Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ That Old Thor-Head... ( Chapter 74 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

Tatawaki Kuno stood resolutely still as he contemplated the straw dummy that stood thirty meters away from him, summoning his ki as his entire mind and body became focused and relaxed. He could feel the wind blowing through his hair and against his skin where it was exposed by his Kendo outfit. He sought and found the other focus he desired, then slowly raised his bokken until it was in the upright position tilted forty-five degrees away from his body.

He drew in his breath through his nostrils, paused as he felt the energy flow through his arms and into the wooden sword that was so much an extension of himself that there was no separation between man and weapon, and then he released his ki and made a single quick motion.

His ki lashed out from the sword to strike at the target, and for several long moments nothing else appeared to happen. Then, very slowly, the practice dummy began to part as though it had been sliced at a diagonal angle. The top half fell onto the ground with amazing slowness then was still, leaving only silence in its wake as Kuno surveyed his own handiwork with cool detachment, neither sorrowful nor elated.

"Most impressive," said Natsume after this silence lasted for several long, tense moments.

Kuno released his breath then slowly turned his head by a fraction to regard her. His attitude became more relaxed than even before as he sighed, "I thank you for saying so, Tendo Natsume. In all truth I am feeling much restored to myself…only moreso than I can ever remember."

"The doctors said that you should take it easy at first," Natsume replied as she straightened from where she had been sitting a short distance away, rising to her feet with fluid grace that Kuno could not help but admire, "It has not been a full day since you were released from the hospital, and I think it best if you not rush things."

"True," he sighed, looking down, "But it galls me to think of how much of my life has already been wasted. I want to thank you again for visiting me so often. I know that I did not make a very good impression with you on our first several meetings…"

Natsume made a dismissive wave of her hand, "You were not yourself, Kuno-san. The fellow I first met was a man drowning in a despair not of his own making. It was but the least that I could do for a fellow human being to see that you were not abandoned and alone at a time of need, when I knew you would want a friend more than anything else…"

"It also did not hurt that you knew me less well than the majority of the population of Nerima," Kuno continued looking away and so missed the slight pain in his companion's expression, "I fear I did not endear myself to many people these last few years. Only you and Ranma ever came and visited me or ever said a kind word while I was being purged of the chemicals of my sister…and for that I will always be grateful."

"I'm sorry," Natsume said with unfeigned sympathy, "I tried to convince Akane to come with us, but she seemed so lost in her own problems…"

"I can imagine what she thinks of me," Kuno said bitterly, then thought a moment more before amending, "No, perhaps I cannot, and I think that is a great blessing. The way I hounded your cousin for the past year seeking to date…or perhaps even worse…she could only despise me."

"Actually," Natsume said with some delicacy, "I think it's more your poisonous sister she misses…perhaps the only one in Nerima to do so."

"Kodachi," Kuno studied his right hand, opening and closing the well-callused palm before he let it fall to his side with a sigh, "My twisted sister who has been strangely missing these last few months, and whom the authorities wish to question concerning the laboratory equipment they confiscated when they raided our estate. I wonder where Kodachi is at the present. Akane would not tell you?"

"Only that she and her friend Arigami Keiko accepted the invitation of a friend to travel the orient on an extended sabbatical," Natsume replied , "It is a very puzzling matter. According to the Head Administrator of her private school she submitted a request to transfer form posted to Saint Hebereke by means of an anonymous third party…"

"Would this be the same anonymous third party that also gave the hospital administration staff the antidote and formula for the poisons that were in my body?" Kuno at last turned to study the dark haired woman before him, who was as slim as a wand and as beautiful as a sculpture, "Curious. It is not like Kodachi to work through third parties, other than our faithful Sasuke. Whoever is sheltering her from the authorities has gone to great lengths to cover their trail and insure the minimum number of entanglements that Kodachi would face should she somehow return to us in the very near future."

Natsume did not reply to this, but privately she was thinking of what she might do if she were to confront this Kuno Kodachi after hearing the accounts of the so-called Black Rose of Saint Hebereke. Having watched how the man before her had suffered at the hands of his younger sister was enough to give Natsume a very cold feeling of anger as her fists tightened in anticipation of a reckoning.

Instead what she said was, "The police are still looking into the matter of the Rose extracts she has been feeding you with for the past several years…"

"Drugging me to dull the pain, more like," Kuno could not help looking down, "In a way I think she was doing what she did out of a misplaced sense of love…"

"LOVE?" Natsume had not meant to shout the word, but the idea that Kuno could forgive his sister like this provoked a swelling of outrage.

Kuno raised his eyes and stilled her anger with a single glance then very carefully repeated the word, "Love. It was an act of love and not of malice, Natsume. When our mother died…" for a second his face registered intense pain, and Natsume felt herself reach out to him in spirit, and then he forced himself to continue, "…It left such a wealth of emptiness in us both that I most likely would have found another way to go mad than the slow intoxication of the stimulants she fed me without my knowledge. I rather imagine she used the same stimulants upon herself, but at greater doses. As you know from what the doctors have so far been able to determine about these alkaloids, they bolster one's confidence and self-esteem to the point where one loses their grasp on fundamental reality and begins to have delusions of invincibility and godhood. Chemically induced psychosis," he shook his head slowly, "And all the while I thought myself an invincible Samurai, the noble descendant of my illustrious ancestors…"

"Kuno-san," Natsume said, then hesitated, wondering what she could possibly say that would help the man before her cope with the grief that was so visible upon his handsome features.

He raised his gaze again and in a ragged voice said, "You would be better advised to have little more to do with me in the future, Tendo Natsume. I am grateful for everything that you have done for me these past few months but I am no good to be around. There is Madness in my family, and I fear that I could relapse one day and lose myself to my obsessions."

"You are not to blame for anything that has happened to you," Natsume replied, fighting an urge to reach out to steady this man who, in her eyes, was so kind and decent, "And I am more than capable of looking after myself, thank you," she added with just a tough of pride, challenging him to contradict her.

"Indeed," he gave a slight smile as he regarded her once again with warm, intelligent eyes that were as clear as anyone had ever seen in him before this moment, "I knew from the moment we met that you were quite formidable, as all Tendo women are to be respected in their own ways. It is fortunate for me that you did not know me when I was making an utter fool of myself chasing after Akane and Nabiki, and the lovely Keiko, whom I called my pig-tailed goddess."

At this Natsume felt herself bristling ever so slightly, and she said, "From what I understand about your 'Goddess,' she had no interest in you beyond simple friendship, and most probably she was using you as a pretext to get closer to your sister. She was that sort of a person…"

"Is that resentment I hear in your dulcet voice?" Kuno asked, then smiled as he saw her look turn to one of outrage, "I'm sorry…I couldn't help myself in saying that. Call it force of habit, but yes, I am aware that Arigami Keiko was not interested in me that way…the Kami knows she told me so often enough…" he sighed. "At least she was all woman, even if she preferred my sister to me, unlike your fair cousin, Nabiki, with whom I disgraced myself in ways I could never live down no matter how hard I attempt it."

"Um…yes…Nabiki," Natsume said with a wavering note of uncertainty in her own voice. Her mind involuntarily reached back several months as she thought to the moment when her cousin had made a rather startling announcement…

"Natsume," Nabiki as said as the family gathered around inside the dojo to formally welcome the sisters into the family, "Kurumi. Now that father and I have agreed that you should be a part of this household, there is something important that you ought to know. Everyone else here does, and it's not fair to exclude you from this particular family secret."

The sisters had nodded politely that they were prepared to hear whatever deep dark secret they were about to be privileged to share a part in. It was, however, with no little surprise that they saw their short-haired cousin raise a glass of water and pour it over her own head, then they gasped in alarm as they saw her expand somewhat in size, filling out to become an entirely male version of herself whom they recognized at once.

"I'm also Kaneda," Nabiki revealed, then as the sisters sat their with their mouths hanging open she added, "Have either of you ever heard of a place called Jusenkyo?"

To this the girls could only shake their heads negatively, which caused Nabiki to sigh, "Well, that's a first…somebody who's never heard of the damned place besides me before I went there. Okay, put simply, it's a special training grounds in the heart of China near to the village that Shampoo one called home. The Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo have over one hundred magical pools, and whoever falls into them becomes cursed to take on the form of the thing that last drowned there. Cold water triggers the curse," he paused as Ranma handled over a teakettle, which Nabiki upended over his own head, transforming him back into the young woman they knew as the middle daughter to their uncle Soun, "And hot water changes you back."

Genma turned to the girls and said, "Nabiki and I traveled there several months ago and both became cursed, her to turn into a boy, while I…" he took another glass of water and splashed himself, transforming into a panda, who then held up a sign that read, "Turn into something else."

At this the sisters were even more startled, then Kurumi broke the silence by saying, "Are these curses permanent? Is there a cure that can permanently break them?"

"As far as we know they are permanent," Nabiki replied, then glanced towards where Ukyo and Perfume were sitting, nodding grimly before averting her eyes elsewhere.

Perfume stood up with a glass of water in her own hand and said, "Cursed Springs are ancient training ground known and feared by my people, and with good reason," she splashed herself, and then the plastic cup hit the ground with a thud as the Amazon's form collapsed into a small, fluffy cat, who made a soft "Mew" to confirm the reality of her status.

As stunned as the two sisters were, Natsume very vividly recalled the slight wince that crossed the face of Nabiki as the one named Ukyo wasted no time pouring hot water over her transformed companion. Perfume returned to human form and spent the next several minutes redressing herself while attention focused back on Nabiki.

"You see?" Nabiki sighed in what sounded like relief, "And the curse has affected two others in similar fashion, Arigami Keiko and Kuno Kodachi. I turn into a boy whenever I get wet, which I'm sure you can guess has been somewhat of a problem."

"So," Natsume narrowed her eyes to say, "In other words you are a magical transvestite, cousin. Is the shape you now wear your real one?"

"Of course," Nabiki replied with a sincere nod.

"Then," Natsume's eyes shifted towards the pregnant Shampoo, "What of this woman you claim to be your wife when you are Kaneda?"

Nabiki took a deep breath while Shampoo eyed her with affection, then the middle Tendo daughter said, "Try and understand that I never meant to deceive anyone about that. I met Shampoo the day after I got this curse, trying to find a cure in her village. My uncle and I came upon a contest being waged by the best fighters in Joketsuzoku, and without knowing about their customs, I sort-of wound up in a challenge match with their best fighter, Shampoo. I won, which by their laws meant that she either had to hunt me down and kill me or I would be forced to marry her, depending on my real gender. An outsider girl who defeats an Amazon in battle becomes a lifelong enemy, to be hunted down and killed, but an outsider male is to be welcomed in as a member of her family. Naturally I wound up taking the latter option…"

"But did she know that you are really a girl?" Kurumi asked in wonder.

"Not at first," Nabiki sighed, only to find her wife's hand on her shoulder to steady her, "And I was too ignorant of their customs to know what was happening until I was already in her house being wished a fond good night by her tribal Elders. It was my first full day of being a guy, and I was still pretty new to the surge of hormones I felt being in the company of an attractive girl who seemed to want me for her bed-mate. I…guess you could say that I gave into my hormones, and the next thing I know I wake up in bed with her fully naked."

"And you enjoyed that?" Natsume had not meant to put as much emphasis in her voice as she had, but the thought of what these two had done together provoked that kind of a reaction.

Nabiki just looked at her, not in anger or resentment at her tone, and took Shampoo's hand in her own then said, "What do you think, Cousin? She's having my baby."

Natsume had trouble regaining control over her emotions, so it was fortunate that Kurumi acted less shocked or offended as she replied, "Can I feel it?"

Natsume blinked her eyes and looked at her, "Kurumi-chan?"

"Um," the brown haired girl replied with a contrite expression, "If nobody minds…"

"I not mind," Shampoo informed her, "You can come touch if you like, Cousin of my Airen."

Natsume was too stunned at this sudden change in events and looked at the purple haired girl askance, "You mean to say that you actually accept this…child by another woman?"

"Why no?" Shampoo replied with a hint of defiance in her tone, "Shampoo love Nabiki. Airen is kind to Shampoo, first person Shampoo ever really close to in long while, except for Cousin. Shampoo no mind having Airen's baby, have strong daughter worthy of Amazon heritage. Airen best fighter Shampoo ever know, save only Great Grandmother. Strong husband mean strong baby. Shampoo very lucky, have good Joss, no mind that Airen is really woman named Nabiki."

Kurumi started to get up, then hesitated as she glanced at her sister, who was too stunned by all of this to say otherwise, which Kurumi took for assent as she hurried across the room until she could kneel beside Shampoo and place a hand over the Amazon's rounded belly. Natsume watched all this with dismay, then started in alarm as she felt a hand fall upon her shoulder and looked up to see the warm brown eyes of Soun Tendo looking down at her.

It was only that and nothing else that prevented her from voicing a very loud and utterly rude protest at the discovery of her cousin's…perversion.

Ever since that time she had avoided Nabiki as much as possible and sought not to look in Shampoo's direction, wishing more than anything not to offend her new family as she tried to make sense of it all, unable to fully wrap her mind around the concept of a woman fathering a child on another woman. It did not help that matters proved even more complicated than she had believed as she got the full details regarding how complicated Nabiki's life really was on account of the curse that caused her to switch genders.

And, of course, the stupidity of their uncle, Saotome Genma.

Imagine engaging his son to both the Okonomiyaki chef and a daughter of the House of Tendo. Saotome Ranma seemed to her to be a very nice boy, one who was loyal to his friends and cared a great deal for what had happened to Kuno Tatawaki. The two had become friends while talking in the hospital waiting to visit their mutual friend and Ranma had tried to explain his feelings for the two women who equally shared the distinction of being his iinazuke. It was all very puzzling in the end, but she came away from these discussions convinced that Ranma was not to blame for such entanglement. The boy really was too good-natured for his own welfare…

Now Natsume's mind returned to the present and she considered how best to answer Tatawaki's statement regarding his confusion towards the two forms of Nabiki. He had wanted the female half but hated the male half in equal measure…a very tangled web indeed. Even given that he had been suffering a drug-induced psychosis she had to admit that it was…unusual behavior.

"I am certain that…cousin Nabiki is well over the matter," Natsume at last remarked, "She has more than enough on her mind as things are for her and I'm sure she bears you no ill will for your past actions."

"Would that I could be as sure of this as you say, gentle Natsume," Kuno said as he looked down at her, "I can only wonder what life has been like for her. In truth, I don't know why I never understood how unwanted my attentions were with the problems she has been facing. I only wish that there were some way that I could make it up to your family, some manner by which I could redeem my tattered honor."

Natsume finally found the courage to reach out with one hand and touch his arm, feeling a thrill almost like electricity at the longed-for contact, "Just knowing that you are well is all that we can ask, Kuno-san. The longer you can stay sane and sober, the better it is for everyone."

He looked at her hand, then at her, and time seemed to stop entirely as Natsume drank in the boy's eyes, wondering if he could see the way she was trembling inside at his very nearness. He stirred up feelings that she had never known in all her young years and made her wonder how anyone could have ever refused his attention in the past. He was kind, rich and handsome, and without the snobbishness brought on by his alienation…

A soft noise disturbed them both, and with regret Natsume saw his eyes glide past her to stare at something well beyond her shoulders before he said in some annoyance, "What is it, Sasuke?"

"Master Kuno," the little Ninja bowed on one knee and humbly outstretched his hands, in which he held a scroll that was tied with a single black ribbon, "This came for you by special delivery. I regret intruding on your reflections…"

Kuno paid no attention to the little man's prostration as he circled around Natsume with a soft hiss in his throat, and then he snatched the scroll up and stared at it before saying, "Kodachi."

"Is it from the mistress?" Sasuke asked with no little alarm registered in both tone and his features.

Kuno held the thing carefully and sniffed it, then frowned as he stared at it some more before finally undoing the ribbon and unfolding the scroll. Natsume could see the neat calligraphy in printed letters but thought it too rude to read them past Kuno's shoulder. She waited instead until the man at her side finished scanning the thing up and down, then watched as he looked up and stared into the distance.

"Is it news about your sister?" Natsume finally asked, unable to bear the suspense.

"It's in her handwriting," Kuno replied, "She says that she is well and that she is better than I remember and that she is planning to return home very soon to Nerima. She says not to worry about where she has been or what she has been up to but that she is very sorry for many things that she has done in the past and she wants me to convey to Tendo Akane her best wishes. She also says she is coming home with Arigami Keiko and her mother and wants to make restitution to those whom she has, in the past, much offended."

"Excuse me, Master Kuno?" Sasuke looked puzzled, "Are you certain the Mistress wrote that?"

"Of course I'm certain you clod--" Kuno caught himself before he could continue to upbraid the little Ninja, then he sighed, "Of course, you are right good Sasuke. It does sound very much unlike my little sister. I am sorry for my harsh words, I swear to you that they will not be repeated."

"I never minded, Master," Sasuke replied in what almost sounded like a sincere reassurance, "But…is it possible that the Mistress has also had a change of heart like yours? It has been almost three months since she's had access to her treasury of Black Roses…"

"I should have had the cursed things dug up altogether," Kuno snorted, "Call me a sentimental fool that I didn't. Still…your idea has merit, Sasuke. Tendo Nabiki did make mention that Kodachi was seeking help from a specialist in attitude readjustment."

Natsume kept her thoughts private, but at the moment the kind of attitude readjustment she was considering for the younger Kuno sibling would have involved some serious bone breaking.

Kuno folded up the scroll and said, "In a way this is good news. Now, at long last, we will be able to clear the air between us and settle once and for all her culpability in making both of our lives such a mess. This calls for a celebration…can I count on you to join me for a tea ceremony, Natsume-chan?"

Natsume gasped at hearing him pronounce her name in such a way and agreed easily, "But of course, Kuno-san, it would be a great honor."

"Fine," he smiled openly, and for the first time his mood seemed to lighten, "Then wait for me to summon you. Sasuke, do whatever you can to keep our guest entertained while I set things up. I will not be too long, I promise."

"Take whatever time you need," Natsume smiled as the boy strode back towards the house, then in tones so soft even Sasuke could barely hear her she finished her statement with the words, "Kuno-sama…"

"Here it is," Urd remarked as she indicated the placard that adorned the front gates of the high school, "Just like you wanted. Now what?"

"Now we pause while I check things out," Hercules said as he produced a curious looking device from his side that looked strangely like a combination sundial and compass.

"What's that?" Urd could not help asking.

"One of Hephaestus's little devices," Hercules replied as he studied the dial, adjusting it slightly, "Made specifically at Dad's request to find the thing I'm looking for. Supposedly it's based on some kind of an artifact dating from the time of the Titans."

"What's it doing here in Japan?" Urd wondered.

"I have no idea," Hercules replied, "Maybe Dad threw it here during one of his spats with Hera. You know what their domestic brawls are like. One time, my step-mom threw a bunch of her old China dishes and some mortals mistook them for a UFO formation…"

"I thought Hera was officially your mom now," Urd grinned, seeing the predictable reaction this produced in her companion.

Hercules grit his teeth as he growled, "Disney has a lot to answer for…and no, I'm definitely NOT her son, thank Chronos. We get along best by ignoring each other's existence these days. Ever since I started hanging around Olympus more and more she's had to learn to put up with me, but we don't even pretend to get into the touchy-feely stuff. We stay far away from each other whenever we can manage it and that's the way we like it."

"Whoops!" Urd said as she turned a distracted look at the device in her companion's hands, "Looks like you're getting a reading with that thing."

"Sure am," Hercules replied as he noted the flashing gemstone that was pulsing like a heartbeat, "And from pretty close, a little less than a kilometer, if I judge right. It's coming from that direction," he nodded.

"Skuld would have a field day studying that thing," Urd remarked, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find whatever's out there."

"Sure wish this thing was more adjustable," Hercules remarked, "I'd like to have a better idea of what I'm going up against this--oops! Sorry about that guy, didn't see you."

The fellow in question, whom Hercules had rudely jostled coming around the corner of the walled off area, turned around and fixed them both with a blue eyed stare that took a moment to grow more into focus, and then the red-bearded man growled, "YOU!"

"Huh?" Hercules said as he looked into the face of a man just as tall and broad-shouldered as himself, dressed like a leather-clad biker complete with winged helmet, and instantly recognized him, "Thor? What are you doing in this neck of the woods?"

"GET READY TO DIE!" his fellow god replied as he drew back a fist the size of a large coconut and took a swing in his direction.

"Hey!" Hercules protested as he dodged the powerful swing, "What are you attacking me for this time?"

"Shut up you!" Thor roared as he took another powerful swing that kicked up a breeze, which sent Urd's hair flying like a streamer, "Just stand still and let me pound you!"

"Thor?" Urd remarked in surprise, but the redheaded giant was too enraged to pay her any attention. Instead, she turned her eyes to the blond woman who had been standing beside the Thunder God and said, "Sif?"

"What are you doing here?" the Goddess of the Hunt demanded coolly.

Urd blinked, "What did I do now?"

"You want the short list?" Sif snorted, then more practically said, "Don't tell me you and Hercules are also here looking for the egg?"

"Egg?" Urd blinked, "What is this, Easter already?"

"You mean you don't know?" Sif lifted a pale eyebrow, then turned her attention to the fight raging nearby as Thor drew his hammer and hurled it at Hercules, who easily dodged this attack as he had all of the others, "And what are those boys fighting about this time?"

"Beats me." Urd shrugged, "I thought maybe you had a clue. I'm just here playing Escort."

"Picking up a little something on the side, eh?" Sif asked with a nasty lilt to her voice that earned her a very sour look from Urd's direction, "Ordinarily, I'd say we'd be better off letting them work it out of their system, but there isn't time for this nonsense, so we'd better break them up right away."

Thor was at the moment raising the damage level while earning the enmity of the city traffic division by putting a big pothole in the middle of the road large enough to swallow a small truck. As Hercules once again landed safely beyond the reach of his enraged companion a light seemed to flash in the Grecian's eyes and Hercules said, "Hey, if this is about that little gag I pulled a couple months back…"

"GAG?!?" Thor snarled in rage, "You call what you did to me a JOKE? I'm going to destroy your Hollywood butt for that!"

"Calm down," Hercules tried to sound reasonable, "So I didn't read the instructions on the label, what do you expect when you pick something up from your Uncle Loki's gift shop…"

"I might have known it!" Thor bellowed in outrage, "You're in cahoots with Loki! Have you any idea what your little stunt has cost me, OLD BUDDY? Because of you I have seen the other side of Hel!!"

"Hell?" Urd asked in confusion.

"One "L", not two," Sif corrected, "Remember, she has two sides to her face, one young and beautiful, the other one always cloaked in shadow? Well, guess what the other face looks like."

"Oh," Urd nodded comprehension.

"So the joke backfired," Hercules shrugged, "I didn't know it would get you this upset."

"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me!" Thor raised an angry fist, only to look up at it in surprise as his trademark hammer was not where it was supposed to be. As he was looking up someone removed his helmet, then informed him bluntly of the Hammer's current location.

"Get the point?" Sif asked him as she flashed said Hammer with a meaningful look towards Hercules.

Thor slowly turned around and said, "That hurt you know," then toppled over like a puppet with the strings cut, a goose-egg sized lump already appearing amid the thick red hairs surrounding a partial bald spot.

"You two have two minutes head start," Sif informed them, "Get moving, and don't let us catch you when he wakes up, you got it?"

"No problem," Hercules hastily grabbed Urd by the arm and urged her to follow as he retrieved his discarded locator.

"What was that all about?" Urd demanded crossly, "I thought you two were the best of drinking buddies, but he looked like he was really trying to kill you."

"Ah, the old Thor-head's just nursing a grudge about that little gag present I gave him for his birthday a couple months ago. You ever hear of a place in China called Jusenkyo?"

"Sure," Urd replied, "Who hasn't?"

"Well," Hercules began, "According to what Loki said, there's a Celestial equivalent on the Heavenly plane of the Chinese Afterlife, and when he last went there he obtained a few samples of the water that he said could be used even on Gods, just like the Earthly stuff works on mortals."

"I think I'm following this," Urd said slowly, "I wish I wasn't, but I get where you're going here. So…what kind of cursed divine water did you give him?"

"I'll tell you later," Hercules replied, "But let's just say for now that there's a pretty good reason why the God of Thunder's been staying far away from storm clouds lately…"

"Well?" Ryonami asked Gosunkugi with an impatient tone to her voice.

"Take it easy," Gosunkugi Hikaru urged for the forth time in the hour, "This isn't easy hacking into the school central database during class hours using the library terminal, you know. If they catch us it means an automatic suspension."

"Sempai wants to know everything she can about these new girls as soon as her intelligence network, meaning you and me, can obtain it," Ryonami explained, doing her best to imply by her tone that it would not be a good thing to keep their Boss-lady waiting.

"I said I'm trying, Ryo-chan," the skinny boy whom most treated like a school joke replied, hoping his companion wouldn't notice the slight familiarity he used in his voice, "But the Graviton Computer Database is a lot more sophisticated than anything I've ever had to deal with before now. It makes the Government security system look like a piggy bank in terms of Network security protocols. I've almost got it, though. I've accessed a special restricted file, now I'm just waiting for the download and we'll have it."

Ryonami favored the boy with a smile that would most likely have sent him into a fainting spell had he seen it, then she said, "We really have to talk with Sempai about the pathetic equipment we have to work with here. This system doesn't even have a Cable-Modem, which would sure speed things up immensely."

"No kidding," Gosunkugi agreed, "Hey, looks like it's finished translating the software, now to print a hard copy and…uh oh…"

"Uh oh?" Ryonami risked taking her eyes off the head librarian, who was staring to look at them with a very cross expression.

"Take a look at this," Gosunkugi pointed at the screen, "A special internal memo concerning the activities of the students referred to as Aiko Managi and Beiko Daitokuji. There's also mention of another girl involved with them named Ceiko Kotobuki…"

"Oh my," Ryonami leaned closer to the screen, "Daily reports of routine delinquency, fighting both in and outside of school grounds…property damage in the billions of yen...?"

"SHHH!" the head librarian said in clear irritation.

Gosunkugi glanced at the side printer and said, "Hard copy's almost ready, I'm downloading the rest of this onto disk. We'd better go find Nabiki-sama quick. Pay the librarian, won't you?"

"Why me?" she asked in surprise.

"Because I paid her last time," Gosunkugi replied, popping out a floppy disk as he paused to add, "But I'll make it up to you somehow, honest."

"All right," Ryonami said, finding that she was less upset about spending money with that promise as compensation, "But I'll hold you to it."

Gosunkugi snatched up the hardcopy laser printout then stood up as the two of them went in search of Nabiki…

Akane looked up to find Aiko approaching with Ryoga at her side and her somber mood suddenly brightened like a sunflower exposed to the sun, "Ryo-chan!"

"Akane-chan," Ryoga started to rush forward when he suddenly remembered where they were and that the athletic coach was glaring at him. He settled for a subdued apology instead of the heartfelt embrace he would have wanted and just said, "I'm so sorry I got lost again...I hope you weren't too worried."

"Of course I was worried about you, you big silly," Akane could not help smiling, wishing she did not have class right then or she would show the perpetually lost boy just how much she missed him, "But I'm just glad you're back. Thank you, Aiko, for finding him.'

"Don't thank me," Aiko said uncomfortably, pointing in the direction they had both come from, "He was just over there about a half kilometer by that wooded area near the track. I'm sure he'd have found his way here all by himself."

"Uh, yeah, right," Ryoga said with a nervous grin as he placed one hand behind his head and thanked the Kami that he was not forced to explain in more detail about his "little problem" to the redhead.

"Thanks just the same," Akane said as she heard her name being called and sighed, "That's my cue. Be back in a moment."

Akane walked up to a pair of uneven parallel bars, accepting the chalk that another girl dusted on her outstretched palm as Akane contemplated the special technique that she had been practicing for the past month. It was a variation on one of Kodachi's flamboyant maneuvers and she had almost got it right the last time, so she decided to try it again now that she had an audience that she wanted to impress. She dusted her hands together, then reached up and grabbed the higher of the two bars and began to swing her legs into position.

Ryoga watched in pure enchantment as Akane proceeded to execute a number of body flips and swings that would have gained the attention of an Olympic scout had one been present. Akane was doing everything just right this time, using the right amount of force to her swings, bending her legs at just the right angle, curling herself at the top of a key swing and planting her bare feet just right on the upper bar before launching herself into a backflip that ended with her catching the bar again, earning an astonished gasp for her fellow students, who were used to seeing Akane routinely outperform them.

Akane finished her maneuvers with a one-and-a-half somersault turn the ended with both feet together in a perfect one-point landing. The moment she hit the mat with the balls of her feet she felt elation at the realization that she had really and truly done it right this time. Her performance had been flawless, and even Kodachi would have called it brilliant. She turned around and was rewarded by a look of pure awe in the face of her iinazuke.

Much to her surprise, though, Aiko was just smiling and shaking her head as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. When Akane approached her, however, she said, "Not bad, you're pretty good."

"That was…incredible," Ryoga breathed, reminding her that his was the opinion that really mattered.

Akane flashed a smile at Ryoga, then turned a look of challenge at the redhead and said, "I'd like to see you do better."

"Well," Aiko inclined her head and was about to speak when the coach beat her to it.

"That's not a bad idea, Managi-san, why don't you go next and show us how it's supposed to be done."

Aiko sighed with a look of resignation and said, "All right, coach, if you say so."

Akane followed the girl wearing her borrowed leotard (which actually was one she had borrowed from Kodachi, but that was not important at the moment) and the two black arm bracers and sat down as Aiko paused beneath the upper bar, then to everyone's surprise reached out for the lower bar instead of the high one.

Aiko swung herself under and around this lower bar, then flipped over it and landed atop the high bar, pausing on the balls of her feet to study the distance between herself and the roof of the gym, then hopped off the bar and caught it, then swung around and around a few times, increasing her speed while building up her momentum.

Akane was no less impressed than any of her less agile fellow students when the redhead finally launched herself into the air and soared twenty feet high, turning and twisting her body before executing a number of somersaults, coming down again to catch the bar with flawless grace as she swung around and performed a number of ballet twists, tossing herself from low bar to high bar and back again like a juggler's toy. Aiko did a number of feats that even Kodachi would have flat out declared impossible, and finally dismounted with a leap that once again came close to brushing her chest against the ceiling.

Aiko fell forty feet and landed perfectly in a one-point in the exact center of the mattress. She brought her hands back to her side and said, "How was that, Coach?" without the least token display of being either tired or winded.

The coach just stood there with his whistle dangling from nervous lips as he gazed at the astonishing redhead. Aiko took his non-response for confirmation and lightly walked back to Akane before sitting down again, ignoring the blank looks she got from Ryoga and the others.

It took almost a full minute for Akane to remember to close her mouth, and only after Aiko smiled at her and said, "You could catch flies with that," which sounded like a tease but was entirely good natured.

"H-H-How?" Akane finally managed to ask her.

Aiko shrugged, "Like I said, my mother taught me. She had a lot of practice herself and made sure I always knew how to land on my feet the first time. I've also got pretty good reflexes, which I kind of inherited from both of my parents."

One of the other girls murmured to her friend, "Looks like we've got ourselves a new class Champion."

"But how could she do that?" the other girl asked, "It's like she was lighter than air or something."

"You're really something," Ryoga said, not noticing the look Akane gave him.

"Not really," Aiko said, "I usually don't compete with other girls, that was more Beiko's thing than me, but I could probably have won a few medals at the Olympics a few years ago if my parents had allowed it."

"And who's Beiko?" Ryoga asked.

Aiko's pleasant expression suddenly darkened and she growled, "Nobody, I'm not talking about her. Change the subject."

"All right," Akane said, "Why didn't your parents want to let you compete in the Olympics?"

"It's a big secrecy thing with them," Aiko sighed, "I get pretty tired of it sometimes. If it were up to them I'd just be a mild mannered student and never show anybody what I can do. It can be such a drag sometimes holding myself back."

Akane slowly smiled at that, "I don't think that'll be a problem around here. Living in Nerima has a way of pushing you to your limits, which reminds me, are you hungry? Did you pack a lunch?"

"Huh?" Aiko looked at her curiously, "Why do you ask?"

"I brought my lunch from home," Akane replied, "I got up extra early to make it and I was hoping to test it on Ryoga to see if I did all right."

Akane failed to see the look of panic that suddenly lit up in her iinazuke's eyes, but Aiko did not. In a neutral voice she said, "Are you a very good chef?"

"Well…" Akane felt a tug of honesty war with pride before she sighed, "I'm still learning how to cook…it's part of my bridal training, after all, and I'm trying to see if I can learn to become more domestic."

Now Ryoga's eyes had a different kind of peculiar expression, only this time for a different reason than contemplating Akane's attempts at cooking. Again Aiko took note of the boy's reactions, then said, "Mind if I have a sample of your cooking?"

"Sure," Akane got up while their coach was busy turning his attention to the other girls, trying to make them show at least a halfway decent performance. She went to the locker room and came back a moment later with a covered tray in hand, then sat down and uncovered it and said, "See anything you like?"

Aiko looked down at what she took to be somebody's leftover toxic waste spread over half-burned rice with brown vegetables spread over the goop and covered with an overabundance of seasoning and pepper. She stretched out a finger and took a sample up to her lips, licked the goop and promptly wished she had not.

"Is it good?" Akane asked with an earnest expression while Ryoga held his breath and wondered if he should start calling the paramedics.

"It…" Aiko suddenly choked up, unable to tell the girl exactly what she thought of her attempt at cooking, but more to the point that Akane's expression reminded her of another, and suddenly in her mind the dark hair of her new friend was replaced by a mass of golden curls and a wide-eyed look of innocence that was hopeful and yearning.

She fought for words but failed to find them. She looked down and suddenly her eyes were full of tears as she scrambled to her feet and said, "Excuse me, please…I…I have to go…"

"Managi!" the coach called out, but Aiko was already headed for the door, and not the lockers, "Wait to be dismissed! That girl is going to be holding up buckets when she gets back here!"

Ryoga blinked, "What happened with her?"

"Is it my cooking?" Akane asked in confusion, looking down at the mess she had worked so hard at producing, and she was about to touch her own finger to the sauce when Ryoga came alive and snatched the tray out of her hands, causing her to gasp, "Ryo-chan?"

"Ah, you made this for me, right?" Ryoga gave her a weak smile as Akane nodded, "Then allow me to tell you what I think about your cooking, Akane-chan," and with that he sat down and started eating with his fingers before she had time to remind him to use the set of chop-sticks that had long since dissolved into the pudding.

Akane blinked as she watched her iinazuke devour the substance that nothing human could endure, but after a moment, Akane's expression softened as she noticed how Ryoga ate her cooking with no visible ill effects…if you discounted a slight greenish coloration.

Instead she turned her mind back to Aiko as Ryoga finished off the last scrap of her lunch, not seeing the way the lost boy looked ready to vomit as he forced the food down his throat, wincing once he knew she was not looking while everyone else in the room favored him with looks of dismay and pity, including the coach.

Why had Aiko become so emotional of a sudden over her cooking? Akane could not figure her out, and it was driving her a little crazy. Like her older sister, there was nothing she disliked more than a mystery...unless you counted rude boys who insulted her cooking skills, like Ranma.

Where had Aiko gone in such a hurry…and why did it seem as if she were crying? There was definitely more to the redhead than what she had already seen, and one way or another Akane Tendo silently vowed to get to the bottom of the other girl's secrets.

One way or another…

Continued

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