his screen.
"Ah, Zani, there you are!" Oogi's image smiles. "I see you're as fat
as ever!"
Zani jolts, then instantly prostrates himself. "Sir, it's...!"
"Never mind!" Oogi cuts in. "I have a mission for you!"
The observer jolts up. "Sir?!"
"Track down the Great Evil," Oogi orders. "He is presently
living nowhere within the bounds of the Holy City, but he is said to
be close by. Those are the Sacred Words of several of the Holy
Company. Be quick about this, Zani. Time is of the UTMOST essence!"
he wags a finger at the oafish observer. "Despite all that blubber
you have, you ARE the best information tracker assigned to the Holy
City! Your knowledge not just of the Holy City but of the
surrounding area will come of GREAT value here!"
"I...?!" Zani blinks, then snaps back to attention. "Yes,
Mister President, I understand you fully, sir!! It shall be done!"
"Very well, then! Off with you!!"
The link is cut. Zani relaxes, then turns to the meal he had
been eating before the secure call came in. "Best finish this
off..." he mutters under his breath before getting to work on his
hero sandwich...
* * *
"Lonely Souls"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
**** **** ****
Based on "Urusei Yatsura" and "Ranma 1/2" created by Rumiko
Takahashi; and "Sister Princess," created by Naoto Tenhiro and
Sakurako Kimino. This story is set after the end of the "UY" and
"Ranma" manga series.
**** **** ****
NOTE: The writer's notes are at the end of the Prologue.
**** **** ****
THE TWELFTH PART - THE TOWER
"So this is Promised Island. It's a very nice place!"
"Not so much so, Mikiko-san, but it is home for us," Karen
gently squeezes Mikiko's hand as people step off Chikage's travelling
rainbow, its terminus on the grounds of Welcome House near the
rotunda where the sisters resided. "Here, your rooms are located
in that wing of the hostel," she points to the hotel-like structure
connected to the rotunda by a covered sidewalk. "Nabiki-san,
would you like to have a room here tonight?"
Nabiki shakes her head. "No, thanks. I think it's best if I
get a bed-and-breakfast in town. 'Sides, I don't think I'll be here
long."
"Don't assume so easily you'll be able to persuade Akane to
return to your family home, Nabiki," Chikage warns, the sorceress
presently standing behind the middle Tendou daughter. "I do not
believe she will be contusive to pleas from either you, Kasumi or
especially your father."
Nabiki acks, then spins around. "Geez, lady, would you MIND not
sneaking up on me like that...?!" she sputters.
"***THERE YOU ARE!!!!***"
Everyone screams out as a flying figure soars right at them from
out of the sun. Before it could come close to hitting Nagisa,
someone from the girls' left bodychecks him, sending him sprawling.
As soon as their vision clears, the sisters notice that the attacker
is none other than Sunmee, he now being held by a Boston Crab
takedown executed by Jonna. "You fool, who gives YOU the right to
glomp every Avalonian who comes here?!!" the priestess' daughter
snarls, crouching her legs to put on the pressure.
"Let me go!!!" the scientist screams. "I must have my girls
back!!! I MUST have my girls back, I tell you!!! LET ME GO...!!!!"
*WHOMP!!!!*
"Go....!" Sunmee moans from under a huge mallet welded by none
other than Mega-Rinrin, the giant robot having appeared out of
NOWHERE.
Everyone blinks as Jonna relaxes her takedown hold. Rinrin's
voice then orders, "Mega-Rinrin, bring him back here!"
Eyes turn to see the teen genius standing at the gangway leading
onto Sunmee's home. Behind her are Fungi and Orin, both expat
Niphentaxians shaking their heads sadly. "It's like he has a special
mental 'radar' attuned to Avalonians," the ex-observer mutters as
Mega-Rinrin picks Sunmee up by one clamp-hand, then wheels over to
drop him at Rinrin's feet.
"Seems that way, ne?" Orin crosses her arms.
The others walk over to join them. "Don't tell me the jerk's
still whining about getting his girls back," Sakuya sighs.
"Yeah!" Rinrin holds up one of her specially-made diagnostic
tools. "Geez! I've half a mind to get Hinako-chan and Aria-chan
to go up to that factory and get them down here, just to shut this
idiot up for once!"
"In other words, he is still hesitant about helping us," Chikage
muses, walking up to gaze down on the unconscious Sunmee.
"What's all this about, anyway?" Nabiki wonders.
"Oh, hi, Nabiki!" Rinrin smiles. "This creep showed up
yesterday morning looking for four Avalonians who worked as his lab
assistants. You can guess what *else* he might've used them for.
Instant he touched land, first thing he tried to do is glomp Jonna
and Orin. Lucky thing for all of us your sister's got that mallet
trick of hers; that made him *somewhat* co-operative! But we'd sure
like a lot more outta this guy, if you know what I mean," she thumbs
the rocket-like structure behind her.
"I see," Nabiki stares at Sunmee's mobile home, then she hums.
"Say, if you really want to threaten this creep, why didn't you ask
Akane to cook something for him? That'd make even that Oogi creep
sing like a canary!"
"No, we couldn't do that," Sakuya shakes her head as some of the
other sisters titter. "I mean, yeah! Onee-sama told us all about
how bad Akane's cooking can get. And I grant you, it definitely
MIGHT make this jerkoid co-operate more. But first of all,
Shirayuki-chan wouldn't have it at ALL, Nabiki-san. She protects
that kitchen of hers like a lioness protects her cubs! Anyone tries
to mess with her spices and stuff and we wouldn't hear the END of it
for a month!! And secondly...!"
"That could be seen, as the Americans might call it, as 'cruel
and unusual' punishment," Rinrin finishes, then winks. "Thought
I do confess that we might actually be forced to do something
like that! After all, this guy DOES have a kitchen onboard his ship
here."
"Oh, that's it, Rin-chan!" a strange voice then hails. "I turn
around and here you all are insulting my domestic skills!!"
Everyone turns as Akane steps up, accompanied by Marie. "Oh,
hi, A-chan!" Rinrin smirks, then screams as a blur leaps away from
her to latch onto Akane, that blur instantly becoming Sunmee.
"Oh, PLEASE, Miss, you MUST...!!!"
*WHOMP!!!!*
"...help meeeeeeeeeeeee..."
Jaws hit the ground on seeing that Sunmee was knocked
unconscious by a mallet welded by MARIE of all people! Seeing the
results of that, Akane smiles. "You're getting the hang of it,
Ma-chan!!" she nods approvingly.
"Arigatou, A-chan," Marie stows her hammer away.
The other sisters, save Chikage (who seems wryly amused),
shudder. "But, h-h-HOW...?!" Sakuya stammers for them all.
"Giving lessons there, Akane?" Nabiki sighs.
Akane jolts, then notices who else had accompanied the sisters
from Nerima. Gazing at her sister for a moment, Akane sighs, then
turns away, heading back to Welcome House. The others watch her go,
then Chikage walks up to stand beside Nabiki. "It appears you have
your work cut out for you," the sorceress gazes on Akane's sister,
then heads off.
Nabiki blinks, then sighs. "Appears so..."
* * *
The Nerima Ginza, sometime later...
"Oooh! I feel MUCH better already!" Ranma stretches herself
as she and Ataru walk down the street. "Some shiatsu treatment
by Negako, a good late lunch whipped up by Tampopo-chan, then a nice
walk."
"Yeah, I guess for someone used to roughing it 24/7, that could
be seen as an extraordinarily good day," Ataru smirks, resisting
the urge to reach over to hold Ranma's hand. "So what do you want
to do? Go see a movie now or do some window-shopping and catch a
later show?"
"Well..." the martial artist pauses, then sighs. "I ain't ever
done anythin' like this before, Ataru. Have you?"
"Me?!" the transplanted Tomobikian sighs, then nods. "A couple
of times with both Miyaki-san and Lum, but I never really sat back
and enjoyed them, if you know what I mean. Plus there were the times
on the Island I went on 'dates' (if you could call them that) with
my sisters."
"What did you do?"
"Depends on who you speak of," he muses, then guides Ranma into
the local Ginza. "Sakuya-chan always liked to shop for clothes.
Marie-chan loved raiding the library. Mamoru-chan's idea of a 'date'
is climbing that stupid statue atop Stargazer Hill. Take Karen-chan
or Hinako-chan to the nearest parfait shop and they'd be REALLY
happy. Had to watch it with Kaho-chan, given how she just trips over
her feet all the time. Shirayuki-chan's more of a homebody.
Rinrin-chan would always want to raid the junk shops for new raw
materials; damn lucky thing I arranged for her to have a 'research
trust fund' set up so she didn't have to raid me for cash all the
time. Haruka-chan would want to visit kimono shops, the kabuki
theatre or the onsen. Yotsuba-chan'd be playing 'Mysterious
Thief Clover' all the time if she wasn't busy crawling up and down
the island with her spy glass. I really couldn't do much with
Aria-chan since her governess would insist on chaperoning us all the
way. Hard to try to figure out what to do with a sister you just
found out about when you've got this girl from France looming over
you," he adds with a wink, grinning.
"What about Chikage?"
They stop in front of a jewellery store. "Actually, the only
thing I recall doing with Chikage-chan was spend a whole day
'out-of-body' visiting other spiritual dimensions," Ataru muses,
then kneels in front of several earring sets in the window display.
"Chikage's got some eclectic tastes when it comes to places to take
her on a date, Ranma."
"Yeah, I guessed that when she took me on my own little
'out-of-body' journey the night you told me about what happened
in Lumukyou," she muses, then blinks. "What are you looking for,
Ataru?"
Ataru blinks, then smiles. "C'mon," he waves her with him.
She follows him into the jewellery store...
* * *
"Oh, joy!!" Zani chortles delightedly. Now enjoying a hoagy
at one end of the Nerima Ginza, the observer had just spotted the
Great Evil enter a store near one of the entrances to the shopping
district. Accompanying him was a woman with bright red hair in a
pigtail, dressed in a sleeveless white tang, arm bracers and slacks.
Zani recognized the woman as one Ranma Saotome, the person who had
accompanied the Great Evil to the Holy Citadel the day the infidel
beast Alhamzi slew four of the Holy Apostles.
Nibbling his snack, the observer relaxes and waits...
* * *
"For me...?"
Ranma blinks, gazing on a pair of beautiful ruby earrings,
the ones Ataru had spotted in the window display. Embedded in gold
frames, the gems sparkle from the overhead lights. "Hai, for you,"
he smiles.
"I..." she takes the case in hand, then smiles. "Thanks,
Ataru. I really appreciate it. Er..." she then catches herself.
"Wait a sec'! Does this mean I have to get my ears pierced?!"
"It's quite alright, Saotome-san," the storekeeper announces.
Like most of the citizens of Nerima, he knew who and what Ranma was.
"We offer free ear-piercing with every set sold for those who need
it."
"'Sides, some guys these days get their ears pierced, too,"
Ataru adds with a wink. "Nothin' unmanly about it, Ranma."
Ranma stares at him, then reaches up to check Ataru's ears.
Sure enough, though he presently had nothing on, his ears had been
expertly prepared ahead of time. "When did you get this done?" she
wonders.
"On the Island. Got it done the same time Sakuya-chan
got hers done. She talked me into it," he smirks, winking again.
"Oh, did she now?" she crosses her arms, then shrugs. "Oh, what
the hell! If I can't trust Sakuya-chan's judgement, who can I
trust?"
* * *
"Hmmm..." Zani sighs, glancing at the jewellery store through
a special digital camera -- it also had remote sensors that gave its
user the ability to zoom in and view targets a kilometre away -- as
he munches on his second hoagy. "What are they doing in there...?"
he mutters, then jolts as the door opens. Concentrating,
he then scowls on seeing the Great Evil emerge from the store,
followed by the Saotome woman. One of the poor woman's hands was up
to her ears. Quickly thumbing the control to zoom up the image,
he focuses on a sparkling gem decorating her earlobe.
"Insidious..." he hisses, munching on his hoagy. So, the Great
Evil was actively courting this woman, eh? Glancing through his
viewer again, he then urks on seeing her give him a thank-you
kiss on the cheek. "Oh, this is SO insidious..." he growls, ripping
another bite of his hoagy, then he gasps on realizing he also had bit
into the wrapping...
* * *
"Thanks. I really appreciate this, Ataru."
"You're welcome," Ataru guides Ranma towards the food court,
then he sighs. "I hope I'm not pressing you too hard, though."
"What...?" she gazes at him, then smirks. "Oh, hell, relax!"
she bats his nose, then crosses her arms behind her head. "I mean,
yeah! There's still a part of me that's havin' trouble acceptin'
what Negako and Chikage've said about Jusenkyou and all that, but if
it's gonna happen, then it's gonna happen. No sense wastin' time
tryin' ta fight it an' all that if there's no cure for that type of
mental change," she points to her forehead, then she shrugs.
"Besides, if it IS gonna happen, then I wanna become the type of girl
*I* like! Smart, tough, willin' ta stand on her own two feet..."
she pauses, then gives him a content smile. "And wantin' someone
ta fall in love with her 'cause he CHOSE her and WANTS ta fall in
love with her, not because of some idiot arranged marriage made on
behalf of some lazy jerk's stomach," she gives him a one-finger
blow kiss.
He tilts his cheek to "catch" the kiss, then winks. "And that's
the type of girl I want, Ranma. Someone who's not afraid to tell it
like it is. And yes, of course, someone who CHOSE me for what I am,
not because of some strange cultural tradition or because we've grown
up together."
Ranma blinks. "'Strange cultural tradition?!' Ya mean Lum?"
"Hai, hai," he waves her to a vendor selling some Korean dishes,
including pulgogi (beef marinated in sesame oil) and samgyet'ang
(a young chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng and chestnuts in a
broth). After making the order to the cook in nearly flawless
Han'gug-ou, he stares at her. "I didn't find this out until after
she was gone, but on Lum's planet, if you tag an unwed Oni's horns,
that's an indication that you want to marry her. But, believe it or
not, it doesn't apply when there's an official Tag Race, like the
ones I ran with her. So, you might say that my whole engagement
with Lum was culturally incorrect," he shrugs, chuckling.
"I guess that with all the things she held back from ya, any
sorta marriage between ya two wouldn't've gone very well," she notes.
Ataru pauses, then sighs. "Ultimately, I guess you might be
right there, Ranma. Like Sakuya-chan said, if there's no real trust,
there can't be real love. And maybe, that was part of the reason
that I didn't want to acknowledge within myself that I did want to
love Lum."
"What do you mean?"
Before Ataru could answer, the vendor comes back with two piping
hot bowls of samgyet'ang, along with all the trimmings. Taking their
trays to the nearest empty table, both relax. "Well, ever since I
left Tomobiki, I often asked myself why the hell did I waste so much
time chasing girls who never wanted anything to do with me. After
all, they went to pretty long extremes to make their point to me
and..." he sighs, using his chopsticks to pierce the chicken open so
he could get at the rice inside.
"So what did you come up with?" she nibbles some kimch'i.
"I guess deep down, I was looking for a real, loving family.
Like my subconscious was telling me that I didn't have it with Muchi
and Kinshou."
Ranma snorts. "Got that right, especially with Kinshou makin'
Negako screw around with your memories. Not to mention her willin'
ta kill Sakuya-chan and the others just to get hold of your grandma's
money."
"Yeah, true, true," Ataru sighs, then uses a spoon to scoop up
some stew and rice. "And besides, look at the people I went after.
There's Sakura, who was engaged to Tsubame Ozuno; they probably
had been dating for some time before I ever met her. Lan was always
locked on winning Rei for herself. Ryuunosuke had to live with her
jackass father and what he was doing to her all the time. Ryooko
Mendou couldn't bring herself to be open with a 'commoner' like me.
Asuka Mizunokoji suffered from a pretty serious case of androphobia;
still does, in fact. Benten and Oyuki never approved of Lum's
interest in me (as was proven on Thursday). And Shinobu..."
"She walked away from you when Mendou first came."
"Right," he nods. "You know, outside of Lum and Chigaiko-chan,
the only other girl who showed real interest in me was a ghost."
"A ghost...?" her voice trails off, then she nods. "Oh, yeah!
She's the one who knitted that scarf for you, right?"
"Hai," he sighs, then sips his drink before yanking off the
chicken leg and dumping that into a soup bowl so he could strip it
down and eat it. "And PLEASE don't mention Elle or Kurama to me!
The former just wanted me to be Cute Boy 100,001 and the latter only
saw me as potential breeding stock so she could have a male heir to
carry on her royal line." His lips twist into a sneer, then he
sighs. "It's weird. I still care for them, especially the girls
I really liked but..." he pauses, then sighs. "I just find it hard
to try to LIKE them anymore, try to be friends with them..."
"I know why," Ranma holds up a finger as she scoops some rice
into her mouth. "It's because you've outgrown 'em, Ataru. Don't
forget, you spent ten friggin' years in Sanctuary, especially
recoverin' from the crap Oogi forced on ya on Phentax Two. It's
nothin' ta be ashamed about, ya know. You've moved on, but because
ya did it out of time (so to speak), they really can't understand
what you've gone through. And when they try to equate what you are
now to what they think you should be, they can't. It doesn't
compute, if ya look at it that way. So they fall back on what's
familiar to them, but since you HAVE grown away from what you used
to be like, ya won't put up to bein' belittled like ya did then."
"I'm not the only one," he notes.
She considers that, then nods. "Yeah, ya can say that, I guess.
After I found out what Oyaji did ta me..." she shakes her head. "It
just didn't make sense anymore. Everythin' I was raised to believe
in, Ataru. It all was based on a friggin' pack o' lies. Can you
believe that?"
"Oh, I can. Believe me, Ranma, I can..."
* * *
"Strange conversation," Zani whispers, glad that his camera
had a recorder in it so that he could review it later and make what
necessary notes he could before pressing on his investigation...
* * *
"Hey, Ran-chan, what are you...?! Oh ye GODS!!!"
Ranma turns, then blinks on seeing Ukyou and Konatsu standing
nearby, both gazing wide-eyed at her ear. "Oh, U-chan, Konatsu,
hi!" she smiles, then sensing their looks, grins as she brushes
her hair away to show off her ear. "So what do you think? Nice,
eh?!" she winks.
"Those look great, Ran-chan!" Ukyou smirks as she and Konatsu
pull up chairs to join them. "You get them for her, Ataru-kun?"
"Hai, hai, I did," Ataru smiles. "Out sampling some food
there?"
"Somewhat," Konatsu admits. "Much that I would never insult
Ukyou-sama's skills as a chef, one does get a little tired of having
okonomiyaki ALL the time, even with all the potential variations
available."
"Don't blame you for feeling that way," Ataru smirks. "Even
if she's driving herself to becoming the best chef around,
Shirayuki-chan doesn't mind the occasional break away from the
kitchen, either."
"Neither does Kasumi," Ranma notes.
"Yeah, I need a break every once in a while, too," Ukyou nods,
then gazes at Ranma. "Ran-chan, are you sure it's okay to do
somethin' like getting your ears pierced and all that? Your mom
might not like it even if you are becomin' a girl inside. 'Sides,
have you told her, yet?"
Ranma pauses, then shakes her head. "No, not yet. I mean, even
if the experts on this sorta thing say it's gonna happen come hell
or high water, part of me says there's still a chance. But..."
she bites her lip, then sighs. "Ya know, for as long as I can
remember, Oyaji kept poundin' me with 'Girls are weak!' and 'Don't
act like a whiny girl! You're a man!' and shit like that! And..."
she shakes her head. "I accepted that way o' thinkin' SO much that
when I was finally shown that girls can be strong in body and in
spirit, what did I end up doing? I insulted them, pulled the same
crap on 'em Oyaji did ta me! And look where it got me?!"
"You can't take all the blame yourself, Ran-chan."
"Yeah, I know that, U-chan, but..." Ranma stutters to a halt,
then she leans her chin on her palms. "'Be a man,' he always said.
'Everything in life's a fight, so deal with it as a fight! Talking's
worthless,' he told me. 'Your destiny's ta be the best martial
artist in the world! Don't turn away from your destiny!' Again and
again and fuckin' AGAIN!!!" she slams her hand on the table, causing
the plates to jolt, then she closes her eyes. "And it was all built
on a lie. Built that way 'cause that lazy bastard didn't WANT me to
decide what **I** wanted to do with MY life! Oh, no, no, NO!!! That
just wasn't right at all, 'cause in Genma Saotome's worldview,
everything hadta serve him!
"And he didn't care one damned bit that because of his greed,
my first real friend had ta suffer for ten years bein' what she
wasn't born ta be just to get some justice for havin' her dowry and
honour stolen!" she stares at Ukyou. "And he didn't care one bit
that because of his greed, who knows HOW many people got dishonoured
when he promised me to their daughters! He didn't care that because
of him, Shampoo was disgraced in front of her whole VILLAGE and I had
to live in fear that if things went wrong, people *I* cared for would
suffer because of it! He..." She stops, wiping her eyes, then she
blinks on feeling Ukyou's hand on her shoulder.
Ataru stares sympathetically at her. "In a way, we're all like
that at some stage in our life, Ranma," he sighs.
"Yeah, I know, I know..." Ranma nods, then stares at him. "But
he never once tried ta fix things up. Oh, no, he always kept
shovellin' it all on me an' all that! 'If you don't do it, then
YOU'RE the one who dishonours the family! Be a man and face your
responsibility!!'" she snorts, then shakes his head. "Why do ya
think I held off for so long about makin' a choice between all my
fiancees and all that? I didn't know what to do, but admittin'
that and following Oyaji's advice could'a got someone killed,
especially when ya factor Shampoo and her clan laws inta it! And
what's more proper? Followin' the first engagement that was made or
acknowledgin' the fact that U-chan's dowry was taken? And..." she
sighs. "And knowin' now that all that time, I was bein' prevented
from makin' my own choices 'cause Oyaji didn't want me to stray away
from what HE wanted me ta do...! Do you guys want to know how SICK
that makes me feel? How DISGUSTED I am now at him, at what he's
done?!"
"Ran-chan..." Ukyou sighs.
Ranma stares at her, then turns back to Ataru. "Ya know, in a
way, I really WANT this to be the new me," she points to herself.
"And findin' myself carin' for you, lovin' you OF MY FREE WILL...!!"
she reaches over to grasp his hands. "Yeah, I still think myself
as a man right now, but...! What type of man should I be? I don't
want to be the type o' lazy-ass shit Oyaji was! I don't want to be
someone who doesn't hurt people 'cause of what I am, what I do! I
don't want ANY of that, not now, not ever!!"
* * *
"Estranged from her father, eh...?"
* * *
"Ranma-sama, does that mean you're giving up the Art?" Konatsu
asks.
Ranma blinks, then draws her hands back. "I dunno, Konatsu.
I mean, I like practicin' the Art. And I always wanted to be the
best. It's what I am. It's what I can do. But...!" she stares
at Ukyou. "Look where it got me? Look where spendin' a decade and
more trying ta be the 'best' got me in the end? Very little in the
way of real, true friends. More enemies and would-be enemies than
ya can shake a stick at -- and when they show up, ya can't BELIEVE
the damage we can cause! -- and me losin' someone I cared for 'cause
I couldn't try ta respect her, make her happy...!"
"She has a responsibility there, too, Ran-chan," Ukyou notes.
"Yeah, I know," Ranma nods. "But in a way, I'm glad that
Akane's with Marie-chan now. I just hope that her dumbfool old man
don't try to screw THAT up! Akane doesn't need it and Marie-chan
doesn't deserve it."
"Whaaaaa...?!" Ukyou's jaw drops. "Wait a sec', Ran-chan!!
Are you sayin' that Akane's with...?!" she turns to Ataru. "With
one of...?!"
"Hai," Ataru nods. "It happened late last night, according
to Chikage-chan. Guess getting an Avalonian body after nearly trying
to kill herself really CAN alter someone's worldview, he?" he winks.
"Ava-...?!" Ukyou blinks confusedly. "What are you talking
about? And what's this about Akane trying to kill herself?!"
"Oh, you didn't hear?" Ranma blinks.
"Hell, no!"
"Well, it was like this..."
* * *
Zani shudders as he watches the Great Evil and his table mates
talk away. What the hell was THIS?! Two heretic Hollywoodites
rescued from the Cataclysm by the Great Evil, then somehow being
given Avalonian bodies so they could continue to live? And they
using a weapon that was rightfully the property of the Holy Guardians
to rescue this Akane Tendou from ending her life, then making HER
become an Avalonian, too? Madness...!
* * *
"Oh, shit! So THAT'S why she apologized to Yuka today!"
"Yeah! Nothing like a near-death experience, then being
literally reborn, ta make someone really take a long look at herself,
ne?" Ranma smirks, then moves to gobble down the rest of her
samgyet'ang.
"So where is this...? Staff of Gihan, you called it?" Konatsu
stares at Ataru. "I hope it's somewhere really safe, Ataru-sama..."
"Oh, don't worry about that, Konatsu!" Ataru chuckles, then sips
his water before winking at the others. "The Staff's in
Hinako-chan's hands now. And, just in case, we got a similar device
called the Genesis Wand of Paran and gave THAT to Aria-chan.
What better way to make sure Oogi or any of his fools DON'T get their
hands on it but to have it bond to a child, especially one who rather
likes to hang onto pretty things given to her?!"
Suddenly, a flash of blinding light explodes beside Ataru, that
morphing into two young girls welding beautiful magical wands.
"Konnichi wa, Onii-tama, Onee-tama!!" Hinako beams, waving her hands
in greeting.
Konatsu and Ukyou nearly leap out of their clothes at Hinako's
and Aria's sudden appearance. "You girls sure have sharp hearing,
don'tcha?!" Ranma chuckles, rising to bring two more chairs over.
"Tsue-san told Aria that Nii-ya just called out to her," Aria
admits, then smiles as she sits in the chair Ranma offers her.
Concentrating, she then causes the Genesis Wand to shrink to the size
of a necklace pendant, it attached to a chain wrapped around one
wrist.
Hinako does the same with the Staff of Gihan. Watching this,
Ukyou and Konatsu blink, blink again, share a look, then both turn
to Ataru. "Ataru-kun, are ya SURE this is the right idea?!" the chef
wonders.
"Oh, ye of so little faith," Ataru winks, then turns to Hinako.
"So, what exactly did you two do to Nagisa, Himiko and Mikiko when
they were at the house before they met Karen-chan, Sakuya-chan
and Haruka-chan?"
Hinako gushes. "Oh, that was easy! Onee-tama told Hina and
Aria-chan to make sure that Nagisa-oneetama, Himiko-oneetama
and Mikiko-oneetama were matched up to the right person. So, since
Karen-chan lived outside Japan with her mom and step-dad and since
Mikiko-oneetama wants to go to America and other places, Hina made
sure they could come together."
"Aria felt that Himiko-neeya and Haruka-chan were a nice pair,
just like Aria and Orin-neeya are," Aria adds.
"And since Nagisa was once a man, pairing her with Sakuya-chan
seemed the best thing to do, ne?" Ataru sips his drink.
"Hai!" the youngest sisters chime.
"What the hell's THIS all about?!" Ukyou demands.
"Oh, this just happened early this morning," Ranma smirks.
"Turns out that this Oogi creep Ataru fought on Phentax Two was able
to save three of the people who were said to have died when Tomobiki
High School was blown up by Alhamzi. So Oogi tried to program them
inta assassins so they could kill Hinako-chan, Aria-chan and Ataru's
other sisters, but...!"
"Chikage-chan saw him coming from miles away," Ataru finishes.
"Once Onee-chan got her hands on them, she gave them a little shiatsu
and with the Staff and the Genesis Wand here, 'disarmed' them!"
Ukyou whistles. "Oh, man, if this creep every found out that
you're callin' his every manoeuvre, Ataru-kun...!"
Ataru and Ranma laugh. "Well, what do you expect, U-chan?!
After all, this jerk's even dumber than Kunou!!" the latter smirks.
"Not to mention Mendou," the former adds...
* * *
"Oh, Goddess...!"
Zani shudders as the meat of what the Great Evil and his
companions just said sinks in. To believe that the Great Evil was in
fact SO powerful that he could easily predict the President's
every action against him? That he arranged to have two of his
infernal sisters seize control of the Holy Guardians' device and
another one just like it? That the Evil Sisters and the monster
called Negako had found it so easy to turn the Presidents' avenging
angels to the Great Evil's cause?! It...! It...!
Trying not to scream out in fear, the observer pays for his last
hoagy, then shuffles for home. He had to do some serious thinking
before he could plot out a plan of action against the Great Evil and
the Wicked Sisters to present to the President. And the sooner,
the better!
* * *
"Oh, Onii-tama!"
"What is it, Hina-chan?!"
"Um, Onii-tama, what's going to happen with those creeps who spy
on Seiko-chan's and Sakiko-chan's friends?" Hinako wonders. "Bou-san
told Hina that all those creeps are trying to find out everything
about Hina and Hina's sisters so that this Oogi creep can hurt
Onii-tama...!"
She sniffs, then feels Ataru's hand on her shoulder. "It's
okay, Hina-chan," he winks. "They might think they've got the drop
on all of us, but don't forget that Fungi-san's staying with us now."
"Who's Fungi?" Ukyou wonders.
"He's a guy who really doesn't buy into that crap the others
believe in, U-chan," Ranma reports. "Chikage snatched him on
Thursday, just before Ataru and I fought Oyuki's abominable snowman
at Tomobiki High. She's making him give up the locations of all of
Oogi's other observers."
"When the time's right, we'll close them all up and Oogi won't
be able to do anything to stop it," Ataru adds.
"Nii-ya?"
"What is it, Aria-chan?"
"Nii-ya, Tsue-san told Aria that there's an Avalonian with those
people," Aria reports. "A girl named Nari."
Everyone blinks, then Ataru hums. "Well, isn't that
interesting? How old is this girl, Aria-chan? Where is she now...?"
* * *
"Ah-CHOO!!!!"
Nari moans as she rubs her nose before returning to gaze at the
beautiful dresses now being displayed at Esmerelda's, Tomobiki's
premiere ladies' boutique. "Someone's talking about me!" the
lavender-haired girl mutters to herself as she focuses her
golden-brown eyes on a beautiful lime-green sundress, one that just
appeared there two days ago.
Currently, the youngest of the Niphentaxians observers now
residing in the Holy City is dressed in a black tank-top, white
slacks and a brown windbreaker. A hairband disguises the elegant
tips of her ears, tied under the back of her head (she preferred
to do that than wear the Walkman-like communication devices with the
fancy earplugs others used when they went out on the town). The
weather was cool but not too uncomfortable for Nari, a native of the
southern temperate zones of Phentax Two. In fact, it often seemed
to her that she had a special invulnerability to some of the more
drastic climate changes which often wracked this part of Earth.
Noting the price of the sundress, Nari sighs, then moves down
to examine the other new clothing Esmerelda's had to offer. Even if
she was here on Earth to help watch over the Holy Company and their
friends, she still was a young girl at heart, with a young girl's
interests. And being away from Phentax Two allowed her the chance
to do what so few her age back home could: scout out potential
boyfriends and girlfriends. Yes, she was only thirteen by the Terran
way of looking at things, but that didn't mean she wanted to stay in
her bedroom anymore playing with her dolls!
She stops in front of a combination denim jacket and blue jeans,
modelled with a grey-white turtleneck sweater. That looked nice...
* * *
Elsewhere in Tomobiki...
"Are you sure about this?!"
"I'm positive, Commander Shaskaar," the chief medical officer
for all of the observers in the Holy City, Iyuu, gravely nods. "The
blood tests don't lie and we've refined them over the years to ensure
that even those replicas of Niphentaxians are caught. Nari is
Avalonian."
Shaskaar blinks, then sinks into her chair before staring
wide-eyed at the doctor. "But how in the Goddess' name is that
possible, Doctor?! The Observation Security Committee makes DAMN
sure that no Avalonian can come here or any other place where our
co-workers are dispatched! How was this overlooked when Nari was
allowed to come here?!"
Iyuu sighs. "I send a communique back to the Homeworld about
this. Given the mass disruptions the Cataclysm has caused, obtaining
data from Nari's hometown was problematic. But it turns out that the
REAL Nari died as a result of Hifuto Syndrome when she was eight.
Her parents managed to keep that hidden from the general public,
then, when they could, they went to Phentax Twelve to obtain an
Avalonian copy of their daughter. To the majority of people there,
it was as if Nari had never died."
"Do you believe she knows?"
"Most likely, I believe she was deliberately programmed
NOT to realize she is an Avalonian," Iyuu sighs. "After all, we know
what happens to those who are caught trying to pass themselves
off as Niphentaxians."
Shaskaar nods. "Yes, that is true." Taking a deep breath,
she sighs. "Very well, then. We will have to dispose of her."
Tapping a control on her desk, she calls out, "Have Hoss report here
now."
"Right away, Commander," a female voice responds.
"A pity," Iyuu sighs. "Regardless of her origins, she is
faithful."
"That, as well you know, Doctor, can be easily changed."
"Hai, true."
The door opens, revealing Hoss. "You wished to see me,
Commander Shaskaar?" he walks up, then performs the standard Mendou
Clan salute.
"I have a mission for you, but first: what about Fungi?"
The field agent shakes his head. "There is no sign of him
anywhere in the Holy City or within fifty kilometres of the City's
limits, ma'am," he reports. "All we can assume now is that either
Fungi has been killed, removed to a place only known to the Great
Evil, or..."
"He willingly defected," Iyuu sighs.
Shaskaar blinks, then nods. "Yes, that is a possibility,
I suppose. His enthusiasm when we have our prayer sessions has
always been grossly lacking. But do you believe he would be willing
to turn over information on us to the Great Evil, especially
after the Cataclysm?"
"Hard to predict, ma'am," Hoss shrugs. "He has relatives
back on the Homeworld, relatives who did survive the Cataclysm.
We could, if we felt it necessary, dispatch people to ensure their
loyalty to the Goddess. But with all the heretical talk about
deposing the Church...!"
"Yes," Shaskaar sneers. "But with all that..." she shakes her
head, then sighs. "Maintain the search for Fungi. We may have to
dispose of him regardless if he's turned against the Goddess or not."
"Yes, Commander."
"And now, for another problem..."
* * *
"Oh, dear..."
"What is it, Aria-chan?" Ukyou blinks.
Aria holds up her arm. Instantly, the shrunken Genesis Wand
glows, then morphs to its full size, landing in the young Parisian's
other hand. Bringing the focusing crystal close to her ear, Aria
listens in, then she blinks. "Oh, dear. This is not good," she
shakes her head.
"What's wrong?!" Ataru tenses.
Aria stares at him. "Nii-ya. Some of the bad people who hurt
Nii-ya want to hurt Nari-chan now because she's an Avalonian."
Everyone's jaw opens. "Why?!" Konatsu demands.
Aria listens to the Wand, then stares at the kunoichi.
"Tsue-san says that because Nari-chan is an Avalonian, even if she
was adopted by her parents, she cannot be on Earth. Nari-chan's
'friends'..." the young girl's voice turns frosty, "...feel they have
no choice but to send Nari-chan to the Very Very Bright Place where
Akane-neeya saw her Mama."
Ukyou, Konatsu and Ranma pale. "Gods, why...?!" the chef gasps.
"Don't you know your history, Ukyou-san?" Ataru gazes at her.
"Back before their Civil War, if any American showed a hint at
African ancestry, especially in the old Confederacy, they were
normally branded slaves. That general attitude stayed in place for
almost a century after Gettysburg, what with the whole mess about
segregation and all that."
"Nii-ya, what do we do?" Aria pleads.
"Hina knows!" Hinako perks up. "Hina'll go get Kaho-chan!"
She vanishes in a flash of light. "Ah! Hinako-chan,
wait for Aria!" Aria calls out, then vanishes herself.
The older people stare at the space where the youngest sisters
had just been sitting, then Ataru stares at Ranma. "Care for some
exercise?"
Ranma blinks, then smirks. "I could use some," she nods...
* * *
Ten minutes later, a flash of light produces three people in a
back alley close to Esmerelda's. Kaho looks around, then whistles.
"Wow...!"
"C'mon, Kaho-chan!" Hinako waves the would-be cheerleader
with her. "C'mon!! Nari-chan's this way! C'mon!!"
"Okay, okay, wait for Kaho!" Kaho grunts as Hinako and Aria race
for the main street, then she cries out as she trips over a rock,
dropping to the ground. "Ouch!!" she groans, then seeing her younger
half-sisters gazes at her, giggles as she squeezes her fists close
to her heart.
Hinako and Aria sigh -- sometimes, Kaho couldn't take a dozen
steps without stumbling over herself! -- then head out into the
street. Kaho quickly follows. Once on the main street, they look
both ways, then Aria points towards the Pizza Emporium, one of the
more popular eateries in Tomobiki. "Ah! There's Nari-chan!
See her?!" she calls out.
Hinako and Aria look. "Ah, Hina sees her!" the former perks
on spotting a head of tomboyishly-cut lavender hair and ears
partially covered by a hairband. "See her, Kaho-chan?! See her?!"
Kaho looks, then blinks. "The girl looking into the udon
shop?!" Noting Hinako's and Aria's nods, she grins. "Okay!!"
With that, she races off towards Nari...
* * *
"Hang on tight, U-chan!! We're almost there!!!"
Ukyou tries not to throw up her lunch as Ranma takes the
telephone poles three at a time towards downtown Tomobiki.
Parallelling the chef's ex-fiancee, Ataru piggybacks Konatsu. "I'm
g-g-glad for th-that, R-r-Ran-chan..." Ukyou closes her eyes, trying
to control her breathing...
* * *
"Hey, has anyone seen Kaho-chan around here?"
Haruka looks up from helping Marie set cups and trays for
afternoon tea, then shakes her head. "I haven't seen her since we
returned from visiting Anigimi-sama and Anegimi-sama, Sakuya-chan."
"I have."
People turn as Himiko walks in, now dressed in ripped jeans and
a Tomobiki High Jackrabbits basketball tank-top. "Where?" Sakuya
asks.
"She just left with the two little munchkins for Tomobiki,"
the swimmer reports. "Didn't hear exactly everythin' they were
sayin', but it sounded like the little ones needed Kaho-chan's
help on somethin'."
Sakuya blinks, then sighs. "What's going on here, anyway...?"
* * *
Hoss smiles as he, Iyuu and three others head into downtown
Tomobiki. All had Walkmans on to cover their ears, a sight that
would cause some passers-by to possibly give them another, more
intensive glance -- were this not Tomobiki, Earth's capital of weird
happenings, of course. The observers had pistols tucked under their
jackets while the doctor had a small case carrying a syringe loaded
with a specially-devised poison known to be brutally effective
against Avalonians. Iyuu also has a small scanner the same size and
shape as a Terran palm-top. It was now locking in on the locator
beacon subcutaneously inserted behind one of Nari's ears.
"There," he whispers. "She's at the Pizza Emporium now."
* * *
This was so much fun!
Kaho tries not to grin too much as she places herself in front
of the udon shop close to the Pizza Emporium. Right now, Nari was
examining the potential offerings in the display case outside the
Emporium's main doors. Hinako and Aria had, once reverting
themselves to more normal clothes, put themselves to the opposite
side of the young Avalonian from Kaho. So far, Nari seemed not to
notice any of her would-be pursuers...
"Kaho-chan?! Is that you?!"
Kaho acks, then spins around to see a pair of familiar faces
gazing at her. "Eh?! Oh, M-m-Miyaki-san, Fujinami-san!"
she flusters...
* * *
Nari blinks, then looks right to see the Holy Friend Ryuunosuke
and the Sinful Doubter Shinobu standing some distance away, they now
speaking to a girl about her age, dressed in a red turtleneck
sweater and plaid skirt. Hearing the name "Kaho," the
lavender-haired girl blinks, then her eyes suddenly widen as she
remembers where she heard that name.
Then that must be...!
One of the Wicked Sisters!!
Nari shudders indignantly as she watches the Wicked One speak
with the Holy Friend and the Sinful Doubter, then remembers that she
is carrying a combat knife under her jacket flap. Though they were
strongly told to NEVER draw weapons within the Holy City, most of the
observers from Phentax Two did walk around armed. After all, given
the propensity for violence as the battle between the Goddess and the
Great Evil played itself out here, having something to defend one's
person with was smart. Grinning, Nari moves to shuffle closer to the
Wicked One. If she managed to kill one of them, then she would
deliver a terrible blow against the Great Evil and all that monster
stood for. Even more so, she would be striking back against the very
beast that slew her parents in the Cataclysm!
Before she could take a step, tiny hands snare her sleeves,
causing Nari to nearly fall flat on her face. "Hah!! Hina's got
Nari-chan!"
Nari spins around, stumbling out of her sleeves, to see two very
young girls now holding her jacket between them. The rather
over-dressed on with the platinum hair then reaches in to draw out
Nari's combat knife. "Oh, dear," she shakes her head. "Nari-chan
shouldn't walk around with something like this! Nari-chan might hurt
someone with it!"
"Hey!!!" Nari snaps, reaching for the knife. "Give that back!!"
Hinako and Aria drop the jacket, then split apart.
"Hinako-chan, catch!" the latter smiles, tossing the sheathed weapon
to her sister.
"Hai!" Hinako holds out her hand as the scabbard lands neatly
into her palm, then before Nari could grab her, tosses it back.
"Aria-chan!"
Nari falls flat on her face as Hinako skips back. Aria allows
the knife to land in her cupped arms, then steps back as Nari
scrambles to her feet. By then, Shinobu and Ryuunosuke have taken
notice of what is going on, as has Kaho. "Aria-chan, over here!"
Kaho calls out.
Aria tosses the knife at the cheerleader. Kaho catches it as
Nari spins on her, then lunges. "YOU BEAST, DIE!!!!" the Avalonian
screams.
Kaho cries out, stumbling back and tripping over Shinobu's
feet, falling daintily on her buttocks. Before Nari could close the
range, Ataru's ex-girlfriend snares her by the throat, then boosts
her off the ground, stepping away from Kaho as Ryuunosuke poises
herself to help. "Now, stop that!!" Shinobu barks, dropping Nari to
the ground. "What's the matter with you?! Why are you trying to
hurt Kaho-chan there?!!"
Nari gasps, moving to respond, then she catches herself. Before
she could figure out what to say, a hand tags her hairband and yanks
it off. Nari gasps, then breaking free of Shinobu's grip, spins
around to see her hairband being held by Aria. "Ah! Aria has a new
ribbon now!!"
"Shinobu, check her ears out!!" Ryuunosuke points.
Shinobu looks, then gasps. "She's Niphentaxian?!!"
Nari auks, then stares wide-eyed at the Sinful Doubter before
panic overcomes her and she turns to flee. Before she could take
three steps, Kaho's leg trips her, making the Avalonian kiss
concrete. As Nari moans, Kaho scrambles to sit on the former's
legs, then she grabs Nari's arms in a two-handed submission hold
Negako-oneechama taught her. Seeing this, Hinako and Aria cheer.
"Waaai!!! Kaho-chan got Nari-chan!!!"
By then, a small crowd has started to gather around the curious
fight scene. Ryuunosuke walks over to kneel beside Kaho, the tomboy
using her hands to keep Nari down, then she calls out, "Hey, anyone
got some rope we can tie this creep up with?!" she looks around.
"Allow me," a voice then offers.
Ryuunosuke looks up to see a smiling middle-aged man gazing
at her. The tomboy doesn't notice the curious earphones covering
the sides of his head. Hearing his voice, Nari looks up, then tries
not to scream out in relief on recognizing Iyuu. "I'm a doctor,"
the disguised Niphentaxian reaches into his jacket to draw out a
small case. "Just back from a house call. I might have something
to calm our alien friend here..."
Kaho's eyes widen on seeing him draw a syringe filled with a
greyish-silver liquid. "Um, Sensei, is that really...?!" she gulps.
Before anyone can say anything more, a blur slams into Iyuu's
jaw, sending him flying head-first into a telephone pole. Everyone
gasps, then Kaho turns to see who hit him. "Onii-chama!!!"
she cries out.
"Ataru-kun?!" Shinobu gasps.
Ataru relaxes, then ducks to pick up the dropped syringe.
Staring at it, he shakes his head. "Geez!" he gazes at the groaning
Iyuu. "You'd think people'd open their eyes and see what's really
going on."
Gasping for breath, the alien doctor staggers up, then turns
to see who just hit him. Not sensed by him, his Walkman earphones
have been knocked off his skull, allowing everyone a more-than-casual
view. "Oh, man, he's a Niphentaxian, too?!" Ryuunosuke demands,
bolting to her feet.
"Yes, he is," Ataru smirks, then sensing Iyuu moving to bolt and
run, barks out as his hand flings up, "***SEISHIN KUSARIGAMA!!!!***"
A chi-chain of energy snakes out to wrap several times around
the Niphentaxian doctor, then he is yanked into the air before
crashing into the street some feet from Shinobu. Konatsu drops down
at that moment, drawing out a real kusarigama to bind Iyuu down.
Seeing that, Ataru disperses the Psychic Kusarigama, then summons
the soulsword.
The crowd screams on seeing that burning blade of energy, then
fall silent as Ataru swings it down to hover VERY close to Iyuu's
face. "Now, Sensei," he grins. "Why don't you tell us all why you
were out to kill your friend here with the interesting little
cocktail of poisons in this needle?" he holds up the needle, the grin
crossing his face spelling out to Iyuu that Ataru was in NO MOOD to
put up to lies or backtalk...
* * *
"Commander, we have a problem!!"
"What is it?!" Ohei glares at the observer from his desk.
"Sir, several of Commander Shaskaar's agents have been caught
by the Great Evil and a couple of the Wicked Sisters in the downtown
section, close to the Pizza Emporium!!" the observer reports. "Field
Agent Hoss and several others had been sent out to locate an
Avalonian infiltrator in Commander Shaskaar's group, Nari! But right
now...!!"
Ohei quakes. The standing orders concerning Avalonian rebels
moving to disrupt their vital work in the Holy City were plain: kill
them at the first opportunity. "Send a team out to eliminate
them!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
* * *
"Wh-what...?"
People gaze on Nari. Sensing she wasn't going to bolt and run,
Kaho gets off the Avalonian's legs, moving to help her back to her
feet. The look on Nari's face is plain for all to understand.
"P-poison...?"
"Hai, Nari-chan, it's poison," Ataru nods, holding out the
syringe. "Enough of it here to kill a hundred normal people, either
Terran or Niphentaxian..." he pauses, then adds, "...OR kill an
Avalonian."
Silence.
"Wh-what...?" Nari stammers, her skin paling, then she spins
on Iyuu, the look in her eyes pleading that what the Great Evil said
was not true.
Iyuu shudders, then gasps as the sizzling soulsword blade seems
to grow before his eyes. "Answer the question," Ataru growls.
"I...! I...!!" he gargles, then screams out, "No!!! Nari,
don't believe this creature!!! Kill him!!! Kill them all!!!"
Before anyone can say anything more, the sick *THUD!!* of bodies
hitting asphalt makes everyone turn to look up the street. There,
Hoss and the others who had accompanied Iyuu were piled up on the
street, having been bushwhacked by Ranma and Ukyou. "'Fraid these
dorks won't be helpin' you there, sugar!!" the okonomiyaki chef
slings her battle spatula, then contemptuously slams her foot into
Hoss' skull.
"And look what we have here," Ranma holds up the observers'
pistols, her fingers looped around the trigger guards. "Don't people
realize that they need LICENSES to carry firearms around in this
town?!"
The crowd gasps, then murmurs echo from them as Ataru holds up
his free hand. Ranma tosses one of the pistols to him. Taking that,
Ataru nods to Konatsu. The latter draws his gaikatana, then aims it
at Iyuu's neck. Ataru disperses his soulsword, then gazes at the
captured observers before pointing to the youngest one. "Wake him
up," he orders.
"Right," Ranma smirks.
She grabs him by the scruff of the neck, then drags him to his
feet. A quick knife-strike to the back of the skull causes him to
moan, then as he stumbles free of Ranma's grip, he looks around.
Instantly, he spots Nari, then growls. "There you are, Avalonian!!
DIE!!!!"
His hand snaps for his empty holster, then he stops on realizing
that someone just disarmed him. Spinning around, he awks on seeing
a smiling red-haired teenager standing here, her fist cocked.
"Night-night!"
Ranma's punch puts him back into lala-land. As he collapses,
Ataru walks up, then aims the pistol at the man's head. The crowd
falls totally silent as Ataru then stares at Nari. "Well?"
The young Avalonian stares wide-eyed at the man she believes
is the ultimate devil of devils, then remembers what Juzhi just
called her before the red-haired woman knocked him out. Pulling
away from Kaho, she walks over to stand beside Iyuu. "Is it true,
Sensei?" she demands, her voice wavering. "What Juzhi just called
me? Is it TRUE?!"
Iyuu says nothing, then gasps on feeling the edge of Konatsu's
sword press on his neck. "I suggest you answer her question,"
he warns.
Seeing that, Nari blinks, then looks down. "I see..."
Everyone remains still as she turns towards Ataru. Stepping
over Iyuu, she moves to stand before him. He remains silent, then
holds up the pistol, twirling it around so that she could grab it.
Nari blinks, then lifts the pistol away from his hand. She freezes
for a moment, then steps back, aiming the pistol at his chest.
Seeing that, everyone cries out, then falls silent as Ataru holds
up a hand. "Leave her be!!!"
"Ataru-kun!!!" Shinobu gasps.
"Leave him alone, Miyaki!!!" Ranma points at her.
People freeze in place, unsure of WHAT to do now. Ataru lowers
his hand, then stares into Nari's eyes. The latter's brim with tears
as she gazes at him. The former remains calm as he places thumb and
index finger on the barrel. He pushes the pistol up so that Nari is
now aiming at his forehead. Seeing that, Ryuunosuke and Shinobu
move to grab hold of Nari. An icy glare from Ataru halts his former
classmates in their tracks.
"Onii-chama...!!" Kaho shudders, then blinks on feeling Hinako's
and Aria's hands on her shoulders. Gazing at her sisters, she
notices their smiles, then she relaxes, turning back to Ataru and
Nari.
The young Avalonian stares tearily at him, a tidal wave of
uncertain questions echoing in her mind as she sees Ataru closes
his eyes. "Right there," he whispers. "Now, make sure the safety's
off..."
Nari blinks, then feels her thumb press the lever down, freeing
the hammer and charge guard, making the pistol "hot." Shuddering,
her mouth flutters soundlessly as Ataru then adds, "Put your finger
in the guard."
The index finger quakes as it slips into the trigger guard,
though she doesn't let it fall on the trigger itself.
"Ataru-kun...?!" Shinobu shudders, her body shifting so that she
could lunge at Nari.
"Stay right where you are, Shinobu," Ataru icily orders, his
eyes opening slightly to gaze on her. "If you ever, even ONCE, truly
cared for me since we first met, you'll stay right where you are!"
Hearing that, Shinobu shudders, then looks away. Nari quakes,
then glances briefly at Ryuunosuke. The look the Holy Friend gives
her now is plain for the Avalonian to understand. But why? Why?!
Why did she want to show mercy to HIM?! This was the Great Evil...!
This...! This...
"Don't you hate him...?"
Was that her speaking?
"Well?!" Nari glances at the crowd. "WELL?!!"
Silence falls. Some of the onlookers turn away, not wanting
to gaze anymore in their direction. "Don't you HATE him?!" Nari
demands, pulling the pistol back as she spins around, trying to get
someone to respond. "He's the one you blame for EVERYTHING that's
happened here since Lum-sama first came!!! He's the one who's ALWAYS
been at fault!!! You've ALWAYS hated having him here, right?!!
You've always hated him!!! Right?!! Why won't you let us kill
him?!! It's what you want, isn't it?!!"
People stop, then stare at her before some gaze at Ataru. He
remains silent, eyes closed -- as if he is meditating. Nari spins
around, trying to find someone to answer her. No one says anything.
Perhaps no one is sure WHAT to say at a time like this. "WELL?!?!"
she cries out.
Silence.
Nari shudders, then gazes at Shinobu. "Shinobu-sama,
you hate him, don't you?!" she walks up to her. "You hated it when
he wouldn't pay any attention to you, then when he came, you gave
yourself to Shutaro-sama!! And you hated it every time he tried to
force himself on you!!" she points back at Ataru, then points to her.
"You DO hate him, don't...?!"
Shinobu's hand slams into Nari's cheek, causing the latter to
drop to her knees. Everyone remains silent as the former closes
her eyes, then reaches down to yank the pistol out of the latter's
hand. "Hate him...?" Shinobu opens her eyes, then she glances
briefly at Ataru. His eyes remain closed. "Hate him...?" she
squeezes her eyes shut, then she stares down at Nari, who gazes
wide-eyed at her. "How dare you?! How DARE you PRESUME you can
judge my relationship with Ataru-kun better than **I** can?! How
DARE you think you can act on MY behalf when it comes to him?!" She
steps back, aiming the pistol at Nari's head. "***HOW DARE YOU
PRESUME YOU CAN READ MY DIARY, THEN TWIST MY WORDS AROUND JUST SO
THAT YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO WHOMEVER YOU WANT, ESPECIALLY
THE MAN I STILL LOVE?!?!***"
Nari jolts, then seeing the outrage building in Shinobu's
eyes, tries to reason with her. "Shinobu-sama, don't you
understand?! He's trying to manipulate you against Lum-sama and the
others in...!!"
Another slap knocks her down. "***SHUT UP!!!!***" Shinobu
screams. "***JUST SHUT UP!!!! DON'T YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING LIKE
THAT!!! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!!!! NOT YOU!!! NOT YOU!!! NOT
YOU!!!!***" she points at Nari, then at Iyuu, then at Hoss, then
straight up. "***AND ESPECIALLY NOT OOGI!!!! NONE OF YOU HAVE A
RIGHT TO SAY A THING ABOUT ME, ABOUT ATARU-KUN, ABOUT ANY OF THE
'HOLY COMPANY' AND ABOUT LUM, TOO!!!!***" She leans over to yank
Nari up, then growls, "Remember this: your 'goddess' is DEAD!"
She shoves the Avalonian away. Nari collapses to her knees,
then stares pleadingly at Shinobu. "Shinobu-sama, please...!!"
"SHUT UP!!!!" Shinobu barks her back down, then walks around
her. Stopping before Ataru, she holds the pistol up. "Here," she
places that into his hand, then stares at him. "As far as I'm
concerned, as far as we ALL are concerned, Ataru-kun, you can kill
them all!!" With that, she grabs him by the cheeks, then swamps
him with a kiss. He remains passive as she pulls back, then smiles.
"Sayonara, Ataru-kun. Aishite yo."
Turning away, she runs off. People watch her go, then Ataru
sighs before glancing at Ryuunosuke. "Go be with her," he whispers.
She blinks, then returns his look. "What about you?"
"None of my business anymore."
"It don't have to stay that way, you know."
He shakes his head. "It's too late, Ryuu-chan. Get going."
Ryuunosuke blinks, then smiles before racing off after Shinobu.
Seeing her go, Nari screams out, "Ryuunosuke-sama, don't!!!"
The tomboy spins on her. "Screw you!!" she spits on the ground
by Nari's knees, then looks away. "Far as I'm concerned, you can all
join your friggin' 'goddess' in the lowest pit of HELL!!!"
She races off. "Ryuunosuke-sama...!" Nari shudders, then spins
around as Ataru walks up to her. "YOU did this, you beast!!" she
points accusingly at him. "YOU turned them away from Lum-sama!!!"
Ataru sighs, cleaning out one of his ears with his little
finger, then he shrugs. "Well, if that's what you want to believe
about me, go right on ahead! I can't stop you from believing
that sort of stuff! Still, it DOES kind of mystify me that your
'friends' here..." he indicates the prostrate Iyuu, "...were more
willing to kill YOU because you weren't as 'human' (or however they
say it on Phentax Two) as they!"
Nari shudders, then jolts, her eyes widening before her body
starts to quake. "No...! N-no...!" she shakes her head, pressing
her fingertips into her temples as fear and nausea begin to rip
through her body.
Ataru sighs, then holds up the pistol. Nari blinks, then stares
wide-eyed at him. "Tell me something," he wonders. "If those of you
in the Church found others who believed as you do about Lum and the
others, would you chase them off or welcome them as part of the
Faithful?"
"I..." Nari blinks, then gulps before answering, "Welcome
them."
"So what makes you now so different?" he nods at Iyuu. "You're
Avalonian. They're Niphentaxian. Isn't that right?" he gazes down
at the doctor. "Isn't that why you and your friends came out to kill
her? Just because she's an Avalonian, a 'slave' in the eyes of all
your kind, does that give you a right to kill her, even if she's one
of the Faithful?"
Iyuu shudders, then spins on Nari. "Don't listen to...!!"
Ataru's foot shuts him up. "That's not what I asked you!"
* * *
"Commander, we have the Avalonian in our sights."
"Kill her! Now!!"
"Hai!"
* * *
Hinako suddenly perks as a whispering non-voice echoes deep in
her mind. She then looks up to see a small beacon of reflected
light shine from the edge of the roof of the building across the
street. Her eyes widen, then she screams out, "ONII-TAMA, LOOK
OUT!!!!"
Ataru stares at her, then quickly noting where Hinako is
pointing, spins around. His eyes lock in on the flash of light
reflecting from a gun barrel, then his pistol snaps up as he sends
three shots in that direction. They slam into the masonry under the
barrel, eliciting a shocked scream from the sniper. The crowd
panics, well-honed danger senses making them quickly disperse from
the area. "Hina, Aria, get her out of here!!!" he grabs Nari by her
shirt and flings her at Kaho. "The Island!!"
Before the startled Avalonian could reply, Kaho grabs her in a
bear hug. The Staff and the Genesis Wand are out as Hinako and Aria
teleport their sister and Nari away from Tomobiki. Nothing that,
Ataru smiles as he aims the pistol at Iyuu. "REAL doctors don't kill
people!" he coldly states before sending a bolt of energy into the
top of the Niphentaxian's head, then he aims at the other prisoners.
"Get off them!!"
Ranma and Ukyou need no further invitation. As soon as the
Nerimites are clear, Ataru drills the Niphentaxians with one shot
each to the head. Once done, he summons a chi ball to destroy the
pistol before springing into the air. Using a nearby telephone
pole as a stepping stone, he bounds for the roof where the sniper
was. Once having a clear view of the roof, he notices three other
people there, they now helping their wounded comrade away from the
potential battle scene. Ataru smirks as he swings down for a
landing, bellowing "***KONTOU!!!!***" as he summons a soulsword.
The warning shout makes the Niphentaxians look up, but it is too
late for them. Ataru lands on one, cutting him down vertically
before using a cartwheel cut to slice through the heads of two
others. As soon as they drop, Ataru gazes on the wounded sniper
for a second before sending the chi-blade through his face. As soon
as the sniper's body begins to twitch in its death-throes,
trying in vain to keep alive a soul already cleaved out of its brain,
Ataru draws the soulsword back, then disperses it.
By then, Ranma has come to the roof, carrying Ukyou with her.
They pause, noting that Ataru is now just standing there, staring
at the dead sniper's face. Ranma then asks, "Hey, Ataru, you okay?"
Ataru jolts, then sighs before returning her look. "Amazing
how easy it is, ne?" an ironic smile tugs at his mouth.
Ukyou pales, then moves to lean against an air vent. "Did you
HAVE to do that?" she coughs as nausea surges through her.
Ataru sighs, then walks over to gently press a couple of shiatsu
points on the chef's back to calm her stomach. "No, but capturing
them wouldn't've driven the point home," he admits. "Religious
fanatics like them..." he absently thumbs the sniper team, "...won't
listen to reason in the long term. After all, they believe THEY'RE
in the right."
Ukyou takes that in, then crouches, taking several deep breaths
to soothe her gag reflex. Ranma walks over to kneel beside her best
friend, placing a comforting hand on Ukyou's shoulder. The chef nods
thanks, then stares at Ataru. "Well, you know these clowns better
than we do, sugar."
"Unfortunately, I do," Ataru nods, then reaches down, opening
the sniper's jacket. Quickly locating his personal communicator,
Ataru draws it out, then after giving it a quick inspection,
taps controls...
* * *
"WHAT?!?!?!"
"It's true, Commander!" the computer technician stares wide-eyed
at Shaskaar. "The life monitors for Doctor Iyuu, Field Agent Hoss
and their team all report that...!" she stops, stuttering as the
unreality of it all hits home. "That...! Th-they're d-d-...!"
she turns away.
Shaskaar jolts, then squeezes her hand over her heart.
"Dead...?"
The technician feebly nods, then jolts as a new message comes
in. She draws it up, then pales as the gist of the message hits
home. "No...!"
"What?!!" the commander demands.
The technician blinks, blinks again, then stares once more at
her leader. "C-commander Ohei's sniper squad...! They're dead,
too...!"
Shaskaar is still, the shock of that second message freezing
her. She was told not two minutes ago that Ohei had dispatched
a team to assist Iyuu's group in dealing with Nari. Hopefully,
the group could have also tried to deal with the Great Evil and the
Wicked Sisters, but eliminating the Avalonian was top priority.
Optimally, no one outside the Niphentaxian Union knew of the bioroid
race's existence. Naturally, the Church did all its best to ensure
that state of affairs STAYED that way. But now...!
A beep echoes from her desk unit. Shaskaar blinks, not
responding at first. The beep echoes several more times before the
commander catches herself, then staggers over to answer it. "Yes?!"
"Tell me something," a familiar -- and certainly UNWANTED
-- male voice asks. "How does it feel now to be the hunted?"
Shaskaar blanches, then staggers back. "Moroboshi...!"
"What just happened now is only the beginning," Ataru icily
states. "Just like I did when I helped the Noukiites and the
Zephyrites hunt down all the Imperials on Uru, so shall I do to you
and all your friends here. AND what I will do to Oogi very soon.
Don't expect anyone to help you. No one CAN help you. I made VERY
sure of that. The choice is yours, bitch. Surrender or die. No
conditions. Make it a wise choice."
The link is cut. Shaskaar blinks, then senses the technician
staring wide-eyed at her. "Commander, what do we do now?" she
whispers.
"I...!"
A gloved hand lands on Shaskaar's shoulder. She spins around
to see another unwelcome face gazing intently at her. "I'm afraid
you won't be using these to spy on your so-called 'holy company'
anymore," Chikage holds up a baseball-sized device looking like a
crude cartoon oni, with wire arms and legs, plus two camera lenses
for eyes. "Some of them were VERY curious as to how you were able
to read their diaries to compose your so-called 'holy book.' The
lessons they learned were quite illuminating."
With a shove, Chikage sends Shaskaar to the floor, then vanishes
into the darkness before the technician could react. Silence falls,
then the younger woman walks over to help her group leader back up.
"What do we do now, ma'am?" she repeats her earlier question.
Shaskaar blinks, then seems to collapse in on herself. "We have
lost," she whispers, then straightens herself. "Have everyone
come here now. Signal the other team leaders. Tell them what's
happened."
"I...!"
The commander gazes on her. "What chances do you think the
Great Evil will give you if you try to surrender?"
The younger woman blinks, then nods. "H-hai..."
* * *
An hour later...
"So this is what they used to read my son's diary?"
"Yes, Mrs. Megane, it is," Ataru places the deactivated
remote camera into Rui Megane's hand. "Really ingenious when you get
down to it. No risking an actual person in breaking into Aisuru's
bedroom to get camera shots of his diary pages. The only risk
would've come at the beginning, when these things were sent out for
the first time."
"Why do you say that, Ataru?" Sakura wonders. Presently
standing in the street by to the Pizza Emporium with Ataru, Ranma,
Chikage, Ukyou and Konatsu are members of the 'holy company' (plus
a Sinful Doubter), as well as Mendou and the mothers of Lum's other
'holy apostles.'
"Simple," Ataru lightly shrugs, absently watching technicians
from the mortuary load the bodies of Iyuu and his co-workers
into a hearse for a trip to Nerima. Given the Niphentaxians'
origins and purpose for being on Earth, the chief of Tomobiki's
local police (after liaising with the SCAA in New York about this)
reported that the bodies would be cremated at once, then disposed
of in an undisclosed location. "Reigi-kun once told me that you have
to know the whole truth (or as much of it as possible) to lie
convincingly. So, for Oogi and those who helped that jerk compose
the Book of Lum, they had to have a good knowledge base about what
you were like personality-wise. It's easy to conclude that the first
time these little suckers were sent out, they spent a good while
locating and photocopying your diaries, both past and present.
After that was done, all they needed to do then was 'update' their
databanks every time you wrote a new page."
"Unbelievable," Cherry shakes his head. "Their devotion to
their faith is truly admirable, but to go to such means to sustain
it...?"
"So what do we do now?" Ryuunosuke growls. "Hey, Ataru, your
friends got good locations on where the rest of these clowns...?"
Before she could finish her question, her's words are
interrupted by a sharp *CRACK!!* echoing from the direction of
Tomobiki High. Everyone's eyes snap over to see a plume of smoke
and burning debris leap into the air. Ataru's cell-phone then rings.
"Yeah?" he snaps it up.
"Young Master, it's Denpatan," comes over the speakers. "One
of the aliens' base homes was just destroyed by an internal
explo-...!"
Another blast is heard, this one from the area of the Mendou
estate. That is followed by two more, both sounding like gunshots
from a combat rifle. Mendou's cell-phone rings this time. "Yes,
what is it?"
"Sir, three more explosions," Denpatan reports. "All confirmed
bases for Niphentaxian spies. It appears they're not..."
"Opting for either unconditional surrender or battle," Ataru
nods, then jolts as yet ANOTHER blast echoes from the area of
Sakura's shrine. Taking a breath, he asks, "I take it that was
another one."
"Yes, sir," Denpatan sighs. "All main bases we know of thanks
to Fungi-san's information are now in flames."
"Alright. Inform the police and the Special Committee about
it."
"Hai, Young Master, right away."
Ataru clicks off the cell-phone, then notices the bewildered
looks on everyone else's face. "I just can't believe that," Shinobu
sighs. "Why would they choose to kill themselves? We wouldn't've
killed them!"
"After what happened on Phentax Two, what should they've
thought?" Ranma snorts, then stares at Ataru. "Well, I guess the
movie's a bust now. What say we head back to our part of town and
relax?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," he stretches, then stares
at Ukyou and Konatsu. "You two need a 'lift' back to Nerima?"
"Um...! Er, n-no thanks, Ataru-kun," the chef shudders,
remembering the stomach-dropping trip they took to get here. "We'll
take the normal way back. Heaven knows, I'm nauseous enough from
what happened."
"Okay, suit yourselves," Ranma smirks as she and Ataru head off.
The others watch them go, then exchange looks. "How can they
act so calm about what just happened?" Shinobu demands. "Don't they
care...?"
"They care more for the fact that those they think of as family
are now safe, Miyaki-san," Chikage gazes tranquilly at her. "In the
end, that is the final choice all can make in a situation like this."
She turns to leave. "Besides, with them all gone and their remote
observation network permanently disrupted, what can Oogi use to
continue prosecuting his battle against Ani-kun? The Avalonians
on the factory in orbit?"
Chuckling, the sorceress vanishes. "She's got a point there,
ya know," Ukyou smirks. "After all, living well IS the best revenge,
ne?"
The people from Tomobiki exchange a look, then Shinobu sighs.
"I guess it's really starting to sink into us now about what this was
all about. I mean, it was OUR words that motivated them..."
"Maybe," Ukyou sighs, then shakes her head. "But still, ya
gotta remember there, sugar. Your private lives WERE invaded.
Your private thoughts WERE made public, all ta hurt Ataru-kun
in the long term."
"Hai, that's true," Shinobu ruefully nods. "Even worse,
Ataru-kun himself read that so-called 'holy book.'"
"Did he now?" Ukyou perks, then sighs. "Well, I guess I can
pretty well understand why he wanted to leave this place. C'mon,
Konatsu, let's get back to the shop so we can get set for the evening
rush."
"Hai, Ukyou-sama," the kunoichi nods...
* * *
Promised Island, some minutes later...
"They all killed themselves?"
Haruka, Sakuya, Fungi, Jonna and Orin are pale-faced as they
listen to Chikage's report in the dining hall. "Hai, not more than
ten minutes ago. It appears that their overall morale was much lower
than we all first suspected," the sorceress sighs, then stares at the
lone male in the room. "If you wish to see them sent back to your
homeworld...?"
He blinks, then sighs. "No. Given that almost all of us on
Earth lost relatives in the Cataclysm -- not to mention what the
prevalent mood on the Homeworld and elsewhere might be right now --
the chances are there that the ashes'll be dumped in a lake and
forgotten. I..." he pauses, then sighs. "Still, I'd like to see
them properly buried here on Earth, though. In spite of what they
did, what they believed, Chikage-san, I know they all very much
thought of Earth as their second home."
"Agreed," Haruka nods. "One must respect one's enemy,
especially when they chose to die rather than face the humiliation
of surrender."
"We might as well bury them on one of Obaa-sama's farms," Sakuya
shakes her head. "I doubt anyone else in Japan'd be willing to allow
aliens to be buried in any public cemetery, especially if said aliens
would've gladly destroyed our whole planet if they had the chance."
The others nod. "May the Spirit of Eternity have mercy on their
misguided souls," Orin closes her eyes, then perks as the door opens.
"Yo, what's goin' on here?!" Himiko demands as she, Mikiko,
Nagisa and Akane step inside the dining room. "NHK's come out with
a news flash about a fight between Ataru-kun and some of Oogi's
people in Tomobiki!"
"Get yourself a chair and relax, Himiko-chan," Sakuya sighs.
"This is going to be something of a LONG story..."
* * *
"***CURSE YOU, MOROBOSHI!!!!!!***"
Oogi's astral form seems to waver, then the disembodied
Niphentaxian president concentrates. As soon as his psychic 'body'
solidifies anew, he gazes intently at the readout before him. All
the special monitor devices destroyed. All the controlling
computers that took in the feed from ALL the monitoring devices
destroyed. Most of the normal listening devices now gone. All the
field observers dead, either killed by Moroboshi in the downtown
section of the Holy City or else by their own hand (at the order of
their leaders) when that monster sent in a demand for surrender...!
Gone.
It was all...
Gone.
Oogi quakes, then gasps as he feels a sharp jab of blazing
energy rip through him. Damn! That hurt!! Curse that selfish
old witch and what she tried to do when the Goddess was born! Was it
the Goddess' fault that the stupid Galactic Postal Service had lost
the invitation to Lum-sama's baptism party the Holy Parents had sent
to that old hag? Fool!
"Mister President...?"
He jolts, then turns to see Otako now standing at the doorway
to his private monitoring room. One of many Avalonian replicas
created over the past decade of prominent Church leaders (the real
Otako, who had died when Phentax Twelve was destroyed immediately
after the Cataclysm, was leader of the Hegane Sect and unofficial
governor-general of that colony), Otako currently served as chief
operations controller of the factory.
"Yes, Otako, what is it?" Oogi returns to gaze on the monitor.
"Sir, you cannot remain this way for much longer," Otako
reports. "The monitor unit keeping track of your life force reports
that if you do not seek a new host body within seventy-two hours,
you will die. If you truly wish to battle Ataru Moroboshi, you must
do it soon."
Oogi grits his teeth. Even if this Otako was a personality
copy of the real Otako, it was obvious that deep down, the Avalonian
would gladly be rid of him and all of his kind. After all, the real
Otako would refer to the Great Evil by that term, not by his name.
"I'm aware of that," he sighs. "Do not worry. I have another agent
on the ground trying to track that monster down. By Monday, matters
will be concluded."
"That, sir, is calling it VERY close," Otako warns, then turns
to leave. "I have taken the liberty of preparing a replacement
body for you. It is waiting for you in Gestation Unit Ten when you
need it."
She departs. Oogi shudders, then sighs, moving to tap controls
and open a link to Zani. As it goes through, the disembodied
president of Phentax Two smiles. Yes, it had been a smart idea to
send an independent observer here, one unknown to the others. While
the actions of Shaskaar, Ohei and the others were, in the end, quite
admirable, he still needed eyes and ears on the ground in and around
the Holy City to deal with the Great Evil and his newfound allies.
And, yes, he WOULD deal with them.
It was preordained, after all...
* * *
Welcome House, an hour later...
"Terrible..."
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Akane sighs, gazing out the window
of Marie's room at the calm sea separating Promised Island from the
mainland. Marie was still knitting the scarf on the bed. "I wonder
how your brother and Ranma are taking it. Ranma's had to kill
before..."
"But that one was reborn immediately afterward," Marie finishes,
then sighs. "I guess, given the full extent of what Aniue-sama
had to do to keep ourselves and him safe, he's become too used to
facing death down like that. Maybe..." she stops, then closes her
eyes. "He's just tired."
"Of fighting, you think?"
"Hai..."
A knock is heard at the door. "Come in!" both call out.
The door opens, revealing Mamoru. "Um, sorry to bother you
guys, but Nabiki's here right now," the athlete reports. "She wants
to talk to you there, Akane. And she ain't takin' 'no' for an
answer."
Akane blinks, then stares at Marie. *What should I do?*
*Talk to her,* Marie returns her look. *Even if she has hurt
you and those you care for in the past, she still is your sister.*
Akane considers that, then sighs. "Yeah, okay," she rises.
Heading out of the room, she descends the stairs, then heads
into the main part of Welcome House. Heading down the hallway,
Akane is quick to notice Nabiki standing patiently at the doorway
to her own room. The door is closed, though Akane knew she hadn't
locked it. Well, wasn't *that* a switch? Normally if she wanted
to talk to her, Nabiki would have just marched into the room to wait
for her. "Hello, Nabiki."
"Hey," Nabiki tries a smile.
It doesn't take. "So what brings you here?"
"What do you think?"
Akane opens the door, then waves Nabiki in. She steps inside,
then looks around. Save for the fact that the room wasn't physically
part of the Tendou home in Nerima, nothing had changed. How the hell
was something like THIS possible? Ask Ataru later. Taking a deep
breath, she walks to Akane's work table, then sits down. Akane
relaxes on the bed. "Look..." the older sister takes another deep
breath before slipping on her 'Ice Queen' mask. "I know what you
must be thinking right now..."
"What should I be thinking?" Akane asks.
Nabiki stops, then sighs. "That right now, you're royally
pissed off at Dad and Kasumi for not telling you about Hibiki and his
curse."
"Actually, that's just the tip of the iceberg."
Nabiki stares at her, then sighs. "I can understand that."
"I take it Kasumi begged you to come here to make me come home."
"Yes, she did. And you can bet Dad feels the same way, even if
he didn't say anything to me about that before I left the house."
Akane takes a deep breath. "So tell me this, then, Nabiki?
Why should I care about what they think or feel? After all, they
don't seem to care a whit about how I feel. Neither do you, for that
matter."
Silence falls, then Nabiki sighs. "I want to."
"Want to what?"
"Earn your trust again."
Akane blinks, then sighs. "Part of me wants to trust you
again." Seeing Nabiki's eyes widen, she then holds up a hand. "But
I also realize that you yourself haven't really trusted me since the
accident five years ago in the dojo, when you were forced to stop
practising the Art."
Hearing that, the older sister sighs. "Akane, you were
twelve..."
"I know I was," the younger sister nods. "But I do admit now
that I really didn't care for the suffering you endured because
of what I did." A pause, then, "Atop that, given what you've done
since that time, especially when it concerned either myself -- or
Ranma when she came -- how can I be sure that if I did try to open
up to you, you wouldn't betray me again?"
"Akane, I did those things..."
"To keep our roof over our heads," Akane cuts her off, then
nods. "Yes, I understand that now. But didn't it once occur to you
to try to ASK for help? From me? From Ranma, perhaps? I'm sure if
you did ask for her help, explained everything to her, she would've
gladly pitched in to help us out. Even then, she was tired of what
that lazy-ass panda had done."
"I realize that now."
"Have you tried to apologize to Ranma about that?"
Nabiki closes her eyes. "I tried. The day you got your arm
broke by her, in fact. Almost got myself put into intensive care
because of it, thanks to what Negako-san did to her. Ranma didn't
accept it."
"I can't blame her for that."
"Have you apologized to her?"
"Yes."
"She accept?"
"Yes. Twice. First at recess today, then after lunch. Matter
of fact, in the post-lunch period, when I tried to apologize to her
in front of the class, she stopped me," Akane lightly smiles. "I
lost my fiance, but I still have a friend. I think I got out pretty
good in this deal." A pause, then, "But don't expect me to go to bat
with Ranma over you."
"I wouldn't ask you to do that, anyway," Nabiki admits, then
tucks her legs in. "So what do you want to do while you're here?"
"How long do I want to stay, you mean?" Akane blinks. "Until
I graduate, of course. There's no university here, so I have to go
to the mainland or abroad for that. Hopefully, without all the
interruptions I had to put up with back at Furinkan, I can pick up my
marks to the point where I can get myself a decent scholarship,
so I don't have to worry too much about paying for my university.
Beyond that, it's hard to say."
"What about the Art?"
Akane closes her eyes. "I haven't decided about that, yet. I
will keep practising martial arts in general, but after learning
what Daddy and Kasumi did...?" she pauses, then sighs. "It just
doesn't feel right to me anymore to continue my studies in the
Tendou-ryuu. Besides, you always had the better talent, Nabiki.
And thanks to Ataru-san's sister, you've got the chance to go
somewhere with it again, if you want."
"I guess I do," Nabiki nods, then sighs. "Will you come back?"
Akane stares at her, then shakes her head. "No." A pause,
then, "Put simply, I don't feel comfortable going back to that place.
I don't feel right now that if I do go back, I'll have any control,
any say, in the way my life will run. I feel more in control of
myself here. That's why I'm staying. And if Kasumi and Dad have
problems with that, that's just too bad. They should've considered
that long before they started treating me like some damned bargaining
chip, especially when it came to Ranma." A pause, then, "And they
SURE as hell lost their right to object to anything I decide for
myself the day they decided to keep Ryouga's curse a secret from me.
Just as YOU lost your right about that long ago, too."
Nabiki blinks, then sighs. "I can accept that," she rises,
turning to leave, then she stops at the doorway. "But don't stay
away forever, okay, Akane?" she gazes at her sister. "Even if we
seem to be practical strangers now, we ARE family. We should at
least try to act it."
Akane doesn't return her look. "I've discovered a new family
here, Nabiki," she glances out the window. "And given a choice
between the family here and the family I left behind, I choose the
family here."
Nabiki stares at her, then looks down. "Does this got something
to do with you trying to kill yourself on Tuesday night?"
A pause, then, "Who told you?"
"I overheard Jonna-san tell Ataru-kun that on Wednesday morning
over the cell-phone," Nabiki sighs. "What was that all about,
anyway?"
Silence.
Nabiki blinks, then stares at Akane. "Akane?"
The younger Tendou blinks, then gazes at her. "I don't feel
like explaining that to you," she states. "Now, please. Go."
Nabiki gazes at her, then shudders as a denial crawls up her
throat before she catches herself, then she looks down. "Will
you...?"
"Go."
The middle Tendou daughter stops, then nods. "Alright."
She steps out, closing the door behind her. Akane sighs, then
lays down on her bed. *Ma-chan?* she telepathically calls out. *Did
you hear?*
*Didn't have much choice, I confess,* Marie replies.
*I need you.*
*Alright...*
* * *
Nabiki steps out of Welcome House, then turns towards the
pathway leading back into the urbanized section of Promised Island.
At that time, Rinrin is stepping off the gangway leading to Sunmee's
ship. The teen genius is quick to spot Akane's sister walking away,
then raises her hand to wave. "Hey, Nabiki! Aren't you going to
stay for supper?!"
Nabiki stops, then stares quizzically at her before faintly
waving back. "No, thanks, Rinrin. I'll see you later."
She heads off. Rinrin watches her go, then blinks. "What's
got into her?" she scratches the side of her head.
"Looks like Nabiki and Akane-chan had a fight."
Rinrin jolts, then turns to see Yotsuba standing by the gangway,
the would-be detective watching Nabiki leave the grounds. "Oh..."
Rinrin calms down, then turns to gaze at the middle Tendou daughter.
"Yotsuba-chan?"
"What is it?"
"Can you keep an eye on her?" Rinrin turns to head back into
Sunmee's ship. "A-chan's got a right to be angry at them now, but it
doesn't mean she'll be angry at them for the rest of her life. Know
what I mean?"
"Okay," Yotsuba nods, then she runs off...
* * *
"Dead...?"
"Hai," Haruka nods, gazing understandingly at Nari. Kaho sits
beside the young Avalonian; all three plus Sakuya and Chikage are
presently in the cheerleader's bedroom. "Anigimi-sama sent in a
demand for their surrender to the forces of the United Nations.
They chose not to accept."
Nari considers that, then sighs. "I doubt any of them would've
ever been inclined to accept anything from your brother, Haruka-san."
"Guess not," Sakuya sighs. "Not that it would really matter
now, given what they were prepared to do to you because of what you
are."
"I still find that hard to believe."
"You were created in such a way that you'd never consider
you were anything more than a normal, native adherent to the Church
of Lum," Chikage reports. "From what I've been able to divine about
your past, it appears you were dispatched to Earth because your
parents were concerned that some in your hometown were starting
to deduce the truth about you. What would have happened to you had
you remained on Phentax Two, I wonder, even before many of your
co-religionists were killed by the Guardians?"
Nari jolts. "But it was said that..."
"Onii-chama would NEVER do that!" Kaho snaps.
The Avalonian ducks Kaho's stare, then notices the older sisters
shaking their heads. "Do you really think you can continue to trust
what the Church told you now?" Sakuya sighs. "Yes, Onii-sama
was, in a way, the 'trigger' to what happened to your people some
weeks ago. But the weapon used had been pre-programmed to do exactly
THAT by the Guardians."
"Ultimately, it is all Oogi's fault," Chikage adds. "Not only
is he a thief, he is also a stalker, a rapist as well as a mass
murderer. Five million dead in the Vosian capital city of Lecashuto,
all done to avenge a possible assassination attempt against Lum's
family because of their close friendship to Nassur. How many others,
like Jonna's and Orin's mother, were killed because they refused
to believe in his warped vision? How many Avalonians have died
because of their status as slaves in your society, Nari? Even those
who were as faithful to the Church as you? What of the natives
of Phentax Twelve, all killed when Oogi took the Avalon bioroid
factory with him to continue his fight with Ani-kun? What of all
those in the Galactic Federation who felt they had no choice but to
bend over to placate him? I think it wasn't long before they finally
grew weary of appeasement and paying psychological Danegeld to that
lunatic."
"Indeed. He is not worthy of your support at all," Haruka
shakes her head. "Though we cannot say as of this time, I suspect
that those who did survive the 'cataclysm' on your homeworld have
decided the time has come to consign the Church of Lum once and for
all to the history books." A pause, then, "Nari-chan, do you think
you have relatives still alive back home?"
Nari perks, then sighs. "I don't know," she shakes her head.
"As soon as news of the Cataclysm came in -- it was probably a couple
days after it actually happened -- then news also came in of rebel
forces who were moving to disestablish the Church. We've tried to
confirm if our families and relatives are alright, but..." she shrugs
helplessly.
"Well, we'll contact our friends in the SCAA and the Inquisition
to find out what we can," Sakuya straightens herself. "In the
meantime, you can stay here and relax. But don't leave the grounds.
If anyone sees those ears of yours..." she points knowingly at Nari.
Nari jolts, then nods. "H-hai..."
* * *
Rishiri-tou, the Moroboshi estate, late afternoon...
"Ah, there we go!"
"Did you get that door open there, Lightstar?"
"Yes, Darklight, it's open," Lightstar Firewind nods as he
pushes open one of the cellar room doors. "It's about time we
finally make an accounting of what the Mistress had here..."
The monk falls silent on flicking on the lights, his jaw
dropping on seeing five vertical, man-sized glass tubes lining one
wall. The tubes are attached to a stand-alone fusion generator,
all controlled from a lectern-shaped monitor unit beside one of the
tubes. Each tube is filled to the brim with an opaque liquid. And
each tube is occupied, though the liquid colour prevents Lightstar
from clearly seeing what lays inside.
"Is there something wrong?" Brother Sunfire wonders.
Lightstar blinks, then turns as his fellow monk approaches,
his hand pointing inside. "Darklight, did you know anything about
this?!"
The older monk looks, then stops, blinking as his vision drinks
in what lies there. Stepping inside, he walks up to one of the tubes
to peer closely at what lies inside. "Some sort of gestation
unit...?" he turns to the console. Fortunately for him, all the
graphics are in kanji. Tapping controls to call up the base
programs, he then gapes. "Synthezoids...?!"
"What is it?" Lightstar walks in. "Clearly not from us..."
"No..." Brother Sunfire taps a control, then blinks on seeing
one datafile entry. "A message from the Mistress...?"
He calls it up. A holographic screen then appears over the
console, projecting an image of a woman who had been dead for a year
and more. "Hello, Darklight," Nagaiwakai Moroboshi lightly smiles...
* * *
Nerima, Hikarigaoka Park...
"Thanks, Fred. We definitely needed this!"
"Anytime, Ranma," Fred Yamada nods. The hamburger vendor had
heard about today's events in Tomobiki over the radio. He turns to
Ataru. "You seem to be pretty cool over what just happened there,
Ataru. I thought you weren't the type to just brush off something
like that."
Ataru sighs. "Well, I guess when it comes to the Niphentaxians,
I just got used to it," he shrugs. "I mean, it's not that I actually
DO like seeing people die. No, sir. Death comes to us all in the
end, but there's no sense trying to rush it..." He pauses, then
takes a deep breath.
"There's still Oogi to worry about," Ranma reminds him.
"Yeah, I know, I know," Ataru rubs the bridge of his nose.
"Who's Oogi?" Fred blinks.
"He's the jerk who created this 'Church of Lum' in the first
place," Ataru smirks. "More arrogant than Kunou and Mendou combined,
plus there was no one on his home planet who could possibly try to
check him, tell him he was wrong about a lot of things. Lum wanted
NOTHING to do with him, especially after he killed five million
people just to 'punish' some other crackpot dictator for threatening
Oogi's 'goddess' and her family."
Fred's jaw drops. "You're kidding me!"
"No, sir. That is no joke."
"Oh, man..." the retired signals sergeant shakes his head, then
blinks on seeing someone approach. "Oh, Elder, konnichi wa!"
"Hello, Fred," Cologne pogo-sticks herself to the empty chair
beside Ranma, then she nods pleasantly to the teenagers there.
"Hello, Ranma, Ataru. I heard you were both quite busy in Tomobiki
earlier on."
"Unfortunately," Ataru shakes his head. "So how are things
with you and yours, Elder? Business at the Nekohanten doing
alright?"
"We're quite fine, thank you. Has Negako started work on your
other problem there, Ranma?" Cologne glances at her former
"son-in-law."
"Hai, she has," Ranma nods, then blinks. "Oh, damn!"
"What?" Ataru wonders.
"I should try to see Shampoo sometime soon," the martial artist
sighs. "It's about the problem Chikage and Negako warned me about.
If I told U-chan about it, I should also tell her..."
"It's alright, child," Cologne pats Ranma's arm. "I've already
taken the liberty and warned my great-granddaughter
about that ahead of time. As a matter of fact, I understand
you've been appraised of our Blood Sibling Law, which I hope to apply
in your case in lieu of the Kiss of Marriage."
"Yeah, Chikage told me about that already."
"What's this?" Fred blinks.
"Jusenkyou complications," Ataru states.
"Oh."
"Ranma?! Is that you?!"
Ranma jolts, then looks over before smiling. "Oh, hi, Mom!"
Nodoka walks up. "Hello there, Nodoka," Cologne nods pleasantly
as Ranma's mother takes a seat. "Out for an evening stroll?"
"No, actually, I came to look for my child here after I heard
what happened in Tomobiki," Nodoka smiles at Ranma, then blinks on
seeing something glittering from her transformed son's ear. "Ranma,
what...?"
"Usual there, Mrs. Saotome?" Fred asks.
Nodoka jolts, then nods. "Ah! H-hai, Yamada-san, please!"
"'Usual?!'" Ataru, Ranma and Cologne chorus.
Ranma's mother flusters. "Oh, gomen nasai. Actually, when I
came to visit the Tendou dojo, I always had something to eat here,
especially after I was appraised of Ukyou-san's and Shampoo-san's
claims on you. I felt it was only fair that I NOT frequent those
establishments..."
"Especially after the attempted wedding," Cologne concludes.
Nodoka jolts, eliciting an amused cackle from the aged elder. "Oh,
there, there! It's quite alright, my dear. Your concern for your
child's future is more than understandable, especially given Ranma's
tumultuous past. Besides, it WAS quite unpleasant to have heard from
Mousse about Shampoo's actions that day. If I had known ahead of
time what she was doing, I would have stepped in and stopped it right
then and there. Given Ranma's actions before that in young Akane's
defence at Mount Phoenix..."
"Thank you, Elder," Nodoka sighs, then stares quizzically
at Ranma. "Dear, when did you decide to get your ears pierced?"
"Oh!" Ranma blinks, then grins. "Just today, Mom. Like them?"
"I..." the older woman pauses, then nods. "Yes, they are quite
lovely, but men normally don't get their ears pierced."
Cologne is quick to sense a flash of uncertainty billowing
now in Nodoka's heart. Oh, blessed Goddess, if the poor woman
learned NOW what Jusenkyou's ULTIMATE curse on her poor child's
soul was, what would happen to Ranma? "Yeah, that's true, but I'm
hardly what you'd call a 'normal' man, Mom," Ranma winks at her, then
indicates Ataru's own ears. "Neither is Ataru here. Sakuya-chan
bullied him into getting this done."
Nodoka looks, then blinks. "Ataru-san, much that appeasing
your sister is a proper thing for a young man to do..."
"Mrs. Saotome, Sakuya-chan is not just a sister of mine. She's
also the future head of my whole family," Ataru reminds her.
"I..." Ranma's mother catches herself, then she sighs. "I'm
sorry. I didn't know that. Most clans in Japan are run by men..."
"My clan isn't like 'most' clans, ma'am. And I would ask you to
mind your own business about that," Ataru lightly smiles.
"I..." Nodoka stops herself, then bows her head. "I'm very
sorry, Ataru-san. I didn't mean to sound offensive. It's just that
seeing my child with her ears pierced is something I wasn't prepared
to expect."
"Mom, I can make my own decisions about things like that," Ranma
assures her, then shrugs. "'Sides, if I go back to guy-form,
will this stay with me?" she points to her ears. "If it does, no big
deal. I just have to switch to wearing earrings that guys wear. If
it doesn't, then I just have to watch myself when I'm wearing
earrings, that's all."
"Men shouldn't be wearing earrings at all," Nodoka objects.
"Mom!" Ranma sighs. "We're not in the nineteenth century
anymore."
Silence falls. Nodoka stares at her transformed child, then
turns away, saying nothing more as her dinner is served. Fred and
Cologne keep quiet, neither wanting to say something that might make
matters between mother and son/daughter worse. Ataru also keeps his
peace, though inside, he tries not to feel nauseous. Regardless
if Nodoka could finally come to accept Ranma as a girl or not, the
fact that the latter was openly stating that she wouldn't bow to her
mother's worldview would make things difficult for both of them over
the next while. The fact that Nodoka had willingly allowed herself
to be excluded from her child's life for a decade and more, all on
the empty promises of a man who deserved more than death for his
protracted abuse of Ranma, didn't do much in Ataru's eyes to redeem
her.
After dinner is done and the bills are paid, Cologne heads back
to the Nekohanten. Nodoka asks Ataru to give her some time alone
with her transformed child. Ataru quickly agrees, then after
disappearing around the corner, uses his skills to place himself
in a location where he could listen in on Ranma without being seen
by Nodoka. Ranma is quick to sense what he would-be boyfriend
-- *Am I starting to think of him now as THAT?!* she wonders -- is up
to. She says nothing about it, nor does she feel any anger over it.
After all, Ranma had done the very same thing with Akane in the past,
in spite of her ex-fiancee's all-too frequent objections. And Ranma
knew about how Ataru truly viewed her mother, though she wouldn't
say anything about that to Nodoka. Regardless of what intimate
feelings both were now discovering about each other, Ataru and Ranma
WERE friends. And both had few of those in the long term to risk
losing even one.
"Ranma?"
"Yeah, Mom?"
Nodoka sighs. "I don't like having my views questioned,
especially in public. I would hope you do not do that again."
Ranma sighs, then turns away from her mother, crossing her hands
behind her back. "I apologize if that embarrassed you, but it IS the
truth, Mom. You should know by now that I tend to call things as I
see them. I AM trying to learn some tact, but after spending ten
years on the road with Oyaji away from civilization for the most
part, it's hard."
"I can understand that well, Ranma," Nodoka concedes. "And that
you are trying to correct that behaviour speaks well of you. At the
same time, I hope you'll understand that my views on certain matters
do deserve your respect. And I hope that you will acknowledge
them from now on. Even if I have judged you manly and released
you from the contract..."
*Oh, shit!* Ataru winces.
Quivering, Ranma spins on her, causing Nodoka to duck her
enraged stare. "***WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT GOT TO DO WITH
ANYTHING?!?!?!***"
"R-r-ranma...!" Nodoka sputters.
Ranma blinks, then moves to glare Nodoka down. "If you'll
recall, back on Sunday evening after Ataru and I dismembered
that lazy-ass fool you once called a husband, I RENOUNCED that stupid
contract!! And as far as I am concerned, you have no right
WHATSOEVER to bring it back up!!!"
Nodoka blinks, then lashes out with her hand. Ranma's catches
it before it gets close, then with a twist, she sends her mother
stumbling to the ground. Silence falls as the two remain still,
then Ranma blinks, gazing at her hand as a cauldron of uncertainty
begins to boil inside her heart. Nodoka stares at her hand, then
looks wide-eyed at her transformed child, stunned that Ranma had
willingly stood up to HER. "Ranma...?"
Ranma blinks, then looks at the woman who had given birth to her
over sixteen years ago. "What the hell was that for?!" she wonders.
"I'd think that after all the shit Oyaji put you through, you'd
accept that."
A quiver runs through Nodoka, then she staggers to her feet.
"The being who said that to your father on Sunday was NOT you,
Ranma..." she sighs. "I don't accept anything, ANYTHING that beast
said. It had NO RIGHT to state anything about your future and it
CERTAINLY had no right to destroy our clan sword!! As soon as
Negako-san finishes healing you from the Neko-ken, I will ask her to
remove that thing from you! I will not have my son be subject to
anything, ANYTHING like that!!"
Ranma blinks, then sighs. "Mom, that thing IS part of me! It
got sheared away from my mind when Oyaji put me through the
Neko-ken..."
"PART of you?!" Nodoka gasps. "You actually believe that?!!"
"Yeah, I do!" Ranma snaps, her fists clenching. "Mom, you're
not the one who has to live in fear of that part of me roarin' out
and hurtin' those who hurt me before! Including YOU, by the
way...!!"
"I am your MOTHER, Ranma! And you have no right to...!!"
The *crack!* of flesh slapping flesh hard echoes through the
streets. Ataru winces, then notices Nodoka on her knees, a hand
feeling her bruised cheek. Ranma remains still, then lowers her
hand. "Mother?" she breathes out, then turns away, taking two steps
from Nodoka before looking back.
"Gee, some mother!" she spits out. "A mother who decided to go
along with what Oyaji supposedly promised her and ABANDONED me when
I was only five, just to become a 'man above men?' A mother who
didn't bother to try to track her so-...!" she pauses, then sighs.
"Ta track her child down for the next ten years, even MORE?! A
mother who, when she DID decided to look for her child, demonstrated
pretty clearly that she cared more for a stupid piece of paper and
her idea o' 'honour' that what was actually happening to her child!
A mother who, even when she 'judged' her child 'manly,' decided
she'd ignore all the suffering her HUSBAND put so many people through
and force her child to marry someone when it was questionable
AT BEST that such a relationship could last?! A mother who, even if
she accepts her child has a curse that makes a boy become a girl,
still demands that her child act like some selfish bastard, just like
the asshole she MARRIED?!"
"Ranma...!"
Ranma blinks, then shakes her head, tears brimming in her eyes.
"And now, look what bothers you about me? The fact that your
precious sword got destroyed in that fight with Oyaji on Sunday!
The very sword that coulda KILLED me if Ataru hadn't butted in when
he did." She points to her ear. "And you're bugged by the fact that
I got my ears pierced, for heaven's sake! What the hell's wrong with
you, anyway?! If you're supposed to be my mother, shouldn't you TRY
to understand what I feel?! Shouldn't you try to be at least
SUPPORTIVE of what I'm trying ta do to straighten my life out after
Oyaji WRECKED it so badly?!! What happened to what you said when I
was on Promised Island, tellin' me that because I gotta live with my
curse for the rest of my life, I should do my best ta adopt to it?!
Well, here it is!" she points to her ears. "I'm adopting to my
curse!"
"But, Ranma, you can't expect me to accept that...!"
"WHY NOT?!?!" Ranma roars, causing Nodoka to duck. "Why the
hell should I bow to YOU of all people, even if you ARE my mother?!!"
Silence. Nodoka quivers, then staggers to her feet. "Ranma,
you are my son! You have responsibilities! You have a duty! Even
with what your father did to you -- and I do not, for an instant,
deny what he did to you was wrong! -- you have certain expectations
to live up to!! And because I am your mother, I have a
responsibility to see to it you DO live to them!"
"You DO?!" Ranma looks amazed, then crosses her arms. "Well,
I guess you ABANDONED that responsibility when you decided that sheet
of paper with my palm-print on it mattered more than my feelings."
Nodoka gasps, staring wide-eyed at Ranma. "Ranma..."
"No!" Ranma shakes her head. "Don't say anything more. I got
the message clear enough. Since you can't really accept that I've
got my own thoughts about the way I want ta run my life, then I don't
want to hear another damned word from you. I hoped you'd be a lot
better than Oyaji when it comes to what my feelings are. I guess
I was wrong."
"Ranma..."
"Oh, shut the hell up!!" Ranma turns to walk away. "When ya
decide to actually *care* for me for once, then you can talk to me!
Until then, you're dead to me, Nodoka! And by the way, I should
remind you of this: a family without *honour* has no right to have
an honour sword."
She bounds to the nearest lamppost, then vanishes. "Ranma!!!"
Nodoka screams out, then moves to follow before someone appears
before her.
"***KONTOU!!!!***"
Nodoka staggers to a halt before her heart is skewered by
Ataru's soulsword. "Lucky thing I decided to stay close by just in
case something went wrong," the latter evenly states. "Mrs. Saotome,
I will make this VERY clear: if you think of doing ANYTHING then
ends up hurting Ranma, physically or emotionally, I will make your
life a living HELL!! Do not presume to march onto MY property
just to force your will on Ranma! I will not stand for it! Neither
will Onee-chan!! Remember this: your viewpoint on the world went
up in radioactive dust at Hiroshima and Nagasaki!"
Before she could respond, Ataru springs for a telephone pole,
then races off after Ranma. Nodoka watches him go, then shudders
before she collapses to her knees, sobs stealing her voice...
* * *
Nearby...
"Well, well, well!" Zani mirthlessly chuckles as he watches
the weeping Nodoka through his camera lens. This had
possibilities...
* * *
Minutes later, Ataru walks into the living room of his and
Negako's home. Awaiting him are Hinako Ninomiya and Chigaiko Inu.
"Where's Ranma?"
"Ranma-kun went right into her bedroom," Chigaiko reports.
"She was really sad about something, Ataru-kun."
"What happened?" Hinako wonders.
Ataru sighs. "Ah, she just had a big fight with her mother,"
he shakes his head, then heads off in that direction.
"Moroboshi-kun..." the child-teacher rises to follow.
Chigaiko's hand catches her. "Don't, Sensei."
"But..."
The leukaemia-stricken student smiles, guiding Hinako back to
her seat. "Don't forget, even if Ranma-kun is your student, she
doesn't really trust you," she whispers, then turns back to her tea.
Hinako blinks, then sighs. "Hai..."
* * *
"Hey, you okay?"
Ranma blinks, then looks up to see Ataru at the doorway. She
has, by then, taken her earrings off, they now sitting in her palm.
Offering him a light smile, she returns to gazing on the earrings.
"She got mad at me all because of this," Ranma shakes her head. "I
don't get it, Ataru. Why the hell would she get angry at me because
of these things?"
Ataru sighs as he walks in, then sits down beside her. "I guess
in the end, it's because she feels she's losing control over you,"
he shrugs. "I mean, simple things like getting girls' clothing
and all that is one thing. You can easily change clothes. But
getting your ears pierced..." he points up to her earlobe. "That
leaves a permanent mark. We both know that sort of thing won't
change regardless of which body you have."
"I tried to keep it calm," she admits. "Then she had to mention
that stupid contract..." her fists clench, then she stares at him.
"And then she had to say that other part o' me wasn't me, but some
thing that didn't deserve to be part o' me! She said she'd get
Negako to take it outta me! Jeez, doesn't she understand that things
ain't that simple?!"
"No, she doesn't," he shakes his head. "Even more so, I think
she's the type who'd rather die than admit she made such a
fundamental mistake as letting you be raised by Genma on the road
alone." A pause, then, "Most parents believe that regardless
of their decisions, children will love them no matter what. It's
become so commonly accepted in society these days that when you have
children, especially at our age, rebelling against them, it's
automatically seen as the child's fault, not the parent's."
"You're speaking from your own experience, huh?"
"Somewhat," he shrugs. "Oh, yeah, in the weeks after I left,
Kinshou tried to get me to come back. Harassed Reigi-kun and his
staff in Tomobiki so much that they finally had to chase her out with
bayonets. Then when she found out about Sakuya-chan and the
others..." a dark cloud crosses his face, then he shakes his head.
"It's almost like fighting Oogi, isn't it?"
"No choice but to go all out 'cause they think they're in the
right and we're wrong, eh?" she gazes at him, then chuckles. "Yeah,
you sure got a point there, Ataru. But..." she bites her lip. "I
mean, yeah, I'm angry at her and I hurt her, but..." she looks away.
"I don't want to walk away from her. I gotta give her a chance,
Ataru. I have to..."
"I know," he nods. "I can understand that. Unlike Kinshou
with me, Nodoka hasn't really DONE anything to you. Well, except
keep you in fear over what she might have done if she found out some
things ahead of time. And as far as I'm concerned, that was going
TOO far by itself. But..." he holds up a finger. "Let's make sure
she can't do anything really rash towards you before she has a chance
to think some things through."
"Like what?" she stares at him.
In answer, Ataru reaches for his cell-phone...
* * *
In the park, Nodoka sits on a bench, staring nowhere in
particular. The sun is slowly setting past the peaks of the
Kantou-sanchi to the west of Tokyo. Her eyes glitter with tears as
her mind rolls through what just happened between her and Ranma not
minutes before...
No! How could she've been so STUPID?! Her son probably had
enough on his mind when she brought up such a trivial thing as
getting his ears pierced and wearing earrings when he was a girl.
And yes, it was true that some men did wear earrings, even though
it was something Nodoka certainly didn't approve of. And she had NO
right to judge Ataru Moroboshi, a man who was doing so much to help
Ranma in this time, whatsoever!
Why...?
Her body quakes as the one most painful memory of her life
flashes through her mind's eye again. The day Genma placed the
seppuku agreement before her when Ranma was not much more than a
baby, vowing that on pain of both their deaths, her son would return
a "man above men." The agreement that had, for months, kept Nodoka
apart from her child even when Ranma (as "Ranko Tendou") had been in
the very same room as she. The agreement that she stuck to even in
the face of the Nyanniichuan curse Ranma had been inflicted with
because of Genma's stupidity months before...
Genma...
Nodoka shudders. That FOOL! How could he had DONE all those
awful things to Ranma?! Jusenkyou, all the fiancees, the Neko-ken...
She shudders, icy fear clutching her heart as the scene from
Sunday night comes back to her. Ranma becoming that THING which
personified all the pain and rage he kept bottled up inside him.
That THING dismembering Genma on the spot, then destroying the clan
blade before allowing another beast quite like it to destroy Genma
once and for all. The rage that thing showed, not just to Genma,
but to everyone there that day save Ataru. The look that thing
briefly gave Nodoka before allowing itself to vanish once more into
Ranma. A look of such HATE, it made her want to die...
And Ranma actually ACCEPTED it as part of him?
As part of himself...?
Nodoka covers her face with her hands. "Ranma..."
"Here you go, Miss."
She jolts, then looks up to see a jovial, thirtyish man smiling
at her, a handkerchief being handed over. Nodoka blinks, then nods
thanks as she takes the handkerchief and wipes her eyes. "Thank
you..."
"Beautiful ladies shouldn't cry," he muses. "Especially
when it's such a lovely day out today. Is there something a humble
fellow such as I can do to help bring a smile on your face again,
Miss?"
Nodoka blinks, then seems to shiver for a moment before she
tries to smile. "It's something of a personal problem, sir. A
family matter..."
"Oh, I see," he gravely nods. "But still, perhaps I can help,
even if it is just to listen. Sometimes, talking about problems
makes them go away. Or, at least, allows you to discover a way to
resolve them."
Nodoka gazes at him, then lightly smiles. Despite his
forwardness, he was genuinely concerned. "Well, perhaps you're
right, um..."
"Ah! Gomen nasai," he bows. "My name is Zani Rufael."
She is surprised. A foreigner, though she didn't clearly
recognize where he might come from. Well, that seemed natural,
did it not? After all, most Japanese men wouldn't be so open, so
direct, in their solicitude towards her. "A pleasure to meet you,
Rufael-san," she rises, bowing in return. "There's a tea shop a
block away from here."
"Ah, wonderful! A quiet place to have a friendly chat," Zani
tries not to grin too much. How easy it was, especially when you
made use of a hypnotic drug which was secreted through the skin from
a specially-prepared handkerchief. The drug was designed to make the
target's inhibitions towards verbal questions go away, especially
when it came to very personal matters. And Zani needed that
information if he was to help his President deal with the Great Evil
and his many allies, especially this woman's child. It was somewhat
distasteful, but necessary in the end...
* * *
Promised Island, sometime after sunset...
"Ah, Yotsuba-san, what are you doing here?"
Yotsuba smiles as the manager of the Island's main hotel,
located on Second Street, walks up. The would-be detective,
who had tracked Nabiki to this location sometime ago, just returned
from dinner at a nearby bistro. "Oh, gomen nasai, Oji-san," she
smiles. "Is Nabiki Tendou here now?"
"Ah...! Hai, she hasn't left the hotel since she came back from
Welcome House this afternoon," he shakes his head.
Hearing that, Yotsuba's smile widens. Being part of a small
and isolated community as she was now, it was simplicity itself to
elicit the right sort of help from other islanders, especially
when one mentioned that a particular target was a relative of a
Welcome House resident. "Yoshi!" she nods. "Oh, can you tell
Yotsuba which room she's in now?"
"Room Nine."
"Arigatou, Oji-san," Yotsuba nods, then heads up. A moment
later, she arrives in front of the room in question. Knocking
on the door, she calls out, "Nabiki-san?! It's Yotsuba! Are you
there?!"
A faint muttering echoes through the doorway. Hearing that,
Yotsuba blinks, then tries the doorknob. Unlocked. Opening it, she
looks inside, then jolts as the stench of strong alcohol hits her
nose. "Yeesh!!" she recoils, then opens the door all the way to see
inside.
Nabiki is now on her bed, dressed down to bra and panties.
She has her face tucked between her legs, her arms wrapped around
them with her hands flopped atop her feet. Her clothes are tossed
on a chair by the television. Her cell-phone lies atop her overnight
bag, that now on the floor by the work table. On the bed stand and
scattered on the floor by the bed are a dozen peel-top plastic cups,
all empty. Seeing the markings on them, Yotsuba grimaces; the cups
once contained a brand of sake that one could normally obtain from
a vending machine. One of them just happened to be located in the
hotel lobby. And given her looks, it would be easy for most hotel
workers to assume Nabiki was of legal age. No doubt, the middle
Tendou daughter had drank herself into a semi-conscious stupor.
Taking a deep breath, Yotsuba closes the door, then walks over
to collect the sake cups and toss them into the garbage can in the
bathroom. Once that is done, she walks over to peer intently at
Nabiki. Now up close, the would-be detective is able to better
interpret the other woman's mutterings: "...try to keep us in the
house...! How can she say that to me...?! Damn you, Kasumi...!
Some sister you turned out to be..."
Yotsuba winces. Uh-oh! Glancing at the cell-phone, she walks
over to pick it up, then taps controls to learn where the last call
went. Hmm. The Tendou home in Nerima. "Oh, man..." she moans,
then closing the phone up and placing it on the table, looks back at
Nabiki.
She didn't need to be a rocket scientist or Holmes-sama
to figure THIS out. No doubt, Nabiki must've contacted Kasumi to
report about her meeting with Akane. Obviously, the eldest Tendou
daughter hadn't taken to the news of Akane wanting to remain
full-time on Promised Island AT ALL. And it was painfully obvious
that Nabiki had tried to moderate matters, an attempt that was
clearly unsuccessful. Perhaps to the point where Kasumi might have
directly threatened Nabiki? Ane-chama had stated several times that
Kasumi was the undisputed lady of the Tendou household.
Would she...?
"Yo-chan...? Izzat you...?"
Yotsuba blinks, then turns to see Nabiki staring teary-eyed
and flush-cheeked her way. "Nabiki-san..." the younger girl winces,
then walks over to sit on the bed, a hand going out to squeeze her
friend's shoulder.
Feeling that touch, Nabiki lightly smiles as she lays her head
on Yotsuba's arm. "So what're you doin' here?" she mutters, then
hiccups.
"You're drunk," Yotsuba states in English.
Nabiki blinks, then smirks. "Two can play at that game," she
replies the same way. Yotsuba is quick to notice that the older
woman, even quite inebriated, spoke with little of an accent. "Yeah,
I'm drunk...!"
"What happened?"
Nabiki stares at her, then shudders as fresh tears flow down her
cheeks. "Told Kasumi that Akane wanted ta stay with you guys..."
she mutters in Nihongo, then sniffs. "Told her how mad Akane was at
her and Dad 'cause of that bastard Hibiki and his damned curse..."
"Kasumi-san didn't like hearing that?" Yotsuba asks.
"Nope..." Nabiki shakes her head, then flops back on the bed.
"Didn't like it at all," she coughs, then forcefully exhales. "Told
her that tryin' ta make Akane come home again would just make it all
worse. Kasumi didn't care ta listen ta that, that's for DAMN
sure..."
"She blamed you?"
"What d'ya think?" Nabiki snorts. "Told her that, far as
Akane's concerned, it was all our fault. Me, Kasumi, Dad...!"
She then shakes her head. "Yeah, Kasumi didn't like hearin' that.
Said that I was the real problem 'cause of all the things I did ta
keep payin' the bills so we can hang onto our house. Well..."
she closes her eyes. "I let her have it."
"She didn't like it."
"Nope. Said if I didn't get Akane back home, I wasn't welcome
back home myself..." Nabiki slurs, then shakes her head. "Idiot..."
Sobs steal her voice. Hearing that, Yotsuba closes her eyes as
she tries to visualize what that conversation must have been like,
then she reaches over to gently squeeze Nabiki's hand. Feeling
that, the older woman shudders as she tries to regain some sense of
self-control, then she stares at her guest. "Thanks, Yo-chan..."
she smiles. "I'm glad I still got one good friend left on this
stinkin' planet of ours..."
"It must've been awful," Yotsuba concludes.
"Yeah, it was..."
"Na-chama, do you want to come stay at the House tonight?"
Nabiki blinks, then her eyes tear anew. "What did you just call
me?"
Yotsuba smiles. "Na-chama." She switches to English. "After
all, you just called me 'Yo-chan.' Why shouldn't I call you
'Na-chama?'"
"I take it English is your first language," Nabiki muses.
"Yeah, it is, though I learned Nihongo at pretty much the same
pace I learned English," Yotsuba shrugs, then reaches over to help
Nabiki sit up. "C'mon, let's get you out of here and back to the
House."
"Nah, nah! I'll stay here," Nabiki shakes her head. "Akane
doesn't want to see me, not that I really blame her for feelin'
that way."
"I don't think Akane's gonna be seeing much of you, seeing as
how she'll be spending the night with Marie," Yotsuba winks.
"Wh-what...?" Nabiki stammers.
The would-be detective is nonplussed, then smirks. "I take it
you didn't realize that Akane and Marie are lovers now."
Silence.
"SAY WHAT?!!" Nabiki exclaims.
"Hai, hai, it's all true," Yotsuba flips back to Japanese.
"Marie-chan doesn't realize that Yotsuba's been keeping an eye on her
and Akane-chan since Akane-chan came to Welcome House on Tuesday."
Nabiki stares at her, then shakes her head to try to clear her
brain, then she peers intently at Yotsuba. "Are you sure...?"
she hisses.
"Hai," Yotsuba nods, then reaches over to help Nabiki get back
on her feet. "Now, c'mon," she flips back to English. "Let's get
you to the House. You need to sleep the booze off. You can do it
there."
Nabiki blinks, then drunkenly nods as she allows Yotsuba to help
her stand up. "Oh, man..." the former grunts as she leans against
the wall as the younger girl moves to scoop up her clothes. "I DID
have a lot..."
Slowly sliding over to the window overlooking the small
courtyard surrounding the hotel, Nabiki shudders as a bout of nausea
flows through her, then she gags. "Oh, shit...!" she covers her
mouth, then realizing she wouldn't make it to the bathroom in time,
flings the window open.
"Na-chama!!" Yotsuba looks over.
Nabiki gags, then flings her head through the window. Yotsuba
winces as the middle Tendou daughter vomits, then gasps as the older
girl's feet suddenly leave the floor. "NABIKI!!!!" the would-be
detective screams out, leaping over the bed in a vain hope of
catching Nabiki. "NABIKI!!!!"
Nabiki screams out as she disappears from Yotsuba's view, then
a second later, the screams stop as the sick *thud!* of a body
hitting hard ground is heard. "NABIKI!!!!" Yotsuba scambles to her
feet, then leans out through the open window to see what just
happened. "Oh, God...!"
She pales on seeing Nabiki now impaled on a pair of sharp fence
poles, one's tip having punched through her back near her spleen,
the other having ripped through her liver and stomach. As blood
stains her skin and a tsunami of pain overwhelms her senses, the
middle Tendou daughter tries to reach up with a hand towards the
horrorstruck Yotsuba over four metres up. "Y-yo-..." she sputters,
then her eyes start to close.
"No...!" Yotsuba gasps, then screams out, "***NABIKI!!!!!!***"
* * *
"Huh...?"
Hinako sits up in her bed, the Staff of Gihan in her hands,
its focusing crystal glowing brightly. "Eh?" she looks around the
room, then blinks as the Staff's message sinks into her mind.
"Yotsuba-chan...! Nabiki-oneetama...!" she whispers, then holds the
Staff over her head.
In a flash of light and energy, she is gone!
* * *
Nabiki shudders as a black cloud seems to close in on her from
all sides. The pain slamming into her mind from the wounds in her
abdomen starts to fade as she feels her mind start to slip away.
Oh...
No...
Yo-chan...
Suddenly, a flash of bright light overcomes her vision...
* * *
"God...!"
Yotsuba gapes in stunned disbelief as a burst of energy produces
Hinako, she in her "magical girl" jumpsuit. The Staff of Gihan is
lowered before the younger girl's face as a bolt of energy lashes
out to encompass the impaled Nabiki. Instantly, the dying girl is
lifted clear of the fence, then seems to float in mid-air. Another
bolt of energy spirals from the Staff into the night sky, arcing
north-east. Yotsuba snaps up her spy glass to watch that bolt
disappear into the night, then she looks down to examine Hinako.
Surprise crosses the would-be detective's face on seeing a totally
blank look on her younger half-sister's face. Why...?
Unless...
Was the Staff shielding Hinako?
Why?
"Hey, what's that?!!"
Yotsuba jolts, surprised to see a crowd massing around Hinako,
then noting several people pointing up, looks up herself. A shocked
scream escapes her on seeing a glass tube-like something float down
from nowhere, it firmly embraced by the Staff's energy. As it stops
to Nabiki's right, Yotsuba looks inside it, then gags on seeing the
albino-skinned, nearly formless female shape within. The Staff
flares at that moment, inundating both Nabiki and that glass-whatever
with blinding light. Yotsuba turns away, shielding her eyes with her
free hand, then when the energy fades, she looks back before nearly
dropping her spy glass. "God!!!"
"Nabiki-oneetama, are you okay?"
Where there had just been a bleeding body and a glass tube
holding a white-skinned humanoid shape, there now floats a
whole-and-hearty Nabiki Tendou, draped in bra and panties, now being
held in mid-air thanks to the Staff of Gihan. Hinako floats beside
the unconscious woman, a concerned look on her face as she reaches
over to gently rub Nabiki's chin. The crowd on the ground is
understandably speechless, as is Yotsuba. Then, a gasp of air bursts
from Nabiki's lungs as her eyes flutter. "Wha...?"
"Ah!!" Hinako smiles as she leans over Nabiki's face.
"Onee-tama shouldn't lean out of windows like that," she gently
scolds. "Onee-tama might fall out of them and hurt herself! Silly,
silly Onee-tama!! And what's Onee-tama doing with just bra and
panties on?! Does Onee-tama want some stupid boy to see her and
think real bad-bad thoughts about her?!"
"Eh...?" Nabiki blinks, then sensing nothing solid of ANY sort
underneath her, looks over her shoulder to see that she is floating
a good four metres off the ground. She shudders, then sensing that
she DOES have next to nothing covering her body, screams out,
"***WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?!?!?!***" before she curls in on
herself, her eyes quickly detecting the next-to-speechless
crowd on the ground nearby.
"Oh, baka Na-chama!! Hinako-chan, get her in here!!"
Nabiki yelps, then cries out as she is pushed -- by what, she
has NO idea! -- towards the open window of her hotel room. Yotsuba
backs off as Nabiki leans through the window, then reaches over to
pull the middle Tendou daughter through. Once Nabiki is indoors,
Hinako floats to the window, then playfully waves to the crowd before
ducking inside. Once she is gone and the window closes, people in
the crowd exchange looks.
"What was THAT all about?" one tall, thin man asks his friend.
"Mainlanders!!" the other, a short, rotund man, shrugs as people
start to disperse. "Who knows what goes on with them..."
* * *
"Na-chama, are you okay?!"
Nabiki blinks, then ducks her eyes away from Yotsuba's concerned
stare before gazing quizzically at her hands. "Y-yeah, I th-think
I'm okay..." she sputters, then pulls her hands close to her.
"W-wait..."
"Phew!!" Hinako groans as the faint stench of the sake Nabiki
had consumed assaults her nose. "What's that smell?!"
Yotsuba sighs, then walks over to open up the window. "Stay
right THERE, you fool!!!" she snarls in English, pointing at Nabiki,
then she leans out to inspect the section of fence the older woman
had fallen on. Her eyes widen on seeing the total absence of blood
ANYWHERE on the fence or the walkway beside it. What the HELL?!
Unless...
"Yo-chan...!"
Yotsuba blinks, then ducks back inside before gazing at Nabiki.
Seeing the growing confusion and fear in the older woman's eyes, she
takes a deep breath, then turns to Hinako. "Hinako-chan,
get Bou-san there..." she points to the Staff of Gihan in the girl's
hands, "...and teleport us and all of Na-chama's things to my room
in the House! We'll worry about the hotel bill and all that nonsense
later! Do it now!!"
Hinako yelps, then closes her eyes as the Staff flares. Nabiki
gasps as the hotel room melts into bright light before her eyes, then
morphs again into a fair-sized bedroom. Sensing no bed under her,
Nabiki yelps as she drops to the floor, then quickly gets back on her
feet, scanning around. "Oh, sorry!!" Hinako impishly smiles, then
points. "All you're stuff's beside Watson-kun's cage, Onee-tama!"
Nabiki blinks, then looks to see her overnight bag, cell-phone
and all her clothes piled on the floor beside a birdcage holding
a wooden stick bird poised before a cup of water. Blinking, she
staggers back, then collapses onto Yotsuba's bed, the sheer sensory
overload from what just befell her starting to hit home. Seeing
the older woman start to quake, Yotsuba sighs, then turns to Hinako.
"Thanks, Hinako-chan!"
"Is she gonna be okay, Yotsuba-chan?" Hinako wonders.
Tears spill down Nabiki's cheeks as she starts to curl in on
herself. "Hard to say," Yotsuba sighs, then blinks as Hinako
vanishes in a flash of light. "Hinako-chan...?" she gasps, then
jolts as Hinako reappears, a stuffed rabbit in one hand, the Staff
in the other.
Before Yotsuba could say anything more, Hinako walks over to
hold the rabbit before Nabiki, gently rubbing its head against her
forehead. Nabiki shudders, then looks up to see Hinako lightly
smiling at her. "Here, Onee-tama," the younger girl allows the older
one to take Mister Bunny in hand. "Before Kuma-san came, whenever
Hina wanted to cry, Hina always held Usagi-san. Holding Usagi-san
make Hina's tears go away every time Hina wanted to cry. He'll make
Onee-tama's tears go away, too."
A shudder flows through the middle Tendou daughter, then she
gently draws Mister Bunny into her arms as she flashes Hinako a
grateful smile. "Th-thanks, Hinako-chan..." she whispers. "C-can
I be l-left alone with Yo-chan for a bit there, Hinako-chan?
Pl-please...?"
"Un!" Hinako nods, then vanishes in a flash of light.
Yotsuba watches her go, then sighs, walking over to sit beside
Nabiki. "Are you okay?" she places a hand on the latter's shoulder.
Nabiki shudders, then relaxes as a strange calm seems to flow
from Yotsuba's hand to fill her whole body. She blinks, then turns
to the would-be detective. "What just happened to me, Yo-chan?"
Yotsuba blinks, then jolts as a knock is heard. "Who is it?"
she calls out, gazing at the door to her room.
"It's me, Yotsuba-sama," Jonna's voice replies.
Yotsuba blinks again, then sighs, turning back to Nabiki. "You
better brace yourself there, Na-chama," she rises, moving to unlock
the door and let Jonna in. "You're not going to like hearing this."
Nabiki gulps...
* * *
Almost twenty minutes later, a horrified shriek echoes through
the rotunda. In the dining room, Marie and Akane look up from their
tea, then the latter bolts to her feet. "That's Nabiki!!!"
"What's she doin' back here?" Rinrin wonders, she also rising.
"I thought she was staying in a hotel downtown tonight."
Soon enough, footfalls are heard. Everyone remains quiet as
they listen to people come down the stairs, then the dining room
doors fly open to reveal Nabiki, she now dressed in her favoured
nightgown. Seeing her pale face, the others wince, then blink as
Jonna comes up behind Akane's sister. Gazing at Marie's bond-mate,
the Niphentaxian-Avalonian takes a deep breath, then announces,
"She is one of us now, Akane."
Silence.
"What...?" Sakuya gapes.
"How?!" Karen demands.
Akane blinks, her eyes widening, then she walks over to stare
intently into Nabiki's eyes. "Nabiki...?" she sputters, then staring
at Jonna for a moment to confirm what the priestess' daughter just
said, turns back to her sister. "Nabiki, what happened to you...?"
"I..." Nabiki blinks, then reaches up to gently grasp Akane's
shoulders. Feeling that contact, Akane shudders, then relaxes as she
allows her sister to draw her in. Both soon cling tightly to each
other, sobs escaping them both as the intensity of the moment sinks
in.
Watching them, Sakuya takes a deep breath, then glances over at
Aria, who is relaxing in the couch near the dining room table, the
Genesis Wand in hand. "Aria-chan, do you think you can persuade
Tsue-san there to get all of Nabiki's thinks and move them into Room
Eleven there?"
Aria stares at Sakuya, then holding the Genesis Wand close to
her ear, nods. "Hai," she holds the Wand up as it glows for a
moment, two bolts of energy leaping through the dining room skylight
into the night sky. "There," she then sighs as the glow fades.
"It's done."
Sakuya nods, then turns back on hearing Nabiki ask, "You saw
Mom?"
The others stare at the Tendou sisters as they stare at each
other. "Hai, I did," Akane nods, then lowers her eyes. "I can't
believe Kasumi did that to you! Why can't she just let it be?"
"Dunno, I guess," Nabiki shrugs, then looks at Marie. As the
latter's cheeks redden, the former pulls away from her sister, then
moves to place a hand on her future sister-in-law. "I was kinda
wondering how you picked up Akane's mallet-trick there, Marie-chan.
Sure took a lotta people by surprise," she tries to smile, then leans
down to kiss Marie on the cheek. "I'd say 'Welcome to the family'
right now, but at the rate things're going there back home,
Marie-chan..."
"Don't worry about it," Sakuya announces, shaking her head.
Nabiki stares at her. "What do you mean?"
"I just had Aria-chan move all your things to the room across
from Akane's in the main part of the House," the eldest of Ataru's
sisters announces. "By the sounds of you and Akane just talked
about, you might not have much of a home back in Nerima, so you can
stay here."
Nabiki lightly smiles. "Thanks, Sakuya-san," she reaches up to
wipe her eyes clean, then stares at Aria. "You, too, Aria-chan."
"Is Nee-ya alright?" Aria wonders.
The middle Tendou daughter blinks, then sighs. "I dunno.
Finding out you've just become an alien on your home planet...!
Well," she shrugs, then turns to leave before gazing at the sisters.
"I'm gonna go to my room there and lay down. HOPEFULLY, I might get
some sleep tonight. If you all hear screams and all that, don't be
surprised there..."
"Shirayuki-sama, can you prepare some ramen for Nabiki there.
She needs something soft for her first meal in her new body," Jonna
asks.
"Ah...! Hai, Hime'll make some," Shirayuki rises. Heading
to the doors, she opens them, then gasps on seeing who's there.
"Yotsuba-chan!"
Everyone blinks on seeing that Yotsuba is presently in her
"Beautiful Mysterious Thief Clover" costume, mask, cape and all.
Before someone could say something about this, Yotsuba slips the cape
from her shoulders, then moves to drape it over Nabiki's, then ties
it in place. The middle Tendou daughter stares confusedly at her,
then blinks as Yotsuba slips one of her friend's arms around hers.
"Come, dear Nabiki. You need rest," the would-be detective whispers
in English, then escorts her out of the room.
The others remain rooted in place, then Akane gazes quizzically
on the other sisters. "Is she NORMALLY like that?!" she demands.
"It's like putting up to Chikage's eccentricities,"
Sakuya shrugs. "You just have to learn to get used to it,
Akane-san."
"I HEARD that, Sakuya."
Almost everyone in the room screams out on seeing Chikage
relaxing against the wall beside the doors, tarot card in hand. The
Lovers. Aria, the one who DIDN'T react to the sorceress' appearance,
turns to Sakuya, a disappointed look on her face. "Sakuya-chan,
that was not nice."
Sakuya jolts as laughter echoes through the room...
* * *
"Damn...!"
Nabiki shakes her head on staring inside Room Eleven. The
name-plate from her old room in the Tendou home is posted on the
door. Inside, all was in place, though the computer isn't plugged
in since the electrical outlets are in different locations. "And all
this got done by that huge flashlight Aria-chan carries with her
now?" she stares at Yotsuba.
The younger woman chuckles, then slips the mask and hat away
from her face as she walks Nabiki in. "Yeah, handy thing to have,"
she replies in English, then setting the hat and mask aside, moves
to help Nabiki relax. The middle Tendou daughter doesn't resist
as Yotsuba makes her comfortable, then produces Mister Rabbit to
place on the pillow by her head. "We'll have to move things around
a bit to make things convenient for you, but it should be okay,"
she muses, then stares at Nabiki. "You're eighteen now?"
"Yeah, just turned it over the holidays."
"Good. We'll get you to sign the forms tomorrow, but you won't
have to worry about getting your dad's signature on it."
"Not twenty?" Nabiki's eyebrows arch.
"Nah, not for cases like yours, especially given what happened
to Akane there. They won't mind," Yotsuba shakes her head.
"Besides, if we do it this way, that idiot older sister of yours
might decide to start being a little more reasonable concerning
you and Akane..."
A knock on the door, then it opens to reveal Shirayuki.
"Here you go, Nabiki-chan," the cook walks in, a tray of hot ramen
in hand.
Nabiki sniffs the warm aroma, then jolts as her stomach suddenly
growls. "Yeah, Na-chama sure sounds hungry to Yotsuba," the would-be
detective slips back to Japanese as Shirayuki places the tray on
Nabiki's work table. "Thanks, Shirayuki-chan. Yotsuba'll take it
from here."
"Okay," Shirayuki nods, then walks over to squeeze Nabiki's
hand. "It'll be okay in the end, Nabiki-chan. You'll see."
Nabiki nods thanks as the chef heads out, then sighs as Yotsuba
walks over, the ramen bowl in hand. Placing that on the nightstand,
she then shifts Nabiki over so the latter could eat without messing
up her sheets. "You don't need to baby me, you know," she chuckles,
then sighs as Yotsuba reaches over to gently rub her cheek.
"Yo-chan...?"
"What is it, Na-chama?" Yotsuba smiles.
"What are you thinking?"
Yotsuba blinks, then sighs. "That right now, I'd really, really
want you to be part of my life for the rest of my life," she replies
in English. "But for the life of me, I can't understand why I'm
feeling this way..."
Nabiki blinks, then closes her eyes. "Well, you just need some
time to figure it out," she replies the same way. "Believe me, I
didn't expect something like THIS to happen to ME of all people,
Yo-chan. Ye gods, I'd expect something like this to hit Ranma or
Ataru or..." she shakes her head, a chuckles fluttering through
her lips. "But me...?"
"Way Fate works sometime," Yotsuba sighs, then rises.
"Where are you going?"
"Get my pyjamas, then get back down here fast as I can," the
would-be detective stops, glancing over her shoulder. "After what
happened at the hotel, I'm NOT letting you out of my sight for very
long, Na-chama. Not until you've fully adjusted to what happened
to you."
Nabiki blinks, then smiles. "Thanks for caring, Yo-chan."
"You deserve it," Yotsuba winks, then races out...
* * *
To be continued...
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