Rain
Part 8
Fiance Fury!
++++++++++
Ranma frowned at his two brothers, it had been two days since they
had left the Tendo home, and they were now on the opposite side of
Tokyo.
"What?" said Raiden defensively.
"What is wrong with you two?" snapped the ponytailed god as he
glared at the both of them.
"It was just that one girl," muttered Fujin irritably.
"We've had every second rate demon hunter in Japan on our tail for
the last two days thanks to that episode! I can't believe it! You
-ate- her!"
"Well, we aren't all good you know," grumbled Fujin irritably.
"You didn't used to get this upset when we indulged ourselves on
occasion."
"Well that was then! You can't just go around eating people's
stomachs out!" snapped Ranma angrily. "She was..."
"She was evil, she was a drug dealer, and involved with all sorts
of nasty things," finished Raiden calmly. "Believe it or not, we do
check these things. Kami-sama kinda requires it nowadays." He looked
somewhat disappointed as he said this.
"You did it in broad daylight!" snapped Ranma angrily. "In the
middle of the park! You morons scared the hell out of every mortal
within sight, and now we've got some kind of police investigation to
deal with!"
"Like they could catch us," snorted Raiden.
"Damn it! If you absolutely have to do that, do it discretely!"
snapped the boy angrily as he pulled at his hair in frustration.
"Fine," muttered Fujin as he turned away. "That girl you were
living with isn't exactly a pillar of virtue herself you know. We
wouldn't have gotten in trouble for eating her."
"You keep your claws to yourself!" snapped Ranma as he faced the
both of them. "Every one of them is off limits! Got it?"
"Jeez," grumbled Raiden as he scratched his head and followed them
as they continued to argue.
++++++++++++
Several hours later...
"Who's this?" asked Ranma as he looked at the girl in front of
him.
Raiden and Fujin blinked and stared at the girl for a moment. She
was sweating nervously and laughing to herself in embarrassment. "This
is Keiichi."
"I thought you said he was a guy," said Ranma as he looked at the
boy.
"He is a guy," said Raiden calmly.
"Then why does he have breasts? I don't sense any of Jusenkyo on
him," asked Ranma as he pointed at the two mounds on Keiichi's shirt.
"I dunno," said Raiden with a small shrug.
"Um, what are you doing back here?" asked Keiichi nervously. He
was wearing a dress, and had his now long locks of hair tied up in a
ponytail.
"We got kicked out of the other place," said Fujin with a small
shrug.
"Who's this guy?" said Keiichi as he looked at Ranma.
"Our brother," said Raiden as he walked past the cross-dressed boy and
into the house. "Where's Urd? We need to talk with her."
"What's this about? Hey, what the heck are you guys doing here
again?" asked Urd as she noticed the trio standing in the front yard.
"We got kicked out of the other place," said Raiden calmly.
"Huh?" said Urd dumbly. "Why?"
"Akane found out about you," said Ranma as he smiled at her.
"That girl?" gasped Urd.
"I was going to tell her anyway, but these idiots..." Ranma
glanced at Raiden and Fujin irritably.
Both of them grinned at her.
"I understand," she said with a small sigh. "So, you have a new
place to stay?"
"Actually, no," said Raiden as he smirked at her. "I figured..."
Urd had already grabbed Ranma's arm. "I'll show you to our room!"
"Um. Our room?" said the boy nervously.
"Well, looks like it's just us again roomy," said Fujin as he put
his arm on Keiichi's shoulder.
The boy already had tears flowing down his face. "Why?"
"Hiya," said Skuld as she walked out of the house to see what the
noise was about. "You guys are back already?"
"Yeah, we're going to be staying for a while," said Fujin
cheerfully.
"Great!" said Skuld as she grabbed Raiden's arm and started to
pull. "I need your help with something."
"Huh?" muttered the god dumbly as he was led away.
"You look younger," commented Skuld as she looked up at him.
"Well, I suppose," he replied as she led him into her room. She
handed him two wires and smiled. "Could you help me charge this?"
"Um? What is it?" asked Raiden as he followed the wires with his
eyes. In the corner of the room, a gigantic Banpei took up almost the
entire wall. "Huh?"
"Come on! It'll be no problem for you! I was gonna have to start
over and rebuild him again. He's too big for these puny little
electrical outlets."
Raiden laughed nervously and shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why
not..."
+++++++++++
Belldandy smiled as Urd rounded the corner with Ranma on her arm.
"Oh. Hello Urd. Who's this?"
Urd blinked and looked at the boy for a moment.
He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the goddess. "Hi. I
haven't seen you in a while Bell-chan."
The woman blinked in surprise. "Oh? Have we met?"
Ranma laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Let's see. When
was the last time?" The boy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Dang,
this is irritating. I've just been reborn, and I don't have all my
memories back yet."
Urd rolled her eyes and put her hand over his left eye. "How's
this sis?"
Belldandy paused and cocked her head for a moment. After a moment,
she gasped and stared at him in shock. "Kura-niichan?"
"Um, hi," he said uncomfortably.
The goddess rushed up and embraced her sister. "Oh Urd! I'm so
happy for you!"
"Hey! It's not that big a deal!" she said as Belldandy grabbed
Ranma and crushed him in her grip as well. "It's been so long! I had
no idea! When did this happen? How long have you been here?" She
paused and stepped back, frowning at him. "Why haven't you called my
sister?"
Ranma blinked and stepped back with his hands held up defensively.
"Hey! I'm just now remembering all this!"
Belldandy looked at him and smiled again. "Oh, well you still
should have said something."
Fujin walked into the room and sat down at the table with
Belldandy. "We might be here a while."
"Oh. Okay," she said sweetly.
"You seem to be taking this well," commented the god with a small
sigh.
"Well, I had no idea that Kura had been reborn!" exclaimed the
goddess cheerfully.
"No one does, we're the only ones who know so far. His status was
just officially declared again about three days ago. His memory will
return much faster now, but it's still got a long way to go. Mara's
been sniffing around him as well."
"Oh my! Urd won't be happy to hear that," said Belldandy with a
worried frown.
"She knows already, we need too keep ourselves ready though."
"I wonder how Keiichi's doing?" muttered Urd as she pulled Ranma
out of the room.
+++++++++++
"Mff."
Ranma blinked and looked at Urd as she suddenly burst into
laughter. "What the?"
She was rolling on the ground. "Bwahahahahahaha! You look good!
Too good!"
The unfortunate boy was simply sitting quietly. "Don't laugh. It's
not that funny. C'mon, it was your stupid medicine that did this to
me."
Urd sat up and poked him in the cheek. "Yeah, sure! It's not like
you went into my room and took stuff without my permission or anything
huh?"
"Um...you've got a point there," muttered the boy in
embarrassment.
Urd took another look at him and burst into laughter again.
"Bwahahahahahaha! Is that the best you can do Skuld?!"
"Don't tell me...maybe...I...I'll be stuck like this for the rest
of my life...?" said the boy in horror.
Ranma shook his head and sighed. "Man, that's one messed up magic
spell. I can't help you pal, but I understand how you feel." He pat
the boy on his back and smiled.
"You do?" muttered Keiichi as he looked up at him sadly.
A red-haired girl was smiling at him now. "Yup. Something similar
happened to me a while back. It's not so bad."
Urd blinked and looked at him. "What's that?"
Ranma scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.
"Remember that Chinese water spirit who hit on you back when we were
together all those years ago?"
"Um, yeah?" said Urd dumbly.
"Remember the curse I gave his springs when he called you all
those names after you turned him down?" continued Ranma.
"Oh. You didn't," said Urd as she started to chuckle again.
"Yeah, about two years ago," said Ranma with her head hanging
slightly. "Father's got a weird sense of humor."
"Bwahahahahahahaa!" Urd was rolling on the ground again.
Belldandy walked up behind the unfortunate boy and grasped his
shoulders. "I'm sorry Keiichi. I can't reverse Urd's medicine. She
uses a different school of magic."
Urd smirked at him. "Come on, pal. Don't sweat it! If there's an
antidote, super-druggist Urd will find it!" She turned away and
started walking away.
Belldandy tried to reassure the boy a little more. "The problem is
that you gulped down so many different things. So it's taking me some
time to decode the spells..."
Urd paused and looked out into the yard. A small blizzard of plum
flower petals had formed. "Hey, you know...I heard a rumor
recently...it can't be!"
A rather bishonen looking man appeared out of the blizzard,
holding a stringed instrument under his arm as he floated over the
yard. He had long black hair, and was sporting a long, dark cape.
"The spirit of the plum tree, Troubadour!" said Urd with a small
frown.
He turned to face her, a light smile on his lips. "I have been
searching for you Urd."
"Who's this guy?" muttered Ranma. She had a slightly annoyed look
on her face as she stared at him.
"It's the plum tree spirit...an old boyfriend of Urd's," said
Belldandy.
"What the?" muttered Ranma irritably. The man walked up and hugged
Urd.
"I am here, to once again share my love with you! That is why I
have come to this distant and bleak dimension."
Belldandy looked rather suspicious. "But why would he show up now?
After all this time? He was the one who broke up with her."
Ranma frowned at her. "Too bad for him then."
Keiichi looked nervous. "You don't suppose he's going to try to
restart things and take her away, is he? Then what about my antidote?"
"I wouldn't worry about that," said Ranma as she smirked
confidently.
"Why is that?" asked Belldandy.
"Because I'm going to hurt him," said the redhead with a scowl on
her face.
Urd pushed herself away from him, and turned away. "Go away."
Ranma stopped her forward motion, and moved back slightly. "I don't
know what you thought you could achieve by showing up here, but
sorry...forget it. I'm not that desperate. No way I'm going to go
crawling back to someone who rejected me already." The goddess had a
smile on her face as she said this.
The plum tree spirit began to pluck at his instrument and sing.
"Why, ohhh, why?! Why?! What part of my heart does she hate, my honey
baby?"
"That part! Your lousy singing!" snapped Urd irritably. "I don't
need your stupid love, go away."
"Hey Urd! What about my antidote?" said Keiichi as he walked up to
her."
"Don't worry about it. I'll make it for you, just not right now,"
replied the goddess.
"But why not?" asked Keiichi.
"Because that big goon is incredibly jealous that's why. Back when
we were still together, there was this junior god who tried to hit on
me. So Troubadour, the loon...he used his powers and made the poor
guy's body fill up and explode with creepy insects."
Keiichi was quickly reconsidering his situation.
"If he found out there was a man living under the same roof with
me..." continued Urd ominously.
Ranma frowned, and looked at her for a moment. "Jealous, huh?"
"Oh, um..." said the goddess as she seemed to just remember that
she was there. "Hold on a minute. Come on Kura..."
The redhead was already glaring at the spirit angrily, his arms
crossed over his chest.
"Come to think of it, Urd. I heard a rumor that you're living with
some guy," said Troubadour. He suddenly seemed to become quite angry.
"Yes! Now I see it! It's him who stole your love for me!"
"Aw, come on! Another man here? Ain't nobody here but us girls!
See?"
"Oh my," said Belldandy with a small frown on her face.
Keiichi tried his best too look girlish, but his terror destroyed
the effect.
"Actually, it's been bothering me since I got here. That 'girl'
next to you...there's something funny about her," said Troubadour
calmly.
"You really are the suspicious one, aren't you Troubadour."
Urd moved behind Keiichi and ripped his shirt down around his
waist.
"Check 'em out big boy! You still think this is a guy?"
Troubadour and Keiichi froze, both in equal amounts of
embarrassment.
Urd paused and realized that she felt something behind her. "Uh
oh."
"Urd, Keiichi. Move," said a decidedly masculine voice.
"Kura?" muttered Belldandy as she covered her mouth and backed
away from the glowing, and currently male, god.
Troubadour turned his head and frowned. "Who might you be?"
"Urd's betrothed," said the god calmly.
"So, she lied to me! There is someone else," snapped the angry
spirit as he raised his instrument up and started to pluck at the
strings.
"You know, you were right. Keiichi here is a guy," said the god as
he put his hand on the still frozen boy's shoulder.
"Hey! Are you trying to get us killed!?" he cried in shock.
"I wouldn't worry about that. I won't be beaten by some cheesy
spirit," said Ranma coldly.
"I won't stand for anyone getting in my way," said Troubadour
coldly. "When this song ends, so will you!"
"You'll put that down, and leave now if you know what's good for
you," said Ranma calmly.
Troubadour started to sing, plucking the strings of his instrument
faster and faster. "Bugs, bugs, buggy bugs..."
"Last warning," said Ranma coldly.
The man continued to pluck his strings, and sing with a cold smile
forming on his face.
"I'd listen to him if I were you," said a new voice off the
Troubadour's right.
"It might be a good idea," agreed the same voice on his left side.
He stopped his song, and glanced at the trio for a moment. "Who
are you? How dare you stand in my way?"
"You're in my way little imp. You're nothing too me," snarled
Ranma coldly. "Urd isn't going with you, she told you that already.
You should leave, now."
"Ha! Our love is eternal! You're nothing but an obstacle to me!"
cried the man angrily as he glared at him. "I demand that you release
her back to me at once!"
"You don't seem to understand what you're dealing with," said
Raiden as his eyes began to glow.
"Indeed, he's not in a position to make demands," agreed Fujin as
a tight whirlwind formed around his body.
Troubadour seemed to realize that something was definitely wrong
with this situation when Ranma's body stared to become difficult to
see through the growing cloud of fog that had started to surround him.
"Who are you?"
"We are the three storms," said Raiden.
"Reunited at last," said Fujin coolly.
"I'm not going to let a jerk like you touch Urd again," snarled
Ranma.
"The three storms? That's impossible!" said the spirit as he
glared at the trio.
Urd stepped forward and stood in front of Ranma. "Kura. Don't kill
him, please."
He turned his head away, and crossed his arms. "All right, you
deal with him this time. I won't be this nice the next time." He
glared at the man as he walked away and into the home.
"Kura?" muttered Troubadour dumbly. "No way...it...can't be..."
Urd walked up to him, taking a bracelet off of her wrist and
handing it to him. "Troubadour, go home. Please don't come back. I
won't be able to stop him the next time."
He accepted the bracelet and looked at it for a moment. It was the
one he had given her when they started going out. "But..."
"Goodbye," said the goddess as she turned away from him.
"Damn," muttered the plum tree spirit as he pulled a withered
looking scroll from his pocket. "The song to summon the melodious
nightingale. The scroll of golden verse! My life-long dream, and...I
only needed the tears of a goddess's love to open it..." He frowned
and hung his shoulders. "Damn, Urd's out. I wonder if Benten..."
++++++++++++
Several hours later...
"You dare to show up here again? Die you bastard! Nobody dumps
me!"
Troubadour rushed out of the temple, the eight-armed goddess hot
on his heels with a number of blunt objects in her grasp. "But...honey
bunch!"
"I'll kill you!" screamed Benten as she continued to give chase.
"I'll...um...I'll just wait here then," said Venus as she peered
out of the door and watched them vanish over the horizon.
++++++++++
"The boy has not returned," said Genma with a small frown.
"So?" said Nodoka calmly as she sipped at her tea.
"But, Akane and Ranma must marry! It was decided that..."
Nodoka glared at them both. "You dare even suggest that you can
determine the fate of a god?"
"But...honey..." muttered Genma as he bowed before her.
Akane was sitting quietly, her head hanging low as she sat across
from the scene. She looked up at Nodoka, an almost dead look in her
eyes. "He's not coming back. He's not coming back this time is he?"
Nodoka smiled at her gently, and cupped her face with her hand.
"I'm afraid not dear. I'm sorry, but his destiny cannot include you.
He has some very important things to do."
"No! I...I don't want him too..." said the girl as tears filled
her eyes.
Nodoka sighed, trying her best to explain things to her. "Akane,
he has always cared for you, but his heart has belonged to Urd since
the beginning of time."
"What?" stammered the girl in shock.
"They are soul mates," replied Nodoka calmly. "There is nothing
he, nor I can do about that. It is best if you forget about him and
move on. He so desperately wanted to love you, and he does, but..."
"What do you mean?" said Akane in shock. "I won't let him! He's my
fiancee and..."
Nodoka slapped her, it wasn't very hard, but enough to get her
attention. "Akane. I have lived since long before the beginning of
time. Please understand, if you continue to peruse him, it will only
cause the both of you pain."
"But..." Akane's eyes filled with tears again, and she hung her
head and sobbed.
"But what of the schools?" asked Genma desperately.
"What of our family's honor?" agreed Soun.
"What of it?" said Nodoka coldly.
"But..." whimpered the men.
"Husband, I need to speak with you about a few things," said
Nodoka as she put a rather thick book on the table.
"Huh?" muttered the man in confusion. He seemed to forget about
the union of the schools for a moment. "What's that?" He didn't like
the looks of the book.
"The story of your life," commented Nodoka calmly.
Genma blinked. "Pardon?"
"Let's see now, what page was it?"
Happosai, who had been sitting next to them, ironing his panty
collection, looked up. "Huh? Around 20,083 I think."
"Oh yes. The 'Cat Fist'? I believe..."
++++++++++++
Nabiki watched the scene. She wanted to laugh, she really did.
However, Akane sitting next to them in tears was too much. She scowled
angrily and glared at the two gods. "Cruelty of the gods indeed." She
looked down at the address in her hand. "I won't ever forgive you for
this one Ranma. You've gone too far." She walked over to the phone and
began to dial.
"Hello? Shampoo? I've got some information for you." She paused as
the voice on the other end of the line spoke. "Free of charge this
time." Another pause. "No, I'm feeling fine. I just figured you'd want
to know where your beloved is, that's all..."
Several more calls followed quickly after that.
++++++++++
TBC...
Next time: Fiancee Explosion!
This one ran a bit longer than I had anticipated, so I decided to
cut it in half. The other half isn't done yet. The fic will probably
run a little longer than expected too. the conclusion is probably
about a week or less away if I continue to write at my current rate
though.
This takes place during the 'Miss Keiichi' story of AMG. Keiichi
has to go through Urd's potions to find the right one so he can cure
Belldandy when she gets sick. He tries them all, and ends up with
breasts and long hair as a result. He's still a guy otherwise.
Japanese demons like to eat out the navels of young women and
children. Hense Raiden and Fujin's unusual taste for humans, and their
interest in Nabiki in the last ch.
Part 8
Fiance Fury!
++++++++++
Ranma frowned at his two brothers, it had been two days since they
had left the Tendo home, and they were now on the opposite side of
Tokyo.
"What?" said Raiden defensively.
"What is wrong with you two?" snapped the ponytailed god as he
glared at the both of them.
"It was just that one girl," muttered Fujin irritably.
"We've had every second rate demon hunter in Japan on our tail for
the last two days thanks to that episode! I can't believe it! You
-ate- her!"
"Well, we aren't all good you know," grumbled Fujin irritably.
"You didn't used to get this upset when we indulged ourselves on
occasion."
"Well that was then! You can't just go around eating people's
stomachs out!" snapped Ranma angrily. "She was..."
"She was evil, she was a drug dealer, and involved with all sorts
of nasty things," finished Raiden calmly. "Believe it or not, we do
check these things. Kami-sama kinda requires it nowadays." He looked
somewhat disappointed as he said this.
"You did it in broad daylight!" snapped Ranma angrily. "In the
middle of the park! You morons scared the hell out of every mortal
within sight, and now we've got some kind of police investigation to
deal with!"
"Like they could catch us," snorted Raiden.
"Damn it! If you absolutely have to do that, do it discretely!"
snapped the boy angrily as he pulled at his hair in frustration.
"Fine," muttered Fujin as he turned away. "That girl you were
living with isn't exactly a pillar of virtue herself you know. We
wouldn't have gotten in trouble for eating her."
"You keep your claws to yourself!" snapped Ranma as he faced the
both of them. "Every one of them is off limits! Got it?"
"Jeez," grumbled Raiden as he scratched his head and followed them
as they continued to argue.
++++++++++++
Several hours later...
"Who's this?" asked Ranma as he looked at the girl in front of
him.
Raiden and Fujin blinked and stared at the girl for a moment. She
was sweating nervously and laughing to herself in embarrassment. "This
is Keiichi."
"I thought you said he was a guy," said Ranma as he looked at the
boy.
"He is a guy," said Raiden calmly.
"Then why does he have breasts? I don't sense any of Jusenkyo on
him," asked Ranma as he pointed at the two mounds on Keiichi's shirt.
"I dunno," said Raiden with a small shrug.
"Um, what are you doing back here?" asked Keiichi nervously. He
was wearing a dress, and had his now long locks of hair tied up in a
ponytail.
"We got kicked out of the other place," said Fujin with a small
shrug.
"Who's this guy?" said Keiichi as he looked at Ranma.
"Our brother," said Raiden as he walked past the cross-dressed boy and
into the house. "Where's Urd? We need to talk with her."
"What's this about? Hey, what the heck are you guys doing here
again?" asked Urd as she noticed the trio standing in the front yard.
"We got kicked out of the other place," said Raiden calmly.
"Huh?" said Urd dumbly. "Why?"
"Akane found out about you," said Ranma as he smiled at her.
"That girl?" gasped Urd.
"I was going to tell her anyway, but these idiots..." Ranma
glanced at Raiden and Fujin irritably.
Both of them grinned at her.
"I understand," she said with a small sigh. "So, you have a new
place to stay?"
"Actually, no," said Raiden as he smirked at her. "I figured..."
Urd had already grabbed Ranma's arm. "I'll show you to our room!"
"Um. Our room?" said the boy nervously.
"Well, looks like it's just us again roomy," said Fujin as he put
his arm on Keiichi's shoulder.
The boy already had tears flowing down his face. "Why?"
"Hiya," said Skuld as she walked out of the house to see what the
noise was about. "You guys are back already?"
"Yeah, we're going to be staying for a while," said Fujin
cheerfully.
"Great!" said Skuld as she grabbed Raiden's arm and started to
pull. "I need your help with something."
"Huh?" muttered the god dumbly as he was led away.
"You look younger," commented Skuld as she looked up at him.
"Well, I suppose," he replied as she led him into her room. She
handed him two wires and smiled. "Could you help me charge this?"
"Um? What is it?" asked Raiden as he followed the wires with his
eyes. In the corner of the room, a gigantic Banpei took up almost the
entire wall. "Huh?"
"Come on! It'll be no problem for you! I was gonna have to start
over and rebuild him again. He's too big for these puny little
electrical outlets."
Raiden laughed nervously and shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why
not..."
+++++++++++
Belldandy smiled as Urd rounded the corner with Ranma on her arm.
"Oh. Hello Urd. Who's this?"
Urd blinked and looked at the boy for a moment.
He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the goddess. "Hi. I
haven't seen you in a while Bell-chan."
The woman blinked in surprise. "Oh? Have we met?"
Ranma laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Let's see. When
was the last time?" The boy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Dang,
this is irritating. I've just been reborn, and I don't have all my
memories back yet."
Urd rolled her eyes and put her hand over his left eye. "How's
this sis?"
Belldandy paused and cocked her head for a moment. After a moment,
she gasped and stared at him in shock. "Kura-niichan?"
"Um, hi," he said uncomfortably.
The goddess rushed up and embraced her sister. "Oh Urd! I'm so
happy for you!"
"Hey! It's not that big a deal!" she said as Belldandy grabbed
Ranma and crushed him in her grip as well. "It's been so long! I had
no idea! When did this happen? How long have you been here?" She
paused and stepped back, frowning at him. "Why haven't you called my
sister?"
Ranma blinked and stepped back with his hands held up defensively.
"Hey! I'm just now remembering all this!"
Belldandy looked at him and smiled again. "Oh, well you still
should have said something."
Fujin walked into the room and sat down at the table with
Belldandy. "We might be here a while."
"Oh. Okay," she said sweetly.
"You seem to be taking this well," commented the god with a small
sigh.
"Well, I had no idea that Kura had been reborn!" exclaimed the
goddess cheerfully.
"No one does, we're the only ones who know so far. His status was
just officially declared again about three days ago. His memory will
return much faster now, but it's still got a long way to go. Mara's
been sniffing around him as well."
"Oh my! Urd won't be happy to hear that," said Belldandy with a
worried frown.
"She knows already, we need too keep ourselves ready though."
"I wonder how Keiichi's doing?" muttered Urd as she pulled Ranma
out of the room.
+++++++++++
"Mff."
Ranma blinked and looked at Urd as she suddenly burst into
laughter. "What the?"
She was rolling on the ground. "Bwahahahahahaha! You look good!
Too good!"
The unfortunate boy was simply sitting quietly. "Don't laugh. It's
not that funny. C'mon, it was your stupid medicine that did this to
me."
Urd sat up and poked him in the cheek. "Yeah, sure! It's not like
you went into my room and took stuff without my permission or anything
huh?"
"Um...you've got a point there," muttered the boy in
embarrassment.
Urd took another look at him and burst into laughter again.
"Bwahahahahahaha! Is that the best you can do Skuld?!"
"Don't tell me...maybe...I...I'll be stuck like this for the rest
of my life...?" said the boy in horror.
Ranma shook his head and sighed. "Man, that's one messed up magic
spell. I can't help you pal, but I understand how you feel." He pat
the boy on his back and smiled.
"You do?" muttered Keiichi as he looked up at him sadly.
A red-haired girl was smiling at him now. "Yup. Something similar
happened to me a while back. It's not so bad."
Urd blinked and looked at him. "What's that?"
Ranma scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.
"Remember that Chinese water spirit who hit on you back when we were
together all those years ago?"
"Um, yeah?" said Urd dumbly.
"Remember the curse I gave his springs when he called you all
those names after you turned him down?" continued Ranma.
"Oh. You didn't," said Urd as she started to chuckle again.
"Yeah, about two years ago," said Ranma with her head hanging
slightly. "Father's got a weird sense of humor."
"Bwahahahahahahaa!" Urd was rolling on the ground again.
Belldandy walked up behind the unfortunate boy and grasped his
shoulders. "I'm sorry Keiichi. I can't reverse Urd's medicine. She
uses a different school of magic."
Urd smirked at him. "Come on, pal. Don't sweat it! If there's an
antidote, super-druggist Urd will find it!" She turned away and
started walking away.
Belldandy tried to reassure the boy a little more. "The problem is
that you gulped down so many different things. So it's taking me some
time to decode the spells..."
Urd paused and looked out into the yard. A small blizzard of plum
flower petals had formed. "Hey, you know...I heard a rumor
recently...it can't be!"
A rather bishonen looking man appeared out of the blizzard,
holding a stringed instrument under his arm as he floated over the
yard. He had long black hair, and was sporting a long, dark cape.
"The spirit of the plum tree, Troubadour!" said Urd with a small
frown.
He turned to face her, a light smile on his lips. "I have been
searching for you Urd."
"Who's this guy?" muttered Ranma. She had a slightly annoyed look
on her face as she stared at him.
"It's the plum tree spirit...an old boyfriend of Urd's," said
Belldandy.
"What the?" muttered Ranma irritably. The man walked up and hugged
Urd.
"I am here, to once again share my love with you! That is why I
have come to this distant and bleak dimension."
Belldandy looked rather suspicious. "But why would he show up now?
After all this time? He was the one who broke up with her."
Ranma frowned at her. "Too bad for him then."
Keiichi looked nervous. "You don't suppose he's going to try to
restart things and take her away, is he? Then what about my antidote?"
"I wouldn't worry about that," said Ranma as she smirked
confidently.
"Why is that?" asked Belldandy.
"Because I'm going to hurt him," said the redhead with a scowl on
her face.
Urd pushed herself away from him, and turned away. "Go away."
Ranma stopped her forward motion, and moved back slightly. "I don't
know what you thought you could achieve by showing up here, but
sorry...forget it. I'm not that desperate. No way I'm going to go
crawling back to someone who rejected me already." The goddess had a
smile on her face as she said this.
The plum tree spirit began to pluck at his instrument and sing.
"Why, ohhh, why?! Why?! What part of my heart does she hate, my honey
baby?"
"That part! Your lousy singing!" snapped Urd irritably. "I don't
need your stupid love, go away."
"Hey Urd! What about my antidote?" said Keiichi as he walked up to
her."
"Don't worry about it. I'll make it for you, just not right now,"
replied the goddess.
"But why not?" asked Keiichi.
"Because that big goon is incredibly jealous that's why. Back when
we were still together, there was this junior god who tried to hit on
me. So Troubadour, the loon...he used his powers and made the poor
guy's body fill up and explode with creepy insects."
Keiichi was quickly reconsidering his situation.
"If he found out there was a man living under the same roof with
me..." continued Urd ominously.
Ranma frowned, and looked at her for a moment. "Jealous, huh?"
"Oh, um..." said the goddess as she seemed to just remember that
she was there. "Hold on a minute. Come on Kura..."
The redhead was already glaring at the spirit angrily, his arms
crossed over his chest.
"Come to think of it, Urd. I heard a rumor that you're living with
some guy," said Troubadour. He suddenly seemed to become quite angry.
"Yes! Now I see it! It's him who stole your love for me!"
"Aw, come on! Another man here? Ain't nobody here but us girls!
See?"
"Oh my," said Belldandy with a small frown on her face.
Keiichi tried his best too look girlish, but his terror destroyed
the effect.
"Actually, it's been bothering me since I got here. That 'girl'
next to you...there's something funny about her," said Troubadour
calmly.
"You really are the suspicious one, aren't you Troubadour."
Urd moved behind Keiichi and ripped his shirt down around his
waist.
"Check 'em out big boy! You still think this is a guy?"
Troubadour and Keiichi froze, both in equal amounts of
embarrassment.
Urd paused and realized that she felt something behind her. "Uh
oh."
"Urd, Keiichi. Move," said a decidedly masculine voice.
"Kura?" muttered Belldandy as she covered her mouth and backed
away from the glowing, and currently male, god.
Troubadour turned his head and frowned. "Who might you be?"
"Urd's betrothed," said the god calmly.
"So, she lied to me! There is someone else," snapped the angry
spirit as he raised his instrument up and started to pluck at the
strings.
"You know, you were right. Keiichi here is a guy," said the god as
he put his hand on the still frozen boy's shoulder.
"Hey! Are you trying to get us killed!?" he cried in shock.
"I wouldn't worry about that. I won't be beaten by some cheesy
spirit," said Ranma coldly.
"I won't stand for anyone getting in my way," said Troubadour
coldly. "When this song ends, so will you!"
"You'll put that down, and leave now if you know what's good for
you," said Ranma calmly.
Troubadour started to sing, plucking the strings of his instrument
faster and faster. "Bugs, bugs, buggy bugs..."
"Last warning," said Ranma coldly.
The man continued to pluck his strings, and sing with a cold smile
forming on his face.
"I'd listen to him if I were you," said a new voice off the
Troubadour's right.
"It might be a good idea," agreed the same voice on his left side.
He stopped his song, and glanced at the trio for a moment. "Who
are you? How dare you stand in my way?"
"You're in my way little imp. You're nothing too me," snarled
Ranma coldly. "Urd isn't going with you, she told you that already.
You should leave, now."
"Ha! Our love is eternal! You're nothing but an obstacle to me!"
cried the man angrily as he glared at him. "I demand that you release
her back to me at once!"
"You don't seem to understand what you're dealing with," said
Raiden as his eyes began to glow.
"Indeed, he's not in a position to make demands," agreed Fujin as
a tight whirlwind formed around his body.
Troubadour seemed to realize that something was definitely wrong
with this situation when Ranma's body stared to become difficult to
see through the growing cloud of fog that had started to surround him.
"Who are you?"
"We are the three storms," said Raiden.
"Reunited at last," said Fujin coolly.
"I'm not going to let a jerk like you touch Urd again," snarled
Ranma.
"The three storms? That's impossible!" said the spirit as he
glared at the trio.
Urd stepped forward and stood in front of Ranma. "Kura. Don't kill
him, please."
He turned his head away, and crossed his arms. "All right, you
deal with him this time. I won't be this nice the next time." He
glared at the man as he walked away and into the home.
"Kura?" muttered Troubadour dumbly. "No way...it...can't be..."
Urd walked up to him, taking a bracelet off of her wrist and
handing it to him. "Troubadour, go home. Please don't come back. I
won't be able to stop him the next time."
He accepted the bracelet and looked at it for a moment. It was the
one he had given her when they started going out. "But..."
"Goodbye," said the goddess as she turned away from him.
"Damn," muttered the plum tree spirit as he pulled a withered
looking scroll from his pocket. "The song to summon the melodious
nightingale. The scroll of golden verse! My life-long dream, and...I
only needed the tears of a goddess's love to open it..." He frowned
and hung his shoulders. "Damn, Urd's out. I wonder if Benten..."
++++++++++++
Several hours later...
"You dare to show up here again? Die you bastard! Nobody dumps
me!"
Troubadour rushed out of the temple, the eight-armed goddess hot
on his heels with a number of blunt objects in her grasp. "But...honey
bunch!"
"I'll kill you!" screamed Benten as she continued to give chase.
"I'll...um...I'll just wait here then," said Venus as she peered
out of the door and watched them vanish over the horizon.
++++++++++
"The boy has not returned," said Genma with a small frown.
"So?" said Nodoka calmly as she sipped at her tea.
"But, Akane and Ranma must marry! It was decided that..."
Nodoka glared at them both. "You dare even suggest that you can
determine the fate of a god?"
"But...honey..." muttered Genma as he bowed before her.
Akane was sitting quietly, her head hanging low as she sat across
from the scene. She looked up at Nodoka, an almost dead look in her
eyes. "He's not coming back. He's not coming back this time is he?"
Nodoka smiled at her gently, and cupped her face with her hand.
"I'm afraid not dear. I'm sorry, but his destiny cannot include you.
He has some very important things to do."
"No! I...I don't want him too..." said the girl as tears filled
her eyes.
Nodoka sighed, trying her best to explain things to her. "Akane,
he has always cared for you, but his heart has belonged to Urd since
the beginning of time."
"What?" stammered the girl in shock.
"They are soul mates," replied Nodoka calmly. "There is nothing
he, nor I can do about that. It is best if you forget about him and
move on. He so desperately wanted to love you, and he does, but..."
"What do you mean?" said Akane in shock. "I won't let him! He's my
fiancee and..."
Nodoka slapped her, it wasn't very hard, but enough to get her
attention. "Akane. I have lived since long before the beginning of
time. Please understand, if you continue to peruse him, it will only
cause the both of you pain."
"But..." Akane's eyes filled with tears again, and she hung her
head and sobbed.
"But what of the schools?" asked Genma desperately.
"What of our family's honor?" agreed Soun.
"What of it?" said Nodoka coldly.
"But..." whimpered the men.
"Husband, I need to speak with you about a few things," said
Nodoka as she put a rather thick book on the table.
"Huh?" muttered the man in confusion. He seemed to forget about
the union of the schools for a moment. "What's that?" He didn't like
the looks of the book.
"The story of your life," commented Nodoka calmly.
Genma blinked. "Pardon?"
"Let's see now, what page was it?"
Happosai, who had been sitting next to them, ironing his panty
collection, looked up. "Huh? Around 20,083 I think."
"Oh yes. The 'Cat Fist'? I believe..."
++++++++++++
Nabiki watched the scene. She wanted to laugh, she really did.
However, Akane sitting next to them in tears was too much. She scowled
angrily and glared at the two gods. "Cruelty of the gods indeed." She
looked down at the address in her hand. "I won't ever forgive you for
this one Ranma. You've gone too far." She walked over to the phone and
began to dial.
"Hello? Shampoo? I've got some information for you." She paused as
the voice on the other end of the line spoke. "Free of charge this
time." Another pause. "No, I'm feeling fine. I just figured you'd want
to know where your beloved is, that's all..."
Several more calls followed quickly after that.
++++++++++
TBC...
Next time: Fiancee Explosion!
This one ran a bit longer than I had anticipated, so I decided to
cut it in half. The other half isn't done yet. The fic will probably
run a little longer than expected too. the conclusion is probably
about a week or less away if I continue to write at my current rate
though.
This takes place during the 'Miss Keiichi' story of AMG. Keiichi
has to go through Urd's potions to find the right one so he can cure
Belldandy when she gets sick. He tries them all, and ends up with
breasts and long hair as a result. He's still a guy otherwise.
Japanese demons like to eat out the navels of young women and
children. Hense Raiden and Fujin's unusual taste for humans, and their
interest in Nabiki in the last ch.