A meeting.... Ranma had stowed the gifts he was going to give the girls (and his mother) safely in the apartment. Urd's present was in a shiny, wrapped parcel, which he would need to give to her. Of course, considering what was left of Tokyo Tower....
He sighed and quickly went to the washroom to curse himself. Then she redressed in a clean outfit, then stared at her cape in consternation. She couldn't take that out in public; it was a huge sign of who she was, and she'd been getting occasional odd looks all day from people who had seen her on television.
"Oog," she groused, ultimately folding her cape around Urd's present until it was just a blue bag. A quick readjustment of the clasp and chain left her enough room to sling it over one shoulder. Checking herself in the mirror, she thought it was fine -- right up until she realized that it looked rather like a purse. After a moment of debate, she sighed and decided to let it slide.
She'd dressed more girlishly before, and while she didn't like it.... Well, people would undoubtedly pay less attention to her than they would to him. That thought in mind, she left swiftly, avoiding her fellow tenants for the moment.
While she wasn't too concerned about some random stranger seeing her, as to them she'd just be another girl (a very non-Ranma girl, thank you very much). But to the people she lived with, it was another story entirely.
Halfway to the tower, she realized she was ahead of schedule and slowed down, hopping from the rooftop to the street and slowing her pace. Her daughter was still out shopping with her mother and the girls, though, so she reasoned that she should just relax while things were calm. She pulled out her cell-phone and said, "Urd," to it.
A moment later, the ringing chime cut off abruptly as Urd cheerfully answered, "Hello, Sweetie! What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing much," Ranma replied, glancing around and noticing a handful of other people walking down the street, two of them conversing on their own cell phones. "Um, just wanted to say I was on my way and I guess I'll meet you in a bit."
"How thoughtful! I won't keep you waiting, then. We've got a lot of ground to cover tonight, so take care, okay?"
"Okay," Ranma replied. "Um, thanks, Urd."
"Don't mention it yet, sweetie," the goddess purred, before the line cut off. Ranma frowned for a moment, then closed the phone.
A heartbeat later it rang again, and she flipped it open. "Hello?" she asked, glancing at the screen. It read 'Belldandy'.
"Hello!" a very Kasumi-like voice chirped. "This is Belldandy, Ranma-kun."
"Oh, uh, hi," Ranma answered, smirking slightly. "The phone told me your name."
"Well, good!" the goddess replied brightly. "Now I know you've been busy lately, but I hadn't heard from you in a while, so I thought I would check up on you. Is everything working out?"
Ranma considered briefly, then nodded. "Yeah," she answered, "it's been great so far. Well, the fight with Tarou was kinda messy.... And things have been...." She paused. "Well, Urd said she was gonna explain it tonight. Is everything okay? I mean ... am I doing anything wrong, or forgetting something?"
"Not at all!" Belldandy assured him. "I just wanted to remind you that if you need help, you can always come to our temple, or bring your daughter there. I am somewhat concerned, you know, about her health."
"Ah," Ranma said, frowning. "Well, I did take her to the doctor's for a checkup; he said everything seemed okay. He'll let me know about her blood-work on Friday, and he gave me some exercises and stuff to help her out in the meantime. Should I bring her to the temple, then?"
"Oh! Well.... I suppose not," Belldandy admitted. "I was just worried that raising a daughter might be something of a different challenge for you." She giggled then, and brightly added, "But I see you're just as adaptable as your file says. I'm confident that you'll do okay. Just ... if anything does happen, please don't hesitate to give me or my sisters a call."
"No problem!" Ranma replied, grinning. "If you just want to visit or anything, let me know. And I think Urd said Hotaru-chan wouldn't remember, but if you want to visit, that's fine, too."
"I'm glad to hear that!" Belldandy said earnestly. "I'll bring Skuld by tomorrow. I think she and Hotaru-chan would make good friends."
Ranma blinked at that, then shrugged. "Sure," she said. "That's cool. Tomorrow, around what time?"
"Early, I think," Belldandy said thoughtfully. "At around ... eleven o'clock?"
"That sounds fine," Ranma agreed. "Oops-- I can see the ruins of the tower now, I gotta look for Urd. Anything else?"
"No, but thank you very much, Ranma-kun!"
"No problem, Bell-chan," she replied, before catching herself and wincing. "I mean, um, Belldandy-"
"That's fine," she assured him. "Now, take care!"
The line cut off again and she pocketed the phone, glad for the moment that the goddesses didn't seem to be big on titles. Then again, considering the titles that got assigned to her....
Tokyo's Towers ruins were a large mound of rubble, most of it strewn with girders and loose bits of pantyhose that flapped in the breeze. At the moment, a crew of men was clambering across the top with a hose, spraying down the dirtiest looking patches to make sure that the dust was manageable. A crew of men packed up their tools for the day, waving as a line of trucks filled with more rubble trundled down the road, hauling away the debris.
Inroads had been made to clear out the steel and concrete, but Ranma guessed it would take more than a week to completely remove everything. Replacing the tower was another matter entirely, and she very guiltily did not want to think about how long it would take, or how much it would cost. The area was packed with people, though, most of them just wanting to rubber-neck and view the devastation first-hand. She thought she caught sight of someone trying to sell 'genuine tower rubble' for an instant before the press of the crowd hid him from sight.
Reaching the police barrier keeping civilians away from the tower explained that. Ranma watched for a moment, as people slowly began to disperse. The sun was setting, and a hand rested suddenly on Ranma's shoulder.
She released a startled squeak and spun around.
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(Posted Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:06)
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