Subject: Natsumi3: embellishment The Shetai Productions Television Studios were, for the most part, operated like most other top-of-the-line television production studios around the world. They too had the committed staff, modern equipment and all that was necessary to contribute to the high level of excellence demanded for the television productions of the day. But somehow, the rules changed when one encountered the infamous SPTS Stage S. Yukie felt a slight twinge of nervousness - the same one she always felt on entering Stage S, and she had come to take it for granted. "Good morning, minna!" she put on her cheerful act. "How's everything going today?" Her co-star passed her a look that asked, 'How can you be cheerful at a time like this?' "Oh, swell, I suppose, if you forget the fact that today's the last day we're going to work on this stupid show..." Yukie began to frown, which was a rarity when it came to her, since she was almost always quite cheerful. Number one among the things she least wanted to think about today had to be the impending death of the television show they starred in - 'The Mystical Fighters Sany.' Hitomi, however, always seemed to enjoy bringing everything crashing back to reality. "But, Hitomi-chan, our show can still be saved! I just know that right now, all our loyal fans are stuffing the mailboxes with their pleas to save the show!" Hitomi tried hard to keep from breaking up into laughter on the spot. "What," she snorted a laugh, "you mean the two people who're stupid enough to actually WATCH this show?" "Hate to say it, Yukie... but it's not like there's a big market for a sentai magical-girl show," Aya added, while packing some of her belongings from her locker into a box. "Besides, most of our ideas were swiped from shows like Sailor Moon..." "And RayEarth, we took quite a bit from that show, too. Not to mention a whole lot of others." Yukie was becoming distraught. "Yeah... I know... I just don't wanna leave..." The next thing anyone knew, she was on her knees, crying up a storm. The main thing Yukie had enjoyed about working on the show was her co-workers, and now that the end was near she wondered if she would ever see them again. Hitomi knelt down beside the sobbing girl to comfort her. As much as she hated to admit it, she would really miss Yukie, the rest of the 'team' and the whole rotten flea-bag of a show... From the control room, Mana and Mia watched their stars with looks of concern. The show had originally been their idea, an attempt to cash in on the growing magical-girl craze, and it might very well have worked. Unless, of course, one had to use leftover rubber costumes from old monster movies and didn't have a true plot to speak of. But that was in the past now, and they all had to deal with the certain death of their show. Mia sighed. "Well, Mana, I guess this is it. It was nice working with you." "Oh, I wouldn't say that..." "What!?" the two ladies turned in unison. Behind them stood a young woman in a business suit, with a smile on her face that on closer inspection almost appeared painted-on. "I represent a company that wishes to buy the rights for your show. Together, we'll produce a marketing campaign and turn this show into a major multimedia and marketing hit!" "Really!?" "Yes. The first thing we'll do is a live performance at the Tokyo Toy Show at the Egg Dome. That'll be an excellent way to kick off the toy line, wouldn't you say?" Mia could barely think straight. She was in heaven; at last her dreams of having a hit television show had a chance of coming true. And to think her film teacher had said you needed a good plot to make a television show... *ha*! She felt like proving one only needed an insane amount of money and a good marketing blitz to get the ball rolling. "We accept! How soon can we start?" "Why, this weekend, of course. And when your stars arrive, they'll have a chance to showcase their new transformation brooches..." Mia and Mana both looked on in awe as their new benefactor brought forth what would be the first of hopefully many new props for the show many thought dead. For in her hands were four neatly gold-trimmed brooches, each brooch featuring a polished black opal set dead-center. "Hey, wow, these are beautiful! Thanks! We'll start working on a routine right away!" And with that, the two producers rushed to tell their young stars the good news. The show was saved. The woman who had saved the show was now alone once more, standing in the control room and allowing herself the luxury of at least one evil laugh. By now all signs of sympathy, warmth or caring - whether real or feigned - had drained completely away from her smile. All that was left was a sincere amount of evil and malice in its place. "M'lady, the experiment has begun," she murmured to herself. "This... *toy show* shall be the proving ground for our new special technology that should give the BFC its rightful status as rulers of the world..." If there was a camera in the room, her image would have faded to black. [OP: "The Girl is Magic" (Natsumi Title Theme)/Inoue Kikuko] (OP sequence: An unconcerned Kasumi stands in the main walkway of the Tendo yard, sweeping. Soon, Ranma and Akane appear, fighting. Then Ryouga, Shampoo and Ukyou join the fray. Genma appears, but Ranma throws him into the pond. Soun sits off to one side, crying. Akane slam-dunks Ranma into the pond, and the panda raises a sign that says, "What kept you?" Ranma takes a swipe at him with the sign. Finally, Nabiki and Mine appear in the background, seemingly trying to come to a business decision by various means, including rock-paper-scissors, as a large BFC building rises out of clouds of dust behind them all. Still unconcerned, Kasumi changes into Natsumi and uses her powers to sweep the whole mess away at an incredible rate, leaving a white screen for the title logo to fade into.) Richard Beaubien Presents Natsumi, the Magical Girl (wildly embellished by Mike Koos, of Overimagination Anonymous (whoops)) Episode 3: Toy Show Terror! "What? You want me to go where!?" "The Tokyo Toy Show," Nabiki repeated for her older sister's benefit. "It'll be the perfect place to start marketing the Natsumi image. All we have to do is plant the seeds and..." She began wringing her hands in anticipation. Natsumi was going to be her key to fame, fortune and utter control over the toy market, just for starters - that would teach Bandai to mess with her... Kasumi, on the other hand, wasn't as enthusiastic as money-minded Nabiki with this latest scheme. Unlike Nabiki or Akane, she had never really gone on any major trips away from home, even when Mother was still alive. Soun enjoyed staying home, since he knew Kasumi felt that her place was at home taking care of everything, including Father... She still didn't like the idea of being Natsumi, either, even if Mother's spirit seemed to think Kasumi could handle being a magical girl. Kasumi couldn't bring herself to agree with her mother, no matter how much she wanted to. "But what about Father? He wouldn't like me being away from home like this..." Nabiki didn't even bat an eye. "Leave it to me. I'll take care of everything." **** "What do you mean, you're taking Kasumi with you? How could you leave me here all alone without... without..." No longer able to get the words out, Soun broke down into tears. Nabiki had expected this. She glanced down at her watch and smirked. Dad had managed to go a whole minute without crying when she told him about her... *business trip*, which was remarkable, but still no record. She wasn't sure whether to be proud of him - or feel sympathy. If, in fact, that was still possible. But, she had much more important things to think about now... "Don't worry," she sighed. "I'll take good care of her and make sure nothing happens to her. It'll be good for her at any rate... she needs to take some time off to release some stress." The only response she was met with was another wave of tears. This was a good sign, however; if Daddy had really wanted to stop Kasumi from going, he would have put up more of an argument. "But who will take care of the cooking while Kasumi is away?" Genma Saotome entered the room. First and foremost, Nabiki knew, the man always placed himself and his stomach first. Then his pride, and maybe somewhere after that his son... "Did someone ask who'll take care of the cooking?" Akane practically leaped down the stairs. Ranma merely took the normal route. "I'll do it!!" Everyone's face but Akane's turned ashen at precisely the same instant. Akane, take over the cooking? They all knew what that meant... but Ranma was the only one to risk saying something. "Oh, no..." Nabiki figured this was an opportune time to leave the room. After all, it looked like Akane was getting ready to beat the stuffing out of Ranma yet again. She'd had what she came for, anyway, even though Daddy hadn't truly approved in words as much as water. Besides, if no one wanted to bother with Akane's cooking, why didn't they just bother to cook their own food? They were old enough and mature enough to do *that*, weren't they? Akane had turned Ranma's head into the human equivalent of an inflatable bounce-back punching doll. Genma and Soun stood off to one side, watching the carnage with their usual disinterest. When Akane finally gave up and walked away, Genma approached what was left of his son. "Ranma, my son, our fates rest in your hands." "Huh? What are you talking about now, old man?" "For our sake - and our dignity - you must go out and get us something to eat from Ukyou." Ranma frowned. "Hate to tell you this, Dad, but her place hasn't been open for the past few days." He himself didn't know the reasons why... Ukyou would *never* allow her restaurant to be closed for extended periods of time without a very good reason. Something had to be up, or wrong... Maybe she was having some sort of financial problem. Oh, well, Ranma thought, he could always ask her what was going on the next time he saw her in class. Right now, he had his own problems to deal with. Like locating something edible, for example. Ranma could always cook for himself if it came to that, but his demented macho pride wouldn't allow him that luxury. "Oneechan! Oh..." Akane entered the room. She turned to Ranma. "Do you know where Kasumi-oneechan is?" Ranma was still brushing himself off from Akane's earlier retribution. "I think she's left already." "Oh," Akane said, disappointed. "Do you know where she keeps the vinegar?" "Vinegar?" Ranma flashed through all the recipes he could think of that needed vinegar. "Why d'you need that?" Akane's impatience showed through. "Because I need to use it while I'm boiling the rice." Ranma facefaulted. She was kidding, right? **** It had once been said that working at the BFC was a unique experience - particularly if one happened to be in middle management. Always waiting for the promotions that somehow always went to company outsiders... though many wouldn't think too much of such a procedure. Yet another outsider was being inducted today. The staff had prepared themselves to meet the newcomer who would soon join the company's vaunted upper echelon. Mine's expression was one of practiced economic dignity and composure. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce your new immediate supervisor - and my assistant. Let's give a warm BFC welcome to... Ukyou Kuonji!" She stepped aside to reveal Ukyou, dressed smartly in a crimson business suit. On one of the lapels rested a gold brooch, a pure-black opal as its main setting. Ukyou's gaze dared not waver as she studied the people she would be working with. Mine smiled; this was exactly how she had been taken in, so long ago. She had embraced the evil of the BFC, and now the same was Ukyou Kuonji's path to take. **** "What!? All right!" Yukie bubbled, her enthusiasm suddenly restored. "Our show really is saved, Mia? Yippee!!" "Yeah, and we're going to be using real props, costumes and effects for a change. No more of that old stuff. Maybe we can actually put together a decent show now!" "Or a REAL one..." Try as she might, Hitomi wasn't going to succeed in ruining her coworkers' moods. "Cheer up, Hitomi! We're going to make more episodes! Better ones! Yahoo!!" Hitomi merely turned her gaze to her overly enthusiastic friends and sighed. "Well, it ain't Hamlet... it isn't even 'Hello Kitty,' but it's a job, I guess. You wanna keep doing it?" "Hey, it's a paycheck." "Okay! We're in..." "Yippee!" Mia smiled. If there was ever brilliance in casting, it showed in the people she'd cast for this show. She had somehow managed to match the characters' personalities quite perfectly - Yukie, the ever cheerful, cute girl. Hitomi, the tough, hard-nosed but kind type; Aya the fighter of the group. Mana, who had been with the project from the very beginning, was the ideal choice for leader... besides, she'd shown more of a knowledge of martial arts than Mia. Not that it meant much for the show, however... It reinforced a handful of stereotypes, but it was still great casting, if she dared say so herself. So what? Now, she had a big enough budget, so she could turn out whatever she wanted. "Okay, troops. Our first order of business is to go to that toy show, so we can kick off the marketing campaign and introduce our toy line. This is gonna be great!" Mia hadn't meant to let that last remark out into the open, but everyone else felt the same way, so she let it pass. "They'd better not make an ugly doll of me..." "It's a general rule, Hitomi. All action figures AREN'T supposed to look anything like the characters they represent." "Don't worry, Hitomi-chan!" bubbled Yukie. "I'm sure they'll make a kawaii doll of you!" Hitomi merely stared at her. Mia was less confident. "We'll have to wait and see. But for now, let's just put on the new brooches and prepare for the show, for we've got a lot to promote!" Yukie was practically jumping up and down for joy as she received her new brooch. This... costume jewelry? actually had what looked like real gold trim rather than the cheap yellow-and-gold paint she was long since used to. Only one thing was wrong about the brooch - the jewel set in the middle was supposed to be a ruby, not a black opal. If, she thought, that was what it was. She was certainly no expert on jewels... **** "M'lady, the plan is proceeding well." "I sure hope so. These are the next-generation prototypes. If they fail, I will be... severly *disappointed*..." "It will not fail. In fact, if things go well, we stand a chance to exercise control over the entire Japanese toy industry." The chairwoman of the BFC broke tradition long enough to let a tight smile escape her lips. Yes, controlling that particular industry would be a good thing, indeed. And she also enjoyed the irony of having a team of would-be magical girls as their personal tools for evil. Even if this plan failed, it would still be very useful in terms of entertainment... **** Kasumi was impressed by the sheer sight of the massive Tokyo Toy Show. Never before in her life had she seen so many people packed in one place for just one simple occasion. She felt awkward. She wasn't used to mingling among so many people, and besides which, as Natsumi. At least none of the people around her acknowledged this. In fact, they had all naturally assumed she was a part of someone's show. She was. The Bandai representatives mistakenly thought she might be a new Sailor Moon character, and the Capcom reps assumed she was the person sent to play Street Fighter Zero 2's Sakura, however different from that character she might have been. If she wasn't being mistaken for an established character, she was more often than not kept busy by Nabiki, in the midst of negotiating a Natsumi T-shirt deal. So, for the first time in nearly six hours, Natsumi took her seat in the booth - which was somewhere between the Bandai booth and the Sony booth, a choice location Nabiki had made to pick out well in advance - and began to fall asleep. "Excuse me?" a diminuitive voice asked. "Aren't you Sailor Moon?" "That's one booth over," Natsumi heard Nabiki say, a slight note of disgust in her voice. How was she to market a character that bore so much resemblance to a character that already existed? First chance she had, she was going to have to change Natsumi's costume... "Thanks! By the way," the little girl told Natsumi, "your outfit is really cute..." "Thank you," Natsumi politely murmured, slowly drifting off into sleep. Maybe she would even wake up at home, where life would be normal - in as much as life was normal at home. **** The field, again. She still had no idea where she was. Every time her dreams carried her here, she had an enshrouded encounter with her late mother. Mother, who was trying to help her come to terms with her new powers and abilities... But there was no mist this time to obscure her view. Her mother clearly stood in front of her, and she could see everything about the person she cared so much about in fine detail... "Mother..." "Kasumi-chan... you should try your best to be strong. Those you care about will soon need your power." "But, mother... I care about you." "I know, dear. But I'm not the only one who is depending upon you." Kasumi thought she saw a look of ancient wisdom reinforce her mother's features. "Believe in yourself, the way you once did when you were young... when you were innocent. I believe in you." That sounded suspiciously like a farewell. "Mother!?" Kasumi asked, shocked. Indeed, her mother's image was losing touch with reality - if that applied here. "I believe in you." Seconds later, all that remained was Kasumi, burying her face in her hands. **** "Hey, Natsumi... c'mon, wake up!" Natsumi yawned. "What is it, Nabiki-chan...?" "Well... I've finished all our negotiations, so I thought you might enjoy going to see that show being put on by the 'Mystical Fighters Sany' group. Y'know, take a break. Relax a little." Nabiki added in her thoughts. "I suppose I could use a break," Natsumi replied, hiding any spare feelings left over from her... dream. "Thank you, Nabiki-chan." She knew Nabiki had made a valiant effort all her life to pretend she'd come to terms with Mother's death, but then again, so had she... **** "Is everyone ready? Good. Okay, I want you all to go on stage and make a big impact!" "Okay!" the four girls who comprised the Mystical Fighters Sany team shouted in unison. This might very well be their big break; after today, they'd be well on their way to be famous... As the curtain rose, Yukie bit her lower lip. The announcer happened to be one of those seasoned professionals who loved going with the old standards. "Are you ready to rock!?" she shouted, the stage already growing hazy amidst colored smoke and spotlights. The audience, naturally, loved it. "YEAH!!!" The girls took their places. "All right! Mystical Fighters Sany, MORPH!!!" Their command worked this time. Black light engulfed each of the girls except for one... Yukie was awestruck. The company really had to be behind them if this was the caliber of special effects they were going to be using. But why wasn't she getting the special-effects treatment? This, too, struck Mia as being strange. Yukie broke character for a second to see what Hitomi was doing, maybe pick up a cue of her own... but... but there was something *different* about her friend's transformation. Hitomi's usual countenance was gone, replaced by a sneer of pure evil, instead. All Yukie could do was abandon her act and scream. **** "Wow, they sure've got some great special effects," Nabiki remarked. Natsumi had seen something else entirely. "Something's wrong, Nabiki..." "Eh?" The comment took Nabiki by surprise. She hated that. "What is it?" "SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" "It must be the youma again! Those girls..." Natsumi yelled, seperating from the crowd and taking a running leap onto the stage. Another threat. Nabiki shrugged. "Geez, talk about your irony. Magical girls fighting for evil..." She'd seen evil magical girls before, but the concept was rare. **** Mia was frozen with horror as her once-Human friends stood upon the stage, laughing a sinister laugh. Yukie was trying to find whatever she could to hide behind - the flimsy stage props notwithstanding. Both Mia and Yukie were incredibly frightened, though Mia tried to reassert some control over the situation. "Mana," she forced herself to say. "What in the world are you doing? This isn't in the script!" "Scripts?" Mana-youma said in a voice that was clearly no longer that of the Mana Mia had known. "Who needs a script? We're doing improv now... and we're going to DESTROY this toy show. Isn't that right, girls?" "But..." Yukie dared to speak up. "Hitomi! Aya! Mana... we're friends! We're supposed to be the good guys, aren't we? Why would you want to do something so... evil?" She was crying now, whether from an overload of emotion or the blasted special-effects smoke, she didn't know. Or care. Hitomi-youma studied her for a brief moment. "You always were such an optimist... We're doing this because we WANT to! No big reason! Now, prepare to die--" "I don't think so!" "Huh?" The three youma raised their heads in unison. "Who said that?" "Magical girls stand for all that is good in Humanity, and not the evil that you seem to represent. I will not have you tarnish the good name of the magical girls..." Natsumi's dramatic entrance had been made, Nabiki thought. One point for Natsumi. "I'll put an end to your evil, for in the name of love... I'm Natsumi, the magical girl!" Natsumi's trademarked - and it had been trademarked, for Nabiki had seen to it - bright green energy began to flare around her as she prepared for her attack. "Love... Power--" "No!! They're not monsters...! They're my friends!" Yukie insisted, teardrops streaming from her face as she interposed herself between Natsumi and the group of youma. "Now's our chance! Dark Opal... Burst!" Aya leapt to the attack, loosing a beam of dark energy toward Natsumi. Distracted by Yukie, Natsumi hadn't seen the blast coming and took the full brunt of it. The blast knocked her into a wall, where she slumped to the ground, unconscious. "Good work, Aya! Now, Hitomi, finish this interfering magical girl off..." "Yes, Mana." "Hitomi-chan!" Yukie pleaded. "Hitomi-chan! Please... don't hurt her!" "Out of my way, Yukie, or I'll be forced to hurt you..." Yukie noticed that Hitomi-youma was actually entertaining the idea... "NOW, Yukie. You never DID know when to listen..." "Hitomi-chan... no, don't do it... Please!" **** "Nabiki? Did you have a hand in organizing this, by any chance?" Nabiki frowned. "No. Why do you ask?" "Well, it's a good idea. Every magical girl needs some kind of enemy to battle, and evil magical girls don't come along all that often..." "This is REAL, damn it," Nabiki snapped, setting aside her business concerns for the moment. She didn't know if Kasumi was ready yet to take on three youma at once. Besides, oneechan was still out of the battle... **** Natsumi came to with a low groan. In front of her stood Yukie, trying to fend off a youma that looked like she was about to kill them both. She heard her mother's voice. Resolve tightened Natsumi's features. She began gathering her strength. **** "Hitomi-chan...!" "Enough of this!" Mana-youma ordered. "Finish them BOTH off!" All Hitomi-youma could see now was Yukie's face... "HITOMI-CHAN!!!" At the last possible instant Hitomi fired the energy blast she'd been gathering off toward the roof. "I'm sorry... Yukie-chan... I can't do this!" "Hitomi-chan! I knew you had it in you! Are you all right?" Yukie tried to run to her friend's side. But the other two youma blocked her path. "Let me through! Come on, don't you remember who you are?" "We know who we are," Mana-youma insisted. "All of you have to die now. Dark Pair..." "Stop this!" Natsumi yelled, joining the attack-in-progress. "Love Healing... Aura!!!" Her brooch glowed with energy as the room filled with her magic power. Hitomi's black brooch started to change to a faint green color as Natsumi's power began to reverse the trio's youma transformations. Soon, the youma were Human once more. "Hitomi-chan!" "Yukie-chan..." Hitomi broke down in Yukie's embrace. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I had no control over what we were doing..." "It's all right, Hitomi-chan." "Are all of you okay?" Mia asked, wondering how she'd mop up after this mess. Mana couldn't meet her friends' gazes. "We're fine..." Trying to hold back her tears, she wondered how in the world she could be so... evil... And she wasn't a method-actor, either. Being evil just wasn't her. "What happened to all of you?" asked Natsumi, interrupting the uneasy reunion. "A... a new sponsor gave us these wonderful new brooches, but... you don't think they could be the cause of this, do you?" Natsumi was curious. "Can I see one of the brooches?" Mana, Aya and Hitomi checked their brooches; Natsumi's power had taken its toll on them. "Sure," Yukie said, rummaging through her pockets for the brooch that had been given to her. "Here's mine. I didn't use it because the jewel setting wasn't right, but now I'm glad I didn't use it..." Natsumi studied the brooch carefully. Ah, Nabiki had more of a trained eye for this sort of thing... Something caught her eye: the name of the company that had produced the brooch. The BFC. **** "You're saying you think the BFC was behind this attack, too?" "It looks that way. I don't want to come to any quick conclusions, though." "I do. The BFC's involvement in all these youma attacks and more is too common to be a coincidence. We're going to have to keep an eye out for them." Nabiki wore a nervous smile as she and Kasumi walked the path in the Tendo yard. "You may be right, Nabiki-chan. The question is, what are we going to do about these attacks?" Kasumi asked. She wanted an answer, since she knew it was only going to be rougher from here on out. But she wasn't about to get an answer from Nabiki now... Akane ran to greet them. "Nabiki-oneechan! I've got some great news for you!" Nabiki met Akane's words with her usual cool. "What's the news?" "Our school has entered into a partnership with the BFC to fund special business courses! But that's not the best part... they've asked for *you* to be one of their first students!" Nabiki and Kasumi met each other's nervous gaze. They knew the BFC likely had something to do with all the youma-related incidents. What they didn't know, was what reason the BFC would have to justify it. Maybe if Nabiki accepted the bait... er, the chance to join the special business courses, they could find out... "All right - I guess it's worth a shot." [ED: Friends (Nabiki Tendo Version)/Takayama Minami]