Oh My Ranma ½!
The Temporary Goddess
Stared: 15Jul05
By Ozzallos
Chapter ONE
It was late, and Skuld was
bored. Not just bored, excruciatingly bored. It was one thing to stalk the
bowls of the Yggradsil, sending errant systems bugs to their certain doom with
the gratifying thud of her hammer. It was, however, quite another to defrag a
portion of Creations largest super computer, whose storage capacity stretched
into, well, eternity. The diminutive teenage girl yawned sleepily. Sure, she
realized that reality had to be kept running smoothly and long access times
were not exactly desirable toward that function, but what she really needed
right now was ...An ice cream Sunday. Yeaaaah... With hot fudge. AND cherries!
Skuld's daydream was just taking shape when-
"Surface
Intercept. Anomaly detected."
The dark-haired
goddess whipped around at the announcement, studying the transparent display in
front of her. Few things would have separated Skuld from her ice cream
daydream, but any anomaly in the Yggradsil couldn't be taken lightly and she
was, after all, a debugger. She typed a few keys on the on the floating
keyboard. Mortal realm, Skuld noted as the data poured out in divinities
script.
Skuld's eyebrow
furrowed as she leaned forward in the stylish floating chair. "Trace
anomaly."
"Co ordinance
301187.666499/A661.00 Locale,
"Any
details?"
The terminal
thought for a moment, isolating the source of her annoyance. "Abnormal
power spikes recorded, physical location junction 51866311-2301b, memory access
point 100056111g000 x 00199991111000."
Skuld hefted her
Hammer with renewed enthusiasm. It was bug stomping time! "Reroute function
and isolate the access point from the rest of the system!" Bring em on!
"Complying."
Even as the as the young goddess turned toward the door, the entire room was
bathed in a deadly red glow. Skuld froze.
"WARNING!
Reality point 301187.666499 /A661.00 unstable! Critical failures detected at
junctions -2301c, d,e,f,g...," She listened to the growing litany of
critical failures with ever widening eyes "...Data corruption detected at
memory access points..."
Skuld burst out
into the hallway with only one thing on her mind.
"BELLLDAAAANNNDYYYYY!"
Power.
Chaos.
Two combatants
raged in the maelstrom of supercharged Ki and energy, locked in an epic battle
that would determine life and death. One of those combatants was a god, with a
destiny to rule an entire civilization. The other was mortal, whose first duty
as a martial artist was to protect those incapable protecting themselves.
Today, one of them was going to die. Every element came to witness this battle
as the fighters danced within a lethal typhoon. Earth crumbled. Fire raged.
Wind ripped and water boiled. And unbeknownst to either, reality began to
buckle under the weight of their battle. But both fighters were too broken,
bloodied and spent to even notice anything beyond their dance of death,
focusing on the final blow.
It came.
The god died.
And from the
calming tempest and rain emerged arguably one of the greatest martial artists
the world would ever know; one of his hopes literally eraining down around him
while the other was cradled in his arms, alive against all odds.
Skuld
swung at another bug, mashing its squat multilegged frame beneath her debugging
implement of choice. She had even managed to enlist the help of her sisters,
which was a mixed blessing. While neither quite approached her skill in
debugging, junction 51866311-2301b was what you would call a target rich
environment at the moment. In other words, they couldn't possibly miss.
"You really
screwed it up this time, didncha, squirt!" A lithe, white haired woman
complained as she frantically blasted another half dozen bugs from existance.
"I told you
this wasn't my fault, Urd!" Skuld complained. "And be careful where
you aim!"
Belldandy touched
another with her staff, causing the wayward bug to poof in a mildly explosive
manner. She winced as the bugs reminded her too much of Earth's furry little
rabbits. Mutated, six legged rabbits beat with an ugly stick, but such
attributes didn't make the task any easier. "Of course it wasn't your
fault. Urd, be nice!"
Urd was just about
to retort when the computer cut in, "Power returning to nominal
levels."
Skuld was stopped
mid-swing. She really didn't want to even ask the next question. "System
integrity report?"
Again, the
Yggradsil churned for a moment. "Extensive file corruption detected in
memory access point 100056111g000 x 00199991111000. Invalid partition size.
Invalid files. Suggest running Divinity Disk Doctor for emergency data
recovery."
The youngest goddess
weary sighed. She was really beginning to hate this section of the
Yggradsil.
Ranma
Saotome let out a weary sigh. He was really starting to hate this neighborhood.
It had been a month since the incident on
Ill-fated.
The word seemed to
follow the pigtailed boy's footsteps like some obnoxious force of nature,
whipping up trouble and chaos with wherever and whomever he went. That same
word had done wonders for his relationships. Even after being officially
betrothed to one another, the glow had only lasted a week before the reality
that surrounded Ranma reasserted itself. Homicidal fiancées. Extorting sister
in-laws. Conniving fathers. And of course, Mallet-queen herself, which was why
he was now on the roof at night instead a nice cozy futon or something. It was
in these quite moments that Ranma would take an introspective look at himself
and admit that he wasn't always the easiest person to get along with. He was
socially inept. He incited trouble at times. Could be rude. A general pain. But
a mallet a day? If not that, a burning "die, Ranma, die!" attitude.
Fun stuff, he mentally snorted. They were gonna have to try something different
if this was gonna work out at all.
"Dinner's
Ready, Ranma!"
Kasumi calling up
to him. Sure. Why not? It's not like I'm going to turn down her cooking or
anything, Ranma thought. After all, don't know when Akane will take a shot at
the kitchen next.
Urd
peered over her younger sister's shoulder intently. "Now you SURE you
haven't broken anything else?"
Skuld turned from
her terminal and glared menacingly at her accuser. Of course, Skuld just
couldn't project a burning stare of intimidation, so she settled on a something
close to a comical sneer instead. "I already told--"
"Ok, ok. It's
not your fault. What do we have left from that partition?"
Slightly mollified,
Skuld turned back to the transparent terminal. "Eliminating most of the
bugs was easy. It was the data reconstruction that was harder." Urd nodded
and she continued, "We were able to repair 99 of the damage, but the
remains of two files in particular have me worried."
Urd was leaned in
closer. "What sort of files are we talking about?" With the kid on
repairs, she had been pulling sysadmin lately and this was potentially need to
know information.
"Well, there
were two entities in the zone of corrupted data at the time," Skuld
explained, pulling up what remained of the files. "From what I can tell,
the power spikes were cause by a battle between these two, one mortal and one
deity." Urd's eyebrow arched slightly. "Unfortunately the file
associations are so mixed up that most of the data is missing on both. Heck, I
was lucky to get the name of just one of them!"
"Fighting one
of us?" Urd breathed incredulously. "Somebody was looking for a swift
kick in the--"
"AHEM!"
Skuld nudged her sister impatiently. "The reconstructed data says one of
those files has a terminal header."
"Ow."
Urd frowned. A fancy way of saying 'dead as a doornail.'
Skuld shook her
head. "Listen Urd, we know that the entity that left the area is alive.
The Yggradsil probably buffered it to emergency holding until we could perform
a recovery, but that will eventually be overwritten. What we don't know is his
position, status or anything else. He's probably wandering around the system as
we speak unchecked!"
Even her older
sister had to admit that was a bit troubling. "How about the other
one?"
"Don't
know." Urd stated simply. "Most of the information I have was pieced
together from the remains of these two files. Heck, I'm not even sure what
information came from where..."
"Ok, let's
focus on what we DO know."
Skuld shrugged,
"Ok, the entity who walked away from Phoenix Mountain is named Ranma
Saotome. The other fighter is unknown." Urd nodded, prompting her to
continue. "I think this data is indicating that the Deity was a
Class 1 Category 1, we just don't know which it was or the details."
"Ranma
Saotome... Now where have I heard that name before?" Urd wondered aloud.
"Can you pull his--" Skuld pointed at the screen of jumbled data.
"...file. oh. right." Then it hit her. "HA! I think the answer
is staring us right in the face kid!" Skuld looked confused. "Face
it. We're talking about a mortal who picked a fight with one of us. Who do you
think is gonna win?"
Skuld's eyes lit
up suddenly. "I see! So the deity is..."
"Ranma
Saotome, of course." Urd proclaimed with smug satisfaction. "That's
why I recognize the name. Probably an old drinking buddy of mine or
something!"
"So all I
have to do is combine the data we have into one file and let Divinity Disk
Doctor rebuild it!" the sister concluded.
"Exactly."
Urd confirmed. "Once triple-D has enough data, it should be able to
recover the details. We'll just fill in any blanks once we restore his status
to the system."
"Sometimes
you're smarter than you look, onee-chan!"
"GRRR..."
At
that very moment, a similar sentiment was being vocalized halfway across
eternity in a suburb of Tokyo.
"GRRRRRWHATDIDYOUSAY?"
the youngest of the Tendo sister raged.
Ranma backed away
from the table. He knew what was coming. If the weatherman had a forecast for
the day, it would read partly cloudy, a high of fifty with a ninety percent
chance of mallets. "Come on, Akane! It was a compliment!"
"NOT SO
MUCH OF A TOMBOY STILL IMPLIES..." She took a menacing step forward,
"...THAT I'M A TOMBOY!" With that, Ranma watched her bring a
familiar shape to bear on him. Make that a 100 chance, he revised mentally.
Damn weathermen never get it right. Even if he hadn't seen the mallet, all the
tell tail signs were there. Her two older sisters, Kasumi and Nabiki had
already cleared the strike zone, while his father Genma Saotome and the Tendo's
father, Soun were pulling the food away from the table. The only question now
might as well have been which side of his face he should let her mallet.
THWAPPPP! SPLoooSH!
The right side, as
it turned out. He also noted her aim was getting better. Normally it was a
parabolic arc that would take him well outside the neighborhood, which was a
blessing in itself. Now she was actually targeting things out of spite. What,
did she practice in her spare time? And on who? The very wet female Ranma
flipped her red ponytail off her shoulder and was about ready to step out of
the koi pond when time seemed to slow down to a crawl. She watched even as the
Tendo household ground to a halt, color draining away from the world.
"Maybe she
hit me harder than I thought..."
"Ok,
recombining data!" Skuld noted enthusiastically. "Done!"
"Let triple D
have a crack at it." Urd directed from her younger sister's shoulder.
"Loading
up." Skuld watched as the progress bar from the display in front of her
crept from left to right, the utility scanning every bit of data it had been
fed for errors while correcting what it could. Two minutes later, Divinity Disk
Doctor prompted them with an intact file, if not entirely complete.
Ranma Saotome
Sex: Error
Category: Unknown
Class: Unknown
Status: Recovery
Area of Influence: Error
Affiliation: Unknown
Transport Medium: Not Found
Weapon: Not Found
Age: Error
The tan complexion
of the older sister's face reflected her annoyance. "That's a whole lot of
unknowns. We can't reinstate a file like that. It's not even linked to Ranma
yet."
Skuld nodded,
"But at least we have an intact file. This part will be child's play
compared to the recovery." Urd cocked her head inquisitively.
"Terminal! Synchronize File: Ranma Saotome. Last known location:
301187.666499/A661.00!"
Data flowed across
her screen. "Found. 2118513.122200/C883.01 Locale, Nerima, Tokyo,
Japan."
"Yes!"
Skuld cheered excitedly. "Terminal, real-time update!"
Ranma Saotome
Sex: Female
Category: Unknown
Class: Unknown
Status: Recovery
Area of Influence: Error
Affiliation: Unknown
Transport Medium: Water
Weapon: None
Age: 17
Urd nodded.
"Well that's a bit better. You said the corrupted data indicated she's a
class 1, Category 1?"
"I think
so." Skuld nodded and typed the relevant information in. "Limited or
Unlimited?"
Urd concentrated
for a moment on the name before her. So familiar... "Let's just go with
unlimited for now." Skuld cocked her head in silent question. "It's
simple kid. First, you normally don't go one-one without going all the way.
It's almost a gimmie. Second, we don't want to go offend a one-one by giving
her a lesser status. If she is limited, we can always go back and bust
her down later."
Again, Skuld
nodded. Made sense to her, so she typed in the relevant data. "How about
the rest? The file can't be uploaded without them..."
Again, Urd look
minorly annoyed at having to be bothered with inconsequential details.
"Sigh... Letsee, Area of Influence..." And evil grin spread across
her face. "Sex!"
Skuld shot her a
glare. "Seriously now!"
"Ok, ok...
Geez, no fun at all." Urd rolled her eyes. "How about Luck for now.
As in, she's lucky we saved her personnel file." Skuld typed it in.
"Affiliation...US!" Her sister shot another glance up at her.
"HEY! She is LUCKY after all, right?" Skuld sighed and continued.
"No weapon? What fun is that?" The elder sister rolled the thought
over in her head a bit. "Let's say... Um, uh.. Staves. Like it matters at
this point." Skuld put the finishing touches on the file.
Ranma Saotome
Sex: Female
Category: 1
Class: 1
Status: Unlimited
Area of Influence: Luck
Affiliation: Norns
Transport Medium: Water
Weapon: Staves
Age: 17
Recovery mode. Commit changes:
Y/N?
"Looks good,
kid!" Urd patted her sister on the back. "Hit her!"
And with one
simple keystroke, Skuld blasted the Daylights out of one Ranma Saotome.
Akane
was just about to unleash some more pent up rage, but stopped short in the
courtyard. Ranma looked... Different. Sure, her eyes were open and one foot was
poised to step out of the pond, but by the look on her face, nobody was home.
Akane cocked her head in confusion. "Uh, Ranma?"
Nabiki walked up
behind her, mirth evident on her face. "Honestly, Akane. How many times
can you expect to hit the boy before something up there fina--"
CRACK!
BOOOOOM!
Both sisters were
blown ten feet back in a deafening roar as a shaft of divine light impaled the
young martial artist from on high. Even as the two recovered from the stunning
event, the pig-tailed girl was yanked from her station and pulled from the
ground, muscles hyper-extending, body rigid. Her head was lift skyward, dilated
eyes now registering more than just the holy pillar she was now trapped in. The
beam pulsed and fresh points of light radiated from Ranma's face. Two of the
points instantly formed blue triangles beneath her eyes, while the other
concentrated on her forehead, etching two tight vertical ovals into a
figure-eight. Gravity began to lose it tenuous hold on the pond water below,
causing sparkling mist to spiral and cascade around Ranma's transformation.
Another pulse of
light hit her, and the traditional Chinese garb she had been wearing melted
into something akin to a flowing body wrap accompanied by matching arm wraps
and fingerless glovers while loose silken streamers flowed around her as if
they had a mind of their own. The transformation continued and the pigtail
unbound itself, allowing her flowing red hair to grow several lengths before
returning to it's previous binding. It too wrapping around her person, flowing
to the super natural breeze. Finally, the twin ovals etched upon her forehead
merged into one tight vertical eye, blazing in supernatural glory into the sky
before fading with the pillar itself.
Peace flowed back
across the Tendo Dojo once more.
The entire
household had now emptied itself into the courtyard, only to find themselves
gaping at an impossible sight-- an ethereal red headed beauty, feet drifting
inches above the koi pond and bathing the general vicinity in a soft glowing
aura. Her head rested on her shoulder as if she had drifted off into a peaceful
sleep.
The Tendo's gaped.
Genma's eyes stared in disbelief. Any and all logic had been washed from their
brains as they stared at what had only moments ago been a simple pig-tailed
girl.
"R-R-Ranma?"
Akane stuttered, as one was likely to do after witnessing such an event. Ranma
barely stirred at the sound of her name. "W-What should we do..?"
Nabiki knew
exactly what to do. "He's you're fiancé. YOU wake him up."
Akane turned to
the others in a plea for support, only to find she had been unanimously elected
to the task by the disturbing lack of eye contact. She took in the sight once
more. "Uh, ok then...?"
Her trepid walk to
the koi pond took nearly five minutes as she edged closer to the water's edge
and further into Ranma's peaceful glow. The mist continued to float around her,
though in lesser quantity, tracing lazy flight paths around a center of
serenity. Akane could feel it too. Peace. Calm. She almost didn't even want to
disturb the moment. Ranma nuzzled her own shoulder contently. Ok, here it
goes... Akane steeled herself for the event.
"Um,
Ranma?" She tugged at the pig-tailed girls hand, barely able to reach it from
the ponds edge and her ground locked vantage point. Ranma stirred. "Ranma,
can you hear me?" Eyes fluttered and Akane's world dissolved. Such blue
eyes... Unending. Peaceful... Wrapping around her...
Ranma blinked
groggily, the first thing coming into focus being the intense gaze of Akane
Tendo. Ranma let a small smile escape her lips, at least until she realized
something was slightly amiss. Why was he looking DOWN at her? And where was
that glow coming from? And why am I floating above the koi... pond? Ranma
twitched and wiggled her feet. Air. Then she found the rest of the household...
Staring. She looked down once more, beyond her feet and into the waters
reflection below. She was... It was... Her clothing...
And with that,
Ranma Saotome, Goddess of Luck first class, category one, unlimited... passed
out.
Chapter
TWO
Ranma blinked groggily, the
concerned faces of Akane, Kasumi and surprisingly his mother, Nodoka Saotome
filtering into view. While the latter two were obviously concerned, Akane was concerned...
And a bit dazed as well, if he was were any judge. Near as he could tell, he
was flat on his back in the Tendo living room. And it was morning? Besides
wondering what exactly had happened, a more pressing matter came to mind.
"Akane..."
The fiancée leaned closer, obviously unsure what to expect at this point.
Silently Ranma noted his voiced carried that of his feminine alter ego.
"Don't ever use THAT mallet on me again."
Akane stiffened
slightly in surprise, the dazed state finally broken. "B-Baka!" her
cheeks flushed, though there was little anger behind her retort.
The redhead sat up
a bit and found the rest of the family gathered around her in much the same
condition. "So... What'd I miss?" Nabiki simply point to her person
and Ranma glanced down. What could she be…? Her clothing! Ranma flinched
visibly, noting the drastic change to her wardrobe. His three care givers
stepped aside as Ranma stood up, wondering who the wise guy was. She looked at
the elegant robe she now wore and the streams floating gently around as if
carried by the wind. "You've got to be kidding me…" Ranma thought
aloud, taking in the changes. She immediately crossed every male she knew off
the potential prankster list. The robe was just too elegant to be a guy's
practical joke. Somebody like his father or the old pervert Happosai would
sooner fit him to a brazier than something like... This. That, and he didn't
know any females that would go through this level of trouble just to dress her
up so dramatically. Ranma's facial expression clearly indicated she was at a
total loss. Even her ponytail had lengthened its glowing cord of red hair,
highlighted with an elegant white ribbon.
"Do you
remember the light?" Nabiki asked tentatively. She had absolutely no clue
what had happened even after seeing it herself, but regardless, there could be
quite a bit of profit involved in the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts
Designer Fashion arena if she did.
Ranma blinked, the
question triggering hazy memories. Nerve endings on fire... The pure light
coursing through her entire body... The feeling of total peace... Changing...
But into what? "I… I remember... But it's all hanging just out of
reach..."
Nabiki described
the entire sequence in great detail as Ranma tested his footing. "I even
took a few pictures, but the light totally washed them out," she observed
with dismay, handing him one of the blighted photos. "We're pretty sure
the floating bit was an optical illusion."
"Er,
floating?" She watched the entire family- save Nodoka who had arrived too
late to witness the event -nod in confirmation. "Eh, right. I think I'll
go outside and get some..." Kasumi Tendo halted Ranma mid sentence by
silently handing him a mirror. It took less than a second to find the triangles
that had taken up residence directly beneth her eyes and the hollow oval
imbedded into her forehead. Her fingers traced them tentatively. They were
actually a part of her. She could feel them. "Maybe I'll just take
a nice long bath first, then." Like I'm going to be able to just wash them
off, Ranma mentally huffed.
The bath, as it
turned out, lasted less than ten minutes.
The household had
just started to sink back into some semblance of a normal breakfast routine
when the bathroom door slid open unexpectedly early. Everybody paused,
including Kasumi, who was just laying out dishes for breakfast. To a visitor,
the problem wouldn't have been obvious. Ranma now had on her favorite Chinese
shirt and pants, though the markings still adorned her grumpy expression. That,
however, was not the problem. The entire household recognized it immedietly,
however.
"Um,
Ranma..." Akane started hesitantly, only to be finished by the slightly
more direct Nabiki Tendo.
"Why are you
still a girl?"
"I was
wondering the exact same thing," she grumbled, light sarcasm rolling to no
one in particular. Genma Saotome gaped. Nodoka leaned forward in concern. No
male Ranma meant no wedding. No wedding meant no Dojo. For Nodoka, it also
meant the irrelevance of her vision for Ranma becoming a Manly Man Among Men,
and the grip on her ever-present katana did not go unnoticed. Ranma simply
grabbed a roll from the table. "I think I'll be taking that walk
now."
A block later and
two sisters in tow, Ranma tried to sort things out. Akane had followed out of
sheer concern. Ranma still a girl AND skipping breakfast? Warning lights lit up
all over the place. For Nabiki, it was the chance to observe her cash cow a bit
more closely. An answer was bound to turn up sooner or later. Ranma, however,
was in deep thought. She had known the moment she stepped into the bathroom
only an hour earlier that it wasn't going to work, just like she had known the
markings on her face simply wouldn't go away. Normally the situation would
drive her up the wall as it had in the past, as Ranma knew all too well what a
permanent stay in her girl-type meant. But the towering resentment of shame
just wasn't there this time, as if she knew deep down that this was the natural
order of things. That alone was annoying the snot out her beyond anything else,
not the fact that she was trapped as a girl for an unknown amount of time. Just
knowing stuff without rhyme or reason was very--
"Oh look, 500
yen!" Nabiki stopped short, finding the little treasure on the ground.
Ranma and Akane stopped as well.
SPlooSH!
Ranma's eyes
widened and glanced to what her next step down the sidewalk would have been if
not for Nabiki's find. A familiar old lady had just seen fit to dump an entire
bucket of cold water out into the street, the contense of which now drained at
Ranma's feet. Ranma looked at it incredulously as Nabiki secured her find.
"What's up
with you?" She asked the entranced little redhead.
"It
missed."
"So?"
"It NEVER
misses."
Nabiki shrugged
and flipped her newfound fortune into the air. "Lucky break for the both
of us then."
Akane nodded and
pulled Ranma along. "Let's get you to Tofu. You're acting too weird for
your own good."
Small wonder,
Ranma thought. Not that the water would have done anything to him in girl-form
anyway, but...
Skuld
bounced happily into the shrine, shattering the tranquil breakfast Belldandy
and her fiancé were engaged in. "I fixed it! I fixed it!"
"WE" Urd
closed the door behind the exuberant girl, "...fixed it."
Keiichi blinked.
"Fixed what?"
"The girls
had a small problem with the Yggradsil last night," Belldandy supplied
with a smile. A beautiful smile, Keiichi noted. "But apparently everything
turned out ok!"
"Yeah!"
Skuld agreed with glee, "Ranma owes us BIG for saving her file!"
Belldandy stopped
short of her next sip of tea. "Ranma?"
"The One-One
unlimited we restored." Her big sister Urd finished. "We're gonna
have to iron out a few of the details in the interview today, but overall, not
bad work for me and the little Squirt here."
"HEY! Who's a
little Squirt?" the youngest of the three goddess fumed, locking horns
with her sister.
"You are, OF
COURSE!" Urd flashed back, nose to nose with the aforementioned Squirt.
Even as Keiichi
stepped in to break the two up, he noticed his beloved, deep thought evident on
her face. Keiichi stepped back and knelt down beside his fiancée with an
unspoken question.
"I haven't
heard of a goddess named Ranma." Belldandy answered the silence.
"Heaven's a
big place, right?" Keiichi theorized, throwing out the possibility that
maybe she just hadn't run into her yet.
She shook her
head. "Not when you're a Class one, category one unlimited. It's a small
circle of deitis that hold that title."
Keiichi nodded. If
anyone would know, it would be his Bell-chan. "Well, Urd mentioned an
interview. We could always tag a--"
Ring-Ring!
Keiichi sighed.
"Be right back." The young man made his way across the dining room,
taking great pains not to be sucked into the escalating conflict taking place
between youngest and oldest sister. "Hello?" Keiichi's eyes widened
as the voice on the other end spoke. "Uh, of course!" Belldandy
watched him curiously. "Kami-sama. For you."
All hostilities
instantly ceased, Urd and Skuld declaring a truce as Belldandy took the phone
from her future husband. "Yes, Father? Uh-huh? Of course. I love you too.
Bye!" Keiichi noted that conversations with God tended to be very
one-sided. With a light click, Belldandy set the receiver down on the hook,
looking up at her fiancé in amusement. "He approves of your idea."
Nabiki
was worried. Oh sure, Ranma had just undergone an inexplicable transformation,
floated and whatnot, but it was the money that was beginning to worry her. And
Akane. And Ranma, to a lesser extent, who had been experiencing weird stuff his
entire life. Not that she wasn't opposed to the prospect of acquiring and
retain money per say, but their walk to Dr. Tofu's place had already produced
2000 yen in loose change, just lying around in their path.
"Maybe you
should give it back..." Akane whispered hesitantly.
She was rewarded
with the arch of a sisterly eyebrow. "Give it back to who, exactly?"
Akane shrugged. "Exactly. If somebody wants to leave money lying around on
the street, who am I to argue?"
"2000 yen's
worth!"
"ESPECIALLY
2000 yen's worth," Nabiki confirmed. Be that as it may, she realized Akane
had a point. Either everybody had holes in their pockets today or she was on
one massive streak of good luck.
Ranma retained his
silence. Weird stuff was a foot in a very obvious manner. It wasn't the weird
stuff that crept up on you from the shadows, like so many other events in his
life. This weird stuff was tap dancing all around her today. It was very
unnerving, especially after what she'd been through so far. She turned to
continue their walking and the fence on her left exploded outward in a sheet of
dust and splinters. Ranma took a tentative step back. Ryoga stood there in a
striking stance, as if expecting somebody's head to be occupying the space his
fist now resided. If that had hit... the consequences flashed through her mind.
She had gotten off ...lucky? Something resonated deep within Ranma, flowing
inexplicably through her being.
Ryoga blinked,
astonished to find the female Ranma inches removed from his attack. To his
credit, the Lost Boy recovered quickly. "CURSE YOU SAOTOME! WHAT HAVE YOU
DONE WITH AKAN--" Ranma pointed back at the two sisters, who had observed
the entire exchange. "Ryoga-kun!" Akane exclaimed and pulled him into
a hug. "Where have you been! We missed you!"
"Some of us,
at any rate." Ranma quipped, earning bonk on the head from her fiancée.
The jibe blew
right past Ryoga. Somehow, he had stumbled across his rival Ranma Saotome and
found Akane Tendo all on the same day. The odds of him finding such specific
people at specific times given his propensity for misnavigation were
astronomically long.
As Akane and Ryoga
caught up with one another, Nabiki walked with Ranma. "So... What's going
on?"
Ranma instantly
knew what she meant. The word 'coincidence' just wasn't covering a day like
today. "I was hoping you could tell me."
"I'm not the
one found floating above a koi pond."
"True."
The redhead conceded. "But at east I got those marks to go away,"
pointing to her forehead. At least his hard earned concentration had earned her
something.
And
from a roof blocks away, demonic eyes studied the teenagers, blonde locks
swaying gently in the wind. So that's the new one, the demoness thought with a
tooth and fang grin. Let's see how their newest Goddess likes my Hellhounds...
Ranma
stopped so suddenly that the chatting Ryoga and Akane almost ran into her.
Something flashed through her brain. A warning. Something was wrong. Ryoga's
protest was cut short as the pig tailed girl dropped into a battle stance- not
the sparring stance that the two usually dueled with. He could feel her power
levels prime and instantly knew something was about to go very wrong. Nudging
the questioning sisters back, Ryoga took up Ranma's flank in the road.
"Anybody you
know?"
"Nope."
"Anybody I
know?"
Ranma smirked at
the Lost Boy. Eternal rivals they may be, but the two lived and died by the
exact same martial arts code, which in this twisted universe made them
brothers. Or brother and sister, in this particular case. "Beats me, but
whatever they are, they're powerful and reek of deadly intent."
Ryoga focused on
the area around him, detecting noth-- Wait... He could feel the faintest trace
of their opponent creeping in. Chatting with Akane, he would have never felt it
period. But Ranma had. A full ten seconds before him and without having to
focus. "Got em. Barely. If I'd have continued chatting they'd be all over
us before we knew it."
Ranma nodded. She
would have been in close to the same position if not for the changes she was
still trying to define. If she could nail down the position...
RAWWAAAArrrALLL!
Ranma and Ryoga
spun around and found themselves facing... Dogs. Or some sick parody of them,
their primary features being lots of horns, razor sharp talons and drool. Lots
and LOTS of drool. Ryoga had no trouble feeling the lion sized beasts now.
Infact, their power was bleeding all over the place. This wasn't going to be
pretty. "What have you dragged me into this time, Saotome?"
Ranma gave him a
toothy grin. "Hey, I didn't punch through a wall to find you,
remember?"
The hairless
animals began to circle opposite one another while Ranma and Ryoga took point,
Akane and Nabiki pressed against an apartment wall.
"Ranma, I
can--!" Akane quailed, only to be cut off.
"No! They're
way out of your league." Ranma stated bluntly. Sure, it would probably
hurt her pride, but better that than risk her life to what was for all intents
and purposes a killing machine.
The animals tensed
to strike. Ryoga beat them to the punch.
"Bakusai
Tenkestsu!"
The point of his
finger hit the ground, ripping concrete from the street in a storm that
consumed the first animal, followed by flurry of razor sharp bandanas for good
measure before launching into the cloud himself. Ranma's hellhound charged at
that very instant, the pig-tailed girl meeting it head on with her Tenshin
Amaguriken technique. The beast not only took the hundred fist attack, but took
it head on, breaching the technique and slashing the girl sideway. She turned
the aerial tumble into a graceful landing and knew she had given better than she
got in the opening round, but the beast was built like a tank. Even as the
monster shook it off and reared its ugly head, the other was thrown from
Ryoga's cloud of dust and into the neighboring wall with a satisfying crunch.
Ranma spared a glance at her partner, who already was already breathing heavy.
The red bamboo umbrella came off his back and the battle rejoined. Again,
Ranma's hound charged, this time meeting a ball of ki energy courtesy of her
Moko Takabisha as the girl stepped it up a notch. Blowing the creature back 20
feet did nothing to dissuade another bestial charge. This time, Ranma wanted it
in close.
Ryoga was able to
get in three savage strikes with the super dense umbrella before his monster
caught the weapon in its jaws, snapping the thing in half. The Lost Boy got in
another pulverizing fist to the dog's mid-section before being brutally gouged
by its horns, forcing him to break contact. Ryoga knew he was getting through,
KNEW he was doing damage, but the thing just kept coming back for more.
Normally he didn't have any doubts about his ability to withstand punishment,
but this beast was taking that concept taken to an entirely new level. Another
charge. "Shinshi Houkou Dan!" and dog was blown back by
Ryoga's own energy blast.
Ranma too, was
getting bloodied as she took her animal hand to hand. Normally she would have
pulverized it with a variety of attacks at range like any other animal, but
even though she had been doing that, it just wasn't enough. She needed to know
what made this thing tick and where to best hit it, and the only way she could
do that was by learning the hard way. Avoid the razor jaws. Deflect the
rapiers. Sense the chi-flow through its body... CRACK! Ranma was against
the brick wall having taken its club tail to the stomach. Now it was her turn
to shake it off. That's when she realized that the only way to beat these
things was to go all out. Time was not on their side, and while she'd be more
than happy to lead the hateful creature into a spiral of death, she needed open
space. Two non-combatants and neighborhood jammed with apartment wasn't the
place for that move.
"Ryoga! We
need some room!" Ranma called out as she blasted the Dog away with another
ki-blast.
Ryoga puzzled for
a moment before the reason snapped into place. It was perhaps Ranma's biggest
strength, but in this situation it was his biggest weakness. Their opponents
were overpowering in hand to hand and even their best mid ranged attacks merely
stunned the beasts. To take them out for good, Ranma was going to have to rely
on his impressive arsenal of super-moves, which were the equivalents to Martial
Arts weapons of mass destruction... Great to be used on some remote mountain in
China but very VERY bad news for a neighborhood in Nerima, Japan. With that in mind,
Ryoga began blowing the street apart with his Breaking Point technique in an
effort to herd his animal into a side street and ultimately a nearby field
while Ranma did the same with her ki blasts. The tactic worked for all of about
twenty seconds. Sure, they could start the process, but as soon as they strayed
too far from the Tendos', the beasts would take advantage of that defensive
weakness and attempt to maul the girls. Whether it was tactics or simply an
instinctual anchor, the dog's unflinching position ensured they would threaten
every piece in this game while limiting Saotome's offense.
The pig tailed
girl's head pounded for a solution even as she slid in for another attack.
Ranma was tough. Ryoga was tougher. But these things were tanks with legs. The
dog's overall damage wasn't that spectacular, but when combined with their
insane stamina and ability to soak up damage, the odds were heavily weighted
against the home team. She was sure she could take them down, but only
by flattening every building in the area and in all probability killing their
occupants. Again, it was only a matter of time before they'd have to make some
unpleasant decisions based on their dwindling reserves. Then the animal was all
over Ranma now, its weight pinning her down as the girl struggled to keep it's
snapping jaws at bay.
Something in the
back of her mind began to creep forward. It was leaking out from behind the
mental barriers she had been using to suppress "it". It was something
too strange, too alien to allow free reign around her mind and body, so she
continued to push it back. Ryoga stumbled and the beast had his arm, shredding
flesh and muscle. They were the only things that stood between the monsters and
the Tendo sisters, who were all but paralyzed in fear. The last line of
defense. Period.
"Awww, I'm
going to SO regret this..!"
On
the building blocks away, Mara watched the scene with glee. The two were
actually quite good to have lasted this long using conventional tactics, but if
her new goddess kept that up, it was only a matter of time before she became
kibble. The demoness' face crinkled. Speaking of that, why was she holding
back? If I were her, I would have done it--
Mara's eyes lit
up. "Oh!"
Half
a suburb away, Urd and Belldandy leaned back in the air-conditioned room, awed
by the display of gluttony in front of them. In fact, the eldest sister was
close to taking bets on just how many colors Skuld's face could turn as the
youngest stuffed herself.
"MMMMMmmmm...
Awwwww... Iccceee creeeeeeeammmm..." Skuld moaned with delight, the colors
of several different flavors plastering her lips.
"Can we
PLEASE get on with our search?" Urd huffed in annoyance. Besides, what was
the big deal about ice cream, anyway? Sake, yes. Ice cream, no. Of course, you
could combine the two... Wait. She had tried that once. The result was less
than desirable.
Skuld simply stuck
her tongue out and took another spoon full. Nothing could separate her from her
ice cream n--
"Oh!"
Belldandy exclaimed suddenly.
Urd nodded "I
felt that too."
Skuld's spoon
halted its ascent as she watched her two older sisters suddenly grow serious.
"What?"
"Demons."
Belldandy frowned.
"Back on the
clock, Kiddo!" Urd stated, yanking the spoon from her hand, dragging the
teenager out the door and into the air while Belldandy led the way. The trio
flew through the sky, homing in on the foul source of energy. It took nearly 15
minutes to localize the source and they arrived just in time to find the
hellhounds all over their prey.
Belldandy took
quick stock of the situation. For mortals, they had done a credible job hold
the hounds at bay. She could even see the monster's Chi had taken a severe
beating, but the mortals were in the same boat and had a lot less
staying power.
"We're going
to have to intervene, Sis." Urd stated evenly, a demeanor of ice
descending across her facial features. Belldandy nodded and powered up for a
surprise attack. Skuld pulled out a complex looking bomb from the folds of her
yellow raincoat, ready to lend fire support. Urd's own hand began to glow, a
small menacing ball forming in her palm. "Alright, let's do th--!"
Before she could
finish, the strike zone abruptly flared to life.
The
change washed over Ranma Saotome like a soothing breeze, blowing both beasts
across the street in a shockwave of hard light. Ryoga could only stare as her
clothing evaporated in place of an elegant body wrap and silken red braiding to
replace the pigtail. Once again, she hovered inches off the ground as her
divine being reasserted itself, the facial marks now plainly visible. Glowing.
Connecting. With eternity. Her eyes opened lazily, their azure pools glowing
with life and vitality. Ryoga simply gaped, and she knew the girls to her back
were doing the same once more. She was still Ranma... And more. It was
very unnerving from her point of view.
RRRrrowwo-! BOOM!
A hound had
recovered, resuming its attack on Ryoga. The newly minted goddess made her
displeasure felt. Ranma had no idea as to the extent of her power now, but the
energy blast that reflexively departed from her outstretched hands at high
speed was a good indication. Before it could leap on the distracted Ryoga, her
ki blast blew a large chunk out of the animals side, sending it down range and
into its very own smoldering crater. Amazingly enough, the creature lived ..In
a significantly reduced fashion. The other hound made its move and Ranma let it
come, narrowly avoiding it's viscous lunge with ease while tapping one of the
creatures jagged horns ever so lightly as it flew by. The angular momentum from
that simple tap sent the monster careening out of control at high velocity and
into the opposite wall where it too made a crater. The Goddess winked at the
dumbfounded Ryoga. "You just gonna sit their all day ...P-Chan?" Even
her voice sounded more feminine, she noticed with irritation.
That snapped him
out of it. Not that he was any less amazed and dumbstruck, but the jibe had
succeeded in bringing the Lost Boy back into the world of combat awareness. He
stared at one recovering hound, then the other. Ranma had just reduced twenty
minutes of life and death struggle to mere child's play!
"DAMN YOU,
SAOTOME, WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU DO THAT SOONER?"
Ranma's smile
disappeared. Would he even listen? Realize the conflict that still raged within
her? She didn't even know what she was, let alone what was happening to her.
And he could be damn sure that once they were done with these monstrosities,
she'd stuff whatever it was back where it came from! She was still considering
Ryoga when the beasts stirred once more to form a flanking maneuver on the
helpless sisters. But they were slow. So slow to her...
And before she
could blast them herself, the hellhounds disappeared in a volley of fire and
light, ripped apart by firepower from on high. Strangers? No. Familiar somehow.
Not that Ranma knew too many people that could just up and hover 100 feet off
the ground like these three did. Ranma blinked. Another piece to this twisted
little puzzle, maybe?
Mara took the
lord's name in vain. Several times, in fact. Granted, the hellhounds were just
a gage of the Goddess' ability, but that ability had proven to be quite
substantial. Now she was convince that this one had just been showing off by
fighting the Hounds in mortal form for so long. Mara ground her fangs together
in disgust as three familiar Goddesses descended on the area. Regardless, her
mission was done. Time to get the heck out of Dodge before they found out who
precipitated these events.
Urd nudged her
youngest sister as the trio floated lightly to the ground. "See? I KNEW
I've seen her before!" Granted, she still couldn't place from where, but
she definitely knew that face...
Skuld stared at
the redhead in amazement. "S-Sugoi!" It was the first time Skuld had
really seen anything like her fighting style. Urd was plenty powerful, but she
was a bar room brawler. Belldandy could bring out the big guns, but only with
great reluctance. Ranma, however, was an artist. Her grace in combat was only
matched by the efficiency with which she employed her technique, something she
doubted either sister could come close to matching. Even as a mortal, she had
been holding her own against the Hellhounds and the step up to goddess had only
augmented those attributes. The hounds' fate had been sealed with or without
their help. A glance over to Belldandy told a different story. Her peaceful
smile was in place, but Skuld knew her well enough to see that she was...
concerned. There wasn't any reason for her to have even accompanied them, but
now the youngest sister was thinking maybe that wasn't the case.
Skuld wasn't the
only one sizing up the redhead. Urd gave the puzzled girl a once-over and
approved. Attractive, but in top form. An excellent brawler and if she were any
judge and somebody who wouldn't take crap from anybody. To the surprise of the
mortals behind Ranma, Urd stepped up and pulled Ranma into a hug. "It's
wonderful to see you again, Ranma! How long has it been?"
Ranma's
transformation had been amazing enough. Three girls falling out of the sky only
increased the weirdness factor by several magnitudes. But one of them hugging
Ranma with absolute familiarity? Akane snapped.
"You've got
to be kidding me!" She instantly became the center of attention for two
mortals and four goddesses. "JUST HOW MANY FIANCEES DO YOU HAVE,
PERVERT?" Urd twitched. Fiancées? A familiar shape rose into view and
Akane swung for the fences.
But missed.
Her over-swing
sent her tripping between Ranma and Urd, who effortlessly disengaged from each
other before the mallet found its mark. Nabiki blinked. Ranma? Avoid Akane's
mallet? Of course, she was of the opinion that normally Ranma just didn't care
enough to avoid the dang thing as his skill easily eclipsed her younger
sisters, but now Ranma showed no hesitation in displaying just how effortless
the act was in reality.
Ranma was about to
try to calm his fiancée down when he looked at the three newcomers who were
themselves wondering what was going on now. She stopped. She couldn't. She
couldn't explain a dang thing to the enraged girl, Ranma suddenly realized.
What was she going to say? "It's not what you think?" Ranma mentally
laughed. Heck, she didn't even know what was happening, let alone who these
women were or why one had hugged her as if she where long time friend. So in
place of an explanation, Ranma let out a tired sigh.
"RANMA
SAOTOME, YOU ENEMY OF WOMEN!" Ryoga's temper boiled over as the women he
cared for was set to rage. He looked as if he was about to attack, but
something held him in check, namely the smoldering remains of two dog monsters
and the three women around the pig-tailed girl. Somehow, she fit right in with
the three.
Ranma's head
dropped. Couldn't anything EVER go right?
WHiiFF!
WHiFFWhiff!
The black haired
girl was tenacious, Skuld noted as Akane Tendo attempted another few swings at
the goddess they had come to talk to. She'd probably have made an excellent
debugger with that mallet of hers ...if she weren't so emotionally unstable.
Whew! Imagine that sort of temper running around the Yggradsil!
Finally out of
breath, the angry girl set the mallet aside and settled for a spiteful glare.
"Hmmmf!" and with that, took an equally angered Ryoga in hand,
"WE'RE going back to the Dojo! You can do whatever you want with your new
girlfriends!" stomping off. Nabiki simply shrugged and followed them.
Urd poked Ranma.
"Are they ALWAYS like that?" Mentally exhausted, Ranma simply nodded.
"Even Skuld isn't that bad."
The teenager was
just about to go off when Belldandy stepped in. "Maybe we should choose a
less public place to conduct the interview." Skuld glared, but was
defused. Ranma's attention focused. Interview? Urd had noticed the attention
the destroyed side street was gathering as bystanders stopped to gape.
"Well, how
about the Dojo?" Ranma offered. First, it was familiar ground, something
she so desperately needed at this point. Second, it had food. Third, she owed
these strangers. "I'm sure we can get Kasumi to whip up something to eat
while we sort out this mess."
"Sake?"
Urd asked hopefully. Ranma smiled.
"Sure."
Maybe she should have some too after today.
"Ice
Cream?" Skuld's eyes lit up.
"Uh, I
guess." The girl was entirely too eager for a frozen treat.
Belldandy smiled
at the kind offer. There maybe something wrong with this case, but the offer
was sincere enough to take a liking to the unknown girl. "We would be
happy to accept."
Without
Ryoga, Akane or Nabiki in tow, the walk home was actually quite peaceful, Ranma
noted as she chatted with the sisters. Through conversation and sisterly
violence, Ranma came to know the beautiful bronze skinned sister as Urd, who
absolutely insisted she knew her from somewhere. Ranma was pretty sure she'd
have recognized that striking white mane anywhere, but kept her silence. The
youngest was Skuld, whose back-slung hammer caused him to mentally flinch every
time she saw it. Thankfully, its owner was a tad saner and it was obvious that
Skuld had taken an immediate liking to her. Or the ice cream she had promised,
Ranma wasn't sure which. Belldandy was the quieter one, the peace centering
around her reminding Ranma of Kasumi Tendo. She was sure that the quiet pair
would get along famously once they met. Occasionally their chat would mention
"the file," but that was normally being brushed aside with talk about
"the interview," which would be done over food. And sake. And Ice
cream. She'd have to remember to do Kasumi a huge favor later on.
The sun was
setting just as the four found the Tendo household, Ranma sliding the door open
to find...
"HOW COULD
YOU DO THIS TO MY POOR LITTLE GIRL?" The spirit of Soun Tendo raged,
growing out of control. "You're supposed to marry MY AKANE, not some
Fiancée of the week!"
Ranma was just
about to straiten things out when his father stepped up beside Soun. "Use
some common sense, Boy! You can't go making fiancées everywhere you go! After
all--"
Genma Saotome
never finished. Ranma twitched violently. "I can't...? THEN MAYBE YOU
SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO SELL ME TO SO MANY OF THEM!" ...And removed his
father from the scene by gripping his Gi and flipping him into the koi pond.
The result was predictable. The three sisters only registered mild surprise as
a wet Panda broke the surface with a sign labeled "Spoiled brat!"
Skuld snorted. Jerk. Ranma turned to face the angered Tendo, who she felt a
twinge more respect for. "These women ARE NOT fiancées. They're..."
She hesitated for a moment. Yes, she could say this honesty, even though she'd
never seen the women before today, "...good friend." Belldandy
smiled, Urd produced a mischievous grin and Skuld waved happily. "I assume
you heard about the incident today?" Soun's anger was instantly
transformed to intense concern and nodded silently. "My friends here were
instrumental in helping us out of a tight spot."
With that
announcement, Soun Tendo's demeanor shifted 360 degrees. "Well! If that's
the case, come right in! Have you eaten dinner yet, young ladies?"
Kasumi had heard
the commotion and had taken her place beside her father, bowing to the new
guests. Contrary to what she'd heard from Akane, she seriously doubted that any
one of these three were Ranma's fiancée, especially given the fact that their
dresses mirrored that of Ranma's transformation so closely. If she thought on
the fact long enough, the four almost looked like... Sisters? And Ranma seemed
genuinely pleased to be in their company, something she had only seen rarely
and not for a while now. Kasumi had no doubts whatsoever that these were
Ranma's friends and she made the observation clearly known, if not for Ranma,
then for the rest of the family in the background. ESPECIALLY for a bitter
little sister. "Any friends of Ranma's are always welcome! Come sit
down with us."
Ranma bowed her
head in silent acknowledgement of Kasumi's support and she smiled in turn. If
there were two people that were the most misunderstood in the entire household,
it was them. Kasumi knew that Ranma was not the lecherous, unthoughtful cad he
was continually portrayed as and Ranma knew that there was all sorts of
intelligence ticking away beneath Kasumi's peaceful demeanor, which was
continually underestimated simply because she was content with her station in
life. While sparks had never ignited between the two, there was a solid mutual
respect, deeper than the rest of the family probably suspected. Three more
guests would create more work for her, but she knew Ranma, and he- no, she
-would find a way to pay her back in the future, even if she never requested
the help.
The three sat and
Ranma made introduction as Kasumi passed around plates. With the heads of the
household firmly in support of Ranma and her new friends, Akane loosened her
hold on the anger she'd carried for the last half hour. Nabiki, already
somewhat familiar having observed the three, made easy introductions. Genma
eyed the four wearily and Nodoka simply smiled with curiosity. As predicted,
Belldandy and Kasumi made fast friends, Belldandy quickly moving to help Kasumi
with dinner.
With the food
distributed, everybody dug in and Ranma refraining from her usual display of
gluttony in deference to the company. She watched as the grip on her father's
chopsticks changed and shot him a menacing glare. Genma froze as those
super-natural azure globes swirled with warning and anger. Her look made it
obvious that the stealing of food would NOT be tolerated tonight and that she
had the firepower to back that silent ultimatum up. Genma shrank back in shock
and returned to his own plate, sufficiently cowed. Ranma knew the household.
Knew her life, and knew the longer she waited, the higher the chances some chaotic
storm of events would blow through and remove her only sources of information
on what was happening. She couldn't afford to wait any longer.
"So... About
the file?" She started off, catching the attention of the three goddesses.
Urd nodded.
"I assume things have been a tad odd recently?" Ranma nodded.
"Well, you can thank Jusendo for that."
Ranma's eyes
widened, as did the rest of the household. . Jusendo. The battle for his life.
The place where Akane died and was reborn. "What does Jusendo have to do...?"
Her voice trailed off in wonder.
"Somehow,
your activities in the area destabilized the Yggradsil," Skuld explained.
Yggradsil? "causing an overload and massive loss of data. Your file was
damaged and the Yggradsil shunted your essesance to emergency storage until we
could find and repair it."
Overload? Data?
Emergency storage? Ranma looked to Nabiki, who was usually up on modern
technology for a clue. The sister gave him a barely perceptible shrug. None at
all.
"You were
lucky, Girl." Urd nudged Ranma. "We couldn't even recover the other
guys file."
"Saffron's?"
Belldandy's eyes
widened suddenly. A piece of the puzzle had just fallen into place. "You knew
Saffron?" Ranma could see the recognition in her eyes and nodded.
"And what... happened to him?"
Ranma's eyes
flashed with anger then softened. All eyes were on her, but she couldn't
answer.
"He killed
him." Ryoga broke the uneasy silence. For Akane. It was nothing to be
ashamed of in his eyes.
Urd and Skuld
nodded in agreement. "So that's who the terminal header belonged
to..." Skuld finished.
"Well
regardless," Urd carried on. "we recovered yours and synchronized it
to you, so there should be no further problems. We just need to get a few
details out of the--"
"Stop."
Urd and Skuld twisted around to their sister's direct order in surprise.
"Stop?"
"Yes."
Belldandy stated firmly and turned to Ranma and bowed low to the table.
"You must accept our most profound apologize... We had no idea of the
trouble we have caused you."
"It was just
a standard file recovery, Sis. No real--" Belldandy cut the youngest
sister off uncharacteristically.
"Your
recovery has gone terribly wrong, Sister." the eldest stated directly.
"Saffron was the God."
Both Skuld and Urd
froze, the implications of what she just said sinking in.
"So Ranma
isn't..."
"No."
Urd's gut had
turned to solid ice and Skuld looked to be on the edge of passing out.
"But that would still mean Ranma--"
"Yes."
Belldandy confirmed, already knowing her train of thought. "Saffron died
that day on Phoenix Mountain and Ranma escaped the Yggradsil crash."
"Oooh boy,
Kami-sama is going to have our butts for this one." Urd breathed with
trepidation.
Ranma cleared her
throat softly, getting their attention. "So what does all this have to do
with me?"
Belldandy decided
to let her sisters continue to sort things out and explain. It was perfectly
obvious to her now just what had happened, and why Kami-sama had thought it a
good idea for her to come along.
"As Skuld
mentioned, your activities in China caused a massive destabilization of our
system, creating wide spread data loss. The loss was so bad that your file was
damaged, as was Saffron's, which became unrecoverable." Ranma nodded as
Belldandy put more pieces into place. "When it came time to recover your
file, parts of Saffron's files were mistaken for your own and when you were
restored to the system, you were restored as..." She took a deep breath,
as if not believing it herself.
"...Ranma
Saotome, Goddess of Luck First class, Category One, unlimited."
Chapter
THREE
"You've gotta be kidding
me..." Ranma breathed incredulously. She wasn't sure what half of that
meant, but the word "goddess' was more than enough.
"A
GODDESS?" Nodoka blurted suddenly. "He can't be a Goddess! He's a manly
man! He's..."
"..Got an
engagement!" Soun Tendo joined in. "The two houses must be joined and
he WILL marry my Akane!"
"I do NOT
want to marry that PERVERT!" Akane exploded as the obligations of her
parent's life crashed down on her.
"DAMN YOU,
RANMA!" Ryoga chimed. "Why are you always breaking sweet Akane's
heart?"
"What about
your obligations, boy! Be a man!" his father balked.
Ranma's head
pounded. And pounded. The arguments continued as he was verbally tugged between
parties, the Goddesses watching with a mixture of amazement and horror as chaos
erupted at the dinner table. The pressure continued to mount on the redhead,
who already had way too many of her own problems to deal with. And when she
couldn't take it any more ...She disappeared.
It
was a beautiful night, she realized, sucking in the cool evening air. Ranma
breathed a silent thank you when she found herself suddenly on the roof,
looking at the stars as if magically transported there. On second thought, she
was sure that was EXACTLY what had happened. That silent prayer also gave
thanks to the fact that all but the loudest arguing was absorbed by the house.
She closed her eyes in peace. Then opened them again to find Belldandy hovering
near the ledge, worry evident on her face. Ranma produced a warm smile that
silently invited the goddess to stay.
She floated over
and knelt next to the resting woman who looked very much like a goddess at the
moment. "We are very sorry for the mistake ...And that," she
indicated the commotion down stairs.
Ranma chuckled.
"THAT is not your fault," she corrected. "What you saw down
there happens nearly every day to one degree or another. Don't get too close or
you might get sucked into my chaotic life as well."
It was Belldandy's
turn to chuckle. "I think it's too late for that warning."
"How did you
find me so quickly anyway...?" Ranma wondered aloud, then silently wish
she hadn't stuck a foot in his mouth. She's a goddess, duh.
"Kasumi told
me," Belldandy winked. "And made me promise not to tell anybody else."
"Good,
because then I'd have to find a new hiding spot." she retorted with humor.
Belldandy grew
serious for a moment. "Is you life really like that all the time?"
Ranma snorted and
rolled over to face her. "More so on average." Belldandy's eyes
widened. "If you don't mind a tale of comedy and tragedy, I could use
somebody to talk to right about now."
And so Belldandy
listened to how Ranma Saotome had been set on his martial arts destiny at age
five, sold for some rice and two pickles, wrapped in fish sausage and tossed
into a pit of starving cats. But that had only been the beginning. There was
China. Jyusenkyou. A certain curse. More training. Homicidal Amazon warriors.
The forced engagement to Akane. The engagement to said homicidal Amazon. The
engagement to a childhood friend. Being chased by Love struck Kodachi. Having
to be on continual vigil for no less than four alienated suitors who despised
him for the multiple engagements, the continuing congo line of villains,
finally ending with Saffron. Belldandy rested a hand on the girl's shoulder to
comfort her as the tale came forth and Ranma's emotions swung from anger to
misery, finally stabilizing in determined resignation.
Even as she
finished, a sobering realization came to Ranma. "I killed a god." Belldandy
nodded noncommittally. "You and your sisters are goddesses." Again,
Belldandy simply nodded. Ranma sighed once again. "I'm in big trouble,
aren't I?"
Belldandy smiled
easily. "Not exactly... He will be reborn. I can't give you all the
details, but lets just say you've helped some very important people out in
that--"
Skuld hopped up
onto the roof, interrupting Belldandy's explanation. "Well, we have a
minor problem." She called her terminal into existence, causing Ranma to
arch an eyebrow. Neat trick. "We've tried to revert Ranma to a mortal but
can't."
Belldandy asked
the obvious question before Ranma could. "Why not?"
"We're locked
out!" Skuld huffed. "The only reason we were able to change her file
in the first place was because we were in recovery mode and the data was
corrupted beyond belief. Now that the file is intact and recognized by the
Yggradsil, it's safeguarded against tampering; especially tampering that would
change a person from deity to mortal. That's high level stuff right there."
"So what can
we do for Ranma?"
Skuld thought for
a moment. "The only way I know to bypass that lock is to hard-copy HR and
get all of the department heads to sign off on it. Once Heavenly Resources ok's
the request, it's forwarded to -gulp- Kami-sama for final approval." The
girl paled with that last bit.
Belldandy nodded
thoughtfully. "That will take a few days..." Skuld nodded in
agreement. "Well, Ranma, it looks like you'll have to stay a goddess for a
bit longer," amusement evident in her voice
Ranma smiled
grimly, remembering the old saw that had helped her remain sane over the years.
It could be worse. I could be stuck as a duck, piglet or kitten...
With
the primary source of conflict removed from the scene, the arguments downstairs
dwindled and died. And for those that refused to dwindle and die, there was
Urd, who promptly caused them to pass out once she tired of their relentless
prattle. The body count was at three now, consisting of Ryoga, Soun and Genma.
Akane had enough sense to stomp up stairs before the goddess singled her out,
while everybody else just tired of the scene. Besides Kasumi picking up the
dishes, Urd was left alone with her thoughts.
Not a Goddess.
Whatsoever. Urd thought it was impossible, but Bell-chan rarely asserted
herself in such a manner. She was certain, which meant Ranma was what she was:
Mortal. That still didn't change the fact that she knew Ranma from somewhere.
Absolutely and without a shadow of doubt. And the fact that she's taken out a
God... The entire situation bordered on insanity and Ranma was taking it
surprisingly well. Of course, if tonight was any indication as to the rest of
her life, she might have built up a healthy immunity to insane situations. But
they had screwed up. Royally. Skuld and I have just pushed a mortal to one-one
unlimited without approval or preparation, she thought morbidly. And now they
have to submit the reversal through HR and ultimately Kami-sama. I'll be lucky
to hold Class Three Apprentice at this rate. Urd downed the glass of sake Kasumi
had so kindly set out for her earlier.
Belldandy, Skuld
and Ranma made their way into the living room where Urd was drinking it up,
Belldandy instantly offering her new friend Kasumi to help with the remaining
dishes while Skuld simply yawned, plopping sleepily into a soft chair. Urd was
steadily avoiding eye contact with the redhead until a hand rested lightly on
her shoulder. She looked up into those azure eyes and a smile.
"Aw, don't
worry about it," Ranma reassured the seldom guilt ridden goddess. "This
happens all the time."
She succeeded in
putting a dent in Urd's depression. "Being changed into a goddess or the
random chaos?"
"Mostly the
chaos," Ranma smirked. " Though I have to admit that this is the
first time I've been a goddess."
Urd laughed openly
this time. Her life was about starting to sound like mine, she thought. Some
days she couldn't beat the chaos off with a stick, truth be told. "So what
do you think of your test drive?"
"Honestly?"
Ranma asked, Urd nodding. "I'm scared... I've been purposely holding back
some elements of the change because I just don't know enough... I'm scared I
won't be "me" anymore... As if being 100 girl isn't unnerving
enough."
The bronze goddess
tilted her head. "100 girl?" Ranma explained the Jyusenkyou curse. Urd
siged. "Yeah, that's our fault too. When we synchronized your file to your
body, it must have found you as a female and locked you in as one once the
update occurred. The curse information might be somewhere in the your
bio still, but it's been superceded ...For now at least."
Ranma didn't like
the fact that Urd was sinking back into her depression. She liked her, just
like she was fond of Belldandy and Skuld in such a short period of time. They
had accepted him... and her, for what she was as if it happened every day.
Ranma retrieved the bottle of sake from the cupboard and slapped a glass on the
table for the goddess, breaking her mood abruptly. "It's only a minor
inconvenience after what I've been through!" Urd smiled broadly at the
cheerful redhead's enthusiasm. "And woe be anybody who blames you for
saving my file from certain doom!"
With that, two
unlikely friends laughed together through the night, trading stories of
misfortune and chaos over sake.
Sunlight
pounded away at Ranma's retinas as the first rays of morning light found her
blinking eyes. Ooooh, my head, she thought, struggling to sit upright. Somehow
she had managed to stagger up to her room last night, despite the influence of
several glasses of sake. While her tolerance hadn't been too high to begin
with, boy could that Urd pack it away! No excuse to miss practice, she amended,
sliding out of her goddess attire and into a traditional red Chinese shirt and
black pants without paying any mind to her lengthened pony tail and facial
marks. Downstairs, nobody else was awake, save Kasumi, who was already getting
the kitchen around. Ranma stopped in, helped her scramble a few eggs and set
the table before continuing on to the dojo for practice. She slid the door open
and was only a step in before a massive object blew by her head, striking the
ground in front of her with considerable force. Ranma was wide awake now as she
stared at the high tech mallet and it's owner.
"EEK! AkAN--
er, SKULD?"
Skuld lept back,
plainly horrified. "I'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorry!"
she pleaded and begged for forgiveness, grovling on the dojo mat.
"IthoughtIsawabugandyouwereabugandtriedtomashyouand
I'mreallyreallysorry!"
Ranma sighed and
pulled the tearful girl up. The she did something very unRanma-like. She gave
her a little kiss on the forehead and wiped away the young goddesses tears with
a finger and a smile. "Accidents happen, right? Don't give it another
thought."
Skuld blinked away
further tears with difficulty. "Y-Y-You're sure it's Ok?"
Ranma picked up
her mallet and handed it back to the girl. "No problem at all, but your
swing could use a bit of work!"
That was all it
took to banish the last vestiges of guilt from the girl. "It.. It
does?"
Ranma nodded.
"You've got considerable power there, but you need to learn control."
Ranma took the hammer from Skuld, who willingly gave it away. "Since your
center of gravity is all the way at the block, you're going to want to use the
power you put into it as efficiently as possible... Watch."
Skuld watched as
the temporary Goddess of Luck took to the mat and gave the hammer a mighty
swing. The arc was perfect and it cracked the floor hard before rebounding back
skyward on it's own energy. The younger goddess gasped, and Ranma pulled the
hammer into a tight horizontal arc, spinning it from hand to hand and then
around her waist. She took several light steps to the left, allowing the hammer
to extend fully out before using her bodyweight to pull it back in and shift it
in another direct, cracking it to the floor once more. Skuld gaped, intent on
the motion. Ranma just wasn't practicing, she realized with a start. Each
movement was connecting with an invisible target, whether in the air or on the
ground! It was amazing! Ranma's ponytail flipped around gracefully as she
changed positions, allowing the neck of the hammer to be her striking implement
for the next few arcs, combining the movement with several foot combinations
before reversing the hammer back. Looping the hammer skyward, she used its
momentum to help carry her jump higher before bringing the hammer down in
successive strikes, touching the ground herself only seconds later. Ranma
recovered from the position gracefully and walk back to the mat's edge.
Skuld was barely
in any condition to receive her own hammer back as she simply stared at Ranma
in awe. "S-s-s-sugoi!"
"Like that
did ya?" Ranma asked, smile creeping across her face. Skuld could only nod
yes. "Well, I normally don't do this, but if you want somebody to
pr--"
"YES!"
Skuld beamed with excitement, not even letting the redhead finish. "I DO I
DO I DO I DO!"
"Ok,
ok!" Ranma scruffed the teen's hair. "I'm not saying it will be easy
and you've got some work ahead of you... Think you can handle it?"
Skuld nodded
vigorously and tackled Ranma with a crushing hug. "THANKYOU
ONEE-CHAN!"
With that, Ranma
watched the Goddess of the Future bounce out the door in excitement, eager to
share her good fortune with the world. Why not, Ranma thought. Besides, it will
keep me bus--
"Wait... Did
she just say 'Onee-chan'?"
The
household gathered around the table for breakfast, the wrongs of last night
nearly washed away for a new day. As the first dishes were served by Kasumi and
Belldandy, Urd noticed her little sister sitting next to Ranma and beaming with
pride.
Urd had to know.
"What's up with you, Squirt?"
The 'squirt' part
went completely unnoticed. "Onee-chan is going to teach me how to use my
hammer!"
"onee-chan?
Hammer? Ranma?"
Skuld nodded
excitedly.
"Onee-chan!"
half the table asked simultaneously in disbelief.
Ranma produced a
weak smile and shrugged. The Onee-chan part wasn't her idea, and she just
didn't have the heart to tell the kid otherwise, but the hammer... "Yeah,
she has some potential with that hammer... I only offered to help polish her
technique."
Urd thought on the
matter for a moment. Her little sister would be hard pressed to find anyone
better after yesterday's display, she realized, and it would give her something
constructive to do besides build those bothersome little machines that
invariably turn my life upside-down. She cracked a grin. "Just don't break
her during practice... Ran-chan!"
Belldandy smiled
through the exchange. Could Ranma possibly be the unifying force between the
two polar opposites that are my sisters? She wondered in amazement. As unlikely
as it seemed, she had heard the ruckus Ranma and Urd had caused last night and
now Skuld was absolutely stuck on her as well. Perhaps this trip wasn't going
to be all bad news after all.
Unfortunately, not
everybody at the table saw things her way.
"Your going
to teach her WHAT!" Akane turned a withering gaze upon Ranma, who winced.
This time it had nothing to do with a potential fiancée, but pride. Ranma had
offered to help her exactly one time and that session had ended in feud. And
now to rub salt on that wound, he was going to teach this little brat!
Akane was just
about to lay into him once more, but missed a crucial development in their
argument dynamic-- Ranma now had allies.
"LISTEN YOU
BAKA, I--"
"Don't get
mad at my Onee-chan!" Skuld leaned across the table in Ranma's defense,
radiating intensity. "She was just being nice!"
"Well he's MY
fiancée!" Akane leaned over the table, escalating the situation.
"Then MAYBE
you should start TREATING her like one!" Urd forced a cup of juice down
onto the table hard and stopped Akane cold.
"Yeah!"
Skuld chimed in, rounding off the proclamation.
Akane pulled back
in shock. The table was silent. In an instant, the entire focus of the argument
had shifted from Ranma being a thoughtless cad to her being a cranky witch, and
for the first time since her introduction to Ranma, Akane found herself on
unfamiliar debating ground.
Nabiki, who had
started to pull back from the table to avoid the routine escalation and
property damage, decided to stay out of sheer curiosity. Ranma Saotome, who
would never attempt to defend himself from his first given fiancée had somehow
found people to champion him against Akane's verbal abuse. You just don't make
friends like that overnight unless she'd underestimated Ranma in some critical
way. The biggest surprise, however, came from Kasumi. Nabiki would have
probably missed it entirely if not for a casual glance over to her sister, but
there on her face was the impossible- A nearly invisible smile trying
desperately to look like a mask of concern. Nabiki blinked and it was gone,
submerged entirely from view beneath that carefully constructed facade.
Apparently Ranma wasn't the only one she'd been underestimating.
In that time,
Akane had managed to recover at least some of her wits, at least enough to not
risk angering Ranma's support any further. With a final "BAKA!" Akane
was up from the table and out of the dining room. Even as she crossed the
living room threshold, a sobering thought hit her: She had just gotten done
arguing with goddesses. She turned back to the dining room to find the
glare of Skuld and Urd still on her. And now she was on their bad side.
Akane's remaining anger evaporated abruptly, deciding some dojo practice was in
order to clear her head. Ryoga decided to quickly join her before he said
anything that would cause Urd to put him to sleep again.
Nabiki caught
Kasumii in the kitchen as she was fetching more milk, cornering her. "How
long have you...?"
"...Known
that Ranma was more than an insensitive womanizing jerk?" Kasumi finished.
Nabiki nodded in mild surprise. "Oh, for quite some time now."
"But he's
just a martial arts jock..." Nabiki stated certainly. Or was that
hopefully now?
"Maybe."
Kasumi shrugged, slipping by her sister with milk in hand. "But guess who
helped fix your breakfast this morning?"
The look of total
surprise on her sister's face was priceless.
The
four had moved out into the courtyard for some fresh air, and Ranma abruptly apologized
to the three sisters. "I should have seen that coming..."
"Hmmf."
Urd grumbled. "SHE'S the one who had it coming. And for a long time by the
sound of things."
"She's a
meanie, Onee-chan! How can you be engaged to marry HER?" Skuld ask
bluntly, a huge sweat drop forming down the side of Ranma's head.
"It's not
always bad like that..." Ranma stated weakly.
"But do the
good times outweigh the bad times?" Urd pressed her. Ranma remained
silent. "Then she'd better get her act together before someone snaps you
up!" Ranma tripped face first into the ground, but Urd wasn't done.
"In fact, I can help you with that minor little detail, Ran-chan! We'll
get you a real hottie! I am, after all, the Goddess of Looooove!"
"Urd, what
has Kami-sama told you about the potions...?" Belldandy asked the
rhetorical question. After hearing Ranma's story last night, something told her
that the last thing she'd want would be another entanglement.
"Party
pooper!"
Ranma decided a
tactical change of subject was in order. "So, what do beautiful Goddesses
such as ourselves do for fun?" 'such as ourselves!' Ranma mentally chaste
himself. Where in the world did that come from?
At that very
moment, the sputtering of a motorbike found it's way to the front entrance of
the Tendo courtyard. Belldandy smiled with delight and answered, "They
give Keiichi a kiss!" Urd rolled her eyes.
Ranma noted that
the boy who got off the bike was about slightly older than Ranma and nearly her
girl-type's height. He was also presumably Keiichi, since he was the one to
receive Belldany's kiss. They made a cute couple, Ranma thought with a mixture
of bitter happiness. Ranma's further observations were cut short by Urd's
scheming.
"I've been
working on those two for a while now..." She whispered conspiratorially.
"I've almost got them to the point where they can share the same bed
without Kei-chan freezing up!"
Ranma simply shook
her head. That was just too much information. Thankfully, Skuld saved him from
any further love schemes by dragging her over to the couple.
"Keiichi,
meet Ranma!" Keiichi shook her hand lightly, as he would have a girl.
Which she currently was. Obviously he didn't get the memo, Ranma thought,
mildly amused.
She decided to
throw him a curve ball just for kicks and grins. "Temporary Goddess of
Luck First class at your service!"
Keiichi's eyes
popped open in surprise, but he recovered nicely. "Very nice to meet you,
Ranma, but I'm topped off on goddesses for the moment."
"Forgive me
then if I don't take Bell-chan up on her offer to kiss you." Ranma
deadpanned, but Keiichi was already onto her, chuckling in amusement while the
cutest blush glowed across Belldandy's face. It would have all been so carefree
if she hadn't noticed Nabiki stalk into the Dojo, a place she normally avoided
like the plague. Scheming, scheming everywhere.
Inside,
Nabiki found Akane cracking cinder blocks and taking names. And she was nearly
out of cinder blocks. Nabiki knocked on the doorframe and let herself in,
catching her younger sisters attention. "We need to talk."
Akane wiped the
sweat from her forehead. "How much is it going to cost?"
"Consider
this one your freebie for the week." Nabiki replied and cut strait to the
chase. "You're losing him."
An uncomfortable silence
ensued.
"So?"
Akane brushed the fact aside, attempting to stonewall her sister. "Why
should I care what that Casanova or his fiancées do?"
"Because
you're not losing to him as a fiancée this time," Nabiki corrected her.
"You're losing as a friend, and in some ways, that's considerably
worse."
"But
I..."
Nabiki cut her
short. "No butts. He's making friends who don't seem to care about his
curse and don't let it get in the way of their friendship. I suspect that when
YOUR friendship is measured against that, every single problem you and he face
becomes that much more. It then becomes a simple matter of whose opinion counts
more- Yours or theirs."
Akane took another
breath to speak, but Nabiki held up her finger in silence once more.
"Frankly, I don't care what you do with Saotome, or how you're going to do
it if she's remains a girl." Nabiki revised quickly. "But you're my
sister and I don't want to see you hurt. This is your fair warning wake-up
call."
Even as she turned
to leave Akane to her thoughts, Nabiki add one last thing. The bombshell.
"If you decide to pursue him, I'll help you wherever I can, but if Kasumi
steps in to claim him, all bets are off."
Akane's head
jerked upright in shock. "K-Kasumi!"
"Who do you
think helped her make breakfast this morning?"
The
four goddesses and Keiichi were having a wonderful time as Ranma led through
the bustling Nerima market district, showing them what little sights there
were. It presented a problem for her, really. She was trying to entertain goddesses
after all, and Nerima wasn't exactly a metropolis. Aside from a few other
locations and his school, which was currently dead because it was Sunday, Ranma
was rapidly running out of places to entertain his guests. And that's when it
hit her.
"I need a
donut."
The entire group
stopped in front of produce store, not sure if they had heard the young red
head correctly.
Skuld blinked.
"Did you say..."
"Infact, I
need a box of donuts." She didn't have an honest to God clue why
she was craving donuts so suddenly, but Ranma needed donuts and she needed them
now. "Jeez, I sound like Skuld and her ice cream..."
For Belldandy and
Urd, the reason for the craving snapped into place instantly on hearing that.
"That would figure," Urd reasoned with her sister. "She's been a
Goddess for about 48 hours now, been involved in one battle and tons of
stress... Of course she needs a donut."