[UY/Ranma/SisPri][FanFic] Lonely Souls - Part 6, "C" Side (3/3)
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"So will you help us?" Kyooko wondered as she and Tomomi relaxed.
Ataru stared at them before he nodded. "Yes, I will. After
all . . . " -- a knowing smile crossed his face -- "It's not the least
bit fair that your mothers' people are forced to serve a pack of
lifeless fools like Oogi."
Miree, sitting to the left of the visiting Avalonians, chuckled. "It
is fortunate that your desires now mesh so well with Ataru's."
"How can we do this?" Tomomi then asked. "I only know the basics
about what goes on between the Avalonians and the Niphentaxians. Atop
that, our mothers don't have much knowledge when it comes to the
factory. How can we fight Oogi if he's up in orbit . . .?"
"We will need to take time to ascertain what is exactly going on
aboard the factory before determining a proper course of action
against Oogi, Tomomi," Negako, she seated between Ataru and Sakuya,
stated. "We . . . " -- she indicated the members of Ataru's family
plus all the hangers-on, all of them seated in a circle around the old
shrine's living room table -- " . . . were in the process of
commencing a proper investigation when you and Kyooko came to speak to
us. I see no reason to alter that plan at this time."
Yotsuba chuckled. "Funny way to start an investigation. We're all
planning to go to a hot spring up north until this weekend!"
Surprise crossed the visiting women's faces, and then Tomomi's eyes
widened. "Oh, you mean act normal for the time being, right?!"
Negako nodded. "Exactly. Now, your mothers currently possess no
active link to the factory. To ensure there might not be any passive
link, we can have Hinako use the Staff of Gihan to sever such links
and thus impede any search launched against your parents. With that
done, all you two and Minako have to do is what you have always done:
Strongly control any urge to make use of your telepathic or empathic
powers until such time as the threat from Oogi has been dealt with,
and then proceed from there."
Akane, sitting close to Kyooko, perked as she remembered the incident
when she first learned of the Niphentaxians. "Negako-san, if these
people've bugged the whole of Tomobiki with those listening devices
Chikage-san found in Mendou's sitting room, wouldn't the girls'
apartment block be likewise bugged?"
She indicated Kyooko and Tomomi. "A reasonable point, Akane."
Negako turned to Chikage. "When the girls return to their domicile
tonight, ensure their apartment block, plus the area around it, is
swept clean."
The sorceress nodded. "Might want to do more than that, Onee-chan,"
Ataru warned. "If a single blank spot appears in their coverage,
it'll be a red flag to these idiots. Random blank spots all over
town'd work better."
Kyooko stared at Chikage. "You won't mind this?"
Chikage lightly smiled, crossing her arms. "It's no problem. Those
things are ridiculously easy to locate and eliminate."
"Even more, what of the morale of those observers in Tomobiki?" Miree
mused. "After all, the chances are very good that most of their
relatives back on the Homeworld are dead. How have they been taking
all of this?"
Ataru sighed. "We should, for now, assume the worst."
"Why not find all these jokers now and get rid of them as soon as we
can?" Mamoru asked as she tucked her legs into her arms.
Ranma shook her head. "Not a smart idea, Mamoru-chan."
"Why'd you say that, Anee?"
"Simple. We don't know where they all are. We don't even know how
many of them there are in Tomobiki. If we hit one group, the rest'll
all scatter and that makes it worse for us. What if they have people
living in the neighbouring areas, like here in Nerima? We have to
figure all that out before doing anything against them." Ranma ticked
off the points on her fingers before she indicated Miree with her
hand. "And Miree-san has a very good point, too. What's their morale
now that so many of their fellow believers are all dead? Will they
want to fight on or lay down arms? If the latter, it makes this a lot
easier for all of us, but the chances are there . . . "
"There'll be some fanatic holdouts that won't want to surrender,"
Shinshi, who currently had one arm wrapped around Yotsuba, finished.
"And unfortunately, they're living in a fair-sized town which could
provide loads of potential hostages," Ataru added. "Not to mention
the very faint possibility that some of them might want to tag up with
some of Lum's would-be fans, trick them into falling into the Church's
side as a way of 'avenging' what happened to their 'goddess' on me."
"Onii-sama, you can't believe that even now . . .?" Sakuya blurted.
"Sakuya-chan, I'm NOT taking that chance," Ataru cut her off.
The eldest of the sisters gazed on him. "Ataru-kun has a good point,
Sakuya-san." Tomomi held up a finger. "At school today, after Ataru-
kun and Hinako-chan met up with Reiko-chan and Kaneko-chan, some of
the guys, especially in our class, were grousing a blue streak about
all the 'good luck' Ataru-kun's had recently. And this was even AFTER
that MiB guy zapped them with a neuralizer to make them leave Ataru-
kun alone!"
Mamoru snorted. "Goes to show what idiots they are!"
Haruka tensed. "They were conspiring against Anigimi-sama?"
"No, but you can be pretty darn sure that if the chance comes that
might provide them an opportunity to hurt Ataru-kun, they'll take it,"
Tomomi warned.
Akane gaped. "Why?!"
Ataru smirked. "That's how much Lum's presence affected them."
"There's also the matter of Mendou-san," Kyooko warned.
Ataru tensed. "What about him?"
"Well, the girls in class noted he was absent today," Kyooko
reported. "I took a look at the nominal roll and saw that he'd been
scratched off the list. The teachers are being really quiet about it,
but you can bet his removal'll become common knowledge before long."
"Wait until they find out about Mendou-san getting married to that
man-phobe Mizunokooji," Kawamura Himiko muttered under her breath.
Tomomi blinked. "He's getting married?"
Ataru held up an objecting hand. "Yoshino-san, PLEASE don't spread
that around! If the girls at school get wind of that . . . "
"It could be as bad as when Rudolph Valentino died?" Kyooko asked.
"Partially. But the bigger problem is people crashing the wedding.
As Himiko just hinted, the idea of Sword-for-brains marrying
Mizunokooji Asuka -- even given that Asuka ISN'T afraid of being
around Mendou -- doesn't sit well with most of the girls at Tomobiki
High."
Ranma stared knowingly at him. "And if they DO get married, those
idiots at school'd turn around and blame it all on you, right?"
Ataru nodded, his eyes rolling. "Hai."
"So when's the happy day?" Tomomi asked. Then, noting the warning
look from Ataru, she waved her hand. "I'm not going to ruin it!"
He winked, grinning. "You better not!"
"It's Saturday after lunch," Sakuya provided, her eyes glittering.
"A nice, quiet, private ceremony. It's SO romantic!"
"Sakuya-san, PLEASE don't rub it in!" Serizawa Mikiko moaned.
Laughter filled the living room.
* * *
"There we go . . . "
Rose smiled as she secured the last of the transporter guide beacons
into the window-side corner of the third floor classroom. It had been
too easy to beak into Tomobiki High; since Fujinami Ryuunosuke no
longer lived there full-time, there was no one available to keep watch
over the property after hours. For the Ellsian-born mercenary, it was
easier still to confirm where Miyake Shinobu currently attended
classes: The nominal roll for this particular class was taped to the
lectern. Five noticeable names had been scratched off that list,
names Rose knew of very well. Four of them were beyond any hope of
retrieval, of course; they had died two weeks before. The fifth one
was still alive, thank the Fates. Even better, he was easy to
retrieve from his mansion if the Queen ultimately wanted to see her
last Cute Boy once more.
Stepping back to inspect her work, the mercenary nodded. "Folks
here'll be in for an interesting session tomorrow," Rose mused to
herself. Then, after cleaning up her gear, she slipped out of the
room. In two minutes, she would be aboard her scoutship and making a
situation report to Queen Elle. The Royal flagship, the patrol
monitor RENS "Rose Emperor," was a half-day from Earth.
Queen Elle would definitely like THIS news.
* * *
"My diary?"
Shinobu nodded. "Hai." She and Ryuunosuke were relaxing in the
living room of the Miyake home, their homework spread out before them
on the coffee table. "I was wondering if you've added anything to it
since Ataru-kun told us about the Church of Lum on Saturday."
The tomboy blinked as she considers her friend's question, and then
she shook her head. "No, I haven't. Then again, I haven't really had
much to write about since Oyaji and Nagisa died. Why are you asking,
Shinobu?"
Shinobu took a deep breath. "It's because of the Niphentaxians, Ryuu-
chan." A pause. "And Ataru-kun, too. He . . . "
"What about Moroboshi?!" Ryuunosuke snapped, cutting Shinobu off as
she bolted up. "Why the hell should I care one damned bit about him
after all he's done to you, for heaven's sake?! Especially since he
left this place . . .!"
Shinobu shook her head. "Ryuu-chan, you don't understand! It's not
about Ataru-kun directly! It's about his sisters!"
That comment caused the tomboy to stop. "His sisters?!"
"Could you imagine what might happen if those people find out about
Ataru-kun's sisters?" Shinobu then wondered. "Especially about the
young ones? They're sitting targets for those monsters to go after
just because they're related to Ataru-kun! Do you want to see them
hurt?!"
"I . . . " Ryuunosuke paused before she shook her head. "Oh, hell,
no! Of course not! But . . . " She sighed. "Shinobu, I really
don't think it matters any which way! You heard what Sakiko-chan said
about them on Sunday! Three billion of them are dead! I don't think
they're going to be in any sort of shape to go chase after Moroboshi
now . . . "
Shinobu held up an objecting finger. "How can we be sure, Ryuu-
chan?"
Silence fell as they considered that. Ryuunosuke then sighed. "He
hurt you, Shinobu-chan," she hissed, her fists clenching and
unclenching. "He's hurt you since before Lum came into your lives,
then when she left, he basically told you to go screw yourself for all
he ever cared! I hate that! I really do! And he's got the fuckin'
gall to demand things of you . . . "
"He hasn't demanded anything of us save to leave him alone, Ryuu-
chan!" Shinobu cut in with a shake of her head. "And he's got a
pretty damned good reason to want us to leave him alone! Twelve good
reasons, in fact!"
Ryuunosuke stopped, staring quizzically at her friend for a moment,
and then she blinked. "Because of the diaries, right?"
"Right! Now, I don't know how is it those people are able to get
copies of our diaries to make new chapters for their so-called 'holy
book.' But we know how they just LOVE to twist our words around to
make sure their damned party line's kept, don't we? And we both know
how much they hate Ataru-kun! Could you imagine what might happen if
news of the sisters got to them?! What those people might end up
viewing them as?!"
The tomboy shuddered. "That's true, ain't it . . .?"
"Yes, it is. And . . . " Shinobu stopped as she considered what
more she should say. "Ryuu-chan, I don't know what my feelings for
Ataru-kun are. There are days I want to strangle him for all the
things he's done, yet . . . " She paused. "There are days I want to
take him somewhere safe and isolated, and live with him forever. I
don't know! But right now, Ryuu-chan, he sees US as a threat to his
family because of the Niphentaxians and what they do with our most
private WORDS! And like it or not, he's got every right to see us
that way! You heard what he told us on Saturday! Just because some
dictator somewhere tried to have Lum and her family killed, those
monsters murdered five million innocent people! Could you imagine
what could happen if they went after Ataru-kun's sisters, not to
mention those girls he adopted?!"
A chill warped through Ryuunosuke as images of Sakuya, Chikage,
Haruka, Hinako, Reiko and Kaneko passed through her mind. While the
three older women seemed capable of caring for themselves, the younger
ones were vulnerable. And if these Niphentaxians were as fanatic as
Seiko and Sakiko both asserted . . .! "Yeah, you got a point," she
whispered before staring at Shinobu. "Damn, why can't we get Seiko to
try to find these people and let her deal with them? When she was
Lum, she was their 'goddess.' Won't they listen to her?"
Shinobu shook her head. "I don't think it'll work, Ryuu-chan. If
they're so willing to blind themselves to the truth when it comes to
our diaries, I doubt Seiko'll be able to make some headway with them.
And look how much she's changed, for God's sake! Would they even
BELIEVE her to be Lum even if she telepathically linked with any of
them?"
"If she ever WANTED to link with them, that is," Ryuunosuke noted.
The other girl then nodded. "Hai, even if she did! She did say she
hated them," Shinobu mused as she turned back to her homework.
* * *
"Sisters . . .?"
Fungi sat in the listening room, gazing at the computer that was at
that time linked to listening devices positioned in the domicile of
the Sinful Doubter Miyake Shinobu (also serving as the temporary home
of the Holy Friend Fujinami Ryuunosuke). Running a hand through his
sandy hair, the observer, a man appearing to be in his late teens,
grimaced as the words Miyake Shinobu and Fujinami Ryuunosuke exchanged
echoed again and again through his mind.
And those words were troublesome indeed.
Not for him personally, of course. He was a member of the Church of
Lum in name only. Having Vosian ancestry through his mother's side,
Fungi was blessed -- or cursed, depending on one's viewpoint -- with
an independent streak in his personality. He joined the Church out of
peer pressure, not to mention an understandably profound fear of being
labelled an apostate, which was, these days, considered a capital
crime in the Niphentaxian Union. And while being part of the Church
allowed him to travel off-planet, he could gladly do without some of
-- hell, "some?!" Try ALL! -- the rituals his brother and sister
worshippers engaged in every day, from dawn unto dusk.
Still, even now, he had to be careful. The news of the Cataclysm had
smashed morale among the Holy City's observers to the sub-strata.
Fungi's relatives were all right; he wasn't from Phentax Two but one
of the colony worlds. None of them had been on the Homeworld when the
Cataclysm struck. The same was true with those other observers
hailing from the colonies, regardless of personal viewpoints; Fungi
wasn't the only one who just paid lip-service to the Church. As for
those who DID hail from the Homeworld . . .!
He sighed, tapping controls on his machine. While he grieved for his
co-workers' terrible loss, the fact that there existed a dangerous
power vacuum in the Union had to be kept VERY prominently in mind. As
communications between Earth and Phentax Two were being restored, news
flowing from the Homeworld wasn't good. Emergency councils were being
established in all the provinces as the sheer scale of the Cataclysm
began to sink in. Without direction from the Church, those believers
in the colonies, not to mention the Niphentaxian Fleet, were without
any firm spiritual guide. Even more, the heretics from the old
churches, all of whom survived the Cataclysm unscathed, were
undermining the Lumites' authority. Civil war in the Union was a
possibility.
And sadly, there was only one sure-fire way to avert such a calamity:
Kill Moroboshi Ataru.
Destroy the "Great Evil."
Fungi took a deep breath as he shifted the files of the audio
recordings from the Miyake home into a secure folder accessible only
to him. It was the constant in internal conflicts: Find some way to
bring outsiders into it. And with the hatred many Lumites felt
towards Moroboshi these days, it wouldn't take much for someone to
rally the troops in a crusade against the "great evil." Of course,
that many innocent people here on Earth would get killed along the way
was totally irrelevant to the issue at hand.
Including these sisters Shinobu and Ryuunosuke had just spoken
of . . .
Finishing his work, Fungi closed down the computer, and then he
stretched before heading out of the listening room. Returning to his
living quarters, the observer prepared to retire for the evening. If
Shinobu and Ryuunosuke were forewarned about their diaries, chances
were good that the other survivors of the "holy company" might have
also been warned. If those diaries were sealed off from Niphentaxian
observation, it could result in a panic among Church leaders in the
colonies and the Fleet. And if any one of them decided it was the
Great Evil who was at fault for the silence from the Holy Company --
which it actually WAS, Fungi bitterly mused, though for good
reasons . . .!
"Damn mess," he muttered as he slipped under the covers.
Wait until everyone heard what happened to the Goddess herself.
* * *
"Interesting."
Chikage gazed at the image in her crystal ball. It was presently
giving her a metaphysical bird's eye view of Fungi. While the young
sorceress had yet to discern an easy way to magically pick out all the
Niphentaxian agents in Tomobiki, it was possible for her to lock her
mystical vision on those possessing a very strong will. And Fungi
certainly had THAT!
A smile crossed Chikage's face as she heard, "Hey, who's the cutie?"
Chikage's eyes turned up as Sakuya stepped into the spare bedroom the
former had temporarily taken over as her scrying chamber. The latter
slipped into the chair across from her sister, her eyes locked on
Fungi's softly chiselled face. "Yes, he is quite handsome, isn't
he?" The sorceress then chuckled, holding up a finger. "But of
course . . . "
"He's not Onii-sama," Sakuya finished.
Chikage nodded. "Naturally."
Both gazed on each other with a chuckle. "So who is this guy,
anyway?" Sakuya asked. "I can tell he's not a local."
"Niphentaxian, though not from Phentax Two itself. His name's Fungi
dai-Jaedeen. As Miree warned us, those who are members of the Church
of Lum rarely if ever make use of family names these days. Some non-
Niphentaxian ancestry in this one, I think. He's not a hardcore
member of the Church. He only joined because of peer pressure and a
desire to avoid being labelled an apostate."
"That's bad?"
"People are put to death on Phentax Two for being such."
Sakuya winced. "Ouch! Perfect incentive to join the church, huh?"
Chikage nodded. "Hai. He one of the observers in charge of keeping
a close eye on Miyake Shinobu. Just before turning in for the
evening, he overheard Shinobu and Fujinami Ryuunosuke talk about their
diaries."
An eyebrow arched. "Diaries?"
"The Church's holy book is based on distorted copies of the diaries
of those people who closely associated with Lum," the sorceress
explained. "Even if Ani-kun's former classmates wrote positively
about him, the people who wrote up the Church's holy book would
rewrite the text to ensure that Ani-kun's image as their 'great evil'
was steadfastly maintained. Shinobu warned Ryuunosuke that if she
were to make new diary entries, she should avoid making any mention of
any of Ani-kun's relations. Fungi overheard that."
Hearing that, Sakuya moaned, "Oh, terrific . . . "
"Fungi sealed the audio file of that conversation. From what I could
divine, no one will be able to get into that file," Chikage added.
Sakuya considered that, and then she smiled. "So he's on our side?"
The sorceress shook her head. "Not firmly. Being what he is, Fungi
must walk a fine line for the next while. Without any control from
Phentax Two, the observers here on Earth are unsure as to what they
should do. Continue their mission knowing three billion of those they
once served are dead? Abandon their mission and return home, thus
potentially risking punishment for failing their duty? Abandon their
mission and simply fade into the masses, ending all contact with their
compatriots back home? What happens in that case? Will more come,
this time acting more *overt* in serving their 'goddess?'"
A groan escaped the eldest of the sisters. "In other words, it's a
big mess and resolving it's going to be really, really hard."
"Exactly."
"Oh, cute . . . "
A knock was heard at the door. "Come!" Chikage called out.
The door opened, revealing Miree. "I apologize for . . . " Her
voice trailed off as she took in the darkened space, lit only by the
square of candles fencing in Chikage's worktable. "Bothering you,"
she finished before she gingerly stepped over the candles to stand
beside Sakuya's chair. "But I wanted a chance to speak to both of you
as soon as possible."
"Is there something wrong, Miree-san?" Sakuya asked.
"Yes." Miree then glanced quizzically at the image in the crystal
ball before turning to gaze on Chikage. "One of the Lumite
observers?"
"Yes, but not a firmly loyal one, fortunately," the sorceress
replied. "I believe if he's approached right, he could become an
ally."
The priestess took that in. "I see. Well, there are those sects in
the Church of Lum who look upon your brother in a more positive
light. Instead of the 'great evil,' he is seen as the 'Goddess'
Beloved Darling.'"
Sakuya wryly smirked. "Amazing."
"Indeed, it is, Sakuya-san," Miree confirmed with a nod. "And that
difference of opinion will give us ample opportunity to ensure that
whatever backlash events in Lumukyou produced will not be felt here on
Earth."
"Could you actually speak to these people, Miree?" Chikage asked.
"Even if they are more sympathetic to Ani-kun, you are still the
nominal leader of a 'heretic' faith. Will they listen to what you
have to say?"
"Not unless I have one of you with me when I speak to them."
"Do you have anyone specific in mind?" Sakuya asked.
"Aria."
Silence.
"ARIA-CHAN?!" Sakuya shrieked. "Are you out of your mind?!" She
bolted to her feet to glare Miree down. "Uh-uh, lady! There's no way
in hell that I'd let you put Aria-chan in THAT sort of situation! And
you can be assured that Onii-sama won't go for it, either!"
The chief priestess remained calm. "But what if Aria-chan is armed
with a device similar to what Hinako-chan possesses, Sakuya-san?"
The younger women gazed wide-eyed at Miree, and then Chikage asked,
"Is there such a device available at this time, Miree?"
"Yes, there is. It is called the Genesis Wand of Parah."
"Where is it?" Sakuya demanded.
"On the other side of the galaxy." Miree held up a hand to cut off
Sakuya's angry retort. "But, thanks to the Staff, it is accessible.
All we have to do is convince Hinako-chan to go retrieve the Genesis
Wand and bring it back here for Aria-chan to use."
"And you would go with Hinako to ensure her safety?" Chikage asked.
Miree nodded. "Yes. Jonna as well."
Sakuya and Chikage exchanged a look. The elder sister turned back to
Miree. "You better make DAMN sure that Hinako-chan isn't hurt when
you go find this thing." Her voice turned very cold as she glared at
the older woman.
Miree lightly smiled. "The Staff will guarantee that, Sakuya-san."
* * *
"Is that checky, Shi-chama?"
Shinshi grunted appreciatively as Yotsuba's fingers pulled and
kneaded his shoulder muscles. "Oh, that's DEFINITELY checky, Yo-
chan!" he cooed as he leaned into her, resting his head in the crook
of her neck. Both were sitting on the front porch, gazing at the sky
overhead. "If I die right now, lying in your arms, I die in ultimate
bliss," he whispered, closing his eyes.
Yotsuba stared at him, and then she smiled, sliding her arms under
his armpits to rest her hands on his stomach. Shinshi quaked as her
fingers gently tugged his T-shirt, and then began to dance around his
navel. "Yotsuba definitely won't like it one bit if Shi-chama
suddenly took the Last Checky to Saint Peter's Gate," she playfully
purred.
"No, I guess you wouldn't." He then turned to gaze into her eyes.
"Oh, Kami-sama! You're so beautiful, Yo-chan."
Yotsuba's cheeks reddened, and then she leaned in to give him a
kiss. "You're the most perfect man I've ever met," she whispered in
English, and then she flipped to Japanese. "Except Ani-chama, of
course!" she added with a wink.
He smirked. Okay, if she wanted to play language roulette, he would
go along with it. "Miss Dunn, why is it you're always putting your
own brother on such a high pedestal?" he asked in English, grateful
that Nabiki was fluent in the language of would communications (not to
mention world business!). "After all, much that he HAS done a lot to
keep our planet safe from idiots out yonder . . . " He pointed up to
the night. "He isn't perfect. Not by far."
Yotsuba blinked, and then she slid her hands up to his chest.
"Shinshi, what on Earth makes you think I'd want a perfect boyfriend,
much less a perfect big brother?" she asked, returning to her native
tongue.
Silence. Shinshi gazed nowhere in particular for a moment as he
absorbed her words, and then he gazed on her. "Yotsuba . . . "
"Nobody's perfect." She leaned her chin on his shoulder. Then,
after patting his chest, she moved to stand. Stepping onto the lawn,
she gazed into the evening sky, and then turned back to look at him.
"Do you want to know what Ani-chama's best attribute is?" she asked.
She walked back to sit into his lap. He drew her close. "What is
it?"
"He's willing to admit that he's nowhere close to being perfect. And
he doesn't want to be someone's idea of being 'perfect.'"
His eyebrow arched. "That's an attribute?"
"Yes. I found out the truth about my real father -- and my relation
to Ani-chama -- six months ago when Negako-anechama came to England.
Dad -- my step-dad, that is -- and Mom had always been honest with
each other about where I came from. I still keep in touch with them,
even now. And at first . . . "
She paused. "You didn't want to be associated with someone like
Ataru, right?" Shinshi finished as he gazed knowingly at her.
Yotsuba nodded. "Yeah. Of course, when Ane-chama told me about what
Ani-chama had been made to forget, much less what was going on between
Ani-chama and those twits he called parents . . . " -- here, she
rolled her eyes -- "Well, I've never been one who could accept
something like *that!* So I decided Ani-chama NEEDED a sister,
someone who'd be willing to give him a chance, give him the benefit of
the doubt. So I moved to the Island, then when the chance came, I
visited Tomobiki. Guess when I was there?"
Shinshi considered that. "Not the Tag Race; that was only three
months ago." A pause, and then his eyes widened as it hit him. "The
Pseudo-War?"
"Checky!" Yotsuba then chuckled. "Oh, man, was THAT weird!" A
pause. "Well, I had some of the Kuromoroboshi with me to help out
with my investigation. I got there while Ani-chama and those goofs
were making some sort of school movie in and around Mendou's cherry
tree, the Tarouzakura. And there was one time . . . " Her eyes
narrowed. "Just before things started going really weird." She
nodded before carrying on with the narration, "They were filming a
scene and Ani-chama didn't do something right. Right away, Megane --
you know about him, don't you?" She looked at Shinshi. At his nod,
she went on, "Well, Megane starts berating Ani-chama about being such
an idiot. He told him Ani-chama wasn't living up to what being
Japanese was all about. And Ani-chama . . . " She smiled. "You want
to know what he said back?"
"What?"
"He told Megane that he just didn't care about all that nonsense.
That he knew he wasn't perfect and . . . " Yotsuba stopped. "I don't
really recall what else he said, but when I was hearing that, I
realized that Ani-chama wasn't ashamed or embarrassed by what he
said. And I sensed that he really, really HATED all the things Megane
and Mendou and the rest of those clods were grousing about, Shinshi.
And . . . " She pointed to some spot on the lawn. "There was Lum
sitting there and she said NOTHING!"
Shinshi shrugged. "Well, she was an alien. She lived under very
different social circumstances than from what you or I'd know."
"Yeah, true, but the way I saw it back then, Lum supported Ani-chama
in what he believed in. And I knew that with Lum supporting him, even
with silence, there was just no way in hell that those stupid dorks in
Tomobiki could ever try to make Ani-chama into something he didn't
want to be. And then . . . " Here, she paused, gazing nowhere in
particular.
"What?"
"Well, Negako-anechama told me soon after that the chances were
pretty good that if Ani-chama got all his memories back, things'd
happen that'd see Lum sent back to her planet." She closed her eyes,
clasping her arms in her lap. "And hearing that, I realized that if
he was left all alone in Tomobiki, without Lum's support, Ani-chama
would've eventually been smashed down by those creeps. And I didn't
want that, Shinshi. I didn't want it at all!" She nodded. "Yeah, I
know Ani-chama's done some pretty stupid things when he was living in
Tomobiki. But after I watched the whole Pseudo-War, then stayed
around for a bit afterward, I . . .! Well . . .!"
She blinked as Shinshi squeezed her shoulders. "You decided it
wasn't fair that he had no one supporting him." He drew her close to
him, sliding his nose on the side of her neck. "And you decided that
no matter what, you'd stand by him and give him a real home when he
came to the Island, right?"
"Yeah. You know . . . " She leaned her head into the crook of his
neck. "I've watched people in Tomobiki, Nerima and a few other
places. You want to know something, Shinshi? So many people hide
themselves behind these masks they project to everyone. To their
friends, their mates at school . . .! And even family. And all these
masks create this . . . " She paused, struggling to find the right
words to describe what she felt.
"A country filled with lies," Shinshi proposed.
"Yeah! And because of all these lies, people end up getting hurt.
You have people like me, born outside the bounds of a wedding. A lot
of people in Japan wouldn't have anything to do with me because of
that. Why? Just because my real dad was horny one night and my real
mom was willing to have fun in the sack without taking precautions?
And people turn around and act as if it's MY fault that I was born
that way?!" Another pause. "Then there're all the Koreans in Japan.
Look what happens to them, Shinshi! They're denied basic rights of
citizens today because their grandparents and great-grandparents were
shipped here during the first part of the last century to be
labourers. Then there're the burakumin descendants. And the Ainu.
And . . . "
She shook her head. "It'll take a lot to make any sort of real
changes here, Yotsuba," Shinshi warned, gently rubbing her shoulder.
"Yeah, I know." She leaned against him, resting a hand on his
heart. "What about you, Shinshi? What happens when people find out
the truth about you? Or Kimiko for that matter? You both weren't
born 'naturally' but because of magic and alien technology. Wouldn't
that make you as much of an outsider as I am? Or the other girls? Or
Ani-chama?"
"Yeah, I guess it would." He then grinned. "Well, lucky for us, one
wonderful aspect about our so-called 'country of lies' is that
there're ways to make those who'd condemn us look the other way when
that's really needed. I guess that'll have to stay that way for a
while yet." A smirk crossed his face as he stared bemusedly at her.
"So, Miss Dunn, you're ultimately saying to me is that you fell in
love with me because I'm as much an 'outsider' as you. Right?" he
prodded as he gave her a soft stare.
Yotsuba stiffened for a second, and then she relaxed on seeing the
amused look on his face. "Well, Mister Tendou, I could admit that was
part of it. After all, when I saw you in that room, being tended to
by Chikage, Ane-chama and Ani-chama's friend, it didn't take me long
to realize that SOMETHING bad was wrong with you." She gazed in his
eyes. "Guess I was right."
She winked before kissing him. "Hmmm . . . " he moaned through their
kiss. Then, as they pulled apart, he smiled. "Guess you were right."
They slipped into another mouth-watering kiss. That was interrupted
by the door. Both watched as a shivering Akane stormed out, racing
for the gate. "Akane?!" Shinshi stood after Yotsuba got off his
lap. "What's wrong?!"
Akane stopped, turning to give her brother a teary-eyed look before
she raced off into the night. Shinshi was quick to notice the flaming
skin on her right cheek, something only a well-aimed slap or punch
would leave behind. As the youngest of the Tendous raced away, the
door then opened again, revealing Marie, Michael at her side. "Akane-
san!" she called out. "Come back!"
Yotsuba walked over to her. "Marie-chan, what happened?!"
The other woman took a deep breath. "Oh, it was just awful, Yotsuba-
chan! Akane-san tried to have a talk with Aneue-sama, but . . . "
She shook her head, waving to the gate. "Let me guess." Shinshi
slid up beside Yotsuba. "Akane tried to talk nice to Ranma, but their
mouths got out of control and it became a shouting match. Sans Mallet-
sama, of course."
"Almost right, I admit."
The sisters perked. "Ani-chama!"/"Aniue-sama!"
Shinshi turned as Ataru joined them on the porch. "What happened?"
The Moroboshi patriarch-in-waiting shook his head as he gazed towards
the front gate. "She asked if she could talk to us both. I went
along with it because, regardless of what happened yesterday, Akane
and Ranma DO need and deserve the chance to set things straight
between them. But . . . "
"What happened?" Yotsuba prodded.
Ataru closed his eyes. "As soon as we were alone, Akane started to
beg and plead for Ranma to move back with her family."
Shinshi shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oh, good
grief! That's the LAST thing Ranma needs to hear right now!"
"Why would she ask that?" Yotsuba wondered. "Come this weekend,
they're gonna be living with us at the rotunda at Welcome House!"
Ataru nodded. "True. She did try to apologize for some of the
stunts she pulled with Ranma when they were engaged. But when Ranma
said she didn't want to live anymore with them, Akane got pretty
upset. She then tried to blame everything on me." He pointed to
himself.
"WHAT?!" Marie and Yotsuba shrieked together.
"Did she try to hit you?" Shinshi asked.
"Not while I had my Lawgiver sitting on my lap and one of my eunuch's
swords within quite reach." Ataru winked. "Much that I'd prefer to
solve things without fighting, I do know about your sister's
problematic control over her temper, Shinshi-san. I wasn't going to
just stand there and let her try to beat me down just to make her feel
better!"
Shinshi nodded. "So what did Ane-chama do?" Yotsuba wondered.
"She slapped Akane and told her to get out of her life once and for
all," Ataru whispered as he gazed at Shinshi. "This time, Ranma made
it VERY clear she won't tolerate any further attempts by Akane to
force herself on her."
"Akane's pretty stubborn, Ataru," Shinshi warned.
"Even against what Ranma used Sunday night against Genma?"
Maria and Yotsuba blinked confusedly. They then turned to see
Shinshi's face pale as the unspoken message in Ataru's words sank into
his mind. "Right . . . " He turned to head off. "Look, I'll check
up on her. I guess Akane's taking what's happened to Ranma a lot
worse than we first suspected. You . . . " He then sighed. "Please
tell Ranma-chan that Onee-chan, Nabiki and I understand what she's
going through now."
He raced off. "Shi-chama . . . " Yotsuba whispered.
Ataru took a deep breath before he turned to head inside. Marie
gazed worriedly at him. "Are you going to be alright, Aniue-sama?"
He stopped, lightly smiling. "Even if we're not . . . " He
shrugged. "Fully ready to say it, we are feeling it, Marie-chan."
The smile slipped as he gazed wearily at her. "But believe me,
neither Ranma or I wanted our coming together to cause anyone pain.
Especially like this."
Yotsuba smirked. "Wishful thinking, Ani-chama."
"Yeah. Guess so."
Ataru headed inside. Marie remained still, and then she stepped back
inside to get her coat and outdoor shoes. As she moved to exit,
Yotsuba's surprised voice stopped her. "Hey, Marie-chan, where the
heck are you going?!"
The look her bespectacled sister gave the would-be detective sent
chills down Yotsuba's back. "To have a discussion with that selfish
woman about the way she's been treating Aneue-sama!" Marie snarled.
"Come on, Michael!"
Marie and Michael raced off the property. "Marie . . . " Yotsuba
whispered. She then jolted on remembering Ranma's tales about Akane.
Put Marie, a girl who wasn't anywhere near the best of shape when it
came to anything of a physical nature, in a situation like
*that* . . .!
"Hey, wait for Yotsuba!" she screamed before she raced after her
sister.
* * *
A half-hour later, Shinshi stopped at the front entrance of
Hikarigaoka Park. His eyes were narrow as he peered into the wooded
space. Yamada Fred's yatai was folded up and covered for the night;
it was parked in an alcove to ensure it wasn't damaged or didn't
become the target of thieves. Relaxing himself as he reached out with
his ki senses, he then nodded before heading inside. In two minutes,
he was standing beside a wading pool. Glancing at one lit area,
Shinshi was quick to spot the lone woman seated on a bench, her back
to the pool. As he approached his sister, Shinshi winced on seeing
the tears flowing from Akane's eyes. The sound of his footfalls
caused her to jolt. She then looked his way. He gazed intently at
her, inwardly hoping his face didn't imitate Nabiki's usual "ice
queen" look. Akane blinked as she recognized who just came, and then
she looked nowhere in particular.
"What happened?" Shinshi asked.
Silence responded, though he was quick to notice Akane's hands
clenching. Her lips quivered, as if they were trying to twist into
either a sneer or a frown. Shinshi watched her, and then he sat
beside her. Akane tensed, and then her hands relaxed as her head
drooped. He stayed quiet, giving her a chance to compose herself.
Finally, she sniffed. "He hates me . . . "
"Who?" He gazed on her. "Ataru?"
Akane jolted. "Baka! I meant Ranma!"
Shinshi winced. "Akane, you know Ranma's a girl now."
Hearing that, she paused before she shook her head. "N-no . . . "
she sputtered, the lack of forceful conviction in her voice telling
Shinshi a lot more than what Akane might have wanted him to know. "N-
no, he can't . . .!"
"She is," he whispered, slipping a comforting arm around her. Akane
stiffened, and then she found herself relaxing as Shinshi drew her
close. "She is, Akane-chan. There's no getting away from that now,
sis . . . "
"B-but . . . "
He shushed her. "No, sis. You can't deny this anymore. If you keep
on doing that, you'll only hurt yourself. Let it go . . . "
Akane tried to mutter something, and then her strength failed as she
sank into his embrace. Shinshi held her close as Akane sobbed into
his shirt, gripping his jacket as if it was the only thing holding her
to a time and world, a way of life, she never wanted to be free of.
Time faded away as they remained in that position, and then Shinshi
perked on sensing a familiar presence approach from his left.
Turning, he relaxed on seeing Nabiki and Kasumi walk up, the worry on
both their faces speaking volumes.
Without verbal bidding, Kasumi sat behind Akane, drawing her arms
around her sobbing sister. As Akane reciprocated her sister's
embrace, Nabiki walked behind the bench, placing her hands on Akane's
shoulders in an extra show of support. No words were said between any
of them as Akane continued to weep. Finally, after another eternity,
Akane's sobs melted into a string of sniffles, and then she pulled
herself away from Kasumi. Wiping her eyes, she gazed on her sister.
"Wh-what are you doing here . . .?"
Kasumi drew a handkerchief to help wipe Akane's cheeks. "Sakuya-san
told us what happened between you, Ranma-chan and Ataru-kun."
The youngest Tendou's eyes widened. "S-s-Sakuya . . .?!"
Kasumi sadly nodded. "Yes. Right now, there are a group of very
angry people at that shrine, Akane-chan. They didn't take well to the
idea of you accusing their brother of acting improperly towards Ranma-
chan . . . "
"SO WHAT?!" Akane bolted to her feet, the sorrow in her eyes
vanishing. "Whose business is it of theirs when to comes to what
happens between Ranma and us?! They're not Ranma's family! WE'RE
Ranma's family!" She pointed to herself. "They've got no right to do
ANYTHING . . .!"
"***ENOUGH!***"
Akane's voice was cut off, her eyes widening as she stared at Kasumi,
who had bolted to her feet. Nabiki and Shinshi remained quiet as the
elder of the Tendou sisters took several breaths, her outraged look
melting into a mask of pain and disappointment. "O-Onee-chan . . . "
Akane stammered, stunned that *Kasumi* had just screamed at her like
that.
"That is *enough,* Akane-chan!" Kasumi hoarsely repeated before
taking a deep breath. "You've been given every opportunity in the
world to fully make up with Ranma-chan. To finally put a stop to this
pointless bickering you two engage in. To correct all the
misunderstandings that has cropped up between you two. But every time
you've tried to speak to Ranma-chan since she met Ataru-kun and his
family, all you've ended up doing is throwing accusation after
accusation into her face. No different whatsoever from the time when
you were actually engaged. And NOW, you turn around and start
accusing Ataru-kun of some of the same STUPID things you once accused
Ranma-chan of doing?!"
"WHY NOT?!" Akane roared. "You KNOW what that perverted jerk . . .!"
"***ENOUGH!***"
Akane's voice caught in her throat as Kasumi's shout echoed in her
ears. "That is ENOUGH, Akane!" Kasumi snapped again, the rage in her
voice making Akane wilt. "Yes, I am aware of what Ataru-kun's
reputation was like when he still lived with his 'parents' in
Tomobiki! That is not the issue here! How DARE you try to paint
Ataru-kun with the same sloppy brush those IDIOTS in Tomobiki once
used on him after all he's been through in the last six weeks?!" She
pointed in the direction of the Moroboshi home. "You were there this
morning when Ataru-kun told everyone about what he went through on
Miree-sama's home planet. How can you possibly THINK that he'd revert
back to the way he was after seeing three billion people DIE before
his very eyes?! How can you possibly THINK that he'd try to
manipulate Ranma-chan after all the things that Oni forced him through
when they were living together?! Especially AFTER all the insane
things all of Ranma-chan's would-be suitors -- INCLUDING YOU, Akane-
chan! -- tried to force HER through before the wedding?! HOW, Akane-
chan?!"
Akane hugged herself. "Ranma killed for me . . . " she hissed,
turning away from Kasumi. "He fought for me every chance he could,
even after I told him again and again that I didn't want him to do
that for me! He gave up a chance at a cure on Toma's island to save
me from being CURSED! He stayed with us even with all the times I
tried to cook for him, even after all the times I hurt him, even after
all the times I tried to chase off all those other girls . . . " Her
voice broke before she staggered up against a lamppost. "And NOW he
wants to leave us?! NOW he wants to forget I even existed?! Forget
the last year even happened?! WHY, Onee-chan?!" She gazed at
Kasumi. "Why . . .?"
Kasumi walked over to place a supportive hand on her shoulder.
"Akane-chan, you've got to stop thinking of Ranma-chan as a boy," she
stated with a shake of her head. "Negako-sensei explained it to you
last night . . . "
Akane spun on her, bashing Kasumi's hand away. "SO WHAT?!"
They remained frozen for a moment, and then Akane collapsed against
the lamppost, her arms folding against her. "He just gave up . . ."
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "After all those times he yelled 'I'm
a boy!' -- after all the times people like Herb and Cologne froze him
as a girl -- after the times he was forced to act as 'Tendou Ranko' to
hide from that damned bitch he called a mother -- even after the times
we forced him to wear girl's clothes . . .! ***HE JUST GAVE UP!***
WHY, Onee-chan?!"
Silence fell as Akane's voice disintegrated into moans. Kasumi drew
her sister into another comforting embrace. Akane held tight onto her
sister until her wailing turned into muttered words. "He's my
fiancé . . .!" she cried out. "I want my fiancé back . . .!
Ranma . . . "
"Akane-san?! Is that you?!"
The Tendous perked on seeing two people and a very large animal step
into the light. "Ryouga-kun! Akari-san! Konban wa!" Kasumi hailed
with a blush on recognizing them, and then she moved to help Akane
back to the park bench.
Seeing the sobbing girl he once loved deeply -- and still cared for
-- Ryouga walked over to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Akane-san, what happened?!" he demanded before he stared at Kasumi.
"Kasumi-san . . .?!"
Kasumi sighed. "Gomen nasai, Ryouga-kun. Akane-chan just had
another big fight with Ranma-chan . . . " Her voice trailed off as
she remembered something. "Oh, I'm sorry. You haven't been around
here for some time. Recently, we've discovered something shocking
about Ranma-chan . . . "
"About him actually being a 'her?'"
Everyone stared at the wanderer. "You KNOW?!" Nabiki gasped.
Ryouga then sighed. "Hai, I do." He straightened up, pulling his
hand away from Akane. "I bumped into Ranma some days ago at a place
called Promised Island. Incredible as this'll sound, I met Moroboshi
Ataru and all his sisters at the same time; that's where they live
now. Ranma . . . " He paused for a moment. "Just found out the
night before about what Jusenkyou really should've done to her, plus
how the brain damage from the Neko-ken stopped it from fully
happening. Um . . . " He turned to Kasumi, though he was quick to
notice the tall fellow standing beside Nabiki. Who was he? "How is
Ranma now, anyway? Is she still being treated for what
happened . . .?"
"All finally taken care of thanks to Negako-san, Ryouga-kun," Nabiki
explained. "Ranma-chan's a girl in her heart and her head as much as
her body. Problem is . . . " She gazed at Akane.
Ryouga noted that, and then he nodded. "Right."
Akari shook her head sympathetically. "Poor Ranma-sama. Do
his . . . " She stopped, blushing. "Gomen ne. Do *her* parents
know?"
"They are no longer of any concern, Akari-san," Kasumi announced.
"Ranma-chan legally severed herself from her parents on Sunday. As of
now, she is the head of her own branch of the Saotome Clan, free of
any responsibility Genma or Nodoka could demand of her. Further,
Genma is dead. He died in a fight with riot police on Sunday night
after Ranma-chan decided it was time for that beast to face up to all
his crimes."
"Dead?!" Ryouga gasped with a jolt, and then, after thinking about it
for a moment, he sighed. "Perhaps that was for the best. All Genma
ever seemed to do for Ranma was screw her life up more and more every
step of the way."
"How can you SAY that, Ryouga-kun?!" Akane pleaded.
He returned her look with a wry smirk. "C'mon, Akane-san, you
should've finally realized it when we all found out about the Neko-
ken! What type of father'd dump a boy into a pit of starving cats
just to teach him a supposedly 'invincible' martial arts manoeuvre?"
Akari paled. "He did that to Ranma-sama?!"
Shinshi shook his head. "That was the worst of it."
Ryouga stared at Nabiki's magically born twin, and then he turned
back to the middle Tendou daughter. "Um, who . . .?" He indicated
Shinshi.
"Say 'hi' to the latest result of Dad's attempt at forcing Ranma-chan
into marrying into our family AFTER he learned the truth about what
Jusenkyou DID to Ranma-chan." Nabiki waved to her twin. "This is my
brother Shinshi. He got created after Dad hit me with that cask of
Nanniichuan the Jusenkyou guide sent Ranma-chan." Seeing the
disbelief cross the wanderer's face, she added, "The cask Ojii-chan
drank was ordinary spring water. Dad hid the real cask to make sure
he could keep Ranma-chan under his thumb."
Ryouga nearly exploded. "WHAT?! You dad cursed YOU just to force
you to marry Ranma?! Who the hell does he . . .?!"
Kasumi placed a hand on the ranting wanderer's shoulder. "It's
alright now, Ryouga-kun," she said. "Father's been dealt with."
Ryouga stopped before embarrassingly chuckling. "S-s-sorry . . . "
"It's alright. It's good that you do care, even if you're not
capable of being in Nerima as much as you want to." Kasumi then
perked as she remembered something the wanderer told everyone.
"You've been to Promised Island?"
"Eh?! Oh, y-yeah, I did!" Ryouga flustered as he exchanged a
knowing look with Akari. "Real nice place! And the people are
something else, especially Ataru-san's sisters!" He then held up a
finger. "Only thing I didn't like about it was that statue atop
Stargazer Hill! Ugliest thing you ever laid eyes on! Whoever the
heck built it . . . "
He shuddered. "We'll be moving there this weekend," Shinshi
announced.
"Don't bet on that, brother dear."
Eyes locked on Nabiki. "What do you mean?" Akane asked.
Nabiki sighed as she stared at her. "Like it or not, sis, you
screwed up BIG TIME when you started throwing insults Ataru-kun's
way." She crossed her arms. "Sakuya-chan says that if we want to
feel at home in Welcome House, YOU . . . " -- she pointed to Akane --
" . . . will have to apologize to Ataru-kun for what you tried to
accuse him of tonight AND vow that you'll do NOTHING to interfere with
his relationship with Ranma-chan!"
Akane jerked, her eyes going wide as Nabiki's words sank in, and then
she bolted to her feet. "SAY WHAT?! They have . . .!"
Nabiki's knuckles rapped on Akane's forehead to silence her. "Uh-uh,
sis!" The former held up a warning finger. "Not THIS time! And yes,
they've got every right in the world to demand that, you know!" She
pointed at Akane's heart as she added, "Remember, they're the ones who
invited us to come live with them at Welcome House! If they can do
something like that for us, well, they can RESCIND it just as quickly,
Akane-chan!"
"And they have threatened to do just that," Kasumi added.
Akane spun on Kasumi. "B-but . . . "
"Sorry, sis." Nabiki shook her head. "Take it or leave it."
"B-b-but . . . "
Kasumi sighed. "No. You cannot object. If you continue to believe
you can interfere in Ranma-chan's life without acknowledging that she
has the unquestionable right to decide what to do with her life,
especially when it comes to whom she desires to love, you are no
better than Father, Genma and Nodoka, Akane-chan. And if you do . . .
" She took a breath as she turned away. "I will not acknowledge you
as my sister anymore."
Silence.
Akane gaped, she wide-eyed at Kasumi's declaration. "O-Onee-
chan . . .!"
Shinshi and Nabiki remained silent. Ryouga moved to say something,
and then he jolted on feeling Akari's hand touch his arm. He looked
at her. Then, on seeing her shake her head, he nodded before taking a
step away from Akane. Akane herself didn't notice; her eyes locked on
her sister's back as her mind rolled over what Kasumi just told her.
Finally, the look on her face melted into an icy neutrality. She
straightened herself, turning to leave. "Suit yourself then, Kasumi,"
she said in a hoarse voice.
She walked away. Kasumi shuddered, the urge to follow Akane welling
up inside her when a woman's voice called out, "So she won't accept
defeat!"
Eyes snapped over to a shadowed figure standing near another lamppost
down the walkway, the shape of a large dog sitting by her feet.
"Marie-chan!" Shinshi and Ryouga called out on recognizing her. The
former's eyes then locked on another woman standing near a tree to
Marie's right. *Yo-chan!* Shinshi gasped, and then he slipped away
from Nabiki to join Yotsuba.
Akane stopped, her eyes locking on the bespectacled teenager standing
in her path. "What the hell do YOU want?" she snarled.
Marie was unperturbed by Akane's show of anger, a reaction that
caused everyone to focus their attention on her. Very few could stand
in the path of Tendou Akane's wrath and NOT be affected, even
emotionally. None of the Nerima natives expected that a girl like
Susumu Marie would be one of them. "I came to see for myself what
sort of spoiled, selfish *brat* Aneue-sama was once forced to call a
fiancée," she tonelessly replied.
Akane jolted, her skin sallowing as Marie's words cut into her heart,
and then her fists clenched. "How dare you . . .?!" she hissed as she
advanced on Marie, and then she jolted as Michael arched, a warning
growl escaping him.
"How dare I?!" Marie smirked as she calmly crossed her arms. "A
blind man couldn't help but notice what you are, Tendou-san! It's a
sheer, utter MIRACLE to me that Aneue-sama was able to survive over a
year of your self-possessed, cowardly abuse with as much of her sanity
and good nature intact!"
The older girl's skin flamed as insulted rage roared up her spine,
her fingers curling around an invisible mallet shaft. "You . . . "
Again, Marie was unaffected. "Ah, yes! Tendou Akane's first defence
against facing reality! Simply mallet the person trying to
demonstrate her shortfalls into the dirt, then insult the poor fool
whose skull she nearly crushed to the point that permanent BRAIN
DAMAGE sets in!"
She took a step toward Akane, Michael remaining at her side. That
sudden manoeuvre made Akane balk, though she tried to disguise her
surprise with a mask of righteous outrage. "I have to really wonder,
Tendou-san. How did it feel when you hit Aneue-sama? Did you
actually LIKE it, knowing deep in your heart that Aneue-sama couldn't
bring herself to fight back?"
Another step on Akane, that action making the youngest Tendou wince
as Marie's words sliced right into her heart. "Did you, perchance,
get a THRILL knowing you had total POWER over Aneue-sama's very
LIFE?!" Marie asked. "After all, there was your lazy, selfish father
and that child-abusing MONSTER Aneue-sama called a father, ready to
jump on your side every time Aneue-sama showed even a HINT of
resistance to their plans!"
She took yet another step, Michael's warning growl intensifying in
sync. That joint action made Akane stagger back yet again. "And even
if those two total fools couldn't do something about Aneue-sama, there
were both of your sisters to HIDE behind!" Marie indicated Kasumi and
Nabiki, a condemning smirk crossing her face. "Oh, how wonderful it
must've felt!" She clapped her hands. "After all, Nabiki-san was
having the time of her life twisting poor Aneue-sama around her baby
finger and making all that MONEY! Even better, Nabiki-san felt
JUSTIFIED in making Aneue-sama's life total HELL!"
Her eyes locked on Nabiki, her stare causing the middle Tendou
daughter to wilt. Ataru's sister then turned on Kasumi. "And worst
of all . . . " -- Marie's voice dripped with scorn as Michael moved to
place himself in front of her -- "There was sweet, wonderful, 'Oh,
all's well with the whole world!' Kasumi. One of the two people Aneue-
sama readily declared was her 'friend.'" A sneer crossed her face.
"Who, in truth, became the worst HYPOCRITE when it came to dealing
with Aneue-sama! A 'friend?!' Not likely!"
Kasumi stared wide-eyed at the bespectacled young woman facing Akane
down. Akane herself shuddered as Marie's blue-grey eyes locked once
more on her. "Oh, yes," the latter hissed, nodding. "After all,
Kasumi could make friends with everyone she encountered. And that
ESPECIALLY included someone as starved for real, trusting friends, as
Aneue-sama was the day she first walked into your home. And by doing
so, Kasumi could help SHIELD you from learning what the world is
really all about! She's your older sister, after all. That's what
older sisters do for younger sisters, especially when it comes to
disruptive, barbaric, so-called 'perverted jerks' like Aneue-sama!"
Akane's fists clenched as Marie threw up her hands in an "Oh, well!"
gesture. "And what happens now?" she asked, her voice lilting to a
mocking tone as she waved to Akane's sisters. "When Kasumi-san and
Nabiki-san both have to come to realize their mistakes and are willing
to fully reconcile with Aneue-sama? YOU HATE IT!" She pointed
accusingly at Akane. "You hate it because you KNOW if your sisters
aren't there to shield you anymore, you'll never have ANY chance to
force your will on your 'property!'" Seeing Akane about to retort,
Marie wagged her finger. "No, PLEASE! Don't bother trying to make up
excuses! You might as well just come out and admit it, Tendou-san!
Aneue-sama was NEVER a real person to you! All she ever was . . . "
She lowered her arm, her voice dropping to a disgusted whisper. "Was
your TOY!"
"You . . .!" Akane hissed. "You have no right . . . "
Marie snorted. "About what?! I've no right to judge you? Think
again, Tendou-san. Rinrin-chan offered your family the chance to
relocate to the Island so that you can finally break clean from your
past and start over again. And here you are, bound, bet and
determined to drag that past with you to the Island! Why?! Just
because the person who was literally GIVEN to you as a fiancé decided
to take control of her life and was forced to come together with my
brother to help her do just that!" She took another step toward
Akane. "Are you so afraid of admitting defeat finally that you'll
gladly turn around and ruin the lives of EVERYONE around you just to
get your way?! WELL?!"
Akane's fists quivered. Marie remained icily still, her eyes boring
into the other woman's like twin daggers. Sensing that the youngest
Tendou wasn't going to make any reply, the bespectacled teen sighed.
"I see then." She then gazed at Kasumi. "I'm sorry to say this,
Kasumi-san, but after what this THING you call a sister did to my
brother and future sister-in-law, not to mention her unwillingness to
finally see the light about a lot of things, I cannot, in all good
conscience, support her coming to Promised Island. The invitation to
come live with us still stands for you, Nabiki-san and Shinshi-kun.
As to what you can do with this spoiled brat . . . " She indicated
Akane before turning to leave. "I leave to you to decide. Have a
good evening."
She walked off, Michael following her. Akane jolted before she
screamed out as Mallet-sama appeared in her hand, "YOU BITCH!"
"MARIE-CHAN, LOOK OUT!" Yotsuba cried out.
Marie turned as Akane lunged at her . . .
An orange-and-black blur surged between them, that melting into
Ryouga, umbrella at the ready. With one sweep of the umbrella's sharp
edge, Akane's mallet was shredded, the pieces dropping into the wading
pool. Akane screamed, she collapsing on her backside as Ryouga closed
up his umbrella. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" the
wanderer demanded as he glared her down.
Silence fell as everyone took in what Ryouga did. Akane stared wide-
eyed at him, and then she staggered up. "Ryo-ryou-Ryouga-kun . . . "
she sputtered, her mind rolling over what just happened. "Wh-why did
you . . .?"
"I think you would understand why." A neutral look crossed his face
as Marie gazed dispassionately at her would-be attacker from behind
him. "You were about to hit someone in the BACK with that mallet of
yours! Someone who wasn't even a martial artist, for heaven's sake!"
He pointed at Marie. "Damn it all, Akane-san, you should KNOW better
than that!"
Akane gazed at him before she screamed out, "RYOUGA NO BAKA!"
The wanderer was caught by surprise as Akane's fist smashed into his
cheek. The blow sent him flying into the pond. "RYOUGA-SAMA!" Akari
cried out as he hit the water, sinking immediately into the pool.
Akane turned, and then she gasped as Marie's hand slammed into her
cheek. Given the latter's lack of any decent physical strength, the
strike did nothing more than cause the former's head to jolt. Akane
spun on the smaller woman, a new surge of outrage boiling up her
spine. Then, as Shinshi and Nabiki lunged over to yank Akane away
from Marie, a piglet's squeal echoed from the pond. "What . . .?"
Akane gasped as she turned right . . .
To see P-chan float up, his forepaws helplessly slapping the water as
he tried to stay afloat. Michael leapt into the pond, snaring the
transformed Ryouga by the bandanna, and then he waded ashore,
depositing the piglet on the edge of the pond before leaping back in
to retrieve Ryouga's clothes.
"Hibiki-san, are you alright?!" Marie said as she drew a handkerchief
from her skirt to help dry him.
"'Hibiki' . . .?!"
Marie stared at Nabiki, Shinshi and Akane. The looks on their faces
caused her to pause, her eyebrow arching. "Didn't any of you know
about Hibiki-san's curse?!" she asked before moving to cradle Ryouga
in her handkerchief as Akari joined her, a larger towel in hand to
help dry him off.
Shinshi and Nabiki exchanged a stunned look. Akane was white-faced
as memories of her spending time alone with her pet flashed through
her mind once more. Nabiki then spun on Kasumi, quickly noting her
saddened look. "You KNEW?!" she demanded, letting go of Akane as she
moved to confront Kasumi. "Did you know about this?!" She pointed at
P-chan.
"I . . . " Kasumi then nodded. "Hai, I did. So did Father."
Nabiki blinked before she crossed her arms. "When did all this
happen? Hell, when did Ranma find out about this, anyway?"
"It . . . " Another pause before the eldest Tendou daughter took a
deep breath. "Ranma-chan learned of Ryouga-kun's curse the night he
first came to the house. This was before, I should add, Akane adopted
'P-chan' as her pet."
Silence fell as that information rolled through Nabiki's mind. She
then took another step closer to Kasumi. "And how is it this pervert
here managed to convince Ranma to keep this whole mess a SECRET?!" she
hissed.
Kasumi closed her eyes. "It's because Ranma-chan was the one who
cursed him. By accident, I should add. Ryouga-kun just had the ill-
luck to wander into Jusenkyou the day Ranma-chan and Genma trained
there."
Nabiki nodded as it all finally clicked in. "So the idiot played up
on Ranma's sense of honour to keep it quiet from everyone else, then
turned around and took advantage of that silence to press on his
vendetta, right?!" On seeing Kasumi nod, the middle Tendou daughter
shook her head. "I can guess Dad decided to keep silent about this as
a way to motivate Ranma into admitting her feelings for Akane. I
assume the panda knew about this, too. Right?"
"Yes."
"You . . . "
Eyes locked on Akane. The blank look on her face had melted into a
typhoon of outrage. "I thought you were my friend . . . " She yanked
her arm away from Shinshi, her eyes locked on the piglet in Marie's
hands. "I thought I could TRUST you!" An accusing finger rose to
point at P-chan. "But you . . .!" Her breathing became laboured as
ki coalesced in her hand. "You . . .!" She grabbed Mallet-sama with
both hands as she prepared to dish out some VERY overdue punishment,
regardless of the fact that two innocent women were presently in her
field of fire. "***YOU BASTARD!***"
"BWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII . . .!"
A giant shadow draped over Akane. Before the enraged girl could
react, much less dodge to safety, a ton of rikibuta landed on her.
Katsunishiki's paws forced Akane's shoulders to smash into the cement
fence line ringing the pool. As her body crashed down, the
sickeningly grinding sound of bones shattering was nearly muffled out
by her attacker's bulk. What wasn't muffled was a loud *crack!* as
Akane's head bounced off the cement, the whiplash effect enough to
snap her spine like an old twig right at the base of her skull! In a
flash, Katsunishiki bounded back, he moving to protect his mistress.
That allowed everyone else to see what he had done.
"AKANE!"
"Oh, MY!"
"Oh, shit!" Yotsuba paled on seeing the blood flowing from Akane's
nose and lips, not to mention a throat ripped open by dislocated
bones. Realizing instantly that the youngest Tendou was about to hop
onto the Last Checky, the detective screamed out, "***HINAKO-
CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!***"
* * *
To be continued . . .