= = = =
T E N
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
By R. E.
(ranma_e@hotmail.com)
Illustrations by Irka
(irka@ciudad.com.ar)
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"Spirit of the Storm"
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Ranma panted, leaning heavily against a large boulder as she tried to
catch her breath. She had been sprinting constantly for almost three hours
now; the moon was well underway on its journey across the sky, and she was
utterly exhausted.
"We should stop here," Kayoko announced, from the edge of a nearby pond.
"We have some time. Even Kuonji will need some time to recover from being
frozen. I can tend to Shampoo's wounds. They are serious, but I will be
able to handle them."
"Please do," Ranma puffed, grateful for the opportunity to rest as well as
Kayoko's assistance with Shampoo. She was not sure how Kayoko thought she
could help with Shampoo's wounds - she was not even sure what the wounds
were, having not had a chance to examine the girl. It seemed that Kayoko
understood the problem, but after Kayoko's initial assurances that Shampoo
would be fine, barely a word had passed between them on their epic sprint.
Ranma was quietly thankful for that fact; if she had tried to speak, she
was entirely convinced her lungs would have exploded. She sank down
against the smooth surface of the boulder and tried fruitlessly to calm her
breath as she watched Kayoko lower Shampoo to the ground.
Now that they had stopped, she was able to get a better look at both
Shampoo, and her new companion Kayoko. The Kayoko Tendo that knelt before
her only bore a vague resemblance to the child she had once known. They
may well have been childhood friends, but she could easily have walked
right past Kayoko on the street without recognising her. The face was
similar to that of her memories, but Kayoko had truly blossomed into a
beautiful woman in the decade that had passed between their last meeting.
Shampoo was alive, but barely. How Ukyo could consider her wounds 'not
serious', she did not know. She was worried intensely about her friend,
but the voice of experience inside her told her to trust Kayoko, that the
Tendo girl would somehow be able to help. It was that feeling that had
allowed her to run for hours while Shampoo lay perched across Kayoko's
shoulder, dripping blood with every step.
Kayoko managed to sprint just as fast as Ranma, perhaps slightly faster,
while carrying Shampoo, and did not even appear to be out of breath. She
easily lofted Shampoo's body, and did not seem to be tired at all. As
Ranma slowly caught her breath, she wondered just how Kayoko had become so
fit. A decade of harsh training on the road had made Ranma extremely fit;
how had Kayoko become so strong simply living in a fishing village?
Ranma looked more closely at Shampoo as Kayoko turned to face the water.
The dim hue of dried blood stained the Amazon's clothes and skin, a sharp
cut along the girl's neck being the apparent source of most of the
bleeding. She was almost entirely motionless, but Ranma could see the
tiniest amount of movement as her chest slowly rose and fell with each
troubled breath.
She thought for a moment of Ukyo, the person she had considered a friend,
staring at her with such evil intent in her eyes as Shampoo lay bleeding at
her feet. Why on Earth had Ukyo attacked? They had parted on good terms;
what had caused the sudden turnaround in behaviour? She frowned to
herself, wondering if perhaps she had been tricked all along. Had Ukyo
been feigning friendship in order to find Ranma's home? In order to find
Genma?
She honestly had no idea, but she suspected that Kayoko knew exactly what
was going on. Once Shampoo was taken care of, she intended to find out.
Kayoko seemed to greatly fear the prospect of Ukyo catching up with them,
but a small part of Ranma wanted the traitor to catch up with them, so she
could extract revenge. She closed her eyes and silently dared Ukyo to try
and find her.
Come and get me, Ukyo. This time I'll be ready.
* * *
"Ranma, I want you to help me."
Kayoko sat at the edge of the pond, slowly lowering her legs to let her
feet disappear into the water. Gently, she eased herself down into the
water, lifting her hips and jumping in when the time was right. She
quickly sank to waist depth, and turned to face the water's edge.
"What can I do?" Ranma asked, slowly rising to her feet. They ached, and
stung as she stepped forward across loose gravel and grass, and she winced
despite her best efforts to ignore the pain. "How can I help?"
"Pick her up, and pass her to me," Kayoko instructed, gesturing toward
Shampoo's body. "Slowly; don't be rough with her."
"Okay," Ranma agreed, and stepped over to the Amazon. She lowered herself
to one knee and slipped one arm under the crook of Shampoo's neck; the
other under the girl's knees. She stood, taking care to keep the body
level as best she could.
"Good. She's in pretty bad shape, so if you knock her around too much it's
not going to help her at all," Kayoko said, taking a step backwards toward
the centre of the pond. She winced and held up her hands as Ranma almost
tripped upon a stray tree root. "Don't rush. She has plenty of time.
Come toward me, lower her into the water."
"How's that going to help?" Ranma asked, as she stepped to the edge of the
pond. She glanced downward, into the crystalline waters, and wondered
aloud, "Isn't this just going to get her wet?"
"Don't ask questions, Ranma. You want her to live, yes?"
"Yeah," Ranma replied, nodding. She supposed this was not the time for
questions anyway. She knelt gradually, taking care not to bump Shampoo too
much. Leaning forward, she slowly brought Shampoo's body to the water's
surface, and Kayoko's waiting arms. Kayoko nodded at her, and Ranma
let go.
The pair drifted slowly backwards, Kayoko looking intently down at the
Amazon girl, a person she had never truly met or even spoken to, and called
out to Ranma.
"It's a serious injury, and she's lost a lot of blood. She'll be fine, but
this will take quite a while," Kayoko said. She looked thoughtful for a
moment. "Who is this girl ... Shampoo, you said?"
"She's from China," Ranma replied, glancing at the girl in question.
"She's bound to me by a debt of honour, or so she says."
"It doesn't sound like you agree," Kayoko observed, as she began scooping
water over Shampoo's neck and shoulders.
"I'd really rather not talk about it," Ranma said with a sigh. Thinking
about the events in Shampoo's home village brought back too many painful
memories.
"Alright," Kayoko said, a thoughtful look on her face. She was silent for
a moment before asking another question. "Tell me, then, how did you
become a girl?"
"What?" Ranma asked, the question taking her by surprise. She glanced down
at herself, and let out a small laugh. Seeing your childhood friend leave
as a boy and return as a girl was bound to raise some questions. She
wondered for a moment why Kayoko had not asked earlier; in the next she
pondered just what answer to give, as she did not have one for herself.
"I don't know how it happened, really. Pops took me to this training
ground called Jusenkyo. I fell into a spring, and boom," she said, with
a flourish, "here I am."
"A spring, you say?" Kayoko replied, raising an eyebrow as she poured some
water over Shampoo's face. "Interesting."
"It threw me off for a while, but then Pops died, and before I knew it I
was swimming back to Japan to find you. I try not to think about this
body too much. I've had other things on my mind for a while."
"Your father's wishes were more important that your own desire to find a
cure for your problem?" Kayoko asked, a smile coming to her lips. "You've
grown into a responsible young man, Ranma. I can see why he trusted you
with the tooth."
"What's all this tooth business, anyway?" Ranma asked, preferring not to
dwell on the compliment. "Why is it so important?"
"Come in, Ranma," Kayoko said, running one hand over the water's surface.
"I want you to see this. It will help you to understand."
"Understand what?"
"Everything," Kayoko replied, raising her head to fix Ranma with her bright
blue eyes. She smiled, tilted her head ever so slightly and waited for
Ranma to move.
Ranma meant to argue, to question the instruction, to ask for an
explanation, but somehow the look Kayoko had in her eyes was explanation
enough. She nodded, and with rather less grace than Kayoko before her,
hopped into the water without hesitation. The sound of water splashing
filled her ears as the cold water embraced her body.
"Brrr," she said with a shiver. "Cold!"
"You'll get used to it," Kayoko observed, still smiling. "Come here."
Ranma waded out toward the pair, the thick mud of the pond's floor making
progress slow, and giving her enough time to wonder how Kayoko had glided
so gracefully about the water with seeming ease. Eventually, cheeks
flushed with embarrassment at the bemused look Kayoko was giving her, she
arrived on the other side of Shampoo.
"There are two teeth - Shoryoutensei and Garyoutensei. They are called
teeth quite simply because they are blades carved from the teeth of
dragons. Genma carried both teeth. Before I was born he gave my mother
one of the two teeth; the one known as Shoryoutensei. He asked that it be
given to me when I was old enough. The other, he kept for himself."
"Dragons' teeth," Ranma said, flatly. She was utterly unimpressed by this
obviously fictional explanation. "He said that's what they were, and your
mother believed him?"
"That's right," Kayoko said, simply.
"You've got to be kidding me. There's no such thing as a dragon."
Kayoko laughed; a long, deep laugh that left Ranma wondering what she had
said that was so amusing.
"It's ironic that you could say such a thing," Kayoko said. "You are a
dragon yourself, Ranma. You just don't know it."
* * *
"You say your father never mentioned dragons to you at all?"
"No, never," Ranma replied, shaking her head. "He just talked about
training."
"That's a shame," Kayoko said with a sigh. "It took me years to come to
terms with what I am. To have it thrust upon you like this is going to be
inconvenient."
"Inconvenient?" Ranma asked, incredulous. She had many words to describe
what had happened to her so far, and 'inconvenient' was not very high up
on the list.
"I'm going to tell you a story, Ranma, if you'll listen. It might put
things into perspective for you."
"Okay," Ranma replied with a shrug. If Kayoko had a story to tell, who was
she not to listen?
"I've come to terms with what I am, but it's taken me a long time. When I
was younger, things were different."
"Different how?"
"After my mother died," Kayoko began, "everything in my life changed.
Every person in the village began to treat me differently. Every single
person, without exception. I didn't understand why at first; I thought
perhaps they felt sorry for my sister and I, or perhaps the thought of two
young girls living alone as we did made them uncomfortable."
"What do you mean, 'treated you differently'?" Ranma asked. "How?"
"It wasn't anything obvious. It was just ... the way they looked at me. I
could see the questions in their eyes. Perhaps they thought I was
responsible for Mother's death, I don't know. Whatever it was, I could
feel their eyes on me everywhere I went. I could hear their voices in my
mind, asking questions about me, gossiping about me when they thought I
couldn't hear."
"So what did you do about it?"
"I was just a little girl, Ranma. I didn't beat anyone up, if that's what
you're expecting," Kayoko replied, a bitterly amused tone to her voice. "I
did the only thing I could think to do: I ran away. I hid, inside my home.
I could still feel them staring at me, but inside my house I was safe.
"That didn't work for very long. After a while, I noticed my sister
looking at me in the same way the others had. I asked her why she was
doing it, but she didn't understand what I meant. So, I ran from her, my
only living relative, as well. I hid in my room, because I couldn't muster
up the courage to come out."
"You ... hid from your own sister?" Ranma asked, scratching her head in
disbelief.
"I had to. In my room - by myself - I could pretend that everything was
okay, that they weren't all talking about me. I could almost ignore the
voices. My sister brought food to my room every day, but I refused to go
to the hallway to get it. It was easier to go without food than to face
her. I stayed there and hid, from everyone and everything."
"How on Earth did you survive, locked away in a room like that?"
"It was strange. For the first few days I was hungry, starving, and I
almost gave in. After a week I could think of nothing but food, but I was
just too afraid to leave. Before long I noticed that I didn't feel as
hungry anymore, and eventually, I didn't feel hungry at all. I've never
eaten since that day."
"You're kidding," Ranma replied, flatly. "Now you're just lying."
"It's the truth, Ranma. I promise you, it is the truth. It's the same with
sleep; I was too afraid to go to sleep at night, because I thought someone
would come into my room and find me while I slept. I stayed up all night
every night, just watching the darkness. I was so afraid of what might
happen if I closed my eyes ... I don't sleep anymore either."
"Wait a minute," Ranma said, a knot growing in her stomach. She hadn't
slept in a long, long time. She had attributed it to the urgency of her
mission, but now that she thought about it, she really shouldn't have been
able to stay awake for so long.
"You don't sleep either, do you?" Kayoko asked, tilting her head
questioningly.
"No, I don't," Ranma replied, staring directly at her childhood friend. "I
tried to, but I just can't fall asleep. I just ... gave up after a while."
"There is no sustenance or rest in the higher plane," Kayoko said, lowering
herself slightly into the water. "Dragons do not need food or sleep; nor
do the Tatsujin. They are eternal."
"What's a ... Tatsujin?"
"I'm amazed that your father would have passed on the tooth to you without
telling you any of this," Kayoko said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"It's ... reckless and irresponsible. I suppose, considering Genma, that's
not really a surprise."
"You didn't answer my question," Ranma pointed out.
"It's not an easy question to answer," Kayoko replied, slowly stroking a
moistened hand across Shampoo's forehead. "The point I was trying to make
was that it took me years to come to terms with this. You can't expect any
easy answers, because there aren't any."
"So what do I do?" Ranma asked, exasperated. She had hoped that Kayoko
would be able to shed some light on what was going on, but it seemed that
the Tendo girl raised more questions than answers.
"I honestly don't know," Kayoko replied. "Genma told me he would return,
but now you are here in his place, and you know even less than I do. I had
always hoped Genma would tell me what I had to do, so I could do it and
then find Kurumi."
"Find her? Where did she go?" Ranma asked.
"She left about a year ago, for Okinawa. She didn't want to leave, but she
had no choice."
"No choice?" Ranma asked. "Why not?"
"I'd been hiding in my room for nearly six months when it started to rain.
I don't mean ordinary rain, I mean a fierce rain that just would not stop.
It would ease sometimes, for perhaps a few hours, but every single day it
came back, without fail."
Ranma held up a hand. "Wait a minute. What does this have to do with
anything?"
"The others in the village grew suspicious. There had never been such a
relentless rainstorm before, and some of them began to suspect that I was
causing it. It was easy for them to lay the blame upon the odd girl who
lived alone and refused to come outside, after all."
"How could they blame you for a rainstorm?" Ranma asked, utterly
incredulous. "That doesn't make any sense!"
"It sounds like nonsense, I know, but they were right. I always knew I was
different to the others, and something inside told me the rain was caused
by me, somehow."
"How?" Ranma asked, her confusion growing.
"All in good time," Kayoko said, shaking her head. "My sister found out
that a few of the men were planning to come and burn down our house, to
exorcise whatever demons lived there. She begged with me to leave with
her, to get out of the house and away from them, but I just couldn't. My
mother had told me that Genma would come for me, and so I decided to wait
for him.
"I told Kurumi to leave, to get away from the village, and that I would
find her when Genma came. She said she would go to Okinawa and wait for me.
She tied together branches of a tree and dressed them, and with a cloak
draped over them, she made sure the villagers saw her leaving. They
assumed she had taken me with them."
"So you've been hiding in that house ever since?" Ranma asked, taken aback.
"By yourself?"
"Waiting for a man who will never come," Kayoko said, averting her eyes
from Ranma. She sighed. "It kept raining, but the others in the village
thought I'd left, so they assumed it was just a spell of bad weather."
"It's not raining now," Ranma observed, gesturing up at the clear sky
overhead. As if on cue, the moon peeked between a set of puffy white
clouds and cast a pale glow upon the pond.
"You're right, it's not," Kayoko replied, unfazed by the observation. She
peered intently at Ranma for a moment before adding, "It hasn't rained
since the day you arrived."
Ranma sighed and lowered herself into the water, a thousand and one
questions crossing her mind as she stared at the surface. She glanced at
Shampoo, who was laying motionless in Kayoko's arms. She had been so
absorbed in what the Tendo girl was saying to her that she had almost
forgotten about the Amazon girl laying unconscious between them.
She watched as Kayoko tilted Shampoo's head back ever so slightly and
scooped water onto the girl's neck, the liquid washing away the dried blood
that marked the Amazon's skin. The wound had begun bleeding again, and
before long the red stain had returned. Kayoko once again scooped up a
handful of water and washed it away, undeterred.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ranma asked. She felt as though she
should be doing -something- to aid her friend. She had no idea what she
could do, but had no desire to do nothing.
"Not yet."
"But--"
"Ranma. Trust me," Kayoko said firmly.
"Okay, okay," Ranma replied with an exasperated sigh. She wanted to grab
Shampoo and shake the life back into her, to yell the Amazon's name until
she woke up. She frowned, realising the futility of her desires, and tried
to think of other things.
"My mother told me many things before she died," Kayoko said, sensing
Ranma's restlessness. She offered a smile and gently stroked her hand over
Shampoo's shoulder. "Stories, I mean. I thought they were just fables,
but after she died I came to realise that they were what your father had
told her to tell me."
"What kind of stories?"
"Where should I begin?" Kayoko wondered. "I suppose the beginning is as
good a place as any. Let me tell you what my mother told me about the
Kingdom of Dragons."
* * *
Many thousands of years ago, before the sun rose over the horizon, there
existed only Dragonkin. They did not exist on Earth but in a higher realm,
in an endless kingdom of light. They were wise and benevolent, and when
they saw the birth of a new realm beneath their own, they paid very close
attention. They took it upon themselves to watch over this newborn realm,
this place that would one day become Earth, to guide it through its youth
and guard it from harm.
Watch it they did; for millennia they led the young world through growth
and decay, steering it through prosperity and despair. Their eyes were
ever vigilant, set upon one task - to keep the Great Balance intact. Ages
came and went, but the Great Balance was eternal and infinite.
Beneath the realm of Earth lay another realm known to Dragonkin as the
Otherworld, a realm of light and darkness, without physical form. It was
from this realm that the dragons drew energy with which to bestow life upon
the fledgling Earth. Their gifts were many, and soon the plants and
animals they had created covered the world.
The newly-created gateway between the Otherworld and Earth could not be
left unwatched, and so two dragons were charged with the task of guarding
it. Ryujin the blue guided energy from the Otherworld to Earth, from
which life could be born, while Ryukyu the red pulled the energy from the
dead and returned it to the Otherworld.
The world prospered under the dragons' rule, and life grew quickly across
every part of the world. Eventually, after all else was in place, the
Dragonkin decided to create one more race, a final testament to the world
they had created. The new race was not to share in the raw power of the
animals, nor the ageless endurance of the trees and the grass. This race
was to be governed by intellect, wisdom and reason, as the dragons
themselves were. Such a race could perhaps, in time, take over stewardship
of the realm.
With such lofty goals in mind, the Dragonkin placed mankind upon the world.
For a time, all was well, and the realm prospered. However, mankind grew
too quickly, its expansion far outstripping all expectations. The humans
were adaptable, intelligent, resourceful. They began to wonder at the
nature of their own existence; to ask questions they should not have asked.
This worried the dragons greatly. Mankind was exerting far too much
influence upon the world and pushing against boundaries they could not be
allowed to breach. That made them dangerous. They had to be controlled,
or the Great Balance would be irreparably damaged. Such damage could not
be allowed.
There was much debate amongst the dragons. Some called for the
extermination of this dangerous child race, this ailment which threatened
the harmony of the realms. Others called for a moderate approach,
declaring that the humans took after the dragons and thus would innately
respect the Great Balance. The Balance would protect itself, they
declared, and the humans should be left to their own devices.
Eventually, after much discussion, the only decision which all of the
Dragonkin would stand behind was that to create a final race - a
half-dragon breed borne of the Earth that could traverse the realms at
will. A race not just modeled after the Dragonkin, but infused with their
very blood. This hidden, immortal race was named the Tatsujin.
The Tatsujin were eternal beings, bound by design to obey their dragon
masters, compelled to serve their needs and assist in the guidance of the
world. Gifted with the ability to change their forms at will, to better
blend in amongst mankind, they served as the eyes and ears of the
Dragonkin. Some took the forms of animals, in order to watch the humans
from afar; others took on a human guise and saturated themselves with the
complexities of human society.
With a direct, physical presence within the Earth realm, the dragons were
satisfied. The Tatsujin were passive observers, but could be used as
instruments of change should the need arise. The balance could be
maintained if the humans could be manipulated.
However, not all was well in the Earth realm. Some of the Tatsujin grew
dissatisfied with their role as servants. Rumblings of dissent filled
their hearts, and they - like the humans - began to ask questions. They
could traverse the realms at will; a feat even their masters could not
accomplish.
Why should they watch over one inferior race at the behest of another?
Should it not be the Tatsujin, the most gifted of beings in the three
realms, who presided over the higher realm?
The vast majority of the Tatsujin remained steadfastly loyal to their
lords, but a small group of Tatsujin - lead by one named Kuonji - began to
devise a theory of their own. It did not make sense in their minds that
the Dragonkin would create a race that was superior to their own. Was it
not more likely that the Tatsujin created the Dragonkin, and had somehow
been tricked into believing the lies of the dragons, forever denied their
true destiny as rulers of the three realms?
This small group planned and schemed, and eventually devised a plot to
overthrow their masters. They convinced their dragon lords that the humans
were losing faith; that the masses needed proof of the existence of their
creators to remain loyal. At the same time, they warned the most powerful
humans of a vast invasion of dragons, a scourge that could wipe out all of
mankind.
The humans, fearful and easily manipulated by the Tatsujin, rallied vast
armies ready to defend themselves from the coming horde of dragons. Kuonji
described the dragons in great detail to the humans, arming them with the
knowledge of how best to strike. With the armies lying in wait, Kuonji
returned to the higher realm and spoke to the Dragonkin.
The dragons' innate concern for the Balance told them an upheaval in the
beliefs and behaviour of humankind would be disastrous. There was much
debate amongst them how best to address the problem, but it was Kuonji who
proposed what seemed the most effective solution.
The Tatsujin's plan was controversial - it called for a vast rift to be
created, a gateway between the realm of Earth and the higher realm. Such a
thing had never been considered, and many of the dragons questioned its
effect on the Great Balance. They argued that there was a reason dragons
could not naturally enter the realm of Earth, and that reason should not be
overlooked.
The dissenting opinions were overruled, however, and Kuonji was given
permission to proceed with the plan.
An enormous portal was created, a vast bridge spanning the gap between
realms. A bright white scar ripped across the Earth's sky, tearing the
very fabric of the realm in two. The Earth shuddered and the higher realm
itself was violently shaken by the creation of the rift.
Kuonji passed through the gateway, arriving in the higher realm as proof
that traversing the realms was safe. The Dragonkin, satisfied with this
demonstration, passed through the great fissure. They took on mortal forms
as they arrived in the Earth realm to greet the humans they had created so
long ago. Kuonji followed behind the last of the dragons and
surreptitiously signaled the waiting armies.
The humans, armed with the knowledge the Tatsujin had bestowed upon them,
sprung their trap; they launched a vicious ambush upon the dragons shortly
after their arrival in the Earth realm. The dragons were far more
powerful, but they were vastly outnumbered, and had no knowledge of how to
defend themselves. An eternity of existence in a higher realm had not
taught them the harsh realities of mortal warfare. The battle was quick
and decisive, and at its end the ground was stained red with the blood of a
thousand dragons.
A few tried to escape to their own realm, but Kuonji the betrayer closed
the rift behind them, leaving them to face their demise. The dragons were
slaughtered; all but two of their number fell to the humans. The two
survivors were guided away from the slaughter by Kuonji - who feigned
loyalty - before the humans could notice them.
These two dragons were Ryukyu and Ryujin, the two dragons sworn to guard
the gateway between the Earth realm and the Otherworld. Kuonji convinced
them that they were in danger, that they could not wander the Earth as
dragons. They were told to transfer their very essence into the form of
two blades, that they could be hidden from those who would seek to do them
harm.
They trusted Kuonji and agreed to the offer, but they were betrayed just as
their brethren had been: the moment they handed over the swords their
mortal bodies were killed, their draconic essences stolen. The Tatsujin
betrayer fled with the swords, leaving the humans to recover from the
losses they had taken in battle.
Kuonji meant to sink into the mists with the swords, but was ambushed; the
two swords were once again stolen, and the Tatsujin was left badly injured
by the battle. Kuonji vowed revenge on those who stole the swords, and so
embarked on an vengeful crusade, seeking retribution on the ones who took
them.
* * *
"Kuonji was the architect of their downfall. And now, it seems that the
betrayer has found the swords she seeks," Kayoko said, a grave tone in her
voice. "We are the only obstacles in her way."
Ranma sighed and turned away. This was so much information to absorb. She
did not know what to believe and what to dismiss as fiction. Why would her
father have kept this to himself? If it were true, why did he not tell her
before he died?
It all seemed too surreal to be true. Immortal dragons? A dragon-human
war? How could this have happened and yet be completely unknown to her?
Surely there would exist records of such a battle. How could such an event
go unrecorded?
She felt her feet sink slightly into the mud and half-closed her eyes,
wishing that she could forget all that had happened to her. So much had
changed in her life that she wondered if she would ever be able to stop and
rest again. She sighed, and tossed aside the fantasy. There were more
important things to think of.
"So, Ukyo is this ... this Tatsujin betrayer?" she asked, finding the
question hard to even ask. She had come to think of Ukyo as a friend
during their journey together - how could the strange girl she had
befriended be the one responsible for the slaughter of an entire race? It
simply didn't seem possible.
"It certainly appears that way," Kayoko's voice confirmed from behind
Ranma. "She carries the Kuonji name, and was ready to kill you to take the
tooth you carry."
Ranma glanced over her shoulder at Shampoo. Why was she defending this
person, the one who had attacked her friend? She gritted her teeth. No,
whatever she may have thought about Ukyo was wrong. This girl was an
enemy, whether or not she was the traitor.
"Why does she want the swords?" Ranma asked, remembering the many nights
she lay near Ukyo with her sword at her side. In all that time, the Kuonji
girl had shown no interest in her weapon, let alone made any move to take
it.
"I don't know," Kayoko replied, shrugging as Ranma turned to face her. "I
assume whatever reason it is, it will not bode well for us."
"Not just us," Ranma added, glancing at the silent form of Shampoo. She
sighed, and took one of the Amazon's hands into her own. It was cold to
the touch, but nevertheless she gave it a gentle squeeze.
"The betrayer has no regard for humans or dragons," Kayoko said, her voice
quiet. She placed her hand atop Ranma's and held it gently. "We must
protect the humans as well as ourselves."
Ranma felt goosebumps prickle her skin as Kayoko's hand touched hers. She
had long suspected something had changed the day her father had died. The
events of that day had created a rift between her and the world around her.
She had never been able to quantify it exactly, but she felt somehow ...
disconnected, from everyone and everything.
Kayoko's words had given her much to reflect on. There were too many
unanswered questions, and the ones Kayoko had offered answers to had simply
given way to other, larger questions. With her father and Kayoko's mother
dead, who could she turn to for answers?
She pulled her hand away, leaving Kayoko to tend to Shampoo, and waded over
to the far side of the pond. If she could not help, she would use the time
to think.
She sighed and sank her hands slightly into the water, watching the surface
close around them. There was always the possibility that Kayoko was wrong,
that she was taking literally something that was merely meant as a story.
Somehow, though, that did not seem right. Kayoko's words - her stories -
resonated within Ranma, and somehow she knew they were not fantasies. A
kingdom of dragons, something that would have seemed ridiculous a few weeks
earlier, seemed now to make a strange sort of sense.
Whether or not it was true, she knew that Ukyo would be on their trail.
The only plan she had - to find Kayoko - was no longer useful. She had to
decide upon a new plan, and quickly. Ukyo would be in pursuit - the
reasons why did not change that fact. Ranma could consider the whys and
hows later. For now, she had to escape and try to make sense of what had
happened.
But, escape to where? She did not have any real home, besides an old house
in Edo that was most likely home to someone else by now. She had no family
to speak of, and her only two friends were already standing in the pond
beside her. She did not have anywhere to go.
Kayoko had a family; Kayoko had a plan. The Tendo girl was going to
Okinawa to find her sister. That, Ranma decided, was the best plan for her
to follow. She had few friends in the world, and she did not intend to
abandon the few she did have. She had left Kayoko behind once, and would
not do it again.
If Kayoko was going to Okinawa to find her sister, then Ranma would follow.
* * *
Ranma sighed, resting her head in one hand as she leaned on a small rock
that protruded from the water's surface near the pond's edge. She had been
standing in the water for little more than an hour, but to her it felt as
though she had been standing there all day. The thought of Ukyo growing
closer by the minute lingered in the back of her mind, refusing to be
dismissed.
The conversation between herself and Kayoko had long since faded into
silence; the only words spoken now were by Kayoko as she whispered into
Shampoo's ear. The continual noise of the surrounding forest ensured that
Ranma could not make out what was being said, nor did she particularly care
to. She felt like an unnecessary appendage, her abilities useless to aid
Shampoo. She was not used to this feeling of helplessness and it disturbed
her greatly.
Kayoko had called her into the pond for a reason, but what that reason was
she did not know. All she had done was stand around and watch; something
she could just as easily have done from the water's edge. She knew that
Kayoko would explain to her why she was in the water, but the wait for that
explanation was frustrating.
Just be okay, Shampoo, she thought, looking down into the murky waters.
Please be okay.
A small rustling noise caught her ear; she glanced toward its source and
blinked in surprise as she saw two rabbits sitting between the trees,
calmly looking at her. She watched them for a moment, their black eyes
glimmering in the reflected light of the moon, their noses twitching back
and forth as if following a scent upon the air.
Rabbits were timid creatures, she knew, and never in her life had she seen
one stay so calm and still near a human. She jumped, startled, as she
became suddenly aware that the rabbits were not alone; from the shadowed
depths of the forests were emerging a wide variety of animals, from birds
that settled in upon the many branches circling the pond, to wolves, rats,
and dogs. A swarm of insects gathered around the pond, forming a swirling,
buzzing halo.
She swallowed, taking a step back as she peered at the multitude of life
surrounding her. Predators and prey, animals that were enemies of one
another sat quietly together at the forest's edge, each watching her
intently, each calm, silent and still.
The moonlight faded, the pale orb swallowed by an enormous cloud bank. The
air chilled slightly beneath the cloud's shadow and Ranma shivered, the
waist-deep water suddenly feeling warmer by contrast. No, she realised,
casting her eyes downward. The water didn't just -feel- warmer, it -was-
warmer. Much warmer.
A tiny ball of light burst into existence before her, deep within the
water, its shape obscured by the ripples her retreat had left. Bright,
white, it was quickly joined by another, and another, each hanging in place
for only a moment before slowly gliding toward her. Each left a
luminescent trail that glowed white for just a moment before fading to
grey, then disappearing entirely.
What on Earth is that, she thought, her mind's voice rising in a panic.
She held out one hand to catch one of the tiny glowing specks but it passed
effortlessly through her hand, leaving behind nothing but a warm glow upon
her skin. Nevertheless she jolted it out of the water, clutching her hand
to her chest, cradling it as if injured.
"Ranma. It's time."
The voice startled her; it was loud yet soft, booming yet soothing, and
carried a tone she did not recognise. She whirled around to face it,
wondering just where it had come from - her question died in her chest as
she realised just what the animals were staring at.
The tiny lights she had seen were not alone. Scores of similar lights
danced through the water, moving with perfect synchronicity toward the
centre of the pond, lining up into a series of concentric rings as they
drew closer to Shampoo. Ranma swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, as her
eyes fell upon Kayoko.
Two enormous white wings had sprouted from Kayoko's shoulder blades; they
spanned the pond, the iridescent glow of a thousand silver-tipped feathers
bathing the clearing in a radiant white light. Kayoko smiled at Ranma, her
bright blue eyes seeming to glow with that same brilliant energy as she
raised one hand to beckon Ranma closer.
Ranma stepped closer, compelled to answer Kayoko's call, her eyes firmly
locked upon those enormous, majestic wings that dwarfed the girl who
supported them. A breeze picked up as she stepped closer, circling the
pond and setting the perfectly aligned rows of feathers aflutter.
"What ... what the hell?" she asked, her voice whipped away upon the
ever-growing wind that circled her. She glanced down at the water again,
the surface perfectly calm and still despite the howling wind that twisted
atop it.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kayoko said, her voice booming effortlessly through
the wind. Her hair whipped wildly in the breeze, her wings shook with each
gust, but she stood calmly and smiled. "Our children have gathered to see.
Even the sky wishes to join us."
"The sky...?" Ranma asked, shielding her eyes from the gale. A bright
flash filled the forest for just a moment, illuminating Kayoko's smile as
she gestured upward with her eyes. Ranma followed Kayoko's eyes and looked
up into the sky; the clouds overhead had grown dark, and from within them
an enormous clap of thunder resonated, seeming to shake the very Earth.
"What's going on?!" Ranma cried, rushing toward Kayoko, her hurried wading
leaving scattered trails of darkness amid the glowing pool. She came to a
stop opposite Kayoko, Shampoo's still body between them. "What's
happening?"
"Here they come," Kayoko said, reaching out and snatching one of Ranma's
hands with her own. She held it, the palm facing up, and closed her eyes.
"Behold, the storm."
Ranma wanted to struggle, to snatch back her hand and demand answers, but
somehow she could not. Instead she stood still and watched a single
droplet of rain, fat and glowing white, splashed into her palm. She
stared, transfixed, as the warm liquid ran across her skin to drip down
into the pond below. Another droplet fell, striking her on the cheek;
another landed on Kayoko's arm, and before long a downpour of warm, glowing
rain had begun, a torrential cascade of water that drenched all three of
them.
"What is this?" Ranma asked, bewildered by the warm liquid that gathered in
her hand.
"Our gift to this realm," Kayoko replied, leaning closer to Ranma. She
squeezed Ranma's hand gently and smiled as glimmering streams of rain ran
down her face. "The water holds the essence of life itself. The humans,
the animals, all life upon this world arose from this water."
"It's ... alive?" Ranma asked, glancing down at her hand in wonderment.
The water felt warm, like the warmth of Satoko's arms as she hugged Ranma
goodnight; like the warmth of Shampoo's breath on her neck as they huddled
together on a cold night. The warmth encompassed and surrounded her hand,
only Kayoko's slender fingers felt cold against her skin.
"It's not alive, it -creates- life," Kayoko said firmly. Stretching her
wings, she gracefully curled them around behind Ranma, surrounding the trio
in a feathered cocoon. "It grants life to all the people of this world, to
the plants and the animals, and now it shall grant life to this girl."
"You mean ... she's ...?" Ranma stammered, glancing down at Shampoo's face.
It was so calm, so still, so empty. Was it possible? Could she have been
so wrapped up in thought that she did not notice the death of her friend?
She felt the hairs on her neck stand on end, a crackling energy filling the
air as she swallowed nervously.
"The waters are leaving her, but it's not too late," Kayoko said
reassuringly. She closed her wings more tightly, holding the wind at bay
and allowing her voice to drop to a whisper. "Even as they seep out of her
body, they can be renewed and replenished. Her memories live on within
her; through them, so will she. She will live again, born anew."
"I don't understand," Ranma said, bewildered. She watched in wonder as the
glow that suffused the water spread to Shampoo's body - a little at a time,
spreading slowly until her entire body shone with the same brilliant light.
Ranma looked up at Kayoko in amazement, capturing the winged girl's eyes
with her own. Within those stormy blue orbs she saw life; the irises
moved, the bright blue colour within them glowing brightly and swirling
like a liquid. She stared, transfixed, unable to do anything but mouth the
question, "How?"
"You and I, Ranma, we are the gatekeepers," Kayoko said, her hair whipping
behind her in the increasingly violent wind that circled around the
protective shell of her wings. "All life is bound to us. I create life
upon this Earth, you return it so that it may rest before being born again.
You ask how, and I say that is what we are destined to do. The decision
is ours to make. It was not merely me who saved her - it was both of us."
"The decision ..." Ranma whispered, looking down at Shampoo. The Amazon
was resplendent in her luminance, a glorious white aura that contained and
supported her. Ranma reached down and stroked the girl's forehead - it was
warm, and Shampoo's mouth moved slightly, forming the faintest hint of a
smile.
"Life, death, the beginning and the end. You know of what I speak, Ranma.
In your heart you understand our duty. It is through us that the great
wheel turns, that the Balance is maintained in this realm. We are the sole
survivors of our race. There was once a great kingdom that governed, but
we are all that remains. We hold this world in our hands; that is both our
punishment and our reward."
"I ... I don't ...."
"In time you'll understand," Kayoko said, reaching out to gently touch
Ranma's cheek. Slowly, the lights faded one by one until darkness was all
that remained. Her wings slowly retracted, folding in upon themselves
until they were contained behind her back. "Your answers will come with
time."
Ranma jumped as, suddenly, the water surrounding her was cold once more. A
dim light faded into existence; she cast her eyes upwards and realised that
the clouds were gone, the moon was shining once more, and the rain had
ceased. Once more, they were alone.
"Ranma, she's waking up."
The voice was Kayoko's - the Kayoko that she remembered, the Kayoko who had
held her so tightly in Edo, the Kayoko she had grown up with. Ranma turned
to face her and stared; the wings were gone, the radiant smile and luminous
glow were nowhere to be seen. She wondered, for just a moment, if it had
all been a dream.
"Ugh ...." moaned Shampoo, her voice straining as she struggled with
consciousness.
"Keep still, you're going to be fine," Kayoko instructed, supporting
Shampoo with both arms.
"Everything is going to be fine," Ranma added, her eyes still on Kayoko
even as she spoke to Shampoo. She gave a puzzled look at the Tendo girl
before finally turning her eyes to the Amazon. "You're going to be okay."
"Master," Shampoo croaked, partially opening one eye to look at Ranma. She
smiled, even though it obviously pained her to do so. "I dreamed about
you, Master."
"You did?" Ranma asked, bewildered.
"I was falling into darkness, and you caught me," Shampoo whispered
hoarsely. "Thank you, Master."
"Close your eyes, get some sleep," Kayoko instructed, sliding one hand over
Shampoo's eyes to close them. "You need to rest. You've had a hard day."
Shampoo offered no argument; she let her eye be closed, and quickly fell
into a deep sleep. Her chest rose and fell slowly with her breath; it was
shallow, but steady.
Ranma stroked her forehead gently, and let out a sigh of relief. She did
not know what she would have done if Shampoo had not survived. The girl
was one constant in a world of upheaval, a friend in a world of strangers.
Truth be told, she needed Shampoo as much as Shampoo needed her. She held
on to Shampoo for a long time, watching her sleep.
"We must leave soon if we are to stay ahead of the betrayer. We'll carry
her if we must."
Ranma nodded - she knew it was true. Ukyo would be pursuing them and they
could not afford any more delays. She watched as Kayoko waded away,
easily carrying Shampoo in both arms.
"'yoko, wait," Ranma called, turning to the Tendo girl, who stopped midway
to the edge of the pond. "Did that ... really just happen? Was it real?"
"It was real, Ranma," Kayoko replied with a nod. "I wanted to show you the
world you are now a part of. I wanted to share what I know."
"So I'm ... I'm not human."
"You were born human," Kayoko said, turning away and moving once more to
the edge of the pond. She gently laid Shampoo's body upon the grass, then
hoisted herself up, lifting her own body out of the water with ease.
"But I'm not anymore."
"No," Kayoko said, water dripping from her body as she stepped away from
the pond. "You have become something more."
= = = =
T E N
= = = =
T E N
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
By R. E.
(ranma_e@hotmail.com)
Illustrations by Irka
(irka@ciudad.com.ar)
= = = =
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"Spirit of the Storm"
= = = = = = = =
Ranma panted, leaning heavily against a large boulder as she tried to
catch her breath. She had been sprinting constantly for almost three hours
now; the moon was well underway on its journey across the sky, and she was
utterly exhausted.
"We should stop here," Kayoko announced, from the edge of a nearby pond.
"We have some time. Even Kuonji will need some time to recover from being
frozen. I can tend to Shampoo's wounds. They are serious, but I will be
able to handle them."
"Please do," Ranma puffed, grateful for the opportunity to rest as well as
Kayoko's assistance with Shampoo. She was not sure how Kayoko thought she
could help with Shampoo's wounds - she was not even sure what the wounds
were, having not had a chance to examine the girl. It seemed that Kayoko
understood the problem, but after Kayoko's initial assurances that Shampoo
would be fine, barely a word had passed between them on their epic sprint.
Ranma was quietly thankful for that fact; if she had tried to speak, she
was entirely convinced her lungs would have exploded. She sank down
against the smooth surface of the boulder and tried fruitlessly to calm her
breath as she watched Kayoko lower Shampoo to the ground.
Now that they had stopped, she was able to get a better look at both
Shampoo, and her new companion Kayoko. The Kayoko Tendo that knelt before
her only bore a vague resemblance to the child she had once known. They
may well have been childhood friends, but she could easily have walked
right past Kayoko on the street without recognising her. The face was
similar to that of her memories, but Kayoko had truly blossomed into a
beautiful woman in the decade that had passed between their last meeting.
Shampoo was alive, but barely. How Ukyo could consider her wounds 'not
serious', she did not know. She was worried intensely about her friend,
but the voice of experience inside her told her to trust Kayoko, that the
Tendo girl would somehow be able to help. It was that feeling that had
allowed her to run for hours while Shampoo lay perched across Kayoko's
shoulder, dripping blood with every step.
Kayoko managed to sprint just as fast as Ranma, perhaps slightly faster,
while carrying Shampoo, and did not even appear to be out of breath. She
easily lofted Shampoo's body, and did not seem to be tired at all. As
Ranma slowly caught her breath, she wondered just how Kayoko had become so
fit. A decade of harsh training on the road had made Ranma extremely fit;
how had Kayoko become so strong simply living in a fishing village?
Ranma looked more closely at Shampoo as Kayoko turned to face the water.
The dim hue of dried blood stained the Amazon's clothes and skin, a sharp
cut along the girl's neck being the apparent source of most of the
bleeding. She was almost entirely motionless, but Ranma could see the
tiniest amount of movement as her chest slowly rose and fell with each
troubled breath.
She thought for a moment of Ukyo, the person she had considered a friend,
staring at her with such evil intent in her eyes as Shampoo lay bleeding at
her feet. Why on Earth had Ukyo attacked? They had parted on good terms;
what had caused the sudden turnaround in behaviour? She frowned to
herself, wondering if perhaps she had been tricked all along. Had Ukyo
been feigning friendship in order to find Ranma's home? In order to find
Genma?
She honestly had no idea, but she suspected that Kayoko knew exactly what
was going on. Once Shampoo was taken care of, she intended to find out.
Kayoko seemed to greatly fear the prospect of Ukyo catching up with them,
but a small part of Ranma wanted the traitor to catch up with them, so she
could extract revenge. She closed her eyes and silently dared Ukyo to try
and find her.
Come and get me, Ukyo. This time I'll be ready.
* * *
"Ranma, I want you to help me."
Kayoko sat at the edge of the pond, slowly lowering her legs to let her
feet disappear into the water. Gently, she eased herself down into the
water, lifting her hips and jumping in when the time was right. She
quickly sank to waist depth, and turned to face the water's edge.
"What can I do?" Ranma asked, slowly rising to her feet. They ached, and
stung as she stepped forward across loose gravel and grass, and she winced
despite her best efforts to ignore the pain. "How can I help?"
"Pick her up, and pass her to me," Kayoko instructed, gesturing toward
Shampoo's body. "Slowly; don't be rough with her."
"Okay," Ranma agreed, and stepped over to the Amazon. She lowered herself
to one knee and slipped one arm under the crook of Shampoo's neck; the
other under the girl's knees. She stood, taking care to keep the body
level as best she could.
"Good. She's in pretty bad shape, so if you knock her around too much it's
not going to help her at all," Kayoko said, taking a step backwards toward
the centre of the pond. She winced and held up her hands as Ranma almost
tripped upon a stray tree root. "Don't rush. She has plenty of time.
Come toward me, lower her into the water."
"How's that going to help?" Ranma asked, as she stepped to the edge of the
pond. She glanced downward, into the crystalline waters, and wondered
aloud, "Isn't this just going to get her wet?"
"Don't ask questions, Ranma. You want her to live, yes?"
"Yeah," Ranma replied, nodding. She supposed this was not the time for
questions anyway. She knelt gradually, taking care not to bump Shampoo too
much. Leaning forward, she slowly brought Shampoo's body to the water's
surface, and Kayoko's waiting arms. Kayoko nodded at her, and Ranma
let go.
The pair drifted slowly backwards, Kayoko looking intently down at the
Amazon girl, a person she had never truly met or even spoken to, and called
out to Ranma.
"It's a serious injury, and she's lost a lot of blood. She'll be fine, but
this will take quite a while," Kayoko said. She looked thoughtful for a
moment. "Who is this girl ... Shampoo, you said?"
"She's from China," Ranma replied, glancing at the girl in question.
"She's bound to me by a debt of honour, or so she says."
"It doesn't sound like you agree," Kayoko observed, as she began scooping
water over Shampoo's neck and shoulders.
"I'd really rather not talk about it," Ranma said with a sigh. Thinking
about the events in Shampoo's home village brought back too many painful
memories.
"Alright," Kayoko said, a thoughtful look on her face. She was silent for
a moment before asking another question. "Tell me, then, how did you
become a girl?"
"What?" Ranma asked, the question taking her by surprise. She glanced down
at herself, and let out a small laugh. Seeing your childhood friend leave
as a boy and return as a girl was bound to raise some questions. She
wondered for a moment why Kayoko had not asked earlier; in the next she
pondered just what answer to give, as she did not have one for herself.
"I don't know how it happened, really. Pops took me to this training
ground called Jusenkyo. I fell into a spring, and boom," she said, with
a flourish, "here I am."
"A spring, you say?" Kayoko replied, raising an eyebrow as she poured some
water over Shampoo's face. "Interesting."
"It threw me off for a while, but then Pops died, and before I knew it I
was swimming back to Japan to find you. I try not to think about this
body too much. I've had other things on my mind for a while."
"Your father's wishes were more important that your own desire to find a
cure for your problem?" Kayoko asked, a smile coming to her lips. "You've
grown into a responsible young man, Ranma. I can see why he trusted you
with the tooth."
"What's all this tooth business, anyway?" Ranma asked, preferring not to
dwell on the compliment. "Why is it so important?"
"Come in, Ranma," Kayoko said, running one hand over the water's surface.
"I want you to see this. It will help you to understand."
"Understand what?"
"Everything," Kayoko replied, raising her head to fix Ranma with her bright
blue eyes. She smiled, tilted her head ever so slightly and waited for
Ranma to move.
Ranma meant to argue, to question the instruction, to ask for an
explanation, but somehow the look Kayoko had in her eyes was explanation
enough. She nodded, and with rather less grace than Kayoko before her,
hopped into the water without hesitation. The sound of water splashing
filled her ears as the cold water embraced her body.
"Brrr," she said with a shiver. "Cold!"
"You'll get used to it," Kayoko observed, still smiling. "Come here."
Ranma waded out toward the pair, the thick mud of the pond's floor making
progress slow, and giving her enough time to wonder how Kayoko had glided
so gracefully about the water with seeming ease. Eventually, cheeks
flushed with embarrassment at the bemused look Kayoko was giving her, she
arrived on the other side of Shampoo.
"There are two teeth - Shoryoutensei and Garyoutensei. They are called
teeth quite simply because they are blades carved from the teeth of
dragons. Genma carried both teeth. Before I was born he gave my mother
one of the two teeth; the one known as Shoryoutensei. He asked that it be
given to me when I was old enough. The other, he kept for himself."
"Dragons' teeth," Ranma said, flatly. She was utterly unimpressed by this
obviously fictional explanation. "He said that's what they were, and your
mother believed him?"
"That's right," Kayoko said, simply.
"You've got to be kidding me. There's no such thing as a dragon."
Kayoko laughed; a long, deep laugh that left Ranma wondering what she had
said that was so amusing.
"It's ironic that you could say such a thing," Kayoko said. "You are a
dragon yourself, Ranma. You just don't know it."
* * *
"You say your father never mentioned dragons to you at all?"
"No, never," Ranma replied, shaking her head. "He just talked about
training."
"That's a shame," Kayoko said with a sigh. "It took me years to come to
terms with what I am. To have it thrust upon you like this is going to be
inconvenient."
"Inconvenient?" Ranma asked, incredulous. She had many words to describe
what had happened to her so far, and 'inconvenient' was not very high up
on the list.
"I'm going to tell you a story, Ranma, if you'll listen. It might put
things into perspective for you."
"Okay," Ranma replied with a shrug. If Kayoko had a story to tell, who was
she not to listen?
"I've come to terms with what I am, but it's taken me a long time. When I
was younger, things were different."
"Different how?"
"After my mother died," Kayoko began, "everything in my life changed.
Every person in the village began to treat me differently. Every single
person, without exception. I didn't understand why at first; I thought
perhaps they felt sorry for my sister and I, or perhaps the thought of two
young girls living alone as we did made them uncomfortable."
"What do you mean, 'treated you differently'?" Ranma asked. "How?"
"It wasn't anything obvious. It was just ... the way they looked at me. I
could see the questions in their eyes. Perhaps they thought I was
responsible for Mother's death, I don't know. Whatever it was, I could
feel their eyes on me everywhere I went. I could hear their voices in my
mind, asking questions about me, gossiping about me when they thought I
couldn't hear."
"So what did you do about it?"
"I was just a little girl, Ranma. I didn't beat anyone up, if that's what
you're expecting," Kayoko replied, a bitterly amused tone to her voice. "I
did the only thing I could think to do: I ran away. I hid, inside my home.
I could still feel them staring at me, but inside my house I was safe.
"That didn't work for very long. After a while, I noticed my sister
looking at me in the same way the others had. I asked her why she was
doing it, but she didn't understand what I meant. So, I ran from her, my
only living relative, as well. I hid in my room, because I couldn't muster
up the courage to come out."
"You ... hid from your own sister?" Ranma asked, scratching her head in
disbelief.
"I had to. In my room - by myself - I could pretend that everything was
okay, that they weren't all talking about me. I could almost ignore the
voices. My sister brought food to my room every day, but I refused to go
to the hallway to get it. It was easier to go without food than to face
her. I stayed there and hid, from everyone and everything."
"How on Earth did you survive, locked away in a room like that?"
"It was strange. For the first few days I was hungry, starving, and I
almost gave in. After a week I could think of nothing but food, but I was
just too afraid to leave. Before long I noticed that I didn't feel as
hungry anymore, and eventually, I didn't feel hungry at all. I've never
eaten since that day."
"You're kidding," Ranma replied, flatly. "Now you're just lying."
"It's the truth, Ranma. I promise you, it is the truth. It's the same with
sleep; I was too afraid to go to sleep at night, because I thought someone
would come into my room and find me while I slept. I stayed up all night
every night, just watching the darkness. I was so afraid of what might
happen if I closed my eyes ... I don't sleep anymore either."
"Wait a minute," Ranma said, a knot growing in her stomach. She hadn't
slept in a long, long time. She had attributed it to the urgency of her
mission, but now that she thought about it, she really shouldn't have been
able to stay awake for so long.
"You don't sleep either, do you?" Kayoko asked, tilting her head
questioningly.
"No, I don't," Ranma replied, staring directly at her childhood friend. "I
tried to, but I just can't fall asleep. I just ... gave up after a while."
"There is no sustenance or rest in the higher plane," Kayoko said, lowering
herself slightly into the water. "Dragons do not need food or sleep; nor
do the Tatsujin. They are eternal."
"What's a ... Tatsujin?"
"I'm amazed that your father would have passed on the tooth to you without
telling you any of this," Kayoko said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"It's ... reckless and irresponsible. I suppose, considering Genma, that's
not really a surprise."
"You didn't answer my question," Ranma pointed out.
"It's not an easy question to answer," Kayoko replied, slowly stroking a
moistened hand across Shampoo's forehead. "The point I was trying to make
was that it took me years to come to terms with this. You can't expect any
easy answers, because there aren't any."
"So what do I do?" Ranma asked, exasperated. She had hoped that Kayoko
would be able to shed some light on what was going on, but it seemed that
the Tendo girl raised more questions than answers.
"I honestly don't know," Kayoko replied. "Genma told me he would return,
but now you are here in his place, and you know even less than I do. I had
always hoped Genma would tell me what I had to do, so I could do it and
then find Kurumi."
"Find her? Where did she go?" Ranma asked.
"She left about a year ago, for Okinawa. She didn't want to leave, but she
had no choice."
"No choice?" Ranma asked. "Why not?"
"I'd been hiding in my room for nearly six months when it started to rain.
I don't mean ordinary rain, I mean a fierce rain that just would not stop.
It would ease sometimes, for perhaps a few hours, but every single day it
came back, without fail."
Ranma held up a hand. "Wait a minute. What does this have to do with
anything?"
"The others in the village grew suspicious. There had never been such a
relentless rainstorm before, and some of them began to suspect that I was
causing it. It was easy for them to lay the blame upon the odd girl who
lived alone and refused to come outside, after all."
"How could they blame you for a rainstorm?" Ranma asked, utterly
incredulous. "That doesn't make any sense!"
"It sounds like nonsense, I know, but they were right. I always knew I was
different to the others, and something inside told me the rain was caused
by me, somehow."
"How?" Ranma asked, her confusion growing.
"All in good time," Kayoko said, shaking her head. "My sister found out
that a few of the men were planning to come and burn down our house, to
exorcise whatever demons lived there. She begged with me to leave with
her, to get out of the house and away from them, but I just couldn't. My
mother had told me that Genma would come for me, and so I decided to wait
for him.
"I told Kurumi to leave, to get away from the village, and that I would
find her when Genma came. She said she would go to Okinawa and wait for me.
She tied together branches of a tree and dressed them, and with a cloak
draped over them, she made sure the villagers saw her leaving. They
assumed she had taken me with them."
"So you've been hiding in that house ever since?" Ranma asked, taken aback.
"By yourself?"
"Waiting for a man who will never come," Kayoko said, averting her eyes
from Ranma. She sighed. "It kept raining, but the others in the village
thought I'd left, so they assumed it was just a spell of bad weather."
"It's not raining now," Ranma observed, gesturing up at the clear sky
overhead. As if on cue, the moon peeked between a set of puffy white
clouds and cast a pale glow upon the pond.
"You're right, it's not," Kayoko replied, unfazed by the observation. She
peered intently at Ranma for a moment before adding, "It hasn't rained
since the day you arrived."
Ranma sighed and lowered herself into the water, a thousand and one
questions crossing her mind as she stared at the surface. She glanced at
Shampoo, who was laying motionless in Kayoko's arms. She had been so
absorbed in what the Tendo girl was saying to her that she had almost
forgotten about the Amazon girl laying unconscious between them.
She watched as Kayoko tilted Shampoo's head back ever so slightly and
scooped water onto the girl's neck, the liquid washing away the dried blood
that marked the Amazon's skin. The wound had begun bleeding again, and
before long the red stain had returned. Kayoko once again scooped up a
handful of water and washed it away, undeterred.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ranma asked. She felt as though she
should be doing -something- to aid her friend. She had no idea what she
could do, but had no desire to do nothing.
"Not yet."
"But--"
"Ranma. Trust me," Kayoko said firmly.
"Okay, okay," Ranma replied with an exasperated sigh. She wanted to grab
Shampoo and shake the life back into her, to yell the Amazon's name until
she woke up. She frowned, realising the futility of her desires, and tried
to think of other things.
"My mother told me many things before she died," Kayoko said, sensing
Ranma's restlessness. She offered a smile and gently stroked her hand over
Shampoo's shoulder. "Stories, I mean. I thought they were just fables,
but after she died I came to realise that they were what your father had
told her to tell me."
"What kind of stories?"
"Where should I begin?" Kayoko wondered. "I suppose the beginning is as
good a place as any. Let me tell you what my mother told me about the
Kingdom of Dragons."
* * *
Many thousands of years ago, before the sun rose over the horizon, there
existed only Dragonkin. They did not exist on Earth but in a higher realm,
in an endless kingdom of light. They were wise and benevolent, and when
they saw the birth of a new realm beneath their own, they paid very close
attention. They took it upon themselves to watch over this newborn realm,
this place that would one day become Earth, to guide it through its youth
and guard it from harm.
Watch it they did; for millennia they led the young world through growth
and decay, steering it through prosperity and despair. Their eyes were
ever vigilant, set upon one task - to keep the Great Balance intact. Ages
came and went, but the Great Balance was eternal and infinite.
Beneath the realm of Earth lay another realm known to Dragonkin as the
Otherworld, a realm of light and darkness, without physical form. It was
from this realm that the dragons drew energy with which to bestow life upon
the fledgling Earth. Their gifts were many, and soon the plants and
animals they had created covered the world.
The newly-created gateway between the Otherworld and Earth could not be
left unwatched, and so two dragons were charged with the task of guarding
it. Ryujin the blue guided energy from the Otherworld to Earth, from
which life could be born, while Ryukyu the red pulled the energy from the
dead and returned it to the Otherworld.
The world prospered under the dragons' rule, and life grew quickly across
every part of the world. Eventually, after all else was in place, the
Dragonkin decided to create one more race, a final testament to the world
they had created. The new race was not to share in the raw power of the
animals, nor the ageless endurance of the trees and the grass. This race
was to be governed by intellect, wisdom and reason, as the dragons
themselves were. Such a race could perhaps, in time, take over stewardship
of the realm.
With such lofty goals in mind, the Dragonkin placed mankind upon the world.
For a time, all was well, and the realm prospered. However, mankind grew
too quickly, its expansion far outstripping all expectations. The humans
were adaptable, intelligent, resourceful. They began to wonder at the
nature of their own existence; to ask questions they should not have asked.
This worried the dragons greatly. Mankind was exerting far too much
influence upon the world and pushing against boundaries they could not be
allowed to breach. That made them dangerous. They had to be controlled,
or the Great Balance would be irreparably damaged. Such damage could not
be allowed.
There was much debate amongst the dragons. Some called for the
extermination of this dangerous child race, this ailment which threatened
the harmony of the realms. Others called for a moderate approach,
declaring that the humans took after the dragons and thus would innately
respect the Great Balance. The Balance would protect itself, they
declared, and the humans should be left to their own devices.
Eventually, after much discussion, the only decision which all of the
Dragonkin would stand behind was that to create a final race - a
half-dragon breed borne of the Earth that could traverse the realms at
will. A race not just modeled after the Dragonkin, but infused with their
very blood. This hidden, immortal race was named the Tatsujin.
The Tatsujin were eternal beings, bound by design to obey their dragon
masters, compelled to serve their needs and assist in the guidance of the
world. Gifted with the ability to change their forms at will, to better
blend in amongst mankind, they served as the eyes and ears of the
Dragonkin. Some took the forms of animals, in order to watch the humans
from afar; others took on a human guise and saturated themselves with the
complexities of human society.
With a direct, physical presence within the Earth realm, the dragons were
satisfied. The Tatsujin were passive observers, but could be used as
instruments of change should the need arise. The balance could be
maintained if the humans could be manipulated.
However, not all was well in the Earth realm. Some of the Tatsujin grew
dissatisfied with their role as servants. Rumblings of dissent filled
their hearts, and they - like the humans - began to ask questions. They
could traverse the realms at will; a feat even their masters could not
accomplish.
Why should they watch over one inferior race at the behest of another?
Should it not be the Tatsujin, the most gifted of beings in the three
realms, who presided over the higher realm?
The vast majority of the Tatsujin remained steadfastly loyal to their
lords, but a small group of Tatsujin - lead by one named Kuonji - began to
devise a theory of their own. It did not make sense in their minds that
the Dragonkin would create a race that was superior to their own. Was it
not more likely that the Tatsujin created the Dragonkin, and had somehow
been tricked into believing the lies of the dragons, forever denied their
true destiny as rulers of the three realms?
This small group planned and schemed, and eventually devised a plot to
overthrow their masters. They convinced their dragon lords that the humans
were losing faith; that the masses needed proof of the existence of their
creators to remain loyal. At the same time, they warned the most powerful
humans of a vast invasion of dragons, a scourge that could wipe out all of
mankind.
The humans, fearful and easily manipulated by the Tatsujin, rallied vast
armies ready to defend themselves from the coming horde of dragons. Kuonji
described the dragons in great detail to the humans, arming them with the
knowledge of how best to strike. With the armies lying in wait, Kuonji
returned to the higher realm and spoke to the Dragonkin.
The dragons' innate concern for the Balance told them an upheaval in the
beliefs and behaviour of humankind would be disastrous. There was much
debate amongst them how best to address the problem, but it was Kuonji who
proposed what seemed the most effective solution.
The Tatsujin's plan was controversial - it called for a vast rift to be
created, a gateway between the realm of Earth and the higher realm. Such a
thing had never been considered, and many of the dragons questioned its
effect on the Great Balance. They argued that there was a reason dragons
could not naturally enter the realm of Earth, and that reason should not be
overlooked.
The dissenting opinions were overruled, however, and Kuonji was given
permission to proceed with the plan.
An enormous portal was created, a vast bridge spanning the gap between
realms. A bright white scar ripped across the Earth's sky, tearing the
very fabric of the realm in two. The Earth shuddered and the higher realm
itself was violently shaken by the creation of the rift.
Kuonji passed through the gateway, arriving in the higher realm as proof
that traversing the realms was safe. The Dragonkin, satisfied with this
demonstration, passed through the great fissure. They took on mortal forms
as they arrived in the Earth realm to greet the humans they had created so
long ago. Kuonji followed behind the last of the dragons and
surreptitiously signaled the waiting armies.
The humans, armed with the knowledge the Tatsujin had bestowed upon them,
sprung their trap; they launched a vicious ambush upon the dragons shortly
after their arrival in the Earth realm. The dragons were far more
powerful, but they were vastly outnumbered, and had no knowledge of how to
defend themselves. An eternity of existence in a higher realm had not
taught them the harsh realities of mortal warfare. The battle was quick
and decisive, and at its end the ground was stained red with the blood of a
thousand dragons.
A few tried to escape to their own realm, but Kuonji the betrayer closed
the rift behind them, leaving them to face their demise. The dragons were
slaughtered; all but two of their number fell to the humans. The two
survivors were guided away from the slaughter by Kuonji - who feigned
loyalty - before the humans could notice them.
These two dragons were Ryukyu and Ryujin, the two dragons sworn to guard
the gateway between the Earth realm and the Otherworld. Kuonji convinced
them that they were in danger, that they could not wander the Earth as
dragons. They were told to transfer their very essence into the form of
two blades, that they could be hidden from those who would seek to do them
harm.
They trusted Kuonji and agreed to the offer, but they were betrayed just as
their brethren had been: the moment they handed over the swords their
mortal bodies were killed, their draconic essences stolen. The Tatsujin
betrayer fled with the swords, leaving the humans to recover from the
losses they had taken in battle.
Kuonji meant to sink into the mists with the swords, but was ambushed; the
two swords were once again stolen, and the Tatsujin was left badly injured
by the battle. Kuonji vowed revenge on those who stole the swords, and so
embarked on an vengeful crusade, seeking retribution on the ones who took
them.
* * *
"Kuonji was the architect of their downfall. And now, it seems that the
betrayer has found the swords she seeks," Kayoko said, a grave tone in her
voice. "We are the only obstacles in her way."
Ranma sighed and turned away. This was so much information to absorb. She
did not know what to believe and what to dismiss as fiction. Why would her
father have kept this to himself? If it were true, why did he not tell her
before he died?
It all seemed too surreal to be true. Immortal dragons? A dragon-human
war? How could this have happened and yet be completely unknown to her?
Surely there would exist records of such a battle. How could such an event
go unrecorded?
She felt her feet sink slightly into the mud and half-closed her eyes,
wishing that she could forget all that had happened to her. So much had
changed in her life that she wondered if she would ever be able to stop and
rest again. She sighed, and tossed aside the fantasy. There were more
important things to think of.
"So, Ukyo is this ... this Tatsujin betrayer?" she asked, finding the
question hard to even ask. She had come to think of Ukyo as a friend
during their journey together - how could the strange girl she had
befriended be the one responsible for the slaughter of an entire race? It
simply didn't seem possible.
"It certainly appears that way," Kayoko's voice confirmed from behind
Ranma. "She carries the Kuonji name, and was ready to kill you to take the
tooth you carry."
Ranma glanced over her shoulder at Shampoo. Why was she defending this
person, the one who had attacked her friend? She gritted her teeth. No,
whatever she may have thought about Ukyo was wrong. This girl was an
enemy, whether or not she was the traitor.
"Why does she want the swords?" Ranma asked, remembering the many nights
she lay near Ukyo with her sword at her side. In all that time, the Kuonji
girl had shown no interest in her weapon, let alone made any move to take
it.
"I don't know," Kayoko replied, shrugging as Ranma turned to face her. "I
assume whatever reason it is, it will not bode well for us."
"Not just us," Ranma added, glancing at the silent form of Shampoo. She
sighed, and took one of the Amazon's hands into her own. It was cold to
the touch, but nevertheless she gave it a gentle squeeze.
"The betrayer has no regard for humans or dragons," Kayoko said, her voice
quiet. She placed her hand atop Ranma's and held it gently. "We must
protect the humans as well as ourselves."
Ranma felt goosebumps prickle her skin as Kayoko's hand touched hers. She
had long suspected something had changed the day her father had died. The
events of that day had created a rift between her and the world around her.
She had never been able to quantify it exactly, but she felt somehow ...
disconnected, from everyone and everything.
Kayoko's words had given her much to reflect on. There were too many
unanswered questions, and the ones Kayoko had offered answers to had simply
given way to other, larger questions. With her father and Kayoko's mother
dead, who could she turn to for answers?
She pulled her hand away, leaving Kayoko to tend to Shampoo, and waded over
to the far side of the pond. If she could not help, she would use the time
to think.
She sighed and sank her hands slightly into the water, watching the surface
close around them. There was always the possibility that Kayoko was wrong,
that she was taking literally something that was merely meant as a story.
Somehow, though, that did not seem right. Kayoko's words - her stories -
resonated within Ranma, and somehow she knew they were not fantasies. A
kingdom of dragons, something that would have seemed ridiculous a few weeks
earlier, seemed now to make a strange sort of sense.
Whether or not it was true, she knew that Ukyo would be on their trail.
The only plan she had - to find Kayoko - was no longer useful. She had to
decide upon a new plan, and quickly. Ukyo would be in pursuit - the
reasons why did not change that fact. Ranma could consider the whys and
hows later. For now, she had to escape and try to make sense of what had
happened.
But, escape to where? She did not have any real home, besides an old house
in Edo that was most likely home to someone else by now. She had no family
to speak of, and her only two friends were already standing in the pond
beside her. She did not have anywhere to go.
Kayoko had a family; Kayoko had a plan. The Tendo girl was going to
Okinawa to find her sister. That, Ranma decided, was the best plan for her
to follow. She had few friends in the world, and she did not intend to
abandon the few she did have. She had left Kayoko behind once, and would
not do it again.
If Kayoko was going to Okinawa to find her sister, then Ranma would follow.
* * *
Ranma sighed, resting her head in one hand as she leaned on a small rock
that protruded from the water's surface near the pond's edge. She had been
standing in the water for little more than an hour, but to her it felt as
though she had been standing there all day. The thought of Ukyo growing
closer by the minute lingered in the back of her mind, refusing to be
dismissed.
The conversation between herself and Kayoko had long since faded into
silence; the only words spoken now were by Kayoko as she whispered into
Shampoo's ear. The continual noise of the surrounding forest ensured that
Ranma could not make out what was being said, nor did she particularly care
to. She felt like an unnecessary appendage, her abilities useless to aid
Shampoo. She was not used to this feeling of helplessness and it disturbed
her greatly.
Kayoko had called her into the pond for a reason, but what that reason was
she did not know. All she had done was stand around and watch; something
she could just as easily have done from the water's edge. She knew that
Kayoko would explain to her why she was in the water, but the wait for that
explanation was frustrating.
Just be okay, Shampoo, she thought, looking down into the murky waters.
Please be okay.
A small rustling noise caught her ear; she glanced toward its source and
blinked in surprise as she saw two rabbits sitting between the trees,
calmly looking at her. She watched them for a moment, their black eyes
glimmering in the reflected light of the moon, their noses twitching back
and forth as if following a scent upon the air.
Rabbits were timid creatures, she knew, and never in her life had she seen
one stay so calm and still near a human. She jumped, startled, as she
became suddenly aware that the rabbits were not alone; from the shadowed
depths of the forests were emerging a wide variety of animals, from birds
that settled in upon the many branches circling the pond, to wolves, rats,
and dogs. A swarm of insects gathered around the pond, forming a swirling,
buzzing halo.
She swallowed, taking a step back as she peered at the multitude of life
surrounding her. Predators and prey, animals that were enemies of one
another sat quietly together at the forest's edge, each watching her
intently, each calm, silent and still.
The moonlight faded, the pale orb swallowed by an enormous cloud bank. The
air chilled slightly beneath the cloud's shadow and Ranma shivered, the
waist-deep water suddenly feeling warmer by contrast. No, she realised,
casting her eyes downward. The water didn't just -feel- warmer, it -was-
warmer. Much warmer.
A tiny ball of light burst into existence before her, deep within the
water, its shape obscured by the ripples her retreat had left. Bright,
white, it was quickly joined by another, and another, each hanging in place
for only a moment before slowly gliding toward her. Each left a
luminescent trail that glowed white for just a moment before fading to
grey, then disappearing entirely.
What on Earth is that, she thought, her mind's voice rising in a panic.
She held out one hand to catch one of the tiny glowing specks but it passed
effortlessly through her hand, leaving behind nothing but a warm glow upon
her skin. Nevertheless she jolted it out of the water, clutching her hand
to her chest, cradling it as if injured.
"Ranma. It's time."
The voice startled her; it was loud yet soft, booming yet soothing, and
carried a tone she did not recognise. She whirled around to face it,
wondering just where it had come from - her question died in her chest as
she realised just what the animals were staring at.
The tiny lights she had seen were not alone. Scores of similar lights
danced through the water, moving with perfect synchronicity toward the
centre of the pond, lining up into a series of concentric rings as they
drew closer to Shampoo. Ranma swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, as her
eyes fell upon Kayoko.
Two enormous white wings had sprouted from Kayoko's shoulder blades; they
spanned the pond, the iridescent glow of a thousand silver-tipped feathers
bathing the clearing in a radiant white light. Kayoko smiled at Ranma, her
bright blue eyes seeming to glow with that same brilliant energy as she
raised one hand to beckon Ranma closer.
Ranma stepped closer, compelled to answer Kayoko's call, her eyes firmly
locked upon those enormous, majestic wings that dwarfed the girl who
supported them. A breeze picked up as she stepped closer, circling the
pond and setting the perfectly aligned rows of feathers aflutter.
"What ... what the hell?" she asked, her voice whipped away upon the
ever-growing wind that circled her. She glanced down at the water again,
the surface perfectly calm and still despite the howling wind that twisted
atop it.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kayoko said, her voice booming effortlessly through
the wind. Her hair whipped wildly in the breeze, her wings shook with each
gust, but she stood calmly and smiled. "Our children have gathered to see.
Even the sky wishes to join us."
"The sky...?" Ranma asked, shielding her eyes from the gale. A bright
flash filled the forest for just a moment, illuminating Kayoko's smile as
she gestured upward with her eyes. Ranma followed Kayoko's eyes and looked
up into the sky; the clouds overhead had grown dark, and from within them
an enormous clap of thunder resonated, seeming to shake the very Earth.
"What's going on?!" Ranma cried, rushing toward Kayoko, her hurried wading
leaving scattered trails of darkness amid the glowing pool. She came to a
stop opposite Kayoko, Shampoo's still body between them. "What's
happening?"
"Here they come," Kayoko said, reaching out and snatching one of Ranma's
hands with her own. She held it, the palm facing up, and closed her eyes.
"Behold, the storm."
Ranma wanted to struggle, to snatch back her hand and demand answers, but
somehow she could not. Instead she stood still and watched a single
droplet of rain, fat and glowing white, splashed into her palm. She
stared, transfixed, as the warm liquid ran across her skin to drip down
into the pond below. Another droplet fell, striking her on the cheek;
another landed on Kayoko's arm, and before long a downpour of warm, glowing
rain had begun, a torrential cascade of water that drenched all three of
them.
"What is this?" Ranma asked, bewildered by the warm liquid that gathered in
her hand.
"Our gift to this realm," Kayoko replied, leaning closer to Ranma. She
squeezed Ranma's hand gently and smiled as glimmering streams of rain ran
down her face. "The water holds the essence of life itself. The humans,
the animals, all life upon this world arose from this water."
"It's ... alive?" Ranma asked, glancing down at her hand in wonderment.
The water felt warm, like the warmth of Satoko's arms as she hugged Ranma
goodnight; like the warmth of Shampoo's breath on her neck as they huddled
together on a cold night. The warmth encompassed and surrounded her hand,
only Kayoko's slender fingers felt cold against her skin.
"It's not alive, it -creates- life," Kayoko said firmly. Stretching her
wings, she gracefully curled them around behind Ranma, surrounding the trio
in a feathered cocoon. "It grants life to all the people of this world, to
the plants and the animals, and now it shall grant life to this girl."
"You mean ... she's ...?" Ranma stammered, glancing down at Shampoo's face.
It was so calm, so still, so empty. Was it possible? Could she have been
so wrapped up in thought that she did not notice the death of her friend?
She felt the hairs on her neck stand on end, a crackling energy filling the
air as she swallowed nervously.
"The waters are leaving her, but it's not too late," Kayoko said
reassuringly. She closed her wings more tightly, holding the wind at bay
and allowing her voice to drop to a whisper. "Even as they seep out of her
body, they can be renewed and replenished. Her memories live on within
her; through them, so will she. She will live again, born anew."
"I don't understand," Ranma said, bewildered. She watched in wonder as the
glow that suffused the water spread to Shampoo's body - a little at a time,
spreading slowly until her entire body shone with the same brilliant light.
Ranma looked up at Kayoko in amazement, capturing the winged girl's eyes
with her own. Within those stormy blue orbs she saw life; the irises
moved, the bright blue colour within them glowing brightly and swirling
like a liquid. She stared, transfixed, unable to do anything but mouth the
question, "How?"
"You and I, Ranma, we are the gatekeepers," Kayoko said, her hair whipping
behind her in the increasingly violent wind that circled around the
protective shell of her wings. "All life is bound to us. I create life
upon this Earth, you return it so that it may rest before being born again.
You ask how, and I say that is what we are destined to do. The decision
is ours to make. It was not merely me who saved her - it was both of us."
"The decision ..." Ranma whispered, looking down at Shampoo. The Amazon
was resplendent in her luminance, a glorious white aura that contained and
supported her. Ranma reached down and stroked the girl's forehead - it was
warm, and Shampoo's mouth moved slightly, forming the faintest hint of a
smile.
"Life, death, the beginning and the end. You know of what I speak, Ranma.
In your heart you understand our duty. It is through us that the great
wheel turns, that the Balance is maintained in this realm. We are the sole
survivors of our race. There was once a great kingdom that governed, but
we are all that remains. We hold this world in our hands; that is both our
punishment and our reward."
"I ... I don't ...."
"In time you'll understand," Kayoko said, reaching out to gently touch
Ranma's cheek. Slowly, the lights faded one by one until darkness was all
that remained. Her wings slowly retracted, folding in upon themselves
until they were contained behind her back. "Your answers will come with
time."
Ranma jumped as, suddenly, the water surrounding her was cold once more. A
dim light faded into existence; she cast her eyes upwards and realised that
the clouds were gone, the moon was shining once more, and the rain had
ceased. Once more, they were alone.
"Ranma, she's waking up."
The voice was Kayoko's - the Kayoko that she remembered, the Kayoko who had
held her so tightly in Edo, the Kayoko she had grown up with. Ranma turned
to face her and stared; the wings were gone, the radiant smile and luminous
glow were nowhere to be seen. She wondered, for just a moment, if it had
all been a dream.
"Ugh ...." moaned Shampoo, her voice straining as she struggled with
consciousness.
"Keep still, you're going to be fine," Kayoko instructed, supporting
Shampoo with both arms.
"Everything is going to be fine," Ranma added, her eyes still on Kayoko
even as she spoke to Shampoo. She gave a puzzled look at the Tendo girl
before finally turning her eyes to the Amazon. "You're going to be okay."
"Master," Shampoo croaked, partially opening one eye to look at Ranma. She
smiled, even though it obviously pained her to do so. "I dreamed about
you, Master."
"You did?" Ranma asked, bewildered.
"I was falling into darkness, and you caught me," Shampoo whispered
hoarsely. "Thank you, Master."
"Close your eyes, get some sleep," Kayoko instructed, sliding one hand over
Shampoo's eyes to close them. "You need to rest. You've had a hard day."
Shampoo offered no argument; she let her eye be closed, and quickly fell
into a deep sleep. Her chest rose and fell slowly with her breath; it was
shallow, but steady.
Ranma stroked her forehead gently, and let out a sigh of relief. She did
not know what she would have done if Shampoo had not survived. The girl
was one constant in a world of upheaval, a friend in a world of strangers.
Truth be told, she needed Shampoo as much as Shampoo needed her. She held
on to Shampoo for a long time, watching her sleep.
"We must leave soon if we are to stay ahead of the betrayer. We'll carry
her if we must."
Ranma nodded - she knew it was true. Ukyo would be pursuing them and they
could not afford any more delays. She watched as Kayoko waded away,
easily carrying Shampoo in both arms.
"'yoko, wait," Ranma called, turning to the Tendo girl, who stopped midway
to the edge of the pond. "Did that ... really just happen? Was it real?"
"It was real, Ranma," Kayoko replied with a nod. "I wanted to show you the
world you are now a part of. I wanted to share what I know."
"So I'm ... I'm not human."
"You were born human," Kayoko said, turning away and moving once more to
the edge of the pond. She gently laid Shampoo's body upon the grass, then
hoisted herself up, lifting her own body out of the water with ease.
"But I'm not anymore."
"No," Kayoko said, water dripping from her body as she stepped away from
the pond. "You have become something more."
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T E N
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