Ranma ½
A Scary Thought:
What happened last time: Kasumi and company took a moment to recover and learned not only of the can of worms they had opened, but of the mystery of the door within Kasumi.
Chapter 60
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"Come! Must leave to make bus for gate opening!" Shampoo urgently insisted, pulling Kasumi along behind her.
"Uh... right, of course," Kasumi replied, smiling in a mild confusion at Makoto, who was dressed for school, as she passed by. "Guess we'll be back tonight."
"Have fun," Makoto said as she spared the pair a look before chuckling and continuing on her way to the pocket dimension where she had her own business for the morning. Within, she soon found Ami, Usagi and Minako already in talk with Frost and headed over. "Miss anything?"
"Nothing super important," Minako replied. "Seems we're all around the same level of power, and stable, although apparently me and Mars are particularly high."
"Maybe that's why you were sensitive to the magic Frost laid out but we weren't," Makoto suggested to which Minako shrugged.
"It is possible," Frost said. "Naturally, as expected, Seiya is over 100 percent... well over."
"She's at nearly 400," Ami said. "And, she's still rising at what appears to be an ever increasing rate. She'll soon max out the scale."
"400... damn," Makoto echoed with a shake of her head.
"Yes, so there is no chance of using the old model of power module," Frost added. "Still, Ami had a good idea," she said prompting the other girl to explain.
"If we think of our normal power modules as dams, they are very efficient but ultimately have a max amount of pressure they can stand up to. Another approach, although less efficient, is a simple water wheel," Ami explained.
"Simply tap into the energy supply and take what you need instead of trying to store it all up," Frost concluded. "It should work, although I'm not sure how efficient I can make it so where the trade off point falls in your favor is still an open question."
"So, despite having more power we might actually get weaker?" Makoto asked with a frown.
"Afraid so," Frost answered. "I won't know for sure until I get fairly far into the design. I'm hoping to get the efficiency to the point where you only need a relatively small power boost to break even, but I can't be sure. Seiya should be fine, I think, after all she's probably going to be over twenty times as powerful at least. I'm pretty sure I can get the efficiency high enough to make that come out ahead."
"Right, so we really might want to ascend too."
"We can't truly consider such until we have the new modules available," Ami replied. "This is something we will simply have to wait on to evaluate our options."
"Right," Makoto replied and looked at Usagi. "I don't suppose we have any idea how powerful Usagi is?"
"Off the charts," Minako replied with a smile. "She pinned the needle of her armor apparently."
"Yeah, that system can't read that high. Fortunately, it isn't overloading trying to read it, but yeah, we have no idea. Given the maximum, she's probably easily over one thousand times," Frost explained.
"ONE THOUSAND?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"Easily," Frost repeated. "If things keep going as they are, Seiya will break one thousand inside the year. I'm guessing though, that's probably nearing the ascension limit, at least for everyone else other than Usagi. Of course, this assumes the current growth curve is constant, which I highly doubt it will be."
"Still, that's nuts!" Makoto said with a shake of her head.
"Y... yeah," Frost said and looked at Usagi once more who was slightly nervous under her gaze. "And Usagi here is supposed to be on a whole different level, so that's probably nothing compared to what she's putting out."
"Is there any way we can quantify it?" Ami asked.
Frost considered. "Difficult. Maybe I can rig up something with the power module that can give a rough estimate, but I'll still have to make some assumptions that are probably not very accurate. I'll see what I can do," Frost said before switching topics. "Don't suppose you had any luck finding that... door thing?"
"Actually, yes," Ami replied. "Your description rang a bell about one record I had seen when trying to find the workshop. It is an old inventory which does list your door, I think. At least, the description matches. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything much more about it. It was stored away since ancient times, so quite possibly it is as old as the Moon Kingdom itself."
"Uh, I'm guessing it isn't the workshop?" Minako asked.
"No," Ami replied. "I did consider it, but the workshop is listed very distinctly from this object. It makes no sense that they would list it so generically if it were in fact the workshop entrance."
"If you ask me, it doesn't make much sense they'd just throw a powerful magical artifact in the closet either," Usagi committed.
"Yes, I agree," Ami replied. "I can only assume they too didn't know what it was. Perhaps it was something Sedna was making, but never properly completed?"
"Why not?"
"I can't say. She and Quaoar did eventually leave the Moon Kingdom to our predecessors. Perhaps she was in the process of making it at that time but since they were no longer assisting us she dropped the project," Ami suggested.
"If it isn't complete, I can't even imagine what it was intended to be capable of," Frost said. "Spontaneously making a near perfect copy of a person long dead, that's nutty."
"Does sound kind of... creepy when you put it that way," Usagi said.
"It should," Frost replied then sighed. "Any hope of getting more info?"
Ami shrugged. "Perhaps. As I mentioned, other data banks are being repaired, so perhaps one of them holds more info, but given how little heed they paid to it in this one, I'm not hopeful. I think there is a very good chance it was stored away and forgotten."
"Great!" Frost said with a shake of her head. "Makes one wonder what other things they just stored away and forgot about."
Ami nodded. "Yes. Now that this artifact has appeared, I too wonder about that. I suppose I will have to see what info I can gather about such. I'm guessing after the fall of the Kingdom, the few Dark Kingdom youma still around ransacked the remainder of anything of interest. So, this organization may have other artifacts of ours as well, assuming the youma joined them."
"Wait... are you saying there are more of those super powerful youma out there?" Makoto asked in shock.
"We have to assume yes. Their numbers are probably very few, but if one survived, others likely did as well," Ami answered.
"That's not a very pleasant thought," Minako said.
"No," Frost agreed. "Still, don't tunnel vision on them. World is full of all kinds of powerful beings in the shadows."
The senshi nodded in understanding before Ami looked at her watch. "School isn't that long off. We should get going."
"Right," Makoto agreed and the group headed for the exit. As they did, Makoto took notice of Lemon likewise heading to such. 'Haven't seen her out much,' she thought as they arrived at the exit roughly at the same time. Makoto lingered at the back as the girls filed out together, Lemon passing through after Usagi. 'I wonder, since she's a kitsune, if she can sense we're any different?' she wondered as she passed through last. Lemon silently parted ways with the group at the kitchen where she headed to the prep area which they used for their household needs. Makoto shrugged away the thought and continued along.
Outside, the group continued on their way, moving to chatting about school, Frost separating to return to Tofu's. However, after glancing away at a passer by for just a second, Makoto turned back to notice a conspicuous sudden absence.
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Far away, said individual was far more aware of the absence of her friends and stopped dead in shock. Even more troubling, though, was the sudden shift in location and even lighting as it was now that of dusk rather than morning. "Wha..." is all Usagi could get out for several seconds.
"Usagi?!" A familiar voice said from behind, one possibly as shocked and confused as she was. She turned to see Mamuro before her.
XXXXX
"Where'd she go?!" Minako asked as she frantically looked around.
"She was there one second and gone the next," Makoto replied as she too looked around frantically.
Frost had rejoined them as they searched. "She must have been teleported away."
"Teleported?" Minako said. "Where?"
"I don't know," Frost replied. "If she did it herself, with her power... potentially practically anywhere."
"Let's not panic," Ami warned and took out her communicator. "Perhaps she is still in range," she said and activated the device, signaling for it to contact Usagi. Fortunately, and much to everyone's relief, her image soon appeared. "Usagi! Are you alright?"
"Uh... yes," Usagi replied. "Um... I'm... in... uh... the US I think."
"US?" Makoto echoed in confusion before catching on. "Like the USA? How... nevermind, stupid question. Are you sure?"
In response, Mamoru came into view. "Pretty sure," he answered for her.
"Oh!" The senshi all said simultaneously.
"Uh, this is a problem," Minako said. "How does she get back?"
"I don't know how I got here!" Usagi exclaimed on the other end of the signal.
"Calm down everyone," Ami advised. "Frost-"
"Nope!" Frost cut off the question. "I don't know teleportation magic. Grenda does I'm sure, but if we ask her she'll probably easily figure out who Usagi is."
"Right," Ami conceded with a sigh.
"And we can't use our teleportation power at all anymore," Makoto soon added. "She hasn't even got a passport to take an airplane back. This is not good!"
"Let's not panic," Ami advised before thinking. "Perhaps... yes, the Moon Kingdom's other teleportation system. I can control it a bit via my computer. I might be able to use it... but not quickly."
"How... not quickly?" Minako asked.
"Tonight at least. Even if I skip school-"
"You all don't worry," Mamoru interceded. "Usagi can stay with me without any issue for a while. There are lots of asian students around here so no one is going to take notice any time soon."
Ami nodded. "That will help... but what about school? They'll wonder where she's gone. Bad enough she disappeared during that whole hotel thing. If she disappears again..."
"Yeah, that will be a mess," Makoto agreed. "Uh... I don't know... I'd ask Kasumi, but she's off with Shampoo."
As the group was unable to come up with any ideas, a newcomer joined them in the form of Herb. "What are you all doing here?" he asked as he came from the restaurant.
"Uh... we got a bit of a situation," Makoto replied. "Usagi... sorta teleported herself clear across the planet, and doesn't know how she did it, so getting back is going to be an issue."
Herb groaned.
"We may have a plan for that. Our more immediate concern is explaining Usagi's absence. Her previous absence drew many questions and concerns, naturally," Ami explained.
"Right, right," Herb said. "How long do you need?"
"Hopefully till just tonight," Ami replied.
Herb thought and soon turned his attention back to the restaurant and sighed. "I have an idea."
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A few minutes later, with the plan discussed and agreed upon, the communication ended, leaving Usagi once more with Mamoru who couldn't help but laugh. "It's not funny," Usagi said with a pout.
"I'm sorry," he said and smiled. "I'm sure everything will work out. Come on, my place is not far from here. I can show you around a bit as we go," he said and with a nod Usagi joined him and the pair began walking together.
After only a minute, though, a revelation hit Usagi. "I wanted... to talk to you," she said quietly.
"Hmh?" he asked.
"That's... probably why I'm here," she said with a sigh.
"Well, talk away. We have all evening," he encouraged. After noticing Usagi hesitate, Mamoru took her hand. "I have a decent idea what you want to talk about, as I have many of the same things on my mind."
Reassured by the gesture, Usagi nodded and slowly began as they headed on their way.
XXXXX
Back in Nerima, Ukyo was on her way to school. She didn't want to be. Right now, she just wasn't up to it. Honestly, she wasn't up to getting out of bed, but she had forced herself knowing it would cause her nothing but added trouble to skip yet another day of school. Still, she couldn't force herself to look fine, and anyone passing her by could easily see how crushed she looked.
Her mind lost in thought and her focus barely on the concrete sidewalk in front of her, she paid little mind to the sounds of the street around her. She soon came to regret this as a sudden downpour of cold water hit her from above.
"Hey, sorry about that," a woman said, holding a hose spewing water as she came to take a look. "I was being clumsy and... AH!" she said but on sight of Ukyo's wolf form immediately tossed aside the hose and ran for her house.
'Great... just great,' Ukyo bemoaned as she shook loose the remains of her school clothes. 'It has actually been a fair while since the last time I got transformed like this. Was almost forgetting about it,' she thought before moving to considering how to recover from this mess. However, said considerations became secondary as several others on the street soon took notice of her and cried out in similar fashion. 'Oh even better,' she thought sarcastically.
"And just what zoo did you escape from, hmh?" Ukyo heard a familiar voice from behind her. She looked back to see Rippa, dressed for school and carrying a large pack approaching her. "Suppose I can't leave you on the loose," he commented with a mild sigh as he dropped his pack.
'Crap!' Ukyo thought and decided retreat was her best option. Said retreat had barely begun before Rippa appeared in front of her, reminding the transformed chef she had no hope of escaping him thanks to his flicker step. That was her last useful thought as the boy struck with surprising speed in her moment of surprise and she found her body going limp. 'Damn it!'
"There now, don't worry. Purely temporary, you'll be fine soon enough," Rippa said before noticing the woman from earlier peeking out her door. "Hey, miss, can I trouble you to call animal control?"
"Uh... is it... right, sure," she said and returned inside.
"Interesting way to start the day," Rippa idly commented before retrieving his pack and noticing Ukyo's discarded clothing and school bag. "Hmh? Guess someone panicked and dropped their stuff. Looks like a Furinkan uniform. Heading that way, so guess I'll take it with me," he said before retrieving the articles in question.
Ukyo could do nothing but lie helplessly in the street. It wasn't long before a van pulled up marked with the logo for animal control and Ukyo soon found herself being loaded inside. 'Is this karma coming back to bite me?' she thought in misery before the door closed on her.
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Not long after, Rippa indeed arrived at Furinkan and after turning in the uniform and school bag, he happened to notice Ranma out front with Kuno, talking. Ranma likewise took notice of him and was the first to speak.
"Rippa? What, you the newest delinquent they sent over?" Ranma asked.
"You wish," Rippa replied. "Unlike some people, my school record is spotless. No, track team will be having a meet against yours in a bit, so figured I'd come over myself instead of using the bus."
"Track team?" Ranma asked.
"Yes," Rippa said with a sigh. "Sadly, despite my best efforts, I have been unable to get any kind of dance program started so I was forced to join track. Won't even let me use my techniques. So annoying..."
"I hear ya, but what fun would it be if you just flickered to the finish line?" Ranma joked.
"Indeed. How you doing, Kuno? Haven't seen you in years. Still got the Kendo club going?"
"I am doing well enough, and yes, although the quality of my fellow club members leaves much to be desired," Kuno responded.
"You just need to whip them into shape," Rippa advised.
"Were it but so easy," Kuno replied. "School regulations forbid me from engaging in the training techniques I would desire."
"Too bad," Rippa replied, noticing a frown developing on Ranma's face. "What?"
"You two are awfully casual," Ranma commented
"Why shouldn't we be?" Rippa asked.
"You're always giving me the gears," Ranma replied.
"That's because you make it so easy," Rippa answered.
Ranma frown deepened, but with a shake of his head he dismissed the matter. "Whatever," he muttered and looked to the side.
"What's got you down?" Rippa asked.
"Saotome is troubled by the recent events with Kasumi."
"Oh?"
Ranma clenched his teeth. "She got sucked into something really serious and... well, it didn't go well."
"She alright?"
"Now? Mostly, but not totally. She's taking the day off to... relax," Ranma answered before letting out a frustrated grunt. "I should have been there. I know they say it wouldn't have mattered but still."
"What the hell happened?" Rippa asked with his own frown.
"I... I'm not supposed to talk about it. It was serious stuff though, so don't go spreading this around. Sounds like she inadvertently may have kicked a sleeping bear."
"That's not good," Rippa replied knowingly. "You know, from all I've heard of this area, Kasumi seems to get wrapped up in trouble on the regular. She has that whole marriage business now too."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed with a nod. "I feel so bloody useless sometimes."
"At least she came to you for some aid. I was not even considered," Kuno lamented.
"For the kitsune thing, I would have called you, Kuno, but no way you would have gotten by those kitsunes. Even Rippa had trouble," Ranma explained.
"I do not doubt it, but such does not change what happened. My skills simply were not up to the task," Kuno responded.
"I don't think I would have done any better if I wasn't already inside at the time. Just got... lucky I suppose," Ranma said with a sigh.
Rippa considered. "Yes, although none of us proved much of a match for them, even with the magic aiding us. The last one in particular was something else. What was her name again, Peach? Hate to be on her bad side."
"Yeah. Suppose this latest bunch Kasumi crossed may be even worse. They really messed up Ken."
"Ken? Copycat Ken?" Rippa asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Won't be doing any copying anymore," Ranma said with a sad shake of his head.
"Damn. I fought him once. Couldn't match me, but was surprisingly good for someone self taught," Rippa commented with a frown.
Kuno nodded as well. "As have I. His... attitude left much to be desired, but his skills were undeniable. A sad ending."
"At least he's alive, I guess... or I should say she's alive," Ranma said with a shake of his head.
"She? Well damn, never would have guessed," Rippa replied. "Wait... let me guess, kitsune?"
Ranma nodded. "Yeah, not that that matters much anymore. She lost her shapeshifting ability. That is the underpinning of her whole style. Without that..."
"Yeah," Rippa agreed. "Must have been some real serious customers. If Kasumi is going to keep butting heads with this sort, you really need to pick up your game, Saotome."
"I'm trying," Ranma replied with clenched teeth and a balled up fist. "But, how do you fight this sort of thing?"
"Got to think outside the usual box, I guess. Look beyond what you thought possible," Rippa suggested to Ranma's confusion.
"Thought possible?" Ranma echoed.
"Yeah. You're dealing with a lot of magic, right. Got to be something you can learn from all that."
"I'm no mage," Ranma replied but Rippa shook his head.
"That's not what I mean. Principles are principles. I'm sure there is something you can steal and adapt to your own use. Isn't that the way of the Anything goes style? I mean, after watching that little show Frost put on, I was a bit inspired. Not sure I can use any of it, but you'll be damned sure I'm looking into it."
Ranma went wide eyed at this then fell into thought. "You know, you just might be right. Only problem is, Frost's leaving soon, so can't really question her, not that she would likely answer me anyway."
"You'll think of something, I'm sure. In the meantime, we still have much knowledge to exchange," Rippa replied.
Ranma nodded with a determined look. "Right," he said before thinking to himself, 'You know, I really do feel fired up here. Like Shampoo said, maybe I needed to truly find something new to motivate me. Now, more than ever, I think I might have found it.'
XXXXX
"Just take it slow," Grenda advised as she led the way through the portal to the pocket dimension. Behind her Ken walked behind, to most eyes seeming fine, but to those escorting her clearly struggling. Ken took a series of steps into the space, making way for Frost and Herb behind her before stopping to breathe. "Alright, shouldn't need that illusion anymore," Grenda said as Frost closed the door. With a wave of her hand, Ken's form altered, revealing an elaborate construct wrapping around her almost like armor. Beyond that, her healthy appearance gave way to a quite sickly one, pale and shaking.
Herb grimaced at the sight prompting Ken to quickly declare, "This is nothing!"
"Don't push it. Just let the golem do the work. You're in no shape to be walking on your own," Grenda cautioned.
Ken glared at the magus but after taking in a breath nodded sharply and continued walking towards the castle.
"You can stay here, I'll settle her in," Grenda said and continued her escort, leaving Herb and Frost behind.
"She's pretty messed up," Frost commented.
Herb nodded. "The shaking is not unlike what Ukyo experienced from my understanding, but even more severe. Due to overuse of the burning soul no doubt. It is likely what burned out her mana system."
"Didn't Ukyo find some way to fix that?" Frost asked and Herb nodded once more.
"Yes. I... I will speak with Saotome about the matter. He is on better terms with her," Herb said.
Frost raised a curious eyebrow at that. "Something going on with Ukyo?"
"Something," Herb replied simply and without further word also proceeded to the castle, although his destination was his own room.
He entered with a sigh, closing the door behind him. He turned back towards his bed before sensing a distinct presence in the room. "Now you ordain to show up?" he quietly commented as he approached her.
"As I said before-"
"Yes, yes," Herb replied in annoyance.
Sorora leaned her head to the side as Herb dropped down onto his bed. "You've looked better."
"Have you any idea what has been going on?" Herb complained.
"You're married to Kasumi, wrapped up in a coup against your father, and you crossed one of the most dangerous organizations on the planet... anything else?" Sorora asked. Herb simply glared. "You have my sympathies. Before you ask, I did try to speak to Eyebright on your behalf. He was rather intractable on the issue though."
"You know each other?" Herb asked.
"Yes, although I'd hardly count him an ally. He mostly keeps his own council as it were. I suppose he doesn't fully trust me, and since the incident, my power base has suffered so my value to him is... reduced."
"Incident? You speak of the moving of the capital into the protected zone?" Herb asked to which Sorora nodded.
"Yes, not a trivial feat by any means. Had to sleep that one off for some time. By the time I woke up, your father was already in charge and running amok," Sorora explained, shaking her head sadly.
Herb nodded in understanding before asking. "What do you know of this organization?"
"Not as much as I'd like. They formed in that same period of time I was asleep. What I have gathered, they are composed of a number of pre-existing smaller groups all of whom found themselves suddenly outlawed by the magic council's new reforms of the time. They banded together to defy the council."
"Why are they still around then? Isn't the council powerful enough to crush them? Surely if they are outlawed-"
Sorora cut him off with a shake of her finger. "Politics mostly, and bad management. Let it never be said that the magic council is hyper competent. This early outlawing was in fact mostly a... PR stunt to use the modern lingo. They had little intent to do anything truly about it, so while in technical fact the groups were outlawed, little concrete action was actually taken against them. Part of that is because much of the council of the time didn't believe much in the reforms and support was rather limited.
"So, the group was left to fester and grow. By the time the council took them seriously they had developed a rather good set of methods to avoid the council's attempts to shut them down. The usual bribes, corruptions, insiders passing them info knowingly or unknowingly... Didn't help matters that the groups being outlawed kinda took any notion of keeping within the rules away so they got ever more extreme over the years, tossing aside all the old taboos."
"So essentially you're telling me the magic council made their own worst enemy through their sheer incompetence?!"
"Pretty much," Sorora said with a nod. Herb let out a disgusted growl. "Don't get too cozy with Grenda's group either. They are the flip side of that coin. They are the unregulated response to the existence of the organization. They are little more than vigilantes, attacking the organizations outside any authority given to them by the council."
"Truly?" Herb asked and Sorora nodded to confirm. "And the council turns a blind eye to this?"
"Yes. Their own official enforcement arm, due to all that corruption, is pretty much useless, so they have kinda lost that debate in the general population. However, that does mean the opposition can get rather ugly too. Not to malign dear Grenda, she's one of the more principled of the group, at least now. However, don't mistake them for pure agents of justice or such nonsense. They are far too... unstable for my liking. Many of them are just as bad in their own ways as that which they fight."
Herb nodded in understanding. "I will keep that in mind. How big is this... does it have a name?"
"Most seem to simply call it The Organization. A rather dull moniker, and not one they use for themselves. They generally avoid using any labelling to my understanding. As to their size, that's a matter of great debate. Certainly into the thousands worldwide, but difficult to pin down the exact value. I would say, even counting their very weakly linked elements they probably don't number more than a hundred thousand, and that would include a lot of normal humans. That said, they are very well equipped, so even those shouldn't be underestimated."
"I'm more worried about demons like that one we encountered."
"I doubt you'll encounter one like her again," Sorora said with a shake of her head. "If they had access to a large number of those, it would be a far more utilized asset that would now be common knowledge. No, I highly suspect she was bound to the defense of that place and not even permitted to leave save in its defense. Unless you encounter a similarly sized operation, another like her is an unlikely opponent. Beyond that, the Organization won't know what killed her. They aren't foolish. They won't send good operatives into such an unknown situation out of petty revenge. If you could take out one, you could potentially take out others and then what?"
Herb thought on this and nodded. "I suppose you are right, but still..."
"Yes, that doesn't mean you're in the clear. I'd be far more cautious of more low level attacks. Those assets they may well be more than willing to allocate to that petty revenge, and they even have a history of such. Thus, it was very wise to remain anonymous. It is difficult to say exactly how they'll respond to this, but they will indeed be... very angry."
"Are we sure they don't know we were involved?" Herb asked, to which Sorora shrugged.
"I'm no oracle. I cannot say," she answered. "If I hear anything about it, I'll tell you, but as you can guess, I have little knowledge of the group beyond the basics. You'll probably hear more from Grenda than me."
Herb frowned and hung his head. "And then there is the potential backlash from my father's supporters."
"Oh, that is hardly much of a concern," Sorora said dismissively. "Eyebright has all those identified no doubt and under close watch. When this coup happens you can bet it will not be just your father's blood spilt that day. Most who support your father are of the weaker and foolish variety and little threat should they manage to slip through the cracks. Beyond that, they would likely vent their frustrations on Eyebright's group themselves if they were so motivated, but I suspect most would simply prefer to flee and live."
"If that is so, then you're saying my father alone is enough of an opponent to keep Eyebright and his entire clan at bay till now?" Herb asked in shock. "I know he's powerful, but that cannot be!"
Sorora grew serious and shook her head. "You have never experienced his might. I say this without hyperbole, there is no singular person on this planet capable of defeating him in one on one combat. In fact, there are few that could fight him even as a group and succeed even in theory. He has grown to the peak of the capacity of the Dragonkin, so much so it surprises even me. He has strength and skill beyond what he should for his age. He no doubt has exploited some connections I'm unaware of."
"Can they beat him?" Herb asked in sudden uncertainty.
Sorora thought. "Assuming they can properly cooperate... yes. It wouldn't be easy by any stretch, but they should succeed, if for no other reason than his energy reserves are not limitless. He can exhaust just as anyone else, even if he'll last longer than most."
"Will you get involved?" he asked to which Sorora smiled.
"I've not been invited, so no," she replied. "If things go particularly badly I might... take advantage of the situation as I see fit, but that is all." Herb frowned but didn't argue the matter. "Enough of these depressing topics. I promised to help you on matters of love after all. I've been very lenient given all you've been wrapped up in, but it is about time I came to collect your homework."
"Homework? Oh," Herb responded in quick understanding before huffing. "I have no real answer for you."
"Oh? Come now, that's not entirely true, now is it?"
Herb considered before letting out a sigh and speaking. "Fine. I asked Shampoo why, but she simply told me it was due to her village's law."
"Yet you didn't accept that?"
"No. It is obvious to even a buffoon that is not true! If the law dictated her feelings so closely she would have killed Kasumi in abeyance of that law. Yet, she did not."
"So you think the law has nothing to do with it?"
Herb considered and shook his head. "Not exactly. Perhaps it plays a role, but nothing so critical. Beyond that, what drives Shampoo's feelings for Kasumi still eludes me," he said, hanging his head.
"Hmm, and Kasumi?"
Herb considered once again for a moment. "I heard it claimed that due to Kasumi's earlier rejection, she found security in that law with Shampoo. Perhaps true to a degree, but again it does not speak to why she loves Shampoo. It is more than that, I just don't know what." Sorora nodded quietly. "That's all I have. You see, I failed."
"Hardly," she replied to his surprise, causing him to look up. "I wanted you to improve your empathy. I never expected you to get the right answer. Honestly, love is often an illogical sort of thing, a combination of many qualities that are difficult to nail down. No, the very fact you knew these aspects were at best incomplete explanations shows you have improved."
Herb frowned and huffed once more. "Little matters now, I suppose," he said, looking to the side, dissatisfied.
"Ah yes, your political marriage. Not ideal starting ground, but still progress of a sort," Sorora said, regaining the prince's attention. "An aspect you didn't mention, but you might have realized regardless, is that when two people are thrust together, bonds tend to form between them. This marriage, political or not, is such a circumstance, and ripe ground to build such bonds."
Herb scoffed. "I hardly see it that way."
"Oh, I'm sure you would prefer something different, but don't let this crush your hopes," Sorora replied, causing Herb to reluctantly nod. "Good. Now, I think it is about time I get a formal introduction to Kasumi."
"What?" Herb asked in surprise.
Sorora smiled. "I never intended to remain your secret asset forever, dear prince. Besides, given all Kasumi has gotten wrapped up in, I think having direct contact with her should circumstances require it would be best. Do you not agree?"
"I... I suppose," Herb replied. "When-"
"Soon," Sorora interjected. "Don't worry about it. Just be ready," she assured him and started to turn away.
Sensing her pending departure, Herb snapped to his feet. "Wait!"
Sorora turned back, "Hmh?"
Herb hesitated before asking, "Is there anything you can teach me to help me protect Kasumi?"
Sorora raised a curious eyebrow at the question. "Expanding our arrangement?"
"If it is allowable," Herb replied.
Sorora considered. "I suppose it is true that simple advice may be inadequate. Very well. After my introduction I will consider imparting some of my knowledge to you, assuming you don't plan to misuse it. Don't expect any miracles though," she cautioned.
"Anything that could help," Herb replied and Sorora nodded before once more turning away and finally disappearing.
XXXXX
Across town, Ukyo was finally regaining proper use of her body, but it mattered little. All paths to escape were blocked with the most obvious obstacle being a locked cage door in front of her.
"...Right... I see... okay, then where did it come from I wonder?... No, it was right in the middle of Nerima from what I'm told... Okay, thanks again," she heard the clerk say from the other room before hearing the sound of a phone being put back on the hook. "Well, now we have quite the mystery."
The clerk appeared at the entrance to the holding area and walked over to Ukyo's cage. "So where'd you come from, hmh?" he asked, but of course Ukyo, in her wolf form, had no means to answer. "Guess I'll let the afternoon team figure out what to do with ya," he said with a shrug and returned to the other room.
Ukyo let out an unamused growl, then whimpered, dropping her head to the concrete floor.
XXXXX
At Furinkan High, the lunch break had started, and Ami, Minako, Makoto and Usagi had quickly dismissed themselves from their classmates before seeking out a particularly secluded portion of the grounds. Once confirming no one was within sight, they spoke openly.
"How you doing, Lemon?" Makoto asked Usagi.
"I'm... fine," Lemon, in the form of Usagi, replied.
"You appear strained," Ami said and Lemon did not argue.
"I'm just... a little tired. Holding a form this long is difficult, but I can manage to the end of the day, so long as I don't need to shift at all."
"I'm not so sure about that," Minako replied and Ami nodded.
"I agree. You just recently recovered from a full drain, and from my understanding you don't recover that quickly. Would a transfusion of mana help?"
"Well, yeah, but..." Lemon started to say.
"That shouldn't be a problem," Ami replied and took Lemon's hand and concentrated. Almost immediately Lemon's eyes went wide and she seemed to regain some vigor.
"You... you have so much," Lemon commented as Ami transferred the energy.
"Ah... yes, Frost noted that to me. She did say it was unusual," Ami replied to Lemon's confusion. "Is that enough?"
"More than enough," Lemon answered, prompting Ami to stop the transfer, still eyeing Ami in question.
"Hey, Lemon, why is it so hard to maintain Usagi's form and not your own. Isn't a fox your true form?" Makoto quickly asked, diverting Lemon's attention.
"My human form is what they call a low energy default. We train at it heavily and our body gets used to taking that form so it takes no real effort. We still recover at our fastest in our fox forms, but the default form is close enough most of the time. Older kitsunes, especially those with the tail for transformation, can regain energy in any form," Lemon explained.
"Tail for transformation?" Minako echoed.
"Each of our tails grants us a huge boost to a particular power set. I have the enchantment tail right now. Which one you get is pretty random, although I'm told the real powerful ones tend to only come out pretty late," she explained.
"And the transformation tail I'm guessing enhances your shape shifting ability?" Ami asked and Lemon nodded. "Hmm, interesting."
"Right, so, come on. Don't want to be acting too suspicious," Makoto quickly prompted and urged Lemon back towards the school.
Knowingly, Minako and Ami remained behind and once the other pair had left earshot began speaking. "Any progress on getting our real Usagi back?" Minako asked.
"Not really, although I have been thinking about it. I'm confident I can adapt the system, but it will require time. Obviously I can't do so here at school."
"Right," Minako said with a sigh and looked back at the direction Lemon and Makoto departed. "At least Lemon's pretty good at acting the part. Wonder if we should have told her about us? Getting a bit awkward."
"I don't think it is necessary right now, but yes, it is rather awkward. I'm told humans do sometimes have mana so it isn't that unusual, so hopefully she simply dismisses the matter. Although, perhaps I should have been more discreet?"
"Nah, she was struggling. She can claim she'd make it, but I doubt it. Don't think we had a choice," Minako said. "Let's not worry about it unless she makes more of an issue of it." Ami nodded in agreement. "Say, if I play lookout, can you get started?"
"Yes," Ami said and with a mutual gesture, the two set their respective tasks in motion.
XXXXX
Across the fields, Makoto and Lemon as Usagi were finishing up their lunch when Ranma approached. "Hey, Makoto, did you see Ukyo this morning?"
"Yeah, I saw her head out. She was in her school clothes and everything. Don't know what happened," Makoto replied, already guessing Ranma's concern.
"Darn it," Ranma said with a frown. "Yeah, and apparently she didn't show back up at home or the restaurant... well, guess that is home now, but you know what I mean."
"Yeah," Makoto replied. "She did seem out of sorts since the whole Kasumi thing."
Ranma nodded in agreement and started considering before giving a determined grunt. "I'm going to head out and start looking for her," Ranma said.
"Alright. I'll try to cover for you. Good luck," Makoto said and with a nod Ranma quickly ran off.
XXXXX
Far away and some time later, Mamoru returned to the waking world. Still in the cloud of his waking, it took a second to be reminded of the fresh circumstances he found himself in, and rolled over slightly to see Usagi sleeping next to him. He smiled at the sight of her, considered then decided to quietly get up without disturbing her.
Their talk of the evening before had been very... disorganized to say the least, jumping from topic to topic. Usagi was naturally dodging around the core issue, touching on it, only to quickly retreat to something safer each time. To be honest, Mamoru had guessed what was going on quite quickly, but having his own situation had indulged this manner of discussion for a fair while.
What exactly sparked their current circumstances he was not sure. Obviously over the last several months they had little time together, and now here, with a full night to wait for an update and no potential for interruption, it seemed, they finally had it, and unsatisfied feelings slowly began to take over during that time.
Mamoru quietly dressed and decided to get some breakfast, quietly kissing Usagi on the cheek and whispering to her, "Be back in a few minutes."
Usagi muttered sleepily in response causing Mamoru to smile once again before departing.
Alone now, Usagi continued to sleep for several minutes until knocking came at the door. She ignored the first set, muttered in discontentment at the second, and when the third came finally half woke up. "I'm here... I'm here," she murmured, absentmindedly getting up and walking over to the door and opening it.
On the other side of said door, Usagi found probably the last person she was expecting, and like a bucket of cold water, it quickly snapped her to full wakefulness. "Eris!"
The ascended senshi regarded Usagi for a moment, then slowly scanned down then back up. "Well... you're far more aggressive than I gave you credit for."
"Huh?" Usagi wondered before looking down and realizing she was currently without clothing. With a startled squeak she moved to cover herself causing Eris to smirk and step inside, closing the door behind her as Usagi retreated.
"Wha..." Usagi started to ask, but her own embarrassment quickly silenced her.
Regardless, Eris answered as she turned about and sat on the bed, a smug look on her face. "I was just here to check up on Terra. I'm curious how you got here? Getting control of your powers?"
"Uh... no not really," Usagi said.
"Oh? Hmm, well, don't mind me, or are you trying to seduce me too?" Eris said with an even greater teasing smile.
That pushed Usagi into action as she quickly scanned about the room, located her clothes and began to get dressed. Half dressed, Usagi finally took the implication of Eris' question and turned to her as she continued to dress. "I'm not seducing anyone!"
"Oh? Is that so? I have my doubts. Not that I blame you. Staking out your territory and all. I can appreciate that. It's only natural."
"I'm not like that," Usagi complained as she finished with her last garment.
"We're all like that," Eris countered, her smile vanishing.
Usagi tensed slightly at this only to hear a new presence outside. Both turned to the door to see Mamoru enter carrying two bags with him. "Usagi, I brought... oh!"
"Terra, I didn't know you already had a guest," Eris said as she rose back to her feet. "You know, don't let me get in the way here. I'll see you around," she said, no hint of mirth in her tone before marching to the door. Mamoru was so stunned he could do little more than give way and watch as the ascended senshi departed.
Eris closed the door heavily behind her, leaving Mamoru and Usagi once more alone together. He turned to Usagi and after a few seconds more of silence raised the bags. "I... bought us some breakfast."
"Thanks," Usagi said and after some awkward fidgeting the pair arrived at the table and began to eat.
"Does she... come by often?" Usagi asked half way through her meal.
"No, actually," Mamoru replied. "This is actually the first time I've seen her since returning."
"Oh," Usagi replied. "I... I have met Ixion a few times."
"Yeah, you mentioned that last night," Mamoru said with a soft smile.
"I... oh right. I guess I did. He was really helpful the other day."
"So you said. I'm glad he was there."
"Yeah," Usagi replied and a silence fell over them as they finished their meals. Finally done, Usagi sighed, her eyes locked on the table. "It's all so complicated."
"That it is," Mamoru agreed. After another moment of silence, Mamoru finally decided to take the initiative. "In some respects, I think it might be a good thing."
"Hmh?" Usagi said in surprise, looking up.
Mamoru leaned back and looked off at the window. "Honestly, when I knew I had fallen to Galaxia, my greatest worry was not that you couldn't defeat her, it was that you'd have nothing to live on for after that," he explained, causing Usagi to likewise look away slightly in consideration. "It is easy to do your duty, as it were, but then just give into despair once the urgency of that is gone. So, if it had come to that, I'm glad Seiya would have been there for you."
Usagi hung her head. "If things had gone that badly... you might have been right to worry," she said. "I guess, Seiya being there did help... would have helped."
Mamoru let out a laugh to relieve the tension. "Of course, it didn't come to that, and we're both here."
"Yeah," Usagi agreed, refocusing on Mamoru.
"Regardless, I want you to know, come whatever may, I'm always here for you, Usagi."
Usagi bit her lip at the declaration, her eyes glistening. She nodded in acceptance, dabbing away her tears before looking back at him with determination. "And I'll always be here for you," she declared in return.
"Never doubted it," Mamoru said in return, bringing a smile to Usagi's lips.
XXXXX
"...And I told him, that's no elephant!" Akira said as he came into the animal shelter. Near behind, Mai laughed, causing the man at the counter to eye them both with an upraised eyebrow.
"Ah... nevermind," Mai tried to explain but waved it off with a laugh.
"So anything exciting?" Akira asked as he joined the man behind the desk.
"Got a mystery guest... A wolf."
Akira frowned. "A wolf?"
"Yeah, already called all the usual, nothing unaccounted for. Big one too," the man replied prompting Akira to peek in the back.
"Hmm," Akira said. "Add a bit of pink... yeah, I know this one."
"You do?" The man asked in surprise.
"Ranma's?" Mai asked and Akira nodded. "I thought that was a dog?"
"Sure... a really big dog," Akira said as he looked back.
"It's a wolf."
"Nah."
"No, it's a wolf. I know my dogs, and that's no dog," the man said flatly.
Akira rocked his head side to side. "Well... yeah, but let's just say it is a dog."
The man shook his head and picked up his coat from a hook nearby. "Whatever. Just deal with it. I'm out."
"Seeya," Mai said as the man departed. "You have Ranma's number?"
"Yeah," Akira said and headed to the phone.
Not long after Ranma arrived and while Mai busied herself with some paperwork, Akira sat behind the desk, doing his best to look stern. Immediately on seeing this, Ranma nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Ranma, look man, I like you, but you can't go letting your pet out like that," Akira chided.
"Uh... yeah... sorry about that."
"And at least get her some tags. Hard to cover for you when she's completely unmarked," Akira continued as he stood.
"Uh... right... I'll do that," Ranma replied, looking away.
"Right. I'll go fetch her," Akira said before going into the back leaving Ranma fidgeting in the main office. He returned after just a few minutes, leading a very downtrodden Ukyo, now collared and leashed. The mere sight of this was enough to make Ranma cringe. "Okay. You can have these, but be sure to get your own, and don't let her wander the streets anymore. You got that?"
"Yeah, I got it," Ranma said, reluctantly taking the leash from Akira.
"Do admit she seems pretty darn harmless," Akira commented. "Though, looks kinda depressed."
"Probably," Ranma replied. "Don't worry, it won't happen again."
"Better not. Normally we'd probably fine you, but drawing up the paperwork for this one would be a total pain, so you get a freebie, but not next time."
"Right," Ranma replied and knelt down in front of Ukyo. "Just... bear with it for now, okay?" he whispered and Ukyo lightly nodded, her gaze locked on the floor. With that ranma reluctantly led Ukyo from the building, and once out of earshot quickly said, "I got you a spare set of clothes at Doctor Tofu's. It's close," he said.
Despite that estimate, by the time the pair did arrive at the doctor's place, Ranma was feeling nearly overwhelmingly ill. It was, of course, not sickness, but rather the hidden reality of the situation playing out in his mind. 'If I feel this bad, this has to be a hundred times worse for her,' he thought as they finally got within and thankfully out of sight.
"Frost, you here?" Ranma called out as he quickly removed the collar from a still downtrodden Ukyo.
"What now? I'm busy!" Frost complained as she came into the waiting room. "What's going on here?"
"You know about... her right?"
"Ukyo, yeah," Frost replied and clued in. "Oh right," she said as she clued in. "Come on, I'll help you change back and get dressed."
Ranma sighed in some relief as Ukyo moved to follow Frost. "Her clothes-"
"Yeah, yeah, I saw you drop them off earlier," Frost quickly retorted and indeed headed into a nearby room.
With the pair out of sight, Ranma let out a heavy sigh, looked at the leash and collar in annoyance before tossing them aside onto an empty chair, sitting down in another himself. There he spent the following few minutes trying to banish the mental image of their short walk from his mind. His efforts were interrupted when Frost cleared her throat, gaining his attention.
Ranma looked up to see Frost with a conflicted look, standing just outside the room she and Ukyo had just entered. A quick glance by the magus into the room was enough for Ranma and he nodded and stood up. He joined her at the doorway, seeing Ukyo, now human and fully dressed, sitting on the floor against the wall, her legs curled up in front of her, and head buried between her knees.
Ranma cringed silently at the sight and after a second of thought turned to Frost. "I don't suppose you have any... thing that could help her with this... kind of thing?"
Frost frowned in some confusion before Ranma looked back at the discarded collar and leash. "Oh... uh, no... not really," she answered. "Maybe... I'll give it some thought, but there's no way I can get anything for her before I leave."
Ranma nodded sadly. "I'll... think of something for the meantime," Ranma said and headed inside. He regarded Ukyo for a moment who did not respond to his entrance before sitting down next to her.
"I'm not mad," Ukyo quietly said. Ranma just nodded. "Not like I... not like I'm not used to it by now... being treated like a..." Her voice nearly broke at the words so she dropped it and took a long moment. "What does it... what does it matter if she knew I was there or not? She's still the one who gave me this blasted curse, right? Put me through all of this... all of it..." Ukyo continued before burying her head even deeper. "So, I have every right to hate her for it. Every right."
Ukyo went silent, prompting Ranma to reply. "I suppose," he replied evenly.
The silence continued for a minute until Ranma looked back to the doorway in thought. "Maybe we can... tell a few more people about it. At least then, things wouldn't get this bad."
"I... don't know..." Ukyo quietly replied.
"I've known Akira for a while... Well, not like we're buds or anything, but I know him well enough. He's chill. Mai too. I mean, not like they've seen something like this, but I think you can trust them. And if you can't... I know who to kill."
Ukyo let out a small laugh before quickly relaxing her legs and rubbing her eyes with her forearm. Once finished she remained in the more relaxed position and considered. After a few seconds she rocked her head side to side before finally nodding. "Okay."
Ranma smiled weakly and stood up, giving the girl a reassuring squeeze to the shoulder.
Ukyo soon joined him, her expression still down but firm. After taking in a long breath she looked at Ranma and asked, "I... can you punch out Rippa for me next time you see him?"
"Hmh?" Ranma asked in confusion. "Okay, but what did he do?"
XXXXX
"Okay, I just need a minute longer to get the coordinates right," Ami said over the communicator.
"No rush," Mamoru replied. He and Usagi were at a secluded spot at the outskirts of the city, Mamoru having driven them there in preparation for the teleportation not long before.
"Make sure you only get me," Usagi quickly added.
"Of course. I'm locking in on you now. Shouldn't be much longer," Ami replied.
Usagi nodded and looked at Mamoru. "So, I guess I'll be seeing you," she said sadly.
"It won't be long," Mamoru replied to Usagi's confusion. "I decided to return to Japan.
"What?! But you can't-"
"Sure I can. There are perfectly good universities in Japan too. Sure they haven't got quite the rep as this one, but you need me there."
"I-"
"You need me there," Mamoru insisted, and Usagi's resistance crumbled. "I'll be wrapping up my classes soon to get the credits and have already looked into getting them transferred. So, come the end of the semester I'll be back in Japan."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," Mamoru replied.
"Okay, about ready," Ami interrupted. "Can I get you two to step aparted, at least a few meters?" she asked.
"Uh, right!" Usagi responded, reluctantly left Mamoru's side, and walked several paces away and turned back to him. "This good?"
"Yes, that's fine. One second... got you. Say when ready," Ami directed.
"End of the semester," Usagi repeated as she looked at Mamoru and let herself smile. "I'll be waiting," she said.
"See you soon," Mamoru said.
"You too," she replied. "Okay, I'm ready," she said.
"Right... and here we go," Ami said and in the next instant Usagi vanished in a flash.
Mamoru looked about before frowning. "Didn't consider a way to confirm everything went fine quickly. Guess I'll call when I get back," he said to himself.
"Oh, she's fine," Eris said suddenly from his side, startling him.
"Why is it sometimes you fly in, and other times you just pop in?"
"Keeps you off balance," she replied with a smirk before explaining further. "Now that I'm back here on Earth, I've got a better feel for the area and don't need to travel conventionally. It is a limitation of teleportation, you have to know where you're going and coming from pretty well."
"Right," Mamoru said and moved to return to his motorcycle. Eris followed alongside him. "Eris..."
"Yes?" she asked.
Mamoru sighed. "I can't control you, obviously, but can I at least ask you to stay out of Usagi's love life?"
Eris looked away. "Hmm... I... suppose you can. Are you truly okay with her being with others?"
"I'm not going to lie, it makes me jealous. That said, we're not exactly a normal couple. So, I have to be willing to look beyond that. She just... she doesn't need extra stressors right now."
"Hmm," Eris murmured. "Very well," she said at last, although with a clear reluctance.
"Thank you."
Eris huffed and in an instant disappeared. Mamoru looked about then sighed before arriving back at his motorcycle. "Guess she's still mad," he muttered but then paused to consider only to shake his head. "Can't deal with it much now," he said and got onto the bike and started it up.
XXXXX
Late into the evening, Kasumi and Shampoo stepped off the last leg of their transit journey home. Kasumi lightly sighed in relief, knowing home was only a few minutes away. It was not that the day was not good, it was more that Kasumi's body dearly wanted a rest. Truly, even being very familiar with long hikes and even swimming the ocean for days on end, today had been a long one and her legs were getting tired.
Kasumi looked beside her where Shampoo was happily walking along, humming one of the tunes from the park while rocking her head side to side. The sight was enough to make Kasumi smile once more, especially amused by the sight of Shampoo in mouse ears. It was not the only memorabilia they had purchased during their day's journey, both now carrying bags at their sides.
After a moment of watching Shampoo's continued distraction, Kasumi finally spoke. "You seem to have had a good time."
Shampoo broke her humming into a pleased murmur before nodding vigorously. "Oh yes! Shampoo have great time. Only wish was more time to see more, but save that for other day," she replied with a beaming smile. "You?"
Kasumi considered. "It was... more entertaining than I expected, honestly. I've only seen one of the movies, but I suppose I am reasonably familiar with them despite that."
"Shampoo seen all animated ones!" Shampoo declared proudly. "Even many that not."
"Oh?"
Shampoo nodded. "Hard do in China, especially village, but Father take Shampoo to theater to see them," she explained, smiling at the memories. "It was always fun adventure. Father want spoil Shampoo, I think."
"I see. Sounds like they were fun times," Kasumi said to which Shampoo nodded.
"Yes. Even when mother come she act less... crazy," Shampoo said with a slight frown but it quickly vanished. "Which movie you see?"
"I believe it was Sleeping Beauty, but it was long ago."
"Oh, is good one," Shampoo said with an approving nod. "One with evil woman who turn into dragon, yes?"
Kasumi nodded in confirmation. "Yes, that's it," she said, although in the back of her head she had the briefest odd convergence of memories bringing her to a confused look. However, the matter was lost as Shampoo looked at her, puzzled. "Just... thought I remembered something, but it wasn't important," Kasumi quickly explained to Shampoo's satisfaction. "You don't find them... simple?" Kasumi asked.
"Movies? Of course is simple. That why nice," Shampoo answered and sighed wistfully. "Sometimes just wish real life could be simple like in movie."
Kasumi couldn't help but nod in agreement with the sentiment. "Perhaps we should see if we can acquire some of them ourselves."
"Oh, is good idea! Yes, Shampoo not even think but much easier here in Japan," Shampoo quickly replied. The pair walked on in silence for a moment as Kasumi considered this before Shampoo suddenly switched topics. "Kasumi... you... let Shampoo take care of Lemon."
"Hmh?" Kasumi said, puzzled.
"You need break," Shampoo explained. "Shampoo think... understand her better now. Will make sure she stay out of trouble. You too soft."
Kasumi cringed slightly at the analysis. 'She is right, I suppose. Jasmine even warned me I was being exploited,' she thought, examining Shampoo who's attention seemed locked on the street ahead of them. 'Perhaps this would be better. I really haven't placed much trust in Shampoo. Even during the fight I was second guessing her even though I was the one taking things too lightly. Maybe it is time.' "Alright," Kasumi conceded, causing Shampoo to finally look at her and nod.
Another moment of silence passed between them as they took the last turn to their home. "You no worry," Shampoo said as the restaurant came into view. "Shampoo think Lemon not so bad on inside. She... worth it," Shampoo said.
Kasumi smiled weakly and nodded. 'Guess she knows me better than I thought,' she thought. 'Yes, if this is to be our life together, I must commit to it. I have held back a lot of my knowledge for fear of Shampoo being not ready for it, but honestly, she may be and every tool at our disposal may be invaluable in the next encounter.' Kasumi nodded at her own thoughts and let out an even breath to resolve her decision.
The pair entered the front door of the restaurant to find it already largely shut down for the night, and headed upstairs to find Ranma, Herb and Makoto in the TV room. "Hello everyone," Kasumi greeted as she came in.
"Hey!" Ranma greeted back. "How was the trip?"
Shampoo beamed, set down one of her bags and extracted several mouse ears which she began distributing to everyone.
"It was good," Kasumi said, once more breaking into a smile as Shampoo placed one of the mouse ears on Herb's head who looked thoroughly unamused, but made no effort to resist. "Did we miss anything?"
Ranma looked to Herb who looked to Makoto and all three shook their heads. "Nah!"
"That's good," Kasumi said with a relieved smile.
XXXXX
End Chapter 60
Next time in A Scary Thought: Sorora introduces herself, and the nature of the stone is discussed.
For those a bit confused on the crossovers: Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, Ami, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Setsuna, Luna, and Artemis are all from Sailor Moon. Kitsune has her ties to the X-files, but only in that she's a fanatic of similar interests rather than appearing in said show. Saki and Sampei are from Sukeban Deka. You may also notice Frost borrowing a spell from here or there; in particular Gargoyles and Illusionaries are two prime targets. Speaking of Gargoyles, if you're a fan of the series you may have already figured this out, but La Bac is Cabal spelt backwards. Also Gen-U-Tech is also a business from Gargoyles. Does that mean this is a Gargoyles crossover? At this point, probably not. I have tried to square the circle of Gargoyles time travel mechanics with my story and it just isn't working and unfortunately they are too key to Gargoyles continuity to just ignore so most likely Gargoyles will remain just a shout out kinda crossover but not official. Anyway, besides that we have Chun Li, Rose, Shadow Lady, Shadow, Gill and the previously shown Karin and Sakura which come from Street Fighter series (Rose, Karin and Sakura from Street Fighter Alpha 3, Shadow and Shadow Lady from Marvel vs Capcom, Chun Li from much of the Street Fighter series, and now Gill from Street Fighter III). As for Ranko, well she's from my other major fanfic, Most Unlikely of Friends, although you can largely consider her standard Ranma trapped in female form for most purposes. And lastly comes dear old Siren who is from Dreiser's story 'Black Rose Blue Thunder'. I won't be using her much but she fits a temporary need. Be Dea comes from D B. Sommers fic Shampoo ½, and if you haven't read it, do so, now! I've also previously mentioned Perfume from same fic (although this story has two Perfumes being mentioned, the other being from my own Most Unlikely of Friends). Garnet was first mentioned by Jim Bader in A Very Scary thought I believe, but whatever the case I don't believe he ever actually appeared in any of Jim's stories, although I could be wrong. As already mentioned, Miku, Neru and Haku are vocaloid character, but just cameo's for them.
On a side note for those crossovers, it recently came to my attention that some believe I am crossed with Negima. I'm actually not, but out of curiosity I checked out Negima and could certainly see the similarities (a lot of them in fact, and was quite surprised seeing as I had never even heard of Negima until it was mentioned). That got the proverbial wheels in my head turning about potential crossovers so... maybe, but don't count on it. As Uq Holder, Negima's continuation, is still in progress and throwing in all kinds of new curve balls, I'll probably be forced to steer clear.
Speaking of things I'm not crossed with, two notable ones are Ah My Goddess and Tenchi! Jim liked to use the latter a great deal, and I believe he might have used the former too, although less sure on that, but either way I have decided both are ultimately incompatible with my vision of my story world.
Oh, something new cross over wise to speak about this chapter, and that is Miyuki. Not long ago I discovered there is a Sukaban Deka manga and it has a LOT more content than the anime covered. Now, for the most part I'm ignoring the manga canon particulars as they already contradict the anime canon which I used for the basis of the cross over. However, I will be taking some inspiration from it. The first bits being for Saki's backstory and the existence of her sister Miyuki. While there is obviously nothing in the manga about the mother being an Amazon, it actually fits reasonably well with what is there, so with a bit of a massage that is what we have here.
A bit more on that in regards to Saki's father. Like Saki noted in the previous chapter, most seem to assume the father was abusive. I even did, but the actual manga, which is the only thing that delves into the situation deeply, speaks differently. Honestly, since the matter was so vague I was planning to have the situation be pretty nuanced, but after reading the manga bits about what happened... yeah, Saki's mom is a lunatic! First it outright says he was a kind man. Now, this is a pretty oddball manga that goes into some weird psychology, even in this particular bit, so I wouldn't necessarily say that for sure lets him off. It mentions him being weak, running from everything, and being a drinker and gambler, so yeah, no saint. Still, there are no indications of abuse, physical or otherwise, coming from him. In fact his relationship with Saki seems pretty good. So, still possible, but seems unlikely given what is mentioned, and the characteristics of the mother. Oh what characteristics? Yeah, she's... she's terrible! Now, I didn't see anything saying she was physically abusive, but there is strong evidence she was emotionally abusive. Even the anime has hints of this as Remi says the mother is mad, and Saki learned her fighting skills from her mother. Again this doesn't firmly tell the tale but I decided to just go with it.
Oh, a slight aside as it will probably never come up again, what was Kasumi nearlying remembering? Sleeping Beauty has the very spell Frost used in an earlier chapter so Kasumi was on the verge of remembering that. Don't think too hard on it as it isn't overly important but thought I'd have it come up since the subject arose. The words used for spells are simply triggers in my world and Frost likely modeled hers on that very same movie, directly or indirectly. Of course that does bring up a slight oddity to the world that Gargoyles likewise should exist in this world as a show given Disney exists... try not to think hard on that. I guarantee it isn't important, just a slight nuisance of bringing in the media juggernaut that is Disney.
Website... does my website even exist anymore? Well, I have it on my hard drive still, but that hardly counts. Needless to say, if you do stumble on it, it's hopelessly out of date.
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