Ranma Saotome headed over (literally) to the condominium complex Nabiki had recommended. It was a place of discretion, meaning that the owner had turned a blind eye to Zaibatsu and Yakuza using the facilities in training girls over the years. It wasn't like she had any illusions on human sexuality left, of course. Ranma was becoming almost impossible to surprise sexually even before leaving Nerima, in the so-missed days of physical masculinity (to say nothing of having a pulse).
On the roof hopping trip to that section of town, she reviewed the various communications on then-current events in town Nabiki had sent to Ranma in exchange for part of the martial artist's spare money. It was so, so Nerima, really. Shampoo had been terrified of returning to the village even after being reassured that no dishonor would be heaped on her due to Ranma's dispensation after the Saffron affair. Looking back on it, she had good reason. The village council had, as it turned out, revived several childhood indiscretions and the like, to 'legitimately' punish her anyway. Shampoo had found a way around the situation after Ranma had left, however. By claiming the Neko Haten as a Amazon safe house and stronghold in the outside world, Shampoo and Cologne had been given even greater status by the other villages of the Niichezu. They were now seen as a nucleus for another Niichezu group, and there was nothing the old farts of their former village could do about it (which frankly won Cologne and Shampoo even more favor among their peers).
Shampoo went so far as to handle the Kuno situation in Ranma's absence, before the Delusion Duo could burn down the Furinkan quarter of Nerima. Kodachi was quickly imprisoned, first to allow her to get over her own experiments' toxic side effects, then to explain to the gymnast what had and more importantly had NOT been hallucinations. The Niichezu Abroad promptly filed charges on Koucho Kuno and his tame doctors when they heard the tripe the 'educator' had been filling Kodachi's head with in her few lucid periods. The added funding from a apologetic Kodachi helped both the Tendo finances and Ranma's own when that was straightened out.
As far as Tatewaki went.. He was technically innocent, much to both Ranma's and Akane's chagrin. Turned out the proud son of the Macademia Nut was a high-functioning autistic. Skilled and smart, but with several areas where he was simply wired wrong. Until Cologne rewired him by way of that weird Formula 119 shiatsu, that is. His testimony helped put the great pineapple menace away. Then Shampoo insisted on marrying Tatewaki over the way he thrashed her before they could apply the shampoo correctly. Again, the apologetic funds were a big help. Akane was still not talking to Tatewaki, but the realigned master of the bokken seemed to expect that. Paying such dues as keeping his distance soothed his own feelings of strained honor, so it worked well enough.
Mousse had simply snapped upon learning that Tatewaki was now married to Shampoo (and accepting his fate as a further means of regaining face). He'd attacked a hundred times before Akane had clocked him a good one with a stone she'd torn away from the much abused koi pond. After that, Mousse had had what could only be described as a funny turn. First he started defending Akane instead of Shampoo. Then he started talking and acting like Ranma's now-gone guy side. Then he actively showed his belief he WAS Ranma and now had the duck curse as penance for having had to kill Mousse! Akane had tried to beat it out of him, but it only made things worse. The aspect that sealed Mousse's fate was that the duck was showing a rapidly growing array of talents at the Saotome School from the times he'd witnessed (and been prey to) Ranma's own fighting style.
Genma was therefore teaching him 'on the sly', although virtually everyone knew the old fatty had adopted Mousse legally and was essentially setting him up to be Ranma's replacement. His excuse was that Mousse seemed to be going that way anyhow, but Ranma personally suspected the ability to teach again (and get away with more) had quite a lot to do with that decision.
With a ache in her stilled heart, Ranma also knew that Mousse was slowly and surely winning Akane over. Mousse had tried to be Ranma in every way as this developed, but his vision was still crap (another fact he blamed on the 'killing Mousse' belief he'd settled on). Thus he blew it when he tried to save Ryouga from cold water. The whole business of P-Chan came out then, and while Akane had forgiven Ranma for his own role in it, she wasn't happy by any means. Mousse was more pitied than Ranma had been (to the point that Akane played along on the name business), which puzzled the actual Saotome a lot. Possibly it was the abuse that Mousse underwent daily back in the days he remembered his true past. Akane likely also liked the fact that as 'Ranma' Mousse courted Akane, a thing Ranma had never really tried when she was a he and had had the chance.
Besides, to be as mad about the Idiot Brigade as she had been in the beginning, Ranma now knew that Akane was anything but gay. As a female for afterlife, Ranma was gay, and very butch to boot. Alucard had been merciless in imparting the reality of this onto his charge. She doubted Akane was a hater of alternate sexuality, although she had no doubts at all that overly 'free' behavior ticked off the youngest Tendo to no end. Bad associations, and all that.
Soun, now. Soun cried a lot, made solemn pronouncements, and mostly kept on covering for that perverted son of a bitch Happosai. Ranma had serious issues with the flea (as she liked to think of him) since the man's activities might drive girls that didn't really have the heart for it to try womanly love. Ranma deeply hated the idea of breaking a heart after what she'd been through to date. Bedding the girls till they couldn't even groan was one thing, but romance was quite another in Saotome's book. She idly hoped to have a lover of her own some time, but she was undying, having done THAT once already, so it wasn't like the clock was ticking or anything.
She shook it off and set her mind to dominating that of the condominium owner. She had no intention of paying a single yen of rent, and while Ranma was not to try to solve all the normal crime (her orders were specific; supernatural horrors and anything happening right in her vicinity!), she was smugly certain that Integra wouldn't mind her rehabilitating a morally inferior roach of a human being. Especially if it cost the Organisation less in the long run.
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(Posted Fri, 03 Jun 2005 06:41)
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