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 36
Tuesday, January 5th. The Weeping Lilies Teahouse and Revue, 6:00 PM.
Ranko and Akane had arrived first for their bi-weekly girl's night, and had settled into their usual private room. The Mother of the house, Konatsu, had been politely enthused to see them as she always was, and it felt like it would be a good night to the two loves. Ukyo had left the compound earlier to go get her friend, Tsubasa. It was going to be the first time that her rather excitable friend would be introduced to the rest of the ladies in their lives, and they had to admit it would be interesting having Karumi and Tsubasa in the same room. Hopefully Natsume and Kasumi could keep them from causing too much of a hassle. It was bound to be an interesting night, of that they were both sure.
The pair had left their private room to get some air while they waited for the others, and had decided on a walk of the courtyard. The scenery and atmosphere of the Teahouse was something special, almost ephemeral. Konatsu had certainly outdone herself, and they were only too happy to reap the rewards. The quiet moment they were enjoying was interrupted by a loud, odd laugh. One that seemed to send a strange thrill running up both of their spines
"Oh-ho-ho! Oh, darling that is just exquisite! Now, don't pout, dear. There is more than enough of me to go around!" An oddly sultry and imperious voice said loudly. The pair turned a corner, and before them was a beautiful woman dressed in a deep purple and red kimono adorned with black roses who had a pair of the most attractive men and women the two of them had ever seen, one on each arm.
Kodacgi Juno gave Akane that same almost hungry, predatory smile of hers as she greeted the pair. "Imagine seeing you here! Oh-ho-ho! Of course I should have expected you to know of this place. Fabulous, isn't it? Oh, and who is this delightful vision you have with you?" Kodachi said as she pulled her companions along by sheer force of personality.
Akane normally avoided interacting with her clients outside of wok, unless they approached her first. That said, she worried for a moment that she might still be walking into questionable territory, but decided to press onward anyhow. "Kodachi Kuno, this is my fiancee Ranko Saotome." Akane said by way of introductions as Ranko bowed at the waist to Kodachi.
Kodachi smiled brightly and bowed in return. "It;s a pleasure to meet you, Ranko dear. You do remind me of someone I know, perhaps we have met before?"
Ranko laughed and shrugged. "It's possible, considering the circles that our families force us into. It's hard not to have heard of the Kuno's, after all. And who are your companions tonight?" Ranko asked politely.
Kodachi seemed to have to think about it for a moment, so the woman on her left spoke up. "I'm Michi, and this is Hiro. We are Kodachi's dates tonight." She said pointedly.
Ranko smiled warmly and bowed to them. "It's a pleasure to meet you both. We won't keep you any longer. I hope that you have a good night, and enjoy the Revue."
As Akane and Ranko went their own way, Akane couldn't help but think about her first session with Kodachi as things came into context a bit better about the exact nature of the issues that Kodachi had come to her about.
:So, I have read your file, but I would like to hear from you about what you would like me to help you with, Kodachi." Akane had asked as she smiled at her newest client.
Kodachi had laughed and smiled that predatory smile at Akane before she continued on. "If you have read my file, then I am sure you have a good idea, but very well. I will lay bare all my torrid secrets. I'm addicted to sex. You could even say I hunger for it. I can be a bit of a little devil at times, and it tends to get me into trouble. I spent some time in an environment that was… Not conducive to me being able to control my urges. A friend I met decided to help me out, and they took me from there and brought me back here. Things were much better for quite a while, but sadly my old hunger and urges are starting to rear their ugly little head, and I hope that I can learn to curb my more… Exuberant… nature, so that I don't end up in the same situation as I was in before. I really have no desire to go back to my sex-starved, man-eating ways again. I hope that you can help me, Akane. For obvious reasons, it's not a good idea for me to have a male therapist, and some women are not immune to my charms, either."
Akane had nodded and smiled as she relaxed into her chair and made sure that she kept good eye contact with an attentive yet relaxed manner "I can understand how you would feel like that. Now, how about we just talk about what's been on your mind for today, and we will see about digging into that ngs next week, okay?"
Kodacgi had readily agreed, and they had talked for the rest of her hour. It had been an interesting talk, that was for sure. One that made her hopeful about her chances of helping her.
With a shake of her head, Akane focused her attention on the present, and the wonderful woman who had been gracious enough to let her push her tonight, and who had a heart big enough to let Akane in and take up residence in it.
"Is something on your mind, dear?" Ranko asked as she turned to look back at Akane.
Akane smiled and laughed as she relaxed and gazed lovingly at Ranko. "Nothing, dear. Just thinking about work."
Ranko shook her head with a fond look of exasperation. "Well, stop it. We are here to relax and have fun, right?"
Akane laughed and nodded in response, so Ranko continued on. "So, then get to it! Chop chop. Relax and have fun. Go."
Akane laughed and nodded. "Hai, Sensei!"
The pair of lovers made their way back towards their private room, and could hear two people talking excitedly from within. They exchanged a grin before they entered, and as they had both expected, Tsubasa and Kurumi were talking rapidly at each other. Natsume nodded with her usual serious expression as Ukyo waved happily at them. The pair made their way around the table to their usual seats as Karumi and Tsubasa stopped their chattering just long enough to say hello before they were once more in their own private little world.
"It's been like this for the last ten minutes, ever since we got here, sugar. We all arrived at the same time, and no sooner had we made it past the door, then they were going at it." Ukyo said with a wry grin. "I had a feeling that Tsu-chan and Kurumi would get along well, I just… Wasn't expecting this well."
Natsume chuckled softly. "Kurumi always appreciates someone who can keep up with her random jumps in conversation." She said before she took a sip of her tea, only her eyes giving away the amusement the serious sister found in the situation.
As Ranko tried to keep track of the conversation, which seemed to now be about the various merits of the Honda Cub for some reason, Akane and Ukyo settled in for their own conversation.
"So, how are the plans going for the nuptials?" Akane asked with a knowing grin.
Ukyo sighed and hung her head, an act that drew a chuckle from Akane.
"That good?" Akane ventured.
"Sugar, you have no idea. It's going to be one of the big social events of the season. We have to decide if it's going to be Christian or Shinto, or perhaps one of each. Then, a venue that is proper and big enough for the expected small army of guests. The proper caterer and tailors and dressmakers, depending on what style we go with, of course. Nabiki has been calling me almost everyday, sometimes multiple times in a day." Ukyo said with a sigh.
Akane laughed softly. "At least Ranko and I don't have to worry about that." Akane said almost wistfully.
"Be careful what you say, this is your sister we are talking about, sugar." Ukyo said with a knowing grin.
Akane laughed then looked at Ukyo seriously. "There is one issue I don't know if we can resolve, though."
"And what would that be, sugar?" Ukyo asked as she took a sip of her tea.
"How do we explain Ranko missing her brother's wedding?" Akane said and Ukyo stopped dead with her cup halfway to her lips.
"oh, sugar! How could I be so stupid! Not just stupid, insensitive as well. What do we do?" Ukyo said as she wrung her hands.
At that time, Nabiki entered the room and greeted everyone as she took off her suit jacket and sat down next to Akane and Ukyo.
Ukyo turned to the middle Tendo sister with a pained look in her eyes. "Nabiki! What am I going to do?" She said in obvious distress.
Nabiki chuckled as she took one of the cups of saki and took a drink. "Okay, what's the catastrophe now?"
"What are we going to do about Ranko?" Ukyo said as she cast her gaze at the diminutive red head who was still trying to follow along with Kurumi and Tsubasa's rapid fire, meandering conversation.
"Ah, I see. You finally thought about that problem." Nabiki said nonchalantly.
Ukyo sputtered for a moment, then glared at Nabiki. "Sugar… Please tell me that you hadn't already thought about this but didn't choose to say anything."
Nabiki made soothing motions towards the obviously irate Ukyo. "Calm down, okay? I didn't want you worrying until I had a solution."
"And… Do you? Do we have a solution? Since we can't have them both in the same place at the same time." Ukyo said as she cast a worried look at Ranko.
"Actually, I do." Nabiki said as she took another saki.
"Explain more, get drunk less, Nabiki." Ukyo said in a deceptively calm voice.
Nabiki chuckled a little as she eyed Ukyo, and glanced at Akane and saw no sanctuary there. She sighed and set down her drink. "A body double."
"A what?" Ukyo asked, more than a little confused.
"Someone who can stand in for Ranko. Who looks like her, and can fill in in the public eye. Right, Nabiki?" Akane said as she cast a glance at Ranko.
Nabiki nodded as she stretched. "I have a few candidates found already, actually. The big problems are interviewing them, keeping them quiet about it… and how much they need to know."
"What do you mean, how much do they need to know? Don't we have to keep things about the siblings as quiet as possible? And how do we know we can trust them?" Akane said with a bit of a confused look on her face.
"Because it's the job we will hire them for. We are going to be paying them very well to stand in for one of the most reclusive people in Japan. One who has very defining physical traits." Nabiki explained. "That said, I have found a few that I think should be able to fit the bill." She laughed as she took another drink of her tea. "I was going to bring this up with all of you either Friday or Saturday, after I had confirmed a few more things."
Ukyo and Akane looked at each other, and sighed a bit. Ukyo turned back to Nabiki and smiled as she shook her head. "We can always count on you, just, next time try to keep us in the loop so that I can avoid any more bride-to-be panic attacks? I'd appreciate it, Sugar." Ukyo said before she took a drink of her own.
Akane laughed as she stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go rescue my other half from Kuruim and Tsubasa before she gets any more lost. And, let her know that we have something we need to discuss later." Akane said as she smiled at her sister and wandered over to her befuddled significant other.
Ukyo turned and gave Nabiki a conspiratorial look once she was sure that Akane was out of earshot. "So, how are the plans going for the operation?"
Nabiki chuckled and smiled. "And here I thought I was not supposed to keep things a secret anymore?"
"This is different, and you know it. Do you think we can pull it off, Sugar? I know that it would mean the world for them." Ukyo pushed gently.
"Of course we can pull it off. It's us, what can't we manage? I'm making all the arrangements now, along with the ones for your wedding. Another thing we have to get Ranma to actually provide an opinion on, since you insist on including him in the planning." Nabiki said with a gentle shake of her head.
"It is OUR marriage, Sugar. He deserves to have some say in it." Ukyo said with a chuckle.
"Ukyo, for every bride in history, it has been their wedding. The marriage is both of theirs, but the wedding? That is all about the bride. Always has been." Nabiki said with an amused grin.
Ukyo laughed, then gave Tsubasa a worried look. "Please tell me that Tsu-chan has not been drinking? She really can't handle her liquor."
Nabiki shrugged. "She has probably had one or two cups of saiki, maybe a beer. How bad could it be?"
Ukyo gave Nabiki a resigned look as Tsubasa climbed up on the table and started to sing. Badly.
Nabiki winced and sighed. "Okay, you have made your point."
Ukyo sighed and stood up to reclaim her tipsy friend, who seemed to be trying to do some sort of dance while singing. A fact that Kurumi found incredibly amusing. While Akane and Ukyo tried to get Tsubasa off the table, and Natsume did her best to curtail her sister from joining in, Kasumi walked in.
"Oh my! I didn't know it was this kind of party? Are we doing karaoke, and I missed the notice?" Kasumi said then blinked as Akane sighed and shook her head.
"No, Kasumi. Someone didn't mention to the rest of us that her friend Tsubasa was definitely on the no-drink list." Akane said as she and Ukyo finally managed to get Tsubasa to get off the table.
"I'm going to run Tsu-chan home. Sorry everyone! Have a good night!" Ukyo said as she started to walk her inebriated friend out of the room.
As the others settled back in to enjoy the company of the rest of their little group, and catch Kasumi up on the events of the week, a certain cat waited impatiently back at the Saotome estate for the delicious-smelling creatures to come back. Xian Pu sat in the window and watched, eager to get another chance at the strange creature that filled her with such a hunger. It seemed that every day the shapes and smells became more distinct, the other-place she had stumbled into became more and more solid and real.
She couldn't wait to get a chance to actually sink her teeth into the delicious creatures that taunted her from across the barrier.