It was a nice evening. Kasumi hummed to herself as she walked down from the tower in which her own chamber was situated.
In the inner ward, she met with Ukyo. "Hey, Kasumi," the chef greeted her. "Nice evening, huh?"
"Yes, indeed," Kasumi smiled back. "Just right for us to go down to town... But wait a minute! Nabiki isn't here yet."
"Well, we should look for her, then," Ukyo suggested. "Or we'll be late."
But when they entered Nabiki's little shack, they found her sitting at her desk, the floor strewn with rumpled balls of paper and small pencil stumps.
"Go without me," she said absent-minded. "I really don't have the time... Man, Kasumi, you know what you put me up with? Storm Machine... now that's a hard nut to crack."
"But you can do it, right?" Kasumi asked.
"Oh, I'm working on it, all right... But there are still some parts left that I still have no idea how they will work..."
She produced a piece of paper. "Look, that's what I came up with... Creating a storm out of thin air would be nearly impossible... But capturing one, that will work. Inside the metal container, lightning will be stored. There's a strong iron lure inside... they won't be able to resist. And the inside of the hull is being isolated with rubber. But to get in, they have to go through the trumpet first..."
"The trumpet..." Ukyo nodded. "Ah, I see... very interesting..."
"Yes, but the biggest problem is the fuel... I don't know how I can make it make fly with the things I have."
Kasumi looked at the clock. "Oh, Ukyo... we're gonna be late. Nabiki, you have to tell us some other time. And please, lend us your bike, okay? Or we won't be able to make it in time..."
"No problem, I fixed the screw," Nabiki nodded. "And I also oiled it... works perfectly fine now!"
Kasumi and Ukyo left the shack, and Kasumi got the special bike Nabiki had tinkered for Ranma.
"A trumpet!" Ukyo suddenly blurted out. "She wants to catch a storm using a trumpet! I'll eat my spatula if that works out..."
"Nabiki will do fine," Kasumi smiled. "In the end, we will have the most beautiful bad weather you can imagine."
They reached the gate. Kasumi looked up to the window of the guardroom. "Father? Mr. Saotome? Would you please open the gate?"
Her father looked out of the window and nodded. Shortly after, the gate came down.
After stepping out of the castle, the coiffeur and the chef sat down on the bike. Ukyo would steer, and Kasumi was sitting behind her.
Ukyo began pedaling, and then they were rolling down the road that was leading directly to the big plaza in Saotokyo.
Kasumi sighed as she felt the wind in her face. "Isn't that a nice breeze?" she asked.
"Sure is," Ukyo shouted back. "And I can steer this thing nicely."
"See? Everything Nabiki builds is flawless."
"Well, I'm not too sure about that..." Ukyo suddenly said.
"What did you say?" Kasumi shouted back. She really had to shout now, as they were going very fast.
Ukyo opened her mouth and yelled: "I DON'T SEE ANY BRAKES ON THIS THING!"
Kasumi gasped. Ukyo was right... there were no brakes on the handle bar. Ukyo tried pedaling backwards... it didn't work.
By now, they were rushing down the mountain trail with breakneck speed. The trees and bushes were zooming past them so quickly, Kasumi couldn't see them clearly.
Then they reached town. Luckily, the main street started at the foot of the hill, and was leading straight ahead until it reached the main plaza. But when they reached it...
"The fountain!" Kasumi shouted. "Look out! The fountain!"
Ukyo tried dodging it, but it was too late. The bike smacked against the stone wall of the fountain that was standing in the middle of the plaza, and the two girls suddenly found themselves flying through the air, and landing within the fountain's basin with a big, wet SPLASH.
Behind the well, the doors of the bakery flew open and various people came running out.
"An accident," a woman shouted.
"Call for an ambulance," a man shouted.
Ukyo and Kasumi climbed out of the basin. "No, that's not necessary," Ukyo shouted. "We're not hurt! But you could bring us some towels..."
A short time later, they were standing next to the fountain, wrapped in a pair of towels.
Ukyo was fuming. "Damn that Nabiki! I tell you, when I see her the next time, I'll put her on her goddamn bike and then she can take the same route down that hill, I swear it!"
Kasumi took a look at the bike. "See that, Ukyo? The bike didn't even get a scratch. While her work may have some flaws sometimes, all of her inventions are made for eternity."
A tall, red-headed woman was coming through the crowd. It was Nodoka Saotome, adoptive mother of Ranma and the owner of the bakery. When she saw the two wet girls, she gasped. "Ukyo-chan! Kasumi-chan! You're not hurt, are you?"
Kasumi smiled. "Not at all, Auntie! Just a little bit wet. But if we could warm up in the bakery, please?"
"Oh, of course... please, come in!"
Everyone went back inside, and Nodoka led Ukyo and Kasumi to a big table at which they all sat down. A woman was putting two big jars of hot cocoa in front of the wet girls.
After everyone settled down, Kasumi stood up and cleared her throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming! In a few days, we will celebrate the birthday of our much valued monarch, King Ranma the 1st!"
Everyone applauded.
"Now, as I have learned, His Majesty has four special wishes for his birthday. I have called for this meeting so we could make those wishes come true.
I also welcome the delegation from the embassy of Juuban, together with the ambassador, Her Excellency, Setsuna Meioh!"
A beautiful woman with green hair nodded in return.
Kasumi continued: "His Majesty is wishing for four things: A special cake, a magician, a thunderstorm and a pony!
The thunderstorm and the magician will be taken care of by the castle staff, so we won't have to think about those at this meeting."
"Yeah..." Ukyo murmured and groaned. "Trumpet..."
"We will be talking about the pony and the cake. Let's talk about the pony first. Your Excellency..." She addressed the ambassador of Juuban. "We have invited you because your country is known for its grand ranches. Can you help us out?"
Setsuna Meioh stood up.
"We would be honored to select a fine horse for King Ranma," the green-haired woman said. "What color would he prefer: Brown, black or white?"
"Well... Oh my..." Kasumi hesitated. "He didn't say which color... but I'd say, a black horse would be most fitting."
"Very well... a black horse it will be." Ambassador Meioh nodded and sat back down on her chair.
Kasumi coughed. That went surprisingly well...
"Well... now let's talk about the cake." Nodoka and her employees were listening intently.
"King Ranma is wishing for a cake that would look nothing like a normal cake... he would look at it and for a short time, not even realize that he's looking at a cake."
"Ah, I understand," a young trainee nodded. "You mean, like a hippo or an elephant."
"No, let's make that a horse," someone else shouted. "It would be more fitting for his name and all..."
"Nah, he already gets a horse... how about a bull?"
"Hey, he's the king, right?" a woman said. "So how about a lion?"
And then, everyone was shouting wildly: "Pig! Dog! Panda! Whale!"
"Now, now... settle down, everyone!" Nodoka needed a few moments to calm the excited people down.
"I thought about it," Ukyo said. "And I think we shouldn't make it look like an animal, but like something even more unpredictable, so he would be even more surprised."
"Good idea," Kasumi nodded. "Any ideas?"
"A car?" someone suggested.
"No, a cake shaped like a training dojo," another man said. "He's a martial artist, after all."
And then, it began anew: "Steamboat! Skyscraper! Rocket!"
"Now, people..." Nodoka shouted. "One after another, please!"
"I just got an idea," Kasumi smiled. "How about making the cake look like a big chandelier? We'll hang it to the ceiling of the big ballroom in the castle, and then we darken the room, so that only the candles on the chandelier cake are burning. And then we all sing a nice birthday song, while the chandelier slowly descends..." She beamed.
"Um... an interesting idea," Ukyo nodded. "Nice. I really like it. But... somehow, it's not fitting for someone like Ranchan..."
Just then, Setsuna Meioh raised her hand. "If I may... we might have an idea. My assistant, Miss Ami Mizuno, just whispered something to me..."
A cute girl with blue hair and a shy expression on her face stood up. Ukyo could see how nervous the girl had to be, everyone in the room was looking at her, and she looked down at the table with a blush.
For a while, nobody said anything. Then, Ami said in a quiet voice: "I thought we could make a cake that looks like King Ranma himself."
Everyone was stunned after that suggestion. Then, Ukyo grinned.
"That... was the best idea I've heard this evening."
Most of the bakery's staff cheered and clapped their hands. "Splendid," Nodoka gushed. "My Ranma as a delicious cake... he surely will be impressed."
"Yes, and the cake has to be 60 inches tall," someone shouted.
"100 inches," Ukyo shouted.
"No, 120 inches," Kasumi said.
"Yes, 120 inches," Nodoka nodded. Ami blinked in confusion as everyone was trying to talk at the same time, to add his or her own suggestion for the cake. But it was clear that everyone thought it would be a great idea. Was it really that great? It seemed logical to her...
Finally, everything calmed down. Everyone agreed that the birthday cake had to look like Ranma, wearing his old Chinese clothes, and it would measure 120 inches. A delegation from Juuban would bring the black horse, but the cake surely would be the highlight of the festivities.
Everyone agreed that this birthday would be a big success. After everything had been discussed, the meeting was officially over, and one after another, everyone left the room.
But Kasumi still was in deep thought. Okay, she could now be sure that the horse and cake were no problem at all. But would Ranma really forget about the magician wish when everything else was fine? And what if Nabiki couldn't finish the Storm Machine in time?
Kasumi never questioned the technical abilities of her sister, but she might have some problems finishing her work in time. Perhaps if someone else would help her…?
And Kasumi already had a certain person in mind.
When Setsuna Meioh and her entourage left the building, Kasumi managed to catch up with her at the door. "Your Excellency! Please, could you wait for a second? We have a slight problem within the castle, but I thought about it... perhaps Miss Mizuno would be able to help us. She would have to come back with us to the castle, though..."
"We would be happy to help out," the ambassador said with a smile. "Ami... would you be willing to help out Miss Tendo some more?"
Ami stepped forward. "I would be glad to come to the castle. How could I be of assistance?"
"It's about a very special project," Kasumi explained. "And I think if you have some more brilliant ideas like today, everything will work out just fine. It's about an invention that is being built for the king's birthday."
"Well, I'll try to do my best," the blue-haired girl smiled. "Although I would have to take a look at the blueprints first... You know, I mostly get good ideas when I least suspect it."
And that settled it. Ami, Kasumi and Ukyo wished Nodoka and the ambassador a good night and began their long way back up the mountain trail.
While Ukyo was pushing the bike, Kasumi told Ami everything about the machine Nabiki was working on. After some time, they were back at the castle.
After Soun and Genma let them back into the inner ward, they went over to the backyard to return Nabiki's bike.
They placed it next to the shack, then Kasumi opened the door and found her sister asleep over a pile of paper, snoring softly.
"Poor Nabiki," she said as she put a warm blanket over Nabiki's shoulders. "She must have worked so hard on her project… She must have overstrained herself." She then closed the door.
"Well, certainly not while she was constructing this bike..." Ukyo grumbled and gave the vehicle a slight kick.
Kasumi invited Ami to sleep in the guestroom next to her own chamber. Shortly afterwards, they wished each other a good night and went to bed.
----
While everyone else was still up and awake, Genma and Soun still had to stay up and guard the castle gates.
After playing several rounds of Shogi, their old game quickly became boring.
Genma groaned. He was tired, and he missed his sake... "Hey, Tendo... let's play something else, okay?"
"Fine," his old friend replied. "What do you have in mind?"
"How about a quick game of dice?"
"Fine with me!"
Soun took some dice and a dice box and they sat down at the table.
Soun started, rolling the dice over the furniture's wooden surface.
When both dice stopped, the first one showed a four, and the second one... fell down on the floor, where it turned into a six.
"That doesn't count," Genma insisted. "You have to try again if it drops to the floor."
"Well, okay then..." Soun rolled the dice again, and this time, it stayed on the table. But, it once again turned out to be a six...
Genma grumbled. "Beginner's luck... now it's my turn." He started to regret suggesting this game... there was barely any way to cheat...
After he threw the dice, the result was a three and a one.
Genma frowned. "Well, whatever..." he grumbled. "The game has just started..."
But, shortly after that, Soun was getting two sixes at once...
----
While the two guards were playing their game, three dark shapes were coming up the hill. They made sure that no one would see them from the castle and stayed hidden within the bushes.
A dark-haired, pony-tailed girl stuck her head out of a big shrub near the castle gate. "All right, my followers... are you ready? Let's proceed with my ingenious plan..."
Another girl with shorter hair appeared next to her. "You sure that's a good idea, Kodachi? After all, most of our plan depends on pig-boy here..." And she threw the only male member of their group a dark glare.
Ryoga felt offended, but he didn't complain. After all, he only joined Kodachi's little gang of thieves because of Akane. He had to make sure she was all right... He couldn't change her idea of being a thief, fine! The very least he could do was to protect her.
"I... I'll try to do my best, Akane," he said with determination.
"All right then, my loyal vassals..." the Black Rose grinned. "It is time to relieve my Ranma-darling from his heavy crown..."
The Black Rose Trio has used the past few weeks to get infamous among the inhabitants of Saotokyo by breaking into their houses and stealing everything that Kodachi wanted to claim as her own.
Because Kodachi's plans were to be a queen herself. Her Ranma-darling didn't want to marry her? Well then, she just had to relieve him of everything he owned. Kodachi firmly believed that only the rich people had the right to be of nobility. While she and her family had been rich once, the stupid lavish behavior of her brother and father had caused the Kuno family to slowly lose all of their wealth... and they had to live on the streets.
Kodachi was furious with her brother and father and decided never to get near them again. Instead, she preferred to gather money on her own... even if it was an illegal way.
Akane met her some time after she started her career as a thief and agreed to join her. After Ranma became king and invited everyone of his old friends to live at the castle, she had felt betrayed. Why should she bother to go after that jerk if he had Ukyo and her sisters? She was more than happy to leave him in his castle... Yes, Akane was certain that the crown on his head had turned Ranma into an even bigger jerk than he had been before.
Ryoga had just come along because of Akane. The youngest Tendo sister had never shown any signs of returning his affections, but at least she tolerated him nearby.
The three thieves looked at the small window next to the big drawbridge... the guardroom's window.
"Okay, Ryoga... you know what to do. You got the sake?"
The bandana-clad boy nodded and raised a bottle. "Yup! I'm ready, Akane!"
"Then let's begin," Kodachi grinned. "Today... we will steal the king's crown!"
