Nearly two weeks after the first trip to Diana, Yashataisho was returning home to Earth having finally completed the exodus of the three tribes. Ranma was currently at his desk working on the take home work Kasumi had picked up for him during one of the loading periods yesterday. School had started this week and Ranma had to call in absent because of the exodus. He wasn't sure how Kasumi had gotten Furinkan to hand over his homework without causing a complaint, but she had. Good thing too as the last thing Ranma wanted to deal with during this mess was the head nut.
Speaking of Kasumi, she was currently lying on a floating recliner in the ship's lake sipping on a fruit smoothie. Ranma's concubine was currently enjoying the chance to just relax from all the stress planning the trips to Diana caused. Even though she was completely exhausted from all of the work, Kasumi could barely keep herself from grinning like a loon. Helping the Phoenix, Musk, and Amazons settle Diana was a massive undertaking and achievement that she had to her name. Not bad for a young woman who had been playing housekeeper for her family ever since she graduated high school.
Kasumi glanced over at Ranma hard at work with his studies and a smile did appear on her face. Only Ranma could have to worry about school while evacuating almost 90,000 people. Still, it was good to see that Ranma wasn't just concerned with the immediate crisis and was thinking ahead. Kasumi hadn't been happy to deal with Principal Kuno again as he had somehow gotten worse from when she went to Furinkan. It had taken her over an hour, but she had eventually gotten him to see that having a student help evacuate refugees was better publicity than the school being destroyed by the freak meteorite. The look on Principal Kuno's face at the casual possibility of his beloved school's complete destruction was priceless.
While taking another sip of her smoothie, Kasumi thought about her joy in threatening Principal Kuno. It was different from the meek pseudo housewife she had been just months before. However, Kasumi found that she liked the changes she had undergone. In a way, binding herself to Ranma was extremely liberating for the young woman. Kasumi found that she wasn't nearly as worried about things that had been all consuming for her. She also didn't have to put on any act of being a demure housewife even if she wanted to scream in frustration. All Ranma asked of her was to be happy and she was more than willing to fulfill that request.
This peacefull moment ended when Yashataisho spoke over the intercom. "Attention, there is a Juraian treeship detected entering Earth's atmosphere. The trajectory and velocity of the ship's descent suggests that the reentry is uncontrolled."
Ranma immediately hopped from his desk and looked up in the air. Mentally, he summoned a viewscreen with information on the treeship. "Can we intercept and save that ship Yashataisho?"
Instantly Yashatisho replied, "That is impossible partner. The treeship is already in the atmosphere under free fall conditions. By the time I could conduct a mirojump to Earth from my current location the ship will have crashed."
Kasumi spoke up, "Who's on that ship and how could it have ended up in this situation?" She couldn't fathom how a ship as powerful as a treeship was supposed to be could end up in such trouble.
Yashataisho quickly replied, "The ship is the second-generation treeship Ryu-Oh which is listed as the partner of Princess Ayeka Masaki Jurai of the Juraian Empire. Galactic records list that she and her younger sister Princess Sasami Masaki Jurai left on a quest to locate their brother Prince Yosho Masaki Jurai after he left Juraian Space to hunt down the space pirate Ryoko Hakubi after her assault on Jurai. No other attendants were recorded as being on Ryu-Oh when the ship left Jurai and there have been no records of the ship docking at any registered worlds. Ryu-Oh's surviving defenses make it impossible for me to scan for lifesigns at this range."
"Further scans show that the Ryu-Oh has another ship lodged onto it which is causing the uncontrolled reentry. Analysis of the second ships indicates a 97.3 percent probability that it is the Ryo-Ohki. I cannot determine a higher probability as the Ryo-Ohki was last recorded being seen in the Sacking of Jurai when Ryoko Hakubi used the warship in her assault. The ships have now crashed on Earth in the vicinity of the Masaki Shrine."
Suddenly everything fell in place to Ranma and spat out, "Damn it Tenchi! You just had to go and open the demon's tomb didn't you? Yashataisho, get us into transport range of the Masaki Shrine ASAP."
Tenchi gasped as his head broke the surface of the lake and he took a deep breath of fresh air. He still couldn't believe everything that had happened since he had unleashed the demon Ryoko yesterday. Part of him still felt like he was in some bizarre dream and would have to wake up soon. Luckily, that was only a tiny part of Tenchi's brain as the rest was focused on trying to find shore which he soon did. He started to swim for shore and for a second thought he had heard a humming sound. Tenchi decided for focus on swimming and ignored the short humming having brushed it off as an aftereffect of his ears still ringing from the crash.
He was tired and was barely focused on getting to shore. By the time Tenchi was within arm's length of the shore the adrenaline had left his system and he was on the verge of drowning. Part of Tenchi was terrified that he was going to drown, but his body didn't seem to care. Just when he thought it was all over for him a hand appeared reaching out towards him from shore. Like any desperate man, Tenchi used the last of his strength to grab onto the offered hand. The hand firmly grabbed the exhausted young man and pulled him to shore where Tenchi was immediately introduced to a fist in the face.
Ranma hauled his now unconscious and idiotic friend ashore in disgust. Part of Ranma wondered if his friend had gotten a hold of something illegal in order to make such a boneheaded mistake as to Ryoko from her tomb. Seriously, what part of Demon: do not disturbed and stay the hell away was so hard to understand? The young hybrid didn't think on that matter too much as he a bigger fish to fry. As soon as Tenchi's body hit the ground, Ranma whirled around drawing Bakusaiga while having Yashtaisho summon a set of battle armor on him.
A second later Ranma spotted some movement in the corner of his vision. He whipped his head around and saw Ryoko pulling herself up from some debris. Ranma was able to recognize the space pirate because his partner had shown her photo when explaining things to him and Kasumi a few minutes ago. It only took the young hybrid a split second to adjust his grip on Bakusaiga and then he bolted towards Ryoko like the grim reaper.
"Ugh, what? What the Hell!" Ryoko blurted out as she instinctively ducked to avoid Ranma's attack. Thankfully for Ryoko her instincts were still superb even after being trapped in a cave for seven centuries. If she had been a split second slower she would have lost her head instead of just a large clump of hair. As clumps of her cyan hair fell around her, Ryoko saw red. She growled out in rage, "Someone has a death wish!"
Not willing to dignify that comment with a response, Ranma conserved his momentum as he circled around for a second pass. Ranma was focused on one thing and one thing only: putting Ryoko down for good. She could only have been unsealed for half a day at max and already she had caused the destruction of a second generation treeship. How Yosho managed to seal her away Ranma couldn't figure out and honestly he really didn't want to at the moment. Resealing Ryoko away would only leave her for the next idiot to unleash again.
Ranma tried to kill Ryoko again with a downward swing this time and Ryoko dodged it by phasing underground. She quickly reappeared a dozen feet and directly left of Ranma with her energy blade already formed. Ryoko tried to catch Ranma off guard by flying at him. That didn't succeed as Ranma blocked her energy blade with Bakusaiga and immediately retaliated with a kick to Ryoko's right hip.
Ryoko's record for dirty fighting was not hype at all as she was able to read Ranma's intention and roll with the kick. The former space pirate used her roll to float several feet away and above Ranma planning on attacking from a different angle. Ranma wouldn't have that and immediately jumped up after her. "Well you're a persistent asshole," Ryoko muttered to herself. She then yelled out, "Try this on for size!" With that yell Ryoko launched an energy beam at her opponent.
Without flinching, Ranma landed on his shield platform and waited for Ryoko's attack to hit his shield. He saw Ryoko's surprise at his shield blocking her attack and smirked. That smirk had just the right mix of confidence, distain, and arrogance to get anyone's blood boiling. Judging by the snarl from Ryoko, the smirk worked just as well on species besides humans. Ranma leaped up and fainted at trying yet again to cut off Ryoko's head. Naturally, Ryoko dodged the attack and raised her energy blade to so she could strike at Ranma's soon to be exposed back.
"You're mine, gh," Ryoko looked down in shock to see a purple energy beam impaling her arm with Ranma holding her arm inches away from the beam. She then let out a scream of agony howling like a rabid wounded animal. The pain only got worse for Ryoko as Ranma's momentum popped her elbow out of its socket and started to bend it in the direct opposite direction. Ranma pulled Bakusaiga back ready for the killing blow.
"Ranma stop right now!" Katsuhito's voice bellowed from the ground as the old shrine keeper stepped into the debris field. Katsuhito watched as Ranma bewilder lowered his sword while he and Ryoko fell to the ground. Ayeka and Sasami, both of whom had returned to consciousness when Ranma cut Ryoko's hair, wondered who Katsuhito was. Ranma and Ryoko hit the ground a dozen or so feet away from Katsuhito with Ranma using the space pirate as a cushion.
As soon as he was on the ground, Ranma turned to face Katsuhito. "Why did you have me stop Sensei? I was just about to correct Tenchi's mistake of unleashing Ryoko who your ancestor sealed away. She hasn't been unsealed for long and already she's caused the destruction of a Tree ship."
Katsuhito held firm and replied, "There is more going on here than you are aware of Ranma. Jumping in like you did only made a dicey situation worse. Now make sure to cauterize Ryoko's wounds and help me bring everyone into the shrine. Hopefully, we can sort out this mess like civilized people." Why oh why couldn't Tenchi have held his curiosity in check for a few more days? Katsuhito had planned on releasing Ryoko a few days from now once the notice of her sentence being completed had disseminated throughout the galactic community. Instead of the controlled rehabilitation like he had been hoping for, he got stuck with this mess.
An hour later, everyone was conscious and Katshuito had been filled in on the entire train wreck since Tenchi released Ryoko yesterday evening. Ranma's cheeks were red from embarrassment and he was busy looking at his feet. After all of those times where he had been attacked do to a misunderstanding here he was trying to kill someone over a misunderstanding. Katshuito rubbed his temples and said, "The five of you have all made very poor choices over the past day that could have dire consequences for you all if brought to a court law. I will tell all of you what mistakes you made so you understand the seriousness of your actions. Once that is done, I will try to find a solution to this mess without us having to go to the courts."
"Tenchi, I will start with you because you started this mess and you are the one I have the most disappointment in. Over the past day and a half you have committed two acts of grand theft: taking the key to Ryoko's prison and trying to steal Ayeka's control key. You've also been partly responsible for four separate instances of property damage with costs of an unknown trillions of Yen! The instances I speak of are the damage to your High School, the destruction of the Ryu-Oh, the crashing of the Ryo-Ohki, and the destruction of a major bridge. Consider the thousands of lives that will be disrupted because of these damages and the thousands more who will be inconvenienced by the effects of the disrupted people. What's more you caused all of this because you wanted to do something exciting for your summer vacation! I have tried to treat you like a young adult, but its actions like this that reinforce our countrymen's typical views on teens just being big children."
Turning his gaze to his sister, the disguised prince continued cutting the teens down to size. "Miss Ayeka Masaki Jurai, your actions were completely unbecoming of a decent young lady let alone that of a princess. I have read the family records of Jurai that Prince Yosho left for his descendants so I know you have no defense for your actions. No one, not even the Emperor of Jurai, is above the law. Since coming to this solar system you have committed two acts of kidnapping, two illegal interrogations, and attacked someone over a crime that was expunged from the galactic law books. I can only imagine how embarrassed your parents would be if they or the Juraian court learned of your actions."
Ayeka hung her head in shame causing Ryoko to smirk at the princess's discomfort. That smirk wilted instantly as Katshuito's gaze turned to her. "Miss Ryoko Hakubi, your situation is rather complicated. By pure Earth accounting for time, you have served your criminal sentence and should have been released three days ago. Now your sentence was not over on Jurai until shortly before Ayeka captured you do to relativistic effects on time between the planets if I am translating that portion of the scroll correctly. So the issue of whether or not you have a charge of jailbreak is up to an arbitrator to decide. Personally, I think that an arbitrator would rule in your favor for that charge. I say this because as the shrine keeper I would have been required to release you by the end of the week following the directions Yosho left in the scrolls."
"However, your actions since leaving your prison do not reflect well on you and suggest that you should be locked up again. In the space of a day you have managed to rack up three counts of property damage totaling over unknown trillions in Yen, one count of attempted murder, one count of grand theft, and if my son-in-law's account is accurate one count of lewd behavior. A certain level of consideration is expected to be granted to you given the circumstances of your imprisonment. That level of consideration was crossed long ago."
Katshuito turned to Ranma and was secretly pleased at how ashamed Ranma was. Out of everyone he was the one who realized his mistakes the most. The old priest kept his happiness hidden and continued in a stern manner. "Ranma you have one act of attempted manslaughter against you, but that would have been an actual manslaughter charge if I had not stepped in when I did. Now I will grant you that your actions have mitigating circumstances. I called Kasumi and she informed me that Yashataisho was not updated as to Ryoko's legal release until three minutes after I ordered everyone into the house. Your case is the murkiest of the five if it were to be brought to court. That position would have left you at the mercy of the judge."
Finally, Katshuito turned his attention to Sasami who was trying her hardest to look small, cute, and innocent. It was an act that Katshuito hadn't bought with his own daughters and wouldn't buy from his sister either. "Princess Sasami Masaki Jurai, you have one charge of grand theft to you name and your actions contributed to three counts of mass property damage. Now only the charge of grand theft can be brought against you in most courts, but you should understand how your actions affect others. Also, there are some places where you can be legally held accountable for those three counts of property damage."
Katshuito paused for a moment to relook at all five people before him. He then sighed and said, "Fortunately, most of your offenses were directed at each other which will make it easier to arbitrate this mess. My decision is as follows. Tenchi, you have forfeited all of your allowance from now until your 20th birthday. You will be taking on a role here at the shrine this fall as you will naturally have to change school. But most importantly, you will be responsible for Ryoko."
Tenchi blinked his eyes in surprise and blurted out, "What do you mean grandfather? How am I responsible for Ryoko?"
Very calmly Katshuito replied, "As I said, you're responsible for Ryoko. It's up to you to insure that she integrates into human society properly as circumstances dictate she will be on this planet for a while. Think of yourself as her guide and her parole officer since you were the one to release her."
The old priest turned to the two older girls and said, "Both of you will accept the loss of your respective ships as punitive losses against your crimes to each other. Additionally, I will be using my contacts with the Japanese government to get you both enrolled in a high school. This is so you two can learn the value of following the law and respect for others."
Finally Katshuito turned to Ranma and Sasami. "You two are easier to decide on a punishment. Sasami, you will be working at this shrine for the next year without pay as community service. Ranma, your punishment is that you will be doing all of your shine work in your cursed form in the traditional miko uniform. Is that understood everyone?"
There was a chorus of yes sir from the five individuals sitting across from Katshuito. While their punishment was very light, Katshuito knew that it was the best he could do under the circumstances. Earth's legal status in the galactic community made finding a court with authority over these sorts of cases tricky to find. The extraterrestrial cleanup fund would help the insurance companies cover this mess with the school and the bridge.
He then got up and said, "The last thing we need to decide on is where you three will be staying for time here on Earth. Ryoko, you will be staying at the Masaki residence so that Tenchi can keep an eye on you. Ayeka and Sasami, you two can stay here at the Masaki residence as well since you are family. Now I know that staying in the same residence as Ryoko might cause some discomfort for you two given her actions to our family. Ranma, would you be willing to give Ayeka and Sasami a place to stay if they wish to stay somewhere other than with Ryoko?"
Both princesses turned to look at Ranma who was thinking about Katshuito's request for a moment. He sighed and said, "Sure. Yashataisho has plenty of room on it for two house guests. Things are a bit untidy since I've been using Yashataisho around the clock for past two weeks to move several endangered tribes to a previously uninhabited planet. I literally just returned to this solar system from the last transportation run when I found out about the Ryu-Oh having an uncontrolled reentry."
Ayeka looked at Ryoko and Tenchi for a second and then looked at Ranma. In all honesty, she didn't know what to feel given than she just found out that Yosho died and lost her precious Ryo-Oh. Could she stand to be in the same house as that Monster Woman or her brother's apparently idiotic descendent who now had to watch over the monster? What about Sasami's safety? But, Tenchi and his grandfather were family while Ranma was a complete stranger with no blood ties. On the other hand, Ranma had immediately jumped to fight Ryoko and had apparently warned her idiotic relative against releasing Ryoko. Her other known relative on this planet apparently trusted him and he did have access to a spaceship. What choice should she make?
Finally, Ayeka turned to Ranma and spoke in a commanding tone. "Can you swear that my sister will be safe if we were to stay with you?" There was a slightly crazed gleam in Ayeka's eyes as she tried to find any doubt in Ranma. She had just found out that she had lost her beloved Yosho. By Tsunami, there was no way in hell that she'd risk losing Sasami as well.
Ranma stood up and firmly said, "I cannot swear that your sister will be safe if you two stay with me as something unexpected could happen. What I can promise is that I will do everything in my power to protect her and you if you decide to stay with me onboard Yashataisho. My partner does have more ability to protect you two than this house does."
Sasami walked over to Ayeka and tugged on her older sister's sleeve. Ayeka looked down at her sister and asked in a concerned tone, "Yes Sasami? What can I help you with?"
The younger princess looked up at Ayeka and her lip trebled. "I don't want to stay near Ryoko."
Instantly, Ayeka doubts and concerns vanished as to her course of action. There was no way that she'd risk Sasami if her sister was this afraid of Ryoko. Ayeka wrapped and arm protectively around Sasami and then looked up at Ranma. While she was still nervous, the elder princess knew that Ranma represented the safest option that Katshuito could find. She bowed her head slightly and said, "Ranma, I humbly request shelter for me and my younger sister until such time that more permanent lodging can be found for the two of us."
Ranma nodded his head and said, "No problem. Yashatashio is already starting to prepare a room for you two. My partner is also interfacing with Ryo-Oh so that your salvageable belongings are transported to my ship in your quarters." There was a pause for a second before a holographic screen appeared a few feet away from Ranma showing Kasumi. Ranma quickly called out, "Hey Kasumi!"
Kasumi turned to look into the holographic screen. She let out a small smile and said, "Yes Ranma?"
Very quickly Ranma replied, "There's been a slight change of plans. At sensei's request, we'll be having two house guests over for some time. Will that cause problems for your plans for dinner and if so do you want me to get the four of us some takeout?"
Kasumi shook her head and said, "That shouldn't cause any problems for me since I haven't started preparing dinner yet. Who will be staying with us and do they have any food allergies?"
Ayeka stepped into view with Sasami by her side. "My sister Sasami and I are the recipients of Ranma's hospitality. Neither my sister nor I have any food allergies that we are aware of possessing. Thank you for your concern miss Kasumi."
For a second when Ayeka woke up she thought that everything from yesterday was a bad dream. She had to be back on the Ryu-Oh looking for her dear brother and everything would be perfect when she found him. Those thoughts died a brutal death when Ayeka woke up enough to feel Sasami's steel vice like grip on her. A brief look down revealed her younger sister to the princess with her cheeks stained from tears. Ayeka leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Sasami's head and whispered, "Don't worry sister. I'll make sure you're safe and that we return to Jurai once we're ready to go back."
Slowly Ayeka started to coax Sasami into relaxing her grip. While she was doing that, the princess looked around at the bed and the room Ranma had given the duo. It was both very similar and yet also very different from her old room aboard Ryu-Oh. The bed was the same style as her old one, but made of an almost black wood instead of the usual light brown she was familiar with. As for the room, it was spacious and the furniture was of exquisite design. But the room didn't have the usual joyful and relaxing air that most Juraian rooms had. The room radiated a sense of power and safety that was both comforting and a little unnerving for Ayeka. It brought to Ayeka's mind the idea of being in the center of a massive citadel on the empire's frontier.
Moreover, Ayeka couldn't figure out how Ranma came to be partnered with the Yashataisho. This ship certainly fit its name of demon general in her mind. Even in its wrecked state, Ryu-Oh had been able to determine that Yashataisho was far stronger than any recorded First Generation Treeship and its powers were much more offensively inclined. From her perspective, it was like someone had taken a treeship and warped it while making the ship even more powerful. Not a very comforting thought for the princess given the damage Ryo-Ohki had inflicted on Jurai not that long ago from her perspective.
Once Ayeka was able to free herself from Sasami's grip she got up and quickly changed into her outfit for the day. She gave the younger princess one more concerned look before walking out of the room and onto the grassy plane of Yashataisho's main deck. Not having any destination in mind, Ayeka just started to wander about the grassy plane trying to wrap her mind about the shocking revelations and events that happened yesterday. How was she supposed to deal with Yosho dying centuries ago? Now all that is left of her dear brother were an old priest who tended the shrine Yosho had built and his idiot grandson. Ayeka was still furious that Ryoko was free and would have been free anyway in a few short days. That monster woman should have been left to rot in the prison Yosho had sealed her into for all eternity. At least Katshuito was only going to release Ryoko because of Yosho's orders; the idiot had released that monster for the hell of it after he had been warned not to do so!
Just before Ayeka's temper could really get rolling over Tenchi's perceived faults, the princess heard the sound of a sword being swung. Ayeka immediately headed towards the sound with equal parts concern and curiosity. She quickly came to the source of the noise and found Ranma standing on pillar in the middle of a small pool going through a sword kata. The princess watched Ranma's movements for a few seconds before she recognized the kata. It was a variant of the Imperial style of swordsmanship usually reserved for the royal family's closest bodyguards. How could Ranma know that style?
Ranma jumped up in the air and proceeded to do several steps of the kata that Ayeka was previously sure could only be done on the ground in order to have the right balance. He then landed on the pillar without breaking a beat and quickly finished off the kata. Ranma then jumped down to the edge of the pool and grabbed a handful of water to drink. The water activated his curse, but the now female Ranma was used to it.
However, Ayeka wasn't used to sudden transformations like Ranma's curse at all. She blurted out, "What by Tsunami just happened?"
Instantly, Ranma whipped her head around and looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an eighteen wheeler. Enough of her body was turned to allow Ayeka to see Ranma's now feminine figure. Ranma let her head fall down in defeat and then stood up. With a sigh she said, "It's a curse I got in China. Cold water turns me into a girl while hot water turns me back to my true form."
Suddenly something clicked in Ayeka's mind. "This is what Katshuito meant when he said that you'd have to do your chores in your cursed form."
Ranma nodded her head while willing the pool to warm up. "Sensei knows that I don't like being in my cursed form." She then stuck her hand in the water and turned back into a guy. "While I've grown more used to my cursed form, I prefer to be a guy as nature intended me to be."
Ayeka nodded her head and replied, "I think I understand Ranma. Once again, thank you for letting Sasami and I stay with you."
With a shocked tone Ranma replied, "No problem Ayeka."
