"Ranma? Ranma, wake up!"
Ranma moaned, opening her eyes. Disorientation seized her for a
second as she saw her own face gazing at her. Her memory then clicked
in on spotting the bandanna wrapped around her mirror-twin's hair.
"Oh, To****ko, hi . . . " she hailed with a grunt as she slowly slid
into a sitting position. "Damn! What time is it?" she wondered,
moving to gaze on the digital clock nearby.
To****ko grinned as she grabbed her sister. "Time to get some
exercise!"
Vaulting to the window, she sent Ranma flying. "HEY!" Ranma
screamed, quickly noting she had just been tossed out of the THIRD
floor of the rotunda. Orientating herself to make a perfect two-point
landing near the laundry bars by the sea wall, she braced herself as
twin dynamos of finely honed martial arts energy leapt out the same
window she emerged from to land nearby.
As the windows in neighbouring bedrooms flew open, people looking
outside to see what was going on, Ranma braced herself. "Ready when
you are," she declared with a grin as she sensed To****ko and Kumiko
preparing to attack.
The mirror-twins lashed out. Ranma, glad to FINALLY get a pair of
good sparring partners -- for obvious reasons, Genma no longer made
the grade -- screamed as she retaliated. Watching the scene of
punches, kicks, leaps and dodges, the people woken by the Saotomes
could only stare in disbelief. "When Anee said Ranma-anee was good,
she wasn't kidding!" Mamoru mused.
"Don't look at it, Aria-sama," the twenty-something maid/governess
who watched over Aria, Jeanne-Marie Louise Guenevere Rochelles -- Aria
shortened that mouth-filling name all the time to "Jii-ya," much to
Guenevere's constant annoyance! -- declared as she covered the young
Parisian's eyes when she tried to look outside to see what Ranma-neeya
and her sisters were doing.
"Whaaa! Nee-sama and her sisters are going to have BIG appetites
when they're done!" ****rayuki mused, she standing at the third floor
landing. "Hime best make her Special Vitamin Milkshakes for Nee-sama
and her sisters!"
As the chef bounded to the kitchen to get started on breakfast,
Rinrin peeked out her window. The inventor had been busy all night
working on some modifications for her first robot, Prototype Robot
Number One ("Mecha-Rinrin" as it was known). "Man, if they do that
EVERY morning, I might as well throw my alarm clock away," she
muttered before turning back to her work.
The ground floor windows below Ranma's room, marking Ataru's and
Karen's rooms, then opened. "Onii-chan, can't they be a little LESS
loud?" the latter asked as she looked over towards Ataru's room though
she couldn't see him.
"Talk to them later, Karen-chan . . . H-HEY!"
Ranma appeared before her friend, and then she made him pole-vault
right at To****ko and Kumiko. "C'mon! You need exercise, too!"
"ONII-CHAN!" Karen screamed as Ataru pivoted in mid-air to land by
the safety wall overlooking the island's shoreline.
"Oh, ya wanna be a bunch of wise guys, huh?!" He balled up a ki
sphere. "Try this on for size! ***SEI****N SHURIKEN ARA****!***"
The shockwave blasts from the Psychic Shuriken Storm shook Welcome
House all the way to the chapel on the opposite side of the commons
from the rotunda. As Ataru and the Saotomes went at each other, Kaho
burst from the front doors; dressed in her school cheerleader's
outfit, pom-poms in hand. "***ONII-CHAMA, ONEE-CHAMA, GAMBATTE!***"
she cried out as she launched into her routine.
Seeing this from the second floor landing, Chikage smiled. *Have
fun, Ani-kun, Ane-kun,* she mused. *It won't last long.*
* * *
Hearing the noise from the downtown part of the island, residents
looked up to see smoke billow up from Welcome House. A tall fellow
then gazed on his ****tly friend. "What the heck are those girls up to
now?"
"Search me! Their brother wasn't THAT loud before!"
They then nodded as they reached the only logical conclusion:
"Mainlanders!"
"Has to be."
"Wish those girls would be more careful."
"Hai. Well, there goes the neighbourhood."
**** **** ****
"Lonely Souls"
By Fred Herriot
pyeknu@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
OR fherriot@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
**** ****
"Ashokan Farewell," music by Jay Ungar, lyrics by Grian McGregor. The
arrangement of the words depicted here is my interpretation, following
the version of the song as recorded on Track Three of the "The Civil
War" CD, produced by Ken Burns and John Colby, distributed by Electra
Nonesuch.
**** **** ****
Based on "Urusei Yatsura" and "Ranma 1/2," created by Takaha****
Rumiko; and "Sister Princess," created by Tenhiro Naoto and Kimino
Sakurako.
**** **** ****
Set in the universe of the fan-fiction series "Urusei Yatsura - The
Senior Year," created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot
**** **** ****
NOTE: The writer's notes are in a separate text file.
**** **** ****
THE THIRD PART, "B" SIDE - FAMILY BORN
"***SAOTOME, HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!***"
Genma ducked Souun's Demon Head, waving his hands. "Relax, Tendou-
kun!" the Saotome patriarch soothed. "We can get this fixed up as
soon as we find that stupid son of mine and bring him back here!"
"Oh, I'm truly sure that Ranma-kun will actually let you screw around
*again* with his mind like you did when he was only FIVE!" Nabiki
barbed while giving Genma a knowing look from her place at the
breakfast table.
Genma glared at her. "Nabiki, surely you can realise the advantage
of what I did! If the boy wasn't forced to concentrate on the Art,
how could he have been able to kill Saffron and save your sister?!"
Kasumi walked in from the kitchen, breakfast tray in hand.
"Perhaps," the eldest daughter mused. "But maybe if Ranma-kun WAS
able to develop other interests, he wouldn't have been forced into
some of the fights he's had to deal with since he came here!" Glaring
at Genma, she tossed him a bag of dry ramen. "There! And don't you
DARE go into my kitchen to cook that!"
Souun jolted. "Kasumi! How can you be so mean to our guest?!"
"He's YOUR guest, Father! Not ours!" Kasumi snarled, her angry tone
making Souun duck. "Besides, he's lived on the road for ten years!
Surely he didn't spend ALL that time STEALING food! And he STAYS out
of my kitchen! I wouldn't want such an unsanitary beast in there!"
"Or maybe he forced Ranma-kun to do all the cooking," Nabiki mused as
she started to eat. Seeing Genma glance hopefully at her plate, an
icy look flashed in her eyes. "If you even THINK of it, fatso, you're
going back to the zoo and you're going to STAY there this time!" she
warned.
Genma ducked her look. He then screamed out as a pipe sent him
flying into the koi pond. "If you aren't going to eat, Genma, get out
of the way!" Happoosai snapped before he sweetly smiled at Kasumi.
"What's for breakfast?"
Kasumi beamed. "Coming right up, Ojii-san."
Watching his daughters being so kind to his old teacher, Souun
wailed, bemoaning yet again the threatened state of the future union
of the Saotome-ryuu and Tendou-ryuu. Kasumi, Nabiki and Happoosai
ignored him. Seeing this from the pond, Genma-panda moaned. *The boy
will PAY for this!*
* * *
In the southeast end of Tomobiki, the road train from the
Toranosei****n Tower stood before a simple family home. Black blurs
flashed to and from the passenger cabin and a bedroom on the second
floor. Standing by the front door with her sister and parents, Inu
Chigaiko could only smile. "Boy, when Ataru-kun said his uncle's
ninjas were fast, he wasn't kidding," she declared before a cough
shook her, a hand flying up to her mouth to catch the spittle.
"You still have that cold, dear?" her mother Kindan wondered.
"Y-yeah!" Chigaiko sniffled, rubbing her nose. "Can you get me an
appointment with the doctor, Mom? I think I need it."
"I'll make the call today, but I think you won't be able to get in to
see him until next week at the earliest," Kindan warned.
"Oh, okay!" Chigaiko then blinked as a ninja appeared before her,
bowing his head respectfully. "Is it all done?" she asked.
"Yes, Young Mistress Chigaiko," the ninja re****ted. "If you are
ready to depart, we will take you to the Young Master's residence."
Chigaiko nodded, and then she exchanged hugs and kisses with her
family before boarding the road train. The ninjas vanished as the
driver guided the train towards Nerima. "We should arrive at the
Young Master's residence in a half-hour or so, ma'am," the driver
re****ted. "Traffic doesn't seem to be bad today. Oh, I may have a
pick-up," he then advised.
"Who?" Chigaiko asked.
"A potential student of Grandmaster Negako's."
The ex-Tomobiki High sophomore nodded. "Ah!"
* * *
"Wow!"
"Oh, my! Is that really Ranma-kun?!"
Nabiki whistled, turning the page of the latest issue of a popular
teen fa****on magazine. "Sure looks like it," she mused. "Man,
whoever did the shots here really knows his business. Make-up's not
so bad, either!"
Kasumi and Nabiki sat on the ****ch. Souun and Genma were currently
walking about town in some vain attempt to locate either Ranma or
Morobo**** Negako. Minutes before, one of Nabiki's friends came by,
carrying several fa****on and other pop magazines she asserted had
dozens of pictures of Ranma -- in both forms! -- inside. One glance
inside quickly proved how right she was. "So he used a Korean alias
for each of his bodies, huh? Very smart thinking, Ranma-kun . . . oh,
THIS is nice!" She pointed to one picture.
"Oh, my! Ranma-chan looks SO cute in that wedding dress!" Kasumi
covered her mouth. "Ne, Nabiki-chan, how much would this pay?"
"Can't say. Probably a lot given that he's HAD to use some of that
money to set up our private funds, plus the other money."
"Do you think Uncle might try to steal Ranma-kun's money?"
"Not with the bank Ranma-kun got those cheques made in. Ko****n Bank
has rules when it comes to underage clients, which Ranma-kun happens
to be. If there's ANY suspicion of child abuse or any other sort of
impropriety between the client and the parents, the bank has the
authority to block attempts by the parents to get control of those
funds. If Uncle wanted to push it, then . . . " She smirked. "Well,
I doubt he'd survive an investigation like THAT! Nope!" She shook
her head again before turning back to the magazine. "He can dream all
he wants, but this time, he won't get a damned thing. Too bad!"
"Hai, too bad." Kasumi pointed at one picture. "Oh, isn't THAT
cute?!"
"Yeah!" Nabiki then blinked as the front gate opened. Seeing who
was coming in, she moaned. "Oh, wonderful! Just what I needed . . .
"
"Tendou Nabiki, I would speak to you on a matter of great im****t!"
Kunou Tatewaki declared as he marched up. He then gracefully bowed to
the older sister. "A fair morning to you, Tendou Kasumi." To
Nabiki: "May I enquire as to where your beauteous sister or the pig-
tailed girl might be?"
"Oh, neither of them are here, Kunou-san," Kasumi said. "Akane's in
the hospital right now and Ranma-chan moved out of the house."
The scion of the Kunou family gasped. "WHAT?! What happened to
them?!" he demanded before scanning around the property. "And where
is that foul demon Saotome?! Has he unleashed some new vile sorcery
on my beloveds?!"
"No, he moved out too, Kunou-chan." Nabiki set the fa****on magazine
aside before crossing her arms. "Oh, by the way, I've got some good
news for you! There's no engagement now between Ranma-kun and Akane."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then . . .
"No engagement?" Kunou gasped, stunned by Nabiki's words.
Nabiki nodded. "Yep. Akane's a free woman now."
Blinking as that sank into his mind, Kunou then screamed out, "Oh, AT
LAST! At last, justice has prevailed! I, Kunou Tatewaki, the Blue
Thunder of Fuurinkan High, have finally succeeded! The beautiful
Tendou Akane has FINALLY escaped the clutches of that demon Saotome!
Justice has FINALLY prevailed!" He crouched into a meditative pose as
a hum rumbled from him, and then he held up a finger. "No!" he flatly
said. "No! It must be done right, of course!"
"Done right in what way, Kunou-san?" Kasumi asked.
"Forgive me, but that must be resolved first between myself and your
noble, fiery sister, Tendou Kasumi," the kendou-ka proclaimed before
he turned on Nabiki. "Now, Tendou Nabiki, what news of the pig-tailed
one? I last saw her on the television when she went Monday to aid in
the rescue of those poor unfortunates at Tomobiki High School. Much
to my shock and horror, she doth proclaim to the media that she is a
friend to that most vile, perverted beast, Morobo**** Ataru! Pray tell
me this is not so, Nabiki, I beg you!"
Nabiki held out her hand. "It doesn't come cheap, Kunou-chan."
Ten thousand yen filled her hands. "Yes, Ranma-chan IS Ataru-kun's
friend." She slipped the money into her pocket before she added,
"Matter of fact, they're off on a trip together for the rest of the
week with Ataru-kun's sisters. You won't see her until she comes back
to school on Monday."
"Oh, that is . . .!" Kunou's voice trailed off as a horror-struck
look crossed his face. "WHAT?!" he wailed as lightning flashed in the
background. "You mean to say the pig-tailed girl is ALONE with that
lecher?!"
Nabiki nodded. "Yep."
"Where?!" he demanded. "Tell me so I might smite the beast and
rescue the pig-tailed one from Morobo****'s vile, diseased clutches!"
Nabiki shook her head. "I can't! And no, you can't pay me any sort
of money to get that information out of me. Sorry."
"***WHAT?! WHY NOT?!***"
"Simple," Nabiki replied. "Ataru-kun's a ninja. Not just ANY ninja,
but one who's learned from the deadliest ninjutsu school of all! How
the heck do you think he's been able to defeat Mendou Shuutarou all
the time when he was living in Tomobiki?! Hell, how the heck do you
expect me to keep track of someone like HIM, Kunou-chan?! I may be
good, but I'm not THAT good!"
The kendou-ka considered that before gravely nodding. "You are
correct, Tendou Nabiki. Very well. I will have Sasuke seek out the
vile beast and the pig-tailed one so I might smite Morobo**** and
ensure he REMAINS defeated!" He turned around to leave, waving at
them. "Fair thee well, my friends!"
He departed. Kasumi and Nabiki watched him go. The latter sighed.
"To quote the great cartoon . . . " A pause. "'What a maroon!'"
The former shook her head. "Indeed."
* * *
"Sasuke-san, you have our deepest sympathies."
"Thank you, Tenchi-san," Sasuke replied, nodding thanks to the other
ninja, one of Yumoa Reigi's personal field scouts. Both were perched
in a tree overlooking the Tendou family courtyard. "So where is Ataru-
sama anyway?"
"He is, as Nabiki-san just re****ted, with Ranma-sama and the Young
Mistresses. Surely, Sasuke-san, you can't expect us to stand idly by
and allow that fool you serve to threaten the Young Mistresses, do
you?!"
The Kunou family retainer thought about it for a second before he
shook his head. "No, of course not," he replied. "If the Master saw
Sakuya-sama or Haruka-sama, he would . . .!" A shudder raced through
him before he nodded. "No. My master is not an evil man, but his
obsessions blind him to so much. I will not see a war start between
the Kunous and the Morobo****s over that!"
"A good point . . . ah!"
A *toot!* filled the air. Sasuke and Tenchi watched as a certain
road train stopped by the front gate of the Tendou property. Nabiki
soon ran out, a gym bag in hand. Quickly getting aboard, she relaxed
beside Inu Chigaiko as the road train continued its journey to the
Morobo**** home. "Where is Nabiki-sama going?" Sasuke wondered,
staring at the other ninja.
"To see our grandmaster about having her arms restored to proper
motion so she can continue her studies in Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu."
Sasuke perked before he smiled. "Really?! Good for her!"
* * *
"***NEE-SAMA! WHEN HIME SAYS 'SLOW,' HIME MEANS 'SLOW!'***"
A spatula slammed down on the table beside Ranma's plate. That act
made the martial artist leap up to the pentacle-shaped ceiling frame
six metres off the floor! Everyone looked up to see Ranma hugging the
wood beams, ****vering at the chef's outburst. ****rayuki put her fists
to hips. "HONESTLY, Nee-sama! Hime can make all the uzura-dango Nee-
sama wants! Why is Nee-sama eating like someone was about to take all
of Nee-sama's food away?!"
"Because people DO try to take Ranma's food away, ****rayuki-san,"
To****ko said in her template's defence. "Specifically Genma!"
"Why would Onee-sama's father do something like that?" Sakuya asked.
"Partially, it's training." Kumiko held up her chopsticks to
emphasise her point. "Working with chopsticks helps improve your
fingers' dexterity, especially if you want to use ****atsu attacks.
Partially, it's a philosophy Genma rammed into Ranma every day during
their training trip: 'Treat each meal like it was your last.'" A
tired sigh. "And partially, it's because Genma's a greedy, lazy fool
who wants to pig out all the time!"
****rayuki looked aghast before screaming, "***HIME NEVER HEARD SUCH A
STUPID THING IN ALL OF HIME'S LIFE!***" Everyone ducked her rant as
****rayuki looked up to Ranma, insistently pointing to the spot the
martial artist had just vacated. "Nee-sama, come down here this
INSTANT!"
Ranma quaked before dropping to the floor, waving her hands in a
"Don't hit me!" gesture. ****rayuki sighed, pointing to the former's
chair. "Sit, Nee-sama! Hime isn't going to take Nee-sama's food
away!"
Ranma hopped into the chair. "Okay! Okay! Okay!"
"Now, Hime will tell Nee-sama Hime's philosophy about food!"
****rayuki drew out a handkerchief to lie on Ranma's lap. "Food is
meant to be ENJOYED to the last morsel!" She then drew out a plate of
uzura-dango. "After all, Hime and cooks like Hime LIKE to make food
and they want those who eat their food to enjoy eating their food!"
She sat down beside Ranma. Taking the latter's chopsticks, she used
them to pick up one of the dumplings. "Nee-sama can't enjoy Hime's
food if Nee-sama is shovelling it into Nee-sama's mouth like she was
some silly stoker shovelling coal into a boiler! Okay?!" She held
the dumpling before Ranma's mouth. "Now, Nee-sama, say 'Aaah!'"
Ranma backed away. "Aw, c'mon, ****rayuki! That's sissy stuff!"
Hearing that, the cook stopped, sniffing. "Nee-sama doesn't like
Hime's cooking . . . " she tearfully moaned, looking down at her
plate.
Seeing THAT, Ranma slumped in defeat. "Aaah . . . "
Giggling, the other sisters watched as ****rayuki fed the martial
artist. Hi****o covered her mouth. "Onee-tama's so funny!"
Sakuya stared at Ataru. "Poor Onee-sama. I wonder what sort of
other bad habits that fool father taught her," she whispered.
"Quite a bit from what I've seen of her already," he whispered back.
"Do you think you can give Ranma the Talk, Sakuya-chan?"
She blinked as she stared wide-eyed at him. "You mean they were
pressing an engagement between Onee-sama and that Akane girl and no
one ever thought of giving Onee-sama the Talk?" She then shook her
head as she turned back to her breakfast. "Gods, what were those
stupid people thinking, anyway?"
"You can say that again," Ataru muttered, rolling his eyes.
* * *
"Oh, man! Did she HAVE to do THAT?! That was embarrassing!"
Ataru chuckled as he escorted Ranma on a tour around town. "Sorry,
but they've done that to me many times since I first came here. I was
riding the escalators with Haruka-chan one day . . .!" -- he pointed
up to the covered public escalator connecting the higher and lower
parts of the Island -- "And I sprained my ankle and she had to help me
back to the House. Instant they saw that, they were all over me to
make sure I got 'properly' fed and all that. Heck, Haruka-chan even
wanted to come into the furo and wash my back!"
He shrugged. Ranma gazed at him. "Ataru, are you SURE they're your
sisters?!" she demanded as her eyebrow arched before she looked
ahead. "I mean, I don't think sisters are supposed to do THAT with
their brother!"
He laughed. "There were times I was unsure of it, too! But then
again, we could simply attribute it to the *newness* of it all."
"You mean the fact that you just found out you were related and you
weren't really sure as to what to do about that, right?"
"Exactly. It's like you with To****ko-chan and Kumiko-chan, right?"
Ranma nodded. "I guess so. Then again, I really haven't had a
chance to spend any time with them. I had to get them out of the
house after Nabiki put them into that magical compact, then send them
on their way. Ukyou helped out, but I didn't want them to stay in
Nerima any longer than it was safe for them. Or me. I busted them
out of that compact after I got into a fight with Nabiki over some
stupid lottery ticket she had that got burned up during a fight I had
with Jijii. Thank the gods that Jijii at least was able to supply
them some travelling money so they didn't have to rough it like Oyaji
and I did."
"Given how well-skilled they are, Happoosai was probably making sure
the Art would be guaranteed to continue through them. Besides, would
YOU want them to hang around in the same place as that fool father of
yours?"
Ranma shuddered. "You got a point."
* * *
"Oh, man . . .!"
Ryuunosuke tried not to scream as she stared at Tomobiki High. After
waiting for a day for the embers to cool, the wreckers would come to
tear down what was left of the northwest wing. That would allow the
Mendou Emergency Construction and Repair Team -- the people who
normally repaired the school when something odd happened -- to get to
work on reconstruction. ****nobu stood beside her friend, ready to
sup****t the orphaned girl if she needed it.
Taking a breath, Ryuunosuke shook her head. "Y'know, 'cept for the
people dyin' . . . " she began before sucking back a sob. "It don't
look different from after the Pseudo-War and the Second Tag Race.
Don't it?"
****nobu nodded. "Hai, that's true, isn't it?"
"****nobu?! Ryuunosuke-kun?!"
Both turned to see several of their classmates walk up, led by
Marubeya Momoe and Gekasawa Kumiko. "Yo, guys!" Ryuunosuke hailed.
****nobu bowed. "Ohayou, everyone. What are you all doing here?"
"Looking for you," Kumiko replied. "Listen, we're trying to get all
the people in class together, and then we'd go out and find Ataru-
kun. You know, thank him for coming over to help out with the clean-
up and all that."
****nobu gagged on the lump that just formed in her throat. Seeing
that, Ryuunosuke sighed, squeezing ****nobu's shoulder before she
turned back to the others. "Look, Morobo**** don't want anything to do
with us, Kumiko . . . "
"Even if he doesn't, Ryuunosuke-kun, he did help us," Kumiko
objected. "I mean, it surprised me when the local papers only
mentioned Saotome-san when they re****ted on the bombing. I mean, I
don't like Ataru-kun, but . . . "
"AND he don't like us, Kumiko!" Ryuunosuke snapped. "Look, ****nobu
and I went by his old house last night. There was this guy there.
He's the man runnin' Morobo****'s grandma's will. He freakin' tore a
strip off us both. Practically gloated over the fact that Morobo****
was leavin' us once and for all! Even told us that Morobo**** burned
all his yearbooks and photo albums just to help him forget we ever
existed! I say THAT'S a pretty strong message, Kumiko. Look . . . "
She stopped as a hand grabbed hers. "****nobu?"
****nobu sighed. "I'm not giving up on him, Ryuu-chan."
"****nobu!" Ryuunosuke snapped.
"****nobu-chan!" Momoe gasped.
Ataru's ex-girlfriend stared at her friends. "Look, if there's
anyone who might know where he is, it's Kamekichi Tampopo."
"You mean the ramen shop cook that always beat up that slab of beef
Rei all the time?!" Koi ****njin, one of the boys, wondered.
"Hey! Rei-san's no slab of beef!" Kumiko snapped.
"Yeah, right, sure!" another boy said, rolling his eyes.
****nobu moaned as the argument started. God, it seemed that Lum and
her friends would be affecting people's opinions for a LONG time!
"Alright! Enough, already!" she snapped. "What's past is past! We
have to go on! Let's find Kamekichi-san, then go ask her about Ataru-
kun! Okay?!"
The others nodded.
* * *
"Remain still, Nabiki."
Nabiki sighed, lying face-first on the sitting room floor as Negako
manipulated the former's ****atsu pattern to entice the nerve clusters
around her shoulders to fully and properly regenerate. Inu Chigaiko
sat to one side, watching the ninjutsu grandmaster do her work.
"Oooh! That feels great, Negako-san!" Nabiki purred delightedly as
Negako's fingertips slightly vibrated as she sent ki energy into the
body to break apart the scarred neural tissue within, thus allowing
the neurons to reform whole and healthy.
A happy whistling heralded the arrival of one of Nerima's three
martial arts grandmasters. "Good morning, ladies!" Happoosai hailed
as he bounced in, landing on Negako's head. "Hiya, Negako-chan!
How's Nabiki here?!"
Negako calmly picked him off her head, setting him to one side. "She
will recover sooner if you do not distract me, Happy."
"Ojii-chan, you even THINK of stealing my bra or panties right now, I
won't bail you out of jail the next time you get really drunk," Nabiki
said with a glare as she raised a finger in dire warning.
"Oh, relax, relax! The girls from Saint Hebereke were more than
happy to let me protect all their silky darlings!" Happoosai crooned
before pulling out his pipe and lighting it as he watched Negako
work. "Looks good."
"Yes, her potential is considerable. The chances are good that once
she has regained confidence, she could begin ki training."
Everyone gaped. "You're kidding!" Chigaiko exclaimed.
"I do not joke, Chigaiko," Negako explained. "Everyone on the planet
has some ki-manipulation abilities. Most do not go beyond the basics
required to maintain one's health to the standard they feel is
'right.' Remember, the ability to utilise ki is interconnected with
one's faith in herself, her surroundings and Existence as a whole.
Since events in Nerima and Tomobiki defy what is seen as 'normal' to
most, those not native to either place will not be able to conceive of
what we would see as 'normal.'"
"I never thought about that," Nabiki admitted.
"Of course not. Save when Souun used his Demon Head attack to
emotionally subdue someone, you did not encounter a situation where
your concepts of 'reality' were broadened significantly until Ranma
and Genma came to Nerima."
A cell phone rang. Negako pulled back, allowing Nabiki to sit up as
she drew out the phone. "Mo****-mo****, Tendou here."
"Nabiki-san, it's me!" a woman called back.
"Momoe-san, what's up?!"
Chigaiko's jaw dropped in shock. Momoe?! Marubeya Momoe?! One of
Mendou's floozies knew Tendou Nabiki?! "Nothing much. We're
recovering," Momoe re****ted. "Listen, a bunch of yatai owners here
told us that Kamekichi Tampopo moved to your part of Tokyo some weeks
back. Can you give an address?"
"I probably could. Why are you so interested?"
"Well, we're actually looking for Morobo**** Ataru," Momoe admitted.
"You know, thank him for his help in what happened on Monday. I know
what you told me Monday night; Mendou-san doesn't know about this. If
anyone knows where Ataru-kun went, it'd be Tampopo-san. Can you
give?"
"I . . . " Nabiki paused, noticing Negako holding out her hand.
"Look, Momoe, Ataru-kun's sister is sitting right beside me. I'll let
you talk to her about it. Just a second," she called out before
handing the phone over.
* * *
"'SISTER?!'" everyone exclaimed.
Momoe stared at her phone before holding it to her ear. "Mo****-
mo****?"
"This is Morobo**** Negako," a frighteningly cold woman's voice
announced. "Ataru is not here right now. What is the matter, Momoe?"
"I . . . " Momoe shook her head before calling back over the line,
"I didn't know Ataru-kun had a sister! Unless you're the . . .?"
"I am she," Negako affirmed. "Ataru did not remember me until seven
weeks ago when I restored his memories after Kinshou tricked me into
having his memories edited of key information five years ago. This
was done to help Kinshou embezzle Ataru's inheritance from his
grandmother, Nagaiwakai. If you watch NHK Nerima or TV Tokyo, you
will learn the whole story this evening."
"I . . . I see." Momoe sighed. "Well, listen, Negako-san. We'd
like to know where your brother is right now . . . "
"He is not here."
"Er . . . o-okay, where is he?"
"That is none of your business, Momoe."
Momoe jolted. "Hey!"
"Listen and take heed," Negako warned. "Reigi made it clear to
****nobu and Ryuunosuke last night. If you are incapable of
acknowledging that, neither Ataru nor I will be responsible for what
might result from it."
Momoe was stunned by the curt indifference Negako was demonstrating
to her over the phone. "I . . . " she began before sighing. "Look!
All we want to do is thank him for helping out on Monday when that
bomb went off!"
"I will convey your gratitude to Ataru when he returns. But do not
expect any reciprocating show of emotion. As far as he is concerned,
no one living in Tomobiki deserves it." Negako paused before she sank
the stake in. "ESPECIALLY one whose obsession with a narcissist like
Mendou Shuutarou blinds her to all else around her. You are warned.
Do not press this matter further."
*Beep!* The connection was cut. "Hey!" Momoe screamed, staring at
the silent cell phone in disbelief. "Who the hell . . .?!"
* * *
"Um, Negako-san?"
"Yes, Nabiki?"
"You believe in something called 'tact?'"
Negako gazed at her. "No."
"Maybe you should learn," Nabiki warned, holding up a finger.
The ninjutsu grandmaster shrugged before turning to Nabiki's ****atsu
points. "Sometimes, the most direct message is the best one," she
explained. "Besides, I spoke the truth about Ataru's feelings for
those people."
"A little white lie could've helped there, too, Negako-san."
"Atop all the lies, jealousy, misinformation and twisted worldviews
practised, felt and spoken by those people? ESPECIALLY where it
concerned Ataru? When does it stop? When people die? People have
ALREADY died as a result of events in Tomobiki and how they came to
be. Granted, death comes to all of us." An eyebrow arched. "But do
you wish to rush it?"
Nabiki sighed. "Not really." She then raised her finger to
emphasise her point. "But you STILL need to learn some tact, Negako-
san."
She laid her head down on her crossed arms. Negako shook her head.
* * *
"I can't believe that!"
"Believe it," Momoe replied. She had just explained to the others
about what Nabiki had told her concerning Ataru and Negako.
Kumiko nodded. "Well, it does make some sense. After all, how was
Ataru-kun able to catch Mendou-san's katana all the time?"
"Not to mention the times he was able to out-race everyone, even Lum-
chan, when he wanted to," ****njin added. "And what about those big
lugs that showed up after the Pseudo-War and the Second Tag Race to
pound Mendou, Megane and his pals into the dirt when they tried to go
after Ataru?!"
Momoe shuddered. "Don't remind me of them!"
"So what do we do now?" Ryuunosuke asked.
"Look, if Ataru don't want anything to do with us anymore, let's
forget all this," ****njin then declared. "I mean, he's makin' it
obvious! He don't want to have nothin' to do with us anymore! Okay,
that's cool! C'mon, guys!"
The boys walked off, leaving ****nobu, Ryuunosuke, Momoe and Kumiko
standing alone. "So what do we do?" Kumiko asked.
"Maybe the guys have a good idea," Ryuunosuke noted.
"NO!"
Eyes locked on ****nobu. "I'm not letting it end like THIS!" she
hissed, her fists clenching. "I will NOT let it end like THIS!"
"We could ask Mendou-san to help," Kumiko proposed.
"NO!" ****nobu shrilled as she glared at her classmate. "Don't you
remember after he came?! When he started going gaga over Lum like the
other boys did?! You, Momoe and the other girls all cornered Ataru-
kun one day to make him stay with Lum! And when he refused, what did
you do?! Well?!"
Kumiko blinked as she remembered that incident. "I guess none of us
believed Ataru-kun held grudges against US!" Momoe mused as she gazed
heavenward. "I mean, against Mendou-san, Rei-san, Megane and his
crew, it's understandable! But against US?! I thought he liked us!"
"Maybe he's learned how to hate us. And I mean REALLY hate us."
Eyes locked on Ryuunosuke. "Just think about it," she warned.
"Before the Second Tag Race, when we were on Ran's ****p, he said 'I
hate women' after he and Lum had that fight when Carla tried to
persuade Rupa to send his pigs down to get rid of the mushrooms. What
if Morobo**** meant it? After all, two weeks after the mushrooms were
gone, he just ups and vanishes. Right at the same time, Lum gets the
boot off the planet. Ditto with Ran and Jariten. Then, after Lum
died, he comes back, packin' those martial arts skills, same as that
redhead who showed up on Monday to help out at the school. With Lum
gone, all her friends probably decided it's not worth comin' back to
Earth. After all, do they really care about us, stayin' in contact
with us now that Lum's gone? You said it yourself on Monday,
****nobu. And without Lum to stop him, what's to stop Morobo**** from
thinking about settlin' some old scores?"
The others paled. "Ataru would NEVER do that . . .!" Kumiko
sputtered.
"Willing to bet your life on it? We beat up Morobo**** constantly
before he vanished. Sure, he did some dumbass things and he deserved
it. But do you think that a part of him might've RESENTED everyone
blamin' him for everything that was goin' on? What that guy said to
****nobu and me last night's been echoin' in my head ever since." She
made a swirling motion with her finger around her ear. "So Morobo****
comes back, then shows he can rip apart walls like they were confetti,
not to mention hop from telephone pole to telephone pole like he was
doin' the 400-metre hurdles. I know what martial artists are like. I
had to learn martial arts to survive with a lunkhead like Oyaji.
Okay, we now got a good idea about where they came from. And since
he's as skilled as that red-haired girl . . . what was her name,
Momoe?!" she asked her classmate.
"Saotome Ranma. And by the way, Ranma's not a 'she' but a 'he!'"
Ryuunosuke jolted. "EH?!"
"She sure looked like a girl to me!" ****nobu asserted.
"****nobu, many people mistake Ryuunosuke-kun as a boy even with her
saying 'I'm a girl!' all the time. I fall into that trap, too. And
I've known the truth about her almost as long as you have," Momoe
reminded her, and then she moved to explain: "Ranma-san has a magical
curse that turns him into a girl when he's hit with cold water. Hot
water turns him back. According to Nabiki-san, it's been the bane of
his life for quite a while."
Ryuunosuke whistled. "No ****!"
"Right," Momoe confirmed before sighing. "Then you add what Ranma-
san said on Monday. But . . . " Here, she paused before turning to
Ryuunosuke. "I can't see where you're coming from about Ataru-kun. I
really can't."
Ryuunosuke turned to gaze towards Tomobiki High. "Yeah. It really
makes me wonder: Do we really KNOW this guy, especially now?"
The others hummed.
* * *
"RANMA did this?!"
"Yeah."
Once she was declared to be in stable condition, Akane had been moved
into a recovery room. She would be discharged tomorrow, though the
cast keeping her shattered elbow in place would not come off for a
couple weeks. Several of her classmates had come to visit her, having
heard of her hospitalisation by Fuurinkan High School's very
proficient student grapevine.
"Why are you so CALM about it, Akane-chan?" Tokoro Yuka wondered. "I
mean, this is 'No-hit-girls' Saotome Ranma we're talking about! Yeah,
he's got a right to be pissed off at his dad and yours for all the
garbage that's been heaped on his head over the last while, but
THIS . . .?!"
Asano Sayuri shook her head. "This just proves everything I've said
about that jerk! So what else did he do?"
Akane winced. "He ended the engagement. And said he didn't want
anything to do with my family anymore."
Chanpatsu Hiro**** shook his head. "Oh man! I can't believe that! I
mean, you guys fought all the time, but I'd NEVER believe he'd go and
hit you right back! Especially hit you with a ki blast . . .!"
Akane sighed. "There was a reason for that, Hiro****."
"Akane-chan, don't make excuses for the creep!" Sayuri cut in.
"Sayuri, wait! What are you talking about, Akane-chan?!" Yuka
protested.
"Brain damage."
"Huh?" Bosabosa Daisuke blinked. "Ranma?"
Akane nodded. "You know about Morobo**** Ataru? What happened on
Monday, right?" Seeing them nod, she continued, "Well, Ataru-san has
a sister. An adopted sister who's VERY knowledgeable in martial
arts. As much as Happoosai and Cologne, in fact. She examined Ranma
that night and found out that Ranma's father did something to him when
he was five to make sure Ranma could never really concentrate on
anything outside the martial arts. And Negako-san -- that's her name,
Morobo**** Negako -- found out that all the times I hit him, all the
times other people hit him, PLUS the Neko-ken . . . well, it was
hurting Ranma to the point where if it wasn't healed, he'd end up a
mental vegetable! So Negako-san has to fix it all up. But she can't
do that if Ranma gets into another fight . . . " She paused. "So
Negako-san erased Ranma's inhibitions when it comes to fighting. If
someone goes after him with that in place . . . "
"He goes straight for the kill?" Daisuke finished.
"And he won't care who he hits or why?" Hiro**** added.
"Yeah. And I found that out the hard way yesterday."
Sayuri shook her head. "I really have trouble accepting this."
Yuka stared in annoyance at her friend. "Would you've believed Ranma-
kun's curse before you ever saw him transform, Sayuri-chan?" she
wondered. "Much less that whole Neko-ken business, not to mention
everything else?"
Sayuri declined to answer. "So what made Ranma-kun freak out on you
like that anyway, Akane?" Hiro**** wondered. "You were doin' pretty
okay before, even with all that trouble your dad and his dad started."
Akane sighed. "My cooking. I tried to make beef stroganoff for him
yesterday morning. You know, show some sympathy for what happened on
Monday, what Ranma did with Ataru-san in Tomobiki. Well . . . "
Her classmates nodded. "Akane-chan, you KNOW Ranma-kun doesn't trust
your cooking unless your sister or his mother helps out," Yuka said.
"Yeah, I know that now . . . "
"That's still no excuse," Sayuri muttered.
"Maybe. But given all the crap that's hit him since the wedding,
he's got a right to feel pissed off," Hiro**** said with a wave of his
hand. "Give him time ta cool off and relax, Akane-chan. He'll be
okay. I bet by the time school comes around, he'll be willing to give
you another chance."
Daisuke gazed on his friend. "He better. Once Kunou-sempai gets
wind of this, guess what might start up again? Eh, 'Ro****?"
Everyone considered that. Akane's eyes then widened. "No . . . "
Sayuri covered her face. "Oh, gods! Not THAT again!"
Yuka shook her head. "That's just what we DON'T need!"
"Dai, don't say such unlucky things," Hiro**** hissed.
"What unlucky things?"
Everyone turned as Nabiki stepped in, a gym bag hanging off her
shoulder. "Hi, Onee-chan," Akane hailed. "How are things at home?"
Nabiki slipped off the bag before leaning on the bed. "We're giving
the panda a cold shoulder. Dad doesn't like it, but we're not giving
him a chance to do anything. Auntie moved back to her house; the
bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen are usable now. I think Ranma-kun
might pitch in some money to hurry the repairs. Oh, we finally found
out where Ranma-kun got all his money from!"
"Where?" Yuka asked.
"Modelling. Both bodies, nothing risqué or anything like that, goes
under a Korean name." Nabiki then stared knowingly at Hiro**** and
Daisuke. "This means that any pictures I took of Ranma-kun's girl
body best stop being circulated if you don't want the lawyers to come
after you. I trust you guys will pass the word around as quickly as
you can?"
Hiro**** and Daisuke gulped. "'Lawyers' . . .?"
Nabiki nodded. "Yep. I have to admit, I never thought of trying to
get a modelling-type contract out of Ranma-kun. It would've put us
all on the road to easy street for sure. Ah, well!" she lamented with
a shrug.
"What's going to happen when Kunou demands more pictures of his 'pig-
tailed goddess,' Onee-chan?" Akane sarcastically wondered.
"I'll tell him to visit a magazine shop," the middle Tendou daughter
replied. "I've no need of his money anymore, so I'll start scaling
back trying to fleece the idiot. Besides, soon as Ranma-kun's mind
gets in better shape, I think Kunou-chan's gonna be done away with as
soon as possible."
"So it's all true?" Yuka gasped. "About what Ranma-kun's father did
and how that led up to what happened to Akane-chan yesterday?!"
"The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Nabiki
nodded before she stared intently at Sayuri, making the younger girl
duck. "And if you have a problem with that, Sayuri-chan, that's just
too damned bad."
Sayuri sent a resentful look Nabiki's way. "Onee-chan . . .!" Akane
grumbled before sighing. "So where's Ranma now?"
"Off with Ataru-kun and his half-sisters until Sunday, then they'll
be back. Ataru-kun might be coming to Fuurinkan next week."
Everyone's jaw dropped. "He's coming here?!" Hiro**** asked before
crossing his arms. "Hey, that'll be pretty cool! Right, Dai?!"
"I wonder if he's still got those black books of his," Daisuke
mused. "After all, they're said to be the . . .!"
Instantly, Sayuri and Yuka swatted him with pillows. "That's enough
out of you, you perverted jerk!" the latter snarled.
"H-hai . . . " Daisuke whimpered.
Akane sighed. "I wish I could talk to Ranma."
Nabiki hummed. "Well, let me talk to Negako-san and see if I can get
the telephone number of where Ranma-kun's staying right now. But I
want to make sure that the panda doesn't get hold of it. The LAST
thing Ranma-kun needs to deal with right now is that lazy-ass fool!"
Akane gazed understandingly at Nabiki. "Why don't you just sell him
to the zoo once and for all and get it over with, Onee-chan?"
"Admittedly, it is tempting." The middle Tendou daughter rose.
"Anyhow, I've got to get down to Kakazu-san's shop and get a new gi."
Everyone's jaw dropped. "What?!" Akane gasped.
Nabiki flustered. "Oh, forgot to tell you. Negako-san's right now
fixing my shoulders so I can head back into the doojou. She's
probably forgotten things about ****atsu that Toofuu-sensei couldn't
learn in his whole lifetime!" She then perked. "Oh, speaking of
which, he's back in town!"
Akane gaped. "Toofuu-sensei?! Does Onee-chan know?"
Nabiki sighed. "It's not gonna happen between them, Akane-chan."
"Oh . . . " The younger sister sighed. "That's too bad. Where did
he go to, anyway? Why did he go? What did he do, anyway?"
"Don't know the whole story yet, but I think Ataru-kun's sisters
might hold some answers," Nabiki said. "Anyhow, I've got to go."
Hiro**** blinked. "Hey, wait a sec'! What's this about other
sisters?"
"Are they cute?" Daisuke prodded.
Pillows once again laid him low. Nabiki shook her head.
* * *
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