"… So it was that after new Matriarch of the Hayashida Family joined the reformation movement in the fall of 1992 things began to change. With three of the Great Families on board with his plans, Chairman Sarutobi Kishi was able to begin pushing through with his plans to update Sensha-do for the new millennium.
The New Engine Standard
The first of Chairman Sarutobi's reforms, known as the New Engine Standards Order, was instituted on 23rd April of 1993.[45] As discussed previously the reformationists believed that the lessons taught in Sensha-do, especially at less professional levels, were coming to reflect the current state of the modern Tanks and their proper implementation less and less. An important part of this was simply how fast modern tanks can traverse the field of battle and so with this order, a new standard was implemented that would have far-reaching effects for Sensha-do and those practising it.
The new standards created a system that would regulate the replacement of the traditional original engines in all Sensha-do tanks with new engines designed to increase the maximum speeds of Sensha-do vehicles without removing the traits that characterise the vehicles on which the sport is based. As the chairman himself said:
"There is more to Sensha-do than just driving in formation or firing an accurate volley. Each tank, whether a Tiger, or a Churchill, or a Type 89 has unique lessons to teach its crew. Lessons of humility, of courage, of honour. If we removed what made these tanks unique we would merely be handicapping future generations. So while we must make sure that the lessons of strategy these vehicles impart to our youth remain relevant we must also ensure that we do not damage the spirit of Sensha-do."[46]
So it was that while the new engines would allow greater speeds for all vehicles they were specifically tailored to ensure that the reliability and quirks of each vehicle remained as close to the original as possible. This system rates engines on two levels.
- The engine is granted a rating in horsepower based upon the strength of the engine it is intended to replace.
- The engine is given a letter designation, pulled from the Latin Alphabet, based upon the reliability of the engine with letters further down the alphabet signifying worse reliability.
Those vehicles that historically possessed poor reliability are forbidden from having engines with a higher reliability rating than they have been issued. At the same time, a Vehicle must possess an engine with an HP rating identical to their historical design.
This order, while a progressive measure that helped pave the way for the exciting matches of today, was but the first of several measures that had much further reaching consequences than anyone at the time could have realised." ~ A Reflection on the Sensha-do Reformation of 1993, By Totoro Nishimura; Circa 2008
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With Grace and Elegance
A Girls Und Panzer/Ranma ½ Crossover
Chapter Three: Settling In and Studying
By: Grounders10
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Ranma's bedroom was a bit big in her opinion. She had stayed in luxury homes before. The Chardin's was a prime example of how opulent rich homes could be. However, the room she had been given there, as large as it was, was barely more than half the size of her bedroom alone. With the kitchen, music room, bathroom, tea room, closet, and sunroom her rooms were bigger than many apartments she had been in before.
It was a bit much even for her ego. Why was the music room empty except for a few instruments on display and a couple of chairs? It was nearly half the size of her bedroom and it was basically wasted space? The kitchen was forbidden and completely unstocked even if it wasn't. She had checked. Even the bathroom was too much. What use did she have for a bath that actually had its own deep end? It was a bathtub, not a swimming pool.
Then there was the closet. It was just a closet. Big enough to fit Akane's bedroom in, but just a closet. Except for the floor hatch that led to a ladder that led to a one-way door into a tunnel that apparently led to the storage shed by the tennis court.
All things considered, she did like her rooms, it was hard not to with how much space she had. And they had other small perks.
The first night she had taken time to explore the room and had been poking around near one of the bookcases by the door when she had found a wooden tile that was loose. The clu-chunk that she felt as much as heard when she fiddled with it had damn near scared her half to death. She had far too much experience with the Kunos and other near death-trap locations to consider it a good thing. In an instant, she had been standing in the center of the room waiting for whatever trap she had accidentally activated to trigger.
The light show that started playing across her ceiling was not what she expected. Blues, pinks, and greens danced across the high ceiling and lasted about ten minutes. Once she had stopped looking for the spikes, or swinging axes, or other miscellaneous implements of death, she had found it to be quite relaxing.
That night she had found two more hidden switches that caused other light shows and another that played music. Girly tinkling music that was not her taste, but it was fairly soothing.
As she went to sleep that first night she had only one question, who had bothered to install so many hidden features into the room, and why?
-0-0-0-0-0-
The next few days settled into a stable routine. Wake up, eat, go to lessons that would alternate between etiquette and schoolwork. And somewhere along the way, Ranma would manage to fit in some martial arts practice, usually after dinner. It was quiet compared to Nerima, though really how long that was going to last was anyone's guess. There was approximately zero chance that the Amazons would remain oblivious to her departure for long. That they hadn't yet managed to find and bother her was a blessing as far as Ranma was concerned.
Their lessons wrapped up for the third day just after three thirty and both Ranma and Kasumi headed for their rooms. Kasumi waved goodbye on the stairs and quickly disappeared into the guest quarters. Ranma took the stairs into the family areas of the manor, her mind occupied with the lessons from earlier.
As she passed by her Grandmother's office she heard her Grandmother's voice drift out of the slightly ajar door. On hearing her own name she paused and listened.
"...and my answer is no. I will not force Ranma to learn." Her Grandmother said.
There was a sigh from another person inside. Ranma carefully tried to peer around the edge of the door. The gap was insufficient to see the other person in the room, and pushing the door open further would, as she had learned the day before, make more than enough noise to get their attention.
"With the current situation." Mrs. Oto's voice drifted through the gap.
"My ungrateful daughter can bugger herself with a tank shell. I am not driving off another member of my family." Grandmother replied.
"It's not just Misato who is pushing. The Federation is concerned." The head servant replied. "We are one of the four major schools and it is only because of our continued support for the reforms."
"I know." Her grandmother walked into view, coming around the corner of her desk before disappearing out of sight again. "Naming Misato as heir would endanger the reforms. That I cannot allow."
"And if you die and Ranma has no skill in Sensha-do she will have grounds to appeal your will. The head of the family is, by the rules of the Hayashida clan-"
"I do not need to be reminded of the rules." Her grandmother snapped. Silence fell for a long minute. "I will not lose another to my own failings."
"Lady Hayashida…" Michiru trailed off.
"The answer is no Michiru." Her grandmother's voice was quiet, almost below Ranma's ability to hear. "Ranma will make her decision, free from our influence." She sounded tired. It gave Ranma the feeling that she has had this or another similar conversation many times before.
"With respect, even our lack of pressure is in and of itself, an influence." The head servant countered.
"Then our silence will speak for us." Her grandmother replied, "Go. I have things I need to return to."
There was a pause. "Very well milady." Footsteps headed for the door.
When Mrs. Oto opened the door and stepped into the hall Ranma was already around the next corner leaning against the wall holding her books, frowning as she thought about what she had just heard. On the one hand, it was nice to hear that her grandmother didn't have any plans to force her into this girl's sport without her asking for it. On the other hand, there was apparently a lot more going with the Family's succession than she had realised.
The rules of the Hayashida family had something about the head of the family being what exactly? If she had to guess she'd bet the head of the Family was supposed to be the Head of the School as well. It wasn't like she wanted to be the head of the family, or wanted to practise Sensha-do but…
She sighed. "What to do…" She mumbled. What were the reformations they were talking about? Something to do with Sensha-do, that she was certain of. Everything seemed to come back to it around here. Well, that or tea.
She glanced down at her books. She had time, she could drop them in her room and try finding something in one of the sitting room libraries. She knew she had seen a few books on Sensha-do in the one nearest her room. Making up her mind she darted into her room, punching in her door code twice after she accidentally typed it too fast for the machine to read, and left her books there before going looking for the nearby sitting room.
There was a TV there set into the wall with a large couch as several reclining chairs. A desk was in the corner, and shelves were set up on either side of the TV. Starting on the left she began searching the shelves.
The books were quite varied.
'An analysis of the 1984 National Sensha-do tournament finals match between St.Gloriana and Pravda High Schools' had a nice leather binding and was about as thick as her maths textbook, but somehow she doubted it would help her figure out what the 'reformation' was. Other books included
'How to Kill a Mockingbird',
'Tea Puns, A Connoisseur's Guide to Humour', and
'Myths of Early War Tank Design'.
She made a note of the book on Tea Puns. It might help to be read up on that sort of thing if what she feared about her new school was true. It was, however, at present useless. Just like the rest of the left-hand shelves.
Switching to the right-hand shelves did not produce an immediate result either. Books like
'Seven Ways to Adjust the Tracks on a Matilda II in Five Minutes', and
'Her Majesty's Chefs: Cooking in Confined Spaces' were not helpful.
Just about halfway through this part of her search, she found something quite a bit more helpful.
'A Reflection on the Sensha-do Reformation of 1993', By Totoro Nishimura; Circa 2008.
It was, like the rest of the collection, bound in leather. Red leather this time. She pulled the book, which was about half as thick as the thin shelf it was on was wide, out and looked curiously at the cover. Well, it was about
a reformation of some kind. With luck, it was the right reformation. Glancing at the room's clock she quickly slipped the book under one arm and headed back to her room. She could read it once she was done with that night's homework.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Two days later, in the early evening just after dinner, Ranma flipped a page in the book, humming thoughtfully as she did. The book covered the changes in Sensha-do during a period from 1988 to 1995 when a strong push came to reform the art in the wake of several incidents and severely declining viewership and participation. It talked about the incidents that lead to the push, and the reformation itself. There was some discussion about the aftermath, but she hadn't gotten that far yet.
One thing that stood out though was just how much influence the four big Sensha-do Schools had over the entire process. With so many of the sitting committee members of the era having come from one school or another even having two of the four schools stand against the reforms had been enough to stonewall the push for years.
She sighed as she finished a chapter and leaned back in her deck chair. A breeze rustled her bangs and she turned in her seat to look out over the gardens below the balcony by her room. Her book fell shut with one finger between the pages to keep her place.
A little ways away Kasumi looked up from the table where she was working on her homework. "Something wrong?" She asked.
Ranma shrugged. "A bit?" She replied. "This got all technical all of a sudden. I have no clue what half the stuff in this chapter even means." The last four pages of the chapter had been nothing but tables outlining acceptable engines for use in Sensha-do under the new rules.
"Really?"
Ranma held up the book, flipping back to tables. "I'm not a mechanic." She said.
Kasumi leaned across the table and squinted at the book. "What is a GMC 200HP-N supposed to be?" She asked.
"It's a table of engines, so I'd guess an engine." Ranma said, setting the book down in her lap again. "The number is the power of the engine and the letter is part of their system to tell how reliable it's supposed to be. That part is explained here, but what the hell does it mean by 'use leaded gasoline only'. There's a bunch of terms I don't recognize here."
Kasumi sat back down. "Well, you might need to do more reading then." She quirked an eyebrow. "Or you could study like you're supposed to."
"Homework's done," Ranma replied, rolling her eyes.
Kasumi hummed at that, but didn't say anymore as she went back to her books. The silence lasted ten seconds before the other girl groaned and rubbed her forehead with two fingers. "I don't remember any of this from last time." She said.
"Remember what?" Ranma asked.
Kasumi held up her history book. "Any of this. They didn't talk about this at all at school." She said.
Ranma blinked. "They covered that in my middle school." She said as she read the title. In fact, she was fairly sure that it was the same textbook issued by her old school.
"Well, they didn't cover it in mine." Kasumi sighed. She mumbled something that Ranma just couldn't quite hear. She suspected it was probably fairly impolite, especially by Kasumi's old standards.
She shrugged and went to crack open her book again when a low rumble that vibrated everything, including her, rolled over them. She blinked and leaned around the side of her chair. Emerging from around the corner of the manor was the Valentine Tank. Ranma could make out Marie sticking out of the top of the turret. She was shouting something down into the turret as it rolled forward down the gravel trail that ran around the edge of the property.
"That is really loud," Kasumi said mildly before going back to her books.
Ranma nodded to herself, her eyes tracking the machine as it rolled behind the low hedges of the garden. From where she was above it she could still see the turret and Marie.
She glanced down at her book as a thought occurred to her. Marie was a mechanic. More importantly, she was a tank mechanic so she probably knew what all this meant.
"Hey Kasumi. Can you keep my stuff from blowing away?" She asked as she stood up.
The other girl raised her head from her books again. "Why?" She asked carefully, watching as Ranma slid a bookmark between the pages and secured the book under one arm.
"Just need to ask someone a few questions." She replied before taking a running leap off the balcony.
"RANMA!" Kasumi shouted. Ranma landed on the head of an angel decorated fountain and waved cheerily to the other girl, who was standing at the balcony edge giving her an annoyed look, before leaping to the hedge and running across the top of it after the tank.
Marie looked up as the redhead landed with a clatter on the turret behind her. "Hey!" Ranma half-shouted. The tank's engine was really quite loud this close.
"What are you doing here? Mako, stop the vehicle." She shouted the second half down into the turret. Gravel flew everywhere as the vehicle skidded to a sudden halt. Ranma wobbled for a moment, but kept her balance as the momentum bled off. "Jumping on a moving vehicle is a terrible idea, kid." She scolded.
Ranma shrugged. Falling off it probably wasn't any worse than getting hit by a car, and that had only stung a little after she'd pried the front end open enough for her to get loose. "I've dealt with worse." She replied honestly.
The older woman just looked at her for a moment then sighed. "Sure you have. Look, we're in the middle of a test drive, what do you need?"
Ranma opened her book to the tables and held it out to Marie. "I was wondering if you could suggest something to help me with this." She said.
The mechanic raised an eyebrow as her eyes ran down the list on the page. "When did you start reading about this sort of thing?" She asked.
"I was bored." Ranma deflected, "Just grabbed a random book off the shelf for some reading." She managed to not shift uneasily as Marie looked her over.
"Well I can write up a list if you'd like. Most of the books I can think of have copies in the manor's library." Marie said after abandoning her sceptical look. "If you come by the garage in a couple hours I can have it ready for you."
Ranma beamed. "Thanks." Her expression fell. "But, um… Can you not tell my Grandma? Or anyone who would tell her?" She'd rather not get caught eavesdropping.
The mechanic chuckled and smirked. "Want it to be a surprise for her then?" She asked.
Ranma shook her head. "Just reading. Don't want anyone thinking there's anything more going on." She said.
Marie, clearly not believing her, waved a hand airily. "I won't tell her, unless she asks. It's not worth my job to lie about something to the boss lady." She said.
She'd just have to not give her Grandma a reason to ask then. "Good enough. See you in a couple hours." Ranma said, closing her book and leaping off the tank onto the hedge. The tank rumbled back to life behind her as she ran back to the manor.
Kasumi was reading her textbooks when Ranma returned. "Find out what you wanted?" She asked without looking up.
"She'll have a book list for me later." Ranma replied as she settled back onto her deck chair.
"You know if someone comes out here and you are reading that book, there's going to be questions." Kasumi said idly.
Ranma paused with her book halfway open. She pictured Michiru catching her reading the book. It wouldn't be bad, but the conversation would be fairly awkward.
"If you want to read out here this would be the perfect time to do some more studying." Kasumi sang softly.
Closing her book Ranma stood up with a sigh. "Be back in a few minutes." She said, heading for her room. She couldn't wait for the exams in a few days. Then she'd be able to do what she wanted to for the next week without worrying about school.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The evenings of March, even this late in the month, were chilly enough to raise goosebumps across her skin as Ranma walked up to the large doors of the garage. The men and women who worked there had mostly left for the night. A couple were working on the old rolls-royce that her Grandmother had been driving when they arrived. Neither of them looked up as she crossed the courtyard to the closed doors.
She knocked on the door, sending the large wooden doors quivering in their frames. The noise drew the brief attention of the two working on the car, before they returned to their work. After a few moments the smaller inset door clicked and swung open. The blond woman on the other side smiled at her.
"I was wondering when you'd show." Marie said before stepping aside. "Come in, I've got the booklist lying on the workbench. Just, watch your step. A lot of the idiots here forget to clean up half the time."
Ranma paused in the doorway. "I'm allowed?" She asked.
Marie nodded. "Yep, asked the boss for some clarification about that. She said it was fine to let you in. C'mon, let me show you what we're working on." She waved Ranma in.
Stepping over the bottom frame of the door she looked about. Just like a few days earlier the two tanks were in the same bays as before.Both of them were in bays to her right, taking up two of the six possible bays in the garage. To her right the closest one had a couple mechanics working on the engine.
"What are they?" She asked. With a closer view she could see that the odd turrets on the vehicles weren't turrets. They were just boxes with a gun sticking out over the engine compartment. A really, really big gun. Like the one pointing down the driveway.
Marie grinned widely. Her white teeth almost shining in the spotty lighting of the garage. It reminded her a bit of Nabiki. "They're the Self Propelled 17pdr, Valentine, Mk. 1, Archer." She said, "A 17pdr wielding tank destroyer based on the Valentine chassis."
"Like the one parked outside?" Ranma asked, walking up to the nearest one, weaving around a pile of open boxes full of parts.
"Yep. They share a lot of the same parts. Not everything obviously, but enough that the Boss Lady hopes it will help ease concerns that the school might have about logistics. Silence some of the traditionalists." The blonde said as she walked up to the vehicle.
Ranma cocked her head to the side with a frown. "Why wouldn't they want this?" She gestured towards the tank.
Marie sighed. "Well, St. Gloriana's Sensha-do club is rather old now and for the entire time they've used pretty much the same tanks. Matilda IIs, their Churchill, and a handful of Crusader tanks. Following the Hayashida doctrine, the original one not the one your Grandmother pioneered, they keep to formations and both move and fire in concert. It requires a lot of discipline to do right. Or as they say, Grace and Elegance." She said, rapping the metal side-skirting with her knuckle.
"This is a tank destroyer. Gloriana has never bothered fielding anything like this before. And that's caused a few issues. None of their tanks are really meant for tank on tank warfare." The mechanic continued. Ranma nodded along, making mental notes as she went on. "Matildas, Mk. I and II Crusaders, and the early Churchill all used the 2pdr gun. And as far as I'm aware St. Gloriana doesn't stock 6pdrs for their Crusaders. Procurement doesn't think it's needed."
"I'm guessing the 6pdr is a lot better than the two?" Ranma asked, as she hopped up onto what she realised was the raised front of the tank. There was a view slit in the same spot as the Valentine out front, which was probably so the driver could see what they were doing.
"Quite a bit better, but it wasn't really an issue until recently." Marie said, clambering up the tank to take a seat on the steel roof of the crew compartment. She rested an elbow on the open hatch. "About a decade back Kuromorimine started picking up heavy tanks to deal with Pravda High's Russian T-34s. Pravda picked up a couple of heavy tanks of their own and since then pretty much everyone who is still in the running has been scrambling to find heavy armour of their own. 'Cept St. Gloriana. They've managed to come in as the runner up twice in Nationals over the last decade and made the top four nearly every year. But they always get stopped by Pravda or Kuromorimine. 2pdrs are no match for Tiger tanks and T-34s. They still knock out tanks, but they always have to take the fight to under a hundred meters. Knife fighting range for tanks."
"And by the time they get there, there aren't enough of them to matter," Ranma observed as she peeked into the hatch of the crew compartment. The inside looked big enough for a crew of four. If they didn't mind being packed like sardines.
"Yep. Closest they came to victory in the last ten years was a few months back during the winter tournament against Oarai. So damned close." She sighed. "I was really rooting for Darjeeling too."
"Darjeeling?"
"She was the Captain of St. Gloriana's Sensha-do team. Graduates this month so you won't be meeting her on the ship." Marie said.
Ranma made a noise of disinterest as she leaned down into the crew compartment. It was more cramped than she thought at first. The gun took up a lot of the room, and when the racks of ammunition were filled it was going to be an even tighter fit. Fitting four people in there would be difficult.
"So that's why the Boss Lady decided that when it came time to grease a few palms to get you a chance to get in, that maybe something could be done to improve certain deficiencies." The mechanic continued. "The Archer fields what's known as a 17pdr, one of the most powerful guns legal in Sensha-do." She shook her head. "I wouldn't have wanted to be on the team that had to figure out how to make this baby safe to use."
"Is this supposed to be so cramped?" Ranma asked as she pulled back from the hatch.
"It's a tank. But, well, we had to make a few concessions to get the Archers legal for competition." Marie said with a sigh. "Open topped vehicles aren't allowed simply as a safety issue. One stray shell falls into the crew compartment, or someone sticks their head out at the wrong moment? Gets really messy really quickly."
Ranma winced. She could probably take a hit, but the average girl would probably be nothing more than mist. "Yeah, messy…" She said, trying to banish the nasty mental image.
Marie nodded grimly. "Yep, so Federation rules mandate that all open opened vehicles must be modified with a roof. Doing so has raised the profile of the tanks by between ten and twenty-two inches along the length of the crew compartment. We've used the same hatch as the valentine and tried to keep from adding too much weight to the vehicle. Going to be a bit cramped, though, but the firepower will be a nice addition I think. Once they figure out how to use these things."
Ranma hummed non-committedly. Beside her Marie turned to the two mechanics working on the engine. "You done yet?" She asked.
One of them looked up from where she was using a wrench to tighten something in the engine. "Just finishing up. Give us a second then you can try starting her up." She said.
Marie grinned and pumped a fist. "About damned time." She said, turning to Ranma. "This was supposed to be working yesterday."
"Not our fault the last owner paid fuck all attention to this girl." The same mechanic said with an annoyed tone to her voice. She strained against the wrench then let it go. "There we are. Should be ready for a test run." The two mechanics closed up the engine compartment and hopped off the armoured beast.
Marie grinned and slid through the hatch easily. "C'mon, let's see what this girl can do." She said as she disappeared inside the tank.
"Just a test start Marie!" The other mechanic shouted.
"Spoilsport!" She yelled back with a laugh.
Ranma rolled her eyes. "I'm just here for that booklist." She said, reminding the mechanic that she hadn't come down just to be shown around the garage.
Marie scoffed and her head appeared below the hatch. "I'll get it to you in a second. Just take a seat on top." She said before disappearing again.
Sighing, Ranma found a seat on the top of the crew compartment. She sat there for a few seconds, bored as she listened to Marie mutter and curse as she knocked over what sounded like a toolbox within the vehicle. "Alright. Here we go." Was all the warning Ranma got before the entire vehicle came to life.
Ranma had ridden in cars, taken the train, and had even stood on the Valentine in the yard earlier that day; but feeling as the still metal plates beneath her, began to rumble and shake as a roar that reminded her of Mt. Horai's collapse, sprang forth from the engine of the vehicle, was entirely different. Trains shook and rattled, but modern trains sounded like someone's oversized hairdryer when they were moving, and all the cars Ranma had encountered were fairly quiet little vehicles intended for the tight confines of Tokyo's streets and back alleys.
The Archer rumbled beneath her, vibrated her entire body, like a giant growling animal from some long forgotten age. The feeling stirred
something inside her as she sat there, something that normally only stirred when she was engaged in an amazing fight.
"So," She jumped at Marie's voice and turned to look at the older girl who was now half out of the hatch leaning on an elbow with an all-knowing smirk. When had she climbed out of the tank? She felt her face grow warm with a blush. "What'd ya think?" The mechanic asked.
Ranma hesitated for a moment as she shook off the feeling that had rolled over her. "I- My mother did this sort of thing?" She asked, half-shouting over the noise of the engine.
Marie shrugged. "So I'm told. No idea why she didn't like it. I've always loved the roar of the engine and the guns. Makes you feel something nothing else can." She smirked and Ranma felt her blush increase. The mechanic patted her on the shoulder. "Let me turn her off and then we'll go get that booklist kid." She disappeared back into the vehicle and moments later the engine died.
A small part of Ranma wished it had kept running.
Marie popped out of the turret and carefully climbed down the side of the vehicle. "She starts just fine." She said to the other mechanic, "But someone left their toolbox down there. We're going to be picking nuts and washers out of here, for the next week."
The annoyed curse that the other mechanics uttered seemed to finish the job of rebooting Ranma's brain and she hopped off the tank as her blush faded.
"This way," Marie said, leading the way through the mess to a workbench at the back of the room. The mechanic had to move a few tools and a small box around, but she quickly pulled out a rumpled piece of paper. "Here we go." She said, handing it to Ranma.
The redhead took it and glanced over it. It was… rather long actually. There had to be over a hundred books on it with titles like
'Matilda and You: A Practical Guide to Tank Maintenance',
'The Way of the Nut', and
'Tigers, Elephants, and Mauses, Oh My'. Along with more normal titles like
'The Churchill Mark V User's Manual'.
"That's… that's a lot of reading." Ranma said absently as she looked over the list.
"Yup. These machines are complex. Just maintaining them requires years of practice for most people. One of the reasons that St. Gloriana has always kept their vehicle list short is to avoid having to train their mechanics for more types of tanks. A small reason, but it's on their list." Marie said with a shrug. "Now, I wrote the list in a bit of an ad hoc manner, but I've marked the most basic ones you should read first with a star."
Ranma nodded, spotting a couple near the top. "I see them." She said. There were about twenty names with a star.
"Good. Hope it helps." Marie said.
Ranma looked up at her. "Thanks." She said.
"No problem. Now get going before someone comes looking for you." Marie said, shooing her out the door.
Ranma let herself get hustled out the door, even while she spared a lingering glance for the machines sitting quietly in their bays. If she could do it without her Grandmother knowing she was tempted to come back later. Very strongly tempted.
-0-0-0-0-0-
A couple days later Ranma and Kasumi walked out of the building where the entrance exam had occurred.
Kasumi yawned and stretched as she walked through the door behind Ranma. "Ugh. I forgot just how long these things can be." She said, "Six hours. My brain feels like it's going to drip out of my ears."
Ranma snorted at the image. "Could have been eight if we were slower." She said with a yawn. The exams had started at eight in the morning and it was just after two in the afternoon.
Kasumi shuddered and stuck out her tongue. "Bleh. I don't even want to think about that." She said.
Behind them Michiru, dressed in a more modern knee length dress with a jacket, chuckled. "Did the two of you at least do well?" She asked.
Ranma and Kasumi stopped by a fountain that was in the center of the plaza around which the government buildings were set. Ranma frowned, thinking back at the tests. "There was that question about the first prime minister after the war. Pretty sure I got that one wrong." She said.
"Those maths questions near the end of the exam were a bit advanced." Kasumi said thoughtfully, "I had some trouble with those. It's been years since I needed that level of algebra."
"They weren't that hard." Ranma commented idly.
"Not like the history questions." Kasumi sighed, "I don't remember learning half of that at Furinkan at all."
Ranma rolled her eyes. That had been a very common mantra of complaint over the last week. "I think you just need to face it Kasumi, Furinkan was a bad school." She said dryly.
Kasumi nodded mournfully. "Yeah, I knew that, but I thought it was a little better than this." She replied, sticking her hands in her jacket pockets and yawning. "Ugh, I could do with a nap right now."
"That would be a pity." Michiru said, reaching into her purse and removing a pair of wallets. One was sakura blossom pink while the other was white. "For you two." She said holding the pink one out to Ranma, who took it with an exasperated look at the older woman, and the white out to Kasumi.
"Money?" Kasumi asked with a surprised tone as she looked into the wallet.
Michiru nodded. "Yes. Ranma, your Grandmother felt that now that you would have some free time it was time to give you your allowance. Kasumi since you are essentially in our care for the time being she decided to grant you one as well. Each wallet contains one hundred thousand yen in cash, and a card to a bank account in your name. Ranma, your account contains one point six million yen and will receive that much every two weeks. Kasumi, yours has three hundred thousand yen. Which you will receive, again, every two weeks."
Ranma blinked and looked up from examining the debit card in the wallet. "One million?" She repeated.
"One point six." Michiru corrected. Ranma's expression transitioned to one of blank disbelief. That was more money than Ranma had ever had at one time before. She'd come close a couple times, but living around Nabiki could get unexpectedly expensive.
"I- I wasn't expecting money, let alone this much." Kasumi said, carefully sliding her card back into the wallet.
"You are our responsibility now Ms. Tendo." Michiru said, "Now, we could go home. Or you can take advantage of the fact that you have the rest of the day off."
The full context of her suggestion was just making its way through Ranma's head when Kasumi brightened. "We could go shopping!" She said before throwing an arm around Ranma's shoulder. She staggered under the unexpected weight of the taller girl.
"Kasumi." She whined as the other girl hung off her like a limpet. She glared at the trying and to not giggle Michiru.
"Come on, shopping and we don't have to share it with my sisters. Besides, you could use a few more outfits." Kasumi said, poking her in the side.
Ranma squirmed. "Okay, we'll go shopping." She said, trying to not smile as she fought off the other girl. "Though, Kasumi stop, where is- Kasumi!" She jumped back from the other girl who stumbled without her support and nearly fell over. She glared at the other girl with a blush. "I swear you remind me of Nabiki way too much sometimes." She said, rubbing the side of her breast where the other girl had pinched her.
Kasumi regained her balance and shot her one of her old nearly angelic looks of obliviousness. "I have no idea what you mean." She said innocently.
Ranma gave her a flat look as their minder chuckled. "Alright girls, stop it. I know an area nearby with a few good boutiques and cafes. We can get a snack and then go shopping alright?" Michiru said. The two girls both nodded and fell in with their minder as she led the way to the car for the trip.
Ranma made sure to sit as far as possible from Kasumi during the ride, giving the other girl somewhat sour looks that only earned amused smiles back. The ride to the shopping district was only a few minutes and the two of them piled out the moment they stopped.
Michiru locked the car and waved them towards the nearby crosswalk. "This way. There's a cafe nearby with excellent cinnamon rolls." She smiled at them and Ranma felt her mouth watering. Cinnamon rolls sounded wonderful after everything so far.
"Tea would be nice as well." Kasumi said, stifling a yawn.
"It is a cafe, they have plenty of both." Michiru replied, ushering them both down the street to the crosswalk. The street was somewhat quiet, not too surprising since it was mid-afternoon on a Monday. Still there were plenty of people coming in and out of the stores, many with full bags.
The Cafe that Michiru was leading them to was easy to spot. The sign above the door had two foxes at play in full colour and the sign on the street had a fox drawn beside a list of the day's special menu options.
"Here we are." Michiru said, leading the way through the open door. The inside was rather crowded for the time of day, though there were a few open places to sit. As they took their place in line a red fox jumped out of a booth and ran across the floor to jump up into another one, to the surprise of at least one person in it.
"It's a Fox cafe?" Ranma asked, looking to the older woman.
Michiru nodded. "They're quite adorable, just keep an eye on your food when you sit down." She gestured to a sign by the cash register that proclaimed 'the store is not responsible if a fox steals your food, drink, or wallet' in large hiragana.
"Ah." Ranma deadpanned, shaking her head. Foxes were adorable, but a fox cafe, really?
As the line moved forward slowly Ranma's mind wandered a little bit. She snorted as a fox disappeared around the end of the counter with a cookie in its jaws. A shout of surprise from the booth it came from a few moments later was met with laughter from half of the people in the cafe. The laughter settled down and the victim of the theft made their way to the back of the line. Presumably to replace the stolen cookie.
Then a loud shout, this time from outside the cafe, broke the quiet. "BRING THAT BACK!" Ranma tilted her head to the side. That sounded like Ryouga.
"Be right back." She said, ducking out of the line and out of the shop before either of her companions could say anything. There was a second shout and she ran down the street a couple of buildings to find it coming from an alleyway. Turning the corner into it she found Ryouga shouting at a dumpster. Or, more accurately, shouting at the gap underneath it.
"What are you doing Ryouga?" She asked exasperatedly. The black haired young man, several years older than her now, looked up from where he was crouching down near the dumpster.
He stared at her for a long moment. "Hello miss?" He asked, standing up and dusting his hands off.
Ranma stared at him flatly. He didn't recognize her? Of course he didn't, this was the idiot who let himself be fooled into believing she was his sister. "Ryouga, it's me, Ranma." She said flatly.
He blinked. "Ranma? Aren't you supposed to be…" He waved his hand a few inches above her head. She frowned and swatted his hand away.
"Mushrooms." She said. That did the trick as his eyes lit up, then he started snickering.
"You ate them again?" He said incredulously, Behind him, a red fox with a sandwich clutched in its mouth, bolted out from under the dumpster and down the alleyway without Ryouga noticing. It disappeared around the corner, which meant it might as well have been on another continent for all Ryouga would be able to find it.
Ranma sighed and grabbed him by the arm. "Come on, we can talk over lunch." She said, dragging him from the alleyway.
"A fox stole my lunch." He said, waving back to the dumpster.
"And ran away when you weren't looking." She deadpanned, still pulling him along. He looked back and cursed before reluctantly allowing her to drag him along. She looped an arm through his and pulled him along. They got a few glances as they walked.
When they entered the cafe Ryouga looked up at the sign and sighed. "More foxes." He grumbled and she rolled her eyes.
"Behave. We aren't in Nerima." She told him, getting more grumbles.
"Ranma!" Kasumi waved from a booth and Ranma dragged him over there.
"Look who I found shouting at a fox." Ranma said as she slid into the booth next to Kasumi, and waved for Ryouga to sit across from her next to Michiru.
The older woman gave the young man an amused glance as she scooted over. "Kasumi told me that you might bring a friend back with you." She said, sliding a spare paper cup of coffee and a sandwich to him.
"Thank you." He said graciously, taking a sip of the coffee. "That fox stole my lunch." He said before pausing to stare at Kasumi. "Kasumi?"
"Yes?" She asked with a smile.
He waved a hand up and down with a frown. "Aren't you supposed to be a bit taller too?" He asked.
"Just a bit." She said with a smile.
Michiru snorted, and covered her mouth for a moment. "So," She said after a moment, "Do you normally disappear and come back with a boy on your arm?" She asked with a smile. Ryouga choked on his sandwich and took a long drink from his coffee cup while Kasumi started giggling.
Ranma snorted. "Wellll," She drawled with a smirk in Ryouga's direction, "I do like helping hopeless cases from time to time." She ignored the choking laugh Kasumi let out as she tried to take a sip of her tea. She returned Ryouga's flat look with one of Kasumi's 'I'm innocent and oblivious' smiles. Which seemed to cause Kasumi to dissolve into a minor fit.
Michiru took a sip of her coffee. "And how often is it this one?" She asked with a smile.
Ranma's innocent smile twitched into a grin. "Usually this one." She said before sticking her tongue out at Ryouga as he sighed and nibbled on the sandwich. Kasumi, still giggling too hard to drink her tea, slid Ranma's tea and a cinnamon bun over to her. "Thanks." She said and took a bite of the pastry. It was gooey, warm, and rich. She moaned softly. "Oh that's good." She said.
"There is a reason I come here, despite the thieving foxes." Michiru said as she took a bite of her own.
"So," Ryouga paused to take a bite of his sandwich, "Why are you both short… er. Shorter? Why?" He pointed from Ranma to Kasumi.
Ranma looked to Kasmi then back to Ryouga. "It's her fault." She said, pointing to Kasumi. The other girl tried to pull an innocent act, but failed miserably as she giggled away.
"Nooo, not me." She said between giggles.
"They were your mushrooms, and your idea." Ranma replied, taking a sip of her tea.
Ryouga's eyebrows were about as far up as they could get as he looked from one to another. A Fox poked its nose over the edge of the bench beside him and locked its gaze on Ryouga's sandwich. Without looking, Ryouga gently pushed it away with one hand. It made a whining noise, then disappeared to bother another booth.
Ranma sighed. "It started a few months back. You remember that mess with the principal?" She asked.
He nodded. "Akane told me about it." He said. Ranma had to wonder if she'd told it to 'him' or to 'P-chan', but didn't bother asking.
"Well it kinda went like this," She said, going on to tell him about the mess that the principal had unleashed on them.
Ryouga finished his sandwich as she finished her story. "Going back a few grades? Not exactly something I'd be willing to sign up for." He said with a snort.
Ranma rolled her eyes. "I'm not exactly going back to our middle school." She pointed out before taking another bite of her much diminished cinnamon roll.
He shrugged before pointing a finger at her. "And you're rich now as well." He said.
She rolled her eyes. "My Grandmother is rich." She said and received a shrug in return. She sighed. "Where are you headed from here?" She asked.
"Going to try and find my way back to the farm." He said, sipping from his coffee cup, "I've left Akari alone for a while."
Ranma hummed irritably at that and finished her tea. Something about Akari just didn't sit right with her at times. Even if she had tried to help set the two of them up, something about the relationship was… She finished her cinnamon roll. "How long has it been this time?" She asked.
"Two weeks I think? A bit over maybe?" He shrugged. He looked down at the coffee cup and set it aside. It must have been empty. "Well, thanks for the lunch." He said, getting up and shouldering his bag.
"Probably won't see you around for the rest of the year." Ranma said, "What with being on a ship and all."
He shrugged. "Well I'll see you whenever. Maybe next time we can have a spar." He said before nodding to Kasumi and Michiru. "Nice meeting you ma'am. Good to see you again Kasumi."
"Bye Ryouga." Kasumi waved as she sipped the last of her tea. Michiru waved politely from behind her cup.
Ranma watched as Ryouga walked out, a small frown on her face. She stared at the door for a minute after Ryouga had left.
"You know." Kasumi said with a sly tone, "If you keep staring after him much longer people are going to get the wrong impression."
Ranma rolled her eyes and stared at the other girl. "Really Kasumi? He's a guy. Hell, he's Ryouga." She picked up her empty cup and went to drink from it for a moment before remembering it was empty.
"Really getting that wrong impression~" Kasumi said with a sing-song tone.
Michiru chuckled. "Perhaps I should ask your Grandmother if we should look into his family history perhaps?" She offered with her own grin.
Ranma groaned at the ribbing. "Can we just get to the shopping now?" She asked, trying to ignore them.
"Eager to find something to impress someone?" Kasumi asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Kasumi!"
Michiru snickered. "Alright you two. Enough." She said, waving them both down. She wiped her fingers off with her napkin. "Are you done Kasumi?" She asked. Kasumi popped the last of her cinnamon roll into her mouth and nodded. "Good, let's go."
The three of them left the shop, Kasumi nearly tripping on a fox on the way out. The shopping trip that followed lasted three hours and unlike the trip with Akane and her mother Ranma could admit that she enjoyed it a bit.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Six days later Ranma, who was lying on her back on her bed, flipped the page of the book,
'A Reflection on the Sensha-do Reformation of 1993, By Totoro Nishimura', which she was still reading and sighed. Despite reading a couple other books during her down time over the last few weeks there was still a lot in the book that went over her head. References to rules, safety measures, shell yields, and a thousand other things that she had little to no reference for. Still the political parts it talked about were making it rather clear, her family had a lot of influence over Sensha-do.
She paused as her thoughts drifted back to the Archer Tank Destroyer in the garage. She had gone by a few more times to ask Marie questions about the tanks. Including how to start and even drive them. Marie had been more than happy to show her the first, but had warned her off trying the second one without getting her Grandmother's permission. Which was a bit of a sticking point. She didn't want to start getting asked questions about why she was suddenly interested in Sensha-do.
A knock on her door broke her musings and she stuffed the book under her pillow quickly. "Come in!" She called.
The doors opened and Michiru and Kasumi came into the room. The head servant cast an eye to the small pile of luggage at the base of her bed, and the one additional suitcase full of books on the end of her bed. All of which were about Sensha-do to one degree or another. Her manga having been packed into another bag.
As casually as she could she flipped the bag shut, drawing an amused smile from Michiru. "Are you done packing?" The older woman asked.
"Almost. Just resting for the moment." Ranma said as the head servant ducked into the bathroom, undoubtedly heading for the closet. She came back a moment later with a pleased smile. "All empty, good. Kasumi is done with her packing so I'll leave the two of you to finish up whatever you have left. Do remember to leave something out for tomorrow."
"I will." Ranma said, watching as Michiru ducked back out of the room. She sighed heavily once the heavy door clicked shut.
"So relieved." Kasumi observed with amusement.
Ranma sent her a look that sent her into a fit of giggles. "Finding time to read this," She pulled out the book and quickly found her place in it again, "Is tricky. At least at school I should be able to find more time."
"Maybe." Kasumi said, jumping up onto the bed beside her. "So, are we going to do it?" She asked.
Ranma blinked at her. "Do what?" She asked.
Kasumi rolled her eyes at her. "Sensha-do. You've been spending a couple hours every evening in the garage the last few days. Nearly as much time as I spend during the day. You know we're probably going to have to pick a club so…" She trailed off expectantly, waving a hand at her.
She sighed and flopped onto her back, marking her place in the book before tossing it onto the pillow next to her. "I don't know. Maybe? I mean it sounds like doing it could help Grandma." She said, "It's a girls thing though. Mum would probably be annoyed when she finds out."
Kasumi rolled her eyes. "With respect to your mother, she isn't exactly playing with a full deck." She observed.
Ranma huffed, but nodded. Nodoka loved her, but her way of showing it was probably just a bit south of lunacy at times. The seppuku contract came to mind. Honestly if she'd been even a bit less crazy getting child abuse threats to stick would have probably been a lot harder than it had been. Maybe. The Principal had had a lot longer reach than they'd thought.
"It's still a girl's thing." Ranma said. She ignored the way Kasumi just raised an eyebrow and smirked. Even she could tell that there wasn't much force in that denial. Even if she did keep finding herself drawn to the garage almost every day. The rumble of the tanks as they moved almost called to her. She could only wonder what it would be like when the cannons fired.
"Mhmm, and that's stopped you before has it?" Kasumi asked, "I'm interested in it. It'll be a great adventure. A lot safer than what goes on in Nerima."
Ranma shot her a flat look. "People have been known to lose their heads doing this." She pointed out.
"Only when they stick them out of the tank." Kasumi replied, "I don't intend to be a commander."
"Hmmm…" Ranma sighed. "It would help Grandma." She said to the room.
"Mhmm." Kasumi nodded.
Ranma groaned. "I'll think about it okay?" She said.
"Okay, now do you need help packing?" The brunette asked.
Ranma pointed to her bookshelves which had been filled quite a bit over the last few weeks. "I need to figure out how to get those into this." She tapped the suitcase with her foot.
Kasumi looked at the bookshelf, then looked at the suitcase. She frowned. "Maybe get another suitcase?" She suggested.
Ranma looked at the bookshelf, then at the rather full suitcase, and sighed. "I'll call Michiru. Have someone send up another one." She said and reached for the phone on her side table. Hopefully it would be the last suitcase she needed. When did she get this much stuff?
-0-0-0-0-0-
Ranma yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand. It was just after seven thirty in the morning and everyone had gathered outside the manor. The Phantom V was parked at the base of the steps, its trunk being loaded with suitcases. Some of them were full of books, most were full of the rather large collection of clothing that she had gathered over the last few weeks. Neither her mother or her grandmother seemed to be restrained when it came to spending money in that particular area.
Not that she was much better really. At least one suitcase was filled with the results of that shopping trip a week earlier. Kasumi had good taste when it came to clothes shopping.
The Phantom V wasn't the only vehicle headed to the school. Behind it was a truck holding the rest of Ranma's suitcases and all of Kasumi's. The Phantom simply didn't have enough room anymore. Behind the truck was a small bus in which staff would be travelling with them. Their property on the ship was lacking in staff since no one used it according to her grandmother.
A low rumble of starting engines drew her attention to the garage yard. The Valentine and both Archers were in the yard being fueled and readied for the drive to the dock. They would be leading the procession to the docks when they left.
"You aw-aw-awake?" Kasumi yawned and shivered. The morning was unusually chilly for the time of year and it seemed to be affecting the older girl more, despite her zipped up coat.
"Are you?" Ranma asked as she adjusted her own coat which was hanging open. The cold air didn't affect her as much.
"Mhmm.." Kasumi shrugged and tried to stifle another yawn. As Ranma had learned the eldest, though perhaps now the youngest, Tendo was not an early riser by choice. Or hadn't been at this age. It didn't seem to matter how much sleep she got Kasumi always seemed to be tired when she first woke up.
"All ready to go I see." Ranma turned to see her Grandmother walking down the stairs with a smile.
"Grandma." Ranma smiled back.
Her Grandmother's expression fell. "There is something I need to speak with you about. A family matter." She said, directly the second line to Kasumi who nodded sleepily and walked over to the Phantom V where she got into the back seat. Ranma could see her settling herself against the window nearly asleep again.
"Well?" Ranma asked as she turned back to Himawari. "So?" She asked.
"This way." Her grandmother led her back up the stairs to a bench a distance away from the main doors. She sat down with a sigh. "Not so used to being up this early anymore." She said with a smile.
Ranma shrugged. "It's been nice sleeping in the last week." She admitted.
"I imagine it has." Himawari sighed. "There is no gentle way to bring this up. You have an Aunt. Her name is Misato Hayashida."
"I know." Ranma replied.
Himawari nodded. "Well, do you know why I haven't brought her up this directly before?" She asked.
Ranma shook her head. "No."
Her Grandmother hummed softly. "Well, she's the primary reason I never cast out your mother after she ran off with Genma. Years ago, when I first inherited the position of Matriarch of the Hayashida School, there was a debate raging about the future of Sensha-do. These days it is known as the Reformation of Nineteen Ninety-Three."
"I know." Ranma said. Her Grandmother raised an eyebrow. "I've been reading a few books." She admitted.
"Hmm, and these books wouldn't have happened to include 'A Reflection on the Sensha-do Reformation of 1993' by a certain Totoro Nishimura would it?" Himawari asked. Ranma blinked and her Grandmother chuckled. "I quite liked that book of his. He makes many excellent points about the fallout of the Reformations." Her lips quirked upwards at Ranma's frown. "Oh don't pout my dear, as adorable as it makes you look no one will take you seriously if you pout."
Ranma just pouted more, drawing a laugh from her grandmother.
The older woman quieted down after a few moments. "While Sensha-do has recovered, and in fact reached far greater heights than it has ever known, back then my opinion was in the minority in our family. Many did not think there was anything wrong with how things had been done. Many of those people are no longer here. Some removed themselves from the family. Others simply died of old age. Some though, well I think my relationship with your mother speaks for itself. I was not a good mother, not attentive in the right ways. Where I crushed your mother in a crucible of my own expectations I failed to give your aunt anywhere near the attention she needed." She paused.
Ranma had an inkling of where this was going. "And when you weren't looking, someone got to her." She guessed. It was just the sort of thing sneaky resentful old people would do. It was practically what Happosai had done to Hinako years ago.
Her Grandmother nodded. "Make use of that insight when you get to school. It will serve you well." She said. "Your great-grand Aunt got to her. She thought that the Reformations were an insult. You must understand that the St. Gloriana that so epitomised our old ways, were in the tailend of what would prove to be a fifteen year winning streak at the Nationals. We were the undisputed Queens of Sensha-do. The other three schools hadn't managed a victory in over a decade."
"But Sensha-do isn't just about school medals." Ranma said thinking about what she had read.
Himawari nodded approvingly. "So you at least understand what you've been reading, good. Pride blinds people to the greater picture. She filled my daughter's head with tales of glory and victory. Victory that St. Gloriana hasn't tasted since the Reformation. It has come so close at times, but the gold medal has eluded them every year." She sighed deeply. "When your mother ran off your Aunt came to me. She asked me to make her the heir since your mother had disgraced the family so." She leaned forward, resting her hands on her thighs. "I came closer to giving in than I'd like to admit. Then she started talking about how your mother's failure reflected on 'the new ways of the Hayashida'. How if I'd just held on to the tenants of the school none of this would have happened."
Her grandmother looked her in the face. "I am not proud of the argument that followed, but I do still believe that the Reformation has only been a good thing in the long term for Sensha-do. I threw your Aunt out of the house and she ran off to your Great-Grand Aunt's. The old hag is dead now, and has been for a few years. But, your Aunt had a daughter and she is attending St. Gloriana's right now. She should be in the year above you."
Ranma blinked, then groaned. "And my Aunt is probably going to want me embarrassed or something?" She asked with dry annoyance.
"Possibly." Himawari said, "Tell me, you've shown interest over the last couple weeks in Sensha-do. Do you plan on joining the Sensha-do Club at St. Gloriana's?" Ranma frowned. "Not sure are you?"
Ranma shook her head. "I've considered it, but well… Mum and you. And it's a girl thing…" She said weakly. Behind her one of the Archers rumbled to life, its engine shaking the air even this far away. She glanced aside to see Marie sticking her head out the top and shouting at someone nearby. She looked back to see her Grandmother smiling knowingly at her. She flushed.
"Well it seems some things are simply part of the blood." Himawari said, standing up and stretching. "I will not say anything either way, other than reminding you that the government requires some form of 'feminine' activity from you." Ranma made an annoyed sound and her Grandmother nodded. "I understand, really I do. Doing piano, or calligraphy, or flower arranging was never my thing. Too quiet, too slow. Things for the delicate and willowy." She snorted then sighed. "The choice is, unlike your mothers, entirely yours."
Ranma sighed to herself. "Even if you don't, it sounds like others are though." She said.
The older woman nodded. "Unfortunately true. Should you get involved I can almost guarantee your Aunt will move against you, out of spite if nothing more. She and those like her can no longer affect the Reformations. Too much time has past and they have proven far too successful in the long term. But spite ages poorly." She leaned down and pulled Ranma into a hug, which she returned hesitantly. "That's enough of this I think." She said as she pulled back after planting a kiss on Ranma's forehead. "Go to school. I'll see you during break."
Ranma flushed and nodded. "See you later Grandma." She said with her own smile before letting herself be shooed down to the cars.
As she slipped into the backseat of the Phantom V Kasumi snorted awake and blinked bearily at her. "A-aw-all doooone?" She yawned, shaking her head and wiping a line of drool off her face. "Bleh." She stuck her tongue out.
Ranma snorted. "We're done." She said and snickered as Kasumi went digging through her satchel for something to clean herself up with.
The cars got moving shortly after as the time came up to eight o'clock. As she settled in beside Kasumi, Ranma let her mind wander back to the conversation with her grandmother. Sensha-do was her family's legacy, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little bit interested. Between what she'd read and the times she'd spent in the garage there was a part of her that ached to do more. But… If she did it then she was going to make enemies, well she'd already had enemies but they'd be more likely to just ignore her if she stayed out of it. If she didn't though, if she indulged that urge to see and do more.
She bit her lip lightly as she thought, chewing on it as she thought. Beside her Kasumi had once again fallen into a doze, snoring lightly with her face plastered unflatteringly against the window. Honestly, it was nigh impossible to recognize the homemaker who would be up before Ranma and Genma making breakfast in the lazy, hyperactive teenager beside her. If she didn't know better she'd think they were different people entirely.
Then Kasumi would give one of her iconically oblivious innocent smiles. Honestly, how could she be caught red handed, and yet make you feel like you had to have the wrong person?
The trip down to the docks lasted twenty minutes. When they arrived Ranma noticed a distinct lack of a giant ship. She said as much to their driver as their little convoy pulled into a line of cars.
The man in the front seat looked back. "This is Yokohama, Miss. The School Ship, Ark Royal is thirteen and a quarter kilometers bow to stern. If she tried to dock here she'd block the channel." He said.
Ranma had blinked and mouthed a small "oh" of realisation. She never had actually asked how big these ships were supposed to be. She'd been picturing something like a large houseboat, maybe something the size of one of those American aircraft carriers that docked in Yokosuka. Not… that.
Minutes past and eventually the line they were on started to move forward. The line went around several large port buildings before their destination came into sight: a large ferry. The vehicles rolled onto the ferry. It was a simple one level open-aired craft meant for vehicle passengers only. Through the front windows she could see men carefully directing the tanks to special parking zones where they were further secured. Evidently, their presence was considered semi-common.
The loading procedures took a few minutes then the ferry began pulling out of dock. As it did so there was a loud 'clang' as two metal objects somewhere bashed into each other. Kasumi sat up straight with a bleary, "Blawhwah?" She blinked at Ranma, who politely tried to not snicker at the new line of drool going down her friend's face.
"You have, here." She pointed at her own face and Kasumi sleepily mirrored her, feeling the spot on her own cheek only to grimace and pull a cloth from her satchel again with a muttered groan of disgust.
"Where are we?" Kasumi asked as she started to get her brain in gear again.
"On the ferry to the ship." Ranma replied.
Kasumi blinked at her. "Ferry? I thought we were going to drive onto the ship when it docked?" She asked, confused.
"Can't do that Miss Tendo." Their driver said, "Thirteen and a quarter kilometer long vessel can't fit properly into the Yokohama harbour. Even if you could get it to the dock it'd block the entire channel."
Kasumi blinked. "I didn't think it was that big." She said to Ranma, who shrugged.
"I hope neither of you ladies plans on falling back asleep yet." Their driver said, "It's quite a sight and it won't take too long to get there."
"I think I can stay awake." Kasumi said, sharing a look with Ranma. Neither of them wanted to miss seeing the ship.
The ship, as it turned out, was anchored in Sagami Bay since it couldn't actually sail up the channel without ruining shipping. The trip around Yokosuka took most of an hour, time they spent playing with one of their latest acquisitions. Cell phones. Michiru had gotten them both a personal cell phone the day before in a sudden last minute trip.
As far as Ranma could tell it did a lot of things other than make phone calls. And she wasn't entirely sure it made those at all.
Finally, their ship turned the corner around the peninsula and there it was on the horizon. Gleaming in the morning sun was a wall of metal nearly half as tall as Tokyo Tower that stretched across what felt like half the bay.
"Ladies." Their driver said, gesturing out the front window as they stared at the distant ship that just kept getting bigger, both of them gawking at the single largest man-made object either of them had seen. "The JSS Ark Royal. St. Gloriana. Your new home for the rest of the year."
-0-0-0-0-0-
A/N: Oooh boy. This one is a bit late *sheepish kitsune* I'm so sorry about getting distracted with all the ideas in my drabbles thread. I'll try not to get so distracted in the future. No promises though, my weakness is- ooh shiny~ *Kitsune Playing with Sparkly Ball*
And that you, the OBLIVIOUS one saying that!?
