[AMG/Ranma][Fanfic] Instruments of Change, Part Six
Mike Koos
Ranmira's eyes widened in fear as she saw Ryouga leaping toward
her, fully intent on following through with his usual threat.
It had become something of a game to Ranma and Ryouga, really;
Ryouga would appear, threaten Ranma's very life. They would fight
for a while... which usually ended with Ryouga getting wet or - more
often than not - hopelessly, miserably lost.
He'd decided the first option wasn't that bad. As P-chan, he
could find refuge with Akane and let her comfort him... though the
innocent girl had no idea her pet pig was someone she knew in a form
forced upon him by a Jhusenkyou curse. Plus, it gave him a good
opportunity to spite his rival.
From what he'd gathered of the discussions between Nabiki, Kunou
and two strangers he had never met, Kunou had put dear Akane at
life-threatening risk with a sword of some sort - and Ranma, that
moron, had left her all alone to fend for herself against the powers
of a real demon.
That was unforgivable!
Ranmira hastily cast a barrier spell to place a wall between her
and Ryouga. She was aware how dangerous a fighter Hibiki Ryouga
could be from the memories she had gained from Ranma. In her
weakened state, she was certainly unable to withstand a one-on-one
fight with Ryouga.
Nor was she able to cast a sufficiently strong barrier spell to
keep Ryouga away.
The punch the Eternally Lost Boy aimed for her face caused the
barrier to shatter, almost as though it were a thin layer of glass...
the rainbow fragments of the ruined barrier drifting like errant
leaves on the wind as Ryouga's tightly-clenched fist connected with
her left cheek. Ranmira was sent reeling into the wall at the far
end of the family room, burrowing a crater from which she did not
move.
An Aa! Megamisama / Ranma 1/2 Crossover
Instruments of Change
Part Six
written by Mike Koos
------------------------
Ryouga stared at her intently. A good opening blow, to be sure.
It would be enough to get Ranma mad, and the fight could then become
real, instead of these simple blows any of the martial artists in the
neighborhood could laugh off.
He was dimly aware of a girl's angry voice yelling something
nearby. It wasn't Akane, Nabiki or Kasumi, so he kept his attention
fixed on the red-haired girl across the room from him. <Come on,
Ranma! Get up so I can kill you!>
Of course, it was generally a bad idea to ignore anything that
was taking place in the general area of a fight.
Skuld scowled. How *dare* he hurt her sister! "NEO SKULD
*BOMB*!!" she shouted, hurling the mechanical device at Ryouga while
Akane could only gape at the scene taking place before her.
The word *bomb* set off an instinctive alarm in Ryouga's mind as
the device caught him a second later... exploding with enough force
to throw him out into the yard past the dreaded koi pond.
Nabiki and Kasumi were caught in a moment of indecision. Common
sense dictated that neither of them risk stepping out onto the
battlefield until the fights were over, but an innocent had just been
injured! Someone had to stop this fight...
On the other hand, what Skuld had done was probably the best
approach to stopping Ryouga, since few of the fighters paid much
attention to outside reason while they were fighting. And Ryouga?
He was a berserker, one who had to be convinced by way of force, not
logic and rational thought.
Skuld and Akane were easing Ranmira away from the wall and onto
the floor. Had Ryouga severely wounded the Goddess? Nabiki wondered.
Ryouga was twice cursed, maybe more; surely this was no way to get
the Gods and Goddesses to look favorably on him.
"Oneesama," pleaded Skuld. "Please tell me you're going to be
okay!"
<Okay?> Akane thought. <Ryouga-kun just hit her in the face!>
Even a Goddess could feel helpless... She was tempted to draw her new
hammer and explain to Ryouga exactly how much sense these stupid,
pointless, fights with Ranma were. Did this mean Ryouga attacked
*anyone* who just happened to look like Ranma? For all she knew, he
could be seriously injuring or even killing people given his power.
This had to stop! She couldn't let Ryouga continue to put people at
risk!
Ranmira slowly opened her eyes, the pain in her left cheek
causing the eye above to resist the effort more than the other.
"Thank goodness." Skuld choked back the tears that were threatening
to overwhelm her eyes.
Akane glanced between Ranmira and Skuld. "Are you... is she...
going to be all right?"
Skuld nodded. "I think so. If she's given some time to
recover, most likely. " She knelt closer to her sister, whispering.
"Oneesama... you should let Ranma take over."
A faint nod in response, and Ranmira closed her eyes again. Her
form wavered, shifting first into Ranma's familiar female form and
then Ranma's proper form.
Ranma awoke to find Skuld and Akane kneeling over him. The
young girl again... long, raven hair, bright brown eyes... and both
this girl and Akane had a set of strange triangular markings on their
faces...
<Akane!?>
He stared at her. In addition to the markings, Akane wore a
matched pair of gold earrings. There was a decidedly different feel
to her aura... not threatening, but... different. Strong, too.
When had this change occurred? The last thing he recalled was
Nabiki barging into his room to tell him that Akane was losing in a
fight with Kunou in the yard. He'd followed Nabiki downstairs,
and... and... awoke *here*, lying down. What had happened? Had he
fought Kunou and lost? And was it just his imagination, or was it
actually *dark* outside?
Who was the other girl? He once more felt a sense of
familiarity from her, though his instincts were telling him not to
stare at her for fear that Akane would become jealous for some
ridiculous reason and bring her mallet to bear on him. The
long-haired girl did, Ranma noted, have an aura like Akane's yet
stronger.
By the time he made up his mind to ask what was going on, Ryouga
charged into the family room, looking as though he'd been caught in
the center of a very large explosion.
Ryouga? When had *he* arrived?
"Ranma," the other boy sneered. "I see you at least had the
decency to change back to your real form." Ryouga paused to narrow
his eyes in Skuld's direction. "Not above adding yet *another* girl
to your harem, huh? Much *younger* than your usual girlfriend, too."
It took a couple of seconds for Ryouga's words to penetrate the
fog still lingering in Ranma's mind. He glanced at Skuld, who was
presently glaring at Ryouga. For some inexplicable reason this girl
felt like a younger sister to him, someone whom he should be
defending. How dare Ryouga insinuate he was trying to carry on some
kind of boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with a younger sister!
Ranma drew himself to his feet. He noted that his body felt as
though he hadn't used it for a brief time. "Shut up, Ryouga," he
cracked his knuckles, not bothering with the usual potshots at
Ryouga's secret identity, his sense of direction or luck in
relationships. "I'm not going to let you get away with saying
incredibly stupid things like that."
"Why? I'm right, aren't I?"
Ranma's expression didn't change. "No, you're not. But you
still need to be beaten up."
"By you? Never," Ryouga smirked.
"We'll see." Ranma gestured to the open outer doorway.
"Outside."
The fight began even before they passed through the door frame.
Akane sighed. Fights broke out far too easily in this part of
the world. "Does Ranma know who you are?" she asked Skuld.
Skuld kept her gaze trained on Ranma. "Probably only by
appearance, I guess." She had never introduced herself to Ranma, and
as far as she knew, Ranma had none of Ranmira's memories. Ranmira
likely had Ranma's memories, however... perhaps one day, Ranmira
could become a fighter as well. It would surely be useful against
people who insisted on punching her in the face.
Behind them, Nabiki cleared her throat. They turned and were
surprised to see Urd taking in the whole scene in front of her with
an offhand interest from a spot beside Nabiki. Either Urd had
remembered to keep her entrance quiet - it *was* close to two A.M. in
the morning, wasn't it? - or both she and Akane had been too
concerned with the fight to notice Urd's arrival, thought Skuld. Or
maybe both.
Nabiki *had* witnessed Urd's return... and this time, she hadn't
been taken by surprise. She'd gathered from Urd, Skuld and Peorth's
rather unique 'entrances' that each of the Goddesses had their own
special ways of traveling... their own personal 'hyperspace,'
perhaps, using certain things as mediums.
It helped to be observant in this neighborhood, Nabiki told
herself.
Admittedly, one hole in that theory was that she didn't know
what Ranmira or Belldandy's mediums were, assuming either of them used
that method of travel - or if Akane now had a medium of her own.
Would Akane, at least, answer some of these questions?
Urd yawned and lazily waved to Skuld and Akane.
Akane wondered in passing whether Urd had had a chance to rest
after chasing Marller alongside Ranmira. "Urd-san... what are you
doing here?"
The Goddess of the Past studied her. "Just 'Urd,' Akane. So
you're officially a Goddess candidate now?"
"Yes."
"She's my apprentice," Skuld added, proudly.
That elicited a snort from Urd. "They apprenticed her to *you*?
I feel sorry for you, Akane."
Skuld frowned. "Shows how much you know! It was Kami-sama's
idea."
Urd shrugged, turning her attention to the battle taking place
in the yard. "What's this all about? I was about ready to go to
sleep when we got the hint of what you guys were feeling. Belldandy
was kinda worried something bad had happened."
"Almost," Skuld said with disgust. "Oneesama overdid it with
her projections even though she knew she wasn't recovered from
fighting Marller. When we came back here, that guy over there
thought she was Ranma and threatened to kill her. He punched through
her barrier and hit her in the face--"
"So you threw a bomb at him," Urd noted. "I can see from here
he's been in an explosion."
Akane saw that the younger Goddess wasn't apparently embarrassed
in the slightest for having thrown a bomb at Ryouga. Come to think
of it... why would a Goddess use bombs, anyway? "...And since
oneesama needed to recover, we told her to let Ranma take care of the
guy."
"Huh." Urd was staring at Skuld now, trying to gauge her
sister's expression and thoughts. Was Urd concerned that Skuld might
attempt to go after Ryouga herself?
The sound of two individuals falling into the koi pond broke the
trio's concentration.
Akane rose, acting on instinct, and stepped out into the yard as
Ranma dragged her now-female form out of the pond.
<The kid was right. She does look like Ranmira,> Urd thought.
A small, dark shape near Akane's feet squealed tentatively. She
recognized the shape immediately, much to Ranma's disdain. "P-chan!"
she happily scooped the small pig into her arms. "Oh, you're all wet
again. That pond gets you every time, doesn't it?"
Urd caught the dirty glare Ranma shot at the little pig and
wondered why the cursed boy would do such a thing. Where had the
Hibiki boy disappeared to? Fortunately for her, Akane thought to ask
a similar question as Ranma accepted the towel Kasumi somehow had
ready for her.
Ranma shrugged. "He just ran off all of a sudden," she said,
peripherally watching P-chan's reaction to her words. "I didn't feel
like chasing after him since it's late and all."
That idea startled Akane. Ranma, not bother to finish a fight?
Recently, more of his fights with Ryouga ended precisely this way -
inconclusive. Ryouga would run away just as he had on his first
visit to the Tendo home, a late-night fight in the rain that had
abruptly ended after Akane had bounced a training weight off Ryouga's
head.
It had also been one of the few times Ranma chased after Ryouga
after Ryouga ran from the scene of a fight.
The boy currently wearing a girl's body fixed Akane, Urd and
Skuld with a single stare. "Let's forget about Ryouga for now, okay?
Is there anything anyone wants to tell me?"
Urd exhaled. "Okay," she said after a moment's hesitation.
"What do you remember, Ranma?"
** ** **
"You're kidding me, right?" Urd and Skuld had waited until
everyone was seated at the family-room table to explain the day's
events to Ranma - and why he couldn't remember most of it. "The
three of you are goddesses--"
"I'm only a Goddess candidate, Ranma," Akane corrected him.
"...Whatever. And because of a wish my Mom made, there's a
Goddess inside me, trying to make me into a perfect gentleman." It
wasn't that Ranma truly disbelieved the story; repeating everything
gave him a chance to allow it to sink in.
<They're telling you the truth, Ranma.>
"What?" Ranma started.
"What's the matter?"
"That... A voice, in my mind," he reluctantly answered. The
very same mental voice that had assured him the previous gap in his
memory was nothing to worry about. He hadn't given the voice much
thought at the time, seeing as how it was the same voice his female
side used, but now...
Urd chuckled. "That's probably Ranmira."
"Ranmira?" he repeated, unsure how to proceed. "You mean I can
hear what she's saying?"
<I'm here, Ranma. And yes, you can hear what I'm saying, as I
can listen to you.>
"Weird." Ranma slumped slightly in his chair. "So can she come
out here? What does she look like?"
He had the impression Ranmira wasn't happy about being ignored
as though she was not present.
"Not unless you want your body and memories to be placed on
temporary hold again."
"She looks like you as a girl, Ranma, but older and with longer
hair," Akane indicated, grateful not to be left out of this
conversation.
Ranma acknowledged the description, wincing at the thought of
being 'stored away' again. "Well... is there a way I can speak to
her?"
<I can listen to your thoughts if you direct them toward me.>
"You-you can?"
Urd and Skuld met each other's gaze. "Ranmira." Skuld was
happy; that Ranmira was communicating with Ranma was a definite sign
she was going to recover.
<Ranma! Use your thoughts! I can guess what some of the people
you know would think if they saw you apparently holding a
conversation with yourself.>
She had a point, Ranma had to admit.
<O-okay. Like this?>
<Yes.>
<Is there a way you can show me what you look like?> wondered
Ranma.
<......I'm rather weak right now, and Ryouga wasn't much help.
But... I shall try.> An image of Ranmira suddenly took shape in
Ranma's thoughts, like a computer gradually displaying a complex
image block by block. He held the image once Ranmira had finished
creating it to allow her to conserve her power.
Akane's description of Ranmira had been accurate, he saw. He
had never viewed his female side as a separate person before... like
Skuld and Urd, Ranmira had an enigmatic, natural beauty, and the
blue-violet markings on her face only added to the effect - as they
did in Akane's case, now that he thought about it.
He cast that thought away. Wasn't he supposed to be dealing
with Ranmira here, not that tomboy-turned-Goddess candidate?
Wait.
<I look a lot like you as a girl. Does that mean you had
something to do with my curse?>
There was no response for a short pause. <Only the fact that
you look like me as a girl.>
<Huh?>
<As far as I am aware, the Nyan-nii-chuan shows you how you
would most likely appear had you been born female. But because I am
presently a part of you, the magic of the curse conflicts with my
presence, causing you to resemble me, I believe.>
<Does that mean that if we're separated, I'll change appearance
*again*?>
Ranmira wondered for a second what her charge meant by the use
of the word 'again.' <Your female form would change appearance, yes.>
<So can you or your sisters remove my curse, then?>
<I'm afraid not,> the Goddess answered. <As I told your father,
a curse is a punishment you bring down upon yourself for your own
actions. The only one who can truly remove your curse is you.> She
could sense Ranma's spirits falling in response. <Please, do not
lose hope, Ranma. There are a number of ways to rid yourself of a
Jhusenkyou curse.>
<Like what?>
She paused. <I cannot tell you.>
Ranma suddenly noticed the expectant stares everyone was
directing at him. "Wh-what?"
Akane grinned. "Oh, we were just wondering what the two of you
were discussing in there."
"Yeah!" Skuld blurted before Ranma had a chance to reply. "How
is she?"
<Tell her I'm fine. I will need to sleep for a short period of
time, however.>
"She's fine, but she needs to sleep for a while."
"So do I," yawned Urd.
"We all probably could. Akane and Ranma have school tomorrow,
and so do I," Skuld pointed out.
Urd made a pathetic attempt to hold back her laughter. "You?
*You're* going to school... with them?"
"What about it?" Skuld growled, narrowing her eyes at her
eldest sister. "I have to remain close to Akane."
Nabiki blinked. "Does that mean you'll be staying here? With
the Saotomes and Happosai, we don't exactly have any free rooms."
"I can set up a cot for you in Akane's room if you prefer,"
Kasumi chimed in.
Skuld stared at her momentarily. It was difficult to have a
conversation with Kasumi and not be reminded of Belldandy. "Er...
no, thank you. I can get between the temple where I'm staying and
here very quickly."
The unassuming smile never left Kasumi's lips. "Really? That's
quite all right. It should be interesting having all of you around."
In stunned silence, everyone watched Kasumi leave the room.
Akane subconsciously shifted P-chan in her arms. She cleared
her throat. "Well. I still don't see why Ryouga-kun would go to the
trouble of getting angry and trying to beat you up, then disappear.
Ranma, is there something you're not telling me?"
Ranma's mind raced to come up with a response. "Not at all,
Akane," he said brightly. "Ryouga's gone, and now P-chan's here.
What makes you think there's anything I'm not telling you?"
In the next instant he learned exactly what it was like to have
two Goddesses and a Goddess candidate staring at him in disbelief,
not to mention a little black pig rolling his eyes.
"I hope he doesn't come back tonight," muttered Akane. "Ranmira
could've really been hurt because of your stupid feud."
It was Ranma's turn to stare at her in disbelief, then at
P-chan. <She'll never see it.> He inwardly sighed.
Ranmira kept her silence. She had already known of P-chan's
secret - inadvertently - from Ranma's memories, though it wasn't her
place to tell anyone. Her charge wasn't aware she knew, which was
probably for the best. No sense placing stress on both Ranma and
Ryouga, even if aspects of the secret they were keeping from Akane
were indeed quite questionable.
She remained quiet when she saw through Ranma that Skuld was
presently calling P-chan 'cute.' Ranma's disgust was unmistakable.
The boy was trapped by his honor not to reveal Ryouga's secret and it
was eating him up inside, so to speak.
<She's got some weird sisters.>
<Who has weird sisters?> Ranmira asked him, to let Ranma know
she had heard his remark.
<Um... Akane?>
Fortunately for her, Ranma wouldn't be able to see her smile.
<That is not a nice thing to say about anyone's sisters, Ranma.>
** ** **
Skuld's entrance from within the middle of the koi pond the
following morning came as no real surprise to any of the members of
the Tendo household. What *was* startling, however, was the sight of
the young Goddess in a Fuurinkan High girls' dress uniform - a white
dress shirt worn underneath a sky-blue jumper, in which Skuld
appeared to be fairly uncomfortable. Her debugging hammer was also
once again strapped to her back, its magenta tones a contrast to the
colors of the school uniform.
"You're early," Nabiki remarked as Skuld took a seat at the
table next to Akane, who made room for her. "Did you get much sleep?"
Skuld rested her head on her hands and sighed. "Now and then."
Ranma found himself keeping an eye on Skuld while he finished
off the last traces of his breakfast. He had asked Ranmira to tell
him all she could about her sisters before going to bed. Skuld was
*her* sister, but he still felt as though she could be his younger
sister, someone whom he should be devoting serious effort to keeping
safe. Ranmira's influence? Or maybe he was simply worried that the
lunacy of the Nerima area might be too much even for a Goddess.
In his mind, half-hidden by his thoughts, he heard a yawn.
Speaking of Goddesses... <Ranmira?>
<Good morning, Ranma.> There was a pause as he had the
impression that Ranmira was taking a look at the family room through
his eyes. <Would you mind if I 'take control' for a few minutes? I
would like to speak with Skuld and Akane.>
<Oh...... okay.>
<Thank you.>
Ranma's transformation into Ranmira caught the attention of
those gathered - particularly Genma, who was aware he had no idea how
to 'repair the damage' he had done to Ranma, as the Goddess had
insisted.
"Oneesama!" Skuld started. "How are you?"
"I still need to rest for a while," Ranmira assured her.
"Akane, I wanted to ask you... is there a way you can guarantee
P-chan won't wander off and get himself lost for the rest of the day?"
The small pig seated on the table at Akane's place withdrew his
breath.
Akane thought about it. "I suppose I can see if Kasumi-oneechan
can watch him. Why?"
Nearby, Nabiki was watching the discussion with sudden interest.
Did this mean that Ranmira knew Ryouga's secret?
Ranmira smiled. "I would just like to speak with him later."
"Oh." Akane glanced down at her pet. "Hear that, P-chan? If I
become a Goddess, maybe one day we'll be able to understand each
other!"
<Poor Ryouga,> Nabiki thought, smirking. Ryouga's predicament
was largely his fault... When she turned back to the scene, Ranma was
again himself.
"So how does it feel to have your mind and body put in temporary
storage?" Akane prodded him.
Ranma looked down at his plate. "Not as bad as eating your
cooking," he muttered. Though, he had to admit, he *was* curious
about what Ranmira had done.
With a speed Ranma had never expected from Akane, she drew her
hammer from its place of storage and in the same swing, used it to
send Ranma flying into the koi pond outside. Only when the cursed
boy did not surface from the pond for almost a minute did Akane
recall the extra power contained within her new hammer.
"Why'd you do that for?" grumbled the now-female Ranma, clearly
miserable. "Now I'm going to have t'get some hot water."
Akane watched her trudge out of the room. "Hmph," she snorted.
"Akane, what did we tell you about doing that?"
"Sorry. I guess it's an instinctive reaction," the Goddess
candidate apologized to Skuld, embarrassed.
"Well, Ranma's not helping, either." Skuld glanced in the
direction of the door Ranma had used. Pounding Ranma with a mallet
or hammer might have become a habit for Akane, but as for Ranma... it
was easy to tell that Ranma was purposely building barriers between
him and Akane. Why would he do that? Was he afraid of getting too
close to her? Afraid of getting hurt emotionally? Or... afraid of
hurting Akane's feelings?
Skuld was fairly sure Ranma cared for Akane. Now, to determine
if *Akane* also cared for him, and get them to admit it to each other
before they ran out of time...
"Isn't Ranmira supposed to tell him not to act like a jerk?"
Nabiki asked as she set her empty bowl aside.
"I think she's sleeping now." A slight note of frustration or
anger was taking shape in Skuld's voice. "After using so much power
and getting hit by that Ryouga guy, she needs to rest to recover her
strength."
Only Nabiki noticed P-chan's nervous reaction to those words.
Apparently, Akane mused, Ranma hadn't taken the time to ask
Ranmira that many questions the night before. He walked beside Skuld
now; every few steps or so he would ask another question.
Akane wondered why *she* hadn't asked as many questions.
"Couldn't you two just teleport to school or something?"
"I guess so," admitted Skuld without looking at him. "It's
better not to waste our energy teleporting all over the place,
though."
She hoped that was the last of Ranma's questions. Thankfully,
he was keeping his voice down so that nobody would overhear, though
Skuld was on the verge of losing her patience.
It wasn't to be the final question. "Okay, so why do you need
to go to school if you're connected to that giant computer,
what's-its-name?"
Skuld bit her lower lip. "Yggdrasil. And even Goddesses need
an education. We have to be able to think and reason on our feet,
not depend on a computer to do our thinking for us."
Akane snorted. "He just wants the easy way out, as always."
"I do not, you stupid tomboy! I wasn't even talking about me!"
Akane drew her hammer. "*Ranma*--!!"
As Ranma bounced about trying to dodge Akane's hammer strikes,
Skuld rolled her eyes. Ranma was at it again.
All of a sudden she heard the sound of a fair amount of water
splashing upon something. Given the universal laws of perversity and
the nature of a single Jhusenkyou curse, that particular something
could only be one thing.
She pivoted on the balls of her feet to find that Ranma had
indeed been transformed, having stepped into the path of an older
woman who happened to be in the process of tossing out her bathwater.
"Great," Ranma spat. Twice in one morning, no less!
"Well, we don't have enough time to stop anywhere for hot
water," Akane sighed. "You're going to have to stay like that."
Actually, there *were* a few spells whose effects could be
combined to create hot water for Ranma - but spells were more
Belldandy and Ranmira's forte than hers, and besides which, Skuld
figured that leaving Ranma in female form for the time being might
contribute to his humility. "Does everyone at the school know about
your curse?"
Ranma glanced at her. "Huh? No, but those who do don't mind
it, as far as I know."
"There's also the people who try to take advantage of his curse."
"You mean like Nabiki?" Ranma asked Akane, shoving aside the
locks of damp red hair that had descended upon her eyes along with a
slight amount of water.
Akane hesitated. She didn't want anyone to say terrible things
about her sister... though, she was well aware that Nabiki routinely
claimed she was 'on the side of money.' Manipulating people seemed
to be a hobby of Nabiki's.
The trio refrained from speaking the remainder of the walk to
school.
Ranma was understandably nervous; long occurrences of silence
were almost always a sign that something was about to happen.
Their second official problem of the day pulled them aside once
they were within the school grounds. "Hello, my students!" the
infamous principal of Fuurinkan High practically boomed. "First
year, Class F, Saotome Ranma and Miss Tendo Akane! I see you've
brought the new student!" He pulled a pair of hair shears from an
oversized shirt pocket, making tsk-tsk noises as he examined Skuld.
"Oh, no. I'm afraid your hair's all wrong for a student. Here, let
me fix it."
<I would have to put up with the hair-crazed freak this
morning,> scowled Ranma. She brought a foot up to kick the shears
out of the principal's hand.
The principal shrugged and summoned a larger pair of shears for
his next assault. Ranma wasted no time in sending the second pair of
shears after the first.
"Wait your turn, Saotome Ranma," the man hissed. Another large
pair of shears was introduced to the light of day.
Skuld chose this moment to offer him a gift - a baseball-sized
sphere with several cylindrical-style projections jutting out from it
in all directions. "Oh, *thank* you for letting me attend school
here, Mr. Principal!" she gushed in an overwhelmingly saccharine
tone of voice. "I want to thank you by giving you this gift..."
He stared at the bomb and the curiously retreating trio in
bewilderment before the device exploded in his face.
Skuld ignored the applause of those who had been watching.
"This place really IS weird."
"Told you so," Akane laughed.
Ranma folded her arms. "Yeah, but the day's not over yet. If
it isn't one Kunou, it's another."
"Or both."
"Or all three," Ranma amended.
Akane made a face. "Thanks a lot. I was trying to *forget*
about her. Just don't mention her name and maybe she won't--"
"Ohhhhohohoho!"
"...show up."
Everyone was, by now, quite familiar with the windstorms of
black rose petals that signaled the Black Rose's entrances and exits.
Kodachi was by no means skilled in the arts of Ninjitsu, even if she
was infamous for appearing out of nowhere or disappearing within a
hurricane of rose petals.
Needless to say, Skuld was the only student in the courtyard
unprepared for an encounter with Kunou Kodachi.
Kodachi repeated her laugh for the benefit of those who had
managed not to hear it. "My, you really should take better care of
yourself, Tendo Akane," the gymnast twirled her ribbon in Akane's
general direction. "How can you ever hope to snare my beloved
Ranma-sama with those disfiguring marks on your face?"
Skuld blinked. "'Disfiguring marks'...?"
But before anyone could say another word, Ukyou made her
presence known by bringing the flat of her large spatula down on
Kodachi's head. "Stay away from my Ran-chan!" she growled, using
the oversized utensil to catapult Kodachi into the distant horizon.
"Sheesh!" Ukyou muttered. "Doesn't she ever worry about being
late to school?" Three people - two of whom she recognized - caught
her eye. "Hey, Ran-chan, Akane. Who's this?"
Ranma stepped forward with the intention of making the
introductions. "This is Skuld," he gestured to the Goddess, "a...
uh... Akane's cousin. She's gonna be in our homeroom." Whew! He'd
nearly forgotten the cover Skuld, Ranmira and Akane had given him to
explain who Skuld was. And apparently it wasn't a lie, either,
technically... Ranmira had offered him a confusing explanation that
said the Goddesses were all related in some grand sense...
All he cared about now, though, was whether or not Ukyou
questioned the story.
Ukyou turned to face Skuld. "Pleased to meet you. What's with
those marks you and Akane-chan have on your faces?"
"Well..." Akane began.
"We'll explain later. C'mon, I don't want to be late,"
intervened Ranma.
** ** **
Urd stretched and exhaled while she ventured into the temple's
small kitchen, pushing both arms high into the air for effect. She
was fairly sure she knew exactly why this day had been wonderfully
peaceful. When was the last time she'd truly had the chance to sleep
in for a few hours, without someone disturbing her? Keiichi, Megumi
and Skuld were all off somewhere attending classes. "So, when's
Skuld coming back?" she inquired.
Her sister hesitated. "Later this afternoon. Why do you ask?"
Belldandy studied her.
"No reason. Besides, it's always a good idea for little miss
super-genius to get out of the house every once in a while, right?"
Seconds passed before the other replied. "I believe she said
something similar about you," Belldandy offered in an innocently
neutral tone.
Urd grimaced. "She would." Just like Skuld to fire off a
passing volley before she left for the day. Well, no sense dwelling
on that. She had some things to take care of before Skuld returned.
"Neesan?"
The Goddess of the Past sighed, intending to leave for her room.
"I've got a few things to do."
Belldandy blinked and returned her attention to her cooking.
** ** **
Ukyou ran to catch Ranma, Akane and Skuld in the Fuurinkan
courtyard on their way home from school. "Okay, you three. Talk.
What *exactly* is going on here?" she demanded.
There hadn't been anything terribly out of the ordinary about
their behavior; Ranma had generally been his normal self - slacking
off, in other words - while Skuld and Akane had remained notably
reserved. And yet, Ukyou had sensed something... *strong* from both
girls, for lack of a better description. Something she'd never
sensed from Akane... not with this intensity. Whatever *was* going
on here involved more than the markings on Akane and Skuld's faces.
She noticed Akane meeting her gaze. "What are you talking
about, Ukyou? There's nothing going on here."
Oddly enough, Ukyou was tempted to believe her. She shook her
head to clear it.
Cold water suddenly trickled down upon Ranma, changing him into
a girl for the third time today. Skuld was again taken aback by the
transformation, since Ranma gained an approximation of her sister's
form whenever he was changed, a side effect of her presence as a part
of him.
"Ranma-chan!" a voice sang out. A second later Happosai had
latched himself on to Ranma's chest.
Ukyou cringed. She knew, however, that the old lech usually
avoided her when she dressed as a boy, so she was safe for the moment
from his 'assault.'
Akane and her cousin were not safe, however. Ukyou wondered if
anyone had warned Skuld about Happosai.
Ranma immediately pried Happosai away from her with the usual
cry of, "Let go of me, you stupid old pervert!"
"Aww... aren't you happy to see me?" Happosai's puppy-dog eyes
found Akane and Skuld. "Oh!" he cried, launching himself in their
direction. "*More* sweet, pretty girls!"
He collided head-first with the business end of Akane's hammer -
a move that sent him skimming across the courtyard for nearly two
dozen yards. The pervert could cover that distance in an instant,
unfortunately. "That... that hurt!" It had, at that. Far more than
an ordinary mallet-to-the-face should have. Some kind of new power?
"How could my sweet Akane-chan do this to me?"
"I'm not your 'sweet Akane-chan!'" Akane grated.
He shrugged. "Oh, well." Another bounce, and he vaulted toward
Skuld... but froze in mid-air once he was within touching range. To
everyone's surprise he dropped to the ground and turned, walking
away. "No. I can't. You're just a child. Probably not much of a
chest, either..."
Simmering, Skuld barely heard the latter statement, her face
reddening in anger and embarrassment. "I am *NOT* a child!" she
yelled. Both Akane and Ranma instinctively withdrew a step when
Skuld pulled out another bomb and threw it at Happosai, obviously
having seen her use her bombs enough times to recognize them on
sight. "NEO SKULD BOMB----!!"
Happosai saw the bomb coming. "*That* is a bomb?" he laughed.
As soon as he dodged this pitiful attack he would show the girl a
real bomb or two...
He wasn't able to distance himself enough from the bomb before
it exploded and sent him flying out of the courtyard.
"Ano... Skuld?"
Oh, right. She glanced back at Akane, Ranma and Ukyou to find
them staring nervously at her. A slight blush rose on her cheeks.
"Eh-heh... er, yes, Akane-chan?"
Akane smirked. "I'm not supposed to use my hammer on anyone,
but you can blow them up?"
Her apprentice did have a point. "All right," Skuld said at
last. "I'll try not to do that." She was, after all, supposed to be
providing something of an example for Akane. <*Not* turning her into
YOU,> Skuld imagined her eldest sister saying.
Ukyou mentally counted to five before speaking up. "...*Now*
will someone tell me what's going on?"
"You'll never believe us."
She brandished her large spatula as if to threaten them. "We'll
never know unless you actually *tell me*."
Ranma glanced peripherally at Skuld, who warily nodded.
"Well... okay. But not here. And... I want your word you won't tell
anyone what we tell you. Ever."
Ukyou was inwardly stunned by the sincerity of Ranma's words.
"I-I won't tell," she agreed. "I promise. You have my word,
Ran-chan."
A "Will Return In Thirty Minutes" sign rested squarely on the
front door of Ukyou's restaurant, the 'U-Chan.' The sign had seen
infrequent use; there were a number of reasons why this particular
restaurant or the Nekohanten would need to close at a moment's
notice. Discussing revelations, secrets or recent developments did
happen to be one of those reasons...
"I still think you three are trying to pull some kind of joke on
me," Ukyou muttered, staring at the three individuals sitting
opposite her at the counter. She had brought them to the U-Chan to
talk, and they had indeed told her the entire story. Although it was
a bit far-fetched, in a manner of speaking... the story was too
elaborate to have been made up without an incredible amount of
preparation. Like those markings on Akane's and Skuld's faces, for
example... those looked permanent. Ukyou hoped this wasn't yet
another 'non-violent' scheme Akane and Ranma had cooked up to get her
to drop out of the running in the 'fiancee game.' "I mean, all this
stuff about goddesses? And Akane becoming one? No offense,
Akane-chan, but you're not what comes to my mind when I think of a
goddess."
"I'm a Goddess candidate, anyway," Akane reminded her. "All
because of my Mom."
Ukyou caught the hostility with which Akane spoke the word
'Mom,' and decided it would be best not to pursue the issue. Whoever
this Peorth was that was the reason for Akane becoming a Goddess now,
Akane apparently didn't want to have much of a relationship with her
- even though Ukyou could tell Akane liked the idea of becoming a
Goddess.
Privately, Ukyou despaired. How could she hope to compete with
a Goddess or two for the love of her Ran-chan?
She buried the fingers of her left hand in her hair, which was
allowed to fall free outside the school. Here, she didn't have to
project a masculine image. "Okay," she conceded. "But... you can't
expect me to completely believe all this without proof. Right?"
From the disappointment she saw materialize in Skuld's
expression, Ukyou guessed she'd had to prove she was a Goddess more
times than she would have liked.
"Well... I guess so. But could you do me a favor?" asked Skuld.
"Sure."
The Goddess pointed to the small sink behind the counter and
Ukyou. "That sink over there. Could you fill it up a little bit
with water? And close that window up there."
Ukyou glanced at the window in question. It was high above the
sink, a little off to the right. And open. Darn... she had
forgotten to shut it while closing up shop the day before. But what
was Skuld going to do with the water and the window? Wash the
window? Now, what kind of exhibition of divine power would *that*
make? <Oh, what the heck. I guess it won't hurt to humor her.>
She let the faucet run while grabbing a stepladder to close the
window. "Okay, it's all done," she said, turning the faucet off.
"Now--"
Only Ranma remained in the restaurant, eating his okonomiyaki
special without much in the way of concern.
"Where did they go?"
Ranma seemed to know what Skuld had in mind. "They'll be back
soon," he said through a large mouthful of okonomiyaki.
And indeed they were.
A column of bright light extended from the surface of the water
to the ceiling. Ukyou boggled as she watched Skuld emerge head-first
from a hole - a vortex? - that had formed in the water.
Akane would later tell her how each of the Goddesses could, if
they so chose, have their own private medium... a sort of personal
hyperspace through which they could travel without wasting much
energy and arrive only slightly slower than they would by teleporting.
<The window,> it came to Ukyou, even as a thin sheet of light
coated the windowpane. Akane intended to materialize from her window?
Akane emerged from the light looking for all the world like a
bird learning how to fly. Somehow, she righted herself, pointing her
feet in the direction of the ground.
Then she saw that she was floating toward the part of the
counter that doubled as a hot-plate. Akane began to panic and
flailed her arms and legs - anything to shift her body forward or
back *away* from it. Eventually, she plummeted to the floor just
behind the counter as her friends watched in silence.
Akane picked herself up from the floor. "Mou! I'll get the
hang of this yet!" She leapt back into her light-window vortex.
After a few seconds they could hear Akane's yelp and the simultaneous
sound of several trash cans being knocked over from somewhere outside
the restaurant.
"It does take practice," admitted Skuld.
On her return trip, Akane recalled her martial-arts training on
how to land - except she had little forward momentum to guide her,
making this landing difficult. She tucked her body inward and
flipped forward, eventually landing on her feet.
"There!" the Goddess candidate beamed. "What do you think?"
All she received in return were three stares. "What? I didn't
do anything wrong, did I?"
Skuld drew a breath. "Well..."
** ** **
<...And that's what happened,> Ranma concluded. It figured
Ranmira would finally wake up while he himself was settling in for
the night. She had asked him to recount the day's events for her by
replaying his memories, and Ranma had done his best to narrate, tired
as he was.
<It sounds as if Akane is making progress.>
Ranma considered that. <What about me?>
<You?>
<Yeah. You wouldn't have to be here if that wish... er,
contract, was fulfilled, right?>
<If you become the person your mother wanted you to be, the wish
is fulfilled and I will be free to leave, yes.>
<But...> Ranmira could sense the concern in Ranma's
thought-voice. The way the boy acted now was a crucial part of the
image Ranma had created for himself. Could she change his behavior,
his manners, without changing the fighter? <If you leave, and Akane
leaves to be a Goddess upstairs... where does that leave me? Won't I
be greatly changed, too?>
Ranmira smiled. Originally, Akane was to be the catalyst -
perhaps the most important factor keeping Ranma from losing his edge
as a fighter and a person with the change Nodoka had asked for. But
now that Akane stood a chance of becoming a Goddess... this was an
eventuality Ranmira hadn't prepared for. She was not sure how to
proceed. Losing Akane would definitely affect Ranma more than any
change in his behavior.
Her thoughts flashed briefly to the bond her sister shared with
Keiichi. Keiichi's wish kept them together, though they shared a
bond far stronger than that wish... wait! That was it! Ranma may
not have had a wish linking him to Akane, but the two *did* have a
contract of sorts that preceded Akane possibly becoming a Goddess -
they were engaged. If Akane became a Goddess, Ranma would still be
linked to her as far as Ranmira knew, much like Keiichi was linked to
Belldandy.
<You would change, yes, but you mustn't worry about it. As for
Akane, no matter what happens to her, you are still engaged.>
<That's not what I meant!>
<Ranma, I know you better than you think I do. I do know how
you feel about Akane.>
There was no reply for nearly a minute. <If you know how I feel
about Akane, would you mind telling me?>
She laughed. <That would be cheating. Now, you should get some
sleep. You do have another day of school tomorrow.>
Ranma mentally sighed at the thought. <Good night, Ranma,> he
heard Ranmira say.
<'Night.> Within fifteen minutes, Ranma was fast asleep.
Ranmira waited another fifteen minutes to make sure most of the
house's inhabitants were asleep. Nabiki was awake, talking to
someone on the phone - she would probably label it a business call -
but hopefully Nabiki wouldn't notice what she had planned to do.
Ranma's sleeping form shifted into that of Ranmira's body.
These swaps had to be wreaking havoc with the boy's internal clock,
she sadly realized, but there was nothing she could do to change the
standard procedure.
She checked the panda lying in the bedroll next to Ranma's to
make sure Mr. Saotome hadn't been awakened by the shift. Genma could
be either a light sleeper - or one who was next to impossible to
wake. Once she was satisfied the elder Saotome wasn't going to wake
up, Ranmira crept over to an electrical outlet and entered her medium.
As quietly as she could manage, Ranmira entered Akane's room.
P-chan awoke just as Ranmira pulled him free of Akane's arms.
He stared at her, wide-eyed, too afraid to protest. The Goddess had
him! He had hurt her last night, and now she had come for him...
She carried P-chan out into the hallway, pausing at the top of
the stairs. Ranmira glanced down at him. "We have to talk,
Ryouga-san," she told him.
(...to be continued...)
------------
Credits:
Written by: Mike Koos
Prereaders: Richard Beaubien, Kevin D. Hammel, Jonathan Ng,
Shadowmane, Tom Williams, David Wills
With apologies to Takahashi Rumiko and Fujishima Kosuke...
All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at
ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works
or from my WWW pages at
http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~makoto/index.htm
Comments and questions welcome.
*****************************
* Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos * "I can do nothing to stop you.
*---------------------------* Your background music is too
* email: mak...@mother.com * strong for me."
***************************** - Whose Line is it Anyway?
www: http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~makoto/index.htm