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 Ten
By Michael Fetter
The winter here is cold and bitter,
Chills us to the bone.
I haven't seen the sun for weeks,
Too long, too far from home.
Feels just like I'm sinking,
And I claw for solid ground.
Pulled down by the undertow,
Never thought I could feel so low.
Oh darkness, I feel like letting go.
If all of the strength and all of the courage
Come and lift me from this place
I know I could love you much better than this,
Full of grace, full of grace.
-Sarah McLachlan 'Full of Grace'
~
It was time for another pass of the ditch. Stiffly moving about in the morning of their guard duty, to women armed with poleaxes shambled through the remote clearing of a non-descript hut. Normally this part of the route was not taken since a prisoner was not often held more than a day. They were either tried or killed. It had been some time since a prisoner had been tried at Jusenkyou. Shampoo had been the last.
Normally a dreary activity, the two were met with silence even as they came within hearing distance of the buffoon locked away in the earth. Obscenities they could not comprehend had been screamed constantly for nearly three days since the Matriarch's honored guests had arrived. Villagers still whispered of the ki display that the stately redhead had offered them. Lotion's reaction was still a little lost on them. Outside of the Council few Amazons actually knew of how heated the Matriarch's rivalry was towards Matriarch Cologne. The Council my have expected this, but the rest had thought the old woman insane. Okaasan was surely one of them in every way but blood.
Only silence met them this day. A pleasant change considering, but signs of evil were about.
"Look!" The first pointed to a pair of black birds lying side by side on the ground. Their black bodies were twitching; slight jerks to prove they still lived. About them a few dark rose petals were scattered, conspicuously, by the wind and trailing to the cell.
Hurrying, the two rushed into the hut and found the cell's grate removed and the pit empty. Both felt a chill run through their system and held their weapons tighter.
The village needed to know about this.
~
"Well?"
Okaasan stopped her pacing as she heard Mousse's footsteps walk crisply up to his house. She and her family had been waiting there for some news of the people who had been kidnapped for nearly three days now. Nabiki, Kasumi, Ryouga, and her mother had remained at her side, somehow deciding she was in control now.
"Nothing." Mousse shook his head. "We couldn't find any indication of who took them or where they were taken."
"Are any other Amazon's missing?" Kasumi asked softly. She felt guilty for the hope others had been taken since it may keep the assailants from focusing on her little sister so much.
Mousse continued to face Okaasan, also feeling she was the one in charge. Ever since the other day, no Amazon would pass the elegant and powerful redhead without offering a sign of respect. "No. Only Shampoo, your daughter, Akane, and Kodachi; her servant has not seen her since she first arrived."
Nabiki had a look of consternation as she went over everything that had happened since she, Kasumi, and Grandmother had arrived. Except for the fact more than just Akane had been kidnapped, she could imagine herself being seventeen all over again. A revolting thought occurred to her. "Could it have been Happousai?"
Okaasan made a look of distaste. "Maybe, Nabiki. But I don't know when or why he would have done it. Also, he is in no condition to do anything right now."
"Oh I could think of a why the pervert might have done it." Nabiki stuck out her tongue like she had tasted something awful.
Continuing his report, Mousse cocked his head one way as if hearing something on the wind, very likely considering how much his other senses had to make up for his poor eyesight. "One of the guards says they saw a strangely dressed woman enter the area yesterday."
"Any details?"
He shook his head again. "I'm afraid not. She had disappeared by the time the guards had gone to investigate."
"Whoever it was they chose their opportunities wisely. Shampoo was probably taken while out in the forest training. Akane, as she watched over the children. And Kodachi was probably kidnapped while Sasuke was busy watching over Tatewaki." Okaasan looked up from her musing to see Mousse still listening for something. Past his shoulder, she could see the young girl from yesterday running up the road.
"What is it?" Okaasan asked as Soap stopped in front of her with a short bow.
Soap set her metal tipped staff on the ground and looked straight ahead; it was custom within the village to never question your elders and thus never looking them in the eye. "Psycho Stick Boy is gone."
Okaasan bit a piece of her lip in thought. She decided it was time to start taking a look around on her own. Blush, Hiro, and Saffron were being attended to by a number of Amazon guards so they should be fine. They only knew where Saffron had been taken. Why did everything seem to involve Jusenkyou in her life?
The girls and her mother remained behind with Mousse as Okaasan left for the main gates. Out of duty and concern, Ryouga decided he would follow. The few guards they passed nodded their heads to Okaasan and she returned the recognition. With the Council broken, she had heard rumors that many considered her a good replacement. Okaasan rather doubted she would except however. She was still searching for her place, but she knew it was not in China.
The gates were closed in case of a repeat attack and the sentry guard had been doubled. It took the two women near the latch almost a minute to build enough momentum to move the large wood gate.
"I've got you now, Ranma!"
Okaasan spun on her foot on instinct as a woman with a dirty pink frill dress jumped through the open gates with a pair of tantos in her hand. The slashes missed by mere centimeters. Taking a defensive stance, Okaasan faced her opponent and frowned. She knew that color, having seen it only once before, and then knew who it must be.
The 'girl' was tackled to the ground before she could complete her landing. Ryouga wrestled with the cross-dresser until he came back with a cut on his forearm. Ryouga growled, "Not this time, Tsubasa!"
Back turned to the gate, Okaasan had barely enough time to avoid the second to jump through the open gates. "You will die outsider!"
Okaasan had missed having her head impaled by the splintered staff and found her self facing two fighters intent on killing her. The small body and long white hair made it easy to tell who the second was. "You are only hurting yourself by doing this, Lotion!"
Lotion's smile showed off a row of teeth as her hands rolled the staff about her body. "No, outsider. I am going to hurt you!" the old woman lunged at Okaasan, spearing at the redhead with her staff.
As the fight began a crowd began to draw nearer. If this were war, there would be no hesitation to helping, but Okaasan was not a part of the tribe and she was engaged in a one on one duel. It was a matter of honor they not take the glory from the one they revered.
"You'll suffer for this, Ryouga!" Tsubasa screamed, losing his feminine posturing and rushing in with another attack.
Ryouga dodged and countered, more than a match for Tsubasa except that the cross-dresser was looking to stick his short swords into Ryouga's body. The idea of becoming a pincushion didn't much interest the 'Lost Boy' and he began attacking Tsubasa's arms.
After the next slash, Ryouga palm-stroke Tsubasa in the face and then chopped at the wrists while he was stunned. Tsubasa screamed and dropped one of the blades. Ryouga caught the following sideswipe with one hand and ran his elbow into Tsubasa's cheek. The pretty boy fell to the ground in a heap.
Breathing through his nose, Ryouga turned back around as he heard the sound of a sword leaving its scabbard.
Okaasan was annoyed. Lotion kept her attacks so close that she did not have enough time to toss a ki blast, having to go onto the defensive anytime she looked for the power. Lotion was not the fastest she'd seen, but the old woman knew how to keep good combinations going so Okaasan's attention was always on the move.
Leveling the playing field meant drawing her weapon. Cutting through the air with a hiss, Okaasan took off a good portion of Lotion's staff. The old woman adapted, taking the remainder like a bokken.
While Okaasan was focused on the impromptu bokken and building a ki-blast, Ryouga could see the old woman slipping out a knife into her back hand. He had to help Okaasan out, and after that . . . "God damnit! Let the fuck go of me!" Ryouga growled as Tsubasa grabbed him by the foot and then rearing back to plunge a tanto into his thigh. Ryouga kicked before the blade could cut him and sent the cross-dresser and all flying through the air, not good considering he'd been facing Tendou-san. "Tendou-chan, look out!"
"DIE OUTSIDER!"
It was instinct. Okaasan was about to be overwhelmed. Two of them, Lotion, quickly followed by Tsubasa, were falling upon her with a fury. There was energy that could be released, but she could not trade the ki without finding herself stuck through by both of her opponents' weapons.
It was almost a strange sight to see Okaasan move so exotically. She fell back in a deep stance that left one leg exposed outside of her kimono. Her back hand arched upwards behind her like a Spanish dancer while the front shot forward, straight and true to the sun, the katana held deftly in a forward thrust.
Lotion and Tsubasa shared the same look of surprise as they stared down upon Tendou. The gleaming metal line that ran from her was now directing a stream of red that dripped past its hand guard, staining the cloth wrapped grip and dribbling over her fingers.
Okaasan looked back up at the two, her angry features softening into something like sorrow. She pulled back cleanly, hearing the give of flesh as the katana retracted from their chests, the light scratch of metal over bone. Okaasan rose quickly to avoid the two as they collapsed upon the ground in a growing pool of blood.
"Great grandmother!" Soap jumped through the crowd of Amazons who had gathered to observe the fight. She rushed straight to Lotion and pulled her from beneath Tsubasa to examine the old woman's body. There was no life in her and she stared up at the sky in a look of utter shock.
Okaasan held the katana towards the ground and came up behind the girl, placing a hand on Soap's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Soap."
She shook her head and gathered the old woman into her arms. "Not your fault. Great grandmother know what she do." Soap looked up to Okaasan with sad eyes and bowed. "I take care of great grandmother." The crowds parted as the girl made her way out.
Okaasan wiped her sword over Tsubasa's dress and shook off a small spray of blood from her hand.
"Okaasan." Nabiki and the rest had rushed towards the village center after hearing the commotion. Nabiki stood on the inside of the crowd of watchers, staring at the corpse at Okaasan's feet. "What if it had been one of them?"
Okaasan considered, but shook her head. "I doubt it." The katana snapped back into place in the scabbard. "But now we'll never know."
Slowly the crowd began to dissolve. Two of the sentries ran up to Tsubasa's body, nodded once to Okaasan, and left to dispose of the remains. Nabiki still stood in the square, staring at where Tsubasa had been, only the blood remaining, unable to tear away her gaze.
Okaasan watched her mother and Kasumi grab a hold of Nabiki and begin dragging her away. Her right hand was sticky with drying blood. Scowling, Okaasan gripped her sword tighter; there was nothing to be done about it. "Come on, Ryouga."
"Where are we going?" He asked after a short silence.
"Where they found Saffron."
~
The haze in her mind was slowly beginning to fade. The back of Ukyou's head throbbed and she was still seeing stars on the outside of her vision. There was no way for her to tell how long she'd been in this cold place, but it felt like days to her body.
The floor was cool earth. Bits of gravel and twigs poked at her skin as she lay on her side, seemingly alone, other voices coming to her, but muffled as if by a thin wall.
Her hands and feet were bound to each other by a good length of sturdy rope that was wrapped about her wrists and ankles a number of times. Her shoulders hurt from being held backwards for so long and her hands had gone numb. The skin was worn down around the ropes and continued to be scraped uncomfortably when she shifted. There was hair in her face that she tried to spit out, but received another length of it with some dirt that made her cough.
Ukyou quieted down quickly. Her captors may still be around and waiting for her to wake. If she could avoid the beating that was likely in store for her she would pretend to be asleep. She wished she had the strength to snap these bonds or free herself like some other martial artists could, but they were tied too tightly for her. Ukyou's real skill came in the kitchen or with her battle spatula. Tied in an awkward position and left on the floor, Ukyou was helpless.
There were others here, but she hadn't seen them with the blindfold over her eyes. Only heard them cry out. By the sound of it, Kodachi was being knocked around. It was someone else before her; they were moving down the line. Ukyou hadn't heard strangled moan or whispered prayer of the other girl and she was afraid for what it meant.
The last had started out as screams of outrage. Her voice spat with anger and disgust as she was being abused. She was brought in not long after herself, but since then Ukyou had heard the repetitive gasps and cries echoing along with the slap of flesh on flesh. Ukyou had thought Akane so strong, but she heard the girl crying now, lonely muffled sobs, like a frightened girl calling for her mother.
Ukyou wished, prayed, that Akane's cries were answered soon.
Footsteps; someone was coming to her. Ukyou dropped her head back onto the ground and relaxed her limbs, hoping to seem unconscious still.
~
"What are we doing here, Tendou-chan?" Ryouga had felt his shoulders slump in defeat after they found nothing. He leaned up against a near by tree and watched Tendou-chan continue walking about the area, carefully and quietly stepping about every outcropping of vegetation like it was all evidence.
Okaasan was beginning to wonder upon that as well. Ten minutes she had searched the area for any indication of a struggle. Except for the indication of where Saffron had been found beneath one of the trees, there was nothing. Whoever had done this had hit the Phoenix fast and hard, blind-siding them most likely.
"Looking for something to point us in the right direction." She replied with a little annoyance in her voice. There was nothing here, she'd known that after a few minutes, and yet she was still searching. Okaasan sighed and took a deep breath, making her way to the edge of one of the pools and staring down into it. These were the last places she hoped to find her daughter and the rest. More tragic tales for the guide to record.
Frowning, Ryouga stood away from the tree he'd been leaning against as he watched Tendou-san close onto the spring. "Forget the springs. We need a guide."
"A guide." Okaasan nearly snorted in bitter laughter. It would be like the 'Lost Boy' to think of looking for a guide.
Her mind blinked and took a step back figuratively and literally. Guide? The Chinese man and his daughter, where were they? "Where is the Jusenkyou guide's hut, Ryouga?"
"Uh, over that way I think." Ryouga pointed of to the South.
Quirking her lip, Okaasan set off in the opposite direction.
~
The guides hut was a little larger than she remembered. Okaasan led Ryouga up the embankment to the hut with her hand resting on the grip to her katana. She wasn't going to give second chances to people who kidnapped and possibly abused her daughter and friends. There was a cold gleam in her eye, readily dispassionate to anything she might have to face.
The hut was made of boards and thatched roof. Cracks were filled with a homemade caulk to keep out the rain and hold in the heat. Besides the main area, where Okaasan remembered everything used to be kept, there was an added storage room in the back and another attached to the side of the main area, likely a bedroom.
Ryouga grabbed her hand before Okaasan could open the door. He silently took the lead, counting down to zero with his fingers to synchronize their entrance. Hands in fists and nostrils flaring, Ryouga reached zero and knocked down the door with a roar and a strong kick. It flew off its hinges and flew through the air, smacking against the wall beside it and dropping to the ground.
They both entered, watching the other's back as they stared off in different directions in the room. A sink and wood burning stove was in the back corner just behind a table with two chairs. There were a few other pieces of furniture to hold personal affects and a small sofa set before a big radio.
Ryouga stayed in silent and in control as they found two women lying on the ground just inside the home. The guide and his daughter were on the sofa, bound and gagged, but otherwise unhurt. By the fearful look in Plum's eyes, Okaasan could guess she had seen Shampoo and Kodachi being beaten.
As Okaasan knelt down to check on the two girls, Ryouga continued to stand watch, his eyes slowly touring the room for a hidden enemy or a hole through which they were being observed. Okaasan went first to Shampoo neck with two fingers and then Kodachi. Both girls had been beaten, but Shampoo's years of continuous training had made her stronger. While there were bruises and gashes over the Amazon's face, she looked to be in no danger of dying. Her clothing had only been a little rumpled and torn with little slices as if she'd been whipped.
Kodachi's condition was a little more severe. The person who had done this to the cutthroat businesswoman had held nothing back. Kodachi's top was torn to leave her in her bra. Okaasan's fingers trembled as she looked over the girl's condition. Like Shampoo there were bruises and gashes, but they were for more numerous on Kodachi. There didn't seem to be an inch of the girl spared from the blue-black bruises. By the angle of her arm, Okaasan could tell her left shoulder had been broken. The right forearm was snapped in two, the bottom half of the bone protruding from the skin, the blood was still seeping out and around the wrist, over her thigh, and then pooling at Kodachi's feet. The smell of blood was heavy over the girl.
Large welts were criss-crossed over Kodachi's back and front. Okaasan recognized a wound to the girl's ribs that had looked much like her own after Soun . .
The long, beautiful hair was burnt to stubble, nasty scoring marks cresting Kodachi's forehead and neck. As if they hadn't done enough, the butchers had raked their fingernails over Kodachi's face. They had to have hated the girl's beauty, but Okaasan got a sense they wanted Kodachi to finally look as ugly as her personality. On Kodachi's chest were several deep cuts that spelled out 'Snob Bitch'.
The unconscious girl cringed when Okaasan placed her fingers against Kodachi's neck. The reaction alone made Okaasan's heart leap. Still, the pulse was slow and weak. Something was going to have to be done soon if the girl was going to survive. She let her hands glow with a soft, golden light over the more life threatening wounds for a minute, hoping the energy would help Kodachi long enough to get her help.
They had more to do before they could leave however. Okaasan released the guide and his daughter and indicated he should remain silent. The Chinese guide gathered up his crying daughter and nodded.
Okaasan moved to the storage room door when the guide looked at it. Behind her she could hear Ryouga's clothing rustle. Her heart was beating faster and adrenaline was pouring into her system. Okaasan's hands shook and her breathing was becoming quick. If Kodachi and Shampoo were left in the front as warnings, she feared what she would find behind the door. A cold chill ran through her body as she touched the handle and pushed open the creaking door.
"Ucchan?" Okaasan walked quickly over to the chef's side, setting her katana on the ground and then working at the knots binding her friend's arms and legs. Ukyou seemed to have gotten off light compared to the other two. There were some bruises, but nothing near as severe as the licks Shampoo had received. Most of the bruises were centered on areas that would knock Ukyou out quickly.
"Tendou-chan?" Ukyou woozily stirred as her hands were released and the blindfold was removed. She blinked her eyes and found Okaasan working at the rope around her feet, and smiled pitifully. "Oh, thank god." She cried and tried to push Tendou-chan towards the door. "Hurry, you've got to find Akane."
"Who did this, Ukyou?" Okaasan asked, not yet moving from her friend's side.
Ukyou shook her head. "I don't know. They hit me over the back of the head and then stuffed me into this room blindfolded. I never saw their faces."
"Their?" Okaasan's jaw tightened. "There was more than one?"
Ukyou jumped as the door opened and Ryouga finally walked in. "The guide and his daughter were just knocked out."
"Akane?" Okaasan asked hopefully.
Ryouga shook his head in embarrassment. "I was heading for the room at the other end when I ended up here."
Frowning, Okaasan said nothing, but stood up and headed for the door. "Watch over Ukyou and the others, will you?"
She pressed her head against the door and listened closely. Only the sound of soft breathing echoed through the door.
Taking a deep breath, Okaasan pushed the door open. A heavy musk smell emanated from within. A few incense stands had been put up and torn bits of cloth were lying around the room. Okaasan swallowed, having been uncomfortable with only the feeling of being on the other side of this room had given her.
Akane was lying on her back in the guide's bed. Naked, her arms were tied over her head and strapped to the head of the bed. Akane's legs were left lifelessly spread-eagle, one thrown off either side of the small cot. Okaasan let her eyes trace over the body for serious wounds, but besides a few bruises over the face and smaller ones over the girl's breasts, like they had been mauled roughly, she was in fair condition.
Okaasan's lip trembled when she began to let her wall drop. There was some blood mixed with spatters of drying sperm around Akane's crotch. More of the ejaculation was drying under her daughter's chin and over her face. By the way she was tied down Okaasan could guess Akane had at least escaped being sodomized unlike herself. Unless they held a gun to her head, nothing had gone down Akane's throat or there would have been someone else's blood in the mix.
"Tendou-chan?" Ryouga's voice came from the doorway.
Okaasan finally pulled herself out of her shock and found her hands trembling and tears staining her cheeks. She walked over to her daughter and quickly untied her, placing her arms around Akane's head and shoulders to hold her close. "Stay out, Ryouga. Have Ukyou bring a blanket." She whispered hoarsely.
~
Okaasan moved through much of the rest of the day in a numb haze. Her legs walked and her arms supported, but she did not have the presence of mind to control them. Detached, like she was watching some filthy puppet on strings walking around in her body. The world she'd known as a child had turned into this dark and brutal place. Things she cared for were taken or destroyed. Beaten as much as her spirits had been. What point was there to go on like this?
On the way out of the hut, the guide and his daughter were supporting Ukyou as she walked, her limbs still numb and cold. It would be a little while until she was completely recovered. Ukyou had been in a state of shock after seeing what might have happened to her. Enemies though they were, she had cried for Kodachi and Shampoo.
Watching the guide carry Shampoo, Plum helping Ukyou, and Ryouga gently holding up Kodachi wrapped in blankets, Okaasan had barely noticed herself leaving the cursed springs. Her eyes followed a line of blood slowly dripping down one of Kodachi's legs, a trail to find their way back to Jusendo.
Failed - she had failed.
Okaasan remorsefully put her cheek against Akane's forehead and continued to walk. For the twenty minutes it took to walk back to the Amazon village, Okaasan hadn't noticed the girl's weight in her arms. She'd never been late to keep Akane from harm before.
Several Amazons tried to take Akane from her arms, but Okaasan had only mutely looked at them and continued to walk. They must have understood her needs to hold her daughter close, untrusting anyone else to their care for her. A fool is all she'd ever been, the honor's fool.
Inside Perfume's building, which served as part home and part hospital, she found the older woman looking over somebody else. The woman looked up from her examination and studied the four girls that had been brought in. Shampoo was moved onto a table next to her current patient, but the others were overlooked for the moment. Okaasan was too numb to protest and found beds for the others.
After Ryouga had set Kodachi down Okaasan took the girl by the hand and elbow. The 'Lost Boy' turned pasty white and left the hut to throw up as she pulled on the arm and reset Kodachi's broken arm so that it sat straight. The movement opened the wound once again and blood dribbled onto Okaasan's kimono. She held one hand over the gash as she wrapped some cloth around the arm to hold it straight. Without thinking, she went on to the shoulder, arranging the shoulder blade as best she could and taking more cloth to hold the arm still, a long strip of cloth worked around Kodachi's neck to keep her arm from moving too far.
There was little to be done about the bruises. Okaasan spread some ointment over Kodachi's chest and back where the cuts were worse. She didn't even know where the ointment had come from except that she had it.
When it was finished she looked over Ukyou and placed a bit of the ointment around her wrists and ankles where the ropes had rubbed away the skin.
Lastly returning to Akane, Okaasan had to swallow her pain and pick her up once again. They left together for Shampoo's house. She glanced over at Perfume on her way out and saw Cologne lying on the bed next to Shampoo. Unseen in the hospital, Hiro and Blush had watched the detached way Okaasan had gone through the task of caring for her friends and family.
Okaasan cradled Akane's unconscious body as she descended into the bath, much of the evidence of her rape already washed away. Her body was not so bruised or beaten as Okaasan's had been, to which she was very thankful.
As they sat there, muscles relaxing in the heat, Okaasan thought with some bitter irony that this was her first warm bath as a full woman.
Had any of this been worth it?
~
Pacing, she'd been doing a lot of that lately. Her arms were tired and she was developing a headache. Though she felt tired, Okaasan somehow could not keep herself from moving. She was the oldest twenty-seven year old in the world. At least, if felt that way some of the time.
She knew Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane were not her real children, nor were they little, but she couldn't help but feel that their lives were still in some part her responsibility. After leaving Akane in her bedroom Okaasan had walked out onto the porch and sat heavily on the deck. It didn't last long, she was up again, walking around in her bloody kimono, bloody katana in her hand. Did everything she touch bleed?
While in the bath she'd closed her eyes and saw herself floating a foot over a cold, rushing river. The water was clear and not more than a few meters deep. Her arms out for balance, she'd drifted weightlessly looking into the water, seeing every stone and stick through a black film. As she stared down, so too was she staring back up at the redhead floating over the water.
Both she and the floating body of herself stared at each other, one free and beautiful, billowy clothes and youthful face. The other had a haggard look to her. Her body was emaciated and gray, red hair lost of it color and luster. She did not smile, but her lips had been worn away, the skin pulled back to reveal sickly rotted teeth that ended in crooked points. Where the first had beautiful silk robes, the second wore torn rags and weeds. Without eyelids, the woman beneath the water would see forever into the cold water's sting.
Okaasan continued to stare at these two floating fictions, one examining the other examining the other, until she couldn't tell which side of the water she was watching all of this from. The sun reflected off the river from both sides and she was blinded.
"Tendou-chan?"
Jerking her head up, Okaasan found Ryouga coming up the street with his face pulled into a grim line. She twined her fingers to keep her hands from trembling. "Yes, Ryo-kun?" she tried to smile, but it came out crooked and uncertain.
Ryouga too tried to smile. He put an arm around her shoulders and held her for a moment, patting her back for a second. Okaasan stiffened and he stepped back. "Uh . . Perfume says they'll all be all right. They just need to rest."
"That's good."
He looked at the house. "Will Akane be all right?"
"I'm not sure." Why did this have to happen to Akane, Okaasan wondered? There was no way her youngest daughter could have coped with this. So strong and confident, to have all of that stripped away and abused until you go numb in mind as well as body was nothing easily recovered from. The poor child. "Maybe physically, but . ."
"Is . . Is she . . ?" Ryouga tried to figure out where to look, glancing back and forth between the house and Okaasan. His hands clenched and unclenched while Okaasan regarded him silently. There was nothing she needed to say; Ryouga understood just by the way she was acting. "We'll get the bastard who did this, Tendou-chan. You can count on that."
Okaasan looked away and put her hands into fists. There was a cold rage building in her now. Why was she suddenly angry? Was it because what Ryouga had said? Running down the cold streets, hiding, and scavenging for food as others stared and pointed, she'd held out the words on their lips, it was nothing she hadn't already heard in her own mind. The stupid girl had it coming, some thought. A pretty face and a nice body were there for one reason, but the frightened girl had never been protected. Was she getting made because no one had sworn vengeance for herself?
Warm air and the faintest smell of ozone, Okaasan left her memories and felt the return of rage. "Mousse."
"Hai?" he answered from the side of the house where he and the kids were sharing a snack.
"Please take your children and Hiro back into the house."
Ryouga and Mousse both tensed at her words and started scanning the area. Holding Gloss, Mousse ushered Blush and Hiro inside. "Is something wrong?"
Okaasan narrowed her eyes and put a hand over the grip of her sword. There was more blood on the way. "Not yet."
"Found her! I found her!" Mint jumped over one of the huts and jumped into the area before Okaasan.
Lime followed soon and bent closer to ogle her chest. "Prince Herb was right. Look at her breasts!" he pointed and seemed in awe of the redheaded woman before him.
"Maybe he'll share with us!" Mint clapped.
Lime nodded in agreement. "That would be very nice of him!"
"Tendou Ranma!"
Okaasan followed the sound of the voice to a man hovering by exertion of ki. His voice was not as impressive as it sounded; it was deep and overbearing from application of the same ki. She clenched her teeth, control, gaze of ice. "Afternoon, Prince Herb of the Musk."
"I've come for you." Herb declared as he settled onto the ground. He wore his best clothes, gold and silver in patterns of dragons. He had a stylish, silver handled, double-edged sword on his hip.
"What?!" Ryouga growled in outrage and stepped between the prince and Okaasan. "You're not getting anywhere near, my Tendou-chan!" There was little more he could say as Mint and Lime sought to break more than his conviction.
Unperturbed by the scuffle following Ryouga's outburst, Herb began to stride forward. "Never have I met a woman of such strength and spirit. You are beautiful and elegant, as would befit a Queen of the Musk. Tendou Ranma, I have found you worthy to be my bride."
Thunder crashed to the ground though there was not a cloud in the sky. "Nay, unsavory dog!" Atop one of the nearby houses, Tatewaki held his family katana, the bokken gone, and glared down on the dragon prince. "I, Kuno, Blue Thunder and Rising Sun of Japan, does not consent to such a union. A task from God, I have been sent to cleanse my fiery goddess with this noble blade! No demon shall dare sully her person again!"
Okaasan felt, rather than saw, the little ninja drop to the ground before his one-time master. Numerous throwing stars were fit between his fingers as he faced off against the kendoist. This was the man they were looking for, Okaasan knew that already after seeing some of the things lying around the bedroom she'd found Akane's body in.
"Sasuke! You dare oppose your master?!" Tatewaki demanded in outrage.
The little ninja nodded. "Yes, I will for Tendou-sama."
Tatewaki raised his katana and ran into the fight with his ex-servant. Okaasan momentarily wondered if Sasuke was really better than Tatewaki as she'd once thought. "Then die like the traitorous worm you are!"
Okaasan returned to the prince who grinned easily. The closer he came the more detail she could see. How the bit of armor stood first on his chest. The cape flapped and the sword swayed back and forth over his hip as he walked. The sun seemed to be having difficulty finding an angle to show off Herb's eyes for Okaasan.
His hand came out from beneath the folds of the cape to reach for her hand. Less than a foot, Okaasan found his eyes and swatted Herb's hand away; she'd seen those eyes on someone else before. "I am not for you."
"What?" Herb was still startled to have someone deflect his hand. The people of his kingdom denied him nothing because they knew to fear his power. "Would you fight me, woman? I am Herb, Prince of the Musk. Your little trick won't work on me twice."
Okaasan nodded. "Perhaps not, but neither will your ki be able to touch me." She held herself tall and confident, heart of ice.
Herb grit his teeth. Saotome Ranma was dead to him so this woman was just a stranger who needed to learn a lesson. No one challenged his command! Energy pooled into his hand easily and he shot it forward without a word.
Okaasan stood before the blast and waited for it to close in on her, soul of ice. When it came to ki there was one basic rule for handling it: it was all a matter of will. Life had pushed against her every step of her long journey and still Okaasan dragged herself forward; her will was absolute.
"WHAT?! HOW?!" Herb stared in shock as the ball of ki was captured in one of Tendou-san's hands and then broken apart in the wind. He knew her control was great to maintain an attack that had passed through his body because it required careful manipulation of surrounding ki, but this should be impossible.
Growling further, Herb went to the pommel of his blade. "And how about your sword, woman?! You look weak to me!"
Okaasan inclined her head. "Certainly not as strong as you, Prince Herb." She pulled the katana free and held it with the point down in one hand.
Okaasan stood still as Herb rushed in with his sword raised. Holding her hand out to be seen, she flipped the blade backwards, light temporarily catching Herb's eyes; he cried in panic and anger, following through with his attack. When he opened them again Okaasan was gone.
Kuno collapsed onto the ground once the backside of Okaasan's blade clipped him over the temple after targeting his wrist and collarbone.
Gasping for breath, Sasuke leaned on his knees and nodded his head to his savior. The fight had not been easy. Sasuke did not get into as many fights as Tatewaki and was uncertain of how to move any longer. "Thank you, Tendou-sama."
Okaasan passed by the ninja and ran through the fight between Mint, Lime, and Ryouga. The 'Lost Boy' was getting a real beating, but had somehow remained standing and even traded a few hits. Mint almost dodged Okaasan's strike, but she caught him with a follow through of her scabbard in the other hand. The two half-breed bodyguards fell against each other and then to the ground.
She finally came to a halt in front of the shocked prince. "Are you ready for me, Prince Herb? Do you believe I would allow another man to simply take me? Think carefully on this Prince Herb."
He studied her for a moment and the skill and precision she had displayed. Like the ki blast that had held his life, Okaasan's skill with the sword was like a doctor's scalpel. He found the thought as frightening as her eyes.
Herb replaced his sword and turned to walk away without speaking.
"Don't forget your goons!" Ryouga yelled and chucked the two animal half-breeds at the prince. As they left Ryouga cracked his knuckles and walked over to Tatewaki's unconscious form. Grinning his canine teeth, Ryouga had some more energy to work off and the kendoist seemed a good punching bad at the moment.
Staring after the prince, Okaasan's jaw was tight and her hand still held the unsheathed blade in an iron grip. Sasuke jumped before her, regarding her silently. It only took a moment for the expended energy to catch up with Okaasan and her legs buckled.
Sasuke was ready and caught her arm. He guided her to the house. She looked as though she needed some rest.
~
As a powerful ruler over a nearby nation, Saffron was placed in a room on his own with armed guard outside the door for protection. Shampoo and Cologne too had their own room, being high rank members of the Amazon tribe. Ukyou and Kodachi were moved to the last room of Perfume's hospital together. The chef had been sleeping peacefully for some hours and would likely rouse soon. It was Kodachi everyone feared would not survive the night.
On request from Okaasan, Akane was put up in one of the guestrooms in Shampoo's house so that Okaasan could keep an eye on her. Except for the fight a few hours ago, Okaasan had seemed more dead than alive herself. Waking up, she walked slowly, scuffing the toe of her shoe until she made it to Akane's room and sat down holding the girl's hand. The rape had hurt Okaasan as much as Akane, maybe more so, but the discovery of Akane's pregnancy shattered Okaasan's control.
Kasumi had been speaking with Nabiki, not realizing that Hiro was around the corner, when he heard the news of Okaasan finding the different aura, separate from Akane's in his sister's womb. Small though it was, Okaasan's control over the more intricate aspects of ki had discovered it.
Grimacing, Hiro slumped a little further in his chair when he sat down at his friend's side. Saffron's wings were bound to hopefully heal straight and half of his chest and arms were wrapped in gauze. The room smelled of the ointment Perfume placed on Saffron at the end of each day.
Standing beside Hiro, Blush put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. "Saffron strong, Hiro. He get better."
Hiro nodded. "I know it."
"Why this happen you think?" she asked, looking around the room and finding it to drab for her taste. Besides the bed, a few chairs, and a stand for Perfume's supplies, there was nothing to make a patient feel comfortable, missing even the drapes others had over their windows.
The boy brushed a hand through his thick mop of hair. It settled back over his face; he forgot to notice. Hiro had exchanged his gi for the only other outfit he had in his pack, some loose black pants and a green shirt. He didn't feel like thinking about martial arts just then.
"Hiro mother very strong. Others call her Japanese Amazon. Blush no understand. Hiro mother not like honor."
"It's not that." He shook his head, though he didn't exactly understand it himself. Okaasan acted very honorably in a traditional sense even after his father's death, but she professed it was not as important as people make it out to be.
"What is then?"
"Tendou-chan just knows better."
Hiro turned around in his chair and found his mother's friend leaning against the doorframe. She had a little smile on her lips that expressed her concern and apologies for Saffron's condition. "Godmother Ukyou!" Hiro grabbed her about the waist and buried his head in her chest. "I'm glad you're okay."
Only a little surprised, Ukyou softened quickly and put her arms around the boy. "Sure. Your godmother is made of tougher stuff."
"What you mean she know better? You think honor bad too?" Blush asked after a short pause.
Ukyou shook her head and walked over to Saffron's bedside with Hiro. "No, Blush. Honor isn't bad. But it isn't always the answer." Her gaze fell on the unconscious phoenix child as she lost her smile. He didn't look like he would die anytime soon, but it must have been some monster that could do this to such a powerful martial artist. Upon awakening, some of the Amazon's mentioned Tatewaki – he was being executed for rape, a serious crime among the Joketsuzoku - , but he was no where near strong enough to take on the Eternal Phoenix even by surprise.
Blush followed Ukyou's gaze onto the Saffron and seemed to understand. "Like when Matriarch Lotion want kill Hiro mother, but no one else want?"
Nodding, "Yes. In the eyes of the tribe it would've been a greater loss to kill Tendou than stain a little honor. Real honor is having the strength to do what is right, and what is right is not always law."
Blush considered it for another moment before smiling with relief. "Then what father do is very honorable."
"Saffron will be okay, Hiro." Ukyou put her hand on Hiro's shoulder much like Blush had done.
"I know it."
Ukyou stopped at the door to look back on the scene of the two children sitting beside their friend. Ukyou smiled again as she stared at Hiro, "Just like you, Ranma."
~
Just when she thought life had run out of its adventures to throw at them, the old Ranma attraction to conflict arises once again. It seemed that eight years of relative quiet and solitude had been all that fate would allow her mother. It was time to reinvent her life all over once again, but with the extra weight of four children. That's what they were to Okaasan, Nabiki believe, baggage.
Nabiki stood staring at her mother and grandmother as they sat kneeling towards the open back door, staring off into the quiet backyard of sifting leaves and hidden creatures of the deep forest. She'd been there Nabiki didn't know how long. Quietly resting her shoulder against the door jam leading into the back room with a pensive look on her face. Her mother and grandmother said nothing to each other and yet they sat in the same position, staring at the same picture, almost as if they were speaking on a whole other level Nabiki was afraid to ever discover.
She knew statistics, obvious patterns, and how to read manipulate most people, but none of her talents had really been able to explore the depths of Okaasan. Her mother had fairly grown up and adapted overnight. Going from the casual, playful nature of a teen to the serious, iron-willed woman, carved straight out of marble, she was both impressive and frightening.
That was why Nabiki stood in the doorframe rather than sit beside her mother. She was afraid of what it would mean, what she would say. God knew how much of Okaasan's suffering was Nabiki's fault and how it tore the girl up inside, but could she face the rejection and loss of yet another mother?
"Nabiki?"
She was startled as her older sister's hand came to rest on her shoulder. Kasumi was too quiet for her own good, Nabiki thought. Still, she put on a smile and looked over at her sister, hiding the quaking of her voice. "Hi, Kasumi."
"What are you doing here?" Kasumi looked past her to their mother and grandmother sitting silently. Likely their mother knew they were here already, but made no indication. "Mousse says she already know about the truth serum."
Nabiki nodded. "I heard."
Kasumi squeezed Nabiki's shoulder again. "She does not hate either of us Nabiki."
"She might still." She shook her head and looked down at the ground. "Okaasan only knows half of it."
Kasumi bit her lip, "Then . . maybe it is time you told her. Okaasan would not want you to live with this guilt the rest of your life." Kasumi stared at her little sister for a moment, her eyes caring and wanting only the best, but this was something Nabiki had to do. Nabiki could see her sister didn't want to push her, but there was a silent plea that she finally purge her guilt. Kasumi had absolute conviction in Okaasan's priorities.
The floor squeaked and made Nabiki wince internally at the disruption to the quiet. It felt sinful to disrupt the two women sitting in a traditional Japanese style. Nabiki settled down beside her mother, ahead and facing perpendicular to a wall decorated with Amazon art underlined with Chinese characters. She took a deep breath, "I heard one of Hiro's friends was hurt by this psycho."
Okaasan blinked and looked away from the scenery as if they were starting out in the middle of a conversation and Nabiki had always been there. "Yes. He and Blush are at Saffron's side now, waiting for him to wake."
Nodding, Nabiki tried meeting Okaasan's eyes, but fell to her grandmother who seemed to encourage her as she went on. "And Saffron's guardian, what was her name?"
"Kiima." Okaasan's lip tightened and she turned back to the yard. "She is still missing."
"She was not with the others?"
"No." Quirking an eyebrow as a silence fell between them, Okaasan looked back to her middle daughter and found her bent over, hands palm down and head resting on the floor. "Nabiki?"
She was having trouble keeping her body from shaking and her frightened sobs came out quickly. "I . . I'm sorry, Okaasan."
"You have noth-"
"But I do!" Nabiki professed, looking back up with red eyes and tears streaming down her cheeks. "The serum was not the only thing I did to hurt Ranma. It was my fault that he," she sniffed and let a few tears spot the floor. "He should have been my brother-in-law, but I had to use him, profit from his misery, it is my fault that-that you and Akane never married! I'm so sorry! It should be me dead, not Ranma!"
Okaasan stood up gracefully, hands at her side and began to turn for the door. Without looking over her shoulder, "Come with me, Nabiki."
Nabiki dutifully followed, already feeling herself passing the point of no return. In for a dime in for a dollar. She kept pace with her mother, following the sway of the red braid up to the second floor and into the room she shared with Hiro and Akane. Her legs protested at the formal sitting position she took when Okaasan pointed to one of the bed mats beside the bed, no longer used to the position after leaving her home for college and then work.
Nabiki swallowed as Okaasan returned with the family's honor blade in her hands. The grip still held the drops of blood and the grip was worn to Okaasan's slender hand. Was Okaasan going to kill her? Did it matter! She deserved it!
Okaasan handed the katana over with both hands, laying it down in her daughter's. "Let me try to explain, Nabiki." Okaasan took a deep breath and sat down heavily on the room's bed. "I've had nearly nine years to think on this and have found my own peace with the past. I would not likely do this again if given the choice, but it worked out better than it should have.
"More than Ranma's life was ended on that day. With his pregnancy, Ranma could no longer string along his many fiancées. They each had to come to terms with this and could move on with their lives. If not for that, those four girls may still be waiting for his choice until he fell to his last option, seppuku."
Nabiki shook her head to deny the fact. "No, Ranma could have married my sister and then-"
Her mother sighed and made weak smile. "Then Shampoo would be required to kill her. Or the Kunos would have tried to kill them both."
"What-What if you had married one of the others?" she asked with less vigor.
Again Okaasan shook her head. "Besides our fathers; with Shampoo there was Mousse and Kodachi, Ukyou would have gotten Shampoo and Tatewaki, and I would not have married Kodachi."
Her mother stared at her evenly. Nabiki had never seen them, but she imagined Okaasan's eyes were mirrors of the 'pools of sorrow' she'd heard so much about. "Do you understand what I am telling you, Nabiki?"
She took a few minutes to consider everything, wanting to find some flaw in Okaasan's logic, a way around her problems, but nothing was forthcoming. Nabiki finally nodded. "Catch-22." The sword's scabbard was rougher than she'd expected, like it had seen use with every woman of the Tendou clan who had possessed it. "You wanted a life, but to have a life you needed to marry one of your fiancées. If you married one of your fiancées she, you, or your enemy would have died and your life would have been miserable."
Okaasan nodded. "With honor so important to everyone, there was only one way out." The sword was plucked from Nabiki's hands and returned to its owner. "I might have preferred seppuku then, but I would not have Hiro or my chance to be reborn again as I do now."
"Reborn?" Nabiki asked with a bit of hope.
"Yes. A second chance if I can just let go of my past. A new foundation to build upon." Her mother had a pained look in her eyes. "When I told you that I had to let him go as I left the Musk Kingdom I was not just talking about Ranma." This second part gave her some trouble but she finally spoke it, "I had to forgive your father and let him go as well."
"Okaasan?"
The traditional woman waved her off and brushed away some tears. "There is still some pain, but I believe now I can truly begin to heal."
Standing outside the bedroom, Grandmother Saotome sighed a breath of relief and patted Kasumi's shoulder. "Your mother is very strong, Kasumi-chan."
"She had you to train her to block the pain." Kasumi replied softly.
Nodoka nodded and continued to stare at her daughter. "The hardest training I ever had to do in my life."
~
After a quiet dinner with Mousse and her family, Okaasan returned to her room to wait out the evening in solitude. Her mind was more at ease than ever it had been in nine long years. From the very beginning she had actually suspected something of Nabiki, but the girl had been so pained to see the results that Okaasan had found it in her heart to forgive the girl long ago.
With this further confession, however, she had become confused. Eased, yet confused. It would have been entirely within Nabiki's regular scheming to have caused this mess in her life, and yet the girl had revealed everything, though it hurt, it did not explain how this all happened.
From her memory, Okaasan recalled Nabiki walking back and forth between the place of residence for each of her past fiancées. Okaasan had assumed this was Nabiki soliciting the truth serum, but there was no way she could know for sure. Cologne had obviously given Nabiki the potion, but was it truly as Mousse said, a truth serum? Cologne could even had attempted a game of Russian roulette with those vials, hoping Shampoo would purchase the right one.
When Nabiki had finished this afternoon, Okaasan knew by the feel of the girl's aura that that had been everything plaguing her soul. She couldn't help but feel slightly cheated, wanting Nabiki to have been the one so her noble sacrifice for her daughter's sake could mark her as the better person. Now she was grateful and disquieted; if not Nabiki then who?
"Konbawa, Tendou-chan."
Okaasan sat up in her bed to find Ukyou standing in her door, a little throw of the chef's hips and a cask of water in her hands. "Konbawa, Ucchan. We need to talk."
Ukyou nodded and stepped into the room, pulling the door closed behind her. "I know. There's something I have to ask you." She set the cask down on the table beside the door and turned to face Okaasan.
Staring at the floor, Okaasan put her hand up to stop Ukyou from speaking. "Let me go first. This is hard enough already."
" . . Okay." Ukyou nodded.
How was she to begin, Okaasan wondered, ringing her hands like a nervous schoolgirl. "Ukyou, you and I are-"
"I love you!" Ukyou quickly blurted out and blushed a deep red immediately afterwards. "I didn't want you to reject me before I said it at least once."
Okaasan was still a bit startled by the outburst. "You've told me that many times before."
Shaking her head, "No, this is the first time I told you. I love you, Tendou-chan."
Okaasan smiled softly. "If I could live by the sway of my heart I would be yours, my Ucchan. But my son and daughters must be considered as well." But she sighed and dropped her gaze again. "I lived without my mother for ten years and I would cry myself to sleep if my Hiro grew up without a father."
"I thought that's what you might say." Ukyou plucked the cask off of the table and held it with both hands. "If things were different would you have married me, Tendou-chan?"
"If things were different." She nodded.
"You know I care for Hiro, don't you? He's so much like . . Ranma was that I wouldn't hesitate to protect him when he needs me."
A little curious, Okaasan nodded again waiting for Ukyou to continue. "I know, Ucchan."
"And your daughters, we never got along in Nerima too well, but we might have if things had been different."
Okaasan finally shook her head as she watched her friend fidget nervously. "Ukyou, what are you saying?"
The cask in Ukyou's hands opened with a twist and was raised above her head. Water poured onto her head, running down her back and chest, darkening the material of her shirt. The change was quick, but time had slowed for them. Ukyou could feel her body shifting, rearranging itself until Ukyou opened his eyes again, staring at the surprise in Tendou-chan's. "I'd do anything to be with all of you again."
"Ukyou . . ." Okaasan stood there for a moment, taking in this new man who was her friend from childhood. They had been engaged and now it was happening again.
Ukyou shifted uncomfortably in his now too tight jeans. The shirt still fit, though snuggly. If not for her hair, Ukyou's usual androgynous appearance would have taken care of everything. "What do you think, Tendou-chan? Can you love a sex-changing freak like me?"
Okaasan was still a little too shocked to move, just stared. "You would do this for me?"
"This and more if you asked."
"I don't think-", Tendou-chan took a step forward, "that anyone has ever sacrificed themselves-", she took Ukyou's hands in her own, "for me my whole life."
Ukyou stared down into the eyes of his first love. "I love you so much, anata. There's nothing I wouldn't sacrifice for you."
"Ucchan." Tendou-chan breathed quietly and placed her head against the cursed girl's chest and wrapped her arms around Ukyou-kun's waist.
Ukyou closed his eyes and filled herself with the sensation of holding Tendou-chan in his arms as more than a friend. A long time ago he'd given up hope of ever having his love permanently in his life. Then, like the spring returning with green leaves and the scent of life's vitality, her heart started to beat once again and she found the dream walk into her reality.
It was not the match Ukyou had ever expected, but she found it ironic that Ranma had thought his childhood friend to be a boy. Now that they are together, the roles had been reversed, but the pieces still fit. Ukyou wanted to crush the redhead into his chest and hold her there forever, to feel her warmth, her breath over his skin, the sound of her heart next to his.
But somebody had to ruin that perfect moment with a knock at the door. Blush smiled and tried to hide her red cheeks as she caught the adults' embrace. "Excuse. Mother send Blush for Ranma."
Sighing, Okaasan closed her eyes and held Ukyou for a second longer before letting go. In his arms, for a moment she'd felt young and free again. Her hands still settled on Ukyou's sides, not wanting to let go of her momentary rapture.
Ukyou had much the same idea and took one of her hands in his own and nodded to the door. They left together for the hospital room Cologne had been given.
"Shampoo?" Okaasan found the Amazon warrior standing outside of the Matriarch's room. There were still bruises and some wounds that would leave scars that others would use to incriminate her, but she looked well enough, leaning against the walls of Perfume's hospital.
Smiling, Shampoo kissed Okaasan's cheek in thanks. "Tendou-chan. Great-grandmother asked to see you."
Okaasan nodded and entered. Ukyou waited in the threshold unless he was asked to leave. "I'm here, great-grandmother." She sat down on a stool beside the bed. She found that for the first time Cologne truly looked her age. Her skin was pale and hung off of her body like an oversized coat. There was a slender ritual knife in the Matriarch's left hand that almost looked longer than Cologne was tall.
"Tendou." Cologne's eyes tracked up the red braid over Okaasan's shoulder to the blue eyes that looked upon her with concern. It had been a great loss when Ranma had been taken from them, but the elegant and commanding beauty was no less a treasure to her.
The Matriarch's gaze fell over to the doorway and found a man she'd not seen before. "Who's that?"
"It's Ukyou, elder." Okaasan smiled, looking over her shoulder at the lean man with a woman's pony tail haircut.
Cologne smiled and put a hand over one of Okaasan's. "A good choice, Tendou." Her voice turned grave and quiet as she began to stare intently into Okaasan's eyes. "There is darkness about, Tendou. I've felt it on and off since your arrival."
"Who?" Okaasan leaned forward to hear clearer.
The old woman shook her head. "I do not know, but be careful child. I felt it the day everything changed for us."
"Did it come with me, great grandmother? Did it follow me from Japan?"
"I-I can't be sure. Be careful, Tendou." Facing Ukyou-kun, "Could you fetch Shampoo and the other elders, Kounji-san?"
The cursed woman nodded and slid out the door, closing it behind him. "Sure. I'll be right back."
Cologne sighed sadly as she looked back to Okaasan. She knew the Japanese woman could see her ki and knew it was dwindling fast. There were already tears threatening to break from Okaasan's eyes. "I regret many things in my life, Tendou. Happy, my grandchild, and the way I've hurt you, Tendou-chan. I don't think there is time to fix much of this, but maybe I could do something for you at least." The door to her room opened again and Ukyou entered with Shampoo and the three other Matriarch's of the Joketsuzoku Amazons. They stood witness around Cologne's bed in her final moments. The dying Matriarch raised Okaasan's hand and clasped it about the ritual blade with her own. "As my sister Amazon, you and your family would have nothing to fear from Amazon law. If you need our help, we will be there for you."
Okaasan nodded, swallowing her grief for the seriousness Cologne was placing in this act. "You honor me, Matriarch."
"No. You honor me, sister." The knife was quarter turned and pulled from between their palms. The bit of crimson mixed in their clasped hands and made little drops on the sheets of Cologne's bed.
Staring off in another direction, Cologne smiled brighter. "Happousai is dead." She turned back to find Okaasan staring at her in askance. "It seems I won the bet then."
Okaasan laughed lightly and nodded her head, tears finally breaking from her eyes and landing on the bed beside their blood.
Patting Okaasan's hand again, "So good to see you . . smile . . again . ." Cologne's eyelids became impossibly heavy and she had to struggle to keep them open, but ultimately lost the battle, seeing the blue-eyed redhead drop her cool mask and began to grieve her passing with loving intention.
Everyone that was capable gathered over the coronation point that night. It was a cliff edge with a carved white boulder made to look like an altar built directly into the mountain. The monument overlooked the valley with the Amazon village directly below and Jusenkyou in the distance.
In the dying sun Cologne's pyre was lit as the final prayer and Godspeed was whispered amongst the Council elders and it's newest Matriarch. The body was burned upon the altar so that Cologne's ashes could be spread amongst the valley and bless the village with her memory.
Warriors among the Amazons who had the distinction of being trained directly by the Matriarch gave a cry to send a fellow warrior on to higher plains in the afterlife. Their weapons jangled and stomped upon the ground until the rest began to fall into the same spirit. The death of one who was honored and honorable was not a sad event among the Amazons, but a celebration for a woman being taken up to a higher level.
Okaasan watched and listened as the celebration continued only somewhat understanding the custom. Her cut hand was wrapped with a small strip of bandage; she flexed and opened it a few times until she felt only a numbed pain. This time she did not concentrate her ki to healing, but allowed the wound to heal on it's own and leave a scar to remember her great-grandmother by.
In the darkness, blanketed by shadows cast by the fire, hidden within the trees, cool eyes regarded the proceedings with indifference, looking through the gatherers' faces. Purple flames gathered in the eyes as they found Okaasan standing near the head of the funeral beside Shampoo. A man held onto the redhead's shoulders, holding her comfortingly while her eyes battled against releasing their tears.
The dark figure found its contempt for the woman rise and narrowed its gaze to burning slits. The time had come to bring everything to a head, to deal with Tendou Ranma once and for all.
End Chapter Ten
* * *
There you have it, the last chapter before the solution to my mystery is revealed. A hint chapter will be coming out soon after this and then a month interval while allow any who wish to, submit their entries to me for the spectacular distinction of finding their names on my website along with receiving a personalized banner created by yours truly.
Rules for submission: send to the email address below your solution to the mystery in the form of an essay or short story depicting the who, what, when, where, and why behind the turning point in Saotome Ranma's life into Tendou Ranma, AKA Okaasan. Last day for submissions will be March 22, 2001.
I'd like to thank everyone who wrote in to offer suggestions, criticisms, praises, and support for this mystery. I couldn't have done it without you. The experience has taught me quite a bit and I hope to one day create another, better mystery contest with what I learned here.
Once again, thanks for reading.
Send C&C to jehtek@hotmail.com
Or visit my website at: www.geocities.com/jehtek/
Ja ne.