“Sir... you’re in Hawaii. I’m in Japan.”
“Well, I do have Teleport-capable pokégirls for a reason, my dear!”
“Oh, Jim... as tempting as that is, I wanted to tell you about what’s on the TV right now...”
“What about it?”
"Other than your nephew Ranma is auditioning his 'First Battler' slot?"
"Oh, that. Did you want to put in a bet?"
"Sir?"
"We've got it on the widescreens here at the hotel. Number Seven is taking bets."
"I see," said Melinda, being able to picture that.
"She's giving fair odds on Akane, good odds for Motoko, and even odds for both of them."
"That last isn't a legal choice," pointed out Melinda. "One girl per slot."
"This is Ranma we're talking about, following the rules, right?"
"Point."
"Though he does appear to like that one there," admitted Jim as he watched the televised beating of a Kuno.
"Ah, good, he's stepping in finally," said Melinda. "I was afraid he was going to let his character assassin die a horrible painful death on TV."
His face bloodied, puffed up, discolored by bruises, that was normal and of no consequence. He'd recover from all that with a minimal amount of time and rest.
That one of the girls had used a vaccuum blade technique to shear his noble hair from his head - that was a little harder to shrug off.
Draped over a fence, his body oil having been either burned or washed off by various elemental attacks, that also was of little consequence.
That one of the girls in question apparently fancied herself an artist and used permanent colored markers on him was something that might require more work at overcoming.
So perhaps it was just as well that he was rather thoroughly unconscious at the moment.
"You can do that?" asked Naruto.
"Why not?" asked Ranma.
"No, you can NOT do that," said Setsuna. "Your Primary Battler is just that. The one you pull out FIRST in the majority of your battles. The one who goes out to fight and determine exactly what strategy you need to adapt to defeat your current opponent. If she's good, as the Primary Battler position needs to be, she'll be able to defeat quite a few opponents without you getting involved at all."
"Oh," said Ranma, glancing over at his two rivals. "You're gonna have to take a rain check on challenging me. I'm still deciding. Definitely go with Motoko or Akane. Not sure which would be best."
"Pfeh, yeah right," said Ryoga.
"Well, I suppose I need to get back," grumbled Naruto. "Tomorrow's a school day."
"So your pokegirl is an Eva?" asked Ryoga. "Odd eyes for an Eva, and I'm not used to seeing a furless one."
"I-I'm sorry," said the Eva, ducking her head.
"Hey," said Naruto, putting an arm around her shoulders to steady her. "She's a great pokegirl and she's gonna be even better!"
"Really?" asked Kuro, one of Ryoga's pokegirls. "What skills?"
Ryoga and Ranma both aimed their pokedexes at the new pokegirl, making her even more self-conscious. Then when she realized she'd swayed and was now leaning up against Naruto, she colored an intense red and seemed to suffer total brain freeze.
Identified.
Name: Hinata.
Position: Alpha
ResPa: Naruto Uzumaki
Skills are listed using the standardized Lowell-Flannery System.
General Schooling - High school student. Regional Language Skills - Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin), English. Cooking - Skilled. Cleaning - Average. Tea Ceremony - Skilled. Martial Arts - Expert, style Baguazhang. Clairvoyance - Skilled. Athletics - Average. Stealth - Below Average.
"'Clairvoyance'?" asked Ryoga. "She's a Psychic type?"
"That explains the eyes, she's a Hyuga-type," said Kuro. "Wow. I wonder if she has the special bloodline abilities."
Hiashi Hyuga turned a stony face towards the retainer, but went to the television and checked the story out.
Indeed, his daughter HAD appeared on that device. When they replayed footage of some fight in Nerima ward, that was her in the crowd.
He'd declared her to be trash, pokeballed her, and thrown her pokeball on a garbage heap. Later he'd come back to that area and had been ready to relent and release her. She'd be motivated to do better.
Except that someone had stolen the pokeball that he'd discarded before his point had been properly made.
Hiashi's scowl deepened as he considered the matter.
Ranko scowled at a television screen in her apartment.
The little schmuck had defeated the main attack, though doubts and the taint would remain to be drawn upon later. A little bribe here and there would be enough to draw at least some 'alleged' smears upon Ranma. She could certainly indicate a few unpleasant things about Ranma Saotome and derail him.
Perhaps some rivals?
A check into the two known ones revealed some facts she might be able to use.
Ryoga Hibiki was frequently missing, apparently even his own pokegirls would lose track of him for a time and then have to use enhanced senses to track him down. Rumors about the time lost, some liason or criminal activity shared with Ranma, could be used to smear Hibiki and spatter Ranma by association.
A check into Naruto Uzumaki revealed... an idiot. But one who could be linked to Orochimaruko and Kabuto-chan, known crossdressers. Unfortunately, the link to those two was well-known for being actively revolted by their presence. A link to the boy Sasuke Uchiha might "out" Naruto as being gay. Except that the boy apparently had begun doting on some common Eva he'd found somewhere and filed salvage paperwork for.
Damn, it had already been approved. Well, she could always file a legal challenge if she found an excuse.
Perhaps if she-
Bleep!
Ranko switched her attention to the computer as a flag popped up to indicate that her firewall had just intercepted a hacking attempt.
Ranko frowned at the thought and wondered if that woman's organization had come to suspect her loyalties were not strictly speaking to them.
___Team Type: General Mission___
Alpha: Kasumi Tendo, Tigress, Level 5. Primary skillset: Domestic, Weapon - Katar.
Beta: Nabiki Tendo, Cheshire, Level 6. Primary skillset: Espionage, Weapon - Staff.
Tank/Primary Battler: Akane Tendo, Tsundere, Level 16. Primary skillset: Tendo-ryu unarmed fighting.
DPS/Secondary Battler: Shampoo, Cheetah, level 9. Primary skillset: Wu Shu
Healer/Tertiary Battler: Setsuna Meiou, Megami, Level 37. Primary skillset: Time Manipulation, Weapon - Key Staff.
Combat Support:
Noncombat Support: Miyo Penkiya, Psivyx. Level 22. Primary skillset: Tarot.
Pursuit/Combatant: Motoko, Ronin. Level 25. Primary skillset: shinmei-ryu
General Support:
"Your roster isn't complete," noted Nabiki, her ears and tail flicking as she considered the line-up. "It's enough to start challenges, gym battles, and the like."
"Actually," said Ranma, eyeing the remains of the earlier carnage. "I think I'd like to:"
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(Posted Thu, 13 May 2010 16:40)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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