Nodoka staggered, her younger body thrumming with an energy she hadn’t felt in decades. She clenched her fists, marveling at the raw strength coiling beneath her skin. Her hair, though still in its mature, neatly styled form, was now lush, glossy, and full of life. She took a deep breath, her sharp eyes scanning her surroundings with a renewed intensity.
Ellanora glared up from her spot on the ground, brushing dirt off her dress. “Do you mind? I was having a moment here!”
Nodoka ignored her, flexing her fingers and marveling at her reflection in a puddle nearby. “Oh, yes,” she murmured, cracking her knuckles. “This is more like it. Youth truly is wasted on the young.” She tilted her head, noticing something odd. Was it just the angle, or…?
Her reflection stared back, and for a moment, she was stunned into silence. Her features, now softer and more youthful, were strikingly familiar. There was no mistaking it: she looked just like Ranma’s cursed girl form. Her face flushed at the realization.
“Oh, heavens,” she muttered to herself, adjusting her kimono as though that would somehow mask the resemblance. “I—I suppose the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it?”
Ellanora’s sharp laugh snapped her out of her thoughts. “Oh, give me a break! Are you seriously admiring yourself right now? I should’ve guessed vanity runs in the family.”
“Vanity?” Nodoka’s head whipped around, and her youthful face twisted into a grin that was all challenge. “Let’s settle this once and for all, vampire! You’ve been a thorn in my side long enough.”
Ellanora blinked. “Wait, what? I—oh, fine! If you want to humiliate yourself, who am I to stop you?”
The vampire barely had time to brace herself before Nodoka lunged, moving with speed and strength that startled even her. Before she could blink, Nodoka had her in a headlock, twisting them both into the dirt.
“Unhand me, you blasted—oof!—fool!” Ellanora shrieked, thrashing wildly as Nodoka pinned her to the ground. “You’re ruining my dress!”
“You’re ruining my life!” Nodoka snapped, slamming Ellanora onto her back. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused over the years? If it’s not Genma, it’s Ranma, and now you’ve dragged me into it? Oh, you’re going to regret this!”
Ellanora hissed, her fangs bared as they rolled across the forest floor, a flurry of limbs and insults.
“You’re insane!” Ellanora growled, clawing at Nodoka’s kimono. “Do you even know who you’re dealing with?”
“Oh, I know exactly who I’m dealing with,” Nodoka shot back, her grin eerily reminiscent of Ranma’s cheekiest expressions. “And you’re about to regret ever crossing me!”
The chaos might have continued indefinitely had a shadow not loomed over the two of them. A throat cleared, and both women froze mid-scrap, glancing up to see Koharu standing over them, arms crossed and an expression of utter exasperation on her face.
“Well,” Koharu said dryly, tapping her foot. “What a sight this is. The mighty Ellanora, once feared across Furinkan, and Nodoka Saotome, apparently transformed into her son’s doppelgänger, wrestling in the dirt like a couple of feral cats. Really, it’s quite inspiring.”
Ellanora, whose arm was halfway to clawing at Nodoka’s face, suddenly dropped it as though burned. Nodoka, realizing how undignified she must look, quickly pushed herself off the vampire and tried to smooth out her kimono, though her flushed face betrayed her embarrassment.
“I… I wasn’t wrestling,” Nodoka said stiffly. “I was asserting my honor!”
“Honor?” Ellanora snorted. “You were pulling my hair!”
“You deserved it!”
“Enough!” Koharu snapped, her voice sharp as a kunai. “Do either of you have the slightest idea how ridiculous you look right now? You’re adults—or at least you were,” she added with a pointed glance at Nodoka’s transformed form. “Have you considered, for even a moment, acting like it?”
The two combatants exchanged a glance, then looked away, each suddenly fascinated by the dirt beneath them.
“This is pathetic,” Koharu continued, pacing in front of them like a stern schoolteacher. “Ellanora, you’re an immortal creature of the night. Start acting like one. And Nodoka—well, I can see that youth has gone straight to your head, but that’s no excuse for rolling around in the mud like an overgrown tomboy.”
Nodoka bristled, but she bit her tongue.
“I—she started it!” Ellanora said, pointing an accusing finger at Nodoka.
“Oh, please!” Nodoka shot back. “She’s been tormenting my family for decades!”
“Enough!” Koharu barked. “Both of you! Now, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to stop fighting, you’re going to put your heads together, and you’re going to figure out how to fix this mess. And if you don’t, I swear I will knock both of your heads together myself!”
For a moment, there was silence, save for the rustle of leaves in the wind.
“…This is the worst day of my life,” Ellanora muttered.
“Welcome to the club,” Nodoka said through gritted teeth.
“And yet,” Koharu said with a wry smile, “somehow I’ve ended up being the reasonable one here. Imagine that.”
The two women stared at her in horror, realizing with dawning dread that she was absolutely right.
=====
Ranma dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding the scimitar that cleaved through the air where his head had just been.
“Geez, will you guys give it a rest?!” he shouted, skidding backward. Another warrior lunged at him, its glowing eyes fixed and menacing, but Ranma countered with a well-placed kick to its chest. The warrior burst into sand, but before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the grains began swirling in the air.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” he yelled, watching in horror as the sand reformed into two identical warriors.
At this rate, they’d outnumber the Furinkan student body in no time. Ranma gritted his teeth and dropped into a defensive stance, trying to ignore the sweat trickling down his temple.
“Ah, bonjour!”
The sugary-sweet voice cut through the chaos like a hammer through glass. Ranma turned to see Azusa Shiratori prancing toward them, her expression as bright and oblivious as ever.
“What the heck are you doing here?!” Ranma snapped. “This ain’t the skating rink!”
But Azusa wasn’t listening. Her wide, sparkling eyes were fixed on the largest Anubis warrior, whose scimitar gleamed with a jewel-encrusted hilt.
“Oh, how adorable!” she squealed, clasping her hands together. “I shall name you Shiny-Poo!”
“Shiny—what?!” Ranma gawked as Azusa marched straight up to the warrior, completely unfazed by the glowing eyes or raised scimitar.
“You poor thing,” Azusa cooed, tugging the scimitar from its grasp. The warrior froze mid-swing, its glowing eyes flickering in confusion. “Come with me, Shiny-Poo! I’ll take good care of you!”
“Azusa, are you crazy?!” Ranma yelled, but it was too late. The other warriors stopped dead in their tracks, their attention locked on the stolen scimitar. The largest one tilted its head in a strangely doglike manner, as though its ancient programming had just blue-screened.
Ranma blinked. “Did she just—? No way. She broke them?!”
“Oh, Azusa, there you are!”
Ranma groaned as Usagi came skipping down the street, her usual cheer marred by a hint of exasperation. “You’ve got to stop wandering off like that, sweetie! And what’s this? Oh no, no, no, you can’t take that!”
Azusa hugged the scimitar tighter, pouting. “Why not? Shiny-Poo is mine now!”
“Because it doesn’t belong to you, that’s why!” Usagi scolded, planting her hands on her hips. “Besides, if you take that, those sand people are going to follow us home, and I just dusted the living room!”
Azusa stomped her foot. “But they don’t even take care of him properly! Look how dusty he is!”
“Azusa!” Usagi grabbed her daughter’s ear and twisted it, her tone turning sharp. “We do not take other people’s things! How many times have I told you that?”
“Ow, ow, ow! Let go!” Azusa wailed.
“Well, fine,” Usagi sighed, releasing her grip. “But you’re giving that back this instant, young lady!”
Azusa sniffled, her lip trembling. “But I love him…”
“Oh, sweetie…” Usagi’s resolve melted like butter on a hot skillet. “All right, you can keep him. But just for tonight, okay?”
“Mama, you’re the best!” Azusa squealed, hugging her mother tightly.
Ranma, who had been watching the entire exchange from a rooftop, groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Oh, for crying out loud.”
“Ranma!”
He turned to see Akane standing in the street below, arms crossed and an exasperated look on her face. “What’s going on up there?!”
“Don’t ask!” Ranma shouted, leaping down to join her.
Akane raised an eyebrow at the scene: Azusa skipping away with the scimitar while Usagi cooed over her. “What is this?”
“Chaos,” Ranma muttered. “It’s chaos.”
Akane smirked. “Looks about right.”
“Listen, promise me something,” Ranma said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Promise what?”
“When we have kids—and I’m not saying we’re gonna anytime soon, but just if—promise me you won’t spoil them rotten like that.”
Akane’s smirk turned into a teasing smile. “Oh, I don’t know, Ranma. If they take after you, they might need a little spoiling.”
“Har, har,” Ranma deadpanned, rolling his eyes.
Meanwhile, the Anubis warriors remained frozen in place, their ancient instincts no match for Azusa’s unstoppable entitlement.
No comments:
Post a Comment