Her mind is Tiffany twisted
She's got the Mercedes bends
She's got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
That she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard
Sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember
Some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain
Please bring me my wine
He said
We haven't had that spirit here since 1969
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely Place
Such a lovely face
They're livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise
Bring your alibies
(Excerpt from: Eagles – Hotel California)
SOUL HEIR
A Ranma ½ Fanfiction by Ralf Martin
Disclaimer: All characters featured in this wonderful work of art sprang originally from the fertile mind of Rumiko Takahashi. Except for a few that sprang from mine. Trust me, you'll notice the difference.
Chapter 8: Swapping tales
In a sizeable private park, situated in a part of Tokyo that was renowned for its strange occurrences and mysterious sightings, a young man, barely past the age of adolescence, lay motionless in the soft grass. All around him were the signs of an epic struggle, or so he would have described the fight that took place in this spot not long ago.
Broken statures, a crippled shrine, toppled trees and a cratered lawn all spoke of a burst of destructive energy that would make most people think rather of a military assault than a duel of two teenagers.
But that was more or less exactly what had happened, and the young man slumped on the lawn was in no way the victor of this encounter. And this one fact he understood completely, now that he had slowly recovered his consciousness.
Lying there with the remains of his greatest treasure dead-center in his field of vision, Kuno Tatewaki realized that all his dreams had come to naught. He would never be a samurai like his famous ancestors, cutting through the demons and hordes of evil that threatened his ancestral lands.
He would never experience the love of the fierce Akane Tendo nor conquer the heart of his fiery pigtailed goddess, granting them happiness for all eternity. Those dreams had been nothing but lies.
There was no one that liked or respected him, much less someone longing for that kind of attentions.
Most probably there wasn't even anyone caring if he was alive or dead.
So where was the point in getting up, even now that he could move again? Where was the point in returning to the mansion with its false traditions and brooding atmosphere were the only person that would acknowledge as much as his existence was his sorry excuse of a sister?
And to think that it was the only place were he was, if not welcome, so at least admitted. Really, there was no reason to get up. No reason at all.
:O~o~O:
"Bring me back to live?!" Ranma exclaimed with obvious difficulties to grasp that concept. Judging by his wide-eyed expression and the volume of his voice. Usually this would have turned quite a few faces since it is considered impolite to raise one's voice in public, no less in a restaurant. And that was exactly where the pigtailed boy had expressed his disbelief. But then again, only one person noticed his outburst, and that was the old woman he had directed it at. Such were the effects of his current ghostly state.
"No way I gonna let anyone turn me into some zombie or something...!" he continued indignated.
"Boy, boy, boy," the Mrs. Ichikagawa chided good-naturedly. "How should I manage to do something like that? Last time I checked, you needed a corpse to create one of those and yours, I fear, is ashes."
"Oh, right, never thought of that…" Ranma admitted sheepishly, managing somehow to scratch the back of his head. "But whatcha gonna do then?"
"Now THAT," the old woman said with a wink and a waggling finger, "is a secret. All I'm going to tell you is that I can provide you with a living, breathing body. Nothing rotten, no detachable parts. I'm talking about the real thing…"
Now, nobody had ever accused the former heir of the Saotome-school of an exaggerated tendency to learn from former mistakes, but his many dealings with the most shrewd of the Tendo girls had taught him a lesson or two anyway.
"Where's the catch?" he therefore asked, fully understanding that the best things in live, or death in his case, are far from free.
The old woman nodded, seemingly pleased by the question.
"So you do have a brain," she praised him. "After some of the stories I've heard about you I almost doubted you'd be fit for the job, no matter what your other virtues. But I'm deviating from the topic. Because there is, as you stated so expertly, a catch." The old woman fell silent for a few seconds, carefully examining the ghost's expression before continuing her explanation. "You see, if you a going to accept my offer, it will not be a present. You've got to think of it as some kind of advance-payment for services still to render."
"What kind of services?" Ranma asked, once more surprisingly reasonable considering his usually rather simplicistic brain-patterns. Who knows, maybe his death had done him some good. Or maybe testosterone really does hinder the brain. Or he might simply have come to understand the seriousness nature of this conversation. Whatever the reason, the pigtailed ghost was currently very cautious of what he said or agreed to. Mrs. Ichikagawa, as she had stated previously, didn't mind a little vigilance in a prospective associate, and so she answered the question in an amiable voice.
"This is hard to explain to you without giving away things that are not meant for the ears of the uninitiated. So if you want the whole story, you've got to accept my offer first. But I can guarantee you one thing. We will never expect anything from you that goes against your nature."
"Against my nature? What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma asked curiously. He knew that term's common implication of course, but something in the way that old gal empathized those words startled him.
"It means that once you join our ranks, we might ask you to do something dangerous, or strenuous or scary. We'll most probably commit you to tasks that seem impossible to fulfill and have you fight against unfair odds. But no one will ever ask anything of you that is opposed to your sense of honor. "
"Says you," Ranma commented warily, her little speech reminding him all to much of his fathers frequently broken promises. "Though I guess you aint got any guarantees handy, do you?"
"Guarantees?" Mrs. Ichikagawa asked in obvious amusement. "Sorry, but no guarantees. But I've got the next best thing…" With that she turned towards Doctor Tofu, who had followed the conversation to the best of his abilities. This meant he only heard the old woman's talking and had to think up Ranma's part. The effect was pretty much like listening in to someone talking to a phone. And like anyone else who ever did something like this, he too perked up with a guilty expression on his face once his name got mentioned.
"Doctor Tofu?" he heard Mrs. Ichikagawa address him, "I guess now's the time to explain to out honored guest why you've accompanied me to this place…"
:O~o~O:
Carrying the still motionless Kodachi in his arms, Kinyou stumbled into the main hall of the Kuno estate.
He was greeted by a couple of wide-eyed servants who, much to his surprise, didn't as much as question him about the dubious state the daughter of the house happened to be in, never mind his own presence. They simply scuttled out of his way as he went in search of a secure place to put down his load, staring at him from worried eyes as he passed and asked for a couch or a bed or anything else suitable for a resting place.
Nobody answered him, the lot of them too scared or too stunned from what had happened in the park. Or at least that was what he figured.
But one servant, a middle-aged woman with a weary expression and nervous eyes, opened a door to his left and motioned him to enter. Glad for a reaction of any kind and without a better idea he followed her lead and ended up in some kind of huge living room, richly ornamented with paintings, tapestries and potted plants. There was an open fireplace on one wall, an empty sword-stand resting forlornly on the mantelpiece. On the adjacent wall there was a gigantic TV-set. That thing alone was probably worth more than Kinyou could hope to earn in the next ten years. All in all that room held riches that the ghost-talking boy couldn't hope to mach in his whole life. And this was just one room of who knew how many.
But honestly, right at this moment this could have been Ali Baba's cave for all Kinyou cared, as long as it contained one damned couch. And thank whatever friendly kami responsible for this, it did. Letting out a relieved sigh, he placed the unresponsive girl down on the plush sofa, making sure she was comfortable. Now that she was taken care of, he slumped down in a comfy chair himself, allowing the tension of the past hours to drain out of him.
Feeling his sour muscles relaxing, Kinyou used the opportunity to get a first good look at the girl in his care. She was a knockout, that much could be said without further investigations.
A curvaceous and still athletic body.
A symmetric face with a small, pouting mouth.
A straight, small nose and large eyes, though what color they were he wouldn't learn until she woke up.
Her lustrous hair was pulled to one side and for a moment he wondered what it would look like if he set it free from the pony- tail. Not that he'd ever dare something like that but still, that thought stuck with him. Those musings got interrupted though when the girl on the couch suddenly moaned and raised a hand to her forehead.
"What... hit me?" she asked weakly, clearly not up to a 100% yet.
Kinyou got out of his seat and kneeled next to her, looking down at her face with concern.
"How are you feeling?" he asked her, noticing that she had very dark eyes and still not regained the ability to fully focus them yet.
"Head… hurts…" she answered hesitatingly, obviously feeling every single word like a kick to the skull.
"Yeah, guess it does," Kinyou agreed compassionately. After that little icident with the sword, he figured that was probably an understatement. "You better stay put for a while. You know, take a nap, relax a little…"
Kodachi acknowledged that proposal with a slight nod, only to regret it at once.
"Aspirin...?" she whimpered quietly, her hand reaching blindly for a nearby table.
"Oh, right, good idea…" Kinyou agreed and rose to hunt after the requested medication. A few moments later he returned to the room victoriously, a glass of water and some pills in his hand. Settling down by her side again he helped her sit up to swallow them.
"Try taking two first," he advised her, "and if it doesn't get any better…"
Kodachi never got to hear what she should do in that case because he was a little startled to see her snatch all the pills at once and gulp them down in one go. Then she leaned her head again the backrest of the couch, looking at him from half lidded eyes.
"What happened out there?" she asked after some silence on both of their parts. Everyone who knew her would have been thoroughly surprised by the calmness of her voice, even in her currently weakened state. But as Kindyou had only recently met her, that fact escaped him totally.
"Well, it seems that your brother tried to ban the spirit of this Saotome-guy by a cursed sword that belongs to your family," he explained cautiously, knowing full well that most people would call him nuts for relating a story like that. She didn't seem inclined to doubt his words though, listening intently as he continued his tale. "Well, to summon that ghost he abducted a girl, Akane… Tango?"
"Tendo," Kodachi supplied helpfully sounding a little uncomfortable saying that name.
"Right, Akane Tendo, that's her," Kinyou agreed happily. "Well, me and Ukyou…, you know Ukyou, don't you? She's running that Okonomiyaki- restaurant a few blocks from here."
"Yes," the still aching girl admitted halfheartedly, "I do know that wen… woman."
"Figures, I mean, she really acted as if the two of you had a common history…"Kinyou remarked with a raised eyebrow. But he had no intention to investigate further into it, preferring to continue his story. "Anyway, so me and Ukyou stumbled across him as he was running like a madman with that girl in his arms and followed him to that shrine in your garden. And ,well, Ukyou couldn't just sit and watch as he tried to ban Ranma and so she got involved. And then I couldn't watch as he tried to turn Ukyou into Shish-Kebab, so I joined in too. Well, it wasn't me alone. You see, I'm not much of a fighter but I've got a little talent as a medium and Ranma, he seemed pretty eager to join in so we kinda… banded together and kicked a little butt. Oh wow, did we kick butt...!" Kinyou trailed off at that point with a dreamy look and a grin on his face.
"What about mom?" Kodachi suddenly interrupted his reverie in a small voice, sounding almost scared.
"Oh boy, how to say this," Kinyou mused, looking a little forlorn as he pondered that problem. "You mother, did she have long hair and was about this tall?" He raised a hand to indicate a height of approximately 5 feet 7. "Likes evening-dresses and parties? Looks like, like," searching for a suitable comparison his eyes involuntarily scanned the room and ended up on a huge painting that depicted a regal looking man of medium age and the woman that had spoken to him as a ghost in the park, standing behind two young children, one a boy, the other a girl. They looked like everyone else on a group-picture, a little stiff and with forced smiles.
"… like that woman in the picture over there…" he finished rather lamely, nodding at the portrait.
Kodachi never looked at the indicated painting, knowing the picture by heart. Hardly surprising, after all it was her own family depicted on it.
"Yes, that is my mother, Nanami Kuno," Kodachi attested in a subdued voice. "She left us four years ago."
Kinyou smiled at her compassionately, feeling with the miserable girl on the couch.
"That's not entirely true," he corrected her softly. "She's been stuck in a stupid sword, just like a lot of your other relatives. Well, the female ones at least. The guys were in the scabbard."
"But, but... how is this possible?" Kodachi asked close to tears. Now that the ache in her head slowly subsided, there was nothing to divert her from the other pains. "How can a simple sword imprison a soul...?"
"Ah, you see," Kinyou explained, scratching the back of his head in a sheepish manner, "it's not as impossible as it might sound. Ghosts usually hang around things that were important to them when they were alive. Sometimes that's a place, sometimes that's people and sometimes it might even been an object they treasured."
"But that doesn't make sense," Kodachi interrupted in confusion. "Neither my father nor my mother ever cared about swords. And you said for yourself that she was imprisoned."
"True," Kinyou agreed thoughtfully, "but you see, someone among your ancestors did. Someone, probably a couple, possessed the sword as well as that scabbard. I bet that there's some tragic love-story behind all of this. Well, whatever the reason, stuff like that tends to snowball. So when the next Kuno inherits the sword and voilà, he's suddenly getting some really romantic notions. You know, like he needs a true love that he can cherish for all eternity? And then he marries some girl and say, if she dies before him, then WHAM!" He almost gave Kodachi a heart-attack as he provided the sound effects by clapping his hands. "She's stuck in that sword too. Because he 'loves' her so damn much and never wants to let her go. And then he dies too and there's another heir and another… you know what I'm getting at, right?"
Kodachi nodded in the affirmative, her eyes big as saucers.
"So, all these women, my mom, Aunt Tanakae, Grandmother Suyiko, they all stayed behind because their husbands loved them?" she asked insecurely, hoping for some bright aspect in Kinyou's dark theory. He would have loved to indulge her, but instead he looked at her doubtingly, slightly shaking his head.
"Just like your brother loves that Tendo girl," he told her with a sad frown. "That's why they call it possession, you know? It's not always one spirit taking over a living body. Sometimes it's more like… conditioning."
"I see," Kodachi said without sounding too convincing. Suddenly she looked up at him, some of her usual fire returning to her eyes. "But that's over now, isn't it? That sword, it is broken. Mom's free of the spell, and so should be Tatewaki and… and me?"
"You..?" Kinyou asked, delighted by her more lively manners but surprised by the question nonetheless. "Well, I figured something like that sword should mostly affect guys but hey, why not?" He shrugged, smiling at the relaxing girl on the couch as he did so. "Sure, you're free now too."
:O~o~O:
Doctor Tofu cleared his throat, seemingly uneasy with the thought of talking to an invisible, inaudible acquaintance and former patient. But then again, if he gave a convincing performance then that might soon change, right? So he took a deep breath and started to recount his story.
"You see Ranma, when I took over the clinic a couple of years ago, I soon realized that this district was a little different from the other places I lived in., my predecessor had tried to explain that to me beforehand, but I was young and thought I knew everything. Anyway, I hardly listened to his stories. I guess it wouldn't have mattered if I did, for there are some things in life that you simply have to see for yourself. It's a little like Jusenkyou curses. No one in their right mind would believe that they exist, right? You could talk for years and people would still need to see the change for themselves to believe it. I'm sure you know what I'm getting at. So there I was, the new doctor in town awaiting my first patients. They were a little reserved at first. Nothing unusual considering they had been used to Dr. Toriyama for years. But slowly they accepted me and soon I had a pretty good reputation. That was when the 'special cases' started to show up. Have you ever noticed how Nerima seems to attract the most interesting characters? You weren't the first or the worst one. Not by far…" Tofu smiled ruefully at the empty spot across the table, idly playing with a cup of tea in his hands.
"They were what Dr. Toriyama had tried to prepare me for. People with special 'conditions', not unlike yours. Some of them were hardly discernible from normal folks, but some of the others,… well, let's say they prefer the late hours for their physicals. Anyway, in case you wonder why I tell you all this…" he turned towards the old woman by his side, giving her a small nod, "Mrs. Ichikagawa here, she's one of them. One of the 'special patients'. I bet you can't tell by the way she looks right now. As long as she's dressed in that kimono anyway. But you wouldn't have to be a doctor to notice that there's something different about her during an examination. Something that people with superstitious tendencies might take quite badly. Well, I was a little nervous too at first, considering what our legends have to say about people like her. But she's actually a very nice woman once your get to know her." He cast a look at the old gal he talked about so casually, one corner of his mouth pulling up in a smirk. "As long as you don't cross her, that is," he inserted matter-of-factly before continuing with the story.
"I know it's stupid to beat around the bush like that, but I can't tell you right know what makes this woman different from other people. Except maybe for the fact that it convinced me that, should I ever need to communicate with spirits, she was definitely someone to turn to. And, you see, about five months ago, exactly that situation came to pass…"
The good doctor trailed off with that, frowning miserably into his by now cold tea. It almost looked like his recount might end there, for whatever was there for him to relate, it was something that troubled him deeply. It was obvious that Mrs. Ichikagawa wanted that story to be told, but she didn't urge him on. She simply patted his hand instead, looking on compassionately while the doctor sorted out his emotions. That fact alone bought her probably more of Ranma's respect than any story the doctor told could have.
"I'm sure you remember my mother," Tofu suddenly continued without ever raising his head but his voice surprisingly composed. "You met her last year, when she came to visit me. Remember how she had this thing about finding a good wife for me? It was always a little annoying, the way she came up with one potential wife after another. I guess, looking back, she probably suspected that she would pass away soon and simply wanted to see her only son taken care of. But I was still a bachelor when she passed away." Dr. Tofu sighed heavily, looking back up at were he supposed Ranma's face should be. "I don't have to tell YOU that unfinished business is not a good thing for someone that just died. Mom was no different. Shortly after the funeral strange things started to happen at the clinic. Books fell from the boards, scissors suddenly moved around, glasses were spilled or shattered. Even Betty, my skeleton started to move by herself. It was the complete poltergeist program. Mostly whenever an unmarried woman was present. It got so bad that I had to close the clinic for a while. I was simply unable to continue my work under those conditions. Logically, I knew who was responsible for the occurrences, but as mom never reacted to my prayers and I had no means to stop her short of an actual marriage, I became pretty desperate. That was when I suddenly remembered Mrs. Ichikagawa's gift. I contacted her and asked if there was something, anything, she could do about it. And she said yes. No conditions, no price- tag. She simply stated that it was the duty of her people to take care that the homes were safe, whatever that means. Now, I didn't want her to actually exorcise my mom, or something like that. You can't just throw your own mother out of the house, even if she's a ghost. But Mrs. Ichikagawa never tried anything like that. She simply talked to her. She promised mother on her own honor that she would look after me to make sure that I found a good wife soon. She also explained to her that I had this little problem when it came to… woman I liked… and that she would help me to overcome it, to secure our families continuation. I still not completely sure how, but Mrs. Ichikagawa convinced my mother to give up on the interference and continue her afterlife. So from then on the haunting stopped, and two weeks ago, I was able to reopen the clinic. And not just that, but I believe that I'm ready to ask K... asumi," at that point the doctor gulped, but still showed remarkable control considering his usual antics when it came to that particular name, "… out on a date." It seemed like the doctor was amused by his own childish nervousness when it came to the eldest Tendo-daughter, judging by the wry smile on his lips.
"Though I guess this will have to wait for a little while longer. I'm sure that she's too concerned with her family at the moment to even consider an invitation like that. Now, this is, for once, your fault." Though that last part sounded like an accusation, the smile never left his face. Instead it simply turned a little sad, speaking more of concern than anything else.
"Well Ranma," he finally concluded, "I guess the point of my whole story is, I put my trust in Mrs. Ichikagawa, and she hasn't disappointed me yet. And for what it's worth, mother seems to trust her too. So even if it seems a lot to ask for, especially as she's not willing to go into any details, I still believe that you can trust her too."
:O~o~O:
It was in front of the gate that lead to the Tendo-residence, that the ways of Akane and her companion finally parted. The Kuonji girl insisted to accompany her inside at first, expressing the wish to make sure that she would be cared for. But then some of the old temper flared up and Akane claimed to be a martial-artist and similar stuff. This resulted in a relenting Ukyou, who seemed rather pleased with the heated reaction. So they simply said their good-byes and the young chief headed for home while the Tendo-girl entered hers. Once inside, Akane suddenly seemed to deflate, leaning her back against the smooth wood of the gate as she sighed heavily.
"Wow," she remarked to no one in particular, "I thought she'd never leave."
But then her face brightened up again and she pushed off, walking towards the house.
"What do you think," she asked the empty air around her, "should I take a bath first?"
There was no answer coming forth, but then again, she probably expected none either. Instead she nodded happily, as if a decision had been made.
"Of course we'll have dinner first. And then a bath. I'll have to look presentable, now don't I?"
Again there was no reply, but she grinned as if something droll had been said.
"Uncute yourself," Akane quipped before shaking her head in an amused manner.
"The things I do for an ignorant fool like you…" she added in an exasperated tone of voice. "It's simply GOT to be love."
:O~o~O:
Ranma was confused, to put it mildly. He had left the restaurant shortly after the good doctor had finished his tale, claiming to need some time to think about Mrs. Ichikagawa's offer. He had to admit that he had been tempted to simply accept it. After all, the way she had explained it to him, that would not only provide him with a living body again, he would also be free to spend his time with whoever he wanted between 'jobs'. And those 'jobs' didn't sound that bad either. Securing the homesteads, she had called it. According to the old woman, some of her associates took care of the small 'vermin', and some, the 'hunters' like he would become one if he willed in to her, took care of the big ones and keep the territory safe in generally.
By the sound of it this 'big vermin' consisted of everything from lost souls to the occasional demon. Nothing too unusual or scary considering the way Ranma's old life had gone. But past experiences were exactly what kept the pigtailed ghost from accepting the offer blindly. How many times had he rushed his decisions only to find himself in an even greater mess than he had been in before? Too many to keep count of.
And there was still the question if he wanted to return to life at all. There was simply no way that he could simply pop up from out of the woodwork and act as if nothing had happened, no matter how that obligation towards Mrs. Ichikagawa he would be under developed.
What about his family, especially his mom? How would they react?
What about his friends? Admittedly, most of them were hard to startle by anything he did, but rising from the dead would definitely stretch the limits.
And what about the Tendos? Mr. Tendo would probably snap completely, Nabiki would try to make a fortune out of it while Kasumi... Well, she probably would have to say a little more than simply 'Oh my!'.
And Akane?
That was the crux.
Did she want him to come back?
He was sure that she didn't mind him hanging around as long as he had no means of getting on her nerves, but coming back for good? After that kiss they shared this afternoon in the shrine, this sounded deceptively like he intended to 'unite the schools'. Ranma wasn't sure if that was fine with her. Hell, he wasn't sure if that was fine with himself. Not entirely sure at least.
Maybe it was simply a major case of cold feet, but he still had his problems understanding what exactly had happened between him and that tomboy on the Kuno estate. Must have been Kinyou's body. Ranma's old one had been conditioned to ignore most outside distraction, while the spirit-boy's body had reacted to Akane's closeness… well… naturally. All it took was for Ranma to relent his control for a moment, and voilá, he had kissed the supposedly most uncute girl outside of professional sumo-wrestling. While this all sounded nice and good, and to tell the truth, the actual experience had been even greater, Ranma had his qualms with this sort of spontaneity.
As a martial-artist, his pride rode on his body-control. Easy for a ghost who had no physical parts, harder if he came back from the grave and continued where he left off. Especially if he continued where he left off this afternoon. There was no doubt about it, if Akane actually welcomed him back like that, he could kiss all thoughts of control bye-bye for the remainder of the day. If he made an effort. Otherwise it might take a while longer.
With thoughts like that occupying his attention, he walked aimlessly through the streets of Nerima, only to end up in front of the Tendo- residence out of pure habit. Small surprise there. Stepping through the gates in a very literal way, his head snapped up as he noticed his surrounding. He was back at home. Funny how that place had grown on him. The people that lived here too. They were as much his family as his parents. Involuntarily his eyes searched for a certain window on the top- floor where he almost expected the face of a certain tomboy to appear.
'My family?' he mused, somewhat astonished but also strangely comforted by that thought. 'Yeah, I guess they are.'
His gaze wandered along the houses walls over towards the training-hall were he noticed some lights coming out from under the doors.
'So you're practicing again?' he figured, his thoughts still on his former fiancée. 'Well, let's see if you've gotten any better.'
With that he walked over to the dojo, to critique Akane's performance and generally keep an eye on her. He never noticed that, for a trainings- session, there were very little sounds coming from the building. The reason for this became apparent as he stepped inside, and it made Ranma's blood freeze. No small feat for an incorporeal entity.
There, in the center of the dojo, kneeled Akane. She wore a pretty yellow dress and her hair was freshly done. And she smiled that special little smile of hers. None of this would have scared the ghost, if it wasn't for that knife in her hands. And those words she spoke almost giddily.
"Watch out Ranma, here I come…"
Author's notes: Can you spell Bastard? If you can't, then practice until next week, because that's how long it's going to take me to continue this. Well, for those of you who don't suffer from dyslexia, here's a little spoiler for the next chapter. 'Lord Spectre' proposed that it would be fun for Ranma to visit those entities waiting for him up in heaven's reception- area. I agree, though I think that it would be even more fun if came looking for him instead. So Ranma might just be getting one or two additional 'job-offers'. From such illustrious guys like Ares for example. The big question is, will they have to accept Akane as his sidekick? Or will our favorite tomboy prove less skilled with a blade than we thought? Ah, decisions, decisions…
Until next week,
PS: Hey Lija, of course I do need cliffhangers! (quod erat demonstrandum) How else can I express my sadistic tendencies? Legally and cheap, anyway?
