Author's Notes: Another update in such a short period of time? How utterly amazing! At least given my penchant for not updating. The enemy has appeared but who could it possibly be? I'm not telling...yet. It should keep everyone guessing at least. Well without further ado...let's get on with the show!
You Can't Choose Your Family
Chapter 2
When confronted with the thought of hurting the people she loved most she did the only thing she could do. She ran. There was no other choice for her but to run. She had not only become a freak but a super powerful one at that. Makoto was long out of tears as she sat on the train. She had bought a ticket to the end of the line and was heading there. Her reasoning was that the further she was away from people in general the less damage she could do. Makoto just wanted to disappear.
"Why?" It was a question so loaded with pain and grief that no one dared sit near her. She was obviously not all in her right mind if she was traveling into the middle of nowhere with nothing but a single bag. She wanted to know what it was about her parents that made her so powerful. So dangerously powerful that she could spin tornadoes out of nothing and fire off energy blasts so strong they could blow through a tank. It was not something she wanted to think about right now.
"Would you like a snack dear?" A kindly voice asked. The girl visibly started before relaxing marginally. She shook her head. The woman moved on, clearly concerned for the well-being of this poor child. Makoto appreciated the concern but as it stood she had very little money so every bit had to be saved. Perhaps running away wasn't the best idea but if she was around then they would constantly be trying to bring her back into the group. Unless they were too afraid that is which would be justified. She rested her forehead against the window of the train and watched the scenery fly by.
She looked around at the other few occupants. Since these powers had awakened she had discovered a few things of note. Her vision was incredible. If she hadn't had the Senshi training in controlling her own powers she would have been on sensory overload. Her sense of sight was acute. Everything was outlined in perfect detail suggesting a level of vision almost akin to some bird of prey. It would have been neat if she wasn't so freaked out by it.
The next thing she noticed was an enhanced sense of hearing. The sound of the train was like thunder to her ears. She even heard the faintest whisper. Unfortunately that second part wasn't so great since many of those whispers were about her. A few noticing how absolutely gorgeous she was with obvious lust in their tones while the rest were unnerved by her presence. The aura of despair she was unconsciously radiating. The voices bothered her.
Her sense of smell had reached an extraordinary level as well. All the old smells that she knew were suddenly magnified and enhanced to the point of almost pain to her nose. The smells best left unknown mingling with coffee, perfume, food, and unwashed body almost made her gag. It was a terrible thing to want to vomit at the smell of your own body and knowing that you washed yourself that morning. She wasn't quite sure about her sense of taste but she suspected that because her smell was enhanced then so was taste. Touch was also increased but not quite to the painful level.
Out of all the things she gained, the power that she was having the worst time adapting to, was Aura Sight. She could see people's auras. Even now she could see different colors around people. Memories floated unbidden through her mind to tell her what each person was feeling, they're health, other things. It bothered her to effectively know these people so intimately even though they were strangers. She could even feel to an extent what they were feeling. Not a great thing considering the mixed looks she keeps recieving.
It was midafternoon by the time the train reached the station. She grabbed her bag and set off across the platform. Once again she was in a large crowd feeling their feelings, seeing their auras, it was growing to the point that she wanted to scream. She had to get out of there as quickly as she could. Her clothing was not out of place being that it was a simple teeshirt and slacks combo. She wore a jean jacket to try and cover her newfound assets. While she thought the other things were worse, having a rack like this rated somewhere up there. She made her way out of the tiny station and set of towards the hills. A stray memory, from where she couldn't say, told her of a secluded spot that would be perfect for what she had in mind.
It was somewhat of a relief to have bizarre knowledge. Probably the only useful thing that this curse had grant her was financial and home management knowledge. Not to mention the knowledge for treating most things holistically. She made note on her way through the small town that there didn't seem to be a doctor anywhere hereabouts. That was a sad thing considering how far out they were but on the flipside it was good for her. She had already noted that she still looked her age but a bit on the older side. People might not trust her if she appeared too young. If she couldn't make her own way then she might just go into the medical profession like her friend Ami wanted to.
Thinking of her friend brought her spirits down again but she refused to succumb to depression. She did not want to think of what might happen if she grew sad enough. Something inside her was strugglinh to break loose, a powerful attack that could tap into the power of depression to unleash a blast of energy. It was not something she wanted to lose control of. With the other moves augmented naturally by her senshi form and by this bizarre heritage she had a fair idea of what she was capable of.
She used to feel sorry for Saturn, but right now she seemed to a much worse threat.
The memories that she was following were from a person named Genma Saotome. It was probably the first clear name that she recieved from her jumbled memories. The stuff that belonged to her still was hers but now she had other things slowly intruding in on her awareness. She made her way through the small town in good time however she knew that she was officially a curiousity among the residents. Not only was she a stranger but one with an unsual look to her. Frankly she didn't care what they thought. The only thing she did care about was finding her way to the cabin in the hills.
A woman was out sweeping her step when Mokoto noticed her look up and seem to take a second look. It was a slightly strange experience as a connection was seemingly made. The woman was actually quite beautiful. She had brown hair hanging straight down her back. her clothing consisted of a simple brown dress with a checkered apron over it. It was the eyes though that told the tale. She knew her. There was no way that they could have known each other but here it was. Her instincts were screaming at her to run but she couldn't.
"Terri?" The woman spoke first, apparently reaching a decision faster than Makoto did.
"Ah...I'm sorry but that's not my name ma'am." Makoto replied after she recovered her voice. The beautiful woman looked strangely wistful before shaking her head a bit as if to clear it.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were an...old friend of mine." She said with an oddly melancholy note. An internal war was waging. On one side was not to tell anyone any more than they had to know but on the other hand this woman had clearly recognized her. This would not resolve itself she decided unless she acted.
"My name is Makoto Kino." She said to the woman. That provoked a considerably stronger response.
"Little Mako-chan? Oh my little Mako-chan!" The woman sobbed, flinging herself into the startled girl's arms. There was not a lot she could do except hold her. Makoto tried her best to screen the crying woman from prying eyes. It did not take the storm of weeping long to pass but the woman seemed to be apologizing like it was a huge crime to cry.
"Could you explain what's going on here? How do you know me?" She asked. The woman just gave her an odd smile, equal parts mirth and sadness, before gesturing for her to enter her home.
"Come in please. We would be more comfortable inside." The woman ushered her into the rather homey looking place. It was warm and inviting just like how she remembered her home to be. Was that her memory or someone else's? It was growing confusing how easily her memories were blending together. A hand grasped her shoulder, just barely holding her back from the edge, before ushering her to a chair and sitting her down. Makoto frowned as she realized a rather crucial bit of information that had escaped her notice before.
"Just who are you anyway?" She realized it sounded blunt but after dealing with Pluto she knew that it was always best to get down to brass tacks quickly. The woman paused in the midst of getting tea prepared as if mulling something over before quickly going back to work.
"You're right and it is terribly rude of me. After all I've already confused you for someone and cried into your shoulder. Naturally I am remiss. My name is Kasumi Tendo." She told Makoto. The name tore through the girl's psyche like a bullet rocking her mental foundations. She struggled with the name as it conjured up a veritable wellspring of emotions. The greatest feeling she had was of love and trust. Since she had nothing to say otherwise she chose to follow her heart.
"Kasumi...Tendo..." She mulled the name over in her mind before looking to her once again as a cup was placed before her.
"Did you...know my parents?" She asked her. The beautiful woman pondered for a moment with the cup in her hands speculatively. Finally after the two of them sipped the delicious tea, the woman nodded her head.
"You must understand that this is a very strange story. Most people would shrug this story off as fantasy but it indeed happened." She told Makoto. The Senshi of Jupiter was used to the strange and unusual. She was intimately acquainted with it. When the younger woman showed no sign of interupted Kasumi took a deep breath and prepared to tell the tale.
Over the course of the next several hours the poor Kino girl was hammered with the life of Ranma Saotome. The aquatransexual, macho, chauvenistic jerk who ultimately possessed a heart of gold. He was as honorable as he could possibly be given the examples he was shown by his father growing up. It was amazing to find out so much about her father. He was apparently a martial arts paragon capable of feats that routinely put him above his competition. If he lost then he simply came back to win. He never gave up. It was a trait that Makoto was seeing in herself except in this case she had given up. She had run away. With everything piling on top of him he still refused to run. The ruined wedding changed his outlook drastically.
He put his foot down on the indiscriminate battling. Since he was Ranma Saotome, slayer of a demigod, few people argued. Of course there were a few but anyone who had been to Jusendo certainly could not deny him. Peace had been achieved but a true resolution escaped them all. It wasn't until his erstwhile fiancee Akane discovered a book of alchemy and mistook it for a cookbook did everything finally resolve itself.
A dish of chicken teriyaki changed it all.
This dish had turned into a barely conscious slime monster that almost devoured her father but was turned to devouring it's creator instead. This did not sit well with the members of the house as the creature then proceeded to devour them as well. Her father was elated to actually have a friend who wanted to please him. All the problem elements of Nerima were devoured by the slime. The slime had by this point achieved sentience, and combined with the feelings of those it had devoured, decided that it loved her father. With this realization he gave the mutant dish the Nyannichuan. This proved to be a good thing as their love had grown. They had decided to be wed. Of course it was not a legal ceremony since technically, even in Nerima, you can't marry a foodstuff no matter how attractive it is. The two had invited the remaining malicious elements to the wedding. It wasn't until they had been similarly devoured that Ranma realized they were no longer antagonistic towards him.
The feeling of guilt as it all crashed down on him almost destroyed him. He had let this creature into his heart in a weak moment but he did not blame her. He blamed himself for allowing it to do as it pleased. Ranma simply resolved to do the best he could and make sure to contain his wife's "urges". Ranma had actually come to this small village to live in the cabin in the hills. Kasumi had arrived in the village with questions to ask Ranma since he had left a pretty wide trail to this place. Terri still hadn't integrated everything she knew too well so they were easy to follow.
Kasumi questioned Ranma extensively about what happened. It was at a time when the Kinos were expecting their first child, Makoto. Terri had settled down into the soon-be-a-mother role quite well. The eldest Tendo daughter wanted to be angry but to see the guilt that Ranam obviously carried for his part in her family's destruction robbed her of much of her anger. She decided to stay and help them to raise their daughter since it would be the closest she ever came to having a niece with Akand and Nabiki gone.
Makoto listened with rapt attention to the story as it was unveiled to her. The dinner that was served during all this blew her taste buds away totally. She knew she was a good cook but Aunt Kasumi, as she was thinking of her, was mind blowing. The story had reached the main thrust. The thing that the Tendo woman was building up to was obviously bad as the happy reminiscing left her looking worn.
"It all went wrong one dark night." She told her. The night of Makoto's birth was supposed to be a happy occasion but something went terribly wrong. She gave birth just fine but as she passed the baby into Kasumi's arms, a strange feeling swept through her body like pure lightning had just ran along her spine. The lightning feeling had left a strange peace behind. She left the room, shaken by the experience, to clean the infant when a horrible sound was heard from the next room. Kasumi stuck her head out the door to see what had happened when she saw Terri, in all her glory, holding Ranma up by his neck. It was a sight that would remain with her for the rest of her life. The once loving young woman had become a creature covered in swirling black flames and reeking of malevolence.
"I'm not proud of what I did. I just grabbed you, the symbol of their love, and ran into the night." She told the girl. Makoto just stared as the story concluded.
"What...what happened next?" She asked, afraid for the answer.
"I fled to the inn and staggered inside, clutching you to my chest, and terrified for your father, but I had to think of you first. It was sometime after midnight when the desk clerk rushed to the door. That was when I saw Ranma for what I knew would be the final time." Kasumi had rushed to his side only to have him cough up the blood that was welling in his throat. She had seen him injured but never this badly before. However the damage to his body was second to the damage done to his spirit. Ranma managed to say that he fought Terri. She could not be reasoned with. Something had changed her so profoundly that he could not say what. Kasumi listened to his tale as he wept freely. She would not be reasoned with and could not be stopped. He didn't know what to do. The best he could hope for was to buy Kasumi time to escape. He lamented not being able to save their daughter when she informed him that little Makoto was alright.
Ranma stopped breathing so laborously and actually seemed to smile. He had managed to stop her for now. She was effectively immortal so he did the best that he could and sealed her. He used the Weakness Moxibustion Point on her to seal away her power and confined her to the place that the cabin stood. She was there even now. The villagers wil not even go near that place anymore believing it to be a cursed place. Upon telling me, he slipped away in my arms.
"What happened then?" Makoto asked as the woman stopped to sip her tea.
"What happened? I wanted to get you away from here. Away from the source of all this sadness. I had found a couple who had just lost a little girl and was planning on leaving. They were the Kino family. They were only too happy to have you and took you with them. I was certain that you would be happy and safe but now here you are." She commented with a sigh. The Senshi of Jupiter looked crestfallen.
"You wanted me gone huh?" She asked. Kasumi looked startled briefly before moving around the table and enfolding her in her arms.
"That's not it at all sweetheart. I just wanted you away from the place of so much suffering. I love you so very much." The woman holding her kissed her on top of her head. The Senshi nestled into her Aunt's arms and let herself be held.
"Maybe this is why I came here..." She thought idly. She was drawn to this place from the start. Now she knew the truth of what she was. The child of loving parents who somehow ended up all wrong. Her mother inexplicably attacked her father intent on destroing him. She had to know what caused her to do that.
And was she also going to end up like that?
end Chapter.