[FFML] Quantum Destinies 32 (2 of 2)

[Jurai Knight]

(And here is the 2nd part of the most recent chapter)


As far as the girls in her class went, they maintained a standoffish,
distant posture and had done so ever since her arrival, just as the
students at Blackhall had done. While she was not an unfriendly person and
had never done anything to offend anyone at either school that she was
aware of, Kodachi knew others, especially girls, found the shape of her
eyes both intimidating and menacing. It was a distressing feature she had
unluckily inherited from her mother, a woman who quite enjoyed having
people dread meeting her fearsome gaze and even wore her makeup in such a
way as to even further accentuate her ‘dragon lady’ visage.

Inheriting this maleficent-seeming aspect of her mother’s famed beauty
along with the rest of the package, Kodachi had tried her best for years
with makeup and hairstyles to downplay and distract away from this fearsome
facial feature of hers. She sincerely hoped that joining the Academy’s team
and supporting her future teammates’ efforts would improve her prospects
for finding true female camaraderie at school. She wanted to show others
that she would be a good friend despite her troublingly villainous looks.

While she had been subtly encouraging Ami for a while now, making slow but
steady progress towards a friendship with her, the pigtailed hoyden that
the Mizuno girl had brought to their class a few weeks ago was another
possibility she was considering making an overture to. There was just
something tantalizingly familiar about the redhead, a sort of déjà vu
concerning her. Ranko’s visage conjured up disjointed memory flashes that
enticed her, revealing they had a connection of some kind with each other
on other worlds, and that it had something to do with martial arts rhythmic
gymnastics.

One such glimpse had shown the other girl clad in a pink gymnastics leotard
and holding out a baton with a long ribbon, twirling it easily. Her motions
demonstrated skill in the style, and her smile had been very confident.
P-chan had been present too in other images.

Since that encounter, Kodachi had done research on Ranko Kuonji in the
Empire’s official database, exploring what was publicly available about her
as well as gaining a better understanding of her relationship with the
cross-dressing ruffian who foully lurked within Saotome-kun’s classroom.
Fortunately, the two cousins did not appear to be at all close with each
other. Ranko’s mother owned a popular local eatery that served okonomiyaki
(a pedestrian repast that Kodachi had never eaten but was curious to try
someday), and she had raised both Ranko and her older brother by herself
ever since they were born. There was no father present in the family or
even listed on the birth records for either sibling, a rather scandalous
thing to Kodachi’s refined sensibilities.

Based on the evidence of those birth records, the mother was apparently a
licentious sort of woman, failing to resist her lusts for men when she was
younger and save her virtue for a proper marriage. That could also explain
why she lived so far away from the rest of her family, perhaps
demonstrating that they disapproved of her highly-immoral lifestyle
choices. It would also explain why Ranko looked somewhat different from her
handsome older brother, since they likely did not even share the same
father due to their mother’s sinful proclivities. Since the Kuonji siblings
had grown up estranged from the rest of their clan, possibly because of
their mother’s promiscuity, Ranko and Ukyo were strangers to each other.

After learning this, Kodachi actually felt sorry for the girl, having to
deal with a shameless jezebel of a mother like that. Lacking a good role
model for how to be a proper, virtuous woman would also explain why Ranko
had such atrocious table etiquette, acting more like some uncouth teenaged
boy instead of how a well-mannered young lady should comport herself in
public. Perhaps, if they did indeed become friends, as an act of charity to
the unrefined girl, she would take Ranko under her wing and teach her how
to properly walk and to talk, to transform her into a far more genteel
young lady.

If the redhead learned how to behave herself like a well-mannered young
woman should, perhaps the two of them could even attend some of the parties
and social functions the nobility often threw. Kaoru-kun and Saotome-kun
could even accompany them as their escorts, assuming Ranko had not
inherited her mother’s licentiousness towards men. If they did end up
becoming friends, she hoped the redhead proved to be far more in control of
herself than her mother seemed to be around males.

It distressed the Kuno girl to admit to herself how very petty she had been
at the time of her first encounter with Ranko. She had been quite unfairly
jealous of the redhead, seeing her so eagerly embraced by the girls in
their class as a heroine for boldly standing up to Nabiki and trouncing
her, the very same girls that treated her so coolly. Such a base response
was utterly beneath the dignity of a daughter of the noble House of Kuno
towards someone who was innocent of any sort of wrongdoing. Ranko had
neither done her any direct harm nor given her any insult, and it shamed
her to have felt the way she had about the other girl. She believed she
needed to make up for it.

Perhaps that was why, since beginning her research, she had grown so
unexpectedly hopeful that Ranko might welcome becoming friends with her,
although Kodachi wasn’t exactly sure why a comradeship with this particular
girl was so attractive a concept. Maybe it was because the thought of
having a close female friend who was another skilled warrior was enticing,
someone she could stand shoulder to shoulder with during times of trouble
and also share intimate, girlish secrets with when life was calmer. That
combination of traits appealed to Kodachi greatly.

The stark truth of the matter was that she desperately wanted a close
comrade, a girl who felt no obligations to be her friend and could thus
truly be one, preferably someone who shared her interests in martial arts
and learning. Konatsu Kurenai, while she was a good and faithful servant
who tried her best to satisfy that need, never quite reached the mark,
lacking something that Kodachi could not quite put her finger on to name.
She truly hoped Ranko would be the one to finally fill this aching void she
suffered in her life. While befriending the uncouth, fatherless girl
carried its own obvious risks of betrayal, she felt it was far more likely
the redhead would prove herself a valuable ally, countering any treacheries
that the duplicitous Nabiki Tendo might attempt. After being beaten
unconscious by Ranko, no doubt she was already on the older girl’s list of
sworn enemies anyway.

That being said, offering an alliance with Nabiki also remained part of her
plans, utilizing the young gangster girl as her cat’s-paw against other
looming threats in order to avoid having to sully her own hands with such
squalid tasks, although it was very appealing to fight them herself. With
the Tendo girl’s brutish aid, she hoped to hold at bay other young women
who sought after Saotome-kun, such as the mannish, ill-mannered Tenjou
wench that stubbornly refused to go away and leave him alone. But she could
not trust her prospective ally too far without taking proper precautions,
as that could leave her vulnerable to a knife driven into her back.

Hopefully that was only a figurative risk instead of a literal one, but one
could never be too careful with someone who had earned the fearsome
sobriquet “The Iron Bitch” at a place like the Imperial Academy. After all,
its many gray-uniformed security cadets, some of whom bordered on being
outright villains, maintained a Darwinian mentality towards each other,
with trust a scarce commodity. Kodachi knew she was taking a risk in
establishing better relationships with two security cadets at the same
time, but she believed the potential rewards to be gained were greater,
such as improving her strategic position to better protect her fiancé from
the many unworthy harridans who pursued him and sought to win the love his
noble heart contained.

As troublesome as the problem of these other girls was, she had also come
to realize she had some vexing personal demons of her own to struggle with
when it came to resolving things with her fiancé, and having a close friend
to unburden herself to might help her with them. She had to remain so
watchful of herself whenever she was around him it was growing very
stressful for her. Until the day he finally claimed her as his woman,
allowing her the catharsis that intimate act would yield, she needed to
persist in her inner labors at restraining her lustful desires for him, no
matter how powerfully they welled up within her at times.

Bitterness tinged her thoughts, knowing her social station bound her
rigidly in her pursuit of him, that she had to be so frustratingly coy
about her feelings. Her less honorable rivals pursuing his affections were
certainly not nearly as inhibited by such polite niceties. And more of them
seemed to be appearing as time went on, increasing her levels of
frustration.

The most recent name added to that slowly growing list of contemptible
girls chasing after her fiancé was the Chinese barbarian named Shampoo, a
backwoods-born, martial arts wunderkind who spoke a tortured form of
Japanese in disgustingly-cute tones. Even more irritating, the young
philistine was possessed of alluring feminine pulchritude layered upon a
powerful physique, making her more of a threat in that area than even
Nabiki was. Ever since Ranma’s battle with the savage beauty, the boys in
Kodachi’s class had been eagerly discussing the different aspects of
Shampoo’s charms with such fervor that the girls in their class had grown
to be extremely disgusted with them.

Kodachi was among them, being even more repulsed by the boys in her class
than she had ever been before. Were all of them helpless thralls to their
lusts for girls? Was Saotome-kun the only truly decent boy in their entire
school?

Just the mere thought of the uncivilized Chinese strumpet filled the Kuno
girl with a simmering fury. Ever since the night of her fiancé’s
imprisonment in the Battledome to prepare for his rematch, Kodachi had been
vividly imagining the wicked things Shampoo was likely doing to seduce the
pigtailed scholar from the path of righteousness. Her mind kept conjuring
up a series of lurid scenes, each one of the Chinese girl performing
immoral, salacious acts with him, things that no polite young woman should
ever do except with her fiancé or her husband, but especially not with a
young man they had only just recently met.

“Don’t worry,” sounded another female voice, and Kodachi turned around,
seeing the form of Scholar-Kodachi materializing nearby, carrying her
favorite book of romantic poetry from the Kuno family’s library. “That
little barbarian trollop won’t keep us from achieving our blissful,
destined union with Saotome-kun.” Her expression turned wistful as cherry
blossoms suddenly floated past her, her gaze assuming the same sort of
rapturous ‘Hearts and Flowers’ look that the Black Rose had recently shown
when thinking about Ranma.

Off to one side, where she had been relaxing against a tree and musing her
own thoughts, Sukeban-Kodachi snorted contemptuously and made a fist with
her right hand, the joints and tendons popping and cracking in a very
intimidating way. “Yeah, that foreigner bitch better not try anything with
Ranma-sama, or I’ll rip both her tits off and then break all of her limbs
for good measure. And he’d also better not be screwing that overbuilt bimbo
either, not if he knows what’s good for him.”

She frowned darkly, her face twisting into a truly fearsome scowl at the
thought of Shampoo with Ranma. “Now that this secret engagement farce is
over with, we really ought to lay down the law to him and put an end to his
messing around with other girls, like that Tenjou harpy and this Chinese
philistine he’s found. What’s next? He starts spending time with that
little cow, Akane Tendo?” She snorted derisively at that last notion and
then growled, “We’re the only woman he should ever need or want.”

She dropped an arm around Kodachi’s shoulders, her expression suddenly
becoming sly. “Hey, Kuno-dono, what are your thoughts about Miki-kun since
the dance? If Ranma-sama refuses to quit messing around with these other
bitches swarming around him like dogs in heat, I’m thinking we should show
him just how it feels. We should keep spending time with Miki-kun and let
him take us out on more dates, I mean. I really miss kissing with a boy and
getting touched, ya know? This girl’s got some serious needs building up,
and they aren’t being taken care of right now by our fickle fiancé.
Miki-kun could help. I’m aching here.”

“N-needs?” Kodachi murmured shyly, an image appearing near them of the
Black Rose and the Miki Kaoru of her world. The couple was locked together
in a passionate, intimate embrace while seated upon a couch, exchanging
deep, open-mouthed kisses with each other, their tongues wrestling. Both
her eyebrows shot up, aghast at the sight of his hand groping around within
the partly-unbuttoned jacket of the Black Rose’s St. Hebereke school
uniform, gently fondling her through her blouse as they kissed. She gaped
at the sight, unmoving. Soft groans and sighs could be heard from the pair,
a duet of unleashed carnal passions.

Licking suddenly dry lips, she felt an odd compulsion to agree with the
other girl after seeing this immoral scene. Despite its sinfulness, a
vision laden with torrid desires, it just looked so enticing, kissing
fervently with Kaoru-kun and exchanging such tender, intimate touches with
him. She swallowed nervously, feeling her face blushing bright red, ashamed
at how sorely tempted she was by the notion of being so familiar with her
childhood friend.

“B-but I’m engaged to Saotome-kun,” she murmured weakly. “I shouldn’t. I-I
mean I just c-couldn’t. And Kaoru-kun’s my childhood friend. I just can’t
do something like that with him. It would be so immoral, so scandalous...
so naughty. And what would Kaoru-kun think of me wanting to be so familiar
with him? It j-just wouldn’t be proper to k-kiss and t-touch another boy
when I’m engaged.”

She licked her dry lips again, her gaze remaining intent on the erotic
doings of the images of the Black Rose and the Kaoru boy. He’d slipped off
her jacket and was now gently massaging one of her breasts while he nibbled
and licked her neck and collarbone area. Her duplicate was now moaning with
even more passion, clearly enjoying what was happening to her, and her hand
slid scandalously low on Kaoru-kun’s body and began fondling him there.
Kodachi’s blush grew brighter, her eyes widening even more, but she still
could not seem to avert her gaze.

“Proper?” snorted Sukeban-Kodachi. “It’s a little too late for that
attitude, Kuno-dono. You already went out on a date with him, didn’t you?
And you saw the looks he was giving you when you were at Ohtori, wearing
that slinky dress.” The juvenile delinquent struck a sultry pose. “And what
red-blooded stud wouldn’t want your body? It’s a hot package with
everything that a guy could ever want to play with, especially having a
gymnast’s flexibility, if you know what I mean.”

She winked saucily. “Besides, Miki-kun’s not a little boy anymore, and
you’re certainly not a little girl. You’re a woman, he’s a man, and he’s a
pretty hunky one at that.”

The Black Rose then paused, suddenly looking more serious. “But if it makes
it any easier on you, Kuno-dono, I’m just talking about making out with
Miki-kun, just to tide us over for a while until we can finally get down
and dirty with Ranma-sama.” The delinquent girl grinned even more
salaciously than before, thinking about all the naughty things she planned
to do when she finally got her hands on the Saotome boy.

“I guess she has a point,” interjected Scholar-Kodachi thoughtfully. “And I
like Miki-kun, too. He’s a handsome, well-mannered, nice boy, and in both
our lives he was our very best friend years ago. I’m positive he won’t take
advantage of you or hurt you, not like other boys would.” Her quiet moue
after stating that last thought reflected her frustrations with young men
her age, except for a precious few like Ranma and Miki that didn’t seem to
be thralls to the perverted demands of their male lusts.

She approached, intending to merely glance at the simmering hot scene, but
the sight of the couple making out with such intense fervor quickly
captivated the scholar girl. She swallowed nervously, suddenly finding
herself unable to pull her gaze away from all the fondling, groping and
osculating going on between the two heated adolescents. The carnal
activities, as well as the soft sighs and groans the duo kept making, were
distracting and undeniably fascinating to her.

Her potential opposition momentarily preoccupied by the sexy scene just as
she had planned, the Black Rose turned and grinned at Kodachi. “I think
Geek Girl agrees. I’m sure Miki-kun wouldn’t mind spending some more time
with us.”

She then paused and frowned thoughtfully. “But don’t get me wrong. I’m just
talking about make-out sessions with him, nothing more serious. We won’t
let him get past second base.” She paused and suddenly grinned. “Maybe
we’ll take him to third occasionally, but only if he’s been a really good
boy and needs some relief. The first time we go for the home run will only
be with Ranma-sama.” That last part was stated quite emphatically.

“You need to face facts, Kuno-dono, and Miki-kun will be a big help to you
here. While I share your dislike with using a childhood friend like him
this way, you really need a boy showing interest in you to keep our dear
fiancé fired up with a credible threat of some serious competition and keep
his attention more focused on defending his claim to you. He’s developed
this infuriating talent for attracting other girls to play around with,
like that Tenjou bitch or this Shampoo savage. Well, two can play at that
game. And when the Black Rose plays, she plays to win, whether it’s a
street fight or affairs of the heart.”

“Do boys like that?” Scholar-Kodachi murmured, not really listening to the
delinquent’s monologue. Her focus was fixated on the scene before her,
watching the lusty performance with rapt attention. She swallowed again,
and a thin line of drool escaped one side of her mouth along with twin
trickles of scarlet dribbling from both nostrils, fascinated as she
intently studied what was happening between the couple. The pair was still
quite fervently enjoying the so-called ‘second base’ of such intimate
activities, a description that didn’t even exist in this world, having
never invented baseball.

Sukeban-Kodachi shook her head, murmuring something about repressed,
socially-retarded, sex-starved nerd girls before turning her gaze back to
Kodachi, who was also staring at the intimate scene with apparent interest.
“You know you want to be more like me, Kuno-dono,” she softly whispered in
more seductive tones next to the other girl’s ear. “You want to feel my
power, my strength and my confidence filling you. The Black Rose takes what
she wants, and she crushes anyone who gets in her way, like that
man-stealing, barbarian bitch, Shampoo.”

“I-I-” Kodachi whispered, turning to gaze at the Black Rose, clearly
tempted.

Sukeban-Kodachi smiled. “It’ll be okay,” she purred. “It’s time to stop
hiding me from Ranma-sama. The stress is exhausting you. I love him too. I
won’t hurt him or drive him away, I promise.”

Kodachi could not seem to resist as the delinquent girl drew her in for a
gentle embrace, stroking her hair with one hand.

“Just let me out again, Kuno-dono,” seductively whispered the Black Rose.
“You won’t regret it.” She held the other girl warmly, beginning to nuzzle
at her neck. She murmured softly into Kodachi’s ear, “Just let me have
control. Admit it. You want it.” There was a pause. “And maybe you could
even do some more wrestling with Ranma-sama, if you let me have the
driver’s seat. This Miki-kun might like playing with you that way too. Mine
certainly did.”

A distance away from them, Scholar-Kodachi suddenly snapped out of her
trance and gazed at the pair, sensing something was greatly amiss. She knew
she could never be as forthright with her feelings towards the young
scholar as the brazen Black Rose could manage to do so much more easily,
but was that wrong? Would the thuggish delinquent girl be more successful
with her far more shameless attitude and scandalous methods?

She narrowed her eyes, a suspicious look simmering within her gaze. She
just didn’t trust this Neanderthal woman. Despite her aping of more
aristocratic manners, the Black Rose was really little better than the
likes of the loutish Akane Tendo, the vile Asuka Saginomiya, or the
thuggish delinquent girl trash that infested the nearby reformatory school
known as St. Hebereke. She would treat Saotome-kun like a piece of meat to
satisfy her sordid lusts. How could someone so crude and brutal think she
could win the love of a thoughtful, gentle-hearted boy like him? And her
plans for using sweet, innocent Kaoru-kun were simply horrid, leading the
poor boy on and tainting the purity of their childhood friendship by
enticing him into engaging in sordid acts of lust together.

The scholar girl was certain there was a reason she had entered this
particular world, that it wasn’t just some random happening that the
resonator brought her here during her escape. Meeting Ranma again as she
had, and the events subsequent to that fateful first encounter, felt too
much like providence working in her favor this time. It was a second chance
for her to correct her past mistakes with him, to put right what had once
gone so horribly wrong and erase her sins. She had faith she would someday
be with him after fleeing from the dreadful ending of their relationship on
her original world, if she did what she felt was right.

He would not die this time, not if she had anything to say about it.

However, there was also another consideration she had, a practical but also
selfish desire. Scholar-Kodachi was certain this other version of her
needed Ranma Saotome in her life to keep herself sane, that Miki Kaoru,
while a wonderful boy, was too weak for shouldering the burden of dealing
with a girl suffering from Multiple-Personality Disorder. Without the
Saotome boy’s love, understanding and emotional strength to bulwark this
Kodachi’s mind and help sustain her patchwork psyche into a semblance of
order, she feared the young noblewoman would become lost amidst the clamor
of voices trapped within her, each one a different version of her brought
here with Scholar-Kodachi during her escape from a dying Empire. During her
transit to this life these personalities had somehow become disjointed from
each other, shattering apart, enabling the Black Rose and others to become
more individually distinct within their shared mind as more time went on
since the upload into this body.

The young scholar could hear the whispers of these other selves arising
from the stygian depths of Kodachi’s subconscious. It was a chaotic mélange
of thoughts and emotions that was only kept in check, held at bay and
prevented from ripping apart the noblewoman’s mind by her and the Black
Rose, the two most dominant personalities that had arisen from within the
grand collective present within her. Distracted by a sudden cacophony of
these other voices rising up and requiring her attention to tamp down and
pacify, her awareness was briefly drawn away from the conversation going on
between Kodachi and the Black Rose.

That was when it happened. Almost imperceptibly, Kodachi, the core
personality, finally nodded in agreement to Sukeban-Kodachi’s Faustian
offer. Their shared psyche immediately began transforming, the many
different personalities remixing into a new matrix. The Black Rose
triumphantly seized the dominant role in this new configuration while
Scholar-Kodachi was distracted, forcing that other personality down into
submission with the others before she fully realized what had just
happened, only able to give off a faint wail of despair before she was
driven down and submerged with the rest.

A victorious Black Rose suddenly began to laugh, a joyously maniacal sound
that seemed to fill the world.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi gasped and blinked her eyes open, awakening to find herself in her
bed, the early morning sun beginning to peek into her room, feeling dazed
and confused. The empty silk pillow where P-chan slept on her bed sat near
her, and she studied it for a moment, missing her precious, absent pet. She
knew he liked to wander, and while he could be away from her side for a day
or two, he always returned to her. Konatsu-chan saw to that.

After arising from her bed and languidly stretching a bit, Kodachi put on
her silk robe over her nightgown and went to sit at her dressing table,
taking out one of her many fine combs and beginning her usual morning
ablutions by combing out her silky hair with a hundred strokes. The
familiar activity was soothing, calming her agitation. When she was finally
done with her task, she set down the comb and contemplated her reflection
solemnly for several moments.

She looked puzzled at first, as if seeing the face in the mirror for the
first time. Then an impish smile slowly blossomed. After pulling out some
clean cloths and a bottle of facial cleanser from a drawer, she began to
carefully scrub her skin. Once she was done with that, she began putting on
her makeup, taking care to get the look she wanted just right. She pulled
her hair back into a loose ponytail and secured it with a red ribbon from a
drawer.

Finished, Kodachi smiled mischievously again, admiring her new mien in the
mirror, turning her visage slowly from side to side as she regarded it
critically. It was a very definite change from how she had appeared before,
no longer vainly attempting to soften the menacing appearance of her eyes.
She then leaned forward on her vanity table and studied her reflection more
closely, the face within it now displaying a much stronger likeness to her
mother’s dangerous beauty than it had ever been allowed to before. Her gaze
remained level and steady as her fingers rested laced together beneath her
chin. Then a soft chuckle began bubbling up from her throat, gradually
building in power until it finally exploded from her mouth.

“OH HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!”

Her long-repressed passions surged free of restraint. The bitchy mirth,
nearly identical to her mother’s boisterous laugh, was unleashed. When her
bout of hilarity finally ceased, she slowly leaned backwards in her chair
and languidly stretched once more, hearing her vertebrae gently popping,
taking in and releasing several slow, cleansing breaths. Her silk lounging
robe strained across the swell of her breasts and the sleek, well-defined
musculature of her shoulders with each inhalation. She gave out a lingering
sigh at the end, reveling in the pleasant sensations as her muscles relaxed
from their long stretch, her every move sensuous and sultry, almost catlike.

Kodachi smiled. The Black Rose was once again ascendant behind her eyes,
casting aside that insipid good girl guise she had been forcing herself to
maintain for so long. Dimly, she sensed her other selves tempering and
coloring her personality as its new matrix finished stabilizing now that
she was awake. On a subliminal level, she was aware that she was not truly
the Black Rose, not as she had been on that girl’s original world, a
delinquent who reveled in brutal acts of violence and embracing sensual
passions. But the balance had shifted into her favor over that of the
sad-faced scholar version of herself, that mousy personality removed from
control but still present as a significant portion of her reformatted
psyche, smoothing the shape of it and providing a much more ‘sane’ Black
Rose than other worlds knew.

She could hear her other selves in the back of her mind, a chorus of voices
raised, asking numerous questions and stating their concerns. She quashed
them back down into quiescence through sheer strength of will as her
revised personality finished reconfiguring itself. So many of them were
contemptible losers in her view, so few of them willing to embrace their
passions in a healthy way, especially that other version of herself and her
tiresome, plaintive mewling for the fickle Saotome boy’s love. It was
obvious to the Black Rose that Ranma-sama needed a girl possessed of a more
self-confident attitude to claim him and show him the ardor that Kodachi
Kuno was capable of offering a boy. And there was also dear, sweet Miki-kun
to consider, a pleasant, handsome option to occupy some of her free time
with until her fiancé eventually came to his senses about accepting her as
his future First Wife.

Laughter erupted from Kodachi’s throat again, the sound bubbling up from
deep within, a sharp burst of maniacal mirth resounding within the walls of
her bedchamber. When it was finished, she felt invigorated and eager to get
on with her day as she gracefully rose up from her vanity table. She
promptly went into her closets and selected one of her many tailored blue
uniforms, even as Konatsu Kurenai and two other young maidservants came in
to assist her with anything she might need help with this morning, their
gazes showing uncertainty as they tried to make sense of her sudden and
unexpected metamorphosis in personality.

She smiled amiably at the trio, all of them teenaged kunoichi working for
the family who did double duty in this fashion, each sworn with additional
binding oaths of fealty to her service in addition to those they had sworn
to the Kunos. While they were peasants and normally beneath the notice of a
woman of her highborn stature, even a girl as highly favored in the
household as Konatsu-chan was, she was very fond of them all. She did not
wish to keep them longer than she had to, as they also had to get ready for
school after they assisted her.

It was almost time for her scheduled appearance to eat breakfast with her
family and then depart for school in one of the family limousines, and she
didn’t wish to be late. She would speak with Nabiki Tendo and present her
offer of alliance before classes began. Then, after the end of the school
day, she planned to seek out the redheaded Kuonji girl at her mother’s
restaurant to do the same. For the latter meeting, she was considering
having Konatsu-chan accompany her for a bit of support, in case a certain
cross-dressing ruffian was there, so she wouldn’t have to sully her own
hands with thrashing that gender-confused, backwoods peasant today. That
brutal beating would come soon enough.

Observing the Kuno girl was Bernkastel, quietly scrutinizing the scene. The
girl’s change in personality was intriguing, and it brought her more in
line with numerous other versions of her. She wasn’t sure what had caused
this alteration to happen to Kodachi, but she suspected that the Saotome
boy’s recent antics were somehow responsible. If not, then perhaps some
other power was influencing the girl to become more like the Kodachis of
other worlds.

The girl and her multiple personalities represented a wild card in this
scenario. While she promised to keep things lively and fun for the Saotome
boy and the middle Tendo daughter, there was a danger she could spin events
out of control. She would need to be watched carefully and managed
delicately. With that, she then quietly vanished to monitor other
developments in the current scenario.

As the three girls removed Kodachi’s robe and negligee before assisting her
to dress for the day, the Kuno girl’s gaze drifted back over to the spot
where P-chan normally slept on her bed. Where could her little pig be?
Where was her precious P-chan?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“ENGAGED?”

Shizuko Hibiki blinked uncertainly at the very wide-eyed looks she was
receiving from the others seated around the breakfast table. Feeling a
little unsure after seeing such dismayed reactions, she covered herself by
sipping her tea, pondering how to respond and needing a few moments to
think. The two girls seemed to be taking things a bit worse than she had
feared they would, and she had so wanted to start developing a positive
relationship with them as their new stepmother. Her hope was that their two
broken families, each wounded by the loss of one parent, might be healed by
this marriage between her and Soun.

She feared what her son could be thinking, his face looking so pale and
shocked. Did he think she was betraying his father by her considering
marriage to another man? While it had been six years of loneliness for her,
she knew it had been worse for Ryoga. His grandfather had tried to fill the
void, but he wasn’t often very around. He frequently traveled beyond the
boundaries of their village attending to various tasks, the main one as a
vigilant watchman against the resurgence of the dreaded Goju.

Ryoga needed a stable father figure in his life, a man capable of guiding
him in the oftentimes difficult transition from boyhood to young manhood.
Sometimes Shizuko feared she had coddled him too much after the death of
her husband, but he was her only child, her most precious possession. She
was hopeful that Soun Tendo would be a good stepfather to her little boy,
providing him with the discipline a boy needed but not be too stern with
him. She would certainly strive with all her might to be a good stepmother
to these two girls who had been far too long without a mother and their
married, older sister, if they would only let her try.

In a state of severe shock, Ryoga sat there as motionless as a statue, his
breakfast forgotten in front of him. His chopsticks had fallen from
suddenly numb fingers to land clattering on the table after he heard the
news. He could only manage to stare at his mother in a state of stunned
disbelief as he processed it. His previous happiness at seeing her after
such a long time being away from his home had swiftly vanished, and his
thoughts raced.

His mother was going to remarry? His stepfather was going to be Soun Tendo?
The Tendo girls were going to be his stepsisters?

Compounding his shock over this most recent upheaval in his life was that
he still had no idea what he should say to apologize to Ukyo concerning
their last duel and the things he had yelled at her, not to mention the
ugly hatred that had festered within him while he hunted her down. Despite
the perplexing revelation of her being a girl, deep down he had come to
realize she was his best friend, a friendship he feared he may have
destroyed. He was still coming to grips with his attraction to her, and he
remained uncomfortable in thinking about Ukyo ‘that’ way, like she was one
of those bikini-clad girls in the lurid magazines his grandfather had
bought him for his last birthday. He was also annoyed with himself over
being so completely deceived by her male disguise for all of these years.
If he had known all along she was a girl, he would have treated her
differently, of course.

Like you did with Ryoko Masaki, Akane Tendo, or that pink-haired Chinese
girl? The question niggled at him from his conscience.

During their travels together weeks ago, Ryoko had quite forcefully
instructed him that he should always treat her as an equal in a fight.
Anytime he ever held himself back out of a sense of chivalry, she had
brutally laid him out on the ground unconscious. Of course, she could still
beat him when he was trying his best, but it took her quite a bit longer.
She was the only girl he had ever met who could match him in raw strength
and durability, and not even one of his cousins was able to do that.
Despite her physical might, she was not at all bulky, her body quite
shapely with eye-catching assets, which combined nicely with how unique her
hair color was to make her a very attractive girl.

Akane was tough and tenacious in a fight, and he was drawn to her like he
was to Ukyo. Whenever the Tendo girl was around him, he felt this pleasant
tingling ignite within his nerves, like tiny coruscations of desire inside
of him, something only a few other girls had ever caused him to experience,
Ukyo being the first. And after the conclusion of his first sparring match
with Akane, after he had defeated her, she had started acting really nice
to him. It was very unlike how disinterested she had been during their
first, brief encounter.

The change in her attitude towards him magnified her attractiveness. He had
been aching for the past couple of days to tell Akane how cute she was
whenever she smiled, but his shyness restrained him. It always did around
girls. Well, except for Ukyo, but he had grown up believing she was really
a boy. His body had apparently known the truth, but his mind had never
caught on until Nabiki intervened.

Now that Akane was going to be his stepsister, he was even more confused
about how he should treat her. As a sibling, he knew he needed to protect
her, but he was also attracted to her. Frustration gnawed at him.

Nabiki was going to be his stepsister too, he suddenly realized. She had
been pretty busy over the weekend, so they hadn’t talked much. If he
apologized to Ukyo and managed to get back into her good graces, maybe she
could help him figure out what to do about his feelings for Akane and
Nabiki.

Then again, he quickly realized that was probably a very bad idea. He was
not only still being fickle in his feelings towards Ukyo, he was being
stupid. Having to deal with the enigmas of all the girls he now had in his
life was playing havoc with his thoughts. Dealing with his studies or
playing Go was far easier. He wished he was friends with a girl that
understood how guys felt and thought, a girl other than Ukyo that is,
someone to help him make sense of how he should act around all these pretty
young women.

Yeah, Ryoga, he mentally chastised himself. Do you really think you’re ever
going to find a girl who understood guys that well and would help you? She
doesn’t exist.

As for that crazy Chinese girl, their duel had been cut short when he was
tranquilized and taken into custody by two peaceforcers, so he wasn’t sure
what had happened to her. Since she was on the far side of Japan now, at
least she was one less girl he had to worry about. She had been really
cute, but far too quick to engage in violence for his tastes.

Speaking of the two peaceforcers, they were still around, stationed outside
the Tendo compound in their car, monitoring him, trading off their guard
duties with some officers from the local precinct. They sometimes even came
into the house to check on him, making sure he was staying put and being a
good boy. Now that they didn’t have to chase after him any longer, the one
named Natsumi was calming down a bit, and she didn’t seem as surly and mean
as he had previously thought she was. Her partner, Miyuki, was actually
pretty nice too.

That left one last girl for his consideration, the redhead he still held a
grudge against: Ranko Kuonji. To his dismay, he now knew she was Ukyo’s
cousin. Akane had told him a bit about her over the weekend, gushing about
how strong a fighter she was and a brand new friend of hers. His anguish
only seemed to grow as he learned more about his gorgeous female nemesis.
It was just his luck she would be a Kuonji. She was certainly tricky enough
to be a kunoichi.

Since she was Ukyo’s cousin, pounding her into mulch for dunking him into
that vat of Jusenkyo water and cursing him to turn into a panda would
probably not go over well with his childhood friend. Even more frustrating,
his future stepsister considered Ranko a buddy, so that was yet another
reason he would have to restrain himself from sending the little vixen to
the hospital. It angered him that she had taken such shameless advantage of
her beautiful body and his naiveté with girls, flaunting her breasts at him
during their fight to gain an advantage over him.

Akane had told him she met Ranko at a gathering of the local martial artist
types, so perhaps he still had one option remaining to him to obtain some
measure of revenge. While he would not be able to seriously harm the girl
in a fight, not and maintain good relations with Ukyo and Akane, at least
he could still challenge her and work off some of his frustrations that way
with her. Hopefully that would ease his anguish a bit over his curse. How
could Ranko have done such a horrible thing to him? What had he ever done
to her to deserve being cursed to turn into another form?

How was he ever going to explain his curse to his mother? He was only half
a man now. Nobody could really understand how he felt about that. Thanks to
that miserable Ranko Kuonji, cold water now turned him into something you
only saw in a zoo in Tokyo, not walking around freely on the streets.

He was eternally grateful to Nabiki Tendo for turning him back into a human
and explaining the mechanics of the curse to him. She was such a good
friend to him. He would do anything for her.

Once he took his revenge on the redhead, Ranma Saotome was next on his
list. Luckily, Ranma was a boy, so there wouldn’t be any girls he could try
hiding behind like Ranko unfortunately could, not and keep calling himself
a man. It infuriated Ryoga how the rotten wretch was two-timing poor Ukyo
_and_ kind-hearted Nabiki, treating the bounty of having such wonderful
girls as them liking him so callously, and such ingratitude was an
unforgivable offense to the Hibiki boy. And as if that wasn’t bad enough,
Ranma even had several more girls he was stringing along on the side, or so
he had heard from Akane. The arrogant, womanizing jerk needed to be brought
to justice and punished, and Ryoga Hibiki knew he was just the man to
rebuke the other boy for his perfidies towards such beautiful, loving girls.

Soun was absent from this scene, having an early appointment to be at the
Mobius Institute. As they had arrived late last night due to travel delays,
those in the household were already asleep, so Soun had told Shizuko to
just use her best judgment in the morning about what to tell the others
when they asked why she was there. Unfortunately, he was still unaware that
she had totally misunderstood who the engagement contract specified. An
honest sort, after greeting her son and giving him a long hug, she had
decided to avoid any prevarication and just told the three teenagers
everything she knew, that she was engaged to marry Soun Tendo.

“Let me get this straight,” Nabiki began, feeling like a headache was
coming on. “You and my father are going to be... married?” She was already
struggling to deal with Shampoo’s unwanted appearance in her life, dreading
how the Amazon’s interference would further complicate her already
challenging relationship with Ranma, and now this farce was happening in
her own home courtesy of the false Soun. She was growing to despise the man
who had hijacked her father’s life, as well as the fake Genma who was
ultimately responsible for this travesty.

What was the idiot thinking, getting engaged to Ryoga’s widowed mother?
While it would make her own plans for using the pliable Hibiki boy far
easier having him as her stepbrother, it just didn’t make any sense to
Nabiki when looked at from her fake father’s point of view. Just what
purpose could it serve for him to do something like this?

As the phony Soun apparently still retained her real father’s memories and
skills, since he had miraculously managed to pass himself off for some time
now as a high-ranking intelligence officer in the very heart of a place as
notoriously paranoid about infiltration as the Security Directorate was,
perhaps there was some far deeper gambit being played out here, one that
she wasn’t seeing yet. Frankly, that possibility greatly irritated her, but
since her real father was a master at such gamesmanship, it was an option
that she needed to consider. It was feasible that the counterfeit Soun
would not eventually be unveiled as the same tearful idiot he was in that
other world, the one that Ranma had told her about. It was thus dangerous
for her to assume he was still that foolish and weak man, and her real
father had taught her to never underestimate an opponent.

Hopefully, if the man had somehow managed to retain enough of her real
father amidst the exchange of personalities the fake Genma had induced,
then things might not go as horribly awry as she dreaded they would when he
underwent his mandatory telepathic loyalty scan at the Mobius Institute.
Ryoga’s mother had blithely shared with them that the fake Soun was already
on his way there before revealing the almost-equally disturbing reason for
her presence. The long-dreaded day of reckoning was upon them.

If things went badly during the test, and they had espers strip-mine his
brain about what had happened, they might all end up locked away in some
very deep, very dark hole, or dead. The trial and conviction for high
treason against the Empire could happen very swiftly over what had
transpired with Soun Tendo. Nabiki could vividly imagine that the happy
overseer of such an utterly depressing scenario would have to be Hinako
Ninomiya. Eliminating Soun Tendo would clear the last obstacle from her
path, allowing her to ascend to head up the Security Directorate, not to
mention leaving her free to pursue whatever nefarious schemes she had
regarding Ranma.

The worst part in all of this for Nabiki was that she felt so horribly
alone right now in dealing with it. Normally, her sisters were allies she
could depend on in such times of emergency, but Akane remained blissfully
unaware that there was anything wrong with their father. She was apparently
still consumed by thoughts of revenge, blaming her older sister for
‘stealing’ Ranma away from her, a boy Akane was never really in an actual
relationship with outside of something that was vaguely sadomasochistic.
Then again, even at the best of times, the youngest Tendo sister had her
blind spots.

What was more surprising to Nabiki was that Kasumi was not picking up on
anything being amiss either, and the eldest Tendo sister seemed strangely
preoccupied with some other matters lately. Nabiki had no idea what those
concerns could be, since her older sister led a life she had long envied,
being married to a handsome, successful doctor and living in a nice house
in a posh neighborhood. But she just felt in her gut that Kasumi must be
dealing with something serious, since she was acting much like she had
after their mother had died, like she was emotionally grappling for a
lifeline that would allow her to escape from a desperate situation. But
what could be so wrong?

While telling her sisters the truth might help, it could also make
everything much worse. She was uncertain how Akane might react. Ever since
the two of them were young children, her sister had been oddly fascinated
by the supernatural, originating with her claim that she once saw a ghost,
a lady dressed in a blue kimono that had appeared at her bedside and told
her fanciful stories about some boy she could not remember the name of.
This supposed sighting had apparently taken place many years ago at the
Science Ministry, when she and Akane had gone there with their mother to
get inoculations of some kind. All Nabiki remembered of the incident was
suffering a serious allergic reaction to her shot and being feverishly ill
for a few days before she was able to recover.

While spirits and monsters were definitely known to exist, something that
would be impossible for Nabiki to deny since she was best friends with a
Devil Hunter, she still had her doubts that Akane had really seen anything.
After all, what were the odds of a ghost appearing in the middle of the
Science Ministry? It was far more likely that Akane had been delirious too,
maybe due to having a milder allergic reaction to the inoculations they had
received. Another possibility could be that the kimonoed lady Akane claimed
she saw was actually a real person, but her younger self had just
misremembered the encounter and imbued it with supernatural properties.

If she was told the truth, Akane might think her sister was possessed or
something, a reaction which would surely blow up nastily in Nabiki’s face.
Alternately, she may believe it was some sort of devious trick, a ploy by
her sister to keep her away from Ranma by making her think _he_ was
possessed. What Kasumi might think was anybody’s guess, but her older
sister was not acting normally lately. Because of these reasons, Nabiki
felt it was just best to continue keeping her sisters in the dark about the
resonator.

Ranma, due to his own ongoing troubles dealing with the fake Genma and his
shenanigans, was about the only one she could really talk to about her
concerns regarding the false Soun, and she really missed having him around.
When he became a prisoner in the Battledome during their first real date
together, a sickening feeling had come over her, a sense that she might
never see him again, surprising her a bit. She wasn’t sure how he had
become so important to her.

In the many weeks they had been dealing with each other, they had been
almost constantly at odds, struggling for dominance. While she did enjoy
elements of their conflict, it still felt unnatural to her for him to be so
capable, to not let her be the one to solve the problems that kept
springing up around them. The situation with Shampoo was typical for how
things had been working, with Ranma at the heart of it dealing with things
instead of her.

Such happenings only seemed to deepen her feelings that he was her rival,
that the world was wrong somehow and needed her to correct it. She kept
believing that she had to forcibly put Ranma back into what she saw as his
proper role and let her take charge of things from now on. Despite what he
had so arrogantly claimed on television, _she_ was the true heir to the
Anything-Goes School, not him.

What surprised her at times was that her other feelings for him had begun
to grow deeper as well. If he would only let her take the lead, things like
this mess with Shampoo wouldn’t be happening. After all, going to the Arena
had been his idea, one example of what would probably keep occurring if he
continued being the one in charge of their relationship.

Having no one else around she felt she could talk to, she had even
considered confiding in Kodachi, the only other person familiar with the
resonator and its effects. But then the two of them had gotten into their
vicious, ugly fight with each other, a brutal slugfest ignited by their
mutual frustrations over the situation with Ranma and Shampoo. While it had
ended inconclusively, Nabiki now realized she had been grossly
underestimating the other girl’s combat abilities and should start treating
Kodachi as a far more dangerous opponent from now on. The option of talking
with the Kuno girl concerning Genma and Soun had been closed off after
their scuffle, forcing Nabiki to wait for Ranma to be freed, although his
return would likely mean Shampoo entered their lives.

Unlike the world of her analog, another iteration of history where that
version of her had gone on the decade-long training trip from Hell with
Genma instead of Ranma, the situation was much different here. For one
thing, this Shampoo clearly viewed her as a rival to be beaten into
submission, nothing else. Frankly, that feeling was mutual for Nabiki. Just
being around the Chinese girl made her feel edgy, much like how she felt
around Utena and several other girls she had encountered over the past few
months. Some, like Ryoko Masaki, were merely annoyances, not arousing
within her the same gut-level reactions.

Come to think of it, maybe she should look up Ryoko for a fight, since the
other girl lived nearby in some temple. It had been several days since
their last tussle together, and she could use the catharsis that a good
brawl with a strong opponent would give her. Fighting with the teal-haired
delinquent girl was probably just the medicine she needed to help alleviate
her stress for a while.

Her date with Touga had already been driven from her mind by the sudden
announcement of the engagement and her concerns over the false Soun.
Fortunately, the Kiryuu boy’s efforts during the weekend had provided her
with some much-needed stress relief after her frustrating encounter with
Shampoo and worrying about Ranma. He was proving himself to be a good
friend, and it was really nice to have someone that rich willing to spend
so much money on her. Without that relaxing break, she might have just
exploded from sheer frustration this morning after hearing this interloping
woman announce her unwelcome news that she was going to be their future
stepmother.

She and Touga had enjoyed a sumptuous dinner together at an exclusive
restaurant. The meal was followed up by several hours of dancing at an
uptown nightclub, some of it pleasantly intimate and slow, and she had only
needed to remove his roaming hand from her derriere three times. In
gratitude to him for taking her mind off her concerns over Ranma, Shampoo
and the phony Soun, after he brought her home she had allowed him a single,
lingering kiss with her at the front gate while standing concealed in the
shadows. His hand had drifted down to rest on her behind during their long
kiss, but she felt he had earned it by then.

It had felt unexpectedly wonderful to have Touga’s arms wrapped tenderly
around her and kiss with him like that, but she had also experienced
distinct twinges of guilt at doing it with someone other than her fiancé.
But then she had quickly reminded herself about Ranma’s passionate ‘Kiss of
Marriage’ with Shampoo while he was still laid up in his infirmary bed. Who
knew what those two had been up to since then? She strongly suspected the
Joketsuzoku girl might already be working her wiles on Ranma, even though
the rematch supposedly left things up in the air.

Seated at her usual place at the table, Akane’s mind was whirling. Her
daddy was marrying another woman, and she was Ryoga’s widowed mother. That
would make him her stepbrother. She wasn’t sure how she felt about all of
that right now, her mind still processing so many different things.
However, it made her feelings towards him even more confusing, to know he
would become part of her family.

Next to her sat Nabiki, but she was pointedly ignoring her sister this
morning, something she always did at mealtimes anymore. With Sakura’s help,
she had been greatly annoyed over the weekend to discover Ranma was engaged
to two more girls in addition to Nabiki. After retrieving copies of the
three engagement contracts from public records while out shopping with
Sakura, the two of them had pored over them for hours at the other girl’s
house. They had discovered an almost unnoticeable clause common to them all
that allowed someone else to be substituted for one of the two named
parties, if they defeated that person in a duel. It was a legacy piece of
boilerplate legalese in such contracts, a remnant from earlier times that
was never used anymore.

However, while it had not been invoked in recent memory, it was still valid
law in the Empire. Akane had quickly realized she could use it to engage
herself to Ranma, becoming his fiancé after she trounced Nabiki. The
problem she faced was that she could not yet beat Sakura in a duel, so her
sister likely still remained out of reach. It was frustrating, but it was
also driving her to become even better than she had ever been before. Once
she mastered the Cherry Blossom Fist technique that Sakura was teaching her
and was able to achieve a rough parity with her friend’s skills in a fight,
and then she would challenge Nabiki, the winner getting Ranma.

After that, she planned to challenge each of the other fiancées in turn. By
legally substituting herself for them on their contracts after each
victory, their numbers would dwindle. If all went well, eventually it would
just be her and possibly Shampoo as Ranma’s fiancées, assuming his rematch
upheld his engagement to the Amazon. Since the Joketsuzoku girl’s claim
arose from the treaty of surrender between her tribe and the Empire instead
of regular contract law, she could not terminate Shampoo’s right to marry
Ranma by simply beating her in a duel.

Fortunately, she did not have to fear provoking the Chinese girl into
challenging her and extinguishing her claim should the Amazon win. That
option only existed for citizens of the Empire, and Shampoo would only be
one if she somehow won the upcoming Emperor’s Tournament. The way things
were currently, the two of them would have to share Ranma. They would then
have to marry Ranma at the same time due to the First Wife being able to
unilaterally terminate other engagements. Since she was still a huge fan of
Shampoo and her Arena career despite what had happened a few days ago,
Akane could accept that.

The biggest risk in invoking this clause was that she would then have to
keep defending her claim to be Ranma’s fiancée until they could get
married, but that was fine. She loved a good fight, and she was much better
now than she had ever been before. Once she was his First Wife, she could
then utilize her right as such to extinguish all the other engagements. But
until that happened, the law allowed that formerly defeated fiancées would
be able to come back after a certain amount of time and demand a rematch in
order to regain their status by beating her. There was also a chance that
she might not be able to defeat Ukyo and Kodachi, even after her intensive
training.

Once she started this ball rolling, it would be impossible to stop.
Pandora’s Box would be opened and three positions as Ranma’s fiancées would
be available to whichever girls were the strongest claimants for them, but
she was willing to take that risk for Ranma’s sake. They were meant to be
together, she just knew it. She was positive she loved him more than any of
those other girls did. True love would win the day in the end, no matter
how hard and rocky the road might be for her to walk. She just knew it.

Although he wasn’t part of the family, as a temporary boarder in the
household, Lt. Yusako Godai had been quietly enjoying his breakfast and
going over the day’s lesson plan when the engagement was announced. He was
a little tired, having spent most of the weekend drinking, playing and just
having fun with Ayaka Kisaragi, not getting any work done as he usually did
on weekends. He wondered how Ayaka managed to keep up with her duties as a
teacher. She never seemed to do any sort of prep work.

While he knew he should now consider her his girlfriend, the two of them
having kissed and cuddled for several hours at her apartment over the
weekend, not to mention having been out on several dates, he could not
shake an odd feeling of wrongness at that. The third anniversary of Kozue’s
death had quietly passed a few weeks ago, so perhaps that was the source of
his slight unease at getting into a new relationship. Until Ayaka had so
dramatically blown into his life, Kozue Nanao was the only other woman he
had ever been so intimate with.

It still hurt sometimes, thinking about her, the quiet young woman he had
once been engaged to marry. Only weeks before they were supposed to be wed,
she had been killed in a car crash. It had occurred after she had finished
a late night at her job at the Finance Ministry, and it was raining heavily
as she was driving home.

He had devoted himself to his work as a teacher and his duties as a soldier
of the Empire after her funeral. While he had the occasional expression of
interest from a few women, he was unable to bring himself to consider going
out with any of them. His life had slowly fallen into a quiet sort of
despair, but he had felt comfortable dwelling in his self-imposed solitude.
Then one night he had received that fateful telephone call from Belldandy
which had altered the course of his life, introducing him to two amazing
young women: Ayaka Kisaragi and Kasumi Ono.

While he was more or less officially dating Ayaka now, there was also
Kasumi to consider, and the two of them had been out together on what could
be argued as dates too. They were friends, but he could not deny his
feelings for her ran deeper than something merely platonic. When she had
turned to him for solace, her heart wounded and in need of comfort,
confiding in him about the failure of her marriage due to her husband’s
philandering and neglect, all he had wanted to do was take her into his
arms, soothe her hurts and tell her it was going to be all right.

Instead of something so romantic, they had held hands, but that felt nice
too. It still troubled him to think about a wonderful young woman like
Kasumi having to deal with such a dreadful thing like a betraying husband.
She was so gentle and kind. He could not imagine her ever being so disloyal.

They had not spoken for a few days, so he felt he should give her a call
and see if she wanted to get together with him this week, maybe for a drink
or two and some more talking. The thought of seeing her again made him feel
quite happy, surprising him a bit. He went back to eating his breakfast and
perusing his lecture notes.

In the kitchen, Kyoko was pondering the engagement revelation as well. With
a new woman coming into the household, what would become of her? Her new
relationship with Captain Shun Mitaka was only just beginning, but it
seemed to be going very well so far. She would have to speak with Shizuko
later when they were alone, to see what her plans were for the household’s
management. She hoped she would be allowed to stay on for a while longer,
at least until she had a better sense of where things might go with the
handsome Capt. Mitaka.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sleepily, Ranma stumbled to the door of his apartment to answer the
insistently ringing bell, absently realizing he must have overslept. It
must be Shampoo at the door, awakening him for what had become their
recurring breakfast date over the past few days. He would have liked to
have had a few more minutes of sleep, and he was envious of the Chinese
girl’s resilience. Master Lee and the Old Ghoul had been working them both
hard. He fastened the ties of his shirt as he made his way to the door.

“I’m coming! Hang on!”

When he opened the door, it was not Shampoo waiting for him. Instead, an
attractive Chinese girl about his age he did not recognize stood there.
Startled, he just stared at her, blinking a few times, trying to process
the unexpected sight. She wore the uniform of St. Hebereke, in his world a
reformatory school for wayward young girls now being run by the Church of
Christ the Warrior as he recalled. Accessorizing her uniform were leather
shoulder holsters she had strapped on, containing a pair of matching
handguns. Training replicas, he absently noted, packing a solid punch but
non-lethal. She also had on fingerless black gloves.

“Uh, can I help you?” Absently, Ranma felt a now-familiar tingling running
along his nerves. A faint perfume tickled his nostrils, but it was one he
recognized now and knew what it meant. She was an Eve, a young Newtype like
him, and her pheromones were triggering a definite sexual attraction
response within him.

If she was feeling the same thing, she gave no sign. The girl’s gaze was
cool as she looked at him, and she appeared to be sizing him up. She gave a
distinct sense of toughness and danger in her manner. “You Ranma Saotome?”

“Uh, yes I am. Who are you?”

“Call me Revy,” the girl stated flatly. Her expression remained as hard as
forged steel, as if she knew he wasn’t worth any of her time.

“You’re not making a very good first impression on him, you know,” casually
remarked another girl in St. Hebereke’s uniform as she stepped into view.
This one was taller, and she wore glasses. From her accent and look, she
seemed to be of Spanish descent, or maybe Italian. It was difficult for him
to say, since she spoke Japanese extremely well. Her smile was friendlier,
but she also gave off the distinctive impression that she was an extremely
dangerous girl.

“Shut the fuck up! I’m doing fine, you four-eyed bitch!”

After shaking her head briefly, the second girl curtsied to him. “I am
Roberta, Saotome-san. The two of us are novitiates at St. Hebereke, and
we’ve been asked to come meet you.”

“Meet me? By who?”

“That would be me, Ranma Saotome,” said the tall, ominous figure that
joined the two girls standing outside, dressed in his Church-issued
armorcloth cassock and robes, his face concealed behind his full facemask.
“I am Cardinal Synn, Saotome-san. It is an honor to meet a skilled young
warrior like you have shown yourself to be.”

He placed a fatherly hand on both girls’ shoulders. “These two young
lovelies are a pair of my most promising trainees, readying themselves to
become Tetragrammaton Nuns someday.” He turned his head to look at Ranma.
“May I come in and speak with you briefly? They will stand guard and make
sure we are not disturbed.”

“Um, all right,” Ranma replied, uncertain. He saw Roberta smiling at him
when he agreed, light briefly flashing off her glasses as she adjusted them.

“I won’t be long,” Synn said brusquely to the two girls. “See to it that
the two of us are not interrupted. Use whatever means you feel are
necessary.”

Both girls bowed respectfully. “Yes, sir,” they chorused.

After the door closed, leaving the duo standing in the hallway alone,
Roberta adjusted her glasses again. “If you’re trying to torpedo your
chances with him, I have to say you’re doing an excellent job of it.”

“Fuck you,” Revy retorted immediately, wondering once again why the other
girl insisted on wearing glasses she didn’t even need, the lenses being
regular glass. “He didn’t seem like all that much. I could beat him in a
fight.” She laid a hand on the butt of one of her holstered pistols and
grinned confidently. “He’s just some asshole punk, nothing special to me.
What makes you think I’d ever want to screw someone like him?”

“You felt it though, didn’t you?” Roberta looked thoughtful. “Even though
we were told about it, I never imagined it would be like that with a boy
our age. I’ve been attracted to boys before, but nothing like him. He makes
me feel like the cardinal does, kind of tingly.”

“Yeah,” Revy said, dropping her hand from her weapon. “It wasn’t what I
expected either.” She looked irritated, wanting a cigarette to calm her
nerves. “He was something, all right.” She paused, looking thoughtful for a
moment and decided to change the subject. “Have you ever done it with a
guy?”

“What makes you think I haven’t?” Roberta retorted. She regarded Revy with
a cool look, her gaze hardening behind her glasses.

“Sh’yeah, right.” Revy grinned. “Like you’d spread your legs for just any
guy. I’ve seen those trashy romance novels you read, the ones you hide from
the nuns. You want some hero to seduce you. Well, I got news for you,
bitch. There aren’t any real heroes in this shitty world, and, if there
were any, that Ranma Saotome punk ain’t no fucking hero.”

“We should try and learn more about him.” Roberta turned her head, causing
her glasses to glint menacingly as she changed the subject. “And see what
the competition for him is like.”

Revy made a derisive sound in her throat. “Like any of those prissy Academy
bitches would be any challenge to us. You or I could take any of them apart
like a cheap, Russian-made watch.” There was a pause. “What did you have in
mind?”

“I was thinking we could pay a visit to his school and scope out what the
opposition is like. I hear he’s got some little fan club we could start
with for our reconnaissance. Interested?”

Revy grinned wickedly. “Sounds like a fucking blast. Maybe we could even
raise a little hell while we’re looking around. Things are just too damn
boring lately. I could use some action, and a good fight with someone tough
would suit me just fine.”

“Yes,” said Roberta thoughtfully, grinning back. “Let’s raise some hell,
Revy. If you like, we could invite Eda along or maybe Chang.”

“Fuck no,” Revy declared. “The next thing we’d know, Eda’d be bringing her
gang of combat cheerleaders with her, and I hate those stuck-up bitches she
runs with. They’re all delinquents like the rest of us, but they act like
they’re something special. And as cool and badass as he is in a fight,
Chang’s too damned uptight. He’s totally swallowed the idea of him someday
purging the wicked from the world, like he’s some kind of holy warrior on a
mission from God. No, we don’t want to act like some rival gang moving in,
just a couple of girls checking out the scenery. If we get to bust some
heads, I want to keep things small.”

“Well, how about bringing Ryoko along? I hear she’s been mixing it up with
one of the girls at the Academy.”

“I said no, no one else but us this time, Roberta.” Revy wished again for a
cigarette. “If a fucking miracle happens and the two of us run into
something we can’t handle by ourselves, then sure, we’ll bring the whole
damn shitstorm down on their heads. We’ll come roaring back with Eda,
Chang, Ryoko, that Makoto Kino girl that Ryoko hangs out with and maybe
even Eda’s entire combat cheerleader squad. We’ll make a fucking party of
it, and maybe it’ll even be worth the crap that Balalaika and Sister
Yolanda will do to us afterwards.”

Roberta grinned. “Sister Yolanda would blow a gasket, that’s for damn sure.
She’s been trying to reform St. Hebereke’s image and make us seem more
genteel. We’re not a school full of thug girls anymore. A lot of us are
nuns in training for the Church now, like you and me.”

Revy smirked back. She planted the sole of one foot against the wall and
leaned back. She mimicked having a gun in her hand and took aim at the wall
across the hall, picturing crosshairs in her mind’s eye. She couldn’t wait
to mix it up with someone at the Imperial Academy now, to see if the rumors
were true and there were strong fighters there. Maybe after they clobbered
whoever was worth beating up there, they’d move on to try out Furinkan
next. The former, local street fighting champion went to school there,
having just lost her title to some newcomer.

“Yeah, I hope we run into someone tough. I’d love a good brawl with some
arrogant bitch I could cut down to size, like maybe one of those security
punks.”

Both girls chuckled evilly at the thought, looking forward to their
upcoming visit to the Imperial Academy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, inside Ranma’s apartment, Cardinal Synn appropriated one end of
the couch in the main room and seated himself gracefully, setting his
swords to one side. Unsure what else to do, Ranma sat in one of the chairs,
facing him. The two sat quietly for several moments.

“Um, you said you wanted to talk to me about something?” Ranma finally
asked. He hoped to finish this before Shampoo arrived. He was getting
uncomfortable vibes from the other man, like being in the presence of a
dangerous predator.

“Yes, I wanted to begin by congratulating you on your victory against the
Joketsuzoku girl, Shan Pu,” Synn said solemnly. “It was a memorable fight.
I was in the audience and witnessed it. You represent her one and only loss
in the Arena, which is a commendable thing for a loyal son of the Empire to
have done.”

“Thanks.” Ranma studied the older man. “Uh, was that all?”

“No.” Cardinal Synn observed the boy in front of him, analyzing him via his
body language, and he was mildly impressed by what he saw. “I also wished
to speak with you about the rematch and how your training was going. It is
my understanding that the girl is learning the Amaguriken technique. When
you face her next, your speed advantage will be gone.”

“I can still take Shampoo,” Ranma said with bravado. “I’m still better than
she is, especially after some more of Master Lee’s training. I’ll beat her,
even without the advantage of the Amaguriken.”

“Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?”

“I won’t lose,” Ranma said determinedly.

Memories of his time with this world’s Shampoo flashed in his mind. The
possibility of her not being in his life after this week kept arousing an
unexpected ache within him, one he preferred not examining closely, unsure
what it meant about his nascent feelings for the Chinese girl. She wasn’t
the same as the other versions of her he knew from his downloaded memories,
but that didn’t matter to him. When he came right down to it, despite the
differences in this world’s history, she was still Shampoo and he was still
Ranma Saotome, in all the ways that really counted.

“I can’t lose.”

“You want her,” said Synn calmly, nodding. “It is understandable, as she is
quite an attractive young woman, not to mention very strong and capable.
Winning the love of a young heroine like her is a most worthy goal.” There
was a pause. “I can help you achieve that, if you let me, Ranma Saotome.”

Suspicion bloomed within Ranma. “You can? How could you help me? I’m
already a student of Jun Fan Lee.”

“The Dragon. Yes.” Synn stood, taking his swords in his hand as he went to
the window, gazing out at the city. “He can indeed train your body and
teach you many powerful techniques, but, in this instance, only I can
instruct you in something that you and I share, an ability inherent within
us both. It is something I can teach you relatively quickly, and I feel it
will be the key for you to defeat Shampoo.”

“What do you mean?” Ranma asked, puzzled.

“I speak of the boost, Ranma Saotome.” Synn turned to face him. “It has
been known by many names down through the ages. In China, they call it the
Dragon’s Rage. I can teach you how to harness this power and master it in
time for your upcoming battle with Shampoo.” He stepped closer. “Jun Fan
Lee cannot help you here, even as capable a master as he is. Doubtless, he
has taught you to suppress your rage and fury, to fight from a calm center.”

“Yes, he has.” Ranma looked at the older man. “How do you know of the
boost?”

“I know because I too am an Adam, Saotome-san. Like you, I am a product of
Project Phoenix, only from a generation ago.” His mask hid the smile on his
face. He could sense the boy’s interest in his teachings, the desire to
grow stronger.

“I can show you how to wield it and master it as I have,” said Shishio
coaxingly. “The Dragon’s Rage, the boost, requires you to unleash your
anger, to wield your passion as a weapon. You see, fury ignites and fuels
it.”

“Okay, let’s say I agree to this training,” Ranma said thoughtfully. He
pondered what he might say to Master Lee. “What’s in it for you?”

“Nothing you should fear,” said Synn. “Part of the reason I am doing this
is because of an old debt owed to your family. Instructing you would also
give me the satisfaction of a teacher passing along to a worthy pupil a
powerful technique.” There was a pause, and he pondered whether or not he
should sweeten his offer.

After all, the boy was a virile young man amorously pursued by several
attractive young women. It was likely he was already bedding one or more of
them. Shishio decided to try.

“If you are interested in learning this ability, Ranma Saotome, I will
offer you a further inducement out of my generosity, as one warrior to
another.” There was a pause. “Those two girls outside, they could be yours,
if you want them.”

Ranma blinked. “What, you mean marry them?” His eyes went wide at the
thought of two more fiancées complicating his life.

Synn chuckled. It was an eerie, almost sepulchral sound through his mask.
He had not expected such a response. The boy was amusing to him.

“No, Saotome-san, I would not impose that upon you, not with those two. You
already have more than enough young lovelies seeking to become your bride.
No, I merely offer those two to you as companions, a reward to celebrate
the end of your upcoming efforts, should you decide to accept my tutelage.”
He sat down again.

“They are two lonely young Eves that unfortunately lack a suitable Adam
their age, and I’m certain they would welcome having some companionship
with a strong young man like you. They cannot wed because of their vows of
service to the Church, but they can become your friends, possibly more, if
you chose to honor them with your company.” He studied Ranma, seeing what
effect his words might be having.

“Roberta definitely seemed to like you. I have never seen her respond so
favorably to a young man before. You should feel highly honored. As for
Rebecca, I’m sure she would come around if you made the effort, if you
prefer a more challenging sort of young woman. I believe she would be worth
the effort.”

“I see.” Ranma said slowly, troubled by the man’s offer. He was unused to
the idea of a girl being offered as a tradable commodity, and the part of
him that was Ranko didn’t approve. “Maybe you could just teach me about the
Dragon’s Rage, and let me decide later about spending any time with those
two girls?”

Perhaps he could become friends with them, he mused. His thoughts shied
away from the more prurient notions his adolescent mind conjured up
regarding the pair. While they were both physically attractive to him, he
agreed with the cardinal that the one named Roberta seemed more
approachable. Revy looked like she would prefer to rip out his spleen and
show it to him or something.

“Of course, Saotome-san.” Synn bowed his head slightly. “I would be honored
to become your instructor, even for this brief time.” He paused and studied
the young scholar. “The passion of Christ gave salvation to the world. What
will your passion yield, I wonder?”

For some reason, that statement gave Ranma pause. Where was the path of his
life taking him? Was he to be more scholar or warrior? Or would he find the
balance to be both?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shampoo arrived at Ranma’s door a little late that morning, having
overslept. Training with Cologne was going well, but it was exhausting. She
also had to remember to wear short-sleeves each morning. She had forgotten
yesterday, ending up almost lighting herself on fire and ruining one of her
favorite blouses for training.

She was eager to have breakfast with him again before they each headed off
to do their respective training. A grin lit her face at the thought of
spending more time with the pigtailed boy and what they might talk about.
This version of Ranma had a very agile mind. Her grin promptly died when
she got off the elevator and spotted an unexpected sight waiting right
outside the door to Ranma’s room.

Two rather tough-looking girls in school uniforms stood watchfully right
outside his door. As she drew closer, they soon noticed her and abandoned
their leisurely postures. The duo eyed her with deadly gazes, rousing her
wariness. The pair of girls gave off dangerous vibes.

“Saotome’s busy right now,” said Revy gruffly. Casually, she studied the
Amazon and decided the other girl might make for an interesting challenge.
She kept her hands loose at her sides, ready to draw both of her pistols if
Shampoo made a threatening move.

Roberta adjusted her stance slightly and put one hand on her hip. When she
did so, Shampoo gave her a brief glance, splitting her attention between
the two girls. Fighting against these two at once could be problematic, she
noted, if they were anywhere near her own skill level.

Fortunately, the matter resolved itself without violence when Ranma
suddenly opened the door to allow Cardinal Synn to leave. The two girls
gave her insouciant looks and relaxed from their combative postures. To her
annoyance, Shampoo saw the one wearing glasses smile coquettishly at Ranma.
She briefly fantasized about kicking the girl through the nearest wall.

“Until later, Saotome-san,” said Cardinal Synn. He gathered the two girls
up with a nod and headed towards the elevator. As the trio swept past her,
Shampoo noticed the two girls giving her evil grins when Ranma could not
see them.

Still annoyed, she walked over to join the pigtailed boy as he was locking
up his room.

“Who they?” the Amazon asked a bit grumpily, her earlier, pleasant mood
having evaporated.

“Oh, he wants to offer me some training.” Ranma smiled guilelessly at her.
“I’m considering it.”

“Why?” Shampoo looked at him suspiciously. “Ranma already have strong
master.”

The pigtailed boy looked solemnly at her. “I want to win against you, of
course. I need to do everything I can to win.”

“Ranma should no accept training from dark, scary man,” Shampoo stated
flatly.

He shrugged. “I’m still deciding.” The two of them started walking down the
hall towards the elevator.

Shampoo frowned as she strolled at his side. She definitely didn’t like
those two girls and the scary masked man. They screamed trouble to her.

Why didn’t Ranma see that getting involved with any of them was a very bad
idea? Was ensuring his win over her that important to him? What price would
he pay for victory?


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


To be continued...

Help me get Quantum Destinies set up on tvtropes(dot)com and feel free to
add any tropes you’ve seen in the story.
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