222222222222In a dark room, a small light glittered. From it, a single voice spoke with the tones of silvery bells. "*It is time, love.*"
A shadowy figure, their features impenetrable by the glow the point of brightness couldn't reveal, leaned forward. "I know, my joy," it replied in a silky whisper. "Do they still agree?"
"*They do,*" the speaker in the light confirmed. "*As of last light this day, our joys will be with us.*" The light dimmed. "*You know where to bring them.*" The light faded away.
The shade sighed, a single glittering tear highlighting the high cheekbones. "Finally," she sighed, leaning back to allow her auburn hair and blue eyes to shine the light of a nearly-full moon, the skin between the color of old ivory. "Finally," she repeated, as the eyes closed.
TheCentauress presents:
Light and Shadow
Ranma ½ © Rumiko Takahashi, et al.
Morning, Tendo Dojo:
Light fell into the yard with some trepidation. Over the last eighteen months, things had occurred in this small patch of ground that would defy belief. This morning started no differently.
"DAMMIT, OYAJI! NOT THIS MORNING!"
Suddenly, from an upper floor window, a white missile flew to ricochet from the top edge of the wall, bank off of the corner of the dojo and carom from the thickest branch of the cherry tree to land with a resounding splash into the center of the ornamental pond in the center of the yard. As the waters calmed, a furred paw raised a sign from the depths. THE BOY'S IN A FOUL MOOD, the whitewashed surface read. With a flick of the ursine wrist, Genma-panda spun it around. IF HE WERE FEELING BETTER, HE WOULD'VE MADE THAT A FIVE-CUSHION SHOT.
With a minuscule smirk, Kasumi turned to continue her cooking. In the time that the two male martial artist had been present, there had been numerous repetitions of this scene. In his enthusiasm to keep his son's skills honed to absolute perfection, quite often the elder Saotome would overstep his sensei-hood with disastrous repercussions. She glanced out the windowpane to see the pandafied elder on all fours, furiously shaking his body in an attempt to dry off. The eldest daughter began to hum softly, as she worked; seemingly oblivious to the soft sparkling that formed around her. She stirred a small pot on the stove, then whistled a five note coda that seemed to echo softly in the now shining surface of the liquid. Her expression returning to one of quiet peace, she gently pulled the small vessel from the flame and covered it with a glass lid. She set the pot on a trivet to cool and rapidly finished off the preparations for the first meal of the day.
Nodoka smiled as the two families sat around the table. She looked at the two men and smiled sweetly. "Soun, Genma," she trilled in a saccharine tone, "would you two rather eat over at the shogi board?" At the answering nods, she glanced at the eldest Tendo daughter. "Kasumi, dear, would you serve them, please?"
The tall girl nodded and settled herself at the head of the table, positioning herself to refill the plates of the now engrossed warriors as they dueled. She seemed to tune out all else around her to perform her duties to their utmost.
The taller redhead smiled at the trio that faced her. "Now, dears," she began in her normal, controlled voice, "this afternoon we will be taking a trip to my home."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow as she swallowed. "Um, Auntie," she cut in, "wasn't your place leveled by the 'bridal brigade'?"
Nodoka smirked in the same manner as the speaking girl herself often used. "It still is," she confirmed dryly. "But there is something there that we are going to find." She lifted the tea kettle and once she found it empty, she looked over at Kasumi. "Dear, did you make some more tea?"
The eldest girl sighed. "I'm sorry Auntie," she replied. "But I was hoping to try a new blend. It is a cold blend, so I left it by the stove to cool."
The swords-woman giggled, then looked at the three teens. "Would you three like to try some as well?" she asked them. They all gave wary nods to her, so she quickly slipped into the kitchen, returning with five glasses of a reddish-brown brew that seemed to glitter more than the ice cubes in the glasses could account for. Under the tray they were on, she gripped two sweating bottles of cold, dark beer. She handed the bottles to the oldest Tendo and sat a glass of the new tea beside his daughter, then served the remaining tea to everyone else.
The trio each had a taste of the sparkling beverage. Upon each face was a small smile, as the flavor hit their tastebuds. They all quickly finished their drinks, setting down their glasses in unison.
"That was great, Kasumi!" Akane enthused. "It was both sweet and a little spicy."
Nabiki nodded slowly. "That could be a real money-maker," she added, the smile lingering far longer than it usually did, seeming to show more true joy than most of her expressions she had used to date.
Ranma grunted his agreement, as he quickly finished the food on his plate. "It ain't got no alcohol in it?" he requested. "It had a bit of a kick."
Nodoka sipped her own drink. "No, son," she clarified easily. "It just tastes like it does." She took her time in drinking the beverage, then began to gather the used dishes. "Be ready by noon, children," she cautioned. "We will have a small meal, then go across town."
^*^
As the sun began to sink toward the skyline, the quintet arrived at the gates of the Saotome compound. Each of them winced slightly at the only perfunctorily cleared devastation that had occurred when the four girls competing for Ranma's hand, (and certain other parts,) had searched for the pillbox that they thought contained an engagement ring.
Nodoka stepped forward and spoke gently over her shoulder. "Children, could you follow me?" she asked. Without worrying about dissension, she quickly made her way to where the kitchen once stood and knelt to lift the trapdoor to the under-house storage room. She was about to grab the recessed ring, when her son darted forward and did it for her.
"There 'ya go, mom," he jovially stated. "What'cha lookin' for, anyways?"
She stood and brushed off the front of her kimono. "You'll see," she replied cryptically as she waved them down the stairs. As she began downward herself, she looked up into the sky and noted the glowing disk of light now touching the tops of the buildings and smiled gently. She purred out a seemingly nonsensical set of syllables and proceeded down the wooden steps. As she did, the opening she had disappeared into seemed to waver like a heat mirage and fade away, leaving a pristine, uncut floor in it's place.
^*^
The four women and one man stood on a patch of compacted dirt at the bottom of the flight of steps in front of a door. The wood of the frame was old, it's surface carved to appear as if it were a rose trellis that had grown wild for many years; the blooms and buds were scarlet, but it was as if the wood itself were that color, rather than any stain or paint applied later. The door itself, however, appeared to be living wood, it's surface almost glistening with the shine of flowing sap.
Of the three younger viewers, surprisingly it was Ranma who made the most direct appraisal. "Yousei," he whispered in a awe-struck voice. "I feel them all around me."
Nodoka sighed. "They are gentle, son," she admitted. "What we're looking for is behind that door." She strode forward and placed her hand on the knob.
Akane drew in a ragged breath. "What are we looking for?" she whispered, as the older woman opened the door, washing all vision away in a flash of white....
....leaving them all standing in an open meadow underneath a gigantic crystalline canopy, facing a woman in a red pantsuit that was eerily familiar to the Saotome matriarch and the Tendo daughters. As the group blinked away the persistent spots in front of their eyes, the woman seemed to glide forward, until she stood no more than an arms-length away from them.
The new woman was slender for her height, yet not so slender as to appear malnourished. She had raven-black hair, golden-hued skin and piercing, violet eyes. As she stood there, she let her eyes glide gently over the group, the shimmering in them being one part joy and another of sorrow.
"You were looking for your birthright," the mystery woman answered. "Welcome to Underhill, children."
Of everyone, Nabiki was the biggest surprise. She began to giggle. Small, quick gasps followed behind that, proceeding quickly to a full, wailing belly laugh. Said laughter froze, once her older sister made her opening statement.
"Hello, Mother," the brown haired girl stated in greeting. "I guess this means I can finally stop cooking for everyone?"
Ranma, Akane and Nabiki could only stare as a Kasumi they had never seen stepped from just behind them.
Author's Note: I started another one. I was a little blocked with OiD, so I was reading some other fics out there. I found a few dealing with members of the R ½ cast being fey-born, so I decided to try my hand. Hence LaS, so you all know the drill: Review, please.