As usual, C+Cing as I go along.
RaeMowse wrote:
-
"Mama? You sleep yet?"
The woman with long, chestnut hair cracked her eyes open and looked at her
four year old daughter. "I was, Kiko-chan..."
"Okay, you not sleep yet." Kiko beamed at her mother,
Heh. Just like a little kid.
"Do I have to?"
"Mm hmm. When you wake, we should be there. Sounds good?" The little
girl
nodded her head merrily. "Come up here, then." Her mother held out her
arms. The little girl crawled into the warm embrace and yawned, flashing
her
tiny, white teeth. Soon, she was asleep, snoring lightly.
Aw. How sweet.
Kuonji Ukyou smiled sadly at her daughter. She was both a blessing and a
curse to the 27 year old woman. A joy to have, but a painful reminder of
Kiko's father.
Hmm. Sounds like backstory there. Especially since she seems to have kept
the Kuonji name.
She sighed softly, not wanting to dredge up those memories
right now. Right now,
I'd change the second 'Right now' to 'At the moment' or something else
since you end the previous sentence with, 'right now'
she and Kiko were traveling back to Nerima form
from
Kansai
to see Ranma and Akane. She hadn't heard from them in over seven years
now;
she wondered how much better than her they were faring.
That almost seems foreboding there with the way you word it.
"Some old friends of mine, Kiko-chan. We're going to pay them a visit."
"They have cookie?"
Heh. I like her. She reminds me of a niece of mine.
"Okay....you teach lady make good cookie. I judge!"
Very amusing. Nice to see Kiko wants to help out so much. ^_^
"Coming!" a voice shouted from the other side. Footsteps rapidly
approached,
then the door was sucked in, startling Ukyou into a defensive stance in
front
of her daughter. A woman started in a high-pitched, bubbly voice.
"Hello!
Welcome to the-"
Ukyou's eyes bugged out at the sight of the woman, her eyes ignoring her
attire and going directly for her indigo hair, then locking onto the
reddish
irises. "Shampoo?!"
Now that's a surprise.
Shampoo stopped her introduction, squinting at the woman before her. "Who
are you? You look familiar..."
After all they went through, both against one another and together, I'm
surprised Shampoo doesn't remember.
"Sh...Shampoo.... Wh...what are you doing here?"
Shampoo: Standing in the doorway.
The purple haired girl was becoming more aggitated. "I said, who are
you?"
Not know
knowing
"Uh huh. I like chocolate chip."
"Or any other kind of cookie. Except for okonomiyaki cookies. Those are the
ones my mom always makes and I hate them." Kiko stuck out her tongue in the
universal *yuck* gesture that all children instinctively know how to give.
"Yes, don't you remember? She was your other competitor for Ranma years
ago."
Shampoo suddenly remembered in a flash of clarity, then she spun wildly to
Ukyou with wide eyes.
"Rose girl!"
A spatula met Shampoo's head. Hard.
"Spatula Girl?!"
"Uh, yeah..." she said, rather embarrassed now. Had she changed that much
in
ten years?
Aside from dyeing her hair, putting on two hundred pounds, and having a sex
change, she hadn't changed a bit.
"Sure thing, Sugar." She turned back to Shampoo, examining her very
carefully. She still wore Chinese-styled clothing, though the blue dress
was
much more conservative than in her younger days. The biggest difference,
however, wasn't her clothes; it was her hair. It was a little longer that
she last remember
remembered
it being, but that wasn't the main difference. On top of
her head was...nothing. The odangos, the little bells, they were gone
completely. The two long tresses that use
used
"She same Amazon in story you tell me at bed?"
"Mm hmm. The very same."
Kiko: Why there no horns sticking out of her head and she not breathing
fire, like you say in the stories of demon girl Shampoo?
Kiko turned to the purple-haired woman. "Hello, Shampoo-san."
She smiled a little. "Please, call me Saotome-san, or-"
Oh my.
Ukyou would have choked if she was eating anything.
Given the unexpected results from this visit, I'm surprised she isn't
choking on air.
Shampoo was very taken aback by the reaction. "You didn't know? Ranma
and I
have been married for almost two years."
Her mind boggled. "You're kidding, right?"
"Of course..." Shampoo began.
Ukyou breathed a sigh of relief.
"...We've been married for three years. I just wanted to trick you,"
Shampoo finished.
Slowly, her turquoise eyes drifted down till they met the stone-gray-green
eyes of Kasumi. Ukyou's vision expanded to take in everything else. The
thirty-year old woman hadn't changed that much in ten years. She still
wore
conservative clothes, dresses that reach
reached
past her knees, modest and plain
blouses, even her hair was pulled into a ponytail, secured with a big,
white
bow. There was only one small detail: she was in a wheelchair.
Oh dear.
Motorized,
it was, but it was a wheelchair. Ukyou gasped. "Kasumi, what happened to
you?!"
Kasumi: I was involved in a major drug deal that went sour a while back.
But I capped the bitch that shot me.
She let the words sink in. The expression on her face was one of
incredulous
horror. "Tofu-sensei did this to you?!"
Now that's a surprise.
Kasumi nodded sadly. "It wasn't the only thing he had done to me."
While Ukyou was busy listening to Kasumi's tale, Shampoo took Kiko by the
hand. "Want to get that cookie now?" she said in a hushed voice.
She looked up to her. "Okay." Her young eyes focussed
focused
"Maybe a cookie make her smile?" the little girl smiled, showing off her
little teeth.
Ah, the naivete of youth.
"He discovered alcoholism.
interesting way of putting it.
"He was fine, so long as he didn't drink. The only thing is, he liked the
taste of liquor, and he would often pick up something after hours.
In other words, he almost always drank.
It
affected his thoughts and emotions. He started out being suspicious of
everything, and he was more...intense at certain times. The more he
drank,
he
the
worse he became. Finally, after seven months, he showed a very violent
of
violent side of
"For two years, it went on. I didn't tell anyone because I thought it was
my
fault, that I made him angry, or I wasn't good enough if he had to hit me.
An all too real reaction.
"No problem, Kasumi; anything for a friend." He cleared his throat, then
pickedup
picked up
"Tofu got even worse," he began, rubbing her shoulders lightly. "Business
went belly up, he drank like a fish almost everyday, and he began
following
Kasumi all around the place. One night, he must've saw me kiss Kasumi on
the
forehead after me and Akane spent a few hours teaching her some
self-defense
since she could get him help.
I have no idea what's missing out of the sentence, but it's more than one
word.
in support, and he released the painful tension he was feeling in his
throat
and chest. "...he didn't survive the ride...so much anger he put
out....it
was unreal..."
Ah. That makes sense. More hot chi involved in the move, the more power to
it.
"Ah..." He looked rather confused and embarrassed by the sudden change in
the conversation, but also a little shamefaced. "I...I thought so,
too..."
He sighed, withdrawing his hands from Kasumi's shoulder, and sat down on
the
floor. "Short story, things, things just didn't work out like we thought.
We had some good times and all, but getting married so young, and all the
pressures, and fights we had...we got divorced about six years ago. She
asked for it, and I really couldn't disagree with it, you know.... It was
the
hardest thing we ever had to do...." He propped his head up on one arm.
"We
should've waited till we were ready, like after college..."
Sad. But frightening realistic since so many couples that marry young do
break up after only a few years.
"You, you still love her, don't you?"
He sighed. "Yeah. She wanted to get back with me a year later, but
things
fell back into the old pattern after the first month, and we called it
off,
cause we knew what would happen again."
A mature decision on both of their parts for this point of their lives.
Shows how much they grew up over the years.
He looked up to his best friend.
"Then Akane...she got killed in an accident a few days later."
Geez. Tragedy on top of tragedy.
Ranma nodded slowly, almost painfully. "Yeah." He swallowed. "She and
Tendo-san both. Some guy ran a red light going about 140 kph. Akane was
just driving across, and he rammed them.... She...she died
instantly....Tendo-san passed away from grief shortly afterwards...."
And the hits keep coming. And Ukyou thought she had it bad.
"Thank you..." Her fingers gently took the little gift and brought it up
to
her mouth. She took a bite and chewed. "You're such a sweet and kind
child,
just like your mother and father.
She knows Kiko's father? That doesn't make sense since Ukyou hasn't seen
any of them in ten years.
"Yeah, Kiko-chan."
"Ah...he...he's gone now...been gone for a long time now. I didn't even
know
I was pregnant until a few weeks later after he...left...."
Oops. Does 'he' even know he's a father?
Changing the subject abruptly, Ukyou shifted into a more relaxed position.
"So, how did Mousse take you two getting married? I'd imagine it was a
battle royale, Ranchan..." She noticed how Shampoo's smile fell and
suddenly
felt self-conscious, as well as a little stupid. "I must have really
missed
a lot in ten years...." she resigned.
'resigned'? Not sure if that's the word you're looking for there. Not sure
what else you would use, though.
"You can say that again," Ranma said offhandedly to no one in particular.
Shampoo chided him gently. "Sorry..."
"Nothing to be sorry for, Ranchan. I should have kept better tabs on your
all." Before anyone else could ask why, she changed the subject again.
"So
whatever happened to Nabiki and the rest of the gang?"
At this point I'd be afraid to ask with everyone's history so far.
Watching Kiko eat a cookie, Kasumi answered. "Nabiki married that nice
man
Kunou Tatewaki a
man, Kunou Tatewaki, a
Ukyou supressed a smile. "Somehow, I always expected that..."
"She also cleaned him out of at least half the family's fortune and
divorced
him six months later," Ranma added.
And the hits keep on comnig.
"...and that to happen..." she said, a little less amused. "I'm no fan of
Kunou, but he really didn't deserve that to happen."
Agree.
"You're welcome, Kiko-chan." Kasumi picked up where she left off. "Now,
she
is doing very well with a corporation she has based in the United States.
She helps us out with the finances every month, sending about seven
hundred
thousand yen a month. Most of it goes to utilities, food, and insurance,
while the dojo helps cover everything else."
Well, it is nice to see Nabby is watching out for them, at least.
"I'll get them," Shampoo said, standing up. She leaned over Ranma, her
face
upside down to his, her purplish-blue hair resting in his lap. "You get
cleaned up, okay, Airen? Dinner will be ready soon."
"Okay, Sham-chan." He kissed her softly. She did likewise, then stood up
fully. "Would you like to see the children...Ukyou?"
Ukyou: After all that's happened to everyone so far? NO! I can't imagine it
will be anything good.
"Don't worry, Ukyou. She and I will be fine here."
"All right. Thank you." She leaaned
leaned
* * * * *
"It's amazing how she can be so optomistic and happy, even with all the
stuff
that she's been through. You'd think she was na�ve, or just an airhead,"
Ukyou said, holding a sleeping bluish-haired, baby boy in her arms.
Well, at least the kids seem all right.
"She wasn't always like that, Ukyou. It took a few years for her to ever
feel safe again. Several times, she woke up screaming in the middle of
the
night, and Ranma, Akane, or I had came running to try to calm her back
down."
Shampoo finished feeding a little baby girl with burgundy-brown hair a
bottle of juice before putting her back into her crib. Ukyou did the same
for the boy, and both women slipped out of the nursery, quietly closing
the
door behind them.
"You?" Ukyou said curiously. "What were you doing here then?"
Ah, and here I had thought you worded that awkwardly in the paragraph
before.
"I moved in with Ranma and Akane a few months after they got married."
Naturally.
Yes. I was being sarcastic.
"Yes, I left them...for Ranma. Cologne, she was just furious, but she
also
understood my reasons for going. She once wanted me to rule the tribe in
her
place as matriarch, but she knew I wouldn't be suitable for the role after
I
was willing to let Ranma have rule over me.
Hmm. Interesting reasoning.
"Mousse, on the other hand, he didn't take my decision well, not at all.
He
tried to convince me that he was the right choice for me, that he would
worship me like a queen, that Ranma would never return my love like he
would."
So he hadn't changed yet. About the only character at this point.
She looked at Ukyou. "He would have been right about him being the
best choice for me, except for one thing: I didn't love him. Not like how
he
deserved to be loved.
Concise, but it explains everything that really needs to be said.
"I talked to him some more, telling him why he couldn't follow me, and why
I
don't love him. He didn't want to listen; I think he already knew before,
but didn't want to admit it to himself. He started crying, but in the
end, I
think I got through to him. He left with a little more...something, in
his
step than when he came in.
Well, that's nice, at least.
"After he was gone, I thought about what I was giving up, and for what.
The
thought hurt as much as it warmed me. I knew that I would never get a
chance
at Ranma; he and Akane looked so happy together. I was crazy for leaving
the
tribe for someone I would never have, and everyone that knew about it said
the same thing to me. Somewhere inside, a small part of me didn't care
anymore, so long as I was just near the man, that would be all the
happiness
I needed.
"Cologne came into my hut and held me that night.
Oh. I was under the impression this was happening in Japan. You might want
to mention early on that she had gone back to China for a while. Perhaps
right after the marriage between Ranma and Akane.
Something she hadn't done
since I was six and had a very bad case of some nameless disease. She
asked
me if I was truly sure if this was what I wanted. I told her yes, and we
left it at that.
Hmm. Simple, but effective as well.
"The day of exile came. Ranma was flown in from Japan and guided to the
village to hold witness as my Airen the end of my life as an Amazon and
the
end of our marriage the Law of Joketsuzoku decreed. I was stripped of all
my
clothes, then taken to a damned off riverbed, and forced to wallow in the
mud
till I was covered from head to foot. Next, I was doused with warm water,
then smeared with some sort of paste while my hands were tied behind my
back,
then I was made to run down across a bed of hot coals while the other
warriors struck at me with blunt objects.
Shampoo: Comfy pillows, mostly. But it was the principle of the matter that
hurt the most.
After that, more water to wash off
the paste, then I approached Matriarch Cologne. She removed the odangos
from
my hair, sliced off the two locks of hair with the bells tied to them,
then
she wiped out all of my Amazon fighting techniques."
Whoa! Very nasty. Took just about everything they could from her short of
her life.
"After that, I was taken to the outskirts of the village, and given the
final
measures of my exile by Cologne. The next I
next time I
returned there, I will be as a
outside female stranger, and treated as such. No quarter will be given,
no
help or aid allowed. From that day on, I was dead to them.... Then, she
and
the few Amazons that had followed her out left with her. Mousse was
somewhere out there mourning my...'death,' you could call it.
"I just cried then and there. The entire weight of what I've
I'd
just done fell
on me like a ton of bricks. I don't know how long I just stood there
crying,
crying;
it felt like weeks. Then I felt a towel wrap around my shoulders. It
startled me, and I whipped around to see who it was. It was only Ranma,
the
only thing I had left, and I wasn't all that sure if he even want me
around...then he said 'Sorry about this.'
Oooh. Interesting symmetry between this scene and his first appearance at
the dojo.
"I was just overwhelmed. Even though it was my decision, my choice, he
felt
responsible about the results, and even moreso for me not having someplace
to
stay then. He brought me back here, knowing full and well how Akane would
probably react, to ask her if ther
there
would be enough room for me there. After
some talking, she gave her consent, provided I didn't try anything funny.
Sounds like Akane. I can see her willing to do that once she was told what
had happened to Shampoo.
"Well, I didn't try anything, though I was sorely tempted to, sometimes,"
she
said with a wan smile. "But I was changing. Took a while, yes, but I was
breaking away from the old Shampoo." She blinked. "All that time, I
never
realized.
drop the period.
"Well, they always fought over everything, you know that much. A lot of
times, it's over something silly, and they make up promptly afterwards.
But
some things weren't that easy to forgive and forget.
"The Saotomes and Tendo-san were always pushing for grandchildren. Kasumi
had a child, but it was stillborn.
Yeesh. Back to even more bad things. At this point it's safe to assume
someone ate Ryouga for their breakfast by accident, yes?
Nabiki was only interested in taking as
much money from Kunou as she could, so no child from her. So, all the
burden
fell upon Ranma and Akane.
Sigh. I can see that too.
"College became harder on her as the year wore on, but she strived harder
to
succeed.
Yep. Akane wouldn't give up so easily.
However, it also took away time from her coming home on the
weekends. Ranma snuck up to her dorm one weekend as a surprise, but her
roommate had told him that she wasn't there. He went looking for Akane
all
over the campus, and eventually came upon the men's dorm. She was up in
one
of the men's room with another man, who was in the middle of taking off
her
shirt."
Whoops.
Ukyou blinked. "My, my...that's a bit...scandelous, there."
Shampoo nodded. "It was, but he didn't know that they were just
rehearsing a
scene for an American play.
Oops! But given the propensity for misuderstandings in the Ranmaverse, the
violence to follow is almost automatic.
"Yes. Akane confided in me the night before that she really didn't want
Ranma to be disappointed that they couldn't start a family, so she gave in
to
the pressure. We had gotten to be good friends by then, so I volunteered
to
help her out so she wouldn't have to quit school. However....
"Tell me, are you familiar with the phrase, 'When it rains, it pours'?"
As in what the title of this story probably should have been? ^_^
"It was the worst fight they've ever had. Just watching the only two most
important parts of my life tear into each other like that.... I tried to
stop
them, but it was about effective as telling the winds not to blow.
Eventually one
Eventually,
side had to win out,
Or both could lose.
"It was the hardest choice they ever had to make. Both families raised
hell
about getting divorced, and the two fools kept throwing in that tradition
and
honor demands they stay married. Ranma and Akane, they were tired of it
all,
though, and Airen was right; they did get married too young. They still
loved each other, but the pressure and the immaturity destroyed their
happiness."
Emphasis on pressure.
"Akane was pregnant with my child when she died."
And another foot fell.
After catching her heart, Ukyou asked, "How long have you been then?"
"Just got here a minute ago. I was going to check on Blue, see if that
rash
went away yet."
"He's fine, Airen."4
drop that little '4' there.
Wordlessly, a mop of indigo nestled against his chest, a pair of arms
coiling
around his waist. His own arms laced across her back, holding her firmly
to
him. Soft words fell from the former Amazon's lips, cantonese or
mandarin,
Ukyou didn't know exactly, but they certainly were not japanese. So long
as
Ranma understood them...
Nice phrasing there.
He began speaking absently. "It was a hard fact to accept at first.
Hell, I
refused to accept it for a few months. Once I did, man, did I ever hit
depression.... I wasn't quite dead, but for all practical matters, I might
as
well have been. Only thing is, Shampoo wouldn't let me die, in either
sense."
"You're too important to me, Ranma..." she crooned softly. "...wo ai
ni..."
(conclusion-next post)