This story will be a mix of both anime and manga events. I do not own Ranma 1/2 or its characters.
It was daybreak in the land of the rising sun. The morning was cold and moist on the serene cliffs of Mt Phoenix. A young girl with beautiful violet hair and sad ruby eyes stood near a cliffs edge, overlooking the land below. She carried with her a gorgeous raku jar that she held closely as if for dear life. While the morning wind lightly blew through her hair, she recalled the events that led her to this place…
Everything had gone so horribly wrong. She had done everything that was expected of her; tried every trick and magic potion that she and her great grandmother could think of; hell, she had even tried murder a number of times, which was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. In the end, everything she did backfired and failed miserably. The one thing she dreaded most in the world had finally come to pass. Ranma and Akane had finally and successfully gotten married. It was a done deal and there was no turning back
She always had her suspicions about Ranma and Akane's feelings toward each other, but after returning to Nerima from the fight with Saffron, she was completely convinced. The memories of Ranma cradling Akane after he had gotten her the cold Jusenkyo water came rushing back. As her beloved screamed Akane's name, she could almost swear she heard him say he loved her.
Even though she and Ukyo had managed to ruin their first wedding attempt, what she had told Mousse that day wasn't a lie: she 'had' always known about it deep down, and it was with that thought that she finally relented to her fate. Ranma and Akane's second wedding went off without a hitch. What was the point of ruining another wedding? No matter how many times she broke them up Ranma would still chose Akane in the end.
Finally feeling a chill coming on, the girl with violet hair decided to sit down and rest by a fire pit. She certainly didn't have anywhere to go. Not anymore. Stripped of her home and Amazon pride, she was an outcast; exiled from her home because of that stupid weakling girl. How could she have lost to someone like Akane? She was a better cook, a better martial artist, a better swimmer, and even better looking: Akane was inferior to her in every way, yet somehow she still held Ranma's heart.
She looked down at the jar in her arms and tightened her embrace around it. It was the only thing she had to hold on to anymore. As bitter tears of hate and rage began to fall freely from her eyes she was suddenly overcome with the agony of her life and screamed.
Shampoo sprang up from her futon; heart pounding in her chest and cold sweat dripping off her face. She took a moment to compose herself and regulate her breathing back to normal. She suddenly noticed a faint smell in the air; Pine and Gardenia incense. She had lit one of the sticks right before she went to sleep.
The Amazon had received the incense as a gift from an old woman, whose cat was stuck in a tree. The problem seemed so laughably cliché but Shampoo thought twice when the elderly women explained how her cat had been chased up the tree by a dog. She herself had been chased by dogs in her cat form many times and sympathized with the poor animal.
After Shampoo saved the little Tabby, the old woman insisted that she take home some of her special made incense; saying "These will help you in the future." Shampoo was a bit curious as to 'how' ordinary incense would help her but she was pressed for time and forgot about it as she returned to her deliveries.
Now the old woman's words made sense. These had to be magical incense. Happosai had once used magical incense on Ranma, making his female form split off from his male side. The female Ranma created that night was pure evil and now Shampoo was having evil nightmares from using magical incense as well. The old woman would pay if she ever found her again. But there was also something else nagging at Shampoo. The nightmare had felt strange. It had felt more like a memory she had already experienced; like déjà vu. How could one live something that has never come to pass?
The Amazon had to inform her Great Grandmother of everything. No matter how impractical or irrational it sounded, Shampoo knew her Great Grandmother would know what to do…
Fate's End
Chapter 1
Written by: LadyRelena
Beta reading and editing by: Rewind Gone Nuts
This story starts from volume 36, chapter 8; the day after Nodoka decides to take Ranma home to live with her.
It was a slightly warm and breezy Friday in the quiet streets of Nerima. Even though it didn't seem all that late, the sky was already starting to turn shades of amber and fuchsia. The days didn't seem to last long enough in the month of January. Among some of the few pedestrians still out and about, there walked one pigtailed martial artist; contemplating the events of the day before.
Ranma Saotome now lived with his mother and father in a house he's never been in before. It was new and strange feeling experience, to him. Ranma loved his mother, and he was more than glad to be living with her finally, but a big part of him sincerely missed the Tendos'… and one shorthaired tomboy in particular.
The boy with the thick raven hair sighed, as his thoughts went back to his last argument with Akane. That stupid Akane; why wasn't she sad about me leaving? "You must be so happy, Ranma. You're going to go live with your mother!" Ranma's glum expression turned into an irritated frown at that last thought.
Before he could start any more condescending thoughts about his fiancée, a familiar sounding bell, ringing off in the distance caught his attention. It was the all-too recognizable sound of Shampoo's delivery bicycle. Ranma hasn't seen hide nor hair of the Amazons since the time he had to help stop Mousse from dating that fake statue of Shampoo.
The pigtailed boy also recalled that, sometime after that event, he had gone to Nekohanten for some free ramen. As much as Shampoo annoyed him, there were some perks to being her supposed fiancé.
When Ranma arrived, he found it to be completely deserted with the lights shut off and a simple sign on the door saying [Closed.]
At first, he hoped that they had given up on him and went back to China; if he could only be so lucky. He then did a more thorough inspection of the Nekohanten and peered through their right side window. To his dismay, all of their belongings were still present. He was a bit disappointed but got over it quickly. There was no way they would have gone back to China without him. They were dead set on bring him back as Shampoo's husband. It was apparent that were coming back eventually, but to leave so abruptly seemed out of the ordinary for Cologne and Shampoo. He left shortly afterward, deciding there was nothing else for him to do there.
Ranma had almost forgotten about them over the months past. As he came out of his thoughts, a sudden realization hit him. If Shampoo saw him now, he was going to end up with a front bike tire in his face and a purple haired nuisance glomping onto him. The frantic martial artist looked around worriedly; no bush, no walls, and for some reason, no people, to hide behind. He was a clear target. As she was approaching him there was nothing he could do but wait for the eventual collide.
He waited and waited… and watched as the Shampoo rode right past him. He blinked twice not believing what he had just witnessed. 'Did Shampoo just ignore me?' She couldn't have simply missed me I was right there!'
Ranma started to feel a bit offended, despite his earlier feeling of annoyance toward her. He 'did' have his pride to think about after all. How could Shampoo ignore 'him,' He was Ranma Saotome, her beloved airen? Then it hit him. He suddenly recalled her behavior the time she wore the Contrary Jewel. If she were wearing it again that would explain everything, 'But why would she have it on again?'
It was too suspicious to be ignored and after a few moments of thought Ranma decided that it was something worth investigating.
The pigtailed boy jumped quietly from rooftop to rooftop, making sure he didn't lose sight of the violet haired Amazon. She seemed to be heading toward the Shakuji Koen Park. The last time he remembered being there was when Ryoga tried to go on a boat ride date with Akane. 'Man, how time flies.'
As anticipated, he caught up with Shampoo at the park a few minutes later. She was sitting on a bench near the waterfront. Ranma managed to find a tree nearby where he could spy on her. Unfortunately, all he could see was her back and a bunch people walking on the sidewalk in front of her.
Unknown to Ranma, the tree he was hiding in was termite infested. His view of Shampoo kept being obstructed so he decided to move and the shift in weight caused the branch he was standing on to snap off loudly. He plummeted straight to the ground head first. People enjoying the park stopped momentarily to stare at the commotion, but quickly went back to their own business as usual; such things were common in Nerima.
Ranma groaned, as he sat up from his fall. He squeezed his eyes shut as he rubbed the newly formed bump on his head.
"You okay Ranma?"
He looked up to see a pair of wine colored eyes, staring questioningly back at him.
"Oh yeah, that was nothin'." He said with a silly grin. Now it was time to see if she had that jewel on.
Shampoo was wearing a lemon yellow Chinese outfit with black trimming; a short-sleeved shirt with pants that cut off below the knees. He also noticed that she 'was' wearing a jewel, but it wasn't the one though it was. It was a simple gold necklace with a jade pendent on it, an unusually pretty one at that.
"What you doing here?" enquired the purple haired girl. "It's getting late, you know?"
Ranma twisted his brain to quickly come up with an excuse. "Uhh, I thought I saw that jerk Ryoga around here somewhere, but I guess he got lost again."
"I no see pig boy, but if I see him later, Shampoo let Ranma know."
Ranma was glad Shampoo bought his lie. He was also glad that she wasn't wearing the cursed jewel either. She seemed to be in good spirits as usual and nothing looked wrong to him. Perhaps he had been too quick to jump to conclusions. 'Mayby Shampoo really didn't see me after all.' Solidifying that to be most likely in his mind, he got up off the ground decided it was best to leave; at least before anything strange 'did' happen.
"Well, thanks Shampoo," He said, with a wave of his hand, "I should get going. I'll see you around."
"Ranma Wait?"
He turned around. "Yeah?"
"Is it ok if Shampoo talk to Ranma for little while?"
Ranma was reluctant to say the least. He didn't exactly want to be there with Shampoo of all people. "Well it's getten' kinda late and-"
"Please Ranma, Shampoo no keep here for long."
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow, being more than a little skeptical about some ulterior motive.
Shampoo gave him the most innocent smile she could muster and put her hand up in assurance.
"Promise."
He thought about it for a second more but finally gave in to her request. They both quietly sat on the bench and watched the sky turn beautiful colors of ruby, cerulean, and magenta. The sun was a blaze with fiery red and golden yellow as it got closer to setting. The sound of the warm draft could be heard clearly as a still silence had befallen the two for a few moments.
Shampoo was the first to finally speak.
"You know, Shampoo never cared about sun set too-too much before, but now it seems so peaceful."
Ranma turned to her looking slightly confused. Shampoo talking about the sunset felt out of character for her.
"Yeah, I guess it is..."
It wasn't like he had never seen a sunset before; he had spent a lot of time on roofs and in trees. He just didn't know what else to say. He had never really talked with Shampoo like this before.
Silence feel over them again as they continued to watch the scenery descend into darkness. Ranma fiddled with his hands, feeling uncomfortable with the awkward calm. He turned to say something but stopped just as he opened his mouth.
Shampoo's amethyst hair ruffled softly in the light gentle wind, while the last rays of golden sunlight lit up her face. She stared vacantly off into the distance with deep melancholy apparent in her features. Ranma had seen many different emotions from Shampoo over a year and a half but 'this' look wasn't anything like the bubbly and devious Amazon he had gotten to know.
He went back to twiddling his thumbs again. Ranma didn't like being in uncharted waters when it came to girls feelings. He wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut out of his own better judgment. The last thing he wanted was to get pummeled by an angry Shampoo.
As if she could sense his distress, Shampoo turned to him with a small smile. It was time that she got to the point. "Ranma, I ask to talk to you because Shampoo want to a-apoologizze", she said, trying to pronounce the word properly. The Amazon took a moment to compose herself. She was going to attempt speaking proper Japanese; or at least as best as she could. "I'm sorry for all the things I-I've done. I'm sorry for try kill Akane and Spatula Girl and sorry for trying to drug and trick Ranma many time into wedding with Shampoo. I always think it was right thing to do, and so did Great grandmother, but I not think so anymore. Never realize is bad. Shampoo know better now. Just want Ranma to know that."
Ranma's mouth gaped wide open. He had the overwhelming urge to smack himself hard, just to see if he was still in reality. Had hell frozen over? What in Kami's name had made her to act like this?
"Ranma?... Ranma?..." Her beloved hadn't moved a muscle in the last five seconds. Shampoo then started waving a hand in front of his face, but it was frozen. She began to get annoyed after poking his nose a few times and even snapping her fingers in his ears. Here she was, apologizing to him, and he was too busy making faces at her. Finally getting fed up, she blew up a paper bag and popped it in front of his face.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
The pigtailed boy sprung twenty feet into the air before landing back on the ground.
"What did you do that for!?"
Shampoo stood up from the bench, glaring at him with arms crossed. "Stupid Ranma make faces at Shampoo and go off to dreamland while Shampoo pour heart out. No think Shampoo is serious."
Ranma threw up his hands in defense. "Hey, hey, look, I'm sorry, okay? You sort'a caught me off guard there."
Shampoo just huffed in response and turned her back to him.
Ranma finally realized he was being a jerk and calmly put a hand on her shoulder. "Look, really, I'm sorry. I really 'did' take your apology seriously. Honest"
The last word he spoke was quiet but felt sincere. Shampoo forgave him and turned back to face him. "I'm glad Ranma believe Shampoo."
It suddenly became dark in an instant. The two stopped for a moment and turned toward the lake horizon. The sun had finally gone down over the water's edge.
Shampoo turned back to her pigtailed airen, who was still gazing over the water and smiled at him.
"Thank you Ranma."
He turned to her perplexed. "For what?"
She beamed a sweet genuine smile and answered, "For talking to Shampoo and believing that I truly sorry for what I did. Was also nice watching sun set with you."
He gulped hard and took a step back as he felt his face slightly heat up.
'Is she actually being c-cute!?'
Ranma quickly squashed that thought as he inwardly kicked himself for being such an idiot.
"S-Sure thing." He managed staggered out
Shampoo wanted so badly to cling to her beloved, but resisted the urge to do so. Instead she simply said goodbye and walked toward her bike.
When she finally rode out of sight, Ranma remained standing by the park bench and tried to contemplate what the hell had just happened.