"Speech"
'Thought'
X x x x x x
Kamiki Seto Jurai smiled, a viewscreen displaying the two Earthlings as they were brought on board the Mikagami. Obviously both were examining their surroundings with a certain amount of awe, the expected reaction. Resting casually on her wide command chair, she was perfectly happy to watch through a viewscreen.
"The bringing of a pureblooded Earthling aboard maybe forbidden, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened before. Regardless of the clerical mistakes that were made, their enrollment application has been officially accepted. The rest, is up to them." Fanning herself briefly, she split her attention between the two, the male attempting to call his home. "Though I can't imagine a teenager ever passing up a chance like this."
"But Seto-sama." Kiriko protested, her face displayed on a large viewscreen. Seto's great grand daughter having attempted to persuade her to turn Seina back to Earth.
"Bye." She waved, the connection being cut, and switching back to a description of Seina. "Yamada Seina-kun, to think Kiriko-chan was seeing a boy like you." Her two attendants in front of her slumped forward in defeat, realizing where her mind was drifting. 'Weaklings.'
"I've heard about Seina-kun from my father." Minaho drew her attention. "He's a friend of Kai-kun and a bit on the unlucky side."
"A bit?" She asked. "Judging from how those pirate ships were gathered by this pair, I would say they are more than a bit unlucky." Smiling, she started to form a plan in her mind. "No, I believe that this was an act of good luck. The odds of a single pureblooded Earthling making it into space are virtually nil. For two? I think even Washu-chan would have trouble calculating that."
Hirata, her male aid was whispering something to Minaho, and Seto frowned at this talk behind her back. "What are you two whispering about now?" She asked loudly, the pair straightened up, and tried to look like they were innocent.
"Wow, what a day today has been!" Hirata laughed nervously. "Who would have thought that Mitoto-sama was aboard that ship as well?"
"I thought I had heard she was in charge of cleaning at the GP headquarters." Minaho added to complete the subterfuge.
"Seto-sama." Suiren, one of the four girls she had working to run the more complicated systems of her ship, drew her attention. "I've identified the first person to make contact." The information displaying on Seina was replaced by different data. "Amane Kaunaq, 2nd class detective."
"Kaunaq?" She mused. "Oh her! That reminds me, I promised to find her a suitable husband, didn't I? She's a real handful." Laughing to herself, she would have to think on the next suiter to throw Amane's way. "Say, Kanemitsu-dono."
"What is it?" Hirata asked.
"Regarding our previous discussion, do you think that either of them will pass up a chance like this?"
"Ah, er, I get the feeling that their feelings really don't matter." The man replied with a resigned look on his face.
"Oh?" She asked, Hirata instantly straightening up.
"I mean, if I were in their shoes, especially his, I would never pass up such an opportunity!"
"In that case, let us go and meet our guests!" She exclaimed happily.
X x x x x x
"I can't believe this is actually a space ship." Ranma's head was on a constant swivel as she followed a female guide through a vast forest. If the trees weren't shaped different, and if she forgot about the strange animals, then she would have swore they had never left Earth. And there was something about this ship, a strange presence, just over her shoulder. It wasn't anything that set her on edge, actually it felt rather soothing.
"Technically this isn't a space ship, it's a residential area, posited within subspace. So we are not really inside of the Mikagami." The woman answered without turning around, her head obscured by a hood, and even her face was hidden by a veil.
"I see." Seina nodded blindly.
"Eh? How's that work?" She asked, intensely curious about what was going on, and not wanting to miss a thing.
"Oh right, you're from a developing planet. Subspace works as another layer placed over top our own, but unlike our own, it can be compressed or expanded without effecting the objects within. This area exists both within and out of the core unit of the Mikagami. Does that make sense?" This time the tall woman did slow down from he position in front of the group, to walk beside Ranma.
"Kind of." Pouting, she worked over the explanation. "So you basically squeezed all this stuff into that red and blue thing, but all of it remains this size? You know, instead of getting all scrunched up?"
"Yes, that is a simple way to put it, and that red and blue object is the core unit."
"Neat." Ranma smiled proudly at figuring it out.
Their path seemed to be ending underneath the roots of a large tree, where a tall cylinder sat directly underneath the center of the massive plant. Switching from soft grass, to a highly reflective wood, the shoes Ranma had been given leaving the transport ship made soft clicking noises, as she entered into the cylinder with the rest of the group. On the floor was a dimly glowing disc, and Ranma made sure to stand directly on it.
"You seem to be adjusting well Ranma-chan." Mitoto praised her.
"Ah, well it looks just like the one we got on before. Just seemed pretty simple to me." She laughed nervously and scratched at the base of her pigtail.
"You're really smart Ranma-san." Seina also complimented her, and Ranma returned his words with a withering glare.
'If he keeps calling me "Ranma-san" I'm going to throw up.' She glowered, the entire cylinder being bathed in white light. An instant of vertigo later, they appeared in the center of another wooden floor, facing three people on a raised platform. Behind the three was a grouping of trees, while all around them was a window out into the endless blackness of space.
To the left was a black haired girl with purple eyes, wearing similar clothing to the woman who had contacted the transport earlier. Though her clothing was differently colored, the overcoat being shades of pink and purple, and the hanging tag on the opposite side, primarily with orange, but with the bottom having a green and red triangle.
To the right was a stern looking man with short brown hair pulled back in a ponytail at the base of his skull. His clothing was a navy blue solid hakama pant, bound just below his knees. Overtop what looked like a kimono, was a brown jacket with poofy navy sleeves that ended in white bracers. Like the girl, he had a hanging piece of fabric, this time just a solid red.
Behind and to the center of the other two, stood a taller woman in her late twenties, early thirties, with mint green hair tied up in a high ponytail, reaching down to the floor behind her. As with the other two females, she had on a white dress, though her overcoat was different, having long white sleeves, the purple body ending at her hip, the hem going straight across. Her hair was curved in front of her face, framing her red eyes, the two crimson orbs boring down into first Ranma and then Seina. All three had narrow obi's binding their clothes at the waist, and large prominent gold buttons positioned at various points on their clothing.
"Welcome to the Mikagami, Saotome Ranma-dono and Yamada Seina-dono." The woman with mint colored hair greeted formally. "It is nice to meet you, I am Kamiki Seto Jurai."
"You're the Devil Princess?" Ranma asked, blinking repeatedly. 'How could someone who looks like that earn that name? And be the behind the scenes supreme authority for an empire like that loser Captain said?' Glancing around, she saw several more females in the large open room, all of which looked like they could send Akane into a jealous rage just by being in the room.
Her question caused the two standing next to Seto to look very nervous, glancing back at the woman as if she would explode. Laughing lightly to herself, Seto, gave Ranma an amused smile. "That I am."
Next to Ranma, Seina started to bow repeatedly, going low enough to touch the floor, the other Earthling panicking. "Hello! I'm Yamada Seina! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Ranma put her face in a hand over the embarassing groveling coming from the othe human, who had been roped into joining the GP.
"I am Kanemitsu Hirata, commander of the 7th Armada." The man introduced himself.
"And I am intelligence officer Minaho Masaki." The girl greeted.
"Nice to meet you." Ranma bowed her head. "I'm Saotome Ranma."
"Huh? Masaki? The same last name as Tenchi-senpai?" Seina asked, seemingly recognizing the girl from somewhere.
"It's been such a long time Mitoto-sama." Seto addressed the blonde woman standing between Ranma and the woman who had met them upon arriving. "I never would have expected to run into you here of all places."
"You look as well as ever, Seto-sama." Mitoto replied happily.
"Oh! That reminds me. I believe your family has contacted us." Seto started.
"I wonder if it was my father?" Mitoto looked nervous for the first time since Ranma had met the woman.
"You can speak with him over here." The Guide motioned for Mitoto to follow her, the blonde hurrying off.
"I'll be back in a minute." Mitoto called back to them, leaving Ranma and Seina alone.
"Please come this way." Seto didn't wait for a response, the world around them shifting from another of the strange teleports. This time they appeared back in the residential area, directly in front of a floating wooden table and two bench style seats, the small clearing positioned next to the edge of a cliff. "Have a seat." Seto motioned, taking a seat herself.
"Right." Seina bowed his head again, and took a seat before Ranma opposite of Seto.
Ranma had other things on her mind, shooting over to the railing made out of bushes and tree limbs, to look over the edge. "Wow, we're in a big tree." Leaning over the edge, she looked down the hundreds of meters to the ground. "This is way better than that Galaxy Police ship." Turning her head, she asked Seto. "Are all Jurai ships like this?"
"Of course not, only Jurai tree ships are like this."
"So then why are these so special?" Spinning herself around to lean her back against the railing, she cocked her head to the side.
"Sorry but such things are secret, you'll just have to accept the answer of, just because." Seto waved her hand, and an attendant appeared with a tray containing three cups of tea. "Tea?" She asked, taking a cup in her hands, and slowly blowing on the hot liquid.
"Thanks." Ranma took the offered drink along with Seina.
"I hope this whole situation hasn't had a negative effect on either of you. Allow me to express my gratitude, Seina-dono, Ranma-dono. Captain Kenichi's report indicated that it was you two who programmed the jump coordinates."
"I didn't do it! That was all him. Don't think I'm getting the blame for those pirates for breaking that ship." Ranma pointed an accusitory finger at Seina, the short haired boy laughing nervously.
"Oh? So then what did you do?" Seto asked calmly, giving Ranma an expectant look. "You did enter in coordinates, did you not?"
"Uh－ well once or twice." Playing with her pigtail, she really didn't want to know what the cost of repairing the transport ship would be, and she just knew she was going to get blamed.
"Don't be so shy, gathering all those pirates, who usually are spread over vast distances, enabled us to arrest a large horde of them in one fell swoop!" Seto's voice started to rise at the end in excitement. "The damage to a transport ship is nothing when measured against that. Though I suppose credit should be given to Seina-dono for his actions, as he was the one who gathered the most pirates."
"Ever since I was little, I've been really unlucky, it feels strange to have my bad luck be called good luck." Seina spoke in a tiny voice.
"I have been using the 7th Armada as the core of an anti-pirate force, in order to uncover large scale piracy. I'm sure that the large amount that you helped us capture today, will no doubt boost our efforts beyond what it would take us years to do. I'm sure you'll both be a welcome addition to the GP. Though－ Hirata?" Appearing behind Seto was the man from earlier.
"Unfortunately, there is the problem that you are both pure blooded Earthlings, and as such, it is prohibited for you to be brought into space. Since your civilization presently lacks the technology required to do so your own."
"And." Seto added when Hirata trailed off, having lost what he was going to say.
"And we cannot allow you to be placed in harms way. We shall take it upon ourselves to return you back to Earth." Hirata trailed off again.
"And?"
"Ah, yes, in accordance with regulation." The man's voice suddenly became deadly serious. "Your memories of this must be erased."
"What? No way you shampoo'ing me!" Ranma hopped up and prepared to hurt the first person who tried to get near her with some of that stuff Shampoo had used on Akane. The pair on the opposite side of the table stared confusedly at her, trying to understand the, admittedly strange thing she had just said.
"In the past, exceptions have been made, I suppose." Seto considered, seemingly choosing to disregard what Ranma had just said. "A few special cases have been approved, in the past that is." The mint haired woman reiterated.
"Then, no memory erasing?" Seina asked hopefully.
"Seina-dono, Ranma-dono." Seto said harshly. "The ability to attract pirates is a dangerous ability indeed, should you remain in space, your lives will always been in peril. But if you return to Earth, then you will no longer be at risk."
"You must not know about my life then." Ranma said to herself.
"Despite this, do you still wish to enter the GP?" Seto finished, glancing between them.
"Of course, I want to go into space, and see all kinds of weird things, I'd never get to see if I stayed on Earth! So yes, yes I want to stay here in space, I want to join the GP!" Seina answered immediately, standing up, and finishing confidently.
"That's all well and good, but just what is the GP?" Ranma asked. "I uh, didn't really pay attention when I filled that thing out." Next ot her, Seina's face met the wooden floor, hard. "It's a police thing right?"
"Well that does bring up a question I wanted to ask you Ranma-dono, if you don't feel strongly about joining the GP, why not join Jurai's forces?"
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, focusing in on what Seto would have to say, so she didn't miss it again.
"The application for the GP isn't a binding contract until you are enrolled in the Academy. For simplicity, you would still attend the Academy until you were acclimated to living off of Earth. From there, your job would be largely the same, the difference being what group you would be affiliated with."
"I don't know, I'm still not sure on this GP thing. I mean, I don't want someone to try and erase my memory, but I've already missed a week of school, had to train for a duel with my old man."
"You have already been removed from the system at Furinkan High School." Hirata answered helpfully.
"Wha? But I had homework I was supposed to hand in, I even took the time to do the stupid stuff!" She groaned dramatically. "But I mean I got obligations, I can't just run off into space."
"So then you want to return to Earth?" Seto asked, taking a sip of tea.
"I can't just run off into space." She answered, it wasn't that she was adverse to the idea of seeing new places, but this was far too sudden.
"Ranma-dono, do you know why the caged bird sings?" Seto's red eyes bore down into Ranma's own.
"Er, what does that have to do with anything?"
"It's always interesting to see the reaction of an individual who has grown up on a developing planet such as yours. Tell me, what are your dreams? Your aspirations? Seina-dono has just expressed a desire to see the galaxy, what is yours?"
"Dreams? I don't know, I guess take over the dojo. It wouldn't be much but, but I'd get to practice the art and－ well what does it matter anyways?" She questioned in a huff, crossing her arms.
"Oh yes, the dojo." Seto smiled, and to Ranma's left, a viewscreen popped up displaying an overview of the Tendo estate. "A very nice home for Tokyo, if I remember correctly, land there is an expensive commodity. Of course you could go back there, you might even be stationed there like Mihoshi-dono."
"Mihoshi! Where? Where is she?" Ranma demanded, looking around rapidly.
"I see that your introduction to space, really didn't go well." Seto's pleasant exterior grew slightly strained.
Calming down, Ranma berated herself mentally for getting worked up over the mention of Mihoshi's name. 'That woman is worse than a cat.' Taking one last look around, her nerves were finally at ease. "So you want me to join your military?"
"Yes." Seto answered.
"And if I don't, you're going to try and erase my memory." She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at the tall woman. "So you're threatening me."
"Unfortunately, it is the way things are. While exceptions can be made to bring both of you into space, the reverse cannot."
"What choice do I have then?" No way was she going to let someone mess around with her head.
"You shouldn't be so pessimistic, you have a great opportunity in front of you." The mint haired woman gave Ranma a pleasant smile.
"Will I be able to go back?" She asked.
"Of course, I have several relatives currently living close to your home, and I make a point to visit often. You would be more than welcome to tag along." Seto's smile grew to a slightly disturbing level, but Ranma missed it, more engrossed in her own thoughts.
"Can I have some hot water?" She asked the attendant who was standing just off to the side. "Not tea, just hot water." She explained seeing that the woman was pouring another cup of tea, and instead simply poured a normal glass of water. "Guess you should probably know about this then." Ranma shrugged before pouring the hot liquid over her head.
One near instant change of gender later, Ranma adjust his belt to better hold his gi together. Seina's reaction to first seeing the curse, was another face first trip into the floor.
"That explains the errors in your paperwork." Hirata commented, the people from space not seeming to be very surprised at his curse.
"Do you require water for that all the time, or just now for some reason?" Seto asked, her red eyes shining with a strange gleam.
"Uh, it's a curse, I always need water, and I'm really a guy." He explained, shaking some water from his hair.
"You're not a girl?" Seina looked at him with the same kind of shock and disbelief that Hiroshi and Daisuke had when they had first found out about the curse. "What? How?"
"Never said I was." He snorted. "And it's a curse, cold water turns me into a girl, hot turns me back."
Seina's brain took a moment to reboot after that revelation. "What if you get splashed with both at the same time?"
"I get wet."
"A useful ability to have, though this water trigger appears to be something of a bother. I'll have to ask Washu-chan if she can do anything for that." Seto mused.
"Am I missing something here?" Ranma asked. "I mean, usually people react like him." He jerked a thumb at Seina, who was moving around him, inspecting Ranma for a trick.
"Shapeshifters, while uncommon, are known to exist." Hirata explained.
"Yes, I'll definitely have to contact Washu-chan, I'm sure she'll be able to fix this water issue." Seto nodded to herself.
"You mean, you can cure me?" He asked, his voice one part disbelief, and the other hope.
"Nothing is for certain, but if anyone can, Washu-chan can." Seto answered.
"Yes! Oh thank you thank you thank you!" Ranma was across the table in an instant, taking Seto's hands in his own and bouncing up and down excitedly.
Seto laughed lightly, but after a few seconds, forcibly dragged her hands from his own. "So, does this mean you accept?"
"Lady, if you can cure me, you got a deal."
"Excellent." Seto smiled so widely that her eyes closed.
X x x x x x
Some time later, Hirata stood to Seto's left on the command deck of the Mikagami, watching as the GP transport ship entered into a hyperspace jump. It didn't take a genius to see that Seto was playing the two Earthlings like a fiddle. The female turning out to be a shapeshifter was, admittedly, an oddity, but it wasn't a deal breaker. Hirata could already see those well oiled gears turning in Seto's head, he honestly felt sorry for both of them.
'Better them than me.' He thought, allowing the left corner of his mouth to quirk upwards in a smile.
"Something on your mind?" Seto asked, and he jerked as if shot.
"Ah－ no, Seto-sama." He laughed nervously. "Though, why did you ask the shape changing one to join with us? She, he, wasn't the one who attracted all the pirates."
"Simple, Hirata-kun, Mikagami-chan liked him."
"Mikagami－ liked－ him?" He asked slowly, Minaho having the same reaction from the other side of Seto.
"I would have asked Seina-dono as well, but I wouldn't dream of taking her fun away." Seto laughed to herself.
Minaho put a hand to her face and groaned. "Boy is he going to be surprised when he sees Kiriko."
X x x x x x
"We've entered hyperspace jump, all systems performing within tolerance." Cohen reported.
Ranma let the strangely mundane detail of using technology that would take centuries for his planet to reach, go by, in favor of opening the thin folder he had been given by Minaho. The outside was a blue green color, with a row of elliptical gold leaves haphazardly running down the right side of the front, and the left side of the back.
Like the application for the Galaxy Police, it was only two pages, the difference being this had a lot more information on it. Detailing who he was, where he was from, related family members, and even physical information for both his forms. 'Huh? How'd they get my sizes?' He wondered, wasn't like someone had come around with a tape measure.
"What are you three doing? Get back to your posts immediately!" The Captain demanded, and Ranma became aware of three forms hovering over top of him. Looking up he found all three of the crew members glaring bloody murder at him.
"What have you done with our Ranma-sama?" Barry asked, leaning in far too close.
"Ranma－- sama?" He snorted, these three were the only ones who didn't know about the curse. Mitoto had been filled in when she had returned to the group on the Mikagami, and the Captain had found out shortly after. "I'm the only Ranma here, probably the only one for a billion kilometers." He decided to take the direct approach, with any luck, he would never see these three idiots again.
"Liar! Ranma-sama is beautiful, and brave, and most definitely not a man!" Alan yelled in his face.
"If you three don't get back to your post I'm going to have you cleaning the toilets till you're old and gray!" The Captain appeared behind the three and yelled into their ears. In a show of speed Ranma barely caught, the trio ran back to the seats at the front. "Honestly." Giving a firm tug at the bottom of his jacket, the Captain stormed back to his seat.
Ignoring the three murderous glances, Ranma leaned back in his seat, and crossing his arms over the imigration papers, he tried to take a nap. With how the stars were blurring by outside, he was getting a headache. He also half wished that this was all a dream that he would wake up from.
"Ranma-chan." A pleasant feminine voice interuppted his nap.
"Go way Sumi." He twisted away from the hand prodding his shoulder.
"Ranma-chan, we're here."
"Where?" Grumbling over the injustice of having such a wonderful nap having to end, he sat up straight, and blinked the sleep from his eyes.
"Docking system access complete." Alan reported, and a viewscreen popped up with an average looking man.
"Please transmit welcome code." The man requested.
Ranma looked past the viewscreen to the outside space, finding a large silver struture going stretching as far as he could see. "What is that?" He and Seina asked together.
"This is the immigration station." The Captain answered, and Ranma hopped out of his seat to press his face against the glass, to get a better look at the immense structure. "Ah, you should sit down, we'll be docking soon."
"It's huge!" Seina added, following his lead about pressing his face up against the glass. "How big is it?"
"Hmm, to put it in simple terms, a solar system could easily fit inside of it." The question was once again answered by the dark skinned man.
Rubbing at his eyes, Ranma decided he must still be dreaming, because what he was seeing could not exist. A viewscreen in the front had displayed the strucutre, three rings, spaced an equal distance from each other, forming a sphere in space.
Even knowing the shape of the station, he couldn't comprehend the magnitude of such a place. As their ship closed in to a large open hanger, the size became more and more obvious, the height of the wall they were approaching being far larger than the tallest building he had ever come across.
"Why is it so big?" He asked, his jaw getting sore from gaping.
"This is the immigration hub for one fourth of the galaxy, it also acts a trade center, and office complex. It has to be able to house facilities for billions of worlds." Mitoto supplied helpfully. (1)
Shooting out from the hanger, was a pair of parallel dashed lines, the blue light guiding them, and into position between two platforms. Unfolding from the platforms, were a dozen arms that connected to the side of the ship, securing it in place. More hoses dropped down from the ceiling, automatically connecting to parts unseen. Underneath the two platforms, the ship was set down slowly in a large tank of water.
"Cargo container has been released, transport of cargo is successful." Barry announced, the ship bouncing once, before settling into position.
"Setting all systems to stand by mode. We are clear to leave." Alan added a moment later, the trio near instantly running out of the cockpit.
"Well, shall we go?" The Captain asked. "I still have to get you two through immigration."
"Right." Seina nodded excitedly.
Ranma left the second space ship he had ever been on, out the same door that he had come in on. A gently sloping platform had been raised from the dock, allowing them to walk down from the access door, which was closer to the top. Standing at the bottom of the ramp, was an elderly man with the same skin tone, hair, and eye color as Mitoto. He was standing sternly with his arms cross, and wearing a tan jumpsuit, with orange borders on the arms and legs.
"It looks like you've had emergency repairs made, and for it to still look like this, you must have taken quite a beating." The man commented, his eyes moving from the ship, to Ranma and Seina. "The new cadets, I presume? I am Kuramitsu Minami, head of the GP. I am currently overseeing the repairs performed on this dock. Hmm." The man stopped with whatever he was going to say, peering intently at Ranma. "The report said that there was a female cadet, no bother, an error can easily be correct."
"Phew." Ranma wiped away some imaginary sweat.
"Names?" Minami asked.
"Yamada Seina." The short haired boy greeted, bowing his head.
"Saotome Ranma." He greeted.
"I'm really sorry, it's my fault that the ship was damaged." Seina apologized, and Ranma noticed that Mitoto was rapidly trying to stealthily side step herself away.
"Nonsense, the crew is fine, and all the cargo has been safely transported. There's no need to worry." Minami put a reassuring hand on the depressed Seina's shoulder, and Ranma noticed that Mitoto took the chance to tip toe away rapidly. "In a single night, we'll have the ship as good as new." Minami's eyes shot to the retreating Mitoto. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Eeee-ya!" Mitoto froze midstep, a crane coming down and grabbing her around the waist, and depositing her next to Minami. "I'm sorry, Father!" She apologized, sitting on the floor.
"Well that explains why you look so much alike." Ranma commented, forgetting the age and gender difference, they were almost identical in looks.
"Alright you two, we should got take care of your immigration process." The Captain saluted Minami, the elder man nodding in return, with a stiff turn, the dark skinned man walked off briskly.
"Good bye." Mitoto waved as they left to catch up with the man.
"Later!" He yelled back, catching up to the Captain.
"Bye!" Seina followed a moment later, but after several steps, a hole opened up beneath him, plunging him down into the platform.
"Huh?" Ranma and the Captain both turned around when the motors controlling the docking equipment suddenly started up, releasing the ship, and the overhead hoses start to flail wildly in the air. The ship rocked side to side, before rising up into the air uncontrollably. Explosions came from the hose entry points, and with a shuddering heave, it dropped down into water tank below.
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Ranma yelled at the wave that crashed down on him.
X x x x x x
A soggy Ranma sat next to the Captain, Seina being banished to sitting perfectly still on the grass in front of them. Everytime the other Earthling would twitch, her attentive eyes would watch every movement. Some how, Seina had activated an access hatch, sending him crashing down on top of a control panel, which immediately after touching the boy, had caused all the dock controls to short circuit.
"Sorry." Seina apologized for the hundredth time, rubbing at a bandage he had gotten from his injuries.
They were in a waiting area, a sphered in grassy clearing, at the center of a much larger sphere. Floating randomly throughout the area outside of the waiting area, were bubbles containing groups of people who want privacy or would be waiting a long time, since some were darkened on the outside, and she had seen some with beds.
Ranma wasn't that concerned with the outside area, which while interesting, was a bit too much for her to wrap her mind around. So instead, she focused on the large leafy tree in the center of the waiting area, and the shallow moat of water circling it. Letting her eyes drift from Seina, she caught sight of the space outside of the big sphere, the entire structure being a sort of observatory.
Even the table she was sitting at was super advanced technology, the clean white and round table, floating just off of the ground. The round pedastal like chairs also floated. The Captain reached towards the center of the table, and pushed a button, a viewscreen popping up obediently.
"Would either of you like some food? Even though we're a special case, it may take some time. My treat."
"Sure." Ranma's stomach growled at the mention of food.
"Here, select what you want." Reaching up, the man gripped the viewscreen, and turned it towards her.
"Ya know this is kind of bugging me, but why is everything written in Japanese or English?" Putting a finger to her lips, she pondered what she wanted to get.
"The answer is that it's not, when you look at or interact with viewscreens or keyboards, they automatically sense the language you understand, and display accordingly."
"Why not just add translations?" Selecting a ramen dish, the food instantly popped into existence directly in front of her, even had a pair of chopsticks sitting convienently across the bowl. "Awesome!"
"Too many languages, even the big widespread languages would fill up this entire tabletop, just to translate hello into all of them."
Shoveling some of the perfectly cooked food into her mouth, she paused. "Uh, so how do you talk to people? You speak good Japanese."
"I don't." Raising his hand, the Captain showed off a watch without anything visible to tell time. "This projects a field around me that automatically translates like the viewscreens. There are other ways, but this is one of the simpler and more efficient."
"Do you mind if I make a phone call?" Seina asked. "I'm hungry, but I would like to call my family first."
"The phone booth is over there." The Captain pointed to a gray object through a small group of waiting people. "Remember to use the planet number."
"Right." Seina nodded and took off at a brisk pace. Ranma took a moment to look up at the viewscreens spaced around the waiting area, each one displaying the number for the next inline.
"Do you want to call home as well?"
"Nah, not right now." Truthfully Ranma wasn't looking forward to getting a hold of the Tendo home. True, she could pass it off as training and an attempt to get a cure. But the conversation was likely going to piss her off.
"Seina!" The Captain yelled, making the retreating boy stop. "No time, our number just got moved up." Ranma quickly finished off her food, and followed after the Captain towards more transporter tubes.
"Hey wait, can I get hot water form this thing?" She asked, running back to the table, and looking for the switch to bring up the viewscreen again.
"No time, if we miss our number, we have to wait for it to come around again." The Captain grabbed her wrist, and started to drag her from the table.
"No! It can can't it!" She dragged her feet, but found the Captain to have enough strength to pull her away.
X x x x x x
Arm's crossed, Ranma glared at the Captain, the man placing both her Jurai form, and Seina's GP form, on a small slanted panel. The room they were now in was small and enclosed, the half they were on being seperated from the other by a wall of glass and a door. Unlike the grass waiting area they had just been in, this one was like the inside of the transport ship. Pale blue metal walls, sliding doors, and a clean, sterile look to everything.
Both forms instantly dissolved, only to reappear on the other side of the glass, where a woman with long brown hair started to enter data into a keypad. "Kiriko-san!" Seina asked, looking for a way to get through the door.
"You know her?" Ranma wondered, the girl behind the glass was wearing a red long sleeved vest, with a white minidress on underneath, and covering her legs were black leggings.
There was no outward reaction to Seina's calling of her name, and when she was done typing, a synthesized female voice played in their section. "Inspection complete. Immigration approved." The door to the left slid upwards, allowing the excited Seina to run through.
"I'm glad you're safe Seina-chan." Kiriko said softly in response to Seina.
'Interesting.' Ranma crossed her arms and leaned up against the wall, watching the younger boy, and older girl converse.
"W-when I woke up, I was inside a spaceship! I was going to call you, cause Mom, Dad, and Sis stole the cakes you made for me! Except I couldn't because a bunch of pirates showed up. Then I was going to try again but we had to come here."
"Seina-chan, return to Earth right now." Kiriko lost all sweetness to her voice, her eyes narrowing. Standing, she gently took Seina's hands in her own, staring deeply into the boys eyes.
"Hey hey, do you have any popcorn?" Ranma nudged the Captain. "Little mushy but a good show." The glare Kiriko turned her way could have set Ranma on fire. "What?"
"Quiet you." Kiriko snarled venomously.
"Eep." Ranma ducked behind the wall, except she remembered after doing so that the wall was glass, and Kiriko's eyes bored into her.
"Kiriko-san, I understand that you're concerned about Seina-kun's well being. But he has special permission, his parents approved, and even he has said that he wants to join the GP." The Captain tried to diffuse the situation.
"Quiet!" Kiriko snarled again, and Ranma found the Captain suddenly hiding behind her.
"Eh?"
The door on the far wall suddenly retracted up into the wall, allowing that blonde woman who had gotten her stuck in this predicament, to enter. "Hi!" She greeted warmly, wearing the same clothes she had been seen in before, though with a jacket like Mihoshi was wearing early, but the colors were purple arms and a navy blue body.
"I had a feeling I'd meet you two again." With a small jump, the woman had glomped on to Seina. "Seina-kun, did you come all this way to see lil ol me?" The blonde made circle motions on Seina's chest with a finger, wrapping her other arm around the boy's neck. "I ran all the way here when I heard about the big trouble you had on your way here."
Ranma blinked her eyes rapidly, looking back and forth between the two obviously fueding women. She should know, she had a couple who fought over her as well. 'But why would they fight over that klutz Seina?' She wondered, her eyes lighting up when she saw a small bag of chips underneath the desk.
"Amane Kaunaq, 2nd-class Detective." Kiriko said through clenched teeth. "We're still in the middle of the immigration process."
"The door's open though." Amane replied calmly.
"I'm in the middle of seeing what Seina-kun wants to do!" The brown haired girl fumed at being ignored. Ranma started to munch on some potatoe chips, enjoying being on the outside of the show immensely.
"What are talking about? He came all this way, you're being very rude by telling him to leave." Amane waved off the girl's concern. "And I don't see you bothering her about not joining." Ranma looked at the finger pointing towards her nose, her position having shifted to just off to the side, and between the trio.
"She doesn't matter, what matters－ are those my chips?" Kiriko raised an eyebrow, finally having taken a look over at Ranma.
"They were under the desk." Shoving another of the tasty treats in her mouth, she held out the bag. "Want one?"
X x x x x x
Trying to make her displeasure known through a frown, Ranma knew it was a futile effort, the whole effect simply didn't work when she was in female form. Instead of looking angry, she looked cute, which when scamming food was great. "Didn't have to hit me." She rubbed at her right cheek. 'Damn she hits hard, who trained her?'
"Do you realize how hard it is to get Earth food here?" Kiriko glowered. "And that was my last bag." (2)
"They were good though." Losing her melancholy, she straightened up, and took in her surroundings, having entered into the Chairwoman's office.
Office seemed to be a loose term, since it was approximately the same size as the grounds of Furinkan High School. The floor was a black marble, with a small white fence blocking off the drop down into small pools and fenced in areas, with strange animals in them. The ceiling was a glass dome, allowing an unobscured view into space. Placed in the center of the large room was an L shaped desk, an ornate teleport tube to the left, and behind, just off the platform, stood two tall trees.
Sitting on a high backed chair, was a woman with green hair, pulled up into a bun on the back of her head, and gold eyes. She wore a primarily orange dress, with red arms. Standing to the right of the chair, was an older woman, who instantly reminded Ranma of Mihoshi and Mitoto. She wore a long beige robe, with two red badges with a yellow stripe across the bottom pinned over her right breast.
"Chairwoman Airi, Galactic law prohibits bringing people from primitive civilizations into space. Yet Amane has purposely broken this to bring him into space. Further more, it is far too dangerous to let such an unlucky boy as Seina to join the GP!" Kiriko finished her speech by slamming both of her hands on the desk. "His encounter with the pirates is surely proof enough."
"Seems like she forgot about me." Ranma nudged Amane, somewhat put off that Seina was getting so much attention.
"Don't worry, we'll tease her about it later." The blonde whispered back, and Ranma nodded. "Chairwoman, Seina's gift would go to waste if he stayed on Earth. With a single ship, he found what an entire Juraian Armada couldn't."
"And what would have happened if the Juraian Armada hadn't been there? Besides, it was your carelessness that put Seina-chan in danger!"
"Immigration Inspector Masaki!" The Mitoto look a-like stopped Kiriko from continuing. "Calm yourself, this isn't like you at all." Kiriko's face flushed, and she looked away.
"Indeed, it is as you said, Amane's actions were reckless and against regulations. Do you have any explanation?" Aira questioned.
"Chairwoman, I saw Seina's gift as soon as I met him. So I figured he should enter the GP, and put it to use." Amane answered.
"While Ranma-san isn't joining the GP anymore, they both have parental consent, and Seto-sama has personally requested that they be exempt from the regulation. So unless either of them have an objection?" Airi looked between Seina and Ranma. Ranma didn't have much of an objection, she had already made up her mind that getting a cure was worth the hassle. At the very least all this stuff was incredibly interesting.
"I've made my decision, I want to stay in space." Seina answered.
"Then the Galactic Academy accepts both of you, Yamada Seina's enlistment to the GP, and Saotome Ranma's enlistment with Jurai." Aira announced casually, causing Amane to clap happily, and Kiriko to look away depressed.
"Don't just look so glum, let's go take care of your enlistment procedures!" With a skip to her step, Airi came around the table, and grabbed both Ranma and Seina's wrists, and dragged them into the teleport tube.
"W-wait!" Seina tried to protest before they were swallowed by light.
X x x x x x
"Now then."
Amane kept smiling pleasantly as Mikami pulled up a keyboard, and a half dozen viewscreens. Surely they couldn't pin this on her, even Kamiki Seto Jurai had come to a similar conclusion as her.
"While the situation has resolved itself this time, there is no question that you're actions were unnecessarily reckless. Therefore it has been decided, that your promotion to 1st-class Detective is to be postponed."
"What? Mikami-sensei, you can't be serious!" She protested loudly.
"I am, and you will serve as an instructor at the GP Academy for the next six months while you think over what you've done." Rapidly typing on the keypad, Mikami smiled pleasantly, and pushed a viewscreen button. "Do your best, Amane-sensei."
The purple control node in the center of her collar, flashed repeatedly, and her vest bleached from navy blue to white. "I understand." Bowing her head, she made the long walk of shame to the doorway, resigning herself to the humiliation. Closing the door, she blew a raspberry back at her boss, in one last act of defiance. (3)
"Or would you prefer cleaning restrooms with Mitoto?" A viewscreen of Mikami appeared in front of her, smiling pleasantly.
"I'm sorry!" She apologized, bowing her head repeatedly.
X x x x x x
Mikami laughed to herself, Amane was such a fun influence, before turning her eyes to the distraught Kiriko in front of her. "You know it's because you care for him, that Seto-sama uses you for her fun."
"Sensei I!" Kiriko started, obviously trying to explain her reasons, which mattered little in the long run.
"I understand that you knew him from a very young age, and loved him like your own brother. But he can't remain a child forever." Rapidly calling up Kiriko's information, she altered the job and post. "You too will serve as a GP instructor for a short while."
"But." The younger female tried to form a protest, her green control node flashing, and her red vest turning to white.
"There was a message from Seto-sama. She said to work him hard and make him into a man." She explained, Kiriko's pale face developing a bright blush. "Full of meaning, no?"
X x x x x x
Ranma found that even in space, train stations still existed, as they passed over a set of tracks for a float train. Since the trains actually floated, the tracks were simply a way to indicate where the trains would pass by. Of course they were walking on a walkway above the tracks, with a sky viewscreen running with the tracks, making it look like they were on a planet, if you ignored the views into space on either side.
"Good afternoon, Chairwoman." A female voice spoke from behind, and Ranma turned around to see a strange humanoid. She had on a purple dress down to her knees, with a pink tie, and black leggings. The strange thing about her, was the short white fur that covered her exposed skin, the pronounced muzzle face, large pointed ears, and a tail.
"It's not strange for an Earthling to be surprised when first meeting a Wau." The new girl seemed slightly amused at Seina's look of shock, while Ranma was more or less over the oddity as soon as she had seen it.
"I'm sorry!"Seina apologized for his slack jawed gaze.
"You don't seem to be too shocked?" The girl questioned at Ranma's uninterest.
"I know someone who turns into a giant minotaur thing. Compared to that, you're pretty tame." She shrugged.
"Really?" Seina asked her. "A minotaur?"
"Yea, he's a real jerk, got some weird pantyhose fetish too."
"Panty-hose?" Seina wondered.
"This is Elma, my assistant." Airi introduced. "Elma, these are the two Earthlings."
"It's nice to meet you." The taller girl came forward and gently rubbed her cheeck against Ranma's face.
"Ack!" Ranma pulled away, not having expected some kind of cuddle attack. Elma didn't seem offended, though she took several sniffs of the air.
"You poor thing, don't worry, you'll be paid enough that you don't have to share clothes with your brother." Elma smiled at her before doing the same with Seina, who didn't resist the cuddling.
"Brother? I don't have a brother." She scratched the side of her head, noticing that Airi had developed a particularly amused smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought I smelled something." Elma released a blushing Seina, and bowed to Airi. "Please excuse me, I have duties to attend to." Ranma watched the retreating form, feeling that there was something strange about the Wau.
"Seina-kun." Airi leaned in close to the boy. "You work fast don't you." The green haired woman said suggestively. "Maybe I should tell Kiriko-chan about this."
"Wait! It's not like that!" The boy backed away from the Chairwoman, waving his arms in warding, and backing into the railing of the platform.
"Well, I guess I can let you off the hook, this time." Airi waved a hand flippantly, and Seina relaxed, leaning heavily against the railing. "Now then, let's hurry and get the enrollment process－ Ranma-chan, where did you get that bag of chips?"
Finishing off the bag, Ranma was just starting to enjoy the show, Seina seemed to have worse luck with women than she did. "From Kiriko." She answered, blinking several times when the railing broke, and Seina tumbled over the edge. "I think Seina broke himself, again." She pointed out.
X x x x x x
After getting Seina off the tracks before he was struck by a train, they proceeded to do some medical examinations. This was accomplished by standing in a cylinder, and having a red light pass over her. "Uh, shouldn't I get some hot water?" She asked Airi, exiting the scanning device.
"Not really." The green haired woman answered. "That is, all the genetic information for your male form, was readable by the scanner. So unless your male form has physical problems or issues you think we should know about? No physical deformities, disease, or injuries?"
"No nothing like that."
"Then there's no reason you need to get wet. Hmm, I wonder what we should do now?" Airi crossed her arms. "We're done with the examinations and you're already entered into the system. And I don't suppose you want to be shown around the Academy by an older, but still youthful and beautiful, woman such as myself. Surely you would want someone younger like Elma, to be your guide." Airi finished dramatically.
"Uh, that's not true." Seina protested.
"Anybody but Mihoshi." Ranma added, not really caring who showed her around. Her attitude earned her a whithering glance from Airi.
"In that case, I suppose I'll have to show you the super deluxe tour, so you'll appreciate my attention." Airi pronounced, the button over her left breast suddenly flashing. "Oh, hold on a second, I have a call I need to take."
"Man she's clingy." Ranma sat down heavily on a seat as soon as Airi was out of sight, dissappearing behind a couple desks. Bouncing on the transparent blue cylinder she had sat on, this whole thing had began to get boring. Here she was, surrounded by super high technology, on an immeasurably large space station, and she was bored. Other than the view into space, it felt like they were in some kind of bank. People in blue GP uniforms were milling about or interacting with those sitting at desks.
"Yamada Seina and Saotome Ranma." A man's voice said distastefully, drawing both of their eyes. The one who spoke was a taller man, with bright pink hair, looking skyward with his arms crossed. He was wearing a dark gray, almost black tunic, with blue edging. "I despise Earthlings!" He proclaimed loudly without looking at them.
"The presence of you two makes a mockery out of the Academy! This place was not meant for babysitting uncivilized Earthlings!" Finally tilting his head downwards, he directed a particularly hateful glare at her. "You may not be joining the GP, but you have tarnished the just as glorious Jurai empire by your presence! To think that Seto-sama would personally request that you be allowed to attend our prestigious institution, is an insult of the highest order."
"So what are you going to do about it?" She challenged.
"Bah! Uncivilized savages! As if I would be so crass as to physically remove you myself. I'll let the rigorous physical requirements and the curriculum, that is so far beyond the understanding of such a lower life form as you, do the job for me!" The man pointed a finger at her, and Ranma noticed Airi's angry face appear behind the man.
"I tell you now, go back to your uncivilized Earth at once, you uncivilized." The man didn't finish, a pair of black folders several centimeters thick impacting the back of his head.
"Stop trying to intimidate my new students, you moron!"
Cowering on the ground, the man held the back of his head. "Ai-Airi-sama, I wasn't trying to intimidate them." Recovering almost instantly, he stood up calmly, and moved behind Ranma to lay a hand on her shoulder. "I was simply informing." This time the man had to stop, when Ranma grabbed his wrist, and threw him into the wall.
"Don't touch me you pink haired idiot." She growled, brushing off imaginary dirt from her shoulder.
"Nice throw Ranma-chan." Airi commented, nodding her head in approval.
"I－ just remembered I have a class!" The pink haired man said from where he was laying against the wall upside down. "Seina-kun, I look forward to seeing you in class." He tried to threaten from his position.
"Just go." Airi pointed towards the exit.
"Right." The man righted himself, gathered up all the dignity he could, and then calmly walked away from them.
"Who was he?" Seina asked, confused over the situation.
"He doesn't have any relatives on Earth does he?" Ranma added, considering a family of loons that she knew.
"He's a GP Academy instructor." Airi answered.
"Instructor? Him?" Seina boggled.
"Yes, I'll tell you on the way, we have a decent walk to the transporter tubes. This way." Airi motioned for them to follow.
Ranma was once again taken back by just how big the space station was. Their path took them down a long hallway. It was easily ten meters tall, and a good five meters wide, with small plants running down the center of the walkway. To the left was a window into space, to the right, a viewscreen showing off a grass valley with mountains off in the distance.
"His name is Tennan Seiryo. He's actually a very talented member of the GP, and at one time he was also a candidate suitor for the Juraian Royal Family." Airi explained. "He's on the border between a lunatic and genius. Things were alright while he was walking that fine line, but then he lost to Tenchi-chan in a duel, and he's been proclaiming his hatred for Earthlings ever since. Personally I've taken a liking to him."
"Tenchi-chan?" Seina seemed to recognize the name. "Do you mean－?"
"Of course I meant Masaki Tenchi."
"But why would he get into a fight with Tenchi-senpai?" Seina continued.
"That's true you don't know." Airi put a finger to her lips. "Ah! I know." The Chairwoman pushed both of them down on a bench seat, and hit a button on her wrist, causing a meter square viewscreen to pop up with a family tree on it. "Ready? Make sure you pay particular attention Ranma-chan. Okay, the offspring of Azusa, the current king of Jurai, and his 1st wife Funaho is Yosho. He also happens to be my husband." Airi pointed to each name on the drawing.
"So then Yosho ran into some trouble on Earth, and then he had a grandson, Tenchi-chan. Incidentally, the mother of Azusa's second wife Misaki, is Seto, whom you've already met. Do you understand?"
"Wait wait wait, he has two wives?" Ranma asked worriedly.
"Indeed, polygomy is quite common."
"Eeee." Ranma looked around worriedly, sensing some kind of inpending doom if Akane, Shampoo, or Ukyo ever found out about this.
"Uh, in other words, that makes you Tenchi-senpai's, Grandmother?" Seina figured, Airi's face turning into a frightful sneer as she got into the boy's face.
"DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME GRANDMOTHER!" The woman barked harshly.
"Sorry!" Seina fell backwards off the chair, and Ranma jumped several meters away from the suddenly scary woman.
"Ahem." Airi stepped away and dismissed the viewscreen. "We should get going."
Ranma mentally catalogued the reaction away should she feel the need to mess with the woman. But she would be prepared to run for her life if she did, if that was how the Chairwoman reacted to even the slightest mention of the word.
"So, um, that means that Kiriko-san and Kai both have some relationship to that Juraian family?" Seina asked, sensing that Airi had calmed down.
"Yes, though Kai likely doesn't know it, and I'll warn you in advance, don't tell him. I hear all the others are looking forward to when and how they'll break the news to him." Airi answered. "And Kai is Kiriko's younger brother." The woman added, seeing that Ranma was a little lost on the name.
Coming to a break in the viewscreen wall, they entered into a long room. At the close end were two counters with a woman tending to one, and down at the far end were a series of changing rooms. "Shall we throw on the finishing touches before we head down?" Airi smiled pleasantly.
"Clothes?" Ranma asked, watching a group of four girls bring several sets up to the lady in the front.
"Of course, or did you think you would attend the Academy in those?" Airi laughed, approaching the wall, and bringing up a viewscreen and keyboard. "Please take a room, and I'll materialize your clothes inside."
Stepping into one of the change rooms, the door slid shut behind her. 'Hopefully I can get my stuff from Earth soon.' Inside the room was a quarter circle seat in one of the corners, and on the opposite side was a squared table, that as Ranma was looking at, materialized a set of clothes. 'Let's see what kind of crap they gave me.'
Ranma was confused by what had appeared, discarding the underwear, she held up the white straight legged pants, which looked to be about ten sizes too big. Throwing them to the side, she found a long sleeved shirt like Minaho had been wearing on the Mikagami, the only real decoration being on it, was the green collar, and large golden button. Unfortunately, it was just as monstrously big. Completing the set was the same overcoat, but the base color was a very light green, and with a dark green border. Which, the same as everything but the underwear, was also rediculously big.
Hitting the button to open the door, she held up the overcoat. "Hey, you screwed up, these are girl clothes, and they are way too big."
"Oh, don't worry, you just hit the gold button on the shirt, and it will automatically resize for you." Airi answered.
"Really? Sounds useful." She took a second to think about how useful such a thing was for the Jusenkyo cursed. "But why are they for a girl?"
"I thought you knew." Airi gave her a confused look for a second, before smiling. "You were registered, and enrolled, as female." (4)
X x x x x x
Author Notes:
(1) – Mitoto is actually talking about a group of galaxies that the Milky Way is a part of.
(2) – Kiriko was actually in the Yamada's shop to resupply herself with Earth goods, but was called away before she could buy anything. This happened when Ranma was finding out that he had a living Mother.
(3) – Uniforms are cut differently depending on the job, if they're white then they are inactive.
(4) – Seto thought it would be funny. Also if you want another way to think of the clothes, think Misaki from OVA episode 13, but with different colors.
－-
Career Benefits Omake – By Luthorne
It was a special occasion. If birds existed in space, they would be happily chirping. As it was, Ranma was fairly certain he could somehow hear bluebirds, which he ascribed to the power of the blue-haired individual hanging in space, looking at him sternly. "...are you listening to me, Ranma Saotome? I expect you to be back before the end of Jurai's solar cycle. And if not, well, I'm afraid that I'm going to have speak very sternly to you..."
Ranma tuned her out again, wondering how the hell he wound up in this particular situation. Let's see...yes, it definitely all stemmed back to Seina. All Seina's fault. If he hadn't met Seina, he wouldn't have met Seto. If he wouldn't have met Seto, he wouldn't have met Mikagami. If he hadn't met Mikagami, he wouldn't have had her acquire some sort of bizarre, unspeakable crush on him. And if she hadn't acquired some sort of bizarre, unspeakable crush on him, he wouldn't have been caught mid-route to a remote, uninhabited planet by the insanely powerful blue-haired lady who could turn into a spaceship and was apparently somehow Mikagami's mother and thought this whole thing was cute, rather than some...some...bizarre, unspeakable thing. However, blaming Tsunami wasn't a particularly safe course of action, blaming a giant ship with more firepower than he could easily imagine at its overly emotional disposal wasn't all that healthy either, Seto, frankly, terrified him, so the person upon whom all the blame should obviously fall...yes, definitely Seina. All his fault. Totally.
"...and if I see so much as one suspicious-looking mark near the front of her hull, well. You and I will have words, Ranma Saotome. My little girl is far too innocent to be rushing into something like that because of a pushy, hormonal young man." Ranma managed to refrain from turning green at the implications. Merciful kami, why would he want to...deface her hull or whatever bizarrities Tsunami was imagining? Hell, he didn't even think he could! "So, enjoy your first date!" Ranma strangled the groan that wanted to emanate from his throat, watching with horrified amazement as Tsunami grew to an unspeakable side to give Mikagami a hug, then kiss her on either...hull? Dammit. Dammit, the fault was his for ever listening to that Oni-hime Seto!
－－-
Despite the lack of oxygen in space, bells tolled, the sound transmitted by the power of Tsunami, and ravening torrents of energy capable of destroying worlds were fired off harmlessly into space as a salute to a most joyous occasion. Seto was looking bemusedly smug as she watched Mikagami slowly coast into the decorated spaceport, uncountably huge amounts of shimmering material draped from her hull in a frilly pattern unmistakably that of a Western wedding dress. Tsunami had made it herself.
Ranma stood, waiting nervously. He probably would have paced, if it wasn't for a truly insanely powerful set of some sort of hyperadvanced magnets strapped around his legs, riveting him to the spot with a force usually reserved for interstellar spacecraft. You'd almost think they didn't trust him not to run away or something. Just because it had happened thirteen thousand, two hundred and eighty-four times before was no reason to assume that it would happen again, Ranma thought indignantly! He had to admit, though, he did look pretty spiffy in his tuxedo. Thankfully, it seemed Mikagami had somehow wound up with a fetish for Western weddings, rather than the outfits that seemed more typical for Juraian formal wear.
The wedding was, thankfully, over quickly, probably to prevent things from going wrong. Tsunami had led the ceremony herself, blessed the supposedly loving couple, and used a sock puppet with a multi-colored braid attached to the back to stand in for Ranma and give his vows. Everyone apparently found this to be greatly amusing, judging from the wide grins on everyone's faces. Though, admittedly, some people found this whole thing to be highly amusing, probably because they weren't the ones marrying a ship with more firepower than most planets. He could almost see their point, though. I mean, if this had been happening to Seina, it would have been freaking hilarious.
Sighing, Ranma laid stretched on his bed, alone. That was the one good thing about this, it wasn't like this relationship could really go any further. They were 'married', yeah, but that was more or less just a technicality, albeit one important to the strangely emotional Mikagami. But she was a spaceship, and he was a human, however enhanced he might have been. There was no way, he thought with a yawn, that anything could come of it, dropping off to sleep. As the pigtailed human fell asleep, a translucent, rainbow-colored figure appeared, floating above him, smiling down at him fondly. With a swirl, she vanished into Ranma Saotome's head. And in his dreams, the world turned.