[AMG/Ranma][FanFic] Instruments of Change, Part Twelve
Mike Koos
Kunou leveled his wooden sword at Akane. "Destiny writes that
two foul evils that blacken the Earth and the Heavens shall be
eradicated by my sword this day. You cannot hide from me; I intend
to show you your end!"
He immediately charged toward Akane, who resisted the urge to
counter his charge and attacks with her powers. The thought she'd
had of fighting Kunou on even ground still lingered in her mind, as
did the reminder of what she had done to Ranma using her powers while
angry. She did not favor letting her skills as a fighter waste away
merely because she had become a Goddess candidate, ideally on her way
to becoming a true Goddess.
Akane knew she could count on Barrier and Levitation spells, but
chose to save those for a last resort. Simply 'disabling' Kunou with
the aid of those particular spells would only fuel the Kendo
swordsman's belief that evil and black sorcery were at work here, and
make him anxious for a rematch.
Not that facing off against him on more even terms could help
much with changing his mind, either. It had come to the point where
both Ranma and Akane often chose to send him flying rather than deal
with or fight him. Still, Kunou was more likely to listen if one
pounded the message into him.
Now, if only she had a sword... oh, well. She didn't really
need a sword to fight Kunou, no matter how serious he was.
Akane lunged forward, dropping into a low crouch long enough to
try a footsweep. Her opponent hopped out of the range of her sweep,
then executed a sweep of his own - a sword slash aimed for Akane's
midsection.
She leapt high into the air, flipping forward and touching down
a couple of yards behind Kunou just as Ranma moved in with a
roundhouse kick intended for Kunou's upper body. Kunou pointedly
ignored him for the moment; the demon version of Akane was his first
priority. Now that he had located her, there was no way she could
escape the wrath of the Blue Thunder...
An Aa! Megamisama / Ranma 1/2 Crossover
Instruments of Change
Part Twelve
written by Mike Koos
--------------------
Akane soon realized she had been correct in noting that fighters
like Kunou and Ranma held their fighting skills in check when
fighting her, perhaps afraid of possibly hurting her or simply
subscribing to the macho belief that a boy shouldn't fight a girl.
This wasn't the case here; Kunou was thoroughly sure that she was a
demon, thanks to Marller, and had thrown out all his reservations
about fighting her. The increased intensity of Kunou's attacks alone
had ruined the rhythm and pace to which she had become accustomed
when she fought against him.
In that regard, however, being some steps short of becoming a
Goddess did give her an advantage or two. Even without her powers.
She knew that much, but had been reluctant to learn more unless it
was required or become comfortable with the idea when they could take
it all away from her at an instant's notice.
Sure, that went against the policy of 'knowing' both oneself and
one's opponent. But she'd been a fighter before becoming a Goddess
candidate, and had had little difficulty overpowering Kunou in the
past - even *if* he had been holding back. It stood to reason that
she could defeat him now if she tried hard enough. If that didn't
work... well, she was holding back as well, wasn't she? One
Levitation spell and he would be placed just out of everyone's reach,
unable to hurt anyone from several feet off the ground - unless he
threw his bokutou at them, which was hardly a possibility since Kunou
believed in the ideal of never throwing away his sword. That, and
the action would effectively disarm him.
Barrier spells would only help if she wanted to frustrate him,
really. There were probably other spells - other choices of which
Akane wasn't aware, as she'd only learned a few of the spells she
could use - but because she had committed herself to fighting as a
martial artist rather than a Goddess candidate, she had no time for
thinking about other spells now.
Another thought begged for her consideration. Was a Goddess or
Goddess candidate allowed to physically fight a Mortal, even in
self-defense, as was the case here? Fighting her demon was a
different story... an occasionally necessary risk. But while she
would never have chosen to fight an opponent she considerably
outmatched as a Mortal, she seemed to have thrown out that part of
her conscience in favor of maintaining her status as a martial
artist. Being a Goddess candidate meant she likely had far less
power than a true Goddess, though she still outmatched Kunou. So
much for a fair fight...
What could she do? she wondered. Akane had briefly explored the
consequences of many of the choices she might make; if she'd tossed
out both the ideas of facing off against Kunou with only her
martial-arts training *and* using any of her powers or spells on him,
what options were left? Like any good fighter, Akane knew how even a
miniscule showing of indecision could influence a fight. With Kunou
targeting her in all seriousness, letting her indecision get the
better of her was not a good idea.
"Kunou-sempai, stop!" pleaded Ranmira from the sidelines. She
had had the idea to pretend she was Kunou's 'pig-tailed goddess,'
Akane understood. Hopefully, Ranmira would distract him long enough
for her to invent a better plan of action. "Don't hurt Akane-chan!
She's my friend, not something of Evil!"
Kunou didn't waver, however. "Ah, my pig-tailed girl - this is
but a demon pretending to be the fair Akane. Believe me, I do know
better."
The frown on Ranma's face deepened. It didn't look as if
anything short of pounding Kunou into unconsciousness or setting him
up for a trip into the stratosphere would keep him from going after
Akane. <I guess Ranmira might be starting her lessons early,> he
thought bemusedly, advancing toward the Kendo swordsman's blind spot.
Before he could reach his target, a violent tempest of
purple-hued sulfur popped into existence immediately in his path.
Ranma instinctively hopped back, throwing himself into a defensive
stance. After meeting Goddesses who could teleport and use all kinds
of powers - magic or otherwise - he knew better than to take
something appearing out of thin air lightly.
A duplicate of Akane took shape within the swirls of sulfur.
The girl turned and studied him for a second, an intensity present in
her eyes that sent a chill up his spine. Who was she, and why did
she look almost exactly like Akane, save for her clothes and the
markings on her face?
"Kaede!?" Akane grated. <Akane knows her?> "What are YOU
doing here?"
Confused, Kunou glanced between Akane and Kaede. There was
*obviously* some sort of dark scheme being enacted here, but what was
it? One of these versions of Akane had to be the demon Marller had
mentioned. Yet, what was the other Akane, if not the demon?
One of the pair solved his predicament for him. "Hey, you
poetry-dribbling idiot, over here!" the newcomer barked. "I'M the
demon you want. That's the real Akane."
"This is a trick!" he said, protesting somewhat. How could he
be sure which was the real Akane?
Kaede stood, arms akimbo, and levitated a foot from the ground.
For effect, she allowed a few pulses of dark electricity radiate
around her hands. "You're a real disappointment, Kunou Tatewaki.
For all your talk of being an avenger of the heavens, you're
constantly accepting the word of a woman you KNOW to be a demon as
unquestioned truth."
He considered this. Why *did* he believe Marller's words? For
all he knew, Marller could have some grand scheme to kill Akane. No
doubt the pig-tailed goddess would be next. Though if Akane *were*
possessed, perhaps destroying the one who had seen to her possession
might free Akane. Yes, first he would take care of this annoying
demon in front of him who dared to assume the form of one of his
loves, and then locate the blond-haired demon. One way or another,
he would force Marller to dispel whatever foul hold she had over
Akane!
When he turned his attention back to Kaede, he saw that she was
making a run for the yard's main gate. "Hold, demon! I am not
through with you, yet!"
"Right," Kaede snorted. "Who'd want to stick around and listen
to you drone on? I'm leaving."
Kunou chased after her. "Come back here, and answer for your
misdeeds!"
"If I have to answer to anyone, it won't be you!"
With that, they were gone.
Akane blinked. She pivoted to look at Skuld and Ranmira. "Was
anyone else confused by all that?" Both Goddesses indicated that
they were, to some degree.
She reviewed what had happened. Kaede has, for some reason,
actually *helped* her by drawing Kunou away from her. Why would a
demon do that? Kaede surely had some kind of motive for helping her,
though the only reason Akane could justify for the moment was that
Kaede didn't want her to go back to being an 'ordinary' Mortal. That
meant Kaede would again be nothing more than an 'ordinary' demon - a
nobody, to most demons, actually. Someone who could be destroyed and
never missed.
But as a Goddess' corresponding demon... now, that meant status
and power. Was that what Kaede wanted? Akane wondered. Or could
there be more to this than simple desires?
There was another problem Akane knew she had to consider.
"Should we go after them?" Kaede was a demon, sure... but if Kunou
*could* manage to destroy her, the Doublet System would end Akane's
life as well.
"I'm sure you don't have to worry about her," Skuld assured her.
"At least, not for now. Yggdrasil will monitor them and warn us if
Kaede gets herself in more trouble than she can handle."
Kasumi interrupted before Akane could open her mouth to argue.
"That's good. There is something else we really should discuss,
Akane."
"Yes, Kasumi-oneechan?"
Ranmira took a few steps forward. "Akane... would you like to
visit your mother? You really should reconcile with her."
Akane seemed to give the idea some thought. "Okay."
"You will?" Kasumi asked, her hopes rising.
"Of course I'd like to visit my mother," Akane said flatly. "My
*real* mother."
"Akane-chan!" scolded Kasumi. "Peorth is just as much your
mother as our mother is." Her eyes widened. "That isn't quite what
I meant to say."
Akane's expression didn't waver. "I only have one mother.
*One*. And she *isn't* that imposter. So can we let this drop?"
"No."
She exhaled. "Talk about it all you want. *I'm* not going to
be here to listen to it." Akane began walking toward the family room.
"Akane," Ranmira insisted, "this is something you will have to
face. I would think it best if you do this now, instead of later."
Akane spun about to look at her. "I'll visit my real mother.
Not *her*. Not Peorth."
"Akane-chan," Kasumi gasped, startled by the vehemence in her
sister's voice. Akane had always been the most stubborn person
Kasumi had ever known; eventually, with the help of the Goddesses,
they would probably succeed in convincing her to meet with Peorth -
at the very least. But Kasumi could tell it was going to be quite a
struggle.
Did Akane think she could avoid Peorth for the whole of
eternity, or refuse to acknowledge Peorth forever? Most likely Akane
hadn't given the matter much thought... she was merely shunning
Peorth on principle, and anger.
Akane could exhibit a *lot* of anger if the need arose.
The ringing of the hallway phone within the house broke her
concentration. "Oh, the phone," Kasumi said. "I'll get it."
While Kasumi walked into the house, Skuld considered the
situation at hand. Kasumi and Ranmira were right; reconciling with
Peorth had taken its place as one of Akane's tests... but how could
she convince her charge that meeting with Peorth was a good idea when
she wasn't sure what she should say to Ranmira on the same subject?
Ranmira was definitely shutting her eldest sister out of her life at
the moment. There was no telling her to change her mind, since Urd
no longer existed as far as Ranmira was concerned. Ah, Belldandy was
far better at resolving arguments than she, Skuld knew... for Skuld,
starting arguments was simply easier than helping someone end them.
She was hardly any closer to an answer by the time Kasumi
returned. "Skuld?" inquired Kasumi, still puzzling over the phone
call she'd just completed.
Skuld noted the confusion in the other's voice. "Yes, Kasumi?"
It looked as if something about the phone call had troubled Kasumi.
"That call was for you, Ranmira and Akane. They asked me to
tell you that an outbreak of bugs has been detected in the Yg-- um...
the central computer storage banks. The three of you are to report
there as soon as possible," Kasumi informed them, leaving out the
fact that the caller had - at first - mistaken her for Belldandy.
How was such a thing possible?
Skuld paled. An outbreak of bugs within Yggdrasil's core meant
a *great* deal of trouble. One of the last few times bugs had
materialized within the core, she'd 'lost' Ranmira. The bugs could
create virtually *any* kind of random damage to the whole of
existence in the core. And since it was rather difficult at best to
predict where the bugs might appear... a system debugger had to be on
call and ready to go anywhere in existence at any instant during the
day.
"We've got to get there, immediately!" she told Ranmira and
Akane. Her sister knew as well as she did the danger the bugs
posed... but Akane was still learning. This would be Akane's first,
official experience as a debugger, the assignment given her by
Kami-sama.
Akane nodded, instinctively reaching for her debugging hammer,
but not drawing it forth, as though reassuring herself. She'd known
she would have to do this job, sooner or later... almost from the
beginning, in fact. That 'practice session' with Ranmira's
projections had given her an idea of what to expect, except that this
time she'd be chasing after the real bugs in the system, not
illusions.
If she didn't do her job, what could happen? Could she lose one
of her sisters, in the same manner that Ranmira had been 'lost?'
Skuld had explained to her once that anything could happen; Akane did
not feel like considering the possibilities. After all, she was
supposed to keep anything of the sort from happening.
"Er...," Ranma spoke up, awkwardly clearing his throat. "There
any way I can help?" He'd been given a quick explanation by Ranmira
on why there was a need for debuggers, after she had told him of
Akane's assignment. Debugging didn't sound like a difficult or
complicated job... a job Akane was suited for, perhaps, but nothing
he couldn't handle.
Ranmira smiled. "Thank you for the offer, Ranma, but I'm afraid
we must decline for now." There was a long and complicated procedure
involved in getting even temporary clearance to enter the Yggdrasil
chambers for anyone who wasn't already cleared, and with the bugs
infesting the core, they had no time to go through that procedure or
explain why a Mortal wanted to enter Yggdrasil. She faced Skuld and
Akane. "Let's go."
Peripherally, Ranma caught sight of Nabiki stepping into the
garden from the family room as he averted his eyes from the bright
flash of the teleport. Nabiki came to stand near him, staring at the
spot where the three had stood. "What's going on?"
** ** **
Skuld took a quick glance at Akane as she readied her own
debugging hammer. Ranmira was already somewhere within the core,
busily chasing the bugs; Skuld had been delayed momentarily while
locating a pair of bug-sensitive goggles for Akane to wear. Novice
debuggers often needed all the help they could get. Then again, so
did experienced debuggers - which was the reason why Skuld had
equipped herself with another pair of the goggles and special bombs
that didn't explode as much as act like flypaper for clusters of the
bugs, in order to make eliminating them easier.
In contrast, her apprentice would only have her hammer. Akane
still needed experience with a debugging hammer, no matter what
others might have thought. Not that anyone but Skuld used more than
that, anyway.
For an instant, Skuld frowned. Why were her sisters reluctant
to trust her creations?
She cleared that thought from her mind. Time to get down to
work.
"Are you ready, Akane?" she put the question to her charge.
Akane nodded - or tried to nod, at any rate, given the unusual
weight of the goggles on her forehead. She had only worn goggles
before during a couple of mediocre attempts at swimming, though
drawing that connection wasn't easing her nervousness whatsoever.
Far from it.
Skuld was doing better at hiding her worry, Akane saw - but the
Goddess had far more experience in this field than her. She wondered
if Skuld had been a debugger since childhood... Ranmira had used
projections of bugs to play tricks on her younger sister; it was easy
to picture a younger Skuld chasing bugs with her hammer.
Only when Skuld asked her why she was smiling did Akane realize
how far she'd let her thoughts stray. "I'll ask you about it later,"
she replied. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"I guess...," Skuld considered her request. "Don't let yourself
get distracted. The bugs can come in groups, but you should
concentrate on only one bug at a time. And finally, don't get
carried away." She paused, shaking her head. "That's what Ranmira
told me when I started work as a debugger. All I can say is... well,
I don't know what I really can say. I'm not all that good at giving
advice." Skuld bit her lower lip. She wondered once more why
Kami-sama hadn't chosen a better role-model and teacher for Akane.
Debugging, she could probably teach - but spellcasting, which Akane
was presently learning, posed something of a problem as Skuld herself
barely knew how to cast spells. In fact, she was busy trying to
develop powers of her own. Technology and her intellect could only
take her so far as a Goddess, in her opinion... Her sisters had each
come into their own powers. Belldandy and Ranmira - who wasn't that
much older than Skuld, come to think of it - were experienced
spellcasters as well. So why hadn't she established her powers, yet?
<So much for not letting myself get distracted,> she mused.
Without further word or indication to Akane, she strode through the
entrance to the Yggdrasil chambers.
Akane did her best to keep stride with Skuld; once inside
Yggdrasil, however, she couldn't help but gape. Yggdrasil was
infinitely enormous! They weren't even in the central core, and the
vast chambers seemed to have no ceiling that she could discern... at
least, not within her range of vision. Maybe one day, if she became
a Goddess, she could try levitating for a while within the chambers
and see just how vast they truly were.
In the hall beyond the entrance, they could see a stampede of
bugs moving from one chamber to another.
Akane sighed, readying her hammer. <Okay, here goes...>
** ** **
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "I can't say that I like the idea of
Akane running around with a hammer in the computer that controls all
of existence," she said.
Ranma nodded in spite of himself. Numerous malletings had given
him the impulse to flinch at even the thought of Akane wielding a
mallet or hammer. "I'm sure nothing bad will happen."
"Yeah, well, I hope you don't mind if I remain skeptical."
Nabiki frowned. Why was Ranma so quick to believe nothing could go
wrong? Akane could easily get carried away with a mallet in her
hands... Ranma knew that as much as anyone. But ever since Ranmira
had separated from him, stopped being a part of him, the boy had been
acting... *different*. Nicer, perhaps. According more respect,
showing hints of improved patience and intelligence - and better
manners. Almost as if the Goddess *had* changed him into the person
for which Mrs. Saotome had wished years ago.
She'd asked Akane about it, but the Goddess candidate hadn't
said much beyond muttering something about Ranmira making sure
Nodoka's wish was fulfilled. Skuld had revealed even less.
They knew. The Goddesses knew about her curiosity, about her
desire to keep ahead of everyone's secrets. In a way, Peorth had
been the cause of her need to know. Right before her 'mother's'
death - Peorth's departure, rather - her 'mother' and father had
insisted one afternoon that despite her condition, everything would
be all right. Nabiki had accepted that answer, and later went home
with the neighbor who was babysitting her and her sisters while their
parents remained at the hospital.
Officially, Tendo Hiroko died in her sleep during the night.
Nabiki didn't learn of her mother's death until the following
morning, when Kasumi woke her to tell her the news. Why hadn't she
asked more questions, made sure whether or not what her mother and
father had said would turn out to be true?
She would never let that happen again. If she could keep ahead
of all the knowledge she felt she needed to know, then there would be
no more... surprises.
Skuld and Akane's tight-lipped behavior implied they were
holding information from her. Ranma probably knew as well, but
asking him would be taking the easy way out. The Goddesses were
already keeping a great number of secrets from her - though she had
no way of knowing which of those really *were* secrets 'no Mortal
should know,' as Urd had once told her.
Except quite possibly for Akane, who probably knew a few of
those secrets or at least had access to them through Yggdrasil.
"I wonder if Kaede got away from Kunou," Ranma spoke into her
thoughts. If Kunou destroyed Kaede...
Kaede? Oh, right - Akane's demon. "She's a *demon*, Ranma,"
Nabiki said, dryly. "If we *Mortals* can get the better of him, a
demon certainly can." Marller definitely hadn't had a problem
fooling Kunou.
Ranma blinked at the sarcastic edge Nabiki's voice had to it.
Was Nabiki jealous that her sister might become a Goddess? Oh, if
only Ranmira's modifications had given him a way to better understand
people...
Nabiki collected herself. "I know you're worried about Akane
and all that, Ranma, but you know full well she can take care of
herself."
"I...," hesitated Ranma. Usually, this was the point where his
former self would most likely raise the defenses and blurt out an
insult or two regarding Akane... but presently, he didn't exactly
think that was a proper course of action.
<I've got to... think about this,> he thought, drawing himself
up from the family-room table. That would be the sensible thing to
do, right? Remove himself from the action long enough to think about
everything, consider everything that had to be considered... rather
than rush into situations without thinking, as he'd done in the past.
Ranmira had given him improved manners and sensibility - though that
did not mean he would always know the best move to make.
"Where are you going?" Nabiki studied him for a few seconds.
"Upstairs," he exhaled. "I'm gonna do my homework and think
about a few things."
Nabiki watched him leave the room, neither of them speaking a
word. "He *has* changed," she muttered under her breath. "And I'd
like to know how, and why."
Ranma stepped carefully into his room, and took care to make
sure the door was closed behind him. It *was* his room now, and his
room only. His mother, in hoping to diminish the amounts of control
and influence his father had over his life, had insisted that Genma
leave the room to Ranma and move into another room of the house for
the time being, until Nodoka found her new home. Even then, Ranma
would continue living here, in this room; eventually, they expected
both him and Akane to attend classes in a university together, then
return here... where they would be married and spend the rest of
their lives.
Assuming they chose to marry.
More importantly, if Akane became a Goddess, why in the world
would she want to live here or attend a university? Or be with him?
It wasn't fair, especially when he hadn't yet made up his mind
as to how he felt about Akane.
Had Ranmira still been playing a part of him, he might have
asked her for advice. She supposedly knew what he thought of Akane.
When he'd asked her what would happen if Akane managed to pass her
tests and become a Goddess, she had given him a simple statement.
<As for Akane, no matter what happens to her, you are still
engaged.>
What had Ranmira meant by that? That an agreement between two
Mortal fathers for their families to be joined by marriage could
stand in the way of the will of the Gods and Goddesses? That
couldn't be possible.
Or could it?
Did Keiichi have these same concerns? he wondered as he spread
his homework for the day on the table that had been dragged into the
room for use as a desk. How could Keiichi carry on a relationship
with Belldandy, knowing that the immortal Goddess would outlive him?
That Belldandy, her sisters and Akane would continue to look as
they did now, never aging - not in a physical manner, anyway - while
he and Keiichi *would* age and eventually pass away?
Ranma grimaced. <Keiichi must really love Belldandy to ignore
issues like that.> But that thought was little help in determining
how he felt about Akane.
He stared at his work. Perhaps if he concentrated on it for a
while, instead of anything else, an answer would come to him. At
this point, hoping to get the answer without working for it was just
as worthwhile as directly confronting it.
This wasn't a fight. He couldn't pound on the issue until it
was too weak to fight back, or learn some special new technique that
solved all these problems for him.
<Do you love Akane?>
The word *love* was what caused his problems. Had he developed
any feelings for Akane merely because their fathers had been forcing
them together? Or had he, somehow, truly fallen in love with Akane?
Strange that that question hadn't triggered a massive onslaught
of denial as it had every other time the question had been asked of
him.
Or did he think of Akane as a sister, perhaps? Before being
reunited with his mother, Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi could almost have
been considered his family. If he married Akane, her two elder
sisters *would* be his sisters... but that was beside the point.
Kasumi had also been a sort of mother-substitute for him as well
as her family, having taken up the role after her mother's passing.
No. Akane was more than a sister to him. He'd proven that,
already. He had taken many kinds of risks for her, even threatened
to kill someone if the guy didn't leave her alone. No, she wasn't a
possession, either - he *did* care about what happened to her. But
what was the extent of his feelings for Akane?
That was the question that remained in his thoughts as he
finished the rest of his homework. No answers seemed to be coming,
this time, no matter how much he thought about it. In frustration,
he unrolled his bedroll and lay upon it, picking out details in the
ceiling above him.
<I don't know. I just don't know.>
The debate haunted him even after he fell asleep.
** ** **
Akane felt and heard the head of her debugging mallet come into
contact with the bug before she saw it. "All right!" she grinned,
catching her breath while wiping the perspiration from her forehead.
"Another room cleared."
Her grin waned. "For now, anyway." She had no guarantee
another bug portal wouldn't open, dislodging more of the hyperactive
bugs into the chamber. The things had kept her busy for most of the
evening, according to the watch she hadn't removed since this
morning, but she wasn't sure if that measurement of time applied here.
Indicators flashed on a nearby hand-terminal, and a
two-dimensional image of Skuld appeared, suspended at an angle in the
air before Akane. "Good job, Akane. We're all done. No more bugs
to worry about," she said, though Skuld still sounded somewhat
concerned. Akane figured that she would learn the reason for the
other's concern soon enough. Skuld had been monitoring both
Yggdrasil and the progress of her sister and Akane while working; if
all of the bugs had been... removed, what else could go wrong?
"...but there's been a problem," Skuld was saying.
"A problem?" echoed Akane. "Like what?" She realized after
speaking that irritation and weariness had found their way into her
words, and her expression quickly became sheepish. "Oops. Sorry."
Skuld nodded absently. Ranmira's face appeared in a small inset
at the lower right corner of the 'screen.' "Akane, oneesama, meet me
in the Main Hall. We've got to talk about what's happened."
Nabiki chewed idly on the end of her ballpoint pen as she
divided her attention between her homework and the television. She'd
opted to do her homework in the family room, unlike Ranma, since
Ranma was the matter she truthfully was considering. Just what kind
of change, exactly, had the Goddess of Change brought to Ranma?
"You really shouldn't chew on your pen like that, Nabiki-chan,"
she heard her elder sister scold. Kasumi was walking into the room
with another bowl of fruit for the table, replacing what had been
eaten at dinner.
"The moment I strike ink, I'll stop," Nabiki smirked, not
bothering to remove the pen from her mouth.
Three flashes of golden light from outside, in the garden, told
her that Akane and two of the Goddesses - most likely, Skuld and
Ranmira, since Akane had departed with them - were making an entrance.
"Oh, welcome back," Kasumi greeted the trio. "How did the
debugging go?"
Akane stared at her for a second before replying. "Fine,
Kasumi. We got rid of all the bugs."
"Where's Ranma?" interrupted Skuld.
"Upstairs, probably in bed," Nabiki answered. "She said she was
tired and wanted to go to bed early. Why?"
"No reason. We just wanted to ask her something."
Taking care not to let her nervousness show, Akane made her way
out of the room and up the stairs, Skuld and Ranmira carefully
following from a handful of paces away.
They found Ranma asleep in bed, as Nabiki had said. Most of the
room was shadowed; with the blinds drawn and the lights off, hardly
any other light entered the room.
Akane nudged the sleeping girl's shoulder. "Ranma, wake up."
She did. "Mmmm?" Ranma's eyes slowly opened. Finding Akane,
Skuld and Ranmira looking down at her, she decided to sit up.
<Pajamas?> she thought, feeling the material rest against her skin.
<I didn't put on any pajamas.> "What's going on? Why are you staring
at me?"
"Ranma," Ranmira was the first to speak. "Do you remember what
I told you about the bugs and what trouble they can cause?"
Ranma blinked. "I guess so. But..." She recalled what Akane
and the Goddesses had supposedly been doing this evening. The
debugging session. "Did something go wrong while you were all...
debugging?"
"......Yes," Skuld hesitated. "Um, with all the changes being
made to your personal files recently, the files were being updated by
Yggdrasil when the bugs appeared and..." She locked her fingers
together before her. "And your files were sort of... well,
corrupted."
Ranma's eyes went wide. "So something about me is different or
changed? What's wrong with me?"
"Calm down, Ranma," Ranmira said, her words seemingly having a
calming effect on Ranma.
<I've gotta learn how exactly they do that,> Akane made a mental
note to herself. Perhaps the soothing effect Belldandy and Ranmira
could add to their voices was a part of one of the Calming spells.
She'd inadvertently managed a version of the effect with Ukyou,
though only for a second.
"I guess the good news is that you are no longer cursed."
"That *is* good news!" Ranma grinned. "I don't have to worry
anymore about changing around water! I can go out in the rain, or go
swimming, or--" Her voice faded as her eyes fell, examining herself.
"I'm a girl."
"Yes." Ranmira sat on the bed beside her. "As far as everyone
is concerned, you were born a girl, and have always been a girl."
Ranma fainted.
(...to be continued...)
------------
Credits:
Written by: Mike Koos
Prereaders: Richard Beaubien, Kevin D. Hammel, Jonathan Ng,
Shadowmane, Tom Williams, David Wills
With apologies to Takahashi Rumiko and Fujishima Kosuke...
All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at
ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/Ah-My-Goddess/
Instruments-of-Change/ (new directory! Thanks!)
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