Disclaimer: If you think I own these characters, or that I make money
doing this... well... you're wrong.
Warning: Some of the lemons at the TMFFA _really_ suck.
Warning: Altaverse (Keichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 9
by Jose Argao
"Die."
Haruka sat back and watched Michiru attack the angel with her
progressive knife, cutting it to pieces. The pilot of Unit 00 was truly
a force to be reckoned with. She herself remained in place, ready to
provide assistance at a moment's notice. Michiru didn't seem to need
any help, though. She was cutting through the angel like a hot knife
through butter. A few seconds later, the angel was lying in pieces on
the ground. Michiru smiled.
"The angel has been neutralized. Mission accomplished."
Haruka stared at the remains of the angel. It was a pity, really.
Of all the enemies she had ever faced, this was the only one who actually
_looked_ like an angel. It even had a halo. Coupled with its blonde hair,
gorgeous figure, flowing white robes, and golden harp, it looked almost
like a real messenger of God. That, or one of Mr. Ryouji's stripper
friends.
She sighed. Mamoru could be such a pervert sometimes. She
shuddered as she recalled the time Mamoru had invited her to go out
and look at a few 'melons'.
Caught up in her thoughts as she was, she failed to notice that
the angel was repairing itself, its pieces quickly fusing back together
to return to its former state. Michiru noticed, though. It was hard not
to, since the angel had tripped her Eva to the ground and was bashing
it over the head with its surprisingly heavy harp. She grunted and
moaned in pain, producing sounds that made the bridge crew blush as
their minds collectively went to the gutter.
It was those same sounds that distracted Haruka from her
thoughts. The young pilot gasped in shock as her eyes focused on the
sight in front of her. She dashed towards the angel and kicked it as
hard as she could, feeling the sting on her leg as Unit 01's blow
connected with the angel. It had the desired effect, however, and Unit
00 was now no longer making an impression of a giant mecha robot being
pummeled to death by an equally huge opponent. She turned to the
unmoving Eva lying on the ground and tried to contact its pilot.
"Michiru, are you okay? Michiru!"
A cold feeling came over her when she heard no reply. She
glanced at the angel, who was trying to get up but having trouble with
its tangled robes. She was just about to charge it in a fury of
righteous anger when a small screen appeared on the upper left corner
of the Eva's display panel. Captain Rei Katsuragi's face could be seen
on it. She had a look of determination on her face that Haruka found
extremely attractive.
"Haruka, don't worry about Michiru. We managed to sever the
nerve connections before her Eva was put out of commission. For now,
concentrate on taking out that angel!"
Haruka breathed a sigh of relief. She picked up a rifle that
was conveniently lying beside Unit 01's feet, aimed carefully at the
angel, and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
She tried again. Still nothing.
The rifle was jammed. She was thinking about trying a third
time when a blast of sound knocked her Eva off its feet. She covered
her ears with her hands as the blast continued to penetrate the armor
of her Eva. She opened an eye and squinted at the angel. It was somehow
using its harp to generate the ear-splitting sonic attack ringing in
her ears. She had to end this quickly or she would surely fall
unconscious.
She forced herself to ignore the pain and rolled her Eva out of
the sound's way. Before the angel had a chance to re-orient its attack,
she was already on top of it with her progressive knife. She slashed at
it as fast as she could, cutting it to pieces in a matter of seconds.
She jumped back and looked at the angel's remains. Her hands
started shaking when she noticed that the pieces were once again
repairing themselves. She opened a communications link back to the
bridge.
"It won't die! What do I do?"
*****
Captain Rei Katsuragi turned to the blonde scientist beside her
with a questioning look on her face.
Ami Akagi had naturally blue hair, but she dyed it blonde because
people were always mistaking her for a certain violent manga character
that she couldn't stand. She ran her hands over her short hair and turned
to her assistant.
"Makoto, have you found the core yet?"
Makoto quickly typed on her computer, wishing that it would
hurry up. Her sempai was counting on her! She smiled when the result
appeared on the screen. She printed it out on a piece of paper and
handed it to Ami.
"I've found it, sempai! I've found the core!"
Ami studied the diagram in front of her. It was no wonder the
angel had survived. The core was hidden in a place neither Haruka or
Michiru had thought to stab. She quickly gave the piece of paper to
Rei, who was unsure whether or not to believe what was written on it.
She turned to Ami, who was trying valiantly to hold back a blush.
"Are you sure about this?"
Ami simply nodded. Rei looked at the diagram once again, sighed
in exasperation, and turned to Usagi.
"Usagi, send a copy of this to Unit 01."
As Usagi got to work, Rei spoke once more into the microphone
that served as her communications link to Unit 01.
"Haruka, you have to go for its core. We're sending you the
information right now."
Haruka looked at the diagram as it appeared on the display
panel, breaking into a grin after reading it. This was going to be
easy. She ran towards the newly formed angel and tackled it, going
straight for the core once they hit the ground.
*****
Minako had never seen anything like it.
She had watched the battles against all the previous angels
with her own eyes, and this was completely different from the tactics
they had used before. She turned to Ami, who was blushing furiously as
she watched. Minako glanced at Usagi and Makoto, who sat quietly on
both sides of her. She turned to Rei, who was staring at the screen
with the rest of them. The Captain whispered a few words so softly that
Minako almost missed them.
"She's... eating the angel."
Above them, Commander Setsuna Ikari turned to Hotaru, who was
wordlessly watching the battle as it unfolded. She placed her hands
in front of her and spoke without looking away from the screen.
"Hotaru."
Hotaru glanced at Setsuna, her face flushed and beaded with
sweat.
"Yes, commander?"
Setsuna waited a few seconds before answering.
"Turn around and close your eyes, child."
Hotaru pouted as she turned the other way. Just when things
were getting interesting, too! She crossed her arms in front of her and
answered back with a remark that dripped of sarcasm.
"I suppose this is also part of your plan?"
Setsuna continued watching the screen for a few moments.
"Maybe."
*****
Haruka was having the time of her life. The angel was on the
verge of... destruction. It was struggling fiercely, obviously unable
to withstand the direct assault she was inflicting upon its core. She
held onto the angel with both hands, keeping it in place. Suddenly, just
when it was about to explode, a bright light filled her eyes and she was
forced to close them. When she opened them a few moments later, she was
no longer inside her Eva.
"Where am I?"
Haruka looked at her surroundings, wondering where she was and
how she got there. What was going on? She was floating aimlessly in a
place that was filled with various colors, all glowing brightly as they
moved unpredictably around her. It almost hurt her eyes to look at
them. Slowly, the colors in front of her began to coalesce into a human
shape. Haruka gasped when she recognized the man who had materialized
in front of her.
'Athan!'
She shook her head and looked at him again. It was Ranma, not
Athan. Who was Athan anyway? She didn't know any guys named Athan. Why
had she called him by that name? Her train of thought was derailed when
Ranma started speaking to her.
"Haruka-chan. Do you want to become one with me? Do you want us
to become one in body and soul? It feels so wonderful, Haruka-chan. Set
your mind free, Haruka-chan. Relax."
Haruka blushed. She had no idea he felt that way... that he
wanted to... surely he didn't mean....
*****
"Wake up, Haruka."
Haruka Ten'oh opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. It was
a nice ceiling, she thought to herself. Of course, she was no expert on
ceilings, but she was happy with it. She vaguely considered how having
a room with a nice ceiling had contributed to her development as a
human being. Had her room not been blessed with a nice ceiling, would
she be the same person she was today? Would she have done the same
things? Would she have made the same decisions?
'I've been watching too much anime.'
She sat up and yawned, stretching her arms above her head and
causing the blanket to fall to her waist. She shook her head a few
times and breathed deeply before speaking.
"What time is it?"
Michiru paused in front of the mirror and put her hair brush
down in front of her. She opened her jewelry box and rummaged in it for
a suitable pair of earrings while answering Haruka.
"It's almost nine. I didn't wake up until eight, actually, when
Hotaru came to get her allowance. It was already too late to go to our
morning classes so I decided to cut them. We can still make it for our
afternoon classes, though."
Haruka rubbed her eyes and tried to recall the details of her
late night games with Michiru. They were admittedly fun, but cleaning
up afterwards was hell. She wasn't able to sleep until a few hours
before dawn. She looked at Michiru, who seemed to be doing just fine.
In fact, if you looked closely enough, she almost seemed to have a
little more energy than usual.
"What's with you?"
Michiru looked at herself in the mirror from different angles,
trying to decide between two different pairs of earrings. She removed
one pair and tried on another pair.
"What do you mean?"
Haruka rolled her eyes and sighed, forcing herself to remain
awake. She scratched an itch in her inner thigh.
"How can you be so full of energy today? We went to sleep
pretty late, you know."
Michiru finished putting on her earrings and looked at herself
in the mirror. She was gorgeous, as usual. She almost felt sorry for
all the guys she would meet today. They would spend the rest of the day
idly dreaming about her, for sure.
"It's because you did the hard part."
Haruka's eyes shot open. The conversation suddenly got very
interesting.
"The hard part? _You_ were the one taking all the punishment!"
Michiru shook her head and got up, smoothing out the wrinkles
on her dress.
"Think about it, Haruka. You're the one who has to move around
all the time. It's you who has to make sure things don't actually get
painful. You have to handle everything once I'm... immobilized. All I
have to do is lie there and look sexy."
Haruka mulled the new information over in her mind. It made
sense, in a twisted sort of way. Still, it wasn't enough. It didn't
explain why Michiru was grinning like the cat that ate the canary, for
one thing. Michiru was planning something, and she was going to find
out what it was.
"That's all?"
Michiru stood up and walked over to the bed. She took a seat
beside Haruka and whispered conspiratorially.
"I'm giving Hotaru her talk today."
Haruka frowned. What the heck was Michiru talking about?
Michiru noticed her perplexed expression and smiled. She held Haruka
close and whispered again.
"You know, the one about how to wrap men around your finger and
make them slaves to your will."
Haruka's expression did not change.
"I don't think my mother ever gave me that particular talk,
Michiru."
Michiru just smiled at her cryptically.
"I know."
Haruka thought about what Michiru had said, and concluded that
it was one of those girl things that she would never understand.
"Alright, whatever. I'm staying home today. I'm tired and I
don't feel like going to school."
Michiru stood up from the bed, smoothing out her clothes as
she made her way out of the room.
"Fine."
Haruka watched her lover leave the room and closed her eyes.
She was hoping to re-capture her dream, just so she could find out what
Ranma had meant of course. She wasn't the least bit interested in
becoming one with him, whatever _that_ meant.
Fifteen minutes later, she gave up.
She just wasn't going to fall back asleep. She thought about
her problem for a few seconds, and decided to go have a glass of milk.
She got up off the bed, put on her slippers, and slowly made her way
downstairs.
Haruka was just passing by Setsuna's door when she heard a
moan. Another person might have confused the sound for something else,
but Haruka had a lot of experience on feminine moaning under her belt.
She knocked loudly on the door. Setsuna might have hurt herself in
there.
"Setsuna, it's Haruka! Are you okay in there?"
She waited for a few seconds, getting no response. She pressed
her ear against the door, listening for any sounds. She was just about
to dismiss it as a product of her imagination when the door suddenly
opened and an arm snaked out, grabbing her by her waist and pulling her
into the room. A tiny squeal was all she managed to get out before the
door closed.
*****
Ranma stared at Ms. Urd's back as he meekly followed behind
her. There were so many questions he wanted to ask the silver-haired
woman, but she would turn her head and look at him with those creepy
eyes of hers whenever he even thought about actually doing it. There
was something about her that unnerved him, and it wasn't the fact that
he still felt that they had met somewhere before. They were just about
to go out through the gates when they heard a shrill cry coming from
the school.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Urd, but I cannot allow you to take Mr. Saotome
away from me!."
Ranma groaned. There was only one person in Furinkan who still
referred to him as 'Mr.' Saotome. Whatever it was that Ms. Hinako was
up to, it was probably bad news for Ms. Urd. He looked at his companion
and was surprised to find that she was regarding Ms. Hinako with a look
of mild amusement. She had obviously never heard of the diminutive
teacher's incredible powers.
He tapped on her shoulder and she turned to give him that
creepy smile again. He felt his mouth go dry under her gaze but he
forced himself to talk anyway. Things could get ugly very quickly if
the situation was not diffused.
"Um... Ms. Urd, I don't think you should get her angry. Ms.
Hinako is-"
Ranma found himself cut off when Ms. Urd waved her hand
dismissively towards his teacher.
"I know all about Ms. Hinako's talents. Don't worry about me,
Ranma. I can take care of myself. It was sweet of you to try warning
me, though."
Ms. Hinako was fuming. She had struck her most dramatic pose
after shouting at Ms. Urd but the representative from the Ministry of
Education was all but ignoring her. Ms. Hinako had never failed to
turn a delinquent student around, and she would never forgive herself
if Ranma would be her first failure. Ms. Urd would have succeeded too,
if Hiroshi and Daisuke hadn't been able to warn her about what was
happening in time. She was simply going to have to take drastic measures
to keep him in Furinkan.
She smirked as she tightened her grip on the coin in her hand.
Ms. Urd wouldn't be ignoring her for much longer. She raised her right
hand, the coin lodged between two of her fingers.
"Happo Five-Yen Satsu!"
Ranma dashed towards Ms. Urd in a desperate bid to try and save
her from Ms. Hinako's attack. He was almost on top of her when she
suddenly turned and pushed him away.
He quickly got up from the bushes that Ms. Urd had shoved him
into. It was amazing! He had barely seen her move and suddenly he was
hurtling towards the side of the path they were standing on. He turned
to the area where Ms. Urd had been standing, and was shocked to find
that she hadn't made a move to avoid the attack herself. In fact, Ms.
Hinako's deadly attack didn't seem to be working against her. Could
she have known that the only way to escape the Happo Five-Yen Satsu was
not to produce a battle aura? But she should have produced an aura when
she shoved him off the path! What was going on?
He turned to face Ms. Hinako, and noted that she had already
changed into her adult form. Apparently, she _was_ leeching off Ms.
Urd's battle aura. Ms. Urd didn't seem to be affected, though. She was
just standing there, a smile plastered on her face. He couldn't say
the same for Ms. Hinako, though. The newly adult educator's body was
shaking like a leaf, and sweat was beading on her forehead. Certain
primitive parts of Ranma's brain noted that Ms. Hinako's tight sweater
was starting to become soaked in sweat and had wrapped itself even more
tightly on her torso.
He groaned again.
*****
Ms. Hinako Ninomiya did not understand what was going on. She
had already absorbed more energy from Ms. Urd than she had taken from
the entire school during her initial battle with Ranma. By all rights,
Ms. Urd should be nothing more than a dried up husk by now.
So why was she still standing there, seemingly unaffected?
The most disconcerting fact to Ms. Hinako, however, was that
she couldn't stop draining. She had been trying to sever the connection
between her and Ms. Urd for some time, but something was preventing her
from halting her attack. She had never absorbed so much energy without
releasing it before, and she didn't know what was going to happen.
She could feel the energy accumulating inside her. Her whole body
felt bloated, as if she had eaten a whole cow and washed it down with a
barrel of water. She fought to gain control of her attack, but the energy
just kept pouring in. She was starting to lose the sensation in her limbs
and her vision was slowly blurring up. It was getting harder and harder
to think straight.
An image of Soun Tendo's face appeared in her mind's eye. She
prayed to Kami-sama that she would be able to see him again.
Then the explosion came.
*****
Ranma immediately ran towards the spot where Ms. Hinako had
been standing. Fortunately, all the students around her had run for
cover when she started glowing bright yellow and were more or less
unharmed. He started digging through the pile of debris that had once
formed the front doors of Furinkan High, looking for Ms. Hinako's body.
He threw away a slab of concrete that was more or less on top of where
Ms. Hinako had been, and was shocked at what he saw.
He stood there for a few seconds, gaping at the spectacle
before him, until he heard Ms. Urd shouting at him.
"What are you waiting for, Ranma? Pick her up!"
Ranma snapped out of his trance and carefully lifted Ms. Hinako
from the debris. He still couldn't believe what he was looking at. He
looked at Ms. Urd, who didn't seem to be surprised at all.
"What happened to her?"
Ms. Urd grinned at Ranma before replying. "She bit off more
than she could chew."
Ranma's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Did she mean
what he thought she meant? He had to know more. If she was using some
secret martial arts technique he'd never heard of, she might want to
teach it to him! She seemed to like him, after all.
"I don't understand. Did you use some kind of secret martial arts
technique?"
Ms. Urd motioned for him to come closer, which he did. She
immediately started talking, speaking so quickly that Ranma had to
fight to keep up with her.
"Ms. Hinako Ninomiya has a unique metabolism. Her body has the
ability to absorb the energy from battle auras. I simply gave her more
aura than her body could handle."
Ranma looked at her incredulously. "That's impossible! Ms.
Hinako's body can handle a lot more aura than any normal person can
hold inside their body!"
Ms. Urd shrugged. "I guess I'm not a normal person, then."
Ranma glanced once more at the young girl in his arms.
"But why is she like _this_?"
Ms. Urd glanced at the girl he was holding. "Oh, you mean her
age? The overload caused her body to revert to its original form. What
you're looking at is Ms. Hinako's 'real' self."
Ranma replied quickly. "But she can't be much older than _I_
am!"
Ms. Urd retrieved a small computer from her bag, and pressed
a few buttons on it while looking at the small LCD screen.
"She's nineteen years old, Ranma. I'll wait here while you
drop her off at the clinic. We'll go to your house and talk to your
parents afterwards."
Ranma shook his head in wonder as he carried Ms. Hinako to the
clinic. He wasn't buying Ms. Urd's lame excuse. She _had_ to have used
a secret martial arts move to beat Ms. Hinako. Maybe a technique for
boosting your battle aura to inhuman levels for short periods of time?
He decided to ask Cologne about it later.
*****
Usagi was getting frustrated. Makoto, Minako, and Ami had all
been completely unable to come up with a suitable plan for separating
Ranma from his fiancees. Makoto's ideas were all too physical in nature
while Minako's suggestions were simply too... lewd. Ami, for her part,
didn't even seem to be trying. Lunch hour was almost over and all they
had been able to accomplish was to consume all their food. She closed
her eyes and listened to the tail-end of another one of Minako's silly
ideas.
"... so after I blast them with my love beams they'll fall
madly in love with each other and stop pestering Ranma."
Makoto shook her head and slammed her fist on the table,
drawing everyone's attention to her. Passers-by noted that the action
caused her breasts to bounce enticingly.
"We can't do that, we'd be messing with the minds of those
poor girls! We just want to get them to leave Ranma alone, not fry
their brains. I still say we should beat them up until they agree to
stop seeing him. At least _my_ idea would leave them with their own
personalities intact."
Usagi decided to interrupt them before things got out of hand.
Minako and Makoto were both getting really agitated. The last thing she
needed right now was a cat-fight breaking out between the two of her
senshi.
"No! We don't want to do anything bad to them! We won't hurt
them in any way. We could set them up with other guys, for example.
I could introduce them to Mamoru and Rei could set one of them up
with Yuuichiro."
Minako giggled. "Yeah right, like a girl would ever settle for
anyone else after seeing Ranma."
The three of them nodded slowly. Makoto then looked at Usagi
and pointed an accusing finger at her.
"Hey, isn't Mamoru your boyfriend? Why are you giving him away
all of a sudden? Whatever happened to Mamo-_chan_?"
Usagi frowned and tried to ignore the stares she was getting
from Minako and Makoto. She didn't want to tell them about why she was
late to school that morning. She had called Mamoru to break up with
him but he beat her to the punch, breaking up with her as soon as he
found out that who it was on the phone. Apparently he had to sort out
some weird dreams he had been having lately. She was still thinking of
a way to dodge the question when Ami suddenly spoke up.
"I think I have a solution."
They all turned to look at the blue-haired girl who had been
quietly ignoring them since lunch had started. Makoto waited all of two
seconds before growling in frustration.
"Don't keep us in suspense! What are you planning?"
Ami looked around to make sure that everyone's attention was on
her, then began.
"I was thinking about what Makoto said, you see. Actually, when
you think about it, what she's saying is true. We don't have to injure
Ranma's current fiancees seriously to get them to-"
Usagi immediately interrupted her.
"I don't want to hurt anyone, Ami-chan. These are teenage girls
we're talking about!"
Ami shook her head as she continued.
"That's not what I meant, Usagi. The thing is, we can take
Makoto's statement to the next level. We don't have to hurt them at
all! We just have to go down to Nerima in our senshi forms and give
them a little scare."
Ami, Makoto, and Usagi nodded their heads slowly as they
considered Ami's suggestion. Usagi turned to Ami and asked a question.
"What if they decide to fight back?"
Ami grinned at her. "They won't fight back because they'll know
it's useless. I've looked them up on my computer and found that Ukyo
Kuonji is just an okonomiyaki cook while Shampoo works as a waitress at
a place called the 'Nekohanten' as a waitress. Kodachi Kuno is the
captain of Saint Hebereke's gymnastics club.* How strong could they
possibly be?"
Usagi carefully thought about the suggestion. She wasn't sure
she was entirely comfortable with the idea of threatening the girls,
but she couldn't think of any better ideas. Besides, Ami was right.
They were just normal teenage girls, surely they wouldn't even dream
of going against the Sailor Senshi. She smiled, her decision made.
"Okay, Ami-chan, we'll do it!"
*****
"No, absolutely not! Ranma will go to school at Furinkan High
with his fiancee! I will not allow him to go and study at another
district while Akane goes to school here, and that's final!"
Genma crossed his arms in front of him and looked away, the
argument over in his mind. Urd just smiled. She had expected as much
from Ranma's father. The man was stubborn, if nothing else. She had
come prepared, however. She flashed him a gorgeous smile and began
her rehearsed speech.
"Mr. Saotome, I am shocked that you would say such a thing!
We are talking about Ranma's future here! If he continues to study at
Furinkan and his grades remain as they are he'll _never_ get into a
good college!"
Genma smirked at the woman. She didn't know anything. He
decided to spell things out so that she'd understand the situation.
"Ms. Urd, Ranma doesn't need to go to college. He'll marry
Akane right after graduating from high school. After that, he'll
inherit the dojo and make a living teaching martial arts."
Urd inwardly rejoiced. Genma was acting exactly as she
predicted he would. She gave him the 'disappointed' look that she
had practiced beforehand while continuing her speech.
"Well, if that's what you want there's nothing I can do,
Mr. Saotome. It's such a shame too... he could have turned out to
be one of the most brilliant minds in Japan."
Genma grinned. "Real men like Ranma don't need to have
brilliant minds."
Urd continued as if she hadn't heard.
"I mean, he just might have what it takes to discover the cure
baldness, or even AIDS."
Genma laughed openly at the woman's suggestion. Ranma, discover
the cure for AIDS? The very idea was ridiculous! He was just about to
tell Ms. Urd to leave when his brain caught up to an important part of
what she had said.
"Um... would you say that again, Ms. Urd?"
Urd smiled at him. Men were so easy to manipulate. "I'm sorry,
Mr. Saotome. I was just thinking that Ranma's mind has great potential,
that's all. I guess we'll never know, huh? I'll be leaving now. Sorry
to have bothered you."
Genma grabbed Urd's arm before she could get up, however.
"No, please stay! What was that you were saying about a cure
for baldness?"
Urd sat back down and feigned disinterest. "Well, it's
certainly not impossible. Ranma scored extremely high on his IQ tests,
so he might just be the man for the job. However, if he doesn't go to
college, I doubt that he'll ever acquire the skills necessary to get
it done."
Genma's mouth gaped open as he realized what a fool he had
been. Ranma was his son, so naturally the boy was gifted with increased
intelligence. With a college education, doing something as simple as
finding a cure for baldness would be a piece of cake for him! And to
think that he had almost crushed his last chance at ever growing back
his hair! Genma slammed his fist onto the table in front of them and
shouted with conviction.
"Ranma will be leaving with you as soon as possible, Ms. Urd!
You shall have my full cooperation on this. We are talking about my
boy's future, after all."
Outside the door, Kasumi had to restrain Soun from barging in
and giving Ms. Urd a piece of his mind. She touched a pressure point on
the nape of his neck and he fell into her arms, unconscious. She hummed
happily as she carried him to his room and laid him onto his futon. The
skills she had acquired from reading those medical books she was always
borrowing from Doctor Tofu sure came in handy today. It would have been
a shame if Ranma lost his best chance at an education because of her
father.
"Thank you for your support, Mr. Saotome. I'll be sure to take
good care of Ranma!"
Urd got up and straightened out her blouse. Her plans were
slowly coming to fruition! Soon Ranma would be with the perfect woman
for him and it would all be thanks to her. Urd was startled out of her
thoughts when she felt someone tapping on her shoulder. She turned and
was a bit surprised when she found that it was Mrs. Saotome. The woman
had sat quietly behind and to the left of Mr. Saotome the whole time
they were talking. She smiled as she turned to Ranma's mother.
"Yes, did you want to ask me anything, Mrs. Saotome?"
Nodoka decided to get straight to the point. This strange woman
was too good with words, and an extended conversation with her might
prove to be very dangerous. She locked eyes with Ms. Urd as she spoke.
"Exactly where are you going to take my son, Ms. Urd?"
Urd relaxed. Apparently she just wanted to ask about the
specifics of Ranma's transfer.
"Ranma will be studying at Juuban, Mrs. Saotome."
Nodoka frowned. "Isn't that a bit too far? How will Ranma be
able to get home everyday?"
Urd smiled at her.
"Ranma will be living there, actually. All of the arrangements
have already been made so you don't need to worry about a thing. He'll
come home during weekends so you can spend time together."
Nodoka's face took on a worried look. "But Ranma will be all
alone over there...."
Urd stared at her. "Well, I can pick him up and take him to
school everyday if you want. I just thought that Ranma was enough of
a man to be able to live away from his mother a few days a week, that's
all. I'll come by early everyday, okay?"
Nodoka's expression shifted from worried to confused to angry
in the span of two seconds. She tightened her grip on the family sword
that she still carried with her and spoke with conviction.
"Of course Ranma's man enough to live on his own! He's a man
among men! I was just being an overprotective mother, that's all. Ranma
will have no problems living away from me!"
Urd raised her eyebrows. "Well, if you're sure he can handle
it like a real man would...."
Nodoka's eyes gleamed with pride.
"Ranma is man enough to do _anything_! He can live wherever you
want him to with no problems. I'm sure of it."
Urd smiled again as she made her way outside, where Ranma was
waiting. This was a piece of cake.
*****
"Don't worry, Akane. Everything will be alright."
Nabiki tried to console the sobbing girl in her arms as she
wondered how the news of Ranma's departure could hit Akane so hard.
"But he's leaving Japan with some foreigner and Ms. Hinako and
they're going to live it up on some tropical island!"
Nabiki rolled her eyes when she realized why Akane was making
such a big deal out of it. "Who told you that?"
Akane continued to sob. "Yuka and Sayuri told me!"
Nabiki pulled her handkerchief out of her pocket and used it to
dab at Akane's eyes.
"Stop crying, Akane. Ranma's transferring to another district,
not moving to a tropical island. A representative from the Ministry of
Education came here this morning and talked to the principal about it.
He's just going to go to a different school, that's all."
Akane quickly dried her eyes. "Are you sure?"
Nabiki grinned at her. "Of course I'm sure! Don't worry about
it. I saw the way he was looking at you this morning. Unless you had a
huge fight with him on the way to school today, there's nothing for you
to get worried about!"
Nabiki groaned when Akane broke into tears once more.
*****
* she looked up the school records for Ukyo and Kodachi, then she found
the magazine article from the manga (volume 29) for information on
Shampoo.
*****
Author's notes:
I would like to thank Chester, Vex, Thermopyle, Egan Mandrake,
MicelKomphasouk, Seaver, and Helmut Steeg for all of the help they gave
me on this chapter.
I would just like to say that the beginning of this chapter
came to me unexpectedly, and I found myself unable to continue writing
the fic until I had incorporated the idea into it. I hope you liked
it anyway.
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.
doing this... well... you're wrong.
Warning: Some of the lemons at the TMFFA _really_ suck.
Warning: Altaverse (Keichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 9
by Jose Argao
"Die."
Haruka sat back and watched Michiru attack the angel with her
progressive knife, cutting it to pieces. The pilot of Unit 00 was truly
a force to be reckoned with. She herself remained in place, ready to
provide assistance at a moment's notice. Michiru didn't seem to need
any help, though. She was cutting through the angel like a hot knife
through butter. A few seconds later, the angel was lying in pieces on
the ground. Michiru smiled.
"The angel has been neutralized. Mission accomplished."
Haruka stared at the remains of the angel. It was a pity, really.
Of all the enemies she had ever faced, this was the only one who actually
_looked_ like an angel. It even had a halo. Coupled with its blonde hair,
gorgeous figure, flowing white robes, and golden harp, it looked almost
like a real messenger of God. That, or one of Mr. Ryouji's stripper
friends.
She sighed. Mamoru could be such a pervert sometimes. She
shuddered as she recalled the time Mamoru had invited her to go out
and look at a few 'melons'.
Caught up in her thoughts as she was, she failed to notice that
the angel was repairing itself, its pieces quickly fusing back together
to return to its former state. Michiru noticed, though. It was hard not
to, since the angel had tripped her Eva to the ground and was bashing
it over the head with its surprisingly heavy harp. She grunted and
moaned in pain, producing sounds that made the bridge crew blush as
their minds collectively went to the gutter.
It was those same sounds that distracted Haruka from her
thoughts. The young pilot gasped in shock as her eyes focused on the
sight in front of her. She dashed towards the angel and kicked it as
hard as she could, feeling the sting on her leg as Unit 01's blow
connected with the angel. It had the desired effect, however, and Unit
00 was now no longer making an impression of a giant mecha robot being
pummeled to death by an equally huge opponent. She turned to the
unmoving Eva lying on the ground and tried to contact its pilot.
"Michiru, are you okay? Michiru!"
A cold feeling came over her when she heard no reply. She
glanced at the angel, who was trying to get up but having trouble with
its tangled robes. She was just about to charge it in a fury of
righteous anger when a small screen appeared on the upper left corner
of the Eva's display panel. Captain Rei Katsuragi's face could be seen
on it. She had a look of determination on her face that Haruka found
extremely attractive.
"Haruka, don't worry about Michiru. We managed to sever the
nerve connections before her Eva was put out of commission. For now,
concentrate on taking out that angel!"
Haruka breathed a sigh of relief. She picked up a rifle that
was conveniently lying beside Unit 01's feet, aimed carefully at the
angel, and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
She tried again. Still nothing.
The rifle was jammed. She was thinking about trying a third
time when a blast of sound knocked her Eva off its feet. She covered
her ears with her hands as the blast continued to penetrate the armor
of her Eva. She opened an eye and squinted at the angel. It was somehow
using its harp to generate the ear-splitting sonic attack ringing in
her ears. She had to end this quickly or she would surely fall
unconscious.
She forced herself to ignore the pain and rolled her Eva out of
the sound's way. Before the angel had a chance to re-orient its attack,
she was already on top of it with her progressive knife. She slashed at
it as fast as she could, cutting it to pieces in a matter of seconds.
She jumped back and looked at the angel's remains. Her hands
started shaking when she noticed that the pieces were once again
repairing themselves. She opened a communications link back to the
bridge.
"It won't die! What do I do?"
*****
Captain Rei Katsuragi turned to the blonde scientist beside her
with a questioning look on her face.
Ami Akagi had naturally blue hair, but she dyed it blonde because
people were always mistaking her for a certain violent manga character
that she couldn't stand. She ran her hands over her short hair and turned
to her assistant.
"Makoto, have you found the core yet?"
Makoto quickly typed on her computer, wishing that it would
hurry up. Her sempai was counting on her! She smiled when the result
appeared on the screen. She printed it out on a piece of paper and
handed it to Ami.
"I've found it, sempai! I've found the core!"
Ami studied the diagram in front of her. It was no wonder the
angel had survived. The core was hidden in a place neither Haruka or
Michiru had thought to stab. She quickly gave the piece of paper to
Rei, who was unsure whether or not to believe what was written on it.
She turned to Ami, who was trying valiantly to hold back a blush.
"Are you sure about this?"
Ami simply nodded. Rei looked at the diagram once again, sighed
in exasperation, and turned to Usagi.
"Usagi, send a copy of this to Unit 01."
As Usagi got to work, Rei spoke once more into the microphone
that served as her communications link to Unit 01.
"Haruka, you have to go for its core. We're sending you the
information right now."
Haruka looked at the diagram as it appeared on the display
panel, breaking into a grin after reading it. This was going to be
easy. She ran towards the newly formed angel and tackled it, going
straight for the core once they hit the ground.
*****
Minako had never seen anything like it.
She had watched the battles against all the previous angels
with her own eyes, and this was completely different from the tactics
they had used before. She turned to Ami, who was blushing furiously as
she watched. Minako glanced at Usagi and Makoto, who sat quietly on
both sides of her. She turned to Rei, who was staring at the screen
with the rest of them. The Captain whispered a few words so softly that
Minako almost missed them.
"She's... eating the angel."
Above them, Commander Setsuna Ikari turned to Hotaru, who was
wordlessly watching the battle as it unfolded. She placed her hands
in front of her and spoke without looking away from the screen.
"Hotaru."
Hotaru glanced at Setsuna, her face flushed and beaded with
sweat.
"Yes, commander?"
Setsuna waited a few seconds before answering.
"Turn around and close your eyes, child."
Hotaru pouted as she turned the other way. Just when things
were getting interesting, too! She crossed her arms in front of her and
answered back with a remark that dripped of sarcasm.
"I suppose this is also part of your plan?"
Setsuna continued watching the screen for a few moments.
"Maybe."
*****
Haruka was having the time of her life. The angel was on the
verge of... destruction. It was struggling fiercely, obviously unable
to withstand the direct assault she was inflicting upon its core. She
held onto the angel with both hands, keeping it in place. Suddenly, just
when it was about to explode, a bright light filled her eyes and she was
forced to close them. When she opened them a few moments later, she was
no longer inside her Eva.
"Where am I?"
Haruka looked at her surroundings, wondering where she was and
how she got there. What was going on? She was floating aimlessly in a
place that was filled with various colors, all glowing brightly as they
moved unpredictably around her. It almost hurt her eyes to look at
them. Slowly, the colors in front of her began to coalesce into a human
shape. Haruka gasped when she recognized the man who had materialized
in front of her.
'Athan!'
She shook her head and looked at him again. It was Ranma, not
Athan. Who was Athan anyway? She didn't know any guys named Athan. Why
had she called him by that name? Her train of thought was derailed when
Ranma started speaking to her.
"Haruka-chan. Do you want to become one with me? Do you want us
to become one in body and soul? It feels so wonderful, Haruka-chan. Set
your mind free, Haruka-chan. Relax."
Haruka blushed. She had no idea he felt that way... that he
wanted to... surely he didn't mean....
*****
"Wake up, Haruka."
Haruka Ten'oh opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. It was
a nice ceiling, she thought to herself. Of course, she was no expert on
ceilings, but she was happy with it. She vaguely considered how having
a room with a nice ceiling had contributed to her development as a
human being. Had her room not been blessed with a nice ceiling, would
she be the same person she was today? Would she have done the same
things? Would she have made the same decisions?
'I've been watching too much anime.'
She sat up and yawned, stretching her arms above her head and
causing the blanket to fall to her waist. She shook her head a few
times and breathed deeply before speaking.
"What time is it?"
Michiru paused in front of the mirror and put her hair brush
down in front of her. She opened her jewelry box and rummaged in it for
a suitable pair of earrings while answering Haruka.
"It's almost nine. I didn't wake up until eight, actually, when
Hotaru came to get her allowance. It was already too late to go to our
morning classes so I decided to cut them. We can still make it for our
afternoon classes, though."
Haruka rubbed her eyes and tried to recall the details of her
late night games with Michiru. They were admittedly fun, but cleaning
up afterwards was hell. She wasn't able to sleep until a few hours
before dawn. She looked at Michiru, who seemed to be doing just fine.
In fact, if you looked closely enough, she almost seemed to have a
little more energy than usual.
"What's with you?"
Michiru looked at herself in the mirror from different angles,
trying to decide between two different pairs of earrings. She removed
one pair and tried on another pair.
"What do you mean?"
Haruka rolled her eyes and sighed, forcing herself to remain
awake. She scratched an itch in her inner thigh.
"How can you be so full of energy today? We went to sleep
pretty late, you know."
Michiru finished putting on her earrings and looked at herself
in the mirror. She was gorgeous, as usual. She almost felt sorry for
all the guys she would meet today. They would spend the rest of the day
idly dreaming about her, for sure.
"It's because you did the hard part."
Haruka's eyes shot open. The conversation suddenly got very
interesting.
"The hard part? _You_ were the one taking all the punishment!"
Michiru shook her head and got up, smoothing out the wrinkles
on her dress.
"Think about it, Haruka. You're the one who has to move around
all the time. It's you who has to make sure things don't actually get
painful. You have to handle everything once I'm... immobilized. All I
have to do is lie there and look sexy."
Haruka mulled the new information over in her mind. It made
sense, in a twisted sort of way. Still, it wasn't enough. It didn't
explain why Michiru was grinning like the cat that ate the canary, for
one thing. Michiru was planning something, and she was going to find
out what it was.
"That's all?"
Michiru stood up and walked over to the bed. She took a seat
beside Haruka and whispered conspiratorially.
"I'm giving Hotaru her talk today."
Haruka frowned. What the heck was Michiru talking about?
Michiru noticed her perplexed expression and smiled. She held Haruka
close and whispered again.
"You know, the one about how to wrap men around your finger and
make them slaves to your will."
Haruka's expression did not change.
"I don't think my mother ever gave me that particular talk,
Michiru."
Michiru just smiled at her cryptically.
"I know."
Haruka thought about what Michiru had said, and concluded that
it was one of those girl things that she would never understand.
"Alright, whatever. I'm staying home today. I'm tired and I
don't feel like going to school."
Michiru stood up from the bed, smoothing out her clothes as
she made her way out of the room.
"Fine."
Haruka watched her lover leave the room and closed her eyes.
She was hoping to re-capture her dream, just so she could find out what
Ranma had meant of course. She wasn't the least bit interested in
becoming one with him, whatever _that_ meant.
Fifteen minutes later, she gave up.
She just wasn't going to fall back asleep. She thought about
her problem for a few seconds, and decided to go have a glass of milk.
She got up off the bed, put on her slippers, and slowly made her way
downstairs.
Haruka was just passing by Setsuna's door when she heard a
moan. Another person might have confused the sound for something else,
but Haruka had a lot of experience on feminine moaning under her belt.
She knocked loudly on the door. Setsuna might have hurt herself in
there.
"Setsuna, it's Haruka! Are you okay in there?"
She waited for a few seconds, getting no response. She pressed
her ear against the door, listening for any sounds. She was just about
to dismiss it as a product of her imagination when the door suddenly
opened and an arm snaked out, grabbing her by her waist and pulling her
into the room. A tiny squeal was all she managed to get out before the
door closed.
*****
Ranma stared at Ms. Urd's back as he meekly followed behind
her. There were so many questions he wanted to ask the silver-haired
woman, but she would turn her head and look at him with those creepy
eyes of hers whenever he even thought about actually doing it. There
was something about her that unnerved him, and it wasn't the fact that
he still felt that they had met somewhere before. They were just about
to go out through the gates when they heard a shrill cry coming from
the school.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Urd, but I cannot allow you to take Mr. Saotome
away from me!."
Ranma groaned. There was only one person in Furinkan who still
referred to him as 'Mr.' Saotome. Whatever it was that Ms. Hinako was
up to, it was probably bad news for Ms. Urd. He looked at his companion
and was surprised to find that she was regarding Ms. Hinako with a look
of mild amusement. She had obviously never heard of the diminutive
teacher's incredible powers.
He tapped on her shoulder and she turned to give him that
creepy smile again. He felt his mouth go dry under her gaze but he
forced himself to talk anyway. Things could get ugly very quickly if
the situation was not diffused.
"Um... Ms. Urd, I don't think you should get her angry. Ms.
Hinako is-"
Ranma found himself cut off when Ms. Urd waved her hand
dismissively towards his teacher.
"I know all about Ms. Hinako's talents. Don't worry about me,
Ranma. I can take care of myself. It was sweet of you to try warning
me, though."
Ms. Hinako was fuming. She had struck her most dramatic pose
after shouting at Ms. Urd but the representative from the Ministry of
Education was all but ignoring her. Ms. Hinako had never failed to
turn a delinquent student around, and she would never forgive herself
if Ranma would be her first failure. Ms. Urd would have succeeded too,
if Hiroshi and Daisuke hadn't been able to warn her about what was
happening in time. She was simply going to have to take drastic measures
to keep him in Furinkan.
She smirked as she tightened her grip on the coin in her hand.
Ms. Urd wouldn't be ignoring her for much longer. She raised her right
hand, the coin lodged between two of her fingers.
"Happo Five-Yen Satsu!"
Ranma dashed towards Ms. Urd in a desperate bid to try and save
her from Ms. Hinako's attack. He was almost on top of her when she
suddenly turned and pushed him away.
He quickly got up from the bushes that Ms. Urd had shoved him
into. It was amazing! He had barely seen her move and suddenly he was
hurtling towards the side of the path they were standing on. He turned
to the area where Ms. Urd had been standing, and was shocked to find
that she hadn't made a move to avoid the attack herself. In fact, Ms.
Hinako's deadly attack didn't seem to be working against her. Could
she have known that the only way to escape the Happo Five-Yen Satsu was
not to produce a battle aura? But she should have produced an aura when
she shoved him off the path! What was going on?
He turned to face Ms. Hinako, and noted that she had already
changed into her adult form. Apparently, she _was_ leeching off Ms.
Urd's battle aura. Ms. Urd didn't seem to be affected, though. She was
just standing there, a smile plastered on her face. He couldn't say
the same for Ms. Hinako, though. The newly adult educator's body was
shaking like a leaf, and sweat was beading on her forehead. Certain
primitive parts of Ranma's brain noted that Ms. Hinako's tight sweater
was starting to become soaked in sweat and had wrapped itself even more
tightly on her torso.
He groaned again.
*****
Ms. Hinako Ninomiya did not understand what was going on. She
had already absorbed more energy from Ms. Urd than she had taken from
the entire school during her initial battle with Ranma. By all rights,
Ms. Urd should be nothing more than a dried up husk by now.
So why was she still standing there, seemingly unaffected?
The most disconcerting fact to Ms. Hinako, however, was that
she couldn't stop draining. She had been trying to sever the connection
between her and Ms. Urd for some time, but something was preventing her
from halting her attack. She had never absorbed so much energy without
releasing it before, and she didn't know what was going to happen.
She could feel the energy accumulating inside her. Her whole body
felt bloated, as if she had eaten a whole cow and washed it down with a
barrel of water. She fought to gain control of her attack, but the energy
just kept pouring in. She was starting to lose the sensation in her limbs
and her vision was slowly blurring up. It was getting harder and harder
to think straight.
An image of Soun Tendo's face appeared in her mind's eye. She
prayed to Kami-sama that she would be able to see him again.
Then the explosion came.
*****
Ranma immediately ran towards the spot where Ms. Hinako had
been standing. Fortunately, all the students around her had run for
cover when she started glowing bright yellow and were more or less
unharmed. He started digging through the pile of debris that had once
formed the front doors of Furinkan High, looking for Ms. Hinako's body.
He threw away a slab of concrete that was more or less on top of where
Ms. Hinako had been, and was shocked at what he saw.
He stood there for a few seconds, gaping at the spectacle
before him, until he heard Ms. Urd shouting at him.
"What are you waiting for, Ranma? Pick her up!"
Ranma snapped out of his trance and carefully lifted Ms. Hinako
from the debris. He still couldn't believe what he was looking at. He
looked at Ms. Urd, who didn't seem to be surprised at all.
"What happened to her?"
Ms. Urd grinned at Ranma before replying. "She bit off more
than she could chew."
Ranma's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Did she mean
what he thought she meant? He had to know more. If she was using some
secret martial arts technique he'd never heard of, she might want to
teach it to him! She seemed to like him, after all.
"I don't understand. Did you use some kind of secret martial arts
technique?"
Ms. Urd motioned for him to come closer, which he did. She
immediately started talking, speaking so quickly that Ranma had to
fight to keep up with her.
"Ms. Hinako Ninomiya has a unique metabolism. Her body has the
ability to absorb the energy from battle auras. I simply gave her more
aura than her body could handle."
Ranma looked at her incredulously. "That's impossible! Ms.
Hinako's body can handle a lot more aura than any normal person can
hold inside their body!"
Ms. Urd shrugged. "I guess I'm not a normal person, then."
Ranma glanced once more at the young girl in his arms.
"But why is she like _this_?"
Ms. Urd glanced at the girl he was holding. "Oh, you mean her
age? The overload caused her body to revert to its original form. What
you're looking at is Ms. Hinako's 'real' self."
Ranma replied quickly. "But she can't be much older than _I_
am!"
Ms. Urd retrieved a small computer from her bag, and pressed
a few buttons on it while looking at the small LCD screen.
"She's nineteen years old, Ranma. I'll wait here while you
drop her off at the clinic. We'll go to your house and talk to your
parents afterwards."
Ranma shook his head in wonder as he carried Ms. Hinako to the
clinic. He wasn't buying Ms. Urd's lame excuse. She _had_ to have used
a secret martial arts move to beat Ms. Hinako. Maybe a technique for
boosting your battle aura to inhuman levels for short periods of time?
He decided to ask Cologne about it later.
*****
Usagi was getting frustrated. Makoto, Minako, and Ami had all
been completely unable to come up with a suitable plan for separating
Ranma from his fiancees. Makoto's ideas were all too physical in nature
while Minako's suggestions were simply too... lewd. Ami, for her part,
didn't even seem to be trying. Lunch hour was almost over and all they
had been able to accomplish was to consume all their food. She closed
her eyes and listened to the tail-end of another one of Minako's silly
ideas.
"... so after I blast them with my love beams they'll fall
madly in love with each other and stop pestering Ranma."
Makoto shook her head and slammed her fist on the table,
drawing everyone's attention to her. Passers-by noted that the action
caused her breasts to bounce enticingly.
"We can't do that, we'd be messing with the minds of those
poor girls! We just want to get them to leave Ranma alone, not fry
their brains. I still say we should beat them up until they agree to
stop seeing him. At least _my_ idea would leave them with their own
personalities intact."
Usagi decided to interrupt them before things got out of hand.
Minako and Makoto were both getting really agitated. The last thing she
needed right now was a cat-fight breaking out between the two of her
senshi.
"No! We don't want to do anything bad to them! We won't hurt
them in any way. We could set them up with other guys, for example.
I could introduce them to Mamoru and Rei could set one of them up
with Yuuichiro."
Minako giggled. "Yeah right, like a girl would ever settle for
anyone else after seeing Ranma."
The three of them nodded slowly. Makoto then looked at Usagi
and pointed an accusing finger at her.
"Hey, isn't Mamoru your boyfriend? Why are you giving him away
all of a sudden? Whatever happened to Mamo-_chan_?"
Usagi frowned and tried to ignore the stares she was getting
from Minako and Makoto. She didn't want to tell them about why she was
late to school that morning. She had called Mamoru to break up with
him but he beat her to the punch, breaking up with her as soon as he
found out that who it was on the phone. Apparently he had to sort out
some weird dreams he had been having lately. She was still thinking of
a way to dodge the question when Ami suddenly spoke up.
"I think I have a solution."
They all turned to look at the blue-haired girl who had been
quietly ignoring them since lunch had started. Makoto waited all of two
seconds before growling in frustration.
"Don't keep us in suspense! What are you planning?"
Ami looked around to make sure that everyone's attention was on
her, then began.
"I was thinking about what Makoto said, you see. Actually, when
you think about it, what she's saying is true. We don't have to injure
Ranma's current fiancees seriously to get them to-"
Usagi immediately interrupted her.
"I don't want to hurt anyone, Ami-chan. These are teenage girls
we're talking about!"
Ami shook her head as she continued.
"That's not what I meant, Usagi. The thing is, we can take
Makoto's statement to the next level. We don't have to hurt them at
all! We just have to go down to Nerima in our senshi forms and give
them a little scare."
Ami, Makoto, and Usagi nodded their heads slowly as they
considered Ami's suggestion. Usagi turned to Ami and asked a question.
"What if they decide to fight back?"
Ami grinned at her. "They won't fight back because they'll know
it's useless. I've looked them up on my computer and found that Ukyo
Kuonji is just an okonomiyaki cook while Shampoo works as a waitress at
a place called the 'Nekohanten' as a waitress. Kodachi Kuno is the
captain of Saint Hebereke's gymnastics club.* How strong could they
possibly be?"
Usagi carefully thought about the suggestion. She wasn't sure
she was entirely comfortable with the idea of threatening the girls,
but she couldn't think of any better ideas. Besides, Ami was right.
They were just normal teenage girls, surely they wouldn't even dream
of going against the Sailor Senshi. She smiled, her decision made.
"Okay, Ami-chan, we'll do it!"
*****
"No, absolutely not! Ranma will go to school at Furinkan High
with his fiancee! I will not allow him to go and study at another
district while Akane goes to school here, and that's final!"
Genma crossed his arms in front of him and looked away, the
argument over in his mind. Urd just smiled. She had expected as much
from Ranma's father. The man was stubborn, if nothing else. She had
come prepared, however. She flashed him a gorgeous smile and began
her rehearsed speech.
"Mr. Saotome, I am shocked that you would say such a thing!
We are talking about Ranma's future here! If he continues to study at
Furinkan and his grades remain as they are he'll _never_ get into a
good college!"
Genma smirked at the woman. She didn't know anything. He
decided to spell things out so that she'd understand the situation.
"Ms. Urd, Ranma doesn't need to go to college. He'll marry
Akane right after graduating from high school. After that, he'll
inherit the dojo and make a living teaching martial arts."
Urd inwardly rejoiced. Genma was acting exactly as she
predicted he would. She gave him the 'disappointed' look that she
had practiced beforehand while continuing her speech.
"Well, if that's what you want there's nothing I can do,
Mr. Saotome. It's such a shame too... he could have turned out to
be one of the most brilliant minds in Japan."
Genma grinned. "Real men like Ranma don't need to have
brilliant minds."
Urd continued as if she hadn't heard.
"I mean, he just might have what it takes to discover the cure
baldness, or even AIDS."
Genma laughed openly at the woman's suggestion. Ranma, discover
the cure for AIDS? The very idea was ridiculous! He was just about to
tell Ms. Urd to leave when his brain caught up to an important part of
what she had said.
"Um... would you say that again, Ms. Urd?"
Urd smiled at him. Men were so easy to manipulate. "I'm sorry,
Mr. Saotome. I was just thinking that Ranma's mind has great potential,
that's all. I guess we'll never know, huh? I'll be leaving now. Sorry
to have bothered you."
Genma grabbed Urd's arm before she could get up, however.
"No, please stay! What was that you were saying about a cure
for baldness?"
Urd sat back down and feigned disinterest. "Well, it's
certainly not impossible. Ranma scored extremely high on his IQ tests,
so he might just be the man for the job. However, if he doesn't go to
college, I doubt that he'll ever acquire the skills necessary to get
it done."
Genma's mouth gaped open as he realized what a fool he had
been. Ranma was his son, so naturally the boy was gifted with increased
intelligence. With a college education, doing something as simple as
finding a cure for baldness would be a piece of cake for him! And to
think that he had almost crushed his last chance at ever growing back
his hair! Genma slammed his fist onto the table in front of them and
shouted with conviction.
"Ranma will be leaving with you as soon as possible, Ms. Urd!
You shall have my full cooperation on this. We are talking about my
boy's future, after all."
Outside the door, Kasumi had to restrain Soun from barging in
and giving Ms. Urd a piece of his mind. She touched a pressure point on
the nape of his neck and he fell into her arms, unconscious. She hummed
happily as she carried him to his room and laid him onto his futon. The
skills she had acquired from reading those medical books she was always
borrowing from Doctor Tofu sure came in handy today. It would have been
a shame if Ranma lost his best chance at an education because of her
father.
"Thank you for your support, Mr. Saotome. I'll be sure to take
good care of Ranma!"
Urd got up and straightened out her blouse. Her plans were
slowly coming to fruition! Soon Ranma would be with the perfect woman
for him and it would all be thanks to her. Urd was startled out of her
thoughts when she felt someone tapping on her shoulder. She turned and
was a bit surprised when she found that it was Mrs. Saotome. The woman
had sat quietly behind and to the left of Mr. Saotome the whole time
they were talking. She smiled as she turned to Ranma's mother.
"Yes, did you want to ask me anything, Mrs. Saotome?"
Nodoka decided to get straight to the point. This strange woman
was too good with words, and an extended conversation with her might
prove to be very dangerous. She locked eyes with Ms. Urd as she spoke.
"Exactly where are you going to take my son, Ms. Urd?"
Urd relaxed. Apparently she just wanted to ask about the
specifics of Ranma's transfer.
"Ranma will be studying at Juuban, Mrs. Saotome."
Nodoka frowned. "Isn't that a bit too far? How will Ranma be
able to get home everyday?"
Urd smiled at her.
"Ranma will be living there, actually. All of the arrangements
have already been made so you don't need to worry about a thing. He'll
come home during weekends so you can spend time together."
Nodoka's face took on a worried look. "But Ranma will be all
alone over there...."
Urd stared at her. "Well, I can pick him up and take him to
school everyday if you want. I just thought that Ranma was enough of
a man to be able to live away from his mother a few days a week, that's
all. I'll come by early everyday, okay?"
Nodoka's expression shifted from worried to confused to angry
in the span of two seconds. She tightened her grip on the family sword
that she still carried with her and spoke with conviction.
"Of course Ranma's man enough to live on his own! He's a man
among men! I was just being an overprotective mother, that's all. Ranma
will have no problems living away from me!"
Urd raised her eyebrows. "Well, if you're sure he can handle
it like a real man would...."
Nodoka's eyes gleamed with pride.
"Ranma is man enough to do _anything_! He can live wherever you
want him to with no problems. I'm sure of it."
Urd smiled again as she made her way outside, where Ranma was
waiting. This was a piece of cake.
*****
"Don't worry, Akane. Everything will be alright."
Nabiki tried to console the sobbing girl in her arms as she
wondered how the news of Ranma's departure could hit Akane so hard.
"But he's leaving Japan with some foreigner and Ms. Hinako and
they're going to live it up on some tropical island!"
Nabiki rolled her eyes when she realized why Akane was making
such a big deal out of it. "Who told you that?"
Akane continued to sob. "Yuka and Sayuri told me!"
Nabiki pulled her handkerchief out of her pocket and used it to
dab at Akane's eyes.
"Stop crying, Akane. Ranma's transferring to another district,
not moving to a tropical island. A representative from the Ministry of
Education came here this morning and talked to the principal about it.
He's just going to go to a different school, that's all."
Akane quickly dried her eyes. "Are you sure?"
Nabiki grinned at her. "Of course I'm sure! Don't worry about
it. I saw the way he was looking at you this morning. Unless you had a
huge fight with him on the way to school today, there's nothing for you
to get worried about!"
Nabiki groaned when Akane broke into tears once more.
*****
* she looked up the school records for Ukyo and Kodachi, then she found
the magazine article from the manga (volume 29) for information on
Shampoo.
*****
Author's notes:
I would like to thank Chester, Vex, Thermopyle, Egan Mandrake,
MicelKomphasouk, Seaver, and Helmut Steeg for all of the help they gave
me on this chapter.
I would just like to say that the beginning of this chapter
came to me unexpectedly, and I found myself unable to continue writing
the fic until I had incorporated the idea into it. I hope you liked
it anyway.
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.