...and Ryouga opens his eyes to a sea of white.
*What the heck hit me?!* he moans. *Kunou had the glass jaw, not me!
* Still moaning, the wanderer sits up, then blinks on seeing empty sky and
cloud under him...then screams in embarrassment on noting he was naked!
"WHERE AM I NOW?!?!?!" he bellows, covering himself as he looks around. Bad
enough he was lost, it didn't help he was bare-assed here too!
A holographic screen then appears before him, a line in tan flashing
MAY I HELP YOU?
Ryouga blinks, then stares at it. "Um...where am I?"
The screen flashes a standard salutation. "'Dreamscape?'" Ryouga
blinks confusedly, then reads. "'Daimon'cha, Daishi'cha and outworlder
Marei'cha welcome. No other outworlders allowed! Intruders will be...'" a
gulp, "'...mind-wiped without trial?!'"
This is perfect!!! Karmalibra screams from within him.
*What do you mean?!*
Ryouga, this is the place ALL the *daishi'cha* come to enjoy some
mental time-off! Karmalibra purrs. From here, you just have to access
their personal dream-site, then go to town!!
*How do I do that?!* Ryouga scratches his head.
Ask for it to call up the sequence number panel, then tap the
number for the *daishi'cha* you want!
*Sounds simple,* Ryouga muses, then sighs. "I wanna visit someone."
The screen alters to a touch-pad format, ten numbers on the screen.
PRESS DAISHI'CHA SEQUENCE NUMBER TO ACCESS SITE.
"Um...thanks!" Ryouga smiles, then hums. *Okay, here we go...!* he
presses 91129.
ACCESS TO DREAM-SITE #91129 OPEN. YOU MAY PROCEED.
Ryouga disappears as the screen turns red, a new line flashing.
EMERGENCY INTRUDER DEFENCE PROGRAM INITIATED. RE-ROUTE INTRUDER TO DREAM-SITE
#97394...
* * *
"***WHERE AM I NOW?!?!?!***"
Ryouga looks around, finding himself...now clothed in his usual shirt
and trousers...in a sea of solid white. Concentrating, he fails to detect
any detail. The gentle ripple of falling water is heard. Ryouga
shudders...ever since he got his Jusenkyou curse, he HATED that sound...then
sees a beautiful waterfall appear. He walks towards it...then emerges into
sunlight. "Whoa!!!"
He now stood in a luscious valley filled with blooming flowers and
ancient trees. Mountains tower to the heavens, capped with fields of glacial
ice. Ryouga drinks in the cinnamon-like scent, then stares at his...shadows?
"What the...?" he looks in the direction of the heavens, then shades his eyes.
"Two suns?! Where am I?!" *I've been lost before, but this...!*
A bird's scream then echoes through the air. Ryouga sees a large-
winged bird bearing a marked similarity to the Sagussan national symbol soar
down the valley. Without hesitation, the wanderer races off in pursuit. The
bird looks at him, then slows down, ensuring the pursuing human can keep it in
sight.
Time becomes meaningless as Ryouga leaps over rocks and rivers with
an ease many years of martial arts training bestowed. The bird remains in
sight, then lands on a rock as Ryouga finds his way to a beautiful seashore.
The salt air tantalizes his nostrils with its purity, then he blinks as the
bird calls to him. Looking south, he notices it flying toward a distant white
dome surrounded by tall mountain peaks.
Ryouga runs in pursuit, his eyes locked on the bird. It was nice of
it to stay in his field of vision; as long as he kept a recognizable object in
view, he was all right. However, the dome kept distracting him as he
approached it. The scale of the place was mind-boggling; it seemed dozens of
kilometres wide. Ryouga stops, wondering what sort of people could've built
such a thing, then blinks as the bird's call summons him to a dark entrance.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friend..."
Ryouga enters the tunnel, grateful that light lurked on the other
end. The tunnel itself was quite long, perhaps a kilometre but seemed like a
mile, which meant that the dome's shell had to be that thick. Staring at the
wall, he runs his hand along the surface, testing the material. Incredible;
there was no breaking point he could sense as he tried to track chi lines.
The dome's shell was layered between a bright silvery substance and a darker
grey material, both impossibly dense even to the naked eye. "What is this
stuff...?"
The bird calls again. Ryouga turns, then runs down the tunnel.
Emerging into the light, he gasps on seeing a vast space, as big as Tokyo
itself, softly lit and filled to the rafters with hundreds of kilometres of
catwalks and an uncountable number of man-sized chambers, each filled with a
body. Shuddering, he steps onto an elevator pad, then rides it up a hundred
metres to a small platform. Looking down one catwalk, he notices several
people drawing someone out of a chamber. *This seems like...a nightmare lab
from one of those REALLY bad science-fiction movies!*
Approaching, he glances over the shoulder of one to see that the
person just drawn out is a young girl, maybe ten years old. Her nude body is
coated in a cryogenic preservative fluid, bits of frozen ice still sticking to
her clammy skin. She was pretty in the innocent, cherubic way of most
children, with long platinum hair and auburn eyes. Her chest subtly rises and
falls, though the number of breaths she takes is spaced dangerously too wide.
"Its organs are still functioning," one of the orderlies reports,
staring at a friend.
"Stop the heart and extract the eyes," another orders.
Ryouga gags as a long needle is punched into the girl's chest, her
eyes suddenly widening as pain rips through her body. Dropping to his knees,
the horror of what he is witnessing freezes him in place as the orderlies
deftly cut out both her eyes, then place them on a sterile tray. They then
walk away, leaving the shaking wanderer with the unmoving girl on the gurney.
A groan escapes his lips as he leans over to gently draw her off,
nausea surging through him on seeing those empty cavities where her eyes were.
*Oh gods...why did they do that?! That poor girl...!* Laying her across his
legs, he draws off his jersey, then gently clothes her before cradling her in
his arms, tears streaming down his face. "Oh,
gods...why...why...why...why...?" he moans, each word punctuated with agony as
he holds her.
"Horrible, isn't it?"
Ryouga looks up to see the adult version of the unmoving girl stand
before him, dressed in a light blue-and-gold Sagussan jumpsuit, a science
chief's three stripes on her lower arms and a long staff with a glowing red
crystal in one hand. While most of her face is strangely devoid of emotion,
her eyes are haunted with a weighty sadness that made Ryouga seem the happiest
of people. He shudders. "You're not Ranma-chan..."
"No, my name is Ifurita," the woman introduces herself, then kneels
before him. "You should've read the sign, Mr. Hibiki. Intruders are not
permitted in the Dreamscape."
Ryouga pales, remembering what else the sign said. Ifurita smiles,
her eyes twinkling reassuringly. "Relax, the part about mind-wiping was
Shayla's early idea of a joke. In the meantime," she casts her staff over her
younger twin.
She disappears, reappearing in the chamber from which she was
extracted, her eyes restored and Ryouga's jersey back on himself. The
wanderer rises, then takes time to peer into the other chambers. They all
had Ifuritas in them, either adults, barely past puberty or children. "Is
this your idea of a dream?" he stares at her.
"No...more of a constant reminder of what was," Ifurita muses. "You
and Karmalibra made a mistake, Mr. Hibiki...may I call you Ryouga?" At his
nod, she continues. "You attacked someone who had two bondmates. While you
did hurt Akane, Irunmei was able to sneak around and psi-blast you into the
Dreamscape foyer. Once you were there, you were in OUR territory, then after
Karmalibra was fooled into urging you into a dream-site, you were brought to
mine."
Ryouga blinks, then shudders, a surge of emotions swelling in his
heart. He had fallen for the most simple trick in martial arts: deceive the
opponent into doing what you want him to do. Atop that, he couldn't feel
Karmalibra within him. Trapped in a strange person's dream-site, everyone on
Sagussa doubtlessly aware of his presence and intentions, without his friend
to help and with no way out except bowing to whatever Ifurita demanded. *If
this is your last stand, Hibiki, make sure you never give up now!* he tries
to be calm, defenses rising as he gears for a fight, maybe his last.
Suddenly, gentle lips brush his. As they do, Ryouga feels his soul
being soothed, wrapped in loving warmth. He blinks as Ifurita leans back,
smiling. "My, you are quite handsome, you know that," she muses, giving him
an appraising glance. "One must compliment your child-mate on her
exceptional good taste. By the way, congratulations on your coming twins.
Anxious to see them born?"
Surprised by the change of topic, not to mention embarrassed at her
appraisal, he sheepishly nods. "Yeah, I am." He then looks around. "What is
this place?"
"Tere'na-korgh...the Forge of Tere'na," she explains. "To us living
on Sagussa today, the most divine place on our planet. Fifteen millennia
ago...the universe's biggest slaughterhouse."
Ryouga shudders, then stares at the storage chambers, the true horror
of his host's words sinking in. "A storage place...of human body-parts...?"
nausea surges forth to stagger him as her words and the images, the horror
that happened here, sink in. He fights hard to keep standing up.
"Hai," Ifurita nods. "Ten billion people lived on Sagussa at that
time. Each had three clones made of them for just the purpose of having
intact body parts in case something within them failed. You wanted a new
heart, you got one...and you didn't ONCE have to worry about organ rejection.
Even now...we don't understand what brought this practice about. Part of
us...doesn't want to."
"I don't blame you," he sighs. Seeing what happened with Ifurita's
younger twin was enough to convince him. "So what happened?"
"The War of Clone Rights," she explains, the scene around them
shifting to reveal the devastated landscape of Tere'na City before the start
of the Fifth Republic, an angry white giant sun burning overhead. "A whole
civilization was wiped out over five centuries. Sagussa was devastated, the
inner worlds of our system incinerated when Eisen'a, the dwarf sun you saw
before you came to the Forge, was destroyed by a sun-killer bomb, the
explosion causing Sen'a," she points up to the heavens, "...to swell in size
to a white giant stage. And because of that, we *daishi'cha* came into
being...to rebuild it, bring new life to this place. To try our best to make
it a living world again."
"I can see why a lot of people are supporting you," Ryouga muses,
uncertainty gripping him.
Ifurita sighs. "You don't trust us. After what Ranma did to you, I
don't blame you. Neither does Noa, our Elder Mother. We want to make it up
to you, Ryouga. But we can't do it while you have Karmalibra in your head
and having you trapped in some mad obligation just so that little crybaby can
try to hurt us."
Ryouga blinks. "'Little crybaby?'"
A disgusted snort escapes her as the scene shifts again to a very
pleasant family home's living room. Ifurita waves him to a chair, then sits
across from him. "Karmalibra is what we in the Te'a Studies Group call a
'composite concept entity,' Ryouga. She emerges from the shared belief of
billions of sentients across the known universe who want to have some
'divine' intelligence control the balance between that which you call 'good'
and 'evil.' She sees herself the SOLE arbiter of the balance between those
forces. When an 'excessive' amount of good occurs, she induces a like amount
of evil to keep the Universe in balance; conversely, if too much evil arises,
a like amount of good is induced."
"Yeah, it's the balance between yin and yang," Ryouga nods.
Ifurita sighs. "Well, we don't believe in something like her,
Ryouga. The balance between Creation and Entropy...what at times could be
seen as good and evil...is a natural thing. In our eyes, it needs no
balance- keeper, Ryouga." She then smiles, a hunter's smile on seeing choice
prey. "And because we don't believe in something like her, Karmalibra...has
no power over us."
Ryouga blinks. "There are other races who believe like we do," the
science-thoughtmistress-prime adds. "The Nagussans, the T'Kon, the
Lannarkites, the Nendo-kata and others. All of them Karmalibra can't affect
directly. She hates that fact; if we did believe in a concept like her, we
could give her a LOT of spiritual power. So, to get around her inability to
affect people like us directly through what you'd call 'faith,' she uses
cat's pawns to do her dirty work. You, my friend, are the latest in a VERY
long line of victims she's trapped to that end."
Silence falls as the wanderer contemplates that. There was some
truth in her words. "You can chose to accept what I say," Ifurita rises.
"You can chose to reject it, continue to think that ALL of us on Sagussa are
like Ranma. You can chose to believe whatever you wish. But I know you
presently loathe the idea of being forced into doing something you personally
would choose not to do, forced to watch a good friend suffer for no real
reason, even if it would give you a sense of justice over the pain inflicted
on you."
Ryouga thinks hard. Ifurita didn't seem she would hurt him. In
fact, Ifurita seemed warm, gentle and caring, unlike Ranma and her gang of
"pranksters." Surely, not ALL Sagussans were as bad as he thought. "Can
you...free me of that bond?" Ryouga wonders.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you toward that end," Ifurita bows her head
apologetically. "Being what I am now...means I am under very strict rules of
behaviour concerning the Power I can access."
"But I know you!" Ryouga snaps, pointing at her. "Cologne mentioned
something about you sometime ago. You're the one Ranma-chan called to have
the ponds of Jusenkyou restored before Ranma and Akane went there to discover
a cure!"
"That's right," Ifurita nods. "In that case, we understood that the
ponds' restoration was vital to the ultimate destinies of many people,
ESPECIALLY the future offspring of Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendou. In that
case, we could do something; were it left to whatever Terran forces that could
also manipulate Jusenkyou's power, they could've really botched it and done so
much damage, I shudder to think of the possible results."
She takes a deep breath, then gazes deeply into his eyes. "But, like
it or not, you CHOSE not to see both sides of any particular situation before
you, Ryouga. You CHOSE to stubbornly believe in your side of the argument
without taking into account the other person's opinion. I'm not accusing you
of anything. I'm stating a simple fact. In some ways, given what you've
endured, you have a right to stick to your beliefs. But...because of that,
the control you need to master the chi energies you can manipulate so easily
has long been denied to you. And it was because of THAT problem, Karmalibra
was able to corner you like she did."
Ryouga blinks, then looks down. "I don't know what to think."
"That's a decision in the end you have to make," Ifurita smiles, the
sadness returning to her eyes. "Remember, Ryouga: a balanced opinion.
Karmalibra is using both laughter and memories, though painful, to make you do
what she wants. Remember what you saw in the Forge. THAT is real evil,
Ryouga. Entropy gone totally amuck. Besides," she winks bemusedly as Ryouga
felt himself slip out of the Dreamscape, "...Ranma-chan and her friends would
NEVER laugh like that..."
* * *
"Hey!!"
Ryouga blinks, looking around to see a dark alley around him.
Staring at himself, he sighs on recognizing the new clothes he had bought in
Las Vegas, then rises. "Weird..." he muses.
What happened to you?!! a voice bellows in his head.
Ryouga blinks, then makes his way out of the alley. *Relax! I got
lost in the Dreamscape. By the way, the Sagussans know that you're in me
now.*
So?! Karmalibra snarls. What sort of sob story did they try to
heap on you, anyway?!
Ryouga moves to tell her, then pauses, his eyes widening in stunned
realization. She couldn't sense it within his own mind? Had Ifurita used
whatever power she controlled and blocked certain parts of his mind from
Karmalibra's scrutiny? Why? Why did she do that? *Does it matter?*
Oh?! Remember this?!
Images and sounds of the humiliation are thrust into Ryouga's mind
once again. The pain of the plasma blasts is relived. Mocking, evil
laughter, sounding like those who hurt him, assaults his senses, laughter
that once could send waves of depression coursing through him. However, the
bad memories of this doesn't create as much pain as before. Why...?
* * *
Karmalibra snarls. It was bad enough that there were parts of her
host's mind which were now blocked from her manipulation...she was quick to
recognize the bright tendrils of *te'a* energy which marked the potential use
of a *haijo-ju*...but now the laughter she used, a reminder of the pain
Ranma- chan and the others gave him, to keep him compliant had little effect
on him. Wonderful! If she couldn't keep him obedient, she could lose control
over him.
Not a chance. Not this time. Not now.
She tries again to punch through the mental walls keeping his
experience in the Dreamscape from her view. No joy. Shuddering, she tries to
pick through other parts of the wanderer's mind to at least get SOME idea of
what he had just endured while she was using his body to do another job at a
nearby drug-processing plant. Again she fails. Sighing disgustedly, she
relaxes, tired. No need to exert herself just yet. She needed time to gather
enough energy to make another attempt at attacking the Sagussans through their
dreams, this time keeping in mind Ranma-chan's second bondmate and the fact
that they would probably be waiting for her this time.
She remains silent as Ryouga makes his way into his bedroom at the
hotel in Furinkan he was using, then heads to bed. Suddenly, an image appears
before her. Karmalibra blinks, then, despite all she had done over the
millennia, shudders. For now, the empty sockets of a person with her eyes cut
out now gaze at her...
* * *
"Help...me..."
Negako grabs the fallen I-beam, then flings it off the young girl.
Barely nine, she was dressed in quite flashy clothes for her age. A cursory
glance at her chi patterns elicits a raised eyebrow and a snort. Sexually
active and abusing drugs at that young of an age? Shaking her head, she
kneels to draw the badly wounded girl into her arms. "How is she?" Happousai
wonders from nearby.
"She is dying," Negako announces.
The girl's pain-filled brown eyes flutter, then she turns to stare
into Negako's. "I don't...wanna die..."
Negako blinks, then a twinge of...something...flashes through her.
This child had been with the others in this Yakuza cell, now dead, crushed
under fallen walls and a collapsed roof thanks to Karmalibra, processing raw
opium from the Golden Triangle into heroin for trade on the streets. Gently,
she reaches up to touch the psi-link points on the girl's face. "What's your
name?"
"Aoi..."
"Do you have parents?" Negako wonders as she feels switches in her
mind click into place, her nervous system now transforming into a psionic
conduit linking the silent parts of her brain with the mind of the girl in her
arms.
"No...what...what are...?"
"Relax," Negako closes her eyes and concentrates. "All will be well
soon enough..."
Aoi's eyes flutter shut as her *mei'na* is absorbed into Negako, the
first time ever the grandmistress had made use of the *tre'cha* skills
instilled in every Avalonian on birth. As the girl's body goes limp, Negako
relaxes, then senses Happousai gazing understandingly at her. "Part of me
doesn't understand, Happy..."
"What part does?" Happousai muses.
"That Chigaiko would...see it as a good thing to do. She has no
family, was used to...amuse her co-workers, then help sell their heroin on the
streets to local students."
"And you want Chigaiko-chan to be happy."
"Yes."
Happousai pats her shoulder. "You're learning, Nega-chan. You
better get her up to the factory to have her looked after."
Negako nods, then taps her wrist-comm to have her and Aoi beamed to
Sado. As they disappear, Happousai glares in the general direction of the
hotel where Ryouga now resided. "Lady, you really crossed the line this
time," he icily smiles. "You may think Hibiki's yours to command, but once
he learns you used him to kill a child, you're gonna have a real fight on
your hands."
* * *
"Who is she, Nega-chan?"
"Her name is Aoi Mizutani," Negako sighs as she and Chigaiko watch
Aoi float in the regeneration chamber aboard the factory later. "She is an
orphan. Her parents were killed in a house fire when she was a baby. She
herself ran away from the orphanage when she was six, then was 'adopted' by
the Nerima Yakuza as a combination sexual toy and advertising agent for their
narcotics trade."
Chigaiko pales, then stares at the beautiful girl now being healed of
her shattered bones and shredded muscles and internal organs. She then stares
at Negako. "Did Ryouga-kun...?"
"The one within him was responsible," Negako sighs.
"Oh, gods..." Chigaiko shudders, gripping her heart. "What'll happen
when he finds out...?"
"We could tell him now," Negako muses. "He would then realize what
Karmalibra has done behind his back...and when he rebels, all she would have
to do is pour an overwhelming amount of chi energy into him. Once he loses
control, the resulting explosion would most likely destroy all of Tokyo."
Chigaiko jerks, sweating, then looks away. "Okay, that's not such a
good idea," she muses. "But how the hell do we make this thing let go of
Ryouga-kun?"
"I cannot say because I still do not know what Karmalibra exactly
is," Negako admits.
"Then I could help you."
Both turn as Ranma-chan walks up. "Hey, Ranma, what're you doing
here?" Chigaiko smiles, then notices the pained look deep in the shipmistress'
eyes.
"We've got to talk," Ranma-chan sighs...
* * *
"Hey, sugar, you look horrible!" Ukyou shudders on seeing a pale-
faced Ryouga saunter into U-chan's. "You okay?!"
"Yeah," Ryouga moans as he relaxes by the counter. "Just a bad dream
last night."
"What about?" Ukyou wonders.
"It's hard to explain..."
* * *
"Now let me see if I get this straight," Chigaiko gapes at Ranma-chan
as they and Negako relax in a lounge. "You mean to say some future version of
Shinobu came back in time to try to change history...and she was possessed by
this Karmalibra character?!"
"Exactly," Ranma nods. "Near as Ifurita could tell, this thing came
onto Ryouga just as his chi levels were about to reach critical mass." A
shudder rips through her as she remembered the images Ryouga thrust upon her.
The idea of being the one who might have detonated a chi-charged version of an
atomic bomb that could've wrecked Tokyo sinks in, then she stares at Negako.
"So it gives him a deal he couldn't refuse."
"Let it use him for its purposes, mainly to strike at those beings
who don't believe in it...and thus give it power...and he would live," Negako
lightly smiles. "How typical."
"So how do we convince this thing to get out of Ryouga-kun without
killing him?!" Chigaiko asks. "I don't even know how the hell I'm going to
tell Akari-chan about this!"
"Do not do so," Negako sighs. "If you did so, Akari would be very
tempted to proceed to Tokyo to confront Ryouga and thus place her unborn
children in harm's way." She then hums. "Ranma, how does Ifurita and her co-
workers view the influence of mortal beings on creatures like Karmalibra? Is
it possible this 'Scalphunter' variation of Shinobu might have overtly
influenced Karmalibra to the point where she would solely be directed by
Scalphunter's past memories and experiences?"
Ranma blinks. "It's possible, I guess. But how in Lyna's name can I
use that against it?"
"Not you, Ranma. Me," Negako's eyes narrow, an icy smile twisting
her lips. "Or rather what I once was. I think it's time that Karmalibra
experiences Shinobu Miyaki's worst nightmare, which, if Scalphunter's history
was parallel to our Shinobu's, centres on her experience in the Spirit War.
In the meantime, since Ifurita has given Ryouga the chance to have some
thoughts to himself through the Dreamscape, I would like you to do
something..."
* * *
That night...
*About time the boy went to sleep!* Karmalibra growls to herself as
she senses Ryouga drift off after a day of relaxing and spending time with
Ukyou. *Just a few more places to visit...*
She shudders on sensing Ryouga's mind slip out of her grasp into the
Dreamscape, bars of energy blocking her from trying to keep him in place or
follow him into the Sagussan mental web. *Damn them!!!* she shrieks. *How
dare they?!!*
Mocking laughter then echoes. Karmalibra shudders as the number of
voices picks up, a rolling crescendo of sound assaulting her to the core of
her being. It seemed as if every *daishi'cha* was laughing...at her!
Laugh all you want!!! she screams at them. I'll show you...!!
That's what you think...Scalphunter, a familiar voice taunts
before the laughter fades.
Karmalibra's eyes widen on recognizing the voice. Noa...! she
quakes, hatred and fear fighting for control of her very soul. Wonderful! If
Noa knew what was going on, the Sagussans would be soon coming after her with
everything they had to finally eliminate all traces of Scalphunter from this
existence. She'd have to get her work in Furinkan done as soon as she could
before they did come, then she'd show them. She'd show them all!
Concentrating, she morphs Ryouga's body into her preferred fighting
form, then taking control, leaves...
* * *
"Hey, honey, what's your name?"
Negako stares at the bartender, then assumes her place at the
counter. "My name is Negako. May I have a vodka martini, please? Shaken,
not stirred."
"Yes, ma'am," the bartender nods, then prepares the drink.
Negako sighs, gazing around the casino located in the basement floor
of an office block not far from the Tendou dojo. This was an illegal
gambling hall run by the Yakuza, the workers surprisingly calm despite the
vicious hits their organization had took over the last while. There were few
patrons currently at the tables; it might be close to closing time. As she
accepts the drink (so chosen because of Chigaiko's love of James Bond films),
Negako relaxes and concentrates. Ah, there she was, right on schedule.
Another twenty seconds. "Where is the washroom?" she wonders.
"Right through that door," the bartender nods.
Negako rises, then makes her way to the ladies room and a toilet
stall, locking the door behind her. As a sharp explosion echoes through the
building, echoed by the surprised screams of patrons now doomed by being in
the wrong place at the wrong time, she concentrates. The chi of the Earth
floods her very being with power, then in a curious echo of what Karmalibra
did to Ryouga, Negako alters her body into a form that echoed the last time
she, as the *saikoo jinseijitsu,* tried to achieve her freedom.
Outside, the guards scream as Karmalibra rips through them, her
blasting sword and roaring lion bullets dropping them like flies. The patrons
were already dead, ripped apart in the first wave of chi attacks after she had
blasted her way through the ceiling. It was good that the casino was located
in the basement of an empty building awaiting new tenants; the amount of
innocent bystanders who could've got in the way was decreased dramatically.
While accidents did happen and she did intend to use Ukyou in her plot against
the Sagussans, there was no need to push it too far. Ryouga would fight her
tooth and nail then. Then all would have been lost.
Another use of the blasting sword decapitates the bartender before he
could get to the telephone and call for help. Karmalibra then notices the
untouched martini on the bar. Curious, she approaches it, then looks around.
The washrooms! Growling, she moves to find who might have escaped...when the
ground bucks under her, bursts of thermal energy punching through the marble
floor to reveal trickles of red-hot lava! "Hey...!!!"
"***DAICHI-KI HI-KANKETSUSEN!!!!!!***"
Karmalibra screams surprisedly as the whole floor explodes, geysers
of lava ripping through the building's foundation to fatally compromise the
steel skeleton keeping it erect!! Summoning her own chi to form a shield,
she rides out the blast as the upper floors buckle and shred apart, the
building bursting apart like a banana being squeezed out of its skin. As the
parts fall away, she then feels gravity seize hold of her. She braces,
concentrating her chi into her shield to keep the impact from hurting too
much.
"***SEISHIN REEZAA KOOSEN!!!!!!***"
A bolt of starlight punches through her shield to burn into her
shoulder, cutting her concentration enough to collapse the shield and leave
her unprotected as she crashes into unforgiving asphalt beside the burning
caldron which was once her target. Pain overwhelms all her senses as she
staggers back up, the grating feel of shattered ribs and cracked arm and leg
bones sending hot knives through her. "Better call it a night...!" she
grunts, then looks up into the reflection in a bakery store window.
Karmalibra gasps on seeing Shinobu Miyaki's face staring back at her,
restored to youthful vitality, now dressed in a torn and tattered Tomobiki
High School uniform. Dense fog settles around them, shielding the outside
from her view. Blinking, she then pales on seeing something vaguely human
emerge from the flames behind her. She turns as the flames dissipate,
revealing a black ninja's gi, the curled tiger-and-chrysanthemum of the
Moroboshi Clan on the breast and glowing eyes now burning from...
...Ataru Moroboshi's pale face, crossed with tiger stripes!
"*HELLO, MIYAKI! REMEMBER ME?!*"
"No...!" Karmalibra gasps, memories that to her echoed from so long
ago overwhelming all her senses...
* * *
"DIE, YOU DEMON!!!!!!"
A psychic laser incinerates her! "*THERE YOU GO!! A LITTLE OF THE
RESENTMENT AND HATRED **YOU** FELT TOWARDS MOROBOSHI WHEN HE SHOWED THAT HE
WAS MORE INTERESTED IN THE ONI THAN YOU!!*"
Shinobu is knocked down. Ataru appears from the fog, again none the
worst for wear. "*TELL ME SOMETHING! HOW'D YOU FEEL IF YOU KNEW MOROBOSHI
AND LUM HAVE BEEN BONDED FOR **FOURTEEN** YEARS?! YOU NEVER STOOD A CHANCE
OF WINNING HIM AS LONG AS THAT BOND EXISTED!! AND WITH THAT, MOROBOSHI WAS
INSPIRED TO ENSURE NASSUR WOULD LOVE BENTEN, NOT YOU!!! YOU IGNORANT LITTLE
GIRL!! AS LONG AS YOU CONTINUE TO INTACT WITH THE ONI AND MOROBOSHI, YOU
WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO OBTAIN THAT WHICH YOU DESIRE!!!*"
"N-no...it's not true!" Shinobu moans.
"*IT IS. THE HATRED HE EXPRESSED TO YOU BEFORE THE THIRD TAG RACE
AND YESTERDAY WAS **HIS** HATRED, NOT ANYTHING I DID!! ALL I DID WAS JUST
GIVE HIM THE NECESSARY PUSH TO BETTER EXPRESS HIS EMOTIONS!! DIDN'T FEEL
GOOD, DID IT?!*"
Shinobu shrieks, leaping up as she lunges at him. Before she could
get close, she's grabbed by the neck and her air is cut off. "*YOUR STRENGTH
IS NOTHING TO ME!! EVERYTHING YOU DO TO ME IS NOTHING! I AM FUELLED BY THE
VERY HATRED, RESENTMENT AND DISGUST **YOU** HAVE EXPRESSED TO MOROBOSHI SINCE
THE DAY THE ONI RETURNED TO HIS LIFE! THE HATRED, RESENTMENT AND DISGUST
**I** MANIPULATED, NURTURED AND DEVELOPED SO THAT WHEN THIS DAY CAME, I COULD
TURN IT INTO A WEAPON AGAINST ALL WHO SUPPORT THAT ONI SO MUCH!! YOU HAVE
BEEN CAT'S PAWNS IN MY GAME...AND LIKE THE IDIOTS YOU ARE, YOU NEVER ONCE
SUSPECTED THE TRUTH...!!!*"
* * *
Karmalibra gurgles as she feels herself grabbed by the neck and
boosted up, fingers now as solid as rock freezing her in place. "*YOU
UNDERSTAND NOW, DON'T YOU?!*" the creature holding her in place cackles as
fire surrounds them. "*EVEN NOW, EIGHT CENTURIES AFTER YOU ESCAPED ME IN THE
SPIRIT WAR, AFTER YOU CAME BACK IN TIME TO 'SAVE' YOUR PITIFUL EXISTENCE,
AFTER YOU SOLD YOUR VERY SOUL TO KARMALIBRA, YOU HAVE ALWAYS BE A CAT'S PAWN
IN **MY** GAME, TO USE AND DISPOSE AS **I** SEE FIT! I DO NOT BELIEVE IN
KARMALIBRA, THUS SHE HAS NO POWER OVER ME, SO SHE CANNOT SAVE YOUR SOUL FROM
THE ETERNAL DAMNATION YOU KAKURE BELIEVE AWAIT THOSE WHO HAVE SINNED AGAINST
THE WAYS OF JESUS OF NAZARETH!*"
"H-how...?!" Karmalibra gasps.
"*'HOW,' YOU ASK?!*" the creature icily smiles. "*I AM, AND HAVE
ALWAYS BEEN, THE LIVING AVATAR OF MOTHER EARTH, OF ALL LIVING THINGS ON MOTHER
EARTH...AND **YOU** ARE NOW THE REFLECTION OF THE BELIEFS OF **SOME** OF
**ONE** SPECIES LIVING HERE! YOU ARE AN ALIEN ON THIS WORLD, KARMALIBRA...AND
YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE!! FURTHERMORE, I HAVE NEED OF RYOUGA HIBIKI AND YOU
ARE STANDING IN MY WAY! AS HIBIKI'S FRIEND SHAMPOO WOULD SO ELOQUENTLY PUT
IT...*" it glares into her eyes, "*OBSTACLES ARE TO BE **ELIMINATED!***"
Karmalibra shudders as power warps around them, the burning fingers
of the paranormal-power inverse fire-bomb tearing at the controls she had
over Ryouga's body. "*YOU SEE HOW EASY IT IS?!*" the creature holding her
down sneers. "*I CAN DESTROY YOU AT ANY TIME I SO DESIRE! BUT I NOW BELIEVE
IT WOULD AMUSE ME MORE TO SEE HIBIKI BANISH YOU FROM HIMSELF...AND HE WILL!
REMEMBER THIS THE NEXT TIME YOU TRY TO POSSESS SOMEONE, KARMALIBRA: HONOUR
IS A SWORD SHATTERED ON A ROCK, A PIECE OF PAPER BURNED IN A FIRE, A GRAVE
ERODED BY THE WIND, A SHRINE DESTROYED BY AN EARTHQUAKE! THIS IS A NINJA'S
GAME...AND HERE, I AM SUPREME!!*"
Another explosion overwhelms her as a funnel of lava slams her away
from the *saikoo jinseijitsu,* its mocking laughter, like the screaming howls
of all those who had died throughout history, searing her right to her very
soul...
* * *
Unnoticed by Karmalibra or the creature who had put her down, a
Yakuza guard, who was on his way to work at the casino when the battle began,
emerges from the shadows. Gripping his weapon, he watches as the beast which
had shredded Tomobiki with ease the previous Halloween step into what was now
the funeral pyre for dozens of his friends, then disappear. He doesn't emerge
from the safety of the shadows, though. Karmalibra was still on the scene and
even though she obviously had been put through the wringer by the *saikoo
jinseijitsu,* the hellfire-spawned bitch could probably still waste him. That
wouldn't do his boss any good.
Coughing as she summons some chi energy to heal her wounds,
Karmalibra staggers to her feet, then heads off towards U-chan's. Dawn was
breaking and Ryouga would probably be returning back from the Dreamscape
before long, no doubt loaded with more lies from the Sagussans. Somehow,
she'd have to whip him back into line, push her plans through, defeat the
Sagussans and keep the *saikoo jinseijitsu* off her back at the same time.
As she heads for the safety of Ukyou's restaurant, she glaces from
time to time at the inferno now consuming the latest Yakuza workplace,
shuddering. What possessed Ataru Moroboshi to allow the *saikoo jinseijitsu*
its own life? Had he done it out of some strange sense of mercy to the
creature which had played him like a puppet over a decade...or had Noa talked
him into it just to erect an extra shield between the Sagussans and Tomobiki?
It would make some sense; as that thing just admitted, all of Tomobiki was its
playtoys, to use and discard as it saw fit. Snarling, she picks up the pace.
As soon as she was done with those who had tortured Ryouga, Sagussa's Elder
Mother was next!
Some distance away, Negako watches Karmalibra lead the lone Yakuza
guard right to U-chan's. Good. Force the idiot into making loads of
mistakes, then let matters take their course. Now all that was needed was to
get some new players into the game, then let Ryouga finally make his
decision...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
"Hi, Akari!"
"Hi," Akari-chan steps onto the "Ossa'cha's" quarterdeck. "Well, you
really did it this time, eh?!" she stares at the crimson-haired shipmistress.
"Yeah," Ranma-chan frowns. "Well, it's time for me to face the
music, I suppose."
"I'm glad you're doing this," Akari nods.
"Funny...so am I," Ranma nods, then taps the intercom to the bridge.
"We there yet?"
"Affirmative, Shipmistress," the watchmistress of the deck replies.
"Transporter is ready to take you down."
"Right," Ranma nods, then waves Akari to the pad...
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Ranma-chan and Akari-chan sit in the living
room of the Unryuu residence with Happousai, Negako, Chigaiko and Akari.
Grim looks are on everyone's face, though Ranma's is layered with regret.
"So?" Akari sighs, glaring accusingly at Negako. "Who or what is this
Karmalibra and what does she want with my fiance?!"
"Revenge," Negako sighs. "We can't sense Karmalibra's thoughts; if
Happy and I magnified our own powers, she could detect us. From what Ifurita
sensed from Ryouga's own thoughts, she now...desires to strike out at
Sagussans. Given the incident which you spoke of," her eyes then fall on the
shipmistress, "...she now has a perfect target: those who were involved at
'laughing' at Ryouga when you revealed his deception to Akane."
Ranma bites her lip. "So what do we do?!" Akari snaps, then sighs.
"Ranma, that you...did what you did...I'm upset though I understand your
desire to defend your spirit-brother...and I'm pleased that you came here to
resolve it. It speaks highly of you. I...but I'm also quite annoyed at what
he was doing with Akane all those years, not to mention Ranma."
"It's hard to put blame on any one person..."
"Then get over the question of blame."
Eyes turn to Negako. "She's right," Happousai puffs his pipe.
"Problem with those kids, they just keep on pointing fingers at people which
prevents them from getting over it and moving on. Ryouga's the worst case
I've ever seen! You just got caught up in it when you were there,
Ranma-chan," he stares at the shipmistress.
"Yeah, that's what I want to help solve," Ranma nods.
"But with Karmalibra involved, we might not be able to solve it
without someone dying along the way," Akari-chan warns.
"How do we do that without getting Ryouga-kun killed?!" Chigaiko
wonders.
"It will be easy," Negako muses...
* * *
"Found her!" the guard reports. He had tailed the woman in the ninja
suit to that okonomiyaki place the boss wanted shaken down earlier.
"Good work, Seiji. Don't make any rash moves. I'll send a car down
there, loaded with enough heat and muscle to eliminate that bitch and her
friends. Kenoshi out."
As he hung up and made the preparations he'd just planned, Kenji
smiles. He knew that each of the places this ninja-bitch had struck, save
for the casino thanks to the *saikoo jinseijitsu's* surprise interference,
always had a picture of a scale balanced on a tao symbol etched somewhere
nearby. Now he could end this once and for all. *So you might be hiding the
bitch who's given me all this grief, eh, Miss Kuonji? Well, fool me once,
shame on you. Fool me twice...prepare to die!*
* * *
An hour later...
"You okay, Ryouga?" Ukyou wonders.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ryouga shudders, rubbing his arms as she places the
okonomiyaki before him. "Just one hell of a nightmare last night, that's
all."
Ukyou sighs. No, he wasn't alright. The first day he was back, he
was in great shape, full of confidence and determination. The second day was
even better with his chasing off those goons. But it was yesterday and today
when things swung dangerously downhill. Yesterday, it looked as if he'd
witnessed a horror unimaginable to any normal person. Today...it seemed as if
Ryouga had a personal hand in that horror.
"Do you want me to turn on the radio, Ukyou-sama?" Konatsu wonders,
glancing concernedly at Ryouga.
"Yeah, go ahead," Ukyou nods.
The kunoichi flips it on. A news reporter's voice echoes from the
speakers, "...last night, a monster that devastated Tomobiki last Halloween
visited Furinkan. A being believed by witnesses to be the infamous *saikoo
jinseijitsu,* perpetrator of the Tomobiki Spirit War, was locked in battle
with another being at a recently-completed office complex in the north end of
the district. No one is sure as to what caused the fight or how the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* was able to manifest itself on Earth since its last reported
host body, Ataru Moroboshi, currently is on Sagussa..."
Ukyou blinks, then smirks. "What's so funny?!" Ryouga asks.
"Must've been some copycat thing," she shakes her head. "There's no
way in hell that Negako would ever do something like that again, especially
with Chigaiko watching over her."
"Eh?!!" Ryouga gasps.
"You mean...Moroboshi-sama...is the *saikoo jinseijitsu?!*" Konatsu
stammers, his eyes widening.
"Yeah...oh, that's right, you weren't here for that, were you?" Ukyou
smiles. "You see, back in August when they were moving to get that thing
outta Ataru's head, they discovered that the *saikoo jinseijitsu* was a
sentient being and deserved its own life. So, they teamed up with the
Avalonians to give it her own body...and that is who we know today as Negako
Moroboshi."
Silence falls. "Why did they do that?!" Ryouga demands, a surge of
fear and hatred scalding through him. "Don't they understand how dangerous
that thing is?!"
"'Dangerous?!'" Ukyou stares at him. "Sugar, look. You can't
imagine what it's like being shuttled from mind to mind, body to body against
your will over two centuries. Negako can; she lived through that...and she
HATED it! She may not understand much about emotions, but the one emotion she
knows is the hate she felt at being USED like that!!"
"Still..."
The door opens, heralded by the door chimes. "Good morning, Ukyou.
One traveller's special."
"Hey, Negako!" Ukyou nods. "Siddown and relax."
Negako calmly sits beside Ryouga. The wanderer shudders, staring
fearfully at the ninjitsu grandmistress. *THIS was the *saikoo jinseijitsu?**
repeats in his mind. He then remembers Ukyou's words about Negako's
experiences, a surge of sympathy flowing through him. Who WOULD like the idea
of being used like a toy, then discarded without having any say over her own
existence?
No one.
"How are you today, Ryouga?"
Ryouga blinks. Negako was staring levelly at him. "Um...I thought
you didn't like small talk."
"I simply asked a question...or is the thing within you afraid of
another thrashing like I gave her last night?"
Silence falls. Ryouga blinks confusedly, though a surge of fear
races up his spine. She knew about Karmalibra?! What the hell was going on
here? Ukyou and Konatsu stare quizzically at the grandmistress. "What does
that mean, sugar?" the former wonders.
"Ryouga currently is under the possession of a pathetic little
creature named Karmalibra," Negako calmly reports, ignoring the storm of
emotions twisting Ryouga's face. "She, someone many would consider a cosmic
arbiter between the forces of good and evil, in another time, met a version of
Shinobu Miyaki who desired vengeance on Sagussa. Since the Sagussans
themselves do not believe in a being like Karmalibra, she could not destroy
them directly, thus she had to act through a mortal agent...which the Shinobu
of that time served as until her death sometime ago here in the Furinkan of
this time. All she then had to was wait until someone came along, someone who
had the skills and power she could use against those she wanted to hurt...and
Ryouga served her purposes perfectly."
Ukyou pales, then stares at the wanderer. "Sugar, this ain't
true...is it...?" she inquires.
Ryouga gags, his mouth fluttering open and closed soundlessly, arcs
of chi energy warping around him. "Oh, you should also know this, Ukyou,"
Negako calmly adds. "Part of Karmalibra's plan included either injuring or
killing you."
Ukyou staggers, wide-eyed, then snares her combat spatula, spinning
on Ryouga. "WHY?!?!?!"
"He had no choice in the matter," Negako hums. "The night he
encountered Karmalibra, his chi levels had increased to the point where it
would've reached critical mass. Had she not 'intervened' for 'his own
good'...and given his own lack of control over his chi...he would have died.
The energy from the explosion that would've resulted from that could've
devastated most of Tokyo." Negako pauses. "It *would've certainly* destroyed
Nerima, since Nerima would've been ground zero."
The chef shudders, then pales as the dark implications of what MIGHT
have happened sink in. What was ONE life of a friend, when compared to many
tens of, possibly hundreds of THOUSANDS of innocent lives, which would have
included that friend as well?! "Oh, Ryouga..."
Ryouga gags, staggering to his feet as he tries to escape. Negako
calmly rises, following him outside. Ryouga leans against a telephone pole,
then stares at her. Negako remains unperturbed. "Wh-what're you g-going to
do...?" he finally utters, no small task given the pain he now feels.
"It was I who suggested that you settle the matter with the Sagussans
concerning what happened between you and Akane," Negako crosses her arms. "I,
of course, did not realize that an entity like Karmalibra would inject herself
into you, nor did I take into consideration your lack of control over your
body's ability to produce chi energy. To that end, I apologize and I give you
an offer. Once Karmalibra is removed from your mind, I will train you in the
proper manipulation of chi energy...so that never again can a being like
Karmalibra manipulate you so."
Don't listen to her!!!
Ryouga screams as that voice slams through his mind. "It seems that
Karmalibra does not agree to the idea," Negako hums.
She's tricking you!!! Just like every Sagussan's tricked you from
the start!!! Don't listen to her!!!
Ryouga gags, sinking to his knees. *Wait a sec', that's not right,*
he groans, remembering the conversation he had with Negako before leaving
Akari's farm. "N-negako...!" he hisses.
"Yes?"
"She...doesn't...like you..."
"Understandable," Negako hums. "I told her last night that I have
need of you...and that she is standing in my way."
"Eh?!"
Negako stares at him. "You are Akari Unryuu's fiancee, the father of
her children. Akari is Chigaiko Inu's best friend. Chigaiko is my guide to
better understanding what being human is about. To keep them happy, you must
be alive and well. Karmalibra stands in the way of that happiness. My needs
come before hers."
Ryouga screams as a primal wave of rage rips through him. "***YOU
ARROGANT BITCH!!!! SHISHI HOUKOU RAIPA!!!!!!***" roars Karmalibra in a voice
that is a blend of hers and Ryouga's.
The giant blast of chi power lashes out...at U-chan's!
*NO!!!! That's Ukyou!!!* Ryouga screams.
***DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!!!!***
The restaurant explodes, fragments and cinders showering the block as
early-morning commuters scatter for cover!! Ryouga cries out in horror as he
feels control return to his limbs, then he runs over to gaze into the burning
caldron which had been his friend's home and life. "NO!!!! No...!!" he
staggers to his knees.
"You see how little she cares for you?" a voice muses.
He turns to see Negako leaning against a car, arms crossed, not the
least bit winded from dodging the roaring lion blast. "You should also know
what else she's done behind your back, when you were asleep and she had
control over your body," she smiles. "Do you remember all the money you
placed in those bank accounts abroad? You have any idea where that money
REALLY came from, Ryouga? How many people DIED for you to have that money?"
"WHAT?!?!" *WHAT'S SHE TALKING ABOUT?!?!*
***DON'T LISTEN!!!! KILL IT!!!! KILL IT NOW!!!!!!***
"My, she doesn't like to have her dirty laundry exposed, does she?"
Negako purses her lips. "Or perhaps you'd like to know what was happening
while you made your first visit to the Dreamscape? How Karmalibra used your
body to attack a drug processing facility here in Furinkan...and how, during
her attack, she DELIBERATELY hurt a nine year old girl all because she didn't
know much better than to be the Yakuza's personal playtoy?"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!" he
screams, trying to remember just what did happen. Guilt then rears its ugly
head concerning that act...if what Negako said was true.
IT'S A LIE!!!!!! KILL IT!!!! KILL IT!!!! KILL IT!!!!
"Then, there is last night," Negako caps it off. "While you were
busy in the Dreamscape again, she attacked an illicit casino. Atop killing
two dozen Yakuza members, she also killed a dozen patrons, people who's only
'crime' was that they wanted to earn some extra money, most likely to send
their children to decent schools and enhance their chances at a better life.
Children that are now, thanks to some cosmic 'judge,' orphans."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" his eyes
close as he clenches his fists, realization of what had happened dawning on
him. *Gods, no...please, no...!*
IT'S A LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!!!!
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?!"
Negako and Ryouga turn to see several dark-suited gunmen staring at
them, weapons out and hard looks on their faces. "Looks like we were too late
for the barbecue!" Seiji snorts. "Once we take care of this bastard, the
boss'll sleep easier at nights!!"
Ryouga shudders, then chi explodes around him as his body morphs.
"TOO BAD FOR YOU!!!! ***BAKUHATSUTOU!!!!!!***" Karmalibra roars as her energy
katana comes forward, the bolts lancing through the air.
The Yakuza scream as Karmalibra's attack rips them down, their
corpses piling up across the street. The transformed ersatz ninja then turns
on her tormentor. "Now, it's YOUR turn!!!" she cocks her hands for the
roaring lion bullet.
Fingers then land on her head from behind as psi-bolts lance in to
push Ryouga's psyche into the Dreamscape. Karmalibra screams as she
turns...then is side-kicked into the pavement by Ranma-chan. "That was for
messing up a good dream, bitch!!!"
Snarling, the creature rises, then notices Ukyou and Konatsu standing
beside Negako, both quite peeved. "You manipulated my friend into hurting me,
wrecking my restaurant and my life just so you could get your points against
the Sagussans?!" the chef snarls, her combat spatula at the ready. "Time for
you to experience some of the pain you gave Ryouga, bitch!!!"
"Too bad for you, honey!! SHISHI HOUKOU RAIPA!!!!!!"
Ukyou stands her ground as the massive roaring lion power blast
screams at her, then parries with her spatula. The chi energy dissipates,
Ukyou unharmed. "What the...?!" Karmalibra gasps.
"Nice present Ranma-chan gave me!" Ukyou grins. "Diamond meson and
carbo-neutronium! One to reflect chi, the other the toughest element in the
known galaxy!!"
"It was so nice of you to announce yourself so we could be ready for
you when this day came...Scalphunter!" a voice then mocks from above. "By the
way, the Elder Mother sends her greetings!!"
Karmalibra spins around, looking up to see Akane-chan and Kodachi-
chan standing on one street light, then the other to see Ukyou-chan and
Shampoo- chan there, all angry enough to kill. "How nice of you to come!!"
the ersatz ninja snarls, her body aglow. "Now that you're all here...it's
time for all of you to die!!! ***SHISHI HOUKOU DANKAWA!!!!!!***"
"***HENRYOKU HANDOU KOUGEKI!!!!!!***" Negako bellows.
An explosion rocks Furinkan, echoed by Karmalibra's scream...
* * *
"Where...am I...?"
Ryouga moans, finding himself floating in a sea of white. No pain,
no feeling of any sort. The wanderer's eyes open as he looks around. "Is
this death...?"
"You're too tough to die, man!"
"Ranma!!" Ryouga gapes to see his former rival standing beside him,
then sits up. "Where are we...?"
"The Dreamscape," Ranma reports, then grins as he playfully thumps
Ryouga's shoulder. "You stud, you!! Akari and Chigaiko told us about the
kids! Way to go, man!!"
Ryouga blinks, then blushes. "Thanks, man...I think..."
Ranma sighs, then kneels before him. "Look, I got somethin' to say
to you...somethin' to admit. We had to bring you in here so that we could
talk to you without that Karmalibra buttin' in the way. After that, you can
do whatever you want with me."
"Eh?!"
"I broke my oath when it came to revealing P-chan to Akane," Ranma
bows his head. "I broke MY oath to YOU by agreeing to let Ranma-chan do
that. I didn't want you in Akane's life anymore and I was desperate to do
anything to get you away from her. Ranma-chan offered to do it 'cause lying
to someone you love is something you don't do on her planet!! And I AGREED
TO LET HER DO IT!!!!" Ranma pauses as he tries to choose his next words
carefully. "Ranma- chan also told me about what COULD have happened in that
lot thanks the hurt we gave you!! If I'd known THAT would happen because of
it, I WOULDN'T HAVE AGREED TO LET HER DO IT!!"
Ryouga stares at Ranma as he points to himself. "I STARTED this,
Ryouga, not Ranma-chan!! She was trying to END it!! She screwed up bad
'cause she didn't know much better, but believe it or not, she came today to
admit her mistake and make it up to you!!"
"How'd she plan on doing it?" Ryouga demands. "I went through
agonizing hell with what you put me through! That's not something light, man!
I thought I'd die...and die horribly!! What could have stopped the rest of me
from dying then too?! What could stop her from doing this to anyone else?!
I'm not some power-hungry tyrant or alien bent on wanting to rule the world!"
"I know you're not, and now she and everyone else knows you're not!
I...don't know what might've stopped her," Ranma admits. "But she knows now
what she did, how bad it could have been! We ALL do! She knows, man...and
now she wants to make it up to you! I know it! And I'm gonna do the same
thing, man! I may not've showed you a lotta kindness since we first met,
Ryouga, but we gotta stop this mess, now!!!"
"Any suggestions? For once, if you got 'em, I'm open to 'em!"
"You're killing yourself by letting your anger eat at you!!! Don't
you want to be there for Akari?!! You wanna know how she'll feel if you let
your anger kill you?!!"
Ryouga shudders, then looks away...as hands slip over his eyes.
"Guess who?!"
"Akari!!!" he yelps, then spins around to embrace her.
"How are you?!" she stares concernedly into his eyes.
"Dunno...can't feel much in this place!!" he scratches the back of
his head, then he stares worriedly at her. "Um...did you get what I sent you
from Monte Carlo...?"
"Hai, I did. Thank you very much," Akari smiles, then stares at
him. "Ryouga-kun, listen. If you don't trust Ranma or Ranma-chan or anyone
else, please listen to me! You've got to stop hating people!! You've got to
stop letting things get to you!! Why do you think Karmalibra took possession
of you?!! She doesn't care for what you want!! All she cares for is doing
what a monster named Scalphunter wanted to do...and then she dragged you into
it without REALLY caring what you wanted!!! You've got to stop!!! Please!!!
If not for me or your children, then do it for you!!!"
Ryouga shudders. "My children...?"
Papa...
"Eh?!!"
Papa!
Ryouga stops, staring at two beautiful points of light before his
eyes, hovering between himself and Akari. They gain substance, then take
familiar features. The boy...Hookoo Hibiki...has his father's face, but with
streaks of lavender in his black hair. The girl...Tsukako Hibiki...is fully
black haired, but in every other way is Akari. Both smile as they reach out.
Papa! Papa!
"My babies...!!" Ryouga gapes, then grins as they run into his arms.
"My babies!!!"
We love you, Papa, the children croon.
"I love you too..." he says warmly as he holds them close, enjoying
the warmth of their embrace.
Ranma and Akari grin. *Aww...!* Ranma hums, enjoying this Kodak
moment of Ryouga with his kids.
Shadows then form around them, revealing Akane and Chigaiko. "Hi,
Ryouga!" the former hails.
"There you are," the latter kneels. "You okay, Ryouga-kun?!"
"What do you think?!" Ryouga laughs, then tenderly kisses his
children on the forehead. Realization then dawns as he remembers Negako's
words from earlier. "Oh, no..." he says as his eyes go wide.
"What is it?!" Akane wonders.
"Those people..." Ryouga shudders, gripping his forehead as the
revelations Negako made sink in. "Oh, gods, that little girl..." Ryouga sinks
to his knees, guilt making him feel awful. He'd let the innocent die at the
hands of a madwoman. He knew that it could have ended a lot more tragically
for many that night in the lot, but he still felt terrible that what happened
did.
"What about me?"
Ryouga sees Aoi Mizutani standing there beside Chigaiko, now dressed
in more normal civilians, her long black hair now streaked with platinum, her
hand holding that of the would-be bondmate of her rescuer. "You...are
you...?"
"You're lucky Nega-chan was there to save her when Karmalibra blasted
apart that drug facility," Chigaiko smiles, then sighs.
"Kinda needed the lucky break," Aoi admits.
"I'm glad you're all right," Ryouga smiles, relieved the little girl
was okay.
"Me, too," Aoi walks up, then kisses his cheek as she hugs him.
Ryouga embraces the little girl, blushing as everyone grins. "Aww!"
they croon.
"What about those other people...?" he shudders.
"Why do you think Nega-chan took the form she used in the Spirit War
when she fought Karmalibra?" Chigaiko winks. "The *saikoo jinseijitsu* is
something no one can easily drag before a court of law, you know. Once they
confirm that Ataru-kun's busy on Sagussa, people couldn't associate it with
him, so he's off the hook. Besides, once the fire investigators discover that
the place was a Yakuza front, they won't pay so much attention to it after."
"It still ain't right, Chigaiko!!" Ryouga snaps.
"That's right, man," Ranma pats his shoulder. "Karmalibra's the type
of monster that'd laugh at 'mortal' judgements!"
"You gotta show her that we're the ONLY ones who can judge each other
at the end, Ryouga," Akane adds.
"Why me?!!" Ryouga screams.
"Hey, we'll help no matter what, but like it or not, man, she's in
your body!" Ranma sighs.
Ryouga shudders, then sighs. Ranma was right. That...thing...was in
his body, and used it to kill people who couldn't defend themselves. Even
the criminals Karmalibra butchered deserved some justice; the best Yakuza
goons were nothing compared to Furinkan's legion of martial artists. Yes, he
still felt angry because of what the Sagussans did, but as Ranma said,
Ranma-chan had come to apologize and make up for it. And Ukyou, despite all
his protestations, had still been hurt by the creature, who had promised to
him she wouldn't be harmed. The one who kept himself from nuking Tokyo with
his chi was one Ryouga now saw as the monster she really had been. One who
used him to hurt...and kill.
No more. *It ends here! It ends now!* Ryouga steels himself.
"Okay," he rises, then looks at his hands. "But how the hell do I rip that
thing out of my body?"
Chigaiko concentrates. "Nega-chan's got her softened up enough," she
reports. "But before you go..."
She holds up her hand, a glowing point of light in the palm. Ryouga
blinks, then shudders as Chigaiko gently grasps his hand, the light flowing
through him. His eyes widen in shock, then he feels a surge of chi roar
through him, coalescing around his other hand as chi forms into an elongated
sword with a blazing blade...
* * *
He's ready!!
"Good!" Negako smiles. "***SEISHIN-HASAI HI-KOOSEN!!!!!!***"
Karmalibra screams as the energy bolt slams into her, her very body
shredding apart as something...someone...is punched clear of her. Ranma-chan
braces herself, then catches Ryouga as he gets fully clear, helping him back
up. "About time you got here!!" she grunts, then lashes out with a chi bolt.
Karmalibra, now free of Ryouga, staggers under the blast of energy,
then lashes out with a fusillade of chi bullets. "SHISHI HOUKOU DANKAWA!!!!"
The Sagussans dodge as they move into new positions. Ryouga glances
around, stunned there was so little damage outside of Ukyou's wrecked
restaurant, then finds himself yanked to his feet by the irate chef. "On your
feet, you jackass!! We need you!!!"
"R-right!" Ryouga nods, then braces himself.
"***MOUKO TAKAIBISHA!!!!!!***"
The bolt of chi slams into Karmalibra, sending her into a parked
car. "Normally, I don't hit ladies!!" Ranma snarls as he walks up. "But
you're no lady!"
The Sagussans back off as the former rivals brace themselves, their
intent plain. By then, Karmalibra has recovered. Staring at her hands, she
shudders. Her body was melting away; without a physical form in this realm,
she wouldn't last long. Fine, then. Time for these idiots to learn the price
of betraying her.
"Just look at her, man!" Ranma snorts. "She can't hack the fact that
'normal' folks like us can make our own decisions!"
"Yeah, you got that right, man!" Ryouga grins.
"We had a deal, Ryouga!!" Karmalibra snarls.
"Oh?!" Ryouga says as he stares at her, angry at what he's learned.
"A deal, huh?! Our deal said NOTHING about you attacking and killing people
*in cold blood* even if it was to get a lot of money! Our deal said NOTHING
about you hurting a kid who had no choice in the way her life turned out! Our
deal said NOTHING about you using my body to slay people who only wanted to
make things better for themselves and their family!! And our deal DEFINITELY
said NOTHING about you killing Ukyou!!! YOU promised ME that she wouldn't be
hurt!! YOU broke your word to me, *Scalphunter!* DEAL'S OFF!!!!"
Karmalibra shudders as Ryouga advances on her, chi coalescing around
his right hand. "That's right," the wanderer snarls. "I know all about you
now, what and who you once were! Last night's trip to Ifurita's dream-site
was really informative, you know!! How you couldn't let things go, how you
blamed EVERYTHING that happened to you on other people instead of taking some
of the blame yourself, taking some responsibility! How you kept on hating
and hating and hating until you decided to give into that hate and you
butchered an entire planet of innocent people because of it!!
"It didn't take a rocket scientist much to figure out what you were
doing to me!" Ryouga points at her. "You wanted me to become exactly LIKE you
so you could do the same thing here!! You wanted me to kill not only Ranma-
chan and her friends, but EVERYONE on Sagussa because they don't believe in
you, even innocent children like Aoi-chan, Shunran-chan and Reiko Moroboshi!!!
You can't hack the fact that people won't bow to you, so you use people to get
back at them!! Well, I'VE HAD IT with being used by other people,
Scalphunter!!! NOW GET OUTTA HERE, YOU TWO-FACED LIAR!!!! WE DON'T WANT YOU
HERE ANYMORE AND YOU'VE WORN OUT YOUR WELCOME!!!!!!"
Karmalibra shudders, then grins as chi begins to boil around her.
"Too bad!" she snorts, a gentle rumbling shaking the ground. "You broke your
word, Ryouga! Now you pay for it!!"
Everyone pales...
* * *
"THERE!!!!!!" Kenji screams, pointing out the window to the street.
"There she is!!!"
The helicopter begins to circle over the macabre battlefield. "What
do we do, boss?!" the pilot screams.
"Get lower!!!" Kenji barks, hauling out a well-maintained sniper
rifle. "I'll deal with the bitch myself!!!" His own nerves were tense as he
prepared to end this once and for all. It had not been that long ago since he
had been a front-line man. He'd been smart enough to keep himself ready just
in case he had to dirty his hands again. This once, he wouldn't mind it. Not
at all.
The pilot nods as the machine places itself right over the glowing
ersatz ninja...
* * *
"***KONTOU!!!!!!***"
Karmalibra screams as Ryouga forms the soulsword, then charges at
her, the blade plunging into her heart! Chi explodes around them as the
ersatz ninja starts to laugh. "YOU FOOL, THAT WILL DO NOTHING TO SAVE YOUR
FRIENDS!!!!!!" she howls.
"WANNA BET?!?!" Ryouga snarls. "NOW, RANMA!!!!!!"
Karmalibra gasps as Ranma begins to orbit around her, chi forming a
ring of energy around the struggling warriors. Negako joins in, orbiting in
the opposite direction as the escaping chi Karmalibra had taken from Ryouga
is absorbed into the whirling hurricane forming around them. Karmalibra
shudders, paralyzed by the soulsword as the energy lifts her off the ground,
forming a wall that would protect all of Tokyo from the detonation, then
stares at Ryouga. He lets go of the soulsword, summoning his chi into a
large ball and deliberately aims on target.
"***SEISHIN-HASAI HI-KOOSEN!!!!!!***" Ryouga fires.
"***HENRYOKU HANDOU KOUGEKI!!!!!!***" Negako bellows.
"***HIRYUU SHOOTEN-HA!!!!!!***" Ranma finishes.
Karmalibra screams as the mixed attack shreds her body, her soul
returning to where it first arose. The chi composing her body explodes,
funnelled into a dense bolt, then races heavenward. It catches Kenji's
helicopter by the blades, the loss of lifting power sending the machine and
its helpless occupants into the whirlwind, the centrifugal force ripping them
apart before they could even scream for help. What is left is carried up
into the heavens as the bolt punches out of the stratosphere, then explodes
in a shower of energy that for a short while creates a second sun over Tokyo.
Ryouga yelps in shock as the forces Ranma and Negako unleashed
suddenly vault him into the air. "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
"RYOUGA!!!!!!" Ranma screams.
"I'll get him!!!" Ranma-chan calls out, then leaps onto Akane-chan's
outstretched palms. "Alley-oop!!!"
Her bondmate fastball specials Ranma-chan at Ryouga, who, now free of
the whirlpool that had vented what was left of Karmalibra into space, now
finds himself again at gravity's mercy. As the wanderer braces himself for
the very hard fall, he finds slim hands grab him and yank him into the
shipmistress' embrace. "Hang on!!!" Ranma-chan screams as she stabs her
wrist-comm.
A transporter beam seizes them, then delivers them to just above
ground level at the Tendou dojo, right over the koi pond. Both cry out as
they take a dip, then Ranma-chan emerges, spitting up water as she looks
around for the wanderer. "Ryouga!!!"
"Ite...right here...!"
She relaxes on seeing Ryouga sitting up in the pond, wincing and
rubbing his skull. "You okay?" Ranma-chan wonders.
"H-hai...th-thanks...!" he says a little weakly, his mind just
returning to him.
"Anytime," the shipmistress smiles. "I owed you one."
"Um..." Ryouga sighs.
"Sorry about that," Ranma-chan looks down.
"Ryouga!!"
He looks over to see Akane, Akari, Chigaiko and Aoi emerge from the
living room. "Um...h-hi, everyone!" he waves.
Akane and Akari gape. "Ryouga, look at yourself!" the former points
at him.
"What...?!" he stops, then notices he is sitting in cold water and
hasn't transformed. "What the...?"
"Guess that proves your pregnant, Akari-chan!" Chigaiko nudges her
best friend. "He's free of his curse!!"
Akari blinks, then blushes. "I guess so..."
Everyone blinks, then laughs as Ranma-chan rises, then helps Ryouga
out of the pond. By then, everyone else has run up from U-chan's. "Hey, you
two alright?!" Ranma calls out.
"Y-yeah, we're fine!" Ryouga nods, then stares at Negako. "Um...th-
thanks, Sensei..."
"Do not address me as 'Sensei,'" Negako sighs as she heads over to
join Chigaiko and Aoi.
Ryouga blinks, then sighs. Chigaiko mutters something, then kicks
Negako's shin. The grandmistress sighs, then stares at Ryouga, a hint of a
smile on her face. "You're welcome."
Everyone blinks, then laughs. "Well, now that's over with, what
now?!" Akane wonders.
"How about some help in getting my restaurant fixed up?!" Ukyou
mutters, then glares at Ryouga. "Eh, sugar?!"
"Um...!" Ryouga withers under her gaze. Guilt creeps up onto his
face as he realizes just what happened. *What did that guy on 'Quantum Leap'
say? Oh, yeah...'Oh, boy...!'*
Ukyou then grins. "Relax, I forgive you!"
They embrace, everyone relaxing from the hard day they've had. "I
have a better idea," Ranma-chan sighs, then taps her wrist-comm. "Ranma to
'Ossa'cha.' Wide-beam scan of this location, beam us all up."
Ryouga then topples over. Akari-chan moves to his side, feeling his
neck. "He's got a pulse, but he lapsed into deep unconsciousness."
"Medical emergency!!" Ranma-chan barks. "Ryouga and I're going to
Sick Bay. Beam us there, stat!"
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Two days later, over Mars...
"Good morning, Ryouga! How you feelin'?!"
Ryouga smiles on seeing the "Ossa'cha's" pretty chief medical
officer, Olga, staring concernedly at him. "I feel...fine, Sensei," he yawns.
"How am I supposed to feel?"
"Well, after your body was warped around like silly putty over a
couple weeks, your mental and spiritual energy level drained from critical
mass to near-life threatening conditions, plus all the mental and emotional
agony you've suffered...though I fear it'd be worse if you experienced the
full extent of Karmalibra's actions against you and all of us...you're doing
okay," Olga muses. "I assume the 'intimate therapy' I recommended is working
well?"
"Hai..i-it is," Ryouga flushes, surprised that one method Sagussans
used to recover from harsh mental or emotional trauma was to simply lay in
bed in the warm arms of one's mate. "All Akari-chan does is let me touch her
belly and feel the babies. I...I wish I was telepathic like you. I'd love
to...talk to them."
Olga smiles. "The thought counts just as much, Ryouga. When you
recover enough, your ability to sense another's chi will tell you a lot about
your babies. Speaking of which, they're quite fine; while you're with us,
I'll have a child services officer keep an eye on your fiancee and them.
Okay?"
"Hai, it does," he nods.
"Okay. Oh, you have visitors."
"Eh?!" Ryouga blinks, then smiles as a host of familiar faces enter
his private recovery suite. "Hi, guys!"
"Hey, man, how're you doing?!" Ranma thumps his shoulder as Olga
retreats to give them privacy.
"Much better, believe it or not," he nods. "I can't believe this!
Three days ago, I was helping someone try to kill the same people who are now
falling over each other helping me."
"They understand the concept of 'forgive and move on' very much,
Ryouga," Cologne hops herself on the edge of the bed. "Atop that, if this
Karmalibra was a reflection of a future-version of Akane's first student who
had been at war with the Sagussans for several hundred years, they feel a
moral responsibility to heal all her victims, ensure that in OUR timeline it
never happens."
"Yeah, that's true," Ryouga nods.
Silence falls as everyone considers what to say next, and begin the
healing they ALL needed. The others had all learned the details from Negako
and Ranma-chan. They now knew just how bad the hurt had become...and how much
worse it could have been.
Finally, Ranma sighs. "I...don't like what we are now...the way we
look at each other at times."
"Ditto," Akane nods.
"It got way outta hand at times," Ukyou hugs herself.
"I've never liked it," Mousse admits.
"Shampoo no like it either," Shampoo grunts.
Ryouga smiles. "I think...after what I just went through, if
I...continued to look at people the same way...I'd just be slitting my throat
and hurting my fiancee and my kids...and putting a lot of innocent people
around me in mortal danger."
"That's good," Cologne nods. "Now that you've admitted the basic
problem, you have a choice. Do you wish to start healing now or go all the
way into specifics?"
"Well...we should mention a few things," Akane nods.
"I'll start," Ranma takes a deep breath. "Ryouga, look. I may
not've been the best when it came to understanding your feelings,
but...you're my friend, man. You're the best sparring partner I could ever
ask for. Yeah, I got pissed at you for making me take that oath. Yeah,
there were times I prevented you from telling Akane the truth. I should've
realized what you were doing and given you a chance...but I was afraid, for
you and me. You know how Akane was at times. If she found out the truth,
she'd've killed me for not telling her and really do a number on you."
Akane winces, her eyes tearing, then smiles as Ukyou places a
supportive hand on her shoulder. "At the same time," Ranma's voice hoarsens.
"There was my feelings for Akane...heck for everyone that got engaged to me,
I guess. Honour sooner or later's gotta be put aside where happiness is
concerned, where the future of one's life comes into play. I think Nabiki's
got the right idea by not adhering to the Code. It took me so long to admit
to *myself* that I loved Akane...that it was her I wanted."
Akane feels her cheeks heat while Shampoo and Ukyou frown. "And
there you were, giving your love to Akane without question. That puts you
one up on me, man. And..." Ranma looks down, his eyes glistening, "...when
things between Akane and I were bad...when I asked myself if it was gonna
work out...I believed...she would've been better off with you. And if I
ignored the oath, told her about P-chan...how could that've happened?"
He coughs, then wipes his eyes. "I realized I was in love with Akane
some time ago...I really can't say when, but it was way before Saffron...and
when I did, I really got jealous of you, angry at you for trying to make
things rough between us. Then Akari comes into your life. 'Finally, he's
got someone he can care for!' I said...but there you were still playing
P-chan! What the hell was I supposed to do?! Only way I understood how to
solve problems was to destroy it! And when...when Ranma-chan finally offered
the chance to blow what you were doing wide open...I took it."
Akane sighs, reaching over to gently grasp her fiance's hand. "At
the time, it seemed like the only way to deal with it," Ranma continues. "I
guess...I'm better with the 'now' and not the 'later'." He pauses again
before adding, "I may have wanted to humiliate you, man...but I NEVER wanted
you to die because of it."
Ryouga contemplates that for a long time, then sighs
understandingly. "Thanks. You know, we're both a pair of bakas."
"What do you mean?" Ranma wonders.
"We both grew up on the road, out of a home, away from being with
other people," Ryouga shrugs. "We never really understood things Akane,
Ukyou, Akari-chan and everyone takes for granted. You had your father at
least, despite the moron he was. Me...I had no one. I...said this to Akane
when we talked after it happened. I never knew a loving home, rarely if EVER
saw my parents. So when Akane offered me...tenderness...I leapt at it like a
moth to a flame. I was P-chan at the time, so I was...afraid that if I told
her the truth, I'd destroy what she willingly gave me. Regardless of what
was happening between us, I...didn't want to lose that."
He takes a deep breath. "Then I meet Akari-chan...and things became
so confusing," he shudders. "Akane...still knew so little about me. Akari-
chan accepted me, curse and all. So...I began to shift. And while I was
doing that, I...decided the time had come to finally come clean. You stopped
me for whatever reason. I...so I fell into a habit. When I was a pig, I was
P-chan. When I was myself, I was Ryouga. Then...Ranma-chan put a stop to
it...and though it hurt real bad, maybe she...she did a good thing in the
long run..." *It just didn't feel like it so soon after it all, though...* he
mentally finishes.
As they talk, Cologne slips out of the recovery suite, then smiles on
seeing Olga and Misato standing there. "I think they'll be fine once they
blow this off," the aged matriarch muses. "But why did you want me to
provoke them into doing this, Misato?"
"I'm still...inexperienced when I deal with non-Sagussans," Misato
sighs. "And thanks to what happened, there is a level of mistrust within some
of them concerning us. They've enjoyed quite a number of adventures together.
Despite their hidden anger and pains, at a primal level, they trust each other
implicitly. Now they have to tap into that trust to work things out. I
suppose, given some hindsight, it was in some places a grave mistake to allow
our people to interact with them while their interpersonal relations were
still...volatile."
"It's quite alright," Cologne muses as the three head to a nearby
observation gallery to gaze on Mars's ruddy surface rotating below the
"Ossa'cha." "Despite the bad things that occurred, you did those kids a lot
of good. They...had to see what REALLY lay beyond the boundaries of what
they knew and trusted. Much like what Tomobiki had to experience after the
Spirit War shook things up so badly. You provided the chance for them to do
that. In time, they'll realize that a lot of good came from this experience
and they'll thank you for it in their own way."
"That's good," Misato nods. "Oh, by the way, does Akane...?"
"Not yet," Cologne hisses. "About a month ago, Ranma and Akane were
kidnapped by an ancient warlord from southern China, Yung Shan. During their
time as his 'guests,' he forced them into a chamber and pumped it full of
aphrodisiacs to make them...more than willing to get on with 'their natural
duty to the Unity' as the Nendo-kata would eloquently put it. He is, though
this may not surprise you, two thousand years old and has desired control of
the power of Jusenkyou for almost all that time. In a way, I wish your friend
Ifurita hadn't restored the springs; it would've cheated Yung Shan of his
chance to make Ranma's coming daughter his slave."
"Another thing we did that could become a disaster," Olga shakes her
head.
"Elder Mother, is there anything we can do to help?" Misato wonders.
"Given what you said, I will tell Noa about this and she will be very
concerned about it."
"Your offer is kind, but I think we'd better handle this on our own
for the next while," Cologne muses. "While you see it as basic humanity to
help those in need, short-sighted fools like this Scalphunter creature would
warp it to their own ends and make you suffer for it. Your innate goodness is
your greatest strength, the synergy from that giving you a power no one could
defeat. It is also...potentially a grave vulnerability, one that beings like
Scalphunter happily exploit for their own ends. Tell Noa to be on the lookout
for things like that, Misato."
"I will," the psychologist nods, then tenses. "What in Lyna's
name...?!" she spins aft.
"What is it?!" Cologne blinks.
Misato and Olga race down the corridor towards another observation
room...where Happousai was now standing rock-still, Negako before him, her
blazing soulsword held high. "NEGAKO, NO!!!!!!" Misato screams as the blade
races down...
...and burns away a dark aura of energy that had been buried deep
within the aged grandmaster!! Cologne gapes, then walks up to him as
Happousai shakes his head. "Are you alright, Happy?"
"Me...?" Happousai blinks, then grins. "Hell, never been better,
love!! Thanks, Nega-chan!"
"My pleasure," Negako disperses the soulsword.
"I thought you didn't understand pleasure," Misato muses.
"It is...a common courtesy," Negako muses. "Besides, I DO understand
gratitude, even if Happy's attempt to give me my own life failed. Good day."
She leaves. "Um...will someone tell me what's going on here?" Olga
wonders, scratching her head.
"Relax, Olga-chan," Happousai smiles. "Hundred years ago, I tried to
help Nega-chan there get her own body. Her masters didn't take it too well,
so they nailed me with a damned curse that made me dependent on touching
women and women's things to stay alive!"
"Cute," Cologne snorts.
"Ah, it don't matter now," he shrugs. "Kimaenowakai's a bit of a
flake, but Nagaiwakai's got a good head on her shoulders. That family's in
good shape. Besides, Nega-chan is free."
"True, but she now has to handle what achieving her dream means,"
Cologne muses...
* * *
"'Morning."
Ryouga blinks as Ranma-chan walks into the room. It was easy for him
to tell her apart from her spirit-brother; there was NO WAY Ranma would wear a
revealing halter top and wide-legged slacks when he was a girl. "Hi," he
smiles as the shipmistress sits beside him. "Um...you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Ranma admits, then sighs.
"So..."
"So...where do we begin?"
"I..." Ryouga tenses. "Um...why?"
"Eh?"
The wanderer breathes in. "Look. I know you...now see Ranma as your
spirit-brother. Your brother-in-all-but-blood; I guess that's what you mean
by that. I...I heard from Akane that you all got your names either through
Ataru Moroboshi because he and Ranma spent time with the kids at the
orphanage in Nerima, or when your friend Noa came through checking things
out. And...well, defending your spirit-brother's understandable and all
that..."
"Still, it wasn't an excuse to hurt you like I did," Ranma closes her
eyes, tears brimming. Ryouga shudders, hand itching to wipe them away.
Yesterday, he had seen the impossible: Ranma Saotome in tears as he admitted
things he did wrong (a first for Ranma as far as Ryouga knew). In fact, there
wasn't a dry eye in the room when it was all done, even from Shampoo (who
hailed from a place where it was decidedly uncool to cry before fellow
warriors).
Gently, she takes his hand and guides them to her eyes. "I had no
right to interfere," she bites her lip. "It violated the Non-Interference
Directive and it potentially put the lives of thousands in danger. I want to
make it up to you, Ryouga-kun. Now that I'm...not blinded by my own anger, I
can see what a decent person you are. I...I'm not sure what you'd want from
me in return. By all rights, you could demand I resign my commission and
submit myself to a trial for what I did. But...before you do, I should at
least tell you why...what motivated me to do what I did, now that I've had a
chance to reflect on it for a bit."
Ryouga nods. "Have you...ever been lied to, Ryouga-kun?" Ranma gazes
at him. "Someone's never told you something important about someone, someone
you love and care for, something...that when you did find out, hurt you badly?
Made you feel as if your trust for that person you care for was betrayed?"
"No, not myself personally...but you could say that about Akane after
what I did," Ryouga admits.
"Well, it happened to me on Sagussa, believe it or not. I could
sympathize with Akane's situation," Ranma sighs, gently grasping his hand.
"Someone who cares for that person keeping a secret like THAT from her, in
essence using her for his own ends, hiding a whole aspect of himself from
her. And not only was Akane's family keeping the whole thing secret, her own
child- mate had been coerced into it. I...I knew it was my spirit-brother
who cursed you, Ryouga-kun, but from...from what I sensed of him, it was an
accident. He didn't even know you were there until you confronted him about
it later. He had just been cursed himself and...after the way his
*kimei'aidoei* father force-fed that 'man above men' junk down his throat,
having that torn away from him..."
"Yeah, I'd be pretty out of it myself, I guess," Ryouga sighs. "What
happened to you? Does it concern Akane-chan?"
"Hai. You remember Irunmei, don't you? Well, Akane-chan and Irunmei-
chan were bonded four hundred years ago. It...was a shock to most people at
the time; I didn't become a *daishi'cha* until just over a hundred years ago.
Well...something went very wrong with Irunmei-chan's conversion. Put simply,
she went insane...and Akane-chan tried to kill her to die to prevent her from
hurting all of us through the Dreamscape. At the time I exposed you to Akane,
I had just learned Irunmei-chan was still alive."
Ryouga pales. "Gods..."
"Well, everyone...tried to put Irunmei behind them. Then I came onto
the scene. My...attraction to Akane-chan started the instant I began defence
training; she was my thoughtmistress. I made it clear even then, even when we
didn't fully understand our emotions, that she was the one I wanted. Akane-
chan...was unsure. She was still hurting over Irunmei-chan and didn't want
to...commit at the time. So...to ensure I never found out, she swore ALMOST
EVERYONE on Sagussa to silence over what happened to Irunmei."
The wanderer's jaw dropped. "How could they do that?"
"Oh, it was easy then; all Akane-chan had to do was persuade them of
the logic of not dwelling so much on past disasters," Ranma snorts. "As I
said, almost everyone were sworn to silence over the thing with Irunmei-chan.
Pony, my doctor, wasn't. She...felt it wasn't right for me to be kept in the
dark over the matter, so she told me. And...I was really hurt over it,
Ryouga- kun. Even then. It was as if...no one trusted me to respect the
pain the woman I loved endured because of her first bondmate.
"So we come to when I first encountered you," she closes her eyes.
"There you were, acting as if Akane couldn't be trusted to understand the
pains you went through, acting as if it was okay to keep 'P-chan' secret from
her, even when you had your own child-mate and had pretty much accepted that
Akane wanted my spirit-brother. At that same time, I sensed that
Irunmei-chan had come, most likely to take Akane-chan away from me. I was in
quite the rare mood that day. So...I took it out on you."
Silence falls as Ryouga absorbs that. "Is that what I've become?" he
gazes at his hands.
"What?"
"That...all that matters to me now is revenge?" he clenches his
fists. "That's all that consumed me this last while. Just the pain, hate
and anger...it was no wonder I nearly killed myself or could've died even
earlier."
"I don't think so."
"Eh?"
She begins to trace his fingers with hers. "You're going to be a
father in five months. You have a lovely child-mate. You've got someone who
even now forgives you for what you've done to him, who...now admits what he
did wrong with you. Ranma's as much your spirit-brother as he is mine, you
know. You have good friends who want to stick up for you, who...realize,
understand, what you've been through. Akane pretty well forgives you now.
She loves Ranma but still wants to be your friend. You fight for those who
can't defend themselves. You're a good person, Ryouga-kun. Is it your fault
that others don't take the time to see it?"
Ryouga hums. "No, I guess not."
Ranma then sighs. "I better go..."
She rises...then finds his grip tightening around her arm. "Ranma,
wait..."
She looks at him as he rises, pulling Ranma gently closer to him as
his other arm loops around her back. Without hesitation, she slips into his
embrace, her tears flowing. "You're as much a good person as your spirit-
brother, Ranma," he kisses her forehead. "Yeah, you made mistakes. But you
were fighting for the person you love. When you love someone, you do crazy
things, things that might hurt people. We all do that. In the end, we're all
'human', you know."
"Hai, I guess we are," she gazes at him, then ducks in to deliver a
tender kiss. "There's something I want to ask you but I'll put it through
Akari first. Anyhow, I gotta get things arranged to get Ukyou's place fixed
up. Get some rest."
He nods as she departs, then sits back on the bed, letting all that's
happened come to his mind, making sense of it all as best he can...
* * *
"Nice view, huh?"
"Yeah, it is," Ukyou nods as Ranma sits beside her, gazing at the
awesome mass of Olympus Mons. "I'm kinda glad we're here now. You had to
have lived in Tomobiki to see this before."
"I guess so," Ranma sighs, then gazes at her. "You okay?"
"I'm...I dunno," Ukyou shakes her head. "It can't be shut off, Ran-
chan. I...I know you never loved me, not like you did Akane...A-chan.
I...but what happens to me now?"
"What happens?" he stares at her. "U-chan, of the girls who came
after me, you're the best off. You have a good occupation, you're well-
skilled, you're as independent as one could be. You wanna know how envious of
you I was at times? How...I wished I could be as free as you..."
"Was I free?"
"I think so," Ranma nods. "Yeah, there was honour and duty to the
family and all. You had EVERY right to come after me and Oyaji for what
happened. You had every right to demand what you did. But...the one thing
that was missing from it..."
"Was your love for me," Ukyou gazes at him.
"Yeah," he looks down. "It's like I said yesterday. I didn't know
what to do. I...I was being ripped apart by my own duty, my trying to respect
everyone's opinions, how much I feared coulda happened if I made a choice...my
need, my desire to have all the friends I could after all those years on the
road with just Oyaji..."
"We used each other," she shrugs. "None of us're innocent in that
respect. It's a wonder that we still care for each other after all the
garbage we've been through. The question now is...what happens to me? I'm
the real unlucky one. Shampoo always had Mousse to fall back onto. A-chan
had you..." she pauses, then stares at him. "Ran-chan...sometime ago, I
overheard you and A-chan at the dojo talking about doing something with
me...what did you mean?"
Ranma blinks, then stares at her. "Well...I was kinda worried about
you. You hadn't been by the dojo to visit and...well I hadn't had much chance
to come by the restaurant..."
"You mean you weren't...interested in finding someone for me?"
He jolts, then shudders. "U-chan, for cryin' out loud, after who
knows how many fiancees, jerks wantin' my head and all the challenges I've
been through, you actually thought I was going to put YOU through all that?!!
Are you nuts?!!"
"Okay, okay!" she laughs, waving her hands peacefully, then sighs,
gazing at him. "So what happens now?"
"I...I dunno," he looks down. "I...I've been trying to talk more
with Akane, tell her things that I'd've only told you before. Try to show I
trust her more. But...I still think of you as my friend. I'll always be
there for you...to help you if you get into trouble. That doesn't change,
not one bit. But...you know, if you don't want anything to do with me
anymore..."
"What?!!" Ukyou gasps, then slaps his shoulder. "If you think after
all the crap we've been through, I'm gonna toss you totally outta my life,
Ran- chan, you jackass, YOU'RE crazy!!!"
Both laugh, then embrace. "I guess...we gotta just find a way
to...look on each other that won't get us into trouble," Ranma sighs, then
notices Shampoo-chan walk in. "Hey, Shamps!"
"Hiya, Ranma-kun!" the Tofunokoibuto-born shipmistress kneels beside
the chef. "Honey, ya gotta talk to your spirit-sis! She's really peeved
at'cha; I hadta drag her down ta Earth so she could help get your restaurant
fixed up!"
"What?!" Ukyou rises, then sighs. "Oh, where is she?"
"Cafeteria Two," Shampoo thumbs down the corridor.
The chef jogs down, grateful that the engineers who had spruced up
the "Ossa'cha" after her reactivation over Den'sha Two had put bilingual
signs in Sagussan and Japanese on the bulkheads (plus temporary Russian signs
for the duration of the cruiser's current mission). Finding Cafeteria Two,
she sees Ukyou-chan standing by the window, a sullen look deep in the
shipmistress' eyes. Ukyou shudders, wondering what peeved her spirit-sister
so much. "Umm..." she stops. "You okay, spirit-sis?"
"Don't call me that."
Ukyou feels icicles form on her from the frigid voice. "Wh-what did
I do...?" she stammers.
"What did you do?" Ukyou-chan glares at her, paralyzing the chef with
a stare so lethal, it causes Ukyou to take a step back. "Look, you, I've got
feelings too, you know! I wasn't trying to ORDER you to do anything, you
dumbshit!! I haven't got a right to do that! I was ADVISING you to let your
feelings for Ranma go and get on with your life! And you and that cross-
dressing idiot who works for you turn around and start blaming US because you
lost out on your precious Ran-chan!! We had nothing to do with 'taking' Ranma
away from you, Kuonji; it was a done deal long BEFORE we came to Nerima!! I
lost a chance with MY Ranma and I got over it pretty well! It's time for you
to do the same!!"
With that, she storms off. "Wait...!" Ukyou cries.
"Let her go, hon," Shampoo stops her. "Give her a chance ta cool off
a bit, then go talk ta her."
Ukyou sighs. "I guess I kinda took it out all on you guys, eh?!" she
gazes at her spirit-sister's bondmate.
"Ain't your fault," Shampoo winks. "We're still gettin' used to
being able ta feel like you folks do. We don't pussy-foot around sensitive
stuff like a lotta folks on your planet do; it don't make sense ta us. C'mon
out an' say it; that's the way we live. Let me talk ta her for a bit."
"Talk or make love to her?" Akane-chan wonders from the bar.
"Both, of course!" Shampoo smiles as she walks out.
Everyone laughs...
* * *
"Well, everything's all done, Ukyou," Nabiki-chan announces as
everyone relaxes in the lounge sometime later. "It's all set to go as soon as
you're ready to beam back down."
"I'll go back tomorrow," the chef stretches herself. "There's
something I gotta do first."
Everyone notices the empty space beside Shampoo-chan, realizing what
Ukyou meant. "Should be okay," Ranma-chan sighs. "Besides, you've GOT to see
all the improvements we threw into it."
"What improvements?" Ukyou and Konatsu wonder.
Nabiki dials up a hologram of U-chan's. "Your shop's built the same
way as the weapons your spirit-sister gave you when you fought Karmalibra,"
she indicates the details. "The girders are duranium with a neutronium core,
cross- beams underlined with strips of pergium, which is next from neutronium
in density, plus diamond meson strips for psionic defence. Windows are
transparent aluminum. Your shop is now as earthquake-proof, blast-proof and
chi-proof as we could make it without taking ANYTHING away from its function
as a restaurant and your home."
"So if you had another fight like the one that totalled the place
some days ago, the windows'd be blown in, a fire might start and some things
might get wrecked, but the basic structure of the place will not be affected,
which'll save on the reconstruction costs," Ranma-chan adds. "Atop that, we
threw in the usual goodies: fire-suppression system, fusion generator, water-
treatment and sewage-treatment system, space video-phone with universal
translator..."
Ukyou smirks. "You guys are too much, you know that?"
The Sagussans shrug while their guests chuckle. "Well, it was in a
sense our fault since Karmalibra was after us," Akane-chan shrugs, leaning
into Ranma-chan's side. "Besides, it's a good way of building bridges as
well as healing rifts between our worlds. We want to be your friends and we
want to watch out for you people. We make mistakes...like when someone loses
her temper and forgets the standing orders governing her mission," she
lightly punches her bondmate in the ribs to emphasize her point, "...but we
do our best to make it up. Some people'd see it as a form of bribery. We
don't. We see it simply as the right thing to do."
Ranma-chan winces from her bondmate's emphasis, kisses Akane-chan on
the side of the face, then blinks as the intercom whistles. "Bridge to
Shipmistress Ranma," the duty watchmistress announces. "The new party from
Nerima just came aboard."
"Okay, send them down here," Ranma-chan calls out.
"Who came by?" Ranma wonders.
"Oh, just your parents and Akane's father," his spirit-sister stands,
stretching herself. "While we were down there, your mother came by and asked
how you were doing."
The door swooshes open, revealing an angry Genma. "RANMA!!!!"
Ranma sighs. "What is it, Oyaji?!"
The older martial artist storms over to grab his son by the collar
and yank him out of his seat. "What's this I hear about you CRYING when you
were talking to everyone?!!" he snarls. "What did I teach you about tears,
boy?!! MEN don't cry...!!!"
An explosion causes everyone to spin towards the door, where a VERY
angry Priss stands, Sugoi holding Shunran behind the incensed Pathfinder.
"***WHERE IS THAT DUMBSHIT SAOTOME?!?!?!***"
Her eyes lock on Genma, then she marches over. Nodoka blinks,
realizing that the irate master chief wants something to do with her family,
then tries to intercede, hand on katana. "Excuse me, Priss-san, but what
business do you have with my son?!"
The Saotome matriarch winces under Priss' burning gaze, now hot
enough to burn neutronium. "Put the butterknife away, Nodoka; it's your
husband I've got words with!"
"Oh, go ahead, then," Nodoka backs off.
"What...?" Genma blinks...
...before Priss slams him into the deck! "Okay, asshole, you and
I're gonna have words about you abusin' your kid like that over the years!!"
she hauls him face-to-face. "'Cause it's a clueless moron like YOU who mucked
up Ranma's upbringing so bad, he couldn't do shit to help himself or the OTHER
people whose lives you screwed until it nearly killed someone, INCLUDING MY
DAUGHTER!!!!"
*SPLASH!!!!* It amazed people at times at how fast Genma could duck
out of arguments by finding a glass of cold water and hiding as a panda. "Oh,
ya wanna be like that, huh?!!" Priss snarls, drawing out her combat knife and
tapping the sharp edges with her fingertips. "Suit yourself, then!! Hey,
Shampoo, you folks got a recipe for PANDA STEW we can try out on Sagussa?!!"
"Nyu-che-zuu got lots of recipes!!" Shampoo nods, grinning savagely,
then hums, glaring in disapproval at Genma. "But is Priss sure she want to
feed honourless panda to little Shunran?! Priss want little Shunran to become
like honourless panda?! Shampoo no want little Shunran to get tummy-ache!"
Priss hums, then glares at Genma-panda, now trembling, eyes locked on
her combat knife. "Yeah, ya gotta point there!" she grabs him by the fur and
yanks him up. "I think I'll turn this honourless, gutless and moral-less dork
into a nice CARPET for the house!!"
BOY, DO SOMETHING!!!! the panda fearfully growls, desperately waving
a sign at Ranma. SAVE ME FROM THIS MONSTER!!!!
"Hey, Akane-chan, you told me sandpanthers like P-chan like eating
people at times," Ranma gazes at Akane-chan.
"Hai, they do...the *dumber* they are, the more they like it!" Akane-
chan grins.
Genma-panda shudders. UNGRATEFUL WHELP!!
"That's enough out of you, Dear!" Nodoka scolds, then stares at
Priss. "Priss-san, seeing as how Ranma would be utterly insane to challenge
someone as well-skilled as you to save his worthless deadbeat of a father from
his JUST and LONG OVERDUE punishment for all the misery he intentionally and
accidentally unleashed on everyone, do you have some other way to resolve this
matter?"
"Matter of fact, I do," Priss grins. "'Priss' Five Lessons In Proper
Treatment of One's Child.' Just invented them now! C'mon, dork; you just
became my guinea pig!!"
"Oh, go ahead!!" Nodoka waves them off. "We'll watch over your
little one! Make sure you have Lufy-san there with you!"
"She'll be there!!" Priss waves as she throws Genma over her
shoulder, then carts him off.
THIS IS GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, YOU KNOW!! Genma-panda signs.
Nodoka sighs, rolling her eyes. Everyone laughs except for Souun,
who bawls his eyes out, imagining the awful amount of damage Priss and Lufy
would soon unleash on his best friend. Ryouga stares at Ranma and Ranma-chan,
both grinning like maniacs. "Something tells me you both set this all up," he
muses.
"We did," the shipmistress chortles, then winks at him. "Like we
said, we always repay our debts."
Ryouga blinks, then yelps as pudgy hands grab his hair. "Hey!" he
senses someone sit on his shoulder. "Shunran-chan...!!"
"Unca Pii!!" Shunran gushes.
"Shunran-chan, no...!!!" Akane gasps...
...as the small Oni upends a glass of water over Ryouga. Everyone
winces as the wanderer jolts, feeling the trickles fall down his face, then
sighs. "Somehow, I shoulda expected that," he hums.
"Ryouga-san, are you alright...Shunran-chan, why are you crying?!!"
Sugoi takes the sobbing Oni off Ryouga, then embraces her, wincing as the
young girl buries herself in her bust.
"Maybe she's sorry about soaking Ryouga!" Ranma hums.
"No, Ranma, it's different," Akane rises, then walks over to play
with Shunran's hair. "She just misses P-chan, that's all."
"Hey, you okay, A-chan?" Ukyou wonders.
Akane blinks, then touches the tear in her eye. "Yeah, I'm okay, U-
chan. I...I guess I'll miss P-chan, too."
Suddenly, a flash of light floods the room. "Won't have to miss him
anymore, Tendou-san!"
"What're you doing here, Miz?!" Ranma-chan rises.
The science-thoughtmistress of water studies in the Te'a Studies
Group smiles, placing two small boxes on the table. "Oh, I just paid a quick
visit to Jusenkyou," she announces, then opens the boxes, allowing two bolts
of black to leap out.
"Hey!!!" Akane yelps as the small piglet lands in her arms, then
starts licking her.
"Anudda Unca Pii?!" Shunran hums as the other piglet leaps into her
hands, then giggles as it starts licking her.
"How..?!" Ryouga gapes.
"Oh, just found two stray puppies and dunked them into the spring you
fell into, then froze them in their cursed forms," Miz smiles, then waves her
*haijo-ju* staff. "Take care!"
She vanishes. "Hey, Ryouga, they're missin' something!" Ranma rises
to gaze at the small pig in Akane's hands.
"Yeah," goes Ryouga, "they are." Standing, he undoes two of his
bandannas, tying one around Shunran's P-chan, then staring at the woman
holding the other P-chan in hand. "Akane?"
"Go ahead," Akane nods.
Ryouga ties the bandanna in place. The small piglet grunts, then
leaps into Ranma's hands before licking him. "Hey, cut it out!!" the martial
artist squeaks, then laughs.
"Incredible!" Akane smiles. "A P-chan that likes Ranma!!"
Everyone laughs...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
A day later...
"It's good to be back home!" Ukyou sighs as the transporter effect
fades, letting her, Konatsu, Ryouga and Akari go as they find themselves a
couple blocks from U-chan's. "Well, let's go see what everything looks like!"
"If you want, you can stay with us on the farm while you get things
set up," Akari offers.
"Thanks but no thanks, Akari-chan; you live too far away...oh, man!"
Ukyou gapes...
...on seeing U-chan's fully restored to its pristine beauty, freshly
painted and cleaned. "Whoa!!!" Ryouga whistles. "Now, THAT is what I call
good service!!"
They enter to see Kasumi-chan cleaning up the stove and several
others of the team of *daishi'cha* who had come to Furinkan earlier dozing at
the tables. "You're back!" the child services director smiles. "Welcome
home, Ukyou! You like it?!"
"Whoa!!!" Ukyou gapes, stunned at the fact that they got EVERYTHING
right. "How did you do this?!!"
Nabiki-chan whistles. A rush of wind is heard, then Ukyou spins
around to see a rover unit hovering by the door. "Great thing about our
rovers!" she smiles as the device heads back to its duties. "Their scanners
are the most accurate we've got. We've had detailed scans of this place for a
year, right to the sub-atomic level. Once we got plans drawn up, the rest was
easy."
Ukyou blinks, then smirks, walking behind the counter. "Hey,
Konatsu, what're you doing standing there?! We got customers!!"
"Hai!" the kunoichi races upstairs...then screams!
The Sagussans moan. "P-chan!!! Charlotte!!! Get down here and stop
scaring him!!!" Akane and Asuza bellow.
Their sandpanthers lumber downstairs. "Forgot these two fuzzballs
were upstairs taking a nap," Ranma mutters, then looks upstairs. "Sorry about
that, Konatsu!!"
"I-i-it's o-o-okay...!" Konatsu stammers fearfully.
Ukyou grins, then fires up the grill. "Okay, what'll you all have?!"
she calls out as she starts making batter.
Orders race in. Ukyou launches into her work as okonomiyaki starts
flying. Konatsu races down to join in. Couples pair up as they relax,
relieved the crisis was over and that the healing could begin. At one table,
Ranma and Akane relax in the other's embrace, gazing out the window at another
day in Furinkan, imagining the day Tere'na City arose from the ashes of the
Clone Rights War to become a place of life and people, not ghosts and dust.
Konatsu walks up to them. "Here you go!" he smiles.
"Thanks, Konatsu," Ranma then notices the note written in the sauce
over the crust: "Tell my spirit-sister I'm sorry."
Ranma blinks, then exchanging a nod with Akane, concentrates. A
moment later, the front door flies open. "UKYOU!!!!!!"
Ukyou winces on seeing Ukyou-chan standing there, having just beamed
down from the "Ossa'cha." Everyone clams up as the two gaze upon each other.
"Um...hi, spirit-sis...!" Ukyou faintly smiles.
Ukyou-chan hums, then impishly grins. "Four specials!!"
"Four?!!" Ukyou wonders.
"Sure," Ukyou-chan waves in Shampoo-chan, Akari-chan...and Noa. "We
got some people coming by for a visit!!"
"Make yourselves to home, everyone!" Ukyou grins, then notices the
strange woman with her spirit-sister and friends. "You must be Noa, right?!
What brings you around here?!"
"Well, I came to see how everything is now that Scalphunter has been
buried for all time," the *ashi'cha* muses. "Atop that, I visited Shinobu
Miyaki's parents. They want to have a family get-together and they still have
to find out about Shinobu becoming a Sagussan, much less Lum-chan wanting her
to bond with Ataru! Ranma, we'll have it on the 'Ossa'cha,' okay?!"
"Hai!" Ranma nods.
Everyone sits down as Kodachi-chan turns on the music, putting on a
cassette tape. Ryouga then walks over to sit across from Ranma and Akane.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Eh?" the former wonders.
"What you said in Sick Bay?"
"Oh!!" Ranma then smiles. "Well, as you no doubt know, we are on the
lookout for good men to help father children. I talked to Akari about this.
She says it's okay as long as you agree to it. So, how'd you like to
contribute?"
Ryouga faints! "You want me to WHAT?!?!"
"Now, relax, Ryouga-kun," Akari sits beside her dazed fiance. "The
Sagussans are actually quite pragmatic in seeking out the right sort of men to
father their children. I couldn't believe all the compliments I received from
all their shipmates about what a 'catch' I had in you," she kisses his cheek.
Steam billows from his neck. "I'll...I'll think about it, Ranma..."
he chuckles, scratching his head.
"Don't keep us waiting too long, Ryouga-kun," Akane winks. "You
better know that Ifurita and her friends are expressing PROFOUND interest in
having babies with you!"
Ryouga shudders, then blushes. "I can't believe I made THAT good of
an impression on them!"
The door opens again. "Three traveller's specials!!!"
"Hey, Chigaiko, Negako...oh, hi, Aoi-chan!!" Ukyou grins as Chigaiko,
Negako and Aoi walk in, backpacks in hand. "What're you all doing here?!"
"Stopping by to say we'll be on our way!" Chigaiko sighs as they sit
by the counter.
"What?!!" Akari bolts up. "Chigai-chan!!"
"Hey, we'll be there for the wedding!" Chigaiko winks at her.
Everyone laughs. "Looking forward to travelling with your new
mothers now, Aoi-chan?" Noa stares at the young girl.
"Hai," Aoi nods. "I lived on the streets for a year before the
Yakuza picked me up, so it won't be so bad. Kinda nice that I won't have to
worry about stealing food and all that."
"We're just deciding how we're going to go about the adoption
process," Chigaiko adds.
"Good for you," Ukyou grins, flipping the okonomiyaki onto their
plates. "Shoot, you all amaze me, you know that."
"Why do you say that, spirit-sis?" Ukyou-chan wonders.
"The way you're all ready to dive in and adopt kids all like that,"
Ukyou smiles. "It's scary to watch at times."
"Not really," her spirit-sister shrugs. "We're programmed to be
mothers before anything else. It's natural to us."
The other Sagussans nod. "Oh, this is for you," Negako hands Ukyou a
small package. "I noted that it was sent by Ryouga while he had his 'guest'
within his mind, so I took care of any chi traps that might've been there
before bringing it in."
"Oh?" Ukyou stares at Ryouga, then opens the package, drawing out a
booklet. "A bankbook...from the...holy shit...!" she gapes on opening it and
seeing the deposit amount, again with "USD" beside the final tally.
"Ryouga...!!"
"Where did you get all this money from?!" Konatsu blinks, staring at
the amount and mentally translating it into yen.
Ryouga shudders. "Ask Karmalibra...wherever she might be."
"He obtained it from..."
Noa's and Chigaiko's hands slap Negako's mouth shut before she could
say more. "He doesn't need to hear that, Nega-chan!!!" the latter snaps.
"And I don't think Ukyou'd want to know, either!!"
Negako sighs. "Well, tell us this, then," Ukyou hums. "Did it come
from a very illegal source that was ALSO being a pain in our collective butts
over the last while?"
Negako nods. "Too bad," Ukyou snorts, pocketing the book. "I may
not always have my head on straight, but I'm not dumb when it comes to
business!"
Everyone laughs as they return to their meals. "They deserve to know
the truth," Negako stares at Chigaiko.
"Not **that** sort of truth, not after what they experienced,"
Chigaiko sighs. "It's the pitfalls of emotion, Nega-chan. In a sense,
you're the lucky one since you need the truth to help you better understand
what being human is about."
"If you say so," Negako sighs. "Next thing, you'll insist I not say
anything about Akane Tendou's pregnancy."
Ryouga and Ukyou jerk. "***WHAT?!?!?!***"
"NEGAKO!!!!!!" Chigaiko screams.
"Lyna's Soul, they're even WORSE than Tomobiki!!!" Noa moans as her
eyes roll up.
"When did this happen?!!" Ukyou demands, then fires a look at
Chigaiko to make sure she didn't blunt the information flow.
"A month ago," Negako reports. "From what I could tell of their chi
aura and their emotional state, the intercourse that provoked Akane's
pregnancy...was not consensual. NEITHER of them wanted it to happen then;
Akane doesn't even know she is pregnant though the signs will soon become
apparent. I assume that drugs were probably used to make them conceive their
children."
Ryouga and Ukyou gape, the Sagussans paling at Negako's words. "By
our standards...that's two counts of rape," Ranma warns.
"Ours, too!!" Ukyou gasps. "Oh, Ran-chan...!"
"Akane...!" Ryouga shakes his head. "Ukyou, what happened?!"
"Some mummified warlord from China named Yung Shan kidnapped them;
Kirin and his pals brought them back..." Ukyou reports, then sighs. "Well,
I'll tell you this one, sugar! Next time this old fool shows his ugly puss,
he dies!!" At Noa's surprised look, she adds, "Not because of what happened
between Ran-chan and me or between Ryouga and Akane. This is general
principle!!"
"Amen to that!" Ryouga nods. He pounds his fist into his palm for
emphasis. "I think we can agree on this: nobody like Yung Shan should get
away scot-free after what he did! It just ain't right!"
The others sigh as they return to their meals...
* * *
"Well?!"
"Well, what?" Negako muses as she, Chigaiko and Aoi head down the
road towards the Unryuu farm, continuing their journey.
"Don't you see what your words did?!" Chigaiko muses. "Now that's
another thing that'll provide friction between Ranma, Akane and their
friends..."
"The friction exists only if they permit it to...and after their
experience with Karmalibra, they know the cost of what running with
assumptions will invoke," Negako muses. "Besides, I know of Yung Shan.
Their problems with him are not over yet, not by any stretch of the
imagination."
"What does that mean, Negako-papa?!" Aoi wonders.
Negako muses. "It is believed he is 2000 years old, Aoi. For that
time, he has quested to seize control of the true power behind the Jusenkyou
springs, power that could create a martial artist which would even give ME a
prolonged fight. He himself can be defeated since the magic used to keep him
alive can be broken. I estimate about fifteen minutes for me to destroy him.
However, the primary goal of Ranma and his friends now is to prevent Ranma's
and Akane's coming daughters from falling under Yung Shan's control."
Chigaiko blinks, then sighs. "So what do we do?"
"We continue our journey and raise Aoi," Negako reaches down to
gently grasp her future daughter's hand. "Since they are your friends, you
will likely desire us to render assistance to Ranma and his friends when the
time comes. We will do so."
"What do you think about it?" Chigaiko muses.
Negako blinks, then lightly smiles. "I know that you would go help
no matter what. If Yung Shan or his lackeys target you, they will be make to
see the error behind their decision."
"Including lethal force?"
"Naturally."
"Just checking," Chigaiko grins as she grasps Aoi's other hand, then
they head down the road toward the coming dawn...
* * *
And so it began...
For my friends in Furinkan, their problems would multiply to the
point where they would be caught in their own Spirit War far away in the
mountains of China, all over the question of who would control the destiny of
two little girls. Negako, Aoi-chan and I were there for some of it, both in
the original battle when the Heiresses of Jusenkyou, Ranma Saotome II and
Akari Saotome, were born, then in the battle seventeen years later when they
strived to jointly achieve their destiny...
(From "The Ghost of Class Two-Four," by Chigaiko Inu-Moroboshi, (C) 2019,
Shogakukan Publishing Inc, Tokyo)
*** To Be Continued ***
**** **** **** AFTERNOTES (TED): If Quincy Jones could have Carlton Banks
(Alfonso Ribeiro) sing Tom Jones on "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air," I could
have Ryouga sing Neil Diamond here (Elvis is too cliched and Ryouga's not a
Barry Manilow kind of guy). [Getting my horn to do some tooting!] On
January 16, 1999, for the wedding reception of one of my cousins, I sang the
same song Ryouga was hypnotized into singing ("Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon"
[it was on the "Pulp Fiction" soundtrack]) complete with air guitar. They
loved it. [Puts horn back.] I was honoured that Fred offered to merge some
ideas he'd had with a draft I had done, but I wasn't pleased with the final
draft the first time. Unfortunately, some signals got crossed so the end
result wasn't the one I felt happy with. This time, though, Fred and I got
the story so we could BOTH be able to stand back and enjoy it. Thanks to
Phil Gavigan for his support and guidance, as well as Scalphunter (without
her there would have been no story). Thanks again to Eleanor for her editing.
Comments and constructive criticisms always welcome; flames and destructive
criticisms will be doused. Now if you'll excuse me, I got to join my fellow
adventurers in a fanfic in progress, "The Travellers." Later!
AFTERNOTES (FRED): Put simply, this has certainly been one of the most mind-
wracking writing efforts I've ever undertaken. I'm used to cranking out
stories and getting them onto the Net as soon as my mother's finished editing
them. So a big apology to Ted for trying to get this out before we BOTH were
satisfied with it. Kudos to Phil Gavigan for his frequent advice (and for
Karmalibra, too!). I hope all you P-chan lovers out there'll enjoy this
version a bit more. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to
Megatokyo to complete my "BGC/Tokimeki Memorial" fanfic "Illusions." Ciao!
**** **** ****
*What the heck hit me?!* he moans. *Kunou had the glass jaw, not me!
* Still moaning, the wanderer sits up, then blinks on seeing empty sky and
cloud under him...then screams in embarrassment on noting he was naked!
"WHERE AM I NOW?!?!?!" he bellows, covering himself as he looks around. Bad
enough he was lost, it didn't help he was bare-assed here too!
A holographic screen then appears before him, a line in tan flashing
MAY I HELP YOU?
Ryouga blinks, then stares at it. "Um...where am I?"
The screen flashes a standard salutation. "'Dreamscape?'" Ryouga
blinks confusedly, then reads. "'Daimon'cha, Daishi'cha and outworlder
Marei'cha welcome. No other outworlders allowed! Intruders will be...'" a
gulp, "'...mind-wiped without trial?!'"
This is perfect!!! Karmalibra screams from within him.
*What do you mean?!*
Ryouga, this is the place ALL the *daishi'cha* come to enjoy some
mental time-off! Karmalibra purrs. From here, you just have to access
their personal dream-site, then go to town!!
*How do I do that?!* Ryouga scratches his head.
Ask for it to call up the sequence number panel, then tap the
number for the *daishi'cha* you want!
*Sounds simple,* Ryouga muses, then sighs. "I wanna visit someone."
The screen alters to a touch-pad format, ten numbers on the screen.
PRESS DAISHI'CHA SEQUENCE NUMBER TO ACCESS SITE.
"Um...thanks!" Ryouga smiles, then hums. *Okay, here we go...!* he
presses 91129.
ACCESS TO DREAM-SITE #91129 OPEN. YOU MAY PROCEED.
Ryouga disappears as the screen turns red, a new line flashing.
EMERGENCY INTRUDER DEFENCE PROGRAM INITIATED. RE-ROUTE INTRUDER TO DREAM-SITE
#97394...
* * *
"***WHERE AM I NOW?!?!?!***"
Ryouga looks around, finding himself...now clothed in his usual shirt
and trousers...in a sea of solid white. Concentrating, he fails to detect
any detail. The gentle ripple of falling water is heard. Ryouga
shudders...ever since he got his Jusenkyou curse, he HATED that sound...then
sees a beautiful waterfall appear. He walks towards it...then emerges into
sunlight. "Whoa!!!"
He now stood in a luscious valley filled with blooming flowers and
ancient trees. Mountains tower to the heavens, capped with fields of glacial
ice. Ryouga drinks in the cinnamon-like scent, then stares at his...shadows?
"What the...?" he looks in the direction of the heavens, then shades his eyes.
"Two suns?! Where am I?!" *I've been lost before, but this...!*
A bird's scream then echoes through the air. Ryouga sees a large-
winged bird bearing a marked similarity to the Sagussan national symbol soar
down the valley. Without hesitation, the wanderer races off in pursuit. The
bird looks at him, then slows down, ensuring the pursuing human can keep it in
sight.
Time becomes meaningless as Ryouga leaps over rocks and rivers with
an ease many years of martial arts training bestowed. The bird remains in
sight, then lands on a rock as Ryouga finds his way to a beautiful seashore.
The salt air tantalizes his nostrils with its purity, then he blinks as the
bird calls to him. Looking south, he notices it flying toward a distant white
dome surrounded by tall mountain peaks.
Ryouga runs in pursuit, his eyes locked on the bird. It was nice of
it to stay in his field of vision; as long as he kept a recognizable object in
view, he was all right. However, the dome kept distracting him as he
approached it. The scale of the place was mind-boggling; it seemed dozens of
kilometres wide. Ryouga stops, wondering what sort of people could've built
such a thing, then blinks as the bird's call summons him to a dark entrance.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friend..."
Ryouga enters the tunnel, grateful that light lurked on the other
end. The tunnel itself was quite long, perhaps a kilometre but seemed like a
mile, which meant that the dome's shell had to be that thick. Staring at the
wall, he runs his hand along the surface, testing the material. Incredible;
there was no breaking point he could sense as he tried to track chi lines.
The dome's shell was layered between a bright silvery substance and a darker
grey material, both impossibly dense even to the naked eye. "What is this
stuff...?"
The bird calls again. Ryouga turns, then runs down the tunnel.
Emerging into the light, he gasps on seeing a vast space, as big as Tokyo
itself, softly lit and filled to the rafters with hundreds of kilometres of
catwalks and an uncountable number of man-sized chambers, each filled with a
body. Shuddering, he steps onto an elevator pad, then rides it up a hundred
metres to a small platform. Looking down one catwalk, he notices several
people drawing someone out of a chamber. *This seems like...a nightmare lab
from one of those REALLY bad science-fiction movies!*
Approaching, he glances over the shoulder of one to see that the
person just drawn out is a young girl, maybe ten years old. Her nude body is
coated in a cryogenic preservative fluid, bits of frozen ice still sticking to
her clammy skin. She was pretty in the innocent, cherubic way of most
children, with long platinum hair and auburn eyes. Her chest subtly rises and
falls, though the number of breaths she takes is spaced dangerously too wide.
"Its organs are still functioning," one of the orderlies reports,
staring at a friend.
"Stop the heart and extract the eyes," another orders.
Ryouga gags as a long needle is punched into the girl's chest, her
eyes suddenly widening as pain rips through her body. Dropping to his knees,
the horror of what he is witnessing freezes him in place as the orderlies
deftly cut out both her eyes, then place them on a sterile tray. They then
walk away, leaving the shaking wanderer with the unmoving girl on the gurney.
A groan escapes his lips as he leans over to gently draw her off,
nausea surging through him on seeing those empty cavities where her eyes were.
*Oh gods...why did they do that?! That poor girl...!* Laying her across his
legs, he draws off his jersey, then gently clothes her before cradling her in
his arms, tears streaming down his face. "Oh,
gods...why...why...why...why...?" he moans, each word punctuated with agony as
he holds her.
"Horrible, isn't it?"
Ryouga looks up to see the adult version of the unmoving girl stand
before him, dressed in a light blue-and-gold Sagussan jumpsuit, a science
chief's three stripes on her lower arms and a long staff with a glowing red
crystal in one hand. While most of her face is strangely devoid of emotion,
her eyes are haunted with a weighty sadness that made Ryouga seem the happiest
of people. He shudders. "You're not Ranma-chan..."
"No, my name is Ifurita," the woman introduces herself, then kneels
before him. "You should've read the sign, Mr. Hibiki. Intruders are not
permitted in the Dreamscape."
Ryouga pales, remembering what else the sign said. Ifurita smiles,
her eyes twinkling reassuringly. "Relax, the part about mind-wiping was
Shayla's early idea of a joke. In the meantime," she casts her staff over her
younger twin.
She disappears, reappearing in the chamber from which she was
extracted, her eyes restored and Ryouga's jersey back on himself. The
wanderer rises, then takes time to peer into the other chambers. They all
had Ifuritas in them, either adults, barely past puberty or children. "Is
this your idea of a dream?" he stares at her.
"No...more of a constant reminder of what was," Ifurita muses. "You
and Karmalibra made a mistake, Mr. Hibiki...may I call you Ryouga?" At his
nod, she continues. "You attacked someone who had two bondmates. While you
did hurt Akane, Irunmei was able to sneak around and psi-blast you into the
Dreamscape foyer. Once you were there, you were in OUR territory, then after
Karmalibra was fooled into urging you into a dream-site, you were brought to
mine."
Ryouga blinks, then shudders, a surge of emotions swelling in his
heart. He had fallen for the most simple trick in martial arts: deceive the
opponent into doing what you want him to do. Atop that, he couldn't feel
Karmalibra within him. Trapped in a strange person's dream-site, everyone on
Sagussa doubtlessly aware of his presence and intentions, without his friend
to help and with no way out except bowing to whatever Ifurita demanded. *If
this is your last stand, Hibiki, make sure you never give up now!* he tries
to be calm, defenses rising as he gears for a fight, maybe his last.
Suddenly, gentle lips brush his. As they do, Ryouga feels his soul
being soothed, wrapped in loving warmth. He blinks as Ifurita leans back,
smiling. "My, you are quite handsome, you know that," she muses, giving him
an appraising glance. "One must compliment your child-mate on her
exceptional good taste. By the way, congratulations on your coming twins.
Anxious to see them born?"
Surprised by the change of topic, not to mention embarrassed at her
appraisal, he sheepishly nods. "Yeah, I am." He then looks around. "What is
this place?"
"Tere'na-korgh...the Forge of Tere'na," she explains. "To us living
on Sagussa today, the most divine place on our planet. Fifteen millennia
ago...the universe's biggest slaughterhouse."
Ryouga shudders, then stares at the storage chambers, the true horror
of his host's words sinking in. "A storage place...of human body-parts...?"
nausea surges forth to stagger him as her words and the images, the horror
that happened here, sink in. He fights hard to keep standing up.
"Hai," Ifurita nods. "Ten billion people lived on Sagussa at that
time. Each had three clones made of them for just the purpose of having
intact body parts in case something within them failed. You wanted a new
heart, you got one...and you didn't ONCE have to worry about organ rejection.
Even now...we don't understand what brought this practice about. Part of
us...doesn't want to."
"I don't blame you," he sighs. Seeing what happened with Ifurita's
younger twin was enough to convince him. "So what happened?"
"The War of Clone Rights," she explains, the scene around them
shifting to reveal the devastated landscape of Tere'na City before the start
of the Fifth Republic, an angry white giant sun burning overhead. "A whole
civilization was wiped out over five centuries. Sagussa was devastated, the
inner worlds of our system incinerated when Eisen'a, the dwarf sun you saw
before you came to the Forge, was destroyed by a sun-killer bomb, the
explosion causing Sen'a," she points up to the heavens, "...to swell in size
to a white giant stage. And because of that, we *daishi'cha* came into
being...to rebuild it, bring new life to this place. To try our best to make
it a living world again."
"I can see why a lot of people are supporting you," Ryouga muses,
uncertainty gripping him.
Ifurita sighs. "You don't trust us. After what Ranma did to you, I
don't blame you. Neither does Noa, our Elder Mother. We want to make it up
to you, Ryouga. But we can't do it while you have Karmalibra in your head
and having you trapped in some mad obligation just so that little crybaby can
try to hurt us."
Ryouga blinks. "'Little crybaby?'"
A disgusted snort escapes her as the scene shifts again to a very
pleasant family home's living room. Ifurita waves him to a chair, then sits
across from him. "Karmalibra is what we in the Te'a Studies Group call a
'composite concept entity,' Ryouga. She emerges from the shared belief of
billions of sentients across the known universe who want to have some
'divine' intelligence control the balance between that which you call 'good'
and 'evil.' She sees herself the SOLE arbiter of the balance between those
forces. When an 'excessive' amount of good occurs, she induces a like amount
of evil to keep the Universe in balance; conversely, if too much evil arises,
a like amount of good is induced."
"Yeah, it's the balance between yin and yang," Ryouga nods.
Ifurita sighs. "Well, we don't believe in something like her,
Ryouga. The balance between Creation and Entropy...what at times could be
seen as good and evil...is a natural thing. In our eyes, it needs no
balance- keeper, Ryouga." She then smiles, a hunter's smile on seeing choice
prey. "And because we don't believe in something like her, Karmalibra...has
no power over us."
Ryouga blinks. "There are other races who believe like we do," the
science-thoughtmistress-prime adds. "The Nagussans, the T'Kon, the
Lannarkites, the Nendo-kata and others. All of them Karmalibra can't affect
directly. She hates that fact; if we did believe in a concept like her, we
could give her a LOT of spiritual power. So, to get around her inability to
affect people like us directly through what you'd call 'faith,' she uses
cat's pawns to do her dirty work. You, my friend, are the latest in a VERY
long line of victims she's trapped to that end."
Silence falls as the wanderer contemplates that. There was some
truth in her words. "You can chose to accept what I say," Ifurita rises.
"You can chose to reject it, continue to think that ALL of us on Sagussa are
like Ranma. You can chose to believe whatever you wish. But I know you
presently loathe the idea of being forced into doing something you personally
would choose not to do, forced to watch a good friend suffer for no real
reason, even if it would give you a sense of justice over the pain inflicted
on you."
Ryouga thinks hard. Ifurita didn't seem she would hurt him. In
fact, Ifurita seemed warm, gentle and caring, unlike Ranma and her gang of
"pranksters." Surely, not ALL Sagussans were as bad as he thought. "Can
you...free me of that bond?" Ryouga wonders.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you toward that end," Ifurita bows her head
apologetically. "Being what I am now...means I am under very strict rules of
behaviour concerning the Power I can access."
"But I know you!" Ryouga snaps, pointing at her. "Cologne mentioned
something about you sometime ago. You're the one Ranma-chan called to have
the ponds of Jusenkyou restored before Ranma and Akane went there to discover
a cure!"
"That's right," Ifurita nods. "In that case, we understood that the
ponds' restoration was vital to the ultimate destinies of many people,
ESPECIALLY the future offspring of Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendou. In that
case, we could do something; were it left to whatever Terran forces that could
also manipulate Jusenkyou's power, they could've really botched it and done so
much damage, I shudder to think of the possible results."
She takes a deep breath, then gazes deeply into his eyes. "But, like
it or not, you CHOSE not to see both sides of any particular situation before
you, Ryouga. You CHOSE to stubbornly believe in your side of the argument
without taking into account the other person's opinion. I'm not accusing you
of anything. I'm stating a simple fact. In some ways, given what you've
endured, you have a right to stick to your beliefs. But...because of that,
the control you need to master the chi energies you can manipulate so easily
has long been denied to you. And it was because of THAT problem, Karmalibra
was able to corner you like she did."
Ryouga blinks, then looks down. "I don't know what to think."
"That's a decision in the end you have to make," Ifurita smiles, the
sadness returning to her eyes. "Remember, Ryouga: a balanced opinion.
Karmalibra is using both laughter and memories, though painful, to make you do
what she wants. Remember what you saw in the Forge. THAT is real evil,
Ryouga. Entropy gone totally amuck. Besides," she winks bemusedly as Ryouga
felt himself slip out of the Dreamscape, "...Ranma-chan and her friends would
NEVER laugh like that..."
* * *
"Hey!!"
Ryouga blinks, looking around to see a dark alley around him.
Staring at himself, he sighs on recognizing the new clothes he had bought in
Las Vegas, then rises. "Weird..." he muses.
What happened to you?!! a voice bellows in his head.
Ryouga blinks, then makes his way out of the alley. *Relax! I got
lost in the Dreamscape. By the way, the Sagussans know that you're in me
now.*
So?! Karmalibra snarls. What sort of sob story did they try to
heap on you, anyway?!
Ryouga moves to tell her, then pauses, his eyes widening in stunned
realization. She couldn't sense it within his own mind? Had Ifurita used
whatever power she controlled and blocked certain parts of his mind from
Karmalibra's scrutiny? Why? Why did she do that? *Does it matter?*
Oh?! Remember this?!
Images and sounds of the humiliation are thrust into Ryouga's mind
once again. The pain of the plasma blasts is relived. Mocking, evil
laughter, sounding like those who hurt him, assaults his senses, laughter
that once could send waves of depression coursing through him. However, the
bad memories of this doesn't create as much pain as before. Why...?
* * *
Karmalibra snarls. It was bad enough that there were parts of her
host's mind which were now blocked from her manipulation...she was quick to
recognize the bright tendrils of *te'a* energy which marked the potential use
of a *haijo-ju*...but now the laughter she used, a reminder of the pain
Ranma- chan and the others gave him, to keep him compliant had little effect
on him. Wonderful! If she couldn't keep him obedient, she could lose control
over him.
Not a chance. Not this time. Not now.
She tries again to punch through the mental walls keeping his
experience in the Dreamscape from her view. No joy. Shuddering, she tries to
pick through other parts of the wanderer's mind to at least get SOME idea of
what he had just endured while she was using his body to do another job at a
nearby drug-processing plant. Again she fails. Sighing disgustedly, she
relaxes, tired. No need to exert herself just yet. She needed time to gather
enough energy to make another attempt at attacking the Sagussans through their
dreams, this time keeping in mind Ranma-chan's second bondmate and the fact
that they would probably be waiting for her this time.
She remains silent as Ryouga makes his way into his bedroom at the
hotel in Furinkan he was using, then heads to bed. Suddenly, an image appears
before her. Karmalibra blinks, then, despite all she had done over the
millennia, shudders. For now, the empty sockets of a person with her eyes cut
out now gaze at her...
* * *
"Help...me..."
Negako grabs the fallen I-beam, then flings it off the young girl.
Barely nine, she was dressed in quite flashy clothes for her age. A cursory
glance at her chi patterns elicits a raised eyebrow and a snort. Sexually
active and abusing drugs at that young of an age? Shaking her head, she
kneels to draw the badly wounded girl into her arms. "How is she?" Happousai
wonders from nearby.
"She is dying," Negako announces.
The girl's pain-filled brown eyes flutter, then she turns to stare
into Negako's. "I don't...wanna die..."
Negako blinks, then a twinge of...something...flashes through her.
This child had been with the others in this Yakuza cell, now dead, crushed
under fallen walls and a collapsed roof thanks to Karmalibra, processing raw
opium from the Golden Triangle into heroin for trade on the streets. Gently,
she reaches up to touch the psi-link points on the girl's face. "What's your
name?"
"Aoi..."
"Do you have parents?" Negako wonders as she feels switches in her
mind click into place, her nervous system now transforming into a psionic
conduit linking the silent parts of her brain with the mind of the girl in her
arms.
"No...what...what are...?"
"Relax," Negako closes her eyes and concentrates. "All will be well
soon enough..."
Aoi's eyes flutter shut as her *mei'na* is absorbed into Negako, the
first time ever the grandmistress had made use of the *tre'cha* skills
instilled in every Avalonian on birth. As the girl's body goes limp, Negako
relaxes, then senses Happousai gazing understandingly at her. "Part of me
doesn't understand, Happy..."
"What part does?" Happousai muses.
"That Chigaiko would...see it as a good thing to do. She has no
family, was used to...amuse her co-workers, then help sell their heroin on the
streets to local students."
"And you want Chigaiko-chan to be happy."
"Yes."
Happousai pats her shoulder. "You're learning, Nega-chan. You
better get her up to the factory to have her looked after."
Negako nods, then taps her wrist-comm to have her and Aoi beamed to
Sado. As they disappear, Happousai glares in the general direction of the
hotel where Ryouga now resided. "Lady, you really crossed the line this
time," he icily smiles. "You may think Hibiki's yours to command, but once
he learns you used him to kill a child, you're gonna have a real fight on
your hands."
* * *
"Who is she, Nega-chan?"
"Her name is Aoi Mizutani," Negako sighs as she and Chigaiko watch
Aoi float in the regeneration chamber aboard the factory later. "She is an
orphan. Her parents were killed in a house fire when she was a baby. She
herself ran away from the orphanage when she was six, then was 'adopted' by
the Nerima Yakuza as a combination sexual toy and advertising agent for their
narcotics trade."
Chigaiko pales, then stares at the beautiful girl now being healed of
her shattered bones and shredded muscles and internal organs. She then stares
at Negako. "Did Ryouga-kun...?"
"The one within him was responsible," Negako sighs.
"Oh, gods..." Chigaiko shudders, gripping her heart. "What'll happen
when he finds out...?"
"We could tell him now," Negako muses. "He would then realize what
Karmalibra has done behind his back...and when he rebels, all she would have
to do is pour an overwhelming amount of chi energy into him. Once he loses
control, the resulting explosion would most likely destroy all of Tokyo."
Chigaiko jerks, sweating, then looks away. "Okay, that's not such a
good idea," she muses. "But how the hell do we make this thing let go of
Ryouga-kun?"
"I cannot say because I still do not know what Karmalibra exactly
is," Negako admits.
"Then I could help you."
Both turn as Ranma-chan walks up. "Hey, Ranma, what're you doing
here?" Chigaiko smiles, then notices the pained look deep in the shipmistress'
eyes.
"We've got to talk," Ranma-chan sighs...
* * *
"Hey, sugar, you look horrible!" Ukyou shudders on seeing a pale-
faced Ryouga saunter into U-chan's. "You okay?!"
"Yeah," Ryouga moans as he relaxes by the counter. "Just a bad dream
last night."
"What about?" Ukyou wonders.
"It's hard to explain..."
* * *
"Now let me see if I get this straight," Chigaiko gapes at Ranma-chan
as they and Negako relax in a lounge. "You mean to say some future version of
Shinobu came back in time to try to change history...and she was possessed by
this Karmalibra character?!"
"Exactly," Ranma nods. "Near as Ifurita could tell, this thing came
onto Ryouga just as his chi levels were about to reach critical mass." A
shudder rips through her as she remembered the images Ryouga thrust upon her.
The idea of being the one who might have detonated a chi-charged version of an
atomic bomb that could've wrecked Tokyo sinks in, then she stares at Negako.
"So it gives him a deal he couldn't refuse."
"Let it use him for its purposes, mainly to strike at those beings
who don't believe in it...and thus give it power...and he would live," Negako
lightly smiles. "How typical."
"So how do we convince this thing to get out of Ryouga-kun without
killing him?!" Chigaiko asks. "I don't even know how the hell I'm going to
tell Akari-chan about this!"
"Do not do so," Negako sighs. "If you did so, Akari would be very
tempted to proceed to Tokyo to confront Ryouga and thus place her unborn
children in harm's way." She then hums. "Ranma, how does Ifurita and her co-
workers view the influence of mortal beings on creatures like Karmalibra? Is
it possible this 'Scalphunter' variation of Shinobu might have overtly
influenced Karmalibra to the point where she would solely be directed by
Scalphunter's past memories and experiences?"
Ranma blinks. "It's possible, I guess. But how in Lyna's name can I
use that against it?"
"Not you, Ranma. Me," Negako's eyes narrow, an icy smile twisting
her lips. "Or rather what I once was. I think it's time that Karmalibra
experiences Shinobu Miyaki's worst nightmare, which, if Scalphunter's history
was parallel to our Shinobu's, centres on her experience in the Spirit War.
In the meantime, since Ifurita has given Ryouga the chance to have some
thoughts to himself through the Dreamscape, I would like you to do
something..."
* * *
That night...
*About time the boy went to sleep!* Karmalibra growls to herself as
she senses Ryouga drift off after a day of relaxing and spending time with
Ukyou. *Just a few more places to visit...*
She shudders on sensing Ryouga's mind slip out of her grasp into the
Dreamscape, bars of energy blocking her from trying to keep him in place or
follow him into the Sagussan mental web. *Damn them!!!* she shrieks. *How
dare they?!!*
Mocking laughter then echoes. Karmalibra shudders as the number of
voices picks up, a rolling crescendo of sound assaulting her to the core of
her being. It seemed as if every *daishi'cha* was laughing...at her!
Laugh all you want!!! she screams at them. I'll show you...!!
That's what you think...Scalphunter, a familiar voice taunts
before the laughter fades.
Karmalibra's eyes widen on recognizing the voice. Noa...! she
quakes, hatred and fear fighting for control of her very soul. Wonderful! If
Noa knew what was going on, the Sagussans would be soon coming after her with
everything they had to finally eliminate all traces of Scalphunter from this
existence. She'd have to get her work in Furinkan done as soon as she could
before they did come, then she'd show them. She'd show them all!
Concentrating, she morphs Ryouga's body into her preferred fighting
form, then taking control, leaves...
* * *
"Hey, honey, what's your name?"
Negako stares at the bartender, then assumes her place at the
counter. "My name is Negako. May I have a vodka martini, please? Shaken,
not stirred."
"Yes, ma'am," the bartender nods, then prepares the drink.
Negako sighs, gazing around the casino located in the basement floor
of an office block not far from the Tendou dojo. This was an illegal
gambling hall run by the Yakuza, the workers surprisingly calm despite the
vicious hits their organization had took over the last while. There were few
patrons currently at the tables; it might be close to closing time. As she
accepts the drink (so chosen because of Chigaiko's love of James Bond films),
Negako relaxes and concentrates. Ah, there she was, right on schedule.
Another twenty seconds. "Where is the washroom?" she wonders.
"Right through that door," the bartender nods.
Negako rises, then makes her way to the ladies room and a toilet
stall, locking the door behind her. As a sharp explosion echoes through the
building, echoed by the surprised screams of patrons now doomed by being in
the wrong place at the wrong time, she concentrates. The chi of the Earth
floods her very being with power, then in a curious echo of what Karmalibra
did to Ryouga, Negako alters her body into a form that echoed the last time
she, as the *saikoo jinseijitsu,* tried to achieve her freedom.
Outside, the guards scream as Karmalibra rips through them, her
blasting sword and roaring lion bullets dropping them like flies. The patrons
were already dead, ripped apart in the first wave of chi attacks after she had
blasted her way through the ceiling. It was good that the casino was located
in the basement of an empty building awaiting new tenants; the amount of
innocent bystanders who could've got in the way was decreased dramatically.
While accidents did happen and she did intend to use Ukyou in her plot against
the Sagussans, there was no need to push it too far. Ryouga would fight her
tooth and nail then. Then all would have been lost.
Another use of the blasting sword decapitates the bartender before he
could get to the telephone and call for help. Karmalibra then notices the
untouched martini on the bar. Curious, she approaches it, then looks around.
The washrooms! Growling, she moves to find who might have escaped...when the
ground bucks under her, bursts of thermal energy punching through the marble
floor to reveal trickles of red-hot lava! "Hey...!!!"
"***DAICHI-KI HI-KANKETSUSEN!!!!!!***"
Karmalibra screams surprisedly as the whole floor explodes, geysers
of lava ripping through the building's foundation to fatally compromise the
steel skeleton keeping it erect!! Summoning her own chi to form a shield,
she rides out the blast as the upper floors buckle and shred apart, the
building bursting apart like a banana being squeezed out of its skin. As the
parts fall away, she then feels gravity seize hold of her. She braces,
concentrating her chi into her shield to keep the impact from hurting too
much.
"***SEISHIN REEZAA KOOSEN!!!!!!***"
A bolt of starlight punches through her shield to burn into her
shoulder, cutting her concentration enough to collapse the shield and leave
her unprotected as she crashes into unforgiving asphalt beside the burning
caldron which was once her target. Pain overwhelms all her senses as she
staggers back up, the grating feel of shattered ribs and cracked arm and leg
bones sending hot knives through her. "Better call it a night...!" she
grunts, then looks up into the reflection in a bakery store window.
Karmalibra gasps on seeing Shinobu Miyaki's face staring back at her,
restored to youthful vitality, now dressed in a torn and tattered Tomobiki
High School uniform. Dense fog settles around them, shielding the outside
from her view. Blinking, she then pales on seeing something vaguely human
emerge from the flames behind her. She turns as the flames dissipate,
revealing a black ninja's gi, the curled tiger-and-chrysanthemum of the
Moroboshi Clan on the breast and glowing eyes now burning from...
...Ataru Moroboshi's pale face, crossed with tiger stripes!
"*HELLO, MIYAKI! REMEMBER ME?!*"
"No...!" Karmalibra gasps, memories that to her echoed from so long
ago overwhelming all her senses...
* * *
"DIE, YOU DEMON!!!!!!"
A psychic laser incinerates her! "*THERE YOU GO!! A LITTLE OF THE
RESENTMENT AND HATRED **YOU** FELT TOWARDS MOROBOSHI WHEN HE SHOWED THAT HE
WAS MORE INTERESTED IN THE ONI THAN YOU!!*"
Shinobu is knocked down. Ataru appears from the fog, again none the
worst for wear. "*TELL ME SOMETHING! HOW'D YOU FEEL IF YOU KNEW MOROBOSHI
AND LUM HAVE BEEN BONDED FOR **FOURTEEN** YEARS?! YOU NEVER STOOD A CHANCE
OF WINNING HIM AS LONG AS THAT BOND EXISTED!! AND WITH THAT, MOROBOSHI WAS
INSPIRED TO ENSURE NASSUR WOULD LOVE BENTEN, NOT YOU!!! YOU IGNORANT LITTLE
GIRL!! AS LONG AS YOU CONTINUE TO INTACT WITH THE ONI AND MOROBOSHI, YOU
WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO OBTAIN THAT WHICH YOU DESIRE!!!*"
"N-no...it's not true!" Shinobu moans.
"*IT IS. THE HATRED HE EXPRESSED TO YOU BEFORE THE THIRD TAG RACE
AND YESTERDAY WAS **HIS** HATRED, NOT ANYTHING I DID!! ALL I DID WAS JUST
GIVE HIM THE NECESSARY PUSH TO BETTER EXPRESS HIS EMOTIONS!! DIDN'T FEEL
GOOD, DID IT?!*"
Shinobu shrieks, leaping up as she lunges at him. Before she could
get close, she's grabbed by the neck and her air is cut off. "*YOUR STRENGTH
IS NOTHING TO ME!! EVERYTHING YOU DO TO ME IS NOTHING! I AM FUELLED BY THE
VERY HATRED, RESENTMENT AND DISGUST **YOU** HAVE EXPRESSED TO MOROBOSHI SINCE
THE DAY THE ONI RETURNED TO HIS LIFE! THE HATRED, RESENTMENT AND DISGUST
**I** MANIPULATED, NURTURED AND DEVELOPED SO THAT WHEN THIS DAY CAME, I COULD
TURN IT INTO A WEAPON AGAINST ALL WHO SUPPORT THAT ONI SO MUCH!! YOU HAVE
BEEN CAT'S PAWNS IN MY GAME...AND LIKE THE IDIOTS YOU ARE, YOU NEVER ONCE
SUSPECTED THE TRUTH...!!!*"
* * *
Karmalibra gurgles as she feels herself grabbed by the neck and
boosted up, fingers now as solid as rock freezing her in place. "*YOU
UNDERSTAND NOW, DON'T YOU?!*" the creature holding her in place cackles as
fire surrounds them. "*EVEN NOW, EIGHT CENTURIES AFTER YOU ESCAPED ME IN THE
SPIRIT WAR, AFTER YOU CAME BACK IN TIME TO 'SAVE' YOUR PITIFUL EXISTENCE,
AFTER YOU SOLD YOUR VERY SOUL TO KARMALIBRA, YOU HAVE ALWAYS BE A CAT'S PAWN
IN **MY** GAME, TO USE AND DISPOSE AS **I** SEE FIT! I DO NOT BELIEVE IN
KARMALIBRA, THUS SHE HAS NO POWER OVER ME, SO SHE CANNOT SAVE YOUR SOUL FROM
THE ETERNAL DAMNATION YOU KAKURE BELIEVE AWAIT THOSE WHO HAVE SINNED AGAINST
THE WAYS OF JESUS OF NAZARETH!*"
"H-how...?!" Karmalibra gasps.
"*'HOW,' YOU ASK?!*" the creature icily smiles. "*I AM, AND HAVE
ALWAYS BEEN, THE LIVING AVATAR OF MOTHER EARTH, OF ALL LIVING THINGS ON MOTHER
EARTH...AND **YOU** ARE NOW THE REFLECTION OF THE BELIEFS OF **SOME** OF
**ONE** SPECIES LIVING HERE! YOU ARE AN ALIEN ON THIS WORLD, KARMALIBRA...AND
YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE!! FURTHERMORE, I HAVE NEED OF RYOUGA HIBIKI AND YOU
ARE STANDING IN MY WAY! AS HIBIKI'S FRIEND SHAMPOO WOULD SO ELOQUENTLY PUT
IT...*" it glares into her eyes, "*OBSTACLES ARE TO BE **ELIMINATED!***"
Karmalibra shudders as power warps around them, the burning fingers
of the paranormal-power inverse fire-bomb tearing at the controls she had
over Ryouga's body. "*YOU SEE HOW EASY IT IS?!*" the creature holding her
down sneers. "*I CAN DESTROY YOU AT ANY TIME I SO DESIRE! BUT I NOW BELIEVE
IT WOULD AMUSE ME MORE TO SEE HIBIKI BANISH YOU FROM HIMSELF...AND HE WILL!
REMEMBER THIS THE NEXT TIME YOU TRY TO POSSESS SOMEONE, KARMALIBRA: HONOUR
IS A SWORD SHATTERED ON A ROCK, A PIECE OF PAPER BURNED IN A FIRE, A GRAVE
ERODED BY THE WIND, A SHRINE DESTROYED BY AN EARTHQUAKE! THIS IS A NINJA'S
GAME...AND HERE, I AM SUPREME!!*"
Another explosion overwhelms her as a funnel of lava slams her away
from the *saikoo jinseijitsu,* its mocking laughter, like the screaming howls
of all those who had died throughout history, searing her right to her very
soul...
* * *
Unnoticed by Karmalibra or the creature who had put her down, a
Yakuza guard, who was on his way to work at the casino when the battle began,
emerges from the shadows. Gripping his weapon, he watches as the beast which
had shredded Tomobiki with ease the previous Halloween step into what was now
the funeral pyre for dozens of his friends, then disappear. He doesn't emerge
from the safety of the shadows, though. Karmalibra was still on the scene and
even though she obviously had been put through the wringer by the *saikoo
jinseijitsu,* the hellfire-spawned bitch could probably still waste him. That
wouldn't do his boss any good.
Coughing as she summons some chi energy to heal her wounds,
Karmalibra staggers to her feet, then heads off towards U-chan's. Dawn was
breaking and Ryouga would probably be returning back from the Dreamscape
before long, no doubt loaded with more lies from the Sagussans. Somehow,
she'd have to whip him back into line, push her plans through, defeat the
Sagussans and keep the *saikoo jinseijitsu* off her back at the same time.
As she heads for the safety of Ukyou's restaurant, she glaces from
time to time at the inferno now consuming the latest Yakuza workplace,
shuddering. What possessed Ataru Moroboshi to allow the *saikoo jinseijitsu*
its own life? Had he done it out of some strange sense of mercy to the
creature which had played him like a puppet over a decade...or had Noa talked
him into it just to erect an extra shield between the Sagussans and Tomobiki?
It would make some sense; as that thing just admitted, all of Tomobiki was its
playtoys, to use and discard as it saw fit. Snarling, she picks up the pace.
As soon as she was done with those who had tortured Ryouga, Sagussa's Elder
Mother was next!
Some distance away, Negako watches Karmalibra lead the lone Yakuza
guard right to U-chan's. Good. Force the idiot into making loads of
mistakes, then let matters take their course. Now all that was needed was to
get some new players into the game, then let Ryouga finally make his
decision...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
"Hi, Akari!"
"Hi," Akari-chan steps onto the "Ossa'cha's" quarterdeck. "Well, you
really did it this time, eh?!" she stares at the crimson-haired shipmistress.
"Yeah," Ranma-chan frowns. "Well, it's time for me to face the
music, I suppose."
"I'm glad you're doing this," Akari nods.
"Funny...so am I," Ranma nods, then taps the intercom to the bridge.
"We there yet?"
"Affirmative, Shipmistress," the watchmistress of the deck replies.
"Transporter is ready to take you down."
"Right," Ranma nods, then waves Akari to the pad...
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Ranma-chan and Akari-chan sit in the living
room of the Unryuu residence with Happousai, Negako, Chigaiko and Akari.
Grim looks are on everyone's face, though Ranma's is layered with regret.
"So?" Akari sighs, glaring accusingly at Negako. "Who or what is this
Karmalibra and what does she want with my fiance?!"
"Revenge," Negako sighs. "We can't sense Karmalibra's thoughts; if
Happy and I magnified our own powers, she could detect us. From what Ifurita
sensed from Ryouga's own thoughts, she now...desires to strike out at
Sagussans. Given the incident which you spoke of," her eyes then fall on the
shipmistress, "...she now has a perfect target: those who were involved at
'laughing' at Ryouga when you revealed his deception to Akane."
Ranma bites her lip. "So what do we do?!" Akari snaps, then sighs.
"Ranma, that you...did what you did...I'm upset though I understand your
desire to defend your spirit-brother...and I'm pleased that you came here to
resolve it. It speaks highly of you. I...but I'm also quite annoyed at what
he was doing with Akane all those years, not to mention Ranma."
"It's hard to put blame on any one person..."
"Then get over the question of blame."
Eyes turn to Negako. "She's right," Happousai puffs his pipe.
"Problem with those kids, they just keep on pointing fingers at people which
prevents them from getting over it and moving on. Ryouga's the worst case
I've ever seen! You just got caught up in it when you were there,
Ranma-chan," he stares at the shipmistress.
"Yeah, that's what I want to help solve," Ranma nods.
"But with Karmalibra involved, we might not be able to solve it
without someone dying along the way," Akari-chan warns.
"How do we do that without getting Ryouga-kun killed?!" Chigaiko
wonders.
"It will be easy," Negako muses...
* * *
"Found her!" the guard reports. He had tailed the woman in the ninja
suit to that okonomiyaki place the boss wanted shaken down earlier.
"Good work, Seiji. Don't make any rash moves. I'll send a car down
there, loaded with enough heat and muscle to eliminate that bitch and her
friends. Kenoshi out."
As he hung up and made the preparations he'd just planned, Kenji
smiles. He knew that each of the places this ninja-bitch had struck, save
for the casino thanks to the *saikoo jinseijitsu's* surprise interference,
always had a picture of a scale balanced on a tao symbol etched somewhere
nearby. Now he could end this once and for all. *So you might be hiding the
bitch who's given me all this grief, eh, Miss Kuonji? Well, fool me once,
shame on you. Fool me twice...prepare to die!*
* * *
An hour later...
"You okay, Ryouga?" Ukyou wonders.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ryouga shudders, rubbing his arms as she places the
okonomiyaki before him. "Just one hell of a nightmare last night, that's
all."
Ukyou sighs. No, he wasn't alright. The first day he was back, he
was in great shape, full of confidence and determination. The second day was
even better with his chasing off those goons. But it was yesterday and today
when things swung dangerously downhill. Yesterday, it looked as if he'd
witnessed a horror unimaginable to any normal person. Today...it seemed as if
Ryouga had a personal hand in that horror.
"Do you want me to turn on the radio, Ukyou-sama?" Konatsu wonders,
glancing concernedly at Ryouga.
"Yeah, go ahead," Ukyou nods.
The kunoichi flips it on. A news reporter's voice echoes from the
speakers, "...last night, a monster that devastated Tomobiki last Halloween
visited Furinkan. A being believed by witnesses to be the infamous *saikoo
jinseijitsu,* perpetrator of the Tomobiki Spirit War, was locked in battle
with another being at a recently-completed office complex in the north end of
the district. No one is sure as to what caused the fight or how the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* was able to manifest itself on Earth since its last reported
host body, Ataru Moroboshi, currently is on Sagussa..."
Ukyou blinks, then smirks. "What's so funny?!" Ryouga asks.
"Must've been some copycat thing," she shakes her head. "There's no
way in hell that Negako would ever do something like that again, especially
with Chigaiko watching over her."
"Eh?!!" Ryouga gasps.
"You mean...Moroboshi-sama...is the *saikoo jinseijitsu?!*" Konatsu
stammers, his eyes widening.
"Yeah...oh, that's right, you weren't here for that, were you?" Ukyou
smiles. "You see, back in August when they were moving to get that thing
outta Ataru's head, they discovered that the *saikoo jinseijitsu* was a
sentient being and deserved its own life. So, they teamed up with the
Avalonians to give it her own body...and that is who we know today as Negako
Moroboshi."
Silence falls. "Why did they do that?!" Ryouga demands, a surge of
fear and hatred scalding through him. "Don't they understand how dangerous
that thing is?!"
"'Dangerous?!'" Ukyou stares at him. "Sugar, look. You can't
imagine what it's like being shuttled from mind to mind, body to body against
your will over two centuries. Negako can; she lived through that...and she
HATED it! She may not understand much about emotions, but the one emotion she
knows is the hate she felt at being USED like that!!"
"Still..."
The door opens, heralded by the door chimes. "Good morning, Ukyou.
One traveller's special."
"Hey, Negako!" Ukyou nods. "Siddown and relax."
Negako calmly sits beside Ryouga. The wanderer shudders, staring
fearfully at the ninjitsu grandmistress. *THIS was the *saikoo jinseijitsu?**
repeats in his mind. He then remembers Ukyou's words about Negako's
experiences, a surge of sympathy flowing through him. Who WOULD like the idea
of being used like a toy, then discarded without having any say over her own
existence?
No one.
"How are you today, Ryouga?"
Ryouga blinks. Negako was staring levelly at him. "Um...I thought
you didn't like small talk."
"I simply asked a question...or is the thing within you afraid of
another thrashing like I gave her last night?"
Silence falls. Ryouga blinks confusedly, though a surge of fear
races up his spine. She knew about Karmalibra?! What the hell was going on
here? Ukyou and Konatsu stare quizzically at the grandmistress. "What does
that mean, sugar?" the former wonders.
"Ryouga currently is under the possession of a pathetic little
creature named Karmalibra," Negako calmly reports, ignoring the storm of
emotions twisting Ryouga's face. "She, someone many would consider a cosmic
arbiter between the forces of good and evil, in another time, met a version of
Shinobu Miyaki who desired vengeance on Sagussa. Since the Sagussans
themselves do not believe in a being like Karmalibra, she could not destroy
them directly, thus she had to act through a mortal agent...which the Shinobu
of that time served as until her death sometime ago here in the Furinkan of
this time. All she then had to was wait until someone came along, someone who
had the skills and power she could use against those she wanted to hurt...and
Ryouga served her purposes perfectly."
Ukyou pales, then stares at the wanderer. "Sugar, this ain't
true...is it...?" she inquires.
Ryouga gags, his mouth fluttering open and closed soundlessly, arcs
of chi energy warping around him. "Oh, you should also know this, Ukyou,"
Negako calmly adds. "Part of Karmalibra's plan included either injuring or
killing you."
Ukyou staggers, wide-eyed, then snares her combat spatula, spinning
on Ryouga. "WHY?!?!?!"
"He had no choice in the matter," Negako hums. "The night he
encountered Karmalibra, his chi levels had increased to the point where it
would've reached critical mass. Had she not 'intervened' for 'his own
good'...and given his own lack of control over his chi...he would have died.
The energy from the explosion that would've resulted from that could've
devastated most of Tokyo." Negako pauses. "It *would've certainly* destroyed
Nerima, since Nerima would've been ground zero."
The chef shudders, then pales as the dark implications of what MIGHT
have happened sink in. What was ONE life of a friend, when compared to many
tens of, possibly hundreds of THOUSANDS of innocent lives, which would have
included that friend as well?! "Oh, Ryouga..."
Ryouga gags, staggering to his feet as he tries to escape. Negako
calmly rises, following him outside. Ryouga leans against a telephone pole,
then stares at her. Negako remains unperturbed. "Wh-what're you g-going to
do...?" he finally utters, no small task given the pain he now feels.
"It was I who suggested that you settle the matter with the Sagussans
concerning what happened between you and Akane," Negako crosses her arms. "I,
of course, did not realize that an entity like Karmalibra would inject herself
into you, nor did I take into consideration your lack of control over your
body's ability to produce chi energy. To that end, I apologize and I give you
an offer. Once Karmalibra is removed from your mind, I will train you in the
proper manipulation of chi energy...so that never again can a being like
Karmalibra manipulate you so."
Don't listen to her!!!
Ryouga screams as that voice slams through his mind. "It seems that
Karmalibra does not agree to the idea," Negako hums.
She's tricking you!!! Just like every Sagussan's tricked you from
the start!!! Don't listen to her!!!
Ryouga gags, sinking to his knees. *Wait a sec', that's not right,*
he groans, remembering the conversation he had with Negako before leaving
Akari's farm. "N-negako...!" he hisses.
"Yes?"
"She...doesn't...like you..."
"Understandable," Negako hums. "I told her last night that I have
need of you...and that she is standing in my way."
"Eh?!"
Negako stares at him. "You are Akari Unryuu's fiancee, the father of
her children. Akari is Chigaiko Inu's best friend. Chigaiko is my guide to
better understanding what being human is about. To keep them happy, you must
be alive and well. Karmalibra stands in the way of that happiness. My needs
come before hers."
Ryouga screams as a primal wave of rage rips through him. "***YOU
ARROGANT BITCH!!!! SHISHI HOUKOU RAIPA!!!!!!***" roars Karmalibra in a voice
that is a blend of hers and Ryouga's.
The giant blast of chi power lashes out...at U-chan's!
*NO!!!! That's Ukyou!!!* Ryouga screams.
***DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!!!!***
The restaurant explodes, fragments and cinders showering the block as
early-morning commuters scatter for cover!! Ryouga cries out in horror as he
feels control return to his limbs, then he runs over to gaze into the burning
caldron which had been his friend's home and life. "NO!!!! No...!!" he
staggers to his knees.
"You see how little she cares for you?" a voice muses.
He turns to see Negako leaning against a car, arms crossed, not the
least bit winded from dodging the roaring lion blast. "You should also know
what else she's done behind your back, when you were asleep and she had
control over your body," she smiles. "Do you remember all the money you
placed in those bank accounts abroad? You have any idea where that money
REALLY came from, Ryouga? How many people DIED for you to have that money?"
"WHAT?!?!" *WHAT'S SHE TALKING ABOUT?!?!*
***DON'T LISTEN!!!! KILL IT!!!! KILL IT NOW!!!!!!***
"My, she doesn't like to have her dirty laundry exposed, does she?"
Negako purses her lips. "Or perhaps you'd like to know what was happening
while you made your first visit to the Dreamscape? How Karmalibra used your
body to attack a drug processing facility here in Furinkan...and how, during
her attack, she DELIBERATELY hurt a nine year old girl all because she didn't
know much better than to be the Yakuza's personal playtoy?"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!" he
screams, trying to remember just what did happen. Guilt then rears its ugly
head concerning that act...if what Negako said was true.
IT'S A LIE!!!!!! KILL IT!!!! KILL IT!!!! KILL IT!!!!
"Then, there is last night," Negako caps it off. "While you were
busy in the Dreamscape again, she attacked an illicit casino. Atop killing
two dozen Yakuza members, she also killed a dozen patrons, people who's only
'crime' was that they wanted to earn some extra money, most likely to send
their children to decent schools and enhance their chances at a better life.
Children that are now, thanks to some cosmic 'judge,' orphans."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" his eyes
close as he clenches his fists, realization of what had happened dawning on
him. *Gods, no...please, no...!*
IT'S A LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!!!!
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?!"
Negako and Ryouga turn to see several dark-suited gunmen staring at
them, weapons out and hard looks on their faces. "Looks like we were too late
for the barbecue!" Seiji snorts. "Once we take care of this bastard, the
boss'll sleep easier at nights!!"
Ryouga shudders, then chi explodes around him as his body morphs.
"TOO BAD FOR YOU!!!! ***BAKUHATSUTOU!!!!!!***" Karmalibra roars as her energy
katana comes forward, the bolts lancing through the air.
The Yakuza scream as Karmalibra's attack rips them down, their
corpses piling up across the street. The transformed ersatz ninja then turns
on her tormentor. "Now, it's YOUR turn!!!" she cocks her hands for the
roaring lion bullet.
Fingers then land on her head from behind as psi-bolts lance in to
push Ryouga's psyche into the Dreamscape. Karmalibra screams as she
turns...then is side-kicked into the pavement by Ranma-chan. "That was for
messing up a good dream, bitch!!!"
Snarling, the creature rises, then notices Ukyou and Konatsu standing
beside Negako, both quite peeved. "You manipulated my friend into hurting me,
wrecking my restaurant and my life just so you could get your points against
the Sagussans?!" the chef snarls, her combat spatula at the ready. "Time for
you to experience some of the pain you gave Ryouga, bitch!!!"
"Too bad for you, honey!! SHISHI HOUKOU RAIPA!!!!!!"
Ukyou stands her ground as the massive roaring lion power blast
screams at her, then parries with her spatula. The chi energy dissipates,
Ukyou unharmed. "What the...?!" Karmalibra gasps.
"Nice present Ranma-chan gave me!" Ukyou grins. "Diamond meson and
carbo-neutronium! One to reflect chi, the other the toughest element in the
known galaxy!!"
"It was so nice of you to announce yourself so we could be ready for
you when this day came...Scalphunter!" a voice then mocks from above. "By the
way, the Elder Mother sends her greetings!!"
Karmalibra spins around, looking up to see Akane-chan and Kodachi-
chan standing on one street light, then the other to see Ukyou-chan and
Shampoo- chan there, all angry enough to kill. "How nice of you to come!!"
the ersatz ninja snarls, her body aglow. "Now that you're all here...it's
time for all of you to die!!! ***SHISHI HOUKOU DANKAWA!!!!!!***"
"***HENRYOKU HANDOU KOUGEKI!!!!!!***" Negako bellows.
An explosion rocks Furinkan, echoed by Karmalibra's scream...
* * *
"Where...am I...?"
Ryouga moans, finding himself floating in a sea of white. No pain,
no feeling of any sort. The wanderer's eyes open as he looks around. "Is
this death...?"
"You're too tough to die, man!"
"Ranma!!" Ryouga gapes to see his former rival standing beside him,
then sits up. "Where are we...?"
"The Dreamscape," Ranma reports, then grins as he playfully thumps
Ryouga's shoulder. "You stud, you!! Akari and Chigaiko told us about the
kids! Way to go, man!!"
Ryouga blinks, then blushes. "Thanks, man...I think..."
Ranma sighs, then kneels before him. "Look, I got somethin' to say
to you...somethin' to admit. We had to bring you in here so that we could
talk to you without that Karmalibra buttin' in the way. After that, you can
do whatever you want with me."
"Eh?!"
"I broke my oath when it came to revealing P-chan to Akane," Ranma
bows his head. "I broke MY oath to YOU by agreeing to let Ranma-chan do
that. I didn't want you in Akane's life anymore and I was desperate to do
anything to get you away from her. Ranma-chan offered to do it 'cause lying
to someone you love is something you don't do on her planet!! And I AGREED
TO LET HER DO IT!!!!" Ranma pauses as he tries to choose his next words
carefully. "Ranma- chan also told me about what COULD have happened in that
lot thanks the hurt we gave you!! If I'd known THAT would happen because of
it, I WOULDN'T HAVE AGREED TO LET HER DO IT!!"
Ryouga stares at Ranma as he points to himself. "I STARTED this,
Ryouga, not Ranma-chan!! She was trying to END it!! She screwed up bad
'cause she didn't know much better, but believe it or not, she came today to
admit her mistake and make it up to you!!"
"How'd she plan on doing it?" Ryouga demands. "I went through
agonizing hell with what you put me through! That's not something light, man!
I thought I'd die...and die horribly!! What could have stopped the rest of me
from dying then too?! What could stop her from doing this to anyone else?!
I'm not some power-hungry tyrant or alien bent on wanting to rule the world!"
"I know you're not, and now she and everyone else knows you're not!
I...don't know what might've stopped her," Ranma admits. "But she knows now
what she did, how bad it could have been! We ALL do! She knows, man...and
now she wants to make it up to you! I know it! And I'm gonna do the same
thing, man! I may not've showed you a lotta kindness since we first met,
Ryouga, but we gotta stop this mess, now!!!"
"Any suggestions? For once, if you got 'em, I'm open to 'em!"
"You're killing yourself by letting your anger eat at you!!! Don't
you want to be there for Akari?!! You wanna know how she'll feel if you let
your anger kill you?!!"
Ryouga shudders, then looks away...as hands slip over his eyes.
"Guess who?!"
"Akari!!!" he yelps, then spins around to embrace her.
"How are you?!" she stares concernedly into his eyes.
"Dunno...can't feel much in this place!!" he scratches the back of
his head, then he stares worriedly at her. "Um...did you get what I sent you
from Monte Carlo...?"
"Hai, I did. Thank you very much," Akari smiles, then stares at
him. "Ryouga-kun, listen. If you don't trust Ranma or Ranma-chan or anyone
else, please listen to me! You've got to stop hating people!! You've got to
stop letting things get to you!! Why do you think Karmalibra took possession
of you?!! She doesn't care for what you want!! All she cares for is doing
what a monster named Scalphunter wanted to do...and then she dragged you into
it without REALLY caring what you wanted!!! You've got to stop!!! Please!!!
If not for me or your children, then do it for you!!!"
Ryouga shudders. "My children...?"
Papa...
"Eh?!!"
Papa!
Ryouga stops, staring at two beautiful points of light before his
eyes, hovering between himself and Akari. They gain substance, then take
familiar features. The boy...Hookoo Hibiki...has his father's face, but with
streaks of lavender in his black hair. The girl...Tsukako Hibiki...is fully
black haired, but in every other way is Akari. Both smile as they reach out.
Papa! Papa!
"My babies...!!" Ryouga gapes, then grins as they run into his arms.
"My babies!!!"
We love you, Papa, the children croon.
"I love you too..." he says warmly as he holds them close, enjoying
the warmth of their embrace.
Ranma and Akari grin. *Aww...!* Ranma hums, enjoying this Kodak
moment of Ryouga with his kids.
Shadows then form around them, revealing Akane and Chigaiko. "Hi,
Ryouga!" the former hails.
"There you are," the latter kneels. "You okay, Ryouga-kun?!"
"What do you think?!" Ryouga laughs, then tenderly kisses his
children on the forehead. Realization then dawns as he remembers Negako's
words from earlier. "Oh, no..." he says as his eyes go wide.
"What is it?!" Akane wonders.
"Those people..." Ryouga shudders, gripping his forehead as the
revelations Negako made sink in. "Oh, gods, that little girl..." Ryouga sinks
to his knees, guilt making him feel awful. He'd let the innocent die at the
hands of a madwoman. He knew that it could have ended a lot more tragically
for many that night in the lot, but he still felt terrible that what happened
did.
"What about me?"
Ryouga sees Aoi Mizutani standing there beside Chigaiko, now dressed
in more normal civilians, her long black hair now streaked with platinum, her
hand holding that of the would-be bondmate of her rescuer. "You...are
you...?"
"You're lucky Nega-chan was there to save her when Karmalibra blasted
apart that drug facility," Chigaiko smiles, then sighs.
"Kinda needed the lucky break," Aoi admits.
"I'm glad you're all right," Ryouga smiles, relieved the little girl
was okay.
"Me, too," Aoi walks up, then kisses his cheek as she hugs him.
Ryouga embraces the little girl, blushing as everyone grins. "Aww!"
they croon.
"What about those other people...?" he shudders.
"Why do you think Nega-chan took the form she used in the Spirit War
when she fought Karmalibra?" Chigaiko winks. "The *saikoo jinseijitsu* is
something no one can easily drag before a court of law, you know. Once they
confirm that Ataru-kun's busy on Sagussa, people couldn't associate it with
him, so he's off the hook. Besides, once the fire investigators discover that
the place was a Yakuza front, they won't pay so much attention to it after."
"It still ain't right, Chigaiko!!" Ryouga snaps.
"That's right, man," Ranma pats his shoulder. "Karmalibra's the type
of monster that'd laugh at 'mortal' judgements!"
"You gotta show her that we're the ONLY ones who can judge each other
at the end, Ryouga," Akane adds.
"Why me?!!" Ryouga screams.
"Hey, we'll help no matter what, but like it or not, man, she's in
your body!" Ranma sighs.
Ryouga shudders, then sighs. Ranma was right. That...thing...was in
his body, and used it to kill people who couldn't defend themselves. Even
the criminals Karmalibra butchered deserved some justice; the best Yakuza
goons were nothing compared to Furinkan's legion of martial artists. Yes, he
still felt angry because of what the Sagussans did, but as Ranma said,
Ranma-chan had come to apologize and make up for it. And Ukyou, despite all
his protestations, had still been hurt by the creature, who had promised to
him she wouldn't be harmed. The one who kept himself from nuking Tokyo with
his chi was one Ryouga now saw as the monster she really had been. One who
used him to hurt...and kill.
No more. *It ends here! It ends now!* Ryouga steels himself.
"Okay," he rises, then looks at his hands. "But how the hell do I rip that
thing out of my body?"
Chigaiko concentrates. "Nega-chan's got her softened up enough," she
reports. "But before you go..."
She holds up her hand, a glowing point of light in the palm. Ryouga
blinks, then shudders as Chigaiko gently grasps his hand, the light flowing
through him. His eyes widen in shock, then he feels a surge of chi roar
through him, coalescing around his other hand as chi forms into an elongated
sword with a blazing blade...
* * *
He's ready!!
"Good!" Negako smiles. "***SEISHIN-HASAI HI-KOOSEN!!!!!!***"
Karmalibra screams as the energy bolt slams into her, her very body
shredding apart as something...someone...is punched clear of her. Ranma-chan
braces herself, then catches Ryouga as he gets fully clear, helping him back
up. "About time you got here!!" she grunts, then lashes out with a chi bolt.
Karmalibra, now free of Ryouga, staggers under the blast of energy,
then lashes out with a fusillade of chi bullets. "SHISHI HOUKOU DANKAWA!!!!"
The Sagussans dodge as they move into new positions. Ryouga glances
around, stunned there was so little damage outside of Ukyou's wrecked
restaurant, then finds himself yanked to his feet by the irate chef. "On your
feet, you jackass!! We need you!!!"
"R-right!" Ryouga nods, then braces himself.
"***MOUKO TAKAIBISHA!!!!!!***"
The bolt of chi slams into Karmalibra, sending her into a parked
car. "Normally, I don't hit ladies!!" Ranma snarls as he walks up. "But
you're no lady!"
The Sagussans back off as the former rivals brace themselves, their
intent plain. By then, Karmalibra has recovered. Staring at her hands, she
shudders. Her body was melting away; without a physical form in this realm,
she wouldn't last long. Fine, then. Time for these idiots to learn the price
of betraying her.
"Just look at her, man!" Ranma snorts. "She can't hack the fact that
'normal' folks like us can make our own decisions!"
"Yeah, you got that right, man!" Ryouga grins.
"We had a deal, Ryouga!!" Karmalibra snarls.
"Oh?!" Ryouga says as he stares at her, angry at what he's learned.
"A deal, huh?! Our deal said NOTHING about you attacking and killing people
*in cold blood* even if it was to get a lot of money! Our deal said NOTHING
about you hurting a kid who had no choice in the way her life turned out! Our
deal said NOTHING about you using my body to slay people who only wanted to
make things better for themselves and their family!! And our deal DEFINITELY
said NOTHING about you killing Ukyou!!! YOU promised ME that she wouldn't be
hurt!! YOU broke your word to me, *Scalphunter!* DEAL'S OFF!!!!"
Karmalibra shudders as Ryouga advances on her, chi coalescing around
his right hand. "That's right," the wanderer snarls. "I know all about you
now, what and who you once were! Last night's trip to Ifurita's dream-site
was really informative, you know!! How you couldn't let things go, how you
blamed EVERYTHING that happened to you on other people instead of taking some
of the blame yourself, taking some responsibility! How you kept on hating
and hating and hating until you decided to give into that hate and you
butchered an entire planet of innocent people because of it!!
"It didn't take a rocket scientist much to figure out what you were
doing to me!" Ryouga points at her. "You wanted me to become exactly LIKE you
so you could do the same thing here!! You wanted me to kill not only Ranma-
chan and her friends, but EVERYONE on Sagussa because they don't believe in
you, even innocent children like Aoi-chan, Shunran-chan and Reiko Moroboshi!!!
You can't hack the fact that people won't bow to you, so you use people to get
back at them!! Well, I'VE HAD IT with being used by other people,
Scalphunter!!! NOW GET OUTTA HERE, YOU TWO-FACED LIAR!!!! WE DON'T WANT YOU
HERE ANYMORE AND YOU'VE WORN OUT YOUR WELCOME!!!!!!"
Karmalibra shudders, then grins as chi begins to boil around her.
"Too bad!" she snorts, a gentle rumbling shaking the ground. "You broke your
word, Ryouga! Now you pay for it!!"
Everyone pales...
* * *
"THERE!!!!!!" Kenji screams, pointing out the window to the street.
"There she is!!!"
The helicopter begins to circle over the macabre battlefield. "What
do we do, boss?!" the pilot screams.
"Get lower!!!" Kenji barks, hauling out a well-maintained sniper
rifle. "I'll deal with the bitch myself!!!" His own nerves were tense as he
prepared to end this once and for all. It had not been that long ago since he
had been a front-line man. He'd been smart enough to keep himself ready just
in case he had to dirty his hands again. This once, he wouldn't mind it. Not
at all.
The pilot nods as the machine places itself right over the glowing
ersatz ninja...
* * *
"***KONTOU!!!!!!***"
Karmalibra screams as Ryouga forms the soulsword, then charges at
her, the blade plunging into her heart! Chi explodes around them as the
ersatz ninja starts to laugh. "YOU FOOL, THAT WILL DO NOTHING TO SAVE YOUR
FRIENDS!!!!!!" she howls.
"WANNA BET?!?!" Ryouga snarls. "NOW, RANMA!!!!!!"
Karmalibra gasps as Ranma begins to orbit around her, chi forming a
ring of energy around the struggling warriors. Negako joins in, orbiting in
the opposite direction as the escaping chi Karmalibra had taken from Ryouga
is absorbed into the whirling hurricane forming around them. Karmalibra
shudders, paralyzed by the soulsword as the energy lifts her off the ground,
forming a wall that would protect all of Tokyo from the detonation, then
stares at Ryouga. He lets go of the soulsword, summoning his chi into a
large ball and deliberately aims on target.
"***SEISHIN-HASAI HI-KOOSEN!!!!!!***" Ryouga fires.
"***HENRYOKU HANDOU KOUGEKI!!!!!!***" Negako bellows.
"***HIRYUU SHOOTEN-HA!!!!!!***" Ranma finishes.
Karmalibra screams as the mixed attack shreds her body, her soul
returning to where it first arose. The chi composing her body explodes,
funnelled into a dense bolt, then races heavenward. It catches Kenji's
helicopter by the blades, the loss of lifting power sending the machine and
its helpless occupants into the whirlwind, the centrifugal force ripping them
apart before they could even scream for help. What is left is carried up
into the heavens as the bolt punches out of the stratosphere, then explodes
in a shower of energy that for a short while creates a second sun over Tokyo.
Ryouga yelps in shock as the forces Ranma and Negako unleashed
suddenly vault him into the air. "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
"RYOUGA!!!!!!" Ranma screams.
"I'll get him!!!" Ranma-chan calls out, then leaps onto Akane-chan's
outstretched palms. "Alley-oop!!!"
Her bondmate fastball specials Ranma-chan at Ryouga, who, now free of
the whirlpool that had vented what was left of Karmalibra into space, now
finds himself again at gravity's mercy. As the wanderer braces himself for
the very hard fall, he finds slim hands grab him and yank him into the
shipmistress' embrace. "Hang on!!!" Ranma-chan screams as she stabs her
wrist-comm.
A transporter beam seizes them, then delivers them to just above
ground level at the Tendou dojo, right over the koi pond. Both cry out as
they take a dip, then Ranma-chan emerges, spitting up water as she looks
around for the wanderer. "Ryouga!!!"
"Ite...right here...!"
She relaxes on seeing Ryouga sitting up in the pond, wincing and
rubbing his skull. "You okay?" Ranma-chan wonders.
"H-hai...th-thanks...!" he says a little weakly, his mind just
returning to him.
"Anytime," the shipmistress smiles. "I owed you one."
"Um..." Ryouga sighs.
"Sorry about that," Ranma-chan looks down.
"Ryouga!!"
He looks over to see Akane, Akari, Chigaiko and Aoi emerge from the
living room. "Um...h-hi, everyone!" he waves.
Akane and Akari gape. "Ryouga, look at yourself!" the former points
at him.
"What...?!" he stops, then notices he is sitting in cold water and
hasn't transformed. "What the...?"
"Guess that proves your pregnant, Akari-chan!" Chigaiko nudges her
best friend. "He's free of his curse!!"
Akari blinks, then blushes. "I guess so..."
Everyone blinks, then laughs as Ranma-chan rises, then helps Ryouga
out of the pond. By then, everyone else has run up from U-chan's. "Hey, you
two alright?!" Ranma calls out.
"Y-yeah, we're fine!" Ryouga nods, then stares at Negako. "Um...th-
thanks, Sensei..."
"Do not address me as 'Sensei,'" Negako sighs as she heads over to
join Chigaiko and Aoi.
Ryouga blinks, then sighs. Chigaiko mutters something, then kicks
Negako's shin. The grandmistress sighs, then stares at Ryouga, a hint of a
smile on her face. "You're welcome."
Everyone blinks, then laughs. "Well, now that's over with, what
now?!" Akane wonders.
"How about some help in getting my restaurant fixed up?!" Ukyou
mutters, then glares at Ryouga. "Eh, sugar?!"
"Um...!" Ryouga withers under her gaze. Guilt creeps up onto his
face as he realizes just what happened. *What did that guy on 'Quantum Leap'
say? Oh, yeah...'Oh, boy...!'*
Ukyou then grins. "Relax, I forgive you!"
They embrace, everyone relaxing from the hard day they've had. "I
have a better idea," Ranma-chan sighs, then taps her wrist-comm. "Ranma to
'Ossa'cha.' Wide-beam scan of this location, beam us all up."
Ryouga then topples over. Akari-chan moves to his side, feeling his
neck. "He's got a pulse, but he lapsed into deep unconsciousness."
"Medical emergency!!" Ranma-chan barks. "Ryouga and I're going to
Sick Bay. Beam us there, stat!"
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Two days later, over Mars...
"Good morning, Ryouga! How you feelin'?!"
Ryouga smiles on seeing the "Ossa'cha's" pretty chief medical
officer, Olga, staring concernedly at him. "I feel...fine, Sensei," he yawns.
"How am I supposed to feel?"
"Well, after your body was warped around like silly putty over a
couple weeks, your mental and spiritual energy level drained from critical
mass to near-life threatening conditions, plus all the mental and emotional
agony you've suffered...though I fear it'd be worse if you experienced the
full extent of Karmalibra's actions against you and all of us...you're doing
okay," Olga muses. "I assume the 'intimate therapy' I recommended is working
well?"
"Hai..i-it is," Ryouga flushes, surprised that one method Sagussans
used to recover from harsh mental or emotional trauma was to simply lay in
bed in the warm arms of one's mate. "All Akari-chan does is let me touch her
belly and feel the babies. I...I wish I was telepathic like you. I'd love
to...talk to them."
Olga smiles. "The thought counts just as much, Ryouga. When you
recover enough, your ability to sense another's chi will tell you a lot about
your babies. Speaking of which, they're quite fine; while you're with us,
I'll have a child services officer keep an eye on your fiancee and them.
Okay?"
"Hai, it does," he nods.
"Okay. Oh, you have visitors."
"Eh?!" Ryouga blinks, then smiles as a host of familiar faces enter
his private recovery suite. "Hi, guys!"
"Hey, man, how're you doing?!" Ranma thumps his shoulder as Olga
retreats to give them privacy.
"Much better, believe it or not," he nods. "I can't believe this!
Three days ago, I was helping someone try to kill the same people who are now
falling over each other helping me."
"They understand the concept of 'forgive and move on' very much,
Ryouga," Cologne hops herself on the edge of the bed. "Atop that, if this
Karmalibra was a reflection of a future-version of Akane's first student who
had been at war with the Sagussans for several hundred years, they feel a
moral responsibility to heal all her victims, ensure that in OUR timeline it
never happens."
"Yeah, that's true," Ryouga nods.
Silence falls as everyone considers what to say next, and begin the
healing they ALL needed. The others had all learned the details from Negako
and Ranma-chan. They now knew just how bad the hurt had become...and how much
worse it could have been.
Finally, Ranma sighs. "I...don't like what we are now...the way we
look at each other at times."
"Ditto," Akane nods.
"It got way outta hand at times," Ukyou hugs herself.
"I've never liked it," Mousse admits.
"Shampoo no like it either," Shampoo grunts.
Ryouga smiles. "I think...after what I just went through, if
I...continued to look at people the same way...I'd just be slitting my throat
and hurting my fiancee and my kids...and putting a lot of innocent people
around me in mortal danger."
"That's good," Cologne nods. "Now that you've admitted the basic
problem, you have a choice. Do you wish to start healing now or go all the
way into specifics?"
"Well...we should mention a few things," Akane nods.
"I'll start," Ranma takes a deep breath. "Ryouga, look. I may
not've been the best when it came to understanding your feelings,
but...you're my friend, man. You're the best sparring partner I could ever
ask for. Yeah, I got pissed at you for making me take that oath. Yeah,
there were times I prevented you from telling Akane the truth. I should've
realized what you were doing and given you a chance...but I was afraid, for
you and me. You know how Akane was at times. If she found out the truth,
she'd've killed me for not telling her and really do a number on you."
Akane winces, her eyes tearing, then smiles as Ukyou places a
supportive hand on her shoulder. "At the same time," Ranma's voice hoarsens.
"There was my feelings for Akane...heck for everyone that got engaged to me,
I guess. Honour sooner or later's gotta be put aside where happiness is
concerned, where the future of one's life comes into play. I think Nabiki's
got the right idea by not adhering to the Code. It took me so long to admit
to *myself* that I loved Akane...that it was her I wanted."
Akane feels her cheeks heat while Shampoo and Ukyou frown. "And
there you were, giving your love to Akane without question. That puts you
one up on me, man. And..." Ranma looks down, his eyes glistening, "...when
things between Akane and I were bad...when I asked myself if it was gonna
work out...I believed...she would've been better off with you. And if I
ignored the oath, told her about P-chan...how could that've happened?"
He coughs, then wipes his eyes. "I realized I was in love with Akane
some time ago...I really can't say when, but it was way before Saffron...and
when I did, I really got jealous of you, angry at you for trying to make
things rough between us. Then Akari comes into your life. 'Finally, he's
got someone he can care for!' I said...but there you were still playing
P-chan! What the hell was I supposed to do?! Only way I understood how to
solve problems was to destroy it! And when...when Ranma-chan finally offered
the chance to blow what you were doing wide open...I took it."
Akane sighs, reaching over to gently grasp her fiance's hand. "At
the time, it seemed like the only way to deal with it," Ranma continues. "I
guess...I'm better with the 'now' and not the 'later'." He pauses again
before adding, "I may have wanted to humiliate you, man...but I NEVER wanted
you to die because of it."
Ryouga contemplates that for a long time, then sighs
understandingly. "Thanks. You know, we're both a pair of bakas."
"What do you mean?" Ranma wonders.
"We both grew up on the road, out of a home, away from being with
other people," Ryouga shrugs. "We never really understood things Akane,
Ukyou, Akari-chan and everyone takes for granted. You had your father at
least, despite the moron he was. Me...I had no one. I...said this to Akane
when we talked after it happened. I never knew a loving home, rarely if EVER
saw my parents. So when Akane offered me...tenderness...I leapt at it like a
moth to a flame. I was P-chan at the time, so I was...afraid that if I told
her the truth, I'd destroy what she willingly gave me. Regardless of what
was happening between us, I...didn't want to lose that."
He takes a deep breath. "Then I meet Akari-chan...and things became
so confusing," he shudders. "Akane...still knew so little about me. Akari-
chan accepted me, curse and all. So...I began to shift. And while I was
doing that, I...decided the time had come to finally come clean. You stopped
me for whatever reason. I...so I fell into a habit. When I was a pig, I was
P-chan. When I was myself, I was Ryouga. Then...Ranma-chan put a stop to
it...and though it hurt real bad, maybe she...she did a good thing in the
long run..." *It just didn't feel like it so soon after it all, though...* he
mentally finishes.
As they talk, Cologne slips out of the recovery suite, then smiles on
seeing Olga and Misato standing there. "I think they'll be fine once they
blow this off," the aged matriarch muses. "But why did you want me to
provoke them into doing this, Misato?"
"I'm still...inexperienced when I deal with non-Sagussans," Misato
sighs. "And thanks to what happened, there is a level of mistrust within some
of them concerning us. They've enjoyed quite a number of adventures together.
Despite their hidden anger and pains, at a primal level, they trust each other
implicitly. Now they have to tap into that trust to work things out. I
suppose, given some hindsight, it was in some places a grave mistake to allow
our people to interact with them while their interpersonal relations were
still...volatile."
"It's quite alright," Cologne muses as the three head to a nearby
observation gallery to gaze on Mars's ruddy surface rotating below the
"Ossa'cha." "Despite the bad things that occurred, you did those kids a lot
of good. They...had to see what REALLY lay beyond the boundaries of what
they knew and trusted. Much like what Tomobiki had to experience after the
Spirit War shook things up so badly. You provided the chance for them to do
that. In time, they'll realize that a lot of good came from this experience
and they'll thank you for it in their own way."
"That's good," Misato nods. "Oh, by the way, does Akane...?"
"Not yet," Cologne hisses. "About a month ago, Ranma and Akane were
kidnapped by an ancient warlord from southern China, Yung Shan. During their
time as his 'guests,' he forced them into a chamber and pumped it full of
aphrodisiacs to make them...more than willing to get on with 'their natural
duty to the Unity' as the Nendo-kata would eloquently put it. He is, though
this may not surprise you, two thousand years old and has desired control of
the power of Jusenkyou for almost all that time. In a way, I wish your friend
Ifurita hadn't restored the springs; it would've cheated Yung Shan of his
chance to make Ranma's coming daughter his slave."
"Another thing we did that could become a disaster," Olga shakes her
head.
"Elder Mother, is there anything we can do to help?" Misato wonders.
"Given what you said, I will tell Noa about this and she will be very
concerned about it."
"Your offer is kind, but I think we'd better handle this on our own
for the next while," Cologne muses. "While you see it as basic humanity to
help those in need, short-sighted fools like this Scalphunter creature would
warp it to their own ends and make you suffer for it. Your innate goodness is
your greatest strength, the synergy from that giving you a power no one could
defeat. It is also...potentially a grave vulnerability, one that beings like
Scalphunter happily exploit for their own ends. Tell Noa to be on the lookout
for things like that, Misato."
"I will," the psychologist nods, then tenses. "What in Lyna's
name...?!" she spins aft.
"What is it?!" Cologne blinks.
Misato and Olga race down the corridor towards another observation
room...where Happousai was now standing rock-still, Negako before him, her
blazing soulsword held high. "NEGAKO, NO!!!!!!" Misato screams as the blade
races down...
...and burns away a dark aura of energy that had been buried deep
within the aged grandmaster!! Cologne gapes, then walks up to him as
Happousai shakes his head. "Are you alright, Happy?"
"Me...?" Happousai blinks, then grins. "Hell, never been better,
love!! Thanks, Nega-chan!"
"My pleasure," Negako disperses the soulsword.
"I thought you didn't understand pleasure," Misato muses.
"It is...a common courtesy," Negako muses. "Besides, I DO understand
gratitude, even if Happy's attempt to give me my own life failed. Good day."
She leaves. "Um...will someone tell me what's going on here?" Olga
wonders, scratching her head.
"Relax, Olga-chan," Happousai smiles. "Hundred years ago, I tried to
help Nega-chan there get her own body. Her masters didn't take it too well,
so they nailed me with a damned curse that made me dependent on touching
women and women's things to stay alive!"
"Cute," Cologne snorts.
"Ah, it don't matter now," he shrugs. "Kimaenowakai's a bit of a
flake, but Nagaiwakai's got a good head on her shoulders. That family's in
good shape. Besides, Nega-chan is free."
"True, but she now has to handle what achieving her dream means,"
Cologne muses...
* * *
"'Morning."
Ryouga blinks as Ranma-chan walks into the room. It was easy for him
to tell her apart from her spirit-brother; there was NO WAY Ranma would wear a
revealing halter top and wide-legged slacks when he was a girl. "Hi," he
smiles as the shipmistress sits beside him. "Um...you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Ranma admits, then sighs.
"So..."
"So...where do we begin?"
"I..." Ryouga tenses. "Um...why?"
"Eh?"
The wanderer breathes in. "Look. I know you...now see Ranma as your
spirit-brother. Your brother-in-all-but-blood; I guess that's what you mean
by that. I...I heard from Akane that you all got your names either through
Ataru Moroboshi because he and Ranma spent time with the kids at the
orphanage in Nerima, or when your friend Noa came through checking things
out. And...well, defending your spirit-brother's understandable and all
that..."
"Still, it wasn't an excuse to hurt you like I did," Ranma closes her
eyes, tears brimming. Ryouga shudders, hand itching to wipe them away.
Yesterday, he had seen the impossible: Ranma Saotome in tears as he admitted
things he did wrong (a first for Ranma as far as Ryouga knew). In fact, there
wasn't a dry eye in the room when it was all done, even from Shampoo (who
hailed from a place where it was decidedly uncool to cry before fellow
warriors).
Gently, she takes his hand and guides them to her eyes. "I had no
right to interfere," she bites her lip. "It violated the Non-Interference
Directive and it potentially put the lives of thousands in danger. I want to
make it up to you, Ryouga-kun. Now that I'm...not blinded by my own anger, I
can see what a decent person you are. I...I'm not sure what you'd want from
me in return. By all rights, you could demand I resign my commission and
submit myself to a trial for what I did. But...before you do, I should at
least tell you why...what motivated me to do what I did, now that I've had a
chance to reflect on it for a bit."
Ryouga nods. "Have you...ever been lied to, Ryouga-kun?" Ranma gazes
at him. "Someone's never told you something important about someone, someone
you love and care for, something...that when you did find out, hurt you badly?
Made you feel as if your trust for that person you care for was betrayed?"
"No, not myself personally...but you could say that about Akane after
what I did," Ryouga admits.
"Well, it happened to me on Sagussa, believe it or not. I could
sympathize with Akane's situation," Ranma sighs, gently grasping his hand.
"Someone who cares for that person keeping a secret like THAT from her, in
essence using her for his own ends, hiding a whole aspect of himself from
her. And not only was Akane's family keeping the whole thing secret, her own
child- mate had been coerced into it. I...I knew it was my spirit-brother
who cursed you, Ryouga-kun, but from...from what I sensed of him, it was an
accident. He didn't even know you were there until you confronted him about
it later. He had just been cursed himself and...after the way his
*kimei'aidoei* father force-fed that 'man above men' junk down his throat,
having that torn away from him..."
"Yeah, I'd be pretty out of it myself, I guess," Ryouga sighs. "What
happened to you? Does it concern Akane-chan?"
"Hai. You remember Irunmei, don't you? Well, Akane-chan and Irunmei-
chan were bonded four hundred years ago. It...was a shock to most people at
the time; I didn't become a *daishi'cha* until just over a hundred years ago.
Well...something went very wrong with Irunmei-chan's conversion. Put simply,
she went insane...and Akane-chan tried to kill her to die to prevent her from
hurting all of us through the Dreamscape. At the time I exposed you to Akane,
I had just learned Irunmei-chan was still alive."
Ryouga pales. "Gods..."
"Well, everyone...tried to put Irunmei behind them. Then I came onto
the scene. My...attraction to Akane-chan started the instant I began defence
training; she was my thoughtmistress. I made it clear even then, even when we
didn't fully understand our emotions, that she was the one I wanted. Akane-
chan...was unsure. She was still hurting over Irunmei-chan and didn't want
to...commit at the time. So...to ensure I never found out, she swore ALMOST
EVERYONE on Sagussa to silence over what happened to Irunmei."
The wanderer's jaw dropped. "How could they do that?"
"Oh, it was easy then; all Akane-chan had to do was persuade them of
the logic of not dwelling so much on past disasters," Ranma snorts. "As I
said, almost everyone were sworn to silence over the thing with Irunmei-chan.
Pony, my doctor, wasn't. She...felt it wasn't right for me to be kept in the
dark over the matter, so she told me. And...I was really hurt over it,
Ryouga- kun. Even then. It was as if...no one trusted me to respect the
pain the woman I loved endured because of her first bondmate.
"So we come to when I first encountered you," she closes her eyes.
"There you were, acting as if Akane couldn't be trusted to understand the
pains you went through, acting as if it was okay to keep 'P-chan' secret from
her, even when you had your own child-mate and had pretty much accepted that
Akane wanted my spirit-brother. At that same time, I sensed that
Irunmei-chan had come, most likely to take Akane-chan away from me. I was in
quite the rare mood that day. So...I took it out on you."
Silence falls as Ryouga absorbs that. "Is that what I've become?" he
gazes at his hands.
"What?"
"That...all that matters to me now is revenge?" he clenches his
fists. "That's all that consumed me this last while. Just the pain, hate
and anger...it was no wonder I nearly killed myself or could've died even
earlier."
"I don't think so."
"Eh?"
She begins to trace his fingers with hers. "You're going to be a
father in five months. You have a lovely child-mate. You've got someone who
even now forgives you for what you've done to him, who...now admits what he
did wrong with you. Ranma's as much your spirit-brother as he is mine, you
know. You have good friends who want to stick up for you, who...realize,
understand, what you've been through. Akane pretty well forgives you now.
She loves Ranma but still wants to be your friend. You fight for those who
can't defend themselves. You're a good person, Ryouga-kun. Is it your fault
that others don't take the time to see it?"
Ryouga hums. "No, I guess not."
Ranma then sighs. "I better go..."
She rises...then finds his grip tightening around her arm. "Ranma,
wait..."
She looks at him as he rises, pulling Ranma gently closer to him as
his other arm loops around her back. Without hesitation, she slips into his
embrace, her tears flowing. "You're as much a good person as your spirit-
brother, Ranma," he kisses her forehead. "Yeah, you made mistakes. But you
were fighting for the person you love. When you love someone, you do crazy
things, things that might hurt people. We all do that. In the end, we're all
'human', you know."
"Hai, I guess we are," she gazes at him, then ducks in to deliver a
tender kiss. "There's something I want to ask you but I'll put it through
Akari first. Anyhow, I gotta get things arranged to get Ukyou's place fixed
up. Get some rest."
He nods as she departs, then sits back on the bed, letting all that's
happened come to his mind, making sense of it all as best he can...
* * *
"Nice view, huh?"
"Yeah, it is," Ukyou nods as Ranma sits beside her, gazing at the
awesome mass of Olympus Mons. "I'm kinda glad we're here now. You had to
have lived in Tomobiki to see this before."
"I guess so," Ranma sighs, then gazes at her. "You okay?"
"I'm...I dunno," Ukyou shakes her head. "It can't be shut off, Ran-
chan. I...I know you never loved me, not like you did Akane...A-chan.
I...but what happens to me now?"
"What happens?" he stares at her. "U-chan, of the girls who came
after me, you're the best off. You have a good occupation, you're well-
skilled, you're as independent as one could be. You wanna know how envious of
you I was at times? How...I wished I could be as free as you..."
"Was I free?"
"I think so," Ranma nods. "Yeah, there was honour and duty to the
family and all. You had EVERY right to come after me and Oyaji for what
happened. You had every right to demand what you did. But...the one thing
that was missing from it..."
"Was your love for me," Ukyou gazes at him.
"Yeah," he looks down. "It's like I said yesterday. I didn't know
what to do. I...I was being ripped apart by my own duty, my trying to respect
everyone's opinions, how much I feared coulda happened if I made a choice...my
need, my desire to have all the friends I could after all those years on the
road with just Oyaji..."
"We used each other," she shrugs. "None of us're innocent in that
respect. It's a wonder that we still care for each other after all the
garbage we've been through. The question now is...what happens to me? I'm
the real unlucky one. Shampoo always had Mousse to fall back onto. A-chan
had you..." she pauses, then stares at him. "Ran-chan...sometime ago, I
overheard you and A-chan at the dojo talking about doing something with
me...what did you mean?"
Ranma blinks, then stares at her. "Well...I was kinda worried about
you. You hadn't been by the dojo to visit and...well I hadn't had much chance
to come by the restaurant..."
"You mean you weren't...interested in finding someone for me?"
He jolts, then shudders. "U-chan, for cryin' out loud, after who
knows how many fiancees, jerks wantin' my head and all the challenges I've
been through, you actually thought I was going to put YOU through all that?!!
Are you nuts?!!"
"Okay, okay!" she laughs, waving her hands peacefully, then sighs,
gazing at him. "So what happens now?"
"I...I dunno," he looks down. "I...I've been trying to talk more
with Akane, tell her things that I'd've only told you before. Try to show I
trust her more. But...I still think of you as my friend. I'll always be
there for you...to help you if you get into trouble. That doesn't change,
not one bit. But...you know, if you don't want anything to do with me
anymore..."
"What?!!" Ukyou gasps, then slaps his shoulder. "If you think after
all the crap we've been through, I'm gonna toss you totally outta my life,
Ran- chan, you jackass, YOU'RE crazy!!!"
Both laugh, then embrace. "I guess...we gotta just find a way
to...look on each other that won't get us into trouble," Ranma sighs, then
notices Shampoo-chan walk in. "Hey, Shamps!"
"Hiya, Ranma-kun!" the Tofunokoibuto-born shipmistress kneels beside
the chef. "Honey, ya gotta talk to your spirit-sis! She's really peeved
at'cha; I hadta drag her down ta Earth so she could help get your restaurant
fixed up!"
"What?!" Ukyou rises, then sighs. "Oh, where is she?"
"Cafeteria Two," Shampoo thumbs down the corridor.
The chef jogs down, grateful that the engineers who had spruced up
the "Ossa'cha" after her reactivation over Den'sha Two had put bilingual
signs in Sagussan and Japanese on the bulkheads (plus temporary Russian signs
for the duration of the cruiser's current mission). Finding Cafeteria Two,
she sees Ukyou-chan standing by the window, a sullen look deep in the
shipmistress' eyes. Ukyou shudders, wondering what peeved her spirit-sister
so much. "Umm..." she stops. "You okay, spirit-sis?"
"Don't call me that."
Ukyou feels icicles form on her from the frigid voice. "Wh-what did
I do...?" she stammers.
"What did you do?" Ukyou-chan glares at her, paralyzing the chef with
a stare so lethal, it causes Ukyou to take a step back. "Look, you, I've got
feelings too, you know! I wasn't trying to ORDER you to do anything, you
dumbshit!! I haven't got a right to do that! I was ADVISING you to let your
feelings for Ranma go and get on with your life! And you and that cross-
dressing idiot who works for you turn around and start blaming US because you
lost out on your precious Ran-chan!! We had nothing to do with 'taking' Ranma
away from you, Kuonji; it was a done deal long BEFORE we came to Nerima!! I
lost a chance with MY Ranma and I got over it pretty well! It's time for you
to do the same!!"
With that, she storms off. "Wait...!" Ukyou cries.
"Let her go, hon," Shampoo stops her. "Give her a chance ta cool off
a bit, then go talk ta her."
Ukyou sighs. "I guess I kinda took it out all on you guys, eh?!" she
gazes at her spirit-sister's bondmate.
"Ain't your fault," Shampoo winks. "We're still gettin' used to
being able ta feel like you folks do. We don't pussy-foot around sensitive
stuff like a lotta folks on your planet do; it don't make sense ta us. C'mon
out an' say it; that's the way we live. Let me talk ta her for a bit."
"Talk or make love to her?" Akane-chan wonders from the bar.
"Both, of course!" Shampoo smiles as she walks out.
Everyone laughs...
* * *
"Well, everything's all done, Ukyou," Nabiki-chan announces as
everyone relaxes in the lounge sometime later. "It's all set to go as soon as
you're ready to beam back down."
"I'll go back tomorrow," the chef stretches herself. "There's
something I gotta do first."
Everyone notices the empty space beside Shampoo-chan, realizing what
Ukyou meant. "Should be okay," Ranma-chan sighs. "Besides, you've GOT to see
all the improvements we threw into it."
"What improvements?" Ukyou and Konatsu wonder.
Nabiki dials up a hologram of U-chan's. "Your shop's built the same
way as the weapons your spirit-sister gave you when you fought Karmalibra,"
she indicates the details. "The girders are duranium with a neutronium core,
cross- beams underlined with strips of pergium, which is next from neutronium
in density, plus diamond meson strips for psionic defence. Windows are
transparent aluminum. Your shop is now as earthquake-proof, blast-proof and
chi-proof as we could make it without taking ANYTHING away from its function
as a restaurant and your home."
"So if you had another fight like the one that totalled the place
some days ago, the windows'd be blown in, a fire might start and some things
might get wrecked, but the basic structure of the place will not be affected,
which'll save on the reconstruction costs," Ranma-chan adds. "Atop that, we
threw in the usual goodies: fire-suppression system, fusion generator, water-
treatment and sewage-treatment system, space video-phone with universal
translator..."
Ukyou smirks. "You guys are too much, you know that?"
The Sagussans shrug while their guests chuckle. "Well, it was in a
sense our fault since Karmalibra was after us," Akane-chan shrugs, leaning
into Ranma-chan's side. "Besides, it's a good way of building bridges as
well as healing rifts between our worlds. We want to be your friends and we
want to watch out for you people. We make mistakes...like when someone loses
her temper and forgets the standing orders governing her mission," she
lightly punches her bondmate in the ribs to emphasize her point, "...but we
do our best to make it up. Some people'd see it as a form of bribery. We
don't. We see it simply as the right thing to do."
Ranma-chan winces from her bondmate's emphasis, kisses Akane-chan on
the side of the face, then blinks as the intercom whistles. "Bridge to
Shipmistress Ranma," the duty watchmistress announces. "The new party from
Nerima just came aboard."
"Okay, send them down here," Ranma-chan calls out.
"Who came by?" Ranma wonders.
"Oh, just your parents and Akane's father," his spirit-sister stands,
stretching herself. "While we were down there, your mother came by and asked
how you were doing."
The door swooshes open, revealing an angry Genma. "RANMA!!!!"
Ranma sighs. "What is it, Oyaji?!"
The older martial artist storms over to grab his son by the collar
and yank him out of his seat. "What's this I hear about you CRYING when you
were talking to everyone?!!" he snarls. "What did I teach you about tears,
boy?!! MEN don't cry...!!!"
An explosion causes everyone to spin towards the door, where a VERY
angry Priss stands, Sugoi holding Shunran behind the incensed Pathfinder.
"***WHERE IS THAT DUMBSHIT SAOTOME?!?!?!***"
Her eyes lock on Genma, then she marches over. Nodoka blinks,
realizing that the irate master chief wants something to do with her family,
then tries to intercede, hand on katana. "Excuse me, Priss-san, but what
business do you have with my son?!"
The Saotome matriarch winces under Priss' burning gaze, now hot
enough to burn neutronium. "Put the butterknife away, Nodoka; it's your
husband I've got words with!"
"Oh, go ahead, then," Nodoka backs off.
"What...?" Genma blinks...
...before Priss slams him into the deck! "Okay, asshole, you and
I're gonna have words about you abusin' your kid like that over the years!!"
she hauls him face-to-face. "'Cause it's a clueless moron like YOU who mucked
up Ranma's upbringing so bad, he couldn't do shit to help himself or the OTHER
people whose lives you screwed until it nearly killed someone, INCLUDING MY
DAUGHTER!!!!"
*SPLASH!!!!* It amazed people at times at how fast Genma could duck
out of arguments by finding a glass of cold water and hiding as a panda. "Oh,
ya wanna be like that, huh?!!" Priss snarls, drawing out her combat knife and
tapping the sharp edges with her fingertips. "Suit yourself, then!! Hey,
Shampoo, you folks got a recipe for PANDA STEW we can try out on Sagussa?!!"
"Nyu-che-zuu got lots of recipes!!" Shampoo nods, grinning savagely,
then hums, glaring in disapproval at Genma. "But is Priss sure she want to
feed honourless panda to little Shunran?! Priss want little Shunran to become
like honourless panda?! Shampoo no want little Shunran to get tummy-ache!"
Priss hums, then glares at Genma-panda, now trembling, eyes locked on
her combat knife. "Yeah, ya gotta point there!" she grabs him by the fur and
yanks him up. "I think I'll turn this honourless, gutless and moral-less dork
into a nice CARPET for the house!!"
BOY, DO SOMETHING!!!! the panda fearfully growls, desperately waving
a sign at Ranma. SAVE ME FROM THIS MONSTER!!!!
"Hey, Akane-chan, you told me sandpanthers like P-chan like eating
people at times," Ranma gazes at Akane-chan.
"Hai, they do...the *dumber* they are, the more they like it!" Akane-
chan grins.
Genma-panda shudders. UNGRATEFUL WHELP!!
"That's enough out of you, Dear!" Nodoka scolds, then stares at
Priss. "Priss-san, seeing as how Ranma would be utterly insane to challenge
someone as well-skilled as you to save his worthless deadbeat of a father from
his JUST and LONG OVERDUE punishment for all the misery he intentionally and
accidentally unleashed on everyone, do you have some other way to resolve this
matter?"
"Matter of fact, I do," Priss grins. "'Priss' Five Lessons In Proper
Treatment of One's Child.' Just invented them now! C'mon, dork; you just
became my guinea pig!!"
"Oh, go ahead!!" Nodoka waves them off. "We'll watch over your
little one! Make sure you have Lufy-san there with you!"
"She'll be there!!" Priss waves as she throws Genma over her
shoulder, then carts him off.
THIS IS GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, YOU KNOW!! Genma-panda signs.
Nodoka sighs, rolling her eyes. Everyone laughs except for Souun,
who bawls his eyes out, imagining the awful amount of damage Priss and Lufy
would soon unleash on his best friend. Ryouga stares at Ranma and Ranma-chan,
both grinning like maniacs. "Something tells me you both set this all up," he
muses.
"We did," the shipmistress chortles, then winks at him. "Like we
said, we always repay our debts."
Ryouga blinks, then yelps as pudgy hands grab his hair. "Hey!" he
senses someone sit on his shoulder. "Shunran-chan...!!"
"Unca Pii!!" Shunran gushes.
"Shunran-chan, no...!!!" Akane gasps...
...as the small Oni upends a glass of water over Ryouga. Everyone
winces as the wanderer jolts, feeling the trickles fall down his face, then
sighs. "Somehow, I shoulda expected that," he hums.
"Ryouga-san, are you alright...Shunran-chan, why are you crying?!!"
Sugoi takes the sobbing Oni off Ryouga, then embraces her, wincing as the
young girl buries herself in her bust.
"Maybe she's sorry about soaking Ryouga!" Ranma hums.
"No, Ranma, it's different," Akane rises, then walks over to play
with Shunran's hair. "She just misses P-chan, that's all."
"Hey, you okay, A-chan?" Ukyou wonders.
Akane blinks, then touches the tear in her eye. "Yeah, I'm okay, U-
chan. I...I guess I'll miss P-chan, too."
Suddenly, a flash of light floods the room. "Won't have to miss him
anymore, Tendou-san!"
"What're you doing here, Miz?!" Ranma-chan rises.
The science-thoughtmistress of water studies in the Te'a Studies
Group smiles, placing two small boxes on the table. "Oh, I just paid a quick
visit to Jusenkyou," she announces, then opens the boxes, allowing two bolts
of black to leap out.
"Hey!!!" Akane yelps as the small piglet lands in her arms, then
starts licking her.
"Anudda Unca Pii?!" Shunran hums as the other piglet leaps into her
hands, then giggles as it starts licking her.
"How..?!" Ryouga gapes.
"Oh, just found two stray puppies and dunked them into the spring you
fell into, then froze them in their cursed forms," Miz smiles, then waves her
*haijo-ju* staff. "Take care!"
She vanishes. "Hey, Ryouga, they're missin' something!" Ranma rises
to gaze at the small pig in Akane's hands.
"Yeah," goes Ryouga, "they are." Standing, he undoes two of his
bandannas, tying one around Shunran's P-chan, then staring at the woman
holding the other P-chan in hand. "Akane?"
"Go ahead," Akane nods.
Ryouga ties the bandanna in place. The small piglet grunts, then
leaps into Ranma's hands before licking him. "Hey, cut it out!!" the martial
artist squeaks, then laughs.
"Incredible!" Akane smiles. "A P-chan that likes Ranma!!"
Everyone laughs...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
A day later...
"It's good to be back home!" Ukyou sighs as the transporter effect
fades, letting her, Konatsu, Ryouga and Akari go as they find themselves a
couple blocks from U-chan's. "Well, let's go see what everything looks like!"
"If you want, you can stay with us on the farm while you get things
set up," Akari offers.
"Thanks but no thanks, Akari-chan; you live too far away...oh, man!"
Ukyou gapes...
...on seeing U-chan's fully restored to its pristine beauty, freshly
painted and cleaned. "Whoa!!!" Ryouga whistles. "Now, THAT is what I call
good service!!"
They enter to see Kasumi-chan cleaning up the stove and several
others of the team of *daishi'cha* who had come to Furinkan earlier dozing at
the tables. "You're back!" the child services director smiles. "Welcome
home, Ukyou! You like it?!"
"Whoa!!!" Ukyou gapes, stunned at the fact that they got EVERYTHING
right. "How did you do this?!!"
Nabiki-chan whistles. A rush of wind is heard, then Ukyou spins
around to see a rover unit hovering by the door. "Great thing about our
rovers!" she smiles as the device heads back to its duties. "Their scanners
are the most accurate we've got. We've had detailed scans of this place for a
year, right to the sub-atomic level. Once we got plans drawn up, the rest was
easy."
Ukyou blinks, then smirks, walking behind the counter. "Hey,
Konatsu, what're you doing standing there?! We got customers!!"
"Hai!" the kunoichi races upstairs...then screams!
The Sagussans moan. "P-chan!!! Charlotte!!! Get down here and stop
scaring him!!!" Akane and Asuza bellow.
Their sandpanthers lumber downstairs. "Forgot these two fuzzballs
were upstairs taking a nap," Ranma mutters, then looks upstairs. "Sorry about
that, Konatsu!!"
"I-i-it's o-o-okay...!" Konatsu stammers fearfully.
Ukyou grins, then fires up the grill. "Okay, what'll you all have?!"
she calls out as she starts making batter.
Orders race in. Ukyou launches into her work as okonomiyaki starts
flying. Konatsu races down to join in. Couples pair up as they relax,
relieved the crisis was over and that the healing could begin. At one table,
Ranma and Akane relax in the other's embrace, gazing out the window at another
day in Furinkan, imagining the day Tere'na City arose from the ashes of the
Clone Rights War to become a place of life and people, not ghosts and dust.
Konatsu walks up to them. "Here you go!" he smiles.
"Thanks, Konatsu," Ranma then notices the note written in the sauce
over the crust: "Tell my spirit-sister I'm sorry."
Ranma blinks, then exchanging a nod with Akane, concentrates. A
moment later, the front door flies open. "UKYOU!!!!!!"
Ukyou winces on seeing Ukyou-chan standing there, having just beamed
down from the "Ossa'cha." Everyone clams up as the two gaze upon each other.
"Um...hi, spirit-sis...!" Ukyou faintly smiles.
Ukyou-chan hums, then impishly grins. "Four specials!!"
"Four?!!" Ukyou wonders.
"Sure," Ukyou-chan waves in Shampoo-chan, Akari-chan...and Noa. "We
got some people coming by for a visit!!"
"Make yourselves to home, everyone!" Ukyou grins, then notices the
strange woman with her spirit-sister and friends. "You must be Noa, right?!
What brings you around here?!"
"Well, I came to see how everything is now that Scalphunter has been
buried for all time," the *ashi'cha* muses. "Atop that, I visited Shinobu
Miyaki's parents. They want to have a family get-together and they still have
to find out about Shinobu becoming a Sagussan, much less Lum-chan wanting her
to bond with Ataru! Ranma, we'll have it on the 'Ossa'cha,' okay?!"
"Hai!" Ranma nods.
Everyone sits down as Kodachi-chan turns on the music, putting on a
cassette tape. Ryouga then walks over to sit across from Ranma and Akane.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Eh?" the former wonders.
"What you said in Sick Bay?"
"Oh!!" Ranma then smiles. "Well, as you no doubt know, we are on the
lookout for good men to help father children. I talked to Akari about this.
She says it's okay as long as you agree to it. So, how'd you like to
contribute?"
Ryouga faints! "You want me to WHAT?!?!"
"Now, relax, Ryouga-kun," Akari sits beside her dazed fiance. "The
Sagussans are actually quite pragmatic in seeking out the right sort of men to
father their children. I couldn't believe all the compliments I received from
all their shipmates about what a 'catch' I had in you," she kisses his cheek.
Steam billows from his neck. "I'll...I'll think about it, Ranma..."
he chuckles, scratching his head.
"Don't keep us waiting too long, Ryouga-kun," Akane winks. "You
better know that Ifurita and her friends are expressing PROFOUND interest in
having babies with you!"
Ryouga shudders, then blushes. "I can't believe I made THAT good of
an impression on them!"
The door opens again. "Three traveller's specials!!!"
"Hey, Chigaiko, Negako...oh, hi, Aoi-chan!!" Ukyou grins as Chigaiko,
Negako and Aoi walk in, backpacks in hand. "What're you all doing here?!"
"Stopping by to say we'll be on our way!" Chigaiko sighs as they sit
by the counter.
"What?!!" Akari bolts up. "Chigai-chan!!"
"Hey, we'll be there for the wedding!" Chigaiko winks at her.
Everyone laughs. "Looking forward to travelling with your new
mothers now, Aoi-chan?" Noa stares at the young girl.
"Hai," Aoi nods. "I lived on the streets for a year before the
Yakuza picked me up, so it won't be so bad. Kinda nice that I won't have to
worry about stealing food and all that."
"We're just deciding how we're going to go about the adoption
process," Chigaiko adds.
"Good for you," Ukyou grins, flipping the okonomiyaki onto their
plates. "Shoot, you all amaze me, you know that."
"Why do you say that, spirit-sis?" Ukyou-chan wonders.
"The way you're all ready to dive in and adopt kids all like that,"
Ukyou smiles. "It's scary to watch at times."
"Not really," her spirit-sister shrugs. "We're programmed to be
mothers before anything else. It's natural to us."
The other Sagussans nod. "Oh, this is for you," Negako hands Ukyou a
small package. "I noted that it was sent by Ryouga while he had his 'guest'
within his mind, so I took care of any chi traps that might've been there
before bringing it in."
"Oh?" Ukyou stares at Ryouga, then opens the package, drawing out a
booklet. "A bankbook...from the...holy shit...!" she gapes on opening it and
seeing the deposit amount, again with "USD" beside the final tally.
"Ryouga...!!"
"Where did you get all this money from?!" Konatsu blinks, staring at
the amount and mentally translating it into yen.
Ryouga shudders. "Ask Karmalibra...wherever she might be."
"He obtained it from..."
Noa's and Chigaiko's hands slap Negako's mouth shut before she could
say more. "He doesn't need to hear that, Nega-chan!!!" the latter snaps.
"And I don't think Ukyou'd want to know, either!!"
Negako sighs. "Well, tell us this, then," Ukyou hums. "Did it come
from a very illegal source that was ALSO being a pain in our collective butts
over the last while?"
Negako nods. "Too bad," Ukyou snorts, pocketing the book. "I may
not always have my head on straight, but I'm not dumb when it comes to
business!"
Everyone laughs as they return to their meals. "They deserve to know
the truth," Negako stares at Chigaiko.
"Not **that** sort of truth, not after what they experienced,"
Chigaiko sighs. "It's the pitfalls of emotion, Nega-chan. In a sense,
you're the lucky one since you need the truth to help you better understand
what being human is about."
"If you say so," Negako sighs. "Next thing, you'll insist I not say
anything about Akane Tendou's pregnancy."
Ryouga and Ukyou jerk. "***WHAT?!?!?!***"
"NEGAKO!!!!!!" Chigaiko screams.
"Lyna's Soul, they're even WORSE than Tomobiki!!!" Noa moans as her
eyes roll up.
"When did this happen?!!" Ukyou demands, then fires a look at
Chigaiko to make sure she didn't blunt the information flow.
"A month ago," Negako reports. "From what I could tell of their chi
aura and their emotional state, the intercourse that provoked Akane's
pregnancy...was not consensual. NEITHER of them wanted it to happen then;
Akane doesn't even know she is pregnant though the signs will soon become
apparent. I assume that drugs were probably used to make them conceive their
children."
Ryouga and Ukyou gape, the Sagussans paling at Negako's words. "By
our standards...that's two counts of rape," Ranma warns.
"Ours, too!!" Ukyou gasps. "Oh, Ran-chan...!"
"Akane...!" Ryouga shakes his head. "Ukyou, what happened?!"
"Some mummified warlord from China named Yung Shan kidnapped them;
Kirin and his pals brought them back..." Ukyou reports, then sighs. "Well,
I'll tell you this one, sugar! Next time this old fool shows his ugly puss,
he dies!!" At Noa's surprised look, she adds, "Not because of what happened
between Ran-chan and me or between Ryouga and Akane. This is general
principle!!"
"Amen to that!" Ryouga nods. He pounds his fist into his palm for
emphasis. "I think we can agree on this: nobody like Yung Shan should get
away scot-free after what he did! It just ain't right!"
The others sigh as they return to their meals...
* * *
"Well?!"
"Well, what?" Negako muses as she, Chigaiko and Aoi head down the
road towards the Unryuu farm, continuing their journey.
"Don't you see what your words did?!" Chigaiko muses. "Now that's
another thing that'll provide friction between Ranma, Akane and their
friends..."
"The friction exists only if they permit it to...and after their
experience with Karmalibra, they know the cost of what running with
assumptions will invoke," Negako muses. "Besides, I know of Yung Shan.
Their problems with him are not over yet, not by any stretch of the
imagination."
"What does that mean, Negako-papa?!" Aoi wonders.
Negako muses. "It is believed he is 2000 years old, Aoi. For that
time, he has quested to seize control of the true power behind the Jusenkyou
springs, power that could create a martial artist which would even give ME a
prolonged fight. He himself can be defeated since the magic used to keep him
alive can be broken. I estimate about fifteen minutes for me to destroy him.
However, the primary goal of Ranma and his friends now is to prevent Ranma's
and Akane's coming daughters from falling under Yung Shan's control."
Chigaiko blinks, then sighs. "So what do we do?"
"We continue our journey and raise Aoi," Negako reaches down to
gently grasp her future daughter's hand. "Since they are your friends, you
will likely desire us to render assistance to Ranma and his friends when the
time comes. We will do so."
"What do you think about it?" Chigaiko muses.
Negako blinks, then lightly smiles. "I know that you would go help
no matter what. If Yung Shan or his lackeys target you, they will be make to
see the error behind their decision."
"Including lethal force?"
"Naturally."
"Just checking," Chigaiko grins as she grasps Aoi's other hand, then
they head down the road toward the coming dawn...
* * *
And so it began...
For my friends in Furinkan, their problems would multiply to the
point where they would be caught in their own Spirit War far away in the
mountains of China, all over the question of who would control the destiny of
two little girls. Negako, Aoi-chan and I were there for some of it, both in
the original battle when the Heiresses of Jusenkyou, Ranma Saotome II and
Akari Saotome, were born, then in the battle seventeen years later when they
strived to jointly achieve their destiny...
(From "The Ghost of Class Two-Four," by Chigaiko Inu-Moroboshi, (C) 2019,
Shogakukan Publishing Inc, Tokyo)
*** To Be Continued ***
**** **** **** AFTERNOTES (TED): If Quincy Jones could have Carlton Banks
(Alfonso Ribeiro) sing Tom Jones on "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air," I could
have Ryouga sing Neil Diamond here (Elvis is too cliched and Ryouga's not a
Barry Manilow kind of guy). [Getting my horn to do some tooting!] On
January 16, 1999, for the wedding reception of one of my cousins, I sang the
same song Ryouga was hypnotized into singing ("Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon"
[it was on the "Pulp Fiction" soundtrack]) complete with air guitar. They
loved it. [Puts horn back.] I was honoured that Fred offered to merge some
ideas he'd had with a draft I had done, but I wasn't pleased with the final
draft the first time. Unfortunately, some signals got crossed so the end
result wasn't the one I felt happy with. This time, though, Fred and I got
the story so we could BOTH be able to stand back and enjoy it. Thanks to
Phil Gavigan for his support and guidance, as well as Scalphunter (without
her there would have been no story). Thanks again to Eleanor for her editing.
Comments and constructive criticisms always welcome; flames and destructive
criticisms will be doused. Now if you'll excuse me, I got to join my fellow
adventurers in a fanfic in progress, "The Travellers." Later!
AFTERNOTES (FRED): Put simply, this has certainly been one of the most mind-
wracking writing efforts I've ever undertaken. I'm used to cranking out
stories and getting them onto the Net as soon as my mother's finished editing
them. So a big apology to Ted for trying to get this out before we BOTH were
satisfied with it. Kudos to Phil Gavigan for his frequent advice (and for
Karmalibra, too!). I hope all you P-chan lovers out there'll enjoy this
version a bit more. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to
Megatokyo to complete my "BGC/Tokimeki Memorial" fanfic "Illusions." Ciao!
**** **** ****
