[There is a forum for this story. I may post things you might find interesting there, occasionally. Forum is at: FF net /topic/186761/144854128/1/Discussion (seriously FF net, why are you censoring your own url? o_O)
This is kind of a double update. You'll see why as you read, it all needed to go together.
THANK YOU to those of you who are reviewing, or sending me PMs with your feedback. YOU are the people I am posting this for, because you are actually helping me achieve my goals with this experiment ^_^]
Nabiki realized she was awake the next morning, because the pain came roaring right back. She had mercifully gotten away from most of it while she slept, but it hadn't gone anywhere. She felt like hell. She had a lead weight sitting on her chest left over from last night, and the muscles in her arms and legs were actually sore from trying to keep herself from shaking last night. She felt emotionally drained. Her eyes and throat ached from crying, her cheeks felt raw from rubbing them, and she was cold.
She wasn't cold physically, but inside she could feel the ice she was so familiar with, creeping back to freeze her. The ice had been a constant companion for so long, that she had been used to it ... until Ranma had caught her, and everything had changed, and she'd started to thaw inside.
Now, the feeling of the ice growing back wasn't like returning to the way she was before. Instead, it felt like she was being detached from her humanity, and herself. She wasn't indifferent to the ice any more. She had liked feeling the warmth of human attachment again after so long.
And she had liked cuddling with Ranma, and having his warmth in her bed. It wasn't even a sexual thing for her. OK, it was kind of a sexual thing, she had to admit. But, mostly it was a human thing. Like Ranma, she had no real experience with her sexuality. But she had really enjoyed the very small, tentative steps she had taken with him to explore it. Her feelings for him, finally realized, had given her back a sense of herself which she had lost somehow. It was something she hadn't felt in a very long time.
She hadn't even realized it had been missing, until he had made the connection with her. She felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she thought about it all. She wasn't frozen enough inside yet to stop the tears ... not yet anyway. And while she wasn't physically cold she could feel the difference in her bed when he wasn't with her. Her own body heat was a small candle in the wind compared to the furnace that was his body heat.
She didn't want to do anything today. She didn't want to see anyone, or ... feel anything. She shifted in her bed to roll over and go back to sleep as she seriously thought about staying home from school for the day and claiming she was sick.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she couldn't complete her roll, because her right hand was caught on something. She made her sleepy mind focus as she forced her eyes open and looked at her hand. It was hanging off the bed. She leaned over the edge of the bed, and gasped.
Ranma was lying asleep in the futon she had left out for him, sleeping soundly. Her hand wasn't caught on anything. Ranma was holding it while he slept!
Wait, that was a dream ... wasn't it? She thought in disbelief as she laid slowly back down in her bed.
She looked back over the side of her bed in disbelief. It was indeed Ranma. And this time there was no Akane draped over him! She lay back again and tried to control her breathing. She wanted to do two things at the same time. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, and beg him to take her back and to promise him she would do anything to make that happen. She also wanted to roll off the bed and elbow him in the face and beat him to within an inch of his life for making her go through what she had gone through last night.
If he's here, in my room, and holding my hand, after he arranged for Doctor Tofu to secretly watch me last night ... then he HAS TO care. If he was only worried about doing his duty and guarding me, arranging for Doctor Tofu to watch me would have satisfied his honor. Even if he had still felt duty-bound to watch me personally, nothing but his own feelings would have caused him to hold my hand. She thought to herself as a rising tide of excitement lifted her spirits. She knew her breathing was getting more rapid, and her pulse was quickening. She had a pretty good feeling that he had to be awake now.
She leaned back over the side of the bed, and found his eyes seeking hers out. She saw all over his face that her Ranma was back. Her Ranma who was her friend, and her guardian and the person she trusted, was back. The darkness in his eyes had cleared and his eyes looked normal again. It wasn't just in his eyes either, it was written on his face with the easy-going smile on his face, and the interested tilt of his head that was no longer listless and wandering. He seemed genuinely happy to see her.
"You came back!" She whispered to him, in an excited voice that she was proud only shook a little bit.
He nodded. "Yeah, I finished thinkin' faster than I thought I would, so I came to bed." He said sheepishly.
"You came back!" She whispered fiercely as she sat up in bed and stared at him intently. She wanted very much for this to be real, and not another dream. She bit her lower lip to test if it was a dream or not. The small pain she felt was worth it when he didn't dissolve into a dream illusion.
She saw his eyes travel down her body, then urgently back up to her eyes, where he locked them nervously. What was he ... she looked down and blushed. She was only wearing her underwear, and they were actually rather skimpy. She had forgotten about that. She thought about covering up, then smiled softly when another idea came to her mind. She knew it probably wasn't the wisest idea, but she was feeling very unbalanced at the moment, and didn't care.
She smiled impishly at him as she pulled her blanket all the way off herself. Ranma dutifully kept his eyes on her eyes the entire time. She slid her legs off the bed while she maintained her grip on his hand, then sank down next to his bed in the walkway between her bed and his. She was doing her best to keep her movements smooth and leisurely. She was fighting her urge to throw herself at him, wrap him in a death grip, and cry hysterically. He looked up at her with panicked eyes as she picked up the corner of his blanket and slid softly into bed next to him.
She pulled the blanket all the way over both of them when she did so, including their heads. Then she let go of his hand and snaked her right arm under his neck, threw her left arm across his chest, and draped her left leg across his legs. For a moment after she did that, she experienced pure ecstasy. Her legs actually quivered and she got goosebumps on her skin as the pleasure hit her.
The desire had been building in her for so long now to hold him and be in bed with him, that to finally be able to do it again was beyond a relief and more than satisfying. She let out a soft, contented sigh as she relaxed into him. He was so warm! Inside his bed with him, it was easily five to ten degrees warmer than her own bed had been. She could easily have gone back to sleep right away, but she wanted to be with him at the moment. She could feel parts of herself straining inside as she tried to figure out how to be with him like she wanted to be. She wanted more and more and more of him. She didn't know how to do that with the relationship she had with him, but she was determined to try to figure out how.
Ranma, for his part, lay shock-still and as straight as he could make himself. He kept his hands rigidly at his sides. His shirt had ridden up a little bit when she had climbed into bed with him. She was really enjoying the feeling of his bare skin against hers, even if it was just her tummy, arms and legs. She wanted to rub herself up and down against him, but stopped herself. There would be plenty of time for that kind of thing later, if he committed to her.
For the moment, she wanted to get a few things straight with him. She had taken care of her urge to throw herself into his arms, now she needed to take care of the urge to smack him. "You can't do that to me, ever again!" She whispered to him with real heat in her voice as she buried her face into his neck.
"Do what?" He whispered back, obviously confused and a bit flustered.
"The silent treatment! It's terrible! It's almost the worst thing a guy can do to a girl." She replied in a strained tone. This was harder than she had thought it would be. But she was determined to do it anyway.
"But ... I wasn't tryin' ta give ya the silent treatment. I ... I just needed to think, that's all. You ... you thought I was mad at you?" He asked hesitantly.
She nodded into his neck and fought back tears. She had no idea if they were tears of anger, sadness, frustration, or happiness. What she did know was that nothing felt more right to her than being in his arms and sharing his body heat with him. Nothing.
"Aw man, I'm sorry! I ... that's just what I've always done when I was growin' up with Pop, ya know? Whenever I was stuck on something, I would go off and think about it until I got ... unstuck, I guess." He said quietly as he hesitantly brought his arms up and encircled her waist.
He smelled strongly of his flowery cedar scent. It was intoxicating. The combination of the heat and tactile sensations from being in bed with him, and the heady smell of him, was making her dizzy. She both loved it and was also somewhat uneasy with how strongly he could affect her. She had no intention of stopping, though.
"But, you seemed so angry ... and I saw you leaning on Akane..." She whispered to him as she tried to get her emotions under control.
"I ... I was angry. But ... not at you. I was just ... angry, ya know? Mostly at Pop, I guess. Ukyo never woulda been hurt like that, if Pop hadn't made that stupid deal with her dad. I guess I was also mad at myself for lettin' it go on as long as it did. I didn't mean to hurt her." He said quietly.
It had not escaped her notice that he had neatly sidestepped her bringing up that he had leaned on Akane. She decided to let it go, for now.
"You hurt me too." She whispered to him.
He didn't say anything to that for a little while, but he did tense up under her. She was growing concerned that something was very wrong, and was about to prompt him again, when he finally whispered a response. "I didn't mean to."
"Well you did!" She whispered back, a little more strongly.
"I ... I'm sorry. You can hit me if ya want." He said in a small voice.
She lifted her head up from his chest and looked him in the eyes with exasperation. "I don't solve my problems that way, Ranma." She whispered to him.
"Don't worry, I can take it." He said in a voice she could tell he was trying to make jovial.
She raised an eyebrow at him and frowned. "I know you can. I still don't want to hit you." She said simply.
"Well, how can I make it up to you?" He whispered to her.
"You can ..." she trailed off without a good reply to that. She leaned back away from him a little bit to look into his eyes in the dim light under the blanket then sank back down into him softly as a suitable punishment for him came to mind. "You can ... tell me why you did that to me. We're supposed to be dating, even if we aren't actually engaged to each other. I don't understand why you pushed me away like you did, and hurt me like that. I should have been the one you turned to when you needed support." She whispered to him as she held him tightly.
She didn't have anything else to say after that, so she just squeezed him more tightly and snuggled into him while she waited for him to respond. It took him a while, which she liked to think was mostly due to his sensory overload from her being in bed with him in her underwear.
But eventually, he did reply. "It's ... it's just ... all I've ever known is people who're enemies, or family, ya know? I don't ... I don't know how to handle people who aren't ... either of those things. And the only family I've had until I came here, was Pops ... and you've seen what he's like."
She nodded into his chest, but didn't reply yet. She was content to stay warm in his arms and wait while he worked it out. She was more than content, actually. She was happy. She could feel herself relaxing more and more as the stress left her and the ice inside receded when confronted with his body heat. The warmth from him was working its way into her tired and stressed out body, and soothing her while she lay next to him, where she felt she now belonged.
Ranma continued in a pained voice. "Ukyo's the oldest friend I have. I knew her back when I was really little. Aside from Pop, I think she knows me better than anyone. I didn't know she was a girl back then, but we were still friends. Havin' her back was ... nice." He said sadly.
She tensed up at that but didn't say anything. "It wasn't like I wanted her to be chasin' me, or nothin', it was just ... nice to have someone around from back then, ya know?"
She thought about Riko, and nodded. She did know. She still didn't say anything, though. After another few moments of silence he spoke again, quietly.
"Its just ... man, I wish you woulda just hit me, I dunno how to say stuff like this ..." He said in a plaintive tone. She smiled at that, but stayed silent. She was glad the form of punishment she had chosen for him was teaching him a lesson. He waited for close to a minute before he continued again. "I dunno why I feel like I need ta do that when I'm stuck. I dunno why I didn't wanna ... I was just ... I dunno, I needed to just go think about stuff, lots of stuff." He said quietly.
"Did it at least help? Did you make any decisions?" She whispered to him.
He didn't move or say anything for a while, so she picked her chin up to look him in the eyes again. He stared back at her for a couple of heartbeats, then slowly nodded while holding his breath.
She decided to take that as a good sign, considering what he was doing at the moment. She didn't know what, exactly, he had made decisions about, but she had to hope she was part of them. Neither one of them had much more that they were willing to voice to each other after that, but she wasn't done cuddling with him. She stayed wrapped around him for quite a while. She knew time was passing just because her room was getting brighter as the sun broke out over the rooftops and the dawn fully arrived and shone through her window. Ranma just held her patiently and waited for her to make the next move.
She knew that between the two of them, she would be the one more worried about getting to school on time. He would be more than willing to be late or even miss school if she provided him a reason to do so. She sucked in her lower lip and seriously considered trying to keep him in bed with her all day. She held on to that very happy thought for several moments, then released her lip and sighed. She knew that if she tried that, Daddy, Akane, and probably Kasumi would eventually get involved, and things would get complicated and awkward.
So, with a sigh, she pushed up from him so she was bracing herself with her right elbow under his neck, and her left she straightened to support her weight on his chest. Even with her putting about half her full body weight fully on him, he didn't seem to notice it. She didn't weigh a whole lot, but she knew if she did something like that to Riko or Kasumi, they would yelp in pain. She looked into his eyes and smiled. He smiled back nervously and kept his eyes locked on to hers. She knew that laying in bed with him in her underwear was something that Kodachi or Shampoo would do, and that he was very nervous about it.
One one level, she regretted being so forward with him. But on another level, she was kind of enjoying punishing him by making him squirmy with her body. That was the least she could do to pay him back for last night. She grinned at him and shifted her body weight so she was briefly in a push-up position with her arms planted above his shoulders, and her legs straddling his. He didn't move a muscle, and he kept his eyes rigidly locked on hers. She looked into his eyes for a bit longer, then slowly sank down so she was laying fully on top of him, and wrapped her arms around his neck slowly.
He flinched as she settled into him and again lay with his arms rigidly at his sides. She was growing a bit tired of his nervousness though. So she decided to hurry him up by deliberately shifting her weight quickly to the side. She started to slide off him like she was going to fall. Sure enough, his arms whipped up and caught her around the waist, and arrested her fall. She smiled at that.
"I can always count on you to catch me if I fall, can't I?" She whispered to him as she lay her head down on his chest softly. He didn't say anything, but she felt him nod his head. She smiled again, and enjoyed being in his arms for just a little bit longer. The hurt she had gone through last night now seemed like a distant memory, and like something that hadn't been as serious as she had thought it had been at the time.
It was time to get up. She seriously considered asking him to stand up with her in his arms again, like she had the other morning. She decided against it for two reasons. She didn't want to treat him like a toy any more than she wanted him to treat her like a toy. And, she also was a bit worried that she would pop out of her underwear if he moved too rapidly with her in his arms. She wasn't embarrassed for him to see her body, but she knew they weren't at that point yet. So she sighed and pushed herself up off him again.
He immediately released his arms from around her. She smiled at him and then rolled off him and stood up as the blanket fell away around her. She looked down at him and caught his eyes traveling up her body briefly before they landed on her eyes again, and didn't move. She winked at him and walked over to her desk chair where she had left her robe, and wrapped it around herself. When she turned around, he was standing up as well.
"So ... are we OK? Do ya ... do ya forgive me?" He asked quietly.
She tilted her head at him and looked at him quizzically before she walked over to stand in front of him. She looked him in the eyes for several moments, then sighed and leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her immediately. Now that she wasn't just in her underwear, he seemed to be much more willing to hold her again. She rolled her eyes at that. A moment later she answered his question with one of her own.
"Do you understand that what you did last night hurt me too?"
He nodded.
"And do you understand why it hurt me?" She asked. He didn't move for a few moments after that so she leaned back to look into his eyes. He stared at her unblinking for several moments, then shook his head. She sighed and leaned into him again. "All right, that's fine, we can talk about that later on our date today. You ... still wanted to go on our date today, didn't you?" She whispered to him. He nodded enthusiastically at that.
She smiled and stepped back away from him a bit so his arms were extended but still holding her. "While we're at it, we can work on getting you to actually speak more." She said teasingly.
He smiled at that. "I'll try." Then he looked down for a moment, then back up at her with worry in his eyes. "You sure you're OK?"
She smiled at him and stared at him in silence for a while before she shook her head and looked down at the floor. "No Ranma, I'm not OK. If you want me to be totally honest with you, here it is ... ever since you caught me when the balcony broke, I haven't been OK. Everything is changing, and it is kind of scary." She whispered to him. She felt his arms tense around her as she said it.
She looked up again at him and raised one of her hands in front of his face and pointed at his nose to emphasize her point. "But, if you promise me that you won't ever do to me again what you did last night, then yes, we're OK. Deal?" She said in a forced cheerful voice.
He nodded earnestly and smiled at her. She sighed. "I mean it, Ranma. I can't go through that again. It was awful. Talking, and even hitting you wouldn't fix it, if it happened again." She said as she playfully balled her hand into a fist and thumped him on the chest.
He looked down at her fist with comically wide eyes. "Did a butterfly just land on me?" He asked teasingly. She growled at him and thumped him again with her other hand. "See, it makes you feel better, doesn't it? It's a good thing for me that you hit like a girl, though." He said with a grin. She knew what he was doing, and it made her break a little bit inside. He was trying to draw her out, and get her to fully let go of what had happened last night. She loved that he understood that, even if he couldn't seem to say it. And he was right, she was still hanging on to some of her hurt from last night. She growled at him and thumped his chest with both her fists a little bit more strongly.
"There you go, keep it up and eventually you'll be able to close a door with that strength." He said softly. She growled deep in her throat and hit him again, and again, and again with her fists as the dam inside her broke and the rest of the hurt came out as she gasped in pain. When she didn't feel like she had any more hurt left to get out, she slumped against him with both her fists trapped between her body and his, and let out a shuddering breath as the wave of emotion passed.
"I ... I thought I'd ... lost ..." She whispered to him.
"And I thought you said you didn't want to hit me." He said as he leaned back from her and rubbed his chest comically and grinned at her.
She frowned at him. She wasn't in a joking mood. He read her mood quickly and moved to wrap his arms around her and held her gently. She heard him open his mouth and start to make a sound like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. She stayed in his arms for several minutes as she recovered from letting go. He held her patiently while she did it.
For a guy who has very little experience with social skills and other people, he seems to be very intimately acquainted with how to deal with emotional pain. She thought to herself. Considering how he grew up though, that wasn't all that surprising to her.
She finally stepped back from him and broke his grip on her as she let out a shaky breath and looked into his eyes. "Are you ready to start the day?" She asked him. He nodded.
"All right, well I call first for the bath today. I'll see you downstairs in a little while for breakfast?" She asked. He smiled and nodded again.
She walked across her room to her door, opened it, stepped into the hallway, and closed it. She pulled in a deep breath, and let it out slowly as she leaned back against her door. Why was everything so convoluted concerning him? She could smell the welcome smells of Kasumi's cooking wafting up the stairs and that brought her out of her reverie. The smell of good food cooking reminded her that she hadn't eaten a proper meal since lunch yesterday. She was suddenly looking forward to breakfast quite a bit.
She marched quickly across the hallway, and pulled open the door to the bathroom and closed it behind herself with a quiet click. She hung her robe on the hook next to the inner door for the bathtub, then opened that door as well. She paused briefly when she saw that Akane was already in the tub.
Her younger sister looked up at her from the tub. She could see Akane's eyes traveling down her body and taking note of her skimpy underwear. Then Akane's eyes slid off her and back down to the water. She sighed and decided to just ignore it. She undressed and showered without speaking. Akane was still in the tub when she was done. She wasn't going to let Akane being there keep her from the inviting warm water, though. So she stepped quietly into the tub and sat down on the other side. They both met each other's eyes briefly, then they both looked at the surface of the water again.
Well ... this is awkward. She thought as she tried to come up with something to say to Akane. I am pretty sure she doesn't know Ranma slept in my room last night, and she doesn't know I saw her with Ranma either. So ... what, should I ask her about the weather? She asked herself sarcastically.
Akane surprised her by going first. "You all right?" Her little sister asked in a small voice. She raised an eyebrow and looked over at Akane, who was looking at her sympathetically.
"I'm ... fine, how are you?" She asked slowly in reply.
Akane smiled softly. "I'm ... okay, actually ... thanks." She said in a somewhat happy voice.
What is she ... oh, of course! She thought as she tried to figure out Akane's angle. As far as Akane knows, Ranma was upset last night, and pushed me away, and went to her for comfort. I guess I would be feeling pretty good about that too, if I was her. She mused as she forced a fake smile on to her face.
She decided not to say anything to correct Akane's perceptions, and just sat quietly in the warm water with her, in a companionable silence. Akane got up and left first. As her younger sister passed her on her way out, she briefly laid her hand on her shoulder kindly and looked into her eyes as she smiled at her.
"Let me know, if you want to talk." Akane said softly. She smiled back at her and nodded. Akane walked away with a nod of her own.
What is it with both of my sisters offering to talk to me lately? Its not like either one of them have everything together, either. She thought to herself sardonically as she rose from the tub herself. She quickly toweled off, and put her robe back on as she tossed her lingerie into the laundry and exited the bathroom. She found Ranma standing there holding his bathing stuff as he chatted softly with Akane, who was standing very close to him, and smiling shyly. She smiled at both of them as she passed them and headed to her room. She had no idea what they were talking about, and didn't care. She and Ranma were okay for the moment.
She dressed for school quickly, and exited her room to pop downstairs for breakfast. She was ravenous. She was just sitting down at the table, and had started eating, when she heard wet footsteps clomping down the stairs. She leaned her head towards the doorway and saw Ranma in female form tromping towards the front entryway. She set her breakfast aside and got up from the table to follow him curiously.
She joined him in the entryway, and found him rummaging in his school bag and muttering to himself.
"What are you—" She began to ask.
"Forgot my soap." He answered in his female voice. She smiled at that and his obvious frustration with himself. It was no fun to be cold and wet as a girl. She turned back to go to the breakfast table, and was halfway through the door, when the phone rang in the entryway. She looked back as Ranma looked up and reached over to grab it.
She smiled as she remembered what Doctor Tofu had told her last night, and tried to warn him.
"I wouldn't answer that, if I were you." She said as he picked up the phone.
He covered the mouthpiece with his small female hand, and tilted his head at her in confusion. "Why not?" He asked as he placed the phone next to his ear and said hello. Almost immediately he held it away from his head again.
"That's why." She said with a laugh as she saw his face drop into a frown of disgust.
She couldn't hear most of it, but she heard enough to hear that it was indeed Kuno, calling to make the date with his pig-tailed girl whom he had bought the phone number for, from her, with Ranma present. She wondered if Kuno even realized he was calling the Tendo home.
Ranma's expression got more and more horrified as he half-listened to Kuno's ravings. Then he slowly removed the phone from his ear, and reached down and put it back in the cradle as Kuno's voice kept going until he hung up. She was having to lean up against the wall to stay on her feet, she was laughing so hard. God, it felt good to laugh after last night! Her sides ached, and she was having to gasp for breath, but it felt wonderful!
Ranma eyed her with a decidedly unamused expression on his petite female face, then stuck his tongue out at her. "If he calls here for me again, I am putting you on the phone with him." He groused.
She nodded but kept laughing. She didn't care if she had to deal with Kuno, she had never had any trouble keeping him in line.
Just as she was winding down and Ranma finished getting the soap out of his bag, the phone rang again. They both looked at each other. She grinned and waited.
Ranma sighed and nodded. "Fine I'll answer, but you're dealing with him." He said as he reached over and picked up the phone. "STOP CALLIN' HERE, KU— ... oh, hi Ucchan..." Ranma said softly as he immediately changed his voice from the loud and angry confrontational tone to a much more conciliatory one.
She stopped laughing and smiling, and simply watched as he nodded his head softly and kept repeating the words okay and yes over and over again as Ukyo said whatever it was she was saying.
He hung up the phone a moment later by setting it down softly and looked over at her with a haunted expression in his eyes. "She ... wants me to come see her, as soon as possible. She ... she said it's okay if you come too." He said.
She nodded. "Well good, because I would have come anyway. Meet me here in a few minutes? You need to finish bathing, and I need to finish eating. I'll have Kasumi pack up your breakfast for you as well, all right?"
He nodded and jogged out of the entryway and back up the stairs. She watched him go then spun on her heel and did exactly as she had said. She popped her head into the kitchen and was about to ask Kasumi to pack up his food, but before she could open her mouth Kasumi handed her two bundles with a smile.
"Here, both your lunches for today, and Ranma's breakfast." Kasumi said softly with a smile. They smelled strongly of her wonderful cooking.
She smiled back and set them down on the table before she quickly threw herself into Kasumi's arms and hugged her fiercely. Kasumi hugged her back just as fiercely. "You about ready to talk yet?" Kasumi whispered to her.
"Almost." She replied in her own whisper.
"I'll be ready when you are." Kasumi said as she held her out at arm's length and looked at her approvingly. Then her older sister winked at her and pointed out the door. "I'd get moving if I were you. He should be done bathing and getting dressed in a minute or so. You have to be hungry." Kasumi prompted her.
She nodded, picked up the bundles, pivoted and jogged out of the kitchen, and went back to the dining room where she bolted down her breakfast in record time. She was just setting down her empty bowl when Ranma poked his head into the room and smiled at her. "Ready?" He asked.
She nodded and stood up as she gathered the bundles into her arms. She walked quickly over to him and handed him the bundle that contained his breakfast. "Here, Kasumi wrapped your breakfast for you. I'll put the lunches in my bag." She said as she moved to quickly do just that before she stood up and shouldered her bag to follow Ranma out the front door as he slid it open. Ranma finished opening the door, then froze. She craned her neck to look around him, and sucked air in through her teeth in surprise.
Shampoo was standing in the middle of the walkway that led to their front door, with Doctor Tofu standing behind her and off to the side. Doctor Tofu was watching Shampoo intently with hard eyes as he stood in a very military posture. Ranma stepped hesitantly through the front door, and waved her to stay back behind him. She nodded and kept to the doorway.
"You told me the truce didn't end until later this morning, so I let her through. She said she just came to talk." Doctor Tofu said in a neutral voice.
Ranma nodded as he walked slowly over to Shampoo, who was standing motionless and watching him carefully. The Amazon girl was wearing a simple outfit of white silk pants, a pink silk shirt with long sleeves and a traditional Chinese clasp near the neck, and a simple flower pattern in pink and red. Shampoo's hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she wasn't wearing makeup. Both of those things were unusual for Shampoo.
As Ranma approached her slowly, Shampoo carefully turned her hands over from where they had been resting loosely at her sides, to show that she was unarmed. Ranma nodded and stopped walking once he was within a few paces of her.
"What do you want, Shampoo?" He asked in a voice that wasn't warm, but wasn't cold, either.
Shampoo just stared at him for a moment. She could tell that the young Chinese girl was fighting something in herself. There was no way this visit was sanctioned by Shampoo's elder. Finally, Shampoo spoke.
"Ranma ... things is ... getting bad soon. Great Grandmother no wait any longer."
"I know, the truce ends today." Ranma said calmly.
Shampoo shook her head. "Is more than that. Many bad thing to be happening soon. Great Grandmother very serious."
Ranma simply shrugged. "I ain't afraid of her."
Shampoo walked slowly towards him with her hands raised palms forward and out to her sides to show she wasn't attacking. He flinched backwards, but didn't retreat. Shampoo reached him and grasped his hands loosely. "Please ... please come back China with Shampoo. You no have to love Shampoo, just ... please come back, satisfy honor, and nobody has get hurt."
"I ... I'm sorry, Shampoo, I ... can't do that." He said in a weak voice.
"Marriage just for honor! You come China, we do wedding, then Great Grandmother no longer care what you do. After few weeks, we find reason leave, and you come back Japan. Shampoo okay with this. No have love me, no have stay with me. I no want see you get hurt!"
"I'm not gonna get hurt, Shampoo."
"I no want see you family hurt!"
"Nobody is hurting anyone, Shampoo. I won't let them."
"You no understand! You no understand! You very strong, but you no can win everyone! Great Grandmother will bring many many fighter here. You cannot win all them together!"
"I'm not scared of that old ghoul, and I'm not scared of anyone she brings to fight me. I'm sorry, Shampoo, the answer's still no."
Shampoo sank slowly to her knees as she dropped his hands and encircled his legs with her arms as tears started to fall down her cheeks and she lost all semblance of control. The young Amazon's desperation and panic were naked on her face now as she clutched at him and begged him in a rising voice that was reaching hysteria levels quickly. "Please! Please listen me! I trying help you! I no want see you hurt! I no want see you family hurt! Please, PLEASE come back with me China! It be fake wedding, I no tell anyone. You protect everyone that way, and nobody be hurt!" Shampoo begged frantically as she sobbed against his legs. Doctor Tofu took a few steps forward to assist, but Ranma waved him away.
"Shampoo, c'mon, let me go. I said no." He said sternly.
Shampoo looked over at her sharply then, and switched over to Mandarin and begged again. "请...你明白我的意思。請告訴他！逼他明白了！他不明白這將是多麼糟糕！"[1-4]
She looked blankly at Shampoo as she did her best to plaster a mask of confusion and non-comprehension on her face. But she was worried. Shampoo was frantic. If Shampoo was this worried about the impending end of the truce, it couldn't be good.
Shampoo raised her voice and continued in rapid-fire Mandarin. The young Chinese warrior could obviously express herself much better in her native language when she was upset. "這將是一場戰爭！他可能會被殺死！你...會被殺死。請！請,迫使他明白！" [5-9]
She widened her eyes and nodded to Shampoo in a sub-millimeter bow. Shampoo was fully hysterical now and had tears streaming down her cheeks as she begged for her to intervene. If Shampoo was this worried, that was bad news. But she still wasn't willing to tip her hand and reveal her secret skill. She did want to know how the hell Shampoo knew she could understand her, though. Is she just guessing, or does she know? She thought as she widened her eyes comically and shook her head as she shrugged to present body language to Shampoo that she didn't understand her. Shampoo narrowed her eyes at her and bit out an insult in an exasperated voice. "你是個傻瓜。" [10]
Ranma was reaching down gently to Shampoo now, and trying to get her to let go of his legs. He wasn't able to hold his stern posture with Shampoo so obviously upset. Shampoo eventually let Ranma remove her arms from him as she got her breathing back under control. The young Amazon then sighed deeply, looked up at Ranma with anguish in her eyes, stood up, and walked out of their front gate without another word or another backwards glance.
She watched Shampoo go as she tried to figure out how to warn Ranma, while Doctor Tofu eyed her with suspicion. Wait, Doctor Tofu understands Mandarin as well, doesn't he? That's perfect! He'll translate for Ranma what Shampoo said, and I won't have to give up my secret! She thought as she waited for him to do exactly that, while she worked to keep her face an unreadable mask. She had a strong idea that Doctor Tofu now also suspected she understood Mandarin as well. Oh well, he's pretty good about keeping secrets, it should be fine. It isn't exactly a topic of conversation he would bring up anyway. She thought as she watched him to see what he would do. Ranma turned and looked at him as well.
Doctor Tofu smiled and translated for Ranma, just as she had known he would. "She said that you don't understand how bad the end of the truce will be. She said it will be a war, and that you may be killed, and that Nabiki probably will be killed. She was desperate, and I think she was sincere. Do you want me to go bring her back?" It hadn't escaped her notice that he had left out the parts about Shampoo insisting she understood her and therefore could translate her more articulate words in her native language. Doctor Tofu's crafty when he wants to be. She thought with respect as she watched Ranma absorb the news.
Ranma looked back at her, then over at Doctor Tofu, then back at her. She shrugged. She was relying on him and Doctor Tofu to protect her from the Amazons. She had to trust to their judgment on this. Ranma looked at her for a few more moments, then shook his head. "No ... there isn't anything that bringin' her back will do. I'd still have to go with her and marry her to get them ta stop, and I ain't doin' that." He said quietly.
"Understood." Doctor Tofu said with a small smile as he nodded at her then leaped up to the top of the roof of their house and was gone. She assumed he was resuming guarding the house. With that settled, there was nothing left to do but continue on the errand they had set out on.
"Ready?" She asked Ranma softly as she moved to stand next to him.
He looked over at her and shook his head softly then looked down at the ground. "It's about to get bad with the Amazons I think. I don't think they're bluffin', Nabiki. Are ya sure ya wanna go with me? It's gonna be bad at Ucchan's too." He said softly.
She set her spine firmly and nodded. "Where you go, I go. I can't think of anyone I would be safer with, than you, Ranma." She said with confidence. She meant it to. Doctor Tofu was probably better than Ranma, but she knew that Ranma would do everything he could to protect her, and that was all that mattered to her.
He nodded at her, and held his hand out to her, and she took it gladly. They set off at a fast walk after that. Ranma spent the entire walk there eating his breakfast out of one hand, and sweeping his eyes everywhere looking for threats. She spent the entire trip bracing herself for dealing with Ukyo again. She could only imagine how last night had been for Ukyo. If her night had been rough, Ukyo's had been probably the worst that the young chef had ever endured in her entire life. This won't be easy. She thought sadly to herself as they arrived faster than she would have liked.
They turned the corner on to the street where Ukyo's restaurant was, and immediately spotted the young chef standing outside her restaurant. Ukyo was standing with her hands clasped loosely behind her back as she stared towards the rays of the rising sun peeking out from behind the rooftops. A mild breeze was tugging on her hair and causing the long coat of her chef's uniform to flutter about. Ukyo called out to them without turning to face them. "Good morning you two." There was a hard edge to Ukyo's voice, but there was also an element of exhaustion and other darker emotions weighing it down as well.
She looked at Ranma, and he nodded at her. They walked together towards Ukyo, hand-in-hand. Ranma made no effort to hide what he was doing. Weirdly though, she kind of wanted him to. She could tell just by looking at Ukyo, that the young chef was not in a good place.
When they were close enough to Ukyo to speak without raising their voices, she immediately noticed the tear streaks etching Ukyo's cheeks. There were also dark circles under her eyes. Ukyo had clearly been up all night crying, soul searching, and making her decision. She didn't flinch away from the heartache she was indirectly responsible for, but she wasn't proud of it, either.
Ukyo dragged her gaze from watching the sun rise, to rest on Ranma, and smiled weakly at him. "Do you remember, Ranma? Do you remember when we were kids and we used to get up early and help our fathers with chores, and then we'd watch the sun rise together while eating okonomiyaki?" Ukyo whispered in a shaking, miserable voice as she smiled a fake smile at him.
"Yeah ... I remember." Ranma said in a quiet, reserved voice.
"I've been waiting for you to come back and take your place next to me at the morning table ever since you and your father left me behind. You never came back." Ukyo said with a catch in her voice. It was clear the tears were very near to the surface for Ukyo at the moment.
"Ucchan ... I—"
"Let me finish! You owe me at least that much!" Ukyo snarled abruptly.
Ranma snapped his mouth closed and nodded quickly as he looked down sadly.
"I know you didn't make the promise to marry me. I know it was your horrible father, and my horrible father who did it. I know, okay? I know that it wasn't your idea. I also know that you didn't even realize I was a girl back then. Well, I know now anyway. But you know something? It doesn't matter. I loved you back then. I did. I loved you! You were my friend, my constant companion, and someone I could trust. You were nice to me, you played with me, and you were so interesting. You were perfect. You were strong, and focused, and driven, and I knew, I just knew that we were destined to be together." Ukyo said bitterly as tears streaked her cheeks again.
She found herself starting to tear up a bit as well, but clamped down on it. Now was not the time to bow to empathy for Ukyo or any of the other girls. So she set her face in stone and just watched.
Ranma, she could tell, wasn't on the verge of tears, but he was very sad. He didn't seem to be able to bring himself to raise his head to look at Ukyo at all.
"We were destined to be together, and I still think that's true. I think you're making a horrible decision, and you're allowing yourself to be manipulated by her." Ukyo said in a low, angry voice.
She narrowed her eyes at Ukyo. She didn't like where this was going.
Ranma still hadn't looked up again, but he shook his head softly in disagreement.
"This ... this girl ... comes out of nowhere, takes you from her sister, and suddenly she has you ending things with Shampoo and now me? Just because? Just like that? I don't buy it. She has some hold over you, Ranma. She can't be trusted. I should just ... I should just ... " Ukyo growled as her hand tightened on one of the small throwing spatulas in her bandoleer.
Ranma moved immediately to stand in front of her with his hands spread wide protectively. He still hadn't looked up at Ukyo, though.
"Come on, Ucchan, don't ... please." Ranma said sternly.
Ukyo sighed mightily and let her hand fall loosely to her side as she locked her eyes on Ranma. "Look at me. Look at me, you coward! You're responsible for this, at least have the courage to face me!" Ukyo shouted at him.
Ranma nodded and dragged his eyes up. He immediately flinched back when he saw the heartbroken look on Ukyo's face, and the tears streaming down her cheeks.
Ukyo held his gaze for longer than was comfortable before she finally spoke again in a whisper. "If you never had any real feelings for me, why did you string me along?"
"I didn't! I—"
"YES YOU DID! All you had to do was just tell me that it could never happen, and I would have moved on! Instead, you named me your cute fiancée and started spending time with me, coming to eat my food, and hanging around me. That certainly made it seem to me that I had a chance. Why do that to me?! Why not just be kind and tell me right away that I had no chance?! WHY COULDN'T YOU DO THAT FOR ME?! WHY DID YOU GIVE ME FALSE HOPE AND SET ME UP TO SUFFER?!"
"I ... I'm sorry, Ucchan, I—"
"Don't! Don't call me that any more, you jackass! You have no right to call me that anymore! It's Miss Kuonji to you, Mister Saotome." Ukyo said darkly.
Ranma hung his head and nodded meekly for a moment, before he dragged his eyes up again to look at Ukyo, as she'd ordered. Ukyo fixed her with a dark stare then. She met it calmly.
"Well, are you happy? You're getting what you wanted. Your two families have taken everything from me now." Ukyo asked bitterly.
I can't show weakness right now. Ukyo wants to have it out now, and to have closure. That much is obvious. And she's decided I'm the villain here. Well, so be it. I have played that role before, I can certainly do it again. I am not going to bring up the fact that I am also responsible for giving her the opportunity of a lifetime at great personal expense. That won't help her get the closure she needs right now. She thought calmly as she met Ukyo's stare and shrugged as she put a small smile on her face to give Ukyo what she wanted, someone to blame. As angry as Ukyo appeared to be, she would have been nervous, if Ranma wasn't with her. But he was, so she could afford to play the villain role like Ukyo wanted her to.
Ukyo swung her gaze back to Ranma and seemed to break a little bit more. "WHY HER?! WHY IS SHE THE ONE WHO FINALLY GOT YOU TO MAKE A DECISION?! WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT HER?" Ukyo screamed, barely in control any more, as she looked back at herself and balled her hands into fists.
"I should knock that smug smile off your— " Ukyo said angrily as she took a step towards them.
Ranma twitched his hands up into a guarding position to protect her if needed. Even with everything else going on, he was watching to protect her.
Ukyo sighed and nodded as she stepped back. "It's over. Maybe Akane still has a chance. But I don't." Ukyo looked over at her and smiled bitterly. "Good game, Tendo. You outmaneuvered me masterfully."
She nodded in reply and dropped her fake smile. "If it helps at all, the Tendo family will stand up for you, and back you up fully should anyone ever question your honor. I give you my word." She said carefully.
Ukyo looked blankly at her for a moment, then jerked her head into a brief nod of respect before she resumed her attention on Ranma. Ukyo looked at Ranma longingly for a much longer moment, then took a deep breath and unclenched her hands as she pivoted and took a step away from them. But Ukyo paused after only a step, and asked over her shoulder, "Can I give him a goodbye kiss?"
"Thousand yen." She joked.
Ranma's childhood friend nodded and spun around and lunged for Ranma, and threw herself into his arms. Ukyo's hair splashed around him like the sea breaking around a rock. The young, heartbroken, chef simply held on to him for several moments and sobbed as she twined one hand into his hair, and twisted the other into the fabric of his shirt over his chest. He held her loosely, and uncomfortably. She was suddenly very uncomfortable as well. She didn't like watching people suffering. She also wasn't wild about anyone else being in Ranma's arms. She decided to endure it though, if it meant that Ukyo really would give him up. She took several steps backwards, out of respect, and just watched as she forced herself to clamp down on her jealousy.
Ukyo kept her face buried into his chest for many long moments as she cried. She heard her mumble several times, "I loved you, I really did. I loved you, I loved you, I loved you!"
Ranma nodded and continued to hold her loosely and awkwardly. Ukyo pulled her hands up and reached for his face. He allowed her to pull his head down, and she rubbed her cheeks up against his and whispered something to him in between sobs. Ranma nodded to whatever she had said. Ukyo held his face next to hers, cheek to cheek, and sobbed for a long time. Her tears were obviously those of someone who had no hope left.
She knew that for sure, because she had experienced those tears not that long ago, when she had thought she had given Ranma back to Akane in the hedge maze. She looked away in respect for Ukyo's shattered heart.
She looked back when she heard them shifting position. Ukyo had pushed his head back gently and was resting her forehead against his as she sniffled and tried to get herself under control. She could just see a little bit of Ranma's face, and she could tell he was just barely holding it together. Warring emotions of anguish and panic were dancing around on his face.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was probably only a minute or so, Ukyo pulled him down with hands that were shaking uncontrollably and met his lips with her own. The beautiful young chef kissed him softly on the lips, once, twice, then again and again, softly and sweetly, but with increasing urgency. Ukyo's kisses increased in tempo as she reached up and dug her hands into his hair and pulled him towards her fiercely as she opened her mouth and drew him in. Ranma stumbled forward as Ukyo closed her eyes and kissed him hungrily. It did not escape her notice that when Ukyo had pulled him forward, Ranma had recovered his balance by wrapping Ukyo up in a proper embrace that was no longer awkward.
She watched them kiss, and didn't look away this time. There was respect for personal anguish, and then there was watching someone try to devour the guy she wanted to marry.
Ranma did his best to show that the kiss wasn't his idea, and that he wasn't enjoying it. But that was hard for him to do while he was holding Ukyo. She took some solace in the fact that he wasn't holding Ukyo as tightly as he held herself, and he hadn't picked Ukyo up either. He did kiss Ukyo back, though. She bit her lip and endured it. If Ukyo went away after this, and let him go, then suffering through one kiss would be worth it.
Ukyo kissed him for far longer than even a we'll-never-meet-again farewell kiss would be expected to last. Ukyo had her mouth open, and was kissing him with what were obviously years and years of pent up emotions. He was kissing her back less urgently, but still with some obvious emotion behind it. Ukyo had stepped into his stance and was pressing her entire body hard up against him as she worked her jaw and kissed him frantically. It was clear that Ukyo felt she had nothing to lose, and she was pouring everything she had ever felt into this last chance effort to sway him. It dawned on her that Ukyo wasn't just kissing him goodbye, she was trying to get him to kiss her hello. The young chef slipped her right hand down to the small of his back, and her left she wrapped around his neck strongly with the elbow around the back of his neck as she pulled him into her desperately.
The dragon inside her was screaming at her to break it up before Ranma gave in and decided to go to Ukyo instead. Before she had to do anything though, Ukyo seemed to wilt, and slowly, very slowly, pulled herself back from him. Their lips parted with a wet smacking sound, and Ranma's oldest friend held on to his arms loosely. Ukyo stared into his eyes silently, as Ranma stood there and visibly tried to recover from what had just happened. Finally, Ukyo slid her hands down his arms and grasped his hands. She swung them back and forth a few times, almost playfully, as she cried silent tears. Then she slowly stepped back and let him go. His arms dropped immediately to his sides. Ukyo's stayed outstretched for a handful of heartbeats like she was waiting desperately for him to lunge for her. When he didn't, Ukyo slowly let her hands drift to her sides and took a deep, shuddering breath.
"I loved you, I really did. I hope you're happy with her, Ranma, I really do. This is farewell. Maybe we'll meet again someday, but I doubt it. Have..." Ukyo had to pause as her tears overwhelmed her ability to speak for a moment before she could continue. "Have ... a good life, Ranma. Goodbye." Ukyo said in an anguished voice. Then the young chef spun around on her heel, picked up a bag that was sitting outside her restaurant, turned a sign around on the door of her restaurant, and walked off without a backwards glance or another word, with her head held high. She and Ranma both watched her leave, and then stared at the empty street she had disappeared down, long after she had gone.
She looked over at the door and found a hand-written note scrawled on a piece of paper in Ukyo's handwriting. It announced cheerfully that Ukyo was closing the restaurant, and her loyal customers should seek her out at the Chibo Ebisu Garden Place Branch in Tokyo. It ended with a smiley face. It would have seemed like a very cheerful, successful note — except for the tear splotches all over the paper that had smeared the ink.
She looked back to Ranma and waited and hoped that he wouldn't go running after Ukyo. Ranma's lip was trembling as he turned to face her. He unballed one of his hands and opened it to show a thousand Yen note crumpled up in it. Ukyo must have slipped it to him. She sighed and stepped forward and closed his hand around it. "Keep it, as a memento. She was your friend."
He nodded and shoved the note into his pocket then continued to stare in the direction Ukyo had disappeared in, without speaking to her. "Are you ... are you okay? Are you mad at me?" She asked carefully, giving voice to her fears.
Without speaking, he answered her by reaching back his hand for her. She let out the breath she had been holding and eagerly stepped forward and took his hand. He pulled her slowly towards himself, and wrapped his arm around her in a hug from the side as he continued to stare in the direction Ukyo had left, and let out a shuddering sigh. Then he turned to face her, wrapped her up in a hug with his other arm, and lay his head down on her shoulder. A moment later she felt tears dampening her shoulder and the nape of her neck as she held him while he shuddered and dealt with the enormity of what had just happened.
—
1. "请...你明白我的意思。 (Qǐng... Nǐ míngbái wǒ de yìsi. — Please ... you know what I mean.)"
2. "請告訴他！ (Qǐng gàosù tā! — Please tell him!)"
3. "逼他明白了！ (Bī tā míngbáile! — Force him to understand!)"
4. "他不明白這將是多麼糟糕！ (Tā bù míngbái zhè jiāng shì duōme zāogāo! — He does not understand how bad it will be!)"
5. "這將是一場戰爭！ (Zhè jiāng shì yīchǎng zhànzhēng! — This will be a war!)"
6. "他可能會被殺死！ (Tā kěnéng huì bèi shā sǐ! — He may be killed!)"
7. "你...會被殺死。 (Nǐ... Huì bèi shā sǐ. — You ... will be killed.)"
8. "請！ (Qǐng! — Please!)"
9. "請,迫使他明白！ (Qǐng, pòshǐ tā míngbái! — Please, force him to understand!)"
10."你是個傻瓜。 (Nǐ shìgè shǎguā. — You're a fool.)"