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Innortal
Author of 38 Stories |
No Need for Destiny
Chapter 16
No Need for Welcome Backs
Disclaimer: I don’t own this series or any other series. I am just floating an idea. I am making no money, nor plan to, off this venture. If you think of suing me over this, then grow up.
I would like to first personally thank all of those reviewing my stories. I enjoy reading your comments, and try to correct the grammatical errors I miss with my final read-through as well as my spell checkers. The suggestions you all make will help make this story better for everyone to enjoy, as well as allow my to fix some plot holes I may unintentionally leave. If you find any, let me know, and I will correct them and repost the chapters.
Elder Goddess Tokimi looked down upon the battle occurring at the Tendo Dojo. Things were going as she recalled them to, at least from what was told to her so many years ago when she had first met the time traveling duo.
Here she was, floating above the Dojo, outside of even Happosai’s usual senses, watching as what was essentially history for her unfold, the battle that would send Ranma Saotome and Nabiki Tendo more than twenty thousand years into the past to become the reborn Kuramitsu clan.
Of course, the scroll the ancient letch planned to use would require massive amounts of mana to do such a feat, more energy than the fool had, and that didn’t even count directing the spell to go through time as well as space, changing a simple emergency teleportation spell for only distances of kilometers to what it needed to be.
“To think the fool believed this would teach a lesson,” she mused. It was obvious to her that the elderly founder of Anything Goes only knew the barest hints of what he played around with. The man was a true moron in many things, including the forces of nature that he played with.
Shaking her head, she directed her power into the spell, not caring if it alerted the New Gods of this world to her actions. After all, it wasn’t like they didn’t already know what was to occur, thanks to the influence and the knowledge of the Kuramitsu clan on Earth and its history. Worst case, they would assume a ‘system error’ based off their precious computer of the World Tree.
“The dumbass can’t even say the incantation right,” she muttered, as the portal began to form, one which would send the two teenagers into the distant past of a distant world, to become the people she knew now. In her mind, she wondered what the obnoxious troll would be like when he tried the spell once more, and the forces no longer responded as they did now.
“I do hope he tries it again,” she murmured, watching as the portal died, and Happosai leapt away, cackling in glee. The fool never did know any consequences.
“He will learn his lesson soon,” Tokimi finished with a smile, before she faded back to the Masaki Shrine, her body slowly reentering the fourth dimension. Her duty was done; now, it was all up to Fate.
In the morning, he and Genma had been planning to call a priest and have them there on standby to marry Akane and Ranma as soon as the boy returned. Surely after such a close call, the two love birds would want to unite forever in blissful matrimony.
Sadly, it was quite apparent that Nodoka did not share their enthusiasm. She had put her foot down, not wishing a repeat of the previous wedding attempt. The fact she had also mentioned that Ranma wasn’t of age to even be legally allowed to marry was beside the point as far as they were concerned: eighteen for males and sixteen for females.
And no, she was not going to allow Genma to register Ranma as female to get around that little legal issue.
Of course, despite their desire to keep the impending arrival of Ranma and Nabiki secret, somehow, the ... others ... had found out about it. And as such, they had all gathered at the Tendo Dojo, awaiting the return of the duo.
This of course was the reason Soun Tendo had once again retreated to the safety of the daily paper.
“When Airen get here?” asked Shampoo in her usual pidgin Japanese style, as soon as Nodoka entered the dining area with a tray of snacks and tea.
“I’m not really certain, dear,” she replied, setting the tray on the table, and idly batting her husband’s hand away so that the others could get their fill first. “It should be soon though if they caught the early train from the north.”
“So the Foul Sorcerer shall soon arrive to face me, seeking me out for our noble battle to end his reign of tyranny!” shouted Tatewaki Kuno.
“Brother dear, he lives here,” grumbled Kodachi, playing a game of shogi with Cologne. She really wanted to be in the kitchen to help prepare a meal for her beloved Ranma-sama, but certain actions in the past—actions she felt were taken entirely out of context—had resulted in Ranma-sama’s mother banning all young maidens as well as the other trollops from the kitchen, with the exception of the eldest Tendo sister.
“Who invited you people?” yelled Akane.
“Metal trees, Soun?” asked Genma, sitting near the man, and trying to ignore the various conversations around him. Since they had been unable to distract themselves with their usual all-day game of shogi, he was reading the paper with his friend.
The fact it was Nodoka who separated the paper and forced the Help Wanted section into his hands with a deep glare was beside the point.
“It seems Kuramitsu Sol is making metal trees now,” Soun mused, reading the article in the paper.
“I did, Akane-chan,” smiled Kasumi. Well, she invited them in; they had already seemed to know that Ranma and Nabiki might be back that day. It was nice both had such friends that wanted to welcome them back.
“Calm down, Sugar,” said Ukyo, playing a game of cards with Konatsu. She didn’t mind having the day off even if Ranma didn’t return that day. Her restaurant was closed for the day while the city worked to repair a ruptured water line. And while she did find it a bit odd that it happened to explode now, she took it as a sign that the Gods themselves wanted her here to greet Ranchan on his return.
The fact Konatsu had informed her of this soaked, despite the fact he should have been nowhere near the rupture was a fact she never considered.
Akane growled for a moment, upset that the reunion she had been worried about—a fact that had only grown given Nabiki’s little speech over the phone—was being ruined by the participation of the unwanted suitors. How was she supposed to make a good impression if everyone was there as well?
“Now I think it’s a wonderful thing they’re doing,” said Nodoka, admonishing Soun. “We all need to chip in and do what we can for the environment; can’t simply assume Nature will always solve our troubles for us.”
“Bah,” murmured Soun. He was more of a fan of the Status Quo than such changes. He always felt things worked best if you stayed out of the way, a habit learned from dealing with the multiple examples of fallout from the Master’s antics. Once again, that he never followed such advice when dealing with Akane and Ranma’s struggling relationship was thoroughly ignored.
“Now I want to make sure that everyone understands that they are to be on their best behavior,” stated Nodoka, looking over the assembled mass.
Cologne nodded as she moved her game piece, trapping Kodachi’s attempt to route her. “I have already discussed this with Shampoo, and Mousse is still away visiting his Mother back at the village.”
Said bubbly Amazon merely nodded. How was she supposed to win Ranma over if she couldn’t ‘remove’ the obstacles?
“I will maintain the proper decorum, Auntie,” Kodachi said with a smile, as she focused on developing a new plan to defeat the elderly woman.
“Don’t have to worry about us,” said Ukyo. Considering the chewing out she got from the woman for her own part in the failed wedding attempt—not to mention the phone call chewing out from her father, who had been called by Auntie Nodoka and been chewed out as well—she was not going to start anything here. If she was going to have a chance to further patch up things with Ranma, she needed to not upset his mother anymore.
That and the fact that any person who could scare her father that badly was definitely not someone she wanted angry at her.
“Good,” said Nodoka, as she wiped her hands on her apron. “Because they’ve had a trying time with what Happosai did and after everything they’ve gone through, I want their return here to be peaceful and enjoyable.
“Understand?” she asked kindly. Her eyes however glowed like embers from the pits of Hell, making a hidden threat to all those who would oppose her plans for a joyous return of her son and prospective daughter-in-law. And while she was tempted to wonder if something had occurred during their adventure—what with situations, near-death, and the need to share body heat—she wasn’t going to let those thoughts divert her from what she now desired: just to hold her son in her arms once more.
The others—minus Tatewaki who was polishing his bokken for his ‘grand fight’—nodded in agreement. They had been there both when this woman had found out what the ancient letch had done, and for her response to it, proclaiming that when she caught him, he would be missing the equipment not had by girls who wore the underwear he stole.
“WAH!” cried Soun, finally laying down the paper. “My daughter’s coming home to her Daddy!”
WAP!
“Control yourself, Soun,” admonished Nodoka, her eyes no longer radiating her cruel intentions.
“How much longer?” grumbled Genma, looking for some excuse to ditch the Help Wanted section. Why couldn’t the Boy be here and distract his Mother from making him get a job. Wasn’t teaching the Boy hard enough without a job distracting him?
“I’m afraid the train station wouldn’t tell me which train they were taking,” said Kasumi. “But Nabiki did send a small message that they would be here today.”
“We must prepare!” yelled Genma. If he could reach the phone, they could have the priest here in—
WHACK!
“None of your usual foolishness, husband,” admonished Nodoka. “We have come here for a peaceful reunion, and I will not see it ruined.”
“Nice to see some people heeded my warning,” came a cocky female voice from the hallway.
At once, the group turned, spotting the pigtailed martial artist and the fabled Ice Queen of Furinkan standing together, smiles on their faces.
“Nice ta see so many people missed me,” said Ranma with his cocky smirk, a twinkle in his eyes.
“And here I thought it was me that everyone was missing,” said Nabiki with sarcasm, shaking her head slightly. “I feel so unloved.”
“WAH! NO ONE LOVES MY MIDDLE DAUGHTER!” yelled the Tendo Waterworks. “SHE’LL NEVER GET MARRIED NOW”
She was so tempted to break her cover and simply blast her father at that point. But she held back, if not for her husband, than for her own plans. No, doing so now would ruin what she had planned.
Later? Oh yes, he was getting so blasted later.
Ranma just shook his head. Internally, he was laughing his ass off. While it was true that his son Soun was almost a polar opposite of Soun Tendo, he still wanted to laugh at Tendo’s comment. After all, he didn’t know that Nabiki had been married for a little over twenty thousand years now.
“Airen/Ranma-sama/Ranchan!” cried the remaining fiancées, now standing up and preparing to rush the single man they loved.
Of course, since they had prepared to rush him, they had temporarily forgotten the others until their shoulders touched. They paused a bit, glaring at the others, trying to reign in any desire to cause bodily harm, lest they awaken the sleeping dragon that was their prospective mother-in-law.
Akane stepped in front of them, part of her demanding to rush over there to hug him, even as Kasumi went over to welcome Nabiki back. He had returned once again, once again coming back from what looked like an impossible situation. Remembering Nabiki’s words, she took one step forward, determined to finally say something to him.
“Welcome back, my son,” said Nodoka, walking in front of Akane and towards the two.
Nodoka took one look at the newly arrived pair. Nabiki seemed to be in good spirits, a far cry from how the girl used to be. Her eyes seemed ... somehow less cold, as if there was now warmth in her life that had been missing. Well, at least it means she won’t end up a bitter old maid now.
Her son however, not much had changed from their last meeting, at least on the outside. He still looked at her with a somewhat nervous smile, fearful that he may have disappointed her in some way. But he did seem a bit ... older to her. His eyes spoke of experience, more so than the last time she had looked, and it made her wonder a bit if perhaps her earlier thoughts might not have been so far off. Akane was a bit cold when it came to displaying emotions—well, heartfelt emotions without any violence associated. It made her wonder at what could have happened to her son during those missing days that had changed him so much.
But those were questions and thoughts for a later time. Right now, she had her son before her, back from his unexpected trip, and acting more like a small nervous boy than the near-man she knew him to be. So she was left to do only what any mother would do.
“Welcome home, my son,” she said softly as she hugged him.
Nabiki held a small smile, enjoying the fact that Ranma was having yet another reunion he had waited for so long for. For now, she was content to stand aside and watch as a huge fuss was made for his return.
After all, even she didn’t want to guess how long it would be before the abnormal normal that was life in Nerima ended.
Akane just sighed as she watched Nodoka hug and hold Ranma, not like she had been the first to welcome him back, but at least the other girls chasing him hadn’t been the first either.
But part of her remembered Nabiki’s words from the phone yesterday. She felt her heart fill a bit with worry as she thought about it. What if Ranma ... wasn’t going to remain waiting for her forever?
“What do you think it is this time?” asked Minako. “I’m betting evil beings out to steal gerbils.”
“… Gerbils?” asked Ami.
“With everything else they’ve tried to steal from Earth, is that really much of a stretch?” asked Makoto.
“Doesn’t matter,” sighed Rei. “We’ll defeat them as always; hopefully without getting killed,” she added, glaring at the two Outers in attendance.
“I’m home!” yelled one missing Outer, Hotaru, as she skipped into the living room, holding several shopping bags, and a purple flower tucked in her hair, behind her ear.
“And where have you been?” asked Michiru. She had thought that her adopted daughter was spending the night with one of the Inners, perhaps staying at the Tsukino residence if Chibi-Usa had made a new trip into the past. Of course, that was shattered when all of the Inners arrived for the meeting, but had no clue about where Hotaru was, and admitting Chibi-Usa was still back in her own time. And as far as they knew, Hotaru didn’t have any friends outside of the Senshi.
“Shopping, Michiru-mama,” said the youngest Senshi, eyes filled with mirth.
“She means where were you last night?” asked Haruka, her voice stern.
“I spent the night with an old friend,” she replied innocently. “You’ve met them before,” she supplied, hoping to end the conversation. It wasn’t exactly a lie. All of the Senshi had met Ran; it was hardly her fault if they didn’t particularly recall that fact about their past lives.
She had had a fun date, the part of her that was Sailor Saturn seemed to be singing in joy about being reunited with her lost love. And while even Hotaru could admit she did find some attraction for the man, she knew enough not to rush into anything. She had heard the stories from the Inners about how Mamoru and Usagi first acted when they met again in this life. And she was not going to risk going through something similar.
But she had had fun with Ran. They had gone for a nice walk in the park, dinner in a fancy restaurant, a double-feature at the movies, and finally to his hotel room to talk—it was getting a bit too cool outside for her. Nothing had happened; they had merely sat on the couch, watched television, continued talking, and fell asleep. Truth be told, it had been one of the best nights of sleep she could ever remember.
Of course, she doubted her adopted parents would be happy to hear she spent the night with a guy who was about twenty thousand years older than her—parents were so clueless like that.
Luckily, she was saved by the teleportation arrival of Setsuna. It helped that said lady was currently cussing up a storm, waving a folder around.
“Setsuna?” asked Haruka.
“WHAT?”
Everyone leaned back a few inches. Those who weren’t sitting felt it best to hop back a bit, all surprised to see the usually controlled Senshi foaming at the mouth.
Haruka gulped, hoping that this wasn’t what her horoscope had meant by a life-or-death situation. “What’s the problem?”
“The problem is that boy acting like his grandmother,” Setsuna growled out.
The others could only blink as the green haired Senshi went off on a rant.
“After everything that’s happened, that little... He’s so much like his grandmother, so set on having everything done his way!”
“Who?” asked Minako, blinking at the sight of the Senshi of Time throwing a fit. To be honest, some of them were now thinking that Setsuna had just had a bad date.
“My son!” she yelled, before pausing, to look at the group.
Only one thought occurred to Setsuna at this point. It wasn’t that she had exposed a portion of her past they knew nothing about. It wasn’t that she had copped to hiding her family from them. It wasn’t even the fact she had lost control of her temper.
It was the fact she had just exposed a male they could be completely open to, to a bunch of boy-crazy teens—minus the lesbian duo, of course.
“SON!” they all screamed, minus Hotaru.
Ran had told her quite a few stories.
Setsuna slowly sighed. Oh, how she had dreaded this day. Of course, she also had to tell one boy-hungry Senshi that the reason she couldn’t date Enma was because they were siblings, but she had to get to that point first.
“And just when did you have a son?” asked Haruka with a smirk. “I know for a fact you haven’t had a date since you moved in with us.”
Shaking her head at her own stupidity, as well as blaming her son for making her angry enough to expose things, she took the remaining seat. “It is a very long and a very complex story, going all the way back to before the Great Fall.”
“So he was reborn?” asked Makoto.
“Is he cute?” asked Minako, hissing a bit as Rei elbowed her in the side. “What? It’s a good question.”
Setsuna tried to suppress a chuckle at Minako’s question. Ignoring the confused looks she got, she decided to not go into the detail of their relation until a bit later in the story. “No,” said Setsuna.
“So he isn’t cute?” sadly asked Makoto.
“No, he wasn’t reborn,” said Setsuna.
“Then why are you so mad at him if he wasn’t reborn?” asked Michiru.
“I never said he died.”
The others girls—once again minus Hotaru—could only stare in shock.
“He … he’s still alive?” asked Mamoru.
Setsuna nodded.
“Then where the hell has he been?” yelled Rei. “We could have used some help the last few years!”
Leaning back into her chair, silently wishing she had some tea, Setsuna stared at the ceiling. “There were events keeping him from doing so?”
“Such as?” pressed the Senshi of Fire.
“Keeping the timeline as it was known to be secured,” said Hotaru, taking the flower from her hair and putting it in a nearby vase.
The eyes of everyone in the room shot towards the Senshi of Silence. But only Setsuna’s focused on the strange flower she had put in the vase. “Hotaru-chan, where did you get that flower from?”
“My boyfriend gave it to me from his garden,” she answered, still focusing on arranging the flower perfectly.
Haruka growled. “Was this boyfriend the friend you spent the night with?”
“We fell asleep talking, Haruka-papa,” she replied, before smiling at the flower. Taking a light breath, she breathed over the blossom, watching as it opened slowly.
“Is it who I think it is?”
“It might be, Setsuna-mama, but I don’t know who you think it is.”
Setsuna grumbled. “Is that an orchid from Saturn?”
“No, it was in his garden.”
“Okay then, let me rephrase it,” Setsuna started, silencing the others. “Is that flower the same one depicted on the Royal Crest of Saturn?”
Hotaru nodded, smiling.
“I don’t get it,” said Usagi. “What’s the flower?”
“A type of Saturn rose,” said Hotaru with a smile, returning to her seat. “The closest translation from the ancient language to Japanese is ‘Death Blossom’.”
While the others continued to stare, Setsuna started to rub her forehead. “I need some strong tea right now.” Standing up, she glared at the others. “We will fully discuss this after I either have some strong tea or some strong liquor in front of me, and at this point I don’t care which.”
“Can I tell them about Ran?” asked Hotaru. It was nice for her to be the one describing her new boyfriend—or was it her old fiancé?—to the others.
“Just try and keep his family lines a secret for the moment until I get back,” waved off Setsuna. With that, she left, deciding she’d rather have both a strong tea and a strong drink.
It was turning into one of those days.
As he teleported down to the surface of the planet, Enma took in a deep breath. Like many worlds, one couldn’t detect any hint of pollution in the air. He of course could detect the faint energies of spells, floating in the wind like ash, the mana altered but not used.
It could be called pollution in a way, had not mana simply returned to an unaltered state after days or weeks.
It wasn’t like that on Edo. Of the two habitable worlds within the Sealed Systems, Edo had more technological pollution. So for now, he enjoyed the clean air, the open land before him, and the fact that for a while, he would be free of the daily grind that was life for him as ruler of the Silver Regency.
Of course, even that break wouldn’t last long. He knew it was only a matter of time until his Mother began to harp on him about releasing control to Usagi. She was rather centered on Usagi taking back the family legacy. But he would not bow, not after everything he had gone through. Enma had never wanted the job, but he’d be damned before he handed it over to a giddy teenager with no training. She wasn’t even fully informed of her own legacy! Why would he had over his own before she was ready to his satisfaction.
“Enjoying the scenery?”
Snorting a bit, his eyes slowly turned to his right. For a moment, he was tempted to believe his daughter had somehow found him. But the aura of power around her told him otherwise. “Nice to see you again, Lord of Nightmares.”
“I prefer L-sama nowadays,” smirked the golden-haired girl. Her form was very similar to his daughter Lina, not surprising considering the girl had temporarily given the higher being form within the physical world. As such, it had also now given her a way to access the world around her, an access she was never going to forget.
In the beginning of the formation of the Sealed Systems, mana had existed in sufficient quantities throughout the nebula in hopes of spanning a system with sufficient magic to tempt the souls of the Courts to that system to be reborn.
Instead, it created a flux that lead to two systems being birthed from the nebula. Mana pooled towards one side, while normal energy pooled towards the other. The effect was not only two systems, but two life forms being created in the wake of the initial formations.
For Edo, it was a force that was simply referred to as Shinigami, a being of immense power, that hadn’t really been tapped into anything except for recent events.
And for Avalon, it was a being simply referred to now as L-sama. And unlike Shinigami, she had become quite busy making things, such as dragons and demon lords.
“May I ask why you are here?” asked Enma. Far be it from him to forsake friendly relations with the local New God. It was just that such relations had to be handled carefully, as like most powers; they did seek to expand their influence. And with influence, they could acquire more power.
“Can’t I drop by and say hi to someone who could be considered my parent?” she asked with a smile.
Enma’s eyes narrowed a bit. Now he was certain she wanted something very important.
Her smile slowly faded, before she snorted, deciding she was tired of playing for the moment. “Fine then; I desire a meeting with your father,” she stated.
Enma just hung his head at that point. Dad was right; he is the universe’s pet pony. “Any particular reason?”
Her smile returned. “That is something between me and him, something I do not wish to discuss with you.”
“You’re going to try and jump him, aren’t you?”
She just giggled a bit. “Tempted, might, but there are other things I wish to discuss with Lord Kuramitsu, the Chaos Stallion.”
Sighing, Enma began to send a message to Phlegyas, having the AI direct it towards PI. This was one headache he was happy to pass along. “Is there anything else before I go to retrieve my family?”
“Nothing at the moment,” L-sama said with a smirk. “I look forward to talking with Lord Ranma soon, and do say hello to your daughter for me,” she said with a smirk worthy of the sneakiest Mazoku, before she faded from sight.
Shaking his head, Enma started his slow walk towards the village before him. It was now his father’s problem. Though he did wonder how she would react considering the fact it was very doubtful his father would be leaving Earth anytime soon.
Until then, he had a home to return to. And then he had to track down his youngest daughter as well as two half-siblings. “Well, Lona always wanted to take one more family vacation.”
“Is everyone here?” asked one female, eyes red, looking around. The only difference between her outfit and the majority of those surrounding her was the emblem of the Jade Dragon on the back of her jacket.
“Yes, Lady Aratakira,” said the group of assembled ninjas.
Nodding, Aratakira looked around. “You all have your assignments, try for no body counts, and even if their Kages are assholes, do not shake up the villages.”
The grumbling of some the teams could be heard.
“Now go!” she yelled, as nearly the entire group vanished.
“That was relatively easy,” said Lady Minaho, adjusting her pack on her back. While she wasn’t in the same outfit as the rest of the ninjas from the Elite Guard who had been chosen as messengers, it was not by much, if only in color scheme.
“I do wish we had more in our detail, Lady Aratakira,” said the remaining ninja, a female with red eyes, each one with three tomoe in a circle pattern around the iris.
Aratakira just giggled lightly. “Come now Midori, we are both skilled warriors, far in advance of what lays on this world.”
“One does not do well to underestimate the unknown,” said Midori. “I am being trusted as the lone guard for the First Wife of the Jade Dragon and the Princess of a foreign power. I would feel better if we had a larger guard.”
“I am not totally defenseless,” cautioned Minaho, as she leapt towards a tree at the edge of the clearing. “Come on already!” she yelled out, giggling at their shock of her skilled leap of nearly thirty meters.
Midori’s eyes narrowed. “I feel there is more to her story and source of information about Lord Arashi’s trouble than she has informed us.”
“Most likely,” nodded Aratakira. “Until she shows her hand, we have a Hidden Village to head to and inform about the coming of my dear husband.”
“And this has nothing to do with a descendant who doesn’t call?” asked the smirking guard.
“That is entirely beside the point.”
“Then let us head off to the Hidden Leaf before the Princess gets lost,” said Midori, taking off.
Aratakira leapt away as well, but paid attention to their other guest. It was almost as if the Jurai princess knew her way around this world…
Xellos blinked at the small creature, holding what appeared to be a large package, addressed in a language no Mazoku could understand, let alone any other being naturally from that world.
Yet he could. After all, he knew more than anyone else on this world. Well, in terms of things off this world, that was true.
“MESSAGE!”
Oh yeah, the annoying cry of a messenger sprite. “Thank you,” he said smiling, wondering if he could blast the annoying little sprite before it disappeared. But if the writing on the packaging was any indication as to who had sent it, causing a large charge to appear on their bill would probably not be the best thing for his long term health.
Looking at the strange box, he tried to discern what was inside of it—not like he would put it past the sender to include some traps.
But for all his efforts, all he could tell was that it contained two letters, and two boxes which leaked … a familiar power.
Sighing heavily, he opened the package, and picked up a letter with some writing on it, being the only being around that could read that it said his name—his full name—specifically.
Dear son,
I hope you are doing well—not that I, your Mother, would know since you’ve only written once in the last millennia. After all, I can’t expect you to keep your mother informed of what is happening in your life, given your busy matters.
Xellos smiled at that, enjoying the fact his mother had only seemed to get better at laying on guilt trips and such. “Ah, a true master of her craft.”
It almost brought a tear to his eye.
As you know, the other letter is for your sister, and the boxes contain what you need to make the trip home. It looks like your father is asking for a family reunion soon.
Oh the chaos it will unleash!!!
He paused at that. “I do believe Mother will jump Father soon,” he mused, an evil smile forming on his face.
Be ready and find your sister. Your half brother, the Son of Pluto, will return you to Earth. Please bring any promising … recruits with you.
Your Mother,
Daimakaichō Hild
He sighed as he placed the letter back in the package. It was going to be such a pain to return his dear sister to the land of the … active. “Ah, such are the responsibilities of a brother I suppose.”
Though he was quite sure his current boss would be a bit upset that he needed some time off. But what could be done. The last thing either Mazoku wanted was to have Hild pop over for a chat.
Opening one of the boxes, he spied a glowing gem, its power of such intensity, he was forced to open his eyes wide. “Well I’ll be; solid-form pishogue,” he said in awe. And judging by the amount, not only would it resurrect his sister, but give them full power until they returned to Earth.
“Oh yes, this will do quite nicely,” he finished, eyes wide, as long red marks began to form on his face.
“Go ahead,” said the man she was told was her grandfather, and while he definitely looked like him, it appeared as if he had lost fifty years off his appearance. “It appears little Hinata left a few things out of the family history.”
Nodding, Haruka pointed towards them. “You are Yajiro Kojima Kuramitsu, my grandfather, along with my birth grandmother and step-grandmother Rushuna Tendo Kuramitsu and Mikan Kurenai Kuramitsu respectively, the latter whom I never met until today.”
“Step grandmother nothing,” muttered Mikan. “And I would have met you, but I had some doctoral work to finish up at the University.”
“Close enough,” said Yajiro.
“You three are married.”
“Just like Daddy, Mom, and Mommy,” said Kaolla, smiling.
“Polygamy is legal where we are, yes,” said Yajiro. “And before I hear one word about perverts, our marriage was Rushuna’s idea, so that means she is the pervert.”
“AHHH!” cried the pervert in question. “How could you say that Ya-chan?”
“Because it’s true,” yelled Mikan.
“Anyway,” interrupted Haruka, hoping to forestall any argument—early childhood memories reminded her of an emotional woman who resembled her supposed grandmother and she did not want to see the truth in that yet, “you live offworld, and are aliens.”
“Me and Yajiro are humans, thank you,” growled Mikan.
“Does this mean the ronin’s an alien?” asked Kaolla.
Keitaro paled; an image of Su grabbing Sara and wanting to play ‘alien autopsy’ entered his mind.
“Anyway,” muttered Haruka once again, as she focused on the former elderly owner of the Hinatasou. “My dear mother here knew all of this, and for reasons known only to her, hid this all from us, while playing around using the rules you live by,” she finished, pointing to Keitaro.
“What does any of this have to do with Onii-chan?” asked Kanako.
Haruka snorted, before lazily staring at the adopted Urashima. “Oh, I don’t know; maybe something like trying to set Keitaro up with a group of girls?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm. “I mean, why else assign him to run an all-girls’ dorm and then forget to mention that said dorm is for girls only?”
The group blinked at that, before focusing on the formerly elderly woman.
“I can explain, really I can,” Hinata spat out.
“I’ve yet to hear you explain anything,” said Yajiro, as he began to dig into the meal his wives had prepared for everyone. “If nothing else, I would like to know when you planned to inform the rest of your children about their heritage.”
“Don’t you love us, Hi-chan?” asked a sobbing Rushuna.
“Now look what you did,” grumbled Mikan, as she handed her co-wife a handkerchief.
“Um … excuse me,” said Keitaro, raising his hand. “But will someone please explain what is going on?”
The others nodded in agreement, minus the Kuramitsu trio and Hinata.
“There’s going to be a family reunion soon!” said Rushuna with excitement. “And I wanted to personally invite the extended family to come!”
“Will there be alcohol?” asked Mitsune, excited about the prospect of a party, free booze, and a nice story she might be able to write, assuming Keitaro’s alien family didn’t censor it. Oddly enough, alien relatives didn’t freak her out that much, not after the last few years.
“And watermelon?” asked the equally excited Mutsumi.
“Oh of course,” said Rushuna, her smile just as bright as theirs.
Mikan just smirked. “Was that when you planned to introduce us to our great-grandson and his beloved fiancées, little Hinata?”
Everything became very quiet within the dining area, minus the noises made as Yajiro continued to eat.
“E-excuse me?” stuttered Naru.
“F-f-fiancées,” muttered Shinobu. “Engaged to Sempai?” she squeaked.
Haruka turned a glare towards her mother. “I’ll admit that fits, but just when were you planning to tell my brother that you’ve basically engaged his son to these girls?” asked Haruka, before pausing a bit. “It is just these girls, right? Keitaro doesn’t have several other fiancées around the universe, waiting for you to say the marriage ceremony is a go?”
Keitaro paled even further when his grandmother didn’t answer immediately.
Mikan just shook her head. “I swear, she’s just like our grandfather-in-law.”
Motoko sent Hinata a stern glare. “Granny, when did you plan to even inform us that you wished us to wed Keitaro?”
“I’d like to know that myself, sugar,” said Mitsune.
“Ara, you mean you didn’t know?” asked Mutsumi, surprising everyone.
“You knew?” asked Keitaro, eyes wide.
“Of course,” said Mutsumi. “I heard her talking about it when we were all together over fifteen years ago,” said the turtle princess with a smile.
“Then of course we need to talk about her sharing of restricted technology,” said Yajiro.
Everyone slowly focused on the Princess from MolMol.
“What?” asked Su.
Had Hotaru connected enough to the former Saturn Princess to feel for Ran as Saturn had? How far had it gone? And what might happen if Hotaru and Ran could not make it work?
“Stay with us here, Setsuna,” said Haruka, snapping her fingers to return the Time Senshi’s focus to the present. “You were going to explain how you not only had a son, but one that’s been alive since the Great Fall.”
“He was the same age as Princess Serenity,” sighed Setsuna. “Born on the same day, in the same hospital, and even at his own birth he caused quite a stir.”
“How come?” asked Usagi.
“Families with Senshi ties always had a daughter first,” said Setsuna. “So for a boy to be born first… Let’s just say the superstitious raised quite the little funk about that.”
“No one hurt him, did they?” asked Ami quietly.
Setsuna shook her head slowly. “No; I did have to make certain that his tutors were beyond such problems. And I tried my best to ensure he knew his mother’s love,” she smiled wistfully. The joy in young Enma’s eyes was such a source of warmth for her.
“And his father?” asked Rei.
Setsuna nodded. “His father spent as much time with him as he could as well, with all of his children,” she started, before pausing and taking a sip, hoping to cover her little slip went unnoticed.
“You have more children?” asked Michiru in shock, wondering how many chibi-Plutos might be running around.
“No,” said Setsuna, releasing a deep breath.
“But you said he…” started Makoto, before her eyes opened wide. “You mean … you broke up a family!”
“What? NO!” yelled Setsuna.
“You think you know a person,” chuckled Haruka, shaking her head slightly. “Who knew Set-chan was a Scarlet Woman.”
She was quickly silenced when she looked up, spotting the Garnet Rod right in her face.
“Just because the Princess can restore you to life doesn’t mean dying hurts less,” growled Setsuna.
“Sorry!” squeaked Haruka.
“And for your information, I did not break up his family.”
“Did his wife know?” growled out Rei, wondering why was it Senshi seemed to be attracted to jerks.
Setsuna snorted, releasing the Garnet Rod back into its subspace pocket. “She… She knew what was occurring and had no qualms,” she stated, not wanting to go into full detail about her sex life at the moment. “And no Rei, he didn’t pursue it, I did.”
The Fire Senshi’s eyes opened wide. She could expect a man to be like that; but Setsuna…?
The others could only blink; appreciating the difficulty Rei was having trying to assimilate the new information. It was not everyday you learned the emotionally stable woman in front of you literally slept with a married man … with his wife’s approval. It was a bit of a difficult pill to swallow.
“And you went after him … why?” asked Mamoru.
Setsuna looked at her drink, her mind trying to recall a mindset at a time long ago. “I would be lying if I said it was all for heart.
“You must understand we had learned a huge disaster was coming; not from the Gates of Time, but a visitor from the future, much like Chibi-Usa’s example. We were told that soon, none of the worlds would support life save for Earth, or history lost beyond even the sands of Time.”
“People from the future came back then?” asked Usagi in amazement.
“Believe it or not, some of the royals of the time preferred to forget what was considered ‘prim and proper’ and enjoy their supposed last remaining years. We did what we could: bulked up defenses, added technology to the magic supporting our worlds, and instituted revised training for our troops. But in the end, it appeared history would not be denied its prize. And Chaos sent her minions to destroy the Silver Millennium.”
“Chaos?” asked Rei. “Are you talking about that power-mad bitch that was sealed inside Galaxia?”
“While I may not agree with the use of the word ‘bitch’,” came a light female voice belonging to none of the Senshi, “I would have to say that yes, they were minions of the late Sailor Chaos.”
Turning around, everyone in the room spotted a dark colored cat with green highlights, a silver Chinese dragon mark appearing on its forehead, signifying that it either had a weird branding accident, or it was a Mau.
“And who are you?” asked Setsuna, having yet another sinking feeling form in her stomach, one she didn’t think her Long Island Iced Tea would fix.
“I am Ththys,” said the Mau, looking about. “I was assigned by the Lord Enma of the Silver Regency to assist in the debriefing of the reincarnated princesses.”
Setsuna sighed as she rubbed her temples. “Oh yes, too much like Mom, that’s for certain.”
Ranma pretended to think for a moment. Not that he didn’t have a plan on what to say—he had spent a few months living there, trying to learn enough to pass through this coming lie. But he didn’t want to answer things too quickly.
And besides, as far as they were concerned, Ranma Saotome was a lousy liar. “Got to see Cape Soya,” he mused.
“We got to swim to it, you mean,” Nabiki sighed. “Still a nice view when we visited it; dry and not dressed for bed.”
“What that mean?” asked Shampoo, trying to keep her tone even.
“We were dumped into freezing cold water between Japan and Sakhalin,” said Nabiki, “after Grandfather decided to wake everyone up at midnight for his usual stupidity. Sorry that I found the view a lot better in dry clothes not meant to be slept in.”
“Now none of that,” admonished Nodoka. “We are here for a welcome back meal, and I for one want no fights or arguments at this meal. You can all go back to your crazy fun tomorrow.”
“Yes Auntie/Mom/Nodoka/Saotome-san,” came the group reply.
Well, the reply was one short. But Nodoka did warn Tatewaki not to pursue his odd vendetta during that day, the day her son returned once more to her. But Sasuke did say that he would take him home after he finished his own meal.
At least the boy had waited until Nodoka had released Ranma from her hug.
“Did you get any souvenirs?” asked Kasumi.
“A few,” mentioned Ranma. “I had some yen on me.”
“Most of what he had got us a room to dry off in until the banks opened up and I could prove I wasn’t some vagrant after my account.”
“I imagine that was quite difficult,” commented Kasumi.
“What is this?” asked Genma. “You were hiding money? Don’t you trust your Father?”
“About as far as I can throw you with my mind,” quickly replied Ranma, causing a giggle to come from Akane.
“Now Son, that wasn’t very nice,” said Nodoka. “Even if it is true, you shouldn’t say that among guests.”
Genma just grumbled as quietly as he could, not wanting to endure both Nodoka’s wrath and perhaps lose his chance to eat as well.
“Anything else of interest happen, Ranma?” asked Cologne, trying to drag out if anything ‘else’ had happened during the ill-desired trip to the north.
“Nah,” said Ranma. “It kinda surprised me, I thought for sure I’d run into someone looking for Pops at least. We were up there I think when I was eight.”
“There aren’t any contracts I need to know about, is there Husband?” asked Nodoka, leveling a glare at her husband.
“No, of course not!” said Genma, sweating slightly. Truthfully, after all of his double-dealings, even he wasn’t one hundred percent sure what … failed proposals … might be in the Sōya Subprefecture.
“There had better not be,” growled Nodoka. “The lawyers from my family’s firm have been working overtime to correct some mistakes you made,” she mumbled.
“You have family lawyers?” asked Nabiki. She knew the answers, but it was better to have the information out in the open, rather than be caught knowing something that had not yet been revealed. And besides, as far as anyone else was concerned, she was just the Ice Queen wanting to ensure that she wasn’t about to be brought to court on some of her old actions against Ranma.
“Quite a few,” mentioned Nodoka. “Before they passed, my father owned a small technology company. He sold it for a tidy sum, but we had more than enough to secure a retainer for a good law firm. Sad to say, my Husband has been keeping them quite busy. We’ve had to almost clear out the small trust fund they left him.”
“Trust fund?” asked Genma, eyes wide.
“Something Father left me in case you stayed with me until after Ranma turned eighteen and assuming he wasn’t turned into some sort of delinquent.”
“Just out of curiosity Mom,” said Ranma, smirking towards his father, “how much was in there before the training trip.”
“Well, from what the accountants have said, by the current interest rates, he could have lived off the interest alone for the rest of his life comfortably.”
The part-time panda froze in shock, allowing his son to steal several items from his plate.
Akane however, paled a bit. If Ranma had money coming to him, then it increased the chance that he could attract other suitors to him. Even Nabiki might put away her own little distaste of his current education levels and attitude if Ranma was due to come into a large inheritance.
Nodding her head, she reminded herself that very soon, she was going to have to tell Ranma her true feelings for him, despite the fact he couldn’t just be a man and admit his feelings first.
Because now, it appeared that Ranma’s options were once again growing, and if she didn’t make her move, those options wouldn’t include her.
“So does Ranchan also have a trust fund, or did his Old Man blow that as well?” asked Ukyo. She knew it would probably be a bit rude to ask, and it was not even going to slightly affect her decision to pursue Ranma. But he deserved to know, and Ranma would never ask, he missed little things like that. But as his cute fiancée, it was her duty to look out for him like that.
Nodoka nodded. “He has a few, one to pay for college—Father wanted him to have some schooling to manage his businesses and money—and one he gets a stipend until he turns twenty five and gets access to the rest.”
Nabiki nodded her head, smiling. They had a good idea exactly what Misaka Kuramitsu had left his family. It hadn’t taken much doing to discover the time-lost member of Seniwa. His memories were gone, but his mind was as sharp as ever. In fact, a few technological marvels of the twentieth century had been due to his reinventing technology from Seniwa. He had made more than enough to support his family for several generations.
Of course, the last dig at Genma was something none of them had known. If nothing else, it had strengthened her respect for Misaka. The guy had done nothing directly to hurt Genma. But indirectly, he had set Genma up for his biggest downfall: a downfall of his own making.
Of course, the others would assume her admiration for the man was actually a bit of greedy lust now that she knew Ranma was going to be very well off. In the minds of the fiancées, it meant that now Nabiki was going to be pursuing Ranma as well.
With the newest information, the Fiancée War was about to heat up.
Ranma however, ignored the newest shiver going down his back. He had good food in front of him, a catatonic father beside him, and an Elder Goddess wife who was expecting him to be at full power tonight.
Compared to what a disappointed Washu would do, that shiver didn’t even rate a three.
“Where are you, Ikue?” he whispered, as the scans continued to go over the planet, looking for any sign of his love. He had to find her; he had to find the one woman who meant everything to him.
Opening his hand slightly, the momentary lights from the screen illuminated it, revealing a small scrap of cloth, yellow with black spots.
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