'Over the Clouds'
"You abandon your only child for eight years, and you think a simple 'sorry' WOULD CHANGE ALL THAT?!?"
Ryoga went rigid, as his eyes stared forward with more than a little shock. That shock withered under the sweltering heat of his growing anger, before he recalled he had something he was supposed to do, and finding the context of his task very much comprehendable.
"What's wrong, Ryoga?" Ranma asked, drawing the fanged young man's attention back to him. Ryoga forced a smile for Ranma's benefit, before responding.
"I was... thinking of a new technique I wanted to teach you." Ryoga lied.
Ranma's eyes lit up brightly, "Really? Cool! What is it?"
"Ah... how about we go to the dojo?" Ryoga suggested, stalling. Without hesitation, the pigtailed boy rushed down the hall, towards the dojo; giddy at the prospect of learning a new move from his best friend. Ryoga jogged behind Ranma, attempting to keep him in sight, while groaning to himself. He disliked what he had done, but he didn't want Ranma anywhere near the problem zone, right now.
Fortunately, he managed not to lose track of Ranma or his surroundings, and found his temporary ward anxiously waiting him. "So, what is it?"
"Ah..." Ryoga hemmed and hawed, before a goofy, nervous smile appeared across his face.
____________________________
Kasumi dared not look at either Shampoo or Genma, as the anger already radiated from them in waves. Like the blackness of dingy smoke that rose from a dirty, unkept furnace, she feared it would soil her with its contamination. Yet, for as extreme as their reactions were, she wasn't too sure she could blame them. To Kasumi, Ranma was one of the most darling beings she had ever met; to abandon him would be an unspeakable taboo.
And yet... the woman, Ranma's mother. She looked as if she had clawed her way from the darkest of Hells she had been expelled to for her atrocity, and survived with more than enough scars of atonement.
Her hurt, like Genma and Shampoo's anger, eminated from her like a tide from a most sorroful, desolate sea. She was an island, a small island among an ocean of gray, filled with jagged, menacing shards of ice that threatened anyone that wished to approach her. How the woman seemed to yearn for but one glimpse of a receeding tide to reveal a bridge from her misery.
"I'm going to go check up on Ranma," Genma stated, heading for the dojo. Shampoo gave a baleful glance to the door, and then to Akane, before following her supposed husband.
Once the two were out of sight, Akane whiled on her father, "Are you going to let them get away with this? Treating one of *our* guests like that?"
"Akane..." Soun replied, gravely, "She was here to see them, not us."
"But that doesn't excuse them-"
"THAT..." Soun brought his temper under control, "That will be enough of this... unpleasant incident, Akane. It's best we put this in the past."
Akane pursed her lips, but said nothing more on the matter. With a fustrated huff, the youngest Tendou daughter stormed upstairs, allowing the slamming door to relay her anger.
Soun looked to his eldest daughter, "Kasumi, would you be so kind as to prepare tea for all of us? I think we need something to help settle us down."
With only a hesitant nod, Kasumi made her way to the kitchen. As she entered, she thought more about the situation, and the more she contemplate it, the more she considered both sides, the more she was torn by the equal miseries inflicted on each other by both sides, intentionally or unwittingly.
____________________________
Genma entered the dojo, and stopped. Wondering what brought her beloved short, Shampoo looked past the stout man, and found Ranma in some weird stance, with his hands cupped together, as Ryoga nervously chuckled.
"Ah... h-how did things go... Saotome-san?" Ryoga greeted nervously, as he stood behind Ranma.
"HADOUKEN!!!"
Ryoga's grin became even more crooked, as Genma stared at him.
"What's going on?" Genma enquired, finally, causing Ryoga to briskly walk up to the elder Saotome.
"Ah, well, you see..." Ryoga started, "I was trying to keep Ranma occupied... and, well... I'mmakinghimlearnabogustechnique..."
Genma looked back to Ranma, who stood confused as to why nothing shot out of his hands, and then back to a chagrinned Ryoga. The older man closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples with one hand, "Ryoga..."
"I heard who was in there..." Ryoga interjected, "And I kind of... panicked. I'm sorry, Saotome-san."
With a sigh, Genma relented, "I guess there's no harm done, though Ranma will be disappointed that he couldn't master it." The elder Saotome chuckled at the thought of Ranma actually getting it to work. He had heard the word Ranma called out, and seen the stance in one of Ranma's violent fighting games, and hoped it wouldn't become an obsession. "Ranma, stop for now, you can practice your... um... new move later."
____________________________
The taxi driver pulled in front of the large house the distraught woman barely was able to direct him to. As he barely stopped, the woman quickly rushed from the cab, through the gates, and into the house. The driver's expression darkened, as he got out himself, and went to the front door. He knocked, hard enough to let it be known his irritation, and found an older woman opening the door.
"Are you the one who brought my daughter home?" She asked in a regal tone that spoke of proper upbringing.
The taxi driver nodded, "She owes me Sixty-two thousand Yen for the ride."
The woman nodded in reply, "Wait but a second." She let the driver in from the rain, and went to one of the rooms adourning the main hall. She returned in short order, handing the driver money, before, a slight, ever so slight noise caught her attention.
Barely dropping the money, uncounted, into the taxi driver's hands, Ayumi Soh turned, and rushed upstairs, heading straight for her daughter's room. The driver noticed the woman's urgency, and quickly followed.
They both arrived, finding the tanto against the younger woman's throat; her hands shaking before she would make the cut. The driver managed to react in time, diving quickly for the knife, and roughly pulling away from the woman. As soon as he did so, Nodoka's mother quickly grasped her daughter into a fierce hug.
"I... I'm sorry, m-mother," Nodoka sobbed, "I'm a horrible person!"
Ayumi looked up to the driver, who nodded back, "I'll go call an ambulance." As he rushed from the room to find a phone, Ayumi restrained a sigh. It wasn't quite what she wanted; she was hoping for some privacy with her daughter, but that worked just as well.
"Nodoka, Nodoka-chan, you are not a horrible person," Ayumi consoled, "You've made mistakes in your life, but they can be forgiven."
"But he won't forgive me!" Nodoka cried, "I don't deserve to be forgiven!"
The elder Soh realized what had happened, her daughter had found her ex-husband and her child, and the meeting apparently didn't go well at all. "My dear daughter," Ayumi whispered, clutching a crying Nodoka tighter, "I'm so sorry."
____________________________
Akane sat at her desk, fuming at what had happened a little more than an hour ago. She didn't even intend to come down for dinner, as she wasn't sure she would be able to restrain her temper, even with her father's commandment.
"Akane..."
"Go away, Nabiki," Akane demanded, not even turning to look to her sister.
"No, Akane," Nabiki insisted, as she entered the room, "I have something to talk to you about."
"And what is that?" Akane asked in a sharp tone, not really wanting to deal with anyone at the moment.
"I'm going to need your help," Nabiki replied, simply, sitting on Akane's bed so the younger girl could see her in the mirror.
____________________________
Nodoka awoke to the early morning rays, finding herself still dressed, and tucked in to her own bed. From the feel of the treks down her cheeks, she realized she must have cried herself to sleep, and her mother had put her to bed the prior night.
Despairingly, Nodoka wondered how her mother could put up with such a failure of a daughter; she had failed her husband, she had failed her son, she had failed to follow in her mother's footsteps as a proper Japanese woman, unable to even hold onto her family.
Once again, unbidden, she felt the tears pouring from her eyes in crystal droplets that encaptured her angst and despair, and saught vainly to carry them away from her being. No matter what, her life, her life was over. Wrong, it had ended eight years ago, when she made that asinine decree that had haunted her like an overbearing spector, constantly reminding her of the judgement that had been passed on her, constanly seeking to bind her with the chains her decisions wraught like some tortured soul of a Charles Dickens play.
Tea, perhaps some tea would help sooth her turmoiled mind. The woman made her way to the kitchen, finding one of her mother's few servants attending. Nodoka never cared to bother them, so they knew enough to give her space to do as she pleased without their intervention.
With some distaste, Nodoka opened the tea cupboard, finding her mother's favorite, Earl Grey, stockpiled. It would have to do, she decided, as she started a kettle with water.
"Ah, Nodoka, you have a call."
Nodoka blinked, as she found the woman servant handing her a phone. Nodoka rarely received calls, and a flicker of last night's events flashed through her mind.
"I... tell them I am not available," Nodoka said in a soft voice, turning away.
"This young lady said it's rather important."
Young lady? Nodoka decided that it may not be of any harm, and timidly recieved the portable phone, "Hello?"
"Mrs. Sao... Soh?" A rather young, but confident feminine voice sounded from the reciever.
"Yes, you're speaking to her..."
"I have something of great importance to discuss with you. If possible, I would like to meet with you to discuss this personally."
"Why me? What do I have to do with you?" Nodoka interrogated, as she ran through her mind all the possibilities of who could be at the other end.
"With me, nothing of grave importance, but this is something that greatly needs to be rectified for several parties..."
Fingers fiddling with the bottom of the phone, Nodoka listened intently to the voice at the other end.
"You abandon your only child for eight years, and you think a simple 'sorry' WOULD CHANGE ALL THAT?!?"
Ryoga went rigid, as his eyes stared forward with more than a little shock. That shock withered under the sweltering heat of his growing anger, before he recalled he had something he was supposed to do, and finding the context of his task very much comprehendable.
"What's wrong, Ryoga?" Ranma asked, drawing the fanged young man's attention back to him. Ryoga forced a smile for Ranma's benefit, before responding.
"I was... thinking of a new technique I wanted to teach you." Ryoga lied.
Ranma's eyes lit up brightly, "Really? Cool! What is it?"
"Ah... how about we go to the dojo?" Ryoga suggested, stalling. Without hesitation, the pigtailed boy rushed down the hall, towards the dojo; giddy at the prospect of learning a new move from his best friend. Ryoga jogged behind Ranma, attempting to keep him in sight, while groaning to himself. He disliked what he had done, but he didn't want Ranma anywhere near the problem zone, right now.
Fortunately, he managed not to lose track of Ranma or his surroundings, and found his temporary ward anxiously waiting him. "So, what is it?"
"Ah..." Ryoga hemmed and hawed, before a goofy, nervous smile appeared across his face.
____________________________
Kasumi dared not look at either Shampoo or Genma, as the anger already radiated from them in waves. Like the blackness of dingy smoke that rose from a dirty, unkept furnace, she feared it would soil her with its contamination. Yet, for as extreme as their reactions were, she wasn't too sure she could blame them. To Kasumi, Ranma was one of the most darling beings she had ever met; to abandon him would be an unspeakable taboo.
And yet... the woman, Ranma's mother. She looked as if she had clawed her way from the darkest of Hells she had been expelled to for her atrocity, and survived with more than enough scars of atonement.
Her hurt, like Genma and Shampoo's anger, eminated from her like a tide from a most sorroful, desolate sea. She was an island, a small island among an ocean of gray, filled with jagged, menacing shards of ice that threatened anyone that wished to approach her. How the woman seemed to yearn for but one glimpse of a receeding tide to reveal a bridge from her misery.
"I'm going to go check up on Ranma," Genma stated, heading for the dojo. Shampoo gave a baleful glance to the door, and then to Akane, before following her supposed husband.
Once the two were out of sight, Akane whiled on her father, "Are you going to let them get away with this? Treating one of *our* guests like that?"
"Akane..." Soun replied, gravely, "She was here to see them, not us."
"But that doesn't excuse them-"
"THAT..." Soun brought his temper under control, "That will be enough of this... unpleasant incident, Akane. It's best we put this in the past."
Akane pursed her lips, but said nothing more on the matter. With a fustrated huff, the youngest Tendou daughter stormed upstairs, allowing the slamming door to relay her anger.
Soun looked to his eldest daughter, "Kasumi, would you be so kind as to prepare tea for all of us? I think we need something to help settle us down."
With only a hesitant nod, Kasumi made her way to the kitchen. As she entered, she thought more about the situation, and the more she contemplate it, the more she considered both sides, the more she was torn by the equal miseries inflicted on each other by both sides, intentionally or unwittingly.
____________________________
Genma entered the dojo, and stopped. Wondering what brought her beloved short, Shampoo looked past the stout man, and found Ranma in some weird stance, with his hands cupped together, as Ryoga nervously chuckled.
"Ah... h-how did things go... Saotome-san?" Ryoga greeted nervously, as he stood behind Ranma.
"HADOUKEN!!!"
Ryoga's grin became even more crooked, as Genma stared at him.
"What's going on?" Genma enquired, finally, causing Ryoga to briskly walk up to the elder Saotome.
"Ah, well, you see..." Ryoga started, "I was trying to keep Ranma occupied... and, well... I'mmakinghimlearnabogustechnique..."
Genma looked back to Ranma, who stood confused as to why nothing shot out of his hands, and then back to a chagrinned Ryoga. The older man closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples with one hand, "Ryoga..."
"I heard who was in there..." Ryoga interjected, "And I kind of... panicked. I'm sorry, Saotome-san."
With a sigh, Genma relented, "I guess there's no harm done, though Ranma will be disappointed that he couldn't master it." The elder Saotome chuckled at the thought of Ranma actually getting it to work. He had heard the word Ranma called out, and seen the stance in one of Ranma's violent fighting games, and hoped it wouldn't become an obsession. "Ranma, stop for now, you can practice your... um... new move later."
____________________________
The taxi driver pulled in front of the large house the distraught woman barely was able to direct him to. As he barely stopped, the woman quickly rushed from the cab, through the gates, and into the house. The driver's expression darkened, as he got out himself, and went to the front door. He knocked, hard enough to let it be known his irritation, and found an older woman opening the door.
"Are you the one who brought my daughter home?" She asked in a regal tone that spoke of proper upbringing.
The taxi driver nodded, "She owes me Sixty-two thousand Yen for the ride."
The woman nodded in reply, "Wait but a second." She let the driver in from the rain, and went to one of the rooms adourning the main hall. She returned in short order, handing the driver money, before, a slight, ever so slight noise caught her attention.
Barely dropping the money, uncounted, into the taxi driver's hands, Ayumi Soh turned, and rushed upstairs, heading straight for her daughter's room. The driver noticed the woman's urgency, and quickly followed.
They both arrived, finding the tanto against the younger woman's throat; her hands shaking before she would make the cut. The driver managed to react in time, diving quickly for the knife, and roughly pulling away from the woman. As soon as he did so, Nodoka's mother quickly grasped her daughter into a fierce hug.
"I... I'm sorry, m-mother," Nodoka sobbed, "I'm a horrible person!"
Ayumi looked up to the driver, who nodded back, "I'll go call an ambulance." As he rushed from the room to find a phone, Ayumi restrained a sigh. It wasn't quite what she wanted; she was hoping for some privacy with her daughter, but that worked just as well.
"Nodoka, Nodoka-chan, you are not a horrible person," Ayumi consoled, "You've made mistakes in your life, but they can be forgiven."
"But he won't forgive me!" Nodoka cried, "I don't deserve to be forgiven!"
The elder Soh realized what had happened, her daughter had found her ex-husband and her child, and the meeting apparently didn't go well at all. "My dear daughter," Ayumi whispered, clutching a crying Nodoka tighter, "I'm so sorry."
____________________________
Akane sat at her desk, fuming at what had happened a little more than an hour ago. She didn't even intend to come down for dinner, as she wasn't sure she would be able to restrain her temper, even with her father's commandment.
"Akane..."
"Go away, Nabiki," Akane demanded, not even turning to look to her sister.
"No, Akane," Nabiki insisted, as she entered the room, "I have something to talk to you about."
"And what is that?" Akane asked in a sharp tone, not really wanting to deal with anyone at the moment.
"I'm going to need your help," Nabiki replied, simply, sitting on Akane's bed so the younger girl could see her in the mirror.
____________________________
Nodoka awoke to the early morning rays, finding herself still dressed, and tucked in to her own bed. From the feel of the treks down her cheeks, she realized she must have cried herself to sleep, and her mother had put her to bed the prior night.
Despairingly, Nodoka wondered how her mother could put up with such a failure of a daughter; she had failed her husband, she had failed her son, she had failed to follow in her mother's footsteps as a proper Japanese woman, unable to even hold onto her family.
Once again, unbidden, she felt the tears pouring from her eyes in crystal droplets that encaptured her angst and despair, and saught vainly to carry them away from her being. No matter what, her life, her life was over. Wrong, it had ended eight years ago, when she made that asinine decree that had haunted her like an overbearing spector, constantly reminding her of the judgement that had been passed on her, constanly seeking to bind her with the chains her decisions wraught like some tortured soul of a Charles Dickens play.
Tea, perhaps some tea would help sooth her turmoiled mind. The woman made her way to the kitchen, finding one of her mother's few servants attending. Nodoka never cared to bother them, so they knew enough to give her space to do as she pleased without their intervention.
With some distaste, Nodoka opened the tea cupboard, finding her mother's favorite, Earl Grey, stockpiled. It would have to do, she decided, as she started a kettle with water.
"Ah, Nodoka, you have a call."
Nodoka blinked, as she found the woman servant handing her a phone. Nodoka rarely received calls, and a flicker of last night's events flashed through her mind.
"I... tell them I am not available," Nodoka said in a soft voice, turning away.
"This young lady said it's rather important."
Young lady? Nodoka decided that it may not be of any harm, and timidly recieved the portable phone, "Hello?"
"Mrs. Sao... Soh?" A rather young, but confident feminine voice sounded from the reciever.
"Yes, you're speaking to her..."
"I have something of great importance to discuss with you. If possible, I would like to meet with you to discuss this personally."
"Why me? What do I have to do with you?" Nodoka interrogated, as she ran through her mind all the possibilities of who could be at the other end.
"With me, nothing of grave importance, but this is something that greatly needs to be rectified for several parties..."
Fingers fiddling with the bottom of the phone, Nodoka listened intently to the voice at the other end.