All Ranma characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, first published by Shogakugan in Japan and brought over to North America by Viz Communications.
A Different Viewpoint: Curses and Demons:
Chapter 28
It was a little past noon when Nodoka, Kasumi and Genma arrived at the Tokyo Zoo. Much to Genma's dismay, Nodoka insisted on paying for their tickets. While the sky was clear, Kasumi still carried an umbrella, just in case. Nodoka's kimono and Genma's gi got a few looks, but generally they went unnoticed as they walked through the crowd, following the signs towards the big cat exhibit.
As they walked, Kasumi was looking through the map of the zoo that they had gotten with their entry fee. "Auntie, I don't believe they have a panther exhibit here at the zoo. See? They have tigers, lions, some cheetahs, and a pair of spotted leopards, but no panthers."
Nodoka looked thoughtful. "I believe panthers are a type of leopard, dear. Perhaps they would put her in with them?"
Kasumi blinked. "I didn't know that, Auntie but I'm sure you're right. We should check the leopard cage first."
Nodoka blushed slightly. "Well, it has been a long time since I was in school, so I'm not absolutely positive about it... but there aren't too many pens in this area. I'm sure we will find your friend soon enough." Before too long they had arrived at their destination, and while there were indeed a beautiful pair of large spotted cats in residence, there was no sign of any black panthers. The trio made their way around the entire big cat area, but there was no sign of the Senshi of Mercury. Kasumi consulted the map once again.
"The zoo offices aren't too far away, Auntie." Kasumi suggested. "Why don't we try there and see if we can find out where Mercury-san might be?"
Nodoka nodded. "Alright." She turned to Genma, who was nervously looking at a nearby Giant Panda exhibit. "Husband, are you looking at that large female panda? She is quite cute, isn't she?"
Genma's eyes went wide and he waved his hands in denial. "What? No, no, of course not! I was looking at those... er... those lovely palm trees... really."
Nodoka looked thoughtful. "I hear the zoo has been trying to find her a compatible mate for some time...." Genma blanched, and Nodoka winked at Kasumi where the large man couldn't see. "If you really like her, I won't stop you. Pandas are an endangered species after all, and it wouldn't be right to deny such a national treasure a mate." Genma started turning purple,while Kasumi was blushing bright pink and trying not to giggle. Nodoka winked at the eldest Tendo daughter again. "Nabiki-chan was right. That WAS fun."
As Genma boggled at his wife, Kasumi started to giggle, still blushing. "Oh Auntie, that was simply terrible!"
Nodoka nodded, chuckling a bit herself. "It was, wasn't it?" The two women continued walking toward the zoo's central offices, Genma wandering along behind, a disgruntled look on his face.
Meanwhile, at the offices in question, a tall bishoten looking man with long white hair walked out of the building's front door, shaking his head at an attractive young woman in a yellow dress. "It's no good, Luna, she's already gone."
"You can't be serious!" Luna blinked in astonishment. "How can that be? Ami was brought in only last night. How can she already be missing?"
Artemis shrugged helplessly. "They told me that all the paperwork had been filled out correctly for her to be transferred to another zoo as part of the world wide "Captive Breeding Program". Apparently there have been several zoos that have been waiting for a healthy female black panther to show up, and she's already been shipped out."
Luna shook her head. "Bureaucracies didn't work that fast even in the Silver Millennium. There's something fishy going on here."
Artemis's stomach growled and he sighed. "Don't say fish, Luna, I'm starting to get hungry. Anyway, you're right. The people at the office there are pretty confused about it too, but apparently everything was in order. It came from the highest levels or something... they weren't really specific about it. I figure someone pretty powerful pulled some strings for some reason... and I'm afraid to guess who it might be."
Luna frowned. "You think it might be Mara?"
Artemis shook his head. "I don't know what to think, but it's certainly within her power. I tried to find out what zoo Ami had been sent too, but they wouldn't tell me. They were getting pretty suspicious about me at the end there, so I cut things short and left. In fact, I think we should get moving before they think to call the police. If I recall that press conference, the police are still looking for whoever let a panther into the middle of Juuban like that, and I wouldn't like to have to answer too many questions."
Luna nodded. "You're right, let's get going. Perhaps we should slip into a bathroom and change forms as well. That should throw off any pursuit." The two transformed moon cats turned to go, then stopped a moment later, both of them spotting three familiar faces.
"It's Kasumi, and the Saotomes." Artemis said in surprise. "What are they doing here?"
"Probably the same as us." Luna answered matter-of-factly. "They probably saw the news and put two and two together and are here to help. We had better tell them what is going on."
Artemis hesitated. "Are you sure about that? They don't know us in these forms, and we don't know how much the Saotome's know about the Senshi."
Luna raised an eyebrow, looking a bit condescending. "Obviously they've figured out enough to get them here. As Ami said at the meeting yesterday, they will figure out all of it given enough time, and it's better if they are involved in helping us keep the secret then having them continue and find out things on their own. I think now is as good a time as any, don't you?"
Artemis sighed. "You're right as usual, Luna. We'd better stop them quick, before they go into the office." The two guardians walked quickly over to intercept Kasumi, Nodoka and Genma, stopping them before they could go into the zoo offices.
"Hello, Kasumi." Luna said with a small bow. "And greetings to you, Nodoka and Genma Saotome-san."
The three from Nermia stopped, turning to face the young woman who had addressed them. "Oh! Hello...?" Kasumi began with a bow as well, looking slightly confused. "Please forgive me, but I'm afraid I can't place your face at the moment..."
Nodoka bowed a moment later, never losing her serene expression. "Hello. May we assist you in some way? I don't believe we've been introduced."
Luna hesitated, then nodded. "You would not recognize us in these forms, but you do know us, especially you, Kasumi. I am Luna. This is my human form... or rather my REAL human form. As you are aware, I also have a Jusenkyo cursed form as well."
Kasumi blinked, then smiled. "Oh! I thought you sounded familiar. And this must be Artemis?" She turned to the white haired man. "This is a new power?"
Artemis looked sheepish. "As you know, our memories of the past were... are, quite sketchy." He winced. "We just recently recalled this ability."
Nodoka blinked in mild confusion. "I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure I understand...." She blinked. "Wait a moment... Artemis... and Luna? Weren't those the names of the cats that my son was...?" Nodoka's eyes widened. "Was that really you?"
Luna nodded, bowing deeply. "It was a privilege to assist such a worthy and honorable man as your son, Saotome-san. Ranma was very brave in overcoming such a great trauma, and it was a pleasure to assist him."
Genma was gaping in astonishment at the two transformed moon cats. "But... you... you were cats... house cats... how... how can you...."
Artemis shook his head, smiling smugly. "We were never normal Earth cats, Saotome-san. We are Moon cats, and Luna and I have been around for a very long time. We are the Sailor Senshi's advisors and guardians, and we agreed to help Ranma at Johnathon Dwire's request." Artemis glanced around, looking a bit worried. "But we shouldn't be talking of all this out in the open. Let's go somewhere more private and talk."
"Can you please come with us?" Luna chimed in. "We have much to discuss."
Kasumi glanced at Nodoka, who for once seemed at a loss. "Alright." The elder Tendo daughter answered quietly. "I think that would be best. We came because of... well, because of Mercury-san. Is she...?"
"She's gone." Artemis answered tersely. "But let's find somewhere out of the open before we say any more." No one had any objections to that, and the small group headed off together to find a quiet place to converse.
Sitting perched in a nearby tree, a simple spell concealing her presence from anyone who might chance to look her way, a six inch tall woman with long blond hair and a black leather dress rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "Ho ho ho ho ho!" She chuckled gleefully as she watched the small group walk away. "You're too late!" She gloated to their backs. "And your every move gives me more opportunities to destroy you." Mara watched them go as she formulated her next move. "I shouldn't show my hand with anything extravagant... not yet... but perhaps I can arrange for a little accident... just to see how they handle it."
The tiny demoness nodded thoughtfully and stood up on her branch. "I know just the thing... I just need to make a few calls first, and set things up properly." Gathering her cloak, Mara vanished in a tiny puff of smoke.
Artemis and Luna had led the others to a relatively deserted area of the zoo, off to one side of the big cat house near some large dumpsters, and away from the crowd. "There." Artemis said in satisfaction. "This should be private enough."
"I agree." Luna said with a nod, then turned to Kasumi and the others. "I assume you heard about... Mercury being brought here on the news?"
Kasumi nodded. "We caught it on the morning news. It really was her, then?"
Luna sighed. "Unfortunately. Even more unfortunately it seems we came here too late. Sailor Mercury has already been moved to another zoo, and at this point we have no idea which one. I appreciate you coming to help, but I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done at this point."
Nodoka smiled slightly. "I think we might surprise you, Luna-san. My husband should be able to help us find out where Mercury-san has been sent to... can't you, husband?"
Genma sweated a bit, but nodded. "I should be able to retrieve the records... although it might be best to wait until dark."
Luna glanced at the large man in surprise, then nodded. "You did train Ranma-sensei after all, did you not? We would appreciate any help, of course." She frowned in concern. "I'm afraid, however, that there might be more to Mercury's transfer than meets the eye. Perhaps, if you won't mind the suggestion, you might want to work with the Senshi on this... just in case."
Kasumi looked worried. "Oh my! Do you think that Demoness had something to do with this?"
Artemis nodded. "It's a concern. We had better be on our guard."
Genma swallowed, then nodded quickly in agreement. "Yes, best not to take any chances!"
Nodoka suddenly heard the quiet sound of approaching feet coming from somewhere, but wasn't quite able to place where. As the footsteps stopped, she finally placed the sound on the rooftop of the big cat house nearby. Looking up, Nodoka spotted a zoo worker with a rake and hose, apparently getting ready to clean off the roof of the building. He was too far away to be overhearing their conversation, and Nodoka relaxed, turning away from him. Several moments later, however, a thought struck her.
"Excuse me." Nodoka interrupted quietly. "Has anyone noticed that man up on the big cat house?" She pointed helpfully in his direction. "He has a hose, and I believe he might be about too...." She trailed off as the sound of a hose being started at high pressure made what she had been about to say rather obvious. "Oh dear."
Against all odds, only moments after turning on the hose, the man somehow tripped over the rake he was carrying and stepped on it, causing the rake to tear the hose out of his hands and somehow sending the stream of water directly towards the large collection of Jusenkyo cursed people nearby. Despite Genma's years of martial arts experience, and Luna and Artemis's supernatural senses, Nodoka had been the only one to notice the potential danger in time. The normally demure housewife was far from slow to act. In an instant she brandished her umbrella, bringing it to bear only moments before the water struck.
The medium sided purple umbrella opened an instant before the water struck, but Nodoka had no time to choose who to shield. Genma made the choice for her, diving into the minimal cover provided by the umbrella in the last possible instant and nearly knocking both Nodoka and Kasumi over in the process. Only moments later, a small horde of people in zoo uniforms came barreling around the corner, holding nets and tranquilizer guns.
"Where's the panda?" One of the zoo people started to ask as the threatening looking group came closer. "We were told that there was a wild panda on the loose back here and... what in the world...?" The whole group came to a halt as a loud tearing sound preceded the sight of a large white and brown pair of wings sprouting rather explosively from a young woman's back. Kasumi's quiet cry of pain was nearly drowned out by the gasp of astonishment at the sight, and Luna and Artemis's transformation's went entirely unnoticed by the mesmerized crowd.
Genma, facing one of his worst fears in the form of a panda hunting mob of zoo workers, reacted rather predictably, grabbing Nodoka, who was currently sheltering him from the hose, and attempting to flee as unobtrusively as possible. Artemis and Luna had both attempted to dive clear of the water a moment too late, and were sprawled on the ground several feet away, both girls looking back at Kasumi in shock. Nodoka found herself being pulled away from Kasumi but was too stunned to react at first.
Before Genma could get her more than a few steps, however, Nodoka started to struggle. "HUSBAND!!! Put me down!" She insisted angrily. "What do you think you're doing?"
Genma put his hand over his wife's mouth as he hustled her away from the zoo workers, trying to keep from looking suspicious and not doing very well. "What in the world is going on here?" He said, trying to look confused as he made his escape. Despite the poor quality of his performance, the zoo workers were still too stunned by Kasumi's transformation to pay him much attention, and Genma managed to get his wife around the corner before anyone could think to question them.
Nodoka kicked and squirmed, finally winning free of her husband's hold. "Genma!" She screeched angrily. "How could you just leave Kasumi-chan like that!"
Genma looked at Nodoka with a serious expression. "I could only save one of you, Nodoka, and as your husband I naturally chose you."
Nodoka looked suspicious. "You mean as the one with the umbrella you had to chose me. You heard those men yelling about an escaped panda and you ran for your life, leaving poor Kasumi behind!"
"It was a trap for me!" Genma insisted. "But Kasumi will be fine. They're looking for a panda after all, not a girl with wings." He held up a hand. "If she gets into trouble we'll be able to rescue her, but I couldn't do that if they locked me in the panda cage."
Nodoka sighed. "I suppose you're right, husband, but this hardly seems to be an honorable way to behave."
Back behind the big cat house, Kasumi backed slowly away from the small mob of people in zoo uniforms staring at her, holding the front of her dress up with her taloned hands. "Oh my." She said quietly. "This is going to be difficult to explain...."
The group of net and gun wielding zoo workers started slowly coming after her. "What is it?" The man in the lead asked, staring at her in confusion. "Some kind of angel?"
"It's some sort of monster." A second man responded, pointing his tranquilizer rifle at Kasumi with a worried expression. "Look at those claws."
"Those are talons." A third man added helpfully. "She looks like she's part raptor...."
Kasumi swallowed nervously, continuing to back away. "Oh my. I'm not a monster, really! I would never hurt anyone."
The man in front frowned doubtfully, getting his net ready. "It's trying to trick us." He told the others, unconsciously repeating the words of the tiny invisible demoness that was currently sitting on his shoulder. "We should catch it quick, before it gets away!"
The second man nodded, a second tiny demoness also whispering instructions into his ear. "It's dangerous... I've got a clear line of fire...." He aimed with his tranquilizer gun and started to squeeze the trigger.
"Wait!" A small white haired girl in oversized clothing ran into his line of fire. "Don't shoot!"
The man with the tranquilizer gun frowned and tried to aim around her, but the white haired girl kept getting in his way. "What are you doing? Get out of the way!"
The white haired girl thought fast, waving her hands wildly in front of her. "Um... it might be dangerous! If you shoot it, it might attack... if it's a monster you should wait for the Sailor Senshi to come take care of it. We should all run away!"
On the sidelines, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, Luna groaned. "Oh that's good, Artemis. That should help a whole bunch." Quietly she started slipping around behind Kasumi, trying to think of something she could do to help. "We've got to get her out of there before someone does something rash."
Kasumi was feeling a bit bewildered by the hostile stares she was getting from the zoo workers, never having been the subject of so much suspicion and fear before. At the same time her face was flushed with embarrassment at the state of her clothing. Her dress was ruined. The back and shoulders were destroyed and the only thing keeping it from falling down around her ankles was the firm grip she had on it with her now rather threatening looking taloned hands. Glancing nervously behind her, Kasumi realized that she was backing towards a fence and there was no place for her to run, save past the nets and guns.
"Run away?" The man in front of the group said disdainfully to the small white haired girl trying to bar their path. "We can handle this monster ourselves. We don't need some little girls in mini-skirts to help us."
Luna hesitated, then realized that there was no way to get to Kasumi without going through the men around her. "Hot water.. but what could I carry it in...? And do I even have time?"
Despite Artemis's efforts, the mob drew closer and closer to Kasumi, and the winged girl found herself backed against the fence with no place else to go. "Please...." Kasumi began. "Can't we talk about this? I can explain... I think."
Artemis frowned as she felt a strange energy from the unreasonably belligerent mob. "Where...?" It was so faint that she could barely detect it, especially in her cursed form, but there was something there, an angry, dangerous feeling filled with threat. "They're being controlled, Kasumi!" The white haired girl shouted, leaping upon the man in front carrying the tranquilizer rifle. "Get out of here! Fly!"
Kasumi gasped in shock as the rest of the men rushed her, readying their netsfor capture. "Fly? I can't...." She blinked. "Or can't I?" Kasumi gave her wings an experimental flap, accidentally knocking over the two nearest men as they closed to grab her and causing the first thrown net to catch one of the zoo workers instead of her. "Oh my!" She exclaimed, dodging a second net and flapping harder. Her wings were creating a good down draft, but there wasn't enough room to spread them out fully from where she was. The mob staggered back from the rapidly flapping wings, battered by the sudden breeze, and Kasumi flapped harder, trying to lift straight up off the ground for lack of any other way to go. Her exertions caused the small mob to take another step back to get clear of her wings, and raised a rather respectable cloud of dust, but failed to lift Kasumi fully from the ground. With a great effort, Kasumi found her toes leaving the ground, only to fall back to earth a moment later.
"Quick!" One of the men shouted. "The tranquilizer! Before it gets away!"
The zoo workers had come equipped with not one, but two tranquilizer rifles, and the second man raised his rifle to shoot. Luna, having abandoned her search for hot water, jumped him from behind a moment later, knocking him to the ground and wrestling for the weapon. Artemis was doing much the same with the man she had jumped, and it looked like she might succeed at any moment as she put her recent training to good use. The other men started closing in on Kasumi again, trying to restrain her wings with their nets and poles. With no where else to go, Kasumi turned to the fence and grabbed on with one hand, pulling herself up in an effort to escape them.
One of the men managed to grab hold of one of her wings and Kasumi reacted instinctively, her wing automatically throwing him away from her with a powerful shove but losing several feathers in the process. Desperately, Kasumi started to climb the fence with one hand, digging her taloned feet into the mesh and still trying to keep her dress up with her other hand. Another man managed to grab her legs, and started pulling her back down. Kasumi kicked out at him and barely managed to knock him loose, then started to climb again, this time with both hands, choosing escape finally over modesty. With talons on her hands and feet, Kasumi found it remarkably simple to climb the fence, although just before she reached the top one of the men managed to grab the remains of her dress, which was still hanging on around her waist, and tried to pull her back down.
Kasumi held on for dear life, not able to make any further progress upwards under the strain. With her temporally immobilized, several of the other men gathered their nets for another attempt at capturing her. As they threw the nets once more, Kasumi's dress finally gave way, the already strained side-stitching tearing apart the rest of the way under the pressure, ripping away from the winged girl and causing the man holding it to fall on his rear end, the remains of Kasumi's dress slapping him in the face. Kasumi felt the nets going over her wings a moment later and beat them strongly, throwing the nets off as she made one last lunge to reach the top of the fence.
Kasumi perched on the top of the fence for just a moment, not pausing to marvel at the ease that she was balancing there, then gathered herself to jump. "Oh my." She muttered quietly to herself. "I really hope this works." With a jump that surprised even her with its power, Kasumi sailed clear of the fence, wings flapping powerfully. For a moment the ground rushed at her, and she was afraid she would crash right back down to earth in the middle of the small mob trying to capture her, but her wings caught the air before she could fall more then half way down and bore her back up again. With a rush of wind Kasumi swept over the mob and flapped off, flying in a larger and larger circles overhead as she slowly gained altitude.
"Now where should I go?" Kasumi quietly asked herself, looking around the zoo for some place to land. "I don't know how long I can keep this up, but if I land they'll just try and catch me again...." Shouts from below caught her attention and Kasumi flushed in embarrassment as she noticed more and more people in the zoo looking up in her direction, pointing and shouting. She covered her breasts with her hands self consciously, having left her most of her clothing in the hands of a rather overzealous zoo employee. One voice she recognized, and Kasumi glanced back to spot Artemis, standing on a rather bruised looking man in a uniform and brandishing a tranquilizer rifle.
"Get out of here! Hurry!" Artemis yelled up at the flying girl, and started to run herself, tossing her captured weapon into the big cat pen as she passed it. Luna wasn't quite as fortunate, as two other zoo employees had jumped in to help their companion in restraining her. The third man finally managed to pull himself free of Luna as his co-workers held her down, and brought his rifle to bear on the circling Kasumi. The girl in question seemed to finally pick a direction, and started flying away in a straight line, heading out of the zoo by the quickest route. With his target moving in a relatively straight line, the man carefully aimed, and once again started to pull the trigger.
Just as he fired, a large man jostled him from the side, rushing forward towards the girl that was struggling to get free of his friends. "Hold her steady!" The stranger cried, slamming into the two men holding Luna. "Don't let her get away!" The large man somehow managed to knock Luna free from her two captors in the process and accidentally tripped one of them into the man with the rifle as he tried to line up a second shot. Luna sprinted away as the large man wearing the bandana tried to help up the men he had supposedly been trying to assist, clumsily managing to knock them all down again in the process, bowling over the rifleman as well. Before they could get themselves untangled, the bird woman had flown out of sight.
Bowing and scraping, Genma helped the three zoo workers to their feet. "Terribly sorry about that, I thought she had a knife! Here, let me brush you off...." The three men Genma had so thoroughly "helped" started glaring at him in suspicion.
"Hey, wait a minute...." One of them started. "Weren't you with those other girls a minute ago?"
Genma blinked, trying to appear innocent. "Who, me? Just an innocent bystander, really!" Suddenly looking into the sky behind the other three men, Genma looked astonished, pointing into the sky. "Look! That bird girl is flying this way!"
The three men glanced behind them, but of course saw nothing. "Hey, there's nothing there, what are you trying to...." The three men blinked at the suddenly empty space where Genma had been standing a moment before. "Hey... where did he go?"
From several dozen meters away, Nodoka couldn't help but smile. "Well, I guess I can forgive him." She murmured quietly to herself, turning to go. "He came through after all... in his own way."
"Don't I always?" Genma asked innocently from directly behind her.
Not turning around, Nodoka continued to walk toward the exit of the zoo. "Do you really want an answer to that question, husband?"
Matching strides with her, Genma sighed. "No, I suppose not."
Nodoka nodded in approval. "You are who you are, husband, but there may be hope for you yet."
Flying higher and higher above the city of Tokyo, Kasumi noted thankfully that no one outside the zoo grounds had spotted her yet, at least not as far as she could see. She was rapidly starting to get the hang of flying, much to her surprise, but at the same time she was really starting to get tired. The ache coming from her wings was a unique sensation, and not very pleasant.From the growing discomfort, it was obvious that she would have to land soon, but it was hard to decide where. It was a typical Tokyo afternoon,which unfortunately meant a crowd of people practically everywhere the eye could see.
"I wish I could just fly all the way home." Kasumi said wistfully. "I have to find someplace to get some hot water... and some clothing." The normally demure woman glanced down the length of her body and couldn't help but blush clear to her waist. "At least I wore a clean pair of panties...." Going back to scanning the surroundings, Kasumi frowned worriedly. "But where on earth can I land without someone seeing me?" Quickly starting to tire, Kasumi looked around desperately, when a simple solution came too her. "I can land on top of one of the taller buildings." She realized. "No one will be able to spot me up on top of one of those." Kasumi went into an upwards spiral, spotting an appropriate building almost immediately. A new apartment building caught her eye, towering stories over any of its nearer neighbors.
"That should do nicely." Kasumi decided, gliding in that direction in relief. In a gratifyingly short time she reached the rooftop, then suddenly realized that she didn't really know how to land. Kasumi winged to a frantic halt only feet before going off the far side, tripping as she hit the ground and slamming into the small wall boarding the edge of the roof with a crash. "Ouch." She slowly sat up from where she had ignominiously come to a halt. Kasumi winced as she carefully brushed small pieces of gravel off her shoulder, which started to bleed slightly from the laceration she had inflicted on it. One ginger inspection later, she was able to determine that aside from her shoulder and a shallow scrape on her left leg, she was uninjured.
"I suppose for my first landing, that could have been much worse." Kasumi reasoned with a sigh. She glanced around the roof for something she could use as a bandage, but the only pieces of cloth in the area appeared to be the remains of her socks from where her feet had turned into talons, and her underwear, which she was extremely reluctant to sacrifice for obvious reasons. Kasumi pulled one of her socks up from where it hung around her ankle until she had it in place over the scrape on her leg. The elastic fit snugly over the wider expanse of her upper leg, and Kasumi was relatively confident that it would stay in place long enough to get a real bandage. Carefully pulling what remained of her right sock off over her taloned foot, Kasumi slid it over her left arm and up to her shoulder using it as an improvised bandage as well.
"Well that works nicely!" Kasumi smiled pleasantly. "I should have thought of this use for torn socks before this. Johnathon has gone through more than enough pairs by now. I'll have to remember this trick." She frowned slightly. "Still, I hope I don't injure myself any more trying to get home." Her injuries cared for, Kasumi headed over towards the small doorway on the roof. She was grateful for the scales on her taloned feet as she crossed the rough gravel that covered the surface of the rooftop. The doorway, unfortunately, was locked from the inside.
"I'm not getting in this way." Kasumi said resignedly. She glanced around the roof again, and wasn't really surprised not to see anything helpful. "I suppose I can just rest here awhile until my wings feel better." She reasoned calmly, sitting down on the concrete porch in front of the rooftop door and draping her wings over her shoulders. "I hope Auntie and Saotome-sanwon't get too worried about me."
*******************
Luna and Artemis got to zoo's exit just moments before Genma and Nodoka, and quickly joined the Saotomes as they exited the park.
As they got outside and well away from anyone that could overhear, Nodoka turned to Luna and Artemis, fixing them with an intense look. "Now then. We must find Kasumi as soon as possible. Can the Senshi help us?"
Luna hesitated. "Most of them are in school right now... save Pluto... and she's often difficult to find."
Nodoka nodded, unfazed. "Then we'll have to do it." She sighed, shaking her head. "I should have realized the danger Kasumi's curse puts her in. I should have never let her come with us."
Artemis shook her head. "I'm sure Kasumi understand what risks she was taking. She's had a Jusenkyo curse for a while now, after all. She's probably halfway home by now."
Luna frowned. "We should be careful, those men were under an evil influence. Something was controlling them."
Genma nodded. "It was a trap for me!" He declared knowingly. "Did you hear them? They were looking for an escaped panda! Someone must have sent them after me."
Artemis nodded. "I agree, there's no doubt we were set up. Someone who knew about your curse, Saotome-san, and who could control those men."
Luna frowned. "The demoness Mara. It has to be. She must have seen the same news broadcasts that you did, Saotome-san, and waited at the zoo to ambush us. She probably had something to do with Mercury being transferred to another zoo so quickly as well." She looked concerned. "I'm worried about what she might be planning."
Nodoka hesitated. "What should we do? If this demoness is about we should warn as many people as possible, shouldn't we?"
Artemis spoke up. "I don't think that Mara is really ready to attack yet, or she would have done more than just sic those men on us. We should let everyone know what's happened so far. I think we should get everyone together in one place so we can make plans, however."
Luna nodded. "That is probably a good idea. I think Artemis and I should try and contact the Senshi, and we will meet you at the Dojo when we have located all of them, and you can inform Ranma and the others."
Nodoka nodded. "I will be sure to inform my son." She sighed. "I hope poor Kasumi is alright."
Genma put a hand on his wife's arm reassuringly. "Kasumi-chan can be quite resourceful when she needs to be. I'm sure she'll be fine. Besides, she can fly now. She's probably halfway home already. We should go to the Tendo house and tell Soun and Misty-chan what is happening. Kasumi would check there first, anyway."
Nodoka frowned. "I certainly hope you're right, husband."
Genma crossed his fingers behind his back. "I'm positive. Now let's go."
***************************
Their first day back to school at Furinkan was turning out to be rather calmer than expected. When they had gotten to their homeroom period with Miss Hinako, Ranma, Akane and Ukyo had taken their seats near each other as they usually did, while Miss Hinako addressed the class.
"Attention everyone!" The childlike teacher said loudly in her pixie like voice, getting the entire class's attention immediately. (No one made the mistake of ignoring Miss Hinako anymore, except, of course, for Ranma.) "We have two new students today. Please give them a warm welcome, everyone!" She turned to the two new students and the class finally noticed exactly who had walked into the room with Miss Hinako's introduction. "Now please introduce yourselves to the class."
"I'm Ryoga Hibiki." The muscular young man wearing the black and yellow bandana said with a nervous smile, hand behind his head as he looked around the room warily. The sudden burst of whispers that started up after he introduced himself did little to reassure him.
"Hi." The short red haired girl said after the class had quieted down a bit. "I'm Ranko Saotome. I guess you're all going to have a whole lot of questions, so I'll try and answer most of them right now. I used to be Ranma's girl side, but now we're separated permanently. If you want to know, yes, I'm really a girl, and no, neither of us change anymore. I have the same memories and stuff up to the point where we got split, so I know everyone here... and I am not married to Akane, Ranma is. We're different people, even if we started off as the same one." This series of revelations had stunned the room into silence, but the peace was extremely short lived. The room erupted in voices after several moments, the entire class erupting with questions for the new girl.
Miss Hinako, however, was not about to let her class get too out of hand. "That's enough, everyone!" She stated loudly, her childlike voice cutting through the babble remarkably effectively. "If you have any further questions for Saotome-san, please save them until your next break period." She turned to Ryoga and Ranko. "Now you two, please find your seats."
Under Miss Hinako's watchful gaze the class was remarkably well behaved, and even when the childlike teacher lost her concentration and started behaving more like the age she appeared, the class stayed relatively calm. No one, after all, wished to risk being drained by the little chi vampire, not even the boys who otherwise would enjoy seeing Miss Hinako's other form a bit more often, as it wasn't anywhere near as rewarding to see her grow into her adult form when it was you that was supplying the chi.
Ranko had taken a seat behind Ukyo, Ryoga had found a chair in front of Akane, and all five young martial artists tried to behave as normally as possible. In other words, Ranma and Ranko both tried to keep from falling asleep, Akane tried to pay attention to the lecture without getting too annoyed at her husband for goofing off, and Ryoga tried to figure out what the teacher was talking about. Ukyo was the most relaxed of the bunch, having long since learned that it was a lot easier to just read the text ahead of time than to try and make sense out of Hinako's lectures. The diminutive teacher often went off on tangents during class, but her tests usually followed the material in the book closely enough that it wasn't too hard to stay ahead, even if you had as little free time as Ukyo did.
When the first break did come, all five of them were swamped with questions from their fellow students. The day before, Nabiki had been uncharacteristically free with her advice, and it was easy enough advice to follow, at least in theory.
"Just tell the truth." Nabiki had told them seriously. "It'll all get out eventually, and it's better if you tell it your way than having it get all blown out of proportion. You don't have to mention everything that happened in China, certainly, but other then the Senshi stuff, there isn't any reason you can't just tell the truth about what's happened. If you are all telling the same story, everyone will get bored with talking about it in a week. You'll see."
Ranko wasn't extremely surprised when half the guys in class, including her nominal friends, Hiroshi and Daisuke, came over to her desk as soon as the break started. She started with the most annoying questions first, being also the ones most frequently asked.
"My three sizes are none of your business, unless you're planning on buying me stuff." She answered firmly. "And my fiancee might not like it if I get a bunch of presents, alright?" She glared a bit balefully at one particularly forward questioner. "And no, I do not plan on dating anyone. I am engaged, so obviously I can't go on a date with someone else."
"Fiancee?" Hiroshi asked curiously. "You're still engaged? To who? You said that Ranma... er... the other Ranma was married to Akane now.... Who are you engaged to?"
Ranko nodded over at Ukyo with a smile. "To Ucchan, naturally. That's the only engagement left. With Ranma married to Akane, and me marrying Ucchan, we can keep all the promises my dumb pop made, without having to throw what's left of our family name away."
Daisuke nodded in understanding, giving Hiroshi a slightly superior look. "I thought so. Who else would Ranma... Ranko... be engaged to anyway?"
Ranko rolled her eyes. "Don't ask. I'm sure my pops could think of someone."
Hiroshi looked confused. "I don't get it. How can you marry Ukyo? I mean, sure, she dresses up like a guy and all, but she's really a girl. How can you get married if you're both girls?"
Ukyo spoke up. "I'm officially registered as a boy, so it's technically legal. As for the rest... well, we love each other. That's all that matters."
The boy that had wanted to know Ranko's measurements spoke up again. "So does that mean you're both lesbians?"
Ranko started to protest. "I am not a...!"
Ukyo raised a hand to stop her from protesting further. "Technically yes, we are. Ranko here is only interested in girls, and I'm only interested in my Ranchan, so yes, we are lesbians." She looked coolly around at the boys gathered around them. "None of you have a problem with that, do you?"
Ranko winced slightly at being described as a lesbian, but had to admit that the label fit. "I am a girl now, for good it looks like, and I don't like guys any more than Ranma does... so I guess that does makes me a lesbian." She glared around the room threateningly. "But all that means is that me and Ukyo are engaged for real... and I won't appreciate anyone trying to get between us, got it?" There was a quick burst of nodding from the boys grouped around them. This wasn't a side of Ranma that they were used to seeing, but it was still Ranma, or at least a version of him. Watching Ranma or Akane beating the heck out of all comers was Furinkan's favorite spectator sport, but no one in the room was interested in becoming the next Kuno.
Akane and Ranma had an easier time. Their relationship had been the talk of the student body for so long that there was little new for anyone to bring up. In fact their wedding had put them well into the realm of becoming boring, at least in most of the student's eyes, and mostly the only questions they had to field were about Ranko and Ukyo.
Ryoga was close to panicking, despite the fact that he was surrounded by most of the girls in class. Actually, that was precisely the reason he was close to panicking. On the positive side, however, there was no way he would be doing a Shi Hi Hokodan any time soon.
The story had spread throughout the school by midday, and the whole school was abuzz, but the furor was already dying down by the end of the day. It was starting to seem like Nabiki's advice had actually been good. The school had already seen so much strangeness that Ranma getting split into two people seemed relatively tame by comparison.
Arriving home, however, things started to go downhill almost immediately.
"Kasumi's lost!?!" Akane yelled for the third time, causing her father to go into yet another crying fit. "How could this happen?" She turned on Genma angrily. "Why didn't you protect her, Mr. Saotome?" Genma rolled on his back, playfully holding a tire, somehow having transformed in the middle of the living room without anyone noticing. Akane rose to her feet, her aura glowing brightly. "Why you... lazy... good for nothing...." Genma held up a sign stating that he was just a innocent panda, which only served to incense the girl even more. "IDIOT!" Akane punted her pandified father-in-law over the outer wall of the Tendo home, then sat down in a huff.
"There, there, Akane-chan." Nodoka said soothingly. "I'm sure your sister is alright. I admit my husband isn't perfect, but he did keep those men at the zoo from capturing Kasumi, and I'm sure we'll hear from her any time now."
"We can't count on that!" The youngest Tendo insisted angrily. "We've got to go look for her!"
"Look for who?" Johnathon Dwire/Tendo came into the living room looking slightly worried. "And what did Genma do this time? I just saw him flying over head...."
The whole room went quiet, and the tall English teacher stiffened. "Oh...." He glanced over at Misty, who was looking back at him in concern, and sighed. "So... Kasumi's missing? What happened?"
Misty nodded, looking grave. "Auntie just came back a little while and told us. Kasumi was splashed while they were at the zoo, and she had to fly away to escape. We don't know where she's gotten to yet."
Johnathon blinked, then blinked again before responding. "She flew...? At the zoo? Why was Kasumi at the zoo?" Nodoka took over, explaining the news report they had seen earlier that morning, and everything that had followed, and Johnathon kept his peace until she had finished. "I see." He said finally, as Nodoka wrapped up her tale. "Well at least she was able to get away. But why wouldn't she have contacted us by now?" He answered his own question. "She must be hiding somewhere until it gets dark.... Akane's right,we should go looking for her."
Nabiki spoke up. "Yeah, but how? She could be anywhere! If she really can fly now, she's probably hiding up on a rooftop or in a tree or something... what good would it do us to search on the ground?"
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself, Sis. I certainly don't plan on staying at ground level."
Nabiki blinked, then slapped her forehead. "Right, silly me, I keep thinking like a normal human being. Most of you can hop rooftops, naturally." She shrugged. "Well, representing a member of the land bound brigade, I believe I'll stay here by the phone in case Kasumi calls home. The rest of you can go looking for her."
Johnathon nodded, standing up suddenly. "Let me get a map so we can organize this properly...." He left the room at a jog and returned with a large map of Tokyo. Studying it for a minute, he opened it to the correct section and laid it down on the table. "OK, the zoo is right here... so we can start our search there and spread out...."
Nodoka looked over the map and pointed. "Kasumi headed that way after leaving the zoo, perhaps you should start your search in that direction?"
Akane frowned. "We need more people. Only Ranma, Ryoga and myself can really go where we'd need to look for her."
"I can roof hop pretty well in my cursed form." Johnathon reminded her. "Let's contact Ukyo and Ranko. They should be at the Ucchan by now."
Nodoka looked up from the map suddenly. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Luna-san said that she would have the Senshi come here to the Dojo so that we could make plans."
Johnathon shook his head. "They have Mercury to worry about. We'd better get started on our own. I don't want to leave Kasumi out there any longer than necessary. Ranma, Ryoga, Akane and I can start searching now in pairs." He pointed at the map. "We can start here, and here, and move block by block this way...." The phone started to ring and Misty went to pick it up as her husband continued to plan.
"Hello?" Misty answered brightly. "Ah, Setsuna-san! Yes, that's right. Do you want to talk to Johnathon? Yes, Ryoga, Akane and Ranma are here too. Hmm? Alright." She handed the phone to her husband, who had come over to the phone upon overhearing her conversation.
"Setsuna?" Johnathon said quietly into the phone. "It's me, Johnathon Dwire. Is this about Kasumi and... and Ami?"
Setsuna's voice was cool over the line. "Yes. We both have a missing person, Tendo-san. It would best suit our purposes to pool our resources. Can you meet us downtown? I believe by now you have determined the general area your wife must have flown to?"
He nodded to himself. "Yes, we can meet you there."
Setsuna smiled slightly at her presight. "Good. We can meet safely at 103 South Takaoka. We will search out your wife first, then you will be free to aid us in our search."
"Thank you. I know you want to find Ami as soon as possible...."
Setsuna interrupted him impatiently. "You ever state the obvious Johnathon. We will be there when you arrive."
"Thank you. We'll come as quickly as we can. Did Luna tell you which way she went?" He paused at her annoyed silence. "Right. We'll meet you on the rooftops there in... half an hour. See you then." Johnathon hung up the phone and returned to the living room. "OK, we should have plenty of help by the time we get downtown. I'm going to call Ranko and Ukyo and let them know what's happened, and then we'll have to run. Alright?"
Ranma, Akane and Ryoga nodded quickly, and Johnathon returned to the phone. A minute later they were headed out the door, Johnathon grabbing a canteen of cold water and a thermos of hot from Misty on the way.
Misty put her hand over her husband's as he took the thermos from her. "Please be careful out there, Johnathon."
"We'll be OK." Johnathon reassured the feliniod woman. "I'm actually more worried about you. When Genma gets back, make sure to ask that he and Nodoka stay the night. I don't think you'll be safe here with just your father to protect you . Not with Happosai and that Demoness about."
Misty nodded. "I understand, Johnathon. When do you think you might be back?"
Johnathon shook his head. "I can't say, perhaps tonight, but possibly not for a few days. I agreed to help search for Ami after we find Kasumi, and that might take awhile. I just wish you could come with us...."
Misty pushed her husband away gently, an understanding expression softening her furred features. "Go. You have to save both of them. You couldn't be the man I married and do anything else."
Johnathon sighed and gathered her in for a hug, kissing her gently on the forehead before releasing her. "Be safe. We'll return as soon as we can." The tall English teacher turned to the door, nodding to Ranma, Ryoga and Akane, who were waiting patiently for him. Without another word the four of them loped off at a pace just under a dead run.
Just outside the dojo proper, a dangerous looking woman with long blond hair, black leather clothing, and some rather sinister looking markings on her forehead perched in a tree, and watched the four Martial Artists leave. "There they go." She whispered quietly to herself, smiling nastily. "With my shields up to full there's no way they detected me, and now, with all the strong ones gone, I can do whatever I like to their loved ones." Her eyes glinted brightly from an internal fire, and her face turned grim. "No mortal should dare to challenge a demon first class, and tonight they'll find out why."
End Chapter 28
I hope you liked it! Please C&C, it's why I write!
Links to other sites on the Web
Previous Chapter
Main Page
Next Chapter
© 2000 tagan1@hotmail.com