Disclaimer; This fanfiction uses existing ideas, characters and or worlds, but is an independent work of art. I own nothing, hence the reason for publishing my writings here instead of in real books where I could make some money.
"What?"
It was a simple question … well … not so much a question as a request for a repeat of whatever information had been given prior to the incredulous request.
Julia sighed in resignation. They had all gone to the tavern to eat a celebratory meal, initially for Julia, but it incorporated Ranma after he defeated Karia in an official battle. It wasn't every day that a relatively unknown person defeated a Weapons-Master, after all.
Julia knew her father would not explain things to Ranma, nor would the others of Karia's party … at least until the time when it became necessary for them to explain. So, the task had befallen her, because her conscience would not allow Ranma to walk around in ignorance of the importance of his victory.
"Depending on the outcome of the Tournament of Arms, there is a great possibility that you will become the new Weapons-Master to replace the one that will be missing from their ranks," repeated Julia patiently. "If I win, then G'Nolga will be exposed for what she has done, and in her dishonour, lose her position as Weapons-Master, leaving room for you to take over, which is the reason you were given the Initiation Test, to have a council of my peers judge whether or not you were deserving of the title.
"If G'Nolga wins, you may still get the job, because she'll have become the true Arms-Master, instead of the temporary one, but her associates may try to put obstacles in your way, because they know you are close to my family," finished Julia.
Ranma was not happy.
He was actually fairly close to being irate.
An understandable emotion, considering someone had once again made a life-altering decision for him without even asking for his opinion first.
And the job of Weapons-Master held so many more responsibilities than what he had hoped to do with his life, which was running a dojo and tinker with his inventions on the side. Well, President Iwo had ruined that by applying for patents in his name, thereby forcing Ranma to continue the path his well-meaning friend had beaten for him, which led to more money than he would ever dream of seeing if he followed his original plan, and a world of headaches concerning the security of his blueprints and his little corner of the universe, should his blueprints fall into the wrong hands.
A Weapons-Master was not too unlike a feudal warlord, only without guards, taxes or subjects. And required that he spend at least half a year in Jade to perform his duties, but the form of those months were his own choice unless there was an emergency, so he could spend every other day, week or month in Jade if he so chose.
If a Sheriff or judge was arrested for corruption, or died of natural or unnatural causes, a Weapons-Master would take said official's place until a suitable replacement could be found. Not to mention that it was the Weapons-Master's job to weed those officials out, because no one could be certain how deep the corruption went, and could therefore not trust anyone else with the task.
If a disaster were to break out, natural or intentional, it was the nearest Weapons-Master's responsibility to delegate jobs to soldiers and civilians, see them through the disaster and help clean up afterwards if there was anything left to clean up.
And finally, every ten years, they were to participate in the Tournament of Arms, to weed out those who were talented enough to face the Arms-Master for the title, maybe even participate for the title themselves if they felt so inclined.
This was all a lot to take in, and as Julia had predicted at the Arena, Ranma felt betrayed by Karia … it was like his situation with the Amazons all over again. He had been set up for a major decision he had never considered taking, just like the Amazons' Kiss of Death or Kiss of Marriage, only this was premeditated … Shampoo had given him both Kisses in the heat of the moment, hardly taking any time to think things through … this was different … Karia knew what she had been doing, and gathered witnesses, or judges, to see their battle.
"I need to go for a walk," Ranma stated tiredly. Getting up, he saw all his suitors start to do the same. "Alone," he added, not really feeling like company until he had worked this thing out. He didn't want to take the chance of lashing out on someone, let alone someone close to him, like the women had become.
With sad, hurt, yet understanding eyes, the women watched as Ranma walked out of the tavern.
Not more than a few moments after the weredinictis was out of sight, there was a musical ring from somewhere in the tavern.
Beebee squeaked and pulled out a cell phone, which she flipped open expertly.
"Hello?" she asked uncertainly … there had already been one call that day, what else did auntie Nodoka have to say?
The rest of the party looked on expectantly, waiting for the sound to filter out to them through the speaker. It didn't.
"Oh! That's horrible!" commented Beebee emphatically, covering her mouth with her hand. "Yes, I'll tell him … as soon as he's back from his walk … yes … yes … will do, Auntie … good bye, and give my regards to Nabiki and Kasumi … 'bye …"
Disconnecting the phone, Beebee looked at the expectant faces surrounding her.
"What?" she asked curiously, and started checking if something had gotten on her face, as a possible explanation for their staring.
"What did Auntie Nodoka have to say?" asked Lydia, clearly frustrated.
"Oh, I'd rather wait for Ranma to get back … it's serious …"
In Nerima, a taxi stopped in front of the Tendo School of Indiscriminate Grappling, and a frail old man came limping out of it.
"That'll be five thousand yen, old-timer," informed the driver.
The old man dug into his pocket, and pulled out a bag, filled with bunches of paper … money.
Counting up six thousand yen, Happosai handed the counted money to the younger man.
"Call the rest a tip," added Happosai when the young man was about to correct him. "Drive safely, sonny."
"Will do, old man," laughed the driver before rolling off in search of his next passenger.
"What a polite young man …" commented Happosai as he turned to the gate of his former home. Though, it had only been his home through means of intrusion and intimidation.
The return of the world's biggest pervert to Nerima did not go unnoticed by the residents, but this was one case where their newly evolved courage failed. After all, this man had a habit of throwing bombs around when he got angry, and they knew they were no match against explosives.
That is not to say that no calls were made to the police, quite the contrary, the number of calls nearly overloaded the phones of the police station, and the Chief was assembling an all male strike-team to go collect the man … no need giving the old pervert more victims to feed his vitality from by forcing women to do this, equal rights be damned, he'd have complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace right up to his neck if he did, and he'd like to keep himself trouble-free until his retirement in a few short months.
While this chaos was taking place, Happosai had knocked on the gate of his former student.
It took only a few moments for the gate to open, and the now well kept martial arts instructor stepped out, looking for the cause of the knocking.
Looking around at his own eye-level, Soun could find no one, and was about to return to training his students, when an aged, terrifying voice stopped him.
"Long time no see, student."
Freezing for a moment, Soun managed to work up the courage to turn back around, and look down at the man who had been his Master for longer than he cared to admit … though there was no arguing with the eventual results of that training, now that he had finally returned to normal after his near decade-long depression, which had rendered him nearly incapable of functioning altogether. For nearly a decade, he had sat around the house and done nothing but mourn his loss … forgetting that he had daughters to raise and keep fed, and a house to maintain.
"Are you just going to stand there all day, Tendo-san, or are you going to greet me?" asked the gnomish little man in an amused cackle.
"Master …"
"Relax, Tendo," chuckled Happosai. "I'm not here for revenge or anything of that sort … I'm here for another reason entirely … I came to apologise for everything I've done to you, and to do the same to your guests and your daughters. I understand if you will not let me, or accept my apology …"
Soun didn't know what to say … the tormentor of his youth and later years had asked his forgiveness. The countless years he and Genma had suffered under his tutelage, running all over the country from the law and people like thieves, sleeping in the cold night air while the old man was resting comfortably in a warm tent, and working off debts while the old man was lounging about, yelling at them to put more effort into it. Soun and Genma had every reason to hate Happosai, and they had hated him to the degree that they tried to kill him. The old man was now asking for his forgiveness for all of it, and knew that there was a big possibility that he would not get it.
As he was lost in his thoughts, Soun did not hear the rapidly approaching sirens of numerous police cars.
It wasn't until he heard the chink of metal rapidly and repeatedly clicking into a lock -handcuffs- that Soun snapped out of his trance, and saw Happosai being led away by baffled policemen, all surprised that he was not even protesting to his arrest.
Happosai voluntarily climbed into the back of the car, hands shackled together, and a defeated expression on his face.
"Master!" gasped Soun before he could think things through.
Happosai paused in his actions, and the policeman holding the door did the same.
"You are forgiven," Soun finished calmly … for some reason, he felt better for doing this … forgiving his tormentor instead of hating him.
If only his wife were here with him … she would have been proud of him for forgiving his enemy.
Happosai himself looked a little less meek, but kept cooperating with the police, and nodded his gratitude to his former student.
Back on Jade, Ranma was regretting his decision in taking a walk.
True, he had gotten time to think things over … weigh the pros and cons of the career set before him, and had in the end decided that had he been asked to take the position, he would most likely have done it with little thought … it would be an ideal job to keep his code as a Martial Artist, protecting those who needed it, and help those that needed an extra hand.
This was all well and good, because he now felt a little less betrayed at being forced into this, but that was not even close to why he was regretting the walk.
He had spotted a gaggle of women marching down the street of the little town, just a few torches and pitchforks shy of becoming a mob in hunt for a monster. Being curious, Ranma went closer to find out the reason for this procession … not the smartest of his numerous decisions.
Upon spotting him, the women, some of which Ranma recognised as women he had saved during his first week as a weredinictis, cried out and pointed at him with expressions of joy, excitement and something slightly familiar.
Not wanting to find out what he had done wrong this time, Ranma ran in the opposite direction.
As one, the mass of women rushed after the now fleeing werecat.
While he ran, dodging and weaving between those going about their business, Ranma wondered if the streets had always been this crowded, if it was only his imagination or if those in the town had all suddenly decided to go for a walk as well, because he could not remember there ever being this many … of course, he had not been thinking about counting heads before, as he had two or more women hanging off him when he last walked down these streets, or had been lost in thought.
Ranma wondered why the women were chasing him, but knew it was not a good idea to stop and ask … they would catch up with him if he did, and it was safer to ask someone else once he was out of trouble.
Spotting the tavern he was staying at down the street, Ranma made tracks for it, and inside, hoping to find a good hiding place.
As the door of the tavern flew open, Ranma quickly spotted his group about to leave the table, and ran for them, noting that there were very few patrons in the bar area, and those who were there were too drunk to care.
The closest person to Ranma was Gina, so with a long and low leap, Ranma made for her, watching as her face went from surprise at his entrance to shocked from him leaping at her.
In mid air, Ranma shifted to feline form, landing softly on Gina's shoulder … or, as softly as he could land in a small body he wasn't used to.
"Don't give me away!" Ranma hissed in Gina's ear, and started draping himself over her shoulder … looking to the world like an alpha male housecat getting comfortable on his human pet. The fangs just barely peeking out of his mouth could be overlooked, so Ranma made little effort to hide them.
"Wha-"
-Crash!-
Gina's question was cut off as a large gathering of women entered the tavern, looking around frantically for something … or someone, if Ranma's entrance and current hiding was an indication of their target.
"Did anyone see a black werecat enter?" asked a blonde, skinny woman, who looked like she might have an eating disorder. Ranma remembered her to be one of the prisoners he had to pull out of a small cage early in his Jade adventures … she was obviously still trying to return to normal.
Julia, having caught Ranma's desperate plea, stepped forward.
"He ran through the kitchen, if you hurry, you might catch up with him," she informed them seriously. She was curious about why these women were chasing her potential future Son in Law, twice over. Ranma didn't seem the type to cheat, so there had to be a logical explanation for this … and she intended to find it out even if she had to beat it out of him. Though … after the display she saw with him against Karia, she would have to work for it …
The flood of women crashed through the tavern, knocking over more than one drunk, all of which spilled their drinks and caused them to sob softly in grief and curse the heavens for being so cruel … it wasn't even close to closing time yet.
A few moments after the last of the women had exited through the kitchen, Ranma jumped to the ground and shifted back to human form, fully clothed, and only slightly nervous about the possibility of the women returning once they realised they had lost track of him.
A look at his companions told him that they were expecting an answer.
One or two of his suitors had even crossed their arms under their breasts, tapping their feet, while the other women of his group had their balled fists on their hips.
"They just started to chase me!" Ranma answered defensively. Disbelieving looks met this statement. "Honest!"
"So a large female group of complete strangers started chasing you for no reason whatsoever?" asked Dr Diggers sceptically.
"Well, I recognised one or two of them from the bandit hideout, but I have no idea why they came after me!"
"Now that you mention it," commented Sheila slowly. "Word did spread all over Jade about the Mysterious Werecat that roamed Seers Desert. People travelled from all over to see if they could track you down, and most of them women … you should have seen the drawing that was sold of you shortly after your first appearance!" finished Sheila in a giggle. "It looked like you had an extra tail growing out on your front!"
"But why are they after me?" asked Ranma, choosing to ignore the comment about the drawing … it wasn't as though he was about to deny any exaggeration in the phallic department as long as it was in his favour. Most, if not all, men would see things his way …
"They want you, lover-boy!" purred Sheila and quickly attached herself to Ranma's torso, barely meeting the fellow werecat eye-to-eye. "Just like we do, only they won't get to stay with you or be with you …"
"They're looking for a romp in the hayloft with our man?" asked Lydia, making sure to keep from using the profane word that was very commonly used in describing the act, and emphasise the agreement to share Ranma, just in case Sheila had forgotten.
The friendly smirk on Sheila's face indicated that she was encouraging the other suitors to imitate her.
This challenge was met, as Beebee, Brianna, Lydia and Gina tried squeezing in to embrace some part of Ranma, without making a scene.
Ranma nearly passed out … they were in a public place, where those crazed women who had chased him could return at any moment, Mrs Diggers and Dr Diggers were watching, and a couple of drunks who had gotten new drinks started singing off-key limericks about men who fornicated and cheated. That, and the sensory overload of the five soft forms pressing into him nearly caused all his blood to rush to his face and nether-regions, which added to his nearly passing out.
The "harem" shared an amused look, and agreed that in the future, should Ranma be difficult to deal with, this would be the best way to convince him to see things their way.
In their fun, everyone forgot everything about the phone call from Nodoka … but they would remember before bedtime … maybe, if they didn't manage to lure Ranma into do more than sleep with them …
Nabiki was not in a good mood.
The morning had started out well … she had awoken from a pleasant dream, and gotten her favourite brand of coffee ready-made for her when she had dragged herself down to the kitchen. Nodoka and Kasumi were close in their cooking skills, so breakfast was as close to a royal feast as she dared imagine.
But, all good things must come to an end, even as early in the morning as during breakfast.
Over the radio, which had been turned on for music, they heard on an urgent news bulletin that a Dr Drakken had escaped with the help of two Japanese citizens, Tendo Akane, and Hibiki Ryoga. The woman on the radio went on to describe what records had been kept on the two, including Akane putting several boys in the hospital, abusing her fiancée, and how she, along with Ryoga, had destroyed property –private and public alike- for millions of yen, if not more.
That had been the low-point of the day, finding out that a family member was an international fugitive of the law.
The only good news the radio had to offer, was that a Kuno Tatewaki had been arrested for repeated cases of Assault and Battery, resisting arrest, and making threats not only to some person named Saotome, but also the American President.
Of course, in her shocked state of mind, Nabiki had forgotten her bento when she left the house for work at the office building where Wild Horse Inc. was keeping a temporary base of operations.
The bus ride was no cakewalk, either, as she was groped on three occasions before her stop.
Then she had to visit the bank where Ranma kept his account and where Nabiki had established a company account, to make sure they had completed the security upgrades Ranma had demanded of them, sitting through an hour of the Manager trying to stall her attention while the security systems were finished before she got to see them. There was no counting the times the fat man had repeated himself in that time. To add to that, the new security system was just barely squeaking by the standards Ranma had set, which meant the bank had to improve by her next visit, and stay on their toes.
On her way back to the office building Wild Horse Inc. had rented a few floors of, she was splashed by the bus as it pulled away after dropping her off. Which was odd, as it hadn't rained in days, so why the street was wet, she didn't know. Then the nearest convenience store had run out of her favourite chocolate bar, which she had been determined to buy as a consolation for her lousy day.
Then to make her day complete, she had several interviews scheduled for new employees … Ranma's friends from the Science Club, to be exact.
Graduation had hardly been a few days earlier, so that meant a good chunk of the Science Club was ready to face the real world, either by moving on to College, University or work. Considering their friendship with Ranma, many of those graduating had chosen work, and applied for positions in Research & Development in Wild Horse Inc. knowing they could probably learn a lot more there than in College, and knowing that if they were rejected by the interviewer, they could always ask the owner, Ranma.
This was why she was sitting across from a certain Kashima Iwo, the now former President of the Furinkan Science Club.
He was applying for a position in the Research & Development department, and Nabiki was to interview him.
Iwo had clearly not forgotten about their previous meeting, and was very nervous.
"So, how did I do?" asked Iwo with a nervous chuckle.
"Well," admitted Nabiki. "You answered everything satisfactory, and I'm certain that Ranma would put in a good word for you … however, I am concerned about how your personal hygiene and your questionable form of recreation will affect the wa of the workplace."
Iwo suddenly felt a lot more nervous … those were good reasons to turn down an application.
"But … I am willing to let you work for a trial period, and if you improve during that time, maybe we'll keep you on staff … if not, well, I'll let you imagine what I'd do to you …"
The young man's face lit up with hope.
"Meet with R & D at nine, tomorrow morning, and don't be late," warned Nabiki sternly. Maybe this threat would get him to shower at least a couple of times a week … and maybe comb his hair every day …
Iwo departed with a spring in his step, promising to be on time, and to improve.
Nabiki closed the door and groaned. Now, she had to start looking for another, better defensible location to have the headquarters of Wild Horse Inc. Industrial espionage was a serious threat, and if Ranma was right about the potential destructive capabilities of the technology he had developed, it was better to err on the side of caution than to not wake up the following day because some moron assembled something incorrectly and either blew up the entire galaxy, or made a black hole, with Earth as ground zero.
Kasumi was not much better off than Nabiki, though she had not been as unfortunate during the day.
No, Kasumi had been torturing herself by mulling over what she could have done differently in bringing up Akane … what could have happened if she had been a better substitute mother, if she had not been as "ignorant" of the goings on of her home and disciplined Akane after breaking her promise never to hit in anger.
Maybe she had been so focused on her dream of becoming a nurse or doctor that she had missed the crucial moments of Akane's upbringing.
Would Akane still have been a fugitive?
Her agonising thoughts kept her from paying attention during class, and so she was told by the professor lecturing them that she should take the day off, and return when she was ready to listen to him instead of staring into space.
It had been very embarrassing to be singled out in front of the whole class like that, and Kasumi had not had it in her to defend herself, so she obeyed with her head hung down in shame both at her inattentiveness and the knowledge that she was directly related to an international criminal.
In any case, she was now with Nodoka, sitting in silence by the phone, waiting for him to call them back about whether he would return or not.
Having been a pseudo mother, Kasumi recognised some of herself in how Auntie was acting, sitting over the phone, waiting for word from her son.
This woman had been separated from her child for well over a decade, so she was uncertain of her maternal bond with her offspring … whether he really loved her or not.
Having her live in his home, even having made space for her when he built it, went a long way towards showing her that he accepted her and loved her, but for an uncertain mother, it was not entirely enough … she needed vocal and physical expression of it.
She had missed most of his life, which was most likely her drive for Ranma to sire children of his own, so she could relive her own days as a mother through her grandchildren, and love them like she never got to do with her own child …
This train of thought made Kasumi think of having children of her own … questioning whether she'd make the same mistakes she made with Akane, or if things would be different with her own children.
She knew that Nodoka used to have high hopes that one of the Tendo girls would be the mother of Ranma's children … why had she declined Ranma when the opportunity had presented itself?
Was it because of the shock of the curse?
Was it her own little rebellion against her father?
Or was it because she had hopes that Tofu-san would work up the nerve to ask her out?
She had heard that Tofu had recently wed, with the secretary of his new clinic in Chiba, and was expecting his firstborn in a matter of weeks. But that information was old … there was no telling how far along the marriage and pregnancy was … for all she knew, Tofu was working on his third by now …
Why did she turn down Ranma?
She certainly found him physically attractable … those quiet afternoons when she made dinner and Ranma was working out in the garden, she'd sneak looks at him, and remember when she was alone.
She knew he had a heart of gold, even if his mouth ran about ten times faster than his brain, or at least it used to, which was what got him into trouble most of the time.
And she knew now that he, like she had claimed for herself the day Ranma first popped into her life, liked older partners. His selection told her as much … the youngest of his suitors was only a matter of months in creation, but the living ones were only two years his senior at the least, five at the most, and Kasumi realised that she fit within that age group.
Would Ranma mind having another woman in his "harem", or did he had enough?
If he was willing, she certainly wouldn't mind giving a relationship with him a shot, even if she had to share him …
Had Ranma's fiancées realised that fighting over him caused him to resist their attempts more, Akane wouldn't be on the run from the law … but, then she, Kasumi, wouldn't have ever left the house to find herself, make a life for herself, and discover that even if she wanted to be a doctor or nurse, she wanted to be a mother even more …
Author's Notes; Okay, I admit, I feel tempted to add in a Pokèmon crossover, but if the feedback on the Kim Possible crossover is any indication of the reception it will get, I won't do it unless I receive positive feedback on the idea … I realise the story is getting crowded with crossovers, and that would make it difficult for the readers to follow … so for my own peace of mind, could anyone out there remind me of what I've already established as fictional in the story? I think I've done such a good job with masking some of them, that I can't remember which were fictional, and which possibilities lie open. I know I've declared Dragon Ball as fictional, which I regret, as I suddenly remembered that when Gina first arrived at Shangri-La, there was a pair in the background that was oddly reminiscent of Gohan and Goku … at least one of them even had a tail.
But, now it's official … starting the middle of January, I will be unavailable for long periods over a year, and thus new chapters will take much longer from then on … Can't say I look forward to the cause of my unavailable status, but it can't be helped … unless I somehow develop some serious illness or injury that will make it impossible for me to do what I'm supposed to … wishful thinking, I'm afraid … apart from some unpleasantness that comes from gluten, I'm as healthy as can be … sigh … why me?
I have also started planning another story, but will not start posting it yet, because of what I'm facing for the next year … it would be unfair to start writing something so close to the event that will take me away from a computer for a long time, and the only reason I'm doing it to The Black Paw is because this story was started long before I got the news of my event, and it would be unfair to remove it until I can continue it.
Small writing tip; "Whether" and "Weather". The "Weather" is the condition of atmosphere in one area at a particular time, for example if it is raining, hot, or windy. You use "Whether" when you are talking about a choice or doubt between two or more alternatives.
Second writing tip; "Soar" and "Sore". If the amount, value, level, or volume of something "Soars", it quickly increases by a great deal. If something such as a bird "Soars" into the air, it goes quickly up into the air. If your spirits "Soars", you suddenly start to feel very happy. If part of your body is "Sore", it causes you pain and discomfort.
