Here we are, the next chapter! I guess I made decent time with only a month's gap between this chapter and the last. Could be faster I know.
I say this for a lot of chapters but really this one was hard to write. It's difficult to deal with character relationships! And because of that, this chapter is shorter than the one before. Not that I'm disappointed really. Only, I hadn't given much thought on this part of the story during its predesign (not that it really had one).
Okay, enough ranting. Here we go!
The Curse of Jusenkyo
Part 2
Towards the Future
The wind blew hard against her face, so much that it made her eyes water. She narrowed them and angled her face a little but she didn't want to step off the deck, not until she spotted land. She knew it wouldn't be possible to reach the coast of China so quickly but her mind wouldn't let her rest. It took a lot of patience to not take it out on the helmsman.
Cologne placed a hand on her robe where inside she had safely placed the small old book. She was a day behind the group and she worried that there may not be enough time to catch up with them. She cursed herself for not inspecting the book before they left to warn them of the danger.
She looked around the blue expanse. It was a calm mid-day and the sight was awe-inspiring but she felt none of that. The freedom of the open sea couldn't take away the agitation she felt running through her veins. There was no time to relax. She had already unknowingly wasted enough.
"Wouldn't you rather rest for now?" the helmsman said to her, raising his voice above the rushing wind. She shook her head and remained where she was. Then she spoke, even though the man wouldn't hear.
"How could I rest when there are lives at stake?"
The sun was already halfway down in the evening but the heat wave of the dry season still hung in the air. The clear sky wasn't helping too so whatever was caught out in the open would have to bear the scorching heat.
Luckily the team was deep in the forest, shaded by the towering trees. It was less dry and since little of the sun's rays reached deep into the forest, the air was more comfortable to move in. Their presence in the forest aroused the curiosity of many small animals. The little critters would only watch the party from afar but there were the occasional few that would slowly come up to them for a closer inspection. Once satisfied – or approached by one of the party members – they would turn away and disappear into the forest.
In contrast to yesterday, the group was livelier. At times one would point out something interesting among the trees or attempt to touch the animals. Other times, they would break into light conversations that eventually ended up far off the original topic. Everyone was delighted nonetheless and they appreciated the relief, forgetting all the troubles they've had.
The team walked with a more relaxed pace but Akane was still adamant in keeping with the schedule. So to keep the group moving, Akane took up lead with Genma immediately behind her. Shampoo and Mousse walked side by side behind the old man so that it'd be easier for her to steer Mousse away from obstacles. Ryoga walked with Ukyo at the party's rear, completing the line.
Open conversations had died out minutes ago and the party members began distancing themselves from each other so to have a little bit of privacy but only far enough so to keep everyone in sight.
"Careful," Shampoo said but it was a bit too late as Mousse tripped on a jutted tree root. He stumbled but kept himself from falling. Shampoo sighed and went over to his side.
"Why don't you ever put on your glasses?" Shampoo asked in their mother-tongue.
Mousse didn't answer but understood that question to actually mean "put on your glasses". So he pulled out his large framed glasses and put them on. He looked over at Shampoo.
"There, better?" Shampoo snickered. Mousse lightly glared at her but kept quiet and continued walking.
The pair was mostly silent with neither looking at each other. Mousse would sometimes discreetly eye Shampoo from the corner of his eye. He noticed that overnight she had changed. A good change that is. He was happy for her but curious as to how it had happened. So he mustered up his courage and called her name.
"Shampoo," he said. She responsively looked at him. "You seem different today. Did something happen last night?"
Shampoo was surprised that he had noticed but then she smiled. She looked ahead at the one leading the group. Mousse followed her eyes and caught on.
"Oh, so you two have cleared things out?" Mousse said, looking back at Shampoo.
"More than that," Shampoo replied. She was still smiling as she turned her attention to Mousse. "We may become real friends one day."
"That's great," Mousse smiled. "I-I'm happy for you."
"Is there something on your mind?" Shampoo then asked, noticing his distracted tone.
"Uh, no," Mousse quickly replied shaking his head left to right. It wasn't common to see her smile like that. Not in the past few months that is.
Ever since his death, Shampoo began to change. Her emotions became unpredictable. Her personality switched erratically. Until eventually it came to the point where she nearly sold her dignity. Both Mousse and Cologne struggled hard to pull Shampoo back to her senses while still keeping the restaurant going. Again and again they tried talking to her but it either had no effect or it would result in an outburst.
It went on for months under the noses of people. Cologne decided to keep the matter hidden to avoid Shampoo further losing her face. One night, they were all sitting together for dinner and out of nowhere she began to break down. This time she completely let herself go, tearing down all the walls she had built to shield herself. Cologne's small frame shook at the intensity of Shampoo's grief while Mousse could only watch the love of his life in pitiful silence.
She opened up a bit more since then, though she was never the same. She talked more but the conversations were too light to carry it in length. She began smiling again but there was always either sadness or emptiness in her eyes. She started to go out of the restaurant again, accompanied by Mousse but the walks had always been awkward.
Mousse realized that he wasn't the same anymore too. Shampoo's change had forced him to be different. During those long months he learned to control himself – to watch his words and how he acted around her. He forced down his feelings for her, instead he tried to be her companion. Overtime he felt the barrier between them slowly fading. Probably she felt the same too as it seemed his efforts of making light conversations with her were welcomed.
He thought back on how blinded he was – no pun intended – and how foolish he acted before any of it happened. He only had in mind what mattered to him while disregarding what mattered to her. He was actually angry that it took something big to happen in their lives for him to see how he was treating her.
That was a good change he figured. Long gone were the days he would pathetically try to win Shampoo's heart; loudly proclaiming his 'love' – or obsession – for her with the delusion that she would reciprocate. Now he felt a genuine care towards her that was never really there before. It wasn't something he could truly describe but he liked how it made him feel.
Then Cologne's words came to his mind.
"She's very fragile at the moment so please do your best to watch for her," Cologne had said.
He vowed to her and to himself that he would do his best in supporting Shampoo. He wanted to help her get over what had happened. At the very least, he wanted to see her truly smile again.
And he did. Or at least caught a reviving flicker of it.
"Mousse," she called. He looked at her and their eyes met; his searching and hers vulnerable. Shampoo then looked away, choosing instead to eye the forest floor. Mousse looked back at the trail but he kept his ears open to her.
"I'm sorry," she began. "For the way I acted in the past few months. For being such a brat, blaming everything and everyone. Not accepting the truth and all. I shouldn't have –"
"Shampoo, there's no need for that," Mousse said. "I understand okay. It was tough for you. And I know it still is."
Their eyes met again. Mousse gave her a real, comforting smile which she replied with a small and grateful one.
'I'll be there for you' he wanted to say but somehow he could tell she knew he would.
"Aww, look at those two," Ukyo said, tilting her head a little. She and Ryoga were a few steps behind Shampoo and Mousse but still far enough to keep the conversation private.
"They seem to be getting along better now," Ryoga commented.
"It's good that she has Mousse and Cologne," Ukyo said. "She'll be alright I'm sure."
Her tone had changed and she was hanging her head down which didn't escape Ryoga's notice. Now that he thought about it, Ukyo didn't really have anyone she could confide in. Sure he had offered to take that place but it would be a while before she actually opened up to him as they were never that close to begin with.
"Everyone's got each other's backs," he said. Ukyo nodded, smiling a little.
"Like you said right?"
"Yeah, it'll all be fine."
The trees began to part and more of the evening light washed over them. They've arrived at the opening. It was strange how the floor seemed to just open in the middle of the forest. Treetops still covered most of the sky but enough light pierced through to brighten the area a little. Dead leaves covered much of the ground so firstly they needed to clear them out to make space for their tents.
The sun slipped below the horizon just as they finished setting up camp for a second night of their hike. Today everyone was more at ease. Each of them were busy with their own matters or thoughts. Dinner was already underway with Shampoo helming the ladle, stirring the simmering soup. Mousse sat close-by but kept quiet and distracted himself with twirling one of his throwing daggers in his hands. Akane sat against a tree, watching the camp. Ryoga had dozed off with half his body inside the tent. Ukyo sat in between the girls' tent and the fire, drawing random lines in the dirt with a twig – bored obviously. Genma had disappeared into the woods but he assured he wouldn't go far.
Very soon it turned dark and only the firelight shone the camp. The fire made little cracking sounds as it continued to heat the boiling soup. The owls hooted from somewhere in the dark as they awoke to hunt for food. Lights rustles were heard as small creatures darted between bushes. Apart from that, it was all quiet.
"It's ready," Shampoo eventually announced with a pleased sigh. She proceeded to fill the first bowl with the contents of the hot pot. Mousse was the first she delivered to and next came Ukyo. The latter then went to wake Ryoga up.
"Hey, Akane," Mousse called. "Food's ready."
"Yeah okay," Akane replied but her blank stare remained, almost creeping out the others. She then pushed herself up and walked over to the rest who already had their dinner with them.
"Where's Mr. Saotome?" Shampoo asked as Akane took a bowl from her.
"Hm, strange. Usually he'd bound right over at the call of food," Akane said, glancing around. Finding it hard to see in the dark she shrugged. "I guess he'll come eventually."
He never did though even when they were almost finished. They would occasionally glance around for any sign of him but there was none, not even a rustle in the bushes or a sway in the trees. There was just enough food left for Genma in the pot – a slight extra than an average person would need.
Akane was first to finish her dish.
"I'll go get him," she said.
Akane stood up, put away the bowl and went into the trees in the direction Genma had gone to. As she moved out of the fire's glow, Akane brought out her flashlight to illuminate her way. She looked up at the trees figuring that Genma would most likely be up there. When she found nothing she went deeper into the forest. It wasn't long before she spotted the old man. He was high in the tree on a large, sturdy branch. He seemed lost in thought, staring into the night sky through a large enough opening in the leaves above.
"Mr. Saotome, dinner," Akane called simply. He didn't seem to notice her, instead his eyes remained fixated at the night sky. "It'll get cold," she tried again but again he didn't answer. For a moment she feared that his mind was lost in the same way Ranma had been. As quickly as the panic came it disappeared as she reminded herself that there wasn't a drop of water around – not visibly at least.
She sighed and rested her back against the same tree Genma was in. The camp was still visible from where she was. The fire was dancing and bigger than before as the pot was now removed. She left her flashlight on to assure the rest of the group that she was alright.
"Can you see it from down there?" Genma suddenly said, startling Akane. "The sky," he added.
Akane glanced up at the old man who still avoided her eyes but at least was making conversation. She then looked further up and through the hole she saw a piece of the night sky dotted with several dimly-glowing blips.
"If only the trees opened up a little bit more. It's been quite long since I've gazed at the night sky," Genma went on, seemingly not interested in Akane's answer.
Akane didn't understand where the old man was steering the conversation to but remained patient and sat down with her back still against the tree. Her flashlight she placed on the ground beside her, shining towards the camp.
"It's unfair don't you think?" the old man spoke again. This time Akane decided to begin a two-way conversation.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I'm sure that elsewhere in the world there are others with curses of their own. Probably looking up the same sky tonight, wondering if there was a cure out there."
Akane looked back at the treetop, finding the small black hole.
"Honestly, I hadn't thought of that," she said.
"I don't think any of us did. Not until now that is," Genma said. "And among them all, only we know of the solution while the rest are doomed to suffer the same fate my son had gone through."
Akane looked away from the opening, suddenly feeling guilty. She hadn't thought of other people – other than the ones she knew – having a Jusenkyo curse. How many out there have died? How many knew its truth?
"Are you thinking of letting everyone else know? To tell the world?"
"It is the right thing to do after all. No one should die. Not like that."
Akane jolted as the traumatic memory shot across her mind. The rain. The desperation. The pain in her long-gone right arm. The last flicker of life in Ranma's eyes.
She drew a sharp breath and shook her head. The images still swirled in her mind but she tried her best to ignore them. Akane carried on the conversation.
"Not to be offensive but I never expected you to be saying such things."
She heard him chuckle.
"I figured you'd be surprised. But things like this do change a man."
"Well, I'm glad it's for the better."
"I can't quite say the same for Nodoka."
Akane's smile dropped as she remembered the scene in the hospital.
"How has she been?" she asked. She hadn't given herself time to find out how the older woman was doing. In fact, she had disregarded her family as well. Akane shook her head, burying those thoughts.
"I try to comfort her but I can't begin to imagine her grief. Her condition's partly my fault I admit. I had taken her son away at such a young age and just when they were reunited, he was taken away again, this time forever."
Nodoka's sad, tired expression came to Akane's mind. She hung her head, feeling sorry for her mother-figure. She squeezed her eyes shut and suppressed those images.
"But it's already happened and there's nothing anyone could do to change it. I hope to bring her through this and one day move on."
From the corner of her eye, Akane saw movement and looked up to see Genma shifting himself. He then leapt to the ground a short distance away from Akane. At that Akane stood up, not forgetting her flashlight.
"Well, I'm starved," Genma said as if the earlier conversation wasn't heavy.
"T-There should be some left," Akane said, still recovering. She caught him looking at her with a saddened expression. "Mr. Saotome?"
"No, nothing," he said and looked away. "It's just a little sad that you never ended up as my daughter-in-law. Nodoka had hoped for that."
Akane kept quiet. A year hadn't been enough for his parents to move on. For all she knew they still felt that night had only happened recently – as how she'd feel all the time.
She followed the old man back to the camp. He went over to the pot and retrieved all that was left in it, filling himself up quickly before retreating to the men's tent. The rest were still up, finding it strange that the old man had retired early for the night. They huddled closer to the fire. Mousse with Shampoo, Ryoga with Ukyo; the two pairs opposite of each other. Only Akane sat at the mouth of the women's tent, watching the rest.
Mousse was lying down beside Shampoo, his legs towards the fire. Only occasionally they'd talk to each other but they kept their voices down to a whisper so to not let anyone else hear.
Ukyo sat next to Ryoga, though leaving a gap between them. She looked at each person, wondering what was on their minds. Their expressions were blank and unreadable.
She then realized something; how strange it was to see everyone sitting quietly, not trying to pick a fight with one another. She hadn't seen anyone engaging in what was common among them – martial arts. They almost seemed normal like this – lounging around, retreating into their own minds and conversations.
She looked over at Ryoga who had a small object in his hands. Though blocked from her view, she could see that it meant something to him as he seemed deep in thought while his fingers rubbed its surface. He'd slowly turn it in his hands at every angle, scanning every surface of it.
"What's that?" Ukyo asked. Ryoga perked up and looked at Ukyo first before returning his attention to his little trinket. He then placed it in his right palm and showed it to her.
Ukyo leaned in a bit and saw it was a little piglet carved out of wood. It looked solid and was well-crafted with good detail. A slightly flattened round body and a round head with its long pointed ears upright and its large eyes open. What was striking about the little piece was the spotted-pattern bandana wrapped around the piglet's neck.
"Akari made it for me," Ryoga said. "She gave it to me the last time I visited her. Said that it'd help keep her on my mind."
"And does it work?" Ukyo asked.
"Very well," he replied, chuckling and pulling the trinket back, lightly rubbing it again.
"Looks a lot like P-chan," Ukyo commented. She noticed him flinch slightly at the name and she repressed a laugh.
"Yeah, it does."
"Did you give anything to her in return?" Ukyo asked.
"Only one of my bandanas," he said with a pitiful scoff.
"Hey, it's the thought that counts, as they say," Ukyo said. Ryoga chuckled in response.
"I guess," he said. He continued to distract himself with the little wooden piglet.
Ukyo glanced at Shampoo and Mousse. She saw Shampoo's mouth moving but she wasn't able to guess what she was saying – she wished she could lip-read – as Shampoo kept her voice inaudible to everyone else. Mousse was talking to her too, seeing that she was actually enjoying the exchange – something that was rare to see between them.
Ukyo then looked over at Akane and wondered if the girl felt left out with no one talking to her. She was holding her knees with her one arm close to her chest and rested her chin on top of them. Her eyes were trained on the fire as if she were one of those fortune tellers who see images in the dancing embers. Maybe she really was trying to see what her future would be like.
"Say, you never answered that question; what will you do after you're cured?" Ukyo said and glanced at Ryoga.
Ryoga rested his hands on the ground behind him and leaned back on it, letting out a small sigh. He looked up at the trees as though his answer lie somewhere among the leaves and branches.
"I don't know. I've thought about it but … I can't really imagine life without it," Ryoga finally replied.
"What about Akari?" Ukyo pressed on.
At the mention of her Ryoga held up the wooden piglet. He gazed at it for a while, remembering the girl who had chosen him for his victory over a sumo pig.
"I told you, I'm not sure," he replied. "We've never really talked about what would come next. We haven't thought of any plans. I guess I'll just get this over with and see where it goes from there."
Ukyo let out a long repressed sigh and returned her eyes to the fire. She held out her hands, palms outwards and felt the cozy warmth on her skin.
"You should go see her after this is done," Ukyo said and then looked at him. Noticing, Ryoga looked back at her. "I can help you get there."
"Yeah, alright. Thanks," Ryoga said awkwardly.
"Why'd you ask all of a sudden?" he said after a while. She was visibly caught off guard by the question even though she tried hiding it.
"Just curious … you know, about how things would be from now on," Ukyo replied.
"Well, then I'm curious too," Ryoga said, now turning slightly to face her. Ukyo felt pressured by the sudden attention he was giving her. "What about you?"
"M-Me?" Ukyo flustered. "I guess … Well, I've actually thought of returning home to Osaka. But …"
"But?" Ryoga pressed on when she didn't continue. Ukyo shook her head and laughed a little at the irony of the situation.
"I don't know. I've thought of home but I don't really want to leave the restaurant," she said and then averted her gaze back to the flames. "A lot of things have happened you know."
A while passed as Ryoga stared at her, waiting in case she had something to say. She didn't disappoint.
"Hey, Ryoga," she said, looking back at him. "Did it ever cross your mind that what happened to Ranma could happen to you? I mean, before we found out what it was exactly."
He blinked, not quite expecting that question. He closed his hand around the wooden piglet and stared at his fist, looking thoughtful.
"For a while I did. But I had thought of it as an unjustifiable fear. So it wasn't long before I totally forgot about it, until now of course."
Ukyo only nodded in response.
"But now that you mention it, to have lived during the past year, I guess I was really lucky," Ryoga added. He then looked at the people around him. "All of us were. It's something I'm grateful of."
"Yeah, me too," Ukyo said. Ryoga looked at her in curiosity but she had her eyes focused on the fire again.
"I don't think I'd be able to take it if anyone else … you know, died that way," Ukyo said. She shuddered in surprise when Ryoga's hand clasped her shoulder. Ukyo looked at him.
"Once we get to Jusenkyo and get rid of this, you don't have to worry about that anymore," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. She nodded and smiled in return. The two then broke eye contact and gazed at the fire.
Akane had woke them up early in the morning. They groaned and complained for having their sleep interrupted but got up nonetheless. They didn't want to piss the Tendo girl off.
Quickly they brought down their tents and packed up their bags. Akane looked around a while, carefully scanning each trail looking for some sort of mark she said. And there it was, a series of horizontal cuts parallel to each other running down a tree that grew beside a barely visible path.
"Luckily I had a guide with me then," Akane said as she led them through the path.
"Does everyone know where Jusenkyo is?" Ukyo had said.
"And that guide spoke Japanese?" Shampoo asked.
"Hm, now that you mention it, he was a little strange. Dark clothes. Face hidden. Kept to himself," Akane said thoughtfully, only realizing it now.
Ukyo's eyebrow twitched at that and she whispered to Ryoga.
"It's a miracle she's still alive."
"That's not nice to say Ukyo," Ryoga chided her, though he felt the same disbelief she did.
They travelled further along the trail in a closed line. The forest was denser now and they wouldn't want to risk losing each other. About an hour in they heard the lapping of water on the riverbank. Akane had said that they would come up to a river and from then on they would follow it upstream all the way to another path just before Jusenkyo. They were also running low on water so it was the perfect time to replenish.
All six bent down to fill up their water bottles. Despite the water being clear, they would later distill it before actually using it to drink.
"Okay, done here," Ukyo called out. She capped her bottle and then put it in her bag's pocket. "Ryoga?" she said, looking at her side. His hand was still outstretched holding the bottle's mouth on the water surface.
"Ryoga?" she asked for him again, crawling closely now. She noticed that his bottle was already full and that water was spilling back out of it. He still held it there though. She turned her eyes to his and was first puzzled to find them looking glazed. Panic then took over quickly.
She was about to call out to him and grasp his shoulder when he rolled into the water. Ukyo's eyes widened in terror.
Like how it ends? Hahaha.
Okay not funny. Hope you guys like this chapter. Only one more to go! Unless things unexpectedly change.
