Chapter 14 It All Comes Together
It was now well into the night and the little house was in darkness save for one room at the corner. The room was only dimly lit by a lone table lamp. Ukyo sat with her legs folded in on the bed and stared out the window at the dark fields. She was thinking about earlier that day.
She had only been passing by and paused for a while to look at the scenery around the single house. Then, a little girl about 6 years old came up to her.
"Miss, are you looking for something?" she asked.
"Umm...," Ukyo managed to say before a woman suddenly called out to the little girl.
"Honey, who is that?"
"This lady is looking for something Mom," she called back.
"Huh, wait," Ukyo said, caught off guard by what was happening.
The mother walked up to them and was momentarily shocked upon seeing Ukyo. Ukyo noticed that and suddenly an awkward atmosphere pressed down on them, or at least on Ukyo's part. The woman was staring at Ukyo, as if transfixed by something about her. It seemed a little bit creepy.
"My, you look so much like her," she said. Ukyo didn't say anything in response to that. She was confused now but the eerie feeling of the situation heightened.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she suddenly said, probably noticing Ukyo's reaction. "You just remind me of my eldest daughter," she explained.
"Oh, umm…," Ukyo managed. It was even stranger now to be talking to the woman. She wished she could just run away right now but she didn't want to appear as disrespectful. Just then the little girl moved over to her mother's side.
"She looks like her? It must be her then," she said. Ukyo noticed the mother's expression changed. She looked down at her daughter and she looked like she was holding back her tears.
"No hun, she just looks like your sister," she said and then turned her attention back at Ukyo. "Where are you heading to young lady?" she asked.
"Oh, uh, to a friend's place. Not very far from here now," Ukyo replied, looking at the general direction of her destination.
"I see, and you're from?" the woman asked.
"Uh, Nerima Ward, Tokyo," Ukyo answered.
"My, that's quite a distance!" the woman responded.
"It's no big deal really. I can handle it," Ukyo assured.
"Even so, you must be tired after a long time walking. Why don't you come in and rest a while?" the mother offered. Ukyo didn't know why but the offer seemed suspicious.
"Oh, no it's fine. I'll be alright," Ukyo replied, trying to get out of this.
"Maybe just a night? I'm sure your friend is not expecting you so soon," the woman insisted.
"Actually, it's more like a surprise visit. She knows nothing about this," Ukyo said.
"Oh, then there's no need to rush. Come in and stay for the night, I insist," the woman said.
Ukyo silently cursed herself for saying that. There was little she could do now to reject that offer so she gave in and mutely nodded. She smiled a little to hide her slight annoyance to the mother. She trailed the woman and her daughter back to their house. It was small but seemed nice and comfortable enough. Once inside, Ukyo was quickly ushered towards a room at the edge of the house.
"You can put your bag down dear," the woman said.
Ukyo nodded a little in response and placed her bag at the foot of the bed.
"Are you sure this is okay?" Ukyo asked, looking at her host. The older woman smiled and shook her head.
"It's no problem at all," she assured.
Ukyo smiled a little and then took a glance of the room. It was considerably big for a single bedroom. It was neat and tidy but it seemed to lack things. The room felt sort of empty.
"This used to be my daughter's room. The one that looked like you," the woman suddenly said.
"Oh, where is she?" Ukyo asked, turning around to look at the mother. Ukyo could have guessed what had happened from the mother's expression. She wished she had used a more sympathetic tone when she asked that.
"She left us a few years ago," the woman said solemnly. Ukyo merely nodded in acknowledgement. "You should rest for a while. You look tired," the woman continued, putting back a smile on her face.
Ukyo just stared back as the woman turned and walked out of the room. Again, the emptiness of the room fell upon her, dragging her emotions down. She went to sit on the bed and let her eyes run all around the room. Ukyo then stood up and walked over to the cupboard adjacent to the door and slowly opened it. True to her senses there wasn't anything in it. The drawers were the same too. She moved over to the desk at the foot of the bed. She ran her fingers, across the top. It was smooth. No dust, liquids or anything of the sort. Even the chair was clean. The room was well taken care of until even the carpet felt fresh.
Suddenly, all her time of traveling began to set on her and Ukyo felt tired. She hesitated at first but then climbed onto the bed and lied down. It was thick and comfortable.
'Maybe I'll rest my eyes a bit,' she thought, and placed her arm over her eyes.
… … …
"Young lady, wake up dear. It's time for dinner."
Ukyo lifted her arm and opened her eyes. She blinked a few times to bring herself out of sleep and was surprised that it was almost sundown. She propped herself up on her arms and looked at the woman standing at the door.
"It's time for dinner," the woman repeated.
"Mmm, okay," Ukyo said weakly and then yawned. She rubbed her eyes and then climbed out of the bed. Ukyo groggily followed the woman out of the room. She was led to the dining room where a young girl was waiting with a middle-aged man at the table. It must be the father Ukyo thought.
"You're right, she does look like her," the man said.
"You're the father?" Ukyo asked, her mind now clearer. The man smiled and nodded.
"Come and sit," the woman said. The family was already in their seats, waiting for Ukyo to take hers. Awkwardly, she went to sit facing the daughter and mother. They said their thanks and started eating. Everyone was quiet as they ate and it made Ukyo feel out of place among them.
"So, where're you heading to?" the father asked.
"A friend's place," Ukyo answered.
"She came from Nerima," the mother added.
"That's pretty far," the father responded. "How old are you?" he asked.
"17," Ukyo answered.
"Oh, she was only a few years younger than you," the mother said.
"Oh, I see," Ukyo said. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to her actually?"
There was no answer from the family and immediately Ukyo regretted her words. She was about to apologize for asking but then the father spoke.
"She disappeared actually," he said.
"She went out one day and never came back," the mother added.
"It's been 3 years since then," the father continued. "There's been no news about her at all. The neighbors close by didn't know what happened to her as well."
The room went quiet again and Ukyo was greatly pressured by the sourness in the atmosphere. She felt bad bringing back sad memories into their thoughts. She was about to apologize again but she was interrupted.
"Putting that aside," the father suddenly said, trying to alleviate the stressful mood. "How far is your friend's place from here?" he asked. It was a relief to Ukyo that the topic changed. She still felt bad but went on with the flow.
"It's not really far actually. Only a couple of fields away," Ukyo answered.
"Well, in any case, do stay for the night," he said.
"Uh, ok," Ukyo responded. She was getting tired of the constant insistence that she gave up resisting. They were kind enough to give a place to rest a bit. Might as well accept the offer.
Two girls were staring each other down in the yard of the Kuno home. Kodachi was with her favorite weapon while Shampoo took on a much easier stance. The two had been talking for some time, mostly with Kodachi threatening Shampoo.
"So if you did not come for a fight, what is your purpose here?" Kodachi asked.
"What would you say if I could give you the chance to end the pig-tailed girl once and for all?" Shampoo asked, smirking.
"Hmph, I do not need your help with that," Kodachi responded smugly.
"You could've taken her down by now if that was true," Shampoo bluntly replied.
"How dare you insult me!" Kodachi said. Her stance tensed and she was ready to attack.
"Look, neither of us here can defeat her alone," Shampoo said calmly. "But if we fought her hand-in-hand, we may have a chance. You are skilled with traps. You can use that to…well…trap her. I can distract her and you can take her down when she's unguarded."
Kodachi was quiet as she considered. She lowered her weapons and stood at ease.
"As long as I get to land the final blow," Kodachi said after a while. "You do understand what I'm saying right?" she asked.
"Yes," Shampoo responded, feeling mocked.
"Very well then. We have a deal," Kodachi said.
"Good," Shampoo smirked. "Is your brother around?" she asked.
"That idiot is somewhere inside," Kodachi answered, looking towards the house.
"You called for me?" Tatewaki said, suddenly popping up behind Shampoo. Instinctively, Shampoo hit him on the head, planting his face into the ground. Shampoo growled in exasperation.
"So what favor you ask of me?" It was a bit muffled but Shampoo could make out his question.
"Do you know Ryoga Hibiki?" Shampoo asked, looking down at him.
"Ah yes. The one with the directional problems," Tatewaki responded as he got back to his feet. "Such a pitiful fellow," he continued.
"Yes," Shampoo said, distancing herself a little. "Well that pitiful fellow now has control over the pig-tailed girl."
"What? Why that vile creature! I will rain down justice on him!" Tatewaki yelled, his wooden sword held up in a ready position.
"Too bad for him then," Kodachi added.
"Alright, settle down," Shampoo said calmly. "You will get your chance. But you need to follow my orders."
"I'll comply to this just once," Kodachi said. Shampoo nodded in acknowledgement.
"Fine by me. Wait for my call," she ordered, looking at the siblings before heading off. The two just watched as Shampoo went over the wall of the compound and went out of sight.
"So, why are you involved?" Tatewaki asked after a while.
"None of your concern," she replied and then walked off.
The sun had risen high and by now Ukyo could see the house. However, the closer she got to the house, the more her conscience ate her mind. She had seen how tight that family was despite their loss. Actually, it felt like they had lost some spark in their lives but they still tried moving on. She started thinking about how Ranma or Ryoga would react if they split which would cause one of them being unable to see Kizuna. The plan seemed uglier as she thought more of it. But then another part of her wanted to continue this. Their relationship was just wrong and nothing good could come out of it for them and the people around. Someone needed to set things right again. Her thoughts were now in conflict with each other and this was confusing Ukyo.
She was now at the front door of Akari's house. Ukyo stared at it intently, hesitating on knocking the door. Then she took a deep breath.
"Let's get this over with," she whispered to herself. She knocked on the door and waited.
"Who is it?" came Akari's voice from inside. There was a slight tension in her voice. After all, who would actually be around the area to visit her?
"It's me, Ukyo," she called back to assure the other girl. The door then opened.
"Ukyo! Wow, what are you doing here?" Akari said, happy to see her. Ukyo simply smiled back in response.
So there, two - I guess pretty short - chapters to continue the story. There would be only one or two (depending on its length) chapter(s) left to this story and then I could wrap this up. Stay tuned for the ending of Fusoku no Kizuna.