Mamono Hunter Ukyou
Shinrou: Shadow of Fear
Part 1
By Edward A. Simons
Based on characters and situations created by Takahashi Rumiko. Ranma 1/2 and characters copyright Shogakukan, Kitty Animation Circle, and Takahashi Rumiko. Devil Hunter Yohko and characters copyright NCS, Toho Company, LTD., and Mad House. This story revised 2005 by Edward Simons.
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In the silence of the night
How we shiver with affright
At the melancholy menace of their tone!
For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats,
Is a groan:
Edgar Allen Poe, "The Bells"
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Hinako Ninomiya sighed. The fire department had reached Furinkan High first. They were one of the few emergency services that wasn't needed. What was supposed to be a house of education had degenerated into a battlefield again and most of the other teachers had spent their time cowering instead of helping.
At first, it appeared that nearly a quarter of the student body needed medical treatment, but the majority were merely stunned or unconscious. Ukyou had used her magic to heal most of the seriously injured, but she wasn't able to attend to everyone. Principal Kuno had been missed in the confusion and his were the worst injuries.
Kodachi was bundled off under observation. The attendants would try to ensure that the darkness which had overwhelmed her life would not have another chance to claim her.
Most of the skilled martial artists had already left the school grounds. They had no way of knowing another battle was also taking place in Nerima.
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Konatsu almost made it off the school grounds before he started feeling dizzy again. The ninja dropped to his knees. Ikari was gone, but he still felt the aftereffects of its venom in his blood. Konatsu rolled onto his side and groaned. It felt like he had a stomach full of bile, yet he was drained, weak, and unable to expel the vileness.
"Hey, it's another kid. You okay, honey?"
They'd mistaken him for a girl again, but he was too weak to correct the paramedics as they loaded him into an ambulance and rushed him away. The siren's screams made his head throb with pain. It had been that kind of day.
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"Great-grandmother, you are getting slow."
Cologne realized Shampoo had seen her reflected in the screen of the computer.
She's right. I am getting sloppy, far too sloppy.
Cologne balanced for another few moments at the end of her wooden staff. "Let us finish this, then."
Shampoo spun the wheelchair so she faced her great-grandmother and nodded silently. There was something in her eyes, something...disconcerting. The older Amazon had expected anger, perhaps fear, maybe even hatred. Instead, there was something calculating in her great-granddaughter's eye.
"What does the law say, elder?" Shampoo didn't have to say which law.
Cologne's voice was soft, laced with an unutterable weariness. "As you know, our laws state that any Amazon too weak to participate in battle is no longer useful to her tribe. It becomes the duty of her family to ensure she joins her ancestors so she does not become a burden. It would be best if you do not fight this, child."
"So you lied to me all these years."
"What?"
"You lied to me, elder. You claimed strength came from a warrior's heart and soul, not from their body. That a warrior's spirit would triumph even when her body failed. That was what made a true warrior, a true Amazon. But you were lying."
"We accuse males of only being interested in our bodies," the girl continued, "but at least there's desire there, perhaps passion or even joy. Our laws make us even less. We're only tools, slaves to our duties. When the body falters, when it can no longer match the strength of the spirit, we discard that person like a broken tool. No...No, it's worse. At least we'd try to repair a broken tool."
Shampoo paused. She no longer looked at Cologne, but stared blankly at the floor. "Ranma...Ranma was lucky to...lucky that he never loved me. All...all he was...all he would have been was another thing you could use to breed better Amazons. That's all any of us are to you. That's all I am to you."
Shampoo paused again, ignoring the tears tracking down her cheeks. Her lips were trembling slightly, just like her heart, but she ignored that, too.
Cologne remained silent. Normally, she had all the answers, but she didn't know how to reply to her great-granddaughter. The rules of Amazon law exist to give order and structure to life. They exist to strengthen and protect the clan, but somehow Shampoo is twisting them to mean something darker, crueler, more arbitrary.
She didn't have to listen to the girl's words anymore; the bitterness of her great-granddaughter's tone made her meaning obvious.
Eventually, Shampoo paused for breath, then spoke what she expected to be her final words. "I suppose I still have one use to the tribe, since all they value is my body. The law was written for older warriors, crippled by wounds or age. I'm still young enough to bear children. I can still carry on the Amazon line." It was the closest the proud girl would ever come to pleading for her life.
"I am not certain that I can convince the council of elders. You haven't been very successful at marrying the man who defeated you. You know our laws will accept no other."
"Then kill me now." There was no fear in the girl's eyes, only contempt.
"I will not do that, child. I must consult with the council. Your proposal is unexpected, but there may be some chance of their agreeing to it."
Cologne bounded away. She doubted she'd be able to persuade the Amazon elders, but any delay bought her great-granddaughter more time. Time that she prayed the girl would use wisely.
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"Akane, you're home early."
The girl mumbled something about school being closed and limped upstairs. Kasumi reached out her hand, but stopped herself. She wanted to help her little sister, but Akane didn't seem ready to accept it. That hurt, but on another level, it was good to see her sister being a little more independent.
She'd told Ranma that Akane could be very childish, but that wasn't entirely her little sister's fault. When Daddy or big sister Kasumi tried to solve all her problems for her, it became easy to expect them to continue doing that even though Akane wasn't a child anymore. How many times had she been captured or kidnapped and instead of using her skills, she waited passively for rescue?
There was another reason the older Tendo girl didn't move to help her sister; that dark night when Nabiki died and Shampoo came so very close to joining her. Kasumi had tried to distract Konatsu from his pain and fear and guilt, but Kasumi's own words had frightened her.
"They're still human, with human faults. They helped free you, but you sound like you're re-enslaving yourself to them. Love them, yes, but be your own person. Find what you want to do with your life, and do it. The people that care about you will understand."
The words had been intended as honest advice to the ninja, but she knew they applied to herself as well. She'd submerged herself in caring for her father and sisters until she wasn't sure she knew who Kasumi was or what she wanted anymore. In trying to help her family, she became trapped in a role that was far too confining now. Worse, she realized her actions only reinforced the childish dependence both Akane and their father had fallen into. It felt selfish, but she needed to let them make mistakes on their own. It was far past time they all got over her mother's death.
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"Where is he?"
Tofu didn't open the door, so Ranma awkwardly fumbled with it, nearly dropping the still sleeping Ukyou. Carrying her had been more difficult than he'd expected. He'd carried Akane a few times when he rescued her, but Ukyou was taller and heavier and he'd needed to carry her a lot farther. He guessed his weakness was an aftereffect of using the Perfect Shishi Hokoudan. For once, he regretted his gift for learning new chi techniques.
"Doc?" He whispered, trying not to wake his fiancée.
There was no response, leaving him with a dilemma. He needed to rest before carrying Ukyou the remainder of the way home. He didn't want to wake her and he certainly wasn't going to dump the girl on the floor. That left his futon.
I hope that'll be okay. After all, Ucchan didn't kill me over the love hotel incident. She didn't even call me stupid for not thinking to use the phone instead.
His stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten lunch and it was rapidly approaching dinnertime so he moved toward the kitchen. He might not be as good a cook as Ukyou, but he was a lot better in the kitchen than Akane.
Of course, P-chan could probably do a better job there.
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There's no point to any of this. My life is meaningless. Nothing I try works. No one I care about pays attention to me. All my successes become failures and I'm tired of trying anymore.
"Sorry, Akane. I wanted to be your hero, but all I did was hurt you." Gosunkugi ground the heels of his hands into his eyes, failing to stop the flooding tears. He exhaled slowly and let his hands fall limp and useless to his sides. His breath formed a brief cloud of white before disappearing. It seemed appropriate.
"That's all I seem to do, hurt people. It's the only thing I'm good at."
The scrawny boy stared from the bridge to the frozen canal below. He was tempted to jump, but with his luck he wouldn't break the ice or even his neck. He'd probably merely knock himself unconscious and for now he was more afraid of looking stupid than dying.
Gosunkugi pulled an object from his pocket and let it swing back and forth on the end of the string looped through it. It was a strange stone, a swirl of blue and white, a stylized ying-yang of crystal. The pendant matched the symbol on the front of Ukyou's Mamono Hunter dress. The stone was called Shimi-Seki. When Ukyou opened the package from her grandmother in the school clinic all those weeks ago, the pendant had dropped unnoticed to the floor.
Except Gosunkugi had noticed. It had seemed symbolic that both he and it were ignored and he spent the intervening weeks researching information about the crystal. It could heighten both natural and arcane senses. It could be used to focus mystic powers. It was useless to Gosunkugi; he had no mystic abilities to enhance. Still he'd hammered himself against a wall of impossibility, repeatedly attempting to use it, always unsuccessfully.
Aijou hadn't lied. The truth was a much more painful tool, especially when used against those that deluded themselves. Hikaru Gosunkugi was a hollow one, a null. He could never use the stone's magic, nor any other. The stone caught the rays of the fading sun. It spun a final time and the boy dropped it into his pocket.
He pulled out his collection of photographs instead. All were of Akane - at school, at athletic competitions, at home, with her friends. In most of the pictures, she was smiling. None of the smiles were for Gosunkugi. He'd rather be pounded or yelled at like Kuno or Ranma, rather get any scrap of attention than be forgotten, but the girl he loved ignored him, just like everyone else.
He'd stood on the bridge since he'd regained consciousness and fled the lunchtime battle at Furinkan High. Now the sun was dying, throwing the world into darkness again. He leaned against the railing and stared at the ice-covered canal below him, but he was still afraid.
"No one cares about me."
That wasn't true, it was only almost true. Kogane Musashi seemed to care about him, or at least she seemed to like him, but she was a ghost. He looked back at his photo collection. Several seconds of silence passed and then he hurled the album over the railing. Photographs fluttered down like dead leaves. Autumn had passed, they were well into winter, and perhaps when spring came he would have the courage. The courage to join Kogane.
The last of the light faded, leaving Gosunkugi in darkness.
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Food usually disappeared when Ranma was around and he probably could have developed the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken technique just by practicing eating. Now that he was paying for his own food, he realized how much work Kasumi had put in trying to keep his father and him fed. Ranma glanced toward his room. Kasumi wasn't the only one who'd invested time and effort feeding him.
He sighed. Instant ramen wasn't as good as anything either girl cooked, but it was quick and filling. Ranma grabbed another cup and carried it back for his fiancée. She was still asleep and he didn't want to wake her, so he sat down and watched the girl. She was beautiful and for the moment she seemed happy. Ranma sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair.
Some day Ucchan's gonna wake up and realize I'm not as perfect as she thinks.
Letting her get close would only speed the day she'd realize that and get hurt. If he pushed her away, like he had for the past few weeks, he'd hurt her, too. There were no easy solutions. Some were simple like the dark seduction of self-destruction Ikari had tempted him with. But none were easy, not if you cared about others. His father hadn't and thanks to Genma, Ranma had too many obligations to too many girls.
Even if I was triplets, I couldn't marry them all.
He knew this couldn't be about duty or he'd only cause more pain. Somehow, he had to sort out his feelings, to separate obligation, desire, and friendship from love.
So what is love and how can I tell if I'm in love? How can I know? Who can I even ask? Tofu is a nice guy, but he gets kinda strange around Kasumi.
Okay, strange was too mild of a word, but he couldn't think of a better one.
Who does that leave? Maybe Kasumi, if I dared go near the Tendo place right now. No, too many people there hate me or would try to force something on me. My folks wouldn't be any help, either.
Nodoka seemed focused on only one of the obligations Genma inflicted on her son.
"She talks about honor as if the Tendo family is the only one that has it." Ranma whispered. "What about the honor of the Kuonji family." He glanced at the sleeping girl. "Or the honor of the Daikoku family or the Amazon tribe." Perhaps Nodoka didn't know about the other obligations, perhaps he needed to tell her. The boy sighed, realizing that he probably didn't know all the people he was engaged to. He hoped that if his mother knew of his dilemma, she'd consider the honor of the other people involved.
If she doesn't, she's more of a stranger than I ever imagined.
His father had offered advice before, some of it useful, but never on this subject where he clung tenaciously to the mantra that only the Tendo engagement mattered. His father's reasons were as dark and mysterious as his name. Besides, he didn't seem the best choice to ask about questions of love. Sometimes, it seems like the only person Pops loves is Pops. The boy marveled that his parents were still married.
Pops sure doesn't deserve it. Not after what he did to Mom.
The boy had spent years trying to forget the unpleasant memories of his life, but he couldn't do that anymore. Denying them denied part of what he was. He recalled the scenes of his mother crying in an empty house, visions the Mamono of Sorrow had forced on him in its attempt to control him. In his heart, Ranma knew those visions were no illusions, but hard cruel truth. His dad abandoned his mom for over a decade, but she still waited for him, still hoped and longed for his return.
How can she forgive Pops for that?
Genma was stupid and selfish and thoughtless and Nodoka still wanted to be with him.
The old furball sure doesn't deserve her.
The chopsticks came to his mouth empty. Ranma realized he'd devoured the instant ramen he brought with him. He sighed and refocused on his current problem.
So who can explain love to me? Who can help me understand my feelings?
Someone must be able to help him. Ranma put the empty cup down and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes, but he was exhausted from the aftereffects of the Mamono's possession and soon he lay asleep on the floor.
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She hadn't expected to still be breathing. Shampoo still wasn't sure what she wanted to do now, but dying wasn't part of it. She didn't realize Cologne was proud of her for standing up to the older woman. By doing that, the girl took another step towards being an adult. That's what her great-grandmother had been looking for in both Shampoo and Ranma when she trapped him in female form during the Phoenix pill escapade.
But hours had passed since Cologne left. Relief had turned to boredom, and eventually boredom turned to concern. Konatsu should have returned by now and Ranma should have escorted Ukyou home from school.
Shampoo switched on the radio. In the movies, that would always provide the information needed. This wasn't the movies. So many bizarre incidents occurred at Furinkan High that the press virtually ignored them now. The girl wasted several minutes fiddling with the radio before she had an idea.
Ukyou must have an address book somewhere.
It didn't take long to find. The first page listed only three phone numbers. The first was Ukyou's father. The second was her Grandmother Mano. The third said Ranchan in letters that covered half the page and was surrounded by doodles of hearts and smiley faces. The original number was for the Tendo dojo. That was crossed out and Shampoo recognized the new number as Dr. Tofu's.
She turned the page and found a row of neatly written numbers. Every single one was business related. The next page was the same way. So were all the rest. Business, business, business. No friends. None except Ranma.
Shampoo turned back to the first page. A closer look showed the remains of tearstains had wrinkled the paper around Ranma's name.
Is he really her only friend?
The Chinese girl shivered. How lonely of a life had the girl lived? Shampoo had grown up in the village, surrounded by friends and showered with respect for her martial skills. She hadn't known loneliness till she came to Nerima. Ukyou must have lived with it her whole life.
The Amazon hadn't thought she would ever pity her rival.
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Soun Tendo stared out over his yard. Darkness obscured the trees and the koi pond, but the snow-covered scene was tranquil and beautiful in the moonlight.
How long has it been since I noticed that?
Since his wife died, the days and the nights had blurred together in a gray featureless sameness. Soun felt like he'd just woken up and in that time he'd lost a decade and a daughter.
He glanced back into the house and realized he'd lost all three of his children. Kasumi and Akane had their own lives now with their own desires and their own friends. They were living life without him, just like he'd taught them to.
He turned back to the darkness. It was too late for him to change. He couldn't...didn't want to admit that he'd wasted the last ten years going through empty motions. A decade wrapped in quiet, or sometimes not-so-quiet sorrow where no one could really reach him anymore, maybe not even himself.
He didn't want to face the future. The memories of the past were safe and comfortable, even if they weren't always pleasant. The future was frightening; it brought uncontrolled, unpredictable, unpleasant change. Change had stolen his wife and daughter. Change had caused the disappearance of Ranma, the only one he trusted to carry on the dojo.
"Your move, Tendo," his friend interrupted. Soun turned back to the shogi board. The position of the pieces was almost completely changed, but that was how shoji games with Genma went. It wasn't a battle of wits, but one of reflexes. Soun slipped back into the old familiar rhythms. The empty meaningless rhythms of his life.
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A lonely figure stood on the roof of Furinkan High, illuminated by the pale moonlight. Below, the clock that faced the schoolyard showed it was not long after dusk, though it felt darker than midnight. Still farther below lay the shattered concrete of the crater left by Ranma's Perfect Shishi Hokoudan. The figure took a halting step toward the edge.
"No." The whisper was lost in the darkness.
"No," Hinako repeated. "This isn't my pain."
But she'd felt it ever since she touched Kodachi; the pain, the emptiness, the self-destructive sorrow.
"This isn't me. I want to live."
But to do that she needed to find a way to release the emotions she'd absorbed. Suppressing them hadn't worked; they'd only grown more intense. Acting on them would leave her literally broken across the concrete below.
There's another way.
In a practiced motion, the teacher brought her hands together, touching the tips of the index fingers and thumbs together, forming a ring.
"Happo no yen coin return." The words were a whisper instead of a shout, but energy glowed between Hinako's fingers, then shot forward, driving away the darkness.
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"Why, Ucchan, why? All I do is hurt you."
The words echoed in his dreams as events replayed in agonizingly slow motion. Ukyou's battered body arced through the air, dark hair and tattered clothing fluttering behind her, body haloed by broken shards of the wall of the school, thanks to his heedless use of the Shishi Hokoudan. Her face contorted in pain, then flashed through sorrow and anger, and just before she spun away to slam helplessly into the wall, forgiveness.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of you, Ucchan." The hollow promise mocked him, a promise made and repeated during the disaster with the Kuonji family secret sauce. A promise broken again and again.
Other scenes flashed through his dreams, dark echoes of the visions Aijou had forced on him. A sobbing six-year-old girl abandoned at the side of the road. Lonely nights as the abandoned girl searched for him. And after she found him and forgave him, worse nights, with deeper pain and loneliness as rekindled hope flickered and faded into the smothering darkness, but stubbornly refused to die.
And that's my fault, not Pops, but she still forgives me. She still loves me.
That word again. The word that frightened him. Ukyou had stared into his eyes and trusted him to make the right decision. She was even willing to accept death because she was with him. Because she loved him.
The rest of Ranma's dreams were no more pleasant, but something enjoyed them. A dark formless shape drew strength from the boy's fears. The other Mamonos had begun their work in his life, but none could touch his soul like Shinrou. There were layers to his fears, each with their own vibrancy and form, and most flowed into each other in some way. It would take a long time to explore them all.
Shinrou intended to take that time.
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At opposite ends of Nerima two shorthaired girls lay on their beds crying. Both had lost the long hair they were proud of in senseless combat. Both excelled in fighting multiple opponents and used mallets in combat. Both were skilled athletes. Both possessed fierce tempers and were capable of amazing strength when angry.
Both were well off materially, but not emotionally. Both lost a stable ordered environment as small children, when their mother died. Both lost their father at the same time, one to death and the other to an empty withdrawal from life, and both missed their father more desperately than they would ever admit.
But Akane could turn to Kasumi and Ryouga or her friends Yuka and Sayuri, who would always listen, even when they didn't understand. Ranma, Kuno, her father, and even Ukyou would at least care if she was hurting. All Azusa had were inanimate objects. They never contradicted her, but they couldn't give her the emotional support she craved.
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A duck plunged from the sky and thumped against the roof, cracking tiles. After circling for hours, Mousse had reached the point of exhaustion. Below him he heard a window open and knew someone was looking up in confusion, trying to understand what was happening.
He didn't care if they decided Peking duck would make for an interesting dinner. He didn't care if he slipped off the roof and became a tasty snack for the next alley cat. He knew he was too late to save Shampoo, so his life wasn't important anymore.
He wasn't even skilled enough to avenge her death. He was completely useless. He didn't have a plan anymore. He didn't have a life anymore. He'd failed the girl he loved when she needed him most, and he couldn't forgive himself for that.
Mousse lay there in self-pity until his breath returned. He couldn't stay on the roof forever, so a bespectacled duck flapped wearily back toward the Neko Hanten.
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Ukyou woke to an unfamiliar ceiling, lying on an unfamiliar futon, covered by unfamiliar blankets. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she rolled her head to the left and saw Ranma scrunched against the wall. That position couldn't be comfortable, but a decade of being on the road trained you to sleep regardless of where you might be.
She was still tired, but she'd slept enough that another desire had become stronger. She needed a bath. A nice, hot, relaxing bath to soak away the aches in her muscles and the weariness in her soul.
She moved softly, so as to not wake her fiancé. The bath at Dr. Tofu's house was large, even luxurious compared to anything she was used to. She grabbed the collar of the borrowed shirt with both hands. It was torn and covered with blood, but she hesitated before pulling it off as the events of the day replayed in her mind. She'd come so very close to losing her fiancé and that scared her. It scared her quite a bit.
Once, only once, had she seen someone act as despairingly as Ranma. She had.
Ukyou's eyes grew moist as she recalled the secret sauce disaster. Neither she nor Ranma nor Akane were at their best, but the other two were manipulated by Nabiki. It was the lowest ebb her spirit had ever reached as her confidence evaporated. She'd built her life around two things, Ranma and her cooking abilities. When she thought she'd lost both, her life began to unravel.
She'd tried to kill herself then, but not the way most people did. She hadn't tried to destroy her body, but her spirit. She'd tried to be that perfect housewife, a woman with no will of her own, a lifeless extension of her husband who lived only to serve his whims, an empty person with an empty smile who would endure anything to maintain her dream of a perfect home.
The attempt was doomed. Both she and Ranma knew that illusion wasn't her. She'd been strong enough to make it past that, if only barely. Ranma's blundering attempts to snap her out of it, kindness that was sometimes cruel, were the thread that she clung to and pulled her way back. But now she knew her fiancé could reach his own quiet point of despair.
"Don't worry, Ranchan. I...I'll help you find your way back. I don't know how yet, but I will." Her whisper echoed faintly off the tiled wall. She exhaled slowly in a sigh that was almost a moan.
She tugged at the shirt he had loaned her. Dried blood made it cling to her Mamono Hunter dress, which tore further as she peeled the shirt off. The remnants of the ruined dress pulled loose in strips. She was surprised the cloth wasn't more durable. Ukyou shrugged, too tired to really care and began rinsing herself off. Soon, she was ready to climb into the tub.
It felt better than she expected and she needed it more than she'd realized.
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Even if he couldn't always find the words he wanted, at least as a human Ryouga had some prayer of communicating his thoughts and feelings. He placed his face in his hands and repeated his words in an insistent whisper
"Akane, I have to go back to Ryugenzawa. I have..."
"No."
"I have to find him. I have to see if he's still alive."
"No, don't leave me, Ryouga. Don't leave me behind. Everyone leaves me behind." Her voice faded away.
"Akane, you're still catching up on the school lessons you missed while..." the boy blushed and stared at the floor.
She blushed, too. "The school will be closed for a few days anyway while they repair it. How do you think you'll ever find the place?"
The boy paused. He hadn't thought of that. "I...I..." Light dawned. "I can ask Ranma. He's been there. He can show me."
"Are you kidding? With his grades he needs to stay in school a lot more than I do. Besides, Miss Hinako always said I was her best student."
The boy sighed. Her words made sense, but he wanted, needed to be alone for a few days. If it weren't for what they'd done back at Ryugenzawa, he'd have taken off already. He loved the girl and he wanted her to have the best man for her. That certainly wasn't Ranma, not after the way he treated her, but the Lost Boy was pretty sure he wasn't the best choice, either.
I'm doubly cursed and I haven't attended school in such a long time. All I know is martial arts. What kind of a future would that provide? Akane deserves someone who can be there for her every time she needs him. Someone with real skills who can get a real job and take care of her the way she deserves.
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Ranma stretched. His muscles protested loudly, reminding him that the position he'd slept in was far from comfortable. He closed his eyes and began a series of exercises, working away the stiffness. Even then he felt something, a darkness in the back of his mind, but he dismissed it as the result of physical and mental weariness.
Eventually the boy finished his warmup and opened his eyes. The futon was empty.
Ucchan left already?
He glanced at the clock on the wall, finding the explanation there. It was time to open her restaurant for the evening. Ranma smiled, glad she felt well enough to do that.
If I hurry, I can wash up, change, and help her finish the end of the rush. It's about time I started helping her.
He rushed into the bathroom, tossing his clothing in the hamper. That was the good thing about living at Tofu's. Unlike the Tendo residence, he didn't need to worry about walking in on one of the girls while they were in the bath or one of them walking in on him.
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Akane had left without asking about dinner, but Genma would devour any leftovers. Kasumi was glad he enjoyed her cooking, but she wished he appreciated the effort that went into preparing it. She wished somebody did.
"Besides you, mother," she whispered.
Her father and his friend dug into their dinner and she watched them quietly.
It's good that Mr. Saotome is with Daddy at this time, his calm nature helps counterbalance Daddy's emotional outbursts.
Kasumi thought for a moment.
No, it was good for Father, but now it would probably be best for both of them if Mr. Saotome returned to his wife's house. He seems in no hurry to do that. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was afraid of his wife. But that's silly, why would he be afraid of her? They already resolved the problem of Ranma's curse and the stupid promise. It doesn't make any sense.
She had something else to wonder about. When Akane left, someone had gone with her. I wonder when Ryouga got here, I never heard him knock at the door. Her sister had been holding the boy's hand; and it felt like that was more than just an attempt to ensure the boy didn't get lost.
Father would be upset, but he's always upset about something. Akane deserves to be happy and I don't think Ranma knows how to make her happy. I don't think I do, either. I'm not sure I even know how to make myself happy anymore.
She shied away from that last thought, unwilling to admit how often her smile was a well-intentioned lie.
Ryouga might be a good choice for her. He's so shy around girls, but she can get him to open up and he's so patient with her. Though I'm not sure she has the patience to deal with his curse. The poor boy gets lost so easily.
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"Don't touch me!"
Hinako slumped against the wall and swung her arm wide, warding away the nurses.
"I need to talk to Dr. Tofu. He's the only one who might understand."
They approached anyway, looks of concern on their faces.
"I said stay away! Don't touch me. It's not safe." The tone was enough to convince them to retreat.
"Hurry, please, hurry," the teacher whispered urgently.
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"Ranchan, please wake up. Ranchan, I'm sorry."
His eyes blinked open. He felt the damp floor of the bath against his back and was grateful it was still warm. Ukyou was on her hands and knees above him, concern visible in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't even see who walked in on me. I didn't mean to hurt you."
He felt a warmth cover his face and spread down his torso. He'd intended to climb into the bath while his fiancée had obviously just climbed out. Water drops struck the side of his chest and face and for a moment he thought they were her tears. He put a hand to his chest and touched the moisture before he realized it was bathwater dripping off the girl.
Kami-sama, please, Ranma prayed silently but fervently, Please don't let me react. Please don't let Ucchan see me react to her.
He focused on her face, but it was a struggle.
I call her my cute fiancée. She is the best looking of the bunch, but I ain't gonna let my body choose who I end up with. If I was that kinda guy, me and Shampoo woulda done something that time she jumped in the tub with me.
"Umm," Ranma said intelligently and redoubled his prayers that his fiancée wouldn't notice his body reacting to hers. His thumb unconsciously retraced a faint scar line on his chest; the farewell gift Kuno had given him that afternoon.
You've seen it all before, he thought, You don't need to look. You know what a girl looks like. You've seen it all, thanks to that stupid curse.
But he hadn't seen Ukyou this way before and he realized he did want to see what she looked like. He tried to keep his eyes focused on her face. His gaze flickered to the wet hair framing her face and he felt the damp ends of it brush his cheek. His eyes flickered back and he noticed her lips, full and red, and slightly parted.
"Umm," Ranma repeated. His gaze tracked across his fiancée's face again and locked on her eyes.
"Uhh," Ukyou replied. Her heart hammered in her chest and her mouth felt dry, so very dry. Her cheeks were on fire and she hesitated to lick her parched lips. She realized what the situation must look like and she focused her eyes on her fiancé's.
He...He's...
He was looking straight into her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt even warmer. She gave a nervous chuckle. She didn't know what to do next. The situation reminded her of the time he'd fallen while they were skating. They were in almost the same position then and she'd leaned forward and impulsively kissed him. She longed to kiss him again, but the last time they were fully clothed. He wouldn't expect this kiss either, which made it extremely tempting, but in their current state of undress, she wasn't sure it would stop at just a kiss. She wasn't sure she wanted it to stop there, yet she hesitated.
The silence dragged on. People had walked in on Ranma in the bath before. No one had ever done that to her. But both had the foreboding that someone would walk in on them now and assume the worst.
So who's it going to be this time, Akane or my Mom? At least Mom would probably think I was being manly. For a moment he saw or maybe imagined a mischievous smile shape Ukyou's mouth, but it was gone, if it ever existed.
No one came through the bathroom door, in spite of both of their expectations. Instead, a six-foot section of wall detonated inward. Ranma pulled Ukyou down and rolled towards the far corner of the room, using his body to shield her from flying debris. For a few moments, shattered bits of the wall clattered against the tile floor, then there was silence.
It can't be Shampoo, not anymore. Ryouga would already be bellowing some sort of threat or challenge.
He didn't know who the attacker was this time and he didn't really care. Ukyou was in his arms and she was warm, warmer than he expected. He felt her heart hammering, or was it his, and it surprised him how difficult it was to release her and rise to his feet in a combat stance, but he remembered the silent vow he'd made.
I ain't gonna let anyone hurt Ucchan.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
People correctly accused Ranma of having trouble making decisions. Akane was nearly as bad, but she'd made one this time. She looked down at her hand, which was interlaced with Ryouga's, and blushed.
I'm glad he's here. I don't ever want to let him go.
She knew Dr. Tofu's was nearby, but it was hard to recognize landmarks in the darkness. Clouds obscured the stars and the thin sliver of moon and even those clouds seemed to have a strange darkness about them. The girl shivered, and not just from cold. There was something strange and frightening about this night and she clutched the boy's hand even tighter.
She looked up at him. By the feeble glow of the streetlights, she saw him smiling at her, but she also saw nervousness in his eyes. They'd been stupid back at Ryugenzawa and they'd wasted too much time worrying. Worrying wouldn't solve anything. She needed to know if they were going to become parents and Dr. Tofu was the one person she trusted to answer the question.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Few Martial artists regularly fought as pairs. Mikado and Azusa. Natsume and Kurumi. Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran. This wasn't about dojos or ice skating.
The shattered hole in the bathroom framed a pair of Amazons. They'd grown a little taller, and better filled their new outfits of high collared pale blue tunics over deep blue pants. Crimson sashes provided contrast and matched the color of the intricately embroidered dragons spiraling up the left arms and right legs of their clothing. Behind them lay the darkness of the night.
Neither Ranma nor Ukyou paid attention to the new costumes or the cold air seeping into the room. The Chinese girls' faces showed grim determination and their posture confirmed they were prepared for combat.
"There you is, Ranma." Lin-Lin pointed her staff at him.
"What you doing with Spatula Girl?" Her sister gestured with her tiger fork, then blushed.
Ranma felt the reply die in his throat. The truth would sound like a lie, explanations like self-serving excuses. He sighed in anger and frustration, eyeing the Chinese girls warily. For a moment no one spoke or moved, then Ukyou begin chanting rapidly, ending with "Blade of my soul appear." Reddish light glowed behind Ranma and the Chinese girls shielded their eyes. Ukyou now gripped the magical replica of her battle spatula. She'd expected her Mamono Hunter dress to spiral out of nowhere and form around her. It didn't. She guessed it was too damaged to summon anymore, but that wasn't the problem. She'd already summoned it earlier and placed it in the clothes hamper. It still lay there, now magically cleaned and mended. Not that any of this helped her at the moment.
Ignoring that disappointment, Ukyou stepped past her fiancé, battle spatula held in a ready position. "Just leave Ranchan alone! Can't you see what he's been through? I don't care what this is about, just leave him alone!"
The Amazons looked at each other then at the taller girl. Anger burned in her eyes and she didn't flinch under their gaze.
"I. Said. Get. Out." The words were clipped, hard.
"Out of way, Spatula Girl," Ran-Ran replied. "This no be your fight."
Ukyou uttered a short and not very friendly laugh. "Duty. Friendship. Love. If you understand any of that, you'd understand why." She spun her battle spatula to the left, blocking Lin-Lin from lunging past her towards Ranma. "So what is it this time? Why can't you people ever leave him alone?"
Ranma tried to focus his eyes at the level of Ukyou's shoulder blades or higher. He saw tension in the muscles of her upper back, shoulders, and arms. With his chi sensitivity, he felt her battle aura. The Chinese girls were farther away but he sensed their anger, too.
"Is Ranma's fault big sister Shampoo die," Lin-Lin spat.
Ukyou hesitated and Ranma felt the wall he built against the darkness in his spirit crumbling. "No," escaped from two mouths at the same time, his a sorrowed whisper, hers was bolder and full of anger.
"Sister Lin-Lin no be lying, Spatula girl. Ranma was Shampoo's Airen. Airen supposed to protect Big Sister Shampoo."
"Ran-Ran be right. Big Sister Shampoo get crippled. Amazon what is crippled must die. So is Ranma's fault Shampoo die. Is right Ranma die with his Airen. Is Ranma's fault."
The boy stared bleakly at the floor as another weight was added to his soul. He could summon a Perfect Shishi Hokoudan again; the last Mamono had taught him how. He felt the energy calling seductively, promising the simple solution to everything, but he resisted the urge.
I still owe Ucchan for last time.
His thoughts were pulled back to reality by a scream of rage.
"You dare...you dare accuse him of that. I've heard how he faced his greatest fear to save her from the Ghost Cat and he did it more than once. He tries to help everybody everytime they need it even if they're his enemy. Even if they're ungrateful and treat him like dirt. Now...now he's failed once, only once and because he failed you want to..." Ukyou paused for breath. "No," she growled, "I won't let you. I won't let you hurt him. I won't let anyone hurt Ranchan."
"Ucch..." he began, but it was too late. She surged forward; spinning her two-handed battle spatula like it was a plastic toy, instead of a heavy metal implement.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Ryouga, did you hear that?"
"Huh?" He was too busy enjoying holding hands with Akane to hear anything.
"I'm sure I heard something." She concentrated for a moment. "It sounds like fighting and it sounds like it's coming from Dr. Tofu's." There was an edge in Akane's voice. It wasn't fear for herself, it was fear for Tofu, the man she'd loved and still cared about.
Ryouga needed no urging, he broke into a run and the youngest Tendo struggled to keep up with him. There was something in the shadows and she didn't want to lose hold of him and be left behind.
That something sensed her fear and savored it.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Waiting was the hardest part.
Just like when I was a child.
Hinako focused on her breathing, tried to will her pulse to slow. She'd spent months in the hospital as a child. A frightened, confused child barely old enough to realize nobody expected her to ever leave alive. She was so weak and sick then, and only thanks to Happosai's training had she ever left the place.
Now something's wrong again, but this time I can make them tell me what it is.
But the truth could be just as unpleasant as empty words and vague reassurances and age didn't make the unwanted uncertainties of waiting any more bearable.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ukyou fought her best fight when she first arrived in Nerima. So did Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran. All three fought better when they were angry and all three were very, very angry. The Japanese girl spun her battle spatula so rapidly it appeared to blur and Ranma swore he could hear it humming. Her weapon clashed repeatedly against those of both Amazons, the noise ringing off the bathroom walls.
The room was too small for all four martial artists to maneuver properly. The Amazons soon resorted to thrusting with their weapons, extending their reach. Between that and Ukyou's spinning weapon, Ranma couldn't get close enough to touch either opponent. There wasn't much room to fire off a chi blast either without risking trashing the place further or worse still, hitting his fiancée.
He had another problem.
"Let me past, Ucchan."
"Ranchan, you dummy! They're trying to kill you!" And she shifted into his way again.
"No." His voice was barely audible. "I'm not weak. I'm not gonna be weak again." Memories returned, memories of the time Happosai stole his strength by cauterizing a pressure point. "I'm not helpless." The whisper sounded like the voice of a little child. "Nothing can hurt me," he lied.
In a surprising flash of clarity, he realized this was how Akane must feel. Every time he tried to protect her, he denied her abilities. By his actions, he proclaimed her weak, helpless, and useless. No wonder she was so angry.
He was angry, too, but Ukyou didn't know that by helping him she was hurting him. She would never try to do that and that knowledge gave him strength. But something dark wanted him to feel powerless, wanted him to experience the threads of pain woven through his life. The boy almost tore free, but that something continued wrapping him in the web of his fears.
He was helpless against the commandments of the Amazon law. Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran would kill him if they managed to win. If they lost, they'd vow to kill Ukyou, too. The only escape from their stupid laws seemed to be killing them and he didn't want to go that far.
Memories returned of a small boy wrapped in fish sausages and hurled repeatedly into a pit full of starving cats. He winced as he relived his flesh being lacerated by their claws and teeth. He tried to block out the way his screams had mingled with the howls of the cats until they merged into the same sound. But blood and tears and pleading hadn't stopped his pain. Unconsciousness only muted it for a while. He had been weak and helpless and as the darkness sought to enfold him, he felt that way again.
Shinrou reveled in the ecstasy of the boy's pain. As fear eroded the boy's will, it became easier to slow his reactions, and making him feel more useless and helplessness only fed his fears. The Mamono could sense Ranma's emotions, but not the experiences which created them. During the Cat Fist training and Genma's blundering attempts at a cure, the boy had been helpless against his fear, and when that fear reached the point he could no longer bear it, he still found a way to escape, by becoming what he feared.
The Mamono had tugged a little too hard on those memories. The boy dropped to all fours and began meowing. A pale blur brushed past Ukyou, knocking the girl from her feet, and leapt in snarling fury at Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran. She'd heard what happened when Ranma was exposed to cats, but hearing was nothing like seeing the boy she loved become a feral beast. Almost as disturbing, she couldn't see any cats that might have set him off. She didn't know the creatures were always there, buried in his memories, until someone or something dug them back up.
"Ranchan?" she whispered as she sat up.
He was a bundle of clawing, snarling fury. Even Cologne had backed down when the boy was in the Cat Fist state, so the younger Amazons fell back towards the hole in the wall. By the time they reached it, slashes had appeared in their clothing, mainly their sleeves and trouser legs. Thin red lines of blood marked that not only cloth was damaged. Still the girls fought defiantly, retreating grudgingly.
But even the fiercest battle has a lull. When it came, Ran-Ran threw an egg shaped object that burst in a cloud of smoke. As they disappeared into the night her sister called. "We be back, Ranma." It was both threat and promise.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"I've changed a bit, haven't I, Doctor."
Tofu smiled back. In Hinako's case that was literally true. Both of her extended stays in the hospital had resulted in noticeable physiological changes. Tofu observed the woman, noticing her slightly widened eyes, rapid breathing, and tense posture. He knew her medical history. If anyone had a reason to fear hospitals, she did.
"And you're worried about this change, aren't you, Miss Ninomiya."
"Please, call me Hinako," the woman blushed. "Even my students aren't that formal."
His words were kind, and reassuring, even hopeful, but they lacked the false promises of overconfidence.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"What are you burning, master Kuno?"
"That is none of your concern, Sasuke. Your job is to serve, not to question orders."
"Yes, master Kuno."
Master and servant stared at the bonfire Tatewaki had made of his albums of the pig-tailed girl. It made a pleasant contrast to the dark, overcast night. For a time the only noise was the crackling of the fire, but the moment of peace was soon interrupted as Kuno began declaiming.
"Ah, the sorrows that dog my life. The grief of finding my fondest desires crushed and destroyed by that foul and treacherous sorcerer, Ranma Saotome. Truly, again I have suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, yet still mine enemy tasks me and my dreams have become but ashes."
Kuno gestured dramatically at the fading fire with a katana. Not a wooden bokken, an actual sword. The pause was broken by the boy noisily clearing his throat. A startled Sasuke nearly jumped and pretended he was paying attention.
"Yes, brave Sasuke. Much have I suffered because of that foul sorcerer and the vile magics he uses to ensnare people's hearts. And now, he has stooped to using these minions of his, these foul and pestilent beings known as Mamonos, since he no longer dares to fight me face to face. Yet in my time of greatest loss, I have in truth gained two things. The treachery of his lying illusion has at last been torn away revealing unto me the true face and the natural form of this misbegotten fiend."
The little ninja tried not to yawn.
"A second truth has also been exposed to my adoring gaze. I have discovered a truer, deeper passion. One who is most bold, so in truth I must woo my love most boldly as well. Yes, I must see to this, for the ides of love will not bid me wait upon the execution of my actions."
Sasuke blinked twice. The boy was making less and less sense as time passed.
"So who is it, Master Kuno?"
"Tis the beauteous flower, this one who has come to me from the ancient and mysterious lands that surround Kyoto, the capital of our fair land in the age of our revered ancestors of yore. Tis fitting that one whose beauty is as legendary as my martial prowess should hail from a place steeped in such mystery and tradition. A place that calls to us with echoes of the glorious past we have abandoned, to our eternal shame."
The only call Sasuke felt was his stomach protesting that he hadn't eaten dinner yet. The fire was nearly gone, barely illuminating Kuno's face, and the ninja felt the night seeping into his bones.
"So what is this person's name, Master Kuno?"
"The fairest of the fair 'tis known as Ukyou Kuonji, thou witless cretin."
"I see." Sasuke didn't realize he had forgotten to add the words 'Master Kuno.' Tatewaki was too enraptured with ranting about the beauties of his new love to notice the ninja wasn't hanging on his every word.
Sasuke was thinking. Ukyou was a boy's name. If his memories of possession by the last Mamono weren't so hazy, Sasuke might have realized Ukyou was the Mamono Hunter he'd been sent to spy on at the school. Instead, he remembered someone dressed in a boy's school uniform, but with some noticeably feminine mannerisms. The ninja jumped to a logical and thoroughly incorrect decision.
It explained may things. Kuno's unending pursuit of Akane Tendo, a girl who clearly had no desire for him. It was obviously just a mask to cover Tatewaki's true tastes when it came to romance. Sasuke thought of the times he heard of his master embracing Ranma or proclaiming his love for the boy. Of course, as soon as he realized someone had seen or heard him, Kuno pretended he had mistaken the other boy for the pig-tailed girl and attacked.
It explained Kuno's rants against the sorceries of Ranma as well. His fragile ego must have used it as a shield against the fact he'd fallen in love with another boy. But now Tatewaki had taken the next step in proclaiming his love for the Kuonji boy.
The ninja's train of thought derailed as he realized Tatewaki had fallen silent and was staring at him.
"What is thy bidding, O my master," Sasuke asked.
"I require the purchase of these items this very night."
Sasuke's stomach grumbled as it realized dinner was still a long ways off. The ninja took the list and turned it so the final embers illuminated it. An incredible number of flowers topped it.
"Excellent, master Kuno. Obviously these are for your father and sister."
"Dolt! Brainless oaf! These are for mine own true love Ukyou Kuonji and none else. I care little for that twisted sister of mine and not one wit for the one who calls himself my father. His crimes, his cruelties, his indignations against me are as numberless as the stars in the sky or the sands of the sea and were it not for the fact it would require me deny my heritage as samurai, I would wish myself to have been adopted."
"It wasn't always so, master Kuno."
"No, Sasuke, it was not." There was sadness in the boy's voice, but it was still tinged with anger. "But when father became the creature he is now, you did nothing to halt him, you did nothing to protect my sister or myself."
"Didn't you tell me earlier that my job is to serve, not to question orders." There was an edge in Sasuke's voice that he hadn't expressed before.
"I did." The reply was unusually quiet and brief. Tatewaki took the list and added some more flowers to it. "These shall be for my sister, not for the one who calls himself my father. Duty requires me tell her unpleasant truths about both Ranma Saotome and the pigtailed girl. Perhaps they will help her better bear those bitter truths."
Kuno motioned for the ninja to leave. It would not do for a samurai to be seen crying, particularly in front of the servants.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
She felt warm, almost feverish.
Doctor Tofu was a rather handsome man, though he didn't seem to realize it, and suddenly Hinako was aware how flimsy the hospital robe she wore was. Tofu's behavior had been completely professional and somehow that was vaguely disappointing as Hinako's subconscious clamored that she was a woman, not a child.
The teacher shook her head.
Were those my feelings?
She'd already observed a pair of nurses blushing and giggling as they passed by. Tofu worked out of his own clinic, but lately a lot of his patients had required hospitalization. The nurses blushed even worse when they realized Hinako noticed them checking out the visiting doctor. They were wasting their time; a man as handsome as Doctor Tofu was almost certainly already long married.
He was also a kind man, and that counted more. Hinako's strange transformations reinforced her belief that behavior was more important than appearance. Soun Tendo had been so very kind to her, when he thought she was a child, but he couldn't seem to see she was a woman or get over the wife he lost over a decade before. This doctor was a nice man and she could easily see herself falling for him if he wasn't a doctor, if she wasn't in love with someone else.
If I can be sure of my own feelings anymore.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The smoke cleared, but she was afraid to move.
"Ra...Ranchan?"
"Mrew?" and he padded closer.
"Are...are you alright, Ranchan?"
"Mrow."
"I...I'm sorry, I wish I could understand you. Please come back. Please, I need you."
Before she knew it the boy who thought he was a cat sprang into her lap and started purring. She laughed nervously as he snuggled against her.
"Umm, good Ranchan. Good, um, kitty, Ranchan. You're a good boy, you scared away those nasty girls." She resisted an urge to scratch him behind the ears.
"Mrow," he replied proudly and continued purring.
"Um, Ranchan, could you please come back." Her eyes grew large as he licked her face. "Umm, ahh, how do I bring you back?"
He tilted his head to one side and stared into her eyes as if sensing her sorrow. "Mrew?" he uttered softly and licked her face again.
"Tha...thanks, Ranchan, but how do I bring you back?" She paused and stared into the eyes of her fiancé. He began purring again. "I...I think I understand. Something that only people do, that cats can't." She leaned forward and gently kissed him. At first, he didn't return her kiss, then she felt him pressing forward, wanting, needing to be drawn back to the world of humanity. She wrapped her arms around the boy and after a hesitant moment felt his encircle her. She wanted the moment to last forever, but eventually she needed to breathe.
He spoke first. "Tha...thanks, Ucchan. That's a lot quicker than taking a nap and waking up me again and a lot more fun than getting dunked or Akane hammering me outta that...the cat...you know, that cat thing that happens to me."
"Sure thing, Ranchan. Um, anytime. It was nice." She was sure she sounded like a complete idiot.
"It was? I...I'm glad, Ucchan." He wished he could think of something clever to say.
"Well, um, it was better when you were...were you again. Um, could we do...do it again, I mean, if you'd like to, Ranchan."
He didn't know what to say, but he knew what felt right. He paused only a moment before leaning forward and kissing the girl. He always was better at acting than thinking or talking.