"Is this true?!"
Nabiki gazed at Souun. It was sometime after dinner. Kasumi had
gone to Tampopo's to return what dishes were left behind from the
evening's take-out. Akane had gone to Tokoro Yuka's house to spend
the night. To save time, she had taken all her belongings with her
for cl***** the next morning. Sitting on the low table between them
was the paper containing pertinent information on the Saotome family
of Promised Island. Despite her understandable annoyance at her
father's violation of her private space, the middle Tendou daughter
kept her temper in check. Perhaps with THIS, she could finally talk
Souun out of trying to press on with forcing a marriage between any of
his daughters and his late friend's son-turned-daughter. "Yes, it
is," she evenly replied.
"Do you know WHY Ranma-kun is doing this?!" Souun demanded.
"She has no choice now," Nabiki announced, waving to the paper.
"This isn't just cosmetic, Dad. This is as real as it gets."
Silence fell as the Tendou patriarch considered that. He gazed
intently at Nabiki. Despite his daughter's questionable reputation,
Souun knew that when Nabiki did give out information of this nature,
it was always the truth. "But how?" he wondered, crossing his arms.
"Save for that one time when Ranma-kun suffered that head injury that
made him think like a girl . . . "
"Two things," Nabiki cut in. "Jusenkyou and the Neko-ken."
"Explain!" he bid.
She did. It took twenty minutes. Souun remained impassive as Nabiki
detailed everything she just learned from Negako concerning how
Jusenkyou had come to affect Ranma. Finally, Nabiki shrugged. "So
there it is, Dad. No matter how much you or your friend could've
conceived of this happening, sooner or later, something would've come
to upset it. It could've been Ranma's desire to finally deal with the
Neko-ken. It could've been Ataru-kun coming along to find the person
he was bonded to when he was a baby. It . . . "
She turned her hands in a "who knows" gesture. Souun gazed intently
at her, and then he sighed. "I see. Does Akane know of this?"
"She was told the same time I was."
"And her reaction?"
"Verbal denial, which Negako-san didn't let her get away with. Deep
down, I think she realizes *this* time, she isn't going to win,"
Nabiki mused. "That'll hurt her. As much as I personally don't want
to see Akane-chan hurt, it's long since time she learned the world
won't always bow to her wishes. We've coddled her for too long,
Dad." Her eyes narrowed. "When we should've been forcing Akane-chan
to see the mistakes she was making, we let it pass -- or, especially
after she came into our lives, we dumped it all on Ranma, making
everything out to always be her fault so we didn't have to deal
directly with Akane-chan!" A pause. "That's part of the reason Ranma
doesn't want anything to do with us anymore, Dad. She won't let us
hide from the truth."
Souun quaked as her words pierced the barriers he had erected to
blind him to his family's shortcomings. He jerkily nodded. "That's
true, isn't it? And with what happened this morning between Ranma-kun
and Akane . . . "
Nabiki gazed knowingly at him. "It's all over, Dad."
"Surely you must have some feelings for Ranma-kun."
She considered that. "Hai, I do. But for a long time, all I could
bring myself to see of him was the chief source of pain, discord and
disruption in our lives. I . . . " She paused, a guilty smile
crossing her face. "I admit I did take joy in making his life more
miserable since, at the time, it seemed to me he just didn't care for
all the **** he was allowing to drop onto our heads." Nabiki closed
her eyes. "Of course, that was before we all found out what Genma had
done to stop Ranma from fully learning from all his mistakes, from
trying to think of some other way than fighting to deal with whatever
problem needed to be dealt with. Of course, by the time we learned
that, Ranma was on the road to discovering the truth about HERself.
Not to mention forging pretty strong bonds with a family that was
welcoming her with open arms."
"If you had a chance to do it again -- and if Ranma-kun was not so
affected by Jusenkyou, of course -- would you have pursued him?"
"Knowing what I know now? Sure I would." She nodded, not sensing
the possible real meaning behind Souun's question. "I think I
could've done a lot to make his life a lot easier, especially when it
came to dealing with the other fiancées. Heaven knows, I sure knew
enough to make his life even more miserable. But . . . " She
shrugged. "No use in wi****ng for what might have been. Things didn't
turn out that way, Dad."
"True, but one could still dream," he lamented before he stared
intently at her. "Do you think Akane would feel the same way? Much
less Kasumi?"
Nabiki considered that before she shook her head. "Kasumi-oneechan,
no. She always looked on Ranma as a little brother . . . " She
stopped for a second, and then she smirked. "Well, now 'little
sister,' I guess. As for Akane . . .?" She gazed out the door of the
sitting room. "It's like I said, Dad: We coddled her too much.
Hell, we practically HANDED her the engagement. She didn't have to
work for it at all. That probably helped create a lot of the problems
between them. Deep down, Akane assumed Ranma was hers to do with as
she damn hell pleased. And you have to admit this, Dad: You and
Genma didn't do much to change her opinions about that. Neither did
Nodoka."
Souun nodded. "Hai, that is true, admittedly."
"Yep. There, Ukyou and Shampoo both had an advantage and a
disadvantage. They had to *work* to be Ranma's friend before they
could hope to press their own claims. That forced them to give him
some leeway, something Akane didn't feel she had to do. The
results . . .?" She shrugged. "Akane learned that the hard way last
Tuesday and this morning. Now that there's no official engagement
hanging over them, Ranma doesn't feel she has to defer to Akane
anymore. And with her able to see things a lot more clearly . . . "
Souun closed his eyes. "Yes, we did hurt Akane-chan's chances,
didn't we?" he whispered, staring out the doorway. "But still . . . "
"I know, Dad." Nabiki rose, taking the notes with her. "But she'll
be a better person because of this. Besides, she needs a break from
the pressure, just like Ranma. We all do, even you. Anyhow, I'm
going to bed. 'Night."
"Good night."
Souun remained in place as Nabiki headed upstairs. He then closed
his eyes as a slow nod shook his head. Yes, he knew what to do.
**** **** ****
"Lonely Souls"
By Fred Herriot
pyeknu@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
OR fherriot@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
**** ****
Based on "Urusei Yatsura" and "Ranma 1/2," created by Takaha****
Rumiko; and "Sister Princess," created by Tenhiro Naoto and Kimino
Sakurako.
**** **** ****
Set in the universe of the fan-fiction series "Urusei Yatsura - The
Senior Year," created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot
**** **** ****
NOTE: The writer's notes are in a separate text file.
**** **** ****
THE SIXTH PART, "A" SIDE - REALITY CHECKY!
*Miree . . . *
The ragged form in the torn, soiled robe drifted slowly downward in a
universe of nothingness. Her body showed the ravages both of advanced
age and forced starvation, her punishment for not accepting the "one
truth faith" that, not a half-decade before, had spread across her
home planet and her colonies like a firestorm. A faith whose rapid
promulgation ultimately heralded its own collapse in the fiery, anger-
fuelled apocalypse many on Phentax Two and other worlds across the
local cluster called the "Cataclysm."
*Miree . . . *
Her deep turquoise eyes fluttered open as she felt herself "land" on
something like a waterbed. Grunting as the relentless pull of gravity
fully overcame her, she struggled to prop herself onto her elbows.
Reaching up with one bony hand, she pulled back the hood to reveal a
face pulled taunt against her skull, her fiery red-brown hair shot
through with grey. Under normal cir***stances, she wore oval-framed
gl*****; the last living chief priestess of the Church of Hollywood
was allergic to most cures for astigmatism.
Such wouldn't be needed at this time, however.
"Hey, kid. Over here."
Miree's eyes went wide as she recognized that rough voice. Turning
right, she saw a coffee shop from 1950s America hovering before her,
that having just appeared out of nowhere. Seated around the counter
were several people, all gazing warmly on the Niphentaxian.
Recognizing them, Miree tried not to make a total fool of herself as
she staggered to her feet and made her way to the counter. "Oh,
dear!" a platinum-blonde woman in a sleeveless dress mused. "She
looks like I did after the coroner got to me."
"Yeah, she does look like something the Krauts dragged in, eh?" the
one who first spoke to Miree noted, and then he turned to the slicked
young man behind the counter. "Here, kid, give her something to
drink."
"No problem," the younger fellow replied with a nod, his voice
flavoured with the tones of north Mississippi or southwest Tennessee.
He then prepared a cup of coffee. Soon enough, it was before Miree.
"Here you go, ma'am."
Miree gazed on the cup, and then on the man who just served her, the
unreality of the moment sinking in. Watching her, the others tried
not to smirk. Finally, a corpulent man in top hat and tails moved to
stand behind the priestess. "Before you ask, my dear, no, you are not
dead. Not yet." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder as the
person seated beside Miree, a roguish man in jeans and jean jacket,
vacated the spot. "Granted, you did give up *all* your life force
through the Staff of Gihan to save your children's lives. But Those
Powers above us . . . " He paused as an amused twinkle glistened in
his eyes. "Gave us the chance to help you remain in the mortal
world." Another pause. "Your life's task, my dear, is not yet done."
Miree gazed on him, and then she turned to the offered coffee cup.
"I see . . . " she whispered, taking the cup in hand. With a nod of
thanks to the man behind the counter, she drank. Instantly, new
strength flooded her body as a strange glow covered her. That glow
soon faded, revealing Miree as she would be in her early twenties, her
clothing morphed into a button ****rt, slacks and a grey blazer.
Gazing on the changes, she put the cup down on the counter, and then
looked at her hands. "How . . .?" she whispered.
"A little gift from all of us, kid, to our most passionate fan from
your home planet," the first man to speak to Miree declared, casually
adjusting the collar of his trench coat. "Unless you feel it IS your
time . . . " he added.
Miree jolted as if someone zapped her with a taser. She shook her
head. "No! No! No!" She waved her hand, a chuckle fluttering
through her lips. "I . . .!" She paused, and then closed a hand over
her heart. "Forgive me! This is so overwhelming! To . . . " She
looked around. "Actually stand in the presence of Those who gave my
life meaning since I was a small girl . . .!"
"Maybe you could appreciate our position," the man behind the counter
explained as he moved to give Miree a refill. "Take me. There I was,
in my bathroom at Graceland, dying from those pills . . . " He made
an exploding motion with his hands. "Then I find myself reborn,
merged with the union of the belief of so many on a planet we never
even HEARD of . . . "
"Discovering new fans was always a delight for any of us." The
blonde seated to Miree's left smiled. "But I have to confess -- and I
believe I'm speaking for everyone here -- that the way your people do
it . . .! Well . . . " A shrug. "It took us by surprise," she then
admitted.
Miree considered that. "Lady, it has been our way for so long," she
admitted. "From one Great Awakening to another . . . "
"We know," the man in the trench coat admitted. "That's become a
problem, especially with what just happened to your 'successors.'"
The others in the cafe grimly nodded. Miree gazed on them, and then
she noticed her coffee cup was full. "I don't understand . . . "
"Quite understandable, my dear." The stout man to her right sighed.
"Please humour us for a bit, though, then we hope you can see things
as we do. Three billion of your country-people, those who wor****pped
that young Urusian girl, are dead thanks to the Staff of Gihan. Now,
you know how the Staff came to be programmed to do what it did. Add
to that the fact that the person who accidentally triggered the
Staff's 'doomsday' commands was the 'great evil' in the eyes of the
Church of Lum. Given time and luck, what do you think would happen if
your people -- especially those who can perceive the truth of
relations between your rescuer and the 'image' the Lumites forced on
him -- are allowed to interpret what happened without any potential
outside influence?"
Miree blinked as his words echoed in her mind. She then looked up.
"They could trigger another Great Awakening! This time with . . . "
"With Ataru Morobo**** as the central 'deity,'" the man in the trench
coat finished. "And his half-sisters as the 'holy circle.'"
"Which, as you know, isn't what he wants," the blonde woman added.
Miree gazed on her, and then she drank her coffee. "Yes, that's
true. He . . . " Her eyes then closed as the fiery images of that
day in Lumukyou flashed through her mind. "Oh Spirits . . . that
thing he became . . . "
The man in the trench coat nodded. "We know. Thing you don't know
about that thing is that it's a modern representation of a divine
force from another planet. A very *dark* divine force, kid . . . " he
added with a raised finger.
Miree looked at him. "Which means?"
"It means, my dear, that if those on Phentax Two create a . . . well,
a 'Church of Ataru' . . . " A chuckle escaped the man to her right
before he sobered. "Well, it could lead to the destruction of
EVERYONE on your planet."
Miree paled. "Everyone . . .?"
"Everyone," several around her echoed in emphasis.
The priestess took that in, and then she moved to finish her coffee.
To her surprise, her hands didn't shake in response to the Revelation
that has been dropped on her. Placing that on the counter, she asked,
"What must I do?"
"The answer lies on the ****p your daughters -- and soon yourself, my
dear -- got their new bodies from," the man to Miree's right
explained. "If your people had taken true advantage of what that ****p
could have given you the day you discovered it, none of the pain and
misery that followed the day the Church of Lum replaced your own
church and the other churches would have followed."
"Free the babies. Let them live with those who fathered them," the
blonde added as she squeezed Miree's hand. "Doing that, your people
won't just survive. They'll evolve. Isn't that what you've long
hoped might happen?"
"How did . . .?"
Miree stopped herself. Yes, she, along with the more forward
thinking of her brother and sister clerics, did try to initiate
specific genetic research into breaking the Niphentaxians' long-bred
habit of mimicking other races' social and cultural patterns. And
ironically, it was that desire, the chief priestess soberly
remembered, which the Lumites hung over her head when she was
sentenced a year before to starve. No, not just the Lumites, Miree's
eyes narrowed as her hands clenched into fists. The Guardians, the
very people who turned a doomsday weapon like the Staff of Gihan into
the perfect vehicle to express their mad desires, also had a share of
the blame. Then again, it did make sense, didn't it? If her people
DID evolve from their present state, became fully self-thinking AND
self-creating, that which had ruled the natives of Phentax Two for so
long would be no more. Yes, in that, the Guardians' prophecy WAS
correct. If profound change did come, society on Phentax Two WOULD be
destroyed. But from the ashes of that would arise a NEW Phentax Two.
If her people did NOT evolve, though . . .!
Miree gazed on her hosts. She then stood, heading to the "door" of
this ghostly cafe. "Thank you," she said on stopping at the
threshold, bowing before she gazed on the Spirits that made her faith
real. "For everything."
The man in the trench coat winked. "Here's looking at you, kid."
** ** **
"Mother . . .?"
Miree moaned, feeling a solid body attached to her soul. Her eyes
then fluttered. Bright light made her squint. Then, as her eyes
quickly adjusted to the increased luminescence, she glanced about.
"The factory . . .?"
"Mother!"
Two girls, about fifteen, appeared in her vision. The one to Miree's
left, Jonna, was a girl with purplish eyes and stringy blonde hair in
a high ponytail. She reminded the priestess of her late husband Evis;
Lumite inquisitors had killed him three years ago. The other, Orin,
had her mother's fiery hair and eyes, though she allowed her hair to
grow to her waist; Miree cut hers short. Staring at her beloved
children, who were dressed in white turtleneck sweaters and jeans,
Miree lightly smiled as she reached up to draw them into an embrace.
Feeling their mother's touch, the girls boosted Miree into a sitting
position, and then allowed her to draw them close.
"Mother . . . " they burbled as tears began to flow. Jonna then
gazed into Miree's eyes. "We thought we lost you! What
happened . . .?"
"A Revelation happened to me, precious one." Miree leaned up to
gently kiss Jonna's forehead. "A Revelation unlike any other."
Orin quaked. "Mother?"
A reassuring kiss calmed her. "Enough, dearest life." Miree patted
Orin's back, and then she guided the girls away from her so she could
stand. A quick glance around revealed they were in one of the nearly
uncountable bioroid gestation rooms aboard the Avalon factory ****p.
There were five gestation chambers here, two still containing the
albino-skinned female-like bodies of non-templated bioroids. "We've a
very im****tant Crusade ahead of us." She gazed once more on her
children. "One that, if it's successful, will rescue our race from
eventual extinction. Where's the . . .?" Miree looked at Jonna,
noting she had the Staff of Gihan. "Good! We'll need that most of
all."
"Where are we going, Mother?" Orin asked.
Miree blinked as she considered possible options, and then she
sighed. "To stay with Ataru Morobo**** and his family for the time
being, Orin. We'll need his help, not to mention the Earth Angel's."
A scowl turned her lips as she added, "And if the dai-Zkuhsbagh is,
even after so many died back on the Homeworld, still bent on
'avenging' himself on the 'great evil,' we'll have to ensure Ataru's
sisters remain free from harm."
Jonna and Orin nodded. "Mother, while we were waiting for your body
to be gestated, the Staff told me something," the former warned.
"What?"
The Staff's focusing crystal flared to life. Two bolts of energy
lanced out to coalesce on the deck. They watched as the energy
morphed into living flesh. The young women appearing there were clad
in the dark blue seifuku of Tomobiki High School. Miree's eyes
widened in shock, and then she walked around Orin to gaze intently on
the newcomers. "Who . . .?"
"Two 'casualties' from last week's bombing of Tomobiki High," Jonna
said. "Himiko Kawamura and Mikiko Serizawa. Somehow, the dai-
Zkuhsbagh was able to capture their essences, then he created new
bodies for them to inhabit."
Miree considered that before a hand reached out to touch the side of
Himiko's face. She concentrated as non-cor****eal gateways between her
mind and that of the Terran-turned-Avalonian's opened, and then she
drew her hand back. "They haven't even been properly woken," she
said. "Where did you find them?"
"Gestation Unit 29," Jonna re****ted. "It appears the dai-Zkuhsbagh
was trying to convert them into assassins, most likely to target
either Ataru-sama or the Earth Angel Negako. Given the dai-
Zkuhsbagh's problems . . . " A smirk crossed her face as she
exchanged a knowing look with her sister. "I don't think he'll learn
of their removal from the factory anytime soon."
"Most likely, he's trying to determine some way to resurrect his
'holy apostles' so he can maintain control over his creation," Miree
mused, standing. "Have the Staff sweep their minds clean of anything
the dai-Zkuhsbagh put in them, then we'll head to Earth. The Staff
should be able to lock in on Ataru."
The sisters nodded as the Staff's focusing crystal flared.
* * *
"Visiting a hot spring?!"
"Why not?" Ataru shrugged as everyone relaxed in the living room of
the old shrine. They were enjoying hot chocolate after coming back
from a day of shopping and swimming. "Now that the whole matter with
schooling's been dealt with, we've got a whole week to ourselves.
Let's take advantage of it!"
The sisters considered his words before nodding. "Yay! Hot spring!
Hot spring! Hot spring!" Hi****o cheered, waving her hands.
The others laughed as Karen reached over to draw Hi****o back onto her
floor mat. "Why not?!" Rinrin asked with a smile. "It'll give the
construction crews on the Island a chance to finish up with your room,
Aniki!"
Ataru acked. "What are you doing with my room?!" he demanded.
The teen inventor winked. "Oh, just making it easier for you and
Aneki to live together when we get back to the Island."
Ataru and Ranma exchanged wary looks before breathing out together.
"Well, if she DOES insist!" the latter mused, and then she gazed
heavenward. "Let's just hope this trip'll be a lot more quiet than
the last one I was on."
Mamoru perked. "That's the one where you met Kimiko-chan, right?"
"Hai." Ranma then glanced worriedly at Ataru. "Where're we going,
anyway? Not some backwater spring house, I hope . . . "
"Relax! I was thinking of the Hotel Kirabo**** in Onogawa." He waved
her down. "It's not that far from where Uncle Komeru lives. We could
stay there to the weekend, then go back to the Island and get ready
for school."
Ranma considered that before she nodded. "I guess it's a plan,
then!"
Karen looked around the room. "Speaking of Kimiko-chan, where is
she? I haven't seen her since early this morning . . . "
And speak of the devil, the front door opened. "Tadaima!"
"Okaeri ne!" several of the sisters chimed back as Kimiko stepped in.
Ataru quickly noticed the giddy smile on the doll-turned-woman's
face, not to mention the spring in her stride and the wildly altering
ki patterns around her. "And what have you been up to this very fine
day, Tendou-san?"
Instantly, Yotsuba stood before Kimiko, spyglass in hand as she gave
her a look-over. "Oh, BIG checky today!" the would-be detective
declared, and then she gazed on her sisters. "Yotsuba thinks Kimiko-
chan has a boyfriend!"
"EH?!" the others gasped.
"Kimiko-chan, is this true?!" Sakuya instantly appeared at Kimiko's
side, a knowing look crossing her face as she leaned over to gaze
knowingly into the bioroid's large eyes. "Details, girl! Details!"
she urged.
"I . . .!" Kimiko's cheeks flamed, and then she clapped her cheeks
in embarrassment. "W-well, y-yes, I am interested in him . . .!"
"Eh?!" Yotsuba gasped. "Kimiko-chan DOES have a boyfriend!"
"Let's hope he's a well-mannered fellow!" Haruka drew her gunsen to
fan herself. "One simply CAN'T tell these days about people!"
"What's his name, Kimiko?" Ranma prompted.
Silence fells as the others awaited the doll-turned-woman's answer.
Kimiko took a deep breath. "Gosunkugi Hikaru."
Ranma's jaw hit the floor. "GOSUNKUGI?!"
"You know this person, Aneue-sama?" Marie asked.
"Yeah, I do!" Ranma pinched the bridge of her nose to fight back a
surge of nausea. "He's a creepy guy in my old class who's had this
crush on Akane for a long time! He's into voodoo magic, too! I think
Chikage-chan might like this guy. But . . . " She smirked. "Geez,
who'd figure something like that?! *Gosunkugi* of all people actually
winning the heart of a replica of Akane!"
"Hikaru-kun is a nice man," Kimiko explained. "I know he doesn't
like you, Ranma-sama, though he is grateful that you helped me acquire
this form." She indicated herself. "Atop that, he isn't a strong
person, not physically. And there's this boor named Kunou that Hikaru-
kun knows, who . . . " She stopped on hearing Ranma groan. "Ranma-
sama, is there something wrong?!"
Ranma slapped her forehead. "Oh, damn! I totally forgot about
Kunou!"
"That's the dork who couldn't accept your curse, right?" Mamoru
asked.
"The same." Ranma gazed sympathetically at Kimiko. "You better be
REALLY careful when it comes to dealing with the ol' Blue Blunder,
Kimiko-chan. Instant he learns you're a different person than Akane,
he'll think you'll be a hell of a lot easier to 'win over' and he'll
be on your tail as much as he was on mine when I was going to that
place!"
Kimiko paled. "But what if he attacks Hikaru-kun, Ranma-sama?! I
have to defend him! He isn't able to defend himself . . .!"
"There is a way around him."
Eyes locked on Ataru. "What sort of way, Nii-sama?" ****rayuki asked.
Ataru winked at Kimiko. "Just twist his words around to make the
real meaning of his so-called 'challenge' so fuddled, he won't be able
to talk his way back to the point where he'll feel confident enough to
challenge either Kimiko-chan or Gosunkugi head-on. Make him look like
a total fool in public and he'll never be able to live it down. Do
this right and you could have him run around in circles for the whole
school year. By the time Gosunkugi moves into the third year,
Kunou'll be on his way to college . . . "
"If he doesn't flunk his entrance exam, of course," Rinrin warned.
"Hai, true! True!" Ataru nodded. "Besides, he'll still have Akane
to chase around with once school starts tomorrow."
Ranma snorted. "That's true."
* * *
"Oh, man . . . where'm I . . .?"
"Mother, she's awake!"
Crystal blue eyes fluttered, and then they widened suddenly on seeing
a very unfamiliar ceiling far higher -- in her point of view -- than
what should be 'normal.' "Where . . .?" she muttered, a hand reaching
for her forehead.
She jolted as a younger girl with pony-tailed blonde hair and dark
eyes loomed in her line of sight. "Konban wa, Kawamura-san," she
greeted her in accented Japanese, a warm smile crossing her face.
"How do you feel?"
"I . . .!" Himiko blinked, and then her eyes focused on one
arresting detail her questioner possessed: Her ears. "You're an
alien!"
The younger girl looked nonplussed. "Well, to me, YOU'RE the alien,
Kawamura-san. How do you feel?" she asked again.
Himiko sat up, her hand rubbing the back of her skull.
"Headache . . . " she muttered. "What happened? Where the hell
am . . .?" She looked around, her voice trailing as her eyes took in
the details. "I?" she squeaked.
"You're aboard the Avalon bioroid factory-****p, Kawamura-san." A
more mature woman's voice made Himiko spin around to see a woman in
her mid-twenties walk up. Like the one who had first talked to the
swimmer, this woman had tapered ears, they barely visible under a head
of ragged, short red-brown hair. Much to Himiko's surprise, she had
reading gl***** over her blue-green eyes.
"What's that?" Himiko asked, noting there was another girl standing
close to the person who just identified her location, one who
definitely appeared to be either a younger sister or daughter of the
speaker.
"A craft created to literally create another race out of
nothingness," the older woman explained as she knelt beside the
swimmer. "It's a long story, but I assure you, you'll get a chance to
better understand your situation soon enough. In the meantime, let's
see to your friend . . . "
"Eh?!" Himiko spun around before she gasped, "Mikiko-chan!"
The prone form laying next to Himiko jolted as a hand snapped up to
cover her ears -- not that a near-ocean of green-tinged dark hair
didn't do enough to cover Serizawa Mikiko's ears. "Ouch!" she gasped,
squeezing her dark blue eyes shut. "Do you have to shout so much,
Himiko?!" she demanded, her body quaking for a moment, and then her
eyes opened as she looked around. "What the . . .?"
The red-haired younger alien knelt beside Mikiko, placing a
reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Serizawa-san?"
Mikiko paused, gazing intently at the alien for a moment, and then
she slowly nodded. "H-hai." She sat up as the alien let her go, and
then she looked at Himiko. "What's going on, Himiko-chan?! Where are
we?! Last thing I remember was that quake hitting the school . . .!"
"'S funny! That's the last thing I remember, too," Himiko muttered,
reaching up to rub her shaggy, neck-length, sky-blue hair. She then
looked at the three alien women with them. "Hey, who are you,
anyway?!"
The eldest alien chuckled. "Forgive me. We should've introduced
ourselves." She placed a hand over her heart. "My name is Miree
ot'ndai-Bohgar. I hail from Phentax Two, in the constellation you
know of as Cancer, about fifty light-years from Earth. These are my
daughters, Jonna dai-Bohgar . . . " She indicated the blonde girl,
and then the younger redhead. "And Orin dai-Bohgar. We're very
pleased to meet you."
Jonna grinned. "Promoting yourself a little too early, Mother?"
Miree glared her down. "Daughter!"
Orin laughed. "Never heard of your planet," Himiko admitted as she
stood up, and then she helped Mikiko to her feet. "So how the heck
did we get aboard this -- factory-****p, you called it? -- anyway?!"
she then asked.
Miree sighed. "In effect, Kawamura-san, you and Serizawa-san died to
get up here." Ignoring their widening eyes and paling faces as her
words sank in, the Hollywoodite chief priestess added, "That was no
earthquake you experienced in Tomobiki High School. That was a
terrorist bomb detonated by a fanatic from your planet's Islamic sect
in hopes of killing all those who sup****ted Lum."
"A terrorist . . .?" Mikiko gasped.
"W-we d-DIED . . .?!" Himiko stammered.
"Physically, yes, you died." Miree reached out to hold their hands
in reassurance. "Fortunately, this ****p was able to snare your
spirits before they slipped from this life into the next life. Then,
when the chance came, new bodies were constructed for you to inhabit."
The Tomobiki High sophomores took her words in before Mikiko raised
her hand to give it a close inspection. On noting no physical
difference between what she had and what she was used to, she turned
back to Miree. "These bodies were cloned from us, right?" she asked,
her voice hushed.
"The same idea." Miree nodded, indicating herself and her children.
"We, like you, experienced something similar not so long ago. Be
assured, before I got this body, I hadn't looked *this* good in a VERY
long time."
She pointed to her face. "It d-doesn't bug y-you?" Himiko stammered.
Sensing a tidal wave of paranoia about to swamp the swimmer, Miree
gazed on her, reaching down to hold Himiko's hands. "I'm alive,
Kawamura-san. Regardless of what else happened, I'm still alive.
That counts for much, ne?"
Himiko gazed into the priestess' eyes, and then she shakily nodded,
her own eyes tearing. Immediately, Miree's arms wrapped around her,
whispered words of reassurance echoing in the swimmer's ears. Himiko
began to sob, her arms clinging desperately to Miree as the full
weight of what just happened to her -- not to mention the ugly
realization of what MIGHT have ultimately happened to her! -- sank
in. Standing beside her, Mikiko hugged herself, her eyes misting.
Hands fell on her shoulders. She turned to see Jonna and Orin gazing
her. Mikiko tried to smile. "I'm okay . . . "
It didn't work. As Mikiko's own sobs quaked her body, Miree flashed
a knowing look to Jonna. The latter nodded, using her free hand to
hold the Staff of Gihan over their heads. In a flash of light, they
were gone.
* * *
"So you want to stay here to stay close to Gosunkugi, right?"
"Hai." Kimiko nodded as she lays out her bedroll. The doll-turned-
woman was making use of the second spare bedroom in the Morobo****
home. "I don't think that I'll be able to go into school, not without
spending a lot of time catching up on things you take so much for
granted. Besides, if things between Hikaru-kun and I work out in the
long term . . . "
"Well, if you don't mind becoming like Kasumi, all the world to
you." Ranma smirked as she drew out some blankets. "But you should
try to keep your options open, Kimiko-chan. Study when you get the
chance to. There're loads of catch-up courses you can take if you
want," she noted, spreading the blankets over the futon. "And if the
chance comes, you can take a high school equivalency exam, then get
yourself into university as an adult student and go on from there.
Don't let things overwhelm you, Kimiko-chan."
"I'll try not to." Kimiko smiled, and then her face blanked out for
a second as her eyes turned towards the front door. "Eh . . .?"
"What?" Ranma perked. She then tensed on sensing a massive surge of
ki warp past her from the direction of the front lawn. "What's
that . . .?!"
She turned to race out of the room to see what was going on. In the
living room, the sisters were preparing for bed. Michael was at the
main doorway, whining impatiently as he pawed the door. "Michael, is
there something wrong . . .?" Marie wondered, and then she gasped as
Ataru stepped around her, heading to the door. "Aniue-sama!" she
gasped.
Ataru shushed her with a finger. ****ging Marie's dog aside, he
opened the door to look outside. One look was enough to send his jaw
to the patio deck. "Jonna?! Orin?!" he cried out in shock. "What
the hell are . . .?!"
"Ataru-sama!" A pair of very excited girls' voices heralded two
typhoons of alien teenager slamming into him like a phalanx of NFL
linebackers moving after the ball was snapped, the impact sending him
falling flat onto his back.
The sisters cried out in shock on seeing Jonna and Orin just as Ranma
stormed in. "Hey, Ataru, there's . . . HUH?!" She stopped on seeing
him being hugged by a pair of girls Karen's age, their pointed ears
speaking volumes.
"Onii-chan! Who are these girls?!" Karen demanded.
"Cut it out! I need to breathe!" Ataru groaned as Jonna and Orin
seemed to turn on the glomp. "Cut it out, for heaven's sake!"
"Girls, let him up!" another woman's voice echoed from outside.
Eyes turned to the doorway, where an older woman with gl***** was
presently standing, she framed by two teenagers dressed in dark blue
seifuku. Seeing them, Sakuya paled in shocked horror. "Hey!
Those're . . .?!" She shakily pointed at Kawamura Himiko and Serizawa
Mikiko.
"Two people who should be dead, but are not," Chikage cut in as she
walked past Sakuya. Then, on noticing Ataru trying to force Jonna and
Orin away from him, she sighed. Reaching down, the sorceress firmly
tapped the alien teens' foreheads. The effects were instantaneous;
Jonna and Orin dropped into unconscious heaps to either side of
Ataru. "Are you alright, Ani-kun?"
Ataru staggered to his feet before peering intently at the eldest of
the newcomers at the doorway. "Miree . . .?" He blinked in stunned
disbelief. "But how did you . . .?" He stopped himself, and then he
sighed. "The Staff?"
"Hai." The Hollywoodite chief priestess nodded as she gently guided
Himiko and Mikiko inside the old shrine. "As for your former
schoolmates here, you can thank the dai-Zkuhsbagh and the bioroid
factory for restoring them."
Silence fell as Ataru considered what Miree just said. His eyes then
widened. "The factory's HERE?! In orbit over Earth?!"
"Yes." Miree gravely nodded. "And yes, the dai-Zkuhsbagh survived
what happened in Lumukyou. Barely. That still hasn't . . . "
She shrugged. Ataru blinked, and then his head drooped. "Oh,
terrific."
* * *
"Your people wor****pped Lum as a GOD?!"
Everyone sat in a circle in the living room. Hi****o and Aria were
presently asleep in Jonna and Orin's laps respectively. Himiko and
Mikiko sat to either side of Miree. Ranma remained close to Ataru,
Kimiko seated beside Negako. "Not exactly, Sakuya-san," Miree
replied. "About ninety percent of my race, on both the Homeworld and
all our colonies, accepted the 'Church of Lum' to one extent or
another. Of that, seventy percent were hard-core members, those who
followed the dai-Zkuhsbagh's line of thinking."
"And that line of thinking says that Anii's supposedly some sort of
devil 'cause he didn't kowtow to Lum like everyone else in Tomobiki
did, right?" Mamoru asked, she sparing the odd glance toward her big
brother.
"Exactly. The first seeds of the Church of Lum were laid a decade
ago when Lum rescued Oogi dai-Zkuhsbagh, the son of a trading magnate,
from the horrors of Uru's Terrible Swamps. By the time he returned to
the Homeworld, the tenets of the Church he envisioned were set. Once
that happened, it was just a matter of time before he convinced enough
people to launch a Great Awakening. Over the next five years, the
Church expanded its influence to where it became the First Church of
the Homeworld. And then . . . "
"Then?" Karen prompted.
"Then is when the leaders of the Church of Lum decided to drive
matters to the point where their creation would become the 'One True
Faith.'" Miree sighed. "Those of other faiths who were willing to
convert, did. Those who didn't, such as myself . . . " Her voice
trailed off.
Mamoru winced. "Geez!"
Kaho looked nauseous. "That's horrible!"
"That's not the end of it, Kaho-chan," Ataru warned.
Miree grimly nodded. "Indeed, Ataru is correct. Things went from
bad to worse in the weeks after the First Tag Race, ladies. As I'm
sure you're all aware, as soon as Lum took up residence in Tomobiki,
many of the people living there became quite infatuated with her. The
leaders of the Church of Lum took that as a sign that the 'perfect
faith' had been found. Thus they began a massive evangelizing program
designed to win over as many converts as possible. I tried to stop
them, but . . . " She closed her eyes. "I was arrested for my
'heresy.' And my daughters and I would have suffered for it hadn't
your brother come to save us sometime ago on Phentax Two."
She gazed thankfully on Ataru. Ataru had the courtesy to look
sheepish. "Is this what you didn't want to tell us, Anigimi-sama?"
Haruka gently asked.
"It's part of it," he admitted.
"You desired to kill Oogi to ensure the Niphentaxians couldn't come
to the Urusians' aid in their war against the Noukiites."
Eyes locked on Chikage, and then they turned back to Ataru.
"Anii . . . " Mamoru's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Wh-why . . .?"
Ataru blinked. "There was no choice, Mamoru-chan. It . . . " He
bit his lip, and then he breathed out as he stared on his sisters.
"Look at it this way. You know how bad some people can be when it
comes to warping truth around to fit their own worldview. Ranma's
'friend' Kunou is like that. Well . . . " He shrugged. "Oogi is
millions of times worse, Mamoru-chan. Even more, he was, at the time,
the PRESIDENT of Phentax Two atop being the senior leader of his
faith. There was no one, NO ONE around to force him into seeing the
truth about what he was doing, especially to his own people. And no
one in the Galactic Federation wanted to do anything to stop him.
And . . . "
He squeezed his eyes shut. "Onii-chan . . .?" Karen whispered.
"I didn't want him to hurt you girls."
"Does this creep know about us?" Yotsuba wondered.
He shook his head. "Can't say."
Marie shuddered. "He really wouldn't . . .!"
"He WOULD, Marie-san," Miree cut in. "Ataru is right about the dai-
Zkuhsbagh's level of fanaticism. It is beyond any hope of
redemption. While most in Tomobiki would, I suspect, give you girls
leeway even if they knew of your relation****p to Ataru, the dai-
Zkuhsbagh wouldn't. To him, you would automatically become . . . "
She paused as she considered possible names the Lumite leader would
use. "The 'Great Evil's Wicked Sisters' or something like that.
Condemned from the start with no hope of redemption."
The sisters save Chikage paled. "But this Oogi fellow doesn't know
us . . . " ****rayuki's eyes glistened with frightened tears.
"It doesn't matter." Miree shook her head. "That you are Ataru's
blood-relations is more than enough in the dai-Zkuhsbagh's eyes."
Silence fell. The chief priestess was quick to sense the growing
fear in many of the sisters concerning what lurked literally over
their very heads.
"Kaho isn't evil . . . "
Sniffles escaped the cheerleader as she shuffled over to sink in
Ataru's embrace. He shushed her, gently kneading Kaho's hair as she
wept. "What can we do now?" Karen asked as she looked around the
room.
"The answer is quite elementary, Karen."
Eyes turned to Negako. An icy smile cut across the ninjutsu
grandmaster's face. "What's that, Onee-sama?" Sakuya demanded.
"Destroy Oogi, Sakuya. Finish what Ataru started on Phentax Two."
Ranma gazed on the grandmaster. "Can we do it now?"
Negako hummed as her eyes turned heavenward, her ki senses reaching
into space to touch the cloaked factory. A minute later, she
relaxed. "Onee-chan . . .?" Karen asked, she gazing concernedly at
the ninjutsu grandmaster.
"No, Ranma, not now," Negako re****ted. "But very soon. Further, we
cannot do a direct force-on-force attack against Oogi."
"What CAN we do?" Yotsuba demanded.
"Go on vacation."
Everyone jolted. "Onee-sama, this isn't the least bit funny!" Sakuya
snapped, surprised by the supposed flippancy of Negako's reply.
"I do not derive any enjoyment from this, Sakuya." Negako gazed on
her. "However, there are many factors which require to be taken into
consideration before a plan to deal with Oogi can be drafted, much
less implemented. I will remain in Nerima analysing this matter while
you are off to Onogawa. Given the problems that beset your initial
coming together with Ataru on the Island, you need a chance to truly
grow together as a family. Doing that will serve to forge another
wall against Oogi. Other precautions will be taken. I believe Miree
and her children will be of benefit towards that end. In the
meantime, it is best you all get as much sleep as you can. You
clearly need it now."
She rose, heading to her bedroom.
* * *
"There you go. All asleep . . . "
It was shortly after midnight. Souun nodded as he emotionlessly
stared on Nabiki, she draped in a towel. Kasumi had come back from
Tampopo's an hour ago, heading right to bed. Souun did nothing to
stop her save remain in the sitting room, enjoying late night tea and
reading a newspaper. Once he felt it was safe enough to initiate his
plan, he made his way into his oldest child's room and, with a quick
****atsu strike, ensured Kasumi wouldn't interfere with what he planned
for his other daughter . . .
Soon to be his son.
Having ensured Nabiki could not resist, Souun scooped her into his
arms to carry her into the bathroom. The furo was filling with water,
it well below the temperature Genma or Ranma needed to reverse their
curses. With the ****atsu point he just used on Nabiki -- Kasumi would
be quite stunned to learn that she wasn't the only person who read the
many books which had wound their way to the Tendou home from Ono
Toofuu's clinic -- Souun knew his soon-to-be "son" wouldn't wake up
when her skin touched cold water. He lowered her into the furo,
allowing the water to soak her. Positioning her arms to ensure she
wouldn't slump in and drown, Souun scampered out of the room. A
minute later, he returned, a familiar cask in hand. Setting that on
the floor beside the furo, he wiped his forehead, and then waited
until the water got to the level of Nabiki's breasts before he
uncorked the cask to empty it into the furo.
The change was instantaneous.
Souun's eyes widened as the sensual curves of Nabiki's body morphed
into the sharper, stronger lines of a lean yet well-muscled man in his
late teens. Her/his hair darkened to raven black, it becoming
shaggier. A gentle moan escaped him, his head drooping back to lean
against the edge of the furo. Souun moved to keep him in place, and
then he relaxed on seeing that his transformed child was much taller,
about Kunou Tatewaki's height. Well, that would be all right, the
Tendou patriarch smirked. Not only would his son be able to force
Ranma back where she truthfully belonged, he could also step in and
finally deal with that insane rich blowhard and his family.
All he had to do at this time was to wait ten minutes.
* * *
"Ataru-sama?"
Ataru looked over his shoulder, smiling. "Are they asleep?"
"Hai." Jonna nodded as she and Orin stepped into Ataru's bedroom.
Ranma was currently in the furo enjoying a late night soak. "Ataru-
sama, we . . . " The elder of the Niphentaxian/Avalonian sisters
blushed, bowing her head.
"We're sorry that we embarrassed you in front of your sisters and
your friends," Orin completed, her cheeks flaming. "But you did . . .
"
Ataru then grinned. "Oh, c'mere!" He held out his hands.
The sisters slid into his embrace. "We owe you our very lives, Ataru-
sama," Jonna whispered as she kissed his cheek. "Without you,
we . . . " She then stiffened as she tried to force the words out.
"We might've . . . "
"I know." He nodded, kissing Jonna's forehead, and then Orin's.
"It's alright. I understand. I'm glad you're alright now."
They remained as they were. The bedroom door then opened, revealing
Ranma draped in a towel, drying her hair. She stopped on seeing the
younger women tightly clutching Ataru. Ranma shuddered as a surge of
jealousy thundered up her spine, and then a grin crossed her face.
"Hey, girls, I hope you realize that's MY boyfriend you're hogging
now," she then coyly warned.
Ataru blinked, gazing at her in bewilderment. "Ranma . . .?"
They looked at her, and then approached Ranma. Before she could
understand what was happening, they swamped her with embraces. "Ranma-
sama, you're so LUCKY!" Jonna yipped. "Winning Ataru-sama's love all
by yourself!"
"You're the luckiest girl in the whole universe, Ranma-sama!" Orin
added. "Oh, I'd give anything to be in your shoes right now!"
Ranma's cheeks flamed. Ataru laughed. "Somehow, I think you really
DON'T want to be in Ranma's shoes." He scratched his head before
turning to them. "In the meantime, I've got a favour I have to ask,"
he declared.
"What sort of favour, Ataru-sama?" Jonna wondered as she and Orin
pulled away from Ranma, allowing her to finish drying herself.
"It concerns Hi****o-chan and Aria-chan." Ataru sighed. "I was
hoping if both of you would stay close to them for the next while."
Orin nodded. "Of course we could, Ataru-sama! But why . . .?"
"Let's just say that despite their being my sisters, I haven't been
much of a big brother to them. Hell, to ANY of them to be honest," he
said. "And with you girls here and Oogi right now hanging over all
our heads, the full story behind what went down in Lumukyou is going
to come out soon. I don't think Hi****o and Aria're going to be able
to deal with that. Understand?"
Jonna and Orin exchanged a look. "We understand, Ataru-sama," the
former affirmed, a shrug rolling her shoulders. "Besides, it'll be
nice to deal with children without having to hear them calling you
'heretics' or 'infidels.'"
Ranma rubbed her hair with the towel. "What does that mean?"
"When we were incarcerated, we were allowed to baby-sit children of
other prisoners, Ranma-sama," Orin explained. "Of course, we didn't
bother to attempt to convert them or do anything that would've brought
even more trouble onto us. Even with that, though . . . "
She looked down. Jonna sadly nodded. "They even put *babies* in
jail?!" Ranma wondered, she staring at Ataru in shocked disbelief.
"They did," he replied, closing his eyes. "When I was there, I found
several kids in cryo-suspension tubes. I was able to see them
reunited with their parents; those . . . " His eyes closed. "Who
survived what their jailers put them through. Don't ask me why it
happened . . . "
Jonna grimaced. "Most likely, their parents had angered their
jailors to the point where those bastards decided to punish them by
hurting their children. That's the way those monsters were like,
Ranma-sama."
"****!" Ranma hissed.
"Agreed." Ataru nodded, turning back to Jonna and Orin. "So can I
count on you two to remain close to Hi****o-chan and Aria-chan?"
Jonna grimaced. "Of course. Excuse us, please."
She and Orin departed. Ranma watched them go. She then blinked as
Ataru gazed her way, a grin crossing his face. "So what's this about
me being your boyfriend, Ranma-chan?" he asked, sliding over to gaze
into her eyes.
Ranma paled, and then she stopped, confusion crossing her face for a
moment before a light smile curled her lips. "What do YOU think,
Ataru-kun?" she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck as she drew
him close.
* * *
"Let me see if I get this straight." Himiko held up a finger.
"Ranma-san was born a boy, but because he fell into this magic spring
in China, he's now a girl here . . . " She pointed to her heart, and
then her head. "And here. And because somebody bonded Ranma-san to
your brother when they were kids, there was no way Lum could've won
Ataru-kun's heart in the long term?"
Sakuya nodded. "That's the way it is." The two survivors of the
attack on Tomobiki High were relaxing with several of Ataru's older
sisters and Inu Chigaiko in the living room. "And it's a good thing,
too," the eldest of the sisters added before sipping her tea. "Given
the way that girl abused and assumed so much about Onii-sama, I don't
think any marriage could've worked out between them in the long term.
Not without a LOT of help!"
Mikiko giggled. "You're lucky Megane's dead, Sakuya-san. If he
heard you say that, he wouldn't have let you hear the end of it."
"Amen to that!" Chigaiko ruefully shook her head before she gazed at
her teacup, a scowl twisting her lips. "Pity Mendou survived. If
he'd have been pushed out of the way, Ataru-kun would have no more
worries."
Himiko and Mikiko gaped as they stared at her. Hearing something
like THAT concerning the rich scion of the Mendou fortune, especially
from a girl who had been in Mendou's very own CLASS, was utterly
unheard of in Tomobiki! "Chigaiko-san, you can't wish that about
Mendou-san!" Mikiko gasped.
Chigaiko gave her former schoolmate a baleful look that made Mikiko
wilt. "I'm not like some of the people at that place when it comes to
that snob," she replied before drinking the rest of her tea. "I knew
what the jerk was like from day one." She rose, turning to head to
her bedroom. "There's nothing you can do to make me change my mind on
that subject. 'Night, everyone."
"Good night, Chigaiko-san," Haruka replied as she headed off.
"Boy, Chigaiko-san really doesn't like that guy, ne?" Yotsuba mused
as soon as Chigaiko had stepped into her bedroom.
"You blame her, Yotsuba-chan?" Karen wondered. "After all, Onii-chan
was the only one in the whole school who remembered Chigaiko-san's
name."
The would-be detective nodded. "Checky!"
"I guess that'd be hard," Himiko agreed before a sly smile crossed
her face. "Still, when it comes to Mendou-san, one can dream."
Mikiko grinned. "Hai!"
"About what?" Haruka asked, one of her eyebrows arching. "Yes, he is
handsome and all that, but he takes gross advantage of his many assets
to string along every girl who has the ill-fortune to cross his path.
And his own overblown pride does not allow him to accept things when a
girl actually REJECTS him, as Lum-san and Chigaiko-san have done.
Knowing that, is it any wonder that Mendou would find himself at odds
with Anigimi-sama?"
"Well, it won't matter after this coming weekend," Sakuya mused.
"Why do you say that, Sakuya-chan?" Karen asked.
"Oh, Reigi-kun told me this when we were at the Tower swimming." The
eldest of the sisters smiled, winking conspiratorially. "Mendou's
parents and the Mizunokoojis have decided that the time's finally come
for the fellow to fulfill his obligation to his family. In other
words . . . " She sipped her tea. "He and Mizunokooji Asuka are
going to tie the knot come Saturday."
"WHAT?!" Himiko and Mikiko shrieked together.
Sakuya nodded, a devilish smirk crossing her face. "Hai. And, to
ensure that there can be no interference, Mendou'll be withdrawn from
Tomobiki High tomorrow. The actual announcement of the coming
nuptials won't be made until late Saturday morning. Even more, it'll
be a private ceremony."
Yotsuba rolled her eyes, a sly giggle escaping her. "Oooh, the girls
at Tomobiki High are NOT gonna check that!"
"B-b-but . . .!" Mikiko stuttered.
"Mikiko-san, there's nothing you, much less anyone else from
Tomobiki, can do to stop it from happening," Haruka warned. "This is
a matter of giri. If Mendou refuses, he dishonours himself for life."
"But marrying ASUKA?!" Mikiko demanded. "She's androphobic, Haruka-
san! There's no way that sort of marriage'll last, you know!"
"Oh?" Karen said. "From what Onii-chan told us, Asuka-san is
actually quite comfortable being in Mendou-san's company."
Sakuya giggled. "It was one of the things Onii-sama couldn't stand.
The girls he chased actually being cared for by other guys!"
"Much less those very same girls caring for other men in return."
Haruka politely covered her mouth as an amused chuckle shook her. "At
least with us, Anigimi-sama will have a moral excuse since we are his
kin. Ne, Sakuya-chan?"
Sakuya nodded. "True, true."
Himiko and Mikiko blinked. "You know about the crap Ataru-kun pulled
when he was in Tomobiki and you ACCEPT that?" the former asked.
"Well, no, we wouldn't like it if Onii-chan started acting like that
again," Karen mused, a shrug rolling her shoulder. "But it doesn't
mean we don't love Onii-chan. We do love him. He's our brother."
"We're not gonna fall into the trap most folks in Tomobiki do and
check everything from one viewpoint," Yotsuba added as she held up her
spyglass. "After all, according to Yotsuba's investigations, Ani-
chama wasn't the least bit responsible for well over HALF of all the
weird occurrences that hit Tomobiki from the day he became 'engaged'
to Lum to the day Lum left."
The Tomobiki High sophomores blinked, their eyes widening in shocked
disbelief. "That can't be true," Mikiko blurted out.
"Yotsuba checked it out with Negako-anechama. It's all checky!"
"Besides, when Anigimi-sama finally departed Tomobiki, he was stating
he wasn't going to be forced into the position where people would
blame him for everything under the sun," Haruka added. "And since he
has turned away from allowing such behaviour to dominate his life, he
deserves a chance." She drew her gunsen and fanned herself. "I'm
sure, ladies, you'll both agree that he wouldn't get such in
Tomobiki. Ne?"
Himiko and Mikiko exchanged a look, and then they sighed. "True."
"Well, it doesn't really matter now," Karen mused. "It's all in the
past and we're together with Onii-chan. That matters more."
Sakuya nodded. "True, true."
"You seem to have accepted him pretty easily," Mikiko mused.
Karen shrugged, a content smile on her face. "Why not? We may not
have our mothers and stepfathers, but we have each other and Onii-chan
and Negako-oneechan. We're a family. Yes, we all have our problems,
but if we don't allow those problems to overcome us, we'll be fine."
"And there's no way in hell that we'll allow anyone to try to break
us apart," Sakuya added. "We like things the way they are now and
there's no way that we're going to allow it to change without our
consent. And if people in Tomobiki or Nerima or this Oogi creep have
got a problem with that because they don't like Onii-sama or Ranma-
oneesama, that's just too damn bad."
Himiko nodded, her gaze turning inward for a moment. "I guess you
guys are pretty lucky. I mean, to the rest of the world, I'm dead.
What happens to me -- to us . . .?!" She indicated Mikiko, sighing.
"What happens to us now?"
"That is a concern," Haruka agreed with a nod. "We should make an
effort to contact your parents and tell them the news."
"Are they going to accept that, Haruka-chan?" Marie wondered. "After
all, they had bodies to bury. They've gone through the funerals and
the memorial ceremonies. How could Himiko-san's and Mikiko-san's
parents ultimately accept them back as their children after THAT?!"
"If they can't, all we have to do is adopt them into our family and
let them keep their current names," Rinrin proposed.
"They should still be told, Rinrin-chan," ****rayuki lamented.
"Himiko-san and Mikiko-san deserve to have their families back."
Haruka nodded. "Agreed."
"We'll worry about that in the morning." Sakuya checked her watch.
"It's getting pretty late. We need to get some sleep."
"True," Marie agreed with a yawn as people moved to head to bed.
* * *
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