Muyami Academy
What if they ALL went to the same school?
Chapter four. More alternative history Ranma with multiple crossovers and lame, filky songfics that have no relationship to the story! We're finally there! I think!
Thanks to my prereaders, T.H. Tiger and Bombadil Goh, who've been great for bouncing ideas off of. Thanks also to those who've written to me, some with ideas or suggestions, especially Jed Hagen and Scott Pollert who have been very helpful, feeding me ideas and a few good lines. ^_^
DISCLAIMER: Ranma 1/2 characters and stuff, and Inu-Yasha characters and stuff, not to mention Ursei Yatsura characters and stuff, copyright 1999 Rumiko Takehashi. Tenchi Muyou characters and stuff, copyright 1999 Pioneer & AIC. Mamono Hunter Yohko characters and stuff copyright 1999 AD Vision, NCS, Toho Company, LTD, Mad House, and I don't know who else. Koko wa Greenwood characters copyright Yuki Nasu. Mint na Bokura characters copyright Wataru Yoshizume. Alice In Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll, perhaps copyright his estate, I don't really know, and anyway, it only appears in this disclaimer.
Chapter Four
A Night On The Town
I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go
Walking with a duck-boy following behind
I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go
Walking with a duck-boy following behind
Checking to see if my invitation came
Going to a party where no one's still the same
Checking to see if my invitation came
Going to a party where no one's still the same
I was struck by bike tires
Walking down the street
I was hit by pig-boy last night in my sleep
It's a red head's party
Who could ask for more?
Everybody's coming,
Change your body at the door
Let the water change you, at the door
(to tune of: Dead Man's Party, Oingo Boingo)
"School?" Ayeka asked.
"Yeah, that's right," her younger sister, Sasami, replied. The young girl with the aqua-colored ponytails set her basket, full of clean clothing and Ryo-Okhi, on the couch. "Tenchi-niichan is going away to school tomorrow. Ryoko destroyed his old school, so he has to go to a boarding school now. He won't be back until Summer break." She sighed, and added, "Honestly, Ayeka, if you hadn't spent five days in your room you'd know this already. Well, at least I got you to come out yesterday."
"Miyaaah!" Ryo-Okhi added.
Ayeka sighed, adjusting her decorative Juraian robes and brushing back her long, intricately-styled purple hair. She'd had difficulty adjusting to all of the changes in the last week. She, a Princess of the planet Jurai, found herself stranded on a lost Juraian colony called Earth, along with her hated enemy, the space pirate Ryoko. Yosho, her half-brother and betrothed, had chased Ryoko to this place, but he was nowhere to be found. The native humans who were their hosts claimed that he'd died nearly seven hundred years ago, and that they were his descendants. She didn't accept the former -- his ship Funaho still lived, after all -- but that Tenchi was of Juraian blood she no longer doubted.
"I'm sorry, Sasami," she said. "I know this has been as hard on you, but it's been hard on me as well. But... school? I've only just started to get to know Lord Tenchi. How can he go away now?"
"It's what they do on Earth," Sasami said, as she began folding clothes. Ryo-Ohki scrambled up the back of the couch and perched there to watch. "Tenchi's got a lot to learn, and he can't learn all of it out here, at his grandfather's shrine. Tenchi's grandfather is letting Ryoko go too! I guess that even a space pirate can learn new things, huh?"
"What?" Ayeka shot up. "That dried up old mummy is going away with my Lord Tenchi? Of all the nerve! She thinks that she can get Tenchi alone, and then... and then...."
"And then... what?" Sasami asked.
Ayeka's face flushed red. "And then... well, who knows, Sasami. It's just... Lord Tenchi has no idea what that monster woman is really like."
Sasami's eyebrows went up. "Ayeka," she said, "why don't you go too? Just ask grandfather about it!"
With a surprised look, Ayeka sat back down. "Me, attend a human boarding school? Are you suggesting that I, a Princess of Jurai, should be treated like a common student...."
"Well," Sasami said, "it was only an idea. We're probably going to be here a long time, you know, and I just thought you'd like to learn about this place...."
Ayeka stared out at the lake, frowning. "If I don't," she said, "then Lord Tenchi will be at the mercy of that fossil woman! Oh, this is so infuriating! I'd wish that we'd never come to this stupid planet, save that I would not have met Lord Tenchi...."
She stared at the lake a moment longer, then nodded. "Very well, Sasami. If I must, then I must. But will you be okay out here without me?"
"I'll be okay," Sasami said. "Besides, I'll come visit you!"
***
"Yohko! Pay attention!"
Yohko Mano glanced back just in time to dodge the punch thrown by her grandmother. She returned a series of punches, and her grandmother flipped back, clearing space between the two.
They were training in the back yard of the house her grandmother had rented, set high on a hill overlooking Muyami Academy. The back yard was carved out of the hillside, with a large rock wall ringing it on three sides. The grass was thick and overgrown, the back wall was covered with ivy, and someone had planted blackberries at one end of the yard, where they now formed a massive, thorny, out-of-control brier patch.
Yohko had been knocked into it three times already, and had the scars on her forearms to prove it. She carefully maneuvered so that her back was to the ivy-covered back wall, placing the street within her field of vision. Not only did she want to avoid the briar patch, but if a handsome boy happened to walk by....
Her gaze drifted back to the road. "But the horoscope said...."
"Yohko!" her grandmother yelled.
"Well?" Yohko replied. "How can I meet anyone if I'm trapped back here half of the time?"
"You won't need to worry if the next demon gets the better of you!" Madoka Mano growled. She launched a series of punches and kicks, driving her granddaughter back.
Barely managing to block the attacks, Yohko stumbled over a large clump of grass. The next kick sent her tumbling backwards into the ivy -- and right through it. The stuff had been left alone for so long that it extended nearly three feet beyond the wall.
"Not good enough!" her grandmother growled.
The vines enfolded Yohko. Her back rammed into something hard -- the stone wall, she assumed. Brittle vines scratched at her already-raw arms. Dead leaves and spidery webs clung to her hair and clothing. Yohko could easily imagine the spiders, beetles, centipedes and other creepy-crawly insects that lived here, behind the ivy, and she scrambled and clawed to get out, quickly.
Her hands shoved against the rocks at her back. She felt them give way and tumble, but she didn't bother to look back. So what if the wall was falling apart? All she wanted was to get out of the ivy, now!
But if she had glanced back, she would have noticed several things.
There was no wall where she'd landed. Instead, there was a stone gateway, with worn, faded characters carved on the keystone at the top of the arch. It framed a cave opening, which led back into the hillside. Set before this opening was a small stone shrine -- the thing Yohko had landed against, and the thing she'd just toppled over.
Shadows pooled around the shrine, thicker and blacker than the night. They seemed to be moving, as a cat moves when awakening from a long nap.
The eyes of Yohko's Demon Hunter ring flashed red in warning. Unfortunately, it was sitting on the kitchen counter at the moment....
Yohko climbed out of the ivy and shook herself, brushing away the leaves which still clung to her. She took up a defensive stance, and nodded to her grandmother.
"I'm ready," she said.
***
"Now, Ranma," his mother said, "I don't want you fooling around at school. Study hard, and make it clear to everyone that Akane is your fiancée -- I don't want boys to bother her like they did at Furinkan, is that understood?"
"Yes, mother," Ranma said. Akane, standing nearby, grimaced and looked away.
"And did you remember your hot plate? You don't want to forget that."
"I've got it, mother."
"And the tea kettle?"
"Yes, of course. Do you think I'd forget all that?"
"Boy," his father said, "I don't want to find out you've been slacking in your training. Try to find someone to spar with, and make sure you do it every morning!"
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry," Ranma said.
Nabiki frowned, watching the whole exchange. What was taking so long, anyway? They were going to miss their train....
A white cab idled in front of the Saotome house, the driver waiting patiently to take them to the train station. Akane and Nabiki stood in front of it, waiting for Genma and Nodoka to say their good-byes, while Soun and Kasumi stood nearby. Nabiki hadn't seen the point of them travelling so far out of their way just to pick Ranma up, but, as usual, their parents had their reasons.
"Ranma, Akane, please stand over here," Genma said. "We want to get a picture of you two together before you leave."
"Pop," Ranma said, "the meter's running!"
"Don't worry," Genma said, "Tendo-san's got it covered...."
"If you could just, please, hurry, Saotome-san," Soun added.
"Aw, man, we're gonna be late," Ranma complained. "If we miss the train, we won't get there until nearly evening. I still need to grab my suitcase...."
"Just one picture of the two of you," Nodoka insisted. "We're not going to see you again for several months -- is this too much to ask? Now, hurry, so you won't be late! Genma, dear, could you possibly grab Ranma's suitcase? It's the blue one, in Ranma's room."
"I'll get it," Nabiki called out, hoping to avoid a group photo. "You'll want to say your good-byes, I know," she added with a wink, and dashed inside.
Up three steps and down the hallway she entered a bedroom on the left. There, beside the bed, was a large blue suitcase. "Must be new clothes," she speculated, noting the size. "I doubt Ranma carried so much around China."
Nabiki grabbed the handle, then noticed a second suitcase in the closet. This one was a light lavender with a floral pattern. She raised an eyebrow.
On a whim, she hefted it. It didn't feel empty, so she placed it on the bed and opened it, half-expecting what she found: dresses, blouses, skirts, bras, panties -- a complete wardrobe for a young woman. Her eyes went wide.
"Well, I guess they thought Ranma would be stuck as a girl. New clothing, too. A pity none of it would fit me, but maybe Akane.... I wonder what they're going to do with it all now?"
She glanced back down the hallway.
"Now," she said to herself, "wouldn't it be so very interesting if Ranma somehow wound up with the wrong clothing?
"Of course," she added, "that wouldn't happen; the suitcases don't even look alike. Unless the contents somehow got switched...."
Nabiki smiled wickedly, and opened the blue suitcase.
***
Yohko stared at her personal horoscope.
It was a small, plastic device, shaped like a cat's head -- a Hello Kitty cat's head, to be precise. The head popped up, revealing a digital display, where a new horoscope was revealed each day. Grandmother had laughed when she purchased the toy, but Yohko took it very seriously. When she held it, she felt a sensation run up her arm, as if the thing really were possessed with magical power. Her Devil Hunter ring wasn't triggered by it, but still...there was more to the device than met the eye, of that she was certain. She was convinced that the fortunes it gave out were true.
She read the words again: a handsome man will contact you. What did that mean? The phone hadn't rung. The doorbell was silent. Nobody had walked by the window lately who was worth drooling over. How was she supposed to meet this guy, anyway?
Yohko gazed out the window for the hundredth time. It stood to reason that, three blocks from a high school, you would occasionally see a handsome teacher or a cute student. But she might have been sitting at the top of Mt. Everest, for all the boys she'd seen recently. Come to think of it, there were probably some nice looking men climbing Everest right now.
Tomorrow school would begin, and there would be plenty of boys around -- and plenty of girls for them to date. Yohko had hoped that arriving early would give her some kind of advantage, a head start or a jump on the competition, so to speak. But so far she'd struck out, horoscope notwithstanding.
Her gaze settled on the mailbox at the end of the walkway, and she snapped her fingers. Of course! The fortune might mean a letter from a secret admirer!
Jumping up, she ran out the door, down the steps, and threw open the mailbox.
Nothing. Yohko sighed and crossed her arms.
"The fortune is very clear," she muttered. "'A handsome man will contact you.' But how? When? Is he just going to walk up to me on the street and say...."
"Excuse me, miss, but can you tell me where Muyami Academy is?"
Yohko froze. Could it be? She turned about slowly, expectantly.
He was about her age, which was a start. He wasn't as tall as she would like, but he had a broad, powerfully muscled chest, and thick black hair that cascaded over a striped yellow bandana.
He wasn't sharply dressed -- just rough-woven clothing, black pants, bound ankle to knee, and a yellow ochre shirt hanging loose and belted at the waist. But Yohko hadn't been this close to a good-looking man in days, so she wasn't in the mood to be picky. He carried a backpack and an umbrella. A traveler, then, but no -- hadn't he mentioned something about a school?
He laughed nervously, exposing a fang that Yohko decided was cute. She stared at him with dreamy eyes. "I'm sorry... did you say something?"
"Muyami Academy? Do you know where it is?" The boy laughed, and scratched his head. "Don't tell my I'm in Hokkaido again...."
"Muyami Academy?" Yohko repeated. The words finally sank through her sea of bliss and settled into her brain. "Oh! Are you going there?"
"Well," the boy said, "I think I am... if I can find it, that is...."
Yohko's heart soared. This strong, handsome boy was a student at her school? What a golden opportunity! Yohko could finally see the light of day -- a boyfriend at last! Someone who wasn't possessed or a demon or....
"If you don't know where it is, that's okay," the boy said, turning to go.
"No!" Yohko exclaimed, grabbing his shirt. "It's just down the hill, just... see that group of large buildings, about three blocks down? With the courtyard in the center, and the large fountain, and the statue?"
"That's it?" the boy said, gazing down on the campus. "Amazing! I can't believe I got so close on my own!
"Well, thank you very much, miss," he said, and started walking up the hill.
Yohko watched him for a moment, stupefied, then called out, "Hey! Are you trying to get to the school, or what?"
The boy looked back. "Of course I am. You mean this isn't the right way?"
"Don't you see it? It's right there, three blocks down the hill!"
"Oh," the boy said, turning around. "Of course. How stupid of me...."
He headed off in a new, and still wrong, direction. Yohko stared for a moment, than ran after him.
"Hey! Let me show you the way!"
"Ah... if it's no bother...."
*The poor guy!* Yohko thought. *He must be nearly blind or something, and too embarrassed to say anything. Not what I was looking for in a boyfriend, perhaps, but, as they say, any port in a storm.*
"It's no problem at all!" Yohko said, wrapping her arm in his. *I'm going there too, you know, and I have to find out how soon I can move into the dorms. I want to get everything moved in as soon as possible, so I can find my friends when they show up this evening. Say, are you going to be busy? We'll be going to dinner, and if you want to come along...."
The boy laughed nervously as she led him down the hill. Behind them, a shadow followed. It was not formed by the absence of light where an object blocked the sun, but by the presence of something that absorbed every last ray of light, reflecting nothing.
The eyes of Yohko's Demon Hunter ring flashed red in warning. Neither Yohko nor the boy she was with noticed....
***
Ranma leaned against the train window and watched another suburb roll by. The day had not started out well, and he had a sinking feeling that things would only get worse. He watched the dark storm clouds apprehensively, as the first drops of rain began to strike the window.
"This is just great," he muttered for the fiftieth time. "If we'd caught the right train, then we'd already be there, and...."
Akane, seated opposite him, glanced up from the book she was reading. "Ranma, give it a rest! We'll get there when we get there, and there'll still be time to get registered and moved in. Now stop complaining!"
Outside, it began to rain in earnest. Ranma cursed under his breath.
"Akane," he asked, "did you bring an umbrella?"
"Hmmm? No, of course not. I didn't have room for things like that." She glanced out the window, and frowned. "I take it you don't have one either?"
Ranma shook his head.
"Speaking of which," Nabiki, seated next to Akane, asked, "how are you going to register for school? Your mother pre-registered you as a girl, correct? I assume that she would not suffer the embarrassment of telling the school that she'd made a mistake about her own child's gender -- also correct?"
Ranma nodded. "It's not a problem," he said, holding up a laminated plastic identity card. "I've got proof of who I am, so I'll just get them to fix everything right there. I mean, I'm obviously not a girl, right?"
"Not at this moment," Nabiki agreed, holding her hand out. Ranma handed the card over, and Nabiki studied it carefully. "My, you sure got this done quickly, didn't you?"
Ranma shrugged. "I don't know. Does it normally take a long time?"
"Anything involving the government takes time," Nabiki said. She pulled a card from her own purse and compared it to Ranma's.
"What are you looking for?"
"Just checking to see that it's authentic," Nabiki said. "This is your second one, right? Your mom had one made when you were a girl, right?"
Ranma nodded. "After all, we thought I'd be attending school as a girl. But I left that one back home, in my room."
"Well," Nabiki said, as she leaned across to stuff the card into Ranma's shirt pocket, "be careful with this, Ranma. It wouldn't do to lose it."
Ranma nodded and slipped the card into his pocket.
"Ranma," Akane said, "about what your mother said...."
"Yeah?"
"As long as you keep turning into a girl, I don't know if it's wise to say we're engaged. It could cause more trouble for us than it's worth."
Ranma frowned and stared back out the window. "Sure, Akane," he said. "If that's what you want...."
***
The girl's dormitory was a three-story brick building named Matsukata Hall. It was ringed with rose bushes, and had a wide stone staircase leading to the front doors and the central or commons room. A courtyard separated Matsukata Hall from an identical building called Sakagawa Hall, which served as the boy's dormitory.
It was evening, and with storm clouds overhead, it was quickly growing dark. Outside the girl's dorm, oblivious to the lightly falling rain, a girl with dark skin and curly black hair tended the rose bushes, carefully trimming dead leaves and branches.
A shadow, black as ink, moved across the base of the building, just below the room windows. It slipped and slithered past the girl, and she didn't seem to notice. It slid from window to window until it came to a halt beneath one of them. There it seemed to hunker down, as if preparing for a long wait.
Two floors straight up, Yohko looked about her room with satisfaction. Her books and radio were set up on the desk, the bed was made, with her favorite stuffed animals sitting on top, and all of her clothing was stored away in the drawers and the closet. There were still things at grandmother's that she wanted to bring to the dorms, but for now, everything was set.
Her new roommate was in the top bunk, watching. Her name was Maria Minamino, and she had very long, brown hair tied into two braids. She was younger than Yohko, and liked to play basketball. Already, she'd revealed to Yohko that her primary reason for transferring to Muyami Academy was because of a boy that she'd met in a basketball tournament.
She seemed like a nice girl. Yohko liked her already.
"How does your hair stay up like that?" Maria asked. Like Yohko, her long braids were looped, but unlike Yohko her looped braids did not defy gravity.
Yohko laughed nervously. "Well, um... see my red hair ornaments?" she said. "They're made of a magical stone called shimi-seki. They keep my hair up, and help focus energy for me."
Maria looked at her doubtfully, then shrugged. "Magic?" she said. "Well, I guess they work, so...."
Yohko stared out of the window, into the gray drizzle. "I wish I knew when my friends are going to arrive," Yohko said. "Grandmother made reservations for dinner at six, and it's four-thirty now. They still need to register and get their room assignments. I thought they'd be here on the afternoon train, but I guess I was wrong."
"Maybe they just missed it," Maria said. "Anyway, the next train should be in soon."
"I hope so," Yohko said. "And where's Ryoga? I told him to come over after he'd finished moving in, but that was hours ago. Do you think he's so blind that he can't even find the girl's dorm?"
"That would be hard to believe," Maria agreed.
Yohko sighed. "He was really cute, too. I guess I shouldn't have let him out of my sight."
Maria hopped down from her bed.
"Where does your grandmother live?" she asked. "Can you see it from here?"
Yohko pointed to a house up on the hill. "Up there," she said. "The old, two-story one with the steep roof."
Maria nodded. "That's pretty close. It must be nice to have at least a part of your family near by. I had to leave everyone behind -- my parents and my brother. It's hard. But I was in love, so... what else could I do?"
"You're so lucky to have a boyfriend," Yohko said with a heavy sigh. "All of mine get eaten by demons."
Maria blinked at this comment, then shrugged it off. "Well," she said, "he's not really my boyfriend yet... but he will be!" She smiled and placed a hand on Yohko's arm. "Don't give up, Yohko! I'm sure you'll find the man who's right for you!"
"I hope you're right."
"Hmmm," Maria said, staring up the hill again. "You know, Yoshiaki told me that there's an ancient graveyard on that hill. I don't want to scare you, but... he said that it's haunted."
Yohko laughed. "Your almost-boyfriend said that? Don't worry, Maria, those kind of legends are always false."
On the desktop, completely unnoticed, the eyes of Yohko's Demon Hunter ring flashed red. Meanwhile, at the base of the wall outside the window, a shadow waited, patiently....
***
The Office of Registration was a madhouse, with more than fifty students and parents crowded into a room built to contain about eighteen. Ranma fretted and waited in line, silently going over her cover story. Finally, she reached the front of the line, and took a deep breath.
"Pre-registration papers and ID?" the woman asked.
"I know this is unusual," Ranma said, "but this really isn't my ID card, but you see, I'm trying to register for my brother, who was in a horrible martial arts training accident at a construction site -- something about 'jackhammer fist', something pop wanted him to learn, he's always trying to teach me dumb techniques and such.... so the paperwork might be a little bit messed up, but I'm not really Ranma, just his younger sister... um... Ranko... and if you could just fix everything so that when I get... so that when my brother gets out of the hospital...."
Ranma was soaking wet from the walk up the hill from the train station, but she'd cleverly altered her story to take this into account. She smiled sweetly, knowing how charming she was as a girl, and knowing that her clever cover story was fool-proof.
"Pre-registration papers and ID?" the woman repeated, in the same weary monotone. Her eyes held a glazed look, as if she'd been doing this all day -- which, in fact, she had.
Ranma handed the paperwork over. The woman made no comment as she typed information into her computer and scanned several forms. She printed out yet another form, which she handed to Ranma, along with the ID card.
"Sign here, please," she said.
"So everything's straightened out?" Ranma asked, as she signed the form.
The woman seemed to nod -- or was it just a tick? Then she called out, "Next! Pre-registration papers and ID?"
Ranma shoved her way out of the office and found Akane waiting for her.
"Well, I'm glad that's over with," Akane said. "Nabiki got off lucky, being already registered as a continuing student. Anyway, let's go up to the dorms and see if she's got our assignments yet."
On their way from the train station, Nabiki had run into some friends, and they'd volunteered to take Akane and Ranma's things up to the dorms and get their room assignments squared away.
"Just a second," Ranma said. "I want to check my paperwork."
"Did you get it straightened out?" Akane asked.
"I think so," Ranma said. "I told her my story. Hmmm. The only paperwork she gave back to me doesn't say much...."
Ranma was still reading when someone wrapped her up in a fierce hug.
"You made it!" Yohko Mano exclaimed, spinning Ranma about. "Oh, you had me so worried!"
Akane looked on with interest. Ranma disentangled herself and introduced the two.
"Yohko, this is Akane Tendo, my fi... my friend. Akane, this is my friend, Yohko Mano. She's the Devil Hunter."
"You told her that?" Yohko exclaimed.
"Well," Ranma said, "I didn't think it was a secret. After all, Chi's been putting up posters and everything, right?"
"Well, sure, but...."
"Where is Chi, anyway?"
"She's not arriving until tomorrow," Yohko said. "Now, have you two got your dorm assignments yet? Are you rooming together? Because, if you aren't, then you and I could room together, Ranma! I've already got my assignment, but I'm sure they'd let us switch around!"
"Ah..." Ranma said, at a loss for words.
Akane flashed Ranma a look that said, "You haven't told her?" Ranma shrugged innocently, as if to say, "I haven't had an opportunity yet."
"My sister Nabiki is getting the rooms squared away," Akane said. "We thought it'd be faster."
"That's great!" Yohko replied. "Grandmother's made reservations for dinner in half an hour, so we don't have a lot of time. Akane, you're invited, and your sister too." She paused. The dorms were further up the hill, high above the rest of the campus. "You know, it's quite a hike up to the dorms," Yohko said, "and I've been marching up and down this hill all day. Why don't we phone your sister from down here?"
"If you can get a hold of her," Akane said.
"Shouldn't be a problem," Yohko replied. "Just follow me!"
***
Tenchi Masaki moved down the hall, weaving past people carrying boxes into new dorm rooms or just holding conversations in the hallway. He paused, eyes wide, to watch several boys wrestling a video game through the doorway of one room, then a large boy, carrying a larger motorcycle, shoved past.
"Man," Tenchi said, rolling his eyes, "my life has sure gotten strange lately. First, a friend who changes gender, then demons and space Princesses, and now I'm living in a dorm full of weirdoes."
A minute later he found the room he was looking for: 211. Standing before it were two tall, exceptionally good-looking boys -- seniors, Tenchi assumed. One had golden hair and violet eyes, and wore a buff-colored sweater over his shirt, while the other has gray-blue hair and eyes, and wore a similar sweater in blue.
"Ah, you must be Tenchi Masaki," the golden-haired boy said. "We were wondering when you'd arrive; nearly everyone else is here. My name is Mitsuru Ikeda, and I'm President of the dorm. This is my roommate, Shinobu Tezuka, who is class President. Hmmm," Mitsuru examined the clipboard in his hand. "I understand you're a last-minute transfer...."
"Yeah," Tenchi said, adjusting the strap on his duffel bag. "My school kind of burned to the ground last week...."
"Ah," the older boy said. "I saw that on the news. Well, we've had several people transfer at the last minute, including others from your school. I'm afraid most of the dorm rooms are taken. Let's see. You seem like a nice enough guy...."
"I see you like kendo," Shinobu said, looking over Mitsuru's shoulder.
"Well..." Tenchi said, "my family style is unusual...."
"If you're thinking about the pompous kendoist," Mitsuru said, "then don't. I've already placed him with Jinnai."
"Ah. Well, that's a good match, I suppose. Kind of hard on poor Katsuhito, 'though."
"You're talking about someone who's declared you his sworn enemy," Mitsuru said.
Shinobu smiled. "Ah, yes, but he's ambitious, and I like that in a person."
"Hmmm, how about Moroboshi? We don't have anyone rooming with him yet."
Shinobu frowned. "The problem is finding someone who deserves to room with him."
"Moroboshi?" Tenchi said. "The name sounds familiar...."
"You may have seen him on television last fall," Shinobu began. He was interrupted by a terrified scream. A man rounded the corner and ran down the hall, moving faster than anyone with his clear lack of coordination should ever have been able to. Behind him flew a girl with bright green hair and two small horns on her forehead.
She paused to hover, two feet off the ground.
"Darling no baka!" the girl screamed. "DIVINE RETRIBUTION!"
There was an ear-shattering ZAP! of electricity, which shot the length of the hall, bending around the boys who were still working to get the video game moved in, and hitting its intended target. The uncoordinated runner screamed and collapsed to the floor.
Mitsuru Ikeda rubbed at his temples. "You know, even after I saw her on television, I don't think I quite believed in aliens...."
"Oh, THAT Moroboshi," Tenchi said. He laughed and scratched the back of his head. Visions of a girl with blue-green hair throwing red energy bolts at him flashed through his mind. "Heh, the funny thing is, I can almost relate to him...."
"Oh?" Shinobu said, "you have girl troubles too?"
"Heh... I guess you could say that. Ever since last week, anyway...."
"But at least it's not the levitating, energy-throwing sort, I hope," Shinobu said with a laugh.
"Tenchi!" a girl exclaimed. Moments later Ryoko wrapped herself about Tenchi. Her feet never touched the ground, a fact that the two older students did not miss.
Shinobu and Mitsuru blinked in mutual surprise. Shinobu recovered first. "I see that your girlfriend floats too," he said with a smirk.
"She's not my girlfriend," Tenchi said, "and -- yes. Um, Ryoko, meet Shinobu-sempai and Mitsuru-sempai."
"The pleasure's all mine," Shinobu said, extending his hand. "I don't suppose you shoot bolts of electricity or something, as well?"
Ryoko relaxed her grip on Tenchi and settled to the ground. "...Or something," she said, extending her own. Shinobu took her hand gently and kissed it. Ryoko blinked in surprise.
"Miss," Mitsuru said, kissing her hand in turn.
"Well," Ryoko said, "aren't you two all nice and proper?"
"It's looking like a better match all the time," Shinobu said.
"Okay, I admit it," Mitsuru replied. "Moroboshi it is, then." He handed a slip of paper to Tenchi. "Room 335, near the end of the hall."
"Tenchi," Ryoko said, as they headed for the stairs, "why can't I room with you? They want to put me in another building...."
*Thank my ancestors,* Tenchi thought privately. Before he could answer, he heard Ayeka's voice, carrying down the hall: "Ryoko! Let go of my Lord Tenchi this instant!"
Tenchi sighed. Send Ryoko and Ayeka off to school with him? What had his grandfather been thinking?
***
Her name was Belldandy. She was a gaijin woman, with pale skin, deep blue eyes, and impossibly long, light brown hair. Nabiki had met her, briefly, near the end of last quarter, but didn't recall her being a student, just a friend of one of the boys in her class. Now, apparently, she was President of the girl's dorm.
Nabiki didn't mind too much. Being President of anything school related was never an ambition of hers, anyway, and Belldandy certainly seemed like the kind of girl whom everyone would respect. She was honest, straightforward, pleasant, caring, as sweet as a pocky stick -- in short, enough like Nabiki's own older sister to turn her stomach -- whether from homesickness, or sugar overdose, Nabiki wasn't quite sure. The girl had the same "happy airhead" presence as Kasumi, too. They even sounded alike.
"Well," Belldandy said, "that gets your sister's and her friend's rooms squared away. You really don't want to room with your sister, then? I've roomed with both of my sisters, before, and while Skuld can be a little immature, and Urd can be... well, Urd... they were never a burden to me. If anything, it hurts to be away from them so much."
Nabiki smiled. It was an almost genuine smile, with little hint of smirk, cynicism, or wry humor -- a smile that she normally saved for Kasumi alone. "It's not that I don't love my sister," Nabiki said, "it's that our interests don't mesh. Anyway, if I know my sister, she needs to get out and make some new friends. Having a roommate who isn't her own sister will be a good thing for her."
"I hope, for her sake, that you're right," Belldandy said.
The two threaded their way down the stairs to the first floor and then down the hallway. Everywhere were students moving in, some with their families in tow, either helping them move in or bidding them goodbye. Everything seemed a bit busier than Nabiki remembered from her previous year here.
"This place is crowded," Nabiki said. "The dorms must be pretty full."
"They are," Belldandy said. "They're both completely full. The school generally likes to take in every student they can, and this year there were a lot of late applicants, including several people from that school that burned down last week."
Nabiki nodded. "My cousin's one of them. I hope he managed to get in. But then, if both dorms are completely full, then it would be impossible for someone to transfer from one dorm to the other, right?"
Belldandy's brow furrowed. "Transfer from the girl's dorm to the boy's dorm? What girl would want to do that?"
"Never mind," Nabiki replied. "It was just a hypothetical question."
"Well," Belldandy said, "here's your room, then. I haven't seen your roommate yet, but I'm told she's a Princess. If you need anything, or have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! I'm right up the hall, you know!"
Nabiki smiled again -- not a very genuine smile, this time, but more of a "fine, fine, you can leave now, see you later" sort of smile. Belldandy disappeared down the hallway, and Nabiki set her suitcases down with a sigh.
*Poor Ranma,* she thought. *And here, I thought I was just playing a joke on the poor gender-challenged guy....*
***
Half an hour later, Nabiki had just finished putting her stuff away and straightening up the room to her satisfaction, when three people walked in. She turned around, and was confronted by two girls with abnormally-colored hair, and a boy she'd known her whole life.
"Nabiki?" Tenchi asked. The boy was balancing a stack of odd-shaped boxes in his hands.
"Oh, Tenchi, there you are," Nabiki said. "I knew you were around here somewhere. So -- who are your friends?"
As she spoke, Nabiki looked the two women over very carefully. The one on the right had bright amber eyes and sea-green hair that stuck up in all directions, like a spiky patch of sea grass. She had a slouch that declared her disdain for the world, and a look so hardened and cynical that Nabiki might be a preschool teacher by comparison. Nabiki instinctively sensed that this was one very dangerous lady.
The girl on the left was dressed like some sort of new-age priestess. Her purple hair was almost as long as Belldandy's, and was combed and tied back in an unusual style. Although the girl smiled at Nabiki, there was a certain haughtiness in that look -- the look of someone who was superior to others in their own mind, but was willing to lower themselves and rub elbows with the common folk. Nabiki had met people like that before -- most notably, a rather rich boy with a kendo fetish at the public school she used to attend.
They both appeared to be gaijin of some sort, although Nabiki wouldn't care to bet on where either was from.
Tenchi set the boxes down. He seemed nervous, and Nabiki instantly made the connection that these two were more than just friends -- but her cousin had never had a girlfriend that she knew of. Even a week ago, she'd caught him eyeing girl-Ranma with more than a casual interest, despite knowing that Ranma was supposed to be a boy.
*Here is a mystery,* Nabiki thought. *Where did Tenchi get two unusual love interests in only a week?*
"This," Tenchi said, pointing to the green-haired girl, "Is Ryoko. And this," he said, indicating the purple-haired one, "is Princess Ayeka. They've been staying at our house for the last week, and, well, since they're stuck here, they both decided to attend school with me and learn a little about our culture."
"Stuck here?" Nabiki repeated.
Ryoko nodded her head slightly at Nabiki, saying nothing. Ayeka, however, inclined her head more deeply, and said, "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Tendo. Am I to understand that you're Lord Tenchi's cousin?"
Nabiki nodded. "Second cousin, actually. And I've never thought of him as a Lord...."
"He is a Prince of Jurai," Ayeka said, with obvious pride. "He is a descendant of Yosho, who was my brother. I am a Princess of Jurai, and a direct relative of Tenchi as well. I suppose we're indirectly related...."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow.
"I... see," she said. "So, you're my new roommate, then? Belldandy mentioned a Princess...."
"Better you than me," Ryoko said with a smirk. This earned an irritated look from Ayeka, and a weary look from Tenchi.
"It would appear to be the case," Ayeka said. "I must admit, I've never shared a room with another person, much less a room so small, and with a common woman... no offense meant, of course."
"Of course," Nabiki said, with half-lidded eyes. Oh, this quarter was shaping up to be a barrel of laughs, all right.
After a moment of awkward silence, Ayeka moved further into the room and began to look about. Tenchi moved the strange boxes further into the room and set them in the corner. Nabiki sat down on the bed and watched with interest.
"I don't think I've ever heard of Jurai," she said after a moment.
"Well, I suppose that's to be expected," Ayeka said, "this being such a backwards planet and all. It's quite a few light years from here, actually, further up the spiral arm."
"Ah," Nabiki said, with slightly raised eyebrows. She digested this for a moment, noting that Tenchi didn't offer to contradict the statement. "And you, Ryoko? Are you from Jurai as well?"
The green-haired girl snorted. "Hardly! I've been there, though. It's not so great. Especially after I left...."
Ayeka screamed something unintelligible, followed by, "OF ALL THE NERVE! IT'S TIME SOMEONE TAUGHT YOU A LESSON RIGHT NOW, YOU PSYCHOPATHIC MURDERER!!"
Lightning flashed through the room, and instantly there were odd pieces of wood forming several concentric rings about Ryoko. "Anytime, anywhere, Princess!" Ryoko growled, as energy coursed over her body.
"STOP IT!!!!" Tenchi yelled, jumping between the two of them. "DO YOU WANT TO DESTROY TWO SCHOOLS IN ONE WEEK? GIVE ME A BREAK! Besides," he added, in a calmer tone, "I don't want everyone to know about you two... it's hard enough to explain as is."
Reluctantly, the two girls calmed down, while still staring daggers at each other.
"Ah, your school," Nabiki said. "I heard about it burning down. It was all over the news."
"Yeah," Tenchi said with a laugh. "On the first day of school, too. Imagine that."
"We were wondering about you, then we heard that you would be coming here...."
"I know. Dad called Uncle Tendo -- your dad -- to find out about the school, how much it cost and such."
"So... they didn't find out what caused it?"
"What, the fire? Well, ah..." Tenchi said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "It might have been a meteor -- you know, like the one that destroyed the Seito Bridge the same evening...."
"Seito bridge?" Ryoko asked. "Isn't that the one that we...."
"YES," Tenchi interrupted, "it IS the one we saw on the way here." He laughed nervously.
"A meteor," Nabiki said in a flat tone. "Of course, that makes perfect sense. The Seito bridge, too. You're life has become very interesting in the last week, hasn't it, Tenchi?"
Tenchi laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess you could say that...."
Having arranged her desk to her liking, Ayeka returned to eye the bunk bed dubiously. Clearly, she didn't favor the upper bunk, but Nabiki had already claimed the lower one as her own. Nabiki was calculating exactly how much she could extort from an intergalactic Princess for the favor of swapping bunks, when Belldandy returned.
"Nabiki? There was a phone call for you a little while ago. I took a message... I'm sorry, I've been so busy helping new people move in that I completely forgot about it."
She handed Nabiki a short note. Nabiki studied it a moment, then looked up.
"Well, Tenchi," she said, "my sister, Ranma, and Ranma's friend Yohko have all gone to dinner with Yohko's grandmother. She said you and I were invited as well, if we could get to the restaurant in time." She glanced at Ryoko and Ayeka. "I assume it's okay if you two come along, too."
"Sounds like fun," Ryoko said.
"If it's no trouble," Ayeka said. "Now, Nabiki, about the top bunk...."
"We can negotiate later," Nabiki said.
"Negotiate? Surely you don't expect a Princess of Jurai to...."
"Yes, I'm afraid I do," Nabiki said curtly. "Now, if we don't hurry, we'll miss the dinner completely. Are you coming, or not?"
***
"Wow," Ranma said, looking over the menu. It had been ages since she'd been in a sushi restaurant, and, with Yohko's grandmother picking up the tab, she wanted to try just about everything.
"Don't get too greedy," Akane said, as if reading her mind. She was seated directly across from Ranma, next to Yohko's grandmother, with Yohko on Ranma's right.
Akane smiled one of her sweet, beautiful smiles. "Say, Ranma, why don't we share a sampler? That way we can both try a little of everything!"
"S-sure," Ranma said. Was it just her imagination, or was Akane friendlier when Ranma was a girl?
The restaurant was small, just a few tables out front and a crowded kitchen behind a small counter, and a tiny washroom/restroom crammed into one corner. The four of them -- Ranma, Akane, Yohko, and grandmother Mano, were the only ones present. An old man with graying hair took their orders, then went back into the kitchen to prepare the meal. Nobody else seemed to be about.
"Is your sister, Nabiki, going to show up, you think?" Yohko asked. She watched the people passing by outside the window.
"Who knows," Akane said. "I left a message. She's probably running into old friends and such. Although, I wouldn't expect her to pass up on a free meal."
"Yohko," Ranma said, "since I don't have pop to train with, I was wondering if you'd like to train with me?"
"How often?" Yohko asked.
"Every morning, of course," Ranma replied.
"Every morning?" Yohko replied. "Does this involve getting up extra early?"
"I could train with you, Ranma," Akane said.
"Thanks, Akane, but I need someone who can challenge me a little."
"What? Are you saying I'm not good enough for you?"
"Well, duh," Ranma replied.
"Ranma, don't be rude!" Yohko said. "Akane's dad owns a dojo, right? She can't be that bad -- why don't we all train together?"
"That's a wonderful idea!" Yohko's grandmother exclaimed. "In fact, I could help train you three, if you like."
Yohko frowned at the offer, but Ranma perked up. "Could you teach me that soulsword technique?" Ranma asked.
"Well," Madoka Mano said, "that's a Mamano Hunter technique... but you might have the spirit to master it. Tell me, are you a virgin?"
"What?"
"Grandma!"
"It's an important question, Yohko. What I mean is, have you ever had sex? Specifically, has a man ever penetrated you?"
Akane spewed bits of rice across the table in a violent fit of coughing.
"N-NO!" Ranma exclaimed, bigsweating. "Never! Why would I...."
"Good! Because you may have the makings of a demon hunter! If you do, then I promise to train you, just as I've trained Yohko."
"Really?" Ranma asked hopefully.
"Of course," she said. "We'd need to find you a talisman, or make one, but...."
Ranma smiled. "Anything that would help me take on a demon would be great."
"Say, have either of you been fitted for your school uniform yet?" Yohko asked. "What do you think of it? The skirt's kind of short, but the boys like that, you know...."
"Um..." Ranma said.
"We just got here," Akane said.
"Oh, that's right," Yohko replied. "How silly of me. Well, I can show you where the place is; it's just a few blocks away. I've already had mine done, since I've been here all week and had plenty of free time. Why don't I take you two there tomorrow? I just know you're going to look great in it, Ranma! After all, you're the prettiest girl I know, so I'm sure they boys will be drooling all over you!"
Akane watched Ranma squirm. She sighed, and said, "Actually, Yohko, I think Ranma has something to tell you...."
"Um, yeah," Ranma said. "That is, I've been meaning to tell you this... it's not easy to say, but... I'm not exactly... that is, I'm really kind of...." Ranma's voice trailed off, and she began to sweat. "Um," Ranma began again, then jumped up. "Actually, if you'll excuse me, I need to use the restroom. Now!"
***
The old man deftly sliced, rolled, and prepared the sushi as he'd done thousands of times before. As he worked, he hummed an old folk tune from his youth. Occasionally he flicked a scrap to the floor, where two cats waited patiently to pounce on each morsel.
The door at the back of the kitchen, which led to the back alley, creaked. The old man looked up, frowning. Now, why was the door open? He distinctly remembered locking it, as he always did after using it.
His two cats suddenly began hissing. They arched their backs, then disappeared under the counter.
The old man frowned. What was out there, that it frightened his two pets so? Gripping his carving knife, he took several steps towards the door....
The shadow arose so swiftly and silently that he didn't have time to cry out. As it enveloped him, his knife clattered to the kitchen floor, and then there was silence.
***
"I wonder what's taking the cook so long?" Akane said. "I'm practically starving!"
"No kidding," Yohko said. "For that matter, what's taking Ranma so long?"
Akane grimaced, then glanced out the window. "Oh, look! Here's Nabiki and Tenchi, finally!"
Yohko nodded. "Hmm, I take it the one with the short hair is your sister," she said, but who are those two other girls?"
"I have no idea," Akane said, studying the green-haired girl and the purple-haired girl for clues. "They must be Nabiki's friends. They look like foreigners, though, don't they?"
The front door opened, and Nabiki, Tenchi, and the two strange girls entered. Moments later, the green-haired girl left her feet and literally flew to the back of the restaurant, yelling something. Akane caught the phrase "red-haired bimbo", followed by the loud smack of flesh on flesh and a crash of wood splintering and glass shattering.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi called out, running to the back. The purple-haired girl followed him, leaving Nabiki standing in the doorway, blinking.
"Ranma?" Akane called out, standing up. Just then, the lights went out. Akane took two steps towards the bathroom, and stopped.
The eyes of Yohko's Demon Hunter ring flashed red. This time, in the nearly dark room, Yohko couldn't help but notice.
Madoka Mano sucked in her breath. "Demon!" she breathed.
Something was coming over the counter, into the front room. Barely visible in the dim light, it seemed large and amorphous, and appeared to have too many limbs to be human.
"Ranma?" Akane asked, backing towards the door. "Tenchi? What's going on?"
"It's a demon," Yohko whispered, stepping to Akane's side. "These things happen around me. If I were you, I'd find some cover."
Yohko's grandmother grabbed Akane's arm and pulled her towards the front door, where Nabiki still stood. "Let Yohko deal with this," Madoka Mano said. "It's what I trained her for."
As they stepped out into the night, Akane heard Yohko begin to talk, in something like a chant: "To those who walk the night, and would ruin a school girl's dinner with her family and friends, I hold no sympathy, nor grant any quarter. Know, then, that you face the one who fights in the name of love and truth against the forces of evil...."
***
Ranma was just coming out of the bathroom when a strange girl attacked her.
"You! Redheaded bimbo! Yeah, I mean you!" the girl yelled. She was tall and had sea-green hair, and Ranma had never seen her before in her life. Ranma dropped into a defensive crouch, although she figured to handle any attack easily.
The girl threw a punch. Ranma blocked it... and was thrown through the restroom door, ripping it off its hinges.
Ranma crashed into the sink with enough force to crack the porcelain. A pipe broke, and a stream of hot water shot out, soaking her. The change was nearly instantaneous.
The green-haired girl stepped into the bathroom and stared down at a wet and obviously male Ranma, lying on the floor.
"My, my," she said, "we're just full of surprises, aren't we? So this is the girl who tried to steal my Tenchi? What a joke!"
"I got no idea what you're talking about," Ranma said, testing his heavily-bruised back carefully. It hurt like hell, but nothing seemed to be broken.
"So which is it?" the girl continued. "Are you a girl or a guy?"
Ranma grimaced, and got to his feet. "Who wants to know?"
"You really don't remember, do you?" the girl said. "Well, perhaps this will jog your memory."
Just then, the lights went out. In semi-darkness, the girl's eyes flashed darkly red, and her body crackled with energy. Ranma had seen those eyes before....
"It's you!" he exclaimed. "That ugly demon from the cave!"
"Who're you calling ugly?"
Ranma cracked his knuckles. He could hear people shouting in the front room, and expected to see Yohko any minute. "I don't hit girls," he said, "but if you're a demon...."
"Now we're getting somewhere," the other said. I've got a score to settle with you, girl -- if you are a girl, and frankly I don't care either way. You hurt me back in that cave, and proved you could kick a girl when she's down, but now you've got me at full strength. Let's see what you've got."
The girl smirked, and threw another hard punch.
Ranma blocked it -- she was very fast, but not too fast for him -- and, once again, the force of her punch was unlike anything he'd ever encountered. He was slammed back into the hand dryer, which ripped away from the wall and spun across the floor. Moments later, Ranma slumped to the floor, too.
The girl grabbed Ranma by the shirt and hauled him to his feet. Power surged through her... and suddenly, Ranma was a girl again.
The girl blinked. "How do you do that, anyway?" she asked.
"I got no idea," Ranma whispered hoarsely. The girl shrugged, and tossed Ranma into the kitchen.
Ranma slammed into something sharp and painful, and then hit the concrete floor. She knew, immediately, that her arm was broken, and that she was hurt badly. She almost lost consciousness, and then, she thought she heard the voice of Akane's cousin, Tenchi Masaki.
He sounded very angry.
"Ryoko! If you hurt Ranma, I'll never forgive you!"
"Stay out of this, Tenchi! This is between me and her.. him... whatever!"
Ranma blinked. Akane's cousin was standing between her and the green-haired girl. He wielded Yosho's sword, and it glowed like white fire. There was another girl next to him, with long purple hair. Small pieces of wood where floating in the air about her like some odd carpenter's mobile. There was something red -- blood, Ranma realized -- dripping from the nearby counter. It took her a moment to realize it was her own.
Darkness was closing in on Ranma. She struggled to keep her eyes open, even as she wondered whether she were delirious and imagining things.
"Ryoko, you monster! You will not hurt this poor, innocent girl!" the purple-haired girl declared. Energy seemed to crackle around her.
Something black, with many legs, came crashing over the counter from the front room. Tenchi spun and lashed out at it with his sword....
As darkness washed over Ranma, she got one glimpse of Yohko leaping over the counter, in her red silk dress, wielding her pure white soulsword. She heard Yohko scream, "Get back! It's evil!" And then, everything went black....
***
*to be continued*
Author's notes on timing of events: I can already hear people complaining about my having compressed events into too little time in my story, so I thought I'd provide a little timeline/argument of events for those who care or are confused.
Ranma and Genma visit Jusenkyo about three weeks before the story begins. They run off before the guide can explain things to them, so one assumes that they never made it to the Joketzu amazon village. At least, the guide didn't take them there.
Three weeks later, Ranma shows up at his mother's house (chapter one). For the next week, Ranma lives with his mother as a girl, and befriends neighbors Kagome (Inu-Yasha) and Yohko (Mamano Hunter Yohko). At the end of this week, Ranma, Yohko, and Kagome fight a demon. Ranma and Kagome learn that Yohko is a Devil Hunter; and Yohko and Ranma learn that Kagome is a reincarnated priestess, who travels to the past and has a half-demon as a companion -- well, associate, at least.
The next day, Kagome visits her grandfather and then returns to the past with Inu-Yasha. The day after that, Ranma visits the Tendos for the first time, and everyone travels out to the Masaki Shrine, where there is still enough time for Ranma, Akane, and Tenchi (Tenchi Muyou) to awaken the demon Ryoko before dinner. Don't ask me how they do all that in one day, they just do. They started early, and traveled really fast. ^_^;
Tenchi leaves for home and school the next day. Ranma and Akane are to attend Muyami Academy, which doesn't start class until a week later. They return home, where Ranma learns that Yohko is leaving for school early to help her grandmother move in to a house near the campus.
Chapter Four takes place a week after that. In the intervening time, Tenchi's school has been burned to the ground, he's met Ryoko and Ayeka, and he's survived the fight that destroyed both of their ships, Seito Bridge, and relocated Tenchi's house. Ayeka's had enough time to reconcile herself to being stranded on earth, and to admit that Tenchi is of Juraian blood, and to become attracted to him.
Now, can all of that happen in a single week? I think so. In the OAV, it's not clear how much time passes between the time Tenchi awakens Ryoko and his first day back to school. We know that he awakens her during summer vacation, and that she shows up to destroy his school on the first day of class. In my story, things happen in the Spring (it's my understanding that the new school year begins in the spring, before summer vacation) and only 1 or 2 days pass between the awakening of Ryoko and her showing up to destroy Tenchi's school.
Once Ryoko shows up, everything in the second half of the first OAV and all of the second OAV (apparently) happens in a single night. Ryoko destroys the school, then later shows up in Tenchi's bed. Ayeka captures them, but they make an escape in Ryo-Okhi. A battle ensues, they crash, both ships are destroyed, the Seito bridge is destroyed, and Tenchi's house is relocated.
The third OAV takes place a week later -- Sasami chides Ayeka for staying in her room for a whole week. Within that one day, Ayeka realizes that Tenchi really is descended from Yosho, and becomes attracted to him. Ryoko, of course, has always been attracted to him -- she watched him grow up, while she was trapped in the cave.
So, at best, I think I've only compressed the events between the awakening of Ryoko and Ayeka's acceptance of and attraction to Tenchi by a day or two. I can live with that.
Muyami Academy Chapter 5
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