Kasumi and Shampoo were walking down the streets of Nerima with their recent purchases. Kasumi had hers in a small bag whereas Shampoo's was in a large wagon. The younger lady looked at the other cheerfully and said, "Thank you for joining me when I went to get supplies for the Nekohaten."
"It was my pleasure Shampoo. I did need to get out of the house and it is always a joy to spend time with friends. I didn't even know that store had such great deals. Especially when it comes to spices."
Shampoo replied. "I didn't know about it either until a customer of ours who works there mentioned it. Great-grandmother checked it out and found we could save a bundle by making the store one of the restaurant's main suppliers."
Those deals were the real deal from where Kasumi stood. She had been able to do all the shopping and squeezed in two small spices she had really wanted to try out. The usual stores she went to had them at such high prices that Kasumi couldn't justify it in the budget. That's not to say that the Tendo-Saotome household was poor. They were comfortable enough even with the multiple martial artists and their food requirements. It was just that Kasumi always kept herself low on the priority list when it came to splurging on the fun money.
Shampoo was well aware of those extra purchases having talked Kasumi into them. The older woman had allotted the money for the food purchases. Shampoo had also snagged another spice that she knew Kasumi had been debating about getting. That extra purchase was safely hidden away as a surprise for later. She then said, "Thank you for agreeing to let me stay for dinner last night when you had the Tomoes over."
"It was no problem, Shampoo. Having you over for dinner is always a pleasure for me. Besides, you did convince that martial artist from the school of Martial Arts Plumbing to come back later in the week for a challenge." The dojo getting a challenger was a bit of a surprise given its semi-active status right now. It wasn't like they never got challengers, but the majority tended to skip the Anything Goes Dojo.
"By the way," Shampoo said with an impish grin. "Was it me or was Ranma nervous all through dinner as if he expected us to cause a scene of some sort."
Kasumi paused and recalled last night's dinner. "I think your right Shampoo. I do think Ranma was nervous sitting between both of us. Must have been him expecting the other shoe to drop since things had gone so well with the Tomoes. He really needs to have more experiences with events that regular people consider unusual and yet also normal."
"Such as having friends over for a meal? I would be willing to talk with Great-grandmother about arranging for you and Ranma to come over and have dinner in the family section of the Nekohaten. Having a smaller number of people might make Ranma more comfortable."
"I think that would be a good idea Shampoo. Why don't you check if elder Cologne would agree to such a thing? If she says yes, I can arraign a time for Ranma and I to come over."
That news brought a smile to Shampoo. Kasumi was responding very well to her suggestions and they were slowly growing even closer. Perhaps her long-term plan to deal with her husband's romantic entanglements would work out after all. Having Kasumi fight her over Ranma would be troubling and exhausting. It would also ruin their friendship and Shampoo was loathed to do that. She liked the eldest Tendo sibling. Ruining a friendship over a man was stupid. Besides, it wasn't like Shampoo had lots of friends to make up for losing a friendship.
It would just cost Shampoo some of her pride which in the long run was a bargain price for what she wanted. Instead of fighting to keep Ranma all to herself she would agree to share him. Back home it was allowed for an Amazon to let their foreign husband to have a concubine or two. The option was invoked when an outsider husband was of high status to reduce stresses on the marriage or to help increase the number of children in the village. Ranma's position as Lord of the Thundercats qualified him easily on the high-status expectation.
The plan was something Shampoo was going to propose to Kasumi once she found a good opportunity for it. Shampoo figured that among her people she would be considered the head wife with Kasumi as the concubine. It would be somewhat reversed here among the Japanese since they no longer did multiple spouses. Kasumi would be the legal wife in Japan and here she would be considered Ranma's mistress.
The thought of any place regarding her as less than Ranma's wife burned Shampoo. At least Shampoo could look forward to the fact that Ranma and her would not be living in Japan much in the future once Thundera was resettled. Being the regional head of a foreign country would mean that Ranma would not be permanently in Japan. How Sailor Saturn would work into the reborn Thundera Shampoo didn't know right now. It was also irrelevant when it came to her future married life. Thunderans didn't have any laws on the number of spouses one could have so she and Kasumi could be ranked equal on Thundera.
A voice of evil ripped Shampoo from her thoughts. Every woman in hearing distance shuddered as "Sweeto!" was heard echoing across the street. Both Shampoo and Kasumi turned along with every other woman in earshot looking for the lech. A small sigh of relief was heard as no one had spotted the infamous panty thief. Guards were not dropped as his speed and agility were infamous throughout Nerima.
Kasumi dropped her head slightly and quietly spoke to Shampoo. "It would appear that Grandfather is back in town from his recent journey and is his usual self."
Shampoo then said, "Would you like to visit my place for a bit? The Great Enemy tends to avoid Great-grandmother when it is on its runs."
The sound of frustration could be heard which both women recognized as belonging to the local police officers. More of Happosai's cackling could be heard allowing everyone to spot the annoying dot of perversity. At least the leach's movement seemed to be parallel to Shampoo's and Kasumi's location. They also spotted the three police officers chasing after Happosai from a considerable distance.
Kasumi really did not want to deal with Happosai. She turned to Shampoo and said, "I would be glad to visit your home." Maybe once her delay was done 'grandfather' would be off to the other side of Japan. It was unlikely to happen, but it really was her only chance.
Akane was walking home from her study session feeling glum. There was the old saying about the nail that sticks out gets hammered down and today Akane was really feeling like that nail. Things were different between her and her friends ever since she became a hanyo. Her being the only student at school not to have a Jusenkyo curse left her the odd one out. Then there was the fact that everyone knew why she no longer had the curse and was a hanyo instead.
It went without saying further that her popularity at school had dropped like a stone shoving her firmly in the social outcast circle. Most of her former acquaintances at school avoided talking to her when they could. Her close friends were still her friends. However, there was a noticeable distance between them that didn't exist before.
It wasn't like Akane could really blame her friends for wanting to keep her out of arms reach. She had proven just how low she could go with her anger and who was truly safe from her rage. Given the answers to those questions she wouldn't blame anyone from cutting off all contact with her. The fact that her friends stuck around her at all proved that they were better people than most. Akane knew she'd have to put lots of time and effort into rebuilding all the bridges she had burnt.
A familiar voice pulled Akane from her thoughts as it asked, "Miss do you know the way to Nerima?" Akane turned and felt her temper spike seeing Ryoga standing before her clueless to his location. The pig was asking her for directions to Nerima while in Nerima? Why was he trying to get back here? Did he not remember everything he did to her?
Why had she felt sorry for Ryoga in the past again? Oh yes, he had a tragic backstory with his directional curse and appeared to treat her with respect while he was in his human form. That and her own issues with Ranma at the time made it easy to take Ryoga's side. Just how shallow was she back then? No wonder Shampoo had been so mad when she called her a bimbo back then. It had been a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
With a bit of a growl to her voice Akane said, "Really Hibiki? You're asking me that question after what you did?"
Ryoga looked at Akane in confusion. Her hanyo looks and lack of friendliness were totally at odds with Ryoga's memories of Akane. "Who are you?"
That was the wrong thing to say to Akane. She growled as a hint of angry demonic chi radiated off of her. "You really are a piece of work Ryoga. First you pretend to be my pet pig. Then you use my naïve trust to learn my secrets and peep on me. You also use those secrets to egg on both Ranma and I out of some twisted revenge. A revenge started because of some juvenile peeing for distance contest at your old school that you took way beyond irrational levels. And to finish it off you pretend you don't recognize me? I'm Akane Tendo the girl whose life you tried to wreck!"
Ryoga was shocked to hear that and he blurted out. "That can't be. You look nothing like Akane."
"Bullshit P-Chan," Akane said as she marched over Ryoga. "I look like this because your actions pissed me off so much that they helped to awaken the dormant yokai blood in my family line. What did you expect would happen trying to peek at me and my preteen cousin?"
Memories that Ryoga had suppressed from that terrible night started to reemerge in his brain. The desire to not be at fault made him fall back to his usual response. "That wasn't my fault. It was all because."
Akane cut him off right there. "If you finished that sentence with some variation of its all Ranma's fault I will knock you out and take 'P-Chan' to the vet to be fixed! Ever since I've known you Hibiki you have blamed Ranma for everything wrong in your life like some overgrown baby. I might have played along with your shift the blame game because I was playing it as well at the time. Well guess what? Playtime is over and it turned out that the only ones responsible for our actions is us!"
"Who challenged Ranma to a duel and didn't show up on time? That was completely on you Ryoga. Who followed Ranma and his father to the ass end of China putting them in a prime spot to be doused in Jusenkyo? That was also on you Ryoga. Who didn't come clean the first chance he got when I mistook a cursed individual for an actual animal? That was also all on you Ryoga!"
The air was filling with a sense of dread and danger. Anyone with even modest chi abilities could sense that a cauldron of rage was threatening to boil over. Akane had a tight grip on her temper and she knew that Ryoga and his current actions were pushing her control. With clenched teeth she said, "I've already paid the price for playing the game of its someone else's fault Ryoga and I refuse to play it again. My temper has more of a hair trigger than I currently care for and you're pissing me off trying to play the same old games."
"Get out of Nerima and stay out until you can own up to your own actions. We have unfinished issues to sort out. But those cannot be handled until you get your head out of your ass and start actually acting like the man you pretend to be."
This wasn't going at all how Ryoga believed his next encounter with Akane would go. Where was the sweet and beautiful young woman that he knew was full of compassion? Delusions were easy to build up when you were alone. Especially when one was used to living their life in delusions. Ryoga tried to salvage something of the fantasy in his head and muttered. "But Akane."
The hanyo was not letting her former friend get a chance to defend his actions. "Don't you but me Hibiki! It's a simple fact. I don't want to see you again until you can man up and accept that your actions are because of choices you made. We've got lots of problems and issues to sort out between us like adults, but we cannot do that unless we both act like adults. Now get lost!"
Akane turned away and stormed towards the dojo ignoring Ryoga as he called out after her. She knew her temper was nearing the limits of control. Getting away from the problem was currently the best way to prevent this shouting match from turning into an impromptu martial arts match. Even with her current control she had still caused a massive scene that would have mortified her in the past. Part of Akane was still embarrassed by her actions. The rest of her considered that she made a scene just walking down the streets as a hanyo. Her acting out so unladylike wasn't going to hurt her image any more than she did by breathing.
Unknown to Akane, she had one observer who wanted to weep over what he had just watched. Happosai was not happy that Akane had somehow become a hanyo. The youki/chi blend was not something anyone with a hint of chi sense forgot once they had felt it. What had he done to deserve this? First Ranko and her bountiful bosom was lost to him. The disrespect the ungrateful brat and his father gave him was just salt on that open wound.
Part of Happosai wished he could restore Ranko and enjoy her gratitude. That was just an idle dream and he knew it. Trying to mess with those kinds of mystical forces would not end up well for him and he knew it. Happosai's usual attitude with mystical forces was why should I care about the consequences and let someone else clean up the mess. He drew the line on mystical shenanigans when they could directly backfire on him in a big way. Jusenkyo was one of those things that Happosai had made sure that he had burned enough mental warnings and danger signs into his mind to not touch. Even when Happosai was completely drunk and drugged up to the gills he knew not to even think of messing with Jusenkyo.
Hanyos, especially female hanyos, were higher on that list than Jusenkyo because he never knew when he might run into one. There was the innate danger of a hanyo going crazy and wrecking everything around them. Happosai had to put a few down himself over the years and none of those fights were easy. Things got even worse if the hanyo had any sort of training or was even remotely powerful by yokai standards. Not worth the hassle in his opinion. Female hanyos were even worse for him as they often looked alluring, but the mix youki/chi in their darlings did not help him like regular women's darlings. The mix was actually extremely toxic to Happosai if he accidentally drained a bit of the chi mix.
It was a real gut punch for the old pervert to find out that Akane was a hanyo and a powerful one at that. Her mere presence in the dojo would render every silky darling he had stored there toxic. The darlings he hadn't liberated yet from the dojo's neighbors and everyone within a block of Akane regularly for part of the day would be rendered useless! How was Happosai ever supposed to keep track of things given that Akane regularly went on long jogs and attended the biggest school in the district?
Happosai watched Akane as she turned the corner and went out of view, but not out of his chi sense range. The old pervert put his sack of recently liberated darlings on the roof in front of him and started to go through them. Just as he feared, the collection was now tainted thanks to the hanyo energies of the youngest Tendo sister. They were still very comfortable to feel and wonderful to look at. However, if Happosai wanted display pieces he would have just gone to the store. He wouldn't be poisoned from draining these darlings. He just would get nothing out of them.
The grandmaster pulled out his pipe, put in some of his special mix, and started to smoke. Why had he come back to Nerima again? Sure, there was the fact that Soun and Genma had tried to kill him by getting him drunk and sealing him in a cave for a decade with dynamite. What a pair of ungrateful students! Not that Happosai had any real hard feelings on that matter. You got used to it after a while. Happosai also knew that if he had to deal with someone like himself then he would also try to get rid of the individual.
He'd shown up and put the fear of Happosai back into the duo. There was also the fact that Ranma had wonderful potential in the art and would be a great person to carry his legacy forward. Too bad the brat seemed to be too prideful and stubborn to show Happosai the respect he deserved. Maybe there was a curse on his martial arts school because all of his pupils gave him trouble? That really wasn't something he should bother looking into at the moment.
Training Ranma had been fun for Happosai even if the ungrateful brat never acknowledged how much his grandmaster had taught him. The cursed eye candy had also been a real treat. Sadly, Ranko was gone and Ranma used mana now instead of chi. Happosai didn't really know how to do anything with mana and he had heard through the grapevine that Ranma's fate apparently lead away from focusing on martial arts. He had also heard that Ranma was finding ways to use mana to replicate what he used to do with chi. That was something Happosai could respect about Ranma even if he'd never say it out loud. The brat was determined to get the most out of whatever training was put in front of him.
Ranma would pass on Anything Goes so Happosai really didn't have to worry about the future of his school. Not that he honestly gave a hoot about the legacy of Anything Goes. About the only thing Ranma needed on that front was a master's license. One the one hand, Happosai could let his bozo students declare Ranma a master whenever they got around to it or deemed him worthy. The brat was worthy thanks to his training and willingness to stand up to his master. Happosai found that trait infuriating, but at least it meant that the brat wasn't a spinless wimp. On the other hand, Happosai could declare Ranma a master now. That would probably annoy his students and he would be the least wanted person to pass on the master status for Ranma. There were advantages to both positions.
The only other thing keeping Happosai in Nerima besides his martial arts school were the women and their darlings in the area. Darlings were regrettably a no go here thanks to Akane turning Nerima into his own personal Chernobyl. Many of the women around Nerima were wonderful to look at. However, experience had taught Happosai long ago that you could find attractive women almost anywhere.
Now that he thought about it, Happosai really couldn't see any reason to stay and plenty of reasons to leave. Nerima had a usually high concentration of top tier martial artists who generally got in the way of his fun. A chase now and then or a minor obstacle once in a while spiced up his liberation raids. Ether option got annoying quickly and one of those happened every time here in Nerima.
Seemed like an easy choice to him once he thought about things. Nerima was going into Happosai's rearview mirror as the Americans said and he wasn't going to look back. The only question now was how was he going to leave? That would take some more thought.
Ranma was going over his thunderan language notebooks with renewed urgency. Snarf had mentioned that he needed more materials from the Cats Lair to help in his and Hotaru's education for their future roles. Granted, Hotaru and he needed to work out just what their future roles would be given the hibernating thunderans and snarfs on Titan. Discussion on the details of that matter would happen latter in earnest when Hotaru was older. At the moment all the parents had ruled that such matters would only come into play if the two of them were adults by Japanese law or if some outside situation demanded those roles become active. Snarf was declared by the parents to be the regent for the duo for now. When Ranma turned 20 he would be given the 'regency' until Hotaru was old enough.
On more practical matters there was how to work out relations with the nations here on Earth. No one was under any illusions that Thundera could rebuild itself by its own efforts. Supplies and care of the children in hibernation was top priority. How they'd get the needed resources without being taken over by a nation on earth needed careful consideration. There was also the fact that getting such resources would expose the world to magic and aliens existing. That was going to mess things up good even under the best of circumstances.
Finally, there was the fact that Queen Serenity's spell had apparently selected this time for all the senshi to be reborn. Three reincarnated senshi born within a few dozen kilometers of each other and within a decade of age made it extremely likely that all the senshi were reborn and probably in the Tokyo area. That was too small of a sample size by his math teacher's standards. However, magic had closer connections and fewer coincidences in Ranma's experience. He felt comfortable putting money down that Princess Serenity's reincarnation was running around in Tokyo somewhere.
Ranma hoped he didn't encountered her for a long time. He'd wish for never, but there was no way that would happen given his life. Maybe the kami would cut him some slack and she'd be at least a halfway decent person. They had to cut him some slack somewhere eventually. Reborn Princess Serenity would have to understand one thing when they eventually met one another: Thundera and Saturn were out of whatever inheritance Princess Serenity got from being reborn. Mercury too if Ranma had any input in Ami's future.
It was mostly out of practical necessity. The moon's rule had been tolerated by Thundera because Saturn agreed to be ruled by the moon. Ranma and Snarf didn't know how his future subjects would feel about House Serenity. Odds were very good they'd hate any member of that house given what Queen Serenity's actions caused. Best to separate now when the reborn princess couldn't do squat about the separation. There was also the fact that acting as head of state for an independent nation would make it easier to work with the nations of Earth.
Snarf came into Ranma's room and saw the boy hard at work. He waited a moment and then asked, "Lord Ranma? Is there anything I can do to help you now?"
Ranma looked up and smiled at the little guy. He didn't know if it was partially because of Lion-O leaking in from the reincarnation, but he had quickly grown fond of Snarf. In the end it didn't really matter to Ranma if his past life was influencing him on this issue. Snarf was a caring guy who did his best to look out for Ranma. The guy was also a true friend which was a very rare commodity for Ranma.
With a shrug Ranma said, "I don't think so Snarf. I was just brushing up on my thunderan for whenever we visit the Cats Lair. You never mentioned a time when you were thinking of doing the trip."
Snarf looked down in embarrassment and then replied. "I was speaking from the cuff on that Lord Ranma. Akane looked so annoyed when she mentioned Ryoga's reappearance last night and the mood only got worse when Kasumi mentioned that Happosai was back in Nermia. I wanted to distract everyone from the annoying topics and move the conversation along. That's why I mentioned the trip even though I was just barely into the planning stages of it."
Ranma reached down and gently ruffled Snarf's head. "It's no problem Snarf. I owe you one in fact since I was trying to think of how to distract everyone from thinking on the bad news. The fact that you mentioned things so early in the planning stages means we can probably get things to work around other upcoming events."
"Like the summer internship that the mayor alluded to for you Lord Ranma?"
A grimace appeared on Ranma's face at the mention of that hinted possibility. He knew he needed experience in managing a city since that's basically what he'd have on his hands when his subjects were woken up. At the same time, the mayor had been rather indirect in his hints and Ranma knew that he did not pick up on most of the subtle social hints that made up Japanese society. Ranma also had no clue how his dealings with the Musk would affect the offer if it actually had been made. Hell, he was still having to have regular talks with Principal Pierson to manage the results of the Musk Incident. Ranma was doing better, but that was an issue that took time to resolve.
He shook his head and then said, "I guess we should check with Mr. Tendo about that. He'd be able to find out if I need to plan for a summer internship or not." There was slight bitterness in Ranma's voice as he said it. Part of him really wished he and Pops could head out for a few weeks on a training trip into the wild. Ranma was almost to the point of equaling what his chi abilities had let him accomplish with mana before his Sailor Crystal started reacting with his old curse. The thought of being fully capable again in his non-senshi form and maybe improving was so tempting to Ranma.
A thought popped into Ranma head and he said, "Say Snarf, how will Thundera react to my presence?"
"What do you mean by that Lord Ranma?"
"Well, it's just that the biosphere of Thundera along with the biospheres of all the other bodies in the Saturnian system are connected to Hotaru's and my Sailor Crystals. Those crystals are also going to revitalize the biospheres eventually. What would happen when I go to the Cats Lair? Is the biosphere of Thundera going to suddenly return to how it was before the Fall? Wouldn't that cause a panic back here on Earth?"
A satisfied smile appeared on Snarf's face as he saw his lord think on these issues. The little retainer spoke. "I am proud that you are considering the consequences Lord Ranma. I also really have not spoken on how the biospheres will be restored so I should do so in order to lay your concerns to rest. While I wish Thundera would be instantly revived by your presence, that just will not be so. It will take many decades for Thundera to be fully restored going by the records Princess Hotaru found in her last lifetime. Perhaps the Eye of Thundera or Princess Hotaru herself will cause the process to speed up. Even then it should still take years if not a couple of decades for Thundera's biosphere to be fully restored."
"The records indicate that a series of 'fields' will spread across the world from your presence on Thundera and that for the best effect you should stay in a relatively single area. These fields will build off of each other until the biosphere is formed. The fields do not have to be completed across the planet before further fields can start to work. What records we have from before the First Interregnum indicate that settlements were concentrated near the senshi temple complexes of the era where the fields originated from."
Ranma frowned and said, "What will happen if I leave while the fields are growing? Will it wipe out the progress?"
Snarf shook his head. "That will not be a problem. You and Princess Hotaru along with your lines are tied to the biosphere. It will not grow if you are not on Thundera or within Saturn's sphere of influence. The fields will also not collapse either so long as you are somewhere within the solar system. While you are on Earth the fields that restore the biosphere will have their growth halted like a video game put on pause."
This was all important for Ranma to know in the young man's opinion. On the one hand, it was bad news for his sleeping subjects that he couldn't instantly turn Titan back into the Thundera they were used to before the Fall. It also sounded like he would have to devote most of his future time to living on Thundera. Ranma had been expecting something like that, but suspecting and having confirmation were to totally different things.
On the other hand, the gradual change wouldn't cause a panic back on Earth. Ranma was sure he and Snarf could set up some satellites to cast some sort of illusion to hide the changes. Besides, it wasn't like there were any space probes near Saturn at the moment so that source of problems didn't exist. It would not be good to cause a global panic and breakdown here on Earth just to help his people.