Great Will - CCPG: Beauty is the Beast [Episode 225443]

by Red Priest of the 17th Order

Blinking his eyes once, twice, all the pigtailed martial artist could respond to the older woman’s inquiry with was a question of his own. “Decision?” He asked softly.

It took a moment before his eyes went wide with realization. While a lot of different things were going on, it was aspects of his life that were changed that really stood out to him. The Great Will had explained what kind of ‘decision’ was in store for him to make.

“Oh, oh no!” The heir of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts shouted as he rolled his arms. “I wasn’t checking just checking out Kasumi and Nabiki! Honest!”

The woman raised an eyebrow. She was used to the youth’s shows of defiance; more than willing to work things out on her own than ask others for help. “You weren’t just checking them out?” The Samurai asked slowly, making sure she understood.

Nodding his head firmly, Ranma told her, “Yeah. That’s right.”

Smiling, the pokégirl of Soun Tendo nodded her head in approval. “That’s understandable and very mature of you, Ranma,” Tsuruko started as she walked to the edge of the roof. “While both Kasumi and Nabiki are fine Cat-type pokégirls in their own regard...”

Standing up a little straighter, the Cheshire couldn’t help but preen at the compliment from her step-mother. She was that sort that wouldn’t hand out compliments unless the person receiving were deserving of it.

“...The fact of the matter is, you have FOUR Tendo daughters you should be looking over before deciding whom would be best to take as your Alpha.” The rather regal Asian woman finished with a tone of finality; she’d seen he’d taken care of the two eldest of Soun’s biological daughters but there were still the others to look at. She was going to see that they’d gotten their fair chance at being chosen to be the Alpha of Ranma’s pokégirl Team. “Come with me.”

“HUH!?” Ranma gasped. Oh crap, things were moving way too fast for his taste. He’d just had reality changed on him for crying out loud. Why couldn’t he be given time to adjust? He tried to tell the woman that when, with a sudden deft footing, Tsuruko walked off the Tend roof. Not leapt but simply stepped off. He rushed over to the edge to see that she had landed on the ground softly in a crouching position before standing up with a graceful poise; not one fold of her kimono out of place. “Okay, that IS impressive,” he thought with a bit of shock before doing as she told him and jumped off the roof.

And it was then he received another shock. He had been expecting Nabiki to follow him but rather than just jumping down, she simply appeared right next to him. “GAH!” His pigtail stood on end as he himself jump back a bit before he calmed. “Must you do that?” He asked of her as he stared at the Cheshire.

Giving him a kind of smile that was more than appropriate for her breed, she gave him the honest answer of, “Yes.”

Shaking her head good-naturedly as her step-daughter chuckled at their young houseguest’s expense, Tsuruko decided to save the boy some further embarrassment by telling him, “Ranma, this way please.” With that, she turned and started walking, knowing he would follow her.

And she was right. It was a curious Ranma Saotome that followed the older woman around the back. He blushed a little as he saw Kasumi smile and wave at him while he was on his way and he hesitantly returned the greeting. Damn, it was going to get used to seeing the eldest Tendo as a Tigress, let alone in anything other than her usual dresses and aprons. There was nothing that could top the sight of the new improved Tendo girl.

His thought would be proven wrong not even a full thirty seconds later. The first thing that caught his attention was the sounds of combat, cries of battle and sounds of strikes making impact. Needless to say, his love for the fight made him step up his speed; outpacing the Samurai as he headed towards the doors of the Tendo Dojo. Sliding open the screen door, the young Saotome male stood and stared in awe.

It was Akane... she looked the same as she ever did but the girl was letting off an output of aura. It swirled like a miasma of crimson mist around her, shoulder heaving as she breathed deeply. She drew her fist back and struck forward, the aura around it intensifying.

However, her blow was suddenly intercepted, a black wooden sword swinging upward in front of her target. The girl wasn’t familiar to Ranma per se but he was very interested in how she could move so deftly and strike with such force. Again and again, she moved her wooden implement quickly, managing to block every single strike of the younger woman.

Yes as he watched, realization hit the Saotome male. The girl that Akane was fighting against looked very much like Tsuruko. Maybe not as curvy or elegant but damn, if she wasn’t holding her own without her body betraying the obvious physical exertion she was putting it through. It was damned impressive.

The tone of the spar changed with sudden parry of the bokken. The sight made the pigtailed martial artist twitch with anticipation, anxious to get into the fray as Akane was sent tumbling off to the side, bouncing a few times with the momentum.

However, what made Ranma stay put was Akane’s reaction to the blow. Rather than crying out in pain, she simply rolled across the floor for a few rolling motions before the youngest Tendo came to a stop on her hands and knees. She snapped her head towards her opponent, snarling in anger before rushing towards her, practically running on all fours like a wild animal. As she moved, the wildly flashing red chi that she was channeling danced around her like a flickering flame.

Holding her bokken at the ready, the young woman tightened her muscles and focused her power, waiting for Akane to get into position. Her eyes narrowed and the grip she had on her weapon tightened as the youngest Tendo pokégirl crossed the distance between them. And then she struck! “Zanmaken!” The girl in kimono top and hakama pants shouted as she swung the sword, a wave of energy rushing towards Akane and hitting her straight-on.

The youngest Tendo stumbled forward from the blow, eyes widened and clear of the red haze, her strength leaving her thanks to the ‘Demon Cleaving Sword’ technique. She skidded across the ground, before coming to a stop at the sword-wielding woman’s feet. “You know, I hate it when you do that, Motoko.”

The black-haired pokégirl smirked, her sword disappearing into nothing. “Well, it’s easy to break through your rage when one has a technique that is used to calm angry spirits at their disposal, is it not?” She crossed her arms over her chest giving Akane a playful smile. “Thank you for the quick battle and please, do think of this as a victory on your part too. You’ve been getting much better Akane; your speed is greatly improving.” She smirked a little as she added, “But don’t rest on such laurels. You’ve still got a long way to go if you’re to catch up to me!”

Ranma raised an eyebrow. Wow. This girl reminded him of himself, really. Proud over the fact that she could put a Tomboy in her place... yet oddly enough, not being the one doing it, being an outsider to the exchange. It made him feel an odd level of pity.

While he didn’t stumble, the pigtailed teenager did move as he felt Tsuruko slowly push her way past him. She moved with such stealth that there wasn’t even the sound of footfalls before she finally came to a stop behind the younger woman that he saw was obviously family now that they stood together.

Motoko blinked her eyes as she looked down at Akane, the younger Tendo looking up with a sudden expression of awe and more than a little fear. Why was she looking at her as if-

“So, this is what you think of as proper training?” Came a distinctive, dominant female voice from behind her. “Picking on your younger sister with techniques prized by our school? Techniques and talents that are to be reserved for serious opponents and situations are suddenly simple training?”

“AAAAUUUUGGGH!” Motoko screamed in fear as she whipped around; cowering back at the sight of the older woman. “Suh-sister! It-it was just a sparing match! I’m trying to help Akane improve and-”

The woman held up a hand, silencing her younger sister. “As much as I’d like to hear your excuses as to why you’re using techniques that, I repeat, are only to be used in serious situations, I need you to calm down and be silent.” As the young woman went stock still, Tsuruko looked over to the pokégirl still on the floor and talked in a much calmer voice, “And Akane, please stand as well. This is rather important.”

Indeed, it was important. Yet Ranma couldn’t help but be curious. “Sister?” He wondered in surprise. Tsuruko was owned by Soun Tendo and... well, why would the sister be living here?

As Ranma was deep in thought, the youngest of the Tendo pokégirl raise an eyebrow. “Important?” The girl looked past Tsuruko as she rose to her feet, catching sight of her family’s houseguest. “What’s Ranma doing here?” She asked curiously.

Without answering the younger woman’s question outright, the pokégirl of Soun Tendo turned to Ranma and nodded her head. “All right, Ranma. Now that Motoko and Akane are calm, you can get a decent scan of them.”

His train of thought derailed by the woman addressing him personally, Ranma answered, “Oh, right... right.” He felt for the red box he had placed on his belt before bringing it forward before him. He felt this was rather rude but in all honesty, he did want to get an idea of what exactly he was dealing with.

Aiming the piece of pokégirl tech at the girl whom he’d just learned was Tsuruko’s younger sibling, the Saotome youth pressed a button along the console surface, activating the scanning function. It took a moment for the information to rise up on screen.

Scanning pokégirl. Type found. Registry found.

Ronins have an innate rivalry with Kunoichi pokégirls. However, it is also speculated that the reason is more mindset-oriented than anything else. Ronin live by their own code of honor, and believe that the Kunoichi’s more ‘sinister’ and ‘stealthy’ ways are more dishonorable than anything else. It is this confrontational nature that has made the breed popular with PokéBattle Warriors.

Nodding his head, Ranma had to admit that she did sound as though she’d be a very useful in a pokégirl battle. Admittedly though, what was making him wary was his lack of experience with the woman. Yes, apparently she’d been here longer than he had with the retcon but he just didn’t know.

Realizing the quartet of women were still staring at him, (with Nabiki twitching her tail erratically) he decided to continue. With the red device still in hand, he spoke up and issued it the verbal command of, “Skills.”

Skills are listed using the standardized Lowell-Flannery System developed for monitoring Skill Trainer testing.
Motoko Aoyama
General Schooling - High School Graduate. Cleaning - Intermediate. Unarmed Fighting - Novice. Sword Fighting: God’s Cry School of Swordcraft - Adept.

Standing there at the command of her sister, Motoko was surprised that Ranma was scanning her with her PokéDex and being so thorough about it to boot. While she wanted to ask what this was about, she knew better than to speak out of turn when her older sister was around. Still, she couldn’t help but be nervous... if this was what she thought it was, then he might choose her! HER! The thought both interested and made her very wary. She’d remembered how intent she’d been in her family’s art before their family was lost and Soun Tendo took them in, her older sister as his pokégirl and her as a daughter.

She did not want to be put in her place by some youth because her new ‘father’ decided it would be best to fulfill some oath of uniting the schools. Damn it, she wasn’t even that much of a practitioner of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts to begin with!

Seeing the look of growing agitation on the kimono-clad woman’s face, Ranma decided it was best to turn his attention elsewhere. He moved his arm to the right, aiming the red Gameboy-like device at the girl he remembered as his erstwhile fiancée before the ret-con and pressed the button, activating the scan function.

Scanning pokégirl. Type found. Registry found.

Despite their anger management problems, Tsundere have become as popular for Pokégirl Battle Teams as the Bunny-types are for domestic settings, as the profession of the fighting sport allows them an area to excel in.

Looking the entry over Ranma could only nod his head dumbly in shock. “Wow...” he whispered, mostly to himself. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Placing her hands on her hips, the younger Tendo frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Wincing as he realized she’d heard them, he told her, “Uh, nothing... nothing...” he chuckled nervously before quickly muttering the command, “Skills.”

Skills are listed using the standardized Lowell-Flannery System developed for monitoring Skill Trainer testing.
Akane Tendo
General Schooling - High School Junior. Cooking - Restricted. Cleaning - Novice. Unarmed Fighting -Intermediate.

A smile slowly spread across the pigtailed male’s face. Akane was restricted from cooking? This just might have been the first good change he’d seen since Hiroshi and Daisuke had changed the world!!

Seeing the wide smile on the male’s face, the youngest Tendo couldn’t help but feel pride. Obviously, Ranma was seeing that she had some great qualities about her.

A hospital was an institution for healthcare, providing patient treatment via certified staff and specialized equipment, and often, (but not always) providing for long-term patient stays. This was one such facility, a place that had become a home to resident ‘Kendra Linzie’ for the past decade and a half... and as far as the majority of the world was concerned, it would likely be her final resting place as well.

It was a luxury suite on the top floor, the woman was surrounded by luxurious and expensive, almost unattainable medications; a dwindling supply of drugs that had been issued by Sukebe Inc. to try and keep the women that had been afflicted with the Red Plague alive long enough so they could receive treatment to successfully turn them into pokégirls. A constant supply flow from government-held reserves had allowed Kendra to stay human, to refuse to become one of that bastard Sukotto’s creations, a mockery of true womanhood.

But it was no cure. She’d lived in constant pain for so long now, her body dwindling along with her guarded supply, one she dipped into more and more with each day. However, it was the only way to stay in control of her people, the few whom survived and remained mostly human and those whom were born after the Red Plague, still human. She didn’t believe they would follow her if she’d become some bipedal freak of nature!

She may have had to hide the truth about herself from the world, but to those in the know, those whom were true women... she was still Linda McKenzie.

The sound of the entrance of her suite opening caught the woman’s attention. Her right hand grasped to the level-control of her wheelchair as tightly as it could, making her turn about. She coughed, rasping for breath at the sudden exertion and the purified air pouring into her nose from the oxygen tank tube not feeling like enough to ease the burning in her lungs.

She stared up at the sight of one of her subordinates, a tough woman who’d lucked out and only needed a small dosage of pokégirl genetics to stave off the Red Plague. She was still trust-worthy, albeit now inferior to her pure human woman comrades. “Hello, Midori...” she greeted plainly. “I can tell by the look on your face that you have news most unpleasant.”

The Japanese woman nodded her head firmly. She was one of the first women to join Miss McKenzie’s group back in the early 1980’s, having had enough with the male-controlled Japanese society that seemed to hold a glass ceiling over her head forever, keeping her from making something much greater of herself. She was also one of the last of the group to actually fall victim to the Red Plague; obvious sabotage of Linda’s work by the hands of Sukebe. She might not have been pure anymore and often took some flack from her leaders and compatriots, but she was still human! “It is just as you surmise, President McKenzie. It concerns the enemy’s grandson.”

Eyebrows furrowed slowly over eyes that had mostly sunken into the woman’s skull. She knew of James’ grandson, Ranma Saotome. An inferior, back-water male that stood to attain the bastard’s immense business and fortune once he passed on. “What about him?” She asked as one of her skeletal hands balled into a fist, the other hitting the ‘self-medicate’ button built into the left arm of the woman’s wheelchair; injecting herself with another burst of a chemical cocktail comprised of a healthy dosage of morphine and the Plague alleviation drugs.

“Rumor concerning young Ranma Saotome is spreading very quickly and has reached us thanks to our contact in Sukebe Inc.’s Japan-based Branch Office,” the woman started to explain as the woman glared at her. “Miss McKenzie, I know how you feel about rumors but this is a very valid source.”

Slowly nodding her head in acceptance, Linda told her, “Fine. Continue.”

Being given permission, she did. “It would seem that the young Saotome is setting himself up to make a name of himself from his grandfather’s crimes against women. He’s going to take on a pokégirl and become a PokéBattle Warrior.”

The heart-monitor on the rolling cart that was connected to her wheelchair started to beep louder and at a faster pace in response. Oh, how she hated Pokégirl Fighting! It wasn’t a sport, it was butchery on par with the Roman Gladiators! “So, this male chauvinist plans to pit those mockeries against other such faux women in blood-sports, does he?”

The Japanese woman in business suit and dress combination gave a nod of her head in confirmation. “Indeed. He’s not chosen yet, but he will be. When he does, he will gain further recognition. That will make it difficult to use him as a means to take your revenge on the man that did this to us and, forgive me for saying this...” she firmed her resolve as she admitted, “I believe you’d want to see Sukotto suffer for his atrocities before you pass on.”

“Hmph!” The wheelchair-bound woman hooked up to oxygen tanks and other life-support equipment snorted in disdain. “I’m not going to die yet, child. I’ve been hit hard with the Red Plague but my people are making plans to pull my brain out of this dying husk of a body and put it in a tank. That way I can continue to run things...” her eyes narrowed. “So don’t you worry your pretty little head. I’ll be damned before the spawn of Sukotto lives on to feel any measure of success off of the horrors that us women now face. I promise.”

• Ranma considers it might not be so bad to make a decision.
  “Not like it’s marriage or anything.”
  Bonding is actually similar to marriage in practice.
  “...And now I’m nervous again. Thanks.”
• Soun Tendo catches wind that Ranma is readying a decision.
  “Genma? Are you there?”
  “Yeah, it’s me Soun. What’s with the phone call?”
  “I think Ranma’s going to choose an Alpha!”
  “I’ll be right over!”
• With the word out, many an Alpha candidates are rushing to the mob.
  “Well, that’s something you don’t see everyday.”
  “What? A rushing mob of pokégirls? We saw one just last week when they were after the panty thief.”
  “Not that, I mean a rushing mob of pokégirls wielding pitchforks and torches. With the powers these girls have, they tend to forget the classics of what just makes an ‘unruly mob’ truly unruly.”
  “Ah yes... I miss the good ol’ days.”
• Linda McKenzie plans to screw over Ranma!
  “After all, women get screwed over long enough!”
  “It could have been worse, Lady McKenzie. Women could have been outright slaves that would NEED sex to simply function.”
  “...Just what kind of horrendous fanfics are you reading?”
• Where is Jim Sukotto in all of this?
  “Ah, how I love this Hawaiian vacation!”
  “And here’s your drink sir.”
  “Oooh! Thank you, my good lady. Here’s a tip for you.”
  “A hundred dollars?”
• “HAHAHAHA! No. It’s Something I realized a long while ago. Follow your dreams and nothing will stop you.”
  “Gee... thanks. Well, can I get you anything Else?”
  “Well, some pineapple salsa nachos would be nice...”

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(Posted Sun, 27 Sep 2009 03:03)

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