All the characters in this story are the creation of Akahori Satoru,
Kotobuki Tsukasa, and Rumiko Takahashi... or practically all of them,
anyway. The title is stolen from Heinlein... with one letter s added.
Strangers in a Strange Land
Chapter 16 The next morning Nabiki didn't arrive for her
lesson, and Akane fretted all the way through breakfast about it. "Why
isn't she here by now?" The youngest Tendo asked Ranma for the fifth time
that morning. "Do you think something's happened to her?" Otaru
blinkedat something he was reading in the paper. "Maybe this has something
todo with it. Look at this headline." He held out the paper, pointing at the
bold print. "Whirlwind Bandit strikes again." He looked at the paper again.
"It says here that this notorious bandit has been all across the world, and
he infiltrated Castle Japoness last night!" Bloodberry took the paper
from Otaru in interest. "Let's have a look at that." She started reading
aloud from the paper. "For the past several days a mysterious thief has been
sweeping through the city of Japoness like a storm, pilfering food and
valuables. People have named him the Whirlwind Bandit." They were all
sittingaround in the restaurant, save Lime, who had left to go play in the
mountains right after breakfast. Sitting by herself, Panther slammed
her hand into one of the restaurants tables. "Damn you, Whirlwind Bandit!
You'll pay for this!" "Calm down, Panther." Otaru said reassuringly.
"How can you expect me to calm down?!?" Panther exclaimed angrily. "I
wasone of the victimized! He stole the dirk of pure gold that Lord Faust
gavespecially to me... as well as all of my poems!" "My poems?"
Bloodberry said incredulously. "I didn't know you wrote poetry,
Panther." Otaru said in interest. "Who would have guessed it?"
Bloodberry replied, not looking very interested. Lynx spoke up from
behind the counter. "She may not look it, but Panther is actually quite
lyrical." Akane looked anxious. "What's that got to do with Nabiki? Do
you think this Whirlwind Bandit person might have hurt her or something?"
Otaru shook his head. "The paper doesn't say anything about anyone being
hurt. She probably just has to stay at the palace right now so she can
protect Lorelei, what with a break there and all." Ranma nodded,
tryingto reassure Akane. "Sure, it's her job, after all. I'm sure she's
fine.We're going to be going to see her later today anyway, and you can see
for yourself." Akane sighed. "I'm sure you're right. We'd have heard
ifanything bad happened at the palace, right?" Otaru and Ranma were quick to
agree with her, and Cherry and Bloodberry added their support a moment
later. Panther, on the other hand, had barely noticed the other
conversation, holding up a fist angrily as she made a declaration. "I don't
care if he has hurt anyone or not. Once I get my hands on that damned
Whirlwind Bandit... I'll ram a napalm bomb down his throat... and stuff him
down the mouth of the Japoness Fuji!" Bloodberry couldn't help but
chuckle. "Now there's poetry in motion." Otaru laughed. "Well, I'll
take Bloodberry with me and start looking around. If we have any trouble,
wecan always come back here and get help." Akane looked worried.
"Ranmaand I could come along and help, Otaru-san. It might be dangerous if
you go by yourself." Otaru shrugged. "I'm not worried. Bloodberry
should be able to handle any problems we run into." Ranma nodded.
"Yeah, Bloodberry can handle things, Akane. She's strong enough to handle
some dumb bandit." Otaru nodded back. "Yeah, we'll be fine. Someone
hasto run the restaurant, and you two have a lot to do today, don't you?"
Akane nodded, trying not to blush. "Yes, we were going back to that bread
shop I was at yesterday and talk to the owner... you said his name was
Chodo,Cherry?" She glanced at Cherry, who nodded in understanding. "When
we're done there we're planning on going to go over to the palace and have
Lorelei update some of our sensory programs." Cherry nodded. "That's
right, Chodo Kounji is the owner of the bread shop that has been supplying
our restaurant. From what you've told me you both recognized him?"
Akane shrugged slightly. "He looks just like an old friend of ours... Ukyo
Kounji. The name can't be a coincidence. I guess Ukyo must be one of
Ieyasu'sancestors as well as Kuno." Cherry nodded. "That is most
likelythe case. I believe Ieyasu was able to tease out the familial
genotypesof almost two hundred different families when he started the
processof creating clones. It's possible that there will be other family
names that will be familiar to you here in Japoness as well." Ranma
laughed wryly. "I wouldn't be half surprised." *******************
A bit later, Ranma and Akane stopped outside of the modest looking
bakery and peered inside. "Is this the place?" Ranma asked quietly.
"Yes." Akane said with a nod. "He was in here." "Then what are we
waiting for?" Ranma replied impatiently, leading the way in through the
frontdoor. Akane followed the shorter girl closely, visibly nervous.
The effeminate looking man at the counter blinked in surprise at seeing
them." You again?" He peered at Akane in concern. "You're not going to
breakdown again, are you?" Akane flushed bright red in embarrassment
and indignation. "I did not break down!" She insisted sharply. "I was
just...shocked." She finished lamely. "It's a little hard to explain."
The man behind the counter raised an eyebrow. "Hard to explain, huh?" He
turned to Ranma. "And what are you two doing here then?" Ranma
blinked."Well... we wanted to talk to Uk... I mean the guy that came by to
deliver bread to Otaru's restaurant the other day." The effeminate man
blinked. "You want to speak to Chodo?" As they were speaking the
individual in question came out from the back. "Hey, what's going on out
here?" Chodo blinked in shock at the sight of Ranma and Akane. "You two?" He
waved his hands placatingly, looking alarmed. "Don't break down, don't
breakdown!" Ranma and Akane both looked at him and sighed. "We aren't
going to break down, OK?" Ranma explained. "We were both just shocked
before... it's kind of hard to explain." The petite red head frowned
slightly. "Can we talk privately? It's a long story." Chodo blinked
again. "You sure you're not going to break down on me again?" The two
marionettes both sighed again. "We're not going to break down." Ranma
answered tersely. "Now can we talk?" Chodo hesitated, then nodded.
"Alright, let's go in the back." He nodded to the man behind the counter.
"Satsuma, you mind things while I'm in back, right?" Satsuma chuckled.
"Don't I always?" Chodo led Ranma and Akane back through the bakery
itself to a small office behind it. "Alright." Chodo said, turning around to
face them. "What's all this about?" "Why don't you explain, Akane."
Ranma said. "You're better at this sort of
thing." "You mean talking?" Akane quipped sarcastically. "Alright."
Shefaced Chodo squarely, turning serious. "I'm sorry about yesterday. Both
Ranma and I were shocked when we saw you, because you look exactly like
someone you used to know a long time ago." Chodo blinked. "A long time
ago? I don't understand." Akane glanced uncomfortably at Ranma, then
back at the baker. "Like Ranma said, it's a long story. When we were built,
we were given the memories of Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome. As far as we're
concerned, we are them, although we realize that the original Ranma and
Akanemust be long dead by now." Ranma looked decidedly uncomfortable at what
Akane was saying, and Akane herself squirmed a little at saying it out loud.
Chodo frowned in confusion. "You were given memories? You mean the
memories of real people?" Akane nodded patiently. "Yes. The real Akane
and Ranma lived five hundred years ago, on Earth." "And right here and
now." Ranma insisted. "I am Ranma, and if I'm a copy, I can't tell the
difference." Chodo looked amazed. "That's incredible!" He exclaimed
excitedly. "You two remember being on Earth? Is that where you knew this
person that looks like me?" Akane nodded, smiling in relief at being
believed. "Yes, Ukyo Kounji was a friend of ours... back then." Chodo
nodded in interest. "Kounji is my family name. The Kounji's were one of
Ieyasu's ancestors, and I carry on their name." Ranma grinned. "Hey,
that's great! Do you know the Kounji style of martial arts too?"
Chodo's face lit up as well. "As a matter of fact, I have been working on
recreating that style from the notes left by my ancestors. My father's
fatherput together a great deal of the style, and I have been trying to
follow in his footsteps... when I'm not being a baker, that is." Ranma
nodded thoughtfully. "I guess there wasn't anyone around to teach you all,
huh?" She shrugged. "I could probably help you out with it. Ucchan and me
used to fight all the time when we were kids, and I probably know as much as
anyone about it." Chodo's eyes went wide. "You know my family's
school?" Ranma shrugged. "Well, I ain't ever been "officially" taught
it or nothin, but ya fight someone as often as I have ya pick up some stuff.
I can piece it together for you, see what you're doing wrong and stuff, if
you like." Akane nodded proudly. "Ranma can do it. She's the grand
master of the Anything Goes school, and she can learn a new style of martial
arts in three days or less, and has. If she says she can teach you the
Kounjischool, I'd believe her." Chodo shook his head in disbelief. "I
don't know what to believe. This is all so strange. Are you really girls
fromfive hundred years ago?" Akane nodded. "As much as we are anything
else. We are marionettes, after all, not humans, but aside from that, I
really am Akane Tendo. I lived five hundred years ago, and right now."
Chodo smiled slightly. "I don't know why, but I believe you. You certainly
seem to know about my ancestor. How did it happen, though? How did you come
to be here and now?" Akane hesitated, then began telling the attentive
baker about their first experiences on Terra Two, and how they had been
brought forward to the present time. It was a long story, and over an hour
passed before she finished it. Ranma listened in some interest as well, as
much of the story she had not been present for, and it was fascinating to
hear Akane's perspective, even on matters they had both been present for.
Ranma found herself chiming in with details from time to time, explaining
events that Akane had not been present for. When their tale came up to
their present circumstances, Chodo nodded. "Now I understand why you came
here yesterday. Are you still looking for a job, Akane?" Akane
hesitated, then nodded back. "Yes, actually, I am." Chodo shrugged.
"Well, I do need someone to handle deliveries. My last delivery man just
leftfor another job, and I could use the help." Akane smiled. "Then I
can have the job?" Chodo nodded firmly. "Absolutely, sugar. You can
start tomorrow if you like." "I sure would!" Akane nodded back
vigorously. "When do you want me to come in?" Chodo laughed. "I'm glad
you're so enthusiastic. We start making deliveries around seven in the
morning, so if you could come in a little before then?" Akane nodded
again. "I'll be here." "Alright then." Chodo looked satisfied. "We can
talk about salary now if you like, although I'm not sure I can pay you what
you're worth." Akane shook her head. "Why don't we see how the first
day goes before you decide how much to pay me. You don't even know if I can
handle the job yet." Chodo grinned. "Deal. I'm not worried though. I'm
sure you'll do fine." He hesitated. "I'd love to talk to you two some more,
but I really need to get back to work. We have several large orders for
tomorrow." Akane nodded. "That's OK, we've got to get going as well.
Lorelei's expecting us today." Chodo looked impressed. "Well then, you
had better not keep Lorelei-san waiting." He hesitated. "Ranma, about my
family's school...." Ranma nodded. "I've been doing some teaching over
at Otaru's place in the mornings... you can join us there if you like, or we
could work something out if we need too." Chodo hesitated. "Well, let
me think about it. What time do you usually start?" Ranma shrugged.
"I'm used to getting started by dawn, but with Nabiki living at the palace
it'll probably be a bit later than that." Chodo wrinkled his nose.
"Well, I'll have to see when I have some time, but I really would appreciate
all the help you could give me with perfecting my family's school of martial
arts." Ranma shrugged. "Sure, anything for one of Ukyo's decedents."
Chodo smiled again, shaking his head. "If someone told me yesterday that
I'd be meeting someone who know my ancestor from five hundred years ago, I'd
have thought they were crazy." Ranma laughed. "Then you probably can
guess how crazy I feel sometimes." Chodo blinked. "I guess I can." n
************************** Ranma and Akane arrived at the palace only
afew minutes later, having taken the high road over the rooftops to get
there. Tamasaburo and Baiko had met them at the front gates and had led them
to Lorelei's laboratory, where the willowy scientist was working, then left
them. Nabiki was standing by Lorelei's shoulder when they came in and
was the first to greet them. "Hey guys, we've been expecting you for awhile
now. Come in for your upgrades?" Lorelei turned to face them with a
smile. "It's a simple procedure. We can get you done in a few minutes."
Akane bowed to Lorelei formally. "We really appreciate you doing this for
us,Lorelei-san." Lorelei blushed, bowing back automatically. "You
don'thave to bow to me, Akane-san. I was glad to do it." She looked up. "So,
who would like to go first?" Akane and Ranma glanced at each other
uncomfortably. "Er..." Akane glanced at her sister, suddenly remembering.
"Oh, big sister, we heard about the break in here. What happened?"
Nabiki frowned "We had did have intruder in the palace last night. She
managed to get all the way down to the lab." "She?" Akane asked
inquisitively. "Yes, she." Nabiki answered. "From the security tapes
itdefinitely appeared to be a marionette. A Saber Marionette." She paused
foreffect. "It also appeared that she has a maiden circuit." Ranma
looked confused. "Do you think it was one of Otaru's bunch?" Nabiki
shook her head. "This was someone new. Blue hair, dark skin, wearing a
cloak.... I was hoping you two might have seen something." Ranma and Akane
both shook their heads. "We haven't see anyone like that." Akane
confirmed. "Do you think she's dangerous, Nabiki?" "Probably." Nabiki
said grimly. "Especially if she could break through the security here so
easily." She sighed. "Still, she ran pretty quickly when I tried to confront
her, so maybe I won't have to worry about her coming back." Akane put
ahand on her sister's shoulder reassuringly. "We'll keep an eye out,
Nabiki." Ranma spoke up. "Hey, how come this new marionette has a
maidencircuit? Aren't they supposed to be really rare? I thought there was
only nine of us?" Nabiki shrugged. "That's got us puzzled too. Lorelei
thinks it might be something a neighboring government built, as no one
outside of a government or a government contractor should be able to build a
Saber Marionette, much less one with a maiden circuit." Ranma looked
surprised. "Wow, I didn't really think about it like that before. I guess we
must have been really expensive, huh?" Nabiki nodded. "I imagine so.
I'm glad we don't have to pay that bill. It would probably take most of our
lives to pay off." She chuckled. "Well, not on my current salary, I guess."
She rolled her eyes. "Just ten years or so." Ranma winced. "Ouch. No
wonder the Kunos were mad." Akane frowned at Ranma in disapproval. "It
shouldn't matter how much we cost to build. That didn't give them the right
to make us their slaves." Nabiki frowned thoughtfully. "Didn't it?
Remember, we currently have no actual rights. It's just lucky that Godai and
Yusaku aren't in any position to claim us anymore." Akane looked
worried. "Do you think Yusaku will try to get us back after all this?"
Nabiki snorted. "Last I heard he was on trail for treason. He's going away
for life at the least. He's not going to be bothering us again." Akane
nodded, looking a bit better. "I hope you're right. Do you think they'll
needus to testify?" Nabiki blinked. "I have no idea. I'll see what I
can find out." Before long the conversation came back around to
gettingthe new chips installed, and it wasn't too long before the procedure
was done, much to Ranma and Akane's relief. "Whew." Ranma said,
lookingrelieved. "I thought that was going to be a lot tougher. It didn't
take any time at all, just open a panel an in it went." Akane
shivered."I don't think I'm ever going to get used to being able to open my
own chest up...." Nabiki shrugged. "Well, you shouldn't have to do
thatvery often. Besides, it's a lot easier than having to undergo surgery,
isn't it?" Akane sighed. "I suppose." She took a deep breath and
gathered herself. "I guess we should get going. We should let Otaru know
thatthe Whirlwind Bandit is really a marionette. We said we'd be back it
timefor lunch, anyway." Nabiki nodded. "See you tomorrow morning, you
two." Akane blinked. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I got a job, Nabiki! I
start tomorrow morning. If you come by early enough you can see me off to my
first day at work." Nabiki smiled genuinely. "That's great, Sis. What
are you doing?" "Deliveries for a bakery." Akane answered. "And you'll
never guess who I'm working for!" Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Akane winked. "I'll leave it for a surprise. See you tomorrow!" She grabbed
Ranma's hand and pulled the smaller girl off. "Bye bye, Nabiki. Take good
care of Lorelei!" Nabiki watched her sister disappear, then went back
into the lab. "Lorelei." She approached the scientist with a thoughtful
expression. "What have you heard about Yusaku's trial? Will we be needed to
testify?" Lorelei looked up from her work. "Hmm? I'm not sure. I've
already given my deposition, and the prosecutor seemed to think that it was
an open and shut case. They won't be "subjecting me" to any more "trauma" by
asking me to testify directly." She said a bit wryly. "Not that I really
mind, but sometimes I think they think that I'm some sort of glass figurine,
too fragile to touch and only to be looked at from afar. I think they'd
prefer if I was kept in a display case somewhere." Nabiki considered
that for a moment. "You ARE precious to me, Lorelei. More precious than
anything else on this planet... but I don't think of you as a glass
figurine,not to be touched. I certainly don't want you in a display case. I
want you right here with me." She smiled warmly at the scientist. "And
whileI do enjoy looking at you, I don't wish to do so from afar."
Lorelei blushed. "Have you ever considered writing poetry?" She finally
asked. It was Nabiki's turn to blush. "There I go, sounding like
Kuno-chan...." She shook her head. "I'm not usually this... lyrical... being
around you is doing strange things to me, Lorelei." Lorelei sighed.
"Love usually does that." She looked a bit confused. "I wasn't aware that
General Kuno liked poetry... and why... chan?" Nabiki laughed. "Oh
right. No, I was thinking about my Kuno, in the past. He was a classmate of
mine... and liked to sound like a Shakespearean actor most of the time.
Quitethe character, Kuno-chan. He kept things interesting, I can say that
much for him." Lorelei nodded in understanding. "Ah, I remember, he
wasthe one that had your memories recorded. He must have been a
man of impressive foresight." Nabiki nearly choked. "I wouldn't say
that, exactly. Kuno-chan was a bit more of the obsessive variety. He
couldn'tmake up his mind between Ranma and my younger sister, so he had them
both saved for posterity. I guess he added me into the bargain just in case.
We did date once or twice, so I guess he thought there might be a chance for
more." Lorelei looked interested. "Did you return his feelings? You
seem to be a bit fond of him." Nabiki looked surprised at her
question."Me and Kuno? No way. He was rich, I admit, and I wasn't above
letting him buy me lunch, or a present or two, but he was definitely NOT my
boyfriend. He was a two timing jerk, really, although he was too slow to
realize that he was doing anything wrong by trying to date both Ranma and my
sister at the same time. He thought his social status and "personal charm"
gave him the right to do whatever he wanted. I could never like an idiot
likethat, no matter how rich he
was." "I see!" Lorelei's eyes were wide at the outburst, and Nabiki
flushed slightly. The willowy scientist smiled reassuringly. "It seems that
your Kuno had much in common with the ones we have today, don't you think?"
Nabiki nodded. "I'll say. Godai and Yusaku were even worse than that
idiot. Actually, Yusaku looks just like Kuno did back then, and he's just
asfull of himself. At least my Kuno never tried to makes slaves of all of
us... although he probably would have tried it if he thought he could get
away with it." She frowned. "I can't believe I used to help that idiot out."
Lorelei patted Nabiki's hand where the agitated marionette was
grippingthe desktop tightly. "He was your friend, even if he behaved badly
attimes. General Kuno and Yusaku are not the same as him. You shouldn't let
them tarnish any good memories you might have of the past." Nabiki
looka deep breath. "I know. I wouldn't really have called Tatewaki Kuno my
friend, really, I just kinda made fun of him by calling him "chan" all the
time. He was always so pretentious about it." She giggled. "Kind of like
Hanagata, actually, although not even Kuno-chan was that prissy." She
shrugged. "He did have his good moments, occasionally." Lorelei
nodded."All people do, from time to time." Nabiki nodded back in
acceptance, then remembered her original subject. "On another subject, do
youthink they'll need our depositions? On the case against Yusaku, I mean.
Oris the case already so tight that they don't need any other witnesses?"
Lorelei looked uncomfortable at that. "Well... the prosecuting attorney
wanted to know if it would be possible to get a download of you, Akane and
Ranma's memories from that time. I didn't think you'd appreciate that very
much, so I suggested he use the Kuno's other household marionettes instead."
Nabiki had gone still at hearing the prosecutor's request. "Download our
memories? Of course, that makes perfect sense." She spoke distantly,
noemotion in her voice, and Lorelei quickly took Nabiki's hand in hers. "I
would never ask you to do that, Nabiki. It wouldn't be right." Nabiki
sighed, losing her unemotional mask. "I know that YOU wouldn't, Lorelei."
Shesighed again. "And if it was the only way to make sure Yusaku's put away
for good, I'd do it in an instant, but I don't like the idea of having my
memories... downloaded like that. My memories are mine, and I wouldn't
appreciate anyone peering through them like some sort of home movie."
Lorelei nodded firmly. "It would be a terrible violation of your privacy. I
won't let them do that to you." Nabiki looked worried. "If you can
helpit, you mean. I guess that they haven't asked for our depositions
becausethey don't consider us human enough to testify." Lorelei sighed
and nodded. "I believe so." Nabiki took a deep breath, then shrugged.
"Well, hopefully it won't matter." Lorelei looked at Nabiki fondly.
"You know that I consider you to be every bit as human as myself. At least
where it counts." "I know." Nabiki answered, smiling slightly once
again. "And why should I care what anyone else thinks? As for my legal
status, it'll probably never even come up, so why worry?" There was a
long silence before Lorelei spoke up. "You're scared, aren't you?"
Nabiki nodded matter-of-factly. "Petrified, actually."
**************** When Ranma and Akane got back to Otaru's place, they
met Bloodberry and Panther coming up the street in the opposite direction
just before they got to the front door. "Hey you guys." Bloodberry
greeted them with a raised hand. "Have either of you two seen Yumeji
around?" Akane glanced at Ranma, then shook her head. "Hanagata's
littlebrother? No Bloodberry, I'm afraid we haven't seen him. Has anything
happened to him?" Bloodberry shrugged. "Who knows? He's been missing
for a while now, and Cherry asked us to check around for him, but...."
Bloodberry shrugged again. "Maybe he's come back on his own." She opened
thedoor to Otaru's restaurant, and they all walked inside. "Oh, any
luck?" Cherry asked from behind the counter. "Did you find Yumeji?"
Panther closed the door to the restaurant behind them, a rare look of
concernon her face, and Bloodberry opened her arms wide with another shrug.
"Nope. He's outta here." Cherry looked worried. "Which means... he
wentto Mt. Kamuna all by himself...?" Otaru, who had been sitting at
the front counter, listening to their conversation, broke in, turning to
Cherry anxiously. "Mt. Kamuna!? What do you mean, Cherry?" "Before,
Yume came in looking all unhappy, asking where Lime was." Cherry explained.
"So, I told him that she had gone off to Mt. Kamuna to play." The purple
haired marionette's eyes had a guilty look. "But I never imagined he would
goalone." "Oh crap!" Otaru stood up immediately, shoving back his
stool. "We gotta go find him, quick! The Whirlwind Bandit investigation can
wait!" He glanced towards the corner of the restaurant, where a miserable
looking young man was surrounded by empty sake jars, looking decidedly
unwell. "Hey, Hanagata! This is no time to be getting plastered!"
Hanagata looked away from Otaru with a drunken sniff. "Hmph. Any little
brother who happily forks over the one treasure more dear to me than life
itself to the friggin' Whirlwind Bandit is no little brother of mine!" He
angrily declared. Otaru roared in anger and lurched in Hanagata's
direction, but Akane held him back. "He's not worth it, Otaru-san. Let's
justgo find Yumeji-chan, alright?" Otaru gave the drunken Hanagata one
final frown, then nodded. "Fine. Lets split up into teams and get moving.
Yumeji is too young to be out in the woods by himself. He glanced back at
Cherry. "Cherry, why don't you stay here, just in case he comes home. The
rest of us can comb the woods quickly enough." The young man led the others
out the front door, a determined look on his face. As they were
leaving, closing the door behind them, Cherry could hear Akane speak up. "Oh
Otaru, about the Whirlwind Bandit...." *********************
At around the same time, miles away at the last stop of the Mt. Kamuna line,
a blond little boy got off the train. "Stupid big brother!" Yumeji mumbled
tohimself, trying his best not to cry. He was eight years old after all, and
crying was for little kids, not big kids like himself. The boy started
walking into the woods, finally managing to control his tears, and started
calling out over and over for his friend. "Lime! Lime!" Yumeji kept walking
and calling for Lime, getting farther and farther into the woods, when a
rustling in a patch of tall grass ahead of him caught his attention.
"Lime?" The little boy looked curiously in the direction of the sound. "Is
that you, Lime?" Yumeji started walking in the direction of the tall grass.
"Hey Lime! You know what? Big brother is being real mean to me!" Before he
reached the grass, however, a shadowy form burst from the grass, jumping
straight at the small child. Yumeji screamed in terror and fell backward,
andPonta cub that had leaped out at him landed in his lap with a happy
mewingsound. Yumeji looked down in surprise at the foot long red
furredPonta that was currently occupying his lap and trying to look cute and
blinked. "You're a little Ponta!" He exclaimed in relief. "Did you get
separated from the others?" The small animal mewed again ingratiatingly, and
Yumeji smiled, happy at least to have found someone to talk to. "OK. I'll
help you get back to them!" He looked down at his new friend in interest.
"Ohyeah! Did you see Lime anywhere?" The small animal suddenly turned it's
head back the way it had come, mewing in distress, and Yumeji blinked in
confusion. "Huh? What is it?" A moment later, in answer, a
shadow fell over the small boy, blocking out what little sunlight that had
made it through the trees. A tall figure in a dark cloak loomed over him and
once again the small boy screamed in fright, even as the mysterious person
reached for him. ************************ Off in another
partof the woods, Lime was heading home after spending the better part of
theday playing with the baby Pontas. Something caused her to come to a stop,
and she turned, looking off to her left in concern. A patch of bright
red berries caught her attention a moment later and she bent down with a
happy smile. "Those look good!" She was about to pick herself a handful of
berries when her attention was again distracted, glancing up and to the left
again. "Huh? Whassat?" Off in the distance she spotted a trail of smoke
rising into the sky, coming from a clearing not too far away. Her curiosity
peeked, Lime decided to head in that direction and see what was causing the
smoke. Soon Lime came to the edge of the clearing, spotting her friend
Yumeji tied to a tree. "Oh! Hey. Yume! Whatcha doin?" The young boy was
crying, and as Lime came further into the clearing she saw a Ponta cub tied
to a spit over an open campfire, crying out in fear as the air around it got
hotter and hotter. With a startled cry of alarm, Lime rushed forward to save
the small animal. Yumeji opened his eyes in relief at his friend's
voice, then went wide in shock. "Lime, look out!!" He yelled in warning as
his would be rescuer rushed towards him. Lime came to a halt in
confusion, then caught a hint of movement from her right a moment too late
asa dark cloaked figure leaped out of the woods with incredible speed,
slamming into the marionette from behind with a shoulder rush. The momentum
of the stranger's attack knocked Lime off her feet and threw her into a tree
on the far side of the clearing with stunning force. Lime cried out in
surprise and pain as she hit the tree, then slumped to the ground at it's
base. She recovered from the impact in under a second, looking up just in
time to see her attacker launching a fist directly at her face. Lime leaped
to the side even as a dark
skinned hand cracked into the surface of the tree hard enough to shatter the
bark, right where Lime's head had been a moment before. Lime slipped
into a loose fighting stance, facing her attacker confidently, while the
cloaked figure stared at the fist it had imbedded into the tree almost in
disbelief. The cloaked individual straightened up and turned to face it's
target, and Lime's eyes went wide in surprise as she got her first good look
at her attacker. "Hey, you're..." Lime paused, looking at the
attractive face and long blue hair of the person in front of her in shock.
"... a marionette!" The marionette standing in front of Lime charged her
witha incoherent battle cry an instant later, not giving her any more time
totalk, but it was already quite evident that she was, indeed, a marionette.
The strange marionette had chocolate brown skin, and several colorful
stringsof beads braided into her long, light blue hair. Lime staggered back
in surprise as the strange marionette charged her, but managed to pull
herself together in time to duck under the first punch that the aggressive
marionette
sent her way. Getting her equilibrium quickly, Lime back flipped deftly over
the second wild but vicious swing, and leapt quickly backwards and up as her
opponent swung at her a third time with a powerful hay maker, getting clear
just in time. Lime landed on a tree branch forty or so feet above and
away. "Hey! You quit that!" She scolded the other marionette from her
branch,looking rather like an oversized cat as she perched there on all
fours. "Shut up!!" The cloaked marionette yelled, gathering herself to
leap with a scream of rage. Lime blinked in confusion as her attacker leapt
toward her, leaping clear of her branch just as the angry marionette
attacking her severed it from the tree with a downward chop. Lime's
leap took her even higher into the treetops, and she looked back in wonder
asher attacker fell back down to earth. "Wait a second! Could it be?" She
wondered aloud. The strange marionette landed on the forest floor a moment
later, already bracing herself to leap again, and throwing off her cloak to
give herself more freedom of movement, launched herself after Lime like a
guided missile. High in the trees now, Lime noticed the stranger quickly
catching up to her, not having been able to get as much velocity off her
branch as the other marionette had gotten off the ground. Lime turned in mid
flight, landing high up the trunk of an huge old tree like a squirrel, legs
first, bracing to leap again, but her attacker was too close, slamming into
Lime before she could take off, and grabbing her by the shoulders to throw
both of them at the forest floor, now far below. Momentarily shocked
bythe impact, Lime found herself hurtling toward the ground at high speed,
the dusky skinned marionette, her hands on Lime's shoulders, riding her down
toward the forest floor. As the ground sped towards them with dizzying
speed,time seemed to slow down for the normally cheerful marionette. Only
moments before impact, Lime acted, pulling the other marionette in towards
her with a sudden jerk, then reversing the hold in a lighting like move that
put Lime on top. The extremely surprised look on the other marionette's face
was the last thing Lime saw before impact, the two marionettes crashing into
the forest floor hard enough to throw up a large cloud of dust. The
dust settled and several long moments passed before Lime staggered to her
feet, looking a bit shaky. "Heh." She grinned happily. "I win." She glanced
down at the other marionette and noted that her opponent had apparently shut
down from the shock of impact. Shrugging in confusion, Lime headed back to
the clearing to untie Yumeji and the baby Ponta. After rescuing her
friend and the young Ponta, Lime went back to the strange marionette,
followed by a curious Yumeji and Ponta. Now that Lime was with him, the
youngboy quickly lost his fear. Lime had saved him, as she had done years
before when his house had burned down, and as she had saved so many others.
Yumeji was privately of the belief that Lime could do just about anything,
and seeing her smiling face took away all of his fear. The Ponta cub too
calmed down quickly once it was away from the fire, and followed after Lime
and Yumeji with cat like curiosity. Yumeji looked at the strange
marionette intently, able to get a good look at it for the first time, now
that it had taken it's cloak off. The dark skinned marionette was quite
pretty when it wasn't tying people up to trees, he thought to himself,
although no where near as beautiful as Lime, he thought loyally. While the
strange marionette was as ascetically pleasing as any marionette he had
previously seen, it was dressed strangely, its forearms from elbow to wrist,
and it's lower legs from knee to foot wrapped up in long strips of white
cloth, like they were bandaged, although she didn't appear to be injured in
any way. She wore a short white
piece of cloth around her waist, tied off at one hip to form an extremely
short skirt, and she work yet another strip of cloth across her breasts,
likean improvised bikini top. Besides the beads in her hair, she had a thumb
sized red glass bead on a string around her neck, and wore simple black
sandals over the bandages on her feet. It was several minutes later
when the strange marionette's systems finally came back online. When the
darkskinned marionette opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the
facesof Lime, Yumeji and the Ponta. Yumeji and the Ponta both looked worried
while Lime on the other hand beamed pleasantly at her. Startled, the
marionette scrabbled backwards and away from them in a panic, coming to rest
several feet away. Lime looked apologetically at the other marionette.
"Are you OK? I'm sorry...." The dark skinned marionette crouched, ready to
leap, and Lime threw her arms wide in a welcoming gesture. "I won't do
anything." She assured the skittish girl. The other marionette cowered away
from the sudden movement, mewing suddenly in fear and curling up behind her
knees defensively. Lime sighed in disappointment and closed her eyes for a
moment in thought. When she opened them again she was again smiling. "Hoh!"
Lime said cheerfully, putting up one hand in a high five gesture. The dark
skinned marionette blinked at Lime in wonder as
the cheery marionette tried again, this time using her friend as an example.
"Yume-chan, Hoh!" She said cheerfully, throwing out her palm towards the
blond eight year old boy." "Hoh!" Yumeji cried back with a smile,
slapping his palm against Lime's for a high five. Lime smiled down at
the Ponta cub and did it again, throwing out her hand once more. "Ponta-kun,
Hoh!" The young Ponta got the idea almost immediately and placed it's paw
against Lime's palm with a friendly mew. Lime smiled and stood, once again
turning to the strange marionette and throwing her arms out in welcome.
"There you see? Here comes!" Lime threw her palm out towards the other
marionette again, smiling. "Hoh!" The dark skinned marionette growled and
gotto her feet defensively, ready for an attack, and Lime stepped back,
tilting her head to one side in confusion. "No, not like that..." She
explained, taking hold of the other marionette's left hand her hers.
"...likethis." Lime then placed it palm to palm against her right hand.
"Hoh." Lime said quietly, beaming as a look of wonder crossed the face of
thestranger. "See?" Lime stepped back again, raising a finger. "OK,
let's try it again! All right? One, and two... Hoh!" Lime thrust out her
right palm one final time at the other marionette, who was standing there
looking rather stunned. Slowly, the stranger lifted her left hand towards
Lime's right, hesitating when her palm was only inches away. "That's right,
that's right." Lime said encouragingly, then took the initiative once again,
closing the gap to slap palms lightly. Lime beamed at the other marionette,
and laughed happily. "Now we're friends!" She announced brightly, no doubt
in her mind that it was so. Lime's new friend looked at the palm of
herleft hand in confusion, as if wondering if there would be some sort of
strange mark, then looked up at Lime. "Friends?" She asked, still
bewildered. "Yup!" Lime said with a nod. Suddenly her stomach rumbled
ather and Lime glanced down in surprise. "Oh yeah. I forgot I was hungry. I
have to go home." She blinked. "That reminds me...." Lime leaned down,
picking up the Ponta cub and holding the small animal up to show to her new
friend. "He's not food. Don't eat him, OK?" The small Ponta nodded
vigorouslyin agreement, and Lime put him back down on the ground gently,
thenturned to the eight year old standing behind her. "Well, let's go home,
Yume!" She and Yumeji turned to go, and Lime glanced back to hold out her
palm once last time before leaving. "Hoh!" Lime started walking away
with her eight year old companion when she was unexpectedly jerked to a
halt."Huh?" Lime said in surprise, turning around to see that the other
marionette had grabbed hold of the back of one of her poofy wing like
sleevesand was holding on to it in a non-threatening way. "What?" Lime
askedpolitely. "Did you forget something?" The dark skinned marionette's
expressive purple eyes were wide, and she trembled slightly, as if she
wasn'tcertain what she wanted to say. Lime turned fully back to face her,
notreally understanding. "Listen, I'm in a hurry." She explained. "I gotta
get home to eat...." The dark skinned marionette continued to stare at
her for another long moment before closing her eyes and lowering in fright.
"M-Master!" She exclaimed with a stutter, continuing to hold onto Lime's
sleeve and leaving her eyes closed and her head lowered as if awaiting a
blow. Lime just stared back at the other marionette in complete
bewilderment. "Huh?" Several minutes later, up in a tree house that
the dark skinned marionette had been taking shelter in, several dozen meters
away from the clearing and in the cover of the trees, Lime and Yumeji both
cried out in pleasure as the new marionette brought out a large platter
covered by various kinds of fruit, native to both Terra Two and Earth, and
set it down in front of them. "Let's eat!" Lime exclaimed happily,
grabbing an Earth pear for herself. Yumeji helped himself to a round purple
piece of fruit as well, and they both dug in, enthusing happily about how
good the fruit was as they ate. Both Lime and Yumeji were kneeling
comfortably in front of the platter, and the other marionette knelt on the
other side of it, hands on her knees as if waiting to see if there was
anything else she could get them. She had a small smile on her face as
she watched her guests eat, but after a moment the smile faded slightly she
remembered what she had wanted to ask. "Hey, Lime... Are you sure you
can't?" Lime blinked, then swallowed the bite of pair she was chewing.
"Can't what?" "Be my master." The dark skinned marionette explained.
"Of course I can't" Lime said in surprise. "I'm a marionette, just like
you." She blinked. "Hey, wait. How do you know my name?" "He just
called you that." The other marionette answered, looking at Yumeji
matter-of-factly. "Oh yeah." Lime blinked in understanding. "What's
your name?" "I'm NSM-X1" The dark skinned marionette explained
patiently. "Huh?" Lime said in confusion. "Nessmuh-what?" "Are
you sure that's not just a serial number?" Yumeji asked, a bit quicker on
theuptake. "That's not a name!" "Don't you have a name?" Lime asked
curiously. NSM-X1 just looked down at her knees in embarrassment. "Oh." Lime
said in quietly, then brightened. "But that's OK! If you don't have a name,
you can just make one up!" "Make one up?" The nameless marionette
looked interested, then smiled at her new friend hopefully. "Will you make
mea name, Lime?" "Sure!" Lime nodded cheerfully, putting a finger up
toher nose as she thought. "Let's see now... what would be a good name?" She
looked back at NSM-X1 curiously. "Say, where did you come from?" "The
sea!" The nameless marionette told them with a smile. "The sea?" Lime
asked wide eyed. "What's "the sea"?" She turned to her eight year old
companion. "Do you know, Yume?" Yumeji looked back uncertainly. "I've
never actually seen it...." NSM-X1 closed her eyes, as if seeing it in
her minds eye as she explained. "The sea is like a very, very big puddle.
Thewater is really salty, but it smells really nice! When the sky is blue,
the sea turns a deep emerald-green, and in the emerald water, there are many
many fish swimming around... with all the colors of the rainbow! But the
prettiest thing of all are the waves sparkling in the shining sun." NSM-X1
had tilted her head back as she spoke, her eyes still closed and a soft
smileon her face as she remembered her place of birth. "I want to go
tothe sea!" Lime exclaimed enthusiastically. "Me too!" Yumeji chimed
inexcitedly. "Me too!" NSM-X1 couldn't help but laugh quietly at their
enthusiasm. "That's it!" Lime exclaimed. "I have it!" NSM-X1 glanced
atLime in interest, and she explained. "Your name, I have your name!"
"My name?" NSM-X1 beamed back at her. "You do!? What is it, Lime? What's my
name?" "Sea-man!" Lime announced proudly, causing Yumeji to stare at
her in shock, and the newly christened "Sea-man"'s look of joy to falter
slightly. "You like the sea, so you're Sea-man!" Lime explained, looking
quite pleased with her idea. Yumeji rolled his eyes. "Lime... just a
minute...." Lime didn't pay attention to her young companion's
protest,raising a finger in triumph. "Sea-man it is!!" She announced,
giggling
in satisfaction. "Sea-man" just stared at Lime in disbelief, but
recovered quickly, smiling in acceptance. "All right. Sea-man is my name!"
Yumeji's jaw dropped as he stared at Sea-man incredulously, but the
marionette was undisturbed. "From this day on, I'm Sea-man!" She announced
once again with conviction." "Yup!" Lime agreed with a nod. "Aren't
youglad to have a name?" Yumeji just looked back from one marionette to the
other in shock, his mouth hanging open in amazement at the two obviously
insane marionettes. The newly christened "Sea-man" stood up and walked
over to a wooden crate in the corner which was covered by a blanket.
Removing the blanket she perused the contents, then reached in and pulled
outa ornate looking crystal ball with a gold inlaid base. "Whatcha
doing, Sea-man?" Lime asked curiously. The dark skinned marionette
turned toward her new friend with a smile. "Lime, I want to give you this
tothank you for giving me a name." As she held the crystal ball out it lit
up on the inside, a three dimensional image of a familiar looking young man,
standing in a heroic pose, suspended within. "Otaru!" Lime exclaimed
with a gasp, staring at the ball in surprise. Next to her, Yumeji's mouth
dropped wide open in shock. "Isn't it pretty?" Sea-man asked happily.
Yumeji got quickly to his feet. "That's big brother's really
importanttreasure!" The young boy exclaimed, then ran over to the crate the
dark skinned marionette had pulled it from. "Hey! This is the other stuff
that was stolen! This is too! This is too!" The blond haired youth turned
to Sea-man in sudden realization. "That means...." "...you're the
Whirlwind Bandit?" Ranma completed Yumeji's sentence for him, pushing aside
the flap of cloth that served as a door to the tree house and causing
everyone to turn towards her in shock. End Chapter 16 Please
C&C,it's why I write! You can find almost all the previous Chapters to this
at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449/ssl.html[1]
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