"Can't believe we ended up wasting half the day!"
"Time does fly when you have fun, ne?" Kodachi mused as everyone stepped out of an alley close to Okonomiyaki U-chan's, they having switched back to their normal clothes after flying back to Nerima from the slopes of Fuji-san. "At least it was well-spent. I have no guilty feelings about it, Ukyou-san. Neither should you."
The chef considered that for a moment, and then she nodded before she knelt down to unlock the security barrier keeping her place safe from potential intruders. Once the barrier was up, she opened the door and headed inside, the others following her. "Believe me, sugar, I don't have any bad feelings about it, too," Ukyou said as she headed behind the counter to check her equipment. "But it's like Ran-chan said before we went to the Crystal and got our Gifts: After a transformation like this, it isn't going to be us who'll suffer for it."
The others nodded. "The Crystal said the same thing to me, too," Akane noted, and then she blinked. "Oh, damn . . .!"
Ranma tensed. "What is it, Akane?"
"Our books! We left them behind at school when we went with you . . .!"
WHOOSH!
" . . . Ranma . . .?!"
WHOOSH!
"Here you go," Ranma said as he handed Akane and Ukyou their briefcases, and then he set his own down by his stool. "They were still in the classroom."
Both women blinked, and then they smirked. "Stop being like Hypersonic, Ran-chan!" Ukyou scolded before she began to grease her stove.
"Oh, quiet, Ukyou!" Akane scolded back. "He was just being helpful!"
Ukyou considered the point, and then she nodded before smiling and winking at Ranma, who had ducked the chef's rant. "Hypersonic," Kodachi mused aloud. "Ukyou-san, in your previous incarnation, wasn't he your son?"
Ukyou stopped as she considered that, and then she nodded. "He was. He had just gotten his Gift -- he was only four -- before my past-self died and slipped back into the Crystal." She blinked before brushing away the tears appearing at the corner of her eyes. "Damn! My past-self hated that . . .!"
"That's a horrible Gift to receive," Shampoo noted.
The others grimly nodded. "It would be," Ranma said. "Perhaps this time, he might have got some help dealing with it."
"Ranma-sama, you know the chances of that when it comes to people such as they aren't very good," Kodachi warned.
Ranma blinked as he took that in, and then he nodded. Yes, that was a very good point. While total freedom of expression and thought was the golden rule on Yiziba, it had, over the years, resulted in a prevalent attitude when it came to people who had received the Gift. In effect, after one was Gifted, they were solely responsible for the outcome of their own lives. Depending on others wasn't an attitude that was popular on Yiziba, especially given that there were many on the planet who found it no problem with switching from face to heel depending on their personal circumstances. While for the most part, it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, for those such as Hypersonic, it literally was a matter of life and death.
Usually the latter.
"If he's still around, I'll look in on him," he then vowed.
Ukyou's head snapped around, her eyes wide. "Ran-chan . . . you mean it?"
He nodded. "My word is my vow, U-chan. That hasn't changed within me."
"We are certainly happy for that," Shampoo noted.
Everyone laughed. The front door then opened, the wind-chime mounted over it sounding off in response. "Sorry! We're still closed!" Ukyou automatically called out before she looked to the doorway, and then she frowned. "What do you want, Nabiki?" she asked, crossing her arms.
The middle Tendou daughter ignored the chef as she focused on the lone man in the room. "There you are!" she snapped as she stormed over to glare at Ranma. "Where the hell've you been, Saotome?! Do you realise the amount of garbage that you've just stirred up back at the house?!"
Ranma did not return her look. "I assume, Tendou-sempai, that my so-called 'master' has carried through his threat?" he calmly asked.
Nabiki jerked on hearing him call her by family name and "sempai" yet again. She then shook her head. "What do you think?! Instant he got back to the house, he was all over Dad and your dad! Everyone's freaking out now! You better get your butt back over there and settle it ASAP!"
Ranma blinked, and then a hum escaped him. "Ladies, your honoured opinion, if I may humbly ask for it while we await our evening repast: Did the logic of Tendou-sempai's request escape you also or is it just me?"
"It didn't escape this one," Shampoo noted.
"Nor did it I," Kodachi affirmed.
"Me neither," Ukyou agreed, nodding.
Nabiki blinked as she stared at Ranma's other would-be suitors, and then she stared at Akane. "Akane, did you hear what I just said?!" she demanded.
"I did," the youngest Tendou daughter confirmed. "And by the sounds of it, you're trying to force Ranma to race back to the doojou and beat up the old freak because of something the old freak is provoking! Am I right?"
Nabiki balked on hearing that, and then she pointed at Ranma. "Akane! You know as well as I do that Saotome's the one who provoked this mess, not Ojii-chan! Why are you going along with this?! You realise what's going to happen if he's forced out of the house and we're left alone with that old letch!"
Akane then breathed out. "Well, if Dad's not going to grow a spine finally and throw the old fool out himself, I not going to demand that Ranma do it! It's not his responsibility! It's Dad's responsibility and it always has been! If Dad can't recognise it, that's his problem! It certainly isn't Ranma's!"
Nabiki jolted as that affirmation sank in, and then she paled as she found herself taking a step away from her. "It's happened to you, too . . .!" she hissed.
Akane looked at her. "What do you mean?"
Her sister's shaking finger rose to point at her, and then at Ranma. "Y-you've been p-possessed, t-too!" she sputtered. "J-just l-like he's b-been!"
Akane blinked, and then she stared at Ranma. "Ranma, have I been possessed?"
He returned her look, concern flashing in his eyes. "I do not believe so, Akane. Do you feel you've been possessed?"
She hummed as her hands patted down her body, and then she shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Still, it is best to be sure. Kiss me, please?"
He took a deep, determined breath. "I simply cannot refuse a lady's request," he then affirmed. "Especially that one!"
With that, in a perfect imitation of what had been portrayed in Hollywood movies between leading men and leading ladies for decades, he swept her into his arms and began to passionately devour her lips with his own. Seeing that, Shampoo, Ukyou and Kodachi laughed. Nabiki's jaw hit the floor in disbelief, and then she began to tremble and twitch as her hand snapped to her book bag to pull out her camera. Before it could come up to snap a picture, a throwing spatula slammed into it, knocking it out of the middle Tendou daughter's fingers and sending it crashing into a wall, the sharp edge of the spatula shearing the machine in half! Nabiki screamed out as her fingers began to sting from the harsh blow just delivered to them, and then she stared at her prized camera, which was now a shattered wreck on the floor. She then spun on Ukyou. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
"No taking private pictures in my restaurant!" the chef ordained. "If Ran-chan and A-chan want to enjoy some intimate time, they can . . . and they don't need a nosy, would-be Yakuza like you butting in where you aren't wanted!"
Nabiki jolted, and then she started to quiver as she gave Ukyou a look that promised a lot of pain in the very near future for the latter. The others were quick to notice. "Ukyou-san, I don't think Nabiki-san might leave you alone," Kodachi warned. "Shall I contact a friend of mine to ensure you are left alone?"
Ukyou stared at the gymnast. "What friend's that, 'Dachi?"
"Kujaku Tsuretsu, the shateigashira for the Inagawa-kai's Nerima clan."
Nabiki awked. While her money-making operations had sometimes strayed into areas of interest which were normally influenced by such groups as the Inagawa-kai, she had never been threatened that way before! As she robotically turned to stare at the owner of Okonomiyaki U-chan's, she then gulped on seeing a thoughtful look on the Kansai native's face. "Well, I've met some of Kujaku-san's people when they've come here to have lunch. They're not bad when you get down to it; they know not to pull any of their garbage when they're on my premises." She hummed. "Might be a good idea . . . "
"This one thinks so," Shampoo spoke up. "Great-grandmother keeps her eyes on all the bad groups operating in Nerima just in case they decide to do a stupid thing by sticking their noses where they're not wanted. This one knows that local Yakuza are already afraid of other Yakuza moving in on their land. They might see what Mercenary Girl does as moving in on their land and do what they have to do." She stared at Ranma, who was still passionately kissing Akane. "Airen, this one doesn't want to interrupt your kissing, but this one has to ask: If Mercenary Girl gets into trouble, will you help her get out of it?"
Ranma blinked before he pulled away from Akane, giving her an apologetic look before he turned to Shampoo, canting his head in such a way that he didn't have to look on Nabiki more than he wanted to. An act the middle Tendou daughter was quick to notice. "Well, Tendou-sempai is supposed to be an intelligent woman, Shanpú. If she actually ever did earn the ire of Tsuretsu-san, she would most likely be getting involved in something she shouldn't." A tired sigh. "And if she did do that without a care as to how it could reflect on her family, well, then it would be her problem, not mine."
The others blinked. Nabiki's jaw was swaying at the level of her knees now. "Ran-chan, you've actually met him?" Ukyou asked.
"I actually saved his life once," Ranma reported. "I was heading home one day after spending time to myself when I saw him about to be run over by a car. It was hardly any effort at my part, admittedly."
Nabiki started to choke on her own bile as the implications of that little revelation sank in. This, she hadn't known at all! A Yakuza gang boss of all things owing a life-debt to Ranma of all people!
And now with whatever else was going on with Ranma and Akane . . .
"That was a good thing to do," Akane noted. "Ne, Ranma?"
"Yes, Akane?"
"Don't you think you want to check if the others are possessed, too?"
Nabiki acked, her hands snapping up to make warding gestures as she started to shuffle her way back towards the door. Ranma blinked as he considered her words, and then he hummed. "Well, if they certainly don't mind . . .?"
"Ranma-sama?"
"Yes, Kodachi?"
"Kiss me, please?"
"As you wish."
He reached over and boosted the gymnast into his lap before they started to warmly explore each other's mouths with their tongues. Seeing that -- and seeing that Ranma's other fiancées were not launching into wild jealous fits over that -- Nabiki screamed out as she ran out of the restaurant for home. "Come again soon!" Ukyou called out after her before she, Shampoo and Akane started to laugh.
Some minutes later . . .
"OH, MY!"
A panting Nabiki nodded. "That's right, Onee-chan," she affirmed. She was currently meeting with Kasumi and Ranma's mother on the street outside the main gates of the Tendou home. The sounds of two men wailing a tsunami of apologies as they prostrated themselves in front of a certain grandmaster echoed from inside the compound. "Something or someone has possessed not just Ranma-kun, but all of his fiancées too, including Akane-chan! And it's making them act in a way that's not going to help any of us anytime soon, especially with what Ranma-kun just did to make Ojii-chan freak out like he's doing now!" She then took a deep breath before she stared at Nodoka. "And if Ranma-kun carries out his threat, not only will Dad and Uncle be kissing good-bye to their dreams, you can kiss good-bye to any chance of seeing grandchildren from your son, Auntie."
Nodoka acked, her body nearly petrifying as Nabiki's words sank into her heart. Kasumi watched this, and then she turned to gaze wide-eyed at Nabiki. "Nabiki-chan, Ranma-kun's never threatened to do something like that to his mother, much less his father or our father! His honour's too important . . .!"
"That's my point, Onee-chan!" Nabiki snapped. "Ranma-kun's POSSESSED! And now Akane-chan and Ranma-kun's other fiancées are possessed, too!"
Before Kasumi could respond, a very familiar voice then asked, "'Biki, do you honestly expect your sister to understand what you just told her?"
Nabiki gawked, her hands making warding signs as Kasumi spun around to see Hayashi Kanami standing there. Behind the woman now known as Wildflower on Yiziba was Moroboshi Tariko. Both women were dressed in casual yet flattering civilian clothes, they having been whipped up by the powers of the woman now known as Infinity. "Oh, my!" the eldest Tendou daughter gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth in shock on seeing this. "Ranko-chan, what are you doing here . . .?"
Kanami's eyebrow twitched for a moment before she turned and gave Kasumi such a look, the latter found herself caked in ice! As Kasumi shuddered from that frigid look -- something no one had given her in recent memory! -- Kanami stared at Tariko. "Come on, let's go find Onii-chan and his friends!" she said. "The sooner we leave these fools behind once and for all, the better for my sanity!"
Tariko shrugged. "Suit yourself."
With that, they headed off. Nabiki watched them head off, and then her eyes widened as the looks of Kanami's present companion began to sink in. "Hey, wait a minute . . .!" she gasped. "She looks like Moroboshi Ataru . . .!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAI! I HAVE A DAUGHTER!"
Nabiki jolted on seeing Nodoka, now quite unfrozen and just radiating with joy, leap at Kanami, her arms wide to sweep the beautiful girl into her arms . . .
Tariko snapped her fingers. Above Nodoka's head, a thick branch of the Tendou's largest cherry blossom tree then broke, allowing it to fall right on her head just before she would have made contact with Kanami! As the poor woman found herself driven head-first into the street, Kanami stared at her friend. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Tariko affirmed before she then perked. "Oh, by the way . . .?"
"What is it?"
"Would you like me to destroy that sword of hers, too?" Tariko asked, a knowing smirk crossing her face. "After all, with the way you've often described how her husband's behaviour has wrecked her family's honour, would you say that by now, they have no real family honour?"
Kanami blinked as she took that in, and then she hummed. Nabiki stared at them, her mind instantly grasping what this strange female version of Ataru -- Wait! Does this mean that Ranma-kun actually knows Ataru-kun?! she mentally railed -- was proposing and what that would spell for Nodoka and her relationship with her "daughter" as well as her son.
Not to mention the poor woman's worldview in general.
Before she could think of anything more, Kanami turned around and marched over to where the sheathed katana had fallen, just out of Nodoka's grasp. Picking it up, she gazed at it for a moment, and then her hands moved to hold the katana from both ends. Taking a deep breath, she then brought her hands together . . .
CRUNCH!
Nabiki and Kasumi cried out in disbelief and shock on seeing the steel and wood instantly shatter into tiny shards and slivers, they cascading into a pile at Kanami's feet. A quick glance to her hands showed that neither were affected by that action, not even with any sort of bruising. Once the last piece fell away, Kanami then contemptuously wiped her hands clear of any tiny fragments of metal that might be on her skin before she turned to rejoin Tariko. Without another word, both women headed off in the general direction of Okonomiyaki U-chan's.
Silence fell over the scene as Nabiki and Kasumi blinked several times, their minds between either absorbing what they had just seen and crashing from the information overload. Their eyes then fell on the pile of shattered steel and wood on the street close to the still-unconscious Nodoka. Another moment passed as they took in that scene, and then they exchanged looks.
"Now do you believe me, Onee-chan?" Nabiki asked, a touch of irony in her voice.
Kasumi hesitantly nodded before she took a deep breath and turned to head through the gate into the main courtyard of the Tendou home. On seeing Souun and Genma on the porch, still prostrating themselves in front of Happoosai as they begged for the ancient grandmaster's forgiveness -- for Ranma's show of disrespect, Kasumi was quick to note -- the eldest daughter stopped, her eyebrow starting to twitch. While she had not reacted to this scene before -- after all, her oath made in her late mother's memory to preserve the wa of the Tendou home had weighed heavily on her every action for almost a decade -- she now knew that this time, intervention was necessary.
For this time, Saotome Ranma -- for whatever reason -- would not come to the rescue of the other people living in this home.
And with the sudden, instantaneous removal of all of Ranma's personal belongings from the house several hours before, neither Souun or Genma had any more leverage over him to make him protect the house's wa as he had done before.
And with Ranma's sister -- No doubt, she hates the name 'Ranko' now, Kasumi then mused -- having just destroyed the Saotome honour sword, Souun and Genma would (given Nodoka's traditional worldview) no longer had the luxury of using the latter's wife to make Ranma bow to their wishes.
As to what actually caused this to happen . . .
That didn't matter.
"FATHER!"
Souun jerked on hearing Kasumi's angry voice, and then he spun around, his face turning pale on seeing the angry look on her face. "K-k-Kasumi-ch-chan, c-could you w-w-wait a m-moment, pl-please . . .?"
"NO, I WILL NOT WAIT!" Kasumi shrilled, that making Souun, Genma and even Happoosai back away in shocked disbelief at her show of outrage. "YOU WILL REMOVE THIS MONSTER ONCE AND FOR ALL FROM OUR HOUSE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Before Souun and Genma could even think of saying anything in the face of this bizarre act on the part of the former's eldest daughter, Kasumi's voice then became as sweet as molasses as she added with faux politeness, "Because, Father, if you do not do as I ask, I will leave this house and never return again. And I will make very sure that Nabiki-chan and Akane-chan will leave also, never to return again! And once we are gone, we will make very sure that all your lies concerning your so-called 'attempts' at curbing this monster's actions will be made PUBLIC!"
Souun went white as a ghost on hearing that threat. Before he could give in, though, Happoosai's battle aura then flared to life. "SOUUN! PUT YOUR DAUGHTER INTO HER PLACE AND MAKE HER RESPECT ME!" he shrilled.
The Tendou patriarch screamed out as he moved to apologise yet again to the ancient grandmaster. Seeing that, Kasumi took a deep breath, and then she turned to walk out of the property. Once outside, she closed the door behind her, and then her face started to twitch as tears appeared in her eyes, the full reality of what had just happened -- in fact, what had been happening all along -- crashed down on her. Before she could collapse to her knees and scream out her pain and rage, hands caught her by the sides and drew her into a warm embrace. Before Kasumi could realise that it had been Kanami that had caught her, Tariko's voice then called out, "Let's move this somewhere more private."
"Eh?!" Nabiki gasped on feeling a hand touch her shoulder.
Tariko's fingers snapped again as they vanished from the street . . .
(Posted Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:52)
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