Forgotten Past
By: the littlest dinosaur
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any of the characters from that anime series, but I do own the original characters. Please do not use them without my permission.
[Begin chapter one]
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"I don't know how long it has been. Ten years, maybe? The time does not matter much.
"My life changed since I supposedly hit my head. It is all they talk about whenever I want to remember my past. I remember my immediate family: my dad and two older sisters, Kasumi and Nabiki. How could I forget them? They have had and still have a large impact on my life and have all helped me throughout these past years. For that, I am forever indebted to them.
"Kasumi has finally married Dr. Tofu. It took him a while to get over his foggy-glass state, but in the end, I am sure it was worth it for the both of him. They live at his clinic, and Kasumi helps him whenever she can. They have a daughter, Michiko, who is graduating from Furikan this year, which makes the entire family swell with joy.
"Kasumi tells me I was quite a tomboy who had many... admirers and couldn't cook to save my life. I laugh when she tells me because I have gotten much better. My boys do not have to choke it down and usually compliment my hard-earned skill. Sometimes, when my sister and I reminisce together, she says a strangely familiar name. I know it means a lot to me, but it hurts to hear it. My heart seems like it would break into a thousand pieces, but Kasumi does not know how much it hurts. I would not want to be a burden on her. She does have a family and clinic to run, and I do not need her to know about a silly heartache.
"Nabiki went on and became a successful business woman, as we all knew she would, and even I remember that. She married Kuno and had wisely invested his fortune before he could spend it all. Sometimes he talks about how I was his 'tigress,' and his attempts to free me from a 'sorcerer.' He has a great sense of humor when he is not spouting foreign poetry. We hardly see her anymore because she is usually on her business trips. Kuno tags along with her since he has nothing better to do. They sold his mansion since it was too large for the two of them. Nabiki says that Kodachi, Kuno's sister, lives far away and cannot hurt me, although why she would is beyond me. Whenever I ask anyone, they just smile and pat my shoulder. It is very irritating sometimes, but they want the best for me, I suppose. Nabiki is still a large benefactor to the dojo but does not charge because it is a donation which helps her when its tax time.
"Dad, from what I can remember, is the same. He loves to play shoji and has tried countless times, unsuccessfully, to teach me the game. I keep him company often when I am not working as a teller at the Nerima branch of the national bank. Yes, I still live at home and with my sons.
"Oh, my sons: Sano and Seiji. They are the loves of my life. I do not think I would be here if it were not for those two rascals. Sano is seventeen, a junior in high school, while Seiji is a sophomore and fifteen years old. They both go to Furikan High, my alma mater. The school has changed from the pictures that are in my yearbooks. I look so youthful, but the images are not familiar to me. Whenever I have time, I page through the annuals, trying to remember what was stolen from my memory. Sometimes my eyes stray to one picture alone: Ranma Saotome. I tell myself it is because he is Sano and Seiji's hero, a martial artist, maybe the greatest. They talk about him all the time and have pictures of him everywhere, the same cocky blue eyes smiling back.
"Sano is tall, about five feet eleven inches with the bluest eyes, I have ever seen. His hair is short and obsidian black. His brother, Seiji, is six feet one inch, has hazel eyes and the same dark colored hair in almost the same style as his brother. Whenever I look at them, a feeling of sadness washes over me, and sometimes I can feel tears forming in my eyes. I can never pinpoint the cause, but their eyes remind me of someone I knew once, I think. No one tells me because they believe I cannot handle the truth. It makes me angry and incredibly sad knowing that they think I am unstable. I have made it this far, have I not? Enough about them, this is not about trust... at least I do not think so.
"I have taught my sons the art I learned when I was younger, or at least what I remember of it, and they have both surpassed me. I encourage them to go to different schools to learn different styles of fighting, but they are dedicated to our school, surprisingly, and girls more than to the art. It does not bother me much. They should live their life the way they deem fit.
"I flip through my high school senior year annual only to land on a page with a picture that always puzzled me. My eyebrows knit in confusion as my gaze falls upon this picture of me and my sons' hero. Why would I be in a picture with him? Did I know him? Why did I look so angry? Why is he so happy? Why do I feel so sad?"
A middle-aged woman sits quietly at a desk reading a book that looks like a diary. Tears threaten to fall from her wonderfully brown eyes before she quickly brushed them away. Her hair, a black color, is secured in a loose bun and the rest cascades down her back almost covering a yellow and orange sundress. A knock startles her from her book, and she brushes more tears off her rosy cheeks.
The woman shut the book before more emotions bubble up to her face. There is a knock again, more insistent this time. She glanced at a digital alarm clock, noticing for the first time that it is five in the afternoon, a Saturday. She gracefully rose from the floor and shuffle to the door to let the visitor in.
She floats to the door with a questioning look graced upon her face. She opens the Western styled door to reveal a very tall young man with hazel eyes and short black hair. He is wearing a blue plaid button-up shirt with black long shorts. He graces the woman with a loving smile.
"Seiji," the woman smiled while embracing him, "What brings you here this afternoon?"
He gave her a larger smile and took a seat on a zabuton across from her. His messy hair makes the woman smile as he rakes his hand through in thought. Her smile implies she knows he wants something, and she watches him with amusement.
"Mother, what are you doing on the Wednesday of next week? Do you have work?" his eyes flicker quickly over the forgotten book she had placed on her sparsely covered desk. She does not notice her son's gaze as she sits, trying to remember her work schedule for next week.
"I believe I am off on that day," she stated after a moment of silence. "Why?"
Seiji starts to fidget, "I was wondering if you would like to come to 'Career Day' and talk about your job to the students in an assembly."
The woman gave a warm smile, "Of course, if it is what you desire, then so it shall be."
His face lights up with happiness as he moves to embrace the older woman in his warm hug. She returned his sign of affection with a small squeeze and gave him a kiss on his forehead. She pulls away and studies him further, and her 'mother-sense' seems to kick in.
"Is that all?" She asked while pulling away and holding him at arms length. "You do not usually act so..." She paused in search of an appropriate word to make her son blush, "Tame."
He blushes scarlet and starts to fidget again. It is obvious he wants something, and the woman smiles in amusement.
"Can I have some money?" The woman smile turns into a stern look that he flinches under. "It's for a date I have tonight, I swear!"
His hazel eyes plead to her in a sad puppy-dog fashion. How could she, or anyone else, say no to that adorable face?
With a sigh, she reached for her wallet as he gave a yell of joy. After much shuffling, she handed him a ten thousand yen bill, which he grabs before jumping around with joy, giving her a kiss on the cheek and bounding out of the room. Seiji almost bowled over an older looking young man wearing a tank top and board shorts, as the latter boy was walking down the hall toward the bathroom to shower. It looked as if he had been in the dojo working out. The older boy gave the younger a scowl and a punch before continuing on his route. Seiji didn't seem to notice as he practically bounced off the walls toward his room to prepare for his date.
The woman smiled at their antics and stood to go to the kitchen to begin preparations for dinner.
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"She deserves to know."
"I don't think she'd be able to handle the truth!"
"How do you know that? She has changed over these past years! She has matured, and she deserves to know. Kami knows she keeps asking, and I don't think I can hold out much longer."
"No! She cannot know. What do you think she would do if she found out? Eh? Do you think she would be happy? I don't think so."
"What are you talking about? You want her for yourself! At the beginning, you were not even part of the picture, much less the story. You have no say in this! Why did I even bother asking you?!"
A growl, "Maybe it is because I am the only one who has gotten close to her these past years. Even though she has lost the memories of her youth does not mean she does not deserve to be happy now! It means she deserves more! You should know this! He left on his own and is not coming back. He's probably dead by now." Silence. "Don't tell me you believe he will be good to her! After all this time, he should have come back, but he has not! He will never return! He made an empty promise! Don't hurt her more by telling her that."
Silence.
"You don't know what you're doing to her now. All you can think of is how you won her. Illegally at that, too. I know what you are doing, trying to snake in your way to her heart. You're lucky she didn't find out about who you really are in the past because if she did, then I doubt you'd be here arguing with me now."
A soft voice glided between the other two, "I believe she deserves to know what has happened to her in the past. You cannot keep her from it. It is part of her and her being, even if she cannot remember." Pause. "You know this, Ryouga. Do not hide what is the truth."
The man, Ryouga, huffed as he crossed his burly arms and looks away. He has shaggy black hair that is graying on the sides. He is wearing a white polo shirt and slacks. The woman who addressed him sits on the other side of the table the three surround. She looks the eldest of the three and is wearing a modest dress with a pristine white apron. Her hair falls gracefully over her right shoulder and is secured with a white ribbon. The woman sits daintily as she sips the tea in front of her before turning to the other woman with whom she sits. The other woman looks younger and has a short and acute hairstyle that screams 1920s. She is wearing a black business suit with a crisp white shirt peeking from under her blazer.
"Nabiki," the older woman said in a soft, yet commanding voice, "Please get Akane for me. She is upstairs, I believe."
Nabiki, the other woman, nodded curtly before standing and moving toward the stairs. She ascended quickly and disappeared from the man and woman's sights. The tension disappeared, and the man uncrossed his arms and stared at his untouched tea.
"Why do you think she needs to know now, Kasumi? She is happy now," Ryouga asked quietly.
"You do not really know her, then, Ryouga," the other woman, Kasumi, said gently, "She is always sad but attempts to be happy for you. Why do you think she has not married you yet? Something in her tells her that it is not to be."
Kasumi sipped her tea as Ryouga took in her observations. He had not really thought about why she had rejected his proposal. He thought it because she had her sons and the dojo about which to think, so he stayed in the house and helped looked after it, making repairs whenever needed. Ryouga sat stiffly with his hands tensing on his knees, his knuckles turning white. She knew deep down that it was not him she loved. Her sons like him enough to call him uncle. Tears threatened to escape his eyes, which he wiped away with fervor that would scare small children. Kasumi sits across him with her eyes closed, still sipping her tea daintily. Footsteps approach the table, and Ryouga looks up to see Nabiki and Akane, the woman with the long dark blue hair and brown eyes. The woman he has loved for so long.
She does look sad, he thought to himself, although she hides it behind a cheery smile. I should have noticed on my own, but I have been foolish to think that she would forget him even after the accident.
The man shook his head sadly and looked to the dark haired woman. She smiled at him as she sat next to him. He poured her a cup of tea that she accepted gracefully.
She has become more graceful and beautiful over these last years. My love for her has also grown. How could I tell her now?
Nabiki cleared her throat to catch her youngest sister's attention. Kasumi put down her cup, and Akane followed her example. The other two sisters sat straight, and Akane looked expectantly at her older sister.
"Akane, there is something we have all," Nabiki glared at Ryouga, which he returned without a thought, "been meaning to tell you."
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[End chapter one]
A/N: Some things I should mention first, right? Japanese/foreign words are in italics, if you haven't already noticed, but so are thoughts and words that are being emphasized. Does that clear anything up? Were you even confused about that before?
So how was it? Horrible? Good? Decent? Should I have not touched the original chapter? Did you find any mistakes? Did it make you want to throw up? TT;;
All comments welcome, so please review!