Minna-san,
Here's the redone Part 1. I decided to shift some
events depicted into the original Part 1 to Part 2.
With what I've done here, this will allow me to trim
out some parts in Part 3 and even the story out better
over the next few parts. Enjoy!
Fred
=====
Fred Herriotfherriot@yahoo.com**** **** ****"Fanfiction IS Real Life!"**** **** ****
______________________________________________________________________
Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
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-- Desc: LoneS-01.txt
Somewhere in the Korea Strait, off Tsushima...
Tell me that you love me!
I cannot stand that you're never mine!
You really break my heart!
Tchajungnaego hwareul
Naedo tto nouoe misoman pomyoun
Pabo kat'eun na...
Noun nuga pwado aju yeppeugo
T'amseurou'un sagwa kat'a kkaemurou
Chugo ship'ou anajugo ship'ou
Noueui p'ingk'eu pit hwasare kkojoussou.
Noun moduege neul ch'injourae
Keuraesou ch'akkakdeul haji
Namaneui aeinin'goul ijji an'atdamyoun
Naege tou isang changnanch'ijineun ma.
Yokshimi chinach'in koulkka
Chashini oumneun koulkka
Puran'an ma'eum ppunya...
The small crowd in the snack bar aboard the "Ferry Pukwan"
laugh and clap as the bearded traveller by the karaoke machine croons
the notes of Si-kyung Sung's "Misoch'ounsa." Most of the crowd on
tonight's run from Pusan to Shimonoseki are Koreans taking advantage
of winter vacation to spend time abroad. Imagine their surprise
on meeting the singer, clearly a native of Japan despite his
near-perfect fluency in the tongue of the Land of the Morning Calm.
Given the centuries of blood hatred between the nations bordering
the shores of the East Sea, to encounter someone of Japan willing
to learn a "lesser" tongue like Korean was shocking.
As the song comes to a close, the traveller smiles, handing
the microphone back to the bartender. "You sing well," one of the
women, an office lady from Seoul, laughs as he rises, turning to
leave.
The traveller pauses, sensing that some of the women there,
all in their late twenties and early thirties, would gladly want him
to continue to sing. If not engage in other activities.
"Kamsahamnida," he bows thanks in Korean. "Forgive me, but I'm
travelling with my sister. She doesn't like sea voyages. I better
check on her. Good night."
He bows again, then steps out. "Awwwwwwwwwwww..."
some lament.
Walking forward, then ascending a gangway to where first class
quarters are located, he draws a key, then opens the door to one
room. Glancing in, he tries not to grin on seeing a woman under the
covers. Despite the aura of physical fitness which cloaks her, her
skin is pale and clammy, sweat pouring from her shaggy head of
chestnut hair. Her eyes, both dark brown, are squeezed shut. "You
okay, Onee-chan?" the traveller wonders, sitting on the bed as he
gently brushes away her perspiration.
A tired breath escapes her. "Why did you insist on taking
*this* route back to Japan?" she hisses through gritted teeth.
"You hate flying as much as travelling by boat. And you didn't
feel it necessary to use Sanctuary to get us home. Besides, this was
cheaper," he shrugs, then gently kisses her cheek. "Relax,
Onee-chan. They'll be dropping anchor outside Shimonoseki in a few
hours. The waves should be pretty calm around there. And, just in
case the waves pick up, all they have to do is take the ferry right
into the Kanmon Strait."
"What time is it?"
"About eleven-thirty."
Negako faintly nods. "Nine hours," she exhales. The ferry
docked at the Shimonoseki terminal around 8:30 in the morning.
She opens her eyes to gaze on him. "You seem indifferent about
returning to Japan, Ataru."
"Thanks to you, Onee-chan," Ataru clicks his tongue, then stares
out the curtained window. Bright points of light on the horizon
and closer indicated fishing boats plying their timeless trade.
"Right now, there's nothing that'll force me back into that hellhole,
especially after getting together with the girls on the Island.
Nothing at all..."
He falls silent. Negako stares at him, then closes her eyes
anew. "I see you've finally dismissed Lum from your thoughts."
He tenses. "No sense lamenting on what no longer is," he rises
to undress. Even if they were "brother" and "sister" to the general
public, they were used to sharing accommodations in certain
circumstances. "Lum's gone. Nothing I can do will change that. If
I kept weeping over her, I'd be no different than the goons who
flocked around Lum in Tomobiki."
"I wonder if she would have been able to prepare herself to
accept what has happened to you," Negako smiles as Ataru, now in
boxers, slips in beside her. In deference to modesty, she wears a
tank-top and panties.
They warmly embrace as Ataru draws the blankets over them.
"Yeah," he cuts out the lights. "Besides..." a faint glow
illuminates his left eye. "She was not the Other. The Other is
elsewhere. Elsewhere..."
* * *
"Lonely Souls"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
**** **** ****
"Misoch'ounsa," performed by Si-kyung Sung, lyrics by Hoe-jin Yi,
music by Soung-je Hwang
**** **** ****
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 located at the end of the "A" Side of
the Prologue. This part of the story begins four weeks after the end
of the "R" Side of the Prologue and six weeks after the end of the
"A" Side.
**** **** ****
THE FIRST PART - SOLITUDES
Nerima, the Tendou dojo, mid-morning...
"Ohayou, Onee-chan. Where're Ranma-kun and Akane?"
Kasumi smiles as Nabiki sits across from her at the dinner
table. "Akane-chan's at school with her friends preparing for the
drama class play in the spring term. I'm not too sure where
Ranma-kun is, however..."
Nabiki grunts, shaking her head. "Those idiots just don't know
when to leave it alone, eh?" she mutters, rubbing the bridge of her
nose.
"Unfortunately. And pretending to have Auntie Saotome's
support on their side doesn't help matters, I'm afraid," Kasumi
sighs, nodding.
"Tell me something I don't already know," Nabiki rolls her
eyes...
* * *
People in Nerima had come to call it the "Second Wedding
Attempt."
In truth, no wedding occurred or was even planned for that
Saturday four weeks ago, just a little over two weeks after the first
attempted wedding between Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendou. But what
happened that day was just as profound, if not more so, in the eyes
of all those who, for good or ill, had linked their destinies
to Ranma's and/or Akane's.
Things finally settled down in the sitting room by
mid-afternoon. By then, Souun, Genma and even Nodoka had been
waylaid by Ranma's other would-be fiancees, with help from Tatewaki
Kunou and Mousse. How did those two idiots learn of this, Nabiki
had no idea. She soon suspected -- confirmed when she talked to
Kunou about it later -- that Mousse had been spying on Shampoo the
Wednesday evening prior to the big fight. That was when Nabiki met
Shampoo, Ukyou and Kodachi to discuss Souun's, Genma's and Nodoka's
latest plans to get Ranma and Akane married. Once he heard what he
needed to hear, Mousse sought out Kunou to give the kendoist a
heads-up.
Regardless of which, Nabiki's basic plan, backed by Kasumi -- to
put a stop to any talk of impending weddings for Ranma and Akane --
had gone off like clockwork. No doubt, that fight left a lot of
people's feelings very raw, but that didn't bother the middle Tendou
daughter. It was sheer LUNACY to force two seventeen-year-olds
into something as wide-reaching as marriage. For Kami-sama's
sake, this was the dawn of the TWENTY-FIRST century, not the middle
of the FIFTEENTH! Hopefully, Nabiki thought at the time, the lessons
would be learned, not just by Souun and Genma, but by Nodoka. Nabiki
didn't want to do that to Ranma's mother, but the woman had to be
rudely smacked out of her Tokugawa-era worldview if she was going
to make any headway into reforming a family with her son. Her son...
Ranma.
A Ranma that, for reasons no one had yet to put their finger
on, had started to change in a direction NO ONE expected, much less
predicted.
A Ranma that was no longer playing by anyone's rules...
Save his own.
* * *
That Saturday night, it began...
The sitting room, save for the dents in the walls, one wall with
a man-sized hole in it (that presently covered by a blanket),
and a wrecked table, had been cleaned up by Kasumi. The fiancees
had left an hour ago, apologizing to the elder Tendou daughters
for bringing disharmony on the household. They didn't apologize
for their desires for Ranma, of course. Kasumi or Nabiki couldn't
bring themselves to fault them for that. Shampoo and Kodachi had
also been kind to apologize for Mousse's and Tatewaki's presence
(it had been the kendoist who had destroyed the wall), the latter
vowing to help finance repairs as soon as Nabiki made arrangements.
Nodoka was now in bed, recovering from several near-misses
thanks to throwing spatulas and being winged by a bonbori. Kasumi
had salvaged the Saotome honour blade from the koi pond, then hid it
somewhere where no one, especially Nodoka, could put it to use.
Souun is also in bed, he having got worked over nicely by the
fiancees. Genma had been rushed to the hospital; he had nearly been
pounded to within an inch of his life. Akane, who had returned
after the other fiancees left, had gone straight to her room, having
said nothing to her sisters about what might have happened to Ranma.
Ranma himself had not been seen since after the fight began.
"Tadaima!"
"Oh, Ranma-kun!" Kasumi walked in from the kitchen, forcing
herself to smile. What happened earlier hadn't been his fault by any
stretch of the imagination, so she didn't want to project any
negative feelings. "Oh, Ojii-san, there you are! We've wondered
where you've been!"
"Sorry I've been out for a while there, Kasumi-chan,"
Happousai smiled, then looked around the room. "Whoo-ee!! When you
said there'd been a fight in this place, my boy, you certainly
weren't kidding!"
"Yeah, you can say that again, Jijii," Ranma, in female form,
smirked, then stared at Kasumi. "Where is everyone?"
"Your mother and my father are in bed now. Akane's in her room,
as is Nabiki. Your father..." Kasumi's smile slipped from her face,
"...is in the hospital now. Your other suitors were not kind to
him."
"Don't blame them," Ranma sighed. "Can you get Nabiki down
here? I've an announcement to make and I want to make it just to you
two."
"I...!" Kasumi blinked. "Why not Akane-chan?"
"Forgive me, Kasumi, but since she is one of my 'fiancees'..."
one could coat the sitting room floor with the scorn that word
produced from Ranma's lips, "...she has no right to hear this. Just
you and Nabiki."
"I...! Yes, of course."
She headed upstairs. Ranma watched her go, then turned to the
grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu. "You sure this won't be any
problem with you, Jijii?" she asked as they sat down where the table
once was.
"Oh, relax, relax, son," Happousai waved her down. "It'd do
those two morons good to face some REAL humility for once in their
lives!"
"Yeah, ya got a point there," Ranma winked back at him, then
perked as Nabiki and Kasumi came down the stairs. "Hey, Nabiki!"
"Hey, Ranma-kun, welcome back," the middle Tendou daughter
sighed. "You don't have to worry about Akane. She's asleep right
now."
"Good," Ranma sighed as they sat before her, then took a deep
breath. "I've some announcements to make. I ask you both to give
me the benefit of the doubt in this matter, since that seems to elude
everyone else who lives here. If, however, you feel that my ideas
and thoughts have no place in this household, I'll take my leave and
never return again."
"Ranma...!" Kasumi's eyes widened in shock.
"What the hell brought THAT out?!" Nabiki demanded.
Ranma glared the middle Tendou daughter down. "After all the
times you took advantage of me, you have the nerve to ask me THAT?!"
Nabiki winced, then moved to reply, but was rendered silent
by the stern wave of Kasumi's hand. "Ranma-kun has a right to say
that, sister," the elder sister sighed, then stared back at her
would-be sibling. "Ranma-kun, if you feel right now that none of us
ever gave you any respect, then I am very sorry that you've come to
feel this way. Please, I DO want to know what you're feeling and
what you want to do with yourself."
"Alright, then," Ranma blinked, then sighed. "Had I the right
ta do this, I'd put an end to the engagements right here and now.
And yes, that includes the one to your sister. Why? 'Cause I
believe your sister looks on me the very same way Ukyou and Shampoo
do. Not as a person with his own feelings and dreams. But a puppet,
a prize for her to win and hold onto at any cost. Until the time
comes that she decides to respect me as a person, I'll treat her the
same way I now treat Ukyou and Shampoo. And if either of you believe
that because of that decision, I don't deserve to remain here, I'll
respect your desire and leave. Again, never to return."
Kasumi and Nabiki exchanged a look, then the former sighed.
"No, you don't have to go, Ranma-kun. But..." she blinked. "Several
weeks ago, you sacrificed so much to save my sister's life. I cannot
begin to thank you enough for doing that. But please, tell us what
made you come to think THAT about Akane-chan?" A pause, then, "Is it
because of the Nanniichuan water that was sent from Jusenkyou
for the wedding?"
Happousai perked. "Nanniichuan water?! What Nanniichuan
water?"
"The cask you drank, Ojii-chan," Nabiki provided.
Hearing that, the aged grandmaster blinked, then breathed
out. "Oh, ye gods, I can't believe that!" he slapped his forehead.
"Don't worry about it, Jijii," Ranma waved him down, then turned
back to Kasumi. "And yes, Kasumi, that's where it started. If that
cask was a present to ME, who the HELL gave your father the damned
right to take it away from me? And if your sister really DID love
me, then why the hell didn't she give him a kick in the ass and take
the cask from him? Hell, why didn't she tell me your father was
using that cask as a bribe to make me marry her? You KNOW how much
I wanted to be rid of this curse!" she waved to herself. "Didn't
Akane understand? Or did she even care?"
"She did!" Kasumi shuddered, then sighed. "Ranma-kun,
she told me that she didn't think about telling you ahead of time.
But it wasn't out of malice, not one bit. She..." she paused. "She
felt that because you had confessed your love for her in China, it
didn't really matter. To her, the Nanniichuan was..." she bowed her
head. "Icing on the cake."
Ranma took that in, then nodded. "I see."
"What do you feel about her now?" Nabiki asked.
"I don't know. And that's one of the reasons I haveta leave
this place for a bit. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be on a
training trip. I won't tell you where I'm goin' and I hope no
one..." her eyes locked on Nabiki, "...will try to follow me. If
that DOES happen and if I get wind that it originated from this
house, I'll forever renounce the agreement between our families.
If it becomes necessary, I'll renounce all ties to my family if
that's what it takes to drive the point home."
The sisters' eyes went wide. "You'd actually become roonin?"
Nabiki gaped. "Ranma-kun, for heaven's sake, I'd never thought
that..."
"What? That I'd finally get tired of taking this crap from all
of you?!" Ranma glared at her. "Well, too bad! I AM tired of it!!"
Nabiki ducked his look. "I can't blame you, Ranma-kun,"
Kasumi sighed. "I'm also getting very tired of this. Please, go
on."
Ranma nodded, then sighed. "I've asked Jijii to help out. To
make him answer for all the crap he's brought onto your home, I've
decided Oyaji will be subject to BOTH the strength-sapping
moxibustion AND the full-body cat's tongue while I'm gone. It won't
be permanent; Jijii's got a Phoenix Pill ready for Oyaji when we feel
he's learned his lesson. I leave the time he'll be stuck this way,
however, to you," she waved to the sisters.
Kasumi and Nabiki blinked, then the latter nodded. "Well, we
could send him to the zoo for a while," she mused. "I talked this
over once with the curator at the Ueno Zoo. I could have your dad
shipped there for a few weeks for the right price. Probably enough
that we could do some serious remodelling. The savings in food costs
alone...!" she shuddered.
"Fine. Decide what you want to do with the fool, then make sure
your father can't interfere," Ranma sighed, then closed her eyes.
"Much that I'd wish I didn't have ta say this, I'm gonna. I hold no
respect for your father now. He broke his word to me. He
deliberately prevented me from receiving something that was meant
for me. Please feel free to tell him this if you wish. If he
decides that he doesn't want me to marry any of you, fair enough.
It solves some of my problems right there."
"I can't blame you for that, Ranma-kun," Kasumi nodded.
"Alright, then," Ranma moved to head upstairs. "I'm gonna pack
and head out tonight. I'll see you in a couple weeks there, Jijii."
"Fair enough, my boy! Have fun," Happousai nodded...
* * *
Souun and Nodoka stayed in bed throughout the next day. Akane
left first thing to spend the day with her friends, not once asking
about Ranma. That allowed Kasumi, Nabiki and Happousai to make
preparations.
Like his son, Genma had a rapid recovery rate, so his hospital
stay would be brief. It didn't do him any good when Happousai
ambushed him just as he was discharged, nailing him with cold water,
then the cat's tongue and moxibustion attacks. Once done, he was
trucked to the Ueno Zoo.
Nabiki decided to keep him there three weeks.
Monday revealed all the temporary changes to the remaining
adults in the household. Naturally, Souun didn't take to what
happened to Genma at ALL. Neither did Nodoka, but after Nabiki laid
down the facts about how much the "lazy panda" drained the family
budget, Ranma's mother relented.
Then the second bombshell. Instantly, Souun railed at Ranma's
"failure" to fulfil his duty, but Kasumi cut him off with this:
"Father, what would happen if Ranma-kun decided he didn't want to
marry Akane-chan? After all, you deceived him. You went back on a
promise you made to him. You even took away his PROPERTY to force
him to marry Akane-chan. Right now, Ranma-kun really doesn't care
one bit about what you might want."
Another Niagara Falls-scale wail resulted from her words.
Kasumi's comments caught Nodoka short. Sometime after, they
spoke about what happened to Ranma. Hearing how angry her son had
become over what happened over the last couple of weeks, Nodoka fell
silent. That night, she announced that while she supported the idea
of Ranma fulfilling the pledge to the Tendous, she wouldn't press
him into marriage until such time as he felt ready. Souun launched
into another "Now the schools will NEVER be joined!!" fit. Happousai
silenced that by flipping him into the koi pond. "That, Father,
you had coming to you!" Kasumi scolded.
The remainder of the week was a series of remodelling days.
With the money from the Kunous to pay for the damage to the sitting
room (plus some "hush" money to repay the Tendous over Tatewaki's
drawing a sword at the first wedding), added to the "rental" money
on Genma from the Ueno Zoo plus money pitched in by Happousai,
the house is quickly refurbished.
The changes were like a fresh wind. Ceilings, walls and floors
without temporary patches installed after people were smashed by
Akane's mallet. Windows no longer cracked by vibrations from fights
indoors and out. A replanted lawn, lush with fresh grass. Save for
the dojo itself (which still bore some scars from the first wedding
attempt), everything in the Tendou home was practically as good as
new.
"A new beginning for us all," Kasumi mused to Nabiki
afterward...
* * *
The first indicating of anything that was happening to Ranma
came the Friday after the big fight in the Tendou home. At school,
Akane and her classmates were all informed that someone -- who
exactly, no one had ANY idea! -- delivered all of Ranma's make-up
assignments to the school. To Hinako Ninomiya's total shock, the
assignments had been done ahead of time, done correctly and it
appeared that he might even get a decent mark.
Hinako also announced that in a note attached to those
assignments, Ranma now had a private tutor who was volunteering
her time to help him catch up on his schoolwork. Hearing the "her"
in that statement didn't sit well with Akane or Ukyou. Later, both
confronted Nabiki about sending out some sort of search party to
locate Ranma. The middle Tendou daughter refused to do anything
even when Ukyou vowed to pay for her services.
"Don't you want Ranma around so you can go make some money off
him like you've always done?!" Akane snidely growled.
Nabiki responded to that with a slap to her sister's cheek,
then she stormed off. Akane, stunned that her sister had responded
THAT way, ran home crying. She wouldn't speak to Nabiki again all
weekend.
"What was THAT all about?" Ukyou wondered after seeing that...
* * *
On Saturday, another mysterious courier left an envelope in the
Tendou mail box, addressed to Nabiki. Opening it later, she was
stunned to see that it contained a banker's cheque for ten million
yen. With it was a brief note from Ranma. Details were basic. The
money had been earned by Ranma. Nothing illegal was involved in the
earning of that money. It was to repay the Tendous for anything
he might have caused in their home since he came. No, he wasn't
going to pay a single yen for what Genma's expenses might have been.
Nabiki was free to use the money in whatever way she felt proper.
The only condition: Souun could NOT touch the money at all.
Hearing that, Souun bewailed that Ranma had become so
disrespectful of his elders. "After what you did to him over the
last few weeks. what did you expect?" Nodoka frostily asked on
hearing that. Naturally, the Tendou patriarch cried some more at how
much Ranma was ruining relations between the families and threatening
the future union of the schools.
"What schools?" Happousai muttered to himself sometime later.
Nabiki used the money to pay off Ranma's debt to her, then put
the rest into a college fund for herself and Kasumi. When Souun
demanded to know when money would be set aside to refurbish the dojo,
Nabiki warned that since Ranma put a condition on the money not being
meant for Souun -- which naturally included any expenses circling
around the dojo -- why, she couldn't just possibly think of using
any of Ranma's money for THAT!
He was treated for dehydration in the wake of that
announcement...
* * *
School shut down for winter vacation to allow the teachers
the chance to rest for three weeks. Life at the Tendou home became
very quiet, almost too quiet. Souun would sit at the shogi board,
staring blankly at it. No one would play a game with him, not even
Happousai. The aged grandmaster would be off on his panty raids,
but didn't drag any "admirers" to the dojo determined to get back
their "silky darlings." Kasumi would keep the house clean and even
try to do some repairs on the dojo. Nodoka helped out in the house
if she wasn't off supervising the repairs of the Saotome home, which
were progressing slowly. Nabiki would handle any financial problems.
Akane, who didn't seem to say anything about Ranma's prolonged
absence, spent most of her time with her best friends Sayuri and
Yuka.
The second Wednesday after the big fight saw Ryouga in Nerima
for the first time in three weeks. He had made it to Akari Unryuu's
farm. The young sumotori pig farmer sent her best. He got to
talking to Akane, then learned of what happened with Ranma. Hearing
that Ranma had, in effect, rejected Akane sent Ryouga over the edge.
He stormed out of the dojo, vowing to find Ranma and upbraid him for
what he did to "hurt" Akane. Of course, while he was here, Akane
forgot to ask Ryouga why he joined the fight with Mousse and Genma
over the Nanniichuan cask at the wedding.
Two days later, Nabiki got a call from one of her friends with
news: Ranma was back in town. Even better, he came bearing a gift
for Ukyou.
* * *
"Here it is, Ukyou-san."
Ukyou was totally speechless as her eyes danced over the cleaned
and repainted yatai, now folded up and ready to be taken somewhere
to be put to use. Walking slowly around it, she bent down to give
all the equipment a close visual inspection, then staring at the shop
noren hanging off the roof, asked, "Ran-chan, where did you find
this?!" she looked at him.
"It was buried near Osaka," he crossed his arms. "I figured
Oyaji must've put it there after we got done eating all the supplies
that were left in it. The stoves needed replacing, the wiring had to
get fixed up and the noren was rotted right through because it was
low, wet soil that Oyaji buried it in, but it's all in working order
now."
Ukyou quickly got to work unfolding the yatai. As soon as
everything was in place, she stepped in behind the stove, then
quickly got to work getting equipment ready to start cooking. Once
it was all in place, she took a deep breath, then stared at Ranma.
"Ran-chan...?"
He sighed. "If you need to call your father about the problem
between us, I'll come here for your answer tomorrow at noon."
With that, he left. Ukyou screamed for him to stay, but with
the skill Genma used on innocents swindled by him, Ranma simply
vanished...
* * *
Saturday morning came. No one had any idea where Ranma had
stayed overnight; he didn't sleep at the Tendou dojo. But surely
enough, when he came to Okonomiyaki U-chan's to speak with the chef,
others showed up, too: the Tendous and Nodoka. Seeing Ranma, Souun
launched into his Demon Head. Ranma answered with a Shishi
Houkoudan! Everyone else was stunned; Ranma had NEVER been able to
muster the necessary amount of depression chi to make use of what
many saw as Ryouga Hibiki's signature attack. Realizing that Ranma
was in NO MOOD to deal with them, the others fell silent.
He then stared at Ukyou. "What's your answer?"
Shuddering, the chef asked in turn, "Do you love me, Ran-chan?"
"No, Kuonji-san, I don't," Ranma responded. "What's your
answer?"
Ukyou winced at the double-blow of his formal mode of address
to her, plus his answer. "I can't renounce it, Ran-chan. I'm
sorry."
Nodoka decided to step in at that time. "I do not recognize
your engagement to my son, young lady..."
"I do," Ranma instantly cut her off.
Nodoka spun on him. "You don't have a say in this matter,
Ranma."
"If that is your opinion, then you will be childless."
Nodoka's eyes widened, then looked away. Ukyou sighed. "I
spoke to my father about your mother's attitude towards our
engagement. For one who supposedly prides herself on being
honourable, she seems as selective about it as your dad. My dad says
if you're forced out of your family, you can be adopted into ours.
I'm sure given how much he hates Genma, Happousai won't make you stop
practising your Art. As to what our relationship will be..." a
pained look flashed in her eyes, "...it'll then be up to us. If you
refuse me, I warn you, I will not be as lucky as you might be."
Ranma blinked, then sighed. "What if I adopted you as my sister
and you become part of the Saotome family? What happens in that
case?"
"I'd be forced to stop being an okonomiyaki chef unless I became
an apprentice under a new teacher. But given that I'd be renouncing
my Art if I tried to side-step our engagement THAT way, the chances
of my getting a new teacher are slim to nil," Ukyou reported,
then shook her head. "And I can't give it up, Ran-chan. Just like
you can't give up your Art."
"And what if we married? Would your family allow me to continue
in my Art without any interference if I married you, Ukyou-san?"
Ukyou blinked, then sighed. "I know how much the Art means to
you, Ran-chan. I'd certainly want you to be comfortable with your
life. But I'd also want you to remain close to my side, not pull
jackass stunts like your old man did and dragged you away from
civilization for a decade!"
"What about all the strange things that tend to fly my way?
Would you be willing to tolerate anything like that? Would you be
willing to tolerate things like that around any children we would
have?"
"I...!" Ukyou stuttered.
Ranma sighed. "That's the problem, Ukyou-san. You've
automatically assumed that if I married you, I'd fit into the world
you've envisioned for us -- in truth, for yourself -- like a hand
into a glove. It doesn't work that way, not with me. And while I
don't love you, Ukyou-san, I do happen to care for you. I also
happen to know that you wouldn't ultimately want to deal with all the
disruptions that tend to haunt my life. And to be frank, what you
envision for me rather makes me sick, Ukyou-san."
The chef jolted, then her eyes blazed. "Now, hold on here...!!"
"No, YOU hold on here!!!" Ranma bolted to his feet, glaring
her down as his battle aura blazed. "That's the reason I say that
I don't love you, Ukyou-san. Because you don't give a DAMN about
what I'd might want! Yes, I want to help you get out of this mess!!
I want you to be able to keep doing what you want to do! But NO, I
don't want to marry you! I really don't want to think about
marriage, not after what I've been through!!"
"Then leave them!" Ukyou pointed to Nodoka and the Tendous.
"Walk away from them, Ran-chan!! If you don't want to marry anyone,
let alone Akane, then why the HELL are you still staying with these
people?!"
"If they want me to leave, I'll leave. I've told them that,"
Ranma sighed. "But even if I did, I wouldn't come here, Ukyou-san.
I don't feel welcome here anymore. Why? Because my oldest, dearest
friend U-chan, the one I felt safe confiding my problems to...!"
he shrugged. "Well, she just turned out to be yet another fiancee
my stupid father stuck me with. And I've had my fill of fiancees.
If you can't respect that, then I don't want anything to do with you,
period. And if it comes to that, whatever happens to you will not
bother me one damned bit. That's the way it is."
Before anyone could say anything, Ranma vanished behind the
null-chi cloak of the Umisenken. Everyone remained still for a
moment, then Nodoka stared at Ukyou. "Would your father really do
that? Banish you from your family, strip you of everything you
worked so hard to achieve?"
"Yes," Ukyou glared at her. "See what your jackass husband
did? Not just to me, but to who knows HOW many other people he ran
across while he was tryin' to make your 'man above men?' Before
you start saying I'm not worthy to be Ran-chan's wife, you better
realize that *thing* you married has no right to think himself as a
father to a man like your son. And you really better ask yourself
if you're worthy to be his mother."
Nodoka blinked, then tried to smile. "I'm wondering that now."
The chef stared at her, then sighed. "I know that Ran-chan
doesn't hate you, ma'am. He wants to be with you again, be a son to
you again instead of being a near-stranger. But..." she took a deep
breath, "...as we just learned now, he don't wanna be pushed around
anymore. I..." she shrugged. "I can delay it, but I can't escape
it, Mrs. Saotome. I'm not at the point of desperation, but I'm
sliding towards it."
Nodoka considered that, then placed a warm hand on Ukyou's
shoulder. "Then we have time to determine what we can do for
everyone's benefit."
* * *
Later, everyone returned to the Tendou dojo. Stepping through
the front gates, they stop short on seeing Ranma standing there
waiting for them. Seeing him, Souun went into Demon Head mode.
"***RANMA-KUN, YOU WILL MARRY AKANE AND THAT'S FINAL!!!!***"
he bellowed...
...then screamed when Ranma responded with his own Demon Head,
one that had a mixture of horns, crow's wings, blazing suns and
snarling cat heads! "***SHUT UP AND MIND YOUR OWN DAMNED BUSINESS
FOR ONCE IN YOUR USELESS LIFE, YOU COWARDLY SELL-OUT OF INNOCENT
CHILDREN!!!!***" he roared, making Nodoka and the Tendou sisters
scramble for the darkest corner of the property and turning Souun
into a babbling wreck at Ranma's feet.
Ranma relaxed, then turned as the Tendou sisters approached
him anew. "R-ranma, wh-when did you l-learn THAT?!" Akane stuttered.
"Oh, a friend taught me. Always wanted to give your ol' man a
taste of his own medicine," Ranma crossed his hands behind his back.
"Alright, WHO are you?!" Nabiki growled, though there was a
playful tone to her voice. "What have you done to the real Ranma?!"
"Oh, I trapped him as a girl and sold him off to the House of
Jade in Hong Kong," Ranma immediately confessed, then he sighed,
scratching the side of his mouth. "Funny. He actually liked me
doing that."
Nabiki and Kasumi gawked, then giggled. Akane snorted.
"Figures a pervert like you would say something like that," she
crossed her arms.
"Akane!!!" her older sisters gasped.
Ranma blinked, then sighed. "Very well, Tendou-san, if that's
the way you feel about me, there is no engagement between us
anymore."
"R-ranma..." Akane blinked, her eyes wide at his cold-as-Arctic
ice assertion, then screaming out, ran into the house.
Seeing that, Souun launched into another Demon Head. "***HOW
DARE YOU MAKE AKANE CRY, RANMA-KUN?!?!?! APOLOGIZE TO HER
NOW!!!!!!***"
Ranma ignored that. "No."
A sputter floated from Souun's lips, then the Demon Head
vanished, leaving him staring wide-eyed at the man who would have
been his son-in-law. "Ranma...?" he whispered, then wordlessly
walked into the house.
Ranma watched him go, then shook his head. "Don't you think
you're being a little too harsh there, my son?" Nodoka asked.
He gazed at her, then sighed. "No. I don't respect him
anymore. I don't fear him anymore. Hell, I don't LIKE him now. In
my eyes, he's a coward...! Hell, worse than that! He's a PIMP, Mom!
A real pimp! Acting like he's king of the world and selling off his
own flesh-and-blood so he could enjoy a cozy retirement, just like
Oyaji's done to me!!"
Hearing that, Kasumi and Nabiki gaped at him. "Ranma-kun..."
"I'm sorry if that offended you, but it's true," Ranma shook
his head. "At first, I tried to respect him given that he's a
widower and that he put so much into uniting the schools. But with
him grovelling to Jijii all the time, he ignoring the garbage I've
been through because of Oyaji, him saying that the other engagements
don't count at all, he LYING to me, STEALING from me...! And THEN
he has the audacity to DEMAND I give him respect?!" He stared at his
mother. "Would you respect him, Mom?"
Nodoka said nothing in response. Ranma sighed, then reached
into his pocket to draw out a pair of cushioned envelopes, handing
them to the Tendou sisters. "I believe the saying is 'Beware Greeks
bearing gifts.'"
They take them, then open them. Inside are account books from
the Bank of Sendai, in their names. The amounts cause both of them
to gape in stunned disbelief. "Five million yen...?" they whisper,
awestruck.
"Ranma, where did you GET this money?!" Nodoka demanded.
"That, Mom..." Ranma winked, "...is a secret."
Nodoka huffed indignantly, though there was a flash of amusement
in her eyes. He chuckled, then waves his hands. "It's alright.
Nothin' illegal about this money whatsoever. I earned it fair and
square, but I'm not gonna say how I got it, not for a while yet.
Besides, given that their lives had been badly affected by what Oyaji
and I brought on them, it's only right." He then stared at the
sisters. "Here's your chance to get away from this place once and
for all. Go to university and make something out of your lives.
Hell, with the amount there, Nabiki, you could probably go abroad,
say to America, to get your degree. I squared it with the bank to
make sure your dad doesn't have the power to touch this money."
"I...!" Kasumi blinked, then stared at Ranma. "Ranma-kun,
I can't accept this...!" she flustered. "What about the ten million
you sent earlier? Unless you want that money to go to
Akane-chan...!"
"Well, if that's what you want to do with it, I can understand
that. But I hope you'll still adhere to what I said about your dad
not touchin' that money," Ranma held up a finger, then stared at the
dojo. "But if you want to use the money to fix THAT up, maybe you
should consider getting control of the property from your dad. Then
I wouldn't mind it so much."
"Ranma, you have no right to demand THAT!!" Nodoka objected.
"Mother, I didn't demand a thing from them. I merely made a
suggestion based on what my views of their father are," Ranma
retorted. "That's what a friend is supposed to do for his friends,
isn't it?"
Kasumi's and Nabiki's cheeks suddenly redden. "Ranma-kun..."
Nodoka nodded. "Yes, my son, you are in the right. I
apologize. Though I hope you're not giving all the money you've
earned away."
"Oh, no, but I'm not gonna say how much I've got in front of
Nabiki here," he gazed at Nabiki. "My present commitments will keep
me from Nerima until the early evening of the second Friday from
today. That is when I'll come back. If, however, I am no longer
welcome again in this house, please send me a warning note to this
address. It's a post office box," he drew out a folded sheet of
paper, then handed it to Kasumi. "I will respect whatever decision
you make in that regard, ladies."
"You'll always be welcome here, Ranma-kun," Kasumi smiled.
"Hopefully, your father and sister'll agree to that," Ranma
sighed, then turned to leave. "I'll see you all later. Ja ne!"
He lunged for the nearest telephone pole, then raced off. They
watched him go, then Nabiki stared at Nodoka. "You didn't try to
stop him or say anything to him, Auntie. You're not angry at him,
are you?"
"I...! No, Nabiki-chan, I'm not angry at him. I just believe
that deep down, he really doesn't trust me anymore," Nodoka shook
her head, then sighed. "That is another thing my fool husband will
have to answer for in the long run. I must confess, divorce seems
a wonderful option to me now. Nabiki-chan, will you make sure that
Genma remains where he is now until the night my son returns from
wherever he's gone off to?"
"No problem..."
* * *
Today...
*Least Auntie's on Ranma-kun's side no matter what that dork
Genma says otherwise,* Nabiki sneers, then sighs. "Where's the
newspaper?"
"It's over by the television," Kasumi points.
Nabiki nods, rising to pick up a copy of the "Yomiuri Shimbun,"
then she sits as Kasumi heads into the kitchen to prepare tea.
Flipping through the pages, her eyes stop as they pick up a headline
from the local news:
ALIEN PRINCESS DEAD! TOMOBIKI IN MOURNING!
Knowing the "Yomiuri Shimbun" didn't do flashy tabloid
headlines, Nabiki plunges into the article. *'It has today been
confirmed by the principal of Tomobiki High School that the Oni
princess Lum, who resided in that part of Tokyo's Nerima Ward for the
past eighteen months, was killed three weeks ago by enemies of the
Oni race,'* she reads, shuddering. *Oh, shit, this isn't going to do
me many favours. 'Lum, who was well liked among people in Tomobiki
despite the "Second Tag Race" of two months ago, was forced to leave
Earth, along with other alien residents of Tomobiki, when reports
came of the Oni race's state of war with another race, known to
United Nations authorities as the Noukiites. While exact
circumstances of Lum's death still remain unclear, it is presently
rumoured that she may have been assassinated because of her high
standing in Oni society.
*'When news of Lum's death reached Tomobiki, the expression
of grief and sadness at her loss, especially among the high
school-age population, was unprecedented. Already, there is a
movement to erect a memorial to Lum at Tomobiki High School, financed
by the Mendou Conglomerate at the behest of Shutaro Mendou, heir to
the Conglomerate's leadership and a close friend of the late Oni. A
special memorial service in Lum's honour will be held on Monday
morning around 12:00 PM at Tomobiki High School.
*'Surprisingly, Ataru Moroboshi, Lum's common-law husband,
has been missing from Tomobiki for the past six weeks, his
disappearance coinciding with Lum's expulsion. His current
whereabouts, much less the circumstances surrounding his departure
from Tomobiki, remain a mystery.'*
Nabiki puts the paper down. She had invested in parts of the
Mendou family empire for some years now, those investments growing
thanks to a chunk of the ten million yen Ranma sent her some weeks
ago. Further, her intelligence and betting network was fully linked
into the Tomobiki student grapevine. She knew about Lum's departure,
along with that of the Oni's cousin Jariten and a former junior high
classmate, Lan. She also knew of Ataru's disappearance.
The latter concerned her to an extent; like Ranma in Furinkan,
Ataru Moroboshi seemed to be a magnet for trouble.
Trouble, Nabiki long ago learned, generated profits.
Rising, the middle Tendou daughter heads into her bedroom.
Picking up her cell-phone, she dials a number. A second later, a
young woman's voice calls back, "Moshi-moshi, Marubeya residence."
"Momoe-san, it's Nabiki."
"Oh, Nabiki-san!" Momoe Marubeya laughs. "I didn't do it."
"Funny, funny!" Nabiki snorts. "Listen, you got any more
tidbits about why Moroboshi skipped town six weeks back?"
A sigh. "He renounced his parents."
"What?!" Nabiki gapes, wide-eyed.
"Truth. Turns out that it's because of THAT, Lum got thrown
off the planet. When he said *adios* to his parents, he said *adios*
to whatever agreement they made with Lum's parents about their
getting married. When the United Nations got wind of it, they
decided Lum no longer had reason to stay. With the crap with the
Noukiites starting at the same time..."
"No shit!"
"Got that right."
"People around town know about this?"
"Nope. And before you ask, I'm sitting on this one. I don't
care about what Megane might do, but if Mendou-san found out..."
Hearing that, Nabiki grins understandingly. Momoe, like most
girls attending Tomobiki High, harboured a long, deep crush on
Shutaro Mendou. That she wanted to look out for Mendou's "better"
interests was pretty understandable. Despite his upper middle-class
extraction, Ataru Moroboshi had proven to be a formidable class rival
to Shutaro Mendou. What could happen now, with Lum dead, with so
much in Tomobiki now in question, was debatable. Best to err on the
side of caution. "Yeah, I hear you," Nabiki nods. "Alright,
keep me up to date, Momoe-san. How's the mood?"
"It..." Momoe pauses, then sighs. "Hard to say, Nabiki-san.
I mean, regardless of how you feel about her, Lum really left her
mark on this place. All the guys are...!" a pause, then, "Shit,
it's scary if you ask me! I think we're gonna see some suicides
out of that bunch!"
"Run a pool on that one. My money's on Megane."
"I'll have to keep it quiet, then," Momoe warns. "And well..."
another pause as she considers things, then, "Look, I hate the idiot
for the crap he stirred up because of Lum and all that, but I don't
want to wish the guy dead! He's a first-class jerk and all that,
but, hell..."
"Yeah, I gotcha. What about the girls?"
"Well, the biggest impact's been on Shinobu-san, but I already
told you about that." Hearing that, Nabiki nods. Almost immediately
after Lum left, Shinobu Miyaki's strange ability to summon vast
levels of strength in times of great stress had vanished. "I guess
with Lum gone, she might think of trying to get back together with
Ataru-kun again."
Nabiki sighs. "Really hard to predict that one, Momoe-san.
After all, the guy's been gone for six weeks. Besides, thanks to
him, Lum got the boot off the planet. Look, run a wager to see if he
shows up at the memorial on Monday." It was Saturday now. "Usual
odds and fees, okay?"
"Hai, gotcha," Momoe replies...
* * *
On the Shinkansen bullet train between Shimonoseki and Osaka...
"Shit, they sure got that wrong AGAIN!"
Negako blinks, then glances over to read the article that caught
Ataru's attention. She then turns to gaze out the window as the
RailStar whips through the countryside at 300 kilometres per hour.
"Unless you make a public statement about what happened between
you, Kinshou and Muchi and how that affected Lum, they will continue
to make that mistake."
Ataru folds the paper and sets it aside. "No, not yet. Now
that someone's broke the news to those idiots in Tomobiki, I won't
be able to say a thing without it being twisted and turned every
which way possible." A pause, then, "By the way, did you sense who
brought the news to Earth?"
"Oyuki was responsible," Negako sighs. "Benten can be easily
stopped by the Zephyrites if need be. Jariten also, IF his parents
would allow him to come to Earth now that Lum is dead. And as long
as Rei is engaged in combat against the Noukiites, Lan will remain
close to him."
Ataru's eyes narrow. "Yeah, the Zephyrites might be loath to
try to stop a crown princess from making a visit to that zoo. Too
many political implications. Besides, if we close Earth off to the
Galactic Federation as a whole, Triton's going to be in quite the
spot."
"They may try to seek you out," Negako warns. "You know very
well that none of Lum's friends have really liked you."
"As of now, the feeling's VERY mutual. And you're right. They
may try to seek me out," an icy smile then crosses Ataru's face, his
eyes narrowing. "As if they'll succeed in doing whatever they might
want to me in 'punishment' over what happened to Lum, that's another
damned story."
"Indeed," Negako then perks as a buzzing sound echoes from her
pants pocket. Sitting up, she draws out a palm-top reader, then
gazes at the notation on the screen. "Tampopo just sent me some
electronic mail."
"Tampopo-chan? What does she want?" Ataru blinks.
"I will ascertain that," she moves to rise, slipping past Ataru
to head to the washroom. "You best contact our siblings."
"Hai, hai."
As Negako goes, Ataru reaches into his backpack and draws out
his personal laptop computer. Built by Rinrin five weeks ago, she
christened it the "Aniki Special." As laptops came, it was pretty
unique. Atop all the standard Internet connections, wireless modem
and the like, the Aniki Special also had a real-time wireless link
to the Rinrin Viewer in Welcome House's rotunda dining room. Tapping
controls to access the Viewer's central processor, he waits for a
response. A minute later, a synthetic version of Rinrin's voice
calls out, "*No one's answering the Rinrin-Viewer right now, Aniki.
Would you like to leave a message?*"
"Yes. Record message, mark: 'Hi, girls. We just got back.
Onee-chan had me blitz through the Hyujounsoun on the way to Pusan,
then we took the ferry to Shimonoseki. Sorry we've been gone so
long, but a lot of things happened while I was in Sanctuary.
Right now...'" he pauses, then takes a deep breath, "'...I really
need to feel my sisters' hugs. Onee-chan and I're on the Shinkansen
right now, west of Osaka. I'll tell you where we'll be as soon as we
get close to Tokyo.' Mark, end message."
"*Message transmitted, Aniki,*" the computer replies...
* * *
Promised Island, Welcome House, minutes later...
"The Viewer's beeping. Someone left a message."
"I hope it's Onii-sama or Onee-sama," Sakuya mutters as she and
Karen step into the dining room, then the former taps controls
to flick on the television. "Viewer, mark my voiceprint. Who just
called?"
"*Aniki just called, Sakuya-chan. There is a message.*"
"Play it."
The screen flicks fully on, revealing their beloved brother
sitting in the passenger cabin of what appears to be a Shinkansen.
Surprised to see his beard, moustache and much longer hair, Sakuya
and Karen exchange a look, then both tense on hearing him quietly
say "I really need to feel my sisters' hugs." "Onii-chan..."
Karen shudders, her eyes misting.
"What happened to him?!" Sakuya wonders, then blinks as the
dining room doors open, revealing Haruka and Shirayuki.
"Oh, Sakuya-chan, did Nii-sama call?" the chef wonders.
"Hai, he did. Get everyone rounded up there, Haruka-chan.
And someone go find Chikage! We're going to the mainland..."
"You need not shout my name, Sakuya. I'm right here."
Everyone cries out at a certain sorceress' surprise entrance,
then Sakuya puts fists to hips as she tries to glare Chikage down.
"Damn you, Chikage, will you QUIT doing that finally?!! What are you
trying to do, anyway?! Give us all heart attacks, for heaven's
sake?!"
Chikage chuckles, then heads to the door. "The travelling
rainbow will be ready in one hour. We'll go to the Toranoseishin
Finances tower in Tomobiki, then proceed to meet Ani-kun and Ane-kun
from there."
She heads out. "Hime better get some bento boxes ready for
Nii-sama and Nee-sama," Shirayuki reports, then races into the
kitchen.
"I'll call Onii-chan and ask him where we'll meet," Karen nods.
"Alright," Sakuya waves Haruka with her. "C'mon."
"Hai!" the martial artist runs out after her half-sister...
* * *
"Nerima?!"
Ataru stares at Negako. "Yes. Tampopo has relocated her
business in the Kasugachou district. It is over eight kilometres
from the border with Tomobiki and twelve from Tomobiki High School.
I do not foresee problems from your former classmates, especially
given Lum's demise."
He blinks, then sighs. "Onee-chan, it's not just those dorks
I have to worry about. There're all the martial arts loons in
Nerima, too!"
"You may benefit from dealing with them," she reports, then
lightly smiles. "Besides, Tampopo has taken one of them under her
wing."
"She has?! Which one?"
"The 'cream of the crop,' so to speak: Ranma Saotome."
Ataru blinks as he recalls the name. Even with the problems
he had to deal with in Tomobiki, he had been somewhat aware of events
in bordering towns, cities and districts. "The guy with all the
beautiful fiancees, the Nyanniichuan curse from Jusenkyou in China,
the one who has to deal with more martial arts challengers than you
can shake a stick at?"
"The very same."
"Oh, man! Tampopo-chan's reaching far, isn't she?"
"Perhaps. Tampopo desires me to consult with her on certain
medical and other matters afflicting Ranma. Given his raw talent
alone, I would certainly desire to meet him..." Negako's voice trails
off as the Aniki Special in Ataru's lap buzzes, then she relaxes.
"The sisters."
Ataru flips up the screen, then taps controls. A sea of warm
faces stares at him from Welcome House. "BIG BROTHER!!!!"
the sisters croon.
"Hi, girls!" he waves at them.
"Onii-chan, are you alright?!" Karen probes. "What happened
to you? Why didn't you come back on Monday?! We've been worried
sick about you!"
"And what's this about you blitzing through the Korean DMZ of
all places, Anii?!" Mamoru demands, then looks at Negako as she leans
into viewing range. "What're you trying to do, Anee?! Get him
killed?!"
"Mamoru, if I did not have confidence in Ataru, I would not have
allowed it," the ninjitsu grandmistress reports. "In the meantime,
we have been summoned to Nerima in Tokyo by Tampopo Kamekichi
concerning a new friend of hers, Ranma Saotome. I believe Ranma will
benefit greatly from making your acquaintances as well as Ataru's.
Will you be there?"
Silence as the sisters consider it, then Marie leans close to
the screen. "You mean THE Ranma Saotome, Aneue-sama?! I...! Oh,
my!!"
"Kaho would LOVE to cheer Ranma-san!" Kaho shakes her pom-poms.
"But Kaho'll always cheer Onii-chama and Onee-chama first!"
"Oh, it would be an HONOUR to meet a martial artist of his
calibre! P-poh!" Haruka draws her personal gunsen, then fans herself
before a blush crosses her cheeks as she stares apologetically
at Ataru. "N-not that I wouldn't demean your own skills in the Art,
Anigimi-sama...!"
"Relax! Ranma can have all the credit he wants," Ataru waves
her down, then sighs. "From what I've heard, he seems to thrive
on it!"
The sisters laugh, then Rinrin turns to Shirayuki. "Hey, we can
get the spare tractor with the mobile kitchen out of the tower in
Tomobiki. You can cook up a big feast there for Aniki, Aneki and
Ranma-san!"
The chef shudders. "Oh, Hime would LOVE to do that!" she grins,
then sighs. "But Hime doesn't want to insult Nii-sama's friend..."
"Relax," Ataru waves her down, then sighs. "I'm sure
Tampopo-chan would love to help out in a picnic like that,
Shirayuki-chan. Look, when you girls get the tractor and mobile
kitchen from Reigi-kun, DON'T spend any more time in Tomobiki than
you have to, okay? I don't want any of those guys to learn of your
connection to me, ESPECIALLY with the news about Lum's death getting
out and about now. You girls understand?"
"We'll be careful," Sakuya nods, then sighs. "I'm really sorry
about what happened to her, Onii-sama. I hoped she could've come
back."
"So did I," he sadly nods. "But as they said it in that one TV
show, there are two rules in war. And that applies everywhere."
The sisters nod, then jolt on hearing a weak "Kusu." Ataru
pales. "A-a-aria-chan, wh-what's wrong?!" he stutters.
The young Parisian gazes at him. Even if there were no tears
in her eyes, the instant you heard her mutter a soft "Kusu," you KNEW
Aria was upset about something. And no one, not even Chikage at
times, liked to deal with an upset Aria. "Aria does not like
Nii-ya's beard."
"How long DID you stay in Sanctuary anyway, Aniki?" Rinrin asks.
Ataru sighs. "Hopefully long enough. We'll see you soon,
okay?"
"Hai!!!" the sisters chime together.
The link is soon cut, then Negako slips into her seat. Ataru
sighs, then leans back in his chair. "We'll have to let them learn
of things very slowly and carefully, Onee-chan," he stares at her.
"Agreed. What of *them?*" the grandmistress returns his look.
"Your discretion, Onee-chan."
"Very well, then..."
* * *
Downtown Tomobiki, an hour later...
Located in the heart of the town are triple towers, twenty
floors high each, arrayed in a triangular formation. All the floor
space of the northern tower is rented by the Toranoseishin
Financial Group, Japan's largest banking company which was not allied
with an industrial group. In this age, with the traditional
links between big business, the banks and the government being called
into drastic question, Toranoseishin was quick to capitalize
on fiscal uncertainty to wedge itself deep into the economy.
Companies which had taken questionable loans from Toranoseishin
faced bankruptcy if they defaulted. The company was not, in the
words of its young operations chief, "In the business of propping
up useless and wasteful companies whose mere existence cannot be
justified by economic logic." Because of that hard-nosed approach
to business, Toranoseishin had attracted much in the way of foreign
investment, ensuring it would remain at or near the top of its game
for a long time to come.
Reigi Yumoa sighs as he looks through the balance reports from
various banks affiliated with Toranoseishin. A knock echoes from the
doorway. "Yes?" the orphaned half-American twenty-something
looks up, then smiles on seeing his senior secretary. "What is it,
Yumi-san?"
"Sorry to bother you, Reigi-san, but Sakuya-sama just called,"
she reports. "She and her sisters will be arriving at the tower
shortly from Promised Island. They'll be taking the tractor and
mobile kitchen to meet Ataru-sama and Negako-sama at the Nerima train
station."
Reigi blinked. "I thought Ataru-kun didn't want any of the
girls to come anywhere close to Tomobiki, especially after Lum left,"
he muses, then sighs. "Oh, alright, then. Get the duty driver down
to the garage to get things warmed up, then notify the police about
this."
"Right away," she nods, then heads out.
Reigi watches her go, then opens a side drawer to draw out a
file. Opening that, he gazes on the pictures posted on the first
page. Twelve girls, blood daughters of Nagaiwakai Moroboshi's
youngest son even if they all were born out of wedlock. In their
hands, especially in the hands of the woman born Sakuya Sukeyama,
would rest the dreams, hopes and destiny of the Moroboshi Clan. "How
ironic..." he shakes his head. "Other clans and families let
themselves die out because the demands of Bushido or some other
archaic tradition forbade them from strengthening their numbers
with new blood. How stupid could people be. Even now..."
With that, he puts the file back in its drawer, then stands,
walking to the window to gaze on the cityscape beyond. A glance
south reveals a slender beam of white light heading in the direction
of the Toranoseishin Tower. Reigi Yumoa had been quite lucky to be
taken on as one of Komeru Moroboshi's many wards. He couldn't
be directly adopted into the Clan; only married members of the Clan
could do that and Komeru, a man born near-sterile thanks to Nagasaki,
never really wanted to marry. But still, being a "son" in all but
name to Komeru had done wonders for Reigi. What might have happened
if he had languished in that orphanage in Ishikawa on Okinawa?
Reigi shudders. He didn't want to think about that!
The beam passes overhead. As the aft end of Chikage's
travelling rainbow catches up with the bow, Reigi leaves his office,
heading to the stairwell leading to the roof. Once there, he smiles
as the sisters dust themselves off; he hadn't made use of the
sorceress' travelling rainbow but from what others have told him, it
was loads of fun. "Hi, girls!"
"Oh, Aniki, hi!" Rinrin waves as Hinako, Kaho and Aria swamp
the financier with warm hugs. "Got the tractor set up for us?"
"It's being readied...! Awk!! Hey, Kaho-chan, go easy there!"
Reigi gasps as Kaho nearly bowls him over, then as soon as the
younger sisters pull away from him, stares at Sakuya. "How's
Ataru-kun?"
"We're not sure," the eldest sister -- Sakuya was born the
December after Ataru's birth, with Chikage, Marie, Haruka and Karen
coming into this world the following March, April, May and September,
respectively -- shakes her head. "When he called us, he was on the
Shinkansen heading into Osaka. Turns out, Onee-sama had him go
through the DMZ in Korea."
"He didn't seem well," Karen adds. "Onii-chan, do you know
what's going on here? Could it've been something *they*..."
her normally timid voice becomes Arctic ice for a second,
"...could've done?"
"Not those two," Reigi shakes his head. "Kinshou stopped coming
by to harass us a week ago. She hasn't talked to anyone else who
might want to cause Ataru-kun or any of you trouble, least as far as
I know."
"Let's just hope the fools learn to mind their place from now
on," Haruka sneers, wishing that Sakuya was of legal age so that,
as Matriarch of the Clan, she could expel them both and be done with
it finally.
"Never mind them," Rinrin shakes her head. "C'mon, girls, let's
get to the tractor and go see Aniki and Aneki!"
"Hai!!" the others chime as they head for the stairs...
* * *
Elsewhere in Tomobiki, sometime later...
Ryooko Mendou was bored.
Boredom for THIS lady, the younger child of the Mendous of
Musashino (the pre-Meiji name for Tomobiki), spelt trouble for many
people, chief of which would be Ton-chan and her Onii-san. But
neither were available for her to play with. Tobimaro Mizunokoji
was off on another wild training journey with his father somewhere
in Shikoku. Shutaro was at Tomobiki High School now, preparing
for Lum's memorial service on Monday.
Remembering the Oni, Ryooko sighs. She now sits in her own
command car, a present from her Onii-san, heading towards Butsumetsu
Girl's High School for a day of private study. Like Shutaro, Ryooko
had been sent to a normal school to learn what the common people
were like, but her mother insisted she attend an all-girl's
institution. That was alright. Within the walls of Butsumetsu
Girl's High, she could really relax, drop the mask she presented
to others and try to be normal. She had help to that end thanks
to the Kuroko, a group of Kabuki and Noh actors and stagehands
who had been transformed into her personal troupe of bodyguards.
"Are you alright, Young Mistress?" the driver, a Kuroko in his
full black stagehand's uniform with tubular face-mask, asks.
Ryooko perks, then sighs. "There are times I wish we were still
using the palanquin," she traces her finger on the windowsill.
"Your mother was quite adamant about remaining in a car during
this time, ma'am," the driver reminds her. "Especially given the
outpouring of grief being felt by many in town because of Miss Lum's
death."
"True," Ryooko nods, then perks. "Any news of Moroboshi-kun?"
"None, Young Mistress. I am sorry about that."
"It's alright...! Eh?!"
Both perk as the driver stops by a red light. Driving by along
the main street leading from Tomobiki into Nerima is what looks like
a mix of old-style railroad engine and farm tractor. That pulls a
trailer shaped like a squat street car, that in turn pulling a mobile
kitchen. Ryooko blinks as the curious road train passes by, then
blinks before her eyes pick up a black flag flying from the tractor.
A black flag emblazoned with a curled, snarling tiger over a nest of
leaves, its forepaws grasping the Imperial chrysanthemum.
"The Toranoseishin Finances flag," she whispers, then peers into the
passenger compartment. A group of people, all clearly female, were
riding there. "Strange..." she muses. "Follow them."
"Hai."
The command car peels into the left-turn lane, then when the
lights change, makes the turn and falls in several cars behind the
road train. It was quite easy to keep them in sight; the mobile
kitchen's chimney was easy to pick out over the cars and light trucks
using this road. "Who do you suppose that might be, Young Mistress?"
the driver muses.
"I don't know, but given what we've just learned about
Moroboshi-kun's connections to Toranoseishin, the chances are that
those ladies might know where he is," Ryooko muses. "Try to not
attract attention."
"Hai."
The young heiress to the Mendou fortune relaxes, a smile
crossing her face. It amused her that Shutaro had not ONCE picked
up the obvious connection between his classroom rival and the company
whose wealth helped the Mendous keep their paramilitary forces in
tip-top shape. Even now, when her poor Onii-san seemed to despair
over never trying to challenge Ataru Moroboshi again, he hadn't sent
someone to the latter's old home to determine what exactly happened
the nights before Lum was sent home.
Ryooko HAD done that. And what she had learned disturbed
her a lot. Supposedly, five years ago, Ataru's mother did something
that forced a type of selective amnesia on him. Details were scant,
but it appeared that some kami or other bodiless spirit had inhabited
parts of Ataru's mind since he was six. When said spirit was
discovered, he wanted it to have its own life. That spirit now lived
as a woman named Negako Moroboshi, who acted in public as Ataru's
elder sister and was listed as such on the Moroboshi Clan register.
How THAT happened, Ryooko's agents hadn't yet discovered.
Angered at his birth-parents' betrayal of him, Ataru left the
house, vowing he would wait until he was of legal age, then as the
heir to his late grandmother's seat as leader of the Moroboshi
Clan, he would make his parents roonin. After Lum was sent home by
the United Nations a fortnight later, Ataru and Negako simply
disappeared without a trace.
Ryooko's agents soon discovered that Ataru had been transferred
out of Tomobiki High. His records were being held by the Education
Ministry pending the time when he'd choose a new school to finish
off his education. However, one of Ryooko's agents overheard
two of the Ministry staffers indicating that Ataru might transfer
to an all-grade establishment named Stargazer West College. That was
located on a tiny island in the Sagami Sea known officially as
Oomure-jima, though it was always called by the English translation
"Promised Island" by natives and visitors alike.
One of Ryooko's agents was dispatched to Promised Island to look
in on Ataru. Not that she wanted to disturb him, much less have
information about him leaked to Shutaro -- but just to ensure that
in spite of what happened, Ataru was alright. While she, like most
in Tomobiki, didn't like Ataru's lecherous behaviour in the past,
Ryooko did like him. Any boy who could always stand up to Shutaro,
especially when it came to interfering in Shutaro's desire to win a
girl over, was okay in her books.
Reports from her agent poured in. And they were baffling
to say the LEAST of it. Ataru and Negako were residing in the
island's youth hostel, Welcome House. They were often seen
interacting with twelve other female residents of the House, ranging
from eight to seventeen. Even stranger, Ataru had not ONCE made any
sort of passes with the older girls. The girls didn't do anything
harsh to Ataru. And strangest of all, when the girls' backgrounds
were investigated, NONE were reported to have a birth father. Yes,
they all had step-fathers. But on the birth records hidden away in
the Health Ministry, the FATHER'S NAME entry for all of them was
blank.
What did it all mean?
* * *
Near Shakujii Park, that moment...
"And that's it! Okay, Ranma, you can relax now!!"
Ranma blinks, then breathes out. "About damned time," she
mutters, reaching over to slip a housecoat over the bathing suit she
had worn for this photo shoot. "Is that all the shots you need
there, Kenji?"
"Yeah, that should do it for this month's issue," Kenji Seijou
nods, rewinding his camera. "Usual payment plan there, Ranma?"
"Yeah, usual," she ties her housecoat down, then moves to head
into the washroom to change into her normal clothing. "Make sure you
use my Korean name there when you sell those pictures off, Kenji.
I don't want some dork connecting me to what you're putting out.
Okay?"
"Sure thing, 'Yeo-san!'" he winks at her, laughing.
Ranma heads into the washroom, then slips off the housecoat
and bathing suit. She ties her hair down in the normal pigtail
she preferred; acting as "Lan-ja Yeo" (as a girl) or "Lan-ma Nam" (as
a boy), she wore her hair either loose or in a simple ponytail.
Once the Dragon's Whisker is in place, she gets a glass of hot water
to change herself back into a man. He quickly dries himself off,
then dresses in a white tang and black trousers. Once again
projecting the image of the invincible martial artist, he slips all
his personal belongings into a small dufflebag, then heads back into
the basement studio Kenji used. "When'll you need me next time?"
"I'll contact Tampopo-chan and tell her since you still haven't
told your folks or the Tendous about it," the photographer
smiles, his eyes taking in all the changes Jusenkyou unleashed
in Ranma. "Damn!"
"What's wrong?" Ranma asks.
"I'm NEVER gonna get used to seeing how much you change when you
switch from guy to girl!" Kenji smirks. "It's a wonder to me how
you've been able to adjust to switching around like that at ALL."
"Wonder to me, too!" Ranma laughs. "See you later!"
"Take care!"
With that, Ranma steps out of the Seijou home, then makes his
way to the Fuji-kaidou, which would take him east to Tampopo's.
He'd have a late lunch there, then head back to the Tendou dojo.
Hopefully by then, Akane might have calmed down from last night,
if she still wasn't off spending the day with Sayuri and Yuka to
avoid facing her would-be fiance...
* * *
Truthfully, Ranma hadn't wanted to return to the Tendou dojo.
Thanks to Tampopo and the arrangements she had made to help him earn
some money, he had become used to travelling around Japan, Korea,
Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore and the Philippines, seeing the
sights while he was working, then napping on the flights taking him
from one place to the next.
And what had he done? Musing on that as he walked to the Tendou
compound from Tampopo's last night, Ranma could only tip his hat off
to Nabiki and the things she did with a camera to earn money for the
dojo. To believe that being a fashion model was so EASY. Yeah, it
wasn't martial arts, but when Tampopo explained that models had to
display a discipline before the camera which was not really different
from the Soul of Ice Ranma used, it became a challenge. And no
matter what else happened to Ranma during the month he stayed away
from the Tendou home, THAT had not changed within him. He delighted
to be challenged and Tampopo was, as a friend, challenging him to be
truly something different for a change.
Besides, the people Ranma ended up working with were also
Tampopo's friends, or relatives of same. How did a ramen shop chef
get to know SO many people, Ranma had yet to sit down and figure
out. And in truth, he'd avoid thinking about it. He wanted to keep
Tampopo's trust and probing into her past without her consent was a
surefire way of destroying that. Even more so, with Tampopo keeping
a stern eye on things to ensure that Ranma, who was still underage,
wasn't being taken gross advantage of, it was lucrative as well. To
the order of forty million yen to date. And best of all, thanks
to the in-house rules of the bank he used, that money was HIS, sealed
away from any embezzlement by Genma or Nodoka.
Still, given the sore feelings everyone else must've felt
towards him these days, Ranma had reason to be cautious. He wasn't
worried about Oyaji or Akane's father anymore. By learning how to do
the Demon's Head thing, he had a weapon to keep Souun in his place.
And with Nodoka and her katana around, Genma could be kept in line.
If that failed, Happousai was always available to teach his wayward
students some respect. And if all else failed, Ranma could easily
challenge both of the idiots for control of their respective
schools. If they refused him, Happousai could damn them as cowards
and strip them of their teaching licenses. Not even a visit by a
Dojo Destroyer could be as final to one's career in the Art as THAT!
Even more so, Ranma had pretty well won over both Kasumi and
Nabiki. While he didn't trust Nabiki when it came to his personal
life, Ranma knew the middle Tendou daughter valued financial
independence. Thanks to the money he gave her, she had the ability
to seek that out, without being tied to the dojo. And with that,
she could break free of anything Souun might try to keep her around
in case he needed her to be Ranma's fiancee. Ditto with Kasumi.
Given how much the elder Tendou daughter had slaved on her family's
behalf, it was only proper. Hopefully soon, she'll take it.
No, the real problem was Akane, along with Ukyou and Shampoo.
If what happened at the failed wedding and the family meeting two
weeks later didn't hint at how much they were determined to fight
over him, nothing would. And he didn't want that anymore. He was
just sick and tired of it all. Tired of all the false assumptions,
the demands for attention, the petty bickering and everything
else. What was worse, they didn't seem to care a whit about what he
might want. Oh no, no, no! That just wasn't RIGHT after all. Ranma
Saotome wasn't supposed to think for himself, it seemed. It just
went against all the laws of the universe, after all.
Reaching the gate, he tapped at the door. It soon opened,
revealing a smiling Kasumi. "Welcome back, Ranma-kun!" she embraced
him.
"It's good to be home, Kasumi," he pecked her cheek, then his
eyebrow arched. "If this STILL is a home to me, of course."
"Yes, it is," Kasumi sighed. "Your father was brought back from
the zoo today. He's with Father in the sitting room. Your mother
and Ojii-san are keeping an eye on them just in case they do
something foolish."
"What of Akane and Nabiki?"
"Akane prepared dinner for you. I kept an eye on her," Kasumi
waved her hand in reassurance. "It looked alright. Nabiki's been
using the money you gave the family to invest it in several places
so it could generate some interest for us to live on until we head
out."
"So you ARE planning to go to college, aren't you?" he grinned.
The elder daughter sighed. "I'm still uncomfortable
leaving the house like that, Ranma-kun. I've worked so long to keep
it together..."
"I know. I guess because I've been on the move most of my life,
I don't fear shifting to a new place as much as you might."
"True. Oh, Ukyou, Shampoo and Elder Cologne will be here soon."
"Does your dad or Oyaji know?"
"No, not yet."
"You're cruel, Kasumi!" Ranma laughed. "Let's go in."
They headed inside, stepping into the sitting room. Awaiting
them were Nodoka and Happousai. "Welcome back, my son," the former
rose to warmly embrace him. "You're looking quite well right now."
"Thank you, Mother. How are you there, Jijii?" Ranma smiled.
"Pretty good, boy. Seems you got in some decent training
while you were away," Happousai cackled, then turned to gaze on Souun
on Genma.
Staring at them, Ranma inwardly winced on seeing the drawn look
on his father's face. No doubt, being stuck as a panda in a zoo for
nearly four weeks, that tacked to experiencing the strength-sapping
moxibustion AND the full-body cat's tongue at the same time, hit
hard. Souun didn't look better; without Genma present to back him
up, the Tendou patriarch soon learned he had no real power over
Ranma. "Yes, welcome back, Ranma-kun," Souun then sighed. "We're
just about to have dinner."
"Yes, come sit, boy," Genma grumbled, failing to hide the
wounded rage -- no doubt at his son's "betrayal" -- flashing in his
eyes.
Ranma exchanged a knowing look with Nodoka, then placed himself
by the table. The kitchen door then opened, revealing Akane, she
carrying a tray full of food. "Dinner's on...! Oh!!" she gasped
on seeing who else was there, then a clouded look crossed her face.
"Hello, Ranma."
"Akane-san," Ranma nodded back.
Souun and Genma paled on hearing such a formal mode of address
from Ranma to Akane. Akane tried not to drop the tray and run off
crying. With a deep breath, she placed the tray on the table. "My,
it looks really good!" Kasumi mused. "We'll just wait for the others
to come."
"'Others?!'" Souun and Genma jolted.
"Yes, my boy," Happousai declared, the look in his eyes warning
his students that no dissention would be the least bit tolerated
this evening. "Cologne-chan, Shampoo-chan and Ukyou-chan'll
be coming by since they wanted to see my heir as soon as he was back
in town."
Souun sputtered, then paled on seeing his teacher's eyes narrow.
As he shut up, a voice then called out, "Hey, is anyone inside?!"
"Come in, Ukyou!" Kasumi called back, then her smile broadened
on seeing who had come with the chef. "Oh, Elder, Shampoo, hello..."
* * *
The dinner passed by under a tense atmosphere, especially
given the presence of Ranma's other would-be suitors and the
Nyu-che-zuu elder. To his surprise and inner delight, Nodoka readily
engaged in very meaningful conversation with Shampoo and Ukyou, not
to mention Cologne. A glance at Souun and Genma revealed that
neither man approved whatsoever of that, but Ranma knew they wouldn't
upbraid Nodoka about it now or in the future. No, they'd come
straight to him in hopes of forcing him to not recognize the other
engagements, affirming his love and oath to Akane instead.
Speaking of which, the three fiancees had done their best to be
civil while at the same time engaged in the usual one-upmanship
they got into whenever it involved him. Ranma tried not to scream
about it. He would save that until when he got them alone, away from
Souun and Genma. Given the fates Ukyou and Shampoo would face if
they chose to forego their claims on him, he could understand
why they were determined to succeed.
And Akane...?
Akane...
Once dinner was done, Ranma turned to her. "That was really
good there, Akane-san. You've been improving a lot lately."
"I...?" the youngest Tendou daughter blinked, then her cheeks
flushed. "Um, th-thanks! Onee-chan helped me there..."
"I know," he nodded. "It takes time, that's all. Time and
constant practice. That's where Kasumi has it over you, Akane-san.
It's nothing to be ashamed of, of course." He then turned to his
other fiancees. "And the okonomiyaki and the nikuman were really
enjoyable, Ukyou-san, Xian-pu."
They blinked, then both looked down. To Ukyou, having Ranma
address her so formally still hurt. Shampoo was shocked that her
Airen addressed her by her proper name, not by the Japanese
bastardization most people in Nerima used. "So what did you do over
the last month, boy?" Genma cut in to ensure Ranma didn't pay too
much attention to Ukyou or Shampoo.
A level stared responded. "None of your business. Since you
chose never to tell me about things you did supposedly on my 'behalf'
during the training trip, I choose not to speak to you about my
recent activities."
"Ridiculous! I am your father!! I demand to know...! Urk!"
Everyone blinked on seeing Genma grasp his throat, a very faint
rasp escaping from his lips. The others quickly note that Ranma's
fingers were curled around a very small marble; another one just like
it was clattering on the floor near Genma. "Saotome-kun,
what's wrong?!" Souun demanded, then spun on Ranma. "What did you do
to him?" he barked.
"Oh, just a little shiatsu I used to shut him up. I'm not in
his presence for more than an hour and I'm already tired of listening
to his voice," Ranma sighed. "In the meantime, I wish to speak to my
would-be suitors ALONE. Jijii, Elder, can you make sure they don't
interfere?"
"No problem, son," Happousai winked, then glared at the fathers.
"Let's go, boys. If I'm nice there, I'll unlock your throat, Genma."
"But Master...!" Souun pleaded.
Happousai's battle aura clicks in. "MOVE, YOU IDIOTS!!!!"
Meekly, the fathers ran out of the room, Happousai following
them. Cologne watched that, then smirked. "I'll make sure Mousse
remains where he is for the time being, Son-in-law," she gazed on
Ranma, then left.
Quickly, Nodoka, Kasumi and Nabiki head into the kitchen.
Once they are alone -- though Ranma is quick to sense that they are
trying to listen in through the door -- Ranma shifts himself so he
can face the others. Seeing the neutral look on his face, Akane
shuddered, then sighed. No matter what, she had to stake her
position with him. "Ranma?"
"Yes, Akane-san, what is it?"
"I...!" the youngest Tendou daughter blinked, then took a breath
before bowing her head. "I want to apologize. For not telling
you about what Dad did with the Nanniichuan water at the wedding.
He had no right to do that with something that was meant for you.
And I..." she paused, then looked at him, her eyes misting. "I
didn't intend anything malicious about that, Ranma. You...! You
said what you felt about me on Mount Phoenix. I was prepared to go
through with the wedding, Nanniichuan cask or no."
Ranma sighed, then nodded. "I can accept that, Akane-san."
"Ran-chan, will ya quit being so formal, for Heaven's sake?!"
Ukyou sighed. "You're spooking the hell out of us both, you know!"
"I have to be, Ukyou-san," his eyes narrowed. "If you or
Akane-san have a problem with that, that's just too damned bad."
They shuddered, shocked that he would say THAT. "Further,
I've grown sick and tired of all the assumptions you've made about
me," Ranma frostily added. "If I had the power, I'd end this farce
once and for all, then take a long vacation from ALL of you! I can't
do that. You, Ukyou-san, would be made roonin because of it. You,
Xian-pu, would most likely be expelled from your clan, frozen in your
cursed form or put to death if you went home empty-handed.
And I believe that you, Akane-san, would most likely wind up being
married off to Kunou, knowing how desperate your father's become
in seeing his dojo continue. I know that. I understand that. And
believe it or not, I want to help you girls out of this. I really
do."
Instantly, they bolted to their feet, glaring intently at him.
"The only way that can happen, sugar, is if you marry me!!" Ukyou
snarled.
"Airen already married to Shampoo! Is no choice for Airen but
to come back to village with Shampoo!!" Shampoo asserted.
"Ranma, you're MY fiance and that's final!!" Akane snapped.
Instantly, Souun appeared behind his daughter, waving a fan as
jets of tears poured from his eyes. Thankfully, the water doesn't
strike at Shampoo. "OH, JOY!!! AKANE'S ADMITTED SHE LOVES
RANMA-KUN!!!!"
"***GET LOST, YOU IDIOT!!!!***" Ranma goes into Demon Head mode.
The fiancees screamed, backing away from that snarling image
as Souun collapsed into a sobbing heap on seeing Ranma use HIS attack
on himself again. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Ranma-kun's scary!!!"
"Aiyah!! When Airen learn Demon Head?!" Shampoo covered her
eyes.
"Why the hell didn't you tell us, Akane?!" Ukyou whimpered.
"R-r-ranma...!" Akane sputtered.
"ENOUGH!!!!"
The Demon Head vanished as Ranma gazed tiredly on Genma. "Who
the hell gave you your voice back, Oyaji?" the younger man shook his
head.
The Saotome patriarch lunged at his rebellious son. Ranma's
fist smashed into Genma's face, dropping him on the table. It broke
in half from his weight. Noting that, Ranma sighed. "Nabiki,
I don't think you kept him there long enough. He didn't lose a
damned kilogram of fat!"
Genma staggered to a kneeling position, then glared at his son.
Ranma returned that with a mildly-bored look. Quaking, the former
pointed at the latter. "Boy, you listen to me and listen good! You
can't escape this no matter how much you try! Even your mother wants
you to marry Akane!! Do you understand me?! You can't escape...!"
A chi ball exploded in his face, shattering his glasses.
Ranma's fist then slams into the back of Genma's neck, making the
latter kiss the floor. The former's hand blurred over Genma's back,
hitting shiatsu points to make sure he didn't speak, much less move,
from that position. Ranma then reached down to grasp Genma by the
throat, then painfully elevated his head to the level of Ranma's
eyes. Given the locking of the older man's joints, that movement
elicited some sharp cracks from his bones. Hearing that, the
fiancees and Souun shuddered, horrified at Ranma's actions.
He glanced at Souun. "Leave. Now."
The Tendou patriarch scrambled out of the sitting room. Ranma
sighed, then turned to the fiancees. "I've decided that as soon as
the repairs on my family home are done, I will move out of this place
and live there. With Akane-san's actions since the day we met, I no
longer feel welcome here. That should make it fair for you all. It
will be a level playing field. Does this meet with your approval?
Ukyou-san? Xian-pu?"
Ukyou nodded. "Th-that's no problem there, Ran-chan."
"Shampoo agree."
"Good. But I warn you this: if ANY of you pull the same crap
on my home that you did before Mount Phoenix, I will consider your
claim on me invalid and I will NOT shed a tear over what might happen
to you. Know this, too. I do not know what love is at the end, but
I have come to realize this: I will NOT marry for agreements
that filled this fat fool's stomach..." with that, he tossed Genma
out of the sitting room, "...much less archaic laws imposed on
unsuspecting travellers by a village that too damned scared of the
outside world for its own good," he glared at Shampoo.
With that, he vanished behind the Umisenken's null-chi cloak.
The fiancees remained in place, then Akane shuddered. "He h-hates
us...!"
"I can't believe it came to this..." Ukyou whispered.
"What we do now?" Shampoo looked nowhere in particular...
* * *
Today...
Ranma sighs as he walks towards Tampopo's. Waking up this
morning, he had nearly been tossed into the koi pond by Genma before
a rapid-fire version of the Mouko Takaibisha made the latter go for
a swim. Coming down to breakfast later, he found his father ready
to force him outside for a thorough morning spar. Since everything
was served, Ranma responded by taking his plate of food and dumping
it atop Genma's. "Since you care more for food than respecting
what I might like to do with my life, here! Eat all you want." He
then vanished behind the Umisenken just as Happousai came in from his
morning panty raid. Seeing the heaping plate of food there, the
grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu quickly downed it before the
shocked Genma could fully interpret what his son had done.
To Ranma's mirthful delight -- he stayed in the sitting room
while his father was bellowing about his son's disrespect -- Kasumi
refused to cook him anything until lunch. And Genma was so
mistrustful of Akane's cooking that, when she said she wouldn't
cook for him, he automatically asserted that he wouldn't eat her
cooking even if his life depended on it!
Result: Demon Head from Souun and Mallet-sama from Akane!
As he heads down the Fuji-kaidou, he blinks on hearing a
high-pitched *toot!* Turning to see what made that noise, he stops
beside a puddle as his jaw drops on seeing what looked like an
old-fashioned railroad engine towing a passenger car and a caboose
drive up. His surprise is so total, he doesn't notice the potential
danger until the tractor's wheels splash into the puddle, dousing
him with a quick waterfall of spray. Sputtering angrily, she gazed
down at herself, then sighed. "Damn...!" she grumbles.
"Ah!! Sorry about that!"
Ranma looks up to see that the road train has stopped, the
driver and some of the passengers staring concernedly at her. "It's
okay, it's okay!" she chuckles, then blinks as one of the passengers
steps down from the cab, a towel in hand. "Oh, you don't need ta do
that...!!"
"It's alright," the purple-haired girl in the black cape, red
jacket and grey, ankle-length skirt, chuckles. "Though it appears
that no matter how far you travel, Saotome-san, Jusenkyou never lets
you go."
Ranma stops. "Huh...?" she sputters, then peers at the younger
woman. "You know about Jusenkyou...?! Hey! How'd you know who I
am?!"
"Chikage-chan, is that really Saotome-san?!" a black-haired
girl in a pink-and-black hakama gasps. Seeing the purple-haired
girl nod, she quickly scrambles out of the cabin, another towel in
hand. Approaching Ranma, she comes to attention, then bows low.
"Saotome-san, it is an honour to meet you. My name is Haruka
Tenhiro. I'm a student of the Oomure-jima-Tenhiro Naginata-ryuu,
second-dan. I am also a student of Zen archery and the use of the
gunsen. Oh...! P-poh!!" she claps her cheeks excitedly as they
redden. "I trust y-you weren't hurt...?"
"I...! Ah...! W-well...!" Ranma's eyebrow twitches, stunned
that she had been greeted so ENTHUSIASTICALLY by this young woman,
then an old suspicion quickly rears itself. "Um, we aren't engaged,
are we?"
Haruka stops, then shakes her head. "Not that I'm aware of."
"Oh, phew!!" Ranma breathes out. "I was worried that I might've
missed one of the girls Oyaji tried to engage me to on our trip!"
Chikage chuckles. "No doubt, you took much advantage of the
time you spent with Ani-kun's friend Tampopo Kamekichi," she absently
pats her cape. "Were you proceeding to her establishment
in Kasugachou?"
"I..." Ranma takes that in, then nods. "Um, y-yeah, I was!
Hey, how do you know Tampopo-chan anyway? Are you friends with her?"
"Actually, our brother has the honour to address Kamekichi-san
as his friend," Haruka replies. "His name is Ataru Moroboshi."
Ranma blinks, then her eyes widen. "Ataru?! You're his...?"
she stops, then shakes her head. "I didn't know he had sisters!"
"Neither did Ani-kun until six weeks ago," Chikage chuckles.
"Our story is, in a way, as unique as yours. Meanwhile, we will be
heading to Tampopo-san's establishment once we picked up Ani-kun
and Ane-kun at the Nerima train station. Would you like to come with
us?"
Ranma considers that, then nods. "Sure! Heck, ever since I
became friends with Tampopo-chan, I've always wanted to meet your
brother..."
A creaking sound echoes from her stomach. Hearing that, a girl
with a big bowtie in her mauve hair leans out of the passenger
cabin. "Aaah! Sounds like Saotome-san is a little hungry!" she
chuckles.
"I...!" Ranma blinks, then flusters. "Um, y-yeah! I skipped
out on breakfast this morning 'cause I got in a fight with my old
man..."
"Shirayuki-chan, do you have extra bento boxes?" Haruka wonders.
"Hai! Hime has lots of extra bento boxes!"
Hearing that, Ranma grins. "If there's one thing Oyaji always
taught me, it's to never refuse free food!" she quickly asserts.
Everyone laughs...
* * *
"Young Mistress, do you recognize that...? Er, person?"
"I believe that is none other than Ranma Saotome," Ryooko
chuckles. The command car was five vehicles from the road train.
"And these ladies, who most likely are the same ones Moroboshi-kun
associated with on Promised Island, have just taken him -- er, *her*
-- aboard. I wonder why."
"I should have learned how to read lips," the driver laments.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Stay with them."
"Hai!"
* * *
Nerima JR station, later...
"So your brother's been off on a training trip, huh?"
"Hai. It's a very intensive one that Onii-sama has to deal
with," Sakuya nods as people step off the road train, it now at the
curbside.
"Really?" Ranma blinks, then sighs. "'S funny. From what I've
heard of him, your brother didn't strike me much as a martial
artist."
"Personally, I don't think Onii-chan thinks himself as a martial
artist either, Ranma-san," Karen giggles. "But then again, someone
once told me that I'd never learn how to play the piano."
"You took it as a challenge?"
"Somewhat," Karen flusters.
"Oh, there's nothin' wrong with that," Ranma chuckles. "After
all, I've taken loads of challenges in my lifetime. Some of them
really helped me a lot and some were just..." she shakes her head,
rolling her eyes.
"Dumb?" Rinrin asks.
"Stupid. Believe me, I couldn't even BEGIN to believe some of
the weird martial art forms I've run across since I came here. I
mean, could you honestly believe there's a Martial Arts Tea Cup
Ceremony out there?"
"My father once told me about that," Haruka shudders. "I mean,
I understand it when people seek to turn daily activities into kata
forms as a way of disciplining oneself. After all, the great masters
once copied some of the basic forms from animal movements. But to
transform a tea party into a martial arts drill? It's utterly
ridiculous!"
Sitting beside Marie, Michael perks, then whines. Marie gazes
on her dog, then looks around. "Michael, do you see Aniue-sama?"
"Ah!! Onii-tama!!"
Hearing Hinako's cry, eyes lock on the front gate. Sure enough,
two young people in black T-shirts and walking pants, both lugging
backpacks, step into open air. Instantly, their eyes lock on the
road train, then they head over as Hinako and Kaho run to embrace
them. "Hey!!" the young man -- given his beard and moustache,
Ranma is hard-pressed to recognize the man as the same Ataru
Moroboshi she saw in the picture at Tampopo's -- scoops Hinako up,
then gives her a warm hug. "How are you guys?!"
"Whaaa!! Onii-tama's beard tickles!" Hinako cries out.
She is then is shifted onto one of Ataru's arms as the other
sisters come up to add their hugs and kisses. "Oh, we missed you
two, Onii-chan!" Karen sighs. "How long were you in Sanctuary,
anyway?"
"Not that long by the looks of it! How the heck did you grow
a beard anyway, Anii?" Mamoru gently strokes Ataru's sideburns.
"A little accident I had when I was in Sanctuary...!
Eh?" Ataru is quick to notice the redhead standing by the road train.
"Who...?"
"Ah!" Negako lowers Kaho to the ground, then walks over.
Ranma blinks, then tenses as Negako approaches. She had been
told that Ataru had been training with an adopted older sister.
This had to be her, then. But...! Her eyes narrow as she tries to
analyse the latter's chi signature. What Ranma gets is a bemused
stare from Negako, not to mention a chi-cloak which shrouds the
latter like an Afghan burka from head to toe. Almost as effective
as -- no, even MORE so than -- the Umisenken technique. Once the
cloak is fully set in place, it is as if Negako would be totally
invisible if someone had blindfolded himself (or was blind) and only
depended on chi scanning to sense his surroundings.
By then, Ataru comes up, unslinging his backpack. Dropping
that to his side, he then offers his hand. "It's a wonder that we
haven't met beforehand, Saotome-san. I'm Ataru Moroboshi and this's
my sister Negako, Grandmistress of the Moroboshi-Hana Saikoo
Jinseijitsu Ninjitsu-ryuu."
Ranma jolts, staring at him for a second, then her eyes fall
back on Negako. *She is MUCH more than she seems, especially
if he's calling her the 'grandmistress' of her Art!* echoes deep
inside the transformed martial artist's mind, then she catches
herself. Grasping his hand, she nods. "Um, y-yeah! S-sorry about
that! Pleased to meetcha, Moroboshi-san..."
Then her eyes lock with his.
They freeze in place for a moment. Time becomes meaningless
as the vast panorama of emotions a person's eyes can reflect on
viewers becomes a total open book for them both. In what seems an
eternity to them, all the pain and suffering, all the confusion
and misunderstandings, all the dreams and nightmares, all the
loneliness -- it is as if they, who had just met now, had actually
known each other since they were born. Another eternity flashes,
then Ataru's hand comes up to encompass Ranma's. She reflects
his action with her own hand, their eyes never wavering from the
others.
You, too...?
Yeah, me too...
I lost mine to a war...
I lost mine to something like that...
But you've got others...
Not like yours...
They're my family...
I'd like a family like that...
Friends can be family...
I can't consider what friends I've got left as family...
You're afraid they'll be hurt because of you...
So're you with your friends back home...
Are they my friends...?
Even if you don't think so now, you still care for them...
So do you with the ones who love you...
I got no choice but to care. It goes beyond honour...
I understand that. Would you love them...?
I can't see myself doing that. Not now, perhaps not ever...
But they disagree with you...
What do you think...?
Life really sucks at times...
You damn hell got that right...
Want to be friends...?
I can use a friend right about now...
So can I...
Can you tolerate my curse...?
I'd call it a blessing...
It's not been much of a blessing to me...
Depends on how you take it in the long run...
I've come to understand that...
I'll try to help...
What about you? What happened...?
It's still too soon to talk about it...
Sorry to hear that. But you can't keep it inside you...
Neither can you...
I don't think I've gone through the same amount you have...
We'll have to see about that I guess...
I guess we will...
Friends...?
Friends...
"Onii-sama?!"
They jolt, then notice Ataru's sisters staring concernedly
at them. "Onii-tama, Onee-tama, are you okay?" Hinako tugs Ataru's
shirt sleeve.
Both blink, then notice that they were clasping both hands.
They take that in, then draw back their hands before Ataru kneels
down to place a reassuring hand on Hinako's shoulder. "It's okay
there, Hinako-chan. You just brought your Onii-tama a new friend,
that's all."
The youngest of the sisters blinks, then cheers, waving her
hands delightedly. "Yay!! Hina helped Onii-tama and Onee-tama
be friends!!"
Laughter fills the parking lot...
* * *
*Did you sense it?*
*Yes,* Chikage's eyes narrow. *Their bond's growing stronger.*
*There are strong mental blockages on Ranma's side for it to
reform correctly,* Negako muses as the sisters help Ataru hoist the
backpacks onto the road train, then they get in. *It appears Tampopo
was wise to contact me about her. She needs a considerable
amount of assistance to that end.*
*Including her sense of self. She still thinks she's a boy.*
*Understandable. That is courtesy of Genma Saotome's most
foolish mistake when it came to training his so-called 'heir.'*
*I'm afraid to ask.*
*Do you like cats, Chikage?*
*Eh?! What do cats have to do with Ane-kun?*
*You would be very surprised...*
* * *
Nearby...
"Did that girl just call Moroboshi-kun...?"
"They ALL did, Young Mistress! Save for Saotome-san,
of course."
Ryooko blinks, then sits back in her chair before her eyes
widen. "Oh, Kami-sama! I should've realized...!" she covers her
mouth.
"Blood-relations?" the driver wonders.
"On the father's side, no doubt. That's why their birth records
don't have a father listed. They're illegitimate, but..." her eyes
narrow. "Oh, yes, of course! It makes all sense now! I can see why
Moroboshi-kun has chosen to leave Tomobiki. If Onii-san got wind of
this..."
"Much less Moroboshi-sama's *ex*-parents?"
"Indeed," the young heiress of the Mendou clan fortune nods.
"As soon as they head off, let's go back to Tomobiki. I might want
to visit Toranoseishin Finances when the chance comes, but I want to
do it without alerting Onii-san. Given how much Moroboshi-kun
has clearly changed, if my brother does something foolish with those
girls as a way of provoking Moroboshi-kun into a fight, especially
with Lum gone..."
"That's a frightening thought, Young Mistress."
"Yes. And it's best to see to it that does NOT happen."
"Hai!"
* * *
Tampopo's, a half-hour later...
"Ataru-chan!! You're back!!!"
"Hiya, Tampopo-chan!" Ataru grins, hopping off the road train
as he shares an embrace with the proprietress of Nerima's newest
eatery. "Hai, I came back finally! You remember Onee-chan there,
don't you?!"
"Indeed, I do!" Tampopo gently grasps Negako's hand and giving
it a firm squeeze. "Thanks for bringing him back in one piece,
Negako-san! I'd be put off if he didn't survive the tortures you
planned for him."
"It was required," Negako lightly smiles.
Ataru then indicates his sisters, doing the introductions.
Shirayuki produce a wrapped box for the older chef, one containing
rare spices and food mixes the younger chef had prepared for this
occasion. Once that is done, everyone heads inside as the
Toranoseishin driver guides the road train into an empty lot to get
it out of traffic. As everyone sits down in three conjoining
booths, Tampopo and Ataru gaze on Ranma. "You were pretty quick to
pick up a new one after I left," he muses, then stares with
exaggerated annoyance at their hostess. "Why?! Didn't I provide
enough entertainment for you when we were living in Tomobiki?!"
Laughter fills the room. "No. In many ways, Ranma-chan
here's in the same boat you were in back in Tomobiki," Tampopo
replies, then glances in amusement at the transformed martial artist.
"Usual, Ranma-chan?"
"Hai, please. And make it quick so I can try to duck Ataru's
verbal bombardments," Ranma nods, taking her place at the counter.
More laughter. Immediately, Haruka and Kaho sit to both sides
of Ranma. Negako and Ataru place themselves in the booths, allowing
the other sisters to surround them. Orders are made, then they
relax. Ranma glances at Negako. "So you're the grandmistress
of your Art, eh? I've never heard of Saikoo Jinseijitsu-ryuu
before. Is it an in-family sort of thing?"
"It is," Negako replies. "Traditionally, only blood-born
or adopted members of the Moroboshi Clan may practice it. However,
certain exceptions can be made in special circumstances.
Happousai, for example. I taught him several things when we first
met in 1892 in Sendai. He used that to serve as the base for what
he eventually called 'Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu.'"
Ranma's eyes go wide. Seeing that, the sisters giggle.
"Eighteen-ninety-two?!!" she blurts. "You don't look a day over
twenty!! How...?!"
"You wouldn't believe how old Onee-sama is," Sakuya smirks.
"I do not exactly recall the day the seed that became my
sentience was forged, but it was sometime during the Muramachi
Shogunate. I myself became sentient in 1808 when my host at the time
was forced to absorb an entity like myself from the War Lord of the
Hana Clan after he was killed in a storm. When the two parts that
became me merged as one, I 'woke up.' However, it was not until
Ataru was in the sixth year of being my latest host when I was given
the body I have now," Negako points to herself.
"Are you some sort of kami?" Ranma wonders.
"You might think of Aneki here as Earth's first-ever true
non-corporeal artificial intelligence, though she was created by
magic and psionics, not any sort of computer technology," Rinrin
provides.
"Wow! And you know Jijii?!" Ranma stares at Negako.
"Yes, I do. I also know Kun-lon. How is she, anyway?"
"Um...! Well, she's okay, I guess. How'd you meet her?"
"Our clan is allied to the Nyu-che-zuu, though it is not, as
yet, become a blood-alliance. Kun-lon knew one of my previous
hosts -- Ataru's grandmother Nagaiwakai, to be exact -- for a very
long time."
"Oh!" Ranma is quick to sense by the frowns and sad looks on the
sisters' faces that Nagaiwakai was no longer among the living. "I'm
sorry to hear that. Well, if you're going to stick around for a
while, I'm sure Jijii and the Elder would love to see you again."
Negako seems to smile. "Happy would be pleased to see me, I am
more than sure. Kun-lon would believe that Ataru had totally lost
his mind in allowing someone such as I to have my freedom."
"Eh?"
"What Onee-chan's trying to say is that between the time she
'woke up' and when she did get free of my head, she tried her
damnedest to get control of her host's body by whatever means
possible," Ataru provides. "But then again, should anyone be
surprised? She was treated like a total slave when she was still
non-corporeal and...!" he shrugs. "Well, I guess you know the
history of the American Civil War and how that started out."
Ranma stares at him, then nods. "Yeah, I can see that..."
"Here we go, everyone!" Tampopo calls out.
Everyone perks as the chef brings in a large tray of food.
Along with that is a kettle of hot water. "Here you go, Ranma-chan.
I think you'd want to change back to your normal self now, eh?" the
chef hands the kettle to the martial artist, then moves to distribute
the food.
"Ah, you're the greatest, Tampopo-chan," Ranma scoops up the
kettle, then poises it over herself to allow the hot water to
transform her.
People gape in shock as Ranma seems to grow forty centimetres
and gain twenty kilograms all at once. "Whoa...!" Mamoru whistles.
"That's impossible!" Rinrin asserts.
"It's magic, Rinrin. Very ancient magic at that. And yes, it
IS possible," Chikage corrects the young inventor.
"Kusu!"
Everyone jolts, then eyes lock on Aria. "Kusu!" the young
Parisian stares wide-eyed at Ranma, her lips trembling as wild fear
flashes in her eyes. Seeing the panic on her face, Ranma pales,
then grabs a glass of cold water on Tampopo's food tray. "Kusu!"
Aria burbles as Ranma douses himself with it to transform back. She
then glances at Aria.
The younger girl blinks confusedly for a second, then a calm
smile crosses her face. "Nee-ya..." she beams, then reaching for a
tablecloth, walks over to wipe Ranma's hair clean. "Nee-ya is all
wet."
Ranma blinks, then lightly smiles. "Sorry about that,
Aria-chan. I didn't mean to freak you out when I changed there."
Aria gazes on her nonplussed, then she returns to her chair.
Ranma watches her, then gives Ataru a "What's with HER?!" look.
Ataru shakes his head, then shrugs in return. Seeing that, Ranma
sighs, then blinks on feeling Tampopo's hand on her shoulder.
She stares at the chef, then nods before scooping up her chopsticks
to dig in. "Itadakimasu!!"
"Itadakimasu!!!" the others chime, then dig in...
* * *
The Nekohanten...
"Gone...?"
Cologne shudders as she tries to focus in on the intensive
chi nexi she perceived a half-hour ago. Whoever, WHATEVER, it was,
it outstripped both her and Happousai when it came to experience,
not to mention Ranma in potential. Trying to keep track of it as she
was monitoring lunch, the elder lost the trail when it stopped near
the Nerima train station.
What was worrisome to Cologne is that whatever this newcomer
was, she (the Nyu-che-zuu elder believed the newcomer was female)
was accompanied by a man whose chi levels are on par, though his
experience was minuscule. Even more, Ranma had met up with them
there. As to what Ranma was doing down by the train station, Cologne
simply had no idea. Then again, given the sheer metamorphosis
her former "son-in-law" had been experiencing under Tampopo
Kamekichi's guidance over the last month, it was hard if not
impossible to predict what was going through the poor lad's head.
A tired sigh escapes the aged matriarch. It was now QUITE
obvious that everyone's pushing on Ranma was about to provoke an
explosion at the level the battle with Saffron unleashed. That the
heavens that Kasumi, Nabiki and Happousai had decided to back off and
leave the poor boy be, let him try to decide for himself what sort
of life he actually wanted to live. And Cologne couldn't disagree
that the time HAD come for Ranma to take control of his life. If it
wasn't worries about the competing fiancees, it was dealing with the
effects of Genma's mindless training. If it wasn't trying to evolve
a new relationship with Nodoka, it was worrying about when the next
odd thing might come along to challenge Ranma anew.
Privately, Cologne concluded long before the Mount Phoenix
battle that pushing for a marriage between Shampoo and Ranma was now
out of the question. Regardless of the feelings he might have for
the Tendou girl, to force Ranma into the world of the Nyu-che-zuu
would, after all he had been through, be inhumane. Yes, Nyu-che-zuu
laws were harsh and tilted too much to uphold the female, but
Cologne's native society wasn't as absolutist as the spineless
idiots running the "People's Republic" out of Beijing's Forbidden
City. There were escape valves built into all the Nyu-che-zuu
laws, even the combat-for-marriage and the Kiss of Death laws.
Ranma needed them. Cologne knew her great-granddaughter
was too headstrong to accept that Ranma didn't want to marry her. If
Cologne spoke up now against it, Shampoo would just charge on ahead.
No, to deflect Shampoo away require the help of the whole Council.
Sadly, Mist's letter to Shampoo some weeks ago showed that Cologne's
fellow elders didn't really appreciate the true danger of bringing
Ranma to Joketsuzoku. However, after Ranma's victory over Saffron,
Cologne was confidant that even the conservative members of the
Council would go along with her reasoning.
After all, to actually bring in a potentially unstable male who
killed a GOD of all things into the Nyu-che-zuu...?!
* * *
Tampopo's...
"Damn! I'm sorry about that, Ranma. I didn't realize Aria-chan
would find it so hard to accept seeing you as a guy."
"Hey, it's cool!" Ranma waves her hands in assurance. Both now
stood close to the washroom doors at the back of the restaurant.
"Though I gotta admit I am a bit curious about why she freaked out
THAT much. Doesn't she get out as much as possible or she autistic
or something like that?"
"Oh, I don't think it's an actual medical problem," Ataru shakes
his head. "Aria's main problem is that she's been sheltered almost
all her life. Even when she got left behind by her parents at
Welcome House on the island, they left a governess behind to keep an
eye on her. Aria's never done much in the way of normal kid things;
her governess won't allow it."
"She's a little spoiled, you mean?"
"Yeah, she is that, but I do care for her, so I can make myself
bend for her," Ataru winks, holding up a finger as he grins.
"Yeah, I suppose I can do that, too," Ranma chuckles, then
sighs. "They're all so beautiful, Ataru. You're really lucky, you
know."
"Actually, I think they're the lucky ones. They didn't have to
put up to either Muchi or Kinshou growing up," Ataru rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, Tampopo-chan told me about some of the crap those two
pulled on you. Shit, it was like listening about a mirror version
of my parents."
"Are they bad?"
"Well, when it comes to out-and-out greed, Kinshou and Oyaji
probably come straight out of the same school," Ranma smirks. She
knew now not to address that particular woman by the appellation
"Mom" in front of Ataru. "And given how much Muchi bends for his
wife...! Cripes, it's like Mom can be around Oyaji at times. Though
I think Mom's trying to learn better."
"Well, maybe you'll get something out of it in the long run
there," Ataru chuckled, then blinked as Negako approached them.
"Onee-chan?"
"Is there something wrong there?" Ranma wonders.
Negako clasps her hands behind her back. "Ranma, would you
consent to having yourself temporarily locked as a woman today?"
Ranma's eyes go wide, then before a flat-out denial roars up her
throat, she pauses. Why was she getting so angry? Negako had just
ASKED her about locking the curse in place. She hadn't done like
Cologne or Herb had done in the past and FORCED a lock on her. All
she could do if she wanted to was say "no" in the end. "Why do you
want to do that?"
"For your convenience. And your safety, of course," Negako
seems to smile. "You have taken note of Aria's reaction to your
transformation. I also sense that Hinako and Kaho might want to
'experiment' with some cold and hot water to see you change for
themselves, most likely for the sheer fascination factor. And I
believe you would not wish to arouse Rinrin's curiosity in that
matter. She can be dogged in her determination to fully understand
something that defies all logical, scientific explanation."
"Oh, one of those types who doesn't believe in magic, huh?"
"Not at all. Surprising, given that Chikage is her
half-sister."
"Right!" Ranma shudders, then blinks. "How can you do that?"
"You still have some background energy from your exposure
to the Chiisui-ton and the Kaisui-fuu within you. What I would do is
use some ki to enhance the Chiisui-ton's influence to the point where
it would be no different than if you were just splashed by water from
it. When you wish the curse to revert to 'normal' mode, I take the
energy away from you."
Ranma blinks, then nods. "Well, that sounds simple enough,"
she muses, then stares warily at Ataru. "Are Hinako-chan and
Kaho-chan gonna get upset if they splash me and I don't change?"
"Let me worry about them," Ataru assures her...
* * *
Hikarigaoka Park, that moment...
"Akane-chan, are you alright?"
Akane perks, then sighs, gazing on Sayuri Asano and Yuka Tokoro,
her best friends since the start of high school. The three are now
enjoying some fresh hamburgers courtesy of the district's lone
American food yatai owner, Fred Yamada. "Not really," she confesses.
"Is it because of Ranma?" Sayuri wonders.
The youngest Tendou blinks, then nods. "Yeah."
"What are you going to do, Akane-chan?" Yuka asks.
"Why don't you just dump him and get it over with, Akane-chan?!"
Sayuri proposes. Almost right from the beginning, she, who had known
Akane since kindergarten, hadn't really approved of her friend's
iinazuke. "After all, if he was damned willing to say you weren't
engaged to him anymore, it's obvious that he really doesn't care for
you."
"Th-that's not true," Akane shakes her head. "Ranma DOES care
for me. It's just that..." she pauses, biting her lips, then she
sighs. "He doesn't care for me like he did before this all started."
"What do you mean?" Yuka asks.
Akane sighs, then explains what Ranma had told her, Ukyou and
Shampoo last night. Hearing that, the other girls blink, exchange
a look, then turn back to Akane. "Well, maybe he's got a point
there, Akane-chan," Yuka muses. "I mean, given all the dumb things
his father did to him...! Well, if it happened to me, I'd be ROYALLY
pissed! And he said he didn't want it to wind up with Ukyou and
Shampoo becoming roonin and you being engaged to Kunou or some other
fool like that. That's a good point..."
"Forget it, Yuka-chan," Sayuri shakes her head. "Ranma's
being a typical man, no different than Kunou or anyone else. He
doesn't care what Akane-chan feels whatsoever. He doesn't care that
everything he does -- Hell! Everything he's DONE since he came
here!! -- has hurt her! Oh no, that's just not right!!" she
mock-gasps, then sighs. "The whole world's GOT to revolve around
Mister Super-Macho Ranma Saotome!! No one else!" She wags her
finger at Akane. "If you want to really hang onto the guy,
Akane-chan, you better reassert yourself real fast, girl!!"
"Yeah, you seemed to do that beforehand," Yuka nods.
"I don't think it'll work now," Akane admits. "There's
something about the big fight at the dojo I didn't tell you about."
The other girls tense. "Being?" Sayuri wonders.
Akane sighs. "When everyone got to fighting everyone else,
Ranma used his dad's Umisenken technique and ducked out of the dojo.
I went after him. Found him on the bridge over the river where he
normally goes to when he wants to be alone. I told him that no one
was going to stop fighting over him because it WAS him they were
fighting for. And then he said..." she pauses, closing her eyes.
"He said that it was their problem now. He didn't care what happened
to them. We could've DIED for all he cared at that point! And
hearing that, I got angry..."
"And you nailed him with your mallet, right?" Sayuri nods.
"Yes..." Akane nods, the image of the incensed look Ranma gave
her that day flashing through her mind. "And the mallet exploded
when it hit his head, Sayuri-chan. He didn't feel it. Not at
all..."
The other girls' eyes widen. "No way..." Yuka sputters.
"You've always hurt him with that!" Sayuri asserts.
"Well, it didn't affect him then," Akane sighs. "And the LOOK
he gave me when I hit him..." she shudders, a chill warping through
her. "Gods, I never thought he'd ever get THAT angry at me! I..."
she shakes her head. "For the first time since I met him, I was
SCARED of him! I never felt that before because of Ranma! Not
once!! I..."
Her voice fails, then she throws up her hands helplessly.
"Did he try to hurt you, Akane-chan?" Sayuri wonders.
"No! He didn't! He..." Akane shakes her head, then looks down.
"He just looked at me. Then he said 'Fine,' then walked away. And
that was the last time I saw him until he brought Ukyou's yatai
back."
"And that's when he said you weren't engaged to him anymore
when you called him a pervert, right?" Yuka asks.
"Yes. And that's when we also found out that he'd mastered
Dad's Demon Head trick and Ryouga-kun's Shishi Houkoudan..."
Akane breathes out. "I couldn't believe it when I saw him do THAT!
I never thought Ranma of all people would feel depressed enough to
use one of THEM on Dad!!"
"You mean he hit your father with a chi blast?!" Sayuri
stammers.
"Yes!"
"Why didn't your dad throw him out of the house?!" Yuka wonders.
Akane blinks, then sighs. "I think it's because Dad now
realizes that Ranma won't give him any more chances. Ranma told
Kasumi-neechan and Nabiki-neechan that he didn't respect or like Dad
anymore! I guess he now sees Dad as being no different than Uncle!
He..." she stops, then shakes her head. "Would you believe he even
called Dad a PIMP once?!"
"You're kidding!" Yuka blurts.
"It's true! He says that Dad was a pimp because he was treating
us like his property, trying to sell us off to the highest bidder!!"
Considering that, Yuka hums. "Maybe he's right."
"Come ON, Yuka!" Sayuri snaps. "Can't you see what's going on?!
All Saotome's trying to do is hurt Akane-chan by going after her
father!"
"Yeah, but still, don't you think pressing an arranged marriage
between Ranma and Akane-chan in spite of all the trouble they've
had to date is smart, even now?!" Yuka retorts. "And Ranma IS trying
to help Ukyou and Shampoo there, too. He respects what they're
going through. Hell, I think he's always respected that, but he
didn't know what to do about it until the wedding pretty much forced
the whole issue!"
Sayuri shakes her head. Yuka presses on. "And look what he's
done. He's found Ukyou's yatai, got it working again, then returned
it to her. He's earned money to help repair the house and pay back
the hospitality Akane-chan's family gave him. Hell, he even GAVE
Kasumi and Nabiki money so they can go to university without getting
a student loan! That's pretty nice of him, don't you think?! It's
not his fault that Ukyou's dad and Shampoo's tribe are being a bunch
of total lunkheads about this!!"
"Oh?" Sayuri retorts, then stares at Akane. "Akane-chan,
if Saotome went and gave you five million yen to go to university,
would you take it?"
"I..." Akane jolts, then sighs. "I don't know, Sayuri-chan.
I mean, if he did it to help me start my own life, I COULD understand
it. But then again, Dad might say he was trying to buy his way out
of the engagement. And..." she shudders. "What if Dad was right,
then? If Ranma gave me money like that, would I ever see him again?
I..." she shrugs.
Sayuri sighs. "Akane-chan, you better do something to put
Saotome in his place sooner or later, or he's gonna leave you high
and dry and you'll get NOTHING to pay you back for the crap he's
caused you!" she wags her finger at her friend. "Trust me on this
one, girl! Don't let him get away with this! If you do, you'll
be the one hurt by it at the end!"
Akane gazes on her, then sighs...
* * *
Tampopo's, sometime later...
"Hina's sorry."
A sniffing Hinako gets a bemused smile from Ranma in the wake
of the former splashing the latter with hot water to see her
transform back into a man. The other stand around her, Ataru keeping
a supportive hand on his youngest sister's shoulder. Aria hands
Ranma a tablecloth to dry herself. "It's okay, Hinako-chan,"
the martial artist leans down to stare in the young girl's eyes. "I
know you're kinda curious, but I just wasn't in the mood to get
splashed again and again. That REALLY gets tiring after a while.
'Sides," she indicates Aria, "...Aria-chan didn't like it when she
saw me change, remember? Don't you want to keep your sister happy?"
Hinako gazes on her, then smiles, nodding. "What does it feel
like, anyway?" Rinrin wonders. "I mean, when you change and all
that?"
Ranma blinks, then sighs as everyone else relaxes at the tables
and booths. This time, Aria sits closest to her. Hinako sits in
Ataru's lap. "Well, I dunno. It's really hard to describe and all
that, but...!" she pauses, then sighs. "When the water hits you, you
just feel WRONG for a second. Your sense of balance goes totally
nuts 'cause the heavy parts of the body are different between a guy
and a girl. If you're in a fight, your strength fades, but your
speed picks up automatically because you're in a lighter body that
can move around faster. Then..." she pauses again, then takes a deep
breath. "The wrongness fades and then you feel so RIGHT. That THIS
is the shape you should be in. And that's the scary part! At least
it was for me for a real long time there, Rinrin-chan. But now..."
"You just got used to it," Sakuya finishes.
"Yeah! In fact..." Ranma perks, then impishly smiles. "I can
get loads of ice cream and other snacks when I'm looking like this!"
"Aria likes ice cream."
"Ice cream! Ice cream!!" Hinako chants.
The others laugh. "So being a girl's not so bad in the end,
eh?" Mamoru wonders, crossing her hands behind her head.
Ranma pauses, then sighs. "I dunno. I mean, I was born a boy
and all that. And for a long time, Oyaji was on my case about actin'
like a boy and all that. Every time I complained about something,
he always said 'Stop acting like a whiny girl! You're a man!!' or
things like that!"
"I haven't met this jerk yet, but I hate him already!" Rinrin
sneers.
"You can say that again," Karen shakes her head.
"Hey, Anii, why don't you tell Anee about what Zephyrites
do to jerks who abuse their children there?" Mamoru laughs.
Some of the others nod. Ranma blinks, then stares quizzically
at the young sportswoman. First Aria, then Hinako, now Mamoru were
calling her "big sister." Yeah, she looked like a girl right now,
but they knew of her curse even if Aria had a lot of trouble trying
to fully accept it. Why were they doing that? Even more, why was
she not raising a fit about it? Yes, if Aria looked on her as
"Nee-ya," that was okay. But still...
"Yeah, maybe Genma might actually benefit from facing Zephyrite
justice," Ataru smirks, then his voice goes cold. "For the few
seconds he'll remain alive once he's lead into the excommunication
chamber."
"Eh?!" Ranma jolts.
"On Zephyrus, child abuse and child abandonment are very serious
crimes there, Ranma," Ataru explains. "Wilful child abuse is always
punished by death on that planet. Wilful child abandonment
is treated the same way. And trust me on this one, Ranma. Zephyrite
capital punishment is not something for the faint-hearted,"
he wags his fingers.
Ranma considers that, then chuckles. "Yeah, I guess if he heard
that, Oyaji might have cause to think. Then again..." she scratches
her cheek, "...thinking's never been his real strong suit."
The others laugh...
* * *
The impromptu party continues. Ranma is quickly appraised
of the sisters' histories, general interests and how they reacted
to learning that they were related to Ataru Moroboshi of all people.
As the morning leads into the afternoon, Ranma then proposes a
friendly cooking contest between Tampopo and Shirayuki. Sensing
she was being good natured about it, the two chefs readily agreed.
For fairness, Ranma and Negako were made the judges; Ataru didn't
want to be put into a position to judge between his half-sister
and one of the very few friends he had left. Four dishes were
selected: shrimp beefbowl, ramen, kalbit'ang -- Korean beef rib soup
-- and vegetable okonomiyaki. To make it even more interesting,
all dishes at to be prepared at the same time. Tampopo would use her
restaurant stove while Shirayuki would use the mobile kitchen.
To ensure the test wouldn't be disturbed, the CLOSED sign was hung
up on the doorway.
Soon, they were off! Everyone remained quiet as Mamoru handled
the timekeeping. The kalbit'ang would take the longest, about three
hours or so. The ramen came first. Ranma was surprised to discover
that Shirayuki put in some finely cut red peppers to spice the broth
up. Tampopo's was more traditional Hakata-style ramen, which did
well to cool her mouth off. Next came the beefbowl. Shirayuki
fried her shrimp in sesame oil while Tampopo used barbecue sauce and
melted butter. Sometime afterward came the okonomiayki. Tampopo
was a solid greens lover, while Shirayuki made use of carrots,
red peppers and sesame seeds. Finally, by the time supper was on in
most houses and the sun was setting past the mountains to the west,
the kalbit��ang was served. Shirayuki slipped in some clear noodles
in her broth while Tampopo put in finely-cut rice cakes in hers.
Result?
Well, we'll let you guess.
* * *
The Tendou dojo, later...
"Yes, Ranma-kun, I understand! We'll see you tonight. 'Bye."
Kasumi hangs up as Nabiki steps into the sitting room. "What
did he call about, Onee-chan?" the latter sits beside the table.
"Oh, Ranma-kun won't be home until late tonight," Kasumi
reports. "Turns out, he's made some new friends today and he wants
to spend time with them. Some of them came up from an island in the
Izu-shichi-tou to visit their brother and older sister. They'll
be staying in Nerima for a while. By the sounds of it, most of
Ranma-kun's new friends are girls."
"Really?" Nabiki perks up. "Well, that's a bit of a switch?
Are any of them unknown fiancees Uncle hasn't bothered to tell us
about yet?"
"No, Ranma-kun made sure of that," Kasumi smiles.
"What girls?"
Both turn to see Akane step into the sitting room. "Oh,
Ranma-kun called to tell us he won't be back until late tonight,"
Kasumi repeats her report. "He's made some new friends, including
some girls he's met."
Akane blinks, then sighs. "Oh? What sort of girls are we
talking about here, anyway?" she crosses her arms. "If they become
more fiancees, maybe we should take Ranma up on his suggestion
and ask him to leave!"
"Akane!!" Kasumi gasps, staring at her. "What was THAT about?!"
Akane shakes her head as she heads to her room. Kasumi and
Nabiki watch her go, then exchange a look. "I think Asano and Tokoro
were pouring things into our sister's mind today, Onee-chan,"
the latter sighs.
"Sayuri-chan and Yuka-chan? Why would they do that?" Kasumi
asks.
"Sayuri's never been a fan of Ranma-kun. I'm not too sure about
Yuka, though. And given some of the things Ranma-kun's been saying
as of late, if Akane starts putting her friends' suggestions
into practice..." Nabiki rolls her eyes, then shakes her head.
"Oh, my!" Kasumi's eyes widen...
* * *
Tampopo's...
"So you guys're gonna stay in Tomobiki tonight?"
"We'll be alright, Onii-sama," Sakuya chuckles as the sisters
gather by the doorway. "Don't worry about it. We'll keep away from
the loons you had to deal with when you were living there."
"Okay," Ataru sighs.
"Tampopo-san, are you sure you can obtain the use of this old
shrine you wanted Anigimi-sama and Anegimi-sama to stay in?" Haruka
asks.
"Yes, Haruka-chan, it's no problem there," Tampopo nods. "Even
if some people have been keeping the building itself in good shape,
it has been desecrated by what the last priest who lived there did.
I doubt there'll be any problems with the local Shintoists.
At the same time, there might be ghosts there; at least, that's what
the neighbours say!"
"Hina doesn't like ghosts!!" Hinako moans.
"Do not concern yourself with that, Hinako," Negako kneels
beside the youngest sister. "If there are disobedient spirits in
residence there, Ataru, Chikage and I will deal with them soundly
and thoroughly."
Hearing that, Hinako beams, waving her hands. "Yay!!
Onii-tama, Onee-tama and Chikage-chan'll make the ghosts go away!"
Everyone giggles. "It's been a pleasure to meet you,
Onee-sama," Sakuya gently grips Ranma's hand. "I'm so glad you're
willing to be Onii-sama's friend there. Onii-sama really needs them
these days."
"Hey, I need 'em, too! 'Sides, any friend of Tampopo's -- and
family of same! -- is a friend of mine!!" Ranma chuckles.
"Nee-sama?"
"What is it, Shirayuki-chan...?! EH?!!"
Shirayuki hands Ranma a large, wrapped bento box. "This is
Hime's special present for Nii-sama's new friend," the chef
announces. "Some bento for Nee-sama, Nee-sama's mother and
Nee-sama's friends Kasumi-san and Nabiki-san, plus some spices and
soup mixes for Kasumi-san."
"I...!" Ranma gapes, then beams. "Thanks, Shirayuki-chan!"
The bento box is handed over. Ranma then feels her free hand
grasped by Karen for a moment. "It's alright, Onee-chan," the latter
leans up to whisper into the former's ear. "We all understand.
Even Aria-chan."
She backs off, then joins the others. "Ganbatte, Onee-chama!"
Kaho waves her pompoms as the sisters head out to board the road
train, it now minus the mobile kitchen, for the trip to Tomobiki.
"See you tomorrow, girls!" Ranma waves.
"Bye-bye, Nii-ya, Nee-ya, Nee-ya," Aria calls out as the driver
guides the vehicle away from Tampopo's, heading west to Tomobiki.
Ataru, Ranma, Tampopo and Negako watch them go. "You got a nice
family there, Ataru. You know that?" Ranma stares at him.
"I keep reminding myself of that every day," he winks back at
her, then waves her inside. "C'mon, let's have some tea before you
go home there. You don't want Shirayuki-chan's bento to spoil, ne?"
"Good point," she laughs as they head inside...
* * *
Later...
"So what're you and Negako-san here gonna do now?"
"Get a hotel room for tonight," Ataru stretches. Tampopo is now
clearing away the tea cups. "You know, if we're gonna be here for a
while, I might as well get Reigi-kun to have me registered at your
school."
"Yeah, you'll be a real hit with the principal," Ranma snorts,
nodding to Ataru's beard and ponytail-styled hair.
"Oh?" Ataru's eyebrow arches, then a knowing look crosses his
face. "Sounds like you can give some advice about what I could
expect there."
"I could," she rises to leave.
"We'll chat some more about it, tomorrow, okay?!"
"Right on! I'll be here. 'Night, everyone!"
She leaves, heading back to the Tendou home. Ataru and Negako
shift themselves back to the counter so they could talk to Tampopo.
"You know, you don't have to go to the expense of getting a hotel
or ryokan room. I've got room here if you want to stay," Tampopo
proposes.
"Would you mind?" Ataru asks.
"For my real friends, not to mention my favourite customer?!
Of course not!" Tampopo chuckles. "It's good that you came,
Ataru-chan. I'm starting to get worried about Ranma-chan there.
Even if I've been helping him get some control over his life, it's
not enough. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was a combat
solder just back from World War Two."
"Even with the 'break' you have given her over the last month,
she does show extreme signs of combat fatigue," Negako sips a cup of
tea. "Perhaps her battle with Saffron and its aftermath was the
right sort of impetus. Unless she alters her strategy concerning
all her would-be rivals soon, she could lose control of herself.
Given her skill and experience, it could easily result in the deaths
of many of those she cares for."
Ataru blinks, then stares at her. "Are you saying that Ranma
there's really a girl deep inside, not a boy?"
"When she was first immersed in the Nyanniichuan at Jusenkyou,
she did not revert to her birth-form until nearly twenty minutes
after she fell in," Negako reports. "Given the mental damage she
sustained because of the Neko-ken training however, the psychological
change Jusenkyou's power could unleash in that instance did not latch
on right away. In ways, Ranma could still withstand that
transformation indefinitely, but that would be in a more stable
situation emotionally than what she possesses now."
"Oh, terrific..."
* * *
"Tadaima!!"
"Oh, Ranma-kun, welcome back!" Kasumi looks up from the sitting
room table, then blinks on seeing the wrapped bento box in the
transformed martial artist's hands. "Oh! What do you have there,
Ranma-kun?!"
"Gifts from a new friend I made today, Kasumi," Ranma sits down,
then opens the box. Reaching in, she pulls out a smaller box, this
one with a note bearing Kasumi's name on it. Another one had
Nabiki's name in it. The next was marked FOR NEE-SAMA'S MOTHER.
The last was for NEE-SAMA.
"Oh, my!" Kasumi opens the first box, then gapes on seeing the
beautiful spice bottles and soup mixes there. "This is so sweet!"
"Yeah, Shirayuki-chan is that!" Ranma smirks.
"'Shirayuki?!'"
"Oh, yeah! I met twelve girls today who turn out to be
half-sisters. They got the same father, you see. They came into
town today, up from some place called Promised Island. It's out in
the Sagami Sea. They came up here to meet their older half-brother
and half-sister. Would you believe that their older brother is none
other than Ataru Moroboshi himself?"
"Ataru...?" Kasumi's voice trails off, then her eyes widen.
"You mean from Tomobiki? THAT Ataru Moroboshi?!"
"The very same!" Ranma nods. "He's a pretty okay guy, there..."
Her voice is cut off by Kasumi touching her lips with a warning
finger. "Ranma-kun," the oldest Tendou daughter whispers. "You
don't know this, but Nabiki-chan is very interested in finding
Ataru-kun, especially now that poor Oni girl is dead and people in
Tomobiki are taking it very badly. I really don't think Ataru-kun
would appreciate that. Would you?"
Ranma blinks, then sighs. "Gotcha. She got this room bugged?"
"No, I made sure of that," Kasumi smiles, then blinks.
Footsteps are heard. "Oh, Ranma, there you are!" Nodoka smiles,
then notices the bento box. "Oh, my! Where did you get this,
Ranma?"
"One of my new friends made it special, Mom. Here you go."
"Oh, thank you!" Nodoka blushes, then quickly notices the note.
"'Nee-sama?' Don't tell me you were as a girl when you met them!"
"Um, y-yeah, I was!" Ranma stutters. "You know how I am with
puddles and all that. I..." she stops, then her eyes widen. "Oh,
no...!"
"Is there something wrong, Ranma-kun?" Kasumi perks.
Ranma sighs, slapping her forehead. "I forgot!"
"Forgot what?" Nodoka tenses.
The younger Saotome sighs. "One of the girls I met today is a
girl named Aria. She's about ten, I think. I changed myself back
into a guy in front of her and she REALLY freaked out about it, Mom.
So Aria's older sister Negako -- Mom, she's one heck of a martial
artist! BELIEVE me at that! -- offered to lock my curse in case Aria
or one of her other sisters freaked out again in case hot water hit
me! You know how it is!"
"And you had it locked?" Nodoka blinks.
"Yeah, I did...!" Ranma chuckles, staring apologetically
at her. "And I forgot to ask Negako to unlock it when I left her
tonight!"
"Oh, dear! That's awful!" Kasumi covers her mouth.
"Relax, relax! It's okay! I can go see her tomorrow and get it
fixed up there! After all, it isn't like I've been locked this way
before," Ranma waves her down, then notices a thoughtful look on her
mother's face. "Hey, Mom, are you okay there?"
"I...!" Nodoka blinks, then shakes her head. "No, dear. Much
that I prefer my son to stay as my son, you did act out of profound
concern for a young girl's well-being. I guess that's why Aria's
relatives decided to address you as 'big sister' like on this note.
That was a very manly thing to do, Ranma. In the meantime, you best
hide those other bentos from your father. He's been acting very
surly because you've been gone all day."
"Um...!" Ranma stares at her, then sighs, rising. "Yeah, you're
right there, especially since one was made for Nabiki."
"Good point. Anyhow, I'm going to bed there."
"Alright. 'Night, Mom."
Nodoka heads upstairs. Ranma watches her go, then sighs,
staring at her bento box. "Are you alright, Ranma-kun?" Kasumi asks.
Ranma blinks, then gazes on the oldest Tendou daughter. "Oh,
it's nothing, Kasumi." A pause, then, "I just wish that Mom'd stop
bothering me about being 'manly' and all that. I mean, what's so
'manly' about being forced into three engagements at the same time?"
"She is trying to understand what you're going through,
Ranma-kun."
"Can she?" Ranma wonders, then sighs. "Kasumi, today, I met
someone who probably would understand me much better than anyone
else I know. And you want to know something? When his parents
got on his case once too often, he walked away from them, once and
for all time. And he feels a lot better doing that, believe it or
not." A pause, then, "I don't hate Mom, Kasumi. I really don't.
And in a way, I don't hate Oyaji either. But I am really getting
sick and tired of being treated like a brainless fool because they're
my parents. And what's worse, they don't even realize what they're
doing to me. And I HATE that, Kasumi! I really do!"
Kasumi gazes on her, then sighs. "I can't blame you for that,
Ranma-kun," she looks down at the bento boxes. "Being forced to live
under a virtual death-threat from your own mother would hurt a lot."
"Damn right it does," Ranma admits. "And you want to know
something? If I can't do anything to help Akane, Ukyou and Xian-pu
-- or what's worse, Oyaji does something to make things worse for me
-- actually walking away from him and Mom once and for all doesn't
look so bad to me now."
"Let's hope it doesn't go that far," Kasumi laments...
* * *
To be continued...
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