"<I'm to go to Japan?>" asked Lilac incredulously.
The Healer looked at her fellow Elders with more than a
hint of concern. Was something wrong with the Matriarch? Is that
why they needed her in Japan?
"<Kho-lon, requests it,>" Be Dea said. "<It would seem
that Pur-fum has gained an Airen and they wish for her to be your
apprentice in the healing arts.>"
"<Truly? Pur-fum has found someone to love? How
wonderful,>" said Lilac with a smile. "<Of course, I'll accept the
request. This is a great honor.>"
Be Dea was about to reply when a captivating and musical
laugh echoed in the chamber of the Elders.
"<No,>" Be Dea grimaced. "<Not her.>"
"<So my Granddaughter has an Airen, does she? Why
wasn't I told of this? Did you really think that you could keep
secrets from me, Be Dea?>"
"<Where are you?>" demanded Be Dea. "<Stop toying
with us and reveal yourself, witch!>"
"<Witch? I happen to be a Mage.>"
Seconds later, the form of a svelte woman with long curling
blonde hair which was pulled back in a high ponytail was revealed
to them all. The woman looked to be in her late twenties and wore
a gold silk vest with a blue outline. The vest was buttoned only
halfway up as to reveal her abdomen while the gold silk pants she
wore reached just below her knees.
Her sapphire eyes glinting, the woman formed a slow and
easy smile as she said, "<You're going to let the Airen of my
precious Pur-fum become a Healer of all things?>"
"<What's wrong with being a Healer?>" asked Lilac
defensively as she glared at the woman.
"<Nothing at all, Li-lak,>" the woman replied. "<But there
are several Healers in our tribe. Eight in fact. Do we truly need
another?>"
"<A wise person knows that you can never have too many
Healers,>" replied Lilac with a frown.
"<Perhaps,>" the woman acknowledged. "<But I think I
know something that we need far more.>"
"<Then do tell us, Xi-ren. What is it we need?>"
All eyes turned to the figure of the Lore Master, Lotion, as
she stood in the entrance to the chamber of the Elders, wearing a
solemn expression.
"<Lo-xion,>" said the woman named Siren with a smile.
"<It's good to see you, old friend. And the answer to your question
is fairly simple. We have but one Mage in the tribe and none of you
seem to respect her.>"
"<Perhaps because she happens to insist on using her skills
for ill use,>" said Be Dea bitingly. "<That and she breaks all of our
most sacred laws and refuses to take on an apprentice to train in
the arts of sorcery.>"
"<Not to mention the fact that she refers to herself in third
person just to annoy certain people who keep rising to her bait,>"
added Lotion with dry humor.
At this comment, Be Dea shot Lotion a hard glare while
Siren chuckled as she floated in the air between them.
"<Oh, how I've missed this,>" Siren remarked. "<I just
can't get enough of you preaching to me about how I should force
myself to look old when the magics inside me simply make it easier
for me to remain young. Or are you still upset that I once married
someone a few years younger than me?>"
"<A few years?>" Be Dea snorted. "<It was more like a
few hundred years!>"
"<I don't recall him complaining,>" Siren replied with a sly
smile. "<In fact, he seemed very happy.>"
"<Xi-ren,>" said Lotion in warning tones as she heaved a
sigh. Looking towards the floating woman, she asked, "<I take it
that all of this means you want to make Pur-fum's Airen your
apprentice?>"
Dipping her head, Siren said, "<Precisely that. As you all
know, I haven't trained anyone as a Mage since the death of my
daughter. My only wish was for the secrets of sorcery to remain in
my family line but Pur-fum chose to become the tribal Enforcer.
But now that she has an Airen it changes things. Because I will
happily agree to take her Airen as my Mage apprentice. Of
course,>" she drawled. "<This is all dependent on whether or not
her Airen has any real potential in the realm of sorcery. And if it
turns out she doesn't... well then. That's another story.>"
At this last statement, several of the Elders almost felt an
urge to shiver as they all knew what sort of tactics the Mage was
capable of using when she wanted to.
Eyeing the chamber full of Elders with sharp sapphire eyes,
Siren formed another slow and easy smile. "<So,>" she said as she
tilted her blonde head to one side. "<What would you rather have
as an addition to the tribe? A Healer or a Mage? Please take into
account that Pur-fum is loyal to Kho-lon. This leads me to think
that her Airen would be loyal as well. And unlike myself, she just
might be more open to your influence.>"
There was a long pause as all of the Elders met each
other's gazes and came to a silent and internal decision.
They would discretely approve Siren's decision to take
Perfume's Airen as her apprentice while making very sure that
Cologne knew nothing of their involvement.
Because the last thing any of them wanted was to get
involved in another one of Siren and Cologne's near legendary tiffs.
Yes, they would simply let Cologne think that this was
entirely Siren's idea.
Which was, for the most part, the truth.
This method of practicing skewered truth telling was
something very familiar to all of the Amazon Elders.
In fact, it was something of a tradition.
---
Soun, like Ryoga and Kodachi before him, stood in frozen
shock at what he saw.
And what he saw was his youngest daughter, Akane, in an
all too revealing position in their furo.
Akane was naked and next to a drop dead gorgeous girl
playing what looked to be a warped game of tug of war with the
small towel that the other girl was clutching tightly to her
breathtaking body.
Sensing his presence, Akane turned in Soun's direction and
so did the other girl who had a blindfold over her eyes for some
strange reason.
"Dad," said Akane in exasperated tones which were still
extremely kawaii. "Do you mind? I'm trying to get Chocolate to
take a bath with me."
"Akane!" the girl named Chocolate pleaded as she turned
her blindfolded head towards Akane. "I can't take a bath with you!
I've already told you that!"
"Chocolate," said Akane in what were almost whining
tones but somehow sounded kawaii. "You're so uptight! You
wouldn't even take your clothes off when we went to bed last night.
C'mon, stop being a drag. You can't see Dr. Akihito with me if
you're all stinky."
"I'm not stinky!" Chocolate protested wildly. "And I really
can't take a bath with you, Akane! I mean it!"
"But you never told me the reason why," Akane said. "And
if can't tell me why then there must not be a reason so that means
you have to take a bath with me."
While Chocolate wailed at this logic, Soun slowly backed
out of the furo and closed the door behind him.
He stood like that for a very long moment until he heard
Nabiki's voice saying, "Honestly, Daddy. What in the world are
you up to now?"
Turning to face her, Soun's eyes were wide and watery
before he shot forward to cling to Nabiki's waist as he sobbed
loudly, "Nabiki! At least one of my daughters is still heterosexual!
You'll carry on the Tendo family line for me!"
For a response, Nabiki could only blink.
---
Straightening his tie, Ukyo looked at his reflection in the full
length mirror and said, "Not too shabby."
With a sigh, he crossed the hotel room to stand in front of
the bathroom sink. Picking up a comb, Ukyo went about
methodically combing his hair. When every strand was in place, he
set the comb down and looked at himself.
"This is crazy, y'know?" Ukyo muttered as he leaned
forward to rest his forehead against the mirror. "I get drunk and see
some crazy hallucinations and suddenly I change the shooting
location just because of what they said."
Shaking his head, Ukyo peered up to stare into his
sandalwood eyes that looked both haunted and weary. "Ryoga
probably isn't even in Nerima," Ukyo continued. "And if he is what
would I do? Beat him up just for the hell of it?"
At this thought, Ukyo found himself smiling without helping
it. Then with a sigh he moved backwards to stare at his reflection in
the mirror with hard eyes.
"Poppa may be dead but I still have his legacy to deal
with," Ukyo said as he walked out of the bathroom. "His legacy
and his damn asinine promises."
Shrugging on his jacket, Ukyo smoothly opened the hotel
door and looked up at two of the usual crew of hulking
bodyguards that accompanied him to large public events run by his
production company.
"Akira, Sato," said Ukyo with a nod as he stopped in front
of them. "How're you guys doing today?"
"Just fine, Kuonji-san," Akira and Sato answered together
in the same dull monotone.
"Good to know," Ukyo said. Walking down the hallway,
he paused in front of the elevator and they stood in relative silence
as they waited for it. "Hey guys," said Ukyo as he got tired of
listening to the silence. "Just out of curiosity how many people tried
to sneak up here last night?"
"Two hundred and thirteen, Kuonji-san," Akira and Sato
said with the smallest hints of smiles on their faces.
"That few?" Ukyo asked with clear surprise. Looking at his
bodyguards, he asked, "You think I'm losing my fans?"
"Of course not, Kuonji-san," began Akira.
"It was a school night after all," finished Sato.
Ukyo seemed to be considering this answer as the
elevators doors opened. He then smoothly strode inside of the
empty elevator with the two huge bodyguards.
And as the elevator doors closed, Ukyo was heard to say,
"But I still managed to beat Tsubasa's number of visiting fans by a
landslide, right?"
---
"This game have too many rules," Shampoo complained as
she slapped the book she was reading down on the small table top.
"It more fun how Akane explain it to Shampoo. Person run up
court, jump as high as can, then stuff orange ball into the hoop. Is
too too easy."
"If you want to play you must know the rules, Shampoo,"
said Cologne as she flipped through the large book in front of her.
"You know that."
Scowling at this, Shampoo looked at Cologne then asked,
"What you reading, Great Grandmother?"
"A general information guide about this district," Cologne
replied. "I'm still unsure about what the type of business that I want
to open here."
"What about restaurant?" Perfume suggested as she poked
her head from around the corner. "You is good cook and so are
we. Maybe even get Airen to be cook here. Get her out of stupid
house even more."
"I don't know," mused Cologne. "After what happened
with Ranma and Tatewaki yesterday I'm not sure if opening a
restaurant is really the way to go. The two of them will be here
often. Ranma being present for his training while Tatewaki will be
here most likely because of Shampoo's alluring influence."
"Great Grandmother!" Shampoo exclaimed as she blushed
on hearing this.
Perfume in the meanwhile, snickered then opened up the
front door to the building and said, "I going to see Airen now. Is
okay, Great Grandmother?"
"Yes, quite all right," Cologne murmured while she
continued to read her book. "Invite Kasumi back again for lunch if
you will. I do enjoy chatting with her."
"Shampoo go too," said Shampoo quickly. "Need to ask
Akane about stupid rules of game that Shampoo having to play
thanks to demon thief interference."
Not replying, Cologne simply waved her hand and seeing
this, the two Amazons quickly exited the building.
A few moments later, Cologne lifted her head and
narrowed her eyes as she said, "Is it just me or were those two
unnaturally eager to leave the building?"
"Oh well," Cologne murmured as she went back to her
reading. "I'm sure it's nothing for me to worry about."
There was just one slight problem with Cologne's almost
completely fool proof logic.
In Nerima, there's always something to worry about.
---
"What's wrong with him?" Ryoga asked as he looked at the
sobbing figure of Soun who was curled into a little ball in the far
corner to the sitting room.
"I have no idea," replied Nabiki in puzzled tones. "He's
been babbling about catching Akane with chocolate. Maybe he
found Akane pigging out on some of the candy that her fans bought
for her and it upset him."
On hearing this, Soun lifted his head to wail, "Akane! How
could you?! What will become of this family?!"
"Or I could be wrong," Nabiki said dryly. Turning back
towards Ryoga, she asked, "How was your morning work out with
your father, Ryoga-kun? Any fun?"
"Lots," said Ryoga with a smile. "I always like training with
Dad. He's really the best teacher around. But it's too bad that
Ranma couldn't work out with us."
"Oh yeah? Why is that?" asked Nabiki curiously. "He skip
out of training to be with Dachi or something?"
"Probably," Ryoga grumbled. "But it's nothing that I can
prove since we can't find him anywhere. It's like he just went and
disappeared on us."
"He's probably off pulling a scam to get some money for
himself," said Genma with a snort.
Nabiki was about to comment on this when Soun leapt out
of his corner to clutch to an extremely surprised Ryoga's waist as
he sobbed, "Ryoga! You promise to do your duty and help the
Tendo family line go on, won't you?!"
Blinking at this, Ryoga looked at Soun and said, "I guess
so..." He paused to turn to Genma while Soun still clung to his
waist and asked, "What would I have to do?"
"Boy," said Genma as he heaved a deep sigh. "I thought I
gave you that talk a long time ago."
"Talk?" Ryoga asked blankly. "What talk, Dad?"
"The one involving just what those girls in the video your
mother bought your brother were doing with that one very lucky
boy," Genma answered.
"Ooooh, that talk," said Ryoga in sudden understanding.
He paused to blush dark red and looking at Nabiki it took him just
one second to faint.
Releasing Ryoga's waist, Soun turned to face Nabiki who
looked frozen at this point. "You see that?!" Soun exclaimed. "It's
up to you, Nabiki! You have to take the initiative! It's obvious that
you both need the practice for marriage!"
"Daddy!" Nabiki erupted as she turned bright red. "I'm not
ready for marriage! I still have a lot of..." Nabiki faltered and
trailing off, she finally said, "Stuff to do!"
With that, Nabiki turned on her heel and stomped out of
the room to leave Soun standing in shock.
Soun looked at Genma then asked, "What do you suppose
she meant by saying that, Saotome?"
"It's nothing," Genma dismissed with a shrug. "She
probably just meant that she's not ready to settle down yet."
It was then that Tatewaki entered the sitting room and said
in very dark tones, "I cannot find my sister or her foul excuse for a
boyfriend. Does anyone here know of their exact location?"
"I'm afraid not," said Soun. He looked at Kasumi who
entered the room carrying a large tray. "Kasumi, have you seen
Ranma and Kodachi?"
"Not since yesterday," Kasumi said. "But I do recall
hearing Kodachi leave Nabiki's room fairly late last night."
And on hearing this, it took Soun less than half a second to
burst into a flood of tears before he wailed, "So that's what she
meant! Even Nabiki's been affected! Is everyone a lesbian?!"
The reaction to this statement were mutual blank faces and
a simultaneous blink from everyone in the room.
It's surprising the power mere words can have when it
comes to stunning people into speechlessness.
Then again, maybe it's really not so surprising.
---
"But darling," said Kodachi in tones that revealed just a hint
of annoyance. "They must be here somewhere."
Looking back from where he stood on the other side of the
rooftop, Ranma said, "I'm telling you, Dachi. I don't see your
underwear anywhere around here. Maybe you tossed it down on
the ground last night?"
"Unlikely," Kodachi said drolly. "Because you were the
one who removed them and therefore you are responsible for any
possible tossing of them."
"Heh," Ranma gave a sheepish laugh that reminded
Kodachi quite a lot of Ryoga. "Well, it's no big deal. I can buy you
a whole mess load of undies if you want."
"Really?" purred Kodachi as she neared Ranma with a
smooth and steady gait. Wrapping her arms around his neck she
smiled and said, "What else might you buy me if say perhaps my
bra went missing all of a sudden?"
Chuckling softly, Ranma lowered his lips to Kodachi's and
murmured, "Anything that you want."
The couple's kiss was stopped from getting too involved by
the sound of a very familiar voice exclaiming, "Wow! How did the
laundry get all the way up here?"
Slowly parting from their embrace, Ranma and Kodachi
both turned to Akane who was busy looking at the missing undies
that they had been searching for.
"Oh dear," said Kodachi calmly. She pulled away from
Ranma and walked towards Akane. "That looks like one of my
undergarments. Might I have it, Akane?"
"This is yours, Dachi?" asked Akane before she handed
Kodachi the undies that she was holding. "Do you know how it got
all the way up here?"
"Perhaps it was the wind," Kodachi suggested with an
almost nervous smile. She started to say more when her eyes
caught sight of the top of a dark head trying to hide behind Akane's
petite frame. "Akane," began Kodachi slowly. "Just who is your
rather bashful friend?"
"This is Chocolate," said Akane cheerfully as she gave
them the brightest smile they had seen on her so far. She peered
over her shoulder at the hidden figure and said, "It's just Ranma
and Dachi. You don't have to worry about them. They're really
very nice people."
Kodachi observed as a pair of stunning green eyes peered
up over Akane's shoulder and an all too enchanting feminine voice
softly said, "Hello. I'm Chocolate."
Instantly appearing at Kodachi's side, Ranma flashed his
most charming smile and drawled, "That's a pretty name. But I bet
the rest of you is even prettier."
"It sure is!" Akane exclaimed happily. "I've seen her naked
and Chocolate is the prettiest girl--"
Akane was cut off by a pair of delicate hands clamping
over her mouth. As they did so, Akane's arm lifted up to reveal that
her wrist was handcuffed.
Before the couple could even start to contemplate the
reason for this, Akane was lifted up and into the arms of a girl
possessing a ravishing beauty. The girl had a face so lovely that it
was almost blinding, long silky black hair, and a body with curves
in all the right places. And upon seeing her, Ranma and Kodachi
immediately knew that she was the girl named Chocolate.
Just seconds after revealing herself to Ranma and
Kodachi's disbelieving eyes, Chocolate stealthily bounded away
holding Akane firmly in her arms.
There was a long moment of silence before Ranma and
Kodachi slowly met their gazes.
"Darling," said Kodachi in stunned tones. "Not to be
insulting but I have never looked upon anything that exquisite in all
of my life."
"Me neither," Ranma said dimly. "Who in the hell was she,
Dachi? Do you think that she might be Akane's girlfriend or
something? Akane did say that she's seen her naked."
"I don't know," Kodachi murmured. "But we truly must find
out. That much is for certain."
---
"Is no one going to school?" Tatewaki asked in dry and
rather scolding tones as they walked down the street.
The current group consisted of Ranma, Kodachi, Nabiki,
Ryoga, Tatewaki, and Shampoo. The latter joining the group when
they met on street as Shampoo and Perfume were headed for the
Tendo dojo at the time.
With the exception of Ranma, Kodachi, and Shampoo
who were suspended for the day the rest of them were completely
fit and able to go to school.
Technically Ranma and Kodachi were fit to go to school
since the lightning attacks had ceased entirely but they felt that this
fact was still up in the air. After all, it was quite possible that the
lightning attacks could start up again and if so they couldn't risk
being at school and angering Principal Hiro, could they now?
Which of course meant they were skipping school for the
day to go with Nabiki to her movie audition.
When compared to this logic, Ryoga's motives were
infinitely easier to understand.
Nabiki was going to the audition. Ryoga liked Nabiki
therefore he wanted to be with her. Being unable to say this Ryoga
instead chose to follow her like a faithful puppy and act like one by
protecting his Mistress.
Like his best friend, Tatewaki had a fairly simple reason for
skipping school. Kodachi was going to the audition and so was
Ranma. He had to come along and guard the fiend Saotome to
make sure that he didn't sully Kodachi's innocence further.
And Shampoo?
Well, lets just say that her motives were very similar to
Ryoga's and leave it at that.
"Why you ask, Tachi?" Shampoo said coyly before latching
onto his arm. "You wanting to get rid of us? Does that include
Shampoo in the bargain?"
"No, of course not!" Tatewaki exclaimed quickly. He gave
Shampoo a small reassuring smile while his face turned slightly red.
"I was simply remarking that it's odd all of us are missing classes
today. Or don't you agree?"
"Maybe," said Shampoo with a shrug. "But Shampoo is
suspended for day. No can go to school."
"That I can understand," said Tatewaki. "It's the matter of
why Saotome here insists in preventing my sister from attending
school by skipping classes today."
"Hey, I'm not preventing anything," Ranma said huffily.
"Dachi's here because she wants to be. We may be dating but I
don't own her and she don't own me. It's good to maintain freedom
in a relationship, y'know?"
"Freedom?" asked Tatewaki sharply. His eyes narrowed
as his hands went to rest on his katana which was hanging at his
side. "Does this mean that you have returned to your womanizing
ways of the past?"
"Brother dear," Kodachi intervened before Ranma could
get worked up. "Ranma darling would never think of cheating on
me without my permission. He knows the penalty for that is far too
high for him to deal with."
At this point, Nabiki, who had been curiously observing the
scene play out in silence, commented, "Oh yeah? And what kind of
penalty is that, Dachi?"
Kodachi turned to look at Nabiki and giving a knowing
smile, she said, "The most horrifying thing that Ranma could ever
imagine. A life without me at his side."
While Nabiki sweatdropped at this, Ryoga shaded his eyes
and said, "Wow. Check out the crowd."
Following Ryoga's gaze, Nabiki eyes widened upon seeing
the crowd of thousands that had gathered in downtown Nerima.
She could vaguely make out a high stage with people sitting on it
and figured that somewhere up there was Kuonji Ukyo himself in
all his glory.
The thought of it was enough to make Nabiki almost faint
but she somehow held back the urge.
"Damn," said Ranma with a low wolf whistle. "How do you
plan on getting through this crowd, Dachi?"
"Through relationship privileges," said Kodachi. She then
formed a slow smile and produced a glass of cold water from out
of nowhere to hold it in front of Ranma.
"Aw, c'mon Dachi," Ranma said while he backed away
from Kodachi. "I just get my guy form back and now you want me
to do this?"
"Please, darling?" said Kodachi as she pouted in a sexy
manner. "I need your help. No one can jump higher than you in
your cursed form. With your skills we'll easily clear the way
through the crowd and to Ukyo."
"No one can jump higher than me, huh?" Ranma mused.
Giving a chuckle, he said, "You're right! I have to help you because
I'm the best damn jumper there is!"
With that, Ranma took the glass of cold water and
upended it over his head. Turning to face Nabiki, a now elfin
Ranma said, "Time to get going, Nabchan!"
"Get going?" Nabiki asked.
Before Nabiki could say anything more, Ranma lifted
Nabiki into her arms then jumped almost a mile into the air in a
strange trek towards the stage.
"Ranma!" shouted Ryoga angrily. "You come back here
with Nabiki-chan! She's my iinazuke, not yours!"
Ryoga then took off after Ranma and plowed through the
crowd of people in the process. The others watched this for a
moment before Kodachi smiled and said, "It's going perfectly."
Moving into a quick sprint, Kodachi bounded after them
through the path Ryoga had cleared.
Now alone, Tatewaki and Shampoo shared a perplexed
stare before they both shrugged and decided to head after
everyone just to see what would happen next.
Sadly enough, that's usually the reason why most people
do what they do in Nerima.
---
The house was quiet.
Her father and Genma had just left for their daily trip to the
bar which left Kasumi alone in the house.
Alone in a house that was quiet.
That was something of a rarity as of late. In fact, it was
something that Kasumi almost disliked these days.
Ever since Ranma and Kodachi had arrived their lives were
full of life. That was something which Kasumi quite enjoyed. She
hadn't ever realized it but before now their lives had really been
quite boring.
In particular her life had been quite boring.
All she'd done was take care of the family and while that
was well and good there was more than that to life. There was
more to her than maintaining the 'wa' of her household. She was
Tendo Kasumi and she was special.
She was a woman.
She was an individual.
She was an Airen.
She was currently being groped.
Releasing a high pitched shriek, Kasumi did what years of
living in a dojo and with Nabiki had trained her into doing.
Kasumi grabbed her mysterious groper by the hand and
flipped them hard onto the ground in front of her.
That's when she got a look at her attacker and gasped on
seeing sapphire eyes that sparkled with wry humor.
The woman before her had the exact same eyes as
Perfume and a body quite similar to match. The differences were
obvious in her curly blonde hair pulled back in a high ponytail and
the far more risque choice in clothing.
"That," the woman purred in sensual tones as she moved to
stand up in a rather cat-like manner. After she did so, she stood
inches away from Kasumi. "Was perhaps the most entertaining
reaction to my attentions that I've had in years. You might just be
worth training after all."
"Who are you?" Kasumi asked softly.
Ignoring the question, the woman cupped Kasumi's chin
and studied her lovely features carefully. "She doesn't know it but
I've been watching you both and I understand. You really are quite
the prize. A bud waiting to bloom into a beautiful flower and
Perfume is the water who will bring you much needed life. The real
question is: Will you flourish or wither under my training?"
"Training?" asked Kasumi with wide eyes.
"Yes," the woman breathed. "I am going to train you,
Tendo Kasumi. I'm going to teach you all my secrets. I'm going to
show you the magic which others ignore or can just never see. I'm
going to bring wonder into your life. Of course," the woman paused
to smile. "That all depends on whether or not you pass the test."
Blinking at this, Kasumi shook her head and narrowing her
eyes slightly, she asked, "Who are you?"
"Ah," the woman drew back and smiled again. "You were
able to throw off my influence with only raw instinct. Very
impressive. It seems I will have to change my tactics."
She then looked into Kasumi's eyes before gracefully
moving forward and resting her lips millimeters away from
Kasumi's ear. The woman breathed lightly against her skin and
caused Kasumi to shiver.
"Tell me," the woman said softly. "How does it feel when
she touches you? Does it burn or does it tingle? Is it the feeling of
small pinpricks on your skin or the light shiver of silk passing over
your body? Can you resist the need that calls to you or is it
overwhelming? Like a dam about to break under the pressure? Is
that it? Can you tell me what it is? How it feels?"
"It feels... it feels like..." Kasumi trailed off as she felt her
body quiver under the force of the woman's power.
"Yes?" the woman prompted. "What does it feel like?"
"It feels like all of that and more," said Kasumi in slow
entranced tones. "It feels like life itself. No, it is life. It's the
beginning of new life for me and her both. It's a renewal."
The woman was contemplating this when a very sharp and
extremely angry voice shouted, "Grandmother! What is you doing
to my Airen?!"
Slowly pulling away from Kasumi who came out of her
slight trance, Siren looked at her irate Granddaughter.
"Perfume," said Siren with an easy smile. "You're looking
well. How are you on this lovely afternoon?"
"Grandmother," Perfume growled as she stomped forward
to stand in front of Siren. "What was you doing?"
"Oh, nothing much," Siren said. "Just testing your Airen to
see if she'd make a worthy apprentice."
"What give you right to do that?" glowered Perfume.
"Maybe Airen not want to be..." Perfume trailed off as she realized
the meaning of Siren's words. "You mean to say that you is here to
train Airen as Mage?"
"Precisely," said Siren as she gave a slight nod and looked
very smug. "So now will you calm down?"
"Excuse me," Kasumi's voice held a definite trace of
annoyance and the two Amazons turned to look at her. "But would
someone mind explaining all of this to me?"
Looking sheepish, Perfume gave Kasumi a weak smile
before she said, "Airen, meet Perfume Grandmother, Siren. She is
only Mage of tribe. I think she here to train you."
"Train me?" echoed Kasumi. "In what?"
"In the realm of sorcery," Siren replied as she gave another
charming smile. "If what I've just discovered about you holds true
you will be the tenth Mage in the long and impressive history of the
Joketsuzoku Amazons. You will carry on tradition of magics for
both me and the tribe as you become a figure of great prestige
known the entire world 'round."
On hearing this, Kasumi could say only one thing.
"Oh my."
---
Kuonji Ukyo was in shock.
It was something that rarely happened to him because in his
line of work, he was used to seeing things that counted as both
strange and unusual.
But before now, Ukyo had never seen a blonde elf jump a
mile into the air then land in front of him holding a pretty girl. A
pretty girl who appeared very upset at the blonde elf.
The upset part was easy to guess because as soon as the
elf touched the stage, the girl leapt out of her arms and launched
into a loud tirade of protests.
"Hey," said Tsubasa as he leaned over to Ukyo and
whispered in his ear. "Are these friends of yours?"
Shaking his head no, Ukyo was about to reply when an all
too familiar voice shouted, "Ranma! How dare you go bounding off
with my iinazuke like that! What kind of brother are you anyway?!"
His sandalwood eyes narrowing, Ukyo rose to his feet and
clenching his hands into fists he hissed, "Ryoga."
Seconds later, the figure of Hibiki Ryoga jumped on the
stage and grabbed the blonde elf by the collar and shaking her, he
shouted, "Don't you have any manners?!"
"Chill out!" the elf managed to say through the massive
shaking attack. "I was just giving her a lift like Dachi asked me too!
Why are you getting so mad?"
"She's my iinazuke!" Ryoga declared as his face got very
close to the elf's. "You could've hurt her!"
"Ryoga-kun," said the girl softly while she approached
Ryoga who immediately turned to face her on hearing her voice.
"I'm all right. Ranma was just trying to help and he was only doing
what Dachi asked."
"Yeah," the elf choked out. "Listen to Nabiki, bro. I was
just doing my boyfriendly duty and stuff."
"She's right, Ryoga-kun," said another boy who suddenly
appeared on stage along with a purple haired girl. "For once the
fiend Saotome is not wholly to blame."
Slowly releasing the elf, Ryoga looked to the girl and
formed a smile as he said, "If Nabiki-chan says so then it has to be
true." Turning back towards the elf, he said, "Sorry about that, bro.
It looks like I was wrong."
"No problem," the elf said with an easy smile.
The amiable mood was soon broken by a loud cough and
the group turned to look into at the droll and amused features of
Kuonji Ukyo.
For Nabiki the response was immediate.
She turned bright red, released a high pitched squeak, then
hid behind Ryoga's muscular figure.
"Ryoga," said Ukyo in deceptively calm tones as he took a
step forward. "How very nice to see you again."
"You remember me?" Ryoga asked in surprise.
"Of course," Ukyo said with a small smile. "It would be
impossible for me to forget you. Not after all you've done to affect
the path of my life and destiny."
"Oh," Ryoga said blankly. "Okay."
"Hey! Do you remember me too, Ucchan? I bet you do!
You gotta remember your best buddy!"
Ukyo slowly turned his head to look into the breathtaking
features of the beautiful blonde elf. Blinking a bit, Ukyo said, "I'm
afraid I don't. Who are you, Miss?"
"Miss?" the blonde asked. She paused to look at herself
then scowled. "Aw, man! I forgot." Looking back up at Ukyo she
said, "Hold on a minute."
The elf then produced a tea kettle of hot water from out of
nowhere and poured it over her head. Ukyo then watched in
certain shock as the elf changed into a figure just as familiar as
Ryoga was to her.
"Ranchan?" asked Ukyo in soft disbelief. "Is that really
you? But how...?"
"It's a long story," Ranma dismissed with a grin. "One that I
can tell you later. But check you out, Ucchan. You're a big movie
star now! That's way cool, buddy."
"Thanks, I'm glad that you think so," Ukyo replied. He then
turned his gaze back to Ryoga and noted the girl that was hiding
behind Ryoga and nervously peering at him. "Hey there pretty
lady," said Ukyo as he neared Ryoga. "You don't have to hide
from me. I don't bite." Ukyo paused to flash a charming smile then
said, "Unless you want me too."
Frowning a bit, Ryoga said, "This is my iinazuke, Tendo
Nabiki, she's here to audition for your movie."
Stopping in his tracks, Ukyo repeated, "Iinazuke?"
"Yup," said Ranma. He moved to stand at Ryoga's side
and suddenly pulled the pretty girl out from behind his brother for
Ukyo to see. "My brother Ryoga lucked out and got engaged to
this cutie here. Isn't she a looker? I bet she'd make a great addition
to your movie, huh, Ucchan?"
"And she can sing too," Ryoga added with a smile as he
looked into Ukyo's gaze with eyes that shone with an obvious
affection. "Nabiki-chan is the best singer around."
Recovering from his momentary daze, Ukyo offered the girl
named Nabiki a smile and said, "Is she now? Well, I'd love to have
a songbird on the set."
Moving forward in an easy gait, Ukyo took Nabiki's hand
in his own and gave her a soft kiss on the top of it as he murmured,
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tendo-san. I'm glad that you decided
to go and audition for my movie. You'd make a great leading lady."
"Leading lady?" asked Nabiki with wide eyes.
Nabiki could barely register what was happening to her.
Kuonji Ukyo, her most loved and worshipped idol was standing
right in front of her and kissing her hand. And he wanted her to be
in his newest movie as his leading lady?
It took Nabiki less than a second to react.
"Well now," said Ukyo as he looked at Nabiki who had
fainted in his strong arms. "It's been a real long time since a lady
has acted that way around me."
That was when a lilting voice that was well known to most
everyone present said, "Somehow I doubt that."
Lifting his head in a mechanical movement, Ukyo looked
into a pair of violet eyes that he never expected to see again in his
entire existence on this Earth.
"Why, Ukyo darling," said Kodachi in smooth and
sensuous tones. "What's the matter? Aren't you happy to see your
most beloved former girlfriend?"
For a response, Ukyo screamed.
To be continued...
------------------------------------------------
I'd like to thank Jim Robert Bader, Red
Death, and my brother Patrick for listening to my goofy ideas. Also
special thanks to Wade Tritschler for allowing me to be a part of
his Altered Destinies project.
Author's note: I know, I know. I promised Akihito the love doctor
and I didn't deliver. I'm sorry but he'll show up next chapter with
more wacky advice. I swear it!
Chat with me on ICQ! My ICQ # is: 37674780
Thanks to Red Death all of my fanfics are archived at:
http://www.lvdi.net/~reddeath/dreiser.htm
Next up: The love doctor counsels Akane and Chocolate, Siren
greets Cologne, and even more of Kodachi's torrid romantic past is
revealed.
"Magic's not the same as aspirin."
-Ryuuzaki Umi; Magic Knight Rayearth-
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