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All original Ranma1/2 Characters and Backstory Copyright
Rumiko Takahashi, and are used without permission.
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Coutuva.
Goodbye Is Not Forever - Part Three
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Her goals were clear.
She was going to find her daughter. The beautiful,
perfect little girl she'd seen herself nursing - both in her first
'dream', and in many more since, and she was going to get her
revenge.
And she didn't care if accomplishing them took her last
breath.
As it was now, absolutely nothing remained of the life she
once knew. As the word had spread, the reactions varied from
sympathy to naked discomfort, as people just didn't know how to
take it. Her own mother hadn't spoken to her since leaving the
clinic in tears, which to this day tore at her heart.
She'd thought that if anyone would have been able to
understand, it would have been her mother.
Her father meantime, after throwing a fit that took a
pressure point from Tofuu to stop, spent most of his time either
as a panda, drunk, or both.
And Soun, who had at first been unable to look at her
without bawling, was at least trying to be civil again.
Akane, after some initial sympathy and obviously
half-hearted offers to help, had gradually become more and more
distant -- except when other members of the family were around.
Kasumi, meantime, was still Kasumi, but the discomfort in
her eyes was too obvious for even her sunny manner to hide. In fact,
the only member of the family that seemed to give a damn about her
any longer was Nabiki, whose change of attitude still surprised her.
As to her other fiancees, they had just stopped coming
around, and even Kuno was nowhere to be seen.
It had all only fueled her desire to make someone pay.
After fighting down her devastation at the news, she had
forced herself to focus on rebuilding her abused body, and
regaining every last bit of her strength and speed. It had been
a long, difficult process, since about all she'd had left of her
old prowess was the knowledge. Even her Ki attacks had been
weakened to uselessness.
Trying to find anyone decent to spar with had been
impossible, as her Pop was useless and Ryouga had completely
disappeared. Not that such a thing was unusual, but it happened
right after he got the news, which convinced Ranma that the guy
freaked on it.
It had been just one more reason to push harder, and for
the last year, that was exactly what she'd done. She'd often
worked herself to the point of collapse, waking up the next
morning exactly where she'd dropped.
But the long, hard hours had paid off.
As she stood on the aqueduct looking back over the water
she'd just run across, she smiled tightly. Just to make sure,
she raised her fist before her and with barely any effort, lit
it up. Her smile took a little twist as she noticed that the
glow seemed brighter than she remembered it.
She was back, and she was ready.
And as soon as she found out who, somebody was going to
die.
"So what does this mean? You finally figure you're back
in shape?" Nabiki asked, as she indicated the still glowing
extremity.
She nodded. "Pretty much; but now comes the hard part.
I gotta find out who did this to me, ask 'em why, then kill 'em
for it."
The girl smirked. "If it isn't one thing it's another
with you, ne?"
Ranma narrowed her eyes. "It's the only thing."
"Yeah... I know. Just wish I could have been more help.
Guess it's time I got some better sources," Nabiki huffed, a
frown crossing her face. "Anyway, you ready to head home? I
imagine now that you're going to change back, things will get
better around there."
Her face sobered. "Maybe... Except that I ain't
changing back yet."
"Huh? You told me that when you were back in shape,
you'd be ready to be a guy again."
She frowned, then returned her gaze to the water. "I
did. But I ain't ready yet."
"O-kay... Mind telling me why?"
She lowered her head, then sighed. She'd been dreading
this moment since the beginning, but the fact that it had come
while she was alone with Nabiki made it slightly easier.
With her head still lowered, she closed her eyes and
said it.
"Men don't have babies."
To her surprise, Nabiki wasn't.
"Uh-huh. I figured - ever since you refused to be
changed back that night," she noted, an odd look on her face.
"So I take it you've decided to be a girl from now on?"
She raised her head. "No! It's... It's just easier to
get my head around things this way - at least for now."
Nabiki sobered. "Yeah... I guess it is," she agreed,
her tone serious. "But you do realize what you're risking here,
don't you?"
"Yeah. I've been getting the vibes for a while now.
Tell you the truth, I'm surprised nobody's said nothing yet."
"That's only because 'the Dads' don't want to give up,"
Nabiki smirked, then leaned a bit closer. "They've even started
dropping hints that I should marry you."
She lowered an eyebrow. "Hints?"
"Sure. Real delicate ones like: 'Nabiki; you're getting
along with him rather well - perhaps you should be the one to
unite the families,' type thing. They've been harping on it for
a month now," she related, with a smile and an exaggerated eyeroll.
"Hm. Well, I won't bother asking. But, if they're
getting on you, then I guess that means Akane has given up, huh?"
"Akane doesn't know what she wants. I heard her talking
to Kasumi a few times, and one minute she's prepared to accept
things, and the next she's saying how she gets repulsed by the
thought of it. After all, there's only one way a woman gets
pregnant - unless she's rich."
Her eyes widened. "You mean..." she began, then after a
moment, her face darkened. "Masaka -- you saying she's freaked out
cause she thinks I had sex?"
"Well, some people do have hangups about that kind of
thing, Ranma..."
She opened her mouth to issue her exact opinion, only to
find that there was no voice in it. As much as she knew her own
feelings about the matter, she also realized that Nabiki had a
point. There was only one way, and up till now, she'd
deliberately not thought about it.
Before she could prevent it, she shuddered, then began
to feel absolutely ill.
"Ranma...? You all right? You look really pale."
"I-I..." A few seconds later, she was on her knees at
the water's edge.
Supper was, as it had become over the last while, a
fairly quiet affair. She already knew that it was because of
her, so she finished her meal quickly, tossed a respectful nod
at Kasumi, then headed straight for the Dojo. She needed to
think.
Her conversation with Nabiki had forced her to face
certain issues, some she hadn't given five minutes of conscious
consideration in over a year. Her thoughts had been utterly
consumed with the desire to avenge herself, and her heart
dominated by her anguish over the cherubic, pudgy face she had
so far only seen in her 'dreams'.
Even so, she'd noticed how Akane's feelings seemed to
have changed, but at the time, she had written it off to her not
truly understanding the situation. Now, however, she realized
that perhaps the girl understood it too well.
As much as she hated to admit it, she'd always known that
she was now 'damaged goods'. Someone had taken from her things
that could never be replaced - things that at one time, she'd
wanted to give to Akane.
It was now more than apparent that Akane was thinking
along the same lines, which, now that she'd thought about it,
suited her just fine. As she had discovered after a surprisingly
short soul-search, Akane was no longer the most important girl in
her life. That position now belonged to someone who meant far
more.
Her daughter. The one her 'dreams' told her she had named
Kayoko, and the one she missed so desperately she would still cry
herself to sleep at night.
And she knew that situation wouldn't change until she got
her daughter back, and had adequately punished whoever had taken her
away.
The next step was obvious, even to her.
After a few more sets and a protracted cool down, she
bowed to the motto, picked up her towel, and strode noiselessly
off the mats.
As much as she hated the thought, she realized she
couldn't put off the inevitable any longer. It was time she and
Akane had a talk.
The door before her didn't look any different, but
tonight, it felt like the first gateway to doom. With a last
sigh and a great effort of will, she finally raised her hand to
the painted wood and knocked.
"Hai?"
"Heya, Nabs. It's me. Got a minute?" she asked, her
voice sounding far more defeated than she wanted it to.
The door opened. "Sure, Ranma," Nabiki smiled, then
stepped back to gesture her in. Ranma couldn't help but notice
the thin, clingy nightshirt the girl was in, and the fact that
she wore only lacy panties beneath it.
"Thanks," she nodded back, as she moved through and
glanced about the room. "Hey -- I'm not disturbing something,
am I?" she asked, as she noted the paper, books and open laptop
arrayed on the floor.
"Nope. Just getting my books in order. School's
championship baseball game is tomorrow, and I have to be sure I
can cover the action, right?" she responded, smirking as she
gestured toward the scene. "So? What's on your mind? You
don't look happy."
"I'm not. I was just in the Dojo doing some heavy-duty
thinking, and before I do anything about it, I wanted to talk to
you again," she sighed, then turned and moved to the window.
"Shoot," Nabiki responded, as she settled cross-legged
amid her pile once more.
"Yeah..." she responded, averting her eyes out of
politeness. "Well, I might as well just get it over with. I
need to know, Nabs... Where's she really at?"
"I take it you mean Akane?"
"Yep."
"You sure you want to hear this?"
She nodded. "I already got a pretty good idea, but I
wanted to check it out first. There's... A lot hanging on this."
"No kidding. Well, the last time I heard her talking to
Kasumi - which would be about two days ago, I heard her asking
how Dad would feel about her backing out. I didn't want to tell
you that earlier, since I wasn't sure what was on your mind."
"Hrmph. Probably a good idea. I didn't know what was on
it, either -- I been kinda preoccupied."
"I know. So I guess now you've made a decision?"
"Nope. Somebody made it for me - a little over a year ago.
Just took me this long to realize it," she sighed, as her head
lowered. "So she just couldn't handle being stuck with sloppy
seconds, ne?"
Nabiki got to her feet and walked to the window. "What's
this 'sloppy seconds' stuff?"
"Just like you said earlier... She thinks I had sex with
someone else, and I... Well, let's face it. I can't prove it one
way or the other. I guess I can't blame her."
"Now I see where that 'Ranma no baka' comes from. If she
had ever trusted you, there wouldn't be any question. Your word
would have been good enough, and you'd be with her right
now - instead of me. This was never your fault, Ranma. I
believe that, and I think it's about time you did, too.
Especially when it comes to how everyone's been shitting on you."
"Hey -- I've never thought this was my fault. I was just
saying..." she began, then broke into a smirk as another thought
struck her. "Damn... I still can't get used to this."
"Huh? Used to what?"
"You being so nice to me. You used to get your biggest
jollies outta my screw-ups."
She smiled. "You just made it too easy, Ranma. You had
no idea how to deal with women, and no idea how to deal with
life. You were fun to rag on, and even more fun when you got
all pissy about it. I loved it."
"Figures. So what changed your mind? Get tired of
busting my chops?"
"No, that's still fun. I just think you got royally
shafted over all this - not only at the start, but every day
since. And for once, you actually didn't deserve it."
She had to shake her head. "Thanks... I think," she
smirked, then turned her gaze back out the window. "Well, no
matter what your reason was, you've... Been a good friend,
Nabs. I'm... Gonna miss you."
She heard Nabiki jolt. "Excuse me?"
With a long, tired sigh, she nodded. "Yeah. Once Akane
and I air this out, it's a safe bet I'm outta here. The old man,
too. And when that happens, my mom ain't gonna want me around,
either. I'll have dishonoured the family, and you know what
that means."
"Yeah, I do, but what about just keeping your mouth shut,
and letting it ride for a while? You've been pretty good at it
so far."
"Like that's gonna work," she huffed, bitterly. "Once
they figure out that Akane and I really aren't happening, then
your life is gonna go to hell - and I don't want that for you.
You've been the only real friend I've had since all this started.
I can't drag you through that crap."
At first, Nabiki didn't respond. Just as Ranma was about
to turn to find out why, she heard a quiet sniff.
"Nabiki...?"
"Oh, just shut up and kiss me, you idiot. You've said
too damned much already," she sniffed again, then leaned forward
and pulled her into a toe-curling kiss.
It was a ceiling all right. An hour of staring at it had
confirmed that beyond any doubt, but that was about all it had
accomplished.
The last thing she'd ever thought would happen had
happened, and she'd not only welcomed it, but enjoyed it. And
much to her surprise, she'd found that she even craved it.
And judging by how she'd behaved, apparently Nabiki had
as well -- and without benefit of kettle.
But what stood out most in her troubled mind was how
familiar it had felt. She'd known what was happening - known
what to expect, and even known what she wanted.
It all gave credence to Nabiki's earlier suggestion, even
though the mere thought of it still sickened her.
A dark frown pulled down her face as she realized that
her life had just become an order of magnitude more complicated.
With a long, soft sigh, she glanced over at Nabiki's
slumbering face nestled on her shoulder, and realized there was
only one way she was going to clear her head.
It took several long, delicate minutes to extricate
herself from the embrace, and then a few more to track down her
clothes. When she finally pulled her boxers down off of the
ceiling fan, she finished dressing, moved to the window and set
her foot on the sill.
After a check of her landing zone, she glanced back at
the bed she'd just vacated, and the warm, much too inviting form
still nestled amoung the disheveled covers.
"Oyasumi nasai, Nabiki-chan," she huffed into a resigned
smile, then launched herself out into the night.
Once safely in the Dojo, she wiped her damp feet and
stepped out onto the mats, thinking of nothing more than the
kata she planned to use. As she was already as loose as it was
possible to get, she dispensed with her exercises and went right
to her opening stance.
A smile crossed her face as she began the routine, and
noticed that it felt smoother than it had in a long time. Her
body seemed to flow like liquid from one form to the next, and
even her speed seemed better.
She made a mental note to thank Nabiki for the new
warm up technique.
As she continued her workout, she found that she was
enjoying it so much that she couldn't think about anything else,
so she decided to stop trying. The effort was interfering, and
she could always deal with it during her cool down - or maybe
after it.
All too soon, however, she reached the end of the kata,
and could feel her euphoria begin to fade. She'd been so lost
in the perfection of her work that the two hours had gone by in
a blink, leaving her feeling like she could go all night.
Her cool down went fairly quickly as well, which left
her no further ahead. It began to make her wonder if
subconsciously, she was just avoiding the issue - which wouldn't
surprise her at all.
However, as she bent down to pick up her towel, that
became the last of her concerns.
From the doorway behind her, she sensed an incredibly
powerful presence. One unlike anything she'd ever felt before.
Eyes narrowing, she picked up the towel, wiped her face and
turned toward the figure.
"Something I can do for you?" she asked, edgily.
The pretty, black-haired, early teenaged girl that she'd
been surprised to see only nodded.
She frowned. "And that would be?"
"You are Ranma," she stated, her face tilted down enough
to be lost in shadow.
Her frown deepened as she subtly moved to a stance.
This felt all too familiar. "Hai."
The girl raised an absolutely dispassionate face,
revealing a startling pair of intense, ice-blue eyes. She then
held her hands apart in front of her, as if clutching a western
football by its pointed ends.
The moment they stopped moving, bolts of raw Ki energy
began to crackle between them.
Ranma felt a wave of power wash over her, and the charge
it left in the air stood every untied hair on her body on end.
The girl, meantime, responded with one flat line.
"Then you must die."
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END - Goodbye Is Not Forever - Part 3 A Ranma1/2 Fanfic by Coutuva
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