[FFML] C+C Quantum Destinies chapter 25

[DB Sommer]

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000




“Put him down hard!” screamed a thin boy nearby.

“I've got a thousand yen on you, Hibiki!” shouted Daisuke.

% Ah, now we know who it is



Ryoga slashed the cloth blade down across Ukyo's front in a killing blow-

-and Kyosuke came awake with a gasp.

% Oh, one of *those* dreams




Ayaka Kisaragi was having a wonderful dream. In it, Godai-kun had come 
back to her apartment with her for some fun. They had slow danced for a 
time, drank some more and then collapsed into bed together. As soon as 
they had a little rest to cleanse the alcohol from their bodies a bit, 
she was going to rock his world.

When she awoke, she could feel a mouth pressed warmly against hers, and 
she opened hers to accept the kiss more fully, feeling his tongue move 
pleasantly against hers. She dreamily opened her eyes expecting to see 
her beloved Godai-kun. Her eyes went wide when she realized who was 
kissing her.

Yui Ikari’s eyes went wide as well when she realized she wasn’t in bed 
with her boyfriend, Keiichi. She was kissing Ayaka, open-mouthed and 
passionate.

% Heh Nice juxtaposition



On the night that Belldandy had appeared to him and claimed to have 
granted him his wish, he had gotten caught up in a fierce battle between 
the goddess, several members of the Mobius Institute and some other 
supernatural entity. Along with incinerating his apartment and most of 
his things during the exchange, his poor car had also been caught dead 
center with some kind of blast and utterly totaled, and he still had 
forty-two payments to make on it. He was still sorting out his claim 
with the insurance company's adjuster. Luckily, the Mobius Institute was 
assisting in the matter.

% I would think they have enough pull to simply list it under 'damage in 
the course of government duty' and let they'd fulfill it







Her return to active duty was still too new though to be brought up as a 
reason. No, he would have to continue for a time as her husband. He 
would have a chat with her new supervisor soon, to show proper interest 
in her new career path. Maybe he would make some time to do so this week.

% How calculating.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


As usual, the article on the front page was talking about the latest new 
arrivals. One of them had a last name he was familiar with: Kumon. It 
wasn’t common for a citizen to become a combatant. He read through the 
brief article on the boy, and he became excited.

% Oh yes. He'd recognize Ryu from his world.

Even if the boy lost, six months spent fighting in the Arena would hone 
this version of his son into a much better fighter. It was a win-win 
situation as far as Genma was concerned. The future success of the 
Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts was looking assured.

% Either he's confident or doesn't realize how dangerous it can be. Then 
again, a lot of what Ranma did in canon was dangerous.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Change back? Hot water could change him back to normal? He turned and 
hastily set a pot of water over the fire to heat. He then looked at 
Nabiki, the beautiful maiden who had appeared to him in his darkest 
hour, like an angel of mercy. He gazed at her with gratitude, seeing her 
smiling again at him.

% And now he has an answer



“G-good f-friends?” Ryoga stuttered, feeling lightheaded again. After 
what he had felt around that Akane girl and now Nabiki, he dared to hope 
that he really was attracted to girls after all, not other boys.

% That might even quell his rage. Or at least some of it

He put his free hand behind his head and chuckled with nervousness as

“Yes,” he said with a dark look. “Yes, I'd like that very, very much.”

Nabiki grinned, catlike. She wasn't sure what Ukyo might have done to 
anger Ryoga, to make him feel like he didn't like girls, since the Ryoga 
she knew from her analog's life was quite attracted to girls despite 
being painfully shy. His plight awoke an urge in her to help him, since 
he seemed so much like the boy she was familiar with.

Since she had found him camping out, he probably didn't have a place to 
stay in town. After she led him to Ukyo and let him work out his rage 
issues on the cross-dressing ninja bimbo for a bit, she would bring him 
home with her and ask the fake Soun who was pretending to be her father 
to let Ryoga stay with them for a while. After all, Touga was not really 
someone she could control as easily as Ryoga


% Or at all.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Godai sat next to Captain Shun Mitaka


% Ah, an old friend of Godai's I see. ^_^



Genma stood up and straightened his suit. He had been a bit surprised to 
be called up here after putting his mark on the form and handing it in 
for processing. He had been almost out of the building when one of the 
security details had approached and informed him that the Arena Director 
wished to speak with him personally.

% Hmm. That is fasttracking




The Director smiled and made a note on the form. “And you are aware that 
if the boy loses, he will be required by law to remain as our guest for 
six months? During that time, he will be in the rotation for matches and 
treated much like any other fighter in competition. He does have the 
option for a rematch against Shampoo within a month after the initial 
bout, but then the penalties rise even higher.”

% I'd be willing to bet he'll have that rematch in the month



Six years, the Director mused. Six years since I last had the miserable 
misfortune of meeting Ranma Saotome. The boy had apparently never told 
his father the full tale of what he had done in Monte Carlo during those 
weeks of ‘watching the games’ in the casino to get a sense for how 
probability theory worked in the real world. No, the boy had done far 
more than that.

Ranma Saotome had almost broken the bank of Monte Carlo.

% Heh


Now that boy was going to pay. He would see to it that Ranma Saotome 
lost to Shampoo in his match and then he would turn loose on the boy the 
worst villains that now fought in the Arena. The boy was going to die, 
slowly, inches at a time.

%Hmm. Yes, I could see him cheating if revenge is the motive.

“Speak,” said a male voice on the other end.

“Golgo?” said the Director. “I have a job for you.”

% He's only Golgo 12 though, not 13.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Since Setsuna's mind was so chaotic within, telepathic linking with 
others was deemed too risky. The Institute had the Magi always working 
together as a check on each other, and usually they would deliver the 
same vision. When one differed from the others, it was designated the 
‘minority report’

% Thought that sounded familiar


Kodachi took her pet back and glared at Ranma crossly. “P-chan is most 
certainly not 'funny-looking' at all, Saotome-kun.” She held him up and 
gave him a gentle kiss on his snout. “Don't listen to him, my dear 
little P-chan.”

Ranma blinked and felt his gorge rise. So that was what had happened to 
Ryoga.

% Heh. He'll be in for a surprise once Ryouga shows up loaded for bear



“Ukyo,” Ranma said suddenly. “This is ridiculous. Why don't you just 
tell him that you're really-mmph!” His mouth was suddenly filled with 
sticky okonomiyaki dough, mixed with some kind of rubber cement. He 
tried to spit it out and even tugged at it with a hand, his eyes 
widening when it didn't come free. “MMPH!”

% Yeah, this is a tactical error on Ukyou's part.



Nabiki caught sight of Kuno before he saw her, and she sighed. The day 
had been going so well and then a certain rich idiot had to show up and 
ruin it. She sighed again and decided to get things over with quickly. 
It was only Kuno, so a fight with him would not take very long. Then she 
could go back to watching Ukyo get beaten into the ground.

% hmm. Another tactical error, methinks

“Damn,” Ranma muttered, seeing a sudden foaming of soap on his skin 
after having finally gotten the sticky gunk out with jets of water from 
the hose he held. It had taken much longer than expected, and he had 
apparently used up his time limit for exposure. He tried to shut it off 
before more cold water could cause the change, but he lost his grip on 
the hose from the soap foam coating his fingers. The transformation took 
only a moment.

Ranma-chan looked down at herself and her wet uniform in dismay, before 
pulling it free from sticking to her skin, groaning. Luckily, nobody had 
been around to see, since she had been concealed by trees. She hastily 
got undressed and put on the okonomiyaki seller's outfit she had been 
carrying around in her bookbag. It looked like 'Ranko' was going to have 
to save the day she mused as she started pulling on her other clothes.


% Oops. Now we'll see if Ryouko or Nabby fouls things up.



Kuno saw that face even as he scented a delicate perfume coming to him 
on the breeze, and it was like a choir of angels erupted into song all 
around him. He would never forget that face, inscribing it upon his very 
soul forever. His eyes fell closed, and he passed out again.

% And some things remain the same



“You bitch!” Before Nabiki could react, Ukyo's fist slammed straight 
into the Tendo girl's face with every ounce of strength behind it she 
could muster, knocking Nabiki flat on her back. With a sob, she then 
turned and fled, bawling, leaping over the crowd in a single bound and 
continuing on away from the Academy at maximum speed. Tears streamed 
from her eyes the entire time.

% Yep.

The Tendo girl would learn what it meant to anger a Kuonji, to earn the 
fury of a ninja,


% Backstabbing is what they do, after all


Tsubasa had fallen in love.

% Heh

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tatewaki Kuno set down his brush and closed the cover on the ink pot, 
turning to face his sire and standing. "I was composing an ode to their 
beauty and warrior spirit, Father. 'Tis one of my best works yet. I 
believe I have captured the very essence of Nabiki Tendo in it." He 
walked over, dressed in a formal kimono, feeling his blood burning 
within him at the thought of the middle Tendo daughter.

"Try and focus here, Tatewaki," said Lord Kuno seriously.


% Good luck on that one
Tatewaki nodded. "Yes, Father, though my heart be not in this. It is 
impossible that the Arisugawa girl, though I find her quite comely of 
face, could compare in the least to Nabiki Tendo, her younger sister, or 
even to the pigtailed girl I have seen recently."

"Pigtailed girl?" he said as they walked towards the main stairs. "What 
pigtailed girl?"

% Translation: Oh god, another one


She hid her mouth demurely behind the fan, Sukeban-Kodachi ascendant in 
her manner tonight.

% Oh? I didn't know her moods varied like that




Downstairs, Yumi-kun sat down on a chair and waited. “I don’t have all 
night, Tsubasa-kun,” he said after a minute.

% Oh? She knows about Tsubasa?


Perfume nodded. She had expected that. In her pack and about her person 
was a small fortune of gold and jewels, most acquired on her journeys, 
but a few trinkets she had liberated from the treasury of Joketsuzoku 
because she thought they might be useful to her.

% OOps. That might cause trouble down the line

Roanapur.

% Hmm. I'll try and remember to change the Shanghai references I made to 
Roanapur.

% Nice work. Will try to get to the next chapter later.