Conjunction
20
Commissioned by Iori Angel.
Kuonji Ryou looked up, peering through the kitchen entrance as the bell above his door rang, four people came in just as the lunch rush cleared out. "Have a seat at the bar, I'll be with you in a minute," he called, turning back to bringing out more ingredients.
Ryou made another two trips before he finally stopped and took in the people in front of him. "What can I get for you?" the question came automatically to his lips, as he took them in.
On his far left was a young man with black hair in a pigtail, wearing a red and black Chinese outfit. He looked fit and even just sitting still, Ryou had him pegged as some kind of martial artist by the way he carried himself.
To the pigtailed boy's left was a blonde… half-Japanese? girl. Ryou found it hard to place her, but he'd seen stranger. She seemed like the cute and energetic type, and judging by the way she pressed herself into the first man's side, they were obviously dating—romantically involved, at the very least.
Third was a young… man, Ryou felt pretty confident. Very pretty in the face, and with long hair in a tail, but the form beneath the purple button down and black slacks was clearly male. For some reason, the boy kept worrying at his clothes like they fit wrong.
Finally— Ryou did a double-take as he took her in. She was the spitting image of his wife, twenty years ago. Before she'd left him after that bastard Saotome had stolen his cart, forcing Ryou to take on debt to get himself back on his feet and spend years working his ass off for long hours before he was finally able to open the shop and hire staff. It couldn't be her though, so that left only one answer as to who the young woman—who looked just as uncomfortable in her skirt and blouse as her companion did—could be.
Ryou frowned. "Ukyo."
The girl sighed. "Dad."
That she was wearing ladies' clothes and not wearing a boy's school uniform and hiding who she was was somewhat telling, but Ryou felt he should ask anyway. "Does this mean you're done chasing after that damned Saotome boy?"
For some reason, the young man on the far end winced, but Ukyo nodded. "Yeah," she sighed, glancing to her right, towards the blonde, who smiled. "I'm done. Can I come home?"
Ryou held up a hand and walked around the shop's counter. Making his way up to the front as the last of his current customers aside from those four left, he closed and locked the door, then flipped the sign on the door to 'Closed.' Heading back behind the bar, he began pouring out batter and making up okonomiyaki—he remembered what Ukyo liked and most people liked the standard, so that's what he made.
"Did you do what you set out to do?" he asked, studying his daughter and the young man beside her, who fidgeted a bit under the scrutiny.
Ukyo shook her head. "No, dad."
Nodding, he began adding ingredients as he considered her. Eventually, he asked, "Who are your friends?"
Ukyo gestured to the pretty boy beside her. "This is Konatsu. He's been a big help. I guess he's my…" she hesitated, considering for a moment as the boy perked up, "employee? More like business partner, I guess."
The boy deflated and Ryou couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. It was pretty obvious even at a glance that this Konatsu cared for his little girl, but Ukyo was apparently either blind to it, or just wasn't interested. The young man bowed at the waist where he sat. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Mm," Ryou nodded, shifting his gaze to the other two.
The man sighed when the blonde elbowed him in the side. "Alright, fine. Let's get this over with," he grumbled. "Saotome Ranma. Sorry about, well, everything."
Ryou saw red. He was most of the way over the counter with a sharp spatula aimed at the boy's neck when he found his arm caught in a grip like steel and a brightly glowing blue orb an inch away from his face. He froze, eyes darting between the boy's hand holding the sphere he could feel energy radiating off of at this distance, and the blonde's soft and delicate looking hand squeezing his wrist hard enough that Ryou felt his bones creaking.
"I ain't here to fight, but if you wanna go, I'll put you down hard and fast," Ranma warned.
Ryou slowly backed away. When he was fully back on the back side of the counter, the sphere disappeared and the girl let his wrist go—after a white flash of something under her hand that left it feeling like new. "Your family ruined me," the older chef growled.
"Nah. My pops did that. Here," he produced a pen and a small flip over notebook from somewhere, before writing something down. Tearing the sheet out, he laid it on the counter and disappeared the notepad and pen. "That's his address. You wanna take it up with him, be my guest. I'm sorry he screwed you over, but I ain't him. I had nothin' to do with it."
"Get out," Ryou hissed. "You're not welcome here."
Ranma shrugged, hopping off of his bar stool and heading for the door. "Fine by me."
As the door bell dinged behind Ranma as he left, Ryou turned to the girl, who was currently scribbling something into what looked like a checkbook. "You too, blondie. Get out."
The girl tore a check out and dropped it on the counter with a smile. "In a minute," she shook her head. "First," she slid the check forward, "this is for you."
"You can't buy me—" Ryou started to shout, only to pause as he took in the amount on the check. It was enough to buy his entire shop and the land under it a few times over. "—off. What the hell is this?" Looking up, he eyed the girl suspiciously. "Who the hell are you?"
"Tsukino Usagi," she grinned.
"Can I tell him?" Ukyo asked, a sort of ruefully amused tone to her voice as she eyed the blonde. When Usagi nodded, Ukyo chuckled. "She's Sailor Moon, dad."
Ryou blinked, his mouth working a time or two, before he shook his head. "No, that's—"
"It's true," Konatsu spoke up. "She and Ranma are together."
Ukyo winced at the words, but nodded. "She uh, she's got a mean right hook."
Usagi beamed at that, reaching out and tapping the check on the counter with her nail, making a sharp click click click and drawing Ryou's attention to it. "After setting things straight with Ukyo, I spoke with my financial advisor. Set-chan suggested a number several times higher than projected damages incurred from the loss of your cart and any potential earnings it would have made. Really just slap you in the face with a wad of money to make you go away. This way, if you try taking legal action through the courts, they're going to side with the Saotome family given just how excessive the remuneration is."
"She did the same with me," Ukyo grumbled.
"Cash the check and enjoy the money, or don't. But either way, we want you to go away. We don't like leaving problems to linger and fester. But I will give you a warning!" the blonde sent them both a surprisingly stern look for that cute face. "This is me being polite, just as Usagi, Ranma's future wife. If you refuse the money, that's fine. If you want to take it to court, that's fine too. We're prepared to deal with that. But if you decide you want to bring violence into it, then it stops being a problem for Usagi and becomes a problem for Sailor Moon. Please don't become a problem I have to deal with. I don't like beating people up, but that doesn't mean I won't if you force the issue."
The blonde turned and hopped down off the stool she'd been sitting on, tossing a wave over her shoulder as she went. "I'll send you and Konatsu an invite to the wedding, Ukyo~!"
The door dinged as she left and Ryou considered the check for a moment, before sliding it across the counter and pocketing it. Turning back to Ukyo, he began plating okonomiyaki and put them in front of his daughter and her friend. "So… How's your business going? What are your plans now?"
"It's going pretty well. After Ranma disappeared, I sold my shop and went looking for him. I remembered how we used to go around to the neighboring towns with the food cart, so I scaled up from there. We bought a van and a trailer, and run a small shop out of it. More of a food truck than a cart really, I guess. We're actually making a lot of money, since we have a really low overhead and if we're usually only in one place for a week or two every other month, then people will come there way more often. Not sure what we're going to do next. With the money from Usagi, I guess we could hire some people, buy some more trucks, and expand? We could actually get a permanent place to stay instead of living out of the van…"
Reaching up, Ryou rubbed his stubble. "I like the idea. Why don't we work together? I could open a few new shops myself, maybe start a chain. Kuonji Family Okonomiyaki?"
Ukyo smiled, nodding. "That sounds good." Turning to Konatsu, she asked, "What do you think?"
The young man smiled happily. "I'm fine with whatever you decide."
"Okay! Let's do it!" Ukyo nodded. Her mood faltered briefly and she turned back to her dad. "What about the Saotomes?"
Ryou frowned. "What about 'em?"
"Usagi was serious, dad. She put me on my ass and unconscious with one punch. You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"
Sighing, Ryou patted the check in his pocket, as though to make sure it was still there. "No. But we're banning Ranma and his dad from the shop."
Ukyo opened her mouth to argue, only to stop and actually consider it for a moment. Thinking back to the trouble that followed him around, some of which she had caused, and the property damage that tended to follow… "Probably a good idea, if you want to keep the place standing," she murmured.
"Finished?" Ranma asked as Usagi strolled out and caught his elbow, linking her arm with his.
"Mhmm!"
"How'd it go? Think they're gonna take the deal?" Nodding, he turned in the direction of the train station, taking his time and just enjoying her presence.
"Mm, probably," Usagi hummed. "I mean, it was a lot of money! So if they don't, and want to come after us, they don't really have a leg to stand on."
"You know you didn't have to—"
"I wanted to!" Usagi rolled her eyes, bumping Ranma with her hips and smiling up at him. "Your problems are our problems now. And ours are yours. We can all work together to take care of them and to make sure we're all happy. That's how a relationship is supposed to work!"
"Huh. Yeah, I guess you're right," Ranma murmured, pulling his arm out of hers, only to put it around Usagi's hip and pull her closer, giving her a squeeze. "Still, thanks. You have no idea how good it is to finally have that crap and every other stupid choice pops made not hanging over my head."
"I think I have some idea," she murmured, turning and planting a small kiss on his neck.
Nodding, Ranma chuckled. "You know, you were pretty sexy, when you got all serious."
Usagi gasped. "I'm not sexy all the time?!"
Ranma scoffed and dug his fingers in, tickling the blonde at his side, who shrieked and laughed, grabbing his hand and lacing her fingers with his to keep him from doing it anymore. "You're sexy all the time. You were just more sexy. Kinda badass, really. Not that I don't enjoy the rest."
"You mean when I'm an airhead?" she teased.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"How rude!" Usagi put a hand to her chest, feigning hurt. "Really, I was just following Setsuna's advice. She keeps saying I need to prepare for the future and queen up eventually. Start taking things seriously. Step up and start handling things in public. Gotta start somewhere, so why not use this as practice?"
"Hmm. Well if that's what you're gonna be like as queen…"
"Does that turn you on~?" Usagi asked, turning her head up to bat her lashes at him.
"Yes," Ranma growled, his hand moving lower to squeeze Usagi's ass through her jeans, earning a happy sound from the blonde. "Also, kinda reassuring."
Usagi blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "How so?"
Ranma shrugged. "Never seen anyone with money not act like either an asshole or an idiot. I've beat about a dozen of 'em at this point, and they were all some kind of crazy. Either the typical snob kind like most of 'em, or so stupid they'd fly a coin operated helicopter, or the Kuno family. Kodachi may have had an excuse, but I'm pretty sure Tatewaki and their dad are just like that, not actually crazy."
"We don't live like that," Usagi shook her head. "You've met my parents. Even if I gave them like, half of my royalties, nothing would change. The rest of the girls are the same." She paused, then corrected herself. "Well, except Haruka. She had money before becoming a senshi and wasted a lot of it on trying to pick up girls. I'm a little annoyed that I didn't make the connection sooner, that she and Mamoru were the same way when it came to that."
"Pretty sure if you gave my pops that kind of money, he'd drink and gamble it all away inside a year."
"Hmm," Usagi put a finger to her lips, before turning an impish grin up at him. "So I'm sexy when I get serious and being responsible with my money is reassuring."
"Yup," Ranma confirmed.
"Maybe you should marry me," Usagi stuck out her tongue, reaching down and squeezing Ranma's own ass, drawing a startled yelp as she giggled.
"Maybe I should. Gonna have to work on spending more time with the others though, if we want this whole thing to work."
"Yeeeah," Usagi sighed. "Can't keep you to myself. Speaking of, how about we invite Rei out, just the three of us?"
Raising an eyebrow, Ranma asked, "Not complaining, but why three?"
"It'll be more fun for her that way." Giving him another squeeze, she added, "And don't keep poor Makoto waiting too long! She'll definitely appreciate a solo date more than Rei would! Oh, but don't take her out somewhere fancy, she's not that kind of girl."
"So, back to the same place as last time?" Ranma asked, and Usagi looked aghast.
"What?! No! You can't take a girl to the same place back to back!"
"Huh? Why the hell not?" Ranma sent her a confused look. "She had fun the first time!"
Usagi let out a half groan, half sigh. "Ugh. Boys!"
"Oi."
The blonde stuck her tongue out. "You just can't! If you do, it looks like you're being lazy and not putting any effort in to make sure she enjoys herself! Also, she'll get bored!"
"You can take me out to the same place twice in a row~" a familiar voice murmured practically in both their ears as a set of hands landed on Ranma's and Usagi's hips.
Usagi jumped a foot in the air and practically into the road as she yelped. "Eep! Setsuna?!"
The green haired woman chuckled, taking Usagi's spot and pressing herself into Ranma's side. "That's the difference between a girl and a woman. A girl needs you to work to keep her attention and give her yours. A woman will enjoy your company no matter where you take her, because she's with you."
Usagi frowned, glaring at the taller woman before hurrying around and latching onto Ranma's other side. Despite how annoyed she looked, her hand found Setsuna's behind Ranma's back. "Where did you come from?! Were you following us and just waiting for an opportunity to surprise me?"
"Yes," the senshi of time grinned. Usagi scoffed and Setsuna chuckled. "I paid a visit to the Kuonjis, after you left. I left them the business card for our law firm, just in case they changed their minds. I don't believe we'll be having any problems."
"Are they a big deal?" Ranma asked. "I don't know anything about lawyers, so…"
Setsuna chuckled and Usagi sighed, the blonde answering, "Not a lawyer. A law firm. A small army of lawyers. The senshi have a firm on retainer to handle legal crap. Copyrights, patents, people coming after us for damages, dealing with insurance companies…"
"The government thinking they can use us as a stick against other countries," Setsuna supplied, and Usagi nodded. "Or incidentals, like this. We're they're biggest client." Turning a smile on Usagi, she added, "That's what happens when you wind up saving half of their lives directly. Eventually, they chase you down and offer you a deal on handling your legal affairs. We've got the same kind of arrangement with the firm handling our money."
"Yes, yes. If it weren't for you handling it behind the scenes, we wouldn't have it, and I neglected my duties as leader," Usagi sighed.
"No, you just didn't know you needed to," Setsuna squeezed her hand and Usagi nodded. "So, where do we want to go to eat? How about the—"
"Don't say beer garden," the blonde grumbled. "And what was all that about the difference between a girl and a woman, huh?! I'm pretty sure one of us is a bit further along in that than the other!"
"If you have to tell me how mature you are…" Setsuna teased, earning a glare from Usagi.
"Well, we're not in Nerima or Juuban, so buffet? Not like we're gonna care if they ban us here," Ranma suggested.
Usagi perked up. "Oooh! Sounds good!"
"That's fine," Setsuna agreed, before a small smirk stole over her lips. "It's the company that counts."
"There you go again!" Usagi growled. "Ranma, we're going back home with her! This smug minion of mine needs to be reminded of her place!
"Mm. And what place is that, your highness?" the limette teased.
"Begging at my feet!"
Putting a finger to her plump lips, Setsuna hummed. "Hmm… Kinky. I'll let you top, if you think you can. But if you can't hack it, I'm going to stage a coup. And then," she let go of Usagi's hand to lean around and give Usagi's ass a squeeze, "your ass is mine, princess."
"Uh huh. Do you two need some time alone?" Ranma chuckled at the pair's bickering.
"No! You have to be there!" Usagi insisted, and Setsuna nodded.
"After all, you're the king we'll be fighting over," the older woman chuckled. "It's no fun if there's no prize to win."
Usagi nodded. "Right?! To the victor go the spoils!"
"I dunno, I think I'm the real winner here," Ranma grinned.
Michiru hummed as she considered two different nursing bras in the changing room. Huffing in annoyance at the terrible fit, she tossed them both onto the bench and pulled on her own normal brassier, before getting dressed again.
I'm already on the extreme end of what they make here in Japan. Going to need to talk to Setsuna and just make a trip to wherever she gets hers in Europe, she mused, gathering up the clothes she'd tried on and taking them back out to put back where she found them.
"I do like these stretch pants, though," Michiru murmured, collecting a few different sets in a variety of colors to add to her 'maybe' pile of clothes. Maybe I should have brought Usagi along? She'd like a lot of this stuff.
Maternity shopping had been a spur of the moment thing when she saw the store, and right now, she was just getting ideas for what she'd get later since her sizes would obviously change. Chuckling quietly, she looked around the store as a smile stole over her lips. Didn't think I'd ever end up in a place like this. Children weren't exactly on the menu for a while there…
"Hey."
Blinking, Michiru frowned at the familiar voice from behind her, her stomach briefly churning at the unwelcome emotions that came with it. Looking over her shoulder, she found exactly who she expected standing there.
Haruka looked like shit, if she was being honest. Haruka looked like she hadn't slept well in ages. Her hair was a mess and looked unwashed. She wasn't wearing makeup and her eyes were red and swollen, in addition to the heavy bags under them. Her clothes, a simple pair of jeans and a hoodie, looked slept in and like they hadn't been washed in a few days.
Michiru's heart ached and for just a minute, she almost reached out to the blonde. Steeling herself, Michiru turned away and went back to putting her things away, ignoring Haruka.
Haruka sighed quietly. Eventually, she said, "I'm sorry." When Michiru said nothing, she asked, "So… what are you doing?"
"Maternity shopping."
Haruka winced and Michiru caught her nod once out of the corner of her eye. When it seemed like Haruka was sticking around, Michiru turned and left the store. Haruka followed as Michiru hurried across the parking lot to her car. "Michiru, please! Just give me a chance?"
Michiru opened her door and climbed in. As she went to close the door, Haruka shouted, "How am I supposed to fix this if you won't let me even try?!"
The aqua haired woman frowned as she started the car. Rolling down the window, she studied Haruka for a moment. "Why should I? Your idea of 'fixing it' before was waiting until I got bored then getting your way."
Taking a breath, Haruka said, "I need you. Just you."
"You've lied to me before, Haruka," Michiru shook her head. "So when it comes to this, I don't trust a word that comes out of your mouth. I can't."
Haruka opened her mouth, only to close it with a click of teeth and sigh. "That's… You're right. So how can I prove I'm being honest?"
"Actions speak louder than words." Haruka looked up as Michiru considered for a moment, before smiling. "If you want to prove it, you're going to have to do the one thing you were avoiding. You're going to have to commit."
"Fine! I'll go get a ring and—"
Michiru laughed and Haruka fell silent as the other woman shook her head. "A ring? That's not a commitment! That's throwing money at a problem and hoping it goes away. No, if you want to prove you're serious, you're going to need to make a more permanent commitment and show me you've really changed. That you're not just waiting, biding your time, hoping things will go back to 'normal' and you can spring the same old crap on me in a few years after I've forgiven you."
"Okay. I'll do it. Whatever it takes," Haruka agreed, nodding.
Michiru smiled, and for some reason, a shiver ran down Haruka's spine. Frustratingly, she felt herself getting wet for some reason. "Are you sure~?"
Haruka hesitated before nodding again. "I'm sure."
"Okay. Get in."
Haruka hurried around the car and climbed into the passenger seat. She buckled up as Michiru pulled out of the parking lot. She wanted to ask, but didn't want to risk her luck. Michiru was at least entertaining the idea now, even if she obviously had conditions on it.
"You get once chance," Michiru began, and Haruka nodded. Turning, she glared at the blonde. "One, Haruka. If you manage to convince me and I forgive you, if you ever break my heart again, you're gone. The others won't stand for it and I'm done letting you treat me like I'm the only one who wants to make the relationship work. Do you understand?"
"I won't. I mean, I understand," Haruka nodded.
"We're going with Usagi's plan. You're either with us or you're out. Ranma's the one. That's not going to change and you're going to have to accept it."
A displeased sound escaped Haruka's lips and Michiru immediately began pulling over as the car slowed. "Okay! Okay! Usagi's plan, got it!"
Michiru pulled to a full stop on the shoulder of the road as other cars began passing. Turning, she fixed Haruka with a glare. "I'm going to need you to be more enthusiastic than that. This isn't going to be some lesbian orgy. Ranma's not going to turn into a girl just for you, because you think men are icky. You're going to get dicked with the rest of us. You're going to get knocked up and you're going to like it. If you don't want that, get out of my car."
"But, but I don't like men," Haruka murmured. "Can't I just—"
"No," Michiru shook her head, then reached over Haruka and grabbed the door handle, forcing the door open. Haruka quickly closed it again and Michiru frowned. "I've actually started to remember some more from the old days, you know? I remember some of what we used to do, back then." Haruka perked up a bit at that and Michiru continued, "I know you remember too. You used to swallow more cocks than any of us. So what's the problem?"
Haruka looked away. "I'm not like that anymore."
"But you wanted to keep up the parade of people through our bedroom like those days," Michiru pointed out and Haruka crossed her arms over her chest. Sighing, Michiru shook her head. "The difference between us, Haruka, is that I'm not that Michiru. I'm me and I don't want to be her. She had her time. She loved that Haruka and they both had fun. But we're not those people anymore. I've accepted that. You should too. Now, get out."
"Wait," Haruka murmured, her hands clenching in her hoodie. When Michiru waited silently, she asked, "Is that what you want?"
Michiru smiled. "That's going to be the first thing I have you do, yes. Truly commit, for real. We'll go back to my place and I'll call Usagi over. Ranma too, if he's not already there. Then he's going to fuck you cross-eyed, until you get over whatever this hangup you've got is. Usagi will make sure you're good and pregnant. That's the only thing that's going to convince me you really want to change and that you're willing to make this work. Otherwise, it's just empty words. So, which is it? In or out?"
Haruka let out a quiet groan before nodding. "In. Let's, let's go."
Michiru pulled back onto the street and Haruka breathed a quiet sigh of relief. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she finally asked, "What… what's it like?"
"Hm? What's what like?" Michiru asked, only half paying attention as she focused on the road.
Haruka gestured at her midsection. "Being, you know…"
"Pregnant," Michiru rolled her eyes, and Haruka nodded. Chuckling, she shook her head. "Why spoil the surprise? You'll find out soon enough." When Haruka made a frustrated noise, she added, "I will say that it changes things. Everything, really. It has a way of rearranging all of your priorities. Things that seemed important before just aren't anymore, and other things that didn't seem important at all are."
"What do you mean?" Haruka asked, turning in her seat a bit to better watch Michiru as she spoke.
To Haruka's surprise, the other senshi wore a soft smile she'd never seen before. "I'm not worried about my career, for one. When Setsuna told us about the royalties from our brand, I still wanted to do my own thing and support myself. And I still like painting and playing the violin—that won't ever change. But I'm not going to do it professionally anymore. I've got enough money that I don't need to work. I can let my money for work me. So I will. And that time I would have spent doing concerts or trying to crank out paintings to sell, I can instead put towards our family. I've always loved cooking, but now I want to try new recipes all the time and I'm making a list of things I want our daughter to try, or that I want to share with all of us as a group. I'm looking at school districts and crime rates, and digging into where porn studios tend to recruit young girls from so we can avoid those places. And I need to find a new school for Hotaru and Usa because I'm thinking about selling the house because very soon it's going to be too small."
"You're going to move?" Haruka asked, and Michiru nodded.
"I've spoken with Setsuna about it a time or two. There are a few reasons for it. The obvious need for space, of course, with kids already on the way. Then there's the less obvious, like wanting to find a good school district where our children will be safe and where we won't have to worry about skeevy guys preying on them when they get older. And then there's the future planning, for when we come out. We're going to go public with our identities soon, or at least that's the plan Usagi and Setsuna have been floating. That means we need somewhere private to live, away from gawkers, reporters, stalkers, or remnants of our old enemies looking for revenge. Setsuna's probably already got somewhere all picked out, realistically. And since Ranma can build homes, he can make it exactly how we want it and add to it later on as our needs change."
"That's…" Haruka murmured, studying Michiru's face as the other woman had lit up talking about her future. "You're really serious about this."
Michiru's face immediately closed down and she turned a look on Haruka that made the blonde wilt. "Yes. Yes we are."
The rest of the ride passed in awkward silence until eventually, they pulled to a stop in front of Michiru's home.