Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
For Love and Money, the War of the Horse. A Y3 story.
Chapter 14: The first stones laid of a new foundation.
Ranma stretched as she walked alongside Tai Dai, and looked aside at the Amazon Elder. In the two weeks that she had been under the care of the Elder, she had come to know the Amazon fairly well. The Amazon was rather, well, butch was one way to put it. Even among Amazon's, she gave off a rather male vibe. Of course, what Ranma had found out last night also just added to the mystery that was Tai Dai.
Tai Dai bore the opposite Jusenkyo curse from her. She had been punished with a Jusenkyo curse when she had been an apprentice, and had angered her teacher. It had been one of the things that had probably made it so that if things had not happened as they had, she would never have sat on the Council.
But it also made it so that Tai Dai had developed a different mindset and outlook than the more traditional members of the former Council. Being a bit of an outcast amongst the very traditional members of the Village, she had instead dealt with more of the outlying villages and settlements. It had made what Ranma had proposed a possibility, that it might have created an opening to create something new in this very isolated part of the world.
That it would make what had happened here that much more difficult to ever have happen again.
Another interesting enigma was the Musk. It seemed that the events that had transpired might have shook the very stratified society up more than Ranma would have guessed. Prince Herb had been far more accommodating than Ranma had initially hoped for. Of course, the men that Prince Herb had sent to help secure that Amazon Village while they started to rebuild had been a major point of debate and contention, it had also offered an interesting look into the mind of the ruler of the Musk. There had been a few older men that had been sent to act as officers for the Musk, but most of the men that were sent were the younger, unmarried men.
Ranma could not help but wonder if the Lord of the Musk had some plans going forward. But, that was not something that Ranma would worry about, at least for now. A closer understanding between the two traditionally antagonistic people would only serve to benefit both, as long as their respective societies could survive the upcoming upheaval. But, it was already a risky bet on how they would handle the changes that had already happened. Both had suffered a shock to their societies, and the norms that they had operated for untold hundreds of years had been tilted on their ears.
Still, Ranma would do what she could to help.
For now, though, she had to make it through yet another planning meeting. She really wished that Nabiki could be here for these, it was much more in her area of expertise.
But they all would have to do things that they were not used to in the coming months and years.
At least Douglas had relayed that Mother Konatsu had started to work on a plan for the Teahouse to become more active in the area, and to help fulfill Ranma's promises. From what she had heard, it seemed that Konatsu was going to go forward with the plan that they had discussed. It was almost certain that Mother Konatsu had already discussed the matter with the new prospective Mother, and had started to move forward with the plans.
It was also entirely likely that one or more of the Lilies were possibly preparing to move to China for the time being. The Village was too valuable of an ally to risk anyone taking action without the Teahouse having a significant presence in it anymore. And if they were going to establish a new House, then it would take some time to gather the necessary personnel, even if Ranma suspected that Mother Konatsu had already scouted out prospects, because that was the way that the Kunichi worked.
Honestly, it was hard to decide who had a better information network, Gosunkugi, Konatsu, or Nabiki.
Ranma pulled herself from her thoughts as she bowed to Prince Musk, and the three representatives settled in for another planning meeting that would decide the future of this entire section of China.
One of the things that had been settled early was where Plum would go, and who would watch over the person who was likely to become the next Guide. She had been settled in the Village, surrounded by her adoptive Aunts and watched over by one of elder Musk warriors. The young girl was in good hands, and would be well taken care of. She was not just an important link, potentially, to Beijing but also a beloved member of the community.
It was fortunate for all of them that she had survived, and not vanished as so many of the other young girls and women had. That was a topic that had been discussed to some length, and seemed to fit with the idea that all of this had been the actions of some outside factor, one that Ranma had promised that the full resources of the Teahouse would be brought to bear on.
It was a necessary step to deliver justice on whoever had defiled Ranma's family, after all.
A formal funeral had been arranged for all those that had been lost, and it would be attended by all three of them as representatives of the three major powers in this area, outside of Beijing.
Speaking of Beijing, Douglas had promised to start the ball rolling on getting Plum acknowledged as the representative of the Chinese government in the area. How, exactly, the old mercenary seemed to know what needed to be done, and what palms needed greased, was something that Ranma had decided was not something she needed to know right now.
Ignorance was bliss, after all.
Another issue seemed to be getting taken care of, and rapidly at that. And that was the remaining mercenary bandits. As soon as word that there was a bounty on all of their heads had started to circulate, they had started to be collected on at an alarming pace. And a lot of those that had collected on the bounties had very significant tattoos or other distinguishing marks, if you knew what you were looking for.
It would seem that people were cleaning house and tying off loose threads in the area.
In the end it didn't matter how it was getting done, just that it was being taken care of.
Far more concerning at the moment was how to fill the power vacuum in the Amazon's village. There was talk about bringing Qiang Pu onto the council to start bringing her up into the leadership role that would have been hers in time. Drastic measures had become the norm in the time after the village had been liberated.
But first, Ranma had to survive another meeting with the other two leaders before she could see about anything else. As it was, the Council had decided that they would send representatives back to Japan with Ranma to see about bringing Qiang Pu back as soon as possible, and to talk to Mother Konatsu in person.
It was going to be a very busy year.
Ranma sighed as she made it back to her chambers. The meeting had almost broken down at several points, mostly when there had come disputes about compensation and territory. Ranma had grown tired of having to act as the mediator when the other two just couldn't see past the busses they both had. In the end, Ranma had gotten the two to agree to leave the area that they were arguing over in the care of Plum, and those that were tasked with taking care of her. It had been one of the things that Ranma had not wavered on, that the Jusenkyo guide must have a holding, that they had to have an actual stake in the region.
It did mean that, at least on paper, the segment of land was an enclave of the communist party in the area, but that was on paper. The fact of the matter was that it was the first truly neutral territory in the area.
It was a prime spot for the Teahouse to build a House in the area, one that served the inhabitants of the area and served to train those that would work in the main House wherever Mother Konatsu decided it should be.
A place for the new Mother to hold court, away from the direct sight of Beijing itself. Ranma already had an idea who it would be, but she would hold off on speculating until the decision was made public. Ranma had no doubt that there would be a fair number of the Lilies in attendance for a while at least, to watch over the new House and to help bring others into the fold. No doubt Konatsu had several prospects already lined up, people who had either come out, or had hidden the truth from others. She always seemed to know, a talent that Ranma and Nabiki had commented on several times in the past. It was kind of like how Nabiki always had a feeling for who her new employees would be, and kept a watchful eye on them.
Honestly, Ranma sometimes thought that the entire penal system should just be handed over to her wife. She had little doubt that the sudden flood of talented civil servants and business people would do the entire country a world of good, but at the same time she wanted to keep as much of her wifes time to herself that she could.
Then there was the matter of her daughter, and what would become of her. She knew that the Council had an idea of what they wanted, but she was unsure that it was what would be best for Qiang Pu. And she would go to war once more if that was what it took to ensure that her daughter was happy and safe.
She would never let her daughter get hurt again. Never.
Tai Dai sighed and rubbed her face once she was out of the presence of Ranma and Prince Herb. She personally found the endless debates and arguments pointless and draining, but the shared history of their peoples made even this a miracle. Such debates would have been impossible before the attack on the village and it's surrounding lands. Almost as miraculous was her presence on the new Council. With her views, her curse, and a few…. Other aspects of herself, she had been barely tolerated, and most certainly not accepted. But these were not ordinary times, far from it in fact. The majority of the older warriors had been lost, and the eldest amongst their numbers were not blooded warriors. Many on this new Council were outcasts and outliers like herself, who had stayed in their cursed forma and in that way had managed to avoid the worst of the attrocities that had been committed.
Still, as horrible as the situation was, it offered an unique chance to change the Village, and perhaps the entire valley and region. An alliance that should have been impossible was being forced, and powerful allies that could not just act to blunt the aggressions of the disparate people of the region, but possibly act as a buffer with Beijing had stepped forward. If this Douglas truly had the connections to see Plum installed as the new Guide, and the representative of the Chinese Communist Party in the area, then they had a good chance of sliding out from under the boot that had rested on their neck for generations. A threat that the old Council had largely dismissed, but the outcasts like herself had understood all too well.
Once Ranma and her had a chance to retreat to the baths that had been allocated for their private use, she intended to ask the outsider more about her homeland. She had always dreamed of visiting Japan, but had always figured it would remain just that, a dream. It helped that the baths were the one place that Ranma and her could talk without fear of being spied upon.
That want to say that the Musk had not tried it, in fact they had. But after Ranma had made clear that she would not tolerate that particular breach of her privacy, they had not attempted it again. The one advantage of the Musk when it came to Ranma and herself was the fact that their entire society was so male-dominated that they had no reason to fear whatever the female attendants might overhear would be relayed to the Prince and the other Musk. The thought would never enter their heads.
The only good thing about the blindness of those that thought themselves superior, regardless of if they were Amazons or Musk.
Tai Dai stopped in her room long enough to gather the supplies she would need, including the medical supplies to tend to Ranma's recovering injuries. Always best to maximize your efficiency, plus it would give her more time to talk to the diminutive redhead.
With refilled vigor and a fresh bounce in her step, Tai Dai made her way towards the bath and the next step in her personal plan to save the Amazons from the prison that their traditions had .the centuries. The changes that had started with Ranma could not be allowed to end with the death of Xian Pu and Elder Khu Lon.
She would not allow it.