[Ranma][FanFic] Far and Away - Part 1
Nicholas Leifker
C&C welcome, as always.
Leifker presents...
Dawn had just come to the land of the rising sun when an ear-
splitting alarm echoed through the air, blaring its wakeup call
around the room. A hand reached out from beneath the covers in
response, searching for the source of the sound. It groped blindly
in places until it found the clock, then quickly seized it in its
grasp. A desperate manipulation of buttons followed, silencing the
scream.
The covers pulled away, to reveal a lump of humanity beneath.
The figure shone with youth even through the weariness, being only
about fifteen or so. The creature's gender was quite obvious even
through the unisex pajamas, as a woman's curves made themselves known
from behind the outfit. Squinting at dawn's light, the figure
unbuttoned her pajamas, leaving her as she was born. She looked down
at herself with a tired frustration, then walked over to the closet.
The young girl's frown deepened when she opened the door. Set
before her were clothes not appropriate to her gender: shirts,
slacks, loafers, Nehru jackets, and other articles meant for a boy.
She mechanically picked up some clothes, along with a piece of cloth,
and set the pile in front of her. The cloth was first; she tied the
fabric around her waist, then wrapped it in layers around her chest,
taking care not to make the prison too loose or tight. The other
clothes came on quickly, with a speed born of years of familiarity.
Finally, she reached back and tied her long brown tresses back into a
mannish ponytail.
The overall effect, from her perspective in the mirror, was
simply transforming. The stoic face, the flat chest, the strong
hands... this was no woman in the looking-glass. This was a man in
every way that mattered.
But, if that were true... why did Ukyou Kuonji feel so empty
inside?
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Leifker presents...
Far and Away
Part one (of three)
A work of anime fanfiction by Nicholas Leifker.
All Ranma 1/2 characters created by Rumiko Takahashi. All others
remain the property of Nicholas Leifker.
All rights reserved. I ask that you not do anything with any part of
this work without the author's permission. If you want to, please
ask. I usually don't mind.
Time casts its spell on you...
*********************************************************************
"Please... let it be empty..."
Ukyou strode quickly down the school's halls, her careful,
rushed steps a clear indication of her problem. Nature was calling
her (calling her LOUDLY), and she had to listen. She normally waited
until everyone was gone to phys. ed.; unfortunately, her second cup
of tea left her straining to get this far.
She ran into the restroom, careful of any others in the room.
After a quick scan, she went into one of the stalls, and pulled her
pants down. She finished her business with a sigh of relief,
restored her clothing to its former state, and made her way to the
door.
"Er... pardon me."
Her heart stopped. A young man leaned against the wall, his
expression that peculiar mix of amusement and curiosity that comes
with the discovery of a secret. Ukyou frowned; his looks seemed more
appropriate in some shojo manga rather than real life - tall, lean,
with rebellious black hair shielding slate-gray eyes and severe
features. Instinct told the okonomiyaki chef to run, but she knew
the possible results of that. Instead of running, she held her
ground, ready for a fight.
"Whaddaya want? Can't a guy go to the bathroom?"
The mystery man raised his head slightly, revealing more of his
bishonen features. His gray eyes sparkled in the light. "Of course.
However... would that apply to you?"
She grunted. "I'm more guy than most of the ones here."
"I don't doubt that in the slightest." He walked over to her,
carefully examining her features. "I'd be careful, though, if I were
you. Those cheekbones are a dead giveaway."
Ukyou didn't know how to take the indirect comment. "Yeah,
well... some things can't be helped, I guess." She tuned around to
leave.
"Wait." The man caught her by the arm. "You didn't even tell
me your name."
She thought of lying, then thought better. "Ukyou Kuonji."
He bowed in greeting. "Toshifumi Yamada, but my friends call me
Toshi. I hate to leave, but I've gotta go to class myself. See you
around, Kuonji... chan." He turned and walked away, a cheshire-cat
grin painted on his face.
Ukyou walked over to the sink and washed her hands, her moves
unconscious. Someone knew her secret - someone she didn't know at
all, and had seen or heard about maybe once or twice before.
Still... he was kinda cute...
She instantly cut off her train of thought and dried her hands.
She had class to return to, and she was already late.
*********************************************************************
It was night before Ukyou had a chance to relax. After school
came an hour of homework, then an evening at the Kuonji
Okonomiyaki-ya. She didn't complain; she loved to cook for other
people, to make culinary magic from the most mundane of items, and to
see the light in their eyes as they enjoyed one of her creations.
She knew what she wanted to be when she grew up; it was only a matter
of time.
The young woman walked outside, and took the sign down from the
entrance. The air felt cool; the ocean's wind blew in against her
skin, chilling the beads of sweat there. She looked up at the night
sky, and smiled. All in all, today had been a good day.
"Ukyou, are you all right?" Her father called out from the
grill.
"Yeah, Dad. I'll be there in a sec." She turned for one last
glimpse of night, then walked back inside.
Hikaru Kuonji looked so old to her eyes at times like this. The
old man had seen too much disappointment, too much heartache in his
life, and it showed all too clearly in his dark eyes and sad
wrinkles. His grizzled beard, now flecked with gray, hid scars she
didn't want to know more about. He nodded without smiling, and
started to clean the grill.
"What happened at school today?"
Ukyou shrugged; this was a question he normally asked her. "Not
much. Yoshida-sensei gave a quiz earlier today, but that wasn't much
of a problem."
The faintest hints of a smile tugged at his face. "Anything
else?"
She swallowed. "Well... someone found out about me."
The smile vanished. "I see." He started to scrub the grill in
earnest. "How?"
Ukyou felt small under her father's gaze. "I had to go to the
bathroom, and I didn't notice him in there."
"Will it be a problem?"
"I don't think so." She bit her lip for a moment. "From what
I've heard about the guy, he tends to be pretty quiet. It took an
hour for me to find someone who knew who he was." She shrugged. "Of
course, I won't know until I go back to school tomorrow."
The old man finished his chore, and walked over to his child.
"Ukyou, you've got to be more careful than that. I don't want to
have to send you to Uncle Tamiya's to live if I can help it." He
brought her in close and hugged her, something he hadn't done in
years.
"Ukyou... I know this is hard on you... but please. You've got
to keep up the act, no matter what happens."
"I know, Father. I know." The words felt hollow in her throat,
though, for some reason. She broke off the embrace, and stepped
back.
"Father, do you mind if I go down to the beach tomorrow?"
The light returned to the old man's eyes; like any father, he
took pride in his child's skills. "That's fine. Just make sure
you're home by closing, okay?"
She nodded, and gave him a playful wink. "Sure thing, Dad."
She ran up to her bedroom, to end what had been a most fascinating
day.
*********************************************************************
On the other edge of the neighborhood, in a small, run-down
apartment, a young man stared at the ceiling from his futon,
pondering the day's events. The discovery he'd made today had come
as quite a surprise to him; Ukyou was known by reputation as one of
the best fighters in the school. Moreover, the "man" lived out the
perfect tough-guy image, with hardened, skeptical brown eyes, a firm
chin, a quiet, distant demeanor, and fighting moves that belonged on
the silver screen. Ironically, the only one who ever bothered her
was another cross-dresser, though Tsubasa'd apparently been like that
for years.
Questions lingered in his mind from the morning's events,
questions he didn't have the answers to. Why in the world would a
woman willingly give up her womanhood? From what he'd seen of her,
she didn't enjoy being a guy; to her, it was just something to do,
like giving a greeting when entering a house. Moreover, he knew,
both from experience and word-of-mouth, that she was frighteningly
lonely. She only initiated conversations she was forced to, and
rarely participated in any others.
Just like himself.
He turned over on his side and readied for bed, not wanting to
listen to his thoughts any more.
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"Tsubasa, you JERK!"
Ukyou stood in front of the school, fury radiating from her
lithe form. Her eyes narrowed at the massive sight in front of her,
a gift from a certain admirer. Her fists shaking, she walked up to
the tanuki statue, ready to shatter it to bits, when it came to life,
jumping in front of her.
"Ukyou-sama! Please go on a date with me! Pleeazzze..." The
statue positively groveled, not an easy thing for it to do. Ukyou,
needless to say, was not impressed.
"I have tried reasoning with you. I have tried bargaining with
you. And I.... have... had... ENOUGH!" She hefted the statue with
her spatula, sending it (and the occupant within) far from the school
grounds. Still shaking, she dropped her spatula momentarily,
allowing the adrenalin rush to pass.
"Excuse me... you dropped this." She turned around, startled.
Few people were brave enough to talk to her at any time, let alone
after a fight.
"Thank... You!" The old fighting reflexes started with
Tsubasa's antics came to her again, and she glowed red with fury.
Toshi backed away slowly, close enough to talk, but far enough
to run. "Sorry. I was just picking up your spatula." He held it
out to her carefully, ready to act at any time.
Fortunately for him, the young student relaxed. "Yeah, well...
thanks." She gruffly took the spatula from him, and started to walk
into the building. He followed, a few feet behind her.
"Kuonji-kun? Are you okay?" The words were said softly,
apparently from genuine concern.
"And why wouldn't I be?"
Toshi gestured downward with his head. "Well, the shaking in
your hands, for one."
"That's normal. Besides, what do you care?" She whirled
around, seeing another target for her affections.
Toshi just shook his head. "Don't give me that. I've seen you
over the past week or so. Trust me, it's not normal."
"Whaddaya mean by that, you jackass?"
"Just think about it, okay? Please... before you hurt yourself
any more than you have." He walked away to his class, leaving her
alone.
Ukyou stood stock-still, her mouth agape, then stared at the
spatula in her hands. She slammed the cooking implement into the
wall, creating a sizeable dent, and stormed to class.
*********************************************************************
Cooking, as some people will readily attest, is not the best
thing to do when in an angry mood. The culinary arts require a
certain patience and delicacy to get right, both of which tend to go
flying out the window when upset. Preparations are rushed, spices
and ingredients are overloaded or ignored, and the final product
suffers due to inattention or impatience.
Ukyou stood there, her eyes to the floor, shame and anger
intermingling inside of her. It was clear she wasn't at her best
form today, and several of her customers had loudly let her know
their disappointment. Nevertheless, she walked back to her father's
grill, ready to help out some more.
The result was, sadly, predictable. This time, she let her
thoughts wander, leaving the okonomiyaki burnt at the edges. She
balled her fists, ready to tear apart the grill, when she felt the
hand on her shoulder.
"Ukyou." Her father's voice, in that stern-yet-gentle tone he
usually used. She turned around slowly to face him.
"I'm sorry, Father. I..."
The old man sighed. "Take the night off, Ukyou. You're not
doing anyone any good by staying right now."
The words, while unaccusing, hurt Ukyou, stinging at her
insides. She wanted so much to please him, to please Mother, to
please their customers... "Yes, Father." She grabbed her large
spatula, and headed out.
After a modest commute, Ukyou stepped off the bus to look at the
ocean. It was early spring; nobody came to visit the sea at this
time of year save the foolish - or the desperate. Whenever she
couldn't find peace in her work, she tried here, to find it in her
warcraft. The practices would show her peace, as they always did.
She began the kata in her usual fashion, slowly, in a pattern
resembling tai-chi, though the force of her movements could not be
denied. Over the course of minutes, the moves increased in speed and
complexity as she made herself one with the sea and wind, combining
and combating with it, her technique culminating along the slippery
rocks of the beach. The warrior leapt among the rocks, her spatula
cutting through the water as though it were some monster to be
defeated. Anyone watching could see she was pushing the envelope,
taking risks too dangerous to warrant, though she didn't care. All
she could feel was the storm of her own emotions, a cauldron far too
chaotic for her to define or tame.
She did eventually realize her folly, though she found out too
late. She felt her balance go when her foot slipped on the rocks,
and knew that it was going to hurt...
Ukyou woke up to a feeling of warmth and pain. The latter
seemed more abundant at first, as a dull throb echoed through her
head, along with a stinging in her arm and shoulder. The warmth came
to the forefront soon after, though, an intense-but-unobtrusive heat
source at her left keeping her safe from the elements. She groaned
involuntarily, the only venting of pain she'd allow herself.
"Are you all right?"
She opened her eyes slowly, careful not to jar recent wounds.
The headache came on stronger now, nearly driving her back to
slumber, but she held her ground. She had to; by rights, she would
have died out there, and she needed to know what happened.
A fire's glow was the first thing she noticed, its blaze the
solitary source of warmth in a night too dark for her liking. She
looked down, and noticed her clothes gone, replaced by a dry school
jacket which barely covered her attributes. She started to wonder
what pervert she'd run across when she saw the figure sitting next to
her.
"Welcome back," Toshi whispered.
She sat up, startled, then regretted it. "Ohhh...What are you
doing here? And where are my clothes?" she asked indignantly.
He shrugged. "Your clothes are drying off right now. Sorry if
I didn't have anything else, but my own clothes were soaked pulling
you out."
"You... saved me?" she whispered, her mind still not quite able
to grasp the concept. Toshi nodded.
"Well then, maybe you could tell me what you were doing out
here."
"Making sure you didn't try to do something extraordinarily
stupid, like try to work out your frustrations here when you're
angry."
"What do you know about it? You don't know what I've been
through." Her voice, already cracking, softened at the last words.
"True enough, I don't. Then again, you don't know what I've
been through." He bit his lip for a moment, lost in thought, then
checked his watch. "The buses stopped running out here about an hour
ago. It would seem we have plenty of time. Tell you what: if I tell
you my story, will you tell me yours?" He held out a package of rice
crackers.
Ukyou looked intently at the food offered her. She was terribly
hungry, and those crackers seemed to call out to her. She grabbed
one, and started munching. "Awright. You first."
"Fair enough." He stared into the flames, letting the dance
reshape events in his mind.
"I was born in a small town near Nagoya, the second of four
children. Childhood was normal... I grew up with my older brother
and my sisters, and had a good time.
"Then my dad decided we should move to Kyoto. It was sad to
leave my friends and all, but I didn't know the reasons why we left -
or the eventual cost - until later."
He picked up a stick and pushed the logs around, changing the
shape of the shadows. "About a year ago, I met this girl..."
"Don't all problems start with similar words?" She made an
attempt at a smile.
For once, Toshi laughed - a deep, resonant chuckle that Ukyou
found strangely pleasant. "True enough. What I didn't know was that
I had a rival for her affections - one who would go to any lengths to
have me out of the picture.
"One day, I came to school... and everyone treated me
differently. My old friends avoided me like the plague. The girl I
liked - well, she wouldn't give me the time of day. I didn't even
find out what was wrong until one of the burakumin students came up
to me."
Ukyou turned to face the young man - his morose expression, the
crystal tears flowing down his face - and swallowed. The burakumin
were the 'unclean' minority of Japan, those whose ancestors had done
jobs necessary to society, and were rewarded with ostracism. To be
labeled a burakumin was to live a life apart from mainstream society,
shunned forever by so-called 'proper' Japanese. She shuffled her
feet, trying to find the right words to say.
"So. You're 'unclean', huh?" she whispered, then winced at the
inelegant phrasing. She tightened the jacket around her, feeling the
ocean's wind a bit more keenly.
He sighed. "I guess. Truth to tell, I don't care; people will
either accept me for who I am, or they won't. If not, then that's
their loss. Unfortunately, my brother didn't see it that way."
He swallowed, the words uncomfortable in his throat. "A couple
of days later, while we were getting ready to move, I came home...
and found that my brother had restored his honor." Ukyou barely
heard his next words over the wind. "It took a lot to keep me from
following him after that happened."
Ukyou bit her lip; she knew all too well what that was like.
"I... my story sounds a bit like your brother's. You see, I've been
dead for nearly ten years now, ever since I was... dishonored."
"Dishonored?" Toshi stared questioningly at the woman, trails
of tears still glistening on his cheeks.
"When I was six years old, I met this boy named Ranma. We...
it's hard to describe the relationship we had. Ever met a person,
and known that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with them?"
"Yeah..." Toshi smiled, then clammed up at Ukyou's look.
"Anyway, I asked my dad to arrange a marriage with him. He did,
our family's yatai was given as dowry... and they ran off, taking the
cart with them." She grabbed another cracker, and bit into it
viciously.
"So that's why you dress like that," Toshi spoke
matter-of-factly.
She nodded slowly. "When that happened, I was given two
choices. Either I could live as a dishonored daughter, which would
mean shunning from just about everyone, or I could live as an honored
son. I chose the latter."
"A shame, really." He looked at her keenly, as he did in the
bathroom. "You do look pretty, at least when you're not acting."
The glare she gave him could have melted steel. "Don't ever say
anything like that again. I can't afford it."
"Why shouldn't I? Any non-burakumin who marries me is dead.
That tends to give me a freedom with my words - after all, how in the
world could they be binding?"
Ukyou sighed, and turned back to the fire. "I... sorry, Toshi.
It's just... I don't take compliments like that well. I _can't_ be
feminine. That girl is gone, and has been for a long time."
"Fair enough, I guess." His frown deepened for a moment. "You
promise not to tell anyone?"
The sheer ridiculousness of it all sent Ukyou giggling. "I
won't tell if you won't..."
"Okay." He shuffled his feet against the ground for a moment.
"You want to be friends?"
Ukyou looked at the young man for the moment. While not the
cleanest of souls out there, he certainly didn't look 'unclean', and
had some decency beneath a rogue's mask. Moreover, they were both
very much alone, a dangerous thing to be in their culture. She gave
him a lopsided grin, and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Friends."
*********************************************************************
End part one
Nicholas Leifker
nwl...@unix.tamu.edu
http://people.tamu.edu/~nwl9354
October 12, 1997