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:
Broken Mirrors.
Saturday, June 13th, 4:00 PM. The Tendo Dojo.
"Nabiki, I don't know if I can do this…" Akane says with trepidation as she looks at her outfit for the night once more. This has been the recurring mantra for the last 20 minutes while a bemused Nabiki watches her little sister going through some sort of existential crisis.
"It's going to be ok, Akane. Really. You're just two friends going out to a dinner and performance, am I correct? No pressure, little sis. Really. You are acting like you're going on a date with your high school sweetheart. Take a breath, center yourself and just do it. Have fun, Kami knows you deserve it once in a while. You and Ranko get along great, it's going to be fun. So, just take a breath and relax, ok?" She sips from her tea, watching Akane slowly calming down before she decides to poke just a little fun at her somewhat out of the closet sister. "Unless of course I need to know something about how you feel about our little Ranko-chan? Perhaps I will not be the only one who has changed her last name, hrm?" She watches with an amused gleam in her eye as her sister practically has a melt down then and there before the disapproving look of her older sister brings her to a screeching halt.
"Really, Nabiki. You know better than to tease Akane like that." Kasumi Ono smiles sweetly at Nabiki, but the feeling she gets from the honorary matron of the Tendo clan has Nabiki swallowing and sweating just a bit. "As much as I would love to stay until your friend arrives, I really do need to get home to make sure that supper is ready in time. I'm letting Tofu cook tonight, and, well, you know how he gets sometimes…." She trails off with a fond smile on her lips, ignoring the looks from her sisters. She gives each of them a heartfelt hug and departs, even as her sisters continue to stare after her.
"She really doesn't understand what she does to that poor man, does she Nabiki?" Akane says in a quiet tone, her own breakdown forgotten for the moment.
"No, the worse thing is, she does sister dear. And some secret, hidden part of her enjoys it." Nabiki deadpans. She debates egging on her sister a bit more, then sighs and decides against it. The last thing she wanted was for Akane to back out on her not-a-date date. Honestly, the things she did for all three of them. Four, if you counted Ukyo in the mix. Honestly, she deserved a nobel peace prize for going to war with all of their issues and egos. Maybe a nice, long vacation with her husband courtesy of the Saotome would be adequate…
"You're sure that this will be appropriate, Nabiki?" Akane asks for the umpteenth time as she holds the dress up against herself, looking at herself in the mirror.
"Akane, Ranko-chan is going to be struck speechless. And honestly, that is probably for the best. She has gotten better, but I still remember those early foot in mouth incidents of hers." She says with a warm smile as she steps up behind her sister and hugs her tight. "You're going to be fine, Akane. Trust me, you two will have a great time together. You both deserve this. You both deserve to get to spend more time together. Just, take a breath and get yourself together. You've got this." She gives her sister a tender hug and a little pat on the small of her back as she steps away from her. "Now, get yourself ready young lady. Your companion will be here soon, and you don't really want to go in just lingerie, I hope?" She says in a teasing manner as her sister blushes bright.
Just before five, a nervous Akane stands waiting just inside the dojo's entrance, her smiling sister sitting nearby sipping a cup of tea as she looks her younger sister over. "I expect to hear all the juicy details, sister dear." At the look she gets, she holds her hand up, smiling teasingly. "Ok, ok, I get it. I'll stop." She smirks as she hears the sound of a car door opening outside. "I think that is your ride, dear. Have fun." She says as she rises and gives Akane a warm hug.
Akane nods as she hears the gentle knock at the gate, smoothing out her dress one more time and giving Nabiki her best smile. "Thanks Nabiki." She takes one more long, slow breath and walks out to greet her guest for the night, nodding to Shiro who she meets at the gate. "Thank you for coming to get my tonight, Shiro." She bows to him, smiling as she rises. "You honor me and my house with your presence, Ranko." She says as she eyes the nervous looking redhead sitting inside the limo, watching her through the open window. As she steps towards the car and slides into the seat opposite her companion for the night, her nerves settle at seeing how frazzled Ranko looks.
Rank gives Akane a nervous little smile. "Thank you, for humoring me like this." She licks suddenly dry lips. "I..Hope you don't mind. I don't usually go out... like this. I mean, with friends. I mean, we are friends, right?" She asks nervously, fretting with her hands.
Akane smiles warmly, relaxing a bit more with just how nervous her companion is. She hesitantly reaches over, resting a hand over the hands of her friend. "Of course we are, Ranko. And it's ok for friends to spend time together like this." She says, pointedly ignoring the fact that she was just as nervous as her friend seems to be.
With a little laugh that seems to brighten the interior of the limo and a warm flash from those expressive blue eyes, Ranko relaxes a bit and smirks at Akane. "I get the feeling you're just as nervous about this as I am. But it's ok, because it's us. We will be fine, as long as the other one is there to support the other, right?" She blushes at how that sounds, finding the view of the street passing by the window of the car immensely interesting, casting a furtive look back at her companion. "I mean, that is what you taught me, after all. That it's ok to turn to others when you're unsure or nervous, when you need their support. That it's ok to be vulnerable, and it's ok to feel unsure. It's ok to be yourself." She turns back, having found her confidence once more, sitting up just a bit straighter as she smiles warmly at Akane.
Akane is struck silent for a bit, finding herself getting lost in the smile of her friend. "Yes...it is, Ranko." She laughs and relaxes a bit, smiling warmly at Ranko. "I will be honest, I was nervous about this at first. I don't usually spend any time with the people I work with outside of work, and I don't just mean my clients. I tend to not spend much time with the other therapists, either. I usually try to keep my two lives separate, as it were." At the sudden jolt from Ranko, she raises a hand. "No, no it's ok. You're different, Ranko." She hesitates, then reaches across, laying a warm, reassuring hand on her friends hand. "I think that we can be both, that we can benefit from both. Working together to see you get better...And spending time together as friends. I think it will work." She smiles that megawatt smile of hers and settles back, hands resting demurely in her lap.
Ranko for her part panics just a bit for a moment, then settles down. One of Akane's comments hit a bit close to home, and couldn't help but make her think about the future, and how they would deal with the possibility of having people in their lives, even if they were just...Very close friends. She pointedly tried to ignore how her heart beat just a bit faster when Akane touched her hand, how her breath hitched in her throat when she leaned in closer. Friends. She breathed. Friends.
Shortly, they arrived at the restaurant and were taken to their private booth, the ever vigilant Shiro at hand to help his mistress out of the car and into her wheelchair. He watches with some level of amusement as Akane immediately starts to push his mistress inside, the two talking together quietly like they were the only people in the world. He fades into the background, feeling rather content that his mistress was in good hands.
Dinner was a comfortable affair for the two women, intimate without being overly so. Just the right blend for the two shy people who were broaching new territory together. The conversation over the meal ranged from music to art, to the Art itself. Ranko listens with a bit of longing as Akane starts to talk about the newest dojo she is studying at, jerking a bit as she realizes just what dojo she is studying at. With an amused smirk, she eggs her on to keep talking, amazed that the burn of jealousy and loss is not there nearly as much as it would have been just a year or two ago. Perhaps she was improving, getting to accept her condition better. She thinks about it for a bit, then nods to herself. Losing the Art like she did to get a chance at another life, to get to know Akane and the rest? It was a fair trade. Maybe she even came out ahead, in the end. It wasn't like there was much joy in her life besides the Art before.
Akane stops her rambling, blushing at the bemused and thoughtful look on her companions face. "I'm sorry, I can stop rambling if it's bothering you, Ranko…" She trails off, biting her bottom lip as she brushes a strand of hair behind her ear.
Ranko stops and blushes, watching her companion much more intently than she intended to, her train of thought derailing quite thoroughly before she laughs that soft, warm laugh and waves her hand. "I was just thinking that even a year or two ago, i would have been horribly jealous of you right now, Akane. You're getting to practice the Art with a new school, and learning so much. But, I realized something. I'm not jealous of you, I'm happy for you. I've accepted that I have lost one Art, but I think I have gained so much more in exchange. I have a good family, great friends, and the best company I have ever had. I am loved, and I am happy. What more could I ask for?" She says as she stares into the eyes of her companion, the two leaning slowly closer without thinking about it.
They both jerk back, brought back to reality by the final course being brought out, dessert served to them as their glasses of wine are refreshed. The two blushing ladies settle back into their chair, then their eyes meet and they laugh softly, the awkward tension melting into the pleasant glow of the evening. At a soft look passed from one to the other, they raise their glasses in toast and enjoy their deserts in the warm, comfortable silence of those who are utterly at ease with each other.
When the appointed time comes, it is a bemused Shiro that watches his two charges for the night making their way out of the restaurant together. He can't help but notice how they lean towards each other as they walk and talk, the closeness they seem to share. His eyes soften behind their ever present sunglasses as he holds the door open, not surprised at all when Akane lifts his mistress into the car, and gives him a soft, apologetic look that he waves off. "Thank you, my Lady." He says with a bow as he hands her into the car, taking his mistress' wheelchair and storing it in the trunk of the car before driving them towards the concert hall. He rolls up the window that separates the front and back, giving the two just a bit more privacy as a soft smile graces his usually stoic features.
Once again, he watches as Akane pushes his mistress into the building by way of the private door,, shadowing them quietly until they make their way to the booth that Mrs. Watanabe had secured for them, relaxing fully once they were safely ensconced. He returns to the car to wait for them, a pleased smile on his face. The House of Saotome seemed to be doing well, hopefully the event of next weekend would go as well. His Lord and Lady deserved happiness, and perhaps these two ladies would be equal to the challenges that the siblings presented. Worries for another day, and with that schemer Nabiki Watanabe part of this, it would work out. It had to.
The two ladies settled into their places, sitting side by side as close to each other as the seat that Akane occupied, and the wheelchair that Ranko sat in would allow. Who reached out for the other first was a matter that didn't matter, who looked to the other first was a passing concern. All that mattered was the presence of the other, and the music that had brought them together.
After the concert, they had the chance to meet the performer herself, engaging her for a short time with idle talk. It was with a great sense of reluctance that they departed the concert hall some time later, once again with Akane pushing Ranko, and the two leaning close to talk in soft voices, lost in each other's presence.
The ride back to the Tendo dojo was a mixed bag of emotions, elation and joy over the night, and a sense of loss that the night had to end. As they said their farewells for the night, Ranko suddenly reaches out, taking Akane's hand into her own as both blush bright. "Akane, I...Was hoping we could do this again? I mean, you and mean, going out and spending time together? I mean, I know I can't next weekend, it's Ranma's week to be in town...But...maybe the weekend after that? Two weeks from now, and...We will figure out what we want to do when we get a bit closer? I know, it's awkward planning like this, and if you have other plans it's ok.." She trails off as Akane takes her other hand, smiling warmly down at the nervous redhead.
"I would love to, Ranko. Thank you for the most enjoyable night I have had in...Years. Maybe ever. I...didn't think that it would be this easy, you know? Spending time with you. It feels just...so right." She bathes Ranko in that bright, open smile of hers and reluctantly starts to step away, slowly letting their hands drift apart, maintaining contact as long as possible as her heart thunders in her ears, knowing that she will definitely be spending the new week or so thinking about this night. Oh, and that she will most definitely NOT be telling her sister about tonight. Not yet, at least.
Ranko watches with a sad little smile on her lips as Akane slowly makes her way back inside, sighing when the gate shuts and blocks off the view of her companion of the night. She turns to look at a stoic Shiro that she can't help but feel he is amused somewhat. "Let's go home, Shiro. Thank you, for allowing us our space tonight." She settles into her seat, watching him through the now open internal window, smiling softly. "It's ok, to be happy, right? Even as we are?" She asks, already knowing the answer.
"It is, mistress. I know it's not my place, but she is good for you. Not just in what she does for your recovery as part of her job. She is good for YOU." He says emphatically, smiling at the happy look in his mistress's eyes. He starts to drive for home without her prompt, knowing his Lady's mind is elsewhere.