DiScLaImEr: Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of rich corporations own all
the characters in this fic. My use of them in no way is meant to
undermine those claims, and suing me would be a huge waste of time.
If, for some reason, you actually think this meager tribute to RT's
genius deserves to be further distributed, you may do so, so long as
you: a) reprint this disclaimer; b) give me credit (blame?) for the
story and; c) don't actually sell it (Yeah, like that's a concern!).
And now, on with the fic.
*****************
* Illuminations *
*****************
**************************
* A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction *
**************************
***************
* By Freemage *
***************
*Author's Note: This story draws on both the anime and the manga.
This is a dark story, with several sexually suggestive scenes,
although no outright Lemon scenes. If such material offends or
disturbs you, please consider not reading this story--Unless, of
course, you like being offended and/or disturbed....
Thoughts are denoted by {X}, text by [X].
Ramblings regarding customs portrayed are at the end of the fic.*
********************
* Chapter Fourteen *
* Ashes *
********************
As the group arrived at the service, most of them pulled up short
in surprise. Even the determinedly morose Ranma was caught off guard
by the scene before him. Only Akane, a bittersweet smile on the edge
of her mouth, seemed unsurprised.
Gathered in the small courtyard were scores, perhaps even hundreds
of people.
Ranma-chan turned back to his fiancee. "Akane, where did...
How...?" The redhead's voice trailed off in confusion.
Akane blushed. "It wasn't that hard, really. I just called all
the kids at school--Ukyou was pretty popular, you know. And I left a
note on the door of Ucchan's, asking any of her regulars to call me
so I could fill them in on the details. Word kind of spread from
there. Kasumi helped make the arrangements with the temple."
Contrary to the opinion held in some quarters, Ranma-chan was not
totally unobservant or insensitive. {She musta spent hours on the
phone... And she didn't even ask for help....} She gave a small
smile to her fiancee. "Thanks, Akane, it's great that you did all
this. It... it means a lot."
Akane gave her a shy smile back. "Your welcome, Ran-Ranko," she
answered, shooting a glance at Nodoka at the last minute. "Let's go
inside, shall we?"
"Yeah."
The group moved inside. Akane and "Ranko" broke off from the rest
of the family, after Akane explained that they should find Ukyou's
father so he could greet the other guests.
****************************************************************
Ryouga, still clad in nothing but a satin sheet, knew exactly where
he was, for once. He stared morosely at the burned-out ruins in
front of him. In several places, the ceilings of the underground
chambers had collapsed, leaving gaping holes in the ground, many of
which had the trashed remains of the traps they once contained
sticking out at odd angles.
The Even now, several days after the Kunou mansion had been
destroyed in the patriarch's last, desperate attempt to restore the
family honor, Ryouga could swear he could see tiny wisps of smoke
coming from the charred husks of the above-ground structures.
With a heavy sigh, he turned from the grim tableau and tried to
figure out the best way to get back to the dojo from where he was.
Of course, as he stood, pondering, a small truck passed by, sending
the contents of a nearby puddle cascading over him.
It took the piglet twenty minutes to find his way out of the sheet.
****************************************************************
{This tears it! Now I know it must be a law somewhere that in
order to be a martial artist, you first have to have a father who
isn't worth his weight in shit.} Ranma-chan's reasoning stemmed from
the crumpled telegram she held in a clenched fist.
It was a fairly short document.
[Mr. Saotome--
Re: your letter notifying me of the "death of my
daughter, Ukyou", I must inform you that I have no
daughter by that name. Please refrain from any
further contact. Respectfully,
--Mr. Kuonji]
{How could he? How could that miserable excuse for a father not
even show up for his daughter's own memorial service?} As she
thought about it, her aura actually began to luminesce about her.
"Ranma, please," Akane pleaded, gripping her arm, "I'm upset, too,
but there's nothing we can do about it right now that won't just make
things worse. Please...." She sighed with relief as the aura
flickered out, but her respite was short-lived as she looked into the
redhead's eyes and saw the same ice she had felt on the night Ukyou
was injured.
"OK, Akane, you're right. But," Onna-Ranma continued, her voice
low and dangerous, "this ain't over. Ukyou deserved better, and I'm
gonna make sure she gets it."
Frightened by this side of her fiance, Akane simply nodded, mutely.
{I hope I can steer him from doing anything too drastic,} she thought
miserably. {I need to talk with Nabiki. She might have some
ideas....}
Ranma-chan continued to glower for a moment, and sighed, her
shoulders sagging. "Akane, look, by law, at least, she was my
fiancee. Would you get mad if I took the role of her family?"
Akane blinked, opened her mouth, closed it again and stared at her
fiance. Then, carefully, she said, "No... No, not at all. I think
that would be the best course." She then shut up before she started
babbling.
Onna-Ranma moved to the spot near the casket where Ukyou's father
would have stood, and began to greet the guests, accepting the black
envelopes they carried as condolence gifts.
***********************************************************
P-Chan made his way through the brightly lit corridors. Those
familiar with both him and his curse would have recognized his
plaintive, "Bweee...," as meaning, roughly, "_Now_ where the Hell am
I...?"
Fortunately for him, one such individual happened to be nearby.
"You know, Ryouga, you can be _so_ pathetic."
{Nabiki!} thought the lost pig-boy. {Great! I must be in the
hospital, then.} He turned to the sound of her voice, and was
delighted to see that he had surmised correctly. The middle Tendou
sister was sitting up in her hospital bed, watching some American
talk-show with subtitles. He wandered in, making soft snuffling
noises.
She picked him up by the bandanna. "Let me guess. You never even
got to _see_ Akane, right?" With a dejected expression, the little
piglet nodded in assent.
Nabiki sighed. "OK, Lost Boy. Amazingly enough, I'm prepared for
this contingency." She reached for a thermos on the table beside her
bed, and continued, "I told the nurse I liked to have hot tea, but I
figured I'd need this sometime this week."
After setting him back down on the floor, she opened up the
thermos. "Alright, get under the bed and stick your head out, and
I'll heat you up."
P-Chan nodded, then started to slip under the bed, failing to
notice the mischevious gleam in Nabiki's eyes. The hot water struck
him just as his head was fully past the dangling blanket. As Ryouga
frantically scrambled to squeeze under the bed, Nabiki said in a
voice that sounded far too sweet, "Ooopsie, sorry about that,
Ryouga-chan."
"Aarrghh!!" cried the Lost Boy from under her sitting place. "Just
pass me something to cover up with, would you?"
Smirking, Nabiki rummaged through the drawer next to her bed.
"Your wish is my command," she intoned, dramatically, as she dropped
a spare hospital gown down to where he could reach it, "Oh mighty
bearer of the Sweet Pork Buns."
"NABIKI!!!"
****************************************************************
"Ranko" stood before the incense burner. There had been so many
people attending that the brazier was practically billowing smoke,
even though most of the visitors had restricted themselves to a
single pinch.
Ignoring the cloying haze, she reached into the bowl with her thumb
and first two fingers, as her mom had described to her on the way to
the ceremony. With careful deliberation, she raised the pinch of
incense to eye level, then sprinkled it into the burner, and was
rewarded with even more smoke. Undaunted, even though her eyes were
beginning to water, she repeated the process, then stood and bowed,
hands together, to the priest who had performed the ceremonies.
{Farewell, Ucchan. I hope you are in a happier place, now. Please
forgive me any wrongs I have done you.}
Meanwhile, Akane and Nodoka were having a quiet discussion in the
back of the temple.
"So why, exactly, is Ranko filling in for Ukyou's family?"
"Umm... Well, it's like this," Akane responded, caution over being
caught causing her to drag out her speech. "Over the last few
months, Ranko and Ranma have become fairly close." Nodoka raised an
eyebrow at that.
Akane, correctly interpreting the expression on her face, said
quickly, "Not like that, really. More like brother and sister."
"I certainly hope so," replied Nodoka, gravely. "It would be a
shame if my son were to add yet another barrier to fulfilling his
obligation to you just as one obstacle was gone."
Akane, remembering Ranma's words to their fathers the day Ukyou
had died, offered a silent prayer that Nodoka would keep that opinion
to herself. "So, anyway, she was often along when Ranma visited
Ukyou's shop," she continued, skirting the terrain between truth and
outright lie with a skill Genma would have admired, "And since
Ukyou's real family couldn't be here, and Ranma himself is... away,
she was the next best friend Ukyou had."
"Oh. Well, in that case, it certainly makes sense that she fill
this role. I just wish she could have done so in more appropriate
attire. Maybe I'll take her out shopping this week for some proper
outfits."
"Ummm... Sure, Auntie Saotome. She'll... appreciate that, I'm
sure." Internally, Akane told herself, {I'd better be sure to warn
"Ranko" about this. He is really _not in the mood for surprises,
right now.}
"I've been meaning to ask, dear. Is there any reason you chose to
have the service on Tomobiki? While I'm sure you regard it as just a
silly superstition, it is a bit... untraditional, don't you think?"
Akane's eyes grew wide. "What? Today is Tomobiki? Oh, no..."
She stared worriedly at "Ranko". "What have I done...?"
Hurriedly, she made her way to the front of the temple.
In a very low voice, she came up to Ranma-chan and whispered in
the girl's ear, "Ranma, we've got a problem."
Immediately loosening up for a fight, Ranma whispered back, "So
who is it? Tsubasa come back for the service, or something?"
Akane shuddered. "No, nothing like that. But I--I messed up.
Today's Tomobiki."
Ranma-chan blinked. "So what's that."
"Didn't that father of yours teach you anything outside of martial
arts?" Akane asked, gritting her teeth in frustration. "Look, I
don't have time to explain, I just need you to trust me. We need to
put a doll in the coffin with Ukyou, or you might get hurt."
"Are you serious?" The redhead's voice was incredulous. "Where
am I supposed to get a doll right now?"
Akane didn't reply, instead just giving her a desperate, pleading
look.
Onna-Ranma sighed, knowing she was beat. "OK, but I expect an
explaination when we get home, you got it?"
Akane nodded rapidly, her eyes brimming with tears, and then she
hugged Ranma-chan with all her strength.
"Hey, Akane, remember, we're both girls right now! And besides, I
ain't even got the stupid doll, yet," she hissed, prompting Akane to
release her bear-grip.
She glanced around, scanning the crowd. "Ah, there he is. I'll
be right back." Akane watched in confusion as Ranma-chan slipped
away through the mingling horde.
****************************************************************
Ryouga clambered out from under the bed, clad in the hospital
gown. Nabiki was still sniggering behind her hand.
"Har-de-har-har, Nabiki. That wasn't funny."
"You're right," she said with an almost-straight face, "It was
hillarious."
"Oh, you're just full of laughter and joy today, aren't you?"
"Oh, stop. A girl's entitled to a little fun... Especially when
she's as bored as I've been these last few days. It's times like
this I wish I was still into martial arts, so I could recover as fast
as you guys do."
Ryouga grimmaced, then sat down. "So, any chance of talking you
into giving me an extra couple of days because this delay wasn't
really my fault?"
Nabiki arched an eyebrow at him. "Not a chance, pal. If I waited
until things got normal around here, you'd be old and grey before you
told her anything."
"And that's bad?" The clueless expression on his face was so
perfect that Nabiki almost bought it.
"Nice try, Hibiki. You've got three more days till I get out of
here. And you're going to wait here until I can get someone from the
dojo to come pick you up. I don't want you getting lost again."
"Hmph. So why don't you just call one of them up right now?" he
asked.
"Oh, well they won't be back yet from--" she replied, cutting
herself off with a mental curse. {Damn! It would have been better
to let one of the others tell him. I'm no good at this crap!}
Even Ryouga could not have missed her sudden mood shift. "Back
from where, Nabiki?" His voice rose as his instincts kicked into
overdrive, telling him something very bad, indeed, had happened.
Nabiki gave him a such a helpless look that, for a moment, he
wondered if he could teach her how to do a Shi Shi Hokoudan. Looking
down at her lap, she replied, "Ukyou's funeral."
Ryouga felt like someone was using his intestines for a taffy
pull. "What? Ukyou? When...How?"
Nabiki gave a great, shuddering sigh. "Well, you know that note
she gave Ranma?" When Ryouga nodded, she continued, "Well, the truth
is, she left because her legs weren't working after all, at least not
yet. She was afraid Ranma would feel compelled to try to protect
her, and so she thought she would protect him, instead. Anyway, she
was going to America, to see a therapist Dr. Fujishima knew in San
Francisco, but--" Ryouga cut her off with a question.
"Wait a minute. How did you find all this out?" Nabiki realized
his mind was trying to sieze on little trivialities to keep from
having to focus on the big part all at once.
"Dr. Fujishima told me."
"But, don't doctors usually keep stuff like that to themselves."
She looked at him levelly. "Everybody's got secrets, Hibiki," she
replied, "Everyone. Find out what those are, and you can get someone
to do almost anything." Ryouga suppressed a shudder at the tones she
was using.
"Anyhow, the ship she was on, the Maiden's Luck, was sabotaged,
they don't know by who, yet. When Ranma heard, he went a little
nuts, and spent several hours swimming in spot where the ship went
down. He was the one who found the... who found her."
Ryouga looked sick, but determined. "So where's the funeral? I
should be there."
"Ryouga-baby, be honest with yourself. Even if I drew a map,
you'd still arrive at the temple just in time for Christmas--If you
were lucky. I'm afraid you're just going to have to wait it out
here, with me."
The Lost Boy slumped, defeated. "OK, you win," he sighed.
Standing, he walked over to the window and stared at the parking lot,
or, more accurately, pointed an unfocused gaze in the parking lot's
general direction.
"I know you liked her, Ryouga. Tell me, was there anything more
than that?"
Without turning from the window, he replied, "No, although a lot
of people thought so after that disaster at the 'Tunnel of Lost
Loves'." In spite of himself, he chuckled. "Ukyou and I had exactly
one thing in common, a desire to break up Ranma and Akane. Heck, if
we'd ever managed it, we would probably have turned on each other.
After all, neither of us thought very highly of the other's 'chosen',
if you get my drift."
"You know, Hibiki, just as I think I know a person totally, inside
and out, I see a totally different side of them. Of course," Nabiki
added, with a wicked smile, "I kinda like the side I'm seeing now."
A confused look passed over Ryouga's face, until he realized that
the draft he was feeling wasn't his imagination, after all. Blushing
furiously and lutching at the back of the hospital gown, he whipped
around to face the snickering girl. "NABIKI!!"
Her laughter took on a slightly hysterical edge, as she gasped
out, "I-I know... But it's j-just easier... than... than dealing
with...." Her words broke off as she started crying, clutching her
arms around herself.
Uncertain about how to handle this, Ryouga just went over and held
the weeping girl, and soon his tears mixed with hers.
****************************************************************
Onna-Ranma walked up to her target, who just stared back at her,
giving a flat "Saotome" as a greeting.
She smiled cutely at him. "Oh, c'mon now, Gosunkugi. You can be
nicer than that. I just want to ask for a favor."
He peered at her, suspiciously. "What kind of favor did you have
in mind?"
"Oh, I just need to have one of those little voodoo dolls you like
to carry around, to place in Ukyou's coffin."
Hikaru's mind raced furiously. {Why would he want... Surely they
wouldn't have been so stupid as to... Wait, it is Tomobiki! The
blessed Akane Tendou must have set this up from the start, so that
she could be free of him--That's why she had him act as the chef's
family! And if I refuse to help him escape his fate, then perhaps
she will be so grateful that she might even talk to me again!}
Delirious at the thought of hearing her voice, he drew on what little
courage he possessed. "I'm sorry, Saotome, but they are not for the
likes of you." He turned to go.
A gentle, but powerful, grip siezed his shoulder, preventing
further progress. In a very low voice, Onna-Ranma whispered in his
ear, "Gos? Do remember the time you threw me in with those cats?"
Weakly, Gosunkugi nodded.
"And then, you released the tiger?"
He started to sweat.
"And then later, when I was weakened by the moxibustion, and you
decided to whack me with that mallet and tricked me into a room where
all my other opponents were?"
He whimpered.
"Now, if you don't give me one of those dolls, I'm gonna send you
on a tour of the 'other side'. Do we understand each other?"
Clinching his eyes shut, Gosunkugi reached into a pocket and
handed the contents to Ranma-chan.
"Ummm... Gos, I want a doll, not a spleen."
A few moments later, Onna-Ranma walked back up to the coffin and
set the doll next to Ukyou before turning to face a visibly relieved
Akane. "Satisfied?"
Akane just nodded.
Ranma-chan's face grew more serious. "Good. Now, will you do me
a favor?" Again, Akane nodded.
"The priest said that since I'm acting as family, I need to stick
around for the... the cremation. Could you stay and... and help me?"
A third nod lightened the load on Ranma-chan's heart by a small
fraction. "Thanks."
After an awkward pause, they turned to rejoin their family.
****************************************************************
Ryouga and Nabiki sat, quietly sharing the hospital dinner.
Nabiki grimaced. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd swear
they had Akane on staff down there. Hell, even the salt's bland!"
Ryouga snickered. "Oh, come on, it isn't that bad. I haven't
seen it move once."
She shot him a wry grin. "Why, Mr. Hibiki, are you implying that
Akane's cooking is anything less than manna from heaven?" she asked
archly.
He hemmed and hawwed for a bit before replying, "Well, maybe so.
But I still say Ranma rides her too hard about it."
A thoughtful look passed over Nabiki's face. "So tell me, Ryouga,
why, exactly, are you so hung up on my sister, anyway?"
He blushed, then looked up at her. "Well, when I first got here,
it had been years since I had actually met anyone who gave a damn
about me. After I confronted Ranma that first time, I realized that
I could hurt him as badly as he had hurt me, if I stole his fiancee
from him.
"Anyway, that night I wandered into your house as a pig, hating
every minute of it. When Akane found me, I tried to run, but she
grabbed me, then she... she hugged me. And spoke nice to me. I
suppose you think I'm silly, but it had been so long since _anyone_
had been kind to me... It gave me hope, that there might really be
someone out there, someone that would return my love for them. And
that's why I have to keep fighting for her, because without her, I
lose that hope. I don't expect you to understand, but that's how it
is."
He looked up at her, and then promptly glanced away, having been
intimidated by the thoughtful expression she was wearing.
"Actually, Ryouga, I do understand... More than you might realize.
Why don't we just relax for a bit, and then I'll call home and have
Ranma come over and take you home?"
Ryouga nodded.
"Oh, and one more thing...." Ryouga looked back at her, curious
at the shift in the tone of her voice.
"If you ever, and I mean, _ever_, say one word about this
conversation to anyone, under any circumstances, I will make it my
personal life's goal to make sure you come to really understand what
the phrase, 'hellish life,' truly means--Got it?"
His throat suddenly gone dry, Ryouga just nodded mutely.
"Good."
****************************************************************
After all the guests had left (and Ranma-chan and Akane had
insisted that the rest of the family go back to the dojo, as well),
the priest approached them and bowed low, saying, "The ashes are
ready, now."
Onna-Ranma returned the bow and replied, "Thank you. Where are
they?"
"In the back."
"Please, lead the way."
Akane sighed, silently thankful that the ordeal was almost over,
with no disasters. {No thanks to you, you baka!} she rebuked
herself.
As they entered the crematoria, the priest handed them both
chopsticks. Confusion crossed Ranma-chan's face. "Huh? What are
these for?"
"Well, you are acting as her family, are you not?"
"Yeah, but what does that have to..." she started, her voice
trailing off as she saw the tableau covered with the ash and bone.
"Hey! I thought you said that they were ready!"
Akane stepped forward and took her fiance's hand, hoping the
gesture would stop the rising panic she could hear in the redhead's
voice.
"Yes, the cremation is finished, but the family...," the priest
broke off as he realized the truth of the situation. "Oh, I'm so
sorry. I thought you knew. It is the family's duty to remove the
bone from the ash before the remains are placed in the urn. Since
you are obviously unprepared, though, I can--"
"No." Ranma-chan's voice permitted no argument. "If that's part
of the job, then I'm up to it. It just took me off guard." She
turned to her fiancee. "Akane, I didn't know this was involved, and
I don't think you did, either. If you don't want to do this, I
understand."
Akane felt herself about to accept the offer, but crushed the
impulse with the mental equivalent of her trusty mallet. Taking a
deep breath to steel herself, she replied, "No, I want to help." She
noticed the relief in Onna-Ranma's eyes and knew she had made the
right choice. Turning to the priest, she asked, "So what, exactly,
do we do?"
Nodding in admiration of the resolve he sensed in the two young
women before him, the priest said, "One of you takes the bones from
the ash, and passes it to the other, who places it in the
receptacle." A thought seemed to occur to him. "Didn't either of
you ever learn that you aren't supposed to pass food from one person
to another with chopsticks, because it resembles the ceremony?"
Akane nodded, "I did, but neither Kasumi nor Father ever mentioned
the reason."
Ranma-chan just muttered something that sounded like "kuso-oyaji"
to the priest, but he ignored it. Smiling kindly, he said, "Well,
you should get started, it can take awhile. I will be here to help,
if you need it."
The two girls bowed in thanks, then knelt to perform the grisly
task.
****************************************************************
End Chapter 14
Lotsa Ramblings and notes: The ceremonies I've described here are
probably horribly wrong, but that's what happens when you try to rely
on poorly translated Web-sites for your cultural information. *sigh*
If anyone out there spots something that was horribly misportrayed,
please let me know, thanks.
Anyway, here are a few more details, as I understand them:
The condolence gifts are supposed to be a small cash donation
delivered in a special black envelope, availible in most stationary
stores.
The Tomobiki, or "friend-taking", is a day when funerals are not
supposed to be held, for it is felt that a family member will follow
the deceased soon after. If the service is held on that day, then it
is customary to place a doll in the casket to serve as a substitute.
The site I got this off of was a little unclear but Tomobiki is
either roughly every sixth day, or the sixth day of each month.
Apparently there are several actions you are never supposed to
perform with chopsticks on food, including passing food or thrusting
them deep into the dish, as these resemble the actions taken at the
cremation ceremony and are thus considered bad luck.
After the ceremony, the ashes are placed in the urn and taken back
to the family's home for thirty-five days before being returned to
the cemetary for burial. Of course, things are going to come to head
in this fic long before then, so Ukyou may play one final role in
this thing, after all. (Hmmm...Note to self: Invest in Flame-
retardant longjohns....)
It seems likely to me that neither Akane nor Ranma would be aware
of most of these customs, for slightly different reasons.
Flames, MST's, C&C and any other feedback will be greatly
appreciated.
*sniff* G'bye, Ucchan.
--Freemage
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