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:
For Love and Money, Chapter 25
Yaayaa stirred slowly and blinked sleepily as she looked around. She wasn't sure for a moment where she was, but as she shifted a little it all came back to her. She was in the hospital, and couldn't move her legs anymore. As hot tears started to streak down her cheeks, she felt an impossibly tiny hand come to rest on her cheek, and gently urge her to look down. Her eyes locked with the oddly expressive eyes of the cursed doll, Hina, and she gently hugged the strange being to her as she cried. It took her a while to regain her composure, then she sighed and rested back into the bed with Hina still cradled in her arms. She thought about it for a while, while Hina waited patiently since it was clear that something was on the young girl's mind.
"If…. If we do this… If I let you… Have my body… Will I really be able to walk again?" Yaayaa asked in a small, quiet voice.
Hina hesitated, then nodded. "You will. It will take some time to learn how to move the dolls, but you will be able to walk and run again. You just… Won't be really alive anymore. You won't be able to smell flowers, or taste food. A lot of things you take for granted will be lost to you. But, you will never know sickness again. You will never know hunger. You will not age or grow old. You will not suffer from injury or disability. You will learn, and experience things but your body will remain the same. It will be whatever doll you possess at that time. And… When the time comes… You will die just like anyone else, when our time together comes to an end. When your old body passes from this world, your soul will go with it and I will once again inhabit the doll."
"And… Can you really use my bodY? Even though it's so… Broken…" Yaayaa said softly.
"For me, it will be just like moving one of my dolls. The difference being… I will be able to do those things that people can do, that women of that age can do. My essence will make sure that the injuries it has sustained so far will not hinder my use of it." Hina said as she watched Yaayaa, already sure that she knew what the young girl would ask next.
"Couldn't… Couldn't you just teach me to do that? So… So that I can do all the stuff that I can't now?" Yaayaa asked with a hopeful tone to her voice.
Hina hated to crush the young girl's hopes, but she had to do it. Yaayaa needed to know as much as possible. "Not in your lifetime, my dear. And… The ability to possess others? To forcefully take their bodies from them, and make them your own until they throw you out? It's not something I want to teach you, or will. You don't need that burden on your mind or soul. It took me over a hundred years to learn to do it, and the only reason I would be able to make your body function is all the years I have spent perfecting every aspect of my cursed existence. I can teach you to make the dolls function in every way they possibly can, and to move from doll to doll, but I can't and won't teach you to steal another person's body as your own. And that is what is needed, to be able to move your own body."
Yaayaa thought about it for a minute, then sighed as she stared at the ceiling. "I wish there was something I could do…" She said as tears rolled down her cheeks again, and once again Hina wiped them away.
"I know… I really wish I could help in any other way than what I have offered." Hina said sadly as she sat down and leaned lightly against Yaayaa's side.
Yaayaa nodded, then gently wrapped an arm around the cursed doll and held her close. "Do.. I have to decide now?" She asked softly.
Hina shook her head and looked up at Yaayaa. "Take your time. We don't have to rush into anything, but the sooner we figure it out, the sooner we can make plans going forward. But, for now, just rest and take your time."
Yaayaa nodded a little, then looked down at the doll. "Can.. You stay? Just… For a bit?"
Hina smiled and nodded. "As long as you need me to, Yaayaa."
Yaayaa smiled and nodded as she let herself slip back into sleep while Hina watched her with a troubled look on her face.
"Am I… Really doing the right thing?" Hina asked herself softly as she leaned up to gently brush her little fingers through Yaayaa's hair.
Koda looked at the books that were laid out before her as she shifted slightly and grimaced a bit as her bandages shifted slightly. Even with Michi tending to her back, it was not something that she was used to. Neither of her lives had prepared her for suffering injuries like this, but she would endure it. If Qiang Pu and Nabiki could handle this, then what kind of person would she be if she didn't do at least as well?
A gentle knock sounded at the door, and Koda smiled softly as she called out to her guest. "Come in, Tachi. you know that this One will always welcome you into this One's room."
"It's always amazed this One how my most gracious host knows that it is this One who has come to visit." Tachi said as she entered and bowed.
Koda returned the bow as best as she could, amazed that Tachi could carry on like nothing had happened, even though her back was as bloody as Koda's was.
Koda smiled at her guest as she poured tea. "One must be allowed to keep some secrets, my dear sister." Koda said, then placed the cup before her guest. "What might bring you to visit this One?"
Tachi smiled as she savored the aroma of the tea before taking a sip. "This One has heard that her most honorable sister will be leaving the nest to fly on her own soon."
Koda paused, then poured herself another cup of tea. "This One has not decided yet." She said, not bothering to ask how Tachi knew of the offer that she had been offered.
Tachi chuckled and smiled. "When Mother started to speak to the Geisha who spoke Mandarin and any other dialect found in China, it was not hard to figure out why. And who better to take her place as Mother of this new house other than you?"
`This One has not decided if she shall go or not…" Koda said, then sighed at the knowing little smirk on Tachi's face. To most, Tachi seemed impassive, a cold eyed and cold-blooded killer. Koda knew the younger Geisha too well to fall into that trap.
Tachi gave Koda a look and tilted her head to the side slightly. "This One knows the answer already, and knows that her sister Koda shall be missed, but she shall also be glad to see someone she holds dear achieve what they are capable of."
Koda laughed softly and cradled her cup between her palms. "Is this One capable of doing this? And,,, Will everything be okay at the House when this One is gone?"
Tachi chuckled and smiled. "The House existed before you came to it, and it shall endure even when Mother Konatsu has given up her fan and sword. That said, have you chosen who shall be trained to take over the duties that you have placed on your shoulders?"
Koda hedged for a moment, then sighed. "She is years from being ready, but this One thinks she has found one that could be capable of helping the House flourish, if things work out well."
Tachi eyed Koda with a speculative look in her eye. "Oh? And who might that be?"
Koda smiled as she took a sip before she looked at Tachi. "Rei, Michi's apprentice. She has the potential, if she can rise to it."
Tachi paused and looked at Koda. "Rei? Are you sure of that choice?"
Koda nodded and stared into the cup with a thoughtful look. "This One is. She has the potential, she learns quick, she is responsible, and intelligent. She keeps Michi organized, and that is a challenge on a good day. In time, she will be a true asset to the House." Koda paused, then looked at Tachi. "And you? When will you take a student to teach?"
"When this One finds her student, she will know and take them under her wing." Tachi said cryptically.
Koda paused and nodded as she settled bak with a little wince. "This One does not regret her choices, but her body does. Still, it was appropriate, after failing that young girl. She will be okay, won't she?" Koda asked without looking at Tachi.
"She is the daughter of Ranma and Xian Pu, and has found a new home with Nabiki. When and if she returns home, she will be a different person than the injured, lost young girl that came to us. She will endure this, and learn from it. It may take time, but that is one thing that this One is certain of. One day, Qiang Pu will be as formidable of a force as all three of her parents." Tachi said, before she stood once more. "When the time is right, this One will accompany you to China to help establish your House before she returns to Japan and the Teahouse."
:As much as this One would find comfort in her sister's presence, we will have to wait and see what Mother Konatsu has to say about that." Koda said with a smile on her face.
Tachi nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Koda to her thoughts about the future that lay before her. A future that waited for her to take up the mantle that she had been offered.
She just hoped that she would be worthy of the trust that had been shown to her.
As the sun rose over the inner garden of the Teahouse, a young Amazon took a long, slow breath in and out as she sat in meditation. She slowly and carefully worked her way through her body, testing each and every muscle that she could safely. She had to get Michi to clear her for this, with several conditions placed on her. One of those conditions was sitting across from her and trying to find the state of peace that Qiang Pu had entered. Qiang Pu cracked an eye open to observe Rei as she tried to hold still as they sat on the cold, hard stones. Qiang Pu knew that Rei didn't have to do this, she could have easily sat and worked at any number of the little projects and skills that she had to master to rise up in the ranks, yet there she sat. It made Quang Pu feel a bit more relaxed, at least until she thought how nice it would be to share this moment with Yaayaa.
Qiang Pu's sense of inner peace shattered as her mind wandered down dark, overly familiar paths. She knew that Yaayaa and herself were the victims of Xaph Ti's manipulations, and the schemes of the woman who had raised her. Intellectually, it made sense. But her heart still ached, and the guilt was an oddly comfortable burden to carry on her narrow shoulders.
As the first tears began to roll down her cheeks, Qiang Pu felt a slim pair of arms slide around her and she stiffened for a moment, then relaxed slowly as the familiar scent of Rei's soap and shampoo washed over her. She let her friend hold her as the tears turned to sobs, and she finally let the grief and loss roll through her like a storm, leaving her drained in its aftermath.
Rei spared a soft smile for her friend who kept the suffering and pain in her heart hidden from everyone, and decided to let Qiang Pu rest for as long as she needed as she shifted the exhausted girl to lay with her head in Rei's lap.
It was about all she could really do for Qiang Pu.
Xaph Ti looked up from the book she had been reading as she looked over the tiny black woman that sat quietly in the corner of her room. She had not been alone since she had woken up in this strange place, but everyone had been very nice and polite to her so far. The nive woman named Michi had said that soon she would be able to go for walks in the gardens, but she needed to rest as much as she could for now. Xaph Ti sighed as she turned the page and continued to read, as she hoped that she could see her sister again soon.
The fact that she couldn't really remember much bothered her sometimes, but that worry seeme to just drift away like a cloud blown away by the wind. All that mattered was that she was Xaph Ti, daughter of Xian Pu and Ranma. That she had a sister, Qiang Pu, and that she was safe here.
In the end, that was what truly mattered.
Xaph Ti Pyn had merely looked up for a moment before the nice Geisha named Amaya had brought her over another cup of the tea that Michi had given her. The young girl smiled warmly at the older Geisha with not a trace of the hatred, madness or pure malice that she had at one time projected as she quietly thanked Amaya before she obediently drank her tea and returned to her book.