It was a cold, overcast day. Despite this, birds were chirping merrily and rainbows filled the air. People all around huddled morosely in their winter clothing, bundled up in warm but drab-looking coats and snow pants. They stared in disbelief as a figure strode confidently down the street.
As if completely oblivious to the cold, a young, eternally youthful young girl, dressed in a tight miniskirt and shoulder-baring haltertop, showing off her beautifully toned arms and legs that went for forever. The clothing was all brand-name, of course, showing her awesome sense of fashion. Chains, bracelets, and necklaces all shimmered through the air, showing off her tasteful accessories and drawing attention to her delicate-looking fingers; fingers deceptively dainty, even though they could stab a hole into anything using pure strength.
But she wouldn't do that, she was too nice.
Her long flowing hair, shining brightly in the sun, draped delicately over her shoulders and sailed through the air. The blue highlights reflected like diamonds, and though she wore no makeup everybody who saw her was instantly humbled by her beauty. Her eyes shined with gleaming silver, a piercing stare that left no doubts in anyone's mind about her absolutely pure thoughts.
A ragged boy in rags stumbled across her path petulantly, falling to his knees before her radiant beauty. Kissing at the girl's sensible, yet stiletto-pointed footwear, he prostrated himself before her. "My mistress," he cried. "My life was so horrible before I met you. I managed to escape, and I swear I will be yours forever!"
Koyuki Snowy White Pure Diamond Snow Emiya stared down benevolently. Demonstrating unrivaled compassion, she leaned down to lift the boy's chin. "Ranma, my husband, you need not worry about any of that. I am yours and I will always protect you."
The boy smiled gratefully and rose to his feet, throwing off his rags to display his manly, chiseled chest. "Oh, Koyuki! You are all I need, I wonder how I ever managed to live before you came into my life!"
"Ranma!" shouted a trio of angry, demonic looking girls. You could tell they were bad because they all were dressed like crap, and had icky shadows rising from them. They also had narrow, pointed eyes and hissed with forked tongues.
"How dare you leave us!" yelled the short-haired one.
"Come back, slave!" yelled the purple-haired one.
"Eat my awful cooking!" yelled the brunette.
Koyuki pointed a finger, and a wave of powerful, pure snow launched them into the sky where they sailed off like the villains they were, twinkling to a distant point with a ping!
"Oh, Koyuki!" Ranma cried out gratefully. "You have truly saved me, now let me reward you!" The boy wrapped an arm around her, bending her backwards over his arm as he leaned down.
"Ranma!" Koyuki protested. "I am just a simple maiden, I do not deserve you!"
"You are the most worthy woman for me," he assured her, leaning down further as their faces drew closer together...
ooo
"What are you doing?" Keiko demanded.
"Nothing!" Karin replied quickly. "Koyuki hadn't been sleeping very well lately so I gave her a little something to help her with that."
Keiko nodded, unconvinced. "Uh-huh... and what is that?" she asked, pointing at the wires sprouting from Koyuki's head, running to a small humming box at Karin's feet.
"A video player."
"..." *stare*
"...that... plays what the dreamer is... dreaming." Karin shuffled around the bag she had on the floor and pulled out a second set of viewing goggles and headphones to match the ones she was currently wearing. "Want to try?"
"I really shouldn't... Dad sent me down to wake her up, he wants to see—"
The sleeping figure on the bed shifted around slightly. "Munya~" she sighed.
"...Did she just–?" Keiko asked in disbelief.
"I think she did," Karin was just as shocked.
Koyuki hugged the pillow against her more tightly and made contented, happy sounds.
"Oh my," Karin said, suddenly glassy-eyed as she focused her attention back on her goggles.
Keiko was over in two quick strides. "Give me that..." she said as she snatched the spare equipment from Karin's suddenly limp hands. Plugging in the cord to the machine on the floor, she pulled the goggles over her head.
...
...
"Tell me you're recording this," she said.
Karin nodded mutely.
ooo
Emiya Clan – Nerima 16
Ranma felt a sense of unease as he followed his guide through the Emiya's household. When he and Akane had arrived at the property this morning, they'd found Ryouga standing there with the family's groundskeeper. Gilgamesh had led Akane back to the yard, informing the two they were expected to meet with 'the Faker', which Ranma had long since interpreted as his word for the family patriarch. A few of the wives, led by Musubi would be taking charge of the children for the day, mostly organizing spars between them.
Ranma couldn't help but feel this was related to their duel the previous day. Homura had not spoken to him since the duel's end, nor did he hear anybody mentioning the terms of their wager. The only notification he had about their standing was Chiyo letting them know she expected her sensei back the next day as they left her mother's office. Though their injuries were not minor, both Ryouga and Ranma himself had suffered far worse and bounced back relatively quickly in the past. Under the care of the family's nurse, they were healthy enough to be discharged the same evening.
Now, being led into a meeting with the man who laid down the rules for the house, Ranma felt a small shred of regret at letting his pride take the better of him. This had been one of the best chances he had to prove himself as an instructor worthy enough to take over the Tendou Dojo and he'd let it fall to pieces after getting so far. He knew much of the results came from the fact that for most of his students, he wasn't really training them so much as retraining them, but there was such a wide range of personality types and ability levels that he felt it had been a good learning experience for himself as well. It was a step up, even Akane was showing some improvement, which he felt supreme satisfaction with. Buoyed by the new direction his thoughts were taking him, he followed his guide through the doorway at the end of the hall, ready for anything.
Anything did not include seeing the dreaded leader of the family in a brightly colored apron, placing a variety of dishes on a large table. He stopped dead in the archway, drawing a muffled curse from Ryouga as the other boy bumped into him from behind.
Shirou smiled brightly and waved the two through the door as he disappeared behind a free-swinging door. "Morning! I thought we'd sit down to an early lunch today while we discussed a few things. Koyuki should be down soon, but I heard she had a bit of a lie-in, so we'll start without her." He returned from the kitchen bearing a pot of rice to complete the ensemble, then pulled off his apron to hang it on a hook next to the door. "Well? Have a seat."
Ranma lurched into motion, mechanically walking over to the nearest chair and sitting down heavily in it. Ryouga followed suit, making sure to sit himself several chairs away down the table. Shirou walked over to the head of the table, then glanced back at the door. "Want to join us, Eiko?"
Their guide smiled as she strode over to the table. "Thank you, Daddy, but maybe later," she said as she reached out with her hands to pluck out a sushi roll. "I want to see what Miya-kaasan has in mind for her group today." She waved absently as she spun on her heel and walked back out the door. "See you later, Ranma-kun, Ryouga-kun."
ooo
"You impressed Homura yesterday," Shirou said as he ate. "She wont say so herself, but you two ended up pushing her a lot farther than she expected to be."
"We still lost," Ranma said between mouthfuls. Once the shock had worn through, he'd carefully sampled the closest plate to him... and then started tossing a little bit of everything his way. He couldn't help it, this stuff was good.
"You didn't lose by as much as you probably think you did," the Emiya patriarch pointed out. "I want you to understand, the both of you are very capable individuals. If we didn't research you as thoroughly as is our custom, there is a very good chance you could have taken those two out. Your Flying Dragon Ascension Wave is a good example. It's an ability that grows in strength the stronger, or more numerous your opponents are." He turned his attention to Ryouga, "Your Roaring Lion's Bullet is another example that could have taken us by surprise. I don't believe we gave you the opportunity to use it at full strength, but I am curious to know how we'd fare against it."
Ranma's chopsticks froze halfway to his mouth as he stared at the man. "Who are you?"
Shirou poked at his plate for a few moments. "I won't give you the whole story, but I'll explain a few things because – inevitably – you will be drawn into them." He chewed on a piece of fish thoughtfully, then set his utensils down. "Let's just say there are many organizations and factions running around the world. Some of these factions can be quite destructive. Some of them do it because they truly think they are in the right, while others do it just because they can. We – this family – try to keep out of such power struggles, but often times we intercede to curb their excess. Sometimes we are retaliated in turn."
"Why us?" Ryouga growled. He furrowed his brows and fought to keep from crushing his chopsticks as he controlled his temper. "What have we gotten ourselves – gotten Akane – into?"
Ranma blinked as Ryouga made the connection he himself had missed. "And the Tendous? My Mom and Pop? Will your enemies be 'drawn to them'?"
"It's possible," Shirou admitted. "If my enemies cannot succeed against us directly, they may engage in subterfuge and other underhanded tactics to gain an advantage. If they can't go for me, they'll go for my loved ones. If they can't go for my loved ones, they'll go after my children. If they cannot go for my children, they'll go for their loved ones. And so forth, and so forth."
Ranma glared. "They'll come for me because of Koyuki and her link to you."
"Correct."
"Why can't you control your children then? Why do you let them form attachments?" Ranma shook his head, his food forgotten. "One of your sons had two girls hanging off his arms during training, and the one with the glasses said he had five more at his school!" He turned to Ryouga, "...and you called me a womanizer."
"Why didn't you leave the Tendou Dojo the minute Akane-san got kidnapped for the first time? Or when you first found out you had enemies of your own that could potentially ruin your whole life?" Shirou turned the question back at him.
Ranma fell silent at that, his mouth working wordlessly as hundreds of conflicting answers ran through his mind.
"That was a rhetorical question," Shirou stated. "My main point, my request if you will, is to ask you to stay and continue training my children, but also to train yourselves." He smiled again. "As I said, Homura was quite impressed with your skill level, and I know several family members have expressed interest in learning your abilities. You might also find yourself picking up a thing or two from some of my family as well."
The Emiya patriarch frowned once again. "Although you two are very skilled, you lack true combat experience. You're very determined, but sometimes you need to fight not just for honor, but your very existence. There comes a time if you don't give your best from the start, you will lose all hope for victory." He stared at Ranma as he said this, and somehow the martial artist knew he was speaking of his sealed techniques.
"There are some things that are just too dangerous to be used on people," Ranma said slowly.
"Well then, it's a good thing some of my enemies aren't human beings," Shirou said easily. "It is those that you need to be able to fight seriously."
ooo
"Your battles against the Musk Dynasty and Phoenix Tribe were very impressive, but they are somewhat middle ground for what we sometimes face." Shirou looked up as the two martial artists resumed eating, albeit at a much slower pace. "Fortunately, a great deal of the troublemakers are below them in power and skill, but there are a few who are much, much stronger. It's opponents like them that I am worried most about and I fear I'd need as many people as I can to oppose them if they ever set their eyes on us."
"And you want us to help against them," Ryouga said stiffly.
"Only if you want to," Shirou said honestly. "That said, you're quite right that I've dragged you into this. For what it's worth, you have my apologies." He shrugged, "Really, the only thing I can do to make it up to you is to make sure you're prepared to handle what might get thrown at you. To do anything else would be criminal negligence."
"Alright," Ranma said. "Since I don't have a choice, I'll help you out."
"How about you, Ryouga-kun?" Shirou asked the other guest.
Ryouga grumbled, "I'll help you out as best as I can, too. But, there is a girl I do care for... she's not a fighter. I don't want anything to happen to her. Promise me you can take care of her if something happens to me."
"I can do that," Shirou promised.
"I want your word though that you'll help me out too," Ranma jumped in. "If anything from your side even touches my family, you'll see just how serious I can be."
"Same to you," Shirou replied. "I'd like you to keep a handle on your own problems as well so they don't spill over into my family. I've already dealt with one instance of that because you didn't know any better." His voice went hard, "Now that you are properly informed, if I find my daughter has run across any trouble from your end, you will see how serious I can be."
"I'll protect Koyuki," Ranma promised, "I swear it on my honor as a martial artist."
"Wont that affect your relationship with Akane-san?" Shirou pressed.
Ranma twitched slightly. "You should know what I feel for your daughter is not the same thing I feel for Akane. I can't give Koyuki what she wants from me."
"That's alright," Shirou took the statement much more easily than the martial artist would have expected. "Due to um, my surroundings, I guess you could say I've become a believer in 'Love Finding a Way'." He peered closely at Ranma. "You don't dislike her though, do you?"
Ranma shook his head, "No, not at all! While she did freak me out at first, I guess I just got used to her. She's nice enough to be around, once she stopped jumping me."
Shirou nodded sagely, "Well, it's a start." He lifted his head up to look over the boy's shoulder, "And how long were you planning on just standing there, Koyuki? Please, join us."
Ranma's eyes widened and he spun around in his seat to find the girl shyly poking her head around the door. She stumbled slightly as another person's arm shoved her through the entryway, then Rin poked her own head around. "Hi. No food for us, Shirou. I'll just be taking these two down to the practice field." She grumbled in annoyance, "Oh, and let Matsu know she shouldn't be leaving random equipment around where these two can find it." She retreated back outside and there was a muffled commotion outside as she shoved her charges down the hall.
"You can do it, Ms. Snowy-White-Pure-Diamond-Snow!" Karin cried out.
"We believe in you!" Keiko shouted as well. The sound of their voices gradually faded as they were hauled away.
Ranma stared at Koyuki questioningly as the girl silently shuffled over to the table, resolutely keeping her head down. He turned back to Shirou, but the patriarch had an equally confused expression on his face.
"Is there something I should—" Shirou began.
"No," Koyuki answered quickly. She took a seat between Ranma and Shirou, but several chairs away from her Ashikabi. She looked up briefly, only to find the martial artist still staring at her, then blushed furiously and looked away again, silently working on filling her plate.
Ryouga forced a cough and wiped his hands with his napkin. "Well, um... Emiya-san, thank you for the meal. I'll uh.. I'll just go check on how today's practice is going!"
Shirou pointed towards the far wall. "Use the window, I don't trust you in the halls."
"Good idea." Ryouga walked over to the window at a fast clip, threw the latch, and dove out the third-story portal without any hesitation.
ooo
The room was filled with an awkward silence for several long minutes, before Shirou excused himself and made himself busy taking the dirty dishes back into the kitchen. There was the sound running water as he set to loudly cleaning up the various cookware.
His own appetite mostly sated, and having nothing better to, Ranma simply watched Koyuki as she slowly, steadily consumed everything on her plate. She kept her eyes focused down, but if her blush was anything to go by, she was clearly aware of his attention.
Ranma cleared his throat nervously and glanced towards the kitchen door. The patriarch had only grabbed his and Ryouga's dishes before moving on. Just how long does it take to wash—oh. That bastard.
"So, uh," he began. " 'Snowy White Pure Diamond Snow'?"
There was a clatter as she dropped her chopsticks onto her plate. Mortified, her blush grew until it covered almost her entire face and her hands shook as she picked them back up, "It is, ah, a new nickname my sister decided on. Completely by random chance. It does not refer to any situation or thing. I have no idea why she ever thought of it. I would not ask them, either."
"I... see," Ranma said. He didn't, really, but it was a useful phrase suitable for filling in an empty void when a response was called for.
"In fact, it would be to both our benefits if you did not ask them about it, at all."
"Uh huh..."
"Please make no more mention of it... At all. In fact–"
"Koyuki!" Her head snapped around to look at him and he raised his hands placatingly. "I get it," he said. "I wont ask about... what were we talking about again?"
She stared at him, eyes wide, and he could almost see her slowly relax from solid rigidity to her normal levels of stillness. He gave her a reassuring grin, an innocent 'what-who-me?' type of expression.
She giggled.
His eyes widened in surprise at the same time she clapped her hands over her mouth, her blush renewing itself in strength. He couldn't help it, he laughed softly at her expression and reached out a hand to pull one of hers away from her head. She stared at the sight of her hand in his own, then flicked her eyes back up to his.
"You should do that more often," he said honestly. "You looked kinda cu–" He stopped himself with a cough and suddenly pulled his hand back, embarrassed at the intimacy of the contact. He grabbed the back of his head, turning to the side and laughing nervously.
Koyuki was still staring at her hand, lifting it to her face and turning it this way and that as if seeing it for the first time. She looked at him, then back at her hand. "Ranma-sama?"
"Um, yeah?"
"So... you..." she lifted her head again to look at him briefly, then ducked it to the side again. "You... do not dislike me?"
Inwardly he winced, Just how long had she been standing at the door for? "No," he confirmed. "I don't dislike you."
"Ah," her eyes shifted around as she blinked. From her Ashikabi, to the floor, to the table, back to him... "I am glad," she said simply. "I..." She mentally hit herself on the head. It wasn't this hard to say it in front of Akane-san and her sister...
"I... do not dislike you either." She smacked herself again mentally.
"Oh," Ranma said, his voice artificially casual. "That's good to know."
"Mm.." she agreed.
There was another moment of awkward silence.
"Ranma-sama," she asked again. He looked up to find her staring at him with an odd intensity. "Would you like... dessert?"
What.
Uh, she doesn't mean... does she? "Sure," he said automatically. He suddenly grew nervous as she smiled and rose from her chair...
...and then Shirou burst out of the kitchen, bearing a platter of three metal flasks. Ranma looked on, half in relief, half in disappointment as the patriarch rounded the table and presented his daughter with the tray. Ranma leaned over to look and saw only a milky white liquid on two of the flasks, the third one more of an odd brown color.
"Um, what's this?"
Shirou pointed in turn, "These two are Vanilla – sorry, I didn't know what flavor you liked – and this one's Coffee. For me."
"Huh?"
Shirou beamed, "You'll see."
Ranma watched as Koyuki stripped off her training bands and set them on the table, flexing her fingers slightly as she readjusted to the flow of magic within her. She held out her hands over the tray, one hand simply held over the three flasks, while her other hand made complicated swirling motions. He watched the flasks frost over and the liquid inside seemed to partially crystallize, each of them mixing in time with her hand's movements, slowly expanding to fill the flasks and becoming more and more solid, more like...
Oh. Outwardly, Ranma kept up his half-interested expression, politely watching her movements as she put the finishing touches on the home-made treat. Inwardly, he was jumping around like an excited little boy... or a girl. Ice cream!
It felt like forever, but Koyuki's ice cream was done in less than a minute once the ingredients had been placed together. Shirou took his with a short salute to his daughter, collected the rest of the plates and retreated once again towards the kitchen. Ranma forced himself not to simply grab at one of the flasks and waited for Koyuki to hand one to him. He waited until they had both taken a spoonful, then took an experimental taste.
It... it was good. He expected that, but it was really good. It actually had a softer consistency than the ice cream he was used to, and the vanilla was much more pronounced. In fact, if he didn't know any better...
"It would be closer to Italian gelato," Koyuki said. "Father learned of the recipe while traveling abroad, and Mother helped me learn how to make it." She took another scoop and slipped the spoon slowly out of her mouth. "Interestingly enough, Mother cannot make this variety, she cannot control her powers enough to keep from over-freezing it. She does make a very good normal ice cream, if you would prefer that instead."
"No," Ranma protested quickly. "No that's fine... I think I like this better, actually."
Koyuki blushed. "I am glad."
Ranma grinned and was about to make another teasing remark when his flask was suddenly knocked out of his hands. He stared in disbelief at the wall, where it hung in place, courtesy of a kitchen knife. The container was upside down, spilling the precious treat over the tiled floor.
"Whoops!" Shirou called from the kitchen. "My hand slipped, I'm sorry about that. Koyuki, why don't you share the rest of yours with him. I'll take care of the mess later. Back to washing!"
Ranma dragged his eyes from the remains and looked at the girl. Her eyes were wide, her spoon stuck in her mouth. She stared down at her own flask, then at Ranma, then to her spoon. She blushed as she pulled out the spoon and dug out another scoop of her gelato. "Ah..."
Ranma quickly held up his own spoon. "Don't worry," he said. "I managed to hold onto this one."
There was another whisper of movement, and suddenly the spoon joined the flask against the wall, courtesy of another kitchen knife.
"Darn my slippery hands! Back to washing!"
Why does washing involve knives?
Koyuki steadied her hand, lifting up her spoon from her cup. "Ah, if Ranma-sama doesn't mind?"
Ranma blinked, trying to think of some way out of this. Unable to do anything but think of how it could go wrong. "Uh, sure, if you don't mind," he said automatically.
"Well then... 'aah'," she said, holding out her spoon with a red face.
Ranma closed his eyes, "Aah..."
But, damn if it wasn't the best ice cream – gelato – that he'd ever had...
ooo