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 chapter 20: When in doubt, punch something.
November 10th, Tuesday, 1:30 PM. The Saotome Dojo.
It had been a couple of weeks, and Akane had been miserable. Ranko had canceled her appointments, which was not surprising when you thought about it. She was giving Akane her space, and she appreciated it, but that didn't make it any less lonely.
She had not been back to the Saotome dojo until today, when she was relatively sure that neither of the siblings would be present. It was a Ranko week, so the odds were okay that she would not be around right now. After all, Akane knew Ranko's schedule almost as well as her own, or so she had thought.
She hated how uncertain everything was right now. She had tried to contact Ukyo, but she hadn't answered her phone. None of the messages she had left were returned. She could understand, Ukyo seemed to have some deep rooted trust issues, and she had to admit what was going on was sure to set off anyone. Look at herself, for that matter.
Yes, what the siblings had done was questionable, on many levels. But, at the same time, if they had told them from the get-go? She wasn't sure what she would have done. Maybe needed to take up residence in her own facility. Not that she hadn't thought about it since that weekend.
After all, what sane person could believe what was going on?
She had been greeted at the door by one of the sensei's, who had informed her that she was still welcome in the dojo anytime she wanted. Master Saotome had explained that she had been dealing with some personal issues, and that she might not be back for a while, but when she did come back, she was to be offered every courtesy.
She hadn't really known how to handle that, to be honest. On one hand, it was very nice for them to cover for her, knowing full well that she might never come back. On the other hand, did they really know her well enough to know that she WOULD come back, to seek the one bit of stability she knew in all of this? Training was the one thing she was sure of right now. There were no lies in training, no lies in the Art. Truth is found at the end of a fist, or so one of her old sensei had often said.
Today, she had come looking for truth, and she knew just the fist to find it at the end of.
"Is Hibiki-sensei available today? I was hoping to have a spar with him, to make sure I was not getting rusty." She asked one of the acolytes. He nodded, and led the way to where the mountain of a man was just finishing up with a class.
"Alright, good job. Now, bow and get out of here. Have a good rest of your day." He called to the group of mostly older people that were finishing up his class. He looked over, as a frown crossed his features for a moment, then he smiled and walked over, bowing to Akane, who returned it. "It's good to see you back, Tendo. I was wondering when you would show up." He turned to the acolyte and nodded to him. "Thank you for bringing my wayward student back to me. I will call for you if I need anything."
Dismissed, the acolyte hurried off as the two looked at each other for a moment before Ryoga addressed her. "So, I take it that things have not been working out between you and Ranko-chan?"
Akane blinked and tensed up. "What makes you think that, Hibiki sensei? As you were informed, it was a personal matter."
He nodded. "Oh, that is what I was told. I checked in on your family, since I know your sister. I wanted to make sure it wasn't something involving them."
She looked at him intently. "You know Nabiki?"
He shook his head. "I've only met her in passing. I was talking about Kasumi."
Akane had a confused look on her face. "Kasumi?"
He chuckled "And there it is, the 'How does this brute know my sister, and what did he do to her?' look. Actually, I know her from Tofu looking after my daughter when she was sick when she was little, and Kasumi is in my tai-chi chuan class."
Akane nodded at that. "I could see her enjoying the exercise form."
He laughed. "Oh, she is in that class too, but I was talking about the combat form. It's a good fit for her, goes well with the aikido she studies as well."
Akane blinked at that, sure she hadn't been as close to her sister for a while, but Tai-Chi Chuan and Aikido? What had gotten into her sister, she wondered.
She shook her head, clearing those thoughts as she looked at Ryoga, who was clearly waiting for something. "Sensei, I humbly request a spar. I need to think, I need to find the truth, and it's the best way I can think of."
He nodded, tightening the belt on his gi, as she did the same. "It's about Ranko-chan, right? You are trying to figure something out, I can tell. I hope you two can settle your differences. You are good for each other." He said as he settled into his stance.
"I'm not sure I want to talk about it right now." Akane said, as her body tensed up.
He nodded, clearly waiting for her to make the first move. "I understand, but I am here to listen, as well. You are one of my favorite students, and Ranko is like a little sister to me."
Akane nodded, then made the first move. A high punch, rolling into a mid block on his counter. They started to flow through the kata's, each move part of a larger whole. Akane knew her form was off, that her responses were not on the mark, but she didn't get hammered for it. Ryoga seemed to understand that she was not on her best today, and was letting her work her way through what was troubling her mind.
Honestly, she wasn't sure if she was thankful or pissed about it. What if he knew? What if he was part of it as well, like the others? But she didn't feel any lies in his moves, any deceit in his motions. She relaxed a bit, as she stepped back and changed her stance. He raised an eyebrow, doing the same.
The next exchange was in Tai-Chi, the graceful flow of yin and yang. The ebb and flow of one of the more direct internal arts. It was, honestly, one of the best forms of combat meditation she knew of, and Akane was sorely in need of it's balance right now.
She stepped abc, resetting between exchanges before she asked him a question. "Sensei, if someone dear to you had lied to you, would you be able to forgive them?"
He shook his head. "I don't tolerate lies and deceit. Now, that said, you need to decide if you can come to trust them again, and find out why they lied. See if you can believe them when they say they won't lie again. Relationships are built on trust, whether it's between friends, family, lovers, or even a student and her sensei."
"You are a surprisingly deep individual, sensei." She said before she moved back in, attacking in the more direct, harder form of Karate.
He laughed, flowing into one of the soft forms, aikido as he fended her off and eventually sent her flying to land with a quick shoulder roll and back to her feet. The grin on each of their faces was infectious, the sheer joy in the Art a common thread that bound them.
"Make sure you tell Akari that! She seems to think I am a uncivilized lout who just crawled down from the mountains!" He said with a laugh.
Akane grinned and pondered that for a moment. "Well, you ARE a man. Big, hairy beasts that they are."
He chuckled and shook his head, moving in to start the next exchange. "Not all of us can be delicate little flowers, student."
She flowed into one of the blocks of Aikido, then applied a judo joint lock as she pinned him to the mat. "I prefer delicate little flowers!"
He patted the mat, signally her to release him as she stood and adjusted his gi. "Have you found the truth you were looking for, student?"
Akane stopped, realizing she had. "I have, sensei. Thank you for your wisdom." She said then bowed deep.
He waved her off. "I'm just glad that you came to your answer before one of us got broken. Akari would be quite miffed with me."
She laughed as she walked towards the changing room. She had a lot to do, and she needed to see if she could talk to Ukyo. She had made up her mind, but she still needed to talk to people, make sure she could follow through on her decision.
She was horribly tired of being alone.
Thursday, November 12th. 9:00 A.M., the residence of Ukyo Kuonji.
Ukyo glared at her phone as it flashed again. Another incoming message, and she had a good idea who it was from. Akane had been trying to get a hold of her off and on since that weekend, but for whatever reason she had stepped up her attempts in the last two days. This was the second message already this morning.
With a growl, Ukyo rolled over and grabbed her phone, typing out angrily. "What do you want, Akane? I don't want to talk about it with you." She glared at her phone, waiting for the response.
"Girls Night. Saturday. No siblings, no Nabiki. Just you, me, Kurumi and Natsume. The usual place. Let's not let everything ruin our friendships, okay?" appeared on her screen. Ukyo grumbled, but decided if she didn't agree, more than likely Akane would just keep trying anyhow. And, honestly, she didn't want to lose everything.
"Fine. I see either of the 'siblings', Nabiki or even Kasumi and I am going to leave, though." She sent back, then rolled over and ignored her phone.
Ranma, of course, had canceled his appointments with her. It was almost a relief, in a way. Yes, she missed him. She ached for him. But, at the same time, what was real with them? With him? How could she trust anything? How could she trust herself?
Those were questions she couldn't answer yet, and she knew she needed to find answers to, for closure if nothing else. Like anything could go back to normal now. She knew magic was real, that there was a lot more going on in the world than she could fathom. She felt like she was being dragged into some crazy world that she couldn't even begin to understand, and it scared her.
She would go, she would hang out, and she would try to forget. Maybe then the aching hole in her heart would scab over. Maybe then she wouldn't long to see those blue eyes, that smile that was only for her. To feel his arms around her, to kiss him just one more time. To maybe see what it was like, to wake up next to him.
Love sucked.
She gave up on sleeping, and decided to go for a run. It always helped her to clear her mind, to see things more clearly. Maybe it would help her today. She didn't work today, so she might as well do something productive with it. Maybe it would take her mind off of everything, at least for a while. Nothing else seemed to.
So, she ran. It felt good, to stretch herself like this, she had to admit. To be free, even if she longed to have someone running next to her, or even walking. Maybe if nothing else she could see if Akane wanted to be a running partner for her. She laughed a scornful little laugh. The two women in 'their' lives, running and hanging out together. It was almost a shame that she was straight, that would show the pair of them, if she and Akane became a 'thing'.
She sighed once more.
Love really sucked.