To Fly Free in Shadows

By R-Kives

There are cities all over the world that are, perhaps unjustifiably, presumed to have certain characteristics. New York for instance, has become associated with wide spread crime not to mention giant pizza eating turtles which the authorities have gotten tired of denying are helping lower crime rates or even exist for that matter. Tokyo is thought to be populated by magical school girls that are capable of fighting off demonic invasions and any local over the age of sixty is a martial arts master. This is more often then not a result of bad PR, too many people believing what they see or hear about from others without confirming it for themselves. This can also be applied to certain individuals who others see fit to judge without getting to know them first.

First time tourists to London expect it to be raining when they get there. They come loaded with umbrellas and raincoats fully expecting to be washed away by flood waters the moment they step off the plane. These people are usually disappointed, not to mention weighed down by all their needless preparations. Two individuals currently walking down a London street underneath an umbrella would have loved to be proven wrong about the weather in London. Yes, it's another rainy day in London. It's raining so much that the elder of the two could have sworn that she saw a fish fall out of the sky in front of her before swimming down into the sewers.

"Where is this place? You'd think that a mansion would be easy to find but nooooo, not us no. It has to take us most of the day to even find the street leading to it much less find it!"

The woman gently squeezed the arm she was clutching which belonged to the slightly younger man next to her. The man stopped complaining and gave an apologetic smile at her.

"Sorry Kasumi, I'm just tired of all this rain. It's been raining since we got here. Doesn't it ever stop?"

"Don't worry Ranma, we're almost there, in fact I think that's it." She said as she pointed at a large building that slowly came into view.

A large mansion in the middle of a large area of land surrounded by a high fence could be seen in the heavy downpour of rain. Ranma looked up at the closed gates and read the name above them. "Finally! C'mon let's get inside."

Kasumi tried to push open the gates but they refused to budge. "Oh my, the gates are locked. Perhaps we should call first?"

"No need for that Kasumi, let's just knock on their door." said Ranma as he wrapped an arm securely around Kasumi's waist before making a standing jump over the gates. The moment their feet touched down on the ground, an alarm sounded and within moments they were surrounded by armed soldiers. Ranma simply smiled at the soldiers and started to step out from under the umbrella. Kasumi stopped him before he could do anything.

"They're just doing their job Ranma." She said to him gently, "There's no need to fight them…please?"

Ranma sighed as a Kasumi directed a gentle pleading look at him. He relented and decided to let Kasumi take charge for now. "Fine but if things don't work out…"

"Then we'll do things your way."

Kasumi noticed an elderly gentleman walk through the circle of soldiers around them and smiled at him. She recognized him despite the number of years since she had last seen him. "Uncle Walter! It's so nice to see you again. You seem to be in good health."

Walter stopped a few feet away from the couple and peered at her through the rain. He had neglected to carry an umbrella in case his skills with his wires were needed. A few moments later, his face burst into a warm smile. "Why if it isn't little Kasumi!" he said as he stepped closer while making a gesture to the soldiers to stand down. They lowered their weapons at his signal but remained ready in case anything happened.

"Sir Integra will be delighted to see you again! Who is your friend? Oh my" Ranma lifted an eyebrow at Walter's words, "Let's get you inside first before anything else, please follow me."

He led the way while the soldiers silently returned to their posts although a few of them cast some curious looks at the two following behind Walter. Ranma and Kasumi followed Walter into the mansion where he immediately called for several maids to see to their guests. Walter turned to the two and smiled at the bemused look on the young mans face as the maids seemed flustered at Ranma's presence. The umbrella had kept the rain from soaking his head but the rest of him was drenched. His clothes were soaked and clung to his body. Walter noticed that Kasumi seemed to have a hint of disapproval at the way one of maids made as if to dry the young man with a towel.

Kasumi took the towel from the blushing young girl and proceeded to help Ranma get dry in a way that stated that he was hers. Her manner was an instant challenge to the maids, daring them to do anything about it. The girls decided to let the matter go although they looked enviously at the way Kasumi could run her hands over Ranma in the process of helping him get dry. Ranma was content to let Kasumi do as she pleased. There was a time not long ago when her actions would have freaked him out to no end. That was no longer the case and he enjoyed the care with which Kasumi tended to him. He gave a loving smile at Kasumi while noticing a maid who was watching him go weak at the knees.

Walter gave a small cough and told them to make themselves comfortable in the living room while he notified Sir Integra of their surprise arrival. He made his to her office and stopped in front of her door and gave a polite knock. He entered a few seconds later at Sir Integra's command to enter. Integra sat at her desk dealing with the paperwork. She looked up at Walter expecting a report on why the alarms had sounded earlier. Since it hadn't taken him long to deal with the problem she didn't expect it to have been very important but she liked to be kept aware of what happened in her home.

"So what set off the alarms Walter?" she asked him curiously as she pushed back from her desk and tilted her chair so that the front legs left the floor.

Walter waited a few seconds to judge how Sir Integra had balanced her chair. She used to sit like this as a child but he thought he had broken her of the habit. Fortunately he remembered how he broke her of it before. When the chair seemed to be just short of causing Sir Integra to topple backwards, he answered her question. "It appears Miss Kasumi Tendo has arrived to visit along with a young man I presume to be her boyfriend."

Walter smirked at the loud thump as Sir Integra toppled backwards out of shock and bumped the back of her head on the floor.

Curtain Call

R-Kives: I know I should be working more on MMSS but since I've been having a little trouble with it, I decided to write this story that just wouldn't let me be. I hope you all enjoy it!