[UY/Ranma/SisPri][FanFic] Lonely Souls - Part 7, "A" Side (3/4)
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Ranma looked up from the worktable in hers and Ataru's room to see
Marie standing at the doorway. "Marie-chan . . . " the redhead
whispered before she walked over as the younger woman stepped inside.
Both slid into a comforting embrace. "How're you feeling?" she asked.
"A little numb," the bespectacled teen whispered as she laid her head
on Ranma's shoulder. "Are you alright, Aneue-sama?"
Silence fell as the martial artist considered her future sister-in-
law's question, and then she took a deep breath. "Hard to say." She
then reached up to stroke Marie's hair. "Part of me feels so mad
right now . . . "
"At Akane-san?"
"Yeah." Ranma gently guided the younger woman to sit by the
worktable before she relaxed on her futon. "I mean . . . " Here, she
halted as a moment's confusion overtook her, and then she relaxed
herself. "Damn . . . "
"You're also angry at yourself, aren't you?" Marie wondered.
"Yeah . . . "
Marie smiled. "Understandable. For a year, Akane-san was the
primary influence on your life and how it might have evolved hadn't
you met Kamekichi-san and embarked on the path that led you to come
together with Aniue-sama. Whenever she was in trouble, regardless of
her feelings, you were there for Akane-san. Anyone would certainly
welcome having such a dedicated protector be part of their lives.
Believe me, if it was I who you worked so hard to protect, I would be
terribly loath to let you go. However . . . "
"It's my life in the end," Ranma muttered.
Marie nodded. "Hai, it always was, regardless of what others might
have felt about it. In fact, given how strongly those others felt
about your life and the way your life's journey should have unfolded,
I guess . . . " She then paused as if to find the least wounding way
to say this. "That what happened to Akane-san shouldn't have come as
such a surprise."
"What do you mean?"
"Well . . . " Marie adjusted her glasses as she took a deep breath.
"I was thinking of when Aniue-sama left Tomobiki and how that
reflected on those people who saw him as nothing more than a tool so
they could continue to associate with Lum-san. His classmates at
school and . . . "
"His so-called 'parents.'"
"Hai. Reigi-san helped keep us apprised of events in Tomobiki right
up to when the news came of Lum-san's 'death,'" Marie reported.
"Naturally, to ensure things went as smoothly as possible when Aniue-
sama's memories were restored, Negako-aneuesama temporarily crippled
Mendou and Megane's group, ensuring they wouldn't be able to leave
their own bedrooms until a day or two after Lum-san was finally
deported to Uru with Ten and Ran."
"I bet they automatically blamed the whole mess on Ataru."
"They did. Not so surprising, ne?" Marie smirked before she carried
on, "Anyhow, the instant he was apprised of how and why the United
Nations had come down so harshly on Lum-san, Mendou immediately
lobbied the Diet to have the doors reopened so Lum-san could return to
Earth." A pause. "It came as quite a shock to the poor fellow when
the Diet turned his request down."
Ranma chuckled. "I bet that didn't go over too well."
Marie shook her head. "It did not. Naturally, Mendou threatened to
have the dietmen who were directly involved in the move to expel Lum-
san from Earth eventually forced out of their positions. Well, those
esteemed gentlemen didn't like the idea of such a spoiled brat like
him trying to influence their very lives so, through Reigi-san, they
appealed to Mendou's father to discipline his child." A pause. "The
discipline came in the form of the final decision to force Mendou to
marry Mizunokooji Asuka."
"But he loves that girl!" Ranma quickly pointed out.
"True, which made it all the more easier for them to force this on
Mendou." Marie held up a finger, winking. "Even more so, it preyed
on Mendou's most vulnerable point: His personal sense of honour. If
he publicly tried to stand up to his parents, he would be
dishonoured. And even if there are those women at Tomobiki High
School . . . "
"Not to mention Himiko and Mikiko," Ranma cut in with a wink, nodding
to her right to indicate where Kawamura Himiko and Serizawa Mikiko had
been sleeping since their return to Earth from the Avalon bioroid
factory.
"Not to mention Himiko-san and Mikiko-san," Marie parroted. "Well,
even if he has many friends, he would lose all access to the
Kuromegane, his clan's forces and everything else." She winked. "Not
to mention his allowance."
"Oh, poor boy," Ranma mockingly crooned.
Both laughed. "As for Megane and his friends, they were far easier
to deal with," Marie continued. "With Mendou dealing with all his
family problems, Megane couldn't rely on him for any intelligence
support, such as using the Kuromegane to track down Aniue-sama so they
could try to gain control of the situation again. Yes, there were
small teams dispatched by Mendou to try to locate Aniue-sama, but they
never came anywhere close to the Island."
"You mean he never thought of checking out Muchi and Kinshou?"
Marie shook her head. "No, Mendou didn't."
"What an idiot!"
"Agreed."
"Did Megane's crew ever think of that?!"
"Oh, no. They never really got an opportunity," the younger woman
stated. "You see, they had to worry about their parents. None of
them EVER approved of their interest in Lum-san. Even more, Megane's
mother is the spokesperson for the area PTA. When Lum-san was sent
home, Ms. Aisuru, on behalf of the PTA, released a statement
denouncing Lum-san in some pretty harsh terms. I can tell you now
that what she said took even Aniue-sama by surprise; he always
believed that everyone in Tomobiki liked Lum-san."
"Ooooh!" Ranma winced, and then she winked at Marie. "I bet things
got really cool between Megane and his mom after that happened."
"Probably."
A curious look crossed the marital artist's face. "But what about
Muchi and Kinshou, Marie-chan? I mean, they knew everything . . . "
"True, they did." The younger teenager nodded. "And yes, right
away, Kinshou made it a point to confront Reigi-san about that. But,
when one is backed by a decision from the Court of Special Appeals,
one doesn't really have to worry about potential challenges,
especially from someone like Kinshou. After all, when Negako-
aneuesama approached the Court to have Muchi's and Kinshou's parental
rights taken away, she made it a point to demonstrate how greedy
Kinshou really was concerning getting control of Grandmother's
fortune. You know about the time when Kinshou tried to swindle Mrs.
Mendou and Lum-san's mother of their money that one time, don't you?"
Ranma nodded. "Yeah, Ataru told me. He also told me about the time
on the 'Kashin' when Lum's parents promised those two good jobs on Uru
if Ataru married Lum. Did Negako tell the court about that?" she then
asked.
"Hai, she did . . . " Marie blinked. "How did Aneue-sama know of
that? That particular meeting happened outside our solar
system . . .!"
Ranma smirked. "Don't question Negako's ways, Marie-chan. I don't!"
Both laughed. "Well, it doesn't matter," Marie noted. "In many
ways, you're lucky, Aneue-sama. You at least got to reconcile with
many of those who once saw you as a mere commodity. That is something
I don't believe will ever happen with Aniue-sama, not for a long time
to come."
"Do you think he should try to mend fences with them?"
The younger woman sat back in her chair, sighing. "I really can't
say, Aneue-sama. I mean, yes, Aniue-sama did do some awful things to
those people when he was living there. In my eyes, he does owe people
like Miyake Shinobu, Fujinami Ryuunosuke and Sakurambou Sakura an
apology for all the times he tried to force himself on them.
But . . . " She paused before shrugging. "Would they accept an
apology from him, Aneue-sama? We know Aniue-sama would never do those
things again. But would they believe that?"
"Is he afraid they'll want to do something worse?" Ranma wondered.
"Like try to drive a wedge between him and you girls?"
Marie blinked before her blue-grey eyes, normally very deep and warm,
turned ice-cold. "If those twits believe they can try something like
that to us, they can think again." Her voice was tinged with a
threatening growl. "When he came to Promised Island, Aniue-sama came
looking for a quiet, peaceful place so he could put his life back in
order. We acknowledged his desire by welcoming him to the House and
revealing our family ties. And given how much he's suffered since he
came to the Island, especially when it comes to all those delightful
after-effects of his 'relationship' with Lum-san, those fools will not
find a sympathetic ear with any of us."
Ranma nodded. "That's good. Then again, with Megane and his crew
gone, Mendou on the way to the altar with that Asuka girl and Lum
herself changed into Seiko -- not to mention what happened last week
at the school -- there's little left in Tomobiki who could really hurt
Ataru."
"Save those Niphentaxians who spy for that so-called 'church.'"
"Hai, true." The redhead then stood, walking to the doorway to gaze
out a window at the grounds around the old shrine. "Sure ain't true
at Fuurinkan, though," she whispered before she sensed Marie's hand
squeeze her shoulder.
"How do you think the people there will react, Aneue-sama?"
A grimace crossed Ranma's face. "Hard to predict. I never paid much
attention to all the rumours people were passing around about me, much
less Akane." She shook her head. "I can bet that Akane's friends,
people like Yuka and Sayuri . . .! They'll take it really hard,
that's for sure." A pause. "The only real worry in the long term is
Kunou."
Marie drew her hand back. "What might he do?"
The older woman shook her head. "Damn hard to predict, Marie-chan."
She sneered. "With the way that idiot loves to twist things around so
he feels he's on top of things . . . " A shrug rolled her shoulder
before she breathed out. "It all depends on Nabiki in the end."
"Could she try to make people see reason?"
"Maybe. When it comes to information control in that place, she's
the one who holds the tiller." Ranma then closed her eyes. "I wonder
if she'll let information about Ryouga's curse get out into the
public."
Marie gave her future sister-in-law a perplexed look. "Aneue-sama,
how could you POSSIBLY forgive what that man did to you . . .?!"
Ranma fired an annoyed stare, that causing the younger woman to
wilt. Seeing that reaction, the redhead cursed herself before turning
to gaze once more out the window. "Marie-chan, please, I CHOOSE to
let it go, alright? Yes, what he did with Akane when he was 'P-chan'
was wrong. No doubt about that. But . . . " She paused, closing her
eyes. "I have as much a responsibility concerning that as Ryouga
did . . . "
"Aneue-sama, it was an accident!" Marie crossed her arms. "And if
you personally ask me, the real culprit behind what happened to that
man is your father. If that monster hadn't dragged you off to China,
Hibiki-san wouldn't have got the urge to follow. If he didn't follow
you to China, he wouldn't have been cursed, for Heaven's sake!"
Silence fell. Marie took a deep breath, resting her hands on the
windowsill. Ranma gazed briefly at the younger woman, and then she
turned once more to gaze outside. "Hinako-chan was right, you know."
Marie blinked before a nod tilted her head. "Hai, she was, wasn't
she?" She pulled off her glasses, using the fabric of her sweater to
clean the lenses. "Look how quick we're all willing to lay blame for
this on one person. Rather foolish in the long term, isn't it?"
Ranma nodded. "Yeah, it is."
* * *
"'Bout damned time you guys got here! 'Specially you, Nene!"
The rose-haired, turquoise-eyed, Ellsian-born coxswain -- the unit
master chief petty officer -- of Pathfinder Troop Six smirked as she
gave Lufy a hug, and then she did the same to Catty Ray. "You always
needed me to help out, especially keeping this one in perfect trim
after you decided to let her take her sister's place in your heart,"
Nene stated, and then she walked over to the sensory station on the
"Konggh'cha's" pilotage, drawing out her portable laptop computer.
"So what's the story?" she asked.
"Got some more non-locals in the area," Priss announced as she tapped
controls to create a holographic image of thermospheric space over
Tokyo for the members of Pathfinder Troop Six. "The RENS 'Rose
Emperor' to be exact."
"The 'Rose Emperor?!'" a voice spoke up from aft. "Why are they
here?"
"Couldn't tell, Sylia." Priss glanced over her shoulder at the
Troop's commander, who had moved to take the centre seat in the
pilotage. Even though the "Konggh'cha" was a civilian ship, tradition
granted a serving naval unit commander the right to take command over
civilian craft in times of trouble. Which this situation certainly
seemed to be, given the history between the Daimon'cha of Sagussa and
the current Ellsian head-of-state. "All we could tell at this time is
that Queen Elle herself's aboard."
Sylia, a very elegant, raven-haired, brown-eyed Seishin-Urusian,
blinked as she took in that information, and then she scowled. "She
might be here to make a play on Ataru-sama then," she announced. "Now
that Lum is dead . . . "
The others automatically tensed on hearing that. While the
Daishi'cha as a whole had long ago agreed that it was an intelligent
idea to keep their links to Moroboshi Ataru shielded as much as
possible from scrutiny inside the Galactic Barrier, they also knew
about Queen Elle's more-than-casual interest in their Daimon'cha; Noa
had learned everything she could about that incident sometime after it
happened. From that, the Daishi'cha learned about Elle's quite
interesting habit of freezing her past "lovers," all one hundred
thousand of them, in a giant cryogenic storage unit currently located
in the Royal Palace in the Kingdom's capital city, Baran. AND, thanks
to the Rovers, the Daishi'cha had just learned of an interesting
little project being run by Elle's nanny, Babara de Esterchild, which
concerned the creation of laboratory-born children, each born from the
genes of the Rose Queen and her "cute boys."
"We're going to rescue Ataru-sama if Elle tries to kidnap him, won't
we?"
Sylia stared at Sylvie. One of the newer members of the Troop, the
lavender-haired, golden-eyed, Yehisrite-born petty officer was the
sniper and reconnaissance expert in First Section. A Pirpirsiw'r like
Lufy and Priss, Sylvie, in her first life, had been Priss' singing and
fighting partner (their cheek tattoos were the same). A terrible
accident concerning nanites and the regeneration matrix used to
rebirth the Daishi'cha had condemned Sylvie, not to mention many
others (including all the other new members of the Troop, ten in
total) to a premature burial on her birth world centuries ago.
Fortunately for them, the nanite-infested matrix had preserved their
bodies and souls long enough for them to be retrieved and revived.
That had happened thanks to a very young Moroboshi Ataru when he
visited Sagussa over a decade before.
Sylvie, not to mention all the other new members of the Troop, owed
their very existences to that simple fact.
"We ARE going to rescue Ataru-sama, aren't we?" Anri, Sylvie's bond-
mate and the communications expert in Section One, asked.
"Are we?" Megan, Section Two's sniper, prodded.
Sensing the looks on her subordinates' faces, Sylia then sighed.
"Nene, what's the status of the Daimon'cha's children? Were they
released from service in the Dominion's Special Forces and transported
to Earth?"
Nene tapped out a query on her laptop, which then transmitted a
message to the "Kiboo'cha's" main computer. The response came
instantly. "Hai, Sylia, they were let go and brought to Earth . . .!
Yesterday morning, in fact!"
Sylia nodded. "I see, then."
"Commander . . . "
Sylia sighed. "Sylvie, I want to see Ataru-sama, too! We all do,
even us 'old girls' . . . " She waved a hand to indicate the Troop's
other plank owners: Reinoevan (the former first officer and sniper,
now the Troop's doctor), Priss (the first coxswain), Nene (the former
communications chief), Linna (the former demolitions chief, now chief
of Section One) and Asukanoevan (the former transportation chief, now
chief of Section Two). "I know you consider it a matter of honour to
remain as loyal as possible to him. But if we give in to our passions
and blitz in like a pride of hungry sandpanthers chasing down a herd
of stormwalkers on the dunes near the Forge, we might do a lot more
damage to Ataru-sama and everyone around him than we'd want. You all
know how Zed and his friends'll look on that. And I think it wouldn't
take us too much to understand how Ataru-sama himself would view
something like that!"
Sylvie blinked, and then a contrite look crossed her face. "True."
"Remember what I've always taught you about that, Sylvie," Linna then
chided from her position behind Nene's seat.
"H-hai . . . "
"Still, if Ataru-sama is kidnapped, Commander . . . "
Eyes turned to Naomi. Sylia gazed on the raven-haired, green-eyed,
Vosian-born physician's assistant, who served in the Troop as
Reinoevan's field nurse. Seeing the expectant look on her face, and
then noting the pleading looks on all the other newcomers' faces, the
Troop commander then sighed. "Alright! All right, then! If Ataru-
sama is kidnapped, we'll go and rescue him! But first, let's look to
our ship driver's lover."
The remainder of the Troop gazed amusedly at Catty Ray. "Tapping
into the 'Kiboo'cha's' sensors to take a scan of the bioroid factory
now, Sylia," Nene reported as she tapped away on her laptop. "I'll
find us a gestation room that isn't occupied, then make sure we won't
be spotted when we go in."
"Work fast, Nene!"
"Aye, ma'am."
"Ah! There you guys are!"
Eyes turned as Ayumu walked in. To Priss and Lufy's relief, the
Yizibajohei-born defence officer -- Ayumu was, in fact, the Master
Chief Petty Officer of the Republic of Sagussa Navy, the service's
senior non-commissioned officer -- had draped herself in a blouse and
skirt. "What are you doing here, Master Chief?" Sylia asked, inwardly
groaning that THIS idiot was here.
Ayumu impishly shrugged. "Oh, Lufy needed some help when she came to
find the bioroid factory, so I volunteered to come with them."
Sylia barely fought down the urge to wince. *Dear Lyna preserve us!*
Murphy, Chaos' ultimate teacher, had decided to tag along on this
trip.
Bringing with him a hovercycle's load of explosive for the ride, to
boot!
Ayumu perked. "Oh! Tomo and Yomi'll be here to help out later
today."
Sylia's eyebrow twitched as the implications of THAT sank in.
Adding an annihilation device to that load, Thoughtmaster-prime
Murphy?
* * *
"Chikage-chan! Hina's here!"
"Ah, Hinako-chan, there you are!" Chikage waved the youngest of the
sisters into her bedroom. "I've a little surprise for you."
"Eh?! A surprise for Hina?" Hinako walked into the darkened space,
and then her eyes fixed on the figure seated in the guest chair across
the sorceress' worktable from Chikage herself. "A-a-a-Akane-
san . . .?!"
Akane gazed on her. "Ohayou, Hinako-chan."
Silence fell as Hinako stared at the bodiless memory copy of the
youngest of the Tendou daughters, and then she gazed on Chikage.
"Chikage-chan, Hina d-doesn't understand . . .!" she stammered,
shakily pointing at Akane.
***Actually, Hina, I can explain it.***
"Bou-san?!"
Hinako fell silent as the Staff whispered an explanation into her
mind. At the end, the young girl then waved her hands in
exasperation. "***BOU-SAN NO BAKA!***" she screamed out. "***TELL
HINA ABOUT THIS NEXT TIME!***"
If the Staff could sweat-drop, it would. ***Sorry . . . ***
Chikage and Akane jerked at Hinako's ranting, and then they exchanged
a look. A smile cracked the latter's face. In a moment, both women
were giggling. Hinako gazed quizzically on them, and then she started
to laugh herself. Finally, everyone relaxed as Akane waved Hinako to
stand beside her. "Well, now that's been cleared up, we have a
decision to make," Chikage said before she remembered something,
raising a warning finger to emphasise her point. "Pardon me. Rather,
Akane has a decision to make."
Hinako gazed on the disembodied spirit beside her. "Akane-
san . . .?"
"I . . . " Akane closed her eyes as she considered what to say. She
then gazed questioningly on Hinako. "Hinako-chan, would you . . .?"
Here, she paused before she looked ashamedly away. "Want me to be
real? To . . .?"
Hinako blinked, and then her eyes began to tear. "Akane-san . . . "
Sensing the younger girl's sorrow, Akane winced. "Gomen . . . "
***She has as much right to self-determination as her template,
Hinako,*** the Staff then warned.
"Agreed," Chikage cut in before Hinako could retort. Rising, the
sorceress walked around the table to place a hand on Akane's
shoulder. "In fact, one might say that you presently have more
greater freedom to choose your destiny than your template ever did."
"Because of everyone's interference in her life." Akane gazed up at
her host. Seeing Chikage nod, she breathed out, "True."
"Hina wants Akane-san to be like Akane-san."
Akane gazed on Hinako. "Well, not EXACTLY like her!" She flustered,
scratching the back of her head. "I don't think anyone might
appreciate the idea of me whipping out ki-mallets to hit people who
can't defend themselves, like what the other me nearly did to Marie-
san last night."
"Yeah, that was really, really, REALLY dumb!" Hinako ruefully
chuckled. "Hina doesn't want to think of what Onii-tama or Negako-
oneetama would've done to Akane-san if Marie-chan really, really,
really got badly hurt!"
Chikage shook her head as she drew her hand away from Akane. "I can
hear the Inquisition Excommunication March right now."
Akane shuddered; while she had no idea what Chikage meant by that,
the tone in the sorceress' voice spoke volumes. Taking a deep breath,
she gazed at her host. "So what might happen if I do go back as
Akane?"
Chikage sat down. "The 'pros' are several. Your identity is already
effectively established, with a life history to support it. As I told
you already, your template's school records can be switched to the
College with ease. In that respect, you ARE Tendou Akane, no
different than the original. From there, you can proceed ahead to
chart your life's path with little or no hindrance whatsoever." A
pause. "The 'cons' will be considerable, however. First point is
your template's family and their reaction . . . "
Akane sighed. "They've already been hurt because of this."
Chikage nodded. "Hai, they have. Since they witnessed the parting
scene between your template and Hinako-chan here last night when the
police came to Ani-kun's home to investigate what happened -- that was
facilitated by the Staff, of course -- Kasumi, Nabiki and Shinshi will
need very little persuasion to make them understand what exactly you
are. And there lies the potential trap. Would they accept you into
their family, as Akane, no different from the original? Or would they
keep you at arm's length?"
"They seemed pretty hell-bent about it last night," Akane noted
before she gazed on the table. "Then again, the other me's behaviour
when it came to Ranma and your brother certainly wasn't stellar by
far."
"Agreed, it wasn't," Chikage said. "But given the inordinate amount
of leniency by which your template's always been treated by family and
friends alike, is it really so surprising to you, Akane?"
Akane gazed on the sorceress before she nodded. "Yeah, that's true,
isn't it?" She gazed heavenward. "Before she died, Mom was the
disciplinarian in the family. She was pretty firm when she had to be,
too . . . "
"Did she spank you?" Hinako wondered.
Akane shook her head. "Iie. Mom didn't need to do that in the long
run. She was very persuasive when it came to scolding us. I always
hated that. But . . . " She closed her eyes. "Mom was kind about
it, too. When it was all over, she tried to explain what I did wrong
and why it was wrong." A shudder ran through her. "Oh, gods, I miss
that so much . . . "
"She was the real backbone of your family," Chikage noted.
Akane nodded. "That she was. Then when she was gone . . . " She
gazed on the table. "It's a wonder we survived that at all. Dad just
became a crying wreck. Kasumi threw away her whole life to keep the
house in shape. Nabiki became the real breadwinner of the
family . . . "
"And your template was allowed to do whatever she wanted, without any
guidance, either positive or negative, from those who should have
helped her through that time," Chikage finished for her. "That is
where this began, Akane. Last night, it finally came to a head."
"And that other me ran away from it." Akane sighed, gazing on
Hinako. "Even with someone there ready to make a miracle happen."
Hinako sniffed. "Akane-san said she had no friends or family left."
"That she did." Chikage drew out a handkerchief for her sister to
use. "And because they know that, I believe the others of your family
will work extra hard to welcome you 'back' into the fold, Akane."
Akane nodded. "I hope so. What other problems might come up?"
"My family is the other major problem. Now, as with your family, it
will be easy to persuade mine of what you are and how you came to be.
However, given your template's behaviour towards Marie and Hinako,
many might treat you with indifference if not hostility for a
considerable period to come. You'll have to work to earn their
respect. For some of them, that will be difficult."
"I can guess that. What about Ranma?"
"Ane-kun? The same thing. But I believe you will slip back into Ane-
kun's good side if you acknowledge what exists between her and Ani-kun
and vow to leave them be. That, put simply, is what Ane-kun wanted in
the end, Akane."
Akane gazed on Chikage. "That's a tall order, Chikage-san. I
mean . . . " She stopped, and then she sighed. "Okay, Ranma's a
girl. If that's what she wants, I could go along with it. I . . . "
Another pause. "I guess that after she found out what that stupid
panda did to her before their training trip, actually electing to go
against what Genma wanted WAS the perfect revenge to take. And . . .
" Another, longer pause. "And if . . . " She shuddered before
sniffing back tears. "If she's come to love your brother, then . . .
" Her hands squeeze. "I can only wish her -- and him -- the best.
But . . . " A hand shifted to hover over her heart. "Why won't she
come back to us?"
"What do you mean by 'us?'" Chikage gently probed.
"My family!" Akane blurted out, that causing Hinako to falter.
Sensing that, she relaxed. "Chikage-san, she lived with us for over a
year. We gave her the first home she had in well over a DECADE! And
now she says she doesn't want anything to do with us?! WHY?!"
"But did your family REALLY offer her a home?"
Akane shuddered. "I . . .!"
Chikage sighed. "Hinako-chan, why don't you get Bou-san to create
Akane's new body? Have it placed in your room when it's ready."
"I . . . " Hinako blinked, and then she nodded. "Okay!"
She vanished. Akane watched her go, and then she turned to gaze on
her host. "Akane, I have something of a confession to make to you."
Chikage placed her hands on the table between them. "And in doing so,
I hope I can make you better understand Ane-kun's feelings about a lot
of things, including her interaction with your family. And mine."
Akane blinked.
* * *
"One-Six to Six-Six. Insertion all green. Proceeding with
operation."
"One-Six, Six-Six, confirm."
"Out."
Linna tapped her communicator to cut the link, and then she nodded to
the members of her section. The four other members of Section One --
Sylvie, Anri, Reika and Naoko -- spread out to the corners of the
empty gestation room deep near the aft end of the Avalon bioroid
factory. Anri -- a green-haired, blue-eyed Yehisrite-born girl,
looking to be about sixteen, whose first life had ended at the same
time as Priss', Sylvie's and Reika's -- pulled out her laptop to hook
into the gestation room's control unit. Tapping controls, she linked
into the systems monitoring this part of the faculty, and then she got
to work. Everyone remained quiet as the young woman tapped away.
Finally, she nodded before glancing at Linna. "We're sealed off from
monitoring and I've disabled intra-ship beaming to this location. No
one can beam themselves into this chamber or into the one through that
door." She pointed to the door leading to a neighbouring gestation
room; Sylvie was covering it with her rifle.
"Okay," the raven-haired, blue-eyed, Fukunokami-born chief petty
officer said as everyone relaxed, and then she tapped her
communicator. "One-Six to Six-Six. Situation nominal. Send Six-
Five, Six-Nine and Six-Nine-Two over."
"Out," Sylia replied.
A transporter beam flared, revealing Priss, Lufy and Catty Ray. Like
the others who had just beamed aboard the bioroid factory, the Troop
first officer and her companions were dressed in non-reflective black
combat skinsuits, combat webbing strapped around their shoulders and
waists. Drawing her sidearm, Priss waved her companions over to the
control unit, and then she reached into a pouch to hand a datachip to
Anri. "Work fast, Anri," Priss ordered as the younger woman took the
chip and inserted it into her laptop.
"Hai!" Anri replied as she tapped controls. The gestation fluids
inside one of the vertical chambers before her began to boil.
"Alright, it's ready." She gazed on Catty Ray. "Catty, the genetic
sample, please?"
The android blinked, and then she reached down to pull her left
sleeve back. Tapping a point below her wrist, she waited for a
circuit hatch to open. Reaching in, she pulled out a small vial
filled with red blood flecked with the golden drops that marked the
presence of the regenerative enzymes inside a Sagussan's body.
Staring at the sample, Catty Ray closed her eyes as the finality of
the moment sank in. The others gazed sympathetically at her. Catty
Ray was the first companion android to have been allowed to evolve
into full sentience, the first ever to be given full citizenship
rights in the Fifth Republic of Sagussa. Once that had happened, the
path that had ultimately led Lufy's lover to this point had been easy
to cross. That she was experiencing cold feet at the threshold of her
new life was understandable. Finally, Catty Ray opened her eyes,
nodding in determination. "Okay . . . "
She walked to the chamber currently bubbling with enzymes ready to
transform the bioroid within into a genetic twin of the android's own
template. Taking the vial, she loaded it into the appropriate slot,
and then she nodded at Anri. As the latter tapped controls to begin
the process, Catty Ray reached up to close the circuit hatch. Lufy
and Priss walked up to place hands on the android's shoulders. "You
okay, love?" the former whispered before she leaned down to tenderly
kiss Catty Ray's cheek. "No regrets?"
Catty Ray gazed up on Lufy. "None . . . "
A soft chime echoed from Linna's communicator. "One-Six, Six-Six."
Linna tapped her communicator for two-way. "Six-Six, One-Six, go."
Sylia's voice had a tremor in it. "Be warned, Linna. There's
someone in the chamber next to yours. She scans as Terran. We're
also picking up a VERY high pure Te'a energy source reading from
there. Watch yourselves, girls."
The members of the Troop exchanged looks. "We'll check it out,
Sylia," Priss announced as she tapped her own communicator.
"Be careful, Priss . . .! Oh, damn!"
"What?!" Priss snapped.
A moan escaped the Troop commander. "Ayumu . . .!"
* * *
"Greetings, Earthling."
Hinako gasped in shock as that imposing voice echoed around her. She
then turned around to see a girl appearing to be about Rinrin's age
standing behind her, dressed in a plain blouse and knee-length skirt.
Staring intently into the newcomer's eyes, the youngest of Ataru's
sisters was quick to sense something -- well, NOT exactly human! --
about her. The visitor's right arm was raised in a friendly wave, a
genuine smile etched on her face.
"A-ri-ri?!" Hinako uttered as she took in the visitor's measure, and
then an annoyed scowl crossed her face. "You scared Hina!" she
declared. *Bou-san, why didn't you tell Hina this girl was coming?!*
she mentally demanded.
***I didn't sense her until she appeared!*** the Staff confessed.
"Bou-san wouldn't be able to detect me anyway," the visitor then
said.
Hinako jolted. "Huh?! Why?!"
"Because of my metahuman power." The visitor waved to herself. "I
have the ability to alter probability fields on mental command. Since
that always affects the Te'a, anything tied to the Te'a will be
automatically affected."
Hinako blink-blinked; she had hardly understood any of that. Oh,
well. Bou-san could tell her about it later. "Oh . . . "
***While I do detect Sagussan genetic modifications to her DNA, it
appears that our guest is Yizibajohei.***
Another blink. "'Yi-zi-ba-whoa-hey?!'"
***Native of the planet Yiziba, Hinako. All inhabitants on that
planet possess one form of metahuman power or another.***
The visitor blinked. "'Hinako?' Is that your name?"
Hinako smiled. "Hai!" She then blinked. "A-ri-ri?! Hina heard
from Miree-san that no one was living on Sagussa now!"
The visitor waved her hand in a "that's okay" gesture. "Bou-san
probably got taken off Sagussa before the Clone Rights War. That was
fourteen thousand years ago. A lot's changed on Sagussa since then."
Her smile widened as she leaned closer to Hinako. "So whatcha doing
here, Hinako-chan?"
"Oh . . . " Hinako breathed out, and then she perked. "Oh! Hina's
gotta get a new body readied for Akane-san!"
With that, she aimed the Staff of Gihan at one of the non-templated
bioroids in the room. One intensive blast of energy later, the
bioroid began to slowly transform into a perfect replica of Tendou
Akane. The visitor gazed on the morphing humanoid before them, an
admiring whistle escaping her. "She's pretty! Whatcha making her
for, Hinako-chan? You want someone to play with?"
"Um, not r-really!" Hinako replied with an embarrassed chuckle. "The
real Akane-san went to the Very, Very Bright Place last night when
Akari-san's big piggy stomped on her. Akane-san wanted to be with her
mama in the Very, Very Bright Place. Bou-san went and made a double
of Akane-san!" She scowled at the Staff. "And Bou-san went and did
it without telling Hina about it!"
***I said I was sorry!*** the Staff whined.
"Why did a piggy stomp your friend?" the visitor asked. "That was
rude!"
Hinako chuckled. "It's a really, really, REALLY long story!" She
then perked. "Um, what's your name?" she then asked.
She started. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She then laughed, reaching up to
scratch her head. "I'm Ayumu." She waved to herself. "Daishi'cha
Seven-oh-one-oh-eight. I'm the Master Chief Petty Officer of the
Republic of Sagussa Navy."
Hinako blinked, and then she giggled as Ayumu leaned down, one of her
little fingers extended. Hinako linked her own little finger with
Ayumu's, and then they "shook" on it. "So what're you doing here,
Ayumu-chan?"
"Well, my friends scanned you coming up here. That's why I came to
see you," Ayumu explained as she waved to the door leading to the
neighbouring room. "We came here to get an Avalonian body for an
android who's very close to a friend of mine 'cause she's now fully
sentient and deserves to be human!"
Hinako took that in, and then she cheered. "Waaai! That's neat!"
* * *
"Incredible as this sounds, that airhead is doing good!" Priss
muttered.
The others were gazing on Hinako and Ayumu through a visual link
accessed by Anri. "Priss, isn't that one of the Haijo-ju prototypes
from before the Clone Rights War?" Reika, a brown-haired-and-eyed
Yehisrite who served as Section One's demolitions expert, asked. "How
did a girl from Earth get hold of one of those?! I don't think Horan
scattered them in this part of space!"
"Neither did I!" Linna hissed.
"Can you bioscan that girl, Anri?" Lufy asked.
Everyone stared at the "Konggh'cha's" shipmistress. "Why?" Priss
asked.
A confused look was etched on Lufy's face. "Something about
her . . . "
"Just a moment, Lufy," Anri said as she tapped controls. Everyone
waited for the scan to be completed. Once it was done, Anri then
tapped buttons to call up the scan results. "Now what?"
"Compare it to what we've got on Terrans we've made contact with."
"Hai."
Another moment passed as the laptop did its comparison, and then a
window opened on the display screen. Staring at the results, Anri's
jaw then dropped to the deck in shocked disbelief. "Oh, Lyna have
mercy . . .!" she breathed out as she pointed at her screen. "It
can't be . . .!"
"What?!" Sylvie demanded before she took her own look, and then her
eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "That's . . .!"
"She's . . .!" Lufy gasped. "She's Ataru's SISTER?!"
The others exchanged shocked looks.
* * *
"Oh, Ryouga-san, that's horrible!"
A cup of tea was placed before him. "Thanks." He nodded at Kanami,
and then took a sip. "Akane-san . . . "
"We deeply grieve for you, Ryouga-san," Kitahara Yukimi said as she
squeezed their guest's shoulders. The only ones with Ryouga in the
apartment block's kitchen at that time were the five Avalonians who
called this place home, plus Yukimi's lover Narumi Miruko. The Izumo
sisters had taken Ten and the four bioroid replicas who'd brought the
young boy to Earth downtown to have them fully registered with the
United Nations. "I pray that wherever in the Te'a she is at this
time, Akane-san is at peace."
"She's with her mother at least." Ryouga blinked as a surge of
empathic warmth flooded him from Yukimi's fingers. "But still . . . "
Kashima Namie lightly smiled. "It's alright, Ryouga-san."
"No, it's NOT alright . . .!"
"Hey!" Yukimi squeezed his shoulders, and then she sighed. "Yes,
Ryouga-san, what you did while you were playing 'P-chan' WAS wrong!
No doubt about it. But who was there to tell you what was wrong and
what was right?!"
"I . . . "
Kodama Hiro gave his hand a squeeze. "Yukimi-chan's right. And so
was Hinako-sama when she stepped up to your defence last night after
Akane-san died. We . . . " -- she pointed to herself, and then she
indicated her fellow Avalonians -- " . . . know what is normally
accepted as 'right' and 'wrong' because we were PROGRAMMED to
acknowledge that! Most other people, people like Miruko-chan . . . "
-- she waved to the crippled girl -- " . . . well, in a sense, they're
programmed, too! If it's not by their parents or guardians, it's by
their siblings, peers or teachers." She gazed on Ryouga. "Where were
YOUR teachers, Ryouga-san? Where were your siblings, your parents,
your peers? In effect, when you get down to it, you had none."
"I knew enough . . . "
Yukimi shook her head. "No, Ryouga-kun. You never were given any
sort of proper guidance when it came to controlling your anger.
Thanks to that direction curse of yours, you couldn't stay still long
enough to have those life lessons others take for granted implanted
into you. And without that, all that was needed was a person or
object for you to fix your anger onto and *boom!* You became a
runaway bullet train!"
Ryouga slowly exhaled. "Ranma . . . "
Yukimi nodded. "Hai. When you first met Akane-san as 'P-chan,' you
soon realized you were caught in a very terrible bind. Here was the
first person in so long to treat you with real kindness. Is it any
wonder you latched onto that right away?! That's how DESPERATE you
were to have someone show you that sort of kindness, Ryouga-san. And
then . . . "
"And then, you found out that this wonderful woman you just met was
also the fiancée of the man you hated with every fibre of your being,"
Kanami added. "So, because you had become so desperate to not just
hang onto Akane-san but to destroy Ranma-san at the same time . . . "
"Can't forget the doofuses who knew the whole story!" Miruko noted.
Momose Tamako nodded. "Agreed."
Ryouga took a moment to consider that. "Yeah! That's true, isn't
it? If Akane-san's father and that panda were so hell-bent on getting
Akane-san married to Ranma -- and Kasumi-san was pretty much for it,
too! -- why would they let me continue to pretend to be P-chan . . .?"
The others considered that. Miruko blinked. "They were using you?"
Everyone stared at her. "Eh?!"
"Using me?!" Ryouga's jaw dropped before he sat back in his chair.
"Damn it all . . . " His hands slowly clenched into quaking fists.
"Why did you conclude that, Miruko-chan?" Kanami asked.
"Well, don't you remember what Ryouga-kun said about all the fights
Akane-san and Ranma-san had because of their engagement?"
The others nodded. Tamako perked. "And there were the times Ranma-
san called Ryouga-kun 'P-chan' or 'pig boy,' especially if it was in
front of Akane-san. Ryouga-kun, were there times Ranma-san stopped
you from admitting the truth to Akane-san?" she then asked the
wanderer.
"Yeah!" Ryouga nodded, and then he sighed. "I guess Ranma did that
'cause she was afraid Akane-san'd blame it on her . . . " His voice
trailed off as he gazed to the ceiling. "Then again, I have to
remember that Ranma wasn't operating at her peak during that time."
"Why's that?" Namie asked.
"It's something her dad did before they went off on their big
training trip . . . " Ryouga then elaborated further to his hosts.
At the end, everyone was stunned. "What an asshole!" Miruko spat.
"Geez! And he had the guts to call himself Ranma's father?!"
Kanami sneered. "If that happened on the Creators' Homeworld, he
would've been put to death! What about Ranma-san's mother?"
"She stayed at home the whole time," Ryouga replied with a shrug.
"Ranma told me when I saw her on the Island that if Nodoka was going
to be obstinate about it, Ranma wouldn't have anything more to do with
her."
"In other words, child abandonment," Tamako concluded.
"Someone want to call the Executioners?" Hiro wondered.
"The Inquisition does a better job," Namie said. "Besides, from what
I know, Yehisrites don't believe in sparing the cane when they raise
children."
Kanami nodded. "Good point."
Laughter filled the kitchen. Even Ryouga found himself grinning at
the Avalonians' camaraderie, though he didn't understand some of their
references. Yukimi then pulled her hands away from him as she moved
to stand beside her lover. "What are you going to do with Akari-san?"
she asked Ryouga.
Ryouga blinked before he exhaled, "I dunno." He looked at his
teacup.
"Do you think she'll give you another chance?" Tamako asked.
He considered that, and then he shrugged. "I can't say, Tamako-
chan. I mean . . .!" He paused before breathing out, "Well, she had
a right to get upset over the whole P-chan thing, plus my feelings for
Akane-san . . . "
Kanami: "Did she listen to what Hinako-sama said in your defence?"
He considered that for a moment, and then he shook his head. "Iie."
The Avalonians exchanged a look. Hiro then took a deep breath.
"Maybe this was the best thing, Ryouga-san."
He jolted, staring in shock at the fudge-haired Avalonian.
"Hiro . . . "
"Hiro's right!" Miruko held up a finger as she leaned over the
table. "What type of relationship begins when you have to beat your
prospective fiancée's fighting pig just to get engaged to her?"
Kanami nodded. "She should've realized once she understood about
your curse that you wouldn't be anywhere close to a 'normal' man."
"Then again, girls her age don't feel very confident about themselves
and whatever relationships they try to make," Tamako noted.
"True. Besides, this was started because her grandfather insisted
she locate a fiancé right away before he passed into the Te'a," Namie
added. "Why couldn't Unryuu-san trust in Akari-san to carry on with
the farm?"
"With his curse still such a problem, Ryouga-san would be pretty hard-
pressed to help out at the farm, too," Yukimi mused.
Ryouga jolted. "Hey! What are you saying, Yukimi-san?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" The apartment manager gazed on him. "Given how
fast she was ready to dump you last night PLUS given the circumstances
about how you came together, can you REALLY convince yourself that
Unryuu Akari loved you?"
Silence fell as he considered that, and then he deflated. "I . . .
" He paused, a lump forming in his throat. "I can't say . . . "
"You haven't been given much of a chance to consider it." Kanami
leaned her chin on her crossed hands, her elbows on the table.
"There's nothing wrong with that, Ryouga-kun. Besides, do your
parents know about Akari?"
Ryouga was quick to note the dropping of the honorific when it came
to her. "Iie. Last time I was by my house, I was still hopeful of
pressing something with Akane-san. Sometime ago. I . . . " He
breathed out, "I haven't been back since. It's been so hard . . . "
"It's okay." Yukimi then hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe . . . "
Miruko looked up. "What're you thinking, love?"
"Perhaps what Ryouga-san needs now is a chance to get together with
his family," Yukimi stated. "We do have equipment from Phentax Two
that might help him better deal with his direction curse. We've no
need of it. Once we find a way to help him get around without taking
jaunts hither, thither and yon, we can concentrate on helping his
family get back together."
"I . . .!" Ryouga jolted. "Um, Yukimi-san, you really don't . . .!"
"Hush!" Yukimi wagged a finger at him. "I won't hear a word out of
you about this, Ryouga-san. It's the right thing to do! Especially
given how little help you've received to date about this mess you're
in!"
"I . . .!" He stared at her, and then gazed on the others in the
room. Quickly sensing their desire to help, he then turned back to
his now-cold teacup. "I . . .! Um, a-arigatou . . .! I . . . " He
blinked, feeling his eyes mist, and then he jolted on seeing a
handkerchief hovering before him. Noting that it was Tamako who was
handing him the cloth, he gave her a smile, and then moved to wipe his
eyes. "A-arigatou . . . "
The others exchanged knowing looks.
* * *