Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Chapter 15
"Ah... Nothing like sweet polluted Japanese air..."
Three hours later
Somewhere in Japanese waters
The Eternal Post, black line pointing to the mainland, didn't waver as Monlon held the wheel steady. Sarutoru watched to make sure she wasn't going to deviate off course, but after several minutes saw her dedication, and decided to walk off to look around on the boat.
Nabiki was sitting on deck, her sun chair splaying her body out to take advantage of the sun. She pulled up her sleeves and rolled up her trouser legs to try to get some tan. Beneath her fringe, was a frown.
Of all places... The irony... She still was thinking about the news that Toma brought to her. Well, we have to go there to check... Though I can guess what we will find. The only question is, how did Ranma survive?
She heard a coughing to her left, without opening her eyes, she responded. "How can I help you Sarutoru?"
"We are still on course to Japan, the ship has sufficient fuel and resources to reach there tomorrow by my calculations." He bowed slightly.
She sat up and smiled. "Thanks, I'm glad we'll get there soon, I've missed the homeland..."
Sarutoru climbed up the mast to the lookout and scanned the area on the horizon, before returning to her side. "No sign of any others in our vicinity, which should make for simple entrance into the country."
Nabiki looked over the man. "So, how've you been since we last met? Learned any new tricks?"
"My moves are not tricks..." He answered, echoing similar remarks from Toma. "And no, I have just increased the amount of power I put into it."
"Must've been pretty damning if Lime was that badly changed." Nabiki mused.
"On that matter..." He sweated a little. "He seems to have retired to his room for a while."
"Yeah..." Nabiki waved him off with her hand. "He can't stand the sea."
He persisted on. "I don't think that is the only factor..."
"Come on..." Nabiki put up her hands. "You want me to believe that I really depressed him that much to make him shy away?"
Sarutoru pulled back, glad she understood in some form. "I hope you do... I used full capacity on him, so it did carry through to reality for a short time. He felt you did truly reject him..."
Nabiki was thoughtful. "You're not lying about this, are you?" She asked sincerely.
He shook his head. "I think you should clear up this misunderstanding before it affects the morale of the crew."
Nabiki stood up, a bit upset. "I know how to keep morale up, thank you very much!" Indignant she marched off, ignoring Monlon's questioning gaze.
A few seconds later
Downstairs corridor
She knocked on the door. "Hi Lime, it's Nabiki, can I come in for a minute?"
She distinctly heard the sound of growling and hissing, before it died down. "Come in..."
Opening the door, she found him sitting on the bed, facing away from her, looking out the porthole. She shut the door and walked further in, and ventured a question. "So, how goes my favourite brawler?"
The body opposite her repeated the growling.
Oh yeah, he's mad at me...
Sighing, Nabiki sat down behind him, facing the door, so they were back to back.
"I'm not good at apologising, nor do I feel the need to do so in most cases... However..." She paused. "I was a bit rough with you back there... I didn't mean to hurt you." She smirked. "Back near Nekonron, you said you respected me too much to grope me." She chuckled after recalling the memories. "The same applies to you, I respect you too much to mess with your head, or at least to the extent of depressing you thoroughly." She got up. "That's pretty much it. I'm sorry, Lime. It's up to you whether you'll accept it or not."
Without turning back, she left the room swiftly and returned to the deck.
Ten minutes later
On deck
Nabiki was clutching at her arms, feeling the cold breeze pass over her. She sensed a warmth from behind her, the feeling that someone sneaked up on her.
"Who is it?" She asked, not worried in the slightest since their crew was so small.
"Me..." She turned to see Lime, a bit red in the face. "I thought about what you said... and realised that you were right, there's no need to get worked up over a few words." He smiled a bit tightly. "I'm still a bit shaken by that mental attack, but I'll get by."
She clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm glad, you're made of tougher stuff than that." She shoved him off to the centre of the deck. "Now, get to work! There's a storm coming, so take down the sails and help Monlon with the rudder. Sarutoru already has the wood ready for repairs."
"Yes ma'am!" Lime marched off to do as she said.
Nabiki stared off to the distance, relishing the return.
The next day
9:41am
"Land spotted!" Sarutoru shouted from above.
"High winds to the east!" Lime moved the sails to match.
"We're here, though I can't tell which part of Japan." Monlon commented to a delighted Nabiki.
"Doesn't matter, we can easily get a train there." Nabiki's enthusiasm was infectious, and soon everyone was looking forward to reaching port, and she looked to her crew.
Suddenly she started laughing out loud, scaring those who knew that she rarely did that. Oh God… I can just see it… Nabiki's Wrecking Crew…
Her laughs continued for several minutes.
3 hours later
Unknown location
Lime was the forward charge, smashing through trees and other obstacles. Monlon lute-stringed away falling branches and made safe passages for the others to pass under. Sarutoru was jumping from tree to tree high above them, ensuring they were on the right path, and alerting them to any predators nearby.
Lime's ears were constantly moving, as was his nose. "This place is strange, lots of weird things live here..." He eyed Nabiki. "There's also something large and dead here..."
She nodded in understanding. "I know, I haven't explained everything to you, but I knew that we should all be able to handle the place. I'll tell you all about it later."
He saw the worried look in Nabiki, and nodded quietly.
"There's something strange up ahead!" Sarutoru's cry echoed, along with a direction he pointed in.
Lime narrowed his eyes. "The smell's coming from there."
Nabiki beckoned to them. "Take us there."
Five minutes later
Outside the forest
The stench was overpowering. Nabiki had to cover her face with her jacket sleeve.
"So, it's dead... But how?"
Monlon and Lime were staring at the thing, unable to take their eyes off of it. "This is unbelievable..." Lime managed to say.
"How big is it?" Monlon asked.
Sarutoru walked up, his eyes set upon the neat cut across the neck. "The legends say many numbers, but seeing it at last in the flesh, I'd estimate it to be 200 metres long, from one end to another."
Lime turned to Nabiki. "I think it's time you told us the story."
She nodded and faced the three, though Sarutoru already knew some of it from the archives at Togenkyo.
"What I know happened around half a year ago. Ranma and some others fought this creature, the Yamatano Yarochi, here in Ryugenzawa..."
30 minutes later
It took her a long time to explain it to everyone, having to recount the story a few times, including Akane's first meeting with Shinnosuke.
"But, if they used the horn last time, why's it out here?" Monlon asked. "Shouldn't it still be sleeping?"
Nabiki shook her head. "When Ranma made everyone forget him, apparently he needed the Moss of Life. He probably had to wake it up again..."
"Which begs the question..." Sarutoru continued. "How did he kill it, let alone beat it?"
Nabiki walked up to the complete cut, through all seven necks, separating the larger eighth head. She began to think of all the details she had gathered so far, but drawing a blank. Seeing something odd with the neat slice she moved in and tapped the outer layer of skin. Cold... Very cold... Indeed, the separated necks were all a blue tinge. Whatever cut through these necks wasn't a normal weapon...
She recalled a memory from speaking with Herb, but always struck her as an unknown factor. Herb said his scouts saw Ranma heading in and out of Mount Phoenix, but they didn't know why. Her mind worked fast, never really thinking about this deeply enough. What's there? A baby Saffron, Kiima, Koruma, Masara, the Phoenix people... She shook her head. There must be something more...
Did he want to kill Saffron as well? She thought back and realised that wasn't likely. He already knew he won, and that Kiima would bring up Saffron better after burning himself out. She paused. Wait... Burn himself out? She now recounted Ranma telling her the story at Jusendo. Saffron didn't get time to transform to control his fire, the water stopped...
She smiled. She had figured it out at last. "I know how Ranma did this..."
"How?" Lime was impressed at the scale of destruction one person could cause to an animal many times his size.
"Ranma was skilled in almost every hand to hand technique, and though he didn't choose to use them, he also wielded weapons with ease. He used a magical poison repelling shield and poison detecting sword, he sparred against his father with staffs, and let's not forget the rhythmic gymnastics and other occasions..." She recalled the last one easily, as she made lots of money on the win with some interesting options in the betting ring.
"So?" Monlon asked, getting tired of the explanation. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Against Saffron, he used a powerful weapon, Gekkaja, which could freeze anything at will, and cut through most surfaces." She indicated the severed necks. "This was used here, again. He probably killed it with one or two hits."
The silence extended to the winds, which ceased for the time being. Nabiki looked at Sarutoru. "Would you mind hopping up onto the large head and seeing if there's any plant growing in the middle on the forehead?"
"Right away..."
A few short minutes later he returned. "There's no sign, a portion of the skin has been cut out completely."
Nabiki sighed. "That's the last piece of the puzzle... He probably went to Mount Phoenix to get the keys and use the Gekkaja against the Yarochi." As she said that, something wrong registered within her. But wait... Herb said this was after his plan worked... Why did he go back then? To return the Gekkaja? I don't know... It probably doesn't matter at this point...
Someone burst out from behind a large dragon scale and swung at Nabiki. "Who are you!"
Lime pulled her away just in time and blocked the attack. "Hey! What're you doing that for?"
The bandaged boy looked at Lime curiously. "Hello there..." Their eyes met as a spark of danger flared between the two. The boy bowed courteously. "Nice to meet you."
Lime gawked at him, as Nabiki held her head. "Everyone, meet Shinnosuke... The first victim of the Moss of Life."
Ten minutes later
Inside the woods
"Shinnosuke! There you are!"
An old man, surprisingly vibrant, ran out and hugged Shinnosuke tightly. "I told you not to go out without me!"
"Who are you again?"
"I'm your grandfather..." He started to cry, that is until he saw his odd guests. "Why, hello there, have you come for the Yarochi?"
"Not quite." Nabiki smirked. "But I believe you have a story to tell for all of us about how it was killed."
He laughed out loud. "Not much to say! That boy that was here last time, Ranma I think his name was, came with two staffs and called it up. He killed it within the minute and removed the Moss of Life."
"Do you know why he did it?"
"Not really, and I don't particularly care anyway. I appointed myself guardian of the forest, but since there's no more moss, the Water of Life has dried up. The animals have returned to normal size as well." He looked happy. "When we gave my grandson the Moss of Life, he was instantly cured, he no longer needed to depend on the Water."
They went inside and sat in the small house. "Did Ranma say anything before he left?"
He thought for a few seconds then shook his head. "Nothing of importance really. Just wished us well... Ah!" He thumped his fist in his other hand. "That's right! He left us some of the Moss, and told me to use some on myself. My cancer was cured a day later, and I've never felt so young before!"
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "And you still remember Ranma?"
He seemed put off. "Of course I do! How could I forget the boy who gave me a new lease on life? The one who killed the Yarochi?"
Nabiki sighed, not willing to give the bad news, but felt she needed to. "I have to tell you something... Shinnosuke will never regain his short term memory... From the day you gave him the Water of Life, he was cured for a short time, but at a cost to his mind. Even though you stopped using the Water of Life since using the Moss on him, the long term effects have stayed..."
The grandfather looked down heartened and stared at his lap. "I thought that might be the case... He was like a normal child all those years ago. He even gave the One-Horned Mongoose horn to Akane to protect her, not because he forgot about holding on to it."
"Akane?" Shinnosuke piped in. "Where is she?"
Nabiki looked on sympathetically. "She's at home, Shinnosuke, she's fine."
He grew happier. "Ah, that's good..." He got a wistful look in his eyes. "I just wish..." He trailed off, but Nabiki already knew what he was going to say.
Don't worry, you did confess to her, twice, and she still remembers... Nabiki stood up, alerting her team to do the same.
"I think we've taken up enough of your time. If Ranma gave no more clues as to where he might be, then we're stuck in square one, all over again..."
The grandfather shook his head. "Sorry, but he did not indicate any place in particular." He bowed to them, as did Shinnosuke, whose habits meant he copied most things his grandfather did. "Thank you for visiting us, you are most welcome to come back any time."
"Are you sure you still want to stay, you don't need to guard the forest any more…" Monlon asked curiously.
He shook his head. "Sadly no, I'm going to live here and try to get the animals re-homed in their proper environment, and have the Yarochi burned, so that no one can abuse the power it may give them." He patted Shinnosuke's shoulder. "I don't want anyone else to suffer the same fate as my grandson. I'll also try and teach him how to survive on his own, when I am gone, so he might return to society in the future."
Nabiki smiled back, understanding and respecting his reasons. "Take care of yourselves." She waved and walked out of the cabin, back into the forest.
Several minutes later
A forest clearing
The foursome were sat in a circle, around a campfire, as Lime began preparations to make a roast platypus, a rare treat from the usual rabbits and frogs he caught in China.
"So, do we have any leads whatsoever to find Ranma?" Monlon asked, while playing a light tune on her lute.
Nabiki wracked her brains to think of any angle she hadn't covered, but kept leading to dead ends. She shook her head. "I... don't know... I thought if we tried to find out the ingredients for the incense, we would somehow stumble upon clues to lead us to him." She smiled wryly at them. "And so far we have made by on pure dumb luck." Her recollection of the last conversation with the grandfather came back to her. I never did get his name… "He said Ranma had two staffs, one must've been the Gekkaja, and the other might be the Kinjakan…"
Lime scratched his head as her stoked the fire. "What does that mean? He's powerful?"
Nabiki smiled wanly. "Yes, but that doesn't apply to this case." She sat up. "The Kinjakan can be used as transport, and travels immensely fast, anywhere the user wants to go." She paused. "He could be anywhere in the world, not just limited to Japan any more…"
Sarutoru nodded sagely. "It does sound like we are in a limbo. Ranma is still missing, but now we have nowhere to go..." He pondered over some details. "I suppose the best thing to do right now is to go back to the source..."
"Nerima?" Nabiki questioned.
"Yes, all the clues you gathered indicated that he collected these ingredients and used them to make this special incense, which presumably meant that he made it back there, near his home."
"That's what annoys me..." Nabiki slammed her fist on the earth. "I'm not being mean, but Ranma's not the smartest person around. Except when it comes to martial arts, he isn't clever, nor a wiz with chemicals. How he managed to plan this whole thing, as well as making a highly complex formula... It just doesn't fit..."
Lime commented from the rotisserie. "Well, that's more reason to go back there..."
He was interrupted by a screech from above. Everyone looked up to see a snowy owl descend and land in front of Nabiki.
"Hey Ranko..." She held out the hand and the bird handed her the letter, before turning into a statue. She looked at the others. "I sent a letter to my sister from the boat, to let her know I was coming back. This must be her reply."
She opened the letter.
"Dear Nabiki,
How was Toma? Were you treated well? Sarutoru was that nice person who escorted me to the island. He was very gentle with me.
I think I saw Ryoga one day when I was doing shopping. He seemed very angry, and also very bruised and scratched. I wanted to follow him, to ask why he was chasing you, but also to put some bandages on his cuts. When he turned the corner though, he vanished, and I haven't seen him since.
Akane has been looking at those flowers I mentioned last time for a long while. Her manner has become milder lately, and she doesn't snap as easily. Tatewaki has also stopped his delivery of food and flowers, but I don't know why.
I don't have much time to write, we're all packing up our suitcases to head for our nearest shelter. The snow is coming faster, and colder. The JGSDF have been sent in to evacuate us as soon as possible, and the military is taking us to the school gym for the time being.
If you are here, please get here quickly, I don't know how long we'll be here before we move on, and I don't know if you'll be able to contact me again.
Take care,
- Kasumi"
Nabiki swallowed. This whole situation is getting out of control. The snow has got to the stage where it's threatening everyone... We're also out of leads…
Only one place to go now...
She stood up.
"We're going now... To Nerima."
---
Author's Notes
JGSDF – Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force.
Here we have it, the discovery that the Water of Life managed to destroy memory, something that no one has ever come up with. Isn't it odd that Shinnosuke, the only person to drink from that spring, suffered permanent short term memory loss? I realised it was due to the Water, and from that, the Moss. I bet some of you are kicking yourselves now at the clues.
Approximately five chapters left in this saga. The winding down starts, but not before some more trials…
- J