Dear FFML,
First and foremost, to all my (thank you thank you) faithful readers and all
my fans, MY DEEPEST APOLOGIES. I know that I broke my promise
*sniff* about
posting later 'last week'. I had a few...thousand ISP issues (MSN decided
to switch me to a long-distance connection and then the connection entirely
decided to crap out on me...) so I was not able to log online and post.
Trust me, I wanted to. SO BADLY.
Anyway, here's the good stuff.
FRAGMENTS PT 5
^*^*^
What's happened so far:
There is a man named Soichi, and there is a woman named Kimiko. However,
the boy named Ranma, and the girl named Yuki have 'died'. Akane is engaged
to Ryoga, of her own free (if unhappy) will, Nabiki is supsicious, and the
scene is set. Be in full-on confrontational mode.
^*^*^
"Hey, Kimiko-san, you're three o'clock is here."
Kimiko glanced at her calendar, and frowned when she realized that she
didn't see any three o'clock written down, but she sighed and made a mental
note to hit Ryoko next time she had a chance.
"Send them on in, Ryoko-san."
She grabbed the stack of files on her desk and turned her chair towards the
row of low, squattish, black file cabinets behind her desk. Using the
rollers on her chair, she moved over to the left half a foot and started to
put the files in their rightful places.
She heard the sound of a door opening, and said with her back still turned,
"Konnichiwa! I'm so sorry, I'll be right with you, okay?
"Oh, take your time," there was a pause in the sound of a cultured voice,
"Yuki-san."
And the world froze for Yoshida Kimiko. Her hands shook as the files fell
from her fingertips, and the unstoppable fear that gushed from the dark
place inside her refused to ebb or slow. This was her doom. This was her
end. She could taste the loss on her tongue, and she could very nearly feel
the loneliness in her bones.
She slowly turned the chair to come face to face with one Tendo Nabiki.
"Konnichiwa, Nabiki-san, it's been a while, hasn't it?" she managed
breathily, still desperately trying to steady the rhythm of her heart. She
remembered Soichi's words. No one could drag them back to Nerima, no one
could force them away from the lives they had built. They were masters, and
masters did not run.
Nabiki sat down the luxurious leather chair reserved for clients. Glancing
about the office, she nodded in appreciation, "Beautiful decorating, Yuki,
my boss' office looks a little like this." She stopped, crossing her legs
at the knee, she said matter of factly, "I must commend you, Yuki-san, you
did a masterful job hiding. More than a decade, and I thought you were dead
the whole time." She smiled in a fashion that was not at all cheerful,
"Kind of sad, though, proves that Ranma's death was a waste after all."
Something clicked in Kimiko/Yuki's mind.
Nabiki didn't know.
Nabiki only knew about * her *.
Nabiki had no clue that Ranma wasn't dead at all ^� Nabiki only knew a
half-truth.
And for a second, her heart sang hopefully as her mind started formulating a
battle plan.
She chuckled softly, newly collected after the shock of a lifetime, she
said:
"I hope I'm not being presumptuous if I ask you to please address me as
Yoshida-san, or if you please, Kimiko. The name 'Yuki' and the life she
entailed were all left behind ages ago." She looked at Nabiki hard, tapping
her fingertips on her desk. "Why are you here, Nabiki-san. You never waste
time or words, there must be a purpose."
Nabiki shrugged, "Actually, Yu-Kimiko-san, it's half curiosity, half anger,"
her eyes grew hard, "You killed Saotome Ranma, Kimiko-san, changing your
name and running away does not change that. You never paid for the cruelty
you dealt my family."
Kimiko raised her eyebrows, keeping her cool exterior intact, and folding
her hands carefully over her lap, she asked:
"What damage? To my recollection, Saotome Ranma was in no way officially
affiliated with your family when he died. Why the personal vendetta?"
"He was Akane's fianc�e, and regardless of what she refuses to admit, she
cared for him. Our family cared for him, when he died, we suffered a
terrible loss."
Kimiko's eyes grew dark, "Really? A loss? The Tendos treated Ranma with
nothing short of utter and complete disrespect. I'm surprised he lasted as
long as he did under those conditions. Besides," she added in a cool tone,
"it was a matter of family honor, his death was necessary, and he knew what
he was getting into when he arrived for the fight. Be grateful that I did
not demand seppuku as tradition had dictated." She snarled at Nabiki, "You
have nothing to complain about. And I would appreciate it if you left my
new life alone."
Nabiki scowled, "No such luck, Kimiko-san, you may have moved on, but I
havn't. I may not be as influential as you are, but I have my ways. Do not
be unprepared, there will be retaliation."
Kimiko smiled serenely, "Go ahead, Nabiki-san, I'd love to see you try."
^*^*^
Stepping out of the air-conditioned interior of the business complex, Nabiki
very nearly ripped the cell phone from her jacket pocket, and hitting speed
dial 2, she waited for the ring.
"Yo, Nabiki-chan, what's up?"
For half a second, she was stunned, "How did you know it was me, Kuzio-kun?"
"You're the only one who ever calls me on this line, what's up? Calling to
ask me on a date?"
Nabiki sighed in half disgust and half amusement, "You're never going to let
that drop, are you?"
"Never, the will of the heart is not stilled, Nabiki-chan."
"Look," she said hurriedly, flagging down a cab and rushing towards the curb
as she spoke, "something * big * just happened. I need all the information
you can possibly get on one 'Yoshida Kimiko', she owns an advertising
company. I need * everything *. I don't care how personal, or how
embarrassing."
There was a space of silence, "Nabiki-chan, what are you planning?" There
was a worried tone in Kuzio's voice, "What are you going to do to her?"
Frustrated and frumped, Nabiki slid into the backseat of the cab, and in an
overly-harsh tone of voice, she yelled, "Why do you care? I'm paying you
aren't I? Just do it!"
She hung up her cell phone abruptly.
She'd been right. It * was * Yuki. There had been initial doubts, maybe
just a similarity of appearances, maybe it was even Ranma! But Nabiki had
been skeptical, the Ranma she had known would have rather been caught dead
than female in public, besides, the redhead had possessed 'the walk'. That
graceful tilt of the body that was deeply feminine in nature. Something
ingrained at birth or in the genes.
Something not even Ranma could learn.
"Take me to Nerima, NOW."
And as men usually do when a woman uses
* that * tone of voice, the cabbie complied.
^*^*^
"So, was that Mrs. Fujikara back there, or was she just a friend?" Naka
ventured. Soichi raised an eyebrow and turned towards him in amusement.
"She prefers to be called Ms. Yoshida, if you don't mind," he repressed a
grin, pushing his glasses a little higher on his nose, he asked, "why do you
ask? * Still * thinking about making a move on my woman?"
Naka grew flustered once again, and putting his hand shyly to the back of
his head like one nervous, confused youngster had in days gone by. "Aw,
Fujikara-Sensei, you know I was just curious."
Soichi chuckled, "Yes, Naka-san, she is my wife, we got married about ten
years ago. Why do you ask?"
Naka frowned, his eyes clouded for a moment, "Well, you two seem so happy
together. More like teenagers than an old married couple." He scowled, "My
parents are * never * like that."
Soichi looked at his patient thoughtfully. He'd once believed that Naka's
lack of interest in school was entirely rooted in the fact that the boy had
no real motivation to do well in his studies. He had no plans for college,
and his goal in life was to own and teach at a dojo. His actions in high
school were helping him well on his way to doing so, but his grades were
seriously suffering.
But now, Soichi had another aspect to look at.
"How long have your parents been like that, Naka?" he asked softly.
"Oh, I don't know, since I was born, maybe?" he chuckled bitterly and went
on, "Ever since I can remember, they've been like that, always arguing and
carrying on. Most of it's because my mom works, and my dad thinks that they
don't spend enough time together." He blinked, hard. "I'm sorry,
Fujikara-Sensei, can we talk about something else?"
"Of course, Naka, whatever you feel comfortable with."
"Well, then I'm going to have to pick * your * brain." His patient grinned
wickedly, and Soichi felt a little tremor in his stomach. Ambitious youths
were always more dangers than intelligent elders, always.
"By all means, try, we've only got five minutes left, anyway." He smiled
softly.
He couldn't help it; Naka was a mirror image of his younger self, with a
little more tact and a few extra opportunities. Soichi hoped sincerely that
Naka's life wouldn't come to the nearly disastrous climax that his had.
"Alright," Naka started, squinting his eyes and thinking hard, "when did you
start practicing martial arts?"
"When I was four years old. Next."
"Wow. Oh, okay, next, right. Um, When did you lose your virginity?"
Soichi rolled his eyes, "Naka . . ."
"Come on, you promised that you'd be honest."
"Alright, I was seventeen and a half."
"Details, my dear therapist."
Soichi frowned but complied, "Alright, I was seventeen and a half, no
alcohol involved, and it was snowing outside the dojo. Happy?"
Naka raised his eyebrows, "You lost your virginity in a dojo?"
Soichi shrugged and laughed softly, "Only place we could get any privacy,
yeah."
"How long had you known each other before?"
"Oh, a while," he replied softly, and before Naka's very eyes, Soichi
drifted through the years and stumbled upon those first tentative days of
friendship.
^*^*^
Nerima
14 years previous
"SHIT!" Yuki cried, stepping back quickly and falling into a seasoned
defensive stance. One Ranko recognized immediately from years of battle.
"KAMI-SAMA! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!? Where'd Ranma go? What did you do to
him?" she paused, getting her breath back, "And above all, WHY THE HELL DO
YOU LOOK LIKE ME?"
She almost laughed, it was hard to repress the nearly girlish giggles that
threatened to rise in her throat, but somehow, Ranko was able to repress
them.
"That's touching, Yuki-san. But Ranma didn't go anywhere, I * am * Saotome
Ranma."
"RANMA IS A BOY! AND YOU LOOK LIKE ME, NOT LIKE RANMA AT ALL!"
"I noticed, and I noticed that, too. Believe me, no one knows that better
than I do, but trust me for just a second, from one martial artist to
another." Ranma took Yuki's hands softly and placed them on her own cheeks,
"I am Saotome Ranma."
"But," Yuki stuttered, her eyes wide in disbelief, "how is that even
possible?" She lifted a hand to Ranko's braid, and gently pulling him
towards her, she pressed his hair next to her own. "It's the exact same
color! No hair-dye company can even recreate this color, my friends have
tried!" She turned Ranko around, looking at the shape of her hips and the
way her features were set.
"We're, we're," she paused, breathing in hard, "we're duplicates!"
"Do you see why I was staring now?" Ranko replied softly, embarrassment
evident on her features.
The rain still fell thickly around them, and Yuki's soaked hair was
plastered to her face as the two teenagers stared at one another in wonder
and confusion in the rain.
"But," she added, "weren't you a boy? Just a second ago?"
"It's a curse," Ranko explained. "Follow me, there's a restaurant near here
where we can sit for a while. And, I think there's someone there who can
explain this to us." she grabbed Yuki's hand, and with a soft tug, the girl
was shaken out of her stunned state and followed, mystified still, the
carbon-copy of her own image towards a small caf� near the end of the
street.
"SHAMPOO!" Ranko yelled, seating the still-awed Yuki in a chair softly,
"SHAMPOO! We have a problem, and it's HUGE!"
Shampoo grinned cheerfully, and fluffing her thick, lavender hair, she
bounced into the dining room, "Airen come to date with Shampoo! I so happy-
[WHO THE HELL IS THAT??]" Shampoo had been making a brave attempt to speak
more grammatically correct Japanese, but sometimes, the informal, soft
language was not enough to convey emotion. And for this, she lapsed back
into her mother tongue.
Ranko stared at her for a moment, just as the Amazon stared at the redhead's
xerox, who stared in turn at Ranma still.
All in all, there was much staring.
"Uh," Ranko started, looking confused, "did you say 'what the hell water?'"
Shampoo stared at her Airen for a beat, and then back at her Airen's
(apparent) twin.
There were two onna-Ranma's sitting in the dining room of the Nekohanten ^�
and he was more concerned with learning Chinese than explaining this entire
situation?
After a great deal of yelling, some screaming, and a pinch of bellowing,
Cologne finally arrived on the scene, turned Mousse into a duck, locked him
in a cage so he'd stop throwing himself at Yuki to be stomped on, and
restored some semblance of order.
It was a curious thing, she concluded, staring at Yuki pointedly, her old
eyes squinting as she read the girl's ki lines. There certainly was more
than one surprise under the feminine appearance of the girl before her.
"Tell me, Yuki-san, have you ever studied martial arts?" Cologne said, her
voice slow and careful.
Yuki frowned, what was the relevance between her studies and why she looked
* exactly * like Saotome Ranma? She frowned internally and answered in as
polite a voice as she could:
"Hai, I've studied both Kempo and the Rising Phoenix School of Martial Arts
since I was a child."
Cologne narrowed her eyes, and murmured, "Yuki-san, is it? Have you ever
worked with you 'ki' before?"
The girl before her looked terribly insulted, "Of course I have! What kind
of person calls themselves a martial artist if they don't know how to use
their stinkin' ki?"
Shampoo bit the inside of her cheek, having been forbidden to speak and
barely allowed to stare, she was certain that if she chose to mention
Akane's claims of being a martial artist and her relative helplessness
involving her ki, her Grandmother would give her more than just a smack on
the head.
Yuki scowled, and added, "Besides, what does that have to do with why * I *
look like his cursed form, anyway?" she pointed at Ranma to emphasize her
point.
Ranma had been forced to demonstrate his curse at least twelve times before
Yuki had seen enough proof to persuade her not to run screaming from the
Nekohanten.
"That," Cologne murmured, "I do not know, though I do have a theory."
Balancing on her staff, she hopped over to a cabinet and retrieved an
ancient-looking book, it's pages yellowed and leather cover stained. "It's
an odd thing, Child," she started, touching Yuki's cheek softly, "I've never
heard of a Jusenkyo curse * mimicking * someone before, nor do I believe
that anyone else has ever heard of it." She paused, hoping to find a trace
of reincarnated spirit in Yuki. Certainly, the soul in the girl was old as
light, but the appearance, the character, the personality and flair were all
new of this life. The ancient Amazon sighed in frustration.
Yuki had closed her eyes and started breathing in and out rapidly, calmed
only by (the now restored male) Ranma's smiles.
Ranma, between offering helpful grins of encouragement, was starting to dig
through his endless memory for a whisper of something that he knew was
terribly relevant to the situation.
'What was it that the Jusenkyo tourguide said about the Springs of the
drowned girl and boy?' he wracked his brain for remembrance until he was hit
rudely upside the head.
"ITE! Stupid old mummy! Why'd yah do that?" he yelled, rubbing his newly
developing bump.
Cologne looked irate. "Son-in-law, I said for you to take her home, this
will take more time and research than I can do right now, I will contact you
once I know more."
Yuki looked around the room. At the boy who turned into a duck and who was
locked in a cage, at the shapely, lavender-tressed Amazon who'd been barely
restraining herself from both speaking and molesting Ranma, at the shriveled
old woman who hopped about on a staff, and at the boy, who, in a way, looked
exactly like her.
"Man," she said softly, "this should be interesting."
^*^*^
"Sensei? Come on, you were going to tell me more about her!" Naka
complained, shaking Soichi with his voice and pleading expression. "Come
on! How am I going to know how to make a move on a girl?"
Soichi glanced at his watch in a distracted manner, "Oh, I'm sure you'll
manage until Wednesday, Naka. I'll see you two days, okay?"
Naka sighed, and grabbing his bookbag, he started back out of Soichi's
office, "Sensei," he said nervously, "I'm really glad that I've been coming
to see you."
Soichi smiled.
This was what he lived for.
"Same here, Naka, same here."
^*^*^
"Nabiki! She doesn't need this! Father doesn't need this! And most of
all, Saotome-san doesn't need this!" Kasumi frowned angrily at the middle
Tendo daughter.
She had been pleasantly surprised when Nabiki had arrived at the Dojo, out
of breath and tired, but happy to see her younger sister none the less. And
after a bath and polite conversation with Tofu, Nabiki had asked quietly:
"Sorry, brother-in-law, but can I steal your wife for a moment?"
Tofu had planted a soft kiss on Kasumi's cheek and said jokingly, "Sure,
just remember to bring her back unharmed."
And Kasumi had been happy to have the time to talk to her sister, but then
things took a turn for the worst.
"I don't know how it happened, Kasumi, but I was walking down the street and
I saw Yuki! But she's not Yuki anymore! She's changed her name, runs her
own company. She's moved on completely," Nabiki huffed, looking down at her
hands, "even after everything that she did to us, she moved on, and she's
even more successful than I am! I can't believe her!"
"NA-CHAN!" Kasumi interrupted, her voice more harsh than usual, and it
caught Nabiki's attention. "Akane is getting married in two weeks, Father
was * just * released from the hospital, and his heart's still weak from the
surgery. Saotome-san is * still * heartbroken from years ago! THEY DO NOT
NEED THIS!"
Nabiki stared at her older sister in admiration. There weren't that many
people who could force her to shut up.
"If you must pursue this," Kasumi added, "please, do it discreetly, and
don't let on about what you are doing, okay?"
Nabiki stared at her older sister for a little while, and in a hesitant,
slightly confused voice, she murmured, "H-Hai, Oneechan, if you think it's
for the best."
^*^*^
Soichi rolled over from his side of the bed and through squinted eyes; he
looked at the clock on the nightstand.
'Geeez,' he thought, 'It's three in the morning! What the heck is Kimiko
doing?'
He rolled around again towards the piercing brightness of the bathroom light
and saw his wife bent over the sink, shoulders slightly shaking.
'Shaking? Kimiko doesn't shake!'
And in one broad leap, he jumped out of bed and towards the bathroom. He
crouched down next to her still trembling figure and stroked her back
gently, murmuring, "Ki-chan? Are you okay? Do you feel sick or something?"
"I-I-Oh, shit!"
She bent her head over the sink again and threw up (for, what Soichi would
later discover, was the sixth time that day). She coughed, running the tap,
wiping the sick from her face; she turned towards her husband weakly.
"I'm fine," she said, breathing softly, "I probably just caught the flu or
something." Stepping carefully, she started towards the bed again, but only
made minimal progress before her legs gave out and she almost ended up
sitting on the floor.
"Aw, man," Soichi said softly, "you really
* are * sick," picking her up carefully, he carried her to the bed, and
tucking her under the covers, he said:
"This is probably stress related. It * has * been a messed up couple of
days." He frowned, "Though, this degree of negative reaction is weird, for
you anyway."
Kimiko frowned from where she was snuggled deep in her pale blue down
comforter. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Soichi shrugged, and sitting Indian style next to her on the mattress, he
answered, "Nothing really, just that you usually handle stress pretty well,"
he paused, "is there something going on that you're not telling me about?"
Kimiko looked deep into his eyes, and evaluated her options. She could tell
him about Nabiki's unwelcome exploration of her life, she could warn him
that the most volatile of the Tendos was on the warpath and would probably
find some way to prove conclusively that Saotome Ranma and Tanakawa Yuki had
not died. She theoretically could mention that she was still scared witless
about what would happen if the Tendos or the rest of the Saotome's
discovered them.
But seeing that underlying peace in his eyes, the deep, unquestioning
happiness and calm, she couldn't bear to break it.
And breathing in deeply, she replied:
"I've got a confession, So-chan," the words were said softly, and Soichi
started to worry, "I-I-I'm having an affair with the Mikoru, you know, the
priest from that anime, Inu-yasha? I know, I know, I always say that you're
the only person for me, but, he's just so delish."
And she waited for a reaction.
Which she got.
"MIKORU? WHO THE HELL IS MIKORU, WHY, I'M GOING TO KICK HIS ASS! I'LL KILL
HIM, I'LL KILL H- wait. Did you say 'anime'?"
"You're SO adorable!"
"THAT IS * SO * NOT FUNNY, KI-CHAN!" He paused, looking to where his wife
should have been laughing still. "Ki-chan? KIMIKO? Are you okay? Kimiko?
WAKE UP!"
^*^*^
Tokyo General Hospital was deathly quiet at nearly four a.m. that morning,
and save for the yelling voices of one terrified male and one irate woman,
everything else was calm.
"SOMEONE! Someone help! Please!"
"Goddammit! Soichi, I passed out for a little while, calm yourself! I was
probably just dehydrated or something!"
"SOMEONE PLEEEEEAAAAASE!"
"Oh, Kami-sama, if you embarrass me any more, I swear-"
^*^*^
As it happened, the calm was broken by two events that night. Approximately
two hours after Kimiko and her nearly spastic husband were carted into the
hospital, an ambulance screamed down the circle and the doors were thrown
open.
"SHIT! What the hell happened?" Sato Hiroshi had been an emergency room
surgeon for nearly six months, and he had seen all sorts of tragedy, but
he'd never seen this much blood so liberally draped all over a person
before.
"Auto vs. bus. Three people in the car, two were pronounced on the spot.
This one's got extensive lacerations and probably a couple of broken ribs.
Collapsed lung. We tubed him on the spot," the EMT yelled, still holding a
pressure bandage on the boy's leg. "He's holding pretty steady."
The other EMT ran alongside the stretcher as they hoisted it up the ramp and
into the hospital, "Yeah, betcha he's going to wish he was on the road to
terminal though ^� both parents are dead, pretty shitty reality to wake up
to."
Hiroshi bit his tongue and tried not to hate Takano, the EMT who wouldn't
know tact if it crawled down his pants and bit him on the butt. He was a
bastard, a heartless, insensitive, weenie-dicked bastard, but he was also
the best EMT in all of Japan.
Hiroshi was determined not to say a word.
But then Takano came up with, "Damn, looks like one hell of a recovery,
that's a fucker, from the build, bet he plays some kind of sport, gonna have
to shit that away, too."
"Fuck you anyway, Takano, just because you don't get any doesn't mean you
have to be a piss to everyone else who isn't dead," Hiroshi seethed. "We'll
take it from here."
The two EMTs stood stunned behind a set of swinging doors.
Hiroshi looked down at the unconscious boy on the gurney, and almost as an
afterthought, he looked up towards the medics still outside, and called:
"What's his name?"
And the one who wasn't an asshole, replied:
"Yomada Naka!"
Hiroshi looked down to his patient, and with a
more-confident-than-he-really-was smile, they ran through another set of
doors.
"You're going to be just fine, Naka-kun."
^*^*^
Whew, looooong post, huh?
I hope you enjoy it, I tried to answer a few questions.
And before I get flamed, DO NOT automatically assume who Ranma lost his
virginity to. =) And...well...nevermind, you can flame me for hurtin'
Naka-kun.
I hope you enjoy it.
PLEASE HIT REPLY! GIVE FEEDBACK!
-Linda
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