I do not own Ranma ½ or any character part or parcel of that great work, nor lay claim to any of the incredible ideas expressed by Rumiko Takahashi, or Viz video. This is just a labor of love from one fan to the rest.
Like Fallen Leaves, the Willow Weeps. A Ying, Yang, Yakuza story (Y3)
Chapter 39: Side story one: The Tale of an Outcast and a Little Bird, Part Fifteen.
Kotori gave Qiang Pu a panicked look as the former Amazon checked the door, then shook her head. "We are going to have to unlock the doors from the control room. We might have no choice but to face them head on. Are you going to be okay?"
Kotori laughed nervously and fidgeted before she nodded. "I'll be okay, Qiang Pu. I've been taught by Mistress Tachi, you can count on me."
Qiang Pu nodded as she took a breath, then started to make her way towards the control room, .into an alcove with Kotori right behind her as the door to the control room opened and
Mikado exited with his pistol up and moving before Azusa stepped out nervously behind him.
Qiang Pu slipped back into cover as Mikado swept his gun to his left, then to his right. In the brief moment that she had observed him, it was clear that the gunman likely did not have a lot of experience with the gun, but you did not survive if you didn't respect your opponents.
Mikado looked around, then moved to check on a locked door next to the control room. He checked to make sure the door was still locked, then kept moving forward, before he stopped suddenly and Azusa ran into his back. He turned and waved his gun for a moment before he glared down at his partner. "You useless little idiot! Don't walk so close to me! If you had any sense at all, we wouldn't be in this situation at all!"
"Azusa didn't agree to all of this! Azusa just does as she is told! Stupid Mikado!". Azusa said angrily as she stomped her foot like a petulant child.
*And that is the problem! You just do as anyone tells you if your idiot little brain thinks it's what you should do or if you think it might benefit you! You just need to listen to me and do as I tell you!". Mikado said angrily before he turned his back angrily and started to head back towards where Kotori and Qiang Pu hid. Mikado grumbled about Azusa before he took a breath and raised his gun once more before he started to walk with angry determination. He wasn't sure how the stupid girls had gotten free, or how they had made it across the freezing ice, but he would take care of this little mess and then just get rid of the other girls. There were always plenty of buyers, after all. No need to wait for their mysterious benefactor to contact them. They could get rid of the girls and be out of the country long before either of their regular contacts even found out. And they could figure out some way to get out from under the thumb of the person who had put them in this mess in the first place, he was sure.
After all, he had been the one that had gotten them into this partnership in the first place. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, a sponsor who would offer to pay them not only for appearances, but for travel as well. The demands had started out small, easy to justify. It had taken time for them to get to where they were now, but Mikado couldn't really point at the time when they had truly gone too far, not without taking too close a look at himself. If it hadn't been for Azusa, then they would never have ended up here. She had been so easy to convince of anything and everything. Yes, it surely had been her fault, not his. He bore none of the blame in this. He was positive of that even as he gripped the gun tighter and set his lips in a grim expression. They would find the two drugged up girls, take care of them, then get rid of the rest. After that, they would quit this. At least, that is what he told himself once again.
Kotori gave Qiang Pu her best confident look even as the two girls could hear their abductors getting ever closer and Qiang Pu nodded grimly. They had no idea how skilled their abductors might be, they had a gun and there was the possibility that there could be more coming. Yet, they had to take a chance, they had to make a move.
Qiang Pu just hoped that the residual effects of the drugs in both of their systems didn't cost them this fight. So, she waited for the moment that the man with the gun would start to turn to see her to begin her rush, and hoped that there might be just a moment's hesitation, a single second to close the distance and take him out of the fight.
As the two groups saw each other, Mikado reeled back even as he raised his gun and centered it on Qiang Pu's chest as she rushed him. He wavered for a second, then jerked and fired the gun as his eyes met the determined, lethal eyes of the former Amazon. After that, there was a dull impact, and a brief struggle, then two more shots rang out before silence settled over the abandoned skating rink.
A short time later, at a club that seemed more than a little shady a massive man stood behind the polished counter of the bar and spoke in Russian at a pair of hoodlums, who nodded and scuttled out to take care of the boss's latest orders. The man shook his head as his grizzled and scarred face swept over the scene. The bar had not yet opened to the public, so the only people that were here were the staff and others that worked there, and his own personal men. He briefly reached up to touch the patch that covered where his right eye should have been and huffed as he adjusted the fur coat that he wore. Antov Svest had worked his way up in the underbelly of Hokkaido in the four years he had been here, and was rather proud of what he had accomplished. The Dancing Bear had become a well respected house of ill repute, where many people knew that almost anything could be attained, for the right price. Drugs, women, and contraband, he dealt in all of it as long as the price was right and you abided by the rules.
Those that didn't want to play by the rules, well, they didn't tend to come back to bother him again.
He raised his hand to forestall one of the ladies as she walked towards him in the robe that she wore when she wasn't performing, and pulled the phone from the inner pocket of his coat and glanced at the number before he answered it. "This is Svest, I hope you have a good reason to be calling this number." He said in rough, but passable, Japanese. He listened for a moment, then nodded as he stepped into his office and shut the door behind him as he reached for a pad of paper and a pen. "A tea party you say? And how many guests?" He asked as he started to write things down on the pad. "I see, I see. And you need a delivery, yes?" He asked, then nodded as he jotted down the address. "Any special directions? Ah, yes, we do handle cleaning up for after parties. Yes, yes, I will make sure that everything is clean, no worries there. How soon do you need the party? Hrm, yes… No worries, comrade. We are used to having to prepare for these events quickly. We will have people with you soon. Until then, just stay in place and remember the words, yes? Good… Good… And yes, the appropriate parties will be notified, yes. Thank you for doing business with the Dancing Bear."
Antov Svest looked at the phone, then kept it in his hand as he yanked open the door and started shouting in Russian at his people. He had to hurry, you didn't want to keep your clients waiting, not in a situation like this. They would need two vans right away. One panel van for transporting the guests, and a cleaning van to take care of anything on site. And he would have to prepare accommodations for his guests that were on the way, and make arrangements for what came after they arrived.
Luckily, the Dancing Bear could handle just about any request, as long as the price was right. As he left his people to handle taking care of that side of things, he steeled himself as he stepped back into the office and made his next call. One didn't make these calls lightly, after all. A swift death was all too possible if you said or did the wrong thing. Or things that were far, far worse than death were also possible. He did have personal experience to fall back on for that.
He dialed and was hardly surprised when the phone was answered immediately. "We have a problem…."
Kotori slowly woke up and looked around until she saw Qiang Pu as she slept in the bed next to hers. Qiang Pu's right shoulder was bandaged, but there didn't seem to be any other obvious wounds that Kotori could see. She became aware of another presence who sat quietly in a chair by the door.
Kotori slowly turned and looked and saw a curious sight. A Chinese girl sat slightly hunched over with the palms of her hands pressed to the front of the chair between her knees, and her fingers curled around the seat. Her forehead seemed oddly flat and broad, and her nose was also broader than she had seen among the Chinese in the past. The girl's feet were bare, and as soon as her eyes met Kotori 's she cocked her head to the side and smiled a little more toothily than was usually accepted in public.
When Kotori sat up and didn't fall back over, she next attempted to stand and was happy to find that she could move normally once more. Still under the watchful gaze of the strange girl, Kotori stood and bowed to her. "This One is Kotori, apprentice to the Lady Tachi of the Teahouse. Thank you for taking care of us." Kotori said and bowed deeply.
The strange girl nodded and bounced to her feet. She stood with an odd sway to her, like she was either unsteady on her feet or just couldn't hold still. A playful ball of energy that stood a little taller than Kotori, and was broader across the shoulders and back than she was. The strange girl opened her mouth and made a few strange noises, then clenched her hands and started to sign rapidly at the stunned trans-girl.
Kotori held up her hands with an apologetic look on her face, and the strange girl seemed to deflate for a moment until Kotori started to sign back, slowly and with more than a few starts and stops. "I sorry. Sign still not good. Speak slower, please?" Kotori signed and almost didn't have time to brace herself before she found herself the recipient of an almost bone-crushing huh.
As Kotori tapped on the girl's back in the hope that she might let her breathe, and hopefully not break a rib in her exuberance the door swung open. Instantly Kotori found herself gasping for breath as the aggressive hugger launched herself at the massive man with an eye patch and a distinctive facial scar that accompanied it who had walked in.
With a laugh, the man swept up the suddenly squealing girl and swung her around before he settled her at his side. He looked at Kotori, and nodded as Qiang Pu started to stir and sit up carefully. "Welcome to the Dancing Bear, the finest house of ill-repute in all of Hokkaido! I will be your host until someone comes for you and the other girl. My name is Antov Svest, and this ball of energy is my daughter Xiaxiong."
Antov gave Kotori a speculative look and grinned. "I was told that you have been practicing sign language by your mistress, yes? Why don't you play with my daughter while I check on your companion, yes?"
Kotori blinked and nodded. "I have…. I'm still not very good yet…."
Antov laughed and started to slap Kotori on the back, but stopped at the last moment and instead pushed the surprised girl towards the bouncing and swaying Xiaxiong who had started to wring her hands in anticipation. Kotori laughed and was quickly engaged in an animated, but silent, conversation with the other girl.
Antov walked over and checked on the bandages on Qiang Pu's shoulder and nodded. "Good, good. The bullet just grazed you. Is a very brave thing to rush a gunman and come out of the encounter alive. Especially so when you do it to not only save a friend, but to keep them from having to stain their own hands.". He said in a knowing way as Qiang Pu shifted and glanced at the teen girl next to Kotori.
"You have questions, yes? Ask." Antov said as he sat on the edge of the bed next to Qiang Pu.
"Your daughter, Xiaxiong…. She is a Musk bride, isn't she?". Qiang Pu asked with a trace of hesitation.
"Yes, and no. Is true that she was not born human, and has been exposed to the waters of the Pools, but no. The Musk were not involved." Antov said, then looked at Qiang Pu. "How did you know?"
Qiang Pu relaxed a little and breathed. "A few things. First, there is her behavior and lack of speech. Just because you wear the form of whatever curse you have, doesn't mean you learn anything but the absolute basics from it. Your brain becomes better able to learn and process new things, but your soul… your essence remains the same. And it takes a very long time to learn even the basics of being a person."
At Antov's silent encouragement Qiang Pu pressed on. "Then, there is her appearance. All of the animals that become human retain some traits of their true form. She…. Has a very ursine form to her. And her name literally means 'little bear' after all."
Qiang Pu ticked off her last point. "Then there is the rather distinctive smell of the anti-curse soap. Kotori has gotten used to it, but she doesn't really realize what that smell is, yet.". Qiang Pu went silent for a long moment. "You're one of them, aren't you. One of the men who attacked my village and killed the people closest to me." Qiang Pu took a shuddering breath. "Explain why I shouldn't kill you, right here and now."
Antov sighed as his lone eye never left his daughter. "I cannot give you a good reason, beyond Xiaxiong. I was… An empty man, yes. I grew up on the streets of Moscow, and found the closest thing to a home in the gangs. The military seemed like a good fit for me, until it wasn't anymore. I… wandered after that, until I was recruited to take care of a job in China… I didn't know what it would entail… And frankly, at that time? I don't think it would have mattered to me if I did." He rested his head in the palm of his hand as he watched Kotori and Xiaxong settle in to play some child's game with cards and dice. "I should have died there. I was sure I had, honestly." He glanced aside at Qiang Pu. "I met your father, you see. He taught me just how far I was from the top, and left me with a knife in my skull. I would have died… But Xiaxong dragged me to the Pools…and pushed me into the Pool of Drowned Bear. Turns out that while it might not heal you, more mass…. Does help with injuries." He sighed and turned his attention back to the odd pair. "I spent months learning about the curses, the hard way." He glanced aside at Qiang Pu again. "Do you know what happens to animals who bear a human curse when they return to their original form?"
Qiang Pu shook her head as she listened to him, and the sad way he talked. The Animal Brides of the Musk had not really been part of her education, except that they were an affront to natural law, but fit in an odd place between native Amazons and Outsider women. That they were unpredictable and often wild, barely able to pass among human society. Xiaxong seemed almost too human to have ever worn the skin of a bear as her own.
"They forget. The longer they are in their natural form, the more they forget of their time in a human skin. Their minds just… Can't keep those thoughts. So… I fled to Japan, and followed rumors and whispers to the door of the Teahouse." He chuckled a sad, self deprecating little chuckle. "I begged, like a dog. I begged Mother Konatsu and Ranma for help. I would do anything, pay any price for my Xiaxong. And… They showed me a bit of mercy. I get a supply of soap, just enough for her, as long as I play by their rules and follow their laws." He smiled as he looked at the former Amazon. "It is enough for this old fool. More than I deserve." He turned back to watch his daughter. "If you kill me, do not do it where she can see. She lost her father and mother to poachers. I hunted them down for her, and killed them. Recovered her parents' fur for her. It was the least I could do, to help the only person who had ever truly needed or wanted me."
Qiang Pu sighed as she laid back down. "I won't kill you. It is clear that the person who attacked my village is long dead. The old bear who happens to wear his skin will pay a lifelong penance for what he did."
Antov smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Daughter of Ranma." He pushed himself to his feet and walked over and gently ruffled Xiaxong's hair before he looked at Kotori and then at Qiang Pu. "Your mistress is on her way here, as we speak. She will be here before long, and I should go check on our other guest."
"You said one other girl earlier… What about the others?" Qiang Pu asked.
"Yes, we have already left the others besides you two and the daughter of Ryouga Hibiki in the care of cops that we know we can trust, because we pay them more than the other gangs do." Antov said with a laugh.
Qiang Pu paled a bit. "Sakura is here? Are you sure?"
Antov nodded and smiled grimly. "Yes, Sakura Hibiki is sleeping in the next room over. We made sure that there are no doors she can force open, if she does happen to wake up before her father and mother arrive for her.
Qiang Pu sighed and rubbed her face. She didn't really look forward to having to deal with Sakura again.
A few hours earlier at the abandoned rink…
Azusa panted as she leaned over, her face pale and body shaking. When the girl had jumped on Mikado, she had froze in place. He had gotten off a shot, but it had only grazed her shoulder. When they had started to tumble on the ground, the pistol had gone off twice, and then… Then Mikado had been laying in a pool of blood. So, she had done the reasonable thing. She had run for her life, out the back door.
She looked up as a small figure stepped out of the shadows. A little girl, dressed in a loose black dress that fell almost to her ankles. Azusa recognized her, of course. She was one of the two who always came to them with requests and messages from their benefactor. She couldn't remember her name, but that was hardly important at this moment. She had to get help, for both her and Mikado. Surely, the girl and her boss could help, right?
Azusa started to speak as the little girl raised a 50-yen coin and looked at her through the hole in the middle. Suddenly, Azusa felt drained and weak, and fell to the ground. She must have hit her head, because the little girl seemed to turn into the older woman who also came by. Before she passed out, she thought she heard the girl-turned-woman say something like.
"At least the Master will appreciate this little gift."