Sendai Chapter 7: Letters, a ranma fanfic

Sendai
By M. Zephyr

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. See the bottom of Chapter 1 for an author's note dealing with the entirety of this story.

Chapter 7. Letters

In Nerima, on the Thursday of the third week after school ended, Ranma, Akane and Kasumi did not return from their training trip as expected. People began to notice but no one was much concerned, as it was easy to imagine something causing a small delay. However, when Friday came and went with no sign of them, some people began to get worried. Shampoo, Ukyo and Kodachi had all separately come by the house that day, and had been forced to leave disappointed. The fathers began to sweat at some of the looks of thinly veiled threat which had been directed toward them, as if they were somehow to blame for Ranma's failure to reappear.

On Saturday, under the excuse that Nodoka needed her husband and Soun Tendo to help make her house livable once more, the three of them disappeared. Nabiki was thus left by herself to deal with any problems which might arise if her sisters and Ranma failed to show up again that day. Both Kodachi and Shampoo telephoned to learn if there was any sign yet of the boy which they claimed, and although audibly upset to hear that there was not, they did not yet show any sign of coming over to express their disappointment violently.

After hanging up on Shampoo, Nabiki heard the mailman outside the gate, and went out to retrieve the mail. As she was bringing it back in, she noticed that there were letters addressed to herself, her father, and the Saotome's, all in Kasumi's handwriting. This was so odd that she immediately opened her letter to read it, even before going back inside.

Dearest Sister,

By the time you read this, Akane, Ranma and I will have been living in our new home for two weeks. It is our intention to remain here for the next year, until Akane and Ranma graduate, in a location which will hopefully remain undiscovered for as long as possible.

Nabiki stopped reading temporarily, staring off into space blankly, with a feeling of shock. Her eyes slowly turned back to the piece of paper she held.

I am quite sure that it will not be difficult for you to guess at the reasons why this has been done. If you want a more complete explanation, I am sure that you will be able to read the letters which were sent to father and the Saotome's. Suffice it to say that Akane and Ranma have begun to admit their feelings for one another, and have also come to recognize that there is no chance for them to properly explore their relationship under the pressures exerted by our parents and the other people living in Nerima.

We do not hold to any vain hope of remaining undiscovered forever, but we would like that event to be avoided for as long as possible. To that end I ask you, out of whatever respect you may bear toward me and the love we share as sisters, to refuse your assistance to anyone in the matter of discovering our whereabouts.

‹Damn, Kasumi. Do you realize how much potential profit you're asking me to ignore?›

I realize how much potential profit I am asking you to ignore, but request that you do so, please, out of consideration for your sisters. Also note that this request is meant to specifically include both our father and the Saotome's. We do not ask that you keep secret any facts revealed in this or any other letter from our hand. You may feel free to inform people that we are living in another location for the next year, that Akane and Ranma will be attending a high school here, that they have not secretly married and do in fact have separate bedrooms, and that I am with them as chaperon and in loco parentis. More importantly, for your sakes, you should emphasize that we intend to have little or no contact with our families during this time; both to avoid discovery, and to make it difficult for our parents to again attempt to apply pressure to our younger sister and Ranma.

Our thoughts are with you as you begin your university career. As the sole remaining Tendo sister to which he has access, I suppose that father may attempt to interfere in your life more than has previously been his custom, but I am sure that you, at least, are up to that challenge.

Speaking of challenges, be aware that Ranma has sent a strongly worded letter to Ukyo Kuonji. In it he explains what we have done, but also breaks off their engagement. I am uncertain how she will react to this, so you should be prepared for the worst, though I have every faith in your ability to handle it. You have after all shown yourself to be quite capable of such in the past.

Your loving sister,

Kasumi

‹My God, Kasumi. I never even guessed that you were up to something like this. Don't I feel like the prize idiot; I'm the one who's always supposed to be in possession of all of the information, ready to sell to the highest bidder. Was this your idea, I wonder, or Akane's, or Ranma's? Or did the three of you come up with it together during some discussion you were having behind all of our backs? How the devil are you managing the money situation? Rent, clothing, food, utilities, school fees, etc. How long did the three of you spend planning this, without my getting a whiff of it?›

She looked down speculatively at the other two letters in her hands, noting that all of the postmarks were from two days ago, here in Nerima. Not that she thought for a moment that her sisters were dumb enough to be living here in Nerima and think that they could remain undiscovered for long.

‹Would she have made a quick trip back just to post them? ... No. I bet she had a friend post them for her. I might be able to find out who and see if she knows ... but no, she asked that I not look for them. Or not to help anyone look for them, but then it's probably best that I don't know anything myself.› She considered the last paragraph again. ‹I wonder how Ukyo will react? I'm surprised that she hasn't come tearing down the street already, demanding answers. It would also seem that no letters were sent to Shampoo or Kodachi, and aren't they going to just be thrilled when they discover that omission?›

Meanwhile a short distance away, an okonomiyaki chef was sitting in her apartment above her restaurant, staring unseeing at a letter lying flat on the table in front of her. She had been sitting in that position since shortly after the mail arrived, while the restaurant remained unopened.

Ukyo,

I would have liked to have addressed this to "Ucchan" or "Dear Ukyo" or even "My friend." However, I'm afraid that none of those would be truly appropriate at this time.

I had long been uncertain in my mind about what to do in regard to the debt of honor I owed you due to the engagement between us arranged by our fathers. It was certainly obvious that I could not marry both you and Akane (I do not count either Shampoo or Kodachi as valid alternatives). This left me in a situation which I did not know how to resolve.

I can therefore understand why you felt it was appropriate to put a stop to the attempted wedding ceremony between myself and Akane. After all, you and I were engaged, even though the engagement to Akane had priority as a pre-existing claim. Also, it certainly was not my idea to get married that day. On the other hand, there was a right way and a wrong way to try to stop the marriage from occurring, and in my mind you definitely chose the wrong way. You crossed an irredeemable line with me that day when you chose to use explosives. I do not count as important the danger to myself, but the damage done to the dojo, the threat of injury or even death to Akane, to my mother, to other members of our families or guests at the wedding, that was utterly inexcusable. For this reason, I consider myself absolved by your own actions of any debt of honor which may have once existed between us. Our engagement is herewith terminated.

Since I do not wish you to hear of this elsewhere first, I feel obliged to inform you that Akane and I have found the courage to start expressing our true feelings for one another. I am sure you will be asking "why her," and I do not pretend to understand how my own mind works in this matter. Except that I recognize that for any woman who wishes to put up with me over the long term, it is a vital characteristic that she know how to tell me when I am being an idiot. I do not yet know whether Akane will be that woman, but I am determined to find out, and am certain that I cannot do so in the chaos that is Nerima. For this reason, Akane and I have moved out of the Tendo home to an undisclosed location. We will attend school there for the next year, and will not return until after we graduate, if then. At the time that I am writing this, no one in Nerima has any idea where we have gone, and we do not intend to make it easy for anyone to find us.

I am very sorry that this move and the secrecy surrounding it was so necessary. We were once good friends, and I hope that one day I may forgive you for your actions and we may be friends again, if in fact this is something that you desire as well, and if you are willing to forgive me for the choices which I have made. But forgiveness will take time, and the fading of unpleasant memories. Until then, I think it best that we not meet.

I hope that one day you may meet a man who can care for you in the same way that you care for him.

In hope of a better future,

Ranma

P.S. Aside from our families, you are the only one to whom I am telling this, because of our past and hopefully future friendship. The others will have to discover it on their own.

Another tear slowly rolled down the chef's face, to join the growing puddle on the table.

It was late in the day before Nabiki's father and the two Saotome's returned. The remaining Tendo daughter met them at the door with the letters, handing them over without comment. The parents were sufficiently concerned that they opened them immediately and began to read, with Nodoka reading their letter over her husband's shoulder, and Nabiki unashamedly reading her father's letter over his shoulder.

Dearest Father,

By the time you read this, we should already be overdue from the training trip you believe us to be on. In fact, we never took such a trip. That story was, to put it bluntly, a lie that we told to cover the fact that we were moving out. By now, we are living in our new home, where Akane and Ranma will attend a local high school, and we have no intention of returning until after they graduate next year.

Soun Tendo started waving the letter in the air, wailing. "My daughters have run away from home!" Next to him, Genma Saotome gave a grunt, obviously having received a similar message in his letter. Nabiki grabbed at her father's flailing hand, as his actions were making it impossible for her to read further. "Perhaps they tell us where they are," she suggested, although she knew from her own letter that this was unlikely. However, the suggestion did succeed in calming the distraught man down enough for her to be able to read what Kasumi had written.

It should not be necessary to explain why we have done this, but your continuing inability to see what has been in front of your face for so long makes it obvious that it is necessary. I know that it pains you to have your daughter write to you like this, just as it embarrasses me that I need to do so.

It has been clear to me for some time that Akane and Ranma have been falling in love with one another. It isn't so surprising, after all, for they are eminently well suited. However, they are both young, shy, and have a hard time expressing their feelings. Both have personal issues they need to learn to deal with; issues resulting from flaws in their upbringing or experiences, which make it difficult for either to form mature, trusting bonds of the most intimate nature with another person. The proper approach should have been to introduce them and then let nature take its course. Instead you have pushed, and pushed, and pushed, driving them further apart and damaging their relationship, forcing them to slowly recover each time. A little more of that, or another disaster like the failed wedding, and the damage might well end up being irreparable. In other words, I feared that allowing them to remain under your sphere of influence any longer might not only have destroyed any chance of achieving your dream of uniting the two schools but also any hope of eventual happiness for either. Not that I consider the former to be of any importance; my concern is for Akane and Ranma themselves, not for the success of your plots.

This is not to say that you are solely at fault. The slightly differing pressures from Genma and Nodoka Saotome, and the troubles caused by all of the young women and men chasing after the two of them, have been equally harmful. In the midst of such chaos, it is hardly surprising that it has been difficult for the flower of their love to blossom. Thus, when the two of them approached me with a workable plan to leave home and escape the chaos, I embraced it wholeheartedly, and have given them my full support to carry it through.

I suspect that your natural family feelings for Akane and myself will lead you to discover where it is that we are staying, since we have only taken ordinary, and not extraordinary, measures to hide it. But I would ask that you do bear my words in mind when you finally find us. If, as you say, your ultimate goal is for Akane and Ranma to marry, then I feel that they are already well on their way, and that your best hope of achieving this goal is to let us proceed as we have begun.

Your loving daughter,

Kasumi

By the time he finished the letter, his tears were soaking the paper, and Nabiki found it necessary to rescue it from him before the ink ran. She read it through again, and sighed. A little ... talk ... Kasumi had had with her after the wedding had opened her eyes to the damage that she herself had done to Akane and Ranma. She felt that Kasumi's letter was dead on target in every respect, and was a little surprised at how sharply some of those words rang. Her ever-calm older sister had obviously felt quite strongly to say some of the things she had said.

She looked over at the Saotome's, where Genma was practically crumpling the paper he held in his hands. She did not feel it wise to go over there and try to read it while he held it, but began making plans to recover it later from wherever he discarded or secreted it, in order to compare its contents to those in her father's letter.

"Nabiki," Genma grated out. "How long do you think it would take you to discover where our ungrateful children have disappeared to? And how much will it cost us?"

The young woman gave him a withering look, although her words were respectful enough on the face of it. "I am afraid, Uncle Saotome, that all of my time these days is taken up with preparing to attend the university. I do not have the time to spare to search for them right now, especially since they have had two weeks in which to cover their tracks. More than two weeks, in fact, since they almost certainly were planning this well before they left. That is obvious just from how neatly they got all of us out of the house while they were no doubt packing up to leave. I have no doubt that if we examine their rooms, we'll find that all of their clothes and most of their other possessions are gone."

Nodoka Saotome regarded her with narrow-eyed suspicion. "You don't have time, or you won't take the time? What if we offer you twice your usual fee?" Genma's howl of outraged protest at this suggestion distracted the other two long enough for Nabiki to successfully wrestle with the temptation offered.

"Take it however you wish. I will not spare the time from my university preparations to help you to find them."

With that she left the room, and went upstairs in an assumed huff before anyone could raise the ante and test her beyond her abilities to withstand. She quickly took a peek into each of her sisters' rooms and found, as she had predicted, that their clothes and possessions were all gone. She chided herself momentarily for not having noticed that in the last two weeks, but then forgave herself, as she had had no reason to go looking for any such thing. It was so unlike Akane to want to do anything with Ranma, and the thought of Kasumi planning anything shady should have been unthinkable.

Later that evening she pulled a crumpled and torn wad of paper out of the kitchen trash.

Mr. and Mrs. Saotome,

It is my fondest wish that you will not discover our whereabouts. It has wrenched my heart over the past nearly two years to watch Ranma and my youngest sister tortured at every turn by your actions, and the actions of others here in Nerima. When your son and my sister approached me for help to escape from the intolerable situation in which you had placed them, that they might have a chance to finally realize their love for one another, I chose to give them my full support. In doing so, I realize that I have probably earned your enmity, but I would not hesitate to make the same choice again.

Should you find us, then I would strongly suggest that you remember that your stated desire is for the two of them to marry and "unite the schools." They are already falling in love despite your unwarranted interference and are therefore well on the way toward achieving your desired goal. If you can only console yourself to a little patience, and allow matters to proceed without further interference, then I am confident of the eventual result. If, however, you find that your need to control your son's life outweighs all other considerations, then I am equally confident that you will succeed in destroying whatever relationship that Akane and Ranma have managed to build in your absence.

I will not berate either of you for your past mistakes, although they are legion. I will only implore you, for Akane's and Ranma's sakes, to avoid repeating those mistakes to the eventual heartbreak of those most intimately involved. Their happiness should, after all, be your dearest wish.

With a hopeful heart,

Kasumi Tendo

Nabiki's eyebrows were quite high by the time she finished reading. ‹Whoa, Kasumi. Full broadside, take no prisoners. Well, that's not entirely fair. If I had written this letter, it would have been far, far worse. But for Kasumi, this is extremely scathing.›

It wasn't until Sunday morning that Nabiki began to contemplate what should be told to either Shampoo or Kodachi, when they inevitably contacted the house looking for Ranma. It was somewhat surprising to her that they had been content to merely telephone the previous day, and the possibility existed that they might become violent soon if they did not start receiving any answers to their increasingly urgent demands.

‹It will probably be best to just tell them the truth. But if I'm going to tell them the truth anyway, then it would be even better to go to them first and tell them before they come around here. Perhaps that way we might avoid violence, and especially more damage to the house and dojo. Besides, knowing them, if they were to come here first, then even if we tell them the truth they might not choose to believe it.›

‹Besides, I'm more likely to be able to get them to pay for the information if I go to them first.›

Having decided on a course of action, she put it into effect immediately, leaving the house to walk over to the Nekohanten, the café run by Shampoo and her great-grandmother. The sign in front said "Closed," since it was not yet time to open for lunch, but Nabiki knew that preparations would already be underway, and she confidently and loudly knocked on the door. The purple-haired head of Shampoo popped out from the back and, seeing Nabiki, came out to discover what she wanted. She stood in the doorway, blocking entry into the café itself.

"You have news of Ranma, yes? Airen is back now?"

"No, I'm afraid he's not back yet, but I do have news. May I come in?"

Shampoo gave her a scowl, presumably for not providing the answer which she had wanted to hear, but opened the door wider and gestured for Nabiki to step inside. She then shut the door hard on her heels and rudely pushed ahead to precede her into the kitchen in the back.

"Great-grandmother, mercenary girl is here with news about airen."

The withered old woman looked up from the large pot bubbling on top of the stove, over which she was perched while balancing on her staff. "So what is son-in-law up to this time," snorted Cologne, "and how much is it going to cost me to find out?"

"Since I only have a little information, though of significant import, let's say 2000 yen."

Cologne reached into a pocket and pulled out the money, passing it over silently. Nabiki sketched a shallow bow of ironic acknowledgment.

"Thank you. Yesterday I, my father, and the parents of Ranma Saotome all received letters addressed to us by Kasumi, which appear to me to have been written just over two weeks ago, at the time they initially left to go away on a two week training trip. They were presumably left with someone here in Nerima to put into the mail at the appropriate time. It seems that Akane and Ranma, with the aid of my older sister, have run away from home and are living in another city somewhere."

Shampoo gasped. Cologne just narrowed her eyes, waiting.

"According to these letters, they intend to live wherever it is that they are for at least a year, attending high school there. They have not seen fit to inform us of where they went, and at this moment I'm afraid that I have been left with no clues of any kind. However, Kasumi did write that they did not elope, that they did not run away with the intention to marry at this time."

"Why airen leave with violent kitchen-destroyer? That make no sense."

Cologne sighed over her heir's obtuseness, then turned to Nabiki. "Will you accept a commission to try to locate them for us?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Nabiki replied. "As I have already told my own father and Ranma's parents, I have no time to adequately execute such a commission right now. My preparations to attend university must take precedence. Besides, my network runs thin beyond Tokyo, and I am sure that they have gone beyond the city borders at the very least. There is likely little I could do which you could not do yourselves."

Cologne nodded, revealing nothing of her concerns for the implications of what she had heard and the choices which she might soon have to make. "I suppose you are selling this information to the others as well?"

There was no reason to deny the obvious. "Yes, I am. I intend to go to the Kuno mansion as soon as I leave here. There is no need for me to stop by Ucchan's, since one of the letters was addressed to Kuonji-san."

Shampoo looked confused. "They send letter to spatula girl, but not Shampoo? Why?"

Nabiki turned her eyes up toward the ceiling to hide the expression of scorn that she could not control. Very carefully, fully aware of the Amazon's temper, she answered. "I could speculate, but I don't pretend to be able to read minds. Since my speculations on the matter are only likely to anger you, I think that I will refrain from voicing them."

Shampoo glared at Nabiki but didn't say anything. Once Nabiki was sure that there would be no further questions, she turned around and walked out. Shampoo turned to Cologne with a forlorn look of crushed hope.

"Great-grandmother, what we do now?"

Cologne sighed with exasperation that an Amazon of her bloodline could be reduced to acting so much like an ordinary girl. "The most obvious thing to try first is to go to the school office and obtain the information on where the school records for son-in-law and the Tendo girl were sent. But since today is Sunday and the school is closed, you might instead go by the train station and see if you can find anyone there who remembers the destination of the tickets which were purchased two weeks ago by son-in-law. In the meantime, I will contact some people to make them aware that we are looking for information on their whereabouts or that of Kasumi Tendo."

Shampoo nodded, then took off immediately, riding her bicycle in the direction of the train station.

The old woman settled back wearily for some serious thinking, feeling the weight of all of her many years. She carefully considered recent events in the life of Ranma Saotome, and how they fit together. What Mousse and Shampoo had told her of events at Jusendo. The wedding disaster. The decision to leave Nerima and hide from herself and Shampoo. The choice to take Akane Tendo with him. What it might mean to attempt to force Ranma to come to China.

‹Shampoo has lost, and I don't dare help her to win anymore. Ranma has made his decision, and his capabilities have grown to the point that we don't dare bring him back to our village against his will. Further, given what happened at Jusendo, it would clearly be catastrophic if Shampoo were to harm Akane Tendo. The only thing left is for my great-granddaughter to come to this realization as well, and to face the punishment which awaits her for failure. At least that punishment should not be too severe, since the other council members must surely also realize the danger Ranma represents. Particularly if they acknowledge that danger before Shampoo surrenders.›

‹In fact, it would probably be best if I wrote to them now, speaking plainly of my own concerns, to be sure that they are spoken openly and not just realized privately. In the meantime, I will try to help locate Ranma as I promised, but without rushing the matter, and I will not agree to close the Nekohanten to chase him, or to provide any further material aid. The longer that it takes to find him, the more likely she is to realize the futility of prolonging her quest based only on her infatuation with the boy.›

‹With luck, whatever punishment the council decides upon, the shame will pass after a few years and she can begin to rise in status once more. More than one of our matriarchs have similar blemishes in their pasts. Just look at my own youth.› She grimaced. ‹If I could rise to my current position after allowing Happosai to seduce me and steal some of our treasures, then Shampoo should be able to overcome this situation as well. Even if I hate to remember how long it took after that before I ceased to be an object of ridicule.›

At the Kuno mansion, Nabiki charged a considerably larger sum of money for the information on Akane and Ranma than she had the Amazons, not only because the Kuno's had more, but also because she had more information to sell. She told them that Ranma had run off with Tatewaki Kuno's "pigtailed goddess" in addition to Akane. Once again, she was forced to refuse to provide any help in tracking them down, and this time the size of the bribe offered made it an extreme sacrifice to do so. When she finished, Kodachi leaped out of a window onto the street dressed only in a leotard, and took off in the direction of the train station, laughing maniacally. Tatewaki dismissed Nabiki after it became apparent that she had no further information to sell and, before she had even left, turned to Sasuke to assign to him the task of tracking down his loves and the foul sorcerer.

Out of curiosity, Nabiki walked by Ucchan's before heading home. The restaurant was dark, and there was a sign in the window stating that it was closed, but would reopen on Monday. She shrugged her shoulders, assuming that Ukyo had become very depressed over this turn of events, and turned her feet back toward her home.

‹Well, baby sister, I hope that you, Ranma and Kasumi really did cover your tracks well. Because the Nerima crazies are looking for you now, and they're going to be pretty unhappy if and when they find you.›

Shampoo was the first to arrive at the Nerima train station, but was not having much luck in obtaining any information. Neither threats nor cute smiles and suggestive glances were proving successful in obtaining any information about the train tickets purchased by the trio two weeks before. She was still arguing with the ticket seller when Kodachi showed up, landing right beside her. The Kuno girl ignored Shampoo, and loudly demanded to know the destination to which her Ranma-sama had disappeared. The ticket seller again pled ignorance, then practically started drooling when Kodachi pulled out a thick wad of yen notes. He decided that perhaps he could think about this a little harder.

He asked to have the people they were seeking described to him once again. Shampoo and Kodachi proceeded to interrupt one another, with Kodachi describing the four individuals who were traveling together, and Shampoo adding her own tidbits to the descriptions but pointing out there were only three of them, except that the boy might also appear as the red-haired girl. Concentrating harder on the descriptions this time, as well as the money, the man cast his memory back and finally recalled the teenage couple who had been talking happily about the vacation they were taking in Nagoya. Yes, he was certain that they had purchased tickets for that city. He provided this information, received his reward, and then sold the two girls tickets on the next train to Nagoya, which was due to depart in one hour.

The two girls decided that it would be best to declare a temporary truce and work together, in order to improve their chances of finding Ranma instead of interfering with one another. When they boarded the train, they were pleased to discover that the conductor regularly worked this route, and he not only remembered Akane and Ranma from their descriptions, but also remembered the other girl they described joining them after the train left the station. Both Kodachi and Shampoo felt certain that they were on the right track.

Much later that day they were both far less happy, and were snapping at one another constantly. No one at the train station in Nagoya remembered any of the three. They had no luck discovering anything about them at any hotels, restaurants or other locations they asked. They dejectedly climbed aboard the very last train heading back to Tokyo, having discovered no additional clues to the whereabouts of their prey.

In the meantime, Cologne was also making inquiries. She left Shampoo to pursue the straightforward trail, but privately suspected it was a waste of time. After all, Ranma had been raised by Genma, who was a past master at getting out of town with pursuers hot on his heels. Therefore the elder had made her inquiries of ticket purchases at train stations throughout Tokyo, with a combination of persuasion, subtlety, and cash. She was eventually successful at finding the station from which they had departed Tokyo later in the day on which they left, but no amount of prompting was able to get the ticket seller or any of the other employees to recall their destination or even the direction which they had taken. It appeared that for the time being, the trail had come to a dead end.