You can see the beauty in,
A dirty rain-lashed street,
Or a plan that goes nowhere,
You can make this town feel kind,
Though the buildings cry,
But you don't belong, don't belong.
- "Chase The Night Away" by Keane
}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{
The walk back from the therapist's office is mostly silent while Ranko ponders her own words and Akane doesn't feel like prying into it. Ranko's face is drawn and she' doesn't look happy. She looks tired. Well, more tired than usual given her issues sleeping. They weren't so bad when she was first recovering because she was usually too exhausted to dream.
Akane smiles at the red-haired girl, and she tries a watery one back, but it doesn't reach her eyes which are still cold and dead, even after a few weeks of recovery.
"Well, I hope it went well? I think it's good for me, at least." Akane tries.
Ranko makes a noncommittal noise, and then speaks in her breathy, quiet voice.
"Mmm. I… it brought a lot up. Memories." She sighs. "I… don't like memories."
"Facing them might be the only way to deal with them, Ranko."
"Mmm."
Akane slides open the door to the genkan of their home, the two girls changing their outdoor shoes for house slippers. "Tadaima!" Akane calls, an echo welcoming them back coming from the family room and kitchen.
Ranko looks between the stairs and the family room, and plods to the bottom of the stairs.
Akane looks at her. "Don't forget dinner is a bit later, Ranko-chan. I'll come wake you if you don't answer us calling."
"Mmm." Ranko says, her eyes avoid Akane's own. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry, get better." Akane unknowingly repeats Nodoka's words from a few days ago. "You can't enjoy life if you don't, huh?"
Ranko makes a defeated sounding noise, mumbling something to herself that's probably to the contrary.
Akane controls herself until Ranko's managed to stagger up the stairs, then walks into the family room where her mother and father are playing shogi, sits next to Kimiko and buries her face in her mother's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her mother. "I… I'm not sure I can fix her, Mom. I just…"
Kimiko puts her arms around Akane and sighs. "It's not your job to fix her, dear. It's the doctor's, you just need to support her."
"But it's so hard and she's so broken, Mom! She didn't tell me out loud she's just waiting to die, but I can see it in her face. Again! It's been weeks, and she's not starving but she still…"
"Daughter." Soun's rumbling voice interrupts her and she sniffles, looking up at her father. He looks at his youngest and his face softens as Kimiko pats her back gently. "Dry your tears and play with me."
Akane stares at her father. He's talking in his 'sensei' voice again, which stops her sniffling. Taking a moment to breath, she counts to ten and then she sits in front of him. The board is already set.
"I think," He says gently, "You're going about it wrong."
"Going about what wrong, Sensei?" Akane asks as Kimiko sits with Soun.
"Dealing with your friend." He says gravely, moving his pieces in response to hers. "You're trying to patch up the cracks, fill them in like we would the dojo or the house. Pretend they never happened."
Akane bristles but stays calm, moving her own pieces. "So? Isn't it helping?"
"I don't believe so. Ranko isn't a wall to be papered, painted, nor a wooden structure to be replaced with more wood." He looks at her to let her know he is very serious. "Ranko's damage extends so far through her that there really isn't hope of those working. Doing such repair work is worse than pointless."
Akane bristles further and the next tile is placed angrily. "Then what do you recommend, Sensei? Because it sounds like you want me to give up on her. I won't." She growls.
Soun shakes his head. "You misunderstand me, Akane." He says as he reaches under the board and sets down a bowl next to it. There's a beautiful pattern on it, painted, but it's marred by thick cracks filled in with gold. "This was your great grandmother's bowl. I broke it when I was a young lad, as young lads are wont to do. I was going to throw it away, but she made me repair it."
"You didn't do a very good job. The cracks are really obvious." Akane points out. Soun smiles.
"They are, aren't they? And yet, surely they add beauty?" He runs a hand along it. "Kintsukoroi. It isn't just a way to make art from broken things, it's a way to make them useful again. It's a way to make them show their beauty in their imperfection. And it's more than that, it's a philosophy."
Akane nods. "I'm not stupid, Sensei. You're trying to tell me that I shouldn't be helping her hide those cracks but… filling them in with something else."
Soun smiles. "Ever the fast learner." He nods, "She's like this bowl. Fragile. Broken. But she can be repaired, given time and effort. Simply gluing her together won't help, I think. Glue is only short-term. Lacquer, with gold works much better and the whole thing is stronger for it."
Akane shrugs. "But how do I know what to do? What do I use instead of trying to get her to move past the pain?"
Soun chuckles. "I have no idea, Akane. Only you two can really answer that, though I suspect that answer does lie somewhere within love. I've watched you two move around one another but you need to be less worried about breaking her."
Akane nods, as if to herself. "Fighting her depression, it's like… like fighting someone in a match. I need to understand it, first, don't I?"
Soun nods, a pleased expression on his face. "Indeed, daughter. You make me proud of your wisdom. I believe the first step to repairing your friend is to understand what happened. As long as there is such a big secret between you, starting anything would possibly be a poor idea."
Akane nods in thought, continuing the match against Soun. As always he cheats and she loses.
This time, she's too deep in thought to yell at him for it.
}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{
Ranko wakes, hunger gnawing at her belly immediately. She blinks confusedly, stupidly, fog in her brain, the same drilling pain in her head from weeks ago when…
She blinks and shivers. Cold. She feels cold, and as she sits up she sees an empty space. "No…" She says, her heart feeling fractured. "I-it wasn't… I don't…" Horror flashes through her, terror freezing her a moment. "N-No…"
She stands, walking on the boards of the hole she'd taken for her own, looking out the hole in the ceiling where the wind, cutting and cold, comes through.
She's alone. Was she rescued or was it just a fever dream from her dying? Was it just her imagination as her body and mind fire off as she tries to rest?
Ranko curls up on the filthy bedroll and holds the pyjamas to her chest, despair pouring through her. Just a dream. Rescue just a dream, just a vain hope while she waits to die again. Of course it was like this. Why else would it-
Rank's eyes snap open. Moonight filters in through the window of the room she's sharing with her mother, the folds of her mother's sleeves around her. She bites her lip, trying to keep the hiccoughing sobs down, burying her face in her hands and shuddering.
Nodoka's eyes flutter open and she rises to see the shuddering form of Ranko on her futon, still drowned by Kasumi's nightgown, even if she's started putting a little weight back on. She shuffles quietly out of her futon, slips under the covers of Ranko's and wraps her arms around the girl.
Nodoka holds Ranko closer to her, squeezing her daughter close and just holds the red-haired girl while she cries. She makes shushing noises, runs her hand through the loose red curls and quietly despairs. Ranko doesn't sleep well at all nowadays, if she ever had before all of this mess. She had been calming down somewhat from the night terrors she'd have but it seems like her appointment earlier today has brought everything back up.
Ranko quiets down eventually and Nodoka turns her daughter around, dries her tears and holds her close while she falls to sleep. Mercifully, Ranko usually sleeps better once she's had the first nightmare.
She lets some tears fall from her own eyes after Ranko's gone back to sleep, still fitfully, though at least more deeply than earlier.
She doesn't know what to do. Her baby, her daughter is broken in ways she can't really understand and there's nothing she can do but be there for her, even if it feels grossly insufficient.
She holds her closer, kissing the top of Ranko's head. All I have and more, for you, my daughter. Please don't leave me.
}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{
Akane, after seeing Ranko's haunted eyes and listlessness the next day, decides she needs to understand what happened to Ranko before she can even begin anything else. She'd ask the girl herself, but Ranko is stubborn and refuses to answer.
So she'll seek out other wisdom first, before presenting what she knows later to Ranko and demanding answers so she can complete them, rather than start.
Cologne is sweeping inside of the restaurant when that Tendou girl the Remnant left with returns sans her little companion.
"Good afternoon, child."
"Greetings, honoured Elder, I have questions and you seemed the right person to ask…" Akane says to her.
"Oho?" the elderly woman asks. "What can I do for you, child? Seeking answers about your remnant, hm?"
Akane shifts as she's guided to a seat and a hand pats hers as she folds them in her lap.
"Spit it out, child, a question unasked is a question unanswered."
"You call Ranko a 'Remnant'. Like it's supposed to mean something. Like there's a capital letter there." Akane blurts. "Wh-what does it mean?"
Cologne sits herself down, leaning her stick against the chair. "Are you sure you wish to know this from myself, rather than ask your little friend? This information will probably not make you happy."
Akane ponders a moment and then she shakes her head. "No, I don't think she plans on telling me. I've tried to speak to her about it and she just clams up."
Cologne sighs. "Very well. The simplest answer is to think about the meaning of the word. A Remnant is just that. A remaining part of a world now gone. They're rare, since the circumstances of their creation are also rare. Rarer still are people willing to pay the price and become one."
Akane cants her head to one side, pondering. "A wish."
Cologne nods gravely. "You have been listening, haven't you, child? Indeed. A wish, and all wishes have prices. Small wishes have smaller prices. Correspondingly, larger wishes carry larger prices. I will not share more with you, only this; the price a Remnant must pay is themselves."
"I don't understand, Elder. Ranko is still here. Still alive"
Cologne sighs. "And that is the cruel pain of the price. They won't die when they pay, not unless they do so on purpose or by accident. Rather their existence is used as fuel for the magic. Their history, their effect upon the world."
Akane nods. "So correspondingly the wish must be a much bigger wish than simply wanting an object or something to happen?"
"Indeed, child." Cologne looks tired after a moment. "Such wishes are rare. Not many would willingly pay the price, as I said earlier. Only those who either have little in the way of care for themselves, or are desperate."
Akane frowns. "I think I know which one Ranko is."
Cologne nods. "She thinks poorly of herself. Knowing as little of her as I have seen, even I can understand she does not think highly of herself. Now, armed with this knowledge, I suspect you are going to try to piece events together?"
Akane stands up and bows. "Yes. Thank you, Elder." She says. Cologne reaches out and takes Akane's hand in her gnarled one.
"You are welcome, child. Please pass my respects to your Remnant. And be aware – she is still fragile, even if she appears to be improving. But do not treat her with kid gloves. And you must also make sure what she wants and what you want line up."
Akane swallows. "I… I will, Elder. Thank you for the advice."
"Be well."
Akane makes her way out of the restaurant, pondering the information given and how it fits with what she's already figured out.
}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{
Ranko knocks on the door, and steps back, looking around uncomfortably. The house isn't anywhere near the size of the Tendou house, but that makes sense given property prices in Nerima. Rubbing her arms against the cold, she tries not to think about the itchy feeling of the jumper on her skin. It's still sensitive, prone to soreness and anything other than soft materials make the itching and sensitivity worse.
Kaname opens the door and smiles at the petite redhead, ushering her in to change into house slippers and to their family room where she pushes Ranko to sit under the warm kotatsu. "Th-thank you for inviting me, Kaname-san." She says when seated. "I'm sorry to be a bother."
"No bother at all, Ranko-chan." Kaname smiles at her and is joined by a serious woman with absolutely luxurious long, black hair and eyes that border on violet.
The woman bows to Ranko, her sharp eyes calculating as they look at the redhead.
Kaname motions between the two. "Ranko-chan, this is Akemi, my partner."
"Charmed." The woman says, bowing once.
"Akemi-chan, this is Ranko-chan, she's the girl who rescued Miki."
Akemi's eyes soften after that as she looks at Ranko. "Ah, the infamous Angel of Nerima." A slightly sarcastic, teasing smile briefly crosses her face as Ranko blushes at the epithet. She adjusts her glasses, the red square frames seeming a little out of place to Ranko's mind. "I expected you to be dressed as a ninja, with wings and a halo, from Miki's exaggerations. Thank you for looking after her, Ranko-san. Miki is very precious to us."
Akemi walks back into the kitchen, starting to prepare tea by the sounds of a kettle boiling.
"Ranko-nee!" Miki's excited squeal preludes to a cannonball of hyperactive child slamming into Ranko. Thankfully she's starting to recover more of her ki now and is able to take the hit, though she still staggers a little at the energy.
"Hello Miki-chan." She says to the excited little girl, who hugs close to her. Kaname smiles at the two of them.
"She's been waiting to see you for days, Ranko-chan. Says she hasn't seen you in the dojo when she goes for her lessons."
Ranko looks at the floor. "I have been… otherwise occupied, trying to understand something."
Kaname nods. "Fair enough, but she does like to see you."
Ranko blinks. She still can't understand someone actually wanting her worthless carcass around. It doesn't make sense, but that's one of the things that Mitaka-sensei has been speaking to her about.
"I… see." She manages after a moment. Kaname frowns but doesn't pursue it. The older woman pauses a moment, then coughs awkwardly.
"I am sorry to bring unfortunate things up, but are you still under a special diet? Are you still drinking that drink?"
Ranko shakes her head. "Only partly, and no more of the drink. I'm able to handle more calories now, but it is… difficult to eat much."
She wonders what her old family would think of her, being unable to eat more than a few mouthfuls at a meal still. Shock, probably. Disgust, too. Every time she leaves anything on her plate, she feels guilty for the work Kasumi and Kimiko have put into it. Nabiki seems almost hurt when she refuses any of the elder girl's snack offerings too soon after dinner, too, though she knows there's an understanding there of what's happened to her.
"-ko. Ranko-chan!" The voice cuts through her spiralling thoughts.
She shakes her head, brought back into the present. "…Apologies." She says softly. Miki cuddles close.
"Are you alright, Ranko-nee?"
Ranko pats her head gently. "I… am recovering, Miki-chan. I sometimes get lost in thoughts."
Miki smiles at her and nods. Akemi brings in tea and the family talks amongst itself, Ranko staying relatively quiet unless spoken to or asked a question.
Akemi and Kaname both look at each other several times, then at Ranko with worry when they think Miki isn't looking, but eventually the afternoon settles down.
"So Ranko-chan…" Kaname says, smiling at the girl. "When will you be going back to school?"
Ranko fidgets. "I don't know." She admits. "I am recovering but… until the doctors clear it, I'm staying home. It… I…" She pauses. "I don't exist on records, s-so Mother will need to help me get set up."
"You don't exist on records? Are you here illegally?" Kaname asks, and Ranko shakes her head.
"N-no, just… It is a long story, very long, but I paid a price for something."
Akemi nods. "Magic things, no doubt." She says. At Ranko's startled look, she smiles. "I was a magical girl, once upon a time. I'm aware of its existence."
"Mama Akemi was super duper amazing!" Miki enthuses. "But she doesn't want me to be one."
Ranko nods. "She's right. I know it can be lonely and dangerous. Martial arts is bad enough for the fighting, never mind introducing youma. Be a good girl, Miki-chan."
Akemi nods, looking Ranko over the rims of her red-framed glasses. "It never completely leaves you. Still, I do not regret having retired. It's a much younger girl's game."
"She got so powerful the youma stopped turning up to fights." Kaname stage-whispers. Akemi flushes, embarrassed and Kaname plants a kiss on her partner's cheek. "Still, better you be with us now."
Ranko smiles softly as Miki makes slight gagging noises and then a small giggle escapes the redhead's mouth.
The couple stop cuddling after a moment and stare at Ranko. Kaname shakes her head slowly. "You have a nice laugh, Ranko-chan. I wish we heard more of it."
Ranko blushes, looking down. "'Kay." She says. Miki pats her head a few times.
Eventually the afternoon is done with and Ranko bids the family farewell. She offers them a smile as she does; it's been a genial afternoon, and one she's enjoyed. As much as she loves living at the dojo, the combination of Nabiki's thoughtful staring, Kimiko and Nodoka's almost overbearing caring and Akane's watchfulness makes it difficult at times.
She walks along the road, watching the people around. Miki's family are nice, she thinks. Someday, she'd like a family like that. Akane as the 'father', herself as the mother – it isn't like it's not possible thanks to her knowledge of Jusenkyo.
She colours at the thought and then berates herself. She doesn't deserve to have Akane. Why would that kind, gorgeous and gregarious tomboy want Ranko?
She needs to finish recovering so she can leave. Her stay is already making complications for both of them.
Something in her gut squirms and twists. She doesn't want to leave and yet at the same time she must.
Entering the genkan of the dojo, she changes her shoes again, calling out "Tadaima!", being greeted by Nabiki's call.
Ranko enters into the family room to find the middle sister sitting and watching television. She's tired, so she sits down near to Nabiki, who nods to her. Ranko slumps against the wall and closes her eyes.
She hears Nabiki stand and exit the room, then return a few minutes later, apparently setting a tray down. The clink of ceramic indicates a teapot and cups, which is incredible since in her original world Nabiki wouldn't have lifted a finger to get tea for anyone but herself. Ranko lets out a slightly forlorn sigh.
"Rough day, huh?" Ranko opens her eyes to see an ice cream being waved in her face. "Come on, Ranko-chan, they said you were better equipped for some sweet treats now you're not literally dying of starvation. And dinner isn't for a few hours yet, you can eat it without a problem."
Ranko takes the ice cream and unwraps it. It's probably too cold outside for ice cream, but she has enough of Ranma still in her to love the sweet treat. This looks to be one of Nabiki's personal stash; the one her family leaves alone on pain of embarrassment. She takes a bite. It's definitely one of the strawberry and vanilla swirl ones with ruby chocolate on the outside.
Ranko closes her eyes at the taste and coldness, then wipes her eyes after a moment. Nabiki 'hmm's and bites into her own with a crunch.
"You're a complication, you know that Ranko-chan?" She asks conversationally.
"I-I'm… I'm sor-"
"I don't mean it in a bad way." Nabiki interrupts. "Before you go about blaming yourself for things outside your control. Akane's got a fire lit under her ass I haven't seen in months. Really wants to impress you – she said just the things you'd accidentally done showed your skill level in martial arts, and she wants to get to your level, I think."
"I'm… I'm not that…"
"Don't bullshit a bullshitter, Ranko-chan." Nabiki says, grinning at her. "I've seen how you move when you're not tired out from being starved. I've seen your photo album. Muscles like those don't just grow. And the stories I've heard about your time in the industrial district would make any shinobi proud."
Ranko flushes, but her heart jumps at the mention of the dark times when she was-
"Ranko!" Nabiki nudges her with an elbow and she shakes herself.
"S-sorry."
Nabiki sighs. "What are we going to do with you, hm?" She smiles to take the sting out of the words. "Well, marry you off to my little sister for one. Weddings always have the best snacks."
Ranko blushes brightly and Nabiki cackles. "Oh, you're easy to tease, Ranko-chan." She shakes her head and puts an arm around Ranko's shoulders.
Ranko's reminded again how different this Nabiki is. The old Nabiki wouldn't have been this jovial – she'd buried her real self in ice to stop the grief. Broken, in her own way, quite different from Akane's rage or Kasumi's carefully cultivated cheerful obliviousness.
This Nabiki shares her sweets with Ranko, who shouldn't be worth anything to her, and yet still cares. She finishes the ice cream, deep in thought, though Nabiki can tell she's at least aware.
"What's eating you, Ranko-chan?" She eventually asks. "I can practically see the steam coming from your head." She squeezes Ranko close. "Since you're gonna be a sister an all, I'll even give you the family 100% discount on sisterly advice, what do you say?"
Ranko's blush grows again and she looks down at her hands. "I… am pondering differences in the world." She says slowly. "From what I used to know."
"Like the world in your photo album?" Ranko nods. "So, you're what, a dimension traveller?"
Ranko shakes her head. "No. I just… things changed." She says evasively. "And I am still coming to terms with them."
Nabiki senses that's all she's going to get when Ranko shuts down again and eventually goes to sleep on her shoulder.
The middle sister's lips purse. She's heard Ranko crying at night when she's gotten up to go to the bathroom. She's heard the whimpering when Ranko tries to sleep and has nightmares and she's seen how fitfully Ranko dozes – is dozing right now.
She hates feeling powerless but isn't sure how to stop Ranko from having the nightmares short of stuffing her full of sleeping tablets.
Ranko's near-permanent eye bags are concerning, so it might come to that, she reasons, at least while the girl is recovering still.
Shaking her head, Nabikie drags the cushions over and sets the red-haired girl that's worming her way into Nabiki's heart in a comfortable position onto them, then covers her with a blanket and kisses her forehead softly.
"You'll get there, Ranko." She says quietly. "One day, you'll get to be whole again."
Nabiki looks up to see Kasumi looking into the family room and smiling proudly at her.
"What?"
"Just proud of my little sister is all." Kasumi says.