CRYSTAL TEARS
Chapter 3
*****
Ranma sat at the edge of a cliff, the same cliff he had 'fallen' off,
thinking.
Not thinking anything in particular, just thinking.
*Why can't I remember?*
He had been told he was the son of a deceased amazon, Yi ling, whom had
been greatly respected. He was raised to be a warrior; meant from
birth to bring greatness to the tribe.
Shampoo...
Was she really his bride-to-be? He had been told, by most other villagers,
that they were engaged as children, closest of friends and a powerful
love had grown between them.
But why didn't he feel that way?
If it was so; they were so in love, why was he not consumed with a desire to
see her? Why had she not sparked a memory in his fogged up mind? Why
couldn't he remember his love for her?
If he ever did love her.
His hands came to hold his head, trying to supress a powerful sensation he could
not identify. His mind was screaming. His heart was racing.
What was it?
It came very often, only hours apart. It demanded...
WHAT!!!???
He just didn't know.
He stood, looking at the horizon.
"WHO AM I!!! WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER!!!" he screamed at the sky as hard as he could.
Consumed with anger and despair, he sat on the edge again and cried. Loud,
gut wrenching sobs.
*Why me!? What have I done to deserve this!?* he thought to himself.
-----
Shampoo had been watching Ranma all day. She would have rather been with him,
but her Great-grandmother had counsiled otherwise.
Hiding behind a tree, she watched as Ranma screamed his anger at the sky.
Her heart broke as his pain.
Was this what she really wanted?
To have the man of her dreams love her, only through arts and sorcery?
She didn't know.
She was doing this for herself...
Wasn't she?
*'You must not mention anything to him regarding his true past. The effects of the
powder are strong, but his spiritual energy is overwhelming. It is slowly breaking
down. Remember child, you must convince him that he has always lived here and loved
you. Until he no longer fights the effects, only then will you be able to claim him
as your own.'*
That's what her Great-grandmother had told her just a few hours ago.
But, was this really worth it?
Was his pain...
Denial of his true identity...
His fate...
Really worth the cause, only to fulfill an old law?
She didn't know. She trusted her Grandmother, but even she felt remorse. Ranma was
obviously in great pain. At this point, she was willing to let him go, just to ease
his pain.
However, the thought of her love being reciprocarted was appealing. If all went
according to the plan, then his love would spurn out of truth. It would be real.
It just had to be.
She shook away her emotions and approached him. She knew he would have reacted to
her presence, but he didn't. He just sat there, not even taking in her presence
as she sat next to him.
"Airen..."
Ranma didn't answer. He didn't even look at her. "Shampoo, why?"
"Ranma?"
"Why am forced to live through this crap!?" he said as he stood. "God dammit!!
What have I done to earn this kind of shit!? I don't have a damn clue of who I
am, what I was, and... SHIT!
"I can't even remember my own Mother! My most precious memories should be
about her! And I can't even remember that! What in all damn creation did I
do!!!"
Shampoo felt her eyes water up. To hear him was far worse than imagining him.
To rob him of his past, his true future; was it worth a moment of his love?
A moment of his carress?
A look...
Like he gave to....
No!
She wouldn't think of that. She had to follow through...
"PLEASE!! Someone tell me!" he shouted at the sun.
"Ranma..." Shampoo began. She stood up, and pulled him into her arms. He froze,
but very reluctantly, hugged back. "You see Airen, all will be good. Soon, you
remember. Soon, you will know why is so. Remember words of mother, Yi Ling..."
Ranma looked into her eyes. It sent shivers down her spine, but also made her
heart scream out at the injustice.
"Wild Stallion* is free. He is pure, and will always find way. Nothing stop him,
for he is like wind."
A tear slipped down her cheek. It was infinately worse to lie to him.
"My- my mother really said that?" he asked in an almost pleading tone.
Shampoo bit her lower lip before answering, "Yes. She say that to Ranma. You say
to Shampoo..."
Ranma's mouth hung open, but he didn't say anything. He released himself of her
embrace, and turned her back on her. "I wish I could remember it..."
Shampoo suppresed a rather loud sob. Gritting her teath, she took a few steps
forward, and hugged him from behind.
*I'm so sorry, Ranma... I'm so sorry...* she thought.
*****
"Remind me again, who are we waiting for, Mousse?" said Nabiki.
Akane, Nabiki and Mousse were sitting in the tea room, waiting for Mousses' friend
to show. The rest of the household had gone off, for Mousse had said that his friend
would only talk to those who were involved in some way in their little plan.
"Are you SURE he'll be of help?" asked Akane.
"Yes. Believe me, he will be most helpfull."
Akane was given to doubt. They had been waiting for him for over an hour, an hour
for which he was 'late'. An entire hour that could have been used to prepare the
plan to bring Ranma out...
KNOCK KNOCK
Mousse looked in the direction of the door; he stood and went to get it.
Akane looked at Nabiki, who for once, seemed at a lost. She really hoped this had
not been just a major waste of time.
A few moments later, Mousse walked back into the tea room, accompanied by a handsome
man. He looked to be about Mousses' age, wearing jeans and a black shirt. He took a
seat next to Mousse.
"This is Xangfie." Mousse gestured at the man, who in return nodded. "He was an amazon,
like myself."
Akane and Nabiki looked at each other.
"Was?" asked Nabiki.
"I was banished from the village, as well as old Mouse here..."
"That's Mousse you idiot!"
"Who still isn't any fun."
Akane 'blink-blinked' at the two. There was great familiarity between the two, even
what looked like frienship.
Nabiki cleared her throat, drawing attention to her. "I hate to break up this reunion,
but, can you tell us just how you can contribute to our little epic saga, or has this
just been a royal waste of our time?"
Xangfie chuckled, but cleared his throat. "Yes, I apologize. I just haven't seen this
guy in a while." He ignored Nabiki's exasperated sigh. "Anyway, let me shed some light.
I was also a Joketsuzoku amazon, but I was banished. Not like him, but because of my
outstanding abilities."
"You know martial arts?" asked Akane, becoming interested.
"Yess, but it was not because my fighting prowess exceded that of the best warriors.
It was because of my abilities in the magical practices within the tribe."
"Oh?" said Nabiki, also becoming interested.
"Yes. You see, a male child within our tribe was almost treated like an outcast.
My mother, who did not share this sentiment, treated me like the rarest form of gold.
I was her only child, so she cherished me. She was an heir to one of the elders.
Disregarding the ancient teachings, she secretly taught me the magical arts, which
were saved ONLY for women. I know things that no man was ever meant to know.
"As much as she and I tried, we were not able to conceal it for too long. The elders
caught on to our little 'training sessions'. Normally, we would only have been
punished. At least her, but for me, they would have used a little 'forgetfull'
powder to make me forget everything I knew."
"So, did they?" asked Akane.
He smiled sadly. "Yes, they did as a matter of fact. But, my spiritual energy was
too strong to forget. So they had to try a different approach."
Akane and Nabiki were both concerned about what he would say next.
"My mother assumed all responsability before them. There is only one punishment
for that."
Mousee looked down.
"Her last words to me were: 'Leave this place, my child. Leave and live your life.
Never let anyone govern your life. You were made free, like the wind."
Akane was silent, but eventually said, "I'm sorry..."
Xangfie sighed. "Don't be. It was some time ago."
Suddenly, his tone became more serious. "Mousse has informed me of your predicament.
I am well aware of the situation. Who we are dealing with here is Cologne, whom to
our disadvantage, is the most powerful and influential among the elders. Her word
is the law.
"But, she has shaped a law to her personal use, which we CAN use to our advantage."
He oulled a miniature booklet from his jean pocket and handed it to Nabiki. She
looket it over, one eyebrow lifted.
"Wait a minute..." she began.
He smiled. "Yes, I know. That is an excerpt from one of their own book of laws."
"A book of their laws? But how..." asked Akane.
"Ite, let's just call that one of my many 'souvenirs'."
Nabiki gave the small booklet to Akane, whom after reading, raised both eyebrows
in surprise.
"Then, this means..."
"Yes. We can bring him out."
"But how, Xangfie? Security around the village is bound to be almost impregnable."
He smiled, and pulled a small folded note from his pocket, handing it to Nabiki.
"This, I give to you. Since you are arranging this entire 'epic saga', this will
be most usefull."
Nabiki unfolded the note. "It's a map. What good is a map to us? We do have Mousse
to lead us there."
"Perhaps, but this way is much safer. It is said that the founders of Joketsuzoku
used this trail to get to what would today be the village. It is considered sacred,
so there are bound to be no guards whatsoever. Believe me. I played on this trail
as a child."
"Thanks," said Nabiki.
"Let us get back to our original plan," he said. "Cologne is using a loop-hole
to get what she wants. The law states that, and I quote: 'Any foreign man who
defeats an amazon in combat must marry his defeated opponent.' This is what
she's using to her advantage. There is also a law that states: 'Love is too
strong an emotion to be tampered with, and must follow it's own course.'
As it has come to my knowledge, she has used many tricks to get Ranma to
fall in love with her initiate, Shampoo."
"But, Shampoo has used those on her own sometimes," said Mousse. He was a little
embarrased that he did not know that, and he was from the same tribe.
"Yes, but if an elder is present, regardless of the initiate's independent actions,
she must assume all responsability as the dominant authority. This is the one
detail she has overlooked. If she is in fact forcing Ranma in any way to love
Shampoo, she is violating this law. If this is presented before the entire
council, they will see that she has violated the laws, and will be punished.
Beware, though, she will try to defend her actions. But most likely, she will
be desperate. You MUST bring into view all her past attempts at Ranma, not
excluding ANYTHING.
"You must keep in mind that this will not be easy. Getting the council together
will be most difficult. Usually, they only come together for an important event.
This will be your one window. Should you fail, then use this." He produced a
small leather bag from thin air and gave it to Akane.
Akane inspected the content's, bringing out some purple powder into view. She let
it slide down her fingers and into the bag again.
"What is this?" she asked.
"That, is what I like to call, 'Counter-magic powder'. Regardless of whatever magic
or stuff she has used, it will erradicate all effects previous to the assault."
"Which means..." started Mousse, as he inspected the powder as well.
"Which means that if Ranma is under the influence of ANYTHING, he will snap
out of it. There is one small catch though."
All three looked at him.
"The powder's magic is very limited. Meaning, it will only work in the early stages
of other magic. If he is made to believe that he is in fact, truly in love with
Shampoo, it will be useless."
Akane looked at him, complete appreciation in her eyes. "Thank you so much. This
really means a lot."
"It is my pleasure. Well," he said as he stood, "I must go. Mousse, it was great
to see you again. Until next time." He extended his hand to a standing Mousse.
"Until next time, my friend," he replied as they shook hands.
"I will go now."
"Wait," said Akane. "I'll lead you out."
He nodded, leaving Mousse and Nabiki in the room, going over what they would do
if their plan worked.
"Thank you. I- just, we really appreciate your help," said Akane. She and Xangfie
were standing at the main doors.
"It is my pleasure." He gave her a quick hug. Akane blushed, but smiled and hugged
back.
"Just one more question," she said. "Why did you decide to help us?"
He smiled. "Mousse asked me to. We were playmates as children. And also..."
Akane blinked.
"I will not see another good person taken by the wishes of greedy old women, too
hooked on their power."
"I see..."
"One more thing." He snapped his fingers and a small black box appeared in his hand.
"Take this."
Akane took the box and opened it. Inside was a small stone, almost a pebble,
radiating a powerful blue. The color grew in intensity as she took it with her
fingers.
"What is it?"
"I don't know what it is, or what it does. My mother, Yi Ling, gave it to me while
I was still a child. I have spent most of my life studying it, but have come up
with nothing."
"Then why give it to me? It's yours. Your mother gave it to you..."
"She also told me that one day I should give it to a person in need. She said it
would be the salvation of that person. To this day, I still don't know what she meant,
but I feel you should have it."
Akane blushed. "Well, I don't know what to say, except thank you."
Xangfie answered an unasked question. "This is all I can do. I will not return to that
place. It brings back too many painful memories."
He looked square in the eyes. "I wish you the best of luck, Miss Tendo. May you
succeed."
With that he turned and began to walk away. Akane was dumbfounded.
*How did he know my name?* Rulling that as irrelevant, she remembered something
very important.
"WAIT! What if we need you again? How do we contact you?"
Xangfie stopped, but didn't turn. "You won't need me, I can assure you. I know the
ways of destiny, and have seen what your future holds. All will be well.
"Believe me..."
With that, he began walking again, a small black cloud slowly surrounding him, until
he was no longer visible. The cloud suddenly dissappeared and he was gone.
"Thank you..." she whispered, willing him to hear it. She was about to go back
inside, when she noticed a flicker of light to her right.
Ukyo slowly approached Akane, battle spatula strapped firmly to her back.
"I heard about Rab-chan, Akane."
"Ukyo, I'm sorry we didn't tell you. We have to get him out, and we don't have much
time..."
"Save it. I'm not mad. Not at you at least. Once I get my hands on that bimbo Shampoo
though..."
Ukyo made a face that even made Akane shiver.
"Ran-chan... may not... love me, but he still is my best friend. I want to help get him
back."
Akane smiled and nodded. She led her into the house and closed the door behind her.
End of Chapter 3
Author's Notes
I'm getting some comments on the story. Good one's, but I'll shed
some light.
People want to know if this a R/A, R/S, M/A fic. I'll tell you now.
As I said before, this story is a challenge addressed to me, but they
didn't specify couples.
And I won't either.
Anything can happen. This is totally unrelated to my other stories.
I want this fic to show how vulnerable we all are at some point in our
lives. Humans act differently in desperate situations, and that is exactly
the essence I want to transmit.
I know this chapter was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I came down
with a stupid flu, and only until today am I coherent enough to type.
Xangfie is a character I created; I needed him for THIS chapter only.
Don't expect to see him again.
Special note:
*Ranma's name, when broken down into syllables: Ran-Ma, can be interpreted as:
Ran: Wild ; Ma: Horse
I changed for for 'Stallion', because it sounds much cooler. Don't you think?
Thankx!
BlackDragon