The usual disclaimer: all Ranma 1/2 characters belong to 
Takahashi-sama and distributers, all Oh My Goddess! characters 
belong to Fujishima-sama and other distributers...


Found
Part 5
(A Ranma 1/2 - Oh My Goddess! Crossover by Mee Robinson)


     It was a familiar story, Konatsu thought, the one of rags 
to riches - or, in his case, from rags to the modest life of 
a waitress. But nowhere, _nowhere_, in the story was there
a single mention that the princess - or waitress, if you will, - 
was really a boy. Where, Konatsu wondered ruefully, was the 
time honored tale about the lovelorn transvestite, his kind and 
beautiful employer, and the terrible ordeals he had to overcome 
in order to win her affections? And who was writing those 
storybooks, anyway?

     But then again, he supposed, if he asked Ukyou-sama, she'd 
probably remark on what a shame it was that the books never told 
of how the handsome prince was a cursed shape shifter with 
multiple fiancees and an acute aversion to commitment. . .as well as 
the unfortunate habit of sticking his foot in his mouth at exactly
the wrong times.

     <What princess in the world,> he asked the empty room, <Ever 
did battle with a giant spatula? It's really ridiculous, Ukyou-sama, 
even more than. . .> *sigh*

     He stared resignedly down at his hatefully delicate hands and 
shivered. The apartment was unnervingly silent without the lively 
okonomiyaki chef. And although his old family had often made him 
sleep alone on the hard ground outside, he associated his new home 
with the company and pleasant conversation of his mistress. The place 
seemed alien and empty without the sound of her voice, and the 
glorious sight of her lithe and graceful body engaged in a little 
late-night training. 

     He didn't want to think about what his life would be like if she
did marry Saotome. Oh, he like Saotome well enough, and he would be 
eternally grateful for Ranma's help in his own emancipation. But
if he and Ukyou married, that would leave Konatsu even more
befeft than before. His own family hated him, and he hated them. The 
last few months had given him the courage to admit that. . .and now
he could never go back. And once Ukyou had a family of her own, he
knew there would be no place for him here. Where would he go
on that day? There was nowhere.

     Suddenly, he could no longer stand the silence and his own 
clamoring fears. So he crept into Ukyou's room to watch some TV. 
She wouldn't mind. 

     He wondered what she was doing now.

*****

     <I really shouldn't have come,> Ukyou though wearily as she 
rinsed of the last of the dishes. Akane had offered to help, of 
course, but Ukyou had graciously (and without showing the slightest
sign of fear) declined the offer, claiming that she was used to 
doing such chores and that she found the daily routine to be quite 
calming.

     "Oh!" Akane had said thoughtfully. "I guess I understand. 
That's what Kasumi usually tells me when I ask if she
needs help."

     Ranma snorted. "Guess she doesn't want you wrecking her
kitchen any more than you already do! She must be smarter than 
I thought!"

     "RANMAAA!!!" Akane and Ryouga chorused in fury.

     The two of them had chased him (thankfully) into some other
area of the house. Occasionally, she could still hear a muffled 
thump or shout from upstairs.

     Ordinarily, Ukyou wouldn't have bothered to clean up so
thoroughly. She would have spent the time trying to get Ranma
alone, or at least attempting to protect him from the Twin 
Sources of Doom. But. . .but she just couldn't stand to leave the
Hibiki kitchen in such a mess, when she knew it would probably
be months before someone came back to clean up. 

     "Awoo?"

     "Huh?" Ukyou looked down, and there was Shirokuro, the Hibiki
family dog, leaning on the counter and looking at her curiously.

     "Hey girl," Ukyou said, hunkering down to scratch the dog's head.
Shirokuro panted with bliss, rolling over to have her tummy 
rubbed.

     Ukyou smiled a little, in spite of herself. 

     "Aw, you're a good girl, aren't you?" she asked softly.

     "Awoo!" Shirokuro happily agreed.

     "Glad to see your master again, I guess," Ukyou continued, stroking
the silky fur. "I bet it doesn't happen too often, huh?"

     Shirokuro looked into Ukyou's eyes and whined sadly.

     "Yeah, I know. He really can't seem to help it, though."

     "Awoo," Shirokuro said resignedly. 

     It really was too bad, Ukyou mused while idly stroking 
Shirokuro's stomach, that such a happy. . .loving little boy had had to
turn out so bitter and obsessive. She knew better than anyone what 
years of anger and resentment could do to a person, but still. . .She'd
managed to overcome it, hadn't she? 

     "Of course I did," she said conversationally to Shirokuro, whose
ears perked up. "I am the cute fiancee, after all." Shirokuro cocked her
head understandingly.

     Ukyou thought back on how she had managed to let go of her 
anger, and to single handedly build for herself quite a successful life, 
if she did say so herself. She had found and breathed life into the 
remnants of that cute, cheerful girl who had lived in Osaka with her 
father so many years ago. If that girl had somehow survived the 
years and years of shame, and rage, and loneliness, was it possible
that somewhere within the Hibiki Ryouga she knew, there were
still vestiges of that laughing little boy? A little boy who had
grown up alone and frightened in a strange and confusing world, she 
realized, unable to find his way home, or to the family who should have 
been there for him.

     "But it's different for him," Ukyou whispered. "I have _nothing_ to 
go back to. After what happened. . .my father. . ." she shook her head, 
"I'll never be able to face him again. I'll never have a home to go 
back to, unless I make it myself. "

     "Ukyou?"

     Ukyou jerked upright in surprise. She'd been so involved in her own
thoughts that she hadn't even heard Akane approach the door.

     <Disgraceful carelessness for a martial artist!> she heard her 
father's voice mutter from the furthest recesses of her mind. She
gritted her teeth and willed her thoughts to be silent. 

                                        She had often heard her father's
voice during those ten 
years on the road, admonishing her as she trained and hunted down 
the man who had dishonored her, who had brought shame upon her 
family. . .and had broken her heart. She thought of him much less often 
now, now that she knew the truth about Ranma. But every so often, after 
she closed the restaurant and trudged up to her tiny room and narrow 
bed, or worse, when Tsubasa ambushed her with yet more gifts and 
proclaimations of devotion, or she caught her "waitress" looking at 
her with pure, undisuised longing, she could feel the force of her 
father's disgust and disapproval, as clearly as if she had never left. 

     "Yes, Akane?" she said, trying desperately to keep her voice neutral.

     "I was just checking if you were finished up in here," Akane said, 
looking concerned. "We've set up a bunch of spare rooms - well,
one or two of them aren't really 'spare,' but it doesn't look like 
anyone's been there for a while, and Ryouga says we're welcome to 
them if we want."

     "Yes, that sounds good," Ukyou said, rising. 

     "Are you okay?" Akane asked worriedly. "You looked kind of. . .sad
for a minute there."

     Ukyou mustered up what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

     "I'm fine, Akane-chan. I'm just feeling a little tired today, is all."

     "Awoo," amended Shirokuro, just a tad doubtfully.

*****

     "So, you like it here in Nerima," said Urd, ungracefully downing 
another glass of wine.

     The purple-haired Amazon nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes!" she
gushed, "Shampoo like very, very much. Is Shampoo's home now."

     Urd frowned. The girl was obviously telling the truth, but her lack 
of proficiency with Japanese language made her seem unnaturally
emphatic.

     *You're really not much like your great-grandmother was like
when she was your age,* she said in Mandarin.

     Shampoo blinked. *I suppose. . .that's true,* she replied slowly.
*Great-grandmother never spent much time away from China
when she was young. . .she never wanted to.*

     *And you did?* Urd prodded.

     Shampoo nodded, much less forcefully than before. Then she 
shrugged, smiling slightly. *I guess I'm more like my mother than
my great-grandmother,* she said. *Mother was always. . .a source
of great consternation to our family.*

     Urd raised an eyebrow in curiousity. *Oh?*

     Shampoo glanced at her great-grandmother, who appeared to be 
busily cooking the last few orders of the night, occasionally scolding 
Mousse for his incompetence. But Shampoo knew better.

     *It's no secret.* The girl's voice was soft, but the goddess caught
a faint undercurrent of defiance. *My mother ran away from the
village of the amazons many times. There. . .* Shampoo fidgeted for
a moment, but then plunged on. *There was supposed to be an arranged 
marriage. . .*

     *I see,* Urd said softly. *And what happened?*

     *He was from a good family and a strong bloodline,* Shampoo
continued, her voice so quiet that the goddess had to strain to hear
the words. *But she did not love him, and he. . .loved someone
else. So she left, and he helped her. She disappeared for years, and
broke my grandmother's heart. And when she returned. . .* Shampoo
took a deep, shuddering breath. *When she returned-*

     *When she returned, she was pregnant with you,"* Cologne 
interjected with an uncharacteristic gentleness as she joined them
at the table, setting down several steaming cups of tea. She placed
a hand on her great-granddaughter's shoulder. The younger amazon
lowered her head, unable to meet her elder's gaze or to continue
her story.

     *Perhaps it was our fault,* Cologne continued, though whether 
she was speaking to Urd, or to her great-granddaughter, or to herself,
was unclear. *the fault of the village, for cutting ourselves off,
for being overly provincial. Shampoo's mother was an excellent
warrior, expertly versed in fighting techniques and natural magic.
But she was otherwise innocent,* Cologne said, sparing her 
great-granddaughter a regretful, but loving glance. *She was
utterly naive about the word outside of our village, and of human
nature.*

     *She lost her heart to an outsider male, who professed love
for her falsely, and without honor. * Cologne's voice hardened. 
*He has since paid the price. Our family name was restored
when she consented to marry one of own, one who had been
a childhood friend. Perhaps it has been a passionless marriage,
but my granddaughter was determined that her child would
not be made to pay. . .for being born. She died several years
after Shampoo's birth, and ever since, it has been my 
responsibility to to raise her daughter as I believe she 
would have.*

     Shampoo nodded and looked up at the woman who had been 
her mentor and protector for so long. *She told me stories
of the world outside the village,* she said quietly. *She
always said. . .that it wasn't all bad, that there were magic 
and wonders that the villagers could never dream of. . .and
that I shouldn't be afraid of the world because she was
careless. I always wanted to see for myself.*

     *And now you have,* concluded Urd.

     Shampoo nodded.

     *Sometimes I'm afraid that Shampoo will never be able to
be satisfied with the village life when she returns,* said Cologne,
for the first time voicing her worry aloud. 

     Shampoo stared down at her teacup. *Great-grandmother. . .
you know that I love you. . .that I love you all-"

     *I know you do, my child,* Cologne said, and sighed. *But 
sometimes I fear that it will not be enough.*

*****

     Ryouga made his way to his parents' room, praying fervently
that he wouldn't lose his way, and that neither Akane nor Ranma
would discover that he'd snuck out of his room after they'd so 
carefully led him to it. He felt exhausted, both physically and
emotionally, after the day's events. The close contact with 
Akane had been nerve-wracking to say the least, especially since 
he'd had to fend off Ranma's constant teasing of them both.

                                        And then there was Ukyou, who had
alternated between 
throwing disguste looks in his direction then seeming to be lost 
in her own unhappy thoughts. Come to think of it, she did seem to 
be acting strangely all evening, that is, whenever he'd come back 
to himself enough to notice. Which, admittedly, hadn't been too 
often.

     Ryouga sighed, remembering what she had said the other day
about Akari and feeling a pang of guilt. 

    {Stringing her along like that, when you _know_ you haven't 
given up on Akane! Have you ever even stopped to think about how 
_she_ might feel? What kind of man are you?!}

     <I don't know,> he thought. <But it's not like that at all. . .I love
Akari, but. . .but. . .> he sighed, unable to finish the thought, instead
remembering without really being able to remember the first cold 
and lonely night in a lifetime of cold and lonely nights.

     <Ah, here it is!> he thought with relief as he pushed open the
door to his parent's room. He turned on the light.

     I was exactly as he remembered it, and he felt tears rise at
the sight of it. His parents found their home even more 
infrequently then he did, and didn't generally leave souvenirs
the way he did. Perhaps if was because they shared so many 
sights and experiences, as they tended to get lost, and find
one another. So, even the scent of the room remained unchanged - 
it smelled like the detergent his mother liked to use, under which 
there remained a faint suggestion of her favorite perfume. 

     "Mom," he whispered, remembering how it felt to be very small,
to feel the warmth of her arms around him and smell this same 
fragrace, several times stronger. Only a ghost of her presence 
remained in this room, and suddenly he felt overwhelmed with 
feelings of loss and absence. 

     "I miss you," he whispered, picking up the wedding photograph
that they kept on top of the bureau. They smiled back at him,
impossibly young and joyful. . .only a few years older than he
was now. "I just don't understand," he murmured sadly, "Why
it has to be this way." His parents smiled back at him, as if 
they were revealing everything - the secret of happiness, if only
he could understand. . .

     He sighed, replacing the picture. Happiness. He remembered being
happy once - the proof was on the video that Akane and Ranma
had seen earlier. But that had been before he discovered the 
nature of the world, and of his own wretched life. Before he'd
grown up, and lost everything. . .everyone that he'd ever cared for.

     Skuld had promised that she would help him find happiness.
But could even a goddess help him regain all that he had lost?

     "How?" he asked the empty air as he lay down on the bed,
careful not to disturb the sheets. 

     There was no answer. And soon, enveloped in the quiet and
the soothing scents of his childhood, Ryouga fell into a deep
sleep, uncovered and with the light still on.

     Obscured by the large wardrobe, Ukyou let out a long, silent sigh
of relief. He hadn't seen her. She hadn't meant to spy on him. She 
hadn't even seen him come in, and had been too startled by the sudden 
light to alert him to her presence. And then he had started talking. . .

     Her recent annoyance with him was now overwhelmed by a 
curious sympathy. His face, as he slept, looked strangely young
and without malice. It was hard to believe that this was the same
man who was Ranma's bitter rival, for whom violence and revenge
were the driving forces of life. But then again, if someone exactly
like that had turned out to be the cute fiancee, after all. . .

     "Oh, Mr. Lost Child," she murmured, shaking her head. "How
we do go astray." She began to rummage around the wardrobe,
pulling out several spare blankets, one of which she draped
over the prone form of the sleeping martial artist. 

     "Are you finally home, Mom?" Ryouga mumbled from somewhere 
in the depths of his sleep, "Are you finally home for good?"

     Ukyou hands froze as she drew the covers over her friend. 

     "Yes," she finally whispered, reaching out and smoothing back
the thick shock of his hair.

     "Oh, good," he said, his voice growing quieter, "I was, I was so. . ."
He sighed deeply as he slipped deeper into unsconsciousness.

     Ukyou deftly grabbed another blanket and turned off the light. 
As she left the room, she felt a warm, furry shape slip past her. 
It was Shirokuro, eager to keep her master company.

     "Good girl," Ukyou whispered, as she made her way to one of the 
downstairs chairs.

     As she settled down to sleep, she heard several faint thumps, and
suddenly found herself surrounded by the tiny, squirming bodies of
Shirokuro's puppies, all intent on sharing their warmth with her
for the night.

-----------
End part 5
-----------

Auth's notes: i'm not too sure about this chapter...on one hand,
it seems kind of melodramatic, mushy, and soap opera-ish. on the
other hand, i'm really bad at judging my own writing. so, please,
let me know if you have any thoughts on the matter. i'm not
completely in the dark, just mostly.

- mee