DRAGON'S DESTINY 4: Tool Time

a Betfic by Gregg Sharp

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Nabiki was having a pleasant recurrent dream. The dream usually had her as the agent, standing nearby as her husband/client was the subject of a photo shoot, modelling the latest in men's fashions and making large sums of money before the two would go off to their private little mansion. She'd work her stock portfolio then, getting more and more turned on as those extra digits filled her bank account.

Finally...she'd wake up with the disappointment that was reality to find Ranma was still down the hall and to the left instead of right there at hand.

There seemed to be significant differences tonight. She realized that SHE was the photographer, snapping photos and directing Ranma in his various poses. The feeling of personal control was a bit of a rush, however, so she didn't mind.

That big sister Kasumi was the makeup artist registered about five minutes into the photo shoot. This was sufficiently jarring that she took note of the other changes. There was Akane who was working the lighting and otherwise acting as Nabiki's assistant. Shampoo was
working security, keeping the crowd of women at bay.

Nabiki shrugged. Why was she including them in the dream? Who cared? Who was that girl with the spatula looking sadly from across the field? All sorts of odd details were intruding. She concentrated on getting the pictures she wanted and the dream continued.

-----

Shampoo dreamed of returning to her home, her husband in tow, properly deferential to her in public as was custom. Shampoo stopped as the dream took an unexpected turn. What was Akane doing here? Kasumi? Nabiki? Akane she could almost see as an Amazon, but Kasumi was almost
the antithesis of an amazon. Nabiki she could almost see as an Amazon too, just in a purely financial battleground.

It was very confusing but oddly satisfying.

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Akane dreamed of having Ranma, and continuing on the Anything Goes dojo. There she was, fixing curry tonight, as her husband taught the evening class of students.

Akane stumbled as one of their children ran into her leg. Why did he have purple hair? It was an oddly jarring detail. Everything was right and proper and in its place. Kasumi was watching the children. Shampoo
was teaching the women's self-defense course at the Civic Center. Nabiki was overseeing the family's finances. Yes, everything was perfectly normal.

Something didn't feel right, though, and that continued to nag at her.

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Kasumi dreamed. She looked up from her medical textbooks to see Ranma keeping the children occupied while mommy studied. Nabiki brought in a hot tea, with the exams coming up she wasn't going to cut down on the
caffeine. Extra study time was mandated.

Looking out her window, Kasumi could see the dojo where Shampoo and Akane were instructing the evening course. Turning back to text, she concentrated on her studies, letting the feeling of peace and Contentment wash over her.

-------

Morning in Nerima.

Kasumi was the first to awake, as was her routine. What she found was sufficiently startling to bring her to full awareness immediately.

"Oh my!"

Kasumi's startled exclamation immediately roused Shampoo, who'd realized she'd been hugging Ranma during the night. Not that Shampoo saw anything wrong with that, with some physical contact the circulation of chi seemed stronger.

Shampoo blinked as she registered that sometime during the night one of her rivals had also moved close to Ranma. Nabiki hadn't woke up, and was mumbling something as she moved a little closer.

"He's breathing," Kasumi whispered to Shampoo.

Shampoo nodded, he'd started doing that about midnight. A weak pulse had started about the same time. Now with better lighting, she checked his chest, waking Nabiki as she flipped the cover back.

"Airen getting some color back." Shampoo nodded. "Is good. Pulse stronger. Tattoo outline much firmer."

"Eeeep!" Akane covered her face as she realized that she: a) wasn't dreaming.
b) Shampoo had pulled off more than just the cover of the futon while checking her patient.

"Yowza!" Nabiki whistled.

"Oh my. He really is a 'man among men,' isn't he?"

Everyone else stared at Kasumi briefly. Finally Shampoo covered Ranma again. "Is good to see airen has proper color coming back....Why everyone stare at Shampoo now?"

-------

Shampoo sat back against the wall. She was still an outsider here, and not accepted into any of the little cliques that formed among the students.

She could go sit with the other two gaijin, an American and a Brit, who would welcome her company, but didn't feel like dealing with the two.

Shampoo glanced back over the cafeteria. There were a LOT of missing students today. Ryouga's attack had damaged the front of the school, plus the number of students suffering frostbite and exposure was high.

Some girls were approaching Akane. They hadn't been seriously injured in yesterday's attack, but were now swathed in bandages. Could it be Ryouga? Shampoo moved closer, hoping to hear the details.

"You want me to defend the school's honor? That's fine but in Rhythmic Gymnastics?" Akane shook her head. "I don't know..."

"Please Akane, you've got to help us." One of the women pleaded. "She keeps winning matches for Saint Hebereke by attacking members of the opposing team before the match. You're the only one we can count on."

"But I..."

Shampoo smiled. "Akane go. You need defend school. Is much honor."

Akane glared at Shampoo. "You just want time to spend alone with Ranma!"

Shampoo shook her head. "Shampoo will have rest of life to spend with Ranma. When is match?"

"Uhm, it's next week."

Shampoo smiled at Akane. "Akane train in one week. Then defend school like Shampoo would defend village. By then, airen maybe good enough he can come too."

"Oh, Ranma will be there!" Two of the girls sighed. "Oh, yes, with Ranma there we're sure to win!"

"Yeah, Kodachi won't be able to keep her mind on the match," the third suggested.

Akane watched with a sinking feeling as she realized that just being silent had somehow committed her. Now she not only had to participate, but win because she couldn't bear losing in front of Ranma.

Shampoo kept her expression neutral. If Akane lost in front of Ranma, then a rival would be humiliated. If Akane won, then Shampoo's help in setting this up would defuse some of the hostility towards her. She just loved win-win situations.

-------

Kasumi noticed that Genma and Soun were watching that soap opera again. She'd normally wait until they were out of the room before cleaning, but she'd noticed that Ranma's health seemed to decline when none of those recipients of his chi were around.

The two on the couch never looked up as she swept the room, engrossed in the program as Noriko Sakai stalked a young couple, intent on blackmailing her former manager from her idol singer days. Kasumi shook her head, the same old thing, over and over again.

The two didn't pay attention to her at all, until Kasumi (intent on getting that dust bunny that had just rolled under the couch) lifted one end of the couch.

What caused the two fathers to lose interest in the soap opera was that it was the end of the couch that Genma's panda form was occupying. That, and Kasumi was holding it up with one hand while sweeping underneath with the other. Satisfied that no dust bunny would survive while SHE was on duty, Kasumi gently placed the couch back into position and finished up. After all, she had to check on Ranma now.

-----

"Uhm, Kasumi?"

"More rice, Nabiki?"

"Yeah. That wasn't it, though. Have you noticed anything strange today?"

Kasumi thought. "No, not really."

The sound of Soun and Genma backing a little farther back from the table and away from the three daughters (and guest) could be clearly heard in the brief silence.

"I have," Akane fixed her father and his friend with a "don't mess with me, I've had a pretty hard day" glare.

"Shampoo notice odd things too."

"Such as how much we've been eating today?" Nabiki pointed at her third bowl of rice. "At this rate we'd look like Mister Saotome by the end of the week. Somehow I doubt it."

"Shampoo notice. Shampoo always strong warrior, strong fighter." Shampoo picked up the can of "Pocari Sweat" she'd just finished off. Very delicately, she flattened the can and rolled it up into a tiny cylinder. "Shampoo get stronger."

"Big deal," Akane waved off Shampoo's little feat. "You should have seen the shot I made in basketball today."

"Shampoo did. You miss basket. You miss basket by at least 20 meters."

"Can I help it? It went through the damn backboard!"

"Oh my."

"I take it then, that none of you have checked your own tattoos." Nabiki smirked. It was one of her standard "I'm so clever" smirks. She had almost as many smirks as Akane had glares or her father had wails. It had often been a joke growing up that her father was, in
fact, the prince of wails.

There was a groan from both Mr Saotome and Soun Tendo as Shampoo checked.

"Shampoo, haven't you ever heard of modesty?" Akane's head thumped on the dining room table. She couldn't believe the Amazon sometimes.

"No, Akane, what that mean? Aiyaaa. Nabiki right. Tattoo much more visible."

Soun made an odd noise as he looked at the way the tattoo coiled up Shampoo's ribs, deftly moving past...

Kasumi waited until Shampoo had pulled her shirt back down before removing her hands from in front of her father's eyes. "Oh, father, father, father."

"Kasumi's moving as fast as a trained martial artist," Nabiki held up one finger. "I myself tried this sort of thing out today. I'd say that I'm in fair shape, but nothing compared to THIS."

"Daughters, we've got to find that cave and get you turned back before it is too late."

Shampoo nodded. Everyone else simply looked at the two fathers as if they had gone insane.

"No, father," Nabiki sighed. "If we were turning into 'men among men' or something like that, there would have been other signs visible before now. Believe me, I DID check for that. As far as I can tell, there's only this odd strength."

"This would indicate a general strengthening or enhancement of the musculoskeletal system, including the tendons and ligaments, probably due to a factor in the chi transfusion." Kasumi stopped as everyone stared at her. "Uhm, right?"

"Yeah, sis." Nabiki shrugged. "Well, I need a bath, and somebody needs to go check on 'Sleeping Beauty' - we don't want to leave him alone too long." Nabiki realized that she was suddenly the only one in the room excepting the two fathers. "Yeah, a good soak
is definitely in order."

-------

"Ah, and what have I found here?" Kodachi crept through the window. She'd come seeking her next opponent, but this, this was too good to pass up.

Unconcious and cute, just the way she liked them. Kodachi Kuno smiled. This one was beyond cute, and slept in the nude too. She glanced over the recumbent form and stamped the mental picture as "Prime Beef." She could always come back to deal with that upstart Akane Tendo, yes.

She left the room by the window, just as she'd entered, but paid for her "withdrawal" with a bouquet of black roses. Unfortunately the boy seemed to be heavier than he looked.

"WHO THAT!?"

"Shampoo, get out of the way!"

"Oh dear."

Kodachi looked at the three girls now giving chase. None of them looked particularly dangerous, in fact, that older girl looked like she'd be a pushover.

"Now, now, girls, finder's keepers... ohohohohoho." A snap of the wrist and a black rose dart was sent towards the weakest-looking one, once she was down one of the others would stay behind to make
sure she was all right. A tactic that had served Kodachi well in the past.

Kasumi saw the rose coming, her eyes widened. She vanished.

Kodachi meant to leap atop the Tendo Compound Wall, but caught a glimpse of Kasumi's leap and lost her timing completely.

*SLAM!*

Kodachi looked up at the sky. She must have imagined it. That frumpy looking older woman couldn't possibly have leapt THAT high. She felt the boy being taken away from her. A moment later a girl about her
own age was looking down at her.

"You must be Kodachi, the Black Rose?" Akane grabbed Kodachi's shoulder and easily pulled the other girl up. Kodachi noticed that the grip there was just shy of the pressure required to crush bone. As it was, Kodachi was pretty sure that she would be bruised there.

"She call herself Black and Blue Rose, very very, soon." Shampoo cracked her knuckles. She grabbed Kodachi's other shoulder and held tight.

"You vicious harridans," Kodachi was having a hard time talking and clenching her teeth at the same time. "Let me go!"

"Shut up!" Both Akane and Shampoo tried to shake the leotard clad girl. Unfortunately neither had quite managed to take the effects of their newfound strength into effect.

"She faint?"

"Hmmph. I guess she's like all those other bullies, she can take it but she can't dish it out."

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"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." Kasumi finally landed. Dusting herself off and looking around, Kasumi wondered where exactly she was. "Oh my. That was actually kind of fun."

One young boy was staring at her, as well he might since she'd just dropped out of nowhere.

"Excuse me," Kasumi smiled at the boy who was standing behind some kind of gas grill. "Could you tell me where I am?"

"Uhm, you're in Kobe. Uhm, are you..."

"Oh yes, I'm fine." Kasumi nodded. "I've got to get back to Nerima. Is there a train station nearby?"

The boy nodded. "It won't be here for a little while though."

"Oh my, but I've got to get back home. Ranma is still quite sick."

"RANMA!?!" The boy glared at Kasumi but there was just something so "doggone nice" about the woman, and anybody who could survive a fall like that and just get up and walk away was pretty damn tough. "You wouldn't mean Ranma Saotome?"

"Why yes, do you know him?" Kasumi wasn't concerned about the brief look of hatred passing over the boy's face. It was probably just a misunderstanding.

"You could say that," said Ukyou Kuonji. "Where did you say he is?"

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end chapter 4 DD.