Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Kami No Ko Wa Kami ❯ Even the reverse side has its reverse side ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Kami No Ko Wa Kami, revision 2

chapter 2: "Even the reverse side has its reverse side."

All applicable disclaimers are in force.

"Anger, if unrestrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than that injury which provokes it." - Seneca

This mess by metroanime@mindspring.com

NOTE: this is different from the "pokegirls" version, due to difficulties mentioned at the end of chapter 4 of that previous writing. If there is sufficient demand, i'll give it a go but with a somewhat more anime version of Ranma.

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Genma had intended for this to be private. The Heir to the Saotome School, his son. Well, sort of his son. Instead, Ranma was this massively powerful individual whose fist could crush an engine block (on an 8 cylinder Chevy, not just a 4 cylinder Honda) and frankly wasn't pursuing the Art as avidly as Genma would like. Though finding ways for Ranma *to* practice the Art was admittedly getting difficult. Particularly after his sudden growth spurt, which had started after they'd left that Amazon village.

How to do strength training when you already had more horsepower than most farm equipment? How to toughen your body when a thrust sword folded on encountering tightened muscle? How to find a training dummy that wouldn't fall apart after the first punch? Ranma's main thrust of practice nowadays was in *regulating* his abilities to a level where he could fight normal people and not hurt them too badly.

When he'd first suggested going to visit the house of an old friend, Genma had mentioned wanting the Heir along: it involved ancient (20 years) ties of honor and duty. Everyone had assumed, as Genma had intended, that this was a dojo challenge. Ranma had shrugged and wished Ukyo luck.

Genma had figured this would happen and had arranged for Ukyo to be dealing with *another* challenger that same day. A Dojo Destroyer who had wrecked a dozen other dojos and taken their signs. He also did barmitzvahs and weddings, Genma had been told. Hired muscle with some odd skills. Ukyo would be present to defend the dojo, and frankly Genma thought it likely that the fight wouldn't last five minutes. Two if she used her spatula.

Ukyo was *good* at fighting. She had survived training designed to give Ranma a hard time. She was one of four people that Ranma could spar with and not receive an unintended trip to Okinawa. (The others being himself, Makoto, and that Haruka person.)

Hotaru stuck at home, Makoto as well. Neither were necessary and both made the appropriate faces when Genma described Soun as a chain smoker. Genma had even scrounged up a couple of tickets for Tokyo Disneyland to further distance them from the scene.

Nodoka had, as planned, stayed home with Kyoko to watch Ukyo's battle.

Unfortunately, the horde of fiancees had also come. Or at least some of them.

Rei kept mumbling about great dangers she'd seen in the fire. Ami had her nose in a book, but had indicated that she had a study-date with Ranma that had been planned *months* in advance. Then there was Minako, bright and cheerful, and armed with her camera to "catch her Ranchan's moment of glory." Finally bringing up the procession of those Genma had failed to move elsewhere, there was the final member of the group. Shampoo.

"When Ranma kick this dojo boy's butt, we go get ice cream, yes?"

Genma wondered why his plans to divert all the fiancees hadn't gone easier. At least Usagi hadn't shown up.

"Ice cream?!"

Genma grumbled and lowered his head. "Why me?"

"Because you're a moron," mumbled Rei.

---------------

Genma got the others to wait behind him, reminding them all that this was an old honor affair, and through it all he was *still* the tough old warrior who was the Master of the Saotome Ryuu. (Despite Ranma being stronger, Ukyo being faster, Hotaru having enough raw chi to put the house into orbit, and Nodoka holding the reins of power - Genma still had the title.)

He had some difficulty with the situation, even so. Years spent with his wife and family, years being a responsible citizen, they had tamed him - if only a little bit.

Genma knocked on the door, and a gentle-looking girl opened the door.

"Yes?" The girl said, looking over the burly man in the off-white gi,the small crowd, and the guy radiating raw power over there with the crowd. "Oh my!"

Genma bowed, slightly, aware that some degree of formality was required - and that if he hinted why they were here at the moment that he'd find himself quite alone. "Please tell Soun Tendo that his old friend Genma Saotome is here."

"Yes..." Kasumi said, still looking up at the huge fellow, before breaking off to go back and summon her father.

"Aren't we here to challenge the dojo?" Ami asked, indicating a sign that requested that challengers use the rear door.

Genma hedged. "Well. Sort of."

Another girl had apparently been listening because she stepped out from the house. "Hmmmph! I am the Heir to the Tendo School Of Anything Goes. And I accept your challenge!"

"Genma?!" Soun began running forward only to catch a signal from his old friend, warning caution.

"I'm Akane Tendo, like I said - I'm the Heir and local champion." The girl who'd accepted the challenge looked over each of the group. "Which of you is my match to be with?"

"Him," indicated Soun, pointing at Ranma. ~Obviously Saotome's got some plan going. Better go along with it.~

Genma winced and tried to signal Soun that this was a *bad* idea.

Ranma shrugged. "Maybe we ought to wait for Hotaru. I prefer to fight only really seasoned, highly skilled, opponents." ~As opposed to someone I could accidently flatten with my pinky.~

Akane's eyes narrowed. "You'll do. Don't underestimate me." ~Too bulky to move fast, very muscular. Obviously relies on durability and strength.~

Ranma shook his head. Well, at least this wouldn't take long. He'd promised that date to Ami quite some time ago.

----------

In a prior age, she had been known as Beryl. Since meeting that nice priestess of some ancient kami named Hera, she'd changed her name from Seiko to Beryl again. She still worked as a manicurist, but now sidelined in sorcery.

She remembered these girls. Ancient warriors of a Moon Kingdom who had dared oppose her! Well, she'd prepared things. A divination had revealed that sooner or later, her targets would come to this pitiful little dojo several districts away from where her shop was located.

Then she'd crafted the four devices, planted them months ago, and waited. As soon as the little bell on her mantle chimed, she knew that the prey was in the trap.

She'd briefly entertained the thought of reducing the Princesses to illiterate bimbos, pets, or inanimate objects. However, she had to use a borrowed source of power - and that meant a large enchanted malachite.

She didn't have nearly the power available to her back in the Silver Millenium, no promises of power from Metal'la. Only bits and pieces of lore, scraps of magic and power that had survived 10,000 years. Only by knowing exactly where the fallen Kingdoms were, and where the treasuries had been kept, had Beryl recovered as much as she had.

Of course, as everyone had been reborn as normal men and women of that kingdom, without any means to transform themselves into Senshi or Prince, these tokens of power still placed her far above the resources of her targets.

Excusing herself from the customer, Beryl ran to the back of her shop and began the spell that would remove these annoyances from her life once and for all. (1)

---------

Haruka Ten'ou had been shadowing Michiru Kaioh for some time. She had seen the violinist go to the Saotome household while Haruka was trying to figure out where to ambush that scoundrel Saotome, then had tailed her former girlfriend.

This would be even better. Haruka would unleash those new special manuevers that would humiliate that muscular freak while Michiru watched! Then Haruka would make that scoundrel Saotome admit that Haruka Ten'ou was the better man!

Haruka stumbled. Then frowned and corrected herself. Better martial artist!

It was all Saotome's fault! Saotome defeating her with that freakish strength. Then all the times Michiru would find Haruka with another girl, and that Amazon that was still chasing after her, and that idiot "Heir to Martial Arts Lumberjacking" that kept trying to catch her! NONE of this would happen if it weren't for...

"RANMA SAOTOME! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Michiru briefly looked up, not seeing Haruka who had plastered herself against a concealing wall with both hands over her mouth. Then the elegant violinist shrugged and continued on her way, a slight smile showing despite her apparent indifference.

Haruka finally peeked around the corner to see Michiru heading up the walk of a house.

"Now, Ranma Saotome, you will die," Haruka promised. Just as long as it didn't rain.

----------

Ranma stood at one end of the dojo. Now standing over seven feet in height, with thick cords of muscle that rippled at every movement, with a thick mane of blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, he knew most people tended to view him as they would an earthquake or other unstoppable force of nature. Preferably at a distance, that is. A number of people would look at him and note the resemblence to the version of Thor appearing in Marvel Comics.

Akane dropped into a ready stance and felt a niggling uncertainty. The boy hadn't moved as she had expected. She had expected ponderous and clumsy. Not as quietly or as gracefully as he had. The floorboards of the dojo had creaked underneath his weight, but that wasn't so unusual. That he looked so *solid* once he'd come to rest was. No, this wasn't Tatewaki Kuno or any of the usual boys she fought. Still, he couldn't possibly be swift or as skilled as *she* was.

"Soun, can I see you for a moment?" Genma gestured outside the crowded dojo.

Soun nodded, making his way through the unexpected crowd of spectators.

Things settled down as the two fathers reached the engawa of the house and began talking. The conversations of the various girls present began fading as the two combatants signalled that they were ready.

"Begin," said Rei, making a slashing motion with one hand.

Akane leapt, pivoted, and punched as hard as she could into the boy's clenched gut. He didn't dodge or move, just sighed.

Akane held the pose for a moment, her arm extended. Then pain signals began reaching her. "Yoowwwwch! Owie! Owie!! Owie!!!" She'd hit bricks that weren't that hard. Obviously he had some body armor underneath his clothing.

"You see why I didn't want to fight you, Tendo-san? You're just too weak and fragile to face me. My baby sister Hotaru could beat you." He didn't mean anything by it, he was just tired of being around porcelain dolls that thought they could fight him. (2)

Eyes tearing and waving her hand about, Akane nonetheless glared at the boy. "Fragile? I'll show you. Hiyaaahhh!"

Ranma blocked, looking very sad. Why didn't anyone listen to him? Then flipped the tiny girl towards his chest and gave her a hug. "Concede the match and I'll let you go."

"Eeeeyaahhhhh!" Akane was mainly frustrated and showed it by a scream. She couldn't budge from this position, and the pressure was being slowly increased on her. This turned out to be a bad mistake because once she'd evacuated her lungs of air, she was having trouble getting it back. Akane tried to bite, she tried flailing with her legs, she tried squirming. Nothing seemed to help and the pressure continued to mount.

Nabiki's eyes were wide. She'd *never* seen Akane turn that shade before. Even when she'd accidently swallowed that frog in fourth grade. Though that *had* been interesting.

Finally Akane began to twitch, and Ranma turned her loose. The girl dropped to the floor and began drawing deep breaths.

"Please stop fighting, Miss Tendo, don't make me fight you any more," Ranma asked Akane as nicely as he knew how. "I don't like hurting the weak."

"Do (gasp) you (wheeze) concede then?" Akane got herself to all fours.

"No. Can't. Sorry." Ranma shook his head. Why people had to be this stubborn was beyond him.

"HAH!" Akane came up and used a manuever that had never failed her before. The old "Kick Him Between The Goalposts" anti-pervert defense. *WHAM!* *KRAK!* (3)

Ranma looked down at where Miss Tendo had kicked, then the sickly pale color the girl's face had turned. "Miss Tendo. I think you broke your foot. You really ought to take it easy."

Akane whimpered but shook it off. "Not yet. I am the Heir to the Tendo School Of Anything Goes. I will not lose to some *freak!*"

"Oh, bother. Please concede, this isn't fun." Ranma was more than a little tired of this. The freak comment stung, however. There was enough of that sort of thing from Haruka.

"Go to hell!"

Ranma shrugged, then moved faster than Akane had expected.

Akane got a quick glimpse of a fist heading towards her face at high speeds and brought her arms in a crossed "X" to block.

*WHAM!* *BANG!* *BOOM!*

Everyone looked at the Akane-shaped hole in the rear wall of the dojo. Rei got up to look out it. "I see a pair of feet sticking out of their compound wall. She's twitching though, so I suspect she's okay."

"Akane is out of the ring, match to the challenger," quickly declared Nabiki before any MORE damage could be done.

"Why," asked Ranma. "Why did she make me do that? I don't like picking on the weak."

"Oh my, is it over already?" Kasumi asked as she brought another young lady into the dojo.

"RANMA! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Any answers that might have come were washed out by a sudden twisting sensation as the dojo dropped through a hole that hadn't been there a moment ago.

-------

"ANOTHER DIMENSION!" Beryl finished. Then she smiled. With the girls removed entirely from space and time, thrown into some other universe, she could go ahead with her plans for world domination.

She considered laughing evilly in triumph.

Well, after she got back to her customer. She still had a business to run.

--------

The sensation of falling was bad.

Spinning made it worse.

"GRAB ONTO ME!" Ranma yelled over the rips and groans of wood coming apart all around them.

He was latched onto, a solid object while everything else was in freefall.

Then the dojo came apart in a sickening series of crunches and various girls wailed in terror.

In another world, another time, they might have been a magical girl sentai team and capable of handling things like being in a zero-gravity freefall in some Peter Max dayglo superspace, surrounded by strings of pearls that actually looked like planets.

Nabiki, watching the contents of her lunch (spinning and twisting while weightless had not been something she was prepared to deal with) go sailing off into the void was quite aware that she had hesitated a few bare seconds rather than grab on the challenger who had just flattened Akane. This had the decidedly BAD effect of placing her just out of arm's reach of the outermost body in the pile, and drifting away in a slightly different direction than her lunch. She managed to grab a blonde ponytail, and looked pleadingly in the direction of the girl who owned it.

Usagi ignored the pain from her hair and tried to reach the girl falling away from them, but after feeling her legs begin to slip tried to anchor herself more thoroughly to Ranma.

The twisting/turning hit something like an air pocket as one of the globes loomed particularly large in their path. Nabiki shrieked, any ice queen businesswoman image at least momentarily replaced by a very frightened seventeen year old girl who had just lost her only solid handhold. She slid off into the void, her eyes not leaving Usagi's tearful gaze until clouds passed between them.

Others scrambled, their formation coming apart as they plunged into a transparent world that gradually grew more solid around them.

Finally the remains of their formation slammed into a canopy of trees.

-------

"You're not getting away from me that easily, Saotome!" Some blond bishonen type leapt into the odd hole and vanished. That he didn't disintegrate was duly noted.

"What is this, Saotome?" Soun gestured towards the sphere of swirling darkness that occupied the space formerly held by the dojo. "What happened to Nabiki and Kasumi?"

Genma adjusted his glasses and looked it over, feeling the wind pouring from around him into the hole. "It's a... hell if I know, Tendo."

Akane, supported by her father, stared at odd swirl. "I told him to go to Hell, but I didn't mean to take the dojo with him."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Nabiki! Kasumi! WAAAAAAAHH!"

Genma felt like crying too. What would Nodoka say? *No one* would believe this wasn't something *he* had done. It would be yet another training technique turned sour. Then... oooh. Bad mental image. "We have to go after them, Tendo!" There was no *way* Genma was going to face Nodoka right now. Uh uh.

Some people had poor opinions of Genma's apparent intelligence level. None thought he was dumb enough to try explaining his way out of this before people had had a chance to calm down. The Crouch Of The Wild Tiger had its limits.

"Into THAT, Saotome?!" Tendo thought Genma had the right idea, but somehow this didn't strike him as being safe.

"I'm coming too," said Akane, even though she had sprained her right hand and broken her right foot, had a concussion, bruises from her impacts on/through the walls, and she was about to pass out from accumulated damage, she was a martial artist too! "That boy owes me a rematch!"

Genma breathed on her. Akane passed out. Soun caught her.

Genma turned his attention to the swirling, then noticed the edges seemed to be shrinking. Taking a piece of wood left over from Akane's recent hole-making activities, Genma poked it at the swirl.

Genma was promptly sucked within the tunnel. He instinctively reached out for something solid to grab. Soun shrieked like a little girl when Genma managed to catch his gi.

--------

Genma, Soun, and Akane tumbled through space and time, following the same tunnel that had claimed the earlier group. However, there were some differences. Their speed through time was greater, for one thing.

Soun's grip on Akane was tight enough to bruise. It would have been quite painful if Akane had been conscious for any of this.

Genma's grip on Soun's gi broke when the gi sleeve in question had finally had enough and gave up the ghost.

Partly this was because Soun had kicked Genma away from him. However, as they had almost landed at this point, this had only a minimal effect.

The three crashed into the ground, and then through it, ending up in what Genma (the most padded and currently most experienced martial artist of the three) tentatively identified as a dry sewer.

Then, slowly getting his bearings, Genma looked off to the left and STARED.

Soun recovered a few moments later, and also became paralyzed with staring.

Genma ran forward, throwing himself into a vast pile of reddish gold coins, and immediately started flopping around happily.

Soun slowly crept into the room, his own eyes huge as he looked about the storeroom.

Akane eventually recovered, temporarily forgotten by the two. She was able to find them easily by tracking the squeals of glee. Her eyes passed over the mound of gold coins, disgusted somewhat by sight of the overweight Mister Saotome attempting to stuff the entire contents into his gi. In order to do this properly, he had removed his gi.

Shuddering and deciding that some scenes were too gross to describe, even to herself, Akane decided not to go there. Her father wasn't much better, currently engaged in running around between piles of odd items and what looked like weapons.

Well, a martial artist didn't need weapons. They made one weak. Her father had said so himself. Akane's eye *was* drawn to the scrolls however. Martial arts techniques were often written on scrolls. All she had to do was figure out which one.

Akane pulled out the one in the blackened case, frowning at the greasy sickly feel of it. It was the hardest to reach, it had a badly corroded and easily snapped chain holding it in place, and the pentagram enscribed rubies at either end meant it was the most valuable.

Akane began reading, her eyes opening wider. ~Jackpot!~

-------

Ranma coughed up water, aware that he'd hugged tightly the girl nearest him and soaked up the force of impact. Unfortunately, hitting the water at that speed had practically imbedded him in the lake bottom.

"You OK?"

Ranma relaxed a little on hearing Ami's voice. Ami the good swimmer. How she had managed to pull him to shore was another question entirely, as Ami didn't have nearly the strength to pull him. He was facedown on sand, his legs still being struck by waves, but he wouldn't have thought Ami could manage this by herself.

The weight across his back moved and Ranma realized it was Ami. She'd somehow managed to drag him ashore, and judging from the way she was slumped. Which filled in the rest of the equation. Hysterical strength, allowing Ami to drag him - though it had quite obviously exhausted her in the doing of it.

Carefully, Ranma moved about, shifting to grasp the (comparitively) tiny girl. Ami was 5'2" and a slender asian beauty. Ranma was 7'2", a blonde weightlifter that outmassed her several times. As always with Ami, Ranma felt as if he were dealing with a doll of the most delicate porcelain. Which was one reason that he was so impressed and touched by the girl managing to drag him as much out of the water as she had.

Ami sighed, still breathing a bit hard, and closed her eyes. Ranma had managed to get her respect due to his scores in school (though there were many aspects of social interaction that he seemed cursed with cluelessness on) and that gentle strength of his was (though she'd have enormous difficulties admitting it) a real turn on for Ami. Her current situation, being cradled tenderly in arms that she knew were quite capable of lifting several tons of weight, and knowing that she was absolutely safe and warm and cared for? Ami let out another very contented sigh and let her exhaustion drag her under.

Ranma looked down at that mysterious little smile Ami wore from time to time and wondered what was going through her head.

He'd learned enough that the sort of hysterical strength that Ami had just used would keep her asleep for some time, and then she'd likely be quite sore from the strained muscles - not to mention the possibility of sprained tendons.

Looking around, Ranma continued carrying the tiny bookworm. To him, her weight was negligible. The thin stretch of beach extended out to sparse brush, then thick forest. He hoped that the rest of the girls were in there somewhere, though there was an equal chance they weren't even in the same world - considering what they had just seen.

No, this was not the same world. The trees and plants were different, the glimpse of some two-tailed rat-thing was definitely different, and the birds were not something he recognized.

The glimpse of worlds strung out like pearls on a string was sufficient to remind Ranma of their predicament. He had no idea *why* they had gotten grabbed like this, only that they had been and were now somewhere else. Whether it was a different world, a different universe, or a different time was as yet unknown.

A female shriek and a crashing noise gave him a direction. Ranma began running. Small bushes and trees were brushed aside as he charged.

What he saw on arriving was more than enough indication that he was *not* in Earth's past.

-------

Nabiki grumbled as she stopped and poured sand out of her shoes yet again. The desert sun was baking her fair skin, she was hot and dry and had this damn grit that would coat her everytime the wind started to blow.

The sand was different from the sand she was used to on the beach. This was a fine grained almost ash that tended to cling to her skin and clothes.

No, Nabiki Tendo was *not* a happy camper. She jogged and played tennis, but long walks up and down dunes was nowhere near her idea of fun.

Where was she? *Why* had this happened? From their reactions none of the girls, or even that big fellow, had known what was going on. And then there was that one girl.

The girl with the long ponytails had briefly tried to grab her, to pull her back, even when so doing might have caused her to become lost too. Nabiki would deride that sort of foolishness, but that sincere concern in the girl's eyes, and the effort, had touched her deeply.

Unfortunately, though Nabiki had seen the group dropping towards the same place, they were nowhere to be seen.

The idea of all those worlds had been thrown to the side. She would *not* consider the possibility that this would be more than a momentary inconvenience.

"Grumf!"

Nabiki paused. That had not sounded at all human. It hadn't come from her. Nabiki glanced over to her left.

The mercenary Tendo saw the vaguely camel-like beasts racing towards her, the riders completely concealed by long robes, and was momentarily frozen by the conflicting desires of whether to run towards them or away from them. Then they were upon her.

Seven of them, surrounding her on all sides, looking her over without a word. The only noises were from the beasts they rode.

Nabiki decided to try to intimidate these hicks. It worked back home after all. "WELL? Aren't you going to offer me a ride?"

The figures shifted slightly but continued their silence.

"I am Nabiki Tendo, and I am a Japanese citizen! You'd better get me to an embassy right away."

More silence.

"Parlez vous Franceis? Sprecken ze deutche? Speakee English?"

One of the figures shifted and darkly tanned thick fingers danced a complicated rhythm.

Nabiki crossed her arms and glared around the group. "You'd better get me to an embassy right now if you know what's good for you."

A rider finally reached down to offer her his(?) arm.

Sniffing and looking down her nose at these peasants, Nabiki tried to look cool and aloof.

Until the noose went taut around her ankles, she mainly succeeded.

================

(1) Anyone think this will work? Didn't think so.

(2) This is not a perfect Ranma. Current disadvantages:
Fragile World - Psych - convinced that everything (unless proven otherwise) is ready to break apart the moment he shrugs his shoulders.
Hunted/Watched - Hera - she doesn't like Zeus carrying on and usually takes it out on the kids.
Foot In Mouth Disease - even growing up with sisters (both real and adopted) he tends to say the wrong thing.
Clueless - one can have a lot of book knowledge and still not have a clue about many real life situations. Even though he's grown up with sisters, the opposite sex still doesn't make a lot of sense to him.

(3) After the last time he got kicked there, his mother started insisting he wear a cup. And his father seized on it as extra training. So he really is wearing body armor, or at least one piece of it.

The Pokegirl setting (the first version of this tale) has some ideas about (getting away from misandry vs misogyny arguments) it that could make for an interesting story. Stories are typically about conflict, and having Ranma be the Voice Of Conscience in a setting like that provides a *lot* of conflict.

__Man Versus Society: that society is all about maintaining the status quo. Almost nonexistent personal crime, no wars, everyone has enough to eat, everyone has their own home, but at the cost of widespread slavery and a heavily stratified society. Even the "free" people have very specialized roles and behavior they're allowed. Sukebe's initial bid for world power started it, and human nature set it up. In the setup provided, Ash is the beginning of a new breed of Tamer - he wants to be his pokegirls' friend as well as Master. A fight with consequences and difficulty than any pokebattle. With Ranma, the outsider who doesn't take any of this for granted, providing an indication that another way *is* possible.
__Man Versus Man: the new breed of criminals coming out of the pokegirl thieves of the last generation. Crueler, tougher, more violent, less restrained. Team Trauma and Team Hard Rocket are the parasites beginning to feed on the stratified society, which has forgotten how to deal with such things in their era of peace. Ranma is the reluctant fighter, one whose first reaction to a battle isn't to reach for a pokeball, and the only one who can really start the fight against these wolves amongst the sheep.
__Man Versus Fate: Ranma's struggle with his conscience before and guilt over what he's done afterwards. Yes, it would save them from becoming animals. No, it shouldn't be an easy choice.

That said, there were other reasons to get away from it and redo this concept. And no, not the misogynist label (though it *is* an interesting commentary about our times that misogyny and homophobia are considered crimes but misandry and heterophobia are acceptable...) Mainly because Ranma, son of Zeus, ill fit the story. It's currently being put together in "Wild Horses and Pokegirls" which is an NC-17 (at least) story.