[Ranma][FanFic] The Heart's Reasons - Part 2

[M.A. MacKinnon]

This story is volume 3 of The Shadow Chronicles. All previous volumes
(and part one of this story) are available at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/8225

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic All Ranma 1/2 characters copyright Rumiko Takahashi
and are used without permission

The Heart's Reasons by Mark MacKinnon

Part Two: The Morning After

Kasumi eyed the sky cautiously. It definitely looked like rain.
Fortunately, she had taken her umbrella with her when she'd left the
house. Not that she thought she'd need it, since she was nearly at
Ucchan's.
She was glad that Akane had come to her for help. After hearing
how her relationship with Ranma had begun to blossom, her joy was
secretly tempered by the suspicion that Ranma's remaining fiances would
be an obstacle to a smooth romance. Ranma deciding to settle things
with Ukyou and Shampoo was, in her view, a very wise move.
However, Akane had been worried after talking to Ranma the previous
night. Ukyou had taken the news badly, and Akane thought someone should
check up on her. The problem was, she wouldn't want to see either Akane
or Ranma, and she had no other real friends.
So Kasumi had happily volunteered her services. She was certain
that she could provide a lonely Ukyou with some much needed support, and
perhaps cheer her up a little. It was the least she could do. And she
genuinely enjoyed playing den mother to the group, so it wasn't an
imposition at all.
Her mood darkened somewhat as she had a vivid mental flash of the
whole group returning from Furinkan that day. They'd looked like they'd
been through a war and, as she later heard, that wasn't at all
inaccurate. Cologne had been crippled, and young Kodachi had died.
They'd all been through so much. She was resolved to do whatever she
could to help.
She was almost at the restaurant when she saw Mousse storming
towards her. She lifted a hand in greeting.
"Good morn ..."
"Hibiki! Where are you, you coward? Come out and take your
punishment like a man! Hibiki!!" He charged by without even slowing,
and Kasumi blinked, her hand frozen in the air.
"Oh, my," she said weakly. What had that been about? Were things
finally returning to their normal state of chaos? Shrugging, she
continued up to the front door of Ucchan's.
The first thing she noticed was that the interior was a mess. The
second thing she noticed was that the proprietor was *also* a mess.
"Ukyou! Oh, dear! What happened to you, are you all right? Were
you in a fight?" Ukyou, who'd been righting a fallen stool, turned to
face Kasumi, giving her a better view of the ugly bruise on her face.
"Oh, Kasumi. I wasn't expecting you. A fight?" She fingered her
bruise carefully, limping forward. "No, nothing like that." Kasumi
noticed Ryouga's pack and umbrella on the floor.
"Oh, is Ryouga here? I just saw Mousse, and he was looking for
Ryouga, to fight him I think. He seemed very angry."
"Angry at Ryouga? I don't ..." She stopped abruptly, her fingers
still touching the bruise, her eyes widening in shock.
"He ... he couldn't have thought ... Oh, DAMN!" Kasumi stood
uncertainly just inside the door. This wasn't at all what she'd
expected. Ukyou turned to Kasumi suddenly.
"Which way was he going?" she asked.
"Pardon?"
"Mousse. Which way?" Kasumi indicated a direction, puzzled as
Ukyou limped quickly toward the door, gritting her teeth in frustration.
"Dammit! Kasumi, can you help me?" Kasumi nodded and Ukyou slung
her arm around the older girl's shoulders.
"Um, where are we going?" Kasumi asked as they walked as quickly as
they could out the door.
"We're going to find Mousse and Ryouga," Ukyou told her grimly,
"before they do something really, really stupid." The two hurried off
in pursuit of Mousse.
"I just hope we're not too late," she added under her breath.
Kasumi wondered what in the world she'd just gotten herself into.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryouga was in a very foul temper.
For one thing, he was experiencing the first hangover of his young
life, and he was finding it not at all pleasant. Also, he'd woken up
sprawled under a tree in a park, having misplaced yet another pack and
umbrella.
Well, not misplaced exactly. He knew where they were, but even if
he could find his way back to Ucchan's, he wouldn't go back for them
now. Ukyou must think he was a complete idiot after all those stupid
things he'd said. There he'd been, shouting out all the garbage he
usually carried around inside him, while she was still hurting from
having lost Ranma for good.
She probably thought he was pathetic, and he wouldn't blame her.
He was sure she'd feel nothing but pity when she saw him again. And
Ryouga Hibiki didn't need anyone's pity.
He clenched his fist, then winced in pain. The bandanna wrapped
around his hand was crusted with dried blood, and he groaned as he
recalled yet another of his stupid actions of the previous night.
Oh, life just kept getting better and better. What the hell else
could possibly happen? He checked out the darkening clouds and frowned.
Well, it could rain, for one. Without his umbrella, he'd be spending
some time in his pig form if he couldn't find shelter.
"Hibikiiiiiiii!" He frowned, looking around. Someone was calling
him? He cocked his head and listened, hearing it again, closer this
time.
"Where are you, Hibiki? Come out and face me like a man!" He
could see Mousse now, wandering along the edge of the park. He waved
his arms and shouted to attract the other boy's attention. Mousse
spotted him and immediately started towards him.
"What's the matter?" Ryouga called to him. Mousse stopped facing
him, his face dark with barely suppressed rage.
"You," he growled.
"Hey, what's your problem?" Ryouga asked, puzzled. He hadn't done
anything to Mousse that he could think of.
"I just came from Ukyou's place," Mousse informed him. Ryouga
started guiltily. He had a vivid mental picture of a depressed Ukyou
telling Mousse how Ryouga had gotten drunk, caused a scene, and stormed
out, leaving her to deal with Ranma's rejection all alone.
"Oh. That. I can explain ..." he began. Mousse cut him off.
"Explain? What's to explain?"
"Look, I had too much to drink and got a little carried away,
that's all! I didn't mean to hurt her!"
"A little carried away?" Mousse's eyes narrowed behind his thick
glasses, his hair blowing in the stiffening breeze. "Is that what you
call it?" Ryouga grimaced, remembering the things he'd said, how
shocked Ukyou had looked. She must still be upset, he thought,
wondering why she'd told Mousse about it.
"Look, the sake was her idea! I never planned to ..." That was as
far as he got before Mousse erupted.
"Are you trying to say she asked for it!? Damn, I expected better
than that from you, Ryouga! Drunk or not, I'm going to make you pay for
what you did!"
Ryouga wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but he did know one
thing. The past couple of weeks had been horrible, even by his
standards, and the previous night he had made a complete ass of himself
and apparently hurt Ukyou's feelings even more than he'd imagined. His
temper, never all that even, was frayed to the breaking point.
It was not a good idea for Mousse to push him. Not a good idea at
all.
"Why don't you back off, China boy?" Ryouga growled, feeling hurt,
anger and depression rising up inside him with a familiar and not
unwelcome surge of power. "Before you get hurt." Mousse drew himself
up into a stance, arms out, hands cocked, and smirked at him.
"Not until I've punished you, you bully!" That was it. Ryouga had
had enough. A quick look around was enough to show him that no innocent
people were around. He remembered his promise to Ranma's mother, and
took it seriously. He had no intention of causing innocent people any
harm through his actions.
Mousse, on the other hand, was going to be the recipient of a great
deal of harm.
They both attacked at once.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ukyou shivered with the chill of the stiffening breeze as she and
Kasumi hurried down the street. She was torn between anger and panic.
If she was right about the conclusion Mousse had come to, there could
very well be trouble, especially given Ryouga's present state of mind.
She gritted her teeth angrily. How could Mousse even entertain
such a wild idea about Ryouga? Ryouga was the sweetest, nicest guy she
knew! He would never hurt her. Never.
But if Mousse found him and started making all sorts of wild
accusations, Ryouga might hurt *him*. Or they'd hurt each other.
"Oh, my," Kasumi said suddenly. Ukyou looked up to see a figure in
white travelling in a flying arc above some nearby trees. He
disappeared, but she could hear the faint sounds of shouting, and then a
sharp crack, like a tree branch breaking. She groaned.
"Oh, no! NO! C'mon, Kasumi, we've gotta stop them!" Kasumi
looked puzzled, but helped her along as they neared the park where the
trees obscured their view.
"Um, Ukyou, why are Ryouga and Mousse fighting?" she asked as they
half-ran, half-hobbled towards the fight.
"It's a misunderstanding, that's all," she gasped. "I can
straighten it all out."
"Oh, good." Kasumi didn't sound convinced, as they saw the top of
one of the trees tilt, then slide toward the ground with a series of
loud cracks. "I'm very glad to hear that ..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several chains arrowed out of Mousse's voluminous robe sleeves,
burying themselves in the ground as Ryouga sprang easily away. Ryouga
sent a handful of bandannas spinning towards the tree branch Mousse was
using as a perch, forcing him to jump to safety as the unfortunate
branch was reduced to splinters. Mousse returned a volley of small
daggers. Ryouga slipped under them and closed quickly, hammering Mousse
with a series of piledriver punches. Mousse slipped the last punch,
twisting to launch a ferocious kick inside Ryouga's guard. The impact
threw Ryouga back, but he quickly recovered, springing away from
Mousse's follow-up, keeping ahead of his opponent, looking for an
opening that would allow him to use his superior strength. Mousse was
quick, though, and worked to keep Ryouga at bay with his array of lethal
surprises.
Finally, Ryouga stumbled on a large rock embedded in the ground,
and Mousse, sensing an opening, sent a long weighted chain flying out
with a cry of victory. His celebration was short-lived, however, as
Ryouga allowed the end of the chain to wrap itself around his raised
forearm, then pulled Mousse off his feet with a savage jerk. He leapt
forward, fist cocked back, howling in anger, as Mousse tried to get his
guard up in midair. When they collided, one of them was going to get
hurt.
As they flew toward each other time seemed to slow.
And the rain began to fall.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ukyou gaped at the scene. Broken branches, and in one case an
entire tree, littered the ground. The grass was torn up in several
places, and stray chains, knives, bandanna-blades and other, less
identifiable debris was embedded in the ground, trees, and in one case,
a large rock. Kasumi gasped.
"Where did they go?" she asked. Ukyou sighed, pinching the bridge
of her nose. The rain was light, but it would have been more than
enough. She looked around, finally spotting two heaps of clothing
together on the ground. Even as she watched, the piles stirred. A
small black snout and a yellow bill thrust out into the air
simultaneously, and then the battle was joined again.
The small black pig squealed and charged. The duck responded by
spreading its wings and lifted itself out of reach. Then several small
knives appeared in the duck's wingtips, and the pig was forced to dodge
a deadly hail of razored steel. It ran in circles for a few moments,
then suddenly reversed direction and thrust one small foot out at the
nearby boulder. The surface of the boulder exploded, pummelling the
unprepared duck with rock fragments. Stunned, it fell to the ground,
where the pig jumped on it and began snarling and biting.
Ukyou shook herself out of her daze and limped quickly across the
ragged ground. She reached down and separated the squabbling animals
with difficulty, holding on to one with each hand.
"Stop it! Cut it out, both of you! Mousse! Ryouga! Dammit,
listen to me!" Both seemed to be ignoring her, straining to break free
of her grip. Ukyou leaned forward so that her body was partially
interposed between the combatants.
"Mousse! Mousse, look at me. Look at me!" Slowly, the duck
turned so it was staring up at Ukyou, seeming to register her presence
for the first time. "Mousse, Ryouga did not hurt me. Do you
understand? I was running after him and tripped on his pack." Some of
the tension leached out of the duck's body at that, a puzzled expression
appearing on the strangely expressive face.
"Quack?" he asked plaintively. Ukyou frowned.
"How could you have even thought that? Ryouga would never ..."
She stopped. Her left hand, the one holding P-chan, was beginning to
tingle. She looked down to see the little pig staring intently at the
duck, it's body bathed in a blue-green glow, tinged with red.
Uh-oh.
She abandoned her grip on Mousse's duck form, grabbing P-chan with
both hands and hoisting him up into the air until she was looking
directly into his eyes.
"Ryouga, sugar, calm down, okay? It was a misunderstanding.
Please, just take a deep breath." She continued talking in a low,
soothing tone, ignoring the pins and needles sensation in her hands,
praying that she could talk some sense into Ryouga. Slowly, very
slowly, the glow around the pig faded. She sighed in relief. It
appeared that disaster had been averted. At least for the moment.
"Kasumi, would you grab their clothes, please?" she asked over her
shoulder. Kasumi, who had been watching quietly, nodded and began
retrieving the sodden clothing. Ukyou sighed, feeling the light rain
soaking through her thin cotton t-shirt and plastering her hair against
her shoulders.
"C'mon, guys, lets get out of this rain," she said wearily,
standing up and cradling a reluctant P-chan in the crook of her arm.
"We'll head back to the restaurant and straighten this mess out."
Mousse hesitated, then began to follow her. Kasumi hung the clothing
over one arm, holding her umbrella over herself and the already wet
Ukyou with the other.
"My goodness, Ukyou. You're soaked!"
"Well," she replied, grinning weakly, "at least it's taking my mind
off my hangover."
Kasumi didn't say much after that.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the shelter of nearby trees, protected from the rain under her
own umbrella, Shampoo watched the odd procession trooping away. Her
expression was tinged with bitter disappointment.
"Stupid Mousse," she whispered. "No can beat pig boy. No is
strong enough. Never be strong enough."
Then she turned and walked away, into the shimmering gray rain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ukyou walked out of the back carrying a steaming kettle. Kasumi
had been straightening up the front area, and had laid out Mousse's and
Ryouga's clothes to dry on several stools. P-chan and Mousse were both
sulking, as far as she could tell, ignoring each other's presence. She
sat the kettle on the counter and looked around with a smile.
"Kasumi, you didn't have to clean up like this," she said, "but
since you did, thanks!" Kasumi smiled benevolently.
"You're welcome." Ukyou pulled her wet hair over one shoulder,
using the ends of the towel around her neck to sponge the last of the
water out of it. Then she looked at the two animals and grabbed the
kettle again.
"Okay, boys, let's talk." She paused. "Kasumi, could you get
their clothes please?"
"But they're still damp," Kasumi protested. Ukyou allowed a small
grin to creep onto her face.
"Yeah, but if I pour hot water on them like this, they'll both be
naked." Kasumi coloured instantly.
"Oh, dear." She rushed to comply. Once the clothing was in place,
Ukyou poured the hot water. Mousse grew into his robes easily, but
Ryouga got his head caught in his tunic briefly, giving the girls a
glimpse of his bare chest. Ukyou felt a sudden shock at the sight of
three narrow scars across Ryouga's chest. She remembered how he'd
gotten those. He'd been trying to cover her back during the battle at
Furinkan, and had been caught off-guard. She blinked as he wrestled the
uncooperative tunic into place. That had been just about a week and a
half ago. It seemed much longer.
It seemed like a different lifetime.
Mousse and Ryouga were now standing, and Ukyou shook herself out of
her reverie as the two adjusted their clothing, glaring at each other.
This would have to be handled very carefully, she knew. She stepped
between them just as Ryouga was moving toward Mousse.
"Okay, now both of you listen!" They both froze. "Better. First
of all, Mousse," she began, turning to him, "I just can't believe you
jumped to the particular conclusion you did. Ryouga would never hurt
me, or any other girl. He's far too honourable to do anything like
that, and I don't think it's unreasonable for him to be angry at the
accusation." Mousse looked uncomfortable.
"I ..." he began.
"And as for you," she continued, turning to Ryouga. "Mousse was
wrong, but he thought he was protecting me. I don't think you should
hold this against him." Her voice dropped a little. "After all, you
know what it's like to act in haste and regret it later, right?" She
saw him wince at the reprimand and knew he was thinking of Akane's close
encounter with several steel girders, courtesy of his Bakusai Tenketsu.
"So how about you two call a truce before this gets out of hand?
Please? We've all had enough grief in our lives recently, haven't we?"
She stepped back and waited. Grudgingly, the two boys looked at each
other.
"Truce?" Mousse asked reluctantly. Ryouga nodded.
"Very well. Truce." It was hardly an enthusiastic apology, but
under the circumstances Ukyou guessed that it was the best she could
hope for.
"Oh, my! Ukyou, aren't you late for school?" Kasumi asked. Ukyou
glanced at her watch and sighed.
"Yeah, I may as well skip going this morning. Who's hungry?" She
walked back behind the counter. She stopped as Ryouga hoisted his pack
onto his shoulders.
"Thank-you for the offer, Ukyou, but I should go." He hefted his
umbrella in his other hand and headed for the door. Ukyou called after
him.
"Ryouga, wait!" He paused by the door.
"I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble," he said softly, not
meeting her eyes. Then he was gone, the door banging shut behind him.
Ukyou thought of running after him, but a twinge from her ankle reminded
her that would be fruitless. She settled for groaning loudly. She'd
wanted to talk with Ryouga privately, but how was she ever going to find
him now?
"I, too, should go," Mousse said softly. "I wanted to see how your
talk went last night, but if you were sitting here drinking sake with
Ryouga, I suppose it must not have gone too well. I'll talk to you
later, Ukyou. Kasumi." With that, Mousse left, pausing inside the door
to pull an umbrella from the sleeve of his robe. Ukyou turned to
Kasumi, her teeth grinding painfully together.
"Men!" she spat.
"Understood," Kasumi said simply, sitting primly on one of the
stools surrounding the serving counter. Ukyou looked at her, suddenly
remembering.
"Oh geez, Kasumi, I'm sorry!" Kasumi blinked.
"For what?"
"I was in such a state when you got here, I forgot to ask you what
you wanted!" Kasumi smiled then, a warm gentle smile that made Ukyou
think of warm kitchens and bedtime stories.
"I came to see how you were doing, actually. Akane asked me to."
"Akane?" Ukyou felt an irrational pang of anger at her name,
followed by confusion.
"Yes. She has told Nabiki and I about how things have changed
between her and Ranma recently." Ukyou looked away. A warm, gentle
hand came down on top of hers where it rested on the counter, and she
looked back, startled. Kasumi was still smiling, but there was
understanding in her eyes as well.
"I have some idea what you and Ranma talked about last night," she
said softly. "Akane said Ranma was worried about you, coming home to an
empty restaurant. She asked if I would make sure you were okay." She
held Ukyou's gaze, her head cocked ever so slightly, concern evident in
every tiny movement she made. "Are you?"
"Am I okay?" Ukyou asked. She thought about it. She'd been so
distracted with everything that had been going on that she hadn't even
had time to think about her problems. That in itself was amazing to
her.
"You know, Kasumi, it's funny. I think I knew I had no chance with
Ran-chan the day he carried Akane home. You were there when we arrived,
you know what I'm talking about, right?" Kasumi nodded.
"I remember the look on his face," she told Ukyou. "It was so
fierce, yet protective."
"Yeah," Ukyou said softly. "That look. Like he'd die if something
happened to her. He's never looked at me that way. Never." Silence
welled up inside Ucchan's for a few moments, as Ukyou gazed moodily at
nothing in particular.
"But then Ranko came, and I thought that my prayers were answered.
So much for that, though. He told me he didn't love me, couldn't love
me. And that hurt. Actually, it hurt more than last night. Last night
was a lost cause before I even got there, I think." She turned to
Kasumi once more, and this time there was some animation in her eyes.
"I never answered your question, though, did I? Am I okay? If you
had asked me last night, I'd have said no."
"And now?"
"Now. You know, I was sitting here feeling pretty sorry for
myself, and in the process I completely ignored someone else's pain. I
guess not being able to have the person you love isn't the end of the
world. Some people actually have worse problems. Kinda puts everything
into a little bit of perspective, if you know what I mean." It was
clear from Kasumi's face that she didn't.
"Are we talking about Ryouga?" she asked. Ukyou fiddled with the
ends of the towel around her neck idly.
"Partly. You know he was in love with Akane?" Kasumi smiled.
"It was hard to miss. Akane was about the only person who didn't
know. Although I didn't realize he was P-chan."
"Eep! Akane *still* doesn't know that, so keep it quiet, okay?"
Kasumi nodded, and Ukyou went on, "Anyway, Ryouga's gotta deal with a
broken heart AND a ton of other things. Mousse comes over here for a
sympathetic ear because the girl he loves barely tolerates him. I think
I'm all cried out over Ran-chan. Things have been kinda miserable
around here since Kodachi died, and I think it'll be good for me to stop
moping and try to help someone else. Am I okay? Not really, but I
think I will be."
"I'm glad to hear that," Kasumi said, and Ukyou realized that the
older girl really *was* glad. She laughed.
"Geez, Kasumi, don't you have enough mothering to do at home?"
"My skills can scarcely be contained by one family," she answered
primly. "I hope you'll remember that, if you need someone to talk to.
All of you are like family, after all, and families should support each
other." Ukyou smiled, feeling cheered by Kasumi's presence.
"You're the best, Kasumi. Hey, how about I make you some
breakfast? You *always* have to cook, someone should cook for you for a
change! I've got a great breakfast okonomiyaki recipe I've been dying
to try! C'mon, the house will survive without you for a little while,
right?" Kasumi hesitated, then nodded.
"Thank-you, Ukyou, that would be nice. Would you like some help?"
Ukyou grinned.
"Hey, I said relax! I'll do all the work!" Reluctantly, Kasumi
settled back onto her stool, and Ukyou hobbled into the back after some
ingredients.
She thought again of Ryouga. She'd seen in his eyes that he was
embarrassed by the things he'd told her the previous night, things he'd
obviously kept to himself for a long time. She was worried that he
would feel too awkward to talk to her, and she didn't want that. She
didn't want him wandering around carrying that burden alone.
But she was beginning to realize that for all the time they'd spent
together, there was a lot that they didn't know about each other. She
would never have guessed that Mousse, of all people, would fight for her
honour.
She wondered what Shampoo would make of that.
She set her ingredients to sizzling on the warm grill, and looked
up at Kasumi.
"Um, Kasumi, can I ask you a kind of personal question?" Kasumi
smiled.
"You may."
"Have you ever been in love with someone that didn't love you?"
Kasumi's omnipresent smile faltered, and Ukyou wondered if she'd gone
too far.
"I'm sorry!" she apologized hastily. "I didn't mean ..."
"It's all right, Ukyou. You just .. Caught me off-guard. Yes, I
had something like that happen to me once. When I was still in school,
barely a teenager. Kid's stuff, really."
"Kid's stuff. I bet you didn't feel that way at the time," Ukyou
said. Kasumi looked at her sombrely.
"No," she said at last. "You're absolutely right. At the time, I
thought my heart would burst when he told me he didn't like me. I
suppose time lets me look back on it as being a mere crush. As if the
word "mere" can ever describe a crush." Ukyou nodded in silent
agreement. Kasumi smiled again, a smaller, older smile this time. "Why
do you ask?" Ukyou fiddled with one of her spatulas, then turned her
attention back to breakfast.
"Ran-ch ... Ranma. He asked me if we could still be friends. Last
night, I mean."
"Ah." Kasumi's voice indicated complete understanding of the
problem, but Ukyou plunged ahead anyway.
"I just ... I feel so stupid, so, I don't know ..." She looked at
Kasumi helplessly. "To be around him now, to be around *both* of them
... after everything that's happened ..."
"You feel hurt, and angry, and even a little betrayed."
"Yes! And more! I'm not even sure what to call some of the things
I feel, but ... would it be weak of me to just accept it quietly and be
his friend? I'm just not sure what to do." Kasumi pulled her hair,
tied near the end in a white ribbon, across her shoulder and began
fussing with it.
"Ukyou, I don't know what to tell you," she said at last. "You
have to make this decision by yourself, of course, but ..."
"But?"
"Ranma values your friendship. The things he told you were not
meant to hurt you, but to set you free. And Akane, she's your friend
too, isn't she? I suppose it's easy for me to say, but it seems a shame
to throw that all away. Why don't you give it some time, see how you
feel? It isn't a decision you have to make right now, is it?"
"I ... guess not. You're right, I should think about this some.
You know, it's funny. Even though it hurts to lose Ranma for good, I'm
starting to think that maybe I was ignoring too much for his sake. I
mean, some of the things I've talked to Mousse and Ryouga about in the
last couple of days! I never would have dreamed of having those
conversations even two weeks ago, because they wouldn't have gotten me
closer to Ranma! And sitting here, talking to you like this. It's
nice."
"Yes, I think so too." They smiled at each other, then Ukyou
deftly slipped two okonomiyaki off the grill and onto waiting plates.
"There you are, Madame. One Ucchan's breakfast special, hot off
the grill."
"Why thank-you, pretty okonomiyaki lady. It looks delicious,"
Kasumi intoned seriously, and they both burst into giggles.
As Ukyou watched Kasumi eat, she began to think that not only would
she survive, she might actually enjoy the experience.
It was a good feeling.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You really think it's something?" Akane asked, peering up at
Ranma. For once, he was walking beside her on the ground, if only to
share her umbrella against the persistent light rain.
"Sure!" he responded, his eyes alive with excitement. Akane
sighed. She hoped he wouldn't be disappointed.
They'd woken up that morning to find Ranma's father gone.
According to Kasumi, he'd left early to go to Auntie Saotome's house.
That was not a standard occurrence, and Ranma was excited by the news.
"This means that those two are finally gonna patch things up for
good!" Ranma told her. Akane swallowed her doubts and smiled
encouragingly up at him.
"That would be great," she said. Ranma nodded.
"Yeah, it's about time, too! I mean, Mom shouldn't have to be
alone all the time, right? She knows our secret now. She and Pop can
work things out finally!" Privately, Akane wondered if it would really
be that easy between two people who'd been separated for over ten years.
She tried to imagine Ranma leaving her for ten years, then suddenly
coming back.
No. Not easy at all.
They walked through the school's main gates, and Akane felt Ranma's
enthusiasm dim somewhat. She knew why instinctively. He would have to
face Ukyou in class, and he wasn't sure how that was going to go. She
watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was so good at hiding his
emotions sometimes. Or at least disguising them as simpler ones.
People expected Ranma to be high-strung, what with all the weird
happenings in his life. Few people would probe deeply enough to
discover what he was really nervous about.
Once, she wouldn't have, either. But now she was beginning to
realize that was a mistake. Ranma wasn't good at expressing complex
emotions, but that didn't mean he didn't have them.
They moved under the cover of the main entrance, Akane shaking off
her umbrella as they entered the school. Ranma frowned and motioned
with his head.
"What's all the commotion?" he asked. Akane saw the crowd by the
shoe lockers and frowned. Then she caught a glimpse of someone through
the crowd, talking to one of the members of the kendo club, and gasped.
"It's Kunou!" They could see more clearly now as several members
of the kendo club were shooing away well-wishers and the curious from
their captain. Akane walked over, a reluctant Ranma following.
"Kunou-sempai!" He turned to her, and she was stricken by how
tired he looked. He gave her a faint smile which vanished when he saw
Ranma.
"Akane Tendou," he said. "Saotome."
"It's so good to have you back," Akane told him. "How are you?"
"I am ... well. Merely tired. I have finished my mourning, and am
prepared to resume my studies."
"I'm glad. Oh, no! We've got to hurry or we'll be late for class!
C'mon, Ranma! See you later, Kunou-sempai!" She waved as they hurried
to their lockers.
"Man, it's weird seeing him like that," Ranma said, looking over
his shoulder at the disappearing kendoist. "I mean, still no poetry, no
"Akane Tendou, I would date with you!" Is this permanent or what?"
"He's been through a lot, Ranma. It's only natural that it might
change him." Ranma changed his shoes and closed his locker door.
"I suppose. Still, did ya notice?"
"Notice what?"
"He was carrying his bokken again. He's ditched the magic sword."
Akane hadn't noticed that, actually.
"Well, good. I think that's a sign that things are starting to get
back to normal around here," she said. "Now let's get to class. Miss
Hinako's supposed to be back today and I don't want to give her an
excuse to get mad."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nabiki hung back under the stairs, watching Kunou walk by. She
hadn't joined the crowds that had greeted him when he'd first arrived;
that wasn't her style. Anyway, there were a few more pieces of the
puzzle she wanted to put together before she had her little talk with
him.
"Um, Nabiki?" She turned around to see a nervous young man
standing behind her.
"Ahh, Shinji. Good. You have it?" He nodded, handing her a
folder full of papers.
"I don't know what you want with all that junk. I mean, none of
this stuff has any relation to the info you asked me for before." Oh,
yes it does, Nabiki thought. You just have to know what you're looking
for.
"Never mind that. As a result of all your efforts, my friend, you
are now completely out of debt. Go forth, and sin no more." He went,
eager to be away. Nabiki hardly noticed.
She had what she wanted.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinako walked quickly down the hallway, rubbing absently at her
temple. She was late. She was tired. And above all, she was beginning
to get a headache, and all of the above were conspiring to make her
irritable. So when she saw two boys wrestling over a magazine in the
hallway, she was quick to take offense.
"You two! Shouldn't you miscreants be in class?" she asked
sharply. The two looked up at the sound of the little girl voice to
find themselves facing down a five yen coin.
"Uh-oh," one of them managed to say before Hinako triggered her
power and began draining chi from the two combatants. Her form swelled,
pushing out as she grew into her mature form, and she gasped, nearly
dropping the coin.
It felt *good*! Absorbing chi usually gave her a feeling like an
adrenaline rush, but this, this was different. The sensation was silky
and pleasurable, almost sexual. She stopped, hardly noticing as the two
boys collapsed bonelessly to the floor, and stared at her hands and the
five yen coin as if she'd never seen either of them before.
"What was that?" she breathed huskily. Her body still buzzed with
the rush of it, and she shook her head, sending ripples through her long
tawny hair. She wasn't sure what had changed, but she *liked* it.
Jauntily, she flipped her coin into the air, snatching it at the apex of
its arc, and turned to address the groaning boys.
"Looks like you two are going to be late for class," she murmured
throatily. "That's what you get for messing with me. Later, boys."
She walked away, her long legs scissoring enticingly as she headed for
her class.
"Soooo hungryyyyyy ..." she crooned under her breath. Then she
frowned. Why had she said that? She wasn't hungry, she'd just had
breakfast. She chewed her lip uncertainly. She'd felt strange ever
since
(that night)
she'd been sick. She still had a touch of whatever it was that had
kept her out of class for the past two days,
(pretty-pretty)
that was all. But she felt fine now. Better than fine, she felt
*wonderful*.
In fact, even her headache was gone.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time school let out, the rain had ended and Ranma was freed
from the necessity of an umbrella. He felt Akane watching him with
amused tolerance as he navigated the edge of the fence with unconscious
ease.
His day had been easier than he'd thought it would be. Ukyou
hadn't shown up to class, so he hadn't had to face her. He wondered how
long that was going to last. He considered going to check up on her,
then immediately abandoned that plan. He was the *last* person she
wanted to see. He'd talk to Kasumi when they got home and find how
things had gone that morning.
As they neared the dojo, Ranma spotted a familiar figure in a white
gi approaching the front gate from the opposite direction. He hopped
down to the road and trotted up to his father, waving cheerfully.
"Hey, Pop! How'd it go?" Ranma's father looked up, a scowl on his
face.
"How'd *what* go, boy?" he asked irritably. Ranma blinked.
"Well, uh ... you went over to the house this morning, right? To
talk to Mom?" His father looked away, an expression on his face that
Ranma couldn't quite identify.
"Oh, that. Yes, your mother's fine, boy. Just fine." Ranma was
started to follow his father, coming up short as he smelled the faint
scent of stale sake. He frowned.
"Hey, have you been drinking?"
"I'm well past the age of majority, Ranma."
"Yeah, but ... I mean, nothing's wrong, is it?" His father walked
off with a curt wave.
"Stop worrying, would you? Everything's fine." Ranma knew his
father pretty well after having spent so much time with him these last
years. He knew the old man was lying. He just didn't know what to do
about it. In any case, it was clear that he wasn't going to tell Ranma
anything. He scowled as his father disappeared into the house.
"Ranma, is everything okay?" Akane asked as she caught up to him.
He heaved a sigh.
"I don't know. Pop's hiding something. And he's been drinking,
which isn't all that unusual, except he usually drinks with your dad,
not alone."
"Did something happen with your mother?"
"He wouldn't say. Ha! Well, if he won't tell me, she might."
Ranma started walking toward the house, and Akane followed. "But I
can't go over there tonight, so it'll have to wait."
"Why, what's happening tonight?" Akane asked. Ranma smiled at her,
but he knew the smile looked forced.
"Tonight, it's Shampoo's turn to find out about us." She fell
silent, and he knew she was worrying again. He didn't think she needed
to worry. Cologne was in no condition to hatch one of her looney
schemes, and as for Shampoo, well, she'd come to see reason.
Eventually. He hoped.
Okay, so maybe she needed to worry a little ...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nothing is ever simple around this place, Nabiki mused. Then
again, simple would be boring.
Ranma and Akane looked tense and wary, but for once she sensed the
source of the tension was actually external. In fact, they seemed to be
getting along fine. She'd made a bet with herself that their next big
fight would involve Akane's cooking. Making a bet with yourself was not
much fun, but Kasumi'd refused to bet with her. The wimp.
Ranma's father had shed his usual bonhomie and bluster, and was
sitting on the veranda, sullen and uncommunicative. Thank heaven for
small favours. Her own father seemed a little bewildered by his
friend's mood, and had retreated to the dojo.
Nabiki checked in with Kasumi and found out about the fight between
Ryouga and Mousse that morning. It surprised her to learn that the
fight had apparently been over Ukyou.
Swell, she thought sourly. Ranma and Akane go off the market, and
the old habits start up with a brand new cast. She felt a sensation not
unlike biting down on tinfoil, and thrust the pang of jealousy away.
This is not my problem, she told herself. I will not waste any time on
the antics of a bunch of sex-crazed martial artists.
I have my own problem to worry about.
She went up to her room and tossed her books onto her bed. After
changing out of her uniform, she sat down at her desk with a sigh. She
unlocked the bottom drawer of the desk and removed a thick folder full
of papers, adding the papers she'd gotten that day to the pile. All her
notes were in her notebook; Shinji's work had shown her how insecure
computers could be. She didn't want some hacker stumbling across what
she'd been piecing together.
She still wasn't sure that she completely believed Kunou's mother.
Her story had been so unreal, after all. But something was certain.
Whatever was behind the strangeness at the Kunou estate, it certainly
was not recent. She'd found references to strange occurrences and
mysterious deaths that were directly or indirectly linked to either the
estate or the Kunou family going back at least a hundred years. The
financial material she'd been able to scrape together about the family
and its holdings was also suspicious if you knew what to look for, both
in what it showed and in what it took pains to hide.
Nabiki had no use for false modesty. She knew that she was good at
piecing things together, at sensing patterns and their significance, not
only in matters financial but also in more mundane events. But if it
hadn't been for what she'd learned from Yukio Kunou, she would never
have found that one loose end that she needed. That thread, once pulled
with sufficient determination, revealed a knot, a tangle that would have
deterred most people.
Nabiki was not most people.
The loose end had been, of course, the death of Kazuhiro Kunou.
His death, whatever the real cause (and Nabiki was not at all certain
she wanted to concede that demons plagued the occupants of the Kunou
estate) had obviously been a blow to the family. They had had the boy
buried in the family plot at a very old cemetery just outside the city
within 48 hours of his death. The family doctor signed the death
certificate.
Only she'd seen the truth. Kazuhiro, Kodachi and who knew how many
others were buried in a private plot on the estate. And a careful
check, a *very* careful check, of the events concerning Kazuhiro's death
and everyone surrounding it had turned up a startling fact.
The Kunou's family doctor at the time had been a very distinguished
and respected man. He had served the family, according to several
available copies of birth and death certificates, for many years. He
would have been the first person they turned to in order to get a death
certificate signed.
Would have been, had he not died himself of natural causes not four
days before Kazuhiro. And yet his signature appeared on Kazuhiro's
death certificate, in the box reserved for the examining physician.
Nabiki was patient and methodical, but even she had almost missed
the suspiciously small obituary in the local paper, apparently placed by
the family. The dates, when compared, showed quite clearly that the
doctor had died *before* Kazuhiro. Perhaps he was a confidant of the
family and their problems, and thus trustworthy. Nabiki certainly
thought that was likely. In the panic and pain of Kazuhiro's death,
they'd chosen to use his name rather than get an actual doctor to
examine the body.
Suspicious? Somewhat. But they hadn't been caught; after all,
there was no reason for anyone to wonder who had signed the death
certificate. This was a powerful and influential family, and any
concerns about the manner of the boy's death were obviously quickly
glossed over.
Power. Influence. When in doubt, follow the money. And so she
did, and as a faint pattern began to resolve out of the sea of
information, her heart began to beat a little quicker.
The family had money, and lots of it. But she couldn't seem to
find out where it had come from. The family owned the estate and its
grounds and had for centuries, but the land was deeded so that it could
not be sold outside the family. They owned plenty of other land, too.
Significant holdings. Land, buildings, factories. Banks. Money,
power, and influence. All of which meant leverage, and a way to get
people to turn a blind eye to strange goings on.
And what about the money? Occasionally, she came across a
newspaper account of a death in or around the estate. A servant, a
worker, even an innocent passer-by. These tended to happen in spurts,
after long periods of inactivity. And again, a pattern. Initial
reports of suspicious or mysterious death would quickly be repudiated in
the next day's papers. Police reports of foul play would change to
routine death by misadventure. Checking up on the families of the
deceased where she could, she discovered a radical increase in spending
habits.
That screamed, to her, of hush money. No doubt in her mind. But
what were they hushing up?
There was more, much more, when you knew what you were looking for.
And when she couldn't access the information herself, she enlisted
people who owed her favours, or money. There were a lot of those about.
She'd been careful, too. This was hot stuff, and she was certain that
if she wasn't careful, someone would notice the direction of her
research. But she'd kept things decentralized, using hackers when it
was necessary to use computers, and public records where she could.
And now she had quite a file on the estate and its inhabitants.
The question was what to do with it.
But of course there was no question at all, not in her mind. She
knew so much, but the central mystery was still obscured. What were
they hiding? And why?
Only one person could give her those answers. And she intended to
confront him.
Soon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranma rapped solidly on the back door of the Nekohanten. The cafe
was still closed, although a sign on the front door stated that they
would reopen within a week. Regardless, the front door was locked, so
he'd made his way around to the back. When the door finally opened,
Mousse stood there. He had trouble disguising his displeasure.
"Ranma," he said flatly.
"Mousse."
"You certainly took your sweet time coming here, didn't you?"
Ranma felt an angry flush creeping up his throat.
"Hey, I'd have thought you'd be happy I wasn't coming around!" he
snapped. Mousse smiled tightly.
"Oh, I was thrilled, but it hurt Shampoo that you stayed away so
long. And I don't like seeing Shampoo hurt. I suppose you're here to
tell her you've chosen Akane. Right?" Ranma gaped at Mousse, seeing
his tiny reflection doubled in the lenses of the other boy's glasses.
"How'd you know that?" he asked, stunned. Mousse favoured him with
that same tight little smile.
"Simple. You told Ukyou last night. I guess it's Shampoo's turn
tonight. I wonder what she'd make of being second on your list?" Ranma
gritted his teeth and fought the urge to punch Mousse's tight little
smile right through the back of his head.
"Whatever. I didn't come here to talk to you, Mousse. I came to
talk to her." Mousse opened his mouth to make a reply, but never got
the chance.
"Mousse, don't keep our guest standing outside. It's rude."
Mousse scowled but stepped aside, letting Ranma enter. He looked down
to see Cologne standing in the kitchen, dressed in a loose robe, looking
at him.
Or facing in his direction. She wasn't actually looking at him.
She wasn't looking at anything, not with those eyes. Ranma suppressed a
shudder at the sight of the featureless black orbs that faced him.
"Well, son-in-law, we've missed you around our humble
establishment. It's been an unnaturally quiet week." Ranma couldn't
hide a guilty flinch as the old woman limped painfully toward him. He'd
never really been conscious before of Cologne's age. She, like
Happousai, had always seemed ageless. Hell, he could rarely even come
close to her in combat.
But now things had changed. It was as if some vital part of her
had died in that fight with the demon lord. Her movements were slow,
cautious, and it was apparent to him that just walking across the floor
hurt her. She had fashioned a new staff, but this one was for leaning
on, not clinging to while bounding merrily through the air. Her hair
seemed dry and brittle, her skin thin as parchment.
She was no longer what she had been. She was just an old woman
with one foot in her grave.
Suddenly, her staff whipped out and cracked him soundly across one
shin. He yelped in pain and jumped back, balancing on one foot while
grabbing the offended shin.
"Ow! Dammit! Why'd you do that, you old ghoul?" She smiled, and
there was a ghost of her old self there, even though her brow was beaded
with sweat form the effort of hitting him.
"What are you thinking, boy? Feeling sorry for the old woman?
Hah! I'll outlive all of you." He scowled, even though she couldn't
see his expression.
"Yeah, you might at that," he grumbled. "Where's Shampoo, anyway?
I wanna talk to her." Cologne smiled.
"Finally came to your senses, eh, Ranma?" He scowled again.
"You could say that. I'm gonna put an end to this fiance mess once
and for all. Shampoo's just gonna have to get herself a new fiance."
Cologne held herself very still, and a palpable sense of anger seemed to
fill the room momentarily.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Hey, it's for her own good, you know! This whole mess has gone on
long enough."
"This is not a good time, son-in-law. Perhaps ..." Ranma steeled
himself against the tone of pleading he heard in Cologne's voice. After
all the times she'd tried to trick him, he wasn't listening to her, no
matter how sincere she sounded.
"I'm done putting this off, and I don't want her to hear it from
somebody else. I ..."
"Aiyaaa! Ranma!" Shampoo bounded into the room, her face lighting
up like the Tokyo skyline as she hurled herself into his arms. "You
come to see Shampoo, yes?" She pulled back slightly and he found
himself gazing into her violet eyes, alive and happy.
He knew they wouldn't look like that when he was finished, and he
hated that knowledge.
"Yeah, Shampoo. I came because I need to talk to you about some
things." Her smile faltered a little at his words. His tone was
uncharacteristically serious, he knew, and she had sensed something was
wrong. He wondered if Mousse had told her why he was coming.
"You is hungry, Ranma? Shampoo make you too-too delicious ...."
"No, I'm not hungry." Now he could tell she was really worried.
It was a rare occasion indeed when he turned down food. "Why don't you
come for a walk with me? I wanna talk to you in private." She was
staring at him now, uncertainty writ large on her beautiful face. Her
usual effervescence was almost completely absent, and Ranma had a sudden
hunch that she'd been like this most of the time since he'd last seen
her.
"We can talk here ..."
"Please, Shampoo." She bit her lower lip, then nodded. He opened
the door and held it for her. She passed through unenthusiastically,
and he followed her the same way.
Damn, he wished this was over.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the sound of the door swinging shut, Cologne slumped against her
staff. Mousse leaned back against the wall, letting his breath out in a
weary sigh.
"Aren't you going to follow them?" Cologne's raspy voice seemed
very loud in the quiet cafe. He shook his head, then realized that she
couldn't see him.
"No," he said softly. "I already know what they have to discuss."
Cologne grew angry at that.
"He'll never be able to turn her down, you know. Not Shampoo!
Never!"
"He turned Ukyou down," Mousse said flatly. "He'll do it. Things
have changed, old woman. After what happened at Furinkan that day,
things can never be the way they were again." His voice dropped to a
whisper. "Never."
"He wouldn't dare try this if I weren't ... incapacitated," she
hissed, moving painfully towards her room. "And if he does reject her
finally, you know what that will mean." Mousse was silent until she had
almost left the room.
"I know she's been worried sick about it, but there is another way
out of this," he said. Cologne froze, not looking back.
"You mean you? That's laughable, Mousse. It will never happen.
You haven't got what it takes. And I would never permit it, not so long
as any life remains in this old shell. Remember that."
Then he was alone with his thoughts.
Believe it or not, old woman, this isn't the way I wanted it, he
thought bleakly.
This isn't the way at all.

End part 2
Revised Sept. 21/97