[Ranma][FanFic] Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Chapter 3: The Amazon Way
Jim Lazar
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Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Chapter 3: The Amazon Way
Ranma 1/2 characters and situations created by Rumiko Takahashi - Used
without permission
Ranma 1/2 Copyright by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan Inc., Kitty, Fuji,
Viz Communications, etc...
Childhood of a Modern Dynasty series created, written, and Copyright
1998 by Jim Lazar
An ongoing series set after the end of the Ranma 1/2 manga and anime.
Any references to 'Birth of a Modern Dynasty' refer to the fictional
book that the fictional author James Davidson wrote detailing the
events that happened in the manga and anime. It is not an actual fanfic
or book. 'Childhood of a Modern Dynasty' is the title of this fanfic
series written by me (Jim Lazar) and the fictional book that James
Davidson is currently writing.
<Speech text in angle brackets are thought by character.>
All other speech is in Japanese, although written in English in this
story of course.
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>From the personal journal of James Davidson:
April 21, 2057
I dragged myself out of bed. I had finally fallen asleep, what,
four hours ago? Oh well, it was worth it. I smiled as I remembered
dinner and the walk through the park with Hanaki the night before,
which had been our third date since I had finally asked her out. Akane
had been right, putting things off till later wasn't as much fun as
doing them now. I smiled and went into the bathroom and washed up.
After having a quick breakfast, I made my way to the Tendo
Compound and rang the bell on the main gate as I normally did. Hanaki
answered the gate as she normally did. I started, as I normally do, to
say, "I'm here to see the mmmppph..." That was all I managed to say
before Hanaki jumped into my arms and gave me a big kiss. Her affection
shocked me. Mind you, I did like the kiss, it just seemed unusual to be
greeted by her like this.
As we pulled apart, she asked, "This'll be our new routine when
you come over, all right?"
"No argument here," I said, smiling. Dinner and the walk in the
park had gone well last night. All of our dates had gone well, but last
night something magical happened as we kissed in the moonlight. Hard to
really explain it, but I've never felt as close to a woman before, not
even my old fiancee. Jen and I had sparks, but there was always
something missing. Until last night, I didn't know what it was.
"My aunt is over in the East building today, baby-sitting the
twins," Hanaki said, as she led me to the East side of the Compound.
"Don't you have staff?" I asked.
"You should know better than that, James. We rely on family, not
hired help."
"Of course, I just thought that you must have some workers to
help."
"Yes of course we do, the Compound is quite large after all, but
not for something as important as raising the children."
"How silly of me."
"Yes, you are," Hanaki said, with a big grin on her face. She
spotted Akane on the porch of the East building, so she called out,
"Auntie, Mr. Davidson is here."
Akane looked up from the infant she was cradling in her arms and
smirked. "Ah, James, good to see you. Looks like Hanaki is taking good
care of you."
"Huh?" was my confused reply.
"Wipe the lipstick off, dear," Akane said, then started cooing to
the infant who had started to feel neglected.
I blushed, then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped my lips. As
Hanaki left, I whispered to her, "You could have told me."
"What and miss the look on your face?" she replied. She shot me a
big grin as she left.
These Tendo women are sometimes a handful. I sat down next to
Akane and pulled my palmcard out, it quickly unfolded itself, and I
opened a new interview file for today.
"Want to hold one of the twins?" Akane asked me.
"I'd love to! Let me switch my palmcard to voice," I replied,
selecting voice mode on my palmcard. After it folded itself up again, I
put it in my shirt pocket. I made sure that it's holo-projector was
sticking out so I could see it's holographic display. I took the
offered infant and cradled him in my arms, marveling at the red hair
that was already evident on his head. A Japanese person with red hair
was unheard of, except in this family of course. A thought occurred to
me just then about Hanaki's long red highlight in her hair; was it just
fashion or was it something to do with all the redheads in the Tendo
family and it's various branches?
Akane picked up the other infant from the bassinet by her side and
cooed to her. "How's my precious little girl?" she said softly to the
baby.
"What are their names?"
"Oh, that's right, you haven't met the newest additions to our
DYNASTY," Akane said, emphasizing the last word.
"You're not still mad at my name for the first book, are you?"
"No, not anymore, but I really don't consider our family a
dynasty, sounds like some cheap soap opera," Akane replied to my
question.
"I hope you won't mind 'Childhood of a Modern Dynasty' then."
"I'll live with it, just don't break Hanaki's heart," Akane said.
"And risk getting you mad at me? Never."
"Smart man. The baby boy you're holding is Ranma and this darling
girl is Ranko," Akane finally informed me of the names. She stroked the
red hair on the girl she was cradling and smiled broadly.
"Ranma and Ranko, huh? Seems appropriate for twins," I said, then
added, "But it sounds like you're playing favorites with Ranko there
already."
Akane visibly flinched. "Well, little Ranko here reminds me of my
first child, what a whirlwind she was," Akane recalled, then stared off
into space for a few moments.
I just waited until she continued, since I had long ago learned to
let her have her moments to reflect inwardly, she'd earned them.
Finally, Akane said, "Okay, to work I think. What have we already
covered?"
I glanced at the holographic display, then I recited, "You and
Ranma finding Ukyo with her broken leg, Ryoga finally spilling the news
that he loved you, your first date with Ranma, your engagement ring,
the big fight on the rooftop with Shampoo, and then of course..." I
trailed off at the end, not wanting to repeat it.
"Shampoo's death, then me and Ranma falling thirty stories to land
in a crumpled mess on the pavement?" Akane finished for me.
"Yes."
"Don't look so glum...any thirty story fall you can walk away
from..." Akane insisted.
"Or live through at least," I finished for her.
"Have I told you this story before?"
"Parts of it."
"Well shush up then and let me tell you the whole story."
"Yes, ma'am."
***********************************************************************
August-September 1998 - Nerima, Japan
Ranma looked down at the fast approaching pavement below and
shouted "No! I won't let our love die like this!" Ranma twisted his
body so that he could look down, but at the same time oriented their
feet towards the ground.
Akane thought that Ranma was trying to get between her and the
ground. Akane yelled, "No, Ranma!"
"Just hang on tight!" Ranma screamed back. Feeling Akane's
unbroken arm tighten around her neck, Ranma held her hands down towards
the pavement below. "Moko Takabisha Rapid Fire!!" Ranma screamed. A
continuous stream of flaming chi balls formed between her hands, shot
downwards, and blasted the pavement and ground below into small chunks
below. <That should soften our landing. Now for the hard part,> he
thought. Ranma looked into Akane's eyes, hating what she was about to
do, but then yelled loudly, "Akane, I really hate you! You're ugly and
a bad cook! You don't even look good in that dress! Flat-chested
tomboy! I'm glad you're going to die tonight, one less fiancee for me
to worry about!!"
Akane's heart shattered. Her battle aura burst into life and she
shot invisible mallets at Ranma from her eyes. She was ready to kill
Ranma at that moment and probably would have if she were able.
As Akane's anger reached it's peak, Ranma twisted her body so that
they began to fall in a spiral. She screamed, "Full Body Hiryu Shoten
Ha!!!" She generated a cool battle aura that quickly intermixed with
Akane's hot battle aura, creating a whirlwind around them. The
whirlwind impacted the ground and rebounded with a Earth shattering
roar. The updraft hit Ranma and Akane, which cushioned and slowed their
fall. <I hope it's enough,> Ranma thought. Just before they hit the
ground, Ranma twisted her body to take the brunt of the impact. Even as
she did so, she knew that she wouldn't take the full force of the
impact, but she hoped it would be enough to save the only woman she had
ever loved.
Akane's anger died as she realized what Ranma had done. She
squeezed her tighter as the gale force winds deafened her. <I love you,
Ranma,> was Akane's last thought before they hit the pavement.
<I love you, Akane,> was Ranma's last thought before they hit the
pavement.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma awoke and tried to sit up. The instant and overwhelming pain
of trying convinced her that she shouldn't try again. She looked around
the room that she was in. A hospital room. Looking to one side, she saw
her mother asleep in a chair. Looking to the other side of the room,
she saw Akane lying in the bed next to her. "Akane!" she cried out and
then winced in pain again.
With slow movements, Ranma carefully looked at Akane. <She looks
okay...and she's breathing regularly,> she thought. Ranma relaxed and
checked her own injuries. Both legs seemed to be broken. Left arm too.
She winced again as she moved too fast, probably a few ribs. Breasts
hurt too. <Breasts? Ah...I'm a girl.> "Well, any thirty story fall you
can walk away from-" Ranma said aloud, then corrected herself as she
remembered her legs, "-or at least live through."
Nodoka awoke at her voice and quickly rushed to her side. "Ranma!
You're awake! Thank goodness!" she said, then hugged her son carefully.
She quickly called out the door for the others.
"How is Akane?" Ranma asked.
"Your fiancee will be fine. She broke an arm, a leg, and fractured
a rib. You took a lot more damage from that fall. She was awake a few
hours ago, but they gave her a sedative to calm her down."
Genma used crutches to hobble into the room followed by the Tendo
family. They carefully hugged and kissed Ranma.
"Thank you, Son. I know that you took a bigger blow protecting my
little Akane," Soun said, as he started to cry.
"I appreciate the thought, but I really don't need any patients to
practice on yet, Ranma," Kasumi said, sweetly.
Ranma just grinned at his future sister-in-law. Suddenly his face
went blank. "Shampoo!!!!!"
"Is she the one who attacked you two?" Genma asked.
"Yes. Where is she?"
A worried look crossed Nabiki's face for a few seconds, before she
managed to wipe it from her face and regain her usual composure.
"She wasn't there as far as I know. The people who found you only
reported you and Akane," Nodoka explained.
"She probably didn't fall," Soun offered.
"No, she must have fallen before us...damn! The water!!! She would
have been a cat when she fell!" Ranma realized.
Everyone looked concerned. Nodoka, as usual, took charge. "Soun,
you and Nabiki go look for her. Don't forget to check the Cat Cafe,"
Nodoka commanded.
Soun nodded his agreement, then raced out with his middle
daughter. Nabiki seemed reluctant to go, but followed her father
anyway.
-C- -M- -D-
Later in the day, Akane awoke from a nightmare. Unfortunately, the
nightmare was real in this case. "Shampoo!!!! No!!!!" Akane screamed,
then sat upright.
"Calm down, Akane!"
Akane looked for the source of the voice and when she saw Ranma
she relaxed. She cried out, "Ranma! Thank goodness, you're awake. I
was so worried, you looked so bad before." Tears started to flow from
her eyes.
"I've been worse...don't remember when...but it looks like we'll
both be okay," Ranma said. "I love you."
"Me too. Thank you, I know you took the full force of the impact
for me," Akane said.
"I'll always protect you. Um...I'm sorry I said what I did when we
were falling from the building. I didn't mean any of it."
"I realize that now, getting me mad enough to kill you to save our
lives with a 'Hiryu Shoten Ha' was a good idea, a risky idea because I
could have killed you myself, but a good idea nonetheless,"
"And you looked great in that dress, by the way. I hope it's in
one piece."
"I doubt it. It was already pretty well ruined by the time we
fell."
Soun and Nabiki came into the room followed by the others. "I'm
sorry, Son. There was no sign of Shampoo as a girl or as a cat. We did
find her dress in the gutter, but no sign of blood or her b-" Soun
reported sadly, then paused. He skipped any mention of a body and
finished, "Mousse and Cologne haven't seen her either, but are out
looking for her themselves right now."
Nabiki started to shake.
"Damn, I should have been able to grab her," Akane muttered.
"Akane, by the look of the deep scratches on your hand you did all
you could," Nodoka reassured Akane and massaged the bandaged hand.
"No...well I did, but in the end she let go of me...to keep me
from slipping out of Ranma's legs...I think," Akane said sadly, then
added, "In the end she was a true friend."
"I hope she's okay," Ranma said, knowing the opposite was probably
true.
"Even after what she did to you two?" Nabiki said, trying to
control her voice.
"Yes. Deep down she's a good person, but the old ghoul had warped
her mind," Ranma explained.
"You're a good man, Ranma," Nodoka said and kissed Ranma on her
forehead. No one bothered to mention that Ranma wasn't a man at the
moment.
"Um...can I talk to Ranma and Akane alone for a bit?" Nabiki
asked.
Everyone looked at Nabiki, then noticed her troubled look and that
her body was shaking. "Nabiki? What's wrong?" Kasumi asked and put a
hand on her shoulder.
"I'll explain it later to you all, but...please...I have to talk
to Ranma and Akane first," Nabiki informed them, then added again,
"Please?"
"Of course, dear," Nodoka said and herded the rest of the people
out.
Nabiki stood in front of Akane and Ranma's beds shaking slightly.
"What is it, Nabiki? You can tell us," Akane asked, gently.
Not looking up from the floor, Nabiki began, "I never imagined
either of you could be hurt this bad, you both..." She stopped
suddenly, then collapsed to her knees.
"Nabiki!" Akane yelled, then painfully rose and slipped down to
the floor. Biting back the pain, she pulled Nabiki into her arms. "What
is it?" Akane asked again.
Ranma looked on concerned, but the extent of her injuries made it
impossible for her to join the two sisters on the floor.
"You both have always come through your fights with hardly a
scratch," Nabiki began again, between sobs. "And for someone to
actually die in one of your fights...it just doesn't seem right."
"Shhhhh....don't worry, Nabiki," Akane comforted. "Everything will
be all right. Our bones may be broken, but not our spirits."
"No!" Nabiki screamed, then continued in a softer voice, "That's
not what I mean...I...I told...no...I sold Shampoo the information
about where you were last night! I...thought she was Kuno...but it must
have been Shampoo in disguise." She collapsed into tears. <I should
have known that that figure wasn't Kuno. How could I have been that
stupid?> Nabiki thought, as she cried into her sister's arms.
"Nabiki??" Akane said, in disbelief.
Ranma stared down at Nabiki, shaking her head. "Sold...you sold
out your own sister?!" Ranma yelled, mad enough to hit Nabiki. Since
she was unable to move off the bed, no one will know if she would have.
"I've done it before. The fights always seemed to be more like
sparring, so I didn't think it was wrong. I certainly never expected
anyone to die!" Nabiki said, between sobs.
"No...Nabiki...don't blame yourself. It's my fault for going up on
that rooftop in the first place. I wanted to use the water tower to
transform Shampoo, but things went horribly wrong." Akane explained,
shaking her head.
"No, Akane, that was a sound tactic. I should have ended the fight
sooner. Or better yet, gotten Shampoo off my case a long time ago, it's
my fault," Ranma said, and clenched his teeth. <I let things go on too
long...why didn't I get the others off my back sooner?> Ranma asked
himself, then answered his own question, <Because my stupid male ego
liked all the attention from the girls, that's why.>
"Damn it you two! It's my fault! I almost got you both killed! And
I DID get Shampoo killed!" Nabiki screamed. "All for some pocket
change...what kind of monster am I?"
Trying to calm Nabiki down, Akane said, "You're not a monster,
Nabiki. The monster is chance. Each of us did some things last night
that caused a tragedy." She shook the image of Shampoo, not the cat,
falling to her death out of her head.
Ranma looked at Akane and Nabiki. He realized they wouldn't let
him take the blame for the accident, so he changed tactics. Continuing
with Akane's train of thought, he dug deep down into himself and said
what he thought would help all of them get through this tragedy.
"Nabiki, when I got cursed I kept saying 'What if'," Ranma said, then
rattled off some examples, "What if I never went to China; what if I
blocked the blow that sent me into the 'Spring of drowned girl'; what
if I landed in a different spring; what if-"
"Get to the point!" Nabiki insisted, momentarily regaining her
usual tone of voice.
"What I mean is you could spend an eternity playing 'what if'
games with your life. We all screwed up last night, INCLUDING Shampoo
by the way, and we all share some blame," Ranma insisted. "None of us
forced Shampoo to attack us. In the end, it was her choice to let go of
Akane instead of causing Akane to fall as well. She died honorably-"
Ranma paused. <She died,> reverberated in Ranma's head. She shook her
head to clear it, then continued, "-and I will not let us cheapen her
death by thinking any one thing caused her death. She was my friend."
Despite herself, a tear ran from Ranma's eye.
"Ranma...when did you get so eloquent," Nabiki said. She wiped her
eyes and looked up at Ranma's bed.
Truth be told, Ranma was as surprised as the others at his words.
"I don't know...it won't last," Ranma said, trying to lighten the mood.
It worked. Nabiki and Akane fought back a smile.
"Shampoo's not dead. She has to be okay. Otherwise who will I have
to keep away from Ranma?" Akane said, with more hope than she felt
inside.
Nabiki wisely decided to not recite the current list, instead she
helped Akane back to her bed. Kissing her little sister on the cheek,
she did the same for Ranma.
-C- -M- -D-
A white duck spent that night flying low over the area where the
fight occurred. Tears poured from his eyes.
-C- -M- -D-
The next day Nabiki, Kasumi, and Nodoka arrived early at the
hospital to check up on Ranma and Akane. They were a little surprised
to find that Akane had managed to crawl into Ranma's bed and curl up on
Ranma's uninjured arm. It must have been painful for both of them.
Physically, that is. Emotionally it must have been very comforting for
them.
"Ah, young love," Nodoka exhaled, as she looked down at her son
and future daughter-in-law. They've had a rough time the past two days,
especially considering what Nabiki told the family last night. Soun was
not pleased at his middle daughter and spent most of the night chewing
her out. He spent the rest of it crying his eyes out.
Nabiki, of course, couldn't pass an opportunity like this up. In
her best Kuno imitation, she yelled, "Akane and my pig-tailed goddess!
Thou have been too long from my manly presence and have resorted to
unnatural love! I shall join thee!!!"
Almost two years of this had caused Ranma to react instinctively
to bad poetry. She awoke suddenly, freed her good arm from Akane's
embrace, and held it towards the source of the aforementioned bad
poetry. "Moko Takabisha!!" she screamed, after focusing chi into her
hand. Nabiki and the others ducked out of the way fast, as a flaming
ball of chi shot out at them.
"Careful with that thing!" Nabiki shouted.
"Sorry, could have sworn I heard Kuno's voice," Ranma muttered, as
she looked around. Akane had somehow slept through this all, so Ranma
put her good arm around Akane again.
Kasumi was looking at the series of large holes made in the
hospital walls from the chi blast. "Oh my," Kasumi gasped.
A nurse walked by and noticed the series of holes in the walls,
then said, "How'd those holes get there?" Everyone in the room just
shrugged, innocently. "Something similar happened to my cousin who
works at an hospital up in Numata. Weird."
By some quirk of fate or by an incredible show of marksmanship on
Ranma's part, the chi blast bored through several hospital walls, shot
across the Nerima skyline, and blasted through the wall of the Kuno
mansion.
When the chi blast hit, Tatewaki Kuno was minding his own
business, which at that moment meant he was drooling over his new
statue. The statue showed him standing proudly with his bokken held
high. Akane and his pig-tailed goddess, both naked of course, were
kneeling at his sides and looking lovingly up at him. Ranma's
decapitated head was skewered on the end of the bokken. The chi blast
disintegrated the statue and sent Kuno crashing through the opposite
wall of his mansion and into the pond belonging to Kodachi's pet
alligator. Kuno was just fortunate that a one-handed Moko Takabisha
wasn't as powerful as a two-handed one, or his recently re-grown hair
might have been burned off like it had at the beginning of the school
year.
-C- -M- -D-
Later that day another chi blast rang out in Ranma and Akane's
hospital room. This time there was no question as to it's target or
accuracy.
Kuno, who had been admitted to the hospital for various injuries
due to the morning's 'accident', found that his pig-tailed goddess and
Akane were both within reach and unable to run from his manly presence.
When Kuno jumped towards his pig-tailed goddess, Ranma cringed
backwards. Akane intercepted Kuno with a well-timed kick using her good
leg. Kuno went smashing through the wall to the next hospital room. The
woman in that room, who was receiving a sponge bath at the time, was
not pleased. She kicked him back to Ranma and Akane's room where his
head impacted against a bedpan which was held up by Ranma. Both Ranma
and Akane punched Kuno hard with their good arms. He was still wearing
the bedpan on his head when he crashed through the window.
Ranma focused his chi into his good arm and then yelled, "Moko
Takabisha!" and the aforementioned chi blast hit Kuno in mid-air. A
single handed Moko Takabisha didn't carry the wallop as a two handed
one, but it would be enough to get Kuno away from them. Kuno ended up
in the alligator pit at the Nerima zoo.
Ranma fell back to his pillow, exhausted by all the Moko Takabisha
blasts he'd had to do in the past couple of days.
Kuno was fortunate that morning to only get a few bruises and a
concussion. The flight through the window and into the alligator pit
did more damage. MUCH more damage.
Later, Ranma and Akane watched them wheel a still-smoking Kuno
past the door of their new room, one without a Kuno-shaped hole in the
wall. "Make sure to keep him away from us this time!" Ranma yelled.
"Looks like another broken leg...an arm too," Akane stated from
her bed.
"That makes Pop, Ryoga, Ukyo, you, me, and now Kuno. Looks like
Nerima is having a rash of broken bones lately," Ranma pointed out,
then closed his eyes. The two blasts today had worn his already
depleted energy down to almost nothing.
Akane smiled, but it turned to a frown as she thought of Shampoo.
-C- -M- -D-
Ukyo got up early every morning and mixed up a large quantity of
batter and, despite Ryoga and Konatsu's protests, prepared the
restaurant for business. Many times, Konatsu had to physically pick her
up and carry her struggling back to the bedroom to rest. She was trying
to do everything that she normally did, despite her broken leg.
Ukyo and Ryoga spent a lot of time staring at the ceiling and just
talking to each other. Ukyo was amazed at all the places Ryoga had
been. Ryoga was amazed that Ukyo swore revenge on Ranma for just
running out on her as a child. "As opposed to you swearing revenge on
him for getting the last piece of bread all the time?" Ukyo retorted.
Somehow, Konatsu managed to turn a good profit by himself,
actually a little more than normal.
Ukyo was always worried that he might burn down the restaurant and
had called the fire department several times already. On his last
visit, the fire chief had ripped the telephone out of her bedroom.
Ryoga was worried that the cold water pail Konatsu brought in to
wash Ukyo would spill on him. It did. After a trip to have his cast's
replaced Ryoga settled into bed again.
"Have fun, Pig-boy?" Ukyo asked.
The only retort Ryoga could think up was, "Shut up you
cross-dresser!"
Never one to resist a challenge Ukyo got up from the futon and
rummaged through her dresser. After coming back from the bathroom, she
slid into bed with Ryoga. "Still think I'm a cross-dresser?" Ukyo
asked, seductively.
Ryoga tried in vain to ignore the short see-through teddie Ukyo
wore over her lace bra and panties. Or the very flattering make-up she
had applied. Or the sweet perfume she wore. He passed out after failing
to ignore any of it.
Ukyo smiled. <This could get fun,> she thought.
When Ryoga awoke he looked around. "Ukyo?" he inquired.
"Yes, Ryoko?"
"Ryoko?"
"What is it, Sister?"
"Sister?" Ryoga asked, then looked down at his body and screamed.
"What did you do to me!!! Where did you get 'Spring of drowned girl'
water from!!!! Arghhhh...My life is over!!!"
Ukyo looked at her handy-work. Ryoga was now dressed in the teddie
she had worn before, with a stuffed bra added (Ukyo stuffed the bra
naturally when she wore it). He had a very professional make-up job
applied to his face, and his finger and toenails were painted yellow
and black. A long brown wig, which Ranma had left here after one of his
many impersonations, topped the ensemble.
"I wonder how much Nabiki can sell the pictures for?" Ukyo
wondered aloud.
"Ukyo!! How could you do this to me?"
"Relax, Pig-girl. It's just makeup and clothing. You're still just
a boy who turns into a pig every now and then.
Ryoga tried to think of a way to get back at Ukyo. He thought so
hard that he forgot to change before going to bed. Fortunately, Konatsu
caught him before he managed to hobble out of Nerima overnight while
trying to find the bathroom. Unfortunately, he was the lead story on
the eleven o'clock news that night, since he hobbled right through the
studio still dressed in the teddie.
-C- -M- -D-
A few days later, Akane was discharged against her will. Ranma
would have another two weeks or so before she could go home. Akane
visited Ranma every day and they both enjoyed her visits, mostly since
they spent a good deal of time making out during them. Ranma was really
getting sick of being a girl, since she couldn't transform with the
small casts they had put on 'her' when she arrived at the hospital.
A couple of days after Akane was discharged, Ranma was fighting
for her life. Ranma dodged the blade that had been aimed at her head.
As the blades swung at her, Ranma used her speed to pivot out of the
way and her casts to deflect them. "Stop it already! Shampoo may not
even be dead!" Ranma yelled.
"That does not matter! Ranma Saotome, for taking Shampoo from me,
I shall kill you!" Mousse cried out. He had already chained Ranma to
the bed, not that Ranma could move much anyway. Mousse retracted his
arm blades and then pulled out a handful of sharp throwing knives and
aimed them towards the squirming girl in the hospital bed.
In an amazing display that any contortionist would die to be able
to do, Ranma avoided all the knives. Several of the knives ended up
between Ranma's teeth, some imbedded themselves in her thick casts, and
the rest landed around her contorted body. One knife hit between her
legs in a place that would have been very painful if Ranma was a man at
that moment. For once, Ranma thanked her curse instead of cursing it.
"Stop squirming and let me kill you!" Mousse pleaded. He pulled
out a series of weapons and tossed them at Ranma. They included: a
mace, a hatchet, an ice pick, a training potty, a mallet, a nuclear
bomb (disarmed), a piano, an aardvark, and a ten metric ton lead
weight.
Ranma managed to avoid or deflect them all, but she was wearing
out fast.
Mousse had just pulled out a 1998 Toyota Corolla and was preparing
to smash Ranma with it, when Akane hobbled into the hospital room on
her crutches.
Akane gasped as she saw what was happening and shouted, "Mousse!
Stop!!"
"Never! He killed my sweet Shampoo!" Mousse said, holding the car
above his head. Tears trickled down his cheeks.
"I killed her!" Akane shouted.
"No need to cover for this murderer, Akane Tendo!"
"I'm not! I was fighting her, I picked the roof with the water
tank, I delivered the blow that sent her over the edge, and I couldn't
grab her when she let go of my hand!! It's all my fault!!" Akane
explained fast.
Mousse gasped. "Is this true?" Mousse asked, his anger fading
somewhat.
"Yes, it's my fault. Ranma didn't fight her that night!"
"No...did SHE let go of your hand?" Mousse asked.
"Huh? Um...yes. She was a cat at the time and retracted her
claws," a confused Akane explained.
Mousse relaxed. Unfortunately, he forgot about the car he was
holding above his head and it crashed down on top of him.
"Sham...pooo..." Mousse cried weakly from under the car.
-C- -M- -D-
Akane had dug Ranma out of all the weapons and assorted junk piled
on her bed. Then she extricated Mousse from under the car. She sat on
the other bed and held Mousse's hand in hers. "Mousse, we're sorry
about Shampoo and we hope she's out there somewhere," Akane said
softly.
"Yes, we didn't want that fight to happen. Let alone end like it
did," Ranma insisted.
"Akane, did Shampoo really let go?"
"Yes," Akane said.
"The Amazon Way," Mousse muttered.
"Huh?" Akane and Ranma asked in unison.
"The Amazon Way," Mousse said, bitterly. "It's a set of laws that
the Elders proclaim or that have been handed down from the founders of
the Amazon tribe. The law that forced Shampoo to have to kill and then
marry you, Ranma, was one of those laws."
"Oh."
"I'm sorry that I attacked you, Ranma. You and Akane were not at
fault. The traditions of the Amazons were," Mousse explained.
"What do you mean?" Akane asked.
"A defeated Amazon warrior doesn't hold a grudge against her last
enemy. In fact, the custom of sacrificing one's self to save a warrior
good enough to defeat an Amazon warrior in mortal combat goes way back
to the founders of the Amazon Way. It is the ultimate honor an Amazon
can bestow on an outsider," Mousse explained.
"Mousse, that sounds just like the kiss of death law that got me
hunted down and then engaged," Ranma commented.
"They are similar, but the difference was that you just defeated
Shampoo in a tournament, not in mortal combat like Akane did. The
Amazons treat tournaments and non-lethal battles different from mortal
combat," Mousse explained.
"But it wasn't mortal combat! I never intended to kill her!" Akane
insisted.
"That doesn't matter, at that point she knew she wouldn't live,"
Mousse said, looking off into infinity.
"I still don't get it. It doesn't make sense," Ranma said.
"The Amazon Way doesn't always make sense. Even to Amazons,"
Mousse admitted. "After four thousand some years the original meaning
of our traditions have probably been lost."
Akane asked, "Mousse, when she realized that she had lost the
fight she suddenly said 'No need to save *ME* now' and '*I* must meet
my death honorably'. This surprised me. Do you know why she suddenly
stopped referring to herself the way she normally does?"
Mousse thought for a few moments, then explained, "It is hard to
explain to non-Amazons, but up until then Shampoo could not honorably
call herself 'I' or 'ME' because she had failed to carry out Amazon law
and either kill or marry Ranma. Knowing that she had been defeated in
mortal combat, her honor was assured in the eyes of the Amazon tribe."
He paused and started to cry again, then added, "Even if was the honor
of a fallen warrior. It's all part of the Amazon Way."
After she had thought about Mousse's words for a few moments,
Akane asked, "Shampoo was honoring me and herself at the same time with
her sacrifice?"
"Yes. Yet again, Amazon tradition has cost me the woman I love,"
Mousse said, breaking down crying.
"I'm sorry, Mousse."
Then a nurse walked in and gaped at the mess. "Um...we have
parking spaces in front," she said.
-C- -M- -D-
A few days later, Akane arrived at the hospital again and gave
Ranma her usual kiss hello. "You're right. She is cute," a female voice
said.
Akane looked over and saw the other girl in the room. "Oh...hi.
I'm Akane," Akane said, with just a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"I know, Ranma told me all about you. I'm Rezuko," the new girl
said, smiling. Even without makeup on, she was very beautiful. Her soft
face was framed by long black hair, with a silver highlight on one
side.
"Well don't worry, I only beat HIM up," Akane said.
"Him?" Rezuko asked, perplexed.
"Err...I meant HER."
"So...how are you doing, Ranma?" Akane asked and glanced at Rezuko
again.
"Pretty good, they say I should be able to leave in a week. Dr.
Tofu is going to 'help' them put my walking casts on," Ranma explained,
with a wink.
Understanding that Ranma will be able to become male then, Akane
nodded.
"Your fiancee has sure done a lot of interesting things," Rezuko
said.
"Yes, we have had some unusual adventures. You two must have
talked a lot," Akane said, not being able to hide the glare she gave
Rezuko.
"Don't worry, Akane, I'm not a lesbian. She's all yours," Rezuko
assured Akane.
"Oh, I wasn't worried," Akane replied, mentally flinching at the
'lesbian' comment. She had always tired to avoid thinking in those
terms when it came to Ranma. <He's a guy, despite his body occasionally
being female.>
Ranma pulled her down for another kiss. After the kiss, she
whispers to Akane, "Don't worry I only have eyes for you, my love."
"I know, but why does she have to be so cute?" Akane whispered
back.
"Is she? I didn't notice, not even during her sponge bath," Ranma
replied, with a grin. Akane punched him softly in the stomach. Ranma
gasped, then muttered, "Guess I deserved that one."
"Sorry about that...I'll have to just keep a tally of all punches
you earn and give them to you after you get better," Akane said.
"Un-cute tomboy."
"Cross-dressing pervert."
The two girls kissed.
<They really have to work on their pet names,> Rezuko thought.
-C- -M- -D-
A little over three weeks after the rooftop fight, Ranma was
released. The doctors were amazed that her critical injuries had healed
so fast. Dr. Tofu helped put on Ranma's walking casts, having to argue
every time one of the hospital's staff said it was too big or asked
about the cardboard expanders.
Ranma let Soun carry him, reluctantly, from the taxi into the
Tendo house. Ranma would be relying on many people until the casts came
off; crutches were useless when you had two broken legs and a broken
arm. She stopped Soun just outside the gate when she caught sight of a
poster on the wall. Under the words: 'Have you seen this woman or this
cat?' was a picture of Shampoo and of Shampoo as a cat. Under the
pictures, another line of text read: 'Both answer to the name of
Shampoo. Both may be dangerous. Please report any sightings to the Cat
Cafe in Nerima'. It listed the address and phone number of the Cat Cafe
as well.
"Any word yet?" Ranma asked.
"No, not yet," Soun answered, sadly.
Soun carried Ranma into Happosai's old room and set him down on a
futon then left. Until recently, Nodoka and Genma had been using this
room, but they had already moved up to Ranma's room on the second floor
to make room for the injured. Stairs were not going to be very
convenient in Ranma's current condition.
Ranma looked around what would be her room for the next few
months. "Well, pretty much the same as the room upstairs I guess."
"It's a little bigger actually and I think the view of the garden
is nicer," Kasumi said, as she brought in some of Ranma's clothes and
other personal items.
"I guess, but I liked to be able to slip onto the roof from my old
room," Ranma explained.
"I doubt you'll be spending much time on the roof for a while,
Ranma," Kasumi remarked.
"True. Thanks for bringing down all my stuff, Kasumi. I hope I'm
not too much of bother for you all until I move back upstairs."
"It's my pleasure, Ranma, but you'll probably stay down here
permanently. Father said you might as well stay in this room, since you
and Akane will probably use it once you get married," Kasumi explained.
Ranma gulped, then asked, "Why?"
"You can have more privacy down here at night," Kasumi said. She
didn't wink, as anyone else would have, but the wink was felt by Ranma
anyway.
"I guess," Ranma replied, blushing.
Kasumi left the room, passing Akane who was carrying a hot kettle.
"Here you go," Akane said, and handed Ranma the kettle.
"Thanks, I've been waiting three weeks for this," Ranma said, and
poured the water over her head. His body grew and filled out the
special casts. "Ahhhh...that feels good."
Akane set down her crutches, sat down next to Ranma, and gave him
a long kiss. "Missed my man," Akane said.
"I thought you said it wasn't any different when you kissed me as
a girl or a boy?" Ranma asked.
"It isn't...but in my mind you're a boy. Sometimes hard to
remember that I'm kissing the same person," Akane reflected.
"Cheating on me with myself?" Ranma joked.
"Sometimes it feels like that, but I know you're the same person
that I fell in love with," Akane said. Then awkwardly she asked, "Do
you think I'm a lesbian, Ranma?"
Ranma looked shocked. "No, of course not! If this is about what
Rezuko said when you visited, forget about it. She just saw two girls
together. She didn't know about the curse; I didn't tell her EVERYTHING
about our adventures," he insisted.
"Yeah, but I am a bit of a tomboy and I've always said that I
hated boys," Akane said.
"You're athletic, that's all. Tomboys usually don't wear as many
dresses as you do AND look as good as you do in them, by the way,"
Ranma insisted.
"But you've always called me a tomboy."
"Well, you're not. I just started calling you that before I got to
know you and never seemed to be able to stop."
"Thank you, Ranma," Akane said. They kissed and held each other
close.
-C- -M- -D-
At dinner that night, the whole family was together for the first
time in nearly a month. Ranma had insisted on coming out instead of
being fed in his room. The mood was very happy and cheerful to welcome
Ranma back. Unfortunately, one item stopped the party mood dead in it's
tracks, but it had to be mentioned.
"Cologne and Mousse came over earlier. They haven't found any sign
of Shampoo. They have decided to have a wake in a few days at the Cat
Cafe," Nodoka informed them all.
Everyone went silent. "No! She has to be alive!" Akane insisted.
"I hope so, Akane. They do too, but they felt it was time to move
on."
Everyone broke up after they talked sadly about the 'lost
fiancee'. Genma helped Ranma back to his room and set him down on the
futon. Kasumi came in, pulled out another futon, and laid it out a few
feet away from Ranma's futon.
"What are you doing, Kasumi?" Ranma asked.
"Laying out a futon for Akane, of course," Kasumi explained.
"Akane? I know you said we'd use this room when we got married,
but I don't remember a ceremony. Well, at least one that was
completed..."
"Well, she's been staying down here since she came home. She's in
the same boat as you, she can't get up the stairs easily either."
"Oh. Well, I guess it's okay," Ranma said, reluctantly.
"Wouldn't want to inconvenience you," Akane snapped, from the
door.
"I didn't mean that!" Ranma replied.
Kasumi made her exit, closing the door behind her, as Akane
settled down on her futon.
"I know, Ranma. I just wanted to keep up appearances. This will be
just like up in the mountains," Akane said.
"Oh," Ranma said, then smiled, "But there's no waterfall." He
winked then leaned in for a kiss.
They both jumped apart when the door slid open again. Kasumi
brought in a paper screen and a glass of water. The screen went between
the two futons and the water went on Ranma's head.
"Whatcha do that for!" Ranma screamed and shook her head dry.
"Well, can't have you staying together as man and woman until
you're married, can we?"
"Like I'd do anything with an un-cute tomboy like her!" Ranma
insisted. Akane grew mad and her battle aura sprang to life casting an
eerie glowing shadow on the screen.
"Now don't hurt each other any more than you already are," Kasumi
said, then exited and closed the door.
"Appearances," Ranma said quickly, after Kasumi left.
Akane blinked, then said, "Oh...right. This may be harder than I
thought." Her battle aura faded. Then she grinned, hobbled up off her
futon, pulled the screen away, moved her futon next to Ranma's, and
then lay back down.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting comfortable," Akane replied to Ranma's question. She
snuggled up by Ranma's side, causing Ranma to smile.
-C- -M- -D-
Happosai sat in his cell, tired and weak. Actually, it was more
like a one hundred-meter thick coffin. Food was passed in through holes
only ten centimeters in diameter. Wastes went out similar holes. He had
seen no women, no bras, no panties, no pictures, and no visitors for
almost six months since he had been caught. He still wondered who had
told the police how to catch him. The 'Keep all the bras and panties
you can catch' game at the festival was impossible to resist. Who would
have thought that the game's floor would have dumped him into this
cell.
Happosai just got a text version of the newspaper. He usually used
it to make paper airplanes, paper bras, paper panties, and of course,
paper breasts for him to put the paper bras on and then glomp. He
decided long ago that it wasn't the same as the real thing, but he
still did it anyway.
Happosai sighed, fondled the paper breasts he made today. They
were modeled after Ukyo's. Yesterday they were Akane's. Happosai had a
lot of time on his hands, not to mention a lot of paper cuts.
Finally, he decided to read the paper. He unfolded the breasts and
wiped away a tear that appeared when he had to destroy the perfect set.
He read the wedding announcements first, trying to see if Ranma and
Akane were going to get married again. Nope, not yet. He read an
interesting article on stock options by Nabiki Tendo. <Such a smart
girl, nice chest on her too.> He glanced at the obituaries and gasped.
"Oh no...not sweet Shampoo!" Happosai cried out suddenly.
He paced around his cell for several hours and ranted. "Oh, to
never again enjoy the sweet bosom of sweet Shampoo! What a tragedy!"
Happosai cried. He suddenly got a determined look on his face and
started collecting all the paper he had. Within a minute, he had a very
detailed paper Shampoo made and started to cry. "Oh, that a beauty such
as you should be cut short," he said, then proceeded to glomp the paper
Shampoo. He started to glow with the power of a true pervert. He had
tried to recharge many times since being confined in this cell six
months ago, but until now, it never worked. Maybe it was the pain of
Shampoo's death or maybe he just didn't have anything better to do
until now.
Whichever it was, Happosai stood up and then concentrated for
several moments. He shrank to less than ten centimeters in height, then
jumped down one of the waste pipes and made his escape.
-C- -M- -D-
The day of the wake, the entire Tendo and Saotome families showed
up at the Cat Cafe. Ranma wore an odd collection of oversized clothing
that he had managed to fit over his casts. The rest wore their Sunday
best.
Mousse thanked them for coming and showed them to the front of the
rearranged cafe. Ranma sat in his wheelchair. He didn't like to have to
use it, but he didn't want to be carried everywhere either. He held
Akane's hand tightly.
In front of the room, a lovely picture of Shampoo was displayed on
a table. On the table a broach, a single scuffed up bon-bori, what
looked like a toy mouse, a heart shaped locket, and the dress that she
was wearing the night she fell from the roof. Incense sticks and
burners surrounded the picture, as well as being spread around the
cafe.
Akane looked sadly at the bon-bori, suppressing the pain seeing it
caused her.
Others arrived; Ryoga, Ukyo, and Konatsu sat behind Ranma and
Akane; several Amazon representatives and family members came; Dr.
Tofu; assorted customers; and a few students from Furinkan High.
Eventually, Cologne came out from the kitchen and walked slowly to
the front. She seemed to show her age for the first time since Ranma
had met her.
She looked around at the assembled family and friends, pausing
briefly at Ranma and Akane. "You all know what happened. My
great-granddaughter has been missing for the past month. We still hope
she will turn up, but are forced to go on with our lives. She will be
missed by family, friends, and the entire Amazon tribe," Cologne said,
maintaining an air of dignity that her status as an Elder of the Amazon
tribe demanded.
For the next several minutes Cologne spoke in Mandarin,
occasionally the assembled Amazons all chanted a phrase. Ranma only
caught a few of the words; 'honor' being one of the most frequently
used. When Cologne finished, each of the Amazons shouted out 'honor' in
Mandarin.
Cologne then continued in Japanese, "She met her end with honor.
Fighting for the man she loved and the traditions of the Amazons, we
will always praise her spirit as a great warrior." She paused. Then
continued again, "She was my-"
Cologne went silent and slumped. Everyone looked nervously at her.
Mousse began to approach her, but she waved him off.
Cologne regained her composure, and resumed, "I see now that my
pride pushed her too far. I ignored the fact that Ranma was not brought
up an Amazon, but a fine Amazon he would have made. I was so desperate
to bring his god-like skill as a warrior-" Ranma blushed under the
unaccustomed praise from Cologne. She continued, "-into my family and
the Amazon tribe that I let my last descendent die." She caught her
breath. "Her honorable end showed me the shame of my life. As my last
order as an Elder of the Amazons-"
Gasps were heard throughout the room, mostly from the Amazons
gathered, but from assorted Nerima residents as well. The Amazons knew
that the last order of an Elder had to be obeyed at all costs. Thus was
the Amazon Way.
Cologne ignored the reaction and finished, "-I declare the Tendo
and Saotome families honored members of the Amazon tribe. No Amazon
shall ever harm them. Thus be the Amazon Way from now till Shadowfall."
Ranma and Akane just squeezed their hands tighter together. Cologne
kissed her shaking fingers and touched them to the picture of Shampoo.
"Goodbye, honored warrior of the Amazon tribe. Goodbye,
Great-granddaughter," she added softly.
As Cologne made her way to the back of the room Mousse stepped up
and looked at the picture, "Goodbye Shampoo. Know that you were loved
by me, even if I could not earn your precious love in return." Not
trusting himself to say anything more, he repeated the gesture of
kissing his fingers and touching the picture and made his way to the
back of the room. He couldn't hold back the single tear that rolled
down his cheek.
An old Chinese man with a goatee was next, he stood at the front
of the restaurant and shot a look of pure hatred at Ranma and Akane.
"Shampoo was a good girl. I don't know what she saw in this murderer,"
he said. Ranma and Akane recoiled at his words and the subsequent
glare. "But Shampoo thought him worthy. If not for her honorable
sacrifice, I'd kill these murdering bastards myself." He again shot a
glare at Ranma and Akane. "Amazon Way or not, these two will be
punished for their misdeeds!"
Cologne stood up and yelled, "Aftershave, keep your place. This is
no place for recriminations. Say your good-byes to your daughter and
join us back here. Thus is the Amazon Way."
Ranma and Akane looked at each other and then at Shampoo's father.
They didn't make the connection at first, but now that they thought
about it they had seen Aftershave before. He had been around when
Cologne first opened the Cat Cafe, but they hadn't seen him for quite
some time.
Aftershave looked back at the picture of Shampoo. "The Amazon
Way..." he mumbled and sighed. Then he addressed the gathered people,
"Shampoo was my beautiful violet, I will miss her. She deserved a
better and longer life." Aftershave kissed the picture directly, then
walked down the aisle.
As Aftershave passed him, Ranma said, "Yes...she did. We're
sorry." Aftershave ignored him.
Several Amazons followed with short good-byes and the finger
kissing gesture. Most just did the gesture and joined the others in the
rear of the room, all looking away from the picture. Thus was the
Amazon Way.
As they were told beforehand, anyone had the right to speak at
this point. With the help of Nabiki, Ranma moved his wheelchair to the
front. Hesitantly, he spoke, "Shampoo loved me, I know that. She used
the law to get what she wanted, or thought she wanted. I couldn't love
her the same way." He paused and looked at Akane, who nodded. "She will
be missed. My life will be sadder and missing something without her. I
will always consider her my first wife, if only by a twist of fate."
Ranma finished his eulogy with tears in his eyes then paid his respect
with the kissing gesture. Again with Nabiki's help, he moved his
wheelchair back to it's original place.
A few more people spoke, then Akane couldn't wait any longer and
she hobbled up to the front. Crying softly and looking at the floor,
she said, "I don't deserve to say anything here. I killed Shampoo." She
looked up sternly at Ranma to keep him from interrupting her. "I never
wanted to, I just wanted her to leave Ranma and me alone. 'A warrior's
death'. It seemed so pointless, but as I looked into her eyes one last
time I knew she..." Akane broke down crying. Kasumi and Nabiki rushed
to comfort her and helped her back to her seat. "Goodbye, Shampoo," she
managed to sob as she sat down.
Suddenly, the front doors of the Cat Cafe were thrown open.
Everyone looked back and then downwards to see Happosai standing in the
doorway. Everyone who knew who he was cringed and recoiled, scared of
what he may do. The women all clutched at their clothing. He ran into
the restaurant and to the front. He said a simple, "Goodbye, sweet
Shampoo," and put a pair of panties on the front table with the other
mementos. Everyone knew that was the biggest honor the old pervert
could give anyone, even if it was the honor of a sick and perverted
mind. Everyone also suspected they were Shampoo's to begin with.
Happosai left with tears in his eyes.
The wake broke up shortly after Happosai appeared. Ranma, Nabiki,
and Akane tried to talk to Cologne and Aftershave, but were rebuffed.
The Tendos and Saotomes made their way home.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma awoke when a pile of bras and panties landed on his face.
"What?" Ranma muttered. Then Ranma saw the old pervert glomping him,
make that HER. Ranma reacted by punching the old man through the doors
and into to the garden. Happosai ended up crashing into the wall
surrounding the Tendo house.
"What was that?" Akane said, as she awoke at the commotion.
"Happosai," Ranma spat, obviously irritated.
"Oh no. I was afraid of this after he showed up at the wake,"
Akane said, then added, "By the way, the black lace looks good on you."
Akane smirked.
"What?" Ranma said, then looked down and screamed. She tore off
the black bra and tossed it away, then pulled on her T-shirt. "Damn
pervert!"
"What are you two doing in my bedroom!" Happosai said, as he came
back into the room.
"It's my bedroom now, you old freak!!!" Ranma shouted.
"Nonsense."
"Happosai, you were told after the wedding that you were no longer
welcome here," Akane reminded him.
"Happosai? You always called me grandpa," Happosai said, in
disbelief. Then he started to cry.
"Give it up! You helped destroy my wedding. I shall never forgive
you!" Akane and Ranma said in unison, they both looked at each other
lovingly.
"You'll regret kicking me out! Someday you will pay dearly for
angering me!" Happosai said. He then collected his dropped collection,
adding Akane's current panties to it with a flash, and left.
"He gave up a bit easily," Akane said, as she found herself
without underwear. Fortunately, her pajamas were still in place. <How
does he do that?> she thought.
"Don't worry about it, we can handle him if he comes back," Ranma
said, then lay down again.
"I hope so," Akane said.
-C- -M- -D-
The next morning Mousse stopped by the Tendo house. He knelt down
and talked with Ranma and Akane in the family room. "Cologne wanted me
to tell you she was going back to China, to live out her life there.
She asked that you not visit the Amazon village again, but said she had
no ill will towards any of you. I don't either."
"But-" Akane said, but was quickly silenced by Mousse.
"Akane Tendo, don't," Mousse stopped her, then said, "Shampoo
brought her end on herself. Each of us had some part in it, but she was
ultimately responsible for her own actions. If you don't live your life
to the fullest, you'll dishonor her memory and I won't forgive you if
you dishonor Shampoo."
"Okay, Mousse," Akane said, then sadly looked at the floor.
"Ranma Saotome, take good care of Akane. Should you have many
children and prosper," Mousse said, then handed the heart shaped locket
they saw at the wake to him. "Here...take this, it was hers. She valued
it above all else."
"Mousse, no. You should have it," Ranma insisted, but Mousse
refused to take it back. Ranma opened it and then grinned. "I really
think you should keep it. She may not have loved me as much as anyone
thought." He held the locket up and showed him the picture of a young
Mousse that was in it.
Taking the locket back, Mousse started to cry. "Oh, Shampoo. Why
couldn't you just accept a man who wasn't a better warrior than you."
Mousse answered his own question with a thought, <The Amazon Way.>
"Mousse, do you think we need to worry about Shampoo's father? He
seemed pretty upset at the wedding," Ranma asked.
"No. Aftershave will follow Amazon law. Shampoo's sacrifice earned
her the honor of the Amazon tribe and your honor as warriors. That is
why you were allowed at the wake. Otherwise you'd have been hunted down
under the kiss-of-death rules by her family, namely Cologne and/or her
father," Mousse explained. "It's also why Cologne made both of your
families members of the tribe. Thus is the Amazon Way."
"Damn, that means Shampoo gave her life for mine," Akane said
sadly.
"Yes, live it well."
"Thank you, Mousse. You're always welcome in my house," Akane
said, and kissed him on his cheek gently.
"What?" Mousse gasped, holding his cheek.
Suddenly realizing what she did, Akane said, "Oops...that was just
a friendly kiss...not the kiss of death."
"Actually, I was just shocked at the pleasure of the kiss," Mousse
said, with a smile.
"Don't get any ideas, Mousse," Ranma barked.
"If I couldn't get Shampoo from you when you didn't love her, I
couldn't steal Akane from you in a million years," Mousse conceded.
Ranma and Akane blushed.
"Take care, I'll be at the Cat Cafe if you happen to hear anything
about Shampoo."
"You're not going back to China?" Ranma asked, taken aback.
"No, there's nothing back there for me. The ways of the Amazons
are no longer mine. They have cost me too much already. I'm going to
keep looking for Shampoo and try to figure out what to do if I never
find her," Mousse explained.
"Goodbye, Mousse. Drop by anytime." Ranma offered his hand to
Mousse, who accepted it.
"Take care, Mousse," Akane said, hugging him.
As Mousse left the gate of the Tendo house, he almost walked into
Nabiki. "Nabiki Tendo?"
Nabiki looked down at the ground, then said, "Mousse...I wanted to
talk to you, as well as Cologne and Shampoo's father, at the wake, but
they wouldn't let me."
"Yes, I know. They didn't want to talk to anyone," Mousse
explained.
"Mousse, I want to apologize for telling...no selling the
information that led to Shampoo's death. I thought...that she was Kuno.
I know that's no excuse, but I feel so-" Nabiki started to babble,
until Mousse cut her off.
"Nabiki Tendo, don't worry. It was her choice to buy the info,"
Mousse said, also knowing it was probably one of the old ghoul's plans.
That was the other reason he didn't want to go back to China. He didn't
trust himself around her anymore.
"I am sorry, Mousse. I ne...I never meant for anyone to die for a
few crummy yen," Nabiki sobbed, then collapsed into Mousse's arms.
"Nabiki, I..." Mousse said, then trailed off as he didn't know
what to say for the first time in a month. He began to cry as well.
They just stood there holding each other and cried until they couldn't
anymore.
-C- -M- -D-
Two weeks later, Akane and Ranma prepared to start school again.
Ranma was worried about someone taking advantage of him in his current
state. "They'll have to deal with me if they do," Akane said, then
kissed him.
"How much longer do you think we can keep our real engagement a
secret?" Ranma asked.
"Who knows. I don't like hiding the ring, but I still think it's
for the best."
"I love you."
"I'm glad, I couldn't hope for a more wonderful husband," Akane
said, then added, "Or wife."
Ranma took great joy in spanking her on her bottom and chased her
out of the house with his wheelchair.
Nodoka and Kasumi watched them go. "When do you think they'll tell
us?" Kasumi asked.
"When they are ready. In the meantime I've made sure Nabiki,
Genma, and your father all lay off," Nodoka replied. "Love will find
it's own way from here. Our job is more than finished." <Putting them
both in the same room was the last nudge. Hopefully it will bear
fruit,> Nodoka thought.
"When they are ready," Kasumi repeated, wondering if she meant
Akane and Ranma. No, she decided, she meant herself and Doctor Tofu.
She smiled, then corrected herself: Herself and 'Tofu'.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma raced up to Furinkan High in his wheelchair, very fast. He'd
found that channeling a small amount of chi into the wheels could
propel the wheelchair quite fast. Akane hitched a ride on his lap and
held on tight.
Kuno, ever the glutton for punishment, was standing proudly in
front of the school. His casts were barely visible under his usual
warrior garb. "Ranma Saotome! Lest my beautiful flower, Akane Tendo,
meet the same fate as the poor Sham-urk..." was all Kuno managed say
before he was run down by the speeding wheelchair. He broke his other
leg and arm in the process of flying through the school walls and
several nearby houses. He ended up being out of school for almost the
rest of his senior year. No one missed him.
"Did we hit something, Ranma?" Akane asked.
"Nothing important," Ranma said, grinning broadly.
-C- -M- -D-
At lunch, Akane and Ranma were sitting under a tree. Ranma ate the
lunch Akane had prepared, only after a little hesitation. "You're
getting better, Akane. This probably won't kill me," Ranma said.
Akane raised her hand, paused, then said, "I'll add that you your
running 'hit' tab."
<I hope I never get these casts off, otherwise I'm dead,> Ranma
worried. Instead of his usual quick answer, Ranma just said, "Some
summer we had."
"Yes, one to remember."
"I love you."
"Ya, ya, I know," Akane agreed, with a smile and stole a quick
kiss.
Ryoga and Ukyo both made their way on crutches across the
schoolyard towards Ranma and Akane. Ryoga was dressed in a Hawaiian
school uniform, as was Ukyo. Except Ukyo was wearing a girl's uniform.
She had tried to get Ryoga to wear a girl's uniform too, but Ryoga
refused.
Spotting Ryoga and Ukyo, Ranma asked, "You think those two are
dating?"
"I don't know. They have seemed to be pretty close since they came
back from the mountain. Maybe they should change that mountain's name
to 'Love Mountain'," Akane suggested.
"No argument here."
"How are the other half of the 'walking wounded'?" Ukyo asked and
she tugged Ryoga back towards the tree, since he looked like he was
going to head off to Mount Fuji.
Akane and Ranma smiled at the nickname the four had already
earned, despite the fact that none of them could walk that well, but
that was probably the point of the nickname. "I've survived my lunch so
far," Ranma quipped. Akane forgot herself and elbowed him. "What
happened to my tab?"
"Sorry," Akane said and stuck her tongue out. Then she looked at
Ukyo's uniform and asked, "Ukyo, why the girl's uniform all of a
sudden?"
Ukyo looked a little self-conscious and tugged the hem of the
short skirt down, then replied, "Well, it's a lot easier to wear a
skirt with my cast than pants."
"I looks good on you Ucchan, you should keep wearing skirts,"
Ranma said, earning a hostile stare from Akane. Noticing Akane's look,
Ranma asked Akane, "Don't you agree that Ukyo looks great, Akane?" He
then flashed his eyes towards Ryoga.
Catching Ranma's intention, Akane agreed, "Yes, you've always been
beautiful, Ukyo. No reason to hide it behind boys clothes."
"Okay...now can we talk about how silly Ryoga looks in HIS
uniform?" Ukyo asked, trying to change the subject.
"Why did you decide to start coming to school Ryoga?" Ranma asked.
"Well, being on crutches I can't really go on my training trips
anymore," Ryoga explained.
The other three all looked at each other and nodded. Ranma just
said, "Training trips...right."
"Not that he hasn't taken a few of them already, but Konatsu has
gotten pretty good at catching him before he gets more than a few
blocks away," Ukyo explained. "We've even gotten a good routine down to
help keep Ucchan's open."
"So how is your little male harem going?" Ranma quipped, earning
him hostile looks from everyone.
"I wouldn't go there if I was you, Ranma," Akane said with an edge
to her voice.
Sheepishly, Ranma said, "Right." Then he shut up.
The gang all walked up. Sayuri said, "So it looks like you all had
an interesting summer."
"Ya, what's the story with all your injuries?" Hiroshi asked.
"Come on! Spill it! Nabiki won't even sell us any details, it's
got to be good for her to pass up money," Daisuke insisted.
Akane and Ranma smiled at each other, still a little surprised at
the change in Nabiki. "Things change," Akane said softly. The other
three walking wounded nodded in agreement.
They told a slightly edited version of their summer. They avoided
mentioning why Ukyo and Ryoga were in the mountains and whom Ranma and
Akane were fighting on the roof. Of course, Ranma and Akane just
trained in the mountains.
"Really!"
"We mean it!"
"Honestly!"
"Get your minds out of the gutter!"
***********************************************************************
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:
The twins were back in their cribs by the time Akane finished
telling me about the end of the summer of 1998. "Well, you seemed to be
handling events pretty well," I finally said, after confirming the
notes in my palmcard were correct.
"We managed, it took us all a while to get over Shampoo's death.
Mousse was still pretty messed up for months to come, but Nabiki helped
him through it," Akane said, then looked down at the twins who had
started to cry. She raised her voice a little, then said, "Comm: Imoki,
your babies need some dinner."
From nowhere in particular a voice responded, "I'll be right over,
Grandmother."
"I didn't think you used modern technology in the Compound?" I
questioned, looking around for the comm unit. Up until then, I had only
seen various family members use their wristpads for communications.
"Oh, it's all around you. We just prefer to keep it low profile.
Watch," Akane said, then raised her voice, "Tactical: Compound five by
five."
Suddenly a holographic representation of the Tendo Compound was
displayed in front of us. I rose to my feet and examined it. It was
very detailed and must have used state of the art holographic
projectors. My palmcard only had a little second-generation
holo-projector; this had to be fourth-generation, possibly fifth (which
weren't even supposed to be available yet). It indicated the location
of all family members in blue, visitors in green, and enemies in red.
Fortunately, no red indicators were showing on the display. "Wow, talk
about big brother." I had spent a lot of time at the Compound, but had
never seen them use anything like this. Mostly just portable systems, I
had no idea the whole Compound was wired like this.
"Well, I don't need to tell you that we still have some enemies
out there. The Buyierfei, the Black Shroud Clan, and, of course, the
Kuno family, to name just a few," Akane explained, then raised her
voice again, "Tactical: Location of all Kunos, Tokyo ten by ten.
The holographic map zoomed out to show the layout of Tokyo and
showed red dots over various parts of the city, a large concentration
of them in one area; the Kuno mansion, of course. My interviews with
several Kuno family members showed that they still held some grudges
against the Tendo family. "Neat gadget. How do you track the Kunos?"
Akane shrugged, then said, "Beats me, you'd have to ask one of the
eggheads over in Tendo Enterprises for the details. But I think it's
some kind of tag they managed to get on each Kuno. Like the visitor
patch you have on your shirt, but permanent."
"Never knew I was in a fortress."
"Hardly, but it's good to be cautious sometimes. The system
handles all the monitoring itself and sends up an alert if a Kuno or
other tagged enemy comes close."
"Hope you don't keep track of your children's boyfriends this
way."
"Only on their first dates." I went pale. "Just kidding, James,"
Akane said, with a big smile.
"You scare me sometimes, Akane."
"Good."
[End - Chapter 3]
Coming soon: Chapter 4: Gifts of Love
=======================================================================
Email me at: mailto:jiml...@earthlink.net with comments, criticisms,
or if you would like to join my pre-reader list.
Make sure to check out my Childhood of a Modern Dynasty website for the
latest CMD stories, graphics files, and other information:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime/childhood.html
My other fanfiction can be found at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime
The real author's (Jim Lazar) notes/ramblings:
Shampoo's father, Aftershave, did appear in several manga stories as a
minor character, but no name was given (to the best of my knowledge). I
picked the most manly sounding personal hygiene product I thought of
for his name.
The heart locket has nothing to do with the heart locket from
Converging Series. This one is just a regular locket. I wanted to make
that clear, just in case anyone thought there was going to be any
reality jumping in this series, there isn't. Sixty years to cover is
enough trouble already...thank you.
I mixed some humor with the darker aspects of the characters dealing
with Shampoo's death in this chapter. I hope I struck a good balance.
Although there will be some dark moments in this series, it is not a
DARK story. There will be some happy times and some sad times, just
like life. After all, I have sixty years of Akane's life to fill in,
can't have it too bad or she'd be a basket case in the future segments.
Unlike the other characters in this fanfic, I created James Davidson,
Hanaki Ono, Imoki, and Rezuko. I claim full ownership for them. They
are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons (living or dead) or
other fictional characters (animated, written, or live-action) is
unintentional. Of course, for descendents of the original Ranma
characters there is likely to be some similarity to Rumiko Takahashi's
characters.
I'd like to thank various FFML members and my pre-readers: Anthony
Pardilla, Jonathan Ng, Ryan Eirk, Jason Liao, and David Johnson. Of
course in the end, any mistakes and botched characters are my fault.
Revision 0.0 - Rough draft (June 6, 1998)
Revision 0.3 - Pre-reader draft (July 12, 1998)
Revision 0.4 - FFML draft (July 25, 1998)
Revision 1.0 - First RAAC posting (August 5, 1998)