Minna-san,
Here's Part 2 rewritten. Part 3 will start to be
rewritten as of today, starting off with Ataru's and
Ranma's wedding!
Cheers!
Fred
=====
Fred Herriotfherriot@yahoo.com**** **** ****"Fanfiction IS Real Life!"**** **** ****
______________________________________________________________________
Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: LoneS-02.txt
-- Desc: LoneS-02.txt
Somewhere in Tomobiki, dawn...
"So. We are ready?"
The six men sit around the low table. All of them had
cigarettes in their mouths. Given the nature of their mission,
combatting nervousness was a necessity. Yes, they were devout to
their cause. Yes, they were determined to succeed. And yes, they
were human. Fear -- fear of failure, fear of discovery by the
infidels around them, fear of facing the ultimate unknown -- was a
strong emotion. To deny it was to be a fool in the eyes of God and
in the memories of those who had fallen in God's service. To control
it was to embrace martyrdom with an unfettered soul.
"We are," one of the men nods.
"What of contacts with our friends in Afghanistan?" another
asks.
Concerned looks are exchanged. "None in the last six months,"
a third shakes his head. "I've used all the established channels.
I even risked speaking to those who might have sold themselves
to the Great Satan and its many allies across the planet. It's as if
our brothers among the Base have all vanished from the face of the
Earth."
"How is that possible?" the first demands.
"I cannot say, my friend."
Silence falls as they consider that, then one looks up. "It is
time, my friends. Regardless of what might have happened to our
friends back in Afghanistan -- and I pray to God that they are safe
and not in the hands of our enemies -- we have a mission to perform.
Shall we choose?"
Another draws out a deck of cards. Shuffling it, he then places
the deck in the middle of the table, face down. "The highest card
will lead the attack against the devil-woman's followers. The next
two highest will be back-up to the lead. May God guide our hands."
Everyone nods, then people reach for the deck. The choices
are soon made. For those with the "winning" cards, fists of ice
materialize in their stomach. The "losers" gaze on their companions
with a mixture of respect and sadness. They came from different
lands in the Middle East, but the bonds of the Faith had made them
brothers in a united cause.
"May God guide your hands, my friends," one of the "losers"
nods. "And may all the martyrs who went before us welcome you to
Paradise."
"God willing, we will succeed," the lead attacker nods, placing
his card on the table. "It is a pity that the devil-girl herself
has died. It would do us all so much better if we delivered her to
God ourselves."
"God HAS judged her, my friend," one of the back-up attackers
holds up a warning finger. "He acted through another race who was
oppressed by the devil-girl's people. Never fear about that! No
doubt now, Lum is burning in Hell, along with all those who supported
her from Uru!"
"May God make it so," his fellow back-up attacker nods.
"Come, my friends," one of those who would remain behind stabs
out his cigarette. "It's time for morning prayers."
The others nod...
* * *
"Lonely Souls"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
**** **** ****
Based on "Urusei Yatsura" and "Ranma 1/2," created by Rumiko
Takahashi; and "Sister Princess," created by Naoto Tenhiro and
Sakurako Kimino. This story is set after the end of the "UY" and
"Ranma" manga series.
**** **** ****
NOTE: The writer's notes are at the end of the "A" Side of the
Prologue.
**** **** ****
THE SECOND PART - WALLS
Nerima, the Tendou dojo...
"Ohayou, Ranma-kun. I saved some breakfast for you."
"Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma sits at the dinner table. Outside
the eldest Tendou daughter, she had found himself alone this
beautiful Sunday morning. "Where'd everyone else go off to today?"
she looks around.
"Father and Uncle got themselves drunk last night while you were
away from the house. Your mother had to go retrieve them. I believe
they're asleep in the dojo. Your mother is still asleep, but she
said she'd look in on repairs at your house today. I believe
Ojii-san is on his rounds," Kasumi's face twists into a frown. Ranma
understood that expression very well; no one really cared about what
Happousai did. "Nabiki is with her friends, as is Akane. How do you
feel today, Ranma-kun?"
"Better than average," Ranma admits. "Gonna meet Ataru and his
sisters over in Kasugachou later on to help him move into his new
house."
"He's coming to live here now?" Kasumi perks.
"Just him and his elder sister Negako. His younger sisters
are gonna stay on Promised Island," the transformed martial artist
digs into the miso soup, then she perks. "Hey, are you using
Shirayuki-chan's spices?!"
"Hai. When you see her, tell her that I really liked her mix.
I DO want to meet Shirayuki-chan soon, Ranma-kun," Kasumi wags her
finger at her would-be sibling, then she sighs. "Ranma-kun?"
"What is it?"
"There's a problem with Akane-chan."
Ranma sighs. "She's not taking well to what I'm doing, right?"
"Not well at all, I'm afraid," the eldest Tendou daughter
confesses. "She learned about Ataru-kun's sisters last night, then
mentioned that if any of them turned out to be your fiancees,
we should..." she frowns, then sighs. "Take up your suggestion
and ask you to move out of the house."
"Did anyone try to tell her that wasn't the way it was?"
Kasumi shrugs. "We tried. She didn't really listen, I think."
Ranma blinks, then shakes her head. "Damn..."
"You might have to talk to her about what you've been up to over
the last month, Ranma-kun. Try to make her understand where you're
coming from. Try to show her that you still care for her very much."
"But will she listen to me then?" Ranma's eyebrow arches. "I've
tried to talk to her before. I know I'm not the world's greatest
when it comes to speaking my heart, but even when I've tried, she's
never allowed herself to listen to me, Kasumi. And I'm not going
to allow myself to become her personal punching bag again. I'm VERY
tired of that."
"Akane-chan's not that bad, Ranma-kun..."
"Kasumi," a sharp bite appears in Ranma's voice, causing the
elder Tendou daughter to jolt. "Don't make excuses for her anymore.
I'm very tired of THAT, too." With that, she rises. "Have a good
day."
She steps out. "Ranma-kun..." Kasumi blinks, then looks down...
* * *
Tampopo's, sometime later...
"Oh, damn! I forgot to get Onee-chan to unlock your curse!"
"Relax, Ataru, it's alright!" Ranma chuckles as she steps into
the restaurant, then places herself at the counter. "How come you're
working here today? Couldn't you and Negako get a hotel room?"
"No, Onee-chan and I were given the chance to stay in the guest
room here," Ataru nods to the back of the restaurant. "So I paid
Tampopo-chan back by helping with the morning shift. Want something
to warm up?"
"Please."
"Hai, coming right up."
A cup of cocoa sprinkled with cinnamon and topped with
marshmallows is soon in Ranma's hands. "Oh, that just hits the
sport!"
"Glad you liked it," he smiles at her.
"How soon will your sisters be here? And where's Negako?"
"Oh, Onee-chan's off somewhere. Don't know where; she never
tells me these things unless she feels I have to know about it right
away."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"Not really. Given what she is, she doesn't fully understand
or appreciate what being with family is like. I don't press her on
that. Heaven knows, when she still was just the *saikoo
jinseijitsu,* most of my family did their best to keep her 'dumb.'
She's been improving, especially since we all came together, but it's
slow." A pause, then, "The girls left the Toranoseishin Tower in
Tomobiki sometime ago, so they'll be here in about a half-hour,
I think. Tampopo-chan's gone off to talk to the real estate agent
who's been keeping an eye on that old shrine we'll use."
"What's the story there?" Ranma asks.
"Four years ago, the priest-in-residence killed himself inside
the shrine. Reading his diary afterward, the authorities learned
the priest believed that the ghost of a boy who had been murdered
on the site a century ago still haunted the place. The priest tried
to exorcise the boy's ghost, but the ghost wouldn't leave. It drove
him crazy."
"Sad," Ranma sighs.
"Excuse me, can someone...? RANMA?!!"
Ranma sighs, then looks left to see Ryouga Hibiki standing
now at the entranceway. Ataru blinks, then glances at the wanderer.
"I take it this is one of your playmates there, Ranma?" he stares
quizzically at her.
"Unfortunately," Ranma mutters under her breath.
Growling, Ryouga advances on his long-time rival. "There you
are, Ranma! What are you doing here?! If you've hurt Akane...!
*Bweep!!*"
Ranma jolts, then looks over before her eyes drop to see a
struggling P-chan trying to navigate his way out of Ryouga's
clothing. Before the piglet can escape, a hand yanks him up by his
bandanna so he could gaze eye-to-eye with Ataru. "Hibiki-san,
I'm going to make this clear!" the transplanted Tomobiki resident
growls. "If you even THINK of starting a fight with anyone in my
friend's shop, I personally will see you FOREVER frozen as a piglet
for the REST of your life! Got me, buster?!"
Ryouga jolts, then shudders as certain little factoids form a
logic chain (or whatever passes for logic inside Ryouga's brain)...
He had been publicly transformed into P-chan...
The person now holding him had addressed him by name...
Said person was clearly a new friend of Ranma's...
Said person had just threatened to hurt Ryouga...
Add it together...
"***BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!***"
Ataru grabs Tampopo's pizza-flipping super-spatula,
then drops it HARD on P-chan. The piglet is send snout-first
into the linoleum, his squeals cut off. Seeing that, Ranma winces.
She had never done something like THAT to the guy, though she had
been tempted.
"Hibiki, I'm going to say this ONCE. If it hasn't sunk into
whatever serves as your brain, I'll NOT be responsible for what
happens next," Ataru sighs, sensing Ryouga had recovered enough.
"One: Ranma did NOT tell me about your meeting with Jusenkyou.
That is as obvious as mud in a ballroom when it comes to your chi.
Two: Ranma DID tell me about your obsession with Akane Tendou.
How much YOU'VE made Ranma-san's life hell because of it. Three:
I am NOT bound by outdated codes of Bushido as you -- even if you
HAVE no honour! -- which means that if you start a vendetta against
me, you better have your papers in order first. Because if you
attack me, I will use your curse against you and KILL YOU!! GOT
ME?!!" he growls as the spatula is spun around so that the sharpest
edge points down. It then drops like a guillotine blade straight
for the hapless piglet's neck.
"BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...!!!"
The blade halts not a half-centimetre from P-chan's neck.
Shivering, he looks up into Ataru's face. A smile crosses that face.
It was not a friendly smile. This was the smile of someone who often
contemplated how much pain he would have to unleash before killing
or maiming someone.
NOT a good thing!
"Now. Get out," Ataru snarls.
The spatula slams P-chan in the skull, sending him out the open
front door, disappearing into the sky. Ataru sighs, then notices
Ryouga's clothes and backpack. "What normally happens with this
stuff?"
"Just put it outside," Ranma recommends. "He'll find it."
Ataru shakes his head, then picking everything up, takes it
outside and dumps it by a lamppost across the street before heading
back in...
* * *
Near Furinkan High School, later...
"P-chan!! Sweetie, what happened to you?!!"
P-chan moans as Akane sweeps him up, then relaxes as the
cushiony feeling of her bust presses against his cheeks. "Who gave
him THAT?!" Sayuri points to the VERY large lump on the side of
P-chan's skull.
"Probably Ranma!" Akane sighs. They and Yuka had been out
window-shopping when Akane saw her pet buried in a garbage pile.
"I'll deal with him later! C'mon, P-chan, let's get you something
for that nasty boo-boo!"
"Bweee...!" P-chan croons delightedly as Akane carries him in
the direction of the dojo. Though happy to be in the arms of the
first person to treat him with kindness, the transformed Ryouga's
thoughts are storming. This time, they weren't focused on Ranma,
but someone else.
Someone who knew his secret.
Someone who would gladly EXPLOIT that secret.
Therefore, someone who was as totally honourless as Ranma.
There was only one solution to that, Ryouga knew.
That someone would DIE!
* * *
Tomobiki...
"You won't go?!"
"Nope," the plain-looking girl with the short-cropped
raven hair slurps up her noodles, then sets her bowl aside. She is
now seated beside her sister at a yatai near the Tarouzakura
hill. "I never cared one bit for Lum in the first place, Nee-chan,
so why on Earth should I go to a memorial for her? Especially
since Ataru-kun hasn't been seen around town for the last six weeks!
I doubt he'll be there, so why should I?"
"Chigaiko-chan, the school called Tou-chan and Kaa-chan to tell
them it was mandatory attendance for the memorial."
"Do I care about what the morons running that place think?"
Chigaiko glares intently at Fuchiko Inu, then coughs. Damned flu!
Why couldn't it just leave her alone? "Besides, I don't see them
going head-over-heels to find out where Ataru-kun is! So if they're
not trying to track down Lum's so-called 'husband,' why should they
ever care about someone like me?"
Fuchiko blinks, then shakes her head. "Well, I dunno..."
The yatai matron looks up. "Oh, don't bother your sister about
that, Fuchiko-san. Personally, I agree with Chigaiko-san.
Good riddance, not only to Lum, but all those other alien monsters
that came with her."
"Like Rei, Oba-san?" Chigaiko chuckles.
"Hai, like that THING! If it was a person, I certainly never
saw it. Personally, I don't understand why the United Nations didn't
crack down on those Onis earlier." With that, she takes the Inu
sisters' bowls back, then refills them. "You know, Chigaiko-san,
if you're so concerned about Ataru-san, you might want to go to
Nerima and talk to Tampopo Kamekichi."
"Why her?" Fuchiko wonders.
"I doubt you'd know of this since you go to Butsumetsu High
instead of Tomobiki High, but ever since Lum came to Earth, whenever
Ataru-san wanted to be left alone, he went to Tampopo-san's
shop in the Ginza," the matron smiles. "Even more so, Lum could
NEVER get away with ANYTHING when she was close to Tampopo-san.
Even the HINT of her trying to zap Ataru-san resulted in that Oni
getting brained by Tampopo-san's spatula."
"You're kidding! I never knew that!!" Chigaiko gapes.
"Oh, I think it was kept quiet to pass on the illusion that Lum
was invincible. But in the long term, she wasn't," the matron walks
over to her work shelf, draws out a piece of paper, then jots down
an address and telephone number. "Here you go," she hands that to
Chigaiko. "She's in Nerima. If anyone knows where Ataru-san
is, Tampopo-san would."
"I..." Chigaiko blinks, then smiles. "Arigatou!"
"Looks like you got a field trip ahead of you," Fuchiko winks.
"Definitely," her sister nods...
* * *
Nerima, two kilometres from Furinkan High, sometime later...
"Kinda run-down, ain't it?" Mamoru wonders.
Ataru, Ranma, Tampopo, Negako and the sisters gaze on the wooded
property before them, attended by a local real estate agent. The
shrine reminds Ataru somewhat of Sakura's temple in Tomobiki.
Since the place was considered unsanctified, the front gate torii
had been torn down and the shrine's name plaque taken away. Leafless
trees line both sides and the rear of the property. The building
itself appears in good shape; all it really needed was some paint
and varnish to repair the woodwork and some new wall panelling.
"Yeah, it is, but it's fixable," Ataru muses, then blinks on feeling
someone hug one of his legs. "Hinako-chan!"
"Hina doesn't like ghosts!!" the youngest sister murmurs.
"Are there ghosts here?" Ranma asks.
"There is one."
Eyes lock on Negako. "There IS?!!" Ataru blurts.
"Yes. It appears the shrine priest who once worked here was
correct on that regard," the grandmistress muses. "Come, Chikage."
She and Chikage step onto the grounds, heading for the temple
itself. Ataru pulls Hinako away from him, then looks at Ranma.
"Keep an eye on 'em, okay?" he asks before racing off after his
sisters.
"Onii-tama...!" Hinako shudders, then relaxes on feeling Ranma's
hand fall on her shoulder. Instantly, she embraces the transformed
martial artist. "Onee-tama, is Onii-tama gonna be okay?" she asks.
"I think your older sister there knows what she's doin'," she
reassures the younger girl. "Just relax there, Hinako-chan."
Hinako smiles. Ataru, Negako and Chikage step into the shrine,
all three tense as they use their various skills to scour through
the building. "Yeah, something's here, alright," Ataru whispers,
curling the fingers of one hand as if he was grasping a sword.
"Where, Onee-chan?"
"Don't draw it yet," Negako advises, then points to the centre
of the temple's main meditation room. "There. Chikage, mark that
place."
"Hai," the sorceress summons spirit fire, then projects it in a
circle around the place Negako indicated. "There."
"Good," Negako muses. "Rinrin!!" she barks outside.
"What is it, Aneki?!!" the teen inventor calls back.
"Summon the clan graves registration unit from Tomobiki!!"
the grandmistress orders. "We have a body buried here!!"
"Right!!"
"Who killed the boy, Onee-chan?" Ataru asks.
"Most likely a thief or roonin warrior; he died around the time
of the Restoration," Negako reports, then lightly smiles. "There..."
The three watch as the spirit flame increases in intensity
to form a fair-sized bonfire. Within the flame, an image forms.
Chikage blinks, then sighs. "The spirit is trapped," she reports.
"The child cannot free himself from the trap and reunite with his
parents in the afterlife."
"That's probably why the priest killed himself. He hoped to
give up his spirit to let the boy be free," Ataru grunts.
"Onee-chan?"
"Wait, Ataru," Negako cautions.
By then, the others have shuffled to the door. Eyes go wide on
seeing the spirit-flame, now projecting the picture of a young boy in
the clothes of a Meiji-era commoner, held fast to the ground by
raven-black arms. The boy seemed to be struggling with all his might
to pull away from those hands, but they are much too strong for him.
"Onii-tama...?" Hinako burbles, then hides her face in the fabric
of Ranma's shirt.
"Now," Negako concentrates.
"***KONTOU!!!!!!***"
Everyone gasps as chi coalesces into Ataru's and Negako's
sword hands, forming blazing katana blades. "Holy...!!" Ranma's
jaw hits the floor as the two soulsword welders lunge at the trapped
child-spirit. The tips of those blades rip through the arms holding
the boy down. An inhuman scream bellows from somewhere below the boy
as he drifts away from the floor. Seeing that, Chikage draws out her
crystal ball and chants an incantation. "The creature is trying
to reform itself, Ane-kun!!"
Negako turns, then aims her finger at the base of the spirit
flame, focusing her ki. "***SEISHIN HASAI HI-KOOSEN!!!!!!***"
she barks as a bolt of pure white light lashes out to punch into the
spirit flame.
*NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!!!!*
The flame explodes, engulfing the room in blinding light.
People scream out as they cover their eyes for a moment, then when
the light fades to normal, they slowly relax. "What the...?!
GODS!!!" Rinrin gasps.
"What happened?!!" Mamoru demands.
People watch as sparkles of light shower the old shrine. A soft
haze covers everything for a second, then when it fades, they are
stunned to see that the building has been literally rejuvenated.
Gasps and cries of awe escape the sisters and the real-estate
agent as they stare around the rejuvenated shrine. Aria then looks
up before her eyes widen on seeing the boy-spirit rise into the air.
The boy looks at her for a moment, then waves, silently mouthing
a farewell and his thanks for being set free. Aria raises her hand
and waves back. "Bye-bye."
The others watch him vanish, then Chikage announces, "He will
soon be with his parents again. As he has wanted for so long."
"Who was he, Chikage-chan?" Sakuya wonders.
"That will take time to ascertain, but we can take the time now,
once we exhume the body and have it properly buried," the sorceress
replies.
"Hey, the lawn looks good now!" Mamoru glances outside.
The others look. "Guess we won't be doing as much work as we
first expected," Rinrin chuckles, then stares at Ataru. "What now,
Aniki?"
"Let's wait for the graves people to get here and do their work,
then we'll worry about that, Rinrin-chan," Ataru sighs, then turns
to Tampopo and the real-estate agent. "Well, shall we get to the
paperwork?"
"I...! B-but of c-course, M-moroboshi-san," the agent stutters.
The others chuckle...
* * *
The Nekohanten...
"The soulsword...?"
Cologne gazes narrow-eyed into the sky, she facing the general
direction of Furinkan High School. There was NO mistaking that
chilly feeling in her bones. Among all the various martial arts
techniques one could use on one's enemies, the soulsword -- the
virtual expression of one's living spirit -- was perhaps the most
deadly. And, as far as the Nyu-che-zuu elder knew, there were scant
few today who practised it.
*Could that mean...?* she closes her eyes. *Those two I sensed
yesterday at the train station. Could they have been of the...?*
A frown turns her lips. It had been so long since she had last
seen Nagaiwakai Moroboshi. The poor child had been dead for two
years now and no one among Cologne's tribe, much less the McTavishes
of Killiecrankie, knew what had happened to her, much less why. And
with the only possible successor to the poor woman being the child
of her youngest son Muchi...!
Wait!
Could one of those two from yesterday...?
The elder hums. She had heard all the disparaging things about
Ataru Moroboshi over the news during the last year or so. She had
also heard of his tumultuous relationship with the alien girl Lum.
That seemed somewhat normal; for as long as could be remembered,
the Moroboshi Clan had always sought to strengthen their blood by
bringing in the best from all around. An abandoned child, especially
girls, never stayed abandoned long if one of the Tora-Seishin
-- the Tiger-Spirit -- shadow warriors was close by. That had been
one of the reasons the Nyu-che-zuu and the Tora-Seishin had become
allies many decades ago. Another was the fact that the Moroboshi
Clan WAS traditionally administered as a matriarchy, its leadership
nominally passed on from grandmother to a favoured and worthy
granddaughter (or grandson if no girl children had been born of that
particular generation).
*And Ataru just happens to be Tampopo's friend, too,* Cologne's
eyes narrow, then she sighs. Perhaps it was time to pay her a
visit...
* * *
Two hours later...
"May you enjoy the next life in peace and happiness. Sayonara."
A white rose is placed on the casket the grave registration
unit had encased the boy's remains in, then Haruka bows formally.
There had not been much left according to the Clan's coroner, but
regardless of which, the child would be soon interred in the family's
private plot near Sendai. Chikage had taken one of the bones into
her possession so she could do a magical divination to ascertain
the boy's name and history. When that was done, he would be formally
added to the Clan registry as an adopted orphan. At least in that
respect, he would be remembered.
The coroner and his helpers load the casket into the hearse,
then depart. By then, Tampopo and Ataru have finished rental
negotiations with the real-estate agent. "I'll be personally
glad to be rid of this place, to be honest with you," he admits.
"Much that the problem HAS been solved, I fear this property won't
earn a good price for some time to come."
"Property value isn't always measured in cash, Yamaji-san,"
Ataru notes. "'Sides, as soon as we get it properly spruced up --
and as soon as it serves its basic purpose for ourselves -- we'll
contact you."
"Fair enough," Mr. Yamaji hands him a business card, then
departs.
By now, some of the sisters are busy with brooms and rakes to
clear up the piles of dead leaves around the trees. Ranma was
pitching in to help. "First time I ever had to do something like
this," she muses, then looks at Marie, who was raking leaves into a
container held in place by Michael. "Is cleaning up around Welcome
House this hard, Marie-chan?"
"No, not really," the bespectacled teen smiles. "We don't have
as many trees around the House than Aniue-sama will have here. I
think he'll try to replace these ones with evergreens since they
aren't as messy."
"Yeah, that would do, won't it?" Ranma nods as he sweeps the
pile of leaves into a garbage tin, then notices Aria crouching
nearby, gazing at a small pattern of leaves. "I'll get that," Ranma
heads over, then sweeps the leaves into her garbage tin. "There
we go..."
"Kusu!"
The martial artist gargles on seeing a depressed look cross the
young Parisian's face. "A-a-Aria-chan, what's wrong?"
"Kusu!"
Ranma blinks, then remembers what Aria was doing before she came
by. "Aria-chan, for heaven's sake, the leaves have to get raked up!"
she takes a deep breath. "Willya quit crying about it, please?"
"Kusu!" Now there are tears. BAD thing to happen, the sisters
watching their big brother's new friend immediately wince.
Ranma shudders, then blinks as something comes to her.
"Aria-chan, you remember your tree-spirit friend, don'tcha?"
she asks.
Aria blinks. "Aria's friend...?"
"Yeah. When winter came, he shed his leaves, didn't he?"
The young Parisian considers that, then nods. "Hai."
"Well, why DO trees have leaves, Aria-chan?"
Confusion. "Aria does not know."
"Well, your Nee-ya'll tell you," Ranma smiles, then points
towards the sun, now behind a high cloud bank. "It's because of
Mister Sun up there. Trees like your friend take in all of Mister
Sun's light to keep them alive and healthy. But leaves can't do that
all the time. They burn themselves out when fall comes along.
That's why trees shed their leaves, Aria-chan. It's so they can grow
new ones for spring. Okay?"
Aria blinks. "Leaves burn out?"
"Yes. And when they burn out, they're shed and wind up dumped
on the ground. But since trees can't clean up after themselves,
we have to clean up for them. Okay?" She leans close. "And trees
don't know that grass needs Mister Sun's light, too!" she whispers,
pointing to the ground.
The younger girl's eyes widen. "Ah! Aria understands
now!"
"Right," Ranma smiles as Aria rises, heading off.
Sakuya and Haruka walk up. "Onee-sama, that was incredible!"
the former chuckles. "No one's been able to do that to Aria-chan,
not even her governess! Instant she starts crying, everyone panics!"
"Oh, she just needed a chance to understand things, that's all,"
Ranma smirks. "Though if she's of the type that doesn't get out at
all, someone better give her governess a swift kick in the ass to
make sure Aria-chan doesn't suffer for it later in life. Believe
me, I know what it's like to deal with social situations and I don't
know anything about what's goin' on, much less why!" She pauses,
then sighs. "Still..."
"Is there something wrong, Anegimi-sama?" Haruka wonders.
Ranma pauses, then sighs. "It's amazing, that's all."
"What is?" Sakuya asks.
"That I was able to talk to her like that. If this was six
weeks ago or anytime before that, I probably wouldn't've been able
to figure out what the heck ta do with her," Ranma shrugs, then heads
back to raking.
They watch her go, then exchange a look before giggling.
"I think Tampopo-san was right about her needing new friends,"
Sakuya whispers.
"Agreed," Haruka covers her mouth, then sighs. "But is
Chikage-chan right about what could happen to her, Sakuya-chan?
I mean, it's so..."
"I know. But Onee-sama backs it up, so it has to be true,"
Sakuya holds up a finger. "And that's why she needs us, Haruka-chan.
She NEEDS friends to be there to support her over the next while.
It's only right. After all, most of the blockheads she deals
with..." she gazes on Ranma, now sweeping up leaves near the front
gate, "...wouldn't understand, much less accept, what's going to
happen to her over the next while."
The martial artist blinks, then nods. "Agreed..."
* * *
The afternoon rolls on. A small work crew from Tomobiki arrives
to do a detailed inspection of the old shrine, then carry out the
necessary renovations to transform it into a comfortable residence.
The shrine's bedrooms, much to everyone's surprise, had a Korean
floor-pipe heating system in lieu of using kotatsus. Once set up,
some insulation is added to the walls to keep the heat in during
winter nights. The bathroom is in decent shape, with a furo. It is
soon discovered that the shrine's kitchen requires a total equipment
makeover. Since that might take some days to properly arrange,
the mobile unit Shirayuki used in her competition with Tampopo is
wheeled onto the property. With judicious use of canvas tent
coverings, it is attached to the shrine building. Once that is in
place, Shirayuki gets to work preparing a large supper for everyone.
Ataru and Negako move their gear into two of the four bedrooms
located in the shrine. The other rooms would be set aside for guest
rooms. The main living room -- the old meditation room where the
boy's spirit had been found -- could double as a bedroom for the
sisters when they came to visit their big brother en masse. Futons
and blankets plus other home appliances are brought in to make things
comfortable for the Moroboshi siblings. Rinrin gets the telephone
and television lines checked out, then sets up a home entertainment
system modified with links to the Rinrin-Viewer. Mamoru cleans out
the other meditation room to serve as a private gym. All it needed
was floor mats and other equipment to make it perfect.
By six o'clock, just as the sun was setting, everyone stands
before the old shrine, gazing at it to fully take in the amount of
work they put into it today. "We should hang onto it, Onii-sama,"
Sakuya wraps her arm around Ataru's. "It'll be a great place to stay
in if we ever wanted to come to the mainland from the Island to do
some shopping."
"Well, let's fix it up some more before we do that," Ataru
chuckles.
Shirayuki steps outside. "Everyone, dinner's ready!"
A cheer echoes through the neighbourhood...
* * *
The Tendou dojo, later that evening...
"So where is he?!"
Kasumi blinks, then sighs. "Where is who, Akane-chan?"
"Ranma, that's who!" the youngest daughter growls. She and
Kasumi, plus Nabiki, Souun and Genma, relax in the sitting room.
Akane currently nurses P-chan with a cold compress on his lump. "I
need to talk to him!!"
"What about, Akane?" Nabiki sips her tea. "P-chan there? What
makes you think that Ranma-kun had anything to do with that?!"
"He picks on P-chan all the time!" Akane retorts. "It's so
darned obvious! How could someone hate a defenceless pig so much,
Onee-chan?!" She shakes her head, then turns to P-chan, a smile
crossing her face. "Don't you just hate it when that meanie hurts
you, P-chan?!"
Nabiki shakes her head, then turns back to her tea. Watching
this, Kasumi tries not to scream. She had known the big secret
behind Akane's pet pig for some time now, but had been forbidden
by Souun to say anything about it. No doubt, the Tendou patriarch
hoped that Ranma would become SO jealous of P-chan that he would come
out and openly admit his love to Akane. Given what had happened
to Ranma over the last few weeks, she doubted that Souun would EVER
see Ranma do that outside his dreams.
A glance to the fathers -- Nodoka would return soon from
inspecting the day's work on the Saotome home -- reveals them
exchanging a knowing grin. To Kasumi, it was as if Souun and Genma
were saying, "Yes, when Ranma comes back, Akane'll bash him down and
everything will all go back to normal!" Then she remembers Ranma's
warning that morning, how tired he had become of being Akane's
virtual punching bag. Did that mean that if Akane decided to start
a fight, Ranma would strike back? Thinking that, Kasumi tries not to
blanch as she heads into the kitchen. Nothing would be surer to
destroy what emotional links Ranma had to Akane than THAT!
"Are you alright, dear?"
Kasumi stops, then looks at the window to see Cologne sitting
on the windowsill. "Oh, Elder," the younger woman breathes out,
keeping her voice turned down VERY low. "You surprised me! What are
you doing here?"
"I sense your sister's mood towards Ranma isn't improving,"
the aged elder lightly smiles, glancing towards the sitting room.
"If only that fool Hibiki would finally stop pretending to be Akane's
pet and settle down with that Akari girl, it might make things easier
for all."
Kasumi stares at her. "You just called him 'Ranma'..."
"Yes, dear, I did," Cologne nods. "I realized some time ago
that the chances of his marrying Shampoo were very slim to nil. I've
been working as much as I can to help my great-granddaughter
return to the village with her honour intact. There are ways around
the Kiss of Marriage, but in a case like Ranma's and Shampoo's,
it needs the Council to agree to it. It will take time, but I think
I'll have them seeing my way soon enough."
"Well, that'll be a relief," Kasumi nods, then sighs. "Though
I think Akane-chan might not stand much of a chance with Ranma-kun,
either."
"That's too bad. If she learned to control her temper and think
things through, she'll go very far in life," the elder nods. "I
think it'll be best for both Akane and Ranma that he stays elsewhere
for the next while. I don't want to say anything more than that now,
but I've arranged through a friend to ensure Ranma has a comfortable
place to live."
"Oh, my! Would this friend be the one who helped Ranma-kun
earn all that money?" Kasumi's eyebrow arches, a light smile crossing
her face.
"The very same. You always were a perceptive one, weren't
you?" Cologne cackles, then her eyes narrow. "Ah, there she is...!"
"Eh?!"
*CRASH!!!!*
"Ni hao!! Where Airen?!! Shampoo have good dinner ready for
him!!"
"Hey, what are you doing here, you hussy?!!"
As the fight starts up in the sitting room, echoed by Souun's
wailing that Ranma would marry Akane, Kasumi grins. "You are EVIL,
Elder!"
"Go get his things! I'll take them over to Ranma right away,
then I'll arrange for you to meet his friends tomorrow."
"Fair enough..."
* * *
The Moroboshi home, an hour later...
"And that does it!"
Rinrin nods, staring at the lot sign just nailed to the gate.
The kanji making the name MOROBOSHI is scripted into the polished
wood as if a master calligrapher had done it. Then again, a master
calligrapher HAD done it -- Negako. Sakuya nods. "Soon, we'll all
have that name."
"Yeah, it would be nice for the lawyers to hurry up and get it
over with, wouldn't it?" Rinrin chuckles, then blinks as she sees
Tampopo come up, a push-cart in tow bearing a person's backpack
and other items. "Oh, Tampopo-san, is there something wrong? Did
Aniki leave that at the shop?"
"Actually, Rinrin-chan, this belongs to Ranma-chan," the chef
places the push-cart down. "Is she still here, Sakuya-chan?"
"I'm right here," Ranma walks up from the house, then blinks
on noticing her stuff in the cart. "Oh, no! What happened now?"
"I've a message from Kasumi Tendou through Elder Cologne,"
Tampopo announces. "It turns out that because of a certain someone
who tried to start a fight in my restaurant early this morning,
one of your fiancees seems to be spoiling to have a 'talk' with you
about you abusing her 'pet.' And by the looks of it, your father
and Kasumi's father would welcome any chance for Akane to put you
into your 'place,' so to speak."
Ranma takes that in, then sighs. "Onee-sama?" Sakuya probes.
"I see," the transformed martial artist shakes her head. "Damn!
If it isn't Ukyou, Xian or Kodachi stirring things up, it's Ryouga,
Mousse or Kunou!! How'm I supposed to get ANYWHERE with settling
this mess with all of them trying to trip me up every step of the
way?!" she shrugs.
"I'd say dump 'em all and leave it be, Aneki," Rinrin snorts.
"It's not that simple, Rinrin," Ranma gazes on her.
"Something wrong?"
Everyone turns as Ataru walks up. "Oh, I just found out that
I might be waltzing into a fight if I go back to the Tendou house
tonight," Ranma gazes on him. "Would you mind if I crashed out here
for a bit, Ataru?"
"Sure, no problem at all!" he notices the push-cart. "And I see
Tampopo-chan already anticipated that!" he wags his finger at her.
The chef chuckles, then everyone perks. "Indeed, it would be
very wise for you to remain here for the next while," Negako walks
up.
"What do you mean, Onee-sama?" Sakuya wonders.
"If Ranma continues to remain at the Tendou home, she will not
be doing either herself or Akane any good in the long run," the
ninjitsu grandmistress reports, waving them to follow her inside.
Ataru pulls the push cart inside as the others follow Negako
into the living room. There, the other sisters relax, munching
on some sakura-mocha Shirayuki prepared for an evening snack. "Anee,
whatcha doin' with all your stuff here?" Mamoru is quick to notice
Ranma's backpack.
"Gonna stay here for a while, Mamoru-chan," Ranma announces.
Hearing that, the sisters all smile. "Yay!! Onee-tama's
gonna stay with Onii-tama!" Hinako calls out, waving her hands.
Laughter echoes through the home as Ranma's belongings are taken
into the guest room. Soon enough, Tampopo heads back to her
restaurant, then everyone gathers in the living room. More snacks
are prepared for Ranma, then everyone sits in a circle. "What didja
mean nothing good'd come out of me staying any longer with the
Tendous, Negako?" Ranma asks.
"I took some time to observe events at the Tendou home this
evening, just before a fight started between Akane and Xian-pu,
one Kun-lon arranged to mask the removal of your personal belongings
from the house, especially from your father," Negako reports. "There
is nothing there for you to use to improve your own skill in martial
arts, Ranma, save for what Happy might be able to teach. Further,
because Souun has grossly failed to pass on his teachings to Akane,
her skill level is laughable. For one who is said to be the heir to
her own school of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu, she will not bring much to
contribute to the founding of a 'unified' school as Souun and Genma
have envisioned. One would think it a total farce at the end."
"Disappointing," Haruka muses.
"Makes Yotsuba think that all they're doing is forcing Ani-chama
to do all the work and enjoy none of the benefits," Yotsuba laments.
"Agreed," Negako nods. "Akane has no self-discipline.
Her control over her emotions is nearly non-existent..."
she pauses, then sighs. "In the end of it all, she is lazy, Ranma.
And the overprotective attitude you have demonstrated towards her in
the past has not helped matters. I would conclude that the reason
Akane still wishes to hang onto you is that she inwardly derives
emotional enjoyment to see you protect her, the atypical damsel in
distress, from whatever might threaten her."
"They ARE using Ani-chama!" Yotsuba shakes her head.
"Well, I've always believed that a martial artist's primary
duty is to protect those who can't protect themselves," Ranma sighs.
"And yeah, I know Akane isn't as well-skilled as she thinks she is.
That's even more tragic since she's got such great potential deep
down..."
"Yes, she does," Negako agrees. "But if she truly desires
to gain a sufficient level of skill to deal with a normal run of
potential opponents -- to become, in effect, the true heir to the
Tendou-ryuu she desires to become -- she will have to drastically
change ALL her habits."
Ranma stares at Negako, then sighs, nodding. "Yeah, I suppose
so, but if I just upped and walked away without trying to help
her..."
"Everyone and his dog -- no offense, Marie-chan! -- will be on
your tail for 'abandoning' her, right?" Rinrin's eyebrow arches
knowingly.
"Yeah."
"And you are presently uncomfortable about considering
walking away from them once and for all," Negako adds.
Ranma jolts, then nods. "Yeah. I mean, it's honour, but..."
"Honour has no relevance in this case."
The martial artist blinks, then stares at Negako. The latter
sighs, sipping some tea Shirayuki made for her. "There is a lament
in our family. 'Honour is a sword shattered on a rock, a slip of
paper burned in a fire, a gravestone eroded by the wind, a shrine
brought down in an earthquake.' In other words, when it comes to the
BASIC facts of life, Bushido does not and CANNOT survive. Here you
are, trapped in THREE valid engagements, made to adhere to a grossly
outdated viewpoint on your manhood -- exacerbated more because of
your curse and your father's misogynist attitudes -- AND find
yourself the target of what Americans call 'gunfighter syndrome.'"
"'Gunfighter syndrome?!'" Mamoru blinks. "What's that?"
Ataru chuckles. "It's like this, Mamoru-chan. Ranma IS,
outside probably Onee-chan, one of the best martial artist of our age
group in Japan, perhaps the whole world. She happens to be in a part
of the world which has an overflow of powerful martial artists.
And because she's the best, these other dorks feel insecure, thus,
they decided to challenge her in hopes of beating her and gaining
a greater sense of security."
"And by letting this continue unchecked due to her sense of
pride, Ranma ultimately do nothing to put an end to it," Negako adds,
then glances at the martial artist in question. "So what must it
take then, Ranma? For someone to be permanently crippled? Much less
killed?"
Ranma jolts. "I don't think it'll go that far..."
"It already has. Look what you did to Saffron."
Silence. Ranma feels a chill warp through her, then she
clutches a hand over her heart. "Yeah, that's true..."
"In that case, because of Saffron's self-regenerative
ability, you didn't have to face the emotional duress killing someone
can force on one as -- innocent, shall I say? -- in certain ways as
you are," Negako adds. "But if matters are slowly reverting back to
'normal' in some respects, the chances are strong that another fight
at the scale of Mount Phoenix will occur in the future. Would you
care to wager on the odds of your opponent THEN having the same
regenerative ability Saffron is blessed with?"
"You might not get a second chance next time, Ranma," Ataru
muses.
"No, I guess not," Ranma bites her lip...
* * *
The Tendou dojo, the next morning...
"WHERE IS HE?!!"
The crowd around the breakfast table jolt as Akane's cry echoes
through the house. "Akane-chan, is there a problem?!" Nodoka calls
up.
"Where's who?!" Nabiki wonders.
Akane storms down, cradling P-chan in her arm as her free fist
quakes indignantly. "Ranma!! He didn't even come home last night,
Auntie!!" she sits down beside Nabiki, then picks up her glass of
juice to drink it.
"Oh, dear me! I forgot to tell you that he called sometime
after Shampoo came by to visit last night," Kasumi reports.
Eyes lock on the eldest Tendou daughter. "And?" Souun asks.
"He said he'd been invited to stay with a new friend he's made
until such time as repairs on the Saotome home are done," Kasumi
smiles, though inside, she snickers on seeing stunned looks cross
Souun and Genma's face. "And since Ranma-kun had decided that he was
going to move out of the house soon, he decided now would be the best
time to take his leave." She then focuses on Akane, who is likewise
shocked by this news. Inwardly wishing she didn't have to do this,
she adds, "And I should add that yesterday morning, Ranma-kun
told me that he had finally reached his limit when it came to you
making assumptions about him, Akane-chan. I told him about your
accusations about him supposedly hurting P-chan yesterday. He then
decided he wasn't going to tolerate your accusations anymore."
"So where did he go?" Nabiki wonders.
"That, Nabiki-chan..." Kasumi rises, "...is a secret."
The middle daughter's face slams into the table as Kasumi heads
into the kitchen. Silence falls over the scene, then Nodoka sighs,
gazing at Akane. "Well, if my son feels he doesn't wish to put up to
this animal, you should be rid of it immediately, Akane-chan,"
she indicates P-chan.
Akane says nothing as Ranma's mother heads upstairs. Nabiki
collects herself, then marches into the kitchen. Souun and Genma
say nothing, then both jolt on hearing a sob escape Akane.
"Akane-chan, it's alright!" her father moves to comfort her. "We'll
get Ranma-kun back here right away!! You'll see! Everything
will be alright! You just wait...!!"
"NO!!!!" Akane shoves him away, then races upstairs.
The fathers remain in place, then exchange a look.
"Saotome-kun, why is that boy of yours not doing what he's SUPPOSED
to be doing?!" Souun demands. "How can we get him back here, make
him marry my daughter and unite the schools if he keeps vanishing
on us like that?!!"
Genma shakes his head. "He can't do this! He can't possibly
begin to do this!! He's never been able to do it before! I made
damn sure about that...!" he says the last sentence in a harsh
whisper, then sensing Souun staring at him, sighs. "We have to be
patient, Tendou-kun! It's obvious to me now!! Someone's trying
to manipulate the fool boy against us! The sooner we find out who,
the sooner we can deal with it?! Agreed?!"
Souun blinks, then nods. "Agreed!"
* * *
Unknown to the fathers, Kasumi and Nabiki overheard what they
said in the kitchen. "'He can't possibly begin to do this. I made
damn sure about that,'" Nabiki crosses her arms. "What did Uncle
mean by that?!"
"Do you think he did something to Ranma-kun?" Kasumi asks.
"By the sounds of it. And by the looks of it, he probably
did it to make sure Ranma-kun stayed under his thumb," Nabiki
mutters, then sighs, gazing on Kasumi. "So where exactly IS Ranma,
Onee-chan? I can understand you not wanting to say anything in front
of the two lunkheads..."
Kasumi sighs. "I don't know where Ranma-kun is exactly,
Nabiki-chan. I suspect I'll find out sometime today since Elder
Cologne is going to introduce me to the person who helped him earn
all that money."
"Oh, that's fair enough! Can I tag along?"
The elder sisters shakes her head. "No. Much that I know
you're concerned about how things with Ranma-kun might affect the
house, you KNOW he doesn't really trust you, Nabiki-chan. I think
it's best to keep it at that for now. If Ranma suspected you were
trying to investigate what he's up to, that could give him the excuse
to renounce the engagement once and for all. You know that'll hurt
Akane-chan badly despite what she says."
Nabiki nods. "Yeah, you're right there. And yeah, I do care
for Akane even if she can be an idiot about things at times." She
takes a deep breath. "And I can see where Ranma-kun might be coming
from, too. But I do want to know what's going on sooner or later,
Onee-chan! Okay?"
"Alright..."
* * *
"It's not fair, P-chan...! It's not fair...!"
A teary-eyed Akane gazes nowhere in particular, P-chan seated
in her lap. The transformed Ryouga tries to lick her tears away,
do anything to bring comfort to her in light of THIS! As she feels
his tongue lap up her cheeks, she cradles him close. "It's not your
fault, P-chan," she gently whispers. "I just don't understand
why Ranma doesn't get along with you! I don't understand why he's
been acting this way since the wedding!! I've already apologized
for the Nanniichuan! I understand why he's so concerned about Ukyou
and Shampoo! But why does he want to leave here?"
P-chan squeals, his heart shuddering as his mind roils through
what he had seen and heard since Akane had found him yesterday.
What the HELL was Ranma doing, anyway? Yes, finding Ukyou's yatai
was the right thing to do. But what was with the huge money payments
to the household, then the special cheques to Kasumi and Nabiki?
What was THAT about? Hell, how was it that Ranma was earning all
that money in the first place? And why was he giving Akane such a
damned cold shoulder? It wasn't Akane's fault that Ranma was such
a jerk! Why was SHE being made to suffer for it...?
"D-does he h-hate me, P-chan...?"
The transformed Ryouga jolts, then squeals, shaking his head.
Giving that sort of answer seemed best. When he confronted Ranma
finally, he'd beat a confession out of him to learn the truth.
Seeing that, Akane sighs. "You think he still likes me, P-chan?"
she sniffs, wiping her eyes with her free hand. As the piglet nods,
she sighs. "I'm glad you agree with me! But..." she shrugs. "What
do I do, P-chan? What...?"
For once, the piglet had no real answer for her...
* * *
Tampopo's, later...
"Irasshaimase!!"
"Arigatou!" Chigaiko Inu, draped in her Tomobiki High seifuku,
steps in. A quick glance around reveals a slender man with an unruly
mop of dark brown hair at the counter, eating a large beefbowl
without abandon. Seeing this, Chigaiko grins. Even if the fellow
had grown a beard and moustache, not to mention let his hair go long
-- *Wait a minute! How did he grow all THAT in six weeks?!* she then
wonders -- Ataru's love of food always made itself apparent whenever
he was in a restaurant. "Ataru-kun!!!"
Ataru jolts, then looks left before his eyes widen with
recognition. "Chigaiko-chan?! What are you doing here?!" he blurts
out.
She moves to sit beside him, then gasps as a large spatula
blocks her way. "What are you doing away from school, young lady?"
Tampopo demands.
"Er...?!" Chigaiko shudders, sweating as she remembers what she
heard about this woman clamping down on Lum when she went wild
concerning Ataru.
The fellow in question quickly moves to intercede. "Oh, geez,
relax, Tampopo-chan!" he shoves the spatula from his former
classmate's face. "Chigaiko-chan was probably the only girl I DIDN'T
have any trouble with back at school. She's okay." A pause, then
he glances concernedly at her, an eyebrow arching. "Though I
suddenly find myself in agreement with Tampopo-chan here in wondering
why you aren't at school, either."
Hearing that, Tampopo withdraws her spatula, returning behind
the counter. "When the dorks there're forcing mandatory attendance
for Lum's memorial service, I decided to 'vote with my feet' and stay
away," Chigaiko reports, shaking her head. "The teachers there're
deluding themselves into believing everyone liked her. Besides,
I don't see any of them putting out the hounds to find you and drag
you down to attend, Ataru-kun."
"Maybe because I withdrew from school when I left home, so they
have no real right to force anything on me anymore," Ataru smirks,
waving her to sit in the chair beside him, then he sits down to
continue eating.
"What'll you have there, dear?" Tampopo asks.
"Oh, squid beefbowl, please!" Chigaiko smiles.
"Hai, right away."
Chigaiko then turns to Ataru. "So where've you been, anyway?
I mean, no one's really been asking about you because of Lum being
kicked back home and all that, but I've been worried about you,
Ataru-kun."
Seeing her cute pout, Ataru smirks. "Long story..."
* * *
An hour later...
"Welcome to Tomobiki High. We're pleased to have you here."
A reception line of students, black mourning bands around their
arms, bows as dignitaries stream up the front path. Off to one side,
a grove of young sakura trees have just been planted, forming a
hollow circle around a statue. Though covered in a tarp, it is easy
for onlookers to tell who the statue was sculpted in honour of.
Standing near that are several students from Lum's homeroom. "Geez,
who the hell's gonna show up next?" Ryuunosuke Fujinami wonders,
watching the head of the Tomobiki district council and some of the
ward managers passing by. "The Prime Minister?!"
"Knowing Mendou, that just might actually be a possibility,"
Aisuru Megane muses, adjusting his glasses over his bloodshot
eyes.
Shinobu Miyaki, standing beside Ryuunosuke, gazes worriedly
at the leader of "Lum's Bodyguards." The last several nights had
been filled with echoes of wailing drifting through the streets
of Tomobiki. While not wanting to think ill of the dead, Shinobu
gladly wished Lum hadn't made such an impact on her schoolmates.
Rumour had it that several students, including Megane's friend
Urayamu Chibi, had attempted to kill themselves. Fortunately,
parents had been on their guard since the news got out.
"Yo, Shinobu, ya think Lum's pals from out there might be by?"
Ryuunosuke gazes at her best friend, notioning up.
Shinobu considers that, then sighs. "Hard to tell. I mean,
do people like Benten and Oyuki really care for us? Way I've always
seen them, all they cared about coming here was Lum, not anyone
else."
The "son" and heir of the Fujinami Hamajaya Teashop considers
that, then nods. "Yeah, I guess you're kinda right about that."
Megane hums, then turns as two of the Mendou Clan's Kuromegane
special agents approach. "What news about Ataru?" he demands.
The Kuromegane bow. "Forgive us, Megane-sama, but our attempts
to locate Moroboshi-sama have failed," one replies. "Further,
Mendou-sama's father ordained that we are not to continue the search
for Moroboshi-sama."
"What?!!" Shinobu gasps. "Why?!!"
"That was not explained to us, Miyaki-sama," the other replies
as both bow. "Please accept our sincere apologies. Excuse us."
They leave. Shinobu and her classmates exchange stunned looks,
then Megane quakes. Before he could launch into another tirade about
Ataru's continued disloyalty to Lum, a hand snares his throat and
squeezes tight. "Will ya fuckin' KNOCK IT OFF with your mouth,
Megane?!" Ryuunosuke snarls. "Maybe the reason Moroboshi ain't
coming is because he's sick and tired of you an' Mendou rantin'
on an' on all the time about Lum! Got me?!"
A croak escapes him as Ryuunosuke shoves him away. The others
flash appreciative looks at her before Shinobu's gasp turns their
attention to the front gate. "Moroboshi-san, Mrs. Moroboshi!
Hi!!" she waves.
Ataru's former girlfriend breaks from the others to approach
his parents. As she closes in, Shinobu's heart chills to see the
aged, pained looks on Muchi's and Kinshou's faces. Well, it was
understandable to an extent; both did care for Lum. But the level
of pain, grief and even anger being projected from their eyes now
clearly came from more than Lum's loss. "Moroboshi-san,
Mrs. Moroboshi, are you alright?" she moves up, bowing respectfully,
then she gently grasps Kinshou's hand.
Kinshou blinks, then stares quizzically at the girl who might
have been her daughter-in-law before she looks away. "Hello,
Shinobu-chan," she weakly replies. "Oh, yes. We're quite fine.
Excuse us, please."
They head towards the school. Shinobu watches them go, then
feels an ominous chill run through her. What in God's name had
happened...?
* * *
Unnoticed by Shinobu or any of her friends, a swarthy man,
dressed in a jumpsuit emblazoned with the Tomobiki District
Sanitation Service badge, walks through the gate, heading toward
the main entrance. Empty garbage cans are piled on the trolley
he now pushes onto the grounds. His eyes, partially hooded by bushy
eyebrows and a weathered face, dart everywhere as he separates
the innocent from the guilty. The day had come. Paradise was
beckoning Ibrahim Alhamzi with siren its call. He knew God would
bless his sacrifice as long as the devil-woman Lum's infidel
worshippers were all delivered to their deserved place in the lowest
pit of Hell!
Ibrahim also knew God would not look favourably on his taking
the lives of the innocent as he righteously punished the guilty.
This had to be done with as much precision as possible. Yes, too
many here, both boys and girls, were enchanted by the devil-woman
and those who followed her. But only a scant few were truly guilty
of crimes against the human race. This was not just jihad, the fight
to protect Islam from heretics who would destroy the Faithful.
This was a war for humankind's liberation from the lies and false
promises ALIENS of all things forced on them.
He moves towards a pile of garbage bags by the front doors.
He had already seen one target. Aisuru Megane, the leader of the
monsters who had slavishly followed the devil-woman's ways from the
start. His many crimes against humanity, starting from the day he
helped the devil-woman steal the liquid gold from under the sands
of Arabia, were too many to count. No matter what, Ibrahim vowed,
this one would DIE. All he had to do now was locate Megane's
co-conspirators, then he would send them all to God.
"Hey, hold up there, friend!"
Ibrahim jolts as someone in a boy's uniform walks up to help
load garbage. But this was no boy. Ryuunosuke Fujinami, an innocent
victim of the madness that had shrouded Tomobiki since the
devil-woman first came. Many times, he prayed for God to give
Ryuunosuke strength to overcome her evil father. Many times, he had
seen that infidel -- no, PAGAN! -- beast abuse the child for not
being a "manly man!" Madness! Utter madness!!
"Oh, thank you!" Ibrahim bows politely as Ryuunosuke pitches
in.
"Eh! No problem, Alhamzi-san!" Ryuunosuke waves at him.
She moves to head off once the last of the bags were stowed
away in the bins. "A terrible thing to happen, eh, Fujinami-san?"
Ibrahim asks.
"Eh?!" the tomboy blinks. "Oh, 'bout Lum, ya mean?" she sighs.
"Yeah, I guess so, I suppose. Anyhow, I gotta go."
She heads off. Ibrahim watches her, then nods, moving to head
inside. *Merciful God, watch over that one, please,* he prays...
* * *
"Splendid."
Negako Moroboshi stands in the clock tower, staring out the
window as the native of Qatar heads in to locate targets, then carry
out his mission. The grandmistress of Saikoo Jinseijitsu
Ninjitsu-ryuu had no intention of getting in Ibrahim's way. After
all, she could sense two close friends of the fellow presently
approaching the school from different directions. If Ibrahim was
stopped or failed to carry out his planned act, they would swoop in
and do it for him. And the grandmistress knew very well there were
other groups worldwide ready to follow in Ibrahim's footsteps.
So be it, then. If people were going to be killed, either now or in
the future, because of Lum, her friends and what they did here, best
to let it happen now instead of the future. Of the fact that people
would die because of that, the ninjitsu grandmistress was quite
certain. All Negako desired to do now was use Ibrahim also to hers
-- and her family's -- own ends.
A glance near the statue reveals Megane heading to the front
doors. Negako already located Chibi, Shitto Paama and Daremo
Kakugari (Ibrahim's other intended victims) in the northwest wing.
Also there was Ryuunosuke's father, someone Negako sensed Ibrahim
would also gladly kill if he was given a chance. Strangely enough,
Ibrahim did not see Mendou as a target. Neither did Negako; the
fellow was an annoyance, but easily dealt with.
All that was needed to add to the mix were two more.
Negako slips out of the tower, then stepping gingerly along the
roof of the central connecting wing, she stops above the third-floor
washrooms. Flipping through an open window into the girls' washroom,
she then slides into a stall. Closing the door, she concentrates,
her clothes morphing into a dark blue Tomobiki High seifuku.
Stepping out of the stall a minute later after flushing the toilet,
Negako smooths her skirt, then enters the hall. Her eyes narrow
as she locates the two she wanted, then she heads for a stairwell.
Descending to the first floor, she spots her targets by the nurse's
station, chatting with Sakura. Negako sighs; the priestess'
own paranormal senses might perk up if she came in close proximity
to her.
Making a gesture with her hand, she sends a chi pulse into the
earth, locking on a slight fault under the school's southwest
wing. Instantly, the ground quakes, causing everyone to jolt. It is
a brief tremor, abating immediately. Silence seems to fall as people
glance around, then feeling as if this was an isolated incident,
resume doing what they were doing. All save one. Sakura's eyes
narrow suspiciously as she scans around, then excusing herself from
Ataru's parents, heads off. Muchi and Kinshou exchange a look, then
shrug, turning to join the crowd filing through the wing to the back
doors, where the gymnasium is located.
Negako remains in place as Muchi and Kinshou fall into the
queue, then noting no one looking her way, slips in behind the two.
Her fingers lash out to tap a shiatsu point on the backs of their
necks, one put there by Negako herself some years earlier for this
potential eventuality. Ataru's parents seem to falter for a second
as Negako leans up. "Head to the northwest wing science lab," she
orders in a cold whisper.
Stepping aside, Negako watches as the two turn around, then
casually walk into the northwest wing. Her eyes narrow as Negako
senses Megane now meeting up with his fellow Bodyguards. Ibrahim
was two metres away, he now seeing that Fujimi Fujinami was within
optimal killing range...
* * *
Oh, yes! God was truly with him today.
Here were the four monsters who had betrayed their friends,
their nation, their very PLANET, to serve the devil-woman Lum. There
was the pagan who had tortured his child, forced her to behave in a
way that God certainly did NOT intend by making her a woman. And...
Wait!
Ibrahim's eyes widen on seeing two people casually walk up
behind Megane and his friends. Why, were they not...?
Muchi and Kinshou Moroboshi.
The traitor parents of the devil-woman's most tragic victim.
Ibrahim tries desperately not to grin. Yes! NOW was the time.
* * *
"So who was that guy you knew, Ryuunosuke-kun?"
Ryuunosuke feels her cheeks redden as Momoe's questioning
stare lances into her. "Wh-what guy, M-momoe-san?!" she sputters.
"The garbageman," Momoe augments.
"Oh...?" the tomboy is nonplussed, then she catches herself.
"Him! Shit, don't worry, Momoe-san! He's some guy from Qat-..."
A thunderous *crack!* from the school nearly shatters their ears
as windows explode. Scant milliseconds later, the whole northwest
side seems to bulge at its foundations before jets of flame rip
through the woodwork. The shockwave comes next, sending planks and
other debris flying through the air. The sakura trees take the brunt
of the shrapnel, though the shockwave rips past the trunks to knock
everyone standing by Lum's statue onto their faces. Ryuunosuke's
martial arts experience kicks in as she flings herself over Shinobu,
protecting her friend as she covers her head from sharp glass
fragments which could easily end either of their lives.
The explosion's titanic roar starts to fade, it replaced by the
ominous cracking sounds of thick wooden beams breaking. Ryuunosuke
quickly looks behind her, her eyes widening on seeing the sea of
flame where the first floor on the northwest side had been. The
upper floors buckle as stanchions shatter. The tomboy cries out,
averting her eyes as the second floor collapses onto the first, dust
and dirt billowing to cover a lot of the front lawn. As the second
floor settles onto its new "foundation," the stanchions and walls
holding the third floor fail. Like the sides of an accordion
being squeezed together, the outside walls explode as the third floor
drops onto the second, burying whoever was there under tons of wood,
plaster and concrete. Not two seconds after, the walls holding
the roof sections over the fallen third floor drop down, repeating
what happened.
More dust and dirt fly into the air as Ryuunosuke finally rolls
off Shinobu, allowing the latter to get up and see what happened.
Coughing, Ataru's former girlfriend stares at the destroyed northwest
wing, then she gasps as tongues of hot flame leap out from the
wreckage to begin rendering the rest into ashes. "Jesu Cristo,
what was THAT?!!" she screams.
"Bomb!! C'mon!!!" Ryuunosuke grabs Shinobu by the arm, then
pulls her away from the school towards the front gate...
* * *
"What was THAT?!"
Nabiki looks up as the faint *crack!* echoes through her open
bedroom window. Rising, she looks outside. Her bedroom gave her a
good view of much of the surrounding territory. Immediately,
her eyes lock on a plume of smoke in the far distance, to the
west-north-west. Her mind quickly draws up a map of the local area
as she tries to ascertain where that was. It comes quickly enough.
"Tomobiki High...?" she whispers...
* * *
"Ataru-kun, did you hear that?!"
"Hear what, Chigaiko-cha-...?" Ataru's voice instantly cuts off
as a wave of disturbed chi energy warps through him. His eyes narrow
as he slips out from behind the counter to step outside, then he
glances around. Being on ground level, he cannot see much, so he
leaps to the top of a nearby telephone pole. Balancing himself
perfectly on top of the concrete pole, he takes another sweep around
with his eyes. They stop on seeing the smoke. "The school...?"
he whispers, then spits out. "Oh, hell!!"
"Ataru!"
Ataru glances left to see Ranma bounding over rooftops towards
him. Seeing the telephone pole was taken, Ranma stops herself on the
nearest roof, within normal speaking distance. "I take it you
noticed," he waves.
"Something bad, I think," Ranma looks herself, then squaring
her shoulders, spins and bounds off towards the disaster scene.
Ataru watches her go, then shudders before sighing. "Well,
can't run now," he mutters under his breath, then moves to follow.
"Ataru-kun, where are you going?!"
He glances down at Chigaiko. "Someone just blew up the damned
school!" he yells. "If you want to come help, hurry up! If you
don't, stay here! We'll be back soon, okay?!" Without waiting
for a reply, Ataru bounds off, using the string of telephone poles
to act as his walkway.
Chigaiko blinks. "Oh, hell! What are those idiots up to now?!"
* * *
"You okay there, Momoe?!"
"Y-yeah, just a couple scratches!" Momoe grunts, feeling her
bleeding left arm; two bits of glass left cuts in the skin. "What
happened?!" she looks at the wall of fire and smoke which was one
part of her school.
"A bomb, I think..." Ryuunosuke blinks as a herd of Kuromegane
escort out a young man dressed in a white school uniform. "Mendou!!"
She and Shinobu run over to help Mendou stay up. His uniform
is badly cut up and there was a gash over his eyes, blood draining
from wounds on arms and legs. Remarkably, he still held his katana.
"Please stay back, Fujinami-sama, Miyaki-sama!" one of the bodyguards
warns, waving the girls away. "We must see the Young Master off to
medical aid!!"
"Hey, he's not the only one who needs it!!!" Ryuunosuke
growls. How could these lunkheads be so insensitive after THIS?!
A cough. "Sh-she's..." Mendou's eyes flutter as he yanks an arm
free, then draws a cell-phone. "Call..." he spits up blood.
"Rescue..."
"Hai!" another bodyguard snatches the phone, then dials the
number for the Mendou Clan Emergency Disaster Rescue Brigade.
Ryuunosuke smiles, exchanging a look with Shinobu. Arrogant he may
be, but Shutaro Mendou certainly had his heart in the right place
at times like this. Once the summons are made, Mendou is then laid
down on the ground. Momoe moves to help out as other people start
to stream from the school.
"C'mon!" Shinobu grabs Ryuunosuke by the arm as they move to
help.
"Uhn!" the tomboy nods, then jolts on hearing someone fly
through the air towards her. Spinning around, she gapes wide-eyed
as someone in a red Mandarin tang and workout pants flies out of
mid-air to land not five feet away, then with another spring, she
charges towards the fire. "Holy...!!"
"Who...?!" Shinobu's mind nearly blanks out, then she screams
as someone else lands near her, charging into the disaster zone.
This was a man. And not just ANY man, Shinobu realizes.
"Ataru-kun...?"
* * *
"Oh, shit!! What do we do?!!"
Ataru stops beside Ranma, both standing not three metres from
the collapsed northwest wing. "Stop the fires, first!" he grunts,
then raises his hands, they glowing with chi. "Stand back!!"
Ranma falls back as Ataru creates a chi ball between the palms
of his hands, then he bellows, "***SENPUU NETSU-HI DABOKU!!!!***"
The air suddenly becomes alive as the chi ball in Ataru's hands
melts into a mini-cyclone. Rising away from him, it grows in size
and strength as Ataru tilts it onto its edge, shifting it over the
flames. As oxygen is sucked away from the wreckage, the flames
sputter, the released heat being sucked in like light drawn into a
black hole. "ALRIGHT!!!" Ranma whoops as the last of the flames
is drawn off, leaving only swirling dust.
"Stand clear!!!" Ataru swings himself to the left.
The whirlpool moves with him, getting clear of the school into
the front yard. Ataru then cups his hands together, another chi ball
forming. This one has a different purpose. "***SEISHIN SHURIKEN
ARASHI!!!!***"
Bolts of energy, like photon torpedoes from the "Enterprise,"
punch through the whirlpool. It collapses, the accumulated
dust dropping into a heap on the grass. "Yes!!" Ataru ceases the
attack. "C'mon!!!"
"Un!!" Ranma nods...
* * *
"Holy shit...!!" Ryuunosuke gapes.
"He...!" Kumiko Gekasawa, Momoe's best friend, sputters as the
unreality of it all hits. "Is that Ataru-kun?! OUR Ataru-kun?!!"
"That CAN'T be...!" Momoe shakes her head in denial.
"Ataru-kun?" Shinobu absently feels her heart. "H-how...?!"
The sounds of sirens fill the air...
* * *
"Lotta stuff here!" Ranma grunts.
"We have to break it up!" Ataru cracks his knuckles to loosen
them, then he stares at his friend. "You said the Nyu-che-zuu
taught you a lot of their own manoeuvres, right?! You know their
chestnut fist attack?!"
"Sure thing!" she nods.
"Okay! I'll break the large pieces, then pass them to you!!
We're going fast, so watch out!" Ataru moves in on the wreckage.
"Right!!"
Finding the first big piece, Ataru jabs out with his fingers.
"***TAIFUN KAZE-TE KITEI!!! SHINZOU BAKUHATSU SHOKU ARASHI!!!!***"
His hands become living jackhammers as the roof section is
shattered, the pieces flung towards Ranma. Using the Chestnut
Fist, Ranma tosses the wreckage into a pile right beside Lum's
statue. Within a minute, the uppermost sections of collapsed
building are gone, allowing Ataru to dig clear about a half-dozen
people from the third floor who had nearly been crushed by the roof.
"Someone, give us a hand here!!!" he screams to the crowd massing
by the front gate. "We've got people still alive!!"
Shinobu breaks from the crowd. Ryuunosuke is quick to follow,
accompanied by Momoe, Kumiko and two of the Kuromegane who had helped
Mendou get clear. By then, sirens herald the first arrivals of
Tomobiki's bravest, not to mention teams from the Mendou estate.
Also to arrive is a camera crew from NHK...
* * *
The Tendou dojo, thirty minutes later...
"Oh, MY!!!"
"What is it, Onee-chan...?!" A gasp. "Holy shit!!!"
Hearing Nabiki's outburst, people stream down. "What's going
on?!" Souun demands, then he sees what now plays on the television.
"What's this?!" Nodoka asks.
"Terrorist bombing at Tomobiki High," Nabiki reports. "That's
at least what NHK's saying right now. But look who's there!"
She points. Eyes lock on the image. A familiar red-haired
girl with a pigtail and Mandarin tang appears, tossing aside wall and
floor fragments so others could get survivors out of the sea of
devastation. Seeing his son in the midst of helping innocents
flee from such a disaster, Genma beams. "That's my boy!" he chuckles
proudly, crossing his arms. "Nothing stops him from doing a martial
artist's sworn duty!!"
"They'll probably give him a medal for it!" Souun laughs.
"Hai, you're right!" Nodoka adds. "My son is SO manly!"
"Hey, who's that?!!" Nabiki gasps.
Everyone turns back to the screen. The rescue workers have
backed away as a slender man hefts a large slice of wall. Clearly,
he is tired, but determined to see this through. Ranma poises
herself before the slice, then using a storm of knife strikes,
shatters the section, tossing them clear. "Wish they'd give a close
up!" Nabiki mutters.
As if in answer, the camera zooms in. Nabiki blinks, then her
eyes widen as she mentally picks out the face under the beard and
moustache. "No! That just CAN'T be...!" she whispers. "Ataru
Moroboshi...?!"
"What?!!" Akane stares wide-eyed at her sister.
"Oh, my! Ranma-kun didn't say that Ataru-kun was a martial
artist too!" Kasumi covers her mouth in shocked surprise.
Everyone looks at her. "WHAT?!?!"
Events on the television turn their attention back to the
screen. Ataru now hefts the shattered wall section, then points
at it. He shouts something. A beam of light from his fingertip
cleaves the section in half before he tosses them aside, then he
grabs more wreckage. Whistles of awe escape Souun and Genma. "Now
THAT'S ki control!!" the former breathes.
"But how on Earth's that possible...?" the latter wonders.
"What's the matter, boys?! Never thought that you've ever seen
a practitioner of the Art that inspired our Art in action?!"
Everyone gapes wide-eyed at Happousai, who now sits on Genma's
shoulder. "***SAY WHAT?!?!?!***" they cry out.
"Shush!!" the grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu snaps. "Pay
close attention and you might all learn a little something!"
The others fall silent, then turn back to the television...
* * *
Promised Island...
"Everyone!! Come see this!!!"
Running footsteps pace Shirayuki's cry as people run into the
dining hall. "Shirayuki-chan, what is it?!" Sakuya wonders, then
noting where the would-be chef is now looking, gazes that way
herself. "What the...?"
"Oh, dear!" Marie gasps. "What is this place?!"
"It's Nii-sama's old school, Marie-chan!!" Shirayuki reports
as many crowd around the Rinrin-Viewer. "NHK just reported that some
bomb went off at the school when they were having that memorial
to Lum-san!"
"Was Onii-chan there?!" Karen pales, inwardly cursing the fact
that all the sisters had come back to the Island first thing this
morning. If they were still at the new house in Nerima, they'd know
for sure...
"Ah!! There's Onii-tama!!!"
Everyone jolts on hearing Hinako's delighted cry, then look
again at the Viewer. "Onii-sama!! Oh, thank the gods!!" Sakuya
whispers, then gapes as she watches Ataru pick up a section of
ceiling, then tosses it off to one side. "Gods!! What's Onii-sama
trying to do?!"
"Help with the rescue, I think!" Rinrin blinks, then her eyebrow
arches. "Wait a sec' here! Who's that with him...?!"
"Ah! Nee-ya!" Aria perks, then beams.
Everyone looks, then sigh. "Oh, thank the gods!!" Karen
breathes out. "With Onii-chan and Onee-chan there, they'll all get
out!"
"Not all of them."
Eyes lock on Chikage, now seated at the dining room table, a
tarot suite before her. "What do you mean by that, Chikage?"
Sakuya wonders.
The sorceress returns her look, then holds up a card.
Death.
* * *
Tomobiki High, ninety minutes later...
"There's the culprit. Rather, what's left of him. Looks like
he got his clothes made at Dupont or the Skoda works in the Czech
Republic."
Ataru points to a spot on the blackened first floor.
Fortunately for everyone, the basement sections of Tomobiki High were
built under the central wing only, not any of the outer wings.
Standing beside him, the chief of the Tomobiki fire brigade shakes
his head. After seeing what Ataru did in the last hour, he knew all
the old opinions about this man had to be tossed into the circular
fire. "How can you sense that anyway, Moroboshi-san?!"
he gazes at Ataru. "Besides, we need police..."
"They'll just confirm what I've been trained to see," Ataru cuts
the other man off. "You can tell the senior inspector here the final
count'll be eleven dead and forty-two requiring hospitalization,
six of which might not make it if the doctors and nurses are the
least bit off the ball. Now, if you'll kindly excuse me, I need to
rest up for a while. Hey, Ranma!"
Ranma was helping load the last of the wounded onto a stretcher
for a trip to Tomobiki General. As soon as the poor first-grader
is on his way, she turns as Ataru jogs up. "We did good," she
breathes out.
"Yeah, as expected," Ataru stares at the wreckage, then moves
to guide Ranma off the property. "C'mon, let's get the hell outta
here."
"Yeah, I'm hungry. Any good places to eat around here?"
"Nope. Only *good* one that was here moved to Nerima."
Ranma snorts. "Gotcha," she laughs.
"Moroboshi-kun?"
Both turn to see the Tomobiki High principal come up, along with
two teachers Ataru was quite familiar with, Mark Onsen and Mitsu
Hanawa. "Hai, Kouchou-san, is there a problem?" Ataru sighs.
"Problem?" Hanawa walks up to pat Ataru's shoulder. "Certainly
not, Moroboshi-kun! Such school spirit you demonstrated today! Now,
I know you might've had a disagreement or two with your parents..."
A finger lands on his lips, silencing him. Ataru's eyes narrow
as he gazes into his old homeroom teacher's eyes. Gods, didn't this
clueless jerk get it by NOW?! "First of all, Sensei, I HAVE NO
PARENTS!! Secondly, they're two of the dead in there!" he nods
towards the school. "You can pretty well assume I'm MORE THAN HAPPY
to be rid of both of those jerks now! Whoever arranged this little
act -- much that I personally despise terrorism -- in a way, did me a
favour!! So kindly do me another favour and get this through your
head: I will NOT be coming back to this damned ramen stand EVER
again! The sooner I put you clowns OUT of my head once and for ALL,
the BETTER!!" He turns away, waving. "Sayonara!!"
Ataru springs to a telephone pole, then takes off. A woman's
shout distracts Ranma's attention to a television camera crew, the
lead reporter trying to get a statement from him. Ranma moves to
follow, then finds herself facing a portable camera and a microphone.
"Hello, there! I'm Michiko Tensei of NHK News in Nerima," she
smiles. "You came to help with the rescue effort with Ataru
Moroboshi, didn't you...?!" she pauses.
"Ranma Saotome," Ranma sighs. "And no, I'm not interested
in giving any interviews right now! I'm really tired! Excuse
me...!"
"Wait!!" the reporter dodges before Ranma. "Please,
Saotome-san, you don't understand! This is breaking news!! This is
the first time that Islamic terrorists have attacked non-American
targets here in Japan! Please, we only wanted yours and
Moroboshi-san's opinions of this!"
Ranma pauses, blinking as what Michiko said sinks in, then she
sighs. "Look, lady, I really can't say why folks from the Middle
East'd blow this place up. Though now that I think about it, given
the garbage from two months ago with those oversized mushrooms
and all that, these guys, whoever they were, might've had a pretty
big beef with the folks livin' here!"
"You mean you support this sort of thing?!" Michiko blinks.
"WHAT?!!" Ranma flusters. "Hell, no! Of course not!! Look,
lady, I'm really tired here! I just spent two hours helping clean
some of this mess up and all that, so all I wanna do right now is get
some food into me, then go sleep this nightmare off!! If you'll
excuse me, I gotta...!"
"Wait! Just one more thing, please!" Michiko cuts her off.
"What exactly is your relationship with Ataru Moroboshi?! People
here are saying that Moroboshi-san renounced Lum six weeks ago! Are
you his girlfriend?!"
Ranma gags. "SAY WHAT?!!" she leans right into the reporter's
face, the glow of her battle aura causing the camera crew to take a
fearful step back. "Look, I dunno who put THAT stupid idea inta your
head, but get THIS straight!!! I am NOT Ataru's girlfriend,
okay?!! Shit, with the way Lum and some chick named Miyaki treated
him, he don't wanna deal with girls now! Personally, I don't blame
him!! I'm just his friend, probably one of THREE people he can call
his friend now!! That fair enough to you?!!"
Michiko stammers, then senses a hand touch her shoulder.
She turns to see a twentysomething man standing there, a light smile
on his face. "Excuse me, Tensei-san. My name is Reigi Yumoa. I'm
the executor of the will of Ataru's grandmother Nagaiwakai.
I understand you're interested in what's happened to him concerning
his 'relationship'..." his voice drips scorn, "...with the late Oni
girl Lum and those two roonin who WERE his parents. I'm sure that
given the incredible deeds she just performed today, Saotome-san
really needs a chance to rest herself."
"I..." Michiko blinks, then nods. "Certainly. Um, just one
more question, Saotome-san?" she turns to Ranma. "Why is it you
became friends with Ataru Moroboshi of all people? I mean, you
must've heard about..."
"Him chasin' girls?" Ranma snorts, looking away before glancing
over her shoulder. "He told me about the crap he's lived through
thanks to Lum and the nimrods here, not to mention the abuse he got
from his parents..."
"Ex-parents," Reigi cuts in.
"Whatever!" Ranma flashes an annoyed glance his way, then she
sighs. "All his life, he's been treated like garbage by almost
everyone who said they either liked him or loved him. Well, let me
tell you somethin'," she glares at Michiko. "I know what it's like
to be used, abused and even BETRAYED by people who said they loved
me! Family and so-called 'friends' alike!! So don't tell me any of
this crap about Ataru bein' the cause of all the garbage that's hit
this place since Lum came here! Far as I'm concerned, it ain't
true!! That's why I call him my friend, because he sure as hell
NEEDS *real* friends...!" her voice then trails off as she closes
her eyes. "Just like I need *real* friends, too," she finishes
with a hoarse whisper, then her eyes fall on the statue of Lum, still
standing there in the midst of all that devastation. "Matter of
fact..." Ranma calls up her ki, then locks on target. "***MOUKO
TAKAIBISHA!!!!***"
Everyone screams as the bolt slams into the statue, pulverizing
it! Ranma relaxes, then stares at Michiko. "There! I just did my
friend a favour! He says he don't want any memorials to Lum 'cause
he don't want people treatin' her like a god or somethin'. Maybe
that's not such a bad idea! I hope that when this is all over,
they'll put a memorial here to all the innocent folks who got killed
today. They deserve it more."
* * *
"A-ataru-kun...?"
Shinobu stands nearby, pale-faced as her mind rolls over what
had just been said by her former boyfriend and the crimson-haired
girl claiming to be his friend. To see someone whom she knew shied
away from violence perform superhuman martial arts feats like that
gatling-gun punch, making tornadoes in mid-air or fire off energy
beams...! That was shocking enough to Shinobu. But to hear his
words after it was done...
"First of all, Sensei, I HAVE NO PARENTS...!!"
"...I'm MORE THAN HAPPY to be rid of both of those jerks...!"
"Whoever arranged this little act -- in a way, did me a
favour...!!"
And then...
"I will NOT be coming back to this damned ramen stand EVER
again! The sooner I put you clowns OUT of my head once and for ALL,
the BETTER!!"
And then what the girl said to the reporter...
"...some chick named Miyaki treated him, he don't wanna deal
with girls now! Personally, I don't blame him...!!"
"...probably one of THREE people he can call his friend now!!"
And then there was that man who said he was the executor of the
estate of Ataru's grandmother, someone Shinobu had never known of...
"...those two roonin who WERE his parents."
Saw his parents as roonin...
Said he had no friends here...
Would never come back...
Never wanted to even SEE them again...!
"Ataru-kun..." Shinobu shudders. "W-w-why...?"
"Shinobu?"
She looks right to see Sakura gazing at her.
"S-sakura-sensei..." Shinobu stutters, then calms herself.
"Something wrong?"
"Hai," the nurse/priestess nods. "It's about Ryuunosuke."
Shinobu feels a chill warp through her. "Wh-what...?"
* * *
"You feel okay there, Momoe-chan?"
"Y-yeah! It just stings a little," Momoe grunts, nodding thanks
to the paramedic before gazing on Kumiko. Both girls were now
relaxing by the stone fence near the front gate. "You okay there?"
"My ears're still ringing from that blast," the other girl
confesses, then sighs. "I can't believe some terrorist would blow
up the school."
"Is that what they're saying?"
"Yeah. That reporter from NHK thinks it was some Islamic group
that did it. But why...?" Kumiko shakes her head, helplessly
shrugging.
"I'm sure they'll figure out what's up soon," Momoe sighs. "The
more important thing now is to figure out what's happened to Ataru!"
Kumiko blinks, then a chill warps through her as her mind
replays the images of the last two hours. Of Ataru Moroboshi,
someone the girls of Tomobiki High had come to universally despise
and loathe, demonstrating fighting skills that could help him defeat
anyone he knew, even -- Gods! The *horror* of it all!! -- Rei-san
and Mendou-san...? Someone who, if the words he said to the
Principal and Hanawa-sensei were true, now clearly didn't want
ANYTHING to do with Tomobiki in spite of what he did today.
Someone who just might HATE them...?
"I'm scared, Momoe-chan," Kumiko shakes her head.
"You're not the only one," Momoe admits, then sighs.
"What do we do?"
"Find where Ataru-kun is now, then try to find out how the HELL
he turned from a moronic pervert to Bruce Lee's adopted first
cousin," Momoe rises. "And for that, I have to put in a call to a
friend in Nerima."
"Why call her?" Kumiko frowns. She didn't like Nabiki Tendou.
Momoe winks. "Simplest reason of all, Kumiko-chan. Nabiki-san
knows that 'girl' who was with Ataru-kun. That was Ranma Saotome."
The other girl's eyes go wide. "Oh..."
* * *
"R-ran-ch-chan! Y-you c-can't m-mean th-that, c-can't you?!"
Konatsu moves to comfort Ukyou Kuonji. "There, there,
Ukyou-sama!" the male kunoichi soothes, touching several shiatsu
points to keep his employer calm. "Didn't you see? Ranma-sama's
just very tired right now! That reporter had no right to press
Ranma-sama right now, especially after what he just did! Please,
don't think such awful things!!"
Ukyou jolts, then shakily nods. "Y-yeah!" she rises, moving
to stand behind her counter. "Y-yeah!! Ran-chan's just tired,
that's all! Ju-just..." sobs steal her voice as she collapses.
"R-r-ran-ch-chan...!"
"Ukyou-sama!!" Konatsu moves to comfort.
The chef doesn't refuse his embrace. "Pl-please, Ran-chan,
don't hate me..." she moans. "Please don't hate me, Ran-chan...!"
"Ukyou-sama..."
* * *
"SASUKE!!!!"
Tatewaki Kunou shudders indignantly as his ninja servant appears
by him. "Hai, Master, is there a problem?" Sasuke bows.
Kunou points with his bokken at the television, now replaying
images from Tomobiki High. "Find out where Ataru Moroboshi lives!
I have seen the beast in the company of the fair Osagi-no-Onna
at this horrid event at Tomobiki High School. Though my fair
pig-tailed goddess doth proclaim the beast Moroboshi as a friend,
I, the Blue Thunder, do know better!!"
"What, sir?!" *Oh, dear! Whatever's gotten into him now?*
"It appears the beast doth have unholy designs on my
flame-haired damsel!" Kunou declares. "That she moves to defend
the acts of one of such LOW character as he speaks volumes! Mayhap,
Moroboshi and the sorcerer Saotome are perhaps in alliance to break
the free will of the beauteous pig-tailed one! And if she of the
flaming tresses is broken, what is to stop those two monsters from
bending the beauteous tiger Akane Tendou to their evil will?! I WILL
NOT HAVE IT!!! Go, Sasuke!! Go forth, find the monster, then tell
me where he is so I can smite him with my blade!!!"
"Y-yessir," Sasuke trembles. When Kunou got into THIS state,
there was NO reasoning with him. *Why me?! Oh, please, why ME of
all people?!*
* * *
"That's an unbelievable story, Ojii-chan," Nabiki whistles.
"Yes, I know," Happousai puffs his pipe. "Most likely,
Ataru-kun there was the *saikoo jinseijitsu's* last host before it
got free. I'd say that happened five years ago or so, but I can't
be sure..."
"Oh, my!" Kasumi gasps. "That must be Ataru-kun's sister Negako
then, Ojii-san. Ranma-kun did say she was a superb martial artist."
"'Negako,' did you say?" the old grandmaster perks, then nods.
"'Wish child.' I like that!! I like it a lot!" he cackles, then
sighs. "And yes, you are right, Kasumi-chan. Negako-chan IS a
superb martial artist. What would you expect from someone born from
a THOUSAND years of very carefully preserved memories and motor
skills? So..."
"So what? My boy could beat this girl with ease!" Genma
snorts...
...then screams out as he flies face-first into the cherry tree,
then splash-lands in the koi pond. "WEREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME, YOU
STUPID IDIOT?!?!?!" Happousai thunders as Genma-panda staggers
out of the pond. "*I* could barely beat Negako-chan! And that would
ONLY be if she was having a VERY BAD day!! *Cologne-chan*
could barely beat Negako-chan under the same circumstances!!
What makes you think your son could beat her, especially given how
much you've TOTALLY screwed up his training?!"
"Then maybe Ranma-kun could learn from Negako-san, Ojii-san."
Happousai perks, then stares at Kasumi before humming. Souun
and Genma stare wide-eyed at her, wondering what made her say
something like THAT! "Why, that's a WONDERFUL idea, Kasumi-chan!!"
the aged grandmaster nods, then sighs. "Very well, then! When I see
her, I'll tell Negako-chan that she can take over Ranma's training
for the next while!!"
A sigh slaps him in the head. Everyone turns to read it:
[RANMA WILL TRAIN WITH NO ONE BUT ME!!!] Genma-panda glares at
Happousai.
Happousai's eyes narrow. "I didn't recall giving you a choice
in this matter, Genma," he growls, puffing on his pipe.
Seeing THAT, Genma dives outside. People watch him grab a beach
ball as he waves a new sign. [I'M JUST A SIMPLE PANDA!]
"Fine, then! If you're just a *simple* panda, then you have NO
say in the way my heir's training will go!" Happousai snorts, then
flips his pipe to send Souun flying into Genma. "I don't want to
hear none of YOUR idiot plans either, Souun. Neither of you have the
brains for it!!"
The fathers moan. "Well, if my son did say to that reporter
that Ataru-kun really has no friends, then perhaps this will be for
the best," Nodoka sagely nods, then smiles, holding up a finger.
"Besides, given how MANLY Ataru-kun looked today, Ranma might benefit
from his example!"
The Tendou daughters stare warily at her as Ranma's mother heads
upstairs. Happousai shakes his head. "That woman's got 'manliness'
on the brain!" he mutters, then stretches. "Anyhow, I'm off to my
rounds!"
He departs. As soon as the aged grandmaster is pretty much out
of sight, the fathers race in confront Nabiki. "Nabiki, you MUST
find out where Moroboshi lives!!" Souun demands. "We MUST Ranma-kun
away from there and bring him here so he can marry Akane and unite
the schools..."
Both then panic on sensing a HUGE battle aura behind them.
[UH-OH!] Genma-panda waves a sign as the Tendou sisters scramble
to safety.
"***I DIDN'T ASK FOR OBJECTIONS, YOU IDIOTS!!!!!!***"
Immediately, Happousai's students prostrate themselves,
wailing a storm of profuse apologies. As that goes on, Nabiki waves
Kasumi and Akane upstairs to her bedroom. Closing and locking the
door to ensure they weren't bothered by the fathers afterward,
Nabiki sits at her desk. "Well, isn't THIS a damned day of
revelations?" she gazes at her sisters.
"Hopefully, Father and Uncle won't make things worse, especially
if Ranma-kun wishes to stay friends with Ataru-kun," Kasumi muses.
"I still can't believe that was him!" Akane shakes her head.
"I mean, isn't Ataru Moroboshi supposed to be the guy who once vowed
he'd have sex with ten thousand girls before he graduated high
school?"
"Yeah, that took ME by surprise, too, but I don't think
Ojii-chan was lying about the Moroboshis and their ninja ancestors
either," Nabiki sighs, scratching her chin. "Then again, if we want
to confirm it, maybe we could ask either Konatsu or Sasuke. They'd
probably know a few things." She then takes a deep breath. "But
right now, we've got a bigger problem."
"What's that?" Akane asks.
"How the folks in Tomobiki are going to take in what they just
saw at the school..." Nabiki gazes on them, "...and how'll that
reflect here."
"What could be the problem?" Kasumi asks.
"The biggest potential problem is Shutaro Mendou," Nabiki
reports. "He's been rivals with Ataru-kun since he first went to
that school. I associate with a couple people at Tomobiki High, so I
know pretty much all of what's gone on there. Now, beforehand,
Lum was there to keep some sort of lid on things. None of the boys
felt confident enough to try to take Ataru-kun out of the picture
because they were afraid Lum would lash back at them. Mendou's
the same way. Now, Lum's dead. Even more so, Ataru-kun just
demonstrated, by word and deed, what he really thinks of the people
in Tomobiki. They can basically go to hell in his eyes..."
"So they might want to test him about that," Kasumi muses.
"Yes. Especially Mendou. He's like Kunou-baby in that regard.
The fact that a 'commoner' like Ataru Moroboshi stood up to him
CONSTANTLY when they were classmates hurt the boy's pride BIG time!
What's worse, unlike Kunou-baby, Mendou HAS a lot of firepower
to back him up. And he's not afraid to use some underhanded
tricks to get his way. Tack THAT up against Ataru-kun and
Negako-san. Then add Ranma-kun to the equation."
The others blink. "Oh, gods, it could be a total slaughter!"
Akane gapes. "Ranma always sticks up for his friends. Ataru's
probably offering him a place to say right now, so it becomes an
honour-debt then. And if this Negako's as powerful as Ojii-san
said she is..." a chill warps through her. "I don't think even a
private army like Mendou's could last long against ONE martial artist
of Ranma's level, let alone THREE!!"
"And potentially more," Nabiki notes. "Ryouga-kun won't
tolerate the idea of anyone trying to kill Ranma-kun before he gets
the chance to do it himself. You can lay bets the Amazons won't like
it, either. Hell, I'll bet that Cologne and Ojii-chan BOTH could
deal with the Mendous' armed forces all by themselves! Then we can
toss in Ukyou and Konatsu. Kunou-baby might want to join forces
with Mendou out of general principles, but there's a chance that
Kodachi could put a monkey wrench into that..."
"It'll be total chaos," Kasumi shakes her head.
"Yeah. And we've got loads of potential innocent bystanders
all waiting to be snatched up and made instant hostages in case
Mendou feels he's got no choice but to resort to those means.
Including us."
"Hey! I can beat this creep!!" Akane asserts.
"Can you outrun bullets, Akane?" Nabiki glares at her.
The youngest daughter jolts, then sits down. "So what can we do
to prevent this from happening, Nabiki-chan?" Kasumi asks.
"That, I'll start to work on today," the middle daughter sighs.
"I'll bet that very soon, Momoe Marubeya -- she's one of Mendou's
more ardent fans and a bookie for me in Tomobiki -- will give me a
call about what was Ranma-kun doing helping Ataru-kun out in
Tomobiki, wondering if Ataru-kun's living in Nerima and where he
might be. I won't tell her anything, of course, since I don't know
now where Ataru-kun's living. And I won't say anything to her about
that in the future until we got a very strong handle on Mendou.
There ARE ways to keep him in check, I think."
"Couldn't you ask Momoe-san to be quiet about it?" Kasumi asks.
"No. She's got a big-time crush on him. Then again, that seems
to be a common affliction at that school. And he knows it, too. All
Mendou has to do is turn on the charm and she's silly-putty
in his hands. I'm not sure if he knows of her connection to me, but
I'm not taking chances."
"What a bastard! And I once thought Kunou was bad?" Akane
sneers.
"Oh, my! And I doubt Ataru-kun would like the idea of
Mendou-san trying to hurt his sisters," Kasumi nods understandingly.
"'Sisters?!' What sisters?!" Akane blinks.
"Why, they're the girls Ranma-kun met on Saturday, Akane-chan.
Including the one who sent those bento boxes to us," Kasumi beams.
"You can probably relax now about any of them being yet another
fiancee Uncle forced on Ranma-kun there, Akane-chan," Nabiki adds.
Akane blinks, then sighs...
* * *
"Feeling better now, Ranma?"
Ranma breathes out, then wipes her face of bits of vomit. She
just spent time worshipping at the altar of the porcelain goddess
courtesy of the mangled bodies she and Ataru dragged out of the wreck
of Tomobiki High. Her host seemed more tolerant of that sort of
thing; he had stood by the bathroom door as Ranma upchucked her
breakfast. "Somewhat..." she grunts, then slowly gets to her feet.
"Damn! How did YOU tolerate all that?!"
"Let's just say I've seen it before and leave it at that for
now," he waves he into the furo room. "Here. Let me help you wash
down, then you better get some sleep. We both need it after what
happened."
"Yeah, you're right there," Ranma nods.
Entering the washing area, she peels off her soot-covered
clothes, then dumps them in a nearby hamper. Ataru does the same,
then after wrapping a towel around himself, waves her to a stool.
Giving his well-toned body a detailed look-over, Ranma is quick to
notice several long-healed scars and what seems to be a bullet hole
covering his arms and chest. "Shit, what sort of training did Negako
put you through?!"
"This..." he indicates the bullet wound, it on the right
shoulder, "...didn't come from training." He waves her to a chair
before him. "Here, sit down and let me wash your back. Your hair
needs it, too."
"Thanks," she sits, then picks up a cloth. "Don't lose the
Dragon's Whisker I got in my hair, okay? I need it when I'm in
guy-form."
"Right. I take it you had dragon hair soup once."
"By accident," Ranma smirks as she starts to wash herself down.
Ataru gets to work on her back. "I figured as much. I had
something similar when I was off training with Onee-chan. That's
why I've got the beard and moustache now; it also affected my facial
hair."
"Any way to cure it. Or curb it, at least?"
"Nope. Fortunately, I took a look at the Furinkan High
student's notebook when I decided I might go to school there. The
rules don't say anything about facial hair or hair length, so I'm
okay."
"What?!!" she stares at him. "That's impossible!!"
"Why do you say that?"
"Simple! The principal there's a nutcase who likes bowl cuts
for girls and buzz cuts for guys! He tries to enforce them on us
every chance he gets! I can't believe that's not in the handbook!!"
"Well, believe it, Ranma. I've seen the handbook and I know for
a fact that the Education Ministry states that what's in the handbook
is the final say about school rules. Your principal's been lying
to you."
She considers that, then sighs. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise
me. Given what a total moron he is and all that, that doesn't
surprise me at all...! Hey!!" she gasps as he sprays her hair down,
then glares at him. "Warn me, willya?!" she snarls, then turns back
to her arms.
"Sorry, sorry!" he chuckles, then moves to undo the Dragon's
Whisker. Finding no other place to put it without it being
accidentally flushed down the drain, he undoes the black jumper's
cord he used to tie his hair down in a ponytail, then ties the
Whisker around that. Setting the cord aside, he gets to work with
the shampoo. "Oh, man, you've got real great hair here, Ranma!
Maybe that dragon's hair soup did you some good!"
"Think so...?" Ranma wonders, then moans as Ataru's fingers
begin to massage her scalp. "Oh, yeah! That feels REAL good there,
Ataru..."
"I take it madame has not been pampered like this before?"
"No, not like the way you do it. When I was off modelling
to get some money, some of the people gave me a good shampooing.
I could never trust Xian to do that with me, especially with the
special shampoos her tribe has. But you do it..." she grunts.
"Differently..."
"Well, I'm just following the shiatsu lines here...! Wait!"
"What is it?"
Ataru blinks, then gently presses a couple of points on Ranma's
forehead. "Wait a second here..." he mutters. "Something's
wrong."
"What?" Ranma tenses.
He jostles a couple more points, then blinks. "I can't really
tell there," he shakes his head, then sighs. "When she comes back,
I'm gonna get Onee-chan to take a look at you there, Ranma. Sounds
okay?"
"Sure thing," she relaxes, then smirks. "Hey, Ataru?"
"What is it?"
"Aren't you the least bit bothered that you're sharing a bath
with a gorgeous girl like me?" she gazes over her shoulder, winking
at him.
"Would you care to test how bothered I am?" he wiggles his
eyebrows.
She glances at him, then her cheeks redden as she looks away.
He chuckles, then leans close to her. "Ranma, I know how you see
yourself. I was just razing you. But you have to admit, you ARE
very beautiful as a girl. And..." he holds up a finger. "One prime
specimen as a man, too."
Ranma gazes on him, then sighs. "Are you saying I should try to
learn how to be both? I WAS born a boy, Ataru! I can't deny that!"
"I'm not saying to deny it, Ranma," Ataru shakes his head.
"Look. Call it Fate, call it Karma, call it what-have-you,
but I think things like this..." he indicates her body, "...don't
happen to people without a pretty damned good reason. Hell, given
the way I used to act, I'll bet you that if I myself ever went to
Jusenkyou, I myself might've wound up falling into Nyanniichuan.
It's called a 'curse' for a reason, Ranma. It's meant to teach you
something in the long run. The only way you can ever REALLY hope to
be rid of this curse is to learn the lesson it teaches you."
Ranma considers that, then she sighs. "I can understand
that. Oyaji always said girls were weak. I believed that even after
I took a dunk into the damned pool. And..." she shakes her head.
"Look where it got me."
"Right," he nods. "Personally, Ranma, I don't think there's
a real cure for you out there. Hearing about that Nanniichuan
cask that started all the trouble up with you and Akane recently
sounded pretty fishy to me. I really can't accept the idea that
Jusenkyou will let you go THAT easily. Uh-uh!" he shakes his head.
"That's not the way things like that work."
"What could've happened to me, then?"
"I dunno. Onee-chan might help you there, but..." he stops,
then places a hand on her shoulder. "Ranma, the chances are there
you might NEVER be rid of this body," he waves to her with his free
hand. "So instead of moping about it, get used to it, then make it a
part of your life. You'll be a much better person because of that."
"Can you be sure?" she stares at him.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Hey, look at me," he points to himself.
"Even after finding out what Onee-chan's presence in my mind could've
potentially done to me, I didn't REALLY envision myself as a serious
martial artist of all things until she started to train me. And even
now, I like to think of myself as someone who doesn't want to settle
messes that way."
"No, something tells me you might like more *direct* ways of
dealing with potential problems," she indicates the bullet wound on
his shoulder.
They gaze at each other, then he sighs. "I didn't enjoy that."
"I didn't expect you would," she smiles. "C'mon, finish me up
so I can wash you down, then let's take a good long soak. We need
it."
"Hai, hai, Ojou-sama. Sahib is working as fast as he can!"
She growls. "Why, you...?!"
Both laugh...
* * *
Tomobiki, the Toranoseishin Fiances tower, mid-afternoon...
"So your brother wasn't badly hurt?"
"No, he wasn't, but he'll remain in bed under supervision
for a couple days," Ryooko nods thanks as the secretary hands her a
cup of tea, then she gazes on her host. "However, I suspect that
along the way, taped replays of the news coverage of the bombing
will be given to him."
Reigi Yumoa sips his own tea, then sighs. "Which means that
once he sees Ataru-kun in action..." he shakes his head.
"Onii-san will be put right off," Ryooko finishes. "He's
already frustrated enough because Moroboshi-kun was able to elude
him so easily six weeks ago. Add Lum's death, then the bombing,
then Moroboshi-kun's newly-acquired martial arts skills to the
matter...?!" she shakes her head. "He will not like that one bit.
Worse, he'll most likely be scared out of his mind, though he won't,
of course, show any sort of fear in public."
"Natural," Toranoseishin's chief of finances shakes his head.
"I assume you do not desire to see something like that happen."
"Personally, no. Which means that something quickly has to be
done to convince Onii-san away from seeking 'retribution'..."
the scorn drips from in torrents from that word, "...on
Moroboshi-kun. Do you have an idea, Yumoa-san? Perhaps contact
your guardian and have him speak to my father about this? Given also
that there is soon to get underway a near-complete succession
in the leadership of the Moroboshi Clan..."
"You know of Ataru-kun's half-sisters now, I take it?"
"I learned of them initially about a week after he and his
adopted sister went to Oomure-jima. I didn't realize their
relationship to him until Saturday, however. I assume that the
eldest-born of that group -- Sakuya, was her name? -- will become
the next Clan Matriarch?"
"Yes, when she turns of age. Which won't be for another three
years or so, Mendou-san," Reigi nods. "Do you suspect that your
brother might, if and when he finds out how strong our clan really
is, try to go after Sakuya-chan or any of the others as a way of
striking at Ataru-kun?"
"He might. Again, it is hard to say. Perhaps he might finally
realize that his battle with Moroboshi-kun no longer has any real
meaning. Lum IS dead, after all. And much that I rather did enjoy
the amount of fun her presence here provoked, I shall not mourn her
forever."
"True. Personally, I am very happy that Oni is gone.
Hopefully, we will not see any of them again in our lifetimes..."
A knock. "I'm sorry to bother you, Reigi-san, but the coroner's
office just called," a secretary walks in. "They need someone to
identify the bodies of Ataru-sama's ex-parents before issuing death
certificates. Given Ataru-sama's statements at the school -- and
given his efforts to help save people there -- the authorities
don't wish to bother him."
Reigi blinks, then sighs. "Alright, I'll go down. Maybe I
might get a laugh on seeing that backstabbing 'city-slicker'
one last time," he wryly smirks, then gazes at Ryooko. "Would you
please excuse me, Mendou-san?"
"Of course, Yumoa-san," Ryooko titters, then her eyebrows
arch. "I take it you and your co-workers DO bear a grudge against
those two?"
"After what they did to Ataru-kun, what do you think?"
"I see..."
* * *
Promised Island, later...
"Onii-chan, are you alright?! How bad was it?!"
Ataru gazes at most of the sisters (save Hinako, Aria and Kaho)
from the Rinrin-Viewer; he sits in his bedroom in Nerima. "It was
bad, Karen-chan," he grimaces, then on seeing some of them tense,
tries to smile. "Hopefully, if Ranma and I were in time, those who
were hurt by the bomber would've got to the hospital as quickly
as possible to be healed."
"How many died, Aniue-sama?" Marie asks.
"Eleven, counting the bomber. I..." he pauses, then sighs.
"Your birth-father and his wife were two of them."
Silence falls as they consider that, then Chikage sighs.
"Justice does come to the guilty in one way or another, Ani-kun."
"Agreed," Haruka nods. "It would have been better for them to
suffer what you intended of them, Anigimi-sama, but now..."
"I won't shed a tear for them," Sakuya sighs. "How Onee-sama?"
"She's being looked over by Onee-chan now," Ataru sighs. "There
was something wrong with some of her shiatsu lines when we bathed
after coming back home, so I asked Onee-chan to give it a closer
look..."
The sisters gasp. "EH?!?! YOU BATHED TOGETHER?!?!"
Ataru gags on his next words, then waves his hands to ward off
their leering looks. "Hey, hey, HEY!!! It's not like THAT...!!!"
"Ani-chama has a girlfriend!!" Yotsuba chimes.
"Oh, Aniue-sama, that's SO romantic!!" Marie swoons.
"I clearly predict that Ani-kun and Ane-kun will have a long and
healthy relationship," Chikage holds up the Lovers card.
"Hime should start baking Nii-sama's and Nee-sama's wedding
cake right away!" Shirayuki shudders with anticipation.
"Onii-sama, you sly fox, you!!" Sakuya wags her finger at Ataru.
"GIRLS!!!!" he whines, then droops his head. "You're
horrible...!"
Laughter fills the dining room. "Onii-chan, we were just
joking!" Karen covers her mouth in a polite giggle as the laughter
dies down, then sighs. "Onii-chan, if Onee-chan was forced away from
the Tendou house, why don't you both take some time and come here to
the Island to relax for a while? Give her a chance to not worry
about those people in Nerima? Onee-chan doesn't have to go to school
until next Monday, does she?"
Ataru stares at her, then hums. "Alright. I'll bounce it off
Onee-chan and see if that'll be a good idea. If it's okay, we'll
come to the island on the late ferry tomorrow night, alright? No
offense, Chikage-chan, but I don't think Ranma's ready for the
travelling rainbow."
"That's no problem," Chikage shakes her head.
"We can let Aneki use the room beside mine," Rinrin proposes.
"Fair enough! I'll call you girls tomorrow with news."
"Hai!!" the sisters chime...
* * *
A coffee shop near the Tokyo/Tomobiki border, nightfall...
"You should've told me you were hurt there, Momoe-san."
"Oh, this? It's not as bad as it looks," Momoe shrugs, then
sits across from Nabiki. The coffee shop is located beside a parking
lot where buses from both Nerima and Tomobiki ended their runs; this
also served as a transfer point for people wanting to travel from
local suburbs to buses that would take them into work. "You saw what
happened today, didn't you?"
"That I did. Quite an eye-opener," Nabiki smiles.
Momoe makes an order with the shop's matron, then turns her
attention back to her friend/employer. "How did Ranma-san meet
Ataru-kun?"
"Don't know how or where, but I think they met on Saturday.
That's when Ataru-kun got back from wherever he went to after Lum was
sent home."
"Can you find out where he lives?"
"I could."
Momoe blinks. "Nabiki-san, I'd think that you of all people
would understand why I need to have that information."
"But do you comprehend what you having that information
might end up doing to the people of Nerima, Momoe-san?" Nabiki
counters.
"I'd think you'd want Ataru-kun away from Ranma-san."
"I'm afraid you don't know the whole story about Ataru-kun,
Momoe-chan. Then again, it may not be so surprising given how easily
he's been able to catch Mendou's katana every time the guy tried to
swipe his head off with it. Now relax and listen. It goes like
this..."
She explains. It takes twenty minutes. By then, their coffee
has gone cold, but neither care. At the end of Nabiki's explanation,
Momoe is almost as white as a sheet. "That can't be true..." she
shakes her head. "I mean...! ATARU of all people?! Heir to one of
the oldest, most lethal martial arts schools that existed in Japan?!
That's...!"
"Crazy, isn't it?" Nabiki smirks.
"Insane!"
"You got it," the middle Tendou daughter nods, then sighs.
"Look. I know you want to try your best to impress Mendou. Remember
when you told me on Saturday morning that you'd sit on information
concerning the break between Ataru-kun and his parents? This is the
very same thing, but now you know the potential consequences
if you DO tell Mendou where Ataru-kun happens to be. Because I
guarantee you this, Momoe-chan: if he tries to pull his shit in
Nerima, not only will he have Ataru-kun to worry about, but
Negako-san, Ranma-kun, most likely Ryouga-kun, the Amazons, Ukyou
and maybe Kodachi, too. And THIS time, there's no Lum around to try
to moderate things. I doubt Shinobu Miyaki might be able to moderate
things, either. And I think Ataru-kun's made it pretty clear what
he truly feels about you guys in Tomobiki this afternoon at the
school."
Momoe blinks, then sighs. "That's true. But, still..."
"Think of it this way, Momoe-chan," Nabiki moderates. "You
don't want to see Ataru-kun mutilate, much less KILL, Mendou, do
you?"
"Of course not!!"
"Then keeping quiet about this protects him! Understand
now?"
The younger girl blinks, then sighs. "You got a point there."
"Alright, then. Look, the best way to avoid any disasters
is to diffuse a potential fight in the first place. I know that may
not sound real profitable, but lives can't be replaced. You know
that now, Momoe-chan. What happened today hit a lot of people the
wrong way. Chances are there that Mendou might decide to leave it
be. If that's the way it goes, fine. You got no worries. But if he
decides to press it on..." she holds up her finger in warning.
"Just remember what might happen."
Momoe considers that, then nods. "Right..."
* * *
Tomobiki, the Miyaki home, evening...
"How is she, Shinobu?"
Shinobu sighs, sitting at the table as her mother Kimiki washes
the dishes. "Resting right now. She didn't take well to the news."
Kimiki nods, silently intoning a prayer for Ryuunosuke's
father and Nagisa Shinowataru before carrying on with the dishes.
Thanks to the work Ataru and his mysterious lady friend did when the
attack occurred, the police were able to quickly identify who had
died that morning. Atop the suicide bomber himself, a native of
Qatar who might've -- according to the rumours being circulated
over the television news -- had ties to radical Islamic
fundamentalists, ten people had died. Aisuru Megane and his three
friends, Muchi and Kinshou Moroboshi, two as-yet-to-be identified
second-year students who had the ill-luck to be in the hallway
directly above where the blast occurred, Fujimi Fujinami and Nagisa.
There would be no body for Nagisa, Ryuunosuke learned after
Ataru and Ranma departed. Sakura and Cherry told them why. Since
Nagisa died once and had been resurrected thanks to the Great Sea
Urchin, if he ever died again before he could have helped birth
children, there would be no further chance of another resurrection.
Worse, the body created by the Great Sea Urchin's magic would
disintegrate, leaving no mortal remains behind.
It had been too much for Ryuunosuke. Shinobu had to carry her
dazed friend back home, arranging with Sakura to have what belongings
that survived the attack brought over as soon as possible. Shinobu's
father Toshoba contacted the family lawyer to begin making
arrangements so that he and Kimiki could become Ryuunosuke's
legal guardians. It was the least the Miyakis could do for her,
Shinobu sighs, then lightly smiles. Perhaps when he fully recovered
from his wounds, Mendou might be willing to help.
"I suppose it's to be expected," Kimiki sighs. "Losing her
mother when she was just a baby, forced to live as a boy her whole
life..." her voice trails off before she shakes her head. "Your
father told me he's going to have Ryuunosuke-chan re-registered
as a girl. Turns out that her father had the poor girl legally
registered as a boy all this time."
"Idiot," Shinobu tries not to moan too much, then she shrugs.
"Well, at least now, she can finally learn what being a girl's all
about without her father or some other stupid fool getting in the
damned way."
"True. We'll have to be very cautious about that," Kimiki
warns, then gazes at Shinobu. "She might need professional
counselling, too."
"Unn," Shinobu nods, then rises, heading to her bedroom.
Looking inside, she blinks, then steps in. "Ryuu-chan, what are you
doing up?"
"Can't sleep," Ryuunosuke sighs, gazing at the book in her lap.
Shinobu notices which book it is. The tomboy places the book
down, then stares at her. "Why've you never told me, Shinobu?
That you're...?!"
"A Catholic?" Shinobu chuckles as she sits beside her friend.
"Well, I..." she sighs. "I didn't want to tell people, Ryuunosuke."
"Why?"
"Well, you know how much most people don't like those who don't
fit into the mould," Shinobu wryly smiles. "Though I guess in our
school, that didn't matter too much in the long term. I guess I was
afraid, deep down."
"Of what?"
"Of having something happen to me. Someone attacking me through
my faith in God to weaken me for whatever reason. You..." a pause,
then, "You noticed what happened to me shortly after Lum was kicked
off the planet."
Ryuunosuke thinks for a moment, then nods. "Right."
"Well, my pastor, Father Cristobal Rodriguez -- he's from Mexico
-- once told me that my strength must have come from my faith. That
it was a gift from God to protect me from the craziness that was
going on around us. He..." another pause, then, "I guess God decided
that since Lum wasn't going to come back to Earth again, I didn't
need that strength anymore."
Silence falls as the tomboy considers that, then she sighs.
"A lot of things aren't going to be the same from now on, ya know."
"Hai, you can say that again," Shinobu bows her head. "Jesu
Cristo, to believe..." tears brim her eyes. "I mean, Aisuru and his
friends, Ataru-kun's parents and..." her voice halts, she not wanting
to inflict more pain on the woman beside her. "All dead! It's so
unreal...!!"
"Pretty damned real to me," Ryuunosuke hoarsely whispers.
Shinobu blinks, then her tears flow as she draws Ryuunosuke
into a hug. The soft feel of her best friend's comforting touch
breaks through the self-imposed dam holding back the tomboy's grief.
Ryuunosuke shudders as her own tears spill down her cheeks, she
holding onto Shinobu...
* * *
"Thank you for answering my summons, Elder Kun-lon."
"When it comes to Son-in-Law, I am always concerned," Cologne
gravely nods as she follows Ataru to the old shrine's main meditation
room. The Nyu-che-zuu elder had come alone; Ataru specifically
requested that through Tampopo to ensure Shampoo didn't antagonize
Ranma further. Given what Negako had just discovered about their
houseguest, Akane suspected Ranma was going to hit the roof when she
learned of her father's duplicity.
Privately, Cologne was pleased to see that the future patriarch
of the Moroboshi Clan had acquired such a fluent command of Mandarin,
even going so far as to speak it with a Nyu-che-zuu accent. "Though
I'm not too sure that he might be happy to see me, especially
given the events of this morning...! Eh?!" she stops at the doorway,
her eyes widening in shock on seeing who else is there. "What are
you doing here, Happy?"
"What the hell does it look like, Cologne?!" Happousai sighs,
puffing his pipe. "Much that you consider the child a potential
heir, I also see her as my heir, too. Besides, Negako-chan
asked that I come here."
Cologne gazes at the others in the room. Ranma is lying
front-down on a futon, nude save for towels to make things modest.
She is currently asleep. Kneeling beside her is a woman looking
like Ataru's sister, yet...
Oh, Goddess, no!
Not THAT thing!!
FREE?!!
"If you will reserve whatever indignation you might feel at my
having achieved what I sought for so long, Kun-lon, we can get on to
the matter at hand concerning your 'son-in-law,'" the monster then
speaks.
Cologne blinks, then sighs, moving to stand beside Happousai
as Negako continues her analysis of the sleeping Ranma. "What's
wrong?!"
"Turns out that idiot Genma was actually a lot smarter in
certain areas than even I suspected," Happousai shakes his head.
"Look here," Negako points to one cluster of shiatsu points,
marked in grease pen for Ataru's benefit. "Do you see the
disturbance?"
Cologne reaches over, then taps the points lightly, calming
herself as she allows the echoes from those points to warp through
her. Her eyes widen, then she does another examination. Same
result. She gazes at Negako. "How in the Goddess' name did THIS
happen?! When?!"
"The 'how' and 'when' are easy," Negako sighs. "As Happy
surmised, Genma must have gone forth to locate knowledge of this
nature so that he could, for as long as possible, keep his child in a
mentally deficient state. As for the 'when,' it happened before
he and Ranma left Nodoka on their training trip. What now should
be asked by both of you is..."
"Why," Ataru finishes.
Cologne and Happousai blink, then exchange a look. "I take it
this isn't what you'd might want of the child," the former wonders.
"Of course not," the latter shakes his head, then turns back to
Negako. "Any chance of properly fixing this up, Negako-chan?"
"It is easily done, but it will require time," Negako nods, then
stares knowingly at Happousai. "And NO interference from those who
would desire Ranma NOT to possess full command of her mental
facilities."
"Not so easily done," Happousai shakes his head. "Even with him
putting his foot down on some of the things here, the kids in this
place are so damned headstrong when it comes to the way they look at
Ranma..." he makes a dismissive wave with his hand, then rolls his
eyes. "Fools!"
"Agreed," Cologne nods.
Negako nods. "Then we have to make Ranma a less-desirable
target."
The martial artists watch as her hands blur, fingers tapping
points along Ranma's head, shoulders and back. Seeing which ones are
targeted, in the combination Negako followed, Cologne's eyes widen
even more.
Goddess, to do THAT...!
"This might be too much," she warns.
"On the contrary. Given Ranma's current mental and emotional
state, it is the only proper response," Negako counters. "Her
unwillingness to strike at those who affirm that they love him
because of Genma's skewered morality and his own misogynist attitudes
only served to invite further attacks against her person. As I
repair this damage, I can also address the damage acquired when Ranma
endured the Neko-ken training."
"That would be a good thing," Happousai nods.
"But...!" Negako holds up a finger in warning. "It will extract
a cost from all those who covet Ranma as a future mate."
"What do you mean?" Cologne wonders.
A chilly, emotionless smile crosses Negako's face. "Why do you
think, Kun-lon, that I address Ranma as 'she,' not 'he?'"
* * *
Sometime later...
"***THAT BASTARD!!!!!!***"
Ataru draws back from Ranma, the outrage the latter now felt at
Genma's actions towards her years ago leeching from every pore on her
skin. Negako is in the mobile kitchen preparing some herbal tea.
Taking a deep breath, Ranma forces herself to calm down, her battle
aura fading. Sensing things were safe -- he really didn't want to
see his friend accidentally wreck the first house Ataru could call
his own -- he clears his throat. "Yeah, you can sure as hell say
that again!" he snorts, then sighs.
"Who knows about this?!" Ranma demands.
"Outside Onee-chan and I, Happousai and Cologne. They vowed
to keep silent about it, especially when it might come to those who'd
be happy to tell Genma he no longer has any decent levers to keep you
suppressed. If you want to know, both were peeved at what Onee-chan
found."
Ranma blinks, then her eyebrows arch in disbelief. Even if both
Cologne and Happousai knew and respected Tampopo Kamekichi -- thus,
were willing to acknowledge the chef's suggestions about Ranma, that
in turn leading to the success of her most recent "training"
trip -- she didn't trust their ultimate motives concerning her
whatsoever. "You sure?"
"Hai. Look, despite the crap they've heaped over you, it's
obvious to me that they both happen to care for you a lot. They want
you to have as good a life as you can since that guarantees that what
they might want to teach you in the future will survive. They both
see you as their heirs, Ranma. Instead of grousing about it, why
don't you take advantage of it?"
She considers that, then sighs before noticing Negako step back
into the room. "Oh, thanks!" she accepts the offered tea cup, then
sips before nearly gagging on the taste. "Gyaah!! What the hell IS
this stuff?!"
"Exotic herbs from Zephyrus that will begin the process of
repairing the damaged neurons inside your nervous system," Negako
replies. "Here."
She taps a shiatsu point under Ranma's chin. The martial artist
blinks, then takes another sip. No taste at all. "Thanks," she
sighs, drinking down the rest of the tea before sitting back. "Damn
him..."
"You will remain with us until such time as I can finish with
the repairs to your body," Negako ordains, setting the tray aside.
"To ensure that no one might, either purposefully or accidentally,
undo the repairs I make, I've manipulated certain of your shiatsu
lines to create a special defensive mechanism that may remain in
effect as long as you so desire it."
"What will it do?" Ranma asks.
"It will automatically, upon sensing that an attack through
whatever means is coming, block any inhibitions you might have
towards striking back at certain parties, such as your 'fiancees.'"
Ranma blanches, but before she could object, Negako's fingertip
touches her lips to silence her. "You have already taken on some
lasting damage in your brain from all the blows to your head thanks
to Akane's chi-mallet. I can repair the damage, but I will not
succeed in helping you reach your full potential if you allow those
fools to get away with what they have. If they cannot handle the
fact that you will not bend to their will again, then perhaps they
might finally decide to help you regain your honour by cancelling
the engagements on their own accord."
"She's got a point there," Ataru muses.
Ranma blinks, then looks down. "They'll hate me. I don't wanna
get married now, but I don't want to lose their friendship..."
"Perhaps," Negako nods, then stares intently at her. "But what
is more important? Their selfishness or your continued good health?"
"Well..."
"You did tell us on Saturday that they only see you as an object
to be coveted, not a person. Didn't you?" Ataru adds.
"Yeah, I did, but...!"
Ataru sighs, then reaches over to gently squeeze Ranma's
shoulder. "Look, Ranma, let me tell you something. If that crap
this morning didn't happen and if the morons back in Tomobiki decided
to come after me to drag me back so they can go on abusing me to
their hearts' content, I'd be doing the same thing to them. That's
what idiots like them need sometimes."
Ranma closes her eyes, then shudders as she considers what sort
of reaction THAT could provoke with the people around him. Ryouga,
Mousse and Kunou would go totally ballistic. His parents and the
Tendous wouldn't like it, either. Taking a deep breath, she gazes
at Negako. "How long?"
"At the outset, two weeks. If you wish me to aid you in finally
overcoming your ailurophobia, add four more weeks. And if you wish
to learn less violent techniques to more easily suppress your many
rivals (such as shiatsu strikes and the like, much less the basic
manoeuvres in our Art), I need two weeks beyond that to prepare
you. Genma effectively stripped you of any chance of employing
your considerable learning skills in any other field beyond basic
martial arts. That you mastered several chi strikes in your state
alone speaks well of your overall ability. But you have the ability
to do more, Ranma. MUCH more. Is it only wise that you go forth
and experience what you can, learn what might interest you instead
of being a constant, unwilling slave to the wishes of others?"
"You know, on a planet named Yehisril, to be a 'willing slave'
is considered lower there than what we'd view burakumin here," Ataru
adds.
Ranma stares at him, then her own hands. "I suppose so..."
The siblings exchange a look, then Ataru sighs, patting Ranma's
back. "Look, why don't you sleep on it? We'll worry about it
tomorrow."
"Uhn..."
* * *
To be continued...
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