"Hmmm . . . Mizuho-chan?"
"What is it, Nodoka-chan?"
"Why is it every time we get together, we wind up ****d as jaybirds?"
The lovely twenty-something currently straddling over Nodoka's legs
burst out laughing before she continued to knead the muscles and
tendons around the older woman's shoulders. "Maybe it's because I
have such an animalistic *** appeal, you simply can't resist me!"
Yama****na Mizuho slyly proposed as her fingertips dug into the flesh
between Nodoka's spine and shoulder blades.
Nodoka laughed as she reached back to playfully swat her friend's
hands. Both were currently in Nodoka's bedroom. They had ****fted
there from the furo after a long soak so that Mizuho could give the
older woman a massage before they would go to bed. It had surprised
Nodoka when Mizuho appeared at her front door late the previous
afternoon, sometime after Nodoka had returned home from her meeting
with her father downtown. Then again, given how close Saotome Nodoka
had come to be with Yama****na Mizuho, the latter's surprise visits to
Nerima had lost their real shock value long ago.
Besides, given what happened between Nodoka and her relatives over
the last couple of months, she really needed a friend at this time.
One she could confess ALL her problems to, hug and be hugged by when
she needed it, whose shoulder she could cry on when it just became too
much for Nodoka to handle. Hisayo, bless her heart, was quite
wonderful, but there were some things Nodoka, to this day, didn't want
to burden her twin sister with. Yama****na Mizuho, in a short space of
time, had become Nodoka's perfect friend.
"Feel better?" Mizuho asked.
Nodoka moaned. "Much better. Has Nahoko-san been giving you
lessons?"
Mizuho chuckled. "No, I learned this from someone else. I hear
you've met her over the last couple of weeks: Morobo**** Negako."
Silence.
Nodoka looked up, her jaw dropping in shock. "You know Negako-san?!"
Sensing the surprise and underlying fear her friend was currently
feeling about the grandmaster, Mizuho sighed as she slipped herself
off Nodoka's legs, allowing the older woman to ****ft to her side so
they could stare into the other's eyes. "Of course I know her." A
smile crossed her face. "Surely you noticed the physical similarities
between Nahoko-san and Negako-sama, Nodoka-chan. Nahoko-san was the
one who allowed her body to get cloned by Ataru-san's friends so
Negako-sama could have her own body."
Nodoka blinked. "Mizuho, why haven't you told me about this before?"
Mizuho sighed. "Nodoka, the last time we spoke to each other was
back at the hotel in Onogawa, sometime before you found out the truth
about your son's curse and 'Tendou Ranko.' Remember? We haven't
talked since then. I never believed that a chance might come that
you, much less Ranma-san, would ever get the chance to meet either
Ataru-san or Negako-sama for that matter."
Nodoka considered that, and then she slowly nodded, a hand reaching
out to rub the younger woman's thigh. One of the many things Nodoka
had come to envy about Mizuho was her baby-soft skin. It had such a
silky feel! It didn't take Nodoka long to conclude that ANY man would
KILL to be able to touch skin like this. Why Mizuho's husband had
divorced her, leaving her in Onogawa pregnant -- these days, Mizuho
had a cute six year-old daughter, Kahori, who was constantly doted on
by the all-female staff at the Hotel Kirabo**** -- all just to pursue
some mad religious quest, Nodoka simply just couldn't understand.
Still possessing model-perfect looks, the turquoise-eyed, raven-haired
Mizuho would not be wanting for dates if she decided to get out there
and find a potential stepfather for Kahori. That Mizuho often
preferred to spend time with Nodoka, either in Nerima or whenever the
older woman visited Onogawa for a couple days to take in the heated
mineral waters at the Hotel Kirabo****, had been one of the MANY
mysteries surrounding this woman.
Still, in spite of all that, Nodoka REALLY needed a friend . . .
"I take it something's happened between you and your son."
Nodoka blinked as she interpreted Mizuho's comment, and then she
nodded. Taking a moment to marshal her thoughts, she gazed on her
guest. "Mizuho, could you tell me some things about Negako-san?
Ranma told me yesterday that Jusenkyou had come to affect him a lot
worse that was suspected. That he . . . " Here, Nodoka paused as a
lance of pain warped through her mind as Ranma's harsh words at the
old shrine over twenty-four hours before came back to her. "That my
son is now mentally my daughter! But Father believes . . . "
Mizuho's tired sigh made her host go silent. While the manager of
the Hotel Kirabo**** had never said any really nasty words to her
friend about Asagaya Isao and the way he had treated Nodoka, Nodoka
knew that Mizuho did not hold her father in high respect. "Your
father thinks that Negako-sama must have done something to make Ranma-
san believe that?" she wondered. At Nodoka's nod, Mizuho continued,
"Nodoka, Negako-sama wouldn't EVER think of doing something like
that. If there is one thing Negako-sama truly holds dear, it's the
truth. The whole, unvarnished truth. If Ranma-san has come to
discover that those pools in China did *that* to her, believe me, it
wouldn't have happened because of something Negako-sama did. In fact,
I'm more than sure that Negako-sama must've done her best to help ease
your daughter through that sort of change." Mizuho ignored the wince
Nodoka made on the former's mentioning of Ranma, as the latter's
"daughter" instead of "son." "Especially if Ranma-san has become
friends with Ataru-san. If there's one group of people in the world
Negako-sama loves dearly, it's Ataru-san and their sisters!"
Nodoka considered that as she sat up. "Yes, that's true, isn't it?
Forgive me, Mizuho-chan. I don't want to get you into any sort of
trouble with Negako-san, but Father is becoming pretty adamant on the
idea of convincing Ranma-chan to be formally adopted into the clan."
"'Adamant' isn't the word I'd use in that case, Nodoka-chan.
'Fanatical' is more like it. Has he told you why he wants to do
this?"
"Well, Genma's gone now . . . "
"But Ranma-san's Genma's son. That HAS to bother your father . . . "
A cell phone rang. Mizuho stopped, and then she breathed out.
"Don't you just HATE that?!" she snarled before reaching over to yank
the offending device from her skirt pocket. As Nodoka laughed, Mizuho
flipped it open. "Mo****-mo****, Yama****na here!" she called into it.
As her friend heard the other end reply, Nodoka sat up, she reaching
over to pick up a glass of water. She was about to lift it to her
lips when Mizuho's shocked voice called out, "Ayano, if that's a joke,
it's not the damned least bit funny!" Looking over at her friend,
Nodoka tensed on seeing the pale skin and the look of shock on
Mizuho's face. "Did Negako-sama confirm it?" the manager of the Hotel
Kirabo**** asked. A pause as the other end -- it was Inaba Ayano,
Nodoka knew, who was calling; the lovely sixteen year-old girl was one
of the people who worked as full-time staff at the Kirabo**** --
answered, and then Mizuho nodded. "Yes, yes. I'm with her right
now. Does Negako-sama think Kasumi-san and Nabiki-san could stand a
visit from her?" Hearing the names of the elder Tendou daughters,
Nodoka tensed further. Despite what had happened between Ranma and
the Tendous, especially over the last couple of months, the former
matriarch of the Saotome Clan of Nerima did care a lot for the
daughters of the late Tendou Kimiko.
What had happened?
Finally, Mizuho nodded. "Hai, I'll bring her over. See you soon."
"What happened?" Nodoka asked as her friend closed the cell phone.
Mizuho sighed. "Tendou Souun is dead, Nodoka-chan. He was
murdered."
Nodoka paled.
**** **** ****
"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 NINTH PART, "B" SIDE - NEW FRIENDS
"I had the dream again last night, Mujanba."
Mujanba blinked, and then she gazed on Hinanba. Both hunters were in
a pond about a kilometre from the grounds of the Crystal Palace,
enjoying a pleasant mid-afternoon swim. Off in the distance, the
other young hunters who had come with them to the Planet of Shadows to
locate the Sceptre of Lecasur were also frolicking in the water, they
enjoying the pleasant summer-like day. Varena was sunning herself on
the shore nearby, though she was keeping a casual eye on the others to
ensure nothing happened to them. Far overhead, large, non-reflective
metal blocks, similar in pro****tions to the black monolith from
"2001: A Space Odyssey" -- but far, FAR larger in size -- were slowly
circling around. They would soon move to form a solid wall between a
good ****tion of the interior surface of the Dyson sphere and its
captive sun, thus simulating night on worlds the Vosians were more
familiar with. "What dream was that, Hinanba?" the brown-haired,
hazel-eyed native of Colony Nine asked.
"The Voyager," Hinanba confessed, her hazel eyes turning down in
shame.
Mujanba sighed. "Hinanba, you don't have to feel shame about
dreaming of becoming one of the Maidens, you know. After all you've
been through, you've got the right to dream things like that.
Besides . . . " She nodded in the direction of the other hunters.
"Your friends've had the same type of dream." She scowled. "And they
were punished for it just like you were, I suspect."
Hinanba's jaw dropped as she ran a hand through her long caramel
hair. "Really . . .?" she gasped.
"Yeah," Mujanba replied with a smile. "There are times I think the
Mikado's ideas about the Special Hunter Corps aren't worth the
antimatter needed to blow them up. Things would've been a lot easier
if he had learned to relax the grip on society every once in a
while." She paused as the smile slipped from her face. "If you ask
me, I think things would've been a lot better if he had just done what
was needed after the Ipraedies War, and then stepped aside and let
civilian rule come back to the Confederation."
"He's not going to last long, is he?"
Mujanba breathed out. "Not really."
"Then why are we out here, Mujanba?"
"Well, when civilian rule DOES come back to Vos, someone is going to
insist on having the Sceptre around to ensure that whoever sits in the
President's chair won't have his or her legitimacy questioned,"
Mujanba mused as she sat on an underwater rock. Hinanba smiled as she
glided through the water to sit beside her. "And if we do this right,
we'll make sure that when the war is over, what survivors are there of
the Hunter Corps will get justice for their sufferings." A pause.
"War is the sum of all evils, Hinanba. The thing we always have to
remember is that there'll be an 'after-war' phase. When that comes,
it'll be too easy for people to slip through the cracks. And if
you're associated with any of the atrocities that happen . . . "
"You're damned to Purgatory without hope of salvation," Hinanba
finished.
"Right."
Hinanba sighed as she curled her legs closer to her. "That's why I
want to be one of the Maidens." She gazed curiously on Mujanba. "Why
did the Voyager stop finding new Maidens, Mujanba? I mean, all
re****ts on it doing that stopped coming out some years before the
rebellion began. Why . . .?"
The witch-hunter shrugged. "Maybe its primary mission is done.
Maybe the Chosen One has already been found."
Hinanba considered that. "I still want to be one of the Maidens."
Mujanba stared at the younger hunter, and then she smiled as she
reached over to draw a comforting arm around Hinanba's shoulder.
Sensing that touch, Hinanba smiled as she leaned against the taller
woman's shoulder. "You want to know something, Hinanba?" Mujanba then
asked.
"Hmm? What is it, Mujanba?"
"There're times I wish I was a Maiden, too."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really!"
Both women laughed, and then Hinanba held up a finger. "I know!
We'll go find the Voyager and become Maidens together, okay?!" she
then proposed.
The laughter increased, and then Mujanba froze as her eyes began to
glow. Hinanba noticed that, and then she tensed, her eyes sweeping
around. "What is it?" she wondered as her tracking powers activated.
"Is someone close by?"
"I'm not too sure," Mujanba whispered.
* * *
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI! THIS PLACE IS SO NEAT!"
"It is that, isn't it?!" Makoto stated as the energy comet bearing
her, Hi****o, Aria, Mie and Ayumu made a ****t turn after clearing the
entrance into the Planet of Shadows, it levelling at thirty kilometres
above mean interior ground level. She reached over to wrap an arm
around her lover. "Ever imagine coming to a place where the horizon
would go UP instead of DOWN, Mie-vayae?!"
"Not really!" Mie mused as she took her own look around. "The Rover
re****ts on this place don't do it any justice!"
"Whoever created this place was NOT civilized!"
Everyone stared at Aria. "What do you mean, Aria-chan?!" Hi****o
asked.
Aria pointed. Everyone looked to see a familiar set of golden arches
looming in the near distance. "There's a . . .?" Mie sputtered.
"McDonalds?!" Makoto finished.
Hi****o looked, and then she sighed. "Aria-chan and hamburgers!"
"Aria does NOT like hamburgers," the Parisian, as proud of her native
France's varied and deep culinary traditions as any Korean would be of
kimch'i, pulgogi or naengmyoun, sharply declared. She then demurely
smiled as she added, "Unless ****rayuki-chan makes them!"
"Hai!" Hi****o agreed with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, it's a smart thing NOT to piss off the family chef," Makoto
noted.
* * *
Back aboard the "Windrider," inside the galley, the chef in question
sneezed. "Are you alright, ****rayuki-chan?" Noa asked.
****rayuki sniffed back the jarred mucus in her nose, and then she
gave the Elder Mother and her bond-mate a reassuring smile. She had
been working with Noa and Catty on preparing some snacks for everyone
on the ****p, in following the Sagussan weekend community tradition of
Pang Manjok. "Hai desu no, Noa-chan," she said as she turned back to
the bread rolls she had been making. "Someone must be talking about
Hime right now."
"That's a weird belief," Catty mused as she put danishes into an
oven.
"It's *their* belief, Catty-vayae," Noa reminded the doctor.
"Hai, true."
****rayuki giggled.
* * *
A worried look crossed Ayumu's face, one Hi****o was quick to notice.
"Ayumu-chan, are you okay?" the latter asked.
"Do you think ****rayuki-chan'll be mad if I don't eat her
hamburgers?"
The youngest sister blinked. "Why?"
"Hamburgers give me an acid stomach."
"Well, it's not ****rayuki-sama's fault that you once tried to make
hamburgers using ground nightlizard meat!" Makoto noted.
Hi****o and Aria stared wide-eyed on the Sagussans. "You eat LIZARDS
on Sagussa?!" the former demanded before her face screwed up.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!" She turned away from them. "That's almost as bad
as someone eating dog meat!"
"Aria wouldn't even THINK of doing that!"
The Sagussans exchanged knowing looks. "Well, broiled nightlizard
meat IS tasty," Mie fondly lamented as she gave Makoto and Ayumu a sly
grin. "Then again, it HAS been a few years since I enjoyed it for
supper . . . "
Hi****o and Aria, in sync, tongues out:
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!"
"Mie, you're a meanie!" Ayumu scolded before she blinked. "Road
sign!"
She pointed. Everyone looked to see another green road sign, this
one as big as the "Hasei'cha," floating ahead. "What's that say, Bou-
san?!" Hi****o asked on seeing the Mandarin-like characters marking
words in Vosian.
***'Crystal Palace: 3000 kilometres,'*** the Staff helpfully
translated.
Everyone blink-blinked. "What sort of place is this, anyway?" Mie
asked.
Makoto sighed. "It does make you wonder, doesn't it?"
* * *
"I got something."
"What is it, Kanba?" Mujanba asked as she moved to dry her hair.
Kanba, a grey-eyed blonde who was in the same class as Hinanba from
the Mensohn School -- Nassur's alma mater -- shook her head. "Some
sort of high-frequency energy reading. Signs of tachytron radiation,
too. It's way off ALL the scales on this machine, Captain. And I'm
picking up five humanoid life-forms. Two appear to be Terran. One
Terran, although this one seems to possess some odd genetic
modifications. One Yehisrite, also with odd genetic modifications.
In fact, it's the same as her companion. And one . . . "
Kanba stopped, her face paling. "What?" Ryoonba, Kanba's pe'cha,
asked.
Kanba stared on her crimson-haired, brown-eyed friend.
"Yizibajohei."
The other hunters froze on hearing that word, they instantly starting
to ****ver. Even Mujanba and Varena were visibly perturbed. Despite
the countless technological, social and cultural advantages their
people had at their beck and call -- even after over three decades of
devastating civil war! -- there was one planet in the whole galaxy
people from Vos avoided visiting: Yiziba. That planet, chock-full of
metahumans whose behaviour most often seemed a mad parody of what
Terrans would consider "chivalrous," had consistently topped the
Confederation's "avoid at all costs" first-contact lists since
Unification two millennia before. If one of them was here on the
Planet of Shadows, the whole mission to retrieve the Sceptre of
Lecasur could be in jeopardy. Hopefully, Mujanba mused to herself,
the Mikado would understand that; the four-century old Vosian dictator
was, unfortunately, very well known for his considerable LACK of
understanding when it came to things that had not succeeded.
"Three Terrans, a Yehisrite and a Yizibajohei?" Varena, a brown-
haired, green-eyed azhis'f from Colony Nine, whose dusky skin was
decorated with many rune-like tattoos, trilled as she closed her
eyes. "Anything else?"
"Scanning." Kanba tapped controls on her machine. After a moment,
she blinked as a particular reading came up. "All girls . . .?"
"Eh?" Pamanba, Hinanba's best friend, called out. "All girls?"
"Yes," Kanba replied. "The two pure-Terrans are very young. Before
puberty, in fact. The altered Terran seems to be in her late teens.
Ditto with the Y-yi-yiz-Yizibajohei," she stammered, and then she
flashed an apologetic look at her companions. "The Yehisrite's in her
early twenties." She shook her head. "Never seen readings like this
before . . . "
"Wait!" Ryoonba called out, pointing to their east. "Is that them?!"
Everyone looked. Kanba nodded. "It's them. They seem . . . wait!"
"They're landing at the Palace?!" Mujanba demanded. "But why . . .?"
* * *
"Crystal Palace, dead ahead!" Ayumu pointed.
Everyone breathed out in relief as the enormous crystalline construct
-- it instantly reminding Hi****o and Aria of the many episodes of
"Sailor Moon" both had watched time and time again, especially the
stories concerning Crystal Tokyo -- began to grow larger in their
vision. "Staff, can you tele****t us inside so we can get our hands on
the Genesis Wand right away?" Mie asked. "The sooner we get this
done, the better. Especially for you, Mako-vayae."
"Sorry," the flightmistress apologized.
***I would strongly recommend against that, Mie,*** the Staff
responded. ***The composition of the Crystal Palace's walls is of a
neutronium-like material that could haze some of my abilities. And
given Ayumu's frequent bouts of narcolepsy, I don't believe you want
me to risk doing that, and thus place Makoto in mortal danger. The
best avenue of approach for us is to contact the lone sentient I now
sense within the Crystal Palace and explain the situation to him. He
might be willing to assist. If you ask him nicely.***
The Sagussans exchanged looks. "There's someone living here?" Mie
asked.
"Who could it be?" Ayumu wondered.
"Let's find out!" Hi****o beckoned.
Everyone gazed on the youngest sister, and then they nodded. With
that, the energy comet descended to the grassy lawn around the
Palace. The whole of the property was surrounded by dense forest,
with some lakes and small, tree-shrouded hills stretching out as far
as the eye could see. Outside of the vast crystalline structure --
from Hi****o's viewpoint, the Crystal Palace seemed to be large enough
to swallow up all of Promised Island several times over! -- before
them, there was no sign of any sort of habitation, save for what
appeared to be an oversized, open-air car parking lot two kilometres
off to their west. None of the people from the "Windrider" could see
the small Vosian star****p sitting there at that time; the surrounding
trees did a very good job of masking its presence, even from Makoto's
sharp eyesight. Yes, the Staff DID sense the small group of Vosian
women standing close to a lake between the parking lot and the Palace,
but it wasn't concerned. Its controller and her companions were
worried too much about Makoto's health to concern themselves about
that. Besides, if things did get out of hand, the Staff certainly had
enough power to deal with them if Hi****o asked it to.
Five pairs of feet touched down on the lawn about fifty metres from
the Palace's front doors. As everyone took a deep breath of the clean
air, Aria walked forward to gaze on a more normal-sized road sign
standing to the right of the path leading to the main entrance.
"Hi****o-chan, what does that say?" she wondered as she pointed to the
sign. "Aria can't read that."
***Just a minute . . . *** the Staff called out in their minds.
Everyone blinked as the air before their eyes hazed over for a
moment. The Staff then projected a hologram that transformed the
Vosian characters into Japanese, again complete with furigana over the
kanji. "'Welcome to the Crystal Palace,'" Hi****o read. "'No
campfires, littering, wild parties, feeding the animals or karaoke
singing allowed.'"
"'Do***entary film crews must phone ahead,'" Aria continued,
blinking. "'By order of the Keeper.' Hi****o-chan, who's the Keeper?"
Hi****o scratched the back of her head. "Hina's not sure . . . "
"He's got to be the person the Staff sensed inside this thing," Mie
said.
"First contact time, then," Makoto declared. "Let's go, people."
Hi****o cheered. "Yay! We're gonna make a first contact!"
She then stopped, blinking. "Hi****o-sama, what's wrong?" Makoto
asked.
"Um, Makoto-san, what's a 'first contact?'"
Makoto face-faulted! "Haven't you ever seen 'Star Trek?'" Mie
wondered.
The youngest sister then nodded. "Oh, Hina understands now!
Haaaaaai!"
And off they went to see the Wizard . . .! *Ahem!* The Keeper.
* * *
"Strange," Varena mused, her eyes glowing as she focused her tracking
powers on the crowd hundreds of metres away. "I can only pick up two
brainwave patterns. The two little ones, I think. I can't sense any
of the others."
Mujanba did her own sweep with her powers. "Neither can I. The
Yehisrite I can understand, but the Terran and the Yizibajohei, too?"
It had been long known that Vosian tracking powers couldn't lock in on
the brainwave patterns of a Yehisrite. "This is too odd," she
muttered to herself.
"Major?"
The older hunters relaxed themselves as they turned to watch Hinanba
and Pamanba walk up. The younger hunters had dressed in their duty
uniforms, the black cygnet insignia over their left breasts confirming
to all who saw them which side in the Vosian civil war they were on.
The other hunters in the group were still getting dressed from their
swim in the pond.
"Ready?" Varena asked as the younger hunters gave her a salute.
"Willing and waiting," Pamanba replied.
"Okay, then," the major said with a nod as she pointed towards the
Palace. "Go in, keep out of sight and observe. Don't make contact
with these people. We don't know the situation about them. If
they're of a different level of technology and culture as we --
especially if they might be more ADVANCED than we are -- any mistake
you make could come back to hurt us badly. You were all drilled in
these procedures at school. Remember them."
"Yes, ma'am!" both younger girls chanted.
"Get going!"
With salutes, Hinanba and Pamanba were off. Mujanba and Varena
watched them before exchanging a look. "You think they're ready for
something like that?" the former asked. "None of these girls are
exploration specialists."
"True," the latter replied. "But they have to learn that sort of
thing, Mujanba. Could you imagine what things'll be like for girls
like them when this war's over and no one in power'll trust them with
anything im****tant?"
"Good point."
* * *
"Ah! There's a doorbell!"
The Sagussans blinked as Aria walked up to press the button beside
the Palace's ten-metre high main doors. "This place has a doorbell?!"
Makoto wondered as a beautiful chime echoed through the dark crystal
doors.
"What type of person lives here, anyway?" Mie asked.
Aria stepped back as the bell's echo faded. Silence fell over the
scene as everyone waited for someone to answer it. After a moment,
Hi****o turned to gaze on Aria. "Aria thinks Keeper-san might be
ill . . . "
The doors then snapped open with a *WHOOSH!* of nearly gale-force
winds, they kicking up a storm of dust, dirt and shredded grass. The
Staff raised a force-****eld around Hi****o and Aria as Ayumu grabbed
Mie and Makoto to hold them fast against her sides. As the wind died,
a thunderous voice then bellowed out, "***LOOK! I TOLD YOU GIRLS TO
COME BACK TOMORROW!***"
Everyone looked to see a spry-looking Terran-like man, he appearing
to be in his mid-sixties, standing at the doorway. Dressed in a
flowing blue robe, he had sharp brown eyes and grey hair with beard
and moustache. A gnarled cane, as tall as he, was in one hand. To
the Sagussans, he seemed to remind them of their Daimon'cha. Why was
that, none of them could truly understand.
The angry look on his face melted into confusion as his eyes focused
on Hi****o and Aria. "Who are you?!" he demanded as he gazed on them.
"Ah, gomen nasai, Ojii-san!" Hi****o spoke up. "Hina and everyone
else came here to get Tsue-san to help Makoto-san!"
"Please, Ojii-san?" Aria added, she giving him her patented, starry-
eyed, "cute as a million kittens romping with toilet paper down the
stairs" look.
The Keeper blinked in confusion. "'Mister Wand?!' What are you
talking about, girl? There's no 'Mister Wand' here. The only thing
that's here is the Sceptre of Lecasur." He then sighed. "Honestly,
why can't the Vosians ever make up their damned minds about that old
thing . . . "
"Um, with all due respect, Amon'cha," Makoto spoke up after she gave
the Keeper a sincere bow. "If what I've heard of the Sceptre of
Lecasur is true, it and our Genesis Wand of Parah -- 'Tsue-san' as
Hi****o-sama and Aria-sama prefer to call it -- are one and the same
thing."
The Keeper's eyes widened, and then his eyes locked on the windrider-
embossed jumpsuits Ayumu and Hi****o were wearing. "Oh, you're from
Sagussa!" he then declared before his eyes locked on the five wreaths-
of-laurel rank insignia on Hi****o's lower arms. "Wait a
minute . . .!" he muttered before he turned to Makoto. "Is THIS your
Daite'cha?!" he wondered, pointing at Hi****o.
The Sagussans fell flat on their faces! ***Not exactly,*** the Staff
spoke into everyone's minds. ***It is Hi****o's and Aria's brother,
Morobo**** Ataru of Earth, whom the Dai****'cha of the Fifth Republic
have elected as their Daite'cha and initial Daimon'cha. We have come
here to retrieve the Genesis Wand so Aria may become its controller.
May we proceed?***
The Keeper blinked, and then he stared at the device in Hi****o's
hand. "You already have one of these things and you actually need
ANOTHER one?!"
Hi****o blinked, and then tears started to well in her eyes. "But if
we don't get Tsue-san, Makoto-san will die, Ojii-san!" she burbled.
The elderly man jerked as the youngest of Ataru's sisters started to
sniffle. Then a "Kusun!" escaped the other of Ataru's sisters as
tears started to flow down her cheeks. As Hi****o and Aria turned on
the waterworks, a look of blood-chilling FEAR crossed the Keeper's
face. Watching him from behind their Daimon'cha's sisters, the
Sagussans could only give him sympathetic looks. Finally, when it
seemed that Hi****o and Aria were about to loose all control over
themselves, the Keeper waved his hands. "***ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!
ALRIGHT ALREADY! YOU WIN! YOU WIN! YOU WIN! CUT IT OUT WITH THE
TEARS! YOU CAN COME IN! YOU CAN COME IN! CUT IT OUT! CUT IT OUT!
***"
Hi****o and Aria cheered. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"
"I feel sorry for the man," Makoto whispered to Mie.
"Don't argue with success," the latter hissed back.
"Right."
* * *
Minutes later, Hi****o and Aria stepped inside the Crystal Palace,
they following its lone resident. At the Keeper's insistence, the
Sagussans would remain on the lawn while their Daimon'cha's sisters
went in to get the Genesis Wand. After the main doors had closed, Mie
stretched herself before she turned to gaze on Makoto and Ayumu. "I
don't think this is something Ataru-kun would want to have happen to
Hi****o-chan and Aria-chan," the pilot then noted.
"Don't worry about it, Mie," Ayumu assured her. "They'll get Tsue-
san!"
"Yeah, they better!" Makoto ruefully mused.
"And who's fault was that?!" Mie wondered as she stared on her lover.
Makoto winced as she gazed remorsefully at her would-be bond-mate.
"You're not going to leave me alone about that, are you?!"
"No, I'm not. As soon as Eluza gets finished busting you to the
bilge tops and Patty tans you a new hide for wrecking her Gladiator,
it's MY turn!" She thumbed to herself, and then an icy smile crossed
her face. "And I have the perfect punishment," she added, holding up
a finger.
Makoto twitched, a sweat drop pouring down her hair. "Wh-wh-
what . . .?"
"Handfasting," Mie declared.
Makoto jolted. "SAY WHAT?!"
"You heard me, Mako-vayae. Just like they do it in Canada now."
"AWK!"
"By an intergalactic justice of the peace."
"URK!"
"OR a Sensualist priest from Zeiwan or a Dowe'on priest from
Ipraedos!"
"ACK!"
"Including a wedding dress. For YOU! I'M wearing the tux!"
"GCK!"
"Yay!" Ayumu cheered. "Mie and Makoto are getting married!"
Mie nodded in triumph. Makoto shuddered before she sank to her
knees. "Lyna, take me now!" she moaned under her breath.
* * *
"Oh, Hina understands now! It's a funhouse maze!"
The Keeper sighed. It had taken him and Ataru's sisters a few
minutes to get to the start of the maze that would lead Hi****o and
Aria to the Sceptre of Lecasur. "It's not your normal funhouse,
girls!" he sagely warned with a raised finger. "I had to hire a few
experts from all around the galaxy to make sure that not just ANYBODY
can get at that old thing. Not that I don't mind visitors, but given
how powerful the Genesis Wand really is . . . "
Hi****o nodded understandingly. "If some baka-baka came along and
woke Tsue-san up, it'd be really, really, really bad, right?"
"Right," the Keeper confirmed. "It's a damned thing that no one on
Vos, not even Lecasur -- and he was the smartest man from that planet
that I've EVER met! -- figured out what the Wand could do if Horan
hadn't disabled the damned thing in the first place. Now, you girls
be VERY careful! And watch out for traps; they're spread out all over
the place."
Hi****o and Aria nodded. "Hai!"
As both walked through the gateway into the maze, the Keeper's foot
fell on something that made a sharp *crack!*
A second later, a tanuki statue brained him!
* * *
"There're only three!" Hinanba hissed. "What happened to the other
two?"
Given the intensive physical training that had come hand-in-hand with
the years of training in the psionic disciplines that made both
Pamanba and Hinanba experts in the Dali'lama School of kari'fu, it
hadn't taken the two hunters long to sprint the nine hundred metres
from where they had been swimming to the edge of the forest
surrounding the Crystal Palace grounds. Using macro-binoculars, the
Vosians were able to get a good look at the three girls now standing
by the Palace's front doors. It didn't take either of them more than
a second's use of their tracking powers to note that the women yonder
were the three that Varena and Mujanba couldn't sense. "I can't pick
up the others," Pamanba mused as she did a sweep of the grounds.
"Could they have gone in?"
"I don't know," Hinanba replied as she focused her attention on the
women by the doors. "The Keeper was adamant on the idea of us
returning tomorrow morning so Major Varena and Captain Mujanba could
go in to get the Sceptre."
"Who do you suppose these people are, anyway?"
"Your guess is as good as mine . . . wait!"
Both tensed as the girl in the short-sleeved blue jumpsuit with the
red trim and boots turned, she unintentionally presenting the two
young Vosians with a clear view of her front. And of the red bird-
like insignia that framed the deep "W" cut that showed off a
considerable amount of teenage cleavage from the collar right down
almost to the navel!
Seeing that phoenix-like sigil, Hinanba visibly paled as she
remembered the pictures she had seen of a great star****p from a planet
unknown to Vosian authorities right to this very day -- and of a
golden version of that very insignia that had been painted on the
flanks of that great ****p's main hull.
A star****p she had constantly prayed would one day come and take her
away from the living Purgatory that was the Mensohn School.
From the horror of her "graduation" exercise, where she had been made
to kill a half-dozen street kids said to be rebel spies.
From the daily abuse from sadistic instructors and upperclassmen that
eventually drove Hinanba to become addicted to kookyuu, a mental
depressant that helped her forget -- even for a small time -- the
blood that had drenched her soul for as long as she could remember.
From the degrading *** she had been forced to engage in when Bujosur,
then the personal administrative assistant to the Corps' commander
Furusur, had learned of her kookyuu addiction and seized it,
transforming Hinanba, Kanba, Ryoonba and three others into his own
personal hit squad/harem.
Even when Bujosur had been assigned to another group by Furusur --
when Hinanba and her friends had been taken under the wing of Mujanba
and Varena, the Corps' elite hunters, thus increasing their survival
chances considerably -- the dreams of that magical place beyond the
stars still haunted her.
"The Maidens," Hinanba whispered. "They're the Maidens."
* * *
"Hello, Nodoka, Mizuho."
"Negako-sama!" Mizuho breathed out in relief as she bowed
respectfully to the grandmaster of Saikoo Jinseijitsu Ninjutsu-ryuu.
She then turned to accept Inaba Ayano's embrace. "Konban wa, Ayano-
chan! Where's Nahoko-san?"
"Doojou," Ayano replied as she gave Nodoka a look. "Tread
cautiously."
"What about Kasumi-chan and Nabiki-chan?" Nodoka asked as she looked
around the grounds of the Tendou home. "What about Akane-chan?"
"Speak to Nahoko first."
Nodoka shuddered as the chill in Negako's voice warped through her.
Staring at the ninjutsu grandmaster, Ranma's mother fought down the
urge to visibly shake in the former's presence. At the same time, as
Mizuho's words on the subject came back to her, Nodoka was struck by
the resemblance between Negako and the woman Nodoka knew as Horikawa
Nahoko, the owner of the Hotel Kirabo****. She then blinked on feeling
Mizuho's sup****tive hand fall on her shoulder. As a wave of calm then
surged through her body, Nodoka gave her friend a nod before both
headed into the Tendou grounds. Negako watched her, and then she
blinked as Ayano's hands fell on her shoulders.
"Who's side will she take, Negako-sama?" the raven-haired, blue-eyed
Avalonian who possessed the Niphentaxian name "Yua dai-Tythya" asked.
A light smile crossed Negako face as her hand reached up to gently
grasp one of Ayano's. "That depends on what Naho tells her, Ayano,"
the grandmaster replied. While Negako didn't mind the suffix "-san"
applied to her name, hearing "-sama" almost grated on her as much as
being called "Sensei!" Then again, Ayano lived under considerable
pressure by her sister Avalonians to treat Negako as one worthy of the
most profound respect. The fact that Ayano was willing to bow to that
peer pressure was one of the things Negako found quite annoying about
her would-be lover. Still, there was something about Ayano's shows of
doting affection that struck Negako in a way she didn't really
comprehend. "Will Naho give Nodoka the benefit of the doubt
concerning what just happened? Or will she condemn Nodoka to lose
Ranma forever?"
Ayano hummed as she leaned her chin on Negako's shoulder.
* * *
"Hello, child. Do come in."
"Elder!" Nodoka hailed, bowing to Cologne. "Why are you here?"
Cologne nodded toward the kneeling Naho, who was relaxing by the
doojou's shrine. Glancing around the structure she had last been in
just before she had moved back to her own home, Nodoka was quick to
note that it still required repairs. She then stared at Naho before
she blinked on noting that the other woman's kimono -- Naho had
changed into the more formal wear sometime after she had made her
appearance at the Tendou home -- had been partially undone, although
she was keeping the flaps of the dress wrapped close to her. Quickly
sensing that the owner of the Hotel Kirabo**** was in fact a friend of
the Nujiézú elder's, Nodoka nodded before she knelt in front of Naho.
"It's good to see you again, Nahoko-san," Nodoka greeted her with a
bow. "But . . .?"
"What on Earth am I doing here?" Naho finished.
Nodoka jolted before she covered her mouth to hide her smile. Naho's
ability to sense out what other people were thinking seemed almost
magical at times. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Ranma's
mother nodded. "Hai."
Naho sighed. "Very well. Before I answer that, I should give you a
very profound apology, Nodoka-san." She bowed her head before her
hands moved to pull apart her kimono to expose what was underneath.
"And show you this," she added on displaying the string-like bikini
she wore.
Nodoka's breath caught in her throat as her eyes fell on Naho's lower
abdomen -- and the criss-crossed lines of ugly scar tissue which
extended all the way up from her crotch to past her navel, scars that
the latter's bikini briefs barely hid. Taking a moment to absorb that
awful sight, Nodoka then turned up to gaze into Naho's pain-filled
eyes. "What happened to you?" she asked in a hoarse whisper, her hand
rising towards her mouth.
Naho closed her kimono. "Again, I am sorry that I had to show you
that, Nodoka-san. Were this situation not as dire as it can
potentially become, I would've been less straightforward." A pause.
"But this, I must tell you now, Nodoka-san: *You* have a very stark
choice to make this evening. It is this: You either side with your
daughter -- and yes, I know what's happened to Ranma-chan because of
Jusenkyou, so I WILL call her your daughter instead of your son -- or
else you side with your father and forever lose a chance of any sort
of reconciliation with Ranma-chan. And you better pray to whatever
gods you wor****p that Ranma-chan doesn't decide to declare a blood-
feud against the Asagaya Clan for what happened this evening." Seeing
Nodoka pale, Naho grimly added, "Because if she DOES do that, Nodoka-
san, I promise you that not only would your relatives AND YOU face her
and her sisters, you will ALSO be facing the Morobo****-Hana Clan, the
Nujiézú and our many other allies overseas." A pause. "Do you
understand me, Nodoka-san?"
Nodoka blinked several times as the full meat of Naho's words sank
into her mind, and then she whispered, "Blood-feud . . .?"
"Yes," Naho replied with a stern nod, and then she sighed. "You
know, Nodoka-san, you share many qualities with my late mother Jiko.
The most profound of those, I'm afraid to say, is the fact that, like
you with Saotome Genma, my mother was effectively forced into a
shotgun wedding with her husband, my father Seinen, when her passions
got the better of her and I was conceived. However, you were lucky.
All Isao . . . " -- Nodoka was quick to sense the torrent of scorn
Naho expressed on her saying that name -- " . . . did to you was
banish you from your birth-family and, save for some financial sup****t
to ensure your silence, he tried to effectively cut you off from all
your relatives, even your twin sister. What my maternal grandfather,
Hoofuku Reiji, did to my family as a result of my birth was a lot
worse." She paused before taking a deep breath. "You just saw what
Reiji did to me in punishment for my very existence. You can guess
what he did to my parents."
Nodoka's jaw dropped as the weight of THAT statement sank in.
"Nahoko-san . . . " she gasped, her voice barely audible in the
doojou.
"Naho."
"Eh?"
"That's my real name," Naho explained. "'Horikawa Nahoko' in an
alias I've been forced to use over the years to keep me hidden from
Reiji. My real name is Hana Naho." A pause. "If you've been
watching television recently, you can probably guess what my relation
to Morobo**** Ataru might be."
Nodoka blinked as stunned recognition dawned on her. "'Hana' is the
maiden name of Ataru-kun's grandmother, isn't it?" she asked.
"Hai," Naho replied. "Nagaiwakai was my aunt, my father's older
sister."
"I see," Nodoka breathed out. "Naho-san, what's this all about,
anyway?"
Naho took a deep breath. "The answer to that ultimately leads back
to the woman you know of as 'Morobo**** Negako,' Nodoka-san. I look on
Negako-chan as the daughter I never had. Even though, in one sense of
the term, she's FAR older than I am." A pause. "This all started
shortly after the end of the Greater East Asian War, Nodoka-san. You
probably know what things were like in Japan at that time. The
country almost totally in ruins, under occupation by the Americans.
The members of the Black Dragon Society who led us into that stupid
war in the first place being hunted down and punished for their
crimes. The very FUTURE of Japan being called into very strong
question.
"To the many ****nobi clans that were active during that time -- the
Hoofuku being one -- it was a once-in-a-lifetime golden op****tunity.
Here was a chance to regain what the Meiji Restoration had taken away
from them. Even more, in fact. There was such an underlying rage in
the hearts of so many at the time. So many of the cultural beliefs we
had taken for granted for so long had been shaken up so badly, people
just didn't know what to believe, who to trust, where they could
entrust their futures, their destiny. Add to that was the fact that
for the first time in memory, Japan had actually SURRENDERED to a
foreign power. A power that had humiliated the Emperor, forced him to
reject his divine connection to the gods, and seemed to be working
hard to bring down everything that had made our society what it was.
"So they began to disrupt and destroy everything they could get their
hands on. Ferment a civil war that Japan had NEVER seen before. Take
down everything that could have opposed them. The zaibatsu. The
surviving militarists. The sup****ters of State ****nto.
Traditionalists who were determined to maintain the pre-war social
order at all costs in the face of the ideals the Constitution the
Americans were forcing on us might ferment. Even more, the ****nobi
leaders knew that once the Americans came to see that their rebellion
could create the nation MacArthur-gensui and Truman-daitooryou
envisioned of post-war Japan, the chances were there the Americans
would've told them, 'Go ahead.' And they would've turned their
attention elsewhere.
"You know, thinking about it now, it might've actually done us all a
lot of good had that sort of civil war happened," Naho then mused as
she gazed at the doojou's ceiling. "After all, we live today in a
society chock-full of complete hypocrites. Where we openly profess to
believe in peace and harmony with the rest of the world, yet we
wouldn't BEGIN to think of fully and properly apologizing to the
Koreans, the Chinese and everyone else for the atrocities OUR soldiers
unleashed on them during the war. Where we profess to believe in
social equality and yet we punish three million of our citizens just
because their ancestors were burakumin, to say ANYTHING of how close
we've become to destroying all of Ainu society and our constant denial
of basic rights to those of Korean ancestry living here in Japan."
Naho sighed, a shrug rolling her shoulders. "Unfortunately, it
didn't happen. And it didn't happen for the simple reason that the
Shoowa Emperor -- for whatever HIS reasons -- decided that the ****nobi
rebellion would've made him look like a liar in front of Truman-
daitooryou and MacArthur-gensui. After all, in 1945, the Emperor gave
his word that Japan would surrender and that the nation would be at
peace. If the ****nobi launched their civil war, well . . . " A
chuckle escaped her. "We wouldn't be at peace then. Wouldn't we?"
"What happened?" Nodoka asked.
"Well, wasn't it fortunate at that time that the matriarch of the ONE
clan whose loyalty to the Imperial House had remained solid and
steadfast for well over thirteen centuries . . . " Here, Naho
paused. "Had just made contact with an alien race known as the
Zephyrites?"
Silence.
"Nagaiwakai-sama . . . " Nodoka whispered. "The Tenchiaiki
Juukazoku."
"Exactly," Naho confirmed with a nod. "Here was the perfect
op****tunity to put the ****nobi down once and for all. And do it in
such a way that would ensure that there could be NO chance of a future
rebellion. Well, it happened." A pause. "But some ultimately
escaped."
"Your grandfather," Nodoka quickly concluded.
"Exactly. And because of that, my parents were murdered in bed and I
wound up being unable to bear my own children. To say ANYTHING of the
fact that I've been forced to hide under an alias all these years." A
pause. "Fortunately for me, Reiji is a lunatic. And he wants to
survive so he could gloat at all of those who had stood against him.
That means that he could never contemplate launching an attack on my
aunt in Ri****ri-tou. After all, the Zephyrites had a missionary
colony there. And Reiji learned very much how vicious the Holy
Inquisition of Zephyrus could be when it comes to dealing with
'heretics' threatening the life of someone they anointed as a
Righteous Gentile, the highest honour Zephyrites can bestow on
outworlders. And since he was a lunatic, Reiji never came close to
finding me even though I was practically hiding in plain sight up in
Onogawa." A pause. "But then, one day, he decided to go after a
different prize."
Nodoka considered that for a moment, and then she blinked. "Negako-
san?"
"Negako-chan," Naho confirmed with another nod. "A thousand years of
martial arts knowledge, collected together into a living non-cor****eal
database that could be accessed as easily as someone logging onto the
Internet if they had the right equipment. The fact that Negako-chan
was, in the end of it all, a sentient being who deserved of her own
life . . . " She made a dismissive wave with her hand. "Well, to
Reiji, that didn't matter. But with Negako-chan under their control,
the Hoofuku would've succeeded in dealing with those who had tried to
destroy them in the past. INCLUDING those stupid aliens who stuck
their noses into something that wasn't their own business."
Nodoka breathed out, "Your grandfather's a monster!"
"Yes, he is. But he can be a very charming monster when he needs to
be, Nodoka-san. And that's where your father got involved. Look at
the situation. Your daughter, whom Isao wanted to force under his
thumb all because he wanted to take away the last heir of Happoosai,
the man who once seduced his wife, your mother Nana, long ago. And
she was becoming very close friends with the last living host of the
Saikoo Jinseijitsu. Morobo**** Ataru, Morobo**** Nagaiwakai's last
living grandchild and potential heir.
"And because of that, Ranma-chan was able, once and for all, to free
herself of EVERYTHING that had weighed her down because of her father,
you and everything else that had mucked with her life for so long.
And, as I'm sure Negako-chan told you, Isao didn't want that at all."
Naho wagged her finger. "Oh, no! No! No! No! NO! That just
wasn't right! After all, Saotome Ranma was NEVER given the right OR
the ability to think for herself! It went against the laws of the
Universe! It had to be STOPPED, after all!
"So Reiji offers Isao an interesting solution. Why not ferment
mistrust between Ranma-chan and Ataru-chan? And how to do that? It
was easy! Just turn Tendou Souun into a runaway killing machine so
that he could kill off people Ranma-chan loved dearly. And if it was
done right, Ranma-chan would have believed that she shouldn't ever
trust the Morobo****s again. What might have happened afterward?
Well . . . " Here, Naho shrugged. "Reiji isn't one for long-term
thinking, but the conclusion seems quite obvious to me."
Staring at Naho, Nodoka felt a horrid chill warp through her as the
implications of THAT began to sink in. Her gaze then lost its focus
as her eyes turned down towards the doojou floor. Kneeling beside and
behind her friend, Mizuho instantly tensed as her empathic powers
quickly locked in on Nodoka's feelings. Sensing a growing pit of
despair blossom deep within her friend's heart, Mizuho squeezed her
eyes shut before she turned to give Naho a questioning glance. Noting
that, Naho shook her head before she gave Mizuho a warning glare in
return. Seeing that, Mizuho squeezed her eyes shut once more as she
swung her head away, tears starting to glisten in her eyelashes.
Nodoka didn't take notice of that silent communication between Naho
and Mizuho, but Cologne did. Peering intently at Mizuho, the elder's
eyes then widened. *Another one?!* she thought as she gave Naho a
glance, and then she turned back to stare at the Avalonian calling
herself "Yama****na Mizuho." *And she appears to love Nodoka. How
interesting . . . *
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Nodoka took a deep breath.
"Thank you for telling me this, Naho-san. Excuse me, please."
With that, she rose, bowed respectfully to Naho, and then she walked
out of the doojou. Mizuho remained in place as Nodoka went, and then
she surged to her feet to follow. "Stay here, Kaili," Naho then
whispered, she raising her hand. "There's nothing you can do now to
help her."
Mizuho, created ten years before as Kaili bedai-Tythya, spun around,
her eyes fla****ng with murderous rage as a growl entered her voice.
"Do you begin to realize what you just DID to her, Naho?!" she snarled
a syllable at a time.
"I did," Naho replied. "If you're concerned about your would-be
lover taking the suicide option because she can't choose between her
daughter and her father, don't be. There are others involved. And
besides, you should've been able to sense the bioroid factory hovering
in orbit as we speak."
She pointed straight up. Mizuho stopped, and then she yelped as a
hand landed on her shoulder. Spinning around, she then froze in place
on staring into a tanned face pierced with burning crimson eyes,
framed with brown hair and decorated with a musical note-and-dagger
tattoo by the right eye. Taking that in, she then blanched, and then
she paused as the other woman touched her lips with a fingertip. The
newcomer then asked, "Do you love her?"
Mizuho blinked several times before answering, "More than my own
life."
"Then let's go. We got some work to do." The newcomer then tapped
her communicator. "Yomi, this is Priss. Two to beam up."
"Right," another voice called over the comm link.
Cologne blinked as she watched Mizuho and Priss disappear in a
sparkle of what just HAD to be a trans****ter beam; the elder knew her
"Star Trek," too. "And what's THIS all about?!" she demanded as she
turned to gaze on Naho.
Naho stood up, she moving to adjust her kimono. "I think Nabiki-chan
can answer that. But let's let her cool off before we ask."
Cologne nodded. "Good point."
* * *
The doorbell pealed. "Hai! Just a moment!"
The door to the upscale apartment, located in Jinguumae, between
Harajuku and Aoyama in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, opened to reveal a
smiling Asagaya Hisayo. "Hai?!" she called out before her eyes
focused on her visitor. "Um . . . "
"Please forgive me for disturbing you, Hisayo-sama," Catty Ray
greeted Nodoka's sister with a bow. She was dressed in a ruffled
blouse, mid-thigh skirt and zip-up rider boots. The lack of a bra was
quite evident to Hisayo.
Taking in the lovely lavender-haired woman with the odd gold eyes,
Hisayo then said, "Um, forgive me for asking, but . . . "
"Am I an alien?" the android-turned-bioroid finished. "Hai, I am."
"You must know Morobo**** Ataru then."
"No, I've not yet had the privilege of meeting Ataru-sama, but my
bond-mate Lufy and my sister Catty have met him," Catty Ray replied.
"However, it is not because of Ataru-sama that I've come to see you,
Hisayo-sama." She then paused as she considered something, and then
she said, "Well, ironically, it actually IS because of Ataru-sama that
I have to see you, Hisayo-sama! Specifically, it's because of Ataru-
sama's growing relation****p with your niece, Saotome Ranma -- and what
might happen to Ranma-sama if your sister Nodoka succeeds in carrying
out a VERY foolish and illogical act of atonement this evening --
which has forced me to come see you this evening."
Hisayo's eyes widened, and then a scowl crossed her face as the meat
of her visitor's words sank in. While she had no proof about her
sincerity, a voice deep in her mind told her Catty Ray was speaking
the whole, unvarnished truth. And she had just called Ranma her
"niece." That implied this strange yet very polite alien girl knew
something that only Hisayo and Nodoka -- plus most likely Morobo****
Ataru and the other members of his family -- knew.
"Let me get my coat," she advised before walking to the closet where
she kept her coats. "How long have we got before Nodoka-chan slits
her throat?"
"She has just left the Tendou family grounds, walking back to her
home," Catty Ray explained as Hisayo slipped on her jacket and a pair
of shoes. "We believe that as soon as she returns to her home, she'll
proceed at once to terminate her own life. We still have time."
Hisayo grimaced as she locked her apartment door. "It'll take too
damn long to get there by the subway and a taxi," she muttered.
"Allow me, then," Catty Ray offered as she gently grasped Hisayo's
hand, her other tapping her belt-mounted communicator. "Energize."
Seconds later, the hallway before Asagaya Hisayo's apartment was
empty.
* * *
|
