Iczer-one Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Earth Child ❯ She's Definately NOT From Around Here... ( Chapter 3 )

The Earthchild

 

(An Iczer/Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover)

 

Written by

Jim Robert Bader

 

Proofread by

Shiva Barnwell

 

(Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi,

Naoko Takeuchi, Toshihiro Hirano, & Hitoshi Okuda,

with ideas and suggestions by TH Tiger and Johannes Huber)

 

 

 

 

 

Rhea's rump hit the ice with a resounding “thump” as she failed for the third consecutive time to master the task of remaining upright on these metal blades called “ice-skates.” Muku's laugh only added to her chagrin as it made her feel both foolish and ineffectual in the eyes of her partner. She was tempted to phase out and suffer her humiliation in private, but…being cautioned not to display her full range of powers before nominal outsiders, she fought down this urge and simply accepted the rather obvious fact that skating on ice had not been numbered among her various pre-programmed talents.

 

But then she saw Muku offer a hand for the purpose of assisting her back to her feet and Rhea forgot all about her brief humiliation. This display of sympathy without condescension in her partner's expression made Muku feel…somewhat better about falling down the way she had, even if her pride did smart a little.

 

“Are you all right?” Muku asked as Rhea accepted the hand, then grunted a little as she helped to bring her back to a standing position, “Oof…you're heavy…”

 

“I am…somewhat more compact than you,” Rhea replied, not adding that her structural density was roughly 1.3 times that of a normal human, “But I am operating within acceptable parameters.”

 

“Uh…whatever,” Muku replied, only to give a “WHOOP!” as Rhea overbalanced once again, this time managing to drag the both of them down to the ice in a rude “thump" that was somewhat unnerving to their mutual state of composure.

 

Off to the side Mikado just shook his head ruefully and stated, “Something about this whole situation seems somehow familiar…”

 

“It does bring back memories,” Akane said with a rueful expression, “But seriously, Miki…what do you make of that new girl? I mean…with those ears and eyes…”

 

“She's definitely not from around here,” Mikado agreed, “A stranger in more than one sense of the word…but she doesn't seem too threatening, and you can tell that Muku seems to like her.”

 

“I guess,” Akane said more dubiously, “But we both know that you can't judge a book by its cover. We've both been there often enough to know what it's like when someone is holding back secrets, and you'll notice that she never did give us a straight answer to any of our questions?”

 

“I'm sure she has her reasons,” Mikado noted, “And as long as they're not threatening to anyone we know, I'm willing to let her keep them…for now.”

 

“Maybe so,” Akane rumbled ominously, “But I'm going to keep an eye on this one to see that she doesn't spell hidden trouble for our Muku…”

 

Muku's mind was…somewhere else at that very moment as she found herself laying flat on her back staring up at a disconcerted Rhea, who had somehow managed to land almost on top of her, and with a very chagrined expression. Something about this other girl's large green eyes disturbed Muku more than words could convey, and she found herself truly studying the alien features of this Rhea as though seeing her for the first time…even if there was that haunting sense of having met her before on some prior occasion.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Rhea said as she climbed back off of Muku, then sat disconsolately on the ice with her knees folded under her, “I didn't mean to do that…”

 

“Uh…I'm sure you didn't,” Muku replied, wondering just why she felt like blushing at a time like this. She sat up and pushed herself back to her feet with the ease of long practice then offered her hand again and said, “Let's try it again…only don't try so hard this time. Concentrate on balance and let your feet find their footing.”

 

“Um…” Rhea looked away, “I'd rather not…just yet…I'd much rather sit here and watch you for now, if…you don't mind, that is…”

 

“Sit on the ice?” Muku blinked, “But you'll freeze your butt off doing that.”

 

“I can manage,” Rhea looked up at her with an earnest expression, “Please? I'd just like to watch you for now…you make this seem so easy.”

 

“It is easy…when you know how,” Muku replied, giving up on insisting as she decided a little demonstration would be in order, “Heck, for me it's second nature. Just watch what I do and you'll see how you can balance on ice without falling.”

 

With that Muku began skating off for a bit, doing simple maneuvers at first before moving to the more elegant steps of figure skating, even looping a loop around Rhea as she performed a near-flawless figure eight, all the while paying coy looks at her new friend, who seemed to be watching her intently with an almost unblinking expression.

 

Rhea was fascinated even as she thoroughly studied Muku's every movement, committing every nuance to memory even as her mind rapidly processed complex equations and vast amounts of raw data with an ease that would have confounded a supercomputer. Understanding the basic dimensions of volume and mass in Muku'' body, it was a simple matter to calculate balanced ratios and equate them to various muscle movements to determine how a coordinated pattern was reached. Muku really did have her style down to a flawless art form, and as Rhea studied her she semi-consciously tensed and worked her own muscles in accord to limber them up without seeming to move, determining how her own body should act under those conditions once compensations were allowed for size, mass and internal construction. Added to this was an unconscious awareness of Muku's own enjoyment of figure skating, the freedom and ease with which she conquered this frozen element to arrive at a near perfect gestalt of mind and body in full integration. Just considering the implications of that caused Rhea to sigh with undisguised admiration.

 

At the end Muku arrived back before Rhea and said, “You see? There's nothing to it with a little bit of practice. Now, do you want to try standing up again?”

 

“Yes,” Rhea answered, and then---to Muku's astonishment---she reached down and pressed her bare hands against the ice and pushed herself back to her feet, standing erect this time with none of her previous wobbling. In fact her stance perfectly mirrored Muku's, so much so that her smile caused Muku to feel a bit...funny over the whole matter.

 

“You're getting it now?” Muku asked.

 

“Yes, I think so,” Rhea nodded, “Thanks to you for showing me. Now…is this how it is supposed to be done?”

 

With that the fiery-gold haired Rhea proceeded to skate backwards then turn about in a perfect pirouette before moving off to perform a seemingly effortless circle that she continued around the astonished Muku, duplicating every move that had been made down to the last little nuance, completing her efforts by arriving back in front of a gaping Muku.

 

“Well?” Rhea asked, “Did I perform that maneuver correctly?”

 

Muku slowly closed her mouth and scowled, “Are you making fun of me?”

 

“No,” Rhea replied in genuine surprise, “Why would I do that?”

 

“You've just been pretending to be bad at skating, haven't you?” Muku accused, “There's no way you could be that good without practice!”

 

“But I did everything the way you showed me,” Rhea replied with matter-of-fact innocence.

 

“Don't lie to me!” Muku snapped, getting genuinely angry.

 

“I would never lie to you,” Rhea said with guileless eyes staring up into Muku's, “It is not in my nature.”

 

Ordinarily Muku would have flown off the handle and gotten angry at that denial, but…there was something about this strange girl's curious lack of evasion and dissembly that defused much of that anger and put to lie Muku's suspicions of ill motives or attempts at deceiving her. Slowly the impossible began to dawn on her and in a low voice of disbelief she said, “You…learned all of that by watching me?”

 

“I am a quick study,” Rhea replied, “Once I understood the principle, as you have shown it to me, it was a simple matter of following your moves and copying the motions of your body.”

 

Muku took a moment to put everything together and then said, “Wait…just a minute here. You mean you've never seen people skating before?”

 

“Before today?” Rhea replied, “No…but I have seen in your mind how much you enjoy skating, how much it gives you pleasure…”

 

“You've been in my mind?” Muku started to get angry again, “What are you, some kind of mind reader?”

 

“No,” Rhea answered, “But with you I am sensitive to your thoughts and memories because we have begun Synchronization. It is the reason why I approached you from the beginning…because I recognized in you the one person who most closely resonates with me upon a psychic level…”

 

Muku shook her head to clear it, “I'm not getting something here. What are you saying…that the two of us are soul mates or something?”

 

“If you like,” Rhea replied, “The two of us have begun to match resonances. The process began before I met you. It is how I knew that you existed, that I could find you if I searched, and from all the humans who live in this world you are the one who has what I most need to obtain completion.”

 

“But…the two of us are nothing alike!” Muku insisted, “We're entirely different people!”

 

“Yes,” Rhea replied with a bedazzling smile, “And that is what makes the process so fascinating for the both of us. I sense in you a kinship that goes much deeper than personality. You have elements that I need to complete my own nature, even as I have aspects of my personality that compliment yours and make us perfectly suited to be partners.”

 

“Ah…” without meaning to Muku began to back away a little, “Look…I'm not sure what crazy ideas you have about me, but…look, I'm straight…I mean…it's flattering and all, but you're really not my type, know what I mean…?”

 

“What is your type then?” Muku seemed peculiarly fascinated by the question, “I seem to sense that you have strong feelings for one who goes by the name of Brandon…”

 

“What?” Muku blinked, “Whatever gave you a fool idea like that?”

 

“He is in your thoughts,” Rhea replied, “You consider him an enemy and an annoyance, and yet you are also attracted towards him, and you are annoyed about that attraction…”

 

“What?” Muku started, “How could you---I mean---that's completely ridiculous! I don't give a rat's ass about that stuck-up, opinionated…”

 

“You are also upset because he does not seem to notice that you are a woman,” Rhea continued, “He does care for you, which is why he has been after you for a date, but because of his male pride he seeks to impress on you his masculine qualities by pretending to attack you in a series of calculated challenge matches. How curious…are human dating methods always so perverse?”

 

“Human?” Muku frowned as she stared at the girl, “And what are you?”

 

“I am…half human,” the blonde Rhea replied with a touch of hesitation, “But I belong to the C'thuwulf, who are the creators of one of my parents…”

 

“Kuthu-what?” Muku repeated.

 

“I'm sorry,” Rhea glanced down, “I have said too much already. My aunt will be displeased with me…but I could not help for telling you these things…because you asked me.”

 

“Because I asked you,” Muku numbly repeated, “And you'll answer any question that I ask?”

 

“If I am allowed to do so,” Rhea replied with a sheepish, almost apologetic expression, “I want to be honest with you, to open myself to you, but…there is much that I cannot tell you…not yet…not until the time is right for such disclosures. I…cannot go against the commands of my parents or my teacher, much though I would want to do so. You deserve to know everything and I would hold none of it back, but…not just yet. Soon, perhaps very soon…”

 

“Why not now?” Muku asked, “What's with the mysterious act? What are you hiding from me? Who are you?”

 

“I am your partner,” Rhea replied, “And I…would like to be your friend. I know that this is sudden, but…”

 

“Sudden?” Muku waved her arms, “You don't even know me, and I sure as heck don't know you!”

 

“But I would like to know you,” Rhea replied, “I would like to know everything that there is to know about you. From the moment that I first became aware that you existed I have wanted to be a part of your world, to share with you a part of mine. I know it must seem sudden by the way your people judge such things, but…”

 

“I don't believe this,” Muku shook her head, “Why me?”

 

“Because you are the one who can make me whole,” Rhea replied, “The one who will make me fully human. You are a part of me now as surely as my own right arm, just as I have become a part of your world…”

 

“I don't have to accept this,” Muku turned away, “Do whatever you like but…just leave me alone…”

 

“I understand,” Rhea lowered her gaze again, “You need time to adjust to everything, and I wish that I could permit you that time, but…”

 

“Look,” Muku tried again, “You're a nice girl and all that, but…this just isn't my bag, you know what I mean?”

 

“No,” Rhea replied, then hesitantly added, “Not exactly, but I am trying to better understand you.”

 

“Well good for you,” Muku said as she completed the act of turning fully away from the other woman, “Just…do it without me, okay…?”

 

“Did you know that she also has an interest in you?” Rhea asked, speaking on impulse as she felt the need to prolong the conversation.

 

Muku paused then half-turned around, “Who?”

 

“The one you call Sakura,” Rhea explained, “I could feel her emotions when she was around you, how much she likes you and yet denies her feelings of attraction.”

 

Muku fully turned around and said, “How the hell could you know that?”

 

“The question is why you do not seem to be aware of this,” Rhea seemed genuinely puzzled by the question, “Why is it that human beings feel the need to deceive themselves by pretending to be something that they are not? How can you blind yourselves to the thoughts and feelings of others when it is much simpler and far more rewarding to open yourselves to one another? It is a very strange way to live, and yet your entire civilization seems to be based on the premise that it is better to hide your feelings than it is to express them. I do not mean to feel superior nor to act judgmental, this is simply how I interpret affairs that I do not understand. I am…attempting to learn…to see things in new ways, to try and understand how you see them in your world…”

 

“In…my world?” Muku repeated, “Then…what world do you come from?”

 

“I come from Earth,” Rhea replied, “I live in the Earth…I was born of this planet, but I…was raised somewhere else.”

 

“Somewhere else?” Muku really began to take notice of the differences between this girl and a normal human woman. Rhea was a little shorter than herself, more wiry and compact, slender and graceful in a way that truly was elfin with beautiful, elegantly slanting features, large green eyes and a face that was full of such innocence and wonder that it was obvious at just a glance that this girl was not entirely…human, “What are you?”

 

“I am C'thuwulf,” Rhea replied, then covered her mouth again and added, “I…can't say more than that…not without permission. My auntie will be very cross with me, and my parents…”

 

“Are…not from around here?” Muku replied a bit numbly.

 

Rhea nodded her head, “I am sorry…I did not mean to make it sound if I am totally…alien to you…I want to be your friend, but I will understand if you need time in order to…accept me for what I am…”

 

Muku lifted a finger in order to make a point and said, “Let me get something straight…this place…wherever you come from…they don't have skating, and you've never before been on ice skates?”

 

“That is correct,” Rhea replied, “Where I live we have…different customs…though I believe that my mother knows something about skating. I will ask her the next time I see her…”

 

“Hmmm…” Muku smiled, getting an idea and deciding to test it, “In other words, you've never seen anyone do…this?”

 

And with that Muku moved a bit off and started skating again, only this time she used more advanced maneuvers than the simple figure eight that she had employed before, doing a leap with a double turn and landing flawlessly as she started to build up more and more momentum, then going into a full-bore turn that carried her the length and width of the arena before turning back and shooting off towards the center, making a leaping twirl and spinning in the air three full times before landing again and spinning off her excess momentum, then bending herself backwards so that her long hair brushed the ice along with her skates (but not one with the other…there was no reason to court that particular sort of disaster, merely showing off in front of her new…companion).

 

And all the while Rhea stood breathless, watching and absorbing every detail, even as Muku's parents watched the both of them from the sidelines, not wanting to crowd their daughter's action.

 

“Looks like Muku-chan's really into showing off for this one,” Mikado mused, “I guess her new friends has really made an impression.”

 

“Maybe so,” Akane frowned, “But I'm a little unsure about this new girl. I mean…the way she picked up on skating just now…it's not normal.”

 

“You mean unlike your old Ex?” Mikado mused.

 

“That's different, and you know it,” Akane huffed, “Ranma could always learn new things just by observing, but skating took time for him, and even when we had that match he wasn't able to really compete with you on the same footing…”

 

“That may be so,” Mikado said with unusual quiet in his tone, “But he still managed to teach me a valuable lesson about life.”

 

For a moment the both of them relived an event in their mutual past, a point of sober reflection, when a boy had just taken punishing damage protecting his female partner, defying the infamous “Couple Cleaver” of the notorious “Golden Pair,” and shrugging off his injuries to rise up again like some defiant phoenix from its ashes.

 

“You wanna another part of me, Pal?” that boy had declared, barely able to stand yet making fists in a show of bravado.

 

“How can you still be standing like that?” a younger, brasher Mikado had declared, “That impact should have broken every bone in your body…”

 

“Hah, it takes more than you've got to put me down, you loser!” the other boy had declared.

 

“Oh really?” asked a younger Akane, who proceeded to tap the other boy in the ribs, causing him to convulse with uncontrollable spasms.

 

Mikado was used to seeing defiance in his opponents and his usual response was to flip his head back and look down his nose at the “lesser beings” who troubled themselves to stand against Mikado Senzenen. But…this time he actually paused to consider the plight of the other boy, reckoning on what fierce courage it had taken to risk himself as he had in order to protect his partner. The boy had not let go, had willingly put himself in harms way in order to spare her sharing his injuries, and thus made his own that much worse in passing. There was more than courage on display here, there was actual rude nobility and chivalry in the gesture, and that thought made Mikado feel…very odd for some strange reason.

 

Mikado may have been brash, headstrong, conceited and even contemptuous towards those whom he regarded as his social “inferiors,” but he did have a sense of what was right and wrong…at least by his aristocratic lights. He was many things, but far from a coward…so naturally he wondered if he would have put himself in harm's way like that to protect his own partner…to protect…Azusa?

 

It was to laugh! The annoying little twit who was the other half of the Golden Pair was a source of great embarrassment to him, a conceited little girl with a kleptomaniac's penchant for “acquiring” things that did not belong to her, then giving them cute French names and adding them to her “collection.” This whole match was being fought over one such “acquisition,” a pet pig belonging to the girl named Akane. Mikado could not believe that his idiot parents had even talked about possibly engaging him to Azusa…as if he could ever tie himself down to only one woman! Women were certainly to be prized and fought over, and he was fighting for the right to kiss this fair Akane…but…would he have risked his own neck in order to protect a girl from certain injury, even death? Would he risk his own handsome face and deny his charms to the many women upon whom he had yet to bestow his favors?

 

That thought did something that no amount of taunting could have done with a Senzenen…it made him feel…small…somehow less great than he knew himself to be. That this…commoner would show more rude courage than himself was simply unthinkable…and yet to take advantage of his injuries and state of incapacitation was…wrong…wrong by Mikado's own light. He wanted a worthy opponent, and surely this Ranma would become such a figure over time if given the chance to recover his strength. The boy lacked art and style in his techniques, but he had raw determination…and in that Mikado saw great potential.

 

And so it was that he, the great Mikado Senzenen, turned away and said, “This is folly…there is no way that you can continue in your current state, and I do not fight against cripples. You'll need time to regain your strength, and then we can continue this, if you like…”

 

“Don't…turn…your back…on me…you arrogant…jackass…!” Ranma had gritted between clenched teeth, “I'm still gonna paste you one…”

 

“Ridiculous,” Mikado replied, “You can barely even stand up on your skates, and yet you would challenge me to continue?”

 

“It's like I said before,” Ranma seemed to summon some inner strength before continuing, “It ain't got nothing to do with nuthin', but this here is a manly fight, and there's no way I'm letting you have your way with Akane.”

 

“Do you love her that much that you would risk death for her?” Mikado asked.

 

“Whaa---?” panic and uncertainty replaced raw determination, and then Ranma hastily said, “What kind of a fool question is that? I ain't in love with the Tomboy, I just ain't gonna let you get away with kissing her, that's all!”

 

That response had earned a cross look from his companion, but before she could take her nominal defender to task for the insult he had just offered a tarp fell over both of their heads as someone new in the arena cried, “Then let someone fight for Akane who does care, you baka!”

 

And that was when matters took a turn for the strange, as the new boy (named Hibiki, for those who could not guess) had landed in the arena, pouring water over Ranma's head, then wrapped a body up in the tarp and hurled them into the bleachers, then taking up a stance on a pair of skates while a short redhead took the place of Akane.

 

“Now you're fighting against a real man!” the angry lost boy had declared, “Akane and I will dust up the place with you if you even try to do anything untoward with her…”

 

“Akane?” Senzenen glanced around, “Where is she?”

 

“Huh?” the lost boy asked as he glanced towards his side, “She's right…---YIKES!”

 

“Baaakaaa,” growled the redhead who was now standing beside him…

 

Senzenen shook his head to clear away the memories then gave a rueful smile, “I was the baka back then, but how was I to know that the redhead was your fiancée, or that the other boy was your pet and rival for your affections?”

 

“Oh stop it,” Akane huffed, “Like I want to remember what a mess my life was in back then? That stupid Ryoga, always rushing in to my rescue and picking fights with that clueless Ranma, and me even more clueless about why the two of them were always fighting…”

 

“We were very different people back then,” Mikado sighed, “It took a lot of growing up for us to get where we are today…mostly on my part, but if I had to do it all over again…I wouldn't change a thing, wife.”

 

“Does that mean you're completely cured and never chase other women?” Akane eyed him slyly.

 

“These days I'm strictly a `look but don't touch' kind of guy…all other women ceased to have any other kind of meaning when you entered my life. You were my angel of obsession, my guiding light and hope for salvation…”

 

“Good answer,” Akane sniffed, “But don't act so innocent, Miki-chan…I saw you scoping out Muku's new girlfriend. Don't tell me you didn't notice that she's quite a hottie.”

 

“She's a little too young for my tastes,” Mikado replied, “But now…if her mother looks even half as foxy…OOOF!” he grunted as his wife playfully planted her elbow in his stomach.

 

“That's what I figured,” she sniffed, but she was in much too good a mood to actually be angry over her husband's teasing admission.

 

Muku finished out her Olympic-level form and came to an abrupt halt in front of a breathless Rhea, then said, “Think you can do that, now that you've seen it?”

 

Rhea actually seemed to consider the question before shaking her head in a negative manner, “I'm afraid that I will have to practice before I can get that good. Simply studying your form is not the same as absorbing your style, and there is such a beauty in the way you move…as if you were born to do this. The emotions I sense in you are so beautiful…such joy…it's so amazing…”

 

“Uh…yeah…well…” Muku found herself flushing again, surprisingly flustered over the compliment and the way the other girl was looking at her with undisguised admiration, “I've been doing this nearly all of my life…as soon as I was able to stand upright my dad put me in a pair of skates and…well…skating is kind of like a hobby for me. For them it really is a profession.”

 

“I would love to learn how to skate like you,” Rhea said, “I will commit everything to memory and study your form in order to perfect it. It will take me at least a couple of days, but then I will show you what I have learned when I am ready.”

 

“Ah…yeah…right,” Muku swallowed.

 

“I sense that…in your memories…you parents skate together,” Rhea hesitated before continuing, “I would love to skate with you like that. Why is it that you do not already have a partner?”

 

“Um…well…” Muku also hesitated, “I guess…I just never found anyone good enough to…do it with me…I mean…Sakura likes to skate, but she isn't as wild about it as me, and Yumi's an indifferent skater…while Brandon…” her tone turned sour about this point, “He hates skating…I think he's afraid that I'll show him up or something. He's like that a lot…can't stand the idea that I might actually be better than he is, the chauvinist…”

 

“Then…you would not mind if I could become good enough to be your partner?” Rhea asked with an earnest look of anticipation.

 

“Uh…well…” Muku felt along the edge of her collar, wondering why her skating leotard was feeling tight all of a sudden, not to mention the light protective padding underneath that she wore when in combat training with her parents.

 

“I promise you that I will get better,” Rhea assured her, “But now…I must return to my home. I will be back again when I am ready. Please keep the bracelet on you at all times, and when I return…”

 

Muku sensed that the other girl was about to pull another of her infamous fade-outs and suddenly found the courage to say, “Wait up…do you have to go already? I mean…wouldn't you like to go out and get a burger or something? I don't know about you, but…I'm starving.”

 

“You mean…eat human food with you?” a look of genuine wonder crossed the other girl's fair features, “Is this what you would call a…date?”

 

“Date?” Muku blinked then blurted, “Who said anything about dating? I mean…I just wanted to hang out with you a bit…find out more about this place where you're from…”

 

A smile that would have put the radiant sun to shame came over Rhea's features as she replied, “Believe me…I would love nothing better than to…hang out with you…but I have to return and report in to my parents…and my aunt would be very cross with me if I am late for any reason…”

 

“Are you sure you can't convince them that it's for a worthy cause?” Muku inclined her head to the side and put on her best “cute girl” act, the kind that usually worked even on her parents.

 

Rhea sadly shook her head and replied, “You don't know my aunt…she is a real martinet over such things, and she has been my personal trainer for as long as I can remember…”

 

“You mean…like a sensei, huh?” Muku sighed, “I know what they can be like…”

 

“Then you understand,” Rhea smiled, “But next time I will ask permission if I can…hang out with you some more. Thank you very much for teaching me about skating…your joy is now my joy, and I am forever grateful.”

 

With that the other girl moved forward, stood on tip-toes, almost seeming to float over the ice as she brought her face up beside Muku's and…KISSED the other girl on the cheek, causing every sense in Muku's body to react as if she were on fire. It was a brief peck, just a show of casual affection, and yet Muku felt as though she had been electrified and remained standing there with a stunned expression long after Rhea vanished into nothingness, surprising both of her parents.

 

“Did you see that?” Akane gasped.

 

“Indeed,” Mikado remarked, “Muku's friend obviously has…some interesting talents.”

 

“And I thought we'd seen everything,” Akane shook her head in amazement, “Mark me well, Miki-chan, that girl is going to spell trouble for our Muku.”

 

“Perhaps,” Mikado remarked, “But then again…is there any other kind who visits our fine province of Nerima?”

 

“Good point,” Akane sighed, “I just hope Muku knows what she's getting into, involving herself with someone like that…”

 

“If she knew what was coming it would be less fun, don't you think?” Mikado replied, “Most of the real enjoyment in life is finding out what happens next don't you agree, wife?”

 

“Oh yeah…fun,” Akane rolled her eyes, “Whatever would life be like without it…?”

 

She did not, of course, add the thought that she would have been enormously tempted to find out the answer to that rhetorical question, nor did she expect to ever fully understand what “normalcy” meant for people who never lived out any sort of grand adventure. To her such a life would have been as fantastic as it was inconceivable, for life with Mikado had been one endless adventure, and---in total honesty, though she would have denied it had she been asked---she would not have had it any other way. She just hoped that Muku could survive whatever perverse whims fate had in store for her in the coming cycle…

 

 

 

Continued

 

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