"Hey Pop. I'm back," Ranma announced casually as he jumped into the yard and started heading into the house, hands in his pockets.
Predictably, Genma immediately jumped to his feet to stand in front of him. "Just where have you been, boy? Every day it's the same thing: you run off to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what while your fiancee spends her day in school like a proper child!"
Ranma directed a flat gaze at his father. "No kiddin'. So now school is 'proper' instead of a 'waste of valuable training time'?"
Soun arrived next to Genma to back him up, having been delayed several seconds while he shifted around the shogi pieces in the game they were playing. "Son, this had gone on long enough. Don't you have any pride? Don't you realize the embarrassment and humiliation my daughter suffers when her own fiancee is some vagrant who is never seen with her in public?"
Kasumi seemed to materialize on the scene a moment later, laundry in her hand. "Oh, but Father, didn't Akane say that's exactly what she wants?" the Tendo homemaker asked hesitantly as she started hanging up some sheets. "Nabiki said she even used the engagement to end some of the bullying at school."
Soun twitched, trying to think of an appropriately nice way to reprimand Kasumi for telling the truth; after figuring out that Ranma had better things to do than spend time with Akane, Nabiki had suggested (at a premium rate) that Akane use the engagement to get out of the morning battles and distract Tatewaki Kuno from bothering her. And it had mostly worked (Kuno now spent only half his time bothering her, while the rest of the time he spent trying to locate Akane's wandering fiance). Akane had now gained a technical "off-limits" status (that Dr. Tofu conveniently didn't know about) around Furinkan, she barely ever saw her fiance, and to top it all off, there was this nice kitty that had taken to hanging around the Tendo property that she really liked (for some reason Akane never did figure out that the cat wasn't nearly so keen on her).
Akane was curious as anyone else what Ranma was up to all day, but the boy was suspiciously tight-lipped about the whole thing. Case in point...
"Shove off, wouldja? It's been a rough day and I've got trainin' da to." He tried to step around Genma, but the rotund man blocked his progress.
"Oh, no you don't! If you won't listen to reason Ranma, then I'll just have to beat it into you! You want training? I'll give you training!"
Ranma blinked, then grinned and jumped back as he took his hands out of his pockets. "All right, then bring it on, old man!"
From the sidelines, Orion nodded at the sight approvingly as Kasumi scratched behind his ears, eliciting a rumbling purr from the moon cat. For the moment, things were going mostly as planned. Not that those plans were themselves perfect, but his progress was a swift as he would've dared hope. Still, there was the issue of funds. Ranma was poor as dirt and he had already ascertained the Tendo family was deep in debt. And while Ranma seemed grudgingly willing to take a job to help in that department, he doubted it would be enough.
Kasumi moved on, leaving the gray tom a saucer of milk. As he lapped it up, Orion considered other methods of securing funds. Taking another inventory of his subspace pocket revealed nothing of particular value that could be sold, save maybe his grenades (which would have to be sold on dubious and dangerous markets). His survival lantern had a magic-based power cell, but while some scientists from this world would love to get their hands on it, Earth's current technology couldn't possibly replicate the simple device without another fifty years of progress, making it maybe twice as valuable as an ordinary lantern (not a useful sum by any stretch of the imagination; besides, he really liked that lantern).
Wasn't there any other quick source of funds nearby? Hmmmm...
_______________________
Nabiki passed some juice down the table as she snuck a sideways glance at Ranma, who continued eating/fighting with his father while totally ignorant of the curious expressions everyone kept giving him.
"So Ranma, today's not a school day, you know. Are you going to actually stick around, or do you have plans?" Nabiki asked smoothly, pinned all eyes on the pigtailed boy.
Ranma fended off the latest assault by his father and swallowed his sausage before answering. "I dunno. I'll find out later."
"I don't think so," Soun said immediately, trying to sound authoritative. "Ranma, you've been dodging your responsibility long enough! Today you'll spend the day with your fiancee! I mean, really, are you planning to marry someone you hardly know or spend any time with?"
The Tendo daughters all turned flat stares toward their father (even Kasumi got in on this), who kept his own expression locked on Ranma, completely unaware of the irony of his last sentence.
"Nope, I sure 'aint," Ranma said honestly, quickly cleaning the rest of his plate while making an offensive against Genma's breakfast at the same time.
"Well, good!" Soun said, nodding in approval. "Then you can start getting to know Akane by taking her out on a date today! We'll have the priest waiting for you when you get back!"
Akane's chopsticks snapped in her hand. "DAD! I don't WANT to spend the day with this pervert, much less marry him!"
Ranma quickly finished off his plate, kicked Genma outside, and then stood up. "Your wish is my command, oh uncute one." Leaping back to avoid the hammer strike, the pigtailed boy quickly darted out the back door and then hopped onto the roof.
Orion was already waiting. The moon cat nodded at him and then nudged his head to the side. Ranma blinked, a bit surprised that Orion was giving him the signal that it wasn't safe to talk there, but picked the tomcat up and then leapt across the street.
_______________________
"Captain Testarossa, I have the reports you asked for, and the clearance forms," Commander Andrei Kalinin said as he stood rigidly at attention in the doorway to Captain Teletha Testarossa's quarters.
"Thank you, Commander," the platinum-haired girl said pleasantly, taking the thin stack of folders and placing them on the coffee table.
Next to the coffee table, Kaname Chidori sat on the couch, fingering her new uniform. "Are those Sousuke's files?"
Kaname nodded as she sat back down on the opposite couch. "They are. I thought the reports would be... of interest to both of us." Smiling a mysterious smile, she opened up the first folder and looked at the title. Her smile immediately dissolved as she blinked.
"Commander? Why did Sergeant Sagara undertake an extensive psyche examination? I thought he had cleared one previous to his latest mission? Was it because of the effects of the lambda driver?" Teletha asked as she turned back to Kalinin.
The Russian man remained where he was, standing rigidly despite the otherwise relaxed atmosphere. "I wondered the same, but Sergeant Sagara didn't give a particular reason for requesting one."
Teletha blinked. "He requested it himself?"
"Yes Captain." Kalinin paused, then continued. "And I approved of his decision, given his actions upon returning to the Danaan."
"Why? What'd he do?" Kaname asked suspiciously, though she didn't know what all the fuss was about. From her perspective, if there was ever someone who needed some time with a shrink, it was Sousuke.
"Sergeant Sousuke confiscated all pets kept by crew on the Danaan - mostly gerbils and small lizards, given our regulations on such things - and spent four hours in the brig thoroughly interrogating them. Once he was finished, he declared that none of the animals were security threats, and returned them to their owners." He paused for a moment as the two teenagers stared at him. "The animals appeared to be unharmed, although they now all show an unusual aversion to the Sergeant's presence. Dr. Halbert's guineau pig actually managed to chew its way through the bars of its cage to get away when Sagara was undergoing his physical."
Kaname's left eye twitched. "That seems a bit... paranoid. And I mean paranoid for Sousuke, not just for normal people." Then she frowned. "So did he pass the exam?"
"With flying colors," Kalinin explained, shrugging.
Teletha shook her head to rid it of the image of Sousuke waterboarding a dog (there were no dogs on the Danaan, but that was the image she had come up with). "That's... good. I assume there's more? There are a lot more reports here than I requested."
"Yes Captain. I figured that they would be of interest to you. You see, Sergeant Sousuke Sagara is currently requesting a hiatus from duty for an indeterminant period of time in order to pursue a private mission that was offered to him." Kalinin braced himself for the coming explosion.
"WHAT?!" Teletha shouted in horror, jumping up and curling her hands under her chin.
"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!" Kanama snarled, leaning forward and slamming her hands onto the coffee table. "After all that crap I had to go through to finally end up here, and he just up and leaves?"
"I fail to see what your employment by Mithril has to do with Sagara's ventures," Kalinin lied with a perfectly straight face, "but as he followed protocol flawlessly, I had no choice but to give him clearance. He's already on his way back to the Japanese mainland."
"But why?" The silver-haired captain asked, her eyes turning round and dewy in a comically adorable manner. "What is this mission?"
"As he explained, it involved investigating and combatting a terrorist menace within urban Tokyo by joining a small covert team of combat operatives. The details are, as you might expect, classified," Kalinin explained apologetically.
"Whoa, whoa, hold your horses!" Kaname said irritably. "Doesn't Sousuke work for YOU? How can he just up and leave to go do some other job?"
"First of all, he didn't just 'up and leave', he completed his mission and then went through many admittedly long and awkward procedures in order to make this request," Kalinin said bluntly, "second of all, Mithril is composed largely of experienced mercenaries who have their own contacts, reputations, and allies from previous assignments and battlefields. It's not uncommon for some of our men to occasionally request leave in order to undertake assignments from old commanders or employers. Though we do take... 'certain measures' that ensure those men don't end up opposed to Mithril, or leaking critical information."
"And you let them? Even when they won't tell you who they're working for or what the missions are about?" Kaname griped.
"We do precisely the same thing to our soldiers," Kalinin deadpanned, "why would that bother us?" He turned again to address Captain Testarossa, who was still fretting. "We do have one lead on his current assignment, though it's up to you whether we investigate it or not: several days ago he requested our intelligence department do a low-level search and put together a dossier on one 'Ranma Saotome'. The reasons were classified."
Teletha quickly sorted through the pile to pick out the appropriate folder. She stared for a moment at the photograph. 'Hmmm... he's handsome... but not stoic or cool like Mr. Sagara.' She began flipping through the folder, blinking in surprise at how short it was. "What's wrong? This is all the information we have?"
"Correct, Captain. Ranma Saotome has been registered with the Japanese government as a citizen, but seems to have had very little contact with civilization since birth. The explanation is that his father, who has a MUCH more interesting dossier, has taken him into the wilderness for an extended period of time to give his son advanced survival and hand-to-hand combat training. As the file says, Ranma Saotome has completed precisely three years of school his entire life - each of those ending with sub-standard grades - and has only recently registered with Furinkan High School in the Nerima district of Tokyo. Oddly enough, he has yet to actually attend a single class despite being registered there. His current residence is listed as the Tendo Dojo in the same area."
Kaname shuddered, hoping she wouldn't end up on any sort of mission into Nerima. She had heard all sorts of crazy stories about that place.
Teletha glanced up from the report, and Kalinin was slightly taken aback at the sudden steel behind her gaze. "I want the blank spots in this file filled, Commander. Upgrade the intelligence sweep on this Ranma Saotome, and give me the files on his immediate family and closest associates."
Kaname sweatdropped and scooted over to the other couch so that she could place a hand on her friend/rival's shoulder. "Come on Tessa, don't you think you're overreacting a little? I mean, it's just like Sousuke to do something stupid like this, and apparently it's not that rare. I mean, what are you going to do once you figure out what he's doing? Drag him back here?"
Teletha immediately deflated. "I... I don't know. I just... have the feeling that if I do nothing, he'll end up... he'll end up..." she curled her hands up under her chin again in a horrified expression that would have made Joseph Stalin himself want to give her a comforting hug, and Kaname and Kalinin exchanged a concerned glance. "He'll end up working alongside a bunch of sleazy, half-naked, boy-hungry teenage girls who'll steal him away for themselves!"
Kaname and Kalinin both sported king-size sweatdrops. "Okay, 'Whispered' psychic powers or not, that's just crazy," the blue-haired girl asserted.
Teletha blinked. "Oh. I guess you're right. I'm probably just imagining things."
Kalinin carefully excused himself before he allowed himself to roll his eyes. Women.
_______________________
Nabiki grumbled a bit as she walked up to her room, irritated at the debacle at breakfast. Here she had been trying to do a little detective work for everyone - and for FREE, no less! - and her idiot father had to go and muck up the whole thing. All they had to do was back her up and stare at the dumb jock while she interrogated him, but NOOOOOO...
'I guess Daddy's more serious about this stupid engagement than I thought,' she mused to herself. 'He really can't shut up about it. I'll make sure to factor that in next time.'
Shaking her head, she opened up the door to her room, and quickly her eyes narrowed. Something was amiss.
Stepping inside and silently closing her door, she looked around at her room. Her window was still open the relatively small crack she kept it at so that she could tell if someone had opened it further in order to sneak in through there (a necessity with all the Ninja around, she kept it open wide enough to look inviting, but narrowly enough that even a shrimp like Kuno's Ninja Sasuke couldn't actually get through without moving it), but she could see that someone had messed up the sheets on her bed right under the window. More than that, papers had been scattered on her desk, and her drawers bore distinct signs of being tampered with.
When she glanced at her closet, though, her jaw dropped and her hackles rose. Her closet door was open, and in the corner, behind some shoes and a dress that had been knocked out of the way, a charred steel box lay with the broken and burnt pieces of a combination lock laying before it.
Dashing to the box, her heart in her throat, Nabiki tore the top open and stared inside dreadfully.
Her master ledger: Accounted for. Super-secret porn-quality blackmail evidence: Still there, though they were in a position that indicated each one had been observed. College fund bond certificates: Present. Her favorite vibrator: Present, and looking to be carefully untouched. Secret money stash: ... AWOL. Oh, look, and here's a note in its place.
[I.O.U.: 800,000 yen confiscated for emergency national defense funding. Signed, Orion Halinjor, Sailor Senshi personal advisor.]
It is testament to Nabiki's intellect that she didn't tear the note up into little shreds in her absolute rage.
"I'VE BEEN ROBBED!! ROBBED!! CITIES WILL BURN AND CHILDREN WILL PERISH!! YOU HEAR ME?! SOMEBODY IS GOING TO SUFFER FOR THIS!!"
_______________________
"Whoa, so you got money now? How'd ya get it?" Ranma asked curiously as he cradled the cat in his arms while on the roof of the train (they weren't going to waste cash on fare, and Ranma was perfectly comfortable traveling this way anyhow).
"Using the only other cantrip I know besides 'mind meld' and 'subspace storage'," Orion explained. "It's a minor demolition spell called 'bit bomb'. Similar in effect to an M-80."
Ranma took a moment to digest this, then cocked his head to one side. "How would that help you make money?"
"That is classified," Orion said evenly. Ranma rolled his eyes. "Needless to say, many sacrifices are necessary in times of war. We should all just be thankful that not all sacrifices are measured in human lives."
"Riiight..." Ranma mumbled, wondering why the moon cat was trying to justify something when he wouldn't say what it was he had done.
"Okay then. Next stop..."
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(Posted Fri, 10 Nov 2006 01:08)
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