Shinju: NEW CHAPTER!
Sango: Hurry up. Kurama calls.
Mister Kat: ShinjuJaganshi owns nothing but her popcorn, her beanbag chair, her Green Day poster, and her kick ass laptop, Bob the Squirrel.
Bob:singing: So all you nasty lawyers go awwwwwwwwaaaaaaaayyyyyyy….just go away.
"So…let me get this straight. Ranma isn't really Ranma Saotome, he's Shampoo's long lost twin, Xiang Pu. Genma kidnapped him from birth, and you've all been looking for him for sixteen years. Is that right?" Akane asked Cologne, her voice shaky. Cologne nodded.
"We've been looking for a way to get him back for so long, I'm just glad it's over now." sighed Mousse, throwing his glasses away. Everyone blinked in shock, then almost screamed in terror as Shampoo wiggled into his arms and sat there with a contented smile.
"The glasses and bad eye sight were lies, just like Shampoo hating Mousse was a lie. The two have been happily engaged for over a year now, but Shampoo wanted her brother at the wedding." smiled Cologne. As they spoke, Ranma had gone over and picked up his false father. Now, he dropped the panda-man in the middle of the circle everyone was sitting in.
The air went cold.
Shampoo was standing next to Ranma, with Soun and Cologne behind them.
And they were all glaring at Genma, promising him death with their eyes.
"Hey Genma. Say, how come you never told me that you kidnapped me at birth?" asked Ranma. His voice was cheerful, almost casual, but his eyes were cold.
"It…we had to…Nodoka wouldn't…the promise…I didn't…" stuttered Genma, trying to find exactly what he wanted to say in his defense, and failing. Shampoo grabbed her bonbori from nowhere, ready to "pound stupid panda-man into ground", but Ranma stopped her by grabbing her arm and gently moving her to the side.
Akane's heart broke just a bit more.
"Genma Saotome. You have stolen this child, Xiang Pu, my heir's twin and my grandson. You have tortured him both physically and mentally. We hereby find you guilty of all those crimes. We pardon your wife, who did not know what you were doing. For your crimes, you shall pay in blood to your wife, as she is most angry with you for hurting a child, even if it is not her own." tolled Cologne, her expression grim. Genma paled as Nodoka stepped from nowhere. The katana lady said nothing as she pick up her husband and carried him out the door, only pausing to bow as she left. Genma was crying all the way back to his home, to his doom.
Akane stared at the four Amazons, her heart breaking as she saw Ranma look around him in confusion.
What will you do Ranma? Who are you really?
Ranma was wondering the same thing. All of this, a family, a home, a sister, and a world of people who were waiting for him, who needed him, was so different, so…wanted. He wanted a place to call home, a person who loved him for who he was. He would never be able to see his mother now though, or go through his childhood in a proper way.
But he had a home.
But if he went home, then he would leave it all behind. He would leave Ranma behind, and become Xiang Pu. He wouldn't have Kasumi to talk to, or be able to laugh and thwart Nabiki. Mr. Tendou wouldn't be playing shoji with a panda, and Ukyo wouldn't be feeding him. There would be no Ryoga to laugh with, and no Pantyhose Taro to laugh at. There would be no more fights with Akane, no more attempts at Akane's cooking, no more opportunities to get to be her friend, no more chances to tell her the three little word he longed to say.
Could he leave that all behind?
"Come along now you three. We're going home." said Cologne, hopping out the door on her staff. No one had given Ranma a backpack, so Kasumi had forced him to use suitcases.
There were only two.
As Ranma began to walk out the door, he felt a small hand grab the back of his shirt. He turned around, a bit startled.
It was Akane.
"Ranma…I…I know you need to go home but…could you send letters?" she asked, blushing furiously. He smiled and nodded. Hesitating, he leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Good-bye kawaiikune tomboy."
Ranma stood on the deck of the ship taking them to China, staring at the endless field of blue around them. It went on forever, and it seemed to pull his gaze; and soul, into the dark blue depths.
Like her eyes did…
:Xiang Pu:
He turned around to see Shampoo, his twin, standing behind him, looking worried. She was slipping into Chinese, but Ranma knew that she was saying his name.
His real name.
:Xian Pu no worry. Xiang Pu only thinking.: he said, tripping over the new language and grimacing at how bad it sounded. Shampoo giggled.
:Are you sure you're alright? I would hate for my brother to be hurt in any way.: she asked, her voice filled with concern and love.
:I sure.:
:You won't miss her then:
The question hit him hard. Would he miss her? Would he be able to accept that from now on, he was part of this village, part of another world? She wasn't his fiancée. She would probably marry someone else and have lots of kids who did the same. He would father many strong Amazons.
But would he miss her?
Could he accept that she was gone forever? She was no longer his. She was free of his grasp at long last.
Would she miss him?
Could he let her memory go?
And as her twin thought, Shampoo cried bitter tears for his heartbreak.
Akane stared blankly out her window. She was sitting at her desk, and in front of her was yet another evil math assignment. But she didn't care about the exponents of x and y, or how long it would be before the cars met.
(Authors Note; Question: If there are two trains, A and B, and one train leaves at five am going 50 mph, while the other leaves at six am going 80 mph, how long does it take me to stop caring? Answer: 0 seconds)
It had been a week since Ranma had left. Ukyo had thrown a fit when she heard that he was gone, but they managed to convince her that it meant that Genma had promised what was not his, and now she could sue him.
She went home to Kyoto, giddy with happiness.
Kodachi had attacked every living thing that came across her path when she heard, demanding her Ranma-sama from the vile harridans. She would also declare her love for Ranma, and then she'd whack you into oblivion.
She now had her own, pretty white room in an American Insane Asylum.
Kuno just sighed, vowed never to touch his sister's drugged cooking again, and apologized to Akane.
Nabiki cried when he said that he didn't want any pictures.
Akane sighed. What was he doing right then? Was he settled in? Had he learned Chinese yet? Were the other Amazons rude to him?
Had he forgotten her?
"Akane? Ryoga wants to talk to you downstairs." said Kasumi from outside the shut door. Akane shook off the unpleasant thought.
"Kay."
Ryoga stood stiffly by the door, waiting for Akane. This was it; today he would tell Akane that he l…l…loved her. He would have Akane all for himself, and that stupid Ranma would finally get what he deserved!
"Ryoga?"
Akane! It was Akane!
"Akane…I…I wanted to tell you that….that I…l…l…l…love you!" he stuttered, finally forcing the words out of his mouth. He expected her to cry with joy, or run into his arms, something, anything.
But instead, she just stood there.
And now that he looked closely, he could tell that she'd been crying. For hours on end it seemed. Why had she been crying? What had Ranma done now?
"Ryoga…I think you should know what happened a week ago."
Ranma stood at the gate of the Amazon village now, staring with trepidation at the huge walls. Shampoo gave his hand a squeeze as they entered.
It was like he remembered from the tournament. There were houses everywhere, with a bigger one for the Meeting Hall. There was the challenge log, and that was the water supply. There were people everywhere. Staring at them.
Staring at him.
:Welcome back Xian Pu! Welcome home Xiang Pu! Welcome back Mou Tze, Kuh Lon! Welcome! Welcome home: they called out. Shampoo smiled and thanked them for their kindness. Soon, they were standing outside a house.
His home.
Xian Pu opened the door of her house and sniffed the air, relishing the scent of spices in the air. She was home at last.
:Father: she called, peering around a corner.
Suddenly, she and Xiang Pu were caught up in a huge hug. Xiang Pu squeaked as all the air went out of his lungs.
The hugger was a tiny old man, who wore glasses and a Chinese outfit. Xiang Pu probably remembered him from the Nekohaten.
:Xian Pu! Xiang Pu! You are both here! The gods smile on us this day: he said, his smile bigger than Xiang Pu had thought possible. Xian Pu saw him take a deep breath, then start talking.
:Hello Father. It is good to be home.:
Ryoga had fled the house after Akane turned him down, and now she was back to staring out her window. There was a tree there, and she could see two birds on a branch, chirruping and singing.
She supposed that she should just give up. After all, he wasn't her fiancé anymore. She wasn't going to have to marry that stupid pervert. She could prove that she was the best. She was free.
So why was she crying?
She raised one finger to her cheek, bringing it back down to stare at the teardrop that was balancing on it.
Where are you now Ranma?
What will you do?
What will I do?
Shinju: So now you see what it's really about.
Sango: What will happen to the love that Akane and Ranma once knew?
Shinju: Can Akane love Xiang Pu?
Sango: What happened to Ryoga?
Both: WHO THE HELL DISCOVERED MILK!
Mister Kat: Run while you can.
Bob: See you next time!