Disclaimer: Only an idiot would think that I own the characters
depicted in this fanfiction series. Only a fool would actually sue me
for using them. Only Asuka Souryu Langley knows who I really am,
and she's too busy being disgusted to answer any questions.
Warning: This fanfiction series has, on rare occasions, been known
to cause laughter in susceptible individuals. Read with caution.
Warning: Altaverse (Keichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 12
by Jose Argao
"What do you mean, you can't let me in? I have an appointment
to see Peorth at exactly four o'clock this afternoon. It's already
half-past five!"
A large vein throbbed at Tsunami's left temple. She had been
arguing with the security officers of Asgard for more than an hour, and
her patience was starting to wear thin. If it wasn't for the fact that
the head of security was so cute, she would have blown him away into
nothingness already. As it was, she was starting to entertain thoughts
of blowing him anyway, just to pass the time.
He smiled at her, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, and
scratched the back of his head.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Tsunami, but you aren't scheduled
to arrive until the day after tomorrow, and I am not authorized to
grant you entry into Asgard at this time. I have already placed a call
to the main office about this matter, so please sit at the waiting
area while I wait for my superiors to call back with their decision."
Tsunami glared at the annoying Einherjar who had been giving
her a hard time for the past hour and a half, hoping that he would be
cowed by the threat of divine wrath.* She did not travel all the way to
Asgard just so a devastatingly handsome spirit whose sword radiated an
impressive amount of energy could smile at her, scratch his head in
defeat, then say that he simply could not let her in.
She decided that enough was enough. After taking a deep breath
to calm herself, she raised a delicate finger to point it at his
handsome visage and rattled off a string of expletives so unmentionable
that a few strands of his beautiful, flowing blonde hair actually fell
out of place at the sheer power of the words. She was about to make a
few unkind comments about the female side of his ancestry when she felt
someone tapping on her shoulder.
She whirled around at the unexpected contact and came face to
face with the tip of a long samurai sword. It was held by a handsome,
red-haired man who had an interesting, cross-shaped scar on his left
cheek. Closer inspection revealed that it was actually composed of
two separate scars, one on top of the other. He was wearing ceremonial
samurai garb, and a small name tag pinned onto the upper left area of
his chest identified him as 'Kenny-chan'.
"Excuse me, Ma'am, you're making a scene. Asgard is strictly a
'no-swearing' zone. Please sit at the waiting area while we sort out
whatever it is that's bothering you."
The cute swordsman lowered his sword after reciting his
obviously memorized spiel, but remained in front of her. Was he waiting
for her to dignify his silly complaints with an apology? Well, if he
was under the impression that the goddess of Jurai would ever apologize
to a mere Einherjar, he was in for a surprise.
The blue-haired goddess of Jurai idly wondered how he had been
accepted as an Einherjar in the first place. She could tell that he was
trying very hard to look intimidating, but failing miserably. The poor
fool didn't even know how to hold his sword correctly. She might not
have been an expert at handling bladed weapons, but she was pretty sure
that the flat side of the blade was not the one you wanted to fight
your opponent with. It would have made for very messy decapitations.
He was cute, though, in a feminine sort of way. Tsunami could
easily imagine some innocent young Valkyrie swept off her feet by this
man's bishonen good looks.
Tsunami decided to be civil for now. These beautiful men were
nothing but pawns of Odin, and it wouldn't be fair to erase them from
existence just because some idiot got the date of her appointment
wrong. Besides, throwing her weight around hadn't gotten her anywhere.
Perhaps a diplomatic approach would be more successful.
"I understand, but I have to get in to pick up some very
important files and I've been waiting here for over an hour. I don't
understand why it's taking so long to clear this up."
Kenny led her to the waiting area and handed her a magazine
with some pretty, half-naked nymphs on the cover. He smiled sincerely
at her, and drew a deep breath to recite yet another practiced speech.
"Don't worry, Miss Tsunami, Mr. Gabriev has already called
the main office and explained your situation. I'm sure that Ms. Peorth
is already working out a solution for your problem even as we speak."
Seeing that there wasn't much else she could do, Tsunami
settled down in her chair and started reading the magazine Kenny had
given her.
*****
"Think about it, Yusuke. Spirit detectives are called upon to
participate in life-threatening operations all the time. As an
Einherjar, you would hardly have to do anything until Ragnarok."
Yusuke tried to force his mind to work, the gorgeous body of
the goddess sitting in front of him making any coherent thought all but
impossible. He had come here only to say that he wasn't interested in
her job offer, but Peorth was proving to be a very tough woman to say
no to. Aside from being a smooth talker and an intelligent woman, she
had also successfully maneuvered into a position of power over him in
their conversation.
"I'm not really sure about quitting my old job, Ms. Peorth. I
_like_ saving the world and meeting stronger opponents to fight.
Besides, Koenma _did_ give me a second chance at life. I'm sure he
wouldn't let me quit just like that."
Peorth shifted in her seat, trying to get more comfortable.
Finally, Yusuke's defenses were beginning to wear down. If she could
only keep the pressure up, he would surely sign on as Asgard's newest
Einherjar.
"Don't worry about Koenma, Yusuke. Asgard would be happy to
handle your account as soon as you join us. It's one of the benefits
you'll enjoy as an Einherjar. As for saving the world, what do you
think Einherjar are for? You'll get to spend your time training with
some of the most powerful warriors who have ever walked Midgard in
preparation for Ragnarok. You can't beat competition like that!"
Yusuke mulled Peorth's offer in his mind. It was starting to
sound very tempting indeed to the young spirit detective, but he still
had one more concern about the whole thing.
"What about my mom? Koenma would still handle her account,
right?"
Peorth waved her hand dismissively and leaned towards Yusuke
before answering.
"That's not an issue, Yusuke. Asgard will handle the accounts
of your whole family, if you want. I myself will handle the account
transfers. You have nothing to worry about as far as Koenma is
concerned, Yusuke. Here, why don't you look at contract we've drawn up
for you? All you have to do is sign it and I'll take care of the rest."
Yusuke skimmed through the slim folder Peorth handed to him.
It contained the contract he would have to sign in order to become a
part of Asgard's elite force of warriors. The fine print seemed to be
in order, and the list of benefits he'd enjoy was very impressive. It
amazed him how they had managed to find out and include all the perks
he wanted in a job. Peorth certainly seemed like a woman who liked to
keep on top of things.
"You'll handle everything, right? I don't have to do anything
else after I sign this?"
Peorth smiled cutely at Yusuke. He was making this so easy for
her. "Of course. You don't have to worry about a thing. If you sign the
contract right now, I can get to work on it immediately."
The nervous spirit detective's hand trembled as he signed his
name on the dotted line. He couldn't help but feel that he was being
manipulated somehow, but he couldn't find any clause in his contract
that might be used against him. He decided that he was being paranoid.
She was a goddess! Everyone knew megami were good guys.
As soon as Yusuke finished signing, Peorth got up from his lap
and carefully placed the contract inside the top drawer of her desk.
She turned back towards her newest employee and smiled at him once
more.
"Welcome to Asgard, Yusuke. I'm sure you'll enjoy working for
us. I'll call you as soon as the necessary arrangements have been made
so you can begin as soon as possible."
She showed the young man out of her office before coming back to
her desk and picking up the contract he had signed. She didn't
particularly like having to do the job of human resources, but it was
especially important that they get Yusuke. She grinned as she read the
clause that allowed Asgard to handle the accounts of Yusuke's family as
one of his benefits. She wondered how long it would take him to figure
out that he had just given her access to Raizen's account as well.
She pressed the button on her secretary's buzzer and sat down
on her chair, waiting. A few seconds later, a pretty young woman with
curly red hair and glasses entered her office. She was carrying a
thick notebook and was visibly agitated. Peorth shook her head when
the girl dropped her notebook onto the ground, various pieces of paper
falling out of it. She struggled to pick them all up, then dropped
them all over again. She finally succeeded in stuffing the papers into
her notebook and tucking it under her arm before facing her employer.
"Did you need anything, Ms. Peorth?"
Peorth tried to ignore the small bits of paper flying from the
notebook as she spoke. "Did anyone call while I was with Mr. Urameshi?"
Her secretary fumbled around with the notebook, causing more
bits of paper to fall to the floor in the process. She finally managed
to find the page she was looking for and read it before answering.
"Only one, Ms. Peorth. Mr. Gourry called from security and said
that Ms. Tsunami was waiting for clearance to enter."
Peorth frowned as she heard the name of Jurai's most powerful
goddess. It was Tsunami's fault that she had to go after Yusuke in the
first place. Asgard had been well-prepared for Ragnarok until it lost
the Masaki account to Jurai. There was no getting out of this meeting,
however, so she got up and started walking out of her office.
"Thanks, I'll take it from here. If anyone else calls, tell
them I'm in the middle of something important."
******
"Greetings, Tsunami. Have you been waiting long?"
Tsunami was in the middle of a riveting article about how a
goddess could relieve menstrual cramps when she heard Peorth's voice.
She had been waiting for over two hours by now and was impatient to get
her business in Asgard over with so she could go back to Jurai.
"Yes I have, actually, but it does not matter now. I would like
to pick up the files for the Masaki account so I can be on my way. I've
wasted enough time here as it is."
Peorth nodded at her, an obviously fake smile adorning her
face. "Certainly. Please follow me."
Tsunami followed Peorth through a maze of hallways and into
a large office, which she assumed was Peorth's. She sat down on the
comfortable chair in front of the desk while Peorth rummaged through
the desk's drawers. The brown-haired goddess finally retrieved a thick
stack of papers from the top drawer and placed it in front of her. She
raised an inquiring eyebrow at Peorth, who handed her a pen.
"The files are ready for transfer, but you'll need to fill out
these forms before I can release them."
Tsunami's right hand blurred with speed as she filled out the
numerous forms. She frowned at Peorth, who wore a self-satisfied smirk
as she watched.
"You're determined to make this as hard for me as you possibly
can, aren't you?"
Peorth shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Tsunami shook her head. "I can't believe you're still sore
about this, Peorth. Tenchi signed our contract of his own free will!"
Peorth glared at her. "Of course he did. I would too if someone
offered me a deal that involved having six wives in addition to the
throne of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the galaxy!"
Tsunami smiled. "It's not my fault our offer was so much better
than anything you could come up with. Here, all finished."
Peorth took the stack of forms, dumped them into her desk's
bottom drawer, and retrieved a small compact disc from inside it. She
held it out for Tsunami to take.
"It's all there. Is there anything else I can do for you while
you're here?"
Tsunami took the disc and hid it somewhere in the folds of her
dress. "Actually, I was hoping to visit Belldandy while I was here. We
haven't seen each other since--"
Just then, both goddesses heard a low rumbling sound coming
from outside. Peorth's secretary burst into the room, pieces of paper
falling to the floor from her notebook.
"Ms. Lina and Ms. Jelanda are fighting again! The training
area's force fields won't be able to contain them much longer. Someone
has to stop them!"
Peorth rolled her eyes. "Lina and Jelanda? I thought they
already agreed that Arngrim and Gourry's swords were of equal length!"
The nervous redhead wrung her hands in frustration as she
replied. "They're not fighting about that anymore. Apparently, Ms.
Jelanda made a comment about her chest being ten thousand times more
developed than Ms. Lina's--"
"Say no more, I'll get right on it." Peorth turned back
towards her Juraian guest.
"My apologies, Tsunami, but I'm afraid I must attend to this
matter right away. I won't be able to escort you. Belldandy's office is
in the west wing at room 507, two doors down from Thor. She's working
on a personal project with Skuld."
Another rumbling sound was heard as Peorth exited her office,
leaving Tsunami alone with the secretary, who was busy picking up bits
of paper from the floor. She sighed loudly as she left Peorth's office
and started walking towards the west wing.
*****
"Are you sure this is where you live, Mako-chan?"
Makoto smiled upon hearing Ranma call her with such a familiar
name. The syllables seemed to roll off his tongue naturally, like he
had always been meant to refer to her that way. It was as if for him to
call her by any other name would be foreign and unnatural. Yes, this
was how it was supposed to be. Indeed, how it would _always_ be from
this day onward.
"Of course I'm sure, Ranma. I've lived in this apartment since
I first came to Juuban. Why do you ask?"
Ranma spared a glance at the familiar hallway where he and
Makoto were standing. It truly was a small world, after all. He smiled
at her and chuckled before answering.
"Would you believe that I live right next door?"
*****
"We're very sorry, Master! Please spare our lives!"
Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo groveled pathetically in front
of Happosai, the old man's battle aura flaring red around him. Akane
was sleeping over at a friend's house and Nabiki had locked herself in
her room for the time being. Kasumi was happily preparing tonight's
dinner in the kitchen with Mrs. Saotome. If Happosai were to obliterate
them into nothingness right now with one of his powerful techniques, it
would probably be years before anyone noticed they were gone. Needless
to say, they were very afraid.
"Where is Ranma?"
Happosai glared threateningly at the men in front of him, his
eyes becoming slits as he frowned at the incompetent lumps of matter
that his formerly useful pupils had become. All they had to do was keep
Ranma around, and they couldn't even get _that_ right. Didn't they
know that the density of beautiful women in an area rose and fell with
the presence of Ranma Saotome? It wasn't just the gorgeous females
that the boy seemed to attract, it was also the fact that even the most
homely females strived to look their best when he was around.
Of course, all those beautiful women compressed into a small
area translated into a veritable feast of lacy underthings for him to
steal. Yes, Genma and Soun had made a big mistake when they allowed
Ranma to slip through their grasp.
"He's... he's in Juuban, Master! A representative from the
Ministry of Education came and--"
Happosai silenced Soun with a wave of his hand and thought
about what he had just heard. Why would Ranma allow himself to be
carried off to another place when there were already so many panties
and brassieres right here in Nerima? He frowned as he wondered what
could have seduced a healthy, virile young man like Ranma into
leaving an area filled with pretty young girls, all of whom were
practically throwing themselves at him.
Suddenly, it came to him.
If his memory served him right, which of course it always did,
Juuban was home to the Sailor Senshi. Of all the beautiful women in
the world, theirs were the only sets of lingerie that consistently
eluded him despite his best efforts. Not even Nabiki's panties were as
difficult to get to. The main problem he had encountered during his
earlier attempts at thievery was that he couldn't find them at all. He
had already gone through all the houses in Juuban without finding even
a trace of them. It was like they had secret identities or something.
Ranma must have found out where they hung their laundry and decided to
steal all of their underwear for himself! It was the only explanation
that made sense!
Happosai's face broke into a grin as a plan formed in his
mind. Perhaps Ranma's untimely departure would turn out to be a good
thing after all.
*****
Tsunami made her way towards the sleeping form of Belldandy,
careful not to make a sound. Her friend had apparently spent too much
time working and was now unconscious on her desk. She turned off
Belldandy's computer terminal, which was beeping loudly and flashing
red. It had obviously finished whatever task Belldandy had set for
it, but whatever work she was doing on it could wait until she was
rested. Belldandy was prone to working herself to exhaustion, and
Tsunami felt that she should get her sleep before working any further.
How time-sensitive could her personal project be, anyway?
Tsunami waved her hand, causing a comfortable bed to appear
in the middle of Belldandy's office. Another wave teleported Belldandy
under the covers, her work clothes replaced with a cute set of pajamas
that had a cabbit design printed on them. As a final touch, she cast a
spell on the sleeping goddess that would keep her from awakening until
she had completely recharged herself.
Tsunami left the room and headed out of Asgard, happy that she
had been able to do something nice for Belldandy while visiting.
*****
"Mako-chan, are you okay? Is this some kind of joke? Mako-chan,
say something!"
Ranma shook the unconscious form of Makoto hard as he attempted
to wake her up. While he had expected a strong reaction from her at his
revelation that he lived in the adjoining apartment, he hadn't expected
her to actually _faint_.
'At least she's breathing normally, and her pulse is strong.'
He quickly retrieved a small pin from inside his pocket, and
used it to pick the lock on Makoto's door. After opening the door wide,
he lifted Makoto's body from the floor and brought her to the living
room. Luckily, all the apartments in the building were similar to each
other so he could easily find his way around her home. After laying her
down on the sofa, he brought in the groceries he had left outside when
he carried her.
When he finally got back to Makoto's prone form, Ranma realized
that he had a big problem on his hands.
While he had dealt with unconscious women before, they had
always been gifted with the superior strength and physical conditioning
that came with martial arts training. Even Akane, weak as she was, had
a body that could withstand tremendous amounts of punishment before
breaking down. How was he supposed to help a normal girl like Makoto,
who would probably sustain serious injury from something as trivial as
being thrown through a concrete wall? He started thinking back to the
first-aid lesson the school nurse had given at his physical education
class a few months ago....
*****
Ranma sat at the bleachers surrounding the basketball court,
waiting for the gym teacher to make her appearance. She was very late
today, but he wasn't worried. Ms. Mayumi Hachiya was notorious for
always being late to class, and nobody really expected her to arrive
on time. He liked her, though, since she was very nice to him and
lenient with her students.
After a few minutes, a short blonde haired woman wearing a
white coat and a stethoscope around her neck entered the gym and made
her way to the front of the class. He recognized her as the new
school nurse. She had only arrived three weeks ago, and they had only
met once. He couldn't remember her name, but he recalled that she had
been very friendly while treating his injuries. She cleared her throat
loudly to attract the attention of everyone, then began speaking.
"Hello, everyone. I am Ms. Yuzuriha Mizuki and I'm the new
school nurse. I've only recently transferred to Furinkan High, so most
of you probably don't know me yet. I can act as student counselor
as well, so please don't hesitate to come to my office if you need to
talk about anything. I'll be replacing Ms. Hachiya for today to give
you some lessons that I think you'll find useful in the future.
"The purpose of this visit is to teach all of you some basic
first aid techniques. I've only been here for a few weeks, but I've
already noticed that Furinkan seems to have a very high number of
students getting hurt every day than any other school I've been to
before. That said, I thought it would be prudent to go through all
the classes so that you students know what to do in case there's an
emergency."
Ranma listened half-heartedly as Ms. Mizuki went through the
preliminaries of her lecture. He had already learned everything he
needed to know about first aid during his ten year training journey,
and this would probably just be a rehash of things he was already
familiar with. He decided to just look straight ahead and pretend to
be listening.
He was doing exactly that when he suddenly noticed that the
whole class was looking at him and Ms. Mizuki was motioning for him
to come to the front. Hiroshi and Daisuke were snickering, as was
the rest of the class.
He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head before
complying. She had probably caught him and was going to make him do
exercises as punishment. The fact that she made him lie down on a mat
as soon as he got to the front only confirmed his suspicions. He lay
down and waited while she began speaking to the class again.
"As I was saying, a person may pass out because of a lack of
oxygen going into his brain. This may occur because of high altitudes,
a tight collar, or any other thing that might restrict breathing. If
you encounter an unconscious individual who is not breathing and you
can see no apparent reasons for his condition, this is probably what
happened. In this situation, you must administer mouth to mouth
resuscitation. I know most of you have probably already seen this done
on television, but it's not as easy as it looks. It must be performed
correctly, or you might do more harm than good to your patient. I will
now demonstrate the correct procedure, and Mr. Saotome will be assisting
me."
At that, the whole class erupted into a frenzy of whoops and
catcalls. Ranma felt himself blush bright red while Ms. Mizuki knelt
beside him and whispered in his ear.
"Don't worry, Ranma, I know what I'm doing. This will be over
before you know it."
Ranma felt better at her words, and he allowed himself to relax
as he closed his eyes and listened. Ms. Mizuki was speaking again.
"The first thing you should do is remove or loosen anything
that might be restricting the subject's breathing. Ranma is wearing
a t-shirt right now, so there's no need to do that anymore. The
next step is to secure the airway by tilting the subject's head
backwards and lifting his chin."
Ranma felt Ms. Mizuki performing the steps as she explained
them, and soon she was holding his head tilted backwards as she
spoke.
"You must check for breathing within three to five seconds by
placing an ear over the subject's mouth and watching to see if his
chest rises and falls. You should also listen for sounds of breathing
and feel for breath on your cheek. If the subject resumes breathing
at any time during the procedure, you must keep the airway open and
monitor the subject. If he continues to breathe, transport him to
medical aid. Otherwise, start giving him breaths through his mouth.
If his chest rises, continue the procedure until he starts breathing
again. Otherwise, you need to give him abdominal or chest thrusts."
Ranma felt his breath hitting Ms. Mizuki's cheek while she held
her ear above his head, and braced himself for what was to come. He
heard Ms. Mizuki speak one last time.
"I will now demonstrate the actual mouth to mouth action. Please
watch carefully."
Ranma was pleased to find that the procedure was actually quite
pleasant. Ms. Mizuki's lips were soft and warm and felt wonderful on
his mouth. He didn't expect the procedure to involve quite so much
tongue, but it wasn't really too bad. He opened his eyes again and
raised himself to a sitting position when he felt Ms. Mizuki move away
from him, and saw that she was flushed and breathing rapidly. She
smiled once again as she spoke to the class.
"Well... I wasn't able to do it _exactly_ as it was supposed to
be done, but Ran- er... Mr. Saotome wasn't actually hurt. Do you have
any questions you'd like to ask before I move on?"
There was a slight commotion near the back of the students,
then Hikaru Gosunkugi pushed himself to the front and cleared his
throat.
"Excuse me, but I was at the back and I wasn't able to see the
demonstration at all."
Ranma saw Ms. Mizuki grin and shake her head as she pushed him
back down onto the mat.
"That's too bad, Mr. Gosunkugi. I guess I'll just have to do the
whole thing over again from the top."
*****
Ranma approached Makoto nervously, wondering what to do. He should
probably start by undoing the top buttons her blouse, since they seemed
to be restricting her breathing.
He extended a trembling hand towards her blouse, hoping that he
was doing the right thing. He ran a finger lightly along the collar of
her blouse, trying to figure out if it was indeed to tight. He carefully
started undoing the top button of her blouse, taking care not to look at
what he was doing. He wasn't some kind of pervert that would take advantage
of an unconscious girl, after all. That kind of thing was gross, and
probably only happened in mecha anime anyway. Of course, the fact that he
wasn't looking meant that he had to do most of the work by feel alone,
which he wasn't entirely comfortable with either.
Resigning himself to his task, he just looked at Makoto's face
while he worked, hoping that she would wake up and spare him the
ordeal of having to go through the next steps in the first aid
process.
Why couldn't everyone be as strong as Shampoo or Ukyo anyway?
He was about halfway done when Makoto suddenly moaned and
opened her eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments, then
the searing pain started.
*****
Rei wasn't so sure that Ami's idea was as good as it sounded.
Usagi and the others had left a few minutes ago, after
explaining Ami's plan to her in detail and making great progress in
their ultimate goal of eating her out of house and home. Although Ami's
idea made sense to her on an intellectual level, she couldn't help but
feel uneasy about the whole thing. She had a feeling that the plan
would backfire horribly on them, but she could not figure out how. She
just had a bad feeling about it.
She went to her room, took off the school uniform she hadn't
had a chance to change out of, and put on her ceremonial shrine maiden
outfit. She went out of her room and made her way towards the temple.
She needed to do a fire reading.
*****
"Ranma, are you okay? I'm so sorry about this, I had no idea
it was you! It's just that you startled me and... I had it in my
pocket... and you were acting like... I'm so sorry! Can you still see?
Oh god, please don't hate me! Don't you think it would be better if
you used _cold_ water for that?"
Ranma heard Makoto's panicked cries clearly, but failed to
understand any of them. There was only one thing on his mind, and it
was the pain. The awful, searing, burning pain that could only have
come from one thing.
'Damn pepper spray....'
Ranma marveled at the simplicity of it. How a martial artist
like himself, who could withstand a building collapse, would be brought
to his knees by a device designed to ward off petty criminals. Even
now, after he had run hot water over his face, he could still feel the
liquid fire washing over his features and causing him to wince every
now and then as the water slowly washed the pain away. He shuddered at
the thought of what would have happened if he hadn't had the presence
of mind to close his eyes.
Finally, after a few more minutes, the pain subsided. He
allowed Makoto to lead him back to the couch, where he sat down and
closed his eyes. It would take his body a few more minutes to recover
from the attack, and he didn't feel like doing much of anything right
now. He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard a sound coming
from his somewhere to his left.
"I'm sorry, Ranma. Please don't hate me."
Ranma opened his eyes and turned to the sobbing girl sitting
next to him. His heart immediately melted when he saw how the tears
flowed freely from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and falling down
her neck into the deep valley between her breasts, which were heaving
up and down along with the movements of her chest.
"It's okay, Mako-chan. I don't hate you."
A glimmer of hope appeared in Makoto's eyes and she smiled
weakly at Ranma. Was it true? Did she hear him right?
"You... don't hate me?"
Ranma smiled at her. "Of course not! I've been through a lot
of worse things than this, and I know you didn't mean it anyway. It
doesn't even hurt anymore, see?"
Makoto looked at his face, which had been swollen and red a
few minutes ago. Sure enough, there wasn't a trace of irritation
remaining on his skin. His recovery rate truly was nothing short of
amazing.
"Wow, Ranma, that's incredible! How'd you do it?"
Ranma smiled at Makoto, proud of how his body could heal at
a rate that many doctors would have deemed impossible. "It's nothing,
really. Comes with being a world-class martial artist like myself, I
guess. I have some friends who can heal pretty fast too, but not as
fast as me. It kinda makes sense, when you think about it, since I'm
the best-- what are you doing?"
Makoto ran a finger gently along Ranma's right cheek, awed by
his flawless, smooth skin. She wondered absently if the same healing
ability that allowed him to quickly recover from injury was also
responsible for his impossibly clear skin. If Ami could figure out how
the mechanism worked and duplicate it in an ointment or something,
she'd never have to use medicated strips again!
It was a good ten seconds before she realized exactly what she
was doing, and that Ranma had realized it as well. She felt herself
blush from the top of her head to the tips of her toes and her hand
recoiled with the speed of a frightened rabbit. If there was ever a
time when she felt more embarrassed than she did now, she couldn't
remember it.
"Oh my god... I'm... I'm so embarrassed!"
Ranma watched with amusement as Makoto covered her face in her
hands and turned away to hide her embarrassment. The way she did it
made her look so... so cute! He reached an arm out to her and tapped
on her shoulder, then suppressed a giggle when she flinched at the
contact. He really should say something to calm her down.
"Hey, don't worry about it. We'll just pretend it never
happened, okay? You don't even have to explain it to me. See, I've
forgotten already! I'm going to leave now and have dinner. We can
talk again tomorrow, okay?"
Seeing that Makoto wasn't making a move to reply, Ranma got
up to leave the apartment. It was getting way too hot in it anyway. He
was about to start walking away when he felt a hand gripping his arm
and pulling him back down to the couch. He turned around and found
Makoto staring intently at him.
"Don't go, Ranma. Please stay... for dinner."
Ranma never stood a chance against the puppy-dog eyes that
now adorned Makoto's face. Coupled with the offer of free food, there
really was no other way he could have replied to her.
"Uh... sure, Mako-chan."
*****
Nabiki sat quietly behind her desk, scheming.
Akane had failed miserably in her task, as far as Nabiki was
concerned. All her sister had to do to keep Ranma around was stick to
a carefully crafted script, and she couldn't even do that.
Nabiki simply could not understand what was so bad about living
a lie for a few weeks. It was for the greater good, anyway, and who's
to say Akane wouldn't end up enjoying her new personality? If that were
to happen, the lie would become truth and all would be well.
Unfortunately, that would never come to be.
Her sister had adamantly refused to follow her plan when she
approached her that afternoon. In fact, her little sister was so upset
about the whole thing that she made plans to spend the night someplace
else. She would have to find someone else who could bring Ranma back
to Nerima, but who?
Ukyo and Shampoo were pretty good bets, but she doubted that
they'd be interested in bringing Ranma back. If anything, they'd
probably be overjoyed that Ranma was now spending most of his time away
from Akane. The two of them would have much higher chances of nabbing
Ranma if he was to stay in Juuban, where they could go and visit
anytime they wanted. After all, the two of them weren't committed to
school the way Akane was.
Mrs. Saotome was no good, since that representative the
Ministry of Education sent succeeded in thoroughly convincing her that
studying in Juuban would be best for Ranma. As for her dad and Mr.
Saotome, they had already proven themselves to be completely inept at
manipulation.
Of course, she could try and bring him back herself, but she
doubted that she would succeed. Her brief stint as a fiancee had ended
in disaster, and Ranma would probably be suspicious of any suggestions
or ideas coming from her. That left only one person in Nerima who had
the power to bring Ranma back. She just hoped that person would agree
to do it.
Nabiki put a sunny smile on her face as she left her room and
headed for the kitchen.
*****
Makoto Kino was the happiest girl in the universe.
Ranma wasn't mad at her! After everything she'd done to him, he
wasn't even annoyed at her. He had even agreed to stay over for dinner!
On top of all that, he was living right next door! He even told her
that he would be going to Juuban High! She could almost see it now, the
two of them walking to school together while all the other girls looked
on enviously.... It almost seemed as if the gods themselves were
working to set the two of them up.
She brought a semi-transparent nighty out from her closet and
held it up in front of her as she stood in front of her mirror. It was
made of silk, the material feeling soft and cool against her skin. The
emerald-green fabric accented her feminine curves nicely, and left
little to the imagination. It was the sexiest, most expensive piece of
clothing she owned, and she had been saving it for a special occasion.
Having Ranma to herself inside her own apartment was about as special
as occasions got, and it would surely get his attention.
On the other hand, it wouldn't be very practical to wear while
cooking, and she would look absolutely stupid eating in it. It didn't
even match her apron! She contemplated wearing the apron and nothing
else for a few moments, but quickly quashed the idea. She wanted Ranma
to think of her as pure and virginal, not wanton and kinky.
She dropped the nighty onto her bed and looked around in her
closet for something more appropriate.
*****
Ranma flipped to the next page of the magazine he had found in
Makoto's living room, engrossed in an article about how to take care
of oily skin. He had already read a number of articles about such
interesting topics as how idol singers managed to look the way they
did and why men were so stupid all the time.
He had also garnered a perfect score on a quiz to see if he
would make a perfect girlfriend, but he preferred not to think about
that right now.
The important thing was that he was starving, and Makoto had
promised to cook him a dinner fit for a king! There was only one thing
better than a meal, and that was a _free_ meal. Makoto had promised him
a free meal, and life just didn't get any better than this.
He was almost done with the article when he felt two female
hands cover his eyes.
"Guess who!"
Even for someone like Ranma, who wasn't exactly the most
perceptive individual in the world, this was pretty silly. He and
Makoto were the only ones in the apartment, severely narrowing down
the list of people who could have been the one behind him right now.
Still, he couldn't help but notice that her feather light touch felt
incredibly nice, and he wasn't exactly in a hurry to have her let go.
It was amazing that he hadn't noticed when she was holding
onto him while he was washing the pepper out at the sink earlier, but
her hands were incredibly soft and smooth. They caressed him with a
tenderness that matched even that of his own mother. He decided that
he must have missed it because of the pain from the pepper spray.
A smile formed in his face as he allowed himself to savor the
exquisite heaven that was Makoto Kino's touch. For some reason, he
couldn't bear the thought of her hands ever letting go of him.
"Mako-chan, that's so nice... don't stop."
Ranma heard a giggle from behind him, followed by a deep,
husky, sensuous voice. "Guess again, Ranchan."
Ranma immediately pulled the hands from his eyes and whirled
around at the sound of the voice. It was definitely not Makoto's. His
eyes went wide as he took in the beautiful smile, the gorgeous eyes,
the lustrous blue-green hair, and the cute little bat wings at the
top of his companion's head. She smiled mischievously and winked at
him, sending shivers up his spine.
"Hey, lover, miss me?"
*****
* According to Norse mythology, Einherjar are heroes that have died
in battle. They go to Valhalla and train there to prepare for the
battle of Ragnarok. They fight each other every day until they have
eviscerated one another, and their wounds heal every night while
they feast with Odin. The Einherjar in my fic are from various anime
series as well as the game, Valkyrie Profile. Needless to say, they
do a lot more here than fight every day. It's an altaverse of sorts,
after all.
*****
Author's notes:
Well, chapter 12 is finally done. I've been really busy with my
thesis lately, but I managed to finish it. Somehow, in between typing
the thesis document, beating Valkyrie Profile, and watching all the
remaining episodes of Nadesico, I managed to find the time to write
the latest chapter of ATFWH down. What do you guys think of it so far?
I've already got the thing planned out to the end, but I'd still like
to hear things like plot suggestions and stuff.
I would like to thank Griever, Tony Loco, Dylan Cole, Tracy
Poff, Fred Voeltner, Sebastian Rynders, Sam Vilsmeier, Shade, Farmer,
Steffan, Groo, Chester, Kevin Henry, Egan Mandreck, Seaver, Grum,
Micel Komphasouk, Dark Knight, Sadist, and Vex for all the help they
have given me for this chapter.
Remember, fan mail gets me writing better than anything else!
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.
depicted in this fanfiction series. Only a fool would actually sue me
for using them. Only Asuka Souryu Langley knows who I really am,
and she's too busy being disgusted to answer any questions.
Warning: This fanfiction series has, on rare occasions, been known
to cause laughter in susceptible individuals. Read with caution.
Warning: Altaverse (Keichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 12
by Jose Argao
"What do you mean, you can't let me in? I have an appointment
to see Peorth at exactly four o'clock this afternoon. It's already
half-past five!"
A large vein throbbed at Tsunami's left temple. She had been
arguing with the security officers of Asgard for more than an hour, and
her patience was starting to wear thin. If it wasn't for the fact that
the head of security was so cute, she would have blown him away into
nothingness already. As it was, she was starting to entertain thoughts
of blowing him anyway, just to pass the time.
He smiled at her, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, and
scratched the back of his head.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Tsunami, but you aren't scheduled
to arrive until the day after tomorrow, and I am not authorized to
grant you entry into Asgard at this time. I have already placed a call
to the main office about this matter, so please sit at the waiting
area while I wait for my superiors to call back with their decision."
Tsunami glared at the annoying Einherjar who had been giving
her a hard time for the past hour and a half, hoping that he would be
cowed by the threat of divine wrath.* She did not travel all the way to
Asgard just so a devastatingly handsome spirit whose sword radiated an
impressive amount of energy could smile at her, scratch his head in
defeat, then say that he simply could not let her in.
She decided that enough was enough. After taking a deep breath
to calm herself, she raised a delicate finger to point it at his
handsome visage and rattled off a string of expletives so unmentionable
that a few strands of his beautiful, flowing blonde hair actually fell
out of place at the sheer power of the words. She was about to make a
few unkind comments about the female side of his ancestry when she felt
someone tapping on her shoulder.
She whirled around at the unexpected contact and came face to
face with the tip of a long samurai sword. It was held by a handsome,
red-haired man who had an interesting, cross-shaped scar on his left
cheek. Closer inspection revealed that it was actually composed of
two separate scars, one on top of the other. He was wearing ceremonial
samurai garb, and a small name tag pinned onto the upper left area of
his chest identified him as 'Kenny-chan'.
"Excuse me, Ma'am, you're making a scene. Asgard is strictly a
'no-swearing' zone. Please sit at the waiting area while we sort out
whatever it is that's bothering you."
The cute swordsman lowered his sword after reciting his
obviously memorized spiel, but remained in front of her. Was he waiting
for her to dignify his silly complaints with an apology? Well, if he
was under the impression that the goddess of Jurai would ever apologize
to a mere Einherjar, he was in for a surprise.
The blue-haired goddess of Jurai idly wondered how he had been
accepted as an Einherjar in the first place. She could tell that he was
trying very hard to look intimidating, but failing miserably. The poor
fool didn't even know how to hold his sword correctly. She might not
have been an expert at handling bladed weapons, but she was pretty sure
that the flat side of the blade was not the one you wanted to fight
your opponent with. It would have made for very messy decapitations.
He was cute, though, in a feminine sort of way. Tsunami could
easily imagine some innocent young Valkyrie swept off her feet by this
man's bishonen good looks.
Tsunami decided to be civil for now. These beautiful men were
nothing but pawns of Odin, and it wouldn't be fair to erase them from
existence just because some idiot got the date of her appointment
wrong. Besides, throwing her weight around hadn't gotten her anywhere.
Perhaps a diplomatic approach would be more successful.
"I understand, but I have to get in to pick up some very
important files and I've been waiting here for over an hour. I don't
understand why it's taking so long to clear this up."
Kenny led her to the waiting area and handed her a magazine
with some pretty, half-naked nymphs on the cover. He smiled sincerely
at her, and drew a deep breath to recite yet another practiced speech.
"Don't worry, Miss Tsunami, Mr. Gabriev has already called
the main office and explained your situation. I'm sure that Ms. Peorth
is already working out a solution for your problem even as we speak."
Seeing that there wasn't much else she could do, Tsunami
settled down in her chair and started reading the magazine Kenny had
given her.
*****
"Think about it, Yusuke. Spirit detectives are called upon to
participate in life-threatening operations all the time. As an
Einherjar, you would hardly have to do anything until Ragnarok."
Yusuke tried to force his mind to work, the gorgeous body of
the goddess sitting in front of him making any coherent thought all but
impossible. He had come here only to say that he wasn't interested in
her job offer, but Peorth was proving to be a very tough woman to say
no to. Aside from being a smooth talker and an intelligent woman, she
had also successfully maneuvered into a position of power over him in
their conversation.
"I'm not really sure about quitting my old job, Ms. Peorth. I
_like_ saving the world and meeting stronger opponents to fight.
Besides, Koenma _did_ give me a second chance at life. I'm sure he
wouldn't let me quit just like that."
Peorth shifted in her seat, trying to get more comfortable.
Finally, Yusuke's defenses were beginning to wear down. If she could
only keep the pressure up, he would surely sign on as Asgard's newest
Einherjar.
"Don't worry about Koenma, Yusuke. Asgard would be happy to
handle your account as soon as you join us. It's one of the benefits
you'll enjoy as an Einherjar. As for saving the world, what do you
think Einherjar are for? You'll get to spend your time training with
some of the most powerful warriors who have ever walked Midgard in
preparation for Ragnarok. You can't beat competition like that!"
Yusuke mulled Peorth's offer in his mind. It was starting to
sound very tempting indeed to the young spirit detective, but he still
had one more concern about the whole thing.
"What about my mom? Koenma would still handle her account,
right?"
Peorth waved her hand dismissively and leaned towards Yusuke
before answering.
"That's not an issue, Yusuke. Asgard will handle the accounts
of your whole family, if you want. I myself will handle the account
transfers. You have nothing to worry about as far as Koenma is
concerned, Yusuke. Here, why don't you look at contract we've drawn up
for you? All you have to do is sign it and I'll take care of the rest."
Yusuke skimmed through the slim folder Peorth handed to him.
It contained the contract he would have to sign in order to become a
part of Asgard's elite force of warriors. The fine print seemed to be
in order, and the list of benefits he'd enjoy was very impressive. It
amazed him how they had managed to find out and include all the perks
he wanted in a job. Peorth certainly seemed like a woman who liked to
keep on top of things.
"You'll handle everything, right? I don't have to do anything
else after I sign this?"
Peorth smiled cutely at Yusuke. He was making this so easy for
her. "Of course. You don't have to worry about a thing. If you sign the
contract right now, I can get to work on it immediately."
The nervous spirit detective's hand trembled as he signed his
name on the dotted line. He couldn't help but feel that he was being
manipulated somehow, but he couldn't find any clause in his contract
that might be used against him. He decided that he was being paranoid.
She was a goddess! Everyone knew megami were good guys.
As soon as Yusuke finished signing, Peorth got up from his lap
and carefully placed the contract inside the top drawer of her desk.
She turned back towards her newest employee and smiled at him once
more.
"Welcome to Asgard, Yusuke. I'm sure you'll enjoy working for
us. I'll call you as soon as the necessary arrangements have been made
so you can begin as soon as possible."
She showed the young man out of her office before coming back to
her desk and picking up the contract he had signed. She didn't
particularly like having to do the job of human resources, but it was
especially important that they get Yusuke. She grinned as she read the
clause that allowed Asgard to handle the accounts of Yusuke's family as
one of his benefits. She wondered how long it would take him to figure
out that he had just given her access to Raizen's account as well.
She pressed the button on her secretary's buzzer and sat down
on her chair, waiting. A few seconds later, a pretty young woman with
curly red hair and glasses entered her office. She was carrying a
thick notebook and was visibly agitated. Peorth shook her head when
the girl dropped her notebook onto the ground, various pieces of paper
falling out of it. She struggled to pick them all up, then dropped
them all over again. She finally succeeded in stuffing the papers into
her notebook and tucking it under her arm before facing her employer.
"Did you need anything, Ms. Peorth?"
Peorth tried to ignore the small bits of paper flying from the
notebook as she spoke. "Did anyone call while I was with Mr. Urameshi?"
Her secretary fumbled around with the notebook, causing more
bits of paper to fall to the floor in the process. She finally managed
to find the page she was looking for and read it before answering.
"Only one, Ms. Peorth. Mr. Gourry called from security and said
that Ms. Tsunami was waiting for clearance to enter."
Peorth frowned as she heard the name of Jurai's most powerful
goddess. It was Tsunami's fault that she had to go after Yusuke in the
first place. Asgard had been well-prepared for Ragnarok until it lost
the Masaki account to Jurai. There was no getting out of this meeting,
however, so she got up and started walking out of her office.
"Thanks, I'll take it from here. If anyone else calls, tell
them I'm in the middle of something important."
******
"Greetings, Tsunami. Have you been waiting long?"
Tsunami was in the middle of a riveting article about how a
goddess could relieve menstrual cramps when she heard Peorth's voice.
She had been waiting for over two hours by now and was impatient to get
her business in Asgard over with so she could go back to Jurai.
"Yes I have, actually, but it does not matter now. I would like
to pick up the files for the Masaki account so I can be on my way. I've
wasted enough time here as it is."
Peorth nodded at her, an obviously fake smile adorning her
face. "Certainly. Please follow me."
Tsunami followed Peorth through a maze of hallways and into
a large office, which she assumed was Peorth's. She sat down on the
comfortable chair in front of the desk while Peorth rummaged through
the desk's drawers. The brown-haired goddess finally retrieved a thick
stack of papers from the top drawer and placed it in front of her. She
raised an inquiring eyebrow at Peorth, who handed her a pen.
"The files are ready for transfer, but you'll need to fill out
these forms before I can release them."
Tsunami's right hand blurred with speed as she filled out the
numerous forms. She frowned at Peorth, who wore a self-satisfied smirk
as she watched.
"You're determined to make this as hard for me as you possibly
can, aren't you?"
Peorth shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Tsunami shook her head. "I can't believe you're still sore
about this, Peorth. Tenchi signed our contract of his own free will!"
Peorth glared at her. "Of course he did. I would too if someone
offered me a deal that involved having six wives in addition to the
throne of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the galaxy!"
Tsunami smiled. "It's not my fault our offer was so much better
than anything you could come up with. Here, all finished."
Peorth took the stack of forms, dumped them into her desk's
bottom drawer, and retrieved a small compact disc from inside it. She
held it out for Tsunami to take.
"It's all there. Is there anything else I can do for you while
you're here?"
Tsunami took the disc and hid it somewhere in the folds of her
dress. "Actually, I was hoping to visit Belldandy while I was here. We
haven't seen each other since--"
Just then, both goddesses heard a low rumbling sound coming
from outside. Peorth's secretary burst into the room, pieces of paper
falling to the floor from her notebook.
"Ms. Lina and Ms. Jelanda are fighting again! The training
area's force fields won't be able to contain them much longer. Someone
has to stop them!"
Peorth rolled her eyes. "Lina and Jelanda? I thought they
already agreed that Arngrim and Gourry's swords were of equal length!"
The nervous redhead wrung her hands in frustration as she
replied. "They're not fighting about that anymore. Apparently, Ms.
Jelanda made a comment about her chest being ten thousand times more
developed than Ms. Lina's--"
"Say no more, I'll get right on it." Peorth turned back
towards her Juraian guest.
"My apologies, Tsunami, but I'm afraid I must attend to this
matter right away. I won't be able to escort you. Belldandy's office is
in the west wing at room 507, two doors down from Thor. She's working
on a personal project with Skuld."
Another rumbling sound was heard as Peorth exited her office,
leaving Tsunami alone with the secretary, who was busy picking up bits
of paper from the floor. She sighed loudly as she left Peorth's office
and started walking towards the west wing.
*****
"Are you sure this is where you live, Mako-chan?"
Makoto smiled upon hearing Ranma call her with such a familiar
name. The syllables seemed to roll off his tongue naturally, like he
had always been meant to refer to her that way. It was as if for him to
call her by any other name would be foreign and unnatural. Yes, this
was how it was supposed to be. Indeed, how it would _always_ be from
this day onward.
"Of course I'm sure, Ranma. I've lived in this apartment since
I first came to Juuban. Why do you ask?"
Ranma spared a glance at the familiar hallway where he and
Makoto were standing. It truly was a small world, after all. He smiled
at her and chuckled before answering.
"Would you believe that I live right next door?"
*****
"We're very sorry, Master! Please spare our lives!"
Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo groveled pathetically in front
of Happosai, the old man's battle aura flaring red around him. Akane
was sleeping over at a friend's house and Nabiki had locked herself in
her room for the time being. Kasumi was happily preparing tonight's
dinner in the kitchen with Mrs. Saotome. If Happosai were to obliterate
them into nothingness right now with one of his powerful techniques, it
would probably be years before anyone noticed they were gone. Needless
to say, they were very afraid.
"Where is Ranma?"
Happosai glared threateningly at the men in front of him, his
eyes becoming slits as he frowned at the incompetent lumps of matter
that his formerly useful pupils had become. All they had to do was keep
Ranma around, and they couldn't even get _that_ right. Didn't they
know that the density of beautiful women in an area rose and fell with
the presence of Ranma Saotome? It wasn't just the gorgeous females
that the boy seemed to attract, it was also the fact that even the most
homely females strived to look their best when he was around.
Of course, all those beautiful women compressed into a small
area translated into a veritable feast of lacy underthings for him to
steal. Yes, Genma and Soun had made a big mistake when they allowed
Ranma to slip through their grasp.
"He's... he's in Juuban, Master! A representative from the
Ministry of Education came and--"
Happosai silenced Soun with a wave of his hand and thought
about what he had just heard. Why would Ranma allow himself to be
carried off to another place when there were already so many panties
and brassieres right here in Nerima? He frowned as he wondered what
could have seduced a healthy, virile young man like Ranma into
leaving an area filled with pretty young girls, all of whom were
practically throwing themselves at him.
Suddenly, it came to him.
If his memory served him right, which of course it always did,
Juuban was home to the Sailor Senshi. Of all the beautiful women in
the world, theirs were the only sets of lingerie that consistently
eluded him despite his best efforts. Not even Nabiki's panties were as
difficult to get to. The main problem he had encountered during his
earlier attempts at thievery was that he couldn't find them at all. He
had already gone through all the houses in Juuban without finding even
a trace of them. It was like they had secret identities or something.
Ranma must have found out where they hung their laundry and decided to
steal all of their underwear for himself! It was the only explanation
that made sense!
Happosai's face broke into a grin as a plan formed in his
mind. Perhaps Ranma's untimely departure would turn out to be a good
thing after all.
*****
Tsunami made her way towards the sleeping form of Belldandy,
careful not to make a sound. Her friend had apparently spent too much
time working and was now unconscious on her desk. She turned off
Belldandy's computer terminal, which was beeping loudly and flashing
red. It had obviously finished whatever task Belldandy had set for
it, but whatever work she was doing on it could wait until she was
rested. Belldandy was prone to working herself to exhaustion, and
Tsunami felt that she should get her sleep before working any further.
How time-sensitive could her personal project be, anyway?
Tsunami waved her hand, causing a comfortable bed to appear
in the middle of Belldandy's office. Another wave teleported Belldandy
under the covers, her work clothes replaced with a cute set of pajamas
that had a cabbit design printed on them. As a final touch, she cast a
spell on the sleeping goddess that would keep her from awakening until
she had completely recharged herself.
Tsunami left the room and headed out of Asgard, happy that she
had been able to do something nice for Belldandy while visiting.
*****
"Mako-chan, are you okay? Is this some kind of joke? Mako-chan,
say something!"
Ranma shook the unconscious form of Makoto hard as he attempted
to wake her up. While he had expected a strong reaction from her at his
revelation that he lived in the adjoining apartment, he hadn't expected
her to actually _faint_.
'At least she's breathing normally, and her pulse is strong.'
He quickly retrieved a small pin from inside his pocket, and
used it to pick the lock on Makoto's door. After opening the door wide,
he lifted Makoto's body from the floor and brought her to the living
room. Luckily, all the apartments in the building were similar to each
other so he could easily find his way around her home. After laying her
down on the sofa, he brought in the groceries he had left outside when
he carried her.
When he finally got back to Makoto's prone form, Ranma realized
that he had a big problem on his hands.
While he had dealt with unconscious women before, they had
always been gifted with the superior strength and physical conditioning
that came with martial arts training. Even Akane, weak as she was, had
a body that could withstand tremendous amounts of punishment before
breaking down. How was he supposed to help a normal girl like Makoto,
who would probably sustain serious injury from something as trivial as
being thrown through a concrete wall? He started thinking back to the
first-aid lesson the school nurse had given at his physical education
class a few months ago....
*****
Ranma sat at the bleachers surrounding the basketball court,
waiting for the gym teacher to make her appearance. She was very late
today, but he wasn't worried. Ms. Mayumi Hachiya was notorious for
always being late to class, and nobody really expected her to arrive
on time. He liked her, though, since she was very nice to him and
lenient with her students.
After a few minutes, a short blonde haired woman wearing a
white coat and a stethoscope around her neck entered the gym and made
her way to the front of the class. He recognized her as the new
school nurse. She had only arrived three weeks ago, and they had only
met once. He couldn't remember her name, but he recalled that she had
been very friendly while treating his injuries. She cleared her throat
loudly to attract the attention of everyone, then began speaking.
"Hello, everyone. I am Ms. Yuzuriha Mizuki and I'm the new
school nurse. I've only recently transferred to Furinkan High, so most
of you probably don't know me yet. I can act as student counselor
as well, so please don't hesitate to come to my office if you need to
talk about anything. I'll be replacing Ms. Hachiya for today to give
you some lessons that I think you'll find useful in the future.
"The purpose of this visit is to teach all of you some basic
first aid techniques. I've only been here for a few weeks, but I've
already noticed that Furinkan seems to have a very high number of
students getting hurt every day than any other school I've been to
before. That said, I thought it would be prudent to go through all
the classes so that you students know what to do in case there's an
emergency."
Ranma listened half-heartedly as Ms. Mizuki went through the
preliminaries of her lecture. He had already learned everything he
needed to know about first aid during his ten year training journey,
and this would probably just be a rehash of things he was already
familiar with. He decided to just look straight ahead and pretend to
be listening.
He was doing exactly that when he suddenly noticed that the
whole class was looking at him and Ms. Mizuki was motioning for him
to come to the front. Hiroshi and Daisuke were snickering, as was
the rest of the class.
He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head before
complying. She had probably caught him and was going to make him do
exercises as punishment. The fact that she made him lie down on a mat
as soon as he got to the front only confirmed his suspicions. He lay
down and waited while she began speaking to the class again.
"As I was saying, a person may pass out because of a lack of
oxygen going into his brain. This may occur because of high altitudes,
a tight collar, or any other thing that might restrict breathing. If
you encounter an unconscious individual who is not breathing and you
can see no apparent reasons for his condition, this is probably what
happened. In this situation, you must administer mouth to mouth
resuscitation. I know most of you have probably already seen this done
on television, but it's not as easy as it looks. It must be performed
correctly, or you might do more harm than good to your patient. I will
now demonstrate the correct procedure, and Mr. Saotome will be assisting
me."
At that, the whole class erupted into a frenzy of whoops and
catcalls. Ranma felt himself blush bright red while Ms. Mizuki knelt
beside him and whispered in his ear.
"Don't worry, Ranma, I know what I'm doing. This will be over
before you know it."
Ranma felt better at her words, and he allowed himself to relax
as he closed his eyes and listened. Ms. Mizuki was speaking again.
"The first thing you should do is remove or loosen anything
that might be restricting the subject's breathing. Ranma is wearing
a t-shirt right now, so there's no need to do that anymore. The
next step is to secure the airway by tilting the subject's head
backwards and lifting his chin."
Ranma felt Ms. Mizuki performing the steps as she explained
them, and soon she was holding his head tilted backwards as she
spoke.
"You must check for breathing within three to five seconds by
placing an ear over the subject's mouth and watching to see if his
chest rises and falls. You should also listen for sounds of breathing
and feel for breath on your cheek. If the subject resumes breathing
at any time during the procedure, you must keep the airway open and
monitor the subject. If he continues to breathe, transport him to
medical aid. Otherwise, start giving him breaths through his mouth.
If his chest rises, continue the procedure until he starts breathing
again. Otherwise, you need to give him abdominal or chest thrusts."
Ranma felt his breath hitting Ms. Mizuki's cheek while she held
her ear above his head, and braced himself for what was to come. He
heard Ms. Mizuki speak one last time.
"I will now demonstrate the actual mouth to mouth action. Please
watch carefully."
Ranma was pleased to find that the procedure was actually quite
pleasant. Ms. Mizuki's lips were soft and warm and felt wonderful on
his mouth. He didn't expect the procedure to involve quite so much
tongue, but it wasn't really too bad. He opened his eyes again and
raised himself to a sitting position when he felt Ms. Mizuki move away
from him, and saw that she was flushed and breathing rapidly. She
smiled once again as she spoke to the class.
"Well... I wasn't able to do it _exactly_ as it was supposed to
be done, but Ran- er... Mr. Saotome wasn't actually hurt. Do you have
any questions you'd like to ask before I move on?"
There was a slight commotion near the back of the students,
then Hikaru Gosunkugi pushed himself to the front and cleared his
throat.
"Excuse me, but I was at the back and I wasn't able to see the
demonstration at all."
Ranma saw Ms. Mizuki grin and shake her head as she pushed him
back down onto the mat.
"That's too bad, Mr. Gosunkugi. I guess I'll just have to do the
whole thing over again from the top."
*****
Ranma approached Makoto nervously, wondering what to do. He should
probably start by undoing the top buttons her blouse, since they seemed
to be restricting her breathing.
He extended a trembling hand towards her blouse, hoping that he
was doing the right thing. He ran a finger lightly along the collar of
her blouse, trying to figure out if it was indeed to tight. He carefully
started undoing the top button of her blouse, taking care not to look at
what he was doing. He wasn't some kind of pervert that would take advantage
of an unconscious girl, after all. That kind of thing was gross, and
probably only happened in mecha anime anyway. Of course, the fact that he
wasn't looking meant that he had to do most of the work by feel alone,
which he wasn't entirely comfortable with either.
Resigning himself to his task, he just looked at Makoto's face
while he worked, hoping that she would wake up and spare him the
ordeal of having to go through the next steps in the first aid
process.
Why couldn't everyone be as strong as Shampoo or Ukyo anyway?
He was about halfway done when Makoto suddenly moaned and
opened her eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments, then
the searing pain started.
*****
Rei wasn't so sure that Ami's idea was as good as it sounded.
Usagi and the others had left a few minutes ago, after
explaining Ami's plan to her in detail and making great progress in
their ultimate goal of eating her out of house and home. Although Ami's
idea made sense to her on an intellectual level, she couldn't help but
feel uneasy about the whole thing. She had a feeling that the plan
would backfire horribly on them, but she could not figure out how. She
just had a bad feeling about it.
She went to her room, took off the school uniform she hadn't
had a chance to change out of, and put on her ceremonial shrine maiden
outfit. She went out of her room and made her way towards the temple.
She needed to do a fire reading.
*****
"Ranma, are you okay? I'm so sorry about this, I had no idea
it was you! It's just that you startled me and... I had it in my
pocket... and you were acting like... I'm so sorry! Can you still see?
Oh god, please don't hate me! Don't you think it would be better if
you used _cold_ water for that?"
Ranma heard Makoto's panicked cries clearly, but failed to
understand any of them. There was only one thing on his mind, and it
was the pain. The awful, searing, burning pain that could only have
come from one thing.
'Damn pepper spray....'
Ranma marveled at the simplicity of it. How a martial artist
like himself, who could withstand a building collapse, would be brought
to his knees by a device designed to ward off petty criminals. Even
now, after he had run hot water over his face, he could still feel the
liquid fire washing over his features and causing him to wince every
now and then as the water slowly washed the pain away. He shuddered at
the thought of what would have happened if he hadn't had the presence
of mind to close his eyes.
Finally, after a few more minutes, the pain subsided. He
allowed Makoto to lead him back to the couch, where he sat down and
closed his eyes. It would take his body a few more minutes to recover
from the attack, and he didn't feel like doing much of anything right
now. He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard a sound coming
from his somewhere to his left.
"I'm sorry, Ranma. Please don't hate me."
Ranma opened his eyes and turned to the sobbing girl sitting
next to him. His heart immediately melted when he saw how the tears
flowed freely from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and falling down
her neck into the deep valley between her breasts, which were heaving
up and down along with the movements of her chest.
"It's okay, Mako-chan. I don't hate you."
A glimmer of hope appeared in Makoto's eyes and she smiled
weakly at Ranma. Was it true? Did she hear him right?
"You... don't hate me?"
Ranma smiled at her. "Of course not! I've been through a lot
of worse things than this, and I know you didn't mean it anyway. It
doesn't even hurt anymore, see?"
Makoto looked at his face, which had been swollen and red a
few minutes ago. Sure enough, there wasn't a trace of irritation
remaining on his skin. His recovery rate truly was nothing short of
amazing.
"Wow, Ranma, that's incredible! How'd you do it?"
Ranma smiled at Makoto, proud of how his body could heal at
a rate that many doctors would have deemed impossible. "It's nothing,
really. Comes with being a world-class martial artist like myself, I
guess. I have some friends who can heal pretty fast too, but not as
fast as me. It kinda makes sense, when you think about it, since I'm
the best-- what are you doing?"
Makoto ran a finger gently along Ranma's right cheek, awed by
his flawless, smooth skin. She wondered absently if the same healing
ability that allowed him to quickly recover from injury was also
responsible for his impossibly clear skin. If Ami could figure out how
the mechanism worked and duplicate it in an ointment or something,
she'd never have to use medicated strips again!
It was a good ten seconds before she realized exactly what she
was doing, and that Ranma had realized it as well. She felt herself
blush from the top of her head to the tips of her toes and her hand
recoiled with the speed of a frightened rabbit. If there was ever a
time when she felt more embarrassed than she did now, she couldn't
remember it.
"Oh my god... I'm... I'm so embarrassed!"
Ranma watched with amusement as Makoto covered her face in her
hands and turned away to hide her embarrassment. The way she did it
made her look so... so cute! He reached an arm out to her and tapped
on her shoulder, then suppressed a giggle when she flinched at the
contact. He really should say something to calm her down.
"Hey, don't worry about it. We'll just pretend it never
happened, okay? You don't even have to explain it to me. See, I've
forgotten already! I'm going to leave now and have dinner. We can
talk again tomorrow, okay?"
Seeing that Makoto wasn't making a move to reply, Ranma got
up to leave the apartment. It was getting way too hot in it anyway. He
was about to start walking away when he felt a hand gripping his arm
and pulling him back down to the couch. He turned around and found
Makoto staring intently at him.
"Don't go, Ranma. Please stay... for dinner."
Ranma never stood a chance against the puppy-dog eyes that
now adorned Makoto's face. Coupled with the offer of free food, there
really was no other way he could have replied to her.
"Uh... sure, Mako-chan."
*****
Nabiki sat quietly behind her desk, scheming.
Akane had failed miserably in her task, as far as Nabiki was
concerned. All her sister had to do to keep Ranma around was stick to
a carefully crafted script, and she couldn't even do that.
Nabiki simply could not understand what was so bad about living
a lie for a few weeks. It was for the greater good, anyway, and who's
to say Akane wouldn't end up enjoying her new personality? If that were
to happen, the lie would become truth and all would be well.
Unfortunately, that would never come to be.
Her sister had adamantly refused to follow her plan when she
approached her that afternoon. In fact, her little sister was so upset
about the whole thing that she made plans to spend the night someplace
else. She would have to find someone else who could bring Ranma back
to Nerima, but who?
Ukyo and Shampoo were pretty good bets, but she doubted that
they'd be interested in bringing Ranma back. If anything, they'd
probably be overjoyed that Ranma was now spending most of his time away
from Akane. The two of them would have much higher chances of nabbing
Ranma if he was to stay in Juuban, where they could go and visit
anytime they wanted. After all, the two of them weren't committed to
school the way Akane was.
Mrs. Saotome was no good, since that representative the
Ministry of Education sent succeeded in thoroughly convincing her that
studying in Juuban would be best for Ranma. As for her dad and Mr.
Saotome, they had already proven themselves to be completely inept at
manipulation.
Of course, she could try and bring him back herself, but she
doubted that she would succeed. Her brief stint as a fiancee had ended
in disaster, and Ranma would probably be suspicious of any suggestions
or ideas coming from her. That left only one person in Nerima who had
the power to bring Ranma back. She just hoped that person would agree
to do it.
Nabiki put a sunny smile on her face as she left her room and
headed for the kitchen.
*****
Makoto Kino was the happiest girl in the universe.
Ranma wasn't mad at her! After everything she'd done to him, he
wasn't even annoyed at her. He had even agreed to stay over for dinner!
On top of all that, he was living right next door! He even told her
that he would be going to Juuban High! She could almost see it now, the
two of them walking to school together while all the other girls looked
on enviously.... It almost seemed as if the gods themselves were
working to set the two of them up.
She brought a semi-transparent nighty out from her closet and
held it up in front of her as she stood in front of her mirror. It was
made of silk, the material feeling soft and cool against her skin. The
emerald-green fabric accented her feminine curves nicely, and left
little to the imagination. It was the sexiest, most expensive piece of
clothing she owned, and she had been saving it for a special occasion.
Having Ranma to herself inside her own apartment was about as special
as occasions got, and it would surely get his attention.
On the other hand, it wouldn't be very practical to wear while
cooking, and she would look absolutely stupid eating in it. It didn't
even match her apron! She contemplated wearing the apron and nothing
else for a few moments, but quickly quashed the idea. She wanted Ranma
to think of her as pure and virginal, not wanton and kinky.
She dropped the nighty onto her bed and looked around in her
closet for something more appropriate.
*****
Ranma flipped to the next page of the magazine he had found in
Makoto's living room, engrossed in an article about how to take care
of oily skin. He had already read a number of articles about such
interesting topics as how idol singers managed to look the way they
did and why men were so stupid all the time.
He had also garnered a perfect score on a quiz to see if he
would make a perfect girlfriend, but he preferred not to think about
that right now.
The important thing was that he was starving, and Makoto had
promised to cook him a dinner fit for a king! There was only one thing
better than a meal, and that was a _free_ meal. Makoto had promised him
a free meal, and life just didn't get any better than this.
He was almost done with the article when he felt two female
hands cover his eyes.
"Guess who!"
Even for someone like Ranma, who wasn't exactly the most
perceptive individual in the world, this was pretty silly. He and
Makoto were the only ones in the apartment, severely narrowing down
the list of people who could have been the one behind him right now.
Still, he couldn't help but notice that her feather light touch felt
incredibly nice, and he wasn't exactly in a hurry to have her let go.
It was amazing that he hadn't noticed when she was holding
onto him while he was washing the pepper out at the sink earlier, but
her hands were incredibly soft and smooth. They caressed him with a
tenderness that matched even that of his own mother. He decided that
he must have missed it because of the pain from the pepper spray.
A smile formed in his face as he allowed himself to savor the
exquisite heaven that was Makoto Kino's touch. For some reason, he
couldn't bear the thought of her hands ever letting go of him.
"Mako-chan, that's so nice... don't stop."
Ranma heard a giggle from behind him, followed by a deep,
husky, sensuous voice. "Guess again, Ranchan."
Ranma immediately pulled the hands from his eyes and whirled
around at the sound of the voice. It was definitely not Makoto's. His
eyes went wide as he took in the beautiful smile, the gorgeous eyes,
the lustrous blue-green hair, and the cute little bat wings at the
top of his companion's head. She smiled mischievously and winked at
him, sending shivers up his spine.
"Hey, lover, miss me?"
*****
* According to Norse mythology, Einherjar are heroes that have died
in battle. They go to Valhalla and train there to prepare for the
battle of Ragnarok. They fight each other every day until they have
eviscerated one another, and their wounds heal every night while
they feast with Odin. The Einherjar in my fic are from various anime
series as well as the game, Valkyrie Profile. Needless to say, they
do a lot more here than fight every day. It's an altaverse of sorts,
after all.
*****
Author's notes:
Well, chapter 12 is finally done. I've been really busy with my
thesis lately, but I managed to finish it. Somehow, in between typing
the thesis document, beating Valkyrie Profile, and watching all the
remaining episodes of Nadesico, I managed to find the time to write
the latest chapter of ATFWH down. What do you guys think of it so far?
I've already got the thing planned out to the end, but I'd still like
to hear things like plot suggestions and stuff.
I would like to thank Griever, Tony Loco, Dylan Cole, Tracy
Poff, Fred Voeltner, Sebastian Rynders, Sam Vilsmeier, Shade, Farmer,
Steffan, Groo, Chester, Kevin Henry, Egan Mandreck, Seaver, Grum,
Micel Komphasouk, Dark Knight, Sadist, and Vex for all the help they
have given me for this chapter.
Remember, fan mail gets me writing better than anything else!
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.