Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
Purple-haired Destiny
By Ryan Anderson
Part 3: Of Misguided Quests and Misguided Souls
Standard Takahashi Disclaimer: I don't own any of these
characters, I'm just a poor otaku/college student! Please
don't sue me! I don't have any money!
What has gone before:
A heck-of-a-lot! Too much for me to synopsize here, If
you want the previous two chapters, email me at
andersor .edu, check the RAAC archives, or my
fanfic webpage at
.edu/~
The world was a haze of pain as Ranma staggered down the
street in the early-morning light. Slumping up against a
wall for what seemed to be the millionth time, he
spared a moments look at the sun, seeing that far more
time had passed than he had thought, and at this rate
he'd never make it.
With a tired gasp Ranma once more forced his feet to
move, plodding down the street toward the canal. People
were starting to make their presence felt, kids walking
to school, women washing the walks, the sounds of life
starting to fill the air. Ranma heard none of it,
however, as he spent all his will power keeping one foot
placed in front of the other, and everyone else seemed
to pay just as little attention to him. No one seemed
willing to meet his gaze, no one noticed the blood
dripping in a long trail behind him...
All ignored him, save one. From a mailbox on the street
opposite the staggering martial artist, a pair of eyes
peered out at Ranma, watching his slow progress.
"Ranma..." the mailbox whispered. "You stole my Ukyo-
sama from me, and once you lead me to her, you're mine."
Ranma didn't notice, though, as he was too busy
concentrating on staying upright. As the world began to
lose its focus, the small part of Ranma's mind that
wasn't focused on walking began to wander...
He could feel it, he wasn't going to make it in time. He
rounded the last corner, staggering toward the canal,
before him he could see the slowly expanding pool of red.
The thick, viscous fluid seemed almost black as it
reflected the sky in startling clarity, yet the
reflection seemed twisted... hideous in the red-black
mirror. Ranma's tired gaze slowly traced the winding pool
back to its source, the slumped body in the middle... her
purple hair coated and stained red as she lay face down
in the puddle.
Dimly Ranma walked over, slumping down beside her, and
cradled her head in his lap. Tears, his enemy for so
long, ran unchecked down his cheeks as he stared into
those horrible, lifeless eyes. Eyes which were once so
full of life, so full of love...
Slowly Ranma felt his own consciousness going, his blood
mingling with Shampoo's. What had he done? How could he
have ever thought to go through with the seppuku? If he
had just been decisive, he could have made it here with
time to spare, and now Shampoo was dead, and it was all
his fault... all his fault...
His last thoughts as his consciousness faded was that
now he would never know what he felt for her, and once
more the choice had been taken from him. Maybe, if the
Kami were merciful, he would meet her again in the next
life...
A scream cut through his nightmare visions, and slowly
Ranma blinked, looking around, barely able to recognize
his surroundings through the haze of pain and the
darkness which threatened to overwhelm him. There, just
up ahead, was the canal! He had made it! Was he too
late? If he could just get closer...
Ranma staggered a few more steps, reaching the fence
next to the canal, vaguely able to make out two shapes on
the bank. The voices continued, and he forced himself to
pay attention.
"What! No! Shampoo, not you too!" There was a short
pause, "Please... please don't leave me all alone!"
Ranma felt relief flooding him. Ukyo... dear sweet
wonderful Ucchan! She wouldn't let Shampoo kill herself!
Ranma was still going to be in time!
"Shampoo! Wait... Don't..." Ranma managed to yell,
summoning the last of his strength. As the world began
to fall away around him, he held onto his vision as
long as he could, feeling the darkness trying to over
take it. However, it was a sight he didn't want to
lose... ever. One of the most beautiful sight he thought
he had ever seen, Ukyo and Shampoo's eyes filled with
such swift and breathtaking joy at seeing him alive as
they turned and ran towards him...
Ranma slowly felt consciousness return to him, and along
with it the pain and aches that always accompanied
awaking in the hospital. He was certain he was, indeed,
in a hospital, he could hear the steady beeping of
machines somewhere in the background, and the smell of
the overly-sterile environment was unmistakable.
Ascertaining where he was and that his physical
condition wasn't nearly as bad as many of the times he
had ended up here, his next order of business was to
figure out how he had gotten here. He was pretty certain
due to the level of activity outside of his room that if
he so much as blinked someone would come in and explain
all of what had happened to him, but just at the moment he
didn't feel like hearing anyone else's explanation.
Silently he let his mind drift back over the events of the
past days, trying to figure out which one had ended him up
here.
It didn't take much to remember. The burning pain of the
sword blow, the long, torturous walk to save Shampoo...
all of it came rushing back with frightening clarity.
Stifling a groan, Ranma began piecing together what must
have happened after he collapsed, figuring Shampoo and
Ukyo must have hauled him here post-haste.
Ranma smiled inwardly, still feigning unconsciousness.
For all Ukyo's screw ups, she certainly came through
when she was most needed. If Ucchan hadn't been with
Shampoo, not only would Shampoo most likely be dead, but
he would be as well... There would have been no way he
could have made it to the hospital on his own.
Ucchan... Ucchan... What to do about her? On one hand
she had betrayed him... betrayed him in the worst
possible way, and was to blame for setting this whole
chain of events in motion... but on the other hand, she
had saved his life, Shampoo's life, and she did seem
genuinely sorry for her mistakes. Mistakes... as if
that's all that she had made. No, Ukyo had been his best
friend, and had used that closeness to betray him, drive
Akane away...
Argh, Ranma grumbled to himself. This was getting him
nowhere. His world was just a different place now, in
the last few weeks everything that had been a constant
in his life had been turned on its ear... even his
father was nowhere to be found. Well, it was too late
now, he had gone beyond the point of no return and
betrayed his family honor, he could never go back to
either his family or the Tendos now.
With that knowledge came a certain amount of peace. The
peace of acceptance. Throughout his long life on the
road, there was one trait Ranma had learned better than
any other - how to move on. Throughout his early years,
he and his father had stopped at one place after another,
settling down just long enough for Ranma to start to make
friends with the local children, then whoosh! Off they
went again. Ranma had hated it every time, but by the
fifth time he and his father had uprooted, the pain of
leaving had lessened significantly. It seemed just a fact
of life back then, that friendships were temporary, and
that no matter how much he wanted to stay, the end always
came.
The pain had returned now, though. He had really thought
that at last he had found a place that he would never
have to leave... but he should have known better.
However, as much as it hurt, Ranma knew the feeling
would pass, it always had on the road. All that mattered
now was consolidating what he had. Back on the training
trip, he had had three things, himself, his martial
arts, and his father. Now, he was at least a bit ahead
of that... If he chose, he could not only have himself,
his martial arts, but his best friend Ucchan as well...
and Shampoo.
Suddenly anger welled up within him, threatening to
break his calm, unconscious demeanor. Shampoo... How
could she have done that to him? Shampoo, who'd he
finally started trusting and considering a friend, had
betrayed him, forcing him just like everyone else always
had, not letting him make the choice for himself. She
had known damn well that he wouldn't let her die if
there was anything in his power that he could do to stop
it! And she had ruthlessly used the knowledge she had
gained of his honor to force him to live.
Force him to live... as if that was a bad thing. As much
as he hated being forced to do anything, he had to admit
there was a pretty good chance that without Shampoo's
forcing of the issue, he might have actually gone through
with it. That thought sent a shudder through him, as he
remembered just how close to death he had come. He could
still feel the cold steal of the tanto pressed to his
flesh...
In a way, Ranma supposed, he really had died. With his
decision to live, he had given up all that his past life
had been, essentially killing all that had mattered to
him.
No, that wasn't quite true. It was more like he had just,
once more, picked up and moved on... only this time
instead of leaving a place, he had left the life he had
known.
Ranma sighed, finally blinking open his eyes. A nurse was
standing over him and wrapping his shoulder in a fresh
bandage. Ranma still felt rather weak, but already his
renowned healing abilities were hard at work, replacing
the blood he had lost. The nurse, seeing he was awake,
stepped back and gave him a smile.
"Well, glad to see you awake! With as much blood as you
lost, I'm surprised you weren't out cold for days! Why in
the world were you practicing with such a sharp blade?
Then wandering all over town before your two friends
brought you in... Honestly! I can never figure out you
martial artists..."
Ranma smiled weakly at the nurse, glad that even if it
was a poor excuse Shampoo and Ukyo had concocted, it
would keep the authorities from poking around. So, he had
hurt himself in a training accident, huh? Well, the
excuse made him look incompetent, but then at this point
he didn't have a lot of pride left to hurt.
The nurse was still babbling on about martial artists she
had to treat, but finally Ranma stopped her. "Uh, yeah,
well... Maybe things will improve soon. Anyway, could you
please tell me if my two 'friends' are still here?"
"Why, yes. As a matter of fact they are. I tried to
convince them that it could be a whole day before you
regained consciousness, but they insisted on waiting.
Shall I show them in?"
Well, thought Ranma, might as well discover what other
twists fate had in store for him today. He might as well
face them now. "Uh, yeah, sure."
It took a few minutes after the nurse left for the door
to open again, a space of time that seemed to stretch on
forever as Ranma stared out the window, trying to predict
what would happen next. Or, more to the point, which girl
would glomp him first. He was betting on Shampoo.
Without warning, the door was practically blown off its
hinges as a blur of movement came flying through,
attaching itself to Ranma. Ranma had been incorrect,
however, as the blur soon resolved itself into the
recognizable form of Ukyo, who clutched Ranma with a
desperate strength, sobbing into his chest.
Awkwardly, Ranma tried to console the near-hysterical
girl, and slowly her sobs began lessening, until finally
Ukyo raised her tear-soaked eyes to look into his. For
once, Ranma really looked into Ukyo's eyes, and what he
saw there startled him. Ranma had always known Ukyo loved
him, but he wasn't prepared to face the depth of emotion
he could feel emanating from those deep, dark brown eyes.
Ranma might have known Ukyo loved him, but deep down he
had never really believed it was anything other than
the feelings of their friendship misinterpreted, or a
childhood crush. Now, however, he couldn't deny the
truth of Ukyo's feelings... And, for the first time,
he really noticed (or more felt, as she was pressed
against him) just _how_ feminine she was. True, she
didn't have Shampoo's exotic beauty, but hers was more
wholesome, less sultry.
Ranma swallowed hard. How could he not have noticed Ukyo
before now?
"Ranchan... I'm so glad you're okay! Oh Ranchan, please
forgive me, this is all my fault... If I hadn't tricked
Akane like that, none of this would have happened!"
That snapped Ranma out of his reverie. How could he just
forgive Ukyo after what she had done to him and Akane? If
it hadn't been for her, he'd still be living at the
Tendos, and everything would be exactly the same as it
had been...
But then, things _weren't_ as they had been anymore, and
he wasn't stuck in a violent abusive relationship... and
what's more, if it hadn't been for Ukyo, both he and
Shampoo probably would have died. Besides, Ucchan, for
whatever else she was or might be to him, had always been
his friend... and now that he'd finally found her again,
he wasn't about to leave her behind. Ukyo had just
done too much for him, and she _did_ seem very sincere
about being sorry for what she had done...
"Its all right Ucchan... You were only doing what you
thought was right." He said. He wasn't really sure if he
meant it or not though. He _was_ still upset that Ukyo
would try to do something like what she had done. It
wasn't so much the aftermath that upset him now though, as
the fact that Ukyo had done it in the first place.
"Ranma!..." Ranma looked up sharply stopping the bubbly
amazon with one cold look. Ucchan had just tried to force
him to choose her, and in the end Ukyo's plan had hinged
on his final decision (which, obviously, had been
contrary to what she had hoped) but Shampoo... Shampoo
had done everything in her power to make sure that he had
no choice what so ever.
"Ranma..." This time Shampoo's voice was noticeably
choked with emotion as she read his cold gaze, and Ranma
felt his heart crack a little. She had forced him into
a position that cost him his family, his honor... But she
had given him life.
And life was what he had really wanted. If it hadn't been
for Shampoo, he might not have had the courage to scar
his honor so, and live. And in the end, _that_ had been
what had changed his mind more than anything else, he had
wanted to live, to see what the future held... And now
that he was thinking about it, one of those future options
he had wanted to explore was with Shampoo.
Vaguely, as he saw her there before him, a pleading, hurt
look in her eyes, memories of his long walk to save her
came back to his mind. The feelings of loss and
hopelessness when he thought for sure she was dead because
of him... But now, seeing her there before him, _alive_...
perhaps he still had a chance to explore those future
opportunities.
Still, he wasn't about to let her off the hook just yet.
"Shampoo... I know why you did what you did, but that
doesn't excuse it. You manipulated me and forced me into
a situation that forced me to scar my honor and hurt my
mother... how can I forgive that?"
Shampoo seemed to shrink back into herself, on the verge
of tears, and Ranma just about gave an audible sigh of
frustration. Shampoo didn't usually take what he said so
harshly (how could she and still feel anything for him?)
but he supposed that after this emotional roller coaster
of a day, she was probably more vulnerable than she'd
been since he pulled her off that cliff and dragged her
home. Still, he hoped she wouldn't make a habit out of
it, that trait was too much like Akane, and he'd come to
appreciate her for the bubbly and fun individual for whom
she was.
"Yet, you did save my life... and I'm... grateful." He
said with a hint of a smile. "So what do I do with you,
Shampoo? You saved my life, yet you hurt me too... I
suppose I have no choice but just to call us even."
Ranma's eyes finally lost their steely cast as he let a
bit of his feelings show through. Maybe it was just the
pain killers they'd given him for the pain of his
wounds, but the smile Shampoo gave him made him feel
more than a little light headed, and it seemed to banish
all the dark thoughts that had brought him to this
point. For a moment, as he gazed into her eyes and felt
the dazzling power of her smile, he felt well and truly
happy, though for the life of him he couldn't figure out
what it was exactly that he had to be happy about.
In a flash she was at his side, hugging him just as hard
as Ukyo had, and for the first time he could remember, he
was actually in a position where he could enjoy the
warmth of the glomps (both Shampoo's and Ukyo's earlier)
without having to fear for a concussion. Shampoo felt
very similar to the way Ukyo felt when pressed against
him, but he did notice some slight differences. Shampoo
was all sinew and muscle, not that Ukyo wasn't strong,
but with Shampoo it seemed like he could feel every
muscle pressing against him, tightly controlled and
mastered. With Ukyo the flow of her form had been more
soft, less... fiery. Ranma found it odd that he had
never noticed the more than superficial differences
between the two before.
Thoughts of Ukyo suddenly caused Ranma to remember that
he and Shampoo were not alone here, and there was a very
real possibility that the other person in the room was
about to take Akane's place as the grand concussion
giver. However, as Ranma's gaze found Ukyo, he was
surprised to see that she didn't appear angry, or even
sad. She just had a far away thoughtful look on her
face.
Ranma turned back to Shampoo just as she raised her eyes
to meet his, joy and love written all over her face.
"You really mean it? You... you forgive Shampoo?" Ranma
gave her a slight nod, and Shampoo looked about ready to
burst with joy. In fact, she seemed ready to express her
feelings about that forgiveness in more intimate ways
and was lowering her head to kiss him when Ranma decided
that they really needed to take things one thing at a
time... all of them.
Gently disengaging Shampoo (a skill which he had lots of
practice at, though he rarely succeeded.) he decided to
take her down a peg. He wasn't ready to marry her yet,
and didn't want to lead her on any more. ""I'm still not
happy with you though. And... and I don't know what I'm
going to do. Where are we going to go now?" he said. If
there was one thing Ranma was certain about, it was that
he wanted to get as far away from Nerima as possible.
There were just too many painful memories here.
"Well Ranchan, Shampoo and I thought that if you
didn't... you know... we could all maybe... travel
together? Maybe start a restaurant somewhere or
something..."
This time he was ready. There was no way he was going to
let that slime ball Ranma take Ukyo-sama back after the
hell he'd put her through! Tsubasa had been disguised as
a mailbox across the street when Ukyo had kissed Ranma,
and Tsubasa's heart had shattered upon seeing it... But
still he had stayed, determined to see Ukyo-sama happy,
even if it wasn't with him. So, fighting back his tears,
he had watched the ensuing fight in Ucchan's, and only
he had seen the crying, hurt Ukyo run from the building.
Well, after that, he could never forgive Ranma. It was
bad enough he had conned three women into getting
engaged to him, but then to spurn the love of Ukyo... It
was just evil beyond human!
His disguise was perfect too. No one, not even Ukyo, would
be able to tell that it was *him* inside this pink
elephant costume. All he had to do now was wait, and
sooner or later his beautiful Ukyo-sama would come out of
the hospital, and when she did, he'd make her see how much
he loved her. He'd glomped her in the past, but this time
it would be an *extra special* glomp, one that would show
her beyond any doubt that he was the one for her, not that
two-timing Ranma.
Akane clutched P-chan tightly to her chest as she
approached the door, nervous anxiety slowing her progress
to a crawl. Yes, she knew that her pet pig was actually
Ryouga, but right now she was beyond caring... If telling
Nodoka the truth went as badly as telling her father, she
was going to need the comfort of having P-chan near her...
Thank the Kami that her father didn't know about Ryouga's
curse... He'd been a complete wreck after Ryouga's
announcement of their "engagement" and her pregnancy, but
his shock had quickly turned to frightening anger directed
at Ryouga when he'd found out how heinous the lie was. He
kept ranting on and on about how his daughter's honor had
been sullied. In many ways, she did agree with him, what
Ryouga had done was completely thoughtless and stupid, but
it wasn't true, and she had able to head off the rumor
before it spread, so... what harm had been done, really?
Ryouga had just been trying to protect her from being
forced to marry, and even if she didn't approve of his
methods, they were certainly better than Ranma's answer,
which was just to beat up anyone who even tried to get
close to her... In fact, she was rather surprised he
hadn't beaten Ryouga on the spot for what he had said.
However, Ranma's pummeling wasn't necessary, as her father
quickly took his place and verbally beat poor Ryouga into
the ground for "insulting the family honor" or something.
Ryouga had finally run off, practically in tears, and
father had told him never to come back, but Akane had soon
caught up with him again as he got lost in the backyard.
She was able to explain to him that she didn't view it as
bad as her father had, and that she still needed him to
stay, so they had worked out an arrangement where he would
stay P-chan most of the time until her father's anger
past.
Now, with all the unpleasantness done at her house, she
had one more household to confront before the damage was
corrected from Ryouga's little fib... and she was
definitely not looking forward to it. She'd managed to
hold off coming until this afternoon, but now she had no
choice, she was going to have to face Ranma again.
The house was dark as Akane finally gathered her courage
and stepped up to the door. "Hmm... maybe they're not
home, ne, P-chan?"
P-chan responded with a squeal of agreement and pointed
back the way that they had come, expressing his
displeasure at being here too. If Akane was worried about
coming here, Ryouga was down-right scared. While his curse
might save him from Nodoka's ire, Ranma would see right
through it, and he wasn't going to be happy to see Ryouga
again... even if he did give them a chance to explain (and
Ryouga doubted he would, the bastard), Nodoka was likely
to try to force the two into marriage once again... and
though Akane had promised that she would be adamant about
not marrying Ranma, Ryouga was still worried that her
resolve would fail her...
"Well, we should ring the bell anyway, just to check."
Akane said, reaching out and pressing the doorbell. As the
chimes struck, Akane waited impatiently, tapping her foot
on the stair. Finally, with sigh of frustration, she
turned and began to leave.
She had just reached the bottom step, however, when the
door swung open, revealing a very haggard-looking Nodoka.
Nodoka's face was pale and gaunt, with large bags under
her eyes as if she hadn't slept for days, and had been
crying much of that time. Akane simply stared at her in
shock, not knowing what to make of the always-immaculate
matriarch of the Saotome clan.
"A-Akane? Is that you dear? Won't you come in..." Nodoka
said, her voice cheery despite her appearance.
Akane slowly recovered from the shock of seeing the wasted
shadow of a woman who stood before her and gave a cautious
nod before edging past Nodoka and into the house.
The inside of the house was just as dark as it looked from
the exterior, with all the drapes pulled shut, and the
lights off. The place looked like some sort of crypt.
Unconsciously, Akane shivered, holding P-chan a little
tighter as Nodoka led her to a table in the middle of the
room, and bid her sit while she went to get tea.
As Nodoka returned from the kitchen, Akane sat as still as
possible, her hands clasped in front of her trying her
hardest not to fidget as her nervousness grew. Something
was very wrong here, and for the life of her she couldn't
figure out what could possibly have caused such a drastic
change in Nodoka.
"So, Akane-chan, To what do I owe the pleasure of this
visit?" Nodoka asked, taking a sip of her tea. Akane was
unable to meet her gaze as she stared at the floor,
feeling completely embarrassed about this.
"Uh, well, I was kind of hoping to tell both you and Ranma
at the same time, to get this over with... where is he?"
Nodoka's cup slammed down on the table with a surprising
amount of force. Akane's head whipped up, but Nodoka's
demeanor had not changed, she still seemed completely
serene and at ease.
"Ranma... is no longer with us. He dishonored this family
by failing to be manly enough to keep you as a fiancee, so
he has redeemed his honor with his life."
The way Nodoka said it was so conversational, so out of
place, that Akane was sure she had heard her wrong. "Wha..
What?"
"You remember that pact Ranma made to commit seppuku if he
did not become a 'man amongst men'? Well, if he couldn't
keep you as his fiancee and make you happy, then obviously
he wasn't much of a man..."
Ryouga felt numb all over as lay clutched to Akane's
chest. Ranma, dead? The thought seemed impossible... here,
after all this time of trying to kill his most hated
rival, it appeared he had succeeded, but he had certainly
never intended for it to be like this. He had always
pictured striking Ranma down in the heat of battle, an
honorable battle between two men, where only one would
walk away victorious, to be swept into the lovely Akane's
arms... Yet, here he was, in the lovely Akane's arms...
and all he felt was empty.
He hadn't struck down Ranma in any great battle, no, he
had defeated his foe not with his skill at martial arts,
but with a simple lie. It was inconceivable to Ryouga...
great martial artists were suppose to die gloriously in
battle, not alone and quietly in their own backyard, at
least not when they were in their prime!
Following Nodoka's announcement and Akane's subsequent
cries of denial, Nodoka had taken them out back and shown
them the fresh grave, the broken honor-sword of the
Saotome clan laying on top of it. "Here lies the last of
the line of Saotome, who died so that the clan may die
with honor." Read the inscription on the head stone,
roughly carved out of the simple granite slab.
Akane had told Nodoka about the lie after that, but the
elder Saotome hadn't even flinched. She had merely said
something about Akane still rejecting her son, and that
honor had been maintained. Akane tried to keep at least
marginally calm at first, but hearing this last
denouncement was more than she could bear, and ran from
the house in tears. Now she was laying on her bed, still
sobbing and clutching him rather tightly...
Truth be told, Ryouga felt like crying as well. For the
life of him, he couldn't figure out why... he should be
happy that Ranma was dead, right? Now he would have Akane
all to himself, and never have to worry about Ranma ever
again... but then, he hadn't been the instrument of
Ranma's demise, so how could he ever feel satisfied,
having never gotten revenge...
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Simultaneously,
Akane and P-chan looked up to see the door slide back,
revealing Nabiki.
"Ah sis, I've got a question..." Nabiki trailed off,
momentarily stunned by the sight of her sister's tear
stained face. "Akane? What happened?"
Blearily, Akane rubbed her eyes. "Nabiki..." she sobbed.
"Ranma's dead! I killed him!"
"NANI?!" Even the ice queen was shocked by this little
revelation. Taking a moment to compose herself, Nabiki
stepped back into the room. "Akane, what *are* you talking
about?"
"Mrs. Saotome! She had Ranma commit seppuku because I
rejected him! I saw the g-grave and everything!" Akane
sobbed out.
Nabiki, regaining a bit of her composure, quietly shut the
door and went to sit next to her distraught younger
sister. "Akane... listen to me. I happen to know for a
fact that Ranma *isn't* dead... I don't know why Mrs.
Saotome would tell you such a thing, but it just isn't
true."
"Wha... What? Ranma's alive? But... but... I saw the
grave and everything! Mrs. Saotome broke the honor sword
over it!"
Nabiki gently shook the nearly-hysterical girl, forcing
her to focus. "Ranma was in the hospital, its true, but I
can assure you, he is very much alive! Now stop acting so
silly."
Ryouga, who was listening to all this from his position in
Akane's lap, felt like a great weight had been taken from
his shoulders. Ranma was alive! Ha, he had known it all
along, martial artists just didn't die that way...
"But... if Ranma's *not* dead... where is he? What's
happened to him? Why was he in the hospital?" Akane asked,
drying her tears.
"I don't know, sis, but I intend to find out..."
Ukyo gave a deep sigh as she stared up at the fluffy white
clouds floating across the sky... Everything was so messed
up now, what with Ranma wanting to leave Nerima, and
Shampoo no longer part of the Amazons... yet it seemed
something had finally changed for good in their lives.
Never again would things go back to the way they were, and
she, for one, was actually quite glad of that fact. Never
again would she have to watch *her* Ranchan go back to
that violent, abusive girl, never paying attention to
her...
No, she chided herself, that wasn't right. Ranchan wasn't
'hers' anymore either... that was something else that had
changed. Ranchan seemed to carry himself with less
arrogance now that he was out of the hospital, and there
was something new in his eyes...
The three of them were walking at a rather leisurely pace
back towards Ucchan's from the hospital and all of them
seemed lost in their own thoughts. Ever since they had
made the decision to leave Nerima once and for all last
night in the hospital, everyone seemed wrapped up in
saying their own private good-byes to the place. Both of
the girls walked very close to Ranma as they trudged
along, as if unwilling to get to far away from him for
fear of losing him again.
As they walked by the playground, however, all were so
lost in thought that they failed to notice the large, pink
elephant statue standing next to the sidewalk, with kids
climbing all over it. None of them gave it a second
thought... that is, until the trunk started snaking around
Ukyo...
Ukyo's mind was completely focused on figuring out where
they were going next and trying to figure out her new
situation in life, and so completely missed the overly-
obvious pink-elephant-jungle-gym-that-was-Tsubasa until
it was too late. The first warning she had was when she
suddenly felt herself lift off the ground...
Shampoo and Ranma both spun around as soon as the scream
sounded, instantly going into ready positions. However,
expecting an attack of some sort, both of them just stood
there with eyes boggled at the scene before them.
Kids stood everywhere, bewildered by the sudden activity
Of their jungle-gym... Ukyo, the one who had let out
the scream, was dangling a few inches off the ground,
securely wrapped in a long pink trunk as the head flipped
open revealing Tsubasa, who used Ukyo's current state of
immobilization to fondle her in a *most* in-appropriate
way...
Ranma finally managed to pry the feminine-looking lecher
off of Ukyo and restrain him, as Tsubasa tried desperately
to maintain his hold on Ukyo's leg. Shampoo, On the other
hand, was desperately trying to hold onto the still-
wrapped-in-pink-elephant-trunk Ukyo, who even though her
arms were pinned, was ready to *kill* Tsubasa.
"Let me go Shampoo! Let me go! Just let me get my hands on
that pervert..." Ukyo screamed, straining against her
bonds.
Shampoo, however, wouldn't budge. "Ukyo, you listen me.
He need be punished for that, but if you just hit him
again, he come back again. Just look at Mousse, he never
leave Shampoo alone no matter *how* many times I hit him.
Calm down, then talk to him."
Ukyo looked at Shampoo, fury and betrayal plain on her
face, but as she gazed into Shampoo's hard eyes, she
finally sagged. With a nod, Shampoo released her,
shattering the pink elephant trunk binding her arms with a
single well-placed blow.
Ranma, by this time, had successfully gotten Tsubasa off
of Ukyo's leg and out of the pink-elephant, though using a
lot more painful means than Shampoo's method of calming
down Ukyo. Holding the cross dresser's arm behind his
back, Ranma waited to see what would happen next.
Ukyo finally looked up and her eye's locked on Tsubasa.
For an instant Shampoo thought she was going to try to
attack him again, and she took a step closer, but with
visible effort Ukyo forced herself to calm down.
Taking a few steps forward, she slapped Tsubasa, hard,
right across the face. The smaller man looked back at her,
being held upright by Ranma as he looked into Ukyo's eyes,
tears welling in his own. "Ukyo-sama..." he whispered.
"Tsubasa..." What could she say? Ukyo was at a complete
loss for what to say to the cross-dressing hentai that
would make him leave her alone... she'd tried to reason
with him a long time ago, but he hadn't listened then, why
should he listened to anything she had to say now?
Ukyo looked back toward Shampoo, as if pleading for her to
just let her beat the stuffing out of him, but Shampoo
just gave her a stony gaze in reply, there would be no
taking the easy way out. How the heck was she suppose to
get rid of Tsubasa? The little twerp had been chasing her
since junior high, when she had dressed as a boy, and,
come to think of it, so had he. He had only started cross-
dressing when she had shown him that picture of her
"fiancee" Ranma, in girl form. And so, deciding that she
liked girls, Tsubasa had quickly done his best to make
himself into one. He'd been the laughing stock of the
school, showing up dressed like a girl to an all boys
school and chasing after Ukyo, who at the time almost
everyone thought was a boy. Oh the ridicule he must have
had to put up with... Ukyo had to give him credit for
giving up everything for her... but she just couldn't feel
anything for him, not even friendship. He'd tried to push
a relationship on her one-too-many times by glomping her
and generally being a pervert in more ways than just
cross-dressing.
Yet how could she get rid of him once and for all? The
only way to do that would be to some how make herself
unavailable, and since she wasn't wearing a ring, it would
be a bit difficult to convince him that she was married...
not that that would probably stop him. What then? That she
had some sort of disease? That probably wouldn't work
either... he'd just want to stay with her and "nurse her
to health." But how else could she make herself completely
unavailable to him ever? A memory nagged at the back of
her mind, back from when she had first met him, when she
had showed him a picture of her "fiancee" Ranma... who was
a girl. Not a cross-dresser, not a man-who-looked-like a
girl, but a real, honest-to-goodness female with all the
right parts...
Then, Ukyo knew what she had to do. "...You just don't get
it do you? When I showed you that picture of Ranma's girl
form back in grade school, did you think you could make me
like a man just because you looked like a girl? Sorry, but
I only like *real* women..."
Tsubasa looked on the verge of tears as he shook his head
back and forth, trying to deny it. Ranma and Shampoo
just stared at her in mute shock, their eyes practically
bulging out of their skulls and their jaws hanging half
way to the ground.
Finally Tsubasa seemed to recover from his shock slightly,
and he jerked his arm out of Ranma's loose grasp. "What
about Ranma! I thought you loved him, and he's a guy!"
Ukyo smiled to herself, she'd been ready for this one.
"Yeah, but hit him with cold water and *poof*! A *real*
girl, not some cross-dressed freak!"
"I... I... I don't believe it!" Tsubasa yelled, tears
running unashamedly down his girlish face.
Ukyo felt nervousness well up within her. If she didn't
find some way to convince him, he'd just come back
again... it was now or never, but Ranma was still in his
male form, and left only...
With a swift grab back behind her, Ukyo grasped Shampoo's
hand and pulled the shocked Chinese girl into an embrace.
"Fine you want proof? I'll give you proof!" she yelled at
Tsubasa. And with that she lowered her face down to
Shampoo's, who was too shocked to do anything about it.
Pulling Shampoo close to her, she enveloped the Chinese
girl's soft lips with her own, pressing against them with
what she hoped and prayed would be interpreted as a deep
and passionate kiss by Tsubasa. Shampoo's lips were hard
and unyielding, and Ukyo could feel her entire body
tensing up beneath her. Forgive me Shampoo... she thought
to herself, imagining how unbelievably pissed she was
likely to be... But then something strange started to
happen... gradually, as the kiss continued, Shampoo seemed
to sag, the tension flowing out of her as well as her
resistance to the kiss. She didn't actually kiss back, but
she seemed to melt into Ukyo's embrace...
Shampoo's weight shifted more heavily to Ukyo's arms
and she reflexively tightened her grip to keep the Amazon
from falling to the ground. The close proximity caused
Ukyo a sort of odd fascination. She because acutely aware
of the feminine form pressed against her, the whole feel
of her body, the smell of her perfume and even the taste
of her lips-
"Ahem... uh, Ucchan? He's, uh... he's gone now..."
Ranma voice seemed to pierce through the haze of her
thoughts, and suddenly Ukyo became a lot more aware of
just what she was doing... Opening her eyes she gazed
into Shampoo's, whose eyes slowly opened, her faced
flushed. Embarrassingly, it seemed that Ukyo's own heart
was beating just a bit faster than normal...
Gently Ukyo let go of Shampoo, standing her back on her
feet, though it seemed like a feather would push her over.
Then she tuned to Ranma, finding him flushing from head to
toe. "Ucchan... I.. I... I... I had no idea!"
Suddenly the full implications of what she had just done
seemed to slam into her, and her own face turned far more
red than Ranma's. "N-n-no... Wait, you don't understand!"
she stammered. "I'm not like that! Really! I just...I just
did that to get rid of Tsubasa!"
Ranma continued to look at her skeptically, but with the
pleading look in her eyes, he couldn't help but believe
her. After all, this was the girl who only last night had
glomped onto his male form, so surely...
Shampoo, who was just standing there blowing in the
breeze, finally shook herself back to full awareness. Both
Ukyo and Ranma turned to look at her as her stance firmed
and she got an angry look in her eye. Stomping up to
Ukyo, she slapped the okonomiaki chef hard across the
face.
Ukyo's head snapped around, a bright red hand mark left on
her cheek. Ukyo held her ground though, and turned back to
face Shampoo, prepared to defend her actions, but was
surprised to find Shampoo smiling at her.
"That good plan, pervert-spatula girl, but not do that
again, okay?"
Ukyo numbly nodded at her, clutching her cheek. There was
something about the way Shampoo had said that she couldn't
place... though Shampoo seemed to have shrugged it off,
her eyes looked... haunted. And that slap had been far too
hard for her the cheerful demeanor she was showing.
The two men simply stood in the park, staring at each
other. How long they had been there, no one was really
sure, but no one was willing to interrupt the subtle
contest of wills between the two martial artists.
"It is good to see you again, Saotome-kun."
"It's been too long, Tendo-kun."
Slowly smiles broke on to the faces of both men and in an
instant it seemed all the tension drained out of the air.
Giving Soun a hearty slap on the back, Genma let out a
loud guffaw.
"So Saotome-kun, it appears that absence does *not* make
the heart grow fonder."
"Indeed Tendo-kun, my ingrate of a son has run back to his
mother!"
"Yes, Saotome-kun, He and his mother came by not long
ago..."
"Really? Are he and Akane once more engaged? Perhaps going
back to his mother was not such a bad idea after all..."
"Alas, my own daughters turned against me, and drove Ranma
away! Not only that, but this Hibiki boy told the
most horrible lies to them about my little girl! We must
get them back under one roof and soon, or all will be
lost!"
"That won't be easy, Tendo-kun, as Nodoka, now that she
has found her boy again, will be hesitant to let him go."
"hmm... we must think of a way, Saotome-kun! The future of
the Anything-goes school of martial arts depends on us!"
Shampoo stared up at the ceiling, silently choking back
her tears. Damn Ukyo anyway, she thought. This was not
suppose to happen! She'd vowed never to...
They had decided to stay at Ucchan's for the night, before
figuring out a way to sell Ucchan's and leave on the next
day. Shampoo had been able to keep herself busy, helping
Ukyo clean the restaurant and sparing a bit with Ranma,
but she knew that she'd have to think about the incident
in the park eventually...
It wasn't like she could be mad at Ukyo, she hadn't known
any better, she hadn't known about Shampoo's past.
Shampoo's shame had always been a secret, ever since
Cologne had caught her and Lo Xin all those years ago...
So why should the kiss be hurting her so? No one knew her
shame, she should just shrug it off, chalk it up as one
more weird experience here in Nerima and forget about
it... but for some reason she could not. She seemed
morbidly fascinated by it, its intensity and vastly
different feel from when she kissed Ranma.
Maybe, she thought, it was because Ranma had never kissed
her back.
Possible, she answered herself, but there was more to it
than that.
Suddenly there was movement on the other side of the room,
and Shampoo held her breath, watching as Ukyo slowly,
stealthily got up from her futon and crept downstairs to
the restaurant.
Ukyo slumped her head onto the table as she sat at one of
the booths in the main restaurant and gave a deep sigh.
Why had she done that? She berated herself. Sure, she
could rationalize the kiss as necessary to get rid of
Tsubasa once and for all, but... what had possessed her to
get so caught up in it? And then there was that slap that
Shampoo had given her... she'd probably ruined all chance
at ever having any sort of a friendship with the Chinese
girl now. She had been surprised that Shampoo hadn't
left her right then and there.
Still, she kept coming back to questioning her own
motivations for the kiss. Had she really done it because
of Tsubasa? Surely if she'd just told him strongly enough
that she couldn't love him he would have gone away... and
besides, they were leaving town, so they would probably
have never seen him again anyway. She didn't love Shampoo,
of that much she was certain, heck she barely knew the
girl, and she *did* love Ranchan, so why had she done it?
At that moment a voice sounded in the dark, causing her to
snap back fully awake. "Ukyo... you want talk about it?"
It was Shampoo, standing at the bottom of the stairs.
Ukyo sighed. Shampoo was probably not her first choice for
people to talk to about this, but she really did need to
discuss this with someone... she felt like it was a weight
pressing down on her. And besides, at least this meant
Shampoo was still talking to her. Maybe they could hope to
salvage a friendship yet.
Ukyo gave her a nod and Shampoo pulled into the booth
across from her. In the dim light, it was difficult to
make out much of Shampoo's features, but she seemed overly
pensive compared to her usual bouncing self. Ukyo wanted
very badly to talk to her, to try to explain what had
happened, but she found her self unwilling to speak, and
completely unable to come up with someway to start.
Thankfully, Shampoo broke the silence. "Ukyo, I want you
to know that I not mad at you for what you did..." Ukyo
glanced up at her and idly wondered _why_ she wasn't mad,
when she had every right to be. "... This not first time
you kiss girl, ne, Ukyo?"
Ukyo smirked a bit, surprised how quick Shampoo was to
pick up on things like this. The Chinese girl kept
constantly surprising her with her insight, in some
things, while seemingly completely dense and oblivious to
others. "It was kinda obvious, huh?"
Shampoo blushed a little and looked kind of embarrassed.
"Well, I saw you kiss Ranma that time, and you more
hesitant with him."
Ukyo stared out the window for a moment, lost in thought.
How long had it been? She wondered... "You remember what I
was like when I first arrived here, right sugar?" Shampoo
nodded. "I was a boy, in every sense, save one small
missing part..." Ukyo gave herself a self depreciating
look, even now cringing a little bit at just how feminine
she looked. Ever since giving her heart to Ranchan, she
had started to dress like a girl, trying to let herself
feel like one again... but she'd grown up as a boy, and
old habits were still hard to break. She found the very
thought of wearing a girl's school uniform as repulsive as
Ranma did, and she still found it hard to wear dresses.
"Well, when Ranma discovered my real gender, and called me
cute, it was a complete shock to my system... at first I
had no idea what to do about it... that was such a
confusing time. I mean, all my life I'd been put down by
my parents, who made it seem a bad thing to ever have been
born a girl! You just can't imagine..."
"I *hated* being a girl, but then Ranma came along and
actually seemed to like me more because I was female, and
I just didn't know what to think. Finally, someone
accepted me for who I was! It was such a flood of
emotions... For a while after I came to realize that I was
attracted to Ranma, I actually thought of myself as gay,
'cause my image of myself was that of a boy... you just
couldn't understand. The fact that I was actually a girl
underneath it all only made it acceptable to everyone
else... can you imagine that? I was ok with dating girls
in high school, before I came here, even though I was a
girl, but the thought of me with a boy had me cringing!"
Ukyo shook her head, unwilling to meet Shampoo's gaze.
"And yet... I couldn't deny my feelings for him. Once I
found out about his curse, it was like a great release...
suddenly, I knew, beyond any doubt, that he was the
perfect man for me, in that while he could love me as a
woman, and I he, as a man, he also had a female side, so
that my "masculine" side would never have a problem with
him. Silly huh?"
Ukyo could feel tears welling in her eyes as she poured
her soul out... she hadn't intended to tell Shampoo all
this, but once she started talking about it, it was like
she couldn't stop, like the floodgates had been opened.
For so long she'd kept all this stuff so bottled up, never
letting herself think about it too much, for fear of what
others would think of her, but for some reason she wanted,
no, *needed* to tell Shampoo... Shampoo, the first girl
she'd kissed since she'd left Kyoto.
Ukyo looked up as she felt a hand cover hers. It was a
friendly gesture, but one she infinitely appreciated. At
least Shampoo hadn't reviled her for what she had revealed
about herself. She wasn't sure she would have been able to
take that. "Yes," Ukyo continued, "I was rather popular
with the girls my freshman year of high school in Kyoto,
before I left that old life behind once I got wind that
Ranma was here. It was never anything serious, of course,
as a guy I was expected to go out on dates and have
girlfriends, though I never let them get too close, or
become too intimate, unless they find out my shame... my
womanhood."
"It seemed so damned inconvenient, being female. If I was
just a boy, I never would have been able to bring shame to
my family by getting dumped by Ranma at such an early age,
and I would have been able to be proud of my body, but..."
Ukyo took a deep breath, trying to get a hold on her
emotions. "You want to hear something funny? My father was
actually *proud* when I went out on dates... he used to
make comments like how "manly" his "son" was... It used to
make me feel good, so I would do anything to be more
manly, yet it also made me feel so ashamed of myself,
whenever I would catch a glimpse of myself in the bath, or
whenever all my friends went swimming...
Ukyo couldn't take it any more, the tears began slipping
down her face as she was once more confronted with her old
pain... she was amazed how deep the wound in her soul
seemed to go, it had never seemed this bad before, but
now... she felt so empty inside. Vaguely she felt Shampoo
slide around to her side of the booth and hug her, just
holding her as she wept against her shoulder. Ukyo
couldn't believe she was doing this, breaking down like
this in front of someone who only a day ago she wouldn't
have trusted to tell her the time of day! And now, now she
was crying against her shoulder, pouring her soul out to
the Chinese girl... what was wrong with her?
Shampoo gently patted the distraught girl on the back,
waiting for her tears to run themselves out. Amazons were
always taught that tears showed weakness, but right now it
was all Shampoo could do to keep from shedding them
herself.
"But that wasn't all of it!" continued Ukyo, still
sobbing. "It wasn't just that Ranma was some cute guy who
made me suddenly remember I was female! No, he had to be
this really nice guy... I mean, sure, Ranchan's not
perfect, but he was fun to be around, a good friend, and
we've been through so much together! I don't care what
gender he is or isn't anymore... I love him!
Shampoo sighed to herself. It would be so much easier if
Ukyo's love for Ranma was just some crush... but it seemed
her feelings for him ran as deep as her own.
Not that her feelings had always been true... At first,
before she knew of his curse, she had chased after him
because of the Amazon laws, but her heart hadn't really
been in it... but then, that was the root of her shame
after all...
Ukyo finally seemed to quite down, and pulled away from
Shampoo, startling her out of her reverie. She just hoped
Ukyo hadn't noticed she'd been playing with her hair...
"Shampoo... Why don't you hate me?"
"huh?" The question was rather out of the blue... "Aiya...
Why would I hate you?"
"Well, I kissed you, and you know my true gender and all
that... any other girl would have done worse than just
slap me for it."
Shampoo felt the heat of a blush slowly creep up on her,
though she tried to fight it... "uh, er... Shampoo see
that you trying to get rid of pervert-boy, so uh... was
willing to help."
Ukyo seemed to ponder this in the darkness for a moment,
and Shampoo fervently hoped she bought it. Finally Ukyo
looked back up and met her gaze, smiling at her and
nodding, accepting that explanation. For a moment though,
Shampoo caught herself flushing at that smile, the way
Ukyo's dark hair reflected the soft white moon light, the
way the shadows highlighted her face... but as soon as
she realized she was staring, she felt the old anger
return.
The heat of anger began to rise up in her, directed at
herself. Staring at another girl like that... her great-
grandmother's words came back to her, the harsh gleaming
in her eyes as she swung her staff at her... Lo Xin had
had hair like Ukyo's... only dark blue instead of
black. They both looked so much the same in the moonlight
though...
Shampoo's fist clenched in anger. She was an Amazon
warrior! How could she dishonor herself and her family so?
It was impossible, it was wrong, great-grandmother had
said so...
Suddenly her anger found a new focus. It was all Ukyo's
fault, she was trying to tempt her, to make her fall into
that pit of depravity that Lo Xin had tried to throw her
into! After all, she loved Ranma, big, strong, muscular,
MALE Ranma... she could picture the beautiful hard lines
of his lithe form moving so gracefully through a kata, the
sun causing her beautiful and striking red hair to burn
with a strange intensity as her shirt stuck to her ample
chest...
"NO!" The yell tore itself from her as she smashed her
fist through the table in front of her. She wasn't a
pervert! Why did these feelings keep assaulting her?
"Shampoo..."
Ukyo's voice seemed to snap her back to reality, and to
the fact that she was now standing in the middle of the
room, surrounded by the splinters of a table. Fearfully
she looked back behind her, finding Ukyo still standing at
the booth they had been talking in, looking at her with
wide eyes. It was all too much, suddenly the room seemed
far too small and Shampoo *had* to get out of there...
Almost before she could complete the thought she was
moving toward the door, seeking the escape of the cool
night air, but something was faster... with a series of
thunks, five spatulas embedded themselves mere inches
before her.
Spinning, Shampoo faced Ukyo, who had another couple of
spatulas ready in her hands. "Oh no you don't Shampoo...
I just poured my soul out to you, and now you think you're
gonna go running off when you so obviously need someone
to talk to? I think not..."
All it would take was two steps, a leap... Ukyo wasn't
bad, but she was no match for Shampoo's speed. With one
blow she could take the chef down, then back out the door
before she could regain her feet... Shampoo looked up at
her advisory, ready for action, but found Ukyo just
standing in the moonlight, idly twirling a spatula.
Shampoo could still see the redness around her eyes from
crying...
Slowly the anger drained out of her, and her shoulders
slumped. She had never told anyone of her shame before...
only her great-grandmother knew... but her great-
grandmother wasn't here, for once, and would never know...
Still she could hear the matriarch's voice echoing in her
head "You are never to speak of this again! If you do, I
will *personally* give you the kiss of death!" But, here
she was, thousands of miles from her home, banished
forever from the Amazons... and Ukyo had kissed a girl
before too...
Slowly Shampoo slunk back to the booth where Ukyo stood
waiting and slumped down across from her. Resting her
hands on the table, she couldn't bring herself to meet the
okonomiyaki chef's eyes.
"In Amazon village... It is matter of pride to have many
male concubines. Each Amazon only allowed one husband
though. In theory, Amazon warrior is suppose to be so
good, that only man she let win can beat her, and then he
become husband... fighting between sexes is like marriage
ceremony here in Japan. If woman lets man win, then that
means she accept him as husband." Shampoo gave out a
little sigh, then continued.
"In Joketsuku, many womans my age are already married...
but I no find man I love..."
"Shampoo honey, this is all fascinating, but I don't see
how this relates..."
Shampoo finally looked up into Ukyo's eyes. "Joketsuku is
small village... is part of being good warrior to have
many concubines and have many strong children. When...
When Shampoo was twelve, I have best friend... my *only*
friend named Lo Xin... "
Ukyo looked startled. "Wait, you're trying to tell me that
you only had *one* friend growing up? What about Mousse?"
Shampoo nodded sadly. "Hai... After mother died, great-
grandmother took me in, trained me to be *best* warrior in
tribe... I not have easy time making friends when keep
beating up everyone all time... and Mousse, he *never*
good friend... always want to be more than friends..."
Ukyo just shook her head, and gestured for Shampoo to
continue her story.
Shampoo sighed, and picked up where she left off. "Lo Xin
was not good warrior, and because of that, her mother
always hit her when she not do well in practice. I always
try to help her, but she just not have heart of warrior.
Then, one day when she run away from her home, we alone in
forest, and she say to me, "Shan pu, you my best friend,
right? You always love me?" and I say "Yes, Lo Xin, we
always be best of friends." And the she leaned over, and
kissed me! I was very startled, but then she run home.
Later, we talk some more, and she ask me if I liked the
kiss, and I said yes, and then she asked if we could try
it again... You get idea. For whole year, we inseparable,
and try many things... Then, one day in forest, as we lie
together, great-grandmother comes looking for me, and she
find us..."
Shampoo shakes at the memory, once more looking down at
the floor. "Great-grandmother... was very angry. She chase
Lo Xin away, then she hit me with staff several times. She
tell me that it dishonorable for Amazon warrior to love
other warriors, and that I would bring disgrace to the
family. She then say that if I ever speak of it again, she
give me kiss of death... I was forbidden from seeing Lo
Xin, but two days later, she no come to school. I ask
great-grandmother where she is, and if I may go see if she
ok, but grandmother just say that she sick, and be back
soon... but she not! I find out later, that when she got
home, Great-grandmother tell Lo Xin's mother what she
do... and Lo Xin's mother get furiously angry, and she hit
Lo Xin too hard..."
Shampoo finally broke down into sobs, unable to continue.
The pain and the anger at losing her first love seemed to
overwhelm her, like some wave of despair washing over her.
Vaguely she felt Ukyo comfort her, just as she had
comforted the chef earlier, but she couldn't bring herself
to care... all she saw were long-buried images of Lo Xin's
face...
Ukyo just shook her head in horror as she held the sobbing
Amazon. "Shampoo... That's.. that's... *aweful!*"
"E-everyone say that it "not natural" to have these
feelings for girl, that that make Shampoo a pervert! So I
do what is right, I forget about Lo Xin, go on with
life... I no let myself think of womans that way. Then
Ranma come. She so brash, so arrogant, I think I teach her
a lesson, but I was tired from fighting all day in
tournament, and Ranma beat me easy. When... when I fall,
I lose everything that mean anything to me anymore... I no
had any friends, and being best all that matter to me! So
I give Ranma kiss of death..." Shampoo trailed off, lost
in thought for a moment, remembering the shocked and
happily-surprised look the beautiful red-head had given
her upon receiving that kiss...
Finally, Shampoo continued. "I chase Ranma all over China,
but many times I just watch her from distance, instead of
attacking like Amazon should. I found I liked outside
world, it wonderful place full of so many new things, and
in a way, I felt free for first time. I also find that I
have fun chasing Ranma, it was like game of cat and
mouse... I was having fun chasing her around, but I never
realize that the feeling was not mutual. When I get to
Japan, and met boy-type Ranma, I was surprised, but didn't
first think that he and girl-type Ranma the same... When
he defeat me in combat, I so surprised that I not know
what to do. By law, this strange foreign boy suddenly my
husband! I not want that, but I no could bare bringing
more disgrace to my family, so I... kiss him. I didn't
understand then why he run from me, I think I must be what
big dumb men want, right? But he still seem scared of me.
Then... Then he show me curse..."
"I stand there, watching boy who suppose to be my husband
suddenly become girl I like, you think I be happy, right?
But no, Shampoo no could be happy, 'cause if boy-type-
Ranma really girl, then marriage is no valid, and I have
to kill! Not only that, but it mean that I was still a
pervert girl, for kissing a girl! When he told me, all I
think is that great-grandmother would be so angry... and I
get angry at self for letting myself feel this way for
Ranma at all, and I lash out, striking again and again,
hoping that maybe I kill Ranma, and then I no be pervert
anymore! But Ranma fall, and all it take is one stroke and
I kill her... but I look down into her eyes, and I see the
fear there... fear of me! And I know she hate me, and that
hurt so much... so much..."
Shampoo was crying again, the sobs shaking her violently.
After a moment though, she pressed on in her tale. "I
realize then that I love her, and it not matter that I
pervert because of it, or that great-grandmother give me
kiss of death... I love Ranma! But Ranma no love me... she
fear me... So I run, go back to Joketsuku to take
punishment, and no have Ranma fear me anymore..."
Ukyo patted Shampoo on the back, trying to offer what
comfort she could. If there was one thing she could
sympathize with, it was unrequited love...
"I go back to Amazon village, and tell great-grandmother
that I love Ranma and am married to her even though she
girl, and Great-grandmother get very angry. But instead of
kill me, she take me to training grounds of Juksenkyo, and
there I get cat-curse. Guide then tell us truth about
Ranma, that he actually boy, and great-grandmother gets
very happy, saying that if I love him even though he's a
man, then no will lose face in village!
"Great-grandmother and I come back, I try to be man's
ideal of good woman, but it never works... You see Ukyo?
We in same boat. Ranma is only person who is perfect for
us, and he doesn't love either of us..."
The tears threatened to come again, but she blinked them
back. Ukyo gave her a small smile, "Shampoo... I had no
idea... thank you for telling me... I... I don't know what
to say."
Shampoo suddenly narrowed her eyes at Ukyo. "You tell
anyone this, especially Ranma, and Shampoo kill!"
Ukyo took an involuntary step back from the force of
Shampoo's sad gaze and threw her hands up in a defensive
position. "Of course not! He probably wouldn't believe it
anyway... But you have to promise not to tell Ranma...
about me... either."
Shampoo's gaze lost its steely cast and she smiled back at
the chef. Lo Xin... How long had it been since she'd
thought of her lost lover? After she had left Ranma the
first time, she had gone home fully expecting to be killed
for admitting that she loved who she thought to be a
girl... In many ways, she had *wanted* to be killed for
her transgression... if her beloved great-grandmother had
killed her, she wouldn't have to deal with the pain of
chasing after a girl who hadn't returned the feelings she
had for her, and probably never could... On the long
journey home, she had just hoped that the Kami were kind
enough to unite her with Lo Xin in the next life...
Her great-grandmother had been furious, but had never
given her the promised kiss of death... to this day
Shampoo wondered why she had only taken her to the cursed
springs of Juksenkyo instead of killing her. She knew her
great-grandmother really did love her... or, at least, she
had _thought_ that Khu Lon cared for her, until she had
done the unthinkable and kicked her out of the tribe,
banished her from her home. Now more than ever Khu Lon's
actions didn't make any sense. She had loved her enough to
not kill her, despite how grievously she might have
wounded the family's honor if anyone else had found out,
yet she had taken from Shampoo the only place she had ever
been truly happy, her home.
Even now, despite her love for Ranma, she still wished
that the two of them could roam the beautiful hills where
she had grown up... the primal remote regions of China
called to her soul, and made her long to return to them,
but her love for Ranma was stronger. She only hoped she
could convince him to return to China with her eventually.
And yet, even if they did go back to China, they could
never go near her home again... Cologne *would* give her
the kiss of death this time. But why, if her great-
grandmother hated her so much, and wanted her to marry a
man so badly had she reacted so harshly when Mousse beat
her? Had she really taken that much of a liking to Ranma?
Did she hate Mousse that much? Nothing made sense
anymore...
Ukyo tapped her on the shoulder, and Shampoo was startled
back to full wakefulness. "Shampoo! We have to go to bed,
you're falling asleep down here!"
Tiredly, Shampoo nodded, feeling drained after such an
emotional outpouring, and Ukyo didn't look much better.
Slowly the two girls made their way off to bed.
"Kodachi-sama! The "guest room" has been prepared, as per
your orders."
"Good, you are absolutely sure it is constructed sturdily
and to my exact specifications?" Kodachi said, raising an
eyebrow at the sweating ninja-retainer.
"Y-yes Kodachi-sama... though I wonder about the cats..."
"Fool! It is not your place to "wonder" or "think." Now,
My Ranma-sama is in desperate need of me, and I must be
off before he gets himself in any further trouble. Oh
hohohohohoho! Ranma-sama! I'll protect you and then you'll
come willingly into my arms!"
Ukyo was up early the next morning, rising before all her
guests, so she was already cooking breakfast okonomiyaki
before she heard the door slam as the next person went to
bathe. Ukyo had never been a morning person, but for some
reason she had woken up completely refreshed...
Shampoo exited the shower only a few minutes later, the
exact opposite of Ukyo. "Not exactly a morning person" was
the understatement of the century when applied to Shampoo,
who supposed it was probably some sort of after-affect of
her curse, that she liked to sleep in and curl up in
sunbeams. Blearily, she took a seat at the grill across
from Ukyo, resting her head on the counter.
"Sleep well?" Ukyo asked, jokingly. Shampoo didn't see the
need to reply to that, and just laid there, letting the
smell of cooking food gradually wake her up. Finally, she
lifted her head as an okonomiyaki landed on her plate.
"Arigato... Where's Ranma?"
Ukyo shrugged, she was rather curious herself. "Don't
know. I thought he always got up early myself... doesn't
he usually get up early to train or something?"
Shampoo nodded in response, perking up a little bit.
"Perhaps we go wake him."
Ukyo smiled devilishly, holding up a convenient wash-
bucket next to the counter. "I've got the perfect way..."
Both girls silently crept up the stairs to the guest
bedroom. It had originally been inhabited by Konatsu, but
business had been so good at Ucchan's lately that Ukyo had
been able to pay him enough that he was able to move out.
(and he actually had too, after Ukyo had made it quite
clear that if he didn't, he'd get kicked out.) The door
slid open without a sound, the hinges well oiled since
Konatsu liked to move around completely unheard. The
interior of the roof was dark, with a single futon on
which the bulge of sleeping Ranma lay.
The girls smiled at each other, readying their buckets,
before yelling in unison "Ha!" and dumping the contents on
to the bed.
However, instead of the room being filled with a stead
stream of curses from a rudely awakened Ranma-chan, as the
girls expected, nothing happened. Their smiles fading,
both girls looked back at each other.
"Uh, I know that Ranma is a deep sleeper, but this is
ridiculous!"
Shampoo nodded in agreement. "Aiya, that always work when
Akane do it..."
The girls approached the futon, only to find it empty, a
wet pillow creating the bulge they had mistaken for Ranma.
Ukyo looked up, glancing around the room and taking note
that Ranma's traveling pack was still there. "He's
gone... but his stuff is still here... could he have just
gone for a jog or something? Shampoo?"
Shampoo, however, wasn't paying attention to her, she
seemed entirely focused on something underneath the
pillow.
"What is it sugar?" Ukyo asked, as Shampoo raised her head
to meet Ukyo's gaze. As Shampoo lifted what she had been
staring at, Ukyo felt the blood drain from her face...
It was a single, black, rose petal.
The voices were quiet as she stared into his beautiful
face, so amazingly handsome and child-like when he slept.
The voices never came when she was with him... with him,
she was complete. No voice ever came to her while she was
in his embrace that said she was worthless... nonononono,
she was *worth* something when she was with him...
Gently she placed his sleeping form on the bed of the
pitch-dark room... oh how she hated having to keep him in
this barbaric place, yet it was the only way to cure her
only love's... illness. He had tried to kill himself, she
had heard, and indeed she could see the recently healed
scars along his shoulder. She had no idea as to why he
should have cut himself there of all places, it certainly
didn't conform to any form of seppuku that she knew
of... but then her Ranma-sama had never been of noble
birth, a fact which she found most embarrassing, and
therefore could not be expected to know the proper rituals
involved in proper suicide. However, as had been pointed
out to her years earlier when she had tried something
similar, for one's death to be honorable, one had to have
the proper reasons, and just not being able to deal with
the pain was not, according to her mother, a good
reason...
Well, her mother and father had cured her of *her* illness
with this method, now she would use it to cure her beloved
Ranma-sama. She simply could not believe that a being as
perfect as him could possibly have done anything horrible
enough to warrant seppuku, so he must just be... ill.
With a smile, Kodachi stood back to wait for him to
awaken, then his recovery and re-education could begin...
Mousse stared over the sea as the boat gently rocked
beneath him. The shores of his beloved home land were
rapidly approaching, but for once he did not think about
the beauty of the coast, as he had on every one of his
other trips home.
This time he was too preoccupied with the hate building
with in him.
She had rejected him, laughed at him, beat him... but none
of that cold possibly compare to the icy-cold hand that
had gripped his heart as he had watched her take "her"
Ranma back from Ukyo, even after Ukyo's plan had worked so
well. She had chosen Ranma over him even though Ranma had
cheated on her! Had kissed another woman! How could
Shampoo, the proud Amazon warrior, possibly stand for this
grave insult to her honor?
There was only one answer, she could not. The Shampoo he
had loved was truly dead, replaced with this weak-willed
usurper who wore her skin but caved in to Ranma's every
whim... And while it chilled his heart and cut him to the
bone to see her in this state, it also filled him with
such all-encompassing rage as he had never possessed. That
she would throw everything she was away for that bastard
Saotome, who didn't care one whit for her, when she could
have him waiting on her hand and foot, as she deserved,
was the worst insult he could possibly imagine.
In her eyes, he must be the smallest slime to ever crawl
the earth, the most wretched being... and he had wasted
almost his entire adult life chasing after her, and she
utterly despised him. How could he have been so blind? He
thought back with contempt about how she had talked to him
about "being friends" that night in the Tendo dojo... he
wondered if she'd even waited a whole minute after he'd
left before bursting into laughter and running to tell
that slut Ranma she loved so much about the blind boy's
latest idiocy.
How many times in his life had he been laughed at?
Ridiculed? For years in his village, the other kids had
picked on him, spit on him... and all because of this damn
disability... He had never believed that Shampoo was among
those who laughed at him, but now he began to wonder... he
could never see their faces, only hear the cruelty in
their tone as the laughed and pointed... had she been
their? Had he been that wrong about her?
One way or another, he intended to find out the truth...
[END PART 1]
[TO BE CONTINUED!]
Author's note:
Alright alright, so this has been a *heck* of a long time
coming, but I finally got this part done... sigh the
next part shouldn't take anywhere near as long. Ok, now
for some explanations:
Nodoka has decided, that for all intensive purposes, Ranma
*did* kill himself. After all, if she's marked him as
deceased on the family register, and has a grave to prove
he's dead, who's to say he's not? Also, by saying he's
dead, she creates the illusion (for herself, mostly) that
the family honor has been maintained. Ranma is no longer a
Saotome.
Not to fear Nabiki fans, there will be lots more of her
poking around in the next chapter, doing what she does
best... and for you Kodachi fans out there, Ko-chan is
going to get a *big* part in the next part of this
chapter... look for lots of insight into her character.
Now, as for Ukyo and Shampoo, don't all of you jump up at
once and say "Ah! They're going to end up together!"
because while I haven't exactly decided how its going to
end yet, I'm pretty sure that's not going to be it. That
part is in there to establish both character's sexual
ambiguity, as well as show the confusing and hardship both
of them are facing as they are starting to come out of
their adolescent years. Also, now that we had the big
introspection into both of their characters, look for
something similar for Ranma, Mousse and Kodachi in the
next part.
Now, we have the mystery of Cologne... Is she good? Is she
Evil? Does it matter? Does she really love her great-
granddaughter? Why did she do what she did? What grand
scheme has the crafty matriarch cooked up this time? Well,
more and more of this subplot is going to become apparent
as the story goes on.
One other note. I got some questions from my pre-readers
about girls fooling around at age twelve, most people
would consider that way too young. Well, That scene is
partial based on something that actually happened to a
friend of mine at age *ten*, so it does happen. Also,
children who are abused often act out sexually at a much
younger age, and though we don't know whether or not Lo
Xin was sexually abused, one form of abuse often goes
hand-in-hand with another...
C&C is *always* welcome! MSTs, flames, parodies, comments,
reviews, anything and everything!
Special thanks to my pre-readers, Wade Tritschler, C.
Wong, JD Farber, Mark Doherty, Mister Panda, Jeff Shelton,
Janet, Dragoon... anyone I missed? Thanks a lot all of
you!