Chapter 4

At times, it was hard not to fall in the temptation of stabbing something into her ears. She could close her eyes when Kodachi wasn't looking but there was nothing she could do to stop hearing. Shampoo's screams of agony filled the room as the ribbon lashed mercilessly across her back.

"Again!" Kodachi commanded, finally pulling the ribbon back. "Correct that sentence!"

It wasn't so hard, Ukyo mused. She didn't understand why Shampoo had so many troubles using the correct pro-nouns or verbs. She didn't know anything about Mandarin but it couldn't be all that different from any other language. Why was it so hard for her to learn?

Kodachi hit her with the ribbon again and Ukyo's hands closed into tight fists. Maybe she couldn't learn. Maybe there was something wrong with her. Maybe she was stupid. Why punish someone for being slow or stupid? Ukyo felt again a terrible urge to rip her ears out if only to stop the noise and keep Shampoo's cries from tormenting her.

Kodachi had dropped the ribbon to the ground. Her long fingers tangled in the lavender hair of the captive girl and pulled her head up. She stared at Shampoo as she babbled incoherently in a mixture of Mandarin and Japanese. Disgusted, the black rose dropped her head and walked away.

"Clean her up, dear. We shall continue later."

Ukyo walked numbly towards Shampoo and released her from the chains and gently eased her to the ground. There was a bucket with water waiting nearby. She submerged a cloth into it and wrung it, making sure it remained wet but did not drip. Triggering the girl's curse was a mistake she did not dare make again.

Shampoo cried out when she placed the cloth into her wounds and her trembling intensified. Ukyo's hands were also trembling. She had brought her here. She was the cause of this girl's misery. She had done this to her.

"It's your own fault! Why don't you study? It isn't so hard!"

"I do study!" Shampoo wailed, grabbing her head with crisped hands. "I do study! I do study! I do study! I do study!"

"Stop that, damn it!"

Shampoo stopped her litany. She stayed there, whimpering and sobbing like a heart-broken child. Ukyo felt horrible for yelling at her. Had she no shame? No compassion? Genma deserved the torment she had put him through…But what did Shampoo ever do to her? Why was she doing this to her?

"It just…really freaks me out. Come on, don't cry anymore. Let's practice together. It's not so hard. You use 'is' for 'he' and 'she' and 'it'. Then you use 'am' for I and 'are' for the rest…"

"I use 'is' for 'he' and 'she' and 'it'. Then you use 'am' for I and 'are' for the rest…"

"'Me' is an object pronoun. Use it only with other objective pronouns like…'us' and 'him' or 'her' or 'you' and 'them' or when the pronoun is the object of a preposition…"

"'Me' is an object pronoun. Use it…"

"Don't just repeat it, Shampoo! Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes…"

"Say it right."

"I understand what you are saying…"

"There you go!" Her eyes filled with tears and all of her self control almost slipped. It was strange how such a little thing could make her so happy. "You see? It's not so hard!"

Shampoo did not answer. She had stopped trembling and was silent as Ukyo finished cleaning the new cuts adorning her back.

The garden was wonderful that time of year. It was covered with all shades of green. Flowers bloomed in each bush and tree and even the grass produced small white flowers that lured hungry yellow butterflies. There were many birds among the tree branches and their songs filled the air.

There was a sudden tremor among the leaves and branches of a willow tree. The chirping of the birds grew in intensity. They were scared and surprised. Ukyo stared as a nest fell to the ground and a dead bird fell with it. A small figure crawled down the trunk of the tree and ran to Kodachi.

"These are really fast!" She said, watching the dead bird Shampoo dropped before her. "Very nice."

The dead bird was placed in a basket among a dozen of others. Ukyo did not dare to comment as she plunked the leaves of the roses and piled them up carefully into another basket. Ukyo looked up at the tree tops and wondered if the birds would learn it was not a safe place to be anymore.

Kodachi poured hot water over the small cat. It grew and changed. Shampoo sat before them, her mouth still stained with the blood of the birds.

"Chop those up for me." Kodachi said, handing her a basket filled with leaves. Her long cold eyes wandered to Ukyo. "Can you tell me what those are?"

"No, Kodachi-samma."

The Amazon leaned forward and sniffed at the basket.

"It's tala, Kodachi-samma."

"You should not answer a question that was never addressed to you. It is rude. Tell me now what it is for, as you seem so eager to talk."

"It…It is poison." Kodachi looked up sharply. Shampoo cowered and stammered, elaborating quickly on her answer. "The smoke of burnt leaves is poisonous. You choke and die…yes?"

Ukyo nodded at her. The grammar of the entire sentence was alright. Kodachi, however, was still staring intently at her. Her eyes were unreadable. After tense seconds, she looked away and seemed very interested on the dead birds she had gathered in the basket. She suddenly grabbed them and threw them into the water.

"I did not know that…I make people eat it to induce a deep sleep with nightmares."

Shampoo glanced fearfully at Ukyo. The chef looked away, continuing her work with the roses.

"How come you know this?"

"Great-grandmother is a respected healer. A herbalist with a great knowledge. She taught me lots of secrets…"

"Of course. Your Great-Grandmother. I have always wondered why she has never come looking for you."

Ukyo looked up sharply. Kodachi was smiling with her eyes closed, enjoying the sweet scent of one of her roses. Shampoo's eyes had glazed over.

"There also was that strange man. Mousse was his name? I was told he kissed the dirt you stepped on...I wonder where he is the nights I make you scream so much…"

Ukyo's eyes narrowed. She had closed her hands into tight fists, crushing one of the black roses. The pain of the thorns digging on her skin went unnoticed. Her anger was too great for her body to feel anything else. She had never felt such intense hatred for anyone her whole life.

"Why do you think they have not come to help you, Shampoo?"

"They don't know I am here."

"Did they not know you wandered aimlessly through the dark streets of Nerima? Did they not know how you drowned yourself every night on the poisonous cheapest drinks of the lowest classes?"

Shampoo's eyes widened and grew slightly unfocused.

"That they knew…"

"And they left. They did not care."

"They did not care…"

"Ranma-darling did not care either…"

"Ranma did no care either.."

"But we care." Kodachi reached out and placed a cold hand over Shampoo's. "We've gone through a lot to help you pull through this. You are here and you are safe with us."

Shampoo nodded. She was handed the basket of Tala leaves and was commanded to chop them up. She worked in silence and did not look up the rest of the afternoon.

"I've being in Pekin, but I have not really paid much attention to anything while I was there, you know. I was actually searching for…Well, for someone…The streets were a little too crowded for my taste so I didn't stay long either…"

Ukyo had been left alone in that dark prison for months. She had gotten used to the darkness and the silence. But getting used to it did not mean she had ever learnt to like it. She hated it. If it had not been for Sasuke's frequent visits, she knew her time in solitary would have driven her mad. Waking up in the middle of the night by a sudden cramp on her back or legs was the worst of it. Being able to move freely and facing in solitude that oppressing nothing was overwhelming.

She had dreamed and pleaded to have a companion. When Shampoo had been dragged and chained here with her, Ukyo had being glad. She felt bad but at least now she would not be alone anymore. But now she wanted her solitude back. She wanted her prison to be silent again.

She stopped talking for a moment. Her eyes watered. Her throat was so parched. She licked her lips in an attempt to moister them a bit. She remained in silence for a few wonderful seconds.

A plaintive noise emerged from the impenetrable darkness before her. Once it started, it did not stop. It only grew louder. Its anguish pierced through her heart and ears. The jingling of chains followed and Ukyo could almost see Shampoo there, a few meters from her, her hands grabbing her head as she swung it back and forth, the chains connected to her wrist and neck jingling with each movement. She always did that when silence settled in.

Ukyo covered her ears with both hands, trying to block the horrible sounds. She was so tired. She wanted to sleep. She didn't want to talk anymore. It hurt to talk. She was thirsty. She needed water. Her body started trembling violently.

"Stop it, Shampoo. Please stop it! You're driving me crazy, just stop it!"

Her throat burnt as she screamed with all the strength of her lungs. She had jumped forward and the chains had forced her back against the wall. She struggled and jerked against them for a moment and slumped back down. She needed to calm down. She needed to control herself. She was not an animal. She could reason and understand what was happening. She needed to accept what could not be helped. She depended on Sasuke to bring her water. She depended on Kodachi to free her from the chains. She needed to wait.

"I liked Ma Duo. It was a small city with fewer people." She said after a moment. Shampoo's whimpering stopped. "I didn't speak a word of Mandarin and all the people were so polite anyway. It reminded me of Kyoto. I was born in Kyoto. I've missed it all the years I was away, you know? If I could do things differently…I don't think I would have left…I don't think I would have left everything behind for…some boy…"

She stopped. This time it was not the pain on her throat forcing her to stop. It was a worse type of pain. One that made her choke. She heaved a sobbed and covered her face with trembling hands. She fought it and failed. She started crying and she could no longer stop.

Shampoo started moaning and whimpering. The sound of chains jingled in the darkness as she swung her head back and forth.