"You sure you're going to be okay, Ranma?"
Ranma smirked as she gently grasped Tariko's hand. She and Hakufu — with Kyech and At'at'at' accompanying them — were preparing to leave the Moroboshi home so they could head back to Nerima for a quick visit to the Tendô dôjô before heading back to Kimitsu for the rest of the day so Kyech could begin to tutor Ranma in tapping into the great power Hucheng-ch'ekyunghechha had given her in the wake of the disastrous Neko-ken training. Unchô Kan'u and Ekitoku Chôhi had invited Kuohu and Kyekkyek to their apartment block in Chichibu so that the two Noukiite free warriors could meet Gentoku Ryûbi and spend time getting to know the tôshi of Seito. Seuchsa remained on the front lawn of the Moroboshi home; he was sleeping at this time. Kotatsuneko was also relaxing beside the giant pig, a pipe in hand as he gazed absently on the heavens. "Oh, relax! We'll be fine!" she assured her as she made a dismissive wave with her hand. "If any of the goofs there get out of control, I know how to handle them."
A sigh. "Okay, then. Kyech, At'-chan, you help them out, okay?"
"Yeah, don't be afraid to scream for help," Benten urged. She was standing behind Tariko, as were Lum and Oyuki.
Both Noukiite free warriors nodded in agreement. With that, hugs and kisses were exchanged between the two groups, and then Ranma and Hakufu headed off hand-in-hand, Kyech and At'at'at' following. Everyone at the Moroboshi house waved as they headed off, and then they turned to head inside, closing the door behind them. As the quartet of warriors headed down the street, they ignored the curious looks coming their way from passers-by. "It was such a beautiful ceremony they did," Hakufu noted.
"It was that," Ranma said, and then she looked back at their companions. "You sure that what Tariko and Lum did today is legal out in space?"
At'at'at' nodded. "I sent a coded communication to Teng City while you were all relaxing and having tea with Tariko and Lum," she announced. "Once it's there, it'll be passed on to Ch'esyuk. She'll make the official notifications, both inside and outside the Dominion." She hummed. "I expect Lum's parents will get the news in a few hours. But given the distance between Uru and here, they won't be able to get here to meet their new daughter-in-law for a couple of days if they leave immediately."
Ranma smirked; Tariko had let her, Hakufu and the other tôshi in on what was about to come crashing down on the Niphentaxians who were illegally living on Earth just over twenty-four hours from now. And while the force that was going to be deployed from Noukiite space would be sufficient to openly deter any counter-move by any of the Federation worlds — a squadron of six star-galleon battleships with full support forces, plus a brigade of ground troops (which was the equivalent of the standard Earth army division; about 16,000 fighting troops altogether) ready to land on Earth to help local forces deter any possible contingency — Ranma had promised Tariko that she would be in Tomobiki tomorrow with Hakufu to help out. "You've been living a lie for almost a year because of these bastards," she had told her friend. "If you're gonna get them all cleared out of here finally, I'm gonna be there to cover your back!"
"Well, let's hope it stays peaceful," Hakufu mused. "What do you know about the observers here, At'-chan? Are they gonna put up a fight?"
A shake of the head. "Hard to predict."
"It will go easy."
Eyes locked on Kyech. "You sure?" Ranma asked.
"Hai. There will be those in the group we can turn to our side."
Ranma took that in, and then she nodded. "Fair enough."
Getting to the bus stop on Prefecture Route 5 for the ride into Nerima, Ranma tried not to laugh as the bus driver and the passengers there gaped in shock on seeing Kyech and At'at'at' accompany her and Hakufu aboard. Instantly, cell phones came out as pictures were taken of the two Noukiites, both of whom did not react to the flashes sparkling in their eyes. Ranma, however, began to snarl, which made the majority of the gawkers pause in horror as they realised who else was with the two alien warriors. Immediately, the cameras were put away as people turned back to their own business. "Ma-chan!" Hakufu scolded as she glared in mock-annoyance at her lover.
"Sorry," Ranma said, and then she gazed on some of the people who had snapped pictures of the two Noukiites. "Look, just because they're aliens doesn't mean you should go ga-ga over them like a lot of folks in Tomobiki do over Lum!" she loudly asserted.
Laughter came from the crowd. "I'm sorry about that, Saotome-sempai," a boy wearing the uniform of a junior high school in Nerima said as he bowed to her. "But you got to admit, actually meeting an alien is pretty rare for people who live outside Tomobiki."
Ranma blinked, and then she sighed. "Never thought of that!"
"Yeah! Wait until all my classmates find out about this!" another boy asserted. "They'll all be jealous of me!"
"Besides, they're even more beautiful than Lum!" a girl snapped.
"Damn straight about that!" another guy said.
"Not to mention considerably more polite and respectful," an older man mused from nearby. "If we never see that silly Oni or her friends again, the better!"
"Hey, don't worry about it!" Ranma said. "Lum's learning to behave herself!"
A snort. "Doubtful!"
The driver's voice then echoed over the internal public address system, "Everyone, please. While I'm flattered that the honoured visitors from Noukiios are aboard today, I DO need to call out stops as we're going along."
"HAI!" many people inside the bus chimed back, that chant echoed by laughter.
Within about fifteen minutes, the bus crossed the border between Tomobiki and Nerima, entering the city of Tôkyô proper. It then pulled into a stop as the driver announced the end of the run; the company that owned the bus didn't have a license to operate within Nerima itself. Ranma and her companions then disembarked, and then she waved them with her down the street. "C'mon," she beckoned them. "The dôjô's not too far away from here. We can walk there instead of taking the local bus." She then blinked on seeing At'at'at' giving the driver a polite salute with her hands before she jogged over to join them. "AT'-CHAN! WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT?!"
A sigh. "Honestly, Ranma! I was just thanking the coach master for his bringing us here! Didn't your parents ever teach you something called 'courtesy?'"
"Kanami was never instructed in such matters while she was training with her father on the road, At'at'at'," Kyech said as she gazed on her lover. "Do not upbraid her in such a fashion. In many ways, Kanami is very much like Kyekkyek."
At'at'at' blinked as she took that in, and then she sighed. "My apologies."
"Nah! I shouldn't have yelled at you like that," Ranma said with a shake of her head. "You people've got your way of lookin' at things. If people can't respect that, there's no way in hell that people can get along." A sigh. "I'm trying to learn that, especially with Fu-chan's mom helping out, but it's really hard sometimes."
"Let it come at its own time, Kanami. You will be alright," Kyech noted.
"Hold!"
All four blinked on hearing that voice, and then Ranma moaned. "Oh, terrific."
They turned to see an imperious vision march up to them, dressed in his usual hakama and wrap-around tunic, his trusty bokken at the ready on his shoulder. "Pig-tailed girl!" Tatewaki Kunô called out as he zipped up to grasp the redhead with his hands. "You have returned at last from your noble quest beside the beauteous alien princess Lum and her friends to rescue that poor lad from America seeking his kin here on the Home Islands! Come, we will go forth on a date and I will…AWWWWWWWWWWWK!"
The "awwwwwwwwwwwk!" came from Kyech's clamping down HARD on the kendô-ka's shoulder, which made Kunô jolt suddenly before his eyes rolled into his head and he passed out into the free warrior's arms. "Kanami has never desired to have anything to do with you, Tatewaki. Please leave her alone," Kyech said, and then she looked over her shoulder. "Come out here, Sasuke. Take your master home."
A dark blur leapt out of the tree to reveal Sasuke Sarugakure, the elderly ninjutsu-ka that served as the chief retainer of the Kunô family in Nerima. As he took Kunô into his arms, he bowed politely to the Noukiite. "My thanks to you, K'ekhech-dono, for not hurting the Young Master as much as you could have. Please forgive him for his continued abuse of Mistress Ranma's personal space. Excuse me, please."
With that, he and Kunô vanished. Kyech nodded, and then she turned to stare at Ranma. "Sometimes, Kanami, the simple approach is often the most effective one."
"With him, I gotta wonder," Ranma muttered as he waved them on. "C'mon."
"Ranma, my boy!"
Ranma then perked as a small bolt of unstoppable force landed in her arms. "Jijii!"
Happôsai crooned as he snuggled up against her breasts. "Oh, this is the good life!" the aged grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutô-ryû moaned as he drew in some of his student's ki. Not enough to hurt her, of course; there was NO WAY he was going to try anything stupid with Hakufu Sonsaku not two feet away and in full control of a dragon that had declared Ranma her personal treasure. Nope! Nosiree! No way! He was daring and brave when he had to be. But he was in no way suicidal! Touching a dragon's treasure was a pretty quick way to wind up ashes in your own family plot, after all!
"<<So what's been happing here since I left yesterday morning?>>" Ranma softly wondered in English as they walked down the street.
"<<Oh, just the usual nonsense from the idiot brigad,>>" Happôsai responded the same way. He knew that Hakufu had a good command of English and he sensed that the two Noukiites behind them might understand what was being said, so he didn't bother to translate things into Japanese for their benefit. "<<By the way, you'll need to know this: I gave Akane release from her father's school this morning. So if you want to use that to get out of the house, you can.>>"
A nod. "<<I'll consider it.>>"
"<<You think that idiot Akane calls a father might try to force a marriage between Ma-chan as a girl and him?>>" Hakufu then asked.
"<<If he does, I'll challenge him for his dôjô sign. After I beat him and break the sign over his thick skull, I'll then declare that I'm switching over now to Dad's pre-marriage name,>>" Ranma immediately declared, her eyes narrow. "<<I don't think Mom would support me being a girl to marry Akane's stupid pimp of an old man, so she'll shoot it down right then and there. Especially if I threaten to leave her family to become part of Dad's family along the way.>>"
"<<By the way, she's aware now that you know the truth about her family and how they got the sword Indy had forged for Miyami as a wedding present,>>" Happôsai warned. "<<I took the sword from her to make sure she behaves herself.>>"
Ranma sighed. She was afraid of that. "<<What do you think?>>"
A shake of the head. "<<Can't…>> EH?!"
Ranma stopped. "What?!"
Happôsai's eyes were locked on the Tendô dôjô, now just fifteen hundred metres off to the northeast of their current position, his eyes narrowed as his metasenses locked in on a very unusual ki signature inside the home, along with the weak readings that normally marked Nodoka Saotome, Sôun Tendô and his two elder daughters. "What on Earth is that…?" he hissed out before his eyes then widened as memory came to him. "Oh, gods! I don't damn hell BELIEVE it! What the HELL did he run into?!"
"Who?!" Ranma demanded.
"Your kin has come from his home to see you, Kanami."
Silence.
Ranma blinked as she stared at Kyech, and then she looked back towards the Tendô dôjô as her eyes widened. "Hijii-chan…?" she gasped in disbelief. "But…!"
"What would he be doing here?!" Hakufu wondered.
"There is but one way to learn that, Ranma."
Eyes locked on At'at'at', who had a smile on her face. "What?" Ranma asked.
The green-haired Noukiite stared at her. "Ask him."
Ranma blinked, and then she laughed. The others soon joined in.
"Ojii-sama, why are you so hesitant to explain to me what happened to Otô-sama?"
A sigh. "Believe me, Nodoka, I want to tell you what happened to me before I met your grandmother," Indiana stated. He was seated before Nodoka, Kasumi and Nabiki at the living room table. Sôun was still passed out in his bedroom, no doubt still broken-hearted over Akane's decision earlier in the day to abandon the Tendô-ryû (at Happôsai's behest) so she could seek independent instruction. "But I have to make DAMN sure that what information I give to you, much less Ranma and any others who need to know this, doesn't get out to the wrong people." A sigh. "Some of the things I was involved with, both before and after the war, are still classified Top Secret back in America. For very good reasons. Please, I'm protecting you all by doing this."
Hearing the forcefulness in her grandfather's voice, Nodoka paused before bowing to him. "I apologise, Ojii-sama. I did not wish to sound disrespectful."
"Don't apologise, Nodoka," Indiana said with a tired sigh. "Lord knows, you've been forced to believe a lot of awful things about me. In the brief time I knew your great-grandparents, I could tell they were the type of people who would've gladly seen all of Japan turned into a funeral pyre at the end of the war, all the people in this land dead before considering surrendering to the Allies." A shake of the head. "There is, even now, a very great gulf between the basic beliefs of this land and the beliefs of my homeland. I understand that and I respect that fact. But as I'm sure our gracious hosts can agree, there are some places where that gulf can be bridged."
"A good point, Hiojii-san," Kasumi said; she and Nabiki had, as they came to know their guest better, elected to call him "great-grandfather" in respect to his relationship to Ranma. "As you no doubt know, your great-grandchild has told us many things about what actually happened all those years ago with your would-be wife and how your would-be parents-in-law ultimately reacted to that. Perhaps, if I may propose this, you should explain that to your granddaughter so she can understand the truth of what happened."
A chuckle. "Be careful in saying that, Kasumi-chan. It is often the belief of many that there are always multiple versions of the truth."
"What you know, what Nodoka's great-grandparents knew and what actually happened."
Eyes locked on Nabiki. "Exactly," Indiana said, and then he took a deep breath. "Nodoka, what were you told about the family sword?"
"That you were planning to steal it of course, tricking Obâ-sama into turning it over to you so it could be taken back to America and displayed in a museum," Nodoka automatically answered, a touch of outrage in her voice.
Sensing it, he closed his eyes. "My God…"
"Where did the sword come from, Hijii-chan?" Nabiki asked.
A sigh. "A swordsmith of the Masamune school named Tadachi Norishige." Indiana closed his eyes. "The man was an artist, a real master of his craft. Sadly, he also died in the air raid that killed Miyami, along with his wife and only child, so no one from that forge is here to confirm that side of the story."
Nodoka gasped. "Was he…?"
"Descent of Saeki Norishige?" A nod. "Hai, he was. A direct descendant, in fact." A pause. "Nodoka, I was the one who had the sword forged as part of the dowry I was prepared to pay your great-grandparents so I could marry Miyami." As Nodoka's jaw dropped in shock and Kasumi's and Nabiki's eyes widened at the archaeologist's thoughtfulness when it came to courting the young Miyami Saotome, Indiana carried on, "I knew your family had fallen on really hard times after the Restoration. It was a carry-over from how far many samurai clans fell in the latter years of the Tokugawa era. And I knew they didn't like the idea of your grandmother taking such interest in a gaikokujin like me. So I asked Tadachi-sensei to create the sword and embellish it with all he, I and many others could learn about your family's past. I wanted your great-grandparents to see that, especially in that day and age, there was one gaikokujin who was willing to show that he could respect the old ways of this land."
Silence fell as Nodoka took that in, and then she seemed to deflate on herself as she felt tears appear in her eyes. "I…" she began before blinking as she saw a handkerchief handed to her. Nodding thanks to Indiana, she wiped her eyes. "Now I really don't know what to think now," she whispered. A deep sigh. "Part of me wants right now to beg your permission to end my life in suicide to atone for what my parents and great-grandparents did to you and the memory of my grandmother, Ojii-sama." As Kasumi's and Nabiki's eyes widened in horror, Nodoka then lightly smiled. "Oh, please, girls! Don't panic! I know how much doing something like that would hurt Ranma." She then gazed on her grandfather. "And you as well. I know how much Westerners frown on the concept of suicide, though I personally don't understand why."
"It's descent from Christian belief," Indiana explained. "The gift of life is a direct gift from God Himself. To throw away that gift is seen as a terrible sin, which will affect one's chances of going to Heaven when one dies and faces His Judgement." A sigh. "And while I myself never really delved into the religion of my own father — which saddened him, I think, given his strong belief in the legend of the Holy Grail — I do respect the principles behind it. As well as the principles that do drive the people of this land to consider that option if the burdens of this life become too great to bear or if they believe, as did the noble warriors of the Shinpû Tokubetsu Kôgeki Tai when they were convinced by their leaders that their own deaths would help save Japan from ultimate destruction in the last years of the war."
"Your great-grandfather is truly a Seeker of Truth, Ranma."
Everyone gasped on hearing that accented voice, and then they turned to see five people (with one of them in the arms of another) standing by the genkan, smiles on all their faces as they gazed on the people around the living room table. On seeing the two aliens in the group, Kasumi and Nabiki instantly stood up, bowing deeply to them. The green-haired of the pair then smiled as she bowed in return, fist in palm. "Heaven's most sincere blessings on this household and all who reside within it," At'at'at' declared. "Many pardons for our sudden arrival, Lady Kasumi, Lady Nabiki, but the honoured Grandmaster Happôsai has come to sense something very unusual concerning the Lady Free Warrior Ranma's kin and wished it investigated immediately."
"It will not hurt Kanami's great-grandfather, At'at'at'," Kyech then mused as she gazed on Indiana. "The angels of the box, the spirit-stones and the cup that held the blood of the Child of the Lord of Heaven all care deeply for him and wish him and his kin well." Her eyes fixed on Nodoka for a moment. "Fortunately for one whose family has incurred their wrath, she has begun to accept the truth and accept him as he is."
Indiana blinked. "Are you a telepath of some sorts?"
"No, Gramps," Ranma answered as she allowed Happôsai to hop down on the floor. "Kyech here has the blood of an honest-to-goodness dragon inside her."
An eyebrow arched. "Like your fiancée does?"
A moan. "Gramps!" she snapped. "Can you quit rushing me, for heaven's sake?!" Ranma then turned to stare at Nodoka. "I think I know where you got it from, Kâ-chan!"
The older woman jolted. "What's that?"
"Him trying to marry me off! He wants to be a great-grandfather!"
Nodoka puffed up. "And what on Earth is the matter with that?!" She then leapt over to stare intently at Hakufu. "Has he been manly to you, Tsueko-chan?!"
She then turned stark-white as Hakufu's eyes turned into slits. "Do not presume, child, to dictate your desires concerning MY treasure!" she snarled in Shàobà's most thunderous voice. "You have done enough damage to her with your witless pining for things you wished you yourself could have done, but wish to force now on others so you can feel happy! Do not EVER presume to do that again or you will face MY wrath!"
In a flash, Nodoka was in Indiana's arms, shivering in fright as she muttered a torrent of apologies to the possessed Hakufu. "Um, Kâ-chan, word to the wise," Ranma said. "Kyech here has dragon's blood in her. Fu-chan has the whole dragon inside her."
"Oh, my!" Kasumi gasped. "Would you like some stones to eat?"
Hakufu stopped. "Stones?! Why?!"
"To fill your gizzard, of course."
An explosion decked Hakufu as everyone stared in wide-eyed disbelief at the elder Tendô daughter before a roar of tear-jerked laughter escaped Kyech. As she nearly collapsed to the floor, gripping her stomach as peals of mirth escaped her, At'at'at' turned and graciously bowed to Kasumi. "I salute you, my lady!" she declared.
Kasumi perked. "Me? Why?"
"Because you are the first person in all the known civilized worlds in the galaxy to make Kyech laugh like that!" At'at'at' said as she waved to her lover.
"Actually, you're a little off there, At'-chan," Ranma said.
The green-haired Noukiite perked. "Oh?"
"Fu-chin beat you to it."
At'at'at' blinked, and then she nodded in approval. "That is good then. It is best for kin — even spirit-kin — to spread mirth to those who need it."
Everyone gazed on her, and then laughter broke out in the living room. "I'm going to love to hear this story," Indiana mused to himself as we…
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