CHAPTER 2.5 IRL
"Dammit boy why didn't you listen to me? I told you that you had no business playing games or associating with that gaijin!"
"Genma calm down. It's not like Ranma can hear you."
"The hell he can't. Get that thing off him and wake his sorry ass up."
In a room in a large hospital there were five people lying unconscious on beds, more than the recommended capacity of the room but all five of them were hooked up to the same basic system, thus keeping them together was viewed as a priority. There were four people in the room that were conscious, and they were the guardians of the unconscious five.
And one of those guardians was just about kill one of the five.
"Genma no!" All three of the other adults shouted, forcing the oldest one to attack him and immobilize him.
"Genma Saotome, I've always known you to be a fool, but this... this is low." Cologne scolded. "Have you already forgotten the warning we were given?"
"You were given that, not us." Genma corrected.
Cologne narrowed her eyes. "Are you suggesting that I altered the warning or am somehow responsible for this terrible situation?"
"Damn right I am." Genma proclaimed.
"You son of a bitch."
"Elder please, it's nothing personal." Nodoka insisted. "We're just upset. Our child is in danger."
"So is MY child!" Cologne reminded the Japanese woman, stunning her.
Soun meanwhile was looking at his three daughters, crying to the point of near dehydration at seeing them hooked up to machines to still be alive. "My baby girls... what kind of monster would do such a thing to them?"
"We went over this already Tendo. A man named Kayaba explained the entire story on tv and sent notices to every house where someone who purchased a copy of the game resided." Cologne reminded him. "For a cyber-terrorist he was remarkably polite. And very insistent that removing the helmets would kill them."
"That's got to be a load of crap." Genma declared.
"Genma, are you willing to take that chance on our son's life?" Nodoka asked.
"I've risked Ranma's life thousands of times. Why should this be any different?"
"Because 200 people have already been killed by having the helmets removed. You want your son to be one of them?" Cologne told him. "Or do you not care if he lives or dies?"
Genma glared at the old woman. "You accuse me of not caring?"
"We told you that removing the helmet will kill him and yet you seem to have no interest in withholding yourself. Does that sound like caring to you?"
"How do we know that thing about removing the helmet is even true?" Genma asked.
"200 people died! If that's not enough to convince you what is? 300? 400?" Cologne asked.
"Maybe we can remove the helmet from your little tramp and see for ourselves just how deadly this is." Genma suggested, making his wife gasp and Cologne glow with a ki aura.
The attack she dealt him came so swiftly no one knew how exactly she did it, but the end result was Genma twisted in a human pretzel. Cologne looked at Genma like he would have been better off if Nodoka wanted the seppuku pledge fulfilled. "Tell me fat man, what is your reason for making my great-granddaughter be the guinea pig for your need to revive your son? And please, if you know what's good for you, you won't say that it's because my Shampoo's life has no value to you."
"Her life has no value to me. I'm not about to risk one of the other girls to test this out." Genma boldly declared. Nodoka gasped again and Soun was simply stunned.
"So you'll gladly kill my great-granddaughter just to confirm what you've been told?" Cologne asked, her voice so laced with venom you could almost swear she had fangs at that moment.
"She caused all this. She deserves to suffer." Genma announced, attempting to point at Shampoo but unable to get his hand or arm to work properly.
Nodoka faced him. "Husband, do my ears deceive me? Because it sounds like not only do you believe this girl can die if you tamper with her equipment, but rather you are counting on it to happen."
"It's more I won't be upset if she does die." He corrected. "We have to test this out somehow, and the way I see it, she's the only expendable option."
Cologne was so pissed at this declaration that one could swear she was about to combust. Before anyone could do anything about it, she assaulted the panda man like she was trying to murder him. Which is quite possibly what she was trying to do.
"Please Elder stop." Soun pleaded on behalf of his friend.
Cologne gave the mustachioed man the evil eye, making him sweat nervously. "Tendo, if this man here said that either Kasumi or Nabiki were expendable, would you react any differently?"
"He wouldn't." Soun stated.
"Why not? Ranma only needs to marry one of your daughters." The older woman reminded him, making him jolt a bit.
"Elder, while I'm sure that my husband wouldn't do that, I can understand the intent behind your own reaction completely. Even if I believe you went too far in enacting it." Nodoka told Cologne, trying to defuse the situation.
"I went too far? Need I remind you that before I stood up to him he was willing to take the helmet off your own son? If he had tried would you have reacted with kindness or brute force?"
"My son dying is a different matter entirely." Nodoka answered.
"And my great-granddaughter isn't to me?" Cologne replied. "Am I supposed to consider my Shampoo to be expendable as well? Am I?!"
Nodoka was stunned speechless for a bit. It was true that it was a difficult thing to suggest, but when Nodoka did speak, it might not have been the right thing to say. "Well, I don't mean to be rude, but Ranma does have a bit more importance to me as my heir and the one to carry on the Saotome line. He is also to carry on the 'Anything Goes' martial art school with his marriage to Akane. If I had to choose between him and your granddaughter I wouldn't think twice about it."
Cologne whacked Nodoka on the head when she finished.
"You were still quite rude, and even though as a mother you have that right to think this way regarding your child, you both seem to be overlooking the fact that this is not just your decision to make. Neither one of these children should have to die now just to satisfy some whim of yours. And even if the case was otherwise, your son's life is equal to my great-granddaughter."
"You'll pardon me if I disagree." Nodoka said, rubbing her head.
"No, I will not." Cologne replied. "Two hundred people have already died because of this game, and the fact that you're willing to even consider taking off the hardware keeping them alive is nonsense to say the least. What do you need to convince you that your son and these girls are trapped in a coma?"
"I don't want anyone to die here, but you must admit it's hard looking at them like this and not being able to do something." Nodoka mentioned.
"It is hard, that I will not contest, but the sad truth is there is nothing we can do to better their situation. For better or worse, they are trapped and only they can get themselves out. Any attempts on our end can only result in death. I for one believe that staying my hand and letting them live is better than acting on desperation and risking their deaths. Do any of you feel differently?"
Soun had no disagreements on this. He had to hope that his daughters would be able to stay alive until the game was finished or that the hardware was able to be safely removed, mystically or otherwise. Genma, on the other hand, would have contested and even started to open his mouth.
"To sacrifice anymore people then necessary is quite unmanly, and if Ranma should be forced to die, then my husband would be forced to commit seppuku. I, as promised, would act as second and follow them to the grave in exchange for not being a true woman among women." That statement from Nodoka certainly kept Genma's mouth shout, especially since he didn't want to die, and the fact that Nodoka stated that she would follow them implied that she would torture them in death.
"I believe that you may need to research the modern age, as it's not the feudal era." Cologne said with an odd look at Nodoka. The Amazon matriarch may have been one for tradition, but even she recognized the need to know that the world changes, as well as the need for the youth to adapt for tomorrow.
"That it may be, but surely you know there's nothing wrong with keeping some traditions of the past around and strong." Nodoka claimed.
"But we can agree that here tradition cannot and should not be applied. The important matter here is the lives and well-being of these children." Cologne insisted.
Nodoka nodded. "I agree. Are you positive there is nothing we can do to help them?"
Genma chose then to interject. "If we can't take these helmets off, we should find the man who made them and make him take them off."
Soun nodded. "Excellent idea Saotome. Let's go do that."
Before the women could stop them, Soun grabbed his old friend, who was still in a lot of pain thanks to Cologne, and dragged him out of the room. Though judging by their expressions, one could say that rather than be unable to stop them, the women simply chose not to.
"There, now that Tweedledee and Tweedledum are gone, we can have a real discussion." Cologne said. Nodoka just nodded, not getting the Western reference. "I doubt very much so that those two can accomplish anything. After all, this game and hardware took years to develop. If the inventor desired this result, it's unlikely that he would make undoing it easy."
"Sadly I must agree. But the idea that we can accomplish nothing-"
"-While unfavorable, appears to be our one and only option." The Amazon elder interrupted. "While I'm quite familiar with the Saotome mentality of pushing hard enough until you get results, I believe this is instead a time for a tactical retreat. Rather than do anything ourselves, we should trust the children to be able to get themselves out of this situation."
"Do you really think that warning you received was the truth? That if they manage to beat the game they all will be released?" Nodoka asked, fearful of the alternative.
"For the time being we have no reason to believe anything else. Like I pointed out, 213 deaths have been attributed to this game, and I highly doubt that someone would stage that just to make this threat look convincing."
Nodoka nodded. "Yes, you've got a point."
"Saotome-san, while I have no intention of forbidding you or your husband from visiting your son while he's here, I must insist that your husband never ever comes here alone." Cologne added.
Nodoka looked curious. "And why exactly is that?"
"If it must be explained, the fact is that while you may trust that man, I do not. I do not trust him to not repeat what he did here when someone isn't around to stop him."
"You believe my husband would try to to kill your granddaughter again later?"
"Can you look me in the eyes and tell me he wouldn't?"
"My husband is an honorable man."
The temptation to laugh almost overwhelmed Cologne, so she had to settle for a logical response to get Nodoka to come around to her terms. "If an honorable man as you claim him to be can attempt murder in front of an audience, why would he refrain himself when he has privacy?"
"Murder?" Nodoka repeated.
Cologne nodded. "If taking the helmet off one of these kids kills them, isn't that in legal terms murder? I doubt you can call it an accident."
In truth, Nodoka had no thoughts about it. She still saw the best in Genma, even at his worst, but she couldn't truly answer that question without giving a full agreement. After all, Genma himself had all but admitted that he wanted Shampoo to die.
"I thought so much as well." Cologne said as she took a seat near her great-granddaughter. "Genma is easy enough to handle as long as there is something else to preoccupy himself, but it's Son-in-law's and Akane's less reputable rivals that I would show more concern about."
"What do you mean? Why would my son's sparring partners be a threat?" Nodoka asked.
Cologne gave a weary sigh. "Saotome-san, I know you spent the better part of the past decade expecting some sort of fantasy version of your son to come home to you, but you must see the truth of the situation rather than the expectation. There are people that see Son-in-law as the 'source' of their troubles, and they believe that defeating him would solve their troubles so they go about trying to make Son-in-law miserable, by any means necessary. These 'sparring partners' as you call them are not friends, they are honestly and truly trying to remove your son from the picture."
Nodoka gasped. "That can't be."
"Did you honestly believe that a 'man among men' would never acquire a genuine enemy or two?" Cologne asked. "They are not trying to help Ranma get stronger, they want him eliminated. One of my employees Mousse is such a person, but fortunately I keep Mousse busy so he wouldn't have as much time to plot against, or in this case, take advantage of Son-in-law in a powerless state to claim Shampoo, but that is only one example."
"If you believe he's dangerous why keep him employed?" Nodoka challenged.
Cologne snickered. "I said he wanted Son-in-law gone, I never said he was dangerous. Mousse's attempts are more comical than threatening, and while he has gotten close, Son-in-law was never in any real danger. I keep Mousse around primarily because he at least keeps Son-in-law on his toes and help him get stronger indirectly. But should the day come when Mousse actually does become a threat, I'll send him back to China so fast he'll molt."
"But surely my son has at least a few real friends." Nodoka hoped.
Cologne suppressed a sigh. While Nodoka was not by her nature an unreasonable woman, she seemed to listen through a filter. Cologne suspected that because she had spent so much time dreaming about how Ranma would grow up to be, now that she was back in his life her only concern so far was to ensure her expectations had been met. In summary, she had no interest in the real Ranma, only interest in confirming how much like her dream version of him he was.
"That depends on how you define friends." Cologne told her. "If you mean people who fight with Son-in-law for fun rather than self-interest, then no he has none. Those that fight him have many things in mind, but sport has not been one of them in my experience."
"But surely he must have at least one friend that benefits him. What about Hibiki-san? He's aided Ranma before." Nodoka had provided at least a reason, but Cologne had already seen that name coming.
"As I said, he has no friends that are as interested in the Art as he is, and Ryoga helping Son-in-law has only occurred when there may be something in it for himself. Ryoga Hibiki is a self-interested person who only uses the Art as a means to establish some type of superiority over your son. While the two may be capable of some form of cooperation, I've little doubt he would abandon Son-in-law as soon as the common goal was within his grasp. Or if he felt that he could acquire his goal while hindering your son from his own."
"He can't be all bad." Nodoka defended.
"With all due respect Saotome-san I've had more interaction with the boy than you have. You may have birthed him but you don't know him. I myself have even trained Ryoga, and I know for a fact that if he thinks he can destroy or even kill with what he's learning then he would accept the training. This boy is no real friend of your son, he wallows in his own depression while considering Son-in-law the reason for all of it, convinced that removing him will make all his misery go away. Which realistically is impossible."
That bit of information, while frightening, gave Nodoka not a sense of realization but a chance to defend her fantasy. "Then if he was going to try to kill Ranma, then why did you train him? Aren't you the same then?"
Cologne narrowed her eyes. "If you're implying that I'm a hypocrite, then you yourself are one as well. I never claimed to love him then threaten his life for reasons he doesn't understand. Instead I've taught him secret techniques of my tribe. Techniques that are not supposed to be given to an outsider mind you. What have you ever taught your child?"
Nodoka froze, unable to answer that, allowing Cologne to continue.
"I may have instructed Ryoga a bit but I never taught him a technique that can be used for killing! I merely gave him the impression it could kill to test his morality. And he showed how much of a friend he is to Son-in-law by having no qualms with trying to kill him."
"I have a hard time believing you did this just to test some boy's moral fiber. What was your real intent?" Nodoka asked.
"I consider myself a teacher to your son. Wouldn't a true teacher of the Art ensure that her student has challenges to overcome? I was giving Son-in-law someone who could stand up to him on more equal ground than others could, so he can improve on his own end. Without a worthy foe, Son-in-law's own strength would begin to stagnate."
"While that I can understand, you've shown me that you are not more trustworthy to me than my husband is to you." Nodoka claimed.
Cologne shrugged. "But I have no reason to remove a helmet, do I?"
"You might on my son's one true fiancee." Nodoka claimed.
"Rather than argue about who that is, why would I do that? If Akane were to die from such an obvious manner, I'd be the first suspect. Why would I put such a target on my back?"
"I suppose you have a point. Much like how if your granddaughter were killed my husband would be the first suspect." Nodoka agreed.
"But several people might try and kill Son-in-law, that's something you must be aware of." Cologne warned. "I worry that even something like triggering the curse might confuse the hardware and kill him or Shampoo. So I've already arranged it so that the staff here will always be able to use water-proof soap on the two of them when they wash them."
"That is a wise precaution. but are you certain that someone will try and harm my son while he is defenseless?"
"Saotome-san, allow me to tell you a few things I've learned while watching your son. For this to work, you need to really listen, not simply look for what you want to find. I'll start with a time when he was rendered without strength and many found out."
In another room in the same hospital there laid Ukyo, hooked up to her own life support systems and game system. The hospital believed that keeping the NerveGear powered up wasn't enough, they needed to be linked to the game software itself for full measure. since she wasn't part of the same group that had been at the Nekohanten she was given a different room than the others to reduce the space machines would take up.
She had one visitor at the moment, her employee Konatsu, a gender-confused boy who thought of himself more as a girl thanks to some really messed up childhood upbringing at the hands of some criminally ugly kunoichi.
"Could I have done something to prevent this?" He kept asking himself, certain that he could have done something, even if he had no idea what if anything he could have done.
"Who are you?" Someone asked, catching Konatsu off guard and triggering his ninja reflex to get on the defensive, which he did by jumping from his chair and taking on a defensive stance. He saw a bearded man old enough to be his father dressed in blue and white by the door. The look and feel to this man was not hostile, meaning he wasn't here to do Ukyo any harm, but nor was he a doctor here to check up on her so Konatsu was conflicted.
"I'm Ukyo-sama's faithful retainer. Who are you?"
The man raised an eyebrow at this response. "I'm her father. I got word of her being stuck in a coma and came here as quickly as possible. Why does she have that contraption on her head?"
Konatsu relaxed and sat down. "Kuonji-sama, what all have you heard so far? I'll be happy to fill in the gaps to the best of my ability."
Ryoga was sitting outside looking at the stars. For once he wasn't out in the wilderness but right outside a house. Not his house, no he was at the home of his for-lack-of-a-more-concrete-term girlfriend Akari. He did like the girl and she returned the affection, but because of his shyness Ryoga was not confident in how exactly to define what their relationship was.
Ryoga was a boy the same age as Ranma and the two went back a ways. They first met in middle school and things got competitive between them, mostly when it came to lunch. Ranma would always beat Ryoga to the food he wanted, and after a while he lost all patience over it. He challenged him to a fight but it never happened thanks to Genma intervening and his own inability to get anywhere on time or by design, and rather than accept the circumstances Ryoga followed the two Saotomes to China and inadvertently shared their fate in getting cursed. Of all the people he knew who had curses, he had quite possibly the most defenseless one, another thing that bothered him.
As Cologne had mentioned, Ryoga was determined to defeat Ranma in an attempt to improve his own life, even if it meant killing the pigtailed boy. Or at least he had thought that once before. Ryoga had learned from his mistakes that Ranma was too tough to take down directly, so he either had to strike Ranma when he was vulnerable or learn to live with it. And when Ranma was vulnerable, Ryoga found that he had more fun in the pursuit than in the goal. In a way, he was lost without Ranma, in more than just the literal sense.
Ranma gave him purpose and Akari helped give him clarity and even joy. Thanks to spending time with her, even if just through letters, he was able to do one of the few things most of Ranma's enemies had never bothered to do: consider how exactly beating Ranma would change anything.
Akari had helped him reach a few conclusions he otherwise never would have. Starting from the beginning, the whole bread feud thing. Looking back it was first come first served and Ranma was simply faster. Sure he was competitive but Ryoga couldn't say he wasn't the same, since he was the one who issued the duel. If he wasn't competitive he'd have no desire to fight Ranma on more equal terms. As for being mad that Ranma wasn't there for the duel, Akari pointed out that if Ryoga had simply asked Ranma would have met him at his house and led him to the lot. Being late is one thing Ryoga can never blame on someone other than himself.
In regards to the curse, Ryoga made the choice on his own to follow Ranma all the way to China. He could have just dropped the matter and continued on with his life. He chose to go to China, and while Ranma did knock him into the spring, further reflection on the incident convinced him it was an accident and Ranma clearly took no pleasure in it having happened. Sure he tormented the lost boy with it, but obviously Ranma felt some degree of guilt and responsibility given how he had never downright revealed the curse. Except in one case, where he was showing it to Akari but that was for Ryoga's own good. And looking back, Ryoga had to admit that was a good call.
So now Ryoga had at least come to admit that Ranma wasn't to blame for everything. But that didn't necessarily mean he liked the guy. Ranma was still annoying as hell to him and an unnecessary show-off, but not a true terrible person. So Ryoga no longer craved Ranma's demise or total humiliation, he did enjoy the idea of being able to beat him at least once to make all the years he spent traveling worth it.
Akari came out and sat down beside him, grateful he hadn't stepped off the porch. Who knows where he'd be now if he had? "I tried calling their home, but no one's answering. I'll try again tomorrow, but so far it looks like the website is accurate."
Ryoga had grown worried for his first love Akane. During his time here at Akari's Sumo Pig Ranch the news had an emergency broadcast telling the country about the two hundred players of SAO who had died from removing the NerveGear and so far all remaining players had yet to log off of the system. Kayaba had given the media a warning similar to the ones he had given the players and they had ensured everyone had heard it just before the surviving players were immediately rounded up and taken to hospitals.
One good thing Kayaba had done was provide a list of every person who had logged into the game in case of the players that lived alone, so no player was left behind. The news had shown footage of players being taken away and interviews of the families of such players, and in the footage Ryoga could have sworn he saw Akane included with the players. A website link was provided so people could check online for a list of still-living players, and to his and Akari's horror Akane, Ranma, and a few other names they knew were on that list. Akari had tried calling the house for confirmation, and the lack of anyone answering seemed to be confirmation enough.
After more than twenty-four hours everyone's fears seemed confirmed. Kayaba's warning was genuine, the players were trapped in his game, unable to log out. Ryoga was angry to think that Akane was one of his many victims. He got up and started walking, but Akari stopped him mid-step.
"And where do you think you're going?" She asked, having learned enough about Ryoga to know that an angry Ryoga is one that doesn't think.
"I'm going to find Akane, and make Ranma pay for getting her involved in this."
She actually slapped him on the head before doing anything else. "Ryoga, everyone knows that Kayaba's behind the attack, so how can this be Ranma's fault? I thought you were past this need to blame him."
"This isn't about that. Think about it Akari, why else would Akane be involved in this game? My gut is telling me that Ranma got her involved."
"Even if that's true, what can you do? The site said Ranma's in the game too, so you can't do anything to him here without killing him. You want to tell Akane when she wakes up that you killed him?"
That made Ryoga hesitate. The fact was as much as Akane antagonized Ranma when she was in a bad mood, she got very defensive when it was someone else doing that to him. Sure she granted Ryoga some leeway in the past, but Ranma dying was surely something Akane would never forgive. Ever.
"Look Ryoga, just be patient. Someone is bound to answer the phone sooner or later. You typed in the names in the search engine and saw that their parents aren't part of the trapped group right?" Akari asked, and Ryoga nodded. "If you just wait we can find out exactly what happened. Rushing in isn't going to accomplish anything here."
That deflated Ryoga's anger. "Sorry, I think that was a force of habit."
Akari nodded in understanding before hugging him to calm him down. "It must be tough, knowing your friends are in this sort of situation and you can't do anything about it. The desire to do something must be so strong you can come to any conclusion."
'That's actually a pretty good way to describe what I feel now. How can she understand me better than I understand myself?' He asked, awed not for the first time at how Akari seemed to get inside his head and clear out the clutter.
"And as selfish as this may sound, I'm really glad you're not stuck in the game as well." The pig enthusiast added.
"I can say the same to you." He told her, making her smile. "Akari, what would you do if I was stuck in the same situation as them?"
"I don't want to think about that Ryoga. I lose enough sleep worrying about what you're facing out there on your own, I can't imagine what I'd do if you were in a coma. I'd visit you every day in the hospital, waiting for you to wake up, with a broken heart each day you didn't."
Ryoga was quite touched. He had once wished that Akane would show him that level of affection, but he had always known the only one she's truly be heartbroken for would be Ranma, as much as she'd deny it. She'd be saddened for Ryoga, but it would be Ranma she'd keep going back to if they were stuck in the game without her.
Ryoga hugged the girl back, grateful for the physical contact he didn't have to be a piglet to get. "Thanks Akari. That means a lot to me."
"Would you mind staying here tonight Ryoga? It'll make me feel better." Akari pleaded.
"Sure, I've got nowhere to go."
"Please pick up, this is important." Sasuke Sarugakure, the short and easily overlooked ninja subordinate to the Kuno family said while he was on the phone, trying to connect with someone he really didn't want to interact with unless completely necessary. As bad as people considered Tatewaki and Kodachi to be, the person he was trying to call was much worse in his opinion.
The person in mind however paid no mind to the phone, not this time or any of the other times it had rung. For he was far too busy relaxing in his hammock playing the ukulele, completely uninterested in answering the phone. Even if it was news pertaining to the well-being of his children.