"***WERE YOU TOTALLY OUT OF YOUR MIND?!***"
Everyone winced as Sakura railed at Ataru, she gesturing as she waved
her spirit-sensor in Negako's direction. The ninjutsu grandmaster,
standing near Ran, had a bemused expression on her face. Nearby,
Cherry was performing every exorcism spell he knew to remove the
Saikoo Jinseijitsu from Negako's body. He didn't realise, of course,
that if he actually succeeded, he would kill her since she was the
only spirit inhabiting that body. Ran watched the nurse/priestess
scream at Ataru. Within the possessed alien, Lum seethed. She was
tempted to find the biggest book she could, and then drop it on
Sakura's head to make her stop shouting at Darling. Seated across
from Ataru in one of the sitting rooms on the Mendou estate, Mendou,
****nobu and Ryuunosuke listened in, they trying to understand what
Sakura was so nervous about.
And Ataru . . .?
He almost looked ready to go to sleep.
After Sakura lost her voice for a second, Ataru stifled a yawn, he
reclining back in his chair. "Are you finished now?" he then asked.
Sakura balked. Shuddering, she swung back her spirit-sensor to knock
some sense into him. Wrong move. His hand caught her wrist, and then
he sent it into HER head. "Ataru-kun!" ****nobu gasped as Sakura
dropped to the floor.
He sighed, a finger going into his ear. "I'm sorry, but she gave me
a nice earache from all that verbal diarrhoea," he explained before
glancing at Ran. "Right now, the priority is getting Lum a body of
her own . . . "
"I am attempting to do that, lad!" Cherry announced, drawing out some
incense to scatter over Negako. "As soon as this dark ka- . . .!"
*WHAM!*
A vase smashed into the monk's jaw, sending him sprawling on the
floor. Negako caught it before it crashed into the floor, and then
she tossed it back to Ataru. "Morobo****!" Mendou snapped. "That's a
priceless Ming . . .!"
"It is a fake."
Mendou stopped, spinning on Negako. "What did you say?"
"It was created twenty years ago," she re****ted. "I have seen REAL
Míng Dynasty vases, Shuutarou. I know what I speak of. THAT is not
real."
"Well, it was good enough to shut THAT fake up." Ataru pointed at a
dazed Cherry before he placed the vase back where he found it.
"Amen to that!" Ran muttered, the Sei****n teen once again in control
of her body. "All his muttering and moaning was giving ME an
earache!"
****nobu and Ryuunosuke exchanged a look. The former then marched up
to Ataru. "What's going on here?!" she then demanded. "If Sakura-
sensei and Cherry have problems with her, why aren't you listening to
them, Ataru-kun?!"
She indicated Negako. "Why is it you care, Miyake-san?" Ataru asked
as his eyebrow arched, and then he gazed at Ryuunosuke. "Much less
you, Fujinami-san? Why do you care about what happens to me, much
less anyone around me?"
"I . . . " ****nobu blinked, her eyes widening. That was the second
time EVER that Ataru had addressed her, much less Ryuunosuke, so
formally; the first time was yesterday afternoon after the memorial
service for Monday's bombing victims. Before that, it had always been
"****nobu-chan" and "Ryuu-chan" even when both girls were pounding him
into the ground for some idiot act or another. "I . . . " she started
again before her voice caught in her throat. "I've always cared for
you, Ataru-kun!" she then declared.
Ataru gazed at her. ****nobu shuddered. He had NEVER looked at her
like THAT in the years she had known him. It was the look of someone
who had gained much wisdom, but had been forced to pay a hideous price
for that wisdom. He blinked before gazing at Ryuunosuke. That act
caused the tomboy to tense. Ataru then stared at Ran. Only then did
his look soften. He stepped away from ****nobu, and then took a
breath. "You'll forgive me, Miyake-san . . . " He gazed once more at
her. "For not accepting that explanation at all."
****nobu blinked, blinked again, and then she staggered as if Ataru
just slapped her. "Wh-why . . .?" she rasped, eyes tearing.
"Why?" He looked away before taking a deep breath. "Not long ago --
for me, that is -- I managed to visit a planet that Lum-san and Ran-
san both know of." He gazed on Ran. "A planet that reminded me a LOT
of Tomobiki here. Oh, yeah!" He then started to pace around the
coffee table in the middle of the room. "Especially, Lum, when it
comes to how they look on *you.*"
The alien blinked, and then she paled. "You went to Phentax Two?"
"Yeah, I did! Boy, was THAT a load of laughs! Oh, what do they call
you, Ran? The 'Sinful Doubter,' I believe? The same title they give
****nobu!" He waved to ****nobu before turning to Ryuunosuke. "You,
Ryuunosuke, are just a 'Holy Friend,' I'm afraid, just like these two
fakes yonder." He pointed to Cherry and Sakura, and then he turned to
Mendou. "But YOU, my dear sir! You are just going to LOVE what they
call you. Oh, what was it again?! Ah, yeah! The 'Fifth Holy Apostle
to the Goddess Lum!' You see, Sato**** is -- pardon me, WAS -- the
'First' Apostle. Then Hiroyuki, Koosuke and Akira. I don't know
which way. I guess it was ordered by whoever met the 'Goddess' first.
"You really want to know something, Shuutarou?" He then looked
directly into his rival's eyes. "It turns out that the President of
the Niphentaxian Union, a guy named Oogi, admired you SO much, he
actually went and got COSMETIC SURGERY to turn himself into a NEAR-
DOUBLE of you!" Seeing Mendou's eyes widen, Ataru smirked as he
leaned closer. "You might say, ol' boy, I was actually pretty
impressed by his devotion. And . . . " The humour vanished from his
eyes as he added, "I took great pleasure in killing him."
"What . . .?" ****nobu gasped.
Ataru shrugged. "Why not? After all, we know how proud our friend
is here." He waved to Mendou. "He wouldn't TOLERATE such an INSULT
on his very IMAGE! He confirmed it when Rei came to have a mid-
morning snack in class one day. 'Man is Face!' Remember that?!" He
stared at Mendou. "Well, since I was sure that you wouldn't really
want this guy to run around with your looks, I decided to do it the
old-fa****oned samurai way and took his head off with one clean blow
from my grandfather's sword. Quite painless, I assure you. 'S
funny." He sighed as a contemplative look crossed his face. "Folks
on Phentax Two would write then that Oogi was a martyr in Lum's
service. He died for his faith. Just like Sato****, Koosuke, Hiroyuki
and Akira could be said to have died for their 'faith' on Monday
morning. Jeez! That is something, isn't it?"
"Ataru-kun . . . " ****nobu whispered.
"What can I say?" He moved towards her. "I AM the 'Great Evil,'
after all. Everything I've done, as they see it, was against the
Goddess' wishes. Since I wasn't just going to lie down and let Lum
take control of my life, I was doing evil. She IS the Goddess, after
all. And all of you loved and cared for her, so that means you were
ALWAYS right and I was ALWAYS wrong!" He pointed to ****nobu, and then
himself. "Even a 'sinful doubter' like you and Ran were more inclined
to sup****t Lum than me. It said it in the Book itself."
Ran blanched. "You read it . . .?" Lum's voice nearly broke.
"From front to back." Ataru reached into his top to draw out a
velvet-lined book about the size of the average hotel-room Bible. On
it was THE BOOK OF LUM. "Whoo! I gotta admit that I've never been
insulted to my face like I'm insulted here!" He opened it to the
index. "Here we are. The Books of the Holy Apostles. The Book of
Jariten. The Books of the Holy Friends. Benten, Oyuki, Nassur . . .
" He shook his head. "I haven't met him yet, but from what I've
heard, I might not want to meet him. Let's see . . . ah! The book of
Cherry. The Book of Sakura. The Book of Ryuunosuke. No book of
Rei. The Books of the Sinful Doubters, Ran and ****nobu. They're in
the back . . . "
"So where's your book?!" Ryuunosuke wondered, inwardly asking herself
when Rod Serling was going to show up and tell them all that they had
just taken a trip into the Twilight Zone. "I know you keep a diary of
your own."
"Well . . . " Ataru sighed. "You gotta remember. I'm the Great
Evil. Who in their right mind would allow the words of a DEVIL to get
into their holy text?! I mean, do you see Satan's writings in the
Bible?" He gazed at ****nobu. "Also, after I discovered Lum's habit
of using her spacializers to jump ahead in time to read my diary, I
decided the smart thing to do was to keep the diary at Tampopo's and
leave a FAKE in the open to distract Lum so I can have at least SOME
privacy with my thoughts. Tampopo's was the one place in Tomobiki
where Lum knew she wasn't welcome. I guess getting brained by her
spatula finally made her realise I was entitled to some time to
myself.
"Of course, it says here . . . " He pointed to the Book of Lum
before flipping it open to a section near the start. "The fact that
she did THAT to the Goddess made the Niphentaxians call her 'the Great
Evil's Most Powerful and Loyal.' Wonder what they meant by calling
Tampopo-chan THAT?! Anyhow . . . 'So villainous in her contempt of
the Blessed Goddess, so passionate in defending the Vile One within
the bounds of her dark establishment, that . . . ' -- this is Sato****
writing, by the way -- 'I can but pray that the One Above even the
Most Holy of Holies . . . ' -- that's another way of addressing Lum, I
believe -- 'Will strike the Beast down with Divine Retribution.'"
He put the Book on a table. "Darling . . . " Ran/Lum pleaded, hoping
to turn him away from WHATEVER madness he was charging into.
"Please! You've got to believe me! You can't accept what those
monsters say as the truth!"
"Well, then, what the hell was I SUPPOSED to accept, Lum?!" he
snapped.
"Lum, why have you never told us about these people?" ****nobu asked.
Ran/Lum shuddered before looking down. "I hate them . . . "
"Yeah." Ataru gazed at ****nobu. "You see, ****nobu, five years ago,
some dictator somewhere -- Vos, was it? -- decided he was going to
assassinate Lum and her family as an example to one of his enemies.
Matter of fact, I think it might've been Nassur he was trying to send
a 'message' to. Oogi got wind of it. Being the faithful man he is,
he turned around and DID something! Wanna know what he did?! He sent
an interplanetary ballistic missile to this place's capital city. It
was laden with a stew of stuff. Um, let's see . . . " He hummed.
"Oh, yeah! There was anthrax, influenza, hepatitis, Hifuto syndrome
-- that's the outer-space version of Ebola, I think -- plus lead oxide
dust. Vosians, you see, are VERY vulnerable to lead. And, well, the
missile hit the city . . . " Ataru leaned close to ****nobu. "And
five million people died."
"Five million . . .?" ****nobu hoarsely exclaimed.
"Yeah." Ataru waved his hand before his face. "You know, I wonder
what the smell must've been like in Lecashuto. All those dead and
decaying bodies. The old, the young, all the people in between, what
animals might've died . . .! Whoo, that must've been ripe!" He then
glanced at Ran, all emotion draining from his eyes. "But not, I
believe, as ripe as what I smelled on Okusei. And Tunchusei. And
Kurrusei. And Noukiios itself."
Ran turned sheet-white. "You went to . . .?"
"Hai. My trip to Phentax Two was informative. But I'm sure you'll
agree with me that going to the Dominion and seeing how much your
people ****ED them over -- well, that was MORE informative." He shook
his head as he glared Ran down. "You people. You just couldn't
swallow your pride. You took advantage of a culture FIVE times older
than yours in a moment of weakness, and THEN you subjugated them for a
CENTURY on their own planet! THEN, when they threw you off, you just
couldn't stand the FACT that they rejected the GREAT Oni Empire
for . . . " He gasped in exaggeration, clapping his cheeks.
"Horrors! Their OWN way of governing?! Not for ONCE accepting what
the 'smarter' Onis taught them in their century of so-called
'benevolent rule?!' How TERRIBLE!" He then pointed an accusing
finger at her. "So you tried to starve them out! And you slapped on
who knows what sort of trade sanctions to force them to give up those
colony planets -- which were Noukiios' BY RIGHT OF TREATY, by the way!
-- and even persuaded your friends in the Galactic Federation that the
Noukiites were the bad guys, no different than the Ipraedies or the
Seifukusu themselves!
"And you WONDER why is it they finally decided to lash back at you
when they finally got the chance?!" he snarled. "You WONDER why they
decided to detonate an anti-matter bomb in the middle of Onishuto to
wipe out your leaders?! You WONDER why ALL the citizens' militias on
Machibusu and elsewhere are being slaughtered wholesale, even the
CHILDREN?!"
Everyone stared dumbstruck at Ataru. Ran -- or was it Lum? -- tried
to say SOMETHING to counter what he just revealed. Ataru blinked
before taking on that detached look as he backed away from her.
"Well, what do you really care? You showed you were no better than
the rest of your people at the Second Tag Race, you and the floozy
airhead whose body you're borrowing. And you now wonder why is it
someone in the Middle East decided to issue a fatwa that demanded you
DIE for what happened in that garbage with the space-taxi all those
months ago?! The fatwa that saw four guys who loved you DIE?! The
fatwa that killed Ryuunosuke's dad and Nagisa, not to mention two
others . . . "
"And your parents."
Ataru turned on ****nobu. She jolted, sensing a cyclone of rage
appear in his eyes. She found herself rooted in place, realising she
just said something VERY stupid. He stared at her before his face
softened. "Yeah. Them, too." He turned to Ryuunosuke, his eyebrow
arching. "You want to know why I came on Monday to help out with the
mess Ibrahim-san made? You really want to know?"
"W-well . . . " the tomboy stammered, shrugging. "Um, yeah! Sure!"
He gave her an "Aw, shucks!" gesture. "I guess I disappointed you.
After all, if I *didn't* show up, you would've AUTOMATICALLY turned
around and blamed that on ME. Just like you've blamed EVERYTHING ELSE
on me, too! It says it right in the Book, there." He pointed to the
Book of Lum. "I figured that if I did show up, use the skills Onee-
chan taught me . . . " He waved at Negako. "Then you wouldn't blame
me. Oh!" He then shook his head. "How stupid I was! You don't want
to blame yourselves. It's not Tomobiki's way. It's always gotta be
MY fault! Well, then . . . " He shrugged. "Knowing you guys, you'll
probably get around to putting the blame on me sooner or later."
He walked towards the door, Negako moving to follow. The others
watched him go, rooted in place. Ataru stopped, turning to stare at
them. "If, on the VERY rare chance you decide I don't deserve blame
for what happened, don't come looking for me to apologise. I won't
accept it. You'll be turned away every time by whatever force is
needed. For you see, I am now of the opinion that the sooner you all
DIE, the sooner EVERYONE in this hellhole DIES, the better off the
human race will be." His eyes fell on Ran, narrowing.
"Especially you, Lum."
"Darling . . . "
"Let's go, Onee-chan."
They walked out, the doors closing behind them. Mendou raced to
pursue. Flinging open the doors, he stopped on seeing nothing but the
outer atrium of the Mendou mansion, no sign that Ataru or Negako had
been there. "Gone . . . "
Twin screams of heart-shattering pain then diverted his attention
back as Ran and ****nobu collapsed to their knees, wailing as the
finality of what just happened sank in. Ryuunosuke and Mendou moved
to comfort. Sakura stared at the place Ataru had just been before
turning to look on Cherry. "What could have happened to make him be
like THAT, Uncle?!" she wondered.
"I cannot begin to guess, my niece." He shook his head, and then
lowered his eyes. "But even if he would reject it, we must pray for
him."
* * *
"Mistress . . . "
"Ye gods!" Mendou Ryooko gasped as Ataru's harsh words echoed again
and again through her mind. She had heard everything that had been in
the sitting room thanks to a Kuroko who had a ****table microphone/
receiver attached to a transmitter that had beamed those words
straight into her study. "Morobo****-sama, what's happened to you?"
she wondered as she sank into her chair.
"Your orders, Mistress?" a Kuroko gently inquired.
She considered that, and then she breathed out, "As soon as possible,
I wish to see that book Morobo****-sama mentioned." Disbelief flashed
across her face as the true meat of Ataru's words roiled deep in her
mind. "Imagine that!" she exclaimed. "A RELIGION based on things
Onii-san, Lum-san's friends and others wrote about her?! And they
believed so much in it that they were willing to slaughter five
million people just to protect their 'goddess?!'"
"Truly disturbing, Mistress," another Kuroko noted.
"We shall retrieve the Book of Lum immediately," the first vowed.
"Thank you," Ryooko acknowledged that with a nod.
* * *
"So where the hell did you go, Negako-san?"
Negako glanced at Nabiki, Akane and Chigaiko. She had been
tele****ted back to the old shrine in Nerima a minute before. "There
was a matter in Tomobiki that required my attention," she stated, and
then her eyes fixed on the Tomobiki native. "If you desire to know,
Chigaiko, Ran has returned."
Chigaiko's eyes narrowed. "What the hell is THAT ***** doing here?!
I thought the United Nations made sure they'd never come back!"
"Who IS Ran, anyway?" Akane asked.
"Aruka Ran. A former classmate of Lum's," Nabiki automatically
provided; this was information Marubeya Momoe had given her long ago.
"Acts like Miss Sweet-and-Nice most of the time, but she's got a mean
streak a kilometre wide and she loves using bazookas and doll-bombs.
Don't know why, but she came to Earth originally to seek revenge on
Lum. I also know that one of the ways she loved to antagonize Lum was
to flirt with Ataru-kun."
"I doubt she will be as much a 'pain' as she was before, Nabiki,"
Negako re****ted. Seeing Nabiki gaze curiously at her, she added, "Rei
is dead."
Akane stared at Nabiki. "Who's Rei?"
"Seq Rei, Lum's old boyfriend. He later came to be very close to
Ran," the middle Tendou daughter explained. "He was even more
gorgeous than Kunou-chan, but dumber than a brick. He was a
metamorph, too; turned into a tiger-striped bull as big as a pick-up
truck. Even more, he had an appetite that put Ranma-kun's AND his
father's TOGETHER to shame."
Akane weakly nodded. "Oh!" *Someone whose appetite was bigger than
Ranma's AND Genma's put together?!* She boggled. *Impossible!*
Chigaiko shook her head, crossing her arms. "All the food vendors in
Tomobiki will jump for joy on hearing that one."
Akane stared at her. "You really don't like them, do you?"
"Nope. And . . . " Chigaiko took a deep breath before she
shrugged. "I really don't know, Akane-san. I wish they'd be gone
forever from our lives, but I wouldn't wish them dead. What's going
to happen to Ran, Negako-san?"
"Since she clearly has no home on Uru, Ran could be accorded war
refugee status on Earth," Negako explained. "She will be denied the
chance to access elements of Urusian technology. The Special
Committee on Alien Activities can assist, as can the Holy Inquisition
of Zephyrus. Since Ran could easily pass as a normal Terran girl if
she had to, the disguise is further enhanced."
Chigaiko tensed. "Would she think of going after Ataru-kun?"
"No. With Lum dead, Ran's need for revenge is nullified. Further,
Ran's grief at Rei's death is too overwhelming to allow her to seek
Ataru. Even if he learned of the level of abuse Ran's mother
unleashed on her when she was a child, I do not believe he would
desire to have anything more to do with her."
"Not that what Ani-kun told those fools in Tomobiki wouldn't deter
her enough. Eh, Ane-kun?" a voice echoed from the shadows.
Chigaiko and the Tendou sisters screamed out, they spinning around as
the shadows melted into a purple-haired girl dressed in dark clothes,
a white cape draped over her shoulders. "Was it difficult, Chikage?"
Negako asked.
"Not really." The newcomer held up several spheroid devices, each
pierced by a pointed cross-like weapon shaped like the crosses on her
cape. "From what I could tell, the grounds were littered with these
things. I only retrieved those in the room where you and Ani-kun met
the others, plus those in the surrounding rooms. Who placed them
there in the first place, Ane-kun?"
"A group of people who do not like Ataru," Negako replied.
"Oh."
* * *
"LOST?!"
"Yes, sir," the technician re****ted. "I tried to tap into our
listening devices at the Fifth Holy Apostle's mansion in hopes of
hearing what the Great Evil and his companion had to say to the Holy
Company, but . . . " He waved helplessly at the readout on the
screen. "The devices in the Fifth Apostle's private atrium went off-
line as soon as they arrived!"
Blinking, the senior officer then sighed. "How's that possible?"
The technician shook his head. "I can't say, sir."
* * *
A knock. "Nii-sama, are you there? Nii-sama?"
The door opened, revealing ****rayuki. She looked in to see Ataru on
his bed; he had returned to the Island fifteen minutes before. He was
gazing out the window, a lost look on his face. Tears glistened in
his eyes. The chef walked in to place a hand on his shoulder.
"What's wrong?! Are you okay?!"
Ataru started before staring quizzically at his sister. A hand
absently slipped up to give hers a thankful squeeze. "Y-yeah, I'm
okay," he assured her before turning to gaze out the window again.
"Is lunch ready, ****rayuki-chan?"
"I . . . " ****rayuki blinked, a chill racing through her. "In about
an hour or so, Nii-sama. Do you want some tea?" she then asked.
He looked at her with a wan smile. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Thanks."
She withdrew, closing the door behind her. Turning around, ****rayuki
nearly leapt out of her dress on seeing Yotsuba standing there, an
intent look on the detective's face. "What's with Ani-chama?" Yotsuba
demanded.
Taking several breaths to calm down, ****rayuki then glared at
Yotsuba. "Yotsuba-chan, stop doing that to Hime!" she snapped.
"What's going on?"
Both turned to see Ranma standing by the doors to the dining room.
"Oh, Nee-sama! There you are!" ****rayuki called out as she walked up
to her. "Will you PLEASE have a talk with Nii-sama? Something's
really bothering him!"
Seeing the panic in her eyes, Ranma placed her hands on the chef's
shoulders. "Okay, I'll look in on him, ****rayuki-chan."
"Oh! Arigatou desu no, Nee-sama!"
"And YOU!" Ranma spun on Yotsuba, pointing a warning finger her
way. "Don't you DARE eavesdrop on us! Got me?!"
The detective rapidly nodded. "H-h-hai!"
"Good!"
Ranma walked past them to Ataru's room. ****rayuki and Yotsuba
watched her, and then the former grabbed the latter's arm. "C'mon!"
she called out as she pulled Yotsuba towards the kitchen. "You can
help Hime in the kitchen!"
"Hey!" Yotsuba yelped as she was dragged off.
* * *
Ranma walked into Ataru's bedroom. She stopped on seeing him sitting
on his bed. She gazed on him a moment before striding over. As he
turned to look at her, her hand lashed out to slam into his cheek, the
blow nearly sending him into the wall. "***YOU IDIOT!***" she snapped
as he collapsed, and then she grabbed him by the collar to yank him
up. "What's the hell's wrong with you?!"
He stared at her, and then his head drooped, tears streaming down his
cheeks. The hot flash of anger that just exploded from Ranma's heart
quickly faded. She lowered him to the bed. "Ataru, please! I'm
sorry, but will you freakin' WAKE UP and see what you're doing to your
own FAMILY?!" She shook his shoulders before kneeling in front of
him. "Ataru, what . . .?"
Her voice halted on seeing the helpless look cross his face. "I have
no choice, Ranma . . . " escaped from his lips. "I'm trapped . . . "
"Trapped?!" she demanded. "How?"
He wiped his eyes. "I . . . " He looked at his hands. "I didn't
know what to do . . .! I just didn't know what to do . . .! Onee-
chan got there before me. Sakura and Cherry freaked out when they
sensed what Onee-chan was. I dropped them both, and then Lum nearly
broke my back when she hugged me. I pried her off. Mendou went
crazy, so I blew up his damned sword and I . . . "
His voice faded as a whimper escaped him. Ranma stared at him.
****fting herself onto the bed, she drew him close. As muffled sobs
escaped from him, she reached up to gently stroke his hair. "You hate
them, don't you?"
A minute passed before he pulled away to gaze into her eyes. "I
really don't know what to feel about them now, Ranma," he admitted,
turning away from her. Slowly rising, he walked to the window to
stare outside. "On the one hand, I . . . I know I did a lot of stupid
things when I was living in Tomobiki. I can accept that, Ranma. I
really can. But . . . " He quaked before turning back to her. "I
got there and they started laying into me about Onee-chan and . . .
and I . . . " He lowered his head, looking away.
"Did they all do that to you?"
"No, no . . . " He shook his head. "It was just Sakura and Cherry.
And deep down, I understand why. They . . . " He bit his lip. "They
know most of the story behind the Saikoo Jinseijitsu, but they never
knew what happened five years ago. Instant they learned, Sakura went
on a bend, wondering if I'd totally lost my mind letting Onee-chan
free out of my head to live her own life. And there's Cherry trying
to 'exorcise' Onee-chan's spirit out of her body. ****nobu was
wondering why I wasn't listening to Sakura and . . . "
He threw up his hands. Ranma slowly nodded. "You cut loose on
them?"
"Oh, yeah. That I did." Ataru wryly chuckled as he leaned his head
on the window. "I told them about the Niphentaxians. I told them
about what I saw on Noukiios and elsewhere. Tore into Lum, tore into
Ran, tore into every last one of them. And then . . . " He sniffed
before a pained chuckle escaped him. "I told them that I wanted them
all to die, to stay out of my life. And just when Chikage tele****ted
Onee-chan and I out of there, I heard Lum and ****nobu scream out . . .
" He squeezed his eyes shut. "Damn me . . . "
Silence fell as Ataru walked back to the bed. Sitting, he reached
into his nightstand to draw out some tissue. "Why?" Ranma asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know. I . . . " He paused before sighing,
gazing at the door to his bedroom. "It was because of them, I guess."
"The sisters?"
"Yeah." He sucked in his breath before staring once more at her. "I
don't want to lose them, Ranma. I never, EVER, in a million years
want to lose them. But . . . " He looked away. "I'm afraid, Ranma.
I really am . . . "
She reached over to squeeze his shoulders. "That the folks in
Tomobiki are gonna do something to make the girls turn away from you?"
He slowly nodded. "Yeah. And what's worse, it's . . . " He took in
another deep breath. "It's *Lum,* Ranma. If Lum wasn't involved in
this, I wouldn't be so scared. At least, I hope to hell I wouldn't be
so scared. But . . . " He shuddered. "Even as she is now, without
her own body, stuck in the back of Ran's mind . . . what does she
want, Ranma? Does she still want to be with me? If that happens to
us, what about the girls? We . . . "
He buried his face in his hands, a moan drifting through his
fingers. She gazed on him before moving to draw him once more into
her arms. They remained in place for a few minutes, and then Ranma
reached up to draw his hands away from his face. "Ataru? Do you
still love Lum?"
Ataru sighed, shaking his head. "Not anymore."
"So you're afraid she'll press you like she did before, right? Do
anything she can to make you come back to her, right?"
He slowly nodded. "Yeah."
Ranma considered that. "I can see why you're scared."
He nodded again. "Yeah. The last few weeks . . . especially the
week before I met you . . . " A pause. "Well, it was more than just
a week to me. I went to a place called 'Sanctuary.' It's a space-
time nexus, where the normal rules of time don't apply. I . . . " He
took a breath, wiping his eyes with the palm of his hand. "I lost
track of the time I stayed there. It was . . . " Another pause. "A
while, I confess." A wry chuckle. "And while I was there, I learned
things. About me, about Lum and her people, about Grandma. And
I . . . " He squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't know what to do now,
Ranma. What do I say to them?" He nodded to the doorway. "What do I
keep quiet about? This . . . oh, gods! It's so damned complicated!
It's . . . "
His voice failed, and then he leaned his forehead into his hands.
She gazed on him before breathing out, "You gotta tell someone. And
if this affects the girls, you HAVE to tell them everything," she
whispered, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder. "Look, if you're
uncomfortable telling them some things, tell ME about it. Maybe I can
help you deal with them. Please?"
Silence fell as he considered that, and then he looked up at her.
His mouth twitched slightly into a smile. "I did tell you the worst
of it," he admitted. "But . . . it's a matter of degrees, isn't it?"
he then asked.
"I'm not going anywhere," she vowed.
* * *
"Sokomade!"
Akane jolted on hearing Negako's voice. Pausing for a moment to
bring herself down from the adrenaline high sparring gave her, she
lowered her arms, a deep breath escaping her as Nabiki took a step
back. Watching the sisters relax, the ninjutsu grandmaster stepped up
to stand between them. "You need to work harder on controlling your
temper." Negako gazed clinically at Akane. "Allowing your emotions
to influence your actions, especially in a battle situation, can
guarantee you a very quick defeat. Remember that."
"H-h-hai," Akane stuttered, her head bobbing in acknowledgement.
Negako turned to the middle Tendou daughter. "Refrain from employing
what demonstration katas you designed in a free spar. It makes you
predictable in the long term. That is a habit that hurt you in the
past. Understood?"
Realising she was referring to the incident five years before that
initially forced her out of martial arts, Nabiki nodded. "Hai, I
understand."
The front gate then opened, causing them to turn and look. "Is this
the place?" a familiar voice heralded the arrival of Hiro****. He then
noticed who was standing on the lawn. "Hey! This must be the
place!" He pushed the door open further, allowing Daisuke, Sayuri and
Yuka to follow him inside.
Akane beamed on seeing her friends. "Hi, everyone!"
The new arrivals boggled on seeing Akane whole and intact from what
Ranma did to her. "Akane-chan, what happened?!" Sayuri cried, jogging
over to give Akane's once-broken arm an inspection. "How'd you get
the cast off so fast?!"
"Thanks to Negako-san." Akane waved to the ninjutsu grandmaster.
She proceeded to do introductions. Daisuke and Hiro**** both perked
on remembering to whom Negako was related to. "You're Ataru-kun's
sister?!" The former ****fted to give their host a close inspection.
"So we hear he might be coming to Fuurinkan next week! Does he still
have those black bo- . . . urk!"
He dropped to the ground thanks to a punch from Sayuri. "Ataru no
longer possesses his collection of notes concerning his acquaintances
from Tomobiki," Negako replied. "He burned them shortly after he
departed Tomobiki."
Nabiki blinked, stunned to hear THIS titbit about Ataru. "Why?!"
Negako lightly shrugged. "He had his reasons, Nabiki. One of them
is that the girls of Tomobiki no longer gave him any emotional
satisfaction, even the ones said to have been 'very close' to him such
as Miyake ****nobu." Sensing Chigaiko step out of the old shrine with
a pitcher of ice tea and some glasses, the grandmaster moved to make
the Tomobiki native's presence known. "As a matter of fact, the only
person from Tomobiki whom Ataru likes without reservation is Chigaiko
here. Like he, Chigaiko wisely chose to move out of Tomobiki when the
op****tunity presented itself." She glanced at Ataru's old classmate,
who blushed in return, before performing introductions.
Everyone then headed into the living room. "How come you're using an
old shrine as your house, Morobo****-sensei?" Sayuri asked, glancing
around the bare walls. "There are other properties for sale around
Nerima, after all."
"Do not call me 'Sensei,' Sayuri," Negako instructed. That comment
caused the newcomers' eyes to widen. The grandmaster continued, "The
shrine offers as much land as the Tendou property, plus possesses
enough interior space to house our siblings when they come to visit
Tokyo for shopping trips."
Hiro**** perked. "Ataru-kun has other sisters?"
"Twelve of them." Negako gave him a knowing stare. "And no, they
are not interested in dating anyone, Hiro****."
That comment sent Hiro**** and Daisuke's heads slamming into the
coffee table. Akane, Sayuri and Yuka fell over laughing while Nabiki
and Chigaiko exchanged a knowing look and grin. As conversation then
picked up between the soon-to-be Fuurinkan sophomores, Negako headed
into the kitchen. Nabiki followed her, stopping at the doorway to see
Negako preparing tea with what appeared to be hand-made bags.
Stepping closer, she took a sniff of the strange brew before
recoiling. "Eeew! What is that stuff, anyway?!"
"A special Zephyrite herbal solution mixed with Essiac tea. It is
for Chigaiko," Negako explained.
Nabiki's eyes widened. "Why?"
"Near-terminal acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia."
Silence.
"Ye gods . . . " Nabiki's hand covered her mouth, and then she
leaned closer to the grandmaster. "Does she know?" she hissed.
"No," Negako explained. "Chigaiko knows she possesses anaemia, but
she does not realise it has progressed to that stage. I would desire
her to not know the truth. I am progressing with a remedy that will
restore her to a nominal level of health within several weeks.
However, such cannot succeed if she is informed of the severity of her
condition. Understood?"
The middle Tendou daughter considered that before nodding. "Gotcha."
"Sufficient." Negako finished her preparations. Placing the teacup
on a tray, she then gazed curiously on Nabiki. "Nabiki, why was Akane
never informed of the three times she accidentally struck Yuka with
her ki-mallet during the month before Ranma and Genma came to your
home?"
The whole room, to Nabiki, went dark as Negako's tonally flat
question punched right into the depths of her heart and soul. The
middle Tendou daughter stared in dumbfounded shock at her host, she
stunned on realising Negako's ability to discern a person's past
through her body's ki signature had told her THAT. In a flash, Nabiki
scrambled to the kitchen door to close it, and then she zipped back to
stare into Negako's eyes. "How the hell did you know THAT?!" she
hissed, barely containing her urge to scream.
Negako sighed. "Nabiki, you know the answer to that question."
Nabiki jerked. Negako remained in place, an amused smirk crossing
her face as she watched the other's antics. Finally, Nabiki
straightened herself. "Alright, I know about that!" she said. "But
those times were **accidents!** They happened when Kunou-chan was
being more of a jerk than usual when it came to trying to 'win' Akane-
chan over. I know that. Tokoro knows that. She never once felt it
necessary to come after Akane-chan because of that!"
"Most likely because she was a relatively new student at Fuurinkan at
the time of these 'accidents' and desired to be part of what she
perceived as the 'in' crowd. Further, with Ranma's arrival on the
scene, Akane's anger was redirected onto a new target. It appears I
will have to do some more work to ensure Akane breaks free of that
particular habit of hers once and for all."
With that, she picked up Chigaiko's tea, and then she headed back
into the living room. Nabiki watched her go, a wary look on her face.
* * *
"Juhzi?"
"Huh?" A hunky, dull-looking teenager with tapered ears looked up
from the manga he was reading. "What is it, Makasai?"
"Have you seen my copy of the Book?" a plain girl, also possessing
tapered ears, asked. She was standing at the doorway of her fellow
observer's bedroom. That was located in a nondescript apartment block
located in the west end of Tomobiki not three blocks from the main
entrance of the Mendou estate. "I left it on my nightstand last night
and it's not there now," she then added.
Juhzi shook his head. "I didn't see anyone go into your room,
Makasai," he admitted, rising to head over to his nightstand, where a
copy of the Book of Lum lay. "You sure you left it there?" he asked
as he handed the Book to her.
"I'll look for it later," she vowed, nodding as she took it from him.
* * *
"Ohayou, Ryooko-san."
Mendou Ryooko gasped as that soft voice tickled her ear. She spun
around in her chair to see a woman draped in a hooded white cape with
stylized crosses standing at the entrance to her private study. The
half-dozen Kuroko nearly leapt out of their costumes and masks on
seeing the newcomer, who hadn't been there a second before. Ryooko
blinked, instantly impressed by the visitor's sense of the dramatic.
Her eyes then widened as recognition dawned on her.
"Hirosaki Chikage, I presume," she declared, rising to give the
visitor a nod. A hand-gesture from the younger Mendou made the Kuroko
relax. "One day soon to become Morobo**** Chikage," she then added.
"The same," Chikage acknowledged with a smile as she reached into her
cape to draw out a book. "I believe you're looking for a copy of
this."
Ryooko's eyes widened automatically on seeing the title, written in
stylish kana and kanji, on the cover. "How . . .?" she gasped.
Chikage held up a hand. "Just a moment."
The sorceress then drew out a handful of her favoured cross-shaped
pendants. A flick of the wrist later, they flew off to insert
themselves in various nooks and crannies all over the study. Seconds
later, they returned to Chikage's hand, each now impaled on a spheroid-
shaped device, the sight of the latter making Ryooko's eyes go VERY
wide. "What . . .?"
"To ensure our words remain private," Chikage asserted as she slipped
her pendants into her cape. She handed Makasai's copy of the Book of
Lum to her host. "Almost everyone in Tomobiki has been spied on via
devices like this by Ani-kun's recent 'acquaintances' since after Lum
came to live here full-time."
Ryooko blinked, her mind nearly coming to a complete stop on hearing
that assertion. Chikage tried not to smirk too much on seeing her
reaction; no doubt, learning her own private sanctum had been so
easily invaded -- and by people whose very existence had been totally
unknown to her until this day! -- had just hit the poor girl hard.
"You best take some time to read that," Chikage advised as she turned
to leave, her finger indicating the Book. "I suspect you have ways to
look in on your own brother's diary if you so desired to do so. Take
note of the differences between what your brother's written and what's
written there. Once you understand that, you'll understand a lot of
what's happened to Ani-kun since he came to the Island to live with
us."
"Er . . .!" Ryooko then cleared her throat. "Thank you, Chikage-
san."
"You're welcome." Chikage stopped before she glanced over her
shoulder at the younger Mendou, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "A
word of advice, Ryooko-san: Don't think of drawing Ani-kun into your
silly little games from this day on. Speaking for my sisters, we WILL
hold a grudge if you do."
In a blink, she was gone. Ryooko stared at the empty space Chikage
just occupied before her eyes turned to gaze on the Book of Lum.
* * *
The door to Ataru's room opened. Ranma closed the door behind her
before walking into the dining room. She stopped on seeing the
sisters save Chikage there, worry etched on all their faces. A glance
at the clock mounted on one wall indicated that it had been an hour
since she had gone in to see Ataru.
"Onee-sama . . .?" Sakuya rose. "Is he alright?"
Ranma sighed. "He's getting there."
Hi****o sniffed. "Why won't Onii-tama tell us what's wrong?"
Ranma gazed on the youngest of the sisters, and then she walked over
to sit beside her. Gently grasping Hi****o's hands, the martial artist
drew them close to her. "Hi****o-chan, it's not that Ataru doesn't
want to tell you what's happened." She took a deep breath. "It's
just that he's afraid you all would take it the wrong way and come to
hate him . . .!"
"NO!" Hi****o screamed, shaking her head as she swamped Ranma with an
embrace. "HINA'LL NEVER HATE ONII-TAMA! Onii-tama . . .!"
Sobs stole her voice. Karen walked over to draw Hi****o away from
Ranma, taking her to a nearby couch so she could cry. "Anegimi-sama,
you HAVE to tell us SOMETHING!" Haruka begged. "Anything! Tell us
something, please!"
Looking at their pleading faces, Ranma took a deep breath.
"Alright . . . " She nodded. "I'll give you the basics, but that's
as far as I'll go right now. Hopefully, what hurt Ataru won't come
back to hurt you. That's the biggest thing he's worried about. And
with Lum back . . . " She paused before looking down. "He's afraid
that Lum or one of those people in Tomobiki will do something that'll
hurt you. And if that happens . . . " Her voice faded, and then she
shook her head. "I don't know how he'll react."
Silence fell as the sisters considered that. Sakuya walked over to
kneel beside Ranma. "Onee-sama, what can you tell us?"
Sighing, Ranma began.
* * *
"I can't begin to believe it was THAT bad!"
"Believe it." Negako placed a cup of Marie's favoured cherry tea
before Chikage, and then she sat across from her. Chigaiko was at
Tampopo's enjoying lunch. The Tendou sisters and their friends had
gone home for the day.
The sorceress grimaced. "I suspected a lot of what he went through,"
she admitted. "But to be proven right so much . . . " Her voice
trailed off, and then she drank her tea. "Lum's return is not the
thing Ani-kun needs now."
"Yes, she is the primary chink in Ataru's emotional armour," the
ninjutsu grandmaster mused, glancing heavenward. "Still . . . "
"You believe something will make this situation better?"
"Yes. It must be done delicately, but we can endure this." Negako
sighed. "Ataru understands that very much. He wants to tell all of
you. But how could Hi****o, Aria or Kaho, much less the others, truly
understand it?"
"You have a point." Chikage rose to leave, keeping her teacup in
hand. "And yes, our relation****p to Ani-kun might prove a source of
trouble to all of us. That I certainly foresee, especially given what
these Niphentaxians are supposedly like. But . . . " She paused
before a smile crossed her face. "Ani-kun needs to understand that we
will never turn away from him."
"I do not believe I can help there."
"Ranma-anekun could."
Both gazed on the other. Negako's eyebrow arched. "Sanctuary?"
Chikage grimly nodded. "The sooner Ane-kun can truly look on herself
in the mirror and understand who and what she is, the better for her
AND Ani-kun. In the meantime, I believe Sakuya-chan and I can do
something to derail Lum until such time as whatever you just sensed
can help."
She tele****ted away. Negako lightly smiled.
* * *
"Onii-chan . . .!"
A chorus of stunned looks fell on Ranma. Hi****o sat in her lap. "He
FOUGHT with the Noukiites against the Onis?!" Rinrin demanded.
"But Aniue-sama said the Noukiites practised slavery!" Marie stated.
"Why in the name of Heaven would he sup****t THEM?!"
Ranma took in a deep breath. "Ataru found out that in the greater
scheme of things, they're the lesser of two evils, Marie-chan."
Mamoru crossed her arms. "I'd sure like that proven."
Haruka shook her head. "Did Anigimi-sama learn of things that would
cast Lum-san's people in such a light, Anegimi-sama?"
"Yes, he did. A lot of things." Ranma nodded before noisily
exhaling. "And in finding out those things, whatever feelings he had
for Lum ultimately took a BIG hit. And it just piled on and on and on
until . . . "
She shrugged. "Onii-tama said Lum-san wasn't bad!" Hi****o protested.
"Yeah. And he believes, even now, that she never got directly
involved in any of that stuff, Hi****o-chan. But . . . " Ranma paused
before staring at the others. "Look at it from Lum's direction. She
nearly gets killed when one of her people's oldest enemies blows up
her planet's capital. She loses her family and a lot of friends.
Along the way, Ran loses her boyfriend to that same enemy. So they
came here to seek refuge and escape. Neither Lum nor Ran had any idea
about what Ataru's been through. Suddenly, they get back together
and . . . " She shrugged. "What do you think might happen if Lum
finds out that her 'Darling' had sided with the Noukiites, a race the
Urusians have been brainwashed to believe were barbarians, against her
own people? Well?"
The sisters considered that. Kaho sniffed. "Onii-chama . . . "
"So what do we do?" Yotsuba wondered.
A stony grimace crossed Sakuya's face. "I know what we can do," she
announced, turning to leave before seeing Chikage by the door enjoying
tea. "Chikage . . .!" she hissed, and then she looked at Haruka.
"You, too!"
Haruka nodded. "Hai!"
* * *
"You feeling okay now, Lum-chan?"
*N-n-no . . . * a trembling voice echoed inside Ran's mind as the
Sei****n teen relaxed in her living room, a cup of tea in hand. *H-how
could D-darling say those a-awful things . . .? H-how could D-d-
darling believe all that g-g-garbage Oogi put out in that st-st-stupid
book . . .?!*
Ran sighed. "Maybe you should've told him about those idiots . . . "
"Agreed. Honest communication would have helped, Aruka-san."
Gasping, Ran spun out of her chair, shocked on seeing a hooded figure
standing behind her, the newcomer's dark eyes glaring her down. Fear
quickly vanished as righteous anger took over, the alien teen grabbing
her bazooka out of a handy warp-space pocket. Before it could be put
to use, a flash of light saw the weapon sliced in half. Ran then
cried out as the sharp edge of a naginata pressed against her neck.
Glancing right, she gargled on seeing a raven-haired girl in a pink-
and-black hakama standing there, she holding the bladed halberd
pressing against Ran's throat in one hand, a glittering war fan in the
other. "I suggest you don't move," the armed girl warned with a
smile.
A third girl, possessing stringy ponytails, then stepped into view.
"I believe we have their attention," she mused before she stared at
the girl with the cape. "Chikage-chan, there some way you can block
this *****'s powers?"
Chikage chuckled. "I doubt she would survive if she tried to use
them on any of us, Sakuya-chan. Especially with Haruka-chan's
naginata at her throat." She then stepped up to gaze knowingly into
Ran's eyes. "And especially given our relation****p with Ani-kun," she
added with an icy smile.
Ran blinked, confusion slowly overcoming her. "Wh-who . . .?"
"We want to talk to the one inside you, Aruka-san," Sakuya warned.
"Feel free to listen in since what we have to say affects you, too."
Silence fell. Ran's facial demeanour then changed. "How do you
know . . .?" she asked in Lum's voice. "Who are you people . . .?"
"I'm sure this star****p comes equipped with internal sensors, so when
we finally leave, you can do a DNA scan and then do a parental
comparison with your precious 'Darling,' Redet-san." Sakuya smiled.
"Our half-brother."
Ran's jaw opened. She blinked, blinked again, and then stammered out
in Lum's voice, "Y-y-you're Darling's s-s-sisters . . .?"
"We are," Chikage stated. "And we have come to give you a warning.
To you, to Aruka-san, to anyone else who might come from beyond Earth
in your wake AND to those here in Tomobiki who might wish to sup****t
you." She glared intently into Ran's eyes, causing the possessed
Sei****n teen to sink away from those burning orbs. "It is this:
**Leave -- Ani-kun -- ALONE!**"
"B-b-but . . .!" Ran/Lum stammered.
"Are you hard of hearing?" Sakuya wondered.
"I . . .!"
Haruka smiled. "Perhaps we should ask the Holy Inquisition to turn
this thing over to the Noukiites and let them have their way with
her."
Ran paled. "N-n-no . . .!"
"Scares you, doesn't it?" Sakuya smirked on seeing Ran look away.
"Good. After hearing of the crap both of you heaped on Onii-sama,
it's about time you got a taste of it in return. Maybe it might teach
you something."
"B-but . . .!"
"Shut up!" Sakuya barked, the snap in her voice causing Ran to duck.
"Let me make this VERY clear to the BOTH of you. If you so much as
even THINK of trying to hurt Onii-sama -- either by yourself, your
pals from outer space or running to the clods in this place and
getting their help in this -- you'll be gift-wrapped and sent to the
Holy Inquisition so fast, your head will spin!"
"But Darling's . . .!"
"Your husband?" Haruka wondered. "Your fiancé, perhaps? There, you
are VERY wrong, Redet-san. Anigimi-sama was NEVER your fiancé!"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Ran/Lum screamed.
"It is," Chikage countered. "The leader****p of our family passes
from GRANDMOTHER to GRANDDAUGHTER. In other words, from Nagaiwakai to
Sakuya-chan." She pointed to her sister. "Sakuya-chan is head-of-
clan. She has the right to decide to whom Ani-kun will marry. Not
you. Further, you do not have Muchi or Kinshou to hide behind. You
do not have Megane and his fools to hide behind. Mendou Shuutarou is
no longer relevant and I don't believe Miyake ****nobu or Fujinami
Ryuunosuke will be willing to help you, either. AND you do not have
your father . . . " She leaned up. "Much less Oogi and the
Niphentaxians . . . " She grinned on seeing Ran's eyes go VERY wide
on hearing that. "To hide behind, either! You are alone. And this
time, Ani-kun is no longer interested in you! His destiny . . . "
She backed away. "Belongs now to another."
Ran jolted before another shudder rocked her as the pressure of
Haruka's naginata increased. "Since it's inhumane to force you to
leave while your planet is in the midst of war, you can stay," Sakuya
stated. "But if you screw up even ONCE, you're out of here. For
GOOD! Believe me, Onii-sama will not shed a TEAR for you!" She
turned away from her. "Let's go, girls!"
Chikage waved her cape. Ran automatically squeezed her eyes shut as
the cape blanked out her vision. She then opened them to find herself
alone in her living room. The panic she felt from facing the sisters
quickly drained as she sank to her knees, taking in ragged breaths to
try to calm herself. "L-Lum . . .?" she whispered, sensing herself
back in control over her body.
Silence answered. Ran staggered to her feet, and then she made her
way into the ****p's pilotage. Sitting at the command chair, she
tapped controls to draw up the ****p's internal sensor logs. The image
of her and the sisters in the living room appeared on the screen
before her. She tapped commands to do a DNA scan of the three women.
The readouts came up. Drawing up a memory file of Ataru's DNA, she
did a comparison. Ten seconds later, her eyes widened. "Oh,
Fates . . . " She covered her mouth. "It's all true . . .?"
A *beep!* echoed from her communications board. Ran tapped
controls. She then blinked before calling out, "Lum-chan, it's
Benten."
Silence.
"Lum . . .?"
A pained moan echoed in her mind. *He hates me, Ran . . .!*
Ran closed her eyes. "Benten's calling, Lum."
The moan faded. *What do I do now?*
Ran bit her lip. "I don't know, Lum-chan."
* * *
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