"I am truly disappointed to hear that, Nodoka."
Nodoka winced as Isao's gaze raked over her. Both sat in the
reception lounge of the latter's office, located atop a skyscraper in
the heart of Tokyo's Marunouchi district, close to the metropolis'
main railroad station. "I am truly sorry about this, Father," she
apologized with a deep bow. "I had hoped that, regardless of what
legal action the government had taken on my so- . . .!" Her voice
then choked as she remembered what Ranma had told her at the Morobo****
home earlier in the day. "My child's behalf . . . "
"Do not SAY that!" Isao snapped, the icy rage in his voice causing
Nodoka to freeze in place. "Isn't it obvious, Nodoka?! This whole
insane story about those cursed ponds in China altering BOTH my
grandson's mind as well as body is just that: A STORY! How could you
have blinded yourself to the truth, girl?! You know that monster
Happoosai is friends with this Morobo**** Negako! Why didn't you make
yourself see that Morobo**** is manipulating Ranma to stand against us,
all because of her friend****p with Happoosai?!"
"But, Father . . .!"
"ENOUGH!" Isao roared.
Silence fell as Nodoka remained frozen in place. She dared NOT raise
her head to gaze upon her father, do ANYTHING that might serve to rile
Isao further. Her very existence as a daughter of Asagaya Isao, a
member of the Asagaya Clan, hung in the very balance. Taking a deep
breath to calm himself down, Isao then closed his eyes. "Return to
your home. When the time comes, we will confront this Morobo**** woman
-- or whatever she is! -- directly! We WILL bring Ranma into the
family! By FORCE if necessary! Go!"
"Hai!"
Nodoka rose, she swiftly exiting the lounge. After the door closed
behind her, Isao took a breath. "No . . . " he hissed as his eyes
focused on a painting of his late wife Nana, hanging on a nearby
wall. "You WILL be avenged, Nana! You will be finally avenged . . .
"
A buzzer sounded off on the phone sitting on the table beside his
chair. "Asagaya-dono?" his secretary called out over the intercom.
Isao relaxed. "What is it, Etsuko-san?"
"Hoofuku Reiji-sama is here to see you, sir."
The patriarch of the Asagaya Clan perked. "Send him in, please."
"Right away, Asagaya-dono."
The door opened a moment later to reveal a man who appeared well past
his prime. Dressed in robes reminiscent of what Buddhist monks in
Korea typically wore, he has next to no hair on his head, save for
wisps of pure white over his ears plus a moustache and goatee. His
dark brown eyes glimmered with an icy fire that would make most people
believe he wasn't in full command of his senses. Isao knew much
better. Hoofuku Reiji was the patriarch of a minor ninjutsu clan
whose distant ancestors had been Shaolin monks who had migrated from
China during the time of the Fujiwara Regency in the latter part of
the Heian age. His family was related to the Morobo**** Clan only by
marriage; his younger daughter Jiko had married the brother of the
late Morobo**** Nagaiwakai, Hana Seinen, decades ago. From that
marriage came one daughter, Hana Naho.
It was a marriage the elderly Hoofuku patriarch had NOT approved of
whatsoever; the Hoofuku Clan had opposed the Morobo**** Clan -- and by
extension, the Imperial Household and the Japanese government as a
whole! -- in the last phase of the ****nobi wars during the 1950s.
That was when Nagaiwakai had first made contact with the alien race
known as the Zephyrites. The power that Nagaiwakai had been able to
gain from that first contact had been enough to put down the
rebellious ninja clans in the name of the Shoowa Emperor. That was an
act Reiji or his clansmen had never forgotten nor forgiven. Seinen
and Jiko later paid for their "crimes" with their very lives.
As for Naho, her ultimate fate remained a total mystery to this day.
"Konban wa, Isao-san," Reiji greeted his host with a respectful bow.
"Konban wa, Reiji-san," Isao returned the greeting with an equally
respectful bow. "Did you learn what happened to Genma's friend?"
"The soulsword happened," Reiji replied as he sat in front of Isao.
Isao perked. Having associated with the Hoofuku over the last couple
of weeks, the Asagaya patriarch had become aware of the basic fighting
manoeuvres in the Morobo**** Clan's in-house school of ninjutsu. "How
did that happen?"
Reiji explained. Hearing what just happened to Tendou Souun in his
last attempt to "unite the schools," Isao laughed. "That fool's no
different than Genma!" he exclaimed before composing himself. "Is
Souun doomed to die?"
"No, he will eventually recover. If left alone, I'd say it would
take several weeks. Two months at maximum." An icy smile then
crossed Reiji's face. "It CAN be shortened if the right treatment is
administered, Isao-san."
Isao's eyes narrowed. "What do you have in mind?"
Reiji's grin widened. "Something that will serve both our ends, my
friend. We both agree on this: Neither of us wants an alliance or
anything like it between Saotome Ranma and Morobo**** Ataru, to say
anything of those bastard *****es Ataru's spineless father sired on
the side. Are we agreed on that?" Seeing Isao nod, Reiji then
relaxed. "I have an idea that will forever sever whatever bonds of
friend****p presently exist between your grandchild and Nagaiwakai's
loon grandson." He then smiled again as he moved to add, knowing well
that Isao would LOVE to hear this point: "At the same time, Isao-san,
it will guarantee the final demise of the last living heir of
Happoosai."
The Asagaya patriarch gazed on his guest. "Do go on, Reiji-san."
* * *
On ground level, standing near the outer border of the Imperial
Palace grounds, was a lovely teenage girl with short-cut black hair
and deep blue eyes masked by a pair of sunglasses. She was dressed in
a dark blouse and knee-length skirt, a black choker with a
chrysanthemum around her neck. Hanging from one hand was a bag full
of goodies she obtained from shops in Harajuku before her powers
locked in on her target and led her across town. Her eyes were fixed
on the top of the building where Asagaya Isao had his offices. While
trailing the likes of Hoofuku Reiji could be dangerous if one didn't
take precautions, Inaba Ayano really had nothing to worry about. Even
if he knew about Nagaiwakai's connections with the Zephyrites, the
Hoofuku patriarch couldn't conceive of him being tracked by someone
possessing Avalonian abilities. Thus, he couldn't ****eld himself from
her empathic probes.
Too bad for him.
Ayano's cell phone then rang. She reached into her skirt pocket to
pick it up. "Mo****-mo****. This is Inaba," she hailed.
"Hello, Ayano-chan," a mature woman's voice called back over the
line.
Ayano blinked. "Naho-sama!"
"Are you keeping an eye on Grandfather now, dear?"
Ayano nodded. "Hai. He's still meeting with Nodoka-san's father."
"Good. As soon as that's done, track Grandfather down to wherever he
might be staying at this time. When you learn that, call me with all
the information, and then you can go back to your friends. I can deal
with matters concerning Grandfather from that point on."
Ayano nodded again. "Naho-sama, shouldn't Negako-sama be
told . . .?"
An amused laugh. "Ayano-chan, believe me: Negako-chan already
knows."
Ayano took that in, and then she nodded. "Hai."
* * *
In her bedroom in Nerima, Negako looked up, her eyes angling over in
the direction of downtown Tokyo. "Yes, Naho, I already know."
**** **** ****
"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, "C" SIDE - REALITY'S SURPRISES
"Here, please."
"Hai."
A signature was jotted down, and then a hanko stamp was imprinted
beside it. "Okay, last one." Yumoa Reigi drew up the final sheet in
the pile of papers to place it before Kasumi. "Sign here and here,
please."
He indicated the spaces. "Hai." The Tendou matriarch jotted her
signature down, and then she stamped it.
Reigi took the sheet back to scan the paper before nodding. "Okay,
then. I do say that congratulations are in order." He slipped the
sheet with the other papers in his briefcase before facing his host.
"I'll have these filed with the applicable agencies before the close
of business today, to be made effective as soon as possible. Still,
pretty much as of now, you and your siblings are free once and for all
from anything your father might've arranged on your 'behalf.'" His
lips twisted scornfully as he uttered that word. "Not to mention the
fact that everything that was legally his before today is officially
yours to do with as you please. After taxes, of course."
"We're not worried about that, Yumoa-san." Kasumi shook her head.
"I'll contact a real estate agent today. He's been interested in this
property since shortly after Mother passed away. We should be able to
sell it off quickly."
"Well, if you need any help concerning finances, you can contact me
here." Reigi drew out a business card to hand it over to her with
both his hands. "I understand that Ataru-kun's sisters have offered
your family the chance to stay at Welcome House for the time being."
"Hai. I don't like the idea of imposing on them, of course . . . "
He made a dismissive wave. "It's alright, Tendou-san. Welcome House
was initially built on the premise of allowing children who, for
whatever reason, had to be separated from their parents for an
indefinite period of time. That also includes young adults wanting to
make a start with their lives away from any negative influence from
their parents."
Her gaze turned inward for a moment. "Such as what Father tried to
do."
"Hai." He gave her a sympathetic look. "I have a good appreciation
of what you're feeling right now. Until now, you've never really
contemplated making such a radical choice like this. Am I right?"
His eyebrow arched. Seeing her nod, he breathed out, "Tendou-san,
please don't let this decision weigh you down or negatively influence
you in the future. You're not doing this just for yourself remember?
There are your sisters and your brother to worry about, too. Don't
they deserve the chance to go out on their own, take control over
their lives? Of course they do. You do, too. You've put in so much
time and effort into keeping this place standing. You've sacrificed
so much on your family's behalf. Well, here's the reward for all that
hard work."
He waved to his briefcase. "Granted, it wasn't gained in a way that
would win the ultimate approval of your father. But whose fault is it
really when it comes to what happened between him and you? Much less
your family as a whole and Saotome Ranma?" he continued. "The older
generations these days tend to forget that along with the rights
they're due to receive because of their experience, they have
RESPONSIBILITIES to the younger generation, especially their flesh-and-
blood. And one of those responsibilities is to acknowledge that the
time must come when the children have to leave the nest and chart
their own lives. And to prepare them, parents have to train their
children TO be ready to face that time. Your father never did that
for you, Kasumi-san. You, Nabiki-san and Akane-san had to pretty much
learn that on your own."
She grimaced. "Still, when he recovers from what Negako-san
did . . . "
"Then he'll have no choice but to face up to what he's done wrong."
Kasumi considered that before she hesitantly nodded. "Hai, that's
true. I just wish it didn't have to happen THIS way."
Reigi shook his head. "**He's** the one who forced you and your
siblings into this situation, Tendou-san. As I said, it is not your
fault by any stretch of the imagination. Ataru-kun didn't allow
Kinshou or Muchi to get away with what they did to him once he was
allowed to see the sum total of what their actions cost not only him,
but also other parts of his family. Ranma-san didn't allow Genma,
much less Nodoka, to get away with what they did to her once she was
allowed to fully comprehend what they were willing to force onto her
shoulders. The good thing about your family's situation is that the
damage your father did to you is easily corrected. Count yourselves
very lucky."
Kasumi gazed at him for a moment before she breathed out, "She . . .
"
"Tendou-san . . .?"
The eldest of Souun's daughters perked on hearing her guest. "Gomen
nasai, Yumoa-san. I heard you call Ranma-chan 'she.' Even now . . .
" She flustered. "I can't think that about her, not after all she's
been through!"
"That's a good attitude to have." He then took a deep breath.
"Tendou-san, that Rinrin-chan and Yotsuba-chan are now pressing to
allow you and your family to come live with them at Welcome House is
understandable. Laudable, even. But understand also that my primary
concern is the welfare of not only all the girls at the House, but
Ataru-kun, too. I know about this weird psychic bond that brought
Ataru-kun together with Ranma-san all those years ago. I know that
bond's drawing them closer together as we speak. And I know that
despite all her denials to date, your sister Akane still harbours very
deep feelings for Ranma-san. That's understandable given what they've
been forced through since the day they met. But please understand
that ensuring Ataru-kun's happiness is MY primary concern. And if it
turns out that the key to Ataru-kun's happiness lies with his forging
a willing, open and freely accepted relation****p with Ranma-san, then
I will do everything in my power to ensure that relation****p
happens." His voice softened as he added, "After all, given all the
garbage they've been forced through in their lives, don't they BOTH
deserve a chance at achieving their own sense of happiness, Tendou-
san?"
"If it is freely chosen and freely accepted, I can accept it and wish
both Ataru-kun and Ranma-chan the best," Kasumi conceded before she
took a deep breath. "And I'm sure Akane-chan will accept it in the
long run, too."
"That's good." Reigi took a breath as he prepared to leave, and then
he jolted. "Oh, I forgot! Ataru-kun's daughters arrived from
Noukiios earlier today. So if you see two girls Hi****o-chan's age
looking like blue-haired Klingons, don't be surprised about it."
Kasumi rose to escort him out. "I'll try not to be."
The financier took his leave. Kasumi then walked over to the
telephone to put in a call to Midorikawa Hayato, the real estate agent
who had kept a close eye on the Tendou property for some years. After
arranging for him to come visit, she moved into the kitchen to make
some tea. As she warmed up the kettle, her mind ran through the
conversation she just had with Reigi. At that moment, something came
back to her. "'Daughters' . . .?" she whispered, her eyes going VERY
wide. "Ataru-kun has DAUGHTERS?!"
"What's this about daughters?!"
Kasumi spun around to see Nabiki staring at her from the doorway.
Pausing as she tried to think of what to say, the eldest of the Tendou
children then took a deep breath. "It's something Yumoa-san just told
me, Nabiki-chan."
* * *
"No, no, Reiko-chan! Do it like this!"
Ranma relaxed. Stepping forward with her right leg, she calmly
executed a twisting hand block-and-parry she learned when she was even
younger than Reiko. She and the twins were in Hikarigaoka Park,
having come here to spend some time together after a late lunch at the
Morobo**** home. Watching her, the elder twin nodded, and then she
slowly mimicked her future mother's movements. Carefully observing
the Noukiite's moves, Ranma nodded. "Definitely a lot of yoga
training," she muttered as Reiko returned to a relaxing stance.
Just as Reiko was about to repeat the move, a voice hailed, "Onee-
sama!"
Ranma turned as Sakuya walked up, ice cream cones in hand for the
martial artist and the Noukiites to enjoy. "Thanks!" Ranma said as
she took two of the cones to hand them to Reiko and Kaneko. "This
okay with you guys? You don't mind having milk products, do you?"
"This is from an ut'he, right?" Kaneko asked.
Sakuya blinked confusedly. "'Uuttohe?!'"
"She means 'cow.'" Reiko smiled before she gave her sister a
scornful look for not stating the term in Japanese.
"Most likely." Ranma nodded before licking her own cone.
Kaneko started to slurp the vanilla and chocolate mountain in her
hand. "It's good," she then commented with a smile.
"Don't they have farm animals on Noukiios?" Sakuya asked.
"Not much," Reiko lamented. "Most aya -- milk, I mean! -- that I've
drunk comes from plants. I'm not used to animal milk."
"You mean things like soy milk?" Ranma perked before she nodded.
"Yeah, I guess that would've been a problem on Noukiios, eh?"
"Sickening," Sakuya hissed, and then she started. "Onii-sama!"
She waved. The twins turned to look, and then they squealed, "Papa!"
Before he could react, Reiko and Kaneko bowled him over with hugs.
"Hey, how're my favourite seuet?!" he asked, ducking to boost them off
their feet and allowing them to wrap their arms around his neck as he
joined the others.
Watching this, Sakuya felt a brief flash of jealousy rip through her,
and then she calmed herself. Staring at her future sister-in-law,
Ranma tried not to grin as she reached over to give Sakuya's hand a
sup****tive squeeze. The eldest sister started, and then she gazed at
the transformed martial artist. Ranma winked before she walked over
to allow Kaneko to slip into her arms. "Ne, Kaneko-chan, can you tell
me something?" Ranma cooed, allowing her forehead to rub against the
young Noukiite's. "What does 'seuuetto' mean?"
"'Se-u-et,' Mama!" Kaneko scolded, enunciating it a syllable at a
time.
Ranma gave her a long face. "It means 'flower blossom.'" Ataru
passed a hand through Reiko's hair. "It's a normal nickname parents
on Noukiios give children. Since the syllables in Nouki-e match
better with Korean sounds than Japanese, it's easier for me to speak
it without having to slip in unwanted vowels. It's almost as bad as
English . . . hey, Sakuya, what's wrong?!"
Ranma spun around to see a pained look cross Sakuya's face. "You
okay?!" She reached over to squeeze the taller girl's shoulder.
Sakuya blinked, and then she sighed, her eyes misting as she walked
over to lean against Ataru. "Onii-sama, how long WERE you in that
damned place?!" She squeezed her eyes shut as she wrapped arms around
him. "It should've been us! We should've been there for you . . . "
Ataru blinked, and then he lightly smiled as Ranma walked around to
take Reiko into her arms, thus freeing his to return Sakuya's hug. "I
didn't want to drag you into that mess, imooto-chan," he whispered,
squeezing her tight.
Sakuya bolted back from him. "Onii-sama no baka!" she snapped, her
fists quivering as he ducked her annoyed look. "We're your FAMILY,
for Heaven's sake! You don't have to play this damned Lone Ranger act
around us, you know!"
"So that means I can feel at liberty to destroy Aria-chan's
innocence?!"
Sakuya jolted. "Onii-sama . . . "
"Sakuya-chan, I KNOW you can take this sort of thing!" Ataru pointed
to himself. "I know Haruka-chan can take it! I know Chikage-chan can
take it, too . . .! Hell, Chikage can take pretty much ANYTHING
tossed at her! But what about Aria-chan?! What about Kaho-chan?!
What about Hi****o-chan?!" He waved with his free hand in the
direction of the Morobo**** home as he stared pleadingly into her
eyes. "Does letting you in on what happens to me -- especially the
bad stuff -- mean that I have to spill it to all of them? Is that
really fair to them in the long run, Sakuya-chan? Yes, you're my
sister, but they're my sisters, too! I can't forget THAT, you know!"
Sakuya shuddered as she reached over to squeeze Ataru's hands close
to her heart. "Gomen ne. I don't mean to sound selfish, but . . . "
She paused for a moment. "I just want all those bastards to stop
hurting you, Onii-sama!"
"I want that, too!" He embraced her. "But I don't want them to hurt
me THROUGH you, Sakuya-chan! Or any of the others! There are people
out there willing to do that, you know!" he warned, ****fting her to
stare into her eyes.
Silence fell as the eldest of the sisters considered that. She
leaned her forehead against his chin. "I think the sooner we get back
to the Island, the better," Sakuya whispered. "At least there, we'll
be on home ground!"
"But do you want to drag all those dorks to the Island?" Ranma
wondered.
Sakuya gazed on her future sister-in-law with a sigh. "It's not
fair."
"Life rarely is," Ataru warned.
* * *
"'DAUGHTERS?!'"
"Yep." Nabiki nodded before sipping her tea. "Twin girls, both
around seven years old. Their names here in Japan are Morobo**** Reiko
and Morobo**** Kaneko. They were two of a group of special esper
warriors -- part of a group called the Lost Stars -- the Noukiites
used against the Urusians."
Seated around the coffee table, the other Tendous paid rapt
attention. "How'd Ataru adopt them anyway?" ****n**** asked. "And is
this adoption going to stick now that things are souring pretty much
between us and the Onis."
"Won't be a problem." After hearing from Kasumi about Ataru's
adopted children, Nabiki got on the phone with Negako to get the
lowdown. "The Noukiites are breaking away from the Galactic
Federation. That's this group of planet-states living close to us.
The Onis and several other races Ataru-kun's run into since Lum first
came to Earth are part of this group. It's the FEDERATION the United
Nations doesn't want to deal with anymore. Since the Noukiites are
breaking off from the group . . . "
"Sort of like an outer-space version of the U.N., right?" Akane
asked.
Nabiki nodded. "Roughly the same idea."
"So when did Ataru-sama meet Reiko-san and Kaneko-san?" Kimiko
wondered.
"Just right after the *fun* he had on Phentax Two," Nabiki replied.
"We remember what he and Negako-san said about what happened there,
don't we?" On seeing the others nod, she continued, "Well, in the
wake of what happened, he almost had a full mental breakdown. Not so
surprising after experiencing the deaths of three billion people,
eh?" Another chorus of nods from her siblings, and then she carried
on, "Well, Negako-san realized right away that she was in no position
to help Ataru-kun recover from this. And Ataru-kun was very adamant
on the idea of getting the younger sisters involved, even someone like
Chikage-san. Fortunately, it was around this time that the Noukiites
wanted someone to help train the Lost Stars. The Noukiites contacted
the Zephyrites about that, the Zephyrites contacted Negako-san to ask
for her help and the Lost Stars were brought to Sanctuary so she could
do her magic on them."
Kimiko's eyebrow arched. "Who are the Zephyrites, Onee-sama?"
"The local galactic superpower. Turns out, they're the ones who've
settled the planets in the solar systems closest to us."
Kasumi nodded. "Oh, that's right! The night Lum-san and her friends
were sent home, this large ****p showed up to escort them away."
Nabiki nodded. "That was a Zephyrite ****p. It also turns out that
because of a famine some decades ago in the colonies the Zephyrites
have closest to us, Ataru-kun's late grandmother managed to forge some
very strong ties with their government, ties that came to benefit
Earth in many ways. Especially when it comes to the Men in Black.
And . . . " She held up a warning finger, the smile slipping from her
face. "It was because of those ties that Nagaiwakai-sama was murdered
by the Onis during the First Tag Race."
****n**** gaped. "Whoa . . .!"
"When did Ataru-kun learn this?" Kasumi asked.
"Second weekend after Lum was sent back home, while he was training
in Sanctuary with Negako-san," Nabiki replied, and then she sighed.
"So that explains how Ataru-kun decided to side with the Noukiites
against the Onis. And by extension, the Niphentaxians."
"Are you going to reveal this to your friend in Tomobiki?" Kasumi
asked.
Nabiki shook her head. "No. First of all, like I warned you the day
Tomobiki High got bombed, Onee-chan, it's hard for me to predict what
Mendou's reaction to all this will be -- not to mention how that'll
ultimately reflect on everyone here in Nerima. Or over on Promised
Island. Secondly, there's this wonderful habit the people of
Tomobiki, especially people our age, have when it comes to weird
occurrences and how they love to blame the whole mess on Ataru-kun
regardless of the facts. And after he basically told the whole town
to go kindly screw themselves last Monday . . . "
"They'll do anything to get back at him," ****n**** finished.
His twin nodded. "Exactly. Then you factor in his sisters, his
daughters, his training . . . " A pause. "And the Cyborg."
Kasumi shuddered. "Plus Ranma-chan and her neko-self."
"Right."
* * *
"Eh?! They used a neuralizer to make us stop chasing Ataru-kun?!"
****nobu stared wide-eyed at Mi****o as they stepped through the gates
of Tomobiki High after last classes. "Hai, they did." The rose-
haired Avalonian nodded. "I can understand why, though. From what I
sensed, some of the *boys* . . . " -- one could coat a street with the
scorn dripping from her voice -- "Well, they were about to ask some
pretty ugly questions about that girl. And in front of Ataru-kun's
DAUGHTERS, too?!"
****nobu took that in before she shuddered. "I suppose I could see
that. Most of the boys in our class can be such pigs at times!"
"So I sense. Ditto with Tomomi and Kyooko." A thoughtful look then
crossed her face as she gazed on her friend. "Still, I think this
whole business with Lum might do those guys a load of good. After
all, there ARE loads of nice girls in school. And with Lum 'dead,' so
to speak . . . "
She made finger-quotes with her hands. "True," ****nobu replied, and
then she perked on seeing a familiar cat-ghost walking in her
direction, a small boy perched on his back. "Ah, Kotatsuneko-san!"
she called out, waving.
Mi****o looked, slowing down as a curious sensation surged through
her, her eyes locking on the boy. "What the hell . . .?"
****nobu gazed on her new friend. "What is it?"
"That's an Avalonian he's carrying!"
"WHAT?!"
"Ah, ****nobu-oneechan! Hi!"
****nobu spun back, peering intently at the boy. Wait a minute . . .
why, didn't he look somewhat like . . .? "Ten?!" she gasped.
Kotatsuneko ducked, allowing Ten to leap off his back and into
****nobu's arms. Laughing, the two shared an embrace before Ataru's ex-
girlfriend gave the boy an once-over. "So they had to disguise you,
eh?!" she mused, taking in Ten's black hair, brown eyes, lack of horn-
bud, fanged teeth and pointed ears.
"Well, according to Lu- . . . " He caught himself. "Sorry!
According to Seiko-chan, my body kinda was ready to bite the dust when
I was tele****ted here. Lucky for me Hi****o-oneechan had Bou-san with
her to give me this body."
He pointed to himself. ****nobu's eyes spiralled. "Wait! Slow down,
Ten! What are you talking about?! What happened to you?!"
"Oh, it was the Ip'ihu! They're real bad Noukiites who don't like
Urusians at ALL! Anyhow, they attacked my ****p near To****o. But
four friends of Nassur-chan rescued me, and then they brought me here
to get Ataru's help to fix me up! So we tele****ted here through the
Tritonians' Central Warp Chamber, and then Seiko-chan and Sakiko-chan
showed up, and then Ataru and some of his sisters show up, along with
Jay-san and Kay-san, too! Hi****o-oneechan uses Bou-san to give me my
new body and . . . !"
****nobu laughed. "Ten! Ten! Stop for a moment!"
The Urusian-turned-Avalonian/Terran gazed nonplussed at her, and then
he scratched the back of his head. "S-s-sorry about that, ****nobu-
oneechan!" He flustered. "I kinda forgot that you don't know a lot
of things!"
"Well, no matter what, you're here and you're safe." Mi****o gave Ten
a warm squeeze of the shoulder. "That matters more, ne?"
Ten gazed at her, blinking. "Hey! You're an Avalonian, too!"
Mi****o held out her hand. "Half; my dad's Terran."
"Uh . . . oh, right!" Ten shook her hand as introductions were made.
"How do you know about the Avalonians?" ****nobu asked as they made
their way down the street, Kotatsuneko falling in behind them.
"Other than I'm one now?" Ten asked. "Well, just before the Ip'ihu
attacked my ****p, I met four of them. They're replicas of Lum-chan --
her name's Hensou -- Ran-chan -- she's Damasu -- Benten-chan -- that's
Kamen -- and Oyuki-chan -- she goes by Mienai. That dork Oogi -- do
you know about Oogi, ****nobu-oneechan?" he asked. Seeing her nod, he
carried on, "Well, Oogi made them on special order for Nassur-chan.
He's a friend of Lum-chan's; he taught her how to use her powers.
Anyhow, they were all linked to their templates to ensure they could,
if they had to, step in and take their places in case one of Nassur-
chan's enemies tried to go after them. But after Oni- . . .!"
Mi****o gaped at him. "They were living TARGETS?!"
"Nassur-chan didn't know they were bioroids!" Ten waved his hands.
"He couldn't sense their brainwaves and he couldn't scan 'em, so all
he could think of them was that they were androids, like the ones the
Zeiwanites make!"
****nobu gazed at Mi****o. The older Avalonian had an intent look on
her face. "Where are those girls now, Ten?" Mi****o asked.
"They're with Seiko-chan, Sakiko-chan and the others." Ten pointed
down the street. "Everything's okay with them, if that's what you're
really worried about. Hi****o-oneechan used Bou-san to make them all
look human and all that."
Mi****o gazed at him. On sensing his honesty, she nodded. "That's
good."
"I take it using Avalonians as expendable bodyguards was something
the Niphentaxians did with your people," ****nobu noted.
Mi****o nodded. "Many times. According to Mom, that is."
****nobu squeezed her shoulder. "Gomen ne, Mi****o-chan."
"Oh, hey! It's cool!" Mi****o reached up to give her friend's hand a
reassuring squeeze, and then she stared ahead. "Let's just hope that
with the factory in orbit over Earth, my mom's people aren't suffering
anymore."
"With the Church of Lum all but gone?" Ten stated. "Count on it."
****nobu perked. "What do you mean, Ten-chan?"
"That's part of what Ataru's been doing since we left Tomobiki," the
young boy assured her. "Other than helping the Noukiites fight our
people, not to mention him adopting those two Noukiite girls . . . "
Ataru's former girlfriend gaped, and then she looked nowhere in
particular as that message sank in. "He actually FOUGHT with the
Noukiites . . .?" she whispered before shaking her head. "I know he's
sympathetic to their cause and all that -- he practically told us that
on Saturday, just after Lum and Ran came back! -- but to actually
FIGHT with the Noukiites . . .!"
"He had no choice."
The girls looked at Ten. "What do you mean, Ten-chan?" Mi****o asked.
"Ataru's grandma was killed by an Urusian during the first Tag Race."
Silence.
****nobu paled. "Jesu Cristo . . . "
Mi****o gaped. "Did he tell you that?!"
Ten sniffed. "He told Seiko-chan. Sakiko-chan overheard him, then
they t-told me." He sniffed again, wiping his eyes. "It's no wonder
he's so mad now! Why'd they go and do that to his grandma,
anyway . . .?"
He curled in on himself, clinging close to ****nobu as he began to
sob. Gazing on Ten, Ataru's ex-girlfriend quaked, and then she
offered a silent prayer to the soul of Morobo**** Nagaiwakai as she
moved to comfort the young boy. A warm hand squeezed her shoulder.
She perked, and then she smiled at Mi****o as they turned a corner,
heading towards a row of multi-floor townhouses. ****nobu, like the
others who knew what happened to Lum and Ran, had been told where
Kitahara Yukimi's apartment block was located.
Speaking of which, the mistress of said apartment block was busy
emptying her mailbox as ****nobu, Mi****o, Ten and Kotatsuneko
approached her front gate. "Oh, ****nobu-sama! Konnichi wa!" Yukimi
grinned before her hazel eyes locked on Mi****o. "Who . . .?!" Those
eyes widened as her psi-senses confirmed what the rose-haired girl
actually was. "Oh, Fates . . . "
Mi****o tried not to burn with embarrassment as the other Avalonian
gazed at her. "Ah . . . um, h-hello . . .!" She faintly waved.
Yukimi turned to ****nobu. "****nobu-sama, do you realize
that . . .?!"
"Mi****o-chan's an Avalonian." ****nobu chuckled. "Hai, I learned
that when I met her yesterday morning. Um, is Seiko here . . .?"
One of the upper floor windows then opened, revealing a dark-haired
Urusian-turned-Nendo-kata/Terran. "Konnichi wa, ****nobu!" Seiko
hailed with a wave as she leaned on the windowsill. "Thanks for
bringing Ten-chan back!"
****nobu sighed. "Seiko, we've GOT to have a long talk about Ataru-
kun!"
* * *
"AH-CHOO!"
"Bless you, Onii-chan! Are you alright?!"
Ataru moaned as he rubbed his nose. "Someone's talking about me, I
bet," he muttered before nodding thanks to Karen, and then he turned
to Rinrin. "Okay, Rinrin-chan, how're we going to do all this? And
will it all be ready by Sunday afternoon when we go back to the
Island?"
"This is easy stuff, Aniki!" The inventor waved him down, and then
she pointed to her computer screen. "Here's what we'll do . . . "
The others crowded around. "Now, Jonna-san and Orin-san don't want
to take up too much room, so we'll just expand Hi****o-chan's and Aria-
chan's rooms five metres. In Aria-chan's case . . . " Rinrin pointed
to the diagram of the second floor. "All this'll do is fill in the
space right above Aniki and Aneki's bedroom, counter-clockwise from
where Reiko-chan and Kaneko-chan'll live. Hi****o-chan's new space'll
form a foundation for the expanded room on the third floor connecting
into Yotsuba-chan's space."
Marie gazed at Jonna and Orin. "Are you sure that'll be enough
room?"
Miree's daughters nodded. "We don't have much with us. It'll do,"
Jonna answered. "Besides, it keeps us close to Hi****o-sama and Aria-
sama."
The others smirked. Rinrin slid her finger to the diagram of the
third floor. "Anyhow, for Himiko-san and Mikiko-san, what we'll do is
take the spare bedroom and repeat what we're planning for Yotsuba-
chan's space. The main floor'll wrap clockwise around the boy's furo
room and sit right atop Aria-chan's and Orin-san's expanded space,
plus part of the twins' bedroom. As for Miree-san, we'll give her a
new bedroom on the fourth floor, right over the stairwell to the main
floor. Is that okay with you, Miree-san?"
"A private loft, you mean?" The Hollywoodite priestess then nodded.
"Yes, that sounds rather cozy, Rinrin-chan. I'll take it."
"Are you sure we can do all these changes, Rinrin-chan?" Ranma
asked. "I mean, even if this place is modular in construction . . .?"
Rinrin waved her down. "Oh, relax, Aneki! As long as we don't go
too far over the tip of the rotunda, we'll be fine. Besides, it keeps
us all together IN the rotunda. If we couldn't do this, that means
all of you . . . " Her eyes fell on Miree, her daughters and the two
survivors of the previous week's bombing. "Would have to live in the
commons."
"That's the main part of Welcome House, right?" Himiko wondered.
"Yeah, it is." Rinrin tried not to groan. "Whoever built that place
didn't really put some careful thought into things like phone lines,
the bathrooms, the furos, kitchens and all that. Ne, ****rayuki-chan,
you remember the first time you went into the kitchen by the lobby?"
The mauve-haired chef blanched. "Hime NEVER wants to think of that
horrible place ever again!" She patted her heart.
"I remember seeing that shortly after I met you girls." Ataru shook
his head before he glanced at Ranma. "Cripes, I was tempted to get
somebody to knock the whole damn building down and have them rebuild
the place."
"That bad?" the martial artist asked.
"Think of Kasumi-san's kitchen after Akane got through with it the
first time she tried to cook for you . . . " -- a dramatic pause --
"Then magnify the damage to the tenth degree! You'll get the idea
then."
Ranma winced, and then she stared at ****rayuki. "****rayuki-chan, you
make VERY damn sure Akane doesn't go into your kitchen when those guys
move to the Island full-time, okay?" She wagged a warning finger at
the chef.
"Hime'll remember, Nee-sama." ****rayuki then sighed. "Still, Hime
is a little worried about Kasumi-san . . . "
"Why's that?" Sakuya asked.
"Well, Kasumi-san has been cooking for her family every since her
mother died, Sakuya-chan." ****rayuki shrugged. "She might not like
the idea of being forced to sit in the dining room when Hime
cooks . . . "
"Whoa! Hold on for a moment, ****rayuki-chan!" Ranma held up a
hand. "First of all, we're doing this to help Kasumi BREAK AWAY from
slaving for her family all the time. There's a big difference between
cooking because you love to cook and cooking because you feel it's
your duty to your family to cook! Ever since her mom died, all
Kasumi's ever really done is cook and clean after the others in her
family. She never really LIKED doing all that stuff, especially when
you figure out how lazy her stupid old man was! YOU, on the other
hand . . . " She pointed to the chef. "Cook because you enjoy and
LOVE to cook. We all notice it, ****rayuki-chan."
****rayuki stared wide-eyed at the martial artist. "Nee-sama . . .!"
"Ane-chama's right, ****rayuki-chan!" Yotsuba cut in. "Yotsuba
noticed it when Kasumi-anechama made lunch for Yotsuba and ****-chama.
Even though Kasumi-anechama's lunch was pretty checky, Yotsuba thinks
it wasn't checky compared to ANYTHING ****rayuki-chan makes!"
The chef's cheeks flamed. "Yotsuba-chan . . . "
"Hey! Hey! Girls, go easy on her, huh?!" Ataru quickly cut in to
moderate. "We don't want to butter her up too much now, do we?!"
Sakuya dramatically pointed to the ceiling. "Yes, we DEFINITELY must
avoid kimch'i rice puddings in the future."
****rayuki jolted before she turned away to sulk. "Hime hates it
whenever everyone tells Hime about her kimch'i rice puddings!"
Two hands tugged at her skirt. "Ne, ne, Auntie ****rayuki, can we try
them?!" Reiko asked as she and Kaneko stared hopefully at her.
Gazing at her nieces, the chef nodded. "Hai desu no!"
Everyone laughed.
* * *
"Who is he, Kanami-san?"
"Hibiki Ryouga, a wandering martial artist from somewhere close to
Tokyo." Kurosu Kanami then held up a finger in warning. "That is, I
*think* he's from somewhere close to Tokyo, ****nobu-sama. It's hard
to tell."
"Why's that?" Mi****o asked, nodding thanks as Ka****ma Namie poured
her a new glass of lemon tea. "He's not roonin, is he?"
Kanami shook her head. "He's got the most horrible sense of
direction you could ever imagine, Mi****o-san. And it seems to be
linked to some sort of metaphysical tele****tational ability. One
minute, he's in Nerima. Next minute, he's in Chicago, then Paris,
then . . . "
"Talk about being forced to become a Wanderer!" Sakiko shuddered,
she exchanging a knowing look with Seiko before she turned back to the
dark-haired Avalonian. "How long has this problem been affecting him,
Kanami-chan?"
"His whole life, Sakiko-sama," Kanami replied. "Even worse, his
mother and all his siblings also suffer from this 'directional
curse.' He hasn't seen any of them, much less his father, for quite
some time now."
"So why'd you and Tamako-san bring him here?" ****nobu asked.
People spared a glance through the open door into one of the guest
bedrooms. There, lying on a futon, Hibiki Ryouga slept, a damp cloth
folded neatly on his forehead. His clothes and backpack were
currently undergoing a thorough wash in the apartment's laundry;
Kodama Hiro was keeping an eye on things there. "I sensed him in the
farmer's market when I was doing some shopping for dinner," Tamako
explained. "I never sensed such levels of depression and loneliness
in all my life, ****nobu-sama. So when Kanami-chan and I gave him a
brief mind-scan to learn what happened to him, we decided the best
thing to do was to bring him here, give him a chance to rest."
"Is he in trouble?" Seiko asked.
"No, Seiko-sama, but some days ago, he got himself into a terrible
fight with his girlfriend's sumo-trained pigs."
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the tomboyish Avalonian. "Sumo-trained
pigs?!" Mi****o parroted Tamako's words. "You SURE about that?!"
Tamako nodded. "Quite positive. Even stranger, Ryouga-kun himself
has a metamorphic 'curse' that transforms him into a small piglet when
he's exposed to cold water. Heated water transforms him back to
normal."
"Can people DO that here?!" Ten asked.
Recognition then flashed across ****nobu's face. "Why, that sounds an
awful lot like the curse Saotome Ranma has!" she declared.
"Darling's girlfriend?" Sakiko asked, ignoring Seiko's pained wince.
****nobu nodded. "In that case, Ranma-san was able to turn from a boy
to a girl. Hey, maybe Hibiki-san might even know Ranma-sa- . . .!"
The front doorbell pealed. Yukimi headed to the window to glance
towards the front gate. Her eyebrow then arched. "You said that
Hibiki-san was attacked by sumo-trained pigs, Tamako-chan?" she then
asked.
"Hai, Yukimi-chan, I did. Why?" Tamako asked.
"Well, there's a pig outside the front gate now who's about the same
size as Rei-sama's transformed self." Yukimi pointed out the window.
"And it's wearing a sumotori's kesho-mawa****. And there's a young
lady with it, too!"
Tamako and Kanami walked over to look themselves. "That's Unryuu
Akari!" the latter declared. "She's Ryouga-kun's girlfriend!"
"I'll let her in," the former announced as she headed out.
* * *
"So you really have no idea why your pigs attacked Hibiki-san?"
"Iie." Akari nursed a cup of tea as she sat at the table. Due to
his girth, Katsuni****ki was forced to remain outside, though Kanami
was now delivering a large salad for him to snack on. "I mean,
beforehand, all the boys treated Ryouga-sama so kindly. It just took
me by surprise to see them pounce all over him when he was
transformed . . . "
She sipped her tea, her voice failing her. "Well, if what we sense
of your companion outside is true, your charges love you very much,
Unryuu-san," Yukimi mused. "Perhaps they got jealous of your
boyfriend . . .!"
"JEALOUS?!" Akari shrieked, bolting to her feet.
****nobu gave the pig farmer a sympathetic look. "Many pets have been
known to do that for their owners, Unryuu-san."
"I . . . " Akari stuttered, and then she sighed. "I never thought of
that, to be honest. I mean, I have trained them to be fierce when
they step into the dohyo. It's what they have to do, after all. But
to . . . "
Tamako gently squeezed the other woman's shoulders. "It's alright,
Akari-san." The raven-haired Avalonian smiled as she moved to refill
Akari's cup. "After all, this might be just an isolated incident."
Akari gazed on her, nodding. "I hope so . . . "
Kanami stepped back into the kitchen. "Is he hungry?" Yukimi asked.
"He's got an appetite," Kanami mused. "Then again, I've never dealt
with pigs before, especially one the size of a truck." Taking her
place at the table, she then gazed concernedly at Akari. "I hate to
break this to you, Akari-san, but there's a problem with your stable."
"A disease?" Seiko wondered.
Kanami shook her head. "Iie. I was barely able to sense some of
Katsuni****ki-san's thoughts when I fed him just now. He knows what
made his brothers attack Ryouga-kun. In fact, he sup****ted what
happened."
"What?!" Akari shrieked. Sensing Tamako's hand on her shoulder, she
took a deep breath before asking, "What happened, Kanami-san?!"
"Simple," Kanami replied. "When Ryouga-kun returned to your farm
some days ago, the pigs sensed the empathic auras of a considerable
number of young women all over him. They . . . " She paused. "Your
stable concluded that those other women, whoever they were, had tried
to seduce Ryouga-kun away from you. Thus, they . . . " She paused
again.
"Sought to defend Akari-san's honour from what they perceived as a
very serious threat to her continued happiness," Mi****o completed.
"Hai."
Akari paled. "Ryouga-sama wouldn't . . . "
"Oh, no! Of course he wouldn't!" Kanami chuckled, she giving the
pig farmer a wave. "You've got quite the gentleman as a boyfriend,
Akari-sama! But . . . " She shrugged. "Clearly, he recently ran
into a group of women sometime recently whose empathic auras are quite
overwhelming. It was feeling THAT which made all your rikibuta freak
out."
"They assumed someone was trying to steal Ryouga-kun away from Akari-
chan, you mean." Sakiko then sipped her tea before glancing at
Akari. "I think you've got quite a loyal stable of would-be samurai,
Akari-chan!"
Akari flustered. "That's about it." Kanami then perked. "Eh?"
"Where'm I . . .?"
"Ryouga-sama!" Akari gasped.
Eyes turned to the bedroom as Ryouga sat up, automatically catching
the cloth that had been on his forehead. Fortunately for the
wanderer, Yukimi and her sister Avalonians had been able to locate
some clean pyjamas for him while his clothes went through the wash.
Opening his eyes, he looked around the strange room, and then he
turned as Akari glomped him. "RYOUGA-SAMA!"
The wanderer acked, staring in disbelief at his would-be wife before
he finally sputtered out, "A-a-Akari-ch-ch-chan . . .?!"
"She just came in a few minutes ago looking for you, Ryouga-kun."
Tamako stood by the doorway. "Would you like some tea?"
"I . . .!" Ryouga moved to answer, and then he shuddered as Akari's
sobs tore his attention back to the pig farmer. Staring at her, the
wanderer then wrapped his arms around her. Seeing this, Tamako smiled
as she stepped out.
* * *
"So can this be done by the weekend?"
"Oh, quite easy enough, Kasumi-san." Midorikawa Hayato nodded as he
gathered his papers to load them into his briefcase. "I must confess
that it's a terrible shame things had to happen THIS way . . . "
The Tendou matriarch smiled. "You don't view this as a victory?"
The real estate agent chuckled. "Please, don't think of this
transaction as THAT, Kasumi-san!" He closed his briefcase. "Yes,
I've tried to persuade your father to let go of this property,
especially after your mother's passing. After all, maintaining a plot
of land like THIS would be a considerable drain on any family's
budget, especially here in Tokyo. And, even though I am loath to
speak of this, your sister Nabiki HAS engaged in some blatantly
illegal transactions to help your family keep this property . . . "
"Well, she won't have to do that anymore," Kasumi noted.
The older man nodded. "Hai, true, true. So where exactly are you
and your family moving to, if you don't mind my asking?"
Kasumi held up an objecting finger. "As long as you don't allow this
to fall unto the ears of Principal Kunou or his son."
"You have my silence," the real estate agent vowed.
She chuckled. "We'll all be moving to a youth hostel on Oomure-
jima. It's in the Sagami Sea, near Odawara. We've been invited there
by the family of Morobo**** Ataru -- and PLEASE, Midorikawa-san, don't
tell anyone about Ataru-kun's involvement in this!" she added with
clapped hands.
"Well, I heard from a very good friend of mine that his family did
purchase a desecrated shrine in Kasuga-chou to act as a home for his
sister Negako. My friend's worked for years to get rid of that
particular plot of land. Then Morobo****-san shows up and . . . "
He shrugged. Kasumi grinned. "Ataru-kun recently befriended my
younger sister's former fiancé. After the falling out between Ranma-
kun . . . " -- the eldest Tendou daughter kept to the more "masculine"
honorific since scant few in Nerima knew the truth about what befell
her -- " . . . and his parents, he decided to join Ataru-kun and his
family on Oomure-jima. To show there are no bad feelings, Ranma-kun
persuaded Ataru-kun's sisters to allow us to come to Oomure-jima after
Father was . . . " Her voice trailed off.
Hayato nodded. "Hai, I understand. Well, I'll contact the potential
buyer and we'll have everything set up as quickly as possible."
"By this weekend?" Kasumi asked.
"Certainly! That'll please my client very much."
"That's nice. Oh, may I ask what'll happen here after we're gone?"
"Both the house and the doojou will be demolished to make way for
smaller townhouses. Most likely, a convenience store might be added
since this part of Nerima doesn't have much in the way of quick-stop
shopping areas. I . . . " The agent then looked apologetic. "Well,
I do realize you have put in a lot of work to keep this place intact,
but . . . "
"No, it's alright." Kasumi shook her head. "Actually, to be frank,
this is quite a relief for my family and I. I certainly wouldn't want
to inflict anyone with the amount of responsibility maintaining a home
like this demands."
He nodded. "That's understandable. Much that this building does
have some history in it, it's not enough to see it declared an
historic property and turned over to the Culture Ministry to see it
preserved."
Kasumi shook her head. "Personally, I think that after all that's
happened under this roof, this place would NEVER deserve something
like that, Midorikawa-san. So, when can you come by to finalize
everything?"
"Friday morning?" Hayato proposed.
"That's fair enough."
* * *
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