Minna-san,
It's been a VERY long time since I've last really
worked on this series. Real life (in terms of losing
my old job and staying in limbo for about three months
before getting a new one this month) has hit me hard
recently.
I've decided that before I produce new versions of
"LS," I'm going to redo the whole series to date in
past tense format. I hope it runs well since I'm so
used to writing everything in present tense.
Cheers,
Fred
=====
<P><STRONG><EM><FONT face="Courier New">Fred Herriot AKA P'yeknu OR Gorgo</FONT></EM></STRONG></P>
<P>**** **** ****</P>
<P><A href="mailto:fherriot@yahoo.com">fherriot@yahoo.com</A></P>
<P>**** **** ****</P>
<P><A href="http://www.livejournal.com/~pyeknu/">http://www.livejournal.com/~pyeknu/</A></P>
______________________________________________________________________
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: Lonely Souls (0 A Side).txt
-- Desc: Lonely Souls (0 A Side).txt
Somewhere in darkness...
The young sorceress sat in her high-backed velvet chair,
absently gliding a cleaning rag over her crystal ball. Before her
stood a table, five tarot cards face-down on the polished surface.
Around the sorceress was a square of lit white candles. Barely
visible in the darkness directly ahead of the sorceress, beyond the
candles, was a doorway that connected Hirosaki Chikage to the mundane
world beyond.
Hirosaki...?
"Is that who I am?" she whispered, gazing at the opaque ball on
her lap. "Is that...?" She dramatically paused. "Who I really
am?"
The ball glowed softly in her hands, then the light melted into
an image. A facial shot of a teenage man, about a year older than
she. Chikage blinked as she took in his measure. He seemed a
typical city fellow, yet there was a...! A untamed WILDNESS deep
within him. Best noticed in his eyes, she mused, relaxing herself.
Yes, to most normal people, this fellow would probably seem plain.
Dull, actually.
But Chikage was certainly NOT a normal person.
Not by far.
"Are you him...?" she whispered.
She stared at the tarot cards before her. A hand touched the
far right card. It was flipped around. The Emperor, the card that
symbolized the imposition of structured order on wild chaos.
"Family..." Chikage whispered, then stared once more at the image
in her ball.
"Yes..." she breathed out, closing her eyes as her hand gently
caressed the ball. "You are him, aren't you...?" The barest hint
of a smile tugged her mouth as she committed the image to memory.
"...Ani-kun."
Suddenly, the image in her crystal ball changed. Chikage
watched as the image morphed into that of another person, this time
of a young woman. One of great beauty and passion. Yet, like
Ani-kun -- in fact, even *more* so than Ani-kun -- this one also
contained within her heart a cauldron of wild fury. Who was she?
Someone who might take Ani-kun away?
Her hand fell on the second card of the suite. The Temperance
card, ward against excessive hope. Chikage blinked, her eyes
widening. "So it is not meant to be. Not this round," the sorceress
forlornly sighed, then she smiled. "But you will not take Ani-kun
away from us, will you? For you need us just as much as Ani-kun'll
need us, won't you...?" She closed her eyes as images, visions,
flooded her mind.
"...Ane-kun?"
* * *
"Lonely Souls"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
**** **** ****
Based on "Urusei Yatsura" and "Ranma 1/2," created by Takahashi
Rumiko; and "Sister Princess," created by Tenhiro Naoto and Kimino
Sakurako. 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 text below.
**** **** ****
THE PROLOGUE, "A" SIDE - LIGHT BEFORE THE DARK
Tomobiki, nighttime, start of winter vacation...
"Baka Kaa-san! How could she ask Lum to cook tonight's meal?!"
An annoyed Moroboshi Ataru stormed down the street toward the
one place in all of his hometown he could call a true refuge from the
madness which had haunted him for so long: Tampopo's Ramen and
Beefbowl Bar. And yes, tonight, he needed that refuge. Not that he
would always seek that, especially these days. Truth be told, if he
had the chance to sit down and talk it over with Lum, he could show
her the error of her ways. After all, he had at least two
catastrophic encounters with Oni cooking (he got turned into twins
one time; the second, a werewolf) to show Lum that what might be good
for an Oni's palate wouldn't be so good for a Terran's.
But, no!
Not this time.
When he got back from the library, Lum was busy in the kitchen
cooking...! Ataru didn't know how to describe the pile of SOMETHING
in the pot. Before he could wonder what was happening, his mother
came down from her room, announcing that she and her husband were
going out for the evening. So, because it was some important
Oni holiday, too -- which one it actually might be, Ataru didn't
hear -- it only seemed right to have Lum cook dinner. Before Ataru
could protest, his parents quickly stepped out, his mother parting
with a warning: "And DON'T run off to Tampopo's like you always
do, Ataru!" Then she added, as if in spite, "I told Lum-chan and
Ten-chan to make sure you stay put. Honestly, I wish I never had
you!" Remembering that, Ataru grimaced as he turns down the street
that led right to Tampopo's front door. His mother's warning didn't
matter; Ataru had long-established ways of getting clear of Lum and
Ten-chan when he wanted to be left alone. The many times -- WAY too
many -- Moroboshi Kinshou said THAT to her own son flow back through
his mind's eyes.
*Baka a-ho Kaa-san!* Did she honestly think that he was just
going to stand there and TAKE all that crap from her for the rest of
his life?! Did she honestly believe he wasn't hurt EVERY time she
said that, acted as if he didn't really matter? Stupid, selfish
bi-...!
Ataru sighed, his pace slowing down a bit. Damn, he really
shouldn't think things like THAT, should he? Yeah, his mother was a
first-class jerk and idiot. And his father...? Ataru snorted.
What did that spineless fool ever really do? Hide behind his paper
and ignore it all. Or, when Kinshou cornered him to say something,
Muchi would go spout some idiot nonsense.
Of all the things that Fate could've dropped on Ataru's head,
did She have to drop the worst parents in Creation Itself on him?
That ALMOST made an eventual marriage to Lum worth it, Ataru
sighed. Once he and the Oni were bonded together, he could persuade
her to take him away from this worthless dump, leaving all the idiots
at school -- and ESPECIALLY his parents -- behind once and for all.
Let's see how the jerks here liked life WITHOUT their favourite
alien around to fawn over? *Yeah, it'd be almost worth it,* Ataru
mused with a smirk as he opened the door and stepped into Tampopo's.
"Konban wa, Tampopo-chan!" he called out.
"Irasshaimase! Konban wa, Ataru-chan!" Kamekichi Tampopo
looked up from her stove behind the counter, then quickly noting
the depressed mood on her favourite customer's face, frowned. "Oh,
what happened now?!"
Ataru sat by the counter. "Kaa-san's being her usual bakayaro
self and left making dinner tonight to Lum. Usual, please."
"Sure thing." The stocky cook got to work making a beefbowl
with shrimp and rice cakes. "Didn't you get a chance to talk Lum out
of cooking dinner or did Kinshou sweet-talk her into ignoring
anything you said?"
"The latter," he answered with a snort. "By the time I got back
from the library, Kaa-san and Tou-san were about to go out on the
town and Lum was halfway through making..." A shudder raced through
him. "Well, making something. What, I've utterly no idea
whatsoever!" He gave her a wry grimace. "And personally, I really
don't WANT to know what it is," he added.
Tampopo shook her head. "Stupid girl! When is it going to
finally sink into her thick skull that you're not an Oni? When you
die from food poisoning, for heaven's sake? When your heart's
destroyed or you're crippled for life? She should know better than
that by now!"
Ataru nodded. "Yeah, I know, I know. Still, just before I came
in, I was thinking of one GOOD benefit of marrying her."
She gazed curiously at him. "What's that?"
"That when we're married, we can move to her home planet and
leave Baka Kaa-san and Baka Tou-san behind once and for all."
Tampopo laughed. "It'd serve those two idiots right!" She
wagged a knowing finger his way, then turned back to the stove.
Ataru sighed, then stood up. "Be right back."
"Okay."
He headed back to the washrooms. Tampopo watched him go, then
sighs. "They'd be better off without all the idiots flying out of
the woodwork at them all the time," she muttered to herself, then
blinked as the front door opens, heralded by a wind chime over the
doorway ringing. "Irasshaimase!" She looked at the door, then
sighed. "What are you doing here, Jariten?!"
Floating by the door, Ten-chan ducked the annoyed stare Tampopo
sent his way. He himself had been through enough encounters
with the cook to know that he'd get away with NOTHING here. Besides,
being hit by that pizza-sized spatula Tampopo used when she made her
Super-duper Special okonomiyaki HURT! "Um..." he began, trying to
not appear threatening. "I'm s-sorry t-ta come in here, b-but
Lum-chan was wondering where that a-..." He caught himself before
Tampopo winged him with a throwing spatula; the cook HATED it when
people called Ataru "stupid" or things like that. "Um, ah, wh-where
Ataru is." He chuckled. "I mean, dinner's ready."
A knowing hum escaped the cook. "You of course mean dinner
for yourself and Lum, NOT Ataru-chan, right?" she wondered.
Ten-chan blinked, then stammered. "W-well, you see...!"
Tampopo turned the heat on her stove down low, then she walked
over. Ten-chan tried not to bolt and flee; he knew that, despite
her girth, the cook moved like LIGHTNING when she wanted to.
"Jariten, I'm going to tell you something. And you will listen and
when I am done, you will tell Lum the very same thing, okay?" At his
nod, she sighed. "Ataru-chan cares for Lum very much. If they
didn't have to deal with idiot, nosy busybodies like you all the
time, they'd probably be formally engaged if not married by now. But
as long as people like you and all the fools at school -- and
ESPECIALLY Ataru-chan's parents -- keep presuming you have the right
to stick your noses where they don't belong, they'll never get there.
That, I'm sure you'll agree, will make Lum VERY unhappy. Won't it?"
She stared knowingly at Ten-chan.
"Um..." He shuddered, then nodded. "Um, yeah! I guess so."
"Alright, then." Tampopo smiled, then jolted on feeling a hand
on her shoulder. She turned, then blinked. "Ataru-chan?"
"It's alright, Tampopo-chan." Ataru smiled, then stared at
Ten-chan. "Yo, Ten, why don't you get Lum to get some plates of..."
He paused, trying not to look repulsed. "Er, what was that stuff
she was cooking, anyway?"
The young Oni blinked, blinked again, then chuckled. "Oh,
it's..."
"It's okay, Ten-chan."
The voice caused everyone to turn towards the open doorway,
where Lum stood, an ashamed look on her face. Ataru blinked. "Lum."
"Gomen, Darling." She walked in, keeping her hands to herself.
She had gone through her own troubles with Tampopo every time she
tried to drag Ataru from this place. Those incidents had decreased
since some time before the Second Tag Race, but Lum wasn't going to
assume that all was well between herself and her Darling's friend.
"I should've realized that you'd be really scared of my cooking."
"I..." Ataru blinked, then chuckled. "Oh, it's okay." He
stared at Tampopo. "Um, did you bring...?"
Lum shook her head. "Iie. As soon as I realized that you'd
come here, I threw it out. Besides, it tasted a little too flat."
Gazing at his would-be wife, Ataru wondered if Lum wasn't just
making that up. Then again, did it matter? "Hey, it's okay," he
declared, reaching over to gently squeeze her shoulder, then he waved
her to the counter. "C'mon, let's have something to eat. I assume
what Kaa-san said about this bein' some big holiday on your planet's
true, right?"
Lum blinked, then nodded. "Un..."
* * *
Chikage stared at the suite before her, then she picked up the
first card. The Three of Cups. "A reunion...?" She then turned
the next card in the suite. The Emperor. A glance to the crystal
ball. "Ane-kun...!"
* * *
"Liberation Day?!"
"Hai." Lum then bit into a fork-full of kimch'i tchigae,
a fried version of Korea's most well-known food dish. The Oni --
both, in fact; Ten-chan was working on his second plate! --
appreciated Tampopo's willingness to give them something spicy.
"It's the anniversary of our liberation from an evil race known as
the Seifukusu. It happened about...!" She paused to do a quick
mental calculation, then sadly smiled. "Oh, nine hundred years ago
as you tell time. It's the most important holiday on our calendar."
"Bad?" Ataru asked before sipping his water. He didn't mind
having kimch'i tchigae -- for one born in Japan, listing several
Korean dishes as some of his favourite was seen as peculiar -- but he
couldn't live with it every day of his life. "These...? Seifukusu?"
Lum shuddered. "They were monsters. Still are, in fact.
That's part of the reason we had to come to Earth, Darling."
He considered that. "So in other words, if they'd shown up at
the same time as you people did, we'd have had a choice between
'bad' and 'worse,' right?" He nibbled some rice, then winced on
seeing the hurt look on her face. "Oh, damn! I'm..." He slapped
his forehead.
Lum blinked, then wanly smiled. "It's alright." She bowed her
eyes. "I suppose you have a right to think that, especially
now."
Ataru gazed at her. "Lum...?" Getting no response from his
would-be wife, he smiled. "Soo ka." He then took up his glass of
water. "Well, Happy Liberation Day, then. Kampai!"
He toasted his girlfriend. Lum stared wide-eyed at him, then
beamed. "Hai! Kampai!"
"Kampai!!" Ten-chan echoed them, lifting his own glass.
They touched glasses, then drank. "Well, this is a lot better,"
Tampopo mused as she moved to clean the table behind Lum and
Ten-chan. "See what showing a little civil restraint can do, Lum?"
"Tampopo-san..."
The front door opened. "Irasshaimase!" Tampopo looked at the
doorway, then paused as a girl Ataru's age steps in before heading
to the counter. The newcomer was dressed in a hooded track suit with
running pants, the hood drawn over her head to ensure people didn't
get a clear look at her face. Watching Ataru, Lum and Ten-chan
chat, the cook placed herself in front of the newcomer. "What would
you like?"
"Wildflower herbal tea," the brown-haired, brown-eyed girl
replied, then glanced briefly at Ataru out of the corner of her eye.
Tampopo got to work, lowering her voice to a bare whisper.
The newcomer would hear her. "So you decided to come back now."
"There is no choice," the newcomer replied in kind. It wasn't
really necessary; if Lum or Jariten proved to be a problem, they
could be dealt with. "Matters abroad are turning against the Onis.
Within a day, the United Nations will learn of a war between Lum's
people and one of their more passionate enemies. The people in the
United Nations are now looking for any excuse to see Lum sent home.
The Onis' new conflict will give them the excuse; after all, they
would ultimately desire to ensure such a conflict will not come to
affect anyone here."
Tampopo blinked. "It's that bad?"
The newcomer nodded. "It is that bad. Best to resolve matters
now. I will intercept Ataru when he goes to the washroom."
Tampopo finished with the tea, then set the cup before the
newcomer. "It might've been better if you came earlier, Negako-san."
The newcomer took that in, then shook her head. "Too many
things were still unknown to me when the Onis first came." She
sighed, sipping her tea. "Plus, there was the matter with
Nagaiwakai."
"Have people figured that out yet?"
"No, not yet. Then again, is it truly relevant in the end?"
"True." Tampopo nodded, then walked into her kitchen. She came
out a moment later with what appeared to be a red pepper, heading
to Ataru's and Lum's table. "Lum, how'd you like to try this?" She
handed it to the Oni teenager. "It's a Jalapeno pepper from Mexico."
Lum took the pepper in hand, then bit into it. She jerked as
the hot spices danced around her mouth, then she munched it down and
swallows it. "That's good!" she replied with a delighted smile,
then handed it to Ten-chan. "Try it."
The younger Oni took his own bite, then whistled. "Wow, this
IS good! Where'd you get this, Tampopo-oneechan?!"
The cook chuckled. "There's an international food market down
in Shinjuku I raid every once in a while. I'll give you the address
if you want. Here, Ataru-chan, give it a try." She handed another
one to Ataru.
Ataru picked it up, then took a tentative bite. He jerked as
his mouth nearly exploded from the avalanche of hot spices, then he
quickly gulped down some water. "Whoo!!" He then breathed out.
"Man, how can the Mexicans eat this stuff?!"
"It's just a little more tasty than kimch'i, Darling," Lum
noted.
Ataru took several deep breaths to cool his mouth down. "Well,
not all of us are blessed with a high tolerance for spices, Lum,"
he stated with a dry chuckle, then stood up. "Be right back. I
gotta raid the water cooler."
He headed to the washroom. Not noticed by Lum or Ten-chan,
the newcomer at the counter stood, heading back to the washroom
herself. "Oh, dear!" Lum sighed, reaching over to nibble on the
pepper Tampopo had given Ataru. "If Darling has a problem liking
something like this, he definitely couldn't enjoy a Liberation
Day festival back home."
Tampopo smiled. "Oh, give him time, Lum. That's how a proper
relationship develops. It requires time and patience..."
An inhuman scream echoed from the direction of the washrooms.
"DARLING!!!!" Lum cried out, then flew back to look in on Ataru.
Tampopo's eyebrow twitched with annoyance as she looked back
herself. "...which I think Negako-san still needs to learn."
Tampopo and Ten-chan watched as the stranger, her hood drawn
back, carried a dazed Ataru up from the washrooms. A worried Lum
trailed the newcomer as the stranger placed Ataru in his chair, then
touched several places on his head and the back of his neck. Getting
a closer look at the newcomer, Ten-chan was instantly struck by the
resemblance to Ataru, especially when it came to hair and eye colour.
As if she was...!
"Is he alright?" Tampopo wondered.
"What was done five years ago is easily undone," Negako
reported. "When he recovers, he will be in shock as his memories
return."
Lum blinked. "'Memories?!' What's going on here?!!" A surge
of fear and worry crawled up her spine. "Who are you, anyway...?!"
Negako stared at her, causing the older Oni to stop and gape as
her facial features become clearer. "Lum, Ten, let her work,"
Tampopo moved to moderate. "Ataru-chan needs help first.
Explanations can come later."
Lum blinked, then grudgingly nodded...
* * *
"An ill air."
Cherry's eyes were narrow as a hollow wind warped past, then he
turned to his sauce pan. Drawing out ingredients, he allowed them
to go into the pan, then waited for an image to emerge. When it did,
his eyebrows arched. "'Memory?' What can that mean...?"
* * *
"Something has awoken."
Sakura stared at her crystal ball. Within it flashed an image
of Ataru, turning away from a crowd shrouded in darkness. The
priestess/nurse gazed closely at the image of the crowd, quickly
picking out certain details. "Something awakening in Moroboshi
which will prompt him to leave Tomobiki? Why? What does this
mean...?"
* * *
"Darling, are you alright?!"
Ataru moaned, a cacophony of sound, images and feelings hazing
out Lum's plea. "Leave him be for now, Lum," a strange woman's
voice then ordered. "He still needs time to adjust."
That voice...
Why was it so familiar...?
Who...?
Was it...?
"Who are you, anyway?!" Ten-chan then asked.
"Jariten!" Tampopo scolded.
The stranger: "Patience, Jariten. All will be made clear
soon."
Her...
The one who was once inside me...
The one I let free...
"Onee-chan...?"
"Darling!"
His eyes fully opened, he finding himself gazing at the ceiling
of Tampopo's restaurant. In the blink of the proverbial eye, a
familiar face popped into view. He gazed at her, then sighed. "Oh,
Lum, it's you..." he rasped as his head rolled right...
...then he found himself staring into HER eyes. Ataru blinked,
blinked again, then he slowly sat up before reaching out to touch
the side of Negako's face. "Onee-chan...?" he whispered. "Is that
you...?"
Negako seemed to freeze for a moment, then she lightly smiled.
"Yes, Ataru."
The onlookers remained quiet. Ataru's gaze turned inward as his
mind concentrated on the last moments five years ago before so much
was blanked out, then he stared anew at Negako. "She made you do
this to me, right?" he wondered, a sharp edge to his voice. "Didn't
she?"
Negako lightly nodded. "She did. At the time, she convinced
me that it would be safer for you that all knowledge of myself -- not
to mention the abilities my being inside you bestowed you, plus how
they came into being -- was suppressed. She..." A pause, then
Negako closed her eyes. "She convinced me that allowing any ties
between yourself and Nagaiwakai to remain intact would do you no
good. At that time, I did not..." Another pause. "Comprehend
the full extent of Kinshou's selfishness."
Lum blinked. "Darling's mother?!"
"Yes." Negako gazed briefly on the Oni, then turned back to
Ataru. "If I had truly understood then what I do now, Ataru, I would
not have denied you your memories and knowledge. For that, I am
sorry."
Ataru cupped Negako's chin, a smile crossing his face. "You
mean that, don't you?" he wondered. "You really mean that?"
"I have said it," Negako replied.
"Darling!!" Lum growled. "If she said she's sorry, you
can't...!"
"Lum, you don't understand..." Ataru waved the Oni down, then
an exasperated sigh escaped him, he shaking his head as his eyes
turned heavenward. "Oh, damn! This'd be a lot easier if things
hadn't bit me in the ass five years ago..."
"Among other places," Negako added.
Ataru jolted, then stared at her before a grin crossed his face.
"Well, I'll be damned! You can tell a joke after all!"
Negako winked. "Much that I do not see the necessity of
expressing emotions, Ataru, it does not mean that I cannot tell a
joke."
That was true, Ataru mused, though Negako's reply to his comment
was as dry as Sahara dust. "Yeah, you got that point, I guess,"
he mused with a rueful chuckle, then glanced at Lum, quickly noting
the frustration etched into the Oni's face. "Oh, gomen, gomen, Lum!"
He catched himself before indicating Negako. "I guess you need to
understand what's going on here."
"It would be appreciated," Lum dryly noted.
Sensing her sarcasm, he took a deep breath. "Well, it's like
this..."
* * *
About ten minutes later, a explosive geyser of electricity
shot through the roof of Tampopo's Ramen and Beefbowl Bar, echoed
by Lum's outraged cry of, "***SHE DID
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!***"
Seeing the geyser of lightning from the town park, Ataru's
parents blinked, then exchanged a look. "Oh, good grief, what has
that idiot son of ours done now?!" Kinshou demanded, imagining
the fallout of yet ANOTHER of Lum's lightning-laced temper-tantrums.
If she only knew...
* * *
"***YOU MEAN TO TELL ME SHE BLANKED OUT YOUR MEMORIES OF YOUR
FAMILY JUST BECAUSE SHE HATED YOUR GRANDMOTHER?!?!?!***"
"That's right." Ataru, unaffected by Lum's lightning -- a
decided change from all the other times the Oni lost control --
nodded. Negako was currently enjoying her tea. Tampopo and Ten-chan
busied themselves inspecting the damage in the ceiling. "Don't ask
me why this happened between Obaa-chan and *her*..." his voice
dripped with scorn. "Try as I might, I couldn't make *her*
understand why I hated it..."
"What could you expect, Ataru-chan?" Tampopo mused. "After
all, that's the way Kinshou's treated you all along."
Lum gazed at the cook, then turned to Negako. "So Tampopo-san
knew about what happened all along. Did you tell her, Negako-san?"
"No need," Negako reported. "Tampopo here possesses her own --
'mission-curse,' if I may describe it as that. She is compelled
to seek out those children who have suffered emotional abuse from
their parents, befriend them, then aid them into bettering their
lives."
Lum blinked. "Her family, too?"
"No, Tampopo herself. She is much more than she seems, Lum."
Lum gazed at Tampopo, then she shrugged. "I guess so."
"You're not bugged by that?" Ataru wondered, his eyebrow
arching.
"Darling, on a trading station close to Uru, there's a being
there -- his name's Koruneko -- who's believed to have lived for
thirty thousand years," Lum admitted. "Hai, I've been bugged at
times whenever Tampopo-san's moved to shield you from me or the
others, but I've never ONCE been compelled to attack her like I went
after Shinobu. I assume that's because of some empathic power she
has..."
"Let me have my secrets, Negako-san," Tampopo warned.
"Your choice." Negako reached into her track top to draw out a
folded document. "The Court of Special Appeals has prepared this for
your approval, Ataru. It concerns your legal status vis-a-vis
Kinshou and Muchi. I have asked to become your legal guardian
for the remaining time you are underage. When you become twenty,
you will then be acknowledged as the new Patriarch of the Moroboshi
Clan."
She handed it to him. Ataru took it, then opened it before
gazing nowhere in particular. "When did Grandma die, Onee-chan?"
"The eve of the sixth day of your first tag race with Lum."
Lum jolted, then bowed her head sympathetically. "Darling,
I'm so sorry..."
Ataru smiled on feeling her hand grip his. "Thanks, Lum-chan."
He squeezed her hand, then began to read.
"You should realize, Lum, that if Ataru does allow me to become
his legal guardian, your engagement to him will then have no legal
standing in Japanese society regardless of how long you've lived with
him," Negako warned. "I believe even your planet's laws will state
such an engagement cannot be since they demand the head of clan must
have final say in a coupling between members of two different
clans."
"Hai, that's true." Lum nodded, a twinge of worry flashing
deep in her heart, then she shook her head. "But if those two idiots
believed they could manipulate me into keeping Darling down just to
get their hands on his grandmother's fortune and all that, they're
mistaken, VERY mistaken! I can only imagine what Daddy'll think when
he learns of this!!"
Ten-chan smirked. "He'll hit the roof!"
"And most likely, fly through it," Negako added.
Everyone stared at her. Ataru grinned. "You're getting there,
Onee-chan." He turned back to the document in his hand, then after
finishing reading it, declared, "Well, this seems clear enough to me.
Tampopo-chan, can I get my hanko?"
"Alright."
Tampopo headed into the kitchen. Lum's eyes widened. "You keep
your hanko here?"
Ataru chuckled. "Yeah. After you came -- and please, Lum,
don't take this personally -- I felt I had to find a place where I
can keep the very important stuff. Besides..." He nodded towards
Tampopo as she returned from the kitchen, a small case in hand.
"Tampopo-chan is, believe it or not, a special 'notary public' with
the Family Registrar of Japan. Shocked the hell out of me when she
told me that."
Tampopo sighed. "I felt becoming that was necessary just in
case instances like this happen. Can I see that, please,
Ataru-chan?"
"Hai." Ataru handed the document over, then he noticed the
pinched look on Lum's face. "Hey, what's with the rainy-day look,
Lum?"
The Oni closed her eyes, feeling them sting with tears. "I
guess I haven't done much to really earn your trust, have I,
Darling?"
"Hey!" Ataru reached over to cup her chin, tilting her head up
so they could gaze into the other's eyes. "Now cut that out. Look
at it this way, Lum-chan: would you WANT to continue living under
a lie?"
"No, of course not! But...!"
He tapped her nose. "But nothing. Okay, a lot of illusions
just got flushed down the tubes tonight. But it isn't the end of the
world. It's a new beginning, Lum-chan. For me AND you. What
happens, now that those idiots are out of the way, is between us to
figure out. There's no dishonour in letting this fall apart. Not
for me, not for you and not for your family. What's wrong with
that?"
Lum considered that before nodding. "Hai, if you think so,
Darling."
Hearing them, Negako remained curiously silent, though her eyes
do scan the walls of Tampopo's establishment.
Hmm. Freshly painted.
Some fools thought they were SO intelligent...
* * *
Nearby, minutes later...
"Kaneda-san, is this possible?!"
Kaneda Isamu, a special agent of the Justice Ministry's
Public Safety Investigations Division -- the group that normally
dealt with counter-intelligence matters in Japan -- gravely nodded.
"Yes, Gospodin Tuchenko, it IS possible. Indeed, if the Court of
Special Appeals is involved in this, it is not JUST possible.
It will happen just as Moroboshi-kun and Moroboshi-sensei
presently foresee it."
The other intelligence officers seated in the monitor room,
located two blocks away from Tampopo's, nodded understandingly.
Gazing at the others, Isamu felt a sense of amazement bubble up from
his heart. Elsewhere in the world, these people's friends and
co-workers were busy working to undermine each other in pursuit
of their home governments' overall goals. But here, in the one place
on Earth where uncontrolled contact between Terrans and other races
was permitted, these people had been forced to become -- well, if not
real friends, at least working acquaintances. Intelligence
they gathered on aliens was pooled here, then distributed to their
controlling officers home.
Hearing the PSID officer's reply, Grigory Alekseyevich
Tuchenko, an agent of the Russian RVS -- and the KGB when the Soviet
Union was still a single nation -- nodded. Beside him, Mark Reilly
of the CIA snorted. "It's about fuckin' time, if you guys ask me.
You know, every friggin' time that bitch said 'I wish I never had
you' to that poor guy, I seriously dreamed of the day I'd take a gun
and shoot her dead! How can any mother say **that** to their own
kid, for cryin' out loud?! Now hearin' that...!" He waved to the
computer linked to the various sensors that could potentially
allow these people to eavesdrop on almost any conversation
in Tomobiki.
Basel Wallis, a long-time agent of the British SIS, sipped his
tea. "I dare say, my friend, justice is truly about to be served."
"Agreed." Ling Chai, of mainland China's Ministry of State
Security -- and the only woman in this group -- nodded, then turned
to the Japanese agent. "How soon will this Special Appeals Court
make this happen, Kaneda-san?"
"In all effect, Comrade Ling, it HAS happened." Isamu then
smiled. "Strange to see a Japanese court of law move so quickly,
ne?"
Laughter filled the room. Rene Falques, a French DGSE officer,
hoisted his coffee in a toast. "It is, mon ami, a delightful
change."
Basel smirked. "Bloody right about that! So once the dear boy
is finally free of those monsters who sired him, what then?"
"I suspect that when he becomes of age -- it's twenty here in
Japan as you know -- he will likely declare them roonin and expel
them from the Moroboshi clan," Isamu explained. "That sort of fate
is greatly feared in my society, my friends. Even if Kinshou's
own birth-family agrees to take Muchi on using her maiden name, it is
too late. The news of that will spread quickly thanks to those
private investigators companies employ to ensure their workers'
'purity.'" His mouth twisted distastefully.
"It's as bad as being discovered to have burakumin ancestry?"
Grigory wondered.
"Not THAT extreme, my friend, but close." Isamu sighed. "I
suspect when it is all said and done, Muchi will lose his job. They
will most likely be forced to leave Tomobiki, relocate themselves
elsewhere. That, in and of itself, will mark them as odd." A wry
smile crossed his face. "Yes, my friends, as I said, they will be
marked for life because of this. If Ataru-kun really wants revenge
against his parents for all they've done to him -- especially
given what we just heard now -- this is the way to do it."
Basel nodded. "Good for him."
"Hear, hear!" Mike whooped. "Well, now that those two are out
of the way thanks to this Negako -- whoever the hell she is! -- we
can concentrate on doin' what our governments want us to do: get rid
of Lum."
The others nodded. Having lived in Tomobiki since the First
Tag Race, the intelligence officers had often been appalled by the
behaviour aliens like Lum had shown here. Many times had they said
to themselves, "They call US uncivilized?!" Thus, when orders
arrived from their controllers concerning finding some way to see Lum
and her country people forever expelled from Earth, they gladly got
to work.
The Second Tag Race had left a vile taste in many people's
mouths.
Rene sighed. "Easily done, mes amis. Once Lum is no longer
engaged by either Earth or Oni law, she technically has no reason
to stay on Earth. We know she came here to pursue a marriage with
Ataru, do we not?"
"But what if Ataru DOES want to marry her?" Mark asked. "I
mean, it's pretty obvious he really does like her deep down."
"I think, my friends, we'll have to wait on discerning that
until matters with Comrade Moroboshi settle themselves out," Chai cut
in. "At this time, I believe we have messages to send to our friends
back home?"
The others stared at the MSS officer, then nodded...
* * *
Chikage turned a card. The Hierophant, symbol of the pursuit
of knowledge. "Many watching Ani-kun...?"
* * *
The Moroboshi home, three hours later...
"Ataru?! Lum-chan?! Are you here?"
The door closed behind Muchi and Kinshou as they walked into the
foyer connecting the living room and kitchen with the stairs to the
second floor. Noting the silence that responded to her hail, Ataru's
mother frowned, ascending to Ataru's room. "Ataru?! Are you
here...?"
She slid the door open, then stopped, her jaw dropping on seeing
the empty room awaiting her. ALMOST empty, that is; Ataru sat at the
windowsill, gazing outside. "Ataru!" Kinshou growled, stepping
in. "Why didn't you answer me, you stupid boy?! Where's
Lum-chan...?"
The door slammed shut behind her, causing Kinshou to spin
around, then she jolted on seeing Lum standing there, a hooded look
etched on the Oni girl's face. "Lum-chan! What's going on here?!"
She tried not to shiver. While Lum was on Earth, Kinshou shared
legal custody of her with her husband. But even with that, Ataru's
mother knew not to push matters too much with her would-be
daughter-in-law.
"I would've appreciated learning when Grandma died, you know."
Kinshou stopped, a chill as cold as an Arctic wind freezing
her, then she turned slowly to gaze on Ataru. His eyes were closed,
he still having not decided to look at the woman who gave birth to
him. Sensing the iron control he projected, Kinshou turned
sheet-white.
He remembered.
Everything.
"A-ataru, wait..." she feebly stammered. "You don't
understand..."
"So it's true?" Lum growled, sparks flashing over her body as
she fixes the older woman with a glare that could potentially
melt neutronium. "All because you hated your MOTHER-IN-LAW,
you deliberately took advantage of Darling's kindness to another
sentient being, then tricked Negako-san into blanking Darling's
memories of the only elements of his family who truly LOVED him?
Then, when Ten-chan and I came, you goaded us into keeping Darling
down, forcing us together so you could embezzle HIS inheritance
when we got married, then leave him with NOTHING?! WELL?!?!"
Lightning snapped in her hands, causing Kinshou to leap back. "Is it
true?! IS IT?!!"
"Lum, don't!" Ataru called out as Kinshou nearly crumpled
on herself. "Don't bother!" He shook his head. "She's not worth
it."
Lum stopped. "You're right, Darling. She's NOT worth it.
Neither is her husband. Maybe it's time we left them once and for
all."
"Hai, the stench is getting high here, I guess." Ataru smirked,
then glared down at Kinshou. She shuddered, then looked pleadingly
at him. His fists clenched, then relaxed as he summoned a gob of
spit, firing it into her face. She recoiled, then looked nowhere
in particular, stunned that all that she had done to secure her
future happiness had crashed so easily. "You and your husband are
both dead to me, Yamaguchi Kinshou," he declared in a frightfully
neutral voice. "As of today, all legal rights you had concerning
me have been stripped from you. I no longer consider myself your
son. But you won't get any satisfaction from that, I assure you."
He then held up a finger, a knowing smile crossing his face.
"Negako-oneechan is my legal guardian. I don't think you'll be able
to do much against her, ne?"
Kinshou gargled, her face turning sheet-white as the image of
that living machine of destruction, a being born from the
carefully-preserved knowledge of over a millennium's worth of
ninjitsu and other martial arts masters, flashed through her mind.
Lum walked around her, taking Ataru's hand in her own. "Darling,
shall we go?" she asked with a smile.
"One more thing." Ataru glared once more at the woman who was
his mother only by genetics. "When I become of age, you will both
be stricken from the clan register and made roonin. So, if you don't
want to live with just one name, I strongly suggest you make up with
your relatives, Kinshou. Then again, given what a greedy bitch you
are, I somehow have to wonder if they'd WANT you back! Let's go,
Lum."
"Hai!" Lum boosted Ataru into the air, then they flew out the
window, Ataru's mocking laughter tauntingly trailing their path.
In the empty room they left behind, Kinshou remained still,
then an outraged scream escaped her. "DAMN YOU, YOU OLD COW!!!!!!"
A lightning bolt then jabbed through the window to fry her!
* * *
Chikage turned a card. Judgement, symbol of honesty. "Freedom
for Ani-kun..."
* * *
Tampopo's, the next morning...
"So where did you sleep last night?"
"Where do you think?" Lum gave the stocky cook a pouting look,
then grinned as Tampopo placed a kimch'i-laced beefbowl before the
Oni. "Ten-chan was pretty mad about it because Negako-san kept him
away from my ship."
"I wanted to see what you were doing, Lum-chan!" Ten-chan
moaned, then jerked on feeling Negako's finger stab into his
forehead.
"That is none of your affair, Jariten," Negako declared.
"Leave them be. Your cousin is happy with Ataru. Be thankful
for that."
"Yeah, Ten, you really shouldn't worry about it now." Ataru
slurped down his ramen with rice cakes, then he slyly grinned.
"Unless you want to find Mako-chan and start practising things with
her?"
The young Oni awked. "NO WAY!!!!"
Laughter escaped everyone else but Negako. In the brief time
she had come to know this being, Lum quickly learned that most
"normal" human emotions were alien things to Negako. In many ways,
Moroboshi Negako reminded Lum of CAO-2, the robot teacher who had
once been used to "babysit" her, Benten and Lan when they were very
young children. Then again, given what her Darling had said about
his adopted sister's abilities, Negako could most likely reduce CAO-2
into a pile of scrap metal with but the touch of a finger.
Lum stared at Negako. "So what has to happen now with Darling?"
The ninjitsu grandmistress -- the title was hers automatically
given the knowledge that was her birthright -- sighed. "I will have
to make repairs to Ataru's immune system before indoctrinating
him in the Art. Not here in Tomobiki, of course. Ataru's
classmates, especially Mendou Shutaro, Megane Aisuru and others,
would greatly fear his 'evolving' from an annoying nuisance into a
being who could kill them with but a touch of a finger. To most
bullies, nothing panics them more then when one of their victims
turns the tables against them, especially in front of others. A
public duel between Ataru and Shutaro would, if executed properly,
destroy Shutaro's reputation, especially among those women who fawn
over him. Aisuru? The same result. Perhaps even worse if Ataru
fights Sedoyama Keizou in public. Or Rei, perhaps?"
Lum jolted on hearing her former boyfriend's name, then she
cautiously exhaled. "Lan-chan won't like that at all, Negako-san."
"Do you fear Lan might strike back at Ataru in revenge?"
"Probably, especially now that Lan and Rei've become so close."
Ataru shook his head. "Somehow, I don't think Lan-chan'll
ever get much out of that jerk, Lum. I mean, all he cares about is
food, food and more food, right? Ask any yatai owner here. Hey,
Tampopo-chan, how many of 'em've been cleaned out by that big pig,
anyway?"
Tampopo sighed. "Too many to count. Lucky thing I can deal
with idiots like that. Though it IS strange that he always tries
to come here every time he visits Tomobiki, even with Lan ready to
cook a feast for him." She then hummed. "Maybe I've brained him too
much?"
Ataru laughed. Negako shook her head. "Not exactly."
Everyone turned to her, surprised by her willingness to defend
the Oni pilot who had, in the period immediately following the First
Tag Race, come close to killing Ataru several times so he could "win"
Lum back. Ten-chan blinked. "Why'd ya say that, Negako-oneechan?"
"Rei suffers from dyslexia and dysphonia."
Ataru gaped. "Dyslexia AND dysphonia?!"
"I've heard of dyslexia, but not dysphonia," Lum reported.
"Dysphonia is where a person has an inability to vocalize
his or her thoughts," Tampopo explained, then sighed. "No doubt,
because of that, his endless hunger and the fact that he can't fly
like other Onis can, he must've been seriously ostracized when he was
Jariten's age."
Lum nodded. "He was."
Ataru winced. "Jeez! Poor guy."
The door then opened. "Irasshaimase!" Tampopo called out
automatically, then her eyebrow arched on seeing who stood there.
"Oh, Jay-san, Kay-san. What brings two of the venerable 'Men in
Black' to my establishment today?"
"And a good morning to you, too, Tampopo-san," a silver-haired
American in a black business suit greeted as he slipped off his
Ray-Ban glasses. Gazing at the two agents of the United Nations
Special Committee on Alien Affairs -- the "Men in Black," as they
were so nicknamed by those in the know -- Ataru was immediately
reminded of Mendou's personal bodyguards, the Kuromegane. However,
compared to the SCAA field agents, the Kuromegane were a pack of
stumbling incompetents. "And a good morning to you people." Kay
then nodded at Ataru and Lum.
"Ohayou, Kay-san, Jay-san." Lum nodded to Kay in return, then
his partner, a young African-American with a moustache and goatee.
"So what brings you people over to see us today? Nothing wrong,
I hope?"
Kay and Jay exchanged a look, then sighed. "I'm afraid, Lum,
we've got some real bad news," Kay reported. "Can we talk in
private?"
Ataru and Lum blinked, then exchanged a look...
* * *
Chikage looked at the five cards spread before her:
Death, the ultimate symbol of endings;
The Tower, marking the presence of powerful forces;
The Eight of Wands, another symbol of endings;
The Five of Cups, marker of loss and good-byes;
And the Eight of Cups, marking the time to move on.
Such an ominous suite meant only one thing:
"War..."
* * *
"The Noukiites?!!"
Everyone sat in a back corner booth. The sign had been changed
to CLOSED and the curtains drawn to guarantee some privacy. Kay
shook his head. "Afraid so. About seventy hours ago, a colonial
militia squadron staging from Machibusu sneaked over the line into
Noukiite space to raid a convoy of refugees leaving Okusei for one of
the Dominion's newer colonies beyond Noukiios itself."
Ten-chan gaped. "The Noukiites have new colonies?"
"Five, all terraformed, though no one knows how or who did it."
Jay sipped his coffee. "The Inquisition's investigating."
Ataru's jaw dropped in surprise. "You mean the Inquisition
doesn't know? That's being really off the ball, even for THOSE
guys!"
The Onis stared wide-eyed at Ataru. "Darling, how do you know
about the Holy Inquisition?" Lum wondered.
Ataru sighed, then shook his head. "Sorry, Lum-chan. I
should've mentioned this, though I guess it doesn't matter now. My
grandmother was a Righteous Gentile of the Protestant Reformist
Church of Zephyrus."
Lum jolted, her eyes widening as his statement sank in, then she
relaxed. "I see..."
"Lady Nagaiwakai was also the one who got us our gear." Kay
opened his jacket to reveal a Lawgiver, a Zephyrite
computer-controlled, photon-plasma pistol with multi-targeting
command and shooting ability.
Ten-chan whistled, drifting close to Negako's shoulder. "Wow!
To believe Uncle chose Ataru to be Earth's tag champ!"
Jay smirked. "Got that right, little guy!"
"What happened?" Ataru asked. "I don't know much about these
Noukiites at all, save for them being neighbours of the Holy
Republic."
"Well, in a nutshell, think of what Japan did to Korea back at
the start of the century, then tack onto it three very nice colony
planets that the Noukiites settled long ago, planets the Urusians
want to claim as their own." Kay sighed. "For the last two hundred
years, the Urusians have done almost everything possible to force
the Noukiites away from those three worlds."
"Including illegal attacks by volunteer colonial paramilitary
forces over the border," Jay added, holding up a finger.
"That's not true!!!" Lum protested.
Jay stared at the Oni. "Lum, c'mon!! Everyone knows that!"
"I...!" Lum stopped herself, then she sighed. "Well, I asked
Daddy about it once and he denied it, but..."
She looked down. "He didn't sound convincing?" Ataru gently
prodded.
"Hai."
"It's alright, Lum. It's not your fault." Kay breathed out,
then carried on. "Anyhow, the Oni militia gets close to Okusei,
then they get bushwhacked by the Ip'ihu. They're the Noukiite
equivalent of the Oni colonial militia," he added for Ataru's
benefit. "Atop that, there are Noukiite naval craft there. They
pitch into the fight and capture one of the militia vessels. The
surviving militiamen are interrogated and made to confess that they
operate with support from the government in Onishuto."
"WHAT?!?!" Lum cried out.
"Is this EVERYONE in the Oni government?" Ataru wondered.
Kay shook his head. "Fortunately, no. The Onis've been living
under the rule of a military junta for the last two hundred years,
but in their government, you've got a wide span of opinions. Lum's
father, for example, is a progressive. Some of them are quite
liberal, working for the day Uru becomes a true democracy. And some
of them..."
He paused, shrugging. "Want to turn back the clock to something
that people wouldn't really like?" Ataru finished.
"Exactly. Well, the instant they got wind of that, the Noukiite
government sent a secret message to the Zephyrites, informing
them that they couldn't tolerate this continued disregard of their
home space by elements of the Urusian government. To that end,
today, an all-out attack was launched on Machibusu, hitting the naval
bases there and the known militia bases. It was a complete surprise
attack. Details are sketchy, but I'm afraid your people took heavy
losses, Lum." Kay stared at the Oni. "Most likely, by tomorrow,
Uru'll be at war."
Silence fell as Lum considered Kay's words, then she looked
down. "Five centuries of hate..." she whispered.
Ataru placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "Lum?"
She returned his look. "Five centuries, Darling. That's how
long we've known those people. And..." She shook her head, looking
at the table. "It's like Kay said. Think of what's gone on between
Japan and Korea, especially what happened between 1910 and 1945,
then..."
"The Eo War, the 'protectorate' that led to a century-long
occupation, the Union Revolution, the dispute over Okusei and the two
other colony planets, the Ip'ihu, the colonial militia..." Jay shook
his head. "Man, that's one BIG mess to get settled out."
Lum nodded. "Hai..."
"So what happens to Lum?" Ataru wondered. "She could've learned
all this from her father if she had to. Why are you guys here?"
Kay and Jay exchanged a knowing look, then sighed. "Ataru,
along with that message the Noukiites sent to the Zephyrites
was a warning." The former indicated Lum with a wave of his hand.
"The Noukiites, pretty much because they have no love for the Onis,
know about what Lum's presence here has caused. In their eyes, it
would be sheer poetry to kidnap her, then drag her off to face a
Dominion court for violating the Galactic Non-Interference
Treaty, of which both Lum's people and the Noukiites are signatories
to. Now, never mind that the so-called 'invasion' which led to Tag
Race One was actually a bluff to make several other powers leave us
be..."
"The Seifukusu being one, right?" Ataru cut in.
"You know about them?" Jay asked.
"Lum told me last night. There're more?"
"One other race, the Ipraedies," Kay provided.
Ataru shook his head. "Never heard of them."
Lum sighed. "Be thankful for that, Darling."
"Well, anyhow." Kay moved to return to more important matters.
"The Noukiites warned that if Lum and all other Oni citizens don't
leave Earth and return to Urusian space very soon, they..."
His voice trailed off. "They'll come get her, the little guy
here and the psycho-airhead that's living here, too," Jay finished.
Hearing that, Lum's eyes went wide. "They said that?!"
Kay nodded. "I'm afraid so."
"There's another way out, you know," Ataru proposed.
"Not a chance, pal." Jay shook his head. "If you're thinking
of trying to use your grandma's influence to keep Lum free of the
Noukiites, you're wrong. DEAD wrong! Instant she goes into
Zephyrite space, she's as good as in the dock at Star Chamber on
Jiyuu."
Ataru winced, Lum turning sheet-white at just the thought of
finding herself facing the magistrates of Star Chamber. The
top-ranking law enforcement group within the Holy Republic of
Zephyrus, the Supreme Blessed and Most Faithful Congregation
of the Holy Inquisition, was well-renowned -- and likewise feared!
-- galaxy-wide for their ruthless ability to track down "heretics"
and see them brought to justice, both within and beyond the Holy
Republic's borders. Zephyrite justice, Ataru knew, was quite brutal.
Capital punishment, known as "excommunication" on Zephyrus, was
frequently used for those guilty of serious crimes. And, yes, if you
found yourself facing the High Court of Star Chamber -- the
equivalent of a federal circuit court of appeals in the United States
-- your chances of acquittal were small.
"Damn." Ataru sighed, then he sensed Lum staring at him.
Without hesitation, he drew her into a one-armed embrace.
Lum kissed his cheek. "Arigatou, Darling."
Jay blinked, his jaw dropping in shock. "THIS is surprising!"
"That it is." Kay chuckled, then sobered. "I'm sorry to ruin
the mood even more, but there's one other thing I have to tell you."
Lum stared at the SCAA agent, then lowered her head. "I see."
Ataru blinked. "What?!"
"You will not be allowed to leave Earth, Ataru."
Eyes turned to Negako, then Ataru turned back to Kay. "Now,
just hold on a second here! I'm not going to let Lum go back home
ALONE in the midst of a goddamned shooting war, for heaven's
sake...!"
"That's not the point!" Kay held up a hand, then as soon as
Ataru calmed down, continued. "Look, I know you really mean well,
but Lum's safest bet is to be on Uru, where her father and a whole
load of combat troops can keep an eye on her. I don't think the
Noukiites'll press this into an all-out, no-holds-barred
sort of thing. All they'd want is for Uru to publicly give up claims
on Okusei, Kurrusei and Tunchusei, plus disband the colonial militia
groups. It's not going to be an intergalactic version of World War
Two, alright."
Ataru considered that, then he jolted as a hand squeezed his
shoulder. He turned right to see Negako gazing on him, a warning
stare etched in her face. "There is another concern, Ataru," the
ninjitsu grandmistress advised.
He blinked as her words surged through his mind. "Hai,
Onee-chan, you're right."
Lum stared concernedly at him. "Darling?"
Ataru jolted, then reached under the table to squeeze Lum's
hand. "I'll explain later, okay?" he told her before kissing her
cheek, then turned back to the SCAA people. "Try not to make this
permanent, okay?"
Kay nodded. "We'll try..."
* * *
Off the northwest shore of Hokkaido, two hours later...
"Ne, Ataru, what did Negako-oneechan mean?" Ten-chan asked.
Ataru and Lum stared at the young Oni, then the former sighed.
"She means something that has a lot to do with her being in my head
from when I was six up to five years ago, when Obaa-chan's friends
from Maigaru discovered she was there." He waved them with him
towards a large house a hundred metres away. "Let's go over to the
practice field and I'll show you."
They walked up a stone pathway toward the large mansion that,
until just over a year ago, Ataru's grandmother called home. Staring
at the edifice, Lum was immediately reminded of the Mendou mansion.
She was quick to note differences, however. The Mendou home was
littered, inside and out, with all sorts of items indicative
of the family's wealth: statues galore -- mostly of octopuses,
though there WAS that one cursed goat statue, Lum ruefully remembered
-- priceless antiques, old military gear and the like. The Moroboshi
mansion on Rishiri-tou, however, was thoroughly spartan in its
austerity. Realizing that difference between a family of selfish
show-offs and a woman who obviously thought it below her to rub her
wealth into other people's faces, Lum decided that she would have
loved to have known Moroboshi Nagaiwakai.
*Would she have liked me?* she mused.
Ataru gazed at her. "Yen for your thoughts?"
Lum sighed. "Gomen. I was just thinking about how much you'll
miss now that your grandmother's gone."
He nodded, reaching for her hand. "I guess so. I didn't really
get a chance to know her well, as you can guess, but..." He paused,
directing her around the house toward the large farming tract that
extended to the very centre of Rishiri-tou. "Grandma was a lot of
things, I guess, but she was CARING most of all towards me. She
really was worried about me, even living with *them* down in
Tomobiki." His lips twisted into a frown, then he relaxed. "I
really wish I understood what happened between Grandma and...! Well,
you know."
He shrugged. "It'll be okay in the end, Darling," Lum promised.
"I hope so." He stared at the side of the mansion, then looked
north to the fields. Peacefully grazing in the tall grass was a
good-sized herd of dairy cattle, about two hundred head, born of both
Oriental and Occidental stock. Keeping watch on them are a pair of
men dressed in the plain, brown woolen robes of Zephyrite monks.
Ataru gaped. "Damn, they stayed behind?!"
"They were not the only ones, Young Master!"
The voice caused Ataru and Lum to spin around as something
leapt out of the shadows, melting into a lithe teenage woman with
long, ponytailed black hair. She was dressed in a non-reflective
bodysuit, a sheathed ninja-tou strapped to her back. Staring at her,
Ataru's eyes widened in recognition. "Jinseiko-chan, is that you?!"
He took a step towards her. The woman looked up, revealing
a well-sculptured face. However, there were faint laugh lines around
her eyes. The eyes themselves seemed hooded, Ataru noticed. No
doubt, Fusegu Jinseiko would carry the pain of her beloved mistress'
death to the grave herself. "Hai, Young Master." She bowed
respectfully, then stared pleadingly at him. "Sir, I..." she
started, then collapsed to her knees and prostrated herself.
"Forgive me, Young Master! We should've been there for the
Mistress!! Oh, please, forgive me...!"
"Hey, hey, HEY, that's enough!" Ataru knelt down to help the
chief of Nagaiwakai's kunoichi bodyguard troupe, the Kuromoroboshi,
to her feet, then he tilted her face up to stare into his. "It's
over and done, Jinseiko-chan. Yes, I'm hurting, too, but Grandma
wouldn't want us to flounder along like this, eh? It's over and
done, Jinseiko-chan. Okay?"
Jinseiko blinked, then faintly nodded. "Hai, I understand..."
Lum and Ten-chan exchanged a look, then both tensed as a large
shadow falls over them. "Welcome back home, Young Master," a grave
voice caused both Onis to spin around and stare up and up and UP into
a granite-hewn face framed by black hair, the left cheek embossed
with the broken ascending phoenix of the Holy Republic of Zephyrus.
"It is good to see you again."
"Brother Sunfire." Ataru blinked, then walked over, dropping
to one knee to kiss the monk's offered ring. After the Zephyrite
cleric, once the personal spiritual advisor to Nagaiwakai Moroboshi,
bestowed a blessing to her grandson, Ataru stood. "It's good to see
you, too. How many people stayed behind after Grandma...?"
He bit his lip before waving around. "All of us in the cabal
who advised her, some of the farm hands, plus Jinseiko and her
co-workers," the monk reported, waving the visitors with him towards
the cattle herd. "Since matters concerning your problems with those
two people..." -- Lum could easily guess who Brother Sunfire was now
talking about -- "...have been in limbo since the Mistress' passing
into the Te'a, we haven't been able to decide what to do. Mistress
Negako has been able to help in her own way, as has Master Komeru."
Lum blinked confusedly. "'Komeru?'"
"My uncle," Ataru provided. "Where is he, anyway?"
"In Peru or Bolivia last I heard, exploring Inca ruins."
Brother Sunfire sighed. "We did try to get word to those people
when the Mistress passed away. I called Kinshou directly, a
fortnight after the Tag Race ended." He glanced at Lum.
"Unfortunately, all she said in return was..." His lips twisted
quite distastefully, then he sighed. "Well..."
"She was happy Grandma was dead and that she'd do everything
she could to get her hands on Grandma's money, right? And that she
didn't care who tried to stand in her way, because she was in the
right," Ataru guessed.
"In much more vulgar language, I confess." Brother Sunfire
nodded in acknowledgment. "Well, the matter is somewhat better,
now."
Jinseiko then tensed. "Young Master? Please...?"
Ataru closed his eyes. "No, Jinseiko. Leave them alone."
"But...!"
He turned to the leader of the Kuromoroboshi. "I said 'Leave
them alone,' Jinseiko-chan. Killing those two idiots won't do a
thing in the end. Letting them live, in fear of what I COULD do to
them, hurts more."
"Ah..." Jinseiko balked, then sighed, bowing her head. "Hai,
Young Master, I understand. Forgive me for my impertinence."
Ataru nodded. "It's alright."
Brother Sunfire sighed. "A pity it happened at all..."
"Darklight!!"
Everyone turned as another monk, a bespectacled fellow who
reminded the visitors from Tomobiki of Aisuru Megane, ran up from the
mansion. "What is the matter, Lightstar?" Brother Sunfire demanded.
"Forgive me." The younger monk, Lightstar Firewind, bowed,
then turned to stare at Lum. "We received a call from the Special
Committee concerning you and your fellow Urusians, Miss Redet.
You're going home. Tonight."
Hearing that, Ataru jolted, then looked nowhere in particular,
his hands clenching. Ten-chan seemed lost, he hovering close to Lum.
Lum's eyes went wide on hearing Lightstar's statement, then she bowed
her head. "I see..."
* * *
Chikage turned a card. The Five of Cups. "A parting...?"
* * *
Tomobiki, nightfall...
A hand slammed down on the table. "Damn it all, Kay, is there
ANYTHING you could've done to stop this?! Tried to slow it
down...?!"
Kay held up his hand. "Relax!" The look on both his face and
his partner's echoed the angry shock on Ataru's. "The Security
Council caught us by surprise. Somehow, people got wind of your
divorce from your parents -- probably from spies who've been working
here in Tomobiki since after Tag One -- then decided that, since
there was now no 'legitimate' reason for her to be here, they'd throw
Lum off!"
Ataru blinked. He was meeting the two SCAA agents in the
penthouse apartment of the Toranoseishin Finances building, one of
the three tall skyscrapers located in the heart of Tomobiki. "What
spies?!" he demanded.
"Agents from all over, man. The whole fuckin' alphabet soup."
Jay shook his head. "The PSID here in Japan, CIA, RVS, SIS, DGSE,
Mossad, CSIS, the NSP from South Korea, the MSS from China, the SPF
from North Korea...! Hell, you name it, they're here somewhere!"
"They came here after the oil incident, when the United Nations
decided to restrict all Federation aliens to Tomobiki," Kay added.
"And in a way, I can understand why. When the Onis came, Captain
Invader spoke to the United Nations directly about the Tag Race,
avoiding any talk with any of the national governments along the way
-- save Japan, of course, when you got selected as Earth's champion.
That sure as hell miffed a few people, especially in Washington,
Moscow, Beijing and elsewhere."
Ataru considered the SCAA agent's words, then he nodded.
"Gotcha. When I broke off from those two idiots and the word got
around..."
"People elsewhere saw it as a good opportunity to remind the UN
of who they were really 'working' for." Jay scowled. "The Big Five
called for a vote on the matter six hours ago. Passed unanimously.
THEN Zed..." -- Zed was the SCAA's director-in-chief -- "...got
told."
"Cute," Ataru grumbled. "Tell Zed-san he has my sympathies.
So tell me: is this permanent or temporary?"
Kay shook his head. "We don't know. From what Zed told us, one
of the representatives on the Security Council -- don't know which
one, by the way -- said they MIGHT allow the Onis to come back on
Earth IF Lum publicly apologized for the oil incident, Tag Two and
everything else she or her friends from beyond caused that ended up
hurting someone here."
Ataru nodded. "I see. So what happens now?"
Before either of the SCAA agents can answer, Kay's special
video cell-phone ringed. "Kay," he answered it. "What is it, Zed?"
"A Zephyrite destroyer just pulled into orbit over Japan,"
Zed reported. "They're beaming Inquisitors down to link up with your
team and Dee's team to deal with Lum and her friends. Is Ataru with
you?"
"Yeah, he's right here."
Kay waved as Ataru walked up. The older man nodded on seeing
Earth's tag champion. "I'm really sorry about this, son." He tried
to smile. "I heard things were starting to get better between you
and Lum. I wish this didn't have to happen."
Ataru blinked, then nodded. "Thanks, Zed-san. Let me see if I
can try to get something better from the Inquisition, alright?"
Zed considered that, then sighed. "Don't go overboard."
"I'll try not to," Ataru promised...
* * *
Minutes later, the door leading to Ataru's bedroom opened.
Looking inside, he frowned on seeing a quivering, wet-faced Lum being
held by Negako. Also there was Kotatsuneko, who cradled a crying
Ten-chan. Fortunately, Ataru understood well about keeping this
matter secret from certain parties in Tomobiki. Negako assured
him earlier that, when she arrived in town, she used her shiatsu
skills to temporarily incapacitate Mendou, Megane and the Bodyguards.
They weren't expected to recover for another two days at least. Far
too late to "help" Lum.
Gazing at the giant cat-ghost, Ataru smiled, then gently stroked
the fur on Kotatsuneko's head. "Thanks for coming."
Kotatsuneko smiled, then stared at Negako. "He says he was more
than happy to come at this time and wishes the silly humans in New
York would be more compassionate about matters," the grandmistress
provided.
Ten-chan sniffed, then stared at Negako. "You can understand
wh-what K-kota-chan says, Negako-oneechan?" he burbled.
"I can understand the language of all sentient beings on this
planet, even the non-corporeal ones," Negako explained.
"Understandable, seeing that until five years ago, I was one of
them."
Ataru sighed. "Yeah." He turned to the door. "Gentlemen?"
Kay and Jay stepped inside. Following the two SCAA agents into
the room were two young Zephyrite men in black, ankle-length
robes tied with gold cord at the waist; the Lawgivers were holstered
on thigh straps, easily accessed through a slit in the robe itself.
Seeing the Inquisitors, the two Onis began to quake as Negako helped
Lum stand. Noting the looks on their faces, Kay and Jay exchanged
a look, then the former reached into his jacket pocket to draw a
piece of computer print-out, opening it to read:
"Lum no Midorinokaminoke-oni," he began, addressing Lum by the
clumsy "tribal" name and not her Imperial one, Redet Lum. He then
looked at Ten-chan. "Jariten no Midorinokaminoke-oni.
By order of the Security Council of the United Nations of the planet
Earth, under Special Resolution 6964 passed this day in New York
City, your visas allowing you to live on Earth, in the town of
Tomobiki, city of Hooya, metropolis of Tokyo, in Japan, a member
nation-state of the United Nations..." A pause, then he finished,
"...are revoked. Thus, you both will vacate this planet by twelve
o'clock midnight local time this evening, returning to your home
planet. Further, under Clause Two of Resolution 6964, neither of you
are permitted to take with you any citizen of any nation of Earth,
especially Moroboshi Ataru, back to your homeworld." He indicated
Ataru. "To aid us in ensuring this happens, Inquisitor-Deacon
Malefire and Inquisitor-Archdeacon Skyrain of the Inquisition
of the Holy Republic of Zephyrus are here to monitor your departure
and return to your home planet. Your Grace?"
The older of the Inquisitors stepped up. "Redet Lum, Redet
Jariten." He thinly smiled, his dark eyes radiating such a level
of menace, it caused even Kotatsuneko to falter. "I trust your
affairs are all in order?"
Lum sniffed, then jerkily nodded. "Hai, they are."
"Very well, then." Highridge Malefire stared directly into her
eyes. "Be warned, young lady. There are many on this planet who
will GLADLY see you dragged to their World Court in the Hague and
face many charges of crimes against humanity for what you allowed
to happen two weeks ago, not to mention all the OTHER times you
decided your desires mattered more than the good health of the
inhabitants of Earth. While the United Nations has not seen fit to
see you charged, WE will gladly do it for them. But we will respect
their desire that this matter is resolved peacefully. Do NOT cause
problems if you both value your continued freedom. Understood?"
"H-hai," Lum stammered.
Watching this, Ataru quaked, his fists clenching. Damn it, they
didn't need to hold a bloody axe over Lum's head to make her leave
the planet! Calming himself, he cleared his throat. "Your Grace?"
Malefire blinked, then turned to Ataru, his icy look melting
into a warm, respectful smile. "Young Master Ataru." He inclined
his head, his companion doing likewise. "I was overjoyed to be told
by Brother Darklight Sunfire of the wonderful news concerning
the restoration of your memories and your final parting from those
heretics you once called your parents. If you wish to see those
heretics properly punished for their barbarous acts against you and
your truly most righteous grandmother...?"
"Thank you, Your Grace, but I believe leaving them to wither
on the vine, with no access to Grandma's wealth, is punishment
enough." Ataru shook his head, then sighed. "I realize I really
have no right to ask this, but I will. Regardless of how the Six
Churches may now look upon Lum, I'd strongly hope that you and your
comrades will see to it she and her cousin receive a *safe* escort
back to Oni space."
The Inquisitor deacon, a man equal in rank and responsibility
to a senior police sergeant in Japan, blinked. "An...! Unusual
request, indeed, Young Master. Considering her many acts against
your own person...!"
"That, I would've hoped to've peacefully resolved with Lum
*without* outside interference," Ataru cut in. "Sadly, I accept
now that such a chance has been taken away from me. But I hope for
that chance to come back to me in the future. Surely, you can
understand that."
Malefire's eyebrow arched, then he sighed. "Please understand
why I must now say this, Young Master. But I feel you are TOO
forgiving to this woman, not to mention those who've allied with
her." He stares at Lum.
Ataru closed his eyes. "Perhaps. But forgiveness is an option
I choose to exercise, Your Grace. That is my right, is it not?"
A soft chuckle escaped the Inquisitor's lips. "It is. Very
well then, Young Master. Your friends will make it home, whole and
hearty. Besides, I doubt the Noukiites will foray anywhere close
to Toshitto."
Lum's would-be husband nodded. "Thank you, Your Grace."
With that, Malefire's eyes hardened as he gazed on Lum. "You
have fifteen minutes to say your good-byes. No more."
Lum nodded. "H-hai!"
The Inquisitors walked out of the room. Jay and Kay exchanged
a look, then the former patted Ataru's shoulder. "Nicely played."
With that, the SCAA agents stepped out, followed by Kotatsuneko.
Ataru watched them go, then turned to Ten-chan. "Didja really mean
that?" the younger Oni asked as he floated up to stare into Ataru's
eyes.
"Yeah, I meant that." Ataru placed a hand on Ten-chan's
shoulder. "Now, listen to me, Ten. I want you to promise me
something. I want you to keep an eye out for Lum-chan here, okay?"
He pointed to Lum. "And tell Benten and Oyuki to help keep an eye on
things, too, alright? It's time for you to become a big boy now.
Can you do it?"
Ten-chan blinked, then shakily straightened himself. He bit his
lip, trying not to break down and cry. "O-okay!"
"Alright." Ataru squeezed Ten-chan's shoulders. "Now,
remember, Ten. Wars are not fun, not one bit. Don't take chances,
okay?"
"Indeed, he is correct," Negako spoke up. "The fact that Ataru
is willing to turn his back on such matters speaks highly of him."
Ten-chan blinked. "But you're gonna t-turn him into a great
warrior, N-negako-oneechan, j-just like you and Nassur-chan
are..."
"Jariten." Negako stepped up to him, placing her hand on his
other shoulder. "There is a simple philosophy in our clan when it
comes to war. 'Wars do not make one great. Wars normally make one
*dead.*'"
"In other words, don't fight unless it's for the right reason
and there's no other choice but to fight," Ataru added. "Okay?"
Ten-chan stared at them, then sniffed. "O-okay. I guess you
aren't such an idiot after all."
He tried to smile, then looked down. "Yeah, guess not," Ataru
mused with a chuckle, then he stared at Lum.
"Come, Jariten. We best leave them be."
Negako walked Ten-chan out. "'Bye, Ataru." the young Oni
waved.
The door closed behind him. Ataru sighed, then turned back to
Lum. She smiled as she sank into his embrace. "Darling..."
He kissed her forehead. "Gomen."
"I love you."
Ataru tensed. "Lum..."
The Oni stared into his eyes. "Darling?"
He returned her look. "What do you want me to say now,
Lum-chan? The truth or what you've always wanted to hear from me?"
Lum considered that. "The truth," she whispered.
"Okay." He nodded. "The truth is this: at the least, I looked
on you as the most wonderful person ever to enter my life. There
were so many times I pinched myself, wondering what the hell I did to
deserve you. Maybe..." He bowed his eyes, then shrugged. "Maybe
my doubting it so much lead to a lot of the problems we had. I'm
sorry. If..." He bit his lip. Tears streaked down his cheeks.
"If we had the chance now, I�d have gladly learned HOW to love you.
That we could've made something special for just us, not anyone else.
And..." He took a deep breath, then drew her close, kissing her
forehead. "I hope if the chance comes, you'll come back, Lum-chan.
I really do."
Lum smiled. "Darling." She pulled away, bowing her head. "I'm
sorry I presumed so much, let them..." She gazed out a nearby
window. "Trick me into trusting them so much. I..." She stared
at him. "I promise that if I come back, I won't let that happen
again."
Ataru smiled before drawing her close. They warmly kissed,
then stared into the other's eyes. "Be careful, okay?" he whispered.
"If these guys have *that* long of a grudge against you, it isn't
going to be pretty."
Lum nodded. "I will..."
* * *
A little under ten minutes later, Lum's scoutship, towing
Ten-chan's starboat, lifted away from Tomobiki for the final time.
Launching from her lot near the Moroboshi home, Lan's rose-hued
scoutship soon joined its tiger-striped counterpart over Shinjuku,
then both arced upwards into the heavens, as if they were flying
to the bright Moon overhead. Then, a grey-hulled Zephyrite
destroyer, a flamingo-shaped craft about the same size as Captain
Invader's command battlewagon "Kashin," slipped in behind the two
Urusian ships. On the streets of Tomobiki, people stopped to look,
many pointing and calling out to their friends, quickly spreading
the word around.
Watching this from the top of the Toranoseishin Tower, Ataru
shook his head. "Guess none of those people ever expected something
like THIS to happen, Onee-chan?" He sighed, then stared knowingly
at Negako. "You guessed something like this would've happened,
didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. There were many possible scenarios in this
situation. Indeed, some might conclude that my restoring your
memories, thus leading to your rejection of Kinshou and Muchi, DID
make this happen. I could have chosen to stay away and let you live
in ignorance. But if that happened, one of several things might have
occurred that would have lead to a far-less pleasant conclusion
for you and Lum." She stared at him. "The Noukiites are not the
only factors to be considered. As James and Kevin could have
informed you, there are governments on Earth who would have done
anything to see our planet rid of Lum. Fundamentalist factions
from a dozen religions, ultra-conservative social groups and
industrial corporations who, for whatever reason, would not have
blinked an eye if Lum was coerced to their cause. What of Lum's
friends? Those you know and those you do not? What trouble could
have arisen from that quarter, perhaps?" She sighed, then turned
back to gaze on the city. "Knowing you as well as I do, I chose the
scenario which potentially led to the most peaceful solution for
all."
He considered that. "Yes, it was that, wasn't it?"
"I am pleased you agree." She turned her back on the cityscape.
"Now, it is time for you to learn exactly WHO and WHAT you are. We
best be out of Tomobiki long before the sun rises, before any of the
fools who normally preyed on you -- those I did not disable myself,
of course -- decide to seek you out and try to ascertain what
happened. Agreed?"
Ataru winced. "Yeah, I can do to not see any of those dorks
for a few months, I suppose. What about school and all that?"
"I will have Reigi arrange your withdrawal from Tomobiki High
School as we are travelling, plus ensure no one like Shutaro learns
of it," Negako stated as they stepped into the tower, heading toward
the suites where she had stayed last night. "You can be inserted
into another school quickly enough if you so desire. But that should
not concern you at this time, Ataru. Other matters are more
important."
He nodded. "True, true. So where are we going?"
"You will see..."
* * *
Around Tokyo, late the next morning...
"...NHK BS News at fifty minutes after the hour." The reporter
gazed at her audience. "Early this morning in the Diet, Internal
Affairs Minister Kooga Mogataru announced that the Oni princess
Lum, who has been residing in the town of Tomobiki in Hooya,
Tokyo-to, was expelled from Earth late last night at the direct order
of the United Nations. Also forced to leave Earth, potentially
never to return again, are Lum-san's cousin Jariten and a friend
and former junior high school classmate of the Oni princess, Lan.
When questioned by reporters, Kooga-daijin reported that the 'Second
Tag Race' factored heavily into the United Nations' decision to see
Lum-san expelled..."
* * *
"WHAT?!?!?!" Mendou Shutaro bellowed, then gasped, clutching
his chest as searing pain overwhelmed him. "Lum-san...!"
he rasped, his eyes rolling into his head as he lost consciousness.
"Young Master!!!" his bodyguards and servants screamed as they
swarmed around him...
* * *
"The room is bare?"
"Yes, Mistress." A Kuroko stagehand-bodyguard
bowed his masked head. "It appears Master Moroboshi moved out of his
home two days ago. On overhearing the other residents, it appears
someone granted Master Moroboshi the legal right to renounce all
links to his parents."
"Do you wish Master Shutaro to learn of this, Mistress?"
another Kuroko, kneeling beside his co-worker, asked.
"No," Mendou Ryooko shook her head, then looked away. "Ensure
he does not learn of this for the time being."
Both Kuroko nodded. "Yes, Mistress..."
* * *
"Lum, expelled? And Lan and Ten-chan, too?!" Miyaki Shinobu
blinked, the unreality of the moment hitting her like an avalanche.
She then stared at her parents, Toshoba and Kimiki. "Who on Earth
would ever've imagined something like that happening?!"
"I wonder what happened to Ataru-kun," Kimiki mused.
"Doesn't say," her husband noted as he read his paper...
* * *
"***CURSE YOU, ATARU!!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FA-...!!!
URK!!!!***"
Megane Aisuru gasped, then slumped into his bed. Staring at her
ill son, his mother Rui shook her head. "Serves you right for
worshipping that...! That...! That ONI all the time!" she hissed...
* * *
"Momoe-san, what's going on here?!"
"I've no idea whatsoever, Nabiki-san," Marubeya Momoe relayed
over her cell-phone. "I don't know when I can get more information,
either! But I AM going to find out about this! If she's really
gone..."
"Hai, hai, got you...!"
*CRASH!!*
"***BAKA OYAJI!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!***"
"What was THAT, Nabiki-san?!"
Tendou Nabiki sighed, glancing at the doorway of her room. She
was now dressed in her kimono. "By the sounds of it, Ranma-kun
just got wind of my father's and Uncle Saotome's LATEST stupid
brainstorm," she muttered. "Anyhow, I've got to go."
"They're too young to get married now, Nabiki-san."
"Agreed. That's why it won't happen. Keep me informed,
okay?"
"Right..."
* * *
"It is clearly a conspiracy against the Goddess!!!"
"Agreed!"
"Where is the Great Evil now?!"
"No idea! We're searching for him, but it seems as if he has
vanished from Tomobiki itself! Should the President be informed?!"
"Immediately!"
"Hai!!"
* * *
"An ill-wind," Cherry mused, gazing at the morning air...
* * *
By that time of the day, the potential object of much interest
to many in Tomobiki was crossing an isthmus of sand littered with
seashells towards a circular, five-kilometre wide island sitting
in one arm of the Sagami Sea south of Tokyo. Like Negako, who walked
ahead of him, acting as his guide to Oomure-jima -- Promised Island
-- Ataru was dressed in hiking gear, a backpack slung over his
shoulders. His eyes darted from the sand at his feet to the water
flanking them to the island in the distance. They stopped on
focussing on what sat on the island's highest point: a gold-brown
statue resembling a nude, smiling, super-deformed pygmy dancing
the hula. "I've got to say this, Onee-chan: that has GOT to be the
weirdest statue I've ever seen! Even the octopuses statues on
Mendou's pad have more class!"
"I do not consider myself a connoisseur of artwork, but many
people, I believe, will agree with you, Ataru," Negako replied,
her eyes warily turning left and right as she gauged how close the
sea was from her feet.
Ataru sensed the slight tremor in his sister's normally
ramrod-straight body, then he reached up to squeeze her shoulder.
"I'd think that you'd finally be over your hydrophobia, Onee-chan."
Negako relaxed, clearly touched by his concern. "It has been
difficult, admittedly."
He chuckled. Within minutes, they stepped into the lee of
Promised Island, then made their way to a sea ladder to get them onto
the level of First Street. Climbing onto dry land, they stretched
themselves, then turned as a wry-looking gentleman in his sixties
came up. He projected the air of the classic old man of the sea.
"Ah, Negako-san, there you are! I see you brought your brother
with you this time!"
Negako stared at him. "Indeed, I have. Were arrangements
with Welcome House made for Ataru's accommodations?"
He nodded. "Hai, hai, all ready to go! Maybe when you leave
the island next time, you'll take the boat like normal people do."
"Onee-chan's not 'normal,' Jii-san." Ataru patted Negako's
shoulder, then he stared at her. "What exactly IS Welcome House,
anyway?"
"The island's youth hostel," Negako explained. "This way."
* * *
Going *this* way for five minutes lead Ataru and Negako to a
dead-end lane. Past an overhead archway announcing to all that they
had just come to WELCOME HOUSE, they found themselves looking at a
three-floor Victorian-era commons. That was framed on the side
closest to the shore by a three-floor rotunda topped with a lightning
rod and on the other side by a beautiful, circular chapel complete
with bell tower. Negako directed her brother towards the rotunda.
"Nice place." Ataru then whistled, noting several lights are on.
"We alone?"
"No, there are others here. Children of parents who work on the
mainland or abroad," Negako reported as they walk through twin doors
into a warmly-coloured foyer framed with stairs leading to the second
floor. Under the second floor overhang was a hallway and twin doors
leading to a central room. Negako guided Ataru to his right past
that to the first apartment, it located beside a storeroom. "Here."
Ataru noticed that a sign with his name was posted there.
"Guess they think of everything." He opened the door to look inside.
*POP!!*
*POP!!*
*POP!!*
*POP!!*
"***WELCOME HOME, BIG BROTHER!!!!***"
Ataru balked, his eyes wide. Confetti from noisemakers
showered him as he blinked, stunned to see four girls awaiting
him.
To his left sat a girl of about fifteen, with golden-brown
eyes and long brown hair, part of it styled in beautiful French
braids. She was dressed in a ruffled shirt with string tie over a
thigh-length skirt.
Sitting in front of the girl with the French braids was a
pixie-cute eight-year old with purplish eyes and dirty blonde-brown
hair done up in side ponytails. She wore a gold-and-white
dress with string tie and a black petticoat.
To Ataru's right was a slender woman, about his age, with royal
blue eyes and brown hair done up in twin Usagi-like ponytails
(sans odangos). She was draped in a black-and-blue T-shirt and a
false-leather skirt.
Sitting before the girl with the ponytails was a cute
twelve-year old with maple-fudge shaded eyes and neck-length
brown hair partially covered by a white headband. She wore a
green-and-white seifuku top with a blue-and-white plaid skirt.
Negako stepped up beside him, then nodded. "I see you received
my message."
The girl with the long ponytails smiled. "We had to rush some
things to make sure Onii-sama's homecoming was done right,
Onee-sama."
The girl in the seifuku blinked. "Onee-chama, didn't Onee-chama
say that Onii-chama would be coming with Onii-chama's girlfriend?"
The girl with the braids stared at the other girl. "Kaho-chan,
didn't you see the news? They sent Onii-chan's girlfriend home."
"That means Onii-tama and Onee-tama can read to Hina even more!"
the littlest girl gushed, leaping up to hug Negako's legs.
Ataru blinked, blinked again, blinked even more, then he shook
his head. "Er...!" He slapped the side of his head. "Not that I
don't mind the reception committee, but what the hairy heck's going
on here, anyway?! Why are you girls calling me 'big brother'...?!"
"They have more than enough reasons to do so." Negako smiled,
then performed introductions. "May I present Tanenobu Karen..."
-- the girl with the French braids -- "...Eigo Kaho..." -- the girl
in the seifuku -- "...Sukeyama Sakuya..." -- the oldest girl.
"Don't forget Hina!!" the youngest then chirped.
Negako nodded. "Ah, yes. And Saeru Hinako. They..." She
gazed at Ataru. "Are your half-sisters."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Sakuya blinked concernedly. "Onii-sama...?"
Ataru swayed. "Half-sisters...?"
He dropped, his eyes spiralling as his mind overloaded from that
bombshell. "Onii-chan!!" Karen called out as the girls crowd him...
* * *
Minutes later...
"So what made Onii-tama faint, Onee-tama?"
"You should've warned him ahead of time, Onee-sama!"
Ataru moaned, finding himself staring at a glass ceiling crossed
by timbers in a pentacle-shaped pattern. The room that ceiling
tops was circular, the walls an evergreen shade. Looking to his
right, he found himself staring into Hinako's face. "Onii-tama,
are you okay?"
Ataru blinked, then reached over to gently touch the young
girl's nose. "You're...? Really...? My sister...?"
"Ah, I see you have recovered." Negako stepped into his viewing
range, leaning down to gaze into his eyes. "And yes, as I said
before you fainted, they are you half-sisters, Ataru. You all share
the same father."
He took that in, then sat up. A quick glance around revealed
that Karen, Kaho and Sakuya were close by, sitting beside a large,
round table. A dining room, he noted, then Ataru stared at Negako.
"How the hell is THAT possible, Onee-chan? I mean, when did...?!"
"During the early part of his marriage to Kinshou, Muchi was
often busy doing work for Nagaiwakai and Komeru on Promised Island,"
the ninjitsu grandmistress reported, placing a supportive hand on
Hinako's shoulder. "It appears that at that stage of their marriage,
Muchi had not emotionally committed himself fully to Kinshou.
Fortunately, since he is Nagaiwakai's son, there were many on the
island receptive to his feelings. Karen, Kaho, Sakuya and Hinako..."
-- she indicated the others -- "...resulted from that."
Ataru sighed. "And everyone says **I** had no tact?" he
muttered to himself, then buried his face into his hands.
"It's alright, Onii-chan." Karen sat beside him, placing a
comforting hand on his shoulder. "Believe me, I always wondered
why Tou-san..." She stopped herself, then sighed. "Well, my
step-father, I suppose I should call him now -- was always a little
distant to me when I was growing up. But when Onee-chan came and
told me the news, I..." She shuddered, her joy radiating from her
like a nova. "Oh, it just made me feel so happy to know I have a
brother, not to mention sisters, too!"
She indicated Negako and the others. "Kaho really liked it when
Onee-chama came and told her the truth, too!" Kaho gushed, then knelt
before Ataru, grasping his hands. "Now Kaho can cheer Onii-chama
while he's training with Onee-chama!"
Ataru blinked. "Er...! Well...!"
"It's alright, Onii-sama." Sakuya placed a restraining
hand on Kaho's shoulder. "This is all new to us, too!"
"Hina's happy Onii-tama is here!" Hinako declared, warmly
embracing Ataru. "Now, Onii-tama can take Hina out to find Kuma-san
and read books to Hina and eat fruit parfait with Hina and...!!"
"Hey, he's OUR big brother, too, you know!" Karen gently
scolded.
The sisters exchanged some wary glances, then a grin split
Hinako's face. Soon, gales of warm laughter filled the dining room.
Even Negako seemed to have room for a light smile of approval.
Ataru watched this, then took a deep breath before shrugging.
"Well, this will definitely take some getting used to!" he announced
with a chuckle, pulling himself out of Hinako's embrace, though he
held onto hers and Karen's hand. He then stared concernedly
at Negako, an eyebrow arching. "I take it Muchi never knew about
any of this."
"No. Further, Nagaiwakai ensured there was no way that neither
Muchi, Kinshou or anyone else would learn of this. After all, given
the way clan leadership succession works in our family..."
Negako indicated Sakuya with one hand, an eyebrow arching
knowingly. Ataru nodded. "Gotcha. Instant she comes of age -- I
think we have to get her on our family register, too -- she becomes
the next Matriarch."
"Exactly." Negako nodded, then blinked, her eyes turning up.
"Onee-chan, are you alright?" Karen asked as the others rise,
then she looked to the ceiling. "What's wrong?"
Negako sighed. "It appears Shirayuki does not listen."
Sakuya blinked. "Shirayuki-chan?! You mean she's the one who
made those awful kimch'i rice puddings last night?"
"Um, Onee-chan, who's Shirayuki anyway?" Ataru wondered,
his stomach automatically doing a flip-flop on hearing the phrase
"kimch'i rice puddings." To him, it sounded like something Lum
might've created on a mad lark.
"Osamu Shirayuki. She lives here, too," Negako explained,
then her eyes narrowed as her chi sensing abilities pick out
additional details. "Karen, have some cold water prepared. Aria,
Rinrin and Yotsuba are with Shirayuki in Rinrin's room. They were
affected."
"Hai!"
* * *
Pitchers and glasses were soon set out on the dining room table.
Negako went upstairs with Sakuya, Kaho and Hinako as Karen set things
out. Ataru offered to help, but was waved down by Karen. "It's
alright, Onii-chan. You just arrived. We're used to this."
Ataru sighed. "You mean bad cooking?"
"Well, Shirayuki-chan really, really, really tries her best when
she cooks something," Karen moderated. "But then again, she hasn't
had much time to practice. Her parents left her in the House's
care only two months ago."
"Where did they g-...?"
The doors flew open, cutting off Ataru's question in
mid-sentence. He and Karen watched as the others streamed in.
Negako carried in two girls, though Hinako held one's hand. Sakuya
carried another one piggyback-style. Kaho helped a fourth one
stagger in. The newcomers were placed in chairs, then glasses of
water were poured for them by Karen. Seeing that, they grabbed
the glasses and chugged them down. "Ah!!" one breathed out,
scratching the back of her head. She was a girl of fourteen or so,
with brown eyes and mauve hair bob-curled at her shoulders, that held
down by a big, black bowtie shaped somewhat like cat ears. She was
wearing a white blouse with tie, black vest and matching black skirt.
"Oh, how could Hime make such an awful mistake with her kimch'i
rice puddings?"
"It's okay, Shirayuki-chan!" the girl beside her replied as she
poured herself another glass. She was also fourteen years old, with
brown eyes and dark brown hair cut short at her neck. She was draped
in a green ankle-length, full-sleeve skirt with white collars,
welding goggles perched on her forehead. "It's like science! You
gotta keep testing to make it right."
"Maybe it was something about that oven you built, Rinrin-chan,"
the newcomer to Ataru's right noted, her voice tinged with east-end
London. The same age as Rinrin and Shirayuki, she had gold-brown
eyes and shaggy brown hair done up in side-by-side ponytails at the
back of her head. Further indicating she was part-English
was her clothing: a Union Jack tie around a white shirt, that topped
with a red vest, gold skirt and black stockings, the whole topped
by a brown cape Sherlock Holmes might wear. She had a hand-held
spy glass in her pocket.
The last of the quartet was a ten-year old dressed in something
straight out of the period Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived in when he
wrote about his famous detective: a blue-and-white, ankle-length
hoop skirt with bowties, gloves and more crinoline frilly lace
trimming that you can shake the proverbial stick at. Her platinum
hair was covered by a bonnet, the hair itself tied in four buns at
the back of her neck. As she finished her glass of water, her purple
eyes suddenly fixed on Ataru, then went wide with recognition.
"Ah!" She smiled, her voice airy, her accent strongly flecked with
Paris. "Nii-ya! Nee-ya brought Nii-ya to be with Aria like Nee-ya
promised!"
"EH?!?!" everyone gasped as the other newcomers stare at Ataru,
the Sherlock Holmes-wannabe taking a close look with her spy glass.
Shirayuki bolted up, grinning delightedly. "Nii-sama?!"
"Aniki!! You're here!" Rinrin gushed.
"Ani-chama!!" The Holmes-wannabe shuddered, then bopped the top
of her head with her fist. "Yotsuba's slipping! Yotsuba should've
known that if Ane-chama's here today, then Ani-chama came with her!!"
Ataru jolted, his eyes going VERY wide, then he started to sway.
"No, not you, too...!!" he moaned before collapsing on the couch.
"BIG BROTHER!!!!" all the younger sisters cried out...
* * *
"Aniki, are you okay?!"
"Ani-chama sure didn't check THAT pretty well!"
Ataru moaned, then sat up before noticing that TWICE the number
of young girls were now staring concernedly at him. Shaking his
head, he then jolted on seeing a slender hand holding his left arm at
the wrist. Attached to that was Aria. To his other side was Hinako.
"Onii-chan, are you okay?" Karen asked. "Do you want some
water?"
"I...!" he stuttered, then exhaled. "Onee-chan, if this is your
idea of a surprise, I have to confess, it's working brilliantly!!"
Everyone laughed. Except Negako, of course. "Yes, they too are
your half-sisters, Ataru," the grandmistress sighed, then indicates
the newcomers. "These are Yotsuba Nemain Dunn, Hatoyama Rinrin,
Osamu Shirayuki and Aria Claudia Jeanne Michelle des Beauchamps."
"Um...!" His eyebrow twitched, then he waved. "Hi, girls!"
"Oh, Nii-sama, Hime's so happy Nii-sama's here!" Shirayuki
clapped her hands in anticipation. "Oh, Hime should try to make
something good for Nii-sama so he can feel at home here with us!"
Rinrin's eyebrow arched. "Um, Shirayuki-chan, do you really
want to give Aniki a taste of those rice puddings you made last
night?"
Shirayuki balked, then sighed. "Soo desu no..."
"Well, it doesn't mean to stop trying, Shirayuki-chan."
Ataru gazed at her, then hummed, turning to see that Yotsuba was
scanning him intently with her spy glass. "And what are **you**
looking at, Yotsuba-chan?"
She smirked. "At Ani-chama! Yotsuba is going to keep checking
Ani-chama until Yotsuba learns all of Ani-chama's secrets!"
"Oh?!" His eyebrow arched as he snapped the spy glass away from
her, then SHE got the look-over. "And WHO checks the checker?!"
Yotsuba awked, some of the other girls falling over in
merriment. Ataru then jolted as Aria tugged his shirt sleeve.
"Nii-ya." She smiled at him. "Did Nii-ya walk with Nee-ya to see
Aria? Aria hopes so. Nee-ya doesn't like coming here because
Umi-san scares Nee-ya."
He took that in, then returning Yotsuba's spy glass to her,
patted Aria's hand. "Don't worry, Aria-chan." He winked playfully
at the young Parisian. "Nii-ya made sure Umi-san didn't scare
Nee-ya."
Aria blinked, then impishly shrugged. "Kusun..."
Suddenly a rolling sound echoed through the dining room, causing
everyone to look up. "What's that?!" Sakuya demanded.
"Sounds like Mamoru-chan skating around," Kaho reported.
Negako was nonplussed. "Ah, the others are coming now."
Everyone looked at her. "'Others?!!'"
Ataru paled. "You mean...!"
A *crash!!* echoed from overhead, causing people to look up as
part of the glass ceiling fell away, soaring right for Ataru's head.
"ANII, ANEE, EVERYONE, LOOK OUT!!!" a girl's voice cried out in
warning.
Before it can hit, a flash of tempered steel ripped it in half,
sending the pieces flying to the sides of the room. As people crowd
around Ataru, a lithe form landed on the table, then flipped onto the
floor. "Anigimi-sama, Anegimi-sama, everyone, are you alright?"
The questioner was a woman Sakuya's age and height, with blue
eyes and black hair tied in a high ponytail. She was draped in a
pink hakama top and black pleated skirt over lace-up, high-heel
boots, a naginata in hand. Before people could say a word to her,
someone else landed hands-first on the table, then with great skill,
somersaulted to the floor beside the naginata-welder.
"Haruka-chan! Mamoru-chan!" Karen called out. "You, too?!"
The second newcomer, a girl of thirteen though looking more
mature, distantly resembled Rinrin, though her chocolate-shaded
hair was shaggier. Most of that was covered by a cap. As befitting
one who was a serious sportswoman, she was dressed in a dark green
spandex bodysuit topped with a matching green-and-orange
track top. In-line roller blades covered her feet and a pair of
sunglasses were perched on her forehead. "Sorry about that,
everyone! I was trying to get down the stairs, but when I saw Anii,
I got too excited..."
"And you might've killed some of us were it not for
Haruka-chan." Sakuya sent the skater an annoyed look, indicating
the martial artist. "Good grief, Mamoru-chan, you KNOW the people
running the House don't like it when you skate around indoors on your
roller blades!"
Mamoru looked miffed. "So?!"
Ataru stared at Negako. "Them, too?"
Negako indicated each girl. "Tenhiro Haruka. Itou Mamoru."
Hearing their names, the newcomers perked, then they gazed
warmly at Ataru. "It's so good to meet you at last, Anigimi-sama,"
Haruka declared as a blush crossed her face, then she clapped her
cheeks as they reddened to the shade of cherries. "P-poh!"
Mamoru grinned. "Yeah! When Anee told us you can run marathons
and all that 'cause of that alien girl, I got really excited!"
Ataru took that in, then stared at Negako. "Is that all?"
The ninjitsu grandmistress moved to answer, then turned toward
the doors as a voice almost as timid as Aria's called out, "Hello?
Aneue-sama, did you finally come with Aniue-sama...? Oh! Hello,
everyone!"
People turned as a slender girl Karen's age, possessing
blue eyes under round-frame reading glasses and long black hair in a
thick braid, stepped in. She wore a white shirt and black vest over
a green, ankle-length skirt. Beside her was a beautiful golden
retriever as big as Hinako. "Marie-chan, what are you...?" Karen
began, then she spun on Negako. "Onee-chan, you don't mean that
Marie-chan's also...?!"
"A half-sister. Yes, Karen. Ataru, this is Susumu Marie. The
dog beside her is her pet, Michael," Negako did introductions.
Marie stared at Ataru, then her cheeks flamed before she started
to sway. "Oh, Aniue-sama, I'm so glad you...! You..."
She collapsed. "Marie-chan!!!" Sakuya cried out, then gasped
as a blur ripped past her to land beside Marie before her head
bounced off the floor. That blur became Ataru as he lifted Marie
up, then moved to carry the dazed newcomer to the couch.
"Onii-sama...!"
"Marie-chan, are you okay?!" Hinako called out as Ataru sat
Marie down, then moved to pour the dazed girl a glass of water.
Suddenly, a star-shaped patch of bright light appeared on the
dining room table, causing everyone to gasp. The light instantly
faded, revealing a girl Sakuya's and Haruka's height, draped in a
solid black cape from neck to toe, a witch's pointed hat perched
on her head.
Mamoru tensed. "Oh, man, you don't mean...! Her, too?!"
The newcomer whips off the hat and cape, revealing a girl
Sakuya's age with purple hair in a bun and very dark eyes. Under
the cape, she wore a shirt, red tie with a white Gothic cross, plaid
vest, ankle-length grey skirt and a black blazer. As everyone
relaxed, the newcomer stared at Ataru, giving him a jaunty wave.
"Ya, Ani-kun. I see all's well."
Sakuya blinked, then sighed. "Chikage-chan, too?"
Ataru stared at the sorceress, then sat down beside the dozing
Marie. "Excuse me, please," he muttered before passing out.
Everyone stared at him, then exhaled, even Negako. "I see
Ani-kun took THAT very well, didn't he?" Chikage noted with a
titter...
* * *
Ataru quickly recovered, then was introduced to the young
sorceress. Afterward, he moved into his room. Negako took up
residence in a spare bedroom on the third floor, between Rinrin's
and the men's furo room/communal shower. Once everything was squared
away, Shirayuki headed into the kitchen, located between Kaho's
bedroom and the foyer on the ground floor, to whip up a celebratory
feast in their half-brother's honour. To ensure that the would-be
chef didn't make any mistakes, Sakuya stayed with her to be the
taste-tester.
As that happened, Ataru took some time to visit everyone in
their own rooms to spend a little time with each. He learned
something of their stories, how they came to be in Welcome House and
what happened to their mothers and step-fathers. Ataru was quick
to learn that Marie was an orphan. Her mother died of ovarian cancer
when she was in kindergarten; her step-father having passed last
year, pretty much of a broken heart. Chikage's mother and
step-father, along with her maternal grandfather, were "indisposed,"
whatever that meant. Haruka's mother passed away two years before
thanks to a sudden bout of pneumonia. Stricken with grief, her
step-father was now somewhere in southeast Asia on a wandering
quest similar to the Australian Aboriginal "walkabout." Rinrin's
step-father died in a laboratory accident, but as of yet, her
housewife mother had not elected to come back to the Island.
Sakuya's mother disappeared sometime after she entered junior high.
Try as people might, no one had yet learned what might have happened
to her. That broke her step-father's heart; he died two years ago.
The other sisters' families were intact, but all were currently
off the Island, working in Japan or abroad (that being the case of
Karen's, Yotsuba's and Aria's families). Ataru understood that; no
doubt, when Negako met up with his sisters, the fact that they were
ALL born out of wedlock -- and the fact that their being born out of
wedlock might soon go public -- must have hit their parents hard.
He also learned that none of them had either step-brothers
or step-sisters, but they had friends, save a social recluse like
Chikage.
By the time the basic details were implanted into Ataru's mind,
dinner was served. Shirayuki's determination in the kitchen, added
to Sakuya's watchfulness, produced a meal that, while not up to
Kamekichi Tampopo's standards, was scrumptious! Of course, Ataru
did not engage in the rapid-fire eating style he sometimes used when
he got challenged to a "lunch duel" with one of his old classmates.
Not only was that pretty rude, but Shirayuki clearly wanted those
who ate her creations to enjoy every last morsel. Ataru was MORE
than happy to oblige.
After dinner was done, Rinrin brought in her Rinrin Viewer,
a flat-screen 150-by-120 centimetre television with built-in Internet
modem and high-speed central processor. Everyone pitched in to mount
it on the wall. Once it was in place, Rinrin tried out the Viewer's
latest modification: voice-activated Internet surfing capabilities.
After the links were tested, Ataru and the sisters began visiting
Web sites worldwide, all by the power of voice (using written notes
on addresses, that kept by Karen).
One of the websites they visited was NHK News On-Line. To
Ataru's surprise, the article about Lum's departure from Earth wasn't
in the "Top Ten" listings. Quickly shifting to the old news page,
they found the entry, then logged in. Once there, Ataru was stunned
to find that certain organizations in Tomobiki had, in the wake of
the Oni's departure, spoken out AGAINST Lum's presence on Earth.
One of them was the Tomobiki Parent-Teacher's Association.
The PTA's statement was made by none other than Megane Rui, Aisuru's
mother.
"'Today, liberation finally came for the men, women and children
of Tomobiki,'" Sakuya read. "'After nearly two years of numbing
uncertainty, interspersed with moments of sheer terror, the Oni girl
Lum and her friends have been driven from our planet, hopefully
never to return. Despite the widespread idol-like adoration many of
our children, especially those of high school age, expressed towards
the Oni, her living in Tomobiki was NOT to the benefit of her
long-suffering citizens. We, the parents of Tomobiki, rejoice with
all our hearts that the Oni is no longer amongst us. We hope and
pray that the United Nations will ensure that none of her kind ever
come to Earth again.'"
"There's no mention of you, Nii-sama," Shirayuki noted.
He shook his head. "Oh, heck, don't worry about it,
Shirayuki-chan. If they didn't say anything about me, I wouldn't
really care. It means they're too busy trying to think up ways of
making me their primary scapegoat for whatever weird thing that might
hit that place."
"Won't you say something about this, Onii-sama?" Sakuya asked.
He blinked, then shook his head. "No. I've no interest in
allowing any of those clods to get anywhere close to any of you. You
don't deserve that." He then gazed on the Rinrin Viewer. "Still,
it is shocking."
"What is, Onii-chan?" Karen asked.
"That there were people in town who hated Lum." Ataru crossed
his arms. "I always believed everyone there liked her."
The others hummed...
* * *
The middle of the night...
"***NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! DON'T GO!!!!!***"
The four residents of the rotunda's ground floor -- clockwise
from the front door: Kaho, Sakuya, Hinako and Karen -- sat up,
wide-eyed with shock as that blood-curling scream echoed through
the building. Karen, living in the room next door to her
just-arrived big brother, quickly recognized who was doing the
shouting. "Onii-chan!!!"
She surged out of bed, then raced out the door as the door to
Hinako's room opens, revealing the youngest of the sisters, eyes
tearing as she clutched her precious Mister Bunny. "Karen-chan,
who screamed?!" Hinako burbled.
"Onii-chan!!" Karen knocked on Ataru's door, then opened it to
look inside before stopping, her eyes widening. "Onee-chan...!"
Negako looked up from a pale-faced Ataru. Staring at this
nearly-ageless entity she looked on these days as an elder sister,
Karen was stunned to see -- well, SOMETHING! -- etched in Negako's
brown eyes. "Onee-chan...?"
"No...! Please, Lum-chan...! Don't leave me..."
Negako turned to Ataru, the latter quaking as the nightmare
seared through his mind. Reaching to his head, the grandmistress
tapped several points to force him into a deeper sleep. By then,
Sakuya, Kaho and Hinako have joined Karen. "Onee-sama...?"
Sakuya whispered.
Negako grimaced. "I should have anticipated this."
"Anticipated what?"
"The backlash the restoration of his memories would have
unleashed." Negako rubbed his forehead. "While he was in the
selective amnesiac state I placed him in five years ago, Ataru was
unable to fully tap into his cognitive learning and intelligence
potential. It is no wonder that so many considered him an idiot;
he did not have the mental capacity to truly evolve and mature
himself as most others do."
Karen's eyes started to tear. "Didn't you realize this when you
did this to him in the first place, Onee-chan?"
"I did, but at the time this happened, I was too euphoric
at being free to foresee the potential dangers I was placing Ataru
in," Negako replied as she closed her eyes, then she perked as she
detected something. "Interesting..."
"What is it?" Kaho probed.
Negako blinked, then sighed, pulling her hand away from Ataru.
"He will sleep better this evening." She stood up, moving to step
out of the bedroom. "You may remain here if you wish. I have
something to discuss with Chikage."
She walked out of the room. The sisters watched her, then
exchanged a look. "There are times I really worry about her," Karen
mused.
Sakuya shook her head. "Nothing you can do to help her. In a
way, Onee-sama was abandoned to fend for herself just like Onii-sama
was. Right now..." She gazed on the sleeping Ataru. "All we can do
is be there for them. Be the family they both really need right
now."
The others nodded, then walked out of the room. All save
Hinako. The youngest of the sisters walked over to stare intently
into her Onii-tama's face, then she took Mister Bunny and tucked
that into the bed beside him. She kissed Ataru's cheek. "Good
night, Onii-tama."
With that, Hinako headed out, closing the door behind her...
* * *
Upstairs...
"It is natural for Ani-kun to start having nightmares about his
experiences in Tomobiki," Chikage stated, pouring herself and Negako
a drink from the sorceress' personal spirit locker. None of the
bottles, Negako was quick to note, were less than a century old, they
being preserved using techniques vineries and liquor-makers
would kill to possess. "Though there were times Ani-kun easily
manipulated others to do his bidding, the sheer number of potential
real and perceived enemies was often overwhelming. Atop that,
elements of Ani-kun's psyche were fractured from the core conscience
when you were inserted into him when he was six years old."
"A multiple-personality disorder?"
"Potentially." The sorceress served the drinks, then sat across
from the ninjitsu grandmistress. "Studies about multiple-personality
problems are still problematic. From what I have been able to
divine, all parts of Ani-kun are aligned on one emotional path. It
is the precise methodology each of those fragments might use in
specific situations which differs."
"Keeping him isolated from his former classmates is wise, then?"
Chikage nodded. "In my estimation, yes. In fact, if we engage
in a campaign where we place the people of Tomobiki, especially
those who stood against Ani-kun the most, in a negative light, it
would be healthier for all. Ani-kun -- the 'core' of him -- could
be made to eventually desire never to deal with such people again.
He would avoid them at all costs, frustrating them if they wished
to seek him out. They might decide to do so in the wake of Lum's
banishment..." A pause. "Or they might be so overwhelmed with grief
at Lum's 'loss' that they'd not contemplate seeking Ani-kun out at
all. That would be good. The more violent elements of Ani-kun's
fragmented conscience, I fear, would kill them all at the first
opportunity. And given the skills he inherited from you, Ane-kun..."
"It would become, as the Americans put it, a 'turkey shoot,'"
Negako grimly replied. "It is fortunate that I removed and destroyed
the listening device Lum placed in that stuffed doll she once made
for Ataru. To believe there was virtually NO real trust expressed
to Ataru by Lum, yet she loudly claimed she loved him. I may not be
able to feel 'true' love myself, but I know at least it is not THAT."
"Indeed, it isn't." Chikage sipped her brandy, then gazed at
Negako. "So you noticed the psi-bond Ani-kun has now."
"Do you know who he is bonded to? The part of Ataru's memory
from when that bond was formed was damaged when I was placed in him."
Chikage reached for her crystal ball, then held it up before
Negako. Chanting an ancient incantation, the sorceress smiled as an
image appears in the opaque crystal. "This is Ani-kun's chosen one."
Negako looked, then her eyebrows arched. "Saotome Ranma?"
Chikage blinked. "Saotome Ranma?!" Her eyes widened -- who in
the immediate area of the Tokyo megalopolis had NOT heard of him?!
-- then an eyebrow arched in return. "But Ranma-san is supposed
to be..."
"A man?" Negako lightly smiled. "So he was born. But as you
should be aware, Jusenkyou altered that far more than most believe."
"True..."
* * *
To be continued...
**** **** ****
WRITER'S NOTES:
1) Since no one has EVER openly discussed a possible romantic
paring between the male leads of two of Takahashi-sensei's
well-known manga series (especially when one of them can easily
become a girl with cold water!), I decided it was worth exploring.
Naturally, many warned me away from it. To be frankly honest, the
only effect THOSE warnings had was to allow my imagination to go wild
on this topic. So there!
2) I began writing this story on the day before the world was
shaken by the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon
(the news of it was broken to me Tuesday night [Korea time] on 11
September 2001, just prior to the collapse of the towers in NYC).
Like so many, I was badly shaken by what happened. However, like
other events in my life, the sheer tragedy of it all got me to
thinking about how Islamic extremists might have viewed the "oil
theft" depicted in the second "UY" television episode. One possible
result of that is depicted here.
NOTE: PLEASE understand that this story is NOT meant, in any way,
shape or form, as an indiction against Islam, its worshippers
or its core beliefs as written in the Qu'ran by the Prophet Mohammed.
NOTE II: Also know that, in the universe of this story, the events
of 11 September 2001 DID NOT HAPPEN.
3) This story can be seen as an "alternate" outcome of events
depicted in the UY-TSY story "Noa," where Noa bonded the young Ataru
to someone in a Sagussan-style *marei'cha* and *surei'cha* bonding.
However, I will not include this in an overall listing of UY-TSY
stories.
4) Names in the story are written in "family name-first"
order if the family name is Oriental in origin, which will include
Imperial Urusian names as well, i.e. Moroboshi Ataru, Saotome Ranma,
Redet Lum. Names are written in "family name-last" order if the
family name is Occidental in origin, which will include Zephyrite
and Ellsian names, i.e. Yotsuba Dunn, Sunhair Windrider, Amora de
Rosenbach. Noukiite names are written in the order "cast rank-family
name gender/birth rank-given name."
5) Some of the side characters and situations which pop up in
this story are inspired by a ton of Ranma fics I've taken greatly
to over the last few years. Among them (they're too many to list)
are those of Hung Nyugen, Robert Haynie (primarily from "Girl Days"),
Eric Hallstrom (from "Ranma and Akane - A Love Story"), Neil Reynolds
(from "To Tell A Hawk From A Handsaw") and Rippen Drakuzz. Two
stories I should also specifically mention as primary plot influences
for this are J.P. Buckner's "Saotome's Choice" and The Deadly
Nightshade's "The Truth #1: Ranma the Girl." To them and to all the
others out there that I didn't mention, my profound thanks.
6) Thanks also to the following who sent messages which both
encouraged and helped me improve this story bit by bit ever since
the first draft got out on the FFML, Fanfiction.net and
Mediaminer.org (if your name doesn't show up here, I apologize):
"Adyen" - Alex Mewett - Amy Lee - "Archr" - "Arete" - Benjamin
Goldberg - Bjorn Christianson - "Blacked Out" - Christopher
Gilbert - "Cobalt" - Craig Helfgott - Dan Inverse - Danyella Skyler
Silverfire - "Dave" - David Glass - "Destiny Nova" - "Do U Know Me?"
- Edward Becerra - "Ertle2" - "Fundide Frost Phoniex" - "Gabriel
Blessing" - Gerald Graham - Gerald Jordan - "GEVFUAN" - "Ginrai"
- "Heh" - Helmut Steeg - "Holy Knight" - "Howard, the Grum" - Jacen
Nettles - James Merritt - Jason Ashe - Jason Calhoun - J.C. Hoeving
- "Jim" - Joe Chaos - Joerg Janshen-Jaeger - John Reisbeck - John
Surber - Jonathan Rosebaugh - Kenneth Dohl - "Kinotama" - "Lady
Cosmos" - "Lectrix" - "Lord Void" (AKA The Dragonbard) - Mark W.
Shurtleff - "Megane 6.7" - "Mchambli" - Michael Foerster - Mike Koos
- "Newfie Spaceman" - "Nightwings" - "Osiris" - Oystein Rambol -
Peter Schell - "Quick Silver Knight" - "Redv0630" - Richard Robinson
- Richard Speidel - Robert Masters - "Rogue1615" - Rui Costa - Ryoko
"Jaywild1" Inua - "Schobronics" - Scott Jamison - Shea "Sunhawk"
McIntee - "Shinigami" - "Slacker 99" - S. Mark Gunther - "Starfury"
- Steffan Scrivener - Stephen J. Scalaro - Steven Musgrave -
"Super-Teru Youma" - "Tannim" - Ted Hsu - "Tenchan1982" - "The
Eternal Lost Lurker" - Thiemo Guenther - Thomas Dye - Tim Brazeau
- "Tim TAW" - Toby Kilbreath - Trishna Malhi - Tsukino Kage -
"Ty9396" - "XStylus" - "Youma Therapy" - "Zoan"
7) Naturally, thanks to Steven Cornett and Robert Geiger for
their words and support. Given the death of my mother, Eleanor
B. Kushnir (who also served as editor for my past works) in August
2001, whatever C&C I can get from everyone is welcome (though I have
NO use for mindless flames). Along those lines, thanks also to
Michael A. Chase, Vladimyr Hreskowsky and David Chamberlain
for their detailed reviews.
8) Some have complained about the use of Japanese phrases and
words here. I apologize for that -- it's a habit I caught when I was
writing "Illusions" -- but I am trying to tone it down. Not to the
bare bones, of course; this story IS set in Japan, so, IMHO, it's
just only fair to toss some words in. Hopefully, you'll be able to
understand what's being said by the context of the specific plotline.
9) Related to that, of course, is the personalized way the
sisters refer to Ataru, Negako and later Ranma, not to mention the
habit some of them have of speaking in third-person. For those who
wish to know, that is part of the charm of the "Sister Princess"
characters. So, FYI, here's a list of who speaks in what way (plus
how it would be written in Japanese):
Karen...Onii-chan/Onee-chan (hiragana, "nii"/"nee" in kanji)
Kaho...Onii-chama/Onee-chama (hiragana, "nii"/"nee" in kanji)
Mamoru...Anii/Anee (hiragana, the final "i"/"e" in smallform)
Sakuya...Onii-sama/Onee-sama (kanji, "o" in hiragana)
Hinako...Onii-tama/Onee-tama (hiragana)
Marie...Aniue-sama/Aneue-sama (kanji)
Shirayuki...Nii-sama/Nee-sama (hiragana)
Rinrin...Aniki/Aneki (katakana)
Chikage...Ani-kun/Ane-kun (kanji, "kun" in hiragana)
Haruka...Anigimi-sama/Anegimi-sama (kanji, "sama" in hiragana)
Yotsuba...Ani-chama/Ane-chama (kanji, "chama" in katakana)
Aria...Nii-ya/Nee-ya (kanji, "ya" in hiragana)
As you will have noted by now, Kaho, Hinako, Yotsuba and Aria speak
in third person (using their names in lieu of "I"). Shirayuki
calls herself "Hime" (Princess). This form of speech and how they
talk was used in the "Sister Princess" anime and the novels
Tenhiro-sensei and Kimino-sensei wrote about them. Other special
expressions the girls use, which will appear here when possible,
are as follows:
"...desu no." - Ending to most of Shirayuki's sentences, like the
appearance of the "-tcha" at the end of Lum's sentences.
"Poh!" - Haruka's personal exclamation, substitute for "Oh!", "Oh,
my!", "Oh, dear!" -- well, you get the hint, ne?
"Check"/"Checky!" - Yotsuba's favourite words. Often subs this for
other words, i.e. "It's not checky!" for "That's not okay."
"Kusun!" - The sound Aria makes when she becomes upset about
something. When you hear her make this noise, watch out!
I did make one change, however: Karen. In both the anime and the
novella written about her, Karen also speaks in third-person.
I decided, however, that because she has spent a lot of time
travelling abroad, she would be evolving away from that habit when
she meets her Onii-chan.
10) Information on the Tarot is based on information at the
"Learn the Tarot" site by Joan Bunning, located at
http://www.learntarot.com
11) The translation of "Misoch'ounsa" (Angel's Smile), courtesy
of Mimi Lee Kyoung-hwa.
Tchajungnaego hwareul naedo tto nouoe misoman pomyoun pabo kat'eun
na.
(When you're angry and irritated at me, I see you smiling once, I'm
very happy.)
Noun nuga pwado aju yeppeugo t'amseurou'un sagwa kat'a kkaemurou
chugo ship'ou anajugo ship'ou noueui p'ingk'eu pit hwasare
kkojoussou.
(You're very beautiful, like a red apple. I want to give you a hug.
I'm falling in love with you.)
Noun moduege neul ch'injourae keuraesou ch'akkakdeul haji namaneui
aeinin'goul ijji an'atdamyoun naege tou isang changnanch'ijineun
ma.
(You're very kind to everybody, so you make them believe they can
love you.)
Yokshimi chinach'in koulkka chashini oumneun koulkka puran'an ma'eum
ppunya.
(I wonder if I'm very greedy or if I'm not confident. I'm very
nervous).
Korean terms and phrases are transliterated from han'geul using my
modified version of the McCune-Reischauer system. The short "o"
sound (close to the "o" in "hOw") is Romanized as "ou." The short
"u" sound (close to "ou" in "cOUld") is Romanized as "eu." The "a"
in Korean is pronounced like the "a" in "fAther." The "ae" sound
is pronounced similar to the "a" in "mAn." All other vowels are the
same as Japanese. Apostrophes splitting vowels such as "e" and "u"
or "a" and "e" indicate two different sounds. The same also applies
if an apostrophe splits "n" and "g;" in Korean, "ng" is similar
to the English sound. If an apostrophe follows "k," "t," "p," or
"ch," the sound is pronounced with a burst of breath. The normal
"k," "t," "p," or "ch" sounds in Korean are soft, slurring almost
to "g," "d," "b," and "j" respectively. Double consonant sounds
such as "kk," "tt," "pp" and "tch" (jj) are pronounced like the
Japanese "small 'tsu' before a consonant" process.
12) The magic mirror twins of Ranma appeared in Volume 35, parts
1-4 of the "Ranma 1/2" manga series. The names they use now are,
like Ranma's, based on equestrine motifs. Toshiko is composed
of the kanji for "fleet steed" (TOSHI) and "child" (KO). Kumiko
is composed of the kanji for "horse" (KU; more elegant form of "MA"),
"beautiful" (MI) and "child" (KO). Kumiko's male name, Komakichi,
takes the kun reading of the kanji for "horse" (KOMA) and combines
it with the kanji for "lucky" (KICHI).
13) The Noroi no Ningyou appeared in Volume 31, parts 9-10 of the
manga. Thanks to the people at the Ranmascan Project for providing
translated pages of that story. The name later given to her, Kimiko,
is a name often used by fanfic writers for Akane's mother.
14) The "wedding dress" party in Part 4 is a reference to episode
7 of the "Sister Princess" television series, where the sisters
(inspired by Hinako and Sakuya) hold a mock-mass wedding, with their
Big Brother (Minakami Wataru in the TV series) serving as the groom.
15) The translation of "Tenchiaiki Juukazoku": TEN - "Heaven";
CHI - "Earth"; AI - "Harmony"; KI - "Spirit"; JUU - "Ten"; KAZOKU
- "Clan." In essence, "The Ten Spiritually Harmonious Houses of
Heaven and Earth."
16) Niphentaxians do have family names, but with the advance
of the Church of Lum, those names are now not commonly used. Prior
to the Church's advance, a spiritual ranking system was used as a
prefix to the family name, depending on the person's standing in
his/her church:
ot'ndai - founder/supreme leader of a church
t'ndai - senior layperson (i.e. the President)
odai - senior priest/priestess
edai - very important layperson (i.e. head of family)
bedai - important layperson
sudai - junior priest/priestess
dai - basic honorific
17) Tendou Shinshi's given name can be translated two ways. One
(according to my Japanese-English dictionary) could read "gentleman."
The one I prefer is the combination of the kanji for "lion" and
"heart."
18) Sumo wrestlers are properly referred to as "rikishi"
(gentlemen of strength). So it seems right to use "rikibuta"
(pig of strength) when speaking of Akari's pigs in Part 6, "B" Side.
A sumo school (stable) is referred to as a "beya," hence "Unryuu
beya." "Kesho-mawashi" is the formal loincloth worn by rikishi
when they first enter the fighting ring at the start of an official
tournament; the fighting loincloth is just a "mawashi." The "dohyo"
is the actual fighting ring where rikishi engage in combat. And, for
those who never saw the late World Wrestling Federation character
some years back, a "yokozuna" is a sumo grand champion. The next
rank down is "ozeki." Many thanks to the creators of the English
website for the Japan Sumo Association for providing a very thorough
index of sumotori terms.
19) Nassur was created by Mike Smith for his own UY fanfic series
before his work was united with mine to produce "Urusei Yatsura
- The Senior Year." Nassur's first appearance in that series was in
"Return of Memory."
20) The Osculum Papilionis (Butterfly Kiss) was created by Eric
Hallstrom in his fanfic "Ranma and Akane: A Love Story." In reading
his story, I came to appreciate Eric's concept of something powerful
being given such a soft name; that idea also influenced the history
behind Noukiios' eunuch's swords and the names chosen for them. I
first used the Osculum concept in my "Illusions" vignette story "A
Child's Valentine." In an extra mark to that work, I chose to keep
the Latin term in lieu of using Japanese.
21) The story mentioned by Mizuho in Part 9, "C" Side is actually
derived from Course 10 of "Zipang," a manga series by the creator
of "The Silent Service," Kawaguchi Kaiji. Bilingual text copies
of the first four volumes of "Zipang" are available from Kodansha.
**** **** ****
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
| Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
| Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'