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 38
Homecomings, Part 2.
The Tendo residence, 8:30 PM
It was well into the night when there was a gentle, almost furtive step heard outside of the door before it opened and a short redhead walked in with a go bag slung over one shoulder, and a heavy duffel held in one hand. Ranma looked about at her home and relaxed a little as she saw her family before her. Nabiki held their son, who luckily they had gotten used to seeing both of the cursed martial artists forms. Qiang Pu stood with a determined look on her face, even as he could see how her hands clenched and trembled. Behind her stood an unfamiliar girl who could only be the wayward child named Xaph Ti Pyn, who looked anxious.
Ranma-chan felt her heart clench as she tightened her grip on the duffel bag, all too aware of the weight of the broken object that was inside of it, and the impact it would have on Qiang Pu. But, both Nabiki and herself had decided it would be best if the news came from them in private, rather than in front of others.
"I'm home, " Ranma-chan said and smiled at her assembled family. A moment later the others bowed and said in response. "Welcome home."
Qiang Pu watched her sire as she walked into the room, and clenched her hand in a mixture of fear and relief. She had been worried about Ranma, the father that she barely knew not returning to this family. She also was scared of what Ranma might tell her.
Ranma-chan and Nabiki exchanged a look, then both looked at Qiang Pu and the solemn look made the young Amazon swallow. "Let's head into the family room, there is something I have to tell you, Qiang Pu. You, and your sister Xaph Ti.". Ranma said before she led the family in, and let her travel bag slip to the floor before she turned and knelt before she gently placed the duffel on the ground and removed the wrapped items that were inside. Qiang Pu had been giving Ranma an intense look ever since she knelt down, but it was something that she had to do.
Something that no one else could do anymore.
Qiang Pu found herself holding her breath as Ranma-chan laid down the package wrapped in silk and carefully unwrapped it. Inside was a single Chui, the metal head pockmarked with bullet holes, and the shaft broken. Qiang Pu knew all too well the significance of this broken weapon, and what it meant. Qiang Pu could feel the tears as they streaked down her face and Ranma looked up at her and bowed her head.
"I am sorry, Qiang Pu. I was not able to arrive in time to save your mother or grandmother." Ranma-chan said, her heart breaking a little at the look in the eyes of her daughter.
Qiang Pu slowly sunk to the ground and rested her hand on the broken weapon as Xaph Ti hesitated for a moment, then knelt down and hugged her sister as they both grieved the loss of a mother, a mother that one of them had never known, and now would never get the chance to know.
After a moment, Nabiki knelt down and wrapped one arm around Qiang Pu and Xaph Ti as her other held the restive form of Chika against herself protectively. It was a somber moment, and the two girls were quiet and withdrawn for the remainder of the night. Ranma-chan had already known that the ones who watched over Xaph Ti had agreed to let the young girl stay overnight with the Tendo's, and a futon had been laid out in Qiang Pu's room.
When the family went to bed, after Chika had been placed in the bed for the night, the couple looked at each other and held each other silently for a long time. "I'm glad you made it home safely, Ranma." Nabiki said, and Ranma smiled in return before she answered. 'I am glad to be home."
Qiang Pu had returned to the room she would be sharing with her sister quietly, unable to find the words that she wanted to say, afraid she would break down again if she tried to say anything. She could feel the eyes of Xaph Ti Pyn on her, and looked at her younger sister with a lost look in her eyes. Xaph Ti Pyn steeled her narrow shoulders and stood up and walked over to take her sister's hand in her own before she started to pull QIang Pu along behind her with a determined look on her face. The pair stopped for a moment outside of the door of the older couple before Xaph Ti Pyn tightened her grip on Qiang Pu's hand and walked in. "Can… We join you tonight? Father? Mother Nabiki?" Xaph Ti Pyn asked as she held tightly to Qiang Pu's hand. The older couple looked at each other and Ranma nodded as they pulled the covers down and allowed the girls to get settled in.
And for the first time in quite a while, the family was truly together again.
The Tendo residence, 6:15 AM.
The morning was a quiet one, as the girls woke up and found themselves alone in the bed with Nabiki sitting at her desk and a sleeping Chiko resting in her lap. Nabiki smiled over at the girls and made a soft shushing motion with her finger to her lips and the girls nodded quietly. A night's sleep had seemed to have helped Qiang Pu settle her mind a bit, but both of the parents were all too aware that grief was sure to take a strong hold of the young Amazon's heart. It was only natural, after all. Qiang Pu had just had her whole world taken out from under her feet. She would no longer have a family to return to in China.
Xaph Ti Pyn worried her lip for a moment before she grabbed Qiang Pu's hand and pulled her out of the bedroom and towards the soft sounds coming from the kitchen.
Xaph Ti Pyn had taken to the lessons that sensei Amaya had taught her on observing others and understanding their emotions. It was clear to her the great weight that hung on her older sister like a heavy yoke. And now she faced the future of returning to a home that was no longer home, where there was no longer a family that waited for her.
The two girls stopped in the hall just outside of the kitchen and watched Ranma as she worked on breakfast with a casual ease. Ranma looked over her shoulder and gave the girls a soft smile. Her eyes lingered on Qiang Pu for a moment before she turned back to what she had been working on.
Xaph Ti Pyn had watched her sister and how Elders Ranma and Nabiki looked at Qiang Pu. There had to be something that she could do, a way for her to protect her sister and their family.
Xaph Ti Pyn bit her lip and took a long, deep breath before she stepped forward and tried to draw her sister into some sort of conversation to keep Qiang Pu from sinking farther into the grief and despair that threatened to consume her bright and shining sister.
Xaph Ti Pyn knew what she had to do, and in the scattered dregs of her mind she found an answer that was possibly a way to fix things.
As long as she could do what was needed.
The Teahouse, 1:30 PM.
Tai Dai stretched as she smiled at Koda and watched the delicate Geisha walk with smooth, gliding steps away. Koda had insisted on seeing to the Amazon Elder herself, and Tai Dai had no complaints. She had enjoyed their conversations so far, and found Koda to be someone she could look forward to working with in the future.
The Amazon Elder sighed as she brought her mind back to what was before her. She would meet the heir today, along with the girl who had been raised by the renegade Rai Zur. The Council was unsure what to do with Xaph Ti Pyn, but it might prove best to just lock her away in the village in case she took after her mother.
She had asked Koda about the pair of girls, and her response had been interesting. It seemed that the heir had taken to her studies with drive, as she had learned the ways of the outer world as fast as she could. Tai Dai could understand that, since she had done the same herself. Still, it would be best not to fill her young mind with too much of the outer world's ideas, at least until the Village was ready to embrace the changes that were sure to be coming.
When she had asked Koda about the daughter of Rai Zur, she had gotten an enigmatic smile and told to ask Tachi and Amaya about the young ladies.
She had asked to speak to Amaya, but had been told that the dark skinned Geisha had left for the night to visit a close friend and would not be available until midmorning.
She had caught the Scarred Lilly before she had retired for the night, and the answer she had received about the two girls had been as enigmatic as Tachi herself. "As this One sees it, each of the young ladies takes after a different parent." she had said. Tai Dai had assumed that she had meant that Qiang Pu had taken after Elder Xian Pu, while the other had taken after her traitorous mother Rai Zur.
All the more reason to lock her away where she would never cause trouble again. It was also possible they would just have to dispose of her, if it came to that.
She hadn't had a chance to speak with Amaya yet, but she was not too concerned. She felt like she knew what she needed to make whatever decision was in the best interest of the Village.
Qiang Pu would take her place on the Council, and that was what truly mattered the most. Anything else was a secondary consideration. She might be young, but they needed a tie to the old blood, to the traditional leaders of the Council.
Tai Dai looked up as the doors to the conference room she had been allowed to use swung open and a pair of Geisha walked in. One of them was the Scarred Lily, Tachi. The other one was a much shorter Geisha who had dark skin. That one had to be Amaya, the one who she had been told had the most interactions with the daughter of Rai Zur.
After them walked Ranma, and the woman next to her had to be the formidable Nabiki Tendo. She had exchanged messages with her on many occasions in the last few weeks and had come to respect her mind. Nabiki Tendo was not a warrior, but at the same time you would never want to fight her on her chosen battleground.
Behind them walked a pair of young girls. The similarities between them were easy to discern if you knew what to look for. One of them had her head up and locked eyes with the Elder for a minute as she clutched at the hand of the other who had yet to lift her head.
Tai Dai stood up and started towards the group. She bowed her head politely to the Lilies of the Teahouse and then again to the Tendo's before she stopped in front of the two girls. She ignored the one who had only briefly glanced at her and regarded the other intently before she bowed her head. She had been banished before Qiang Pu had been born, but the attitudes of the two of them gave her what she needed to figure them out.
"I am sorry for your losses, Qiang Pu. Regardless, it is time you return home and take your place at the table of the Council.". Tai Dai said as she watched the girls. The one who had not lifted her head but for a moment jerked a little as the other shook her head of shorter hair and looked the Amazon Elder in the eyes.
"I am not Qiang Pu. I am Xaph Ti Pyn, daughter of Xian Pu. You will acknowledge me, Elder. I invoke the Rite of Challenge.". Xaph Ti Pyn said as she forced herself to stand her ground.
Tai Dai arched an eyebrow at the young girl. "And you wish to take my seat from me, daughter of Rai Zur?"
Xaph Ti Pyn shook her head. "I don't know a Rai Zur, and I don't want your seat ". She motioned to the silent Qiang Pu. "I want hers."