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.
Thisis the finished version. Sorry about the mixup. 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 blinked at
something he was reading in the paper. "Maybe this has something to do 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 sitting around 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 was one of the victimized! He
stole the dirk of pure gold that Lord Faust gave specially to me... as well
as all of my poems!" "My poems?" Bloodberry said incredulously. "I
didn'tknow 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,
trying to 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 if
anything 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
onversation, 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, we can
always come back here and get help." Akane looked worried. "Ranma and 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 has to run the restaurant,
and you two have a lot to do today, don't you?" Akane nodded, trying not
toblush. "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
ongoing 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's ancestors as well as Kuno." Cherry nodded.
"That is most likely the case. I believe Ieyasu was able to tease out the
familial genotypes of almost two hundred different families when he started
the process of creating clones. It's possible that there will be other
familynames 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
repliedimpatiently, leading the way in through the front door. Akane
followedthe 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 break down 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
twodoing 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'sgoing 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 break down!" 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
blinkedagain. "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." He 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." She faced Chodo squarely, turning serious. "I'm
sorry about yesterday. Both Ranma and I were shocked when we saw you,
becauseyou 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
longstory. 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 Akane must 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
givenmemories? 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
acopy, 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 father put 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 Kounji
school,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 from five
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
andnow?" 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 left for 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
deliveriesaround 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
notsure 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'teven 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
outif 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."
Chodowrinkled 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
guessI can." ************************** Ranma and Akane arrived at the
palace only a few minutes later, having taken the high road over the
rooftopsto 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
expectingyou 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't have 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 it definitely appeared
to be a marionette. A Saber Marionette." She paused for effect. "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
ranpretty quickly when I tried to confront her, so maybe I won't have to
worry about her coming back." Akane put a hand on her sister's shoulder
reassuringly. "We'll keep an eye out, Nabiki." Ranma spoke up. "Hey, how
come this new marionette has a maiden circuit? Aren't they supposed to be
really rare? I thought there was only nine of us?" Nabiki shrugged.
"That'sgot us puzzled too. Lorelei thinks it might be something a
neighboringgovernment 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
goingaway 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 need us to testify?" Nabiki blinked. "I have no idea. I'll see
whatI can find out." Before long the conversation came back around to
getting the new chips installed, and it wasn't too long before the procedure
was done, much to Ranma and Akane's relief. "Whew." Ranma said, looking
relieved. "I thought that was going to be a lot tougher. It didn't take any
time at all, just open a panel andin 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 that very 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 that the Whirlwind Bandit is really a
marionette. We said we'd be back it time for 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
thescientist 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
thinkof 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 while I do enjoy looking at you, I don't wish to do so
from afar." Lorelei blushed. "Have you ever considered writing poetry?"
Shefinally asked. It was Nabiki's turn to blush. "There I go, sounding
likeKuno-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. Quite the
character, Kuno-chan. He kept things interesting, I can say that much for
him." Lorelei nodded in understanding. "Ah, I remember, he was the one
thathad 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't make up his mind
betweenRanma 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
ofhim." 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 like that, 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
Kunohad 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 as full
ofhimself. 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
withit." She frowned. "I can't believe I used to help that idiot out."
Lorelei patted Nabiki's hand where the agitated marionette was gripping the
desktop tightly. "He was your friend, even if he behaved badly at times.
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 look a 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
didhave 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 you think they'll need our
depositions? On the case against Yusaku, I mean. Or is 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
itwould be possible to get a download of you, Akane and Ranma's memories
fromthat time. I didn't think you'd appreciate that very much, so I
suggestedhe 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, no
emotion 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 help
it,you mean. I guess that they haven't asked for our depositions because
theydon'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
little brother? 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 went to
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 go
alone." "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
youngman 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 just go 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
outin the woods by himself. He glanced back at Cherry. "Cherry, why don't
youstay 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 to himself, 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 furred
Ponta 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
thetrees. 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 part of the woods, Lime was
heading home after spending the better part of the day 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
thatdirection 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,
cryingout in fear as the air around it got hotter and hotter. With a
startledcry 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 as a dark cloaked figure leaped
outof 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
loosefighting 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 with a incoherent
battlecry an instant later, not giving her any more time to talk, but it was
already quite evident that she was, indeed, a marionette. The strange
marionette had chocolate brown skin, and several colorful strings of 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 as her 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
bracingherself to leap again, and throwing off her cloak to give herself
morefreedom 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
highup 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 by the 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
spedtowards them with dizzying speed, time seemed to slow down for the
normally cheerful marionette. Only moments before impact, Lime acted,
pullingthe other marionette in towards her with a sudden jerk, then
reversingthe hold in a lightingly 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
severallong 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
Yumejiand Ponta. Now that Lime was with him, the young boy 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
thebelief that Lime could do just about anything, and seeing her smiling
facetook 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
strangemarionette 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, like an improvised bikini top. Besides the beads
inher 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
backonline. When the dark skinned marionette opened her eyes, the first
thing she saw was the faces of 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
andcurling up behind her knees defensively. Lime sighed in disappointment
andclosed 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!"
Shesaid 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. onta-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 got to 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. "...like this." 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 the stranger. "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 her left 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 at her 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
hernew friend. "He's not food. Don't eat him, OK?" The small Ponta nodded
vigorously in agreement, and Lime put him back down on the ground gently,
then turned 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
marionettehad grabbed hold of the back of one of her poofy wing like sleeves
and was holding on to it in a non-threatening way. "What?" Lime asked
politely. "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
ewilderment. "Huh?" Several minutes later, up in a tree house that the
dark skinned marionette had been taking shelter in, several dozen meters
awayfrom the clearing and in the cover of the trees, Lime and Yumeji both
cried out in pleasure as Marine 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
asthey 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
herknees 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
skinnedmarionette 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 the uptake. "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 me a name, Lime?" "Sure!" Lime nodded
cheerfully,putting a finger up to her 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
askedwide eyed. "What's "the sea"?" She turned to her eight year old
companion. "Do you know, Yume?" Yumeji looked back uncertainly. "I've
neveractually 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. The
water 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
manyfish 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 to
thesea!" Lime exclaimed enthusiastically. "Me too!" Yumeji chimed in
excitedly. "Me too!" NSM-X1 couldn't help but laugh quietly at their
enthusiasm. "That's it!" Lime exclaimed. "I have it!" NSM-X1 glanced at
Lime 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
inshock, 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
quitepleased 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
jawdropped 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 you glad to have a
name?" Yumeji just looked back from one marionette to the other in shock,
hismouth 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 out a 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 to thank 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 important treasure!" 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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