Hey everyone, it's me Hide Shinyama.
We're nearing the end of this arc with some epilogue content.
What is going to happen?
Find out in…
Chapter 69 – Some Conversations
15th of November, Sunday, 5:00 am – In the ruined downtown area of Tokyo
"You've done well, Issei. You've done well…" Shinyama said to the sleeping Issei, who was sleeping soundly.
Shinyama looked at the sleeping Bruce Banner as well who was exhausted from the days of rampaging. While he stood there watching over the two of them, Matsuda and Motohama came running towards the sleeping Issei.
""ISSEI!"" Matsuda and Motohama jumped at Issei with joy and hugged him.
"You're alive, man!" Matsuda exclaimed with joy.
"Yeah, dude! I'm so glad to see you again!" Motohama said as he laughed with joy.
Shinyama then stepped in to separate the two boys from Issei.
"Now, now… Issei has had an exhausting day behind him. Give him some rest," Shinyama said to them.
"Yes, sure, sure…" Matsuda replied as both boys moved away.
"We'll get him inside," Motohama offered.
"Thanks, and… While you're at it, could you also help me take Dr. Banner back?"
"Dr. Banner?" Motohama said confused.
That was when he and Matsuda looked down at the sleeping American. Motohama yelped upon recognizing him.
"It's the Hulk!? He's back to normal!?" Motohama voiced incredulously.
"You mean that's his true form!?" Matsuda spoke surprised as he promptly backed away in fear.
"Well, yes. But don't worry. He's harmless now. And he is asleep, so he will not pose much of a threat. Now, let's get him back," Shinyama told them.
Matsuda and Motohama were skeptical at first, but then hesitantly complied. Together, Shinyama had both Matsuda and Motohama stand next to him on both sides and then prop Issei and Bruce up with their arms slung over their shoulders.
After they had arrived back to the house, there were the members of the Tengu Family ready to greet them.
"Ise! Is he alright!?" Kasumi said as she went up to check on the boy.
"He's alright. He's just asleep. He just needs some rest," Shinyama assured Kasumi.
"I see…" Kasumi sighed in relief, though she could not help but cast a worried look at the boy.
"That is good news," Soun Tengu said with relief.
"Yeah, but then again this is Issei we're talking about," Ryuga said to the Tengu patriarch. "He's practically invincible."
"Yeah, that he is I guess…" Hibiki, the Tengu's middle daughter, said with an approving smile.
"But wait, who is this?" Nakane, the youngest daughter, wondered as she pointed at Bruce. "And where is Sanma?"
That got everyone's attention. They only realized now that Sanma was not among them.
Shinyama spoke up to quell their worries.
"First question, this is Bruce Banner. Some of you may know him as the Hulk," Shinyama explained to them.
"""""THE HULK!?""""" all the members of the Tengu Family and Ryuga yelled out in shock.
"Yes, but do not worry. He's harmless now. Just don't antagonize him when he wakes up and all will be fine," Shinyama said to them. "As for the second question, do not worry. Sanma will be back soon."
"Wait. What do you mean he'll be back soon? Where is that guy?" Ryuga asked this time.
"He's in Nerima… somewhere… It's hard to explain…" Shinyama answered vaguely.
Meanwhile with Sanma in Nerima of another Dimension…
"Hah… hah… hah…" Ranma Saotome was panting hard for he was getting tired.
Sanma Raotome, on the other hand, was still standing strong.
Ranma tried everything in his arsenal. Kicks, punches, dodges, chi blasts and various tactics. But Sanma seemed to always beat him.
Sanma, on the other hand, could not help but feel that his other self was not just a look-alike. Rather, it seemed like he was an exact copy of him. From the way he fought to the way he talked and behaved. The only difference was that Sanma had undergone training under Shinyama and had become the Successor of Hokuto Shinken. With this martial art under his belt, Sanma was practically invincible among his peers his age, including his old self before learning the Fist of the North Star, which is what Ranma represented.
With that in mind, Sanma grew curious as to what else about Ranma resembled him. But to actually make comparisons, this fight had to stop first.
"Why don't ya give up?" Sanma said to Ranma. "I'm clearly the stronger one."
Ranma, however, was stubborn. He gritted his teeth and glared at Sanma with all his might.
"Surrender? Never!" Ranma spat out and stood up, his body shaking all the while.
Ranma took a stance and was preparing his attack.
"I'll end it with this…" Ranma declared as he built the energy within his body.
Sanma sighed and surprisingly did not take a stance. Rather, he just stood there and opened his arms wide, leaving him defenseless.
"Alright, try it," Sanma dared his opponent.
"You… are ya lookin' down on me!?" Ranma asked angrily.
"Nope, I just wanted to feel yer true power at its fullest. I wanna know if ya're the real deal," Sanma answered Ranma.
"Then don't blame me…" Ranma said and closed his eyes.
Ranma powered more energy within him and then…
"HIRYU… SHOTEN… HA!" Ranma screamed and threw a punch into the air.
(((((WHOOOOOSH!)))))
A huge whirlwind suddenly appeared and caught both fighters up in it.
Sanma was sent flying very high into the air by the attack. Sanma could not help but feel astonished.
"Hiryu Shoten Ha… So, he can also do it…" Sanma remarked astounded.
The Hiryu Shoten Ha was Sanma's strongest attack in his arsenal prior to learning Hokuto Shinken. And even though Sanma was high up in the air after being hit by the attack, he felt no fear or panic whatsoever. Instead, Sanma felt… happy for some reason… With this attack, he could tell that this Ranma Saotome was another version of himself.
Sanma had stopped gaining height and was plummeting down towards a nearby pond…
[SPLASH!]
…creating a huge splash. Once he got out of the water…
"Ah… man…" Sanma cursed for he had turned into a girl once again.
The curse that Sanma had received whenever cold water touched him was acting up once again.
The boy-turned-girl sat down to meditate near the shores of the pond.
Using a special meditation technique, female Sanma dried herself as heat arose from her body and dried both body and clothes.
Ranma Saotome came stumbling towards Sanma from the distance and saw to his shock that Sanma had turned into a girl.
"Y-you're…" Ranma uttered in shock upon seeing his opponent's female form.
Sanma, not liking to be stared at in his female from, cast an irritated look at Ranma.
"Ya still wanna go at it?" Sanma asked Ranma.
Ranma slumped down in exhaustion.
"Okay… I lose…" Ranma conceded.
"Good, I want some answers about ya. Ya know, just to compare notes about who ya are," Sanma said to Ranma.
"Me too. I'm also curious as to who ya are," Ranma responded.
And so, Ranma and the feminized Sanma sat down on a nearby bench to talk about themselves.
Sanma explained about how she came from another world through a being called the Hulk whom she and a friend of hers were fighting against. Sanma reasoned to himself that the Hulk must have teleported elsewhere together with Issei and the two of them were duking it out between each other. The boy, as it turned out was this dimension's counterpart of Sanma Raotome. And as they conversed, they were in for a lot of surprises.
They learned that they both had a similar backstory. They both were born to a lazy no-good father who took them from home to train. Then they went to a trip to China and fell into a pool that turned them into girls. After that they found out that they had been engaged to one of the daughters of a friend of their fathers. That daughter turned out to be an angry violent uncute tomboy and they would always have this love-hate-relationship. Plus, both Sanma and Ranma found out that they all had friends, acquaintances and foes that were similar to the ones they themselves knew. Both of them ended up laughing so much over how similar, yet different the names of those they knew were from those of the other one's dimension.
"I mean come on! Ryuga Nabiki? It sounds like somebody switched up Ryoga's name with a different kana and then replaced his surname with Nabiki Tenma's first name. Oh! And Nabiki gets Ryoga's surname, too!" Ranma could not help but chuckle.
"Yeah, I guess it is kind of funny!" Sanma laughed herself. "And I thought Nakane being called Akane here was weird."
"How about the old lecher? How is he called in your place?" Ranma wanted to know.
"You mean that pervy grandmaster who steals boy's underwear? He's named Hentai," Sanma answered.
"Hentai? Really? In my place he's called Happosai or Happi. And wait, he steals boy's underwear?" Ranma voiced in disbelief.
"Well, yeah," Sanma replied. "Wait, are ya sayin' he doesn't steal underwear here?"
"Oh, he steals underwear, all right. It's just that he steals girl's underwear. Boy's underwear makes him weak," Ranma explained.
"Ahahahaha… Oh, that is so good…" Sanma laughed at the thought of one of his molesters not harassing her as a man in this world.
"Well, I still have to stop him from stealing underwear, so he is still a pain to deal with," Ranma retorted.
"At least, ya're not being molested yerself," Sanma replied as she calmed down from laughing.
"How about Tatewaki Kuno?" Ranma asked this time about another acquaintance.
"Who?" Sanma asked confused.
"Don't ya have a guy carrying a wooden sword who is crazy in love with Akane… or in yer case Nakane?" Ranma specified.
Sanma was silent for a few seconds before understanding who Ranma was referring to.
"Oh… you mean Takaki Kono! Yeah, he is annoying!" Sanma stated in realization.
"Ahahaha… Takaki Kono? Man, these names… AHAHAHAHAHAH!" Ranma laughed while holding his belly.
Sanma also joined in laughing. The similar-sounding names always got her cracking up.
"Does that guy also go get beaten up every time by Akane… I mean, Nakane and ya?" Ranma said after calming down.
"Always. That guy never stood a chance," Sanma assured Ranma with a grin.
"The same goes for Tatewaki in this world," Ranma informed Sanma. "What about his younger sister Kodachi? How is she called in yer world? Is she also as crazy in yer world as in mine?"
At this point, Sanma froze upon hearing the word "younger sister" and the name "Kodachi". It was obvious about whom he was talking about.
Sanma remembered the last time she saw that crazy gymnast. Sanma remembered how she insanely laughed upon discovering his girl transformation curse. Sanma also remembered how Komachi had to be knocked out. Sanma remembered… how she cried after falling unconscious. And with it came the pangs of regret.
"Komachi… if only things were different…" Sanma whispered somberly.
Ranma noticed the sudden change in mood.
"Is… everything alright?" Ranma asked Sanma carefully.
Sanma quickly regained composure.
"It's fine…" Sanma assured Ranma. "It's… It's nothing…"
"Okay…" Ranma said with some skepticism in his facial expression but decided to move on, nonetheless.
"What about Shampoo? How is she called? Does she jump on you and drug you? Does she also wanna drag ya to China to get married?" Ranma asked, hoping that they could move on from the awkwardness from before.
But that ended up backfiring for Sanma would only move on to remember an even worse memory.
The things Ranma just said… There was no way Sanma would not know whom Ranma was referring to.
The recent battle at the Tengu residence…
All the deaths…
And even…
Flashback
„Cat Fu… not like you… is Amazon… she lives… and dies… with her people…" Cat Fu spoke and reached out to Sanma's face and touched it lovingly. „I'm… sorry… I… wish… Airen… lives… happy… Cat… Fu… loves… you…"
Flashback End
Sanma could still remember the warm touch of Cat Fu's hand on her cheek before her hand fell limp as her life ended.
Sanma remembered how she cried as she cradled her dead body and even cried in Ukyu's arms.
All the grief and regret from that time came rushing back to Sanma at this moment.
"Cat Fu…" Sanma whispered as she covered her hand over her face in grief.
Ranma was shocked at his counterpart's sudden change in attitude once again.
"Dude… Are ya all right?" Ranma asked Sanma worried.
"Yeah, I… I…" Sanma tried to say it was fine.
But then, Sanma decided she could not hide it anymore.
"No… No, I'm not fine…" Sanma said to Ranma. "I'm not fine at all…"
Ranma looked at Sanma with sympathy. Ranma knew that this was no way he would react to Shampoo or even Kodachi in this world. Something was wrong here.
"Can ya tell me what happened?" Ranma wanted to know.
Sanma sighed.
"It's a long story…" Sanma said tiredly.
"Try me," Ranma challenged Sanma.
Sanma reluctantly accepted the challenge and asked Ranma a question.
"First off, I wanna compare notes. The girls I was mainly involved with were Nakane Tengu, Cat Fu, Ukyu Kuongi and Komachi Kono. Are ya also romantically involved with your version of the girls?" Sanma asked Ranma.
"Lemme see…" Ranma said as he pondered to himself. "Nakane is obviously Akane in my world from what you've told me… By the sounds of it, Ukyu Kuongi must be Ukyo Kuonji… Komachi is Kodachi… and let me guess… that Cat Fu is a Chinese Amazon in yer world, ain't she?"
"Yeah… she is…" Sanma confirmed with a small nod and a sad expression on her face.
"Then the answer is yeah… all four of them are the girls who are vying for my heart," Ranma confirmed. "Though, it has never been so easy with them fighting against each other or against me just to do that."
"I thought so…" Sanma said and continued speaking. "Ya see... I never truly knew what I wanted to do. I did not know who to end up with, nor what I wanted outta life. Every time… no matter what I did… I would also end up… stuck… like I was trapped in some kind of endless loop no matter what…"
"Really?" Ranma asked. "Ya mean like ya cannot get outta the situation and cannot move forward?"
"Yup," Sanma nodded. "And… it did not matter what I said or did… everyone just ignored what I wanted or just did their own thing while usin' me… Not just the girls but also the others. Takaki, Hentai, Ryuga, the Amazons, my dad, my mom, Nakane's dad and some other random people… all of them are the same… And even for those who are really nice to me like Kasumi, they only help me by so much. They don't solve the problem. I was stuck with people and obligations where I either had to abide by the martial artist's honor of the School of Randomness and bear with it or end up breaking promises and lose all the honor and possibly everything I have…"
Ranma could not help but feel for Sanma. Those feeling… were exactly the same feelings he himself had. The depression and helplessness to get out of a situation which plagues him in a never-ending loop… They were… truly the same…
"And honestly, I thought this nightmare would never end until Issei Hyoudou and his friends came," Sanma said to Ranma.
"Issei Hyoudou? Who is he?" Ranma asked confused.
"Ya know… brown haired guy, has the ability to summon a red gauntlet which fires blasts from his hand and also wears a blood-red armour? He also has a Dragon in his gauntlet that talks to people named Ddraig. Also, his friends are Matsuda, a bald guy with a cool size-shifting helicopter, and Motohama, a guy with glasses with gloves that can shoot out glue," Sanma explained to Ranma assuming that the latter would know who she was talking about.
But Ranma just shook his head. "I don't know this Issei fellow or his friends. And I don't know anyone with those descriptions either," Ranma admitted honestly. "And I'm not aware of any people by those names either…"
"Huh?" Sanma voiced surprised.
This left Sanma confused for a while until she made a conclusion.
'Could it be that this version of me has never met Issei and his friends in this world?' Sanma reasoned.
Nevertheless, Sanma resumed her explanation.
"Well, the thing about Issei is that he and his friends stepped into my life and helped me in a lotta ways. Like there was this one time when Kasumi was kidnapped… Come to think of it… How is she called in yer world?" Sanma interrupted his explanation to ask.
"Ya mean Kasumi Tenma? She actually has the same first name in your world?" Ranma answered and asked surprised.
"Same name… okay, that's weird… but also kinda convenient since ya know who I'm talking about… Anyway, Kasumi got kidnapped this one time by Fallen Angels… One of them became her boyfriend and then tricked her into being trafficked by gangsters…" Sanma told Ranma.
"Whoa… now that sounds bad…" Ranma stated surprised.
"I know. But then Issei and his friends stepped in and saved her. He took her back from their lair since I was injured at the time and couldn't do it myself. Truth be told, at first, Issei and I did not like each other. But everything changed that day after he saved Kasumi. Plus, those Fallen Angels weren't done yet. They attacked the Tengu dojo and tried to kill us all. Luckily, Issei, Matsuda and Motohama helped us fight back and saved our lives," Sanma explained Ranma with fond memories about their first time fighting together.
"That's it?" Ranma asked Sanma. "You guys fought together against some Fallen Angels and that solved the problem?"
"Of course not," Sanma corrected him. "Actually, there's a lot more to say, so I'll get there. Anyway, we became friends and they sure were the best friends ya could ever have. Heck, even Ryuga was not nearly as good a friend as these guys."
"How were they better friends than Ryuga?" Ranma asked with genuine curiosity.
"For one, they weren't always picking a fight with me. For the first time, I actually felt like I found people that stuck with me through thick and thin. We even went through some adventures together. Heck, even my relationship with Ryuga became better 'cuz of them – at least for a while," Sanma admitted.
"How did that happen?" Ranma asked Sanma.
"Ryuga was also part of our friend group," Sanma revealed shocking Ranma. "All five of us – together. Okay, actually it's six since Ddraig, the Dragon I mentioned earlier, also counts."
"That's… unbelievable…" Ranma remarked astonished.
Sanma smiled at that.
"Yeah, I'd say that I've never had a better group of friends than those guys," Sanma acknowledged, only for that smile to fade away. "But as my relationship with those guys became better, my relationship with the girls changed for the worse…"
"What happened?" Ranma asked Sanma.
"It… well, there was this time Cat Fu and Nakane invited me to this event separately. I tried dating them both at the same time to please them both until they found about it. They got really mad and even sad. Since then, they avoided me. Nakane even shut herself in her room for some time," Sanma explained.
"Yeesh… that sucks… Why would ya do that?" Ranma asked with a facepalm.
"Yeah, I'll admit I was stupid. Funny enough, my relationship with Komachi improved. We even went on a date this one time," Sanma told Ranma.
"Really!? The crazy gymnast!? What were ya thinkin'!?" Ranma asked Sanma.
"Hard to believe? Yeah, thinking back it was kind of crazy to be going out with her. But I did that 'cuz Ukyu suggested I do that," Sanma recounted.
"Ukyo did?" Ranma wondered. "Why would she do that? Isn't she also after yer heart?"
"Yeah, but I think Ukyu was actually being considerate of me that day. She knew about what I felt and decided to cut me some slack… is what I think she was thinking…" Sanma theorized. "But in the end, even my relationship with Komachi went to bust. She found out that my female self and I were one person and… she was shocked, then broke down… laughed even crazier than normal… and then breaking down in tears…"
At this, Sanma went silent at the uncomfortable memory.
Ranma, on the other hand, could not help but feel sympathy for his other counterpart. He may not have liked the crazy gymnast that much, but even the thought of making her break down and cry unsettled him. Would the same happen to Komachi if she found about his transformation curse? Ranma reasoned that this is a likely possibility.
"How did she find out about yer curse?" Ranma asked Sanma.
"Shinyama was the one who revealed it to her. Splashed me with water all the sudden and voila," Sanma opened her arms as if to present her female body.
"Huh? Who is Shinyama?" Ranma asked while blinking in confusion.
"Shinyama Hide is the landlord of Issei's apartment and the guardian of him and Matsuda and Motohama," Sanma answered. "In fact, he's also an important figure as to why I got to where I'm now."
"He is?" Ranma asked Sanma.
"Yep, a true mystery is what that guy is. But he was the one to tell me how to get out of the love web," Sanma revealed to Ranma.
"He did?" Ranma asked, his interest was raised to the max upon hearing this. "How did he suggest ya get out?"
Sanma stood up and walked up and about.
"He trained me. He taught me this martial art called Hokuto Shinken. With that martial art I became stronger in ways I could only imagine. If what you and I learned before is as huge and sturdy as a huge boulder, then Hokuto Shinken is like a mountain," Sanma illustrated.
"I see… so that's why ya seemed so much stronger. But ya still got knocked back by the Hiryu Shoten Ha. Was it just you bein' cocky?" Ranma mused.
"I let ya hit me on purpose," Sanma revealed with a smirk. "But I guess I overestimated myself a little. You really are strong, though not as strong as me."
Ranma could not help but fume at what the transformed boy-turned-girl said. But he quelled his anger to hear about what Shinyama had done to help Sanma get out of his love dilemma.
"And? He just taught ya some new martial arts and that solved the problem?" Ranma asked Sanma.
"Of course, not…" Sanma scoffed. "Shinyama also taught me to meditate and reflect about things, especially about what I wanted to do in the future and what I had to do to stop it. With Komachi outta the picture with that reveal, I had Nakane, Cat Fu and Ukyu left to choose. Although Nakane and I were engaged by our dads, after that fight when she refused to talk to me, she fell in love with Ryuga and now they're a couple."
"Akane and Ryoga!? They actually became a couple!? What about the promise my dad and her dad made? How did y'all deal with that?" Ranma asked perplexed.
"We… haven't crossed that bridge yet. But either way, I'll deal with that when the time comes 'cuz Nakane and Ryuga fit much better with each other than with me. So, I crossed her outta my list of potential marriage partners," Sanma concluded.
"I wonder if that's true for Akane and Ryoga in this world, huh?" Ranma wondered.
"And then came the hard part," Sanma said as she became tense. She did not want to talk about this part.
Ranma noticed this and started to feel uneasy. Still, he decided to ask Sanma anyway.
"What's the hard part?" Ranma asked.
Sanma sighed as she sat back down on the bench next to Ranma with her body hunched over.
"Remember I mentioned that Shinyama taught me Hokuto Shinken?" Sanma asked Ranma.
"Yeah, but what has that got to do with it?" Ranma asked.
"Everything. It turns out that one of the reasons he taught me Hokuto Shinken was for rejecting Cat Fu and opposing the Amazons in battle," Sanma revealed.
"Wait… did ya really have to... ya know… fight them?" Ranma asked carefully to which Sanma nodded.
"I fought them in an open battle. They were trying to kill me and everyone I knew, all 'cuz I rejected Cat Fu and refused to go to China with them," Sanma answered, his voice now subdued.
"Whoa! How did that turn out!?" Ranma wanted to know.
"I won," Sanma simply answered. "And it was horrible."
Ranma did not say anything. Now, he was feeling a chill running down his spine. Still, he mustered his courage and pressed on.
"Tell me what happened," Ranma demanded with a serious look on his face.
Sanma cupped her face with her hands. She did not want to tell his other self, yet at the same time, she felt compelled to. He had to know.
"I fought with everything I had. With Hokuto Shinken, I was truly invincible. The Amazons did not stand against me. But…" Sanma trembled as she stopped for a moment before continuing. "But those Amazons were out to kill me. And all 'cuz I did not wanna marry Cat Fu. I… had no choice… I had to… had to…"
Sanma could not finish the sentence, yet Ranma did not need to hear Sanma finish it for he knew exactly what he was trying to say. All Ranma did was look at Sanma with a horrified look.
"In the end, it was only me and Cat Fu left. She wanted to know if I truly rejected her. And I answered her that I did and then… then… she followed her tribe…" Sanma's voice quivered with emotion as she spoke about what happened with trembling and sadness.
Ranma did not know what to do. He only watched his counterpart in horror at what he just said. What Sanma was trying to say was clear to him. The Shampoo of Sanma's world killed herself and the entire Amazons were killed.
And the one to kill them was Sanma Raotome.
"I dunno what to say…" Ranma spoke up.
"With her gone, only Ukyu was left. And that was who I ended with. Truth be told, even before the Amazons attacked, I was already inclined to pick her. Ukyu had been so kind to me that she was the most logical choice. So, now I'm with Ukyu now. And that's my story," Sanma finished his story.
"Wow… it's just… wow…" Ranma simply said for he could not find the right words to say.
"Yeah, I guess it is incredible to hear from an outsider's perspective…" Sanma remarked.
The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes. Neither had anything to say.
Eventually, Sanma spoke up.
"But ya know, even with my love web now dissolved, I'm still not outta the woods just yet," Sanma revealed.
"How so?" Ranma asked her.
"When I was learning Hokuto Shinken, I was told that having mastered it, I'd constantly experience suffering and sadness because of it. The essence of Hokuto Shinken lies in experiencing sadness while overcoming it and so becoming truly compassionate and strong. But… I dunno if I can take this sadness… I wonder… is this really the right path?" Sanma wondered.
Ranma did not answer him immediately. He pondered about what to say. And after half a minute. He found something of an answer.
"I dunno. I cannot tell ya what ya have to do with such an overpowered martial art. I mean… unlike ya, I never learned that martial art or anything like it. Plus, I never experienced your recent experiences, so I've got no clue how ya truly feel right now…" Ranma answered Sanma honestly.
Sanma sighed to herself. What did she expect?
"But…" Ranma added much to Sanma's surprise. "…lemme tell ya something I experienced recently…"
Sanma sat up straighter and looked at Ranma with interest.
"I was out by myself and found myself in a whole new city. I was feeling kind of gloomy 'cuz Akane and I had this wedding we tried to hold when everything went to bust," Ranma explained.
"Ya wanted to marry Nakane!?" Sanma asked surprised.
"Yep, quite the difference in experience, eh? Still, all things considered, my problems are quite like yours. But anyway, the wedding did not turn to well, so I ended up finding a new hobby to get away from the stress of Nerima when this random guy walked up to me. We talked for a bit, and we found out we had our own problems. That guy had this mission of making girls fall for him or some catastrophe would befall the world," Ranma elaborated.
"What…?" Sanma voiced incredulously.
"Hard to believe, right? Then his girlfriends, the ones he spoke about, showed up and joined in the conversation and through it, I found out a solution that ended up helping me with my problems…" Ranma said as he smiled fondly at the memory of that day.
"And what's that?" Sanma asked Ranma intrigued.
"It's about finding someone to talk to… and making new friends that can help you… Once I did, my day felt so much brighter because of it. Since then, I've been meeting them quite often. My love web problems may not have been solved just yet. The others are still after my hide every day. But… at least, that guy and his girlfriends are there for me," Ranma said with a satisfied look on his face.
"Talking to others… making new friends…" Sanma repeated those words of advice to herself.
As Sanma pondered about these things, Ranma perked up.
"Sorry about this but I've gotta go!" Ranma said to Sanma as he jumped to his feet.
"Huh? Why?" Sanma asked confused.
"Oh, before I go… Here's a gift!" Ranma took out a thermos capsule and poured out hot water on Sanma.
"YEOWCH!" Sanma, now turned back into a boy, cried out. "What was that for!?"
"Sorry, no time! Take care, Sanma Raotome! I wish ya the best!" Ranma called out as he punched up into the air.
(((((WHOOSH!)))))
"WHOA!" Sanma covered his face to shield himself from the wind.
Sanma could see Ranma be carried into the sky by the winds with a… parachute? And disappeared into the deep blue sky.
"Seriously, what was up with him?" Sanma asked himself as he gazed up into the evening summer sky.
"Airen?" a girl's voice spoke up from nearby.
Sanma widened his eyes and turned to where the voice had come from.
To his shock, there was a girl with blue hair wearing typical Chinese clothing. She did look a little different from the person he knew. But there was no mistake.
'Cat Fu… No, that's not right. She is Cat Fu's counterpart of this world,' Sanma thought to himself.
"You're… Shampoo, right?" Sanma tried to ascertain.
Shampoo narrowed her eyes at Sanma and walked up to him. She inspected Sanma up close. Then she looked at his face.
"You… not Airen… Shampoo saw Airen with you, only to fly away… So, who you are?" Shampoo questioned Sanma.
Sanma did not answer her right away. Instead, he looked her into the eyes and smiled sadly.
Shampoo was taken aback by Sanma's behavior. She was about to back away from him when he spoke to her.
"Can we talk? Both you and I?" Sanma asked Shampoo.
Shampoo looked at Sanma confused. This boy was clearly not her Ranma and yet he was so similar to the Ranma she knew. But at the same time, what he just did was… completely out of character for him. Normally, he would blow her off or run away. But this person seemed clearly different. Shampoo only had eyes for one person only – and that was her Ranma. Nonetheless, she complied with Sanma's wishes.
Shampoo sat down on the bench next to him and waited for Sanma to speak first.
"Where to begin…" Sanma started the conversation.
Sanma told Shampoo about who he was, how he got here and how he met Ranma before finding himself here with her.
"You really are Airen from another world?" Shampoo asked with interest.
"Yeah, I am," Sanma affirmed.
Sanma explained that in his world, she and the others in Nerima also existed, and that they were all alike to a tee, whether it be Nakane, Ukyu, Komachi, his dad, his mom… the Amazons… and even…
Cat Fu…
"Is something wrong? Why Airen look so sad?" Shampoo asked Sanma.
"It's… I think I should explain…" Sanma spoke as he tried to keep his emotions in check.
But as Sanma spoke on about the things he had done up until now, he could not help but speak from his heart.
The pain.
The regrets.
The grief.
And the things that needed to be said.
"I killed them, Cat Fu," Sanma said to Shampoo, unintentionally calling her by the name her counterpart from Sanma's universe used. "I killed all the members of your tribe, including Mouse and your grandmother. You even killed yourself after I told you I chose Ukyu instead of you. I'm… I'm so sorry… I'm… *sob*… so… *sob*…"
At this point, Sanma was unable to speak as he broke down in tears before Shampoo.
Shampoo, unexpectedly, hugged Sanma and comforted him with her embrace. Sanma hugged her in return even as tears streaked down from his face.
They sat there in each other's arms for what seemed like an eternity.
"Thank you…" Shampoo said to Sanma.
"Huh?" Sanma voiced confused even with tears still running down his face.
"Thank you… for showing that you care for Shampoo…" Shampoo said to him with a smile.
Sanma let go off her and looked at her in disbelief.
"But… I…" Sanma stammered as he tried to say something.
"Tell me… Can you say why Shampoo chose to kill herself?" Shampoo asked of Sanma.
Sanma thought back to that moment and carefully thought about what he was going to speak before did so.
"She said that she is an Amazon and that she wanted to live and die with her people… but even though she was upset that I rejected her… she also told me to live… and be happy 'cuz…" Sanma answered and choked at a bit at the memory. "…she said she still loved me…"
Shampoo smiled even more brightly at this, though Sanma could also see a bit of sadness hidden behind her happy face.
"Shampoo see… if that is what other me really said… then… Shampoo also say the same… Be happy… Airen… for other me's sake…" Shampoo said to Sanma.
"But…" Sanma objected fervently. "…I caused your death… I killed your tribe… I trampled on your feelings… How can you not hate me for doing all this!?"
Sanma wanted to know for he could not reconcile her current behavior with everything he told her.
"Because… Shampoo loves Airen… when you love someone… that's what you do…" Shampoo answered Sanma. "Besides, Shampoo is not really your Shampoo and… you are not my Airen…"
"I see…" Sanma replied in understanding.
With that said, Shampoo stood up from the bench and was about to leave. But she turned to Sanma one last time to say one last thing.
"You may have rejected the Shampoo of your world. But in this world, things will definitely be different. After all, my Airen has not chosen anybody…" Shampoo said to Sanma.
Sanma could not help but feel happy for Shampoo's optimism.
"Yeah… if ya actually talk to him and try to hear him out, instead of drugging him, ya might have a chance," Sanma advised her.
"Shampoo remember advice. Thank you… and…" Shampoo said to him and quickly gave him a kiss on his right cheek.
Sanma widened his eyes in surprise at that before Shampoo backed away.
"Goodbye… Airen…" Shampoo said to Sanma before walking away.
Sanma looked at her receding figure with a smile.
Sanma remembered how he met Cat Fu in the Amazon village.
Sanma remembered how they first fought against each other.
Sanma remembered how she gave him his first kiss.
Sanma remembered the times Cat Fu chased after him in the hopes of getting married to him…
Sanma remembered the times she even made out with him…
Sanma even remembered the time she expressed her disappointment at him for cheating on her with Nakane.
Sanma remembered how Cat Fu avoided him since then.
Sanma remembered her expression of love to him as she lay there dying.
And then, Sanma remembered Cat Fu's smile and laughter.
Sanma looked up into the sky to see the image of Cat Fu looking at him gently and lovingly…
…and he smiled with a tear of happiness rolling down his cheek.
"Yeah… goodbye… Cat Fu…" Sanma said to his former lover.
As he sat there, Sanma heard footsteps coming from behind him.
Sanma turned and looked and to his surprise, it was…
"Sensei?" Sanma voiced in shock.
Indeed, it was his sensei, Shinyama Hide, standing right there a few meters away.
"You've done well, Sanma. Your mission is complete. And now, it's time to get you back home," Shinyama said to Sanma.
"Yeah, I guess I'm done here," Sanma said as he stood up from the bench.
"That's good to hear," Shinyama answered with a nod.
"How shall we get back?" Sanma asked him.
"That's easy," Shinyama said and snapped a finger.
The two of them were enveloped in light and were both teleported out of the Nerima of this dimension, leaving no trace behind that they were ever there in that park on a late summer's evening.
And that was the Chapter 69 of The Lone Vigilante Issei.
Now about this chapter.
Now, originally, I wanted to write about the reason I left the characters in the story to fend for themselves. But I also had to give Sanma some closure and added more content than I had originally envisioned.
The conversation between Sanma Raotome and Ranma Saotome was what I wanted to write. The Ranma in this chapter is not just any Ranma, but the one from my other story titled "A Conversation". It was a one-shot I wrote before I headed for my internship in Ireland back in 2019 to see whether I could write and publish on my new smartphone at the time. That was four and a half years ago. I decided that while I would not continue that story, I would rather have it intersect with this story and have the Ranma from that story pass on his wisdom to Sanma.
The conversation between Sanma and Shampoo (the original version of Cat Fu) was something I came up with while writing this chapter. And to be honest, I was crying a bit when I wrote this part of the chapter. It was truly an emotional rollercoaster writing this. But I'm truly glad I wrote this for now, Sanma can truly find closure and move on with his life.
As for the part about my disappearance (the part I originally wanted to write for this chapter), I will do it next time.
So stay tuned.
In the meantime, what did you think of this chapter?
Did you like it?
Please read and review, I would like to hear from you.
And as always, I hope to see you around next time.
Until then.
Hide Shinyama