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Anime/Manga » Ranma » Rendezvous with Fate: An Alternate Universe Fanfic
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Author of 2 Stories |
Revision dates
06/10/07 : changed all references of Yuki to Eruchii as Eruchii-oniisama. I can't believe I forgot that honorific.
11/19/06 : Revised a Ranma-Akane scene. Corrected punctuation marks.
04/02/06 : common errors in the English language
12/28/04 : release date
And to the person reading this.
Merry Christmas everyone and a happy new year!
Here where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
Where but to think is full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs;
Where beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new love pine at them beyond tomorrow.
Ode to a Nightingale
Rendezvous with Fate v. 3
by iCe
Chapter 13
...The inauguration was probably the scariest, most exhilarating thing I have ever done in my entire life...
The lotus banners that adorned the walls were those that have been presented even back at the time when it had been Nodoka's birthday celebration. There were no fancy rice throwing, no special markings that indicated today would change the lives of the several samurai children good enough to be chosen.
In the room were fifty children, their ages ranging from fifteen to the oldest of twenty, excluding Akane. Even though the children were all related, Akane sensed that competition was thick in the air. All of them wanted to advance their skills, but only fifteen would really proceed.
She wished that Sei and Hanae were with her, although she had been informed that the two of them were in a different room. Their test would prove their worth as a Saotome samurai and the difference lay in that if they failed, they could always come again and again. In the competition she was in, there were no second chances.
Akane tightened the belt she wore, feeling out of place with the children she would be competing against. One of them came closer and smiled. It was the first friendly face of the season. She was a young girl who looked almost childish with her twin pigtails. "I can't believe it, you're the heir's wife. I thought he wasn't allowed to teach the art to his wife."
"He's the heir. He could do whatever he wants," one of the children, a boy probably sixteen years old who looked like he argued with everyone, countered. "Happosai's just too suspicious of skills being passed down to non-Saotomes that's all."
"It's a family treasure, Seki," the girl argued turning to the boy who had just interrupted her. "The heir would not teach it without reason." Again she turned to Akane. "You must be very special."
"She's too old to be special, Megumi," Seki shot back as he ran his hands through his hair, his tone condescending. Akane sensed that Seki did not accommodate mistakes easily. "The heir is just trying to toy with Happosai."
Akane opened her mouth to protest at the blatant insult and at the fact that a child a decade younger than her could say it in front of her face, but she was interrupted by Megumi again, "Give it up, Seki. You cannot possibly analyze the twins' political tactics. Their strategy is legendary, and their skill is widely known. No one has ever predicted what they would do."
By now, a number of the children were crowded around the two, already divided in their views of what her presence here would signify. "Don't I have a say in this?" Akane asked, outraged that they were talking about her as if she wasn't there and looking more and more like pawn in a chessboard.
Megumi and Seki turned to her immediately, Megumi with an apologetic smile on her face, and Seki with an eyebrow raised at her. It was Megumi who spoke up first, "Sorry, it's just that the twins are the most talked about hatamoto in the entire Saotome lands."
"Don't you ever tire of talking about the wonder twins Megumi?" One of the older children in the group asked. "Their reign is almost over. I'm sure one of us could beat them."
"They've stayed on top since their first competition within our ranks when they were sixteen," someone shouted from the back, all of the children now intent on talking about Ranma and Nabiki. "This is going to be his third consecutive undefeated championship if no one else wins against him. People are not going to wait another five years for the next chance."
"They're getting old," Seki pointed out ruefully while rubbing a dragon tattoo that encircled his left wrist, its head biting the tail. "Wouldn't it be too shameful if we get beaten by a thirty year old samurai? They're twice our age."
"Everyone knows that Saotome skill doesn't wane it just improves!" one of the girls complained. They were shouting comments, throwing it at one another just as soon as the other spoke, and it was difficult to pinpoint exactly who was speaking, or what they were saying. "We're lucky this isn't a match to the death or we would be taken out instantly!"
Another shout from the sea of voices, "Such pessimism from one so young, are you sure you're ready for this test?"
"Wait!" Akane protested. The voices gradually faded to soft murmurs as all eyes turned towards Akane. "Whatever Ranma's reasons for plunging me headlong into this is none of your business."
"On the contrary, Lady Kodachi," Seki said indulgently, as if he was speaking to a child who was only beginning to learn. "It is everyone's business. The twins hold Saotome politics in the palm of their hands. Happosai does not even come close to the respect that the twins' peers hold for them."
Akane noticed, not for the first time that though Nabiki and Ranma merited titles and was even respected albeit grudgingly, Happosai's name was pronounced with scorn. "Then why is he liege lord?"
Suddenly the room became quiet as if the children, could not voice out their reason. Finally one girl offered the answer that the others did not dare say. "Lord Happosai is cunning, Lady Kodachi. He holds our reins through his teeth, and the twins respect Happosai. They would not take the clan from him for any other reason than Happosai's death."
It was not the favored answer, and the children once again started arguing amongst themselves, "The twins can take Lord Happosai's title any time."
"Not if they take it with martial arts," another child muttered.
Nabiki suddenly entered the room, and instantly the room's voices hushed. From some of the murmurs Akane heard, she knew that it had not been the norm for Nabiki to speak to them. From what a girl hastily explained to a younger sibling, Ranma, as heir, had always been the one to speak to the young blood.
Whatever the reason for the sudden change, Nabiki did not explain. Nabiki was wearing the black silk that she had been wearing when they were summoned to Yuigahama. Her long brown hair was tied in a usual pigtailed but twisted in to a bun on the base of her neck. The twin swords were comfortably rested on her belt.
"Gossiping already?" she asked with a bit of humor touching her voice, although more than half of those present colored in shame. "I assume you've been told of this moment ever since you started training, but let me reiterate it. This will be your only chance to learn anything beyond the advanced arts, and only fifteen students will be given permission to learn. Are there any questions?"
"Who would train us when we pass?" Seki asked, the self-assured tone in his voice gone with Nabiki's presence.
Nabiki smiled at him. "So sure of winning, are we Seki?" Nabiki shook her head at the boy. "After earning the right for further training you will fight the thirty top ranked samurai in the clan who have no apprentices for the advanced lessons. You will be trained by the person you failed to beat. Should three or more fail at one Saotome master alone, then a higher ranked Samurai will be asked to train you. The samurai-child match ups will be assigned by a majority vote of the thirty samurai whom you will be facing."
"It will be my pleasure learning from you, Lady Nabiki," Seki asserted as he bowed with flourish. "But what if I beat the heir?"
"Arrogance is a sign of Saotome blood, Seki, and so is not knowing your limits. It is both amusing and promising," Nabiki informed him, her tone did not show offence from his questioning rather, clear amusement. "No one has beaten Ranma in fifteen years and you propose to do so. You who have not even mastered chi at this age."
Seki's embarrassed shake of head was apparent to all who was present. Nabiki smiled at her assessment of his skill and continued to answer his question, "If you, by chance, beat my brother, he will relinquish his title to you. He will teach you everything he knows and then once a year Lord Happosai will try to kill you."
There were slow murmurs from the children and Nabiki laughed. "Happosai's only way to impart his precious knowledge is through combat, his time cannot be spent in a whole year round apprenticeship. Are there more questions?"
The silence through the room was enough of an answer for Nabiki. "Very well, I have assigned all of you to individual quarters for the five days that you will be staying here. I have assigned one servant per competitor. Your maid will tell you when you will compete, where your competition will be held and with whom you will be fighting against. All correspondence to me or any other samurai will be done through your maid."
Nabiki clapped her hands, and fifty servants dressed in their plain kimonos filed into the room stepping beside the child she was assigned to. Akane was glad that Ifuku, who had come along, was assigned to her. "Your servants have all been instructed with what to do with you. Rest well. You will need your strength."
Nabiki turned to go, but as an after thought swiveled around and smiled. "And Seki? Kumon and I will await your win over Mori." Mori was the fourth ranked samurai and the last one Seki had to beat to compete against Nabiki.
-
Talking to one of the inductees was forbidden in between the fights. Happosai held strict rules for the inauguration, especially since it was the whole life of the clan. It was about Anything Goes. It was about the succession of the line. Not that Happosai needed anyone to succeed him... yet.
So instead Ranma followed Hanae and Sei's progress from the shadows, both of whom were facing their respective opponents in various parts of the donjon. Nabiki rested beside him on one of the upper windows. "Your daughter is doing well, Ranma. She will earn the Saotome name in this tournament."
Ranma nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes not leaving Hanae's battle. It was her third and it was held over one of the bridges crossing the donjon to the gardens. "Sei is doing pretty good as well."
Nabiki nodded, Sei's own battle was being held along one of the cliffs to the far side of the manor. Most of the fights were in various places of the donjon and not in some structured arena. This was in accordance to the Anything Goes tenets. Anyone could be attacked anywhere, any time. Happosai picked every place that tested each student's skill in every possible fighting environment. "You've trained them well."
"I'm not the only one who's trained them," Ranma reminded her. He turned his back on the fight, taking the scroll that she brought with her and opened the seal. "I'm to referee the battle of Megumi vs. Eimi in one stick at Kodachi's rose gardens. Where's your fight?"
Nabiki made a face. "At the forest with Hitoshi vs. Kaname. A lot of the children are wanting for their samurai status this year. Most of us are scheduled free for later though. I would want to see the fight for the advanced students. Your wife has caused quite a stir among the competitors. They even wondered why it wasn't you who addressed them."
"She'll make it," Ranma answered confidently, ignoring the fact that Nabiki was pointing out his inability to perform his duties as heir by boosting up the children's morale before the competition. "She's older than expected, and most of the children will underestimate her. That won't mean she will be in the top ranks, but that'll buy her enough time to gauge her opponent. Those who will be beaten by her would say it was luck and won't tell her weakness to the others, it's a tactical move. It's always in the loser's best interest never to tell the winner's down side."
"She is rather skilled, I can't deny that." Nabiki frowned as she looked towards the wing that housed the competitors. "I wonder myself why you petitioned her earning advanced training. She doesn't even have the right to call herself Saotome samurai. At least I know why I thought of petitioning for her."
Ranma turned to look at Nabiki and smiled ruefully. "She'll not get the chance to call herself Saotome samurai, ever." He wanted to gauge Nabiki's reaction, but he could never read anything from his sister when she didn't want him to. "But her knowledge cannot be denied, she knows a hell of a lot more than what an average Saotome samurai should."
"I've heard that before. You're just legitimizing her use of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. That's okay with me." She paused as she tapped the scroll that contained her orders absentmindedly on her palm. "I just wonder why now and why ever. Happosai never needed to know what she knew." Nabiki gave a long pause for emphasis. She then took a breath to calm herself before continuing, "Sometimes I think it's because more than marriage, this ritual will force her to be closer to us... to you. This trial won't judge her humane, caring nor wifely for you, Ranma. It just makes her competent enough to handle future training, lucky enough to be able to handle training."
"I'm not doing this for that," Ranma protested, and Nabiki brought a hand up to silence him.
"Do not lie to me." Nabiki shook her head as she took in Ranma's features. "You couldn't decide on what she is to you, so you think the competition would decide for you."
Ranma frowned. "You're reading more into this than necessary." He turned around to walk towards the gardens. "I'll be late for my first duty. I suggest you run along to yours."
"Your wife's first match is aerial combat, Ranma," Nabiki informed him as she watched her brother go. He had not turned around to look at her, but he knew what her statement implied. He himself has stressed Akane was not good for any type of aerial maneuver. "It would be held within forest grounds, between the trees. The temporary Jusenkyo like places he has around here."
For advanced training, instead of different settings seen in everyday fights, the children were given unnatural circumstances requiring every bit of skill they had learned since the passing of the samurai test. They were not given the advantage over another samurai by attaining 'easy' settings because they passed through every single one of the hand picked arenas.
The aerial combat, one which is held on top of bamboo poles was favored by Happosai because of the combination of balance and the jumps that defined mid-air battles. Happosai prided himself in that specialty of Anything Goes. Judging from Akane's skill with mid-air attacks, she would need all the support she could get.
'Okay that rules out falling by a somewhat swaying stem,' Akane thought to herself and then shook her head again. 'Now how the hell am I going to get up there?'
There was a light tap on her shoulder, and she looked at Seki, her first adversary. 'Great.' She did not want her first fight to be with someone too confident about himself.
"Checking out the area as well, Lady Saotome?" he asked as he jumped up on top of the poles balancing easily from one pole to the other. "It's quite sound, as you see." He jumped back down again and grinned. "They told me my brother lost on these sticks fifteen years ago to Lord Ranma."
"Do you resent that?" Akane wondered. Although Seki had been a mere baby around the time she sensed that his purpose revolved around his brother's fight.
"Not really." Seki grinned again as he looked at her. He was taller than she was, so she had to look up to see his eyes. "The heir has always been good there was no denying that. And my brother did proceed to the next level. I just want to surpass what my brother achieved."
Akane smiled at him. Determination was not rare in Saotome children. She caught a wisp of falling hair as Seki jumped up on one of the poles practicing a kata.
"Eager aren't they?" the voice that broke her thoughts was old but firm. Akane swiveled around to find a man who was probably around her father's age with eye glasses and a bandana on his head. In the daylight, the dark contrast of the black garb seemed too sharp against his larger belly but he had a ready smile. "I think Seki will do well for my next apprentice."
Before he could say more, Seki had hopped down from where he had been standing and bowed to the stranger. "Genma-sensei, will you be the judge of the poles?"
"A Jusenkyou like test needs to be judged by a person who has actually been there." Genma laughed as he slapped the hollow stem. "The time of your fight isn't for a while, but I won't object if you want it earlier. You are the first to use these poles for the inauguration."
"I don't mind," Seki answered eagerly looking at the tall tropical grass, hovering over him easily. It was obvious he was itching for a fight. He winked at Akane. "I'll meet you up there, Lady Kodachi."
"Rather arrogant too," Akane muttered cursing at the given setting and the fact that she was not very well versed with the skills necessary to compete well in the given circumstance. "He's doing this without asking me you know."
Although Genma raised an eyebrow at her in askance, Akane sighed and nodded. She wouldn't have backed down anyway but she would have liked it if Seki asked her about it. Biting her lip, Akane decided on a course of action. The poles easily towered over her, having been cut uniformly at around twenty feet. She knew for certain that she couldn't take the stalk one leap, a feat that was close to impossible when all she could jump was, at most, five feet.
Taking a long breath to calm her nerves, she took on a running start, rebounding off pole after pole until she managed to stay on the top, using two poles as a foothold. She wobbled a little at the way the poles held, but though they were flexible, they were firm.
Seki was smiling and in a relaxed stance when she was finally able to face him. She knew she had made a wrong moved when she had allowed him to watch her handle her jump towards the top. "Can't take the height? How in the world are you going to fight me?"
"Fighting isn't just about how high you can jump, you know," Akane responded going into a loose ready stance, flexing her arms as she brought them in front of her. She was determined to prove to the Saotomes that she could win in any setting.
Genma jumped on one of the poles in one leap. He adjusted his spectacles and chuckled a bit. "It's good to see that the two of you are quite spirited. Okay, this is the first match for the two of you, so I guess I'll be telling you the rules that would apply to majority of the tournament." He paused briefly consulting with a small scroll he had and then continued, "Anything Goes. This is your first aerial combat, the only rules are, don't touch the ground, no killing and barehanded combat only. That means no instruments or potions that you're fond of Kodachi and no chi. Winner is first touch on the ground or knock out."
Akane blew a wisp of black hair from her face. Genma looked at the two of them. "Ready." He used his hand to signal go before he jumped off to a relatively safe distance on top of a far pole.
Because she was acquainted with Saotome impatience she'd opted to wait out the first attack than be on the offensive side. She was rewarded with Seki leaping up and aiming for her head. For a split second Akane wondered how she was going to sidestep given the fact that she was on top of a thin wobbling stick. She managed to evade Seki's kick but had over assessed her balance given the slenderness of the pole making the wobbling worse and toppling her.
Using the falling momentum, she dropped on her side and tried to catch the bamboo opposite her. Seki gave a hearty laugh as he stood passively on top of the pole adjacent to hers. "Out just after one strike?"
Akane rolled her eyes as she tried to swing around the wooden rods like a gymnast would on double bars. 'Thank God for PE.' Akane thought as she used the force she had gained from the swinging to step onto the top.
When she was face to face with Seki she raised an eyebrow, wondering why he hadn't taken advantage of her struggling and struck at her. He shrugged, fully understanding what she was asking. "I wouldn't want one lousy slip on the bamboo to take away my victory, Lady Kodachi."
He launched at her again, almost in exactly the same way he had previously done. This time, Akane just jumped towards the nearest bamboo crouching to keep her center low and balance intact. When Seki had landed he was on all fours smiling ferally at her. "Lady Kodachi, evading won't get you anywhere."
'Which was true,' acknowledged the rational part of Akane's mind. 'Nobody really wins while being in the defensive. Okay, scratch that, if you had a huge fort, and an army it was quite a possibility, but this wasn't some skirmish over land.'
Akane used the poles to suspend herself in midair as she slid lower. She then used a strong kick to cut the bamboo at her feet into a pole twice her arm's length. When she had that, she jumped towards another pole using her newly acquired pogo stick. She looked behind her momentarily to see that Seki was jumping from pole to pole to taunt her, smiling at her inability to reach the other footholds successfully.
Finally, Seki jumped in front of her giving her a side swipe and another high kick before she used the pogo as a rebound and hit him on the leg when she swiped at him from below.
He took that by flipping over to the next pole. You had to hand it over to the kid: He had fancy footwork down to a T. He barely minded the gaps of the bamboo instantly knowing where he would land next. "This is barehanded combat you know. You're not allowed to use that pole against me," he reminded her as he shook loose a bit of the splinters that had dusted his hair from Akane's weapon.
She was using it more for balance than to ward him off. 'Although... now that he mentions it, it is a good enough weapon.' It was Anything Goes. There was that tiny rule on barehanded combat... but this was from her battleground. She didn't want to take the chance for a technical default though. 'And I suck at newly acquired weapons.' Akane smiled as she hefted the pole. "Yeah, well tough luck."
She swung the pole low but he jumped over it. Using the pole as a long jumper would, she propelled herself against Seki trying to give him a kick. It was then that she found out the Saotome mastery of mid-air combat, for though he had no solid wall to rebound against, he had managed to avoid neatly, perform a spin kick at her and then land gracefully on top one of the other poles.
All she had managed to do was use the bamboo pole to suspend her in the air by holding it horizontally on top of two vertical bamboo poles. Seki shook his head aiming a solid kick at her. Before he connected, Akane vaulted over the horizontal bar and tried to land solidly on top of another bamboo pole bringing her pole with her. He managed to split one of the poles that she had used for support.
She winced. It was a good thing his kick hadn't connected or she would have been on the receiving end of a few broken ribs. Although she had managed to land in the first hit, Seki did not seem too affected by her punch and she on the other hand, was starting to feel the strain on her arms for relying on them too much for vaulting over immense heights just to meet Seki in mid-air.
Sooner or later, Seki would win because she was exhausted. So she needed to end it before he pushed her harder. When Seki landed on a new bamboo pole, Akane used all her strength to launch herself at him. He almost met her, but was able to jump on to the next pole before she had cut the bamboo he had been standing on in half.
Giving her a half smile Seki stood balancing one foot on the bamboo and the other folded into a crane stance in front of him, his hands loosely reminding Akane of a ballerina. "I know what you're doing Lady Kodachi. You're chopping off the playing field."
Akane frowned. 'Not really.' She had just been trying to get Seki imbalanced so she could drop him below. This Saotome tried to read in too much into the fight than what she was doing. And he was rather bad at it too.
Limiting the playing field into two poles would be an advantage for her though, especially if they were two very close bamboo poles. That means she didn't need to vault over as much and would receive proper close combat. She would also manage to ground Seki close to her, making a few more moves in her arsenal useable.
As she blocked Seki's punch, the inherent flaw of her style became apparent to her. She jumped back grappling for a pole behind her treating the hand that had blocked Seki tenderly. She could have sworn he had shattered it. Her style was a defensive style. It provided protection against robbers and molesters. She had hardly ever had training for more offensive moves, and when she had, rarely. Like the dojo destroyer, which she had managed to win through the skin of her teeth after training so damned hard because of her first defeat against those blasted signs.
Signs of the disheartening news must have shown for Seki pressed the advantage as he dropped to his side, his right arm jabbing quickly at her feet as he fell, he held on to the bamboo as he delivered a kick up to Akane's chin. Akane dodged it by leaning backward only to be imbalanced and desperately tried to grope for another bamboo pole.
Flipping up and landing on the pole Akane had previously been standing on, Seki peered over the edge. "Giving up so quickly, Lady Saotome?"
"Not just yet." Came the rebellious answer. She had been fast enough to elude his moves thus far. It would not do if she would quit now. She tried to vault over the pole but Seki had been ready for her. He had jumped off to meet her striking a vicious blow on her stomach, which knocked the wind out of her propelling her to the ground. He had figured out early on that she could not evade effectively while her feet were not touching the poles.
By the time that she had regained her breath she was almost near the ground. She pulled herself against a pole, her body slamming against her support because of her drop. She coughed out a bit of blood and looked up at Seki. He was smiling at her. Again. Although this was more of an arrogant smile. She had prepared to bound up again, but found out her strength had left her. She was also starting to hurt in places that she hadn't known Seki had touched.
Deciding that she could not get enough momentum to propel herself at the height Seki was on, she punched the bamboo he was standing on with enough brute strength to cut it down to her level. The pole broke off halfway, finally touching the ground, but Seki had already side stepped on an adjoining bamboo, making the transfer from one pole to the other seem so effortless that Akane had to wonder if the poles she had been standing on were farther apart than Seki's.
"Give it up, my lady," Seki called from the top, sliding down the bamboo pole he had chosen, reminding Akane of a fireman going to duty. He was far enough from Akane's reach but had stopped when he was at her eye level. "You've lost."
"What?" Akane asked indignantly.
Genma who had been watching from the poles was now behind Akane looking at her awkward position and nodded. "Seki, you have won this round."
"That's unfair – I'm not out yet!"
Genma motioned below. Akane looked down. Her right foot was grazing the grass of the meadow. Akane shook her head not willing to admit defeat just yet. She was still not on solid ground. She tried to swing over another step when she found herself on the ground toppled over in an ungainly position staring up at the blue sky.
The remains of the pole she had been clinging to was on her right hand and the small stub of the former fifteen-foot pole was left with Seki standing triumphantly on it. He smiled at her. "I do hate stubborn losers."
"Learning to accept failure is also part of the inauguration, Lady Saotome. It may not be apparent but it is an important lesson that must be taught to all students." Genma held out a hand to her which she accepted. He gave her a boost to get up, and she suddenly realized that the fight had screwed her sense of balance a bit. "We aren't gods. We can die. We can make mistakes."
She shook her head. Yeah right, it's not as if the hell-bent-on-winning Saotomes would actually profess to the world that they could actually lose. "And when has Ranma learned that golden lesson? When has he failed?"
"Do you truly know your husband, Kodachi?" Genma sounded incredulous, as if Akane had missed a blatant fact that everyone else knew. "Ranma's life has been about failure. There are more ways to fail than in a fight. Ranma has never made lasting friendships and Ranma hasn't found love, Ranma couldn't save everyone he chooses. The reason he has Hanae is that he wasn't able to save her mother."
There was a pause, Genma turned to Seki and gave him a coin specially designed to show that he had passed Genma's aerial combat test and signaled his dismissal. The boy frowned, interested in the talk but bowed low and gratefully then accepted a towel and water from his maid. When Genma was sure that he safely couldn't hear what he was going to say he started to lecture Akane again.
"You view him as the children view him, impenetrable, unbeatable and unbreakable." Solid words. Words that Akane had always thought would be what Ranma was all about. "He holds crutches to his side too. The world isn't all about martial arts, and yes, he has a right to excel in it. Haven't you figured it out yet? Being a daimyo, martial arts, it's the only thing he knows how to be. That's why he's good at it."
Akane opened her mouth to protest but shut it again, finding that she had nothing to say to this man. Having a virtual stranger point out the flaws of her husband was unnerving. This was the first time she had ever heard of an unbiased opinion for the Saotome heir. "How do you know him so well?"
His answer was solemn, "I have a right to know my son, Lady Kodachi."
"You're Saotome Tetsuma?" Akane asked incredulously, the thought not sitting well with her initial view of Ranma's father from most of the maid's gossip.
"He's my foster child. He is not from my woman," Genma corrected her irritably. She had touched a sore chord, one which had not been opened in quite a while. "I would not tolerate comparison to my brother."
Akane found a touch of resentment there, and maybe a little envy. It was the first time she had heard that Genma was actually the twin's uncle. "But sir... Saotome Tetsuma seemed to be one of the few samurai who, from what I hear, has power over a great deal of Saotome land."
"He is dead, there's not much changing that," Genma muttered. "Excuse me, Lady Kodachi, I'm getting old, and following youngsters on their little battles tend to wear me out easily these days. Please excuse me."
Akane stared at Genma's retreating form. She looked at her bloodied fists and grimaced, his words echoing in her mind, giving her time to think about how many misconceptions she could have had of Ranma.
These ceremonies had him hopping from one end of the castle grounds to the other without breathing room. Sometimes, Happosai thought just because he was fast, he could be everywhere at once. The old idiot was not getting nicer with the years.
He tensed when he sensed someone with him and swiveled around. Akane had been standing in one corner looking at him. "What are you doing in my room?" It was the first thing that came to mind, and though he felt that he should have cared less what she thought, he sensed that she was pained by the sudden demand.
"My room too, my lord." My lord. The word on her lips sounded foreign, submissive. He had never associated the word submissive to his wife before. Not even when she had her bout of 'amnesia'. "My bags have already been unpacked here."
His look swiveled to where she was pointing and found her clothes neatly packed on an alcove beside his own clothes. Besides the few days he had spent alone with her as Ranko, he had not slept with his wife in more than five years. Before he could say anything in protest, he remembered Nabiki telling him that there was an influx of children for the year's inauguration and that he had to share his room with someone.
Nabiki had said she was with their foster father. At the time, he had laughed it off as funny, his predicament was worse. He settled his gaze on Akane. "I'll fix the sleeping arrangements tomorrow."
"Am I that much of a burden to you that you'll not want to stay with me? Your own wife?" she asked softly. She moved slowly placing her arms around his waist.
"What do you want me to do?" Ranma asked in a soft whisper. "I don't have the liberty of forgetting and I don't have the will to forgive you either. Do you seriously expect me to trust you? So soon after this... I could only take so much betrayal."
"But Ranma..." Akane closed her eyes as Ranma gently pushed her away. "I at least expected you to understand the difference between what is happening now, and what happened before. Why can't you even let me try to love you?" She moved her cheek softly against the back of his hand that was placed on her shoulder while her left hand clasped his right hand. "Haven't you even thought about this?"
Ranma paused before silently withdrawing his hands from her. He settled on the corner, his back against her. "Not today. Get your head in the game. You're going to fight tomorrow. There's no room for unnecessary thoughts. Those children are ruthless and they will try to gain every bit of advantage over you."
He sensed her long sigh and heard her settle into the futon he had been planning to use. It was resigned, full of the sadness he hadn't associated with her either. Did he truly not know how to read his wife?
He did not move from the corner, the picture of a child sulking, his head bent in introspection, his back towards her. And when he finally decided that much time had passed he turned towards the single futon and looked down at her.
It was in evenings like this that he remembered her betrayal most of all. She was the picture of a perfect little wife wasn't she? He knelt beside her, smoothed the hair away from her face, pulled up her blanket to her chin and sighed. "What am I going to do about you?"
The tiny voice inside of his head answered: You could try loving her.
He shook his head, loving her was something he didn't want to experience again.
Everybody had known that the boy was going to get a guardian from one of the temples so Sohin had worked his damndest so that the monks that had reared him would give him Yuki for an assignment. That's why he had chosen that specific monastery to train under. Because he knew the now dead Lord Tendo would choose his son's protector from those ranks.
Sohin knew he would probably be the one to take care of the boy's schooling because of Lady Chisei's dislike for the young heir. "Sohin-san, what has taken you so long?" The boy was shy, reserved.
Kneeling down to look at him in the eye, Sohin gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I needed to take care of some things in Yokohama. Ifuku sent me to talk to a friend of hers. I bought you something."
The gift was a small top, and Yuki smiled with appreciation. Sohin wondered if he should have bought him a sword instead. Yuki's lessons in sword fighting were moving along, but although he had not inherited his father's sickness, he was still weaker than most boys his age. It was a wonder that he survived trekking half way around the islands as it were. "Thank you, Sohin-san."
Because of the recent actions of the Saotomes, Sohin was unsure of how the Tendos were moving. Lady Chisei has not expressed her want to kill the boy... yet. He sensed that with the Saotomes on her tail, she might want the boy for leverage. "Do you remember what I told you to do if ever we get separated?"
"Go to Ifuku-san. She will hide me from my enemies." Yuki nodded, knowing the gravity of the question, because he had experienced an assassination attempt once. He had a scar above his right eyebrow to remember it by. "Then go to the monastery where Suruga borders Sagami, because they would not look for me there."
"And what happens if you cannot find Ifuku?" Sohin prodded gently.
"Hide among the monks until such a time that I can go home." Yuki looked up at Sohin searching his eyes. "Why are you asking this, Sohin-san? Is there something wrong? Is someone after you again?"
"Nothing yet," Sohin answered standing up from his crouched position. "The feeling of uneasiness that I've had since Ifuku's letter arrived has not left me."
There was a lengthy pause before Yuki took Sohin's hand into his. "Oniisan, if my cousins are still alive. They would be heir instead of me. Eruchii-oniisama would be heir."
Sohin let go of Yuki's hands to lean back against the window while looking at the boy he had been tasked to protect. For seven years he had barely left this boy's side, and he knew that he needed every skill he had learned in the monasteries to protect him. Maybe more. "No, not heir. He would be Liege Lord."
"Lady Chisei does not want me near because I am heir now," Yuki observed bending down to spin the top absentmindedly on the floor. "She must have hated them for who they were. Has she ever been close to finding them?"
Sohin paused, wondering how much the child knew. "Whenever Chisei is close to finding the heirs almost every samurai in the Tendo area is deployed towards them. Rumors say she killed one last year."
"Which one?" Yuki inquired. There was no curiosity in his voice, but a prodding one, something that told Sohin the child was going to be a good leader one day.
"They say they killed the youngest." Sohin closed his eyes. The youngest of the Tendo heirs had been Tendo Akane. The interview with Nabiki was still fresh from his mind.
Yuki looked up from his top and gave Sohin comfort the only way he knew how. "I will remember her."
"You barely knew her. What am I saying? You weren't even born when they were banished. You didn't know her," Sohin reminded Yuki. Then he shook his head. "You always ask these kinds of questions, my lord. I know only rumors about the heirs."
"I don't need to know Akane-noh-Tendo to remember that she is one of the rightful heirs." Yuki sighed then shrugged. "At least you know rumors, I know nothing of them. Will my cousins save me from being heir, oniisan?"
"They should," Sohin mumbled folding his hands over his chest and looking at his charge. "You aren't even prepared to be liege. You hardly have the education a seven year old samurai has."
"Does Eruchii-oniisama know more than I do? He ran away when he was barely ten." Yuki answered thoughtfully, and Sohin wondered if he had offended the boy because of his previous comments. The three heirs were stories told in the Tendo household frequently and reverently, in the houses that were loyal to them. "I would wish he did though."
"I would wish that too, young master." Too much talk about the Tendo heirs could not be good. It drew unwarranted attention to them. "They will appear when they are ready to reclaim what Lady Chisei has taken from them."
"But what if they don’t?" Yuki worried. "They have been missing for twenty years. I would think that by this time they thought of a plan already. They aren't getting any younger."
"It's a little bit more complicated that just showing up in front of Lady Chisei's doorstep, you know," Sohin explained ruefully, lifting Yuki from the floor and placing him on his shoulder. "Well, come on, enough chit chat. You have more than your share of lessons to learn. We can't hope that the heirs take you out of your responsibilities every day."
Their fight was set on a cliff with sheer drops on both of their backs if they were not careful enough with the fighting space that they occupied. Sei eyed it wearily, though Hanae was adept with fighting at constrained spaces, his cousin tended to get excited over almost wins and sometimes forgot her surroundings. Good for him, but not especially good for her.
He worried for his cousin at the immense risks she took just to get her name accredited as Saotome samurai and at the lengths she'd go to achieve it. Most of the time Hanae was carefree, but she had a particular bite to that childish charm if one knew where to look. Hanae didn't believe in pulling punches and possessed too much independent will to be a team player.
Hanae tapped his shoulder as she sat down beside him, her feet dangling off the sheer drop, appreciatively whistling at the rocks that fell down with each swing. "Do you wish to win this round, Sei?"
Sei shrugged, not really caring either way. They possessed similar skills, he and Hanae. Being trained under one person tended to do that. It was an even match and in their sparring sessions, they each had their victories and their defeats. "Does being Saotome samurai mean much to you, Hanae?"
"It's the only life I've known," Hanae whispered. "And father certainly finds the distinction important."
"What a pair we are," Sei observed in her same hushed tones. "You whose family you have not seen and me whose family has shunned me. We carry a name that is not our own and dance to a tune that we cannot hear."
"I think you get the melodrama from your father's side of the family," Hanae pointed out impishly pulling her hair from the ponytail that held it. "Fighting has always been what I've lived for. It's in the Saotome blood, and that sings out to you doesn't it? Although I've lived more in Saotome than in Amazon soil, the battle drums hum to me. Whatever name I bear I will always be a fighter."
"And you tell me I'm melodramatic. I never actually knew fighting was musical," Sei criticized, popping his knuckles distractedly. His comments earned him a solid punch on his upper arm.
"Trying to prove your own worth has always been difficult," Hanae noted reverting to their solemn tone. "Even if they deemed me unfit to grace their soil, I will prove to them that I can be the best of this generation just as my mother was the best of her generation."
"You haven't told my mother about your mother." Sei tilted his head as he watched her tempt death with her acrobatic acts against the small liffside. "What will you do when Matriarch Cologne takes you back?"
"Go with her of course," Hanae answered as if it was the only answer possible for her. She smiled at him. "I love father, yes, but I want to know where my mother comes from. I will not be welcome there, but I will learn."
"I guess that's something we have in common. It's only in Ranma-sama's house that we can belong in," Sei observed, shaking his head. "We're certainly both not welcome in the land of our parents."
"At least Aunt Nabiki is with you," Hanae reminded him gently.
There was that tiny knowledge that he was with his mother. He stared off in space. Saotome children never had the chance to be cherubic faced and giggly as the peasant children he'd often seen playing in the fields. He'd never met a relative who would not deliver a challenge on the spot.
He would have said more, had their referee not joined them. Ryu Kumon was another well-known samurai within the Saotome stronghold. If not because of his status as third in the ranks, then because of the controversy that an outsider holds such a high designation within Saotome territory.
Although Happosai was extremely jealous of other people holding the art, he was not as guarded when it was he who was giving away their trade secrets. He was known for teaching anyone at whim, even those who did not like his attention. Names such as Pantsuto Tarou were rare but well known among a clan that must survive attacks from former pupils of the master.
Ryu greeted them with a formal nod, a very grim man of sorts, Ryu always took things seriously, even small greetings such as this. At Ryu's beckon, both of the children went to him. "Do you want to flick a coin for starting location?" Both combatants shook their head, so Ryu assigned them their places.
When he was sure they were ready he brought down his hand in the signal that would start the fight of the cousins against each other.
When Sei squared off with Hanae, there were no elementary combinations that left them to feel out their opponent. Hanae and Sei knew how each other fought and what each other's weaknesses were. The go signal had them both going for blows each designed to attack the other's weak point.
Hanae smiled. "Not here to win, are you Sei?" she asked nonchalantly as she whirled around to deliver an elbow strike.
Sei swatted that away almost immediately as he replied, "There's nothing wrong with it either, cousin." The two fought each other with immediate familiarity that was brought on by the time they spent together and the mere fact that they trained together. Even their arbiter had to agree that he would be hard pressed to say who could win in such an event.
Sei's advantage was his analytical mind and an almost impeccable memory that served him well when thinking up of counter strikes to majority of what Hanae threw at him. What he lacked in creativity, he compensated for with deadly accuracy. Sei analyzed Hanae many times before and had come up with much of the same conclusions he had earlier, that she lacked finesse in her fighting and was certainly not as strong as he was. Though Sei found her lacking in the two, she made up for it with instinctive skill that usually made him lose five out of ten. Not good odds, but not a bad one either.
"Frustrated yet?" Hanae asked as she tried striking with her knee towards his midsection, while he evaded that by using her propped knee as bars and flipped over her trying to deliver several blows to the head which she all avoided.
Hits and misses were common when fighting each other because they knew each other so well. Frustration was also a very common emotion. "On the contrary, I just need one blow to level you off."
She smiled as she stepped back from his fists, knowing that Sei wouldn't go for one blow to finish the fight. Sei made a sweep at her feet and as she jumped to fend the attack off, caught her in an arm lock. She winced in pain as Sei applied more pressure to her arms fully understanding that there were few options left to her at that point.
Escaping from one of Sei's hold would be rather tricky, especially since Hanae was of smaller stature than he was. However, they were at a standstill, without rendering her unconscious, Hanae was still in the game, and Hanae would not give up even if there was substantial pain involved.
"Save us both the trouble and wave your white flag, Hanae," Sei taunted, his grip was tight with every second still squeezing tighter against Hanae's arms.
Hanae smiled then twisted around delivering a swift kick directly to Sei's face, Sei swung back to avoid it, dragging Hanae stumbling with him. He placed his free hand on her throat, a definite indication of a death blow.
With that, Ryu lifted his two fingers to his lips to call that match an end. As the cousins disentangled, Ryu handed Sei a small token indicative of the win. He bowed towards Ryu and then when Hanae was fully up bowed to her as well.
He went towards the sidelines where his attending maid handed him the thin reed necklace he had strung the tokens on. Letting the latest one join the other three, he secured it around his neck.
"A good match, cousin," Hanae complimented him as she too took the necklace that she had given her maid for safeguarding. Traditionally, those that accompanied the young samurai around the contests were their official foster mothers, Sei had his, but since 'Ranko' was running with the higher samurai tests, Hanae was provided for with one of the older maids in the Saotome household. "What does the next test do anyway, even the maids there are held under oath and towards the end, no maids are allowed at all."
"Certainly secret enough so that new minds won't be bored by it," Ryu berated as he watched the two children take their belongings to wait for their next matches in their respective rooms. "Hurry to your rooms. The next matches are in half a stick and you'll want to get all the rest you need.
The girl, Miyu apologized profusely afterwards, and the pain was only dulled by the fact that she had won that small round of hell. That happened yesterday and her nose still gave off a small trickle of blood when she managed to jar it a little in her sleep. She sighed as she flexed her muscles when Nabiki entered the room handing her another cold compress. "You're doing well for someone who's older than the rest of the children."
"Thanks." Akane said sarcastically. She didn't need Nabiki to remind her that she was at least ten years older than most of the children she was fighting against. Ranma and Nabiki had both finished the particular competition when they had been sixteen and almost fifteen years previous. "I thought senior samurai and acolyte aren't allowed to talk to each other."
"Hardly the case when you practically live in my brother's bed chamber. I'm invoking the short truce that I promised myself that I'd give you when Ranma actually permitted you to enter this power-match." Nabiki stretched a little, her hair was bound together in a high pony tail and she was wearing a red Chinese shirt which she and Ranma frequented using. "Besides how am I going to impart little tidbits of knowledge to you? You'd think these kids would let up sometime."
"That's what I thought as well," Akane groused as she looked distastefully at the soaking pieces of cloth that she had discarded for mopping up her nose. "God, your youngsters really are ruthless."
"It's a rather ruthless world," Nabiki commented flippantly as she sat down unceremoniously on one of the zabutons. "Nothing else cleanses the soul as well as getting the hell kicked out of you."
Akane wondered if Nabiki was deliberately baiting her or was testing the waters. "There is that."
"Actually, I've been sent to notify you of your final rights," Nabiki informed her, tossing over a scroll towards Akane, who had dropped the soggy kerchief she had been holding against her face as she caught the scroll in its lazy arc. She looked surprised, she should be. No one really knew of their own progress in these games, there were never charts of the wins and losses except those in the older samurai's possession and speaking about wins and losses were as much as taboo as it was speaking to the elder samurai. "Be early. If there's one thing that Happosai hates, it's when one of the inductees is late. It ruins the entire schedule."
Akane broke open the seal and quickly went over the contents her eyes widening at the time stated there. She looked up at Nabiki who was watching her reaction closely. Clearing her throat before speaking, Akane said slowly, "This in four hour- sticks."
"I know." Unwinding a thick black bandanna from her forearm, Nabiki held it out to Akane. "It's a blind fold. No one gets past this level without being blindfolded. You're supposed to swear an oath as well."
"Oath?" Akane repeated uncertainly, picking up the neatly folded cloth Nabiki was extending towards her, while being extremely grateful that the bleeding from her injuries had stopped. "What does it say?"
"Read your entire missive, Lady Saotome. You might just understand what it's about," Nabiki suggested straightening from her zabuton and looking at Akane expectantly. "This is one of your final tests as a samurai. I'm not going to get my brother lose his face because the samurai he has recommended for further training is not worth the effort."
"I... solemnly swear, not to divulge any of the proceedings hereafter." Akane looked up from the scroll, feeling Nabiki's gaze on her. Nabiki gave a small nod to show that she had been doing right so far. "Failure to do so would mean nullification of my status. So help me God."
"Well then, Lady Saotome, you've now been sworn the rights of induction," Nabiki told her as she took the blindfold from Akane's hands and wrapped it around Akane's eyes. Next she touched a cool hand against Akane's forehead. "Clarity of the mind, speed of thought, and skill with fighting. May you posses all three with the path you're going to take."
As the words washed over her, Akane felt that she had been dropped in the middle of darkness. The kerchief around her eyes had rendered her blind, but the words Nabiki had said took away some of the keen instinct she had about the room and its contents. "What just happened?"
"From here on you would not address any samurai who is not talking to you, and even then you must remain dutifully respectful," Nabiki instructed in a stern voice as she took Akane's hand leading her towards what Akane assumed to be the exit of her room. "You have been rendered blind, and even ki-sense of the area is not allowed. You have your other senses to guide you."
-
The sun was still early on its ascent, and since the first messengers about the final rights happened before the sun could fully come out behind the horizon, it was still early when Nabiki led Akane to the start of the path on a test that promised to take almost the entire day. There was no way that they could actually finish this in just four hours, no matter how fast Akane was, without jumping up the mountains.
Most of the students who came earlier for this part of the inauguration had already started to climb. From the entire time table that the elder samurai studied early that morning, she knew that Ranma was about half way up, depending on the speed of the student under him.
Nabiki frowned, of all the things the inauguration entailed it was the particular task at hand that she did not like as a hatamoto. Going up an entire mountain and then trekking the entire way down again, or taking the much dangerous plummet down was never something that she enjoyed doing.
She turned to Akane who was following the sound of her clapping from her rooms to the base of the mountains. Another thing that she had absolutely hated when she was the one with the blindfold. Following sound was not one of the best ways to understand that there was a tree root or a small thorny bush in your path. "Ready, Akane?"
"You mean we're just starting?" Akane replied sarcastically, both hands out in front of her, the very picture of the blind seeking her way. The 'Nabiki-sama' that came later was belated and more as a testament to Akane's stubborn pride than respect. Nabiki didn't correct her.
Although Nabiki was not supposed to let Akane get into any trouble before she reached the top, leading a blind person was not the easiest of jobs when all she was allowed to give were sounds.
"Barely," Nabiki allowed. There were brutal rules for samurai leading people like Akane. First of which was that if they ever held their hands to lead them, it had to be a harsh drag rather than a slow pull. Nabiki took Akane's hand since they were already going on a much steeper slope that a blind person would not fare well without more guidance than a sound, jerking her towards the path before letting her go. "You are aware that the donjon is on a flat piece of land on the Kanto Mountain, yes?"
When Akane nodded, Nabiki continued, "The mountain is part of a long mountain range, one of which we will climb today. This is far from village so that the villagers don't get to meddle in this business. It's the reason why you had to walk as far as you did. The Yakuoin Temple is situated father along, closer to Lord Happosai's fortress. We're starting a climb up in a different direction, so that we don't disturb worship at the temple. We're at the base, where the slope is starting to grow steeper."
When Nabiki finished saying that, two other hatamoto greeted her, they looked at Akane for identification and nodded. The proceedings from here onwards were so secret that even the trainees who want to participate in the inauguration don't know of the test. It was secret enough for samurai who has not participated in the test not to know of it.
They nodded to let her through. "Ranma has a head start," one of them said. "He might be at the base before you send this one flying."
Akane did not understand the exchange, and Nabiki tugged her on before she could comprehend it. True enough, the pathway did become steeper as they progressed. Nabiki was a capable handler and prevented most of her trips, but she did manage a few surprised shouts when she was stepping off rocks, realizing that the ground beneath it was deeper than what she expected. Nabiki never touched her unless absolutely necessary and barked out commands in the most curt of tones.
The pathway was not as tiresome as most mountain paths were. There were no sheer cliffs that she was required to climb with the blindfold and there were no too steep slopes that would send her tumbling back down. If Nabiki deemed the slope too dangerous for Akane to walk with a blindfold, she let the girl down on all fours.
By what Akane determined to be midday, she was profusely drenched with her own sweat, her temperature rose a few degrees, her throat screaming for water and her cheeks were definitely gaining the pink tinge of both exhaustion and sunburn.
"Let's stop here," Nabiki declared as they reached a small plateau designated as the halfway point of the entire trek. It had been picked out because of the small pools of springs cropping out from the rocks and because it was flat enough and large enough for the younger samurai not to fall off the edges.
A small ladle, brought by one of the earlier samurai lay atop one of the rocks covered by a small white towel. Wiping the wooden ladle, Nabiki dipped it in one of the covered pools and brought it to Akane's lips. "Drink."
Akane gulped the water down thirstily, finishing it almost instantly. Nabiki offered three more scoops before her thirst was even closely sated. When Nabiki sure that Akane took all the water that she could, she dipped the ladle a final time for a drink herself.
Nabiki shielded her eyes from the sun that suddenly peeked out of the clouds. Higher up in the mountains, the clouds moved faster giving shade in a moments notice and abandoning them when the wind blows the feathery wisps away. Even though Nabiki made the trip countless of times because of the inauguration, she always stopped to admire the rays of light filtering through the cottony clouds chasing the darkness around as it moved. "We're halfway to our destination, Lady Akane. Will you continue? Remember, this offer comes only once, and because you have taken this, if you fail this test you may never try out again."
Akane searched for Nabiki's voice moving her head side to side until she got a tentative location of where she was standing and faced her off. Nabiki waved at the great expanse before her, even though Akane didn't see the gesture. Nabiki closed her eyes feeling the wind through her hair and then smiled. This little task had always put her in a better mood for the rest of the ceremonies. "I'll tell you what my guide told me when my lungs were burning from exhaustion, my skin an angry red from the sun and my throat parched dry: Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to. This is your determination, Lady Akane, we are half way through the top, and we haven't even scaled the worst of what is to come."
"I'm determined to finish this," Akane answered with resolve. "I will not let myself fail."
"There, you're halfway to finishing the battle," Nabiki reassured her. Not that the battle was going to be any easier from this way on. The Kanto mountain range wasn't a peak so there was standing room on the top but the heat was prickly and muscles screamed for release. Not to mention the emotional trauma and physical abuse most of them would still undertake before the entire ordeal was over. "If you finish this alive, I swear, you should talk to Ranma about what he did when he went up this trip. That story has gone on to the most amusing anecdotes for this piece of test ever."
The thoughts that went through inside Akane's head were far what Ranma did at the time. Her mind was blank from exhaustion. The mantra that repeated over and over in her head was, 'After this, there would be no more of the torture and mind games'.
Thinking of nothing made the time pass swiftly, her actions relegated to the most basic and even the most automatic, leaving no thought to discomfort or weariness. Her straining muscles gave in to her demands, and though her movement sometimes faltered they were moving towards their destination. She was even beginning to think that not talking to Nabiki was a blessing in disguise, reserving her lungs for the much needed air supply.
After some time, Nabiki brought Akane directly in front of one of the sheer drops, some meters away from where Happosai was. Although he couldn't be seen and couldn't be heard from the way she had positioned Akane. She flipped the blindfold Akane had in one movement and handed it back to Akane. "I thought you'd show some resistance. You can't even follow the simplest of instructions can you? You're supposed to be BLIND for this entire test."
"You were the one who –"
"Are you talking back to me?" Nabiki raised her voice slightly angling her eyebrow in an insulted expression. "You do realize that the only reason you're here is my brother don't you?"
"Well excuse me. I wasn't the one who wanted to enter this stupid inauguration in the first place!" Akane shouted in exasperation. "You guys are absolutely crazy, you tell me something positive one leg of this ascent and you tell me something completely opposite the next!"
"Well maybe we should just send you back. A Saotome samurai not willing to do everything for the art is not a Saotome samurai at all," Nabiki rebuked as her gaze swept over Akane in slow assessment. A long pause passed before Nabiki moved again. "Don't even think about leaving that spot, if Happosai thinks you're still worthy after this small show of arrogance he'll come for you. Else, I'm taking you back down."
With those words, Nabiki left Akane openmouthed at the edge of a small platform on top of a large cliff where no other person could be seen with the immediate vicinity. 'Damned samurai. Damned Saotomes. Godamnit, what the hell am I doing?'
Waiting for Happosai was not something that she had anticipated. And Nabiki's words rang loud about her possibility of not being chosen. She closed her eyes. 'What would Ranma say if I won't pass this test, just because I wasn't able to hold on to a stupid BLINDFOLD?' She hadn't thought the blindfold was important.
Everything reminded her of secret cults or even close to both physical torture and emotional stress of fraternities. Wondering how long she was going to have to stay in place, she was startled by a strong scream coming from her left. Her head whipped towards that direction, though all she could see was the mountains, and she suddenly realized just how long she had climbed, and just how far she was from the bottom.
She started to go after the voice when she felt something holding her in place. When she looked down she saw Happosai keeping her still with his pipe pinned to her shoe. Dead tired and on top of the mountain she had not thought she could climb, Akane faced off with the grand master of Anything Goes, the founder of the school and smiled at the thought that she could not meet the man eye to eye.
"Aren't we going to find out –" He cut her off with the wave.
It was their first meeting and Akane was instantly harboring suspicion that a man that came merely to her knees could not wield the power that he claimed. He gave her a toothy grin, one which she could not stand nor could she appreciate for its certain oily quality.
"You'll know soon enough what that was about. I would have loved to spare you of such misery, but there are limits to which tradition could be bended," Happosai explained as he appraised her lightly. Akane wondered just how much he was willing to bend for her anyway. "Take a look behind you."
Akane took a peek and nearly fell straight to certain death if Happosai's pipe had not caught her belt as a hook, anchoring her to the mountain top. Akane turned back to look at Happosai. They were at the peak of the mountain, it was not windy so the two of them could stand, but on either side she could see the vastness of the land that spilled to show Kamakura.
If she had not been deathly afraid for her life, Akane would have marveled at the view. "Has Ranma shown you the view from Serpent's Bluff in Rose Brier?" There was a negation and Happosai tapped his pipe against his palm. "You should ask him of it. Serpent's Bluff shows just what your husband holds. It is the symbol of the reach of his influence and the magnitude of his power. This on the other hand, is part of mine."
He flicked his hand with a possessive sweep of the plains that surrounded them, and though the entire prefecture of what will be Kanto region in her time was not shown by such a small view, she was given the first glimpse of a little of Edo. Maybe a small part of Kanagawa and a large view of Tokyo Bay. The mountain range stretched up northward, towards Honshu.
There was something to be said about being on top of the world, looking at the distance that you've just labored over to get there. From her vantage point, the fact that she was dusty, hot and tired was compensated by the rare view of the deep waters and the rolling fields. Two birds flew by one after the other in a chase off the sweeping land.
"The remarkable thing about the human mind is its range of limitations," Happosai intoned after he gave her a while to digest what he had just said. She looked back at him uncomprehending. "Let's find out your limitations. The Kanto mountain range is very wide, and you did not pass by the Yakuoin Temple on your way up here."
Nabiki had informed her of it when climbing up, although now that she had more time to think about it, she vaguely recalled the shrine as one that represents the "Tama" area of the mountains, and was probably busy enough to have more than their share of worship even in this particular time. That meant they were high up enough for her not to see the immediate bottom, and a plain nowhere near enough for her to drop dead where people could see. Just the perfect secluded spot for some of the more eccentric things Happosai practiced with his disciples.
"I'm giving you two choices. You can go back down the way you came. It would be tiring but it would be relatively easy. You would walk with your heavy and numb legs back with the way you came. However, you may never fight using Anything Goes again. You will renounce Anything Goes and its use and you will forever forget that you were given this chance," Happosai elaborated pointing back to the long spindly road downwards. "You see the difficulty in being among the best, my dear. All the others who practice Anything Goes are weeded out through this one test. If they never get up the mountain, they can still enjoy practicing the art, but now you are given an ultimatum."
"What's my other choice?" Akane asked distastefully, suddenly knowing why there had been screams before hers. Battle cries even. Because of this moment, every Saotome child was handed down a path that no Saotome child ever wanted to take... to forsake the art.
"Fall down the mountain for me," Happosai answered toothily as he peered down the depths that she would fall. He picked up one of the rocks in his hands and let it sail past her waiting for the seconds until it thudded down the bottom. "Do you trust me enough to push you over the edge?"
"You do realize that every bit of you Saotome people are crazy, right?" Akane demanded as she stared down at the rather endless fall she was facing if she ever wanted to be samurai.
"I'm eccentric," Happosai corrected with a wave of his pipe. "That's one adjective more than I can permit. Wouldn't your husband be so ashamed if you didn't see to your rights?"
"He would be happy to see me dead!" Akane protested as she motioned to the certain death that waited for her below. "Are you crazy? No one would jump off this mountain for you."
"No one?" Happosai repeated, he laughed as he hopped by his little peak in the mountain lighting his pipe. "Are you sure? I never permit hatamoto, let alone daimyo, who have not undertaken such a similar exercise. Let me assure you. ALL samurai in the upper echelons of power have undertaken this. You've seen how much damage my samurai can take. Have you seen Ranma fall down from a cliff carrying three women? I've seen him SURVIVE such a fall. Of course there are the few unfortunate ones like... say that one that came before you... the one you were worried about. "
Akane stared at him agape, wondering just how much of that she could believe and realizing that Happosai could not be lying to her. She suddenly made the connection of the scream she had heard from his arrival to one of the inductees before her. They were goddamned serious to drop them off the mountain. It wasn't just any sheer drop. It wasn't a cliff that was 'maybe' taller than a tree. It was an entire mountain.
"Ranma survived that fall with a few fractures. You're telling me you can't?" Happosai jeered while he puffed out smoke at her face. "Certainly Ranma must have thought you would pass this trial if he volunteered your presence in this affair. You who aren't even Saotome samurai by birth."
"Why do this?" Akane argued, viciously taking a step forward, a little of the few steps that she could take. "If I was going to fall, why save me earlier when I would have thought it was a mere accident?"
"And waste good samurai blood on such accidents?" Happosai shrugged. "Surely jumping down on purpose has more fun in it than accidentally dying. At least you have a choice in the matter. Do not worry, Lady Akane, after the fall, I promise you'd be taken care of. No matter how many fractures you have. "
"I don't want to do this," Akane pleaded as she looked back down at certain death and back to Happosai again. "What else can be done?"
"Renounce the Saotome name," Happosai demanded. He never did anything by half measure and his ultimatums were clearly that, a demand for her absolute loyalty. "It's the only other recourse if you do not want to take the plunge. I'll push you if you want. Trust me, my dear."
"What the-"
"I remember someone wise saying this once... I pride Saotome tradition on giving our samurai two lasting bequests: one is roots." He smiled, hefting his small pipe, then using it quite skillfully and with little apparent effort, he pushed her off the edge of the peak. "The other is wings. I hope you won't be so scared of meeting the end, my dear. You accepted that push rather well."
Akane flew off quite a distance from the mountain. At another time, she could have wondered at the sheer strength of a mere pipe to throw her with enough velocity to resist the pull of gravity for a few seconds.
However, the almost instantaneous drop claimed her full attention, and she screamed for all it was worth.
Although parents of the samurai children to be tested were almost always on the stronghold when the inauguration began, they were not allowed to partake in much of the activities unless they had passed the same test as well. So Nodoka didn't have much of a choice but to stay in the sidelines and wait for her grandchildren's turn to finish before she could speak to them. Much as what the other parents were doing.
She went inside one of the dining rooms which were perpetually serving food for the children who were dead tired and extremely hungry from their bouts and sat down to drink a cup of tea when Genma sat down opposite her.
"I didn't expect to see you here." He had a jug of sake on one hand which was tied around his fist. Nodoka tried not to turn away her head in distaste but he caught her small sign of displeasure and frowned. "When was it that you grew to hate me, Nodoka?"
"I don't hate you Genma," Nodoka answered, which Genma didn't quite believe, especially since he could not get her to talk to him beyond the 'polite' questions she posed. She asked one question now, "How is your drinking problem?"
He had to hand it to the woman. She didn't believe in dulling that sharp tongue of hers. Nabiki learned from a master. "I don't drink anymore."
"I take it you don't drink any less either?" Nodoka said raising an eyebrow at the sake jar that he was tugging along. She wondered why he had brought the vile liquid when he knew he was going to be needed as supervisor almost the entire day. "You haven't changed much."
"This isn't sake. I see you haven't forgiven me yet," Genma said solemnly untying the jar from his wrist and leaving it on the low table that was in between the two of them. "I don't even understand why you're angry with me when you're the one who married someone else."
"Don't bring your brother into this," Nodoka whispered closing her eyes for composure. For someone whose will Genma hardly ever saw waver, this was a surprise. "He doesn't deserve to be brought into petty quarrels."
"You got your wish didn't you?" Genma answered bitterly. "You married into the Saotome name, your children holds Nerima, Ranma is heir and you even manage to take the Twin Dragons - it's Rose Brier now isn't it? Trust a Kuno to give it a sissy name."
"Don't blame me for losing that estate of yours to the Kunos," Nodoka shot back at him. Nodoka had always had a very rigid sense of justice. He just never thought she would think he blamed her for the loss of the Twin Dragon and its subsequent renaming it to Rose Brier. "You lost that in a bet."
If memory served him correctly, he had bet because the imbecile Kochou had managed to kidnap her at that time. Still, he had been the one who lost it in a gamble. He just didn't think that its loss would also cost him her hand in marriage. "Oh you're the smart one aren't you? You knew right after I lost the land that I would be stripped of all holdings and then granted to Tetsuma. You were gone the next second. You married him in less than a year."
"Don't tell me you agonized over that, Genma." Nodoka said calmly. She took another sip of her tea before she continued, "Surely you wouldn't profess your undying love. Not when you visited a brothel every night that you were engaged to me."
"You knew about that?" Genma asked in surprise. The steel in Nodoka's eyes was answer enough. 'She never mentioned a thing when I could do something about it and now she throws it on my face! Nearly thirty years later!'
"God, you don't even try to cover up your liaisons, don't you?" Nodoka said in disgust. Nodoka was the picture of every self-righteous woman. She looked more angry than hurt, yet deep down, Genma understood why she was bringing this up. She wanted to know why he had cheated on her.
Genma's heart constricted, because even though they had broken up their engagement, he had missed her terribly. "Nodoka..." he said softly reaching for her hand, she snatched it away before he could touch her, but he looked up to meet her eyes. "Nodoka, the reason why I went there every night was that my father's illegitimate daughter was there. I was the one who took care of her until she died. If you had asked Tetsuma, he would have confirmed it. Ask Happosai, he knew about her."
Because Nodoka was proud, she didn't say the words that clawed at her heart with the confession. She hadn't even blinked when she had been handed the argument that would have pushed for her to marry Genma years ago. To push for her to wait. "You lie."
"Why would I lie to you now?" Genma asked incredulously he motioned at himself. "I'm old, I'm close to dying, Nodoka. Granted I may have a few years left, but why would I lie about that to you? I didn't believe it when my brother's emissary had sent your wedding invitation. To him no less. No word, no explanation. Nodoka, you left me out there to dry. If I had known you were marrying me for the fiefdom, I would have spared you all the trouble and given to you all those years ago instead of you whoring yourself to him."
The slap that had come, Genma believed, was well deserved. Nodoka glared at him before she mustered an answer, "I see where Ranma's foot-in-mouth complex comes from. You disgust me."
Genma snapped his head back to attention. "Then tell me Nodoka. Why had you married my brother? Why did you drop me off when I didn't have a penny to my name?"
"You don't even have the right to know the answer to that." Nodoka shook her head imperiously, her anger was quickly hidden. Her face was smooth and expressionless once again. "Did you give me time to defend myself, Genma? Where did you go when you lost to Kuno?"
"Happosai sent me on a training trip. It had been punishment. No one knew but him," Genma explained, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in before he continued again, in a softer tone. "I deserve a reason, Nodoka. Tell me at least why you married my brother."
"Because you were missing, you idiot." Nodoka cursed in a low voice. "You were missing for more than a year and I was pregnant."
She closed her eyes instinctively when she had fallen off the mountain. Akane was not afraid of heights, but there was fear when she had toppled off the peak. Akane had her share of broken bones and sprains, and did not relish the fact that she was plummeting down an extremely high mountain, which by her standards, survival was even doubtful.
Maybe years of training could have prepared her for the fall, as what Happosai was implying Ranma had done, but she distinctly remembered that a fall off the roof in their old house had given her a couple of broken bones. She did not want to contemplate a fall off a mountain which was definitely more than ten times higher than the roof of her house.
The whizzing of the air as she fell down grew louder in her ears, an addition to her growing fright. She could not have been accelerating, but she was gaining velocity and she certainly did not want to see the moment that her head connected with the solid ground beneath.
And although Akane half expected to be caught, the feeling of arms gently securing her against a solid masculine chest came as a relief. It was comforting to know that though the entire Saotome bunch seemed crazy, they did not go about pushing people out of tall mountains in random pursuit of happiness.
She felt the first impact of her rescuer against the swaying branches of the tree that he rebounded against. He took a few more branches before he landed safely down at a velocity that was passable to her stomach's standards. Compared to free fall she experienced, this was a small lull.
She was set down gently opening the eyes she had not wanted to open even amidst her small rescue. Blinking a couple of times to get her eyes adjusted to the sunlight contrasting the dark environment, she was mildly surprised to find other competitors on the ground with Ranma leaning against one of the tree stumps.
"Do you know the purpose of that exercise?" Ranma asked looking at her seriously.
"Finding out how reckless Saotome samurai are?" Akane answered off handedly shielding her eyes from the sunlight and then blinking at the distance she fell. She could barely see the top of that godforsaken mountain. It was already mid-afternoon. That meant she climbed the rocks for a good deal of the day. She felt her bones aching in protest.
"Wrong answer," Ranma said sternly. "What was the purpose of your fall?"
Akane looked at Ranma to notice that he asked the question with seriousness she thought he did not possess. She noted that the children who underwent the same trail were all looking at her expectantly, wanting to know how long it was before she supplied the answer that Ranma was waiting to hear. "I honestly don't know."
"Use your head. You were asked something before you were thrown down here," Ranma prompted, he did not move to offer her help as she tried to sit down, resting her aching feet from the difficulty of standing. "Why would that question be important here?"
"I can't-" She paused, although there was something eerily familiar about the entire ordeal. She opened her mouth, but the look Ranma gave her shut it again. "That I should stand up after I fall?"
"Not quite." Ranma smiled, it was the first one she's seen since he fought her over Hanae's tutelage. "Can't you remember what Happosai asked you before you ended down here?"
"He told me to trust him." Akane shuddered rubbing her arms. "Right before he told me he was pushing me to certain death."
"Trust, even at certain death is what Happosai demands of all of his elite samurai." Ranma motioned towards the children that were watching. "If you pass all tests it will include all of you."
Someone shrugged. "I think I've learned all I can from this little tournament."
Ranma laughed as he looked at one of the other samurai who was looking up from the tree branch to catch the next samurai child to be tested. They worked on rotation so that no child was missed. However, the next child's session with Happosai seemed to be extending since Ryu was still waiting. Therefore, Ranma was still permitted to talk. "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."
He paused to let the boy mull that over and then told him something he learned from Cologne a long time ago, "Out of respect of the things I was never destined to do, I have learned that my strengths are a result of my weaknesses, my success is due to my failures and my style is directly proportional to my limitations."
A long shout of surprise interrupted whatever Ranma was going to say next.
"Here comes the next one!" Ryu shouted from the top as he rebounded off the tree to reach the falling child at a higher velocity. The moves required for such actions were precise and accurate that only the younger high level samurais were allowed to help with the proceedings.
Ranma frowned, although he underwent a similar test it was not one of the best experiences he had and didn't like recalling much of what happened on the mountain, or even after the fall. He had been so deep in thought that when Nabiki, who had been waiting in the sidelines tapped him, he was mildly surprised at her presence.
To improve efficiency of the entire guide-trainee exercise at the top of the mountain, a large diagonal rope was tied in large segments in which a samurai could use a very thick cloth to hang on to the rope and slide down with it. It was a quick and established route, especially since some of their shifts were bordering on overlapping each other for the guide and rescue duties.
"I'm due for this round, you better rest," Nabiki whispered, keeping a thick cloth that she had used to slide along the mountain. She motioned to the children who were already being led away by one of the older samurai. "Take your wife to your room. Tomorrow she's going to have to take part of that long winded ceremony."
Absentmindedly, Ranma nodded taking note that Akane was already following the rest of the children that were being led away. Taking her arm, he steered he off towards the shorter path towards the rooms, skipping the long winding paths that the children were taking.
Akane yelped at the sudden tug at her arm, but let it pass when she realized it was Ranma. Though they had been talking and were acting civilly, he was still angry at her for reasons she still didn't understand. She smiled trying to lighten up the situation. "You enjoy watching us squirm don't you. You honestly enjoy teaching those kids the hard way."
"There's no other way to learn," Ranma defended himself, as he looked up towards the sky. "There are no second chances in fighting for your life. You have to make decisions and there are consequences. The inauguration just isn't there to find out about your skill in fighting, it tests your level of willingness to work inside the clan."
"How did you do in yours?" Akane asked, wondering what Ranma had done at Happosai's demand of absolute fealty and the push towards almost certain doom.
"I probably took the longest. Ever." Ranma frowned looking over his shoulder to see the looming form of the solid rock that the mountain that all the children had climbed and fallen off. "I've always had the urge to do things better than everybody else. That was the reason I persisted climbing that damned mountain after I knew my body was way past its endurance levels."
"You were sixteen," Akane recounted from stories told before. They were one of the youngest ever to partake in the inaugural tasks. Most of the children she had been with were in their early twenties or their late teens. Children younger than eighteen usually were eliminated very early on and asked to try again. "Younger than most."
"Not really," Ranma countered as he pointed to the steady line of participants filing out of the forest from their view. "Seki is sixteen, and I think good enough to pass the advanced ranks. There are about ten children this year below twenty though I think only Seki and another girl will get inaugurated for the special title. No one over twenty three tries for the tests. Not until you anyway."
"That's a very short window of opportunity, seeing that this is held every five years. You don't participate if you don't think you can win," Akane criticized, looking at the determined group. "I hoped that it would take two tries."
"It only takes one," Ranma corrected. "After the entire mountain ordeal I thought I wasn't going to make it to the fifteen children to advance. It was a surprise that I was given the invitation the next day on those serial fights to test who was going to train me for advanced lessons."
"What ever did you do on that mountain?" Akane asked incredulous. It didn't seem that big a deal that he would consider being eliminated.
"I fought Happosai for the fall." Ranma smirked as he remembered the fight. "The old man is good, but damn, if I just had something to distract him, I would have won. NOBODY has ever dropped from that mountain with eyes wide open. Maybe halfway through but towards the bottom, hopelessness kind of settles in. I was probably the most stubborn in that too. I even fought with the guy who was going to catch me. Pops was so mad that my eyes were still open and that I had to be caught as I broke through the bamboo. That was nasty business I really could have died if one of those long stalks had broken and pierced some internal organ."
Akane stopped from walking and Ranma had to turn back to give her a questioning look. Akane shook her head. "You mean to tell me that you actually had a SPINE when you were younger?"
Ranma winced at the way she had put it. They had all changed after the years, it was hard not to. But obedience towards Happosai had come gradually with time, especially since their sworn oaths. "I had to stop being a boy at my inauguration. I have an entire fief to worry about. What would happen to Nerima if their daimyo was hated by their liege?"
He stopped then frowned. "I shouldn't be telling you this much. Most of the talk between samurai is forbidden during the inaugural period."
"Sorry," Akane apologized as she moved along to catch up with him.
"You're tired," Ranma noted after looking at her walk towards him, noticing the mechanical movement and the frown on her face. He squatted and then motioned for her to get on his back. "Come on, I'll carry you to our room."
Akane looked skeptically at the offer of the ride. Her body was aching from the strain of the climb. Even if most of the children were experienced with strenuous activities this particular one still took its toll on them. Ranma himself admitted having difficulty when he had tried it the first time. "I don't know."
"This offer will expire in a while," Ranma warned, impatient. He also didn't like the fact that anyone could walk in on them and see his position.
Exhaustion winning over, Akane climbed on Ranma's back. This was not the time for false dignity. She was barely coordinated as it was. When she was settled on his back, she pressed her forehead onto the back of his shoulder and whispered, "Thanks."
If he heard it or not, he didn't say as he moved from the main forest floor towards the trees, easily jumping from one tree to the other.
-
Nabiki handed over Ranma a formal scroll as he eyed it in distaste while he followed the power-matching lines in the middle of tabulation room where all of the results from the competitions were tallied and matched up against each other. Whether it was in the junior level as Hanae and Sei were in or the more competitive Advanced training in which Akane was in.
"What? It's not as if it wasn't obvious your wife was going to topple over the edge of that particular mountain." Nabiki snorted as she pushed the scroll to Ranma's chest before sitting on one of the zabutons provided for the hatamoto that were allowed inside the room. "That event has changed little from when we were on top of that goddamned mountain and it always requires the same things. Happosai finding the fifteen best, getting them up agonizingly over that tall obstacle, having someone scare the hell out of them because of the bandanna, having them equally scared by Happosai, pushing them down and finally when said someone has almost reached the treetops eyes closed, one samurai jumping to their rescue." It was a synchronized effort for the most part that took as much effort on the samurai on guard as well as the one jumping off the mountain.
Ranma scowled at her as he twirled the scroll around his fingers. "You know I hate that exercise to the core. Almost every kid down there was shivering from fright."
"You included huh, you big baby," Nabiki teased, raising her eyebrows. Ranma wasn't mistaken though. Some children have considered quitting after a traumatic experience such as that. There was this one incident some years ago where a girl of nineteen locked herself up in one of the dungeons and kept banging her head against the grills crying. It had been extremely messy and thankfully, Ranma was able to sweet talk her out of trying to commit suicide - and definitely not the ritual kind.
"Put that eyebrow down," Ranma ordered, pointing at Nabiki, eyes narrowed to slits.
"You've managed the enraged father role well. Now let's see if I can," Nabiki answered coolly as she pointed to the door. "Go to your room and give that to your wife, you hear? And don't come out until it's properly delivered."
He opened his mouth in protest but she lifted another eyebrow again and Ranma found himself too tired to argue with someone as stubborn as Nabiki. "Yes, mom."
-
Ranma found Akane in their shared room nursing the multitude of cuts and bruises she had incurred over the week. She looked up when he entered the room and thumbed one of her more prominent bruises.
"I admire your first aid skills in this little tourney," Akane marveled as she winced when she hit a tender spot while applying the salve. "God, I don't know how long I could have survived without knowing anything medicinal other than the bottled type. And I don't see any drugstores nearby."
He paused for a moment to think of a reply to that but found that he couldn't, especially when he didn't know what half of her sentence meant. Deciding that it didn't matter, he brought out her invitation and handed it to her. She looked at it wearily as she accepted it then looked at Ranma.
"Congratulations are in order," Ranma declared as he sat down across Akane. "You're ranked tenth."
She looked at him with a hint of doubt as she broke the seal to the scroll and scanned its contents. When she finally reached the pronouncement that confirmed Ranma's words she rushed to give him a hug. "Isn't it wonderful? I thought I'd barely make it to the fifteenth."
Uncomfortable at her show of affection, and certainly not knowing what to do with her, Ranma sat rigidly not attempting to disentangle himself. He had enough encounters of similar types with Shampoo and had long ago learned that it would be easier on him if he sat still than start squirming. When she did disengage herself she gave him a smile. "What am I going to do?"
"Not hug Happosai like that for one," Ranma answered promptly, and though Akane probably had enough wits not to do that he certainly didn't want Happosai the pervert on their hands. It earned him another smile from her. She settled back on the zabuton she had been occupying and placed the small scroll beside the salve she had been using. Revealing the package that he had carefully wrapped and worked on for the past weeks since his decision to make Akane join the entire tournament he handed it to her. "It's a very formal ceremony. You can't use a kimono because that's what the maids are using. You'll use that. Every Saotome samurai summoned to court uses that in formal Saotome gatherings."
She accepted the parcel he tilted his head sideways. "Because you're going to be inaugurated for the first time, you're going to be given your first swords. The others have already received theirs at the same competition Hanae and Sei have passed. Do you have any specific weapon that you've trained extensively in?"
Akane shook her head. Anything Goes had always been a barehanded combat art. She'd never trained in anything more than a bokken, and even that was because of some annoying boy in her school that kept challenging her.
Ranma nodded. "I'll find something suitable. Most of Happosai's weapons are old and he wouldn't want that to leave Saotome hands, but there's a smithy in the donjon and he has stock of fairly new weapons that could be handed out. Your father never gave me a sword for you and I've never seen you in anything than your gymnastics weapons."
"Thank you, Ranma," Akane said gratefully, looking at him meaningfully. "For all your help."
"I entered you here because I thought your skill deserves training," Ranma responded after a while. "You didn't need my help."
Tenth was a good number even for her, who was considered almost too old to be entered into the elite circle that the Saotomes held themselves at pride for. When the chosen fifteen were finally preparing for the last test of fealty towards the clan, the others who didn't make it were in their rooms preparing to leave.
These failing children, though they had competed in the advanced training, were never in the final rights on top of the mountain. Usually, nobody fails the mountain test, and only the top fifteen were admitted into that test to keep it secret. They were invited to the gathering after the swearing of oaths but they almost usually went home immediately afterwards if they had no siblings that passed.
Akane peeked from the small curtain that separated the small cubicle that allowed for changing towards the gardens where the matches had been held. In less than five minutes some samurai and ninja had transformed what had looked like a battle arena into a small reception. Akane gulped, all of them looked extremely serious. She let the curtain fall softly back.
But Ifuku's mind was far from helping her mistress dress up and nurse her wounds from the fight she had incurred that day, in fact, she was doing everything almost mechanically that Akane had to shake her out of it once to tell her that she was spacing out.
"Ifuku, are you all right? That's four times in an hour." Akane looked at her worriedly then raised her hand against her maid's neck as if to get her temperature. "You're not sick, are you?"
Ifuku smiled dazedly. "No my lady, I am merely worried about Sohin..." she trailed off then shook her head. "Do not concern yourself with my worries, my lady, Lord Sei and Lady Hanae did excellently today. They have both been placed on the roster for candidates for being samurai in Anything Goes, you are lucky you have skipped that earlier test."
Akane gulped, and Ifuku realized it may have not been the wisest thing to say to calm down the frightened girl. She was interrupted by a girl entering the room, bowing towards them she said, "Oooohh, you're the girl who I'm going to lead... right? Hi! I'm Ninomiya Hinako."
The girl was in a bubbly attitude that surprised Akane, she even handed her a lollipop. "Well come on then, you better come with me!" She giggled as she pulled her hand towards the corridors.
Earlier that day, women ushered children of the Saotome clan towards where they would fight, most of them maids of the household that Happosai kept. But through the final test of the ten, only Saotome women who have passed the same the test before were allowed to lead.
Akane couldn't do anything but follow the girl and gave Ifuku a glance to reassure herself, but Ifuku was back to staring at the space of God knows what. Hinako was a curious girl. She seemed to be bursting with energy and sometimes stopped her walk without warning for a small thing that, to Akane, looked like candy. Akane had to keep herself from stepping onto the girl's kimono more than once because of the girl's sudden stops.
"You're Lord Ranma's wife, right? Right?" Akane stopped to look at her. She had stopped in the middle of the corridor again and was looking at her with wide-eyes and smiling, a child really. She looked considerably younger than her, maybe sixteen to fifteen years of age(1), Akane can't believe the girl could beat her in a one on one fight.
"Yes." She didn't continue to walk down the twisted paths that were Happosai's donjon. She remained there staring at her as if memorizing her face.
Finally, she nodded, and although Akane knew she didn't need the girl's approval, she was relieved when she had given it. "You're a very... ummm... unique woman, Lady Kodachi." The words seemed unreal coming from such a child-like girl. "A controversy. Many have been engaged to Lord Ranma and none has gotten the privilege of his favor. Do you know he is heir?"
Akane wasn't able to answer. It was as if she was rendered mute by the girl's questioning. "We all wonder how you could have attained Anything Goes. The right to be called Saotome samurai is handed only to those who passed the test Hanae and Sei both passed today. You have not done that. The advanced techniques are taught only to the fifteen best children of the generation, a test which you almost failed. No one has taught you and yet you learn."
The girl continued walking. "Guard our secrets well, Lady Kodachi," the girl whispered then she smiled and flipped a coin into the air. Suddenly the doors she had not noticed opened revealing a large reception room that they had previously used for Nodoka's party. When she turned to talk to Hinako, she wasn't to be found anywhere.
There were exactly fourteen children that guarded the way from the small gate towards a platform, seven girls and seven boys, all ranging from the age of fifteen to seventeen. The fifteen students fortunate enough to be taught Anything Goes, from the previous inauguration ceremony five years before... the fifteenth being the girl who led her there. She was probably going to get the next in rank for the inauguration.
At one other side were the nine children who ranked before her, the new batch of advanced learners. There was room left for her and the other five who had ranked below her.
As she passed them, each gave a small bow to her, 'Lord Happosai likes formalities. He creates his own celebrations. When you're that old, you like leisure as much as the next battle...' Those were Ifuku's exact words.
The two lines led up to a small platform up front where Happosai was elevated up on the stool, at his right sat Ranma. Nabiki sat at the platform as well, but at a level below Ranma, equal to one other samurai that Akane recognized as one of the other referee who had gauged her performance for the past week. They all had taken for granted that she was new and barely introduced themselves. From Nabiki's conversations with him, she knew at least that her sister-in-law called him Kumon.
There were several other men that sat at Happosai's left. All of them regarded her coolly. All of them were wearing the black garment they had worn at Yuigahama. Identical save for the small patch at the right breast. Hinako suddenly showed up beside her again, a small smile in her face as she bowed low before the platform, Akane could almost hear her giggle. "Lord Happosai, I am presenting the wife of Musabetsu Kakuto's heir, the Maiden of the Night, The Black Rose, Lady Kodachi Kuno-noh-Saotome."
Akane almost died when Hinako used the same trick again to seemingly disappear, only to reappear beside one of the fifteen students. Happosai hopped up from his chair and looked at her from head to foot. "Inducted at the clan at five and twenty. You're too old to be samurai, Lady Kodachi, and yet too dangerous to break free of it."
Happosai turned towards his heir and raised his eyebrow. "You do realize that the oldest that enters samurai status is seventeen?" Ranma did not show any outward indication of response, and Happosai did not wait for any. "Never mind... you did manage to get her a sword, didn't you?"
A boy from the fifteen walked towards them and handed two glinting swords towards Ranma, then backed away to join his fellow students. Ranma stood up and unsheathed them both, showing the choice of weapons towards the group seated at the platform, and then sheathed them again, handing them to Akane. "These swords to protect are your bond,"
"It's purpose, a gift from the lord: the code," Akane answered back hoping that she was answering the words correctly. Happosai was looking at everything she was doing critically and she placed the two swords at her front, as a rule, they weren't allowed to wear swords when your liege lord was present.
Nabiki stood up bearing the Saotome sigil on her hands stenciled in the long black cloth that was attached to the large poles, a banner for war. "Your quest..."
"It knows no barriers, I will overcome.
My skill is not for sale
My experience is not for auction,
I shall keep the trust of my lord,
Secure, serve and obey is my signature."
Nabiki then took her place beside her brother, as Ryu walked towards Akane, He carried with him the armor that Akane would never use, but was part of the formality of being a samurai. "You are the trustee of the weak."
"The soul, the mind, the body
No man shall buy my loyalty to the clan
No reason that would becloud my noble call."
Ryu inclined his head in acknowledgement and stepped beside Nabiki, Happosai looked at her. "You are the tenth to break, and these nine students will soon leave the palace to serve the lords I have chosen for them, though they are younger, they are your seniors, they are more skilled than you. Listen to them. The fifteen before you are the children who have passed before. They too are your seniors."
"Should you break the trust given to you, Kodachi, you are going to be stricken off the clan. You are not going to be taught any more, but you aren't going to learn any less. Go and take your place among the nine."
-
Nabiki shivered in the black silk as she leaned against one of the trees in the donjon's larger gardens. Her eyes swept the whole scene through the shoji walls that separated her from them. She was one of the oldest samurai present. An honor, for the inauguration hosted the fresh blood of Happosai's minions. 'Another generation is coming in... I'm getting too old to be hatamoto.'
After she reflected on that she shook her head of the nonsense, some of the best samurai were aged at eighty, and Happosai was surely over a hundred. Still it was depressing to look at the young ones. It meant that they would be sending Sei and Hanae away on their ritual ten year training trips soon. She would probably never see them again. 'I wonder if Hanae's mother would have approved...'
"You're not supposed to think tonight."
Nabiki's eyes narrowed at the familiar voice, she turned her head to find Ryu behind her. "Kami - you scare the hell out of me, Kumon." She turned back to lean against the tree, her frown still on her face.
"I thought I'd never get that reaction from you," Ryu said as he stood beside her. The proximity irritated Nabiki although the words raised her annoyance more. "I thought Saotome Nabiki wasn't scared of anything."
"No... to know no fear is to die." Nabiki closed her eyes, as the music from the inside filtered through the shoji. Some woman was playing the samisen, but Nabiki didn't particularly like the instrument. Though it was supposed to sooth her nerves, it achieved in doing the opposite. "I haven't seen you around lately. It's a wonder Happosai got you to take part at the end of Kodachi's oath."
"I was busy doing old man Happosai's orders. Swearing Kodachi in was a part of winning this, along with those fourteen others." He snorted. Ryu had been the only one who she had not beaten in their inauguration. That was why they stood in equal footing in the clan's eyes. "I don't know if being part of your elite clan is worth it. That man's a slave driver."
"Don't we all know it." Nabiki opened her eyes again. She turned to Ryu and looked at the patch sewn on his black shirt, a bird in flight. She lifted her hand to touch it. "Yet you keep here."
He took her hand from his chest and laid it on his own rough hand. "I thought you'd marry me." She snatched it quickly, replacing it in her ear, seemingly brushing away stray locks that weren't there.
"You were one fiancé in a thousand others, Ryu." Nabiki sighed. She wondered what Genma was thinking when he had engaged her to him. She wondered what Genma was thinking when he gave the Kumons the Yamasen-ken. "It wouldn't have worked."
"I had entered hoping you would." That was what Nabiki had thought. Entering a stupid contest because of marriage was a stupid idea, thinking that he would get her as a prize was even more idiotic. "I won. You should have married me."
Nabiki glared at him, remembering her main grievance against him. "You told my mother I was dead, you jerk." She was a bit irked, but it had been in the past, something long forgotten, even for her. Still, it was something that had kept her from even considering Ryu as a potential husband... not that her choice had any bearing on who she married. "You expect me to marry you?"
"I thought you already forgave me." He ran his hand through his hair, not expecting her to throw that at his face. Nabiki gave him another icy glare. Because their foster father had foolishly promised to make them commit seppuku in front of Happosai if they were not 'man among men' or 'woman among women' for their mother, they had hidden for a year from their mother because of Jusenkyo.
They had served the entirety of that year in Happosai's donjon with their foster father. Whenever Lady Nodoka visited, Ranma was Ranko, Genma was a panda and Nabiki was dressed up as Ranko's maid. It was not only demeaning, it had been painful to see their mother and not call her as their own.
"I beat your brother on your mother's roof that night." He declared haughtily. Nabiki wondered if every male paraded their supposed prowess in fighting to impress women. "I won over him."
"And if you think that your arrogance will get you somewhere near a marriage ceremony with me, you're sadly mistaken." If there was something Nabiki didn't tolerate it was someone badmouthing one of her own. She also knew the circumstances of that fight. "He lost because he was distracted."
"Distraction is a crucial part of Anything Goes," he pointed out conceitedly. Nabiki didn't need to be taught the tenets. She had lived with it all her life. "If something as simple as your mother could distract him then plenty of others would."
"You mock what you do not understand," Nabiki bit back, how could he understand what they had been through to find their mother? Something registered in Nabiki's mind, as she shot back, "He didn't lose to you. We were just slightly set back. I remember that incident clearly Kumon."
-------------------
Nabiki looked at Ryu in disgust, as they peered through the small windows of their own house. "I'm dead? I'm going to show that rotten fish just who Nabiki Saotome is."
In an uncharacteristic show of good thought Ranma-chan held Nabiki back by the collar. "Not now, Nabiki, seppuku is not on my agenda." She frowned as she peered down at Nodoka busying herself for her so-called-son.
"It's not fair. I get to be your maid, while you get to be -"
"Happosai's consort." Ranma-chan grimaced in distaste as she remembered the way Happosai had introduced him to their mother. The old man simply had no shame. "If you ask me you're getting the better part of the deal. You act better than I do."
Nabiki gave her a look that said otherwise. "Now aren't you breaking the bones of this guy... or will you give the pleasure to me?"
"He's got my name. I've got first dibs." Ranma pointed to himself in a self assured way. Still, Ranma was sure Nabiki would want more than the physical revenge that a beating would entail. Hers was more of the subtle kind, the ones that lasted long and were rather hard to forget. "You get his scraps."
"He said I was dead!" Any further argument was stopped by a table landing in between the two of them. They glared at each other then at the table. "He's starting to get on my nerves."
"We're finishing this tonight," Both of them announced at once.
-
A few bruises, their pride a few notches lower and days later got them on the training of the Umisen-ken the direct opposite of the Yamasen-ken which Ryu was using.
"Why do I have to be the backup?" Nabiki shouted enraged at the very thought that she wouldn't be getting a piece of Ryu. She also didn't like that fact that both of them were forbidden on any other sort of revenge than a beating because of his knowledge of the Yamasen-ken. "This is unfair. Wouldn't a dual attack work?"
Genma murmured to himself, "It would, but both arts were made for one on one combat, Nabiki. It would be overkill to use them the same time, even if this Ryu is better than the two of you. Even if you manage to create a fuse of the Umisen-ken."
Ranma just gave her a sympathetic look, she wasn't buying anything like that from him, she just gave him a glare. "And why do I have to go and give him this..." She looked at the letter distastefully. "I'm not a messenger you know."
"He doesn't recognize you, Nabiki. He thinks you're a boy 'cuz you attacked him as one," Ranma whispered to her, "Do you want mother to know our secret too soon?"
Any answer from her was cut off as Saotome Nodoka opened the door to them and both Ranma and Genma had leapt towards the roof before they could be seen. Nabiki had not wanted to greet their mother in such an aloof way but let it go. "Oh... good morning, Saotome-sama."
Nodoka greeted her with a warm smile. "Good morning, Shizuko." Nabiki gritted her teeth at the name, when Happosai introduced her however he had shortened her second name. 'Great.'
"I have a message for Lord Ranma, this morning." Nabiki gagged at the way she was treating this Kumon guy, and Genma had forbidden her to even lay a finger on him. It showed why her foster father was never chosen for training Happosai's spies. He was a thief, but not skilled for espionage.
Nodoka smiled as she left the small white outer garment of the kimono in the stands and placed slippers. "Oh, does Lord Happosai wish to give Lady Ranko to Ranma as a gift?" Nabiki turned green at the thought. Happosai had the tendency to give away many things, but not his consorts. Besides, the idea of Ranma and Ryu together in that way was enough to make Nabiki a little nauseated. She was sure Ranma would have died at the idea as well.
From the looks of it, Ryu was feeling the same amount of revulsion. He knew who Ranko was, after all. Nabiki mustered a smile for Nodoka. "Ahh... no. I... have ... information to pass on."
Nodoka smiled knowingly before going out. "Oh well. He is manly enough to take a lot of consorts, Shizuko. So I approve. I am leaving for my daily walk, Ranma. I shall be back shortly." Then Nodoka stepped out of the house.
Nabiki's smile melted into a frown as she turned to look at her pseudo brother. Nabiki flipped the letter in the air, and Ryu barely caught it, her eyes narrowed. "Ranma and Nabiki can't come because of your stupid threats -"
"If it's so stupid, then why are they keeping away?" Ryu challenged, Nabiki's anger went up a notch. Her words were rarely challenged. In fact he was one of the first of her non-teachers to do it.
"They're keeping away because you're not worth breaking his word of honor." Nabiki gave him a small smile. They were avoiding the place because they feared his word, but it wasn't to her advantage if she told Ryu that particular fact.
She watched as he gave her a scowl and tore the letter open and read it, when he finished he snorted at the challenge. "So?"
Nabiki flipped her hair. "And one more thing." She pulled him up to his feet and raised him in the air by the edges of his garb. "Nabiki sends his warmest regards... gives his word that he's not dead, and that you're going to pay for playing with their mother's feelings."
Nabiki threw the boy down and wiped her hands. "That's all."
"What cowards," Ryu spat out as he coughed the dirt he had all but inhaled when Nabiki had thrown him down. "Sending a girl to do a man's job."
Nabiki toyed with the idea of beating him down with her fists but her conscience rallied against it. She also contemplated on telling him that Nabiki Saotome wasn't exactly a man, but decided that the message wouldn't go through his skull as she had wanted. She threw her hands up. "There's no such thing as a 'man's job'. Anyhow... I think your 'mother' is home."
At the exact moment, Nodoka walked in with a smile on her face. "Oh, are you finishing up with my son? I forgot my parasol."
Nabiki thought she was going to be sick, but held her tongue. No secret would be revealed too soon from the mouth of Nabiki Saotome. She smiled graciously at her. "Are you sure that this is a manly son?" Nabiki waved her hand towards the ground. "Sorry to break any hearts Lady Nodoka, but I'm a mere peasant and I wear him out."
"Well, that's okay," Nodoka hummed happily as she helped Ryu up. "A good woman can always wear out a manly man."
Nabiki heard a cough from above, her stomach acted up again, this time, she didn't think she would make it out of the house without vomiting, but she made it just the same. When she got out, Ranma and Genma dropped from their positions on the roof, she gave both of them a glare and Ranma didn't look like he had enjoyed listening in either.
Lifting her head up high, Nabiki snorted. "That's what you get for sending me as a messenger."
Ranma coughed a little as he followed. "Oh yeah? You don't look to great either."
Nabiki hit him hard on the back. "You were saying?"
-
Nabiki scratched her neck as she watched Ryu assist Nodoka to consciousness, it had taken longer than she had expected for Ranma to beat him. There had been a couple of times when she was about to take in to assist, but he had done it all by himself, 'The bastard,' Nabiki thought with a smile. 'He never lets me have any fun.'
"Do you want to see your real children?" Ryu asked Nodoka timidly as he helped her sit down. There was a tense silence as Nabiki sweated and Genma was holding his signs ready to bat Ryu away...
'He wouldn't dare...' Nabiki thought as she raised her hand to stop him, but Genma got to him first. There was a small whisper and then an exchange of notes. 'What the...'
"But... I don't know where they are. I'll be sure to tell them though," Ryu answered with a small smile, and a wave. Then he looked at Nabiki. "And I'll be seeing you a lot sooner."
Nabiki looked at him bewildered, then at the paper at his hands. It doesn't take much time for Nabiki to put two and two together, having had the same thing happen to her before. She turned towards the panda. "You idiot. Don't tell me you engaged me to another moron!"
-------------------
Since then, Ryu had found out that the girl that he had had been engaged to was Saotome Nabiki, twin of Saotome Ranma, not to some maid of Happosai's consort and that 'Nabiki Saotome' was a girl not a boy as he had previously thought.
"He's better than you, Kumon. It's the reason why he's heir." Nabiki pushed him away. The whole line was getting old, even for her. In the light of the past week, she would be thankful if she never heard it again. "Here I am laughing at Ranma's fiancées and yet I can't laugh at my own. My marriage is not for me to decide. I'm an object of the clan. Happosai chose my husband."
"You mean that damned Ikkasei?" His eyes darkened, he had not attended her wedding. Not that a lot of people had, she was happy that Ranma and her mother had come. "He doesn't even believe you. He doesn't even know you're alive."
"I'm still married to 'that damned Ikkasei', okay?" Nabiki pointed out. "I was sent away, but I still am. Any 'wedding' at this point would be farce... at least it would be to me. Not until my husband chooses another wife. He hasn't, all he has are consorts."
Ryu took a step back from her, not believing. "What?"
"I have a son," Nabiki said softly. "He's the rightful heir to his father. He doesn't know... and I keep him in Saotome territory because I fear what they will tell him about me. He came by his own will, and I fear of the day he wants to retake his destiny. I do not want to lose my only link to the world. Even after all this will you still want to marry me?"
He took another step back. "I thought when I beat you in this little tournament it would be over... I -"
"You didn't 'beat me', Ryu. Just as Ranma never lost to you." It was the first time she had used his given name to address him. "It was a draw. We hit each other simultaneously and fell dead to the world. Look, I know Genma had made a promise he couldn't keep. Just as my other fiancés. Just as Ranma has his. Whatever we both say, it doesn't matter. Happosai holds our very lives."
He gave her a questioning look. "But you don't understand... Happosai was the one who engaged us."
Nabiki's senses all snapped at that. "What?!"
"Genma was the one who arranged it but it was Happosai's stamp and seal... all of the others have it. That's why we were surprised that neither of you married anyone that they had given the documents to."
Nabiki's head snapped to the direction of Happosai and narrowed her eyes. All this time, she had blamed everything on Genma when the old man was just being manipulated. 'But to what end?'
"It doesn't matter, nothing matters. Will you still marry me?"
If there was one thing she had to give Ryu credit for, it was his persistence. Nabiki waved him away. She didn't want to be bound to any of her fiancés. "My marriage has never been my choice to begin with, Ryu. Please..."
"We'll go away -" A desperate attempt to lure her into marriage. How many promises were Ryu willing to give? How many praises was he willing to dish out? How long was he willing to wait?
Nabiki gave him a small laugh as she turned around to face him. "Kami, Ryu! I have a son. He needs me. My brother needs me. Stop thinking of yourself for a while."
He caught her hand as she started to walk away. "I'm not thinking of me. I think of you. When will you stop living for others, Nabiki? I could make you happy."
"A bold promise Ryu Kumon." She didn't turn back to look at him. "Something overly promised to me before. What you don't realize is that this is my life." She motioned towards the scene of sparring children, of Happosai, of the donjon ahead. "I can't marry you because I can't love you. Now please... let me go."
He let her hand drop, but not without getting his last say. "You don't believe in love, Nabiki."
"If you believe that..." Nabiki trailed off, had she really appeared so disillusioned to the world? True she had never acknowledged self proclaimed love by her countless fiancés, and she had never thought that love was going to be one of the factors to decide her husband. Yet somehow, she felt insulted by Ryu's words and a little hurt over his assessment of her qualities.
She shivered lightly, she had never actually cared before, never really thought that she could marry for anything other than obligation. The fact was it had never really mattered. But now, it stung deeply, she shook her head. "Then you are not capable of understanding what I want either."
-
Akane sat down at one of the isolated zabutons away from the night's events. It was just like Nodoka's birthday all over again. She was in Saotome territory and no one accepted her here. She was by far the oldest and it was extremely embarrassing that she was on the lower ranking.
Sighing, she ran her thumb against the kodachi she had been given. Saotomes do seem to have a sick sense of humor. One thing was sure though: her sword forms needed a lot of practice. She had barely passed that particular test.
She had been prepared for another night of solitude, since Ranma didn't seem to want to talk to her and Nabiki was keeping her distance. So she had been surprised when one girl finally broke from her group to sit down beside her, offering a smile.
"Lady Kodachi, you seem restless," she commented lightly and proffered a cup of the sweet tea she had brought along with her. "It is not very wise to be such in a melancholic mood at a night where you have been welcomed. Few are given the opportunity to do so, especially for one who is not from the same blood lines."
Akane could only offer a weak smile. Although the people had not been as cold as any previous gathering, they still made an effort to ignore her. There had been little support from the crowd and even less from Ranma and his twin. She had seen him only twice the whole day, and even as the evening progressed, could not find him. "I'm just very tired."
"Ahh, the day does wear out most of the people, especially one who tries to fight off a crowd." The pretty young samurai leaned back on the bench, motioning for Akane to do the same. Her long, raven hair had been combed and set with a jeweled comb for the occasion. A silk kimono adorned her. Her brown eyes sparkled at Akane with friendliness.
"How are you related to all of the people here?" Akane asked. She was a bit embarrassed that she could not remember the girl's name when all of the children had been introduced to her earlier. Still, she was curious about the life when one gets inducted to the clan and welcomed her company.
"Most of them are my cousins." She shrugged then taking a fan from seemingly nowhere. She opened it gracefully, flicking it slightly towards one of the boys. "He's my half-brother."
Akane nodded and was about to ask more information about her when she was called by someone off the screens. From the beckons, Akane found out that her name was Ruriko. She was one of the younger girls. Ruriko bowed respectfully to Akane. "When we meet again Lady Kodachi, I hope you are happier than tonight." Then she left quickly, she was alone again. She didn't know whether she should have been pleased or not so she shrugged her shoulders as she walked about finding herself into one of the donjons larger gardens.
It was dark out but the air much lighter, she felt like she needed to get away. It was true that they had welcomed her and brought her into their elite society, but she felt like an outsider looking in through the window. They weren't hostile to her, but they didn't go out of their way to include her either. She wasn't expecting much and in truth she shouldn't have expected anything at all, but it had still hurt to be left out.
She sighed as she looked back, wondering how long a walk it was to Rose Brier. 'Probably longer than I could take.' She mused, they had taken horses lent by the Happosai, and Kami knew how her back ached from the experience. Horseback riding had never been her forte.
There was music that filtered out the paper doors to the garden that she stared at now... one of the many gardens in the donjon. She sighed, the need to escape so desperate in her. Then she made up her mind, she marched up to one of the gates smiled and told the guard that she was going home.
People were kept from going in, not from going out, and she was home free. She sighed as she walked her way into the busy streets of Happosai's domain. And she gulped as she saw the sight... she had forgotten that Happosai's donjon was on a mountain range, she definitely did not know how to get home.
'At least I'm wearing pants,' Akane thought as she scanned the area, 'Right...' She turned to walk down a path she made on her own, not really caring if she got lost. 'At least here... I won't feel like I'm not wanted.'
-
"Nabiki... have you seen Kodachi?" Ranma asked when he found his sister on one of the halls. She was frowning and looked like she didn't want to be bothered, but the demeanor was lost on Ranma.
"No..." Nabiki trailed off then looked out the window which overlooked the vast land that Happosai owned. Ranma would not come to her for his problems unless he really could not find his wife. "Have you checked the gardens with black roses?"
"I've checked everywhere... she can't just disappear." Ranma frowned as he looked out the barred windows. He knew the fortress very well, and from experience, knew that there it had a lot of places to sneak out of and hide in, but the knowledge of the public to these halls were limited and so was Kodachi's.
"Yes, wonder boy, we really need a blow by blow account of the obvious," Nabiki murmured, and Ranma wondered at how one person could be sarcastic while being demure. Taking charge of the situation she began to tell Ranma what to do, "If she's not inside then she's outside. I'll search from the entrance going to the town. You check the back, near the forest... if she's outside she wouldn't have gotten far ahead. We're in a goddamned mountain."
Ranma nodded and both of them separated to look for her, both of them took to the trees for the better vantage point, trying to get an upper hand on the fact that their vision was severely impaired by the dark. Although some lamps were around the forest so the guards could see, none were placed near the forests that they were scouting. The little moonlight that the gibbous moon was offering was filtered out by the dense leaves.
It took Ranma a while for his sight to adjust to the dimness around him, going from tree to tree in a swift jump. Happosai couldn't have asked for an audience with Kodachi at a worse time. And Happosai was not known for patience... and even less for understanding. 'Kami, where is that woman when you need her?'
He was running and jumping at a breakneck pace in his urgency to find Akane as quickly as possible, and who knew what Happosai had in store for her with her tardiness. 'I should have paid attention to what she was doing.' He berated himself as he landed smoothly on another tree, he barely looked at his next landing site before he jumped towards another. 'She could get herself lost... killed... What does she think these mountains are? The cliff near Rose Brier?'
He fumed as he landed down the path that leads to the village, ending the forest for a while. "She has got to be the stupidest woman this side of Japan!" Ranma cursed as he scanned the area again.
He sighed as he took off to the trees at another angle towards the town. He was going to give Kodachi a good lecture when he found her. He pondered for a second why Happosai wanted to talk with his wife, but dismissed it. The less he knew the better. Who knows if Kodachi took to giving her 'favors' to Happosai now? He imagined Kodachi and Happosai together and grimaced. 'That has got to be the most disgusting - I think I'm going to be sick.'
He stopped at that, missing the next branch he was aiming for, which sent him plummeting down. The impact was lesser than most of the blows he had received in his lifetime, but pain still shot out of his ankle. His blood immediately warmed him from the place of impact to his cheeks.
He shook his head to clear it, and then looked up the distance he had fallen. It was quite far considering that the tree was more than four times taller than he was and he had been on one of the upper branches. He groaned as he tried to stand up, testing his foot and rotating its joints, grimacing at the discomfort it was causing him. 'Yep, something is definitely wrong with it. Next time, less thinking about the adventures of Kodachi and focus more tree hopping.' He winced as he put pressure on his left ankle.
'Great - I haven't sprained my ankle since Shampoo tried to kiss me as a girl.' That had been when he had been fourteen... he had been in a fight with Rian and one thing led to the other. The next thing he knew, he had been carrying Shampoo out of the way and had been hopping over the sakura blossoms. Shampoo had given him a kiss of gratitude... which had surprised him so much he had failed to aim his jump. He had landed ten feet below, with Shampoo sitting on his lap, which was putting pressure on his foot, which was embedded in the soil.
"Oh - it's just you."
He whirled around, using his right foot to pivot, but he didn't need to see her to know he had finally come to the end of his search. "What the hell are you doing out here?"
"I could ask the same thing of you." Akane grimaced holding a tight bundle around her arms. "I'm not going back there, Ranma."
"Right - if you say so," Ranma answered as he moved towards her, the pain seemed to be tolerable. It might not have been a sprain after all. He took her arm and led her back to the village. "Come on, the old man is looking for you."
"He could go to hell." Ranma raised an eyebrow, but kept tugging on her arm anyway. Since he was stronger than she was, she finally followed him reluctantly. "Can't we just let this poor thing go first?"
Finally remembering the small bundle in her arms, Ranma let go of her arm then looked at it. It actually wasn't a bundle at all but an animal moving around in her hands. In the dark he had failed to notice what it had been.
"What is it anyway?" A little of his impatience showing through his voice. Happosai wanted her delivered. He wanted nothing to do with her. The more time he spent here with her the more annoyed he got.
Akane smiled as she knelt towards the ground. "Oh... nothing..."
-
Nabiki snapped her head at the scream, noticing that everyone had done so as well. The scream had been distinctly male and had come from the end of the forest where Ranma went into. She ran towards the source of the voice, 'Oh no.'
She had forgotten one minute fact about the mountains: it was filled with cats. Although Sagami wasn't naturally a cat place... the mountains were. The village nearby had kept their supply handy because the wanted to keep mice out and the cats had grown extremely over populated this side of Musashi that they had to actively put them out of the twin's borders. Food was scarce in the mountains because nothing useful grew at a higher altitude and they could spare little for pests.
'No... no... no... This is not happening.' Nabiki kept running, in a second one samurai had caught up with her as she entered the forest. "Lady Saotome, may I be of assistance?"
She turned her head slightly and found Ryu smiling back at her matching her pace with his own. What he lacked in speed, he made up with his longer stride. 'What is he doing here?' Nabiki thought as she turned back to the road. "That depends, Kumon. What do you think we're doing anyway?"
"Running towards an ambush?"
Nabiki smiled as his assumption, an ambush... "Better be prepared Kumon, if we find what we're looking for, you're in for a good fight." She thought about what they were up against. "Things could get really out of hand."
Nabiki stopped when she almost ran over Kodachi, who had been staring out into the trees with shock in her eyes. "What happened here?" Nabiki asked as she shook the girl to regain her senses. She had to ask a couple of times before the question registered in her mind.
Kodachi pointed towards the trees then looked at Nabiki. "I don't know what happened - I - he told me Happosai was looking for me..."
Nabiki turned to Ryu to confirm, and he nodded. "I was out looking for both Kodachi and Ranma. Happosai had been impatient after a stick of waiting for their return."
"Snap to your senses. Why isn't he with you if he found you?" Nabiki asked harshly. Although she knew the answer, she was going to confirm it with facts before she moved.
"He ran. He screamed..."
Nabiki took a deep breath. "Did there happen to be a cat in the vicinity?" Kodachi looked at her sharply, and Nabiki knew the answer to her question. She cursed loudly and turned to Ryu. "Get me ten samurai, quickly. I want them around this side of the forest and fast. Get me ten more on the village. Station them near this side of the forest. Look for my brother. When you find him give a signal, shout or something. I don't care... as long as you don't provoke him into a fight."
"What's all the fuss Nabiki?" Ryu asked bewildered at her strange orders. "Your brother can take care of himself just fine."
Nabiki turned to face Ryu. "It's not my brother I'm worried about." She took Akane's hand and practically dragged her to bring her up to her pace. "You're staying with me. I want my brother found as soon as possible. Got that Kumon?"
"Yes, Lady Saotome." Ryu bowed and in a second he had disappeared into the darkness of the forest.
"What's wrong with him and the cat anyway?" Akane muttered as she tried to keep up with Nabiki's swiftness. Half of the time she was being dragged by the older girl and the other half she was carried in air. At the rate they were going, Nabiki could have kept her propelled in air for the whole duration of their run -- if she didn't dislocate her arm first.
At her question Nabiki gave a snort. "Don't you wonder why no cats are allowed near Rose Brier?" There was a tinge of something in her voice. Something that Akane didn't recognize.
"Sure! Ranko's scared stiff of them." Akane answered quickly remembering the time at the beach, then just as suddenly she remembered another confrontation with Ranko and hot water. "Oh..."
"'Oh' isn't exactly what my reaction would be." Nabiki answered then she stopped, dropping Akane towards the ground. She took one look at the area her eyes squinting in the dark.
"Why are we stopping?" Akane muttered, brushing away the leaves that had accumulated on her garb. "There was a lot more opportunity to manhandle me, you know."
Nabiki ignored her as she held her hand up to silence her. Akane frowned as she tried to listen to what Nabiki was listening to. She could hear nothing in the air but the soft chirping of the cicadas. The forests were alive with them at night... in the distance a soft mewling of a cat was heard.
Nabiki's head turned towards the sound and frowned, there was another, and another... Nabiki's fist was already clenched in a ball. "How could I be so stupid?" Nabiki berated herself as she backed towards Akane. She could not decipher one cat from the other, or if one of the voices she heard was Ranma's.
"Hmm?" Akane asked finally looking at Nabiki. "What are we doing, Nabiki?"
"I'm staying still," Nabiki managed to spit out when she had managed to back herself into Akane. "You're going to call out for Ranma."
Akane turned Nabiki so she was facing her. "You're kidding, right?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Nabiki hissed. She didn't have time for explanations when there was the possibility of her reverting into the cat-fist as well. "Look, he shouldn't have gotten far. He was with you when the incident happened, he wouldn't stray."
Akane raised her eyebrows but finally complied, thinking nothing of Nabiki's sudden burst of - fear? She wouldn't know. Nabiki kept her emotions under lock and key. "Ranma!"
The shout broke the other sounds of the night, silencing some and awakening others. "Ranma! We're here!" She turned to look over at Nabiki to see if what she was doing was right, but the woman had closed her eyes shut and managed to lean against the trunk of an old tree.
After a few minutes of screaming, Akane's throat was raw, the samurai were nowhere to be found and Nabiki was of little use. "Nabiki, what exactly am I doing here, anyway?"
"You're looking for Ranma," Nabiki explained through her gritted teeth, eyes still closed. "Don't disturb me unless you want to look for me as well."
Akane didn't know what that meant and watched as another one of Nabiki's weird little shudders went through her. Akane never made the connection of the mewing cats to Nabiki's shudders, and Nabiki wasn't about to enlighten her.
"Call to him... call to him as if you were calling a pet," Nabiki managed to say after a few more moments. After a while she screwed, her eyes shut again as another cat called out its lament to the mountains.
Akane looked at her and thought that the woman was losing her mind, Nabiki gritted her teeth. "Call him! I don't have much time. My affliction is just as strong as Ranma's. I can stay paralyzed with just its sound." Akane tilted her head to the side as she watched Nabiki as she kneeled down and gripped her pants. "What are you waiting for you fool? Call him."
"Ranma!" Akane finally started again, wanting to humor the woman. It wouldn't hurt, and they had already been stuck in the area for a long time. The air was getting thick and moist, and it looks as if a low lying cloud was already starting to creep up the mountains and envelope it in its mists. She shivered in her clothes.
It was after another round of calling before Nabiki pointed to the bushes and whispered, "He's over there." Wondering how the girl could know with her eyes closed, Akane walked over to the direction Nabiki was gesturing at, but Ranma had leapt out of it before she could reach it, his cover useless now. He landed on all fours behind Akane and in front of Nabiki. Nabiki couldn't see him, but her ears registered him jumping towards his target.
"Ranma! Come!" She held out her right hand towards him, her eyes were still closed. Ranma had stopped in the middle of his assault. Akane watched as he gave her a last eyeing before he walked towards Nabiki.
Akane's hand flew towards her mouth he was walking using his hands and his feet... it was almost like a - "Cat." Nabiki finally opened her eyes and gave Akane one strange look before she turned towards her brother... her fear abated because he was near.
It had always taken them more time to turn into cat when together than when separated. It probably had to do with the fact that they had been trained in that department individually at first, then together at the end. Their foster father had almost thought he had 'cured' them of their fear when it took more than a minute to get them to use the neko-ken.
Nabiki watched her brother closely as he sniffed her hand. She put her other hand in his hair and smiled, trying to reassure him. Although she was not able to bring him out of the Neko-ken as their neighbor had, it seemed that her presence calmed him. It also worked vice versa.
He gave her one look then another at Akane before he settled at her feet to curl down. Nabiki raised her eyebrow at this. 'Ranma has never questioned my judgment before... he snarls when there are enemies near-by... but never just looks at someone.'
She gave Akane a thoughtful glance, then at Ranma. Finally, she sighed at the girl, and motioned her to step closer. Akane gave her an incredulous stare but moved forward. "What happened?"
"Three koban," Nabiki demanded, her palm outstretched in the universal gesture of asking for money. Akane stared at her dumbfounded, not having money at hand, and not knowing if her sister-in-law was joking or not. Nabiki gave a small laugh, an odd sound at the situation they were facing. "Kami, I haven't done that in a while." Ever since Ranma had married Kodachi and Rose Brier was handed down to them on a silver platter, money didn't seem so much of a problem.
"This is a result of a stupid foster father, a large pit, fish, and a lot of cats." Nabiki sighed, there were many things she could blame on Genma on their childhood, the Neko-ken being on the top of the list, but she could never actually maim the man. Both of them owed their lives to him. Ranma took another glance at Akane again, only to look back at Nabiki with a small meow, a question, she wagered. "He seems to be curious about you."
"Curious?" Akane asked a bit curious at Ranma's state herself.
"Yes, if I didn't know any better... I'd say -" Nabiki stopped the trail of thought. She had been about to say that Ranma liked her. A thought struck her as she remembered a post-fight with Cologne using the Neko-ken.
-------------------
"I'm surprised at the both of you." Cologne berated the two at their quarters. "Neko-ken? Do you know that you are lucky to share the bond of twins? To use the Neko-ken both at the same time is both deadly as it is stupid. What if you had turned against each other?"
They hung their heads low, they had not been thinking. The Neko-ken had seemed to be an easy way to get the Phoenix pill. They had also ruined the first floor of the palace, the entire garden and the cherry blossoms. Nabiki was sure there was going to be hell to pay.
"Only two things can bring you out of the Neko-ken, the activation of your curse which shocks you enough to regain your senses..." Cologne shook her head as she wiped a scrape she had received from the two of them... they had managed to draw blood.
Fighting one was bad enough. Fighting two at the same time was a lethal match. Most that had gotten in the way were already attending to broken bones. "You said two things, matriarch."
Cologne gave a scowl. "And love. Genma says a neighbor brought you out... did you trust her as a mother?" They didn't answer, but from the bowed head, she knew that she was correct. "It's sad. You cannot bring each other out."
"Why?"
Cologne's head pounded at their question, why indeed. "Because the hurdle that a man must take to reach his sanity borders on trust and the love that both of you share for each other. The hand that reaches cannot touch if there is none."
Both of them looked at her confused, Cologne sighed, not really wanting to explain the long list of things that came with the Neko-ken. She hadn't expected to see one troubled by it so soon... much less two. "Being twins gives you bond a leap above normal siblings and a step higher than your parents. But you cannot trust what you fear, and it drags down your ability so much more."
Since they feared cats and the other was doing a good imitation of one, they were frightened of each other when they were in the neko-ken... even though they did not realize it. She shook her head, they did not understand. They will when the time comes, they were still too young, and Genma had failed to teach them what love is.
How could he? He had failed at it as well.
Cologne knelt down in front of the two of them and smiled. "Don't worry children. We shall train you to resist as long as humanly possible. And when you find yourself cursed with the cat's insanity again, I hope that both of you have found someone to love. And that... would be the fastest way to bring you back to sanity."
-------------------
"You'd say what, Nabiki?" Akane asked as she looked at the older girl in the eye. Nabiki shook her head, clearing her thoughts.
"Hold him for a while," Nabiki urged while she pushed Ranma towards Akane. She also motioned for Akane to step forward. Ranma didn't protest. He just looked at the both of them expectantly. "Just do what you would with a pet."
Nabiki took this time to watch them both... the minute Akane took over Ranma's hand, his attention was all hers. He sat on her lap and curled around it, just as he had with their neighbor twenty four years ago. Something she had never been able to do because she had experienced the neko-ken too. They had never been able to bring out each other, no matter how desperate they had been.
'Love.' Nabiki stared at them for a long while. At this state Ranma was pure emotion and no brain. He trusted Akane completely. Even after that big fight her brother apparently still had feelings for Akane. 'Winged cupid is painted blind.'
Nabiki closed her eyes. Before this, she might not have believed that her brother would accept Kodachi... but the neko-ken was sheer proof. Cologne was almost never wrong in the weird things she professed she knew. She was a fool to have forgotten that one little fact about their affliction.
'Kami protect us all from what happens next.' A loud slap rang across the forest. Nabiki opened her eyes to look at them. Ranma was propping himself up from the dirt in front of her in a very confused manner. Akane was red from anger. 'No... maybe not anger.'
"How could I forget? You're still mad at me." Akane huffed as she dusted herself off. Ranma was holding a red cheek. "You're still mad at me for something I don't know. Well your ankle seems to be better."
Ranma rubbed his cheek as he tried to get his bearings, ignoring Akane's last statement about his feelings regarding her. He tested his ankle shifting his weight on it remembering what had initially gotten him into trouble in the first place. "I guess the neko-ken accelerated my healing. There's virtually no pain left. Where are we anyway? The area looks different..."
Nabiki sighed at the two of them with everything back to normal. It was hard not to be exasperated. 'I don't know if I should just give them swords to kill each other or give them a pillow book. They're driving me crazy.' Nabiki dusted herself as she cleared her throat. "You two love birds done fighting?"
Ranma just gave her a disbelieving stare and Akane ignored her. If she hadn't seen the scene earlier, she would have assumed that they still hated each other. 'I'm getting another migraine.' "Good, now Lady Saotome, Happosai wanted you three sticks ago. Ranma... we're going to have a long talk."
-
Akane was ushered in by three samurai and the one Nabiki had called 'Kumon' into Happosai's waiting room. It was a vast room, easily fitting a hundred men, with the standard platform up front with a small zabuton on top. Two samurai flanked the platform holding what looked like the Saotome crest on the left and Happosai's on the right.
'Okay...' Akane thought as she looked around, the sparsely furnished room was as minimalist as a Zen priest could get with all of the grandeur a liege lord could have. She wondered why the inauguration hadn't been held there, but kept her questions to herself.
She didn't know the customs of this time, and cursed her luck when no one was around to teach her, the samurai bowed and left her to Happosai. He blew on his pipe and motioned for the banner bearers to leave. When they were alone Happosai hopped down towards her and surveyed her. "You look better than the last time I saw you, Kodachi. Extremely late as usual, but better."
"Uh... I guess..." She didn't know why the man was showing sudden interest in her health when he was so against bringing her into the clan. It had struck her as unusual for he had been the one to arrange the marriage between Ranma and her. "Why'd you call me?"
"I see your impertinence hasn't left you either. Don't tell me your amnesia is real, Kodachi," Happosai retorted as he stopped in front of her. "You're not the type to 'fall off a horse' as your husband has reported. I applaud your acting, though... it is superb."
Akane stared at him confused, not really understanding what was happening, "But -"
He silenced her with a wave of his pipe. "Although I admit, bringing you in the clan was a good idea, it also brings unwanted suspicion. I thought you said you wanted to be discreet."
Around this time, Akane decided that being 'discreet' was the best thing to do with the situation and went along with what he was saying. "I thought it was for the best, my lord."
Happosai gave her a suspicious look as the words left her lips. "You don't plan on double-crossing me, do you, my dear?" He gave her a wary glance. Akane did not doubt whether he had reservations for killing her.
"No, of course not," Akane tried to placate him as she gave him a forced smile. "Why would I do something as stupid as that?"
"You're right. It's stupid." He rubbed his temples, and for the first time, it seemed as if Happosai really was an old man suffering in his old age. There must be a lot of worries that came in holding a clan.
Akane shrugged, and tried to act as nonchalant as possible. It didn't help that she wasn't a good liar either. "Is there anything else, my lord?" She felt uneasy in his presence and she wanted to get away as quickly as possible. She would have said any lie just so she could get out.
"How is your little task progressing?" he prodded, taking another whiff off his pipe, and smiled. "I hope things are going well?"
"Yes, my lord." Akane shifted in her feet, she still knew nothing of what he was saying and his questions troubled her. Apparently, Happosai and Kodachi were doing something behind everyone's backs... and it was a potentially dangerous task.
He looked at her speculatively then nodded. "It better be. Kami-sama knows I pay you more than you're worth. If I didn't think you could do the job, I would have chosen some other crazy lunatic to do it for me."
Akane knew the interview was coming to an end, and she was nowhere near the answers she was looking for. In a desperate attempt to find out more, she asked, "What would you like me to do next?"
He gave a small chuckle. "The less I know about what you do, the better. Now you keep yourself busy ignoring me, and I'll do likewise. Besides, I'm paying you to think. I'm not supposed to spoon feed you your plans." With a small wave of his hands she was dismissed.
Akane walked away, letting go of the breath she didn't know she was holding as she stepped by the doors that led to the great hall. "What does Happosai see in you?"
Surprised at the sudden voice, Akane whirled around to find Ryu leaning against the doorway she had just left. She had not even noticed him. "You don't know what you're talking about, Kumon." It was the only way she knew to address him. Hoping that she had heard Nabiki correctly.
Ryu arched his eyebrows at hearing his last name, but he didn't comment on it. She didn't know him by any other. He held out her hand to her, but she politely declined as she followed him through the halls, hoping that he was leading her to the twins and not to another interview. She didn't know if her nerves could take another one. It was a surprise Happosai had not found her out easily.
'The question is... what are Happosai and Kodachi doing together?' She cursed softly as they rounded another corner. 'And why do I have a really bad feeling about it?'
Kodachi vaulted over the wall discreetly, noticing that the compound had less samurai guarding it than the Saotomes. It would be easier to get by the halls undetected, but she knew the house less than Rose Brier. It would take her a while to navigate to her destination.
The Tendo abode was admittedly smaller than Happosai's donjon, and a bit more susceptible to the attack of a major house, Chisei had managed to keep their land to themselves by creating a low profile house that gave out their favors to major clans in the vicinity so that they would remain untouched. They kept their small lands around ally territory and neutral ones.
It was the act of a genius and a coward all at once. Kodachi had use for such a woman. The woman had one great weakness that could be exploited: her search for the three Tendos, the true holders of her not so vast land.
Kodachi opened the shoji towards the first floor, bypassing the guards at the gates. Compared to samurai guarding Happosai's donjon, they were children... Happosai's samurai had never given her trouble. It was his elite hatamoto that constantly irked her, especially if that retainer was her sister-in-law.
Still, if she was as protective of her power as the samurai that had tracked said, her trust would not come easily and fooling her could take longer time than she had. However, Kodachi needed money and was willing to go to any lengths to get it, even if she had to offer up fake siblings to get it.
She surveyed the area from the thin paneling. When she was sure it was clear she stepped on the tatami cautiously surveying the area where she could hide if there was a need.
She had barely finished the survey when she heard footsteps coming closer, and without thinking, she jumped at the ceiling, clinging to the two walls for her support, spreading her legs and her arms to match the width of the hall.
She felt her shoulder pop, and her eyebrow twitched at the three ladies that came up the hall. 'This is ridiculous.' She thought while clinging on so that she could not be discovered. 'I'm hiding from maids now. '
When they disappeared from her sight she dropped down on the floor and glared at them. 'Foolish girls.' Finally she went about to finding the rooms that would lead her to an audience with Chisei.
She was surprised by a knife on her back the cold steel sharp even against her clothes. "What brings you so deep in Tendo territory, intruder?" The voice was soft, and if Kodachi hadn't been expecting it, she would never have heard it.
"I bring a message for the lady of the house," Kodachi murmured, not bothering to turn around for the woman's benefit, sure that her adversary had no qualms about using the knife against her.
There was a soft grunt, and Kodachi had to wonder how you could make a grunt sound as soft as that. It was eerie the way she did it. "The Lady Chisei does not want to be interrupted from her duties."
"These are for her ears alone," Kodachi spat out. "Not for some insolent wench."
The woman pushed the dagger, Kodachi was sure it was already drawing blood. "Insult me one more time, and that message would not be heard." The woman was not jesting. Kodachi gave a small smirk. Though the lady of the house was a coward, her servants have spunk. What an unusual house Tendo rules.
"Would you kill someone who brings your Lady the Tendo heirs?" Kodachi asked meaningfully. The pressure alighted from her back, and was replaced by a hard shove towards what Kodachi had been looking for. Chisei.
The woman in the room was bewildered at the sudden burst of light. She stood up from the coverlet of her futon and blinked at the harsh light that filtered through the room, Kodachi presumed that the woman standing up was Chisei while her captor shoved her in.
"My lady," There was no deference in the tone of voice that the samurai spoke towards their liege, and more to the tones of an order. "I bring to you someone who has information on the Tendo siblings."
Chisei rose from her bed as she lit a lamp beside her table, she stared at Kodachi for a moment then turned to the one who had captured her. "It seems the ghost of Tendo Akane haunts us tonight." She pointed at Kodachi a bewildered look on her face. "I thought she had died. She had died in front of my eyes."
Taking her firmly by the shoulders and turning her around to face her, her captor raised an eyebrow. "What brings you here, Lady Tendo? I doubt it is to turn your siblings over, so I think it is to give the house of Tendo an offer." The woman samurai tapped her finger against her chin. "So what is your offer?"
Kodachi scowled at the woman. "I'm not here to give it to you. Fool."
Slowly raising an eyebrow she exchanged a look with Chisei, she did not even bother to hide her surprise. "So it is not her ghost but her twin that finds her way to our doorstep." She lifted Kodachi's face and turned it side to side for inspection, as if seeing it for the first time.
"The likeness is exquisite. Even her mother would not be able to tell she's a fake." Chisei agreed then frowned as she surveyed Kodachi. "She needs to cut her hair. Akane preferred her hair short."
Kodachi wondered what had given her away. She had hinted at nothing that would directly imply that she wasn't the woman whose body she held.
The samurai nodded in agreement. "Yes, Akane would." Taking her dagger once more she cut the ponytail that Kodachi had recently sprouted and tugged on her long blue-black locks. In a moment, her hair was sheared to chin length. "There, perfect. The lady is suited for impersonating Akane."
Chisei walked towards them, bringing the lamp and shining it over Kodachi's face, she gave a smile that Kodachi had seen only once in the mirror. Kodachi was going to like this woman. "Your name?"
Kodachi snatched back the lock of hair that the woman had cut then shook their hands from her person before standing up straight to announce herself. "I am Saotome Kodachi-noh-Ranma."
Both of the women took a step back. "Kodachi Kuno?" The house of Kuno was well known, but the House of Saotome was powerful, most heads knew of the clan and its leaders. The samurai gave a small laugh and then shook her head. "What brings my lady to the House of Tendo?"
"I'll help you get the Tendo heirs, if you help me ruin the house of Saotome." Kodachi crossed her arms demanding her answers before she completely trust the women. She had not given away anything overt when she had come in the room. "How did you know that I was not Tendo Akane?"
"Simple." The samurai who had shoved her in smiled. "That's because I am Tendo Chisei." Chisei pointed to the woman they had roused and Kodachi had mistaken as her. "She is the only person left alive who has seen the Tendo heirs before they disappeared."
Kodachi hid her surprise well. Chisei looked just a little older than Ranma was. From the information she had gathered before she had entered the house, it made her only around fifteen when the Tendo patriarch died. She had a thirst for power and an equally jealous mind for one so young.
Chisei offered her hand to Kodachi. "I sense that you want much, Saotome Kodachi. What shall you bargain for the Tendo heirs' lives?"
But when he had tried to broach the subject of telling them she had vehemently opposed the idea. "Ranma and Nabiki have enough trouble in their hands as it is. What good would it do to tell them that you're their father? They have spent their entire life with you. Let me spend my last days with them."
And for the life of him, he couldn't argue with that. Because he had robbed her of so much, and because even after all of those years, he knew that he still cared for her.
Still he needed to talk to Ranma, if not because of the entire paternity news, then because of Akane's wardship. He had found Ranma leaning against one of the walls watching Akane intently.
-
Ranma had decided to keep a close watch on his wife because she might attempt another one of her idiotic plans to go home again. He rolled the foot that had landed badly, but the pain was already dull. Ranma had always been a fast healer, but the neko-ken tended to accelerate the healing process.
His mind was pulled away from the thought when Genma stepped towards him. After the training trip and Genma teaching the twins all they knew, their foster father had rarely talked to them.
True, Genma occasionally took up teaching again, but never as extensive as the twins' own regimen. In this tournament, one of the students that had failed to beat him was Akane, and at Happosai's decree, Genma would train her.
"Your wife surprised me, Ranma," Genma commented as he wiped his glasses against his loose white gi. "I had once assessed that your wife would do well in battle if she loses her dementia. I was more surprised that she did lose her affliction over the fact that she's reached this far."
Genma regarded Kodachi's fighting skills as adequate. He seemed impressed with her recent knowledge of Anything Goes and glossed over the fact that the woman had just taken one year for a complete change in fighting style. "Not quite like all those girls you engaged me to, eh old man?"
"Spunkier, a little less clingy and makes up her own mind. Quite a catch." When Genma put it that way, she did sound like she was the wife of the year. If only demented, sadistic and cheat did not go with it. "I never thought old man Happosai had the eye for good women."
"He doesn't," Ranma argued as he nodded towards her direction. Genma swiveled his gaze towards her. "You forgot that she's quite an actress, thinks she owns the world and is totally insane."
Genma frowned as he turned towards his one time charge. "Now, now. She isn't exactly insane. She just has a weird way of expressing her joy, is too possessive, drugs you a little too much cheats in fights. Since it's Anything Goes I could hardly call it cheating. That doesn't really sound insane to me. She sounds more like Shampoo if she wasn't so -- eccentric. I talked to her after our match. Are you sure you're not misjudging her?"
"Not after years of marriage. There are limits to the 'anything' part in 'Anything Goes' you know. I guess it was simply lost in translation," Ranma retorted then ran his hand through his hair. "Why are you taking her side in this anyway? Wait I don't want to hear it. I don't want to talk about my wife right now. What have you been doing? Last I heard you've been training those brats of Jiro all over Japan."
"They've outgrown me." Genma chuckled. Sometimes Ranma thought that Genma's only life was the training of the Saotome children. He never fought for anything else. He's never participated in the little wars Happosai was fond of or internal politics, which Ranma was sure he could have. "In fact, I was here to get a new ward. I didn't expect it to be your wife."
"Frankly, I don't think she would last with your training methods," Ranma said bluntly. It was a wonder that anyone ever survived Genma's tactics at all. "Most of what you taught us bordered on the insane."
"Only through pushing harder could you realize your limits, and overcome them," Genma countered. That had always been his motto, next to anything could be turned into training and the more idiotic the better. "Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training."
"Ohh... so you're admitting it was bad training?" Ranma shot back.
"That last part wasn't from me. Some old crone said it, it just sounded good and I've wanted to try it for some time now," Genma admitted. "Well, anyway, I've petitioned for her to be transferred out of my hands and to take one of the boys Genryu's taking care of."
"Why? Still vehemently opposed to the idea of training girls?" Ranma asked. Genma had given them quite a lot of lectures on the fact that girls were the weaker sex. Nabiki finally shut him up when she beat him at the tournament proper. "I thought your views on that matter have changed."
"I was never opposed to training girls, Ranma. It was just a way to get Nabiki riled up. Children need to have a little incentive when they fight and Nabiki had always been difficult to figure out." He smiled, remembering their times in China. "However, I do think that Akane would be better suited if she trained under you."
"Me?" He looked at Genma squarely to figure out if he was joking or not.
"Don't look surprised boy, you've managed to train your two children. And it's been a while since somebody has trained in the advanced lessons under you," Genma pointed out, although Ranma did teach in the advanced levels, it was hard to find a student that had the same passion for the art as he himself had at that young age, and therefore teaching stints had been fast and short lived.
"Admittedly her fighting style is Anything Goes, but the way she uses it is on the far end of the spectrum of how I use my own attacks." Ranma judged, having already completely analyzed his wife's style the first time he fought her. "She keeps mostly on the defensive, her arsenal on offensive could be better. She relies on her strength, which is not much but could give others a run for their money. She has no finesse to speak of and wins from force over style, which is not bad but not entirely good either. But mostly, I cannot teach her because she is grounded. To teach her more of the things I use would be forcing her to unlearn most of her foundations and relearning again. I would think someone like Ryu in the brute strength department would be a better candidate for her."
"Quit complaining boy," Genma commanded. "You don't need to retrain her. You have everything you need. You're looking at this at the perspective of someone who's teaching off a blank slate, and as you've pointed out, she isn't. Refine her moves. You're brilliant in deconstructing fights, all you need to do is teach her the moves that you've seen in the 'brute strength' department as you've called it and add touches of your own."
Improvising has always been one of Ranma's stronger traits, and dismantling moves was second nature to him. He already had Akane's style down after one fight. His uptake for the fighting styles and his understanding of them was complete that he could copy almost any move as long as he has seen it.
"You could pass the responsibility to teach her to me, but I'm not teaching her anything more than she already knows." Ranma shook his head. He did not want more contact with Kodachi than necessary, and being a teacher for her required more than twenty-four hours of guidance. "We've already made a lot of exceptions for her."
"I understand your misgivings, but at least teach her how to control her chi," Genma suggested, knowing that Ranma would bend his rules a little if someone might get hurt from his lack of action. "Master Happosai has noted that she does have potential to wield it and wild chi is always messy to deal with. Maybe after that, you'd have your own heir boy. A student might give you the yearning for a child. You're quite overdue for one. You're not getting younger."
His own heir was not something that Ranma enjoyed discussing. It was a pressing matter, not because of the martial arts title, since Happosai looked like he was going to live a couple more years, but because Nerima needed a daimyo in case he died. "I have Hanae."
"We both know that Hanae is good, however she won't reach past advanced training." Genma paused as he let his words sink in, waiting to see Ranma's reaction. "She is not Saotome by blood, Ranma, and most important of all, she will never surpass you. She's not even close to your equal at that age."
"My heir is none of your business," Ranma argued angrily, not knowing how the old man realized Hanae was not his own. "Hanae is my child."
"You are my greatest pride Ranma. Maybe your training is the only thing that's keeping me within Saotome ranks in the first place." This was a sentiment Ranma had never heard from the old man before, and the pride was apparent in his voice. "You need an heir boy. Don't let your art die out with you."
With that Genma turned to go.
Ranma shook his head. Although most of the time, his old teacher barely made sense, this time he was right. It was a teacher's goal to train someone to surpass him, and Ranma has not seen such an heir yet. It was past the time that he should produce an heir. He was about to turn around to look for Hanae when this time, Akane moved to talk to him.
"Please, Ranma, could we go home?" Akane asked her eyes low on the ground. Ranma sensed that the night had tired his wife, and he felt a twinge of pity. The tournament did make one exert too much, and he knew she probably was feeling the brunt of the fights that she lost.
"I'm heir, Kodachi," Ranma reminded her, but he obliged her by walking with her. He moved towards the corridors guiding her towards the room that had been assigned to her for the night, she seemed lost in the middle of the large winding pathways. "Both Nabiki and I have duties in this tournament."
When he reached their room he slid the door open and frowned at the fact that Ifuku was not there. Most of the maids were being given dinner at the kitchen, and were helping with the servings of the gathering downstairs. Lighting one of the lamps in the room, Ranma looked up to find Akane staring at him. "I'll call Ifuku for your bath -"
"No, it's all right." Akane mustered up a smile kneeling down. "I'd rather stay here and talk with you."
Talking was something Ranma did not want to do at the moment. He desperately wanted to go away. He did not want to deal with her yet. "I have things to attend to, Kodachi."
"Kodachi," Akane whispered the name as if hearing it for the first time. She shook her head at it. "I wish you'd stop calling me that. I thought you already did."
"It's your name," Ranma told her softly. "I won't call you by anything else."
Akane let the topic go as she sat down on the futon. "Tell me more about your school of martial arts, Ranma. Tell me what I've just been handed over."
"A privilege," Ranma answered then closed the door giving up on leaving for the moment. "There's nothing to tell. The name says it all. You failed mid-air combat."
"I haven't trained in mid-air combat. It's not unusual to fail in something that you have no idea how to do," Akane defended herself. He seemed more comfortable to talk about the arts so she settled for it for now. "Does that annoy you?"
"No." Ranma sighed. He found no reason to be annoyed that she failed in the rudimentary forms. He was not her teacher nor was he the one responsible for her achievements. "However, aerial combat is the specialty of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts."
"So I've been told. Over and over and over again," Akane said glumly taking out the kodachi from their respective places on her sides and putting them in a small trunk that she had used to bring her belongings in. "I'm sure other branches teach ones that take root in the ground."
"The Saotomes are the only ones who practice Anything Goes." There was pride in his voice, and a bit of over protectiveness at her apparent slur on the school. "Sure there are teachers who teach basic ground movements, not all fights are done in mid-air, but whatever could be done in the air you could do on solid ground."
Akane sighed as she untied her hair. "I don't understand you Saotomes. How many fights do you have in mid-air anyway? There aren't that many mercenaries that say, 'Hey, the Saotomes specialize in mid-air combat, let's try to beat them up in the air.'"
Ranma made a reprimanding sound at her while shaking his head. "This is precisely what you get when you train a non-Saotome with Saotome skills. Using aerial combat in fights is done when you force your opponent to compete in an arena that only we specialize in. Besides all the jumping and evading is an integrated step of using midair combat for fights in solid ground. I don't expect you to find the practical reasons in fighting in mid-air, but you have to admit the feeling is wonderful."
Though Ranma could tell the world that he hated her, he would engage in any conversation as long as it dealt with martial arts. He was animated when he talked about the style, inherently proud of what it is and immensely happy to talk about what it could be. Akane didn't want the conversation to end. "And what feeling would that be?"
"To fly," Ranma responded immediately. At that moment, Akane saw the idealism in Ranma. He loved the art with passion. You could clearly see why he was heir of Anything Goes beyond his mastery of the style. He was probably the only one who understood what Anything Goes meant beyond the fighting. "You should try it sometime."
"Flying?" Akane repeated, for the concept seemed too farfetched in her own mind towards what Anything Goes was. Especially since in her time, flying had been limited to the animated characters in manga or anime.
Ranma stared at her for a moment as if trying to remember what it was that he was doing here with her. He shook his head to clear it and suddenly remembering that he was not on good terms with her, he turned around abruptly. "I have to go. Happosai or my sister must be looking for me. Good night Lady Saotome."
"Wait, Ranma, please," Akane pleaded when he was half out of the opened door. Realizing that she could not prolong the moment, that in an instant the connection she had shared with him was long gone. "I want to understand what went wrong."
"Nothing went wrong, Kodachi," Ranma answered quietly. His hand did not leave the shoji nor did he turn to face her. "We just found out the truth. That we're being stupid about trying to understand each other when we obviously can't."
"Don't you want to know what Happosai called me in for?" Akane asked, in a desperate attempt to keep him with her for a few moments more.
He turned towards her, the question in his face, although he didn't voice it. But Akane's silence demanded him to respond so he said wearily, "If you're going to tell me that he's invited you to share his bed I'd rather not hear it."
Akane opened her mouth in an indignant squack. She sputtered, "Do you think I'm capable of such a thing?"
"You tell me, Kodachi," Ranma dared her, turning the question around. "You always surprise me with the things that you would willingly do."
"Then I won't tell you, not until you ask about it from me," Akane informed him, stubbornly withholding the information until he acknowledged the change in her.
Ranma lowered his eyes both in disappointment and the briefest pangs of pain. "Then goodnight, my lady." With that, he stepped out of the door.
-
Nabiki managed to find Ranma just when he was stepping out of Akane's room. He blinked at her when she motioned for him as they walked slowly towards the convening area. "You had a fight with your wife again?" Nabiki asked raising an eyebrow at his frown.
"That's not something to be surprised about," Ranma said as they rounded the corner. He sounded exasperated at her question, although Nabiki noted sadness present as well. He had not wanted his marriage to slowly disintegrate. He had not wanted Kodachi to be real. He had wanted Akane. "I never expected it to last."
Nabiki did not ask what 'it' was. She placed her hand on his arm. "Happosai is expecting you to brief the parents of the children on what they're to expect now that they're in advanced training. Hanae and Sei are both ready to go home. They're sharing quarters down at the east hall, you might want to see them."
"I have to pass by the kitchen first. Kodachi needs someone to tend to her bruises. She's moving stiffly." Though the feelings between him and Akane were awkward, he was still her husband. And Ranma was always a good husband, regardless of the wife. "That slam by Kana on her back is starting to take its toll. Now that there are going to be more free rooms, could I please get a separate one?"
"God, you whine too much. We won't even be staying long enough for a different room to have effect. Just pretend you don't need sleep or bunk up in my room for the night," Nabiki scolded, giving him a push towards the convening room. "I'll find someone suitable to treat her, just attend to your duties."
When she was sure he was not going to leave because of his wife, Nabiki whirled around to find Ifuku. The maid had proven to be easier to find than her brother, and she had given instructions for the maid to bring up a fresh basin of hot water and towels. Ifuku nodded in acquiescence and moved to find the materials that she had been asked to obtain.
Since she didn't have anything to do at the moment and she was naturally curious about the recent fight Akane had just shared with her brother, Nabiki decided that looking over Akane's wounds would not be so bad.
She knocked on Akane's door softly and saw her lying face down on the futon. Nabiki noticed that Akane did seem to be favoring her back so she entered the room quickly and closed the door behind her. She moved towards the washcloth and basin that Ifuku laid down in the room before she left for dinner.
Nabiki surveyed the woman quickly. "You don't have a fever, do you?" It was the closest thing to worry for her that Akane had ever heard from Ranma's sister. Akane weakly shook her head, but Nabiki placed her hand against her forehead anyway. Then, she sighed. "You know it's not healthy for a husband and wife to fight every goddamned minute."
Nabiki didn't need an answer when Akane turned her head away. "Why must all of Ranma's fiancée's be as moody as the weather? There isn't a single normal girl among all of you."
"Well if he minded how we actually felt, then we wouldn't be 'moody'," Akane huffed defensively. Her ails seemingly disappearing for a moment.
Nabiki rolled her eyes. 'There is that.' Nabiki thought as she helped Akane up on a sitting position so she could take off the woman's kimono and take a look at her back.
"What I simply do not understand is that if you think him at fault," Nabiki broke off as knelt down so that she was facing Akane eye to eye. "Is that you still tolerate him."
"When someone hates you, and you do not want them to do so, what do you do?" Akane averted her eyes as she protested quietly. The fire that she had moments before had disappeared into the depths of what Nabiki thought was genuine sadness.
"You're arguing with a faulty premise." Nabiki gave the woman a thin smile. "I ask you again, if you're so convinced he hates you, then why stay?"
"I don't know."
"So I guess you're giving up. I wonder sometimes how long a woman like you would last. He hates you." Nabiki gave her a hard stare projecting to Akane just how long she had thought Akane would have lasted. "Okay. I understand."
"You don't!" Akane practically shouted, all of the pressure of the entire competition crashing down on her, combined with her frustration with her almost non-relationship with her husband. "I have worked for a year in this place. A year, Nabiki. I've been arguing with Ranma since the first day we met. I think it's high time that I be given my peace."
"You should," Nabiki agreed, but before she could say anything else someone knocked against the shoji and Ifuku stepped in from the corridor. "Ifuku, Lady Akane needs a hot compress on her back."
Ifuku bowed apologizing for her delay and started to work, changing the cold water from the basin into the hot one from the pitcher she had carried up.
Before she left Nabiki looked at Akane in the eye. "Sometimes I wonder at your determination, Akane. Good night, my lady."
(1) I'm taking a gamble on Hinako's age. Since she looked like a child when Akane and Ranma were sixteen, maybe she'd look like a teenager when they were grownups. I mean her child form does grow up, right... which makes me wonder what her child form will be when she's 75 or something.
Additional notes of worth:
For the manga impaired: Ryu Kumon is not my character, for those of you that have noticed him on either fanfiction or have bought the manga... Nabiki's flashback was also mostly derived from the manga. I'm not planning to tell the in-betweens because that would be too long and would take out the purpose of this entire thing... If you're really interested... it's in volume 28 of the manga.
Exerpts of it are already in my webpage, check it out. Since ff.n doesn't allow linking out from the fics, please proceed to my author's page where my webpage is linked
Also the oath taking was heavily revised from an original work :) I'm not very poetic. Here's the original of the oath. As some of you may have noticed, it's the Hippocratic Oath with a few changes:
Hippocrates circa 400 BC (Be my light)
Science not for profit is my bond
Healing, a gift from the Great Phycician
Knows no barrier to my utmost care
My ballpark is not for sale
My experience not for auction
I shall keep the trust of the sick
Cure, care comfort, my signature
I am the trustee of the sick
By schooling, training and profession
No broker shall stay my healing hand
No profit becloud my noble call
I have recently found out that Japanese people don't have middle names. Hmmm... They have a first name and they have a last name but never middle names. So the entire Nabiki thing with two names is improbable. However, it's too late to change the entire story line for that sole reason. It's a minor fact that just strips Nabiki of a -ma in the end, and not terribly important, but I just had to say it :) Sorry for the mistake.
We could think of it as a 'second name'. A different name bestowed on her, quite a stretch but I'm sure you could suspend reality for a while to digest that.
Lastly, donjon is a fortified main tower of a castle or a keep. It is usually your main tower within a fortress. It's not a misspelling of dojou :)
Author's Notes:
06/07 edit: I'm from an Asian country, most of which have a respectful term for their older siblings, therefore I can't believe that half-way through Yuki refer to an older cousin as Eruchii and not Eruchii-oniisama. I've changed that here and in the succeeding chapters.
Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. It's because of the fighting scenes. Truthfully this would have finished ages ago if not for those. The fight scene on top of the bamboo was supposed to be Jusenkyou like. I was stupefied when I watched House of Flying Daggers, pointed at the screen and said, "So that's how you should write a bamboo fight scene".
This was written before I watched House of Flying Daggers, so I don't know if it managed to catch the same essence as watching that movie has. I hoped you enjoy and see you guys again. Oh and if you have comments for my fighting scenes, especially the bamboo one write to me. I always try to incorporate reader ideas.
I hope the inaguration scene was believable and that you were able to feel the same terror Akane went through when she was pushed off the 'goddamned mountain' :) I based that experience off something similar 'final rights' into something crazy in college (similar to a sorority but no hazing and such for people who don't know about it).
On another note, for the entire feeling on top of a mountain what I did for research was climb the smallest volcano in the world! Taal Volcano! I was taking lots of pictures and taking note of the entire experience so that I could get that on paper. It's not exactly a tall mountain, and maybe it's three times shorter than what I percieved Akane and the rest of the gang climbed, but it was fun. I hope my words were enough to express both the wonder and the terror that an experience like the inaguration brought to people who were undergoing those rights and I'll see if I can upload pics from that experience in my webpage when I post this!
And lastly on Genma's description of Kodachi! They're borrowed from various pro-Kodachi people in the web. Thanks for your input!
1) Will Kodachi and Akane switch bodies?
This you have to read on to find out. :) I haven't really decided yet, but there are pros and cons to them switching. So yes, I've thought of this I've debated myself on this, and on the verdict, you'll have to wait and see.
2) When will your next update be?
AS OF JANUARY 22 My next update might be ... in a year and not in six months as originally planned. This is because of my recent harddrive crash which wiped out all of the finished chapters of Rend complete with FOOTNOTES and research that was done for the series. Therefore, to re-create the chapters, I will have to research everything again or get my harddrive back. My harddrive data recovery was priced at - USD 500. I earn USD 4 a day and use USD 1 for my meals. That means I have to go into 27 and a half weeks of starvation to earn that much money.
If you want details of the crash (why would you?) or want to see me rant off, or hear updates of the fic while I'm writing it, I have a livejournal account under the name iceofdreams Just look it up and look at the memories for rend. Everything is there, the Ryu Kumon arc, the mountain we climbed on, and the rant about my harddrive crashing including frequent updates of Rens status. However, there are frequent updates about my life too. (It is a livejournal for a reason) if you have an LJ and want to friend me, go right on ahead.
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Gomen. In six months probably. I'm a college student. Unlike back when chapters 1-8 were written, I have less time to myself. (That and I've acquired the nasty nasty habit of surfing for scanlations when I have free time). However, if you've reviewed me before and you've signed in or you posted your e-mail address, I reply, and more often than not when I post the next chapter, I send notification e-mails.
You could also use Author Alerts, since it works, I tested it out already.
If you don't like receiving the mails, please say so in your review. I don't like to spam you.
I do revise backlog chapters in the middle of the next update though. If you've noticed I've revised Prologue - 7 extensively since my last update. In fact chapter 6-7 was uploaded at the same time as this (newly revised!) . There are fewer grammatical errors, some length is sometimes added and some such. Rian's birthing scene was changed, some scenes were added in chapter 7 and if I'm not mistaken chapter 4 as well.
Please note that there is fanart in my homepage. Just visit my author's page in ff.n and click on the link for the homepage.
3) Will the story end / will you finish even if your harddrive crashed?
Yes. Definitely. I hate seeing stories that never end. Especially if I'm soo hooked on it. So yes this will end. Will it end in chapter 13. Definitely not. Will it end in chapter 18? Not yet. Maybe around 18 or 19. DO NOT give up on the fic. :)
Even if my harddrive crashed, I will finish rend, Rend has been my life's work, and it will finish no matter what.
4) Do you want me to write to you?
Yes, please. Anything is fine. Even the little notes on what you think may happen is great. Even the notes on what you want to happen is fine. Hehe, I discuss some events when this happens. I've even answered questions like: What do you think Akane uses as shampoo back then... yes and I do try to research my answers here.
iCe
