Max-chan
29th December 2002, 11:25 PM
Scarlet Phoenix, Blue Dragon
Chapter 12, The Invisible Line
Author's Notes: How long has it been? I've been really
busy, folks, or else I would have updated all of my stories. (well,
let's not lie, most of them). To anyone who cares, listen to
Ani Difranco and read the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy by
Philip Pulman. You won't regret it. After this comes the last
chapter to this short story. Hoped it was a good ride for ya'll
too, 'cause I sure had fun.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
The small room was full of shadows. Even the man propped on the
wooden chair with his feet on the metal desk was a shadow. The
man's dark-haired head lay tilted over the top of the chair. He
breathed in and let out a breath that was full of air and regret. In
the doorway, a figure appears. This figure is not a shadow. He has
spent the same number of years among the shadows as the one by the
desk and yet the shadows has not consumed him. He was still warm.
How very rare.
The figure slowly walks towards the desks. He stares at the
stranger's face behind the mask. He looks at the short hair and
the closed eyes. He wonders how many times a person is allowed to die
before they actually get to rest.
"Still here, Ryoga?" the shadow asks.
The man brushed the question aside. It was irrelevant at the moment.
"I thought about it. You can still stop this. It's
isn't too late for you...or for her," Ryoga pleaded.
"But it is too late, Ryoga," the shadow-man said as he
lowered his feet, opened his eyes and sat up. The blue-dragon mask on
his face seemed to come alive. "It's too late for West
and Quaren and Tami and-"
"I wasn't talking about them!"
"Well, I am!" the Blue Dragon shouted as he stood up.
"Someone needs to remember them! Someone needs to keep their
souls at rest inside their graves. If I don't do it, who
will?"
Ryoga's eyes glittered. He was tough...but he there was a
reason he never became clan leader.
"Then what? Huh? You kill Akane and then what? Somebody will
avenge her and kill you and then someone will avenge you and it
doesn't end. Do you want a massacre?"
The Blue Dragon tightened his jaw and pushed past.
"You wouldn't under-"
Ryoga grabbed the Blue Dragon and moved him so that they were face to
face.
"Do you? Those kids out there look at you as though
you're their sun and their moon. You saved them and they would
listen to you even if you told them you were going to kill death
itself. Do you want those kids to die, Ranma? Do you?!" Ryoga
was screaming now.
"Let me go. Ranma is dead."
The words were cold. They were cold because they came from a shadow.
Ryoga let his hands go as though he was afraid if he held on any
longer, he too would become a shadow. Disgust rose in his throat.
How soon we forget the person we once were.
"You're really serious about this, aren't you? You
really plan to kill Akane...Akane..." Ryoga stammered as he
backed away. His hands moved around aimlessly, searching for
something they could feel. They were searching for something real.
In the end, Ryoga's hands just fell to their sides.
"Akane was a dream, Ryoga. A nice dream, but a dream,
nonetheless," Ranma, or the man that had once been the boy named
Ranma, said. His voice was that of a parent telling them the truth
about reality to a child. His voice was stern and it was strong.
Ryoga stopped. He stood straight and his eyes squinted slightly.
Now, it was his turn.
"Akane's a real person, Ranma. She's a living,
breathing person with sisters and friends. She's real, Ranma.
Her sister's name is Kasumi. Her nieces and nephews are-"
Ranma's face scrunched up, whether in pain or anger Ryoga
couldn't tell, and with a push, Ryoga slammed against the wall.
"Shut up! She's not real!" and with that, Ranma
walked out.
Ryoga stared in shock at his body against the wall.
He's gone crazy, Ryoga thought. And he's going to bring
them all down with him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Kasumi moved swiftly through the hotel room, grabbing toys from the
floor and clothes from the closet. Tears streamed like two rivers
down her clear cheeks and though she continually moved her hands to
wipe them away, her cheeks were never dry. It was almost worth
laughing at. This wasn't like her at all. Kasumi had sent Tofu
to take the children to one last trip around the city while she
packed. She did not like deceiving her kids but they would not be
happy if they found out that they were leaving without saying
good-bye to their Aunt Akane.
A brief knock on the door stopped the light-haired woman momentarily.
"Yes?" she asked, trying to clear her voice.
"The manager told me to ask you, Tendo-san, if you would want
anything before you leave," a young male voice said.
"Thank-thank you. No-um...actually, can you get me some toys
from the gift shop?" Kasumi asked.
"Of course, Tendo-san," was the reply.
"Thank you."
Kasumi wiped another hand across her face. It smudged and the smudge
seemed to press down deep into her soul. She hated being unclean It
always made her feel as though she was losing the iron control she
had over her life. Sighing, the woman dropped the clothes back onto
the bed and walked over to the hotel mirror. As she started to place
a wet napkin on her face, a knock was heard.
"Coming, and thank you so much, -"
The door opened. Kasumi stared blankly at the familiar figure in the
doorway. The figure burst into hiccupping sobs.
"I-I'm suh-sorry," the figure said. It was simple
and it was sincere.
Kasumi opened her arms and hugged the other woman tight.
That's what sisters do for each other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
"Sandy."
The girl turned around, brushing her knuckles over her nose and
sniffing.
"What?" she demanded. She squinted slightly before her
eyes widened ins shock and puzzlement.
"Link?" she asked. Was it really him? What was he doing
here?
"Yeah," the boy confirmed before putting his hands into
his pockets. He looked slightly uncomfortable.
Sandy looked around.
"What-? Why are you here?"
Link looked up.
"I heard about the Lady. Decided to come over and help, you
know. Pay my old debts-"
Sandy interrupted him. The shock was gone now and with it's
departure came realization.
"Don't you work for the Blue Dragon?" she
interrogated. She was Mel's daughter, after all.
"I used to," Link answered nonchalantly. "I
don't anymore. I know where my loyalties lie, Sandy, and my
debt to the Lady is greater than my life can pay. I will seek
vengeance on the Blue Dragon with or without your help-"
"Okay!" Sandy said before he could continue. She gave
him a helpless look. He smiled. It was a deal.
"Who are we working under?" Link suddenly said, getting
down to business.
"You remember the Scarlet Phoenix?"
"Yeah."
"That's who."
Link walked closer and said for conversation's sake, "I
saw Mel's favorite the other day. Fe-fe. Is she going to help
us?"
Sandy looked pointedly at Link. She was going to enjoy telling him
this.
"What are you talking about?" she said nonchalantly.
"Fe-fe is the Scarlet Phoenix."
You think people would stop becoming shocked at this tiny little fact
by now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
"So, gather the crew and bring them over to-"
The Scarlet Phoenix stopped. She and Fliye turned to look at the
girl in the doorway.
"I must be going now," Fliye said as she ducked her head
and exited.
"Good-bye and thank you," Akane called after her.
Ukyo's eyes narrowed and her brows creased. She entered the
room slowly.
"Was that Fliye, Akane?" she asked.
"Don't question my methods, Ukyo," Akane said
briskly as she sat down at her desk and shuffled some papers around.
"Sugar, you're not really planning a war against Ranma,
are you? It's Ranma, for goodness sakes!"
Akane looked up, her eyes blank.
"The Blue Dragon killed Mel, Ukyo. He killed Mel and he
declared war."
"Akane..."
A long time ago, before Ukyo had known Akane, before she had really
known her, she had seen Akane as just another stranger. It was the
oddness that came with an acquaintance. You knew them, but you really
didn't know them at all. Ukyo was slowly beginning to feel that
way again.
She used to know how to reach Akane. She used to know what made her
laugh and made her cry. Now, she did not know what to say at all.
"Akane...please..." she started, then stopped. A dull
pain started in Ukyo's head. She was getting too old for this.
She was getting too old for this game. The world suddenly seemed to
have dumped all it's weight on her.
"I have to go!" she said and ran out of the room,
clutching her mouth.
Akane didn't notice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
A phone rang somewhere.
Somewhere, a girl picked it up.
Somewhere, someone said, "Hello."
Somewhere else, someone else said, "Can you please meet me at
my hotel room? There is something I need to talk to you about."
Somewhere someone sighed but agreed.
Somewhere, someone was getting ready to make the biggest decision of
their life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Akane stepped out of the elevator and slowly walked to the room door.
She checked her watch in agitation before straightening her clothes.
Only for you, Kasumi, she thought wryly and gave a brief knock.
The door flew open as though the person on the other side had been
waiting for this their entire life.
Doors open all the time and sometimes, whatever is on the other side
will hurt us very much. It is up to us whether we will walk through
the door or close it.
Akane took one look at the person on the other end of the doorway.
She blinked.
She turned around and walked away.
"Akane!" the woman yelled and chased after her sister.
Nabiki grabbed her arm before she could enter the elevator. Akane
shrugged off the hand and without acknowledging her sister, walked
towards the stairs.
"You can't just walk away!" Nabiki shouted.
Akane kept on walking.
Nabiki ran and stood in front of the door leading to the stairs.
"You'll have to face me sometime..." Nabiki said
but her voice trailed off as she finally saw Akane's face. It
was lined with tears.
"I hate you..." the younger Tendo whispered. Then, her
eyes flashed and her anger spilled out. Her voice remained level and
civil, however.
"I hate you. You can't possibly know how much I do. I
only hate two people in my entire lifetime and you are one of them. I
don't want to have anything to do with you. In fact, I would
prefer it if you went back to whatever hole you crawled from and left
me and my sister alone. We'll just pretend this never
happened," Akane said.
Nabiki didn't think she could speak over the pain, but somehow
she managed.
"What happened to you?" she questioned.
Akane smiled.
"I grew up, Nabiki, courtesy of you," Akane said. Now,
Nabiki was angry.
"Oh no! Don't you dare put this on me!"
"Oh, and what am I supposed to do? Thank you? Gee, thanks for
abandoning everybody when they needed you most."
"I know I wasn't right. I know it was horrible for me to
leave. But let's get one thing clear. It is not my fault you
turned out the way you did. I was just a kid too, Akane! I was
scared-"
"So were we but we didn't leave!"
"Oh, and if I had stayed, what then? I would have ended up
being the one to go to the city. You aren't angry at me for
leaving, little sister. You're angry at me because I
wasn't there to make the sacrifice. We both know it
couldn't have been Kasumi, she's made enough sacrifices.
When it came down to it, it was either you or me and I was smart
enough to save my hide-"
The sound of the slap echoed down the hallway.
"Hit a little too close to home, did I?" Nabiki said.
"You were a coward, Nabiki. Whatever else the situation may
have been, it still doesn't change the fact that you were a
coward."
With that, Akane pushed past her and left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Outside, Akane bumped into someone.
"Oh. Akane!" Kasumi said brightly. "Did you talk
to Nabiki?"
"I don't ever want to hear her name again, Kasumi,"
the woman said vehemently and started to walk away. Kasumi's
brow creased.
"You can't go on like this, Akane," she said.
Akane stopped.
"I know all about you and Ranma. You both are going to end up
killing each other and taking half of this city with you. Don't
let that happen. I know you're better than that. Tofu, the
children and I will be heading back to Nerima with Nabiki. Come back
with us, Akane. You did your job. You kept us alive. Now, just let
it go," the older sister said.
Akane turned around and ran to hug her sister tight. She was
sobbing.
"I want to, Kasumi. I really do...but I can't,"
she sighed achingly.
The ground fell beneath Kasumi's feet but she continued to
stand strong.
"It's okay. It's okay. We all love you, Akane.
Just remember that and do what you feel is right..."
Akane let her sister go, sniffed, smiled and walked away.
Kasumi knew in her heart that was the last time she would be seeing
her little tomboy of a sister.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Ukyo had been wandering through the Blue Park when the sound of
sirens caught her ear. Like a martial artist knows when the next move
was going to hit, she knew something was wrong. The girl ran till she
reached the scene. Ukyo had seen a great many number of things in her
life and she thought nothing could break her heart again, but this
did.
The entire street was painted with blood. People crowded around the
edges to see. There were bodies being carted away and bodies still
lying there. This was organized chaos in the purest sense. Rushing
over, Nabiki pushed past the police to Tenchi who was getting his arm
bandaged.
"Why are you here?" she screeched.
"The Scarlet Phoenix told me to keep watch here with the
others. Some of the Blue Dragon's people came by
and-and-" the boy started to cough violently.
Ukyo couldn't believe what she was hearing.
She sent you out here to die, she thought. She sent you out here to
die.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere, a man was saying something to a Blue Dragon.
Somewhere the Blue Dragon rose in his fury and said, "Let her
have what she wants."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Akane ran into the apartment building. In her joy, she did not care
for anything else but spreading the news. The Scarlet Phoenix stopped
short when she saw the bustling girl packing.
"What are you doing?"
Ukyo looked up briefly before moving back in horror. Finally, she
contained herself and started towards her packing again.
"Packing. I'm leaving. I don't want this
anymore," she declared.
"I-"
The brown-haired girl whirled around, her eyes glistening, her cheeks
blooming.
"You sent them out there to die! How could you do that? You
put them straight into the Blue Dragon's territory just so you
could attack his West office. You knew they were going to die! How
could you? Tenchi...they were people!" she shouted. Never in
her life had Ukyo been this furious.
Akane gulped.
"Sacrifices have to be made in this business, Ucchan. You know
that-" Akane started bt was cut off.
"We make the sacrifices, Akane! Not them! They were our
family. You practically gave your children up for slaughter. I...I
can't deal with this."
Akane waved the note.
"Not now, Ucchan. We're so close to victory. The Blue
Dragon sent the note of official challenge. With our troops and
Sandy's, we can't lose-"
Ukyo groaned.
"Akane, listen to yourself! I don't care about your damn
victory anymore. I just want this killing to stop! What happens if
you do win, huh? What then! I'm leaving, I know Kasumi's
leaving and you're going to kill the only one you ever really
loved," here Akane's face closed off.
"I thought you would understand," she said.
"Oh, but I do," Ukyo spat out bitterly before closing her
suitcase and exiting the room. "And it scared the hell out of
me. Goodbye, Akane. Don't call me when the call of the
children at night keep you up."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
The sun shone off the clean deck of the ship. All around her was
water and as far as the girl could see, there was nothing but ocean.
The breeze lifted her light brown hair and carried it. It carried her
heartbreak with it. Something to her left caught the girl's
eye. She turned there and pulled her sunglasses down.
She smiled.
"Hey, pig-boy, why are you here?" she called.
The figure turned around slightly in surprise before seeing her.
"Trying to escape my life," he told her.
"Me too," she said. "Want to keep me
company?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 12, The Invisible Line
Author's Notes: How long has it been? I've been really
busy, folks, or else I would have updated all of my stories. (well,
let's not lie, most of them). To anyone who cares, listen to
Ani Difranco and read the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy by
Philip Pulman. You won't regret it. After this comes the last
chapter to this short story. Hoped it was a good ride for ya'll
too, 'cause I sure had fun.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
The small room was full of shadows. Even the man propped on the
wooden chair with his feet on the metal desk was a shadow. The
man's dark-haired head lay tilted over the top of the chair. He
breathed in and let out a breath that was full of air and regret. In
the doorway, a figure appears. This figure is not a shadow. He has
spent the same number of years among the shadows as the one by the
desk and yet the shadows has not consumed him. He was still warm.
How very rare.
The figure slowly walks towards the desks. He stares at the
stranger's face behind the mask. He looks at the short hair and
the closed eyes. He wonders how many times a person is allowed to die
before they actually get to rest.
"Still here, Ryoga?" the shadow asks.
The man brushed the question aside. It was irrelevant at the moment.
"I thought about it. You can still stop this. It's
isn't too late for you...or for her," Ryoga pleaded.
"But it is too late, Ryoga," the shadow-man said as he
lowered his feet, opened his eyes and sat up. The blue-dragon mask on
his face seemed to come alive. "It's too late for West
and Quaren and Tami and-"
"I wasn't talking about them!"
"Well, I am!" the Blue Dragon shouted as he stood up.
"Someone needs to remember them! Someone needs to keep their
souls at rest inside their graves. If I don't do it, who
will?"
Ryoga's eyes glittered. He was tough...but he there was a
reason he never became clan leader.
"Then what? Huh? You kill Akane and then what? Somebody will
avenge her and kill you and then someone will avenge you and it
doesn't end. Do you want a massacre?"
The Blue Dragon tightened his jaw and pushed past.
"You wouldn't under-"
Ryoga grabbed the Blue Dragon and moved him so that they were face to
face.
"Do you? Those kids out there look at you as though
you're their sun and their moon. You saved them and they would
listen to you even if you told them you were going to kill death
itself. Do you want those kids to die, Ranma? Do you?!" Ryoga
was screaming now.
"Let me go. Ranma is dead."
The words were cold. They were cold because they came from a shadow.
Ryoga let his hands go as though he was afraid if he held on any
longer, he too would become a shadow. Disgust rose in his throat.
How soon we forget the person we once were.
"You're really serious about this, aren't you? You
really plan to kill Akane...Akane..." Ryoga stammered as he
backed away. His hands moved around aimlessly, searching for
something they could feel. They were searching for something real.
In the end, Ryoga's hands just fell to their sides.
"Akane was a dream, Ryoga. A nice dream, but a dream,
nonetheless," Ranma, or the man that had once been the boy named
Ranma, said. His voice was that of a parent telling them the truth
about reality to a child. His voice was stern and it was strong.
Ryoga stopped. He stood straight and his eyes squinted slightly.
Now, it was his turn.
"Akane's a real person, Ranma. She's a living,
breathing person with sisters and friends. She's real, Ranma.
Her sister's name is Kasumi. Her nieces and nephews are-"
Ranma's face scrunched up, whether in pain or anger Ryoga
couldn't tell, and with a push, Ryoga slammed against the wall.
"Shut up! She's not real!" and with that, Ranma
walked out.
Ryoga stared in shock at his body against the wall.
He's gone crazy, Ryoga thought. And he's going to bring
them all down with him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Kasumi moved swiftly through the hotel room, grabbing toys from the
floor and clothes from the closet. Tears streamed like two rivers
down her clear cheeks and though she continually moved her hands to
wipe them away, her cheeks were never dry. It was almost worth
laughing at. This wasn't like her at all. Kasumi had sent Tofu
to take the children to one last trip around the city while she
packed. She did not like deceiving her kids but they would not be
happy if they found out that they were leaving without saying
good-bye to their Aunt Akane.
A brief knock on the door stopped the light-haired woman momentarily.
"Yes?" she asked, trying to clear her voice.
"The manager told me to ask you, Tendo-san, if you would want
anything before you leave," a young male voice said.
"Thank-thank you. No-um...actually, can you get me some toys
from the gift shop?" Kasumi asked.
"Of course, Tendo-san," was the reply.
"Thank you."
Kasumi wiped another hand across her face. It smudged and the smudge
seemed to press down deep into her soul. She hated being unclean It
always made her feel as though she was losing the iron control she
had over her life. Sighing, the woman dropped the clothes back onto
the bed and walked over to the hotel mirror. As she started to place
a wet napkin on her face, a knock was heard.
"Coming, and thank you so much, -"
The door opened. Kasumi stared blankly at the familiar figure in the
doorway. The figure burst into hiccupping sobs.
"I-I'm suh-sorry," the figure said. It was simple
and it was sincere.
Kasumi opened her arms and hugged the other woman tight.
That's what sisters do for each other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
"Sandy."
The girl turned around, brushing her knuckles over her nose and
sniffing.
"What?" she demanded. She squinted slightly before her
eyes widened ins shock and puzzlement.
"Link?" she asked. Was it really him? What was he doing
here?
"Yeah," the boy confirmed before putting his hands into
his pockets. He looked slightly uncomfortable.
Sandy looked around.
"What-? Why are you here?"
Link looked up.
"I heard about the Lady. Decided to come over and help, you
know. Pay my old debts-"
Sandy interrupted him. The shock was gone now and with it's
departure came realization.
"Don't you work for the Blue Dragon?" she
interrogated. She was Mel's daughter, after all.
"I used to," Link answered nonchalantly. "I
don't anymore. I know where my loyalties lie, Sandy, and my
debt to the Lady is greater than my life can pay. I will seek
vengeance on the Blue Dragon with or without your help-"
"Okay!" Sandy said before he could continue. She gave
him a helpless look. He smiled. It was a deal.
"Who are we working under?" Link suddenly said, getting
down to business.
"You remember the Scarlet Phoenix?"
"Yeah."
"That's who."
Link walked closer and said for conversation's sake, "I
saw Mel's favorite the other day. Fe-fe. Is she going to help
us?"
Sandy looked pointedly at Link. She was going to enjoy telling him
this.
"What are you talking about?" she said nonchalantly.
"Fe-fe is the Scarlet Phoenix."
You think people would stop becoming shocked at this tiny little fact
by now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
"So, gather the crew and bring them over to-"
The Scarlet Phoenix stopped. She and Fliye turned to look at the
girl in the doorway.
"I must be going now," Fliye said as she ducked her head
and exited.
"Good-bye and thank you," Akane called after her.
Ukyo's eyes narrowed and her brows creased. She entered the
room slowly.
"Was that Fliye, Akane?" she asked.
"Don't question my methods, Ukyo," Akane said
briskly as she sat down at her desk and shuffled some papers around.
"Sugar, you're not really planning a war against Ranma,
are you? It's Ranma, for goodness sakes!"
Akane looked up, her eyes blank.
"The Blue Dragon killed Mel, Ukyo. He killed Mel and he
declared war."
"Akane..."
A long time ago, before Ukyo had known Akane, before she had really
known her, she had seen Akane as just another stranger. It was the
oddness that came with an acquaintance. You knew them, but you really
didn't know them at all. Ukyo was slowly beginning to feel that
way again.
She used to know how to reach Akane. She used to know what made her
laugh and made her cry. Now, she did not know what to say at all.
"Akane...please..." she started, then stopped. A dull
pain started in Ukyo's head. She was getting too old for this.
She was getting too old for this game. The world suddenly seemed to
have dumped all it's weight on her.
"I have to go!" she said and ran out of the room,
clutching her mouth.
Akane didn't notice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
A phone rang somewhere.
Somewhere, a girl picked it up.
Somewhere, someone said, "Hello."
Somewhere else, someone else said, "Can you please meet me at
my hotel room? There is something I need to talk to you about."
Somewhere someone sighed but agreed.
Somewhere, someone was getting ready to make the biggest decision of
their life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Akane stepped out of the elevator and slowly walked to the room door.
She checked her watch in agitation before straightening her clothes.
Only for you, Kasumi, she thought wryly and gave a brief knock.
The door flew open as though the person on the other side had been
waiting for this their entire life.
Doors open all the time and sometimes, whatever is on the other side
will hurt us very much. It is up to us whether we will walk through
the door or close it.
Akane took one look at the person on the other end of the doorway.
She blinked.
She turned around and walked away.
"Akane!" the woman yelled and chased after her sister.
Nabiki grabbed her arm before she could enter the elevator. Akane
shrugged off the hand and without acknowledging her sister, walked
towards the stairs.
"You can't just walk away!" Nabiki shouted.
Akane kept on walking.
Nabiki ran and stood in front of the door leading to the stairs.
"You'll have to face me sometime..." Nabiki said
but her voice trailed off as she finally saw Akane's face. It
was lined with tears.
"I hate you..." the younger Tendo whispered. Then, her
eyes flashed and her anger spilled out. Her voice remained level and
civil, however.
"I hate you. You can't possibly know how much I do. I
only hate two people in my entire lifetime and you are one of them. I
don't want to have anything to do with you. In fact, I would
prefer it if you went back to whatever hole you crawled from and left
me and my sister alone. We'll just pretend this never
happened," Akane said.
Nabiki didn't think she could speak over the pain, but somehow
she managed.
"What happened to you?" she questioned.
Akane smiled.
"I grew up, Nabiki, courtesy of you," Akane said. Now,
Nabiki was angry.
"Oh no! Don't you dare put this on me!"
"Oh, and what am I supposed to do? Thank you? Gee, thanks for
abandoning everybody when they needed you most."
"I know I wasn't right. I know it was horrible for me to
leave. But let's get one thing clear. It is not my fault you
turned out the way you did. I was just a kid too, Akane! I was
scared-"
"So were we but we didn't leave!"
"Oh, and if I had stayed, what then? I would have ended up
being the one to go to the city. You aren't angry at me for
leaving, little sister. You're angry at me because I
wasn't there to make the sacrifice. We both know it
couldn't have been Kasumi, she's made enough sacrifices.
When it came down to it, it was either you or me and I was smart
enough to save my hide-"
The sound of the slap echoed down the hallway.
"Hit a little too close to home, did I?" Nabiki said.
"You were a coward, Nabiki. Whatever else the situation may
have been, it still doesn't change the fact that you were a
coward."
With that, Akane pushed past her and left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Outside, Akane bumped into someone.
"Oh. Akane!" Kasumi said brightly. "Did you talk
to Nabiki?"
"I don't ever want to hear her name again, Kasumi,"
the woman said vehemently and started to walk away. Kasumi's
brow creased.
"You can't go on like this, Akane," she said.
Akane stopped.
"I know all about you and Ranma. You both are going to end up
killing each other and taking half of this city with you. Don't
let that happen. I know you're better than that. Tofu, the
children and I will be heading back to Nerima with Nabiki. Come back
with us, Akane. You did your job. You kept us alive. Now, just let
it go," the older sister said.
Akane turned around and ran to hug her sister tight. She was
sobbing.
"I want to, Kasumi. I really do...but I can't,"
she sighed achingly.
The ground fell beneath Kasumi's feet but she continued to
stand strong.
"It's okay. It's okay. We all love you, Akane.
Just remember that and do what you feel is right..."
Akane let her sister go, sniffed, smiled and walked away.
Kasumi knew in her heart that was the last time she would be seeing
her little tomboy of a sister.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Ukyo had been wandering through the Blue Park when the sound of
sirens caught her ear. Like a martial artist knows when the next move
was going to hit, she knew something was wrong. The girl ran till she
reached the scene. Ukyo had seen a great many number of things in her
life and she thought nothing could break her heart again, but this
did.
The entire street was painted with blood. People crowded around the
edges to see. There were bodies being carted away and bodies still
lying there. This was organized chaos in the purest sense. Rushing
over, Nabiki pushed past the police to Tenchi who was getting his arm
bandaged.
"Why are you here?" she screeched.
"The Scarlet Phoenix told me to keep watch here with the
others. Some of the Blue Dragon's people came by
and-and-" the boy started to cough violently.
Ukyo couldn't believe what she was hearing.
She sent you out here to die, she thought. She sent you out here to
die.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere, a man was saying something to a Blue Dragon.
Somewhere the Blue Dragon rose in his fury and said, "Let her
have what she wants."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Akane ran into the apartment building. In her joy, she did not care
for anything else but spreading the news. The Scarlet Phoenix stopped
short when she saw the bustling girl packing.
"What are you doing?"
Ukyo looked up briefly before moving back in horror. Finally, she
contained herself and started towards her packing again.
"Packing. I'm leaving. I don't want this
anymore," she declared.
"I-"
The brown-haired girl whirled around, her eyes glistening, her cheeks
blooming.
"You sent them out there to die! How could you do that? You
put them straight into the Blue Dragon's territory just so you
could attack his West office. You knew they were going to die! How
could you? Tenchi...they were people!" she shouted. Never in
her life had Ukyo been this furious.
Akane gulped.
"Sacrifices have to be made in this business, Ucchan. You know
that-" Akane started bt was cut off.
"We make the sacrifices, Akane! Not them! They were our
family. You practically gave your children up for slaughter. I...I
can't deal with this."
Akane waved the note.
"Not now, Ucchan. We're so close to victory. The Blue
Dragon sent the note of official challenge. With our troops and
Sandy's, we can't lose-"
Ukyo groaned.
"Akane, listen to yourself! I don't care about your damn
victory anymore. I just want this killing to stop! What happens if
you do win, huh? What then! I'm leaving, I know Kasumi's
leaving and you're going to kill the only one you ever really
loved," here Akane's face closed off.
"I thought you would understand," she said.
"Oh, but I do," Ukyo spat out bitterly before closing her
suitcase and exiting the room. "And it scared the hell out of
me. Goodbye, Akane. Don't call me when the call of the
children at night keep you up."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
The sun shone off the clean deck of the ship. All around her was
water and as far as the girl could see, there was nothing but ocean.
The breeze lifted her light brown hair and carried it. It carried her
heartbreak with it. Something to her left caught the girl's
eye. She turned there and pulled her sunglasses down.
She smiled.
"Hey, pig-boy, why are you here?" she called.
The figure turned around slightly in surprise before seeing her.
"Trying to escape my life," he told her.
"Me too," she said. "Want to keep me
company?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~