Meaningless titles production presents :
Water under Steel
by Chihiro Fujimi
"Oh Ryoga-kun, that's too much ! I can't accept it." Akane was
in awe before the perfect steel blade.
Ryoga was a bit embarrassed and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, it is not like it is a family treasure or anything..."
"But that's no mere o-miyage. And didn't you say a Hibiki
wielded it one hundred years ago ?" Akane asked.
"That's what the man who gave it to me said." Ryoga took a
pensive look. "It couldn't have been in my family though. We
have always been common people. No warrior or even a master of
kenjutsu among us."
"Akane is right, Ryoga." Akane looked at Ranma in surprise. "You
shouldn't give it to her, she's so clumsy she'll break it the
first time she tries to draw the poor sword."
"Ranmaaa !"
Ryoga interrupted the beginning argument. "Actually, the real
reason I want to give it to you is that I had a little problem
with the authorities. Carrying a katana is suspicious. I crossed
out a nosy policeman and I said it was only bringing it to a
dojo. This dojo, since I don't know any other in the area. So if
I was to cross that man again still carrying the blade, I could
have bigger problems."
"Aa..." Akane looked disappointed and relieved at the same time.
"Anyway, Ryoga." Ranma said, changing the subject. "Did you ask
who was that Hibiki guy. Some kind of samurai, I guess. One
hundred years ago, it was during the second world war, right ?"
Asked the boy who had 17 at his last Japan History test.
"Of course not, stupid. It was during the Bakumatsu or before.
Afterward it was illegal to carry a weapon." Said Akane, the
girl who had 87 at the same test.
"As I was told, this Hibiki wasn't a man but a woman." Ryoga
noted.
"A woman !" Akane's eyes sparkled with new-found interest.
"A sabre wielded by a woman ? Pah ! Nonsense." Said the elder
Saotome. His friend who was playing shogi with him and had a
strong willed daughter choose not to comment and replaced his
lance on the board at his advantage.
"I'll repeat that to mom." Muttered Ranma. Having good hearing,
Genma blanched.
"A female master of kenjutsu, humm..." Akane had a far away look
on her face...
----------------------
"Hibiki Akane ! I challenge you !" A large and muscular man,
weilding a heavy and sharp looking axestood behind her.
She took a brief look at the man before turning away. "You are
not Hanakashi Genjurou, your head doesn't interest me. Leave me
alone and you'll walk back with it still on your shoulders."
"How dare you speak to me like that, woman ! No one mocks Muraki
Kenji ! Have at you !" He said launching himself at the petite
woman in front of him.
The man could see the woman had started turning toward him but
it was too late for her, he was already attacking.
There was the briefest flash of steel and his opponent was
suddenly behind him, katana drawn and dripping.
"Saraba." Were his last words.
Akane sighed. Another worthless opponent. Another life wasted.
She shouldn't have accepted this public duel in Edo. Now she was
the target for every fame-hungry fighters in the town.
She proceded to swipe her blade ith a white hankerchief. Till
now, all those men had been fools street fighters rushing to the
next challenge. The strongest awaited, studied her in the rare
public exhibitions of her fighting skills.
She unsheathed her katana and proceded to advance to her next
stop, the onsen Tachibana. She was already running late, the sun
was soon setting.
"Oi there ! Wait a second !" A voice came from behind her.
Again ! The day had been hard, she was going to deal with this
one sharply. She turned and saw a somewhat muscular man wearing
a loose kimono and wielding an umbrella. She had heard of battle
umbrella but had never seen one before.
"All right. Let not waste time." Akane said attacking her
opponent with a strong slash.
The man didn't even try to evade the blow. He parried - yes,
parried - the blade with his weapon. His block was so strong
she was off-balanced and tripped. Her chin hit violently
the end of his umbrella and she fell dazed on the ground.
She remembered her father's words. 'Never underestimate an
opponent, for a beginner's blade isn't less sharp than yours.'
"It wasn't even a sabre." Akane thought before blacking out.
"Are you alright kid ?" She never heard.
----------------------
She woke up with a throbbing headache. "Itatata ! My head !"
"You're up now, boy ? You sure like to sleep. It's been twelve
hours." Indeed she noted it was light and it must be the
morning.
"I am not a BOY." She answered automatically.
"You are certainly not a man. How old are you ? Fourteen ?
Fifteen ?" She recognized the man from last night. He was
squatting near a fire, only wearing a loincloth. He had a gourd
and was regularly taking a sip from it.
"I am seventeen, eighteen at fall." Her mouth was yet on
automatic. Before jumping to conclusions, she checked herself up
and noticed she had been sleeping under his kimono fully
clothed. Nothing to worry about this. He had called her a man
after all, it meant he didn't check her out.
"Care to give me my kimono back, kid ?" He stood up and held his
hand.
"I think I owe you apologies, stranger. I thought you were yet
another challenger." She said handing him his cloth. She fell a
shiver go through her body in the morning cold. And this guy
slept only wearing a loincloth ? Was he only human ?
"My name is Hanakashi Ryouga. Just call me Ryouga." He said,
putting the kimono on. His mouvements were slow and careful.
"Hanakashi... Would you know a man by the name of Hanakashi
Genjurou ?" Akane looked suspisciously at his motions. Something
was wrong with them.
"Why, of course. That's my father's name. You know him ?"
He dangled a bit as he went to smother the firecamp with dust.
"He knew my father well." Akane tried hard to hide her
excitement.
"Ah, but you're a bit late, the ceremony was last month."
He replied casually. He took another sip from his gourd.
"The ceremony ?" Akane blinked. She didn't like what it was
implying. And she didn't need to take a sniff at that gourd,
she could guess its contents. Well, it explained some things.
"The cremation. Chichi-ue has passed away. You didn't know ?"
He asked, sincerely surprised.
"He's dead ? But how ?" Akane asked, too flabbergasted to be
tactful. Was her quest for vengeance going to end in such a
mundane way ?
"I was a burglary. They stole our family katana. He tried to
protect it but was outnumbered in the end." Ryoga's voice was
cool.
"That's sad. And I guess you were away at the time. With your
strength, you could have taken twelve men." She smiled, hoping
to get away from the obviously painful subject.
Ryouga's face hardened. "No, I was home. But by the time I got
to him, he was already dying. He made me swear to try to bring
our sword back." He took another gulp of his 'medicine'.
"..." Akane felt too awkward to ask any more about such a
personal matter.
Ryouga shook his head as if to chase away some bad memories.
"What about you ?"
'Since he still thinks me as a man, I should use my father's first
name' Akane thought. "Hibiki Takusu. Yoroshiku."
"Kochira koso. Hibiki Takusu... I think I heard that name. Were
you named after your father ?"
Akane nodded. "Why, yes."
"Eh eh, that's funny. onii-san was named after chichi-ue too."
"..." She would have facefaulted. She should have facefaulted.
No. She should be throttling the moron and shake him to his
sense. But first she needed him to find the direction to his
brother's. When he was sober.
"Ryouga-san..." She approached him.
"BEEBEEBEEBEEBEEP"
"What ?"
----------------------
"BEEBEEBEEBEEBEEP"
"Ow ! Morning already ?" Akane awoke in her bed. She stopped the
alarm-clock.
"It was only a dream... Good morning, P-chan." She said
scratching her pet. The sleepy piglet cracked an eye open and
grunted his hello.
"You know, I dreamed of Ryouga this night." P-chan's eyes
snapped open. Her pet pig has taken a liking in the lost boy,
his interested seemed hold every time she said the name.
"I don't remember much, but I was mad at him. He was a stupid
drunkard, anyway." P-chan's ears drooped. She stood up and went
to the bathroom.
----------------------
'I didn't even finish the story...' Lamented the ghost of
Hanakashi Takusu.
P-chan grunted. 'How dare you describe me as a drunkard !'
'My son-in-law was just a lenient, easy-going fool. I always
wondered what my little Hibiki saw in him.' The spectre
answered haughtily. 'And the way I see him,you are no better.'
"Grrrr."
When Kasumi entered the room to wake Akane, she saw a sabre
moving by itself and a piglet dueling. She closed the door,
satisfied that Akane was already up.
Owari.
Notes :
- The lance is a shogi piece. A bit like the rook in chess.
- If some of the Japanese terms weren't obvious, just let me
know, and I'll make a list of translation.
Water under Steel
by Chihiro Fujimi
"Oh Ryoga-kun, that's too much ! I can't accept it." Akane was
in awe before the perfect steel blade.
Ryoga was a bit embarrassed and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, it is not like it is a family treasure or anything..."
"But that's no mere o-miyage. And didn't you say a Hibiki
wielded it one hundred years ago ?" Akane asked.
"That's what the man who gave it to me said." Ryoga took a
pensive look. "It couldn't have been in my family though. We
have always been common people. No warrior or even a master of
kenjutsu among us."
"Akane is right, Ryoga." Akane looked at Ranma in surprise. "You
shouldn't give it to her, she's so clumsy she'll break it the
first time she tries to draw the poor sword."
"Ranmaaa !"
Ryoga interrupted the beginning argument. "Actually, the real
reason I want to give it to you is that I had a little problem
with the authorities. Carrying a katana is suspicious. I crossed
out a nosy policeman and I said it was only bringing it to a
dojo. This dojo, since I don't know any other in the area. So if
I was to cross that man again still carrying the blade, I could
have bigger problems."
"Aa..." Akane looked disappointed and relieved at the same time.
"Anyway, Ryoga." Ranma said, changing the subject. "Did you ask
who was that Hibiki guy. Some kind of samurai, I guess. One
hundred years ago, it was during the second world war, right ?"
Asked the boy who had 17 at his last Japan History test.
"Of course not, stupid. It was during the Bakumatsu or before.
Afterward it was illegal to carry a weapon." Said Akane, the
girl who had 87 at the same test.
"As I was told, this Hibiki wasn't a man but a woman." Ryoga
noted.
"A woman !" Akane's eyes sparkled with new-found interest.
"A sabre wielded by a woman ? Pah ! Nonsense." Said the elder
Saotome. His friend who was playing shogi with him and had a
strong willed daughter choose not to comment and replaced his
lance on the board at his advantage.
"I'll repeat that to mom." Muttered Ranma. Having good hearing,
Genma blanched.
"A female master of kenjutsu, humm..." Akane had a far away look
on her face...
----------------------
"Hibiki Akane ! I challenge you !" A large and muscular man,
weilding a heavy and sharp looking axestood behind her.
She took a brief look at the man before turning away. "You are
not Hanakashi Genjurou, your head doesn't interest me. Leave me
alone and you'll walk back with it still on your shoulders."
"How dare you speak to me like that, woman ! No one mocks Muraki
Kenji ! Have at you !" He said launching himself at the petite
woman in front of him.
The man could see the woman had started turning toward him but
it was too late for her, he was already attacking.
There was the briefest flash of steel and his opponent was
suddenly behind him, katana drawn and dripping.
"Saraba." Were his last words.
Akane sighed. Another worthless opponent. Another life wasted.
She shouldn't have accepted this public duel in Edo. Now she was
the target for every fame-hungry fighters in the town.
She proceded to swipe her blade ith a white hankerchief. Till
now, all those men had been fools street fighters rushing to the
next challenge. The strongest awaited, studied her in the rare
public exhibitions of her fighting skills.
She unsheathed her katana and proceded to advance to her next
stop, the onsen Tachibana. She was already running late, the sun
was soon setting.
"Oi there ! Wait a second !" A voice came from behind her.
Again ! The day had been hard, she was going to deal with this
one sharply. She turned and saw a somewhat muscular man wearing
a loose kimono and wielding an umbrella. She had heard of battle
umbrella but had never seen one before.
"All right. Let not waste time." Akane said attacking her
opponent with a strong slash.
The man didn't even try to evade the blow. He parried - yes,
parried - the blade with his weapon. His block was so strong
she was off-balanced and tripped. Her chin hit violently
the end of his umbrella and she fell dazed on the ground.
She remembered her father's words. 'Never underestimate an
opponent, for a beginner's blade isn't less sharp than yours.'
"It wasn't even a sabre." Akane thought before blacking out.
"Are you alright kid ?" She never heard.
----------------------
She woke up with a throbbing headache. "Itatata ! My head !"
"You're up now, boy ? You sure like to sleep. It's been twelve
hours." Indeed she noted it was light and it must be the
morning.
"I am not a BOY." She answered automatically.
"You are certainly not a man. How old are you ? Fourteen ?
Fifteen ?" She recognized the man from last night. He was
squatting near a fire, only wearing a loincloth. He had a gourd
and was regularly taking a sip from it.
"I am seventeen, eighteen at fall." Her mouth was yet on
automatic. Before jumping to conclusions, she checked herself up
and noticed she had been sleeping under his kimono fully
clothed. Nothing to worry about this. He had called her a man
after all, it meant he didn't check her out.
"Care to give me my kimono back, kid ?" He stood up and held his
hand.
"I think I owe you apologies, stranger. I thought you were yet
another challenger." She said handing him his cloth. She fell a
shiver go through her body in the morning cold. And this guy
slept only wearing a loincloth ? Was he only human ?
"My name is Hanakashi Ryouga. Just call me Ryouga." He said,
putting the kimono on. His mouvements were slow and careful.
"Hanakashi... Would you know a man by the name of Hanakashi
Genjurou ?" Akane looked suspisciously at his motions. Something
was wrong with them.
"Why, of course. That's my father's name. You know him ?"
He dangled a bit as he went to smother the firecamp with dust.
"He knew my father well." Akane tried hard to hide her
excitement.
"Ah, but you're a bit late, the ceremony was last month."
He replied casually. He took another sip from his gourd.
"The ceremony ?" Akane blinked. She didn't like what it was
implying. And she didn't need to take a sniff at that gourd,
she could guess its contents. Well, it explained some things.
"The cremation. Chichi-ue has passed away. You didn't know ?"
He asked, sincerely surprised.
"He's dead ? But how ?" Akane asked, too flabbergasted to be
tactful. Was her quest for vengeance going to end in such a
mundane way ?
"I was a burglary. They stole our family katana. He tried to
protect it but was outnumbered in the end." Ryoga's voice was
cool.
"That's sad. And I guess you were away at the time. With your
strength, you could have taken twelve men." She smiled, hoping
to get away from the obviously painful subject.
Ryouga's face hardened. "No, I was home. But by the time I got
to him, he was already dying. He made me swear to try to bring
our sword back." He took another gulp of his 'medicine'.
"..." Akane felt too awkward to ask any more about such a
personal matter.
Ryouga shook his head as if to chase away some bad memories.
"What about you ?"
'Since he still thinks me as a man, I should use my father's first
name' Akane thought. "Hibiki Takusu. Yoroshiku."
"Kochira koso. Hibiki Takusu... I think I heard that name. Were
you named after your father ?"
Akane nodded. "Why, yes."
"Eh eh, that's funny. onii-san was named after chichi-ue too."
"..." She would have facefaulted. She should have facefaulted.
No. She should be throttling the moron and shake him to his
sense. But first she needed him to find the direction to his
brother's. When he was sober.
"Ryouga-san..." She approached him.
"BEEBEEBEEBEEBEEP"
"What ?"
----------------------
"BEEBEEBEEBEEBEEP"
"Ow ! Morning already ?" Akane awoke in her bed. She stopped the
alarm-clock.
"It was only a dream... Good morning, P-chan." She said
scratching her pet. The sleepy piglet cracked an eye open and
grunted his hello.
"You know, I dreamed of Ryouga this night." P-chan's eyes
snapped open. Her pet pig has taken a liking in the lost boy,
his interested seemed hold every time she said the name.
"I don't remember much, but I was mad at him. He was a stupid
drunkard, anyway." P-chan's ears drooped. She stood up and went
to the bathroom.
----------------------
'I didn't even finish the story...' Lamented the ghost of
Hanakashi Takusu.
P-chan grunted. 'How dare you describe me as a drunkard !'
'My son-in-law was just a lenient, easy-going fool. I always
wondered what my little Hibiki saw in him.' The spectre
answered haughtily. 'And the way I see him,you are no better.'
"Grrrr."
When Kasumi entered the room to wake Akane, she saw a sabre
moving by itself and a piglet dueling. She closed the door,
satisfied that Akane was already up.
Owari.
Notes :
- The lance is a shogi piece. A bit like the rook in chess.
- If some of the Japanese terms weren't obvious, just let me
know, and I'll make a list of translation.