No Need For Farewells (Or The End)

By Kairi ‘Shadow Sage’ Taylor

Disclaimer: All the characters herein are copyright of their respective owners, who you should know by now if you even read the series!

Prelude: Way Down The Line

2006:

Jubilee walked down the streets to the academy, lost in thought. It had been days since she had heard from her mentor Logan since he had left with some of the other X-Men for a secret mission in Madrid. On top of that, she had a huge math exam to worry about & she still hadn’t decided whether or not she would join a sorority. “Man, never thought that college would seem so jumbled together all the time.” She laughed to herself. As she arrived at the gates to the once active academy, she saw her fiancée, Ryoga, playing with little H.C. on the front lawn. Opening the gates, she yelled, “Hey lover, what’s going on?”

“Hey there yourself, beautiful.” Ryoga smiled as he waved at her. Unfortunately, Ryoga was not paying attention to H.C. after he pitched her the ball. H.C. swung the bat in her hands & smacked the ball.

Hard.

Right into Ryoga’s you-know-what!

“Oh my gosh, I’m SO SORRY Mr. Ryoga!” H.C. blushed as Ryoga staggered back up to his feet. “It’s ok.” Ryoga smiled weakly. “I’ve been hit there plenty of times to get used to it. So, how was school today.”

“Ah, you know, same old same old.” Jubilee informed him. “The science lesson was total cake & I aced the pilot’s test.”

Ryoga gave thumbs up & said, “I told you you’d get the hang of it.”

“Thanks.” Jubilee said as she kissed him on the lips. H.C. made a hacking sound & said “Ack! I can’t stand that yucky kissy crud!”

“You shouldn’t talk, especially when you know you’re gonna marry Hideo one day.” Jubilee glibly remarked.

“I am NOT!” H.C. huffed. “He’s a boy! Boys are clods!” “Yeah, sure.” Ryoga smiled.

Inside the academy, Paige & Monet sat at the table, eating Paige’s attempt at meatloaf. “Not bad,” Monet remarked, “but it’s something I wouldn’t try serving for dinner tonight.”

“Aren’t you tired of always having Mr. Cassidy always making dinner for everyone?” Paige asked. “I mean, aside from yourself, there isn’t a decent cook in this house.”

“Well, I don’t exactly find that I should always be the one to be relegated to cook. But I do have the best abilities in culinary preparation…”

“Yeah, yeah, ok!”

“You just hate it when I drone on like that, don’t you?”

“Do tell. So, how is your role as diplomat to Jurai going?”

“Very well actually. But those jumps to hyperspace leave something to be desired. At least I get to see Angelo once in a while. I never figured he’d be the first one in our troupe of heroes to be married.”

“Actually, with all the things Kairi’s ever done to him, I’m surprised he’s still walking.” Paige said. As they giggled at their revelation, Emma entered the room, wearing a black business suit. “Paige, you have a guest.” She said to her. “He arrived just as I was about to attend a business meeting, so I’m afraid I can’t stay to talk with him.” Emma stepped back & Jonothon entered the room, wearing a black trench coat & a white shirt, a purple hood where his neck & mouth should be. : Hello, luv. Long time no see: Jono said.

“Oh my gosh, you’re back!” Paige smiled as she hugged her former boyfriend. “This is such an unexpected surprise!”

“Then you won’t mind this surprise.”

“Wait a sec…Jono did you just---“ Jonothon pulled back the hood from his face. What once was a huge gaping hole where his psionic powers burned brightly was his lower face & chest. He had no signs of scar tissue on him anywhere.”

“Jono…how did this come to pass?” Monet asked, mystified. “It’s a long story. Who wants some soda?"

Tenchi stood at the front of his home with his grandfather Yosho, watching as the small ship landed at the lake near his house. A few minutes later, a small bridge came out from the ship & connected it to the mainland. A door slowly opened & out in the open came Angelo, wearing a neatly pressed Hawaiian shirt & shorts. He had a short beard on. As he stepped on land & greeted Tenchi, he smiled & said “Yo, T-Man, how the hell are you?”

“Just doing great.” Tenchi answered. “I hear from Mihoshi that you’re doing great things in Jurai!”

“Oh, you know, just messin’ around with engines & stuff, nothin’ too much to fuss over. So, you ever choose between the girls or are you as wishy washy as ever?”

“Let’s not open that can of worms.” Yosho said in response. “By the way, who is that lovely young lady?”

“I would be known as his wife.” A young girl dressed in similar clothes to Ayeka stepped off the spaceship, carrying a small child with her. “Pleased to meet you Lord Yosho. I am Fuyaka, Angelo’s wife.”

“I can’t believe it, you really are a married man!” Tenchi smiled.

“Yeah, can’t believe it myself.” Angelo replied. “Anyway, this here is…”

“Miyuki.” Yosho said.

“Yes, how did you—“ Fuyaka stopped in mid sentence as Yosho raised his hand, saying “A rather long & interesting story.”

“Ah, so our guests have arrived.” Washu stepped out of the house, closely followed by Hideo, whom had long purple hair tied in a ponytail. “Good to see you Angelo. I trust your studies are going well.”

“Totally. Hey little dude!” Angelo said to Hideo, waving his hand. “How are you doing? And where’s your pops?”

“I’m cool.” Hideo replied. “Dad’s coming back to Earth today!”

“Oh, that father of yours! Every year he goes on one of his weekly expeditions & fails to notify me when he returns.”

“That’s because you said you wanted one more sample from him.” Tenchi reminded her. “I don’t think any of us will forget the ‘Onsen Incident’ anytime soon.”

“I meant to ask you Angelo, who is this Kairi you always seem to talk about. Especially every time you get in cold water?” “A guy I haven’t seen for quite awhile.”

Ukyo looked glumly out the window as the rain lightly poured. Ranma & Akane couldn’t stop by for lunch since they needed to help a town fight off bandits. Her business partner Kasumi had stepped out to run a quick errand & she was alone at the moment in the restaurant. Konatsu was off visiting a sick relative, so she did most of the work on her own. She sighed, thinking about her rotten luck dating, wondering where all the nice guys in Nerima have gone. Turning her back to tend to a bag of flour, she heard the door open & said “I’ll be ready in just a minute.”

“That’s ok, I have all the time in the world. So, do you still serve the beef okonomiyaki special here?” Ukyo quickly turned to see Kairi standing behind her at the counter, holding a book bag in his hands, smiling from ear to ear. He was wearing a black trench coat a held a small blue umbrella. The new Yankees cap he wore was taken off his head as he sat down. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” he said.

“So what’s been going on?” Ukyo asked as they drank their second cups of tea. “Well, I finally got out of the Army’s service,” Kairi explained, “so now the Shine-Tsu-Hiko officially belongs to me. But I kinda liked going on those little expeditions with my own army crew.” “So I hear,” Ukyo replied. “Well, I guess you know Jubes finally got engaged. I never thought Ryoga would ever find another girl after Akane & Akari. Hell, I can’t believe I got over Ranchan! So, any other reason you came by besides celebrating your discharge?” “Yeah. I came by to…well…this is so embarrassing!” “This is about that promise you made in 2001, right?” “Oh yeah.”

Jubilee: Time fades, people grow & stories will eventually come to conclusions.. We’d like to thank you for reading our adventures as this series comes to the final stretch..

Ranma: So what was your favorite moment?

Kairi: Cooking. Definitely the cooking incidents.

Paige: But that was a disaster!

Monet: Mine was Emplate being shot in the butt!

Angelo: I liked the peeping!

Kairi: You would!

Jubilee: I liked kicking Hama’s ass!

Akane: You & me both!

Yuffie: I liked the non-stop romance!

Ukyo: You mean there was romance?!

Emma: I definitely did not like being in labor.

Kuno: I loved the fearless battles!

Monet: Am I the only one who remembered that we kinda forgot that we killed of D.O.A.?

Sasami: We hope to see you next time!

Jubilee: Coming soon, ‘No Need For Farewells, Part One-Jubilee’s Choice’!

Kairi: What about my speech on continuity?