[UY/Ranma/SisPri][FanFic] Lonely Souls - Part 6, "B" Side (3/3)
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"Yeah, it's all taken care of." Jay nodded as he sat across from
Ataru in the old Moroboshi home living room. The interviews with Ten
and the replica-bioroids had taken an hour. "Found out the story --
or as much of it as I could -- concerning those replicas of Lum and
the others."
"That being?" Ataru asked.
"They're living targets. Specially built by the Niphentaxians at
Nassur's request so that if one of that guy's enemies decided to
target Lum or the others to get at him, they'd be the ones who'd eat
lead." The young SCAA agent rolled his eyes before he sighed. "Funny
thing is, I just CAN'T see a guy like Nassur doing something like
THAT!"
"Unless he never truthfully realized what those girls were," Ataru
countered, scratching his beard. "If what I understand of Vosians is
true, if Nassur couldn't scan any brainwaves from those four -- and if
he didn't take the time to scan them with a tricorder OR if they're
fitted with jammers that'd haze a tricorder scan -- he'd have no
choice but to think that they were very sophisticated androids. After
all, they don't look the least bit like Yehisrites, do they?" A
knowing smirk crossed his face.
"That makes sense. I'd hate to break it to the guy if or when he
ever comes this way again." Jay then perked as Kay came down.
The older SCAA agent sat beside his partner. "So what other business
have you got for us today, Ataru?" Kay then asked.
"Quite a bit," he warned. "I've got three refugees from Phentax Two
who've been converted to Avalonians. One of my new girlfriend's
friends was cursed by water from the Springs of Zhòuquán-xiang in
China, so we were forced to steal two Avalonian bodies from that
factory up in orbit to help them out. Two of the so-called 'victims'
of last week's bombing at the school turned up alive and well, plus
they're also Avalonians. And THAT, my friends, doesn't begin to
include the fact that the bioroid factory itself is here."
Kay shrugged. "I've never even heard of these Avalonians. How long
have the Niphentaxians been keeping them a secret?"
"Some decades, maybe a century." Ataru then took a deep breath.
"And the worst news of all is that Oogi himself is here."
Jay and Kay paled. "Oh, fuck!" the former spat out. "Damn, when it
rains, it fuckin' pours! We DON'T need that moron here!"
"When was the last time you saw the esteemed president of the
Niphentaxian Union, Ataru?" the latter wondered.
"Lumukyou," Ataru reported. "When I last saw him, he had just been
disintegrated by the Staff of Gihan just before three billion of his
followers also took the Magic Carpet Ride to Eternity. So I've really
got no idea what shape he's in, but Miree -- she's one of the refugees
from that planet I told you about -- has pretty much confirmed that
he's still among the living."
Jay shook his head. "Oh, cute!"
"What church is she from?" Kay asked.
"Hollywood. Ditto with both her daughters," Ataru reported.
"Well, that's a moderate sect, so we've got no worries." Kay rubbed
the side of his head. "Zed's NOT going to like this!"
Jay snorted. "Got that right."
"Darling?"
They turned as Seiko walked into the room. "Problem?" Ataru asked.
"I . . . " The Oni-turned-Nendo-kata/Terran balked on seeing the
cold neutrality crossing her ex-fiancé's face, and then she relaxed.
Any sort of confrontation between her and Ataru would serve no
purpose, especially given that four of his sisters and both his
daughters were outside waiting for him. And given that both his
daughters were Noukiites -- this, of course, didn't mention what
either Chikage or Hinako would do if their brother was threatened --
Seiko knew that even if she did lose control of her temper, things
wouldn't go well for her, Nendo-kata powers or no. Taking a deep
breath, she gazed on the SCAA agents. "Um, could we have some time
alone, please?" she asked.
"Sure." Kay nodded as both stood. "We'll take care of those two
girls who nearly died last week, Ataru. Where are they?"
"Talk to Chikage." Ataru nodded outside. "She'll help you."
"Right." Kay gave Seiko a concerned look before they both stepped
out.
As soon as the door closed behind the agents, Ataru took a deep
breath before he gazed on Seiko. The latter shuddered as she returned
his look, and then she bowed her eyes. "Why are you so mad, Darling?"
she whispered.
Silence responded. Sensing he wanted her to explain herself, Seiko
walked to the window, gazing outside. She saw Chikage chatting
amicably with Kay and Jay. Hinako was teaching Reiko and Kaneko how
to play patty-cake while Mamoru and Kaho hovered close to Chikage.
Taking a breath, she hoarsely asked, "Are you afraid that I'd actually
hurt them?" She gazed once more on Ataru.
"It wouldn't be the first time you and your family would seek to hurt
my family and I," he responded. "Nor the first time your race strove
to place mine at a disadvantage for some selfish reason. Oh! Forgive
me." He held up a finger. "You're not Urusian, Izumo-san, but Nendo-
kata. I didn't mean to imply that anyone of the Great School would
ever cast such disUnity on another sentient race. Or maybe . . . "
He lowered his hand. "You're angry that I decided to throw my lot in
with the Noukiites against the Urusians."
Seiko shook her head. "I'm not angry about that, Darling." She
sighed as she looked at him. "But I am very curious as to why you did
that. Even if m-my . . . " she stuttered before breathing out, "Even
if the Urusians HAVE tried to oppress the Noukiites over the past few
centuries, those people DID use an anti-matter bomb that murdered my
parents, nearly killed me and Mother knows how many more in Onishuto.
They DID kill Rei . . . "
His eyebrow arched. "Why do you care about Rei?! When Lum first
came to Earth, she was happier than hell to be away from that walking
stomach!" He nodded up. "I can see why your sister would be
concerned about him given Ran's feelings for the idiot, but why would
you care?"
"Because he didn't deserve to DIE!" Seiko snapped.
"And all those people on Noukiios DID?!" He bolted up, his anger
radiating like waves of exploding plasma from his body. "Didn't you
even ONCE ask yourself what was going on?! You said back at Tampopo's
that your father tried to brush off what was going on between your
people and the Noukiites, but he didn't fully convince you! Didn't it
even occur ONCE to you that maybe you should've tried to figure out
what was going on?! Didn't you worry that maybe, just MAYBE, your
people were doing something very WRONG?!"
Seiko stared in shock at him. Ataru scowled before he turned away.
"Hell, no! Of course not!" He threw up his hands. "The very idea of
the daughter of one of the major clan leaders on your planet, who was
also blood-descendant of Uru's last emperor and thus -- if the Urusian
people wanted it, of course! -- could've become the new Empress,
actually trying to concern herself about LESSER people?! Oh, my
GOD!" He spun on her, clapping his cheeks in mock-horror. "To even
SUGGEST such a thing!"
"Don't you dare!" Seiko snarled. "I'm no Imperialist! I never was!"
Ataru gazed on her. "Not according to Pochik Ando," he ruefully
stated.
Seiko blinked, shock overcoming her outrage as Ataru placed himself
at one end of the room. "How do you know Ando, Darling?"
"I met him the second weekend after you left in a place where Onee-
chan had taken me so I could learn the Art. A place beyond the bounds
of normal space and time. He was leading a special strike team back
in time to assassinate key leaders on Noukiios in hopes of turning the
war back to Uru's favour." He took a deep breath before turning back
to her. "I hear that, at the same time I ran across your delightful
friend, the . . . "
"He was NEVER my friend!" she spat out.
"Oh?!" His eyebrows arched. "How was I supposed to know that?"
Silence fell. Seiko then looked away, hugging herself. "What did he
tell you?" she finally asked, her voice ashes.
"Oh, he told me all sorts of things," he replied. "Confessed that he
always had an interest in you. At least . . . " He held up a
finger. "Ando didn't like the idea of Rei marrying you. But then,
when he found out about our so-called 'engagement' . . . " Ataru
ruefully chuckled as he lowered his arms. "Oh, he didn't care at ALL
for that. Not because of all the girl-chasing I did before you left
Tomobiki." The smile dropped from his face. "But because he felt it
quite improper that a man of a 'future slave race' to the restored
Urusian Empire would even THINK of having close relations with the
Imperium's first Empress in almost two centuries."
Seiko quaked, closing her eyes. "Why do you think I never saw him as
my friend?" she hoarsely whispered, eyes brimming with tears as she
tried to make some headway toward forging some sort of reconciliation,
some type of understanding, with Ataru. "Darling, I was never of that
line of thinking! Yes, I did some stupid, moronic things when I was
here. I admit it! I'm sorry those things happened! But . . . " She
shook her head, turning to gaze pleadingly at him. "You won the Tag
Race, Darling! I DID respect that!"
He looked at her. "Clearly, Ando wasn't of the same mind. Neither
was that old, slobbering pervert he called a father." He crossed his
arms. "Ditto with Azu Des, Tenwan Cal and all the others of the so-
called 'Imperial Round' I helped capture for the Noukiites and the
Inquisition to have their way with the weekend after I killed Ando.
Those that poor fellow from Okusei didn't nail with his fusion bomb in
Onishuto, that is."
Seiko stared at him, and then she timidly asked, "You killed Ando?"
"Slit his throat, then I dumped him into a convenient time-tunnel
that'll ensure his body remains adrift in limbo unto Eternity." He
nodded matter-of-factly. "As for the rest of his crew, after they
were interrogated, Onee-chan killed them with the heart-blast touch.
After what they saw I did to Ando, they were a lot more respectful of
'lesser' people. So when we ended their lives, we made sure they got
nice graves."
Silence fell as Seiko tried to take all that in. She then gazed
intently at Ataru. "There's something more to this, isn't there?"
"What do you mean?"
"Darling! You've shrugged off insult after insult from everyone
around you! I can't possibly believe that you would react to a simple
racial slur from a sub-creature like Ando to kill him!" she snarled.
Ataru took a deep breath, and then the rage in his eyes faded. Seiko
blinked confusedly, frozen still as he walked up to her. He placed a
hand on her cheek and leaned up to kiss her forehead. She remained in
place. "Darling . . .?" she whispered as she looked into his eyes.
He stepped back. "I was worried that the Psi-Unity part of the
Crossing Over hadn't worked out like it should."
Seiko looked nowhere in particular as she tried to interpret what he
just said, and then she looked back at him. "How do you know?"
"About the Great School?" He shrugged before sitting on the floor.
"My older sister, Nokoko -- she's Muchi's and Kinshou's first child --
was sent to my uncle Komeru when she was three or so to be raised by
him. For three years, we were deliberately made to believe that we
were cousins, not brother and sister. When Onee-chan was finally told
the truth on her sixth birthday, she ran away from home -- and wound
up in the Outland dimension. There, she encountered a lost school of
Nendo-kata. Nine in all as I recall. Because the Outland's certainly
no place for a human to live, she had to merge and Cross Over with
that school's matriarch. She's been there ever since."
Seiko sat in front of him. "Then why isn't she here? If she's the
eldest-born of your generation, she should be the Matriarch, not . . .
"
"Internal clan politics." He rolled his eyes. "If Onee-chan came
back too soon, Sakuya-chan and the others . . . " -- he nodded outside
-- " . . . would've been left out in the cold. Hell, even with
Grandma dead, there're those in my family who're uncomfortable about
having children born out of WEDLOCK take charge of the Clan as a
whole. So . . . " he breathed out. "To ensure nothing bad happens to
Sakuya-chan and the others, Onee-chan has to stay away. It's . . . "
He closed his eyes. "Hard, but bearable."
Her eyes misted. "Oh, Darling . . . "
"It's okay." He smirked, a shrug twitching his shoulders. "Hell,
you know me. Always willing to buck every social trend in this
country of hypocrites! Remember when Megane tried to rag me out when
we were making that movie just before you ran across Memory under
Mendou's cherry tree?!"
Seiko smirked. "As I recall, I was a little out of it then."
"At least you got spared an earache from that jerk's mouth!" Ataru
then shook his head. "He was an asshole, wasn't he?!"
She nodded. "I suppose you could call him that."
Both laughed as the memories of the "pseudo-war" came back. Seiko
then reached out with her hand to touch Ataru's knee. "Why?"
Silence fell as he considered what to say, and then he took a deep
breath. "Ando killed Grandma," he hoarsely whispered.
Seiko's skin paled as he stood, moving to gaze out the window. "The
night of the sixth day of the first Tag Race, Ando and a small team
used their spacializers to teleport into Grandma's farm on Rishiri-
tou. By the time Brother Sunfire and his friends, much less any of
the Kuromoroboshi, could figure out what was happening, it was too
late. A fast-acting, nearly untraceable poison tailor-made for
Grandma had done its work." He took a deep breath. "At first, her
death seemed natural to the special investigators the Holy Inquisition
sent from Jiyuu to look in on what happened. Then Negako-oneechan
came back from her travels and took a look herself. She . . . "
"She found out it was murder. And that someone from Uru . . . "
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Then why didn't . . .?"
"Because they didn't have proof." He looked at her. "Much that the
Zephyrites do have a reputation when it comes to chasing after
'heretics,' the Cabal of Archbishops understand what sort of things
could result from calling a Holy Crusade, even if it's meant to avenge
the premeditated murder of a Righteous Gentile." Turning back to gaze
out the window, he sighed. "So they decided to wait for the right
moment. Then, when the chance came, the Inquisition would be sent in
to deal with matters. Well . . . " A shrug rolled his shoulder.
"Thanks to Rei's moronic uncle and his covert support for the colonial
militias on Machibusu and elsewhere, that chance came."
Seiko smiled, an understanding nod turning her head. "The Zephyrites
never struck me as the types to engage in proxy wars, Darling."
"Why do you think the Cabal went along with it?"
A chuckle escaped her. "That's scary."
"Agreed."
"Darling?"
"What is it?"
"Why go after all the others?"
Ataru moved to sit beside her. "You know the 'Kashin' was captured
by the Noukiites the week before Onishuto was destroyed, right?"
She nodded. "Hai. Dad really took it hard. He loved that ship."
"Well, the Inquisition helped the Noukiites." He drew his hand
back. "Once they captured the ship, people got into its secure memory
banks to find out everything they could about what might have happened
had I lost the first Tag Race." Taking a deep breath, he gazed
regretfully at her. "Your dad knew about Ando's operation against
Grandma."
Silence. Seiko blinked, she staring wide-eyed at Ataru. "He . . .?"
He nodded. "Hai. I was told sometime after I dealt with Ando."
"Darling . . . "
Ataru took a deep breath, looking nowhere in particular. "At that
moment . . . " His voice turned hoarse as tears brimmed in his eyes.
"I never felt so . . . so BETRAYED!" he spat out before he gazed on
her. "I liked you dad, Lum! I liked your mom, too! I was SO envious
of you, you know that?! That you had two such wonderful, caring
people as your parents! Look what I had! A selfish bitch for a
mother and a lazy fool for a father, both of whom loved to blame me
for EVERYTHING that went wrong in their lives!"
His fist squeezed. "And then to find out . . . " He stood, taking a
couple steps away from Seiko. "That your father KNEW about what
happened to my grandmother?! He voted FOR the operation to occur,
Lum!" He waved nowhere in particular. "He and everyone else on your
planet's ruling council VOTED to MURDER the only part of my family --
this being before I met Sakuya-chan and the others -- who truthfully,
honestly cared for ME! What the HELL was I supposed to think after
hearing about THAT?! WHAT?!"
He slumped against the wall, tears trailing down his cheeks. Seiko
immediately walked over to draw her arms around him. He returned her
embrace, squeezing his eyes shut as the emotions arising from the
events of the past two months stormed through him. She remained
silent, daring not to speak anything that might rub Ataru the wrong
way. Though deep in her own mind, Seiko also wept at the level of
trickery her people . . .
Her people . . .
No.
She was Urusian no longer.
Redet Lum was dead.
She was Izumo Seiko.
She was Nendo-kata.
Sworn enemy of those sub-creatures and Purveyors of disUnity . . .
Including Redet Lum's father . . .
Who would bring harm to countless innocents . . .
Including the man in her arms.
The person she still loved more than Life itself.
They pulled apart, gazing into the other's eyes. Seiko reached up to
wipe his cheeks clean. "Darling, you had every right to do what you
did." She tried to smile. "By Urusian law and custom, you, as the
blood-descendant and heir of a Head of House, had every right in the
Universe to avenge her murder, by whatever means possible. Zephyrite
law demands that the blooded murder of a Righteous Gentile be answered
with a Holy Crusade in return. I'm glad that you and the government
of the Holy Republic decided to limit the reprisals to those who
deserved what was coming to them. And . . . " She shrugged. "By
Nendo-kata custom, defending your Great School from the threats of
such sub-creatures . . . " She kissed him. "There is nothing wrong
with that, Darling."
Ataru gazed at her with a smile, and then he reached over to gently
grasp her hand. Shifting that so he could kiss her palm, he gave her
a warm look. "Thanks, Seiko-chan," he whispered, drawing her close.
"Darling?"
Both perked, turning to see Sakiko standing at the doorway to the
living room. The sad look on the other Nendo-kata's face spoke
volumes. Ataru pulled away from Seiko to allow Sakiko to slide into
his embrace. No words were said as Seiko added her own embrace. They
remained still for a moment, and then they pulled apart. Taking a
deep breath, Ataru gently squeezed Sakiko's hands. "I'm really sorry
about Rei, Sakiko-chan. I may not've liked the guy very much, but
he . . . " His voice trailed off.
Sakiko nodded. "I know. That's the sad fact about wars, especially
ones rising from all the years of hatred and mistrust that were
generated between the Urusians and the Noukiites. At least it's over
now . . . " A pause as her eyebrow then arched. "It IS over now,
isn't it?"
"Hopefully, yes. With the finding of Heaven's Gate Bridge, the
Noukiites have achieved their primary goal: To avert any Urusian
Imperialist restoration and forever discredit the foundations towards
any anti-Noukiite feelings that wound up prompting things like the
colonial militias and all those absurd territorial claims on Okusei,
Tunchusei and Kurrusei. The secondary goal . . . " He held up two
fingers. "Which is the one I'm very happy about, as are the
Zephyrites, is to put a total end to all forms of spacializer use.
You guys have to admit that using a time-travel device to 'correct'
someone else's behaviour is pretty selfish, ne?" He glanced knowingly
at Seiko.
Seiko nodded. "Not to mention using those devices to murder
someone."
"Right." Ataru lowered his hand. "You can bet that those goals,
atop the renunciation of all Urusian first-contact claims on Earth,
will be what the Noukiites insist on before any final peace treaty is
made."
"I take it you insisted on that point, Darling?" Seiko asked.
He gazed knowingly at her. "Sei-chan, it WAS the Urusians who
insisted that I be the Terran tag race champion, remember?"
"Lucky for Earth that happened." Sakiko giggled, and then sobered as
she stared on Ataru. "But it isn't really over, is it?"
He returned her look, nodding. "Hai. There's still one problem."
Seiko perked. "Who?"
"Oogi."
Silence descended over the room. Sakiko sighed. "Wonderful."
* * *
The three stepped into Ataru's old bedroom. Ten sat on the bunk
bed. Kneeling on the floor beside the transformed Urusian-turned-
Avalonian was the replica of Benten. Lum's replica sat to the
opposite side. The doubles of Ran and Oyuki were by the window,
holding hands as they gazed on the surrounding cityscape. As soon as
Ataru and the Izumos stepped in, everyone gazed on them.
"Darling!"
To Ataru's disbelief, all FOUR of the Avalonian replicas had spoken
that word. Before he could react, four typhoons of lovable alien
bioroid teenager slammed into him, nearly knocking him down as they
deluged him with a storm of hugs and kisses. "Hey! Hey! HEY! Cut
it out, already!" he pleaded. Sensing that the Avalonians certainly
did NOT want to let him go anytime soon, he relented as he allowed
them to remain close. "Damn . . . "
Seiko and Sakiko exchanged a look and then they laughed. "Well,
Darling, you DID wish for a harem, didn't you?" the latter mused.
Ataru winced. "Me and my big mouth . . .!"
"Oh, don't be so shy, Darling," Oyuki's replica, Mienai, playfully
cooed as she pulled away from him, giving him a sultry, doe-eyed
stare. "After all, unlike our templates, we KNOW what a good person
you are."
"After all, Darling, what Hensou here sensed through Lum . . . "
Benten's double, Kamen, indicated the replica of Lum. "We ALL knew."
"Really?" Ataru then sighed. "Right."
"Waaaaai! Now Onii-tama has Avalonians to play with!"
Everyone spun around to see Hinako standing at the doorway. Behind
her were Mamoru and Kaho. Also there was a very familiar ghost-cat.
"Kota-chan!" Ten screamed out as he leapt off the bunk to race into
Kotatsuneko's embrace. "Kota-chan, what're you doing here?!"
The cat-spirit shrugged. Hinako blinks as the Staff translated his
subtle message to his alien-born friend. She then turned to Ataru.
"Onii-tama, Kotatsuneko-san says that he's really, really, really
happy that Ten-chan came back." A pause as Kotatsuneko added
something more, and then she carried on, "And Kotatsuneko-san says
that he hopes that Ten-chan won't be sent away. It got pretty lonely
at times over the last couple weeks when he had no one other than your
old principal and vice-principal to talk to."
"I think this time, things should turn out for the better." Ataru
leaned down to stare at Ten. "Though I DO hope that you'll be a
little more careful, Ten. After what happened last week at the
school, not that many people here in Tomobiki'd like it if they
learned you, much less Seiko-chan here . . . " He indicated Seiko.
"Actually survived the whole fight with the Noukiites."
Ten blinked confusedly. "What happened, Ataru?"
Kotatsuneko explained it to the young boy. Hearing that, Ten
shuddered before he demanded, "You mean to say that Ryuunosuke's
boyfriend and those other girls got killed because of what Megane and
his dopes caused with the space-taxi and all of Earth's oil?!" He
then waved his hands as he shouted at the top of his lungs, "***THAT
WAS ALL MEGANE'S FAULT!***"
"Jariten, I think trying to put blame on something like that's kinda
dumb now," Ataru warned before he took a breath and gazed on the
lovely replica-bioroids of his ex-fiancée and her best friends.
"Speaking of which . . . "
"We gotta make them look normal, right, Anii?" Mamoru asked.
"Hai, hai!"
Hinako perked, listening to something the Staff told her before she
nodded. "Okay! Hina'll make it all better!"
She held it up. "Hinako-chan, what are you . . .?!" Kaho gasped.
The Staff flared to life. Everyone cried out as Hensou was bathed
from head to toe in bright white energy. A second later, the energy
vanished, revealing a raven-haired Japanese girl with blue-grey eyes,
she dressed in a button shirt and knee-length skirt. Her long hair
was tied into two thick French braids wrapped from behind her ears to
come together at the top of her head. Ataru and Seiko exchanged a
look. "Nobade Shinobi lives again," the former mused with a chuckle
as he gazed back on the transformed Hensou.
Hensou perked before she stepped into the bathroom to gaze on
herself. "Hai, Darling, I guess I do look like her, don't I?" she
called out before coming back to give Hinako a thank-you kiss.
"Arigatou, Hinako-chan."
Hinako blushed, giggling cutely. "Well, Saeru-san, would you care to
help these other ladies?" Ataru asked.
"Hai, hai!"
* * *
Ten minutes later, everyone stepped out of the Moroboshi home. Kamen
and Mienai were dressed in polo shirts and slacks while Ran's double,
Damasu, wore similar clothing to Hensou. Save for the elimination of
the obvious alien traits on the other bioroids -- Kamen's elongated
earlobes, Damasu's fanged canines and tapered ears and Mienai's frozen
hair and crystalline eyes -- the changes to their looks were quite
minimal; Mienai still had platinum hair while Damasu had her hair
darkened to a more-natural chestnut shade.
As soon as everyone had stepped out of the house, Ataru got Hinako to
fix up the front door with the Staff. He then turned to his
transformed former fiancée. "You sure you won't have any problems,
Seiko-chan?"
"Oh, relax, Darling. We'll be fine." Seiko leaned up to peck his
cheek, and then she waved to Hensou and the others. "Kay and Jay'll
come to our apartment tomorrow to get everything straightened around
with them."
Ataru smirked. "Well, don't be total strangers, alright."
Mamoru perked. "Anii, aren't we going to the hot springs?"
Ataru snapped his fingers. "Damn, that's right!"
"Darling, how can you think about going to the hot springs with Oogi
hovering over out heads?!" Sakiko demanded.
Mamoru shrugged. "It was Negako-anee's suggestion. After all, we
don't know spit about what's going on with that jerk. We can't hit
him head-on if we don't really know what we're really up against, ne?"
Seiko nodded. "True. It's a pity I never really thought about
dealing with that sub-creature before all this happened. Well . . .
" She winked at Ataru. "Be assured that THIS time, Darling, you
won't be fighting Oogi alone. Anyhow, we best get going back to our
place!"
"Hai!" the others chimed.
Ataru and his sisters watched as the Izumos, Ten and the others
headed off. As soon as they were sufficiently out of hearing range,
Kaho reached over to tug Ataru's shirtsleeve. "Onii-chama?" she
asked.
"Hmm? What is it, Kaho-chan?"
"Is Seiko-san going to be alright?"
He considered that, and then he smiled. "Hopefully, yes. For too
long, her life was dominated by the wishes of others who never saw her
as a *person.* All she was to people like them was a future empress,
goddess, idol star . . . " A snort escaped him as he rolled his
eyes. "Maybe she DID realize that deep down. Maybe that's why . . .
" He closed his eyes. "Oh, Lum . . . "
"Why she fell in love with you," Mamoru finished.
Ataru nodded. "Yeah!" He stared at his sisters before he waved them
with him. "C'mon, let's get home. I'm starving and I want to see
everyone else's reaction when they meet Reiko-chan and Kaneko-chan."
Laughter filled the air as they headed off.
* * *
"You must be really disappointed right now, Lufy."
The Yehisrite-born pilot blinked as she absorbed that comment. "Nah,
I'm not disappointed, Eluza," she said, gazing at the image on her
cabin's private view screen. "Frustrated, yeah. But we haven't been
able to find even the smallest fragment of the factory and we've been
looking for six hours. If it managed to survive the planet blowing
up, it's gotta be out there somewhere."
The woman who was speaking to the shipmistress of the RSS/C
"Konggh'cha" was Ellsian by birth. Eluza possessed purple eyes and
rose-pink hair she normally combed to the small of her neck. A
shipmistress in the Republic of Sagussa Navy, Eluza was the commander
of Lufy's first posting, the special missions warpsloop RSS
"Hasei'cha." Currently, the "Hasei'cha" was in Noukiite space, its
crew having been assigned to secretly aid the Dominion during its
brief but victorious war against the Urusian Union.
"But where could it have gone?" Eluza wondered.
"That's what we're trying to figure out. We've picked up what seems
to be a warp trace, but disruptions in local electromagnetic fields
because of Phentax Twelve's destruction are making it hard for us to
follow the trail."
A sigh. "And given that keeping track of the bioroid factory was
never a priority, it'll take a lot of persuasion to make the idiots in
Intelligence alter the search patterns for the Rovers to track that
thing down."
"Especially if Carmen's spooks found out why I *want* to find the
thing."
The "Hasei'cha's" shipmistress ruefully laughed. "True, true."
Eluza had been very disappointed when, a year after Catty (the
warpsloop's senior doctor) bonded with Noa, Lufy had applied to be
transferred to Pathfinder Troop Six as the "Kiboo'cha's" full-time
pilot. While she had not really concerned herself about the various
romantic liaisons between the members of her crew, that it had come to
the point where one of the "Hasei'cha's" three Gladiator pilots had
actually transferred OFF the ship . . .! And that added to the fact
that another of the warpsloop's pilots, the unnamed Daishi'cha #337,
had disappeared from Sagussa itself shortly after Ataru's visit . . .!
"How's Catty Ray taking it?" Eluza asked.
"Hard, though she's got that damned android logic mask of hers to
hide it behind," Lufy replied before jolting on hearing the buzzer to
her private cabin sound off. "Who's there?!" she asked, looking over
her shoulder.
The door opened, revealing Priss. "Hey, Luf!" Troop Six's first
officer hailed as she stepped into her friend's cabin, and then her
eyes focused on the woman in the view screen before Lufy. "Yo,
Eluza! How're things with you?"
"Quite well, even with one pilot still missing and another one
defecting to your team," Eluza quipped with a wink.
Priss laughed. "What's the problem?" Lufy asked.
"We might've found out where the factory disappeared to," Priss
replied.
"Where?" Eluza asked.
"Earth," Priss said. "While I had Ayumu scan the debris field for
any sign of the damned thing's warp signature, I tapped into the local
comm nets to find out more about what the hell went down in Lumukyou
sometime back."
Eluza and Lufy nodded understandingly. The destruction of Phentax
Two's capital city and the mass slaughter of three billion of the
planet's residents two weeks before was something that, while not a
top priority for the Sagussan Intelligence Ministry, had caught the
interest of certain people. Especially when one factored in the
viewpoint held by the leaders of the Niphentaxian Union's "one true
faith" concerning Sagussa's first Daimon'cha. "Is there a provisional
government forming now?" Eluza asked.
"It's coming together," Priss confirmed with a nod and a grin.
"Moderate Lumites -- the ones who call Ataru-sama the 'Goddess'
Beloved Darling' and all that -- with Hollywoodites and several minor
faiths, plus a sizable group of atheists who're finally coming out the
closet now that the people've decided that punishing apostasy as a
CAPITAL crime is downright stupid."
"That's a good sign," Eluza mused.
"Agreed. Managed to overhear a secret communiqué between Suisei
t'ndai-Reslei and one of her representatives on Phentax Two concerning
what might've happened just before all those people got one-way
tickets to Eternity."
"Who's Suisei?" Lufy wondered.
"Senior Hollywoodite leader; she's based right now on Phentax Twenty-
three," Priss explained. "Turns out that in the week before
everything went to Chaos in a hand basket in Lumukyou, President Oogi
ordered that ALL Avalonians be sent to the factory on Phentax Twelve,
even the ones who were working as slave labour on the ships in the
Niphentaxian Navy. A lot of Lumite leaders from across the spectrum
raised a big snit over it."
Eluza closed her eyes as she allowed her razor-sharp mind to roll
over that; being able to quickly resolve potential problems at the
snap of the fingers was an automatic prerequisite for any special
warfare commander. Priss and Lufy's commanding officer, Sylia, was
the same. "The possibility was there that Oogi was prepared to use
the factory to support the Urusians against the Noukiites," the
"Hasei'cha's" shipmistress then stated. "So we might have to keep an
eye out for the damned thing here . . . "
"Don't have to," Priss cut in. "Lumite leaders on Phentax Two have
re-established contact with their observer force on Earth. There's
been a pretty nasty development in Tomobiki." Her lips twisted on her
mentioning the name of Moroboshi Ataru's old hometown. In classical
Sagussan, "Tomobiki" (properly Romanised as "Toghmoghbiki") translated
as "place of fools and madmen;" according to the ancient myths of the
long-dead Fourth Republic, Toghmoghbiki was the stronghold of
Sagussa's prince of devils, the Master of Entropy. "Just a week ago,
some Islamic terrorist decided to blow up Tomobiki High in reprisal
over that oil-theft incident involving the Intergalactic Space-Taxi
Company, Ataru-sama and his classmates. There were some fatalities."
"Including?" Eluza prompted.
"Aisuru Satoshi, Urayamu Akira, Daremo Hiroyuki and Shitto Koosuke.
Also known as Megane, Chibi, Kakugari and Paama."
Eluza's and Lufy's eyes went wide. The latter then blinked as
something came to her. "It's over Earth," she breathed out.
"Most likely," Priss confirmed with a nod of her head.
Lufy took that in, and then she grimaced. "That's where we're
going!"
* * *
"Bwiiii . . . "
Making her way through the farmer's market, Momose Tamako paused on
hearing that squeal. Taking a moment to empathically scan her
surroundings, the raven-haired tomboy focused on a small black piglet
painfully staggering down a side alley. Her eyes narrowed for a
moment as she focused her mental powers on the small animal. They
then widened as she detected something that should NOT be emanating
from a simple farm animal. "A boy . . .?" she whispered. Quickly
paying for her purchases, she headed off in pursuit.
Stepping into the alley, she placed herself two metres behind the
piglet, who seemed completely unaware that he was being followed.
*Yes, clearly a boy . . . * Tamako mused to herself. *In great pain.
What happened to him?* Pausing for a moment as she considered what
she should do, the raven-haired Avalonian nodded determinedly before
she reached down to scoop the piglet up. As soon as her fingers made
contact with his sable fur, images began to flow into Tamako's mind.
She automatically moved to prevent the full typhoon of pain,
depression and shame emanating from the transformed young man --
Ryouga? Yes, that was his name: Hibiki Ryouga! -- from overwhelming
her. Still, she could not ignore what the poor fellow had just
endured . . .! Was it only two days ago? It was so hard to tell with
this one, the Avalonian grimaced as she cradled him in her arms. His
time-sense was so terribly out of whack.
Why?
The transformed Ryouga shuddered as he felt warm, soft arms and hands
cradle him. He then looked up to gaze on a smiling teenage woman's
face framed by shaggy black hair and pierced with sullen, smoky blue
eyes. Realizing that yet ANOTHER pretty girl had just found him,
Ryouga squealed, his hoofs trying to scrape and kick himself free of
her grasp.
No! Not another one! After Akane, after Akari . . .
Akari . . .
Akari . . .
NO!
Tamako gasped as she felt Ryouga's depression submerge to depths she
couldn't begin to imagine, his body glowing a sickly green as a
curious energy aura instantly encompassed him. Realizing that he was
about to let go with some sort of attack, Tamako dropped her purchases
as she hefted Ryouga into the air. Just in time; with a pained
squeal, the transformed martial artist let go with a Shishi Hookoodan
that roared into the afternoon sky. Seconds later, a burst of energy
flared over Tomobiki, safely away from damaging any buildings. Ryouga
collapsed in Tamako's hand, a tired moan escaping him. The Avalonian
remained still, and then she lowered her hand to prod the transformed
piglet. *It's as if he wants to die.* She cradled him. *What
happened to him?!*
"Tamako-chan!"
She looked up to see Kurosu Kanami race into the alley, concern
burned on her sister Avalonian's face. "Oh, Kanami-chan, gomen!"
Tamako apologized with an embarrassing laugh, and then she turned back
to the dazed Ryouga.
The taller woman slowed as her eyes focused on the transformed
martial artist. She then gave Tamako a curious look. "Who's he?"
"Hibiki Ryouga," Tamako explained. "Some wandering martial artist.
I sensed him when I was in the market. But . . . "
Kanami's eyebrow arched. "How'd he get transformed into a piglet?"
"I haven't probed his mind to find out. He's . . . "
The other nodded. With their powers, Avalonians possessed
considerable advantages over non-psi species. Fortunately, the long-
dead scientists who launched Project: Avalon fourteen millennia ago
ensured that the bioroid race would always be governed by a strict
code of ethics when it came to using their powers. If such hadn't
existed, Kanami and Tamako both knew, the Niphentaxians would've been
in enormous trouble the day they discovered the factory. But that was
beside the point, both sighed as they gazed on the piglet in Tamako's
hands. "He's been alone most of his life," Kanami quickly noted.
"Only a couple people have ever showed him real kindness . . . "
"And he accidentally hurt one some days ago," Tamako added. "That's
why he's suicidal now. He fears he may have killed her."
"Did he?"
The raven-haired Avalonian shook her head before she gazed on her
taller sister. "Hard to tell. Well, he does need help . . . "
Kanami nodded. "No logical reason we shouldn't help him. I'm sure
the others wouldn't mind once they're fully apprised of the
situation. Is there a way to revert Ryouga-kun back to his natural
form, Tamako-chan?"
"Can't say . . . wait!" Tamako tensed as more images flowed into her
mind. "Ah! Ryouga-kun is 'cursed.' Some sort of metaphysical
affliction, I believe. It was forced on him when he travelled to a
valley in China a year ago. It's difficult to ascertain any sort of
proper time-sense with Ryouga-kun. I don't understand why. Anyhow,
cold water triggers the 'curse.' Heated water restores him to
normal." She looked around. "We should locate his personal
belongings. He normally has them in his possession."
Kanami hummed before she reached over to gently stroke the fur
between Ryouga's ears. The transformed piglet jolted, his eyes
blearily opening to gaze on whoever was touching him. As more of his
mind reverted to an alert state, images flowed into Kanami's mind.
"Alright!" She pulled her hand away, turning to race off. "Be back
in a minute," she called out.
Ryouga blinked, and then he grunted with contentment as Tamako's free
hand stroked his back. "Do you like that, Ryouga-kun?" the raven-
haired Avalonian wondered as she turned him around to gaze on her.
"By the looks of it, you haven't had a very pleasant week, ne?"
*Not really . . . * he moaned before he perked, dulled danger senses
coming to the fore. *Wait a minute! How'd you know who I am?!*
Tamako giggled in embarrassment. "Oh, it's alright, Ryouga-kun. I'm
telepathic and empathic. That's how I was able to sense your
distress, not to mention learn your name and ascertain the exact
parameters of your curse. It's all right. You've nothing to fear
from me."
Ryouga blinked, blinked again, and then he shook his head. *Is this
a dream . . .?* he wondered. Meeting a very nice girl who wasn't the
least bit bothered by his curse. Well, there was Unryuu Akari, of
course . . .
Akari . . .
Oh, no . . .!
Squealing, he slumped in Tamako's hand. A hand quickly rested on his
forehead. "No! No, Ryouga-kun! It's alright," she gently soothed.
"From what I've been able to sense from your memories, this Akari
person is alright."
Ryouga blinked, shakily lifting his head to gaze into her eyes.
*Alive . . .?* he moaned, a faint spark of hope flaring in his heart.
"Hai." Tamako nodded before she perked on sensing Kanami approach.
In a minute, the taller Avalonian was back in the alley, a large
backpack with umbrella in hand. "Oh, there you are, Kanami-chan! Any
problems?!"
"Iie. This was a couple blocks over." Kanami then gazed at Ryouga.
"Hopefully, no one stole anything while you were separated from it."
Staring at the taller woman, the transformed piglet blinked, and then
he turned back to Tamako. *Is she like you?!* he wondered.
"Hai, Ryouga-kun, I am," Kanami answered before she perked. "Oh,
gomen. We haven't properly introduced ourselves." She politely
covered her mouth before waving to herself. "My name's Kurosu
Kanami. This is my sister, Momose Tamako." She waved to the other
Avalonian currently holding the transformed wanderer. "It's a
pleasure to meet you, Ryouga-kun."
They bowed. Glancing at one, and then the other, Ryouga tried not to
pass out. TWO pretty girls, clearly very good friends if the "sister"
reference Kanami made hinted at anything -- he was quick to note that
there was NO family resemblance between them. Could they be adopted
sisters? -- treating him with kindness and respect, almost . . .?
Reverence?!
What did he do to deserve something like THAT?!
Tamako: "Oh, dear! I think Ryouga-kun's a little overwhelmed."
"He seems to be that way, ne?" Kanami grinned. "Well, let's get
back to our apartment so we can give him a chance to be normal, then
we'll introduce him to Yukimi-chan, Hiro-chan and Namie-chan. I think
they'll like him."
"Of course they will." Tamako reached down to pick up her shopping.
"Besides, Yukimi-chan needs the vegetables for dinner."
"Hai, hai!"
They headed for their apartment. Remaining in Tamako's hands, Ryouga
was seized by indecision. On the one hand, what happened some days
ago at Unryuu Akari's farm still loomed over his soul like Damocles'
sword. On the other hand, making the acquaintance of Kanami and
Tamako was like . . .! Why, it was like the night Akane found him
immediately after his second confrontation with Ranma post-Jusenkyou.
Even better, Kanami and Tamako knew immediately what his curse was all
about. And best of all, they didn't even CARE!
Were the Fates finally smiling on him for a change?
* * *
"Tadaima!"
"Oh, Onii-sama . . .!"
Ataru stopped on hearing Sakuya's singsong voice. Turning to gaze
warily on the eldest of his half-sisters, he was quick to notice the
knowing look on her face. "Um, is there a problem, Sakuya-chan?" he
asked with a faint chuckle, he taking a fearful step away from her.
She walked up to him, piercing him with a very intensive gaze. "Onii-
sama, when were you finally going to tell us about our nieces?" she
purred, one hand pointing in the general direction of his and Ranma's
bedroom.
Hearing her question, Hinako, Mamoru and Kaho, they standing behind
their brother, exchanged knowing smiles. "Well, they're kinda hard TO
explain, Sakuya-chan . . . " Ataru shrugged. "I mean, after all,
they . . . "
"Onii-sama, I'm too YOUNG to be called 'auntie!'" Sakuya cut in.
"B-but . . . "
"Oh, so you would have preferred to have Ataru return from Sanctuary
little more than a mental vegetable, Sakuya?"
Sakuya jolted before she spun around to glare at Negako. "YOU
KNEW?!"
"Yes." The grandmaster was unperturbed by Sakuya's outburst.
"Besides, the others seem quite willing to accept Reiko and Kaneko."
Sakuya fretted. "Onee-sama . . .!"
"I am certain that Shirayuki would love to try out several of her
more spicier recipes with Reiko and Kaneko," Negako added.
"Noukiites, I discovered sometime ago, have quite a fondness for spicy
food."
"But, Onee-sama . . . "
"Sakuya-chan, are you afraid that people might actually think you're
old?" Ataru walked up to embrace his sister from behind. As Sakuya
stared at him, he leaned up to whisper in her ear, "There's not a
wrinkle on you."
"Onii-sama . . . " Sakuya stopped. "There isn't?"
"Not a one." He shook his head. "Besides, Ranma likes the girls,
too. Do you really think it'd be prudent for me to deny her anything,
Sakuya-chan?"
"Um . . .!" Sakuya shuddered before she made herself relax. "No, of
course not!" She pulled away from him, turning to gaze into his
eyes. "But what happens when all this mess with the Urusians settles
down, Onii-sama? Are the MiBs going to let you keep them? People
HAVE been talking about closing the doors on all of them finally, you
know!"
"That applies only to the Federation states, Sakuya-chan," he
cautioned. "Noukiios is breaking away from the rest of that lot, so
it won't apply to them in the long term. Besides, given that Reiko-
chan and Kaneko-chan are bioroids cloned from DNA taken from the
graves of several of Noukiios' greatest heroes, I don't think they'll
have an easier time of it if they went back home."
"Why not, Anii?!" Mamoru asked.
"Grave-robbing is a capital crime on Noukiios, Mamoru," Negako
explained.
The other sisters nodded. "Oh!"
Himiko and Mikiko then came up, accompanied by their mothers. "Ataru-
kun, there you are!" Kawamura Mami beamed as she grasped his hand.
"Is it true that you adopted those sweet little girls who came in with
Chikage-chan?!"
"Hai, hai, Mrs. Kawamura, I did." Ataru rubbed the back of his head
before he indicated Sakuya. "Now, all I have to do is convince Sakuya-
chan here to accept them and I'll be fully in the clear!" He winked.
"Onii-sama!" Sakuya cried out.
"Oh, Sakuya-chan, stop that!" Mikiko gently scolded, walking over to
squeeze the other woman's shoulder. "They're both darlings and I know
they love you very much! Why are you being such a stuck-in-the-mud
about it?!"
An unintelligible answer escaped her. "Mikiko-chan, that's enough!"
Serizawa Tomomi wagged a finger at her daughter. "Give your friend
time."
Mikiko ducked her mother's look. "Hai, Mom!"
"Did you or the guys from the SCAA have any problems trying to put
your daughters' lives back in order?" Ataru wondered.
"Well, Kay-san said there were two ways we could do this," Mami
reported after taking a deep breath. "We decided that instead of
treating them as legal orphans and adopting them into our families,
we'd just have the death certificates revoked and go on from there.
After all, according to Chikage-chan and Negako-sensei, Himiko-chan
and Mikiko-chan didn't die at all."
Negako's eyebrow twitched on hearing "sensei" applied to her.
"Outside of the powers this body has, I don't feel any different than
I did before Alhamzi blew up the school," Himiko added as she
exchanged a look with Mikiko.
"I sense a 'but' in here somewhere," Ataru noted.
Mikiko nodded. "Hai, there is. Kay-san and Jay-san recommended that
for the time being, we should stay away from Tomobiki."
"Why?!" Kaho asked.
Mikiko nodded. "Because of the way we came back, Kaho-chan."
Ataru nodded. "That makes sense. There're people out there who'd
gladly do anything, even kill, to find out how to literally be reborn
into something like an Avalonian. The advantages you girls have
now . . . "
Mikiko sighed. "We know."
"But we're not sure where we could send them." Tomomi shrugged.
"Both our husbands have very good jobs that haven't been affected by
the downturn in the economy, so we don't want to risk anything that'd
threaten that . . . "
"Understandable." Ataru then blinked. "Hey, wait . . . "
Sakuya stared at him. "Onii-sama?"
He turned to the survivors of the previous week's bombing. "How'd
you two like to come to Stargazer West College on the Island?"
The others currently attending that institution stared at him before
grins crossed their faces. "That's a great idea, Anii!" Mamoru
gushed, nodding excitedly. "Himiko-san'd be a shoe-in for the senior
swim team for sure!"
"But where would we stay?!" Mikiko asked.
"At Welcome House, of course!" Sakuya gazed knowingly on her.
"We're practically having the rotunda rebuilt right now, so we can
slap in some extra rooms for both of you! There're no problems
there!"
Himiko's eyebrow arched. "You sure?"
Mamoru nodded. "Of course we're sure!"
"This won't cost anything, will it?" Mami asked.
Ataru shook his head. "Not a single yen, Mrs. Serizawa."
"Tadaima!"
"Oh, Rinrin-chan, you're back!" Sakuya gushed as Rinrin and Yotsuba
stepped into the old shrine. "Just the person I'm looking for!"
"Something wrong, Sakuya-chan?" Rinrin asked before she saw the two
older women standing beside Himiko and Mikiko. "Oh, you must be
Himiko-san's and Mikiko-san's mothers!" the teen inventor then
declared with a smile.
Sakuya indicated the other girls. "Rinrin-chan, we need new rooms
knocked into the rotunda for Himiko-san and Mikiko-chan."
Rinrin perked. "Eh?! Oh, that'll be easy! Ne, Aniki, you think I
should throw in some more space for Jonna-san and Orin-san?"
"That'd be prudent. Hinako-chan, you want Jonna-san to stay with
you?"
He stared at his youngest sister. "Hai!" Hinako gushed.
"We might as well do the same for Aria-chan and Orin-san," Sakuya
stated before she stared at Rinrin. "Okay, Miss Genius, let's get
those floor plans out so we can make everyone feel right at home!"
"Hai!"
Rinrin headed to the coffee table. Most of the others followed her,
people chatting excitedly away. Yotsuba remained close to Ataru. "So
you finally managed to pull yourself away from Nabiki-san's brother,
eh?"
She jolted. "Ani-chama . . .!"
He laughed. "Oh, relax!" He reached over to squeeze her shoulder,
giving her a warm smile. "I just want to make sure you'll be alright
with this guy. Even if he is a masculine version of Tendou
Nabiki . . . "
"Whom Ane-chama has problems respecting," Yotsuba cut in, batting
Ataru's nose playfully before she breathed out. "Will you RELAX?!
Yotsuba's a big girl! Besides, Yotsuba doesn't like the idea of some
creep coming along to take advantage of Shi-chama 'cause of what Shi-
chama is!"
They stared at each other. Ataru sighed, drawing her into an
embrace. "Oh, okay, I won't bother you about it anymore! Alright?!"
She kissed his cheek. "Checky!"
"Papa?!"
Yotsuba spun to see two very young girls -- both looking like blue-
haired, fair-skinned Klingons -- standing a metre away from them.
Ranma stood behind Reiko and Kaneko, a knowing smile on her face.
"Waaai!" Yotsuba gushed as she whipped out her camera. "Cute alien
girl checky!" she announced, hopping to every possible angle to get
pictures.
Reiko and Kaneko exchanged a look, and then they turned to Ataru.
"Papa, is Auntie Yotsuba ALWAYS like this?!" the former asked.
Yotsuba instantly froze, her jaw drooping somewhere near her knees as
she stared wide-eyed at the twins. "'Auntie . . .?!'" she sputtered
before she slowly passed out. "That's -- definitely -- NOT --
checky . . .!"
Ataru sighed. "You get used to her after a bit, girls."
Ranma laughed.
* * *
"Bweee . . .?"
"Oh, I do hope Ryouga-sama is alright," Unryuu Akari mused, holding
the parasol close to her as Katsunishiki lumbered down the street in
the general direction of Nerima. Seeing the giant pig, most passers-
by stopped and gawked. Even for a haven of weirdness like Tomobiki,
looking at such a massive animal dressed in the formal loincloth of a
sumotori was, simply, a unique experience. "I just can't BELIEVE the
others would do something like that to him! And when he was a piglet
himself?! Can you, Katsunishiki?"
The pig grunted, inwardly grateful that he couldn't talk so he
wouldn't be forced to explain his brothers' actions to his mistress.
Much that any of the rikibuta belonging to the Unryuu beya would NEVER
think of upsetting Akari, what some of the younger ones had sensed
about their mistress' mate days ago HAD to be redressed in the
harshest way possible.
It was simple logic, after all.
A happy mistress means a happy beya and happy rikibuta.
An upset -- worse, a HEARTBROKEN! -- mistress . . .!
Katsunishiki tried not to sigh as Akari guided him onto the main
street leading out of Tomobiki into Nerima. Taking the turn, the
giant pig deeply inhaled, and then he stopped. Akari gazed down at
her prized champion. "Is there something wrong?!" she asked.
Katsunishiki lowered his head. His snout flared as a familiar scent
registered deep in his mind. Turning around -- an impressive feat on
a sidewalk framed by a busy street and someone's fence line for an
animal as large as a small truck -- the pig began to trace the scent
down the street. "Oh, you got Ryouga-sama's scent!" Akari patted her
champion's neck. "Must be recent! Find him, Katsunishiki!" she
ordered as she pointed down the street.
He oinked in the affirmative as they headed downtown.
* * *
To be continued . . .