Ties that Bind
Chapter Seven
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Disclaimer: Since it's been a while let me refresh. I own nothing. Hell, I barely own Ceres. And Ceres owns Eriol so I can't claim him either. Can't claim Kuduo, that's Sharpsnout's. Ryo-kun, Ran-kun, both belong to Rumiko Takashi. Umm....I guess that's it.
At long last an update on this thing. Damn took me long enough huh? =^_^=() Oh well.....
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"It's going to rain," Eriol's astute observation was met with stony silence, "Really hard," silence, "Monsoon in fact," still more silence, "You don't care do you?" still no answer, "I love you Ceres, simply because you make for great conversations," this time he was graced with a Hibiki Death Glare©, something which his traveling companion had used on him a total of three hundred and twenty nine times in the past month. Eriol was lucky to be alive quite frankly.
Perhaps now is the time to explain the unlikely situation these two had been thrown into. How about we start with the girl? Misuka Ceres is sixteen years old and a martial artist. If you were to be technical you would say that the girl practices the Anything Goes Style of Martial Arts, ask Ceres however, and she would tell you that her style is her own: a mixture of her family's techniques and the few things that Saotome Genma taught her. Yes, Ceres, along with her traveling partner went with Ranma and his father on that hellish trip. The results? Whenever splashed with water Ceres now had the dubious pleasure of turning into a rabbit. How did that happen? Well, Ranma...being Ranma...and Eriol, who to this day claims temporary insanity decided to play a little joke on their female traveling partner. The joke would have worked if Ranma hadn't confused the Cursed Springs of Girl and Rabbit. So now Ceres turned into a rabbit.
Her male companion is Ugami Eriol. Eriol is also a sixteen year old practitioner of Anything Goes Martial Arts, although truthfully the only reason Genma brought him along was because Eriol's father and Genma were friends. Ask anyone who knows him and they would tell you that Eriol was kind...to kind to be a martial artist. Ceres knew better. She had watched him when he thought no one was watching, he was quick, agile....if roused to anger he would be formidable indeed. Although...that was a big if. A more laid back young man Ceres had never seen. It was like he just didn't care. Ceres on the other hand had a dangerous temper. It was this said temper and need for revenge that landed Eriol with a curse of his own. In retribution for pushing her into the Spring of Drowned Rabbit, Ceres knocked him into the Spring of Drowned Raven using a ki blast that had kept her knocked out for a week. She had only just come around when she demanded to return to her home and family. The Amazon tribe that had adopted her were reluctant to let her leave...but in the end who was going to argue with her? It was nothing if not dangerous.
So there they were, heading back to their native Japan, Eriol attempting to make conversation and Ceres alternately glaring and growling at him. Eriol was teetering on the edge of death, furthermore he realized it and talked to the girl anyway. By his estimation, Eriol figured they had at least another week and a half before they reached their hometown. Suddenly Eriol stopped short and Ceres crashed into his back. The girl let out what suspiciously sounded like a snarl and glared up at him.
"Gomen ne Ceres, I just had a distressing thought," Ceres gave him a look that clearly said that she didn't care and continued walking, "Don't you even want to hear it?" silence, "How can you be so cold? You got your revenge on me already. What more to you want?" Ceres closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.
"If I talk to you I run the risk of wanting to hurt you. I don't like you."
"Wow. I got two whole sentences out of you," Eriol marveled, "You obviously don't hate me as much as you say," Ceres glared at him.
"Words cannot begin to describe how much I despise you, Ugami-san," Eriol sighed, she was being formal with her, bad sign...a bad sign indeed.
"That's ok Ceres. You can hate me all you want. I don't mind," Ceres shot him a look that promised trouble.
"Go fall off a cliff Ugami-san," she snapped, just then the sky opened up and poured. Ceres, in an unconscious effort to be a bit more like her cousin, had at some time during their travels bought a combat umbrella, which she had out an open in record time. Eriol was not as fortunate. Ceres closed her eyes again, she apparently was trying not to hurt him, and walked over to where a wet raven and his wet belongings sat, "We are going to stop for the night," she said, crouching down and putting his clothes into his pack before picking it up one-handed, "and in the next town we come across you are going to buy yourself an umbrella....." Eriol cawed and struggled to get off the ground. Flying was a skill he had yet to master.
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Camp was made and dinner cooking when Ceres heard the twig snap. Without pausing to think Ceres grabbed the nearest thing she could find and hurtled it at the source of the sound. There was a clank, she had thrown a frying pan, followed by the shouted,
"What the HELL!!!" Ceres froze. She knew that voice. A head emerged from the overgrowth, followed by a body. Ceres reached for something else to throw, just in case. Brown eyes partially covered by hair that was held back by a yellow bandana, glared at her, "You threw a frying pan at me. A frying pan."
"How did I know you weren't a wild animal?" Ceres's cousin shook his head.
"You're insane....Can I hug you or will you kill me?" Ceres put down her umbrella and was promptly hugged. She stiffened and a slight growl escaped her throat. Ryouga, knowing the warning signs released her, "What are you cooking?" he asked, sitting down. Ceres peered at him. For some reason she figured that he'd look different, but there was her cousin...same as always. Did she look different to him? She hadn't looked in a mirror since she left Shampoo's village. She didn't even remember what she looked like anymore, "Hello? Ceres?" Cere gave her head a shake, causing the bells in her hair to chime.
"Gomen ne Ryo-kun, I've been silent for the past month, I'm unused to speaking so much."
"Unused to–" Ryouga's eyes narrowed, "Are they treating you bad? I'll kill Ranma," Ceres shook her head.
"I'm not traveling with them. Eriol and I are on our way home," she replied, then narrowed one eye at Ryouga, "Why are you out here?" Ryouga said nothing, "Why didn't you show up for your own challenge?" silence, "If you're looking for Ranma then you're in the wrong place. I don't know where he and his father are or even where they're headed," it was then that Eriol came into the small clearing, huddled under Ceres's umbrella.
"That's not rain, it's a friggin monsoo–Ryouga?"
"Eriol?"
"DUDE!"
"Look at you!!"
"Look at you!!" there was a pause.
"That's all I have."
"Yeah me too," Ceres shook her head, boys were weird. Really really weird.. Ryouga sat back down next to his cousin.
"What are you making?"
"Stew. I have some ingredients left over from the Amazon tribe we came from."
"Ooo stew..." Ryouga sniffed at it, "What kind?"
"Pork," she replied while stirring. Beside her, Ryouga went ridged and pale.
"P..pork?"
"Mmhm. Wanna take the first taste?"
"NO!! I mean....no thank you..." Ceres looked up at her cousin, brows knitting together.
"You ok dude?" Eriol asked. Ryouga nodded emphatically.
"I'm fine," he replied in a voice that was not at all convincing.
"Jeeze Ryouga it's not like I killed the porker with my bare hands or anything...."
"I'm fine Ceres," he all but growled at her. Ceres raised her hands, backing down.
"Ok ok. I take it you don't want any then?"
"No thank you," Ceres nearly winced, it sounded like he hurt his teeth forcing those words out like that.
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Gah....please forgive me for taking so long with this....and please also forgive me for it being so short.....oh and please forgive the fact that Ceres is a bit of a Mary Sue. I'm working on that part really. Annnnd please please forgive that the next update probably won't be for a hile. ::bows:: Arigato.