Ranma
A Scary Thought:
What happened last time: Palm exacted her revenge on Herb, but with Ranma's and Lemon's help they escaped.
Chapter 70
XXXXX
"Time to get up!" Shampoo announced as she entered the room, drawing back the curtains to be sure there would be no option to ignore the order.
Herb grimaced as the sunlight beat down on her and reluctantly rose. "What time is it?"
"Still morning, but you late. Kasumi say let sleep in some but sleep enough now," Shampoo replied as she drew open several more curtains to fully light the room.
Herb turned and sat over the edge of the bed for a moment, mumbling, "I must have been more exhausted than I thought."
Shampoo walked over and stood at the foot of the bed with a smirk. "Maybe get too excited."
Herb simply turned and gave her a flat look which just made her smile more broadly. Annoyed, Herb stood up. "Perhaps you might lose control so easily, but I would not."
"Oh?" Shampoo replied but apparently did not rise to the bait to argue and simply started towards the door. "Clothes still in bathroom, unless need something else?"
"I'm fine," the prince replied and with a last look back Shampoo nodded, her expression more serious but she said nothing more and left.
'She does enjoy teasing,' Herb thought as she headed to the bathroom, thinking over the night. Shampoo has actually imposed herself as a buffer between Herb and Kasumi during the night, and despite the claim, Herb was thankful for such. She wasn't sure how exactly things would have played out had she been side by side with her. Perhaps it was mere possessiveness that had prompted such, or maybe the Amazon had realized such would be for the best, but it was really impossible to tell. 'Still... a candle she said... a flame is a flame and even the smallest can lead to something far greater.'
Herb pondered that for a moment before heading to the bathroom to prepare for the day. A quick shower and transformation later, he was once more in his usual attire, minus the armor and simply correcting his hair in the mirror before heading out. However, just as everything seemed in place, he paused and looked himself over. 'Have I always looked like this?' he wondered. He pondered his reflection a moment longer but seeing nothing out of sort shook his head. 'Too much stress,' he concluded before mentally reviewing his schedule.
"That's right, I work today..." he noted aloud. 'It would be easy to justify skipping out...' she considered but then turned on the faucet and splashed himself, transforming before exiting.
At the second floor hall, on her way to pocket dimension, she heard Ranma call out to her and turned to see Ranma come out from the reading room. "Hey, how you doing?" he asked.
"I thought you would be informed," Herb replied.
"I was given the basics," Ranma said. "Some weird... purge?"
Herb nodded. "I remember everything, yet all of it is... impersonal, like all the feeling to the memories has been... deleted."
Ranma frowned at that. "Yeah, weird... but I suppose good. You were pretty messed up."
Herb did not address that, instead switching topics slightly. "A question... what did you tell Kasumi?"
"About what happened to you? A... slightly sanitized version, at least of what I guessed was happening," Ranma answered.
Herb nodded. "And what of you?"
"Me? Oh, yeah," he said, touching his chest in remembrance. "I... omitted that part."
"Was that part of the plan?"
"Hell no!" Ranma replied with a grim expression. "I needed to get her close to actually get the technique off, but wasn't expecting that."
"I am honestly impressed you managed to still get off your attack."
Ranma grimaced. "It was more luck, honestly. I figured she wouldn't be easy to get it off on, so I had Lemon enspell me to use the technique at the first opportunity. Still, not how I expecting things to play out."
Herb looked at Ranma with surprising respect. "Nonetheless, a wise precaution," she said before looking off in thought. "I will... omit that particular detail as well should it come up," Herb said.
"Yeah... Kasumi was tense enough I think," Ranma agreed, and looked off down the hall. "Eyebright arrived not long ago. He's... collecting Palm, or something. Nice of him to show up now," he said with a frown.
"He is a clan leader, which means he is very busy, so I'm not surprised," Herb explained before falling into a brief moment of thought. "I suppose I must... thank you. Purge or no, it is difficult to say what would have resulted had that continued."
Ranma smirked but before he commented he seemed to reconsider and just shrugged. "We're in this together now, regardless of circumstances," he said. Herb looked away, merely grunting in response. Ranma smirked once more before noticing the prince looked off. "You sure you're alright? Looking a bit flushed still," he said as he reached to test Herb temperature but had the hand swiftly swept aside.
"I'm fine," Herb sharply answered before marching on. Ranma shrugged and followed behind.
The pair entered the pocket dimension where they found Kasumi speaking with Shampoo. Also gathered was Lemon, off by herself, Peach and the newcomer who had intervened the day before to capture Palm. The latter two were gathered around the odd mirror from before, apparently looking within. All turned to Herb as he entered
"Herb, how are you feeling today?" Kasumi asked as she came over.
"I am fully recovered," the transformed prince replied before looking abouts. "Where are Mint and Lime?"
No sooner had she asked the question that the two warriors in question came rushing out from the castle. Ranma gestured at the pair as they ran over. "They've been a bit of a menace since last night," he explained.
"Herb-sama!" Both called, prompting Herb to raise her palm in a command to stop. They slowed their approach, stopping a few paces short of the prince.
"I am alright," Herb announced to the pair before lowering her arm. "There is no need for alarm."
Both boys immediately kneeled down, bowing their heads. "Our deepest apologies, your highness. We failed-"
"Enough!" Herb ordered. "I am the one who told you both to remain behind. If there is any fault it is my own," Both warriors hesitated, but looked up, clearly pained. "That's enough, rise," Herb ordered once more, more softly this time, and obediently they did so. "We'll discuss this later," she said and the pair reluctantly nodded. Herb looked back at Ranma before adding, "I have some things to discuss here, return to the restaurant for now and tend to your usual duties. I'll be along shortly."
The boys nodded and headed off through the doorway to the pocket world.
"I feel for them, but they would not have been able to help," Ranma noted and Herb nodded.
"Yes, but perhaps that speaks to a deficiency we need to address. A matter for later," the prince replied. Herb looked over at the kitsunes. "What of Palm?"
"Still in the mirror," Kasumi answered, looking over as well. "Eyebright actually arrived a short while ago and is inside with her now."
Peach and her partner looked over at them, the former nodding at their approach. "Good to see you well," Peach said.
Finally next to the mirror, Herb looked within to see Eyebright speaking to Palm. Their conversation could not be heard, but Palm was clearly broken, simply collapsed on the ground, looking disheveled and despondent.
"Damn," Ranma commented. "Didn't think that tech would do so much to her."
"It probably triggered some kind of... traumatic memory," Peach explained, looking on with an unreadable expression. "She was acting out most of the night. Didn't realize she was that bad, honestly."
Herb examined her for another moment before turning to the new kitsune. "And you would be?"
The new kitsune smiled, and answered. "You can call me Tammy if you like."
"Tammy?" Herb repeated with a slight frown.
Peach huffed. "Nevermind her," she said, glaring at Tammy. The kitsune simply smiled and took a few steps back. Satisfied, Peach turned back to the others. "She is a bit of a nuisance, but my options were limited. And the other one just got here..." she said with a sigh. Herb continued probing with a hard look so Peach replied, looking over at Tammy. "She has a rather infamous reputation. Her real name is Tamamo No Mae."
:"The-" Kasumi started to ask, but Peach immediately answered.
"Yes. It is a long story, don't worry about it. Just... If she causes trouble, just tell her to go home. She has no choice but to obey," Peach explained.
"We'll remember that," Herb replied with a frown.
Just then, the mirror flashed and Eyebright appeared next to it holding a small globe. "Ah, Herb, good to see you up and abouts." The prince huffed but otherwise didn't respond. "It is good that Palm was rather ignorant of the special attributes of the Dragon clan."
"Just as we were ignorant of this ability she possessed," Peach said, crossing her arms.
"Yes. She's done well to keep that a secret," Eyebright said with a nod.
"So... conceptual whatsits aren't normal for you guys?" Ranma asked and Eyebright shook his head.
"No. The most powerful among us can use simple reality spaces, but conceptual spaces such as you experienced are certainly not typical, especially ones born of... madness," the male kitsune explained.
"Madness?" Kasumi echoed.
"Yes. One can achieve such a feat through either severe devotion to a concept, or by slipping into madness. She obviously did the latter, although she probably would dispute it, it is undeniable," Eyebright explained before sighing.
"Madness indeed," Peach commented. "She is much worse than even I knew."
"That is why she's with us. Her home clan can't handle her when she gets like that. I volunteered to take her in, and up til now I have been able to keep the extent of her condition quiet."
"You volunteered?" Peach repeated in surprise. "You should have told me."
"She has her pride, and did not want others knowing. My apologies," Eyebright said before turning back to Herb. "Speaking of apologies, her attack may have been ineffective, but it was nonetheless an attack. Her life is yours," Eyebright said, offering the globe to the transformed prince.
Herb noticed everyone's eyes firmly on her, particularly Lemon who while keeping out of the way was clearly fighting not to say anything. Kasumi too nearly spoke but Shampoo barred her with a quick upraised hand.
Herb considered but shook her head. "I have no need or want of it. Take her back to the Musk and see that she stays there, out of trouble."
Eyebright looked at Herb in some surprise. "Are you certain?"
"Yes. She... while I will not easily forgive her actions, I cannot claim they were without some justified motive."
"Oh?" Eyebright asked but Herb offered no further explanation. Pocketing the sphere, Eyebright shrugged. "Very well. I will demand a geas of her to bind her, or otherwise confine her. She won't trouble you again. Now, I must be off. I have other duties to attend. Peach, I trust you can clean up here? Palm did say this was the extent of her plan, but..."
"But we should sweep the area regardless. Yes, I'll handle it with the others," Peach replied.
Eyebright nodded and with a last smile vanished in a flash of light.
"Sweep?" Ranma asked.
"For any lingering traps," Peach explained. "I don't expect to find any but best to be cautious."
"Such boring busy work," Tammy muttered, gaining a frown from Peach.
"Just be glad you're allowed out of the village at all," the other kitsune countered. "If I had other options, you'd still be there."
Tammy huffed, but said nothing more. "What about our late comer?"
"Oh, don't worry. I'll be giving her the bulk of the work for being so lazy!" Peach said. "Now, why don't you get started."
"Fine, fine," Tammy said with a sigh and smiled before heading out.
"So she's normally confined to the village?" Kasumi asked after the other kitsune left.
"The Japanese kitsune village, yes, normally, but not anymore. I had to make a deal to get her out, and now she's on a bit of... probation. She claims to be all reformed but... well, we don't trust her. I'm sure your wife can tell you about part of the problem."
Everyone looked at Shampoo and she frowned. "She feel... different."
"Different how?" Ranma asked but Shampoo could only shrug.
"Yeah, something got weird going on with her. She's a full nine tails but seems to have poor mastery of her abilities given her age, particularly her shapeshifting. Normally I'd say she's demonic, but she's not. She might even be truly divine," Peach explained, concluding with a shake of her head. "Doesn't really matter. She's under a geas herself. So, like I said, should she pop up to cause trouble, just tell her to go home."
"Right, and the other one?"
"Osakabehime? She's harmless, just a shut in. Had to threaten to level that castle she likes so much to get her to come. And naturally she took her sweet time about it..." Peach groaned as she too started to set out for the exit. "On the plus side, she's at least trustworthy... mostly."
Peach paused at the doorway out, and turned back, looking at Lemon who shrunk back. However, after a moment Peach gestured with her hand and a small cube appeared in it. "Lemon, take this," she directed.
Lemon started at the command, and hesitantly approached, taking the object as bidden. "What is it?"
"A communicator of a sort. It will let you record messages and exchange them with the holder of the matching one, which I'll see to it your mother gets," Peach explained.
Lemon blinked in surprise. "Why?"
Peach turned back to the door. "If nothing else, to keep her relatively calm," Peach answered, before looking down slightly. "We may not get along, but that doesn't mean... Just take it," she said and without speaking further exited the space.
Lemon gazed at the cube, confused until Herb came up next to her. "Keep it," the transformed prince said, startling Lemon.
"I uh... right," she replied and quickly looked down. "Thank you... for sparing her."
"Save your thanks," Herb replied, confusing the kitsune further. "Consider it a slight repayment for putting you in such a situation."
Lemon blinked in shock, but Herb followed after Peach before she could say anything. She turned, looking at the others in her confusion, but Kasumi just smiled. "Well, I suppose we should get everyone organized to head back home," she prompted, and with nods the others agreed.
XXXXX
"You sure that will be enough?" Kasumi asked as she escorted Ranko into the pocket dimension, that latter girl carrying a single suitcase.
The various residents of the restaurant were either busy with daily routines in the restaurant itself, or helping out with the last bit of the move back to the Tendo home. This left the pocket dimension available for the trip back for Shan and Kane.
"It is just 3 or 4 days. It should be more than enough," Ranko replied.
Within the pocket dimension they found Shampoo, Shan and Kane conversing and joined them.
"All ready to go?" Shan asked and Ranko dropped off her suitcase.
"Yeah. So... how does this work?"
"We're going to tear open a portal into interdimensional space and follow it back to our home dimension. It isn't that different from how you got here, actually," Kane explained.
"I thought you needed the bracelets for that?" Ranko asked and both girls smiled.
"We got around that issue. We actually could have pulled this off last night, but figured with all the excitement best to wait a bit longer," Shan explained before turning to the others. "Too bad you can't come along..."
"I wouldn't mind," Kasumi replied, "but it does sound rather inconvenient to return."
"Yeah. Each trip takes us three days to recharge," Kane replied with a wistful sigh. "Oh well. You have everything sorted here? Nothing else concerning?"
Kasumi nodded. "Yes, it is all dealt with," she answered, explaining the details the others missed.
XXXXX
Unnoticed by the group, Akane and Makoto peered out from one of the castle windows. Akane had known Ranko was promised to leave today so had deemed this her last chance to learn the truth about the mysterious visitors. With all the earlier moving of luggage, she had taken an opportune moment to slip into the pocket dimension in an attempt to check out the pair's room while they were occupied. She had not been as stealthy as she thought though as Makoto had caught her. Their mild confrontation had gone on long enough to force Akane to abort as the pair had returned to collect their stuff which turned out to be quite limited indeed, just a single bag worth.
Makoto had conceded to joining Akane in a bit of last minute spying, which led them to where they were now, watching the last few moments curiously, unable to catch anything as they were simply too distant to hear anything.
"Why is she bringing a suitcase here?" Akane asked, but Makoto could only shrug.
"No idea. Maybe they have some magic and can teleport, or something," Makoto suggested. "Come on, Akane, seems all innocent to me. Everything with Palm is sorted so..."
"I know, I know... just... I want to be sure," Akane said but growled in annoyance. "Wish I could hear..."
Makoto just sighed and shook her head, casually watching as Shan and Kane finished talking with the others and separated themselves. 'Looks like they're preparing for something.'
XXXXX
"Okay, now, we have to unify to pull this off, but... um... yeah, don't freak out when we do the second step, okay? Dad nearly passed out the first time we did this. It is all part of the show," Shan said with a smile.
"Show huh," Ranko echoed with an amused shake of her head. "Well, guess whatever this is is new even to me."
"Right, all ready?" Kane asked and the three observers all nodded. "Okay, here we go."
As before the two girls offered a hand to the other and all could feel the unification take effect. However, unlike last time, Shamne did not appear. They could all feel her presence, but she did not physically manifest. In her place, both girls spoke in unison, "Now for part two."
Both girls moved together and turned back to back, lightning arcing between them. They then assumed the same pose, standing with legs crossed and one arm to the side with the other drawn under the chin pointing in the same direction. They paused briefly like this before suddenly spinning out in unison to face each other once again touching the tips of their fingers together from both hands when they came to a stop. From there it became even more complex as they continued to spin and gesture with their arms and hands in perfect unison and in ever increasing speed. As they did, fiery lines of energy began to form around them and rotated with them.
"It reminds me a bit of Frost's incantation," Kasumi remarked as she watched and beside her Shampoo nodded as all observed the lines begin to take a steady form, tracing out an intricate pattern that was becoming more complex by the second. In fact, in less than a minute the two girls within were no longer even visible as the fiery swirls had completely obscured them, making it almost seem like they might have been incinerated by the blaze around them.
Just as the spectacle was becoming too intensely bright to even watch there was a sudden flash as all of the fiery construction collapsed into a central point, and indeed, Shan and Kane had vanished. This lasted only a moment though before a great blaze erupted in mid air and a new figure of brilliant fire floated before them. It didn't take long to recognize the form as a variant on Shamne's.
"Oh RIGHT!" Shamne exclaimed loudly as she pumped her fist. "I SO LOVE THIS!"
"Is it just me, or does she seem a tad more... excited?" Kasumi whispered to the others and they just nodded as Shamne flew about in the air quickly with a big smile on her face.
Finally Ranko spoke up. "Wait, you know the... uh, fire unification?"
Shamne stopped her flight and looked back at them in surprise before practically instantly popping up in front of Ranko. "YEAH, isn't it COOL!"
"Uh... I guess so..." Ranko replied, leaning back slightly.
"Yeah, they can't do it without using the Storm unification, but this one is awesome!" Shamne replied. "It's Infernos, by the way, not fire."
"Right, right," Ranko said quickly. "So... um, you going to get going. I thought you had a time limit of 15 minutes."
"Oh yeah, still stuck with that," Shamne said with a big sigh. "It SUCKS! If we could do it directly we're supposed to get an hour out of it, or more maybe, but NOoooo. Got to do it with the other one..." She said before sticking out her tongue and blowing a displeased raspberry.
"All the more reason to hurry," Kasumi urged.
"Right... right," Shamne replied again with a big sigh before looking off at the castle and pausing before smiling once more. "Yeah... right... yeah... let's see... how does this go again... Yeah, that should work. RIGHT, LET'S DO THIS!"
Shamne flew up a few meters into the air and struck out her arm. With the simple gesture, an intricate weave of magical circles and symbols blazed to life in front of her and began spinning as more circles were quickly added. Soon a globe of such complexity none of those observing could even hope to understand it was formed and just as quickly exploded in all directions.
Kasumi felt a sharp shift she couldn't identify, almost as if the very ground beneath her feet had shifted in an earthquake, but it was so brief she dismissed it as an illusion of sensation from the magic. She looked about, noticing the others seemed to have likewise felt it before looking back at Shamne.
"Hmm... that should of worked..." Shamne said in an unusually quiet fashion. She muttered a bit such that none could hear her before turning to them and putting on an exaggerated confused look. "Well, I don't know what's wrong. Doesn't seem to be working."
"It doesn't?" Kasumi asked.
"Is it because I'm here?" Ranko asked.
"... Maybe... oooh, don't want to overdo it," Shamne said and in a flash vanished. Just then, two new flashes appeared where Shan and Kane had been and the two girls reappeared in place, stepping apart and shaking their heads.
"Are you alright?" Kasumi asked, coming over to aid them, but Kane waved her off.
"It's fine, just a bit fuzzy after doing a double unite," she explained before looking around. "Wait, we're still here?!"
"Yes," Kasumi explained. "Shamne said she was having some trouble with the spell."
"Spell?" Shan and Kane both echoed, confused.
Just then, before any could process the growing confusion, their concerns suddenly became more pronounced as a voice called out from the castle. "What in the... what was that?!" Akane demanded as she came running out.
"Akane?" Kasumi greeted in confusion, soon noticing Makoto slowly following. "And Makoto too."
"Yes, what is going on here?!" Akane demanded as she joined them.
"Um..." Kasumi responded, looking to the others desperately for aid.
"It is nothing to get too excited about. They just have a goofy technique," Ranko answered.
"What kind of technique is that?! I could feel that thing all the way at the castle. That is not normal!" Akane exclaimed before turning to Kane. "I want to know what is really going on here."
"It's just like Ranko said," Kane offered but the sudden confrontation had thrown her off and she was looking rather nervous.
As Akane pressed in for answers, Makoto slipped next to Kasumi and whispered. "Kasumi, I think something is wrong."
"Hmh?" she responded.
"My... armor kinda gave me a weird warning when that fire lady did that weird spell thingy."
"What kind of warning?" Kasumi whispered back in concern.
"I don't-" Makoto tried to reply but Akane's yell cut her off.
"I KNOW YOU HIDING SOMETHING! Why did you look like me?!" Akane demanded.
"Oh dear," Kasumi sighed out.
"Uh, I... uh, what do you mean by that?" Kane lamely replied.
"When you were carrying us after the attack. I clearly saw you looked just like me. Don't try and deny it!"
"Oh... that..." Kane said with a cringe.
"Right... Ranko's anti-magic... We totally didn't think about that," Shan added with her own sigh but this only seemed to anger Akane further.
Fortunately, before Akane could get too excited, Kasumi stepped in. "Akane, please calm down," she urged, holding her sister by the shoulder to lightly restrain her.
"I know what I saw," Akane said, but did regain some of her composure.
Kane sighed. "Okay... maybe we should tell her, but we have bigger problems. Why are we still here?"
Shan shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know. You mentioned a spell?"
Ranko nodded. "Yeah... wasn't that what Shamne was supposed to do?"
"Well, yeah, but nothing you should see. She has it already built and just needs to power it. Only reason you'd see a spell is if she was building a new one."
"Don't you know what she's doing? Aren't you... like... her?" Ranko asked.
"Yes and no," Kane replied. "It's complicated. This is a disaster! UGH! We'll need another 3 days to try again. Why did she split before trying to figure it out?!"
Both Kane and Shan hung their heads in defeat.
"Okay, okay, um... well, let's get somewhere private and I'll explain things to Akane," Ranko said. "We can use one of the Karaoke rooms, right?" she asked and Kasumi nodded.
"That should be fine. They usually aren't full at this hour," Kasumi answered and turned to the doorways which led back to the restaurant, only to pull up sharply short. "Um... where are the doors?"
"Uh... I don't know," Ranko said as she looked around. "They're gone!"
"That's not good," Shan said before sharing an alarmed look with Kane. "Uh... I think we might have done more damage than we thought."
"Yeah, let's contact Tae-il. Maybe he has an idea," Kane quickly suggested, hesitating as Akane was staring at her suspiciously. With a heavy sigh she removed her necklace revealing her true appearance. "We'll explain in a bit," she said as Akane pointed insistently at her.
"Uh, yes, I'm aware, Akane. Been aware for a while," Kasumi assured her.
"YOU HAVE?!"
"Yes," Kasumi replied calmly. "It's... complicated."
Shan sighed and joined Kane, likewise removing her amulet and revealing herself much to Akane's shock, but as she looked about the others, save Makoto, all remained calm about the reveal. "You all knew?"
Shampoo and Ranko both nodded.
As this was happening, an image of Tae-il floated above Kane's amulet. "We got problems!" Kane said at once.
"Um... yeah..." he responded, looking about from the projection to spy the various others in view. "I see... hmm. Stay there, I'll be right over."
"What?" Kane asked but the image vanished before she got a reply. "What does he mean he'll be right over?" she asked Shan who was contemplating.
Before anyone could draw any conclusion a flashed marked the arrival of two people. One was Tae-il in the flesh. The other was a brown haired woman who Shampoo immediately went wide eyed at seeing. "Okay, girls, what mess have you made this time?" the woman asked.
"Oh no," both Shan and Kane said in unison as the conclusion was all too obvious.
"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?!" Akane exclaimed.
XXXXX
About this time, Herb had just returned upstairs from aiding with the move, although she had ended up doing little. Mint and Lime had insisted very strongly on doing all the lifting, leaving Herb feeling very awkward. Sure she was a prince and transporting luggage around was not something she'd normally be doing, but having offered her aid it felt exceedingly off to do nothing but watch.
Work was little different. Kasumi, on hearing Herb intended to do her usual shift and quickly shut down that idea, insisting Herb take at least one day full off. Herb had conceded but now was wondering how exactly she was going to fill the time. Fortunately, the purge seemed to be good to its name, and despite recent events, she found it hardly troubled her at all. A marvel given when had occurred. Still, she didn't wish to have the opportunity to dwell on it.
Such concerns, though, quickly became trivial as he entered the room which housed the two doors leading to the pocket dimension only to find a typical wall where they were usually located. She puzzled for a second, reconfirmed her location and even patted down the wall, but found everything as it appeared. "Where..." she started to ask openly with some concern before noting something else. "I can't sense it. The barrier magic is gone too," she said in alarm before rushing to the entertainment room and picking up the phone and dialing the doctor's clinic.
"This is the clinic of Doctor Tofu's. What-" Frost started her standard phone intro.
"Frost, the pocket dimension and barrier are gone!" Herb quickly interrupted.
"What?"
"You heard me. Check your portal to the pocket dimension!" Herb ordered.
"Hey... alright, hold on a minute," Frost replied in irritation and set down the phone. Herb listened as she walked away, but within just a minute she could hear her run back. "The portal door isn't working!"
Herb clenched her teeth and stretched out with his senses. 'Where is everyone?' he thought, feeling out as many as he could. Lemon, Mint, Lime, Ukyo and Ranma were still on the first floor, as was the rest of the restaurant staff on duty. 'Shampoo and Kasumi... I can't sense them... not Makoto either. Everyone else is probably back at the Tendos', but...'
"Was anyone inside?" Frost asked urgently.
"I don't know. I can't sense Kasumi, Shampoo, or Makoto. They might still be out."
"I'll be over in a few min... hmh?" Frost started to declare before becoming distracted. "Hold on a sec," she said and set the phone down again. After a minute she picked the phone back up. "Uh... I'll... be over in a bit to explain."
"Explain?"
"Yes, I'm talking to them right now. It's... I'll get back to you. They're fine... I think," she said and hung up before Herb could further interrogate her.
XXXXX
Not too long after, Frost was convened with Herb and Ranma in the relative isolation of a karaoke room, the former looking nervous. "Okay... uh... this is a bit complicated."
"Where are they?" Herb demanded.
"They're with Ranko and her friends... and Akane's with them too."
"Akane too?" Ranma asked and Frost sighed and nodded. "I take it they didn't get to wherever they are by normal means?"
"No," Frost said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "They took the whole pocket dimension with them apparently, and since the barrier is linked to it, they took that too."
"Can they get back?" Ranma asked in concern.
"Supposedly yes, but it will be 3 days," Frost answered.
'3 days... that is the same time table those two girls gave for leaving,' Herb thought. "Are they in any danger?"
"No more than usual," Frost replied. "They seem to be fine."
Herb frowned, noting how evasive Frost was being. After a moment, though, he stood up. "Very well. It seems there is some secrecy desired here?"
"Uh... yeah, sorta," Frost answered to Ranma's confusion.
"Secrecy, about what?"
"I can't say," Frost replied, causing Ranma to scowl. "It is nothing important or dangerous... just... trust me, you don't really need to know. If it becomes important, I'll tell you."
Ranma continued to scowl but Herb intervened. "Leave it, Ranma. Some things simply should not become common knowledge."
Ranma sighed and likewise stood up. "Fine, whatever. You tell us if anything comes up though, okay."
"I will, believe me. I'm keeping in contact."
Satisfied the two boys left although both paused in the central area. "You know anything more?" Ranma asked.
"No. It might be to do with the other matter I can't speak of, but I don't see how. Regardless, since Ranko cannot be teleported by magics at least, wherever they are they reached it by very unusual means," Herb answered.
"So... what are you saying, they aren't even on Earth?" Ranma asked.
"Possible not," Herb answered.
"Well damn," Ranma remarked before noticing. "Guess you lot will have to use the rooms here for now."
"Yes... unfortunately all our clothing was in the castle," Herb noted. "I suppose I still have my work clothes here, and the ones from yesterday are in the wash as I recall."
"I'm sure we can figure it out," Ranma said with another sigh before noticing Rippa enter the building. "Hey Rippa, you're here awfully early."
"Ranma! Thank god, we got to talk," Rippa said and rushed over.
"About the tournament? Something wrong?" Ranma asked, but Rippa shook his head.
"Nono, all's fine on that front, it's something else."
"Oh?" Ranma asked, but as if in response, they all heard a shout of anger from the restaurant, that of Ukyo.
"Oh damn," Rippa muttered, and with a frown Ranma raced to the location, followed soon after by Herb and Rippa.
Once there, the trio found Ukyo out in the dining area, and was currently confronting a man Ranma and Herb did not recognize. She had him by the collar and looked like she might blow her top, she was so red with anger.
"Try saying that again!" Ukyo growled out in challenge.
Surprisingly, the man seemed only slightly flustered. "Oh, I seem to have hit a nerve."
Ranma decided to intervene and rushed over, quickly freeing the man from Ukyo's grasp. "Okay, everybody calm down."
"I'm perfectly calm, sir. It appears only that this woman has trouble taking criticism," the man said as he straightened out his shirt.
"Criticism? Calling my food slop is not criticism!" Ukyo nearly roared.
Ranma looked between the two, considering how to handle the situation before noticing Rippa looking unusually nervous. 'Oh hell, what did he do?'
"I believe I called it 'disgusting slop', not simply 'slop'," the man amended, which only infuriated Ukyo more.
Fortunately, before she could turn the man into a human pretzel, Ranma restrained her. "Don't rise to the bait. He's just an asshole," Ranma quietly said to try to calm her, to little effect.
Crystal was the next to enter the fray, stepping between the pair. "I'm sorry sir. If our meal was not to your liking, I will of course comp it in full, but I must also ask you to leave."
The man huffed. "For the best. The decor may be fancy, but the actual food itself is a severe disappointment," he said as he started to leave.
"And who the hell are you to judge?!" Ukyo snapped back.
The man smiled as paused half way out. "Gin. Head chef of the Totsuki Resort."
"Is that supposed to mean something to me?!" Ukyo once more snapped but now Crystal stepped in to answer.
"It is a very high end establishment," she whispered.
"So?" Ukyo half whispered back.
"Rather I should say it is a chain of establishments. They are well connected and highly regarded," Crystal further explained.
"Yes, and perhaps I should caution my suppliers against doing business with this place," he said with a dismissive huff, turning back away. "A shame. Such a prime location too. Must be expensive to run."
"Are you threatening us?" Ranma asked, his own cool beginning to fade.
"Take it as you will," Gin replied. With a backwards wave he departed, Ukyo growling all the while.
"Should have let me kill him," she muttered.
"Yeah, let's not do any murder, literal or otherwise," Ranma replied. "Come on, just go cool off upstairs."
"Yes," Crystal agreed and turned to the other patrons. "Sorry for the incident everyone. Please continue your meals. I'll see to you all getting a discount for the trouble."
As the confrontation wound down, Ranma turned back to Rippa and marched over, the boy looking more nervous by the second. "Rippa?"
"Funny story..." he started to reply before Ranma seized him by the shirt and together with Herb they headed into the back. "We better be laughing up a storm..."
XXXXX
"How... why?" Ranma groaned as Rippa started explaining.
"You said I could give it a shot to help her out."
"Ukyo? How is this supposed to help out?!" Ranma exclaimed.
"Okay, the plan went a little sideways..." Rippa explained, causing Herb to cross her arms and glare. "Honestly, I thought that magic barrier you guys have..."
"We just lost it today," Herb explained.
"Oh... terrible timing," Rippa said.
Ranma frowned. "Yeah, but that doesn't let you off the hook. What the hell?"
Rippa cleared his throat. "Okay, so... the original plan was to... get Ukyo into a contest with a ringer. A pompous sort, kind you can't just help but hate."
"You seem to have gotten that part correct," Herb said.
"Yeah, except that WASN'T the guy I was aiming for. The guy I was aiming for was one that priest told me about. Lots of bluster, but kinda mediocre."
"And this guy?" Ranma asked.
"He's super legit. Like considered one of the best in the country, perhaps world."
"Just great," Ranma moaned.
"Okay, that's on me. The guy kinda fit the description, and they both happened to be at the same place... but... yeah."
"And this challenge?" Herb asked.
"That's what I was supposed to arrange. Obviously that's gone a bit awry."
Herb shook her head. "This could be very troublesome. If he is as well connected as Crystal said-"
"He is," Rippa said sadly.
"Then he could make business here very difficult, perhaps impossible," Herb concluded.
"Yeah, also sounded a bit like he was aiming to buy the place," Ranma said.
"Perhaps so. All the more reason to be worried," Herb added before the pair glared at Rippa.
"Okay, yeah... this is bad. But it is okay, I have a contingency plan."
"You do?" Ranma asked. "Better than the main plan I hope."
Rippa hesitated and simply smiled. "Hopefully."
Ranma sighed. "Okay, let's hear it."
"Okay, so this Gin guy has a bit of a rival. I already got in contact with him. Actually, he contacted me after I started this whole mess, but whatever... Anyway, he's sympathetic and says we can indeed deal with the situation with a challenge, a paired challenge, with him and Ukyo vs Gin and whoever he chooses. I think he called it a Food War."
"Like a food fight?" Ranma asked.
"Yeah, I know, weird naming, but no. It's like a cooking contest. Apparently the conditions for challenges are very strict and if we can arrange one we can get this guy off your backs... assuming they win."
"And this rival can win?" Herb asked.
"Uh... no. Apparently he's the number 2, and Gin is the number 1," Rippa explained, once more prompting both Ranma and Herb to glare at him. "It is the best I could do."
"He will not accept such a challenge lightly. We may have to offer something substantial in exchange," Herb noted.
"He figures he can keep it to something manageable... like Ukyo never cooking again..." Rippa said with a cringe and once more was the target of death glares. All he could do though was shrug.
Ranma groaned. "And Ukyo is not exactly in top form either. This is not good. Maybe it is all bluster it will blow over."
"I kinda doubt that," Rippa cautioned, looking nervously away.
"You really did a number on us, you know that, right?" Ranma accused.
"We could try a less scrupulous approach," Herb suggested.
"What, like killing him?" Ranma asked in shock.
"I didn't say that," Herb said but looked away. "We do have access to an Archmage. She no doubt knows some mental enchantments."
Ranma frowned. "Let's not... unless we have literally no other choice. I can just see that going all kinds of wrong long term."
"True, it is not without its own risks," Herb conceded.
Ranma sighed. "Okay, when can you get in contact with this guy?" he asked.
"Right away. He'll probably need till tomorrow to set things up, but should be able to come over and start strategizing, or whatever they do."
"Fine. I'll go talk with Ukyo and get her on board. This is going to be messy."
"Playing to her anger seems best," Herb advised.
Ranma stood up and nodded. "Yeah, just got to keep her at a manageable level. And Rippa... if this fails..."
"Right, I'll go make my will out right now."
XXXXX
"This better work, Rippa, or I'll let Herb here kill you, and maybe help hide the body," Ranma warned as he, Rippa, and Herb, guarded by Mint and Lime, walked down the street with the sun setting.
"It's fine. He's got this. I'm sure they'll pull it off," Rippa nervously assured him. "You did at least get Ukyo to agree?"
"In theory. Right now she's pissed, but as soon as that fades..."
"Right, well, we'll just have to keep her motivated," Rippa said and Ranma could only nod.
Ranma dropped that matter and looked back at Herb with a slight frown. "You sure you're up for this?" he asked, silently wondering why Herb had chosen his female form for their excursion.
"I'm not participating, just observing, and as I told you earlier, I am fine," Herb replied calmly.
"Well, at least make sure those two keep level heads, will ya. They'll kick you out in a heartbeat if you start something," Rippa cautioned, looking at Mint and Lime.
Herb nodded. "You heard him, keep your calm unless I tell you otherwise. It is likely to get... rowdy." Both boys nodded in unison to the instruction but remained firmly on guard.
"There it is," Ranma announced as their destination came into view.
Ahead of them was what would normally be a pretty nondescript parking complex. Today though it was the site of their tournament and it was obvious from the crowd gathered that it was going to be a popular one.
"Odd place, but suppose this is best they could manage," Ranma commented as they came up to the entrance.
"Yep, hope no one has lost their ticket," Rippa said and pulled his out, and the others did likewise.
After just a few minutes their group got through the security at the entrance and descended to the lower level where the main event was to take place. There they found the full level cleared of cars save a few ambulances tucked into the corners. At the center was the main ring surrounded by rings of colored rope from red to yellow to green from inside to out. The ring currently had some sound equipment being set up while the crowd kept outside the area, chatting and posturing.
"Well, at least I get to work out some tension," Ranma said with a smile as he looked over the crowd.
"I see no female fighters," Herb noted after her scan of the area.
"Yeah, male only event," Rippa replied. "I hear there was just too much BS happening with mixed stuff so they guess they just wanted to avoid the fuss."
"I can imagine," Ranma said. "Still got a bit of time till things kick off. Let's find a spot to hang out for now."
The others nodded and followed along as Ranma led them through the crowd and around the area. No more than a minute into their search Rippa gestured to a figure near the ring.
"Hey, Dee Jay!" the martial arts dancer called out, gaining the other man's attention as he headed over. The two exchanged friendly gestures of greeting as Ranma looked him over. He was a somewhat exotic man who, if Ranma were to guess, was of Jamaican heritage. He was sporting a red vest that Ranma had observed numerous others with, and together with some other vests of other colors, Ranma guessed marked him as a member of the staff for the event.
On getting in earshot, Ranma caught them as the other man playful did a little dance and mock box just as Rippa noticed Ranma's approach. "Hey Ranma, this is an old acquaintance. Dee Jay."
"Hey!" Dee Jay with a wide smile of greeting. "You two both give them what for out there tonight, right!" he replied with a distinct Jamaican accent.
"Definitely aiming for such," Ranma replied.
Dee Jay nodded approvingly. "I'd love to catch up some more, but got my duties. Good luck to ya!"
The pair waved as he departed, giving them a thumbs up, and Ranma looked to Rippa. "Take it you know him."
"Kickboxer, very good. Very trickery and good at reading beats. We have exchanged a few notes now and then when he's in the area. I'd honestly like to match fists with him, but he's got a gig apparently and is just filling in as bouncer."
"Right," Ranma noted, and took a look around. "This will do I think."
"Yeah, not much better," Rippa agreed as the others joined them.
Ranma gestured to a particularly heavy Japanese man in the distance. "That Honda?"
Rippas shook his head. "Nah. Honda always goes with that gaudy face paint, heavens knows why. Think that's one of his frequent rivals though. Now that guy..." Rippa said, pointing to another very large man in the crowd with many scars visible. "That's definitely the Red Cyclone."
"Zangief... he definitely looks it."
"Don't get caught by him. Serious grappler. He'll wreck you good and quick," Rippa cautioned with a smile.
Herb huffed. "He is clearly not the largest around though."
Ranma looked deep into the crowd with a concerned nod. Way in the back stood a true monster who towered over all the others. "That guy... is not natural at all."
"If I were to guess, he is of the Tusk clan," Herb replied.
"Tusk clan?" Rippa echoed.
Herb nodded. "Sometimes known as the Elephant clan."
"Ah... well, yeah, he looks it," Rippa replied. "What's a Musker doing here that isn't with you?"
"He isn't of the Musk, at least not for several generations. Paradoxically, his size means he was not born in the Musk as the magics used to maintain our genes ensure such radical deviations do not occur. The Tusk clan is certainly large on average, but not nearly to that extreme. He must be from a rogue line where the genes are more wild. I think you will find his size is actually quite disadvantageous."
"He's going to tire very quickly," Ranma agreed and Herb nodded. "Still can't take him lightly."
"Quite."
Ranma looked over the crowd. "There are a large number of fighters here, and most are not wearing those vests," he noted. "I doubt there is time for a one on one tournament for all of them."
"Perhaps they are observers?" Herb suggested but Rippa shook his head.
"Yeah, no. Definitely going to have some quick and dirty elimination up front I think," Rippa analyzed before pointing out a man standing inside the ring at the side, one particularly well dressed, but clearly of considerable build. "That's our fight organizer."
"Oh," Ranma looked him over. He was definitely intimidating, his dark skin marking his descent and looking like one of those heavyweight boxers out of the United States, but even more built, so much so that his suit seemed to be straining to contain him. "Yeah, he's something alright," he said before noticing the man was speaking to another capable looking fellow just outside the ring.
This other man was of European descent, but oddly seemed to be keeping his eyes closed the whole time. "What's with Squinty there?"
Rippa looked the man over as well. "Never seen him before, but seems to know the organizer. Can't get a read on him either."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed, looking at Herb.
Herb took the hint and looked the man over and frowned. "He's very good at concealing his capability. I can't get much from him either."
"Someone to watch out for," Rippa noted and Ranma nodded in agreement just as the organizer was signaled by the technical staff and ended his talk.
Everyone's attention shifted as a loud tone filled the parking lot. Warriors and spectator's alike had their attention further drawn as several spotlights came to life on the center of the impromptu arena and the organizer stepped out and approached the center where a small portable sound system had been set up. The crowd murmured as he walked, and quieted as he picked up a mic and began to speak, his voice amped by the system.
"Alright, hope you're all here for a fight, otherwise you got the wrong party!" the man declared in fluent Japanese, with a wide grin, gaining several chuckles and laughs from those around him. "I'm this event's organizer, and sad to say I won't be participating, although it looks like it is going to be a good one! So let's get this show started, shall we!
"First of all, I'd like you all to take note of our men in red, yellow and white," the man said, pointing to groups of individuals so dressed in vests in turn. "Those are our bouncers, medical, and refs respectively. Treat them with respect, gentlemen, and they will treat you with respect. Act otherwise and things will go badly for you.
"As to the event itself, I'm told we have over 150 participants here today. That's a new record! Naturally, we don't have the time for a full tournament for all of you so tonight is the elimination round. Last 8 men standing move onto the tournament proper which will begin tomorrow. Each round of the tournament will be held on its own night: Quarters, Semis and then the finals where we will have our champion!
"Speaking of champions, let this be made clear right now, this party is for pride and bragging rights. If you're looking for one of these," he called out, raising a tacky trophy into the air. "Or some of this," he added, raising a wad of bills. "You're in the wrong place!" he declared, emphasizing the statement by tossing the trophy to the ground and shattering it beneigh his foot, and casually tossing the money to an aid at the side of the arena. "We don't go for that petty useless crap here!"
Many loudly called out their agreement to that sentiment while many others simply nodded along looking over their fellow fighters for any who would argue the matter, which none did.
"Good! Now, let's get onto the general rules. Number One, our refs decisions are final. If they say you're out, you're out! Don't argue the matter. Suck it up, better luck next time.
"Number Two, you see around me the red roped off area. That is the fight zone. No fighting outside that area. If you do, you're out! This area is for active fighters and personnel only. Beyond that is the yellow roped area. That is for pending fighters and personnel only. The green roped area is for the rest of the fighters. Everything outside that is for everyone else. Stay in your designated areas people!
"Number Three, you can be eliminated in the following ways: One, knockout or otherwise being unable to continue to fight. Two, forfeit, declare you forfeit loudly and you will be considered out. Three, removal from the fighting area forcibly or otherwise. Four, break a rule! All eliminated fighters are expected to remove themselves to the green area promptly. If you're not capable, our personnel will aid you.
"Which brings us to the next rule, Number Four, you will NOT attack personnel, or eliminated fighters. Likewise, if you are eliminated, you will not attack active fighters. Last man who did that is still drinking his lunch through straws. Am I clear?!"
There were various grumbles, but wide spread nods from the gathered warriors.
"Good! Next, Number Five, no weapons or other foreign substances! Footwear is allowed but will be inspected. If we find you hiding weapons, and yeah we know all about that pocket dimension crap, you will be out! So, feel free to empty out your reserves at the lockers provided if you didn't think ahead!"
Ranma smirked as he noticed several fighters nervously looking about and others looking disappointed.
"Number Six, no unnecessary violence. I know that sounds contradictory as this is full contact, but if our refs see you going for the kill, you're out! If your opponent dies, I don't care what the reason is, you're out! You break a fighter's arms because you think it is funny, you're out! Fight with purpose, not with maliciousness, and you will be fine.
"Number Seven, just to make it clear, fighting between events is also grounds to be eliminated. We catch wind of you jumping someone after the match, you're out! You hire someone to do your dirty work for you, same thing, you're out! Oh, and I... will... be... UNAMUSED!" The man slammed his foot to the concrete, cracking it, much to the shock of many watched. "Am I clear?"
Once more the man received widespread nods.
"And Lastly, Number Eight, as this event's organizer, I retain ultimate authority, and may fill in as required. However, don't come whining to me to overrule a ruling. If I don't override it immediately, I'm not going to, so don't waste my time. And if you do waste my time, you will be removed the hard way."
Several chunkled at this while others nodded.
"Good! Then let's move onto the specifics for tonight. Each of you will be randomly assigned an entry number. Fighters will enter the fighting area, four at a time, in two minute intervals. You enter in order of your entry number, if it wasn't obvious.
"Now, I know what you're thinking, you're as good as done if you get an early number. It certainly isn't good for you, but there are a few things going for you. If you eliminate another fighter, you gain the opportunity to rest by exiting to the yellow area. You may rest for up to 10 minutes, so for 5 groups worth. You don't have to rest immediately. You can do it whenever you like so long as fighters are still pending to enter. Once all fighters have entered, though, that's it, no more rest for anyone until we're down to the final 8. All fighters still resting must return to the ring.
"You are free to swap numbers. To do so, approach a ref, and both fighters will declare the swap and have it recognized.
"You are free to team up. Ultimately the final matches are one on one, but in this elimination round you can do as you please.
"When your number is up, you are expected to report promptly. If you're not in the ring after 30 seconds, you're out. So, for your own good, I suggest you get to the yellow area when you're in the next batch.
"And that about covers it. All fighters, clean out anything you don't want to be caught with, then form orderly lines over there for number assignment. The match will begin in precisely one hour. You have until then, and good luck!" The man finished, and raised a fist in the air prompting everyone to loudly let out loud cheer before he exited the fighting area.
"That guy is no joke," Ranma commented.
Rippa smiled. "Yeah. Hear he won this tournament five times in a row back in his day. He's retired though. Sad, I'd love to try a round with him."
"Yes, but it appears he is sporting a rather lasting injury or two," Herb commented from behind.
"Really?" Rippa asked with some surprise, to which Herb simply nodded. "Guess that explains the retirement. Too bad."
"He's still a serious threat, but not at the top of his game as they say," Herb amended.
"Right. Well, let's get our numbers, Saotome," Rippa prompted as he headed off to join the growing line, with Ranma nodding and quickly following suit.
XXXXXX
Ranma sighed as the line ahead of him moved at a snail's pace. Several fighters had already made scenes about their poor placement in the eliminations, and Ranma could do little but groan and roll his eyes. 'Suck it up, boys,' he would think but it did nothing to speed up the line.
He looked across the way at a second line up where Rippa had finally reached the front and was awaiting his number. 'Should have picked his line,' he thought before catching a glance at the fighter in front of him. For the first time he noticed the man was familiar, and was in fact the same man the organizer had been speaking with earlier. As before, he continued with his eyes casually shut.
"You falling asleep there?" Ranma asked, getting a chuckle from the man.
"No," he answered before smiling. "Just... force of habit."
"Right..." Ranma replied before looking ahead. 'Weird, but I suppose there are a lot of weirdos around here,' he thought, gazing over the crowd and while it was dominated by more regular sorts, there were a large number of unusual stand outs, from the giants he'd already noted, to clowns. A man keeping his eyes shut wasn't even that remarkable.
Just then the line stepped forward, placing Ranma with just two ahead of him. As the ball spinner used to distribute numbers rolled away, the man ahead commented, "How would you take the competition?"
"Hmh?" Ranma replied.
"What kind of competition you see out there? What odds you give them?"
Ranma pondered the man for a second, wondering at his forwardness, but having nothing better to do, decided to fill the time and indulged the question, looking over the crowd. "I'd say over half these guys are capable, but stand no chance."
The man nodded. "Weekend warrior types out of their depth," the man agreed.
"Yeah. About half of the remainder are... threats but also no real chance," Ranma analyzed, placing this lot about Saki's level. They were dangerous if they caught you off guard, but in a serious event like this couldn't go the distance.
The man nodded once more, a serious expression on his face. "Yes. Still worth looking out for, especially in the elimination round."
"Definitely. Most the rest are contenders of various levels. They got skills."
"Think you can take them?"
"Wouldn't be here if I didn't," Ranma replied and the man chuckled once more. "You said most..."
Ranma smirked. "Yeah, there are a few out there that I can't get a good read on. Could be just unusual, or real threats. Hard to say." The man again nodded. "I'd place you in that group,":Ranma concluded.
"Ooo, I'm in good company," the man remarked as the fighter ahead of him finished and he stepped forward to the front.
The ref at the stand, clearly tired by this point, looked up lazily and asked, "Name?"
Oddy, the man didn't respond, instead falling into thought. 'Okay, mister mysterious...' Ranma thought, still smirking before offering up, "Squinty."
The ref looked at Ranma in some annoyance, but the man smiled. "Yes, Squinty, we'll go with that."
The ref sighed, "Right, fine, whatever, Mister Squinty. Start the roll," he instructed and an assistant began rolling the large ball bin for about 20 seconds before finally a marked ball was allowed out and the ref picked it up. "67."
The newly dubbed Squinty nodded approvingly and accepted a card with his number marked. He gave Ranma a brief wave and headed off, prompting Ranma to step forward and go through the same procedure.
"58," the ref announced and handed Ranma his card with the number.
'Could be better, or worse,' Ranma thought with a shrug and joined Rippa. "Right... so, what number did you get?" Ranma asked and Rippa presented his card in answer. "Ooo, 15... that's rough."
Rippas shrugged and pocketed the card. "All the more time to have some fun. So, any strategy? We going all out from the start, or would you like to team up?"
Ranma considered but shook his head. "I'd prefer to go against you one on one, but I also don't want to be cheap."
"So, we aim for final 8 but stay independent," Rippa concluded with an approving look. "Right, works for me." Rippa looked over the crowd. "Some real nasties out there."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed, paying particular heed to the man he dubbed Squinty. Soon though he noted the lines at the various number tables finally coming to an end. He looked over at a prominent clock to see indeed the hour was nearing its end. "Okay, hope you're ready, because it is soon to kick off."
Rippa smiled confidently. "I'm always ready."
XXXXX
End Chapter 70
Next time in A Scary Thought: The tournament is on as Ranma and Rippa must survive the prelim night.
Oh, and for those interested in Kasumi's side of things. MUOF will be temporarily revived for that side of the tale starting with chapter 33.
For other general crossover info:
Full Crossovers:
Sailor Moon (original anime) - Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, Ami, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Setsuna, Luna, Artemis, Seiya, and Mamoru
Sailor Moon (manga) - The idea of Sailor Cosmos although heavily altered.
Sukeban Deka (anime) - Saki, Sampei, Remi, Jin, and the dark detective.
Street Fighter - Shadow Lady, Shadow, Rose, Chun Li, Sakura, Gill, and Karin. (Hot damn, SF6 is out and on season 2... when I started SF4 wasn't even out. Damn SF has evolved a lot since I first used it. A whole bunch of stuff is out of date or inaccurate, so not really compatible with any continuity anymore, but it is what it is. Already tossed in a few retcons so probably do some more down the road if it comes up. On the plus side, Shadow Lady kinda appeared in SF6 so she's semi canon now (she was exclusive to the vs series before). Don't know if they gave her any story in the game, but yeah, small wins.)
Other author FFs:
Shampoo 1/2 (DB Sommer): Be Bea and Perfume (one version that is although only mentioned)
A Very Scary Thought (Jim Bader): Garnet
Black Rose Blue Thunder (Dreiser): Siren
My own FFs:
Most Unlikely of Friends: Ranko, Kane (Akane), Shan (Shampoo) and various minor others. Perfume (my version, I know it is confusing, deliberately so) kinda but she's this world's version but she did first appear in Most Unlikely of Friends. As an aside here, I am attempting to keep the shared continuity between these two consistent so... yeah.
References/Cameos:
X-files - Kitsune is inspired by Mulder and some of his acquaintances.
Gargoyles - various spells, Gen-U-Tech and the La Bac.
Vocaloid - Miku, Neru, and Haku
Sleeping Beauty (Disney) - a spell
Fate Stay Night - Saber's weird naming... we'll leave it at that.
Food Wars - Gin (being a bit loose with him at the moment so don't judge)
Not Crossed with:
Ah My Goddess - Some other 'Scary Thoughts' stories use this crossover but I do not.
Negima/UQ Holder - A lot of similar ideas, but ultimately no.
Love Note: My other active fanfic, but it uses a different continuity and rules so no cross over here.
So, Hey, there is going to be a new Ranma 1/2 anime. Am I excited? Eeh... not really. For those who don't know, this story is based on the I guess now older anime, and I am much more of a fan of it than the manga which I fully expect to be the basis of the new anime. All I'm really hoping for is that they do adapt the Musk arc as it is the one arc from the manga I really miss not having in anime form and if they don't, well, I am probably just going to declare the whole new anime worthless. Maybe by some miracle the new adaptation will take a healthy mix of older anime points into it, but I don't expect such. Glad at least they kept to the general coloring scheme of the old anime. Always preferred it, although they did deviate a bit.
Lastly, thinking of echoing this on Archive of our own. It is a lot of annoying work, but they do have some interesting options over there that I like and ff net has had some weird issues now and then that concern me. Less an issue of late though which has downed my probability of doing so, and I can just guess if I do so I'll probably be dragged into a bunch of editing again. Apparently there is some interest in such though so might experiment a bit with it in the near future.
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