Ranma ½/Dragonball Z: The Power of Change
Chapter 3: The Mourning After…
By Lord Dark Angel
Disclaimer- Once again I don't own any characters used in this fic. Don't sue me. I'm not making any money anyway. I mean period. Not just off the fic. Heheh. Anyway, on with the story…
In Tokyo a plane lands and several private passengers get off. A wrinkled old crone thanks the pilots for doing her a favor they owed and flying them all the way to Tokyo. The rest of the group is silent as they walk down and board a train, destination: Nerima ward.
Everyone filed off the train together. They were in two, very solemn groups. The first made up of Ukyou Kuonji, Genma Saotome and Happosai, while the second was Cologne, Shampoo & Mousse. They've all just arrived home to Nerima after an eventful trip to China.
No one is speaking, but the same thought passes through everyone's mind… They collectively wonder happened in China… This is the morning after Ranma's sudden… arrival home, and the previous few days have left everyone in a shocked state.
What was left to happen? Where Ranma was, and what was happening here while they had been gone were yet more thoughts. Shampoo had no idea what was going on, and Cologne just wasn't sure what to make of this. Beating out over a century of her wits was just NOT an easy accomplishment, but she was certainly at wits end.
Now, over a little more than a year, god only knows how many things had happened. Somehow everyone survived and had a little fun through most of it, but that all changed on this trip. Had Ranma truly failed, or was everyone under some mass dilution?
Somehow they all knew it was true. Akane had died, and Ranma had flipped over it. Where he had gone to no one knew… Yet…
Ranma woke up next to Akane and had no idea why he was there. He reached out and gently touched her cheek.
It was like ice.
He panicked, asking the obvious questions… Was she dead? What happened to her?
He started trying to shake her awake when the memories of the previous day all flooded back to him, and he collapsed on the floor.
The loud thump of a body dropping was heard by all three remaining members of the Tendou family. They all rushed upstairs following the sound and were greeted by a most unwelcome site. Ranma collapsed and sobbing on the floor, and the sickeningly pale Akane with glazed eyes and the horrible bruised and broken neck, more than obviously dead. Kasumi fainted before she could even say her usual 'Oh my', and Nabiki dropped to the floor using all her icy defense to keep from ending up like Ranma… That's about when Soun started the real waterworks, while trying to Demon Head an answer out of Ranma.
Ranma noticed the scene unfolding and braced for what he was sure was coming soon. He knew the Tendous would never forgive him. He couldn't even forgive himself. He had to get out. And fast. Ranma bolted out the window crying, tears staying in place longer than he did. He knew he was being a coward, but even Ranma could only take so much at once. Having the people he most considered family hate him to his face on top of losing Akane was too much… So he showed the true Saotome School color, yellow, and ran from his problems the way his pop had taught him to.
Ukyou was just opening her door as she felt a rush of air. As she turned around, the sight of a haggard and depressed Ranma near collapsing shook her out of this morning's reverie and she dropped her bag and ran to him. He virtually collapsed into her arms, and started his sobbing yet again. Ukyou rushed to help get Ranma inside and into a seat.
After a while, Ranma finally stopped crying, but Ukyou kept consoling him. When he felt better, he explained where he had gone, and what had just happened, and how alone he felt. He had run out of the Tendou home and trudged around the city the whole morning, but when he finally calmed down, he realized he had no where else to go, so he sought out his only real friend.
And that was it. He just needed to be with someone he could trust and could comfort him. For once there was no fiancé bickering, she was just the friend he needed when he needed her, and after a while she helped the still exhausted Ranma up stairs to her bed and let him sleep. Deep down she warred with herself… Part of her told her this was a perfect opportunity to get her fiancé back. The entire rest of her person bashed that part with a giant mental spatula, calling it a jackass, and telling it that one of her friends died and her best friend needed her help. So that part can just go to hell.
Cologne, Shampoo & Mousse got back to the Nekohanten and proceeded to start to deal with things in their own way. Which is to say that Cologne, being the not entirely heartless old crone figured Ranma needed his time. Shampoo on the other hand, being completely naïve, started trying to find out where Ranma had gone, just knowing he needed her. And Mousse… Well he refrained from hitting on Shampoo and went up to his room. Even Mousse isn't completely stupid, and the finality of what happened wasn't completely lost, even on him.
After a while, Cologne was fed up with how Shampoo had been acting, and had a long talk with her. When that was over she decided to get a hold of the Tendous and make sure things were… Well, livable...
When they called the Tendou residence, things began to come into place. It seemed that Ranma had gone there but no one there knew where he was now. The story of that morning was recalled with many tears. Genma had gotten there later, and he had to be the one to explain what had happened. After the threats of death and calling Nodoka, he actually told the truth to the best of his abilities.
Shortly thereafter Soun had called Nodoka to see if Ranma had been there and she was on her way over. Cologne realized that Ranma only really had one other place to go if he wasn't here, and as long as Kuonji was as good a friend as Ranma thought, she would leave it alone for now. Not even Cologne is totally devoid of compassion. She kept the information to herself and decided to rest after the trip. After encouraging Shampoo to do the same, and Mousse to work on getting the restaurant ready to be opened the next day, she retired to her room.
Meanwhile Nabiki realized the same thing, and was at war. She knew that Ranma needed his time, if the fact that he actually CRIED was a clue… And where he had gone was not really his choice alone, since he had no where else to go… For now, the Tendous had coping of their own to do, so she'd leave the hateful things she had to say for some time later…
Genma had Nodoka to deal with as he had to explain as best he could once again how events had unfolded, and worse yet, there was no way for him to lie his way out of anything this time. He just wished he knew where his ungrateful boy had gone off to so he could make Ranma deal with all this rather than having to do it himself.
Ranma meanwhile slept as peacefully as he could in the arms of his childhood friend. Ukyou, for her part, was trying her best to comfort the friend she loved so dearly. She knew how it felt to lose someone. She had lost Ranma for nearly 10 years before, but there was always the thought of finding him, whether to beat him or marry him… It was worse for him. He had to know Akane was never coming back, so for her part in everything over the last year, she felt she owed Ranma something. If this is what he needed, it what he would have. Deep in the back of her mind, the selfish part of her was trying to untie itself and remove the gags so it can start telling her to keep Ranma for herself again… Now, she kinda understood why the rest of her psyche had to use titanium cable instead of rope, but REALLY… What was the point of putting on 17 gags? This was harsh…
In a place far away watching the different scenes unfold, a green skinned guardian of earth by the name of Kami decided that people needed to be told what was happening and sent a summons to the Z senshi who were back on earth.
Things were going to get very interesting soon, so he was going to have to head things off before they turned ugly… Gohan and Kurillin were the first to be called upon, since they were the easiest to deal with. The rest of the Z senshi were still in other world… So the others left were Piccolo and Vegeta… Kami would save them for later. Ranma would be hard enough to deal with, without Vegetas interference. Piccolo, on the other hand, had mellowed out some. He could send Gohan to get him.
Kami sighs to himself. This was going to be a long week.