Chapter 29 Another Day in Paradise
As their car drove up to the dock in Port Allen harbor, the catamaran that they had booked their snorkeling tour on impressed Konatsu. The large twin hulled design, with the cabin between, looked graceful, and clean. As he got out of the car, he grabbed their day bag containing their swimsuits and towels. The sky was blue, with barely a cloud in the sky. They climbed aboard the vessel and made their way forward to the large main cabin. The captain greeted them, a young, bronzed woman, with a friendly expression on her face.
Soon the crew cast off the lines, and the catamaran made its way out of the harbor and into the waters around Kauai and started heading up the Napali coast. They soon were joined by a group of spinner dolphins jumping through the water, keeping pace with the ship. Konatsu and Ukyo changed into their swimsuits and made their way to the trampoline in the bow of the ship. Lying down on the trampoline, they watched the dolphins jump the waves and generally play, as well as watched the coastline go by. Konatsu took several pictures of the scenery as well as the dolphins playing in the water. Eventually, the ship made its way to the secluded cove where they would snorkel and eat a barbeque lunch.
Ukyo slowly slipped below the surface of the water, diving as deep as she could to follow the gorgeously colored fish that were swimming below her, darting among the coral encrusted rocks. On the sea bottom, she could see a large sea turtle slowing trundling across the sand. Using her waterproof camera, she took multiple pictures of the fish, and the turtle. As she surfaced for air, Konatsu caught up to her, grinning exuberantly. The ninja let out a whoop as he neared her, saying, "This is great, Ucchan. I'm glad you talked me into this". Then he spluttered as a wave splashed him in his open mouth. Once he recovered, he smiled ruefully at himself.
Ukyo giggled, surprised at her husband. This was a side of him that she had never seen before, laughing, almost giddy with excitement. For so long, he had stayed in the shadows, never putting himself forward, but letting her know that he was there for her. It was at that moment she realized that she had truly fallen in love with him, and that their friendship had indeed turned into something grander. She reached out her hand towards her husband, and they held hands, treading water, while they gazed at each other. Finally, they heard the captain's voice calling them back to the ship for lunch. As one, they turned and raced each other to the ladder, Ukyo beating Konatsu there by a nose. She stuck her tongue out at him as she climbed up the ladder, only to see him smirk at her.
As she made her way over to where she could sit down and take off the pair of flippers from her feet, Konatsu pulled himself over the side and then joined her. "What were you smirking at, Ko-chan?" Ukyo asked innocently.
"Oh, nothing really. Just wondering if you were offering to share it, again," Konatsu said.
Ukyo blushed, thinking of how they had spent the evening before. She swatted him lightly on his arm and whispered, "Pervert."
After ridding themselves of their snorkeling gear, and grabbing their towels, they made their way to the cabin for lunch. After getting their plates and a glass of wine each, they found a place to sit. Wrapping their towels around themselves, they began to eat their meal in companionable silence. Once she was finished, Ukyo put her arm around Konatsu and leaned against his shoulder and drifted off to sleep.
As the catamaran made its way out of the cove, the crew put up the sails and turned the engine off. The wind filled the sails, propelling the ship forward toward the port. Konatsu woke Ukyo up, and they made their way up forward to the bow, and watched the coast go by again, arms around each other's waist, moving with the sway of the ship as it skipped across the waves. Soon, a pod of dolphins appeared again, skipping across the wake formed by the passage of the ship. Ukyo took several pictures of the dolphins, especially one playful one that skipped backwards across the water, laughing at the people on the ship.
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Evening had fallen on the island of Kauai and Konatsu and Ukyo were heading toward the restaurant that they had picked for dinner. Their driver had picked them up from the hotel and then had driven them in silence toward their destination. They had just turned into the drive of the Kiahuna Plantation and motored up to the Plantation Gardens restaurant there on the grounds.
Konatsu took Ukyo's arm and escorted her into the restaurant and gave their name to the greeter at the entrance to the restaurant proper. She told them that their table wasn't quite ready, so they spent several minutes wandering around the little shops attached to the restaurant as well as the museum depicting the days when the plantation house was actually part of a working concern. Ukyo couldn't leave one of the shops without buying some dolls she found in one of them. Konatsu, on the other hand, was fascinated by the samples in the smithy and picked up a brace of well-balanced throwing knives that he arranged to be shipped home. Ukyo left that store disappointed, however, since there weren't any spatulas; she had been feeling a bit naked without a set.
Finally, their name was called and they made their way to the greeter. After being seated at their table overlooking the central courtyard, their waiter appeared and welcomed them to the restaurant. After taking their drink orders, he recited the daily specials. Ukyo decided on the sea bass, while Konatsu went for the grilled ono tuna.
After the waiter had left, Ukyo reached across the table and held Konatsu's hand. "Ko-chan," she began, "I discovered something today that surprised me a little. I realized that I want this to work. I think I told you it would be hard not to fall in love with you. I was right, I found out today that I have."
Konatsu gazed at the woman he loved, and replied, "Ucchan, I can't begin to tell you how happy that makes me hearing you say that. It's like a dream come true for me. I promise that I will do every thing that I can so that you will never regret being my wife."
"I know that you will, Ko-chan. You have always been a good man, a good friend. I promise that I will also do what I can to never cause you to regret that we are wed," Ukyo said, quietly.
They sat there in companionable silence through the salad course, content with gazing at each other. Then Ukyo asked, "Ko-chan, you know that my restaurant is my life. What do you want to do, aside from being with me? What goals do you have?"
"I was thinking of trying to get into college. Possibly get a degree in restaurant management, actually. I thought that might come in handy in the future, and I kind of caught the restaurant bug from you," Konatsu said.
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Ranma finished the kata that he had been doing, gracefully sinking to a lotus position on the floor of the dojo. Closing his eyes, he began to meditate, something he had mastered during his years in college. Allowing his senses to expand outwards, he could hear the plop of one of the fish jumping in the koi pond and the sound of the wind in the trees in the yard. As he pushed his awareness out further, he began to hear the sounds of his children in the dining room, playing with Ryoga and Shampoo. Akane, he could sense, was in the kitchen, making dinner for the six of them, enjoying a rare night of peace. Allowing his mind to wander, he searched for his center and pondered the life that he had achieved. Slowly, he began to sense someone enter the dojo behind him.
#Hello, Elder Khu Lon. I'm surprised it took you this long to return,# Ranma said, in excellent Chinese, surprising the elderly lady sitting on her cane.
"You surprise me, son-in-law. Not only do you speak Chinese now, you speak it in the dialect of our village," Cologne responded, refusing to be impressed by her failure to sneak up on Ranma.
"Sorry, Elder, but you can't claim that relationship to me. How can I be your son-in-law if Shampoo is no longer an Amazon? After all, if she's not an Amazon, your Amazon laws don't apply, do they?" Ranma asked.
"Good try, Son-in-law, but Shampoo is and always will be an Amazon. Under our laws, the Kiss of Marriage still applies," Cologne said with a cackle.
Ranma smirked, as he asked, "If your laws have always applied to her, then the fact that she of her own choice revoked the Kiss of Marriage applies, wouldn't you say?"
"Damn, hoist by my own petard. Yes, if she revoked the Kiss then you are no longer her husband under our laws," Cologne said.
"Perhaps you could call me grandson, that might be a bit closer, though still inaccurate," Ranma said, with respect, "Actually, now that I think about it, I wouldn't object to that term coming from you." As he spoke, he opened his eyes and swiveled around to face the elder.
"Grandson, eh?" Cologne asked.
Ranma looked a bit smug, and replied, "Well, Mom did adopt Shampoo, more or less, when you left. That kind of makes me her brother; at least that's how the two of us consider each other, anyway. So that means, old ghoul, that you're sorta my great grandmother. That is, if you want to acknowledge that relationship. Of course, you already knew that before you came."
"Shampoo could still marry you anyway. We don't have to recognize your mother's adoption, after all. We discovered one remaining cask of Nannichuan water that I will give you, to entice you to come back," Cologne said, just to see Ranma's reaction.
"Well, her husband might object pretty strenuously," Ranma said with a smile, "And I know my wife certainly would. Besides, Amazon law is actually on my side this time. After all, I announced my choice when I wed Akane, and then there are the two girls and the baby on the way. And I don't actually mind my other form too much, anymore. Strangely enough, I think I would miss her to be honest. Anyway, there are other people that need a cure more than I do. At least I stay human. Give it tone of them." Then he grew stern, and continued, "How much do you know about what happened at Jusendyo, at Phoenix Mountain, Cologne?"
"Just what little Mousse and Shampoo told me. I wasn't sure how much of that to believe," Cologne replied.
"Believe all of it, Elder. I destroyed a mountain. I killed Saffron to save Akane's life. She almost died that day. I decided then and there that I would never allow another person to come close to harming her. I was strong enough that day to kill a demi-god to protect my mate, and I've only gotten stronger since then," Ranma said coldly, "The last time you and I talked, I told you that you had a choice. You could have me as a friend to the Amazons, or you could have me as your worst nightmare. It's still your choice. I'm willing to start fresh with you and forget all of the things that you did to try to steal me from Akane."
Cologne chortled, and said, "It's a good thing I like you, Ranma. If any of the other elders had come, and you had threatened them the way you just did, it wouldn't have been real pretty."
Ranma smiled thinly as he noticed the change in address, and said, "It wasn't a threat, just a statement of facts. You and I both know that your way of life is in trouble. Your traditions, whether I agree with them or not, won't survive in the world we live in today. Fighting with swords and personal weapons, even ki based attacks, can't compete with fuel-air explosive bombs, much less the more destructive weapons available to a modern army."
"Much as I hate to admit it, Ranma, I have to agree with you. My tribe needs to adapt or it will be destroyed, and there are things that we know that are too precious to lose. I knew that when I came here to help Shampoo snare you. Though, by the time I left, I realized that you weren't someone we needed in our tribe in China. You would have caused entirely too much disruption. You would have insisted on your rights as an Amazon woman, and would have refused to be servile as an Amazon man," Cologne said.
"Damn straight, Elder. Assuming you could have dragged me to China, I would have caused so much ruckus that you would have tossed me to the lions to get rid of me. I guess that's why I was surprised that you allowed the farce of Shampoo chasing me to last as long as it did. You had to have known what would have happened if we wed, especially as arrogant as I was back then," Ranma replied.
"What do you mean back then, you're still an arrogant ass," Cologne murmured sotto voce. Ranma smirked at her. She grinned back at him and replied, "Yes, I figured that out. That's why I stopped supporting her there at the end. She couldn't come back to the village without a husband, so I had to banish her. You can't imagine how much that hurt, by the way. I love her a great deal."
Ranma said softly, "I know you do. She knows as well. I doubt she would go back to stay now, though. She's happy here with us. This is her home now. You do know she is expecting a child?"
Cologne's eyes grew wide, as she replied, "No, that bit of news I haven't heard. That must be relatively recent."
Ryoga replied from the doorway, surprising Cologne, "Yes, it is, old woman. We found out two days ago. Hey, bro, it's time for dinner. Do we need to set an extra plate?"
Cologne whirled in surprise, and said, "When did you learn to mask your chi, Ryoga?"
"I told you that I had gotten stronger since Jusendyo, Elder. Ryoga and I have trained each other in all of my school's techniques. One of the first I taught him was how to mask. You should see Shampoo, Cologne. You're definitely welcome to stay and eat with us, after all, I certainly mooched enough off of you when you were running the Neko-Haten," Ranma said with a smile, "By the way, meet your son-in-law, Ryoga."
Cologne cackled and said, "So you married her. I'm surprised you survived the wedding night."
"Hey, I'm a martial artist, you know. I have plenty of stamina," Ryoga protested.
Ranma laughed and said, "I think she was talking about your shyness, baka. Remember how your nose would bleed if you saw just a bit of cleavage. My sister is anything but bashful, and Cologne was probably figuring you would have died of blood loss."
Ryoga growled at him, and then smiled, showing his fangs. "She is a bit of an exhibitionist, isn't she?" he said proudly.
"Yep, and I can't think of a man that I'd rather have her with, bro," Ranma said, with a smile.
Cologne shook her head in disbelief. "I thought you two were enemies," she said puzzled.
"Old news, old ghoul, sorry, I meant of course, Honored Elder. We made up years ago. He was my best man at the wedding, after all. Now, he'll be interested in a cure, as will Shampoo, if you have one for her," Ranma said, "We can talk about that at dinner, though. I don't want to be late for dinner. Akane doesn't like it when I am. Are you going to join us, or what?" He rose gracefully to his full height, and waited for Cologne to answer.
"I would be honored to stay. I know I would like to meet your children, and I have missed my great granddaughter," Cologne said. She hopped out the door and over toward the house, followed by the two men.
As they entered the house, Shampoo sprang up in surprise to see her great grandmother with Ranma and Ryoga. She moved quickly to Ryoga and allowed him to hold him in her arms. "You will not take me away from my Airen," Shampoo said firmly.
"Is that any way to greet me after all these many years, child? Has the time that you spent here made you forget your manners? Show me some respect, child," Cologne said, sharply.
Ryoga looked on worriedly and Ranma tensed as if to intervene. Shampoo smiled sweetly and said, "I have shown you all the respect that you deserve, old woman. You banished me from the Amazons. These people are my family, now. They redeemed my honor and have earned my respect."
Cologne cackled, surprising Shampoo. "You still are an Amazon warrior, one that I am proud to call my great granddaughter. You have chosen a worthy mate, child. I am proud of you. You passed the trials that I had set for you all unknowing that there even was a trial. There was no banishment; I merely wished to push you out of the nest as it were to see if you would indeed fly. Indeed you not only flew, but you soared." She moved forward and hugged Shampoo, and then shocked Ryoga by hugging him as well. "I have missed you Shampoo," Cologne said.
"I missed you as well, great grandmother. But I won't be moving back to your village, I hope you won't be disappointed. This is my home, these are my people," Shampoo said proudly.
"Shampoo, there won't be any need for you to come to the village. We are bringing some of the village to you. I have named you as my heir, and the Elders have recognized you as an Elder, and made you responsible for the Amazons that will be living here," Cologne said, shocking everyone in the room, with the exception of Ranma who nodded his head. "Don't look so surprised, Elder Shampoo. Your brother here had the right of it. If we as a tribe wish to survive, we must spread out and found new villages of our people. What better place than here, where we have a strong couple to lead the village and family, friends and allies close at hand. That's enough business for now. I understand that I have some children to meet and possibly spoil." She hopped down from her cane and stood eye to eye with Nodoka, who just stared at her boldly.
Ranma said, "That one is Nodoka, named of course after my mother. Her sister is named Kimiko, after Akane's mother. If you haven't guessed, we are very proud of both of them. Why don't you get to know them while I tell Akane that you're here." With that he disappeared into the kitchen.
Cologne sighed as she looked at the two girls, and said, "Shampoo, that is one impressive man that got away from you. Looks like he makes pretty babies, too."
#Hey, I helped too you know, and most of the work was mine, Elder, #Akane said from the kitchen entry, #Be welcome in our house. #
Cologne jumped, not realizing that Akane was there listening.
#Would you children stop that? It's not good for a woman as old as I am to be surprised like that, #Cologne said peevishly, #Did everyone learn our language?#
Akane snickered, and said, "Certainly, Cologne. Both of us knew you would come when you heard that we were here, so we learned Chinese at school and then had Shampoo help us with your particular dialect. As for the rest, I am the other sensei of the Anything Goes School, after all. I wouldn't be much of a master if I didn't know all of the techniques, now would I?"
"No, you're right, of course Akane. I just seem to be letting myself be surprised easily by you and Ranma. I'm not sure why, though. You did win the contest after all. My congratulations on your wedding, belated though they may be. For some reason, I didn't get an invitation," Cologne said with a dry chuckle. After examining both of the women in front of her, she added, "Shampoo, congratulations on your pregnancy. Akane, I see that I owe you those as well. I hope both of you have an easy time of it. As for these two moppets of yours, both of you did good work."
"We think so. Unlike one unmentionable person, we are extremely proud of our daughters. Our Mother and Father are very happy with them as well, though; we have to watch them carefully. They seem to want to spoil all of the grandchildren. I guess that's what grandparents are for though," Ranma said with a smile.
"Only two grandparents, what happened to your father, Ranma?" Cologne said confused, "I thought he was staying here."
Ranma looked troubled. Akane's face grew cold with anger as she said, "He is no longer welcome in our life, Cologne. If you'll excuse us, we need to bring in the meal. Shampoo, could you get place set for Cologne?" Ranma followed Akane into the kitchen, while Shampoo got another place setting and chopsticks for her great grandmother.
"Before you ask, we don't know what happened. One day he was living here and working at the restaurant for Ucchan, the next day he was gone as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth. Neither of them will tell us what happened, either," Ryoga said quietly, "We've learned not to bring him up; you saw how they reacted. It was much worse." Cologne nodded, her wise eyes troubled.
Akane and Ranma brought out several trays of food and set them done at the table, then Ranma went back and returned with the rice cooker. Akane bowed low to Cologne, and said, "I'm sorry for taking my anger out on you. We do not mention that person in this house, Cologne, but you couldn't have known that."
The seven of them sat down at the dining platform, and Akane handed around bowls of miso soup. Cologne quirked one eyebrow at the soup, as she discovered it was very tasty. Akane saw her reaction and smiled wryly, "Cologne, my cooking had to get better. After several months of living by myself, and tasting what I cooked, I found out that I had significant room for improvement. I had already gotten a bit better before Ranma moved in with me, and after I apologized for every time I hit him for making fun of my cooking, he helped me learn how to cook. I still have a ways to go before I'm as good as Kasumi, but then, I think she cheats and uses magic."
"Acchan, I think your meals are at least as good as hers," Ranma said with a fond smile. Akane blushed prettily, and then passed around bowls of rice and broiled fish.
Cologne said, "You two have certainly grown up into a pair of impressive adults."
Ranma reached over and rested his hand on Akane's as he said, simply, "We make a good team. We bring some of the same strengths to our marriage, as well as we complement many of the other's weaknesses. We both needed a strong partner in life; I'd say that we found one."
"Where are you staying, tonight, Great Grandmother?" Ryoga asked, "If you need a place, we have room at our house? Shampoo and I are still living with Soun and Nodoka, and with Ucchan on her honeymoon, her room is empty."
"That is very kind of you. I will take you up on that offer. That will make things easier as well, as I have some presents for both of you. Shampoo, I have a cask of Nyannichuan water for you as well as the last remaining cask of Nannichuan water for Ryoga," Cologne said.
"Is there enough water for both Ranma and myself?" Ryoga asked.
"No, it will only cure one person, Ryoga, and it needs to be you," Ranma said, "I owe you that. After all, I'm the reason that you got cursed in the first place. My honor wouldn't let me use it, if it cost you your last chance at a cure. I'm not trying to be noble, here, I'm just trying to be realistic. You turn into a pig, for crying out loud. I, at least, stay human."
Ryoga bowed his head; unshed tears of joy in his eyes, while Shampoo hugged him. "Thank you, Cologne," Ryoga said softly, "That is indeed a wonderful gift for both of us."
Shampoo mouthed the words "Thank you," to Ranma, who smiled gently at her. They finished their dinner, and Shampoo went to call her mother and let them know they were having a guest. Once she came back, she found that Cologne and Ryoga were ready to go, his excitement extremely evident. Ranma watched them leave the house, Akane by his side.
As he shut the door, Akane kissed him and said, "That was very brave of you Ranma. She brought that water for you, didn't she?"
"Yes, but if it is the only remaining cask, then Ryoga deserves it, not me. I wasn't kidding about what I said. He should have the cure. I can't imagine what it's like for either of them to turn into animals, Acchan. To be trapped as human in animal form, that has to be horrible. I couldn't take this chance away from him, I just couldn't," Ranma replied, his voice tight with emotion.
"That doesn't make me any less proud of you, though, Ranchan," Akane said, as she hugged her husband.
Author's Note: For those of you who have been following this particular story, thanks for reading. I think I will be bringing this one to a conclusion, shortly. There may be one more chapter that I can write since I have pretty much tied up many of the loose ends. I want to concentrate on the two other fictions that I have in work, and I have ideas for at least three more that I want to pursue to see if they can turn into a story.
As a personal note, for those of you that are interested, the portion of this story that has Konatsu and Ukyo in Hawaii is a subtle self-insert. My wife and I spent a long weekend on the island of Kauai some years ago, and I am describing some of what we did there in that section. Also, while I never said so at the time, the reason Akane and Ranma ended up at the University of Texas at Arlington, is that is the school that I graduated from. The places that they visited in Arlington are real, though the people of course are not.