Disclaimer

All characters from Ranma 1/2 were created by Takahashi Rumiko, not me. Rights to such are owned by Takahashi-sama, Shounen Sunday Comics, Kitty Video, and (in North America) Viz.

Urd, Skuld and Verdandi are mythological. But the interpretations of them within this fanfic are the work Fujishima Kosuke, not me. Rights to such are owned by Kodansha, AIC, ADV Films and (in North America) AnimEigo and Dark Horse Comics.

Tail Kinker Presents

Goddess Fayu

Chapter Four of Six: Three May Keep A Secret...

Nabiki sat, cross-legged, and considered the coin.

Over the last week, she had been struggling to teleport. Somehow, she was unable to repeat her earlier success. She could still channel, but even that was becoming erratic; she'd nearly blown up the temple last time she'd tried.

Belldandy, of course, had been most understanding.

- - -

"After what Peorth did, I am not at all surprised that you are having difficulty." Belldandy's anger had abated, but it was obvious that she had not quite forgiven Peorth.

"I keep telling you, I'm over it, Sis."

"Well, I'm not."

Nabiki blinked. "You're not really the sort to hold grudges."

"Normally, no, but..." She sighed. "She knew you're at a delicate point of your training. Why she would choose to do something so rash..."

"Actually, I don't really get it either, Bell." Keiichi sat down next to the middle Norn. "Sure, she's got determination, but she was never really vindictive before."

"But I--"

"Came on to her?" Keiichi grinned. "That's nothing compared to her usual tactics." He sipped his tea, then continued. "No, there's something about you that's bugging her, Nabiki."

- - -

"Something about me?" Nabiki pondered this for a moment. "Or maybe my situation...or my parentage..." She sighed, and stood. "I need more information."

"Urd."

The elder Norn waved a hand. "Not now."

"It's important."

"So's this."

Nabiki gritted her teeth, walked over, and pulled the plug on the television.

Urd scowled at her. "You pulled the plug on Big Z. You better have a good reason."

"You mentioned that you pulled my file from Yggdrasil."

"Yes. I did. Is that all?"

"I want to see it." Nabiki crossed her arms. "Peorth's good and pissed at me, and I need to know why."

Urd considered this, and then sighed. "Well, I guess that is important." She stood up and stretched. "C'mon, let's see if it's still on the hard drive." She smirked. "My favourite part of the computer."

- - - - -

"Parentage...history...ancestry...portfolio..." Nabiki sighed. "Most of this I already know. Nothing about my rating, I see."

"That's because I pulled it before it was assigned. Yggdrasil auto-updates, but this is just a 486."

"So this doesn't really tell us a lot."

"Sorry." Urd considered. "Maybe we should pull the updated file."

"That might help--no." Nabiki grinned. "Pull Peorth's file."

Urd shook her head. "I can't. File access restrictions; Peorth's one Class higher than me."

"What about Belldandy? She's equal Class."

Urd considered, then shook her head. "I don't think so. That's not really the sort of thing Belldandy would consider doing."

"Besides, I don't know the system well enough."

They turned, to see Belldandy at the door. She smiled.

"When Keiichi told me that you two wanted to use his computer, I figured it would be something like this."

"Oh." Urd scratched the back of her head. "Well...you aren't gonna tell anyone, are you?"

"You know me better than that, Sister." She walked over and sat down in front of the keyboard, tapped in a few lines.

The modem dialled out, and Belldandy tapped out her login and password. Then turned to Urd.

"Please don't get caught. With my access level and your skills, you should be able to access Peorth's file."

Urd blinked.

Nabiki tilted her head. "Feeling a bit larcenous today, Sis?"

"No." Belldandy stood, and stepped back. "I want to understand why Peorth sabotaged your training."

- - - - -

"Money." Nabiki dropped the printout on the table.

Belldandy looked up. "Money?" Comprehension dawned. "Of course! As part of the Earth Assistance Agency, she would want access to that portfolio!"

"Yep." Nabiki grinned. "And it must have burned her biscuits to know that I got it, basically out of the starting gate."

Belldandy looked puzzled. "But Peorth doesn't usually cook..."

"Figure of speech. She must have been very angry."

Belldandy leafed through Peorth's file. "Oh...she's applied for this portfolio six times. Denied each time."

"Yeah." Nabiki sat down, poured herself a cup of tea. "I kinda wonder why. It's not like anyone saw me coming."

"Don't be so sure." Belldandy laid a page on the table, and pointed at a name. "According to this, the portfolio was denied by Skuld."

"Someone call me?" Skuld had just wandered in, carrying an empty ice cream tub.

"Yeah." Nabiki turned to the younger Norn. "According to this, you've denied Peorth a portfolio. Six times."

"Five, actually." Belldandy looked a little closer. "The first time, she was turned down by the Council."

Skuld looked puzzled. "I don't remember doing so."

Belldandy turned to Nabiki. "Do you realize that Skuld is the most powerful of the three of us?"

Skuld's puzzlement grew more obvious. "I am?"

Nabiki considered. "Goddess of the future. She must have known I was coming."

"Skuld's main job is to keep Yggdrasil on an even keel--to eliminate system bugs before they can cause instability. She does this at a remote level; to her, or those around her, it appears that she is striking them down with her hammer." Belldandy indicated the weapon. "What she doesn't really realize, even though we've tried explaining it to her, is that in order to debug Yggdrasil, she has to be able to see the future."

Nabiki nodded. "But being able to see the future could cause as many bugs as it fixes."

"More. As a result, while Skuld can see the future, it is only on a subconscious level. So when Peorth applied to the Wealth Portfolio, it caused a bug, and Skuld...did her job."

Nabiki considered this. "Could Peorth access this file?"

"None of us can access our own files. And no Divine being, not even Kami-Sama, can access the file of a Norn. As Time Goddesses, the possibility of paradox is too high."

"I betcha he'd give his right eye for those files, though."

"He did," said Skuld. "For nothing more than a single page of mine."

Nabiki blinked.

- - - - -

On the other side of Tokyo...

Kasumi nearly dropped her grocery bag in horror.

"That poor woman!"

Indeed, the woman in question appeared to be in very rough shape. Barefoot, wearing only an abbreviated shirt and a ripped pair of panties, covered in dirt and filth, she was trudging along the road. Depression radiated off of her; for an instant, Kasumi wondered if perhaps Ryouga had fallen into the Spring of Drowned Girl. Kasumi hurried towards the woman, her expression of horror giving way to one of compassion.

"What happened to you?"

The woman looked up at Kasumi; the dark circles under her eyes made her countenance even worse. "I angered the wrong woman." She blinked, and seemed to recover some of her composure. "You're Tendo Kasumi."

Kasumi raised a hand to her mouth. "Have we met?"

"No. But I know your sisters all too well."

"Did...they do this to you?"

"No." The woman chuckled. "Really, I did it to myself. I should have realized who I was dealing with."

"Please, I really should make amends for them." Kasumi bowed. "Come with me. I'll see that you get a bath, a hot meal, and some...warmer...clothing." She still hadn't quite come to grips with this woman wandering around in her underwear.

The woman considered her. "Okay. Sounds good. Thank you." She managed a smile.

- - - - -

Bathed, dried, and dressed, Peorth tore into one of Kasumi's better efforts.

"This is very good! I haven't tasted cooking like this in a hundred years!"

Kasumi smiled. "That's very kind. Thank you."

Peorth chuckled. "Now I see why everyone says you and your sister are just alike. I'm Peorth, by the way."

"Pleased to meet you." Kasumi paused. "I just noticed. You have a tattoo on your forehead, like Urd."

"Guess there's no use in hiding it from you."

"No, it kind of stands out." Kasumi paused. "Do you work for the same agency as Urd?"

"Not quite." Peorth considered; no telling what sort of lies Urd spun out for this woman. "Same parent company, but different branch."

"Ah." Kasumi leaned in. "So can you tell me how my sister Nabiki is doing in her training?"

"Nabiki? It surprised me, but she's fitting right in." Peorth grinned. "I'm afraid that I got in the way of her training, and was...punished."

"Oh, dear." Kasumi's hand flew to her mouth. "I'm really starting to worry about my little sister."

"Don't worry." Peorth waved a hand. "It's really not as bad as you think. Trust me." She smiled. "Our job is to help those who cannot help themselves. We distribute largess from...an anonymous benefactor. But sometimes we have to learn that we're not at all different from those we help." She sighed. "I have certainly learned that lesson this week."

Something was preying on Kasumi's mind, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She shook it off. "So this is a charitable organization?"

"Yes." Peorth was getting back into full flower. "Many people exist who, through no fault of their own, are cast down and trodden upon. We help those people back on their feet, give them pride and assistance, and set them back on their paths."

"I'm home!"

"Welcome back!" Kasumi glanced towards the doorway. "Tell me...was Akane involved in this too?"

Peorth shrugged. "Only as much as you."

Akane walked in, and glanced down at Peorth. "Hi! Who're you?" She did a double-take. "And why are you wearing my clothes?"

"I'm sorry, Akane, but Ranma's things were too small, so yours were the closest fit." Kasumi looked troubled. "This poor woman was wandering the streets, covered in dirt and wearing only her underclothes..."

"And you brought her home and fed her. Well, now we have to keep her." Akane bowed. "Tendo Akane. Pleased to meet you."

"Peorth."

It hit Kasumi, almost like a freight train. "You've not met before?"

"Nope." Akane shrugged. "Never seen her before now."

Kasumi turned back to Peorth. "Which 'sisters'?"

"Oh, heck."

- - - - -

"You're kidding!" Akane was fuming. "You just have to be lying to us!"

Peorth sighed. "I'm sorry to say, but no. Your mother had two other daughters, and they live in Nekomi."

"Is...Urd...?"

"No."

"Oh." Kasumi sighed. "I was worried."

Peorth chuckled. "Urd is really a nice girl. She just doesn't look that way." She sobered. "Nabiki's training is under Belldandy, your oldest sister. She's a lot like you."

"That's what you meant, then." Kasumi paused. "But you would think that Father would have mentioned something."

Peorth shook her head. "I doubt she would have told him. When she left her first husband, he kept the girls."

"But surely Mother would have said something to give it away!" Akane was working up to a horrible rant. "I can't believe that she would never have mentioned them, or kept a picture, or--"

"Please, trust me. You don't have the whole story, and neither do I." She shook her head. "There's only one person who knows the entire truth, and she's in Heaven."

"Well, there's one way we can get some more of the story." Kasumi stood. "Akane, get dressed. Your kimono and geta. See if you can find one for Peorth; if I recall, Ranma's tend to be a bit big on her."

"What are we gonna do? Track 'em down?"

"I wish you luck." Peorth shook her head. "Do you have any idea how big Nekomi is? It's a college town, in the middle of term."

"But you can take us there!" Akane whirled on Peorth. "You know where they live, right?"

"I am sorry, but I promised to never lead you there."

"I think I can persuade you." Akane cracked her knuckles.

"No, Akane." Kasumi shook her head. "There's an easier way. I saw it on the news; Nekomi Tech is hosting a fair." She smiled. "If our sisters are anything like us, they won't be able to stay away."

- - - - -

"Woohoo! A fair!"

Belldandy watched with amusement as Skuld bounced around the room. Nabiki chuckled. "She reminds me so much of Akane sometimes."

"In a lot of ways, she's different."

"Yeah, but that just makes the similarities stand out so much more. So why exactly are we going to the fair?"

"You said you were starting to have problems with channelling."

"Yeah. And?"

"When you are in the midst of those people, I want you to feel their emotions."

"Okay. And what if I accidentally zorch them?"

"You won't." Belldandy shook her head. "You won't be channelling; you'll be looking at the colours of their auras."

Nabiki blinked. "I can do that too?"

"Not yet. But by the time we head for home, you will."

The lights and sounds of the fair threatened to overwhelm Nabiki.

"You were not quite right. I don't see their auras as colours."

"No?"

"No. I hear them as music." Nabiki grinned weakly. "It's pretty noisy here."

"Try to isolate one. Treat it as though you were trying to hear one note in a song."

"Hmmm..." Nabiki tilted her head. "A simple, sprightly tune. Happy and expectant. Probably a child."

"Over there." Belldandy pointed. "That little girl, getting a cone of candy floss."

"Another happy tune, more complex, proud and brassy. A young man?"

"There. It looks like he's won a prize for his lady."

"This is even better than people watching." She concentrated again. "This one's farther away...Anger? Disappointment? It seems familiar..."

"Oh, dear. It's probably Peorth. It's been nearly a week, so she's probably nearly home."

"No...it's not Peorth. I'm not sure...but she does seem familiar." Nabiki shook her head. "I'd rather not stay with that one, if it's all the same. Mostly drums and organs."

Belldandy laughed.

"Here's another familiar one." Nabiki grinned. "Frantic, energetic tune, rendered in techno. Probably some kid."

"I am not a kid." Skuld stuck her tongue out at Nabiki, then turned back to the carnie. "Five hundred yen for ten shots."

The young man took the coin, then fed a tube of paintballs into the compressed air gun. "Cover the clown completely with the paint to win a prize. If I see any red on the card after your gun is empty, you lose."

"Gotcha!" Skuld brought the gun up - it seemed obvious to Nabiki that the only time she'd ever seen one was on TV - and proceeded to blast away at the clown card.

She fired her last shot, looked dismally at the spotless target, and then back down to the gun.

"I know! I can increase the air pressure, add an auto-targeting module--"

Belldandy took the paintball gun from her. "No, Skuld."

"But it would be easy!"

"It's not yours." She smiled. "Come on, there's lots more to see."

Skuld glanced around. "Where's Keiichi? Normally, he's hanging off you like a barnacle."

"He went to the Motor Club's exhibit."

- - - - -

The Alta 50S was not a prizewinning beauty of a motorcycle, but it has been built in 1962 and now, almost fifty years later, its brightwork gleamed and it was still purring like a kitten. Keiichi stood up, and flashed Hasegawa a thumbs up. "Very nice work, Sora."

"Thank you, Sempai." She beamed. "From you, that's high praise."

"Nabiki told me she wanted to try getting her sister Kasumi on a motorcycle. Think we could borrow this one some time?"

Nearby, Akane's ears perked up.

"Maybe. What sort of girl is she?"

"Apparently, Kasumi's a lot like Belldandy, but even more gentle."

Target locked.

"More gentle than Bell?" Hasukawa laughed. "Can the world survive?"

"Anyway, if you don't think this one is appropriate--"

"It's kind of hard for a beginner. I'd actually suggest starting her with a SuperCub."

"Bleah."

"You're just mad because Tamiya and Otaki made you ride that souped-up funny bike."

Keiichi turned, grinning. "I'm gonna go find the girls. Hold the fort down here, Sora."

"You want to give me orders, you shouldn't have made me Chief." Sora grinned.

Akane fell in step behind him.

- - - - -

"Hey." Urd waved casually to Belldandy and Nabiki. "You two almost look lonely."

Belldandy smiled. "It'll be nice when Keiichi returns."

"Speaking of returns." Urd glanced through the crowd. "I think I just saw a familiar face. Peorth."

"Oh, really." Nabiki turned and crossed her arms.

It was indeed Peorth, and she was moving towards them as quickly as she could. But Nabiki realized that it was not to attack; she looked very worried.

"Thank heavens I found you first." Peorth was winded. "You really need to get out of here. Nabiki, Urd, and probably Belldandy and Skuld, too. It would be best if you get out of Nekomi altogether."

"Why?"

"Because I slipped, and let the truth out." She looked like she was about to go on, but Nabiki leaned forwards, and grabbed the collar of the kimono she was wearing.

"I recognize this kimono." She turned to Belldandy. "Peorth is right. We really ought to go. Now."

"All right. You and Urd find a dark corner, and--"

Nabiki's eyes widened. "Too late."

She turned, to see Keiichi approaching.

"Hey, girls." He waved to them, then did a double-take. "How'd you manage to get Peorth into a kimono?"

"Keiichi..." Nabiki shook her head. "You led her right to us."

"Who?"

"How could you not see her? She's as stealthy as a bus."

"See who?"

"My sister."

Keiichi blinked, and turned. To find himself face-to-face with a rather angry young woman.

"Tendo Akane."