Chapter Nine: Spring Showers

The Ryouga & Ukyou Chronicles, Volume One

Disclaimer:
Ryouga Hibiki and Ukyou Kuonji are not my creation and are both copyright of Rumiko Takahashi. I’d like to thank Takahashi-sensei for her great series. I once again claim no credit for their creation, however, some of the characters are my creations (aka Migi & Hidari, Ryu, Prince Ito, Ukuji, Nobara, Yoiko) and I do claim them, so there!
I

Ukyou pressed her body against the thick window that gazed out of her room and onto the winter landscape below. There was a moderate layer of snow covering the ground, pure and white. Holy almost, in a perverse kind of way. The white powder was still drifting down on the winds, falling all about in a way that reminded her of Christmas movie scenes. The only thing missing was Santa Claus, she mused, but the dry humor of the thought did little to comfort her. She presses her forehead against the cold, emotionless glass and closed her eyes, losing herself in her thoughts as she had done so often since being shackled into this luxury prison.

He’s out there somewhere, she heard her mind note with a somewhat worried tone. Indeed, she agreed dryly, she knew Ryouga was out there in Shurkashuuton Tengoku, and that he was coming for her. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. Why he was doing this was still a source of much heated debate within her consciousness. All right, then, her thoughts echoed. Hell, I have the time, certainly. Why not go through this now? Sighing, she began to ponder once more why he was risking his life just for her.

Well, she began, it could be some macho guy thing. However, this argument didn’t really seem to hold much water. In the five weeks she had spent with him, he had turned out to be someone completely different from who she expected him to be. He was shy, polite, and somewhat introverted. It was hard for her to tell sometimes what he was thinking, and she prided herself on being able to do just that. He seemed an overly dark person, but given the kind of life he had to lead, it was something she could understand. He frequently had severe bouts of depression, but it was something she thought she could handle. He was just lost, that’s all. Just like her. He was searching for a purpose in life just like she was.

Frowning, she brushed these thoughts aside and turned to face the door as she heard it creak open.

It was Prince Ito, looking at her with his normal emotionless eyes. She scowled at him as he strode into the room and looked at the disarray with distaste. Then his cold eyes focused on her.

"You have been crying again." He said with mild annoyance. "Why do you continue with such pointless outbursts. Tears do not break shackles."

"He's coming for me, isn't he?" She sneered. "I knew he would. That's what you want to tell me, right?" She couldn’t help but smirk proudly. Ito shook his head and turned to face the large ornate mirror that covered the west wall.

"You sound proud that your friends throw their lives away so recklessly." he said, staring at her reflection with his emotionless face.

"They'll rescue me." she said. Then she realized the help Ryouga had to turn too, and quickly added, "Uh, somehow." Ito nodded but his expression remained unchanged.

"I see." He said. He seemed to ponder something for a moment. He spun around and turned to face her.

"Your unfounded reliance on your allies is useless but still interesting." He said. "You are not the first like this. But, like all the others, I do not understand you."

Ukyou felt the anger within her rising again, the flowing disgust with this man and his subordinates and his ridiculous laws and his lack of compassion. She grasped the hatred, rode it, let it flow through her.

"You honestly don’t get it, do you?" she said with what almost seemed like amusement. "I love him. I never realized it before, but now I think I do. I’m not really sure what love even is, but I know there’s something there between us, something that’s sacred and impossible to ignore anymore. It started out to be nothing, but it got stronger as our friendship grew. It’s evolved into something beyond friendship now." She said, releasing most of her pent up aggression through this admission. Actually, she felt better.

She was glad just to get it off her mind, to say it and get it out in the open, and to stop hiding it from herself. Ito simply stared at her. He honestly didn’t seem to understand what she was saying. Despite herself and her emotional state, she began to laugh at him. Ito raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"You find something to be humorous?" he said dryly.

"Actually," Ukyou said between laughs, "I do. Look at you, the mighty prince of mystical Shurkashuuton Tengoku, the legendary valley of the Four Seasons, and with all your powers and techniques and ridiculous laws, you can’t even understand a simple emotion like love. I can’t help but pity you." She continued to laugh, and felt the tears coming on again. But she didn't really mind. Dryly she noted these were sometimes the symptoms of approaching hysteria.

"You pity me?" He said simply. "You know nothing of who I am-"

"On the contrary," she said, still chuckling. "You’re a scared little boy, that’s all. You hide behind your laws and your responsibilities because you’re afraid to feel emotions. Because they’re unpredictable. They can’t be controlled or manipulated by someone who doesn’t understand them." His calm, cool, collected persona remained unbroken, but it didn’t seem to matter to her now.

"Your friends will be dead soon." He said, after a few moments of silence. He looked up at her with his cold eyes, and they seemed to pierce right through her. "You will be on hand to bear witness to their last hour."

Ukyou fought back the urge to strike at him with every ounce of control, but she knew it wouldn’t do her any good. She was without her spatula, and besides, she remembered the Dragon Column Technique vividly. Too vividly. Somehow, she stopped herself. He motioned to the door, and smiled. Drawing in all the resolve she could muster, she stepped out, him following close behind.

II

Ryu turned his gaze from the distance and glanced over at Ryouga, who had been walking in silence since they had set off towards the palace. He was amazingly accurate at following the trail of leaves that Ito had left behind, but Ryu chalked half of it up to concentration and half to sheer will. He sighed and looked back ahead.

"Hibiki-san," he said after a few more moments of silence. Ryouga turned and looked up at him, not straying from his path in the slightest. "Why is you doing this?"

Ryouga sighed. "I don’t know, honestly." He said. "It seems like the right thing to do. She is our friend, after all. We can’t just let them take her away from us."

Ryu nodded inflectively. "Take from us, or take from you?" he said slowly. Ryouga snarled at him angrily.

"What the hell does that mean?" he snarled, grasping the collar of Ryu’s kimono tightly. Ryu stared at him with emotionless eyes. Ryouga slowly released him.

"Do not attempt to hide your own self from your own feelings." He said coldly. "I knows you is caring for her much."

"Of course I care for her, you idiot!" he snarled. "She’s my best friend!"

Ryu nodded at him, but said nothing. In a way, Ryouga surmised, that was worse than anything he could have said. They continued on through the springtime scenery in silence. Distantly, Ryu got the impression that they were being followed, but chose not to say anything just yet. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of five shimmering objects slicing through the air towards him, turning, he shouted a warning at Ryouga and leapt up, drawing his blade. He noted the five objects were needles, thick sewing needles, about four to five inches long each, and were all attaches to steel wires which led back up into a tree. Ryu slashed, slicing through two of the cords with ease, but grimaced as another needle dug into his shoulder and his right arm suddenly went numb. Another struck his right thigh, and his right leg too became useless. The last needle whizzed past his face, and he closed his eyes as it slashed a thin canal into his skin. Ryu landed hard onto the ground, staring down at the needles in amazement. The two that were sticking into him had both struck paralyzation pressure points. Ryouga watched in amazement as a familiar figure leapt down from the tree, the two needle wires clutched in his hands like puppeteer’s strings. He brushed a piece of his blonde hair aside idly and straightened his tuxedo cuffs in amusement.

"Nobara!" Ryouga snarled, allowing his raw, unfocused emotions to burst forth. "Where is she?"

"And a fine good day to you too, Shinnyuusha-san." Nobara said smugly. "But I’m afraid it no longer matters where she is. This game ends here, now."

"This isn’t a game, Nobara!" Ryouga shouted, gritting his teeth. "Give her back to me-uh, us, or I swear I’ll kill you!" Nobara glared at him imperiously and responded with a smug chuckle.

"I’m afraid not, Shinnyuusha-san." Nobara said smugly, and flicked his wrist forward in a quick motion. Ryu, already prone from the numbed leg, saw the needles flying towards him, but couldn’t dodge in time as two more implanted themselves in his other arm and his leg, sending him unceremoniously groundward, completely useless. Ryouga leapt to the right as two more needles soared towards him, and he grimaced as one struck his right arm, numbing it. He landed and tore it out, not even noticing the fresh blood that now trickled down his arm. With a flick of his wrist, Nobara withdrew the needles back into his sleeve, except for those which now paralyzed Ryu. Ryouga sighed inwardly. It always seemed like he ended up fighting alone at critical points like this.

"Feh." He said, gripping his still numbed arm ruefully. Despite the needle’s removal, the damage had already been done. "Your little sewing needles aren’t going to be enough to stop me." Nobara chuckled again, and suddenly withdrew the needles piercing the samurai’s skin into his other sleeve.

"They're acupuncture needles, you simpleton." He mused, and whipped ten small, silvery projectiles towards Ryouga. He braced himself, but was too slow to dodge them all. He grimaced as his legs went suddenly numb and he fell on the ground on his knees.

"I admit, though, that they do have a numbing agent coating the tips. It's my one lone vice. I hope you can forgive my cutting corners." Nobara said smugly as he watched Ryouga try in vain to stand but collapse again, supported only by his one good arm.

"Now, being that Prince Ito is watching, I suppose I should try to finish this quickly and painlessly..." the blond boy mused. "But where is the fun in that? That Prince, he certainly is a terrible bore, you know."

"But you," he said, smiling. "You look like you'll be a lot of fun."

III

Ukyou watched in horror at the events unfolding before her, reflected in the dim, eerie glow of the magical pool Ito had taken her to. From what she could tell, Nobara had crippled him with some kind of needles attached to wires in his sleeves. It was a technique that was almost Mousse-like in an eerie way. She looked around quickly at the three other figures before her. Ito watched the events unfold with an emotionless face she was certain masked some kind of sick pleasure.

Standing on his right was the master of Summer, the incredibly strong guy in the vest, whose name was apparently Ukiuji. He was the one that had confessed his many murders of the other prisoners with remorse, but didn't seem all that cncerned, really. Then, there was the exotic woman to Ito’s left, whose skin was pale and her eyes were the color of ice. Ukyou had noticed her glancing at Ito ever so often when she assumed no one was looking, and in her eyes Ukyou saw the same things she felt when she had used to look at Ranma like that, a kind of idolized love.

"Please," she said to Ukiuji, for she already knew arguing with Ito was a one way street. "Please, don’t do this to us. Don’t let him suffer...because of me..."

Ukiuji looked at her with an expression of genuine sympathy, and turned to Ito. "Surely we can forego this ritual once, my Lord?" he said. The Prince showed no signs of acknowledging him. Ukiuji sighed and tried his best to smile.

"I am sorry." He said sorrowfully. "It must be. I wish I could change it, but I can’t."

Ukyou stepped back at the respite, then gazed back down into the shimmering pool.

IV

Ryouga struggled to stand, but his legs gave out again, and he hit the earth hard, grass and soil grinding against his skin and into his mouth, leaving a bitter taste. Behind him, Nobara laughed in sadistic glee.

"I shall enjoy making you suffer, if only because I’m not the only one watching." He said snidely, and numbed Ryouga’s last arm, sending him to the ground. Ryouga glared at him and gritted his teeth in a snarl.

"What the hell are you babbling about?" he growled. Nobara laughed again in his feathery voice. He whipped five needles out again, and Ryouga fought the urge to scream with all his willpower as they dug deep into the pain centers of his body, igniting explosive flares of white hot pain within him.

"Silence." He said snidely, whipping the needles back out, each trailing a small streak of blood. "Surely you must realize she is watching all of this."

Ryouga’s eyes snapped open, despite the pain raging within him. Ukyou was watching this? No, he was lying. It couldn’t be true. She couldn’t see him like this, on his knees, weakened and feeble. He couldn’t allow it. He gritted his teeth again as the needles punctured him again, jolting his already struggling body with more surges of pure pain.

"We have a sort of tradition here, you see. When we bring a new girl into the fold, it becomes necessary to demonstrate the...finality of her situation." Nobara chided, tearing the needles loose again. "Usually this is accomplished by means of the execution of would-be heroes like yourself."

"Bastards." Ryouga growled, struggling against the poison needles. Nobara laughed obnoxiously.

"I wonder, is she your girlfriend?" he pondered aloud. "Doe she love you?"

Ryouga’s mind desperately vied for something to focus on besides the cloud of pain fogging him. It leapt onto Nobara’s words with a desperate fury. Love? Him?

"What a waste that would be, no?" Nobara sneered, stabbing the needles into him yet again, pouring rivers of unchecked pain into his every fiber, and he screamed out in frustration and suffering. "To love one so soon to die."

Despite the suffering, the question did rage in him, just as burning as the fiery nerves that Nobara’s pins now danced upon. Did he love Ukyou? More aptly, did he even realize what love was? He thought he loved Akane, with every breath of his soul he swore he did, but he began to realize it was more of an infatuation. She was the first girl who was ever nice to him, who respected him. Then, there was Akari, and she knew of his curse, but she still cared for him. Perhaps he did love Akari, but he didn’t deserve her. She needed someone who could stay with her, live with her, and provide for her. Ryouga didn’t think himself capable of any of these things. Despite the fact of his wandering, he didn’t see himself as a strong provider. He wasn’t capable enough.

Ukyou Kuonji, his mind stated simply. She was intelligent, rational, business-minded, beautiful, polite (sometimes), a skilled fighter, and she was lonely, just like him. She had fallen for Saotome for the very same reason he had fallen for Akane, and now the two of them were struggling to define themselves and their places. Perhaps, he thought, his place was with her. She was kind to him, she was attractive, and she made him feel happier than he had in a very long time. He did love her. But, was he worthy of her? Ukyou deserved a good, strong, intelligent man, and he wasn’t good enough. She deserved the best, and he couldn’t offer her that.

"Do you feel the agony?" Nobara chuckled, digging in more needles, burning him with even more surging, raw pain, and it coursed through him like electricity. "The pain and humiliation of being rendered utterly helpless. For all your skill and spirit, you're nothing now, no more a threat than a child or a cripple. Does it sicken you as much as me?"

Ryouga glared at him through sweat-burned eyes. Nobara stared back with an imperious air that bordered on the divine.

"Perhaps this is how it is meant to be, no?." Nobara mused. "After all, I think I would be much better for her, at any rate."

Ryouga felt the one thing boil within him that could rival the pain. Pure hatred. The strength of a madness he could never fully understand. He grasped it like a raging tether, and pulled himself back from the brink of unconciousness again.

"I can’t wait to taste her." Nobara mused. "I wonder if she’ll squeal or moan..."

The thin line that desperately held the barriers between strength and sanity tore apart in that instant. Nobara watched in horror as Ryouga stood shakily on his feet, trickles of sweat pouring down his brow like the tears of an angel.

"I-i-i-impossible!" Nobara said breathlessly. Desperately, Ryouga grasped the cords jutting out of his body and tugged, yanking the tuxedo-clad boy forward like a fishing line. Summoning all the strength that remained, he swung, and Nobara barely had time to cry out as he was smashed into a nearby tree, bone and bark cracking in a twisted symphony. Ryouga staggered, unsteady but functional, if only through strength of will.

"I don't know how you did that..." Nobara said, gritting his teeth as he slowly rose to stand, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "But it will be the last act of bravado you'll perform!" With a flick of the wrist, the needles flew out at him with lightning speed.

Ryouga quickly dropped low, dodging the five by inches. He felt a sharp pain across his back, like flesh slicing open, as the wires trailed overhead.

Razor wires, too? Ryouga thought, annoyed. Can't make it easy, can you?

He quickly leapt at Nobara, timing his attack in the split second when the needles were out at their peak, but before the retracted. His foot smashed heavily into the Master's chest, sending him reeling backwards, flailing clumsily. Ryouga literally used the boy's chest as a springboard, deftly flipping backwards over the returning needles. Nobara barely had time to shout before they plunged into his chest. He looked up at Ryouga, gurgled something intelligible, and slipped into unconciousness as the poison coating them took hold over him.

The unconscious combat acupuncturist slumped to the ground in a heap, a single red rose slipping out of his lapel and falling to the ground beside him. Ryouga fell to his knees, planting his hands in the soft dirt for support. Ryu, who had remained silent for the course of the discussion, began to say something, but wisely kept it to himself.

Slowly, shakily, Ryouga stood, and walked over to Nobara, staring down at his prone form. Turning his face skyward, Ryouga sucked in a deep breath.

"Ukyou!" he shouted, and his voice echoed through the valley. "If you can hear me, I’m coming for you!"

With that final declaration, he slipped into sweet unconsciousness. Ryu ran to catch him, slowly lowering him to the ground and looking skyward for a moment himself before he picked up the red rose and examined it with curious intensity.

Ukyou looked at the three figures around her with a chaotic swirl of emotions within her. The things that she’d just heard tore through her like a bullet. Did he really love her? The implications were world-shattering. Slowly, the images faded, and the pool returned to shimmering, crystal water. A thick silence hung heavy in the air.

"He...defeated Nobara..." Ukiuji said, stunned. "His willpower is incredible."

Ito was silent, his face unchanging. "He was a fool to act so smugly in battle. He brought the defeat upon himself." he said coldly. "We will search for a replacement when this matter is at its conclusion." He turned to the pale girl standing to his left.

"Yoiko, take this girl back to her room. I have much to consider. Ukiuji, prepare yourself. He will enter your domain by tomorrow. There, you will destroy him."

"But-" Ukiuji began, but Ito turned and walked off, leaving the three of them there in the eerie darkness. Ukiuji turned to Ukyou and shrugged helplessly.

"I’m very sorry, Miss." He said apologetically. "Please forgive me for what I may do tomorrow. It is not my desire to see your friends die, but I am bound by duty to do no less."

With that, he turned and walked away. She felt herself coming close to the point of hysterical sobs again, as much as she damned herself for it, but a cold hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see Yoiko staring back at her.

"This way, please." She said in a voice that reminded Ukyou of a winter chill, if one could imagine what that could sound like. Feeling slightly numbed by the events of the day, she let Yoiko lead her back to her room without protest. The ice woman guided her back to the luxurious bedchamber and ushered her in.

"Wait." Ukyou said in almost a hushed tone. Yoiko looked at her quizzically.

"Yes, is there something you need?" she said in her whispy voice. Ukyou turned to her with pleading eyes, unmistakably full of sorrow. Yoiko looked away from them, without realizing it. Ukyou’s gaze was more than she wanted to see. More than she could handle seeing right now.

"Don’t do this." Ukyou said, vying desperately for a last chance at reason. A last chance to protect the man she loved. "Don’t kill him. Please."

"You know as well as I do that I cannot prevent this." Yoiko said, and turned to leave. Ukyou searched frantically for something...anything...to say that could make her realize...

"I know how you feel about Ito." She said in a somewhat dry tone. The door stopped, as did the cold woman closing. She glared at Ukyou with eyes as savage as an ice storm.

"I have no idea what you mean." Yoiko said angrily. "I have no time to waste with you."

"I see how you look at him when you think no one’s watching you." Ukyou continued, seeming to ignore Yoiko’s words entirely. On the contrary, they did register in her mind, but she pushed them aside, lost in the moment. "I see emotion in your eyes. You love him, don’t you?"

Yoiko’s cold demeanor shifted suddenly to a seething rage, burning brightly.

"Shut up, you...you...mortal wench!" She shouted, clenching her fists in anger. Normally, Ukyou would have attacked her for a comment like that. However, she realized that her words were causing more damage than her attacks ever could.

"You know what it feels like to love someone." Ukyou said, trying to make her point despite Yoiko’s demeanor. "Please don’t make me lose that. Please."

Yoiko’s raging fury faded as suddenly as it had appeared, and she turned away, arms folded tightly.

"Love is an emotion." She said darkly. "Emotions are for the weak."

Ukyou sighed and looked the mistress of winter over with something almost like pity.

"You don’t believe that crap Ito fed into your brain, do you?" she said sarcastically. Yoiko shivered with newfound anger.

"Ito- I mean Prince Akikaze- knows well the path of a true warrior. Emotions make you indecisive. They get in the way. Better not to have them." She said in a distant monotone. Ukyou sighed inwardly. This would be harder than she thought.

"Besides," Yoiko added with spite, "Love doesn’t work when only one person feels it."

Ukyou could almost laugh. If anyone knew about one-way love, it was her.

"Oh, believe me, I know that." She said, gazing out into the wintry landscape. "But it’s different than that now. He’s different than the man I loved long ago. Ryouga...he feels something between us too. I’m sure of it. That’s why I can’t let him go now. Not now that I finally have someone."

Yoiko sighed and closed the door, remaining in the room. Ukyou didn’t even seem to notice.

"I envy you, girl." Yoiko said coldly. Ukyou turned on her with a confused expression.

"You have someone who’s willing to sacrifice everything just to bring you back. I should be so lucky." The ice maiden continued, gazing to the floor, her voice awash with bitterness.

Ukyou smiled to herself. Perhaps she had an ally after all. It was all a matter of getting this woman to feel what Ukyou herself was feeling. The loneliness and the desperation. She turned and placed a comforting hand on Yoiko’s shoulder and smiled.

Just hang on, Ryouga. She thought as she stared at the bitter girl before her. If you die now, I’ll never forgive you for leaving me.

Outside, the winter storm began to abate, if only for a moment.

End of Chapter Nine.