A cell phone rang. "Yes?"
"Father, it's me."
"Is it done?"
"Hai. He's on his way. I expect it to happen within the hour."
"What do the observers say?"
"The target's all alone. I'll make sure everything proceeds as
planned."
"Very well, then. Well done, child."
"Thank you, Father."
* * *
Looking up from her counter, Kamekichi Tampopo seemed to freeze for a
moment. "Something in the air . . . "
* * *
"Hey, Nabiki! You okay?"
Nabiki jolted, and then she turned to find herself gazing into Priss'
burning eyes. Tensing as she felt that rush of hormones surge through
her as the Sagussan's heart-melting looks registered deep within her
brain, the middle Tendou daughter then forced herself to relax. "Um,
I was actually hoping to get someone to get me back to Nerima," she
then stated, inwardly hoping that Priss couldn't detect the tremor in
her voice. "Like it or not, I've got some things to do before
everyone else gets back . . . "
The first officer of Pathfinder Troop Six nodded. "That replica of
your kid sister. Gotcha. Give me a moment to get changed and then
let me take a look at Ten's mom. We'll both beam over into Nerima
right after that, okay?"
Nabiki blinked before her eyes turned to gaze out the view ****t. The
Moon floated beside the "Konggh'cha;" the cargo carrier had cloaked
itself sometime after the "Goddess of Luck" and the "Wanderer" had
locked alongside. "Wait . . .! BEAM into Nerima . . .?!" she
sputtered.
"Relax, Nabiki-vayae!" Priss assured her with a wink. "We'll just
bounce the signal off the 'Haengge'cha.' Yomi's ****p is about halfway
between Luna and Earth. It's a piece of cake. You stay right here
and I'll be right back."
With another wink, the Pirpirsiw'r raced off to her guest quarters to
get changed. Nabiki watched her go, and then she shook her head.
"No! No! No! NO!" she hissed, she grabbing her hair. "This just
CAN'T be happening to me! I'm not into all this stupid, lovey-dovey
stuff . . .!"
"Neither is Priss for that matter."
Nabiki gargled in shock, and then she spun around to see Ryooki
Koosei standing behind her, an amused look on his face. "Damn!"
Nabiki snapped at him before she relaxed herself, and then she glared
intently at him. "Are you related to Ono Toofuu-sensei, Ryooki-san?!"
Koosei chuckled. "No, Tendou-san, I don't know that person. Let's
just say that in the decade after the Ipraedies kidnapped me from
Earth, I've been through some nasty events. Keeping yourself trained
to take advantage of surprise moments isn't just something you'd use
for a quick laugh." He winked. "At times, it happens to be a
survival requirement."
Nabiki paused, and then she breathed out, nodding in understanding,
"I see. Ataru-kun told me about the Ipraedies when Elle kidnapped his
sisters and his old classmates in Tomobiki. I assume their kidnapping
of you was a precursor to their planned invasion of Earth."
"It was," he answered, nodding. "But don't let that totally cloud
your opinion of them, Tendou-san. They're not all bad. A little
xenophobic at times, but that's to be expected of almost every race in
the galaxy. I've got Ipraedies friends. I even had an Ipraedies
girlfriend, believe it or not. In many ways, they're like people back
on Earth. More advanced technologically in comparison to us, of
course, but they're still people."
She took that in, and then she tilted her head to gaze in the
direction of the "Konggh'cha's" sickbay. "How is she?"
Koosei sighed, a hand reaching up to take off his gl***** so that his
other hand could massage the bridge of his nose. "Jon's going to wait
until Ataru-san and his family get back before she makes a decision as
to what to do with herself. There're two options. One, she gets
exposed to the regeneration matrix the Sagussans use to bring
Dai****'cha into their ranks. That comes with risks, though. The
matrix is quite powerful -- to call it 'magical' wouldn't actually be
too damned far off the mark, if you ask me -- but on rare occasions,
it doesn't cure EVERYTHING." A pause. "And then, there's the second
choice: She gets an Avalonian body, just like Ten-chan did thanks to
Ataru-san's sister Hi****o. That might be the better choice for her."
"You care for her, don't you?"
He blinked before he replaced his gl*****. "Hai, I do. Please don't
misunderstand me. It's been a rough few weeks for me. When I
realized how bad this whole war situation was between the Urusians and
the Noukiites, my first concern was ensuring the safety of what
friends I had on Uru. Jon and Ten-chan were atop that list. I know
Ten-chan has something of a bad rep in the eyes of the legal
authorities on Earth. Yes, he's a young boy, but he certainly
should've known to act a lot better than I heard he did."
"Yes, turning swallows into giant penguins was pu****ng it," she
noted.
He chuckled. "I heard about that incident. Well, hopefully now,
he'll have something of a better life."
"What about his mother?"
A deep breath. "Jon's a very good person, Tendou-san. Yes, she's
horrendously fanatical when it comes to firefighting. If you knew her
story, you'd understand why." Stating that told Nabiki a lot more
than Koosei would have intended, but the middle Tendou daughter kept
her peace as he continued, "But that led Ten-chan to come to Earth.
You know what his powers were like back then." Koosei glanced in the
direction of the sickbay. "When I was babysitting Ten-chan, I tried
to do my best to make Jon see what she was doing to her own son. I
didn't succeed, unfortunately. But hopefully now, they might have a
chance to live together as a real family."
A knowing look crossed Nabiki's face. "With you as the father?"
Koosei remained still for a moment. "I guess I deserved that." A
chuckle escaped him. "You probably know of my 'relation****p' with
Oyuki-chan, Tendou-san. Before this whole mess started, you couldn't
even MENTION Oyuki-chan's name to me without my brain taking a drop
shot into a black hole. But, like it or not, wartime does make for
strange cir***stances."
"And since she's a crown princess, heiress to her planet's throne,
the chances of you, a commoner, actually marrying her . . . "
"Aren't that good."
"Geez, Nabiki! If you ask me, Oyuki's nuts to let him out of her
grasp."
Koosei and Nabiki turned as Priss came up to join them. The
Pathfinder had draped herself in a white button blouse, motorcycle
riding pants and a black leather vest. Nabiki was quick to note the
holstered pistol on the inside of Priss' vest, just below the curve of
her breasts. "Looks good on you, Pri-chan," Nabiki then stated before
her breath caught in her throat. *Damn! I've GOT to stop calling her
THAT!* she mentally railed.
Priss chuckled on seeing the middle Tendou daughter's reaction, and
then she reached over to gently grasp Nabiki's hand. "Thank you so
kindly, Nabiki-vayae. So what say we give you your first experience
in a trans****ter?"
Nabiki blinked. "Is this gonna hurt?"
Priss stopped. "What?! You related to Leonard McCoy or something?!"
Nabiki shook her head. "Not really!"
"Let's go, then!"
Priss led her off. Koosei watched them, a smirk crossing his face.
*If they're not bonded in a month, something's wrong with them!*
* * *
The man surged through the back streets of Nerima, taking a wide
circle route that kept him a safe distance from the most dangerous
place in the district, an abandoned ****nto shrine near Kasuga-chou.
The swaying shakiness of each of his strides would indicate to
onlookers that he was thoroughly drunk. On seeing his face and
recognizing him, those ubiquitous onlookers would no doubt conclude
that he had been out in one of the local watering holes, drowning his
sorrow over the shattered dream he had once shared with his best
friend. Many of them would probably wonder this as they watched him
pass through the streets: Had the poor man already been told about
the awful death of his youngest daughter in Hikarigaoka Park the
previous night?
But the thoughts of onlookers didn't concern the man at this time.
Only the task mattered.
The task needed to be done.
The task HAD to be done.
The task MUST be done.
Nothing else mattered.
Nothing at all.
* * *
"Lyna's Soul, this so-called 'father' of hers should have been
killed!"
Hotaru pulled her fingers away from Akane's face. The youngest
Tendou daughter was reclining on Marie's bed, her eyes closed; Hotaru
had placed the bioroid into a meditative trance when she began her
examination. Marie was sitting on the bed beside Akane, she keeping
one of the latter's hands in her lap. The nurse took a deep breath as
she walked over to sit on the bed to Marie's left. "You can't mean
that! Can you, Sensei?" Marie wondered as she gazed on Mie's sister,
an amused look crossing her face.
"I DO mean it!" the nurse spat. Seeing the surprise cross Marie's
face, Hotaru took a breath before she explained further, "Marie-sama,
even in the days of the Fourth Republic, the proper raising of
children was always seen as vital. To do what that . . .! That
MAN . . . " she barked, " . . . did to Akane-san . . .?!" She shook
her head. "It's so wrong!"
"I don't think Akane-san's father will be much of a bother anymore,
especially after what he did to Nabiki-san and ****n****-san," Marie
noted, and then she gave Hotaru an annoyed look as she pleaded, "And
PLEASE, Hotaru-sensei, will you STOP calling me 'Marie-sama?!'"
Hotaru smirked. "Then, PLEASE stop calling me 'Sensei,' Marie-chan!"
"Okay!"
Both girls giggled, and then Marie turned to gaze on Akane. "Oh,
Hotaru-chan, what do I do?" she wondered, reaching over to gently
stroke the bioroid's cheek as she gazed into that peaceful face. "I
don't want to see her live like the other Akane-san, for Heaven's
sake. But . . . "
"It scares you, doesn't it?"
"Does it have to go THAT far?" Marie gazed on the nurse.
Hotaru paused as she considered what should happen next, and then she
sighed. "Marie-chan, I know it may sound a little rushed to plunge
all the way into a bond-mating between you and Akane. It doesn't
really have to happen right away, of course. But if you ask me, given
how she came into being, there may be no other choice in the long term
if you, much less her family and yours, don't want to see Akane slip
'back' into the modes of behaviour her template demonstrated at times,
especially with Ranma-sama."
Here, the nurse paused again as she considered what else to say, and
then she placed a hand on Marie's shoulder. "Marie-chan, from what I
understand of what she was like, the other Akane needed very strong
emotional sup****t to overcome the many pains of her life, especially
when it came to what happened to her mother. When you look at how her
life went, she never really got it, not even from her family. Now,
our Akane here has those same needs," Hotaru continued as she
indicated Akane. "She isn't just a memory-copy of Tendou Akane.
She's actually a SOUL copy of the original Akane. When you get down
to the nitty-gritty of it, there's no real emotional difference
between the two. But the big PHYSICAL difference in this case is that
Akane is now in a body that will react much more strongly to her
emotional state than what she is personally used to. And that means
that she will need, really NEED, very close empathic, even telepathic,
contact with someone who can give her the sup****t the original Akane
never got. And since she won't be able to realistically get it from
Ranma-sama now that it's known that she's bonded to your brother, she
has to get it from elsewhere. That's where you come in."
Marie blinked as she considered it, and then she sighed. "What do I
do?"
"Well, you don't have to do the tamgh va ragh right away in this
case," Hotaru noted. Marie smirked as she quickly guessed what the
phrase the nurse just used might imply. "If you jumped all the way to
*that,* it would scare her just as much as Kunou's abuse scared the
original Akane. Start with the simple things, Marie-chan. Holding
hands, touching her skin on the safe places. Kiss her every chance
you get. Not deep-throat kisses, but simple pecks. She'll warm up to
that right away. She'll sense that you care for her. That you want
the best for her. And that's how a true relation****p starts. As for
what happens afterward . . . " Here, she shrugged as she gave Marie a
smile. "That's a subject that I really can't predict anything about."
Marie sighed. "If you say so."
* * *
Sitting on a bench in Hikarigaoka Park after doing his evening
rounds, Happoosai quietly drew out his pipe and lit it, and then he
blew out smoke into the evening sky. Glancing south towards Negako's
home, the aged grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu could only grin.
So, Naho-chan had been hiding all these years from her relatives, had
she? And despite that, she STILL had the op****tunity to head to
Ri****ri-tou and offer up one of her blood cells for Nagaiwakai's
friends on Zephyrus to grow Negako's body from?
And even better -- if what he was sensing of the wonderful, mouth-
watering torrents of ki emanating from that place was even REMOTELY
true -- sweet Naho-chan had become the virtual mother of a pack of
those too-good-to-be-true Avalonians like Kimiko-chan and Nabiki-chan
were now. Happoosai had yet to take any sample of an Avalonian's ki;
with what just happened to Nabiki and her brother ****n****, plus what
just happened to poor Akane, it wasn't proper. But the chance would
come, the aged grandmaster knew.
It just HAD to come!
As soon as he could . . .
Oh, my . . .!
Oh, dear!
Happoosai then jolted on hearing a strange ringing noise emanating
from a cull-de-sac off to his right. Canting his head over, he
blinked on registering a very familiar ki signature. "Nabiki-chan!"
he called as he bounded from the bench, and then he stopped on sensing
a SECOND ki signature with the elements marking an Avalonian. That
had just appeared beside Nabiki. "Who . . .?"
"Yo, Ojii-chan!" Nabiki called back as she walked into the open.
Following her was a brown-haired, chestnut-eyed girl who -- save for
what just HAD to be an all-body tan and that note-and-dagger tattoo at
the corner of the right eye -- resembled one of the pretty heroines in
that stupid "cyberpunk" video series whose main theme song Ranma just
LOVED to sing in the shower.
Then Happoosai took another look as the woman's ki became
clearer . . .
Oh.
Ye.
GODS!
Silence fell as the newcomer gazed on the aged grandmaster. He was
trying desperately not to tremble in the presence of this . . .
This . . .
MANSLAYER!
This WARRIOR!
Warrior, HELL!
That word just couldn't BEGIN to describe this person!
Where on Earth did Nabiki find someone like THIS, for Heaven's sake?!
"Ojii-chan, you okay?!"
Happoosai nearly leapt out of his clothes as his eyes snapped around
so he could look at Nabiki. "Eh . . .?! Ah! Oh, Nabiki-chan, it's
you!" he blurted out before embarrassed laughter stole his voice, he
rubbing the back of his head. "You came back! Did everyone else come
back . . .?!"
"This is Happoosai, right?"
Happoosai froze as his eyes swung over to gaze anew at the other
girl.
Oh, **** . . .
"Yeah, that's him, alright!" Nabiki replied. She had sensed the wave
of total, mindless, underwear-soiling FEAR the grandmaster was
presently expressing towards Priss. While Nabiki had guessed that the
Sagussan was a well-trained warrior, her own personal ki senses hadn't
been fine-tuned enough for her to deeply read other people with the
precision Ranma, Happoosai, Cologne or Negako often demonstrated.
"What . . .?"
What Priss did next surprised them both. Standing to attention, she
clasped her left fist into her right hand in a salute used often by
many kung fu schools, as well as practitioners of Saikoo Jinseijitsu
Ninjutsu-ryuu. With that, Priss bowed her head in a show of respect.
"I humbly wish you peace, logic and harmony, Thoughtmaster-prime," she
stated honestly before she straightened herself. "Please excuse us."
With that, she headed off. Nabiki remained frozen in place, her jaw
hanging down somewhere around her knees as her mind tried to wrap
itself around what just happened. A glance at Happoosai revealed him
to be quaking, "I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive . . .!" fluttering
from his lips at machine gun speed as he seemed to try his best not to
piss himself. Shaking her head to snap her mind back into gear, the
middle Tendou daughter then raced off after the Sagussan. "Hey, Pri-
chan! Wait up!" she called out.
Happoosai remained in place. "I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm
alive . . .!"
* * *
"Negako-chan, are you alright?"
"Negako-sama, what's wrong?"
Negako blinked before her eyes fell on Naho. "Nabiki has returned."
The others perked as they took in the grandmaster's words. "Did
Ataru-kun and the others come back, too?" Chigaiko asked.
"No. As I informed you earlier, Chigaiko, they had to proceed to the
other end of the galaxy to retrieve the Genesis Wand of Parah for
Aria," she explained. "Even at the 'Windrider's' top speed -- even if
they make use of this spatial wormhole the Staff of Gihan informed us
about when the trip was initially planned -- they will not return to
Earth until tomorrow morning."
Naho nodded before she gazed on Mousse, she moving to turn the
meeting back to where it was meant to be. "Well, Můsi. What do you
think?"
The others -- save for Negako, who seemed mildly bored by the whole
process -- turned to gaze on the weapons-master with a mixture of
sympathy and barely-suppressed mirth as he found himself the SOLE
object of attention from Naho's "daughters," Horikawa Mutsumi and her
younger "sister," Horikawa Nanase. While most young men would
consider themselves VERY blessed if they found themselves in the
romantic sights of TWO very beautiful women like Mutsumi and Nanase,
Mousse was certainly not normal by far.
Given his all-consuming obsession with winning Shampoo, Mousse had
pretty much blinded himself from gazing at other women with anything
other than a fleeting look. He couldn't do that in Mutsumi and
Nanase's presence, unfortunately, especially with the spectre of being
drawn into a blood-alliance marriage with one of the Tora-Sei****n
having been brought up. And what was worse, he couldn't possibly
think of trying to duck away from it by using the excuse of going off
to fight Saotome Ranma to win Shampoo's heart. With Ranma legally a
girl -- and soon to be recognized as such by the Council of Elders
back in the village -- whatever marriage existed between Ranma and
Shampoo had vanished. Worst of all, thanks to Ranma's overdeveloped
sense of right and wrong, not to mention her own experiences dealing
with fiancées thanks to her late father, there was just NO way in Hell
that Ranma could be persuaded to use the Blood-Sibling Law to make
Shampoo marry Mousse. And Mousse didn't even have the luxury to go
off and fight Ranma to make the idiot change her mind; she was off
somewhere in deep space with Morobo**** Ataru and his family to locate
some ancient alien weapon for one of Ataru's sisters to use!
This was just NOT FAIR!
Not fair at all.
Not fair . . .
Watching her unmoving would-be husband, Shampoo could only sigh
before she flicked concerned gazes at the Honourable Elder Naho's
lovely adopted daughters. Mutsumi, the elder of the pair, seemed to
be your atypical Japanese bookworm, complete with reading gl***** over
her pretty hazel eyes. Her brownish-grey hair was pulled back over
the top of the head into a stubby ponytail at her crown; the rest of
the mass was allowed to cascade down the sides of her head to her
collarbones. She was in a knee-length dress, that partially masking a
body that would seem semi-trained by Nujiézú standards; Mutsumi was
still probably just a genin in Saikoo Jinseijitsu-ryuu.
The younger of the pair, Nanase, reminded Shampoo a little too much
of the lead character of "Sailor Moon": A ditzy airhead who was
concerned with silly, trivial things rather than the more womanly
pursuits a native of the village would consider worthy of her
attention. Only a couple centimetres shorter than Mutsumi, Nanase
wore her deep chestnut hair in two buns at the sides of her hair. Her
caramel-shaded eyes were currently fixed on Mousse's face, they
sparkling in a way that Japanese girls -- Wasn't this girl supposed to
be an ALIEN?! Honestly! Were alien girls like this, too?! --
demonstrated when they encountered something VERY handsome of the male
persuasion, even if that male was nowhere close to what Shampoo's
transformed Airen had once been.
Oh, Ranma . . .
That was just NOT FAIR!
Not fair at all.
Not fair . . .
Gazing on Shampoo out of the corner of her eye, Mutsumi concentrated
as she reached out empathically to gauge what the Chinese warrior-
maiden was currently feeling. Sensing her derision at Nanase's
"bubblehead" act concerning Mousse, the elder Horikawa tried not to
grin. Some people could just be SO damned blind at times. Couldn't
Shampoo tell that Nanase's act was a simple ACT meant to make Mousse
relax and enjoy himself during this omiai? For what had once seemed a
mindless eternity, that HAD been Nanase's -- her Niphentaxian name was
Nana dai-Tythya; the family name had been adopted from the woman who
rescued Nanase and the others from that slime pit on Phentax Three,
Kaili bedai-Tythya (known on Earth as Yama****na Mizuho) -- function as
a prostitute. Yes, Mousse was nervous and confused at this time. Who
wouldn't be when you literally had the prospect of a lifelong child-
mating partner****p dumped into your lap just like that? But,
still . . .
*Onee-chan?*
Mutsumi blinked as she registered Nanase's voice in her mind. A
quick glance at her "sister" revealed her to still be gazing fondly at
Mousse; the latter's left hand had fallen over the former's right atop
Mousse's right shoulder. *What is it, Imooto?* she telepathically
sent back.
*Nanase doesn't think he can take both of us at once.*
*Agreed,* Mutsumi responded. *I think I'd rather get a bond-mate
first before scouting out a potential husband. Would you want him all
for yourself?*
*Nanase doesn't think she'll EVER feel THAT particular urge, Onee-
chan.*
*Okay, then. He's all yours. But don't force yourself all over
him.*
*Arigatou.*
With that, Mutsumi pulled her hand away from Mousse, and then she
****fted herself away from his side. "Mama?" she then called out.
"Yes, dear?" Naho asked.
"I've discussed this over with Nanase-chan." A glance to Nanase
later, she carried on, "I'm not really in the mood to seek out a
potential husband at this time. Besides, I don't believe Můsi could
possibly take BOTH of us. He strikes me as the typical 'one-woman
man.'" As Nanase giggled -- in Sagussan society, which the Avalonians
often tried their best to emulate, a man who locked his ***ual
intentions on only ONE woman was seen as truly weird -- Mutsumi added,
"I'll let Nanase-chan take this one, Mama."
"How did you talk to her?" Shampoo asked. "This one didn't see . . .
"
"Telepathy."
The warrior-maiden blinked. "Aiyah! You're a mind-reader?!"
"I am," Mutsumi answered. "We all are, in fact." She waved around
the room to indicate the other Avalonians present at this time.
"Are you sure about that, child?" Cologne asked, a contemplative
glimmer flickering in her eye. "That Naho-chan's giving us the
op****tunity to have one of our boys mate with someone with YOUR
genetic potential . . . "
"The more brought in, the merrier. Correct?"
A dry chuckle. "Indeed."
The older Horikawa daughter sighed. "Well, if I was to meet another
male of your esteemed tribe, Elder Mother, I might actually consider
it. If Můsi is an example of what good country breeding can do to
males on this planet, I'll definitely keep my welcome carpet out just
in case someone from your place in the mountains comes my way." She
then held up a finger. "But, as you are no doubt well aware, Můsi
here has locked his heart and soul on winning over your exceptionally
beautiful great-granddaughter . . . " -- the others in the room
smirked on seeing Shampoo's cheeks flame at her compliment -- " . . .
to the detriment of all other potential would-be wives out there if
you ask me. To deluge the poor man with *two* would-be wives -- this,
I should note, is typical in our society -- I think would kill him in
the long term. While this whole arrangement is a back-up plan in case
things between Ataru-sama and Ranma-sama fall through (hard as it is
for me to imagine such a thing happening given that they ARE bond-
mates), killing off my sister's would-be husband would be quite bad
form. Therefore, I, in the interest of Můsi's good health, will defer
to Nanase-chan and seek my fortune elsewhere."
Cologne's eyebrow arched as she gazed intently at Mutsumi, and then
she stared intently at the other Avalonians. "Is this normal for your
kind, dears?" the elder asked. "Girls actually seeking each other out
in a relation****p before looking for a potential man to have
children?"
"Hai, Elder Mother, it is," Yusa Rinko spoke up from beside Shampoo.
Save for cutting her ponytail off short at the crown of her head,
Rinko was essentially a chestnut-haired, hazel-eyed version of Misaki
****ina. "Back on Sagussa, our ancestral home planet, it was seen as
quite normal for women to bond with each other psionically -- that was
called 'bond-mating' -- to form a family unit. When that was done,
only THEN would the couple seek out a man to be the father of their
potential children." She then held up a finger. "Of course, I should
note that in classical Sagussan society, it was seen as equally normal
for men to bond with each other in the same format of bond-mating as
women did. And since it was seen as very odd to remain locked with
only just one set of child-mate couples -- after all, sticking to one
such couple over an eight-hundred year lifespan would get stale after
the first half-century or so . . .!" She then shrugged.
"That's why what you know as 'marriage' never happened," ****ina
finished.
Cologne took that in, and then she breathed out, "Goddess, that has
to be the most intelligent concept for propagating one's whole race
that I've EVER heard! Why on Earth were you hiding these people from
us, Naho-chan?!"
"Auntie, you have to admit, while their many gifts would be a great
boon to your tribe as a whole, how do you think the Musk and the
Phoenix would ultimately react if all of the Nujiézú suddenly started
to display such abilities?" Naho asked as she gave the elder a knowing
look, her eyebrow arching. "To say ANYTHING of what might happen if
those spineless morons in Beijing ever got wind of this?" she then
added.
Cologne took that in, and then she nodded. "Yes, that is true."
"Does that mean Nanase can have him now?" Nanase cutely asked.
"He's all yours," Shampoo declared with a dismissive wave of her
hand.
"Hai!" Nanase then stopped. "Still . . . "
"What is it, dear?" Naho asked.
The younger Horikawa sighed. "Nanase should do it properly,
then . . . "
She spun around and slapped her fingertips onto Mousse's forehead.
The weapons-master gargled as a burst of psionic energy slammed into
his brain, and then he dropped to the floor in a dizzy faint. Seeing
that, Nanase gushed as she turned around to wave the "V for Victory"
sign to the others in the room. "Hai! Nanase defeated him! Guess
Nanase has to marry him now!"
"Looks that way to me, Imooto," Mutsumi confirmed with a nod.
Laughter then arced through the room as Nanase swept the very dazed
Mousse up in her arms, and then she stared landing wet kisses all over
his face. "Wo ai ni!" she cutely cooed after every kiss she gave him.
* * *
"Pri-chan, how on Earth do you know about Ukyou . . .?"
Priss laughed as she opened the door to Okonomiyaki U-chan's, waving
Nabiki inside. "Nabiki-vayae, Noa's been keeping an eye on events
around Tomobiki for the last ten years, for Lyna's sake. And you
gotta admit, what's been happening in this part of town's been hard to
hide. Even if Noa didn't know about Ranma's connection to Ataru, she
checked Nerima out regularly."
"Really . . .?" Nabiki then perked on hearing footsteps heralding
someone coming from the kitchen. "Oh! Hey, Konatsu!" she called out.
"Hello, Nabiki-sama . . .!" Konatsu then stopped on seeing the woman
accompanying the middle Tendou daughter. "Ara? Who's . . .?"
The cross-dressing kunoichi froze in place as his eyes danced over
the Yehisrite-turned-Sagussan specialized warfare officer's body.
Priss casually stared back at Konatsu, instantly recognizing what he
was doing. Nabiki blinked as she quickly sensed what was happening,
and then she frowned. "Konatsu-kun, what the heck are you doing
staring at MY girl like that?!" she declared in her iciest voice, she
pointing at him.
Konatsu blanched as that question washed over him, and then he bowed
repentantly. "I'm sorry, Nabiki-sama! I didn't mean to . . .!"
Priss' cackling laugh cut off the kunoichi's apology. "Lyna's
Blessed Soul, Nabiki-vayae, lay off the poor guy, huh?!"
Nabiki jolted as she realized what she had just said, and then she
screamed out as she started to pound her forehead into the counter
before her. "This can't be happening to me!" she wailed as she
gripped the sides of her head. "This just CAN'T be happening to ME!
It CAN'T!"
"Should I start calling myself 'Tendou Priscilla' now?" Priss
wondered.
"ACK!"
"Hey, I know!" Priss then held up a finger. "We can go over to
Toronto and do all the legal stuff there if you want."
"URK!"
"I hear that cottage country in Ontario's really nice this time of
year!"
"GLK!"
"I'd LOVE to skinny-dip in those lakes! You skinny-dip, Nabiki-
vayae?"
"ULP!"
Watching Nabiki nearly gag on her tongue as Priss continued her
tirade, Konatsu didn't know whether he should still seek to run away
from the monster the middle Tendou daughter had currently hooked
herself up with -- or fall over laughing on seeing Tendou Nabiki act
like she was doing at that time. More laughter and loud clapping then
turned everyone's attention to the door leading up to Ukyou's
apartment, where Kuonji Ukyou and Saotome Kumiko were standing,
delighted smirks on their faces. Seeing that, Nabiki shuddered as her
mixed feelings for Ranma's raven-haired mirror-twin surged up from the
depths of her heart. Before she could bolt up and shout Kumiko down,
a hand landed on her shoulder and forced her back onto her stool.
Spinning around, Nabiki then stopped on seeing a knowing look on
Priss' face. "Priss . . . "
The Pathfinder winked. "Nabiki, will you calm down and lighten up?"
Nabiki took that in, and then she felt her cheeks heat as more
laughter burst forth from Ukyou and Kumiko. "Lady, just for the sheer
delight of seeing you do THAT to Nabiki, the first okonomiyaki's on
the house!" the proprietor of U-chan's said as she positioned herself
behind her grill. "What'll you have?!"
"Two Noa-chan Specials," Priss announced.
Nabiki's head snapped over as Ukyou blinked in shocked surprise.
"What?!" the chef gasped. "You're one of Noa-chan's friends?!"
"WHAT?!" Nabiki shrieked as she bolted to her feet. "YOU KNOW HER?!"
The okonomiyaki chef smiled. Given Nabiki's mania when it came to
her learning ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that might, in any way possible,
come to affect her family, to learn that the middle Tendou daughter
had FAILED to learn anything about the woman Ukyou knew as "Aruka Noa"
brought great cheer to the chef's heart. "Even though she only comes
around here once every six months or so, she's one of my favourite
customers," she declared. Ukyou then laughed delightedly as Priss
whipped out a gold coin the size of a Japanese 500 yen piece, the
latter flicking it into the former's hand. Staring at it, she nodded
before showing it to the middle Tendou daughter. Displayed there was
the phoenix-like national insignia of the Fifth Republic of Sagussa,
the characters that denoted the name of that world in the Sagussan
language -- SAGUSSA UISEN'A -- in an arc underneath the bird's tail.
On the obverse side of the coin was a side profile image of a clean-
shaven Terran man. Nabiki was quick to realize who that image
represented. Did Ukyou know THIS?! "This tells me that whoever has a
coin like this hails from Noa-chan's planet," Ukyou added. "But I
gotta admit, you sure don't look Urusian."
"I'm not. I'm originally from a planet named Yehisril."
The three pureblood Terrans blinked confusedly. "Never heard of it,"
Kumiko said as she stepped up to Ukyou's side.
Priss shrugged. "Doubt you'll have. Believe me, minna, if any
Yehisrite ever visited Tomobiki, you WILL have heard of it!"
"I get it," Ukyou mused. "Okay, two Noa-chan Specials, coming right
up!"
Kumiko and Konatsu got out of Ukyou's way as the chef got to work.
Nabiki was quick to notice what normally went into a Noa-chan
Special. "I take it you guys really love spicy food," she mused as
Ukyou doused red pepper powder in the batter before she began to mix
it up.
"As much as the Noukiites do," Priss replied. "And the Koreans, the
Indians and the Mexicans here on Earth, too."
"Have you ever had kimch'i before, Nabiki?" Ukyou wondered.
"The local versions of it. Not anything im****ted directly from
Korea."
Ukyou nodded in understanding. "Don't worry. This won't be any
worse. Konatsu, get some water just in case."
"Hai, Ukyou-sama!"
He ran off into the storeroom to get the bottled water from the
fridge. Priss gazed on Kumiko. "You must be one of Ranma's sisters."
"I've that honour," she replied. "Have Ranma and the others come
back?"
"They won't be back until probably late tomorrow morning," Priss
replied. "Don't worry about your sister. My friends are keeping an
eye on them."
Ukyou blinked. "You mean it was Ran-chan Noa-chan was interested
in?!"
"No, Morobo**** Ataru."
The chef blinked again. "Why him?"
Nabiki held up a hand to stop Priss from speaking. "Allow me, Pri-
chan."
"Nabiki, I'm not paying for it," Ukyou warned.
"You won't have to," Nabiki replied. "This is going to get out
sooner or later anyway. And since you are close to Ranma-chan, Ukyou-
chan, you deserve to know this more than the normal man-on-the-street,
especially in Tomobiki."
Ukyou's jaw dropped. Nabiki NOT charging for information . . .?
"Oh, man!" she breathed out. "Now I DEFINITELY have to hear this!"
Nabiki smirked. "You ever wonder from where Ataru-kun's harem dreams
came? Well, minna, get ready to hear this one."
* * *
"Hello? Is there someone here?"
Kasumi blinked as she looked around. She had just walked down from
her bedroom after sensing something -- or someone -- enter the
grounds. "Ojii-san? Nabiki-chan? ****n****-chan? Akane-chan? Kimiko-
chan? Are any of you here?"
No answer.
Feeling a cold ****ver run through her, she turned to walk onto the
****ch.
* * *
Watching his target step outside the house from the shadows near the
corner of the property, the man quivered excitedly as the voice deep
within his mind began to loudly chant, repeating the same thing again
and again:
The task!
The task!
The task!
A guttural roar escaped him as he lunged, his hands la****ng for her
neck.
* * *
Everyone jolted as Nabiki suddenly gasped, her whole body locking up
as a blank look crossed her face. "Nabiki . . .!" Priss called out as
she reached over to squeeze the middle Tendou daughter's shoulder.
"What's wrong?!"
Nabiki barely shook as Priss' fingers made contact with her clothes,
and then she whispered, "Onee-chan . . . "
Before anyone could say anything else, Nabiki bolted out of her
chair. In the blink of the eye, she was out the front door of U-
chan's, running at inhuman speeds for the Tendou home. "NABIKI!"
Priss screamed out as she leapt off her stool to race after her
companion.
Ukyou, Kumiko and Konatsu blinked confusedly for a moment, and then
the chef gasped, "Something's wrong with Kasumi!"
"Oh, ****!" Kumiko screamed as she bounded over the counter to
follow. "Call everyone you can, U-chan!" she bellowed as she passed
through the doors.
"Right!" Ukyou called back as Konatsu moved to shut down the stoves.
* * *
"Kasumi is under attack!"
Eyes locked on Negako. "What?!" Kimiko gasped. "Are you sure?!"
"Who?!" Cologne demanded.
Negako's eyes locked with Naho. "Akiko."
Naho started on hearing that name, and then she scowled. "Let's go!"
Everyone bolted to their feet as they moved for the doors to the
shrine.
* * *
"F-f-father, wh-what's wr-wrong with . . .?"
Kasumi screamed out as a hand snapped for her neck. She ducked away
from those fingers as she collapsed to the floor. Nearly forgotten
lessons given to her years ago in the doojou quickly came back to
Kasumi as she rolled herself as far from the attacker as possible, and
then she got back to her feet. She didn't move fast enough to escape
his lunging down to grab one of her legs. Losing her balance, the
elder Tendou daughter soon found herself kissing the floor as the
attacker surged up to grab her by her hair.
A voice then bellowed from outside, "LET HER GO, YOU MONSTER!"
The attacker snarled as he swung around to stare at the slender
figure charging at him from the front gate of the property. Before
Nabiki could close in enough to get a clear look at whoever was
attacking Kasumi, someone dropped on her from above, knocking the
middle Tendou daughter into the ground by the koi pond. Growling, he
then turned back to deal with the task at hand.
Meanwhile, Nabiki was being spun around as an opened hand, the
fingers ringed with ninjutsu tiger claws, whipped right at her face.
Before the tips could rip Nabiki's eyes, a hand snared the arm and
yanked it back, the force of Priss' pull propelling Nabiki's opponent
through the air over the koi pond to smash head-first into the nearby
cherry tree. Gasping, the middle Tendou daughter quickly rolled back
to her feet to take a good look at the person who had stopped her from
trying to save Kasumi. "Who . . .?!"
"Never mind!" Priss said as she yanked out the pistol from inside her
vest, bracing herself as the other attacker rolled back to her feet.
"Get in there and stop that thing! It's brain-dead, but it can kill
Kasumi! MOVE!"
Nabiki spun left and lunged for the patio. Priss' eyes remained
locked on the woman by the tree as her future bond-mate hurried off to
rescue her sister. Sure enough, the other woman was moving swiftly to
grab something from inside the sleeve of her . . . kimono? *What in
Lyna's name is this kimei'ne doing dressed like THAT?!* Priss demanded
as she made a somersault, her line of advance set in a diagonal
direction to the right of Nabiki's path to the patio. Her left arm
then snapped up just as the kimono-clad woman moved to fire several
sharp throwing stars into the middle Tendou daughter's back.
"NABIKI, CATCH!"
As the shuriken were fired towards Nabiki, she spun around just as
Priss' right hand flung the Pathfinder's pistol directly at her.
Seeing the oncoming object spinning at her, Nabiki's hand lashed out
to snare it just as the first of the shuriken bit through Priss' left
sleeve and into her lower arm muscle. The Pathfinder grunted as the
sharp sting of the impact registered somewhere deep inside her mind,
and then she looked back to see the other whizzing stars angling at
her. Priss' right hand snapped up to snare two of the shuriken out of
the air. She ducked her head clear as the final two of the group
whipped past her. Fortunately for her, Nabiki had spotted the
incoming shuriken when she had turned around to catch Priss' pistol.
Dropping to the patio deck to allow those projectiles to slam
harmlessly into the outer wall of the Tendou home, Nabiki then spun
left to regain her footing and leap inside the house.
By then, the kimono-clad attacker was moving to get around this woman
interfering in her mission and stop Nabiki from saving Kasumi's life.
To most normal people -- even to the average run of martial artists
that frequented Nerima -- her movements were quite swift. To a
Pathfinder-trained, Pirpirsiw'r-born Sagussan, she was as slow as a
snail. Priss wound up in an overhand cricket pitch to fire the
shuriken she just caught out of mid-air back to sender. The attacker
didn't see her own projectiles race at her before the first cut a deep
gash in the bridge of her nose and the second clipped off the top of
her left earlobe before it buried itself into her skull. She screamed
out as the sharp pains ripped through her mind, her feet stumbling as
the blood from her torn nose blinded her right eye. Before she could
wipe her face clear, a fist slammed into her gut with the power of a
sledgehammer, sma****ng all the air out of her lungs in one explosive
*WHOOSH!* Her body instantly curled around Priss' fist before she
collapsed to the ground.
Inside the Tendou home, Nabiki rounded the corner to enter the
sitting room. Her eyes then locked on the figure looming over a
wildly screaming Kasumi on the far side of the room, his fist rising
to strike down on her like a falling Sword of Damocles. Her heart
hammering wildly in her ears, Nabiki whipped up the pistol to lock
onto the attacker's back. While she had no real training with this
type of weapon, enough exposure to American action films over the
years gave Nabiki a general idea of how to use the damned thing. Line
up both the forward and aft sights with the place you wanted to hit,
and then shoot. That took her a second before her index finger
squeezed the trigger.
The Sagussan personal defence pistol is a weapon resembling a Glock
17 pistol. It fires case-less ammunition, just like the Heckler &
Koch G-11 assault rifle. The rounds it fires are solid gelatine
bullets composed of frozen plasma; a total of thirty can be loaded
into a PDP magazine. When the trigger is squeezed, a micro-battery
poised right over the firing bed ignites the round by charging the
plasma with the energy level desired by the person handling the
weapon. The PDP can be used in one of sixteen potential power
settings, ranging from "tracer/very low stun" to "kill/disintegrate."
Priss had the pistol set at the twelfth power level when it was passed
to Nabiki.
The bolt of burning energy slammed into the attacker's back to the
left of the spine, punching through one of the chambers of his heart
and a section of his left lung before shattering a rib and exiting
through his lower pectoral muscle. Kasumi screamed out as a small
fountain of blood exploded from the exit wound as the force of the
impact sent the attacker to stumble over her and collapse to the floor
nearby. Kasumi quickly rolled clear as Nabiki raced up to insert
herself between her sister and the attacker, the PDP aimed at his
body. A savage kick into his abdomen was enough to flip the man over
onto his back, thus exposing his face for the middle Tendou daughter
to see.
"Dad . . .?"
Nabiki's jaw dropped in horrified shock and disbelief as Tendou
Souun's hideously twisted features appeared before her. Blood burbled
from the wound in his chest from his shattered heart, which was still
beating despite the fatal injury just done to it. Taking a staggered
step back, Nabiki gagged as bile welled up from deep inside her
throat, a hand coming up to cover her mouth as the truth of what she
had just done began to sink into her. Before she could be overwhelmed
by a tsunami of horror and guilt, two hands clasped her shoulders as a
wave of empathic calm surged through her from Priss.
"Easy, love!" the Pathfinder hissed into her ear as a hand reached
down to lift the pistol out of Nabiki's hand. "Easy! It's all right,
Nabiki-vayae! It's okay!" Priss soothed as she embraced her would-be
bond-mate.
Nabiki blinked as Priss' empathic show of sup****t chased away the
last of the former's guilt, allowing curiosity to overcome her as she
reached out with her own senses to probe the bleeding shell of a man
before her. Footfalls then made her look left as a girl with reading
gl***** -- an Avalonian, Nabiki quickly sensed -- ran up to sweep
Kasumi into her own comforting embrace, and then the middle Tendou
daughter turned back to stare into Souun's face. The simple, total
*silence* that responded from her empathic probe made Nabiki blink
several more times, though she didn't feel a fresh bout of horror
thanks to Priss' embrace, the psionic sup****t the Pathfinder was
giving her without any hesitation or question. Another glance at
Kasumi revealed that the newcomer Avalonian's embrace had worked
wonders on her as much as Priss' had done to Nabiki. With that, she
reached up to squeeze Priss' arms. The stickiness that came from that
contact then made Nabiki look down to see her hands covered in gold-
flecked blood. "You're hurt, Pri-chan."
"It's healing," Priss assured her.
"Oh, my!" Kasumi gasped as she focused on her arm. "Let me get . . .
"
"Shoima'cha, don't bother," Priss said. "It's okay. I heal fast."
Nabiki blinked, and then she stared at Priss. "What does that mean?"
"'Bond-mate's sister,'" the woman holding Kasumi translated.
Nabiki's cheeks started to heat as the implication of THAT sinks into
her heart. Priss looked the newcomer over. "Who're you?"
"My Niphentaxian name is Mutzi dai-Tythya. On Earth, I go by
Horikawa Mutsumi. I assume you're from Sagussa," the other woman
introduced herself.
"She is," Nabiki answered for her. "Pri-chan. I need to scream."
Priss shook her head. "Not yet, Nabiki-vayae. We need to think this
mess out first. You and Shoima'cha can mourn later."
"Then allow me to illuminate all of you further, Priscilla."
Eyes turned around as someone in a black gi stepped inside, a woman
in a kimono slung over her shoulder. "Negako-san!" Kasumi gasped.
Negako gazed briefly at the Tendou siblings, and then she casually
flipped her cargo off her shoulder, allowing the woman in the kimono
to crash unceremoniously onto the floor. Following the ninjutsu
grandmaster were most of the crowd from the Morobo**** home. "What the
devil . . .?!" Cologne began before her eyes fixed on Souun's unmoving
body, and then they widened in stunned shock. "Oh, Goddess . . . "
she breathed out.
"Negako-sama, what happened to him?!" Yusa Rinko demanded after she
took her own empathic "look" at Nabiki's father.
"A process the Hoofuku conceived of many years ago in hopes of their
pressing a more successful campaign against our family, Rinko," Negako
explained. "As you can sense, when it is employed against victims of
a soulsword attack, it is fatally effective."
"Transforming a coma victim into a brain-dead, runaway killing
machine," Cologne noted with a sneer. "Sickening."
Staring at the crowd around the fallen Hoofuku Akiko, Kasumi was
quick to notice the VERY strong familial resemblance between Negako
and an older woman currently standing between the ninjutsu grandmaster
and the Nujiézú elder. And there was also a marked amount of physical
similarity between that woman and the older woman in the kimono at
Negako's feet. "Um, excuse me," Kasumi called out as she pulled
herself away from Mutsumi, though she still held onto the Avalonian's
hand. "Negako-san, who are . . .?"
Negako indicated Naho. "This is the daughter of Ataru's late grand-
uncle Seinen, Kasumi. Her name is Hana Naho, although she currently
lives under the alias 'Horikawa Nahoko.' She is the one who gave a
blood sample to the Zephyrites to use to create this body for
myself." The grandmaster pointed at her heart. "And this is Naho's
maternal aunt, Hoofuku Akiko, elder sister to Naho's late mother,
Jiko." Her finger swung over to indicate Akiko.
"So why did this woman turn Dad into a zombie to make him attack Onee-
chan?!" Nabiki asked as she ****fted herself in Priss' embrace.
Naho sighed. "For that, Nabiki-chan, I must apologize profusely to
yourself and your family for what my relatives just did." She gazed
ashamedly at the Tendou sisters as she continued, "My grandfather
Reiji did not approve of Mother's marriage to Father whatsoever. This
was at a time when the Hoofuku and the Tora-Sei****n were at odds with
each other in the wake of the end of the Greater East Asia War. My
father's family (at the order of the Shoowa Emperor) viciously put
down my mother's family -- with the assistance of the Zephyrites, by
the way -- to bring an end to decades of feuding between the various
****nobi clans. Reiji didn't approve of that, of course, so he . . . "
"Had your parents killed off to punish them for their 'betrayal' of
his family," Nabiki finished. "Thus forcing you into hiding."
"Hai," Naho replied. "Now, I don't know why exactly this happened,
but I have no choice but to believe that your father was made to kill
your sister at the instigation of Asagaya Isao. I think both of you
know who that person is."
"Yeah, he's Auntie Nodoka's father," Nabiki spoke up. "He's
been . . . " Her voice then trailed off as it hit her. "Oh,
**** . . .!"
"You mean to say that this happened because Ranma-chan refused to
become part of that man's family?!" Kasumi demanded.
"That is most likely," Negako stated before her eyes focused on
Priss.
The Pathfinder blinked. "What?"
"You have a friend who is a law enforcement officer on your planet."
Priss gaped. "Lyna's Blessed Soul, how did you . . .?!" She then
stopped herself before a barking laugh escaped her. "Damn, Negako-
san, you ARE good!" With that, she reached up to tap the communicator
affixed to her vest collar. "Priss to Tomo!" she called out.
"Yo, Priss!" the internal security officer called back. "What's
up?!"
Priss smirked. "Tomo, how'd you like to get the chance to practice
your interrogation procedures on someone right now?!"
Everyone was quick to note the excitement in Tomo's voice. "Who?!"
"A kimei'ne who just effectively murdered Tendou Nabiki's father."
A hum trilled over the link with the "Haengge'cha." "Murder, huh?"
Tomo mused. "I'll bring my stun-baton."
"Tricorder, too, Master Chief," Priss advised. "We need a scan of
this perp so we can hunt down her father with the Rover in orbit over
Welcome House right now. He's probably somewhere in the vicinity of
Tokyo if not in Tokyo itself. When we find him, we beam him up and
freeze him in mid-trans****t. I don't think he'll be much of a bother
to you, Tomo, but I'm sure you don't want to mess up Yomi's ****p along
the way."
"Damn right about that!" Tomo replied. "If I even put a *scratch* on
this tub, Yomi'd make me sleep on the couch for a month!"
"I would, too!" Koyomi's voice then broke into the conversation.
"What in Lyna's name happened anyway, Pri?"
"Tell you in a bit, Yomi. Get Tomo down here right away!"
"Hai!"
The link was cut. "Hey, what's going on here?!" Ukyou's voice then
hailed from outside. "Kasumi! Nabiki! Where are you guys?!"
"In here, minna!" Kasumi called back.
Ukyou and Kumiko stepped inside, both then halting on seeing the
prone form at the end of the room. "What the . . .?! Holy ****!" the
chef gasped on recognizing Souun, and then she turned to Kasumi.
"Kasumi, what . . . "
"It will be explained later, Ukyou . . . " Negako then perked as a
ringing sound echoed through the house. "Ah!"
"Oh, MY!" Kasumi gasped as she looked up. "Is that a . . .?"
"Trans****ter," Nabiki finished.
Footfalls heralded Tomo's appearance, the Sagussan police officer
dressed in her duty uniform. A telescoping stun baton was strapped
onto her pistol belt at the small of her back, the holster at her
right side filled with a PDP like Priss' own sidearm. A tricorder was
in Tomo's hand. "Hey, everyone!" she hailed, and then her eyes took
in the details. "Okay, there's the victim . . . " she muttered as she
looked over Souun's body, and then she glanced down at the unconscious
Akiko. "And that must be the perp."
Priss held out her hand. "Tomo."
The tricorder was tossed over. Priss snared it, and then she made a
pass over Akiko's body as Tomo walked over to kneel beside Souun. The
master chief warrant officer reached down to touch his face, and then
she grimaced. "Damn! Total mind-wiping!" she hissed. "They sure
don't get deader than this." She then stood, her eyes focusing on
Kasumi. She blinked as Tomo's dark gaze seemed to bore right into her
very soul. Kasumi then relaxed as Tomo lightly nodded before the
latter turned away to walk over to Akiko.
"Are you alright, Kasumi-sama?" Mutsumi gently asked.
"I . . . " Kasumi then stopped before she stared at the Avalonian.
"I just found it very odd, Mutsumi-chan," she said.
"About what?"
Kasumi waved at Tomo. "That I'd actually meet someone who looks so
much like Takino Tomo-chan from 'Azumanga Daioh!'"
Mutsumi smiled. "Soo na. I wonder if they have an Osa- . . . "
Priss and Tomo suddenly appeared before her, both shu****ng her.
"***DON'T CALL HER THAT!***" both screamed out.
Mutsumi stared fearfully at them as the others exchanged confused
looks.
* * *
"A-ri-ri?! Ayumu-chan, why are you crying?!"
Aria, Mie and Makoto turned to gaze into Ayumu's tear streaked face.
The group which had departed the "Windrider" an hour before to
retrieve the Genesis Wand of Parah had just passed through the Kuiper
belt of a strangely dark solar system located five galactic spiral
arms counter-clockwise from the branch of the Milky Way containing
Earth. The master chief petty officer of the Sagussan Navy then
sniffed as she looked down at Hi****o. "Hi****o-chan, I think . . . "
she burbled, and then she hiccupped. "I think that . . . "
"What?!" Mie demanded.
Ayumu then cried out, "SOMEONE'S CALLING ME 'OSAKA' AGAIN!"
Makoto breathed out in relief on seeing that Ayumu wasn't flying
totally off the handle on her saying that. Aria gazed confusedly at
Ayumu. Mie jolted before she moaned, a hand flying up to slap her
forehead. "YOU'RE CRYING OVER THAT?!" she then shrieked at the master
chief petty officer.
"Mie!" Makoto hushed her.
"Why don't you like being called 'Osaka,' Ayumu-chan?!" Hi****o asked.
"Because that kimei'ne I took my name from didn't do or say ANYTHING
when everyone started calling HER 'Osaka,' Hi****o-chan!"
A thoughtful look crossed Hi****o's face as she considered that
point. "Well, yeah! That's true, isn't it?"
"Hi****o-chan?"
"Huh? What is it, Aria-chan?"
"Is that where Tsue-san is?"
Aria pointed ahead of them. Everyone looked as a four hundred
million kilometre-wide spheroid, it composed of black metal which was
barely lit by the faint luminescence from nearby stars, loomed before
them. "Hina's not sure!"
"This is the place," Mie announced. "Welcome to the Planet of
Shadows."
Everyone quickly took in the details. "It sure is big!" Hi****o
noted.
"Looks like that Dyson sphere the 'Enterprise-D' encountered the day
they found Scott-taisa," Mie added as she scratched her chin in
contemplation.
"Ever wondered who built this place?!" Makoto asked.
"What made you ask that, Makoto?" Ayumu wondered.
The flightmistress sighed. "Ayumu, even with our technology, there's
no way in Eternity that we could possibly try to equal THIS!"
She waved to the massive construct before them. "Yeah, that's true,
isn't it," Ayumu mused before she rolled her eyes. "Then again, who
in Lyna's name would want to enclose a STAR?! Stars need to breathe,
too, you know!"
"True," Mie agreed with a nod.
"What do you think, Aria-chan?" Hi****o asked.
The young Parisian hummed. "Aria doesn't see a door, Hi****o-chan."
"Wait! There's a door!" Makoto announced, pointing to their right.
Everyone looked. "Ah, Hina sees it!" Hi****o cried out. "Bou-san!"
***Heading toward it now,*** the Staff dutifully announced.
The energy comet performed a sharp right turn as it climbed up over
the plane of the Planet of Shadow's equator toward a kilometre-wide
circular hatchway located about thirty-eight degrees north of the
equator. Everyone currently on this trip had been able to spot the
entrance right away thanks to the Staff's enhancing their visual sight
so they could find a door and get inside as soon as possible. While
Ayumu remained fully awake at this time -- thus, she was able to keep
Makoto alive and well -- even Mie knew of the Navy master chief's
frequent bouts of narcolepsy. The sooner they got this trip done and
the Genesis Wand of Parah was in Aria's hands, the better.
"Hi****o-chan, can the Staff open the hatchway so we can get inside?"
Mie then asked. "I don't want Ayumu to extend herself . . . "
***I've detected a proximity sensor net over the entrance, Mie. The
net will automatically open the door when we come in range.***
"Um, Bou-san . . . "
***What is it, Hi****o?***
The youngest sister pointed. "What's that sign say?!"
Everyone blinked, and then they looked. Sure enough, hanging from a
metal arm on the right side of the entranceway was a green sign well
over five hundred metres in height, it stylized like your atypical
highway road sign. Scripted on it were what appeared to be some alien
version of Mandarin character blocks. "That's Vosian!" Makoto
declared. "Staff, translate that!"
***Just a moment.***
The air ****mmered before everyone's eyes as the script on the sign
seemed to transform instantly into kanji (complete with furigana for
Hi****o's and Aria's benefit) and kana. The people blinked before
Ayumu read out the main phrase, "'Welcome to the Planet of Shadows.'"
"'Those wi****ng to invade, please use back entrance,'" Mie then
finished, a tendon over her eyebrow twitching.
* * *
To be continued . . .
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