"Hibiki?" Ranma asked in surprise. "Like Ryoga Hibiki?"
"That's my cousin!" Ryuko shouted with glee. "You know him? Where does he live?"
"I know him all right... and about where he is... Well, it's hard to say. He's normally travelling all over Japan most of the time... He has a tendency of getting lost."
Ryuko giggled. "Yup, that sounds like him. But, someone told me he would be around here very often."
"That's right," Ranma nodded. "Quite often, he somehow manages to find his way back to the Tendo Dojo, where I live... but I think it mostly happens unintentionally. If you want to meet him, your best chance would be to come with me and wait for him there, in case he shows up.... We have to ask Mr. Tendo first, though..."
"Oh, that would be great! I'm still searching for a place to stay, you know? Lead the way!"
----
When Akane came back home, the sun was slowly setting. She had fun at Yuka's place, and lunch had been delicious. But now she was kinda tired... and looking forward to a nice, relaxing bath.
She opened the front door and came in. "Tadaima!"
"O-kaeri nasai," her father yawned as he got up from the ground. "My, that was a nice nap... What time is it, by the way?"
Akane frowned. "It's seven PM," she grumbled. "It's about time one of you woke up!"
"Sorry, Akane," Soun grinned apologetically. "I have to get used to those new instincts... and they always tell me: 'Time to sleep, time to sleep!'" He looked back at the bulky form of his old friend. "Saotome is still asleep... I guess his species needs more sleep than mine."
"Or it's just because Pops has always been pretty lazy," Ranma snickered as he came in from the kitchen, roasting a sausage over his tail flame.
Akane looked past him. "Where's Kasumi?"
Ranma gestured outside. "In the koi pond. She said she needed a relaxing bath."
Akane blinked. "So why didn't she just use the bathtub?"
Ranma grinned. "I think it has to do with her new preferences as a Vaporeon."
Akane sighed. "I should have known... Well, that means the bath is free, right? I'm going to take a soak myself..."
"Um..." Ranma fidgeted around nervously. "The bath is... occupied."
"Occupied? By who? Nabiki? We could share, right?"
"Um... no, not by Nabiki."
"Who else? Your mother didn't come for another visit, right?"
Soun cleared his throat. "Akane, Ranma brought someone home when he came back from school. She politely asked me to stay at the dojo for a few days. I couldn't think of a reason to reject her, so I offered her to share a room with Kasumi."
Warning bells began ringing within Akane's head. "She? She who? Ranma, you better not bring another fiancee with you, you two-timing..."
Ranma raised his hands in defense. "Hey, it's not like you think... She's Ryoga's cousin!"
"Ryoga..."
"Yeah, her name is Ryuko, and she's looking for him. She heard he would spend much time at our place, so I got the idea she could wait here until he shows up the next time..."
"Um... you know that can take weeks, right?"
Ranma shrugged. "Well, your dad was okay with it."
Akane groaned. "Fine, fine... but she better stay away from my mangas!" She took her bag. "I'm upstairs..."
She brought her bag back into her room, taking a suspicious look at the 'occupied' sign hanging in front of the bathroom.
When she walked past Nabiki's door, she realized that it was closed.
"Huh?" she murmured. "Nabiki rarely closes her door... What's she up to now?" She carefully tiptoed closer and put her ear on the door.
She heard a strange, rumbling sound. At first, she had trouble identifying the sound, but then... "Is that... purring?"
She decided to go in. She stood up and opened the door. "Nabiki?"
"GAH!" The female Meowth quickly put something behind her back. "Can't you knock? Um..." She seemed nervous for some reason. "You didn't see anything, did you?"
"No, I didn't see the ball of yarn you were playing with."
Nabiki sighed. "Oh, all right then... Uh... wait a minute..."
Akane giggled. "Gotcha, sis!"
Nabiki turned red under her fur. "You... you better not tell anyone of this, or..."
"Don't worry," the Jolteon grinned. "Everyone has a silly little secret, right?"
"I... I was just curious..."
"Suuure you were!"
Angrily, Nabiki crossed her arms. Akane giggled and went back downstairs.
In the living room, Soun and Ranma were watching the news. A Whismur-reporter was just talking:
"...were successful in arranging an interview with Kada Brahma, the leader of the new religious cult calling itself: Sons of Mewtwo!"
"Mewtwo?" Ranma grumbled. "Isn't that that uber-powerful psychic Pokémon from the first games?"
"Ssshhh," Akane shushed. "I can't hear him..."
Now, the camera was showing the Whismur-woman sitting at a table, opposite from a male Kadabra-morph, who was dressed in an expensive suit. A spoon was lying in front of him, on the table.
"Kada-san, you claim to have visions of a being that tells you it has changed us all into what we are today, is that correct?"
The Kadabra nodded. "Indeed, Aoki-san... I felt his powers with my newly expanded psychic abilities... and, it was none other than Mewtwo himself, the most powerful of all."
"You mean the legendary Pokémon from the red and blue edition of the games, right? But how do you explain his existence? Prior to yesterday, everything from those games had just been fiction."
"Aoki-san, he is a being of godlike powers... he could have easily chosen an entirely different appearance. But he must have realized the big impact the Pokémon had on our culture, so he chose them as a medium of blessing us, his new children, with his powers."
"An interesting theory, Kada-san... And what do you offer those who decide to join your group?"
Kada Brahma spread his fingers in a dramatic gesture. "He spoke to me in my dreams... and he said that only those who are willing to follow him are to receive his final blessing... the ascension to a higher plane of existence, where we all would live together in harmony, a true Utopia."
"I see... and what would happen to those who choose not to listen to him?"
Kada Brahma sighed deeply. "Those poor souls can only wait until they die from loneliness... As only in the care of his followers, they can be accepted by others. Just take a look at what is happening alone in Tokyo... various gangs and other villainous subjects chose to pursue those they see as inferior... The best example would be the so-called 'Dragon Clan'."
"There have been many rumors you would influence people's decisions with your psychic abilities... what can you tell us about this?"
"Those rumors are likely spread by individuals who will never feel the glamor of our master's care, so they say those things just because they envy us."
"Interesting answers from an interesting man. I'm sure our viewers still have many questions, but I'm afraid we're out of time. This was Mikoto Aoki speaking, in an interview with Kada Brahma. It has been a pleasure talking to you!"
The Kadabra bowed his head. "The pleasure is mine!"
Akane shook her head. "Unbelievable... If the people really think that guy is right, they must be really daft."
"Mewtwo..." Ranma grumbled. "I wonder..."
"What? You think he might have changed us? Don't be stupid! We all know it was that genie, because Kasumi made her wish."
"I know, but even so... I wonder if he exists. I see two possibilities: Kada Brahma made the story up and just chose Mewtwo because he thought it sounds more impressive, or there really is someone out there who has turned into Mewtwo and made Kada Brahma believe he's some kind of god..."
"Aaaah, stop thinking, Ranma... or you hurt yourself."
"I'm serious, Akane!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure..."
Just then, Ryuko came in. She was wearing a pink top and some jeans. "Okay, I'm finished. Hey there, you must be Akane! Pleased to meet you! I'm Ryuko!"
Akane looked over the cheerful young Dratini. No, that girl certainly looked much too young to be another one of Ranma's fiancees. Besides, she certainly had the looks of someone Akane could imagine as a good friend instead of a rival.
She smiled. "Hello, Ryuko! Nice to meet you, too!"
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(Posted Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:35)
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