"Nii-ya! There's a fire!"
"Onii-tama! The whole island's on fire!"
Ataru bolted up, turning to look towards the observation tower.
"What?!"
He then automatically looked west towards Promised Island. Sakuya
pointed northeast. "No, Onii-sama! Over here!"
Ataru turned to gaze where the eldest of the sisters was pointing.
His eyes then widened. "What the hell . . .?" he muttered as he
walked to the guard-rail before calling out, "Rinrin, what the hell's
going on?!"
"Not sure, but radar's picked up a helicopter near Ryuunosuke-****ma,"
the inventor re****ted. "Nothing on any radio frequency."
He then noticed Chikage standing nearby, her crystal ball held out
before her. "What's going on, Chikage-chan?"
"It appears Ryuunosuke-kun has decided to do just more than bury her
father at sea," the sorceress re****ted. "She deliberately set the
teashop on the island alight. I believe all her father's belongings
were there."
"What little that abusive bastard had, you mean," Ataru muttered as
he crossed his arms, turning to gaze towards the island in the
distance. "Well, I could see her doing that, especially after what
that moron did to her."
"That's still a fire hazard, Ataru," Ranma noted.
Ataru nodded. "Rinrin!"
"What is it, Aniki?!"
"Call the Coast Guard!" he ordered. "Tell them there's a possible
out-of-control fire on that island!"
"Right!"
Yotsuba thumbed the urns, both of them having been brought out on the
deck in preparation to dump them in a trench. "What about them, Ani-
chama?"
Ataru sighed before shaking his head. "Forget it!" he spat out.
"Everyone, head below. Rinrin, get this thing ready to dive!"
"Okay!"
The others quickly picked up their belongings before heading below
decks. In a minute, all that were left on the weather deck were Ataru
and Ranma. "You okay?" the latter asked. "If they want to fight, we
can take them."
She nodded towards Ryuunosuke-****ma. He shook his head after
considering the point. No doubt, Ranma suspected that once the call
went into the Japan Coast Guard about the fire, Mendou might try to
back-trace it to Rinrin, which could lead him right back to his old
rival. "No, I'm not going to provoke something with those clowns
anywhere close to them." He pointed down to indicate his sisters.
"It's not fair to them, Ranma."
Ranma considered that before nodding. "Yeah, you're right."
* * *
Ten minutes later, the Plato-Mecha was underwater. The urns bearing
the remains of Ataru's birth parents were dumped overboard before the
submersible slipped below the waves. Since the Mendou helicopter
didn't come equipped with anti-submarine warfare gear -- a surprising
omission in the clan's paramilitary capabilities given that several of
the Conglomerate's widespread properties were on seashores -- there
was no way anyone on Ryuunosuke-****ma could learn that anyone, much
less Morobo**** Ataru, has been in the area.
Not that they had time to consider that.
Just as the Plato-Mecha was turning for Promised Island, a helicopter
and three fast speedboats from the Coast Guard's Third Region
intercepted the Mendou machine before it could have flown back to
Tomobiki.
* * *
"That idiot . . . "
Akane scowled. "Tell me about it."
Nabiki stared at her sister before looking at the ceiling. She had
come back to enjoy lunch. She sat at her work desk, having just
listened to the recording Kasumi made earlier. Her sisters were
relaxing on her bed. "What do you know about Auntie's relatives,
Nabiki-chan?" Kasumi asked.
"Pretty rich, but that's going down some since a lot of their
wealth's invested in real estate. That market's been VERY depressed
as of late, especially here in Tokyo," Nabiki re****ted. "Auntie
herself has some choice bits of property in and around Tokyo. She
rents that to store and restaurant owners to generate income for
herself. All in her name. No, Genma can't touch that. She also gets
a stipend from her father to sup****t her home. Reason why . . .?"
She paused. "I'm not too sure, but I think it's to make her mind her
own business. From what my friends have told me, the only relative
she has any frequent contact with is her twin sister, Hisayo.
Something tells me . . . "
"That her family didn't approve her marrying the panda?" Akane asked.
"That. More likely, I think Auntie got pregnant, then was forced
into marrying Genma and thrown out of the house," Nabiki concluded.
"The marriage date and Ranma's birthday are only six months apart."
"Oh!" The other sisters nodded understandingly, and then Kasumi
asked, "Do you think you can talk to Morobo****-sensei about it?"
"I'll do that tomorrow. By then, my arms should be back in gear and
I'll start training in earnest." Nabiki pointed to her shoulder, and
then she sighed as she gazed on Akane. "Akane-chan, I won't take him
away from you."
Akane jolted. "But what about what Dad said . . .?"
"Akane, I think that if Ranma-kun's going to marry anyone, he'll do
it out of love, not because the panda tells him to do it," Nabiki
warned. "That means you have a chance to get back in his good graces
since he *did* love you. Love can be rediscovered if it was there.
If you don't pull any of the stunts you pulled before with him, you'll
be okay in the long run."
The younger sister gave Nabiki a warning look. "Then you'll swear
never to butt in on our relation****p ever again?" she demanded.
"Don't need to do that anymore, especially with the money he has,
plus what he gave us," Nabiki assured. "Besides, this is the crunch
year. I have to start worrying about college even if Ranma-kun's
pretty much paid for it."
"Toodai?" Kasumi asked.
"Maybe. If I had the choice, I'd pick Harvard or one of the other
Ivy League schools in the States. They have the better programs."
"You'll make it, Onee-chan!" Akane then leaned her chin on her
raised knee. "I should start worrying about that, too."
"So should Ranma-kun," Kasumi mused.
"Oh, that'll be no problem," Nabiki noted. "Negako-san told me that
once she's undone the damage the panda caused him, Ranma-kun will have
no problem in the future when it comes to academic schooling. If he
really goes hog-wild, he'll breeze right through the college entrance
exams. Probably get a scholar****p or two along the way. If he
doesn't get that, hell, he could pay his way right through to a
doctorate degree if he wanted to."
Akane shook her head. "That, I just HAVE to see."
Kasumi smiled. "Yes, it would be quite incredible to see, ne?"
The sisters laughed. Nabiki reached into her ****rt pocket to draw
out a cell phone. That was handed to Akane. Glancing around the room
for a moment, Nabiki then pulled out a pad of Post-It notes and a
pencil. She wrote down something, and then held it up for Akane to
read:
RANMA - DIAL #9
Seeing that, Akane asked, "Why did you . . .?"
Nabiki ripped the note off, and then she crumpled it. "Umisen-ken."
Kasumi paled. "He wouldn't . . .!"
"Bets?!"
The others considered that. "Call him tonight, when Dad and the
panda are off drinking, so they won't interfere," Nabiki advised.
Akane nodded. "Right."
* * *
"Oh, so THAT'S how you do it! Damn!"
Rinrin laughed. "Yeah! Easy, eh?!"
Ranma tapped the RETURN key to save her latest journal entry onto an
ultra-high density diskette loaded into one of Rinrin's spare
laptops. After returning to the Island from their boat trip to the
area around Ryuunosuke-****ma, Rinrin offered Ranma a chance to get her
own laptop, an "Aneki Special" as the inventor called it. They
haggled over it -- Ranma didn't want to get a computer free of charge
even if Rinrin liked making them -- and then they settled on Ranma
paying for the parts and Rinrin building it as a gift.
Ranma then made a startling -- to Rinrin! -- revelation: She didn't
know the first thing about *using* a computer! After all, as far as
the heir of the Saotome-ryuu understood these things, computers had no
practical use in martial arts, either for training or fighting.
Rinrin decided that would change. For the last six hours, they had
been in Ranma's room learning the tricks of the trade. While doing
that, Ranma had taken time to transcribe her personal journal onto
diskette. "Sure is!" Ranma turned to Rinrin. "But how can I make
sure that Oyaji or Nabiki can't get their hands on what's on the
disk?"
"Well, your dad doesn't know anything about computers, right?"
"Yeah!"
"No problem. If he destroys the diskette, the information's lost.
If he destroys the computer, same thing. I'm one of a few people in
the country who uses that model of UHD diskette, though that can
change. And if he comes after me to get the information, Aniki and
Negako-aneki will deal with him then."
"Not to mention me," Ranma assured her.
Rinrin blushed. "Hai."
"What about Nabiki?"
"Well, all you have to do is secure your files under a special
encryption lock when they're loaded into your hard drive. It's like
the combination lock on a bank safe door. If you want to, erase and
reformat the diskettes to make sure there're no spare copies of your
diary around. That's easy to do. I write my own encryption
programming and even the folks working for Reigi-san at Toranosei****n
say they're impenetrable. Nabiki doesn't have access to one of the
Cray supercomputers the Americans have, does she?" Rinrin asked.
"No, I don't think so. Then again, it actually wouldn't surprise me
if she knew someone who did," Ranma ruefully mused.
"Well, if she tries to steal your computer, break her arms like you
did to Akane." Rinrin chuckled, taking the diskette in Ranma's hand
and slipping that into a protective container. "There. Now . . . "
A *beep!* echoed from Ranma's slacks. Reaching in, she drew out a
cell phone, flipping it open. "Mo****-mo****? Who's this?"
"Hi, Ranma. It's me."
Silence.
Ranma's voice went cold. "Akane-san, how did you get my number?"
"Um . . . " The youngest Tendou's voice trailed off as she sensed
the sudden switch in Ranma's mood. She then coughed to clear her
throat. "Negako-san programmed your number into a cell phone she gave
Nabiki."
Hearing that, Ranma sighed. "Oh, wonderful. Now everyone
knows . . . "
"That's not true!"
"Excuse me, Akane-san, but are we talking about the same Tendou
Nabiki?"
"I know you don't trust her, but she knows when to control herself."
"Akane-san, if you're going to waste my time excusing your sister's
pathetic behaviour and giving me an earache and headache along the
way, this conversation ends now. What do you want?" Ranma demanded.
"R-r-Ranma . . .?" Akane stuttered.
Longer pause. "Well?" Ranma prodded.
"Ranma, you're being unreasonable!" Akane snapped.
"Too bad. YOU'VE been ****in' unreasonable since the day YOU walked
in on ME in the furo. Then YOU started calling me a pervert when I
never did anything against you OR ANYONE ELSE! If you think I'm going
to crawl back and let myself be your punching bag, you are VERY
mistaken. Now what do you want? You've got five seconds." She held
up a hand, turning her thumb in. "Four."
"Ranma, stop this!"
Down went the index finger. "Three."
"Why are you doing this . . .?!"
Middle finger. "Two."
"Ranma, please . . .!"
Ring finger. "One."
"I LOVE YOU!"
Ranma jolted, her eyes widening in surprise at Akane's shout. She
then sighed. "No you don't. Don't call me again."
She cut the connection before slipping the cell phone into her
pocket. "Aneki, are you okay?" Rinrin gently prodded.
The martial artist blinked. "I'd like to be alone now."
"Okay."
* * *
Hearing gentle sobs from her bedroom, Kasumi raced up to Akane's
door, knocking. "Akane?! Akane-chan, are you alright?!" She knocked
again, and then she opened the door to look inside. "Akane-
chan . . .?"
The youngest Tendou was face-first on her bed, wailing. The cell
phone was on the floor. Seeing how unstrung she was, Kasumi moved to
comfort. "There, there, Akane-chan!" She drew her into a hug. "It's
alright . . . "
"N-no, it's n-not alright, O-Onee-chan . . . " Akane moaned as she
buried her face into Kasumi's shoulder. "He h-h-hates me . . . "
"What happened?"
Taking a deep breath, she repeated the conversation she just had with
Ranma. Hearing her admit she screamed out "I love you" to Ranma
elicited a smile from Kasumi. That instantly faded when she heard
Akane repeat Ranma's reply. She then drooped her head on hearing
Ranma's parting words to Akane.
"Oh, Akane . . . "
"Wh-what do I do n-now, Onee-chan?" Akane pleaded.
The elder sister shrugged. "I don't know."
* * *
A knock was heard. "Come in!"
The door opened, revealing Ranma in pyjamas. Ataru stared at her.
He then noted the neutral look on her face. "You okay?"
"I . . . " Ranma began before sighing. "Can I sleep with you
tonight?"
He took that in, and then he stood, walking over to place sup****tive
hands on her shoulders. "What happened, Ranma?" he gently prodded.
"Oh, nothing much." She tried to smile. "Akane just called me.
Negako gave Nabiki my number and she passed it on to Akane."
Hearing that, Ataru winced. "Ranma, I'm sorry . . . "
"Nah! Nah! It's okay." Ranma shook her head. "Look, can you ask
Negako to make sure they don't have my number anymore?"
"Sure, I'll contact her right away."
* * *
"Oh, damn it, Akane! I'm sorry . . . "
Akane waved Nabiki down. "No, it's not your fault!"
She lifted a teacup. The sisters were sitting around the dining
table. Kasumi sighed. "Maybe it'll be best for us to leave Ranma-kun
be for a while."
"What about what Auntie's doing?" Akane asked. "He needs to
know . . .!"
"He will be told."
The sisters spun to the main doorway. "Negako-san!" Nabiki gasped on
recognising the newcomer. "What the hell are YOU doing here?!"
Kasumi smiled. "Oh, Morobo****-sensei! Please, come in!"
The elder sister then rose, heading into the kitchen to prepare some
more tea for the ninjutsu grandmaster. Negako watched her before
moving to sit beside Akane. She held out her hand. "Your cellular
phone, Nabiki."
Nabiki sighed as she handed it over. "He asked you to do this?" she
wondered as Negako flipped it open to tap controls.
"Through Ataru, she did. Did you write the number down?"
"No. No one else knows, not even Akane."
Negako handed the phone back. "You can control yourself if you give
yourself a chance. That will serve you well in the future."
Akane gazed on the other woman. "Sensei?"
"Do not call me that, Akane," Negako ordered.
"Eh?! B-but . . .!"
"Relax, Akane-chan. Negako-san told Hi****o-sensei the same thing
this morning when she came by to pick up Ataru-kun's student records,"
Nabiki said, and then she giggled on seeing Akane's reaction to
Negako's order.
"I . . . " Akane stuttered.
"Why, Negako-san?"
Negako looked up as Kasumi stepped into the sitting room, a new tea
tray in hand. As the eldest daughter prepared the tea, the ninjutsu
grandmaster sighed. "Easily answered. In the eyes of That Force from
which we all emerge at birth and will return to on our death, we are
all, in the end, the same. In the face of that, such stratification
as expressed by the use of titles like 'sensei' is ultimately
worthless. Further, as history has shown time and time again, the
social divisions between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' creates a level
of friction that has led to things such as crime and war. Why
propagate something which, in the long run, does more harm than good?"
The sisters gazed on her, intrigued by her explanation. "You are
strong in your beliefs," Kasumi noted as she handed Negako a cup.
"And very direct in your dealings with others," Nabiki added.
"I have explained why. Also, I have had little 'positive' experience
in dealing with others. Some might say it jaundiced me when it comes
to dealing with others. I disagree. Most cloak themselves needlessly
for some of the most curious, foolish, reasons. Pride, insecurity,
selfishness, hatred, the desire to be seen as the most im****tant . . .
feh! Meaningless in the end."
Akane gazed on her. "You're a Taoist?"
"I could be described as that. The foundations of my family's Art
are centred on Laozi's theories. It is a belief that eliminates the
illusions those who seek that valueless chalice called 'power' blind
themselves with, not to mention those who are the victims of the power-
seekers themselves." A pause. "'Honour,' in the eyes of my family,
is a concept which demands the truth first and foremost. Throughout
the years, my family learned that Bu****do could not facilitate the
promulgation of such truth. Hence, our Art is the art of the ninja,
not the samurai. Light blinds people, especially if the light is
****ned into a person's eyes. Granted, there have been those samurai
and other such 'gentry' throughout the history of Japan who have lived
very exemplary lives. But, as you can easily guess, they are VERY few
and far between."
Kasumi's eyebrow arched. "You reject our history?"
"No. My family rejects those who glorify the wrong lessons that
history teaches. We also do not allow the 'glory' history presents us
to blind us from the truth, like so many others seek to blind the new
generation in school and elsewhere. I believe the reason Ataru and
Ranma have become friends is that Ranma shares many of Ataru's
beliefs. They have led emotionally harsh lives. They have been
raised to believe certain things, then have come to realise those
beliefs are based on lies perpetuated by those they once trusted."
"Yeah, I can see that," Nabiki mused. She then perked on hearing the
faint sound of the front gate opening and closing. "Uh-oh . . . "
Kasumi sighed. "Oh, it's Father and Uncle."
Moaned singing wafted through the front doorway as two drunken men
staggered inside. They quickly stopped on seeing the extra woman
sitting at the table. "Eh . . .?" Souun muttered. "Who's this,
Kasumi?"
Kasumi grinned, ignoring the warning look from Nabiki and Akane's
rolling eyes. "Why, Father, this is Morobo**** Negako!"
Silence.
Souun went into Demon Head, that action making his daughters scramble
away from the coffee table. "***WHERE IS RANMA-KUN?!***"
Negako gazed dispassionately on the hideous, twisted creature
floating before her. She then yawned. "Pathetic." She held up a
finger, and then she dropped the boom. "Go to sleep, Souun.
***SEI****N REEZAA KOOSEN!***"
A bolt of ki punched through the Demon Head, sending Souun flying out
of the house and into the koi pond. Nabiki whistled. "Wow!"
Growling, Genma lunged for Negako. Before he could grab her, she
disappeared behind what the Tendou sisters instantly recognised as the
Umisen-ken cloak. Genma slammed face-first into the floor. He then
bolted back up. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" he spat a torrent of alcohol-laden
spittle from his mouth. "How dare you use MY technique against me,
you stupid girl?!"
"Once you taught her your 'sealed' techniques, it then became
*Ranma's* technique, Genma. She gave me permission to use it,"
Negako's voice drifted from every corner of the room. "Sufficient,
but it can tolerate improvements."
Genma shuddered at the implied insult before he laughed. "Hah!"
He vanished under his own cloak. Nabiki paled. "Oh, **** . . .!"
"***SEI****N SHURIKEN ARA****!***"
A scream echoed from nowhere. Genma appeared near the door.
Slamming into him were invisible bolts of ki. The Tendou sisters
gaped in disbelief as the ****tly martial artist was blasted back by
the invisible Psychic Shuriken Storm. He was then punched HARD in the
gut. The force of the blow sent him flying into a koi pond just
evacuated by a dazed Souun. Only then did Negako reappear. Nabiki
and Akane breathed out together. "Wow . . . "
Happoosai then appeared, returning from a late evening panty raid.
"Tadaima!" the grandmaster yodelled as he bounced off Souun's head,
landing beside Negako as he dropped off his bag of delights. "Hello,
Negako-chan. What brings you about this part of the neighbourhood
tonight?" he hailed.
"Hello, Happy. Ranma asked me to ensure Nabiki could not spread her
cellular phone number to every interested party in Nerima."
"Ah . . .!"
"'HAPPY?!'"
Both gazed on Souun. The Tendou patriarch was madly stammering, his
finger waving from Negako to Happoosai to Negako and back. "Y-
you . . . " he stuttered before turning on Happoosai. "Master, you're
FRIENDS with her?!"
Happoosai smirked. "Of course, boy! Don't you remember what I told
you on Monday?! We've run across each other many times over the last
hundred years." He stared fondly at his fellow grandmaster. "Right,
Negako-chan?"
"Quite correct," Negako confirmed. "Oh, Akane, come here."
Akane walked over. Negako turned, gently sliding the sling away from
the younger Tendou's cast. She tapped several points on the plaster.
Everyone gaped as it crumbled into dust. Akane winced as the gentle
****ft on her upper arm sent waves of pain from her shattered bone into
her brain. Negako placed a hand on Akane's elbow, closing her eyes.
A reddish aura then encased the grandmaster from head to toe as ki
poured into Akane's body to mend the wrecked bone, tendon and muscle
tissue. That effect lasted for a minute before the aura faded.
Negako released Akane's arm. The younger Tendou gasped on sensing no
real pain from her once-wounded extremity. Reaching tentatively to
feel her upper arm bone, she jerked as a burst of discomfort surged
through her. But it was clearly obvious that the bone was whole and
intact.
"I . . . " she gasped, staring wide-eyed at Negako. "I . . .!"
Negako looked away. "Kasumi, make sure that, for the next three
days, Akane consumes twice the amount of food she normally takes.
This will help restore her ki levels to a more optimum state. If
Kunou Tatewaki intends to re-initiate the 'Fight for Akane's Heart' on
Monday morning, she will have to be in the best shape possible to deal
with her would-be suitors."
"I . . . " The eldest daughter then nodded. "H-hai, Negako-san,
I'll see to it right away. Does Akane-chan need specific foods?"
Negako turned to leave. "No. Standard diet will do her well.
Nabiki, be at the house tomorrow morning at the usual time."
Nabiki nodded. "Right."
Negako then caught herself. "Oh, one more thing." She reached into
her top to draw out a sealed package. "For you, Happy."
"What's this?" The aged grandmaster then saw through the clear
plastic that the package contained a very frilly bra and panties.
"For ME?! Hot-cha!" He ripped it open to draw out the newest parts
of his collection. "Oh, so soft . . . " He felt the silk on his
skin, and then he tensed, his nose twitching. "Wait a minute." He
took a sniff before his eyes misted over. "Ranma-chan."
"What . . .?" Souun's jaw hit the patio. "No . . .!"
"Ranma-chan, you sweet darling!" Happoosai launched into his own mega-
wail. "You are SO devoted to your poor, suffering master!" He rubbed
his face into the bra and panties. "Oh, such a WONDERFUL present!"
"To****ko and Kumiko promise their own gifts to you as soon as they
can arrange for their delivery, Happy," Negako re****ted.
"To****ko-chan and Kumiko-chan, too?!" Happoosai jolted before
screaming out through a megaphone, "***I'M THE LUCKIEST MAN ALIVE!***"
Shaking her head, Negako stepped towards the front gate. Along the
way, she tapped her foot on the ground. That sent a ki pulse into the
cherry tree overhanging the koi pond. A low-hanging branch broke
away, dropping on Genma-panda's head. The transformed martial artist
grunted before collapsing into an unmoving heap in the water. By the
time the onlookers could have pulled their eyes away from that scene,
Negako was gone. Akane whistled. "Wow . . .!"
Souun dropped to his knees. "Oh, the schools will NEVER be joined
now . . .!" he wailed, dousing his patio with tears.
His daughters ignored his weeping. Happoosai gazed on his old
student. Then, feeling Ranma's silky gift against his cheek, he
headed upstairs. "I'm going to spend some time with Ranma-chan's
darling gift! Good night, ladies!"
He waved before bounding away. "Good night, Ojii-chan," Nabiki
called out. As soon as the aged grandmaster had left, she snapped her
fingers. "So THAT'S how Ranma-kun got Ojii-chan to play along with
his last training trip!"
"Very smart thinking on Ranma-kun's part, ne?" Kasumi wondered.
"Got that right, Onee-chan."
Akane shook her head. "Ranma no baka."
* * *
"Eh?! Onii-chan and Onee-chan are sleeping together?!"
Yotsuba nodded. She was standing with Karen in the foyer near the
door leading into the kitchen after dawn. "Checky! Yotsuba checked
Ane-chama walk into Ani-chama's room last night and she ASKED if she
could sleep with him!"
"She did?!" Karen gasped, and then she started to quake with
delight. "Oh, that's so WONDERFUL! Onii-chan and Onee-chan are
falling in love!"
"I think Aneki's still falling OUT of love when it comes to her old
'fiancées.' She won't be able to do a damned thing with Aniki until
that's finally settled," a voice then hailed from the stairs behind
the other girls.
"Rinrin-chan, ohayou!" Karen smiled as she and Yotsuba watched the
inventor come down. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
"Got a bit," Rinrin replied. "Finally got some molecular processors
for Mecha-Rinrin, plus I'm getting parts together for Aneki's
computer. I think I'll skip the trial with the Plato-Mecha. I'm not
in the mood to sail around."
Karen beamed. "That's wonderful." The sisters knew some details
about Rinrin's most ambitious project to date: To create an android
replica of herself, one she called "Mecha-Rinrin Mark II." "How soon
do you think you can hope to wake Mecha-Rinrin-chan up?" the pianist
then asked.
Rinrin shook her head. "Not for a bit. I'm straying into serious
unknown territory here, Karen-chan. Worrying constantly about that's
going to get me nowhere with her fast. I'm kinda glad that I can do
things like make Aneki's computer. If I concentrate too much on Mecha-
Rinrin at any one time, I'll probably never be able to see her fully
functional!"
The others nodded. Sakuya then stepped out of the dining room,
heading for Ataru's bedroom door. Knocking, she called out, "Onii-
sama? Onee-sama? Are you two awake? There's something you have to
see, Onii-sama!"
"What's wrong?" Karen wondered as the others moved towards her.
Sakuya pointed to the dining room. "Go see the Rinrin Viewer."
The door opened, revealing Ataru, still in his pyjamas as he rubbed
the sleep from his eyes. "Oh, everyone, hi! What's wrong?"
Sakuya guided him into the dining room. "You have to see this."
The others followed, save Yotsuba, who slid up to the door to Ataru's
room. Peeking in, she then gasped on seeing Ranma suddenly appear
before her, an incensed look on the latter's face. Fortunately, the
martial artist was in her pyjamas; she also just woke up. "Yotsuba,
is it even *remotely* possible that a person can do things in this
place without you spying on them?" she grumbled before closing the
door on the would-be detective's face.
Yotsuba sighed. "Ane-chama no baka!"
* * *
Ataru stood in the dining room, gazing on the Viewer. It was
replaying a segment of NHK News. "We hope that in light of his
actions on Monday after the school was destroyed, Ataru-kun would be
there for the memorial service we plan for our loved ones today,"
Aisuru Rui was explaining to what appeared to be a conference. "We
realise that, thanks to past misunderstandings provoked directly or
indirectly because of that Oni . . . " -- Ataru was quick to sense the
outrage in Rui's voice on mentioning Lum -- "And her alien friends,
Ataru-kun might not feel welcome in Tomobiki. That's wrong. We want
him to know that, regardless of what happened in the past, his home is
here . . . "
The screen then flicked to an image of Yumoa Reigi relaxing in his
office. "So what's the real deal, Reigi-kun?" Ataru wondered.
"Believe it or not, the Tomobiki PTA *is* serious about wanting you
to come to the service," Reigi re****ted. "As are a lot of other
people. Now, could that be some scam to draw you to Tomobiki so
Mendou or someone else can come after you? I'd say the chances are
slim to nil. There's the threat of it going public, right in front of
the media. And after the lack of sympathy shown by the world media
after Monday's bombing, that you would be set up for something like
THAT wouldn't go down, especially among those who probably said 'good
riddance' when Lum and her friends were kicked off the planet."
Everyone turned to Ataru. He considered that before shaking his
head. "No. I have no reason to go to that service. I don't want to
show any sympathy for Ryuunosuke's old man. I ESPECIALLY don't want
to show sympathy for Megane and his goofs. I hardly knew Nagisa, much
less Himiko and Mikiko. Look, Reigi, if someone asks, tell them that
while I was happy to help out on Monday, the fact that I really didn't
know or actually HATED the people who died that day -- plus the fact
that I wouldn't these days trust anyone living in Tomobiki more than I
can throw them to the Moon -- made me stay away. And if they got a
problem with that, that's just too damned bad . . . "
A hand fell on his shoulder. "Onii-sama, there's something you CAN
do," Sakuya said before whispering her suggestion into his ear.
Ataru blinked. "You think so?"
She nodded. "It's the right thing to do."
He considered that before sighing. "Oh, alright."
"You want me to change that statement?" Reigi asked.
"Keep it the same. Sakuya, Chikage and I are gonna visit the
Kawamuras and the Serizawas after the memorial is done and they're
home." He then looked over to the pianist. "Karen-chan, can you
contact the flower shop on Second Street to get two memorial bouquets
made up right away?"
Karen nodded. "I'll call them now."
She headed out. Ranma came into the room. "Hey, what's going on
here anyway?" She then noted who was calling them. "Oh, hi, Reigi-
san!"
"Ohayou, Ranma-san. Oh, I just remembered!" The financier held up a
finger to emphasise his point. "Your mother's initiated divorce
proceedings against your father. I suspect that sometime soon, she'll
learn of what Tampopo-san did to make sure you could work during your
last training trip."
Ranma considered that before shrugging. "Oh, that's nice."
"Aneki, aren't you worried?" Rinrin asked.
"About Mom and Oyaji? Not really." Ranma shook her head. "I'm just
tired of them pretending I don't really exist, Rinrin-chan. If they
want to break up and go their separate ways, that's okay by me."
"Um, Ranma-san, there's a bit of a problem," Reigi warned.
"Being?"
Reigi sighed. "There are more players involved. Grandmaster Negako
warned me about this yesterday. It seems your mother's relatives are
looking with envious eyes at your martial arts skills. They're hoping
to take control of them and they're planning to hook you in by
offering you the chance to use their family name as a way to dissolve
your engagements. Grandmaster Happoosai is aware of this now and we
can pass it on to Elder Cologne if you want."
Ranma took that in. "And their feelings for me?"
"Questionable at best."
Rinrin scowled. "Another family of total jerks, you mean."
Sakuya shook her head. "Oh, delightful."
"Slam their faces into the dung heap for all I care, Reigi-san,"
Ranma stated with a sneer before turning to head out. "I'm gonna
visit To****ko and Kumiko at their cottage this morning if anyone's
interested in finding me."
"And if someone seeks to challenge you, Ane-kun?"
Ranma acked, stunned to see Chikage standing by the doorway. Seeing
the panicked look on the martial artist's face at the sorceress'
appearance, the others laughed. Taking a moment to compose herself,
Ranma then considered what Chikage just asked before she shrugged.
"Hell, I'll punt the jerks into the sea if I have to. To****ko and
Kumiko can help if they're close by. Don't worry about it." She
waved at them as she turned to leave. "Later, all!"
Ataru waved as she headed out. "Have fun, Ranma."
* * *
Sakuya peeked into Hi****o's room. "Hi****o-chan, are you here?" She
then saw the youngest sister snuggled against Kuma-san, asleep. "Hey,
sleepy-head! It's time to get up!" Sakuya hailed as she walked in to
gently jostle Hi****o.
"Huh . . .?" Hi****o sat up, looking quizzically around the room
before she focused on Sakuya. "Oh, Sakuya-chan! What's wrong . . .?"
Sakuya smiled. "I need a favour from you and Kaho-chan, Hi****o-
chan. It's something special for Onii-sama and Onee-sama!"
Hi****o blinked. "What's that?"
* * *
"The Tenchiaiki Juukazoku?!"
Nodoka's lawyer, Ni****ki Maya, nodded. "Hai."
Also present in the office, located in downtown Nerima some blocks
from the main train station, was Nodoka's twin sister Asagaya Hisayo.
Despite their matching looks, there was a world of difference between
them. That was as readily apparent as their clothing. Nodoka had
come to this day's meeting in her usual kimono, the Saotome honour
sword cradled in her arms. Hisayo was dressed in a conservative
business suit, a briefcase by her feet.
"What exactly ARE the Tenchiaiki Juukazoku, Maya-san?" Hisayo asked.
"They're ten families who, to this day, feel themselves solely
answerable to the Imperial Household," Maya explained as she sat back
in her chair. "Their traditional task was to locate and aid those
people who, for whatever reason, were abandoned or exiled from their
families or communities. It is a task they take with grave
seriousness, Hisayo-san. And it is a task that they have carried out
faithfully for the past 1,300 years."
"Thirteen hundred years?!" Hisayo gasped. After exchanging a look
with Nodoka, she then asked, "Then why hasn't this ever appeared in a
history book?"
"Why?" Maya chuckled. "Could you imagine what could happen
if . . .?" She paused as she considered what to say before carrying
on, "If people learned that there are those out there in society who
had burakumin ancestry? And yet those people had ALL clues to that
ancestry wiped out. Then were given a new identity -- a virtual clean
slate! -- to carry on their lives? And no matter how much people
would suspect the truth, they could never produce the proof because
all records of same had been wiped off the face of the Earth?"
Nodoka shook her head. "That's illegal!"
"Oh? Does that make persecuting burakumin legal?" Maya wondered.
"It's been done for years!" Nodoka stated.
"So has this."
Silence fell as Ranma's mother considered that. She then asked, "Why
does this happen, Maya-san? Why is this allowed?"
Maya sighed. "Nodoka-san, under Article 14 of the Constitution, it
is against the law for anyone to discriminate against a citizen of
Japan, to deny him or her the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the
Constitution, without due process of law. Article 13 of the
Constitution states that citizens of Japan have the right to the
pursuit of happiness. In effect, those who discriminate against
people because of burakumin ancestry, for example, ARE breaking the
basic law of Japan. However, we don't DO anything about it because
our society is more comfortable with keeping to old traditions. One
of which is to not 'rock the boat' and legislate against those
traditions." She shrugged. "The Juukazoku seek to redress problems
like that to the benefit of the victims."
"In other words, they keep a balance," Hisayo finished.
"Exactly."
"These families only respond to the Imperial Household Agency?"
Nodoka demanded. "To the Emperor himself? Not the Diet or the Prime
Minister?"
"Exactly. As you are aware, there are those families who, back in
the old days, never prostrated before the Shooguns, but swore loyalty
to the Emperor. The Juukazoku are part of that group. And because of
that, they're given a lot of leeway when it comes to unique
situations . . . " Maya held up a finger in a shu****ng motion. "As
long as they handle it with discretion."
Hisayo nodded. "That seems logical."
"And my son is now under the protection of one of these families?"
Nodoka pressed. "And has been for the last month?"
Maya nodded. "Yes. An independent agent of the Juukazoku learned of
your son's problems and concluded that Ranma needed some outside help
to put his life in order. The specific charge brought up was the
possibility that your son has suffered from child abuse, child neglect
and practical spousal abuse. She arranged to have the people who've
interacted with Ranma -- yes, Nodoka-san, including you --
investigated to either prove or disprove those charges. Once that is
done and a case is made, it will then go before the Court of Special
Appeals. That's a branch of the Imperial Household Agency, with power
that equals the Supreme Court only in family matters such as this. If
the judge decides the charges are true, you and your husband BOTH will
lose custody of Ranma. All agreements made by either of you on
Ranma's behalf will have no legal standing. You could not threaten
Ranma with disowning him. If he wants to keep the Saotome name, he
would have that power. It will be as if he was starting a new clan,
free from any influence from either you or your husband."
Hisayo whistled. "That's incredible!"
Maya nodded. "Yes, it is. After that is done, Ranma could, if he so
chose, ally himself with one of the Juukazoku families. In fact, I
can tell you now that one such family has taken considerable interest
in him."
"Which one is that?" Nodoka wondered.
"The Morobo**** family of Sendai and Wakkanai."
Nodoka blinked. "Are they related to Morobo**** Ataru?"
"Ataru-san is the Patriarch-in-Waiting of that family, Nodoka-san,"
Maya warned. "When he becomes of age, he becomes the Patriarch. His
half-sister, Sukeyama Sakuya, is the current Matriarch-in-Waiting.
When she becomes of age, she will become leader of the clan. And by
her word ALONE, Ranma could be adopted into the Morobo**** Clan. And
if he wanted to stay as 'Saotome Ranma,' he could. No one could stop
it at that point. Not you and not Genma."
Nodoka took that in before sinking back in her chair. "Gods . . . "
Maya nodded. "Yes."
"What are my sister's options right now?" Hisayo asked.
"Very limited, Hisayo-san. Even under a normal family court, Nodoka-
san could easily be accused of wilful child abandonment, if not
collusion to child abuse. The seppuku agreement Genma forced Ranma to
acknowledge would be seen as the ultimate proof of your negligence
towards your own child, Nodoka-san." She gazed at her client. "In
that case, you or Genma could strike Ranma from your family register
and the normal courts would have to acknowledge that. But with the
Morobo****s and the power of the Juukazoku behind him, plus the threat
of facing the Court of Special Appeals?" She shook her head.
"Impossible."
Nodoka considered that before taking a breath. "That there is a
family willing to help my son come through this time in his life . . .
" A pause. "It makes me very happy, Maya-san. I want my son to have
a good life, a happy life. But . . . " She bowed her eyes. "To be
implicated as one who allowed her own son, her own flesh-and-blood, to
be hurt . . .?"
"People have different opinions about everything under the sun,
Nodoka-san," Maya warned. "I know you would never think of
intentionally hurting your child. But clearly, Ranma has a different
viewpoint of what place -- if any! -- you have in his life. My advice
is this: Seek your divorce from Genma. Then when he's out of the
way, try to fully reconcile with Ranma. Most of all, Nodoka-san,
forget this whole idea of having him adopt your maiden name. I don't
think he'll accept that sort of thing. Clearly, from what you've told
me of what he's done in the last four weeks, he wishes to live the
remainder of his life as 'Saotome Ranma.' Now he has the ability to
do just that, Nodoka-san. Don't try to take it away from him. It's
his life. Let him live it."
Nodoka considered that before nodding.
* * *
*Oh, man! How the heck did I get on an island?!*
A panting black piglet with a tiger-striped bandanna wrapped around
his neck took a careful view of the countryside. His perch was the
highest point on Promised Island: The top of the statue at the apex
of Stargazer Park. Ryouga's backpack and clothes, the latter tied
around the straps so he didn't lose them, rested by the statue's
base. *Where the hell am I?!* the wanderer wondered as he took in the
view. *And how the hell do I get back to Nerima?!*
"Hey! Who dropped all this?!"
P-chan looked to see a teenage girl balancing herself on inline
skates standing beside his pack. Squealing, the piglet bounded off
the statue, making a four-point landing near the pack. The girl gazed
at him before her eyes went wide. "Hey, you're Hibiki Ryouga,
right?!" She pointed at him, skating over to scoop him up. "What the
heck are you doin' here on Promised Island?!"
P-chan's eyes widened. "Bweep?!" *How do you know who I am?!*
Sensing his meaning, Mamoru chuckled, sliding over to scoop his
backpack. Seeing her lift that -- which had his umbrella stowed on it
-- without any sort of struggle, Ryouga grunted in approval. Very few
could lift his pack with one hand, especially when you included the
umbrella. "My big brother told us about you. He's Morobo**** Ataru,"
Mamoru explained as she skated towards Fifth Street, the inner of the
"ring" roads circling part of the island.
Hearing that name, Ryouga jolted before emitting a tired "Bweep!"
*Morobo**** Ataru?!* he grumbled as dark thoughts flashed through his
mind, and then he gazed upon Mamoru. *Your big brother?! Oh, man! I
pity you!*
"Fortunately, you're in luck," Mamoru announced as she curved around
a corner, taking a path towards the southwest side. "Anee -- Saotome
Ranma, I mean -- well, she's on the Island with her sisters. I'll
take you to 'em now."
He jolted on hearing Ranma's name. Then his eyes went wide as two
unfamiliar concepts Mamoru mentioned rolled through his mind . . .
First: Why was this girl calling Ranma "big sister?"
Second: When did Ranma supposedly GET sisters?!
His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Mamoru skating towards
what appeared to be a cliff. "Hang on tight, Hibiki-san!" the athlete
warned as she bounded up at the last minute, angling herself toward
the patio of a seashore cottage some metres below, with the sea
stretched out beyond.
"BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE . . .!"
Mamoru tossed his pack and umbrella in the air before landing on one
leg. Dropping P-chan to the deck, she ****fted onto the other leg as
the pack landed in her outstretched arms. Mamoru then skidded to a
halt by the edge of the patio before gently gliding back to stop
before the transformed Ryouga, and then she gave him a curtsey. "Here
we are!" she announced.
P-chan tried not to sway too much as his mind rolled through what he
just experienced. *Oh, man! She's got LOADS of potential . . .!* he
managed to think before gloved hands picked him up. He was turned to
gaze into an ultra-cute smiling face framed by platinum blonde hair
topped with a frilly headband, her face pierced by sparkling purplish-
blue eyes. "Bweee . . .?!"
"Ah!" the girl gushed, moving to playfully rub her nose against P-
chan's snout. "Bubu-san! Aria likes Bubu-san very much."
The transformed Ryouga's eyes went wide. *'Bubu-san?!'* He tried
not to moan. *Oh, man! That's even worse than being called 'P-
chan!'*
"Um, Aria-chan, that's Anee's," Mamoru warned.
Aria gazed on her. "Bubu-san is Nee-ya's pet, Mamoru-chan?"
"Um, y-y-yeah." The athlete flustered, wi****ng to hell that the
young Parisian could handle the whole concept of Jusenkyou curses.
That didn't mention, of course, the fact that Ryouga would be in his
birthday suit if hot water was applied to him at this time. There was
NO WAY that Guenevere would allow her ward to be subjected to THAT!
"Let me hang onto him." She lifted P-chan from Aria's grasp. "Anee
and To****ko-san should be back from the convenience store soon, so
I'll give him to her then, okay?"
"Alright." Aria nodded, turning to leave. "Bye-bye, Bubu-san." She
waved at the transformed Ryouga, and then she opened her umbrella as
she headed up the rock stairs to the path leading back to Welcome
House.
P-chan gave her a squeal in return before looking at Mamoru. The
athlete remained in place until Aria was out of earshot. "Sorry about
that, but Aria-chan there freaked out when Anee transformed back into
a guy right in front of her. 'Sides, we really gotta get your clothes
washed, Hibiki-san. Let's go in." Picking up his pack, she skated
into the living room. "Tadaima!"
"Mamoru-chan, ohayou!" a voice that sounded exactly like Ranma's as a
girl hailed from the kitchen. A second later, a raven-haired girl who
-- save for hair colour and a different, more tomboyish, hairstyle --
looked EXACTLY like Ranma as a girl, stepped into the living room.
She was in a white, strapless, thigh-high dress that left utterly
NOTHING to the imagination. "What have you . . .?" She then noticed
the pack. On seeing the piglet in Mamoru's other hand, she squealed,
"Oh, Hibiki-san! What are you doing here?!"
Ryouga's eyes went wide as this doppelgänger of Ranma leaned down to
gaze at him, giving him a perfect view of her cleavage. "Not too sure
yet!" Mamoru chuckled, not noticing the trickle of blood leaking from
Ryouga's snout. "I found him up atop the statue in Stargazer Park,
then brought him here. Mind if I clean out his pack and put his
clothes through the wash? They need it!"
"Oh, I'll do that, Mamoru-chan." Kumiko held out her hands. "I've
wanted the chance to meet Hibiki-san ever since To****ko told me of the
times she stole kisses from him after she got out of the mirror."
Mamoru handed the pack and P-chan over. "Sure thing."
*'Mirror?!'* P-chan perked as he glanced up at Kumiko. *Wait a
sec' . . .! Akane told me something about that once . . .!*
Mamoru turned to leave. "Nice ta meetcha, Hibiki-san. See ya!"
The athlete headed out. Kumiko sighed before she looked down on the
transformed Ryouga. "Well, let's get you to the washroom so you can
get back to normal again, then we'll worry about your laundry," she
then announced.
Kumiko carried P-chan into the bathroom. Ryouga was surprised to see
that, for a cottage, this place had a furo as well as a shower stall.
Setting him on the floor, Kumiko put the pack aside before proceeding
to fill and warm the furo. "Let me see if I can salvage some clean
clothes from your pack." The raven-haired woman winked before
carrying the pack out of the room.
P-chan remained in place, his mind whirling in confusion as he tried
to put together this insane puzzle he had just got dropped into. All
questions about Morobo**** Ataru and his very athletic sister -- Or
should he have said "sisters?" After all, Mamoru and Aria DID seem
pretty close! -- were set aside as he tried to figure out where that
raven-haired near-twin of Ranma came from. And what the heck did a
mirror -- *Oh, what DID Akane say about that?!* he mentally roiled --
had to do with some girl named "To****ko?!"
"Ah, Ryouga-sama! What are you doing here?!"
Ryouga looked to see a red-haired Kumiko standing at the doorway to
the bathroom. She was dressed in a black version of Kumiko's dress,
groceries in hand. "Oh, did you just come back, To****ko?!" Kumiko
hailed. "Where's Ranma?"
"She'll be here soon," the redhead replied. "Mamoru-chan wanted to
talk to her. You warming up the furo for Ryouga-sama?"
"Hai!"
"Okay!" To****ko purred. "Be back in a moment, Ryouga-sama." She
winked as she stepped out, her free hand hiking up her skirt a ways,
revealing to the transformed wanderer that she had a thong on under
the dress.
Ryouga blinked. His eyes then went suddenly wide as it finally
clicked in. Oh, no! No! NO! It was HER! That crazy, lovesick,
magic mirror-replica of Ranma's female half who kissed him in a park
in Nerima one day. What the HELL was she doing here?! Akane said
that Nabiki was going to get rid of her when the chance finally came!
What the hell went wrong . . .?
"Ryouga-sama?"
He looked before squealing on seeing To****ko standing at the doorway,
now only in her thong -- and no bra to cover those . . .!
Those . . .!
Those . . .
Oh, no!
NOW he was noticing how beautiful Ranma's female form was?!
P-chan's heart hammered like a thunderstorm in his brain as the
smiling seductress walked up to scoop him into her hands. Lifting him
to eye-level, she bestowed a tender kiss on his snout. That kiss
overwhelmed him, his eyes rolling into his head as the strength in his
body failed . . .
* * *
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