[FFML][Ranma][Fanfic] Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Part 3B: The
Amazon
Way
Here's chapter 3 of CMD. I'm sending it in two separate messages to make
it easier for you to read and comment on smaller sections. Earlier when
I
divided the chapters into smaller parts, I received a lot of requests
for
earlier parts that users hadn't received for some reason. Hopefully
sending the parts on the same day will eliminate that problem.
=======================================================================
Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Part 3: The Amazon Way
Ranma 1/2 characters and situations created by Rumiko Takahashi - Used
without permission
Ranma 1/2 Copyright by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan Inc., Kitty, Fuji,
Viz Communications, etc...
Childhood of a Modern Dynasty series created, written, and Copyright
1998 by Jim Lazar
An ongoing series set after the end of the Ranma 1/2 manga and anime.
Any references to 'Birth of a Modern Dynasty' refer to the fictional
book that the fictional author James Davidson wrote detailing the
events that happened in the manga and anime. It is not an actual fanfic
or book. 'Childhood of a Modern Dynasty' is the title of this fanfic
series written by me (Jim Lazar) and the fictional book that James
Davidson is currently writing.
<Speech text in angle brackets are thought by character.>
All other speech is in Japanese, although written in English in this
story of course.
=======================================================================
[section b]
-C- -M- -D-
A little over three weeks after the rooftop fight, Ranma was
released. The doctors were amazed that her critical injuries had healed
so fast. Dr. Tofu helped put on Ranma's walking casts, having to argue
every time one of the hospital's staff said it was too big or asked
about the cardboard expanders.
Ranma let Soun carry him, reluctantly, from the taxi into the
Tendo house. Ranma would be relying on many people until the casts came
off; crutches were useless when you had two broken legs and a broken
arm. She stopped Soun just outside the gate when she caught sight of a
poster on the wall. Under the words: 'Have you seen this woman or this
cat?' was a picture of Shampoo and of Shampoo as a cat. Under the
pictures, another line of text read: 'Both answer to the name of
Shampoo. Both may be dangerous. Please report any sightings to the Cat
Cafe in Nerima'. If listed the address and phone number of the Cat Cafe
as well.
"Any word yet?" Ranma asked.
"No, not yet," Soun answered, sadly.
Soun carried Ranma into Happosai's old room, set him down on a
futon, then left. Until recently, Nodoka and Genma had been using this
room, but they had already moved up to Ranma's room on the second floor
to make room for the injured. Stairs were not going to be very
convenient in Ranma's current condition.
Ranma looked around what would be her room for the next few
months. "Well, pretty much the same as the room upstairs I guess."
"It's a little bigger actually and I think the view of the garden
is nicer," Kasumi said, as she brought in some of Ranma's clothes and
other personal items.
"I guess, but I liked to be able to slip onto the roof from my old
room," Ranma explained.
"I doubt you'll be spending much time on the roof for a while,
Ranma," Kasumi remarked.
"True. Thanks for bringing down all my stuff, Kasumi. I hope I'm
not too much of bother for you all until I move back upstairs."
"It's my pleasure, Ranma, but you'll probably stay down here
permanently. Father said you might as well stay in this room, since you
and Akane will probably use it once you get married," Kasumi explained.
Ranma gulped, then asked, "Why?"
"You can have more privacy down here at night," Kasumi said. She
didn't wink, as anyone else would have, but the wink was felt by Ranma
anyway.
"I guess," Ranma replied, blushing.
Kasumi left the room, passing Akane who was carrying a hot kettle.
"Here you go," Akane said, and handed Ranma the kettle.
"Thanks, I've been waiting three weeks for this," Ranma said, and
poured the water over her head. His body grew and filled out the
special casts. "Ahhhh...that feels good."
Akane set down her crutches, sat down next to Ranma, and gave him
a long kiss. "Missed my man," Akane said.
"I thought you said it wasn't any different when you kissed me as
a girl or a boy?" Ranma asked.
"It isn't...but in my mind you're a boy. Sometimes hard to
remember that I'm kissing the same person," Akane reflected.
"Cheating on me with myself?" Ranma joked.
"Sometimes it feels like that, but I know you're the same person
that I fell in love with," Akane said. Then awkwardly she asked, "Do
you think I'm a lesbian, Ranma?"
Ranma looked shocked. "No, of course not! If this is about what
Rezuko said when you visited, forget about it. She just saw two girls
together. She didn't know about the curse; I didn't tell her EVERYTHING
about our adventures," he insisted.
"Yeah, but I am a bit of a tomboy and I've always said that I
hated boys," Akane said.
"You're athletic, that's all. Tomboys usually don't wear as many
dresses as you do AND look as good as you do in them, by the way,"
Ranma insisted.
"But you've always called me a tomboy."
"Well, you're not. I just started calling you that before I got to
know you and never seemed to be able to stop."
"Thank you, Ranma," Akane said. They kissed and held each other
close.
-C- -M- -D-
At dinner that night, the whole family was together for the first
time in nearly a month. Ranma had insisted on coming out instead of
being fed in his room. The mood was very happy and cheerful to welcome
Ranma back. Unfortunately, one item stopped the party mood dead in it's
tracks, but it had to be mentioned.
"Cologne and Mousse came over earlier. They haven't found any sign
of Shampoo. They have decided to have a wake in a few days at the Cat
Cafe," Nodoka informed them all.
Everyone went silent. "No! She has to be alive!" Akane insisted.
"I hope so, Akane. They do too, but they felt it was time to move
on."
Everyone broke up after they talked sadly about the 'lost
fiancee'. Genma helped Ranma back to his room and set him down on the
futon. Kasumi came in, pulled out another futon, and laid it out a few
feet away from Ranma's futon.
"What are you doing, Kasumi?" Ranma asked.
"Laying out a futon for Akane, of course," Kasumi explained.
"Akane? I know you said we'd use this room when we got married,
but I don't remember a ceremony. Well, at least one that was
completed..."
"Well, she's been staying down here since she came home. She's in
the same boat as you, she can't get up the stairs easily either."
"Oh. Well, I guess it's okay," Ranma said, reluctantly.
"Wouldn't want to inconvenience you," Akane snapped, from the
door.
"I didn't mean that!" Ranma replied.
Kasumi made her exit, closing the door behind her, as Akane
settled down on her futon.
"I know, Ranma. I just wanted to keep up appearances. This will be
just like up in the mountains," Akane said.
"Oh," Ranma said, then smiled, "But there's no waterfall." He
winked then leaned in for a kiss.
They both jumped apart when the door slid open again. Kasumi
brought in a paper screen and a glass of water. The screen went between
the two futons and the water went on Ranma's head.
"Whatcha do that for!" Ranma screamed and shook her head dry.
"Well, can't have you staying together as man and woman until
you're married, can we?"
"Like I'd do anything with an un-cute tomboy like her!" Ranma
insisted. Akane grew mad and her battle aura sprang to life casting an
eerie glowing shadow on the screen.
"Now don't hurt each other any more than you already are," Kasumi
said, then exited and closed the door.
"Appearances," Ranma said quickly, after Kasumi left.
Akane blinked, then said, "Oh...right. This may be harder than I
thought." Her battle aura faded. Then she grinned, hobbled up off her
futon, pulled the screen away, moved her futon next to Ranma's, and
then lay back down.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting comfortable," Akane replied to Ranma's question. She
snuggled up by Ranma's side, causing Ranma to smile.
-C- -M- -D-
Happosai sat in his cell, tired and weak. Actually, it more like a
one hundred-meter thick coffin. Food was passed in through holes only
ten centimeters in diameter. Wastes went out similar holes. He had seen
no women, no bras, no panties, no pictures, and no visitors for almost
six months since he had been caught, he still wondered who had told the
police how to catch him. The 'Keep al the bras and panties you can
catch' game at the festival was impossible to resist. Who would have
thought that the game's floor would have dumped him into this cell.
Happosai just got a text version of the newspaper. He usually used
it to make paper airplanes, paper bras, paper panties, and of course,
paper breasts for him to put the paper bras on and then glomp. He
decided long ago that it wasn't the same as the real thing, but he
still did it anyway.
Happosai sighed, fondled the paper breasts he made today. They
were modeled after Ukyo's. Yesterday they were Akane's. Happosai had a
lot of time on his hands, not to mention a lot of paper cuts.
Finally, he decided to read the paper. He unfolded the breasts and
wiped away a tear that appeared when he had to destroy the perfect set.
He read the wedding announcements first, trying to see if Ranma and
Akane were going to get married again. Nope, not yet. He read an
interesting article on stock options by Nabiki Tendo. <Such a smart
girl, nice chest on her too.> He glanced at the obituaries and gasped.
"Oh no...not sweet Shampoo!" Happosai cried out suddenly.
He paced around his cell for several hours and ranted. "Oh, to
never again enjoy the sweet bosom of sweet Shampoo! What a tragedy!"
Happosai cried. He suddenly got a determined look on his face and
started collecting all the paper he had. Within a minute, he had a very
detailed paper Shampoo made and started to cry. "Oh, that a beauty such
as you should be cut short," he said, then proceeded to glomp the paper
Shampoo. He started to glow with the power of a true pervert. He had
tried to recharge many times since being confined in this cell six
months ago, but until now, it never worked. Maybe it was the pain of
Shampoo's death, or maybe he just didn't have anything better to do
until now.
Whichever it was, Happosai stood up and then concentrated for
several moments. He shrank to less than ten centimeters in height, then
jumped down one of the waste pipes and made his escape.
-C- -M- -D-
The day of the wake, the entire Tendo and Saotome families showed
up at the Cat Cafe. Ranma wore an odd collection of oversized clothing
that he had managed to fit over his casts. The rest wore their Sunday
best.
Mousse thanked them for coming and showed them to the front of the
rearranged cafe. Ranma sat in his wheelchair. He didn't like to have to
use it, but he didn't want to be carried everywhere either. He held
Akane's hand tightly.
In front of the room, a lovely picture of Shampoo was displayed on
a table. On the table a broach, a single scuffed up bon-bori, what
looked like a toy mouse, a heart locket, and the dress that she was
wearing the night she fell from the roof. Incense sticks and burners
surrounded the pictures, as well as being spread around the cafe.
Akane looked sadly at the bon-bori, suppressing the pain seeing it
caused her.
Others arrived; Ryoga and Ukyo sat behind Ranma and Akane, helped
by Konatsu; several Amazon representatives and family members came; Dr.
Tofu; assorted customers; and a few students from Furinkan High.
Eventually, Cologne came out from the kitchen and walked slowly to
the front. She seemed to show her age for the first time since Ranma
had met her.
She looked around at the assembled family and friends, pausing
briefly at Ranma and Akane. "You all know what happened. My
great-granddaughter has been missing for the past month. We still hope
she will turn up, but are forced to go on with our lives. She will be
missed by family, friends, and the entire Amazon tribe," Cologne said,
maintaining an air of dignity that her status as an Elder of the Amazon
tribe demanded.
For the next several minutes Cologne spoke in Mandarin,
occasionally the assembled Amazons all chanted a phrase. Ranma only
caught a few of the words; 'honor' being one of the most frequently
used. When Cologne finished, each of the Amazons shouted out 'honor' in
Mandarin.
Cologne then continued in Japanese, "She met her end with honor.
Fighting for the man she loved and the traditions of the Amazons, we
will always praise her spirit as a great warrior." She paused. Then
continued again, "She was my-"
Cologne went silent and slumped. Everyone looked nervously at her.
Mousse began to approach her, but she waved him off.
Cologne regained her composure, and resumed, "I see now that my
pride pushed her too far. I ignored the fact that Ranma was not brought
up an Amazon, but a fine Amazon he would have made. I was so desperate
to bring his god-like skill as a warrior-" Ranma blushed under the
unaccustomed praise from Cologne. She continued, "-into my family and
the Amazon tribe that I let my last descendent die." She caught her
breath. "Her honorable end showed me the shame of my life. As my last
order as an Elder of the Amazons-"
Gasps were heard throughout the room, mostly from the Amazons
gathered, but from assorted Nerima residents as well. The Amazons knew
that the last order of an Elder had to be obeyed at all costs. Thus was
the Amazon Way.
Cologne ignored the reaction and finished, "-I declare the Tendo
and Saotome families honored members of the Amazon tribe. No Amazon
shall ever harm them. Thus be the Amazon Way from now till shadowfall."
Ranma and Akane just squeezed their hands tighter together. Cologne
kissed her shaking fingers and touched them to the picture of Shampoo.
"Goodbye, honored warrior of the Amazon tribe. Goodbye,
Great-granddaughter," she added softly.
As Cologne made her way to the back of the room Mousse stepped up
and looked at the picture, "Goodbye Shampoo. Know that you were loved
by me, even if I could not earn your precious love in return." Not
trusting himself to say anything more, he repeated the gesture of
kissing his fingers and touching the picture and made his way to the
back of the room. He couldn't hold back the single tear that rolled
down his cheek.
An old Chinese man with a goatee was next, he stood at the front
of the restaurant and shot a look of pure hatred at Ranma and Akane.
"Shampoo was a good girl. I don't know what she saw in this murderer,"
he said. Ranma and Akane recoiled at his words and the subsequent
glare. "But Shampoo thought him worthy. If not for her honorable
sacrifice, I'd kill these murdering bastards myself." He again shot a
glare at Ranma and Akane. "Amazon Way or not, these two will be
punished for their misdeeds!"
Cologne stood up and yelled, "Aftershave, keep your place. This is
no place for recriminations. Say your good-byes to your daughter and
join us back here. That is the Amazon Way."
Ranma and Akane looked at each other and then at Shampoo's father.
They didn't make the connection at first, but now that they thought
about it they had seen Aftershave before. He had been around when
Cologne first opened the Cat Cafe, but they hadn't seen him for quite
some time.
Aftershave looked back at the picture of Shampoo. "The Amazon
Way..." he mumbled and sighed. Then he addressed the gathered people,
"Shampoo was my beautiful violet, I will miss her. She deserved a
better and longer life." Aftershave kissed the picture directly, then
walked down the aisle.
As Aftershave passed him, Ranma said, "Yes...she did. We're
sorry." Aftershave ignored him.
Several Amazons followed with short good-byes and the finger
kissing gesture. Most just did the gesture and joined the others in the
rear of the room, all looking away from the picture. That was the
Amazon Way.
As they were told beforehand, anyone had the right to speak at
this point. With the help of Nabiki, Ranma moved his wheelchair to the
front. Hesitantly, he spoke, "Shampoo loved me, I know that. She used
the law to get what she wanted, or thought she wanted. I couldn't love
her the same way." He paused and looked at Akane, who nodded. "She will
be missed. My life will be sadder and missing something without her. I
will always consider her my first wife, if only by a twist of fate."
Ranma finished his eulogy with tears in his eyes then paid his respect
with the kissing gesture. Again with Nabiki's help, he moved his
wheelchair back to it's original place.
A few more people spoke, then Akane couldn't wait any longer and
she hobbled up to the front. Crying softly and looking at the floor,
she said, "I don't deserve to say anything here. I killed Shampoo." She
looked up sternly at Ranma to keep him from interrupting her. "I never
wanted to, I just wanted her to leave Ranma and me alone. 'A warrior's
death'. It seemed so pointless, but as I looked into her eyes one last
time I knew she..." Akane broke down crying. Kasumi and Nabiki rushed
to comfort her and helped her back to her seat. "Goodbye, Shampoo," she
managed to sob as she sat down.
Suddenly, the front doors of the Cat Cafe were thrown open.
Everyone looked back and then downwards to see Happosai standing in the
doorway. Everyone who knew who he was cringed and recoiled, scared of
what he may do. The women all clutched at their clothing. He ran into
the restaurant and to the front. He said a simple, "Goodbye, sweet
Shampoo," and put a pair of panties on the front table with the other
mementos. Everyone knew that was the biggest honor the old pervert
could give anyone, even if it was the honor of a sick and perverted
mind. Everyone also suspected they were Shampoo's to begin with.
Happosai left with tears in his eyes.
The wake broke up shortly after Happosai appeared and then quickly
disappeared. Ranma, Nabiki, and Akane tried to talk to Cologne and
Aftershave, but were rebuffed. The Tendos and Saotomes all made their
way home.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma awoke when a pile of bras and panties landed on his face.
"What?" Ranma muttered. Then Ranma saw the old pervert glomping him,
make that HER. Ranma reacted by punching the old man through the doors
to the garden. Happosai ended up crashing into the wall surrounding the
Tendo house.
"What was that?" Akane said, as she awoke at the commotion.
"Happosai," Ranma spat, obviously irritated.
"Oh no. I was afraid of this after he showed up at the wake,"
Akane said, then added, "By the way, the black lace looks good on you."
Akane smirked.
"What?" Ranma said, then looked down and screamed. She tore off
the black bra and tossed it away, then pulled on her T-shirt. "Damn
pervert!"
"What are you two doing in my bedroom!" Happosai said, as he came
back into the room.
"It's my bedroom now, you old freak!!!" Ranma shouted.
"Nonsense."
"Happosai, you were told after the wedding that you were no longer
welcome here," Akane reminded him.
"Happosai? You always called me grandpa," Happosai said, in
disbelief. Then he started to cry.
"Give it up! You helped destroy my wedding. I shall never forgive
you!" Akane and Ranma said in unison, they both looked at each other
lovingly.
"You'll regret kicking me out! Someday you will pay dearly for
angering me!" Happosai said. He then collected his dropped collection,
adding Akane's current panties to it with a flash, and left.
"He gave up a bit easily," Akane said, as she found herself
without underwear. Fortunately, her pajamas were still in place. <How
does he do that?> she thought.
"Don't worry about it, we can handle him if he comes back," Ranma
said, then lay down again.
"I hope so," Akane said.
-C- -M- -D-
The next morning Mousse stopped by the Tendo house. He knelt down
and talked with Ranma and Akane in the family room. "Cologne wanted me
to tell you she was going back to China, to live out her life there.
She asked that you not visit the Amazon village again, but said she had
no ill will towards any of you. I don't either."
"But-" Akane said, then was silenced by Mousse.
"Akane Tendo, don't," Mousse said, then said, "Shampoo brought her
end on herself. Each of us had some part in it, but she was ultimately
responsible for her own actions. If you don't live your life to the
fullest, you'll dishonor her memory and I won't forgive you if you
dishonor Shampoo."
"Okay, Mousse," Akane said, then looked at the floor.
"Ranma Saotome, take good care of Akane. Should you have many
children and prosper," Mousse said, then handed the heart locket they
saw at the wake to him. "Here...take this, it was hers. She valued it
above all else."
"Mousse, no. You should have it," Ranma insisted, but Mousse
refused to take it back. Ranma opened it and then grinned. "I really
think you should keep it. She may not have loved me as much as anyone
thought." He held the locket up and showed him the picture of a young
Mousse that was in it.
Taking the locket back, Mousse started to cry. "Oh, Shampoo. Why
couldn't you just accept a man who wasn't a better warrior than you."
"Mousse, do you think we need to worry about Shampoo's father? He
seemed pretty upset at the wedding," Ranma asked.
"No. Aftershave will follow Amazon law. Shampoo's sacrifice earned
her the honor of the Amazon tribe and your honor as warriors. That is
why you were allowed at the wake. Otherwise you'd have been hunted down
under the kiss-of-death rules by her family, namely Cologne and/or her
father," Mousse explained. "It's also why Cologne made both of your
families members of the tribe. Thus is the Amazon Way."
"Damn, that means Shampoo gave her life for mine," Akane said
sadly.
"Yes, live it well."
"Thank you, Mousse. You're always welcome in my house," Akane
said, and kissed him on his cheek gently.
"What?" Mousse gasped, holding his cheek.
Suddenly realizing what she did, Akane said, "Oops...that was just
a friendly kiss...not the kiss of death."
"Actually, I was just shocked at the pleasure of the kiss," Mousse
said, with a smile.
"Don't get any ideas, Mousse," Ranma barked.
"If I couldn't get Shampoo from you when you didn't love her, I
couldn't steal Akane from you in a million years," Mousse conceded.
Ranma and Akane blushed.
"Take care, I'll be at the Cat Cafe if you happen to hear anything
about Shampoo."
"You're not going back to China?" Ranma asked, taken aback.
"No, there's nothing back there for me. The ways of the Amazons
are no longer mine. They have cost me too much already. I'm going to
keep looking for Shampoo and try to figure out what to do if I never
find her," Mousse explained.
"Goodbye, Mousse. Drop by anytime." Ranma offered his hand to
Mousse, who accepted it.
"Take care, Mousse," Akane said, hugging him.
As Mousse left the gate of the Tendo house, he almost walked into
Nabiki. "Nabiki?"
Nabiki looked down at the ground, then said, "Mousse...I wanted to
talk to you, as well as Cologne and Shampoo's father, at the wake, but
they wouldn't let me."
"Yes, I know. They didn't want to talk to anyone," Mousse
explained.
"Mousse, I want to apologize for telling...no selling the
information that led to Shampoo's death. I thought...that she was Kuno.
I know that's no excuse, but I feel so-" Nabiki started to babble,
until Mousse cut her off.
"Nabiki, don't worry. It was her choice to buy the info," Mousse
said, also knowing it was probably one of the old ghoul's plans. That
was the other reason he didn't want to go back to China. He didn't
trust himself around her anymore.
"What sent me down this blind path of 'anything for a Yen'?"
Nabiki sobbed, then collapsed into Mousse's arms.
"Nabiki, I..." Mousse said, then trailed off as he didn't know
what to say for the first time in a month. He began to cry as well.
They just stood there holding each other and cried until they couldn't
anymore.
-C- -M- -D-
Two weeks later, Akane and Ranma prepared to start school again.
Ranma was worried about someone taking advantage of him in his current
state. "They'll have to deal with me if they do," Akane said, then
kissed him.
"How much longer do you think we can keep our real engagement a
secret?" Ranma asked.
"Who knows. I don't like hiding the ring, but I still think it's
for the best."
"I love you."
"I'm glad, I couldn't hope for a more wonderful husband," Akane
said, then added, "Or wife."
Ranma took great joy in spanking her on her bottom and chased her
out of the house in his wheelchair.
Nodoka and Kasumi watched them go. "When do you think they'll tell
us?" Kasumi asked.
"When they are ready. In the meantime I've made sure Nabiki,
Genma, and your father all lay off," Nodoka replied. "Love will find
it's own way from here. Our job is more than finished." <Putting them
both in the same room was the last nudge. Hopefully it will bear
fruit,> Nodoka thought.
"When they are ready," Kasumi repeated, wondering if she meant
Akane and Ranma. No, she decided, she meant herself and Doctor Tofu.
She smiled, then corrected herself: Herself and 'Tofu'.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma raced up to Furinkan High in his wheelchair, very fast. He'd
found that channeling a small amount of chi into the wheels could
propel the wheelchair quite fast. Akane hitched a ride on his lap and
held on tight.
Kuno, ever the glutton for punishment, was standing proudly in
front of the school. His casts were barely visible under his usual
warrior garb. "Ranma Saotome! Lest my noble flower, Akane Tendo, meet
the same fate as the poor Sham-urk..." was all Kuno managed say before
he was run down by the speeding wheelchair. He broke his other leg and
arm in the process of flying through the school walls and several
nearby houses. He ended up being out of school for almost the rest of
his senior year. No one missed him.
"Did we hit something, Ranma?" Akane asked.
"Nothing important," Ranma said, grinning broadly.
-C- -M- -D-
At lunch, Akane and Ranma were sitting under a tree. Ranma ate the
lunch Akane had prepared, only after a little hesitation. "You're
getting better, Akane. This probably won't kill me," Ranma said.
Akane raised her hand, paused, then said, "I'll add that you your
running 'hit' tab."
<I hope I never get these casts off, otherwise I'm dead,> Ranma
worried. Instead of his usual quick answer, Ranma just said, "Some
summer we had."
"Yes, one to remember."
"I love you."
"Ya, ya, I know," Akane agreed, with a smile and stole a quick
kiss.
Ryoga and Ukyo both made their way on crutches across the
schoolyard towards Ranma and Akane. Ryoga was dressed in a Hawaiian
school uniform, as was Ukyo. Except Ukyo was wearing a girl's uniform.
Spotting Ryoga and Ukyo, Ranma asked, "You think those two are
dating?"
"I don't know. They have seemed to be pretty close since they came
back from the mountain. Maybe they should change that mountain's name
to 'Love Mountain'," Akane suggested.
"No argument here."
"How are the other half of the 'walking wounded'?" Ukyo asked and
she tugged Ryoga back towards the tree, since he looked like he was
going to head off to Mount Fuji.
Akane and Ranma smiled at the nickname the four had already
earned, despite the fact that none of them could walk, but that was
probably the point of the nickname. "I've survived my lunch so far,"
Ranma quipped. Akane forgot herself and elbowed him. "What happened to
my tab?"
"Sorry," Akane said and stuck her tongue out. Then she looked at
Ukyo's uniform and asked, "Ukyo, why the girl's uniform all of a
sudden?"
Ukyo looked a little self-conscious and tugged the hem of the
short skirt down, then replied, "Well, it's a lot easier to wear a
skirt with my cast than pants."
"I looks good on you Ucchan, you should keep wearing skirts,"
Ranma said, earning a hostile stare from Akane. Noticing Akane's look,
Ranma asked Akane, "Don't you agree that Ukyo looks great, Akane?" He
then flashed his eyes towards Ryoga.
Catching Ranma's intention, Akane agreed, "Yes, you've always been
beautiful Ukyo. No reason to hide it behind boys clothes."
"Okay...now can we talk about how silly Ryoga looks in HIS
uniform?" Ukyo asked, trying to change the subject.
"Why did you decide to start coming to school Ryoga?" Ranma asked.
"Well, being on crutches I can't really go on my training trips
anymore," Ryoga explained.
The other three all looked at each other and nodded. Ranma just
said, "Training trips...right."
"Not that he hasn't taken a few of them already, but Konatsu has
gotten pretty good at catching him before he gets more than a few
blocks away," Ukyo explained. "We've even gotten a good routine down to
help keep Ucchan's open."
"So how is your little male harem going?" Ranma quipped, earning
him hostile looks from everyone.
"I wouldn't go there if I was you, Ranma," Akane said with an edge
to her voice.
Sheepishly, Ranma said, "Right." Then he shut up.
Yuka, Sayuri, Daisuke, and Hiroshi all walked up. Sayuri said, "So
it looks like you all had an interesting summer."
"Ya, what's the story with all your injuries?" Hiroshi asked.
"Come on! Spill it! Nabiki won't even sell us any details, it's
got to be good for her to pass up money," Daisuke insisted.
Akane and Ranma smiled at each other, still a little surprised at
the change in Nabiki. "Things change," Akane said softly. The other
three 'walking wounded' nodded in agreement.
They told a slightly edited version of their summer. They avoided
mentioning why Ukyo and Ryoga were in the mountains and whom Ranma and
Akane were fighting on the roof. Of course, Ranma and Akane just
trained in the mountains.
"Really!"
"We mean it!"
"Honestly!"
"Get your minds out of the gutter!"
***********************************************************************
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:
The twins were back in their cribs by the time Akane finished
telling me about the end of the summer of 1998. "Well, you seemed to be
handling events pretty well," I finally said, after confirming the
notes in my palmcard were correct.
"We managed, it took us all a while to get over Shampoo's death.
Mousse was still pretty messed up for months to come, but Nabiki helped
him through it," Akane said, then looked down at the twins. She raised
her voice a little, then said, "Comm: Imoki, your babies need some
dinner."
From nowhere in particular a voice responded, "I'll be right over,
Grandmother."
"I didn't think you used modern technology in the Compound?" I
questioned, looking around for the comm unit.
"Oh, it's all around you. We just prefer to keep it low profile.
Watch," Akane said, then raised her voice, "Tactical: Compound five by
five."
Suddenly a holographic representation of the Tendo Compound was
displayed in front of us. I rose to my feet and examined it. It was
very detailed and must have used state of the art holographic
projectors. My palmcard only had a little second-generation
holo-projector; this had to be fourth-generation, possibly fifth (which
weren't even supposed to be available yet). It indicated the location
of all family members in blue, visitors in green, and enemies in red.
Fortunately, no red indicators were showing on the display. "Wow, talk
about big brother."
"Well, I don't need to tell you that we still have some enemies
out there. The Buyierfei, the Black Shroud Clan, and the Kuno family of
course, to name just a few," Akane explained, then raised her voice
again, "Tactical: Location of all Kunos, Tokyo ten by ten.
The holographic map zoomed out to show the layout of Tokyo and
showed red dots over various parts of the city, a large concentration
of them in one area; the Kuno mansion, of course. My interviews with
several Kuno family members showed that they still held some grudges
against the Tendo family. "Neat gadget. How do you track the Kunos?"
Akane shrugged, then said, "Beats me, you'd have to ask one of the
eggheads over in Tendo Enterprises. Some kind of tag they managed to
get on each Kuno, I think. Like the visitor patch you have on your
shirt, but permanent."
"Never knew I was in a fortress."
"Hardly, but it's good to be cautious sometimes. The system
handles all the monitoring itself and sends up an alert if a Kuno or
other tagged enemy comes close.
"Hope you don't keep track of your children's boyfriends this
way."
"Only on their first dates." I went pale. "Just kidding, James,"
Akane said, with a big smile.
"You scare me sometimes, Akane."
"Good."
[End - Chapter 3]
Coming soon: Chapter 4: Gifts of Love
=======================================================================
Email me at: mailto:jimlazar@earthlink.net with comments, criticisms,
or if you would like to join my pre-reader list.
Make sure to check out my Childhood of a Modern Dynasty website for the
latest CMD stories, graphics files, and other information:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime/childhood.html
My other fanfiction can be found at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime
The real author's (Jim Lazar) notes/ramblings:
Shampoo's father, Aftershave, did appear in several manga stories as a
minor character, but no name was given (to the best of my knowledge). I
picked the most manly sounding personal hygiene product I thought of
for his name.
The heart locket has nothing to do with the heart locket from
Converging Series. This one is just a regular locket. I wanted to make
that clear, just in case anyone thought there was going to be any
reality jumping in this series, there isn't.
I mixed some humor with the more darker aspects of the characters
dealing with Shampoo's death in this chapter. I hope I struck a good
balance. Although there will be some darker aspects to this series I
will endeavor not to depress my readers. After all, I have sixty years
of Akane's life to fill in, can't have it too bad or she'd be a basket
case in the future segments.
Unlike the other characters in this fanfic, I created James Davidson,
Hanaki Ono, Imoki, and Rezuko. I claim full ownership for them. They
are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons (living or dead) or
other fictional characters (animated, written, or live-action) is
unintentional. Of course, for descendents of the original Ranma
characters there is likely to be some similarity to Rumiko Takahashi's
characters.
Revision 0.0 - Rough draft (June 6, 1998)
Revision 0.3 - Pre-reader draft (July 12, 1998)
Revision 0.4 - FFML draft (July 26, 1998)
--
Jim Lazar
E-Mail - mailto:jimlazar@earthlink.net
Home - http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar
FanFiction - http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime
"You made Akane whose daughter?!?!"
"Genma's."
"Has she hit you with her mallet yet?"
"Several times, actually."