The Great Crossover Crisis


Disclaimer: Sigh. The things I do to keep my readers entertained.

< >: Thoughts
(* *): Computer responses

T-Ranma: Ranmatech (Prototype, Tekno)
Kojiro: Cat Fist Fury
D-Ranma: Dragon Child (Draco)
P-Ranma: Fist of the Pikachu (Trainer, Ash)
B-Ranma: Fighting Blind (Koga)

Ranma: Ranma 1/2
Chapter 10
Kasumi's Day Off


"Man! That was a great meal!" Kojiro said as he rubbed his full 
stomach. He and the other Ranmas exited the restaurant with 
satisfied smiles on their faces. With the exception of T-Ranma, the 
others all shared the same trait of the famous Saotome stomach. 
They had eaten enough to feed an entire division of marines for a 
week. Fortunately, T-Ranma had an unlimited bank account.

"I've got to admit, it's been a long time since we were all been to 
able to kick back and just relax since this entire trip through 
dimensions started." Koga commented.

"By the way, you were a little distracted tonight, Prototype." Trainer 
remarked.

"Oh, it was nothing. I just received a transmission from the Care-
Bots. Apparently, Nabiki went inside the complex."

"What? I thought you said that the defensive barrier kept out 
everyone, but us and Trainer's Pokemon." 

T-Ranma shrugged as he replied. "I left the barrier down to allow 
her entry. I kind of figured that Nabiki would try to get inside, 
considering what I had scanned about her and those other realities 
in which her personality followed that of this native version."

"Oh?" Koga became interested.

"Yes, well she's not like the Nabiki Tendo that you described in 
your world. In fact, she was the cause of many of the native 
Ranma's problems, particularly Kuno's obsession with the 'pig-
tailed girl.' If she hadn't continued to sell photos of Ranma in his 
girl form to him and actually told him the real truth about the curse, 
then Ranma wouldn't be having as much trouble as of now. She's 
quite the mercenary and have been involved in blackmail, extortion, 
underage pornography, racketeering and several other... 
questionable activities at her school. However, unlike the Nabiki in 
Koga's world, she has yet to be shown the error of her ways."

"You knew all that about her and you still let her in?" Koga asked.

"Yes, well it's not like I didn't have a few... shall we say, strings 
attached. I had instructed the Care-Bots to let Nabiki sample some 
of many pleasures of the complex to lower her guard and set a trap. 
I gave her some bait that I knew that she would not be able to resist. 
Right at this moment, she's in the Virtual Reality Chamber (VRC) 
and is being shown the many realities in which I had scanned when 
we were traveling through the dimensional vortex. In other words, 
she's getting a very HARD look at herself."

"Ooh, nasty!" Kojiro remarked. He remembered seeing a few of 
those images during their dimension hopping. Those that depicted 
Nabiki as a money-hungry mercenary had almost always ended up 
in a bad way. One of the most drastic endings was the scene of Bag 
Lady Nabiki, eating whatever refuse she could find in a garbage bin.

"You're not just showing her to all the bad things that might happen 
if she doesn't change, are you?" Koga asked. Personally, he didn't 
have anything against Nabiki, but then again, he only knew of the 
one from his world.

T-Ranma nodded as he understood the hidden message of his 
counterpart. "I'm also showing her what good may come to her if 
she does change her ways. She might treat the Ranma of this world 
better if she realizes that she's better off with having him as a 
friend, than as someone to use to make some fast money. Come on 
guys, let's take a tour of Tokyo before heading back."

Later on that night...

A loud groan of pain was heard from the guestroom as a pigtailed 
martial artist slid open the door and stood for a moment while 
shaking his head.

"Stupid old man." Ranma mumbled as he left the room where his 
father lay. Genma had received numerous, and extremely nasty 
burns from his attempt to break into Prototype's ship. As of now, the 
slightest move made his entire body throb with pain. His body was 
wrapped up like a mummy and he was unable to speak at the 
moment.

<Serves the dope right. Prototype said that the ship wasn't going to 
let anybody in, and after what I've seen him and the other versions 
of me can do, I believe it! >

It was at that moment that Ranma saw a very unfamiliar sight. It 
was Nabiki without her usual air of superiority and Ice Queen 
facade. Gone was that usual mercenary gleam in her eyes and what 
he now saw in her was nervousness, slightly panicked and a bit of 
embarrassment as well. She was trembling like a leaf and was quite 
pale as she exited the broom closet in a bath robe. Ranma had never 
seen her like this before and wondered what had happened to put 
the cool and always in control middle Tendo daughter in such a 
state. 

"Hey Nabiki."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Nabiki's sudden panicked scream caught Ranma off guard as he 
backpedaled away and then stumbled backward, landing hard on his 
butt. He looked up and saw Nabiki and wondered just what had 
happened to her when she was in that closet.

She looked as if she had experienced a heart attack and a stroke 
simultaneously as she leaned against the wall and started gasping 
for air while clutching at her chest. She hyperventilated for several 
minutes before finally calming down enough to notice Ranma on 
the floor. Then she did something that Ranma would have never 
thought she would do in a million years. She started apologizing.

"Ranma! I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry! I didn't mean to sell 
photos of you to Kuno! I didn't mean to charge you all those inflated 
rates! Please forgive me! I'll cancel out your outstanding debt right 
away!"

She then started dashing away toward the stairs to her own room 
and slammed the door behind her.

<Man! What's gotten into her? > Ranma was still on the floor and 
in a state of confusion when the front door opened and his 
dimensional selves entered.

"Hey Ranma, what are you doing on the floor?" Koga asked.

Ranma could only dumbly point up to Nabiki's room and say, "Uh... 
Nabiki... that is... I...er..."

T-Ranma simply smiled. "Well, it seems that Nabiki got the full 
guest 'treatment' when she went into the complex."

The other Ranmas began chuckling as they all shared the private 
joke.

Later...

Prototype casually walked up to Nabiki's room and knocked on the 
door. Akane and Kasumi's sister had not come down to eat with the 
rest of the family. In fact, she hadn't emerged from her room ever 
since she had visited the complex and Prototype had decided to 
check up on her. In his hands, he had a tray of delicious food that 
was created in his high-tech kitchen. 

"Nabiki, are you in there?" Prototype said in his most pleasant tone, 
though he was trying very hard not to chuckle. He had gotten the 
report from his Care-Bots of Nabiki's reaction after her experience 
in the Virtual Reality Chamber. The sight of one of her own selves 
rooting about in garbage would have been disturbing. Another 
reality of being hunted by the yakuza after double-crossing them 
certainly would have made her think twice about her racketeering 
and blackmail practices. Of course, there were those other realities 
in which she ended up married to Ranma and the VRC had showed 
everything in finely detailed 3D. The scene of her wedding night 
would have been a real eye-opener. Nabiki practiced some yoga, but 
she probably never realized she was THAT flexible.

"Nabiki, are you there?"

"Go away, Ranma!" 

"Nope. Wrong Ranma. It's me, Prototype. Kasumi was worried that 
you missed dinner, so I decided to bring you something to eat. May 
I come in?"

"Hold on a minute!"

The technological Ranma's sensitive hearing picked up the sounds 
of some fast clicking and he had a feeling that he knew what was 
going on. He then engaged the thermal sensors of his eyes and 
looked into room, which depicted the heat image of Nabiki hunched 
over the keyboard of her computer. A few moments later, she had 
shut down the system and got up to answer the door.

As the door opened, Prototype observed that Nabiki had reasserted 
her usual Ice Queen image as she looked up at him.

"Well, hello Prototype. What brings you here?" Nabiki said in her 
sweetest voice, though she wasn't fooling Prototype by a long shot.

<She's obviously in denial.> "Oh, Kasumi was very worried that 
you didn't show up for dinner, so I told her that I'd bring you 
something to eat." T-Ranma held up the tray and gestured to the 
plate of pork cutlets, rice and vegetables with a cup of green tea. 
The delectable aroma from the food made her stomach begin to 
rumble, but Nabiki took a deep breath and shook her head.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not that hungry and..."

"No, no, no." T-Ranma said as mimicked Unit Two's voice, which 
made Nabiki a bit nervous. The technological martial artist then 
pushed himself in Nabiki's room and gently nudged her to sit on the 
edge of her bed, while placing the tray on her lap. "A pretty young 
lady like you needs to eat. After all, my counterparts and I must 
show our thanks to your family for allowing us the use of your 
broom closet during our stay here."

Nabiki's heart raced when he referred to her as pretty. No one had 
ever given her such a compliment. This tall and extremely well-
built version of the native Ranma was getting her all flustered with 
his maturity and seemingly warm nature and charm. She swallowed 
hard as she watched Tekno casually lean against the wall beside her 
computer and smiled at her.

"Well, aren't you hungry at all? It would be a shame for all that food 
that I had my Care-Bots prepare for you go to waste."

Nabiki shuddered a bit at the mention of those machines, but 
hunger finally won out as she looked down at the food and decided 
that there was no reason not to eat it. She then nodded and picked 
up the chopsticks and began eating the meal at a slightly fast, but 
controlled pace. After she had calmed down from her experience in 
the VRC, she had realized that deleting the native Ranma's debt to 
her was totally ludicrous. Ranma was one of her best income 
generators and those images she had seen of her alternate selves 
were just that, images. 

"Thank you." Nabiki said as she swallowed. "Mmmm, this is very 
good. My compliments to the chef." The food was better than good! 
It was absolutely perfect with the right amounts of spices and each 
bite was savored. If T-Ranma hadn't mentioned that the Care-Bots 
had prepared the meal, she would have thought that Kasumi had 
cooked it.

"Unit Two and Three would be pleased to hear that. And I certainly 
hope that you enjoyed their services during your visit to the 
complex."

Nabiki stopped eating and was bit uncomfortable as T-Ranma 
casually ran a hand over the top of her computer's monitor. He then 
made a casual comment. "Hmmm, nice antique computer you have 
here."

<Antique?> Nabiki had blackmailed the science teachers and 
computer technicians at school to get a hold of the most 
sophisticated equipment for her various ventures and he was calling 
it an antique?

T-Ranma then tapped the top of the monitor with his index finger 
and nonchalantly made another comment. "Then again, I guess just 
about all the conventional technology on this planet is extremely 
primitive by my standards and the thousands of alien worlds I've 
visited. I mean, look at this. The security protocols on this thing is 
almost nonexistent and makes it easy to access the CPU." 
<Cybernetic interface.>

(*Compliance.*)

In less than a heartbeat, the nanites in T-Ranma's body instantly 
established total control over Nabiki's computer. Without even 
switching on computer, the entire system suddenly activated itself 
as the screen lit up, as Ranma's nanites bypassed the relatively 
simple security programs and obtained the passwords. Through the 
contact he had with his hand on the monitor, Prototype easily 
hacked into the middle Tendo daughter's many files, which 
contained the precious records of her mercenary work. He noted the 
files concerning the native Ranma and brought them up.

"Well, now. It seems that you had not canceled out Ranma's 
outstanding debt after all." T-Ranma said as he shook his head and 
wagged a finger at her. "Tisk, tisk, tisk. And I had thought you had 
learned a few things when you were in the Virtual Reality Chamber. 
Oh well, I can rectify that." In an instant, the facts and figures on 
Ranma's outstanding debts to Nabiki suddenly became blank as they 
were permanently deleted.

"Hey! What are you...."

T-Ranma wagged a finger at her and shook his head. "Ah, ah, ah. 
Take a look at this, Nabiki Tendo. Look familiar?" He then accessed 
the modem and the monitor suddenly flashed a new set of figures. 
Nabiki became pale as she recognized those numbers and read the 
logo on the top of the screen. It was her own bank account numbers 
and the amount that was stored in that account. He used her own 
computer and his powers to access the records of the Tokyo Bank!

"Now you see it. And now you don't!" T-Ranma said with a sly grin 
as her entire assets were suddenly reduced to zero. Nabiki was about 
to have a stroke at the sight of her savings suddenly disappear, 
when T-Ranma then snapped his fingers. "And now you see it 
again."

When the amount that she had accumulated through her various 
schemes reappeared, she found her breath and let it out. It was then 
that T-Ranma decided that the little demonstration had the desired 
effect and released his hold on Nabiki's computer. The machine 
then automatically shut itself down. He then walked up to the little 
mercenary and his expression became serious.

"Now then, I do hope you realize what this was all about, Nabiki 
Tendo. I could do a LOT worse you know. If you were planning on 
getting back at me for that little VRC incident, then you'd better 
think again. The same thing goes if you try to profit off my 
counterparts as well. There was a reason why I secretly let you into 
the complex and had my Care-Bots show you those images of your 
dimensional counterparts. You are very intelligent Nabiki, but you 
really need to realize that your current actions and patterns of 
behavior have very serious consequences if you continue on this 
course."

Nabiki was still speechless at the casual display of power Prototype 
had demonstrated. He had her entire financial assets at his mercy 
and could probably bankrupt her at any time.

Prototype continued with his lecture. "I have met hundreds of 
mercenary types during my journeys across the cosmos and many of 
them could easily chew you up and spit you out. Fortunately, I 
myself am quite capable of handling those types. You're dealing 
with the major leagues now, Nabiki Tendo. I don't mean to be blunt, 
but frankly, you're nothing but a penny-ante operator to me. Mere 
chump change. You're trying to compete with caviar when you're 
nothing but tuna fish. You have a great potential to be a big-
wheeler, but you're wasting your talents on trivial pursuits and 
making life for Ranma harder than it needs to be."

"Hey! Now what gives you the right to invade in my business? 
YOU'RE the GUEST here!" Nabiki snapped.

"If you are seeking for a legal action, I'll have you know that I am 
very proficient with over three hundred different forms of judicial 
practices and legal processes. And as I recall, you're the one who 
entered my complex without my permission."

Nabiki blinked. Okay, so this wasn't going to be as easy as shaking 
Ranma down for some spare change.

Prototype nodded at her silence and continued. "Now, as I suspect, 
you have blocked out the images that my Care-Bots had shown to 
you. You probably thought that it was all some kind of illusion. 
Well, let me tell you, those images were REAL. I had recorded 
those alternate realities during our long trip through dimensions 
and those outcomes are extremely likely in this reality. Now I didn't 
have them show those pictures to you as a way of torturing you, but 
rather as an object lesson. And you must admit, the realities in 
which you were actually nice to Ranma all turned out quite well, 
didn't they? Especially in those timelines in which you married 
him."

Nabiki's cheeks reddened at the memory of her 'wedding night.'

"I thought so." T-Ranma said with a grin. "Now whether or not you 
take my advice is up to you of course, but it would be such a shame 
that you end up the same way as all those other Nabiki Tendos that 
chose the wrong path. Unlike some people, you CAN be taught. 
Enjoy your meal."

With those words, Prototype patted her on the shoulder and left the 
room, leaving Nabiki alone with her thoughts.

As he was about to reenter the complex to join the rest of his 
dimensional selves, he paused to see Kasumi working hard to clean 
up the dinner dishes and prepare to take care of the evening chores. 
He frowned as he saw neither Akane, Genma or Soun lift a finger to 
help her. As for the native Ranma, he couldn't help as he was 
currently unconscious after making yet another rude remark to 
Akane and getting pounded by that mallet of hers. He sighed and 
shook his head. From what he and the other Ranmas had observed 
so far, the native version of themselves was prone to sticking his 
foot in his mouth. Probably due to the poor upbringing by Genma. 
He also let his guard down too easily and seemed to ALLOW Akane 
to strike him. T-Ranma knew that his other selves would never have 
let Akane get away with that and probably would have made her eat 
that mallet. Though Ranma shouldn't be calling her names, that 
didn't justify striking him with enough force to kill a normal person.

T-Ranma sighed again as he realized that trying to get Ranma to 
improve was going to be an uphill battle. Ranma was so influenced 
by Genma's teachings that it might as well be a lost cause. However, 
he and the others were still going to try. As for what could be done 
to lessen the burdens being placed on Kasumi, T-Ranma had idea 
about that. After scanning this reality about Kasumi and asking his 
counterparts about the ones in their own dimensions, Prototype had 
a good impression about her. The most favorable description of 
Kasumi came from Koga and the native Kasumi seemed to match 
that description. T-Ranma had also observed how hard-working she 
was and decided that such devotion to her duties should be 
rewarded. With that in mind, he entered the broom closet and called 
for one of the Care-Bots to give it new instructions.

The next morning...

Kasumi awoke early to begin the morning chores as always, when 
she found something metallic standing beside her bed.

"Oh my!" She gasped as she saw Care-Bot Unit 7 looking back at 
her.

"Care-Bot Unit 7 is online. Good morning Kasumi Tendo. Please do 
not be alarmed. I am one of the Care-Bots that serve the one you 
know as Prototype. He had instructed me to assist you in the daily 
household chores as payment to your family for allowing us to 
reside here. My master had observed that you work very hard to 
maintain the order of this house and had decided that you should be 
rewarded for your selflessness."

"Oh, that's very nice of him, but I must get started with..."

"No need, no need." Unit Seven intoned as he gestured to the door. 
"I have already scrubbed and polished the floors. Garbage cycle has 
been completed and all refuse has been disposed of. If you wish, you 
may partake of the bubble bath I have drawn up for you, then I shall 
later have the bathroom cleaned. I must now go to prepare breakfast 
for the family as my sensors indicate that the rest of the Tendo 
household is waking up. "

"Oh no! That's my responsibility." Kasumi said, not wanting to feel 
spoiled, and yet the thought of actually having someone to help her 
with the chores was like a gift from heaven.

"No, no, no. My master had instructed me to ease your burdens and 
I shall. Please enjoy your leisure time. Care-Bot Unit 7 is online." 
With these words, the machine shrunk down to its more compact 
shape and zipped out of the room. 

A few moments later. Kasumi emerged from her room and saw that 
the floors were swept clean and polished. She then looked into the 
bathroom and saw that an enticing bath was indeed waiting for her. 
The sight of just relaxing in the tub and soaking in those bubbles 
was so enticing that she almost began disrobing. However, she 
shook her head and went downstairs to the kitchen. However, to her 
surprise, the Care-Bot was already hard at work and a delicious 
smell of miso soup and tea filled the air. The machine was using its 
various built-in devices to mix the proper ingredients in their 
correct amounts and maintain the right cooking temperatures.

"Care-Bot Unit 7 is online. Breakfast is nearly completed. Will 
begin morning clean up and other preparations shortly." Its head 
turned around to see Kasumi. "Mistress Kasumi! I had thought that 
you were enjoying your bath. Please do not concern yourself about 
breakfast today. I have nearly completed cooking it."

"Oh no, I can't allow you to..."

"Now, now, now. Please allow me to fulfill my programming. By 
the way, how does this taste?" The Care-Bot dipped a spoon into the 
stewing soup and then extended the utensil toward Kasumi. Not 
wanting to be rude, the eldest Tendo daughter sampled the soup and 
to her surprise, found it to be surprisingly good, especially when it 
had been prepared by a machine.

"Oh my! It's... perfect!"

"Thank you. I believe that I can allow it to simmer for a few 
minutes. Now, then... off to the bath with you. Care-Bot Unit 7 is 
online."

Kasumi could nothing but allow herself to be gently nudged back 
toward the bathroom.

After breakfast...

"Ah, another wonderful breakfast, Kasumi." Soun remarked after he 
and the rest of his family had finished eating. Ranma was also 
eating with them but Genma was not present as his current 
condition left him unable to move from the guestroom. Ranma had 
decided to forego his daily sparring match as his father was in no 
shape to fight. He had thought to try and get a quick match with his 
counterparts, but they had left early for school.

"Thank you, Father, but I cannot take the credit for breakfast 
today." Kasumi was feeling a bit guilty after she had spent an 
enjoyable soak in a bubble bath. The Care-Bot wouldn't take no for 
an answer. "Prototype's Care-Bot cooked breakfast today."

"Care-Bot?" Nabiki said with a bit of nervousness.

It was then that the robot jetted into the room and began to clear the 
empty dishes with unbelievable speed and efficiency. "Care-Bot 
Unit 7 is online. Dishwashing cycle beginning." In less than a 
heartbeat, the dishes were carried out to the kitchen sink and the 
robot began scrubbing away. Using the advanced detergents and 
devices that were stored in its housing, Unit Seven had all the 
dishes washed, rinsed, dried and neatly put away in less than ten 
seconds!

"Dishwashing cycle completed. Care-Bot Unit 7 is online." It then 
shrunk down and jetted away to do another chore.

"What was that?" Akane exclaimed in shock. 

Kasumi smiled sweetly as she replied. "Prototype had..."

"Greetings." The Care-Bot came up to the table. "I am Care-Bot 
Unit 7 and I had been instructed by Master Prototype to aid Kasumi 
in all the daily household chores during his stay here."

"Well now, wasn't that nice of him." Soun remarked.

Nabiki was still looking at the machine nervously as Akane looked 
at it with distaste. Akane had enjoyed the breakfast and she had 
assumed that Kasumi had cooked it. To find out that the breakfast 
had been made by a machine that could cook better than she could 
was mortifying. It was bad enough to know that Ranma as a girl 
was a better cook than she was, but to have a machine built by one 
of the dimensional Ranmas a better cook than she, was insulting.

More insult was added to injury as the Care-Bot cheerfully laid 
three bentos on the table and indicated to each one. "Lunches have 
been prepared for Ranma, Akane and Nabiki. Have a nice day. 
Care-Bot Unit 7 is online."

Nabiki hesitantly took her bento and quietly left. Ranma smiled as 
he picked up his bento.

"All right! This is so cool!"

Akane was not impressed as she blatantly ignored the bento and left 
in a huff. 

"Hey Akane! Don't forget your lunch!" Ranma called as he picked 
up her lunch and went after her.

A few minutes after Ranma and Akane had left for school...

"Thank you Care-Bot, but I must start the laundry and..."

"Laundry cycle has already been completed." The robot lead 
Kasumi outside to the backyard where she saw the formally dirty 
clothes already washed, and hanging on the line. The eldest 
daughter could only gasp in amazement at the efficiency of her new 
helper. 

"Oh my."

A few minutes after that...

"What are you doing, Mistress Kasumi?" The Care-Bot asked as it 
pointed to the broom in Kasumi's hands.

"Well, I thought that I'd sweep out the front porch and..."

"No need. Porch has already been swept out. Care-Bot Unit 7 is 
online."

"Oh really? Well, then I guess I should call the repairman to fix the 
hole in the dojo's roof and..."

"Damage to roof has already been repaired. Care-Bot Unit 7 is 
online."

"You fixed it?"

"Affirmative. Now beginning window washing cycle."

Without another word, the robot then jetted one side of the Tendo 
home and then extended its body to reach Nabiki's bedroom 
window. A squeegee appendage and a nozzle appeared out of its 
head as it started to wash the glass.

Kasumi could only smile as she watched the little machine work. 
The rain gutters had been cleaned out. The gas water heater that 
had been acting up lately had been corrected. The household 
dusting had been done in mere seconds. The bathroom was cleaner 
than she ever remembered. All the walls that had withstood the 
daily attacks on Ranma and Akane's temper tantrums had been 
neatly repaired and reinforced. Burnt-out light bulbs and old fuses 
were quickly replaced. Leaky faucets and pipes stopped dripping 
once Care-Bot got to them. Unit Seven's maintenance programs had 
saved the Tendo family the time and money of hiring plumbers, 
electricians and building repairmen. 

Still a little bit later...

"Vacuuming cycle completed. Care-Bot Unit 7 is online."

"Oh please let me do something, Care-Bot." Kasumi gently pleaded 
as she suddenly found herself with a generous amount of leisure 
time; more free time than she had ever had since her mother had 
passed away. The Care-Bot was truly a marvel but now, Kasumi 
was feeling somewhat superfluous. Her life as the main caretaker of 
her family wasn't easy, but it did give her a sense of purpose and she 
always took pride in the fact that she was living up to her mother's 
standards as a proper Japanese housewife. One by one, the cheerful 
little Care-Bot was taking away her duties.

"What would you like to do, Mistress?" The caretaker robot said as 
the suctioning device retracted back into its housing.

"Well, I do need to go shopping for groceries and supplies."

"No need to spend any money. Care-Bot Unit 7 is online. No offense 
intended, but I am well aware of your father's lack of a regular 
source of income and how you must budget every yen. You may 
enter the complex and have your pick of whatever is in the storage 
units. If you do not see what you want, I am authorized to have the 
food synthesizers supply you with anything you require. I can also 
provide you with all the household items that you wish to obtain. No 
charge of course. There is more than enough and I am very certain 
that my master would not mind. He did state that I am to attend to 
all of your needs. It is both my duty and pleasure to aid you."

"Really?"

"Yes. And you are more than welcome to make use of the 
recreational facilities as well. My master and his dimensional 
counterparts all agree that you most certainly deserve to have some 
fun."

Fun. Now that was a term that was rarely associated with the dutiful 
and hard-working Tendo daughter. Kasumi found herself at a loss 
for words as the little automaton gently took her hand and led her 
into the broom closet.

Twenty minutes later...

Kasumi couldn't believe her good fortune as she emerged from the 
closet, closely followed by Unit Seven. It was pushing a large anti-
gravity cart that was laden with enough food to feed the Tendo 
family for a good month, even with two houseguests with 
bottomless stomachs. Kasumi had not spent long hours walking 
around the streets of Tokyo, looking for the lowest prices and 
highest discounts. She had gotten it all for free and you couldn't 
beat that! The groceries had been obtained without leaving the 
home and she had still had all the money she had saved up to 
purchase said items.

All she had to do was give Unit Seven the shopping list and the 
robot gladly went to get the items. In less than five minutes, it 
returned with all the things on the paper and a LOT more. The 
fruits and vegetables were fresh and clean; as if they had been 
harvested from a farm. The meats were freshly cut and ready to be 
used. There were packages of ramen, bottles of soy sauce, flour, 
yeast, bread, fish, eggs, and many other things, including supplies 
like towels, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, a new 
wok, and so on. Though Kasumi tried to gently turn down all the 
extra foodstuffs and things, (despite the fact that her family sorely 
needed them), the Care-Bot still wouldn't take no for answer and 
insisted that she accept them.

However, when Kasumi had come across the kitchen of the 
complex, she had thought she had stepped into a paradise. The 
kitchen was immaculately clean with not a single spot of grease, 
dust or any other signs of untidiness. The room was equipped with 
the most advanced food preparation devices she had ever seen. It 
made her kitchen seem like the inside of a log cabin. However, 
despite its high-tech appearance, it still radiated a sense of warmth 
and friendliness as the Care-Bot demonstrated the many 
technological wonders and invited Kasumi to cook the evening meal 
she had planned for that night. As of now, the entire meal for six 
people was in a small, compressible, stasis field container and 
would remain fresh and hot indefinitely, until it was ready to be 
consumed. All Kasumi had to do was press a button and the food 
would be released and neatly set on the table in an instant. Though 
she marveled at the speed and efficiency of the cooking devices, she 
realized that was she left with even more free time. She began to 
feel guilty. With the little Care-Bot doing most of the work, she had 
more than a day left with all the chores being completed before 
10:00 am!

<What am I going to do? I can't think of anything else to take care 
of. Care-Bot has done it all! > She then looked toward her own 
kitchen and sighed as she saw the Care-Bot neatly stock away the 
groceries and supplies in their proper places, and then zip back with 
the empty cart into the closet. It then returned and extended itself so 
that its photoreceptors met with Kasumi's gaze. 

"Care-Bot Unit 7 is online. Groceries and supplies have been stored 
away. What are your orders now, Mistress Kasumi?"

"I... don't know. All the chores have been done, and my father and 
Mr. Saotome had gone out for the day. Nabiki, Ranma and Akane 
won't be home from school for several hours and... oh dear! I have 
so much extra time."

"Care-Bot is pleased that Mistress Kasumi is now free to enjoy the 
rest of the day. May I suggest that you make use of the recreational 
facilities in the complex."

"Oh no! I couldn't do that."

'Why not? There are no more chores to be done, is there?"

"No, but I couldn't just go in and use the other Ranmas' things 
and..."

"Do not concern yourself with that detail. My master Prototype was 
correct in saying that you have a kind heart, and if any member of 
this household deserves to have access to the complex besides the 
native Ranma, it would be you."

"Really? He said that?" Kasumi felt a warmth inside of her. No man 
had ever said that about her and she was unused to such 
compliments.

"My master did not lie. Now please, follow me."

An hour later...

Kasumi was feeling absolutely spoiled after receiving an expert 
pedicure, manicure, back and foot massage and took another hot 
soak, this time in the bathing area of the complex. Unit Seven had 
called in the other Care-Bots to assist it, which they did cheerfully. 
Her hair was cleaned with a special shampoo that revitalized the 
fibers, making them more luxuriant and shiny. She felt the tension 
gently ease away as Unit 4 massaged her scalp. She almost fell 
asleep in the warm waters as soft gentle music played from hidden 
speakers. The melody was actually one of the songs that B-Ranma 
played on his flute.

Another few hours later...

The eldest Tendo daughter applauded after she was treated to an 
impromptu fashion show in the Virtual Reality Chamber. She had 
also been treated to a wonderful show of images of different worlds 
and sights that exploded with vibrant colors and patterns. She was 
in awe as images of various gowns and dresses were paraded in 
front of her with Care-Bot Unit 7 being the announcer.

"And here we have a stunning evening gown from the Centuran 
planet of Galactic Sector Delta Q."

An image of a green-skinned, humanoid woman walked past 
Kasumi, showing off the amber gown that had a daringly plunging 
neckline and accentuated the shoulders. The gown draped down 
toward the ankles, but had a slit up the side to show off a shapely 
leg. The dress was eye-catching enough to turn the heads of any 
full-blooded male. Kasumi had an image of herself in such a dress 
and blushed. She quickly pushed that image away.

"You would look lovely in such a dress, Mistress Kasumi."

"Oh no! I couldn't! Besides, it's just an image and..."

Before she could say anything more, Kasumi was bathed in a white 
light as Unit Seven activated its molecular rearrangement projector 
at the simple house dress she was wearing. In an instant, she found 
herself clothed in that same evening gown, with her hair done up in 
a beautiful braid tied with a white ribbon. Her feet were wearing 
crystal, low heeled pumps and bejeweled, gold bracelet hung from 
her right wrist. A mirror appeared before her and Kasumi gasped at 
how... beautiful she looked. The dress had been altered to match her 
figure and it did quite a job of making her seem like a fairytale 
princess. Holy Cinderella!

Kasumi couldn't believe the image of herself being reflected.

The Care-Bot nodded. "You see, Mistress? You look ravishing."

Kasumi couldn't help but agree. Yet, a new feeling came over her. 
She felt as if a huge burden that had been pressed against her for 
years was no longer there. She was free... to be Kasumi. She was a 
soul that had been redeemed. For today, the world no longer 
depended on her to be there. She felt more animated than she had 
ever been. She felt like nothing could hold her back as she gave the 
gown a twirl. She was more free than she ever experienced after 
taking her mother's place as the caretaker of the Tendo family. For 
one glorious day, Kasumi could be... normal.

However, the moment passed as she realized that it was all an 
illusion and would end. Though Care-Bot 7 had released her from 
her duties and obligations for one wonderful day, she knew that it 
was only temporary. When T-Ranma and the others left, things 
would go back to what they were. She let off a long sigh and gave 
the Care-Bot a sad smile.

"Unit Seven... today has been wonderful and I thank you, the other 
Car-Bots and your master. It had been a marvelous... holiday."

"Holiday? I do not understand Mistress Kasumi. My fellow units 
and I will still be here to aid you tomorrow and the days after that."

"It is not that I do not appreciate all that you and the other Units 
have done for me and my family, but I'm afraid that... it is all a 
dream. When you and the others leave, then... things will go back 
the way they were. Not that I'm complaining but..." Kasumi gave 
another long sigh as she her dreams of having a normal life without 
having to tend to all if her family's needs faded away. "It's all just a 
wonderful dream."

"And what's wrong that dream?"

Both Kasumi and Care-Bot Unit 7 turned suddenly at the sound of 
T-Ranma's voice and saw him casually leaning against the doorway 
to the VRC. The nanotech warrior smiled as he saw Kasumi dressed 
in the gown and nodded to Unit Seven.

"Well, now Unit 7. It seems that the quiet little caterpillar has 
broken out of her cocoon. I see before me a very pretty butterfly." 

Kasumi blushed horribly as she realized that she was still in that 
very revealing evening gown. T-Ranma chuckled a bit as the girl 
tried cover herself with her arms, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Master Ranma. You have returned early." Care-Bot Unit 7 
exclaimed.

T-Ranma nodded as he walked up to the flustered Kasumi. "Yes, 
well my afternoon classes had to be canceled when Kuno went and 
attacked me again. I'm afraid that I went a little overboard with... 
disciplining him." He then turned and addressed the eldest Tendo 
daughter. "Don't be so shy, Miss Tendo. A pretty girl such as 
yourself should be seen and not hide behind an apron. Relax. This is 
your day off." T-Ranma said as he snapped his fingers and said, 
"Computer, I believe that a different setting would be more 
appropriate for Kasumi's newest addition to her wardrobe."

The VRC computer acknowledged the subtle command and the 
setting was switched from its current appearance to that of a grand 
ballroom, complete with an orchestra. 

T-Ranma then engaged the cyberweave body suit he was wearing 
and was instantly clothed in a fancy tuxedo and gave Kasumi a bow 
as a soft waltz began to play. "Fair lady, may I have this dance?"

"Oh no! I couldn't... oh!"

T-Ranma gently took her hand and began leading her in time with 
the music.

Later on...

Kasumi emerged from the broom closet feeling refreshed (no, you 
hentais! Not because of that!), and turned to face both Unit 7 and 
T-Ranma as they exited. She was dressed in her normal clothes and 
the gown was neatly folded in her arms. "I would like to thank you 
both for a wonderful time and it was a day that I'll never forget."

"It will be just as enjoyable tomorrow, Mistress Kasumi. I will see 
you in the morning." Unit Seven stated as he gave her and T-Ranma 
a bow before going back into the closet.

"He's quite a Care-Bot." T-Ranma remarked. "Unit Seven happens 
to be the most proficient and I knew that it would be perfect for 
you."

"And I thank you for the loan of it, but I'm afraid that I must return 
it to you. Today was wonderful, but I must return to my duties 
tomorrow and..."

"What do you mean? Unit Seven will be will be helping you again 
tomorrow and so on."

"Unit Seven is wonderful, but I..." Kasumi began but T-Ranma cut 
her off by gently.

"The Care-Bot is my way of thanking your family for letting my 
counterparts and me stay here while my ship is repairing itself. And 
I know about your dream of having a normal life." He winked at her 
after patting her hand and turned back to the closet. "Hold onto your 
dreams. The future is built on them. Oh, and by the way, the gown 
and everything else that Care-Bot Unit Seven had given you today is 
yours to keep."

Kasumi could only gaze at the technological and very mature 
version of the native Ranma entered the complex. She then looked 
down at the gown in her hands as he departed, his last words still 
echoing in her ears.

<Hang on to your dreams... the future is built on them.>

To be continued...

Author's notes

Why did I write this chapter? I LIKE Kasumi and I figured that she 
deserved to be pampered while the five Ranmas were visiting. As 
for a potential romance between T-Ranma and Kasumi, it is a 
possibility. More GCC coming up later.


