[AMG/Ranma][Fanfic] Instruments of Change, Part Eight
Mike Koos
Lights of many colors came to her from all parts of the room, as
did a variety of noises that weren't quite intended to fit together.
One particular set of lights and sound was directly before her,
providing a pale glow from below to illuminate her short bluish-black
hair and the strange set of triangular marks that seemed to be a
permanent part of her face. Her own test, if one wanted to view it
as such. She narrowed her eyes and focused the whole of her
attention on it.
She felt someone's hand tapping her on the forearm.
"C'mon!" the boy protested in an aggravated tone of voice.
"You've been on that game forever! Me and my friend wanna play it!"
"Does it look like I'm about to leave this game?" she growled.
"No. I was here first. Go cry over some other game."
The boy cracked his knuckles for her benefit. "I think we're
going to play *this* game. Now."
She leaned closer to the game's screen so that the boy and his
friend would not mistake the glare she was about to give them. "You
*don't* want to fight me."
"Oh, great!" The boy's friend hit the other's shoulder. "Don't
you know who that is, idiot? That's that Akane girl! They say she
can trash entire classrooms of guys!"
"That's her!?"
"Wanna find out for sure?" the girl brandished a fist. "Go
ahead, attack me."
Silence.
"No? C'mon, you were ready to beat up a *defenseless* girl just
a minute ago over a game, weren't you?"
"No! We just wanted to - you know, scare you off!" the boy
stammered. "Yeah!" his friend chimed in.
She scowled. "Get lost."
The two boys needed little prompting beyond that. They nearly
ran each other over trying to leave the arcade.
Kaede snorted as she shoved another token into the game, since
her previous game had been cut short by the two would-be toughs.
<What a useful reputation you have, Akane-chan.>
Just then, Time seemed to slow around her while the arcade faded
into darkness. <It figures this'd happen after I start a new game,>
she smirked.
"Kaede," she heard a voice call her name. A voice she
recognized...
"Yeah?"
"Why are you not busy creating chaos in your charge's life?"
Kaede sighed. "Because Akane herself inspires ten times any
amount of chaos I might create, as do her friends! Anything I do is
just lost in all of the confusion she and that Ranma boy cause!"
There was a short pause before the voice spoke again. "True.
But more chaos never hurts, does it?"
"Do you think they actually NOTICE it?"
"Kaede... if you had actually bothered to keep an eye on Akane,
you would know that she is in training to become a Goddess."
"A Goddess?" the demon asked, thoroughly surprised. How had
Tendo Akane managed *that*? "So that means..."
"...That you've been promoted," the voice concluded.
"Congratulations. The Doublet System is now in effect for both of
you."
An Aa! Megamisama / Ranma 1/2 Crossover
Instruments of Change
Part Eight
written by Mike Koos
----------------------
Akane felt a cold shiver run up her spine. She attributed it to
the senses of fear and anxiety that were already hanging above her
like ominous storm clouds.
Fear, because she had been afraid that she might have seriously
injured Ranma with an elemental blast Akane hadn't known she could
use. Using a restoration spell had only led to another accident -
one which turned Ranma into a seven-year old child. Was her time as
a Goddess candidate to be ended because of her temper and mistakes?
Akane wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to hear the answer to
that question.
Urd approached the sleeping Ranma. "C'mon, sis," she said.
"We've got some things to discuss."
Taking a cue from the semi-urgent tone underlying Urd's words,
Ranmira caused Ranma's form to disappear within a flash of light.
She stood in his place when the light faded, apparently unaffected by
the events that had changed Ranma.
"Should I come with you?" asked Akane. The Goddesses *were*
going to be discussing her, weren't they? Shouldn't she be present
for things like that? Waiting in the temple courtyard for them to
decide her fate was only going to feed her anxiety and guilt even
more...
Ranmira shook her head. "No. Please stay here with Keiichi.
We will only be a moment." She turned and proceeded to follow Urd
into the temple.
Akane felt a wave of nervous fidgeting begin to set in. "I'm
doomed," she said, loud enough for Keiichi to hear.
"I'm sure everything will turn out all right," Keiichi tried
half-heartedly to cheer her up.
"You don't have to be Mr. Optimism for my sake, Keiichi," she
sighed. "I messed everything up. Someone's gotta be responsible for
that, right?" When Keiichi didn't answer, Akane trudged toward the
largest rock near the center of the garden and sat upon the very top
of it, drawing her legs up so that she could bury her face in her
knees.
The rock was Belldandy's favorite, the one on which she would
often sit to let the innocence of Nature surround her, as it did with
Akane now. Nature could sense her distress... A small bird alighted
on the rock and hopped up to her, looking at her curiously from
different angles. Sensing no threat, it took a perch on her shoulder
- but Akane seemed unaware that the bird was there.
Keiichi silently hoped that Akane wouldn't lose her chance to
become a Goddess. One of her mothers, Peorth, was also given over to
irrational and impulsive behavior... in fact, Belldandy was
practically the only Goddess he knew who didn't basically behave in
such a manner. Why should Akane be restricted in her behavior if
there were so many examples of Goddesses not following that rule?
Skuld carefully shut the living room door behind her and took a
seat in the only free chair. "We can't fail her just because of
this!" she started right in, in Akane's defense. "Sure, I mean,
she's got a temper, but it was an accident! She didn't even know she
could do that!"
"Maybe so; however, she did have the anger and intent to hurt
Ranma," Belldandy replied from her chair.
"It's a habit Akane has developed, I think," Ranmira added. "I
believe she only does it because she knows Ranma can take a simple
hammer strike, punch or kick. Due to Ranma's upbringing, he is
influenced far more by physical strength than words." She paused.
"Admittedly, Ranma is also to blame."
Urd smirked. "Yeah. Isn't it obvious all that insulting and
fighting they do is just to hide the fact from them and everyone else
that they love each other?"
"Perhaps," Belldandy said after a moment. "But that does not
mean we can allow Akane to continue with this behavior. It is not
helping her learn to be a proper Goddess."
"Urd's done worse things than this before and gotten away with
it," Skuld folded her arms.
"Shut up, kid," countered Urd.
Ranmira defused the potential argument by clearing her throat.
"Well," the eldest sister regained her composure, "this little
'accident' might be a good thing."
"How?"
Her emerald eyes wandered toward the door. "She might think
twice before doing anything to Ranma. And maybe she'll be more
careful with her powers. You've got to admit that even with her
limiters on she's got a *lot* of power."
"The evaluations did say she's got an unusually high potential
for power," Skuld pointed out. "I didn't think it would be *this*
high, though."
Urd grinned. "Aren't you jealous? Akane picks up new spells
and powers faster than you do."
Skuld glared at her.
Belldandy exhaled. "So, you believe we should merely reprimand
Akane this time, and watch her to make sure she doesn't repeat this
mistake?"
"I do," agreed Ranmira. She was seconded by Urd and Skuld.
"Then that is what we will do. Now, all we need to do is return
Ranma to his proper age."
Ranmira raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I think it might be
better if we leave Ranma in his current state for a while."
"Why?"
"There's a chance that Ranma may be more receptive to
suggestions while he is younger. I told his father that I would give
him a chance to undo some of the mistakes he made in raising his son;
this change could provide a way to accomplish that."
"Interesting," Urd reclined back in her chair, a tight smile
forming on her lips. "Get a person to change his ways by turning him
into a child, teaching him what to do and then put him back in his
proper age." From what she knew of Ranma, Ranmira had a considerable
task ahead of her in teaching the obstinate Ranma to be the boy his
mother had wished for. Urd had thought that nothing short of
rewriting Ranma's personality and psychological profile might be the
only practical way for the wish contract her sister had granted to be
fulfilled... unless Ranma's mother canceled the contract.
"It is a bit of a gamble, I'll admit. But Ranma has a few...
problems which need to be addressed."
Belldandy spoke up before anyone else could add their comments.
"Very well. We really shouldn't leave Akane to wait in the yard.
She must be quite worried by now." She sighed, nodding once.
"Skuld, you will be the one to reprimand Akane."
The youngest of the four sisters blinked in surprise. "Me?
Why?"
"She's *your* apprentice. Technically, she's your
responsibility," Urd reminded her.
"Oh. Yeah." Skuld's voice was subdued. Responsibility. Why
had Kami-sama given *her* the responsibility of taking Akane on as an
apprentice? She could understand why Urd hadn't been given the
assignment. Urd was hardly a suitable role model for an impulsive
and powerful Goddess candidate like Akane. Ranmira, as Kami-sama had
stated, was otherwise preoccupied. That left herself... and
Belldandy. Wouldn't Belldandy have made a better teacher for Akane?
Unless Kami-sama was testing *her* as well as Akane.
She bit her lower lip. <Akane's not the only one who's nervous.>
Keiichi nudged Akane to get her attention as the sisters stepped
out from the temple back into the yard. "Hm?" she brought her head
up. When she noticed who was approaching them, the remaining
emotions seemingly drained from her face. "Oh." Time to learn the
Goddess' judgment.
The analytical part of her mind caught the reluctance in Skuld's
movements as the Goddess stepped forward. Uh-oh. Akane hadn't been
expecting to receive good news from the Goddesses, but now... there
was something Skuld wasn't exactly happy to have to tell her.
Her career as a Goddess candidate was probably over! <Oh,
Kami-sama... Mom... I'm so sorry...>
"Um, uh... Akane...," began Skuld. Trying hard not to let her
emotions show, Akane forced herself to meet Skuld's gaze. She
withdrew her breath... "Umm..."
Skuld took a second to gather herself. "Sorry. Um. Er..."
"Oh, come on!" an impatient Urd intervened. "Akane, you know
what you did was very wrong, right?"
"...Yes."
"And are you going to do it again?"
Needless to say, Akane was becoming slightly confused. "No."
Urd brushed off her hands and pivoted on her heels to walk away.
"There. That was easy, wasn't it?"
"Hold it! We're not done yet!" Skuld shouted after her.
"Yes," Belldandy agreed, her gray-blue eyes studying Akane
closely. "Akane, I have seen that you do understand the depth of
what you have inadvertently done and are prepared to accept whatever
consequences you may have to face."
Akane found herself nodding despite the sheer apprehension she
felt. Urd's attempt to wrap everything up notwithstanding, she
couldn't be sure what was going to happen to her.
The Goddess saw this. "We will only give you a warning this
time, Akane, and trust that you will keep your temper under control
from now on."
"I'll try. But..." Akane said, soberly. "I'm not sure if I can
control it that easily. I've...... I've become too used to having it
around."
"That you recognize you need to control your temper is the most
important step. You have the power of a Goddess; that power can
seriously hurt your family, your friends - anyone you care for, if
you aren't careful."
She knew Belldandy had an undeniable point. Images of what
*could* happen were she to let her temper, enhanced by her new-found
powers, run out of control flashed through her mind. Against - as
Belldandy had put it - her family, her friends...
Ranma.
For Akane, the unexpected series of events she found herself
living had been set in motion by bringing her infamous mallet into
contact with Ranma's face. He had behaved strangely since then,
leading her to believe that she had truly hurt Ranma this time.
Worse, Ranma never fought back. He never countered her attempts
to hit him, instead choosing to let her hit him. Why would he do
that? Surely there was more to this behavior than Ranma's
'gentlemanly' policy of never striking a girl - at least, when he
wasn't a girl.
Why did she find it easy to criticize Ranma when he fought with
Ryouga, yet think nothing of it when *she* fought him?
Well... it was true that if she hadn't malleted Ranma in the
face that night, Skuld might never have seen her draw her mallet from
nowhere and thought to check Akane's genetic code.
The fact that she was potentially becoming a Goddess was *not*
going to mean that she could now call on more power to beat up Ranma,
then heal him in time to beat him up again!
"But... what about Ranma?" she asked. No doubt Ranma would
hate having to endure a second childhood...
"He's going to remain a child for the time being." Ranmira's
steady gaze unnerved Akane slightly. Leaving Ranma in the form of a
child would be yet another reminder of what she had done. "We may be
able to help Ranma overcome a few of the problems from which he
suffers this way, such as his fear of cats. He once liked cats so..."
The thought triggered one of the memories she had inadvertently
inherited from Ranma, causing it to replay itself for her. A young
Ranma, happily playing with a small kitten...
Akane's words brought her back. "Ranma liked cats? I didn't
know that... But won't removing his fear of cats keep him from being
able to use the Nekoken?"
Urd snorted. "He's better off without it. It's wonderful to
know that his father wouldn't care if his son was a vegetable as long
as he's the strongest martial artist in the universe."
"Ranma has developed his strength, skill and speed to the point
where he doesn't need to resort to a would-be technique such as the
Nekoken," Ranmira hastened to add. Ranma's father did care for him,
though any evidence of that was obscured by Genma's self-serving
actions. And Genma had succeeded in raising Ranma to be strong, at
the cost of certain aspects that defined the person the boy had
turned out to be. A Jhusenkyou curse, fear of cats, being sold and
engaged more times than Ranma was aware of, all piled atop an
egotistical, fractured take on the world.
"I guess that's true," Akane nearly shrugged. "Even if he was
weaker, he wouldn't stay that way for long. He'd want to train until
he was back where he wanted to be."
A simple, cool breeze, one of the signs that the afternoon was
about to end, momentarily pushed Ranmira's scarlet hair away from her
forehead. "He is definitely stubborn. That is why I hoped that if
Ranma was a child, he would be easier for us to teach."
"Teach?"
"Yes. We are going to help Mr. Saotome teach Ranma to be a
better person."
There was a certain irony, Akane supposed, to having Genma bring
Ranma in line with the kind of person the young man's mother had
wanted him to be... since Genma had been the one to lead Ranma away
from that image in the first place.
But one question remained. She had become used to the person
Ranma already was, macho pride and all. And... she did have feelings
for him, no matter how she refused to admit it. If Ranma did become
the son his mother had wished for, would things be the same between
them?
** ** **
Kaede found her target seemingly wandering the streets of Nerima.
"Hey," she raised her voice. "I wondered where you were."
Marller simply glared at her. "Oh, it's *you*," she said, icily.
"What?" Kaede returned in a hollow voice. "Aren't you glad to
see me? And after I just got a *big* promotion and all..."
Marller pretended to ignore her. "Good for you. It sure took
you long enough to figure out what happened to Akane."
Kaede frowned. No matter how much she despised the thought,
Marller was better-versed in the art of belittling others. Still, it
would be a show of weakness - not to mention foolishness - for her to
quit at this point. She cocked her head to one side. "I suppose
you'd know that better than anyone, huh? Still tormenting Urd and
her sisters? I hear she and Ranmira made you look like a fool."
Marller's eyes flashed for a second. "So I wasn't looking where
I was going," she grated through her teeth. "At least I haven't been
wasting all my time playing video games!"
"Hey, I'd like to see YOU try to do something with that group!"
The smirk that appeared on the face of the blond-haired woman
should have been an indication that this argument was about to turn
against her. "I did. I gave one of them the Dalanis Sword."
Kaede couldn't suppress the gasp that came to her. That *did*
sound like a plan Marller would set in motion. "...Wow. I'd never
have thought of that."
"Because you have no imagination?"
"No, because I didn't get this assignment to kill anyone
outright!" she replied. "Where's the fun in that?" What was the
point in getting toys if one was going to blow them up as soon as
possible?
A new voice cut their exchange short. "*There* you are, foul
demon!"
They turned toward the source of the voice to find that the
young man named Kunou Tatewaki was striding toward them. "And you
dare lay a hand on the fair Tendo Akane? I, Kunou Tatewaki, acting
agent for the vengeance of the Heavens, shall strike you down!"
Marller rolled her eyes. <Oh, great. It's Poetry Boy.>
It took a moment for Kaede to recall who Kunou was - and how he
felt about Akane.
She swooned into Marller's arms. "Oh, please, Kunou-sempai!"
Kaede pleaded in Akane's voice. "*Save* me from this foul demon!"
"She's not Akane! She's a demon, too!" yelled Marller.
"How dare you insult Akane's character in such a fashion!
Prepare to suffer the wrath of the Goddesses!" Kunou drew his
bokutou and advanced on Marller, who threw Kaede aside so that she
could get away from the lunatic swordsman.
Kaede watched as they disappeared around a turn in the street,
barely able to stifle her laughter. "I've gotta see this," she
thought aloud.
She materialized beside the fleeing Marller, popping into
existence within a violent swirl of sulfurous smoke. Kaede took to
hovering at Marller's side while the other ran. Really, why would
Marller be running? For that matter, why would she be walking around
the streets of Nerima without an apparent purpose in mind?
No; Marller didn't behave that way. If the 'older' demon was
doing something for apparently no reason, then she likely *did* have
a scheme in the works. It wouldn't be a good idea to jump to
conclusions about Marller's actions now...
Where was Kunou? She couldn't see the Kendo swordsman anywhere
- but he had to be close behind them, else Marller wouldn't waste
time or effort running like this.
Before Kaede could open her mouth to speak, however, Marller
yanked her out of the air and began to drag Kaede behind her. "YOU!"
growled Marller. "It's your fault that airhead is chasing me! I
ought to just let him 'have' you as his dear Akane."
An unimpressed Kaede fought air resistance to fold her arms. "I
could just teleport away, like you could do now."
"You don't get anywhere by running from simple problems,"
Marller snorted.
That was true enough. Breaking away from a stalemate with a
Goddess was one thing, but to teleport away from an ordinary Mortal
who only *believed* he was acting as an agent for the heavens... that
would only earn either of them a never-ending stream of ridicule from
other demons.
"You shall never lose me, demon! And now I see that you have
some sort of dark hold on the innocent Akane, to keep her within your
evil grasp! I will destroy you and free her!"
Ah, so there Kunou was, assuming things as always.
<Not very likely,> Marller mused. She was content to attempt
the same plan she had tried to use against Ranmira and Urd - lead
them on a chase through the streets until they collapsed from
exhaustion. A Mortal like Kunou wouldn't be able to endure the chase
as long as a Goddess or demon, of course. Failing to catch a demon
because of the limitations of his own body... that would be a
wonderful blow to his precious ego, wouldn't it, now?
"Isn't that cute?" Kaede grinned. "He still thinks I'm Akane."
Kaede's ego could stand to be lowered a few dozen feet, as well.
Preferably with the aid of a wooden sword.
The door to the U-Chan eased open.
Ryouga stood within the doorway for a moment to let his eyes
readjust to the light outside the restaurant, and took the
opportunity to hide the package of okonomiyaki-to-go he had just
bought within his pack.
He absently rubbed a finger against the simple golden ring he
now wore on his left-hand ring finger. It was the ring Ranmira had
given him, the ring that fixed his broken sense of direction. Being
able to actually get somewhere when he wanted to be there helped
reduce his levels of frustration greatly... though that had been an
unexpected end result.
Why did someone as honorable as the Goddess Ranmira have to be
linked to *Saotome Ranma*, of all people?
He would have to remember to thank Ranmira, if he ever happened
to see her again. And Akane... Akane, who was several steps closer
to becoming a true Goddess, as he'd always imagined her to be. Her
true beauty, spirit, strength... yes, she was and would always be a
Goddess.
But... there was no way a Goddess could have a relationship with
an ordinary Mortal, was there? <Oh, Akane-san...>
Two human-shaped blurs flew past him, followed by a distant
third. More of the madness that plagued this area, he sighed.
Ryouga doubted Akane or Ranma had anything to do with this chase.
None of the blurs were Happosai or Cologne, either. No one was
yelling Ranma's name - yet.
He was supposed to be near Akane. Guarding her. Not becoming
involved in a minor chase that probably had nothing to do with Akane
whatsoever.
Kunou's cries drifted toward him. "Release Tendo Akane now,
demon!"
Ryouga subconsciously shrugged. There was nothing to concern
himself with here; it was only Kunou and his usual rantings when the
world didn't quite listen to his demands. Honestly, the whole family
seemed to think that having the family name 'Kunou' meant they could
do anything they wanted. What was Kunou ranting about this time,
again?
His eyes widened. 'Tendo Akane?'
A demon?
How could he have been so stupid?
Ryouga instinctively started to head in the direction of the
chase... but then he recalled that Ukyou was also acting as a
guardian. If Akane *was* being held captive by a demon, even he
might not be able to save her without help...
He ducked back into the U-Chan to grab Ukyou, who barely had
enough time to grab her giant spatula before Ryouga dragged her
outside.
"What do you think you're doing!?" she demanded. If the idiot
didn't have a good excuse for hauling her out of her restaurant
during business hours like a kite he wanted to fly, Ryouga would soon
wind up with an uncomfortably flat head.
Breathlessly, he told her about the chase and Kunou after
lowering her to the ground. "Oh, is that all?" Ukyou said,
dismissively. "You *do* know Kunou thinks *everyone* who stands up
to him is a monster or demon, don't you?"
Ryouga shrugged. "Okay, maybe. But if Akane's involved, I've
gotta be sure."
She made an attempt to gauge what Ryouga was thinking by his
facial expression and look in his eyes. "I think you're taking this
'guardian' thing a little too seriously. Akane-chan can take care of
herself... and if Ran-ch-- uh, Ranma's looking out for her, they
don't need us." Then again, could *Ranma* be the 'demon' Kunou had
referred to?
Ryouga was silent for a handful of steps, then fixed her with a
determined stare - an intimidating sight on a face that on occasion
led others to wonder if Ryouga wasn't part-werewolf. There was a
notable, consistent edge to both his facial features and voice. "I'm
going to make sure Akane doesn't have to defend herself like that."
Ukyou held his gaze, hoping that she wouldn't waver. She had
come to expect this kind of dedication to Akane from Ryouga... but
did the boy realize how little of a chance he now had in winning
Akane's love? "Okay," she hesitantly readied her weapon. "Let's see
what Kunou's problem is *this* time."
Marller grimaced. If she read her senses correctly, two more of
the area's infamous fighters had joined in the chase. One of those
fighters was also being influenced by a spell of some sort; no doubt
the handiwork of a Goddess. She wouldn't be able to discern what
kind of spell protected the Mortal or get a vague sense of the caster
without moving closer to the person. For all she knew, the spell
could be an endurance or strength spell... which meant her original
plan was out. Even without the presence of such spells she would
tire long before the newcomers, at any rate. If she exhausted
herself, Marller knew she wouldn't even have the strength to teleport
away.
Time, then, for a new plan.
Kaede could be used as a distraction.
Yes. That was a good idea. Kaede was intent on making everyone
believe she was Akane, so why not use her own trick against her?
But where? wondered Marller. She had been working on a mental
map of the district before Kaede's appearance, in case she needed to
know the layout of the streets or what was where... but the rookie
demon had put an end to that. The ground they were covering now
wasn't charted in her map, and she did not want to accidentally
stumble upon another shrine.
Oh, well... blind luck could be entirely as useful as planning
in advance. She'd certainly had to count on it on occasion in her
dealings with Urd and her sisters.
A glance back at Kaede told her the girl was enjoying all the
chaos her presence had inspired. To think that Kaede was using *her*
to accomplish the girl's job...
She clamped a hand around Kaede's mouth, pulling her forward
into an armlock while skidding to a halt. "Hold it!" Marller caused
a wave of energy to visibly wash over Kaede. She turned to Kunou.
"My dear Kunou, your fair Akane is now possessed by one of the most
evil demons you will ever meet. So long as these markings are on her
face, she will never be free."
"*What*!?" spluttered Kaede. "Hey! I'm not possessed!" But
Marller was already teleporting away from the scene.
Kunou struck what he believed to be a sufficiently dramatic
pose. "Hmph. There is no demon that Kunou Tatewaki, the
undefeatable Blue Thunder of Fuurinkan High School, cannot best."
The demon raised an eyebrow. "What about Saotome Ranma?"
"Saotome is not a demon, but much worse," answered Kunou. "Once
I remove your black influence over Tendo Akane, Saotome will join you
in oblivion."
Ukyou began to advance toward Kunou, but Ryouga put out a hand
to restrain her. "Wait." Something wasn't right, though he wasn't
sure how he knew it wasn't.
Kunou launched himself forward, swinging his sword about him in
dual orbits almost too fast for anyone to see. "And now, the dark
cloud that threatens to envelop an innocent's soul is about to be
lifted!"
Kaede waited until he was a yard away from her before she
blasted the young man with a pulse of writhing purple energy. He was
sent flying over the rooftops, remnants of that same energy crackling
around his body.
Then Ukyou understood. "Those marks on her face," she drew
Ryouga's attention to Kaede's face. "Those aren't the ones
Akane-chan had. Maybe that woman was right and she IS possessed,
but..."
Ryouga didn't respond.
"Ryouga. We're going to have to confront her. Maybe even fight
her."
"I...... can't." The voice had become almost a whisper.
"Not this. Not now." Ukyou growled. <I should've known he'd
freeze.> "You're not Akane," she raised her voice for Kaede to hear.
Kaede shrugged. "I might be. Or not. What difference does it
make? Do you want to take the chance that you'll hurt Akane by
fighting me?"
"You're not Akane."
Another unconcerned shrug. "Well, then, I guess it won't matter
if we fight!" Kaede exclaimed, directing twin pulses of energy
toward her new opponent's chest.
** ** **
Kasumi failed to notice the solitary kitchen window to her right
glaze over with a sheet of pure golden light as she continued to wash
the evening's dishes.
There were fewer dishes this evening; Ranma and Akane's absence
accounted for a third of that reason, though the truth of the matter
was that the members of the family were each recovering from the
revelations they had been given. Even Genma's remarkable appetite
was subdued.
Kasumi continued to wonder if Akane was right in insisting that
their 'substitute mother' had only been playing an act for their
benefit. Peorth was not their original mother, true - unofficially,
the Goddess could be considered their stepmother - but just because
she had taken the place of Tendo Hiroko didn't automatically render
the time she had spent with the family an incredibly large lie.
Without Peorth's intervention, the family might have been torn
to shreds by the loss of their mother and Akane. Neither Kasumi nor
Nabiki were old enough at the time to help their overly emotional
father endure, much less each other.
Peorth had kept the family together until Kasumi could assume
the role of housekeeper. Nabiki and Akane were both strong in their
own ways, and all three sisters would help Soun keep the family
together after Peorth's forced departure.
She recalled what she could of the times the family had shared
with their 'stepmother.' There was no indication that any of those
experiences, those emotions, had been lies. Nor had the Goddess'
emotions been faked during or after her confession, as far as Nabiki
could tell. But Nabiki had also admitted that she was no expert in
reading the emotions of the Goddesses.
Perhaps Akane was wrong in directing all her anger toward
Peorth. The Goddess had saved her life, raised her to be a strong
young woman, and was even responsible for Akane being given the
unique chance to become a Goddess. Akane seemed to look forward to
her Goddess training... though it didn't make sense for Akane to
enjoy the end result yet despise the person who had made it possible.
Kasumi knew she would need to force Akane to discuss the matter.
Akane might never forgive Peorth for pretending to be their mother
and then leaving them, but she could at least not turn the Goddess
away entirely... There were so many things Kasumi wanted to tell her
mother, to ask...
As a Goddess, Kasumi wondered, would Akane be able to visit both
her mothers?
Kasumi peripherally caught the column of light that extended
outward from the window, a split-second before the accompanying rush
of sound. <Dear me,> she thought. <Akane is back. But why must she
come in through the kitchen?>
Akane emerged from her portal, performing a simple flip forward
as she floated away from it, and carefully levitated herself
feet-first to the ground. The process took longer than Kasumi would
have expected; obviously Akane was making an effort to perfect her
landings.
She grinned. "Tadaima."
"Okaerinasai, Akane. You're getting much better at that," noted
Kasumi.
Akane blinked. "Really? Thanks! Skuld said that if I keep
practicing, I'll have it perfected by the end of the week!"
"Oh? What did you learn today?" <Aside from your normal
classes,> Kasumi silently amended.
The young Goddess candidate shifted uncomfortably. "I...
learned a new spell, and a new ability. And..." Pause. "I learned
that I need to better control myself and my powers."
Kasumi understood the implication of Akane's words almost
immediately. "Oh, dear... Was someone hurt?"
"No, not really." Akane fidgeted again. "...Well, yes, Ranma
was, but I healed him and... something else happened."
"What happened?"
"Oh, oneechan..." Finally, Akane broke down and told her sister
the story.
Kasumi couldn't think of an appropriate response, at first.
Akane had accidentally hurt Ranma when her anger impulsively
triggered her powers. She had then turned Ranma into a child while
trying to heal him, and the Goddesses had chosen to leave him as a
child for the moment... "Where is Ranma now?"
"Ranmira is probably waiting for me in the family room by now.
She wanted to be the one to tell Mr. Saotome about the plan."
"I see," Kasumi said, solemnly. "In that case, it might be a
good idea to--"
"SHE DID *WHAT*!?" Genma's voice, from the family room.
Akane paled. "She didn't wait for me to be there to tell
him...?"
Kasumi took her by the hand and led her into the family room,
where Genma had been sitting at the table, finishing off the
remainders of the evening meal... including - much to Kasumi's
chagrin, since she had put a lot of effort into hiding them - Ranma
and Akane's portions. Ranmira stood across from him at the other end
of the table.
The man immediately rose from the floor and rounded on Akane as
she entered the room. "You, Akane! How dare you bring such shame to
my son and I!?"
Akane desperately tried to swallow the lump that was forming
deep within her throat, to no avail. Her entire body refused to
move; why would that change now? The only part of her that seemed to
be working other than her eyes was her mind... wait! That was it!
Her mind. The connections between herself and Yggdrasil... but what
could she do with that link?
A spell. She could cast a spell!
And do what? Heal the elder Saotome? Turn him into a
seven-year old child? The latter was impossible, as Akane wasn't
entirely sure how she had altered the spell to affect Ranma in that
manner.
No, it needed to be a spell she hadn't yet learned. Something
she had already seen the Goddesses cast. Ranmira had used a spell to
project life-like images of the dreaded bugs... Akane considered
projecting something to distract Genma, maybe an image of Ranma - but
given what she'd seen of Ranmira's use of the spell, maintaining an
image the size of a person even for less than a minute might very
well sap whatever power she had left after the afternoon's practice
session.
The only other spell she recalled witnessing any of the
Goddesses cast was the barrier spell Ranmira had attempted to use
against Ryouga. Perfect... now, to ask Yggdrasil for the spell.
Genma's advance began to falter as Akane straightened her
stance. The marks on her face took on a bright glow. What in the
world was he doing? Akane was almost a Goddess, wielding far more
power and strength than him! Facing off against her for any reason
was foolish at best...
His momentum was carrying him forward, closer to her... when all
of a sudden he came to a dead stop. Checking himself, he found that
he had collided awkwardly with an invisible barrier.
Had Genma not been falling backward to the floor he might have
seen the look of accomplishment that surfaced for an instant on
Akane's face.
Ranmira helped him to his feet. "Mr. Saotome," she spoke in a
forced tone. Her anxiety was again making its presence known to her;
she was still adjusting to having to resort to forceful, direct
methods of confrontation. "You must realize we can't allow you to
hurt anyone, including yourself."
The only response she received from the man was an unexpectedly
resigned nod. She hadn't expected that. The surprise nearly kept
her from continuing for a brief moment. "Ranma is safe, and in no
danger. We can restore him to his proper age at any time."
"Then why haven't you?"
This question, she had expected. "Do you remember the
discussion we had about repairing the damage your upbringing of Ranma
had caused?" Ranmira reminded him, matter-of-factly. "There is a
chance that his current condition will make training him to be a
better person an easier task."
Before Genma could ask her to explain, the sound of a woman's
voice demanded the attention of everyone in the room.
"Gomen kudasai--!!"
Kasumi was the first to react. "Oh - we have a guest," she
beamed.
"That voice... I know that voice." Genma blanched.
Ranmira nodded, focusing her senses on the person at the front
door. "As do I. It is Nodoka's voice."
"Nodoka!? She's come here?"
<...to be continued...>
------------
Credits:
Written by: Mike Koos
Prereaders: Richard Beaubien, Kevin D. Hammel, Jonathan Ng,
Shadowmane, Tom Williams, David Wills
Thanks to: Christopher Angel
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