Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Stolen Innocence Part 2
Date: 8 Feb 2000 14:03:02 GMT
From: dorianval@aol.com (DorianVal)
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime.creative
Followup-To: rec.arts.anime.fandom
Stolen Innocence
Part 2
A Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction
By
Jeremy Harper
Disclaimer - All characters in this work are the creation of Rumiko
Takahashi
and are used without permission.
"Here Shampoo, drink this. It will help you with the pain and clear your
mind."
"Thank you, Great-Grandmother." Shampoo winced a little as she sat up to
accept
the cup. Cologne's shiatsu had relieved much of her discomfort, but little
knots of pain still lined her spine, quiescent, but not gone.
(I never realized how strong Airen really is,) she thought as she sipped the
bitter medicinal tea. She shivered a little, partly from her pain, partly
from
the taste of the tea, but mostly because of the wash of fear playing across
her
body; fear tinctured with lust.
Cologne watched her great-granddaughter drink, and then turned to look out
the
bedroom window. The sky bruised and darkened as twilight approached. From
the
kitchen below issued forth a constant cacophony of outraged quacks, which
both
grandmother and granddaughter ignored with practiced stoicism.
"Mousse is quite upset," Cologne murmured at last. "I'm surprised at the
difficulty he gave me before I finally subdued him."
Shampoo nodded slightly, not looking at Cologne. The matriarch turned her
attention to her great-granddaughter. "What happened, Shampoo? Who did this
to
you?"
Shampoo blanched, and looked down into the dregs of her teacup. "Ranma," she
whispered at last.
"Son-in-law?" Cologne said incredulously. "Why on Earth would son-in-law
attack
you like that?"
"Airen... still very upset about wedding. Ranma... Ranma come by, say
Shampoo
need to be taught lesson, know her place." Shampoo continued to stare into
the
cup, unable to look at her great-grandmother. Her face was flushed, and her
shoulders trembled slightly.
"Ranma... hurt Shampoo."
Cologne considered Shampoo silently for a minute, looking at her through
slitted eyes as she drained her cup, and put it
aside.
Finally Cologne sighed and shook her head.
"There is an old saying, Shampoo: past conduct is a guide to future
behavior.
Son-in-law has many qualities, both good and bad, and one of his less
fortunate
traits is that he is a chauvinist; he will not strike a woman unless
provoked
beyond all reason." Cologne leaned close to Shampoo, eyes burning, face set
into a stern mask. "It is unbecoming to lie, great-granddaughter. It is
unworthy of you and your lineage, and I find it insulting. I thought I
raised
you better than that." Shampoo flinched at Cologne's chastisement, and
started
to cry silently. Cologne settled back on her stool, holding her staff close.
"Now this time, tell me the truth. Why did Ranma attack you?"
Shampoo took a shaky breath to help compose her and wiped at her eyes
futilely
with the back of her hand. "Shampoo invite Ranma over to Nekohanten for
lunch
today. Ranma accept, first time since the wedding." Shampoo shook her head
sadly. "Shampoo make Ranma special bowl of ramen. Airen... did not like."
"What was so special about this bowl of ramen, Shampoo?" Cologne asked,
already
knowing the answer to her question, but praying in her mind that she was
wrong.
"Shampoo lace ramen with spice from great-grandmother's special cabinet,"
whispered Shampoo. "Passion spice."
Cologne closed her eyes and bowed her head. Shampoo turned her head so she
faced the near wall, still unable to look directly at her great-grandmother.
After a long, silent minute, Cologne opened her eyes, a resigned sigh
escaping
her lips.
"You should not have meddled with my cabinet Shampoo. There are things in
there
that can be quite dangerous to one not yet initiated fully into the secrets
of
our tribe's herb lore. Nor should you have resorted to such a... drastic...
action. Have I not told you time and again that such heavy-handed methods
would
only work against you? Son-in-law is much like his namesake; he is wild and
fey, and must be wooed gently. Yet you insisted on using shortcuts that only
succeeded in estranging him from you."
"But great-grandmother, Shampoo had no choice! Shampoo was losing airen.
Losing
airen to Violent, Perverted Kitchen Wrecker!" Sobs now accompanied Shampoo's
tears, wracking her body as they tore free from her painfully and
reluctantly.
"Why, Great-grandmother? Why airen want Akane over Shampoo? Shampoo prettier
than Akane. Shampoo smarter than Akane. Shampoo stronger, better warrior,
treats Ranma better! Why he not love me?"
Cologne embraced Shampoo, stroking her hair and rocking her gently until her
weeping subsided.
"There, there, Great-granddaughter, calm yourself. I do not want you to make
yourself sick." She released Shampoo, and settled back onto her stool. "As
for
your question, I can not answer it. I am over three hundred years old, my
child, and in my long life I have learned much and seen much. But even with
all
my age and experience, I can not even begin to divine how the heart works,
nor
would I ever claim to know." She hopped off the stool and made her way to
the
door. "Sleep, Shampoo. It will aid your healing and clear your mind. I shall
go
look for Son-in-law, and see if I can salvage something from this fiasco."
Shampoo nodded, and settled down into her bed.
Once in the kitchen Cologne opened her spice cabinet and gathered together
the
ingredients for a mild sleeping draught. She ignored the myopic duck
quacking
and cursing in his cage. Once finished she poured the draught into a cup and
set it on a small tray. She then hopped over to the cage, looking at the
still-raging duck with little kindness.
"Compose yourself, Mousse!" she said at last. "Keep a civil tongue in your
beak, or else you will be the special for tomorrow night's dinner rush." The
threat achieved its desired goal, and Cologne opened the cage and pointed at
a
pile of white clothes in the center of the kitchen. The subdued duck waddled
over to the clothes, and Cologne poured hot water over him.
"How is Shampoo doing?" Mousse asked as he hastily dressed.
"As well as can be expected."
Mousse straightened his robe and donned his glasses. He blinked owlishly as
his
eyes strained under the powerful lenses, trying to focus on the matriarch.
"Who did this to Shampoo? I'll make him pay for hurting her like this!"
"If you must know, it was, of all people, Son-in-law."
"Saotome? That cur! I'll hunt him down and kill him for this! I'll..."
"You'll do nothing of the sort!" snapped Cologne.
"But that bastard hurt my- urk!" Mousse cut his tirade short as the point of
Cologne's staff lashed out and halted a millimeter away from his throat.
Mousse
swallowed, hard, as a cold trickle of sweat crawled down his back.
"You will do nothing to Son-in-law," stated Cologne. She tilted her head
slightly and gave Mousse an almost sly look. "If anything, you may want to
thank him; Shampoo drugged him, and if he had not reacted the way he did
they
would now be wife and husband in the eyes of the tribe." She drew back her
staff and watched with some amusement as the young man grappled with this
paradoxical concept: Thank Ranma, for hurting Shampoo? The thought rendered
him
speechless and almost insensate. Cologne rapped him on the head to bring him
back to reality.
"Now that this is settled, I want you to take this sleeping draught to
Shampoo.
Once she drinks it you are to leave her alone. She needs to rest. Now I must
go
find Son-in-law, and prevent him from doing something he will regret." She
pogoed to the door then turned and looked back at Mousse. "Remember, you
leave
Shampoo alone. If she tells me that you pressed your attentions I will be...
unhappy... with you." Mousse gulped and nodded vigorously in
acknowledgement.
Cologne gave him a brief, chill smile, then left.
(Son-in-law,) she thought as she bounded through the streets, reaching out
with
her senses, searching for Ranma's unique, formidable presence. (Every time I
think I've seen the limit of your ability, you surprise me yet again. You
are
the first one to resist the effects of the passion spice in almost a
thousand
years. By all rights, you should belong to Shampoo now, yet you remain
free.)
Her eyes narrowed in pain as she thought of her Great-granddaughter's
plight.
(Ahh Shampoo, my poor grandchild! What a dilemma you've put yourself into
this
time. If only you could have seen the truth of this matter. He was never to
be
yours. The Tendo girl owned his heart completely. I knew that the day he
defeated me with the Cat-fist, when she managed to calm him down. Oh, I
won't
lie; I had hoped that her jealousy and childish temper would have chased him
away, so you could have had a chance. His power is immense, and he would
have
made an excellent addition to the tribe. But it is not to be. Your foolish
actions over the past year assured that. You only managed to make him
resent
you, nothing more. And what you did today was the proverbial final straw.)
Cologne's shoulders sagged, her worries for her kin and her protégé weighing
down upon her. (Much of the blame falls on me. I should have done more to
discourage Shampoo, to disway her from chasing Ranma. I doubt she would have
listened - the young believe what they want to - but at least I should have
tried.) Cologne forcibly shook herself out of her gloom. (Enough. I must
find
Ranma, before he commits some act that we will all rue. Let us see what fate
has cast our way. Perhaps, for once, it will be kind.) Finally catching a
trace
of Ranma's trail, Cologne increased her gait.
In the midst of the quiet glade Akane shifted, settling into a more
comfortable
position as she lay in Ranma's arms. For a moment she worried a little about
the consequences of someone finding them, but pushed the thought aside. For
now, she wanted to enjoy the silence and solitude. The outside world could
wait. She rolled onto her side and threw an arm around Ranma's shoulders,
gazing at his face, peaceful and unguarded as he slept, and his chest,
observing its gentle rise and fall as he breathed. She snuggled up closer to
him, and felt his arms tighten around her instinctively, and found herself
tightening her own embrace in response.
(I like this,) she thought, and felt a twinge of guilt. She believed it to
be
more than a little perverted to think such a thing, but she couldn't help
it.
She had liked what they had done, despite the forced necessity of it, and
she
liked being with him now: just Ranma and herself, with no one else around to
bother or harass them, or to goad them deliberately or unwittingly into
arguing
and fighting with each other.
She thrust those thoughts aside, just as she had thrust aside her worries of
their being discovered. They didn't matter, and ultimately, she did not
care.
All that mattered was that they were alone, and that they cared for each
other.
As she had said to herself before: that was enough. She nuzzled at the base
of
his throat, while her hands started to caress his back and play with his
pigtail.
Ranma began to stir, shaking his head as his eyes shuttered, murmuring
something unintelligible. Akane pulled away a bit and laid a hand on Ranma's
cheek. His eyes opened, and he awoke to the sight of Akane's gently smiling
face.
"Hello there," she whispered. "Welcome back."
Ranma flinched as if struck. He dropped his eyes away from Akane, and shied
out
of her embrace.
"Ranma?" Akane felt a stab of pain in her heart as fear and doubt assailed
her.
Even though she knew on an intellectual level why Ranma was reacting this
way,
it still hurt.
"Akane... Oh kami, Akane, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! You should not of had to
do
that. I... I..."
"Shhh." As before, Akane gently cut him off by placing a finger to his lips.
"Shhh Ranma. It's all right. You didn't force me. No one forced me. It was
my
decision, my own choice."
"But it's my fault. I should never have trusted Shampoo! If I hadn't
accepted
her invitation and ate that lunch she made me you wouldn't had to... I'm
sorry!
Stupid, stupid fool! I..."
"Ranma!" Akane snapped, and he flinched again. He looked as if he was about
to
leap to his feet and flee. Akane took a deep breath, attempting to calm her
frayed nerves, and touched him on the shoulder. Fear, not anger, had
harshened
her voice, for never before had she seen Ranma act this way: frightened,
contrite, full of self-loathing and self-contempt. Frankly, it scared her;
scared her into thinking that Ranma, overwhelmed by his feelings of guilt,
would run away, forever believing that he did a terrible wrong to her, and
that
she hated him.
"This isn't your fault," Akane whispered to him softly. "The only person who
is
to blame for this is Shampoo. She's the one who drugged you, who tried to
force
you into doing something you didn't want to do. She's the one at fault, not
you."
Ranma blinked, his pained, anguished expression becoming one of awe and
wonderment. Akane felt herself becoming uncomfortable, and started to fidget
underneath his stare. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"All the time I've known you, almost every time something happens, you've
said
it was my fault." Ranma whispered in wonder. "Usually you're one of the
first
to blame me if something bad happens, even if I had nothing to do with it.
But
now, after what I did to you, you aren't blaming me? "
Akane felt herself flush, pangs of guilt coursing through her. "Well, this
isn't your fault. I... I can't really blame you for this. Shampoo's the one
who
drugged you, and I'm the one who..." She trailed off, unable to finish. She
could feel the heat of embarrassment radiate from her body, her face
changing
from faint pink to a deep, rich red as her flush spread down across her neck
to
the top of her chest. "You've done so much for me, Ranma. You've fought for
me;
tried to help me whenever you thought I needed it. You tease me a lot,
almost
to the point of insanity, but I know you care for me. That's why I did it
Ranma. Not because you or anyone else forced me, but because you care for
me,
and I... care for you too."
Ranma stayed silent as Akane bowed her head, unable to continue to look at
him.
He seemed somewhat mazed, and a little sad, but much of the guilt and shame
had
disappeared.
"I care for you too, Akane. But I'm still sorry."
"Don't be," answered Akane, looking up.
"I can't help it."
Akane simply sighed, and hugged Ranma, resting her head against his chest.
He
stiffened, as he always did when she showed such affection, then, for the
first
time ever, relaxed, sighing as he returned the embrace. Akane absently
played
with his pigtail while listening to the strong rhythm of his heart, while
Ranma
gently caressed her back, resting his chin on her soft, silken hair.
They lay like this for a few minutes, giving each other what healing and
comfort they could, enjoying the feel of their bodies touching. Then Akane
broke their reverie.
"You said something about Shampoo making you a promise. What did she promise
you, Ranma, and when?"
A soft angry hiss passed through Ranma's teeth. He pulled Akane into an even
tighter hug, and moved his hand from her back to her head, running his
fingers
through her hair as he whispered into her ear.
"It was after the wedding. I was PISSED about that, Akane; a lot more pissed
at
Shampoo and Ukyo and Kodachi then I let anyone ever know. I have a
confession
to make, something I'm a bit ashamed of. I sorta liked all the chaos and
mayhem
in our lives. It made things interesting, and it helped keep the old men off
our backs. But as time went on, it became less fun. I mean, bad enough our
families forcibly engaged us, but what gave everyone else the right to try
to
make us do things we don't want to? With no consideration for how we felt or
what we wanted?
"What happened at the wedding was the final straw. You nearly died twice at
Junsendo because of that bastard Saffron, damn him to hell. So when Ukyo and
Shampoo threw those bombs at you, when Kuno-sanpin came at me with a steel
katana, well... I finally decided enough was enough. No more of letting
people
treat us like we were toys or possessions.
"You know how Shampoo and Ukyo spent the next few weeks avoiding us? They
had
good reason to. But they figured that at least - I - would calm down after a
while." Ranma chuckled grimly. "They were wrong."
"Shampoo was the one who approached me first. It was maybe two weeks ago, if
I
remember right. You had to stay after school for some project, so I was
walking
home alone. She came barreling right at me on her bike, piping out 'Nihao
Ranma' as she always does, as if what she did at the wedding never
happened."
Ranma's lips curled into a nasty sneer. "She was VERY surprised when she
didn't
land on me, like she usually does. I sidestepped for once, and she bounced
hard. Flipped right over the damn handlebars and landed on her tight little
ass. She got up, dusted herself off, and looked at me as if I'd grown
another
head or something. Asked me why I did that, totally innocent-like, as if she
never done a damn thing to deserve it. I snapped then, and laid right into
her.
I was... less than gentle. I told her exactly what I thought of her and what
she did. I called Shampoo every vile name I could think of, and that there
was
no way in hell that I'd ever marry her. Told her where she could stick that
damn three thousand years of Amazon tradition that the old ghoul is always
harping about, and that if she ever tried to hurt my family or friends I'd
consider her a blood-enemy, and treat her the way I treated Saffron..."
Ranma
sighed, closing his eyes as the unpleasant memory.
"She was bawling her eyes out by the time I was done. I don't think I ever
seen
someone cry like that before, and I felt guilty and low and sick to my
stomach
for making her that way, but I knew it had to be done. If I hadn't told her
off
she'd keep right on acting like she had for the past year, and the anger I'd
been feeling would start festering in me, like a cut if you don't clean it,
and
that one day it burst out of me and I'd do something to someone who didn't
deserve it." Ranma sighed again. "I turned to head home when Shampoo grabbed
me
around the knees and started pleading with me. She begged for another
chance,
saying that she was sorry, she'd never do it again and would try to make it
up
to me. And, stupid me, I gave it to her.
"I don't like hating people, Akane. And I... used to sorta like Shampoo,
just
as a friend. She could be nice to be around when she wasn't glomping me or
trying to get me to take her on a date or trying to get into my pants."
"But you don't feel that way anymore?" asked Akane.
"No, I don't." Ranma answered, voice winter-cold. He sighed, and continued
on
wearily. "Anyway, I was feeling so damn guilty now that I couldn't bear
leaving
her in that state, so I said that I'd give her another chance, but on my
terms.
I told her that she had to stop manipulating me, and to accept my decision
about whom I was going to marry when I finally got around to it. If she ever
pulled any of the same crap again, it would be over, but if she behaved
herself, I was willing to start from scratch and be her friend. Shampoo
agreed.
She wiped her eyes, said 'see you later, friend', and rode off.
"I stood there on the sidewalk for a few minutes, thinking about what had
just
happened, what I just said. Then I figured while I was at it, I might as
well
go tell Ukyo what the deal was, while I still had the courage. So I did.
Things
went just about the same, save I went a lot easier on her, and she didn't
cry
as hard. But she got the same message: either cut the garbage or else. And
she
agreed, too. We were to be friends again, nothing more. Then I went home.
Didn't bother to go see Kodachi. She wouldn't have listened, and I don't
want
her as a friend anyway."
"You didn't bother to see me, either."
"You didn't throw bombs at the wedding. Besides..." Ranma trailed off.
"Besides what, Ranma?"
"Never mind," he muttered. "So today, Shampoo came by to see me. You were
talking to your friends, and I was goofing off somewhere, doing some balance
training or something. She didn't land on me with her bicycle or glomp me,
or
anything like that. She just came up to me and asked me how I was doing. We
started talking for the next few minutes, just about what was going on
around
the neighborhood and such, and it was pretty nice. Then she asked me if I
would
like to have a bite at the Nekohanten, her treat. I hesitated a bit, then
figured, 'what the hell, she's my friend, nothing more'. And anyway, I was
hungry." Ranma laughed bitterly. "I'm no better than my old man, Akane.
Always
thinking with my damn stomach." He sighed one last time, looking sadly into
Akane's eyes. "The rest you know."
"Yes, I do." Akane murmured in agreement as she rested her forehead against
Ranma's chest. She stayed like that for a minute, mulling over what he had
told
her while enjoying the play of his fingers through her hair. Finally she
drew
back, giving him a rueful smile, and took a glance up to the sky.
"It's getting late, Ranma. We better get going before our families start to
wonder about us."
Ranma nodded in agreement. "Yeah." He let go of her and reluctantly slipped
out
of her embrace, kipping up to his feet. Akane stretched, relieving her tired
back, then accepted Ranma's offered hand and used it to pull her self up.
They
were partially clothed, but what they wore was quite disheveled. Ranma
scooped
up his pants, boxers, and tai-chi shoes, while Akane gathered up the panties
and sneakers she had kicked off, and they started to dress and straighten
up.
Ranma strained to concentrate on his making sure everything was put on the
right way, keeping his eyes down, while Akane couldn't help but glance in
Ranma's direction every once in a while; partly because of the thrill she
felt
when she looked at him, a side of her that she hadn't been aware of until
now
reveling in the fact that she had been his first lover, and that no one
could
take that away. Yet she also feared that his guilt would rise up again, and
he
would disappear if she did not keep an eye on him.
Ranma finished, giving his shirt a little tug to straighten it, then turned
to
look at Akane as she smoothed her skirt and slipped into her sneakers.
"Akane?"
"Yes Ranma?"
"I... just wanna tell you something, before we go." His gaze faltered, and
he
looked down at the sward. "You're... beautiful. Don't ever let anyone tell
you
otherwise, especially if its a fool like me."
"Ranma..." Akane gasped, startled by the compliment. Ranma glanced upwards,
trying not to show his eyes, but she managed to catch a glimpse of them, and
saw how they glistened.
"You're right Akane, it is getting late. Let's get going." Ranma thrust his
hands into his pockets, turned on his heel and walked away. Akane watched
him
for a moment, her throat tight with emotion as boundless affection, along
with
another feeling, one which, in spite of everything that had happened, she
was
not yet ready to openly acknowledge, sang in her heart and her mind. She
shook
her head and hurried after him. Walking side-by-side, they made their way
out
of the copse and onto the paved path, and started towards home. Ranma still
couldn't look at Akane, keeping his eyes firmly focused on the pavement.
Akane
gave him sidelong glances; worry clouding her brow as she bit her lip.
Hesitantly, she reached out and took hold of his wrist. Ranma started, and
finally looked up at her. Her smile was shy and gentle as she pulled his
hand
out of its pocket and twined her fingers through his. Ranma returned her
smile,
his eyes losing the guilty cast they had re-acquired, becoming warm and
thankful. He pulled Akane gently towards himself, and she willingly leaned
against him.
>From her hiding place amongst the tree boughs Cologne watched Akane and
Ranma
leave the park. Once gone from her line of sight, she hopped down,
continuing
to stare after them. She tapped the butt of her staff against the ground and
thought frantically and furiously, the frown creasing her face making her
seem
even older. Finally she closed her eyes, her sigh a dry, tired whisper.
"It is over. My poor great-granddaughter." She turned and slowly walked away
in
the opposite direction, the burden of the news that would break her pride
and
joy's heart almost too much to bear.
Notes and Acknowledgements
Sanpin, roughly translated, means samurai trash. In Ranma's eyes, it's
probably
a fitting description of Kuno.
I would like to thank Lord Archive once again for his valuable pre-reading,
and
my friend Joe McGlone, otaku supreme, for his interest and support, and for
lending me the initial tapes that introduced me to Ranma 1/2.
If you have any comments and questions, please write to me at
DorianVal@aol.com. Flames will be ignored; if you have nothing polite or
constructive to say don't bother writing me.
Thank you for your time and tolerance.
Jeremy Harper
(
geocities.com/tokyo/fuji/9061) (
geocities.com/tokyo/fuji) (
geocities.com/tokyo)