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[Ranma][FanFic] The Bet: Featherbrite's Tale chapters 7-8

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Gregg Sharp

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Oct 19, 1999, 3:00:00 AM10/19/99
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Featherbrite's Tale, the Bet. Rough version
by Gregg Sharp based on Rumiko Takahashi's situations/char
other char TM other authors. Various authors also TM other
authors.
Metro...@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/

"Traditional Japanese food seems largely composed of
'whatever didn't run away fast enough.'" -Mambo Jack,
1901?-1949?

"Fairness and justice are human concepts. They do not exist
in nature or in any magic of my kenning. I call it a
redeeming quality of your species to try to rise above its
environment, especially when considering all your
limitations." - Baron, red dragon of the Dire Straits

7: Ucchan's Cat Cafe,
or "Love Shack"
--------------------------------------
Ukyou Kuonji hadn't been quite sure what to expect upon
meeting the boy who had left her behind all those years ago.
She'd gone over a number of possibilities over the years in
preparation.

She had envisaged him begging for mercy as she prepared to
crush him beneath her spatula. She had dreamed of him coming
for her, having escaped his father and confessing that he'd
never had a chance to tell her of his love.

She had NOT envisaged him leaping about while being pursued
by a multilegged Thing out of some nightmare. Some woman
likewise leapt, flipping past the monster and throwing one
end of a chain at the long barbed tail that stabbed her way.

"What the hell is THAT?!" Ukyou wanted a name for it.
Something to define it and lessen the queasy feeling she had
from seeing this abomination.

She noted Ranma standing, ready to block or dodge the next
attack and Ukyou's own reflexes took over. Three throwing
spatulas were headed towards the boy before Ukyou had
realized she'd thrown them.

He saw them coming and dodged. Unfortunately that meant
that he caught a stinger in the chest.

Ukyou saw Ranma go down and wondered where her triumph was.
Weren't the heavens supposed to be split by lightning?
Wasn't there supposed to be the heady glow of vengeance at
long last delivered? Wasn't this supposed to feel good?

The other girl who'd been with Ranma ran off. Ukyou
couldn't blame her, the creature before her was limned in
green fire now and doing a credible version of the "maniacal
villain laugh."

"Uhm, Tendo-san?" Ukyou looked and saw where the older girl
was holding a wooden sword and backing nervously away from
the scorpion. Ukyou's eyes widened as she realized that
Kasumi was circling around towards Ranma's position. "You
idiot, get away from that thing! This is a job for..." Well,
heck, who *could* you call?

"Foul beast whose perverted nature is at odds with the very
nature of this shrine!" A glowing form shot into the air
above the monster. "For disrupting this peaceful setting and
attacking an innocent, you shall be punished!"

Ukyou's eyes got even wider as she recognized the form
hovering a good thirty feet up. "SAILOR AMAZON?!?! It wasn't
just special effects? In Osaka? Cool!" It had a name, it was
a youma, now it was less frightening.

The scorpion scuttled forward almost over the fallen Ranma,
and looked up at the sailorsuited amazon. "Whatcha gonna do?
Any area effect you hit me with is gonna kill this
twit and I'm protected against any physical blows by my
flame aura. Stupid sylph."

"If only I could do something like that," Kasumi said
softly.

Ukyou glanced over then stared as the sword began to pulse
with a pinkish light.
-------------------------------------------------
"This is Megumi Noguchi, from Osaka's Woodcrest Shrine."
The young and pretty student from Korobu Community College's
journalism department and her cameraman Kyoko Hiro did their
best speed up the hill. Strange greenish flames visible from
the shrine itself called them.

And Megumi had just been praying for something that would
make the networks sit up and take notice! The kami were
being kind tonight.

"We just saw those greenish... Oh my dear kami, it's a
MONSTER!. And... it's fighting Sailor Amazon!" Regional
pride stirred in the young reporter. They had youma battling
Senshi here in the Kansai area now. Hah! This would give her
MAJOR coverage as well as maybe get some of those movie
makers to realize that not everything revolved around Tokyo!

"FIREBALL!" The youma threw a sphere of flames at the
flitting shape of Sailor Amazon.

"Get a good shot of Sailor Amazon!" Megumi grinned as Kyoko
complied. With that figure and that short skirt, Sailor
Amazon would GUARANTEE her some major playage on the
stations. Heck, Megumi admitted she would have settled for
getting on one of the regional networks. "Oh, and that other
Sailor Senshi there next to the trees."

The camera settled on the girl in what looked more like a
combination of formal gown and sailor suit than the costume
Sailor Amazon wore. Flickers of white and pink surrounding
her, as the other Senshi spread her hands wide. "ah Heavenly
uhm Healing err Escalation!"

Megumi's eyes widened as she saw the ring of energy
expanding around the girl. It was similar to wings unfolding
and spreading. "Get a load of that! Focus on...uhm...Sailor
Angel!"

The glow spread out from "Sailor Angel" and spread through
the clearing.

-----EYECATCH#1---------

A hand spreads five cards out on a green surface. The back
of the cards has the series logo. The hand then uses a
single motion to flip all the cards over at once.
King Of Hearts has Ranma's face, Queen Of Diamonds has
Nabiki's face, Queen Of Spades -Ukyou, Queen Of Hearts-
Kasumi, Queen of Clubs - Shampoo. A sixth card, the Joker,
is added, and the picture on that card is of Featherbrite
which winks at the viewer. A voice provides a single comment
(which changes from episode to episode) this time being:
Nabiki: "Have I got a deal for you..."

------Nerima, Japan----

The coffeehouse was nice, brightly lit, and *just* the
thing for meeting people in the pre-school hours. This
particular one opened early enough to get the construction
workers who met here before going on to their various
jobsites. IE: heavy early.

"Sailor Angel? Details?" Naoko pursed her lips as she
considered the Senshi Agent.

"Let's just say that I fulfill a role with the Senshi
similar to that of Ami. I'm not a Senshi myself, but I,"
Nabiki paused as she sought a way to put her odd strobe of
precognitive dreams into order, "I see myself as their
information specialist. As such, I can help them without
getting personally involved."

"You know how well that works," Naoko sipped at her coffee,
a latte, and reflected that the young girl hadn't picked a
terribly bad spot. Though watching grizzled overweight road
repair crewmen ordering a cafe mocha latte, frothed, had
been a bit strange. And they had a fair variety of green
teas here.

"True," Nabiki agreed. Sooner or later she'd get
mixed up in this stuff. IF they had adventures. The monster
was strange, but had to be a fluke. No, she'd just be their
agent. The rest of that stuff had just been nightmares. That
was *all*. Talking cats was just something thrown in from
Takeuchi's own work.

"So, about Sailor Angel?"

"Ah," Nabiki sipped briefly at her "gunpowder" green tea.
The rush of caffeine wasn't quite on the level of Japanese
coffee, but sufficient. Nabiki remembered the video shown on
TV the previous night, and though the image didn't quite
mesh with her sister, she had a feeling. "She's not much on
fighting, tries to find peaceful solutions, and is really
domestically inclined. Much smarter than she usually lets
on, finds herself caught up in all this and is unsure of
herself in this new arena."

Naoko looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Homebody type,
eh? Yeah, I can see it. Now that my stuff is getting
mainstream and translated, some new archetypes are good."

"Oh? The American deal go through?"

"You know about that?! Oh, yeah. Of course. 'You have
sources.'" Naoko shrugged this off. "Nah, that's still in
debate. The press coverage of Sailor Amazon and videotape
got interest in a lot of odd countries. People are stating
its special effects and all, but now the series is going to
be released in Mexico, England, and Canada."

"That's just from one videotape of Sailor Amazon in
action," Nabiki noted. "Now that the video from Osaka is
hitting the airwaves, with Sailor Amazon *and* Sailor Angel-
this should get even more interest going. We'll see what
happens with a few photos, ne?"

-----Ucchan's, Osaka-------

Ukyou waited patiently, she understood patience. She was a
warrior, and a cook, both professions requiring that trait
in good measure.

Ranma, having passed out yet again, was lying across a
bench. Ukyou's eyes focussed on him. It would be so EASY.
One movement with a razor sharp spatula across that exposed
throat, less than five seconds to cross the intervening
space and end ten years of suffering.

Too easy. Too quick. And if the information she was getting
from the two women was any indication, justice wouldn't
really be served.

"...and then we ended up in some odd places." Kasumi paused
for a moment. "Apparently the Faerie Realm operates by a
different set of physics than what we're used to. The rate
of passage of time is a variable, depending on where you are
within the Realm. So we had to remain pretty much in the
same area we appeared in. Then there's the problem where if
you enter the Realm, then walk across a field and re-enter
the Mortal World, you can be thousands of miles away from
where you started. Likewise, it is possible to go thousands
of miles in the Realm and only travel a few feet as far as
the Mortal World is concerned."

"Shampoo not following much of this, and Shampoo was there
during it." The amazon shrugged. She was hearing it twice
too, as Kasumi was largely repeating what the pixie was
saying. "Shampoo not much concerned. We here now."

"So let me get this straight." Ukyou held up a hand to
forestall any more of this. "Genma not only sold his son a
few times, this time he's also sold his son out. Now you,
Ranma, and the Senshi here are all refugees from his latest
scheme?"

"Ukyou sum up very nicely." Shampoo nodded. "But Shampoo
not really Senshi. Shampoo is Amazon warrior and Champion,
but is no really Senshi."

Ukyou stared for a moment. "Pardon me. You turn into some
sailorsuited supergirl who destroys monsters from another
plane of existence. What part of Senshi does this not
qualify as?"

"Shampoo turn into Sailor Amazon. Is..."

"Yes?"

"Well, Shampoo not sure. But not Senshi."

Ukyou perhaps wisely decided to table that issue for the
moment and get on with the important stuff. "So what about
my dowry? What about ten years of vengeance? What about me
renouncing my femininity and all that? How can I set all
that behind me without at least beating him up ONCE!"

Shampoo frowned, then nodded. "Is vow. Is oath of honor.
Shampoo understand such things. Is very important in tribal
law and custom. Not understand what have to do with
femininity."

Kasumi blinked. "Well, if it's about the value of the
yattai."

"It's not just about the value of the yattai," Ukyou shot
back grumpily. "But that's as good a place to start as any."

Kasumi looked to her "little sister." She had thought to
give this to Shampoo, or perhaps to Nabiki who knew how best
to handle something of value. Kasumi pulled a pearl the size
of a baseball out of her pack. "Maybe this?"

Ukyou eyed the thing uncertainly. It kinda looked like an
oddly shiny cueball. "What is it?"

"Is dragon's pearl," Shampoo said, raising an eyebrow.
"Also got three whiskers from dragon. Know too too delicious
recipe for Dragon Whisker Soup. Dragon's pearl is like
dragon's
heart. Dragon's heart source of physical strength, dragon's
magic is in pearl."

Ukyou looked at her strangely. "Uh huh, yeah right." After
a moment, Ukyou took the object from Kasumi. "Odd, feels
kinda warm."

Ranma moaned from his position on the bench, temporarily
drawing attention to him.

Ukyou didn't notice the faerie on top of her head, working
at nudging perceptions just enough that Ranma would survive
the night. Otherwise she thought the odds good that Ranma
would be avenged by Shampoo shortly thereafter.

She wondered if Ranma would mind if she just did a _tiny_
bit of meddling. If not, then this might be a good Candidate
#4!

-----------------

Early morning in Nerima brought repeats of familiar scenes.
Or at least scenes that had become familiar. Nabiki yawned,
stretched, and surveyed the fridge before deciding if she
needed to hit the coffeehouse before going to school. The
alternative was breakfast here.

Nabiki nodded at seeing the familiar signs that Akane's new
friend, Yoshinori Kitase, had been by. Not that Akane had
any feelings for this classmate who'd come in and proven
himself capable of "lending a hand" in the kitchen. Oh,
heavens no. Akane? Interested in some boy?

The much appreciated moment of relaxation passed.

"Nabiki!" Soun Tendo loomed forward.

"Growf," chimed in the panda next to her father.

"You must find your iinazuke!"

[It is a matter of honor!] The panda waved a sign around.

"Not to mention those nice men with all the scars and
tattoos want him or their money back, eh Mr Saotome?" Nabiki
chuckled and grabbed a rice ball.

The panda flinched.

Soun pressed forward. "And what of poor Kasumi? Who knows
what is happening to HER with that barbarian girl?"

Nabiki cleared her throat. She'd gotten to like Shampoo.
Especially when it had become obvious that the girl came
from a violent culture, and though a "barbarian" had taken a
liking to Nabiki's elder sister. Kasumi had reached through
the cultural shell and found a friend. Kasumi having friends
again was a GOOD thing, and both Nabiki and Akane had found
themselves warming to the Amazon as a result.

"Not that there's anything wrong with barbarians, but..."
Soun realized he was talking about the warrior girl who'd
fought a vampire in defense of his house.

"I've already determined, just for my own peace of mind,
that Kasumi and her friend are doing fine, Daddy. Not to
worry." Nabiki didn't bother to say HOW she knew. Everyone
knew that she'd suddenly started palming off her old jobs in
order to pursue "information acquisition" as a new source of
income.

Genma and Soun had *especially* noted the new clothes, CD
player, laptop computer, and all the other little expensive
things she'd managed to start acquiring. She'd also taken to
snickering while using phrases like "honest living" and
"play by the book."

Genma had tried sneaking into her room once but hadn't
found any clues as to where the girl was getting the money.
Nor was he able to find the cache of money he KNEW she must
have.

"So where are they?" Soun looked ready to erupt in another
flood of tears.

"Don't know, Daddy. Didn't check any further than that."
She hadn't bothered to keep tabs on their exact location,
after all. For some reason, the name Ukyo kept popping in.
Why a ward in Kyoto when everything from the I-ching to
Tarot said Osaka? Was it related to the idea that Suzaku
Park in nearby Shimogyo ward was one of the "weak points"
between realities? And if there, why not the *much* more
powerful "weak point" at Mount Zao? Every answer seemed to
raise more questions.

"Nabiki. I *insist* as your father. You *must* find Ranma
and your sister."

Nabiki was aware of Akane stopping at the door and
listening. Akane had obviously missed the comment about
barbarian Shampoo, or she would have been mildly vexed.
"They're fine, Daddy. A little ways West of here, that's
all."

[West?]

"You know, like the Gero Spa." Which was true, the Gero Spa
was also west of Nerima.

Genma ran to pack and start searching the Gero Spa for
Ranma. Soun wasn't so easily misled. Maybe once, but not so
much nowadays.

"Nabiki. You *will* use your skills to hunt down Ranma and
Kasumi. As your father, I demand this."

Nabiki was a little taken aback. Her father had grown a
spine? Most of the time she pretended not to be related to
him. "I'll think about it, Daddy."

"We aren't finished with this conversation," said Soun
before going to join his friend.

"Well, sis, I guess you're gonna have to go track 'em down,
aren't you?"

"Akane, you know what'll happen if Ranma comes back here?"

"Ha, I'd like to see those Yakuza try to get past ME."
Akane made a muscle gesture.

Nabiki ignored her sister's false bravado. Even with her
newly enhanced strength, Akane would find it difficult to
deal with the sorts of nastiness money could buy.

Yes, Nabiki pondered, her father had cornered her. Now she
had a choice. On the one hand, she could become *filthy*
rich here using her new talents. Corporate espionage alone
could make her obscenely wealthy. She could continue being a
member of this family, could continue on to become the CEO
of a major company, could continue to take bets and bribes
and loans. She could continue life here in much the same
manner as before Ranma's arrival.

The time had come to choose. Shark or dolphin?

-----------------

"Cat Scratch Fever" was playing on the jukebox (and
sounding really weird in Japanese)while Ukyou sighed and
experimented with a spam okonomiyaki. She had no idea what
was in the meat product, and after two bites decided she
didn't WANT to know. Some experiments didn't work out.

Life had gotten so confusing. She'd almost killed Ranma,
but one revelation after another had left her with serious
doubts about her continuation of that particular path.

That odd buzz or whatever seemed to have vanished at least.
That had been thoroughly annoying, whatever it was.

Ukyou fingered a throwing spatula and considered. Ranma was
weak. From the way the two girls had talked, he had recently
been badly burned, drugged, tortured, beaten into near
unconsciousness, and even shot once during their attempt to
get back to Japan. THEN Ukyou had seen him, distracted him
in a fight, and he'd gotten pinned to the ground by a
poisonous stinger roughly the size of her forearm. Any chi
reserves he had were darn close to used up, he had little or
none of this "magic" left to help him, and there was
apparently only so much that could be done for him at this
juncture.

Ukyou Kuonji sighed and dropped her hand from the razor
sharp weapon. If she still had no doubt about Ranma's guilt,
all it would take is a few moments and his life would be
ended. That he'd apparently been through some weird times
was more than a little obvious.

Ukyou started cleaning the grill, her mind going over
details while her body worked on the familiar chore. Ranma
had been sold off and betrayed by Genma. Just like her. Any
dreams of continuing the Saotome school must have died then
too. Just as her own dreams had been destroyed by Genma.

She knew the haunted look in his eyes, she'd seen it
herself enough in the mirror. He'd just cut ties with his
past and had very little idea of what to do next.

Finishing the grill and beginning to sweep, Ukyou stopped
and a hesitant grin began to form on her face. Revenge, she
realized, could take many forms. And how better to avenge
herself on Genma than by stealing his son?

-----UnSeelie Court-----

Mists formed out of nowhere, then pulled back to reveal a
figure in silvered armor. The figure strode to the ornate
chair formed of a living tree, and seated himself.

"Milord, travel to and from the Mortal Plane is higher than
it has been in some time."

Oberon, King Of The Elves, and Secret Ruler of the Unseelie
Court, gave a slight nod. He'd felt it himself.

As he had not been immediately crushed, the functionary
decided to make his play now. "Milord, there have been
mortals within thy plane," the raven said slyly. "Here be
their likenesses."

Oberon and his Court craned their necks, eager for a
glimpse at mortal visitors to the Realm.

"A questing company?" A tentacled thing with razor sharp
chiton asked. "It's been a long time since I've tasted
mortal blood."

The image of a purple haired warrior woman met with some
mutterings. Some decided that she was of faerie blood,
possibly oriad. The mutterings picked up pace with the image
of the brown haired housewife. Everyone knew warriors knew
how to fight. Housewives, on the other hand, could be
*really* dangerous. Worse, this appeared to be a *Japanese
housewife*! EVERYONE remembered the legendary Sachiko Oshima
and wanted nothing like *that* debacle to occur again.

It had become well known that one should NEVER
underestimate the power of a Japanese housewife.

The image of Ryouga appeared and caused some consternation.
"That's the one that killed Greaket, Lord Of Toads!"

Everyone noted the outburst from the octopus-faced entity,
especially when Oberon reduced it to the level of bubbling
ooze for daring to shout in his presence.

Another warrior woman appeared, and then SHE appeared.

Oberon grinned and leaned forward. "A half-mortal sylph?
How... interesting." He'd gotten tired of the usual consorts
and conquests he'd had of both the Seelie and UnSeelie
Courts, even a few trysts in Makai had failed to keep his
interest for more than a century.

"Yes milord, I thought you'd be interested. She is a human
male who is cursed to transform into this shape."

Oberon's grin didn't fade, his tastes had become quite
jaded over the last thousand years, and who really cared
about such details anymore? She looked like she'd be...
interesting. "Ravenhart, find that one again. Determine what
spells are upon her. Xandros, make a trip to the river Lethe
and fetch me an urn of it's waters. Keriv, make a trip to
the stream of Tireisas. Bring me five gallons of its
waters."

Oberon had been getting bored. This looked as if it could
just be interesting.

--------Mortal Realm------------

Soun fidgeted nervously at the table. Genma could go check
out the Spa without him, and he wanted to further impress
upon Nabiki the need for her to find Ranma.

The schools *must* be united. There could be no other
acceptable outcome. And he could see that Ranma cared about
Nabiki. And it was just as obvious that Nabiki cared about
Ranma, weirdness and all. It was just that they had to be
forced together. There was no time for dithering.

Yoshinori Kitase, Akane's new friend, was not acceptable.
Even if Akane succeeded in getting him into the martial
arts, he'd never have Ranma's skill or talents. He wanted to
be a programmer of RPGs, for crying out loud! Soun would
have forbidden the two to see each other but Akane's grades
were improving and the boy came by to cook for them. He was
teaching Akane how to cook, gently and patiently - so it was
a slow process but he was doing it.

Soun frowned. He'd wait a while, THEN he'd forbid the
match. It was unthinkable that Akane would develop a
relationship with a non-martial artist, so they'd accept
that. He was her father and he had to think about what was
right for the family as well as for his daughter.

Back to Nabiki. He still didn't understand it all, but she
was both happier and more thoughtful than she'd been in
years. She was more... open. It was odd, and nice. But
better she be miserable and carrying on her duty, than happy
and shirking said duties. Bushido.

After waiting as long as he could, Soun moved from his
place in the dining area. He gently rapped on Nabiki's door.
Getting no answer, he opened it.

The bare sections of walls, open and empty closet,
carefully made bed, these all registered with Soun long
before he noticed the note on the pillow.

Dear Father,
So basically you're saying "it's my way or the
highway?"
I now know where Ranma is. I'm going to go join them.
If I can find a way to contact you without the Yakuza
knowing, I will. Just to let you know we're all safe.
Love and kisses, Nabiki
PS: Don't get in between Akane and Yoshi. When was the last
time you saw her smile like that?

--------------------------

Nabiki knocked on the tree, waited a few moments, then
shrugged and stepped into it. This had the effect of causing
one of her factors to faint. A moment later, Nabiki stuck
her head out of the apparently solid wood to wink at those
still conscious.

"The Gateway is still open, as she promised. No sign of
Holly, however, I *do* see one of her friends. Hang on while
I see if he can help." Nabiki's head retracted back into the
wood.

While everyone was discussing exactly what all this meant,
another figure stepped out of the wood. Fortunately, it was
a big tree.

Unfortunately, one of Nabiki's other factors saw the figure
coming out of the tree and started running. Unfortunately
her fine attempt to run a two-minute mile came to a halt
when she discovered that you can't swerve around a telephone
pole at that rate of speed while looking over your shoulder
to see if THAT was following you.

The half-ogre scratched his head a couple of times and
wondered if perhaps he had somehow done something offensive.
Nabiki stepped out of the tree a moment later, and calmed
her remaining panicked aides with a few gestures and
comments.

"Uhm, you're a friend of Holly's?" Nabiki looked over the
9'11" figure with the shoulders that were as far across as
she was tall.

"Yes'm. She say she busy but ask Harold if he could help.
Harold help. Harold strong."

"I noticed that, Harold. Let me politely suggest you take a
bath before the next time you help me out."

Harold scratched his head. "Bath? Harold not sure what
mean."

"Somehow I have no doubt about that at all. Can you handle
those boxes? I know some beings of Faerie can't handle iron,
so they're in cardboard boxes." Nabiki had been expecting
the wood nymph to be her main help.

Harold thumped his chest, producing a sound more likely to
come from two boulders striking. "Harold is half Stone Ogre.
Harold have ties to earth, iron hurt but no kill. Harold can
do."

"I see," Nabiki nodded. She'd have to read up on Stone
Ogres later.

"Is that one sick?" Harold pointed at the one lying in a
faint. He tried smiling in a friendly fashion at the other
Mortals. It didn't seem to help.

"Uhm, she's okay, really. Just resting." Ryomani was hoping
the big guy with the tusks wasn't inquiring if he could eat
Hitomi.

"Oh. Resting. Harold see." Harold stacked four of the boxes
and lifted them. "Is question you can answer?"

"Maybe. Careful with those boxes, now."

"Holly read to Harold. Senshi die fighting Beryl. What
happen next?"

Nabiki smirked. A fanboy whose physical strength was on the
level of hydraulic equipment. Having power over such a huge
and strong creature was kinda neat. "Well, let me tell you,
such information doesn't come cheap."

"Hmmm. Figured. Harold not fast but not dumb." The ogre
walked into the substance of the tree.

"Boss?!"

"Don't worry about it, Ryonami. Nothing I can't handle."
Nabiki didn't think she was fooling Ryonami, but appearances
needed to be maintained. "I'll keep in touch. Check this
tree every so often. It's one of those Gates that's linked
to the phase of the moon, so only during new moons can it be
used for passage. I'd phone, but there's an off chance that
when I disappear they'll tap your lines for clues."

"Gates," Harold rumbled as he came back through. "You need
Gates to Faerie?"

"Don't worry your head about it," Nabiki made an off-handed
wave.

"Not. You wizard. Wizard worry about lots of things. Harold
just ogre. Nobody expect Harold to have answers." Harold
shrugged and grabbed the next batch of boxes.

Nabiki's smile slipped a little. Harold's mode of speech
reminded her of Shampoo. A lot of people tended to write
Shampoo off as an idiot when she wasn't. Hmmm. Something
else to check on later. "Well, anyway, see you later."

Turning and leaving her factors and friends behind was one
of the hardest things she'd ever done in her life. Nabiki
thought it odd that she was grinning like she was.

Oh well, she had enough things to figure out now.

---------------

Kasumi checked herself in the mirror one last time.

"Kasumi look fine. You do good on placement tests!"

Kasumi smiled and regarded her friend. "Are you sure about
this trip, Shampoo? You could study for a high school
placement test."

"Shampoo need to check in with Great-Grandmama. Let her
know what going on and where am now. Shampoo be back in two
weeks time. Shampoo promise!"

Kasumi nodded but regretted seeing the Amazon go. "Ranma
already gone?"

"He study hard for placement test at new school. He do
okay, Shampoo is sure." Shampoo made a punching gesture. "Or
Shampoo come back and kick his butt for letting us down."

Ukyou shook her head. "Okay, you two, get a move on. I need
to close everything up while we're at school. Kasumi, you'll
have a few hours to kill after your tests and before we get
back. Try Utsubo Park- the Science & Technology Center might
interest you."

"Unn," Kasumi said, nodding. Some time to just think,
alone, sounded good. She and the others had been going
almost non-stop since leaving Nerima.

-----------------

Kodachi squirmed. She screamed obscenities. She struggled
and insulted and howled. Her efforts were met with calm, and
kindness, and gentle words.

A touch of liquid on her lips, and Kodachi found her body
gone limp and unresponsive. Giggling girls smoothed her fuku
and began brushing her hair. Figures darted in and out of
her vision. One of her hairs was pulled out and carried off
by some giggling green-haired girl.

"There, there, child." One of the taller creatures eased
into her sight. "The Dark Kingdom influence upon you will be
lifted."

Kodachi wanted to scream at them. The Sailor Senshi were
just characters in a story written for silly little girls.
It was FICTION! That the Saint Hebereke uniform had a vague
resemblence to the Senshi uniform was mere coincidence.

Unfortunately, the beings in question had all heard about
how these manga-things were actually illustrated guidebooks
to life on the Mortal plane. Enchanted princesses, ancient
kingdoms, reincarnation, magical attacks and what humans
considered the more fantastic elements of the story didn't
strike anyone in the area as being particularly farfetched.
In fact, such things made up day-to-day life in the Faerie
Realms.

Not finding an enchantment on Kodachi, they knew that
powerful magic must have been used. The kind that works
itself and leaves no trace, having permanently altered the
victim. Powerful magic was needed to restore the girl to her
normal heroic self.

And if that wasn't possible, a fair approximation would
have to do. Earth couldn't be without one of its defenders,
and those youma looked a *lot* like some of the Unseelie.
Even their attacks were definitely Unseelie. And if they
were fighting the Unseelie, then it was only natural for the
Seelie Court to come to her aid!

---------------------

Rink and Pink were almost at the Tendo dojo when suddenly
there was someone THERE.

"<VANILLA!>" The two came to a halt. Vanilla gave Pink the
creeps. Always had. She was almost as bad as Kohii.

"<Are you two on a mission for the Elders of your
village?>" Vanilla deemed it unlikely but they *might* have
a legitimate reason for their presence here.

"<YES!>" Pink said quickly.

"<NO!>" Rink said simultaneously.

"<Errr, we're here to give a private message to Shampoo and
her fiancee.>" Pink recovered, thinking quickly. "<Very
important, but it is private between Elder Cologne and
Shampoo.>"

"<I see.>" Vanilla nodded. "<Shampoo is not here any
longer. I am keeping watch for her over this household.>"

"<Keeping watch?>" Rink repeated.

"<Much magic has been done here. Shampoo's airen erected an
anti-shapeshifter ward a few nights ago, and a vampire died.
This has drawn the usual attention.>"

"<Usual attention?>"

"<I have slain two goblin spiders, and had to warn off a
tengu.>" Vanilla shrugged. The tengu had actually been
fairly polite about the whole thing.

Pink shuddered at the thought of goblin spiders. "<So where
is Shampoo?>"

"<Back at the village, I think,>" Vanilla seemed to be in
deep thought. She knew that Pink lied quite easily, while
Rink disapproved of the practice. She'd therefore kept an
inobvious watch on Rink while appearing to just be listening
to Pink. Actually, Vanilla was now doing something she
rarely did. She was lying. "<She wanted to show off her new
husband before the two came back here to settle his
affairs.>"

Pink swore. Rink growled.

"<Have they consummated the marriage?>"

Vanilla blinked and was aware that Rink was scrutinizing
her especially hard. Best to be honest and not give
everything away. "<No. I am reasonably sure they have not.>"

"<Then it isn't official, Rink. You still have a chance!>"
Pink turned and began retracing her route, followed a moment
later by Rink.

Vanilla frowned ever so slightly. That had been... quite
strange. She settled down and waited for the third goblin
spider to make its appearance. They always travelled in
threes.

Of course, Vanilla had no way of knowing that goblin
spiders were also known as bog fairies.

-----------------

Kasumi settled down on a bench near the "Okonomiyaki Den"
(Ukyou hated the name, but it was a rental franchise anyway)
and let herself relax for the first time in days.

Time to sort things out, at long last.

She thought back to when Ranma had been brought into the
destroyed kitchen, and Kasumi had noticed that giving him
the "puppy dog eyes" look usually caused the boy to crumble.
She had used it to full effect. He had been fairly
reluctant, saying how much this would take out of him, but
he'd done it.

He had been about ready to keel over when he'd handed her
the last pan. The effort had clearly been enormous. He
*could* affect metal, as long as it wasn't iron, but it had
taken quite a bit out of him. He hadn't been able to do a
thing about the frypan. Only the knowledge of how improper
it would look had kept Kasumi from offering him support all
the way up the stairs.

That healing he'd done was also remarkable. She'd burned
her thumb, and badly, distracted by her conversation with
Featherbrite and something the faerie had done to Mister
Saotome years ago. Explosive flatulence? Oh my. Ranma had
been waiting for her to heat the teakettle and had settled
her down and healed the burn with a kiss. He had kissed it,
and made it better.

The girls in school had teased her unmercifully about
having a "Shouto complex" when she'd been interested in an
underclassman back in high school. Maybe it was time to move
past that. Nabiki had indicated that *she* wasn't interested
in Ranma. Akane had declared that Ranma was entirely too
weird for her.

Spotting a lingerie shop two doors away from the
Okonomiyaki Den, Kasumi remembered the purchases she'd made
a while back. Well, she had to watch her budget. Maybe
later. Besides, Shampoo was also interested in Ranma.

Kasumi stopped at THAT. Her relationship with the Amazon
was odd, that was certainly true. Also unexpected. But in
other ways, quite nice. Even if the sight of the two of them
chatting happily away in the kitchen tended to discomfit
Akane a little. It was good to have a friend to chat with
and confide in. They had gone from awkward "sisters" to
become "buddies" in just a few days. They turned out to have
a lot in common, actually. Though trained first and foremost
as a Warrior, Shampoo's great love was for cooking. Though
Champion of her people, Shampoo was lonely and not
especially happy with the destiny that had been mapped out
for her.

While they had both been busy in the kitchen, Shampoo had
spun stories of brave Amazon warriors of legend. Kasumi had
reciprocated with stories of Japanese legend and of her own
childhood. Shampoo had told of a particularly obnoxious boy
who just wouldn't take no for an answer. Kasumi related how
silly Doctor Tofu tended to act around her. Both had spoken
of the loss of their mother and how they had handled it.
Kasumi had taken over the position, whereas Shampoo had
thrown herself into her training. Both had found in the
other someone who UNDERSTOOD, not everything, but enough.

Kasumi smiled a little, thinking of the Amazon. Yin and
Yang indeed. She was calm where the Amazon was fierce. By
now, Shampoo was likely aboard a ship heading to China.
Determined to do her duties as a member of the heroic Amazon
tradition. And if she wanted to brag about being a Vampire
Slayer, well she was entitled, wasn't she? Kasumi was going
to miss Shampoo.

The girl settled back onto the bench, watching clouds pass
overhead. Yes, the two of them *did* make an odd pair of
friends. It was nice to have someone OFFER to help, and it
had made the daily chores easier to have assistance. Though
Kasumi wondered about Shampoo's reference to a Martial Arts
Housekeeping style. Maybe that was what Akane needed...

Kasumi sighed. Back to Ranma. She didn't want to think
about this too much but for some reason her thoughts circled
back around to Nabiki's fiance on a regular basis.

OK. He was young. Sixteen and full of himself. Bursting
with energy and surrounded by more weirdness than in
anything she'd read in Tezuka's works. Fairies, vampires,
ancient Chinese curses, multiple fiancees, Yakuza, Chinese
Amazons, the friction between the Seelie and UnSeelie
Courts, childhood buddies that had apparently changed gender
along the way, and ersatz Sailor Senshi. She couldn't
believe she'd ever said that younger men were boring. Less
mature, perhaps, but boring? With a fiance that changed from
a tall and powerfully built young man to a slender winged
nymph with water?

Kasumi blushed and corrected herself. *Nabiki's* fiance.
She'd started thinking of him as having been officially
dropped where she could casually catch him. Nabiki *might*
have just been protesting the engagement to maintain some
facade of control over the situation.

Kasumi, very guiltily, found herself hoping that was not
the case.


==========================================

Featherbrite's Tale, a Ranma 1/2 Bet (Alterniverse) fanfic
Ranma 1/2 owned by Viz Video & Takahashi Rumiko. Various
other characters owned by various other authors. No
copyright infringement is intended. "Shapechangers" is by
Jennifer Roberson, and is merely referenced as a fantasy
novel. Nathan Brazil is tm Jack Chalker via his Well World
series of novels. Thanks to Skysaber for two scenes here.

"The Universe is stranger than we thought." -S.Hawking

"Relatively speaking." -A.Einstein

"Which universe?" -Professor Emilio Mnoren

CHAPTER EIGHT: The Cat Came Back
or Sailor Rose?!?

-------Azabu Juuban----------
Usagi lay unconscious on the ground, groaning slightly.

"She's coming to," said an off-panel voice.

Usagi sat up, moaning and rubbing her temples. "Who? Queen
Beryl? I was..."

The voice resolved itself into a Sailor she didn't know.
"Who?"

"You Moon Kingdom soldiers won, but if it hadn't been for
Sailor Angel you'd all be dead," the Sailor snarled. "Don't
count on it again, *Moonies*!"

"I don't understand," complained Usagi. "Who are you? Why
are you so angry?"

The unknown Sailor made a disgusted noise. "Ask your damn
advisors, those moon cats. Ask them about the Kingdom *your*
Kingdom betrayed!"

Usagi drew back at the venom in the other Sailor's voice.

The other Sailor turned on her heel, a pony tail flipping
between the broad nearly transparent wings on her back. "We
can *both* hope our paths don't cross again, Serenity. Once
in a thousand years is too much."

Usagi blinked again. "Oh no, the others!"

"They're alive. Along with your precious Endymion." The girl
stopped and looked over her shoulder at Usagi. "The next
time we meet, moonie, it will likely be as enemies. Don't
count on us pulling your bacon outta the fire THEN."

------------------

Naoko sat back, looking at the first page of the new
series. Good, the sketches and photos that Nabiki had
supplied her made drawing Sailor Sylph fairly easy. And it
looked like *all* these Sailors had a wing motif. Common
motifs were very important in this line of work.

Naoko eyed the notes and photos that Nabiki had supplied.
Hmmm. A rival kingdom, providing a further source of
conflict in the series. A mysterious prince who was of the
ancient Star Kingdom, reborn into the mortal realm. Several
girls competing for his affection, but he was a mysterious
romantic figure that mainly stayed out of the action.

Dark Kingdom, Moon Kingdom, Star Kingdom, each a different
facet of existence. The Dark Kingdom that embodied death,
chaos, and the quest for personal power. The Moon Kingdom
that ruled absolutely even over the hearts and minds of
their subjects by "purifying" them of all taint. Sacrificing
much of their individuality in the process. The Star Kingdom
which would partake of neither path, instead focussing on
personal harmony and self-purification.

Three Kingdoms at war, but remembering how the Darkness had
won by playing the Light Vs the Twilight. Would the Dark
Kingdom succeed in playing off the distrust between the
Kingdoms again, or would the Stars and Moon converge this
time?

Naoko smiled. With the news coverage of these real-life
Sailors and their appearances, her series would
automatically be a success. She was enough of an artist,
though, that simply resting on her accomplishment wasn't
enough. THIS would give her at least another season of
plotlines different from the first.

Not to mention the fringe benefit of international travel
paid by the company as she oversaw the various projects.
This showed every sign of being an interesting time.

------Nerima, Furinkan SHS-------

Akane sighed and wondered if Nabiki had found Ranma yet.
Idly, she stopped Hattori's overhand swing with one hand,
then casually flipped the sumo wrestler into a tree. She
barely noticed, having weighty things on her mind.

She had known Nabiki's Quest was coming for some time, and
when Soun Tendo had made his bid to unite the two families
by having Nabiki bird dog Ranma so that the two fathers
could drag her fiance back, Akane had also known what would
happen then. It wasn't obvious to Nabiki, it *certainly*
hadn't been obvious to their father, but Akane had been on
the sidelines and could see this one quite clearly.

While she was more than content to have stepped out of the
limelight and let someone else deal with what was obviously
going to be insane goings-on, Akane had felt some resentment
about the whole thing. Her sister had changed, now no longer
solely interested in "the bottom line." Her father had
changed, most obviously because of whispered suggestions to
arguments from his old buddy Mister Saotome. Kasumi had
changed, becoming best buddies with some warrior woman from
China. From what little Akane knew, that warrior woman had
changed- her relationship with Kasumi allowing her out of
some "warrior stereotype" shell.

Akane found that she had grown complacent. That she had
judged this new boy solely on the basis of her usual crowd
of "admirers." While it had been true that Ranma had
escalated the insanity, there had been a fair amount in her
life previous to that rainy day in March.

Another of the jocks who hadn't quite given up found his
forward path interrupted by a backhand that knocked him
flat.

Akane noticed the chorus teacher nearby and nodded. Ranma
had suggested that Akane try out for Chorus. He had *seemed*
quite sincere, though Akane secretly suspected that the boy
had been making fun of her. Maybe not, though. Ranma didn't
seem that much like the other guys at school.

The changes in herself, Akane wasn't sure what *that* was
about. Lingering weirdness? Nabiki had made references to
'elfin magic.' Her skin seemed softer but somehow more firm.
An old ache in her right knee had vanished. Her hair had
gotten fuller, she'd filled out a little more in what Akane
admitted was all the right places, and that wasn't all.

Akane stopped the hockey stick heading for her, casually
crushed it in one hand, and threw the hockey player into the
school wall.

She was stronger, faster, and felt more "centered" somehow.
Maybe it was her relationship with Yoshi-kun. Akane forcibly
stopped that line of thought. They were just good friends.
That was all. Admittedly, having a boy who listened to her,
who actually respected her, who cared about *her* opinion,
was different. Very different. The bit about them having a
relationship was just school gossip.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Akane. You ready for your test?"

Akane looked up at Yoshi and swallowed to clear her
suddenly tight throat. "Yes, Yoshi-kun, I thank you for your
assistance."

"Aaaa, she's blushing!" Yuka's voice carried across the
grounds.

"Yoshi and Akane, sitting in a tree..." Sayuri began, only
to stop at watching Akane get all flustered and turn three
shades redder. She blinked, she'd only meant to tease but it
looked like Yoshi was blushing too. Had she hit home despite
their denials? "Oh well, c'mon guys, it's almost time for
class."

----faerie realm---------

One of the wind faerie buzzed about with agitation, having
been searching the Senshi's mind for clues on how to restore
her. "NO! Oh, how I hate those Dark Kingdom types! How could
even they do something like that?" The sprite settled and
dropped a real tear, crying for the Senshi's sake.

One of the Faerie sorceresses, drawn by her interest to
participate, looked up from her work. "What is it,
Pearlydawn?"

The sprite sniffled. "The Dark Kingdom has obviously
twisted it, but even now she retains much knowledge of and
love for growing plants! They've only perverted that for
their own dark ends. We've got to fix that! This was
obviously a nature oriented Senshi!"

The Faerie sorceress nodded. Nature was something they were
good at. Besides, this Dark Kingdom stuff was obviously the
UnSeelie at work with the mortal realm again. It was only
natural that this would make the Seelie the allies of these
Senshi.

A stack of the Senshi books were consulted, as well as a
newspaper article that Nabiki had given Holly at the same
time. The article detailed a Sailor Amazon (with pixie
wings) and a Sailor Angel. Since this Kodachi girl obviously
fit much the same role as Sailor Jupiter, but clearly wasn't
her, she was part of this other group of Sailors.

"Hey, Piroette? What name do we give these Senshi? The
Senshi are those others, right? Moon and planets of the
Mortal Realm?" A korred looked up from his own reading.
"They're obviously Sailors, got the right costume more or
less."

"Sailor Seelie?" A metallic oriad mused aloud, wondering if
they ought to involve themselves in Mortal affairs again.
This *did* have the makings of a grand old epic, after all.
Hmmm. Maybe if she got one of these seifuku things she
should go as Sailor Metallica. Sailor Silver? After all, as
an oriad she could handle cold iron quite easily.

"Cute, but not quite," suggested Piroette, tapping her wand
thoughtfully.

"Sailor Bushi? Sailor Samurai?" The korred suggested,
thinking that they *were* Japanese, after all.

"Sailor Storms?" Pearlydawn liked the idea, it involved
wind after all.

"Sailor Rangers," quipped an ugly fanged creature that was
actually a fairly gentle (if generally tipsy) fruit bat.
"That way THAT one can be the Black Ranger (she wears black
rose designs in her socks, after all). He held up a magazine
depicting the Kamen Rider series. "See, that's why this one
is separate from the others, the Black Rider always works
alone."

"Hmmmm," hmmed Piroette. "That reminds me, that mortal
who's off at the Librarium Arcani."

"Nabiki Ten'ou. She's the one who supplied these
guidebooks," the fruitbat seemed happy to actually be able
to contribute something.

"That's the one who's teaching herself divination, isn't
she?" Pearlydawn continued to buzz in an agitated manner,
still thinking of the poor Senshi.

Piroette actually laughed at that. "Oh, no. She's not
teaching *herself* divination. She has the 'Simple
Spellcraft' tome. Also known as Divinicron. The book itself
is teaching her. No, what I thought was that here we have a
mortal girl whose father hasn't raised her too well, whose
mother has passed on, and who is attempting to work magic.

"My question is this: does anyone know if she's got a
faerie godmother or counselor yet?"

There was a brief pause, the same idea occurring to many
individuals at the same time.

---------Juuban---------

"This the place?" Isao smirked. The runaways thought they
were so clever, but they'd screwed up so badly.

"Nichieju style Chinese Cooking, Nekohanten." The Yakuza
chunin gave a gap-toothed grin. "That Shampoo person is here
, no doubt about it. Why else would there be a place that
advertises 'authentic Amazon cooking' - the idjits didn't
even look outside Tokyo!"

"Who've we got for Talent? The Amazons are reputed to be
tough fighters. Besides, that Sailor Amazon may show up
again."

The chunin spat. Damn academic types. Wimps, all of 'em.
"Don't worry, we got a nullifier. No magic's gonna work in
Black Mariko's presence. We also got a martial arts expert
in Chiriko. We're covered."

"Ah," Isao nodded. He still had a bad feeling about this.

"One, two, three," the chunin counted off, then pointed
inside. The lower level Yakuza went in, followed by the
Talents, and then the two with guns.

"Ah, welcome to Nekohanten," the waitress bowed. "We not
open just yet. You come back in five minutes please!"

One of the low levels held a knife to the girl's throat.
"Maybe, we'll just help ourselves. Eh?"

The waitress didn't look terribly intimidated. "You must be
stupids. You attacks womans of Amazon village?"

"Never mind that, get the others out here."

"Azure do," the Amazon shrugged. "Di Na, Sugar, Spice,
Dowel, Odango, Noodle!"

"Excuse please!"

Isao edged towards the door, just in case.

---Faerie Realm--------

The dwarf Pax hmmmed and took a moment to align the
crystals just so, before returning to his visitor.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I *can* do it. Why should I?"
The dwarf grumbled and ran a hand over his slickly bald
head. "I've already got this project going."

"Well, it isn't boring," began Holly. "I don't think I've
seen things this abuzz since the days of Sachiko Oshima and
that Percival fellow."

"Hmmph. And the boyo *still* hasn't come by to pick up his
damn sword."

"Percy was mortal, Pax. Most likely he's dead by now."
Holly looked slyly at the dwarf. "Besides, Fnor's already at
work on a similar project."

"BAH! Fnor will screw it all up, ye be *knowing* that. A
pox on the names of all dwarves everywhere, he be!"

"Well, maybe... He said the same thing about you, y'know."

Pax grimaced. "Driads should nae be trying to manipulate
mean old dvarren. Now get tae yer point, lass, afore I toss
ye out."

"C'mon, you know I'm just giving you an excuse. You know
darn well you want to do this."

Pax hrmmphed. "I'll do it. Just to show that Fnor up!"

"Yayyy!" Holly skipped around the room briefly. Now her
mortal lover stood a chance of not only realizing his heroic
dreams, but of surviving them.

-----------------

Nabiki slammed the door behind her and leaned against it. A
few moments of silence was enough for Nabiki to get her
heartrate under control again. Maybe she'd lost them.

"Nabiki Ten'ou!" A pixie flitted in through the window.
"Choose me!"

A moment later, Nabiki Tendo, voted "Ice Queen of Furinkan"
by her fellow students, was buried under a heap of butterfly
wings as nearly a hundred pixies tried to convince her that
she should choose one of them as a Faerie Guide.

She hadn't foreseen this.

She found herself being argued over by a vast number of
beings of both genders who wanted her. Some wanted her as a
mortal godchild. Some wanted her to be a companion. Others
just wanted her, and she'd already explained that she liked
GUYS!

The door creaked alarmingly, then popped open. Looking down
at the colorful struggling mass, Harold gave a deep sigh.
"ALL RIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Small objects were blown about the room from the immense
noise generated by the full power of a half Stone Ogre's
lung capacity. This included a number of pixies. Grumbling
slightly, the powerful being snagged Nabiki and set her
across one shoulder like a sack of flour before leaving the
room.

"By the Rod Of Priapus, those idiots. Pixies, can't
understand moderation in *anything.* So, I guess the words
out that there's a mortal hanging out in the Faerie Realm.
Probably be some UnSeelie heading this way to 'play' with
you. When did you say you were returning to the Mortal
Realm?"

Nabiki was breathing a sigh of relief when a thought struck
her. "Your speech. It's not rough anymore."

Harold grunted. "Nabiki Tendo must be mistaken. Harold just
dumb ogre. Harold not understand what Nabiki mean."

"Yeah right," Nabiki frowned but shelved the concern for a
moment. "What's going on with them anyway?"

"Nabiki not know? Harold explain, even though Harold not
speak well. Nabiki is Mortal, yes? Have soul, yes? Nabiki
have mortal flesh, not strong magical defenses, yes?"

"Yeah," Nabiki agreed.

"Mortal Nabiki not stay in Faerie Realm too long. Draw
entirely wrong attention. Mortal soul stand out here, mortal
flesh tempt some faerie who not nice. Harold not like to see
Nabiki turned inside out or worse. Many nice faerie want
also play with Nabiki. Some want adopt as Mortal Godchild.
Some want other things Nabiki can provide. All come for
Nabiki if she stay too long here."

"You'll protect me, won't you, Harold?" Nabiki was joking.
She hadn't seen anything more threatening than a few driads
and pixies so far.

"Nabiki want Harold to protect her?" Harold grunted for a
moment. "Sound like Harold get to do that soon. Nabiki hang
on tight."

"What are you...?" Nabiki's question ended in a squeak as
Harold went from walking out the library to a jog to a run.

"UnSeelie," grunted Harold. "Harold can smell it. Bad one."

-----------------

Chiriko was proving her worth. The Yakuza Enforcer wasn't a
pleasant woman to work with, and tended to be left alone
even by those she worked with. NOBODY, not even that Ataru
kid, was going to ask Chiriko Korosu out to tea. She had
killed her father one day for stealing a cigarette. She had
killed her mother to see how long it would take. Her little
brother wouldn't shut up, and so she'd wrung his neck like a
chicken. If anyone asked her, she'd say that she had been
bored that afternoon.

What Chiriko Korosu DID was study the martial arts and
practiced brawling. Don't bother her with any of that Zen
crap or the philosophies or anything. Hurting or killing
people and breaking things, this was the Art that Chiriko
practiced. It was something she was VERY good at, and that
the Yakuza paid her to do. Chiriko liked her job. She loved
to hear the crunch of children's bones as she showed the
parents what could happen if they messed with the Yakuza.
She loved watching the light fade out of the eyes as she
used her Eagle Claw strike to crush ribcages. It amused
Chiriko to present the dying person with the heart that had
just been ripped out of their chest.

These Amazons weren't that different. None of them had the
same all-consuming dedication to Pain and Death that she
did. They were a bit more skilled than the average Japanese
girl, even better than most of the dojo-trained warriors
she'd met.

Chiriko had watched as the various Amazons beat up the
suit-and-tie Yakuza, then had moved in herself. Bones,
whether those of kindergarten age Japanese children or
Chinese Amazons, made the same satisfying snap.

One of those, a short woman, stepped back and pulled a can
from her blouse.

Seeing this, four of the Amazons dogpiled the woman in
black who had seemingly absorbed their ki attacks.

--------------

Isao stared. Everything had been going per the plan. The
Specialists had proven their skill and the Yakuza "troops"
had moved in.

Then that one Amazon, Di Na, had pulled a can of spinach
out of her blouse. With a battlecry of "Di Na Family Special
Technique!" she'd popped the can of spinach open and
swallowed it whole.

Isao wasn't exactly sure *what* had occurred afterward.
Black Mariko had gone down, the Negapsychic being dogpiled
by several Amazons. Then this crazy music (with an oddly
nautical air) had started playing on the jukebox.

Then Di Na, slender Amazon maiden, had started punching and
kicking. The Amazon restaurant had a new skylight. Isao had
fled, only to notice that the bodies were flying *in time*
to the music. And had that been a holographic image of a
bomb on Di Na's fist?

Isao would have to report this to the oyabun. This could be
bad. Very bad indeed.

EYECATCH-------------
Sailor Amazon appears in a swirl of sakura petals. Flowing
golden wings heralds Sailor Angel. A bolt of lightning forms
Sailor Valkyrie. Swirling black rose petals herald Sailor
Rose. A redsuited Akane pulls the mask of her sailor-ninja
suit on and poses. Ranma is seen arguing with Nabiki, who is
holding up a sailor fuku.
--back to the fic----

Mousse was attempting to sneak into the house and confirm
that this was where his Shampoo was staying when he was
interrupted.

"Whoever you are, you aren't getting paid enough to break
into MY home." The long haired girl turned and went into a
basic martial arts stance.

"Out of my way, I am here for Shampoo!" Mousse attacked. No
one would keep him from Shampoo!

Akane's eyes narrowed. (Oh, so some guy's here to hurt
Shampoo? Not going to happen.) Akane dodged the chains,
reached into one sleeve of her gi, and withdrew her chosen
weapon. With all her considerable strength, she sent a
baseball flying towards Mousse.

Mousse dodged and ignored the sounds of a small spherical
object going through several walls. As Akane had meant the
attack to be a distraction, she was already sending the
right cross for his chin by the first sound of baseball
induced destruction.

Mousse woke up five minutes later and realized what had
happened.

An outsider girl had beaten him. He hadn't taken an
outsider girl as a serious threat, and as a result had been
struck with enough force to spin him around in midair.

Even if he hadn't realized what had happened, the note
pinned to his chest from Vanilla indicated that she had seen
the whole thing.

He had been beaten by an outsider girl. "F-f-forgive me,
Shampoo." He knew what he had to do by Amazon law. He'd have
to take Shampoo as his *second* wife. Oh the shame. Mousse
looked around but couldn't see the girl who'd defeated him.

Rather handily too, judging from the crater.

----------------------

Kodachi stretched and listened to the pixie explaining how
the Dark Kingdom had brainwashed her and turned her insane.
She was only partially listening, however.

She felt ALIVE and in control, more so than...

Had she never felt this at peace before? Never felt this
wondrously vibrant and full of strength? It was all she
could do to keep from dancing out to the balcony in joy...

"...so we're sorry, but we couldn't quite restore you.
Those evil Dark Kingdom types must have done a Reweave or
something like that, the BASTARDS!" Pearlydawn clenched her
fists and snarled, which merely lessened her overall level
of cute without appearing very threatening at all. It was
hard to be a pixie, in some respects. Nobody ever took a
butterfly winged six inch tall bundle of cuteness seriously.
"So anyway, now that we've restored you, we need to figure
out what next!"

This stopped Kodachi, who drew aristocratic dignity about
her. "What to do? What we must, of course! Kodachi Kuno will
*not* suffer this defeat lightly. As a member of the
nobility, and a Warrior Of Love & Justice(tm), it falls on
me to be a shining example for others to look up to! Am I
not of samurai descent?"

"Yes!" Pearlydawn's eyes sparkled.

"Is it not the duty of the samurai to not only protect the
weak and serve their daimyo, but to be an ideal for others
to admire and seek to emulate?" Kodachi stepped to the
balcony, raising her hands and head as if beseeching the
heavens.

"YES!" A half dozen faerie had stopped what they were doing
to listen.

"Can any true warrior allow a single defeat to overcome
them and turn their back on a Righteous Battle for Love &
Justice?"

"NO!" The crowd of faerie had more than doubled.

"I *must* return to my homeland and seek to cleanse it of
the vile abominations that would corrupt and warp a young
maid's heart, true?"

"YES!" There was quite a crowd forming both in the air and
ground below.

"If I cannot be restored, then a true samurai accepts the
adversity as a challenge, does she not? Does not honor
demand that I renew the fight?"

"YES! YES!!" Even a few dwarves were attending now. They
might not have been into the shouting or undignified dancing
about, but this young lady was talking about going out and
kicking serious butt against nearly overwhelming odds. A
subject near and dear to the hearts of most dwarves.

"I shall return to Nerima and take the fight back to the
Dark Kingdom!" Kodachi paused for the thunderous ovation to
stop before turning her gaze back to the pixie who had
attended her since she had awoken. "Pearlydawn, I shall need
a friend and advisor. Will you fill that role for me?"

Pearlydawn hugged Kodachi's arm. Someone was taking her
seriously? She got to help kick UnSeelie behinds? "YES!
YES!"

Kodachi smiled slightly, and accepted the applause as her
due. For was she not Kodachi Kuno, undefeated gymnastics
champion of Saint Hebereke, sailorsuited Warrior Of Love &
Justice who had sworn fealty to her Princess?

She was Sailor Rose, and she would triumph!

-------------

Genma spotted the ponytailed girl dressed as a boy and came
to the obvious conclusion.

This is why a panda (having had a small accident involving
a child with a squirtgun, a tub of crushed ice, and a
skateboard) was stalking through the Gero Spa with all the
inherent sneakiness possible to an 800# panda wearing a
Hawaiian print shirt.

Which is to say that almost everyone except the target was
staring, and several of those sitting back in the waters
were putting their sake cups down. Almost everyone, because
a great many of the Japanese were practicing the infamous
Japanese philosophy of "it's someone ELSE'S problem as long
as I ignore it." An enlightened philosophy that cuts down on
ulcers, it should be noted. It just isn't that easy to
practice it in real life.

Genma continued to stalk the individual in question. Yes,
it could be none other than his wayward son. He rushed
forward, intent on the attack.

Genma crossed the stream of hot water as he entered the
locker room.

Genma crossed the stream of hot water again as he fled the
woman's locker room, being pursued by a large number of
women- all of whom seemed to have blunt objects with which
to pummel perverts.

Then he saw it and recoiled in horror. The height was
right. The baldness factor was a little high but not
impossible. The eating habits were correct. The age was hard
to guess from the shadowy figure, but why take chances?

With a scream of terror, Genma fled, convinced that Master
Happosai was at the Gero Spa.

"Most ominous," intoned the monk as he watched the man turn
and flee- directly into the path of a number of women he
himself had annoyed earlier.

-----------------

Akane came into the house, smiling, happy, carefree, and
quite close to floating off the ground. She'd been spending
time with Yoshi and was quite defenseless against dealing
with a kindhearted, affectionate, supportive male figure.

Soun watched and frowned. Well, that was it, Yoshinori
Kitase must die.(1)

Or at least he had to forbid them to see each other. It was
improper for Akane, the Heir Of the Tendo Anything Goes
School Indiscriminate Grappling, to develop an unhealthy
relationship with a juku student! It was a completely
improper and unhealthy thing, totally unnatural! She didn't
hit him, he didn't insult her, they actually seemed to like
and be able to trust the other, this was all completely
unacceptable! He was patient and one of those wimpy
namby-pamby nurturing types, which was entirely wrong for
someone like Akane!

Soun's hand crumpled the letter of betrayal from his middle
daughter. He'd get Ranma back and switch the engagement to
Akane. Akane would obey a matter of honor. She'd gripe and
grouse but she'd obey. And likely she'd take it all out on
Ranma as she was the sort to blame the messenger for the
news. They were both martial artists, though Ranma had those
silly useless skills like the flute and Akane had now taken
to singing. Hmmm. NO! The Art must be pure and unsullied by
such distractions.

He'd been *sure* that Operation Shacking Up would have
worked, except for Genma going off on his own initiative.
Well, that was unfortunate. But look at how poorly he'd
raised his son.

Akane burst into song spontaneously as Soun observed, and
the choice of the song caused Soun's frown to deepen. It was
in English? He had to intervene SOON!

"I've been driving all night, my hand's wet on the wheel
There's a voice in my head, that drives me heel
It's my baby callin', says I need you here
And it's half past four and I'm shifting gear
When he's lonely and the longing gets too much
He sends a cable coming in from above
Don't need no phone at all
We've got a thing that's called: Radar love
We've got a wave in the air
Radar love
The radio's playing some forgotten song
Brenda Lee's: "Coming on strong"
The road's got me hypnotised
And I'm speeding into a new sunrise
When I get lonely, and I'm sure I've had enough
He sends his comfort coming in from above
Don't need no letters at all
We've got a thing that's called: Radar love
We've got a line in the sky
Radar love
No more speed I'm almost there
Gotta keep cool, now gotta take care
Last car to pass, here I go!
And the line of cars drove down real slow
And the radio played that forgotten song
Brenda Lee's Coming on strong
And the newsman sang his same old song
One more Radar love has gone

Oh hi, Dad."

Soun wilted before that smile. He hadn't understood much of
what Akane had singing due to the language barrier, but knew
the word "love" had been in there. Damn Americans with their
loose morals! He *really* had to intervene.

(1) Comments from a number of people have indicated the
general consensus that Akane could never be happy with this
relationship, and that Yoshi-kun should die a long suffering
death. Either that or would be killed on the honeymoon. A
few have indicated to me how Akane should end up with Ranma,
having gotten him to dump Nabiki and/or everyone else and
they can go on to a more canon-based relationship with him
being a jerk and her malletting him.
i listen to most of the comments, but will only
follow *some* advice.

--
-----------------------------
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/
metro...@mindspring.com
"Still searching, still hoping, still alone."
-N.Brazil


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