Ranma slowly pulled at the suit he was forced to wear. It wasn’t everyday Konoha received esteemed guests.
It didn’t matter he was stuck here for the moment because a certain genie didn’t understand the difference between his wish and Nabiki’s. To be honest, even if his Old Man wasn’t here, he was still getting something from this new Universe.
Granted, most of his techniques at the moment would never be shown when he returned to his own universe. The last thing he needed were those techniques getting out. If they did, the Old Letch would decide to ‘train’ Ranma fully, seeing that he had ‘finally understood’ the basis for Anything Goes. Akane would probably decide to stop hitting him all over when launching him into LEO and settle for a more mid-section target. And that didn’t even count how his various rivals and suitors would react. Oh well, I won’t need to use them when I become a Genin and Mom finally allows me into our Jutsu Library. He just hoped she was the one to transcribe them. His Old Man’s writing had been literal chicken scratch in their Universe. And given how much he remembered this Nodoka Saotome harping on the him of this Universe to ‘write legibly’; he couldn’t count on her having done the same for the Old Man in this world.
“Are you sure they aren’t spies from Kumo?” asked Akane. She, like Ranma and Nabiki, had been excused from classes that day to meet their ‘guests’. And once again, she was looking for spies. Both dimensional transplants wondered if she would be friends with Kabuto.
“I’m sure, dear,” Kimiko said with a tired sigh. Why was her child so obsessed with spies?
“Mom, how do you know them?” asked Nabiki. She wondered if the presence of these ‘two orphans’ was either someone that had happened in canon but was glossed over, or if this was yet another example of Mihoshi’s damned butterfly.
“We knew both their parents from our time at the Academy,” Kimiko said with a sad smile. “All four were good, great friends with us.”
“Were they on your Genin Team?” asked Kasumi.
“No,” Nodoka answered. “Sure, now the average graduating class in around three to five teams. But back then, it was easily twice that.” She shook her head sadly. It was yet another blow the Kyuubi had dealt the Village at the time.
Tee-hee, but soon, my manly son will help issue in a new era of higher birthrates to swell Konoha’s ranks. MWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Ranma took a few steps away from his mother, somehow sensing it would be safer that way.
“Anyway,” continued Kimiko shaking her head as her friend once more slipped into daydreams, “a few years after Kyuubi, they were on a mission. I don’t know the exact details of what occurred—it is a SS-class secret—but they lost the ability to be ninjas.
“Not wanting to give up, they began working in the trade caravans. They weren’t Missing Nin, but they knew a lot about how ninja thought and acted. They probably saved the groups a lot of time, money and lives by their work. They took their two daughters with them of course—one per family. But since both wanted large families, I think it is safe to assume that whatever stripped them of their ability to successfully mold chakra also did damage to their plans for that,” she finished sadly.
“The initial agreement with the Hokage was that they would settle back here before the next year at the Academy,” offered Nodoka, thoughts of massive amounts of grandchildren gone for the moment. “So they could become Genin.”
“One year?” asked Akane in shock.
“One year for them in the Academy,” offered Kimiko, hoping she could keep her youngest from trying for an early graduation. “Their parents have been training them for years on the road, at least as best as they could without any actual abilities themselves.”
“How did they die?” asked Nabiki quietly.
“Tornado while traveling through Wind Country,” Kimiko said sadly. “They died saving the lives of others. And it was their wishes so many years ago that the Caravan is fulfilling now, returning the two daughters of two families back to Konoha.”
“One will be staying with the Tendo family, the other with the Saotome family,” Nodoka continued. “Basically, the one who was the Maid of Honor for the wedding of their mothers.”
“What are their names?” asked Nabiki, hiding the fear in her voice, wondering if these two girls might be analogs of Ranma’s suitors.
“Mihoshi, the last heir of the Kuramitsu clan, and Kiyone, the last heir of the Makibi clan,” said Nodoka with a smile.
The two fused travels felt their eyes go wide at the first name. Could it be…
“Yeah!” came a familiar cry, just as the caravan entered the Gates of Konoha, revealing a very energetic tanned blond and a angrily twitching bluenette beside her in the first cart. “We made it, Kiyone!”
“Thank you,” murmured Kiyone, hopping off the cart, tempted to make a run from Mihoshi. But if those Djinn were watching her as well for the duration of Mihoshi’s punishment; fleeing like a released convict might not go over so well.
She paused, feeling a gentle hand placed on her shoulders. Looking up, she spotted a woman the cover-memories recognized. “Auntie…?”
The woman nodded. “Yes, dear,” she responded, pulling the girl into a deep hug. “I wish we could have been reunited under better circumstances, but… I promised your parents I would watch out for you if anything ever happened to them, as they did for me should my offspring be left alone in this world. I promise you… I’ll try and help you through this.”
She knew the memories weren’t real, that this wasn’t her world, she hadn’t lost her parents a few days ago, and that she wasn’t anything but a substitute to the play that was this universe.
It didn’t hold back the tears though.
Ranma sighed as he watched the girl cry while hugging his mother. He didn’t say anything, knowing how she felt. He knew his Old Man was still alive back in their Universe.
Still didn’t hurt any less when he thought about the Genma Saotome of this one.
Nabiki sighed as she walked over to the girl who was going to be living at the Tendo’s. Standing before her, she held out her hand, eyes focused on the girl. “Good to see you again, Mihoshi.”
“WAH! YOU REMEMBERED ME!” cried the excitable girl, as she tackled Nabiki.
Ranma winced. Well, better Nabiki than him. He didn’t honestly believe he could handle living with Mihoshi.
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(Posted Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:43)
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