V.01
Aftermath
By Kevin D. Hammel
A Sequel to "Ascension", taking place immediately after that story.
Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publishing Rights are held
by Viz in The US and Shogakukan in Japan. Neon Genesis Evangelion is
property of Hideaki Anno. Video rights held by GAINAX in Japan and ADV
Films in the US. My purpose is to honor these creators and their
works. No infringement intended..
----------------------------------------------------------------
Akane and Ranko looked at each other for a few moments, awe-struck
that their fortunes could change so radically in the span of a day.
Married at last, a day of wedded bliss, then death and
transfiguration. Both had been ready to let go of the partner they had
lost, only to find that they might well spend an eternity together,
but never as they had been.
Akane finally spoke, her tongue escaping its paralysis. "Are you
REALLY Ranma?"
"When this form became permanent, I received a new name, Ranko. Are
you going to be my teammate, Akane?"
"Yes, I was told that they had selected a martial artist to be my
office-mate...Do you still love me, Ranko?"
"Yes, though I don't have the same feelings for you I had. I feel you
are more of a sister, now, though I love you dearly, Akane."
"I feel the same way. It will never be like it was, but I wouldn't
chose anyone else to spend eternity with, Ranko." Akane embraced her
little sister with a fierce hug, which was returned with equal
vehemence. The two neo-goddesses
broke their embrace, wondering what they should do next.
A door came into being on the wall, it seemed they had some neighbors.
Ranko ran over to the door & began pounding on it.
Akane wondered if she should begin pounding on "RRRRRRRannnnko!"...Not
Yet.
"Anyone there?" Ranko shouted. The door opened a crack, then all the
way, revealing two neo-goddesses on the other side, one with long
brown hair, and the other with short. The goddess with long hair spoke
at last, "oh my!"
-------
Ranko and Akane had willed a large couch into existence in their
office. It seemed that Akane's sisters Nabiki and Kasumi had the
misfortune of dying in the same disaster as Ranma and Akane. Something
called the 'Second Impact'. Kamisama had been watching the four for
some time & had decided they would make fine goddesses. They re-
introduced themselves...
"I'm Kasumi, goddess of Homemaking." The disk adorning her head had a
triangle formed by a needle, a skillet, and a broom.
"I'm Nabiki, goddess of Finance." Her disk had a crawling display
(just like THE BIG BOARD) of currency symbols: yen, pound, dollar,
etc.
"I'm Akane, martial arts goddess of Strength and Weapons." Her disk
had a hammer on it.
"I'm Ranko, martial arts goddess of Speed and Chi." Her disk had a Tao
symbol on it.
Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "So, 'Ranko' how did you qualify as a
goddess?"
"Well is seems I died in cursed form." A rain cloud appeared above her
head, showering her with HOT water. "Though I don't seem to be cursed
anymore." She willed herself dry, smiling.
"Oh my! So you're a girl now Ranma?"
"The name is RANKO, and I'm a goddess, NOT A GIRL!"
"Well, how about you have the form of a female human? You and Akane
must have a great time together..." Nabiki needled.
Ranko and Akane BOTH summoned mallets and prepared to...
"Please STOP!" Kasumi said in her irresistible VOICE OF COMMAND. Ranko
and Akane dismissed their mallets, and Nabiki shut up.
Akane glared at her sister. "At least we were married for ONE day,
unlike some goddesses that spring to mind. I love Ranko like a sister,
not like a..." She couldn't finish the sentence. "So, how does a
lying, cheating, stealing woman like YOU become a goddess, Nabiki?"
"I'm the goddess of FINANCE," Nabiki offered in explanation.
"Uh, I see," and Akane DID.
Kasumi brightened. "Ranko, could I be your sister, too?"
"Sure, big sis." Ranko replied, embracing Kasumi. Ranko looked at
Nabiki. "Friends?"
"Sisters!" Nabiki replied. "I'm sorry, old habits die hard! I think
eternity will be a lot more pleasant needling you incessantly, you're
my sister after all!"
A horrified look crossed Ranko's face. "I hope there isn't a GOD of
blowhard two-timing kendoists."
All four laughed.
-------
Somewhere else, in the place from which the goddesses came, a woman
sat in silence. Just two days ago, her life had been happy, her son
was married at last, the two families joined to fulfil the dreams of
their fathers, dreams she had come to share. Now she was all that
remained of the two families, the others consumed by the horror of the
Second Impact. Saotome Nodoka could no longer weep, but she would go
on, she would live out her life to honor them.
Idly, Nodoka spoke to no one, "I wish..." She could not complete the
sentence.
"What do you wish?" another presence in the room asked her, but the
room was empty...wasn't it?
"Who are you? What are you?" Nodoka's grief had pushed over the edge
into madness, she was certain.
"What I am is of no concern to you, but know this: I am a friend."
Form followed voice, a woman a little older that herself now shared
the room with Nodoka.
Yes, she was indeed mad with grief, how else could a woman suddenly
appear in the room with her?
"Be assured you are not mad, Saotome Nodoka. Please tell me what
troubles you," the woman soothingly asked.
"You should know, you're the one who appears in the room unbidden and
without using a door..." Nodoka replied.
"Indeed I do know, you are grieving for loss of all the people you
care for. Rest assured that the children are well, though not as they
were." The woman gave her a reassuring smile.
"Really, could I see them? I wish I could be with them."
Not a living soul remained in the house. Crews would find the body of
a woman later. Like so many others, she had been claimed by the grief
of losing all she held dear. Those who had perished in the immediate
aftermath had been the lucky ones.
-------
Darkness had claimed her after she had made her wish, now Nodoka stood
with the woman in a featureless room. The woman smiled at her.
The woman spoke at last. "You chose well, five is such an elegant
number. A goddess of Honor will act as a mother, leader, and guide to
the others" The woman walked over to a mirror which had appeared in
the room, then INTO it, and was gone.
Nodoka walked over to the mirror and was astonished. The woman who
looked back was her, but the her of long ago, a twenty-something
Nodoka. It seemed her katana had also undergone metamorphosis. She
drew the sword, noting the steel had been replaced by a crystalline
substance, and that the blade was intricately engraved with a
beautiful floral pattern. Even in the subdued light of the room, a
rainbow seemed to cascade off the blade's sharp edges. She sheathed
the weapon.
Nodoka looked back at the mirror, and noticed one more thing, a disk
with a katana now adorned her forehead, she KNEW who the new goddess
of Honor was, but where were the children?
-------
The laughter at the joke had subsided when a new door appeared in the
wall. As she did the last time, Ranko went over and began gleefully
pounding on it, then opened it a crack.
"Hello?"
-------
Nodoka wasn't surprised when a door appeared in the room, but she WAS
surprised to hear someone pounding on it. After a few moments, the
door opened a crack, and she heard a familiar voice offer a greeting.
It sounded like her son's female form, the girl Nodoka had called
Ranko for a time. "Ranma?" Nodoka asked.
Ranko looked at the woman before her. She looked only little older
than Kasumi, but Ranko knew who she was. "Mom?"
The two women embraced, then Nodoka held her child by the shoulders at
arms length, so she could look at...her. She noted a disk like hers on
her forehead, decorated by a Tao symbol.
"What happened, my son?"
"Well, 'son' isn't a word that really suits me anymore. I'm Ranko, the
martial arts goddess of Speed and Chi. Would you like to meet my
sisters?"
"Certainly, Ranko." Her son was gone forever, but it seemed she would
spend forever with her child.
The two neo-goddesses entered the room, and Nodoka was pleased to see
Kasumi, Nabiki, and Ranko's ex-wife, Akane.
Ranko spoke first "This, as you probably know, is my mother."
Akane's face was lit with an almost transcendent smile. "Since the
four of us are sisters, perhaps you can be my mother."
Tears filled Nodoka's eyes as she answered, "certainly, Akane. And
what of you two, would you like to have a mother?" She asked, looking
at Kasumi and Nabiki.
"I would be delighted, mother," a joyful Kasumi replied.
"Sure, mom." Nabiki said, smiling with a look Nodoka had rarely seen
on her face.
The middle-aged woman reappeared. "I trust you are satisfied with your
wish, Nodoka."
"Yes," the neo-godess of Honor replied, smiling.
"As the five of you might guess, Kamisama has some work for you to do,
now that this office is fully staffed..." The woman said, glancing at
her clipboard.
(END)
(
geocities.com/~khammel)