I was reading Twin Flames Of Darkness by my man Screaming Phoenix, who is now departed this mortal vale, and more pieces fell into place regarding Hana Stoppable.

That story deals with Kim and Ron coming from different AU's. In that world, the Meiji Restoration never took place. It makes for some interesting political ramifications in modern Japan.

This first got written 'way back on a chill day in November 2010. I was going to put it in my source story, A Heroine's Legacy. I was going to post it at my DeviantArt site (another page with the hokey grinning slice of rye bread). But I decided to put it here. It isn't even part of the Barrier That Restrains story proper; but it might explain why Hana's head is where it's at. It's hot off the press, composed on this morning. For the Glacially Slow Writer, that's pretty rockin' good.

Your humble fan-writer has been at it again. Imagining the mythos. Reinventing the show and the fan-stories. We fill the pot with our story. We add a dash…or two…or three…of archeology and mythology. We pour in a ridiculously outsized amount of the ingredient that moi loves: drama. We carefully measure out just a portion of another story arc: Ron's mom's "problem"; an awful debilitating thing that inflicts far too many people; clinical depression.

I tread on new ground with this topic. This plot arc is sort of working itself out. We will see how Kim's absence has sort of etched yet another life with sorrow.

Kim's story…Ron's story…Hana's story…and even Monty Fiske's and Amy Hall's stories…these are all human stories. Love, tragedy, temptation, disillusionment. It happens to you, me…to all. Let me get embarrassingly personal. If some random reader feels like the crap is piled on so heavy they despair of life itself…I beg you to have hope. Your story is being written. All our stories are being written. There's a couple books I've been reading; C.S. Lewis' The Problem Of Pain and A Grief Observed. I recommend 'em.

Yeah, yeah, I'm a Born Again Bible Thumper and I keep touting Jesus. But take it from me. I'm not talking quick fake fix. I'm talking about making it through this mess called life a day at a time. Not to browbeat you or get on you. You are cared for. You are looked after. Count on it. Stake your life on it.

And like our own life stories, this arc is still being written.

the tragedy of Hana Stoppable

Some children begin walking as seven or eight months. Some don't walk until fifteen or sixteen months. Kim Possible began walking at six months. Ron Stoppable didn't begin walking until sixteen months. Or maybe it was seventeen or eighteen. His parents somehow didn't notice. And poor Ronnie kept tripping on the diaper that kept sliding down.

Hana Stoppable was walking…and running…on the ceiling…by the time she reached that age.

It was evident to Ron his little baby ninja sister was another overachiever. Just like his girlfriend. He figured being around Kim had been a dry run for this experience. He looked forward to being a parental big brothr. Equipped with Flippy videos and books, he devoted himself to dutifully tutoring her.

"If he put the same effort into his own schoolwork, he might have a better grade point average than a 'C'," observed Kim dryly.

And Ron responded. "K.P., it ain't about the grade-point-age. It's about the heart-point-age."

Even for Ron, this was sort of an awkward way to phrase it. But Kim understood. She found it hard to disagree with that assessment. In fact, she was moved to say one day, "Ron, you're going to make a badical parent."

She meant it as sincere praise. But she had already confessed her romantic love for him. And so those words contained much more meaning than they otherwise might. And they both realized it. Both mouths were agape and both sets of cheeks blushed.

She stammered. "I mean…I meant…oh, golly…"

But Ron only shrugged and smiled bashfully. "I'm just tryin' to keep up with Middleton's most bondiggity babysitter."

Kim blushed again and murmured, "Thank you." And she gave him a peck on the lips.

Hana lit up at the sight. "Kiss!" she squealed. This was her signal to resume the game they had started after the battle with Yono. She dove under them and slid up between them. Little arms circled Ron's neck, and she bestowed a rather wet kiss on his cheek. "Bru-ther!"

She did likewise to Kim. "Kay-pee!" And another wet kiss.

Little Hana loved all she saw. "Ma-ma" and "Da-da". "Sen-say". The old one with the white scalplock, twinkling eyes, full flowing beard and moustache, and bright red caftan. "Yo-ree". The younger one with the dark almond eyes, black silken hair, and melodic voice.

But it was the others who defined her world. "Bru-ther". His ears were big, his hair was bright yellow, and his cheeks were freckled. He called her "Widdle Intwuder" and "Boo-bah". She loved it when he tickled her and said, "Who's a Boo-bah?" He did funny things that made her laugh until she hiccupped, like sprinkling himself with flour and letting his pants fall down. He did fun things, like dance with her to her favorite music, read to her, and push her in the swing. And most fun of all, he took her with him to the special places, where the machines made bright lights and explosions, and where they could wear the hard hat-thing and fall out into the sky for what seemed like forever. It was like flying.

And "Roo-fus", the cute little one who was always with Bru-ther. He was tiny and pink. He talked with a funny high voice. He ate cheese and slept a lot. He had a tail and whiskers that twitched. His grin was bright and infectious.

And "Kay-pee". She also was with Bru-ther almost all the time. She could do flips and jumps and spins almost as well as Hana. She did the fun things like go with them to the places with the machines and explosions, and jump out and float to the ground. And she the most captivating eyes and hair. Hana didn't know what to call colors yet. But those burnished locks were almost as bright as Sen-say's clothes. They were like a candle flame, warm and glowing. And the eyes…Hana would stare at Kay-pee's eyes intently. They were unique in all her experience. She had nothing else to compare them to.

And "Wayd", the mysterious boy who she never saw in real life. He appeared on the little video screen Kay-pee wore on her arm, like the Flippy dancers appeared on the bigger screen of the DVD player. It was all very mysterious. Wayd himself had darker skin than Ma-ma, Da-da, Kay-pee, or Bru-ther.

She would meet Wayd in person at the Middleton High School Class of 2007 Commencement. He was bigger than the little image on the thing Kay-pee called her Kimmunica-something…which reassured her. She was beginning to grasp the concept of images representing real people.

In the presence of Kay-pee and Bru-ther, Hana felt galvanized. Her intellect became keener, and her spirit became freer. Besides picking up things like dancing, eating cheese, "page", "boo-yah", "badical", and "bondiggity" from Bru-ther, Kay-pee taught her polysyllabic phrases like "What's the sitch," and "It was no big," and even "So not." She even taught Hana how to do a special face; a face with sad eyes and frowning little mouth with quivering lower lip.

"Hana…can you do 'Puppy Pout' for Bru-ther?"

And they would both direct their gazes at Bru-ther, who would cover his face and wail "Augh! Oh, mannn! Not both of you! No fair!"

And both Hana and Kay-pee would burst into gales of laughter.

Hana and Kim. The two of them bonded deeply. They loved each other intensely. Kim wanted especially to bond with Hana. The adorable little one represented a side of Ron's life that Kim felt detached from; his involvement of Yamanouchi. Hana was a part of the whole myth-y legend-y thing. She was the Han…whatever that meant. It was also a part that belonged to Yori, and it was a deeper wound than Kim admitted even to herself.

Kim had an inordinate amount of male influence in her upbringing. A relentlessly cheerful father, two prankster little brothers, and a best friend. Even her mother and nana represented strong role models rather than motherly nurturing influence. It was not a detriment; only a hardly discernable absence. Except for a little Raggedy Ann, Kim had no dolls growing up, and did not miss them. When it came to as small a thing as trick-or-treating, it was she who chose a cowboy costume, inspired by her Uncle Slim, a Montana rancher. She ignored the pink ballerina tutu her mother had bought for her. It was left to Ron to wear that, out of an innate sense if silliness; and in response to Mrs. Dr. P.'s obvious sadness. She had tried briefly to make Kim a pigtails-and-hair-ribbons girl. But Kim preferred tumbling, sports, and marital arts training to dollies and frills. Ironically, it was Ron who, out of the two of them, played with an iconic girl's toy; a Granny Crocket oven, and made meals for his stuffed animals.

When she became an adolescent, Kim did love clothing, as many girls did, but it was not the same. Her first close female friend and confidante who was not another athlete or cheerleader (and therefore another rival) was Monique Watson.

Babysitting gave her just a taste of association with motherliness. The arrival of Hana into her life as Kim was entering into adulthood made her finally aware of the lack. Kim did with Hana what Kim's mother was hardly allowed to do with her; to brush and style a little girl's hair and dress a little girl in frocks and lace.

The timing was propitious. And Hana was marvelously empathetic. They were big and little sister; and perhaps more. Kim hardly dared to envision the word "daughter" in regards to Hana; but the appearance was obvious to all who had eyes, whether it was Ron, or their parents, or Monique. Kim resolved to herself to impart her own stamp on the little girl.

It made Rachel Stoppable's already fragile sense of motherhood and esteem unsteady. Like Anne Possible, she had been a mother with a job outside the home, with all the issues that accompanied that situation.

But a great tragedy took place. Kim disappeared one day, just before a date with Ron. She was presumed drowned. An intensive search yielded no clue. She was finally declared dead.

It was especially poignant at the funeral. Hana sat on Ron's lap during the service. She had not seen Kim in many days. She was baffled by all the sadness. She kept hearing Kim's name mentioned in the eulogy. She stood up and glanced around for her big sister-figure. She looked over both Ron's shoulders. Finally she asked, "Bru-ther…Kay-pee?"

The sight of those big limpid eyes was too much for Ron. His lip trembling, he said in a hoarse whisper. "K.P.'s in Heaven, Han."

The big adorable eyes became bigger. "Heben?" she asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, Boo-bah. Heben."

Mrs. Dr. P. overheard. She dabbed her eyes with her kerchief and sighed. Someone should have explained to the little girl long before this. But in light of Kim's presumed death, many other things got relegated to a lower priority.

Little Hana at last understood from the use of Bru-ther's most tender name for her, and his sadness, that Kay-pee had gone away and would not return. No more Puppy Pout. No longer the bejeweled eyes to return her gaze. She impulsively hugged Bru-ther's neck and whimpered. Little tears ran down the little cheeks.

The great tragedy gave rise to other great tragedies.

The first was the recurrence of Rachel Stoppable's mental and emotional disability. She had an episode. Her husband Abel had called it a breakdown. Rachel hated that word. She hated the very mention of that summer, when they had to send Ronnie to camp. He would call, disconsolate and homesick, every day.

"Rachel!" Abel would insist. "That boy needs to be home!"

"No! I won't let him see me…like this!"

"Then you need help."

"No! Not that, either! All I need is…a few more days."

"Rach…please."

"No! And don't you indulge him! My family didn't indulge me!"

The second was Ron's emotional withdrawal. His soulmate, the queen of his heart, his great inamorata and passionaria was gone.

The third was Hana's emotional abandonment. In the great emotional tsunami,, her emotional survival as at stake. And her anchor lines had been cut. Ma-ma was a bedridden basket case, sometimes catatonic. Da-da was likewise withdrawn, hardly a presence in the home. Bru-ther was himself overwhelmed. The maintenance of the family had fallen on Ron's narrow shoulders.

When they were younger, a more frivolous Ron had made a flippant remark to Kim about the pressures of being a single parent, raising a naked more rat.

He was now that single parent.

On the eve of the epic battle with Yono, he reflected wistfully that at least he had taught Hana the value of a family that loved her. But the fabric was worn. It was almost threadbare.

There was a particular night when things came to a head. The pot that long simmered boiled over, spilling a bitter broth.

Rachel was moaning to herself. Hana sought to comfort her. "Ma-ma?"

Suddenly Rachel wailed "I'm a monster! I'm evil! No one loves me! I'm better off dead!"

Da-da charged out of the house. "I can't deal with this, Rachel!"

Bru-ther blurted out, "Mom! You abandoned me for an entire summer! Will you just shut the hell up?"

Rachel's emotional simmer became a meltdown. "You all hate me! Why don't you just kill me?"

Ron sulked furiously. "Geez! What a drama queen!"

"Drive me out to Middleton Lake! Then you can drown me with Kim!" she shrieked

Ron reciprocated. "Mom! Shut the hell up!"

Hana looked at it all with absolute bewilderment. She began crying.

Ron gave her a single swat across her backside…and he was aghast at himself.

He took Hana up in his arms, snatched up the diaper bag, and ran from the house, amid Rachel's screams and accusations of everyone abandoning her. He ran to the Possibles.

"Mr. Dr. P…can I borrow the Sloth? I need to take Hana to Yamanouchi."

James Timothy Possible saw a young man practically beside himself. Ron had looked sorrowful but composed for this entire ordeal. He made an educated guess what had transpired at the Stoppable home, and was ironically thankful that all he had to deal with was the untimely passing of his Kimmie-cub.

He racked his brain. His wife was at the Medical Center and his sons were at the library. The man who felt himself so unequal to one-on-one encounter struggled to sway the young man he looked on as a third son from an ill-advised action. "Ron? Is that a good idea?" There might be a matter of custody. "Why don't we call Rabbi Katz?"

But Ron only stood there with his hand extended for the car keys. His verbal request was a mere formality. He was making a demand.

Hana, meanwhile, heard the words "Take Hana to…" and understood she was being deserted. She clung to Ron. "No!" she wailed. "Won't go!"

James Timothy Possible feared a meltdown like the one he suspected had taken place in the Stoppable household. He retrieved the keys and folded them into Ron's hand. And when Ron tried to take his hand back, Mr. Dr. P. kept a tight clasp. "Before you go," he said quietly, "Please promise me this. Go to that spot on Mount Middleton. Kim's and your favorite place…the one I always disapproved of. And have a good talk…you and Hana and the voice of my daughter…the voice I know lives in all of us. Ask your K.P. what she would do."

Ron was dumbstruck. It was as though Sensei were talking. He nodded and took the keys. "Han…" he said slowly, "Let's just go for a ride."

The Tweebs had made a cyber electronic infant car seat. It was still in the Sloth from the last time Hana and Kim had 'gone for a ride." He buckled her in.

Hana resignedly submitted. She knew he was taking her away.

They stopped at the old spot on Mount Middleton, near the edge of a precipice. The whole thing was ferociously ironic. Hana was as agile as a mountain goat. She was probably safe in a car even without a seat belt. She could probably rescue her brother if he fell off.

For a long time, they look into the distance. Ron agonized with himself. K.P…this is one messed-up sitch. What would you do? "Hana…Ma-ma isn't…okay. Would you like to stay with Yori?"

Her arms were tightly folded. "No!"

"Would you like to stay with Kay-pee's fam?"

"No!" She was adamant. "Stay with you!" She scooted closer and clung to him. "With you and Roo-fus and Ma-ma and Da-da!"

Ron sighed. "Okay, Boo-bah. We'll work it out."

Hana came away with a lesson…a lesson that was branded into her heart and mind. The truly admirable one was the one who was gone…Kay-pee. She herself would strive to take the absent one's place.

And so Hana became the intense apprentice, as it were, of her Kay-pee's memory. She would be like Kay-pee. It was reinforced by Bru-ther and Kay-pee's da-da, both of whom said that "Kim could to anything."

Hana applied herself to study. She discovered her heritage: the daimyo clan of Noriyuma.

As easily as she had mastered "page", she mastered the study of the Mystical Monkey Power, the Mahō no saru no nōryoku

Her brother was the Yamauchi bun'ya. The Chosen of Yamanouchi. And the Hachisu Kyōshi, the Lotus Master. And the Saishū-tekina saru no Kyōshi, the Ultimate Monkey Master. He wielded the Hachisu no ha…the Lotus Blade. She felt a stab of pride.

Then she read of Montgomery Fiske's quest to become the Ultimate Monkey Master, the Saishū-tekina saru no Kyōshi. He had managed to assemble the Four Jade Monkeys of the unknown cult of the Trickster Monkey, that blended the two monkey gods, the Hindu Hanuman and the Chinese Sun Wukong. It was in this way the Mahō no saru no nōryoku was conferred upon Fiske, her brother, and Rufus.

The traitor Ishida Fukushima considered her brother a pretender. He gave the Hachisu no ha to Fiske to keep it out of unclean hands. At least, he had reasoned, Fiske was a Tai Shing Pek Kwar Master.

There are moments in everyone's life that test their mettle. Cherished childhood beliefs are challenged. Unpleasant details surface. Hana had always assumed her brother always had the Mahō no saru no nōryoku as she had it…from birth. Or perhaps it had been bestowed on him, as the Hachisu no ha had been. She was shocked to discover the true circumstance.

Montgomery Fiske, the tenth Earl of Westchesterwick, was quite mad. He was obsessed with becoming the Monkey King. It was a recurring motif in many cultures; a trickster god who outwitted all his foes and carved out a name and a realm for himself. Fiske scoured the world for the lore and artifacts. He traveled across five continents, gathering what he needed. He had submitted to an unnatural medical procedure, performed on him by the disgraced biogeneticist, Ameliadora Hall. Monkey paws were grafted onto his arms and legs in place of his own hands and feet.

The marvelous ability Hana possessed as a birthright was conferred upon a freak of nature, as a result of exposure to enchanted relics. With those tainted hands, Fiske had handled the holy Blade, her ancestor's weapon, the living heart of Yamanouchi. He was able to awaken the Blade's shape changing abilities.

He had even tried, unsuccessfully, to make off with her and raise her.

Hana was sickened and disgusted. She practically became physically ill. Suddenly, the sense of safety and security she had always derived from being Bru-ther's little sister vanished. She was horrified at the belated realization of how close she had come to being seized by that depraved scientist-turned-shaman and his amoral paramour. Furthermore, suddenly, the possession of the Mystical Monkey Power and the proprietorship of the Lotus Blade by her brother and his beloved pet was seen in a new light.

She would recall the old droll stories of "Wayd" being "sickened" at "Kay-pee's" use of the term "sci-fi". And she would bitterly ponder to herself just how sickening true revulsion was.

She assessed her adoptive family in the light of the teachings of Yamanouchi and the Seven Virtues of the Bushido. Gi, Yu, Jin, Rei, Makoto, Meiyo, and Chugi. Rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty. Ron Stoppable's loyalty to his beloved was, as Sensei had once said, "Like a great Yakusugi tree that towers above all the other trees around it." The Yakusugi trees were the tallest and longest-lived tree native to Japan. They were held to be sacred.

His natural idleness, what he called his "badical marinating skills", and his natural fearfulness, what he called his "mad running-away skills", were also seen in a new light. He was a spendthrift, both with money and time; a wastrel; a do-nothing. He was not honorable.

A word forced itself into hana's consciousness. Gaigin. Alien. Outsider. The same word Ishida Fukushima had used to describe her brother. What if the traitor was right? What if all of the lords and philosophers of the history of her land were right? What if the only way to way to safeguard the legacy of the Han was to adopt the Sokaku mentality?

It was as thorough a conversion experience as if an ancestor come back to life and convinced her. Hana became traditional in her outlook and the more traditional she became, the narrower became her point of view.

She looked narrowly on the personality flaws of her brother. And her parents. And at last anything that was not Nihon-gin. She abandoned the name Hana Stoppable. She took the name Noriyuma Hanako.

It was gradual. Long before she reverted to her birth name, some were already aware of the slow but steady chill in the heart of the Han, the Daughter of the family of Yamanouchi's founder. The Elders of Yamanouchi, Kansumi Yoriko-sama, Abé Hirotaka-sama, and the chiefest Takayama Goro-sama, who had marveled at the Han's superhuman prowess and agility, now grieved at the Han's decent into harsh suspicion and cruel isolation.

There was one who refused to see. Ironically, it was the one who had for all intents and purposes raised her; her Bru-ther.

Noriyuma Hanako arrived at her home after meeting with her brother, her nephew, and the others. She was weary and heartsick. She was disgusted at herself for her temporary loss of face. The story of Kim's frightful transformation and Ron's frightful defense of his family had caused her to behave like a coward.

If it were the old days, she knew what would've been done. One killed without honor, as happened to Possible-san, suffered a loss of face…a concept hardly understood by the Outsiders. She was now an Aragami, an offended Kami. Sensei was right. She sought Fukushū…vengeance. Tara Stoppable-san would be compelled to die. And if she were not honorable enough to do by her own hand, it would be by the hand of an appointed agent of the daimyo. That would be the immediate response of the Sensei of the order. And it would be acknowledged as right. And offerings and sacrifices would be made to the aggrieved spirit of the victim, namely Kim Possible-san.

But it was not the old days with the old ways. The people no longer walked the Shin-To, the Kami Road, the Way Of The Gods. The Divine Wind no longer blew through the Sacred Trees.

Her home was in Kashima town in the Shimane Prefecture, one of the most rural places in Japan. It was on the coast opposite Tokyo, facing the Sea of Japan and Korea…which was just what Hahako preferred. Here the waves washed on the shore and the cherry trees blossomed on the hills. She had invited her adoptive parents and brother a few times. Ron visited as often as he could, when his missions took him to that corner of the world. Notwithstanding their several trips to Tokyo, Rachel and Abel had never been to that part of the country.

Her home was simple. It was an old traditional wooden house with the genkan entrance foyer and fusuma sliding panels. The ima, or living space, was the main part of the house, and the kitchen and bath were in an extension.

Hanako spent some time grocery shopping. Commercial fishing was still viable. She got a quantity of fresh shrimp, and rice and fresh vegetables from a local farmer. She prepared her simple meal at home and reviewed the events of the world online.

On impulse, she retrieved an object. It was the last article from her old life.

The Compassionate Buddha taught nonattachment to material things and passions of the world. The one called the Dalai Lama had once taught. "Attachment is the origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering." The Lord Christ had taught, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." There was a Sanskrit word: Vairāgya. Its opposite was Upādāna; attachment. The lotus blossom itself was a symbol of nonattachment.

But this…this was special. This symbolized her old faith in her brother. Its foundation was the bond of her brother to his Beloved. And as long as that memory remained pure and untouched, there was a speck of hope. But while her brother had found renewed confidence, the entire circumstance had the opposite effect on her.

Hanako flipped the panel open. For just a moment, she was a toddler once more. "Boogie in your jammies / Boogie in your heart / Boogie with your families / Doin' the very best part / Lalalalala / Lalalalalalala / Lalalalala / Doin' the Flippy Dance…"

Hana snatched up the device and hurled it to the floor. She stomped on it repeatedly until it was fragments of plastic and metal. She flung herself on her mat and wailed inconsolably. "Ma-ma! Da-da! Roo-fus! Watashi wa anata o o minogashi naku! Watashi wa anata o aisuru subete no!" I miss you! I love you all! "Bru-ther! Kay-pee! Modotte kite kudasai!" Please come back!

But they were all estranged from her. They were all gaijin. And the one she respected most…the one she always ached to hear call her Hana-kun…that one was a Hag of Hell…a Yomotsu-shikome.

to be continued…