Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma, Sailor Moon, or Ah! My Goddess. Their
respective creators own all three, and I get nothing for writing these
stories.
No Title A continuation of "Not Another SI Fic!" By: Taiteki Kagato
I awoke with a start, staring at my apartment with wide eyes.
"Makoto?" I said, tentatively. Then it hit me. Last night. A solution. They were. Gone.
With a sigh, I realized I'd have to wait a week for things to fix themselves. I sighed again knowing that, without Makoto's magical protection, my memory would be totally changed, like everyone else. Until then, however.
"What the hell am I supposed to tell our... her... My manager?" I shrugged, then climbed off my bed, feeling the back of my head as I realized it was throbbing somewhat painfully. I grinned slightly at how weird it was that I hadn't noticed until now, but dismissed it, remembering that, when they'd been transported home, I'd been thrown across the room onto my bed, colliding with the armrest it had when it was in its couch-form.
Making my way over to my computer, I looked at some of the things I'd been able to purchase with Makoto's income added to mine, and sighed louder knowing that these, too, would most likely disappear in a weeks time.
I frowned at the closed window, the sound of arguing voices drawing steadily near. For the most part, this neighborhood was quiet, so being able to hear anything outside was rather odd. I also heard a car go by, followed by another.
". Busy day..." I said, checking some of the websites I frequented often. Oddly enough, my broadband was having trouble loading the sites. Turning from the computer in frustration, I noticed the sound of talking outside had failed to diminish, and traffic sounded like traffic, as opposed to the parking lot I was used to.
"What the." I was moving towards the door when I heard a key slide into the lock. Blinking, I watched as my apartment was entered by.
"Oh! Great! You're awake."
".Makoto?" I said, disbelievingly. Then I looked past her, and noticed that southeast Denver had been replaced with.
"Where. Where the hell am I?" I asked, stepping outside to look at the cramped suburbs and large number of Japanese walking around.
"Well. We're not in Denver anymore." Makoto said, shuffling her feet slightly as she stared at the carpet.
". How obvious." I deadpanned, staring out at the city around me.
"Well. we're in-" Makoto started.
"Nerima." I said, softly, my knuckles whitening as the fists I had unconsciously made grew tighter. There, moving south was a purple-haired girl riding a bicycle rooftop-to-rooftop. Collapsing to my knees, I stared at the ground, in shock.
"Kyle? What's. well. It's not all that bad. I had to go through that, too." Makoto said uncertainly.
"Nono. It's not that. I. I." I looked up at her, fear in my eyes. "I suck at using chopsticks!"
Staring out the opened door, I realized Nerima had taken on a decidedly real appearance, compared to the animated version I was used to. Standing up, I turned to Makoto, a slight grin on my face hiding the discomfort I was feeling.
"Well. Where are Nabiki and Mara?"
"Nabiki said she was going home, and Mara, as you can guess, disappeared moments later." I nodded at this, and she frowned, staring at me questioningly.
"Hmm?" I asked, noticing the look.
"Bad with Chopsticks.?" she said, obviously wanting an elaboration on that comment.
"Oh. Umm. Heh. I just... said it, you know? My own little way of dealing with the shock." Makoto nodded at this, my sheepish smile helping clarify my point, and she stepped outside, stretching.
"Nice to be back to summer," she said, the sun shining down on her.
"Heh. Nice. " I said slowly, looking around at the buildings, and wondering how long I'd have to wait before my apartment was destroyed.
"You know. now that we're in a world where magic and stuff can happen," I said, causing Makoto to turn and look at me with a quirked brow," I. hmm... We should go to the Nekohanten and see if Cologne knows about Dimension- Hopping, or whatever it is we're doing."
"Right. Whatever you just said." Makoto replied with a grin.
"No worries. I feel like I'm in an episode of Sliders, or something. Just... without the timer. Sadly enough."
Makoto blinked, then shrugged it off, before turning back to the door, just in time to see Nabiki approach.
"Hey, 'Biki." I said, waving. She frowned, and looked at us, before sighing. "Nobody knows who I am. As far as this place knows, I never existed." She frowned at the visible part of Nerima, then sighed.
"Kind thought as much," I said, both Makoto and Nabiki turning to look at me.
"Do tell." Nabiki said, Makoto nodding at that.
"Umm. Okay. Come inside though, my air conditioner is going to have a fit or something if I keep the door open." Once we were inside, I began, "Basically, after a week in. umm, my world, I suppose, everyone suddenly. remembered you, and we all got those extra memories. The way I see it, after a week passed here, everyone here had the same thing happen, making it like you never existed."
Nabiki and Makoto nodded, Nabiki commenting that she'd come to a similar conclusion.
"Well, lets go see Elder Cologne," I said, this time in Japanese. I smiled when I realized Mara's spell still worked, and moved for the door.
"`Elder' Cologne?" Nabiki asked, both questions quite obvious in the way she'd repeated me.
"Da. I, for one, would rather make a good impression on her, before I drop the bomb that I have three of her training methods for secret Amazon Techniques. As a non-combatant, I don't want to have her mad at me. So I'm going to be nice as I can. make sense?"
"I suppose." Makoto said, though the slight smile on her face made it obvious she agreed with my logic.
Surprisingly, I found my car around the corner, somewhat similar in location to where it had been parked in the real world. After hopping in, the three of us took off, Nabiki giving directions as I slowly made my way around the Ward. Not knowing much about Japanese driving laws, Nabiki had to correct me on a couple changes after I almost ran headfirst into another car on the streets.
Finally we arrived, and I parked my car up the street a bit, in front of one of the vacant lots that were to be found scattered around Nerima. Locking the door, I noticed quite a few people staring at my car, or the three of us, and I grinned sheepishly, knowing my car's model was a little ahead of it's time, and how odd it was to see an American-made vehicle in the middle of a Tokyo Ward.
"Heh." I said, turning to follow Nabiki into the restaurant.
"Welcome to the Nekohanten, valued customer." Mousse said, as we entered. I stared, surprised at meeting an anime character I "knew" in its natural setting. Grinning at how nature-show-ish that sounded, I studied him quickly, the white robes and glasses he was often depicted with matching the mental image I'd used when reading a fanfic featuring him. I also noticed that, while his classes were quite thick, they weren't opaque, and his eyes, while slightly disfigured through the lenses, were intelligent and cautious.
"We're here to see the old-" Nabiki started, before I coughed slightly to remind her of my intentions.
"-err.. Elder. Elder Cologne."
"Ah. Right this way. I'll go get the shriveled monkey."
"That won't be necessary, young man. I'm right here." An aged voice said, the tip of her staff dropping on Mousse's head and sending him to the ground in a heap. "Well well. Nabiki Tendo. What a surprise. Who are your friends?" Cologne said from atop her staff. Nabiki blinked at this, apparently surprised to have been remembered.
"You remember her?" Makoto asked, voicing all of our thoughts. Cologne chuckled slightly, before turning to look at Makoto and respond, "I'm a little old to let some wayward magic affect my memories, young one." Cologne then looked up at me, and quirked a brow, before turning to Nabiki. "Well.?"
"Well what?" Nabiki replied, still recovering from her surprise.
"Your friends?" Cologne supplied, before continuing.
"This one carries herself like a fighter, though not quite as sure of herself as my wayward son-in-law." She stated, pointing towards Makoto.
"And this. Spaniard? Doesn't seem much of a fighter at all, though his nervousness makes anything he does seem a little. off."
"Ah." Nabiki said, looking at Makoto and I before introducing us. I realized, somewhat sadly, that I would have to get used to going by my last name again.
Cologne nodded after the introductions were made, then looked around, before asking the obvious, "so what is it that you want to talk to me about, hmm?"
"Ahh.. Umm.. Elder Cologne." I started. She grinned at that, before correcting me.
"Actually, you can just call me Cologne, seeing as you aren't an Amazon. I do appreciate the attempt at being respectful, however."
"Oh. Right. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about. well... Inter- Dimensional Travel, I suppose." Cologne stared at me, then grinned slightly.
"You're more than an average foreigner, aren't you?" she asked, looking at me a bit harder.
"Heh. You could say that," I replied, glancing at the door.
"Can you prove it?" Cologne asked me, my smile faltering, before growing again.
"You have no idea." I said, turning towards the door. "Coming?" I asked, looking over my shoulder as I pulled my keys out of my pocket.
"One moment, if you would... I have a couple things to take care of. I'll be right out."
Walking over to my car, I leaned against the door, waiting for Cologne to finish whatever she was doing.
"Nice negotiation skills, Kyle." Nabiki said.
"Huh?" I asked, not really seeing how I'd done any negotiating.
"She means the way you hid your nervousness." A voice said from behind me. I jumped slightly, before turning to see Cologne staring at me from atop her staff. "You know, I'd ask how you did that, but I already know what kind of answer I'd get."
Cologne didn't respond, and I opened the door, leaning the driver's seat forward to allow her access.
"I'm pretty sure I can keep up on these streets." She stated.
"Well, I figured you might want to talk along the way. You flew here in an interesting way, so you're no stranger to rides." I responded, still leaving the opened door available to her. She stared at the door, then glanced at Nabiki, who was climbing into the back, before looking at me again.
"If Nabiki trusts you, I suppose I'll accept your offer this time." A moment later, we were pulling away, and I spoke up. "What was so interesting about our conversation, Nabiki?"
"You were visibly nervous, but once you started talking, it disappeared, almost like you'd been faking it at first. I never really noticed it until you did it to someone else."
"Oh... I dunno how... but I've always done that." I stated, truthfully.
"It's a Ki technique." Cologne said in slightly accented English. I swerved slightly, hearing that, before asking what she meant.
"You've managed to push the physical manifestations of being nervous into your aura, instead of showing them openly. Were I not perceptive enough to see it, you would have appeared only somewhat excited. As it was, though, your aura was twisting and writhing much more than it should. A good skill to have, when you aren't talking to a talented martial artist, I'd assume."
"Your grasp of the English language is extremely good," I stated, thinking about what she'd said. Me? Use a Ki Technique?
"Thank you. I didn't spend all my years just sitting around, you know."
"Ahh... Well, it should make things a bit easier." I said, pulling to a stop in front of my apartment.
Entering my apartment, I sighed, glad to be in a place not often found on my Computer Monitor. Cologne had paused in the doorway momentarily, before hopping into the center of the apartment and glancing around at all the wall scrolls adorning my walls. She paused momentarily when looking at the Ranma one, but moved on quickly, before turning to me.
"Your story has a bit more credit, though I've yet to see solid evidence of your claim." I grinned, making my way to my desk and grabbing a spool of CDs.
"Well. There is the fact that I have electronics from post-2000, and my computer is way above anything that should be available. Not to mention my car."
"True. Anything else?"
Pulling out the CD I'd been looking for, I sat down at my computer, smirking slightly as I loaded the CD. A moment later, an episode of Ranma had started up, and Cologne stared as she watched Ukyo's arrival in Nerima. A few minutes later, she spoke up, and I paused the episode.
"You have. more of these?" She asked, some hesitation in her voice.
"Well, yeah. If your worried about your secret Techniques getting out, though, I think the only one that could be duplicated from these is the Amaguriken... Not that trying yielded much." I thought about the bonfire out in the boonies of Florida that my friend and I had joked around about it for a minute or two.
"Oh... I suppose the Bakusai Tenketsu would also be duplicable, if you could find the trees, rope, rocks, and idiot necessary to set it all up."
"You know, knowing what you do is grounds for execution," she said, frowning at me. Makoto jumped between us suddenly, her transformation pen in hand. Cologne quirked a brow at this, then chuckled.
"He's not a fighter, and from what I saw, I'm pretty sure there are thousands of people back where you're from that know all this already. Now, however, I'm curious as to why you hadn't tried and succeeded at any of these techniques."
"Physics. Try the breaking point training on my world, and you'll end up with a rather nastily stained boulder, and an absurd hospital bill." Cologne stared at that, and I just shrugged. "The highest most people can jump is around 2 feet without a running start, and even training, you're not likely to get maybe 3 or 4 or so. Though twisting in the air and stuff could get your feet up pretty high, I suppose."
Cologne wobbled slightly upon her staff, and I grinned, knowing how the thought of such a "weak" world might seem to someone used to the random acts of impossibility that happened here.
"Oh, and there's no magic whatsoever, where I'm from. The first time I ever saw it was after my three. guests."
"Three?"
"Makoto, Nabiki, and Mara." I supplied. During the conversation, Nabiki and Makoto had started another round of Mortal Kombat, and I briefly wondered how the game I'd rented would be returned on time.
"What's this?" She asked, finally, pointing to my shelf of movies. I pulled out "The Matrix" and popped it in, grinning as I loaded up the Kung-Fu scene. She watched with interest for a moment, before nodding softly.
"Quite the imagination you American's can have; at least, the ones from your world. I was, however, speaking of this," she said, pointing with her staff at the photo of Makoto and I at our Marriage Ceremony.
"Ahh. When a week had passed, the universe kind of... re-wrote itself. Makoto stopped it from wiping our real memories, but apparently, when it integrated Makoto and Nabiki into the world, I ended up married to her." I smiled at her, before turning back to Cologne, "Not that I'm complaining, though. She's probably one of the best things to happen to a guy like me." Makoto visibly blushed at that, and my grin grew a little more.
"So you decided to continue the façade, even though you two didn't know each other?"
"Well." Makoto started, stepping over beside me and taking my hand, "I kind of passed out trying to protect the three of us from the. whatever it was, and when we awoke, we had all these new memories, along with the old."
"I see. Must have been a fun wedding night." Cologne said, a little twinkle in her eye. Her smile grew when Makoto and I both visibly blushed. Finally shaking it off slightly, I pointed. "Feel free to stop by if you ever wanna watch a movie. The selections not all that great, but it's a good break from the mundane-ness of real life. not that I think life could get mundane around here."
"I quite agree. I assume you wanted to know about traveling across realities in search of a way to get yourself home?"
"Actually, I'm concerned about getting Makoto here home. Nabiki is home, and Mara, wherever she vanished to, all appeared on my world one night, and I'm hoping they'll get home safely, before I worry about myself."
"How noble. I'll see what I can find on the subject, and get back to you. Feel free to stop by the Nekohanten when you get hungry. The ramen you're currently stocking," she said, pointing to the pantry with obvious distaste, "isn't fit for human consumption."
"Umm. right. I'll have to take you up on that offer as soon as I can get some of my money exchanged."
"Then I'll be off. Thank you for the ride, but I think I'll manage getting back on my own." She opened the door, leaving swiftly.
"Wow." Makoto said, finally.
"Yeah. she really does look like a prune." I stated. Nabiki and Makoto both stared at me, and I shrugged. "Sorry... but she does."
No Title A continuation of "Not Another SI Fic!" By: Taiteki Kagato
I awoke with a start, staring at my apartment with wide eyes.
"Makoto?" I said, tentatively. Then it hit me. Last night. A solution. They were. Gone.
With a sigh, I realized I'd have to wait a week for things to fix themselves. I sighed again knowing that, without Makoto's magical protection, my memory would be totally changed, like everyone else. Until then, however.
"What the hell am I supposed to tell our... her... My manager?" I shrugged, then climbed off my bed, feeling the back of my head as I realized it was throbbing somewhat painfully. I grinned slightly at how weird it was that I hadn't noticed until now, but dismissed it, remembering that, when they'd been transported home, I'd been thrown across the room onto my bed, colliding with the armrest it had when it was in its couch-form.
Making my way over to my computer, I looked at some of the things I'd been able to purchase with Makoto's income added to mine, and sighed louder knowing that these, too, would most likely disappear in a weeks time.
I frowned at the closed window, the sound of arguing voices drawing steadily near. For the most part, this neighborhood was quiet, so being able to hear anything outside was rather odd. I also heard a car go by, followed by another.
". Busy day..." I said, checking some of the websites I frequented often. Oddly enough, my broadband was having trouble loading the sites. Turning from the computer in frustration, I noticed the sound of talking outside had failed to diminish, and traffic sounded like traffic, as opposed to the parking lot I was used to.
"What the." I was moving towards the door when I heard a key slide into the lock. Blinking, I watched as my apartment was entered by.
"Oh! Great! You're awake."
".Makoto?" I said, disbelievingly. Then I looked past her, and noticed that southeast Denver had been replaced with.
"Where. Where the hell am I?" I asked, stepping outside to look at the cramped suburbs and large number of Japanese walking around.
"Well. We're not in Denver anymore." Makoto said, shuffling her feet slightly as she stared at the carpet.
". How obvious." I deadpanned, staring out at the city around me.
"Well. we're in-" Makoto started.
"Nerima." I said, softly, my knuckles whitening as the fists I had unconsciously made grew tighter. There, moving south was a purple-haired girl riding a bicycle rooftop-to-rooftop. Collapsing to my knees, I stared at the ground, in shock.
"Kyle? What's. well. It's not all that bad. I had to go through that, too." Makoto said uncertainly.
"Nono. It's not that. I. I." I looked up at her, fear in my eyes. "I suck at using chopsticks!"
Staring out the opened door, I realized Nerima had taken on a decidedly real appearance, compared to the animated version I was used to. Standing up, I turned to Makoto, a slight grin on my face hiding the discomfort I was feeling.
"Well. Where are Nabiki and Mara?"
"Nabiki said she was going home, and Mara, as you can guess, disappeared moments later." I nodded at this, and she frowned, staring at me questioningly.
"Hmm?" I asked, noticing the look.
"Bad with Chopsticks.?" she said, obviously wanting an elaboration on that comment.
"Oh. Umm. Heh. I just... said it, you know? My own little way of dealing with the shock." Makoto nodded at this, my sheepish smile helping clarify my point, and she stepped outside, stretching.
"Nice to be back to summer," she said, the sun shining down on her.
"Heh. Nice. " I said slowly, looking around at the buildings, and wondering how long I'd have to wait before my apartment was destroyed.
"You know. now that we're in a world where magic and stuff can happen," I said, causing Makoto to turn and look at me with a quirked brow," I. hmm... We should go to the Nekohanten and see if Cologne knows about Dimension- Hopping, or whatever it is we're doing."
"Right. Whatever you just said." Makoto replied with a grin.
"No worries. I feel like I'm in an episode of Sliders, or something. Just... without the timer. Sadly enough."
Makoto blinked, then shrugged it off, before turning back to the door, just in time to see Nabiki approach.
"Hey, 'Biki." I said, waving. She frowned, and looked at us, before sighing. "Nobody knows who I am. As far as this place knows, I never existed." She frowned at the visible part of Nerima, then sighed.
"Kind thought as much," I said, both Makoto and Nabiki turning to look at me.
"Do tell." Nabiki said, Makoto nodding at that.
"Umm. Okay. Come inside though, my air conditioner is going to have a fit or something if I keep the door open." Once we were inside, I began, "Basically, after a week in. umm, my world, I suppose, everyone suddenly. remembered you, and we all got those extra memories. The way I see it, after a week passed here, everyone here had the same thing happen, making it like you never existed."
Nabiki and Makoto nodded, Nabiki commenting that she'd come to a similar conclusion.
"Well, lets go see Elder Cologne," I said, this time in Japanese. I smiled when I realized Mara's spell still worked, and moved for the door.
"`Elder' Cologne?" Nabiki asked, both questions quite obvious in the way she'd repeated me.
"Da. I, for one, would rather make a good impression on her, before I drop the bomb that I have three of her training methods for secret Amazon Techniques. As a non-combatant, I don't want to have her mad at me. So I'm going to be nice as I can. make sense?"
"I suppose." Makoto said, though the slight smile on her face made it obvious she agreed with my logic.
Surprisingly, I found my car around the corner, somewhat similar in location to where it had been parked in the real world. After hopping in, the three of us took off, Nabiki giving directions as I slowly made my way around the Ward. Not knowing much about Japanese driving laws, Nabiki had to correct me on a couple changes after I almost ran headfirst into another car on the streets.
Finally we arrived, and I parked my car up the street a bit, in front of one of the vacant lots that were to be found scattered around Nerima. Locking the door, I noticed quite a few people staring at my car, or the three of us, and I grinned sheepishly, knowing my car's model was a little ahead of it's time, and how odd it was to see an American-made vehicle in the middle of a Tokyo Ward.
"Heh." I said, turning to follow Nabiki into the restaurant.
"Welcome to the Nekohanten, valued customer." Mousse said, as we entered. I stared, surprised at meeting an anime character I "knew" in its natural setting. Grinning at how nature-show-ish that sounded, I studied him quickly, the white robes and glasses he was often depicted with matching the mental image I'd used when reading a fanfic featuring him. I also noticed that, while his classes were quite thick, they weren't opaque, and his eyes, while slightly disfigured through the lenses, were intelligent and cautious.
"We're here to see the old-" Nabiki started, before I coughed slightly to remind her of my intentions.
"-err.. Elder. Elder Cologne."
"Ah. Right this way. I'll go get the shriveled monkey."
"That won't be necessary, young man. I'm right here." An aged voice said, the tip of her staff dropping on Mousse's head and sending him to the ground in a heap. "Well well. Nabiki Tendo. What a surprise. Who are your friends?" Cologne said from atop her staff. Nabiki blinked at this, apparently surprised to have been remembered.
"You remember her?" Makoto asked, voicing all of our thoughts. Cologne chuckled slightly, before turning to look at Makoto and respond, "I'm a little old to let some wayward magic affect my memories, young one." Cologne then looked up at me, and quirked a brow, before turning to Nabiki. "Well.?"
"Well what?" Nabiki replied, still recovering from her surprise.
"Your friends?" Cologne supplied, before continuing.
"This one carries herself like a fighter, though not quite as sure of herself as my wayward son-in-law." She stated, pointing towards Makoto.
"And this. Spaniard? Doesn't seem much of a fighter at all, though his nervousness makes anything he does seem a little. off."
"Ah." Nabiki said, looking at Makoto and I before introducing us. I realized, somewhat sadly, that I would have to get used to going by my last name again.
Cologne nodded after the introductions were made, then looked around, before asking the obvious, "so what is it that you want to talk to me about, hmm?"
"Ahh.. Umm.. Elder Cologne." I started. She grinned at that, before correcting me.
"Actually, you can just call me Cologne, seeing as you aren't an Amazon. I do appreciate the attempt at being respectful, however."
"Oh. Right. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about. well... Inter- Dimensional Travel, I suppose." Cologne stared at me, then grinned slightly.
"You're more than an average foreigner, aren't you?" she asked, looking at me a bit harder.
"Heh. You could say that," I replied, glancing at the door.
"Can you prove it?" Cologne asked me, my smile faltering, before growing again.
"You have no idea." I said, turning towards the door. "Coming?" I asked, looking over my shoulder as I pulled my keys out of my pocket.
"One moment, if you would... I have a couple things to take care of. I'll be right out."
Walking over to my car, I leaned against the door, waiting for Cologne to finish whatever she was doing.
"Nice negotiation skills, Kyle." Nabiki said.
"Huh?" I asked, not really seeing how I'd done any negotiating.
"She means the way you hid your nervousness." A voice said from behind me. I jumped slightly, before turning to see Cologne staring at me from atop her staff. "You know, I'd ask how you did that, but I already know what kind of answer I'd get."
Cologne didn't respond, and I opened the door, leaning the driver's seat forward to allow her access.
"I'm pretty sure I can keep up on these streets." She stated.
"Well, I figured you might want to talk along the way. You flew here in an interesting way, so you're no stranger to rides." I responded, still leaving the opened door available to her. She stared at the door, then glanced at Nabiki, who was climbing into the back, before looking at me again.
"If Nabiki trusts you, I suppose I'll accept your offer this time." A moment later, we were pulling away, and I spoke up. "What was so interesting about our conversation, Nabiki?"
"You were visibly nervous, but once you started talking, it disappeared, almost like you'd been faking it at first. I never really noticed it until you did it to someone else."
"Oh... I dunno how... but I've always done that." I stated, truthfully.
"It's a Ki technique." Cologne said in slightly accented English. I swerved slightly, hearing that, before asking what she meant.
"You've managed to push the physical manifestations of being nervous into your aura, instead of showing them openly. Were I not perceptive enough to see it, you would have appeared only somewhat excited. As it was, though, your aura was twisting and writhing much more than it should. A good skill to have, when you aren't talking to a talented martial artist, I'd assume."
"Your grasp of the English language is extremely good," I stated, thinking about what she'd said. Me? Use a Ki Technique?
"Thank you. I didn't spend all my years just sitting around, you know."
"Ahh... Well, it should make things a bit easier." I said, pulling to a stop in front of my apartment.
Entering my apartment, I sighed, glad to be in a place not often found on my Computer Monitor. Cologne had paused in the doorway momentarily, before hopping into the center of the apartment and glancing around at all the wall scrolls adorning my walls. She paused momentarily when looking at the Ranma one, but moved on quickly, before turning to me.
"Your story has a bit more credit, though I've yet to see solid evidence of your claim." I grinned, making my way to my desk and grabbing a spool of CDs.
"Well. There is the fact that I have electronics from post-2000, and my computer is way above anything that should be available. Not to mention my car."
"True. Anything else?"
Pulling out the CD I'd been looking for, I sat down at my computer, smirking slightly as I loaded the CD. A moment later, an episode of Ranma had started up, and Cologne stared as she watched Ukyo's arrival in Nerima. A few minutes later, she spoke up, and I paused the episode.
"You have. more of these?" She asked, some hesitation in her voice.
"Well, yeah. If your worried about your secret Techniques getting out, though, I think the only one that could be duplicated from these is the Amaguriken... Not that trying yielded much." I thought about the bonfire out in the boonies of Florida that my friend and I had joked around about it for a minute or two.
"Oh... I suppose the Bakusai Tenketsu would also be duplicable, if you could find the trees, rope, rocks, and idiot necessary to set it all up."
"You know, knowing what you do is grounds for execution," she said, frowning at me. Makoto jumped between us suddenly, her transformation pen in hand. Cologne quirked a brow at this, then chuckled.
"He's not a fighter, and from what I saw, I'm pretty sure there are thousands of people back where you're from that know all this already. Now, however, I'm curious as to why you hadn't tried and succeeded at any of these techniques."
"Physics. Try the breaking point training on my world, and you'll end up with a rather nastily stained boulder, and an absurd hospital bill." Cologne stared at that, and I just shrugged. "The highest most people can jump is around 2 feet without a running start, and even training, you're not likely to get maybe 3 or 4 or so. Though twisting in the air and stuff could get your feet up pretty high, I suppose."
Cologne wobbled slightly upon her staff, and I grinned, knowing how the thought of such a "weak" world might seem to someone used to the random acts of impossibility that happened here.
"Oh, and there's no magic whatsoever, where I'm from. The first time I ever saw it was after my three. guests."
"Three?"
"Makoto, Nabiki, and Mara." I supplied. During the conversation, Nabiki and Makoto had started another round of Mortal Kombat, and I briefly wondered how the game I'd rented would be returned on time.
"What's this?" She asked, finally, pointing to my shelf of movies. I pulled out "The Matrix" and popped it in, grinning as I loaded up the Kung-Fu scene. She watched with interest for a moment, before nodding softly.
"Quite the imagination you American's can have; at least, the ones from your world. I was, however, speaking of this," she said, pointing with her staff at the photo of Makoto and I at our Marriage Ceremony.
"Ahh. When a week had passed, the universe kind of... re-wrote itself. Makoto stopped it from wiping our real memories, but apparently, when it integrated Makoto and Nabiki into the world, I ended up married to her." I smiled at her, before turning back to Cologne, "Not that I'm complaining, though. She's probably one of the best things to happen to a guy like me." Makoto visibly blushed at that, and my grin grew a little more.
"So you decided to continue the façade, even though you two didn't know each other?"
"Well." Makoto started, stepping over beside me and taking my hand, "I kind of passed out trying to protect the three of us from the. whatever it was, and when we awoke, we had all these new memories, along with the old."
"I see. Must have been a fun wedding night." Cologne said, a little twinkle in her eye. Her smile grew when Makoto and I both visibly blushed. Finally shaking it off slightly, I pointed. "Feel free to stop by if you ever wanna watch a movie. The selections not all that great, but it's a good break from the mundane-ness of real life. not that I think life could get mundane around here."
"I quite agree. I assume you wanted to know about traveling across realities in search of a way to get yourself home?"
"Actually, I'm concerned about getting Makoto here home. Nabiki is home, and Mara, wherever she vanished to, all appeared on my world one night, and I'm hoping they'll get home safely, before I worry about myself."
"How noble. I'll see what I can find on the subject, and get back to you. Feel free to stop by the Nekohanten when you get hungry. The ramen you're currently stocking," she said, pointing to the pantry with obvious distaste, "isn't fit for human consumption."
"Umm. right. I'll have to take you up on that offer as soon as I can get some of my money exchanged."
"Then I'll be off. Thank you for the ride, but I think I'll manage getting back on my own." She opened the door, leaving swiftly.
"Wow." Makoto said, finally.
"Yeah. she really does look like a prune." I stated. Nabiki and Makoto both stared at me, and I shrugged. "Sorry... but she does."
