Chapter 9: To Stop a Date (Part V – The Closing Act)
The three young women left the bath house to find Tatewaki staring at the back of the love-hotel. All four were now dressed in hospital scrubs. "What are you so enthralled with, Brother Dearest?" Kodachi asked.
"I just found the answer to Ms. Kuonji's question," he answered.
"Which question was that, Kuno?" Ukyo asked.
"The one about the Fire Inspector. Look!" he commanded.
They all saw it in the moonlight. There was a fire escape that started at the third floor and ran all the way to the top of the building. Shampoo began cursing again. Kodachi spoke first, "We should have scouted the building first!"
"Oh, knock it off," Ukyo told them both. "Unless we went in, we never would have known where Ranma and Akane were. But, now we do and we can skip all the traps on the lower floors."
"We still have to be careful though," Kuno cautioned them. "And we need to climb to the fire escape."
"No, we don't," Shampoo told him. With that, she tore off towards the building. She pounced at a spot a few meters in front of the building and then shot halfway up the wall toward the fire escape. She ricocheted off the wall and caught onto the bottom of the fire escape. In five seconds, she was on the bottom platform and had lowered the long escape ladder to her cohorts.
"Hmph…We still need to be careful," Tatewaki said grumpily.
Ukyo gave him a dope-slap. "Yes, but you can still be grateful."
Very slowly, the quartet snuck up the fire escape. They tested each step, and spaced themselves so that not everyone would be caught in a trap. Shampoo led with the Kuno siblings behind her. Ukyo brought up the rear. It was just past 11:45PM when they finally stood outside the window on the fifteen story that let out onto the fire escape. Kodachi disabled an alarm and Shampoo then quietly raised the window.
They climb into a hallway and slowly made their way into the main room. There was a big screen TV and a game console against one wall. In the middle of the room were some cushions that had been pulled off the couch to give the players some comfort. There were also two empty dessert plates and an empty bottle of wine as well.
"See," Tatewaki proclaimed in a whisper. "The dog has drugged the virtuous one!"
"Or the bitch did, Brother!" Kodachi hissed.
Ukyo and Shampoo did not say a word though – they just looked at each other. The game console was correct, but the alcohol was wrong and they both knew it. This was the final trap. Unfortunately, they were at a loss of what to do. There were no answers going back, and probably no answers going forward. They needed to do something unexpected, but they didn't know what it was either.
"O.K.," Ukyo whispered. "You two need to stop right now." Surprisingly enough, this actually worked as both siblings stopped bickering. Ukyo continued: "We are in trouble, we need to leave here ri…"
She was cut off by a loud "OH MY!" from the back of the apartment. There was no mistaking the tones of that yell and it sounded a lot like Akane.
Like a shot, Tatewaki ran toward the back of the apartment screaming "I will save you, my Fierce Tigress!"
Kodachi was on his tail yelling "Don't you dare hurt my Ranma-sama!"
The chef and the Amazon just stood where they were. The trap was unfolding and they felt like animals caught in the headlights of a car. They heard Kuno splinter the bedroom door. A woman screamed in surprise who was not Akane. The tones were off – besides, a scream like that from Akane would have been followed by the sound of flesh impacting flesh. The two women closed their eyes in horror and embarrassment, and then opened them wide in surprise as a male voice shouted out: "KUNO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" *This* yell was accompanied by flesh impacting flesh (and impacting glass, and impacting plaster, and impacting timbers).
The two women ran from the main room to the bedroom the voices came from. It was easy to find because Tatewaki had been punched halfway through the wall near the door. The two could also hear Kodachi trying to stammer out an apology. Shampoo got to the door and froze in shock. As Ukyo got there, she could see why – Ryoga was standing on a large futon dressed only in boxer shorts and he was pissed. He was standing in front of a young woman who was doing her best to cover her assets with a comforter.
"R-Ryoga?" Ukyo stammered out. "What are you doing here?"
Ryoga looked on with disbelief at the two women in the doorway. "What am I doing here?" He started growling then.
"What am I doing HERE? What do you think I'm doing here! What do a boyfriend and girlfriend usually do at a love-hotel?!"
"But Akane is your girlfriend!" Shampoo said in shock.
"Since when?" he yelled back. "Akane has never been my girlfriend! I'll admit I tried once upon a time, but she's in love with Ranma! I'm sure you remember him!" he said sarcastically. "You use to chase him yourselves. I haven't dated Akane since I met Akari! And Akari has been my Steady since the beginning of the year and then some!"
"A-Akari?..." Ukyo stuttered.
The young woman wrapped in the comforter seemed to regain her composure. "Yeah, that would be me. Akari Unryu. Ryoga, have you been keeping other girlfriends?" Her voice was rising sharply.
"WHAT?" Ryoga yelped in surprise. The three other women blushed furiously. Ryoga caught his tone and yanked it down several notches. "No, I swore to you that I had cleaned up my act and made my decisions, and I have!" He pointed at each of the women in turn. "That one is Kodachi Kuno. That one is the Amazon Shampoo. That one is Ukyo Kuonji."
"I see," Akari said in frosty tones. "Your brother's former fiancées. I'm sorry, but I thought they might have learned some class in the last four months. Or at least some manners!" she snapped.
"Ranma is your brother?" Shampoo asked hesitatingly.
"Yes, he's my foster brother! He and I have the same foster father who has been looking after us for nearly four years together. Each of us found out about the other recently. Ranma's also my Spirit Brother – we are bound by shared trials and tribulations."
Ukyo's mind was stumbling over something else. "Former fiancées?"
Ryoga looked at her in complete disbelief. "Please tell me you are not still carrying a torch for him?" he pleaded. "He hasn't had a civil word for any of you since he came back from China. Since Akane died in his arms and returned to him, he hasn't left her side except in the direst emergencies."
"Akane died?" Ukyo said in shock.
Ryoga looked at Shampoo in disgust. "You haven't even had the decency to tell your cohorts the truth?" He looked back at Ukyo. "Yes, your one-time friend died. No breathing, no heartbeat, no aura. She came back because Ranma begged her to. Of course, she may have felt an obligation to him outside of love – Ranma died and came back for her too!"
"What?" Shampoo whispered.
"Do you remember, Shampoo?" Ryoga hissed. "Do you remember when Ranma hit himself with the Gekkaja at Jusendo? Well, he didn't make it – it was more than any human could take. Saffron's blast thawed a dead body. Ranma came back though – he came back to save Akane. Not for you, not for Ukyo, not for Kodachi. He came back for Akane."
"Ryoga!" Akari gasped. "You never mentioned that!"
"That's because I didn't know until recently. Every now and then I get one of Ranma's dreams – especially the deep ones – the ones he hides from himself. I imagine he gets one of mine too. He doesn't want to remember his death because he doesn't want anything that might affect his will to survive. He thinks if you are sure about the Afterlife, you won't fight as hard to live, so he's happy not to have a strong memory of his death."
"You're lying!" Kodachi shouted in horror.
"No, I'm not." When Ryoga spoke, he sounded like the Voice of Doom.
Shampoo shook her head slowly. "No, Ranma loves me, not Akane."
Ryoga snarled: "He detests you, Shampoo. Only his kind heart has stopped him from telling you how much he dislikes you."
Shampoo leapt at him screaming "YOU LIE!"
For the second time today, Shampoo found herself held by the throat. Everyone stared at astonishment at Ryoga. He was lit with a bright glow, but it wasn't green. It was a brilliant blue that even Akari could see. Kuno had slid out of the wall and froze at the Battle God before him. "Recognize it, Shampoo?" Ryoga spoke softly, but they felt his voice in their bones. "It's the Cat Fist. Whenever Ranma enters the Cat Fist, some of the power flows to me. For one well known reason or another, I'm very good at holding a charge. Well, Ranma entered the Cat Fist briefly this evening, and it wasn't due to fear, or anger, or grief. He kissed Akane for the first time tonight, and for the first time ever, my brother's shattered soul was at peace. I *felt* the boy, the girl, and the cat join together. I *felt* their triumph…" Ryoga voice dropped down to a hiss as he continued: "And I will never let you take that away from him. Ever." He swept the room with his eyes. "And that goes for anyone else." With that he released her, the gesture throwing her five meters away. He raised his eyes to the ceiling and spoke commandingly, "Concierge!"
Kogane appeared. Her eyes were no longer grey, but brown with sharp pupils. "Yes, sir."
Her appearance took Ryoga aback a little. "I thought you were off for the rest of the night?"
"I'm just helping out for a few minutes while Hikaru's in the restroom," she told him.
"Fine. Could you please show these pests out? It's time for them to move along." Ryoga looked sharply at Ukyo, "and for them to move on, too."
"You lied to us!" Kodachi spat out.
Kogane eyes hardened, and a chill entered the room. "I am under a Binding not to lie, so I cannot lie, at least for a few more minutes," she said glancing at a clock in the room. "That's part of the price I paid to summon Hikaru. Do not blame me if you never asked the right questions. You asked about the Tendo reservation. Well, Kasumi Tendo booked the reservation for these two, and made it in her name to hide Ryoga's and Akari's identity. Had you asked me specifically about Ranma and Akane, I would have told you that they were not here."
"But we heard the rumor that a couple associated with the Tendo Dojo was…" Ukyo voice trailed off as a number of pieces suddenly snapped into place.
Akari answered her while gathering more sheets about herself: "If you choose to believe in rumors, that's your problem. However, I am associated with the Tendo Dojo. Kasumi is teaching me Tai Chi. She's registered as an instructor these days with her Sensei's blessing. And Ryoga is officially studying there as well."
"I'm listed as Soun Tendo's student. Really, it just gives Ranma and myself and excuse to pound on each other and not worry about insurance liability issues. Although, I have picked up a few things from Ranma, Mr. Tendo, Mr. Saotome, and even Happosai," Ryoga added.
"But where are Ranma and Akane?" Shampoo asked the ghost after getting up from the floor and coming back into the room. She averted her eyes from Ryoga still standing on the futon to keep control of her temper.
"They are currently sitting on a bench and kissing in the shadows of a park in Akasaka," the ghost told them. "By the time you could get there, they will have moved on, and they will leave no trail for you to follow. It's over – their date has been a success."
Tatewaki sprang up from his position on the floor. "NO!" he yelled. "It's not over! I will be waiting for them at the dojo! I will defeat Saotome and free Akane Tendo no matter what you say foul demon!" The last was directed at Ryoga. With that, Tatewaki fled back to the fire escape.
Kogane held up her hand to forestall Ryoga from chasing Kuno down. "It's not necessary, Ryoga. Ranma and Akane are not going back to the dojo tonight. They have been forewarned that Genma and Nodoka are lying in wait for them. Tatewaki will not see them. In fact, he will not see them for quite some time."
"But where will they go?" Kodachi yelled. "Answer me, Spirit!"
"I do not know," Kogane shrugged. "My time as an Oracle is drawing to a close, and the decision has not been made yet. Soon it will be impossible for me to know. I cannot even tell you what is likely. The only thing I can say for certain is that there are a lot of hotels in and around the park, some standard, some not. Ranma has enough cash on him to get the best of them, and I'm sure he wants to impress Akane as much as possible."
"I'll find them!" Shampoo yelled. "Ranma will never escape me!" She tore off toward the fire escape.
"He's mine, Bimbo!" Ukyo screamed tearing after her. Kodachi also ran to the door, and was gone without a word.
Ryoga dropped the grim look and let the glow extinguish. Akari looked at her boyfriend and smiled. Kogane allowed the room to heat up so Akari could drop the blankets. As Akari rose from the futon, it could be seen that she was wearing a strapless one-piece bathing suit. Ryoga held up his hand to her and stood listening to the pests clambering down the fire escape. He heard the thumps as each of the pests jumped from the last level to the ground and were then lost to the night. He looked to Kogane who nodded. "They're gone," Kogane said quietly.
Ryoga dropped his hand and smiled at Akari. She immediately leaped into his arms kissing him. "Oh honey! You were magnificent!" she shouted. There was a small cheer and muffled clapping in the background approaching the room.
"There wasn't much acting for me to do," Ryoga replied.
"Which was why you were so convincing, lad!" a tall giant of a man said stepping into the room. He was joined by a much shorter man dressed all in black and a woman dressed in hunting leathers holding a bow. Both the newcomers seemed satisfied.
Then Kasumi appeared in the doorway wearing the Chaos Gi and holding a bow staff. "Not bad, not bad at all – that should move you a few rungs down on Akane's Hit List," Kasumi told him.
"Hah! That little 'OH MY!' noise out of you should move him down a rung or two as well. What were you thinking, Kasumi? We almost died of embarrassment!" Akari scolded.
Kasumi blushed. "Sorry, but we almost lost them. One of the Kitsunes had added an empty wine bottle. It set off red flags in Shampoo's and Ukyo's minds. They know that Akane and Ranma would never drink. I had to get at least one of them to stop thinking so the big revelation could happen."
"Of course, it would be Kuno who stopped thinking – he barely uses his brain anyway," Ryoga remarked.
A large Kitsune, taller than Kasumi, appeared in the room. "Sorry, but you didn't warn us about the no liquor policy."
"It worked out," Kasumi said. "Don't worry about it."
"So, Kitsune, have I won our bet?" Kogane asked him.
"You tell me, little ghost. How did you win?" the Kitsune asked.
"The bet was that I could cause more chaos than all the Kitsunes in this building before midnight," Kogane told him. As she spoke, the clock began chiming.
"So, what chaos did you cause?" the Kitsune challenged.
"I just set three lunatics on the unsuspecting district of Akasaka," she answered. "They're on their way to terrorize every hotel in the area. Not only that, they will tear apart every love-hotel between Akasaka and Nerima. All the mischief your people have caused is confined to this nowhere location and most of it will disappear shortly. There will be some lingering effects, but nothing too severe – the subjects will quickly convince themselves it was a dream. People will be traumatized for days by my lunatics."
"Did you really do that, or did they do that themselves?" the Kitsune said with raised eyebrows.
"I gave them the location where Akane and Ranma were. I said that Akane and Ranma would not return to the dojo knowing Genma and Nodoka were waiting. I said there were many hotels in the area, and I forestalled any other questions by making use of the paradox."
"Which was?" the fox prompted.
"If I mentioned any place the target couple would be, Kasumi would act to make sure they were not there. Had I mentioned any place they couldn't be, Kasumi would immediately place them there. It stymied the power of the Oracle."
"So, you really think you won our bet?" the Kitsune asked.
Kogane smiled impishly at the Kitsune, and then she went over and kissed his cheek. "Yes, because you knew you made a sucker bet. By Kitsune Law, any chaos from the Test must be confined and limited, but I'm not part of the Test. We made our arrangement before the Test started. I'm not bound by the confines of the Test. All you wanted from me was to prove that I could be clever."
The Kitsune smiled at her. "No, I wanted much more from you, and I got it. Otherwise, the four pests would dismiss this all as a dream and quickly forget everything. Since you are not part of the Test, they will remember it. It may not change anything, but they will remember it, and I believe in giving people every possible chance." Kogane's eyes widened as she realized the Kitsune had played her as well. The creature uncrossed his arms and held out his hand. In it was a small white hourglass. "Take it with my blessing. But hurry; you have unfinished business and very little time to get it done in." Kogane nodded and took the hourglass, then she vanished.
The Kitsune then turned his attention to Ryoga and Akari. "So, what am I to do with you two?" he asked.
"You can't bluff your way out of this one, Doc," Ryoga said. "Maomolin told us 'What one knows, the other can learn.' Ranma knows. I had you pegged as soon as you appeared in that form. Kasumi's presence sealed the deal."
Akari's eyes widened, but she quickly recovered. "I've already been touched by a nasty supernatural creature. You might as well leave me with the memory of a nice one."
"Fine," Tofu said, still in his Kitsune form. "Just keep quiet, OK?" At their nods he continued: "I'll have some beds made up for you at the Clinic. In the meantime, take a moonlit stroll. Give us about an hour and a half to clean up here, and then meet us at the Clinic. Akari, make sure to lead. Now go change." Ryoga began to gather his clothes while Akari went to the bathroom. The rest left the room and closed the door to give Ryoga some privacy.
"Thank heavens Ryoga can't randomly teleport anymore," Kasumi mentioned. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to leave him alone."
"It was that bad?" Ciren asked.
"Worse," Tofu answered. He then shifted to his spirit form. "Olaf, would you mind driving them back to downtown Nerima, preferably near a nice park?"
"No problem. Do you want me to watch over them too?" the giant asked.
Tofu thought about it for a few moments, his tail whipping the air randomly. "Yes," he answered. "Normally I'd say those two would be all right, but they will both be a little distracted tonight. Why don't you continue to play chauffeur for a bit?"
"I'll make sure they get to the Clinic," Olaf told him. Tofu nodded his thanks.
Ciren looked at Tofu suspiciously, "What do you know, Fox?"
"That it's not my news to tell," Fox answered her.
"I hate when he does this," Kasumi said with exasperation.
"We will give you the club membership card later," Mouse told Kasumi.
A/N: We will wrap up the "B" side of "The Date" next week with three short chapters (The "A" side just finished). Thank you for reading!