I do not own Ranma ½ or any characters part or parcel of that great work, nor lay claim to any of the incredible ideas expressed by Rumiko Takahashi, or Viz video. This is just a labor of love from one fan to the rest.
Like Fallen Leaves, the Willow Weeps. A Ying, Yang, Yakuza story (Y3)
Chapter 9: No one is more blind to the truth than those who stare at it, without knowing.
As Qiang Pu watched the goon reach for her, time seemed to slow as she assessed the situation. Her parents had all shaped how she handled a confrontation. Her mother taught her that 'Obstacles are for killing' while her mom had taught her what she referred to as 'The economics of an engagement'. From her father she had learned 'Violence is a means to an end. It never should be the point of a fight. Always use the least amount of violence and energy to resolve a situation. If you have to use violence, make it abrupt, to the point. Take away their will to fight and you win.'
Taking those philosophies into mind, the young warrior decided on the best way to handle this. She let him reach for her, then gently took a hold of his hand, and locked his thumb. A deceptively gentle bit of pressure and he stumbled, pulled off balance as she gracefully stepped around him. As soon as she had him lined up with one of the other goons, she shifted her footing minutely and used a Tai-chi push to send him sailing into his companion. She pivoted gracefully, letting the other lunging thug pass her as she slid her lacquered and steel reinforced fan from her sleeve.
A quick blow to the base of the skull sent her second opponent to the ground as she snapped the fan open, peering at them over it's black and red blades, the golden dragon emblazoned on its face catching the light as she assessed her next target.
A roar of "What the hell are you idiots doing out here!" brought all of them to a standstill, even as Qiang Pu heard a taser buzz, and another goon hit the floor.
"Hey! All of you, stop right now!" The short man in a well-tailored suit yelled again as he walked up, his scarred face looking over the mess before he fixed his gaze on the two young geisha. "Oy! What is going on here, and who called the Teahouse?"
Qiang Pu stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the man who had to be the boss here. "This One is most sorry for the interruption, honored guest. This One is here to correct a slight mistake that was made. It would seem that one of our newest geisha misplaced a garment of hers, and it was accidently picked up by one of your men. Surely, they meant to return it to this One's friend, but had not yet had a chance. This One was simply inquiring, but your men seemed to have tripped." Qiang Pu explained gently, a placid expression on her face. The exact same expression Tachi had taught her, to be exact.
The boss shivered as he looked at the young Joketsuzoku warrior and turned to one of his men "You idiots! You trying to get me a sable envelope? What dumb fuck messed with one of Konatsu's girls? Bah! I'll find out later, just get whatever you dumb fucks took, and get it now before we get one of the older Geisha here to 'correct' us." he said as he kicked one of the groaning goons for good measure.
"This One's companion lost a flower patterned yukata made of silk that her mentor had given her." Rei added politely.
The boss turned and looked at the two of them, bowing humbly. "I will make sure that no more mistakes are made. Please let the Mistress of the House know that I will take care of it, and she doesn't need to get involved."
Rei glanced at Qiang Pu and spoke for the pair, being the only one who was actually a formal member of the House. "This One will make sure that Mother Konatsu is made aware of your commitment to keeping the polite nature of our relationship." She said with a placid smile.
The boss shivered again, then looked at his goons as they hurried back, carrying a number of items. One of them was Kotori's yukata, which was wadded up a bit. He hastily offered it to the younger girls, as he glared at his men and they promptly bowed and scraped, not sure if they were more afraid of the girls, or the boss's wrath. Wisely, they decided that cowardice and contrition were the best way to handle both issues.
As the ladies left, a small, dark shadow in a grey, black and deep blue kimono detached itself from the dark corner where it had been lurking. She reached up and touched the throat mic she was wearing "Shadowed Leaf reporting. The fledglings are on their way back to the nest, no need for a clean up. The package was returned, and the order has been kept. This One shall return to the roost." Her report given, Amaya broke down her rifle once more and stowed it in her instruments case in the hidden compartments placed here and there before she made her way back home. As much trouble as the young ladies could be, they did have their hearts in the right place, or at least that is what Amaya thought.
The girls were unaware of their shadow as they made their way back to the Teahouse, both of them felt rather good about what they had accomplished. Rei looked at the yukata, and smiled over at her partner in crime. "Kotori is going to be thrilled." Rei said as Qiang Pu nodded and smiled.
"I think we handled that in an appropriate way, honestly. We didn't cause trouble for anyone, and the reputation of the Teahouse as an inviolate establishment continues on. I think we did the right thing. And, it will make Kotori happy, so I definitely consider it a win." Qiang Pu said proudly.
"I personally think it was more about Kotori and how a certain someone feels about them than anything else." Rei said slyly.
Qiang Pu nodded "Yes, we have to make sure that we keep Tachi happy, and Kotori makes Tachi happy. So, a happy Kotori is a good thing." Qiang Pu said, unaware of what her friend was really implying.
Rei shook her head and laughed "You are hopeless, you know that?"
"I don't have any idea of what you are talking about, Rei." Qiang Pu said, as she looked over at her friend.
"The sad thing is, I believe you." Rei said in an exasperated tone of voice.
"Are you going to tell me what you are talking about?" Qiang Pu asked as she eyed her friend.
"If you can't tell, I'm not going to tell you. I mean, it's pretty obvious to everyone. Well, okay, pretty obvious to almost everyone." Rei said, then refused to talk anymore about the subject as they neared the Teahouse.
Qiang Pu shook her head and sighed, feeling like she was missing something important. She put that out of her head as they walked in through the gate, more than a little surprised to see Mother Konatsu talking to Amaya inside the inner court. As the two young women approached the mother of the House, she smiled and looked at them.
"This One welcomes our wayward young ladies back into our House. Do you have something you wish to share with this One?" Konatsu asked in a soft tone of voice that immediately had both of the girls feeling a bit nervous.
"This One is sorry, Mother, we should not…" Rei started before she was interrupted by Qiang Pu bowing deeply, then gracefully kowtowing to Konatsu.
"It was my decision, Mother Konatsu. I talked Rei into going along with me. It was what I thought was the correct thing to do, to not let the precedent of pushing around any of our girls off of the grounds of the Teahouse stand. No one was seriously injured, we hurt their pride most of all." Qiang Pu said softly, not looking up.
"Qiang Pu, do you know why this One is unhappy with your actions?" Konatsu asked quietly.
"Because while we were doing this, we were representing the Teahouse." Qiang Pu said, as she kept her head down.
"Yes, but most of all? You did not ask any of those that dwell in the Teahouse for their support or advice. This One thought you had learned that lesson better. Was this One wrong, Qiang Pu?" Konatsu asked as he gazed down at the young warrior.
Qiang Pu was silent for a moment, then said softly "I should have asked, I let my heart rule my head, and I can not say anything to make amends for that."
Konatsu nodded as she pulled her fan from her sleeve. "You shall take on extra duties for the next two weeks, Qiang Pu. Our guest erred, but she did it for a good reason. In the future, this One trusts that you will remember that we are a family, and our bonds are only as strong as the weakest among them. That said, this One fears that soon our bonds will be tested, and we may have to send one from the shelter of the House. We will need you to be ready, in case that is needed."
Qiang Pu stilled and then spoke softly. "If that is your wish, Mother Konatsu."
"This One wishes that her children did not stray, but sometimes they do. And when they do, they need to be admonished." Konatsu said, before looking towards the inner spaces of the House. "For now, why don't you return the plumage to Tachi's little bird?"
Qiang Pu nodded and rose, trailed by a worried looking Rei. Once they had left the courtyard Konatsu deflated a bit and sighed. "I wish that we did not have to rely on her for this, Amaya." She confided, the tired woman that she was under the image of the Mother of the Teahouse showing for a moment.
"We are only ever asked to do what we are capable of doing, and if you ask me, this is better than the alternative. When will we know for sure?" Amaya asked.
"We already know. We have a team collecting our wayward child, but it will be a few days until they can get her here." Konatsu said, then straightened herself up as the image she wore always slid back over her features. "Come, follow this One and we shall see how Tachi's little one reacts."
Amaya nodded as she fell in alongside Konatsu. She knew that the situation was weighing heavily on her, but there was little she could do but make sure that the situation was taken care of. And having Qiang Pu take care of it, was a mercy for all of them. Especially Konatsu.
It just brought up bad memories for Qiang Pu.
Amaya and Konatsu stopped in the doorway as they watched Qiang Pu and Rei approach Tachi and Kotori, who were going through a basic set of exercises.
Rei lagged back just a bit as Tachi stopped and looked at Qiang Pu as she approached. The Scarred Lilly arched one eyebrow as she saw what was in Qiang Pu's hands and then smiled softly.
"Kotori, this One believes that you have a guest." Tachi said as she moved back into a neutral stance.
Kotori turned with a questioning look on her face until she saw Qiang Pu, and more importantly what Qiang Pu was carrying. She started to take a step forward before she looked to Tachi, who shook her head in amusement and then nodded her approval. Kotori stepped towards Qiang Pu and started to cry as she was handed the yukata. "You...You didn't have to do this…" She said quietly.
"I wanted to, though. We can't have the thugs thinking that you girls are fair game… And I knew how important it was to you, so… We went and asked them politely for it. They saw the error of their ways, and returned it. So… Here." Qiang Pu said as she handed it to Kotori.
Kotori looked at it for several long moments before she impulsively hugged the young Joketsuzoku warrior tightly. "Thank you, Qiang Pu… This… This means so much to me." She said as she nervously stepped back and wiped at her eyes.
Qiang Pu smiled happily and nodded. "I'm glad. I don't like seeing you unhappy, Kotori." She said softly, as the trans girl and the outsider looked at each other for long enough that it should have been uncomfortable. With a cough, Qiang Pu looked away. "We should get it laundered, so that you can wear it tomorrow."
Kotori smiled and bowed deeply "Thank you, Qiang Pu. And yes, that… Is probably a good idea…"
Qiang Pu laughed and nodded before she bowed to Tachi. "I will let you return to your practice. Thank you for letting this One return what was lost."
Tachi nodded, then glanced at Konatsu before she looked at Rei and Qiang Pu. "You are both here, you can either sit and watch, or join in. This One is sure that Kotori would appreciate your insight."
At the hopeful look that Kotori gave her, Qiang Pu laughed and bowed deeply. "Thank you, I am in your care."
Qiang Pu and Rei sat to the side, and watched for a while until Qiang Pu got up and joined in, as well. Rei had to admit, she liked seeing this side of her friend.
Now, if she could figure out why Qiang Pu had such a haunted look in her expressive blue eyes.