[fic][Ranma][Shampoo's Chance: Spirit of the Law]
By: Caleb
if you like this fic or have CC let me know at
caleb_david@angelfire.com; ego gratification and self improvement
are what keep me writing
Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creation and property of
Takahashi-sama and various other entities. I'm just borrowing them
without permission. I promise to put them all back when I'm done...
except possibly for Shampoo:)
Shampoo's Chance: Spirit of the Law
Prologue
All was dark and quiet in the forest, save for the crackle from a
solitary campfire. It was barely visible through the thick ring of ancient
trees that towered over the small clearing like menacing sentinels, ready
to rend to shreds with ragged branches any who would dare intrude
upon the personal and sacred ritual taking place. Still, the figure beside
the fire would be enough to make any youth overcome his fear and
brave the stinging nettles and poison ivy of the underbrush to get a
closer look.
In the middle of the clearing sat a girl meditating in the lotus
position. She was an exotic beauty; unbound purple hair cascading
down a shapely and entirely nude body. Her proximity to the fire made
her smooth skin glisten with sweat, and the deep breathing of her
meditation caused her ample chest to rise and fall in such a way that any
youth would gladly accept tender cuts and itching rash as well worth the
view.
But there were no peeping toms. There were not even the usual
rodents and owls who hunted them in this clearing. Shampoo was all
alone with herself tonight, as she had been for the last six nights of
purification and penance. And, as she was beginning to become
painfully aware of, as she had been for most of her life.
In fact, there were many things Shampoo was becoming painfully
aware of. She'd always been so confident that she'd never bothered
much with introspection; why examine yourself when were surely going
to win someday? No, to even do so would be to admit that there might
be a chance that you'd lose.
But Shampoo _was_ losing to that girl. No, there she went trying to
delude herself again. She'd lost to Akane. Hell, she'd never even been
a competitor. Goddess, it still hurt just as much as it had when she'd
first admitted it. That was the reason she'd come out here. To start her
penance for her failure. To try and figure out how the she'd lost and
what the hell she was going to do next.
"You're a powerful Amazon, Shan Pu." The intruder's Mandarin
was like cold steel, whose hard edge cut off the sound of the chirping
crickets and the flow of heat from the fire; cold silence was all that
remained in its wake. "If she's an obstacle, why don't you remove her?
After all, obstacles are for killing, are they not?" A shiver ran down
Shampoo's spine. The intruder was really good to have snuck up on
her like this. Shampoo slowly reached into the folds of nowhere and
gripped her bonbori as her eyes opened, then widened in shock.
There wasn't just one intruder. She was surrounded! Through the
transparent Amazon in front of her she could make out a ring of elders
kneeling at the perimeter of the clearing. But most surprising was the
identity of the warrior holding a sword toward her. Shampoo would
never forget those eyes. She hated that cold unforgiving glare that
looked down on her, yet she couldn't help but admire the fierce pride
and determination that burnt beneath them. "K-ka-san*?!"
*SLAP* "How dare you address me like that!" Shampoo blinked
back tears in surprise. Her mother's body was even slenderer and faster
than her own. And apparently stronger despite its dainty limbs. Her
mother's blow had landed before she'd even had a chance to react.
And what a blow. Not just her cheek, but her whole lower face was
crying out in pain, as if she'd been struck with such force that the
assaulting hand had gone through her, which, on looking back at her
transparent mother with a pained expression (and not just from the
difficulty of turning her strained neck), Shampoo figured it had.
"You've been wasting so much time with these japs that you even
sound like one now. And that expression..." spat Shampoo's mother
with disgust, "You've gone soft, Shampoo. This is what happens when
you spend too much time with outsiders."
The elders began to murmur their concurment. Shampoo wasted
no time in defending herself. "Me under order from matriarch to no
speak native tongue in Nippon. Shampoo must practice Japnese, still
need much work."
"Does it ever." Shampoo wasn't sure which of the elders said that,
but it caused the rest of them to snicker. Shampoo gritted her teeth and
forced a sheepish smile. Mocking was better than murmuring. At least
they all seemed to accept her excuse. No one could fault her for
obeying the matriarch. Well, except maybe for one who always seemed
to find fault.
"Oh, so I see our great grandma still has her strange obsession with
all things foreign. She's even taken it so far as to actually abandon our
village, the village she's supposedly in charge of, and live abroad."
Murmuring broke out again, but this time Shampoo was glad it wasn't
directed toward her, though she found it unsettling that it wasn't entirely
one-sided. It appeared though that the majority seemed displeased with
what had been said.
Shampoo's mother took the hint and shrugged her hands in
submission, "I was just looking forward to hearing my daughter's
graceful Mandarin, and all I get is this childish barbarian tongue. But if
our oh so great matriarch says so, it must be, even if it means breaking
your poor mother's heart, eh?"
"Damn it," thought Shampoo angrily, "Why she always make
Shampoo feel so much guilty, as if me and Grandma bad guys. SHE
one should feel guilty. HER training what make Grandma custody
take." Why was she letting this get to her so much? It probably wasn't
even happening. Much more likely that the purification herb used in
this ritual had psychedelic properties than that her ancestors' spirits had
come to pass judgement on her.
"Oh, you think I'm not real, Shampoo? That this is just a
hallucination? Then I shouldn't be able to hurt you..."
"No, you hurt Shampoo every time you speak," thought Shampoo.
"I'm sick and tired of your disrespect, child. YAAAA!" With a
sudden charge Shampoo's mother came at her, sword trailing along the
ground behind. Even if this was a hallucination, Shampoo wasn't going
to take any chances, besides, the chance to beat her mother was to
tempting to resist. Such a simple charge, she'd have expected
something more subtle from Mom. The only viable attack from it was a
full arc swing, which while powerful could easily be dodged by
someone like Shampoo who saw it coming, and then her mother would
be left wide open. Shampoo decided to duck in low, setting herself up
to counter with an uppercut. Such a close range attack would put her in
to close for her mother to effectively use her sword, switching the range
advantage to Shampoo.
As soon as her mother started to twist her body back to strike,
Shampoo ducked, and played right into her opponent's hands. As her
mother's other hand snaked under her black and silver shirt Shampoo
realized the charge had been a feint. With blinding speed Shampoo's
mother drew her concealed sword in a battoujitsu* attack which
Shampoo couldn't dodge.
"What a disappointment you've turned out to be, daughter."
Shampoo stared in shock at her bleeding right arm, blade imbedded in
it's ulnar marrow, blade which had been going for her neck before she
barely blocked it. How could she be bleeding? A psychosomatic
effect? Or was this really...
Shampoo trembled at how close she'd came to being killed. If
she'd tried to deflect the attack with her bonbori the slight delay from
drawing them would have been fatal. Her mother's lack of mass
seemed to be giving her a deadly speed advantage.
"If you'd have been so pathetic as to have let that blow through,
you'd have deserved to die," stated Shampoo's mother coolly as she
removed her weapon from Shampoo's bone and casually flicked the
blood into the fire, which crackled and hissed pleasurably at the
offering. "You know I brought this first blade for you, Shampoo,"
scolded Shampoo's mother as she once again held the sword out toward
her daughter. "Don't you recognize it? It's the first blade I gave you
when you were finally strong enough to hold up a real sword. You
should have known I'd have one of my own blades on me too, stupid
daughter." Shampoo's mother then planted the sword into the ground
before her daughter. "As I was saying, this blade is for removing
obstacles, not you. Now take the sword and fight like a true Amazon!"
Shampoo looked at the blade. Then at her mother, who was waiting
eagerly in combat stance. Her blood boiled in response and she
grabbed the hilt of the sword. She'd show her. She was the better one!
Her mother's lips turned up in a pleased smile. As Shampoo hefted the
sword a spurt of blood from her wrist landed on the blade. Shampoo
gasped at the pain holding the sword was causing in her wrist. As she
gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the pain the blood on the blade
caught her eye. Her eyes widened in shock as it slowly dripped down
the blade onto her palm. She let go of the sword in alarm and gazed in
horror at her blood-stained hand.
Shampoo's mother snarled and advanced on Shampoo, but before
she could speak or strike Shampoo looked her in the eye and firmly
said, "No." Her mother was taken aback by her daughter's defiance, so
Shampoo quickly continued before she could recovered. "Shampoo no
fight. Shampoo no can win this battle, specially no like that. I already
hurting. That make Shampoo hurt even much more, if no cost me life."
The elders once again began to murmur. "Coward!" screamed her
mother in rage. "So you're going to just let go of your obligations to
our law?! You know our law is what makes us Amazons strong and
rids us of weakness. Without the law we would degenerate; becoming
dispersed and dominated like ordinary weak women! If you will not
fulfill our law then you are weak and it is my duty to rid the Amazons
of you! Now fight, or you will truly cost yourself your life!" Shampoo
jumped back as her mother swung at her in fury.
Ducking and dodging, Shampoo tried to keep away from her
mother's furious blade. Unfortunately she all too quickly found herself
backed up against the elders. Now that she was closer she saw that they
too were transparent. Taking a deep breath, Shampoo hoped she'd be
able to pass right through them, but as she backed up they raised their
staves and fenced her in; these spirits would see that she faced the law.
Here she was haunted, hunted, by spirits of the law... spirit of the law...
!!
Shampoo suddenly turned her back on her mother and faced the
elders, trying to look as confident as she could. "You listen, oh great
Spirits of Law. Shampoo will do honor to law." Then she turned and
faced her seething mother who was holding her blade inches from
Shampoo's throat. "You say law what make Amazons strong, and you
right. But you wrong despise outside, for brining back what is best
from outside what letter law try do to strengthens Amazons. But letter
law Shampoo no can fulfill." Murmuring arose once again and her
mother's blade began to press against her flesh. "But Shampoo can
spirit of law fulfill! Would yous kill Shampoo here, or have Shampoo
try obey law and gain nothing for tribe... or let Shampoo let go of letter
law so can fulfill spirit of law and bring back tribe what purpose behind
law?!"
A great wind suddenly picked up and blew out the fire and engulfed
the clearing in darkness. After a moment Shampoo realized she'd been
holding her breath to try and keep her throat from expanding on to her
mothers blade, which was no longer there. Shampoo sank to the ground
as she let out her breath in a sigh of relief. The clouds overhead cleared
and Shampoo could see the stars twinkling clearly above her. Their
small light revealed that she was once again alone in the clearing.
The starry night sky was so beautiful, Shampoo laid back on the
grass and just gazed into its infiniteness as silent tears of relief ran
down her face, to be left in the clearing, left with so many other things,
when she'd leave at dawn. There was so much to get started on
tomorrow, but for now, for now she'd lie here and watch the stars.
* * *
* Ka-san: The common form of mom. Shampoo's mother is doubly
insulted because Shampoo didn't address her with the upper class
refined form of mother, Ohawe (spelling may be off) Not particularly
fair to hold that against Shampoo; it's doubtful her limited knowledge
of Japanese makes her aware of the distinction.
* Battoujitsu: If you don't know what this means you need to watch
more Ruroni Kenshin (or at least the Kyoto Arc:) *ahem* The art of
attacking your opponent off the sword draw. The Japanese actually
have an entire school of martial arts devoted to killing off the initial
sword draw. It's very detailed, even down to how to properly flick the
fresh blood off your blade after you've make the kill (so there's less
corrosion and the blade lasts longer)
By: Caleb
if you like this fic or have CC let me know at
caleb_david@angelfire.com; ego gratification and self improvement
are what keep me writing
Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creation and property of
Takahashi-sama and various other entities. I'm just borrowing them
without permission. I promise to put them all back when I'm done...
except possibly for Shampoo:)
Shampoo's Chance: Spirit of the Law
Prologue
All was dark and quiet in the forest, save for the crackle from a
solitary campfire. It was barely visible through the thick ring of ancient
trees that towered over the small clearing like menacing sentinels, ready
to rend to shreds with ragged branches any who would dare intrude
upon the personal and sacred ritual taking place. Still, the figure beside
the fire would be enough to make any youth overcome his fear and
brave the stinging nettles and poison ivy of the underbrush to get a
closer look.
In the middle of the clearing sat a girl meditating in the lotus
position. She was an exotic beauty; unbound purple hair cascading
down a shapely and entirely nude body. Her proximity to the fire made
her smooth skin glisten with sweat, and the deep breathing of her
meditation caused her ample chest to rise and fall in such a way that any
youth would gladly accept tender cuts and itching rash as well worth the
view.
But there were no peeping toms. There were not even the usual
rodents and owls who hunted them in this clearing. Shampoo was all
alone with herself tonight, as she had been for the last six nights of
purification and penance. And, as she was beginning to become
painfully aware of, as she had been for most of her life.
In fact, there were many things Shampoo was becoming painfully
aware of. She'd always been so confident that she'd never bothered
much with introspection; why examine yourself when were surely going
to win someday? No, to even do so would be to admit that there might
be a chance that you'd lose.
But Shampoo _was_ losing to that girl. No, there she went trying to
delude herself again. She'd lost to Akane. Hell, she'd never even been
a competitor. Goddess, it still hurt just as much as it had when she'd
first admitted it. That was the reason she'd come out here. To start her
penance for her failure. To try and figure out how the she'd lost and
what the hell she was going to do next.
"You're a powerful Amazon, Shan Pu." The intruder's Mandarin
was like cold steel, whose hard edge cut off the sound of the chirping
crickets and the flow of heat from the fire; cold silence was all that
remained in its wake. "If she's an obstacle, why don't you remove her?
After all, obstacles are for killing, are they not?" A shiver ran down
Shampoo's spine. The intruder was really good to have snuck up on
her like this. Shampoo slowly reached into the folds of nowhere and
gripped her bonbori as her eyes opened, then widened in shock.
There wasn't just one intruder. She was surrounded! Through the
transparent Amazon in front of her she could make out a ring of elders
kneeling at the perimeter of the clearing. But most surprising was the
identity of the warrior holding a sword toward her. Shampoo would
never forget those eyes. She hated that cold unforgiving glare that
looked down on her, yet she couldn't help but admire the fierce pride
and determination that burnt beneath them. "K-ka-san*?!"
*SLAP* "How dare you address me like that!" Shampoo blinked
back tears in surprise. Her mother's body was even slenderer and faster
than her own. And apparently stronger despite its dainty limbs. Her
mother's blow had landed before she'd even had a chance to react.
And what a blow. Not just her cheek, but her whole lower face was
crying out in pain, as if she'd been struck with such force that the
assaulting hand had gone through her, which, on looking back at her
transparent mother with a pained expression (and not just from the
difficulty of turning her strained neck), Shampoo figured it had.
"You've been wasting so much time with these japs that you even
sound like one now. And that expression..." spat Shampoo's mother
with disgust, "You've gone soft, Shampoo. This is what happens when
you spend too much time with outsiders."
The elders began to murmur their concurment. Shampoo wasted
no time in defending herself. "Me under order from matriarch to no
speak native tongue in Nippon. Shampoo must practice Japnese, still
need much work."
"Does it ever." Shampoo wasn't sure which of the elders said that,
but it caused the rest of them to snicker. Shampoo gritted her teeth and
forced a sheepish smile. Mocking was better than murmuring. At least
they all seemed to accept her excuse. No one could fault her for
obeying the matriarch. Well, except maybe for one who always seemed
to find fault.
"Oh, so I see our great grandma still has her strange obsession with
all things foreign. She's even taken it so far as to actually abandon our
village, the village she's supposedly in charge of, and live abroad."
Murmuring broke out again, but this time Shampoo was glad it wasn't
directed toward her, though she found it unsettling that it wasn't entirely
one-sided. It appeared though that the majority seemed displeased with
what had been said.
Shampoo's mother took the hint and shrugged her hands in
submission, "I was just looking forward to hearing my daughter's
graceful Mandarin, and all I get is this childish barbarian tongue. But if
our oh so great matriarch says so, it must be, even if it means breaking
your poor mother's heart, eh?"
"Damn it," thought Shampoo angrily, "Why she always make
Shampoo feel so much guilty, as if me and Grandma bad guys. SHE
one should feel guilty. HER training what make Grandma custody
take." Why was she letting this get to her so much? It probably wasn't
even happening. Much more likely that the purification herb used in
this ritual had psychedelic properties than that her ancestors' spirits had
come to pass judgement on her.
"Oh, you think I'm not real, Shampoo? That this is just a
hallucination? Then I shouldn't be able to hurt you..."
"No, you hurt Shampoo every time you speak," thought Shampoo.
"I'm sick and tired of your disrespect, child. YAAAA!" With a
sudden charge Shampoo's mother came at her, sword trailing along the
ground behind. Even if this was a hallucination, Shampoo wasn't going
to take any chances, besides, the chance to beat her mother was to
tempting to resist. Such a simple charge, she'd have expected
something more subtle from Mom. The only viable attack from it was a
full arc swing, which while powerful could easily be dodged by
someone like Shampoo who saw it coming, and then her mother would
be left wide open. Shampoo decided to duck in low, setting herself up
to counter with an uppercut. Such a close range attack would put her in
to close for her mother to effectively use her sword, switching the range
advantage to Shampoo.
As soon as her mother started to twist her body back to strike,
Shampoo ducked, and played right into her opponent's hands. As her
mother's other hand snaked under her black and silver shirt Shampoo
realized the charge had been a feint. With blinding speed Shampoo's
mother drew her concealed sword in a battoujitsu* attack which
Shampoo couldn't dodge.
"What a disappointment you've turned out to be, daughter."
Shampoo stared in shock at her bleeding right arm, blade imbedded in
it's ulnar marrow, blade which had been going for her neck before she
barely blocked it. How could she be bleeding? A psychosomatic
effect? Or was this really...
Shampoo trembled at how close she'd came to being killed. If
she'd tried to deflect the attack with her bonbori the slight delay from
drawing them would have been fatal. Her mother's lack of mass
seemed to be giving her a deadly speed advantage.
"If you'd have been so pathetic as to have let that blow through,
you'd have deserved to die," stated Shampoo's mother coolly as she
removed her weapon from Shampoo's bone and casually flicked the
blood into the fire, which crackled and hissed pleasurably at the
offering. "You know I brought this first blade for you, Shampoo,"
scolded Shampoo's mother as she once again held the sword out toward
her daughter. "Don't you recognize it? It's the first blade I gave you
when you were finally strong enough to hold up a real sword. You
should have known I'd have one of my own blades on me too, stupid
daughter." Shampoo's mother then planted the sword into the ground
before her daughter. "As I was saying, this blade is for removing
obstacles, not you. Now take the sword and fight like a true Amazon!"
Shampoo looked at the blade. Then at her mother, who was waiting
eagerly in combat stance. Her blood boiled in response and she
grabbed the hilt of the sword. She'd show her. She was the better one!
Her mother's lips turned up in a pleased smile. As Shampoo hefted the
sword a spurt of blood from her wrist landed on the blade. Shampoo
gasped at the pain holding the sword was causing in her wrist. As she
gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the pain the blood on the blade
caught her eye. Her eyes widened in shock as it slowly dripped down
the blade onto her palm. She let go of the sword in alarm and gazed in
horror at her blood-stained hand.
Shampoo's mother snarled and advanced on Shampoo, but before
she could speak or strike Shampoo looked her in the eye and firmly
said, "No." Her mother was taken aback by her daughter's defiance, so
Shampoo quickly continued before she could recovered. "Shampoo no
fight. Shampoo no can win this battle, specially no like that. I already
hurting. That make Shampoo hurt even much more, if no cost me life."
The elders once again began to murmur. "Coward!" screamed her
mother in rage. "So you're going to just let go of your obligations to
our law?! You know our law is what makes us Amazons strong and
rids us of weakness. Without the law we would degenerate; becoming
dispersed and dominated like ordinary weak women! If you will not
fulfill our law then you are weak and it is my duty to rid the Amazons
of you! Now fight, or you will truly cost yourself your life!" Shampoo
jumped back as her mother swung at her in fury.
Ducking and dodging, Shampoo tried to keep away from her
mother's furious blade. Unfortunately she all too quickly found herself
backed up against the elders. Now that she was closer she saw that they
too were transparent. Taking a deep breath, Shampoo hoped she'd be
able to pass right through them, but as she backed up they raised their
staves and fenced her in; these spirits would see that she faced the law.
Here she was haunted, hunted, by spirits of the law... spirit of the law...
!!
Shampoo suddenly turned her back on her mother and faced the
elders, trying to look as confident as she could. "You listen, oh great
Spirits of Law. Shampoo will do honor to law." Then she turned and
faced her seething mother who was holding her blade inches from
Shampoo's throat. "You say law what make Amazons strong, and you
right. But you wrong despise outside, for brining back what is best
from outside what letter law try do to strengthens Amazons. But letter
law Shampoo no can fulfill." Murmuring arose once again and her
mother's blade began to press against her flesh. "But Shampoo can
spirit of law fulfill! Would yous kill Shampoo here, or have Shampoo
try obey law and gain nothing for tribe... or let Shampoo let go of letter
law so can fulfill spirit of law and bring back tribe what purpose behind
law?!"
A great wind suddenly picked up and blew out the fire and engulfed
the clearing in darkness. After a moment Shampoo realized she'd been
holding her breath to try and keep her throat from expanding on to her
mothers blade, which was no longer there. Shampoo sank to the ground
as she let out her breath in a sigh of relief. The clouds overhead cleared
and Shampoo could see the stars twinkling clearly above her. Their
small light revealed that she was once again alone in the clearing.
The starry night sky was so beautiful, Shampoo laid back on the
grass and just gazed into its infiniteness as silent tears of relief ran
down her face, to be left in the clearing, left with so many other things,
when she'd leave at dawn. There was so much to get started on
tomorrow, but for now, for now she'd lie here and watch the stars.
* * *
* Ka-san: The common form of mom. Shampoo's mother is doubly
insulted because Shampoo didn't address her with the upper class
refined form of mother, Ohawe (spelling may be off) Not particularly
fair to hold that against Shampoo; it's doubtful her limited knowledge
of Japanese makes her aware of the distinction.
* Battoujitsu: If you don't know what this means you need to watch
more Ruroni Kenshin (or at least the Kyoto Arc:) *ahem* The art of
attacking your opponent off the sword draw. The Japanese actually
have an entire school of martial arts devoted to killing off the initial
sword draw. It's very detailed, even down to how to properly flick the
fresh blood off your blade after you've make the kill (so there's less
corrosion and the blade lasts longer)