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All original Ranma1/2 Characters and Backstory Copyright
Rumiko Takahashi, and are used without permission.
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Coutuva.
Yue – Part Fifteen
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It had only taken moments.
Within an instant of the redhead’s departure, Shampoo
dropped to her knees, and, blinking back tears, picked something up.
After a moment, she rose and walked away, eyes never leaving the
object in her hands. Mousse followed with the expression of a dead
man walking, and after levelling an angry frown at the old ghoul, the
Matriarch exited in silence. Cologne left a moment later, head low
and face grim.
Now, only himself and Akane remained.
“Looks like the plan didn’t work,” she huffed, a look of
satisfied delight on her face.
“Plan? What plan?”
“They were hoping that if they confessed, Liang Yue would
forgive them. I think they guessed wrong.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, although that was the least of his concerns.
“Akane… I get the feeling there’s lots about this I don’t know yet – how
about you tell me?”
She looked back at him with a falling face. “Uhm… Okay.
But… You’re not going to like it.”
He frowned. “I already don’t like it. Let’s get it over with.”
She drew a deep breath.
He couldn’t believe his ears. He’d suspected the Amazons
had been up to something, but this was incredible even for them.
“R-Ranma?” Akane probed, startling him out of his shock.
“What?” he snapped, as he shot her an annoyed look.
“Uhm… Your aura -- it’s… Really hot,” she winced, moving
her chair back.
“Aura…? Oh -- hm,” he huffed, then closed his eyes and
tried to calm himself.
“So… What do we do now?” she asked, sounding as if she
dreaded the answer.
He finished his task before replying. “Feh… Don’t ask me.
If what the ghoul said is true, then I’m screwed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simple, Akane… I don’t got my curse no more, but I’m
still connected to that ‘Princess’. Only this time, it’s worse.”
Akane lowered her head. “Hai… I was afraid of that. Is
there… Anything we can do?”
“Dunno. Kinda depends on her. I figure she’s pretty
pissed at the Amazons, and… Shimata! Akane -- where’s my clothes?”
he blurted, as a horrible thought struck.
“Huh? Why-what?” she sputtered, reaching to the dresser to
retrieve them.
“The Princess! I gotta find her!” he explained, throwing aside
his blanket and swinging his legs off the bed.
Akane gasped through flaming cheeks, then shook her head.
“Ahh -- Why?”
“Cause I don’t wanna find out what happens to me if she
decides to slice her gut open!”
Akane’s eyes widened. “Aiy…”
“Damned right! I gotta go find her! Right now!” he stated,
snatching his pants and jumping into them.
“How… How are you going to find her? She could be
anywhere.”
“I can feel her -- noticed it when she got upset,” he
explained, through the shirt he was pulling on. “I’m gonna go after
her, you go back to your house and wait. Don’t follow me.”
“Why not? I don’t want to leave…”
He shot her a level look. “Akane, I don’t figure she’ll
wanna see you right now.”
“Huh?”
“You’re one of the ones that lied to her. You just better
lay low.”
“Hey! That wasn’t my fault! Kasumi told us to! She said
that if Yue knew about you, she might commit seppuku! She made me
promise!”
“Nani? Kasumi said that?”
“Hai! She and Kasumi got to be good friends…”
He shook his head. “Tell me later. Right now, go find a
phone and call home – tell ‘em what happened, and tell ‘em we’re
okay for now – I’ll see you back at your house.”
Before she could say anything further, he forced down the
pain still nagging at him and moved to the open window. After a
quick look around, he launched himself out into the early dusk.
Immediately, he focussed on the feeling he’d had while the
‘Princess’ was in the room, and tried to get a bearing on it. After
a few more low bounds, he was able to narrow down her location.
He was surprised to learn that she actually hadn’t gone far.
On his next bound, he touched down just outside a small,
recently painted house, able to ‘feel’ that the Princess was
inside.
That was all the invitation he needed.
A few moments later, he walked right through the partially
open door and into the main room. There, he found the Princess,
sitting silently in the middle with her back to him. It was more
than odd to see her anywhere besides a mirror, but somehow, it
didn’t bother him as much as he figured it would.
In fact, as he continued to look her over, he began to feel
more like he was looking at an old friend than someone who had just
tried to kill him. Even so, he opted not to let his guard down.
As he started toward her however, she puffed out a long
sigh.
“Greetings, sire Ranma,” she opened, then wiped at her
face, rose, and turned to face him.
The act didn’t surprise him -- and neither did the fact that
he could clearly understand her. Somehow, he just knew he would.
“Hi… Uhm… You… You doing okay?” he asked, noting her
reddened eyes as his shoulders eased down.
She nodded. “I am. And I am in truth pleased that you
are here. I… Must apologize for attacking you,” she bowed, her
voice earnest. “At the time, I had thought myself to be defending
the honour of a friend. Had I… Known the truth of it…”
“Feh -- it’s okay. If anyone can understand, it’s me. I
was more worried about what you were doing – since… Well, I guess
you know.”
With a sad smile, she nodded. “You… Need not fear for
me, sire Ranma. I… I have now long accepted the hand fate has
dealt me. After bearing witness to other curses, weapons
appearing from the very air, hammers forged from Chi and machines
that fly, I am numbed to such shocks.”
He had to smile. “Glad to hear it. I was gettin’
nervous.”
The Princess sighed. “For a time, you had good cause.
Now, though, I find my true state sadly ironic. Oft times, my
father would tell me that our family would live forever. I am
given to wonder if his words were more than just prideful
boasts.”
“Huh. Yeah, that is kinda creepy, but I don’t figure
it’s like that. You just had the same lousy luck I did -- right
place, wrong time.”
She puffed a humourless laugh. “Were it but so simple.
As of now, I would be beyond any further thought of it. It is
that so many lives have been irrevocably harmed, and yours was
very nearly negated. That knowledge… Pains me deeply.”
“Don’t worry about it, Princess. I’m mad as hell about
that, too, but I’m kinda used to my life being weird. Tell you
the truth, after what happened in that alley, I’m just glad to
be alive. I’ll deal with the rest after I figure out how.”
She shook her head, her face fallen in disbelief. “You
say that with such abandon… Your life must truly be strange.”
He huffed. “Strange don’t start to tell it. Maybe
after we get this crap figured out, I’ll fill you in.”
“Then I fear that story may be long in coming. What
lies ahead defies any simple redress.”
“Probably, but that ain’t never stopped me before, and
I ain’t gonna let it now. I just wanna get back home and take
it from there.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Home… That means the
island -- and that city called ‘Tokyo’?”
His face sobered. “Yeah. That’s… One of the things
we gotta deal with.”
She went quiet for a moment, then lowered her eyes and
cleared her throat. “I know… To what you infer, but you need
not be concerned,” she began, then raised her gaze into a sweep
of the room. “Until today, my fondest dream had been to settle
here with my husband, and fill this home with strong, proud
Amazon children. But now – now that I have suffered this
betrayal, I have no such desire. I am aghast at the thought
that had I bourne those children, their lives would have been
lived under a black shadow. Given that, I suppose that it is
good the whims of fate were as they were – the child that is not
born cannot suffer the sins of its kin.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,“ he responded,
the heartbreak in her voice striking a certain chord. However,
before the thoughts it generated had a chance to distract him,
he forced his concentration back to the topic. “So then I’m
guessing you wouldn’t have a problem coming back to Nerima
with us?”
She returned a smile. “I would be honoured, sire
Ranma. And in truth, I am greatly relieved. With all that has
transpired, I… Had feared for my future.”
He blinked. “How come? I thought you were really an
Amazon, and that’s one of the reasons they were so hot to get
you here.”
She drew another sigh, then shook her head. “In truth,
that is the way of it, but it matters not. It is they who have
told me I am of Amazon lineage, but in view of their acts, even
that is now suspect.”
“So you figure they lied about that, too?”
“It is within the realm of possibility. In fact, it
would be a burden lifted.”
“Huh? As in how?”
“Were the proof of my lineage naught but fabrication, I
could then turn my back on this horror with impunity," she stated,
with a sad sigh. "These… ‘People’ have no pride in their
heritage -- no concept of honour. They are instead wicked,
deceitful, self-interested scoundrels. They thought nothing of
destroying other’s lives to suit their own ends. They have
dishonoured not only themselves, but their ancestors – and even
their descendants,” she continued, her voice tremulous. “The
Amazons I knew… The Amazons I would have been proud to number
amoung – must surely be howling in the afterlife. Everything they
held as sacred… Everything they strove toward as a people – has
been ground into the dirt,” she continued, bitterness obvious in
the strain of her voice. “This… This is the saddest day… I have
ever had the misfortune… To live. I… I am compelled to question…
W-why I have been made… To live it...!”
Even as the words left her lips, her hands came to her
face and a powerful sob racked her diminutive frame. Instinctively,
he reeled back – until a voice somewhere inside him told him that
was not what he needed to do. A knowing smile crossed his face as
his course became clear, and with surprising ease, he took hold of
the Princess’s shuddering shoulders and gathered her to his
chest. To his amazement, she didn’t fight it, but still tried to
save face.
“Forgive me, sire Ranma… I am weak. I cannot s-stop
my tears; I-I…”
“No… You’re not weak, Liang Yue – you’re human,” he
countered, the gentle words coming to him without thought.
“And I promise I won’t tell a soul.”
Her response was swift.
Akane stood at the window, arms crossed and a frown
darkening her visage. Night had long since fallen, and there
was still no sign of Ranma, the Princess, or even a stray
Amazon. In fact, she’d noticed that the entire village
seemed ominously quiet.
With a long, tired sigh, she turned away and began
another round of pacing, hoping that she’d soon hear something.
In an attempt to distract herself, she thought back
over her call home, recalling how the reactions had been as
she’d expected. Her father first gave her proper ‘what for’
over taking off, then started bawling when she announced her
news.
At that point, Kasumi had taken over, taken the
abbreviated story, and promised to pass it on. She had also
related how Nodoka had suddenly awakened just a few hours
earlier, and was now back home, none the worse for her
mysterious experience.
While she was thrilled to hear that, she was taken
aback at how Kasumi hadn’t seemed all that surprised that
Ranma was alive. She’d been happy, but her reaction was
more like she’d expected it, and was glad to get the
confirmation.
It made her wonder what she’d missed during her
‘travel time’.
That thought brought her back to the matter at hand,
and the fact that she was now becoming very worried.
Normally, she wouldn’t have cared what he was doing, but this
time, there was the wildcard of the Princess.
She still couldn’t believe that the slight redhead
had actually managed to beat him, especially since they were
both still ‘recovering’.
Which ultimately convinced her she’d waited long
enough.
A moment later, the door was closing behind her.
Her excursion, however, did nothing to help her
worries. She had no idea which way Ranma had gone, and simply
wandered the earthen roads looking for a clue. As more time
passed and she started to feel the coolness of the night air,
she became less concerned – and more upset.
“Probably back at the house…” she grumbled, crossing
her arms over her chest.
She had nearly talked herself into going to find out
when she caught sight of a nice looking little house, its new
coat of paint seeming to shine in the dim light.
What really drew her attention, however, was the fact
that even though the house was dark, the front door was
slightly ajar.
Curious, she walked up to the porch and looked it
over, trying to see into the building. A frown grew as she
found she couldn’t, which prompted her to start walking
away – until she saw what looked like a shoe on the floor.
She moved up to the door and pushed it open, and as
it swung away, she confirmed her sighting. And as she looked
closer, she saw a second pair.
Her frown became a satisfied smirk.
Stepping in the entry, she kicked off her own shoes
and looked around, about to walk further in – when she saw
something move in the shadows.
After swallowing her heart, she made out Ranma’s
silhouetted figure sitting beside a couch, gesturing to her
to be quiet, and waving her closer.
“She’s asleep,” he hissed, pointing to the couch.
“What happened to you?” she returned, settling to her
knees beside him and crossing her arms against the coolness
of the room.
“Well, we were talking, and she kinda fell apart on
me. Figure she’s had about as much as she can take,” he
whispered back, his face almost grim. “They really ripped
her guts out.”
“Figures. They don’t care who they have to hurt – or
how,” she huffed, shaking her head. “Is she going to be
okay?”
“Yeah… Probably. She’s pretty tough,” he responded,
looking over at the form slumbering in the shadows. “But
she ain’t gonna forget it,” he added, sadly. “She don’t
even wanna stick around – pretty-much asked me if she could
go back to Tokyo with us,” he noted, turning to face her
again. “Hey – you cold or something?” he abruptly asked,
his eyebrows rising.
“Uh – maybe a little…” she stammered, caught out by
the question.
What happened next, however, stunned her even more.
Without so much as a word, he rose from his place, and
strode silently off into the darkness.
A moment later, he reappeared, carrying a couple of
blankets draped over his arm. He walked up to her, snapped
one open and draped it over her shoulders.
“That oughta work,” he noted, then moved over to the
couch and spread the other over the slumbering redhead.
“She’s probably feelin’ it too…” he stated, arranging it up
over her shoulders. “I used to get cold easy like that,” he
added, then stood up. “Kuso, I don’t know if I’m ever gonna
get used to this,” he puffed, with a shake of his head.
“Uhm... What, Ranma?” she asked, blinking out of her
surprise.
“This – seein’ her. I still get this creepy
feeling – like I’m standing here lookin’ at myself. Guess
it’s cause I was her for so long,” he noted, thoughtfully.
“Gonna be weird not changin’.”
“You almost sound disappointed,” she commented,
interested in the response.
He shot her a look. “Hell, no… Glad to be rid of
it,” he snapped, firmly. “But… It’s still makin’ me feel
funny – don’t know why.”
She couldn’t resist. “You’re just going to miss
the sundaes.”
To her surprise, he chuckled. “Yeah – probably,”
he answered, then walked back to his spot. “But I ain’t
gonna miss the hassles,” he added, with another look toward
the couch.
The look on his face, even in the dim room, told her
he wasn’t kidding. She found that discovery strangely
pleasing, which made her decide a change of topic was in
order.
“So… If she’s talking about leaving, does that
mean… We get to go home soon?”
“Hai… Guess it does. Just gotta figure out how.
Took the old man and me two weeks on foot, and we ended
up swimming on top of it. Don’t figure either you or the
Princess are gonna want that,” he huffed, rubbing his
eyes.
“I certainly don’t,” she commented, rolling hers.
“Uhm… They had me set up with a plane when they tried to
ship me back home – we might be able to use that.”
“Feh. Don’t bet on it. They ain’t gonna do us any
favors, especially if the Princess is leavin’ with us.
They’ll probably try anything to get her to stay.”
Her eyes widened. “But if they do that…”
He shook his head. “Don’t sweat it. She ain’t in
no mood, trust me,” he responded, seriously. “Hell, if I
was her, I’d be kicking some Amazon butt right about now.
They really ripped her up… Took everything she believes in
and frigging beat her over the head with it. Pisses me off
just thinkin' about it.”
She couldn’t believe her ears. “Ranma…? Are you
okay?”
“Huh? Why?”
“I… It’s just… I can’t believe I’m hearing this
from you. You never cared about anyone but yourself,” she
blurted, regretting it immediately.
He returned a very different look. “Hrmph. Shows
how much you know,” he bit off, then rose with a groan and
walked to the window across the room.
She had to pick her jaw up off the floor. “What?
What do you mean by that?”
He didn’t turn. “Nothin’”.
A frown snapped onto her face. “No way, Saotome…
You’re not going to say something like that, then just
blow me off,” she retorted, rising and striding over to
him. “Tell me.”
He spared her a glance. “It don’t matter.”
“Why?”
“Because. It ain’t gonna make no difference. I…”
he began, then growled. “Just forget it,” he added,
returning his gaze beyond the window.
For a moment, she was speechless. Her ingrained
instinct was telling her to snap at him, then turn away in
a huff of indignance -- but another, louder voice told her
not to let it go.
She chose the louder voice, although not entirely
sure why.
“No, Ranma… I want you to tell me,” she insisted
gently, borrowing a page from Kasumi’s book.
He regarded her warily. “You sure?”
She nodded, that same voice telling her that she
really did – even though the other one was urging a
headlong bolt for the door.
He remained silent for a few more moments, his
eyes fixed on hers. She had the distinct feeling that she
was being examined, and in a manner that actually sent a
chill through her.
Finally, he drew a breath and turned full to face
her.
“While I was talkin’ to Yue tonight… Some of the
stuff she was sayin’ kinda got to me,” he began, his tone
serious. “I guess… It was ‘cause of what happened when
I got shot, and knew damned well I was a goner,” he opened,
his voice barely audible. “The first thing… That went
through my head… Was how bad I felt for treating you so
crappy,” he stated, then met her eyes. “It pissed me off…
Cause I knew… I’d never get to make up for it,” he stated,
hanging his head. “I… I actually like you, Akane… A lot,”
he added solemnly, raising his eyes again. “I just... Didn't
wanna admit the old man had a good idea," he sighed, looking
amazingly sheepish. "But, after listening to Yue tonight – I
decided I was gonna tell you – especially now that I got this
second chance.”
Her heart jumped – then began to pound against her
ribs.
“Do… Do you really mean that?” she whispered, her
hands meeting at her chest.
“Yeah. I do,” he responded, without hesitation.
Her eyes blurred, and her lower lip began to
tremble. She’d never thought she’d ever hear such words
from him, and now that she had, she realized how much she’d
wanted to.
She blinked her eyes clear long enough to look up
at his handsome, side-lit face, and was even more pleased
to see how open it was.
Her mind was made up. She’d nearly lost him once,
and wasn’t about to let it happen again. Especially not now.
Heart soaring, she stepped forward, opened her arms,
and pressed herself to him.
“I like you, too, Saotome Ranma,” she whispered,
nestling her head on his chest as her arms snaked around his
back.
Her eyes closed and her smile widened as she felt his
arms rise, and draw her trembling form even closer against
his.
She looked up at him, only to see him looking back
with the most wonderful smile – and his normally hard eyes
alive with emotion.
That was all the incentive she needed. Raising her
chin slightly, she closed her eyes – and pursed her lips.
She almost echoed the shiver she felt run through his form,
but he didn’t give her the chance.
His lips met hers in a long, passionate kiss – one
that seemed to pull her very soul from her body, and
transport it to a place she never knew existed.
A place she was sure she would never leave again.
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END – Yue – Part Fifteen A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Coutuva
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