Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters contained in this story,
nor do I hold any claim to the series they belong to. I am not making
any money by writing this, and I never will. If you still want to sue,
have fun looking for me.
Warning: The early worm got eaten, always remember that.
Warning: Altaverse (Keichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 2
by Jose Argao
"So, what's this important thing we have to discuss, and what
does it have to do with Ranma?" Makoto sat down together with the rest
of the inner senshi and Setsuna on one of the booths back at the ice
cream parlor.
"I bet he was my husband back at the silver millennium!" Minako
sighed and closed her eyes, losing herself in a daydream even as the
rest of the inners glared daggers at her.
*****
"Oh Ranma, I love you so much." Minako rested her head against
Ranma's chest as they slowly walked along the seashore. The stars shone
brightly in the clear night sky and all around them the beach was
devoid of any other people.
"I love you too, Mina-chan." Ranma held his love closer,
basking in the warm glow of her presence, content to just hold her like
that for as long as she wanted.
They walked like that for a while, the sound of their footsteps
and the waves softly coming to shore the only sounds in their ears. No
words were uttered between them, for the love that they had bound them
to each other in ways that transcended any spoken language. Theirs was
the language of love, and no words were needed to communicate through
it. All too quickly, they found themselves at the entrance to Minako's
house, and they reluctantly parted so that she could find her keys and
open the door.
"I guess this is it, Mina-chan. I enjoyed our night together."
Ranma stepped closer to her, cupping her face in his hands and smiling
sweetly at her.
"I guess it is, Ranma." Minako blushed as she realized what he
intended to do, and she closed her eyes in anticipation.
"Good night, Mina-chan." Ranma inched his face closer to hers,
longing to feel her soft, warm lips against his own. Slowly, he went
closer. Minako could already feel his breath on her as he went closer,
and closer, and closer...
*****
"A... a wish? You're a Goddess?" Ukyo slowly backed away, her
mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts. Could it be true? Was this
the answer to all of her prayers? Have the Gods finally taken pity on
her?
Was it all some sort of a joke? Was someone playing a cruel
trick on her? But the child in front of her _was_ floating in mid air.
Granted, she'd seen others fly before, but why would she say what she
did if she didn't mean it?
"That's right. I am Skuld, goddess of the future. You have been
chosen to receive one wish from me, anything you like." Skuld gave the
frightened girl her best smile, hoping to ease her obvious nervousness.
Nervous people make stupid mistakes, and Skuld's plans to help Ranma
hinged on this girl making the right wish. Ukyo frowned, staring
doubtfully at the girl in front of her.
"How do I know you're really a goddess, huh?"
Skuld giggled at the question. The symbol on her forehead
glowed brightly with power. Ukyo closed her eyes, unable to keep them
open. She felt a feeling of displacement, not unlike that of riding
an elevator. She gasped in surprise when she opened them again. In
front of her, she saw Ranma. He looked a bit older, but she had no
trouble recognizing his distinctive good looks.
*****
Ranma was wearing an okonomiyaki seller's outfit not unlike the
one she usually wore. He was frying an okonomiyaki on the griddle in
front of him. After pouring the sauce on top, he quickly put it onto a
plate and called out to the room behind him.
"Ukyo! I'm already done over here!"
The door swung open and a beautiful woman stepped out. It took
a few moments for Ukyo to recognize the woman as herself. She could
hardly believe it, but she was gorgeous!
Ukyo unconsciously gave a sigh of relief. It was one of her
fears that with her lifestyle centered around food, she would gain
weight should she ever stop training in martial arts. That was clearly
not the case. She resumed watching the scene as it unfolded in front
of her.
"It smells great, Ran-chan. I bet it tastes great too." The
future Ukyo smiled radiantly at Ranma, who grinned and scratched the
back of his head.
"If it does, that's because I had a great teacher."
The future Ukyo giggled at the comment. "Okay, stop stalling.
Let me have it already."
Ranma handed her the okonomiyaki he made earlier, and she
saw that scribbled in the sauce was a small message for her.
'For the love of my life, Ucchan'
She looked at him again. "Thank you, Ranma. That was very sweet
of you."
Ranma broke into a smile. "I only wrote that because it's true,
you know."
The future Ukyo smiled back. "You were always the smooth
talker. Well, this is it, the moment of truth."
Cutting off a small piece and bringing it to her mouth with a
fork, the future Ukyo chewed on the morsel for a few seconds before
finally swallowing.
"It didn't taste good, Ranma."
Ranma tried to put on a happy front, but it was obvious that
he was very disappointed.
"Well, I'll just have to improve I guess. Maybe I added a
little too much-"
"It was better than good! Outstanding! That was one of the best
okonomiyakis I've ever tasted!."
Ranma's crestfallen look disappeared immediately, replaced by
one of joy.
"Really? You're not just saying that?"
The future Ukyo smirked at him. "I take okonomiyaki seriously,
Ran-chan. I wouldn't joke about something like this."
Ranma smirked right back at her. "Well, it's not like I ever
had any doubts. I mean, with the best cook in the world teaching me,
how could I go wrong?"
The future Ukyo smiled enigmatically. "I say you deserve a
little reward, Ranma."
Ranma's smile grew bigger. "A reward? from a teacher to her
student?"
The future Ukyo continued smiling. "No, from a wife to her
husband."
*****
Ukyo reached out to them. They looked so real, so close! It was
as if she could extend her hand and touch them. Suddenly, she found
herself back at the Ucchan's.
"Do you believe me now?" Skuld continued smiling, waiting
patiently for Ukyo's response.
"Really? Anything I want?" Ukyo still had her doubts, but she
desperately wanted to believe the girl in front of her. Could she
really be the goddess of the future? She looked so young!
"Anything you want." Skuld relaxed a little, seeing that Ukyo
was slowly getting over her initial shock at the situation. She moved
forward, stopping a few feet from Ukyo.
"So, what is it that you want more than anything else?"
Ukyo took all of three seconds to make up her mind.
"I want my Ran-chan to love me as I love him forever."
*****
"Wake up, Minako!"
Minako jerked awake at the sudden interruption. She opened her
eyes, and immediately let go of Rei. Blushing furiously, she went back
to her seat with all the dignity she could muster, given the way she
had just attempted to kiss one of her best friends.
Beside her, Rei wondered whether or not she was a little _too_
attractive.
"Well, if Minako is done with her little fantasy, I will begin
the meeting." Setsuna glanced around for a few seconds. Satisfied that
she had everyone's full, undivided attention, she began talking.
"Yesterday, I felt a change in the timelines. Normally, this
would be of no concern. Everyday, people make choices that affect the
future in some way or another. This is unavoidable, and usually it is
a harmless occurrence. Although I can manipulate the timelines to some
degree, I can only do so much."
"What are you talking about? What happened? Is Crystal Tokyo
still going to happen?" Usagi was worried. This had to be serious,
otherwise Setsuna wouldn't have called them all the way here. Something
must have gone terribly wrong!
Setsuna raised her right hand, silencing the worried princess.
She sighed, annoyed that the inners were being so difficult. "To
answer your question, Usagi, Crystal Tokyo is still there. As far as
I can tell, it is in no danger."
Usagi breathed a sigh of relief. As long as her future with
Mamoru was safe, she could care less what other changes were made to
the future.
"What was the change, then?" Makoto was getting impatient. She
was itching for some action. Besides, she had to go find out more
about Ranma. Ryoga was the best martial artist she knew, but Ranma
managed to defeat him. Maybe Ranma would consent to giving her lessons
in martial arts, among other things.
"Yeah, and what did it have to do with that Ranma guy?" Rei
hoped he wasn't responsible for it. She would hate having to fight such
a hunk.
Setsuna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn't
want to tell this to them, but she needed their help.
"The change concerns Ranma and myself. It would appear that
we are destined to be married."
*****
Skuld smiled at the wish. The plan worked perfectly. Belldandy
was a genius! She had to remember to thank her older sister when she
got back.
Skuld's musings were interrupted as the wish process began.
The symbols on her face glowed brightly as Yggdrasil analyzed the
wish. However, as quickly as the process began, it stopped. Skuld's
mouth gaped open in surprise as she brought Ukyo the sad news.
"Not granted."
"What? Not granted? But why?" Ukyo could not believe that fate
would be so cruel as to do this to her. So near, yet so far. Tears
started falling freely from her eyes as she sobbed in sadness.
"Don't feel bad, you can make another wish instead." Skuld
placed a comforting hand on Ukyo's shoulder. The heartbroken girl
recoiled violently from the contact.
"Don't you see? I don't want another wish! I want Ran-chan!"
Ukyo continued sobbing, her body shaking in grief.
Skuld frantically began thinking of a way to fix this. The
plan had somehow gone terribly wrong. How could such a simple, routine
wish be rejected? It didn't make sense. Suddenly, the phone began to
ring. Ukyo didn't look like she had any plans of answering it, so
Skuld picked up the receiver. It was Belldandy.
"What happened? Why wasn't the wish granted? We grant millions
of wishes for love everyday, why not this one?" Skuld was worried. She
never even considered the possibility that the wish would not be
granted.
"I don't know either. All I know is that it wasn't Ukyo that
caused the error. I've run her file through the system and it checks
out. She _definitely_ deserves a wish. Somehow, the computer won't
accept any wishes that change Ranma's destiny." Skuld could hear the
worried tone to Belldandy's voice as it came from the handset of the
telephone.
"In that case, what do I do now? She's crying, and I was never
trained in the comforting of mortals. You _know_ I've been a debugger
all my life!" Skuld glanced at Ukyo, who had stopped sobbing but was
now staring listlessly at the window.
"Just stay with her. If she wants to talk about it, lend her an
ear. No matter what happens, don't let her fall into depression. I'll
try to find out what went wrong with the wish."
"Okay, onee-sama. I _told_ you. You should have taken the
assignment for me. It was _your_ idea to grant her a wish to begin
with, anyway."
Though she was concerned for Ukyo, Skuld did not relish the
thought of sitting around all day listening to all her problems,
especially since she'd already learned about them anyway when Belldandy
mentioned that one of Ranma's fiancees had a wish coming up.
"I'm sorry, Skuld. I didn't think the wish would be rejected.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Just hang in there while I try to
figure out a way out of this mess. I'm sorry, Skuld."
Skuld sighed. She couldn't really blame Belldandy. It _was_ out
of the ordinary for such a trivial change in destiny to be rejected.
"It's okay. We'll be fine, but hurry up!"
"I will, Skuld. I definitely will. Bye." Belldandy hung up the
phone and began the long task of figuring out what went wrong.
*****
"You're _what_?"
The girls all quickly turned to Ami, who had been quiet in her
seat up until a few moments ago.
"We are destined to be married." Setsuna succeeded in saying so
without a shred of emotion on her lovely face.
"Don't you think you're a little _old_ for him?" Minako did not
like this. This was bad.
"Yeah, you're old enough to be his ancestor!" Makoto did not
like it either. She'd just gotten over one lost love today, she didn't
want to have her heart broken so soon after it had been made whole
again.
"I'm still married to Mamo-chan, right?" Usagi just wanted to
make sure _her_ future was safe. If Setsuna wanted to brag about her
new boyfriend, she was welcome to.
"How can this be? You don't even know him, do you?" Rei liked
the situation even less than the others did. Although Minako and Makoto
had their own boy problems, they had a lot of free time to try and find
the guy of their dreams. She, on the other hand, had to spend half her
time doing her duties as a shrine maiden. The only males that ever went
to the temple were old enough to have seen the extinction of the
dinosaurs first-hand.
"I'm not sure if you're aware of this, Setsuna, but Ranma has
energy levels in his human form that would rival ours when we turn into
senshi. He's not just a guy with a cute butt." Ami immediately blushed
when she realized that she had said that last part out loud.
"Of course I'm aware of it! I've spent the last eight hours
learning all about him. He's dangerous. He brings chaos wherever he
goes. Our marriage must _not_ come to pass.
Five girls breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that. Usagi
reminded herself that she loved Mamoru, not the handsome young martial
artist she had met a few minutes ago.
Setsuna turned to Usagi. "That's why I need to borrow the
Silver Imperium Crystal."
*****
Ranma walked slowly along the street towards the Nekohanten.
All that fighting had gotten him hungry again, and he didn't want to
go back to the Tendos just yet. He was about fifty meters away from
the restaurant when a dagger whizzed by his head and hit a light post
behind him.
"Ranma, today I shall have my revenge! I shall defeat you,
reclaiming my honor and winning Shampoo's heart in one fell sweep!"
Ranma looked up and saw Mousse in front of the Nekohanten,
countless blades fanning out from within the folds of his robe. He
prepared himself for the coming assault.
It never came.
Mousse cursed and wondered how Ranma could have hit him in the
back while standing fifty meters in front of him. He must have learned
a new technique! A few moments later, he passed out.
"Aiyah! Ranma come to see Shampoo! Ranma want to go on date,
yes?" Shampoo smiled at Ranma, ignoring Mousse as he lay unconscious
beneath the front tire of her bike. A sweat drop formed from the back
of Ranma's head.
"Yep, that I did! I was thinking that maybe we could spend some
quality time getting to know each other while eating some of your
delicious Ramen, Shampoo." Ranma walked over to Shampoo, stepping on
Mousse's head as he passed it.
"Of course, Airen. Come inside quick! Shampoo make too, too
delicious ramen for hungry husband." Shampoo giggled and bounced into
the restaurant, overjoyed that Ranma wanted to be with her.
"Thanks, Shampoo. You're the best." Ranma walked inside after
her and took a seat at an empty table.
"I see that you are still taking advantage of my granddaughter,
son-in-law." Ranma jumped in surprise at the sound of the voice. He
wished Cologne would stop sneaking up on him like that. It was very
unnerving. He wasn't used to being surprised.
"Stop doing that, you old ghoul! How do you _do_ that? Sneak up
on me I mean." It wasn't something Ranma liked to admit, but almost all
of his advanced martial arts moves were moves that Cologne had taught
him.
"I could teach you, son-in-law. If you would just accept the
marriage between yourself and Shampoo, I could make you invincible. I
would even forget the fact that you have been using your charms on
Shampoo for free food, cutting into our profits." Cologne couldn't care
less about profits, but Ranma didn't know that.
"It's not _exactly_ like that." Ranma grew beads of sweat drops
under the cold stare of the Amazon matriarch, and wished that Shampoo
would hurry up and get there already.
"Yes it is, son-in-law, you and I both know that. However, I
am willing to give you a chance. Simply marry Shampoo and all past
transgressions will be forgotten."
"Wow, would you look at the time! I just remembered that I have
to... do... some... stuff. Yeah, that's it! I have... um... stuff to
do! Well, I better get going, bye!" Ranma bounded out of the Nekohanten
as fast as his legs could take him.
Shampoo appeared a few moments later, carrying a tray with two
bowls of ramen. "Where airen go, great grandmother?"
"He just left. He had... stuff to do." Cologne saw a look of
intense disappointment appear on Shampoo's face.
"Do not worry, child. He will be yours when the time comes. He
is not stupid. We are the only ones with ties to Jusenkyo. If Ranma is
to have any chance at obtaining a cure, he will marry you."
Shampoo understood the logic in Cologne's words. She would have
loved it if Ranma were to marry her out of love, but beggars could not
be choosers. Besides, she was sure that Ranma would easily grow to love
her in time.
*****
"It's always like this. I've never had a lucky break in my
life. It's just one tragedy after another. After father died, I was
left all alone." Ukyo had calmed down from her previous state but she
still sniffled from time to time. She had spent the last hour telling
Skuld all about her life.
Skuld nodded from time to time, making idle comments to assure
the lonely girl in front of her that she was still listening.
"Don't you have any other relatives, Onee-chan?" Skuld had
never met Ukyo before, but she already felt close to her. Ukyo was a
girl who had suffered much, but remained strong. Skuld vowed that she
would help Ukyo in any way she could.
"No, father was all I had. I don't even remember my own mother.
She died when I was very young." Ukyo sniffled a little.
"I just feel so alone. Everyone else has someone to love them,
why not me?"
"Don't you have someone here with you? That guy who looks like
a girl? Don't try to lie to me, I've read it on your file." Skuld was
sure she had read the right file.
"Konatsu? He doesn't count. He's just really grateful to me for
giving him a home and stuff. He likes me, but he doesn't love me. He's
out on a date right now with one of Akane's friends." For a while, Ukyo
had thought Konatsu was in love with her. That all changed when the
only male kunoichi met Sayuri.
"Well, what about that other cross-dressing guy? The one who
wears disguises?" Skuld suddenly wished she had read the whole file and
not just the interesting parts.
"Well, let's just say Akane had more than one friend." Ukyo
resumed staring glumly at the window. While she didn't love them,
Konatsu and Tsubasa had at least served as reassurance to her that she
was desirable. To find her only admirers leaving her for someone else
had left her with low self-esteem.
"I'm sure there must be _someone_ who loves you. What about
Ranma?" Skuld didn't want to mention Ranma, since he might remind Ukyo
of the failed wish, but she just couldn't believe that such a nice girl
would be so alone.
"Ranchan loves me, I'm sure of that. He's always very nice to
me and he's always helping me out. You know, the little things. But
sometimes, I think he loves me more as a friend than as a lover." Ukyo
sniffled again, a dull pain forming in her heart.
"Well, maybe that's true, but he still loves you. Isn't that
what you wished for?" Skuld fidgeted, uncomfortable with the topic of
their conversation. She glanced at the phone. What was taking Belldandy
so long?
"I don't want him to just love me, I want him to _love_ me! He
probably would too if it wasn't for Shampoo and Akane. It's not like I
love him any less than they do, they just have more help! Akane has her
dad and Mr. Saotome to remind Ranma of their engagement. Shampoo has
her grandmother. The only one fighting for _my_ claim is me!" Ukyo's
eyes flashed with anger.
"I just wish _I_ had someone to help me and support my claim
to Ranma's heart!"
Skuld's eyes went wide with shock, realizing what it was that
Ukyo had just done. She tried to move, but found herself unable to as,
for the second time that day, the wish process began.
Ukyo was startled at the reaction of the young goddess in front
of her. Even though she had already seen it once, the sudden burst of
power still caught her by surprise. The markings on Skuld's face lit up
brightly with power as she floated into the air. The interior of the
restaurant was thrown into disarray as light objects were lifted by the
force of the power as a large beam of light flew from the symbol on
Skuld's forehead going straight up into the sky. A few seconds later,
the display wound down and Skuld slowly floated back to the ground.
"Wish granted."
*****
The inner senshi all narrowed their eyes and stared right at
Setsuna. This was a very odd request, one that they did not think was
necessary.
"What do you need it for?" Usagi did not want to hand over the
source of her power. Setsuna may have been a senshi, but she still did
not trust the green haired woman completely.
"I need it's power to fix the timelines." Setsuna glared back
at the senshi assembled before her.
"Can't you just use the time gate to do that?" Ami turned off
her computer and placed it into her purse. She didn't think that the
crystal would be needed just to get rid of an unwanted engagement.
"Yeah, isn't that what it's supposed to be for?" Makoto didn't
trust Setsuna. She was always up to something.
"Don't you think I would have tried that before coming to you?
The gates don't work that way. I can't just wave my hand and make a
timeline go away. I can only influence them slightly. It took me eons
just to make it so that almost all of the probable timelines would end
in Crystal Tokyo.
Just the other day, there were about a dozen slightly different
timelines all ending in Crystal Tokyo. Together, they had a ninety nine
percent probability of coming to pass. After the change, they have
subdivided into millions, maybe even billions of timelines, all ending
in my getting married to Ranma before Crystal Tokyo. I can't just
avoid them either. They aren't similar at all! They vary wildly in
what causes the marriage and what happens to us after it.
Someone very powerful changed the timelines and ensured that no
matter what I do or where I go, I will inevitably marry Ranma. We have
no idea who that someone is or what he is trying to do. Until we do, we
must assume that he is an enemy and must be stopped. The timelines may
converge into the creation of Crystal Tokyo, but they branch out again
in millions of ways after that."
Setsuna slammed her fist on the table, uncaring of the curious
looks she got from the rest of the people in the ice cream shop. She
wanted this discussion over and she wanted it over _now_.
The inners gaped at each other in silence. Until now, they
never saw the situation as being serious. They were obviously mistaken
about that assumption.
"What are you trying to say? What does that mean?" Usagi was
beside herself with confusion.
"It means that the timelines have somehow been manipulated and
divided so that no matter what Setsuna does, she will still end up
marrying Ranma. The sheer number of timelines makes it impossible for
her to return things to the way they were before. Also, while all of
the new timelines lead to Crystal Tokyo, they divide again after that,
so anything can happen after Crystal Tokyo has been established."
Ami brought out her computer again and resumed studying her
data on Ranma. She found him very fascinating. He was just one big
surprise after another.
"That is a good approximation, Ami. The time gate lacks the
energy needed to manipulate the timelines so drastically. That's why I
need access to the energy of the crystal. It might enable the gates to
bring the timeline back to the way it was." Setsuna grew more impatient
by the second. Usagi looked thoughtful for a few seconds before giving
her answer.
"No. I will not give you access to the power contained within
the crystal."
*****
Ranma jumped quickly from rooftop to rooftop. He had been doing
that for most of the day but he wasn't really tired. It had become
somewhat of a hobby for him to just run around and explore whenever
things got too hectic back at home. He was currently at a place called
Juuban. He'd never been there before, but he had been hearing about the
place for a long time. Apparently, it was very prone to youma attacks,
but also home to a group of heroines who saved it from anything that
might attack. He didn't think much of it. Any youma defeated by a bunch
of girls couldn't have been _that_ strong.
He continued exploring, jumping around for a long while until
it was almost evening. He found himself in a park near the center of
Juuban.
"It's almost nightfall. Wow, I never realized it was so late. I
better get back home. Akane should have calmed down by now."
He was just about to leave when he heard a strange sound, like
muffled crying. Using his superb sense of hearing, he quickly located
the source. A pretty young girl was sobbing on a small, out of the way
bench. It was well hidden from view by a large tree and the bushes that
grew underneath. If he had paused to think things over, he would have
realized that he had no idea who she was or why she was crying. He
would have thought that even if he _did_ know, he had no idea how to
go about helping her, or if he even could.
Unfortunately, when Ranma sees a damsel in distress, he doesn't
stop to think. Ranma was always a man of action.
"Hi there, miss. It's a nice day isn't it?" Ranma grinned at
her and turned his charm full on. This always seemed to cheer up the
girls back at home. The girl looked up at him and frantically produced
a handkerchief from a pocket on her skirt. Dabbing the cloth to her
eyes, she attempted to smile at him and stood up from her seat.
"Who... who are you?" The girl looked curiously at him and
put the handkerchief back into her pocket. Her eyes were red, telling
Ranma that she had been crying for a while. Ranma observed that with
her delicate features and dark hair, she would have been very pretty if
not for the sad look she wore.
"My name is Ranma Saotome. It's my first time here. I live over
at Nerima, in the Tendo Dojo. You may have heard of it." Ranma was a
household name in Nerima and fairly popular elsewhere as well.
The girl frowned for a while, seemingly deep in thought. A few
seconds later, her eyes brightened considerably and she pointed at him
excitedly.
"You're that martial artist from Nerima! You fought that guy
with the umbrella and smashed up half the town!"
Ranma smiled at her and struck a dramatic pose. "Yep, that's
me!"
The girl giggled and clapped her hands. "Oh wow, that must be
so exciting! What are you doing over here?"
"Just visiting. You know, looking around and stuff. What about
you, what's _your_ name?" The girl blushed furiously and bowed.
"My name is Hotaru. Hotaru Tomoe." She moved aside and patted
the space beside her. "Would you like to have a seat?"
*****
Ukyo gaped and stared at Skuld. It took her a few seconds to
regain control of her speech faculties.
"Wish granted? What wish? I never made a wish!"
Skuld smoothed over her skirt for a few seconds while she
gathered her thoughts. It certainly wasn't the wish she was expecting.
Still, it had potential. This way, she could legitimately pursue her
goal of making up to Ranma for all the trouble she had inadvertently
caused him. Suddenly, an idea formed inside her head.
"You wished for someone to help you and support your claim to
Ranma. I will be that person. I will stay here and help you until you
are happily married to Ranma." Skuld smiled at her and began the task
of cleaning the mess on the floor.
"Really? You'll stay here and help me, for real?" Ukyo could
hardly believe it was true. With a goddess on her side, it was only a
matter of time before she was married to Ranma!
"That's right. I'll help you win Ranma's heart so you can marry
him and live happily ever after."
"But how will you help me? You're a goddess, can't you just
wave your hand and make him mine?" Ukyo was already busy coming up with
names for her future children.
"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to do that. Even if I was, I need
access to Yggdrasil to accomplish such a task." Skuld saw the happy
look on Ukyo's face fade slightly as she said those words.
"I have an idea, though. If my plan works, it won't be long
before you and Ranma are married."
Ukyo's face lit up again at those words. "Really? What's the
plan? Tell me!"
Skuld moved closer to her and started explaining. "What does
Ranma want more than anything else? What is it that he's always on the
lookout for?"
Ukyo thought for a while. It wasn't that long since she had
been reunited with Ranma, but it was long enough for her to know
exactly what Skuld was talking about. "He wants a cure for his curse.
He wants to be a whole man again."
Skuld smiled as well. She liked Ukyo. Not only was she very
kind, she was also very smart. "That's absolutely right. All we have
to do is find a cure for Ranma, and he's ours!"
Ukyo slapped her head in annoyance. "Of course! Why didn't I
think of that?"
Skuld only laughed. "He's got a Jusenkyo curse, right?"
Ukyo thought for a moment. "Yes, I think that's what he told me
it was called."
Skuld brought her hands down onto the table. "Then pack up
your bags, cause that's where were going!"
*****
Author's notes:
This just gets bigger and bigger. I have so much planned for
this, I don't know where to start. Please comment! I would like to
thank Chester, Ash, and Vex for all of their help and suggestions.
Many thanks to Ash for typing those scene separators.
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.
nor do I hold any claim to the series they belong to. I am not making
any money by writing this, and I never will. If you still want to sue,
have fun looking for me.
Warning: The early worm got eaten, always remember that.
Warning: Altaverse (Keichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 2
by Jose Argao
"So, what's this important thing we have to discuss, and what
does it have to do with Ranma?" Makoto sat down together with the rest
of the inner senshi and Setsuna on one of the booths back at the ice
cream parlor.
"I bet he was my husband back at the silver millennium!" Minako
sighed and closed her eyes, losing herself in a daydream even as the
rest of the inners glared daggers at her.
*****
"Oh Ranma, I love you so much." Minako rested her head against
Ranma's chest as they slowly walked along the seashore. The stars shone
brightly in the clear night sky and all around them the beach was
devoid of any other people.
"I love you too, Mina-chan." Ranma held his love closer,
basking in the warm glow of her presence, content to just hold her like
that for as long as she wanted.
They walked like that for a while, the sound of their footsteps
and the waves softly coming to shore the only sounds in their ears. No
words were uttered between them, for the love that they had bound them
to each other in ways that transcended any spoken language. Theirs was
the language of love, and no words were needed to communicate through
it. All too quickly, they found themselves at the entrance to Minako's
house, and they reluctantly parted so that she could find her keys and
open the door.
"I guess this is it, Mina-chan. I enjoyed our night together."
Ranma stepped closer to her, cupping her face in his hands and smiling
sweetly at her.
"I guess it is, Ranma." Minako blushed as she realized what he
intended to do, and she closed her eyes in anticipation.
"Good night, Mina-chan." Ranma inched his face closer to hers,
longing to feel her soft, warm lips against his own. Slowly, he went
closer. Minako could already feel his breath on her as he went closer,
and closer, and closer...
*****
"A... a wish? You're a Goddess?" Ukyo slowly backed away, her
mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts. Could it be true? Was this
the answer to all of her prayers? Have the Gods finally taken pity on
her?
Was it all some sort of a joke? Was someone playing a cruel
trick on her? But the child in front of her _was_ floating in mid air.
Granted, she'd seen others fly before, but why would she say what she
did if she didn't mean it?
"That's right. I am Skuld, goddess of the future. You have been
chosen to receive one wish from me, anything you like." Skuld gave the
frightened girl her best smile, hoping to ease her obvious nervousness.
Nervous people make stupid mistakes, and Skuld's plans to help Ranma
hinged on this girl making the right wish. Ukyo frowned, staring
doubtfully at the girl in front of her.
"How do I know you're really a goddess, huh?"
Skuld giggled at the question. The symbol on her forehead
glowed brightly with power. Ukyo closed her eyes, unable to keep them
open. She felt a feeling of displacement, not unlike that of riding
an elevator. She gasped in surprise when she opened them again. In
front of her, she saw Ranma. He looked a bit older, but she had no
trouble recognizing his distinctive good looks.
*****
Ranma was wearing an okonomiyaki seller's outfit not unlike the
one she usually wore. He was frying an okonomiyaki on the griddle in
front of him. After pouring the sauce on top, he quickly put it onto a
plate and called out to the room behind him.
"Ukyo! I'm already done over here!"
The door swung open and a beautiful woman stepped out. It took
a few moments for Ukyo to recognize the woman as herself. She could
hardly believe it, but she was gorgeous!
Ukyo unconsciously gave a sigh of relief. It was one of her
fears that with her lifestyle centered around food, she would gain
weight should she ever stop training in martial arts. That was clearly
not the case. She resumed watching the scene as it unfolded in front
of her.
"It smells great, Ran-chan. I bet it tastes great too." The
future Ukyo smiled radiantly at Ranma, who grinned and scratched the
back of his head.
"If it does, that's because I had a great teacher."
The future Ukyo giggled at the comment. "Okay, stop stalling.
Let me have it already."
Ranma handed her the okonomiyaki he made earlier, and she
saw that scribbled in the sauce was a small message for her.
'For the love of my life, Ucchan'
She looked at him again. "Thank you, Ranma. That was very sweet
of you."
Ranma broke into a smile. "I only wrote that because it's true,
you know."
The future Ukyo smiled back. "You were always the smooth
talker. Well, this is it, the moment of truth."
Cutting off a small piece and bringing it to her mouth with a
fork, the future Ukyo chewed on the morsel for a few seconds before
finally swallowing.
"It didn't taste good, Ranma."
Ranma tried to put on a happy front, but it was obvious that
he was very disappointed.
"Well, I'll just have to improve I guess. Maybe I added a
little too much-"
"It was better than good! Outstanding! That was one of the best
okonomiyakis I've ever tasted!."
Ranma's crestfallen look disappeared immediately, replaced by
one of joy.
"Really? You're not just saying that?"
The future Ukyo smirked at him. "I take okonomiyaki seriously,
Ran-chan. I wouldn't joke about something like this."
Ranma smirked right back at her. "Well, it's not like I ever
had any doubts. I mean, with the best cook in the world teaching me,
how could I go wrong?"
The future Ukyo smiled enigmatically. "I say you deserve a
little reward, Ranma."
Ranma's smile grew bigger. "A reward? from a teacher to her
student?"
The future Ukyo continued smiling. "No, from a wife to her
husband."
*****
Ukyo reached out to them. They looked so real, so close! It was
as if she could extend her hand and touch them. Suddenly, she found
herself back at the Ucchan's.
"Do you believe me now?" Skuld continued smiling, waiting
patiently for Ukyo's response.
"Really? Anything I want?" Ukyo still had her doubts, but she
desperately wanted to believe the girl in front of her. Could she
really be the goddess of the future? She looked so young!
"Anything you want." Skuld relaxed a little, seeing that Ukyo
was slowly getting over her initial shock at the situation. She moved
forward, stopping a few feet from Ukyo.
"So, what is it that you want more than anything else?"
Ukyo took all of three seconds to make up her mind.
"I want my Ran-chan to love me as I love him forever."
*****
"Wake up, Minako!"
Minako jerked awake at the sudden interruption. She opened her
eyes, and immediately let go of Rei. Blushing furiously, she went back
to her seat with all the dignity she could muster, given the way she
had just attempted to kiss one of her best friends.
Beside her, Rei wondered whether or not she was a little _too_
attractive.
"Well, if Minako is done with her little fantasy, I will begin
the meeting." Setsuna glanced around for a few seconds. Satisfied that
she had everyone's full, undivided attention, she began talking.
"Yesterday, I felt a change in the timelines. Normally, this
would be of no concern. Everyday, people make choices that affect the
future in some way or another. This is unavoidable, and usually it is
a harmless occurrence. Although I can manipulate the timelines to some
degree, I can only do so much."
"What are you talking about? What happened? Is Crystal Tokyo
still going to happen?" Usagi was worried. This had to be serious,
otherwise Setsuna wouldn't have called them all the way here. Something
must have gone terribly wrong!
Setsuna raised her right hand, silencing the worried princess.
She sighed, annoyed that the inners were being so difficult. "To
answer your question, Usagi, Crystal Tokyo is still there. As far as
I can tell, it is in no danger."
Usagi breathed a sigh of relief. As long as her future with
Mamoru was safe, she could care less what other changes were made to
the future.
"What was the change, then?" Makoto was getting impatient. She
was itching for some action. Besides, she had to go find out more
about Ranma. Ryoga was the best martial artist she knew, but Ranma
managed to defeat him. Maybe Ranma would consent to giving her lessons
in martial arts, among other things.
"Yeah, and what did it have to do with that Ranma guy?" Rei
hoped he wasn't responsible for it. She would hate having to fight such
a hunk.
Setsuna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn't
want to tell this to them, but she needed their help.
"The change concerns Ranma and myself. It would appear that
we are destined to be married."
*****
Skuld smiled at the wish. The plan worked perfectly. Belldandy
was a genius! She had to remember to thank her older sister when she
got back.
Skuld's musings were interrupted as the wish process began.
The symbols on her face glowed brightly as Yggdrasil analyzed the
wish. However, as quickly as the process began, it stopped. Skuld's
mouth gaped open in surprise as she brought Ukyo the sad news.
"Not granted."
"What? Not granted? But why?" Ukyo could not believe that fate
would be so cruel as to do this to her. So near, yet so far. Tears
started falling freely from her eyes as she sobbed in sadness.
"Don't feel bad, you can make another wish instead." Skuld
placed a comforting hand on Ukyo's shoulder. The heartbroken girl
recoiled violently from the contact.
"Don't you see? I don't want another wish! I want Ran-chan!"
Ukyo continued sobbing, her body shaking in grief.
Skuld frantically began thinking of a way to fix this. The
plan had somehow gone terribly wrong. How could such a simple, routine
wish be rejected? It didn't make sense. Suddenly, the phone began to
ring. Ukyo didn't look like she had any plans of answering it, so
Skuld picked up the receiver. It was Belldandy.
"What happened? Why wasn't the wish granted? We grant millions
of wishes for love everyday, why not this one?" Skuld was worried. She
never even considered the possibility that the wish would not be
granted.
"I don't know either. All I know is that it wasn't Ukyo that
caused the error. I've run her file through the system and it checks
out. She _definitely_ deserves a wish. Somehow, the computer won't
accept any wishes that change Ranma's destiny." Skuld could hear the
worried tone to Belldandy's voice as it came from the handset of the
telephone.
"In that case, what do I do now? She's crying, and I was never
trained in the comforting of mortals. You _know_ I've been a debugger
all my life!" Skuld glanced at Ukyo, who had stopped sobbing but was
now staring listlessly at the window.
"Just stay with her. If she wants to talk about it, lend her an
ear. No matter what happens, don't let her fall into depression. I'll
try to find out what went wrong with the wish."
"Okay, onee-sama. I _told_ you. You should have taken the
assignment for me. It was _your_ idea to grant her a wish to begin
with, anyway."
Though she was concerned for Ukyo, Skuld did not relish the
thought of sitting around all day listening to all her problems,
especially since she'd already learned about them anyway when Belldandy
mentioned that one of Ranma's fiancees had a wish coming up.
"I'm sorry, Skuld. I didn't think the wish would be rejected.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Just hang in there while I try to
figure out a way out of this mess. I'm sorry, Skuld."
Skuld sighed. She couldn't really blame Belldandy. It _was_ out
of the ordinary for such a trivial change in destiny to be rejected.
"It's okay. We'll be fine, but hurry up!"
"I will, Skuld. I definitely will. Bye." Belldandy hung up the
phone and began the long task of figuring out what went wrong.
*****
"You're _what_?"
The girls all quickly turned to Ami, who had been quiet in her
seat up until a few moments ago.
"We are destined to be married." Setsuna succeeded in saying so
without a shred of emotion on her lovely face.
"Don't you think you're a little _old_ for him?" Minako did not
like this. This was bad.
"Yeah, you're old enough to be his ancestor!" Makoto did not
like it either. She'd just gotten over one lost love today, she didn't
want to have her heart broken so soon after it had been made whole
again.
"I'm still married to Mamo-chan, right?" Usagi just wanted to
make sure _her_ future was safe. If Setsuna wanted to brag about her
new boyfriend, she was welcome to.
"How can this be? You don't even know him, do you?" Rei liked
the situation even less than the others did. Although Minako and Makoto
had their own boy problems, they had a lot of free time to try and find
the guy of their dreams. She, on the other hand, had to spend half her
time doing her duties as a shrine maiden. The only males that ever went
to the temple were old enough to have seen the extinction of the
dinosaurs first-hand.
"I'm not sure if you're aware of this, Setsuna, but Ranma has
energy levels in his human form that would rival ours when we turn into
senshi. He's not just a guy with a cute butt." Ami immediately blushed
when she realized that she had said that last part out loud.
"Of course I'm aware of it! I've spent the last eight hours
learning all about him. He's dangerous. He brings chaos wherever he
goes. Our marriage must _not_ come to pass.
Five girls breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that. Usagi
reminded herself that she loved Mamoru, not the handsome young martial
artist she had met a few minutes ago.
Setsuna turned to Usagi. "That's why I need to borrow the
Silver Imperium Crystal."
*****
Ranma walked slowly along the street towards the Nekohanten.
All that fighting had gotten him hungry again, and he didn't want to
go back to the Tendos just yet. He was about fifty meters away from
the restaurant when a dagger whizzed by his head and hit a light post
behind him.
"Ranma, today I shall have my revenge! I shall defeat you,
reclaiming my honor and winning Shampoo's heart in one fell sweep!"
Ranma looked up and saw Mousse in front of the Nekohanten,
countless blades fanning out from within the folds of his robe. He
prepared himself for the coming assault.
It never came.
Mousse cursed and wondered how Ranma could have hit him in the
back while standing fifty meters in front of him. He must have learned
a new technique! A few moments later, he passed out.
"Aiyah! Ranma come to see Shampoo! Ranma want to go on date,
yes?" Shampoo smiled at Ranma, ignoring Mousse as he lay unconscious
beneath the front tire of her bike. A sweat drop formed from the back
of Ranma's head.
"Yep, that I did! I was thinking that maybe we could spend some
quality time getting to know each other while eating some of your
delicious Ramen, Shampoo." Ranma walked over to Shampoo, stepping on
Mousse's head as he passed it.
"Of course, Airen. Come inside quick! Shampoo make too, too
delicious ramen for hungry husband." Shampoo giggled and bounced into
the restaurant, overjoyed that Ranma wanted to be with her.
"Thanks, Shampoo. You're the best." Ranma walked inside after
her and took a seat at an empty table.
"I see that you are still taking advantage of my granddaughter,
son-in-law." Ranma jumped in surprise at the sound of the voice. He
wished Cologne would stop sneaking up on him like that. It was very
unnerving. He wasn't used to being surprised.
"Stop doing that, you old ghoul! How do you _do_ that? Sneak up
on me I mean." It wasn't something Ranma liked to admit, but almost all
of his advanced martial arts moves were moves that Cologne had taught
him.
"I could teach you, son-in-law. If you would just accept the
marriage between yourself and Shampoo, I could make you invincible. I
would even forget the fact that you have been using your charms on
Shampoo for free food, cutting into our profits." Cologne couldn't care
less about profits, but Ranma didn't know that.
"It's not _exactly_ like that." Ranma grew beads of sweat drops
under the cold stare of the Amazon matriarch, and wished that Shampoo
would hurry up and get there already.
"Yes it is, son-in-law, you and I both know that. However, I
am willing to give you a chance. Simply marry Shampoo and all past
transgressions will be forgotten."
"Wow, would you look at the time! I just remembered that I have
to... do... some... stuff. Yeah, that's it! I have... um... stuff to
do! Well, I better get going, bye!" Ranma bounded out of the Nekohanten
as fast as his legs could take him.
Shampoo appeared a few moments later, carrying a tray with two
bowls of ramen. "Where airen go, great grandmother?"
"He just left. He had... stuff to do." Cologne saw a look of
intense disappointment appear on Shampoo's face.
"Do not worry, child. He will be yours when the time comes. He
is not stupid. We are the only ones with ties to Jusenkyo. If Ranma is
to have any chance at obtaining a cure, he will marry you."
Shampoo understood the logic in Cologne's words. She would have
loved it if Ranma were to marry her out of love, but beggars could not
be choosers. Besides, she was sure that Ranma would easily grow to love
her in time.
*****
"It's always like this. I've never had a lucky break in my
life. It's just one tragedy after another. After father died, I was
left all alone." Ukyo had calmed down from her previous state but she
still sniffled from time to time. She had spent the last hour telling
Skuld all about her life.
Skuld nodded from time to time, making idle comments to assure
the lonely girl in front of her that she was still listening.
"Don't you have any other relatives, Onee-chan?" Skuld had
never met Ukyo before, but she already felt close to her. Ukyo was a
girl who had suffered much, but remained strong. Skuld vowed that she
would help Ukyo in any way she could.
"No, father was all I had. I don't even remember my own mother.
She died when I was very young." Ukyo sniffled a little.
"I just feel so alone. Everyone else has someone to love them,
why not me?"
"Don't you have someone here with you? That guy who looks like
a girl? Don't try to lie to me, I've read it on your file." Skuld was
sure she had read the right file.
"Konatsu? He doesn't count. He's just really grateful to me for
giving him a home and stuff. He likes me, but he doesn't love me. He's
out on a date right now with one of Akane's friends." For a while, Ukyo
had thought Konatsu was in love with her. That all changed when the
only male kunoichi met Sayuri.
"Well, what about that other cross-dressing guy? The one who
wears disguises?" Skuld suddenly wished she had read the whole file and
not just the interesting parts.
"Well, let's just say Akane had more than one friend." Ukyo
resumed staring glumly at the window. While she didn't love them,
Konatsu and Tsubasa had at least served as reassurance to her that she
was desirable. To find her only admirers leaving her for someone else
had left her with low self-esteem.
"I'm sure there must be _someone_ who loves you. What about
Ranma?" Skuld didn't want to mention Ranma, since he might remind Ukyo
of the failed wish, but she just couldn't believe that such a nice girl
would be so alone.
"Ranchan loves me, I'm sure of that. He's always very nice to
me and he's always helping me out. You know, the little things. But
sometimes, I think he loves me more as a friend than as a lover." Ukyo
sniffled again, a dull pain forming in her heart.
"Well, maybe that's true, but he still loves you. Isn't that
what you wished for?" Skuld fidgeted, uncomfortable with the topic of
their conversation. She glanced at the phone. What was taking Belldandy
so long?
"I don't want him to just love me, I want him to _love_ me! He
probably would too if it wasn't for Shampoo and Akane. It's not like I
love him any less than they do, they just have more help! Akane has her
dad and Mr. Saotome to remind Ranma of their engagement. Shampoo has
her grandmother. The only one fighting for _my_ claim is me!" Ukyo's
eyes flashed with anger.
"I just wish _I_ had someone to help me and support my claim
to Ranma's heart!"
Skuld's eyes went wide with shock, realizing what it was that
Ukyo had just done. She tried to move, but found herself unable to as,
for the second time that day, the wish process began.
Ukyo was startled at the reaction of the young goddess in front
of her. Even though she had already seen it once, the sudden burst of
power still caught her by surprise. The markings on Skuld's face lit up
brightly with power as she floated into the air. The interior of the
restaurant was thrown into disarray as light objects were lifted by the
force of the power as a large beam of light flew from the symbol on
Skuld's forehead going straight up into the sky. A few seconds later,
the display wound down and Skuld slowly floated back to the ground.
"Wish granted."
*****
The inner senshi all narrowed their eyes and stared right at
Setsuna. This was a very odd request, one that they did not think was
necessary.
"What do you need it for?" Usagi did not want to hand over the
source of her power. Setsuna may have been a senshi, but she still did
not trust the green haired woman completely.
"I need it's power to fix the timelines." Setsuna glared back
at the senshi assembled before her.
"Can't you just use the time gate to do that?" Ami turned off
her computer and placed it into her purse. She didn't think that the
crystal would be needed just to get rid of an unwanted engagement.
"Yeah, isn't that what it's supposed to be for?" Makoto didn't
trust Setsuna. She was always up to something.
"Don't you think I would have tried that before coming to you?
The gates don't work that way. I can't just wave my hand and make a
timeline go away. I can only influence them slightly. It took me eons
just to make it so that almost all of the probable timelines would end
in Crystal Tokyo.
Just the other day, there were about a dozen slightly different
timelines all ending in Crystal Tokyo. Together, they had a ninety nine
percent probability of coming to pass. After the change, they have
subdivided into millions, maybe even billions of timelines, all ending
in my getting married to Ranma before Crystal Tokyo. I can't just
avoid them either. They aren't similar at all! They vary wildly in
what causes the marriage and what happens to us after it.
Someone very powerful changed the timelines and ensured that no
matter what I do or where I go, I will inevitably marry Ranma. We have
no idea who that someone is or what he is trying to do. Until we do, we
must assume that he is an enemy and must be stopped. The timelines may
converge into the creation of Crystal Tokyo, but they branch out again
in millions of ways after that."
Setsuna slammed her fist on the table, uncaring of the curious
looks she got from the rest of the people in the ice cream shop. She
wanted this discussion over and she wanted it over _now_.
The inners gaped at each other in silence. Until now, they
never saw the situation as being serious. They were obviously mistaken
about that assumption.
"What are you trying to say? What does that mean?" Usagi was
beside herself with confusion.
"It means that the timelines have somehow been manipulated and
divided so that no matter what Setsuna does, she will still end up
marrying Ranma. The sheer number of timelines makes it impossible for
her to return things to the way they were before. Also, while all of
the new timelines lead to Crystal Tokyo, they divide again after that,
so anything can happen after Crystal Tokyo has been established."
Ami brought out her computer again and resumed studying her
data on Ranma. She found him very fascinating. He was just one big
surprise after another.
"That is a good approximation, Ami. The time gate lacks the
energy needed to manipulate the timelines so drastically. That's why I
need access to the energy of the crystal. It might enable the gates to
bring the timeline back to the way it was." Setsuna grew more impatient
by the second. Usagi looked thoughtful for a few seconds before giving
her answer.
"No. I will not give you access to the power contained within
the crystal."
*****
Ranma jumped quickly from rooftop to rooftop. He had been doing
that for most of the day but he wasn't really tired. It had become
somewhat of a hobby for him to just run around and explore whenever
things got too hectic back at home. He was currently at a place called
Juuban. He'd never been there before, but he had been hearing about the
place for a long time. Apparently, it was very prone to youma attacks,
but also home to a group of heroines who saved it from anything that
might attack. He didn't think much of it. Any youma defeated by a bunch
of girls couldn't have been _that_ strong.
He continued exploring, jumping around for a long while until
it was almost evening. He found himself in a park near the center of
Juuban.
"It's almost nightfall. Wow, I never realized it was so late. I
better get back home. Akane should have calmed down by now."
He was just about to leave when he heard a strange sound, like
muffled crying. Using his superb sense of hearing, he quickly located
the source. A pretty young girl was sobbing on a small, out of the way
bench. It was well hidden from view by a large tree and the bushes that
grew underneath. If he had paused to think things over, he would have
realized that he had no idea who she was or why she was crying. He
would have thought that even if he _did_ know, he had no idea how to
go about helping her, or if he even could.
Unfortunately, when Ranma sees a damsel in distress, he doesn't
stop to think. Ranma was always a man of action.
"Hi there, miss. It's a nice day isn't it?" Ranma grinned at
her and turned his charm full on. This always seemed to cheer up the
girls back at home. The girl looked up at him and frantically produced
a handkerchief from a pocket on her skirt. Dabbing the cloth to her
eyes, she attempted to smile at him and stood up from her seat.
"Who... who are you?" The girl looked curiously at him and
put the handkerchief back into her pocket. Her eyes were red, telling
Ranma that she had been crying for a while. Ranma observed that with
her delicate features and dark hair, she would have been very pretty if
not for the sad look she wore.
"My name is Ranma Saotome. It's my first time here. I live over
at Nerima, in the Tendo Dojo. You may have heard of it." Ranma was a
household name in Nerima and fairly popular elsewhere as well.
The girl frowned for a while, seemingly deep in thought. A few
seconds later, her eyes brightened considerably and she pointed at him
excitedly.
"You're that martial artist from Nerima! You fought that guy
with the umbrella and smashed up half the town!"
Ranma smiled at her and struck a dramatic pose. "Yep, that's
me!"
The girl giggled and clapped her hands. "Oh wow, that must be
so exciting! What are you doing over here?"
"Just visiting. You know, looking around and stuff. What about
you, what's _your_ name?" The girl blushed furiously and bowed.
"My name is Hotaru. Hotaru Tomoe." She moved aside and patted
the space beside her. "Would you like to have a seat?"
*****
Ukyo gaped and stared at Skuld. It took her a few seconds to
regain control of her speech faculties.
"Wish granted? What wish? I never made a wish!"
Skuld smoothed over her skirt for a few seconds while she
gathered her thoughts. It certainly wasn't the wish she was expecting.
Still, it had potential. This way, she could legitimately pursue her
goal of making up to Ranma for all the trouble she had inadvertently
caused him. Suddenly, an idea formed inside her head.
"You wished for someone to help you and support your claim to
Ranma. I will be that person. I will stay here and help you until you
are happily married to Ranma." Skuld smiled at her and began the task
of cleaning the mess on the floor.
"Really? You'll stay here and help me, for real?" Ukyo could
hardly believe it was true. With a goddess on her side, it was only a
matter of time before she was married to Ranma!
"That's right. I'll help you win Ranma's heart so you can marry
him and live happily ever after."
"But how will you help me? You're a goddess, can't you just
wave your hand and make him mine?" Ukyo was already busy coming up with
names for her future children.
"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to do that. Even if I was, I need
access to Yggdrasil to accomplish such a task." Skuld saw the happy
look on Ukyo's face fade slightly as she said those words.
"I have an idea, though. If my plan works, it won't be long
before you and Ranma are married."
Ukyo's face lit up again at those words. "Really? What's the
plan? Tell me!"
Skuld moved closer to her and started explaining. "What does
Ranma want more than anything else? What is it that he's always on the
lookout for?"
Ukyo thought for a while. It wasn't that long since she had
been reunited with Ranma, but it was long enough for her to know
exactly what Skuld was talking about. "He wants a cure for his curse.
He wants to be a whole man again."
Skuld smiled as well. She liked Ukyo. Not only was she very
kind, she was also very smart. "That's absolutely right. All we have
to do is find a cure for Ranma, and he's ours!"
Ukyo slapped her head in annoyance. "Of course! Why didn't I
think of that?"
Skuld only laughed. "He's got a Jusenkyo curse, right?"
Ukyo thought for a moment. "Yes, I think that's what he told me
it was called."
Skuld brought her hands down onto the table. "Then pack up
your bags, cause that's where were going!"
*****
Author's notes:
This just gets bigger and bigger. I have so much planned for
this, I don't know where to start. Please comment! I would like to
thank Chester, Ash, and Vex for all of their help and suggestions.
Many thanks to Ash for typing those scene separators.
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.