[Ranma][FanFic] The Bet: Featherbrite's Tale 11 & 12
Gregg Sharp
Featherbrite's Tale CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Satyr Moon? OR
Nabiki Knows Best
Ranma 1/2 owned by Viz Video & Takahashi Rumiko. Various
other characters owned by various other authors. No
copyright infringement is intended.
"Dragons make great villains. They make better allies." -
Stormshadow, "Planewalker's Guide To The Continuua"
"Go not to the satyrs for answer. They don't know and you'll
have to rescue your women afterwards. They don't mean
anything by it, it's just their way." Nimodes Farseer,
"Under Eternal Noon."
"I am *not* a faerie princess!" R.Saotome
-----------------------------------------
In a studio in Tokyo, Naoko Takeuchi considered the odd
package. It had appeared suddenly and mysteriously, and
would have been concerning if it had not been the name
indicating who it was from.
Few knew of the connection between the manga artist/writer
and the self-proclaimed "Sailor Agent" named Nabiki Tendo.
That was one of Nabiki's stipulations at the beginning of
this relationship. And so Naoko used a black felt-tip pen to
mark over Nabiki's name on the wrapping before tossing the
bits into the trashcan.
Naoko smiled. Nabiki had invested in a good camera, and she
was continuing to improve her picture-taking skills as time
went on. Naoko set one picture aside, then joined with a
second and third. Most of the pictures were good, some were
great. These three were perfect. Not as art themselves, that
was not their intent, but as guides.
Sailor Angel, feathered wings of energy spread as she cast
her "Heavenly Healing Escalation."
Sailor Valkyrie, halberd held at the ready in a pose that
spoke of vigilance.
The Faerie Princess, tripping over a curb.
Major characters, Naoko felt, had to have more limitations
than minor characters. Naoko had wanted the main character
in Sailor Moon to be someone that the average girl reading
her comic could identify with on some level. Sailor Moon's
Usagi had therefore had a heart of gold, feet of clay, and
hands that mainly seemed composed of thumbs.
It seemed that the Faerie Princess, from the notes
accompanying the photos, would be following that tradition.
Even if the Princess wasn't the Main Character, she was
still a primary character.
She was clumsy and rough because she had been raised as a
boy by her father, constantly on the road to avoid becoming
a Dark Kingdom target until she was old enough to make a
stand. Now that she was coming into her true identity, there
was a conflict as years of upbringing clashed with the new
roles being forced upon her.
The Clark Kent effect, Naoko reflected, sort of. A
rough-and-tumble "boy" who has learned to be self-sufficient
now has superpowers, but only when transformed into "his"
true identity- the Faerie Princess. Now also having to learn
to rely on others and be around friends and supporters when
previously she had been living out of garbage cans and
deserted houses. Fanboy wish fulfillment to some extent, if
nothing else just in the association with the other Sailors.
Naoko peered at the picture. Makeup and jewelry were part
of the transformation, obviously. The tomboy persona that
Nabiki had indicated couldn't be comfortable with these
things.
The note accompanying the pictures was burned, per Nabiki's
request. It was a plot point that would certainly catch most
of her readers by surprise.
She didn't notice the little form that flitted from the
package to the storyboards, and from there to inspect the
rest of the room.
------------------
Shampoo raced into the open door and hid under a table.
" A CAT!"
"Oh my!"
Nabiki looked at the pink cat, over at the obviously
frightened Ranma, up at the fretting pixie, and back again.
"You're scared of cats?"
Featherbrite sighed and watched Ranma hiding behind the
grill. "He'll get over it in a minute. I made a major
mistake years ago..."
"Mistake?" Kasumi watched Ranma slowly regaining control.
"His father was trying to teach him some Catfist technique.
I figured since it was supposed to give him the mind of a
cat, if he looked into a cat's mind, he ought to be able to
fake it, right?"
"Unnnnn," managed Ranma.
Featherbrite's mouth formed a moue of distaste. "I kinda
blew it. He's been scared of cats ever since."
"Sh-Shampoo?!"
Everyone looked at Ranma for a minute before Nabiki broke
the silence. "Yeah, he's lost it."
"It *is* Shampoo," Kasumi exclaimed.
"It's a cat," replied Nabiki then thought better of it.
Guys turning into sylphs, self sacrificing half ogres, youma
Sailor Moon otaku, and her secret bank account now having
twelve times the value it had last year. Having one's face
rubbed in the impossible a half dozen times before breakfast
tended to throw one off terms like "impossible" or "this
can't be" or even "damn unlikely."
"MEOW! Meowmeowmeowmeowmeow! Mewmeowmew!"
"I see," Ranma said, recovering nicely now that he was sure
that the cat wasn't. "So you ended up in Jusenkyo too..."
Kasumi blinked. "You understood her, Ranma?"
"MEOW MEOW!"
"Well, duh, Shampoo. Of course I can speak with enchanted
creatures. Standard faerie spell."
Kasumi started a kettle heating. "Oh my. That must be very
handy."
"Almost indispensible in the Faerie Realm," Featherbrite
interjected. "Hey, Ember, Whitewind, gimmee a hand here. I
think having an enchanted cat isn't *nearly* so interesting
as having an enchanted *talking* cat."
"I don't know, they're both a dime a dozen." Whitewind
blurred by. "Look at all the talking toads and frogs..."
"And ferrets, mustn't forget the ferrets." Crystalynn
pointed out. After all, the ferrets threw excellent parties.
"All they do is squeak," complained Jaquelynn. She didn't
like sticking around this place. No parties, too warm by
half, and all this *metal* lying about.
"Girls like a guy who can squeak," opined Crystalynn.
Five pixies started an argument while Nabiki conferred with
Ranma and altered the curse so that Shampoo could at least
talk in her cursed form.
"What about making her a cat-girl?"
"A were-cat? Too cliche. Besides, that hits her with a
whole bunch of silly Rules like 'weather permitting, all
cat-girls must be scantily clad.' We could add wings?"
"A kitty-hawk? Oberon's balls, girl, she's going to get
those wings tangled up around here."
"She's right, kitty-hawks are about as manueverable in the
air as Bat. At least Sailor Amazon is more manueverable."
"Don't get your panties in a knot, Featherbrite, it was
just an idea."
Featherbrite blinked. "What the heck is *that* supposed to
mean?"
Ember shrugged. "Just something I heard on that box with
the moving pictures. I kind of liked that Mughi thing they
were showing on the 'Anime Flashback' program."
"What a cool idea!" Crystalynn bounced. "And we could all
wear outfits like that redhead and that Yuki girl!"
"That's Kei and Yuri, Crystal." Featherbrite began to look
thoughtful.
Shampoo thanked Ranma and Nabiki for giving her the ability
to speak and suggested they go somewhere before enthusiastic
and creative pixies started implementing their designs.
Ranma dodged a scarlet beam, which went out the door. She
blinked as she realized that Nabiki and Kasumi were now
wearing "Dirty Pair Classic" battle-bikinis. Ranma quickly
agreed with Shampoo, and five figures went to give the
faeries some "cool off time."
Kasumi was blushing, the surface area being extraordinarily
visible in her current mode of dress. Nabiki was less put
off by the lack of coverage afforded her by the outfit, and
Ukyo was nearly as embarrassed as Kasumi.
A few moments later, a mailbox burst open and a
battle-bikini clad Tsuabasa wailed to the heavens about how
her old outfit had mysteriously vanished. She had no idea
HOW but she KNEW that those people hanging around Ukyo were
responsible for this...
Tsubasa gave chase up until she got a good look at the
figures. Then, one massive nosebleed later, she started
feeling guilty about having feelings for someone other than
her beloved Ukyo.
Nature abhors a vaccuum, you see. When one character drops
a role, another often arises to take it up.
--------------------------------------
Kasumi was blushing brightly in her Classic Dirty Pair
battle bikini. She was also shivering slightly.
Which was why they'd settled on a kissaten, it wasn't as
cold once they were out of the breeze.
Ranma considered briefly letting them sit around in the
tight, cold, revealing, uniforms as a form of revenge
briefly. Nah. "Y'know, if you transform, then shift back,
you'll probably be back in your normal clothing."
Kasumi all but fled to the bathroom. When she returned,
wearing more normal clothing, Ukyo scrambled for the
bathroom, followed by Nabiki at a *slightly* more dignified
pace. Nabiki didn't have any transformation abilities, but
she was interested in the possibility of slightly greater
warmth.
When the others had rejoined Shampoo-neko, Ranma shook his
head. "I should warn you, whenever we visited the Faerie
Realm, Featherbrite got like this. Pixies are usually pretty
irresponsible I guess, and when she's with a lot of other
faerie that tends to come out."
"Ranma," said Nabiki after a moment. "I'm... sorry."
Ranma merely smiled slightly and squeezed Nabiki's shoulder
in reply.
"What for?" Ukyo questioned.
"I *had* resolved to be a little less mercenary, after
all - I *am* exploring entirely new avenues for me." Nabiki
looked sadly into her cup of tea. "I shouldn't have been
so..."
Hot water splashed Shampoo, who realized her current state
of undress, and ended up getting splashed with cold water
until such time as some warm clothing could be procured. She
didn't really mind being naked, depending on the company,
but there were limits.
"So you went home and ended up getting cursed, Shampoo?"
"Two bad girls from Herbal Village, have old rivalry-feud
with Shampoo. Names Rink and Pink. They use poison many
times. This time they throw Shampoo in Jusenkyo 'Spring Of
Drowned Cat'. Was almost very terrible tragic story. Shampoo
get away, run across big bat and goat-boy, escape Rink and
Pink by going through hole in air. They still chase
Shampoo."
"Poisons?" Ranma looked thoughtful for a moment. "Chemical
process or natural poisons?"
"They use plant poison." Shampoo-neko considered Ranma
briefly. "You know spell?"
"Yeah, and there's a wide-spectrum antidote I can mix up.
There's a number of plants in the Faerie Realm that're kinda
aggressive." Ranma still considered something. "There's also
a spell pattern, where you ask the body to toughen its
defenses against plant poisons. If someone's gonna be
throwing Janus thorns and the like, or Mindrut pollen, it
won't be completely effective but it'll help."
"Janus thorns? Mindrut?" Nabiki's curiosity was piqued.
"Mindrut is the main ingredient in faerie Lemon Drops.
Basically it suppresses the conscious mind's inhibitions
while increasing the reproductive drives." Featherbrite
said, settling into place on the counter. "Janus thorns take
someone's primary personality trait and invert it. They're
both faerie plants. Why?"
"New opponents," summed up Ukyo. "Calmed down, yet?"
"Just got a little excited, that's all." Featherbrite
shrugged, not really understanding why they were so upset.
"Guys, can we have this conversation AFTER I get a jacket?"
Nabiki rubbed her arms and tried to keep her teeth from
chattering. "I need WARMTH."
-----------------------------------------------
"No, she can't be the real Faerie Princess," Zed waggled a
finger chidingly at Smedley. "It's out of genre for the
obvious one to be the Princess."
"Well, who is it then? Let's grab her, get it over with,
and get back to..." Smedley stopped. Did he really want
things to go back to being status quo this quickly?
"Patience, Smedley, patience. Now, how do we go about
determining who the real Princess is?"
"That's obvious!" Smedley snorted. "We kidnap the fake
princess and then watch for whoever shows up to rescue her."
Zed opened his mouth, ready to give all the reasons that
wouldn't work. He stopped. It was logical within the genre,
it would be in keeping with thousands of years of heroic
tradition, and it was definitely in keeping with their
Lord's plans. "Smedley, that's actually pretty good."
Smedley reached for another bottle of this "Fat Weasel Ale"
and bit the bottlecap off. "Then, because we KNOW that the
real Princess is coming, and is much more powerful than the
Bait, we can put all our defenses to capturing the real one
when she shows as the fake one isn't going to be much
threat."
Zed blinked. "Hmmm." He had to admit it, it sounded like
Smedley was onto something. It would, of course, require
refinement. The location that the fake Princess would be
held, for example, HAD to be just perfect. "Ah, we'll need a
special youma creation. Something truly diabolical that will
terrify and confound them. Something..."
"Something that I'm not concerned with, obviously," Smedley
interrupted as he replaced his "Samuel Addams" with a
"Sapporo Dark." "MY concerns strictly deal with the
placement of my goblins. You can muck about the deathtraps
and what have you. My troops will be ready when you are."
Zed smiled and took Cool Villain pose #4, using a cantrip
to create a breeze to stir his hair and cape in dramatic
fashion. "Form and style must be observed. Our first target
is Tokyo Tower."
Smedley considered, the discovery that Japan had "vending
machine" things everywhere had been a shock. But you could
actually get BEER out of these mechanical merchants,
providing you ripped the doors off, now THAT had been an
important discovery. Still, wouldn't it be better to get
more of the product? "I dunno. Couldn't we hit the Sapporo
brewing facilities?"
Zed ignored the comment. "And to facilitate this, I've
decided to awaken one of the Titan Abominations!"
Smedley did a spectacular spit-take that sprayed beer
across the meeting room. He immediately regretted this as an
unpardonable waste of brew. "TYPHON?! Why, by all the beer
in China would you do THAT?!"
"My research shows that 99% of all giant monsters, once
roused from their slumber, immediately head to downtown
Tokyo," Zed said proudly, pointing to a stack of movie
posters, novelizations, and old videocassettes. "Followed
shortly by rather pathetic attacks from and humiliating
defeats for the Japanese Self-Defense Force! By the time
Godzilla or Gamera defeat our ally, any resources that could
be used to aid our opponents will be depleted!"
"Why can't we just get this Godzilla or Gamera to do the
job?" Smedley picked up a poster of "Destroy All Monsters"
and remembered seeing something like this once. Of course,
at that time he'd been drinking some of that rotgut they
called "dwarven ale" or dwarvil.
"They are cleverly hidden, even my best divination spells
failed to locate their lairs," Zed's eyes grew distant.
"This will at least draw them into the open."
-------------------
The silver skinned woman regarded her companion. "*Where*
did you say this place was?"
"They call it Mini-apple-us," Wavefire grinned at her
taller companion. "Come on, they've got mortal men - doomed
to die and determined to live their short lives to the
fullest! Lives full of passion and energy!"
"Well, it's gotta be better than hanging around with the
satyrs." Nikki agreed, checking her "sailor suit" again.
"You got your anti-iron wards up? It won't bother me, but a
naiad..."
"It's ready. And so are we!" Wavefire nodded at her
companion. "It's Wavefire's..."
"and Nikki's..."
The finished simultaneously. "Operation Sensual Senshi!"
Thunder didn't really sound. But it should have.
-----------------------
New clothing in place, the small group moved off to discuss
"girl stuff."
Ranma gave a sigh of relief. Alone at last. No faeries
overhead, no girls underfoot, no monsters looming, no
responsibilities that he had to immediately turn his
attention to.
He sat back against the park bench and just sagged against
it. No. Immediate. Problems. No new fiancees. No new
hostiles. Homework was done. He could just kick back and
hang without any...
"Zzzzzzzzz"
-------------------------
"Stupid Senshi!" The muscular wart-ogre picked up a
mid-sized Japanese sedan and clubbed the woman who had
repeatedly attacked it. "I strong! I not beaten by puny
little mortal girl!"
"Sailor Red," cried a boy, unfortunately drawing the ogre's
attention.
"You like her? You join her." The ogre started forward,
chuckling.
<CREAK>
"Hmmm?!" The ogre blinked, stopping.
<WHAM> The ogre staggered as an engine block bounced off
his head.
Sailor Red wrapped the fender around the wart-ogre's throat
and was throttling him with it. "Who are you calling PUNY?!"
The ogre flipped back to try and squash Akane behind him.
That got her to release her hold on the now
almost-unrecognizable piece of metal. "I'm call YOU puny!
You ugly and you momma ugly."
Yoshinori stepped back, wincing, as the two began a brawl
in earnest. No quarter asked or given. The two appeared
matched in strength and general toughness, with the ogre
having height and reach, compared to Sailor Red's advantage
in speed and fighting skill.
Bricks flew as the ogre threw Akane through a wall. The
ogre grunted as Akane pulled a set of metal bars away from a
window and began doing bo staff attacks with the largest of
the bars. Akane snarled as the ogre retaliated by flipping a
manhole cover up and trying to smash her head in with it.
Akane did an axe kick, and then slammed her metal bar over
the ogre's head.
Yoshi watched as Akane fought a wart-ogre, a creature of
inhuman strength and durability. She was practically going
toe-to-toe with him, and there was one undeniable thing
about this fight.
Akane was enjoying the hell out of this.
------------------------
"I CAN'T SAY THAT!" Ranma watched in horror. Knowing that
in order to unleash this attack, she would have to yell the
name of the attack. She couldn't, someone might hear her.
Especially considering the camera crews.
"Healing Wave," said Sailor Angel, throwing sparkly little
energy crescents out from her wings.
"Turn over the Princess now, and I shall allow you to
survive this day!"
"Screw that!" Sailor Valkyrie exclaimed. "No way we're
gonna turn *anyone* over to some tentacle rape demon."
"Huh?" The youma, having never watched "Overfiend" was a
little uncertain about this. "C'mon, be reasonable. I've got
protections against lightning up. Your healing magic doesn't
do crap against me, and the rest of your team is away. Just
give up and save us all some problems."
Ranma abruptly realized what all those writhing tentacles
were, or at least what they looked like now that Ukyo had
pointed it out. "Ick!"
"Yes, impressive, aren't I?" The youma extended himself to
his full lengths.
Kasumi lost her smile and turned slightly green.
Ukyo shot a few more lightning bolts. The aim seemed to be
a bit off on these, though enough did strike to prove that
lightning-proof was a good description.
Several newscrews realized they'd *never* be able to show
this youma on primetime and concentrated their coverage on
the various Senshi.
Ranma grit her teeth. She was going to have to use it. She
didn't want to. But... it was so...
Tentacles reached out and snagged Sailor Angel.
"Royal Princess Final Attack," reluctantly announced Ranma,
doing a graceful high speed pirouette and gathering power.
Silently she was pleading for the cameras to break down.
"Devastating Kiss!" Ranma finished by blowing a kiss
towards the youma.
The sparkling bolt hit the youma and exploded. Even worse
from Ranma's point of view was that the little sparkly bolt
was heart-shaped. And pink.
"Beautiful!" The youma faded and vanished.
Sailor Angel did her best to console the obviously
distraught Faerie Princess. The moment was caught on film.
Ranma was properly mortified.
--------------
Naoko Takeuchi had done a number of small jobs over the
years. Manga writer/artist hadn't always paid this well. For
one thing, she was a licensed pharmacist. Which had been
rewarding in its own way.
None of which had prepared her for having a pixie hanging
over her storyboards and critiquing the artwork.
"It's the *style* of art," Naoko explained for what seemed
to be the ninth time.
"That boy's so unhip it's a wonder his pants don't fall
down," Crystalynn inadvertantly quoted.
"Look, he's supposed to be bishonen - after all, he turns
into the beautiful Faerie Princess."
"And he's not *that* clumsy," clucked Crystalynn. "After
all, he's a martial artist. It's when he transforms that she
suddenly can't keep her balance and trips over her shadow."
Naoko started to protest then considered this. Another
source of tension and reason for the Princess (she was
breaking with tradition and making her *not* the main
character -the emphasis early on being Sailor Amazon then
gradually altering to focus on Sailor Valkyrie) to hate her
True Identity. "Hmmmm..."
------------------
Mousse pried himself out of the street, wondering if
perhaps a change of tactics was necessary. Akane hit harder
than Shampoo did, but otherwise they were quite similar.
Hey, she had only imbedded him in the street this time, so
maybe she was warming to his advances.
Ah, the lovely Akane. How like Shampoo in her violent
strength, her noble fierceness, the pain she could inflict
upon him.
Shampoo would be HIS bride.
So would Akane.
Mousse could endure. He had years of experience, after all.
----------------------
The UnSeelie Court was filled with misfits.
Some saw the whole UnSeelie thing as a route to power, more
quick and darkly seductive than power within the Seelie
Court. Greaket had been one of those.
Some espoused the line that the only true life was of
Faerie, that these other beings were merely shadows and fit
only to serve their needs. Oberon was one of these.
Some merely flirted with the dark and twisted imagery and
lifestyle, the equivelant of Goths playing at vampiric live
action. Sigmund tended to fall into this category.
Some were among the UnSeelie because they didn't feel
comfortable among the Seelie Court and its supporters.
Smedley with his drinking problem and command of goblins fit
squarely in this category.
And some were just too bizarre to hang around the Seelie.
Zed was one of these, that he had a power level along the
line of Alpha Class Criminal Kain was also a factor there.
There were a few, true outsiders and independents, who
belonged to neither Court but merely sympathized one way or
the other. H.Bopp fit this category, as the typical satyr
games didn't quite fit his lifestyle.
So the Seelie, UnSeelie, and Independents could be typified
as the Good, the Bad, and the Just Plain Weird.
Currently many of the lower levels of the Seelie Court were
engaged in observing or participating in a mortal's Epic
Quest. Many of the higher levels of the UnSeelie Court were
engaged in that same adventure. Quite a few of all three
factions found themselves puzzling over just what the heck
all the fuss was about anyway.
And, as frequently happened in Epic Quests or Adventures or
whatever you wanted to call them, some people decided to
play copycat. Rather than play at someone else's game, or
associate with (insert hated rival's name), they would start
their own game.
And, as also frequently happened, there would be some who
would sit back and criticize and kvetch and gripe and moan.
Or they would be insulting, hostile, and feel the need to
stick their noses (those who had noses) into things that
they were proclaiming were beneath their notice in the first
place. Sometimes this had the desired effect and the critic
felt superior to the individuals they were focussed on
destroying.
When this happened with the members of the UnSeelie, a
fight usually erupted. Energy blasts and transformation
magics were exchanged and thrown about. With the Seelie, the
conflict usually consisted in a lot of hurt feelings and
recriminations. With the Independents, just about Anything
Goes.
And so it was with an individual known as H.Bopp, satyr
beatnik.
"Like, wow," said H.Bopp discovering something completely
unexpected. He was staring at the schoolyard of Saint
Bacchus' School For Gifted Girls (the frequent rival of
Saint Hebereke's School For Girls in Tokyo)with the rapt
attention one would expect of a satyr glimpsing the promised
land. "Like, double wow."
Bat, a prince transformed into a fruit bat sometime in the
Dark Ages (years and numbers had faded with time, and
transformed princes and princesses were a dime-a-dozen in
those days) looked on and marveled at these new inventions.
Sunglasses they were called. "What's the big deal?"
"Look at all the Senshi otaku," Bopp exclaimed, noting the
vast number of Senshi uniforms being displayed below. "It's,
like, totally major wild."
Bat looked as best he could (being nearsighted) at the
lunchtime crowd. He did notice something else, however.
"Looks like one of the UnSeelie heading this way."
"Oh man, dig all these Senshi chicks. Power levels are
pathetic." H. Bopp shook his head. "They must just be
fangirls or something. Too bad, man, some of 'em are like
major cute."
"They're Japanese girls," noted Bat. "A naturally high
percentage of cute."
"I gotta do something," proclaimed H. Bopp.
Bat went for cover as H. Bopp, a spellsinger pulled out his
recently acquired guitar and began to play. Spellsingers
were, after all, practiced one of the most powerful and
least controllable forms of Faerie Magic.
"Do you believe in magic
In a young girl's heart
How the music can free her
Whenever it starts, and it's magic
If the music is groovy
It makes you feel happy like an old time movie
I'll tell you 'bout the magic, and it'll free your soul
But it's like tryin' to tell a stranger 'bout-a rock 'n'
roll."
The magic began swirling out as the UnSeelie, a huge red
blob, breached the walls of the school. There was some
screaming but five of the young girls were surrounded by
swirling auras.
"If you believe in magic
Don't bother to choose
If it's H'Bopp's music
Or whatever ya choose,
just y'all listen,
It'll start with a smile,
That won't wipe off your face,
no matter how hard you try."
Five girls who believed in magic knew exactly what they had
to do. Five Seelie spirits, drawn by the magic and the
music, merged with human hosts.
"Your feet start tappin' and you can't seem to find
How you got there so just blow your mind."
H. Bopp just continued to play. He had no idea if it would
work, he had no idea if it would last, but his Art was
primary and it would do.
--------------
Michie nodded and willed the transformation. Rotating in a
golden spiral of light, she underwent the usual Senshi
costume change. "Sailor Idol Singer!"
Jun landed after undergoing a similar transformation.
"Sailor Seiyuu!"
Hiroko piroutted and posed. "Sailor Classic Rock!"
Satsuki fingered the whip that had appeared in her hand.
"Sailor Country?"
Atsuko smirked as she held her hand high, trying for an
elegant pose. "Sailor Hard Rock!"
The blob, ignoring the five, ran them over and continued on
through the schoolyard.
"Ouch!" All five Sailors managed in an odd unison before
passing out.
-----------------
Nabiki listened to the story of some group called "the
Legion Of Substitute Senshi" (how five girls qualified as a
Legion was another question) and wondered what had happened
to the nice orderly world she was used to.
Ranma grumbled under his breath and stepped out of the bath
into the backroom of the restaurant. "Anyone see my
clothes?"
Kasumi looked up from her medical text and blinked as the
towel-clad boy walked past. "I think they're all in the
wash."
"I thought I'd brought them in, but I sure don't see 'em,"
Ranma continued to grumble.
Shampoo looked up from her homework, considered briefly,
then got a playful smile on her face.
Ukyo looked up from her supply catalog, smiling for no
apparent reason herself as she took in his tight male
musculature. She focussed back on the job at hand with an
effort.
Shampoo whipped the towel off of Ranma, still smiling
playfully.
"Well, Ranchan, ah...eee ... I... ooo.. uuu" Ukyo had
glanced up as Shampoo had made her move. If anyone had asked
her at the time, she wouldn't have even remembered what she
had been looking for in the catalog anyway.
Kasumi, her eyes currently bugged out, nodded. What the
question was that she was responding to was anyone's guess.
Shampoo was frozen, her gaze fixed somewhere below Ranma's
beltline.
After a moment of petrified surprise, Ranma disappeared
into the bathroom with a startled squeak.
There was a few moments of silence, broken when Kasumi
gasped as she suddenly remembered to breathe. "Oh my."
Ranma zipped past them to the stairs, once again clad in a
towel.
"Nice... buns, Ranchan," Ukyo said in a low voice when she
could speak again.
"Shampoo take nice cold shower now."
"I think a quick nap is in order for me," said Nabiki
shakily. All the while she was damning her teenage hormones
for making it impossible to concentrate.
Kasumi merely blinked and blushed.
"Ah huh." Ukyo blinked again. "Gee, I think maybe I need
to open some windows. Awfully warm in here."
All four girls exchanged a glance and started laughing.
=======================
Next:
Shampoo sums up what has gone on in FBT 12 before we get to
the Oberon's Gantlet. FBT 13 will be set a few months down
the road.
===============================
Featherbrite's Tale Chapter TWELVE:
Shampoo's Letter
"A warm burrow, a good meal, a hot bath, pleasant company.
Ah, now *there's* something worth fighting for." F. Baggins,
adventurer.
"Love stinks." 20th century song lyrics, Datalinks.
translated from Chinese, Nichieju dialect.
Dear Great Grandmother,
I ask your help as both the eldest available member of my
family, and as Elder of the village. We are in need of your
wisdom.
I have just finished a visit to what they refer to as a
"beauty spa" here in the Osaka area. It was decided that we
should change our appearance somewhat, to make it more
difficult to track us. We're using our own names, though, as
it got too confusing to try to keep track of the various
names floating about. Besides, airen says that some of the
spells they've laid out will block attempts to track by
name.
Even though I've had the "odango" style for awhile, my hair
is currently arranged in a long braid. It feels strange, but
I admit it makes me look a lot different.
The clothes are likewise strange, but have a certain appeal.
A denim jacket over what they call a 'T shirt', a pair of
tight jeans and some leather footwear called 'mocassins.'
I'm being passed off as a Chinese-American, as apparently
the animosity between Chinese and Japanese is slightly less
if the Chinese is also American. I'm having trouble faking
the American mannerisms, but I know enough English to get by
due to a 'speed learning' spell Ranma cast. Unfortunately, I
seem to have a natural difficulty with Japanese, but this is
excused from an American where it would be made fun of from
a Chinese. Oddly enough, due to the spell, I'm getting
better at English than the language that I'm usually
surrounded by.
The last I saw you, you had commanded me to go with the Old
One and meet with the one known as Ranma. If possible, I was
to give the Kiss Of Life and marry him. As you well know, I
was a little put off by certain things going on at the time.
Once in Japan, I found my first and best friend. We make an
odd couple, she and I. Her name is Kasumi Tendo and she is
one who accepts me completely and without reservation. Our
relationship, I hasten to add, is *not* like that of Mace
and Flail. I would like to swear her in as my shieldmate, if
she meets with your approval.
I also discovered that my newest friend's sister was engaged
to this Ranma. At first, I dismissed her as being merely a
greedy little girl, the sort who could be scared or bought
off with little difficulty. This has changed. SHE has
changed. Nabiki Tendo is less the sneaky opportunist I had
met, and more like a woman who is coming into her own sort
of power. I am uncertain about how to proceed here. Kasumi
tells me that I must observe the customs of the land I am
in, so I've refrained from using Formula 110.
The stupid panda sold Ranma off, and since then we have
relocated to Osaka. More detail on this when you get here.
It is really strange. The Old One is a pixie named
Featherbrite. She is of what she calls the Seelie Court,
which is a faction of the faerie folk. There is an enemy to
the Seelie, called the UnSeelie. Some sources call them the
Sidhe and the UnSidhe but they are just different names as
far as I can tell. Well, that and the UnSeelie seem to have
more raw power and are uglier.
During the time I have been here, I have become a Vampire
Slayer. Then there are these Japanese superhero types. Ask
Sash what a Senshi or a sentai is, you'll be appalled. I
know I was. THEN, on the way home to contact you, Rink &
Pink ambushed me and took me to a place called Jusenkyo. So
now I also turn into a cat when I'm splashed with cold
water. Though Ranma has given me the power of human speech
in cat form, and the Old Ones have used the extra energies
of the curse to allow me to do something else as well.
At least that's what they've told me. With the faerie, I'm
told you don't hear half what is *really* going on at any
given point.
In the course of events, I have come to a grudging respect
for some of my associates. Kasumi, as I've mentioned
earlier, is almost the older sister I've never had. She may
not be a warrior, but she's supportive in other ways. Nabiki
is becoming a mage, and therefore someone who well may be an
assett to the tribe if we can find a pretext to win her
support.
Spatula Girl, or Ukyo as the others call her, is a bit of an
enigma to me. Why would someone forswear her feminity to
pursue revenge? Why would some warrior-girl's father seek to
make a perfectly good daughter into a boy? These Japanese
can be so strange.
Spatgirl was on a ten year quest for vengeance. She was
apparently engaged to Ranma at an early age. Then the stupid
panda-father of Ranma screwed up Ukyo's engagement and
family honor all at once.
Ranma has made it clear that he doesn't like to see us
fight, so we're all *trying* to get along.
You've probably seen the television. The Sailor Starriors
and their opponents are real. At least it isn't boring, and
Ranma compliments me on being such a good fighter. (Hopeful
sign.)
Sailor Amazon has powers over wind, and is the most
beautiful and most 'talented' of the group. As is only
proper for an Amazon. (Why they use a term meaning "without
breasts" for women-warriors is beyond me.)
Sailor Valkyrie has powers over lightning, though she seems
a bit obsessive and gets a bit carried away in a fight.
Sailor Angel is a gentle healer who usually handles the
clean up.
The Faerie Princess refuses to use any of her special
powers, stating that they are too embarassing to use in
public like that.
Up in Tokyo, tales have reached us of Sailor Rose. The
powerful "Senshi" of plants and growing things. Odd that she
uses gymnastic equipment when fighting, but then the village
has a few odd fighting styles practiced as well.
Also up in Tokyo are Sailor White and Sailor Red. There's
also the mysterious Samurai Mask. Well, all three are
mysterious. Even if I suspect I know who Sailor White is.
Speculation is that these are part of our own group, but due
to the length of time to get from Osaka to Tokyo it will
take us awhile to go up and confirm. It's too dangerous for
Ranma to go, but certainly Nabiki and Ukyo could go
investigate.
As to the day-to-day stuff. We've got a routine going.
Get up, do some light sparring in the empty lot three blocks
down, come back and get ready for school. Yes, I am
attending school in this Chinese-American identity they've
gotten me. If I come across as violent or pushy, it's
excused as laboring under the problems of the American
school system.
Then Rink & Pink will try something. Today it was Rink
trying to hit Ranma with some sort of love potion using a
blowgun. Of course, it didn't quite behave as expected, and
we spent most of the morning prying Kasumi off of Ranma.
She's better now, by the way, though she still looks a
little sparkly eyed.
Then, usually around lunch, this guy named Tsubasa Kurenai
tries hitting on Ukyo. Ukyo literally hits back. I told her
I empathized and related my experiences with Mousse. Today
Tsubasa was disguised as a "sugarplum fairy" - which gives
you an idea about this guy. Mousse is blind, but this guy
has no fashion sense at all. Mousse is less clueless, does
that give you an idea how pathetic this guy is?
I can sympathize with Ukyo to some degree here. Having an
obnoxious boy who might make a good friend, but continues to
assault you, declare love for you, and otherwise act as an
irritating pest that keeps trying to latch on to you. Gee, I
wonder why I can empathize with the chef...
Last week was a bit strange and is still having serious
repercussions. Rink and Pink were using some weird "flowers
of wimpy housewife" or something like that. Tsubasa was one
of those that got hit and he spent the rest of the day
trying to knit a sweater for Ukyo before the flower fell
off. It was really weird watching some of our regular
customers giggling and discussing fashion. It didn't seem to
have much effect on Kasumi or Nabiki, I assume their magical
defenses were sufficiently strong that they could avoid such
a minor curse.
Back to Crossdresser Boy. What makes Tsubasa an actual
threat is that he has come up (somehow) with the idea that I
and the others associated with Ukyo are youma. He even
suspected that Ukyo was a fake Ukyo. The "sugarplum fairy"
attacked us by throwing beans at us.
I wonder if I will *ever* understand these Japanese. Getting
rid of evil spirits by throwing beans at them?
Then there's a perverted guy named Hideyoshi, a weird girl
named Sora, and the school "boss" - a guy named Teppo. Oh
and there's classes at school too, but they're boring. I'd
rather beat up Hideyoshi, Sora, and Teppo. Fortunately I get
lots of chances to do it. With the fights from them, Rink &
Pink, the various monsters, and Tsubasa's weirdness, I feel
that my fighting skills are improving. And here I was afraid
I wouldn't get the chance to practice much away from the
village!
I could use your wisdom now. It seems that one of the girls
from up in Tokyo, down here for some sort of ice skating
competition, was able to capture me as a cat. Ranma and Ukyo
freed me, but this 'Azusa Shiratori' challenged them to a
'martial arts figureskating' match this weekend to determine
ownership of the cat. Not happy at all about this. Azusa is
scary.
I hope you will come visit soon, Ukyo has got a line on a
better restaurant and we could use some help in THAT as
well.
Sincerely,
Shampoo
PS: Tell Sash they've got lots of that "anime" stuff on the
TV. I'll send her a tape later.
PPS: Oh yeah, there's also five girls who transform with
music who call themselves the "Legion Of Substitute Senshi."
You know how pathetic Lin Lin & Ran Ran's special techniques
and fighting skills can be? Even worse. They need all the
help they can get. Light a prayer candle for them.
if you don't have a prev chapter: it's up mainly on
http://www.tass.org/fanfic/The-Bet/ranma.the-bet.featherbrites-tale
-----------------------------
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/
metro...@mindspring.com
Akane blinked. "When I said 'pervert' earlier,
I was displaying a gift for understatement that
appears almost criminal in level."
-Akane Tendo "Mirrors Reflected: Blood on the
Moon"