Kimiko's Legacy Part 1: A Snowball From Hell by Gregg Sharp ===== pebble supplied and thrown by Christopher Angel, god of moments. Pond supplied by Rumiko Takahashi. Everything else is my fault. C&C goes to Metroanime@aol.com Flames go to Toltiir@aol.com. Henry Weinhardt's makes some of the best root beer available. add a scoop of Blue Bunny vanilla ice cream and see if you don't enjoy this fanfic a lot more. differences in the original pebble are because i'm a techie sort of person and i got sidetracked in the mechanism for the delay. Note that this is a short outlined out version of what could be a major series. ================================== The God of Moments looked over Toltiir's form and snorted. "Bah," he scoffed. "Amateurs." Toltiir gave the tall god a sly grin, which looked like it fit especially well in his usual black cat form. "You think you could do better?" "He-er...da-um...shoot, yeah," the other responded, stumbling slightly over the godly restrictions on swearing. Toltiir arched his head in such a way to indicate the viewing globe. "Go ahead." The mortal-turned-god hummed for a few minutes as he scanned the realities. "AHA!" He shouted and pointed a finger at the globe he was viewing. Frowning at the image of a mortal woman in the globe, Toltiir twisted his head to look back at the much taller god. "What about it?" "All I need to do is request an interference in Kasumi's pregnancy..." The Lord of Paradox blinked. "Yggdrasil subroutines have taken it over, and produced an interesting interpretation, ne?" --------------------------------------------- Doctor Matsudeira turned to the young couple, who were (as expected) grief stricken. "Now, now, Mister and Mrs Tendo. We caught it in time, we think. We'll have to put Kimiko here on chemotherapy for awhile, until we're sure we've gotten it all. This will still leave you with one ovary, and in a couple of years you can try again." ---------------------------------------------- Having been handed a book by Grey (reluctant incubus working for the Rival Relief Office) titled "Permissable Expletives For Use by Demigods & Above" the Protector of The Norns turned to page 17. "Ara. Masaka. Stupid Potato Subroutine. This inhales greatly." "So no children are conceived until Akane's time, and because Kimiko Tendo was using fertility drugs at the time..." "She gets triplets." Well, at least THAT was going as planned. --------------------------------------- "I'm sorry, Mrs Tendo." Doctor Matsudeira HATED moments like these, which came all too often. One celebrates one's successes and learns from one's failures. When one is a doctor, those failures have consequences beyond those of (for example) a video game programmer. She nodded, reaching out to hold the hand of the man who was crying enough for both of them. "As you recall, when we found the shadow on the xray we could have renewed the chemo, but you would have lost your children. As it is, the cancer is along the spine. We can go to radiation therapy now, but..." "But you won't know more until the biopsy gets back. Wakatta." Matsudeira shrugged. "We can hope for the best, plan for the worst." ------------------------------- "Hello. This is Kimiko. It has been a long time, Nodoka. Can you come over...I need some help." Kimiko Tendo hung up the phone. "Soun, if medical science can do nothing, then we must see what else is available, ne? At least losing that ovary did one thing for me, they wouldn't have found this until much later if it hadn't been for that." Soun Tendo nodded. Who did he know who would have any answers to such a question? Other than He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, of course? ------------------------------------ Nodoka stood next to where Kimiko Tendo lay bedridden as the three daughters lined up before them. Kasumi bowed to her mother, and performed a clumsy iaijitsu manuever that almost ended with her clubbing herself in the head. Nabiki bowed to her mother, and performed a similarly flawed iaijitsu manuever. Akane managed the iaijitsu portion flawlessly, but as the tiny bokken moved up to the "eight-strike stance" it slipped out of her grip and ended a short arc by finding the top of Nabiki's head. Nodoka sighed and looked embarrassed as Nabiki and Akane fell to scuffling. "Well, they HAD the manuever down." Kasumi frowned and tried again, this time performing both manuevers flawlessly. "Very good, Kasumi," her mother said weakly. "That's my girl." The other two stopped fighting long enough to glare daggers at their sister. "Oh, not that both of you aren't precious as well. Now your mommy is very tired, so why don't you go do your chores?" After a session of hugs and the procession out of the room, Kimiko looked over at her friend. "You heard what the doctors have said?" Nodoka smiled. "The doctors do not know everything. A friend of a friend told me of a doctor, and I have tracked down what this doctor has told me. There is a woman who thinks we might be able to add a few years yet before you go on." "Ah, to see my daughters develop a little longer..." Kimiko sighed and sat back. "And where is this miracle worker?" "A strange one, she is, who would only help us after I met with her last month. Even then, I had to prove I was a warrior and that my word had honor. She is a Chinese woman named Khu Lon. I think the final reason she agreed to assist you was that her great-granddaughter has lost her parents recently." "Whatever the reason, if she can help me to see that my daughters grow up right, her help is quite welcome." --------------------------------- "Ah," Cologne sat back and enjoyed the cool breeze of a fan. "This intrusive technology may be a crutch, but it can have its benefits." "Yes, honored Elder." Nodoka bowed. The two listened to the sounds of practice swords clacking in the dojo as the Tendo daughters dueled with an...extra addition. "Nodoka, don't stand on such ceremony, we've known each other for, oh has it been two years already?" Cologne nodded and sipped on some ice water. Decadent, horribly decadent, she sipped again to be sure. "You were wondering why I brought my grand-daughter?" The old woman's eyes met the samurai woman's eyes briefly. "Well, yes." She HAD been wondering that. "You've told me your own son is on a training journey which will take about ten years. Well, my Shampoo gets all the martial arts training she needs right there in the village. But, you see, I want more for my granddaughter than just being a topnotch Amazon warrior." "Ah," Nodoka nodded. "So she is on a training mission as well, to learn about the world outside your village." "Precisely." Cologne smiled, pleased that Nodoka was keeping up with her. "The Nichieju could use friends on the outside, though our skills and fighting prowess are great, we tend to be very insular. We need to know what's going on in the outside world, and if it should threaten us, what we can do to stop it or (if it cannot be stopped) avoid it." Kimiko's voice came from the bed. "So you need friends. A safe house for the travelling warrior, eyes and ears that can relay to you what you can't get locally, someone to ship you what you can't find at home." "Precisely." Cologne nodded. "We have a few, scattered about, mainly married amazons who, for one reason or another, are happier away from the village but retain the ties to their homeland. We always need to find a few more." A loud curse in Mandarin Chinese came and another girl's voice started laughing, only to go into a startled yelp and a lot of yelling thereafter. Nodoka excused herself to see what Akane had done to Shampoo. ----------------------------------- "Hello, who are you, little girl?" "Is this the Tendo dojo, please?" "Yes, it is..." "Mister Saotome said his wife never could be reached at home cause she was always in Nerima at the Tendo place...uhm..." "You know my husband?" Nodoka blinked. "THAT JACKASS LEFT ME BEHIND!" "You shouldn't talk like that, little girl." "Oh, wait'll I tell you what he did." The little girl quickly explained the matter, and included the phone number of her father who confirmed the story. Nodoka put the phone down, smiled at the little girl, and stepped quietly back out the door. "GENMA SAOTOME, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?" Taking a deep breath, Nodoka went into the house to have a nice talk with a little girl named Ukyou Kuonji. ------------------------------- Ukyou Tendo, adopted daughter of Kimiko, stood next to Shampoo Tendo, also adopted daughter of Kimiko, who stood next to Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi, natural daughters of Kimiko Tendo. The funeral had been brief, the cremation swift, and Kimiko Tendo's urn was for now sitting in a place of honor before her shrine. Cologne looked sadly at the spectacle, but death had been a long companion of hers and she could shed no tears for Kimiko. The children needed a strong presence now anyway. Kasumi broke from the line to place the prized kendo trophy on the shrine. "S-s-see, mom. I did it. We all did it. Y-you'd be so proud of us. And I got first place in the Children's Cook-Off..." Nabiki put her own trophy next to Kasumi's. "Mother. Archery. Second place. I WILL do better next year. I promise you! Oh, and I placed in the top 10% on the math finals, like that was a surprise..." Akane placed a broken piece of brick on the shrine. "Mother, I finally got to where I can break a brick. Anything Goes style doesn't lend itself well to tournaments, but you know that." Shampoo said nothing. She had only known Kimiko Tendo and Nodoka Saotome for the past two years while staying with them, but they had treated her as equal to any of the Tendo daughters. She simply placed a wicked looking dagger on the shrine without a word. Whether she was offering her services, or just the weapon, either was impressive. Ukyou looked at those offerings. She'd only known the Tendos for the past year, and there was some friction between the others about this arranged marriage stuff that Soun Tendo had gone off about to Nodoka and Kimiko after she'd arrived. Still, she had been treated fairly by Kimiko, and so simply offered a skillet with an example of her Art- an okonomiyaki. Nodoka sighed, torn between grief for a dear friend, and pride at how the daughters had turned out. Kimiko had lasted long enough to see them reach eight years of age. That was years longer than the doctors had given them. It was enough, she thought, because Kimiko had always stated that she would fight long enough to see her daughters grow up. In many ways, they had. ----------------------------------------------------------- "" Shampoo pointed at the innkeep. She described the two she was tracking. "" "," the little hole-in-the-wall inn wouldn't last long if a Chinese Amazon decided to get angry. "" "" The innkeep studied the deskbook. "" "" Shampoo stopped. The innkeep was terrified. "" "" The innkeep was volunteering information in the hope that the girl would calm down. "" Shampoo stopped. She'd continue on the trail, but send a message back to great grandmama. If she didn't have an idea as to what was going on, nobody would. She'd hold off killing the two, just in case there was a chance they were related to her Japanese sword-sensei. In that case, there were loopholes to the "must kill" law. --------------------------------- Nabiki ran back to the others. She had to get her sword, after all, there was a panda molesting some girl! "So, here you are." Nodoka stood like some Japanese valkyrie, sword unwrapped and ready to draw. The panda that was carrying the struggling girl in saw Nodoka and came to a complete stop. The panda's eyes fixed on the sword briefly, then saw a young girl with a large spatula behind her. And behind HER was the very same Shampoo who had been chasing them all over China. The panda grinned briefly, then went into Full Panic Mode. Ranma managed a startled yelp as she was slammed into the doorframe as the panda made a run for the border. Any border. Kasumi looked down at the unconcious girl lying amongst the pieces of doorframe. "Oh my." ------------------------------- "Urkh." Why did his head hurt so much? Ranma blinked his eyes and realized he'd somehow turned male again while he was unconcious, they were familiar with the curse? "Well, hello there. My name is Kasumi Tendo." The girl smiled at him. "You just had a little accident, but it should be fine." "Kasumi dear, I think I need to speak to my son alone for a moment." Nodoka smiled as she watched Kasumi, who was blushing as she looked down at Ranma and walked away. Ranma blinked. "Mother?" ========================= well, you can't say that this is just retreaded story with one minor change and everything else staying the same, can you? where does it go from here? Kasumi stakes a claim early on. Shampoo claims that as a Tendo, and as an amazon that lost to Ranma, she carries a higher claim. Ukyou feels that because of the dowry and the agreement between her natural father, and her adoption into the Tendo household as well, that SHE is clearly the one with the best claim to Ranma. Ranma isn't sure what to make of any of this. The rivalry between Furinkan's male kendo club (with the insufferably chauvanistic Tatewaki Kuno) and the women's kendo club escalates. KUNO: "Ah, Akane Tendo, fierce warrior! Ah, Ukyou, goddess of okonomiyaki! Kasumi, how dare you (a mere woman) cross bokken with the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" KASUMI: "You have forgotten that the Girls' Kendo Club is also undefeated, and you now face the...uhm Akane, Ukyou, can you wait on pummelling him until after I do my intro...*sigh*." --------scene: "Ryouga, the lost boy" Ryouga: "Ranma, PREPARE TO DIE!" Ranma: "Couldn't it wait until morning?" Ryouga: "Justice can't...wait?" Ryouga looks around. Nodoka has her sword, Kasumi has her sword, Nabiki has an arrow nocked, Ukyou has her big bad spatula, Akane is holding a baseball bat, Cologne is blinking owlishly at him from her walking stick. Shampoo has forgotten to put her top on. Ranma has just noted this last and fainted. Ryouga grins nervously. "Maybe morning would be good, yeah." Scene: "The Golden Pair" Kasumi: "No, I want to be the one to skate with Ranma!" Shampoo:"Shampoo want partner with airen!" Uykou:"Ranchan, don't you think we'd make a cute couple!" Ranma:"How did I get myself into this mess?" Nabiki:"I'll tell you for 500yen." Scene: "Late Night In Nerima" "Ah alone at last, eh, Ranchan?" "Silly Ukyou, why for you hug Shampoo?" "Aaaaaaaaa!" "Hmph, silly Ukyou. No should touch stuff if can't hold liquor." Scene: Kasumi focussed, her two great loves coming together in a single moment. She tossed the bread, lettuce, tomatoes, and turkey breast into the air. Without hesitation, she drew her katana and made the "Cyclone Assault" manuever. Five sandwiches landed, perfectly made as Kasumi sheathed the blade with a practiced click. Kasumi blinked. Five? She looked up. A large glob of mustard and the fixings of the sixth sandwich landed directly on her face. Scene: "the Mousse-Ranma Challenge" Nabiki selling photos of the various Tendo girls, and Ranma-chan. Ukyou selling okonomiyaki from her portable grill. Kasumi selling sushi, prepared with flourishes of tanto and katana. Shampoo and her great grandma selling ramen. Akane grumbling about having to take out the trash. Kuno's legs are sticking up out of the trashcan. Ranma and Mousse look at the surrounding circus and wonder what happened to a simple challenge fight. Scene: "Last minute scramble" Nodoka decides it is decision time. Ranma has till the end of the week to choose a fiancee, and it looks like it will be...Kasumi. Nabiki and Akane, jealous, try to win Ranma on their own. Nabiki tries to seduce Ranma, Akane tries to be nice to Ranma. Shampoo reinstates her claim on Ranma, and starts ignoring Tofu-sensei to concentrate on Ranma. Ukyou has a WAFFy scene where she realizes that she's just his "buddy" and has to decide whether to destroy that and her place in the family or to try to win Ranma through trickery. Bet it all on a long shot, or settle for having a family... Akane's pet pig, P-chan, takes exception to all the attention being focussed on Ranma and decides to get out of here, unfortunately Shampoo and Akane have been fighting again and P-chan is scheduled to be fixed. ====================== obviously, this could be thoroughly insane. ja ne, gregg