Faking It

Part Four

By Philip Weigel

The Disclaimer is in the Prologue.

_______________________________________________________________________

So what was that call about?" Gina asked as she walked into the room to see Brianna hanging up the phone. She was looking over a palm computer and some readings as she spoke.

"Oh, Sheila got engaged," Brianna, said non-chalantly.

"Oh, cool," Gina, said walking on through the room and out the other door heading for the kitchen.

Brianna and Genn watched her leave, Brianna smirking and Genn rolling her eyes.

"Five, four, three," Brianna whispered in a fevered tone of voice, smiling madly as Genn mouthed along. "Two, one..." and she pointed toward the door Gina had left by.

"WHAT?!" the reappearing blonde demanded in confusion, sticking her head back in the room. "When did this happen!?"

"Sheila's had a boyfriend for the past year and a half and now they're engaged," Brianna said.

"Why didn't she tell us about this?" Gina demanded as Britanny walked in behind her, munching on a sandwich.

"Oh, you couldn't tell?" Britanny asked. "I mean, sheesh, every time she finishes one of those 'personal vacations' she comes back so clean that her PERSONAL scent was almost gone."

"Now that you mention it," Brianna said, cupping her chin. "That was rather strange."

"Not all of us can smell blood in the water at twenty miles, Brit," Gina said grumbling. "Personally, I'd like to know how she kept this from the empath among us." Everybody looked to Genn.

"Well, she obviously didn't want it known..." Genn said weakly.

********

"Apparently Sheila is getting engaged," Julia said later that day.

"I heard the girls talking something about that," Theo said. "I wonder if they've decided how to handle the split worlds."

"We'll have to talk to them," Julia agreed, silently deciding to test the boy as well. Just to make sure he wasn't leading along the sometimes rather lonely Jagwere.

********

"Who's Sheila?" Penny asked.

"Oh, that's right," Gina, said. "You've never met her."

********

"Calm down, calm down," Kodachi told herself. "It can't be that bad. But then, has he ever seen anything like me before." Kodachi frowned and allowed herself to take her hybrid form, looking it over. She had a soft, downing red coat with two-tails tipped in black fur, her ears and the long hair down from the top of her head were likewise well tipped in black. Down her middle, from her chin and inner neck down to her thighs where they emerged from under her St. Hebereke uniform, a silvery white was shown.

Kitsune were symbiotic spirits, while actually in a host it was nearly impossible for even the involved souls to tell the difference between their own soul and that of their partner's, but there was still some level of separation.

Kodachi and Hikage had long since given up trying to make that distinction. For one thing, Kodachi could barely remember ever being any different, for another, they had a tendency to switch off dominance so rapidly and randomly that the lines had become more blurred than normal. So, while Kodachi tended to refer to her collective selves as "I" very often these sorts of ramblings were in fact conversations of a "we."

"Face it girl," Kodachi said. "We're a full grade monster, and what's the chance that Ranma has seen anything like this?"

It should be noted that Kodachi had a tendency to miss most of Ranma's more...supernatural adventures. It should also be noted that, having spent her entire life on Earth in a time period that things such as her were uncommon, that the collective Kodachi had somewhat a bad opinion of herself. Hikage had been intending to spend all her existence in the spirit world just observing. She hadn't wanted to engage in the "horrid" practices of her kin. Then she'd run across a little girl in the process of dying after a nasty fall and, well, she had gotten tired of just observing.

She paced around for a moment, two tails swishing behind her.

"Perhaps if I presented the situation without the more strange aspects," Kodachi suggested. "I only have one more year until I can leave for school...surely he'll help me to go that long." She paused for a moment. "The instant Brother-Dear hears about Ranma's engagement..." she shivered. "I'll be back to spending my nights at the school gym."

That was certainly a benefit to having a fox-spirit that was centuries old bonded to you. The Hikage part of her had quickly noticed the warning signs and thus the whole of Kodachi had taken steps to NOT be the next in a series of disgusting Kuno events.

She had considered showing herself, but that would probably have left her a double-victim: raped and murdered, or perhaps "tamed" and "exorcised." Assuming she knew her brother at all. And at the time she, Kodachi, had only been thirteen, so it wasn't like she could do much resisting against a fifteen-year-old boy. Now that she was seventeen and better skilled, it had, admittedly, sort of grown into something of a psychological block on facing Tatewaki directly (though using him as a weapon was all right).

"Okay, okay," Kodachi, said. "I talk to him, and tell him the human part of the troubles, and see if he can help me. So, now, how do we find Ranma and this new girl?" She paused a moment. "Errr...Kasumi Tendo...or his mother? His mother, if I try Kasumi I might have to deal with Akane again...bleh."

Decision made, Kodachi high-tailed it toward the Saotome home...and then remembered to change back to her human form. She stopped and arranged herself carefully before knocking on the door. After a few moments the door swished open and she was facing the Saotome Matriarch.

"Yes?" Nodoka asked cautiously, eyes narrowed at one of the girls that had been reportedly using her son.

"Saotome-san, I wish to speak to your son on a matter of some importance," Kodachi said. "Among those matters I must make an apology." She considered for a moment. "First to you for the damages to your home."

"An apology, you say?" Nodoka considered. "Go ahead and come in, we were just discussing my son." She gestured for Kodachi to follow her and walked inside.

"We?" Kodachi repeated as she stepped into the tearoom and saw...two cat people sitting at the table with Nabiki Tendo. "Wha-"

"Now there's a hot looking Kitsune," Tirga noted, sniffing the air.

"Kitsune?" Nabiki repeated. "Her?" Kodachi swallowed as her eyes rolled back in her head, leaning back as she...

*THUMP*

...Fell to the ground like a lump of dirt.

"Oh dear," Nodoka said, enjoying some measure of revenge for the repairs to her house.

********

Ranma finished putting on his clothing, after indulging in one more romp in the shower, he and Sheila were ready this time to head out and see his Mother.

While Ranma wore his usual Chinese clothing, Sheila opted for a simple sleeveless blouse, and elastic pants, all stretchable material of course if she wanted to go back and forth from human to hybrid if trouble popped up.

Both groaned as the doorbell rang, who ELSE was going to show up? Not taking any chances, Sheila summoned Ice Fang, and switched over to hybrid form while Ranma answered, the door with a Ki-fist hidden behind his back.

"Hello...TARO?!"

"Hey Fem-boy, Sheila, what's up?"

"Your not looking to fight Ranchan again over that stupid name-thing are ya Taro?" Sheila asked as she lowered Ice Fang, but didn't will it away.

"No, no just came to warn you guys.... The Lesbos are onto you two."

"Huh? How'd those three find out?" Ranma exclaimed, dropping his Ki fist.

"Dunno, just Shampoo tried to con me into taking you on in exchange for 'help' in getting the Perv to change my name...which we all know is a crock of shit." Taro said nonchalantly.

"Not that we're not grateful, but usually you try and start a fight when we meet up, even if it’s for fun, so why help us?"

"You two other than Rouge are nice to me, and are people I can dub 'friends' even if the term is a little loose. Besides, I know what they've been using Ranma as a scapegoat, and since they found out Ranma has been onto them and is going to break the cycle of insanity...they're desperate to keep their scapegoat, which means they'll try and break you two up one way or another. And quite frankly I'd hate to see such a nice couple like you two broken up by three whorish bitches."

Sheila & Ranma looked at Taro...amazed he was actually being kind with no ulterior motive...and flattered he thought highly of them.

"Damn man. Thanks for the warning."

"Yeah Taro. Your not so bad after all." Sheila smiled.

Taro shrugged. " What the hell, as fun as our fights are we can't act like immature idiots forever ya'know."

"At least one of you admitted it." Sheila snickered.

"Watch it or I'll sleep on the couch." Ranma smirked good-naturedly.

"Awwww, that's mean denying your fiancée like that!' Sheila pouted playfully.

"Just take him on the sofa then, knowing you two who needs a f*cking bed?!" Taro laughed, then turned to leave, and bounded off. "Later!"

Ranma & Sheila waved as Taro roof-bounded away, and set off for the Saotome home.