Ki Cutters: 10

The Progression II

"How could you?" Ukyo was beyond pissed. She was raging! She stormed around with her mega-spat in her hands, pacing like a tigress with a hyperactivity disorder.

Shampoo had backtracked Ukyo to the catered luncheon she had just finished working. Her equipment haphazardly packed in her pushcart; Ukyo and Shampoo had worked jointly to secure her assets before leaving for the university. Fortunately, Nodoka had arrived and offered to keep things under control at Ucchan's till they returned. The two girls had made excellent time to the university, arriving only fifteen minutes after Ranma and Akane. At the present, the Amazon was sitting to one side, wondering why Ukyo was so upset. After all, Ryoga got lost all the time.

"Couldn't you have at least followed him?" Ukyo demanded. Ranma and Akane glanced at each other. Were those tears in her eyes?

"Ukyo, he's moving around too fast. I don't think—!"

"Too fast for you two to catch?" Ukyo exclaimed with a hint of disbelief. "Ryoga's a tank!" she growled. "That's what Ranma always said. A tank! Powerful, but slow. And he's too fast for you?"

Akane looked pained. "If it was a straight line race…"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Ukyo snapped, brandishing the spatula. In one corner of Nabiki's apartment, Akari winced. Soon, that weapon might be brandished at her. Konatsu sat not far from her, his head in his hands. She knew how much he idolized Ukyo. Now she had gotten him in trouble with his employer-friend.

Akane sighed. "Ukyo, he's bouncing all over the map. I don't know if his being upset right now is causing the problem or if his odd ki makes him really hard to find once he's gotten far enough away." Ukyo snorted. "I've been checking for his signature almost constantly since we arrived and he's been north, south, east and west of here…"

"He must be close, then!"

"He's not close," Akane retorted. She settled down again. "You know distance isn't well defined with this technique — it's more like a compass — but it's almost as though he's walking through doors between places. His location can change from north to south in an instant, yet he's out of range and undetectable to normal ki-vision."

"That's impossible!" Ukyo snapped.

"Ukyo, I practiced with this technique fairly often. We found Ryoga in the park that time before the martial arts tournament, and we found Nabiki when Nikki's goons kidnapped her. I used it once to track down a neighbor's child that wandered off. I've practiced with it to locate any and all of you at work and at home. I've never seen anything like this." Akane sat leaning against Ranma for emotional support. She stroked her hands across the fabric of the loose trousers she wore.

Ukyo grimaced and looked out the window before turning back. "Then teach me! Teach me how you do what you do, and I'll go looking for him."

Ranma looked pained. "Ukyo, Ryoga's an expert at taking care of himself. He's done this all his life. You haven't. Look what happened…"

"Shut up, Ranchan!" Ukyo didn't even look at him. He sighed and turned back to Akane.

"You've only had real ki-vision for a few weeks, Ukyo," Akane reminded her. All involved nodded. Ukyo had reacted to food, all right — an okonomiyaki made by Akane in a deliberately bad fashion. It hadn't even passed her lips before Ukyo had jumped up yelling, 'I got it, I got it!'

"Yeah? Well, it's time I tried this," Ukyo said, finally slinging her spatula back over her shoulder. "And don't worry. I'll stick to civilization this time. I don't feel like getting lost."

Akane sighed. "Okay, this is how you start..."

oOo

Kodachi and Taro finally made it back to Nerima. Monster-Air had been used since leaving their plane in Osaka, a precaution against being tracked by electronic payment or surveillance. It was efficient provided you kept to largely unpopulated regions. When the travelers found Ranma and the others just outside of Furinkan High, Kodachi was in a mood for comedy.

"Shampoo!" (GLOMP!)

The Amazon's eyes went very wide and her whole body trembled as if in a fit. Ranma was… glomping her?

Akane, who had been walking beside her, stopped and turned, her eyes going very wide and her whole body trembling as if in a fit. Ranma was glomping Shampoo?

Ranma, who had been walking beside Akane, turned and looked, then stopped and boggled, his eyes going very wide and his body trembling as if in a fit. How the hell was he over there glomping Shampoo?

"RRRRAANMMA!" Akane's war cry rang out.

"It's not what it looks like, Akane!" rang out two, almost identical voices. Two Ranmas cringed. One out of habit, the other for show. Akane, bracketed by two Ranmas, her hammer held high, swung back and forth, unsure whom to punish. She gaped. Then she dropped her hammer and laughed.

"Kodachi!" she yelled. She and Shampoo gave Kodachi a hug while the real Ranma Saotome straightened and tried not to boggle more.

Taro came up at that point and leaned on his shoulder. "Hiya, fem-boy. Miss me?"

"Not yet," growled Ranma, who was still recovering from his fright. "What the hell are you two doin', pullin' somethin' like that?"

"Relax, Saotome, Kodachi's awful fast in this form, maybe faster than you. Akane couldn't hit her."

"It wasn't Kodachi I was worried about, dammit!" he retorted. He turned to where his look-alike was deep in happy conversation with Shampoo and Akane. "Hi, Kodachi," he mumbled.

"Ranma-darling!" gushed Kodachi. Ranma 'urk'ed and back-pedaled. It was really disconcerting hearing that from a male throat, especially his own. Kodachi was well aware of it. Laughing, he clapped Ranma on the shoulder in simulation of a friendly male greeting. "How ya doin'?" he added, simulating Ranma's mode of speech.

Ranma rubbed his forehead pensively. "Could ya, ah… switch back while yer here, Kodachi? I'm really getting' a headache…"

"Please don't ask that, Ranma." Kodachi stood tense and frightened. "Your body is all that stands between me and total insanity."

Ranma looked at her curiously. "Watcha talkin' about?" He thought back to his recovered memories. "Sure you've had trouble recently. I can't believe my body…"

"Believe it, Ranma." Kodachi looked uncomfortable. He met Ranma's eyes and searched for something, then looked at the rest of those present. "If… if anyone asks, could you continue to say I am Dachi Saotome, Ranma's cousin?"

Ranma sighed and grinned. "Sure thing, Dachi," he said. Everyone quickly assented. "Now what's this I hear about ya bein' faster than me?"

oOo

Two hundred meters away, Dr. Hashibara laid down the binoculars, took off his headphones and smiled evilly. Beside him, large nondescript men waited for his orders. "She's back," he said. "Now we can act."

"Dr. H, why did we wait for the Kuno girl?" one of the men spoke up. "Aren't they all cursed? Why didn't we just take one of them?"

Hashibara glared and ran his hand back over his head. "Cursed is such a… primitive term. I prefer to call them… topologically challenged." He gazed through the binoculars, again. "We need the Kuno girl for legal reasons. There is no law or edict in place that identifies the Jusenkyo-affected as dangers to the public good. Kodachi, however, has a large file identifying her psychosis as dangerous to the public. We can take her and isolate her using those files, despite her family's connections." He muttered to himself, "Pity they called my bluff on government intervention, but private firms are so much more lucrative." He set the binoculars down again. "Get the teams ready."

The rumbling of heavy machinery alerted the NK-1124c unit where it rested on the roof of an expensive house. Sensors detected the grumbling undertones and alerted hazard computers to non-seismic activity in that part of Nerima. Alarms went off, alerting the control, which was organic in origin and had been asleep. Though silent, they also began the process of activating a battle platform that had once been titanium and plastic, but these days was mostly exotic carbon fibers and semi-organic plastics that simulated flesh and bone while being much, much stronger. While the organic brain came online, the computer enhancements extended sensors, which resembled feline appendages. As opticals came online, the organic brain was awhirl with curiosity. 'Mecha! Within Nerima, yet outside the testing laboratories!' Immediately, the NK-1124c sent a pulse to the main residence computer requesting data and permission to engage.

Long primed through past violence, the computer ran a subroutine to locate and establish the status of various household members and staff. Long-range audio and satellite visual sensors were activated. The mecha were quickly brought under observation and their possible destination was determined. As it was not against any assets of the house, permission was denied. The organic brain of the NK-1124c grumbled and repeated the request, this time with tactical investigation as the goal.

The computer pulsed back. 'Observe. Engage only if a clear threat, as detailed in subroutine 12a, section seven through twenty-four, is involved.'

Cat-like, a girl with red hair leapt from the roof ridge of an expensive house and charged out of the grounds. She had been bored, terribly bored, since Mama-san made up with Papa-san and were living together again. She was very happy for them, but she really, really wanted to play with the latest Venom series mecha, Poison gunship platforms or even that funny old man who had tried to steal her panties. The mecha was off-limits. Mama-san had expressed a fear that she might be hurt. Of course, she always thought someone would be hurt. She coddled Ryunosuke and his baby sister constantly. That was part of the game! Papa-san's reluctant agreement with Mama-san had settled it. As for the old man, someone had called and given her permission to play with him whenever she liked, but he had disappeared. It wasn't fair!

Atsuko Natsume, also known as Nuku-Nuku, hadbeen bored… but maybe — just maybe — that would now change.

If one said the Nerima martial artists were unpleasantly surprised, it would have been a clear understatement. Having twelve, five-meter tall robots attack them as they waited for Marinara-sensei was downright rude. Their focus on Ranma and Kodachi allowed some of the others to begin attacking with the techniques that they had been studying as, obviously, pure martial arts just wouldn't be sufficient here. Kodachi simply ripped into them with Nekoken. Ranma went on the defensive while he assessed the best way to deal with the threat.

"Where did these things come from?" shouted Jiro, dodging the sweep of a massive arm and using just enough momentum in a body-slam that the huge machine tipped over suddenly and crashed to the ground. It rolled human-like, back to its feet.

Nearby, Akane drew her mallet out of ki-space and slammed another on its head. A few strikes later, it cracked open like a lobster, revealing a human in a control-harness inside. He scrambled out of the ruined machine and ran for cover. Akane set her jaw. No way was he going to run away from her! She took a single step in pursuit only to be struck by a sticky net shot by another mecha. She hit the ground rolling and extended ki-claws to cut the mess away. Quickly discovering that the sticky paste that covered the netting was more than it seemed, she staggered to her feet weaving drunkenly. "Watch out for the nets!" she croaked. "They're coated in some kind of knockout chemical!"

Taro dragged a hand through a nearby water fountain and blossomed into monster-mode. The winged minotaur was faster, nearly as big and strong, and much more skilled than the mecha. He tore an arm off one and used the limb as an impromptu club. He was also, unfortunately, a bigger target. Five darts later, he was staggering. Three hits by a mecha and he was down.

Shampoo plugged two mecha, in rapid succession, with her ki-bow technique, damaging them severely. But even her speed was challenged when the original two were joined by a third mecha to gang up on her. She danced and jigged through the nets and darts, trying to find some way to settle these monstrosities before they got her or stepped on one of her friends. She breathed a sigh of relief as Ranma grabbed Akane and carried her aside.

Her relief was short lived as four of the things went after them. She then demonstrated her true skills as a warrior. Vaulting an aggressive attacker, she really looked at what it was made of. The answer was ceramic, metal and plastics. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" (BOOOM!) Ceramics were, after all, nothing more than man-made rocks

Armor shredded like paper and a mecha went down, completely disabled. The half dozen or so remaining mecha drew back to assess the situation. The martial artists, now that they were assured of a method that worked on their attackers, attacked in turn. This was a mistake. Two more mecha were damaged and one destroyed, but canisters of sleep gas shot all over the area as Dr. Hashibara's henchmen went to Plan B.

Shampoo, having demonstrated her effectiveness against the mecha, was particularly targeted. She staggered and slumped, falling against Taro. Ranma caught a whiff; turned back to get Akane clear, but it was too late. Jiro turned and leaped in flight. That is, he tried to. A sticky net pinned him to a wall and the sleep gas finished what the net chemicals started. Kodachi, desperate, hoping her natural form more resistant to the chemical than Ranma's body, charged for the water fountain and fell two steps short. The remaining mecha, seeing that everyone now seemed subdued, began to move in cautiously.

It was at this point that the NK-1124c unit arrived. So did the bored red-haired girl. The creator of the NK-1124c was a peculiar individual, possibly the greatest engineer of biomechanical interfaces that had ever lived. Unsatisfied with the idea of simply creating a machine and wanting to save the life of a pet his son was fond of, he had meshed organic and mechanical forms to create his unsurpassed masterpiece. His son, Ryunosuke, called her Nuku-Nuku, but to the general human population, she was known as Atsuko Natsume.

Her sensors detected the sleep gas immediately and her resources went on internal mode to protect that part of her that was biological. She glided in without making much fuss. Her directives did not allow otherwise. The mecha were a new design to her, but the satellite feed to the computers back at the house revealed that they belonged to a rival corporation, Korinama Robotics. They were comparable to the old Mishima Venom 38's in their ability to pack ordinance and their maneuverability, and she had found them interesting in the past. Ceramic/steel armor, independent servos at all joints, 20:1 lift ratios with rudimentary biofeedback for better responsiveness for the operator. Admirable devices, but in numbers like this, no exceptional challenge.

Dr. Hashibara had made himself very clear to his operatives running the mecha. Minimize casualties, avoid unnecessary property damage and retrieve Kodachi. As there were two beings that fit one of the descriptions they had for Kodachi, they quickly gathered up both Ranma and Kodachi. Curious about their actions, Nuku-Nuku made herself known.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Several of the mecha-drivers tried to locate the voice. It seemed to come from the depths of the clouds of sleep-inducing smoke, but that couldn't be right, could it? As the clouds swirled they saw the red color of the girl's hair and then the girl, herself. She was slender and pretty, quite an eye-full to any man with hormones. Oddly, she did seem unaffected by the anesthetic gas. Still, how could she be a significant threat?

To one of the mecha operatives however, she was a demon from hell. "Not her!" he screamed. He had been in mecha before, under orders to retrieve a certain young lad for his mother from her estranged husband only to be thwarted by… "Not Nuku-Nuku!" He swiped desperately at the fragile looking girl beside him.

"Oh, good! Mecha want to play!" Atsuko exclaimed. "Whee!" Her sensors and satellite up-link extended as she went into action.

Even as short a time as one year before, the android, Nuku-Nuku, would have used entirely different methods in attacking the mecha. Her 'C' designation, however, indicated the third revision to her original mechanical frame. The updated body she had now was too light to throw the heavy forms around. Her Papa-san had devised a few new tricks to make up for her decrease in mass.

She dove at the wildly swinging mecha and caught hold of the nearest arm. As she let its momentum carry her near another mecha, she kicked off her shoes revealing long shapely toes. The pointed nails of her toes suddenly extended, creating claws nearly an inch and a half long. Likewise, the nails on her fingers also lengthened. They glowed for an instant and sank into the mecha's armor. Her toes reached and made contact with the other machine.

"MyraaAR!" Nuku-Nuku screamed, wrenching the mecha around. Her strength was still incredible. It was simply a matter of leverage. Her hold on the second mecha became a fulcrum for her move. The first mecha tumbled end for end, into the air, its operator screaming all the way. The other was wrenched off its feet and slammed head first into the ground.

She let go, knowing from past experience that staying in one place was not part of the game. An instant later, the fist of a third mecha crushed the shoulder of the second, where she had held on. As she passed by, her claws swept out, disabling key hydraulic lines. Since there were no other mecha nearby, she chose to attack the power pack as well, then flipped away as it exploded.

At cheetah speeds, she dodged between two mecha who stood shoulder to shoulder. Her claws ripped the power lines from the knee servos. Collapsing against one another, Nuku-Nuku added to the chaos by pushing ever so lightly against the right hand one's leg. This changed the angle ever so slightly and they fell in turn against another machine, which staggered into a fourth. She set herself and dug her toes into the concrete sidewalk. "MyiiAAAA!" The fourth mecha hurtled laterally, slamming into three more. Two were obviously permanently disabled.

The NK unit's computers were evaluating the action and beginning to send information through her satellite link to the main house computer. There, her little 'brother's' lesson in programming was abruptly interrupted.

Alert! Alert! Alert! Alert! Alert! Alert! Alert! Alert! Alert! Alert

"What the…?" The young man jerked as alarms, more than a year silent, suddenly roared to life, announcing a threat to a certain fondly considered individual. "Nuku-Nuku!" Ryu yelled, coming to his feet. Beside him his father, Kyusaka Natsume frowned and let his hands dance across keys.

"Atsuko's near the other side of the ward," he announced. "Hmmm… She should be able to handle those mecha."

"She's transmitting, Dad," the young man said quickly.

"Papa-san! If you are listening, the mecha are attacking some young people. There are at least four casualties here and there is danger that they might come to further harm in the fight. The mecha…" An explosion overrode her signal. "… not leave them. My directives permit me to defend. This signal will repeat…"

Mama-san, Akiko Mishima strode up to the console. "What is she into now?" She listened to a cycle of Atsuko's report. Decisively, she struck a key. "Scramble Poison 9F28. Assist Nuku-Nuku at coordinates 140.05.39 by 35.35.54. Code blue. I repeat, code blue. Human lives are endangered."

One minute and forty seconds later, a large sleek STOL lifted off from its pad, two pretty but aggressive women at the helm. "I get first shot at her," muttered Arisa Mitamura, a dark haired woman.

"Arisa, please!" snapped her partner, Kyoko Kaitabashi. "We're all on the same side, these days!"

"Awww, nuts!"

The pair was overhead thirty seconds later, battle computers primed for a fight. The action had already been over for fifty-five seconds. With nothing else to do, they gathered up the unconscious martial artists left lying about and took them home to meet Nuku-Nuku's 'parents'. At least, that's how the feline-brained android looked at the situation. There were five guests in all, six if you counted the odd mutant beast. Nuku-Nuku was always ready to make new friends.

oOo

"Mmm… Agh! I feel like a… Omigod!" Akane Tendo went from drugged slumber to wakefulness in an eye blink. She sat up then worked very hard not to throw up as nausea swept over her. A pair of strong arms quickly supported her.

"Sip this. It should make you feel better in a moment," came familiar tones. A glass was pressed to her lips and Akane took several sips of an orange-juice drink.

"Thanks, Ranma," she whispered as the ugly feeling in the pit of her stomach began to fade.

"Ranma?" There was a note of questioning that made Akane freeze. She opened her eyes and scanned with ki-sense. The female form that supported her was not Ranma. Hell! She wasn't even human! Akane flinched away and rolled off the futon she was laying on to sprawl over Shampoo, who moaned and protested in her drug-induced sleep. A quick glance around the room revealed rich furnishings with plenty of natural wood, gleaming metal and expensive looking decorations. A silver tea set rested on a table in front of a davenport. Chairs lined the walls, but the martial artists lay stretched out on futon down the center of the large room.

"I am Atsuko Natsume," the slender red-haired girl announced, "but you can call me Nuku-Nuku. Can we be friends?"

Akane's breathing slowed and she slid off of Shampoo. "What are you?" she asked quietly.

"I'm a cat," Nuku-Nuku said happily. "How could you tell? Most people think I'm just a girl." These new friends were fun… and smart. No one had ever seen what she was so quickly. Nuku-Nuku's expression became pensive. "Don't you… like cats?" she asked mournfully.

"Cats are just fine," Akane reassured her. 'A cat?' Her scan detected a small amount of biological matter encased in the skull of the figure before her. About the size of her two fists, it sent tendrils of ki down through its inorganic body creating a hara about where it should be and upper and lower heaters. Her body was not completely involved with her ki. It almost seemed as if… "I can tell you're mostly mechanical. Did you have repairs, recently?"

Nuku-Nuku looked nervous and glanced down at herself. "I don't have any seams showing, do I?" she asked worriedly. Had those stupid mecha damaged her after all?

"No, no! I just…" Akane tried to decide how to explain herself. After all, she didn't really know where she was or who they were with, and many of her own kidnappers had been reasonably polite, despite having a violently opposed agenda. "I can just tell." She scanned the other martial artists. On the other side of her futon was Jiro and beyond him, Ranma in girl-type. On this side of Shampoo was Kodachi, also in girl-type. Kodachi was beginning to writhe and mumble on her futon. Akane wondered how Shampoo had escaped getting wet if these two hadn't. "Where are we?" she asked. It was hard to be suspicious of someone with such an open and pleasant personality, cat or not.

"Mama-san had us all brought to the house," their hostess offered. "My family can't come and meet you just now, though. I apologize for them."

Akane nodded and rose to her feet. She moved over to Ranma and checked out her presently female fiancé. Ranma was just short of reaching consciousness. She gave a jolt to her aura to help her along.

"Who? What? Where?" shouted Ranma as she surged to her feet. She noticed who was closest to her. "Akane!" Then, eyeing Nuku-Nuku suspiciously, she added, "Uh… Who are you?"

Nuku-Nuku grinned. Now she knew why the other girl had called her Ranma. Their voices were very similar. Her brother sent a gentle probing suggestion through the computer link. She considered and nodded. "Do you know why those mecha were attacking you?" she countered.

Ranma and Akane shook their heads in unison. "First time I've ever been attacked by mecha. Unless you count Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung's contraptions," she added aside to Akane. She thought a moment. "They did seem pretty focused on Dachi and me."

"But was it because of Kodachi or because of you?" Akane pondered.

"You were doing very well for unarmed humans," Nuku-Nuku chirped. "I counted seven mecha destroyed or disabled when I arrived."

"What happened to the rest?" Ranma inquired.

"Oh, I played with them."

Suddenly, Ranma made the connection, recognizing her. She began to laugh. "Ha-ha! Akane! This is that girl who's been giving the freak such a hard time. You know…" She snapped her fingers. "Atsoka… Atsuka…"

"Atsuko," supplied Nuku-Nuku. "Atsuko Natsume, but you can call me Nuku-Nuku." She held out her hand in a western-style greeting. Gingerly, Ranma took it. She felt the warmth and resiliency of what seemed to be flesh, blood and bone, but her other senses told her otherwise.

"Cool!" Ranma exclaimed. "So you're some sort of mecha, yourself? Akane, did you notice how she's integrating herself with her mechanical side? I guess this is a case of… Now what the heck was it Cologne said? Contagion! Yeah!"

Akane tried briefly to shut Ranma up, but she was off to the races. 'Otaku!' she thought at her fiancé darkly, ignoring the fact that she was the one who collected manga. Then she noticed Ranma hadn't let go of Nuku-Nuku's hand. "RRRRRANMA!" That growl got the redhead's attention, and she dropped the android's hand and shut up for a minute.

"This is very, very interesting!" Nuku-Nuku remarked. "How do you do it? See what I am, that is?"

Just then, Kodachi woke up screaming. Ranma and Akane were at her side in seconds. "Help me! Help me! Oh hohohohohoho! Oh, gods! Ranma, please! I…I… I can feel myself… ah ha-ha, oh… Oh HOHOHohohohoho! Ranma!"

Akane, horrified, went to hug the girl, but Ranma threw her back. "Get hot water!" she yelled at her astonished partner. After a heart-stopping second, she understood. If Kodachi's psychotic side wanted to get rid of the competition, she might have Nekoken to do it.

Kodachi's laugh grated and sobbed as Akane turned to the frozen and astonished Nuku-Nuku. "Please! Is there…?"

The android leaped in a gliding vault across the room, retrieving the pot from the tea service. Another gliding leap brought her back. "What do I…"

Akane snatched it from her hands. Turning, the shorthaired girl dumped the water onto the writhing Kodachi's head, causing the dark-haired girl and her red-haired warden to transform into identical dark-haired men. Akane quickly handed the pot back and cautiously approached. Nuku-Nuku was too astonished to retrieve it and it clattered to the floor. Ranma glanced up at his fiancée, his breath ragged. For a moment, his twin sagged in his arms and began to weep in great racking sobs.

Across the room, a large flat-screen monitor lit up, revealing the astonished looking faces of Nuku-Nuku's family. "How did you do that?" asked the mesmerized cat-girl. Nuku-Nuku could have hugged herself. This was definitely not boring. Wheeee!

Grudgingly, explanations came.

Akiko Mishima frowned at the monitor that showed the recovering martial artists they had rescued that afternoon.

"What are your thoughts, love?" her husband, Kyusaka Natsume, asked. At another station, Ryunosuke chatted with Akane and Nuku-Nuku as Ranma and Shampoo made certain that Kodachi was all right.

"I'm thinking that this explains some of our espionage problems," she answered. "Remember the time we had alerts in the DD4 labs? Infrared cameras picked up a presence, but when guards arrived, they could find no one." He nodded. "I think we should also check the bio labs to see if all of the animals there are really animals. If a boy can turn into a monster or a girl, or a girl turn into a cat, well…" She shook her head.

"All we need do is apply some hot water," he suggested.

"That's fine, dear, provided we apply some heavy security to the case as well. It seems a lot of the Jusenkyo-cursed are deadly martial artists." She glanced over to where her son interrogated and flirted with the girl in the safe room. She muttered to herself.

"It would probably be safe for him to meet them face to face, you know," Kyusaka suggested. A tense look rippled across his wife's face. "Still the over-protective mama-san, hmmm?"

"It is not just that," Akiko replied. "They are martial artists, but do you realize their degree of training?" She hit several keys and recalled Nuku-Nuku's images from when she arrived. Several mangled mecha littered the scene. "And look at what I pulled off of security monitors in the area."

There followed a series of very grainy black and white images that renewed themselves every couple seconds. In one, Akane suddenly was striking with a mallet the size of a public mailbox. In another, Shampoo was suspended vertically, inverted in a mid-air leap above a shattering machine, arm outstretched.

"From what Atsuko told us before they revived, they lost primarily because they were unfamiliar with their attackers. These people are human, but they are nearly as effective in combat as she is." Akiko took a breath. "I'm just not willing…"

"I guess we can wait for grandchildren, then, hmmm?" Kyusaka grinned slightly. "We have time. Men often retain sexual viability their entire lives, I understand. Well into their sixties, at least." Akiko glanced at him sharply. Her husband at times had a gift for gentle sarcasm.

"Why should we trust these people?" she asked testily. "We know nothing about them other than they are insanely dangerous."

"Ask Atsuko. She's a good judge of character." Kyusaka looked back to where Nuku-Nuku was greeting the purple-maned girl with gentle probing questions. "She likes them."

"She likes everyone."

Kyusaka pressed a key that let them talk to their android 'daughter' privately. "Atsuko, please assess the threat to Ryunosuke should he physically enter the room with these people."

Immediately, the cat-girl replied. "Most of our guests would normally provide no threat to Ryunosuke. The one they call Taro might be a threat if he transformed unintentionally. The greatest threat would be the one they call Kodachi. I believe she may be mentally unstable. I would not recommend, at this time, allowing Ryunosuke unlimited access to our guests."

Akiko gestured triumphantly. "See?"

"Then you agree Atsuko can accurately interpret threats against our son?" Kyusaka asked with a twinkle.

"I believe she did rather well… Wait a minute! Papa-san, that is not fair! You want our children to go out again! It's not safe…"

"Since your brother blew himself and his board of directors to smithereens last year in that ridiculous attempt to steal Atsuko, it's safe enough. You know that most of the threats to Ryu's safety have come from our own attempts to control him," her husband pointed out. "If we switched them to a new school…" At her hard look, he backed a little from her. "It's not as if he's lacking in education. He just needs to learn how to socialize with children his own age. Besides, we have another baby who's going to have to learn about the world. Let's not make the same mistakes with her."

Akiko glared at him for long moments. She thought of six-month old Hidori and grimaced. Let her baby face the world unshielded?

"Dad?' Ryunosuke stood up and walked over to the clash of wills that were his parents. "Kodachi Kuno has suggested that the attack was made on her account. Apparently, a psychologist in her family's employ over-reached himself and may be attempting to capture her, using her past instability as a pretense for his research into their ability to change."

Akiko glanced at him. "Kodachi Kuno? As in Kuno Industries?"

"I believe so," Ryunosuke confirmed. "She apologizes for the difficulties she has caused, but feels it would be in everyone's best interests if she left. Taro proposes she go with him."

Akiko looked thoughtful.

"They are looking for an old man named Happosai," Ryunosuke added. "Jiro, the short one, seems to think he might be found in Miroto on Shikoku. We could send a helicopter to our offices there, and give them a lift." Ryunosuke cocked his head to one side. "Maybe we could look into this Dr. Hashibara and his mecha as well. Our friends could still be in danger." A son looked pleadingly at his mother.

Akiko melted. "Very well, dear." This would solve their worst problems. And if Korinama Combine was involved, they had overstepped their bounds terribly. Perhaps Mishima Heavy Industries needed to show that the loss of 'Hell' Mishima, her father, had not diminished its ability to aggressively deal with challenges. "Could you ask if there is anything else we can do for Kodachi? We would be poor hosts if we sent her out…"

Meanwhile in the room, Kodachi and Taro were catching up on the home front.

"So Ryoga has broken up with Akari, is missing again and Ukyo has taken off in hot pursuit?" Kodachi rubbed his temples. "Why is nothing ever simple?" he complained. "Do you think Ukyo is serious about Ryoga?" he asked plaintively.

"Why?" Ranma asked. "You want him?"

"Not really, Ranma-dar—! Ranma. But it would solve one of your problems for you, wouldn't it?" He smiled slyly.

"Ryoga better not hurt Ucchan," Ranma grumbled in reply. "Oh, shit! I wonder what Marinara-sensei will think of how the yard is trashed back at Furinkan?"

"Feh!" Jiro opined nonchalantly. "She'll simply figure you got into another fight. You should know by now that it is always your fault."

"Shut up, Jiro," Ranma grinned. It looked like they might get some sparring in.

"Stop it, you two!" Akane turned away from the kid on the screen to admonish them. "Let's not destroy the room."

"Could they?" Nuku-Nuku asked.

"Of course they could!" Akane said, turning to her with a wry smile, "And they'd think it was simply in fun. Boys!"

Nuku-Nuku blinked, then said plaintively, "But it would be fun. I wouldn't mind." Akane watched her turn slightly, shyly, as if asking to play, 'please, please', in a very polite way. It was so natural.

"The more I'm around you, the less I'm willing to accept you as being a machine," Akane said with warmth, "Or only a cat."

"Well, of course I'm not only a cat!" Nuku-Nuku looked slightly offended. "I am me!"

Ranma rejoined his fiancée and put an arm around her waist. Akane snuggled close, unaware till then how tense she was, or how much Ranma's presence made everything better. "So ya took out the rest of the mecha?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, yes," Nuku-Nuku exclaimed. "They were older models and there were not that many." She smiled as Ranma peered at her, trying to assess her abilities. "Yes," she said, misunderstanding his look, "Papa-san made me very pretty. All the boys at school say so."

(Bop!) "Ow! Akane!" Ranma rubbed his head while Nuku-Nuku looked startled.

"Just why are you staring at her, Ranma?" Akane said coldly.

"I was tryin' ta figure out how ya judge an android's fighting abilities, tomboy. I wasn't lookin' at her assets. Okay?" Akane huffed and returned to her spot in the curve of his arm. Ranma's eye gleamed. "They are almost on par with my girl-type's, though."

"Ranma!" Akane swung at him and they were off in a surprisingly delicate and controlled battle.

"What's happening in there, Atsuko," came Akiko's voice. She sounded worried.

Nuku-Nuku allowed herself a warm feeling. Mama-san was worried about her! "It's all right, Mama-san. They're just playing." Oh, how she wished she could play, too!

Kyusaka caught the wistful expression. He looked at Akiko, who was watching horrified as the two young people moved and struck at each other with lightning fast movements.

He turned to his son. Ryunosuke was monitoring the fight, using the room's imbedded sensors and whistling in admiration. These two were using speed and power far exceeding what was believed to be the ultimate a human could attain. They seemed like nice people, even the weird Kodachi person. One on one, some of them might prove to be competition for his sister. She needed peers almost as much as he did. Cool!

"What school did they say they were going to?" Kyusaka asked quietly.

oOo

Five hours later, Taro and Kodachi boarded a large helicopter at an underground hanger. The helicopter was bound for Miroto.

oOo

Thirty-four hours after that, Kurumi Saotome looked up from her book to check out a new student.

"Class," their teacher said. "Let's give a warm welcome to Ryunosuke Natsume. Natsume-san, could you tell us a little about yourself?"

Ryu grinned. "Well, my mother and father work for Mishima Heavy Industries…"

In another classroom, Urudu Kamiko was giving a new red-haired student a curious look. Finally, she shrugged. "Class," she said, clapping her hands to get their attention. "I'd like you all to say hello to Atsuko Natsume."

"Hi! I am Atsuko Natsume, but please call me Nuku-Nuku. My brother and I are joining your school and we hope we'll have lots of fun!" She glanced over to where three glazed-looking martial artists sat. "Hi, Ranma! Hi, Akane! Hi, Shampoo! Is this fun, or what?"

Meanwhile the whispers had begun.

"Is that another fiancée?"

"How does he do it?"

"Why does he always get the cute girls?"

"Are you saying I'm not cute, Dai?"

"Gulp!"

"Does she change with cold water, too?"

Ranma began to bang his head on the desk.

oOo

"Awoo, woo, woo!"

A young woman strolled along the island beach, her faithful dog at her side. He thundered about playfully, searching through the storm debris with all the enthusiasm of a child. She sighed. He wasn't much of a conversationalist, but he was a good protector and a friend. She really didn't know why she had taken Wonton along though, instead of Sarotoru or one of the others.

"Awoo! Awoo, awoo!"

She sighed as she had many times this trip. He had found something. Yup! Here he came. He'd try to drag her back over there and… A black piglet was dropped at her feet. It twitched. 'Alive? And why was it wearing a yellow and black bandana?'

Prince Toma of Togenkyo glanced at the piglet then up at Wonton, the huge dog-man that was her only companion on her stroll around the island. Female due to the odd changes in the Togenkyo magic pool of which she was the steward and the wet surf that she had strolled through earlier, she was not in the mood for games. Obviously, her protector had other ideas.

"Awoo! Woo-woo! Awoo!"

"Wonderful. It's a pig. Let it run back into the woods then. We have enough pigs in the woods. It will be happy."

"Woo!"

Toma grimaced. "I am a prince! Er… well, princess at the moment, I guess… I am not a cook! Just let it go, greedy gut!"

"Awoo!" Wonton picked up the little pig, sniffed at it and held it out to Toma.

Toma backed away, irritated. "I don't want it, idiot!" she stormed.

"NNNNnnnnn…?" Wonton looked hurt and made huge puppy eyes at her.

"Ack!" she said. "Oh, all right! Keep it if you want! Bring it back with you. It's your problem, okay?"

At the palace, a guard brought hot water in a kettle and surreptitiously looked Toma over as she rinsed the brine off in preparation to changing back to male. She noticed the regard anyway and understood it. Women were still a bit rare on Togenkyo, despite the change in the pool, and most of those that were women part-time, had no intention of 'putting out'. So long as the guard maintained his respect, it was not a problem.

"Awoowoowoo!"

"Ooof!" The guard staggered sidewise as Wonton burst in on them. The huge man bounced around the room like a maniac, the small black pig hanging from the bandana he held in his mouth. Sarotoru, Toma's major domo, came in with a change of clothes. He was flattened and the clothes scattered in one of the Wonton's circuits.

"Just what do you think you're doing!" Sarotoru bellowed from his trampled position. Wonton snatched the hot water from the guard and poured it over his unconscious charge.

"Hey! That water is for…" Toma went from anger to astonishment in a heartbeat. "Whoa! It's a man?" On the floor, the bruised, naked young man twitched in a near fetal position. She looked closer. "Wait, I know him! Hibiki! Ryoga Hibiki!"

"Awoo!" Wonton confirmed happily, panting and sitting up. When Toma patted him on the head, he wriggled joyously.

"Good boy!" Toma turned to the guard. "Get him to the doctor. Quickly! He looks like he's had a rough time."