Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
Ranma ½: When you are lost in a sea of grief, look for a light to guide you home.
Chapter 3: Drowning
Xian Pu walked past Ranma-chan and into her bedroom without saying a word. She heard Ranma-chan following her as she reached into her closet and grabbed her robe. She turned just in time to not be glomped by the scantily clad aqua-sexual. Xian Pu wrapped the robe around Ranma, and ignored the look on her drunken guest's face. Ranma-chan pouted, then looked down sadly.
"I thought ya wanted my body. Ain't that why you did what ya did? To get my body?" Ranma-chan said as she slowly pulled the robe tighter around herself. "Ain't that why you decided to bring me home with you?"
Xian Pu looked at Ranma, and took her hand as she led her back to the kitchen. Xian Pu stopped, and looked at Ranma-chan and sighed before she pointed at a chair. "Sit. I'm going to make something to clear your head."
Ranma hesitated for a minute, then sat and watched Xian Pu as she started to mix something together. Xian Pu worked in silence for a bit before she looked into Ranma-chan's eyes.
"I'm doing it for a selfish reason, just not the one you thought. I've had a lot of time to think about what I did, and tried to do. I.. I was pretty horrible to you and Ukyo… And especially to… to.." Xian Pu trailed off as she bit her bottom lip. "I tried to kill all three of you at one time or another. If you don't want to forgive me, then I understand." Xian Pu looked up for a moment, then back at what she had started to work on. "But… I would like a chance to make amends. To try to be a better person."
"And, what if I don't forgive you? What if I don't want to be your charity case so you can feel better 'bout yourself." Ranma-chan said with a little heat and only swayed a bit.
Xian Pu shrugged as she pushed a vile-smelling concoction towards Ranma. "Then, you stay tonight and then go back to trying to neglect yourself until you die. Or, you give us both a chance. It's really your choice, Ranma."
Ranma-chan eyed the vile smelling concoction warily then looked at Xian Pu. "What is this? Am I supposed to drink it, or clean the floor with it?"
"Drink it. Don't worry, it tastes much worse than it smells. And no, it's not an attempt to poison you or drug you. Those generally smell much better. Go on. It will help with the hangover that is sure to be coming after what you drank." Xian Pu said as she turned her back on her guest and started to make some rice porridge.
Ranma-chan eyed the concoction one more time, then cast a look at Xian Pu before she lifted the vile potion and gulped it down quickly, without gagging more than once. She wordlessly accepted the glass of water that Xian Pu offered, and drained it quickly to wash the taste out of her mouth. "Why are you makin' more food? You hungry again?"
Xian Pu shook her head as she continued cooking, then placed the bowl of porridge in front of Ranma-chan once she was finished. "You need to eat, and it will help that potion work better. Unless you want the hangover you have so definitely earned for drinking that?"
Ranma-chan eyed her Amazonian opponent for a long minute, then started in on the bowl without saying anything. As she ate, she could feel her head slowly clearing. By the time she had finished, she was as sober as she had been before she had invaded the secret stash of Xian Pu's.
"Feeling a bit more like yourself?" Xian Pu asked as she collected the bowl and glasses.
Ranma-chan nodded as she watched Xian Pu. "Yeah… So, ummm… Thanks."
Xian Pu looked over her shoulder and smiled. "You are welcome, Ranma. Now, why don't you go put on something a little less daring, unless you want to wear that? Your clothes should be dry soon, if you want to change back you can certainly get dressed in them again."
Ranma sat silently for a minute, then nodded as she got up and grabbed a glass of hot water before she walked over to Xian Pu's dryer to retrieve her clothes and vanish into the bathroom. A short time later male-type Ranma walked out dressed in the same outfit that Xian Pu had seen him in earlier.
"Thank you, Shampoo." He said quietly as he rubbed the back of his head.
Xian Pu nodded and smiled as she chose not to correct him as he mangled her name like he usually did. "It's really not a problem, Ranma. So… Will you stay the night here?" Xian Pu asked as she looked away so that he couldn't read the expression on her face. She didn't want to influence him either way, she wanted him to know it really was his choice, that he could make choices and be allowed to follow them.
That she wasn't going to be like she used to be, like most of them used to be as they tried to get what they had wanted from Ranma.
Ranma looked off to the side as he thought about it. What he wanted, what he felt like he should do. After a bit he sighed and looked at her back. "I'll stay… But just tonight. Don't think this means I forgive you or nothin'. I'm just using your hospitality until I decide to go somewhere else." He said as he reached back and tugged at his pigtail.
Xian Pu nodded as she walked over and fetched her spare futon and comforter from her room. "That's fine. You can stay up as long as you want, and go to bed when you feel like it. I'm going to watch the news, then get ready for bed myself. Some of us have to go to work early in the morning, and I want to make sure I get in my run and practice before then." Xian Pu said and then stretched before she walked over and sat on the couch. "You can join me, if you want. I promise not to bite."
After a few minutes of histation, Ranma walked over and sat on the far side of the couch from Xian Pu. Xian Pu made sure she did not glance at him, and tried to hide the little smile. He might be as far away as he could manage on the couch, but he had sat next to her. She considered that a good sign.
As time passed, Xian Pu noticed that Ranma had yawned a few times. More than likely it was a combination of the food, the stress, his adventures in drinking, and one of the after effects of the potion she had given him. Yes, it would burn the alcohol out of his system rapidly, but it did that by making the body process it much faster. Still, a bit of exhaustion was better than the hangover that Ranma had earned by drinking her not-so-cheap sake like that.
Xian Pu relaxed as she listened to the news, and paid particular attention to the weather. It was always best to plan ahead on her use of the soap. It was sometimes nice to conserve it a bit on her days off. She jerked a little as something landed in her lap. When she looked down, she saw a sleeping Ranma with his head laying in her lap. She paused as he looked at him, and slowly, hesitantly, she reached down and brushed her fingers lightly through his hair. When he didn't react, she smiled softly and gently stroked her fingers through his hair for a bit, until she had to very carefully extract herself from the couch, and then laid a comforter over his sleeping form.
"Goodnight, Ranma." She said quietly before she padded silently into her room. After she had left, a pair of blue eyes opened slowly, and regarded her door for a minute before they slowly slid closed and he settled back into sleep.
'She didn't try anything.' was the last thought that passed through Ranma's mind before he let himself truly fall asleep.
Ranma woke in the morning and stretched as he smelled what Xian Pu had started to work on in the kitchen. He stood and wandered in that direction, but stopped when he saw the young woman who stood in front of the stove. She was dressed in bike shorts and a tank top, with what he suspected was a sports bra underneath. Her long, lavender hair was tied back in a high ponytail to keep it out of her way as she worked.
Ranma found himself staring in spite of himself. He knew that Shampoo had always been gorgeous, but when she had mostly been trying to seduce or kill him, it had been a bit more difficult to appreciate it. Now, she stood there and worked away, and the sheer normalcy and mundanity of this made it more clear than ever. She was cute, yes. But he had to stay wary of her. She was still Shampoo, the Amazonian warrior, no matter how much she had seemed to change.
Xian Pu glanced over her shoulder and smiled at her house guest. "See something you like? You've been standing there for a bit.: She seemed to realize what she had said, and blushed before she coughed and looked back at the stove. "I meant the food. Not...Anything else." She said as she shifted nervously.
Ranma stopped for a moment, as he processed what she had said, and her reaction. He wasn't sure if it was an act or not. She seemed genuine, and she had never really been a good actor. She had always been direct, but also she had never been shy about her body, or anything before. If anything, she had been a wanton little slut. He couldn't even remember how many times she had tried to sneak into his bed, dressed or not.
Ranma sighed as he turned and sat at the table and thought about the last day or so. So many things didn't seem to fit with what he had known about her. Somewhere, she had become a mystery. He just wasn't sure if he cared enough or had the energy to unravel it.
Xian Pu cast a look at Ranma before she turned back to the stove to serve up their breakfast and walked over as she placed each of their morning meals on the table before she took her own seat. She took a moment to say her thanks for the meal in the Japanese manner, and noted with little surprise that Ranma didn't. Somewhere, somehow her manners had passed Ranma's. That was not a great feat, by any stretch of the imagination, but she found some small amount of humor in it, nevertheless.
Xian Pu had to admit, it felt nice cooking for someone besides herself. More and more often, she had been leaving out some element or another of the morning meal. Now, though, she had most of the staples. Steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish and eggs with furikake. She honestly hoped that it would not be enough food. That was probably the easiest way to judge how her guest was doing, by what he managed to destroy of her pantry.
Xian Pu kept an eye on Rnama as they ate, and noted that he showed at least some interest in his food. She took that as a good sign and cleared the table, once again with a bit of unexpected help from Ranma. He didn't help with the dishes, but she could understand that. Honestly, without her good pair of kitchen gloves she would probably end up a cat more often than she wanted to think about. That was the reason there was always a carafe of hot water going on the counter, right where she could access it easily in case there were any incidents of the feline variety.
She looked Ranma over as she stretched a bit. "I'm going to go for a run, would you like to join me today?" She asked, with more than a bit of hope in her voice.
Ranma paused and thought for a moment, then shook his head and gave her a weak smile. "I.. will pass for today, okay? Maybe another time…" He said as he looked away again.
Xian Pu nodded as he bit her lip and gave him a serious look before she said in a joking manner. "I locked up the sake, so no more adventures with my lingerie, okay?"
Ranma blushed and nodded as he turned his back on her. "I promise. Go take your run… I will be here when you get back…" he said before he went and sat on the couch to watch something mindless on her television.
Xian Pu hesitated again, then nodded as she grabbed her water bottle, and slipped into her running shoes at the door. "Ittekimasu!"
Xian Pu smiled when she heard Ranma say "Itterasshai." from the living room. With a bob of her head, she left through the door, happy that things seemed to be doing better.
Once she had left, Ranma sighed and continued to watch the television for a bit, before his thoughts started to slip when he thought about the fact that the show that he was watching had been one of the few that he had watched with Akane. As the first tears rolled down his cheeks, he stood up jerkily and rushed into the kitchen. The sound of the sink running is soon replaced with heart wrenching sobs.
Xian Pu returned after her run, and entered her apartment. As she did, she slipped off her shoes and called out. She called out "Tadaima!" as she came back in, and frowned when she didn't hear the response of "Okaeri." Her fears were proven all to true when she heard soft, feminine sobs coming from the living room. She walked in, and sighed as she saw a damp Ranma-chan curled up on her couch, clutching one of the cushions as she was wracked by shaking sobs. The only reason they were not louder was the fact that she had her face pressed tight against the cushion. Xian Pu hesitated for a moment, then sat down next to Ranma-chan. Her heart ached when Ranma-chan pulled away slightly, but the fact that she hadn't moved farther set her a little at ease. After a moment, XIan Pu gently rested a hand on the crying aqua-transexuals back and gently started to rub soothing circles. She felt Ranma-chan stiffen momentarily, but pushed on. Soon, she felt the muscles under her fingers relax a little and smiled sadly down at the tear-stained face that peered up at her over the cushion. Xian Pu steeled her resolve, and gently pulled Ranma-chan to rest her head in her own lap, and started to stroke the red head's hair gently.
After a minute, Xian Pu heard a soft voice whisper. "I miss her." slip out of Ranma-chan's lips.
Xian Pu nodded as she kept gently soothing Ranma-chan. "I know. I do too."
They sat quietly for a bit, until Ranma had drifted off to sleep. Xian Pu looked down at her, then picked up her phone and texted her boss that she would not be in today, she had a sick friend that she needed to tend to. After a minute, she got a response that acknowledged her statement, and that wished her friend a quick recovery.
Xian Pu let her head lay back as she let Ranma-chan rest for a bit.
She just hoped that this time, she didn't mess things up again.
