As always, C&C is anticipated, accepted, and appreciated.
"Miyabi" and "Masao" appear courtesy of Kunoichi, whose "Ranma
nibun no ichi" series inspired this "Paralell Universe".
All original Ranma1/2 Characters and Backstory Copyright
Rumiko Takahashi, and are used without permission.
Coutuva.
Mysteries of the Mind - Part 4
Lightning Strikes
------------------------------------------------------------------
Nabiki sat across the low table from Kasumi, holding her
cell phone open in her right hand. Her face bore a look of utter
disbelief as she slowly closed it up.
"Nabiki-chan? What's wrong?" Kasumi asked gently,
looking concerned.
"I can't believe it... there's absolutely no sign of Ranma
anywhere. For the last week, all of my sources have come up
blank... This is unthinkable." Nabiki related, face drooping
with shock. "I can find *Ryoga* if I have to, but I still can't
find Ranma. It's like he dropped off the face of the Earth."
"Oh, Dear... What do you suppose that means?" Kasumi
asked, raising a hand to her mouth.
"Only two things... he doesn't want to be found, or he's
stayed in one place without moving or attracting attention."
Nabiki speculated, brow furrowed with concentration. "And we both
know how likely the latter is." she continued, eyeing her sister
knowingly.
"That's true... adventure does tend to find him, doesn't
it?"
"We can only hope. If he stays this quiet, we may never
get a bead on him." Nabiki commented, darkly. "I'll keep my eyes
peeled, though... someone like Ranma can't stay invisible
forever."
"I know you will, Nabiki-chan. You have a way of meeting
with success." Kasumi encouraged, smiling. "Will you be staying
for supper?"
"Well no, as much as I'd like to, I had best get back to
Kuno-Baby... he can't be left alone too long, or else he starts
to think for himself." she winked, grinning wryly. "See you
tomorrow, oneechan."
"Good night, Nabiki-chan. Thank you for coming; I know
Akane appreciates it." Kasumi smiled, rising to see her sister
to the door.
Once Nabiki had left, Kasumi cleaned off the low table
and glanced out at the walking deck. Akane sat there alone, knees
against her chest, rocking slowly back and forth as she stared
into space. Kasumi's brow furrowed at the sight, as this had
now become a ritual for her youngest sister.
Upon putting the dishes in the kitchen, Kasumi joined
Akane on the deck, and placed a warm, reassuring hand on her
younger sister's shoulder.
Akane's first reaction was to sigh sadly, then she turned
to regard her older sister with lifeless eyes.
"Kasumi... why does everyone I love have to leave?" Akane
asked, emotionlessly. "Am I not good enough to deserve happiness?
Are my children not worthy of a father?" she continued, her voice
still completely flat.
"Akane-chan... don't beat yourself up. This has nothing
to do with you or your children. It was an accident... and who
you are or what you do had no bearing on it."
"It's been a week, oneechan... with no word. I'm
scared." Akane added, quietly.
"I know, Akane... we all are. But, you have to remember
that your children, especially Miyabi-ko, really need you right
now. You have to be strong for them." Kasumi reminded, gently.
"Feh... how can I be strong for them? I can't even be
strong for myself. Without Ranma, I'm not whole... not
complete... not... good enough." she countered, dropping her face
between her knees and starting to rock again.
Kasumi's furrows deepened. It was now apparent to her
that her sister had slipped beyond the point where simple advice
might help her... she could see the early signs of depression
manifesting in Akane, and they instantly conjured up images of her
mother, who had suffered from clinical depression shortly before
she died.
She became convinced that it was time to let Nodoka or
perhaps Tofu-Sensi speak to her, in the hope that he could catch
her before she really began to sink.
"Tadaima! Elysse? Are you home yet?" Hitomi called into
their apartment. Glancing at the watch she had just bought
herself, she noted it was a bit before five. Since it was
Friday, the Daycare had closed a bit early, and since it was
payday, Hitomi had decided to cash her cheque and buy some
new shoes and a watch.
She had hoped Elysse would be home so she could invite her
out for supper, but she assumed she must have beaten her to it.
Shrugging, she slipped her purse strap off her shoulder,
and set it beside her while she slid on her slippers. It was
then that she heard a couple of solid thumps coming from down
the hallway, toward the bathroom.
Eyes narrowing, she removed the slippers again and headed
toward the noises. As she ventured down the hallway, the thumps
continued. She noticed that they seemed to be coming from the
bathroom, so she crept up to the just-open door and peered through
the space.
What she saw froze her in her tracks... until she started
to laugh.
In the bathroom, completely filling the small room, was a
very agitated horse. When the animal heard Hitomi start to laugh,
it immediately whinnied loudly and gave the door a quick kick.
"Okay, okay! I'll fix you up... just a second!" Hitomi
responded between laughs.
Dashing back to the kitchen, she grabbed a pitcher and
filled it with warm water, then returned to the bathroom.
"You're gonna have to move over, Elysse... I can't get too
great of an angle from here!" she instructed, still giggling.
The horse shuffled over as best it could, and then Hitomi
squeezed herself through the door. As soon as she was in
position, she upended the pitcher all over the horse.
In the next second, a very naked, very wet Elysse stood in
it's place. On the floor lay the torn remants of her clothing,
and the scattered contents of her purse.
"Thanks... I needed that." Elysse grinned sheepishly,
crossing her arms over her chest.
"What happened?" chuckled Hitomi, covering her mouth with
her hand.
"I... knocked the soapdish into the sink, and when I
turned on the cold water, it hit the dish..."
"Wow, did it ever. Shame about your skirt, though..."
Hitomi commented, kneeling down to pick up what remained of
Elysse's favorite suede skirt.
"Not the first time I've lost one..." Elysse noted, dryly.
"Could you hand me a towel?" she continued, noticing that Hitomi
was checking her out again.
"Awww... you're no fun anymore." Hitomi pouted, winking.
"Hey, I got paid today... want to go out for supper? My treat!"
Hitomi gushed, happy to be able to return the favor for a change.
"Sounds great! Give me a few minutes to find something
else to wear, and we can go. I didn't feel much like cooking
anyway." Elysse grinned, heading for her room.
Hitomi smiled happily and headed back to the livingroom,
stopping to check herself in the wall mirror. Her flame-red hair
was still neatly in place over her shoulders, combed forward to
hide her dressing, and the green silk China-mini she wore still
looked presentable, despite a full day in it.
The only thing she needed to change was her shoes, since
she had worn flats to work as usual. It just so happened that she
had bought a pair of nice heels, which matched her outfit
perfectly.
Grinning at herself in the mirror, she couldn't believe
how well things were going so far. She still couldn't remember
anything about herself from before she woke up in Elysse's
apartment, but for some reason, that really didn't bother her very
much. Her life now was so much fun that she didn't miss what she
couldn't remember.
Her job at the Daycare had worked out incredibly well to
date, all the children having fallen in love with her. Her glib,
happy, easygoing nature charmed the toughest of them, and for the
more stubborn cases, a few quick little Martial Arts tricks won
them over. Even though only an assistant, she had become the
most popular staffer there.
Most of the children in the centre were those of Japanese
parents, who were quite pleased that their children were being
looked after by someone who spoke the language and knew the
culture.
Hitomi had also become good friends with the owner, who
had already suggested that she meet her son... Hitomi considered
that a great compliment, but skillfully avoided the subject, given
that boys just weren't her thing.
She and Elysse were getting along very well, although
Hitomi wished at times that their relationship was a bit...
different.
"Okay! I think I'm finally ready." Elysse called from
down the hall, adjusting an earring as she strode toward Hitomi.
Hitomi had to gasp aloud at the sexy outfit Elysse had
on, thinking suddenly that she would rather stay in.
"Ohhh, Elysse... you look *sexy*!" Hitomi commented,
leaning hard on the word.
"Thanks!" she chimed, standing beside Hitomi to look
herself over. Wrapping an arm around Hitomi's shoulder, she
brought her face down to the same level and winked into the
mirror.
"Better than Mortal Man deserves." she quipped, winking
again.
"Definitely." Hitomi agreed, although for different
reasons.
"Hey, Hitomi... you look like quite the snack yourself.
Is that what you're wearing?"
"Hai." she responded, flushing at the compliment.
"I got some new shoes, too." she added, smiling.
"Well, it looks great. I wish I could wear those... Got
a little too much baggage though." Elysse commented, patting her
rear.
"No you don't... it looks fine to me. Especially in that
skirt." Hitomi stated, sneaking a look at Elysse's shapely rear.
"Yeah, but you're biased." Elysse grinned, finishing her
primping.
"And this is a bad thing?" Hitomi countered, smirking.
"No comment." Elysse deadpanned, flashing a cheesy grin
at the redhead through the mirror.
"So, are you ready yet?" Hitomi asked, her stomach abruptly
reminding her of their plans.
"Yep! Let's go. Where do you want to eat?"
"There's a nice Japanese/Cantonese place I just heard of
from Minako. She gave me the address, so we can just catch a
cab." Hitomi indicated, walking toward her purse and new shoes.
"I'm game. Anytime."
"Hai, Hai. You lock up." Hitomi smirked, sliding on her
new shoes and slinging her purse.
Monday morning couldn't arrive fast enough for Hitomi, who
actually missed 'her kids' over the weekend. She had managed to
drive Elysse crazy with stories of their antics, and smiled
happily as she walked to work, anticipating another enjoyable
week.
Since the weather had turned out to be a bit windy, she
had opted for a longer outfit on this day, selecting an almost
floor length dark blue number with a long slit. Again, it was her
favorite Chinese style, and the silk it was made from shined in
the morning sun.
The only problem she encountered was that men gawked at
her all the way to work. Some of them even whistled, or saw fit
to make lewd remarks at her. She could feel herself getting
quite angry about it all, but used her foreign looks to ignore
them by pretending not to understand.
Having made it through the gauntlet, she happily strode
into the center, where she was in for a very pleasant surprise.
Upon hanging her purse in her locker, she stepped out to greet
'her kids' and was promptly overwhelmed by the exited choruses
of "Ohiao, Hitomi-Sensei" from twenty-two happy children.
As she bowed to the assemblage surrounding her, she heard
her name being called from behind her. Turning, she saw the
Owner of the center standing with a *very* attractive Japanese
girl just outside the main office. Hitomi was momentarily
stunned at the sight, her cheeks flushing almost instantly.
"Kawaii..." was all Hitomi could think, her mouth unable
to move. The girl noticed Hitomi's reaction and smiled
sheepishly, demurely turning her eyes away... but only for a
second.
Once the initial shock wore off, Hitomi gathered her wits
and approached the two women, eyes riveted on the girl.
She stood about five foot tall, sported jet-black hair and
a perky, medium-sized chest. She was blessed with a perfectly
proportioned figure and an absolutely lovely face, and wore a
surprisingly plain blouse with a short green skirt.
Hitomi smiled as she stepped up to the pair, and the owner
introduced them.
"Hitomi-Sensei, this is Okimiyaki Kikyo. She is here to
replace you." the owner stated, smiling.
"Konnichiwa, Okimiyaki-san." Hitomi bowed, then realized
what the owner had said.
"Nani?? Replace me?" she blurted, shocked.
"Hai. Our regular Sensei quit on the weekend...
it seems as though she felt displaced by your ability with the
children. I have decided to move you into the spot she vacated,
and I have hired Kikyo to take your place." the owner grinned
again, happy with her little joke.
Hitomi breathed a huge sigh of relief. "You had me
worried there for a minute, Minako-san." Hitomi breathed,
shaking her head.
The owner simply grinned a little wider. "I will leave
Miss Okimiyaki to your care, Hitomi-Sensei. Be sure to show
her around, and teach her what to do."
"Hai." Hitomi agreed, and bowed again. "Ano,
Minako-san?"
"Hai?"
"Domo Arigato. I appreciate your faith in me. I will
do my best." Hitomi stated, bowing again.
"I know you will." Minako replied, smiling. "We will
also have to get you licensed. Come see me about it later." she
added, then turned and stepped back into her office.
"Nice to meet you, Hitomi-Sensei. And Congratulations."
Kikyo bowed when Hitomi turned to look at her. The girl's
beautiful smile almost melted Hitomi's heart.
"Arigato, and it's nice to meet you, too. Oh, and
call me Hitomi. The 'Sensei' part isn't necessary. You're staff
now." she instructed upon regaining her composure, and smiled back
at the girl.
The girl seemed to flush for a second, then glanced away.
Hitomi noticed it, and hoped it meant what she thought it did.
For the rest of the morning, Hitomi showed Kikyo the
ropes, and noted happily that she seemed to take well to the tasks
assigned her. She also noticed that whenever she went near her,
one of two things happened. Either Kikyo would lose her
concentration, or she would make a mistake. Hitomi took that as a
hopeful sign of things to come, as she herself was unable to stop
thinking about the girl, and would sneak a covert glance at her
whenever she could.
Lunch time finally rolled around, and Hitomi decided that
she should put her suspicions to the test. Quickly checking her
hair and dress, she headed over to where Kikyo was just finishing
with a child.
"So, how's it going?" Hitomi asked as an ice-breaker.
"Everything is going well, Hitomi-Sensei." the girl
replied, bowing. As she rose from the bow, Hitomi noticed that
she suddenly seemed very nervous.
"What's wrong, Kikyo-san? Is something bothering you?"
she asked, becoming concerned.
"Ya... nothing is wrong, Sensei. I... I.. just wanted
to ask you..." the girl began, looking as if her heart was about
to fail her.
"Hai...?" Hitomi urged gently, regarding the fidgeting
girl quizzically.
The girl closed her eyes, swallowed audibly, and then
finally blurted out her question. "Would you like to have lunch
with me?" she asked quickly, opening her eyes and breathing
rapidly.
Hitomi couldn't believe her ears. "Hai! I was just
coming to ask you the same thing. I would be delighted." she
replied, smiling happily.
"Y... you would?" the girl asked, both stunned and
excited. "Thank you! You honor me." she added, bowing again
to Hitomi.
"No, thank you, Kikyo-san. I'm honored to be asked by
someone as pretty as you." Hitomi responded with a smile,
deciding to go for broke.
"Oh, Sensei..." was all the girl could muster, as her
cheeks fairly glowed.
"Please, Kikyo-san... call me Hitomi." she indicated,
now sure of her young friend's intentions. They were exactly
the same as her own.
"Hai... and I would like you to call me Kikyo." the girl
countered, smiling sweetly.
That night, Hitomi fairly floated home, having had a
wonderful day getting to know her new friend. As soon as Elysse
stepped in the door, she had to tell her all about it.
"Elysse! I had the most wonderful thing happen to me
today!" she gushed, dragging Elysse over to sit with her on the
futon.
"What? Tell me!" Elysse responded, a bit taken aback by
Hitomi's exuberance.
"I met the most wonderful girl today... she's Japanese,
young, pretty... and just the sweetest person I've ever met!"
Hitomi babbled, her eyes dancing with excitement. "And she likes
me!" she added, giggling with delight.
Elysse was stunned. Her face dropped momentarily, but
she managed to recover quickly. "How... did this happen?" she
asked, trying to cover her feelings.
"The Sensei quit, so Minako promoted me, and hired her
to take my old job. I almost fainted when I met her... she's
just so incredibly cute."
"That's great... I'm happy for you." Elysse replied,
forcing a smile.
Hitomi nodded her agreement, then abruptly noticed the
crestfallen look on Elysse's face. "Is... something wrong,
Elysse?" she asked, looking her in the eye.
"No... nothing at all. Would you excuse me for a
minute? I... have to use the washroom." she replied quietly,
rising and heading out of the room.
Hitomi watched her go, somewhat bewildered at her
reaction. After all, she had not said anything when Elysse
didn't come home Friday night, so she had a hard time figuring
out what would bother her about the news she had.
After a few seconds, Hitomi decided to just shrug it
off, figuring that Elysse would eventually tell her about it
anyway.
At the moment, Hitomi didn't really want to get involved
in such discussions regardless, especially since she had to get
ready for her first date.
In the washroom, Elysse collapsed against the inside of
the door, totally stunned at Hitomi's news. She had worried
that something like this might happen, especially since she had
rebuffed all of Hitomi's advances toward her.
She wasn't sure yet just how to handle the situation, or
what effect it would have on her carefully laid plan to isolate
the male Ranma for herself. So far, she had succeeded in keeping
Hitomi too busy to be worried about her past, but suddenly it
seemed as if the plan had worked too well.
Her mind whirling, she flung the bathroom door open and
dashed across the hall to her bedroom, throwing herself on her
bed. Reaching up under her pillow, she pulled out her childhood
grief counselor, an old, well worn brown teddy bear. Hugging
it tightly to her chest, she could feel the tears starting as
she realized she may have schemed herself right out of the very
opportunity she had been trying to create.
Hitomi was in heaven as she and Kikyo enjoyed their evening
together on the town. After dinner in a fairly fancy restaurant,
the two took in "Phantom", spending the entire time edging closer
to one another, eventually ending up snuggled together. Kikyo was
no longer as shy as she had been when they first met, although
she still behaved like the perfect Japanese woman, demure, polite
and still somewhat restrained, which for some reason delighted
Hitomi to no end. The two got along famously, each happily
sharing their likes and dislikes, with Hitomi having to be
careful, wanting to avoid mentioning her little difficulty.
By the end of the evening, Hitomi was so smitten that she
didn't want it to end, and Kikyo confessed to feeling the same
way. As they stood outside Kikyo's apartment building, they
looked deep into each other's eyes, both euphoric over their
wonderful evening, and sad that it was drawing to a close.
Just as she was about to head in, Kikyo surprised Hitomi
by asking her to come in for a nightcap, but Hitomi politely
declined, using the excuse that she was tired. Inwardly, she
knew that if she went in, she probably wouldn't leave... and
that didn't feel like the right way to handle this situation.
Instead, she stepped forward and took Kikyo in her arms, hugged
her tightly, and went to give her a kiss goodnight.
Kikyo surprised her again by returning the kiss so
passionately that Hitomi's toes started to curl, and the
goodnight kiss turned into a long, hot promise of things to
come.
When they finally parted, Hitomi had to hold Kikyo
up for a few seconds, her knees having become momentarily weak.
Once she recovered, Hitomi saw her to the door, pecked her cheek
once more and smiled happily, wishing her a good night before
turning to hail a cab.
In the cab, Hitomi flopped against the seat back, utterly
overwhelmed by the evening's events. She was beyond euphoric,
feeling that she had found someone very special.
The cab driver, noticing the flush on her cheeks and
silly expression on her face, smiled to himself, recognizing the
signs.
"Hot date tonight?" he asked, personably.
"Too hot..." Hitomi replied, breathlessly.
"Is he a nice guy?" the driver continued, still smiling.
"Nope... not at all." Hitomi winked, a wry grin sliding
across her face. "Better." she added, haughtily.
When she finally arrived home, she discovered that Elysse
had gone out, leaving a hastily scrawled note saying "Don't wait
up." She frowned at that discovery, wanting to tell her friend
all about her incredible date.
Sighing, she changed out of her dress and pulled on a
borrowed tank-t, then flopped on the futon with another huge
sigh. Her thoughts were immediately back on Kikyo, and how
thoroughly she had enjoyed their evening together. All she could
think about was how much she wanted to see her again, and
how she couldn't wait till the morning.
Closing her eyes, she allowed her thoughts to drift over
the evening, remembering Kikyo's delicate face, incredibly deep
brown eyes and petite, sexy body. As well, her demure, reserved
manner absolutely endeared her to Hitomi, who herself was anything
but.
Sighing happily again, Hitomi reached up and touched her
lips, still able to taste the delicate sweetness of their parting
kiss. On her hand, she could smell the traces of Kikyo's
understated perfume, and smiled deliriously as she inhaled the
fragrance.
Up in her apartment, Kikyo floated in the door and set
her purse on the side table, humming happily to herself. She
couldn't remember having so much fun on a date, and was in awe
of the wonderful woman that was Hitomi. She still couldn't
believe that someone as perfect as her would even be interested
in a plain girl like herself, but she wasn't about to argue
the point.
Glancing at herself in the hallway mirror, she saw the
flush on her cheeks and the faraway look in her eyes, and could
feel the twinge in her heart that told her she missed Hitomi's
company already. In her mind, she recalled Hitomi's bright
smile, easy, happy manner and dreamy blue eyes, but most of
all, the passionate kiss that lingered on her lips.
Hanging her jacket in the closet, she grabbed her purse
as she turned to head into her bedroom, and then tossed it on
her bed as she passed by. It landed upside down, spilling it's
contents across the comforter, including her wallet, keys,
makeup, cell phone and .45 caliber Smith & Wesson automatic.
==================================================================
END - Mysteries of the Mind - Part 4 A Ranma1/2 FanFic by Coutuva
Comments Welcomed, Flames Extinguished!
coutuva@vecdev.com
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