Hello again, guys. I just can't seem to leave a good cliff hanger alone now-a-days! Well, here's the next part, and I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 14, The Lie.
Kimiko had been expecting something to happen after Ranko had lead Akane into the depths of the station earlier, but that something definitely wasn't her partner charging down the hall, the very confused form of Akane Hibiki trailing behind her. "Ranma, where are we going?" Akane asked, sounding about as confused as she was.
"I'll explain on the way," Ranko snapped, looking almost as angry as Kimiko remembered her being when she'd blasted Ryoga. Worried, the brown haired woman quickly leapt up from her chair at the front desk, running to catch up with the two as they made it to the front door and paying little attention to the steady jolting pain as her broken arm banged against her side. "Wait, Ranko, what's going on? Are you all right?"
"I will be," Ranko said, her eyes flashing, as she stalked down the sidewalk. "...or at least I'll find out why I'm not."
"Ranma, this is stupid. First you don't tell me about Ryoga and now you're dragging me down the street, what is going on?" Akane demanded, trying to yank her hand free of the other woman's grip, but finding it stuck fast.
"Wait, what does this have to do with Hibiki?" Kimiko asked, but she subsided as she was glared at by both of the others.
"Look, Akane. I already told you," Ranko said, annoyed. "Ryoga was P-chan, and I was the one responsible for the curse. That's why we fight."
"But that's it, you aren't telling me," Akane exclaimed, almost yelling now due to her confusion.
"Kimiko, did I tell 'er?" The redhead asked.
Kimiko blinked, feeling vaguely like she'd just entered half way through a scene in a bad soap opera. "Um, you mentioned something about that bastard who attacked us, and P… something." She repeated, unsure of any of the significance.
Akane blinked. "So… she did say it?" She asked, completely confused.
"Yeah, but you can't understand it," Ranko growled, and seeing Akane's anger returning, she quickly continued. "Ya remember that time Shampoo used that weird pressure point technique on ya, and ya couldn't remember me or anythin' about me?"
Kimiko blinked, having recognized that event from the abridged version of Ranko's life story that she'd been told in the hospital, but Akane's reaction was much more dramatic.
She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, actually managing to tug the determinedly moving Ranko to a stop beside her. "You… you're kidding, right?" She stammered.
Ranko shook her head. "I've mentioned it about five times by now; ya just can't hear or understand it."
"So the Amazons… but why? Why would they do that?" Akane asked.
"I got a few ideas," Ranko grumbled, and the group continued on.
"So, now that you two are all cleared up, do you want to tell me what's going on?" Kimiko asked. "I mean, what's P-chan, anyways? And I thought you already told me everything about your life." This last part was spoken with an accusatory look at Ranko, who looked down slightly.
"Ryoga's secret was somethin' I promised not ta tell anyone," The redhead explained. "The promise isn't really worth bein' enforced anymore, especially since I don't got any of the stuff I swore it on anymore, but…" She shrugged. "Old habits die hard, I guess."
"So, are you going to tell me, or not?" Kimiko demanded.
Ranko sighed. "Already told this story today, but then again Akane didn't really hear it. When I was on my training trip with Genma…"
HR.
Fifteen minutes later, by the time the three had reached the Neko Hanten, Kimiko was looking mildly green. "That's just disgusting," She exclaimed, angrily, and Akane's face turned even more worried and frustrated.
For the Hibiki woman, almost half of the conversation had consisted of garbled nonsense or random silent spaces, but Kimiko's reactions were definitely worrying. Heck, at this point she was beginning to become scared. If this was that bad, what could it be?
Fortunately, she could definitely say that she knew Ryoga couldn't possibly do half of the things she imagined, but they were still disconcerting. The blue-black haired woman's thoughts were broken, however, when the three reached the Neko Hanten's front door. Immediately, Ranko brushed her way through, surprising Shampoo and Mousse, who were scrubbing the tables and counter, respectively.
"Ranm…ko?" Shampoo exclaimed, remembering what her great grandmother had told her about the redhead's new life, though slightly too late.
"Shampoo, we need ta talk," Ranko said, stalking forward and leveling a glare at the purple haired woman that caused her to step back. Normally, mostly due to her height and pixy-like features, Ranko's angered expressions tended not to work terribly well. This one, however, was doing admirably.
"W… what do we need to talk about?" Shampoo asked, nervously. "Can it wait until after hours?"
"No, it can't," Akane joined in, standing next to Ranko. "I want to know what you did to me."
"What I… what?" Shampoo asked, blinking in confusion. "I don't understand." She rummaged through her memory frantically; trying to think of what she may have done, but drew a blank. Ranko already knew about everything she'd done in Nerima, so that couldn't be what she was talking about, and Shampoo hadn't interacted with Akane much after Ranma had left.
"Don't play games!" Ranko growled, stepping forward and starting to radiate a battle aura. "That formula 411 technique that erases people's memories. You used it on her."
Shampoo blinked. "Yes… when we first met, but you reversed that." She said, now more confused than frightened. Just then, Ranko stepped forward and Mousse, who had stepped around the counter, reached into the sleeve of his robe.
Not having seen the latter, Kimiko stepped forward and put a hand on her partner's shoulder. "Ranko, calm down. I think she's serious."
The redhead looked over at her, and grudgingly nodded. "Shampoo, ya really don't know what I'm talkin about?" She demanded.
The Amazon shrugged. "No, but if there's something I can do to help, I will."
"There will be no need for that, child." Came a much older sounding voice, causing the group to turn and see Cologne, who was standing in the door to the kitchen.
"You know what's going on, great grandmother?" Shampoo asked, surprised.
"Yes, but I will have to talk to Sato-san in private," Cologne said, leveling a look at Ranko that brooked no argument.
Even so, she considered arguing. Still, she wanted to learn what was going on more than she wanted to get into a losing fight with the old ghoul. "All right," She said, walking across the room and stepping around Mousse, who still had one hand hidden up his sleeve.
As she disappeared into the kitchen, and then the sound of a cane and two feet climbing a set of stairs rang through the room, Shampoo sighed. "She's acting more like she used to…" She said, unsure if that was a good or bad thing. "What's happening?"
"I would like to know that, as well." Mousse contributed.
"Ranma thinks there's some memories in my head that have been blocked off with Shampoo's memory technique." Akane explained.
"Hmm, I see," Shampoo said. "Yes, that would set her off. Thank you for calming her down, by the way, Miss…" She turned towards the brown haired police officer.
"Kimiko Najisa. Ranko's partner," She said.
"Ah, yes," Shampoo said, then looked the other over. "Even as a girl, Ranko can attract the girls."
"What?" Kimiko sputtered, suddenly shocked out of the serious mood that the previous events had put her into.
"You said you were her partner. You love her, right?" The Amazon asked, straight forwardly.
"Huh…? No! Her partner, as in, we're patrol officers who work in pairs!" Kimiko said, blushing slightly and shaking her head.
"Hmm…" Shampoo pondered. "Must be another one of those Japanese things that I still don't understand. It took long enough to figure out the stupid language," She grumbled, trailing off.
The room fell into a quiet silence, before Kimiko eased herself into a chair that had not yet been stacked on top of its table, resting her aching arm on the flat surface.
"What happened there?" Mousse offered, having somewhat relaxed from his alert stance, as he came out from around the counter.
"It's a long story," Kimiko started, Akane reluctantly nodding in agreement as she sat at a different seat at the same table.
"We've probably got time." Shampoo offered, nodding to the kitchen. "They will take a while."
"Yes, I haven't heard the whole story, either." Akane contributed, suddenly.
"All right." Kimiko sighed, and then started talking. After having told the story to both the chief and several others already, she was getting tired of it.
HR.
Ranko looked around briefly as Cologne lead her into her private room above the Neko Hanten. The place was much as she had remembered, except that several Japanese artifacts had joined the Chinese ones that had formerly been there. "All right, so ya said you could explain why Akane can't remember or even hear about P-chan. Ya wanna explain?" She asked, bluntly.
Cologne nodded. "Sit down, Sato-san," She instructed, calmly.
"Why do ya call me that?" Ranko asked, suddenly.
Cologne shrugged. "You decided to start a new life after Nerima. Most here don't realize that, but I can respect it especially since many Jusenkyo victims chose to do so. If you want me to stop, however…"
"No, it's fine… Thanks," Ranko said, surprised, and sat in a small wooden chair near the door. "Now, ya gunna explain?"
Cologne nodded, taking her own seat. "You were right about the Xi Fa Xiang Gao."
"The what?" Ranko interrupted.
"The pressure point technique that was used," Cologne clarified, exasperated. "What you were incorrect about was the user of the technique."
"Fine, then who did it?" Ranko asked.
"I did," Cologne said, flatly, and then dropped a second bomb as Ranko shot half way out of her seat. "Because Akane Tendo asked me to."
The redhead stopped dead, as if she'd just touched a live wire. "Sh… she what?" She stammered.
"I know what you were thinking when you first found out about it. You thought that, perhaps, Shampoo had used the technique to erase Akane's memories of the pig's curse so that the misunderstanding would create a gap between you, or rather Ranma, and the Tendo girl."
Ranko nodded, so she continued.
"Unfortunately, during the entire time you were here, Akane truly didn't realize that Ryoga was P-chan," Cologne shook her head. "Truly, the girl isn't all that observant."
"Then when…" Ranko stammered, completely baffled.
"That takes a bit of explanation," Cologne said, sighing. "You see, when I allowed Ryoga and Mousse to use the Nannichuan to cure their curses, I'd assumed that Ryoga would tell Akane about the curse immediately, at least if he courted her romantically." She shook her head, sadly. "Unfortunately, the damned fool boy was too afraid, so after the curse had been cured, he just went after her without bothering to mention it. Ranko, let me assure you that if I had known of this I would have stopped it, if only for the harm it would eventually do to the girl."
Ranko looked at the old woman skeptically. "Thought ya didn't like Akane that much?" She asked.
"I didn't, but that does not mean I would let someone abuse her trust that badly, especially since Nerima became a sort of replacement tribe for Shampoo, Mousse and I after we left the Amazons." She shrugged. "Why else do you think I assisted the police when they asked us to confine Genma?"
Seeing Ranko's understanding nod, she continued. "Well, as it was, Akane and Ryoga married, and eventually the girl became pregnant." She snorted. "The boy should have been careful with what he said in his sleep, because eventually, she was awake while he had quite an… informative dream. She never told me what it was about, but it definitely let out his secret."
"So how does this get ta her askin you to erase her memory?" Ranko growled, but she was beginning to see.
"Ranko, she was pregnant with his child and you saw what the Tendo sisters and their father ended up like when one parent died. At least, I presume that was her reason. Personally, I find her reaction to the news and her form of coping to be remarkably foolish, but since she was irrational enough to threaten to kill herself if I didn't help, I had little choice."
"I see," Ranko said, looking vaguely sick to her stomach. "Why the hell's my life gotta start getting so complex?" She mumbled, for perhaps the thousandth time since returning to Nerima. "And I told 'er I'd tell her why me 'n Ryoga hate each other."
"That will be impossible as long as she has the block in place." Cologne said, simply.
"Then get rid of it." Ranko snapped, causing the old woman's eyebrows to rise. Seeing the look, she explained. "I had ta face all the crap in my past, she may as well face hers."
Cologne secretly agreed, but also knew that Akane's reaction could be extreme. "I'm unsure if that would be wise." She said, as the most tactful alternative to what she wanted to say.
"So, ask her." Ranko replied, instantly. "Only do it if she says she wants it done."
"You know she'll say yes."
Ranko merely nodded.
HR.
The group in the restaurant's front room was interrupted as Kimiko was describing the final seconds of Ranko and Ryoga's fight, as they heard the sound of feet and the cane slowly descending the stairs. They looked over to the kitchen, to see Ranko re-entering the room, immediately followed by Cologne.
Both of them looked very serious, but thankfully Ranko wasn't angry anymore. She did, however, somehow seem sad. "Well, I've found out what's goin' on," The redhead said. "Akane, you got a decision ta make."
As Ranko described what Akane had done, Kimiko's earlier feeling that she had been thrown into a bad soap opera increased. The worst part was she was just barely able to keep track of it now, and it was starting to make her feel distinctly queasy.
After Ranko had finished describing the situation to her, Akane sat in her chair, sipping at some tea that Mousse had brewed earlier, and mulling over the information she'd been given.
Earlier this afternoon, she'd thought things would be simple. She'd thought that she would ask Ranma about why he and Ryoga hated each other, and have some sort of answer to the swirling doubts that had been gnawing on her insides since the incident at the police station, and especially since the night before. Now, however, it had gotten much, much more confusing.
Apparently, whatever this problem was, it had been so bad that she'd voluntarily had her mind wiped clean of it when she'd first found out… but… she still had to know, no matter how stupid that impulse was, and paradoxically it was BECAUSE it was bad enough for her to want to erase it. "All right." She finally said. "Do it."
"You're sure about this…" Cologne said, before getting a decisive nod. Sighing, she looked to Shampoo and Mousse. "You two, get the supplies. You know what I need."
HR.
Several minutes later, Akane found herself laying back, her head on an odd angle over the sink at the back of the Neko Hanten's kitchen. Cologne actually stood on the counter, right behind the taps, with her hands poised. "Are you ready, Akane?" She asked, almost sounding sympathetic.
Akane would have nodded if she'd had the freedom of movement, but as it was, she spoke. "I'm ready." Just as she said it, she felt a tickling feeling rush over her scalp that she faintly remembered feeling twice before. As the pressure point strikes took effect, flashes of memory appeared in her mind. Most of them were scenes of P-chan, Ryoga or Ranma. Others were random snippets of conversation between her father, her sisters and others that had just floated over her head beforehand.
For a while, she wondered why P-chan was in so many of the shots, until she saw the last few. The first hit the hardest. It was herself and Ryoga, sleeping in a tent with her arms wrapped cozily around his neck. Suddenly, he bolted upright and screamed "Ranma! How dare you tell Akane I'm P-chan!" Immediately after that came flashes of earlier in the day, when Ranma had repeatedly told her the truth in the evidence room.
"Ryoga… is P-chan?" She thought, her mind working ever-so slowly out of the rut it had been stuck in for just over eight years, starting to accept something that she'd been denying for just over ten.
The flood of emotions that came next was very, very intense, but the one that was riding highest was anger. The same kind of white-hot anger she would have exhibited so long ago when she was engaged to Ranma, but oh-so much stronger.
With a roar of outrage, the blue-black haired woman's head whipped up and straight out of Cologne's fingers, as she turned her burning gaze on the redhead who was sitting with several others across the room from her. "How dare you?!" She screeched, her aura boiling into being around her.
The aura was so intense that it bled into the visible spectrum, allowing Kimiko to see it. Detachedly, she noted that it wasn't nearly as large as the one Ranko had manifested when she'd blasted Ryoga, but that still didn't stop her from scrambling out of the way for fear of another broken arm.
"How dare you not tell me about Ryoga, you jerk!" Akane yelled, and Ranko caught herself almost feeling nostalgic for the phrase, while also feeling a twinge of pain.
"I…" She tried, but Akane cut her off.
"I thought you were so quick to protect me all the time, it always drove me nuts when we were younger, and then you let that pig… and I.. I… married him… and…" Her expression twisted for a moment, and she bolted the rest of the way out of her chair, preparatory to charging at the redhead.
Fortunately for Ranko's only mildly injured body, Akane was stopped before she could take her first step, Cologne's staff lashing out and hitting her in the back of the neck. Instantly, she slumped down, her knees propelling her backwards until she landed in the chair she'd just gotten up from with a solid thump.
"Girl!" The elder barked, the word sounding almost like an epithet when she said it. "Certainly, Ranko-san isn't totally blameless for what happened, but I suggest you think long and hard before lashing out again. Think, direct your anger where it belongs or let it go. Either way, you're not letting it loose in the middle of my restaurant!"
Akane made an inarticulate sound, but Cologne ignored it. "Think, Girl," She said, again with that same emphasis. "Who turned a blind eye to all of the evidence for YEARS, without the aid of memory alteration? Who, when she did find out, could not take the truth of the situation? Ranko is guilty of making and upholding a stupid promise, nothing more and nothing less. You are guilty of being a foolish child, nothing more, and nothing less. The Hibiki boy? I have no idea what he was thinking, but I suggest you try and find out."
Seeing that Akane was making no more efforts to move, the elder lashed out again and tapped another spot on her neck. Akane flexed her fingers for a moment, and then stood stiffly, tension visible in every line of her face and body. "I… have to go." She said, quietly, before leaving."
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Ranko and Kimiko stood, the later wincing again as a throb of pain went through her arm.
"You all right?" Ranko asked, worriedly.
Kimiko shrugged. "I'll be fine." She answered, shortly.
Nodding and turning away, the shorter redhead looked down at the former Amazon elder. "Old, erm, elder…" She said, uncertainly. "Thanks for yer help."
Cologne nodded. "You realize that she will likely still hold you partially responsible."
"Yeah, sorta figured." Ranko replied, resigned.
As the two turned and were starting to walk out of the building, Shampoo slowly moved up next to Ranko. "Ranko-san?" She asked, her voice more uncertain than the redhead had ever heard it.
"Oh, yeah, sorry for going off on ya like that, Shampoo," Ranko replied, off-hand.
The purple haired Amazon just blinked slowly, and looked towards her grandmother in astonishment.
Cologne shook her head, half annoyed and half amused, and the younger Amazon could have sworn she'd heard her mutter something like "She really must grow a backbone at some point." But she didn't care. The one who she'd once called Airen, somehow, didn't hate her, so she smiled as she looked back at Ranko.
"It's not a problem." She shook her head, ruefully. "If I were you, I'd have suspected me too."
Ranko couldn't help but laugh, in spite of the situation, though it quickly faded out. "We'd better get goin'," She finally said. "Ya know you skipped work ta follow me 'n Akane, right Kimiko?"
"Oh… shit!" The brown haired woman exclaimed, and the two left, heading for the station as quickly as they could.
END.
Akane is... well, pissed is too small a word to describe it. Don't know precisely what else to say here, since I'm getting really tired, but, um.... SPOON!!!
Oh, and please R&R.