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Near Tomobiki High School, after breakfast…
"So how was the movie last night?"
Ataru blinked on hearing Tariko's teasing question, and then he smirked while squeezing both Shikuko's and Miyako's hands. They, along with Hiromi, were heading down the street towards school; the two Rakuyō students would head off to their own school after parting from their new boyfriend at the front gate of his school. "Actually, it was pretty nice," he admitted as the girls on either side of him laughed. "Didn't get to see much of it, though. Busy doing other things."
Tariko smirked on seeing her brother's cheeks redden slightly. "I can figure that out," she admitted as Hiromi politely hid her own smile. She then hummed. "I wonder what my first date with Ka-chan's going to be like," she lamented.
"I wouldn't worry, Onē-san," Hiromi assured her. "But I would recommend that you and Kanami-san seek out a hotel room for the evening when you do go on a date," she then added with a wink, which now made Tariko's cheeks redden. "I strongly doubt that even if they do understand what we are, Otō-san and Okā-san would be able to take you two doing what Kumomi-san and Miiko-san did in the other house last night."
Everyone laughed on hearing that, and then they all tensed on sensing someone come into close range from somewhere off to their right and behind them. "Incoming," Ataru warned as his hands automatically shifted around to better protect his companions.
"FREEZE! KIJIN RAISHŪ DAN!"
All five sprang clear just as a storm of pure vacuum blades ripped down to tear into the ground where they had been standing, causing the asphalt and concrete to shatter in waves of dust and flying debris. As the Moroboshi siblings and their friends landed on safe ground nearby, three lithe female forms came down to place themselves on the other side of the crater they had created with the Demon God Assault Bomb attack they had just used in hopes of killing their ultimate target.
Shikuko was quick to recognize them. "Ōkyō! Hōetsu! Bokujun!"
The leader of the three women — they appeared to be Shikuko's age — smirked. "Long time, Ryofu," Wan Sukumi stated as she took a ready stance, her lips curling into a lethal smile. "Tell me something: Are you ready to die finally?"
Shikuko gritted her teeth. Back at the Battle of Hǔláo Pass, when the anti-Dǒng Zhuó coalition under the leadership of Yuán Shào had moved to march on Luòyáng, Lǚ Bù had led his adopted father's armies and personally duelled against dozens of generals and warlords before he faced the ultimate three-on-one battle against Liú Bèi, Guān Yǔ and Zhāng Fēi that was the climax of that particular confrontation before Dǒng himself arrived with reinforcements to drive Yuán's forces off. Two generals Lǚ slew before he faced the sworn brothers of the Peach Garden were Fāng Yuè (then subordinate to Wáng Kuāng) and Mù Shùn. All three had been reborn in this life as women who had attended Rakuyō at the same time as Sebone Shikuko before they were expelled at the end of their freshman year thanks to the machinations of Uru Hokona with the blessings of Tadasu Suguta: Wan Sukumi (Ōkyō Kōsetsu), Naraberu Yoroko (Hōetsu) and Yawaragu Motoko (Bokujun).
In the sometimes-warped logic that possessed tōshi when events today were viewed through the lens of the fates of their original selves, Yoroko and Motoko had convinced themselves that it had been Shikuko that had engineered their expulsion and disgrace.
And while Sukumi knew the truth, she also knew that seeking to topple Suguta once and for all would require Shikuko's elimination as well.
Fortunately for them, during their wanderings over the last year, they had met someone else who understood their need for justice and taught them what he knew.
And he knew quite a bit.
"So where did you pick up the cute attack?" Shikuko then asked as she braced herself, hoping that her sickness wouldn't hit her when she needed all her strength against three people who could create VACUUM blades out of KI.
Sukumi smirked. "We met a man who was more than willing to help us master some rather interesting skills," she stated as Yoroko and Motoko moved to better position themselves. "To believe that there are non-tōshi out there — outside the Black Death and her family — who are quite skilled warriors. We learned quite a bit."
"And now it's time for a regime change!" Yoroko added, licking her lips in anticipation. "Once you're out of the way, it'll be Tōtaku's and Kaku's turn, and then Rakuyō — and after that, all of Kantō! — is ours for the…!"
"ENOUGH!"
The three rogue tōshi were flattened by the sonic boom that accompanied Hiromi's incensed shout. As Sukumi and her friends found themselves staring at the reborn emperor in shocked disbelief — which turned into confusion on seeing her magatama — Hiromi took a deep breath. "Is THIS what has befallen all of those like me?" she rhetorically asked as she moved around the crater Shikuko's attackers had made to stand closer to them. "Acting like marauding, honourless bandits instead of properly-trained warriors? Attacking people from BEHIND without even bothering to make a declaration of formal challenge? Trying to avenge defeats that happened in a DIFFERENT lifetime to DIFFERENT people?" She shook her head. "There are times I want to give up…"
"Who the FUCK are you, lady?!" Motoko snarled as she got to her feet, her hands glowing with ki as she moved to attack. "You got some guts butting in…!"
"REITEI-SAMA, LOOK OUT!"
Hiromi gasped as a brown-haired blur crossed her vision. "MIYAKO-SAN!"
"GEIMON TESSEN SHI!"
Miyako gasped as something harder than steel slammed into the area of her solar plexus, causing huge shock damage to her digestive system and nearly rupturing her aorta. As she staggered to her knees, her eyes widening with disbelief as the whole area below her ribs seemed to fade into non-existence, she then icily smiled at Motoko before summoning some bloody spit to fire into the other girl's face. "You lose, bitch…!" she hissed out before she collapsed to her side.
"MIYAKO!"
Before Sukumi, Yoroko and Motoko could react, an aqua-haired spitfire of destruction was atop them just as Ataru, Tariko and Hiromi lunged over to help the fallen Miyako…
Nerima General Hospital, that moment…
Shampoo perked. "Did you feel that?"
Mimōko blinked, and then she gazed off to the west. "Damn…"
"Who is that, Mimōko-san?" Kikuko asked.
The tōshi gritted her teeth. "It's Shikuko! Wait here!"
With that, she raced out of the room. "Ah! Mimōko-san!" Kikuko cried out.
Back in Tomobiki, fifteen minutes later…
Wan Sukumi had thought she had come up with the perfect plan.
After meeting Kumon Ryū and seeing the full devastating power of the various Yamasen-ken manoeuvres for herself, the expelled Rakuyō fighter KNEW she had the perfect vehicle for regaining her honour and that of her friends, then seizing the ultimate prize — the Chuánguóxǐ, the Imperial Seal of old China — from the shattered body of Tadasu Suguta to mark her as the spiritual leader of all tōshi and the supreme fighter of Kantō.
Eliminating Sebone Shikuko — which would have calmed the blood lust bubbling deep within the hearts of her companions — had been the perfect first move.
After all, in this life, the man who had once been Dǒng Zhuó had not mistreated his reborn foster son as he had done eighteen centuries in the past, thus making it possible for the reborn Lǚ Bù to finally rise up and strike him down.
And since Shikuko was still loyal to Suguta, she was a threat to Sukumi's plan.
It was plain, simple logic.
But now…
"DIE!"
Sukumi gasped as Shikuko's haymaker crescent punch slammed into the side of her head, sending the former flying across the street to crash hard into a parked car, totalling it instantly as it was crushed against a retaining wall. As the reborn prefect of Hénèi groaned on feeling the massive storm of pain her body now felt from the double-blows of Shikuko's punch and being slammed so hard into a car, she then blinked as the aqua-haired senior approached her, her eyes aflame with outrage. "I personally don't give a damn what you want to do to Tōtaku, Ōkyō!" she snarled as she reached over to grab the other woman's head of waist-length black hair and pulled her single-handed out from the wrecked car. "But when you hurt Chinkyū, THEN I get involved!"
"DOKUJA TANKETSU SHŌ!"
Shikuko jolted as Yoroko's ki charged fingers slammed into her back right near her heart, sending a cutting pulse right through her, causing considerable internal damage along the way and nearly shattering her spinal column. As blood exploded from her lips as she felt the strength in her body go, Shikuko gargled as she looked down to see the small exit wound under her cleavage. "Damn…!" she gasped as her hand reflexively let go of Sukumi's head, her legs losing their strength as she dropped.
Yoroko's hand snared her by one of her ponytails as she raised her other hand for a decapitating blow with the Demon God Assault Bomb. "Now my fate is…!"
"KONTŌ!"
The crimson-haired tomboy cried out as a glowing KATANA of pure anti-ki instantly appeared under her chin, a wave of killing cold energy tingling her skin as her mind quickly interpreted what Ataru had just summoned forth to save his girlfriend.
The soulsword.
The signature killing manoeuvre of the Black Death.
"Moroboshi!"
"Ataru-kun! What hap-…?! OH, MY GOD!"
Ataru didn't flinch on hearing Shinobu's gasped cry as he glared intently at a now badly-shaking Yoroko. "Now that's enough," he told the wide-eyed tōshi in a voice that was as cold as the Antarctic in mid-winter. "What happened back at Hǔláo Pass eighteen centuries ago is in the PAST!" he stated as Tariko came up to gently pull Shikuko in her arms, she then being aided by Shinobu and Mendō. "You don't have to drag it all up just to get vengeance for someone who's been DEAD all that time!"
She shuddered, her brown eyes tearing. "You don't understand…!"
"Actually, I understand quite a bit," he stated, not flinching on seeing her tears. "Tōtaku's a jerk and a moron. He's also pretty abusive to his lovers. And I won't even get into how he loves to mutilate himself all the time! But just because he's that way doesn't mean that YOU have to be that way, either!"
"The magatama…!"
A series of bloody coughs echoed from nearby. "She's just like…most tōshi, Ataru-kun," Shikuko sputtered as Tariko forced some of her own ki into the wound. "Lets the magatama…wear her…" Another hacking cough escaped her. "Stupid, really…"
"Ataru-kun, she has to get to the hospital!" Shinobu warned.
"No, she needs a different type of help."
Mendō gaped. "Hiromi-san!"
"Never you mind!" the reborn emperor spat as she drew out what looked like an Apple iPad from her book case. "Tsukihana-kun!" she called out on activating it. "Lock in on my signal. All life signs within three metres' range of me! Energize!"
"SHIKUKO!"
As Mimōko landed on the street close to her cousin, a young man's voice then called back, "Got all the life locks, Onē-chan! Energizing!"
Before the Nan'yō tōshi could ask who that was, vertical showers of energy whisked everyone there all away from the scene…
Nerima General Hospital, that moment…
"What the HELL?!"
Negako, who had arrived just after Mimōko left, perked. "What is it, Ranma?"
"Mimōko just disappeared!" he exclaimed.
Shampoo and Kikuko — the former had been allowed to stay while the grandmaster carried out the day's treatment on Ranma's back — both perked, and then they gazed westward. "Hey! She DID disappear!" the latter gasped. "Negako-onēchan, what happened?!"
Negako hummed as she gazed in the direction of Tomobiki. "It appears Shikuko and Miyako got into a quite vicious altercation with three former schoolmates of theirs." Her eyes then turned up to gaze at the ceiling. Or to her, well beyond the bounds of Earth's atmosphere. "No doubt, they — and Mimōko if she takes advantage of it — will become like yourself and your sisters before long, Kikuko."
The others all blinked as she got back to work…
Midway between the Earth and the Moon…
"Um…?"
Hiromi sighed. "What is the matter, Bokujun-dono?"
Motoko gulped. "Where the HELL are we?!"
"You are aboard Her Majesty's Canadian Starship Haida," the reborn emperor then stated as several women in the dark blue button shirts and nearly-black slacks of naval combat dress moved to load the bleeding Shikuko and Miyako onto hover-gurneys for the trip to the medical station, located deep in the heart of the cigar-shaped, kilometre-long spaceship bristling with dozens of projectile weapons and missile launchers, looking distantly like something straight out of Uchū Senkan Yamato. "One of fifty Type One space dreadnoughts built for the United Nations Earth Defence Force, currently manned by volunteers from Avalon until members of the Canadian military can take her over and place her under the operational control of the First Canadian Division and the administrative control of the Canadian Navy."
Hearing that, the three former Rakuyō tōshi and Mimōko — who had chosen to remain behind, having sensed that the women now tending to her cousin and her lover were quite determined to see them healed — all blinked before they took a look around. They were currently standing in the centre of a large, transparent durasteel dome located next to a towering bridge structure that clearly had been designed with recent Terran naval influences in mind, the heraldic crest of Canada's most famous warship affixed below what appeared to be the main bridge. On either flank of that structure, single spheroid triple-gun turrets were mounted, their long barrels pointing off to either side of the ship. To the opposite side of them, two triple-gun turrets — one superfiring over the other — were deployed. Smaller gun weapons and box-shaped missile launchers were deployed on the sides of the hull, which was painted the very light blue-grey that was normal for fighting warships of the Canadian Navy these days.
While Sukumi, Yoroko and Motoko were stunned speechless by what they had just learned, Mimōko stared wide-eyed at the reborn emperor. "So how exactly did you get this ship built? And all of THEM, too?!" she asked as she pointed out into space around Haida, where a good number of other warships — all of the same model despite their being painted in different colours and possessing different national flags on their flanks aft of amidships — currently hovered, all of whom were lit up so they could be seen in the twilight since the Moon currently was eclipsing the distant Sun.
"That was thanks to two of us who were kidnapped by a neighbouring alien race some years ago, Mimōko-san," Hiromi calmly answered before she gazed on the others. "Ki Tsukihana and Hakaru Ayami. Otherwise known as Kōgetsuei and Jun'iku Bunjaku."
Silence.
"Shokatsuryō's wife and Sōsō's first adviser?!" Sukumi gasped.
"That's correct," Hiromi answered. "There is a race to the out-spin side of us — that's heading in the direction away from the core of the galaxy along the angle of the Orion Spiral Arm, which is what we are a part of — called the Ipraedies. They were interested in conquering us so they could outflank the Urusians, Lum's people. In preparation for such a conquest, they selectively kidnapped people from all over Earth so they could better learn of our culture and society. Tsukihana-kun and Ayami-san were two of them." A smile crossed her face. "Fortunately for us, they were able to escape with help, and then they stumbled onto an abandoned starship construction spacedock floating around a dead system in the direction of the spinward edge of the Arm. Since they had heard by then of what the Urusians were planning to do to us, they built this fleet…"
"But only got them completed sometime after the Noukiites put the system under their temporary watch and the Urusians were chased out of it," Tariko added before she perked as the doorway leading into the lounge then opened, revealing a pretty girl with green hair and sparkling blue eyes. "Hey, Naoko-chan! How are Shikuko and Miyako?"
Takanashi Naoko smiled. Like the other Avalonians aboard Haida, she was seen as a civilian adviser by the members of the Canadian Navy, thus her epaulette slip-ons had no rank insignia on them now. When a full-time crew was finally posted on this ship, the 213 bioroids currently aboard Haida would be allowed to travel to the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (south of Montréal) to go through basic training. After that, they would head to the Canadian Forces Fleet Schools in either Halifax or Esquimalt (outside Victoria, British Columbia) for Naval Environmental Training, and then on to specific trade schools to learn how to be active members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces of Canada. Naoko herself planned to become a medical technician, which would see her travel to the Canadian Forces Medical Services School in Borden (north of Toronto) after seamanship training. And given that Haida demanded a crew of 2,500 all ranks — along with an accompanying air wing of 2,500 and a reinforced infantry battalion battle group of 1,500 — the chances were good that she would be coming back aboard once she gained her Level 3 qualification to become part of Haida's Medical Division.
"We're preparing the new bodies for them now, Tariko-sama," she replied in a beautiful Kyūshū accent. "We should be ready for the soul transfers to occur within a couple hours." She then gazed curiously at Mimōko and the other tōshi. "Would you like to have them placed through the soul transference as well?" As Mimōko blinked and the three former Rakuyō tōshi all gaped, Naoko then smiled helpfully at Hiromi.
"Well…" Hiromi began.
"Could you at least do it for Mimōko-sempai?" Ataru then said, thumbing Mimōko.
The Nan'yō senior jolted. "Ataru-kun!"
He shrugged. "Well, since you're here already…"
"Hey!"
"Are you saying our promise to Nozomi-chan means nothing?" Tariko asked.
Mimōko flustered. "Well…"
Naoko then smiled. "You must be Sebone Mimōko-sama. Ataru-sama, Hiromi-sama and Tariko-sama have told us about the vow they made to your late cousin." She then waved her to the lounge entrance. "If you wish, we can proceed ahead right away."
The senior student awked. "Hey! What's going on here, anyway?!" Sukumi then cut in before she stared at Hiromi. "And how on Earth can YOU be Reitei-sama?! Reitei-sama's NEVER been resurrected at all since the Three Kingdoms!"
Hiromi sighed. "Kōsetsu-dono, it is a rather long story."
The visiting tōshi all blinked…
Nerima General Hospital, a half-hour later…
"A fleet of starships?" Kikuko asked.
"And the reborn Lady Huáng and Lord Wénruò had them built?" Shampoo demanded.
Ranma, Kikuko and Shampoo were all gaping at Negako. The treatment was still ongoing; on seeing how much the wound she had inflicted on her now-brother-in-law had sealed up over the last week, Shampoo was more than convinced that the great spirits that now touched the life of Indiana Jones had also extended their favour to his great-grandson. "Yes. Fifty ships in all, easily the equal of anything any of the local galactic powers — even the Noukiites — make use of," Negako stated. "Tsukihana and Ayami — after they escaped Ipraedies custody — located an abandoned starship construction dockyard in the Den'sha system, which is a remote system close to one of Uru's allied worlds, Spotak. Since they had, by then, learned of the plans the Urusian government had prepared concerning Earth, they made use of the dockyard to create fifty star battleships to serve as a defence force for the whole planet. Unfortunately, given how complex they had to be and the size of the ships, they were not space-worthy until after the Noukiites intervened and the Urusians and their allies were effectively made to withdraw from the system in February." She forced more ki into Ranma's back. "Right now, they are being manned by Avalonian volunteers — an average of two hundred per ship — until such time as the armed forces of the nations of Earth could prepare crews to take over."
Ranma blinked as he took that in, nodding in understanding. Despite the "dumb jock" image he normally projected to other people, he did take many opportunities to read books. Ever since he had come to the hospital, all the doctors and nurses had pitched in to give him a small library so that he could catch up on all the things he had missed over the years. Among them was a good collection of manga and anime art books. "So they're like the Yamato in Uchū Senkan Yamato, you mean."
"Very much so, though none of them possess a planet-wrecking weapon such as the Wave Motion Gun," Negako answered. "Tsukihana was tempted to put in an anti-proton gun and link it to the main star drive systems, but Ayami overrode him."
Ranma hummed. "Like what the doomsday machine in Star Trek had, right?"
Shampoo perked. "You know of Star Trek?"
He stared at her. "How do YOU know about that?! I didn't see any television antennas or satellite dishes when I was in the village."
The warrior-maiden giggled. "We get tapes smuggled in from Táiwān; there's a small group of the tribe that currently lives in Táiběi. How much have you seen?"
He shook his head. "Not much. Oyaji doesn't care for that stuff at all and he hated it when I watched episodes on television at the Tendō place."
"Be assured, if you wish to become a true Trekker, Ranma, you will get the opportunity once you are restored to full mobility," Negako vowed in her normally calm and toneless voice, which made Shampoo fight back a grin at the thought of the Black Death of all things actually helping her would-have-been husband and now brother-in-law to become a proper fan of the great creation of Gene Roddenberry. "As I have told you already, you are emotionally grossly unbalanced due to Genma's emphasis on martial arts over anything else. If you are to be successful in life, you need to correct that."
He took that in, and then he nodded. Gazing at him, Shampoo felt her own heart ache as she recalled what she had heard from Ranma, Kikuko and Mimōko concerning his long training trip with his father. Separated from his mother without ANY attempts at contacting her to appraise her of what was happening. Enduring the CAT FIST training of all things, which had nearly made Shampoo lose her breakfast after she had heard how many TIMES Ranma had faced that awful pit of cats before his mind had finally snapped. Also enduring martial art exercises that should have killed a lesser person — even one of her own tribe! — but had made Ranma tougher and more durable…at the cost of ANY semblance of a normal life, even when viewed through the worldview of the Nǚjiézú!
She then perked as Kikuko's hand squeezed her shoulder, a wave of warmth and love flooding her body from head to toe as the latter's blue eyes — the same colour eyes that her great-grandfather had, Shampoo knew from the colour pictures and paintings the village historians had of Indiana Jones — sparkled with reassurance. I may not have married his great-grandson, but at least I got you, she then lamented, knowing that thanks to Kikuko's powerful psychic powers, she would be heard.
«And you will always have me, Xiánqī,» Kikuko thought back.
They shared a kiss. Watching them, Ranma felt a touch of envy as he recalled the short time he had lived together with Tendō Akane. His father and her father had wanted this sort of thing from them. As he tried to imagine himself kissing Akane, he then shuddered as the many times her temper had gotten the better of her and she lashed out at him replayed in his mind. Of course, he hadn't done anything to stop that; not only was he used to that sort of verbal and physical attack from his father, he knew Akane wasn't as tough as he was. One punch from him would have put her in the hospital for a week and really made a mess of things with the rest of her family…
«Akane should no longer concern you, Ranma.»
He blinked, surprised to hear Negako's voice in his mind, and then he looked at her. Before he could say anything, the grandmaster then smiled. «Think your thoughts; do not verbalize them. Kikuko and Shānpú do not desire interruptions.»
He stared at her, and then glanced over before his cheeks reddened on seeing Kikuko hold her wife close, their tongues barely visible as they continued to kiss each other while Shampoo's hands were starting to rove over the former's body. Quickly turning away, he then paused as images of Sebone Mimōko then flashed in his mind. After considering that, he then sighed. Mimōko wants to do that with me.
«She does,» Negako replied. «She was quite attracted to your eyes at first, then as she learned more about you, her attraction grew and she began to see you as a potential future husband.» Sensing a jerk deep within him on hearing that, the grandmaster then added, «Of course, in pursuing Mimōko, you will not have to worry about false honour claims and other such things trying to force you together, as what happened between yourself and Akane. There are other advantages as well.»
How so?
«You will receive full support from your grandmother for such a relationship since it is in direct contravention to what both Genma and Sōun desire of you.»
He perked, and then he grinned. That's true.
«And since she is a tōshi, Mimōko certainly would NOT meet Nodoka's approval as well,» Negako added. «I believe she may have had an altercation with someone like Mimōko in Nodoka's youth which soured her opinion of tōshi as a whole. And since she no longer has any sort of legal right to demand anything of you, it should make her more conductive to accepting what YOU eventually decide your life will progress.»
He nodded. Yeah, that's true, too…
And while he certainly could understand why Kanami, Miiko and Kikuko wouldn't want anything to do anymore with their genetic mother, there was a deep part of him that actually hoped that what had happened on Tuesday could be reversed. That even though he was legally "Hayashi Ranma" right now, he could still have Nodoka in his life. But would she allow her own sense of honour to keep them separated…?
«Give your aunt Hisayo time, Ranma,» Negako then advised. «From Happy's description of her, she is a very sensible person. And she is Nodoka's TWIN sister. Twins possess a greater empathic bond between each other than normal siblings. She may actually succeed in making Nodoka see the truth more than anyone else.»
He sighed. "I hope so…"
Negako nodded as she turned back to finish her work…
H.M.C.S. Haida, the observation lounge, a half-hour later…
"So the Japanese ship is J.S. Yamato, right?" Mimōko asked.
Ataru nodded. "Yep."
"And the Korean ship?"
"R.O.K.S. Paekpŏm, after Kim Ku. He was a Korean independence activist."
"And the Chinese one?"
"P.R.C.S. Zhèng Hé. You obviously know who he is."
Mimōko laughed. "And the American ship?"
"U.S.S. Arizona. One of the battleships sunk at Pearl Harbour."
The tōshi then nodded. While Sukumi and her friends were being given a full tour of Haida thanks to Hiromi and Tariko, Mimōko had elected to remain behind in the lounge as she learned more about the life her cousin and her lover — and she herself if she took the offer Naoko had given her earlier — were soon to embrace and what it would ultimately mean for them all. Mendō and Shinobu had been allowed to beam back to Tomobiki so they could go to classes and inform their teachers as to what just happened to Ataru's girlfriends. "So that big light in the distance there…?" she then asked, pointing towards the Moon.
"Is the bioroid factory itself," he finished. "Twenty kilometres long, ten wide, three high. Two and a half BILLION Avalonians have been made by it over the last hundred years since the thing was found by the Niphentaxians on Phentax Twelve."
She nodded. "And that's where Hiromi-sama, Negako-sama and Tariko-san…"
"Ultimately got their new bodies," he finished. "Ganzo dai-Louc was a Niphentaxian who was part of the original team that uncovered the factory after he graduated from university a century ago our time. Once he understood how human Avalonians could be, he argued to allow them to have Phentax Twelve for themselves and let them develop their own culture." He smirked. "Too many people on Phentax Two thought otherwise…"
"The perfect slave race," she mused.
"Yeah. So he eventually became their version of John Brown, the guy that scared the living shit out of a lot of the people in the southern states in America before their Civil War. The Niphentaxian government even put a bounty on his head and called him the 'Arch-Heretic,' even though they did everything to keep news of the Avalonians hush-hush from their friends like the Urusians." He sighed. "When he escaped to Okusei about twenty-five years ago, he brought a whole production line of Avalonians — TEN THOUSAND bodies — with him. And then somehow (I don't know how!), all of the Flower Youth of Noukiios — all of those whose souls were saved from their Tri-Kingdoms period — got a new chance at life, just like all of you did thanks to your magatama."
She gaped at him. "Damn! Alien tōshi! Go figure…"
"Yeah. So when Kyech revealed the truth behind Lum and Hensō, she persuaded her old boss from the Tri-Kingdoms days, Kaep', to launch an all-out attack on Phentax Twelve to liberate the factory and free the Avalonians. Onē-san and we went along for the ride; Onē-san was the one who helped finally free the factory from the control of the same curse that nailed Lum and her friends five years ago." He sighed as scenes from that hectic day in February replayed once more inside his mind. "We liberated them all and brought them here. As we were coming here, we met up with Tsukihana-kun and Ayami-chan and what they brought with them from Den'sha Two." A shrug rolled his shoulders. "And ever since…"
"The governments of Earth are preparing to accept a real SPACE FLEET to protect the planet from alien invasion," she finished. "But where do you fit over TWO BILLION Avalonians on a planet that already has nearly SEVEN BILLION people living on it?"
A smirk crossed his face. "Well, that's where terraforming Mars comes into play."
She gaped. "Mars?"
"Yep. Turns out that a long time ago, a big asteroid — way bigger than the one that hit in Mexico that killed off the dinosaurs — hit the planet and nearly destroyed the place. That's why no life has ever developed there; the water almost all got evaporated when it happened." He sighed. "So after we brought the fleet and the factory here, we got the Noukiites to convince the Neptunians to beam all their spare snow to Mars to seed enough water to start terraforming the planet." He shrugged. "There are other possibilities, too. A race to the in-spin of us — the Seifukusu Dominion — have thirty Earth-like planets all in close range of us that a lot of their rulers wouldn't mind getting rid of since they don't have the population to make use of them. And since they don't care for Galactic Federation states like Uru, if we took them…"
"We'd be a buffer state to them," Mimōko finished.
"Yeah."
"Hey!"
Both perked, and then they looked over before Mimōko gaped, getting to her feet so she could walk over and place her hands in assurance on Shikuko's arms. Miyako was standing beside her lover; both were back in their school uniforms, the jackets and undershirts clean of any spilled blood. "Hey! Are you okay, Shikuko?"
A laugh escaped her cousin. "Oh, relax, Mō-chan! We're fine! Now…"
Ataru perked as Shikuko pulled away from her cousin to sit down beside him, immediately draping herself over his shoulders. "Ne, Ataru-kun," she crooned as she felt her mind reach out into his to touch his own considerable mind-shields. "Is it true what Tariko-chan just told us? That ever since you got the blood transfusion from her, you haven't had ANY sex with ANYONE? You've gone cold turkey all this time?"
He smirked. "Pretty much so."
She purred. "Well, since Miyako-chan and I both are virgins now…"
He winked. "Care to check out the captain's cabin on this ship?"
A gasp escaped her. "Oh, you NAUGHTY boy…!"
Miyako whooped with laughter as Ataru scooped Shikuko up into his arms and moved to carry her out of the lounge, the younger tōshi from Rakuyō quickly falling in with her lovers as they left the room. Watching them go, Mimōko could only shake her head. "She'll never change at all," she whispered, though she was grinning.
And it was understandable after all.
Shikuko had escaped her fate.
Miyako had escaped her fate.
Now…
"Mimōko-sama?"
The Nan'yō senior looked over. "Naoko?"
Takanashi Naoko was smiling. "We're ready for you now."
Mimōko blinked…
To be continued…
WRITER'S NOTES
1) Translations: Kijin Raishū Dan — Literally "Demon God Assault Blast," a super-fast swing of the arms (like shutters being flung shut) that creates a vacuum blade-like force which can cut through next to anything; Geimon Tessen Shi — Literally "Gate Iron-Fan Fingers," an attack where the fingers of the hand (pressed together and hardened with ki) slash up to rip through someone's defences; Dokuja Tanketsu Shō — Literally "Poisonous Snake Searching for a Hole Palm," this is a powerful strike with thumb, middle and index finger aimed at the target's heart to literally rip out the heart!; Kontō — Literally "Soulsword," this is when someone literally focuses the whole of his/her fighting spirit into a blade of pure anti-ki that can kill someone with but a touch, leaving no mark on the body; Uchū Senkan — Literally "Space Battleship" (the proper Japanese title of the anime known to many Westerners by the title Star Blazers has often been erroneously translated as "Space Cruiser," which the Yamato certainly was NOT!); Táiběi — The proper Mandarin way of pronouncing the characters that go into "Taipei"; J.S. — Japanese Ship/Starship (note that for all new warship commissions post-2008, when the Japanese Defence Agency was upgraded to ministry status, the old ship prefix "J.D.S." [Japanese Defence Ship] was dropped for "J.S."); R.O.K.S. — Republic of Korea Ship/Starship; P.R.C.S. — People's Republic of China Ship/Starship (note the People's Liberation Army-Navy normally did not use ship prefixes until 2008, when C.N.S. ["Chinese Navy Ship"] was introduced for use in English-language publications); U.S.S. — United States Ship/Starship.
2) Notes on the new Ikkitōsen-based characters introduced here:
Ōkyō Kōsetsu (Wan Sukumi), as stated above, is based on Wáng Kuāng (unknown dates of birth and death). A man who worked for Hé Jìn (unknown date of birth, died 189 C.E.), Wáng returned to civilian life after Hé was killed by the Ten Attendants. He would later return to government service and became the prefect of what today is Hénán Province. It was from here that Wáng mustered a force to fight against Dǒng Zhuó, but was defeated. In hopes of winning Wáng over, Dǒng sent peace representatives to negotiate a truce; Wáng had them executed. Wáng himself would be killed years later by the relatives of one of his earlier victims. In The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wáng was said to be involved in the fictional Battle of Hǔláo Pass; he sent one of his generals to duel with Lǚ Bù. Lǚ won, of course.
Hōetsu (Naraberu Yoroko), as stated here, is based on Fāng Yuè, who was one of the many fictional characters to appear in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As stated in that work, Fāng faced off against Lǚ Bù at Hǔláo Pass at the order of Wáng Kuāng…and died as a result after four rounds of battle against the Flying General.
Bokujun (Yawaragu Motoko), as stated here, is based on Mù Shùn. Yet another fictional character from the Romance, Mù was said to be a general then serving under Zhāng Yáng (unknown date of birth, died 198). He also was said to have engaged Lǚ Bù in a duel at Hǔláo Pass; his luck was just as bad as his fellow general Fāng Yuè.
As an aside, I base the physical looks of all three of the above-mentioned girls on characters from the fifth instalment of Dead or Alive, released in 2012 by Tecmo Koei and created by Team Ninja for the PlayStation 3 and XBbox 360 consoles. Sukumi is a near-lookalike to Kokoro (without glasses). Yoroko would look a lot like La Mariposa (Lisa Hamilton) save for a more bright shade of red hair. And Motoko would take after Mila.
Kōgetsuei (Ki Tsukihana) is, of course, based on the wife of Zhūgě Liàng. While said wife's true name is unknown, she is popularly known these days as Huáng Yuèyīng. Said to be an ugly person in the Sānguózhì (Literally "The Records of the Three Kingdoms," this was the official history of the time period), she was introduced by her father, the learned scholar Huáng Chéngyàn (unknown dates of birth and death), to Zhūgě on merit of her intelligence, which was claimed to be her future fiancé's equal. Zhūgě, however, when he went in to meet his new wife, unveiled her and commented that her "ugliness" was a misunderstanding on her father's part…which, naturally, won her over. Since clearly Huáng was not ugly, I decided to base Tsukihana physically on a young teenage male version of the character as she appeared in Dynasty Warriors.
Jun'iku Bunjaku (Hakaru Ayami) is based on Xún Yù (163-212), who served as one of Cáo Cāo's earlier strategists. A version of Xún is a secondary character in Sōten Kōro…and as a girl (given the name Keifa), a version of this person also appears in Koihime Musō. Xún was the man who brought many of Cáo's early advisers to his side after he entered the famous warlord's service in 191. However, the two had a serious parting of opinions in 211 when Cáo was proposed to be made a duke…which Xún disapproved of as he believed such a promotion went against Cáo's stated goal of restoring the Hàn Dynasty to its former glory. Shortly afterwards, Xún died of a mysterious illness…though many thought it was actually something more sinister. In this incarnation, I based Ayami physically on the KM version, though Ayami has longer hair than Keifa and ties it into a simple ponytail.
3) The Chuánguóxǐ (literally "Heirloom Seal of the Realm," known in Japanese as Gyokuji) was the physical mark of the ruler of the Middle Kingdom. To possess it was to have physical proof of being bestowed the Mandate of Heaven and given the right to rule the Middle Kingdom. To lose the Chuánguóxǐ meant that one's kingdom was doomed to perish. In the time of the Three Kingdoms, the Chuánguóxǐ was passed through various hands before being obtained by Cáo Cāo, who then passed it onto his eldest son Cáo Pī. The Seal would disappear from official Chinese control during the Wǔdài Shíguó ("Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms") period between 907-979; in the universe of Ikkitōsen, this is probably when the tōshi's predecessors converted the Seal into the prize to mark whoever was their spiritual leader (which these days would be normally decided in a Great Fighters Tournament).
4) The First Canadian Division (short-form 1 CDN DIV and nicknamed "The Old Red Patch") was, in its modern incarnation, formed originally in November 1989 and perpetuates the "First Canadian Division" of 1914-19 which fought in the First World War and the "First Canadian Infantry Division" of 1939-45 which fought in the Second World War. The modern 1 CDN DIV was originally assigned to control Canadian Army formations assigned to fight under NATO in Europe against the Warsaw Pact. With the end of the Cold War, Headquarters 1 CDN DIV was tasked to provide an Army division-level Joint Task Force or tri-service Joint Force Headquarters command element for large deployments in the field. Because of this, 1 CDN DIV HQ was transformed in 2000 into Canadian Forces Joint Headquarters (CFJHQ), based at the division headquarters complex in Kingston in Ontario. It was announced that CFJHQ would be transformed back to HQ 1 CDN DIV on 19 May 2010, thus allowing the hard-won lessons from the War in Afghanistan to not be lost to future generations. The actual ceremony marking the Old Red Patch's return to service was on 7 October 2010.
In the universe of this story, H.M.C.S. Haida was operationally assigned to HQ 1 CDN DIV even if administratively, the starship reports to the headquarters of Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Ottawa. All units assigned to support Haida would, of course, be operationally controlled from Kingston even if they are administratively parts of other formations or commands. Thus, even though at the time of this story, the operational command element of Haida is still seen as CFJHQ, Hiromi would address the formation by its historic and future designation.
5) The colour of Canadian warships is a very light cloudy grey that — depending on how light falls on it — often can take a sky blue sheen to it. Hence, my habit of referring to such a shade as "light blue-grey."
6) The space dock where Haida and her sisterships were built was first introduced in The Senior Year story "Great Father Ataru Stage Six: Auction!"
7) Takanashi Naoko is a character from Zenkoku Seifuku Bishōjo Grand Prix (literally "National Sailor Suit Beauty Grand Prix"), an adult visual novel created by the now-defunct Lyceen company in 1996. Naoko herself is depicted as being a native of Beppu on the east coast of Kyūshū (hence her accent). She is a lover of birds and nature. She would later appear in the sequel dating game Lyceen created from many of the Grand Prix characters, Find Love - Rhapsody, in 1997.
8) The namesakes of two of Haida's sisterships and their origins:
Kim Ku (1876-1949) was one of Korea's most famous independence activists during the time of Japanese occupation of the country from 1910-45. He was perhaps one of the few people that might have been able to pull the country back together again after it fell victim to Cold War politics; his assassination in 1949, just on the eve of the Korean War, pretty much ensured the peninsula would be split apart and remain so to this day. The name Paekpŏm was his nom de plume; the word literally means "pure everything." When Hiromi, Tsukihana and Ayami named this ship, they chose a name that would have resonance both in North and South Korea.
Zhèng Hé (1371-1435) was the famous Huízú Chinese eunuch explorer of the oceans employed by the Xuāndé Emperor of Míng (1399-1435) during a brief time when China was virtually on the verge of throwing away its isolation and embracing the whole world (his explorations would not bear fruit, though, thus allowing the explorers of Europe to formally launch the Age of Discovery some years later). Those who've read Gavin Menzies' wonderful books 1421: The Year China Discovered America and 1434: The Year A Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance will no doubt recognize this person's name.
9) When I first came up with the concept of the Avalonians for The Senior Year, I never really sat back and thought about how much of an impact a ready-made race of beautiful female women with very long life spans and psionic powers would have on the race that had stumbled onto the factory they emerged from. Of course, I realized there would be abolitionists (to use the old American term for anti-slavery activists) among the Niphentaxians who would press for greater freedoms for Avalonians; I used characters like this in both TSY and in Lonely Souls. However, I never created a one single unifying character that could have polarized Niphentaxian society over this very question. Hence, I pretty much base Ganzo dai-Louc on John Brown (1800-59), the radical abolitionist who led the anti-slavery raid on the government armouries in Harper's Ferry in 1859 and pretty much guaranteed that the Civil War in America would start up over a year later.
