[FFML][Ranma][Fanfic][draft] Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Part 3A:
The
Amazon Way
Here's chapter 3 of CMD. I'm sending it in two separate messages to make
it easier for you to read and comment on smaller sections. Earlier when
I
divided the chapters into smaller parts, I received a lot of requests
for
earlier parts that users hadn't received for some reason. Hopefully
sending the parts on the same day will eliminate that problem.
BTW, the final versions of chapter 1 and 2 have been sent to RAAC and
can
be found at my website. The final version of chapter 2 actually ended as
Ranma and
Akane fell off the roof to provide a bigger cliffhanger. Chapter 3
will contain the efforts taken by Ranma to save Akane.
Enjoy and all C&C is welcome including rants at my killing of Shampoo. I
didn't do it lightly, it was a major turning point in the plot for many
of the upcomming events.
=======================================================================
Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Part 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.
=======================================================================
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:
April 21, 2057
I dragged myself out of bed. I had finally fell 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.
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 made out by 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."
"Ah, James, good to see you. Looks like Hanaki is taking good care
of you," Akane said, looking up from the infant in her arms.
"Huh?" was my reply.
"Wipe the lipstick off, dear," Akane said, then started cooing to
the infant.
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; was it just fashion or
was it something to do with all the redheads in the Tendo family?
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. I'm
sure little Ranko reminded her of her first husband as well, but Akane
rarely talked about that part of her life. I wondered how much she'll
be able to tell me for the book. Well, still a number of months to
cover until her first wedding.
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!!"
Her heart shattering and battle aura springing to life, Akane
looked ready to kill Ranma. Akane shot mallets at Ranma from her eyes.
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.
Ranma looked at Akane carefully. <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 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.
"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?"
"You're not a monster, Nabiki. The monster is chance. Each of us
did some things last night that caused a tragedy," Akane said. She
shook the image of Shampoo, not the cat, falling to her death out of
her head.
"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 wiping her
eyes and looking up at Ranma's bed.
"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 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.
"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.
Kuno was fortunate that morning to only get a few bruises and a
concussion. The flight from the hospital, to the zoo, 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.
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 the visits. 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 the blades. "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.
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."
-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.
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-
[end secition a]
--
Jim Lazar
E-Mail - mailto:jimlazar@earthlink.net
Home - http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar
FanFiction - http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime
"You made Akane whose daughter?!?!"
"Genma's."
"Has she hit you with her mallet yet?"
"Several times, actually."