"Huh?"
"Who's that girl?"
"Oh, Hotaru? That's Hotaru. I bought her for Kasumi's birthday. Ya want me to introduce you?"
Ukyo blinked at the thought of being introduced to a birthday present. "What exactly is she?"
"An android," said Ranma, gesturing to Hotaru. He quickly introduced the two after Hotaru had put a cold cloth across Akane's forehead.
"Quite an attack you got there," said Ukyo as she attempted to gauge the power level of the little girl.
"That? That was nothing," said Hotaru with a shrug and depreciating smile. "That was less than 1/1000th of my potential full power output. Fortunately it wasn't necessary to use that."
"So your full power blast woulda smashed the school?" Ranma nodded. "Yeah, it may not be much of a school. Especially with that principal. Still it's better than some."
Ukyo suddenly felt, for the first time in her life, that a spatula was a wholly inadequate weapon.
"Akane wants to go after school," said Ranma, "to go check out Cyberdyne. Maybe she wants one herself?"
"Mind if I come along?" Ukyo asked after a minute.
Cologne had spent 300 years of life, mainly in an isolated Chinese village, mainly concerned with the martial arts.
High technology was not something she particularly understood.
She had felt an odd disturbance twice now, and watched from a distance a new player on the scene.
Finally she felt the need to get closer and was surprised to find blue lines of light, apparently emitted from the girl's eyes, moving briefly over her.
"Scan complete. Human female. No evidence of dark taint," said the girl, who then bowed. "Hello."
"Hello," said Cologne in return, dropping out of the tree where she thought she had been concealed. "You don't have any chi, child, would you happen to know why?"
"Because I am a planetary defense unit, an artificial person, auntie," said Hotaru, bowing again and using the term she'd observed used for respected elderly women.
"Planetary defense?" Cologne inquired, wondering what the girl meant by artificial. Perhaps she was one of those born from some fertility process in a hospital?
"Yes. My owner is Kasumi Tendo. My name is Hotaru. I am sorry I cannot stay to chat, but I must get back to my owner."
Cologne wondered about Kasumi Tendo owning slaves. Well, the Japanese had some odd customs but still. "Do you mind if I come with you? I think I'd like to hear more of this."
(Posted Fri, 23 May 2003 12:05)
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