Disclaimer: I do not own any of the anime's appearing in this fic.
Author's Notes: I've had some complaints about the M. Trunks/Ranko pair up. The big one is that Trunks will blow the scouts out of the water when it comes to youma bashing. Don't worry, I've thought of that. It'll be explained this chapter. I love this spelling correction my spelling checker has for Genma: Genome. I wonder how his panda blood would fit into the human genome. :p
Published: 11/29/03
'Thoughts' [Panda Signs] "/Mandarin/"
Soul's Destiny, Blood's Inheritance Chapter 11
He sighed, rethinking His decision, and then firmed His resolve. He remembered that His daughter and a mortal made it through the gate. He knew that others would make it too, and they had been the closest. He would bring them back to the Gate of Judgment if they passed a test, but He needed to make sure that they had enough time together in this life. Right now, however, He needed to discuss the release of two of His own with His fellow Creator, the Lord of Nightmares.
*Resort*
Nodoka watched as the children all waved a tear in her eye. She quickly moved back into the inn where she found her husband waiting with her son and nephew's things, as well as her own and Ranko's. "Are you sure you want to come with me? I know I can do this on my own."
Lee shook his head, "I won't chance that he will use that same technique again."
Nodoka smiled, "I think he is rather afraid of me right now."
Lee shook his head, "He used it once. If he remembers, he would use the same technique again."
Nodoka frowned, nodding, "It is time we left then."
"Are you both leaving then?"
Nodoka turned to find the owner of the resort, and nodded. The old man smiled, "I wish you would consider my offer, and return soon."
Lee smiled at the old man, "It's alright. I'll return to help you out. I'm not sure that I can take over the resort however. I'm not much of a business man."
The old man just waved them off as the taxi pulled up. The two were soon gone from the old man's sight, and he clutched his chest as he started breathing heavily. "Not now," he muttered, "Please not now."
*Zephelia*
Lina hid behind Ranma as he knocked on the door. Ranma raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing as the rest of the group gathered behind him. A young woman with purple/black hair and a waitress' uniform on answered the door. Her blue violet eyes widened as she took in the young man before her and her younger sister cowering behind him.
Luna looked slightly put out as she saw her sister. "I thought I told you not to come back unless it was important."
Lina gave a forced, nervous laugh and came out from behind Ranma, "Well it was kind of important, nee-chan. My friend Zel here wants to return to being human again and Ranma here fell out of the sky. We were hoping you could help. If you're too busy that's ok too! We'll just be going now!"
Lina started to run off and Zel grabbed her by the cloak. "C'mon Lina, you need to stop running."
Lina just gave him a defeated look, and then looked nervously at her sister. Luna gave an amused look and decided she wouldn't punish Lina, right now. "Come in. I just got off of work, so you'll have to excuse the place. Lina, you of all people don't need to knock on the door."
Amelia gave a smile as Luna disappeared into the house. "She doesn't seem that scary Miss Lina."
"That's because you've never lived with her," Lina muttered, causing Ranma to chuckle a bit.
Lina gave him a baleful glare and walked in after her sister, leading the rest of the group inside. Gourry was still black and blue from his encounter with Ranma, and decided not to say anything for fear of getting bruised more. Zel just looked cautiously at Lina and remembered when her sister had sent Lina that note via Filia. Zel shook his head and followed her into the main room, wondering what was so terrifying about her sister.
Lina gave them a wry smile as she invited them to sit down while she got refreshments from the kitchen. Zel looked around the room and noticed how down to earth the room was. Ranma fidgeted, and stared around the room, noticing the paintings. Most were of Luna and Lina as children, though there were a few of two older people, an old woman and man with grey hair and pointed ears.
Lina walked in and saw what he was looking at. "They adopted Luna and me when we were young. We were found out in the forest all alone when I was two. I don't have any memories of our parents but Luna does. She was five. I often wondered why they abandoned us, though Luna says they didn't. She kicked me out of the house when I was ten after I kept asking her why we didn't search for them. I started my own search then, and came up empty handed. It was fun though."
Ranma stayed silent, and soon Luna came down the stairs in a new outfit. She raised an eyebrow at Amelia's tears and saw her sister staring at the picture of their adoptive grandparents. "Telling stories again Lina?"
"Yup! My own personal fairy tale," Lina replied, turning from the painting to her elder sister.
Luna shook her head, her face softening a bit. She looked at the chimera, "I'm assuming you're Zel?"
Zelgadiss took off his face mask and nodded at Luna. Luna motioned for him to follow her. "I'll see what I can do, but I make no guarantees."
Zel got up, nodding, disappointment evident on his face. Lina gave him an encouraging smile as he passed, and then turned to offer snacks to Ranma and Amelia before heading over the Gourry the bruise.
Lina started some small talk with Amelia, keeping the girl from going into a full blown crying, I-feel-sorry-for-Ms.-Lina session. Ranma sighed as he looked back up to the pictures. He frowned suddenly, as the light dimmed, and looked out the window with the rest of the group, with the exception of Gourry who was scarfing down the rest of the snacks.
"This is just like when Ranma fell from the sky," Amelia muttered.
Lina nodded, grabbed Amelia and rushed out of the house, Ranma not far behind. They stopped and stared as two bodies began to fall, only for one to start flying and catch the other.
Trunks smiled as he caught Ranko, using his flying ability to float them gently to the ground. Ranko smiled up at his and suddenly cried out as he winced, a gash opening on his arm. They quickly made it to the ground in the middle of a town, Ranko quickly getting to her feet after their impromptu landing. She quickly tore part of her dress and started bandaging the wound.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
Trunks frowned and shook his head, "I'm not sure. I was just using my natural power and it felt like I was being torn apart."
Ranko frowned, and turned as she heard Ranma call her name. She quickly turned to find Ranma running towards her, followed by two other girls. Trunks gave her a small push forward, "I'm fine."
Ranko needed no further prompting as she ran straight for her brother and hugged him tightly. Ranma returned it, grinning down at her. "Geez! I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you all again."
Ranko smiled into her brother's face, "Hikari found me. The dimension I landed in was really barren. Trunks saved my life after I fell into it."
Ranma raised an eyebrow, "Trunks?"
Ranko grabbed Ranma's hand and dragged him over to where Trunks stood, fingering his bandage. "Trunks, this is my twin, Ranma. Ranma, this is my savior, Trunks."
Ranma studied the older boy and offered a hand, which Trunks took. After their handshake Ranma looked around them, "You said Hikari brought you here right? Where is she?"
Ranko bit her lip, trying to keep from smiling at her brother's anxiousness. "She said she needed to seal the tear you fell through. She looked a bit confused at the tear, but shrugged and got to work, telling me to hold onto Trunks and concentrate on you. That's how we ended up here."
Ranma frowned and nodded, "She'll be along in a while then. Has she found Tenchi? Or mom?"
Ranko pulled out a picture, "Mom wasn't trapped like us this time around. She said she'd get to work finding Tenchi as soon as she finished with the tear. She also gave me this and told me to explain what she found out."
"Ranma, next time I ask you to slow down would you comply?" said Lina's panting voice from behind them.
Ranma turned and gave a sheepish grin. "Gomen. Lina, I'd like you to meet my twin, Ranko. The guy with violet hair is her friend, Trunks. Ranko, Trunks, this is Lina and Amelia. They helped me out after I found myself here."
Ranko gave a short bow, as Trunks nodded. Lina gave a small grin and Amelia waved as they were introduced. Lina soon caught her breath and looked up at Ranma, "Come on, Luna's gonna want us back soon."
Ranma nodded, and motioned for the two to follow, and that's when they noticed the crowd surrounding them. Ranma sweat dropped and looked at Lina for help. Lina looked around and gathered a fireball in her hands. "OK folks, shows over. There's nothing to see."
The crowd paled and ran back into their homes, quickly shutting all their shutters and locking their doors. Lina sighed in satisfaction. "There is some benefit to being known as the enemy to all who live."
Amelia and Ranma sweat dropped as Ranko and Trunks looked at the small woman in confusion. Lina then started off towards her home and didn't look back, trusting the rest to follow her. Ranko cast a worried look at Trunks and started following. Amelia fell into step next to her as Ranma fell into step next to Trunks.
Ranma studied his sister from behind, raising an eyebrow at her Chinese attire. "What happened to her clothes?"
"They were torn after a fight with some idiots," Trunks said emotionlessly, "She said she got that extra pair from a subspace pocket."
Ranma tripped slightly, and quickly recovered. "That sounds like hidden weapons," he muttered.
Trunks looked at him with an eager look, "Do you know what it's about? She never got a chance to explain it to me."
Ranma looked up at him, "There's someone I know that's an expert at it. He's always ready to kill me though. The basic idea behind it is to expand you ki in a passive way instead of active and use it to create a space for storage that only you can access because of your ki pattern."
Trunks thought about it, "So basically it would be an unlimited space if you have unlimited ki supply. The larger your ki, the more you can store. It follows you because it is linked to your ki only."
Ranma nodded, "It's convenient if you know what you're doing, but I have yet to be able to access subspace yet. If I could get someone to teach me it wouldn't be a problem. I could expand it any way I wanted to."
Trunks frowned as he eyed Ranko's twin. He then looked over to the red make shift bandage Ranko had placed on his arm. "You use ki right?"
Ranma nodded, "Yeah, why?"
"Did it hurt you to use it here?"
Ranma frowned, "I haven't used it as an active force here. Hang on a sec."
Ranma began gathering his ki and suddenly he felt something akin to a knife entering his body. He stopped automatically, panting slightly. "That's not supposed to happen," he muttered.
"You didn't get injured," Trunks muttered, "But something's not right."
Trunks looked up to where Ranko was trying to ignore a chatting Amelia, "Hey Ranko!"
Ranko looked grateful for the reprieve and fell back with them. She gave Trunks and Ranma a worried look, "What's wrong?"
Trunks looked down at her, "Can you access your weapons from here?"
Ranko gave him an odd look and quickly pulled out her sword, with no ill effects. Ranma watched wide eyed as Ranko stored it again. Trunks frowned, "Can you gather your ki?"
Ranko tried and stopped suddenly as sweat gathered at her brow. "That's painful," she muttered.
Trunks and Ranma frowned, "We can't use ki here?"
Ranko gave them a startled look, "But Hidden Weapons...."
"Is a way of using your ki passively," Ranma finished, "We can't use ki actively as a weapon or to bring out of our bodies."
Trunks frowned, and looked at his arm wound, "Why did I get injured though?"
Ranma looked up at him, "Maybe you have far too much, or you brought too much out at once."
Trunks shook his head and looked up to see Amelia and Lina waiting for them at the door to a large house. Lina looked impatient. "Let's go already. You people are slow."
Ranma rolled his eyes, "I think she's eager to find out if Luna could help Zel. Let's go before she fireballs us."
Ranko and Trunks nodded, quickly heading into the house.
*Inu-Yasha timeline*
Tenchi held his sword ready, trying to gauge the strength of his opponent, while Kagome, Shippo, and Myoga stayed behind him. Inu-Yasha was facing off his brother, while Sango and Miroku took on some of the larger hordes of Youkai. Tenchi wiped his brow, they had been at this for a few hours, and this Naraku youkai didn't seem to letting them get away this time around.
Tenchi grunted and lunged, remembering the training his grandfather gave him. 'Now would be a good time to be able to access those light hawk wings,' he thought as he cut off the demon's head, watching as its body disappeared in a wave of fox fire.
The small fox demon frowned as they moved to help Sango, Myoga hanging onto Kagome. 'Well, at least I know we have a chance as long as Myoga stays with Kagome,' Tenchi thought as he cut through the next demon, getting splattered with its blood.
*Orphanage*
Trista made sure the kids were in good hands before bounding off to the well. She frowned, wondering why she was doing this. She couldn't really manipulate the time magic in the well, and could only hope that she was in some way helping her friend. She groaned as that doubt surfaced once more.
'I knew I should have just left Hikari alone. Then I wouldn't recognize all these emotions,' Trista thought to herself.
She quickly found the shrine, and found no trace of life. 'They must be out. That's a good thing for me.'
She opened the door to the well and was surprised to see the cover off. Trista froze, "There is no way that they would have taken the cover off on their own. Something bad must have happened since Hikari and I replaced the cover and resealed it."
Trista frowned and quickly made her way down the well, grasping the magic and riding it to where she knew it would take her.
*Saotome Household*
Nodoka sighed as she put Ranma's empty suitcase on his bed and gathered the few things that were left in his room. Lee came up behind her, "It's a nice house."
Nodoka scowled, "I'm betting the only reason he hasn't used the shampoo method again to get his way is because he ran out and doesn't know the formula."
Lee chuckled and then looked worriedly at his wife, "He didn't...."
Nodoka looked at her husband, slightly confused and then her eyes widened as she shook her head. "I tended to stay with Ranma then worry about a sex life with that man."
Lee relaxed visibly and picked up the still half empty suitcase. "Can you think of anything else?"
Nodoka shook her head. "We've already packed my stuff. We'll get this shipped to my father."
The door bell rang, and Nodoka pushed Lee towards the main bedroom, "Hide, I'll see who it is."
Lee frowned, but complied, remembering that they didn't know about the whole mess. Nodoka made her way to the front door to find Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo and Nabiki standing there. She allowed the girls in, accepting the gifts they brought. Akane looked a bit perturbed at being there and Nabiki glared at her little sister.
Nodoka placed everything down after showing them to the living room, "What brings you four here?"
"Five," Nabiki said, "Kodachi is expected soon, now that she knows you're Ranma's mother."
Sure enough, another ring was heard echoing throughout the house and Nodoka opened the door to find a fairly pretty gymnast on the other side. She showed the last girl into the living room and sat down. "Why are you here?" she asked again.
Shampoo looked at Nodoka, "Wanted honored mother to know she not alone in missing Ranma."
Nodoka raised an eyebrow as she looked at all her son's fiancées, self- proclaimed and otherwise. Nabiki sighed, "Basically they all want to butter you up so that when Ranma returns you'll push him in the direction of the one you want him to marry."
Nodoka frowned, "I'm afraid it is his decision."
Ukyo's eye twitched at that, "We realize that but it would be better if you would help him choose. This indecision is hurting everybody."
Nodoka's frown deepened and she looked over at Nabiki who was counting money. Kodachi started to laugh her horrible laugh and started accusing the other girls of stealing her idea. Nabiki walked over to Nodoka and started to pull her away as Ukyo pulled out her spatula and Shampoo pulled out her bonbori.
The sound of a door slamming was heard as Lee ran down the steps, face white, "What on earth is going on?!"
Nodoka slapped her forehead as Nabiki looked up at her a slightly impressed look on her face. "Cheating on Genma? I'm impressed with you Auntie."
Nodoka frowned, "Genma was never my husband. He tricked me and took my son from me."
Akane wasn't paying attention to Nodoka as she stared at the man that looked like a slightly older version of Ranma. She growled, "Ranma no baka! You've been here the whole time?!"
Ukyo and Shampoo were about to glomp the man when they realized he was too old to be Ranma. Kodachi was just staring openly, as if she couldn't believe it. Akane was ready to attack when the sound of metal sliding out of a sheath stopped them. Nodoka walked between Lee and the girls a frown on her face. "Genma was never my husband to begin with. He used some sort of shampooing technique too change my memory. He stole Ranma from me. On my recent trip, I met my real husband," she said, holding her sword in front of her, "Leave my husband alone."
Kodachi gave an earsplitting laugh, "I knew that old fool could not have been Ranma's father. So mother in law, should I prepare a dinner to welcome my father in law?"
Lee raised an eyebrow as Nodoka twitched, nearly dropping the katana. "Leave," Nodoka said dangerously, "You are not welcome in my presence."
Nabiki stayed where she was as the other girls slowly backed away from the woman. Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Go home Akane. I need to discuss something with Auntie. Don't worry about explaining things; I'll do that when I get home."
Akane scowled at her sister and made no movement. Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "I'll let Kodachi paralyze you and set you up on a date with Kuno for a week if you don't."
Akane paled and ran out the door. Kodachi looking at Nabiki with interest, "Can I really?"
Nabiki shook her head, "She just left. Sorry, no using Akane as a guinea pig."
Kodachi pouted, "I'll just have to catch her then and make her pay for that match."
Kodachi bounded at the door, laughing her head off as she searched for her nemesis. Shampoo looked between Nodoka and Nabiki and stayed where she was, Ukyo following her example.
"I want an explanation," Ukyo said, "None of you can stop me from staying."
"Are you threatening me?" Nabiki asked, studying her nails.
Shampoo pointed a bonbori at Nabiki, "Shampoo is. Will get what she wants no matter what."
Nabiki looked over to Ukyo, who was staring incredulously at Shampoo. Nodoka sighed, "Shampoo you have no claim over my son what-so-ever. I believe the police took care of that. You should not be chasing Ranma at all. I will call them if you don't leave my house right this instant."
Shampoo brought her bonbori to bear on Nodoka and Ukyo quickly got between them. "Ranma is my friend, and he would be heartbroken if you killed his mother. I won't let you do this."
Shampoo lunged, and Ukyo pulled of a brilliant move that sent Shampoo flying, unfortunately, through the roof. Nodoka grimaced slightly as she thought about what it would take to repair it, and then remembered that it wasn't really her house. Ukyo strapped her giant spatula to her back and looked down at the ground, near tears.
"I at least deserve a real explanation," she said softly.
Nodoka sighed, "Eighteen years ago, I was taking my two daughters on a picnic to a very pretty valley that we had been to before. We reached the closest pass and started to move through it when an intense fog swallowed us and I lost hold of my daughters' hands. They disappeared, and I found myself falling into a forest. Genma found me there, pregnant and defenseless. I suppose the possibility of an heir was too much for him and he decided to use a martial arts technique to change my memory. From that point on, I thought I was Nodoka Saotome, not Nodoka Inverse."
Tears filled Nodoka's eyes, "I let that man take my son from me."
Ukyo's face softened a bit, "You had no way of knowing."
Nabiki nodded, and Lee put his arms around his wife. Nodoka leaned into his embrace and sighed, "I'm sorry Ukyo-chan.
Ukyo gave her a wry smile. "Ranma Saotome never existed, meaning Genma Saotome stole my dowry. I can call the police in on this and have him put away for that."
Nabiki smirked, "I know things that can have him put away for a long time. Besides stealing, there are quite a number of charges against him. All we have to do is get him in the right spot at the right time."
Ukyo gave Nabiki a wary look, "Do I have to pay you to get you to help me plan?"
Nabiki shook her head, and gave a dark look, "He's done nothing but cause trouble. Besides, there's a bounty on his head in a particular area."
"Must be some bounty," Nodoka said, "I must settle with the man before you do anything though."
Nabiki nodded, "That's part of the plan."
Lee tightened his hold on his wife, "We're listening."
Nabiki smirked and launched into the plan already forming in her head.
*Inverse Residence, Slayers World*
Ranko frowned, as she rewrapped the wound on Trunks' arm with bandages Lina provided her. When they asked Lina and Gourry about it, they got a blank look, though Ranma said that was to be expected from Gourry.
Lina gave them a strange look after thinking about it for a while. "Chi is energy that our bodies use right? There is a possibility that when we use magic, that's part of our chi. We can't throw energy around unless we're using magic. Maybe our chi is fundamentally larger than our ki."
Ranma frowned, "Ki and chi often grow together. I don't understand how it's so different. Hikari might know, but..."
Ranma cast a worried look out the window and Ranko frowned at him. "She could have warned us. She was rather tired though."
Ranko looked back up to her brother, "She'll probably end up right in the middle of the floor complaining about the bumpy landing she had."
Ranma gave his sister a grin, and returned to the window. Amelia frowned, looking a bit jealous, but said nothing.
**Space Time Continuum**
Hikari wiped sweat from her brow as she finished closing the tear. 'That was a lot of hard work,' she thought, centering her concentration on the gate that would take her to her friends, and Ranma. She was not prepared when inky black chaos magic filtered through her guard and captured her and dragged her into the Sea.
"DO NOT BE AFRAID, CHILD," said a booming voice, "OPEN YOUR EYES."
Hikari did so cautiously and saw a woman shining gold, and a man shining a bright white standing before her. Another shining man entered the scene, giving off a pulsing, silver light. Hikari sweat dropped at the other's appearance, as he didn't look remotely human, whereas the other two did. In fact, he looked rather silly, though she new better than to laugh at the appearance of a creator.
The newest addition to the Sea of Chaos glared at her as if he knew what she was thinking. She was quite surprised when he spoke. "Child you have taken one of my own with the intent to keep him in your world. Is that correct?"
Suddenly the rules of the gate entered Hikari's head and she realized she broke one of the largest ones. She bowed her head, "Yes, I deliberately broke one of the cardinal rules."
The creator of her own world fixed her with a look, "What is your excuse for this?"
Hikari met his gaze, "I have none, only that I did not wish for Ranko to stay when she had many who would miss her. She would have stayed with him so I invited him along."
"Was that procedure?" He asked.
Hikari shook her head, "Their souls had a tentative link. It had grown strong enough to make her want to stay. She belongs there no more than he belongs here. But they belong together."
The odd looking creator watched her carefully, "Very well, the two souls will get a second chance. However, the worlds will remain separated, and they will be placed in my own where he belongs should they pass the test," he said with a meaningful look towards her creator.
"But..." Hikari started, wondering if they would be able to visit family at all.
She was silenced with a look from the Lord of Nightmares and the Creator of her world answered her unspoken question, "There will be times that they may visit. There are rules you must follow, Guardian of the Dimensional Gates. You were chosen for this job for a reason. You also agreed to this. They will get a chance, but they will live in the other world should they be able to stay together."
"They will be placed in the most prosperous dimension," the odd looking creator offered, chuckling slightly at the girl, "Do not worry, we are not that cruel towards our children."
Hikari nodded, "What is to be my punishment?"
The creators conferred silently, and then came up with a solution, "You will forget. You will lose your power as a scout until there is a time when you can remember all of the rules given to you and the reasons why they were laid out. You will forget everything that you have done as a Scout."
Hikari choked, "Will I forget Ranma?"
The Lord of Nightmares gave a wistful sigh, "More than likely. You will only remember your feelings."
Hikari frowned at the strange response, "I have one request then. If I am to lose my scout powers until I can remember, then can I at least have something decent to wear other than my nightgown?"
The creators laughed, and Hikari was engulfed in a bright light. The creator of many worlds smiled and called his eldest daughter, "Urd."
She appeared in a bright flash and smiled at her Father and the other two creators. "What can I do for you?"
"Take this mortal and find all who she was looking for," her father said, handing her a small folder, "They are to be taken home to our world. DO NOT INTERFERE WITH ANYTHING ELSE OR YOU WILL BE DEMOTED AGAIN!"
Urd pouted as she grabbed a hold of the unconscious Hikari and faded out.
**Feudal Era**
Trista sniffed the air, picking up the scent she was looking for. 'Tenchi's close, time to move out.'
Trista made good time with her demon speed and soon came across a battle between a full demon with a bunch of lesser demons and a half demon. Tenchi was holding his arm which looked slightly burned and his sword at his feet. Trista could smell poison and burned flesh and growled low in her throat, deftly making her way towards Tenchi. "Are you alright Tenchi?" she asked softly.
"Tenchi look out!" a girl yelled, aiming a bow at Trista.
Tenchi, surprised at Trista's sudden appearance, reacted quickly, stepping in front of her. "Wait! She's from our time! She's my friend!"
Trista snorted, and suddenly picked Tenchi up dodging the ball of flame headed their way. Landing, she saw a small, toad like demon waving a staff with two heads around, and scowled. 'Looks like I'll have to take out toady here and separate him from his staff. No one messes with the daughter of Cerberus.'
Trista growled and seemingly disappeared, only to reappear behind the toad like thing and snatch the staff from him. "I'll take that," she said with a grin, "and you'll take this!" she finished, kicking him far, far away.
She jumped up next to Tenchi and the girl in the school uniform, still watching the toad demon fly through the sky. "He got some good air time," she commented, ignoring the two's face fault.
A girl with a large boomerang, a cat demon, and a fox demon kit landed next to them suddenly, "Are you here to help us?" the boomerang girl asked suspiciously.
Hikari snorted, "I'm here to bring Prince Tree-Talker home."
She then eyed the battle and gave a feral grin, "But I think I will help. It's been a while since I've seen so many demons around."
"There are demons in our time?" Tenchi asked, surprised.
Trista nodded, "Most of us spend our time hiding though. The priestesses have been getting weaker with the fewer demon attacks but the power to kill us will always be there. I'll explain it later, but right now's not really the time. There's a battle to win."
"I like the way you talk," the half demon said, landing behind her, "But stop talking!"
Trista nodded, and started with a bunch of the lesser demons that were coming closer. The full demon snarled at her. "Why do you help them?"
"Because one here has earned my respect, and I am loyal to those that have," Trista replied, cutting down a horde of lesser demons with her claws.
The full demon frowned, a cool expression appearing on his face. "Very well then, you will die with them."
Trista gauged his power and rushed him, screaming, "Not today!"
The fight was a sight to behold, and only Inu-Yasha could see it, if only barely. It ended, however, with Trista landing on the ground hard, and Shesshomaru landing on his feet, breathing heavily. Trista got up, growling, and then flicked her wrists, sending her two bracelets into the trees. Her eyes glowed as she snarled her rage and rushed Shesshomaru once more. "No one treats the daughter of Cerberus like that," she growled as she rammed the demon lord.
Trista gave a three tone howl as her rage grew, making everyone in the area cover their ears. Shesshomaru stopped fighting after that, staring at the girl. "Daughter of Cerberus," he muttered under his breath. He suddenly ran into the woods, deciding a retreat would be best until he could cope with the new additions to his younger brother's posse.
Inu-Yasha looked mildly impressed, while the others stood slack jawed. Trista quickly used her power to fix her clothes and then snorted. She turned back and stared into the woods where Shesshomaru had disappeared and wondered why he ran so fast. 'He was winning this fight.'
Something in Trista's heart fluttered and she sighed at the pull of the physical attraction to the man. 'I don't need this,' she thought to herself, only turning when Tenchi put his hand on her shoulder.
"Something wrong?" he asked, slightly concerned.
Trista shook her head, "I'm fine, just a bit disappointed."
Inu-Yasha snorted, "You're disappointed because he ran from your power? Why?"
Trista shook her head, "He didn't run from my power for he's more powerful than I am. He ran from my name."
With that Trista turned and began to walk away, ignoring the rest of the party. "What's she mean by that?" Shippo asked, not entirely clear.
"She said she was the daughter of Cerberus," Inu-Yasha said matter-of- factly, as if that explained everything.
His eye twitched and he growled at all the blank looks he was receiving. "Cerberus is the demon lord of another country and is known to all dog demons. He is well known for his deeds and the fact that he has three heads. It is said that he was feared by even the devil, and was imprisoned to Hell to guard its gates forever."
"Is she really his daughter?" Kagome asked, looking after the girl, "She doesn't seem that evil."
Tenchi sighed, "That would be Hikari's doing. My guess is that they somehow found each other and then ended up in our time, possibly the same way that I ended up here."
Kagome frowned, and sighed, "Why does this already hard task keep getting more and more complex."
Tenchi almost laughed, but settled for a bitter sigh, "Because if life were easy, there would be nothing worth saving in the world."
Tenchi followed Trista into the forest while the rest stared at him confused. Inu-Yasha sniffed the air and sighed, thinking hard about what Tenchi said. Kagome and Shippo shrugged it off, while Miroku and Sango wondered if that saying was going to come back to bite them when they least expected it.
**Slayers Universe**
Lina suddenly glowed gold as Ranma and the rest watched, growing concerned. Zel and Luna then walked in the room, Zel looking more human, though still partially mazoku. Zel's eyes widened as he rushed towards Lina, only to be pushed back by the golden light. Lina's eyes closed, and her body started to float, the golden glow becoming stronger. Suddenly tears started leaking out of her eyes, and she sighed, the glow beginning to dissipate. Luna stood next to her sister, frowning.
Suddenly the golden glow pulsed and poured into Luna, as Lina slowly opened her eyes to their natural redness, tears falling from them.
She looked over to where her sister was receiving the same message and choice, and then over to where Ranma and Ranko were sitting. She walked over to them and hugged them both, "I'm sorry little brother, little sister. I wish to stay here. I have far too much here that I would miss than going to meet a mother I have no memory of. Please give her my regards."
Ranko's gave a slightly strangled noise, while Ranma gave a surprised look to Lina, and then looked to Ranko, who was holding the picture she had pulled out earlier. Ranma took the picture and his eyes widened, "You mean...."
Lina nodded, and soon Luna had stopped glowing gold, and started glowing blue. The glow had started to leave in streams from her body and soon after the glow was gone, Luna opened her eyes. "I am going home," Luna said softly, tears in her eyes, "I am sorry you don't wish to come Lina."
Lina gave her sister a rare smile, "Well after all, I can't part with my magic just like that. We were gifted for a reason, and I love mine, even with the consequences it brings."
Luna laughed, sending chills down the spines of some of the people listening in. "I won't beat you for that choice because I don't believe it is a bad one on your part. Good luck."
Lina shivered and then stood next to Zel, admiring his now elf-like appearance. A flash of pure, white light filled the room and suddenly their was a woman with platinum blonde hair standing there with an unconscious girl lying on the floor in jeans and a form fitting tank top.
"Hikari!" Ranma exclaimed, quickly kneeling at his girlfriend's side.
The other woman got a mischievous smile on her face, "Maybe she'll wake with a kiss from her prince."
Ranma turned bright red as the room laughed, and he gathered the girl in his arms, standing up. "Who are you?" he asked, facing the other woman.
"Urd," she said, bowing, "Goddess of the Past and Love. 2nd class, limited license. I'm here to take whoever's coming home."
Luna stood next to her younger brother and Ranko pulled Trunks up and dragged him over to where Ranma was standing. "This is it," Ranko said, smiling at Lina and waving goodbye. Lina smiled, a sad look in her eyes as Urd nodded, and disappeared with them.
Zel put his hand on Lina's shoulder, "Are you sure about this?"
Lina smiled and nodded, turning to face him. "I wish to stay here, and be a part of this world. This is where I met you, and the rest. This is where I've had many fun adventures. This is where I'll stay."
Zel felt he could hug her, yet refrained from doing so out of respect for Gourry. Lina, however, was not as reserved when she saw the relief and pleasure in her friend's eyes. She hugged him tightly, encouraging him to return it, which he did, to Amelia's and Gourry's astonishment.
**Present Time, Ranma Universe**
Urd appeared in the middle of Nabiki's explanation of her plan with Ukyo, Nodoka, and Lee. The whole group was startled at their sudden appearance. Nodoka gasped as she saw her son and two of her daughters, her joy rising. She rushed to them, automatically recognizing Luna, hugging her three children in a death grip only a mother could manage, and not seeming to notice Hikari still in Ranma's arms.
Ranma nearly dropped Hikari, trying to get out of his mother's death grip. Ranko and Luna seemed to revel in it, as Urd began to laugh at the rests' stunned expressions.
Soon Nodoka was done hugging her children and sat down on the couch ready for an explanation. Ranma scowled at the still laughing Urd and then laid Hikari on the love seat.
Urd looked over to where Ranma was and slowed her laughter. "I still think she would waken with a kiss from her prince charming, though I don't know if that would be a good idea at the moment."
Ranma gave her a sharp look, "Why is that?"
Urd sighed and remembered that she was meant to give an explanation, "Hikari as you know her was not meant to bring him," she said, indicating Trunks, "through the gate with intent to keep him in this world. The worlds are fundamentally incompatible. Therefore, for her punishment, any and all memories of her time as a scout have been erased. Some memories that were completely indifferent to her being a scout are still there but there is a big chance that she won't remember you, since when she met you, she was seriously reminded of what happened in her past life. She will know how old she is and some of the regular school stuff though."
Ranma paled, "Is there a way to fix this?"
Urd shrugged, "I'm only the messenger and I'm not allowed to meddle now that I've completed my job. You can try to restore her memories yourself, but I doubt you can. Good luck."
With that, Urd turned on the TV and disappeared, leaving a still stunned Lee, Ukyo, and Nabiki, a confused Nodoka, Ranko, and Trunks, and an angry Ranma. Luna remained rather indifferent to the entire ordeal. Ranma sat down frustrated on the edge of the love seat and looked into Hikari's peaceful face. He finally shook himself and kissed her, hoping maybe that she would remember him. He felt her body move and sat up as she opened her eyes.
Hikari for her part was confused. The kiss was familiar, but she couldn't place it. It was as if from a memory long, long ago. She opened her eyes to see a face that looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place it. She then looked around the room, and realized she knew none of these people. "Where am I?" she asked softly, a bit frightened.
Ranma's heart broke as he heard that and tried to compose himself enough to answer. Hikari, however, noticed the pained look he gave and her heart softened. 'What's wrong with him?' she asked herself, 'He looks like someone important to him just died.'
Ranma sighed, "You don't remember."
Hikari frowned at the statement, "Remember what?"
Ranma shook his head, "You'll need to remember on your own. Maybe we should get you to a hospital."
Hikari gave an exasperated sigh, "I'm fine. What I want to know is where I am and who are you all!"
Ranma started and then studied her a bit. "I'm Ranma. The short red head is my twin, Ranko, and the guy next to her is Trunks."
Trunks winced a bit at that statement, but only Ranko noticed, and frowned. Hikari nodded, and Ranma finished the introductions, "My mother is the one with red brown hair and I'm guessing that's my long lost father sitting next to her. Nabiki is the one with short, dark brown hair, and Ukyo is the girl with long brown hair. Do you remember any of the first three people?"
Hikari thought hard, looking at each in turn and then shook her head. Ranma felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest as he stood, nodding his head.
Nodoka frowned, not having a clue as to what was going on. "Does Hikari- dear have amnesia?"
Ranma shifted uncomfortably and nodded. Ranko rolled her eyes. "She has amnesia up to a point. There's no saying we can't try to restore her memories of us."
Ranma snorted and then stormed out the door. Hikari watched, stunned, and Lee went after his son, signaling for all the girls to wait. Hikari took a breath, "What was that about?"
Nodoka sighed, "You were very important to him. I'm afraid he's not sure how to deal with you not knowing him anymore."
Hikari sat up and put her legs over the edge of the couch. "What was I to him?"
Ukyo growled, "Whatever you were, stay away from him. Ran-chan is mine!"
Nodoka gave Ukyo a sharp look, "You have absolutely no claim on his heart. Honor does not bind him either. If he chooses to be with you then it's HIS choice. However, Hikari is my main concern so if you're not going to help us then leave."
Ukyo quickly deflated and suddenly she noticed Ranko, having been collecting her thoughts at the time of their sudden appearance. Nabiki was already circling the girl, and Ukyo wondered if she should pull some hot water out. Ranko scowled at Nabiki's fifth rotation. "I'm really not that fascinating. So I've been more or less separated from Ranma and am now my own person. Big deal."
"How though?" Nabiki asked, trying to figure out if she would be able to make money off of this.
Ranko rolled her eyes, "For right now, I'm Ranko Inverse. No I'm not gonna allow you to make money off me. Though a little revenge against a few people I'm all for. No I'm not going to tell you how we got separated and yes Trunks here knows everything about it."
Trunks winced again slightly, and Ranko frowned, wondering what was wrong. Nabiki then gave Trunks a rather seductive look, which made him nervous. "Where did you pull this guy from and can I have him if you don't want him?"
Ranko and Ukyo both face faulted while Nodoka looked rather shocked and Trunks rather afraid. Ranko quickly picked herself up and got her anger and surprise under control. "And here I thought you would be going after Kuno, Nabs," Ranko said with a sarcastic tone.
Nabiki frowned and Ranko held out a hand. "C'mon pay up if you want to know."
Nabiki scowled, "Not that interested."
Ukyo and Luna began to laugh, and Nodoka tried to give her daughter a stern look, but failed miserably while Trunks just sighed in relief.
**Outside**
Lee followed his son outside to where a bit of old equipment was set up. Ranma picked up pieces of it and frowned, setting things off to the side of the yard. "What's wrong son?"
Ranma glanced up and tossed a piece of broken martial arts equipment into a growing pile. "Can you really call me that? I don't know you."
Lee frowned, "I'd like to try and be a real father to you. It's just hard now that you're grown up without me."
Ranma stared right into the man's eyes, and suddenly felt a connection. He turned, slightly afraid of that connection which he had never felt with the man who raised him. "What do I do? My whole life has been turned upside down. For a while it seemed it was getting better... but now..."
Lee clenched a fist and then put a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Ranko was right. We can try to restore her memories. She just needs to be around things she can remember."
Ranma turned and punched one of the still standing dummies, shattering it. "It won't work like that."
"Because she's a Sailor Scout?" Lee asked.
Ranma froze slightly and then turned to his biological father, "How did you?"
"Know? She told us. She was determined to get you back, and transformed in front of us. That was our reassurance that you were not lost forever."
Ranma looked down and studied the ground. Lee frowned, wishing his son could be more forward with him. Lee dropped his hand. "I know I can't really offer much, but as your father, I want you to know that you can talk to me whenever you need to."
Lee left, heading into the house as Ranma thought about what his biological father had said. He started a slow kata, picking up speed as his thoughts became more and more turbulent. Soon he was focused on just one thing, the kata he was working on. He didn't even notice when Hikari walked outside, and sat down to watch as she was mesmerized by his performance.
**Moments Before**
Lee headed into the house, and sat down next to his wife, placing his arms on his knees and leaning over, thinking hard. "Anata?" his wife asked softly, not voicing the rest of the question.
"He won't talk to me. I wish I could have been a father to him before, like I was supposed to be."
Hikari frowned as something hovered at the back of her memory, but not quite making it to the fore. She got up and left out of the door Lee had come in from. Quickly making her way to the backyard, she sat down in awe of the grace she saw Ranma displaying before her. 'He's not paying attention to anything,' she realized as she watched his face relax his eyes gaze off into nothing.
As he slowed and stopped, Hikari could not help but clap. "You're very good," she said, a smile on her face.
Ranma turned and blushed slightly as he watched the girl he loved. 'At least she's not crying this time around,' he thought and suddenly he felt his heart drop, 'not that she remembers anyway. At least if she were crying, I could comfort her.'
Hikari noticed the drop in his mood and stood, walking up so that she was only about two inches away from him. Looking up, she watched his face, and then smiled. "They said I was important to you."
Ranma nodded, and his voice nearly caught as he spoke, "You have no idea. Our time together was rather short, but it was like an entire lifetime to me."
Hikari stood on her toes and kissed him on the forehead. "Then let's start over. Maybe I'll remember, maybe I won't, but I'm willing to try to be with you. I'm Hikari," she said with an impish grin, stepping back and extending her hand.
Ranma was slightly confused, but smiled in spite of himself. "Ranma," he said, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips, "Pleasure to meet you."
Hikari blushed, and found she couldn't look away from his eyes. Suddenly a large bald man came jumping over the fence and punching towards Ranma. Ranma reacted quickly, pulling Hikari into his arms and jumping the two stories to the roof. "Wrecking Crew alert!" he yelled, disappearing into the open window on the other side of the house as Genma tried to follow him. Ranma closed the window and dashed down the stairs, Hikari still safely nestled in his arms.
"What do you mean 'Wrecking Crew Alert'?" Hikari asked as Ranma stopped in front of his parents.
Nabiki sighed, "I'm guessing she told both the old fools that 'Ranma' was here when she left before."
Ukyo growled, "That bitch! Ran-chan wasn't even here at the time."
"That is a problem isn't it?" Ranma asked dryly, setting Hikari down. Kodachi then flew in the window and her eyes lit up as she saw Ranma standing there, "Ranma-sama!"
Ranma growled, "I really don't need this now."
Suddenly two bonbori flew in and hit Kodachi in the head, knocking the girl unconscious. Shampoo looked over to where Ranma was protecting Hikari and her eyes narrowed, "Why airen protect other girl. She not wife."
"/Neither are you Xian Pu,/" Ranko said softly in Chinese, pulling out her scythe. Trunks stepped back and let her have her space. Shampoo looked back and forth between Ranma and Ranko, obviously confused, "Two airens?"
The rest of the Nerima crew came crashing in through the wall, effectively ruining the Saotome household. Nodoka's eye twitched as everyone stopped and stared at her son and daughter. Luna then decided to take a hand in things and used her naturally stern and frightening presence to draw everyone's attention. "Excuse me, but I do believe you all just WRECKED OUR HOUSE! I hope you are going to pay for all of this."
Akane snorted and stepped up, "Why the hell should we listen to you!?"
Luna gave the girl a controlled glare, feeling her own ire rise. "Because little girl, I am much more dangerous than you, with or without my magic power."
Akane snarled and Luna effectively started beating on the less trained girl. Luna frowned when she was done, "At least Lina always put up more of a fight. Then again we were always training. This was a waste of time."
Nabiki glared at the older girl and Luna turned to her, a cold look still in her purple eyes. "She deserved it. I didn't break anything, just taught her a lesson."
Lee and Nodoka for their parts were speechless, "What happened to our precious little Luna?"
Luna winced when she heard those words and bowed her head, "Maybe it was a mistake to return. I'm sorry momma, poppa."
Nodoka's eyes widened when she heard that and she rushed up to her eldest daughter, and hugged her. "No, no Luna. Please don't leave again."
Luna froze and then started to return the hug, tears forming in her eyes as she realized how much she missed her mother. Genma started to bluster as he saw this, "No-chan! What is this?"
Nodoka and Luna both glared at the fat martial artist. "You have no right to call me that, Genma," Nodoka growled, "First you completely wipe the memory of a distraught pregnant woman. Then you take her son from her and not only do you endanger his life on several accounts, sell him to feed your fat stomach, and engage him to more women than anyone knows, you decide to get him cursed, and blame all of your problems on him."
"Just like Ryoga Hibiki!" Ranko exclaimed, much to the ire of the fanged boy.
"He is the cause of all my problems!" Ryoga shouted at Ranko.
Ranko gave him a cold look and brought her scythe to bear on him. "Your sense of direction is the cause of all of your problems, but you can't blame anything on that because it's part of you. Is that right?"
Ryoga's eyes widened as the sharp blade on the large weapon was pressed against his throat. He stared into the girl's eyes and gulped as he saw not a bit of Ranma's warmth in them. Ryoga slowly backed off, nodding quickly, trying not to piss the girl off any more than she already was.
Ranko smiled and stored the scythe once more, making everyone else shiver, for they had no compunctions about what would happen if they pissed her off. Cologne frowned as she watched that. "Ranma never learned that technique. Even if you had his memories, which is plausible, you would not have known how to do that or been able to pull that exact weapon from it."
Ranko turned her cold eyes to Cologne, and studied her. After a while, Ranko smiled, "I was granted memories of the life I led before, so as not to make the same mistakes again. I was once known as Mei Lin."
Cologne paled, but then color drew back into her face as she realized she was more powerful than the former Mei Lin. "You were punished."
Ranko nodded, "My name is Ranko Inverse, granted to me by Ranma."
Ranma and Trunks came up and stood next to her, and Cologne frowned. "She's dangerous Son-in.... Ranma."
Ranma shrugged, "Everyone I know is dangerous in one way or another. That's why it doesn't matter who I associate with anymore."
"Ranko is not Mei Lin," Trunks said quietly, "Whoever that other girl was, Ranko is different."
Ranko turned to Trunks, and then smiled. She was about to say something else when a loud cry shattered the short lived silence. "Osagi no onna! You are finally free of that villain Saotome!"
Ranko sweat dropped and quickly booted Kuno out of the hole in the wall. Nabiki cleared her throat, and motioned for everyone to sit down. Ranma pulled Hikari out of the room and into the kitchen as everyone sat down for the explanation of everything. Hikari sighed, "What was that all about?"
Ranma just sat down in a kitchen chair, putting his head in his hands. Hikari studied him silently, and then moved behind him and started to massage his shoulders, sensing that he needed some sort of comfort right then.
Ranma gave a slight moan as she reached a particularly hard knot and sat up a bit straighter. "I should call the police," he said softly, "That fat fool is the cause of much of what happened here."
Hikari said nothing, but kept the small massage going until she felt he was sufficiently relaxed. Ranma then brought up his communicator watch and hit the call button. A few seconds later, a worried voice came through it, "Ranma?! Is that you?"
Ranma chuckled slightly, "Yeah chief, it's me. Operation Alien Abduction went off rather nicely, it's just the homecoming that's a bitch."
"Where's Tenchi?"
Ranma stopped as he realized he had forgotten all about his cousin and he froze. He had no idea where Tenchi was and since Hikari had her memories wiped, there was no chance of retrieving him until she was back to normal.
The back door opening startled him as Ranma tensed and stood in front of Hikari in case whoever it was, was hostile.
Tenchi walked in, Trista trailing behind, but that was as far as Ranma got before excitement took him over. "Tenchi!" he cried, glad that his cousin was alright.
Tenchi also grinned and pulled his cousin into a hug. Hikari smiled, and Trista noticed something wrong with her friend. "Hikari?" she asked, getting the girl's attention.
Hikari turned to the other girl and frowned. Suddenly her eyes lit up, "Trista?"
Trista smiled, and nodded, letting Hikari know she had gotten the name right. Hikari's smile lessened a bit, "I seem to have gotten a bit of amnesia and I can't remember how we met. I can only remember a few things from the orphanage."
Trista looked rather stunned, and frowned. Sighing, she put a hand on Hikari's shoulder, "It's alright, you'll get them back and things will go back to normal. Maybe."
"RANMA!"
Ranma froze and then lifted his watch and hit the talk button with a sheepish grin. "He's here chief. Don't worry about a thing."
Ranma could almost see the chief nod and soon the line fizzled a bit. "Alright then, we'd like you both to come down to the station tomorrow, and bring your new twin so we can get photos for her IDs."
"Yes sir," Ranma replied, "If that's all, I'm going to see how Ranko and the rest are handling the 'wrecking crew.' If you could send a team to get Genma, we'd be grateful also. I'll explain tomorrow if that's alright."
"It's fine. Over and out," Kino said, ending the conversation.
Ranma turned to Trista, "You both live together right?"
Trista nodded, "You want me to get her home?"
Ranma nodded, "That and give me the address and number so I can check up tomorrow. Things are going to be rather busy today."
Hikari rolled her eyes as Trista wrote down the appropriate information. "Where are you and your family going to stay? Your house is just about wrecked."
Tenchi looked down at the address given and smiled a bit. "This is near where I live. They'll stay with my strange family."
Hikari looked slightly disappointed and then stepped up to Ranma. She studied his face once more, and felt something try to come to the fore in the back of her mind. She smiled suddenly, and turned, walking over to Trista. "First place to start is a date!" she said with a wink, "Call me once you get settled in."
Trista rolled her eyes and pushed Hikari out the door, "Let's go."
Hikari giggled, "Alright Miss Impatience."
Trista laughed and then the two were gone. Ranma shook his head and motioned for Tenchi to follow him. "It's gonna be more than just me, mom, and Ranko. Apparently that fat fool is not my father and my mom met my real father after returning from her glimpse of the past, in which she remembered him. However, he's been living at the resort since then so we really don't have a place to stay if we're not returning there. Also, mom had two kids before us. I found them, and Ranko came and that's about the time we figured out who they were. Only one returned with us though so it'll be me, mother, father, Ranko, and Luna."
Tenchi reeled at the information and began to wonder if he should contact Washu first to build more rooms. He then shrugged, they'd figure it out when they got there.
Most of the 'Wrecking Crew' had left and only the Tendo's, Genma, and Ukyo remained. Trunks appeared to be the one keeping Genma where he was and Ranma gave him a quick smile. 'Keep him there,' Ranma mouthed, and Trunks nodded, glad and somewhat surprised that while he couldn't use ki freely, he could use it relatively painlessly in this world.
"Mom, Tenchi's back," Ranma said, drawing attention to them.
Nodoka quickly got up and hugged Tenchi, making sure that he was alright and unhurt. Tenchi stood and bore it, assuring her that he was alright, as the rest watched. Soon sirens were heard, and two police officers were seen at the door. "We have an arrest warrant for Saotome Genma," one said, showing them the paper, "He's wanted for numerous petty thefts, kidnapping, and child abuse for starters."
Genma tried to get up and run, only to be dropped and disabled by Trunks. The officers quickly arrested him, and led him off. Soun turned to Nabiki, "We've got to get him out. He's my best friend."
Nabiki shook her head, "I'm no longer paying for that fat fool."
Soun turned to the rest of his daughters, and each turned their heads, showing that they wanted nothing to do with Soun's so called friend. Soun sighed, defeated and got up to leave. Kasumi smiled and thanked Nodoka for her hospitality and dragged Akane and Nabiki away from the house. Ukyo then bowed and left as well.
Tenchi sighed, "All that's left is to get out of this place and home."
Nodoka frowned as she stared at the hole in the wall, "I had planned on staying here at least one night."
Ranma shrugged, "Don't worry about it. Tenchi's offered his home to us."
Luna stood, "What do I do about clothes?"
Nodoka blinked, and then studied her eldest daughter. "You're about my height. I'll lend you some of my things. We'll wait to go shopping until we're all settled in."
Luna nodded, and then smiled. Ranma then clapped his hands. "Let's get out of here. Where are our suitcases?"
"Upstairs," Lee answered, "We'll get them and get out of here."
Ranma nodded, and the men went up the stairs, coming down with the suitcases, and ushering the women out the door.
******************************************
**Omake**
Kodachi gave an earsplitting laugh, "I knew that old fool could not have been Ranma's father. So mother in law, should I prepare a dinner to welcome my father in law?"
Lee raised an eyebrow as Nodoka twitched, nearly dropping the katana. "Leave," Nodoka said dangerously, "You are not welcome in my presence."
Nabiki stayed where she was as the other girls slowly backed away from the woman. Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Go home Akane. I need to discuss something with Auntie. Don't worry about explaining things; I'll do that when I get home."
Akane scowled at her sister and made no movement. Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "I'll let Kodachi paralyze you and set you up on a date with Kuno for a week if you don't."
Akane gave her sister a strange look and then returned Kodachi's interested look. "Alright!" they both yelled, running to each other. One of Akane's hands went to Kodachi's breasts while they kissed each other. Kodachi's hands went lower and disappeared into Akane's skirt, and from the sound of Akane's moan, went deeper than that.
They stopped their kiss, "Shall we stop and let you 'paralyze' me at your place?"
Kodachi gave her bone chilling laugh and pulled out her sticky hand and grabbing Akane by the waste. Nabiki and Ukyo looked ready to throw up as Kodachi picked Akane up and disappeared out the door.
*****************************************
Don't ask..... I'm not sure where that came from -_-; me and my sick sad mind. Oh well.... I suppose everybody has those off days ^_^;
Author's Notes: I've had some complaints about the M. Trunks/Ranko pair up. The big one is that Trunks will blow the scouts out of the water when it comes to youma bashing. Don't worry, I've thought of that. It'll be explained this chapter. I love this spelling correction my spelling checker has for Genma: Genome. I wonder how his panda blood would fit into the human genome. :p
Published: 11/29/03
'Thoughts' [Panda Signs] "/Mandarin/"
Soul's Destiny, Blood's Inheritance Chapter 11
He sighed, rethinking His decision, and then firmed His resolve. He remembered that His daughter and a mortal made it through the gate. He knew that others would make it too, and they had been the closest. He would bring them back to the Gate of Judgment if they passed a test, but He needed to make sure that they had enough time together in this life. Right now, however, He needed to discuss the release of two of His own with His fellow Creator, the Lord of Nightmares.
*Resort*
Nodoka watched as the children all waved a tear in her eye. She quickly moved back into the inn where she found her husband waiting with her son and nephew's things, as well as her own and Ranko's. "Are you sure you want to come with me? I know I can do this on my own."
Lee shook his head, "I won't chance that he will use that same technique again."
Nodoka smiled, "I think he is rather afraid of me right now."
Lee shook his head, "He used it once. If he remembers, he would use the same technique again."
Nodoka frowned, nodding, "It is time we left then."
"Are you both leaving then?"
Nodoka turned to find the owner of the resort, and nodded. The old man smiled, "I wish you would consider my offer, and return soon."
Lee smiled at the old man, "It's alright. I'll return to help you out. I'm not sure that I can take over the resort however. I'm not much of a business man."
The old man just waved them off as the taxi pulled up. The two were soon gone from the old man's sight, and he clutched his chest as he started breathing heavily. "Not now," he muttered, "Please not now."
*Zephelia*
Lina hid behind Ranma as he knocked on the door. Ranma raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing as the rest of the group gathered behind him. A young woman with purple/black hair and a waitress' uniform on answered the door. Her blue violet eyes widened as she took in the young man before her and her younger sister cowering behind him.
Luna looked slightly put out as she saw her sister. "I thought I told you not to come back unless it was important."
Lina gave a forced, nervous laugh and came out from behind Ranma, "Well it was kind of important, nee-chan. My friend Zel here wants to return to being human again and Ranma here fell out of the sky. We were hoping you could help. If you're too busy that's ok too! We'll just be going now!"
Lina started to run off and Zel grabbed her by the cloak. "C'mon Lina, you need to stop running."
Lina just gave him a defeated look, and then looked nervously at her sister. Luna gave an amused look and decided she wouldn't punish Lina, right now. "Come in. I just got off of work, so you'll have to excuse the place. Lina, you of all people don't need to knock on the door."
Amelia gave a smile as Luna disappeared into the house. "She doesn't seem that scary Miss Lina."
"That's because you've never lived with her," Lina muttered, causing Ranma to chuckle a bit.
Lina gave him a baleful glare and walked in after her sister, leading the rest of the group inside. Gourry was still black and blue from his encounter with Ranma, and decided not to say anything for fear of getting bruised more. Zel just looked cautiously at Lina and remembered when her sister had sent Lina that note via Filia. Zel shook his head and followed her into the main room, wondering what was so terrifying about her sister.
Lina gave them a wry smile as she invited them to sit down while she got refreshments from the kitchen. Zel looked around the room and noticed how down to earth the room was. Ranma fidgeted, and stared around the room, noticing the paintings. Most were of Luna and Lina as children, though there were a few of two older people, an old woman and man with grey hair and pointed ears.
Lina walked in and saw what he was looking at. "They adopted Luna and me when we were young. We were found out in the forest all alone when I was two. I don't have any memories of our parents but Luna does. She was five. I often wondered why they abandoned us, though Luna says they didn't. She kicked me out of the house when I was ten after I kept asking her why we didn't search for them. I started my own search then, and came up empty handed. It was fun though."
Ranma stayed silent, and soon Luna came down the stairs in a new outfit. She raised an eyebrow at Amelia's tears and saw her sister staring at the picture of their adoptive grandparents. "Telling stories again Lina?"
"Yup! My own personal fairy tale," Lina replied, turning from the painting to her elder sister.
Luna shook her head, her face softening a bit. She looked at the chimera, "I'm assuming you're Zel?"
Zelgadiss took off his face mask and nodded at Luna. Luna motioned for him to follow her. "I'll see what I can do, but I make no guarantees."
Zel got up, nodding, disappointment evident on his face. Lina gave him an encouraging smile as he passed, and then turned to offer snacks to Ranma and Amelia before heading over the Gourry the bruise.
Lina started some small talk with Amelia, keeping the girl from going into a full blown crying, I-feel-sorry-for-Ms.-Lina session. Ranma sighed as he looked back up to the pictures. He frowned suddenly, as the light dimmed, and looked out the window with the rest of the group, with the exception of Gourry who was scarfing down the rest of the snacks.
"This is just like when Ranma fell from the sky," Amelia muttered.
Lina nodded, grabbed Amelia and rushed out of the house, Ranma not far behind. They stopped and stared as two bodies began to fall, only for one to start flying and catch the other.
Trunks smiled as he caught Ranko, using his flying ability to float them gently to the ground. Ranko smiled up at his and suddenly cried out as he winced, a gash opening on his arm. They quickly made it to the ground in the middle of a town, Ranko quickly getting to her feet after their impromptu landing. She quickly tore part of her dress and started bandaging the wound.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
Trunks frowned and shook his head, "I'm not sure. I was just using my natural power and it felt like I was being torn apart."
Ranko frowned, and turned as she heard Ranma call her name. She quickly turned to find Ranma running towards her, followed by two other girls. Trunks gave her a small push forward, "I'm fine."
Ranko needed no further prompting as she ran straight for her brother and hugged him tightly. Ranma returned it, grinning down at her. "Geez! I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you all again."
Ranko smiled into her brother's face, "Hikari found me. The dimension I landed in was really barren. Trunks saved my life after I fell into it."
Ranma raised an eyebrow, "Trunks?"
Ranko grabbed Ranma's hand and dragged him over to where Trunks stood, fingering his bandage. "Trunks, this is my twin, Ranma. Ranma, this is my savior, Trunks."
Ranma studied the older boy and offered a hand, which Trunks took. After their handshake Ranma looked around them, "You said Hikari brought you here right? Where is she?"
Ranko bit her lip, trying to keep from smiling at her brother's anxiousness. "She said she needed to seal the tear you fell through. She looked a bit confused at the tear, but shrugged and got to work, telling me to hold onto Trunks and concentrate on you. That's how we ended up here."
Ranma frowned and nodded, "She'll be along in a while then. Has she found Tenchi? Or mom?"
Ranko pulled out a picture, "Mom wasn't trapped like us this time around. She said she'd get to work finding Tenchi as soon as she finished with the tear. She also gave me this and told me to explain what she found out."
"Ranma, next time I ask you to slow down would you comply?" said Lina's panting voice from behind them.
Ranma turned and gave a sheepish grin. "Gomen. Lina, I'd like you to meet my twin, Ranko. The guy with violet hair is her friend, Trunks. Ranko, Trunks, this is Lina and Amelia. They helped me out after I found myself here."
Ranko gave a short bow, as Trunks nodded. Lina gave a small grin and Amelia waved as they were introduced. Lina soon caught her breath and looked up at Ranma, "Come on, Luna's gonna want us back soon."
Ranma nodded, and motioned for the two to follow, and that's when they noticed the crowd surrounding them. Ranma sweat dropped and looked at Lina for help. Lina looked around and gathered a fireball in her hands. "OK folks, shows over. There's nothing to see."
The crowd paled and ran back into their homes, quickly shutting all their shutters and locking their doors. Lina sighed in satisfaction. "There is some benefit to being known as the enemy to all who live."
Amelia and Ranma sweat dropped as Ranko and Trunks looked at the small woman in confusion. Lina then started off towards her home and didn't look back, trusting the rest to follow her. Ranko cast a worried look at Trunks and started following. Amelia fell into step next to her as Ranma fell into step next to Trunks.
Ranma studied his sister from behind, raising an eyebrow at her Chinese attire. "What happened to her clothes?"
"They were torn after a fight with some idiots," Trunks said emotionlessly, "She said she got that extra pair from a subspace pocket."
Ranma tripped slightly, and quickly recovered. "That sounds like hidden weapons," he muttered.
Trunks looked at him with an eager look, "Do you know what it's about? She never got a chance to explain it to me."
Ranma looked up at him, "There's someone I know that's an expert at it. He's always ready to kill me though. The basic idea behind it is to expand you ki in a passive way instead of active and use it to create a space for storage that only you can access because of your ki pattern."
Trunks thought about it, "So basically it would be an unlimited space if you have unlimited ki supply. The larger your ki, the more you can store. It follows you because it is linked to your ki only."
Ranma nodded, "It's convenient if you know what you're doing, but I have yet to be able to access subspace yet. If I could get someone to teach me it wouldn't be a problem. I could expand it any way I wanted to."
Trunks frowned as he eyed Ranko's twin. He then looked over to the red make shift bandage Ranko had placed on his arm. "You use ki right?"
Ranma nodded, "Yeah, why?"
"Did it hurt you to use it here?"
Ranma frowned, "I haven't used it as an active force here. Hang on a sec."
Ranma began gathering his ki and suddenly he felt something akin to a knife entering his body. He stopped automatically, panting slightly. "That's not supposed to happen," he muttered.
"You didn't get injured," Trunks muttered, "But something's not right."
Trunks looked up to where Ranko was trying to ignore a chatting Amelia, "Hey Ranko!"
Ranko looked grateful for the reprieve and fell back with them. She gave Trunks and Ranma a worried look, "What's wrong?"
Trunks looked down at her, "Can you access your weapons from here?"
Ranko gave him an odd look and quickly pulled out her sword, with no ill effects. Ranma watched wide eyed as Ranko stored it again. Trunks frowned, "Can you gather your ki?"
Ranko tried and stopped suddenly as sweat gathered at her brow. "That's painful," she muttered.
Trunks and Ranma frowned, "We can't use ki here?"
Ranko gave them a startled look, "But Hidden Weapons...."
"Is a way of using your ki passively," Ranma finished, "We can't use ki actively as a weapon or to bring out of our bodies."
Trunks frowned, and looked at his arm wound, "Why did I get injured though?"
Ranma looked up at him, "Maybe you have far too much, or you brought too much out at once."
Trunks shook his head and looked up to see Amelia and Lina waiting for them at the door to a large house. Lina looked impatient. "Let's go already. You people are slow."
Ranma rolled his eyes, "I think she's eager to find out if Luna could help Zel. Let's go before she fireballs us."
Ranko and Trunks nodded, quickly heading into the house.
*Inu-Yasha timeline*
Tenchi held his sword ready, trying to gauge the strength of his opponent, while Kagome, Shippo, and Myoga stayed behind him. Inu-Yasha was facing off his brother, while Sango and Miroku took on some of the larger hordes of Youkai. Tenchi wiped his brow, they had been at this for a few hours, and this Naraku youkai didn't seem to letting them get away this time around.
Tenchi grunted and lunged, remembering the training his grandfather gave him. 'Now would be a good time to be able to access those light hawk wings,' he thought as he cut off the demon's head, watching as its body disappeared in a wave of fox fire.
The small fox demon frowned as they moved to help Sango, Myoga hanging onto Kagome. 'Well, at least I know we have a chance as long as Myoga stays with Kagome,' Tenchi thought as he cut through the next demon, getting splattered with its blood.
*Orphanage*
Trista made sure the kids were in good hands before bounding off to the well. She frowned, wondering why she was doing this. She couldn't really manipulate the time magic in the well, and could only hope that she was in some way helping her friend. She groaned as that doubt surfaced once more.
'I knew I should have just left Hikari alone. Then I wouldn't recognize all these emotions,' Trista thought to herself.
She quickly found the shrine, and found no trace of life. 'They must be out. That's a good thing for me.'
She opened the door to the well and was surprised to see the cover off. Trista froze, "There is no way that they would have taken the cover off on their own. Something bad must have happened since Hikari and I replaced the cover and resealed it."
Trista frowned and quickly made her way down the well, grasping the magic and riding it to where she knew it would take her.
*Saotome Household*
Nodoka sighed as she put Ranma's empty suitcase on his bed and gathered the few things that were left in his room. Lee came up behind her, "It's a nice house."
Nodoka scowled, "I'm betting the only reason he hasn't used the shampoo method again to get his way is because he ran out and doesn't know the formula."
Lee chuckled and then looked worriedly at his wife, "He didn't...."
Nodoka looked at her husband, slightly confused and then her eyes widened as she shook her head. "I tended to stay with Ranma then worry about a sex life with that man."
Lee relaxed visibly and picked up the still half empty suitcase. "Can you think of anything else?"
Nodoka shook her head. "We've already packed my stuff. We'll get this shipped to my father."
The door bell rang, and Nodoka pushed Lee towards the main bedroom, "Hide, I'll see who it is."
Lee frowned, but complied, remembering that they didn't know about the whole mess. Nodoka made her way to the front door to find Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo and Nabiki standing there. She allowed the girls in, accepting the gifts they brought. Akane looked a bit perturbed at being there and Nabiki glared at her little sister.
Nodoka placed everything down after showing them to the living room, "What brings you four here?"
"Five," Nabiki said, "Kodachi is expected soon, now that she knows you're Ranma's mother."
Sure enough, another ring was heard echoing throughout the house and Nodoka opened the door to find a fairly pretty gymnast on the other side. She showed the last girl into the living room and sat down. "Why are you here?" she asked again.
Shampoo looked at Nodoka, "Wanted honored mother to know she not alone in missing Ranma."
Nodoka raised an eyebrow as she looked at all her son's fiancées, self- proclaimed and otherwise. Nabiki sighed, "Basically they all want to butter you up so that when Ranma returns you'll push him in the direction of the one you want him to marry."
Nodoka frowned, "I'm afraid it is his decision."
Ukyo's eye twitched at that, "We realize that but it would be better if you would help him choose. This indecision is hurting everybody."
Nodoka's frown deepened and she looked over at Nabiki who was counting money. Kodachi started to laugh her horrible laugh and started accusing the other girls of stealing her idea. Nabiki walked over to Nodoka and started to pull her away as Ukyo pulled out her spatula and Shampoo pulled out her bonbori.
The sound of a door slamming was heard as Lee ran down the steps, face white, "What on earth is going on?!"
Nodoka slapped her forehead as Nabiki looked up at her a slightly impressed look on her face. "Cheating on Genma? I'm impressed with you Auntie."
Nodoka frowned, "Genma was never my husband. He tricked me and took my son from me."
Akane wasn't paying attention to Nodoka as she stared at the man that looked like a slightly older version of Ranma. She growled, "Ranma no baka! You've been here the whole time?!"
Ukyo and Shampoo were about to glomp the man when they realized he was too old to be Ranma. Kodachi was just staring openly, as if she couldn't believe it. Akane was ready to attack when the sound of metal sliding out of a sheath stopped them. Nodoka walked between Lee and the girls a frown on her face. "Genma was never my husband to begin with. He used some sort of shampooing technique too change my memory. He stole Ranma from me. On my recent trip, I met my real husband," she said, holding her sword in front of her, "Leave my husband alone."
Kodachi gave an earsplitting laugh, "I knew that old fool could not have been Ranma's father. So mother in law, should I prepare a dinner to welcome my father in law?"
Lee raised an eyebrow as Nodoka twitched, nearly dropping the katana. "Leave," Nodoka said dangerously, "You are not welcome in my presence."
Nabiki stayed where she was as the other girls slowly backed away from the woman. Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Go home Akane. I need to discuss something with Auntie. Don't worry about explaining things; I'll do that when I get home."
Akane scowled at her sister and made no movement. Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "I'll let Kodachi paralyze you and set you up on a date with Kuno for a week if you don't."
Akane paled and ran out the door. Kodachi looking at Nabiki with interest, "Can I really?"
Nabiki shook her head, "She just left. Sorry, no using Akane as a guinea pig."
Kodachi pouted, "I'll just have to catch her then and make her pay for that match."
Kodachi bounded at the door, laughing her head off as she searched for her nemesis. Shampoo looked between Nodoka and Nabiki and stayed where she was, Ukyo following her example.
"I want an explanation," Ukyo said, "None of you can stop me from staying."
"Are you threatening me?" Nabiki asked, studying her nails.
Shampoo pointed a bonbori at Nabiki, "Shampoo is. Will get what she wants no matter what."
Nabiki looked over to Ukyo, who was staring incredulously at Shampoo. Nodoka sighed, "Shampoo you have no claim over my son what-so-ever. I believe the police took care of that. You should not be chasing Ranma at all. I will call them if you don't leave my house right this instant."
Shampoo brought her bonbori to bear on Nodoka and Ukyo quickly got between them. "Ranma is my friend, and he would be heartbroken if you killed his mother. I won't let you do this."
Shampoo lunged, and Ukyo pulled of a brilliant move that sent Shampoo flying, unfortunately, through the roof. Nodoka grimaced slightly as she thought about what it would take to repair it, and then remembered that it wasn't really her house. Ukyo strapped her giant spatula to her back and looked down at the ground, near tears.
"I at least deserve a real explanation," she said softly.
Nodoka sighed, "Eighteen years ago, I was taking my two daughters on a picnic to a very pretty valley that we had been to before. We reached the closest pass and started to move through it when an intense fog swallowed us and I lost hold of my daughters' hands. They disappeared, and I found myself falling into a forest. Genma found me there, pregnant and defenseless. I suppose the possibility of an heir was too much for him and he decided to use a martial arts technique to change my memory. From that point on, I thought I was Nodoka Saotome, not Nodoka Inverse."
Tears filled Nodoka's eyes, "I let that man take my son from me."
Ukyo's face softened a bit, "You had no way of knowing."
Nabiki nodded, and Lee put his arms around his wife. Nodoka leaned into his embrace and sighed, "I'm sorry Ukyo-chan.
Ukyo gave her a wry smile. "Ranma Saotome never existed, meaning Genma Saotome stole my dowry. I can call the police in on this and have him put away for that."
Nabiki smirked, "I know things that can have him put away for a long time. Besides stealing, there are quite a number of charges against him. All we have to do is get him in the right spot at the right time."
Ukyo gave Nabiki a wary look, "Do I have to pay you to get you to help me plan?"
Nabiki shook her head, and gave a dark look, "He's done nothing but cause trouble. Besides, there's a bounty on his head in a particular area."
"Must be some bounty," Nodoka said, "I must settle with the man before you do anything though."
Nabiki nodded, "That's part of the plan."
Lee tightened his hold on his wife, "We're listening."
Nabiki smirked and launched into the plan already forming in her head.
*Inverse Residence, Slayers World*
Ranko frowned, as she rewrapped the wound on Trunks' arm with bandages Lina provided her. When they asked Lina and Gourry about it, they got a blank look, though Ranma said that was to be expected from Gourry.
Lina gave them a strange look after thinking about it for a while. "Chi is energy that our bodies use right? There is a possibility that when we use magic, that's part of our chi. We can't throw energy around unless we're using magic. Maybe our chi is fundamentally larger than our ki."
Ranma frowned, "Ki and chi often grow together. I don't understand how it's so different. Hikari might know, but..."
Ranma cast a worried look out the window and Ranko frowned at him. "She could have warned us. She was rather tired though."
Ranko looked back up to her brother, "She'll probably end up right in the middle of the floor complaining about the bumpy landing she had."
Ranma gave his sister a grin, and returned to the window. Amelia frowned, looking a bit jealous, but said nothing.
**Space Time Continuum**
Hikari wiped sweat from her brow as she finished closing the tear. 'That was a lot of hard work,' she thought, centering her concentration on the gate that would take her to her friends, and Ranma. She was not prepared when inky black chaos magic filtered through her guard and captured her and dragged her into the Sea.
"DO NOT BE AFRAID, CHILD," said a booming voice, "OPEN YOUR EYES."
Hikari did so cautiously and saw a woman shining gold, and a man shining a bright white standing before her. Another shining man entered the scene, giving off a pulsing, silver light. Hikari sweat dropped at the other's appearance, as he didn't look remotely human, whereas the other two did. In fact, he looked rather silly, though she new better than to laugh at the appearance of a creator.
The newest addition to the Sea of Chaos glared at her as if he knew what she was thinking. She was quite surprised when he spoke. "Child you have taken one of my own with the intent to keep him in your world. Is that correct?"
Suddenly the rules of the gate entered Hikari's head and she realized she broke one of the largest ones. She bowed her head, "Yes, I deliberately broke one of the cardinal rules."
The creator of her own world fixed her with a look, "What is your excuse for this?"
Hikari met his gaze, "I have none, only that I did not wish for Ranko to stay when she had many who would miss her. She would have stayed with him so I invited him along."
"Was that procedure?" He asked.
Hikari shook her head, "Their souls had a tentative link. It had grown strong enough to make her want to stay. She belongs there no more than he belongs here. But they belong together."
The odd looking creator watched her carefully, "Very well, the two souls will get a second chance. However, the worlds will remain separated, and they will be placed in my own where he belongs should they pass the test," he said with a meaningful look towards her creator.
"But..." Hikari started, wondering if they would be able to visit family at all.
She was silenced with a look from the Lord of Nightmares and the Creator of her world answered her unspoken question, "There will be times that they may visit. There are rules you must follow, Guardian of the Dimensional Gates. You were chosen for this job for a reason. You also agreed to this. They will get a chance, but they will live in the other world should they be able to stay together."
"They will be placed in the most prosperous dimension," the odd looking creator offered, chuckling slightly at the girl, "Do not worry, we are not that cruel towards our children."
Hikari nodded, "What is to be my punishment?"
The creators conferred silently, and then came up with a solution, "You will forget. You will lose your power as a scout until there is a time when you can remember all of the rules given to you and the reasons why they were laid out. You will forget everything that you have done as a Scout."
Hikari choked, "Will I forget Ranma?"
The Lord of Nightmares gave a wistful sigh, "More than likely. You will only remember your feelings."
Hikari frowned at the strange response, "I have one request then. If I am to lose my scout powers until I can remember, then can I at least have something decent to wear other than my nightgown?"
The creators laughed, and Hikari was engulfed in a bright light. The creator of many worlds smiled and called his eldest daughter, "Urd."
She appeared in a bright flash and smiled at her Father and the other two creators. "What can I do for you?"
"Take this mortal and find all who she was looking for," her father said, handing her a small folder, "They are to be taken home to our world. DO NOT INTERFERE WITH ANYTHING ELSE OR YOU WILL BE DEMOTED AGAIN!"
Urd pouted as she grabbed a hold of the unconscious Hikari and faded out.
**Feudal Era**
Trista sniffed the air, picking up the scent she was looking for. 'Tenchi's close, time to move out.'
Trista made good time with her demon speed and soon came across a battle between a full demon with a bunch of lesser demons and a half demon. Tenchi was holding his arm which looked slightly burned and his sword at his feet. Trista could smell poison and burned flesh and growled low in her throat, deftly making her way towards Tenchi. "Are you alright Tenchi?" she asked softly.
"Tenchi look out!" a girl yelled, aiming a bow at Trista.
Tenchi, surprised at Trista's sudden appearance, reacted quickly, stepping in front of her. "Wait! She's from our time! She's my friend!"
Trista snorted, and suddenly picked Tenchi up dodging the ball of flame headed their way. Landing, she saw a small, toad like demon waving a staff with two heads around, and scowled. 'Looks like I'll have to take out toady here and separate him from his staff. No one messes with the daughter of Cerberus.'
Trista growled and seemingly disappeared, only to reappear behind the toad like thing and snatch the staff from him. "I'll take that," she said with a grin, "and you'll take this!" she finished, kicking him far, far away.
She jumped up next to Tenchi and the girl in the school uniform, still watching the toad demon fly through the sky. "He got some good air time," she commented, ignoring the two's face fault.
A girl with a large boomerang, a cat demon, and a fox demon kit landed next to them suddenly, "Are you here to help us?" the boomerang girl asked suspiciously.
Hikari snorted, "I'm here to bring Prince Tree-Talker home."
She then eyed the battle and gave a feral grin, "But I think I will help. It's been a while since I've seen so many demons around."
"There are demons in our time?" Tenchi asked, surprised.
Trista nodded, "Most of us spend our time hiding though. The priestesses have been getting weaker with the fewer demon attacks but the power to kill us will always be there. I'll explain it later, but right now's not really the time. There's a battle to win."
"I like the way you talk," the half demon said, landing behind her, "But stop talking!"
Trista nodded, and started with a bunch of the lesser demons that were coming closer. The full demon snarled at her. "Why do you help them?"
"Because one here has earned my respect, and I am loyal to those that have," Trista replied, cutting down a horde of lesser demons with her claws.
The full demon frowned, a cool expression appearing on his face. "Very well then, you will die with them."
Trista gauged his power and rushed him, screaming, "Not today!"
The fight was a sight to behold, and only Inu-Yasha could see it, if only barely. It ended, however, with Trista landing on the ground hard, and Shesshomaru landing on his feet, breathing heavily. Trista got up, growling, and then flicked her wrists, sending her two bracelets into the trees. Her eyes glowed as she snarled her rage and rushed Shesshomaru once more. "No one treats the daughter of Cerberus like that," she growled as she rammed the demon lord.
Trista gave a three tone howl as her rage grew, making everyone in the area cover their ears. Shesshomaru stopped fighting after that, staring at the girl. "Daughter of Cerberus," he muttered under his breath. He suddenly ran into the woods, deciding a retreat would be best until he could cope with the new additions to his younger brother's posse.
Inu-Yasha looked mildly impressed, while the others stood slack jawed. Trista quickly used her power to fix her clothes and then snorted. She turned back and stared into the woods where Shesshomaru had disappeared and wondered why he ran so fast. 'He was winning this fight.'
Something in Trista's heart fluttered and she sighed at the pull of the physical attraction to the man. 'I don't need this,' she thought to herself, only turning when Tenchi put his hand on her shoulder.
"Something wrong?" he asked, slightly concerned.
Trista shook her head, "I'm fine, just a bit disappointed."
Inu-Yasha snorted, "You're disappointed because he ran from your power? Why?"
Trista shook her head, "He didn't run from my power for he's more powerful than I am. He ran from my name."
With that Trista turned and began to walk away, ignoring the rest of the party. "What's she mean by that?" Shippo asked, not entirely clear.
"She said she was the daughter of Cerberus," Inu-Yasha said matter-of- factly, as if that explained everything.
His eye twitched and he growled at all the blank looks he was receiving. "Cerberus is the demon lord of another country and is known to all dog demons. He is well known for his deeds and the fact that he has three heads. It is said that he was feared by even the devil, and was imprisoned to Hell to guard its gates forever."
"Is she really his daughter?" Kagome asked, looking after the girl, "She doesn't seem that evil."
Tenchi sighed, "That would be Hikari's doing. My guess is that they somehow found each other and then ended up in our time, possibly the same way that I ended up here."
Kagome frowned, and sighed, "Why does this already hard task keep getting more and more complex."
Tenchi almost laughed, but settled for a bitter sigh, "Because if life were easy, there would be nothing worth saving in the world."
Tenchi followed Trista into the forest while the rest stared at him confused. Inu-Yasha sniffed the air and sighed, thinking hard about what Tenchi said. Kagome and Shippo shrugged it off, while Miroku and Sango wondered if that saying was going to come back to bite them when they least expected it.
**Slayers Universe**
Lina suddenly glowed gold as Ranma and the rest watched, growing concerned. Zel and Luna then walked in the room, Zel looking more human, though still partially mazoku. Zel's eyes widened as he rushed towards Lina, only to be pushed back by the golden light. Lina's eyes closed, and her body started to float, the golden glow becoming stronger. Suddenly tears started leaking out of her eyes, and she sighed, the glow beginning to dissipate. Luna stood next to her sister, frowning.
Suddenly the golden glow pulsed and poured into Luna, as Lina slowly opened her eyes to their natural redness, tears falling from them.
She looked over to where her sister was receiving the same message and choice, and then over to where Ranma and Ranko were sitting. She walked over to them and hugged them both, "I'm sorry little brother, little sister. I wish to stay here. I have far too much here that I would miss than going to meet a mother I have no memory of. Please give her my regards."
Ranko's gave a slightly strangled noise, while Ranma gave a surprised look to Lina, and then looked to Ranko, who was holding the picture she had pulled out earlier. Ranma took the picture and his eyes widened, "You mean...."
Lina nodded, and soon Luna had stopped glowing gold, and started glowing blue. The glow had started to leave in streams from her body and soon after the glow was gone, Luna opened her eyes. "I am going home," Luna said softly, tears in her eyes, "I am sorry you don't wish to come Lina."
Lina gave her sister a rare smile, "Well after all, I can't part with my magic just like that. We were gifted for a reason, and I love mine, even with the consequences it brings."
Luna laughed, sending chills down the spines of some of the people listening in. "I won't beat you for that choice because I don't believe it is a bad one on your part. Good luck."
Lina shivered and then stood next to Zel, admiring his now elf-like appearance. A flash of pure, white light filled the room and suddenly their was a woman with platinum blonde hair standing there with an unconscious girl lying on the floor in jeans and a form fitting tank top.
"Hikari!" Ranma exclaimed, quickly kneeling at his girlfriend's side.
The other woman got a mischievous smile on her face, "Maybe she'll wake with a kiss from her prince."
Ranma turned bright red as the room laughed, and he gathered the girl in his arms, standing up. "Who are you?" he asked, facing the other woman.
"Urd," she said, bowing, "Goddess of the Past and Love. 2nd class, limited license. I'm here to take whoever's coming home."
Luna stood next to her younger brother and Ranko pulled Trunks up and dragged him over to where Ranma was standing. "This is it," Ranko said, smiling at Lina and waving goodbye. Lina smiled, a sad look in her eyes as Urd nodded, and disappeared with them.
Zel put his hand on Lina's shoulder, "Are you sure about this?"
Lina smiled and nodded, turning to face him. "I wish to stay here, and be a part of this world. This is where I met you, and the rest. This is where I've had many fun adventures. This is where I'll stay."
Zel felt he could hug her, yet refrained from doing so out of respect for Gourry. Lina, however, was not as reserved when she saw the relief and pleasure in her friend's eyes. She hugged him tightly, encouraging him to return it, which he did, to Amelia's and Gourry's astonishment.
**Present Time, Ranma Universe**
Urd appeared in the middle of Nabiki's explanation of her plan with Ukyo, Nodoka, and Lee. The whole group was startled at their sudden appearance. Nodoka gasped as she saw her son and two of her daughters, her joy rising. She rushed to them, automatically recognizing Luna, hugging her three children in a death grip only a mother could manage, and not seeming to notice Hikari still in Ranma's arms.
Ranma nearly dropped Hikari, trying to get out of his mother's death grip. Ranko and Luna seemed to revel in it, as Urd began to laugh at the rests' stunned expressions.
Soon Nodoka was done hugging her children and sat down on the couch ready for an explanation. Ranma scowled at the still laughing Urd and then laid Hikari on the love seat.
Urd looked over to where Ranma was and slowed her laughter. "I still think she would waken with a kiss from her prince charming, though I don't know if that would be a good idea at the moment."
Ranma gave her a sharp look, "Why is that?"
Urd sighed and remembered that she was meant to give an explanation, "Hikari as you know her was not meant to bring him," she said, indicating Trunks, "through the gate with intent to keep him in this world. The worlds are fundamentally incompatible. Therefore, for her punishment, any and all memories of her time as a scout have been erased. Some memories that were completely indifferent to her being a scout are still there but there is a big chance that she won't remember you, since when she met you, she was seriously reminded of what happened in her past life. She will know how old she is and some of the regular school stuff though."
Ranma paled, "Is there a way to fix this?"
Urd shrugged, "I'm only the messenger and I'm not allowed to meddle now that I've completed my job. You can try to restore her memories yourself, but I doubt you can. Good luck."
With that, Urd turned on the TV and disappeared, leaving a still stunned Lee, Ukyo, and Nabiki, a confused Nodoka, Ranko, and Trunks, and an angry Ranma. Luna remained rather indifferent to the entire ordeal. Ranma sat down frustrated on the edge of the love seat and looked into Hikari's peaceful face. He finally shook himself and kissed her, hoping maybe that she would remember him. He felt her body move and sat up as she opened her eyes.
Hikari for her part was confused. The kiss was familiar, but she couldn't place it. It was as if from a memory long, long ago. She opened her eyes to see a face that looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place it. She then looked around the room, and realized she knew none of these people. "Where am I?" she asked softly, a bit frightened.
Ranma's heart broke as he heard that and tried to compose himself enough to answer. Hikari, however, noticed the pained look he gave and her heart softened. 'What's wrong with him?' she asked herself, 'He looks like someone important to him just died.'
Ranma sighed, "You don't remember."
Hikari frowned at the statement, "Remember what?"
Ranma shook his head, "You'll need to remember on your own. Maybe we should get you to a hospital."
Hikari gave an exasperated sigh, "I'm fine. What I want to know is where I am and who are you all!"
Ranma started and then studied her a bit. "I'm Ranma. The short red head is my twin, Ranko, and the guy next to her is Trunks."
Trunks winced a bit at that statement, but only Ranko noticed, and frowned. Hikari nodded, and Ranma finished the introductions, "My mother is the one with red brown hair and I'm guessing that's my long lost father sitting next to her. Nabiki is the one with short, dark brown hair, and Ukyo is the girl with long brown hair. Do you remember any of the first three people?"
Hikari thought hard, looking at each in turn and then shook her head. Ranma felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest as he stood, nodding his head.
Nodoka frowned, not having a clue as to what was going on. "Does Hikari- dear have amnesia?"
Ranma shifted uncomfortably and nodded. Ranko rolled her eyes. "She has amnesia up to a point. There's no saying we can't try to restore her memories of us."
Ranma snorted and then stormed out the door. Hikari watched, stunned, and Lee went after his son, signaling for all the girls to wait. Hikari took a breath, "What was that about?"
Nodoka sighed, "You were very important to him. I'm afraid he's not sure how to deal with you not knowing him anymore."
Hikari sat up and put her legs over the edge of the couch. "What was I to him?"
Ukyo growled, "Whatever you were, stay away from him. Ran-chan is mine!"
Nodoka gave Ukyo a sharp look, "You have absolutely no claim on his heart. Honor does not bind him either. If he chooses to be with you then it's HIS choice. However, Hikari is my main concern so if you're not going to help us then leave."
Ukyo quickly deflated and suddenly she noticed Ranko, having been collecting her thoughts at the time of their sudden appearance. Nabiki was already circling the girl, and Ukyo wondered if she should pull some hot water out. Ranko scowled at Nabiki's fifth rotation. "I'm really not that fascinating. So I've been more or less separated from Ranma and am now my own person. Big deal."
"How though?" Nabiki asked, trying to figure out if she would be able to make money off of this.
Ranko rolled her eyes, "For right now, I'm Ranko Inverse. No I'm not gonna allow you to make money off me. Though a little revenge against a few people I'm all for. No I'm not going to tell you how we got separated and yes Trunks here knows everything about it."
Trunks winced again slightly, and Ranko frowned, wondering what was wrong. Nabiki then gave Trunks a rather seductive look, which made him nervous. "Where did you pull this guy from and can I have him if you don't want him?"
Ranko and Ukyo both face faulted while Nodoka looked rather shocked and Trunks rather afraid. Ranko quickly picked herself up and got her anger and surprise under control. "And here I thought you would be going after Kuno, Nabs," Ranko said with a sarcastic tone.
Nabiki frowned and Ranko held out a hand. "C'mon pay up if you want to know."
Nabiki scowled, "Not that interested."
Ukyo and Luna began to laugh, and Nodoka tried to give her daughter a stern look, but failed miserably while Trunks just sighed in relief.
**Outside**
Lee followed his son outside to where a bit of old equipment was set up. Ranma picked up pieces of it and frowned, setting things off to the side of the yard. "What's wrong son?"
Ranma glanced up and tossed a piece of broken martial arts equipment into a growing pile. "Can you really call me that? I don't know you."
Lee frowned, "I'd like to try and be a real father to you. It's just hard now that you're grown up without me."
Ranma stared right into the man's eyes, and suddenly felt a connection. He turned, slightly afraid of that connection which he had never felt with the man who raised him. "What do I do? My whole life has been turned upside down. For a while it seemed it was getting better... but now..."
Lee clenched a fist and then put a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Ranko was right. We can try to restore her memories. She just needs to be around things she can remember."
Ranma turned and punched one of the still standing dummies, shattering it. "It won't work like that."
"Because she's a Sailor Scout?" Lee asked.
Ranma froze slightly and then turned to his biological father, "How did you?"
"Know? She told us. She was determined to get you back, and transformed in front of us. That was our reassurance that you were not lost forever."
Ranma looked down and studied the ground. Lee frowned, wishing his son could be more forward with him. Lee dropped his hand. "I know I can't really offer much, but as your father, I want you to know that you can talk to me whenever you need to."
Lee left, heading into the house as Ranma thought about what his biological father had said. He started a slow kata, picking up speed as his thoughts became more and more turbulent. Soon he was focused on just one thing, the kata he was working on. He didn't even notice when Hikari walked outside, and sat down to watch as she was mesmerized by his performance.
**Moments Before**
Lee headed into the house, and sat down next to his wife, placing his arms on his knees and leaning over, thinking hard. "Anata?" his wife asked softly, not voicing the rest of the question.
"He won't talk to me. I wish I could have been a father to him before, like I was supposed to be."
Hikari frowned as something hovered at the back of her memory, but not quite making it to the fore. She got up and left out of the door Lee had come in from. Quickly making her way to the backyard, she sat down in awe of the grace she saw Ranma displaying before her. 'He's not paying attention to anything,' she realized as she watched his face relax his eyes gaze off into nothing.
As he slowed and stopped, Hikari could not help but clap. "You're very good," she said, a smile on her face.
Ranma turned and blushed slightly as he watched the girl he loved. 'At least she's not crying this time around,' he thought and suddenly he felt his heart drop, 'not that she remembers anyway. At least if she were crying, I could comfort her.'
Hikari noticed the drop in his mood and stood, walking up so that she was only about two inches away from him. Looking up, she watched his face, and then smiled. "They said I was important to you."
Ranma nodded, and his voice nearly caught as he spoke, "You have no idea. Our time together was rather short, but it was like an entire lifetime to me."
Hikari stood on her toes and kissed him on the forehead. "Then let's start over. Maybe I'll remember, maybe I won't, but I'm willing to try to be with you. I'm Hikari," she said with an impish grin, stepping back and extending her hand.
Ranma was slightly confused, but smiled in spite of himself. "Ranma," he said, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips, "Pleasure to meet you."
Hikari blushed, and found she couldn't look away from his eyes. Suddenly a large bald man came jumping over the fence and punching towards Ranma. Ranma reacted quickly, pulling Hikari into his arms and jumping the two stories to the roof. "Wrecking Crew alert!" he yelled, disappearing into the open window on the other side of the house as Genma tried to follow him. Ranma closed the window and dashed down the stairs, Hikari still safely nestled in his arms.
"What do you mean 'Wrecking Crew Alert'?" Hikari asked as Ranma stopped in front of his parents.
Nabiki sighed, "I'm guessing she told both the old fools that 'Ranma' was here when she left before."
Ukyo growled, "That bitch! Ran-chan wasn't even here at the time."
"That is a problem isn't it?" Ranma asked dryly, setting Hikari down. Kodachi then flew in the window and her eyes lit up as she saw Ranma standing there, "Ranma-sama!"
Ranma growled, "I really don't need this now."
Suddenly two bonbori flew in and hit Kodachi in the head, knocking the girl unconscious. Shampoo looked over to where Ranma was protecting Hikari and her eyes narrowed, "Why airen protect other girl. She not wife."
"/Neither are you Xian Pu,/" Ranko said softly in Chinese, pulling out her scythe. Trunks stepped back and let her have her space. Shampoo looked back and forth between Ranma and Ranko, obviously confused, "Two airens?"
The rest of the Nerima crew came crashing in through the wall, effectively ruining the Saotome household. Nodoka's eye twitched as everyone stopped and stared at her son and daughter. Luna then decided to take a hand in things and used her naturally stern and frightening presence to draw everyone's attention. "Excuse me, but I do believe you all just WRECKED OUR HOUSE! I hope you are going to pay for all of this."
Akane snorted and stepped up, "Why the hell should we listen to you!?"
Luna gave the girl a controlled glare, feeling her own ire rise. "Because little girl, I am much more dangerous than you, with or without my magic power."
Akane snarled and Luna effectively started beating on the less trained girl. Luna frowned when she was done, "At least Lina always put up more of a fight. Then again we were always training. This was a waste of time."
Nabiki glared at the older girl and Luna turned to her, a cold look still in her purple eyes. "She deserved it. I didn't break anything, just taught her a lesson."
Lee and Nodoka for their parts were speechless, "What happened to our precious little Luna?"
Luna winced when she heard those words and bowed her head, "Maybe it was a mistake to return. I'm sorry momma, poppa."
Nodoka's eyes widened when she heard that and she rushed up to her eldest daughter, and hugged her. "No, no Luna. Please don't leave again."
Luna froze and then started to return the hug, tears forming in her eyes as she realized how much she missed her mother. Genma started to bluster as he saw this, "No-chan! What is this?"
Nodoka and Luna both glared at the fat martial artist. "You have no right to call me that, Genma," Nodoka growled, "First you completely wipe the memory of a distraught pregnant woman. Then you take her son from her and not only do you endanger his life on several accounts, sell him to feed your fat stomach, and engage him to more women than anyone knows, you decide to get him cursed, and blame all of your problems on him."
"Just like Ryoga Hibiki!" Ranko exclaimed, much to the ire of the fanged boy.
"He is the cause of all my problems!" Ryoga shouted at Ranko.
Ranko gave him a cold look and brought her scythe to bear on him. "Your sense of direction is the cause of all of your problems, but you can't blame anything on that because it's part of you. Is that right?"
Ryoga's eyes widened as the sharp blade on the large weapon was pressed against his throat. He stared into the girl's eyes and gulped as he saw not a bit of Ranma's warmth in them. Ryoga slowly backed off, nodding quickly, trying not to piss the girl off any more than she already was.
Ranko smiled and stored the scythe once more, making everyone else shiver, for they had no compunctions about what would happen if they pissed her off. Cologne frowned as she watched that. "Ranma never learned that technique. Even if you had his memories, which is plausible, you would not have known how to do that or been able to pull that exact weapon from it."
Ranko turned her cold eyes to Cologne, and studied her. After a while, Ranko smiled, "I was granted memories of the life I led before, so as not to make the same mistakes again. I was once known as Mei Lin."
Cologne paled, but then color drew back into her face as she realized she was more powerful than the former Mei Lin. "You were punished."
Ranko nodded, "My name is Ranko Inverse, granted to me by Ranma."
Ranma and Trunks came up and stood next to her, and Cologne frowned. "She's dangerous Son-in.... Ranma."
Ranma shrugged, "Everyone I know is dangerous in one way or another. That's why it doesn't matter who I associate with anymore."
"Ranko is not Mei Lin," Trunks said quietly, "Whoever that other girl was, Ranko is different."
Ranko turned to Trunks, and then smiled. She was about to say something else when a loud cry shattered the short lived silence. "Osagi no onna! You are finally free of that villain Saotome!"
Ranko sweat dropped and quickly booted Kuno out of the hole in the wall. Nabiki cleared her throat, and motioned for everyone to sit down. Ranma pulled Hikari out of the room and into the kitchen as everyone sat down for the explanation of everything. Hikari sighed, "What was that all about?"
Ranma just sat down in a kitchen chair, putting his head in his hands. Hikari studied him silently, and then moved behind him and started to massage his shoulders, sensing that he needed some sort of comfort right then.
Ranma gave a slight moan as she reached a particularly hard knot and sat up a bit straighter. "I should call the police," he said softly, "That fat fool is the cause of much of what happened here."
Hikari said nothing, but kept the small massage going until she felt he was sufficiently relaxed. Ranma then brought up his communicator watch and hit the call button. A few seconds later, a worried voice came through it, "Ranma?! Is that you?"
Ranma chuckled slightly, "Yeah chief, it's me. Operation Alien Abduction went off rather nicely, it's just the homecoming that's a bitch."
"Where's Tenchi?"
Ranma stopped as he realized he had forgotten all about his cousin and he froze. He had no idea where Tenchi was and since Hikari had her memories wiped, there was no chance of retrieving him until she was back to normal.
The back door opening startled him as Ranma tensed and stood in front of Hikari in case whoever it was, was hostile.
Tenchi walked in, Trista trailing behind, but that was as far as Ranma got before excitement took him over. "Tenchi!" he cried, glad that his cousin was alright.
Tenchi also grinned and pulled his cousin into a hug. Hikari smiled, and Trista noticed something wrong with her friend. "Hikari?" she asked, getting the girl's attention.
Hikari turned to the other girl and frowned. Suddenly her eyes lit up, "Trista?"
Trista smiled, and nodded, letting Hikari know she had gotten the name right. Hikari's smile lessened a bit, "I seem to have gotten a bit of amnesia and I can't remember how we met. I can only remember a few things from the orphanage."
Trista looked rather stunned, and frowned. Sighing, she put a hand on Hikari's shoulder, "It's alright, you'll get them back and things will go back to normal. Maybe."
"RANMA!"
Ranma froze and then lifted his watch and hit the talk button with a sheepish grin. "He's here chief. Don't worry about a thing."
Ranma could almost see the chief nod and soon the line fizzled a bit. "Alright then, we'd like you both to come down to the station tomorrow, and bring your new twin so we can get photos for her IDs."
"Yes sir," Ranma replied, "If that's all, I'm going to see how Ranko and the rest are handling the 'wrecking crew.' If you could send a team to get Genma, we'd be grateful also. I'll explain tomorrow if that's alright."
"It's fine. Over and out," Kino said, ending the conversation.
Ranma turned to Trista, "You both live together right?"
Trista nodded, "You want me to get her home?"
Ranma nodded, "That and give me the address and number so I can check up tomorrow. Things are going to be rather busy today."
Hikari rolled her eyes as Trista wrote down the appropriate information. "Where are you and your family going to stay? Your house is just about wrecked."
Tenchi looked down at the address given and smiled a bit. "This is near where I live. They'll stay with my strange family."
Hikari looked slightly disappointed and then stepped up to Ranma. She studied his face once more, and felt something try to come to the fore in the back of her mind. She smiled suddenly, and turned, walking over to Trista. "First place to start is a date!" she said with a wink, "Call me once you get settled in."
Trista rolled her eyes and pushed Hikari out the door, "Let's go."
Hikari giggled, "Alright Miss Impatience."
Trista laughed and then the two were gone. Ranma shook his head and motioned for Tenchi to follow him. "It's gonna be more than just me, mom, and Ranko. Apparently that fat fool is not my father and my mom met my real father after returning from her glimpse of the past, in which she remembered him. However, he's been living at the resort since then so we really don't have a place to stay if we're not returning there. Also, mom had two kids before us. I found them, and Ranko came and that's about the time we figured out who they were. Only one returned with us though so it'll be me, mother, father, Ranko, and Luna."
Tenchi reeled at the information and began to wonder if he should contact Washu first to build more rooms. He then shrugged, they'd figure it out when they got there.
Most of the 'Wrecking Crew' had left and only the Tendo's, Genma, and Ukyo remained. Trunks appeared to be the one keeping Genma where he was and Ranma gave him a quick smile. 'Keep him there,' Ranma mouthed, and Trunks nodded, glad and somewhat surprised that while he couldn't use ki freely, he could use it relatively painlessly in this world.
"Mom, Tenchi's back," Ranma said, drawing attention to them.
Nodoka quickly got up and hugged Tenchi, making sure that he was alright and unhurt. Tenchi stood and bore it, assuring her that he was alright, as the rest watched. Soon sirens were heard, and two police officers were seen at the door. "We have an arrest warrant for Saotome Genma," one said, showing them the paper, "He's wanted for numerous petty thefts, kidnapping, and child abuse for starters."
Genma tried to get up and run, only to be dropped and disabled by Trunks. The officers quickly arrested him, and led him off. Soun turned to Nabiki, "We've got to get him out. He's my best friend."
Nabiki shook her head, "I'm no longer paying for that fat fool."
Soun turned to the rest of his daughters, and each turned their heads, showing that they wanted nothing to do with Soun's so called friend. Soun sighed, defeated and got up to leave. Kasumi smiled and thanked Nodoka for her hospitality and dragged Akane and Nabiki away from the house. Ukyo then bowed and left as well.
Tenchi sighed, "All that's left is to get out of this place and home."
Nodoka frowned as she stared at the hole in the wall, "I had planned on staying here at least one night."
Ranma shrugged, "Don't worry about it. Tenchi's offered his home to us."
Luna stood, "What do I do about clothes?"
Nodoka blinked, and then studied her eldest daughter. "You're about my height. I'll lend you some of my things. We'll wait to go shopping until we're all settled in."
Luna nodded, and then smiled. Ranma then clapped his hands. "Let's get out of here. Where are our suitcases?"
"Upstairs," Lee answered, "We'll get them and get out of here."
Ranma nodded, and the men went up the stairs, coming down with the suitcases, and ushering the women out the door.
******************************************
**Omake**
Kodachi gave an earsplitting laugh, "I knew that old fool could not have been Ranma's father. So mother in law, should I prepare a dinner to welcome my father in law?"
Lee raised an eyebrow as Nodoka twitched, nearly dropping the katana. "Leave," Nodoka said dangerously, "You are not welcome in my presence."
Nabiki stayed where she was as the other girls slowly backed away from the woman. Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Go home Akane. I need to discuss something with Auntie. Don't worry about explaining things; I'll do that when I get home."
Akane scowled at her sister and made no movement. Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "I'll let Kodachi paralyze you and set you up on a date with Kuno for a week if you don't."
Akane gave her sister a strange look and then returned Kodachi's interested look. "Alright!" they both yelled, running to each other. One of Akane's hands went to Kodachi's breasts while they kissed each other. Kodachi's hands went lower and disappeared into Akane's skirt, and from the sound of Akane's moan, went deeper than that.
They stopped their kiss, "Shall we stop and let you 'paralyze' me at your place?"
Kodachi gave her bone chilling laugh and pulled out her sticky hand and grabbing Akane by the waste. Nabiki and Ukyo looked ready to throw up as Kodachi picked Akane up and disappeared out the door.
*****************************************
Don't ask..... I'm not sure where that came from -_-; me and my sick sad mind. Oh well.... I suppose everybody has those off days ^_^;