Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. This story is for the free use and enjoyment of those who read it.
Schools United
Chapter Five
By Michael Fetter
She sometimes heard voices from her past, guiding her through some sort of maze in her mind. There were many paths, some so easy to follow she was certain they were leading her astray. Unasked, old acquaintances were telling their tale, so easy to believe and hard to piece together.
Kodachi had stayed for the day, leaving soon after to continue her family's business. A lot had changed for the woman. Two years she spent away from the world, either in prison or tied down to a bed while IVs passed medicine to her arm. It was easier to get along with her though Kodachi was still a snobbish bitch. Her laugh still grated, but it occurred less frequently.
After the police, Okaasan was busy collecting reimbursement from the department after having much of their supplies ripped apart. There was no need to press charges when they were looking for the person responsible for her friend's attack. Ranma would have torn her own belongings apart if it would help.
Dinner had been a good idea, Ranma thought, smiling as she considered her uneasy friend. They went back to the restaurant where Ukyou served up her best okonomiyaki and tea, a soda for Hiro. Kodachi had been much amused by the similarities between Hiro and her Ranma-sama and sat across from the little boy, smirking at him every now and then. Ranma imagined Kodachi was seeing some fond distant memory that probably never happened.
As the night went on, conversation brought out old and new friendships. It took some time for Ukyou to really talk with Ranma, but she was patient and in this case it helped to have Kuno Kodachi's presence. The surprise was really the amount of time Akane and Hiro spent with Konatsu. It could have been to give Ranma some private time with her old friends. Or maybe there was some connection her children found with the kunoichi because they did hold a lengthy, friendly conversation though Ranma hadn't heard any of it.
Personally, she thought it had something to do with how the three cringed each time Kodachi did laugh.
Okaasan was happy for Kodachi. She never would have guessed the loon from her childhood would ever make something of herself, but the girl had struggled through her problems. Now, head of Kuno Enterprises, she was a shrewd, intelligent businesswoman.
"Here." Ukyou said, holding the door open to a homely coffeehouse. It was one of the small business places, selling their own blends of coffee in brown bags with a free mug. Konatsu had told them about it and seemed like a perfect place to spend some time alone. They had a lot to work out.
A fairly quiet evening, Ranma found a booth in the back where they would have some privacy. Ukyou seemed a little self-conscious, looking around the shop at the other customers as if they were each here to document the meeting. She removed her jacket and scooted into the seat opposite Ranma. It was a semicircle for larger groups, but the late hour had left the place vacant enough to not make it a hassle for them to take the booth.
"Thank you for giving me a chance, Kounji-san." Ranma spoke softly, a small smile for her timid companion.
Ukyou wanted to say something but couldn't figure out the words. Her mouth clamped shut and tried a stuttered grin in reply. Flushing, she went to the little menu on the table, hoping to distract herself somehow in the printed words.
* * *
The black car pulled up to the curb beside the restaurant, a stain on the clean street. It had been very cool inside with recirculated air pouring out of vents along the edges of their seats. Kodachi was the only one who didn't seem out of place within the car, a stark contrast to her appearance in the light.
Ranma took a good look at the Ucchan now that she was seeing it during the day. It was another two-story building with the storefront on the first floor. It looked a little cramped between a music store and a bookstore, a narrow alley running along the left side to the rear parking and back door. The boards on the outside were clean and stained to keep them a rich earth brown, trimmed along the edges in white. The sign could light up at night, displaying the name in bright blue.
Without Ukyou and Konatsu there to open the restaurant it was dark and empty when they entered. Chairs were still set on the ground since no one had the time to actually clean. Ukyou found them a seat in the center of the room, a large round table with borrowed chairs to seat two extra.
"Hmm." Kodachi glanced about the room with some disdain. "I've never been in a restaurant that wasn't at least four stars. This will be quite an experience."
Ucchan's was a three star, very good for such a small-scale operation. Konatsu claimed it was all because of the Ukyou's talents in the kitchen. The chef said nothing and went into the kitchen to prepare their meals.
Leaning over the table to Ranma, Kodachi spoke in low tones. "While they're gone," Akane and Hiro were seated beside Okaasan. "I just want to apologize for my part in this," she glanced at Hiro, "tragic affair."
Ranma stared at the girl, unsure of how to actually take this. Instead she decided to get the Kuno's attention off her son. "I wasn't aware you ever played a part in my childhood, Kuno-san." It was a barbed response, but Kodachi wasn't affected in the least.
She made herself look abashed, which came off as amused to everyone who watched her. "A pivotal part, I'm certain."
"Do tell." Akane snorted and looked away when Kodachi turned her gaze on her.
Her voice rose for dramatic inflection as she sat back in her chair.
At least she doesn't pose like her brother used to, Ranma thought.
"You see." She began. "That day I learned of my dear Ranma-sama's plight to escape his dark betrothal."
Akane growled.
"That same day I concluded experiments for a new gas that I hoped to present to my Ranma-sama by way of a dozen black roses."
"How original." Akane spoke dryly.
Ranma cut in before Kodachi could respond. "A new potion, was it?"
She nodded. "Yes. As I recall, a love potion I'd been developing in my chemistry lab."
"It worked?"
Kodachi smirked. "I think the results speak for themselves." She brushed the argument aside. "What matters now is that I have claimed my responsibility and you can finally rest at peace."
Ranma stared at the businesswoman for a moment. It seemed to her that Kodachi thought everything forgiven and was free to move on with her life. She was; Ranma wasn't going to say anything about it, but Kodachi seemed ready to dismiss a life even she claimed to have clouded memories over. "What makes you think that I ever smelled your roses?"
Kodachi nodded solemnly. "Though I presented the roses to my Ranma-sama, he wisely whisked them away to another place far from him. I assumed that you must have come across them and this the result."
"I did get a quick whiff of them, but surely that couldn't have caused this." Ranma did recall knocking the flowers out of Kodachi's hands, but not before she had started to press them into her face. A faint trace of the odor had hung in the air as they flew into the house.
* * *
A boy, mid-teens, was standing in front of their table, small pad of paper and pencil in hand. He was the type of kid that tried to go through these little jobs only half-awake. It probably helped that it was getting into the evening. Thin black hair, too long for his pudgy face, was pulled back into a ponytail that was uneven and short.
"Two cappuccinos, one mocha, one hazelnut. Anything else?" He asked, staring rather pointedly at Okaasan's breasts. Ukyou frowned and told him that would be it. He still seemed reluctant to leave until Ukyou asked about her son.
Ranma smiled at the chef and went into some detail of Hiro's training. "He's got a lot of potential in the Art."
"Just like his mother then?"
"Hardly." Ranma smoothed out her kimono over her knees. "I expect such a manly son to far exceed my ability."
Ukyou took some time to think about this. She liked this new person, but felt guilty for feeling so. After what she had tried to do that dark night she simply couldn't find it in herself to seek any real redemption from the redhead. Ranma must have found the blade and known instantly who had been in the room while she slept.
"Will this be a ten year journey then?" Ukyou asked, a little depression working into her voice.
Ranma shook her head. "I know plenty to begin Hiro's training. We're simply looking for . . a place to start from."
Nodding, Ukyou fell into another moment of silence where she looked about the room, finding nothing particularly interesting and wishing for some sort of inspiration.
"Here you go." The boy had returned with the orders and set off again quickly, moving to a recently vacated table and cleaning it with a little hand towel stuck in his back pocket.
"Pretty good." Ranma commented through the steam rising off her cup.
Ukyou picked up her own and inhaled the scent before taking a tentative sip to check the temperature. It was good. She could get the same kind of flavor from a bag in the market, but something about the atmosphere made it seem much more unique.
Listening to the soft jazz play in the background, Ranma let her eyes wander over the decorations of the interior. It looked like the place had been a pub at one point. The coffee was made behind a long counter like a bar, but it was missing the stools. A large area across from them had been cleared out to make a sound stage for live performances. No one was there now so it sat in the darkness, ghosting in the corner. Everything was made in dark earth tones to give customers a feeling of melancholy. It wasn't extreme in anyway with overly bright neon signs or numerous posters of past bands to play in the establishment.
At length, Ranma returned her gaze to Ukyou who still seemed intent on finding something at the bottom of her cup. "So Konatsu is still working for you. Very loyal person."
"Yes." Ukyou may have been agreeing with the fact he was still working with her for all the enthusiasm she put into the response.
Ranma took another sip of her mocha and set it down. "Have the two of you ever-"
"No!" Ukyou instantly regretted the quick outburst and blushed, staring back down at her cup. "He just lives with me. For a while I think he tried to do something, but I was never interested. He got the idea, but stayed anyway."
Ranma had been searching for a way to bring a little life back into her friend and this seemed the best venue. Ukyou could talk continuously, the old Ukyou that is, about her restaurant and respond frankly about her life in general. She was hoping to find something in the middle where Ukyou would have to actively think of what she was saying.
"And Tsubasa? Haven't seen him around yet."
"Yet is right." Ukyou complained almost harshly. "Sorry, but thinking about him makes me kind of angry."
Another sip. "In what way?"
Ukyou sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I kicked the jackass out of my restaurant about the same time I left Nerima. Unfortunately for me the guy won't take a hint." She growled and took a swallow from her cup.
Ranma waited patiently for Ukyou to continue.
"Every now and then he shows up in my restaurant or on the street while I'm out shopping or something. It's always something different. You remember what he was like?" Ukyou asked, less timid about the outing already.
She nodded.
"Well, he's got a new angle to try and win me by each time. Sometimes it's really lame, disguising himself as something to follow me around town, offer me some gift as if it would make it all better." She snorted and took another sip of the drink. "Other times he's completely off the wall and I need Konatsu to help me get rid of him."
Ukyou laughed sharply. "I must not be hitting him hard enough to get through that thick skull of his."
"So he still comes by?"
Ukyou nodded. "I think he's finally losing interest now. Doesn't visit quite so often as he used to."
Ranma nodded and let her mind settle on the past for a moment. She recalled the strange ninja who could disguise himself as almost anything. There hadn't been much time for Ranma to get into detail over the reasons of Tsubasa's obsession with Ukyou. It couldn't have been that much different from Konatsu's, Kodachi's, or even Ukyou's.
Life was not easy as people fell in love and rarely fell out of it again without some physical damage. It was the strangest, most drawn out love triangle imaginable. Princes used to come and snatch Akane away and like a dutiful fiancée, Ranma went to the girl's rescue. She'd have done the same for any of them because she loved them all in her own way.
Ukyou had loved her; Ranma knew that even in her youth. Though the most Ranma had ever felt for the chef was a close friendship it never swayed Ukyou's heart.
The chance had never occurred, to which Ranma was grateful, but if it had, she would've gone to save Ukyou without a second thought.
"Tendou-san," Ukyou seemed to want and reach over, seeing the hurt look Ranma had gotten. "What is it?"
The fog lifted from her vision and Ranma looked over at Ukyou, the concern evident on her face. She wanted to ask something then, but it wasn't right. So Ukyou left Nerima. There were reasons, the knife. Lots of reasons.
Ranma put on a kind smile and hid the pain behind Okaasan. "Nothing. Just thinking."
"Oh." Ukyou sat back and finished off the contents of her cup. "Okay."
Like herself, Ukyou probably had no idea what she was drinking any longer. She wanted to believe there was still the base friendship between them, but the air was so tense around Ukyou. Ranma knew that something had to be said, but Ukyou had to breach that subject. It was the only way for them to begin communicating again.
"So . . How are the Tendous?" Ukyou finally broke the silence with a bad skip around her problem. She cringed even before it escaped her lips. "I mean, how are your, uhm, daughters?"
Smiling as if the slip had never occurred, Ranma settled her cup, rattling on the saucer. "They're fine. Kasumi married Dr. Toufuu and they have two children, Kei and Yuri."
Ukyou nodded, having expected the marriage. Everyone had except the couple themselves. "Nabiki is still single, I'm sure." Ranma nodded. "How about Akane? Any luck there?" Again, Ukyou cringed and wished she could take it back.
Unfazed, Ranma shook her head. "She's been a bit . . flighty." In the small amount of silence that followed, Ukyou twiddled her thumbs, lost in how to continue and circumvent the subject. "I'm not seeing anyone either."
"What?" Ukyou blinked and looked up.
Shrugging, Ranma finished her cup. "Well, we went through everyone else."
Ukyou smiled sheepishly, then her eyes turned somber. "Am I being stupid?"
Considering it, Ranma shook her head. "We all skirt the things that make us uncomfortable. But things never get solved until you decide to face it."
"Something you learned growing up?" Ukyou half-laughed, not really settling her nerves. Ranma just sat and stared at her, patiently waiting to guide her friend back.
Settling down, Ukyou placed her hands' palms down on the table and swallowed hard. "I was in love with you, Ranma."
There was no smile or anger or pity on Ranma's face to distract Ukyou from what she had to say.
"It hurt a lot to see you like that. I didn't want to believe it. I opened the restaurant, dealt with the customers, cleaned up, and went back to bed to get ready for another day, hoping the routine would work into me so fully that I could maybe forget . . everything." Her eyes glistened in the light as she stared at the redhead across from her. The old Ranma would be at her side already and trying to make her smile again. This one only waited for her to purge all the emotion out of her system, where the real healing was.
"When you came by that time, and I yelled, it was like the great, unflappable truth of what place I had in your life. I didn't like it. I didn't like you. I didn't like myself."
Ranma saw the unconscious gesture of Ukyou's to rub the insides of her wrists. The slight bit of scarred flesh caught the low light and made her feel a stab of pain. Never, not this life or the last, did she want her fiancées to feel this way.
"That's why you're here, isn't it?" Ukyou asked so softly that it was a whisper.
That was partially it, Ranma told herself. She did want to know that it had hurt Ukyou to leave her. Ranma had told herself when she was younger that she would not have done the same thing if she were in love. Okaasan wondered if that was even the same as what Ukyou had gone through.
"No. Not completely. I came here for something else, as well."
Ukyou nodded and waited, bracing herself for anything. A hand grasped her shoulder and Ukyou opened her eyes back up.
Ranma stood before her, looking deeply into her eyes, wandering those depths with hope and kindness. "I wanted my friend back."
Smiling, Ukyou grabbed Ranma by the waist and dragged her in for a long-awaited embrace, burying her head against Ranma's flat stomach. She felt the smaller girl fold her arms over her back and shush her quavering emotions. "I missed you Ranchan."
"And I you, Ucchan."
* * *
"Akane?" Okaasan noticed her daughter's strange smile. "What is it?"
The others turned to look at her as well while Akane shook her head to clear her thoughts. She seemed to hesitate for a moment then firmed.
"I was just thinking." Akane responded. "That day, Kodachi's brother also came by, remember?"
Okaasan closed her eyes to think back. She seemed to recall something and nodded her head. "Yes. I saw him flying through the air into Kodachi."
Kuno Kodachi blinked and tried to remember the event as well. "Are you certain? As I recall a blue-white demon picked me up and threw me out of the backyard. Right into Midorgame's pit." She growled a bit and clenched a fist, a little of the old fire returning to her eyes.
Akane smirked but made no comment of how Kodachi arrived at the 'tragic' end. "Anyway, he zipped into the house and took a seat beside daddy and myself. He was going to ask daddy for consent to marry me."
Snorting, Kodachi took a quick sip of her tea and avoided Akane's angry gaze.
Clenching her teeth, Akane continued. "I remember him presenting a bundle of his usual roses."
"So what?" Ukyou seemed perturbed that Akane would waste their time.
"Yes, Daughter." Okaasan agreed with Ukyou. "Please come to your point."
"If she even has one." Kodachi muttered.
Another glare passed between the two old rivals. "The roses were black, Kodachi." She spat out the other girl's name.
"Could they have been the flowers Kodachi gave you, Tendou-san?" Ukyou asked.
Okaasan shrugged and looked to Akane to continue. "Would you not have been affected by the potion if they were the same roses, Daughter?"
Akane shook her head. "Uh-uh. I passed them off to daddy real quick. Kuno got plenty mad at him, saying 'tis not you whom I pledge myself'." Her imitation of Tatewaki was a little over the wall, but even Kodachi found it amusing. "You should have seen daddy. He was so funny."
Okaasan was in deep thought as the meal continued. The rest continued to talk about those meaningless things that people focused on while in bad company. Akane and Hiro departed the table and followed Konatsu to the kitchen for some desert after hearing another round of Kodachi's laughing. Ukyou withstood the annoying chortle, even sitting next to the once rival, across the table from Okaasan.
Ukyou was getting better about her presence and set herself to trying to become familiar with Ranma again. She seized up when Okaasan offered Ukyou to call her Ranma, so she went back to staring at her hands on her lap.
Ranma worried for her friend. Ukyou was having a real hard time of all of this and she didn't know why. She had suspected more of the people here to jump on Kodachi as she made her confession, but Ukyou only slumped in her chair a little and Akane had had that smile.
The kitchen doors swung closed and Okaasan could hear Hiro's applause for the opening freezer. Akane made some comment that got a laugh out of Konatsu, and the door stopped swinging, cutting off the small laughter.
* * *
"The jackass came back the first time claiming everything had been taken care of and we could marry. Can you believe it? Strutted up to me, grabbed me about the waist and tried to kiss me in front of all my customers. I had to get Konatsu's help just to pry him off of me." Ukyou shook her head in disgust. "I never liked him that much, but the way he grabbed me then made me feel sick to my stomach."
Ranma certainly thought this strange. "I wonder what got into him? I don't think he ever made it to the Tendou home so he couldn't have known about me."
Ukyou seemed to think about it and brushed it aside as well. "Could've been you. He came back pretty late in the day and by that time you were probably at the clinic. The jackass might've disguised himself as Betty to get first hand knowledge of your condition."
The idea that anyone might have been watching Toufuu probe around down there and the pregnancies cancellation of her curse made Ranma feel ill herself. Her face turned slightly green as she thought back to the last time that she'd seen Tsubasa. Probably a week before the incident when she caught the boy waitressing at the Nerima Ucchan.
Waving away the discussion of Tsubasa, Ranma went for another subject of some interest to them both. "Before I came I found out you were trying to adopt."
Ukyou stared at her, mouth agape. "How?"
"Nabiki." She shrugged as Ukyou rolled her eyes. "Sorry, but I asked her to help me find you."
Nodding, Ukyou twirled her finger around her cup. "S'alright. What about it?" A sudden rush of hope filled her as she recalled how easily Nabiki seemed to get things done. "You don't think that Nabiki could help push those adoption papers through, do you?"
Smiling sadly, Ranma shook her head. "No, Nabiki is a stock market analyst now, but there is something else."
"What?"
Biting her lower lip, Ranma closed her eyes in a quick prayer before she looked at Ukyou again. "It involves Hiro and . . me."
* * *
They returned to the sound of clattering metal and chirping voices. The front area was empty, lights left on for their return from the coffee shop. Kodachi had taken off not long after the meal they shared. She headed back to her hotel and waited out the day with room service and old, classic movies most likely.
Ukyou shrugged at Ranma's silent question and they locked the door behind them, a section of plywood fit over the broken glass to hold off the cold. The room was warm and smelled of okonomiyaki and something else. There was a happy laugh from the kitchen and Ranma followed Ukyou through the swinging door.
It stopped suddenly, only halfway open. Ukyou nearly tripped, but steadied herself and peered around at the likely devastation of her kitchen, an inevitability with Akane around.
There was a squawk from the other side and the door opened completely. Flustered, Akane turned back to the door and patted her chest to calm her heart. "Scared me."
"Sorry, sugar." Ukyou smiled at the girl and felt better. The strange smell had definitely been Akane's doing, but Konatsu seemed to have prevented any substantial damage. "What's going on?"
Konatsu stood up from his position beside Hiro, wiping his hands on the apron about his kimono. "I was teaching them to make okonomiyaki, Lady Ukyou. You don't mind do you?"
Shaking her head, Ukyou let Ranma in after her, the site clear of danger. Stepping lightly around the grill, she looked over the attempts they had made so far. "Not bad." She smiled at Hiro. "A few more years and I'll hire you on as my new chef, kiddo."
Hiro beamed at the praise and set to whipping the batter as Konatsu had shown him. He indicated another set of okonomiyaki with a nod to the opposite counter. "Those are Akane-neechan's."
Akane stood in front of them, waving her hands about in a warding gesture. "She doesn't need to see-"
Okaasan was already behind her and holding a plate up for inspection. "Honestly, my teaching seems to go in one ear and out the other."
It was heavier than it looked. The green and black food was the same semi-circular shape as regular okonomiyaki, but that was where the comparison ended.
Akane blushed in embarrassment and hung her head, hands held behind her back. She used to whine and complain any time her food was criticized, but each time Okaasan would hold up a piece on a fork and ask her to take a bite. The first few times she had fallen for the 'trick' and ran for the bathroom with the intent of remaining there for a good hour. "Sorry, Ukyou."
The chef blinked, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Patting Akane on the shoulder, she indicated there was nothing to forgive and looked over the food herself. "Stick around awhile, sugar, and we'll get those things looking . . edible."
Hiro snickered in the background and poured some of his batter onto the grill under Konatsu's supervision.
Grumbling, Akane shuffled on her feet then looked at the disaster Ukyou held in her hands. It couldn't be helped, and she began to laugh as well.
"Oh, we're running out of sugar." Konatsu remarked, hefting the near-empty plastic container it was usually held in.
"I'll get it." Akane piped up quickly and walked out to the storage room.
The grill sizzled as Konatsu helped Hiro turn over another okonomiyaki. Ukyou and Ranma watched with some satisfaction to the boy's good work.
"Say Hiro." Ukyou called out. "You must really like okonomiyaki if you're going to make so many of them. I'll bet you'll be stuffed when you finish them."
He put a hand over his mouth and laughed. "No, I'm makin'em for everyone. I can't eat this many."
"Really? You're mom could probably finish two of those when she was your age."
Okaasan smiled at the familiar tactics to yoke someone's pride. A fair way to throw people off in a fight and to get someone to do something stupid and amusing. Hiro fell for it as Ukyou likely expected.
"Well I can eat three cause I'm gonna be bigger and stronger n'her, huh mom?" Konatsu flipped the food on the grill as Hiro had forgotten to watch it.
Face drawn in a serious expression, Ranma playfully acknowledged her son's great potential. "Oh, such a manly son will be bigger than the most intimidating mountain and stronger than the crashing tide."
Rolling her eyes, Ukyou stared at her friend. "Ack, you're starting to sound like your father."
The grins wavered and Hiro returned to his cooking, talking excitedly to distract himself. Ranma stared at her son for a moment, putting up another smile when she noticed Ukyou's confused and apologetic expression.
The kitchen door swung open and Akane walked in with a bag of sugar in one hand. Spotting how closely Ranma and Ukyou were sitting to each other on the counter, she passed the sugar off to Konatsu and went to sit beside Okaasan.
"Good." Ranma clapped and hopped off the counter, pulling Ukyou down with her. "Now that you're back Akane, I had an announcement to make."
Staring at the hold Ranma had on Ukyou's hand, Akane felt herself tensing up. "W-What's that?"
"Hiro." Ranma smiled and beckoned the boy over. "Ukyou used to be my best friend when I was growing up and she is very special to me. I asked her to do something very special for both of us."
Hiro blinked and look back and forth between Okaasan and the woman he'd first met yesterday. From his vantage he could see Akane slowly stewing, the veins in her arms rising to the surface. He hoped that the announcement wasn't going to make his older sister angry again since she tended to yell a lot and people got flattened. "What?"
Pushing the chef forward slightly, Ranma patted Ukyou on the back. "Hiro, meet your Godmother."
He blinked. Akane blinked. Ranma and Ukyou were smiling so he smiled back. "What's that?"
Kneeling down, Ukyou continued to smile and ruffled the boy's hair. "Means I'll be sort of like an Aunt, only I'm not related so I get to spoil you rotten."
"Well, you and my mom apparently." Ranma coughed under her breath.
"That's great!"
Everyone turned to see a much-relieved Akane smiling so hard her face would crack if she went much further. Giving her daughter a questioning look, Ranma returned to Hiro and Ukyou.
"So, what do you think, sugar?" Ukyou asked.
Hiro looked over at Konatsu who also seemed happy over this. "Can I come over and make more okonomiyaki?"
Smiling brighter than she had in years, Ukyou nodded and gave the boy a crushing hug. "Any time you want, sugar."
* * *
Akane was moving about the small room that Ukyou had put them up in, a small tune hanging in the air. She was humming some happy little ditty Ranma hadn't heard before. Finished making her bed she knelt down on the sleeping bag and fluffed her borrowed pillow.
"So is that what this was all about?" Akane asked, flopping down onto her bed. Hiro rolled over in his sleep as the vibrations worked through the floorboards. "You got me all worked up over nothing."
"I got you worked up?" Okaasan asked, eyebrow arched. "What do you mean nothing?"
Closing her eyes and smiling, Akane put her head back on the pillow. After all this time, she should have trusted Okaasan more. There was no need to go off like that back in Sapporo. Nabiki was right, sort of. Okaasan just needed a little time to work things out with her other ex-fiancée and then she would be ready.
Akane opened her eyes to find Okaasan looking at her expectantly. Soon, she thought. "I didn't mean anything. So did you get what you wanted from Ukyou?"
Taking a deep breath, Okaasan folded herself up within her sleeping bag, her back to Akane. "I'm just glad she accepted."
Nodding, Akane reached up to the light switch by the door. "Goodnight, Ranma." Eyes closing again as she turned onto her side, going into a blissful sleep.
* * *
On the edge of her bed, looking into the vanity mirror across the room, Ukyou appeared lost in thought, seeing through herself to another person beneath the surface. She'd felt like a hollow copy of her former self. After losing Ranma things just didn't fill her with any joy; it was all a flat cutout to the life she remembered.
Another request form was half-filled in her handwriting awaiting completion at the small desk. She signed and finished those adoption papers so many times, Ukyou imagined she could answer each of the questions in her sleep. It wasn't likely to get a favorable response, unwed, full-time chef, living above a restaurant, with little time to devote to a small child.
She wondered if it still needed finishing. Ranma had been sincere about making her Hiro's godmother, Ukyou was certain of it. With the Tendou home sold, perhaps Ranma would find somewhere to settle close by and she could see Hiro whenever she wanted. It would be the closest thing she could get to sharing a child with her old love.
Ranma was different now certainly, but maybe he would rediscover himself on this journey.
Ukyou sagged under the sudden depression. She had to stop thinking of her old fiancée. He was a dead memory. Even if Ranma chose to be male again, he would never be who he was. No one could forget so many traumatizing years where your very identity was ripped apart.
Hard to evaluate something like that. Ranma was hurt, likely gone forever, but Hiro was the beautiful and energetic son she had suffered through life to raise. You couldn't stand on one side of this issue without denying someone important.
"Lady Ukyou? Are you feeling well?"
She stared at the kunoichi, his hair falling down the petite frame dressed in his nightgown. Was this her life? The man closest to her now was a cross-dressing kunoichi she would never love. Didn't she want something more?
Ukyou almost snorted at the question. Of course there were things she wanted, but experience told her she would have to live without them. Maybe she could get by with being a godmother.
Sighing, Ukyou resigned herself to everything as fate and tried to deal with it the way she always had.
A shake of the head. "No."
Ukyou closed the door on Konatsu and returned to her bed. Things were too confusing to be alright.
On the landing for the second floor, Ukyou had caught up with the redhead before going to bed. She hadn't been certain what to say then. Happiness for the opportunity Ranma was offering her was more than she had felt in a long time. It confused her then and it still did.
Ranma had asked if there was something wrong and she only stared at the blue, troubled eyes of this stranger. A new friend who wore her old fiancée's cursed form. None of that seemed to register as she felt the material beneath her hand. It rested on Ranma's shoulder where she had stopped the smaller girl in the hallway.
In a sudden swarm of emotions, caught up in the moment, Ukyou had grabbed Ranma's other shoulder and pulled the redhead in for a short embrace. She didn't recall who started it, but their lips met somewhere in the middle and Ukyou hadn't let go. The need was there and she let it take control, losing herself in a moment of fantasy Ukyou recalled from happier times.
When it ended, Ukyou looked back into those blue eyes and saw a need similar to her own. It excited and frightened her. A quick apology later and Ukyou had locked herself away in her room, staring at the vanity mirror across from her.
Two fingers trailed lightly over her lips, recalling the pressure they'd felt.
Unsure of how to truly feel about the kiss, she turned out the lights and headed for bed. Hopefully it would be clearer in the morning.
* * *
With the lights out, only the faint traces of the moon through dense clouds illuminated the room. Ranma smiled as she stared off to the opposite corner, seeing visions in the night, vivid in her mind. Her fingers brushed over her lips, replaying the pleasant memory over and over again.
Her hand dropped onto the pillow beside her head as sleep finally overcame her. The smile never left her face as her day dreaming followed her into the night.
Outside, lightning broke through the darkness, flashing ominously to the north. Low rumbling crawled over the two-story building, shaking the dishes slightly as it moved through the lower levels up. There was a small amount of clatter, the katana Okaasan had placed on the nightstand at the foot of her sleeping bag hitting the ground, scabbard detaching from the wrist guard to peak at the shining blade beneath.
* * *
The storm was beginning to pick up in force, rain falling in drenching amounts upon those who had forgotten their umbrellas. Despite the sting of hard rainfall and the chill of strong winds, she smiled, watching her little toy staring at the monument with great enthusiasm.
Her cackle was lost in the following thunder that crashed upon the area like a legion of firing cannons. It was a deep base, which pooled into your stomach and left the weaker people feeling sick. She reveled in the awesome power rumbling through her body, shaking her to the bone.
Tatewaki likely hadn't noticed the thunder or the storm as he stood before the relatively new plot in the graveyard. His shoulders began shaking as he traced the name italicized across the epitaph. A strange sound like a sharp yelp of a dog began to repeat itself in her ears.
She couldn't tell if the boy was really happy, sad, or trying to harmonize with the storm. The question was answered as Tatewaki grabbed the bokuto strapped to his side and began to lay into the marker.
He laughed; the sound would've scared the deaf. It was the kind of maniacal gesture you expected to hear from the deranged men who toyed with their victims for as long as they had breath to scream. A serial killer, she thought.
She was sort of a serial killer. Such a great obsession over one person for all these years was certainly a condition of the social problem. It brought a smile to her face to think of the things serial killers did to their victims, those she had read from the newspaper.
"Silly mortal!" Kuno stabbed his bokuto into the earth several times where he imagined the defiler of his pigtailed goddess to rest. "Did you think you could hold her in your will forever! The dark magic binding her is now broken and she shall be mine once again! If you still lived I would tear you limb from limb before my fiery haired goddess, to see her satisfaction in a smile that is mine!"
She remained quiet during these little tirades of his, waiting for the energy to work its way out of his system. Tatewaki could still be a danger to her if she wasn't careful, but she was smart. She knew how to deal with fools like this. Smirking, she saw her game coming to an end soon. All the pieces were falling into place. Another day or two, that was all it needed.
"May your soul know torment for your eternity in hell, sorcerer! Hahahahaha!" Another series of slashes brought the tombstone to a pile of rubble at the young man's feet.
Soon, she thought merrily, flexing her fingers in anticipation. Soon, Ranma. So very soon.
End Chapter Five
* * *
If you were having trouble with the mystery, here was a big hint session. A reminder, the contest rules are posted on my site and thus far the prize is the winners' names put up on my website and I will send them out prize banners to put on their own websites. Of course, if you don't have a website and you win, these banners also make handy dandy monetary units in the not too distant dream you may be having!
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Ja ne.