Hiroshi was sitting in class, listening to the dull lecture of Miss Hinako. Daisuke was sitting next to him, looking just as bored. To the two Vault Keepers, it was very annoying that they were unable to somehow use their position to skip school. After all, June didn't have to sit in class, so why did they have to?
'Hello, master!'
"GAH!" Hiroshi shouted out loud as he sat up straight in his chair.
Everyone in class was looking at him after his outburst. "Hiroshi-kun… is there something you wish to add?" Miss Hinako frowned. "If not, then please remain quiet until the end of class."
Hiroshi winced. He really didn't want to find out if Hinako-sensei still had her ability to absorb Ki in this new reality. After class resumed as normal, Daisuke leaned over to his friend and whispered: "What's going on?"
"I don't know," Hiroshi whispered back, nervously keeping an eye on their pint-sized teacher. "I just heard June's voice, out of nowhere. But she's nowhere near the school, right?"
'I don't have to be,' June's voice spoke up again, making Hiroshi jump. 'I have the ability to communicate with my current Vault Keeper telepathically, as long as we're in the same realm. And since I'm not in the Vault at the moment, but in Nerima…'
"So you're in your store at the moment?" Hiroshi whispered.
'Yes, I am,' June responded. 'And you don't have to reply by talking, you know. Just think of the answer and I can hear it.'
Hiroshi then concentrated and tried to talk to June with his mind. 'You mean like this?'
'Yes, just like that,' June said. 'Well done. Now, if you have a minute…'
'Can't this wait until after class?' Hiroshi asked. 'I don't want to get into trouble with Hinako-sensei…'
'I'll make it quick,' June said. 'You know, Nabiki just entered my store…'
'Oh, that's right, she doesn't have to go to school today,' Hiroshi realized. 'But what about it?'
'Well, I really can't sell her anything without your or Daisuke's permission, can I? That's why I contacted you, she's standing right in front of me.'
'Huh? But won't she get suspicious if you talk to me instead of you?'
'I am several hundred years old, Hiroshi,' June said. 'I've learned to multitask. Oh, never mind… she isn't interested in a class change anyway.'
Hiroshi groaned as quietly as he could. 'So you called me for nothing?'
'Hang on… there's another customer coming,' June then noticed. 'A young man with a backpack, an umbrella and a spotted bandana.'
That made Hiroshi pause for a moment. Of course he recognized June's description of Ryoga. But if he was at her store… did that mean they had another chance to give someone an orb or an essence? Ryoga did have a lot of problems and there probably were several ways of helping him. On the other hand…
'This is NOT a brothel!' June screeched.
'Uh… what?' Hiroshi asked in confusion.
'Oh, it's nothing…' June sighed. 'That guy just got on my nerves just now…'
'June… I just had a brilliant idea,' Hiroshi then told her. 'Sell him some essences!'
'What, more than one?' she asked.
Hiroshi nodded… then realized that she would be unable to see it. 'Yes,' he mentally added. 'Ryoga is infamous for getting lost… and he wanders around a lot. Giving him multiple bottles of essence at once gives us the chance to make more changes to people that live outside of Nerima.'
'I… see,' June said. 'If more people get changed by the essences, Nerima won't be the only place in your world where inhuman species live anymore. That way, transformed people won't be seen as outsiders as soon as they leave town.' Hiroshi could nearly hear her smile through their telepathic connection. 'Very well done, Vault Keeper. I'll be sure to help him choose a couple of nice examples.'
Hiroshi smiled with satisfaction. Daisuke looked at him in confusion. "Dude, what the heck just happened? You were staring into empty space for a moment… did you blank out?"
"No, no, I just had a nice conversation with June," Hiroshi smiled. "And it looks like Ryoga is about to help us solve some of our problems."
"HIROSHI-KUN! No talking in class!" Miss Hinako shouted. "Don't make me take out my piece of yen!"
"Eep! Sorry, sensei! I'll be good!" Hiroshi squeaked.
Kasumi opened the fridge. "Oh my," she said. "I'm terribly sorry, Derpy-chan. But it looks like we are running out of supplies… I need to do some shopping before we can continue our cooking lesson."
"That's all right," Derpy said. "Can I help? You do need somepony to carry your bags for you, don't you?"
"Oh, that's so nice of you," Kasumi smiled. "But I need to get a lot of things from the store and you are such a small pony. I'm worried it might be too heavy for you."
"But I'm a mailpony back home," Derpy said. "I'm used to carrying lots of heavy things. I even carried an anvil once... and a piano... oh, never mind. I forgot I accidentally dropped those on Twilight's head."
"If I may be so bold, can I offer my assistance?" Frederick said as he stepped up next to them. "As a knight, I am used to carrying all kinds of things for my lord, not just weapons."
"Oh but Frederick-san," Kasumi protested. "What about your training with father and Uncle Saotome?"
"No need to worry, we are just finished for the day," Frederick appeased her. "And I cannot ignore a young maiden's plight, especially not after her father so graciously offered me lessons to widen my fighting repertoire. Please, let me carry your burdens, my lady." He gave her a courteous bow.
Kasumi blushed a bit. She wasn't used to this much courteousness from a man. Especially not one as helpful and humble and strong and good-looking… She shook her head. "Oh my! Well… I can't possibly say no to such an offer. Thank you so much, Frederick-san."
"Anytime, fair Lady Kasumi," he replied with a smile.
Kasumi's blush intensified even further as she forced herself to look away from Frederick's handsome features and towards Derpy. "Y… you can still come along if you want to, Derpy-chan."
The little pegasus smiled happily. "Yay!"
Some time later, Frederick and Derpy followed Kasumi from store to store as she bought all sorts of food supplies, both for her family's inn and their personal use. Over time, Frederick got loaded with more and more bags and boxes… and not once did the brave knight falter. Derpy did her best to help as well, carrying some of the supplies in a pair of saddle bags Kasumi bought just for her.
"I think we're almost done," Kasumi said. "Let's take one last stop at the bakery. It's not too much for you, is it, Frederick-san?"
"Not at all," he insisted, even though it was getting difficult for him to see where he walked, with all the piled up boxes obscuring his view. "A knight always carries the burdens of his lord or lady."
"That means I'm a knight now," Derpy grinned proudly.
"All right then, the bakery's right here, past Dr. Tofu's clinic…"
Just when they came past the clinic, the good doctor was closing it for the evening. He didn't see Kasumi or her tall companion at first, while locking the door. But then he turned around, saw Kasumi standing right in front of him… and his glasses fogged up right away. "Oh, K-k-k… kasumi-san… wh-what a nice surprise… what brings you here?"
"Good afternoon, Dr. Tofu," Kasumi smiled. "I'm just doing some shopping for the family. We were running out of food."
"Oh, r-really? B-but don't you need some help? Wait, I c-can help you…" He bent over and picked up Derpy from the ground. "Here, see? These supplies are way to heavy for you."
"Wait, I'm supplies now?" Derpy wondered. "Can you be supplies and a knight at once?"
"Dear sir," Frederick said as he stepped in front of the oblivious doctor. "Please put the flying steed back to the ground. As you should see, the lady already has someone to carry her burdens. Your assistance is not required."
Dr. Tofu blinked as he looked up at the armor-clad man who rose up above him. For once, he started to see clear in Kasumi's presence. "W-wait… who are you?"
"I am Frederick, knight of Ylisse, retainer of Prince Chrom of Ylisse, second-in-command of the Sheperds and currently student of the Tendo-Saotome school of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Frederick introduced himself. "May I know your name?"
"I… am Tofu. Dr. Ono Tofu. Practitioner of chiropractic, acupuncture and moxibustion."
Frederick nodded. "Well met. But as you can see, the situation is under control and the lady is not in need of medical assistance. So, we shall be on our way." And he walked right past the doctor, with his bags and boxes in hand.
Tofu was so baffled that he put Derpy back on the ground without thinking about it. "Wait… Kasumi, how do you know this… man…?" He looked back at her face and his glasses fogged up instantly.
"I'm sorry we can't stay to talk, we need to hurry before the bakery closes," Kasumi said apologetically. "But you know you're always welcome for a visit, doctor. Have a nice day." She hurried after Frederick, followed by Derpy.
"Say, Kasumi…" Derpy asked as she ran after her. "What's a steed? Can a steed be a knight? Or supplies? I'm really not sure here…"
"W-w-wait… Kasumi!" Ono shouted… right before he ran into a street sign.
He stumbled back with a groan and rubbed his head. "Why, Kasumi…?" he sighed. "Why this man… and not me? Why this big, tall, strong, handsome knight… and not me…?"
After school, Hiroshi and Daisuke met up with Sayuri and Yuka and went on their way to visit June's new store.
While they were walking, Hiroshi told the others of his conversation with June.
"What?" Sayuri gasped. "You're saying you wanna use Ryoga-kun to spread the transformations on a wider scale than just Nerima?"
"That's right," Hiroshi nodded. "If those fantastic creatures are spread out all over Japan, they're not so fantastic anymore and people are less likely to attack them in fright. Or even call in the police or military."
"I actually never thought of that," Daisuke admitted. "Goblins, dwarves and elves would not know how to defend themselves against conventional firearms and other modern weaponry."
"And what about magic?" Yuka pointed out. "Potentially, magic spells could be even more dangerous than any gun. And what about creatures that have dangerous abilities naturally? A human cop or soldier couldn't defend himself against the petrifying gaze of a gorgon like the one Miyo turned into. And don't get me started with werewolves, vampires, gargoyles…"
"Listen, there have always been dangerous things and creatures in this world even before we changed everything," Hiroshi argued. "Just remember all the crazy stuff Ranma told us from his adventures and all the powerful enemies he faced. This really isn't all that different. I just want our hometown to fit more within the world."
"He's got a point," Daisuke agreed. "We're the ones who started the changes… it's too late to back off now. Instead, we should make sure that the people we know and care about aren't getting into any more danger than necessary."
"Yeah, good thinking," Hiroshi nodded. "Any idea how we can do that?"
"How about you start giving away orbs that don't give their owners incredible destructive powers for once," Sayuri suggested. "How about something that helps protecting the people?"
"Not a bad idea," Yuka said. "And we should give it to a person who doesn't really care about being stronger than others and instead just wants to help others. A kind and selfless person…"
By that point, they already reached June's store and went inside. When the door jingled, June looked towards the entrance with a smile and a wave, but the four teenagers saw that she was in the middle of dealing with a customer. So the four students just waited for a while.
"So let me get this straight," June then said to the man standing in front of her. "You need something to impress and protect the woman you love. To show her that you can be a strong man she can rely on. Is that correct, Dr. Tofu?"
"Yes, absolutely," the doctor nodded. Then he sighed. "I never managed to tell Kasumi my true feelings… I always let my nervousness turn me into a complete inattentive fool. And now she has this… knight in shining armor… I'm afraid I can't be the man she needs. I have all my doctoral knowledge and medical capabilities… but all of that flies our of the window as soon as I look into her beautiful face. If I'm not man enough to even look into her eyes… then what good are all my skills as a doctor?"
Hiroshi and Daisuke looked at each other. "A kind-hearted person who wants to protect someone he loves…" Hiroshi murmured.
"And he wants to be stronger to prove herself to her, not just to be stronger…" Daisuke whispered back. "Could this be the person we were thinking of?"
"I assure you that we can help you acquire new abilities and strengths, doctor," June assured him. "As long as you can pay and are willing to make the choice. But if you truly wish to buy one of our products, let me take a look at what could be of use to you. Please wait here for a moment..."
She walked over to the others. "So… you heard this man's problem, right?" she said in a quiet voice, so Tofu was unable to hear her. "What do you think, Vault Keepers? Is there an orb you wish to give to him?"
"Actually, there is," Hiroshi nodded with a smirk. "I know just the right thing."
Some time later, Dr. Tofu left the store with his purchase. He carefully held the golden glowing orb in his hands. For now, he decided not to use it immediately. The dryad who ran the store had advised him to wait with the final decision until the time was right. If he felt that another orb would be more fitting or if he didn't want to use one after all, he could give this one back for a refund.
"This might change my whole life," he muttered to himself. "But for Kasumi… it's a step I am willing to take."
On his way home, he came through a slightly darker side alley. Usually, he didn't have any sort of trouble coming through here. But today, luck was not on his side…
He stopped when he saw three dark shapes stepping out of the shadows. Two of them were a pair of snickering goblin thugs wearing hoods and holding sharp, curved daggers. The third one was a huge, muscular troll carrying a heavy wooden club over his shoulder.
"See? I knew people like to take this shortcut," one of the goblins snickered. "And this guy looks like he has to have some dough."
"You're right, Zee, this is much easier than working for the vampire bitch," the second goblin grinned. "All right pal, give us all your money… or else our buddy Thog is gonna bash you on the head."
The troll just grunted.
The doctor looked at the three creatures nervously. Usually, he could easily disarm people by quickly hitting the right pressure points and paralyze them. Those two goblins wouldn't be much of a problem either, but that troll… that was an entire different story. Ono didn't know a lot about the anatomy of trolls, so he couldn't tell if his pressure points were in the same spots. Also, would they even apply on a creature this big? His own chance would be running… or maybe using the orb.
"Hey, what's that you got there?" the goblin named Zee shouted. "Looks valuable… give it here!"
"I'm… afraid I cannot do that," Ono said as he looked into the orb. But before he could start reading the words that floated past… the troll hit him with his club, throwing him against the nearest wall and making him drop the orb.
The doctor sank to the ground with a groan while the orb started rolling back towards the street. "You big oaf, Thog!" Zee's other goblin companion complained. "See what you've done? Now the shiny thing is all the way over there."
Thog grunted apologetically.
"Never mind, I'll get it…" the goblin sighed.
"Oh my…" a gentle voice coming from the street spoke up. "What is happening here?"
Ono froze in horror when he realized that Kasumi and her two helpers was standing right where the orb had rolled to. And here he was, lying on the ground like a weak fool, unable to protect the woman he loved… "Ka… kasumi…" he groaned. "Run… save yourself…"
"Dr. Tofu?" Kasumi gasped. "Oh no!"
"Stand back, Lady Kasumi!" Frederick proclaimed as he stood in front of her, drawing his blade. "I shall not let those ruffians lay a single hand on you."
"Hey, who's that?" Zee wondered. "Hey Grak, let Thog handle this. That armored guy looks tough."
The troll let out a menacing grunt as he walked towards Frederick and Kasumi with powerful, booming footsteps and raised his club.
"Very well then, scoundrel… have at thee!" Frederick yelled as he attacked the troll.
Grak chuckled. "He's gonna be busy for a while. Hey, sweet cheeks… how about you and that winged donkey give me some of those heavy bags of yours?"
"Donkey?" Derpy wondered. "I… I'm not a donkey, I'm a steed… d-don't come any closer…" She stepped in front of Kasumi.
"Oh no, Derpy-chan… please, you'll get hurt, just fly away…" Kasumi pleaded.
"But my wings aren't completely healed yet," Derpy pointed out. "Besides, I can't just leave you with those meanies…"
Dr. Tofu felt nothing but dread. He gathered all his remaining strength to get up from the ground and save his beloved… but a sharp pain in his right leg made that pretty much impossible. The troll's club must have hit him harder than he thought. "No… Kasumi… please, I need… the orb…"
"Orb?" Kasumi picked the golden glowing artifact up from the ground. "You mean… this?"
"Just give it to me," Grak grinned menacingly. "Make this nice and easy and the grey mule won't be hurt. You wouldn't want her to get beat up by Thog like your other two friends, would you?"
A short cry of pain coming from Frederick as he fought the troll made Kasumi stare at the goblin in disbelief. "You… you horrible little creature… how can you say such things?"
She looked down at the orb in her hands and read the words. After a moment of silence, she nodded.
"I accept."
Suddenly, the whole back alley got bathed into a shining aura of golden light coming from the orb… and then from Kasumi herself.
"What the hell?" Zee grunted as he shielded his eyes. "Hey Grak, what's she doing?"
"I dunno… but I have the feeling I won't like the answer," Grak gulped.
As the brightness of the light diminished a bit, they all saw Kasumi stepping in front of the goblins. But instead of the demure, polite waitress and housewife, she looked like a confident and strong protector of the weak. She was clad in a shining suit of armor that, while emphasizing her feminine figure, protectively surrounded her whole body, apart from her head. And unlike Frederick's more traditional, simple-looking armor, hers was adorned with traces of gold and silver. She also carried a gorgeous shield with a beautiful flower on it as an emblem, and a sword, which seemed to give the impression that it was mainly used to parry attacks, not actually harm an opponent. All of this equipment looked like it would be way too heavy to be carried by someone of Kasumi's petite stature. But underneath her suit of armor, Kasumi's body had developed into the powerful physique of a fighter, strong enough to carry everything with ease.
And while she certainly wasn't an aggressive warrior or amazon, she certainly wasn't a pacifist anymore. She was a fighter of justice and peace, a stalwart protector of those she loved.
In short, Kasumi had become the epitome of a true paladin.
"Wh-what?" Grak stuttered. "What happened to her? Hey, lady… you better watch it, or else…"
"Quiet!" Kasumi spoke with a commanding voice. "You shall no longer threaten the ones I care about. This pegasus and the doctor you injured… are under my protection."
Dr. Tofu stared at her, not being able to believe his own eyes. "Ka… Kasumi?" For a moment, he couldn't help but wanting to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. He was the one who wanted to protect her… and now she was the one who protected him and everyone else she loved. She certainly did not need any sort of protector anymore.
Thog the troll let out a grunt of pain, as Frederick managed to gain the upper hand in battle and push him back. "Leave this place, you fiends," he said. "Or else you shall suffer my wrath."
"Zee? He actually beat Thog…" Grak said. "What do we do?"
"R… run, Grak! You too, Thog! Ruuunnn!"
The three hoodlums turned around and ran as fast as their feet could carry them.
As they vanished around the corner, Kasumi lowered her weapons with a sigh. "Oh dear…" she said. "I'm actually glad I didn't have to fight them, but… I just couldn't let those horrible creatures hurt any of you anymore."
"A true knight only fights when he has no other choice," Frederick said. "But I must say I am very surprised about your sudden… change, my lady. Even though you do look fetching in this suit of armor."
Kasumi blushed a bit, then got pulled back to reality by Derpy's worried voice. "Miss Kasumi? Your friend here… I think he's hurt really bad. Should we bring him to the doctor? Um… another doctor, I mean?"
"It's… it's all right… it's not so bad…" Ono muttered, then winced when he tried again to stand up. "Okay, I take it back… it's pretty bad."
"Oh dear Ono," Kasumi said as she knelt down next to him. Ono felt a bit intimidated by her new, powerful presence. "Let me see if I can't actually help you. I believe… there are some new skills I gained that should be helpful."
She put down her shield and raised her right hand. The doctor watched in awe as it was surrounded by a golden glow of light. The very same light then entered his body… and made all the pain he felt fade away.
Kasumi smiled. "There… your leg should be healed now. Be blessed by the warmth of the Light, my dearest Ono."
He sighed. "Oh, Kasumi… I'm such a fool. I bought this orb because I felt I had to do this for you. I thought you wanted a strong, powerful man in your life… a knight who can protect you. But now you're the one who saved me from harm… isn't this ironic?"
"I really don't think only the man should protect the woman," Kasumi said. "If two people care for each other… shouldn't they both try to help each other through life and lesser the others' burdens? I know there's tradition and everything… but in this case, I really don't mind acting a little more… untraditional."
"Indeed," Frederick agreed. "In my home kingdom, both men and women fight together to serve king and country, and to protect each other from harm. Putting other people's safety above everything else… that is what being a true knight is about." He smiled. "And I believe both of you have what it takes to be true knights. Even though only one of you is wearing armor at the moment."
"Yeah!" Derpy added, because she couldn't think of anything else to say.
Ono grinned sheepishly. "I really didn't have to be jealous after all, right? I should have thought this through a bit more…"
"Everything worked out fine in the end," Kasumi said. "Don't worry about it."
"Yeah," Derpy said again. "Also, your glasses don't fog up anymore like they did when we met before."
Ono blinked in surprise. "They… they don't?"
Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
The Dryad (NPC) and everything Terraria belongs to Re-Logic.
Derpy Hooves and My little Pony belongs to Hasbro.
Wonder Woman belongs to DC Comics.
World of Warcraft belongs to Blizzard.
The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo.
The Horned Reaper and Dungeon Keeper belong to Bullfrog Productions.
Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo.
