Chapter 33: Pleiades

Cologne sat quietly in the Neko Hanten kitchen late at night, going over her notes on the day's interviews. With her grandson back in China for the immediate future, and adding in how Shampoo kept running off to spend time with the fiancés... Cologne needed at least two more waitstaff. Probably a separate delivery person, knowing how lazy foreigners tended to be. The crop so far had tended towards mediocre.

"Elder Cologne," Mousse began, as he entered the room bowing. "I... I need to cash in my vacation days for the next little while. I have run into an ally-I mean friend. An old friend. Want to just relax and see some sights while he's in Japan, you know?"

Cologne looked up at the buzz cut boy, her ancient eyes judging him. "Mouse, you're not an employee. I don't pay you. We just give you things to do, since you refuse to leave. Go. Have fun with whatever hair brained scheme you've thought up."

"Thank you, elder!" the bespectacled teen replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Cologne just shook her head as the boy all but skipped from the room. Maybe he'd find another girl to annoy one of the these days, and leave poor Shampoo alone. Cologne certainly couldn't support his efforts after seeing how he reacted to Shampoo's curse... not that she'd had much respect left for him before.

The trip to the Tendos' was, as with most Oozora car rides, a crowded affair. Sabu was driving, while Tsugumi sat in the passenger seat (a number of tupperware containers on her lap as she felt the need to make up for the Tendos having to feed five extra mouths on such short notice). That was the calm part of the car.

The back seat was rather more chaotic: Ranma was in male form on one side, Suzume sat in the middle seat but was trying to lean across Tsubame (who sat on her other side) to look out the window. Meanwhile Hibari had plopped herself down on Ranma's lap, somehow managing to lean seductively against her fiancé (wiggling from time to time, which kept a blush on Ranma's cheeks).

"I still can't believe you're making me keep up this stupid lie," Tsubame fumed, ruffling her short brown hair a little in frustration.

"Akane doesn't like guys, but seems to kind of idolise 'Ran', so we're trying to work it out delicately," Hibari replied.

"Gee, yeah... when the truth comes out she'll totally trust guys more," the brunette grumbled.

"Can we just have peace for the evening?" Tsugumi asked, letting out a sigh. "We're going to be guests, and we've been entrusted to represent our family's honourable nature."

"Pfft... I think we lost our last scrap of family honour when Hibari and Ranma got engaged. Those two... you knows. It's just wrong," Tsubame replied (struggling not to break that promise to refer to Hibari as 'sister'), only to find herself bonked on the head by Suzume.

"You're such a dummy sometimes, Tsubame," the little bluenette stated grumpily as she crossed her arms and stared out ahead through the front window.

"We're here," Sabu announced, sounding rather relieved he'd be escaping the conversation.

The car came to a stop in front of the well kept dojo, and Tsubame was out nearly as soon as they'd stopped moving to take in some calming breaths. Suzume scrambled out after her, while Sabu hopped out and hurried around to open the door for Tsugumi. Ranma had popped open the door, but was a bit distracted by Hibari's decision that it was time for a kiss.

After just long enough to make the others wonder what was taking them, Hibari broke the embrace and gave Ranma a smirk and a wink before hopping out of the car. The pigtailed boy took a moment to recover from the surprise, but soon followed.

The four sisters and Ranma lined themselves up just inside the front gate, Tsugumi handing off containers to the others, while Sabu knocked on the door. All of them were dressed well, though Ranma felt worried about how to make a second first impression. How much was reasonable for 'Ranma' to have been told by 'Ran'? The pigtailed teen had no idea, and so decided to go with the 'wing it and hope for the best' strategy.

Sabu knocked at the door, hoping to get his portion of this all done with as soon as possible.

"Hello," Soun answered nervously as he slid the door open. Glancing over at the cool expression on Sabu's face he grew a bit nervous. The man's whole appearance screamed 'Yakuza'.

"Hello, we would like to thank you for having us in your home," Tsugumi said softly, as she bowed slightly and smiled. "We hope your meeting with our father goes well."

Soun visibly calmed at Tsugumi's reassuring tone and gentle body language. Looking the others over he was struck by how innocent they all looked. Apparently Hibari was not the sole good child of a rough family. His own family was behind him, and clearly Akane and Nabiki had grown impatient to see the new arrivals as their heads popped out from around the door frame.

"Hibari! It's good to see you," Akane said happily, before scanning the group in search of her other friend. "Where's Ran?"

"Uh... she had, uh... that time of the month?" Ranma offered awkwardly, blushing as soon as it was said.

Nabiki struggled not to laugh at the odd responses. Hibari stared at Ranma like the boy had just sprouted horns. The smallest girl looked surprised and a bit confused. The taller older one gave a strained smile. And the brunette began to hack and cough (seemingly having choked a bit on her own saliva). Nabiki supposed it was a bit tactless of the boy to put things that bluntly, but still... the response seemed a little overly dramatic to her.

"Oh... poor Ran," Akane replied, oblivious to most of the responses. She did notice the short haired sister's coughing at least (though had no clue as to the cause). "And are you okay... um?"

"Tsubame," the brunette replied as she recovered from the coughing fit. "I'm fine."

"Yes, well, we men should get going," Sabu offered. "Er, not to disparage Ranma's masculinity... he's, uh, still in his youth... that's what I mean."

"I suppose so," Soun replied softly (not noticing Sabu's odd explanation), turning to give his home a once over as if he half expected never to return. "Goodbye girls. And Kousaku. I hope I should be back tonight."

Kasumi appeared at the door frame as well to wave her father off, Kousaku appearing a moment later to wave as well. Once Sabu had driven off with Soun, it was 'just' the 9 of them.

"Since I've met everyone already, I'll take the lead on introductions," Hibari announced. "In the Oozora corner we've got Tsugumi, age 20. Tsubame, age 17. And the fierce little Suzume, age 9. As well as yours truly, of course; age 15. With special appearance by Saotome Ranma, age 16."

Tsugumi, Ranma, and Tsubame gave simple, polite, bows at their introductions. Suzume gave a big grin and waved, before remembering she should probably bow too.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Kasumi replied, with a gentle smile. "Kasumi, age 19."

"Nabiki. 17."

"Akane, 16. Good to meet you all."

"Uh, Sakamoto Kousaku. Also 16."

"Now please, come in, come in," Kasumi said, waving the guests in. "Does any of the food you brought need to be refrigerated? Or heated?"

"One or two salads should probably be refrigerated, depending on how soon people will want them. I did bring some hors d'oeuvres. Wasn't sure if you'd had time to get any," Tsugumi replied.

"I have a few snacks, but I'm sure more will be appreciated," Kasumi said. "If you would all follow me to the kitchen."

Freed of her duty as tupperware mule, Suzume hurried off towards the living room. She'd spotted a TV from the hallway and, since everyone else was so much older than her, the little blue haired girl was hopeful she could engage in a bit of anime watching. As she decided to search around a bit to see if the Tendo's had a remote control, a picture up on the butsudan caught Suzume's eye.

Staring up, the woman with blueish hair looked very pretty, but also sad (in Suzume's opinion). As the small girl noticed Akane enter the room, she hoped it wasn't out of place to enquire a little.

"Is that your mom?"

Akane paused halfway through placing her tray of snacks on the table, confused for a moment. Turning to look and now understanding, Akane smiled at the young girl.

"Mhm, yes. I... well, I'm afraid I can't tell you too much about her," Akane replied. "I was kind of young when she passed away. So, my memories of her... they're a bit hazy."

"More remembering a feeling of being safe and comforted, I would guess," Hibari asked as she sat down beside Akane. "A warmth unique to those times?"

Akane looked over at the red haired girl, taking a moment to think the description over. "Yes. That's a good way to say it. How... oh. Oh, I'm sorry."

Hibari gave a relaxed shrug. "It's almost been ten years. I've finished grieving."

Akane gave a weak smile. "Yeah, I'd same I'm in a similar boat. I miss her sometimes, but usually I can just let myself forget."

Suzume nodded, a bit confused. She had no real frame of reference for all that. Not sure what she could contribute, she just knew she had to wait to bring up the idea of watching TV now.

Ranma sat out on the engawa, watching the koi pond. One simple leap, and Akane would stop muttering 'boys' under her breath whenever the pigtailed lad tried to chat. Though she might try to kill Ranma for the deception. For some reason that tourou near the koi pond was looking like a particularly menacing murder weapon.

"Man, Tokyo's got loads a' cute girls. It's like paradise," Kousaku said as he slumped against a pillar not far from Ranma.

Ranma tried not to glare at him. "Yeah... ya ce-I heard ya certainly liked, uh, my ...sister."

Kousaku gave Ranma a guilty shrug. "What can I say? She's really cute. I know she's your little sister though, so I'd never dare ask her out or anything without running it past you. I'm not a jerk."

Ranma couldn't help laughing at the promise. "Don't worry, I trust her to never do anythin' I wouldn't approve of."

"Sounds like she's a good sister. I swear, Nabiki and Akane here have a cold war going on," Kousaku replied, glancing back into the house. "I don't understand sibling dynamics myself though, if I'm being honest."

"Is that a diamond whetstone?" Tsugumi asked, taking in the Tendo kitchen as she and Kasumi got to work on dinner.

"Yes, it's a little pricey, but I think it's worth it," Kasumi replied as she gave a final examination to the eel she was about to slice.

"I've wanted one, but every time I get a decent knife sharpener it goes missing."

"Why would they go-oh my."

"Mhm, after being used on those sorts of knives, I definitely don't want them back in my kitchen. It's just one of life's little inconveniences, but it does mean I have to stick to cheaper knives and whetstones for the kitchen."

Kasumi looked down at the partially prepared eel before her. Suddenly meat wasn't feeling all that appetising...

Watching it all, Tsubame let out a sigh as she sat at the table. Was the boring domesticity of Tsugumi's conversation really that much better than whatever perversions Hibari and Ranma would get up to? Either option was feeling pretty terrible.

"You look bored. Keep that up and my big sis will put you to work," Nabiki said flatly. "C'mon, let's go have a little chat upstairs."

Tsubame looked over at the other brunette, her cold eyes and sharp haircut giving a rather unfriendly impression. Still, it wasn't good to judge a book by it's cover, and... well, she dealt with yakuza thugs all the time. A fellow high schooler wasn't going to intimidate her.

"Sure, sounds good," Tsubame said, as she tried to muster a confident smile.

Following the other girl up the stairs and into a room that felt as cold as its owner's stare made Tsubame shiver. As she took a seat on what seemed a surprisingly expensive office chair, she looked around for an casual signs of her host being a normal girl. The bookshelf was filled with business magazines and some university level business textbooks. Possibly a ledger or two... was that binder labelled 'Blackmail Information III'?

"So... Tsubame, are you much involved in the family business?"

"No. I've got no interest in any of that stuff."

Nabiki smiled with a shark-like joy. "Good to hear. Now then, there were one or two little things I'd like to ask you."

"Mmm... these cookies are really nice," Hibari said, growing slightly distracted from her conversation with Akane about recent movies they'd seen.

"Yeah, Kasumi's a great cook... I wish I was half as good, but there's a lot of lost time I have to make up for," Akane replied. It was a bit embarrassing how her youthful tomboyishness had left her so lacking in feminine skills.

For Hibari though, the impression was rather different. Memories of her later grade school years, pestering her eldest sister constantly to get lessons on cooking, sewing, and so on. The feeling that she wasn't ready unless she was at least twice as good as Tsubame (who, in hindsight, had proven a fortuitously low bar to compare herself against). And so... Hibari found herself wondering if Akane's own 'lost time' was from a similar cause.

"I'm sure you'll work it out soon enough," Hibari said, wondering how she could subtly probe.

"Are you trying to flirt with Akane?" Kousaku asked, as he noticed Ranma's eyes drift over to the youngest Tendo once again. "Every time you go over to grab food you're trying to be chatty... plus you're complimenting her outfit and stuff."

"What? No! No..." Ranma protested, relaxing in the yard once again. "I'm... I'm just tryin' ta be friendly."

"Sure," Kousaku replied, munching on some renkon chips. "I heard you. 'I like your hair bow'. 'Those are cute socks'. That's either bad flirting or... something a gay guy'd say."

Ranma choked and coughed on a gyoza, surprised at the direction things had taken. Regaining breath, the black haired boy took a moment to figure out an excuse. Afterall, it wasn't the sort of thing one confessed to when trying to make a good first impression... probably?

"She's just friends with Hibari, my fiancée, and when I-er, Ran... so I was tryin' ta be nice without bein' flirty. I ain't gay. I don't even know what somebody'd find appealin' about a guy," Ranma protested. Only to start blushing at thoughts of Ryoga's buff build. And Shampoo's cursed form. And the dashing smile of... Ukyo?

As Ranma grappled with that last bit, Kousaku grew a bit uncomfortable. He might not be a master manipulator on the level of Nabiki, but he knew people enough to know that Ranma was lying... badly. With a slightly inflated sense of his looks, Kousaku worried about what he'd do if Ranma began to flirt with him.

And then Kousaku began to wonder about Ran flirting with him. Only to grow more confused at why his imagination was assuming both Saotome would use identical techniques.

"I wonder if Suzume found anythin' good on tv," Ranma announced, leaping to a standing position and heading off to the family room. The handsome lad knew things had gone a bit sideways, and hoped to apply a social version of the 'Saotome Secret Technique' (patent pending).

"Hic-and I still have no idea where Saotome-kun found tha' blender, but man! The... the look on thoshe farmers' faces... I'll never forget it," Soun declared as he wrapped up a tale of his training days.

Maybe he was rather drunk for 4pm, but Ibari was serving some excellent saké (and a few other spirits). Plus, he'd hoped the drinking had helped with his nerves, and that was certainly proving true. Genma and Ibari had both decided to try to match him, and now all three men were deeply inebriated.

"Pfft, you two were real charactersh," Ibari replied, laughing merrily. "The next time we meet up I should invite Akashi-kun over. He's always better at telling the shtories from our days as the Typhoon Brothers than I am... Taiga-kuns's an even better storyteller, but he moved away yearsh ago... no idea where he is these days."

Hibari followed Akane down the hallway, curious about the Shonen Knife cassette Akane was insisting Hibari needed to hear. The pair made way as a frazzled looking Tsubame emerged from Nabiki's room.

"You okay sis?" Hibari asked.

"I need a drink," Tsubame muttered as she brushed past them towards the stairs.

Akane and Hibari gave on another a quick glance, before peaking into Nabiki's room. The girl with the sharp pageboy hairstyle was calmly leafing through a binder, smiling to herself. Hibari swore the binder was labelled 'Graduation Plan B: Extreme Path'. Raising an eyebrow, the redhead decided to head after Akane, deciding she'd bring Sabu along to interview Nabiki in future.

Slipping into Akane's room, Hibari was comforted to see it was much closer to her own decorating preferences than Nabiki's had appeared. The only real difference was that Akane had chosen to stick almost solely to cassettes, and... well, she had rather different taste in music. Seeing music by The Stalin sitting beside a cutesy pink stuffed pig was a little jarring. Hibari was glad that the cassette Akane did put on (Pretty Little Baka Guy) was rather less hardcore than some of the youngest Tendo's other choices.

Enjoying the pop-ish music, Hibari's eyes wandered around the room to land on a framed picture at Akane's bedside. It showed three younger children, two of them being obviously Kasumi and Nabiki. The third though... well, the hair colour was right, but it was so short and the clothing so boyishly the opposite of Akane's current love for skirts or dresses that Hibari almost assumed it was a cousin.

"Oh, oops. I forgot I left that picture out," Akane said as she picked the photo up to look at it. "Those clothes. And my hair was so short as a kid... sometimes I'd like to cut it again, long hair is so much more of a hassle. Have to keep it long though. I want to be a picture of femininity like my big sister... Kasumi, of course."

"Definitely an understandable sentiment," Hibari replied. "I bet you could rock short hair though."

Akane turned and gave her a smile. "Thank you for your confidence. I'm not certain, but... if I ever wanted to dye it like you I'd definitely save money if it were shorter. I'll bet Ranma feels a bit odd about your new hair colour though."

"My... oh. Well, maybe. It's a very different shade though," Hibari offered, as she took a glance at her currently orange-y red hair.

"True. It looks much more natural... not to be saying anything bad about Ran's hair though. It suits her," Akane replied, quickly adding a cover. She was telling the truth however, she did think the bright red was perfect for Ran's larger than life personality.

"Oh, Ran's hair isn't dyed. Trust me," Hibari said, giving a smirk and eyebrow wiggle that was answered only by a look of confusion on Akane's face. Hibari made a mental note that the girl was either hopelessly straight, hopelessly oblivious, or both.

With their rather delicious and large dinner finished, the teens split off into groups once more, though things were a bit shifted. Akane had insisted on helping with the dishes. Tsubame was sitting with Suzume, quietly watching whatever cartoons the youngest Oozora put on. Ranma, somewhat surprisingly, was attempting some more masculine socialising/sparring in the dojo (Kousaku wasn't sure how he felt about this, but decided to play it casual). This left Hibari with Nabiki at the kitchen table.

The cold brunette spent a moment quietly taking in Hibari's casual demeanor. The way she was mostly watching TV, barely paying attention to Nabiki. It almost seemed too easy to try and pry a bit more information from her next target.

"So, Hibari, I have to admit that I'm a bit curious about your family business. There's so many myths and TV nonsense around the world of Yakuza, I can't help but wonder about the the reality of it."

Hibari continued to stare off in the direction of the tv, her demeanor not shifting in the slightest as she replied. "All questions about the family business come with a 5 000 yen asking fee."

Nabiki's eye twitched slightly.

"5 000... that's a bit steep," she replied, hoping to at least haggle things down. Hibari apparently knew some valuable information from Tsubame's explanations and Nabiki wanted access.

"That's the asking fee. Actual answers will have their own fees, when warranted," Hibari explained casually.

This time Nabiki's eye twitch was noticeable, and accompanied by her jaw dropping slightly.

To make things worse, Hibari turned to her and gave the most self assured and faux innocent smile Nabiki had ever seen.

Kousaku was panting furiously as a he lay exhausted on the dojo floor. Ranma was sitting not far away.

"For such a beginner, ya ain't half bad," Ranma told him, nodding while thinking a few things over. "Akane's been doin' most a yer actual teachin', right?"

"Yeah... old guy tends to just beat me up for an hour or so and then run off," Kousaku groaned as he forced himself to sit up. Ranma's idea of training was pretty exhausting too, but less aggressive at least.

"I think I'll swing around a bit more ta give ya some training from the Saotome school," Ranma said, an almost unfamiliar feeling welling up. Having Akane to be friends with in girl mode that didn't know about the curse was a nice thought for wanting to explore that blossoming sense of femininity Ranma was exploring. But Kousaku as a friend for guy mode who didn't know about the curse and treated Ranma as just one of the guys...

"That would be cool. We could also just kind of hang out some time. I bet you'd get along well with some of the friend's I've made here... and man have I learned that you can kind of drown in estrogen with the Tendo sisters. Adding two extra girls to that... gotta be crazy."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Ranma replied as he hopped to his feet. "C'mon though, I'll run ya through two more katas before we call it quits."