Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Be-…!
"AAAAAAAARGH! What the HELL is that, Lum?!"
A moan escaped the nude Oni as she picked herself off the bed and stumbled out of the bedroom into the main control centre of her scoutship. "A warning signal, Darling," she answered as Tariko and Hiromi, both also nude, walked into the control centre right after their lover. "Sensors I put on our bedroom to warn me if something comes along that might intrude on our personal space…" Her voice then trailed off as a reading flashed on a screen before her. "The Central Warp Chamber?!"
"Oyuki-sama?" Tariko asked, remembering the time the crown princess of Neptune had teleported into Ataru's bedroom to drag him, Shinobu Miyake and Lum's Stormtroopers all the way to Triton (though they hadn't known about the exact planetary location of the Royal Palace in Kôri City) to join her when Lum was visiting her friend. "She hasn't come around to visit us ever since the Second Tag Race ended; neither has Benten-san! What the hell would she be doing teleporting into my bedroom…?"
"Wait, Darling!" Lum said as she held up her hand, and then blinked as another sensory report came to her. "One person came through. Female, Noukiite&hellip!" She then gaped. "Avalon bioroid genetic factors in her DNA, also unknown genetic code…!"
Tariko and Lum exchanged a shocked look. "KYECH?!"
"But why would K'ekhech-dono be doing here?!" Hiromi then demanded. "And why would she come here through Triton?! Normally when you desired to be with her, you travelled from Earth to Tengsei to meet her in Teng City where her friends live! Why…?"
A sigh. "If you haven't come to realise it by now, Hiromi-chan, trying to predict Kyech at times is like trying to predict where the typhoons are going to hit in Japan," Tariko warned her as he gave her a wary look. "Sometimes, she goes off on these weird larks that take her all over the place! Heck, even when Lum and I first met her on Okusei after that whole crazy business with Elle, she sure took her time getting us from Nuup't'uch to the Academy in Huohkyep'!"
Lum gave her a saucy look. "Why complain about that, Darling?! Those four weeks on Okusei were wonderful, for us, for Kyech and for the others, too!" She leaned over to tenderly lick Tariko's nose as she added, "You sure didn't complain about it!"
"Hell, I didn't want it to end!" Tariko moaned, and then she blinked as another light began to flash on the console before Lum. "What's that?!"
Lum tapped controls. "Sensor that monitors local communications networks!" She read the readout on the screen before her, and then she moaned. "Oh, great!"
"What is it, Lum-san?" Hiromi fretted.
"The media just found out she's here!"
The Moroboshi siblings blinked, and then they moaned. "Oh, Kyech…!" Tariko muttered under her breath. "Couldn't you have at least called first?!"
"The unknown alien woman currently flying southeast from the general area of the Moroboshi home in Tomobiki-chô in Nishitôkyô City is passing over Nerima Ward at this time," the NHK reporter stated as she stared at the camera before her. On screens across Japan, people saw her and the picture image of a girl dressed in a white-and-black full-sleeved uniform of some sort, flying with arms splayed out to either side of her and her legs spread to shoulder-width, maintaining considerable altitude over the cityscape passing below her. "Currently, her flying speed is approximately fifteen knots or approximately 7.716 metres per second. She is keeping approximately a thousand metres altitude above ground. As can be seen in the camera image the NHK News helicopter currently pacing her, she appears unarmed and there seems to be no visible means by which she is flying, much less maintaining her altitude when travelling at a such a slow pace. Close-up images of the woman's face reveals she is humanoid, though possessing forehead spinal ridges similar to the Klingons in various Star Trek movies and television series post-1980, when the first movie was released in Japan. As to what she is and why she is here, no one can yet determine…"
Kimitsu…
"Ma-chan, look at this!"
Ranma blinked as she came out of the furo room of the Meguru home to join Hakufu and Kôkin in the living room, having just spend a relaxing hour soaking up the mineral water — the home was located on a natural thermal spring vent, which had been converted years before into a perfect water source for a private onsen — before she would turn in for the evening in hers and Hakufu's guest bedroom. "What's going on here, anyway…" Her voice trailed off as she saw the picture, and then she blinked as a close-up of the newcomer's face was shown on the screen. "An alien?!"
"Hai!" Kôkin affirmed with a nod. "She actually appeared at the Moroboshi home in Tomobiki, then started flying to the southeast. No one knows where she's from or why she's here. Only thing airborne with her right now is a news helicopter."
Ranma hummed, and then she blinked. "Wait! The Moroboshi home?!"
"That's what the news people said," Hakufu confirmed.
"Shit! Fu-chan, where's my cell phone?!"
Nerima…
"Gods! That's pure ki control!"
"Noticed it, didn't you?"
"What are you two talking about?"
Genma and Happôsai blinked, and then they looked over to Nabiki, who had just walked up to join them. "There's that alien girl that's on the news right now," the grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutô-ryû stated as he indicated a somewhat fast-moving dot passing overhead and to the south of the Tendô dôjô. "Genma and I sensed her right away. We even sensed how she's moving through the air. It's total ki control of the air around her." A whistle escaped him. "Now that is one person I do not wish to fight."
Nabiki blinked. "Amazing to hear you admit that, Ojii-chan."
"There is something else you should know."
All three turned to see Cologne balancing herself on her large walking cane nearby. "What's that, Cologne-chan?" Happôsai asked.
"Have you not sensed this one's spirit?" the Nyûjiézú matriarch wondered.
Genma hummed as he gazed heavenward for a moment, his eyes narrow. "She's old."
"That's hard to believe," Nabiki noted. "I saw her picture. While it may be hard to judge, I'd swear she would be in her mid-twenties at the most."
"A good guess, child," Cologne stated, a smile crossing her lips. She always like the middle Tendô daughter; she had quite the sharp mind and used it to very good effect for herself and (though quite reluctantly) her family. "But the feeling of her spirit tells me she has lived a previous life before this one. And that life was full of great violence. She died young in that life. And it was a violent fate, too."
"How great violence are we speaking of, Elder?" Genma asked.
The aged matriarch of the Nyûjiézú stared at him. "A world war, Genma."
Over Tomobiki…
"Um, Onê-san?"
Tariko blinked. "What is it, Hiromi-chan?"
"Ranma-san just sent you an SMS on your cellular phone."
Tariko blinked again, and then he took the phone, a SoftBank Samsung Omnia 930SC candybar flatscreen model. Sure enough, the icon was flashing about a new text message. Tapping controls, she called up the image on the screen:
From: Kanami-chan
Hey, Tariko! What's going on? You know this alien on the news?
Tariko sighed as she tapped the REPLY function, and then typed in:
To: Kanami-chan
Yeah. Remember when Lum and I told you of the girl we met after that problem with Elle?
She pressed SEND. It went off. A moment later, a reply came in:
From: Kanami-chan
Is this her?
Tariko quickly replied:
To: Kanami-chan
The very same. We're trying to figure out why she's here.
Another minute before a reply came in:
From: Kanami-chan
Keep in touch. Knowing my luck, she's here for me.
Tariko quickly sent back her reply:
To: Kanami-chan
With Kyech, it's hard to say.
A reply soon came back:
From: Kanami-chan
Joy. :-(
Tariko shook her head.
On a certain vast estate far below Lum's ship…
"OTÔ-SAMA! WHY WILL YOU NOT ALLOW ME TO PURSUE THIS WOMAN?!"
Hajime Mendô, current leader of the Mendô Conglomerate, tried not to sigh too deeply as he gazed on his son. Who still sported considerable burns from the incredible fire attack on him and his classmates four weeks before, when Lum finally showed how little she cared for her Earth friends and classmates by having Ataru Moroboshi summon what was believed to be an alien dragon of all things to blast them down and ensure none could seek retribution against either Lum or Ataru for what happened over the previous ten days and more. While he was more than grateful that Shûtarô had finally started to realise what his position with the Oni and her would-be-husband truthfully was, that Shûtarô STILL obsessed over Lum and Ataru was really getting old.
And now far too dangerous to allow to continue unchecked.
"Shûtarô, I just received a call from the Imperial Palace," he calmly replied as he gazed intently at his son. "It was His Majesty."
The younger Mendô's jaw dropped in shock. "The Emperor?"
"Hai. It appears that this visitor actually sent a communiqué to the Men in Black in private before she came to Earth announcing her visit to our world, not to mention the reason she feels compelled to come here." Hajime sighed. "According to what His Majesty learned from the Men in Black, this woman represents a race far more POWERFUL than Lum's people. And she is considered a very important personage amongst her kind. ANY interference from anyone who is known to be an ally of Lum will NOT be tolerated!"
Hearing this, Shûtarô's mind seemed to churn over that information for a moment before he reached — for him — the only possible conclusion:
"THIS IS ALL MOROBOSHI'S FAULT…!"
CRUNCH!
That was two mallets smashed into Shûtarô's head, which sent him face-first into the floor of the living room of the Mendô mansion. Behind him, two of the Kuroko stage-hand/bodyguards who served Hajime's daughter Ryôko stood, holding the mallets they had used to silence their mistress' brother. "Arigatô," Hajime breathed out, clearly annoyed by his son's reaction to what was happening. "One would believe that what happened four weeks ago would have finally persuaded him that his obsession with that Oni girl was truly unhappy." A wave of his hand. "Return him to his room."
"Master Hajime, the Mistress' suggestion is still an option," one Kuroko advised him.
A sigh. "I am fast considering that option."
Both Kuroko bowed. "We are but at your command, Master."
Somewhere near the border between Nerima and Tomobiki…
"Chôjô, could the Emperor have met this person?!"
Chôjô blinked as she gazed intently at the image of the alien girl, who had now passed into Suginami Ward. By now, another helicopter had take up station on the visitor's right side. This one was a Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force Bell AH-1S Huey Cobra attack helicopter. Its twin M134 Miniguns mounted in the swivel turret under the chin of the machine were pointed ahead. The newscast were now reporting that the alien visitor had taken note of the attack machine next to her, yet seemed not to care, though she had smiled and nodded politely for the two crewmen inside the Cobra. "I can't be sure about that, Kakin," she replied, shaking her head. "I just can't be sure…"
On Lum's scoutship…
"Lum, are you SURE this is a good idea?"
Lum smirked as she pulled out her personal airbike from a storage locker. She had got dressed in her normal strapless bikini and knee-high boots. Tariko and Hiromi were both dressed in the clothes they had been wearing when they had come up to be with the Oni. "Relax, Darling! Don't forget, I secretly arranged with Ch'esyuk o have that special bio-shield set up around town when Carla allowed those mushrooms to get loose. Not to mention make sure it stayed masked from the sensors on Rupa's ship, not to mention Ran-chan's and Tô-chan's ships! Kay-san and his friends were VERY happy I did that; saved them all the trouble about contacting all your native magical societies and ask for their help." She shook her head. "Still surprises me that people in Tomobiki haven't clued into it even now, four weeks later. C'mon, let's go see Kyech!"
She gunned the bike's motor and hopped on. "Oh, man! This is GOING to turn into a circus! I just KNOW it!" Tariko growled before she beckoned Hiromi with her. "C'mon!"
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Hiromi said as she followed her sister onto the bike…
Minutes later, when Kyech had passed over into Setagaya Ward…
"Wait! There is an update!" the NHK reporter stated as images flashed over television and cell phone screens across Japan. "An airbike believed to be piloted by the Oni princess Lum has appeared in pursuit of the alien woman who just arrived on Earth and is now flying in a southeast direction from the Moroboshi home in Tomobiki, her current destination and intentions still unknown to us at this time. According to our news helicopter crew, Lum-san herself is piloting the bike, accompanied by two unknown women believed to be either Terrans or Terran-like aliens, their identities unknown at this time. No doubt, Lum-san has come from her own spaceship, which currently is in geo-synchronous orbit over the Moroboshi home in Tomobiki. Even since the end of the 'Second Tag Race,' when almost all the citizens of Tomobiki-chô were led to believe that all of Earth was under threat of alien super-mushrooms brought here by accident by a woman named Carla — said threat contained by a special bio-screen erected around Tomobiki, supposedly arranged by Lum-san herself by parties unknown…"
All throughout Tomobiki…
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
"…that later turned into an interesting lover's quarrel between Lum-san and her would-be husband, Ataru Moroboshi, born in Wakkanai and currently a resident in Tomobiki along with his parents, Muchi and Kinshô," the NHK reporter added, "…relations between Lum-san and her many fans and admirers in Tomobiki itself has remained quite frigid. While Ataru-san continues to attend Tomobiki High School, his summoning of what was believed to be an alien dragon of all things to suppress a threatened mass lynching at the hand of his peers (who still continued to insist he submit his will to Lum-san), none have tried to threaten or bully him since that time. Rumour now has it that Ataru-san may actually be leaving Tomobiki High School to join Lum-san in a place where they may pursue their relationship in peace."
All throughout Tomobiki…
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
Over Setagaya, almost to the border with Meguro…
"Hey! Kyech! Slow down there! Wait up!"
Hearing that welcome voice, Kyech blinked before she stopped herself in mid-air, turning around as Lum drove up on her airbike. Seeing the two people she recognised riding that machine, the Noukiite free warrior then blinked.
"Tariko. There are two of you."
The three girls on the airbike nearly fell flat on their faces. "Um, glad you noticed, Kyech!" Tariko muttered as Kyech glided herself onto the spare seat on the bike; Lum's machine was built with sidecars on both sides. "So what the heck are you doing here, anyway?!" she then demanded. "Why didn't you call ahead and told us you were coming?"
"Speed was of the essence," Kyech replied. "One of my friends visited here sometime ago. And someone here on Earth was affected by that visit."
Silence.
"One of the ch'uokyek?" Lum asked.
"Hai." Kyech pointed to a place somewhere in Chiba. "She is there."
Lum breathed out.
Tariko moaned.
Hiromi blinked.
"Ranma," all three then chanted.
"Oh, you know her," Kyech noted.
"We do," the other three answered as one.
In Kimitsu…
"AH-CHOO!"
"Bless you, Ma-chan!"
So now that we know this, we now…
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(Posted Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:31)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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