Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Ranma stuff.
Chapter 14
"Mirei...go wake up your mama to play…" Akane groaned as she felt something touching her cheek, wondering why the light was so bright in her room when she usually had the curtains drawn. It wasn't until she suddenly had the feeling of warm damp lips upon her own that her eyes shot open to see Lotion's eyes gazing back at her, while others in the room snickered or gave a cat call. The memories from last evening flooding into her brain as it got up to speed sent her into a full body blush, thankful that the covers were there to hide her still nude body that was very much being pressed again Lotion's similarly nude body. As lotion broke the kiss and pulled back, Akane pulled the covers over her head as if to hide from the rest of the Amazon's in the room who were getting up.
"#Aww, you seem to have gotten a shy one Lotion.#" Lufa teased as she pulled a simple white blouse on, most of the borrowed clothing having been simply picked up from a department store late last night, meant not a lot of variety in their outfits, blouses, t-shirts, jeans, and some skirts were about it, Cologne having the most trouble due to her size being more in the children's section had ended up with a pink dress with a sequined unicorn on it as the staff had thought it would be for Mirei. Cologne seemed to enjoy the stunned and confused looks she got and cackled loudly as she pogo'ed around in it.
"#Only shy in sight, not in volume.#" Shampoo added, sending her and Lufa in a fit of giggles.
"#What can I say, I'm just that good.#" Lotion said with a flex of her arm.
"Lotion...where are my clothes?" Akane whispered from under the sheet, very much aware that they were talking about her.
"They probably in you and sister's room, here is a robe though." Lotion said with a smile as she passed her a robe under the blanket which Akane then awkwardly put on while Lotion stood up and got herself dressed, picking out a white t-shirt with some mess of English on it, and a simple black knee length skirt. Once Akane was ready she walked her down the hall towards her room, getting a whistle from Shampoo who had her head stuck out the door before falling back into the room in laughter.
Akane opened the door to see Kasumi was already up and dressed, but struggling to get Nabiki out of bed, having already taken the covers off but now fighting to wrestle a pillow away from her. Before Akane could step in though, Lotion spun her around and gave her a quick kiss before letting her know she'd see her again at breakfast. Entering back into the room, Kasumi's eyes were mischievous and small smile was on her face.
"Oh My, to think our little sister would be taken captive by those amazon's and tortured into the night…" Kasumi said in her fake motherly tone she loved to use.
Nabiki, realizing her little sister had returned instantly sat up with a grin. "Oh My, and to think it was only a few months ago when she was telling us how silly we were for going on dates…" Nabiki said in her best impersonation of Kasumi's fake motherly tone.
"Oh can it you two, where are the clothes they brought for us?" Akane responded with some annoyance at their antics.
"Aww, I bet she can't wait to hand feed her new lover breakfast." Kasumi said in her most girly voice.
"We could tell you...but we're going to need all the details first." Nabiki in a manner that left no room for argument.
While they squeezed the details out of Akane, Nabiki was happy to see Kasumi returning to normal a bit more, making jokes and gushing over the details. Last night she'd been a bit worried about Kasumi and ended up holding her through a night filled with being startled awake from a nightmare. For the first time in probably a decade, she had wished their father could have been there too.
# # #
Arriving in the cafeteria, the three Tendo sisters spotted a large rectangular table where the Saotome's were seated along with Cologne and her charges. Taking their seats after having picked up their food, they greeted the group before beginning to dig in and listen to the chatter before Sachiko tried to hide a loud yawn.
"Did you not sleep well Sachi-chan?" Akane asked her friend who did look a bit rough this morning.
"I was sleeping okay, until a certain little morning person woke up." She says giving her daughter a small annoyed glance. "No activities here for her, so she had nothing to do but get me up before even the sun was up. We only just got back from a walk with Shirokuro and the puppies ten or fifteen minutes ago." She finished with a smaller yawn. Mirei for her part wasn't really listening to her mom, as they had pudding cups here and while she wasn't allowed to just take as many as she could for breakfast, she had worn her mom down to allowing her two of them and was working her way through them with gusto.
"Ah, well I'd be happy to watch her this morning if you want to crash as I slept pretty well." Akane offered to her friend.
"I'll say…" Nabiki said with a grin as she rank some tea, causing her older sister to cover her face as she started giggling with a mouth full of food. Akane's face quickly turned red as she realized what her sister was hinting at while the amazon's seemed to have picked up on the innuendo too and were all wearing smirks.
"I'm obviously missing something...but I'm too tired to care right now, please, take her, I'm going to go sleep for a year." Sachiko said, standing up and giving Mirei a kiss on the head before heading back to her room.
Seeing her mother leave, Mirei quickly turned to her three aunts and put on her best smile. "More pudding pleaasssseeeee." She begged.
"Mirei, two is plenty and you need to learn to eat it like a lady, not like a panda." Nodoka quickly answered before the little girl managed to finagle an extra cup out of the girls, grabbing a napkin she began to try and wipe the little girls face off much to her protest.
# # #
"Good morning Mrs. Hibiki, Ryoga." Nodoka said as she entered into the shared room. She was feeling a little self conscious as all her regular kimono's were still at the house, and it had been quite sometime since she'd worn a simple blouse and jeans, maybe not since she was a teenager.
"Good morning." Ryoga replied with some apprehension, while his mother just gave a smile in return.
"I have some good news, your father's recovering well from the surgeries, and we expect to be able to talk with him soon once the pain medicine wears off." Nodoka told them as she took a seat in an area near by the two's extent of their bindings.
Ryoga breathed a sigh of relief, the last news they had heard was that of the capture and his father having to be operated on during the night. Needless to say he hadn't slept that well and had bags under his eyes as well as a bit of a funk from trying to exercise his way to sleep at various points. His mother's lip seemed to tremble some, before finally voicing her pleasure at the news. Nodoka wished she could say more, but until the demon was completely extinguished, they still couldn't give away much else in front of the Hibiki's.
"How have your studies been young man? Lufa says you're pretty much caught up to Ranma, if not a little ahead now." Nodoka said hoping some praise and a change of topics would help the atmosphere.
"Not having much else to do but study has certainly helped, and it's been eye opening how many places I've been and didn't even know it while working through the social studies and geography texts." Ryoga replies, beginning to list off a few of the latest ones he's discovered.
"A!" Mrs. Hibiki suddenly shouts, drawing the attention of the others as they watch the woman seem to struggle with herself. Her mouth contorting with gasps causing various sounds to come out. Her hands shaking as one wraps around her neck, the other trying to pry open her own mouth. Her eyes seem unfocused as the woman unsteadily falls over from her seated position and begins to convulse.
"Mom!" Ryoga screams as he tries to make his way to her only to be yanked back by his bindings.
Nodoka jumps over and tries to remove the hand that is choking Mrs. Hibiki but finds she doesn't have the strength. Quickly hitting a few pressure points to try and calm the woman, its only mildly effective as her legs stop thrashing about as much. Seeing the face beginning to turn blue Nodoka grabs her sword.
"Sorry about this Ryoga!" She shouts to the frightened boy.
"Wait! What are yo.." Is all he can get out before Nodoka releases her stun attack that knocks him and his mother out and allows Nodoka to finally remove the hand from the woman's throat. With in seconds Saki is there asking what the hell is going on before yelling for a medical team on seeing Nodoka performing CPR on Mrs. Hibiki.
# # #
Ranma lay propped up in the bed looking at the device in his lap. He'd used regular phones before, even some of those really old rotary ones, but this phone as they called it had like forty buttons and an array of lights. His mom had showed him how to answer the call with speaker phone so he wouldn't have to hold the receiver up and upset his bandages, but he wasn't sure he remembered. He grimaced when he gave a jump when it rang and everything hurt, but managed to get it working, he hoped.
"Dr. Suzuki? Can you hear me?" Ranma said loudly into the now empty room, Soun having been discharged after lunch.
"Yes Ranma, and don't worry, you don't have to yell." The doctor replied.
"Oh..uh, sorry." He replied sheepishly and at a more normal volume.
"I heard you are still recovering, do you want to talk about what happened, or is it too soon?" Dr. Suzuki asked in a comforting tone.
"Uhm..no, I. I want to talk about it." Ranma replied, not sounding that convinced.
"Okay, well then lets start with how we always do with a topic, how are you feeling?" Dr. Suzuki asks.
"I'm upset, with myself." He replied with a tone Dr. Suzuki would place as halfway between frustration and exhaustion. When no immediate reply came, he knew she was waiting for him to continue.
"My brain won't stop replaying the fight, every move, every attack and block, showing me where I screwed up, where maybe I could of made a difference that wouldn'ta have ended up with Mr. Tendo, Shampoo, Lufa, and Lotion getting cursed like me." He explained, having to mind himself to not tense up too much as it sent little lightning bolts of pain through his body.
"I wouldn't expect any less from what you've told me of your training, many athletes do a similar thing, replaying their successes and failures over and over in their head." Dr. Suzuki replied calmly. "They and you must be careful though, just as always thinking of your successes might make you over confident, dwelling on the failures can start to make you second guess yourself, drag you into a depressive spiral." She finished.
Ranma didn't respond at first as he mulled over her words, feeling like it was impossible at the moment not to think of the terrible outcome.
"But those athletes aren't dealing with life and death. Would you say this was the most serious fight you've been in?" Dr. Suzuki asks after not hearing any reply.
Ranma can almost feel her strange gaze through her voice as she asks him something he hadn't even thought about. "I've been in fights before where people could die, real weapons being used or money on the line with gangsters. But in all those, it was just me, I'd be the one answering for my failures, I didn't have to worry about anyone else." He said, not sure why he was feeling like there was a pit in his stomach suddenly.
"You've told me before though, that a martial artist duty is to protect the weak. Have you not defended others in some of your fights?" The doctor asks.
"Well sure, but none of those were deadly. Maybe just some school bully, or stopping a thief, or a shop keeper trying to hurt a street kid. Nothing…Nothing like this." He finished, the last part almost a whisper.
Ranma could hear the sound of a pen on paper while he waited for Dr. Suzuki to continue. His mind digging through all the fights he had where he protected someone. It was considerably fewer than he expected, had all his time with his pop been just fighting to survive, all the back alley betting rings or sanctioned tournaments? 'What kind of martial artist am I, if I barely do anything to help…' He thought sourly.
"Has your neko-ken state ever done anything like this?" Dr. Suzuki asks after she finishes writing down some notes.
"Uhh...I wouldn't know, I don't remember anything once I...lose control." He replies.
"Do you know what your grandmother said about this fight?" Dr. Suzuki quickly followed up.
"No, I haven't seen her since I woke up." Ranma replied, wondering why that mattered.
"Well, from what your mother said, your grandmother was furious about the whole matter, regretting letting you all do those patrols without your aunt with you. She stated that the fact no one died is an absolute miracle, including Mr. Hibiki who your neko state could of easily killed if it wanted, though that wouldn't have stopped the demon much at the time." Dr. Suzuki stated, wishing she could see Ranma's face to better judge his reception of this news.
"Great, so she thinks I'm useless too…" Ranma grumbled out.
"Ranma." Dr. Suzuki said firmly. "She's regretful that she didn't have a 'Professional' with you, someone who's trained their whole life like you, to handle this exact kind of threat. You being upset with yourself right now is an understandable emotional response, but it isn't logical, you can't be expected to do an adult's job when you're still growing up."
"How can I still be growing up if I never even had a childhood. Since I can remember its been "Be a man!", "Take it like a MAN!", "Don't whine like a baby.", how can I be a child if I never had time to be one, how can I not be a Man if I've never been treated as anything else?!" Ranma replied upset, bristling at the inflection that he wasn't grown up enough to handle the fight.
Dr. Suzuki pinched the bridge of her nose as she realized she'd walked right into one of his triggers, wondering how best to defuse this situation for a moment. "Ranma, can you fly a plane?" She asked.
"Huh? A plane, of course not." Ranma replied, frustrated at the sudden change of topics.
"Why not?" She pushed.
"Well obviously I have no idea how they work, and they got buttons, and you gotta go to school for it and…" Ranma's gusto suddenly dropped as he realized where Dr. Suzuki was headed with this. "Damn it…" He mutters as he throws his head back against his pillow, quickly regretting it. "Oww…"
"Would you blame yourself if you crashed an airplane?" Dr. Suzuki continued on, grateful that Ranma picked up on where this was going quicker than usual.
"No…" Ranma sighed.
"Why not?" She prodded.
"Because...Because I don't have a clue on how to do it." He replied, his voice telling her that he'd gone from angry to his usual indignant tone when he knew he was wrong about something.
"So, are you going to blame yourself for this fight not going how you wanted?" Dr. Suzuki said in a tone that made him wonder if she had kids of her own.
"No."
"Are you going to blame yourself for the curse's your friends got while they did their very best to protect everyone?"
"…no."
"Are you going to blame yourself for not being the father of the year when you just found out two months ago you were one?"
"No."
"Good, and what should we do instead of blame ourselves and others?" Dr. Suzuki asked, returning to her more relaxed voice.
"Look for ways we can improve ourselves and how we see the world around us." Ranma recited, having been reminded almost every meeting it felt.
"Okay, I'll let you think about that for a while before we return to this subject next week. We still have sometime, is there something else you'd like to discuss?" Dr. Suzuki asked.
"Uhm...well...I had a question." Ranma responds, not really sure if this wasn't going to sound stupid. "When I met up for the patrol, Saki said that this whole time I'd been doing them with the others, they were like dates cause the girls were getting dressed up and just being around me. But that can't be true cause I went on patrols with the Tendo's who I'm pretty sure don't think that way, and I had Mirei for a bunch of them too. Was she just teasing me?"
"Well Ranma, I wouldn't say every patrol was a date, as you mentioned sometimes your partner for them has no interest in anything romantic, so it was like being partnered up in class for an assignment, you wouldn't call that a date would you?" Dr. Suzuki asks.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Ranma says.
"But, did you notice differences between the times you spent with the other girls, the ones you think were treating it like a date?"
"Uhm…" Ranma thought back to his various times on the patrols. "I..I guess they did dress up, and walked closer to me, or held my hand." He answered.
"Did you feel any different around them, than say with the Tendo's?"
"Well...ever since Lufa's gift…" his face turning red and glad he was alone. "It's been harder to not notice them being so close. It...It was nice holding hands, maybe it made things less awkward?" He answered, looking at his right hand as he remembered holding Lufa's hand in it.
"Well Ranma, I can tell you that a proper date is one where both parties are in agreement about it, so if you don't feel like they were dates, don't stress about it." Dr. Suzuki reassures him. "But if you were finding it enjoyable, that you'd like to keep doing them, you're going to have to think about it, from my understanding you don't need to do those walks anymore as you've found Mr. Hibiki."
"Oh...I didn't really think about that." Ranma says, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"I wouldn't worry too much, those girls aren't about to stop trying from what you've told me. Though remember what I said last time about Lufa." Dr. Suzuki replied, shaking her head at the absurdity of Ranma's love life.
"Yea, I remember." He replied.
"Alright, well we had better end it here, but I look forward to your views on how you can improve yourself next week. Stay safe and rest up." Dr. Suzuki says while finishing up her notes.
"Sure, will do. See ya next week Doc." Ranma replied before hearing the click as the call ended. Moving the phone off the bed wasn't an easy task, but he managed with just a grunt of pain before leaning back and wondering about what the girls would come up with next if the patrols were over.
# # #
Shampoo and Sachiko looked at each other in nervous worry, sitting on the floor besides Ranma's room after they had each planned to visit him only to bump into each other and then realize he was on the phone to his therapist. Both knew they shouldn't be there, but neither seemed to build up the resolve to leave as they listened to Ranma's talk with Dr. Suzuki. By the time the call end both had a myriad of questions they wanted answers too but no way to ask without giving away their eaves dropping. Quietly crawling back to the elevator the two got in and headed out of the building.
"You know what Lufa gift is?" Shampoo asked Sachiko as they finally exited the building, heading towards the dormitory.
"Never knew he got anything from her. God I hope it wasn't more underwear…" Sachiko said, grimacing at the amount Ranma found in his locker that first week of school.
"Is that normal Japanese gift?" Shampoo asked with a strange look.
"No! At least...I really don't think it should be…" Sachiko replied, that had been a lot he'd received…
"Humm...Lufa is too too...how you say, like Nabiki?" Shampoo asked, struggling to find the right word.
"Conniving, scheming, shrewd…" Sachiko offered.
"Yes, how she get Ranma hold hand?" Shampoo questioned with a frown.
"I think we need to talk to Saki...he said she's the one that told him the patrols were dates." Sachiko replied, her brow furrowed as she wondered how Lufa might have bribed the older woman.
"Do...do you think Ranma's unhappy?" Sachiko finally asked Shampoo as they continued to walk around looking for Saki, the question having been eating at her.
Shampoo looked over at Sachiko, herself lost in thought about what sort of gift Ranma received. Considering the question for a bit, she merely shrugged. "He blame self easily, grandmother say it cause he no can blame others, too too kind." Shampoo replied.
"Why would he be like that though, if I was stuck on the road with his dad for years...I can guarantee I'd blame everyone involved in letting that happen, up to the gods themselves." Sachiko replied in disgust at the thought.
"When Ranma first come village, many no like him, he outsider. One boy, Mousse, jealous I train with Ranma and not him. At first, try to bully, but Ranma better. So Mousse play pranks, try make Ranma look foolish, upset, hope Ranma cry and show he weak." Shampoo said with a smile, remembering the times when only she was with Ranma, before the rest of the girls took an interest.
"What did Ranma do? I thought fighting with people in your village was a bad idea?" Sachiko asked, curious to hear of Ranma's time in China.
"He Ranma, what you think he do?" Shampoo asked with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh god...he..he treated it like it was training didn't he…" Sachiko said, slapping her hand to her face at the obvious answer for the ever oblivious martial artist.
"Yep, maybe language problem at first, no know what Mousse saying, just fight if Mousse start it, otherwise Ranma just laugh, and try to out prank Mousse later. Last time Ranma in village, he still think Mousse is friend, and while Mousse calm down, he still not happy with Ranma as he think he "steal me away"…" Shampoo tells Sachiko, who can see Shampoo's annoyance with this boy.
"It's just like Ryoga...Ranma really can't tell when someone wants to fight him. I'm not sure why, but I feel like I should blame his father for this." Sachiko says, as a feeling to smack the panda with a piece of bamboo flowed through her.
"Yes, idiot panda need be blamed, Ranma only know playing as fighting, friends as opponents." Shampoo nodded along in agreement at the idea of applying her bonbori to Ranma's father's thick skull.
"Just a little kid…" Sachiko added sourly at a low mumble.
Shampoo saw Sachiko's demeanor change but couldn't quite make out what she had said. "What you say?" She asked cautiously.
Sachiko stopped walking, looking to her feat as she warred with what she wanted to say, if she should say anything at all. After a few seconds though she seemed to sigh as her muscles relaxed and she looked back at Shampoo with tears in her eyes. "Can...Can I ask you a question?"
Shampoo nodded, unsure about where this conversation was going.
"Do you...Do you think I took advantage of Ranma? When I...when I had sex with him?" Sachiko asked, her stomach feeling like it was ready to revolt at any second.
Shampoo's eyes went wide as she grasped what she was being asked, completely caught off guard by the question. Not having any words coming to her mind, Shampoo simply moved closer and enveloped Sachiko in a hug. Sachiko didn't seem to react, her body just standing there as she silently cried. Shampoo, seeing they were out in the open, quickly picked the slightly taller girl up and bounded to a small spot between two of the buildings.
Setting Sachiko back down, the girl slumped down against the wall of one of the buildings and buried her head into her knees. Shampoo sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulder, sitting there together for several silent minutes.
"What if did? Doctor lady tell Ranma, blame no useful, instead think of how improve yourself. You think you hurt Ranma, in Joketsuzoku, all boys seen as weak until become fathers, only then they know what they fight for." Shampoo said, breaking the silence.
"You heard him...he's blaming himself for being a father, when it was all my fault, he might not understand it now, but he's going to figure it out and hate me." Sachiko moans.
"He blame self for not being "best" father. If Ranma want be something, he want be best." Shampoo said with a gentle squeeze.
"But...he was like a child...I took advantage of a child!" Sachiko says loudly, her hands now pulling at her hair painfully.
Shampoo picked up Sachiko and put her in her lap, gently pulling her hands from her hair and holding them in her laps. "You was child too, no know better, act on emotion. I try do the same when Ranma visited second time, only he run out of bath…" Shampoo told the girl who simply cried in response.
"You know, after just one week, all of us knew we would be second wife at best. Ranma look at you different, Ranma treat you different, Ranma be..."putty in hand" they say." Shampoo told Sachiko sternly.
"He can't like me...he...he has to hate me, who wants to be a parent so young, who wants to lie to everyone in schoool, try to keep up proper appearances when everything if fucking FUCKED!" Sachiko practically screams out, only muffled by her legs.
'Fuck' Shampoo thinks as she tries to come up with any sort of response to Sachiko's suffering. Even with a better vocabulary Shampoo wasn't sure what to say to her. She knew lies were just like a wound that festered, with out treatment it would become painfully obvious that something wasn't right over time. She'd seen Ranma with Mirei, the boy was doing his best to be a better parent. She wished she had a cane to bop Sachiko with and some wise words to follow it up with like her grandmother.
Unfortunately for Shampoo, no one seemed to show up in their secluded hiding place, leaving her stuck to deal with Sachiko. "Yes, everything is "fucking fucked" as you say. I follow Ranma to whole new country, only find out boy I love already have child. I spend Years trying get his attention, you do more in month than I do whole four year time. Shampoo no able fight you, make you give up claim, nothing I good at help me get what I want. Now...Now I turn into thing Ranma hate most!" Shampoo morosely told Sachiko, her voice breaking through out before finally burying her head awkwardly into Sachiko's as she cried also.
Sachiko was the first to finally regain her composure, finally shifting herself out of the awkward position in Shampoo's lap and scooting back to the side with her back to the wall. "He...he told me he didn't even enjoy it, that it was just training to him…" She says quietly.
Shampoo looked over, her face a mixture of confusion and sadness that slowly turned into laughter.
"It's not funny!" Sachiko said, furrowing her brow at Shampoo.
"What...haha, what else Ranma enjoy more than training?" Shampoo asked between fits of laughter as she tried to keep her voice down.
"That's...that's not the point!" Sachiko rebutted.
"You gave...You gave him probably most important training before he find village." Shampoo replied, starting to get her laughing fit under control. Sachiko just giving her an upset look.
"Think about if Ranma not see all interactions with girls as possible fights? What if he actually figure out he like girls back then? Elder's probably have to pry girls off him, keep him in cage, else we have epidemic of babies every time he visit." Shampoo explained, giggling at the thought of how crazy the village would have been.
Sachiko thought about the idea of Ranma actually being like a normal boy back in junior high, what would he have done with the girls in the fan club, the school teachers would be furious, parents outraged…
"Oh god…" Sachiko ssaid as she brought a hand up to hide her laughter. "He...he could of totally been some kinda gigilo like the guys in the dramas…"
"Enemy of all women…" Shampoo stated. "You do world favor, even if he too too blind to understand. Probably when he get smart, he look back, he understand he enjoy it, he just no get it right now." Shampoo said with a shrug, Ranma was too hard to understand at times even for her grandmother.
"Thanks...I...never thought of things like that." Sachiko said with a smile.
"You also just ask for redo, see if he enjoy it now." Shampoo said with a straight face that barely lasted past Sachiko's mouth dropping in shock.
"Shampoo! You're as bad as Kasumi!" Sachiko groaned as she recovered.
Shampoo simply smiled as if that was a compliment. "If you no do it, other's get there first. Lufa have plan in action already, maybe Lotion get Akane to join her now in chase." She said.
"Why would Akane join with Lotion to try and get Ranma, Akane mostly just puts up with Ranma unless its martial arts related." Sachiko asked confused.
"Lotion and Akane now shield sisters, very loud shield sisters…" Shampoo said with a smirk, which to Sachiko's credit she quickly picked up on, having to quickly grab her jaw before it hit the floor.
"But doesn't that mean Lotion's out of the Ranma chase?" Sachiko replied questioningly.
"Amazon's is more...fluid when come to relationships. Shield sisters very common in village, but many have husbands, or just flings to make baby, raise with shield sister. So long as relationship is no hurt each other, elder's okay with it." Shampoo explained.
"Great...so now Lotion can offer up a three-way...Ranma is somehow the luckiest guy on the planet and doesn't even get it. If his friends find out their going to die from blood loss." Sachiko groaned.
"Well, only if Akane have interest, I no know that, though I see her look at female Ranma some times…" Shampoo said.
"Can't really blame her, after the Kuno incident last year, she pretty much swore off guys, and Ranma's female body is just...unfair." Sachiko said looking down at her own.
Their discussion stopped as they heard some shouting that envolved Mirei's name coming from a voice that sounded very much like Akane.
"Mirei Saotome! You get back here right this instant!" Akane could be heard yelling.
Moving to the end of the alley way Sachiko and Shampoo looked out in the main thoroughfare to see what looked to be a wet and naked Mirei scampering away from Akane who was in a towel in the doorway to the building with the gym and pool.
"No! No rinse!" Mirei yelled as she continued down the sidewalk.
Sachiko grumbled something about children with too much pudding and began to run after her daughter, Shampoo quickly zooming ahead of her though also looking to capture the run away. Akane, seeing them in pursuit, stayed in the doorway and made sure the towel was keeping her modest while she waited for the return of the child who was going to be getting a VERY through rinsing to get all the chlorine off.
# # #
"Did you manage to get anything out of him?" Saki asked her mother as the woman left the secured recovery room.
Kofumi simply shook her head in response, causing Saki to frown.
"He seems terrified of the demon, rattling on about lies, betrayal, too just let him go." Kofumi elaborated as they headed out of the building.
"You think its the demon still exerting some mind control?" Saki asked.
"No, we haven't seen its presence here since the fight, it put a lot of its power into that possession and to break through the wards at the dojo, which is why we need to strike now, before it's had time to recover." Kofumi stated.
"We don't know what the curse item even is though, we'll have to turn the whole house over to try and find it considering how saturated the property is." Saki replied, frustration in her voice.
"We're out of leads, and time. Make the calls, we're going tonight." Kofumi orders Saki. "Make sure we have others here to ward the Hibiki's, we don't need it jumping to them as we corner it."
They continue on their way to the administration building, the sun was just starting to get near the horizon, probably finished setting within the hour. As the women neared their offices, Saki paused before entering hers.
"About Mrs. Hibiki, do you have any idea what's causing the strange behavior. The demon isn't possessing her like before, but you can tell she's...strange, maybe not all there?" Saki asked, concern evident in her voice.
Kofumi sighed, hooping to have avoided the topic all together, before turning to look at her daughter. "It's the wishes power. You remember that wishes themselves are neither demonic, nor heavenly, but a kind of neutral..effect on reality. Demon's offer them in exchange for things, sometimes the gods reward them for great deeds. If this demon is like most, they tied the wishes effects to their own existence, to prevent the receiver from taking it and offing the demon. Though we'll find out tonight if that's truly so." Kofumi answer Saki.
"What kind of wish would cause some strange behavior…" Saki asked softly, her brain trying to match up things to any of the common effects she read of during training.
Kofumi simply shrugged and then went inside her office. Sitting down in her chair she finally let her mood show as she slumped down and rubbed her forehead gently. 'For Ryoga's sake...I hope it wasn't what I suspect.' She thought morosely.
# # #
Hibiki residence, 9pm
"Red, perimeter has been secured and medical is on standby, ready to proceed on your call." Kofumi spoke into the headset, looking down on the Hibiki grounds from a nearby roof. The entire property had scaffolding that was covered in tarps to prevent any view inside, even from above. The tarps themselves actually being large wards placed to prevent any escape of the demon should it try to make a run. Looking at where the Gate was, Kofumi spotted her daughter and two other women dressed like her in the all black Ninja like garb. Even with the tarps in place, Kofumi could smell the stench of evil in air.
"Beginning Entry" Saki's voice said over the comms, static following as she enter through the gate.
Kofumi now had the worst job in the world as she had come to know it. Sitting on the sidelines and simply praying for her child's safe return. Pulling the simple prayer bead bracelet from her wrist to her hands, she began to silently recite a mantra while her eyes watched the wind blow through the tarps gently. Slowly the team would move together into each room, using charms, cleansing water, and incense to push the demonic aura from it, until they could locate the source.
"Entry way clear." Saki's voice came through, only a slight static background to the previously clear audio. "Moving to living room."
They cleared through the living room, kitchen, laundry, and downstairs bathroom quickly. Kofumi's experience told her that people who hide things, tend to hide them in their bedrooms. They were saving the Hibiki's parents room for last just to be sure though. As the team entered the second floor she could see their headlamps illuminating Ryoga's bedroom, which meant just a bathroom and guestroom left before the master bedroom.
"Guestroom clear, heading to Master bedroom" Saki's voice said, distorted and cutting off slightly at times.
'Which will it be Mr. Hibiki, under the bed, or in the closet?' Kofumi thought to herself, people could be so predictable at times she found. A call that something was under the bed brought a slight smile to her lips.
"Blue, Green, Flip on Three." Saki's voice once again came through, crackling loudly.
Kofumi heard the countdown and the screech of the demon before the bed even hit the ground. Light from their headlamps going out as it seemed the whole room suddenly became pitch black. It barely lasted a half a second before an intense bright light lit up the whole property as a wind rushed out in all directions, tugging at the tarps briefly.
"Got it, looks to have been a compass of some sorts." Saki's voice came through, clear as day once again.
"Rodger that, place it in the containment box and lets head back for debrief. Good job ladies." Kofumi said with a voice suddenly relieved of stress and worry. 'A compass...really?" She thought, 'Demon's really aren't that creative any more.'
# # #
Nodoka sat with Cologne in the room holding Mrs. Hibiki and Ryoga, both of which were currently sleeping. They'd agreed to watch over them while the demon was being dispatched, just in case but weren't really expecting much as the professionals were there also to keep up a constant ward. So it came as a great surprise when Mrs. Hibiki woke up screaming, leading to both women to run over to the curtained off area that was her sleeping area.
Looking towards the priestess like woman keeping a field up, she soon dropped the warding shield as she looked at Nodoka. "They've completed their mission" She said simply.
"Mom!" Ryoga shouted out sleepily from the other side. Shirokuro giving a bark as she raised her head in alarm, her puppies still asleep with her in the large dog bed near Ryoga.
"Mrs. Hibiki!" Nodoka also shouted, seeing the woman struggling against her bindings in a panic.
"Let me go! Let me go! I need to get away from him!" She was screaming frantically while struggling hard enough to turn her wrist red.
"Calm down, please, get away from who?" Nodoka asked, wary to get close in case this was some ploy from the demon.
Mrs. Hibiki looked up at Nodoka, fright suddenly over taking her panic as she scrambled back against the wall. "Who are you!" She screamed. More worried barks coming from Shirokuro, her puppies now yipping also at the loud noise.
"Mrs. Hibiki, I'm Nodoka Saotome, I've been helping to watch over you and your family while we dealt with a demon that was afflicting your family." Nodoka calmly explained.
"Hibiki? Why do you callllll" Suddenly grasping her head and pulling at her head. "That bastard! That rotten fucking bastard!" She cursed.
"Mom! What's going on?" Ryoga called worriedly, unable to see past the curtain. Shirokuro getting up and moving around the curtains to see what was happening while her puppies stayed behind after she barked back at them.
Hearing Ryoga's voice froze the Mrs. Hibiki, she seemed to just stay pressed up against the wall with her hands on her head for insufferable amount of time.
"Mom! It's me, Ryoga!" Ryoga called once again, hopeful she might reply.
Instead the woman turned to the side and began to heave, over and over again until she was just dry heaving uncontrollable and having trouble breathing. With a look between the two women, Nodoka nodded to Cologne who quickly hopped over and hit a few spots on her body and Mrs. Hibiki passed out asleep, with cologne shifting her away from the mess she'd made on the floor.
"Ryoga, something's strange, we've put your mom to sleep for now, hopefully we'll know more when my mother returns." Nodoka said as she came around the curtain on his side. Seeing the look of panic in his eyes, she didn't expect he'd be getting any more sleep tonight, she might not either. Shirokuro returned to his side, whimpering at the boy, showing her worry in her big black eyes.
# # #
It was almost another hour before Saki and Kofumi arrived back from the mission. Servants had already come and cleaned up what they could, but Ryoga was wearing a groove in the floor as he paced nervously, while Nodoka and Cologne had returned to just watching and waiting, nothing they could do now but wait for the woman to wake up and hope she was more coherent.
"Nodoka, tell me what happened?" Kofumi ordered as she entered the room with Saki right behind.
"About an hour ago, she suddenly woke up and was screaming, not remembering things, then became sick to the point we had to knock her out so she wouldn't asphyxiate herself." Nodoka replied quickly.
"What was she screaming about?" Kofumi asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the unconscious woman.
"Getting away from a man, calling them a bastard." Nodoka replied.
Kofumi shook her head and sighed, her face dropping from serious, to simply morose. "Saki, call section 5 and have them send a team over. Then get a hold of Section 2, have them find out about Mrs. Hibiki's family before she met Mr. Hibiki". She ordered flatly.
Saki bowed and quickly left the room. Nodoka raised an eyebrow at her mother's orders while Cologne was simply waiting for someone to explain what was going on. Kofumi though left the woman sleeping, and headed over to Ryoga's side of the room. She met the young's man eyes with nothing but sadness, everyone in the room could practically feel the young mans heart drop in his chest.
"What's wrong?" He asked with trepidation.
"You're mother, I'm afraid she was the victim of a love wish." Kofumi replied.
"Love wish?" Ryoga replied, surprised at how impossible that sounded.
Kofumi nodded. "Yes, It is considered a very serious crime. The wish makes the target unable to act as they want, instead always acting as if they truly love the person. It's akin to making someone your slave, only the person is still there, watching it happen." She further explained.
Ryoga wasn't sure what to think, but the queasiness he was feeling in his stomach had him take a seat. He looked back up at Kofumi with a scared and confused look.
"I...I believe that the person responsible is your father." Kofumi stated, expelling a long breath as the weight of that statement sank into the rest of the room. Nodoka covering her mouth to hold back her gasp, while Cologne simply shook her head in disgust.
"No...but...but dad, he loves my mother. They were happy together!" Ryoga cries, pulling his legs up to his chest.
"He...he probably did, in a deluded kind of way. The demon's gone now though, it's hold on your mother's mind removed. It's like waking up from a coma, memories will filter in, sometimes in a flood, other times in pieces. I don't...I don't think you will want to be here when she awakens, I don't think it's going to help her, or you." Kofumi said, a tear rolling down her left eye.
Ryoga spent some time looking at the curtain, to which behind it was his mother. The idea that his father would of done something like this, seemed impossible. His mother was the sweetest, kindest person he'd ever met, now she might not even know who he was. Ryoga couldn't stop himself from just weeping into his arms.
"Ryoga, I know this is tough, but would you like to be moved to a private room, or maybe Ranma's room, if you'd like to talk or have company?" Nodoka asked the young man.
Ryoga's first instinct was to have his own room, to be left alone with all his worry. But after the month of visits from everyone, the idea of being moved from one isolated room to another left a bad taste in his mouth.
"I'll...I'll go to Ranma's room." He spoke finally after he got himself back under control.
Nodoka gave him a smile as she moved to remove his restraints. Ryoga rubbed his wrist and ankles, the feeling of freedom being so foreign it marveled him for a second. Quickly though he grabbed a change of clothes, and began to follow Nodoka out of the building, only for Shirokuro to give a bark.
"Look after mom, she needs you now." Ryoga told the dog, who seemed to understand as she returned to the large dog bed.