Please R/R please!! Looking for pre-readers...please email me. Thanks!
Starting a poll...email me w/ your answers: Who should be Kei's fiancée? New character or someone from Nerima?
Chapter 9
As Ranma took a closer look at the first envelope, he noticed his mother's handwriting and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he took a deep breath and went through the other envelopes and noticed that Ukyou, Shampoo and Akane had also written to him.
Ranma took the letters with him and went to his bed; where he lay down to read his mother's letter:
From Nodoka:
Dear Ranma,
How are you? I miss you much. I am saddened that we had to separate so soon after we reconciled and saw each other again, but it is best for you. I hope you are adjusting to the change and do not regret your decision to leave Nerima. I have been quite busy in Nerima since your departure, particularly from your fiancés. I must say, they are a stubborn group, and I admire (but also am frustrated by) that quality.
When you left, Nerima was surprisingly normal. I believe everyone was expecting your leave to be temporary and that you would be back within a week's time. However, when it became apparent that you were not returning anytime soon, everyone began to panic. Gone were the mystery challengers and fiancés that appear every day. It was as if a great cloud was lifted from Nerima. Ukyou and Shampoo were very persistent in having me reveal your whereabouts, but your mother is also a stubborn woman and when I voiced my disapproval, they had no choice but to accept my word that you will return within a year's time.
The most trouble I had was with Nabiki. She's sneaky, sly, smart and very efficient. She reminded me of myself when I was her age. Didn't know that did you? I will have to tell you a bit about the more...favorable...part of your lineage sometime. I didn't sit idle and twiddle my thumbs while you were away with your father. I have created quite a reputation in the academic world as my family has been and will continue to be on the board of trustees for some of the most reputable universities in Japan. I seriously that such a smart girl like Nabiki would understand her predicament if some of her endeavors became known to the universities she hopes of attending.
Your father came back after he ran out of money. We are now living not too far away from the Tendo's. He decided to make himself useful by reopening the school with Soun and teaching the neighborhood children. Akane helps occasionally. Of all your fiancés, Akane is the most troubled by your leave. I see her dazed as she looks at your seat during meals, but I also see that daze quickly become an angry haze. She has a somewhat volatile temper, and I will suggest she do something about it. I can only imagine the patience needed to tolerate it.
My pride for you grows everyday as I realize what you have been through while living here. This situation would have driven any sane person insane. I do hope that life in Eden is somewhat exciting, but in a different way than what you're so use to. Best of luck, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Love,
Your Mother
'Hm...I guess things aren't TOO bad since I've left...hahahaha...Mom's pretty smart, she blackmailed Nabiki!! I wonder how she liked THAT...hm...okay...onto the next one.'
Ukyou's Letter:
Hi Ranchan!!
I don't suppose YOU'LL tell me where you are? I'm sure you're lonely where you are without your cute fiancé! Don't you want your cute fiancé to join you? I can make my okonomiyaki for you, the Ranma Honey Special! So when are you coming back? I'll have your favorite food waiting for you, so just let me know ahead of time so I can prepare for it.
Oh...who am I kidding? Your mom made it clear that you won't be back for at least a year. Why did you have to leave me AGAIN? Why couldn't you take me with you? But you know what? Things will be different this time. You didn't know you left me behind when we were 6, but you know now. And you will be back, you said so. And I trust you.
In a way, I hate you fordoing this to me, and I wish you are having a horrible time away from me. But...I also hope that you are happy. You always hope that the people you love are happy. Just make sure that when you come back, you know who you're going to pick as your wife: me! )
Business at Ucchan's is booming, and my profits are higher than ever because I haven't been giving away free food. You do eat a lot, not that I'm complaining since you love the food I make ) I've been getting a lot of help from Konatsu and he has been a great friend to me since you've been gone.
I realize that my life can't revolve around you. Surprising isn't it? It's just that for such a long time, killing you was the sole purpose of my life. And now, marrying you is. It's made me realize that I don't even know who Ukyou without Ranma is! It scares me, because I don't ever want to find out, because we will be together forever. But it makes me wonder, and I guess this is the best time to find out. So in a way, thank you for leaving, but come back to me.
Love always,
Your Ucchan
'I can always count on good ol' Ucchan to be understanding. For a moment there, I was beginning to worry, though. But I DO miss her okonomiyaki!!'
Shampoo's Letter
Nihao Airen,
Shampoo miss you very much. Great-grandmother and mother-in-law forbid Shampoo to come to husband. Airen send for Shampoo, yes?? Then mother-in-law let Shampoo be with Airen. Great-grandmother and mother-in-law have a long talk about Airen and marriage. They agree to wait for you to come back to decide, but by Amazon law, Airen is Shampoo's! So no understand why wait and decide?
'Oh man, this will be hard to read...this is already giving me a headache...what is this word? Oh...'
Shampoo having trouble writing in Japanese, too use to Chinese. But Mother-in-law say Airen not know "Kanji?' so must write this way. This way stupid. Make Shampoo sound stupid. Shampoo will learn Japanese while Airen away, okay? But Airen must learn Shampoo language, too. Airen will need to talk to Shampoo's family in Amazon village when we go back after we marry.
Shampoo going to school with violent tomboy now. All the boys stare at Shampoo. Shampoo no like. Only want Airen to stare at Shampoo. But no problem, if they keep looking, Shampoo will kill stupid boys.
Shampoo wait for Airen to come to Shampoo, yes?
Wo ai ni,
Shampoo
'Um...o...kay....'
Ranma stared at the last letter: Akane's letter. The fragile and weightless letter held the power to shatter or make his day. Of all the fiancés, he spent the most time with Akane. And being away from her was the hardest, simply because he no longer woke up to her angry words of frustration for being late AGAIN or being thrown into the pond.
But he also missed those rare moments when she would smile, and his stomach would flutter, or when he would be nice to her. But that almost never happens because when things start to go well, they would be conveniently interrupted by one of his fiancés or opponents, or Akane would be kidnapped, or he would stick his foot in his mouth and get pummeled by the "stupid tomboy."
But of course, there ARE things he did miss, like her so-called sorry experiments called "food." Ranma began to blanch as his mouth and stomach reacted to his memory of Akane's last attempt to poison him. Luckily, he had developed a defense mechanism in her numerous attempts, so he only stayed in the hospital for a week that time.
Ranma carefully opened the letter with the silver Eden-engraved envelope opener and slid the letter out. 'Yellow...how'd I guess?'
Akane's Letter:
Hi Ranma,
You have no idea how hard it was for me to sit down and write this. I would start, then throw it away because I didn't know how to continue. But, here it is, I'm just going to write it.
How are you? It's been quiet in the dojo without you and your father sparring and arguing all the time. I never realized just how quiet it was before you came into our lives. Kasumi-neechan is dazed because we don't have to repair anything anymore and we haven't been getting as many visitors as before. But Kasumi-neechan is always smiling and is ready for anything.
Nabiki-neechan is busy studying for her entrance exams to Todai. I don't know what she's worried about though, since she is one of the best students at Furinkan. And I'm sure she'll find a way to get in somehow. I don't know what your mother said to her, but she's stopped looking for you.
I don't know what to feel now that you're gone. I like the quiet and I like not having to see you with your fiancés (not that I was ever jealous), and I like not hearing you call me an uncute tomboy. But I miss the exciting life we had while you were here. I've done so much and been to so many places since you arrived at our doorstep that rainy night. It felt like all that was just a dream...or a nightmare!!
You've always been Ranma, my arranged-marriage fiancé. The fiancé that I always wondered whether I really wanted or was just forced to. I never really gave you a chance and called you a pervert. But you asked for it!! Most of the time anyway. I felt like this arrangement was just forced on us, and it made me resent you for not giving me a choice in who I get to love and spend the rest of my life with. Which is why I see you as the man that saves me from princes and monsters and as the man I'm forced to marry against my wishes. This confuses me so much!
Maybe this is good for me....and for us. We still need to grow up and figure out who WE are, before we figure out who each other are. I meant what I said when I first met you. "Let's be friends."
-Akane
Ranma finished Akane's letter and placed it on the now-open stack of letters. He continued to lie there and put his arms over his eyes. 'It looks like everyone's doing okay. But even if they aren't, I'm going to stay here. I'm going to do this. I won't ever have this chance again.'
Ranma glanced at the clock. 'Oh man, 5 o'clock!! There's no way I can sleep now, especially with all this in my head. Hm...maybe I can go out and practice, no one should be awake right now.'
Ranma changed into his signature red and black silk outfit, opened the windows to the brisk dark air and jumped out. He flipped gracefully onto the soft grass and ran towards the forest in the chilly morning. The light was just peeking into the dark of the night and the grass was still damp from the night fog. Ranma ran into the woods and found the familiar clearing he has been practicing at since his arrival at Auen.
He stood at the center, took a couple deep breaths and began to warm up to a familiar kata. He started with soft, slow and graceful movements. Kicks, punches and jumps flowed together in an elaborate dance from one movement to he next that spanned the entire space of the clearing. As kicks flowed into jump kicks, his movements became faster, more precise and he was bouncing from tree to ground, hardly touching the ground beneath. AS he performed this intricate dance, he felt the sun begin to warm his skin and the birds begin to chirp as night became day. After what felt like minutes, but was in actuality hours, he drifted back to his starting position. He opened his eyes and wiped the sweat from his body. 'Man, that felt good. Just what I needed.'
As Ranma walked out of the forest, he saw Aoi walk away from Kei and head towards the forest. Their eyes met and he noticed that her eyes were full of unshed tears. She tore her eyes away from Ranmas and continued to walk towards the forest. Ranma looked at Aoi's retreating back and then back at Kei.
He ran towards Kei. 'Kei-san, I know it's none of my business, but why is Aoi-chan crying?" 'No one should make a girl cry!!'
"We just broke up." Kei said coolly.
"What? Why? You bastard..." Ranma grabbed Kei and lifted him off the ground.
Kei just let Ranma pick him up and prepared to take whatever Ranma would do to him. Ranma looked into Kei's eyes and saw the same hurt that he saw in Aoi's eyes and dropped Kei to the ground.
"I agreed to an arranged marriage."
"Can't you delay it or something? There's got to be something you can do! You love each other, right??"
Kei exploded. "Don't you think I've tried?? Ever since my parents died, this was thrown onto my lap. My life was perfectly fine until I had to decide between being with the woman I love and sacrificing the jobs of hundreds of thousands of people or doing what family and honor demands of me. I would expect you of all people to understand my predicament."
Ranma could only stare at Kei.
"This...this is for the best." Kei stared at the path that Aoi walked on just moments ago. "I don't want her to be my mistress, she deserves more than that. I saw this coming you know. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it and pretend nothing happened, I knew that this day was coming. And it just slapped me across the face. It's better to do this now than on my marriage day. We...it was mutual. She also knew that something like this would happen someday. But we both ignored it. Because we were both happy and we were in love. Love doesn't conquer all."
Ranma didn't know what to say, so he kept quiet.
"Ranma?"
Ranma looked at Kei. "Yea?"
"I'll be gone for a month to take care of business and I....Can...can you help me take care of her? She's strong, but sometimes, everyone needs a friend to listen to them."
Ranma nodded.
Kei thanked Ranma and bowed deeply. "I'll be telling the others before they leave for class. Once again, thanks Ranma."