by Gie: phowahcs.com
A Tail To Remember
Chapter Twenty One:
Dinner Time Conversations
A few minutes later,
everyone had their attention averted
when a female figure came
bounding into the yard, a large spatula
strapped to her back and an
even larger bag in her hands. She was
greeted enthusiastically by
Ranma.
"Ucchan!"
Ukyou smiled wide and
after dropping he cargo, threw her
arms around her ex-fiancee.
"Ran-chan! It's so good to see you!"
She released him and turned
to the female next to him. "Hey,
Akane-chan. It's good
to see you, too."
The two female exchanged
hugs. "Konban wa, Ukyou-chan.
I've missed you too." She
glanced up and smiled. "There's some
people I want you to meet."
She called out to the airborne
Saiya-jiin. "Trunks-kun,
Tobuma-chan, stop sparring for a minute
please." Ukyou jumped
slightly. She did not notice the two fighting
males that were floating in
the air when she arrived.
The two cousins cut their
spar short and levitated to the
ground, turning their attention
to the female that called them.
"Nani, Okaasan?" Tobuma
questioned.
"I want to introduce you two to a friend of ours."
Ukyou blinked loudly.
"Okaasan?" She turned to Ranma, who
had an amused smile floating
at the corner of his mouth as he
watched the two males come
closer. "Did that guy say 'Okaasan' to
Akane?"
Ranma nodded, tilting
his head slightly. "Hai, he did say,
'Okaasan,' Ucchan."
His smile got bigger.
The two spar-scuffed
males approached the small group.
"Ukyou, this is Trunks,"
the purple-haired male bowed slightly, "and
this is Tobuma," the tri-colored
male bowed as well. "Boys, this is
Kuonji Ukyou, one of Ranma's
ex-fiancées, and the best okynomiyaki
chef, ever."
"Konban wa, Kuonji-san."
Both Trunks and Tobuma responded
in unison.
Ukyou blinked a few more
times, staring at Tobuma intensely.
She shook her head, clearing
it, and bowed back, her gaze not
wavering from tri-colored
senshi. "Did you call Akane-chan,
'Okaasan?'" Ukyou glanced
between Akane and Tobuma a few times,
a confused look on her pretty
face.
Akane nodded slightly
and Tobuma replied with a smile
identical to his father's.
"Hai, Kuonji-san. Seiika is my mother."
Now Ukyou was confused
even more. "Seiika? I was talking
about Akane."
"That's my real name,
Ukyou, remember?" Akane reminded
her. "Just like Ranma's
is Serori."
"So do you want to be
called Serori and Seiika now?" The
chef frowned, realizing for
the first time in a month that the two
people that she knew as Ranma
and Akane are not the same people
any longer.
"It doesn't matter, Ucchan,"
Ranma grinned. "We'll answer to
both."
Ukyou absently nodded,
still staring at Tobuma. "But how?"
She nodded her head at the
young senshi. "He looks about the same
age as us."
"He is," Akane
smiled, gazing at Tobuma with a fond smile.
"Well, they both are."
She modified her statement when Trunks
cleared his throat.
She rolled her eyes and winked at the
purple-haired senshi.
"Why don't you two go get cleaned up. I think
you sparring spot has been
taken over."
Everyone turned to see
that Vejiita and Goku had begun to
spar lightly in the same spot
the two cousins had abandoned. "But I
thought Goku-san wasn't supposed
to spar," Tobuma smirked.
"Well, when hasn't Goku-san
refused a spar for too long?"
Ranma shrugged his shoulders
indifferently. "He's Saiya-jiin--he
can't sit still for too long."
Akane nodded in agreement.
Trunks and Tobuma started
toward the house. "Is the furo
open?" Trunks called
out.
Akane nodded. "It
should be. And knowing Kasumi-neechan,
it's full, as well."
They nodded back and went inside. Akane turned
back to the two left in the
yard and was startled by the unreadable
expression on Ukyou's face.
"Is something wrong, Ukyou?"
The chef furrowed her
eyebrows and thrust clenched fists
on her hips. "Explain.
How could you cheat on Ranchan like that?
And how is it possible?
I thought you were 'bonded' or something
weird like that?"
Akane smirked, and leaned
against the still figure of her
mate. She was rewarded
with a tail curling around her waist. "We
are, Ukyou. And who
said I cheated? Tobuma-chan is my child, hai,
but he is Ranma's, as well.
Didn't you notice that Tobuma looks
almost exactly like Ranma?"
Before Ukyou could say
another word, their attention was
drawn to the bounding figures
of Cologne and Shampoo, who had just
entered the yard.
The two Amazons stopped
in front of the small group.
Cologne gave the mated pair
a glance and nodded. "Konban wa,
Ranma, Akane." Her gaze
flicked to Ukyou. "Ukyou."
All three nodded back.
"Hey, Cologne," Ranma greeted. He
turned to the other newcomer.
"Hey, Shampoo. It's nice to see ya."
The Amazon threw her
arms around the Saiya-jiin male and
treated him to a super-size
glomp. "Ranma! So good to see you!
Take Shampoo on date, yes?"
Ranma let out a grunt
and struggled to release himself from
her iron grip. "Leggo,
Shampoo..."
Akane growled deep in
her throat, letting her aura manifest.
"Now, Shampoo!"
The purple-tressed Amazon
let go and backed up a few paces.
"Shampoo know Ranma Airen
no more. Do for old time sake. Joke,
right?" She smiled slightly.
Akane snorted and dissipated
her aura. Ranma and Ukyou
chuckled weakly.
Cologne shook her head
at the boldness of her heir. "You
called for take-out, Ranma?"
She indicated to the large stack of
boxes both carried.
He nodded, glancing at
the amount. "Yup. Is that all we
ordered?"
"Iie, Mousse will be
coming with the second half." Ranma
made a face. "It was
impossible to make such a large order all at
one time, Ranma," Cologne
chided the young male. "He is making the
second batch and will bring
it over when it is ready."
Akane jabbed him in the
ribs. "Hush, baka." She turned back
to Cologne. "You can
take it into the kitchen, Cologne-san. Kasumi
will show you where."
The old Amazon nodded and indicated to
Shampoo. They turned
toward the house, but both were stopped by
a large wall of Saiya-jiin
muscle.
"Is that Ramen?"
Goku slobbered, eyeing the stacks of
take-out.
Cologne nodded with a
smile, glancing up and down at the male
in front of her. "Hai,
it is."
Akane pushed Goku away.
Or at least tried. "Later,
Goku-san. That's for
supper."
"Can't I at least have
a taste, Seiika-chan?" the hungry male
whined. "ChiChi wouldn't
let me have a snack earlier."
She rolled her eyes and
watched as Cologne and Shampoo
went inside. "Later,
Goku."
He sighed as the door
closed on the tempting aromas. "Isn't
that the same girl you fought
the day we did the Oozaru training,
Seiika-chan?"
Akane nodded. "Hai.
They're Chinese Amazons. They also
own a local Ramen shop in
town. Shampoo was one of Ranma's
fiancées."
Goku nodded. He
turned his attention to Ukyou. "I
remember you from that day,
as well."
"I was there. Didn't
do much, but I was there." Ukyou
smiled. "Kuonji Ukyou."
"You're one of Serori-kun's
fiancées, too." Goku's eyes
widened dramatically when
he saw the large battle spatula on the
girl's back. "You're
Ucchan, right? You make okynomiyaki, right?"
Ukyou smirked slightly. "I see my reputation precedes me."
Within a blink of an
eye, Goku had swept Ukyou and her large
bag of supplies in his arms
and was hurrying toward the house. "You
need to get started!
I'm really hungry! You make pork, right? How
about beef? And what
about..." Goku's voice trailed off as they
disappeared inside.
Ranma and Akane blinked at each other a few times.
Tobuma exited the house
soon after. "Was that Kuonji-san
Goku-san was carrying?"
Akane nodded slowly.
"Hai, Goku was hungry." Several
stomachs echoed that thought.
"And it seems that we are, as well."
She glanced into the
sky, where Vejiita still hung in the air.
"Hungry, Vejiita-chan?"
Her face scrunched up when she received n
answer. She turned to
Ranma and Tobuma, indicating for them to go
inside. Ranma glanced
at her in concern, but she just waved him off.
He nodded slowly and followed
Tobuma inside.
The female Saiya-jiin
floated up to where her twin sat. He
had his eyes closed, and his
legs crossed in a meditative posture. He
rotated slowly in a circle.
She stared at him for a minute, then got
into the same position, going
back-to-back to the silent Prince. She
wrapped her tail around his
narrow waist and began to meditate
silently as well.
The set of twins sat
there, silent, for several minutes.
Finally, Vejiita broke their
silence. "You're not going to leave me
alone until I tell you what's
bothering me, are you?"
Akane tightened the grip
of her tail around his waist, and
received his around hers in
response. "Iie."
They sat in silence once again.
"The air feels off."
Akane opened her eyes,
startled by his statement. "What do
you mean by that, Vejiita-chan?"
He unraveled his tail
and turned around. She did the same.
"Something feels wrong, but
I don't know what it is. It keeps
fuzzing at the edge of my
senses."
If something bothered
her twin this dramatically, it couldn't
be good. Akane frowned
deeply as an idea popped into her head.
"Do you think the Hachi have
started up again?" The thought of
them sent a shiver down her
spine that extended to the tip of her
tail.
He raised an eyebrow
and shrugged. "I don't know." He
floated to the ground, Akane
following suit.
"Do you think we should
send out a scouting party?" Akane
glanced at the house, quickly
dividing up the senshi present to
create several patrols.
Vejiita just shrugged
his shoulders. "Maybe." A loud growl
settled the matter.
"After dinner, perhaps."
She nodded, smiling slightly.
"After dinner." She turned
toward the house and started
to go in, but stopped when she
realized her twin was not
following her. He was still scanning the
horizon. "Come on, Ototochan,"
she grinned when a scowl was
tossed her way. "Goku's
inside. There might not be any food left."
He nodded and turned
toward the house, following her inside.
He paused on the doorstep,
and with one last glance to the horizon,
walked inside and closed the
door.
But he left too early.
For when the door closed on the
outside world, a hazy green
flash clashed against the baby blue sky.
Chikyuu, Location Unknown, Early Afternoon
The slight winds rustled
through the thick foliage, creating
small patterns of light and
shadow as they blew in a random fashion.
But the natural beauty went
unnoticed by Chikyuu's new arrivals as
they bustled around the large
grey spaceship. A group of several
Scout Drones made their way
through the underbrush, creating a
silent line of defense against
any unauthorized, and unsuspected,
hostile attack.
Several clusters of Warrior
Drones were being given specific
assignments, and then launched
to their respective areas of attack.
The leader of this front
was within the fairly-large ship,
giving his leader an update
on their progress.
Daisy stood next to his
chair, facing the large view screen.
"Yes, Captain. Everything
is going fine so far. We touched down
without notice and I have
started to deploy several Warrior parties
to begin mass assimilation."
Iris nodded on the screen,
Rose next to him. "Good work,
Daisy. We're still a
couple months away from your position."
"Are there any signs
of the Saiya-jiin?" Rose asked
pointedly.
Daisy shook his head,
the six antennae waving back and forth.
"No, Commander. No sign
as of yet."
Iris glanced at his first
officer and then turned back to the
screen. "Continue as
planned, Daisy."
He nodded. "Right, Captain. I do have a question, though."
"What is it, Daisy?"
"Do you want me to send
a special search party to start
looking for the Queen?"
Iris frowned slightly.
"No, not yet. If you would come across
her, capture her, but don't
waste any available warriors or scouts
for such. Right now,
the main focus is taking the planet and
assimilating as many inhabitants
as possible."
"Aye, Captain."
"Make sure your troops
have all the necessary information on
her, and the other Saiya-jiin.
You're more than likely going to come
across them somewhere along
the line."
Daisy nodded. "I understand, Captain."
"Don't underestimate
the Saiya-jiin, Daisy," Rose warned.
"They are formidable enemies,
and will use every dirty trick in the
book to stop our mission from
happening."
Iris continued.
"Keep in contact, Daisy. Tokemonu out." The
screen went blank.
Daisy sighed and sat
in his chair. "I really did not need Rose
warning me about the Saiya-jiin."
He pushed a few buttons and a
3-dimensional picture of Chikyuu
rotated slowly. "Computer, light
the site where the first Scouting
party landed." A cluster of four
red dots blinked on the screen.
"Highlight our location."
A large yellow dot blipped onto the
screen, almost halfway around
the world.
"Computer, where are
the first five Warrior parties
headed?"
Five green blips lit
on the picture, each heading off in a
different direction, moving
towards large populated areas. One
seemed to be headed in the
same direction of the four stationary
red dots. Iris nodded
to himself. One party would be in the vicinity
of the last reported sighting
of the Saiya-jiin Royalty. Hopefully, he
would get some information,
or something that would be useful to
their cause. The
addition of new Drones would be a bonus, as well.
Daisy stood up and walked
off his bridge and headed outside, where
three more parties of Warrior
Drones awaited their assignments.
The first Swarm had arrived.
Supper went about at
a rather fast clip, with Ukyou working
up a thick sweat trying to
keep up with the voracious appetites of
Seven Saiya-jiin. Goku
was never far from the kitchen, and Ukyou's
side, and Gohan had lost count
after the first couple dozen
okynomiyaki he consumed.
The second round of ramen
arrived with some commotion
when Mousse, the bearer of
the food, arrived and spotted Shampoo
and Ranma sitting side by
side, talking rather amicably with each
other.
The blind martial artist
growled loudly. "Ranma, how dare you
try to move in on my Shampoo,
while I stand in the room? Have you
no shame? Prepare to
die, Saotome!" With a yell, Mousse launched
himself on the hapless Ranma.
Or who he thought was
Ranma. Who in fact actually
happened to be Tobuma.
But the tri-colored Saotome
was prepared. He merely stuck
a foot out, booting the blind
male in the face, and effectively
stopping him. "I'm not
Ranma, Mousse-san. He's over there."
Mousse recovered quickly
and glomped onto Shampoo. "Oh,
Shampoo, let me take you away
from the cretin Saotome! I am the
only one that deserves your
love and attention." Mousse paused
slightly in his glomp, and
peered into Shampoo's face. "What
happened to your lovely chest,
Shampoo?"
Alas, Mousse was wrong
once again. And this time, Trunks
suffered the consequences.
An evil scowl of disgust flashed across
the purple-haired senshi's
face, making him look even more similar to
his father. "GET OFF
ME, YA HENTAI!"
Tobuma scowled and literally
pulled Mousse off the fuming
Trunks. "That's not
Shampoo-san, Mousse-san. Please put on your
glasses and take inventory
of the room."
The male Amazon did so.
And bowed deeply in front of
Trunks. "Gomen nasai."
He turned toward the real Shampoo, who
was on the opposite side of
the room. "There you are, my darling!
Forgive me for misinterpreting
that skinny male for your loveliness!"
He ran toward her, arms outstretched,
his face alit with love for
the beautiful female.
But was sent to the ground
by a well-placed bonbori. "Stupid
Mousse. Can't Mousse
see Shampoo eating? Be quiet."
"Whatever you say, my darling..." and dinner continued on.
After dessert was served;
the rest of the cookies Nodoka
brought over and several cakes
that Kasumi whipped up while waiting
for the ordered food to arrive,
and after the table cleared away,
and digestion settled in for
a strenuous workout, Akane cleared her
throat, getting everyone's
attention. She smiled at her family and
the acquaintances she made
while in Nerima. "I just wanted to alert
you all on the threat that
we're facing." Many of the faces became
solemn, listening to Akane's
heavy words.
She explained the Hachi
to the Nerimians; what they were,
and what they came to Chikyuu
to accomplish. Everyone that didn't
know was rather shocked.
"Assimilate the planet?" Ukyou muttered, frowning deeply.
"Drones?" Nodoka whispered, alarmed.
"After you, Akane-chan?"
Kasumi had a worried look on her
face.
Tobuma's features mirrored
his aunt's. "Hai. And in the
future, they get her."
"That's why we came back.
To protect Chikyuu against the
Hachi threat, and to build
a better future than the one we
experienced." Trunks
added, a somber look of determination on his
chiseled features.
Cologne frowned.
"You can not change the past, young senshi.
History is immutable."
Her wizened features were solemn. "When
the two of you came to this
time, your actions created an alternate
future. The life you
know as your own may not happen in this world.
Your actions may have caused
that to change."
"But they still happened
in your time. Your universe. Nothing
can be done to change that."
Tobuma's face fell at
the ramifications. "Then we are here
for nothing." He knew
something was wrong about their reasoning...
Bulma frowned, her mind
whirling. "Iie, not for nothing.
What you have done is given
our world, this timeline, a chance on not
falling to the Hachi."
She glanced at Vejiita, who was silently taking
in the information.
"You have given us a chance to live in peace, once
the Hachi are defeated."
She turned to Trunks and gave him a warm
smile. "Domo arigatou
gozaimasu, senshi." He nodded in reply.
After a moment of silence,
he spoke. "Cologne-san, you will
have to inform your tribe
and have them ready their defenses, in
case the Hachi attack.
When they arrive, they will be everywhere,
not just Japan."
"What about the other
countries, the United States, and
such? How will they
defend themselves?" Gohan asked. "Should we
tell the leaders of the nations
to prepare for the Hachi attacks as
well?"
The Z Senshi were used
to fighting megalomaniacs--but only
on a local, and centralized,
level. This was an enemy that could
attack several places around
the world at one time. Even if every
single warrior were able to
fight, there would still be someplace left
unprotected. The assembled
group was silent once more.
"Iie." Everyone
turned their attention to Vejiita, who had
spoken. "Do not inform
the governing bodies. They would not be
able to do anything.
There is no need for mass panic."
Soun nodded in agreement.
"He's right. The governments
would just send out the armies,
which in turn, would be assimilated.
Giveing the Hachi more senshi
and us fewer Humans." Several
grunted in agreement.
"There has been news
coverage already," ChiChi commented.
"I've seen several news broadcasts
about missing people, and
sightings of big 'bug creatures.'
There will be more as time goes on,
as more people fall to the
Hachi."
Bulma snorted.
"As if Western Capital hasn't had its share of
weird occurrences. Hell,
we have a talking dog for a mayor."
"And Nerima has its own
weird factor," Ukyou smirked.
"Especially roof-hopping martial
artists and people changing into
girls, cats, ducks, or minotaurs
right in front of their eyes."
Gohan blinked.
"Duck? Minotaur?" He turned to Ranma. "Do
you have more than one form,
Serori?"
Ranma shook his head.
"Iie, Gohan. Mousse is the duck,
Shampoo is the c...c...cat,"
he swallowed hard and tried not to
picture the image, "and this
guy named Tarou is the minotaur-thing.
Although, the last time we
saw him he had some octopus tentacles
and an assortment of other
creatures for body parts."
Gohan nodded, still slightly
confused, but took his word for
truth.
Vejiita grunted, obviously
impatient. "Are we going to patrol
or not?"
Akane nodded. "Hai.
We should split into several teams.
That way we'll cover more
ground."
"Woah! What's this
'we' business?" Ranma held up his hands,
pausing her plans. "You're
staying right here, Akane."
"Iie, I'm going to patrol,
Ranma! We need as many senshi out
there as possible."
Akane scowled darkly. "I hate being left out."
He shook his head firmly.
"Unless you want to use a tank,
Akane..." The female
in question growled deep in her throat. "All
right, then." He tried
to placate her. "Anyway, we need someone to
stay behind, in case the Hachi
end up here." Akane sighed and
nodded in agreement.
Ranma turned to the group.
"Okay. How about this: Trunks,
Goku, and Gohan. Tobuma,
Shampoo, and Ukyou." He glanced at
Mousse. "Do you have
a blade on ya?"
The male Amazon nodded. "I have several. Why?"
"Cuz they're rather effective
to use against the Drones. This
way, each group will have
someone with a sword." He turned to
Vejiita. "You, me, and
Mousse, then." Vejiita nodded in approval.
"That is not all of the senshi, Ranma." Cologne spoke.
"Well, I wasn't done
yet, Cologne." Ranma sighed. "I figured
you, Pops, and Tendo-san could
stay in Nerima. You three are the
least mobile of everyone."
Cologne stared at Ranma for a minute and
then nodded.
He then turned to Trunks
and Tobuma. "How well do you two
know the area?"
Trunks shrugged slightly.
"Not bad. Tobu-kun knows it
better, though." He
nodded in agreement.
"All right, that makes
it a little easier. Tobuma, you and the
girls take Tokyo as a whole.
My group will go to the north and east,
and Goku's group can go to
the south and west. If you need help,
flare your ki." He paused
as he realized that everyone was staring
at him. "Nani?"
Akane blinked and smiled.
"Nothing, Ranma." She leaned
closer and nipped him on the
ear. "You're absolutely sexy when you
take charge."
He blushed and cleared
his throat. "Okay...well,
um...hehe...okay! Let's
head out then." He stood up quickly.
Everyone followed suit,
and moved toward the backyard, a
good launching spot.
Goku, Gohan and ChiChi were in a corner, saying
their good-byes. Well,
ChiChi wailing loudly, and Gohan and Goku
were trying very hard to comfort
her.
Vejiita and Bulma were
off to the side, talking quietly to each
other. Bulma had Vejiita
wrapped tightly in her arms, face buried in
his shoulder, while Vejiita
looked like he was trying in vain to get out
of her grasp.
The Humans were saying
their own good-byes in another
group; Kasumi fussing over
Soun, and Nodoka handing Genma the
Saotome katana. The
Amazons and Ukyou were quietly talking with
Tobuma and Trunks.
Akane pulled Ranma to
the side before he took off. She
wrapped her arms around him
and nipped at his nose. "Be careful,
Ranma-chan. Vejiita
has a very uneasy feeling about all of this. I
really think they're out there."
Ranma wrapped his arms
around her tight, pulling her close.
He nuzzled her ear affectionately.
"Don't worry, Hima-chan.
Vejiita-ouji is just blowing
off steam from earlier with Pops.
Everything's gonna be okay."
Akane looked long and
hard into the deep blue of her mate's
eyes for several moments,
and then nodded. "Hai. Come back to me
alive."
Ranma nodded back and
leaned forward, resting his forehead
against hers. "Of course.
Nothing knocks down Saotome Ranma."
"Nothing, Serori?"
Vejiita glanced around the corner,
startling the mated pair.
"Well, nothing except
for you and Goku-san bulldozing me to
the ground," Ranma grunted.
The Prince smirked.
"I thought so. Are you ready, or are you
going to mate with my futago
right here in front of me?"
The pair blushed, Akane
swatting Vejiita's chest. "Hush,
gaki." They released
each other, and with a final glance at Akane,
Ranma swept by Vejiita and
out the door.
Akane put a hand on her
brother's arm, holding him back.
"Watch him for me, Vejiita.
I want my mate to return as a
Saiya-jiin, not a Drone."
She let go of his arm and stepped back.
Vejiita grunted, but
nodded slightly. He turned and left as
well.
Akane sighed and bent
her head slightly, her tail twitching
nervously. Nodoka wrapped
an arm around the female Saiya-jiin.
"He'll be fine, Akane-chan.
Ranma always is."
Bulma smiled comfortingly
at her sister-in-law. "Of course,
Seiika-chan. Vejiita-chan
won't let anything happen to him." She
giggled slightly. "Otherwise
then he'd have to suffer two females in
the hormone-driven throes
of pregnancy!" The three of them
chuckled, alleviating the
tension.
The call of 'Tadima!'
turned their attention to the front door
as Nabiki came strolling in.
"Konban wa, minna. Who's the hot young
body out there?"
Bulma smirked. "Which one?"
She grinned toothily.
"Does it matter?" Actually, I
recognized most of them--Ranma-kun,
Goku-san, Gohan-chan, and
Vejiita-ototochan. It's
the two with the funky hairdos that caught
my attention..."
Akane arched an eyebrow.
"Which one? The purple-haired
male," she winked at
Bulma, "or the one with the pigtail?"
Nabiki shrugged, setting
her briefcase down and pulling off
her jacket. "Well, the
purple one is a little short for my tastes. I
want to look up into my man's
eyes." Bulma choked slightly. The
others giggled. "Although
he does have gorgeous blue eyes." Nabiki
gave Bulma an odd look, but
continued on.
She moved into the kitchen
and grabbed a cookie of a plate.
"The tall one is gorgeous.
Great body." She licked her lips slightly.
"Will have to do something
about that hair, though."
The group moved into
the living room, giggling at Nabiki's
description of the future
Saiya-jiin. "Well, Nabiki-chan," Akane
grinned evilly, "I could probably
arrange a meeting with
Tobuma--he's the tall, pig-tailed
male--but you'd have to ask his
Otousan first. He might
not want his son near your clutches."
"Oh?" Nabiki raised
an eyebrow. "Well, no man can resist
Tendo Nabiki for too long.
Who's the father?"
"Well, actually, you know him really well..."
"Honto?"
Kasumi shook her head. "Stop teasing her, Akane-chan."
Akane pouted and turned
toward her oldest sister. "But it's
so fun!" Kasumi shook
a finger and smiled. "Yosh, yosh..." She
sighed and turned back.
"Ruin my fun...Actually, Nabiki, the main
thing you need to know about
both of them is that they're
Saiya-jiin." Nabiki
raised an eyebrow. "And they're from the
future."
"Future?"
Akane nodded. "Hai.
They're here to help defend Chikyuu
against the Hachi, the new
enemy we're fighting."
Nabiki sat on the couch,
tucking her legs underneath her.
"Okay, I have a feeling I'm
missing a lot of info. Spill, Imoutochan."
Everyone got comfortable
as Akane retold everything that
happened so far to Nabiki.
After her explanation, the middle Tendo
female nodded. "All
right. That's all fine and well. But you still
haven't answered my question--who're
the two stud muffins?"
Akane took a deep breath.
"Well, the purple-haired one,
Trunks, is Bulma and Vejiita's
son from the future, and Tobuma is
mine and Ranma's."
Everyone watched silently
as Nabiki processed all of this new
information. Her face
remained stony. The only indication she
heard and understood was that
the corner of her eye twitched
slightly.
"So, you're saying that
I'm lusting after my own nephews."
Akane nodded, a small smile
curling her lips. "Who are from the
future." The smile got
bigger as the female Saiya-jiin's head
bobbed in agreement.
"Well, since you and they aren't actually
related to me by blood, do
you know if they're taken yet?"
The entire room facefaulted.
"Nani?" she glanced around. "It's true, ne?"
Akane sat up and sighed
loudly. "Nabiki, that wasn't the
plan..."
"Well, what was it then?"
She crossed her arms. "Or are you
going to spring it on me that
you're pregnant, too? And you're
pregnant with the current
version of the hunk out there?"
Akane blinked a few times.
"Actually, Nabiki-chan, hai. You
hit the nail on the head."
This time, Nabiki facefaulted.
