"The spring is come,
softly blows the wind,
The peaches and apricots
are in full bloom.
The dews are thick
in the autumnal nights
The leaves fall
from the paulownia tree"
- Daito Kokushi
Twisted Prophecy, Chapter 4
Tina awoke in the morning,to find the above quote written in beautiful Kanji up the pillow where Kabal laid. Below it, in English scribble, was this simple note:
Tina-chan,
There is a lot in my mind. Turmoil, unrest, fear and despair. But also upon my heart is love. Do not think unkindly upon me, Uk-chan, I'm not running away from any of this, and least of all would I ever run from you. I must spend time getting myself right with myself. I am going to Japan, to commune once more with the land of my upbringing. I am sure over the years you have felt it's pull yourself. I go there seeking to put my soul at rest, that I may come back and deal with all of this with a clean mind and open heart. Spoke as I did last night, I don't know what is coming next. I get the feeling that it's going to be hard on me. Above all, I feel it will be hard on you. What may come, never lose faith in me, and I will one day prove to be the man you claim I am. Something tells me that you may have great reason to doubt me in the future. I don't know how I know this but I do. That's part of the reason I am going to Japan. I feel many of the answers for me are there. Whether it is foolishness to ask more of you than you have already given, or it is foolish to think that I even need ask... please, be patient with me. You've touched me like nobody else has in the past, and like nobody ever will again.
Love always,
Kabal Saotome - "Ran-chan" (signed in hirigana scribble)
Shaking the sleep instantly out of her eyes, she bolted outside, to find there Rock and Shanna. Rock saluted her lazily, and Shanna merely smiled. "Where did he go?" Tina asked. "Japan," Shanna answered, "I brought him halfway there myself. He insisted on swimming and walking the rest of the way." "Swimming?" Tina asked, "To Japan? Is he even aware that it's almost impossible to get spy planes over Japan, much less get people into it?" Shanna tilted her head in a slight nod. "And do you believe there is anything he cannot do, once he sets his mind to it?" "Well, he's still a fucking jackass! I coulda helped him around there." "Now Sister," Rock chided, "You know better. He wants to go alone." Tina sat on the chair she had sat in last night, when talking to Kabal. "Well... I don't wanna risk losing him again." she said. Shanna and Rock looked at each other, then back to Tina. "You know, Sister, it's likely the boy is going to-" Shanna silenced him with a mild cantrip, cast as easily as wiggling her fingers. He continued moving his mouth, apparently swearing, and shot Shanna the bird.
"We're going to see a woman, a demonic fortuneteller, whom I incidentally think is my mother, though she never came right out and said it. She predicts the future fairly accurately with cards." Shanna said. Tina searched her memory, then said "A Tarot card reader? Oh please!" Shanna shook her head, "Nah, her cards are... different. I think she's my mother because she often goes way out of her way to help me whenever I ask.. within the bounds of her enslavement, that is, to help me. That and the fact that whenever her fortunes include me, she always ends up pulling the "Daughter" card to represent me. I've invited her here, and her essence will arrive shortly." "Essence?" Tina asked. "You'll see."
Almost before Shanna finished speaking, sure enough, there was a vaguely humanoid shape standing in the midst of them, and a very solid deck of cards was in it's hand. A melodious, angelic, and vaguely French- sounding voice filled the room: "I have not much time, little Delereaux. Ask your question that I may draw the cards quickly." "Rose, what I seek is simple. I want a reading on the future of you-know-who. This version of him." "Ahh!" came the voice, "You wish to know what is to become of your darling Ranma. Draw about and I will pull the cards."
At the top appeared a card, it showed a noble knight in gleaming armor defending a princess from something. The card's text read "The Crystal Knight". Shanna quirked an eyebrow. "Is that him?" "Yes." came the voice. Rock, now able to speak again... but still shooting the bird at Shanna, whispered to Tina, "Every time I've seen this done before, the card to represent Ranma has been invariably "the Cad" and it showed a man surrounded by women." Tina nodded and kept silent. The second card appeared, below the first. It showed shades of many women, warrior types to smaller ones. "The Lovers" came the voice. "I was afraid of that," Rock mumbled, switching middle fingers for Shanna as his arm was getting tired. "What's that mean?" Tina asked. "Means he's gonna have a whole assload of women he's gonna womanize with." The voice came again, "Oh hush Rock. The "Harem" card is what was pulled before. This is subtly different." Rock flipped off the voice as well, then gave up on the concept in general and lit up a bowl, instead. Another card was drawn, off to the side and below. "The First lover is: "The Saviour". That would be you, Tina." Time passed before the voice spoke again, "As Shanna and Rock would expect, I am unable to read anything else from your future.
Another card appeared next to Tina's. It showed a a pair of hands folded in prayer, with another, obviously female, set, holding them. "The second lover: The Priestess." The next card showed several angelic types in an orgy. "Perversion. Shown here it indicates she will free him sexually." "Why the angels? What's that mean?" Tina asked. Shanna shushed her, "It's not a good idea to ask her to explain why the cards mean what they mean. She just usually says that they do, and that's that." The voice chimed into this, "Actually, I will clarify a bit here. If that had shown a bunch of demonic figures engaged in an orgy, the perversion would be a bad thing. It would mean sexual depravity that led to following mental depravity, generally even soul-damaging depravity." "How can sexual depravity be 'good' anyway?" Tina asked, "I mean, I can relate greatly, but I wanna hear what you have to say." The voice audibly sighed, "Why, then, are you already asking me a question to which you know the answer? A repressed sexuality can eventually lead to self hatred, or potentially worse things. Much, though not anywhere near a majority of, rape occurs because of too much sexual repression, that eventually comes to a boiling point. Take prison rape as an example. If the men who are that sexually repressed would simply find a way to vent it, the culmination of their rebellion would not be so violent." Shanna stared at Tina, then nudged Rock, "I've never heard her say anything like that before. I didn't think she was deep enough to reason things like that out." Rock grinned broadly, attempted to stop himself from taking the bait, but found it too irresistable, "Yes, ditz. Further proof that she could not possibly be your mother." The voice raised in volume a bit, "Would you two shut up? I don't really have much time." "Sorry Mom." Rock said.
The next card appeared, of the morning sun shining in from the east over a torii gate. "This, in the case of him, represents purity of soul and ease of forgiveness. The Priestess will absolve him of his past and turn him onto a new day." Another card appeared, that of a woman in a kimono standing aside a man in wedding kimono and a woman in western wedding dress. "The Beloved Concubine. Whether literally or figuratively, this woman will become his consort, and his wife will accept her. That's all I have for this one, aside from saying that I cannot stress how important her place in all of this is."
Another card came, this of a woman in a straightjacket, surrounded by riches. ""The Insane Thief" is the next lover. Though I should point out that this list is in no special chronological order, anymore." Below that, a card showing a man bathing an obviously dying woman. "Pity. This one will obtain love through pity, though the love will be true." The final showed a woman, dried blood upon her, hand extended towards a glowing cup. Another image on the same card shows the man from the previous card holding this cup. "She has a great quest, and she will fall short of her goal. He will acheive this goal for her. After that..." The same Pity card appeared again. "I think she's doomed to be consumed by her insanity, with few shining moments of clarity thereafter." Tina stirred uncomfortably. Rock squeezed her shoulder and said, "I know Sis. I feel bad for her already."
Tina sighed and stood up. "You know, can you guys just give me the rundown when this is all over? This is not exactly making me happy. She's tellin me I just won after all this time and now I gotta give him up again." Rock shrugged. "Sallright by me." Shanna stood and gave Tina a hug, "I don't really think it's going to be bad as all of that." The voice in the room spoke again, "Tina, I cannot read your future, but I can easily read your past. You are in his heart now, and you always will be. And are you not the main proponent in this day and age of the Repopulation movement?" Tina looked a bit taken aback, then embarassed, then smiled broadly. "Yeah. Yeah, fine damn you." her smile, if anything, was broader. "I guess I can stand to practice what I preach. Millions of other women have learned to deal with it." Rock perked his ears towards Tina in interest. "Repopulation?" he asked. "Yeah," Tina said, "Between the goblinization, the Xenos, the old wars with the Russo-Asian states, and the Hunter-Killers before that, there's not many men left." Rock laughed. Tina continued, "In fact, now their numbers are so low that even the military is now mostly women. Human men are encouraged to take multiple wives, and they're even protected as a precious commodity. A human male is actually given government subsidies based on how many legitimate children he can sire." Shanna elbowed Rock, and he spoke up the obvious, "So the men are the bitches now?" Tina rolled her eyes. "To an extent, yes. They are protected and jealously hoarded over, but since that means a man gets to fuck a different wife every day of the week, we don't get much in the way of 'Equal Rights' complaints." "Here and I was going to call him a moron for wanting to travel in his female form." Rock growled, trying not to laugh again, "Apparently he was afraid of being raped by roving bands of women!" Tina smiled mirthfully, then said, "Don't laugh. It does happen. There's black markets where slave men are sold."
Over the course of the next several weeks, Kabal did indeed make... her... way through to Japan. The rest of the old friends spent time getting re-acquainted, and Ryoga tried not to look _too_ eager about the prospect of "spreading his seed".
Kabal was back in male form before arriving in Japan, thanks to prevailing warm currents of an unknown variety.. and that sort of bugged him since the ocean he knew did not exhibit that behavior. He had entered aboard a ship of the Japanese Self Defense force, being taken there after an intensive interrogation. Making matters worse, the entire interrogation had to be carried out in English, since Japanese had changed so much Kabal barely understood it's current form. He had them convinced that he was of Japanese descent (which was true, but there was no easy way to explain why he spoke 'old' Japanese) and that he was coming to his homeland to look over his family household, the Tendo dojo. And that he had found, and found indeed it was deeded to any Tendo or Saotome that would come to claim it... as a proctor. The Tendo dojo was a museum now. Kabal ducked and ran from that, instead heading to the Azabu Juuban district of Tokyo, seeing what he could drum up as a good old vagabond martial artist. As a male in a female-majority society.. though still male dominated, he got a lot of offers for essentially prostituting himself to women, but did not take those up.
He walked the streets and corridors of the Juuban district, admiring the beauty that surrounded him. What a contrast it was to America; there was nature abounding here.. trees lined the streets, birds chirped in the sky, and poverty was almost nonexistant. It was certainly like the Tokyo of his youth. Downside being that people in this district spoke almost exclusively the new Japanese, and he had never any idea what the hell people were saying to him. And he was getting hungry, his Nuyen had run out long ago and there seemed no equal to 'Shadowrunning' here. He couldn't even trade wisdom and martial arts skills for money, because people couldn't understand what the hell he was saying, in fact many thought he was some sort of superhero or something because of his mask. He had, in fact, stopped one bank robbery and two muggings, but was endlessly frustrated because though the victims showed him great gratitude, and every time gave him small gifts of some variety, the gifts were never valuable that he could tell, nor were they FOOD. And he did not know how to ask, it seemed English was on a sharp decline here, as well.
Trudging down a particularly beautiful street, Kabal was feeling the effects of hunger in one of it's more irritating fashions; he wanted to lay down and sleep as much as possible. Thinking where he could get some such rest, and possibly some food, he wished for a Shinto Shrine. He had seen precious few of them since he arrived here, and those were museums like the Tendo Dojo. Another one was ahead and to his left. he glanced at the sign prefunctorily, and was surprised to note it was written in proper Kanji. "Cherry Hill Shrine, est. 1128" He turned a sharp left and walked right on in, up to the outside shrine, and rang the bell, noting the shrine was devoted to Amaterasu. He clapped his hands twice, apologized for not having anything to donate, then began communing with his ancestors. His stomach could wait, this he had not done in quite some time. As soon as he raised his head again, a woman's voice spoke behind him. "Babble babble Shinto? Babble blah blah old ways blah blah here blah beautiful blah lovely?" Kabal sighed and turned about with his stanard irritation at his inability to grasp the new Japanese. He saw the .. girl.. speaking to him. She stood 5 foot 3 inches, maybe, had very long black hair with _purple_ highlights, and was wearing a traditional Miko outfit, straight down to the open sandals. What caught him was the sunny smile she was favoring him with. It was a smile that reached all the way to her eyes and made her stunningly lovely.
His eyes bounced down to her hips, then her sandals, back up to her eyes again. He was about to apologize for so obviously checking her out, when he saw that as his eyes came back up, hers pulled off of looking at his bicep. He noted she was holding a broom, obviously cleaning the place, and there was a light sheen of sweat upon her brow which mussed her hair. "Blah blah blah name? Blah blah speak Japanese?" she inquired of him. He scratched the back of his head and said, "Well, yes, but not like you do." Her brow furrowed in confusion, and she said "I don't understand you." Badly wanting food, he took a random chance. "Do you speak English?" he asked. The Miko smiled, "I speak rittle bit Engrish, hai." and she moved her hand in a see-saw gesture. Kabal turned back to the shrine, clapped his hands, and said several fast prayers of thanks, then turned back. "My name is Kabal... Saotome." The Miko showed that beautiful smile again, "Preased to meet you. Namu ees Rei Hino." Kabal bowed to her, and she returned it formally. "Now that we're introduced, I must ask.. do you have any food?" Rei looked at him, slightly confused. "Food? How you mean?" Kabal bit his lower lip in frustration, then fired off several dozen Japanese words to the same effect, until her eyes brightened in recognition. "Hai! You hungry? Armost time runch anyway. You eat with me no?" Resisting the urge to kiss her full on the lips out of gratitude, he instead bowed lower and thanked her in Japanese as many ways as he knew how.
Rei brought him through the inner shrine, which Kabal found as breathtaking as it's young caretaker, and into a small utalitarian kitchen. "You sit there now. You wanna ummm.. how you say, noodle?" she asked. "Ramen! Hai! I'd very much like some." he responded, though at this point he'd take bread and water with equal enthusiasm. Rei prepared the ramen quickly, and thankfully in mass quantities. She placed a steaming bowl in front of him, and poured him a cup of Sake. She looked at the bottle thoughtfully, then at the clock, and poured herself off a cup as well. She sat in the chair across from him and dazzled him with that smile again. "Where you come from?" she asked. "Across the sea. America. A city called Seattle." he answered. "You American? I always want meet American. You from New Seat? I always wanted go there, see Ariana Saotome concert." She looked him over, "Rerated Ariana Saotome?" Kabal tried to figure out what she was asking, then shook his head, "No, and that's not her real name anyway. It's a stage name. And on another point, I'm not American. I was born in Japan." He removed his mask and showed his eyes and face to her. "Ouchay!" she exclaimed, "What happen your face?" Kabal shook his head, "It's not important. It happen rong time ago." He winced. Her thick accent caused him an unintentional backslide. It took him many many countless hours of practice to work out his L's and proper tenses in the past, and it was easy to lose it when he heard another of the same accent.
"What you do?" Rei asked. Kabal shook his head, "What do you mean?" Rei thought hard, then lighted upon an answer. "What you do for riving, over there? Job! What you job?" she corrected. "Oh I was a Shadowrunner, which is.." he tried to think of a way to put it so she would understand it, as he ate more. "People paid me to deliver things, and protect people. I did things that most people would or could not do themselves." Rei's face brightened further and she laughed, "You bang-bang, fight, protect, save damsels and small kids?" she asked. Kabal chuckled, "Sometimes, but I got paid for it." "Ahh!" Rei said, "You hero for hire! You do secret things for money rike James Bond, 007!" Rei said it "oh-oh-seven" instead of "double-o seven." Kabval decided that resistance was futile. "Yeah, that's about the size of it." "What you doing in Japan? You on secret mission?" she asked, eyes full of wonder. Kabal shook his head, "No, actually, I am here to find a place like this, where I can be at peace, pray, and get myself together." "You Shinto, no?" she asked. "What good Japanese person isn't?" he answered. "I agree with you." Rei said, "Too many now not care about ancestor or homerlnd or nature. Onry care about moment." Kabal smiled, she was probably as much a traditionalist as she dressed.
"I was wondering, do you have any use for a shrine guard here? Give me job here?" he asked. Rei finished her Sake and poured herself another without hesitation. "Oh no!" she said, "We can not afford to have 007 around here. Not rich, prace nice, we well off yes, but no rich enough afford you." Kabal laughed, "No, just give me a place to sleep, attend to me as a Miko should any of her flock, and feed me. In return I'll clean the place up, watch over it, and defend it from any danger." Rei clapped a bit and giggled, "I have to ask Granpa when he get back, but I'm sure he say yes. It wirr be cool have... 007 around." "Yes Rei, but I prefer you call me Kabal." he said. Rei nodded. "Kabarr." "Kabal" he corrected. "Kabarral." she tried again. "Kabal." he said, then took of his mask so she could see how his mouth and tongue were working it, and repeated it several more times. She finally learned to say it satisfactorily enough, around the middle of her fourth cup of Sake. He couldn't help but wonder why Rei was getting herself squiffed.
There was a clattering near the kitchen door and a voice said, "Rei? Are you in there?" "Oh shit." Rei said, she launched her cup out the window and pushed the bottle of Sake over to Kabal. Before the bottle even stopped moving, the door opened and a VERY small old man also in traditional robes walked in. Not quite as small as Happosai, but definitely close. He spoke to Rei: "Babble babble blah Rei? Blah blah blah Sake blah blah guest? Blah blah cute blah babble babble." Rei's face turned read as she responded, "Blah babble etcetera lotsofunintelligiblebabbling Kabal babble babble!" The old man shook his head and pointed at the Sake bottle. "Blah not blah drink that! Blah blah purification!" Rei blushed again and said "Yes, that's why I drank it. Cute blah blah et cetera blah speak Japanese!" she pointed at Kabal and sighed. "Actually," Kabal said in his native tongue, "I do speak Japanese, it's you people who don't. Sounds like there is Russian and Korean and Chinese in there." the old man laughed, "And Vietnamese and a smattering of Tagalog. You are correct, that's not Japanese." "Ancestor's blessings upon me that you can speak Japanese." Kabal said, "And what was all of that about, anyway?" "That Sake the two of you were drinking was set aside for purifying things, such as your mind and soul. I understand why Rei was drinking the Sake, taking you back here, but you should not have been given any." the old man said. Kabal pondered that, "Why was she drinking the Sake then?" he asked.
The old man lifted the bottle and stared at Rei, whom blushed again under his gaze. "Two purposes. She likes to drink a little when I'm not around. A little, I am thankful she's not a lush like her mother. Her mother used to-" 'Oh great,' Kabal thought, 'Why do old people always tell stories at the drop of a hat?' "be a major anti-alcohol prude, wouldn't even use it to purify herself. Then Rei's father there took her out and bought her a beer, and it was all over from there. She was 24 years old and had never had liquor before. She didn't know how to handle it, liked it a lot, and was pretty much drunk the rest of her short life. I'm just thankful Rei here is not going that route." "How can you say she's not going that route when she's drinking behind your back?" he asked. The old man laughed and continued, knowing that Rei could not understand them, "What? Did you never experiment when you were young? I know exactly what she's doing." Kabal scratched the back of his head and said, "Well yeah, but whenever Pops caught me he'd yell at me." The old man smiled broadly, "Right. And you know how to handle your liquor now because of the mixed positive and negative messages. It's a balance. I don't care if Rei drinks, at all. But if I catch her, I'm going to bawl her out and punish her." Kabal started to question that further, then shut up and thought about it. That actually made sense, when he put his own youth into perspective. "You are very wise, Oji-sama." he acceded.
"And what was the second reason?" he asked. "You came to this place seeking guidance, correct?" the old man asked. "Yes, I've not been to a shrine in years countless." "Sake is used, sometimes heavily by some of us, to keep our minds focused and pure." he answered. "What do you mean by that?" Kabal asked. "That's what she was trying to do." Kabal nodded a few moments to delay, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ojisama, but there's something I am missing here that you intended for me to see." he said. "As the only shrine representative here when you arrived, she had to keep her thoughts pure and minister to you honorably." the old man said. "I don't understand. Is she that afraid that she will say something improper?" The old man eyed him thoroughly, then laughed out loud. "For such an obvious martial artist, you certainly have difficulty reading people. Don't worry about it for now. Rei tells me that you come here seeking employment?" Kabal nodded, "Somewhat. I am more here to meditate and center myself, but food and shelter I need for these things. I will gladly trade my services as a martial artist." "And what art do you practice, Kabal? By the way you sit and carry yourself, I'd say Szechuan Kenpo." the old man said. Kabal was astounded, "You knew that just by the way I was sitting here? Your wisdom is greater than I thought!." The old man laughed again, "No. My powers of bullshit are far beyond what you thought. You're so easy. I saw you beating up some thugs a couple days ago. You happen to use the same style that my grand-daughter Rei is learning." "Ah," Kabal said, "Then that, too, is how I will earn my keep. I will spar with her, enhance her lessons." "No," the old man said, "You are a Master, whether you think so or not. You will not assist her lessons, you will take them over." Kabal stood and bowed to the old man, "As you so wish, Ojisama. By what named will I call you?" "Ojisama is fine. Or just use the english word 'Grandpa'. Lot's of people do."
softly blows the wind,
The peaches and apricots
are in full bloom.
The dews are thick
in the autumnal nights
The leaves fall
from the paulownia tree"
- Daito Kokushi
Twisted Prophecy, Chapter 4
Tina awoke in the morning,to find the above quote written in beautiful Kanji up the pillow where Kabal laid. Below it, in English scribble, was this simple note:
Tina-chan,
There is a lot in my mind. Turmoil, unrest, fear and despair. But also upon my heart is love. Do not think unkindly upon me, Uk-chan, I'm not running away from any of this, and least of all would I ever run from you. I must spend time getting myself right with myself. I am going to Japan, to commune once more with the land of my upbringing. I am sure over the years you have felt it's pull yourself. I go there seeking to put my soul at rest, that I may come back and deal with all of this with a clean mind and open heart. Spoke as I did last night, I don't know what is coming next. I get the feeling that it's going to be hard on me. Above all, I feel it will be hard on you. What may come, never lose faith in me, and I will one day prove to be the man you claim I am. Something tells me that you may have great reason to doubt me in the future. I don't know how I know this but I do. That's part of the reason I am going to Japan. I feel many of the answers for me are there. Whether it is foolishness to ask more of you than you have already given, or it is foolish to think that I even need ask... please, be patient with me. You've touched me like nobody else has in the past, and like nobody ever will again.
Love always,
Kabal Saotome - "Ran-chan" (signed in hirigana scribble)
Shaking the sleep instantly out of her eyes, she bolted outside, to find there Rock and Shanna. Rock saluted her lazily, and Shanna merely smiled. "Where did he go?" Tina asked. "Japan," Shanna answered, "I brought him halfway there myself. He insisted on swimming and walking the rest of the way." "Swimming?" Tina asked, "To Japan? Is he even aware that it's almost impossible to get spy planes over Japan, much less get people into it?" Shanna tilted her head in a slight nod. "And do you believe there is anything he cannot do, once he sets his mind to it?" "Well, he's still a fucking jackass! I coulda helped him around there." "Now Sister," Rock chided, "You know better. He wants to go alone." Tina sat on the chair she had sat in last night, when talking to Kabal. "Well... I don't wanna risk losing him again." she said. Shanna and Rock looked at each other, then back to Tina. "You know, Sister, it's likely the boy is going to-" Shanna silenced him with a mild cantrip, cast as easily as wiggling her fingers. He continued moving his mouth, apparently swearing, and shot Shanna the bird.
"We're going to see a woman, a demonic fortuneteller, whom I incidentally think is my mother, though she never came right out and said it. She predicts the future fairly accurately with cards." Shanna said. Tina searched her memory, then said "A Tarot card reader? Oh please!" Shanna shook her head, "Nah, her cards are... different. I think she's my mother because she often goes way out of her way to help me whenever I ask.. within the bounds of her enslavement, that is, to help me. That and the fact that whenever her fortunes include me, she always ends up pulling the "Daughter" card to represent me. I've invited her here, and her essence will arrive shortly." "Essence?" Tina asked. "You'll see."
Almost before Shanna finished speaking, sure enough, there was a vaguely humanoid shape standing in the midst of them, and a very solid deck of cards was in it's hand. A melodious, angelic, and vaguely French- sounding voice filled the room: "I have not much time, little Delereaux. Ask your question that I may draw the cards quickly." "Rose, what I seek is simple. I want a reading on the future of you-know-who. This version of him." "Ahh!" came the voice, "You wish to know what is to become of your darling Ranma. Draw about and I will pull the cards."
At the top appeared a card, it showed a noble knight in gleaming armor defending a princess from something. The card's text read "The Crystal Knight". Shanna quirked an eyebrow. "Is that him?" "Yes." came the voice. Rock, now able to speak again... but still shooting the bird at Shanna, whispered to Tina, "Every time I've seen this done before, the card to represent Ranma has been invariably "the Cad" and it showed a man surrounded by women." Tina nodded and kept silent. The second card appeared, below the first. It showed shades of many women, warrior types to smaller ones. "The Lovers" came the voice. "I was afraid of that," Rock mumbled, switching middle fingers for Shanna as his arm was getting tired. "What's that mean?" Tina asked. "Means he's gonna have a whole assload of women he's gonna womanize with." The voice came again, "Oh hush Rock. The "Harem" card is what was pulled before. This is subtly different." Rock flipped off the voice as well, then gave up on the concept in general and lit up a bowl, instead. Another card was drawn, off to the side and below. "The First lover is: "The Saviour". That would be you, Tina." Time passed before the voice spoke again, "As Shanna and Rock would expect, I am unable to read anything else from your future.
Another card appeared next to Tina's. It showed a a pair of hands folded in prayer, with another, obviously female, set, holding them. "The second lover: The Priestess." The next card showed several angelic types in an orgy. "Perversion. Shown here it indicates she will free him sexually." "Why the angels? What's that mean?" Tina asked. Shanna shushed her, "It's not a good idea to ask her to explain why the cards mean what they mean. She just usually says that they do, and that's that." The voice chimed into this, "Actually, I will clarify a bit here. If that had shown a bunch of demonic figures engaged in an orgy, the perversion would be a bad thing. It would mean sexual depravity that led to following mental depravity, generally even soul-damaging depravity." "How can sexual depravity be 'good' anyway?" Tina asked, "I mean, I can relate greatly, but I wanna hear what you have to say." The voice audibly sighed, "Why, then, are you already asking me a question to which you know the answer? A repressed sexuality can eventually lead to self hatred, or potentially worse things. Much, though not anywhere near a majority of, rape occurs because of too much sexual repression, that eventually comes to a boiling point. Take prison rape as an example. If the men who are that sexually repressed would simply find a way to vent it, the culmination of their rebellion would not be so violent." Shanna stared at Tina, then nudged Rock, "I've never heard her say anything like that before. I didn't think she was deep enough to reason things like that out." Rock grinned broadly, attempted to stop himself from taking the bait, but found it too irresistable, "Yes, ditz. Further proof that she could not possibly be your mother." The voice raised in volume a bit, "Would you two shut up? I don't really have much time." "Sorry Mom." Rock said.
The next card appeared, of the morning sun shining in from the east over a torii gate. "This, in the case of him, represents purity of soul and ease of forgiveness. The Priestess will absolve him of his past and turn him onto a new day." Another card appeared, that of a woman in a kimono standing aside a man in wedding kimono and a woman in western wedding dress. "The Beloved Concubine. Whether literally or figuratively, this woman will become his consort, and his wife will accept her. That's all I have for this one, aside from saying that I cannot stress how important her place in all of this is."
Another card came, this of a woman in a straightjacket, surrounded by riches. ""The Insane Thief" is the next lover. Though I should point out that this list is in no special chronological order, anymore." Below that, a card showing a man bathing an obviously dying woman. "Pity. This one will obtain love through pity, though the love will be true." The final showed a woman, dried blood upon her, hand extended towards a glowing cup. Another image on the same card shows the man from the previous card holding this cup. "She has a great quest, and she will fall short of her goal. He will acheive this goal for her. After that..." The same Pity card appeared again. "I think she's doomed to be consumed by her insanity, with few shining moments of clarity thereafter." Tina stirred uncomfortably. Rock squeezed her shoulder and said, "I know Sis. I feel bad for her already."
Tina sighed and stood up. "You know, can you guys just give me the rundown when this is all over? This is not exactly making me happy. She's tellin me I just won after all this time and now I gotta give him up again." Rock shrugged. "Sallright by me." Shanna stood and gave Tina a hug, "I don't really think it's going to be bad as all of that." The voice in the room spoke again, "Tina, I cannot read your future, but I can easily read your past. You are in his heart now, and you always will be. And are you not the main proponent in this day and age of the Repopulation movement?" Tina looked a bit taken aback, then embarassed, then smiled broadly. "Yeah. Yeah, fine damn you." her smile, if anything, was broader. "I guess I can stand to practice what I preach. Millions of other women have learned to deal with it." Rock perked his ears towards Tina in interest. "Repopulation?" he asked. "Yeah," Tina said, "Between the goblinization, the Xenos, the old wars with the Russo-Asian states, and the Hunter-Killers before that, there's not many men left." Rock laughed. Tina continued, "In fact, now their numbers are so low that even the military is now mostly women. Human men are encouraged to take multiple wives, and they're even protected as a precious commodity. A human male is actually given government subsidies based on how many legitimate children he can sire." Shanna elbowed Rock, and he spoke up the obvious, "So the men are the bitches now?" Tina rolled her eyes. "To an extent, yes. They are protected and jealously hoarded over, but since that means a man gets to fuck a different wife every day of the week, we don't get much in the way of 'Equal Rights' complaints." "Here and I was going to call him a moron for wanting to travel in his female form." Rock growled, trying not to laugh again, "Apparently he was afraid of being raped by roving bands of women!" Tina smiled mirthfully, then said, "Don't laugh. It does happen. There's black markets where slave men are sold."
Over the course of the next several weeks, Kabal did indeed make... her... way through to Japan. The rest of the old friends spent time getting re-acquainted, and Ryoga tried not to look _too_ eager about the prospect of "spreading his seed".
Kabal was back in male form before arriving in Japan, thanks to prevailing warm currents of an unknown variety.. and that sort of bugged him since the ocean he knew did not exhibit that behavior. He had entered aboard a ship of the Japanese Self Defense force, being taken there after an intensive interrogation. Making matters worse, the entire interrogation had to be carried out in English, since Japanese had changed so much Kabal barely understood it's current form. He had them convinced that he was of Japanese descent (which was true, but there was no easy way to explain why he spoke 'old' Japanese) and that he was coming to his homeland to look over his family household, the Tendo dojo. And that he had found, and found indeed it was deeded to any Tendo or Saotome that would come to claim it... as a proctor. The Tendo dojo was a museum now. Kabal ducked and ran from that, instead heading to the Azabu Juuban district of Tokyo, seeing what he could drum up as a good old vagabond martial artist. As a male in a female-majority society.. though still male dominated, he got a lot of offers for essentially prostituting himself to women, but did not take those up.
He walked the streets and corridors of the Juuban district, admiring the beauty that surrounded him. What a contrast it was to America; there was nature abounding here.. trees lined the streets, birds chirped in the sky, and poverty was almost nonexistant. It was certainly like the Tokyo of his youth. Downside being that people in this district spoke almost exclusively the new Japanese, and he had never any idea what the hell people were saying to him. And he was getting hungry, his Nuyen had run out long ago and there seemed no equal to 'Shadowrunning' here. He couldn't even trade wisdom and martial arts skills for money, because people couldn't understand what the hell he was saying, in fact many thought he was some sort of superhero or something because of his mask. He had, in fact, stopped one bank robbery and two muggings, but was endlessly frustrated because though the victims showed him great gratitude, and every time gave him small gifts of some variety, the gifts were never valuable that he could tell, nor were they FOOD. And he did not know how to ask, it seemed English was on a sharp decline here, as well.
Trudging down a particularly beautiful street, Kabal was feeling the effects of hunger in one of it's more irritating fashions; he wanted to lay down and sleep as much as possible. Thinking where he could get some such rest, and possibly some food, he wished for a Shinto Shrine. He had seen precious few of them since he arrived here, and those were museums like the Tendo Dojo. Another one was ahead and to his left. he glanced at the sign prefunctorily, and was surprised to note it was written in proper Kanji. "Cherry Hill Shrine, est. 1128" He turned a sharp left and walked right on in, up to the outside shrine, and rang the bell, noting the shrine was devoted to Amaterasu. He clapped his hands twice, apologized for not having anything to donate, then began communing with his ancestors. His stomach could wait, this he had not done in quite some time. As soon as he raised his head again, a woman's voice spoke behind him. "Babble babble Shinto? Babble blah blah old ways blah blah here blah beautiful blah lovely?" Kabal sighed and turned about with his stanard irritation at his inability to grasp the new Japanese. He saw the .. girl.. speaking to him. She stood 5 foot 3 inches, maybe, had very long black hair with _purple_ highlights, and was wearing a traditional Miko outfit, straight down to the open sandals. What caught him was the sunny smile she was favoring him with. It was a smile that reached all the way to her eyes and made her stunningly lovely.
His eyes bounced down to her hips, then her sandals, back up to her eyes again. He was about to apologize for so obviously checking her out, when he saw that as his eyes came back up, hers pulled off of looking at his bicep. He noted she was holding a broom, obviously cleaning the place, and there was a light sheen of sweat upon her brow which mussed her hair. "Blah blah blah name? Blah blah speak Japanese?" she inquired of him. He scratched the back of his head and said, "Well, yes, but not like you do." Her brow furrowed in confusion, and she said "I don't understand you." Badly wanting food, he took a random chance. "Do you speak English?" he asked. The Miko smiled, "I speak rittle bit Engrish, hai." and she moved her hand in a see-saw gesture. Kabal turned back to the shrine, clapped his hands, and said several fast prayers of thanks, then turned back. "My name is Kabal... Saotome." The Miko showed that beautiful smile again, "Preased to meet you. Namu ees Rei Hino." Kabal bowed to her, and she returned it formally. "Now that we're introduced, I must ask.. do you have any food?" Rei looked at him, slightly confused. "Food? How you mean?" Kabal bit his lower lip in frustration, then fired off several dozen Japanese words to the same effect, until her eyes brightened in recognition. "Hai! You hungry? Armost time runch anyway. You eat with me no?" Resisting the urge to kiss her full on the lips out of gratitude, he instead bowed lower and thanked her in Japanese as many ways as he knew how.
Rei brought him through the inner shrine, which Kabal found as breathtaking as it's young caretaker, and into a small utalitarian kitchen. "You sit there now. You wanna ummm.. how you say, noodle?" she asked. "Ramen! Hai! I'd very much like some." he responded, though at this point he'd take bread and water with equal enthusiasm. Rei prepared the ramen quickly, and thankfully in mass quantities. She placed a steaming bowl in front of him, and poured him a cup of Sake. She looked at the bottle thoughtfully, then at the clock, and poured herself off a cup as well. She sat in the chair across from him and dazzled him with that smile again. "Where you come from?" she asked. "Across the sea. America. A city called Seattle." he answered. "You American? I always want meet American. You from New Seat? I always wanted go there, see Ariana Saotome concert." She looked him over, "Rerated Ariana Saotome?" Kabal tried to figure out what she was asking, then shook his head, "No, and that's not her real name anyway. It's a stage name. And on another point, I'm not American. I was born in Japan." He removed his mask and showed his eyes and face to her. "Ouchay!" she exclaimed, "What happen your face?" Kabal shook his head, "It's not important. It happen rong time ago." He winced. Her thick accent caused him an unintentional backslide. It took him many many countless hours of practice to work out his L's and proper tenses in the past, and it was easy to lose it when he heard another of the same accent.
"What you do?" Rei asked. Kabal shook his head, "What do you mean?" Rei thought hard, then lighted upon an answer. "What you do for riving, over there? Job! What you job?" she corrected. "Oh I was a Shadowrunner, which is.." he tried to think of a way to put it so she would understand it, as he ate more. "People paid me to deliver things, and protect people. I did things that most people would or could not do themselves." Rei's face brightened further and she laughed, "You bang-bang, fight, protect, save damsels and small kids?" she asked. Kabal chuckled, "Sometimes, but I got paid for it." "Ahh!" Rei said, "You hero for hire! You do secret things for money rike James Bond, 007!" Rei said it "oh-oh-seven" instead of "double-o seven." Kabval decided that resistance was futile. "Yeah, that's about the size of it." "What you doing in Japan? You on secret mission?" she asked, eyes full of wonder. Kabal shook his head, "No, actually, I am here to find a place like this, where I can be at peace, pray, and get myself together." "You Shinto, no?" she asked. "What good Japanese person isn't?" he answered. "I agree with you." Rei said, "Too many now not care about ancestor or homerlnd or nature. Onry care about moment." Kabal smiled, she was probably as much a traditionalist as she dressed.
"I was wondering, do you have any use for a shrine guard here? Give me job here?" he asked. Rei finished her Sake and poured herself another without hesitation. "Oh no!" she said, "We can not afford to have 007 around here. Not rich, prace nice, we well off yes, but no rich enough afford you." Kabal laughed, "No, just give me a place to sleep, attend to me as a Miko should any of her flock, and feed me. In return I'll clean the place up, watch over it, and defend it from any danger." Rei clapped a bit and giggled, "I have to ask Granpa when he get back, but I'm sure he say yes. It wirr be cool have... 007 around." "Yes Rei, but I prefer you call me Kabal." he said. Rei nodded. "Kabarr." "Kabal" he corrected. "Kabarral." she tried again. "Kabal." he said, then took of his mask so she could see how his mouth and tongue were working it, and repeated it several more times. She finally learned to say it satisfactorily enough, around the middle of her fourth cup of Sake. He couldn't help but wonder why Rei was getting herself squiffed.
There was a clattering near the kitchen door and a voice said, "Rei? Are you in there?" "Oh shit." Rei said, she launched her cup out the window and pushed the bottle of Sake over to Kabal. Before the bottle even stopped moving, the door opened and a VERY small old man also in traditional robes walked in. Not quite as small as Happosai, but definitely close. He spoke to Rei: "Babble babble blah Rei? Blah blah blah Sake blah blah guest? Blah blah cute blah babble babble." Rei's face turned read as she responded, "Blah babble etcetera lotsofunintelligiblebabbling Kabal babble babble!" The old man shook his head and pointed at the Sake bottle. "Blah not blah drink that! Blah blah purification!" Rei blushed again and said "Yes, that's why I drank it. Cute blah blah et cetera blah speak Japanese!" she pointed at Kabal and sighed. "Actually," Kabal said in his native tongue, "I do speak Japanese, it's you people who don't. Sounds like there is Russian and Korean and Chinese in there." the old man laughed, "And Vietnamese and a smattering of Tagalog. You are correct, that's not Japanese." "Ancestor's blessings upon me that you can speak Japanese." Kabal said, "And what was all of that about, anyway?" "That Sake the two of you were drinking was set aside for purifying things, such as your mind and soul. I understand why Rei was drinking the Sake, taking you back here, but you should not have been given any." the old man said. Kabal pondered that, "Why was she drinking the Sake then?" he asked.
The old man lifted the bottle and stared at Rei, whom blushed again under his gaze. "Two purposes. She likes to drink a little when I'm not around. A little, I am thankful she's not a lush like her mother. Her mother used to-" 'Oh great,' Kabal thought, 'Why do old people always tell stories at the drop of a hat?' "be a major anti-alcohol prude, wouldn't even use it to purify herself. Then Rei's father there took her out and bought her a beer, and it was all over from there. She was 24 years old and had never had liquor before. She didn't know how to handle it, liked it a lot, and was pretty much drunk the rest of her short life. I'm just thankful Rei here is not going that route." "How can you say she's not going that route when she's drinking behind your back?" he asked. The old man laughed and continued, knowing that Rei could not understand them, "What? Did you never experiment when you were young? I know exactly what she's doing." Kabal scratched the back of his head and said, "Well yeah, but whenever Pops caught me he'd yell at me." The old man smiled broadly, "Right. And you know how to handle your liquor now because of the mixed positive and negative messages. It's a balance. I don't care if Rei drinks, at all. But if I catch her, I'm going to bawl her out and punish her." Kabal started to question that further, then shut up and thought about it. That actually made sense, when he put his own youth into perspective. "You are very wise, Oji-sama." he acceded.
"And what was the second reason?" he asked. "You came to this place seeking guidance, correct?" the old man asked. "Yes, I've not been to a shrine in years countless." "Sake is used, sometimes heavily by some of us, to keep our minds focused and pure." he answered. "What do you mean by that?" Kabal asked. "That's what she was trying to do." Kabal nodded a few moments to delay, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ojisama, but there's something I am missing here that you intended for me to see." he said. "As the only shrine representative here when you arrived, she had to keep her thoughts pure and minister to you honorably." the old man said. "I don't understand. Is she that afraid that she will say something improper?" The old man eyed him thoroughly, then laughed out loud. "For such an obvious martial artist, you certainly have difficulty reading people. Don't worry about it for now. Rei tells me that you come here seeking employment?" Kabal nodded, "Somewhat. I am more here to meditate and center myself, but food and shelter I need for these things. I will gladly trade my services as a martial artist." "And what art do you practice, Kabal? By the way you sit and carry yourself, I'd say Szechuan Kenpo." the old man said. Kabal was astounded, "You knew that just by the way I was sitting here? Your wisdom is greater than I thought!." The old man laughed again, "No. My powers of bullshit are far beyond what you thought. You're so easy. I saw you beating up some thugs a couple days ago. You happen to use the same style that my grand-daughter Rei is learning." "Ah," Kabal said, "Then that, too, is how I will earn my keep. I will spar with her, enhance her lessons." "No," the old man said, "You are a Master, whether you think so or not. You will not assist her lessons, you will take them over." Kabal stood and bowed to the old man, "As you so wish, Ojisama. By what named will I call you?" "Ojisama is fine. Or just use the english word 'Grandpa'. Lot's of people do."