I've been trying to write for Tatewaki for a bit now. I know where he ends up, but the beginning is a little murky yet (I've written several so far). So, to get over my writer's block, let's go meet a young lady named Miki as she wakes up after a sleepover at Yua Ono's house.
Reminder: Rera is the entity that shares spiritual space with Ramna. He is the personification of Winter and the Wind Spirit. He is also the King of the Seasons and leader of all Elementals of the planet. Aka was "the Sprite", the personification of Spring and the Water Spirit. She was also the cause of a lot of pain and tribulations in "Bindings" and "The Next Cycle" due to her careless and boredom. Seems she may not have learned her lesson (yet).
Chapter 2: Miki
Miki woke up on her futon with a smile as the sunlight touched her face. She stretched languidly and sat up. Her best friend, Yua Ono, was still asleep on Yua's bed, out cold to the world. Miki glanced at Yua's clock and noticed the time: 6:40AM. Doctor Ono would wake everyone up at 7AM sharp. He always did on the weekends. Slow pokes would get tricked without warning – family members or not. If the Doc was in a hurry, it would be an air horn. If not… Miki grinned at the memory: one time Yua had been attacked by her mattress which had wrapped her up and rolled around the room.
She got up quietly and dressed. Then she went to stand by the room's door and looked at the full-length mirror hanging on the back of it. A six-year-old girl with light pink eyes and long purple hair down her back smiled back at her. The little girl had put on her blue Chinese robe for now. She'd change for the party later. Usually, when she was out and about, she would wear dresses like the Japanese girls and change into robes once she was home with Grandmother because she found them more comfortable. However, the Onos had learned of her preference and insisted that she should be comfortable when she was with them as well. Doctor and Mrs. Ono had been quiet firm about it with Yua nodding along. Later, the Tendos had also found out and Sensei Mrs. Tendo had issued the same proclamation. Sensei Mr. Tendo had added one stipulation – when she was in the dojo proper, she was to be in her gi, and that was that. Mrs. Tendo had given Mr. Tendo a slap on the back of the head for that, but the exception stuck.
As Miki looked at herself in the mirror, she was suddenly hit on the back of the head by a thrown pillow. Miki turned to see Yua sitting up in the bed looking at her with exasperation. "You look at yourself in the mirror too much," Yua stated.
"I think I look cute," Miki protested.
"You are," Yua told her friend. "But you also look…" Yua paused to look for a word (she was older than Miki, but not quite seven yet). "Vain!" Yua finished.
Miki grinned at her friend. "You don't know what that word means," she laughed.
Yua mockingly stuck her nose in the air and shot back: "Yes, I do – it means you think too much of yourself."
Miki thought about that for a few moments. "Maybe," she agreed. "Maybe I'll work on that," she dismissed.
Now Yua grinned. "Work on being less vain? Or more?" she challenged.
"We'll see," Miki smiled. Then she nodded at the clock. "You're running out of time," she warned.
Yua sighed in a huff and turned off the alarm switch. "I wish Daddy would stop it on weekends. Uncle Ranma says he was always bad about it," Yua claimed.
Miki sat down on the desk chair while Yua hopped out of bed. Yua got out of her pajamas and pulled on jean shorts and a T-shirt, which were her usual inside clothes. Then she tossed Miki's slippers to Miki and put on her own. While Miki put on her slippers, Yua strode over to the mirror and checked herself.
"I'm not the only vain one," Miki teased.
Yua rolled her eyes and said: "I just want to make sure everything is on right."
"Uh-huh," Miki smirked. Truth be known, everyone thought Yua was cute too – including Yua. Miki's friend had long curly auburn hair and mischievous brown eyes. The top of her head was always untamed, no matter how hard Yua's mother worked on it. Mrs. Ono would pronounce her daughter "done" only to have Yua turn her head just a little, and the wildness would return, causing Mrs. Ono to sigh and Doctor Ono to laugh. Often, there was the suggestion of pointed ears on the top of Yua's head; it was strong enough that Miki once checked for them (finding nothing).
There was a yell from downstairs as Doctor Ono called: "Kids! Breakfast!"
"Coming!" the two girls yelled.
Yua opened the door and stepped out, but immediately jumped back in to avoid being run over by her younger red-headed brother. "Taiki!" Yua yelled. "Slow down!" Taiki ignored her though and raced down the stairs at the end of the hallway.
"At least he's dressed this time," Miki noted.
"In his pajamas!" Yua huffed.
Miki giggled: "Yeah, well your mom sent him back to his room to get dressed when he was in his underwear."
Yua rolled her eyes (a habit she had picked up from her Aunt Akane) and said: "Come on, let's go."
Downstairs, they walked into the family room to have Mrs. Ono greet them with a warm smile. "Good morning, girls," Mrs. Ono welcomed them. "Sit down at the table and have something to eat." Miki noticed Taiki was at the table wolfing down his food already. Mrs. Ono tapped the five-year-old on the head. "Slow down," she told him. "You need to set a good example for your little sister."
Hinata, the aforementioned little sister, was too busy laughing at her brother to notice her mother's scolding. Miki thought Hinata was adorable. The three-year-old had a head of wild hair much like her elder sister, except it was light brown. The little girl watched everything around her with her bright eyes and was always laughing or smiling. Mrs. Ono was a little worried about Hinata's lack of words, but Doctor Ono assured his wife that she was fine – Hinata was just too busy laughing to say much.
Doctor Ono walked out of the kitchen holding his phone after the girls sat down. He looked at Miki and said: "Miki, you need to eat up. Your grandmother is stopping by in half-an-hour and wants to talk to you before the party."
"Why?" Miki asked worriedly.
"You're not in any trouble," the doctor assured her. "Something came up and she just wants to talk to you about it."
"Can I still go to the party?" Miki asked. There was a party at the Tendos later today because Mousse Ono was back in town after being away for a few months. Miki loved parties and she liked Mousse. Mousse was Yua's uncle even though he was Chinese like Miki. When Miki asked Yua how that was so, Yua had told her that this was Nerima, and that was the way it was. Miki didn't really understand that, and she was pretty sure Yua didn't understand it either, but Grandmother had told her the same thing. Mousse was Doctor Ono's brother and so was Sensei Mr. Tendo and that was the way it was.
Doctor Ono smiled. "Yes, you can," he answered. "Your grandmother is going too. The party's not for a few hours after all. Don't worry about it – and don't worry about what she has to tell you. You'll see." Miki nodded her head and reached for food, only to find Yua had already filled her bowl. Miki thanked her and got down to business.
Miki had finished her first bowl of miso soup and was about to ask for more when Hinata turned to look at the hall to the front doorway. The three-year-old jumped up from the table and ran toward the hallway laughing. Mrs. Ono started in surprise at her youngest's action. Yua glanced that way and said: "Hello, Tomo". Taiki settled for waving a hand since his mouth was full. Miki didn't see anyone standing there, but she felt a pressure at the back of her head – the same pressure she felt when one of the Nerima magicians was near her doing magic.
Hinata seemed to grab something invisible at the front of the hallway and happily screeched: "Tomo!" Instantly, her cousin Tomo appeared looking down at the child holding onto his leg. Tomo was a tall red-headed young man, somewhere in his late teens or early twenties (Miki wasn't exactly sure). He wore tan slacks and a blue shirt under a leather jacket. On his feet were a pair of leather boots that matched his jacket.
Tomo smiled down at Hinata and then picked her up. He turned to the others at the table and said with a grin: "I guess I've been spotted." He then added the traditional greeting of "I'm here, everyone." Doctor and Mrs. Ono stared at Hinata in Tomo's arms. Tomo followed their gaze, and his grin became devilish. He looked at Mrs. Ono and stated: "Looks like you're three for three, Cousin."
Mrs. Ono put her elbow on the table and rested her head on the one palm. Then she sighed dramatically. Doctor Ono began to laugh until she doped-slapped him with her free hand. "Oh sure, you laugh. But do you know how hard it is to hide anything in this house?" she asked exasperatedly. "And now Hinata has it too?"
Tomo was still grinning as he said: "There's no hope. Your own genes are conspiring against you, Kasumi." He began walking toward the table with Hinata.
"Akane doesn't have to put up with any of this," Mrs. Ono commented with her head still resting against her palm. Her voice had returned to her normal even tone – mostly.
Tomo laughed. "The gods have been merciful so far, but she has her own challenges. Besides, that may change," he commented. He looked at the Doc and his voice took on a mocking solemn tone as he stated gravely: "You better be watching Yuki." Miki sat up a little bit more, listening with interest. Yuki was Yua's oldest cousin, an eight-year-old girl with piercing blue eyes and fiery red hair that was even brighter than Taiki's. When the families gathered, she was the undisputed leader of the cousins (and any other child within her reach). Miki liked her. While Yuki was bossy, she wasn't heartless – she watched over everyone and wanted them happy.
"If Yuki develops the Sight, the world is doomed," Doctor Ono said with a twinkle in his eye. "But she's Ranma's and Akane's problem."
Tomo sat Hinata at the table and dropped down to sit beside her. "Don't be too sure, Tofu," the young man warned with more grinning. "You're her family too."
"And you're my family," Doctor Ono told him. "You're not getting out of this either."
"We'll see," Tomo laughed. "Any way you look at it, it will at least be interesting."
Mrs. Ono straightened up and asked Tomo: "Have you eaten?"
Tomo sobered up a bit and bowed his head a little to Mrs. Ono. "Thank you," he responded. "But I'm fine." He reached for one of the cups in the center of the table. "But I wouldn't say 'No' to some coffee." Mrs. Ono smiled and passed him the coffee pot.
A short while later, the doorbell rang. Dr. Ono shouted: "It's open!"
The door opened and Miki heard her grandmother shout: "We're here!"
Two more voices (both male) called out: "Pardon us for intruding!" Miki sat bolt upright at hearing them. Her grandmother entered the family room wearing her usual robes. Two large men followed behind her. Both of them were dressed in military fatigues. One of them was an American man in his fifties with grey hair and brown eyes. Miki knew the man was Major Thomas Othan, a soldier that was often employed by the Japanese government (or so she was told). He was an old friend of the Onos and Tendos and was well known in Nerima. The second man was his opposite – he was a younger Chinese man in his early thirties with brown hair and grey eyes. The top few buttons of his jacket were open so that Miki could see he wore dragon-scale armor under his clothes.
"DADDY!" Miki shrieked as she ran toward her sire. Much to her surprise, she never reached him. Instead, her Daddy caught her and lifted her to himself. Then he did something he had rarely done – he hugged her, nearly throwing Miki into shock. He held her tight for almost a minute and then eased up. Miki pulled back and looked at his face. There was a smile there – not the tremulous ones he usually had around her, but a very real smile. He still appeared somewhat shy to her, but he held her firmly. "Daddy?" she questioned.
"Hello, Nuer", he said. Miki's eyes widened. He had just called her "daughter" in Mandarin. Usually he called her "Nui" or "little girl". She threw her arms around his neck and held tight. She heard him whisper softly: "I'm so sorry."
Below her, Miki heard her Grandmother Cologne say: "Told you, Taro."
Her Daddy answered, "Yes – yes, you did, Elder."
Behind Miki, Doctor Ono cleared his throat and said: "Come in…Come in all of you."
Daddy looked at the doctor and said: "I will Doc, but I have to talk to Miki first. We'll go on a short walk and then we'll be back. Save some coffee for me, please." Doctor Ono nodded and Daddy carried Miki to the front door and then outside.
Outside, Miki cried out in alarm: "Daddy, I left my shoes inside!"
Daddy chuckled: "That's not a problem. We're just going for a walk, and you can ride." With that, he put Miki on his shoulders.
"Daddy? There's a party later. Can you come?" she asked him.
Daddy nodded his head a little and replied: "Yes, I'm staying until tomorrow."
"Can't you stay longer?" she pleaded.
"Well, that's what I wanted to talk about, Nuer," he told her. He paused for a few seconds and asked: "Do you like living here in Nerima? Is everyone nice to you?"
Miki sighed. "Yes, everyone's very nice to me, and people don't seem so worried like at home, but I miss Mommy."
Now Daddy sighed. "Yes, Mommy misses you too – a lot. She thinks about you every day. But she has to stay at Ryugenzawa."
"Why?"
"That's a long story, Nuer. Let's put it this way: Mommy is a guardian, a very special guardian. She stays at Ryugenzawa to guard against a monster. If Mommy leaves Ryugenzawa, the monster gets free, and bad things would happen," Daddy told her.
"Grandmother said the monster tried to hurt me," Miki pressed.
"Yes, the monster did. It tried to hurt you to hurt Mommy, because Mommy loves you. That's why Mommy sent you to Grandmother," Daddy answered. "Here, the monster can't hurt you."
Miki was silent for a minute. Then she asked: "Can the monster hurt Mommy?"
Daddy shook his head. "No, it can't. Mommy punished the monster when it tried to hurt you, but the monster would still try again."
Miki's chin began to quiver. "So, I can't ever see Mommy?"
Daddy gently squeezed her legs and softly said: "Hey, hey. That's not true at all. Just not yet."
"When?"
"Well, when the summer is over and fall is just starting, a bunch of us are going to take you to visit Mommy for a little bit. And we're going to work out a way so you can talk to her more often," Daddy promised.
"How?" Miki asked.
Now Daddy chuckled. "Now, that's a very long story, but Major Othan knows how, so he's going to come with us, and so are Mr. and Mrs. Tendo, and Doctor Ono, and Grandma and several others. They're going to set things up and watch the monster so Mommy can spend some time with you. After that, you'll talk to Mommy a lot on the phone and you'll go and visit her every fall."
"Why then?"
"That's when the monster is the weakest," he answered her.
"And you'll go with me?" she almost begged.
Daddy squeezed her legs again. "Yes," he agreed. "And that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I know Mommy is not here, but do you like Nerima, and do you like living with Grandmother?"
Miki thought about her friends and all the people that took care of her. "Yes. Yua's my best friend and Yuki is nice to me, and so is Asami even though she's a little shy, and Ayane can sing real nice, and Harumi makes us all laugh, and Aimi and Eiko and Hinata are cute, and all their brothers are nice to us and only tease us a little, and…"
Suddenly her Daddy began laughing. "All right, all right; I get the message," he chuckled. He laughed quietly a little longer and then asked: "So how would you feel if I moved here?"
Miki's eyes widened: "Really? Can I live with you?" she exclaimed.
"Well, we'd both be living with your grandmother. She has an extra room I'm going to rent from her, so we'll all be living together. You can keep your own room…"
Miki hugged Daddy's head hard and squealed with excitement. "When can you move in?!"
Daddy laughed with relief. "I have to leave tomorrow for a few days, but I should be back on Friday with my stuff."
"You don't have to work anymore?" Miki asked breathlessly. "You don't have to travel anymore?"
"No, I don't have to travel anymore. I'm quitting my job," Daddy told her.
"What about all the monsters that you stop?" Miki quizzed.
"Well, I just beat the toughest monster out there, and he's not going to bother anyone anymore. Major Othan has other tough soldiers, and they're going to take over for me. Meanwhile, I'll stay around in case a mean monster shows up here," Daddy replied.
"I haven't seen any monsters around here – not like the ones at home," Miki said doubtfully.
Daddy chuckled again. "Oh, they're here all right," he said. "And just like home, there are good monsters and bad monsters. All the monsters near us are good right now, so it's not a problem."
"Are you going to get a new job?" she asked.
"I don't know," Daddy said thoughtfully. "I think I need to practice how to be a Daddy for a bit. Grandmother and Doctor Ono (and probably a few others) are going to help me. I might go and work for Inspector Ojima eventually, but for now, I'll probably help Grandmother in the shop for a few hours a day."
"Inspector Ojima is Ayane's Daddy!" Miki beamed.
"I know. I used to work with her Mommy," Daddy told her. He paused then. "So, that's everything, I think. You ready to go back to the Onos'?"
"And you're staying?"
"Yes," he replied.
"YES!"
That night, after a very busy day, Miki collapsed into her bed with Grandmother and Daddy tucking her in. However, some time later, she woke up and heard them talking downstairs. Her curiosity got the better of her, so she got up and crept to the door to listen.
" – Ranma got along well," Grandmother noted. "I didn't hear you name-call each other even once."
"Ah, we save that for sparring," Daddy dismissed. "Before Miki was born, I use to stop by now and then. He and I would go off to Mount Terror and tear up the ground. We had until Akane caught up to us to get it out of our systems. Worked pretty well. Besides, he's one of Miki's teachers; we need to keep up appearances for her sake."
"And he'll probably be her main teacher," Grandmother finished.
"He or Akane," Daddy agreed. "Depends how her Power breaks. My money's on Akane, but he'll be pretty important either way."
"And you're all right with that?" Grandmother asked curiously.
"Cologne – I've grown up," Daddy laughed. "I had to. A mercenary cannot have prejudices – they get in the way of the facts, and the facts are what's important. And the fact is that Miki is the most important person to me. I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe and healthy."
"So, why are you leaving to go to Ryugenzawa tomorrow?" Grandmother asked.
"Because I need to see Shampoo," Daddy answered. There was a long pause, and Daddy continued: "Look, I'm not in love with Shampoo and she's not in love with me. But we like each other – a lot. Maybe if the Sprite hadn't gotten in the way, things would have been different, but Aka exists and that's that – one of those annoying facts. But Shampoo deserves to know that Miki's all right. She also needs to know that we've figured out a way for her to at least talk to Miki and that Miki will be able to visit every Fall Equinox for a week or so."
"King Rera is a determined person," Cologne noted.
"And thank the gods for that," Daddy agreed. "I wish Shampoo had told him earlier what was going on, but Aka was messing with her head and she's only human. The Doc said Rera came down on Aka like a ton of bricks. Rera then had Shampoo healed. She's safe now – and angry. Aka won't be able to do that ever again."
There was another long pause. Miki guessed that they were drinking or eating. It was Grandmother who broke the silence by saying: "You could send a messenger, you know. It might be better for Miki if you just stayed – especially now that you've really claimed her."
There was a sigh and then Daddy said: "Yeah, I'm not thrilled about leaving – even for a few days. I have so much ground to make up, and she's been really accepting. But I need to see Shampoo personally."
"Why?"
Daddy answered: "When Miki was born, Shampoo wanted me to promise to stay and protect Miki. But because of everything going on – and my own stupidity – I couldn't do it. Maybe if I had stayed in Ryugenzawa with them, things might have been better."
Grandmother snorted: "I doubt that very much. Things could have been worse – much worse. Either way, you're here now when Miki really needs you."
"Yes, I am," Daddy said firmly. "But I need to make that promise to Shampoo face-to-face. Shampoo is my friend and Miki's mother and I honor her for both those reasons. She needs to know that Miki's father is with her – and staying with her."
Miki heard a pause as the sounds of chinaware clinked. "So, tomorrow," Daddy continued. "I'll stay with Miki and do my best to show her I'm coming back. After she settles for the evening, I'll take off for Ryugenzawa and stay with Shampoo for a few days. I'll check on the Village and make sure nothing is amiss. On Thursday, I have a few errands to run – I need to consolidate some accounts so we have money and gather the few items I own. With luck, I'll be back on Friday before Miki wakes up. If I'm unlucky, I'll collect Miki and Yua after school and take them for some ice cream – I'll let the Doc know when I have them. After that, I'll have dinner with the Ono's and then leave Miki and Yua to have their usual sleepover. I'll let you know as soon as I hit town though."
"Very good," Grandmother approved. There was more silence and then Miki heard her grandmother snicker. "And so, it has come to this – the great mercenary Soulkeeper Taro becomes a stay-at-home dad."
"Be quiet, or I'll start calling you 'old hag' like I use to," Daddy said in an easy-going tone. "or – what was it Mousse use to call you?"
"Never mind," Grandmother laughed.
They were quiet for a time, and Miki thought about going back to bed. Before she made up her mind though, Daddy broke the silence with a small laugh: "Heh."
"What's up?" Grandmother asked.
Daddy answered: "You know, when I was talking to Miki this morning, I was trying to be as honest and upfront as I could, so she'd believe me, but it occurs to me that I told her one small lie."
"How so?"
"I told her that I had just beaten the toughest monster out there, but the truth is that she beat the monster. It started when I first held her just after she was born, and now the monster is knocked out for good…"
