"I'm going out now, Okâ-san."
"Have fun, Shinobu. Try to avoid Ataru, alright?"
Hearing that warning from her mother Kimiki, Shinobu Miyake winced slightly, and then she nodded. "Hai."
With that, the brown-haired, brown-eyed girl stepped out of her house and walked onto the street, heading in the direction of downtown Tomobiki. She was dressed in a tasteful sundress, a wide-brimmed hat on the head to deflect away the sun's light from her eyes. She had a shopping bag with her; she had intended to go to a stationary store and get some school supplies. But at the same time, she wanted to go elsewhere.
Shinobu hated lying to her parents like that. But she felt she had no choice but to do this if she had any hope of restoring any sort of relationship with Ataru Moroboshi in the wake of the Second Tag Race. A hope that had been growing dim over the last two weeks, when Tomobiki High School was reopened after that dragon-thing had destroyed it and everyone returned to classes. When Ataru began to forcefully demonstrate how little he really cared for those people he associated with on a daily basis, in a dark reflection of Lum's complete cutting off of herself from everyone in Tomobiki.
That was hurting people throughout the town. Badly.
While Shinobu really didn't care too much for people like Megane and his friends, much less Shûtarô Mendô, she did understand how much of an impact Lum's presence in Tomobiki had unleashed on everyone in the town, herself included. And while she did get annoyed at the odd disruptive occurrence that directly affected her — normally whenever Ataru tried to hit on her even now, months after she had dumped him — she had actually enjoyed life in Tomobiki with the Oni princess being part of their lives. Which made the events of the Second Tag Race — and its aftermath — all the more hurtful not just to her, but to everyone else.
She had to admit, she did go overboard when she tried to punish Ataru afterward when he STILL refused to openly admit his feelings for Lum when the latter gave in at the end of the Tag Race and allowed him to tag her horns. After all, the man had been exhausted from ten days of dusk-to-dawn running, leaping and everything else he tried to do to tag Lum and save Earth from the threat of the Yaminokuni mushrooms unleashed by Rupa's would-be wife Carla (not to mention Lum's add-on threat of using a memory-erasing device to forever wipe clean the minds of everyone in Tomobiki of their memories of her and the time they had spent together over the last year). But when Ataru retaliated — and did it by whistling down an alien dragon of all things to put thousands of people into intensive care for first- to third-degree burns for two weeks, many STILL recovering from it…!
That revealed something that Shinobu refused, even now, to believe about Ataru.
That he actually HATED them all.
Would gladly wish them DEAD.
Or at least forever out of his — and Lum's — lives.
In realising that, Shinobu felt an emotion she never had before concerning Ataru.
Mortal fear.
What Ataru Moroboshi had revealed to everyone in Tomobiki four weeks ago was something Shinobu Miyake thought was not possible from him. For despite all his many faults and annoying habits, Shinobu always believed him to be a kind-hearted and friendly man at heart. Someone that would never really hurt a fly; even his constant girl-chasing never went beyond the limits of unwanted hugs, attempted kisses and begging for names, addresses and phone numbers. But to see him call down an alien monster to put everyone in intensive care and then lament on not having marshmallows to enjoy at the barbecue…?
And when school came back in session…
Shinobu felt a shiver run through her as she remembered the first day of classes in the wake of the Second Tag Race. How Ataru had come up alone, with no sign of Lum accompanying him. How Megane and his friends, still heavily bandaged from the burns they had received, tried to confront him, demanding to know where the Oni was. Ataru responded with well-aimed baseball strike bats to the four boys' groins, then another one to the backs of their heads to knock them unconscious for the day. How Mendô then tried to attack him with a katana only to get hit with an upswing strike that nearly shattered his jaw. On seeing that, many of Mendô's female otaku screamed out in horror as they surged towards Ataru to get him to stop hurting their beloved classmate. Noting that, Ataru smiled as he picked up the katana, then grabbed Mendô by his hair and yanked him up, instantly putting the killing edge of that blade on the helpless man's throat.
"One more step and he never sees the next dawn!"
That froze everyone in place. Noting that, Ataru then smirked as he tossed Mendô aside, then raised the katana before shattering it on his knee, allowing the pieces to drop to the ground beside the unconscious heir of the Mendô fortune. Once that was done, Ataru then fixed everyone with a stare that made many people piss themselves.
"Remember this: my friend is always a whistle away."
That had made everyone, even Shinobu, flee in mortal terror.
It had started from there. And no matter what anyone tried to do even just to talk to Ataru, all they got in return was cold shoulders, looks of sheer contempt and — for the really persistent ones — threats to either have the dragon come back to finish the job or (even worse!) have Lum bring a real memory-erasing device down to Earth to wipe out the last year's events from everyone's thoughts. And he had kept it up full-tilt to this very day. What was worse, Lum was supporting it all the way, as were (to Shinobu's total surprise) Ataru's parents. No one from Ataru's class were permitted to enter the Moroboshi home even to visit. The one time that Shinobu tried to visit the house, Kinshô had flatly told her that she was no longer welcome there and that Ataru and Lum no longer wished anything to do with her. Hearing that had sent Shinobu fleeing home in tears.
BU-KUIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
Shinobu gasped on hearing that high-pitched squeal, and then she spun left to find herself staring right into the face of a pink-furred pig with bony ridges on his forehead extending all the way down the back of his head and onto his spine.
And he was big enough to fill up a fair-sized van.
As Shinobu took in this visage, an accented voice called out in a language she didn't recognize, which made the pig grunt as he turned to his left and trotted over to snuggle up to a red-haired girl in a tan-and-black two-piece martial arts gi-like uniform, her left hand holding a deadly bladed polearm decorated with long streamer-like banners emblazoned with writing that resembled Korean han'gûl in a way. And the girl herself — who appeared to be about Shinobu's age — had a head that distantly resembled that of a Klingon's from latter episodes of Star Trek.
"A Noukiite…" she whispered.
"Who are you?"
Shinobu yelped in shock as she spun around to see a raven-haired, brown-eyed, taller girl gazing at her, her eyes narrowed as she seemed to glare on the Terran with the same expression one might express on seeing a cockroach. Noting that she also was Noukiite, Shinobu then blinked on recalling the previous day's news. This was one of the two women who had arrived at Narita Airport on their spaceship, meeting up with the Men in Black before getting involved in a highway chase to rescue a young man from America who had come to Japan to seek out his grandfather. Trying not to gulp as she took in the halberd in the woman's hand, tipped with two feet of razor-sharp killing steel at the end emerging from a stylised dragon's head helm, she then straightened herself before bowing respectfully to the visitor from outer space. "I'm sorry to disturb you today," she said as she gazed on the older woman. "Welcome to Earth."
The other woman nodded politely. "I ask again: who are you?"
"She is Ataru's would-have-been heart-mate, Kuohu."
Shinobu screamed in fright on hearing that soft yet forceful voice from behind her, and then spun around to see another red-haired Noukiite now standing behind her, dressed in a black-and-white uniform. On seeing her, Shinobu then shuddered as she remembered Ran's words the previous day concerning this woman.
The Dragonspeaker.
Hearing Kyech's explanation, Kuohu sighed. "Shinobu, you were expressly forbidden by Ataru's mother not to visit here again," she said. "What are you doing here?"
Shinobu jolted, and then she shuddered as she realised that Ataru had probably told these women from Noukiios the worst about her. "I want to see him."
An eyebrow arched. "To try to force your will on him, you mean."
Shinobu balked on hearing Kuohu's comment, and then she felt her heart crash deep in her bowels as she tried not to fall to her knees, her eyes misting with tears. After a moment, she stared pleadingly at the visiting free warrior. "Is that what he really thinks of me?" she tried not to cry out as she leaned closer to Kuohu.
"He does," the other woman stated evenly. "And you have yet to demonstrate over this last month or so anything that would make Ataru begin to trust you again." A snort. "The instant you saw him after Lord Nengmek'i punished you for your intrusion on his personal relationship with Lum, you try to bash him down again so you could feel you were in control of everything around you. Just like all the other monsters Ataru has had to deal with who've flown out of the shadows to beat him down ever since Lum entered his life." A shake of the head. "Whatever you seek with him, Shinobu, you will never have. He will not allow it. And as we are his friends, we will never allow it either. Be thankful of this: four weeks ago, Lord Nengmek'i showed your mercy. The next time, mercy will be the last thing you can expect from him. Leave." She turned her back on the Terran. "Peace be with you, Shinobu Miyake."
She headed into the house. Shinobu gaped as the other woman left, and then she sank to her knees, her mind quickly interpreting the torrent of scorn that had been in Kuohu's voice when she stated her farewell with that phrase, and then she started to cry. Behind her, Kyech remained impassive as she gazed on Ataru's former girlfriend, and then she sighed as she headed to the front gate. Arriving there, she then stopped to look back at the weeping Shinobu before sighing. "Shinobu." As the other girl looked up at her, the Dragonspeaker lightly smiled. "You have your life to live. A life that should not be tied to Ataru's or Lum's in any way, shape or form. Go live it. Don't think your association with the destiny angel Inaba will allow you to keep things frozen here in Tomobiki. It will not; Inaba's brothers will not allow it. Try to do that and you'll only hurt yourself at the end."
With that, she headed inside the house. Shinobu watched her go, and then she blinked as she looked down at her hands before she slowly stood up. As she moved to turn away and head back towards her home, she then stopped on hearing a strange group of women's voices echo from somewhere behind her. She turned around, and then stopped on seeing a group of women walk up from the direction of the Tomobiki-chûô subway station. There were ten women altogether, all dressed in a mixture of clothes that seemed to flatter them quite well. And for the tall, dusky-skinned one with the hair that went to her ankles, she carrying the dragon-headed polearm in one hand…
Wait!
Dragon-headed polearm?!
Shinobu's eyes snapped up to the ears of all of the women present.
Save for one she recognised as the female form of Ranma Saotome, all had magatama earrings hanging off their left ears.
Seeing that, Shinobu paled. "Tôshi…!" she whispered, her feet moving her to get clear of the warriors of the Seven Schools. "What are they doing here…?!"
"So this is your house, Kyôrei-sama?"
"Hai, it is, Unchô-san," Hiromi said as she gave Unchô Kan'u a look. "And please, Unchô-san! There's no need for that level of formality with me."
Unchô Kan'u smiled. She, along with Ekitoku Chôhi and Enjô Koshaji, had intercepted the group travelling with Ranma at Ikebukuro station, which led onto the Seibu line that travelled through the heart of Tomobiki. "You'll forgive me if I disagree."
"Don't mind Unchô, Hiromi-chan," Hôsen Ryofu said as she held Kôdai Chinkyû's hand. The two Rakuyô tôshi had met up with Ranma and company at Shinjuku. "I think deep down, she's hoping for your influence to make Gentoku-san see reason."
Unchô awked, her cheeks flaming as the other tôshi all laughed; her crush on Gentoku Ryûbi was quite well-known to them. Hearing that, Hiromi hummed as she considered something, and then she sighed imperiously. "Oh, very well, then," she declared with a haughty air. "Lady Unchô, you have Our Imperial Warrant to take the Lady Gentoku as your wife. We expect you two to be sharing a bed within a year; We know that these sorts of things do take their time and that the Lady Gentoku might not be so quick as to view your many virtues as others have done so. And if she refuses Our Desire, We will have no choice but to subject her to the Death of a Thousand Kisses."
Unchô awked. "'DEATH OF A THOUSAND KISSES?!'"
"Hai," Hiromi said with a nod. "Where she is strapped down, naked and helpless, on a rack with her arms and legs tied down so she cannot protect herself, and then We will allow you, Lady Unchô, to have your wicked way with her." Another nod. "Hai, that will do it!"
Unchô tried not to faint as blood leaked from her nose as the image of a nude, helpless Gentoku Ryûbi flashed through her mind. "She's hooked," Shimei Ryomô noted, grinning.
"I wonder who would come out the loser in that contest," Kôkin Shûyu mused as she gazed on Ekitoku and Enjô. "Kan'u-sempai or Ryûbi-sempai."
"Can't really tell about that one, Kôkin," Ekitoku said with a smirk. She had taken an immediate liking to Hakufu Sonsaku's cousin when they had met at Ikebukuro. The tôshi from Nan'yô was book-smart, but had an easy-going and friendly nature to her that appealed to the scrappy fighter from Seito. "Might have to get someone to stand over them with a goddamned whip to make them both enjoy it!"
NOW poor Unchô was imagining HERSELF nude on the rack, she being whipped with a cat o'nine tails by a cackling Gentoku, the latter dressed in a dominatrix uniform that would be quite familiar to Hôsen's schoolmate Bunwa Kaku. As more blood leaked from her nose, she tried to put a little distance between herself and the other tôshi. Ranma was quick to notice this, and then she gazed on her friends with a grin and a wink. "Well, if Bi-chan wants a whip, I'll get my great-granddad to send over one."
Everyone gazed on her. "Your great-grandfather, Ranma-san?" Kôdai asked.
Ranma smiled. "Professor Henry W. Jones, Junior. Otherwise known as Indiana Jones."
Silence.
"YOU'RE INDIANA JONES' GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER?!" all the tôshi save Hakufu and Kôkin shrieked out as they stared wide-eyed at their new friend.
"Hai," Ranma said with a nod, and then she waved to her lover. "Fu-chan's mom knew the connection and revealed it to me shortly after I began teaching her full-time."
"Is this the thing that's made you so mad at your mother?" Hôsen asked.
A shake of the head. "Not mad at Kâ-san, Fu-chin. More mad at her parents and great-grandparents for pretending that we're full-blooded Japanese and stating that Hiojii-chan was trying to steal the family sword away from them. Which I find very strange because Hiojii-chan told me in a letter that he was the one who actually got the sword forged as a wedding present to Hiobâ-chan."
Everyone was surprised by that statement. "What a fuckin' pack of liars!" Ekitoku snarled. "I hope to hell that they're all dead now!"
Ranma nodded. "All of them fortunately. Which is good, since none of them will be able to fight Tô-chan's and my move to go back to Tô-chan's pre-marriage name."
"Your father is muyokoshi?" Unchô asked.
A nod. "Yeah. The Hayashi family — my side of it, that is — were quite well off financially, but still seen as a family of merchants. The Saotomes were low-rank samurai and Kâ-chan was the only child of the family, so her dad adopted Tô-chan as his son before they married and allowed the Saotome name to carry on." A smirk. "Of course, just before then, Tô-chan's father learned of the truth behind Kâ-chan's family and their relationship with Hiojii-chan. Thus, when he wrote his will, he put in the stipulation that if I was to inherit my share of the family fortune, I had to renounced the Saotome name. And believe me, I intend to do that."
"Hence, 'Kanami Hayashi,'" Shimei noted.
"Hai. Or 'Ranma Hayashi' when I'm a boy," Ranma answered with a nod.
"How big is the share of the family fortune?" Unchô wondered.
A smirk. "At least twelve figures. In American dollars."
Save for Hakufu, everyone's jaw dropped in shock. "Holy shit!" Ekitoku gasped.
Hôsen turned to Hakufu. "Fu-chan, you better be smart and hang onto this one. Because I guarantee that if you lose her, there'll be loads of girls ready to take your place!"
Hakufu grinned as her eyes became dragon slits. "No one, friend Hôsen, will take my treasure away from me," she growled in Shàobà's deep, rumbling voice. She then smiled as she gazed fondly on her lover. "Especially since she has a treasure of her own gifted to her by those who truly love her."
Ranma sniffed dramatically. "Oh, my dragon is SO kind!"
They embraced and kissed as the others whooped and cheered them on. At that moment, a dramatic sniff was heard from the fence of the Moroboshi home. "Oh, Lum, isn't that so romantic?" Tariko mused as everyone turned to see her and Lum leaning on their elbows, both of them having watched the floor show Ranma and Hakufu had just put out for them. "So inspiring to see Kanami-chan and Tsueko-chan express themselves."
"Tcha! We should follow their example!" Lum noted; she had spotted Shinobu nearby and immediately knew not to call Tariko "Darling" in front of the Terran's ex-girlfriend.
"Let's do so."
Seconds later, all the tôshi were whooping, cheering and whistling at the sight of Tariko and Lum devouring each other's lips. "One must indeed complement Tariko-chan on her impeccable good taste," Hôsen then declared for them all.
"Hear, hear!" many of the others shouted in unison.
Tariko and Lum continued to kiss as a totally shell-shocked Shinobu watched from her place several metres away, now on her knees as her brain threatened to short-circuit.
Lum is a LESBIAN?! thundered through her mind on seeing that as we…
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(Posted Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:34)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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