[FFML] [Ranma][SI] Hybrid Theory

[Aaron Peori]

C&A Productions Presents

A Work of Blatant Self-Insertion


Hybrid Theory


Chapter 1: With You



They stopped when Aaron pointed it out to her, and Ukyou led them over
to the sign. It was nondescript, just one of the thousands that appeared
haphazardly across the landscape. Aaron was rather annoyed with the lack of
proper signs in Japan. It made navigating the land difficult, requiring one
to
ask directions far more often than he wished. Ukyou was more familiar with
the
way things worked here, obviously, and thus had been very helpful with that.
Still, she wouldn't have known where to go at all without him. And it wasn't
like she had much choice but to let him tag along.
"Nerima Ward," she said aloud as she read the sign. It was placed on an
otherwise unremarkable street leading through the great metropolis of Tokyo.
Though one would have been hard-pressed to guess this was one of the largest
cities on earth, from the small houses and simple wall-lined streets through
which they passed. Would Ranma really be here?
Aaron was sure that he would be. He also knew exactly where her elusive
fiancee would be staying. It would make her search considerably easier. And
then
she could have her revenge
(Is that what you're really after?)
Damn it! Ukyou reached up and clenched her head in frustration. She
leaned against the sign and took a long, deep breath. There was no getting
used
to it. Feeling the thoughts bubble up and consume her mind like that. Even
though she knew that the thought was alien, the experience of it was so...
complete. It reminded her that she had other priorities now. Nonetheless,
finding Ranma was important, because it would draw her closer to a
solution to both of her problems.
With a sigh she pulled herself to her feet and walked past the sign. It
was just as well she got moving, as people had started to give her odd
looks.
Not surprising. She did strike an odd figure, dressed in a solid black boy's
school uniform covered with a layer of trail dust. The dust could have been
avoided by taking a bus, there was ample money. But the time spent walking
had
allowed her to... adjust to her new circumstances. It also made Aaron a lot
less
dangerous both to himself and others, since she had been rigorously drilling
him
in the Art since they had left her hometown. On her back was a huge canvas
travel sack, sized for someone at least twice her height. It made her stand
out,
but it was not obviously out of place. Far stranger was the huge polearm
strapped to the back of the sack, which resembled nothing so much as a
spatula.

*

"He's not there," Ukyou stated aloud.
They had ditched the travel pack in a rat-hole motel that asked no
questions and accepted cash. Ukyou wasn't really afraid of the types who
lingered there. She was more afraid of the communal bathroom, really. She
didn't
know why Aaron insisted that they travel in such secrecy, but she supposed
he
had a right to be paranoid. She really couldn't blame him, since his
concerns
were literally infectious. That was also the reason she was standing in a
tree
in the neighboring yard, using the blooming spring foliage to conceal her
location from the family she was watching.
The compound looked almost exactly like Aaron remembered. It was a
walled-in home, two stories, attached to a traditional dojo with an idyllic
backyard garden complete with koi pond. Still it was strange seeing it like
this
for the first time, and he was experiencing some form of strange sensory
feedback. Ukyou sighed and rubbed her hand over her eyes as the headache
spread.
Still she forced them open again as she heard the family members beginning
to call to each other down below. For a moment she watched as the group
gathered
itself together for the traditional evening meal. Their position in the tree
afforded them an almost unobstructed view straight into the dining area.
Aaron
took this opportunity to point out the family members. Ukyou didn't resist
his
efforts, even if it was unnecessary.
"Akane." The girl was obviously in her mid-teens, with a long head of
black hair. She was wearing a simple blouse-skirt combo and was gesturing
extravagantly as she spoke. If Aaron's memories were to be trusted,
something
Ukyou had yet to agree with, then her hairstyle placed either before or very
early in the series. That might explain Ranma's absence. Or it might not.
"Nabiki." The next girl was dressed in a far less modest fashion. She
was slightly taller than Akane, with shorter hair and an expression of
calculated indifference.
"Soun." The only man of the household was sitting with his back to them
so neither could see his face. He was dressed in a plain green gi and his
dull
black hair was cut severely just below his shoulder.
"Kasumi." This girl Ukyou couldn't see entirely. Her position at the
head of the table edged her just out of their line of sight. All that Ukyou
could see was that she was wearing a dowdy housedress and was serving the
rest
of the household before digging into her own meal.
"He's still not here," Ukyou pointed out again as she drew back her
finger. Her hand wrapped carefully about the hilt of the combat spatula that
was
slung over her shoulder. It was early, Aaron pointed out. Ukyou didn't know
if
she trusted this memory of his. It was all a bit too much to take. He
couldn't
really have read out a significant portion of her life in a comic book
published
in another world. It was just insane. Still, enough of what he -knew- made
just
enough sense that Ukyou couldn't dismiss it. Plus she knew, without a shadow
of
a doubt, that he had never been to this house or this place before. The only
place he remembered that family from was the stories he had read and watched
on
his strange alternate earth. It sent strange chills through her limbs to
think
about it. Aaron calmed her down, keeping her from hyperventilating at the
idea.
He was very good at that; calming her down when her emotions flared.
"We'll do some investigating," Aaron pointed out in a whisper. It was
still strange to hear him talking like that. It was disturbing. This whole
experience was disturbing...no, beyond disturbing.
(Once we have the sword, I'll be out of your hair... literally.)
Ukyou nodded. Yes. The other reason they were in Nerima. It would give
them something else to do before Ranma showed up, at the very least.

*

Akane glanced back over her shoulder. There he was again. The boy was
wearing a school uniform, but she could swear she had never seen him at
school.
It would have been hard not to recognize him, with that weird weapon
strapped to
his back. Still, it was the same boy, and now Akane was definitely convinced
that he was following her. Akane moved her eyes back in front of her before
the
boy noticed her noticing him. She felt her temper growing shorter as she
thought
about him back there, watching her. His gleaming baby-brown eyes sliding
lecherously across her body. His effeminately handsome face cracked in two
by a
perverted leer. Akane was fuming as she felt heat rising in her cheeks at
the
image of him she conjured up in her mind. If some... BOY thought that he
could
stalk her and catch her defenseless and alone and molest her away from
prying
eyes she would show him a thing or two.
"Excuse me," she called to Sayuri and Yuka. They stopped in mid-stride
upon hearing her, and blinked when they realized that she had stopped a few
strides back. "I have to go take care of something," she practically growled
at
them as she bowed slightly and turned to walk back the way they had come.
"Uh oh, sounds like Akane spotted that guy again," Yuka told her friend
as Akane stalked away.
"Oh man," Sayuri sighed to herself. "I hope Akane doesn't hit him in the
face. He has such a cute face..." The rest of her friends' conversation was
lost
to Akane as she moved through the crowd towards where she had last spotted
the
mystery boy. She was feeling good and steamed up now. After her "talk" with
the
acting principal about how she was "abusing" all the men on campus Akane had
been packing a good old-fashioned beating around all day just waiting for an
excuse to let it loose. She had planned on working out her frustrations on
some
innocent bricks back at the dojo, but this was far better. Not only would
giving
this guy a few wallops do wonders for her peace of mind, it might also
convince
him to find somebody else to stalk. Akane didn't like the feeling of being
watched, and was prepared to demonstrate this... at length, if necessary.
She was just quick enough to spot the boy slipping away into an alley.
Akane didn't hesitate as she jogged in pursuit. Still, by the time she
caught
sight of him the boy was already exiting the other side of the narrow
passage.
Damn, he moved fast, especially for someone who appeared to be only walking.
If
he got out of her sight she might lose him in the crowd of students that
were
rapidly filling up the streets.
"Hey you! Stop!" Akane cried out in her most commanding tone. The boy
continued to move, perhaps picking up his pace a little. "Don't pretend you
don't hear me!" Akane snarled as she picked up her pace to a sprint. The boy
jerked his head at this, his long black hair snapping behind him. With
obvious
reluctance he stopped his forward momentum and turned to face her. His
expression was blank, with just a hint of curiosity in his elegantly arched
eyebrows. Akane had spent too long living with her sister to be fooled by
that
expression. "Yes, I'm talking to you!" she growled as she slowed down so she
didn't slam into him. Tempted as she was to hit first and ask questions
later,
Akane was willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. THEN hit him.
"Can I help you?" he asked in an uninflected, high-pitched voice. Akane
frowned. This guy looked too old and tall for his voice not to have changed
yet,
but he still sounded like a ten-year-old.
"Don't play dumb with me," Akane poked at his chest - only to stumble
slightly as the boy slid back to avoid it so fast she barely saw him move.
The
boy's arm was raised protectively over his chest to ward off her touch.
Akane
blinked at the odd gesture.
"I'm not playing dumb," the boy said slowly as he lowered his arm.
"Yes, you are!" Akane snapped. The boy was giving her a wary look. Good,
she wanted him a bit scared. "You've been following me around for almost two
weeks now! Don't play innocent-"
"Oh, that," The boy cut her off with a sigh. Akane blinked. "So much for
my mad wind ninja skillz..." he grinned a bit impishly and ran his hand
through
his long bangs. "Yes, I was following you, I admit it. But it wasn't for the
reason you probably think it was for."
"What if I don't believe you?" Akane stated evenly. The boys confession
had thrown her off her stride. Akane fully expected to have to beat the
truth
out of him. But this boy was neither cowering in terror nor slinking away in
shame. He was completely ruining her fantasies about this confrontation!
"Then I guess you don't believe me," the boy replied with a fluid shrug.
The smile had faded from his face.
"Well, I think I know exactly why you're following me," Akane grunted.
"I think you're some pervert boy who sees me as some easy target for his
disgusting fantasies. Well I'm not about to let you-" The boy began to laugh
abruptly, cutting off Akane just as she was reaching her stride. Akane
narrowed
her eyes and clutched her fists so tight her knuckles turned white. He was
MOCKING her?
"You have a healthy ego, I'll give you that," the boy commented as he
quieted his laughter. "No, I'm not after you for anything like that. In
fact,
I'm only peripherally interested in you at all." Akane was about to open her
mouth to denounce him when he stopped her by holding his palm up. "And I see
that nothing I -say- is going to prove that I'm not after that. So I'll show
you. Just not here on the street."
"What?" Akane stepped back, unsure what the boy meant. He had a
mischievous look in his eyes, but his voice was resigned.
"Follow me into the alley a little bit, just far enough to get out of
sight of everyone else," the boy invited her as he smoothly slid around her.
Akane stared at his back as he moved further into the alley. She could see
he
had moved his hands up to his chest and was doing something there, but not
what.
Suddenly doubt and a hint of fear crept into Akane's consciousness. The boy
paused after a dozen space-eating strides and looked over his shoulder at
her.
His long hair flipped with the gesture to rest over one shoulder. "There's
nothing to be afraid of. If I'm trying to trick you or you don't believe me
for
any reason, you can beat me up if you like. I won't even raise a finger to
defend myself."
Somehow the suggestion that she might be afraid caused the emotion to
evaporate. Akane didn't really pay attention to the rest of what he said
after
that. She was too busy grumbling unintelligibly and planning what awful pain
she
would inflict on this pervert once he failed to convince her of whatever lie
he
had thought up. Still Akane followed him into the alley. It was really
narrow
inside, not even wide enough across for two people to walk abreast. It was
also
filthy, and the ground was covered with some sort of slime that Akane
preferred
not to think about. She had gone through the alley so fast the first time
she
didn't even notice the smell. The boy resumed his trek inward once he was
sure
she was following. Soon they were standing less than a meter apart, halfway
into
the shadowed passage.
"Okay, this is far enough," the boy said with a nod. He turned to face
her. One hand lay askance at his side, but his other hand was holding the
high
collar of his black school uniform in a death grip. "I'm usually not such an
exhibitionist, but you leave me little choice," the boy warned her
cryptically.
With an easy pull he peeled down his shirt and Akane could only stare at
what
was revealed. At first her mind didn't register it right. The tightly wound
bandages first made Akane think of some horrible wound, complete with the
swelling that was obvious underneath them. Then she realized what she was
looking at. The boy had breasts.
Akane snapped her head back as if burned, and her face felt hot enough
for that to be true. The boy laughed and pulled up his shirt over his... no,
HER
breasts again and began to button up. Akane tried to speak, but her mouth
refused to cooperate. It simply hung open there and sagged back and forth as
she
backed up a few steps.
"Satisfied?" the girl said with a grunt. She was just finishing
refastening her top and Akane's face drifted from his hands up to his nearby
face. Now that she was looking in the right light, Akane could see that the
boy
was a bit -too- effeminate. His eyes and the angle of his nose and the
smooth
chin... it was a bit too much when taken all together.
Oh yeah, and he had no adam's apple. There was that too.
"My name is Ukyou Kuonji," the girl said with a short bow. "Sorry for
the misunderstanding."
"Akane Tendo," Akane bowed back, dipping only slightly deeper. "It was
my fault. I leapt to conclusions..." she trailed off lamely, not really sure
how
to address the person standing before her. Thankfully the girl seemed to be
taking it in good humour. She waved off Akane's attempt at an apology and
started to walk out of the alley, mentioning that the place stank a bit too
much
for the conversation to continue there. Akane had to agree with that and
followed along willingly enough.
"It was my fault," Ukyou pointed out as they walked. "I was the one
tailing you. Though it wasn't just you. I've actually been spying on your
whole
family for the last few weeks. I honestly didn't think anyone had spotted
me."
"Well, you're wrong," Akane replied with a frown. "I think Nabiki
spotted you first, but you're being talked about all around the school."
Akane
paused at this point to growl. "Like I don't have enough rumors floating
around
about me, thanks to you everyone is talking about my 'mystery stalker' and
how
'romantic' it is that you don't attack me every day like all the other
guys."
"Oh man," Ukyou muttered to herself and put her face in her hands. "I
really suck at this stealth stuff."
Akane chuckled at her obvious disappointment. But that brought the
reason for it floating back to the front of her mind and the laugh died off
suddenly. Ukyou looked over at her and Akane cleared her throat. "Speaking
of
that, why -were- you following me?"
"I'm looking for someone, and I have reason to believe you - or more
accurately your family - knows him." Ukyou's voice was even and soft. But
there
was a underlying hint of some deeper emotion. Akane couldn't place it, but
from
the way the other girl's hands twitched Akane suspected this was something
very
personal to her. "I didn't announce myself because I know how sneaky they
are.
That bastard Genma would flee like a rat if he found out I was looking for
him."
Akane frowned as Ukyou spoke. She was already straining her brain to
identify
the name Genma, but she could not recall having ever heard it before in her
life. "The person I'm looking for is named Genma Saotome, and his
son...Ranma,"
Ukyou added after a moment's deep thought. Her voice hitched at the second
name.
Akane found herself intensely curious about what this girl-in-disguise was
after
these two for. Especially if they were somehow connected to her family.
"I've never heard of them," Akane murmured softly. Ukyou looked back at
her with an unreadable expression. Then she strode forward slightly and
turned
her attention back to the crowds.
"No, I think you would have led me to them by now if you knew them,"
Ukyou said. "But I have a feeling that if you aren't going to contact them,
they'll be contacting you. I have reason to believe your father owes Genma
something. And Genma is sure to remember a debt like that... at least when
he's
not the one owing."
"What kind of debt?"
Ukyou took a good long time answering this question. Her body was
slouched slightly and she was staring off into space. Akane almost stepped
past
her before she realized that the other girl had stopped.
"I have suspicions, but nothing I can prove," Ukyou said slowly. She
looked at Akane with a blank, almost dead expression. "I think it has
something
to do with what they did to... me."
"Did to you...?"
"Nevermind," Ukyou laughed suddenly and waved her hand as if to dispel
some stale air. "It doesn't matter. When I catch up with them, I'll be able
to
set that all right." Ukyou paused again and looked off into the distance.
"But
I've wasted enough of your day already. I promise to stay out of your hair."
Ukyou began to walk away at an angle, her strides once more beginning to
consume
space with abandon.
"No, wait!" Akane called out. She was holding her hand towards the
retreating back of this strange girl and didn't know why. Maybe it was
because
there seemed something...sad about her. She seemed to be so alone. And Akane
was
beginning to understand what it was like to be alone. She had never exactly
been
popular. But now... now she was receiving all the wrong attention. And as a
result, the only people in school that ever talked to her were Yuka and
Sayuri.
And Akane had known them since the three were toddlers. Ukyou had been so...
so
at ease with her. It was like being treated like a human being again.
The girl in question had paused and was looking back over her shoulder.
Akane could see how she, and everyone else, had mistaken her for a boy. Her
face
was cute, but not pretty enough to give her away, and all her other signs of
femininity were well-concealed. Her posture, her gestures and her very
expression were so masculine it was hard to picture her as anything else.
The
girl must have had a great deal of experience with her deception.
"Indeed?" Ukyou asked, startling Akane out of her reverie.
"Uh... you don't have to go," Akane began lamely. Ukyou didn't move, but
continued to stare at her with a strange, dispassionate intensity. "What I
mean
is... you don't know anybody around here, do you?"
"You could say that..." Ukyou said slowly. She cocked her head to the
side and spun to face Akane. She crossed her legs at the ankle as she stood
there. Her arms rose up and laced together over her concealed breasts.
"Well, we might have gotten off in the wrong foot but... do you... want
to be friends?"
"Okay..." Ukyou said slowly and then laughed. "As long as you don't get
mad at me for being better than you at martial arts."
"What!?" Akane snapped. She stepped forward and clenched her extended
hand into a fist. "Are you saying you're better than me at fighting?" Ukyou
shrugged and chuckled again. "I think that's a challenge!"
"Who, me?" Ukyou stepped back and waved her hands in front of her to
ward Akane off. "No, it was just an in-joke! Really!"
"Oh no, you're not getting away with it that easy! Let's go... right
here, right now!"
"But..."
Akane wasn't about to listen. Grinning like a loon, she charged at the
other girl. She still needed to work out her frustration, after all. And it
wasn't like she was going to hurt Ukyou. Before Akane could close half the
distance, Ukyou was moving. Her hand reached up and clasped the shaft of her
ridiculously huge spatula. With an elegant motion she jerked it free of the
harness on her back and brought it around before her. Akane felt her first
blow
glance off the metal of the weapon and grunted to conceal the pain she felt.
She
was already moving into her next blow, but Ukyou skipped back sliding away
from
the shorter girl with deceptive ease. Akane had committed herself to the
strike,
and was already moving to recover when Ukyou countered. Akane could only
blink
as she felt the ground disappear from under her feet. She was already
smashing
her back into the sidewalk before she even felt the sharp pain in her
ankles.
Akane was just re-catching her breath when she felt something cool
placed against her throat. Allowing her eyes to drift along the shaft of the
metal weapon Akane noticed that Ukyou was holding the wide edge of her
bizarre
weapon against her throat. And from the feel of it, Ukyou kept the edge of
that
weapon very sharp. "So, do you yield?" Ukyou asked softly. She had a strange
expression on her face. It wasn't mocking, or enthused, like all the other
fighters she had ever seen win a fight. It was confused, as if Ukyou was
genuinely surprised at how well she had done. Akane internally debated how
to
feel about that and decided she might as well feel good. So she allowed
herself
to smile and nod, at least as much as the blade at her neck would let her.
It
wasn't like it really mattered if she lost to Ukyou, anyway. Ukyou was a
girl.
No matter what she looked like.
Ukyou reslung her spatula with a single motion. Still wearing her
confused frown, she offered her hand to Akane and yanked the smaller girl to
her feet easily. Akane laughed a bit as she bounced to her feet. "I yield
all right," Akane snickered into her hand. "But I want a rematch. And next
time
leave your toy at home."
"Okay," Ukyou smiled behind her own hand. "You have a deal."

*

Aaron directed them into the hotel room and hung the battle spatula,
harness and all, on a hook usually reserved for hats and coats. His mind was
awhirl. Well, even more than usual. Today had certainly not gone the way he
had
planned. It was certainly inevitable that his presence here would cause
changes
in the timeline,
(Like ruining my life.)
but he wasn't expecting to cause such a change so soon. Still, as
changes went, it was rather minor. Ukyou and Akane had been friends in the
manga
as well... eventually. Besides this gave him a line right into the Tendo
dojo,
which meant less time spent staking out the place waiting for Ranma to show
up
so Ukyou could have her
(Revenge)
whatever she finally decided to do about her feelings about Ranma.
He sat down on the relatively clean - compared to the rest of the
building - bed and started to undress. Ukyou was too busy thinking about
what to
do with Akane to help him with that, so he moved gingerly but with an
annoying
familiarity. He sighed in relief as he unwrapped the bindings on Ukyou's
chest
and lay back to let the tensions of the day flow out of them. Aaron had
tried
pointing out that Ukyou's ruse was no longer necessary, and to a large
extent
Ukyou agreed with him. Still, habits were hard to break, and Ukyou herself
didn't really know how to dress and act like a girl, after spending so long
repressing and avoiding her feminine side. Not that Aaron was complaining.
It meant he was less likely to have to deal with
(What, you afraid of a few skirts, mister sexless wonder?)
those things.
Aaron groaned and let Ukyou lead them to the bathroom, where she began
to clean herself. He tried not to think about what she was doing, but it was
rather hard considering his circumstances. He didn't like these feelings she
was
filling his mind with. Ukyou couldn't help it, and was trying to deny the
feeling existed herself. But if there was one thing Aaron was good at, it
was
pointing out when people were just deceiving themselves. Ukyou didn't want
to
face up to how she really felt about Ranma, but Aaron was having none of
that.
He may not like how her childhood crush turned teenage lust made him feel,
but
he couldn't deny it was there.
And now they were friends with Akane. Aaron admitted that the girl was
pleasant enough to be around. She had a boisterous energy that was tempered
by
her wary shyness. The odd combination made Akane both enthusiastic and
sarcastic, which was a mix Aaron had never experienced before. He had spent
the
whole afternoon subtly picking Akane's brain, trying to peel away her
personality and see into the girl within. It was a fascinating intellectual
exercise. Made even more so by the fact that he already knew
(Or think you know)
so much about her.
Not that Ukyou really approved of such activity. She was just glad to
have someone to talk to that wasn't Tsubasa or some macho jerk that she had
to
impress with her strength and speed before they took her seriously. She
could
see why Akane and That-Other-Ukyou (TM, All Rights Reserved) had eventually
become friendly rivals over Ranma's affections. Of course, Ukyou didn't plan
on
becoming Akane's rival for the boy in this world. But still... the more she
thought about him, the less and less angry she was with him. He had been
six. He
couldn't be held responsible for abandoning her.
Genma, they both agreed, was going to be smashed into a unrecognizable
lump. Ukyou planned on testing out exactly how much of Ranma's famous
recovery
speed he had inherited from his father. And given their performance against
Akane, she guessed that would be no problem at all. Aaron was still confused
about that. He had never believed Ukyou was that good. Better than Akane,
yes.
But that much better? It should have been some sort of a challenge.
Unless... he
sighed as Ukyou started up the shower for them. There were too many
variables.
Had Akane not been going all out? Was he comparing Ranma to Ukyou, but only
after Ranma had already mastered the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken? For the life
of
him he couldn't remember any time Akane and Ukyou had fought directly in the
manga. Not that there was any indication this was the manga. Well, except
for
the hair. He fingered a strand of Ukyou's hair and examined its severe black
color. The anime had made this hair brown. But still, Ukyou was right. There
was
no reason to assume everything here was based on the manga he had known.
There
was no reason to dismiss that knowledge either. Besides, he knew the anime
and
most other fan-created continuities just as well.
Ukyou finished her shower quickly, and stepped out to towel off. The
very fact this run-down dive had a functioning - and private - shower was
the
only reason Ukyou still allowed them to stay here. It wasn't like Ukyou
couldn't
afford to set them up somewhere more classy. She had inherited quite a lot
of
money from her father's life insurance. Combined with the cash she had
squirreled away over the years working odd jobs in restaurants, it was more
than
enough to afford enough space for her own restaurant in the super-expensive
real
estate of Tokyo. But the privacy of this place suited her for the moment,
and
Aaron had no opinion one way or another. He only recommended she not put
down
too many roots before she knew exactly what she was going to do about Ranma
Saotome. Maybe if she fucked him that would get him out of her head.
(Aaron!)
Well, he just hoped that they got their hands on that sword before she
did. It was hard enough taking a shower like this. He wasn't really sure if
he could survive -that-.

*
Very few people understood Tatewaki Kunou. It was a condition he did
little to rectify. In fact, sometimes he was so magnificent that he had
trouble
understanding himself. How could any lesser person thus measure up to his
standards in this regard?
Kunou strode boldly through the halls of his domain, allowing his people
to part before him. He listened with contentment to their inane banter as he
crossed the schoolyard. He didn't pay attention to the actual words. It was
obvious that they were discussing him. Listening to their mutters of awe and
reverance would doubtless only tempt him to think better of himself than he
really was.
He was almost to the entrance when he spotted his goal lingering near
the corner of the school. Adjusting his path, he proceeded to her without
delay.
Given a choice, Kunou would have as little to do with Nabiki Tendo as was
humanly possible. However, as with so many unpleasant things in life, he had
found it was his duty to deal with her. Few others could bring her to heel
about
her petty blackmail and extrotion schemes around the campus. And was it not
the
duty of the daimyo to look out for the well-being of his fiefdom?
"You sent me this?" Kunou deftly retrieved a folded paper note from the
pockets of his hakama-style pants. Nabiki looked up at him from under her
bangs.
As always, she had that annoyingly superior smirk on her face. Kunou
despised
that smirk, and despised even more the woman it came attached to. As an
excuse
to take his eyes from her, he unfolded the note that he had meticulously
stored
and began to read it aloud. "Kunou-chan," he began, and almost immediatly
regretted it. Why she choose to refer to him with such a childish,
diminuitive
title eluded him. Didn't she know it annoyed him?
"I have some important information for you. Please bring me five
thousand yen when you come to school tomorrow," he continued without pause.
He
then folded the note again and safely stowed it away."Well I am here and I
have
brought your money. So tell me what is so urgent, Nabiki Tendo?"
"So forward?" Nabiki said coyly. "Maybe I want you to say 'please'
first?"
"Don't toy with my time," Kunou responded.
"I think I might increase my price because of that comment," Nabiki
pointed out in a level tone. Kunou did not groan. People of his standing
simply
did not do so. Thus it must have been someone nearby who made the noise.
"Oh,
you're so cute when you're annoyed, Kunou-chan!" Nabiki said brightly. Kunou
-did- growl, however. "Okay, I have information about Akane's secret mystery
admirer. I thought you might be interested."
Kunou perked up. He was, by definition, above the mindless gossip and
rumor-mongering of his fellow students. Yet even he had seen the mysterious
stranger who had started showing up shortly after his open challenge to
Akane
Tendo. Kunou knew the boy had been observing his Akane from a distance, but
the
situation bothered Kunou not a bit. What was the point of wooing such a
prize if
others did not also desire it? Besides, the boy had never had the courage to
openly challenge Kunou's destined paramour. Such weak-willed fools as those
who
could not fight to gain the attention of the young woman were typically
beneath
Kunou's notice.
"You thought wrong, Nabiki Tendo," Kunou allowed his smirk to show in
his voice. Watching Nabiki's face fall briefly was worth the annoyance of
having
been brought here to her in the first place. "What do I care of some
miscreant
who stands in the shadows cast by your sister's shining star?" Shining star?
He
would have to remember to write that one down. Maybe if he altered it
slightly
it would serve as a suitable nom de guerre.
"Ah, so you haven't heard the latest news then," Nabiki spoke with
feigned innocence, thus stopping Kunou in his tracks before he could turn
away.
"Very well, woman," Kunou frowned and retrieved a wad of bills from his
pocket. "I expect this news to be worth the expense." From the venom he
laced
his voice with, he doubted Nabiki missed the double-entendre.
Nabiki held out one hand until he handed over the cash. She didn't
bother to count it. Instead she opened her school pack and retrieved a
number of
glossy photos. The exchange was over quickly.
Kunou fanned the photos with easy familiarity. Then he found himself
staring hard at them. The pictures contained one of his favorite subjects,
but
not in a manner that Kunou enjoyed seeing. She was on the ground, while a
boy
loomed over her with his bizarre giant spatula held against her throat in
one
picture. In the next, the two were sitting in an ice cream parlor, both with
huge smiles on their faces. In the next the two were walking down the street
and
chatting back and forth. In the next Akane was handing the boy a small note.
And
that was all. Creases began to appear in the photos, making it seem like the
two
were moving closer and closer together.
"Who is he?"
"Well I don't know exactly..."
"I want a name and location, Nabiki Tendo," Kunou informed her softly.
"Money is no object. I must find this boy."
"You just said the magic words, Kunou-chan!" Nabiki called and Kunou
grunted. He heard her walking away, but didn't look up to see her leave.
Kunou
was too busy burning the face of his enemy into his mind. Obviously the
fiend
had ambushed her like an assasin from the shadows, and was now having his
way
with her. A man like that, who had no honor...
It was the duty of the daimyo to protect his property.

*

Akane spotted Ukyou standing just outside the school grounds. The girl
was actually leaning against the outer wall of the school. Once again Akane
was
struck by how male she looked with her dour frown and slumped posture. Her
hands were idly sliding back and forth on the handle of her huge spatula,
spinning the ring at the end in the dirt and creating a low whirring sound
from
the blade atop it. She was staring off into space, obviously not noticing or
not
caring that she was the center of attention for all the students exiting the
school.
"Ukyou, you came!" Akane called out brightly. Ukyou snatched her weapon
with one hand, instantly stopping its motion and jerked her head to look in
Akane's direction. Suddenly Ukyou was smiling and her entire face seemed to
change. Her eyes, usually veiled and mysterious, now sparkled with
unconcealed
mirth. Animation and vitality seemed to flow into her expression and in fact
her
entire body. She waved eagerly to Akane and then gestured her forward. Akane
heard several of the nearby girls make swooning noises and cries of delight.
She
hid a derisive smile behind her hand and walked easily towards her new
friend.
"You thought I was lying?" Ukyou asked in her usual direct manner once
Akane was a bit closer. Akane stared at her earnest face for a few seconds
before she decided Ukyou was just toying with her.
"I just thought..." Akane trailed off and shrugged. "I thought you might
have something else to do."
"Indeed?" Ukyou spun her spatula around her hand and returned it to the
harness on her back. Akane supressed a shot of jealousy at the ease with
which
she handled her weapon. "I don't have much else to do except wait around for
Ranma to show up. Frankly, I'd prefer to spend that time hanging with you
than
sitting in my apartment brooding."
Akane blinked embarrassment threatening to emerge visibly on her face.
"That's great," she grinned and nodded. "Don't you go to school? You can't
be
much older than me, and with your uniform, I just assumed you did."
"Oh," Ukyou murmured as she cocked her head to the side and took a few
moments before answering. "I dropped out of my old high school before coming
here. I just don't feel the need to go to school at the moment, I guess."
"Akane!"
Both girls turned to see Akane's childhood friends dashing up to the
pair. Both girls were looking at Ukyou while trying not to appear as if they
were doing so. They waved slightly when Akane noticed them and Akane
beckoned
them over.
"Akane, so this is your mystery stalker?" Yuka asked brightly. Sayuri
elbowed her slightly and frowned at her directness. For her part Yuka
responded
with a glare. Akane giggled.
"Oh man," Ukyou grumbled and put her face in her hands. "Apparently next
time around I should practice my 'not getting noticed' skills." This caused
all
three childhood friends to burst out laughing. "My name is Ukyou Kuonji,"
Ukyou
introduced herself with a bow to the two girls, which they returned. "Rumors
of
me being a sex maniac are greatly exaggerated."
The two girls chuckled amiably at Ukyou's remark. Then Sayuri piped up.
"I would have thought Akane would've flattened you when she caught up with
you
yesterday."
"Well there was no need to," Akane responded cheerfully. "It turns out
that Ukyou is actually-"
"A friend of the family!" Ukyou burst in quickly, cutting Akane off.
Akane glanced at her and caught Ukyou's eyes. The girl in disguise almost
imperceptably shook her head back and forth. Akane supposed the girl had a
good
reason for continuing to maintain her deception, so it wasn't her place to
reveal it if Ukyou didn't want to do so.
"That's right," Akane said slowly. "She has... business with my family."
"Well, not exactly," Ukyou amended. "I have business with someone who
has business with her family."
Yuka and Sayuri were looking back and forth between the two of them.
Yuka only smirked and nodded, while Sayuri fingered her chin and mumbled,
"Riiight..."
Akane took the opportunity to introduce her only other friends to Ukyou.
Each of them took their opportunity to bow in turn, and soon enough all four
of
them were chatting easily. Ukyou seemed to be only half-paying attention to
the
conversation, however. Her eyes had taken on their usual concealed cast and
she
seemed to keep casting glances back at Akane's school. Akane briefly
wondered
what her new friend could find so interesting about the school. It was just
like
thousands of others found throughout Japan. And she was pretty sure that
this
'Ranma' jerk, whoever he was, didn't go there.
"You there, step away from Akane Tendo!"
Akane groaned. This was just what she needed to ruin her day. Strangely
enough Ukyou had a smile on her face. It wasn't a pleasant smile. It was a
dangerous, almost feral smile. "I was wondering when he'd show up," Ukyou
murmured, almost too low for Akane to hear.
"Do you not know who you are dealing with?" Kunou shouted as Akane
turned to watch him with a frown on her face. The upperclassman was standing
only a few meters away, garbed up for battle in his traditional samurai
costume.
He stood almost a head taller than any nearby student, not that many of them
were standing near him. His bokken was out and leveled threateningly in the
direction of Akane's group. From the look of his face, he was not pleased to
see
Ukyou. "Very well, I shall introduce myself. I am-"
"Tatewaki Kunou, age seventeen," Ukyou grunted as she slid around Akane
to face the taller fighter. Her hand reached behind her back to clench
tightly
around the ring on the end of her spatula. Her other hand dissapeared into
one
of her pants pockets. "I'm not impressed."
"Obviously not," Kunou practically spat. "Honorless cur, one who would
ambush Akane Tendo on the street and then seek to take advantage of her
delicate
nature would not be impressed by my righteous demeanour and elegant tongue.
I
fear only my strong blade could garner my due respect from you."
"Honorless!" Ukyou snapped and her knuckles whitened around her weapon's
grip. "I should-" Then Ukyou took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When
she
opened them again her face was set and calm, her eyes cool and unwavering.
"For
your information, Akane attacked me and I defeated her in open combat."
"You lie!"
"Believe what you want."
Akane moaned as the exchange took place. In the wake of Ukyou's
declaration everyone in the immediate area had gone silent. Well, everyone
except-
"Is that true, Akane?" Yuka gasped in and clapped her hands together.
Sayuri was nodding along with her, obviously also eager to hear the latest
gossip. Akane allowed her eyes to drift over everyone else near-by, most of
which were listening in. A few shameless individuals were even taking notes.
Akane allowed her gaze to settle on Ukyou, who nodded slightly when she
noticed
the shorter girl's attention.
"Ukyou's version is true," Akane forced herself to admit. She took great
pride in her skill as a martial artist and Ukyou had totally floored her.
Still,
it didn't sting as bad as Akane thought it would to admit it. Thankfully it
wasn't one of the pervert BOYS that had been able to do that.
"I refuse to believe it!" Kunou shouted.
"Whatever," Ukyou commented with a shrug. "That isn't my problem."
"Ah, but it is your problem," Kunou informed Ukyou as he shifted his
stance slightly. "Are you not aware of the special circumstances that dear
Akane
has agreed to regarding her social activities?"
"Agreed to!?" Akane shouted and stepped forward. That pompous ass! If
declaring something to the entire school during the first public essay
contest
without even consulting her was his idea of agreeing... Akane found her way
blocked by Ukyou's extended arm.
"Let me handle this, Akane." Ukyou turned and smiled at her. "I think I
can take him. But you might want to step back, I have a feeling he has a few
tricks up his sleeves that might surprise you." Akane found herself at a
loss
for words, so she noded mutely and stepped back. Yuka and Sayuri sighed
expansively before Akane waved her fist at them threateningly and shooed
them
away from the confrontation.
"Only one who beats Akane in fair and open challenge can date her,"
Kunou informed Ukyou with a smile as he tossed his head. "An agreement that
is
enforced by me, the greatest rising legend in the high school kendo world. I
will give you one chance to back away from me and leave this place, never to
soil Akane's presence with yours again, and perhaps I won't thrash you for
your
impertinence."
"I'd rather skip the battle of wits with an unarmed opponent and get
straight to me kicking your ass," Ukyou drawled. There was a loud woosh of
displaced air as Ukyou slipped into a combat stance with her spatula held in
front of her. Everyone in the crowd gasped and backed off. Akane found
herself
standing on the edge of the circle the students had created, flanked by her
friends.
"Fine then, we shall join in battle!" Kunou roared as he shifted
slightly, before launching himself forward. The air cracked. Wood collided
with
metal in a resounding clang. Akane gasped. Kunou's swing had been almost too
fast for her to follow. So had Ukyou's defense. Now Kunou found himself
growling
through gritted teeth as he held his sword against the shaft of Ukyou's
upraised
weapon. Akane could see the strain in his face as he attempted to power
through
his opponent's guard, but Ukyou was holding her ground with little
difficulty.
With another cry, Kunou pulled back his blade and brought it down again,
and again, and again. Each time Ukyou deftly deflected the strike with her
weapon's shaft. Still, she was driven backward a step with each blow. Kunou
began to grin as he realized he was stronger than his opponent. Soon Ukyou
found
herself pushed to the edge of the wall surrounding the schoolyard.
"You're better than I thought you would be," Ukyou pointed out in a
hollow voice. Kunou laughed and struck downward again, but this time Ukyou
did
not meet his attack. The wall parted in the wake of Kunou's sword. Concrete
and
dust erupted from the wall in all directions. The student body shouted and
scrambled back as small stones pelted down among them. Akane frowned and
dusted
a few fragments from the collar of her dress, but didn't move. Her eyes were
scanning for Ukyou among the debris.
It was Kunou who spotted her first. Without halting the momentum of his
swing he dragged his bokken through the ground, ripping a new trench in his
haste, and brought it up behind him to halt the path of Ukyou's swing. Once
again metal and wood met noisily. Kunou found himself in the unenviable
position
of having to hold his sword behind his back while Ukyou was using both hands
to
press her spatula against it. Grunting, Kunou allowed himself to be pushed
forward, and he stumbled through the shattered rubble of the wall. Ukyou
smirked
before leaping, her simple leg pump propelling her over the two meter tall
wall
without difficulty. At that point Akane lost sight of both of them.
Muttering a mild profanity, Akane ran around the remaining section of
wall to catch sight of the battle again. A few dozen of her bravest
classmates
followed her. She heard the battle before she could see it again. A second
later
she caught sight of Kunou snarling and slashing madly at Ukyou. His bokken
snapped and thrust through the air, seemingly in multiple places at once.
But
everywhere it went, so did Ukyou's battle spatula. Akane couldn't even see
the
impacts from her parries, only hear the staccato clangs. She could see
Ukyou's
face through the swirling mass of brown and grey streaks, and the girl was
smiling.
"Hey Kunou, we've got our audience back!" Ukyou shouted aloud.
"Hold your tongue, lest I remove it!"
"That's no fun," Ukyou commented happily. "I have to do something to
keep myself entertained. Your patterns are too predictable."
"You mock me!" Kunou roared and stepped back. His blade was extended far
over his head for a moment and then with a roar he brought it down at Ukyou,
his
entire body bending with the force of his blow. Ukyou wasn't there to
receive
it, sliding easily out of the way of the strike. Dust leapt up from the
pavement
as Kunou's sword bit into it deeply. Akane snapped her head to the side as a
loud crack filled the air. She watched in mute awe as a large tree - over
five
meters from Kunou and almost a half-meter thick - split in two and began to
topple to both sides.
"He did that... with just the air pressure!" she gasped aloud. Ukyou
wasn't kidding. There was a lot of tricks Kunou was capable of. Did he
really
hold back that much in her daily battles with him?
Kunou was straightening himself up and scanning for Ukyou. His breathing
had grown labored and sweat trickled down into his eyes. Ukyou was standing
nearby, leaning casually on the haft of her spatula.
"Okay, I think I've made my point," Ukyou drawled in her kansai dialect.
She stood up and swung the spatula in her grip until the wide blade was
pointed
at Kunou. Kunou frowned and pivoted so he could point his own blade straight
at
her heart.
"Yes, you certainly are a worthy opponent," Kunou admitted. "But no one
can defeat the sword of Tatewaki Kunou."
"You're the one who likes quoting people, right?" Ukyou shifted her grip
on her blade slightly. "Well here's one by Musashi, 'The sword is the queen
of
battlefield..." And then she was moving. Kunou tried to engage her before
she
got too close, but Ukyou deflected the sword. Transfering the momentum of
her
block easily, Ukyou spun her weapon behind her back and rammed the ringed
end
into Kunou's face. As Kunou swayed to the side from the impact, Ukyou
continued
past him and spun her spatula again. As it swung back it caught Kunou's gut
and
folded him over like a rag doll. Ukyou dug in her heels just past him and
with a
negligent tug pulled Kunou staggering forward. As Kunou gasped to recover
his
breath, Ukyou continued without pause. Pulling with both arms she smashed
the
flat of her spatula into the back of his knees. Kunou found himself going
vertical, his body shifting up until it seemed to float parallel to the
ground.
Ukyou swung her spatula up in his wake. Her body pirouetted elegantly on one
foot, her long hair snapping back behind her in a graceful arc. Then her
spatula
came down on Kunou's chest. The taller boy found himself pancaked into the
pavement so hard that a spider-web of cracks radiated outward from him. All
of
this happened in less than three seconds. "...but the staff is king'," Ukyou
finished and straightened up while she ran her fingers through her bangs.
Ukyou nudged Kunou's body with her foot a few times to make sure he was
unconscious, and then re-slung her spatula in its harness. She pivoted away
from
him and strode toward Akane. She didn't bother looking to either side as she
approached the crowd of dead silent students. Once she was within easy reach
of
Akane she allowed herself to smile down at the other girl. "Well, now that
I've
gotten that out of my system... is there somewhere you wanted to go? Or did
you
just want to hang around school all day?"

*

"Okay, I think this is far enough."
Akane looked over at Ukyou as the girl ran her hand through her bangs
and stopped in place. It was quiet on the street they had stopped in. Nobody
was
around. That wasn't surprising, considering this was one of the less
populous
parts of town. Ukyou stepped over to a wall, leaned against it... and
immediately slumped to her knees and began to take deep breaths.
"Oh man, that really hurts once the adrenaline wears off," Ukyou
grumbled as she began to rub her arms up and down along her sleeves.
"You're hurt?" Akane asked in surprise.
"Well, not really," Ukyou admitted. "But that guy was throwing around
strikes strong enough to shatter concrete from several meters away and I was
just standing there absorbing it like an idiot."
Akane chuckled. Somehow it made her feel better that Ukyou had come out
of her dramatic battle with a few aches and pains. For a while there, while
they
walked and Ukyou just gazed off into space with her enigmatic blank-eyed
stare,
Akane had felt slightly intimidated by this superhuman fighting machine she
had
befriended.
"Laugh it up, Tendo," Ukyou waggled her finger at Akane reproachfully.
"I only put on that little show for your benefit."
"What? My benefit?"
"Indeed," Ukyou sighed as she slid to her feet again. "If we play this
right, you won't have to worry about those hordes of assholes attacking you
anymore."
"What are you talking about? I can handle myself..." Akane grumbled a
bit and crossed her arms under her chest.
"Hey, Akane," Ukyou waved her arms vigourously. "I wouldn't think of
fighting your battles for you. Kunou was going to attack me anyway. But the
fact
that I beat him so soundly can work to your advantage." Ukyou paused here
and
began to fiddle idly with the haft of her spatula. "I don't think you'll
ever
get Kunou to leave you alone, he strikes me as the obsessive type. But the
others? Most of them are just being intimidated by Kunou. If they think
they'll
have to face ME, after the unholy can of whupass I just opened up on the
strongest fighter in school without breaking a sweat, they'll probably back
off."
"Wait a minute," Akane shook her head and glanced at Ukyou askance. "Why
would any of them back off... oh." Akane blinked and then blushed fiercely.
"But
they'd have to think that you were my..."
"Boyfriend?" Ukyou laughed. "Don't sweat it Akane, I won't ask you to go
steady if you don't want me to." Akane found herself backing away from the
other
girl slightly. Was it possible that Ukyou... swung that way? "Geez, you've
gone
white as a sheet. I'm just teasing you a little bit. You have to relax,
girl."
Akane laughed, but it sounded a little forced to her ears. Mainly because it
WAS
a little forced. "Akane, you don't have to go along with this if you don't
want
to," Ukyou shrugged. "The way I see it, those guys with their barbaric
contest
have probably spoiled you on the entire other half of the genepool for a
good
long time. And I'm fine with that. But I have a... unique insight into the
male
mind and don't want you to just keep getting antagonized with them
perpetually
until you lose all hope with them." Ukyou rolled her head back on her neck
and
stared up at the clouds. "This will get most of them off your back, and give
you
a chance to start looking at things with a chance to catch your breath.
You're
not being pushed into any relationships...as long as you keep this fiction
about
us up, you'll be effectively off limits to all but the most insane guys.
Eventually..." she shrugged again, "...eventually you might find some guy
you
like, decide to take a chance with him. In this case, you'll do it under
your
terms. Its not like you'll have to worry about me getting jealous or
anything."
"Ukyou... I don't know what to think..."
"Well, don't get all mushy on me," Ukyou laughed. "I have an ulterior
motive, you know." Akane blinked, not sure how to respond. "Think about it,
if
all the girls think I'm 'with' you, then it will really cut down on the
number
of stray love letters and chocolates I'm going to get."
Akane frowned at that. Then she found her frown cracking. Then she found
her throat convulsing. Finally she could hold it in no longer and burst out
laughing.
"Hey! I know how much this hot pretty boy look turns the girl's knees to
mush!" Ukyou said with a comically miffed expression on her face.
"And you accuse me of having an ego!" Akane guffawed while pointing at
Ukyou. The other girl was obviously doing little better at holding back her
own
laughter. Every now and then a snort would escape from between her lips.
Akane
had to clutch her stomach, it was beginning to hurt. Apparently that was the
last straw for Ukyou, as she too broke out in rolling laughter. Akane patted
Ukyou on the shoulder and nodded between guffaws to show she approved of the
idea. If it didn't work, there was little really it would change about
Akane's
life. And if it did, then all the better. She really couldn't see a
downside.

*

"I'm home!" Akane called out as she entered the house.
"Welcome back!" Kasumi called out from the kitchen in her usual cheerful
manner. "How was school?"
"Yeah, sis," Nabiki deadpanned from the living room. "Why don't you tell
us all about it?"
Akane glared at her sister as she walked into the home. Trust Nabiki to
ruin a perfectly good mood. Her older sister was lounging on the floor,
wearing
a pair of embarrassingly high cut off jeans and a tight maroon T-shirt. She
was
idly flipping through one of her tankoubans, but her attention was focused
entirely on her little sister. Akane stuck her tongue out at her. Nabiki
blinked.
"I had a wonderful day at school," Akane retorted in her most snobbish
tone of voice. Nabiki had recovered by this point and rolled her eyes in an
exaggerated manner. "You're just jealous because -I- got a boyfriend before
you
did!"
"Akane has a boyfriend?" her father spoke up from behind her. Akane
froze solid. Nabiki just smirked and stuck the tip of her tongue out at
Akane.
Great. Akane had just walked into that one.
"Did I hear correctly?" Daddy asked in a reasonable enough tone of
voice. Akane turned to face the music. She knew her father was not the
most...
emotionally dependable father in the world. She remembered clearly the time
Nabiki had brought one of her dates back to the house. The poor boy had been
chased off with bows and arrows for 'being too forward' with her. And all
he'd
done was place his arm around Nabiki's shoulder.
"Well, it's not exactly like that, Daddy," Akane began uneasily. Her
mind flashed back to a conversation a few days ago. Specifically Ukyou
asking
her not to reveal her secret to her family, or ask about the Saotomes.
Apparently that bastard Genma was able to sense an ambush a mile away, and
she
didn't want him or Ranma catching a whiff of her presence until she was
ready to
pay them back for what they had done to her. Akane reminded herself to get
the
mysterious girl to actually spill the truth about that soon. Every time she
asked, Ukyou politely and efficiently sidestepped the question.
"Oh... what is it like, exactly?" he replied in an innocent tone. Akane
sighed. She couldn't risk revealing their scheme to get the boys at school
to
leave her alone. Knowing Nabiki, the information would be spread across the
whole school before noon tomorrow and the whole thing would have been a
waste of
time.
"Well, he -is- a boyfriend, I guess you could say..." Akane could see
Daddy's eye twitching. "But NOTHING has happened! We just started dating
yesterday! I swear!"
"I see..." Daddy murmured evenly. His eye was still twitching.
"This is great news!" Kasumi called out brightly as she entered the
living room. She was absently cleaning her hands on her apron, and Akane
could
smell the aroma of baking bread following in her wake. Ohh, that reminded
Akane.
She would have to treat her new friend to some cookies or something... "I
was
beginning to wonder if you would ever have a boyfriend, Akane!"
Akane's eye twitched, almost mirroring her father's expression. "You
don't have to say it quite like that..."
"Oh Kasumi!" Daddy finally broke down in tears and clutched his eldest
daughter in a bearhug. "My little girl is growing up!"
"There... there..." Kasumi muttered in a unsure manner,
"But... but what about..." Daddy's eyes shot open and he pulled back to
clutch his eldest by the shoulders. "Kasumi! You don't have a boyfriend, do
you!
Please, tell me you don't!"
"Of course not, Father," Kasumi laughed prettily. Kasumi did everything
prettily, Akane noted to herself grumpily. Her mind drifted to Doctor Tofu
and
his bizarre fascination with her sister...
"And you, Nabiki, you aren't dating anyone, are you?" Daddy pounced on
the middle sister with an almost frantic energy. Nabiki stared at him in
obvious
bewilderment.
"No, I prefer to leave my options open when it comes to that sort of
thing," Nabiki pointed out as she pried her father's hands off her
shoulders.
Daddy breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to his knees. "Then the
agreement is still safe," he sighed aloud.
"What agreement?" Akane asked into the descending calm.
"Uh..." Daddy broke out into a sweat as he stared at all three of his
daughters. "Why... it's nothing! Nothing you have to worry about!"
Akane frowned at her father suspiciously. Nabiki just gave Akane a
flippant shrug and went back to her graphic novel. Kasumi remained
cheerfully
oblivious and informed everyone that dinner was almost ready.

*

Ukyou ran her fingers along the spine of the books. Some of the titles
she recognized, others she did not. Not that she had ever been a big fan of
the
medium before, but Aaron certainly liked manga well enough. Thanks to him,
she
now knew far more about the various titles. She had even decided that a few
of
them were rather interesting, from what Aaron could remember about reading
them,
Thus, she was growing rather annoyed at her inability to locate a few of
her favorite series. Aaron tried to point out that this world might not be
the
same as his own. He was aware of the selection of manga from over a decade
in
the "future" and wasn't even sure when a lot of titles had been first
published.
Still, she wasn't about to complain about his foresight in that regard. A
quick
scan of the history books had revealed that the two worlds had almost exact
parallels when it came to things like politics, business, sports and a host
of
other areas. Ukyou certainly wouldn't be lacking in financial resources,
after
the savvy investments she had spent most of today transferring her funds
into.
Aaron sighed as they stepped out of the last isle in the cramped
bookstore. He stretched out one of Ukyou's hands and snapped her knuckles in
irritation. Her other hand held less than a dozen graphic novels, far fewer
than
he would have thought available. Still, it would do. He was just glad the
two of
them had finally agreed on an activity to pass the time. It was getting
annoying
to be constantly bickering back and forth over every little decision like
that.
It was giving them both a massive headache.
Paying for the collection was a simple affair, and Ukyou was out of the
store in short order. She took her first breath of fresh air since she had
entered the cramped basement over and hour ago. She wrinkled her nose in
disgust
at the remembered smells of the place, an unappealing combination of dust,
body
odor and drying paint from the custom garage kit models. Compared to that,
the
smog of the Tokyo suburb was almost pleasant.
Aaron took a few seconds to scan across the crowd moving along the
street. It was mostly housewives and young adults at this hour. Still not
yet
afternoon...most of the younger children were still in school, and the
majority
of adults would be involved in whatever gainful employment they had. Still,
Aaron couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Ukyou agreed with him,
but
thought it was just his paranoia acting up.
Then he spotted her. She was dressed in an elegant and fashionable
business suit. She was tall, tall enough to stand out among the small
statured
Japanese that surrounded her, and had a dark complexion that almost looked
Mediterranean. She had red eyes and dark green hair that fell about her
shoulder
in a delicate cascade. And she was looking right at Ukyou. Right at her.
"Sailor Plu-" Ukyou burst out in surprise and Aaron smacked their hands
over their mouth before she could say anymore. Setsuna's eyes narrowed
slightly.
She couldn't have possibly heard Ukyou from all the way on the other side of
the
street. She had to be standing a good ten meters away.
(Can she read lips?)
Shit. Aaron realized they were staring at her, with their hands covering
their mouth and their eyes agape. They didn't exactly strike the picture of
innocent nonchalance. For one brief moment Setsuna's eyes met with Ukyou and
Aaron saw recognition flash in those red eyes. What the hell was going on?
Before Ukyou could even think about it she was fleeing. It caught Aaron
by surprise when she snapped her legs and propelled them off the street and
onto
a nearby rooftop. She didn't hesitate on the rooftop long, bounding away
almost
as soon as her feet found purchase on the tarred surface. She was muttering
a
few choice curses under her breath as she ran and
(Stop!)
her legs refused to move. With a cry she fell facefirst into the next
roof and slid a few meters before her inertia gave out. She spent a few
seconds
understanding the concept of pain. With a groan she levered herself up to
her
knees and brushed a few flecks of dirt from her face. She probed her face
gingerly but found nothing out of place or broken. No thanks to SOME people.
(Sorry.)
Ukyou grunted and looked around. The rooftops, for as far as she could
see in any direction, were free and clear. Thus feeling momentarily safe,
she
smacked herself in the face good, enduring the pain to know that Aaron would
be
thrown for a loop by it as well.
Aaron frowned and pulled her hand down before shifting them into a more
comfortable position. Ukyou was still annoyed with him but he didn't much
care.
They had already probably ruined any chance of clearing up whatever
misunderstanding had come over the Senshi of Time. Ukyou felt herself
backing
away from the idea of confronting Setsuna. The woman was a psychopath. No.
Aaron knew that wasn't true. She was mixing up continuities again. Sure,
many
fanfics on the net had painted Setsuna as cold-hearted and ruthless, but no
evidence from either canon series supported that idea. It was just as likely
that she could be talked to reasonably, and they certainly wouldn't know
what
kind of personality the Senshi had until they interacted with her.
Unfortunately
now, they had sent all the wrong signals. If Setsuna suspected them of some
wrong-doing, then fleeing would only support the idea that Ukyou was guilty
in
her mind.
Still, the Sailor Senshi were all about forgiveness and redemption. The
likelihood of them shooting first and asking questions later was from low to
nil. It would be even better if Ukyou did nothing hostile. Aaron cocked his
head
to the side as he thought about it. Actually, having Sailor Moon around
might be
a blessing in disguise. With her magical powers, it might be possible to
separate the two of them without having to resort to the wishing sword.
Ukyou sighed and agreed. There was no point in jumping to conclusions.
Once Ukyou had taken care of her business here with Ranma, she would head
off to
the Minato ward and see if she could find Usagi. Aaron was sure that if they
could get the young princess-to-be to trust them, than whatever problems
Setsuna
might have with them could be forgiven and forgotten. She pulled herself to
her
feet and dusted herself off. It was then she realized she had dropped her
manga
back at the store. Well... there was no helping it. Best not to risk
confronting
Sailor Pluto until she had a chance to get in good with Usagi.
Once again in agreement, the two bounced over the rooftops, heading back
towards their dingy hotel room.

*

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout this."
Akane stared at the short, busty girl in front of her. This couldn't be
possible. Ukyou had been quite clear on the point. Genma Saotome had a son
named
Ranma, not a daughter. There was also no mention of any pandas of any shape
or
form.
"Daddy, how could you engage us to a girl?"
"My friend Genma told me his son was a boy."
"Does this look like a boy to you, huh, Daddy?" Nabiki reached out as
she spoke and began to squeeze and fondle the young girl's ample assets.
Ranma,
for her part, made a sick-looking face and cringed a bit away from Nabiki.
"Ah, could you stop that?"
"You stay out of this," Nabiki commanded the smaller girl. The girl
blinked but seemed uninclined to complain any more. She was beginning to
blush
something fierce, however. Akane felt like she should stop this, but wasn't
sure
she wanted to get involved. She was still trying to parse the contradictory
information in front of her. The fact was, she trusted Ukyou completely.
Especially since she had revealed her deep secret...
Ah ha!
"Nabiki," Akane shouted out. Her sister turned to look at her with a
frown. "You should leave our guest alone." The girl looked relieved when
Nabiki
let go, but was staring at Akane quizzically. She had probably picked up on
the
venom in Akane's voice. Maybe she thought it was directed at Nabiki. Well,
she
thought wrong. "Hi there. Ranma, right?"
"Uh huh..."
"I'm Akane," Akane bowed in place, but only slightly. "I apologize for
my sister's behavior." Nabiki snorted. "I know this must be pretty strange
for
you, being engaged to a bunch of girls. Why don't I take you on the tour
while
we wait for your father to arrive so we can get this all cleared up."
"But my pop is right..." she trailed off. Then she turned and glared at
the large panda bear. "Yeah. Maybe I should wait until I can talk to my
father
before I do anything here. Or at least, until he can talk back."
Akane stood up and offered her hand to the shorter girl. "Then why don't
you come with me?" Ranma took the hand a bit hesitantly. Akane tried to
smile in
a reassuring manner, but maybe it came out a bit sinister, since Ranma was
staring at her wide-eyed the whole time. Akane didn't let that bother her.
She
led the way out of the house proper and into the dojo. No use destroying the
good furniture here. She smiled again, this time not trying to hide her
angry
glee. It was going to be good to get a chance to pay back Ukyou for her
favor
with the guys at school, and get a chance to beat a real pervert into the
ground
at the same time.
It didn't take long to reach the dojo. Ranma was slumping through the
area nonchalantly. Akane had to snort. Maybe if she hadn't had such recent
experience with Ukyou's deception, this entire thing might have fooled her.
But
look at that "girl"! She wasn't moving like a girl. She didn't even try to
sound like a girl, even if her voice didn't sound like any teenage guy's.
Akane
concealed her gleeful grin before turning back to her guest.
"So, my dad told me you were trained in martial arts?"
"A little," Ranma said with a shrug while "she" shuffled her feet.
"Well, so do I!" Akane called out cheerfully. "Why don't we have a
little match?"
"Uh." Ranma looked her up and down with a critical eye and then
shrugged. "Sure, I guess."
"Great!" Akane clapped her hands and led Ranma further into the dojo and
then took a stance. Ranma seemed to have her mind on other things, since she
just stood there with her arms behind her back, swaying back and forth on
the
balls of her feet like a little kid. "Let's begin, shall we?" Ranma only
nodded
slightly in response. Akane gave a mental shrug and narrowed her eyes. She
had
warned the little freak.
Akane didn't bother holding back, striking with all the force and
precision her twelve years of martial arts training had instilled in her.
Ranma
wasn't there to receive the punch. Akane had to skid to a stop before she
smashed a hole in the dojo wall. She spun in place, and spotted Ranma
standing a
few meters away, still standing with arms behind the back and trying to look
innocent. Akane began to feel her temper building.
"You're pretty good..."
"Thanks," Ranma replied with a shrug.
Okay, this time Akane wasn't going to kid around. Sliding forward she
made her approach slow and easy. Ukyou was also faster than her, and Akane
had
learned a few things from their sparring sessions over the last week. The
first
lesson: never charge someone faster than you. Ranma noticed her slow
approach
and backed up a step, allowing her arms to unfold from her back. Her eyes
had
become wary.
"You should be worried, buster," Akane said aloud.
"Huh?"
"After what you did, I'm going to make sure you pay!"
"What! What did I do to you?" Ranma sounded genuinely confused.
"Don't play innocent!" Akane pointed at him. "I know your dirty little
secret! Did you think I wouldn't see through it the moment you walked in the
house?"
"You... you know..." Ranma backed up another step, his arms shooting
out. "Wait, I can explain-"
"Oh no you don't!" Akane roared. She was close enough now, and Ranma was
off balance. She burst forward and lashed out with a blistering right cross.
Ranma leaned back under the blow. Akane was too off balance from the attack
to
recover before he had a chance to scamper out of reach again.
"Hey you crazy chick! This isn't my fault!" he shouted at her.
"Yeah right," Akane replied sarcastically. She launched a few more
attacks, but again and again Ranma twisted or side-stepped away from her
best
efforts. Damn, this guy was good. "You can't possibly pull off something
that
convincing without special effort!"
"Huh? What are you-"
"Got you!" Akane shouted as she leapt forward. Literally jumping into
the air with her arms spread wide. Unseeing, Ranma had backed himself into a
corner and had nowhere to go as Akane spread herself like a net. Ranma
yelped as
Akane fell on him and the wall creaked as the two landed against it with a
loud
creak. "You can't escape from me now, you cross-dressing pervert!"
"Agh! Get off me!"
"Oh no! Not until I reveal you for what you are! Now take off your
clothes, you pervert!"
"Gah! That's my shirt!"
There was a ripping sound as Akane tore at the fabric of Ranma's red
satin shirt.
"Why are you being so stubborn about this! Take your punishment like a
man!"
"No way! You're nuts! Let me go!"
"Not until I get your pants off, too!"
"Waaah! Don't touch me there!"
Akane frowned as the breasts came into view. They were certainly large
and... very realistic looking. They had to be very good false breasts. So of
course, Akane decided the best thing to do was to rip them off. Which was
what
she was trying to do right then. They were very stubborn. It must be a very
strong glue.
Click. Click.
Akane paused and looked to her right. There was Nabiki, and her father,
and Kasumi, and a large panda bear. Nabiki was cursing rapidly and trying to
change the film in her camera. Kasumi was standing as stiff as a statue, her
eyes the size of dinner plates. Soun was shuddering and twitching, his eyes
sparkling with ready tears. The panda had an unreadable expression, but
then, it
was a panda.
Finally Nabiki had her camera reloaded. She looked through it at the
pair of wrestling girls. "Don't stop on our account," Nabiki deadpanned.
"Just
pretend we aren't here."
"Oh... oh..." Kasumi gasped softly.
Akane slowly released Ranma's breasts and looked down at the girl
beneath her. Akane's own gi had come partially loose in the struggle and the
front was now half-open. At least open enough to see Akane's sports bra
underneath it. Now that Akane looked down, outside of the heat of the
moment,
those breasts looked very real. Much too real. Especially considering there
were
bruises forming on them in the outline of her grasping hands. Akane couldn't
think of any material that bruised like that.
"Could you get off me now?" Ranma asked with a dead-eyed glare.

*

"And you were complaining about me fondling Ranma," Nabiki pointed out
for what had to be the millionth time.
"Shut up!" Akane groused from her position at the table. She wasn't
looking up at her sister. She wasn't looking at anything at all. She was
sitting
in a fetal curl, her arms wrapped firmly around her knees and her head
buried in
the nook created by them. Anything so people couldn't see the embarrassment
on
her face. She would have really preferred to be left alone to wallow in her
misery. Nabiki, however, seemed far more interested in tormenting her than
sympathizing. It was times like this she hated Nabiki.
"No really, tell me again how you were trying to protect the family from
a sex fiend," Nabiki requested. Her voice had taken on a sing-song quality
that
Akane really didn't like. "Because I'm interested in knowing which of you
ended
up acting more like a sex fiend in the end."
"Shut up!"
"You know, if you didn't have a boyfriend, I'd think all those rumors
about you at school were true," Nabiki mused softly. Thankfully Nabiki
couldn't
see Akane flinch at that. "Maybe you swing both ways?"
"Argh!" Akane screamed heavenward.
"Excuse me, girls," Daddy called out to the two of them. Akane looked
over at him. He was standing in the doorway with a strange man. The man was
portly, but not fat. He wore a white martial arts gi and a kerchief over the
top
of his head. A pair of wire-rim spectacles perched on his flourid face.
Kasumi
had proceeded the pair of grown-ups into the room and was now sitting down
at
the table. She was glancing at Akane out of the corner of her eyes, but her
expression was carefully neutral. Akane felt herself squirming. Having
Kasumi
disappointed in her made Akane feel... soiled.
Seeing neither of her sisters was going to speak up, Nabiki interrupted
her hemming and hawing father. "We're all here, Daddy," she pointed out.
"You
had something to say?"
"Ah yes," Daddy murmured. Then he cleared his throat and seemed to
straighten himself up. When next he spoke his voice was clear and resonant,
fatherly. "Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane, I want to introduce you to my old friend
Genma
Saotome." All three of the girls nodded at the man as he bowed to them. "And
this is his son, the boy one of you will marry..." Daddy waved his hand
around
the corner and a boy stepped into view.
He was taller than the girl, and much more flat-chested. But his hair
was the same style. His uncomfortable slouch the same. His eyes the same
eyes.
"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout this."

*

"I'll kill him!" Akane screamed as she waved the giant stone she had
uprooted out of the garden over her head. Ranma was cringing back behind the
large panda that was her father. Akane tried to get a clear shot with her
projectile, but the boy-turned-girl was slippery as an eel and kept sliding
out
of her arc behind the giant fuzzball. Akane was just beginning to consider
going
through the faux-animal when her eldest sister's voice cut in.
"Akane! I won't have you throwing such things around in my house!"
"But sis! I was right! It IS a guy! He just has the advantage of this
magic to carry off his perverted plans!"
"What perverted plans? I haven't tried to do anything to you, you psycho
chick!"
"Akane!"
"Kasumi..." Akane moaned in a voice even she found a bit childish.
"No, I won't have you destroying my house with that rock!" Akane sighed
and put the rock back down outside. "Here, use this instead!" Kasumi smiled
and
handed Akane a bokken. Akane tested the heft of the weapon and turned on
Ranma
with an evil grin. The fake-girl let out a girlish squeak and tried to flee
from
the room. She didn't get very far. Genma was using his giant paws to hold
onto
the collar of Ranma's recently replaced shirt.
Akane never got a chance to 'open the unholy can of whupass on him' , as
Ukyou would say, since at that point her father intervened with the
retrieved
kettle of hot water.
"Really, this problem isn't so bad!" Daddy called out as he placed
himself between Akane and her prey. "Cold water changes you to a panda...
but
hot water changes you right back!" He upturned the kettle and spilled the
steaming water over Genma.
The transformation was so fast, Akane barely even noticed it. She saw
the image of the panda superimposed over the image of the man for a brief
second, like an afterimage or a reflection on a glass window. Then it was
gone
and there was only the man. He was panting and pulling his glasses back on.
"It needn't be that hot!" the man groused in mid-pant.
"And while cold water makes you a girl, hot water can change you back as
well!" Daddy attempted to pour the kettle onto Ranma, but the girl bent her
body
out of the way.
"Watch it with that!" Ranma cried out as she tried to twist out of her
father's grasp. She wasn't having much luck with that. When Daddy moved in
and
grasped him around the shoulder, the girl gave up with a sigh.
"This means things can continue as planned," Daddy stated expansively.
He waved his hand towards his three daughters. "These are my daughters;
Kasumi,
she's nineteen; Nabiki, she's seventeen and Akane, she's sixteen! Pick
whomever
you like, she'll be your fiancee!"
"Fiancee?" Nabiki blinked. "You're not still going through with that?"
"There is NO WAY I'm marrying that pervert!" Akane pointed her sword at
the girl's heart.
"Like I'd marry you either, you psycho tomboy!"
"What did you call me?"
"Psycho tomboy!"
"You... sex-changing freak!"
"Flat-chested gorilla!"
"Friend-betraying creep!"
"Thunder thighs!"
"You must think with your privates because you certainly don't have any
brains left at the moment!"
"You-"
The two cut off as they realized that their two fathers were laughing
heartily in the background.
"The sound like they're already married, Tendo," Genma pointed out as he
calmed himself down.
"That they do, Saotome. That they do."
Oh no. Akane saw that look in her father's eyes. It was time to step on
this fire before it spread any further.
"I can't marry him, Daddy... I... I..." Then it hit her. "I already have
a boyfriend, remember? And I really like him!" Ukyou to the rescue again.
Akane
made a mental note to treat her friend to an ice cream.
"But doesn't family honor come before personal feelings?" Nabiki noted
laconically.
"Stay out of this..." Akane warned her. "Besides, you're here too. And
you already pointed out you weren't attached at the moment."
Nabiki opened her mouth, then closed it. She glared at her sister.
"Oh dear, he's much too young for me. Maybe Nabiki is the best choice,
after all?"
"Oh no! You aren't roping me into this so easily! I'm not marrying this
guy," Nabiki asserted in an even tone of voice.
"I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole!" Akane pointed out.
"He's so uncouth and rude." Kasumi clapped her hands to her cheek in
exaggerated horror.
"You're the one who was so keen on getting his clothes off earlier, you
marry him!"
"No way! You're the one who grabbed his breasts first!"
"Hey! Stop talking about me like I'm some peace of meat!"
"You stay out of this!" all three girls yelled in Ranma's face. Wisely,
the boy-turned girl decided to stay silent after that.

*

It was amazing what you could learn from a simple phonebook. Ukyou
flipped the carefully folded piece of paper over in her hands again and
again.
Written on that simple paper were the phone numbers and addresses of every
Sailor Senshi she had been able to find. A few had eluded her grasp. There
were
far too many "Aino"s and "Mizuno"s in the Tokyo listing to pinpoint the
locations of either of those girls. Heck, it was possible Sailor V was still
fighting the Dark Agency over in England. It was certain that there was a
lot of
Sailor V merchandise that was making its way into the popular culture around
here. Ukyou almost wondered how she had missed it before.
The park came into view quickly, and Ukyou hurried her steps a little
bit. Akane had agreed to meet her here once again now that school was over
for
the shorter girl. Aaron ran her hand through her bangs as he considered the
agenda for today. It was probably best to get in a few more hours of free
sparring. Ever hour he spent practicing his imperfect hand-to-hand
techniques on
someone he didn't have to worry too much about mangling with Ukyou's
superhuman
strength was an hour well spent. He felt he was actually beginning to get a
grip
on this whole martial arts business. Even Ukyou agreed that learning how to
fight without her weapons of choice was probably a good idea.
After that, Ukyou planned to spend the rest of the day just hanging with
her new friend. It would be hard to enjoy it, what with Aaron acting as a
constant black hole of cynicism and apathy in the back of her skull. But
Akane
was a decent person, and worth just hanging around with.
When they saw Akane sitting on the bench, fiddling her legs in the dirt
and frowning at her shoelaces, Ukyou knew something was wrong. Aaron called
out
a greeting and waved to their new friend. Akane looked up and her eyes
brightened as she smiled with relief.
"Ukyou! Over here!" Akane called needlessly. Aaron shrugged their
shoulders and bit back a comment about that, mainly because Ukyou mentally
threatened to start thinking about sweaty men if he did.
"What's up, Akane? You look down," Ukyou asked as she slumped into the
bench next to Akane. Unconsciously she sat with her legs spread and her arms
stretched across the back of the seat. Aaron began to drum her fingers
against
the wood.
"I... Ukyou..." Akane took a deep breath and looked at Ukyou before
looking away again. Then the girl began to twiddle her fingers together and
sigh. "I... well..."
"Something is obviously bothering you, Akane," Aaron blurted out in his
most blunt tone. "It obviously has something to do with me, too. Why not
just
spit it out?"
"Right... Ukyou," Akane drifted off, then looked at Ukyou's expectant
features. Her mouth set in a firm line and her eyes narrowed before she
nodded
to herself. "Ukyou, that boy you were waiting for showed up at my house
yesterday. You were right."
"Ranma..."
(Ranma.)
Ukyou felt her heart skip a beat. She knew this moment was coming.
Somehow, she hadn't quite believed it. She was going to have her chance with
Ranma. She was going to get to pay him back
(Who are you kidding?)
for... for nothing. It wasn't his fault. Ukyou dropped her head to her
chest and felt her fingertips digging into the wood of the benchback. Aaron
was
right. Ukyou had seen too much that corroborated his memories of that stupid
comic book! Ranma knew nothing about her! Nothing! He...
"Ukyou, are you okay?"
"I..." Aaron forced them to stop speaking. Ukyou's voice was cracking
with emotion. He calmly asserted control over the conversation. "I'm fine. I
was
just caught off gaud."
"Yes..."
"Is Genma with him?"
"Well, yes, but I have to ask you a favor..."
Ukyou wasn't paying attention to Akane anymore.
(Genma...)
She was thinking about only one man. Thinking about how he had tricked
her father. Thinking about how he had tricked Ranma. Thinking about how he
had
humiliated Ukyou, and forced her to become this bizarre parody of a woman.
(Genma.)
Ukyou remembered his florid, smiling face. Pretending he approved of
Ukyou's friendship with Ranma. Pretending he gave a shit about Ranma at all.
Always taking. He was someone Ukyou could safely hate. Someone she could
(Genma!)
feel something dark and malevolent about. She could feel herself
starting to grin. Remembering that boy. The one that had bullied her. Little
Ukyou versus the big bully. And there had been hate there. Just like this
hate.
Hate for the humiliation and pain and then Ukyou had just walked up to him
and
lit him on fire
(Wait...)
and that had been that. And she had enjoyed watching it too. Just like
she would enjoy watching Genma squirm. She could burn him too. She knew a
few
techniques to roast the bastard alive and
(This isn't right...)
she would enjoy it. No more holding back. No more pretending to be
something she was not. No more trying to fit in with the other boys despite
the
fact it was obvious she did not. She could lash out with all her
(his)
anger without having to worry about anyone caring. It would be-
"UKYOU!"
The sound of wood splintering snapped Ukyou out of it. Akane was
standing across the gravel path in the park. Akane had one arm extended
across
her chest between the two of them and the other pointed behind her. Her eyes
shook in her face and her mouth was a large O. Ukyou looked down at herself.
She
was covered by splinters of wood. The entire bench had been torn asunder and
Ukyou was now sitting on the gravel in the remains. It took her a few
seconds to
realize that she had done that.
No. Not her.
Aaron shuddered. That had not been pleasant. It was... a feedback loop.
It had to be. Like Ukyou was drawing on his memories and feelings to fuel
her
own. And he had barely noticed. Barely been aware of what was happening.
Heck,
he'd barely been aware of HIMSELF... he had... he had... lost himself in her
rage. Been almost smothered by Ukyou's personality completely.
"Akane..." Ukyou began hoarsely. "I'm sorry... I guess it got to me a
bit more than I thought."
"I'll say," Akane sighed and laughed nervously. "Those creeps must have
done something pretty bad to you, huh?"
"Something like that..." Ukyou pushed herself to her feet. Aaron had
retreated. He was carefully pulling himself back, filling his mind with the
familiar ice and void. Ukyou felt her own perspective shifting as he did. It
was
unavoidable. Her anger was draining away, at least. Ukyou couldn't blame
Aaron
for doing this. "I need to meet them, Akane." Ukyou could hear the flat,
impassive tone of her voice but couldn't help it. Unconsciously, she pulled
her
hands through her bangs in Aaron's nervous tic. "As soon as possible..."
"I see." Akane seemed to be relaxing a bit. She flexed a bit. "I'll take
you to my place, right away then."
"Thank you." The words were formal, but had no real passion behind them.
Inwardly Ukyou wished she could show true gratitude, but Aaron was clamping
down
on their emotions pretty hard. Maybe he could ease up and
(Risk killing Genma?)
maybe he couldn't. Damn.
"But while we're going there, I do have a favor to ask you."
"Indeed?"
"Yes... you see, the agreement between our families is kind of stupid...
and if they find out that you're really a girl... I might... might end up
engaged to that jerk!"
Ukyou looked at Akane. Damn. This was just another wonderful problem she
had to deal with.

*

Ranma sighed as he relaxed into the bath. This was getting to be a long
day. At least he was a man again. But he wouldn't be for long. He just knew
something would turn him into that small, weak, fragile girl-form again
before
the day was out. Still, it wasn't worth lingering on that problem at the
moment.
Soon enough he would ditch this place and find his way back to Jyusenkyo,
and
the cure.
The real problem was how he was going to survive in this house. Already
he had been molested by two of the girls he was supposed to marry, almost
scalded by their father, and repeatedly tossed into a koi pond by his own
father. The thought of sleeping in this house of nutcases made Ranma
shudder,
sending tiny ripples through the water.
At least he was safe enough in the bathroom. Nobody would walk in on him
here. But there was only so long he could stay inside. Especially
considering
eventually the bathwater would cool. Then he would not only be a walking
prune,
he would be a walking female prune. And that mental image would haunt his
nightmares for years to come. Thank you very much, overactive imagination.
Ranma was just stepping out of the water when the door slid open. His
eyes snapped up and settled on the figure standing in the doorway. It was
Kasumi, and aside from the towel folded daintily over one arm she was
dressed
not at all. Her eyes widened when she saw the boy in the bathtub. Ranma
looked
down, confirming that, yes, his clothes had not magically appeared on his
body
to save him from dreadful embarrassment.
"Oh dear," Kasumi said simply. "This is awkward."
"Uh..." Ranma wasn't sure what to say or do. So far Kasumi hadn't tried
to molest him. That was a plus.
"Well, we can't have this at all," Kasumi frowned slightly and wrapped
her towel about her chest so that it draped over her body to obscure it from
view. She stepped inside to close the door behind her. "Next time remember
to
put out the occupied sign, young man." Kasumi walked over to the cleaning
bench
and began to fiddle with the hose. This involved her bending over.
"Gurk..." Ranma failed to speak clearly. He was blushing furiously but
was far more worried about other involuntary reactions.
Ranma didn't even see her moving before he felt the cold water spraying
in his face. He blinked as he felt his body shift and his physical reactions
cease to exist at the same time.
"There, now that we're both girls, this isn't so bad!" Kasumi called out
cheerfully. "Perhaps you could clean my back?" She turned away from him and
dropped her towel.
Ranma ran screaming from the room.


*

He entered the policebox, squinted automatically as the darkened night
outside was replaced by the brightly lit interior, then realised he didn't
actually have to do that and relaxed. The police officer was sitting at the
desk, writing something, but looked up as the figure walked in. He was
alone.
Good. But there was a phone there. Had to get him to get up.
As he thought, the policeman stared at him. His eyes crinkled a bit at
the sight of the heavyset foreigner, but his expression didn't change
otherwise.
"May I...be helping...you?" the officer asked, in slow, careful English.
"That isn't necessary, I can talk," he replied in fluent Japanese,
grinning slightly. "But I do need your assistance."
Another twitch of the eyes, but still no change of expression. "What
is...your probrem?" Still in English. Oh, he'd heard about those. So much
for
the 'ever-courteous Japan' myth. That made what was about to happen a
little
better. A little.
"I'm having some difficulty," he said, again in Japanese, assuming a
serious expression. "I think there's somebody hurt. Could you please come
look?"
Well, that knocked the racism out of him, at least for a moment. Maybe
he thought the hurt person was Japanese. Bounding up, the officer walked up
beside him. "Where?"
He pointed with his off-hand, the policeman's gaze followed. "It's
right over..."
He was strong; he'd been careful to be strong. The officer didn't
really have a chance. As he looked, he was grabbed around the throat,
jerked
from the floor. Arms reached up to grapple with his attackers', but the
grip
was cinched in. He made a brutal twist. A noise emerged, but the
policeman's
struggles intensified. He was trying to reach the weapon at his side. Not
enough. The attacker let his weight bear them both to the floor, found
better
purchase, twisted again. A crack, like a branch breaking underfoot. The
struggles ceased, became spasmodic twitching. Still he held on, tight,
tight,
waiting until he felt it. A few moments later, he did, and released the
body,
sitting up.
He was hyperventilating. Damn it, he didn't need to do that. That was
stupid. He willed himself to calm, willed the sharp, shallow breathing to
cease. It was all right. It was all over. It was necessary.
He sighed, which required him to draw breath again, but at least it was
a normal breath. He didn't think he would ever get used to this. But...
necessary. It was necessary. Standing, he stared down at the body of the
policeman. Life, snuffed out so fast, like a candle. But the void left by
its
absence...it called to him. Beckoned him. Invited him.
Now. It was time.



To Be Continued...



Author's Notes:

Blade: Wow, you actually reached the end. That's better than I expected.
Well,
here's the part where we explain to you why, exactly, after years of non-
productivity and unfinished projects, we started yet ANOTHER new fanfic, and
then just to make sure nobody (except, apparently, you) read it, we made it
a
self-insert.

Epsilon: Bah. Part of the reason I haven't been releasing fanfics for over
five
years is because I never actually got close to finishing anything else. I
don't
plan on being one of those writers who gets half-way through a released
series
and stops, never to return.

Blade: Not counting all those fanfics we DID get halfway through releasing
and
then stopped, I assume? Or is that a statement of intent to finish them all
after all?

Epsilon: (waves hand dismisively) Products of a misspent youth.

Blade: Ahhhh, I see. Well, back on-topic. There is a reason we're
releasing
this. Namely, we expect to finish it. For we are capping off a BLAZING
series
of writing unseen in the annals of this website, so we're way ahead in
actual
writing of where we're releasing anything. But actually, that's still off-
topic. So, I guess, the question to be answered is: why a self-insert?
(stage
whisper) That's your cue, Aaron, it's YOUR fic.

Epsilon: Its really very simple. I read "Insertion", by Carrot Glace (aside)
Highly recommended, by the way. (/aside) and wanted to do my own take on the
same idea. So I did. And it sucked. (pauses) Then I re-wrote it. And I got
bored. (pauses) Then I explained the concept to you, and the concept changed
from doing my own version of Insertion, to doing a self-insert in the same
vein
that made -sense-. A self-insert unlike any other self-insert, because it
would
contain many of the elements missing from most such stories.

Blade: Those elements being "a plot", and/or "a point"?

Epsilon: If you wanted to distill it down to the essence, yes. Also, a
reason
for the events that happen. And not a stupid reason, like contacting the
Goddess
Relief line and making a stupid wish, or a bullshit reason, like some cosmic
accident. I mean an honest to goodness CAUSE for the self-insertion. Why
it's
happening, period. Why it's happening the way it is. Why me and Ukyou
specifically. All of these questions have answers to them, which shall be
revealed over the course of the story.

Blade: Quite so. When it comes right down to it, most - I won't say "all",
because I don't and never have read enough fanfiction to say, but "most" I
feel
comfortable with - self-insertions have either been for fun, or at best,
something that TRIES to overcome its cheesy, pointless roots. But there's
no
reason that has to be. The concept of self-insertion is one that has an
actual
literary tradition, one that is decidedly not as despised as the self-insert
tradition in fanfiction.

Epsilon: Indeed. From "Good Night Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet" all the
way to
"Excel Saga" self-insertion has been used as a useful tool for storytelling.

Blade: Which is not to say we'll make a literary masterpiece, or even
something
amazingly better than what came before. Obviously it is you, the reader,
who
decides the worth of the fic. But if it sucks, it will at least suck for
DIFFERENT REASONS from previous self-insertion fics. That is our promise to
you!

Epsilon: I should point out I rarely write anything for others. I'm writing
this
fic because I want to do so and I enjoy it. This doens't mean I don't enjoy
criticism, reviews, or even flames. Please feel free to respond on the board
I
post this on, or via e-mail at rlepsilon@hotmail.com, or send it along to
Blade
via kumonryuu@hotmail.com since we'll forward commentary to each other.
Heck, if
you raise legitimate questions I don't answer (or plan to answer) in the
text of
the fic itself, I'll even answer them for you.

Blade: Yes, any commentary is welcome. Good, bad, indifferent, even those
shitty "hey man i red yr fic needs more pr0n" mails. I don't have the
luxury of
turning up my nose at anything anymore! Oh, to have the glory and
acknowledgement that was ours during those bright days of Ran Wars and CoD!
SO
LONELY. Umm...anyway, yeah. Please feel free to send any thoughts you
have.

Epsilon: Due note that I like the text of my fic to stand on its own, so I
won't
be answering questions that I feel are addressed through the writing. Thus,
I'm
not using these notes to explain the concept and characters of Hybrid
Theory,
myself included. If I failed to convey the story to you, then obviously I
didn't
do my job here. In the future, I will be using it as a way to translate the
names of any "special techniques" I introduce. After all, attack names just
sound cooler in Japanese. Even if I find the use of random Japanese in
fanfics
slightly annoying... but I digress.

Blade: Well, yeah. Although, if you didn't understand anything, feel free
to
ask, since we will explain, and if we were unclear in our writing, well,
that
can be rectified in a reedit or future chapter. Plus, next time, we'll
explain
exactly why I get a spot in these author's notes aside from the fact that I
always try to hog an equal share of the spotlight on projects Aaron's doing
most
of the work for!

Epsilon: And on that note... there isn't too much left to say. I suppose I
could
insert the standard "disclaimer" here, but I don't really believe in them. I
will note that this fanfic is written not for profit, and I hereby give
anybody
the write to post it on any website they want so long as none of the text is
altered, no fees are charged, and Blade and I are informed. Heck, you inform
us,
and we'll probably end up linking to you from our website:
(plug) http://www.bladeandepsilon.com (/plug)

Blade: Not that anybody is likely to do this. But we live in hope that our
True
Genius And Godlike Talent will someday be recognised by the great unwashed.

Epsilon: Indeed. On that note... in our next installment of Hybrid Theory...



"AKANE!"
Ukyou wasn't even aware she was moving before her feet hit the pavement.
The throwing spatula impacted into the man's hand with a meaty thunk. But he
didn't scream. Instead, he turned around and looked at her, his eyes
narrowing.
Ukyou pulled her battle spatula from her back with ease as she closed in.
He continued to stare at her as she approached. And then his eyes
snapped open at the last second as Ukyou body-checked him away from Akane.
The
man flew like a rag doll across the street and landed limply against the
other
sidewalk. Ukyou spun around and briefly checked on Akane, Aaron's practiced
eyes
noting a lack of any injury. Her mouth was open in a small 'O' of surprise,
but
that was okay. Ukyou turned her attention back to the man across the street
without saying anything, shifting her grip on the spatula to bring the wide
plate in front of her.
Damn, would this thing stop bullets?


Hybrid Theory, Chapter 2: Numb

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[Chris Nasipak]

>
>("Your first question will be dealt with in Chapter Six. Your other
>question was
>answered in the scene immediately after Usagi plucked Gosunkugi's
>eyes out.")

Okay, now I'm sorely tempted to write something where the Sailor Senshi are
connected with some sort of ritual magical organization, which Gos has
managed to irritate...

Except that I can't write. ;)

Damn you, SKJAM!

Oh, and WRITE MORE MA VIE EN ROSE! It's been over a year since the last
chapter!



--
"Here is the price of freedom: Your every drop of courage,
ounce of pain, pint of blood. Paid in advance." -- Andromeda




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