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 37
Tuesday, January 5th. The Saotome mansion, 8:00 PM.
Ukyo stretched as she made her way back into the house, having said goodnight to Tsubasa after seeing her lightweight of a friend home. Shiro had returned to the Teahouse to wait for the others, and that meant that she had the run of the mansion basically to herself.
Ukyo decided that she deserved to pamper herself a little bit, a nice long soak in the mansion's massive bath sounded like just the ticket after a long night of trying to rein in her friend. As she decided to set thought to action, she headed for the suite she shared with Ranma, unaware of the shadow on silent paws she had attracted.
Xian Pu followed along after the delicious smelling creature, attracted to the raw energy and potential that seemed to leak from it with every breath, every movement. She could tell that she was closer than before to the creature, and noticed the strange grass under her paws had flattened slightly as she passed over it. Something that had not happened before.
Ukyo continued on with her routine for the night. She changed out of the clothes she had worn to the Teahouse, and into her yukata. It felt nice, to just relax and not worry for a bit. Take her hair down, and not think about a massive wedding, or becoming a mother. To just be Ukyo Kuonji for a bit longer, and not all the other things that had been attached to that name lately. It was a reprieve that she had to admit to herself that she needed at the moment.
Xian Pu continued to follow the delicious one, as she skunk under its resting place and studied the other. The other had become steadily clearer and clearer as time progressed, and more and more tempting. She didn't quite understand why she was so drawn to this strange creature, but she had never been one to question her own nature. Her instincts had never led her wrong before, and she would trust them now. They had always made sure she was warm, healthy and well fed, and that had always been enough.
So, she would continue that, and see where it leads her. That decided, she stalked after the other after it shed its fur, and put on another before leaving the room.
Ukyo made her way to the baths, unaware of the silent shadow that crept along behind her on paws that seemed to actually touch the floor now. She glanced back, something tingling at the edge of her perception but missed her silent stalker. She shrugged, and entered the baths as her shadow slipped in with her before she closed the outer door. She took off her yukata and stretched before she made her way into the bath itself.
Xian Pu had missed her chance to follow the other into the inner chamber, her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Still, it seemed likely that the other would come this way again, so she jumped to the top of the cabinet and settled down to wait.
In the bath, Ukyo sighed as she settled in and relaxed. The cold water wash down had woken her up and helped her shake off the little bit of alcohol she had drank. It was probably a good thing that she had never been a heavy drinker, and lately she had found she had even less interest than before. Add onto that the fact that in the time she had been actively training with Akane, and now Ranko and Ranma, she had come a long way in a relatively short time. That wasn"t to say she had been in bad shape before, but compared to how she looked now? She might as well have been a couch potato. It was crazy, but Ranko didn"t seem surprised at all. She had said that when she came to this world, the loss of so much muscle mass and how lean her muscles had been before had been one of the worst shocks, almost more than losing the ability to walk had been at times. Things she had been able to do easily, even without the use of her legs and some of her back, had become impossible.
Now, Ukyo had started to truly understand what she had meant.
Ukyo glanced at the wall clock and sighed. She had better get out, the girls should be back soon and she wanted to greet them when they got home.
Ukyo stood up and stretched before she stepped out and dried herself off as she made her way to the changing room, unaware of what was waiting for her within.
Akane laughed as her one inebriated fiancee slumped on her in the back seat of the limo. They had seen the rest of their friends off, and helped Natsume pry Kurumi off the table, of all things, as she begged for just one more round of the sushi platter.
All in all, Akane had to admit that she was content. She had good friends and close family, her work felt worthwhile and fulfilling, and she had the woman she loved, who accepted her completely, attached to her like a leech at the moment. Life was good.
She couldn't shake the feeling that her sister Nabiki had something up her sleeve, but that was fairly normal for her middle sister. Now, the covert look she had shared with Kasumi of all people had Akane really wondering just what her sisters might be up to. She didn't think it was anything to worry about, not really, but who knew what they were plotting. Probably something regarding Ukyo and Ranma's upcoming wedding. That was the safe bet, after all.
Akane looked down a bit sadly at the relaxed face of the woman she loved and sighed. It was a shame that she would never get to share the experience of being married, most certainly not with Ranko. Maybe someday the world would change enough to accept them in that way, but for now she would just be happy for the people she already considered her family, Ranma and Ukyo.
As they pulled into the driveway in front of the mansion, Akane gazed on the place that felt more and more like home by the day with a fond smile on her face. It was crazy, how much her life had changed in a short time. She never would have imagined any of this just a year or two ago. It made her head spin, to be honest.
As they came to a stop, Akane gently shook her drowsy fiancee back awake and smiled down at the pure cuteness that was Ranko waking up from an impromptu nap.
"We're home, dear. Wake up so we can get you in and to bed." Akane said fondly.
"Do I gotta? Comfy." Her personal leech said as Ranko tried to latch back onto Akane.
"Yes dear. We will go in, take a bath and then head to bed. We have a busy week, and someone needs to sleep off her little drinking fest." Akane said in way of explanation.
Ranko yawned and stretched as she rubbed at her eyes and said in a grudging tone of voice. "'Kay".
Akane giggled as she got out, and smiled at Shiro who had Ranko's chair ready and waiting for them. "Thank you, Shiro. That will be all we will need for tonight. I will see to your lady, so get some rest."
"As you wish,my lady." Shiro said with a bow before he stepped back as Akane moved her girlfriend from the car and into her chair. The two of them watched Shiro drive the car towards the garage before they made their way into the house. A sudden scream and the sound of something being smashed snapped them out of their bliss, as Ranko shook off the effects of the drinks through a combination of willpower and her growing chi reserves.
The pair rush through the house as they head deeper into the expanse of the home they share. The pair follow the sounds of combat as they grow louder, until they burst into the corridor that sits adjacent to the baths. The sight before them seems surreal, and Akane stared as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Ranko, for her part, went rigid as her eyes fixed on the shadowy figure that was engaged with a naked Ukyo. Ranko finally stuttered out one word through her clenched lips.
"C...c…..cat….." Ranko said as she shivered, frozen in terror.
Akane narrowed her eyes for a moment, before she moved into the fray. While it did indeed resemble a large cat, at the same time she couldn't help but feel that it was something else, something otherworldly. Something that didn't fully belong in the world that they lived in. Judging from the cuts on Ukyo, it certainly seemed to be real, or at least real enough to interact with the world that they were part of. She saw Ukyo land what should have been a solid hit, but it seemed to at least partially pass through the wavering form of the creature that was engaged with them both. Akane looked to Ranko, but she was still locked in her phobia-caused paralysis. There would be little help coming from the one person who might understand best what was going on. All they could do was fight the best they could, and hope for the best. The two women looked at each other and shared a nod before they went on the offensive. While it seemed that their attacks didn't have full effect, at the same time they seemed to be having some impact on the creature. They launched into a leapfrog offensive, each one covering for the other as they attacked, and tried to drive the creature back. The strength and sheer speed of their opponent was proving to be a challenge. It moved with grace and precision, and there was a feral intelligence in it's eyes. It was becoming all too evident that this was not some mindless beast, but something else, something decidedly other. That became even more evident as they continued to fight, and it seemed to learn to anticipate their patterns of attacks as it scrutinized them intently. It was during one of the coordinated assaults that it slipped under Akane's punch, and rolled deftly past Ukyo and started to head for what it perceived as the weakest person present, the one that had not moved since it had seen the creature.
Xian Pu had hoped to be able to take care of the one before the others returned to their lair, but that hadn't been possible. They were slow and clumsy, nowhere near the grace and perfection that was Xian Pu. Still, they were strong and tough. The frail looking one that was frozen in terror at the sight of her seemed like a good place to start. Better to make a quick kill and flee over staying and taking more hits from the other two. As she leaped into the air, she saw her target raise it's forelimbs in an attempt to ward her off. She grinned a feral grin as she prepared to land a fatal attack, only to be blown back by a flare of light. Whatever it was, it smelled like the delicious smell that came from all three of them, but it hurt. It burned like hot rocks on a sunny day, like nettles and thistles. Xian Pu landed and hissed at the supposedly weak one as her fur stood on end.
The two women tried to make it in time, but their distance was too great and their opponent moved much too fast. As the two blooded and battered women watched in mute terror, the creature launched in what should have been a fatal attack. Akane let out an anguished cry, then Ranko raised her hands in panic, and a flash of light seemed to erupt from her hands. The shadowy creature seemed to fray around the edges as it flew away, and landed unsteadily on it's four paws as it puffed up and hissed angrily at Ranko.
Ranko gasped as she tried to shake off her terror, her lips parted and closed once, twice, before she gasped out one word. "S….Soup!" Ranko gasped as she shivered and stared at the creature that had started to approach her again, but more cautiously.
Akane and Ukyo looked at each other, and nodded as they figured out what Ranko had been trying to tell them. They knew that they couldn't project the energy they had been trying to learn to control like Ranko just had, but they had one way to manifest it in a way that could be useful. It just was likely not to be pleasant. The two women moved as the creature seemed to pause and look towards one of the windows. They knew what exactly it must be planning. Escape and then ambush them again when it was more advantageous. That was the one thing that they could not allow to happen.
Akane lunged at the creature, her hands open wide as she attempted to grab it. She let out a loud yell as she did so, and her eyes met the eyes of the creature directly for the first time. There was something almost familiar in it's gaze, how it carried itself but she could not quite place it yet. Akane hit the ground as her hands just missed the creature as it launched into the air, and prepared itself to land with it's deadly claws onto the prone martial artist. That was when it felt the hands of the other grab hold of it firmly, and carry them both to the ground. Ukyo struggled with the oddly slippery creature as she received several more shallow cuts before the glowing hands of Akane wrapped themselves around the head and jaw of the creature.
"Have some hot soup, you blasted beast!" Akane growled out as she channeled her chi in a way that had started to become almost second nature to her.
What happened next seemed to resolve itself in slow motion, as Akane poured more and more of her chi into her opponent, it seemed to fray around the edges more and more. Then, a light started to shine from it's core, growing brighter and brighter until the creature was consumed in a reddish tinged light that seemed to burn it away like fog being dispersed by the light of the sun.
When the last shadowy tatters faded away, Akane and Ukyo looked about to make sure that it was, in fact, gone before they took care of the damage done. Akane hurried in and grabbed towles, bandages, and Ukyo's yukata from where it had fallen when she dropped it when she had been ambushed in the bathroom. Ukyo, for her part, stayed by Ranko and tried to watch in every direction at the same time. The two women retreated to Ranko's room to tend to their wounds, and to have a place that at least seemed safe.
"What was that, sugar?" Ukyo asked in a pained voice as Akane patched her up.
"I don't know, Ukyo. Hopefully when Ranko comes back to herself, she will have some ideas." Akane said as she finished wrapping the worst of the cuts that Ukyo had acquired.
"What… What do we do tonight?" Ukyo asked as she took the bandages and started to do the same for Akane.
"We call the staff, make sure they are okay. Tell them to stay together, and lock their doors. And, tonight you are resting here with us. We will keep a watch tonight, and hope that nothing else happens." Akane said as she winced as Ukyo tended to her wounds.
"And… If it comes back? What then, Sugar?" Ukyo asked in a quiet voice.
Akane turned and looked at her with a serious look on her face. "Then we serve it up another batch of hot soup."
Ukyo felt her lips lift for a moment, then she nodded. "Ranko will be proud of you, Akane."
Akane shook her head and smiled a bit. "No, she will be proud of US, Ukyo."
Ukyo nodded as she glanced at the redhead who had finally fallen asleep on the bed, curled up the best she could. "We might have to see about doing something about the phobias that her insane parents saddled her with, won't we?"
"One impossible feat at a time. Let's get through tonight, and then we can think about tomorrow." Akane said as she stood and stretched. "Get some rest, I will take the first watch."
"Okay… Thank you, Akane." Ukyo said as she slipped into the bed and wrapped an arm protectively around Ranko.
"It's what family does for each other, right?" Akane said as she watched the room, and tried to remember the odd feeling that had plagued them all for the last few days.
"...Yeah, it is." Ukyo said before she let herself slip into the darkness of sleep, her exhausted body badly in need of rest.
*A/N*
Sorry for the delay, this chapter took a bit more work to get out than anticipated. Hope you are enjoying the story!