[FFML] Quantum Destinies 27

[DB Sommer]

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000


However, his attention was drawn away from the girl to a familiar sight 
that caused him to frown deeply, an image that conjured up unpleasant 
memories for him. Hanging on the wall above his daughter’s desk was a 
full-length, life-sized poster of Shampoo, dressed in a light purple 
silk fighting outfit, her body shown poised in a combat stance. It was 
one of three different posters that Akane had of the Chinese girl hung 
up around her room, not to mention owning three videos she was in and a 
small stack of lurid magazines with interviews with her. He studied the 
picture of the Amazon, remembering very bitterly that last day when 
Genma had taken Ranma and Shampoo from his house and terminated the 
engagement.

No, not Genma. It was the Genma of this world who had done that,


% And when you think about it, both Genma's are really doing the same 
thing and doing what they believe is best for the people they are living 
with, different worlds or not




This arrogant boy and his father had interfered in a matter of honor 
that was not their concern. Everything would have been just fine if he 
and that other Genma had never butted into their lives. Akane would 
surely have wed Ranma eventually, joining together their two families 
and Schools, and Shampoo would have eventually left. But those two had 
chosen to interfere in that fate, to change it.

% Bit off there, but it's understandable.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


This world was already free of the Shogun, but that victory had only 
been an illusory one for Bernkastel. With her direct aid, a teenaged 
Yumi Kuonji and her lover Comb had died in battle against the Shogun 
some twenty years ago. In that same battle, Cologne and Katsuhito Masaki 
had made the ultimate heroic sacrifice, foiling the Shogun’s latest 
attempt at apotheosis on this particular iteration. Seeing him 
vulnerable after facing all those foes, the witch had attempted to end 
the Shogun’s life here, trying to finish it herself as she had once 
before, but it had only caused a divergence to form like it had on her 
previous attempt at taking a more direct hand. For some reason, the 
Shogun just could not be killed if she interfered too much.

% Just the nature of the beast




She sniffed disdainfully. “I knew her mother when I was younger, the 
little man-stealing tramp.” Her gaze hardened as she spoke. “She went 
through boys like they were tissue paper or something, so it was no 
surprise she had a child out of wedlock. Why, I’ve heard that this Yohko 
girl is just like her, and she’s already had several boyfriends herself.

% Only because they keep getting killed. Or possessed. Or killed then 
possessed



“I-it’s Hikaru. Hikaru Gosunkugi.” And Frost smiled, a tiny wisp of a 
smile, as she said his name, her gaze looking down at the floor as she 
sat demurely.

“I don’t believe it,” Director Kasuga remarked, sitting back heavily in 
his chair with an astonished look on his face. That name was the 
absolute last one he would have ever expected the pale-skinned girl to 
utter in answer to his question.

% He was very minor before his brush with evil



After a time, he turned back to the intercom on his desk and buzzed his 
aide. “Bring me Hikaru Gosunkugi’s file and schedule the boy for a full 
battery of tests. It seems we have some serious revising

% I think 'reevaluating' would be a better choice of words.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


They had gone to a love hotel and spent many, many hours satisfying each 
other’s needs. Hinako was impressed with his stamina, and he was the 
first man to have completely satisfied her. That led to her present 
confusion. She wanted more of him, everything he had to give her, and 
she was willing to toss aside all of her other bedmates and take him 
alone as her lover. She might even have fallen in love with him, but she 
was not sure.

% My, that was quick


on tea and coffee as the sun rose higher. She felt mostly empty inside. 
She supposed she should feel betrayed, but she was oddly more relieved 
than anything else. In her pocket was a digital camera with the proof of 
her husband’s infidelity, including several pictures taken through a gap 
in the curtains of the room that clearly showed both parties in the 
middle of the act. She had already uploaded them to a secure server, 
just in case.

% Heh. She'll have leverage over Hinako, then

Her marriage was over in her mind. Now she had to pick up the pieces of 
her life and decide what to do with the rest of it. She could not tell 
her father or sisters of this, not yet, and while her new friend Yui 
Ikari would likely be an understanding ear, having been betrayed in 
recent months by her ex-boyfriend in a similar set of circumstances,

% Same woman was well, if I'm not mistaken




Today was going to be a good day for her, she was confident of that.

% Which means it won't be




xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Director Kasuga set down the telephone when the Gosunkugi household’s 
number came up busy again. His aide came in at that point with some new 
crisis threatening the Empire, so he decided he would just have to try 
again later. Hopefully, a slight delay would not cause Frost any kind of 
problems.

% I wonder who is making that phone busy

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hitomi jumped a bit when she heard the doorbell ring. She hurried out of 
the kitchen and opened the front door. She blinked at the sight that 
greeted her eyes, seeing the calm, pale-skinned girl standing on her 
doorstep. Then she smiled. With coloring like that, Genom must have made 
her. She was an adorable little lilith.

% Ah, I see. A misunderstanding


  “Um.” For a moment, Minami actually found herself at a loss for words.

Frost’s gaze narrowed slightly and then she simply shut the door in 
Minami’s face and headed back to the main table to sit down.

% Heh


“Hikaru will be out shortly, dear,” said Hitomi as she came back into 
the room. “Who was that at the door?”

“No one of consequence,” Frost remarked calmly as she sat back down.

% Double heh



Hitomi was startled. Her son’s new lilith was certainly an aggressive 
girl, but it was probably the right approach to take with her shy son. 
Her little Hikaru was apparently enjoying her gift to him, and she was 
secretly pleased by the effect the scene was having on Minami. Maybe 
this would finally allow her to be rid of the overbearing, loud-mouthed 
girl from their lives.

% Most likely it will have the opposite effect

  “Darkness beyond twilight... Crimson beyond blood that flows... Buried 
in the stream of time is where your power grows...”

% Yeah, that would be a bad one.


Hitomi, still a bit shell-shocked by everything that had just happened, 
chuckled slightly. Did other mothers have such difficulties with their sons?

% Only the ones in the story, for the most part



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

While she was heading to the faculty lounge to enjoy her lunch, Ayaka 
came around the corner and almost ran into Sakura. The two women gawked 
at each other briefly. Ayaka broke the tableau first.

“You!” she cried. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Sakura retorted haughtily. “I heard 
you were on assignment in Tokyo, but I wouldn’t have accepted a posting 
here if I thought you were in this area.”

% My, that is harsh


Sakura felt her eyebrow twitch. “Kuonji-kun is quite manly!”

“Yeah, except when he gets in hot water, and we both know what happens 
then,”

% So at least some members of the MI were allowed to retain their 
memories, I see


“Well, not only is my apprentice spiritually powerful, she’s also very 
popular with the boys.” Ayaka grinned. “She’s very outgoing and takes 
charge of situations with a lot of initiative.”

“Hopefully she’s not as slutty as you were at that age,” Sakura growled

% Ayaka: I'll have you know I'm even sluttier now than I was at that 
age, thank you very much!

in reply. “That was how you got popular at the Institute, as I recall.”


Frost would marry her son and then she would finally be free of that 
obnoxious Minami girl.

% Err, not quite



“Tickets to the Arena are pretty expensive, especially on a Friday

% Oh, this should be bad for him


“Sure, Ranma-kun, I’d love to go.” She suddenly smiled at him, looking 
forward to the thought of an evening alone with Ranma, their first real 
date. She hoped nothing went wrong.

% I can assure you that won't be happening



He blamed Ranma for the whole thing. Somehow this disaster was all his 
fault!


% Isn't it always, though?



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Classical music played in the background as Ranma and Kodachi danced in 
one of the ballrooms in Kuno Manor. After learning of their mutual 
interest in dancing during their visit to Ohtori for the Spring Formal, 
Kodachi had invited him to come over tonight for dinner and then to show 
her his skills in private. Both of them were dressed finely, Kodachi 
having acquired a small wardrobe of expensive clothes in his size.

% I thought he was on a date with Nabiki, or am I off on the timeline 
somehow?




Emerging from the trees, Ranma-chan quickly spotted several groups of 
people, teenaged males and females, gathered together on the far side of 
the expanse of cement she now stood on, watching some sorts of commotion 
going on at the center of the cluster. Judging by the many different 
uniforms she saw, they attended the various schools in the area. She 
grinned, spotting uniforms from Blackhall and Whitehall, some 
tough-looking girls that looked like they were from St. Hebereke and a 
fair number of Furinkan cadets. The sight brought back memories of many 
battles fought in the past in this place. That the other world’s Ranko 
had fought in her past, she quickly amended in her thoughts.

% Gang fight, eh?


When it was over, Sakura lay there in a heap, twitching slightly even as 
the redhead flipped free to land on her feet. The fallen girl slumped 
down, already unconscious. Ranma-chan scratched the back of her head and 
smiled at having won, knowing how tough the other girl could be if given 
more of a chance. The crowd was stunned, Akane most of all.

“Flawless victory,” a boy said in the crowd, sounding impressed.

% Cute, though you're  mixing games. :)



One of them remained behind to observe further for a moment, leaning 
against a tree, a tall blonde named Eda Langley. She was a third-year 
cadet and the captain of the Combat Cheerleading Squad at St. Hebereke. 
Eda quietly considered Ranko’s skill level as she blew a bubble and 
popped it. The Kuonji girl would make a fine addition to St. Hebereke’s 
student body, she mused. She would discuss the matter a bit with Sister 
Yolanda, St. Hebereke’s headmistress, and the school’s primary combat 
instructor, the Russian woman, Vladilena Vasilinov. Eda was sure that 
something could be arranged to acquire the Kuonji girl. She turned and 
walked off.

% Hmm. Another sub plot brewing.





xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryu Kumon dodged back from his opponent as the crowd gave a roar of 
approval to his foe. He blocked the next blow with an arm and followed 
up quickly with an uppercut to the other boy’s face. A grim smile lit 
his features when he felt the blow connect solidly. His body was fully 
healed from his beatings, the first at Shampoo’s hands a few weeks ago 
which had condemned him to this place and then a couple of times since 
then at Tarou’s. It was fortunate that he always healed remarkably 
quickly, only taking days to recover what took others weeks to heal. He 
needed an edge like that here.

% Yep.

Tomorrow night was going to be another one of Shampoo’s famed Amazon 
Challenge matches, and he planned to be there to watch. Last week’s 
challenger had paid cash instead of wagering time in the Arena, but the 
one coming in tomorrow was gambling six months of his life. After 
defeating so many would-be suitors, only the bravest were willing to 
gamble that. The name had just been released today: Ranma Saotome. Ryu 
vaguely recalled the name, a cadet at the Imperial Academy he had been 
hearing about and had been planning to challenge before he got stuck in 
here.

% Heh. Ranma is going to be off the public market for a while



Startled by an odd feeling seeming to spark within her body at the boy’s 
nearness, one she had never felt before, she closed her compact with a 
snap. As if really seeing him for the first time, Shenhua pulled her 
gaze from the next match going on to look down at him. The bored look 
was gone from her features. After a moment, she hopped down from the row 
of seats to join the citizen boy.

% Oh, She had the treatment as well?


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In her room, Shampoo stared at the fighter profile on the table in front 
of her, which included a head and shoulders photo of Ranma in his 
Academy uniform and a very brief bio. His picture had first caught her 
attention, startling her to see the face of the boy Ensign Shan had 
spent such a passionate and pleasurable night with on another timeline. 
But his name on the outside of the portfolio was what mainly held her 
attention, a name that she had been searching for since receiving Ensign 
Shan’s memories.

The Amazon now knew his full name: Ranma Saotome.

She had not been able to find him, and now he was coming to see her. 
Gazing at his face, she noted the serious look he wore on it. It was a 
good face, a handsome face, she thought, holding the picture in her hand 
as she studied his appearance. Unlike with other opponents she had gone 
up against in the past, she was looking forward to seeing how good of a 
fighter this one was.

% Nice work. Enjoyed it much.