Sho-I Tanaka
30th December 2002, 06:20 AM
Shojo Kakumei Ukyo
by Sho-i Tanaka
chapter 9
back for the attack
The characters of Utena, Anthy, Wakaba and all the Ohtori Academy crew
belong to B-PAPAS; the characters of Ukyo, Akane, Kodachi and the rest
of the Nerima Wrecking Crew belong to Takahashi-dono; Giles, Willow,
Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn belong to Joss Whedon & Muitant Enemy; Tomokato
and Shiro belong to Mark Rogers. Any resemblance between characters in
this story and actual living breathing humans is strictly coincidental.
For external use only. Do not perform invasive surgery or operate heavy
equipment while reading this fanfic. Not recommended in combination with
psychoactive chemicals, prescription or otherwise.
"She hasn't come out of her room for days," Akane said worriedly,
looking at the closed door of Ukyo's room.
"The teachers have started asking questions," Kodachi agreed.
"Time to go in after her. She's been sulking long enough."
Akane shot her a surprised look, but Kodachi's impassive face
revealed nothing of what she was thinking.
Juri and Nanami came up to them. "What's going on?" Juri asked.
"We're digging Kuonji-san out of her hole," Kodachi replied
tonelessly.
Juri shrugged, and walked up to the door. She took hold of
the knob, listened for a second, and recoiled in disgust. "Kami-sama!
What is that noise? It's worse than enka music!"
Akane walked up to the door and listened carefully. She could
hear some sort of guitar-heavy music playing, and Ukyo was singing
along in spite of the fact that the singer was singing in English.
"...outside, looking in/She said 'Well now where you been?/Didn't
expect you back again/Trying to get out of the wind/are you now?'"
Akane shrugged. It was no worse than some of the music you heard
around Nerima. She knocked on the door. "Ukyo! Can we come in?"
There was no answer. Whatever song Ukyo had been singing had
ended and had been replaced by a vaguely menacing tune that sounded
as if a lone guitar was being played across endless miles of emptiness
Akane turned the knob and opened the door.
Ukyo was seated at the room's only table, singing along with the
CD player. Her eyes were thoroughly bloodshot, and she was still
Wearing the shredded rags of her duellist's uniform. The blood from
the cuts Toga had inflicted on her had been left to dry on her body,
and her ragged hair was untrimmed. There was a bottle of cooking sake
and a cup on the table, and nothing else. She broke off singing and
looked at the girls as they reluctantly entered her room. "Well, if
it isn't the kawaiikune tomboy and the psycho. And their playmates.
Pull up a rock, there's still enough here for you guys."
She wiggled the sake bottle.
"You're drunk," Akane said disgustedly.
"Yup," Ukyo agreed cheerfully. "Drunk, disorderly, dispirited,
disenchanted, disgusted. Disenrolled, too, I bet. Kiryu-san, you going
to shut the door?"
Nanami had been distracted enough by Ukyo's condition that she
had forgotten to close the door behind her. She did so, and looked
at Kodachi with a look of total confusion in her eyes. It was
obvious she had no idea how to deal with a drunken martial artist.
"Are you branching out into drunken-style spatula-fu now,
Kuonji-san?" Kodachi asked.
"Heh. Funny. No, just trying to drown my sorrows. You know what
Kuno-san?"
"What?"
"They swim *real* well. I don't think there's enough sake in
this whole miserable campus to drown the bastards." Her face
suddenly turned bleak. "So what are you here for if you're not
going to drink with me?"
"Your teachers are concerned, Kuonji-san," Juri said
carefully. "You've been absent from classes for three days now.
We've been covering for you, telling them you're ill."
"Nice of you, Arisugawa-sempai. And it's not even lying.
I am sick. Sick of these duels, sick of this school, sick of
twisted creeps like Toga and two-faced bitches like Himemiya.
If I knew how to go home, I would." Ukyo knocked back another
shot of sake and refilled her cup.
Kodachi's eyes narrowed. "I think you've had enough to drink."
Ukyo glared back at her. "Who died and made you Empress?"
"Obviously nobody, or we wouldn't be having this conversation.
However, as a fellow martial artist and one of the few friends you
have left on this campus, I suggest you quit wallowing in drunken
self-pity and start working on the only thing that should be on
your mind right now."
"What makes you think you have any business telling me how
to run my life?"
"What makes you think you have any ability to do it yourself?
Look at you! You get dumped by your boyfriend, who you should never
have taken up with in the first place since he belongs to a rival
school, and then you get dumped by your girlfriend, who you knew was
going to ditch you if you lost anyway. You showed about as much
discipline as a two-year-old. It's a wonder that young snot
Tsuwabuki didn't beat you senseless. Now look at you - a drunken,
pathetic loser. You're right. I'm wasting my time even talking to
you. Nanami, let's go. Arisugawa-san, Tendo-san, my apologies for
dragging you into this. I thought we had a martial artist here,
but evidently I was mistaken." She started for the door, but
stopped halfway and turned to deliver a parting shot. "Just
imagine how proud Ranma-sama would be if he could see you now,"
she sneered.
"DAMN YOU!" Ukyo was up from the table in a flash, lunging
at Kodachi's scornfully-turned back, but the sleepless nights
and the sake had taken their toll. She stumbled, and Kodachi
spun quickly to meet her with an open-handed slap that knocked
Ukyo into a heap on the floor. Ukyo curled up into a tight ball
and began to cry.
Kodachi looked at the crying girl. "Nanami. Help me get
Kuonji-san into the showers."
"Yes, Mistress Kuno."
The two of them hoisted Ukyo to her feet and dragged her
to the shower. Kodachi turned the cold water on full blast,
nodded to Nanami, and then they heaved the still-sobbing girl
under the stream of icy water.
"AAAAAAA!" Ukyo screamed as she began to thrash and
struggle to get free. "YOU BITCHES! LET GO OF ME!"
Nanami and Kodachi moved to put Ukyo in a hammerlock and
held her under the shower until she stopped struggling. After
a few more minutes of this Ukyo said dully, "Okay, I promise
not to maim either one of you if you let go. Just bring me a
towel and some soap, will you?"
Kodachi nodded to Nanami, who was only too happy to let
go. Ukyo stood listlessly under the shower, moving only to
turn the hot water on and start stripping off the remains of
her uniform. Kodachi likewise removed her now-sodden clothes
and put her hair up. Presently Nanami returned with towels
and soap and likewise disrobed. The three washed up quietly,
until Kodachi offered to scrub Ukyo's back. "What?" Ukyo asked,
clearly surprised.
"I said, 'Would you like me to do your back?'"
"Um, sure. Thank you."
Eventually they all wound up in the furo, soaking in the
hot water. After a while Ukyo asked, "Kuno-san, why are you
doing this?"
"Hai...well, this is what friends do, ne?"
Ukyo gave a harsh, barking laugh. "I can't think of anyone
in Nerima that would have used that word to refer to us, Kuno-san."
"Ah, but we are no longer in Nerima, Kuonji-san. Whether
we like it or not, you and I and Tendo-san are considered to be
friends by our classmates here at Ohtori Academy. In fact, we do
get along fairly well, since the main reason we're at each
others' throats is Ranma Saotome - and he's not here."
"True...for that matter, you're a lot more stable than I've
ever seen you before. No paralysis powder in the roses or the food,
no ambushing your opponents - this just isn't like you. All right,
who are you and what have you done with the real Kodachi Kuno?"
Ukyo tried to look fierce for a moment, but the effort gave her
a splitting headache. "Ow..."
Kodachi giggled. "Oh, I'm better than I was, but I'm sure
a competent psychiatrist could still find enough bats in my
belfry, ne, Nanami-chan?" The blonde blushed and sank lower in
the water. "Seriously, though, getting out of Nerima and away
from Ranma, my family and all the familiar surroundings has
helped me immensely. Tendo-san and I had a long conversation
about this, as a matter of fact, even though it started out
as a discussion of your involvement with Himemiya-san."
"WHAT?"
"Relax, Kuonji-san. For someone her age, Tendo-san is
rather naive when it comes to matters of the bedroom, and
I believe I distracted her sufficiently in any case. We did
not discuss whatever it was you two may or may not have been
doing, at least not beyond the point at which Tendo-san
delivered a rather bigoted opinion on the subject. Honestly,
when she and Ranma get married, I hope someone has the
foresight to give them a pillow book, otherwise Tendo-sensei
may be cruelly disappointed in his wish for an heir."
Despite herself, Ukyo had to laugh. Given Akane's
distaste for boys in general, and Ranma's endearing naivete
when it came to girls, it was easy to imagine the two of them
fumbling around haplessly on their wedding night. "Something
to think about if we ever get out of here and back to Nerima."
She closed her eyes and let the heat soak her tension away.
This was as relaxed as she'd been in months, since the end
of the first duel and the beginning of her affair with the
Rose Bride. What a fiasco that was..."What kind of girl is
this Anthy Himemiya, Kiryu-san? Why is she so...flighty, so
submissive?"
***
Toga Kiryu relaxed in the bedroom of the Kiryu house.
Shiori was in the kitchen making snacks (he knew better than
to have Anthy fix anything more complicated than shaved ice,
and she was off visiting her brother anyway) and he felt at
peace with the world for the first time since this whole
business with Ukyo Kuonji had started.
The domestic tranquility was suddenly disturbed by a
loud crash, Shiori shouting at someone, then another crash.
This doesn't sound good, Toga thought, and rose from the bed.
He threw on a bathrobe and stepped out into the hallway just
in time to see a nearly-naked Shiori come flying out of the
kitchen hallway and hit the wall with an audible thud. She
slid to the floor, tried to get up, and slid back again.
"Apologies for the mess, Seitokacho-san," a familiar
voice said.
"Kuonji-san, what is the meaning of this?"
Ukyo stepped out of the kitchen hallway. "Kaoru-san said
you'd be home this evening, and when I expressed a desire to
speak with you personally, your slut here got in the way. There's
a bit of a mess in the living room, I'm afraid. Takatsuki-kun
forgot that I don't need a weapon to be dangerous."
"If you think this is how you can reclaim a place in my heart-"
Ukyo laughed bitterly. "I'd rather sleep with a rabid pack
of diseased weasels, thank you. No, I just came to deliver a
message." She stepped forward and before he could react slapped
him hard on both cheeks. "I'll see you on the dueling ground,
Seitokacho-san. Whenever you and your puppeteer are ready for me."
"You have no right-"
Ukyo held up a fist, with the Rose Signet prominently displayed.
"This says I do. The martial arts code of honor says I do. Scared of
a return engagement, Seitokacho-san?"
"All right. Friday night, one week from today."
Ukyo nodded. "End of the World had better improve his
string-pulling skills. You're going to need all the help you
can get." She turned on her heel and left.
***
"Kuonji-san?"
Ukyo stopped and turned as she was about to leave the dormitory.
Juri stood with her hands behind her back and a most peculiar
expression on her face. "What is it, Arisugawa-sempai?"
"Ano...some of us felt it inappropriate for you to challenge
the Seitokacho while wearing the girls' uniform."
"So? I'm not wearing the Duellist uniform again. Ever."
"I understand completely. We thought - well, I thought,
anyway...you might prefer to fight in your usual combat dress,
especially since you intend to demonstrate the full range of
your skills to Kiryu-san." Juri brought her hands from behind
her back and presented a package wrapped in plain paper to the
bemused chef-turned-duellist. "Also, I understand that it happens
to be your birthday, and we - Nanami and I - hoped you might
accept this poor excuse for a present." Unusually for her, Juri
kept her eyes fixed on the ground.
Ukyo took the package and carefully unwrapped it. Her eyes
widened as she finished. "Arisugawa-sempai...you shouldn't have!
This is marvelous!" Juri and Nanami had reproduced her chef's
costume in a beautiful shade of blue with white trim, and
included a pair of black tights as well. Ukyo looked more
closely at the trim along the front of the blouse. Someone had
painstakingly embroidered little spatulas into it, and each
spatula was entwined with a black rose. Ukyo smiled, and
embraced the surprised Juri in a strong hug. "Thank you so
much. I haven't had a birthday present in years, and certainly
not one I appreciated this much. I guess I better change now,
ne?" She strode off to her room, whistling "True Colors" as
she went.
When she emerged, she ws surprised to see that the other
girls were all waiting for her. Surprisingly, Juri and Nanami
were both wearing their Duellist uniforms, although the dominant
color was now black instead of their former white and yellow.
Kodachi and Akane likewise were dressed for battle, in their
leotard and gi respectively.
"Thank you for the show of support, but this is a duel,
not a rumble," she chided them.
"You can't be too careful with these people," Akane growled.
"Tendo-san is right," Kodachi agreed. "These Student Council
members are arrogant, spiteful and in some cases clearly deranged.
It would be best to be ready should some unpleasantness occur."
***
"I understand that Gosunkugi thinks he may have figured out
a way to get us to Ohtori," Tatewaki Kuno said to Ranma as they
sat eating lunch.
"Yes. We're supposed to meet and discuss their progress
tonight at the Nekohanten," Ranma answered as he dodged Keiko's
attempt to stuff a tuna roll into his mouth.
"You realize that this presents you with a problem, Saotome."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"How will my sister, Akane, and Ukyo react to the fact that
you have a new fiancee?"
"..."
***
I'm breathing (YEAH!)
I'm bleeding (YEAH!)
I'm screaming
Scum of the earth, come on!
Toga Kiryu noted the changes in his opponent since the last
duel. Then, Ukyo Kuonji had been a broken little girl, just
waiting for the coup de grace to put her out of her misery. Now,
the coldness in her eyes matched his own. There was nothing about
her that made you think of feminine weakness at all, and he began
to wonder if it hadn't been a mistake to break her before the
first duel. Bones became stronger at the break, after all, and
sometimes people did too. Well, it doesn't matter, he thought.
I'm still a good enough swordsman to defeat her - and now I have
the Sword of Dios.
Ukyo watched Toga dispassionately. She felt none of the fury
she'd felt in her first duel against Saionji, but she didn't feel
even the mild annoyance she'd felt while dueling Miki and the
others. She certainly didn't feel the sense of impending doom she'd
felt the last time she'd dueled Toga. Anthy came and pinned the rose
to her chest. Unusually, it was a black rose instead of her normal
red rose, but Ukyo wasted no time pondering the variation in the
color. It simply wasn't important. Neither was the presence of the
Student Council and her friends at the top of the stairs. Nothing
mattered but the duel.
She watched as Toga lay the Rose Bride back and drew the Sword
of Dios from her chest, paying no attention to the chant. Now, she
thought, he'll see how this cookie crumbles.
Toga saluted her, and asked her something, but whatever it was,
it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but the duel. She ignored him and
drew her battle spatula. Toga smiled and charged her.
Ukyo shifted the battle spatula to her left hand, drew three of
her mini-spatulas, and let fly. They flew straight and true, hitting
Toga's leading leg with the sickening *thunk* of cleavers hitting a
side of beef. Her opponent fell like a puppet whose strings had been
severed as the leg gave way, barely managing to avoid landing on his
face.
"She can't do that!" Shiori cried, and started to lunge forward.
Saionji caught her arm. "Don't," he said, jerking his head to
indicate the East Dormitory girls.
Shiori looked, and saw Juri's flat stare fixed on her. Juri's
hand rested lightly on the hilt of her sword, and Shiori knew exactly
what Juri was thinking. "Please," that look said, "give me an excuse
to draw this.". Angrily, Shiori jerked her arm out of Saionji's grasp
and crossed her arms.
Ukyo walked over to her wounded opponent, flicked the Sword
of Dios out of his reach with her battle spatula, and sat down
cross-legged next to Toga's head. She reached out to the white
rose on his jacket and began to peel the petals, one by one.
"You know," she said conversationally, "it would be immensely
gratifying to beat the stuffing out of you as I did Saionji.
More so, really, because I didn't realize at the time exactly
what the deal was with Himemiya-san, and I do now. Which is why
this duel is not going to end in the usual way. See, this duel
isn't really about the Rose Bride. You may think it is, but that
would be just one of a number of mistakes you've made, Toga-chan.
"I have absolutely no interest in the Rose Bride. So, when
I'm done with this rose, I'm going to stand up and walk away. As
far as I'm concerned, I've already won this duel. I have my honor
back. You and your pals can go ahead and revolutionize the world,
screw each other senseless, whatever you want to do, but you can
leave me and my friends out of it.
"I've had a lot of time to think about this, you see. I
thought about humiliating you the way you did me, but that would
require you to have some sense of shame - and I'm not sure you
have any. So I won't waste any effort cutting your uniform to
shreds, slicing up your face, or even shaving your head. It would
be a waste of my time. The same goes for breaking every last bone
in your body. As much as I despise you, it's just not worth the
time and effort." She regarded the stripped blossom for a moment,
then took her own black rose off and tossed it onto Toga's jacket
"Ja ne, Seitokaicho-san."
Ukyo stood up and began walking back to the staircase, where
her friends waited. Behind her, Anthy was calling out to her, but
Ukyo ignored her and kept walking. There was the sound of running
feet, and Ukyo felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Ukyo-sama..." Anthy began breathlessly.
"Don't call me that ever again," Ukyo interrupted harshly.
"I don't want anything more to do with you from now until the day
I leave this school. Do you understand, Himemiya-san?"
"But-"
"Do you understand?"
"No."
Ukyo turned and stared at the Rose Bride, who smiled in
confusion. "Let me make this perfectly clear. I do not want to
talk to you, see you, be around you, or hear from you from now
until I leave Ohtori Academy. My participation in the duels
ends now. If I or any of my friends see you in the East Dormitory,
we will throw you out. If I find any of your things in my room,
I will throw them out. Do you understand?"
"No."
"I guess it can't be helped, then." Ukyo started down the
stairs, and her friends filed down behind her. Anthy Himemiya
stood watching them, the smile on her face slowly changing into
a puzzled frown. Behind her, Saionji and Shiori helped Toga to
his feet. On the floor of the arena, Toga's cell phone lay where
it had fallen from his jacket. As it began to ring, Saionji kicked
it, and it spun out into the void, still ringing as it fell the
endless distance into the forest.
Unnoticed, the black and white roses fluttered to the floor
of the arena.
***
"So it looks like our best options are to either give Ryoga
here a true sense of direction for once or somehow find the path
between the worlds to wherever Ohtori actuallyis," Amy said after
reviewing the scrolls that Cologne had brought and the transcript
of Shampoo's interrogation of Happosai.
"Since even my powers added to yours would be insufficient
to reverse all of the spells and curses involved, yes," Cologne
replied.
"Kami-sama..." Hikaru inhaled sharply as he read the transcript.
"You pulled out his toenails?"
"Shampoo tell old pervert is last chance for whole truth and
nothing but truth, but he keep on lying. Have to make good on threat
then or lose face." Shampoo slurped her tea and regarded the magician
with bland equanimity. Gosunkugi shuddered.
"I think finding the path between the dimensions would be
easiest," Cologne said. "Assembling the materials would be much
less difficult than trying to counteract the curse of the Hibikis."
"I think you're right," Amy said. "What do you think, Hikaru?"
Gosunkugi put down the transcript with difficulty. "Yes. If we
can make our way to Ohtori we'll be at the nexus of all the magical
energies, and if we need to perform any spells it'll be easier to do
them there. Presuming, of course, that whoever cast the spell isn't
in a position to disturb us."
"I don't think that'll be a problem," Cologne said. "Shiro?
Come in here and tell our guests about your uncle."
***
"So, oto-san, what are we supposed to do about these
engagements?" Ranma asked the next morning at breakfast.
Soun Tendo looked at him. "What do you mean? You're
engaged to Keiko now. The engagement to Kuonji-san was never
valid, and as for Akane..." His eyes widened as he suddenly
considered the possibility that his daughter by blood might
actually object to the situation. He turned to Genma.
"Saotome-kun..."
Genma smiled. "I have no experience with daughters,
Tendo-kun. I'm sure you'll think of something appropriate
when the time comes. It's not as if she ever liked Ranma
all that much anyway, is it?"
Soun smiled back, his good humor restored. "You're right,
Saotome-kun. I doubt she'll have any problem at all."
Nabiki set down her chopsticks and stood up. "You two are
the biggest idiots I have ever met in my life." She turned on
her heel and left the dining room. After a few minutes, they
all heard the door to her room slam shut.
Kasumi looked around the table. Everyone was sitting and
staring after her younger sister except for Ranma and Keiko,
who were feeding each other pickled vegetables. "Oto-san, I
think you may be mistaken about Akane's attitude. I'll speak
with Nabiki."
Soun closed his gaping mouth and nodded. "Thank you,
Kasumi-chan."
***
The songs Ukyo is listening to at the beginning of the chapter are
"Outskirts" and "Too Long In The Wasteland" by James McMurtry; the
verse at the beginning of the last duel is from Rob Zombie's "Scum
of the Earth".
Comments and criticism welcome.
by Sho-i Tanaka
chapter 9
back for the attack
The characters of Utena, Anthy, Wakaba and all the Ohtori Academy crew
belong to B-PAPAS; the characters of Ukyo, Akane, Kodachi and the rest
of the Nerima Wrecking Crew belong to Takahashi-dono; Giles, Willow,
Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn belong to Joss Whedon & Muitant Enemy; Tomokato
and Shiro belong to Mark Rogers. Any resemblance between characters in
this story and actual living breathing humans is strictly coincidental.
For external use only. Do not perform invasive surgery or operate heavy
equipment while reading this fanfic. Not recommended in combination with
psychoactive chemicals, prescription or otherwise.
"She hasn't come out of her room for days," Akane said worriedly,
looking at the closed door of Ukyo's room.
"The teachers have started asking questions," Kodachi agreed.
"Time to go in after her. She's been sulking long enough."
Akane shot her a surprised look, but Kodachi's impassive face
revealed nothing of what she was thinking.
Juri and Nanami came up to them. "What's going on?" Juri asked.
"We're digging Kuonji-san out of her hole," Kodachi replied
tonelessly.
Juri shrugged, and walked up to the door. She took hold of
the knob, listened for a second, and recoiled in disgust. "Kami-sama!
What is that noise? It's worse than enka music!"
Akane walked up to the door and listened carefully. She could
hear some sort of guitar-heavy music playing, and Ukyo was singing
along in spite of the fact that the singer was singing in English.
"...outside, looking in/She said 'Well now where you been?/Didn't
expect you back again/Trying to get out of the wind/are you now?'"
Akane shrugged. It was no worse than some of the music you heard
around Nerima. She knocked on the door. "Ukyo! Can we come in?"
There was no answer. Whatever song Ukyo had been singing had
ended and had been replaced by a vaguely menacing tune that sounded
as if a lone guitar was being played across endless miles of emptiness
Akane turned the knob and opened the door.
Ukyo was seated at the room's only table, singing along with the
CD player. Her eyes were thoroughly bloodshot, and she was still
Wearing the shredded rags of her duellist's uniform. The blood from
the cuts Toga had inflicted on her had been left to dry on her body,
and her ragged hair was untrimmed. There was a bottle of cooking sake
and a cup on the table, and nothing else. She broke off singing and
looked at the girls as they reluctantly entered her room. "Well, if
it isn't the kawaiikune tomboy and the psycho. And their playmates.
Pull up a rock, there's still enough here for you guys."
She wiggled the sake bottle.
"You're drunk," Akane said disgustedly.
"Yup," Ukyo agreed cheerfully. "Drunk, disorderly, dispirited,
disenchanted, disgusted. Disenrolled, too, I bet. Kiryu-san, you going
to shut the door?"
Nanami had been distracted enough by Ukyo's condition that she
had forgotten to close the door behind her. She did so, and looked
at Kodachi with a look of total confusion in her eyes. It was
obvious she had no idea how to deal with a drunken martial artist.
"Are you branching out into drunken-style spatula-fu now,
Kuonji-san?" Kodachi asked.
"Heh. Funny. No, just trying to drown my sorrows. You know what
Kuno-san?"
"What?"
"They swim *real* well. I don't think there's enough sake in
this whole miserable campus to drown the bastards." Her face
suddenly turned bleak. "So what are you here for if you're not
going to drink with me?"
"Your teachers are concerned, Kuonji-san," Juri said
carefully. "You've been absent from classes for three days now.
We've been covering for you, telling them you're ill."
"Nice of you, Arisugawa-sempai. And it's not even lying.
I am sick. Sick of these duels, sick of this school, sick of
twisted creeps like Toga and two-faced bitches like Himemiya.
If I knew how to go home, I would." Ukyo knocked back another
shot of sake and refilled her cup.
Kodachi's eyes narrowed. "I think you've had enough to drink."
Ukyo glared back at her. "Who died and made you Empress?"
"Obviously nobody, or we wouldn't be having this conversation.
However, as a fellow martial artist and one of the few friends you
have left on this campus, I suggest you quit wallowing in drunken
self-pity and start working on the only thing that should be on
your mind right now."
"What makes you think you have any business telling me how
to run my life?"
"What makes you think you have any ability to do it yourself?
Look at you! You get dumped by your boyfriend, who you should never
have taken up with in the first place since he belongs to a rival
school, and then you get dumped by your girlfriend, who you knew was
going to ditch you if you lost anyway. You showed about as much
discipline as a two-year-old. It's a wonder that young snot
Tsuwabuki didn't beat you senseless. Now look at you - a drunken,
pathetic loser. You're right. I'm wasting my time even talking to
you. Nanami, let's go. Arisugawa-san, Tendo-san, my apologies for
dragging you into this. I thought we had a martial artist here,
but evidently I was mistaken." She started for the door, but
stopped halfway and turned to deliver a parting shot. "Just
imagine how proud Ranma-sama would be if he could see you now,"
she sneered.
"DAMN YOU!" Ukyo was up from the table in a flash, lunging
at Kodachi's scornfully-turned back, but the sleepless nights
and the sake had taken their toll. She stumbled, and Kodachi
spun quickly to meet her with an open-handed slap that knocked
Ukyo into a heap on the floor. Ukyo curled up into a tight ball
and began to cry.
Kodachi looked at the crying girl. "Nanami. Help me get
Kuonji-san into the showers."
"Yes, Mistress Kuno."
The two of them hoisted Ukyo to her feet and dragged her
to the shower. Kodachi turned the cold water on full blast,
nodded to Nanami, and then they heaved the still-sobbing girl
under the stream of icy water.
"AAAAAAA!" Ukyo screamed as she began to thrash and
struggle to get free. "YOU BITCHES! LET GO OF ME!"
Nanami and Kodachi moved to put Ukyo in a hammerlock and
held her under the shower until she stopped struggling. After
a few more minutes of this Ukyo said dully, "Okay, I promise
not to maim either one of you if you let go. Just bring me a
towel and some soap, will you?"
Kodachi nodded to Nanami, who was only too happy to let
go. Ukyo stood listlessly under the shower, moving only to
turn the hot water on and start stripping off the remains of
her uniform. Kodachi likewise removed her now-sodden clothes
and put her hair up. Presently Nanami returned with towels
and soap and likewise disrobed. The three washed up quietly,
until Kodachi offered to scrub Ukyo's back. "What?" Ukyo asked,
clearly surprised.
"I said, 'Would you like me to do your back?'"
"Um, sure. Thank you."
Eventually they all wound up in the furo, soaking in the
hot water. After a while Ukyo asked, "Kuno-san, why are you
doing this?"
"Hai...well, this is what friends do, ne?"
Ukyo gave a harsh, barking laugh. "I can't think of anyone
in Nerima that would have used that word to refer to us, Kuno-san."
"Ah, but we are no longer in Nerima, Kuonji-san. Whether
we like it or not, you and I and Tendo-san are considered to be
friends by our classmates here at Ohtori Academy. In fact, we do
get along fairly well, since the main reason we're at each
others' throats is Ranma Saotome - and he's not here."
"True...for that matter, you're a lot more stable than I've
ever seen you before. No paralysis powder in the roses or the food,
no ambushing your opponents - this just isn't like you. All right,
who are you and what have you done with the real Kodachi Kuno?"
Ukyo tried to look fierce for a moment, but the effort gave her
a splitting headache. "Ow..."
Kodachi giggled. "Oh, I'm better than I was, but I'm sure
a competent psychiatrist could still find enough bats in my
belfry, ne, Nanami-chan?" The blonde blushed and sank lower in
the water. "Seriously, though, getting out of Nerima and away
from Ranma, my family and all the familiar surroundings has
helped me immensely. Tendo-san and I had a long conversation
about this, as a matter of fact, even though it started out
as a discussion of your involvement with Himemiya-san."
"WHAT?"
"Relax, Kuonji-san. For someone her age, Tendo-san is
rather naive when it comes to matters of the bedroom, and
I believe I distracted her sufficiently in any case. We did
not discuss whatever it was you two may or may not have been
doing, at least not beyond the point at which Tendo-san
delivered a rather bigoted opinion on the subject. Honestly,
when she and Ranma get married, I hope someone has the
foresight to give them a pillow book, otherwise Tendo-sensei
may be cruelly disappointed in his wish for an heir."
Despite herself, Ukyo had to laugh. Given Akane's
distaste for boys in general, and Ranma's endearing naivete
when it came to girls, it was easy to imagine the two of them
fumbling around haplessly on their wedding night. "Something
to think about if we ever get out of here and back to Nerima."
She closed her eyes and let the heat soak her tension away.
This was as relaxed as she'd been in months, since the end
of the first duel and the beginning of her affair with the
Rose Bride. What a fiasco that was..."What kind of girl is
this Anthy Himemiya, Kiryu-san? Why is she so...flighty, so
submissive?"
***
Toga Kiryu relaxed in the bedroom of the Kiryu house.
Shiori was in the kitchen making snacks (he knew better than
to have Anthy fix anything more complicated than shaved ice,
and she was off visiting her brother anyway) and he felt at
peace with the world for the first time since this whole
business with Ukyo Kuonji had started.
The domestic tranquility was suddenly disturbed by a
loud crash, Shiori shouting at someone, then another crash.
This doesn't sound good, Toga thought, and rose from the bed.
He threw on a bathrobe and stepped out into the hallway just
in time to see a nearly-naked Shiori come flying out of the
kitchen hallway and hit the wall with an audible thud. She
slid to the floor, tried to get up, and slid back again.
"Apologies for the mess, Seitokacho-san," a familiar
voice said.
"Kuonji-san, what is the meaning of this?"
Ukyo stepped out of the kitchen hallway. "Kaoru-san said
you'd be home this evening, and when I expressed a desire to
speak with you personally, your slut here got in the way. There's
a bit of a mess in the living room, I'm afraid. Takatsuki-kun
forgot that I don't need a weapon to be dangerous."
"If you think this is how you can reclaim a place in my heart-"
Ukyo laughed bitterly. "I'd rather sleep with a rabid pack
of diseased weasels, thank you. No, I just came to deliver a
message." She stepped forward and before he could react slapped
him hard on both cheeks. "I'll see you on the dueling ground,
Seitokacho-san. Whenever you and your puppeteer are ready for me."
"You have no right-"
Ukyo held up a fist, with the Rose Signet prominently displayed.
"This says I do. The martial arts code of honor says I do. Scared of
a return engagement, Seitokacho-san?"
"All right. Friday night, one week from today."
Ukyo nodded. "End of the World had better improve his
string-pulling skills. You're going to need all the help you
can get." She turned on her heel and left.
***
"Kuonji-san?"
Ukyo stopped and turned as she was about to leave the dormitory.
Juri stood with her hands behind her back and a most peculiar
expression on her face. "What is it, Arisugawa-sempai?"
"Ano...some of us felt it inappropriate for you to challenge
the Seitokacho while wearing the girls' uniform."
"So? I'm not wearing the Duellist uniform again. Ever."
"I understand completely. We thought - well, I thought,
anyway...you might prefer to fight in your usual combat dress,
especially since you intend to demonstrate the full range of
your skills to Kiryu-san." Juri brought her hands from behind
her back and presented a package wrapped in plain paper to the
bemused chef-turned-duellist. "Also, I understand that it happens
to be your birthday, and we - Nanami and I - hoped you might
accept this poor excuse for a present." Unusually for her, Juri
kept her eyes fixed on the ground.
Ukyo took the package and carefully unwrapped it. Her eyes
widened as she finished. "Arisugawa-sempai...you shouldn't have!
This is marvelous!" Juri and Nanami had reproduced her chef's
costume in a beautiful shade of blue with white trim, and
included a pair of black tights as well. Ukyo looked more
closely at the trim along the front of the blouse. Someone had
painstakingly embroidered little spatulas into it, and each
spatula was entwined with a black rose. Ukyo smiled, and
embraced the surprised Juri in a strong hug. "Thank you so
much. I haven't had a birthday present in years, and certainly
not one I appreciated this much. I guess I better change now,
ne?" She strode off to her room, whistling "True Colors" as
she went.
When she emerged, she ws surprised to see that the other
girls were all waiting for her. Surprisingly, Juri and Nanami
were both wearing their Duellist uniforms, although the dominant
color was now black instead of their former white and yellow.
Kodachi and Akane likewise were dressed for battle, in their
leotard and gi respectively.
"Thank you for the show of support, but this is a duel,
not a rumble," she chided them.
"You can't be too careful with these people," Akane growled.
"Tendo-san is right," Kodachi agreed. "These Student Council
members are arrogant, spiteful and in some cases clearly deranged.
It would be best to be ready should some unpleasantness occur."
***
"I understand that Gosunkugi thinks he may have figured out
a way to get us to Ohtori," Tatewaki Kuno said to Ranma as they
sat eating lunch.
"Yes. We're supposed to meet and discuss their progress
tonight at the Nekohanten," Ranma answered as he dodged Keiko's
attempt to stuff a tuna roll into his mouth.
"You realize that this presents you with a problem, Saotome."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"How will my sister, Akane, and Ukyo react to the fact that
you have a new fiancee?"
"..."
***
I'm breathing (YEAH!)
I'm bleeding (YEAH!)
I'm screaming
Scum of the earth, come on!
Toga Kiryu noted the changes in his opponent since the last
duel. Then, Ukyo Kuonji had been a broken little girl, just
waiting for the coup de grace to put her out of her misery. Now,
the coldness in her eyes matched his own. There was nothing about
her that made you think of feminine weakness at all, and he began
to wonder if it hadn't been a mistake to break her before the
first duel. Bones became stronger at the break, after all, and
sometimes people did too. Well, it doesn't matter, he thought.
I'm still a good enough swordsman to defeat her - and now I have
the Sword of Dios.
Ukyo watched Toga dispassionately. She felt none of the fury
she'd felt in her first duel against Saionji, but she didn't feel
even the mild annoyance she'd felt while dueling Miki and the
others. She certainly didn't feel the sense of impending doom she'd
felt the last time she'd dueled Toga. Anthy came and pinned the rose
to her chest. Unusually, it was a black rose instead of her normal
red rose, but Ukyo wasted no time pondering the variation in the
color. It simply wasn't important. Neither was the presence of the
Student Council and her friends at the top of the stairs. Nothing
mattered but the duel.
She watched as Toga lay the Rose Bride back and drew the Sword
of Dios from her chest, paying no attention to the chant. Now, she
thought, he'll see how this cookie crumbles.
Toga saluted her, and asked her something, but whatever it was,
it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but the duel. She ignored him and
drew her battle spatula. Toga smiled and charged her.
Ukyo shifted the battle spatula to her left hand, drew three of
her mini-spatulas, and let fly. They flew straight and true, hitting
Toga's leading leg with the sickening *thunk* of cleavers hitting a
side of beef. Her opponent fell like a puppet whose strings had been
severed as the leg gave way, barely managing to avoid landing on his
face.
"She can't do that!" Shiori cried, and started to lunge forward.
Saionji caught her arm. "Don't," he said, jerking his head to
indicate the East Dormitory girls.
Shiori looked, and saw Juri's flat stare fixed on her. Juri's
hand rested lightly on the hilt of her sword, and Shiori knew exactly
what Juri was thinking. "Please," that look said, "give me an excuse
to draw this.". Angrily, Shiori jerked her arm out of Saionji's grasp
and crossed her arms.
Ukyo walked over to her wounded opponent, flicked the Sword
of Dios out of his reach with her battle spatula, and sat down
cross-legged next to Toga's head. She reached out to the white
rose on his jacket and began to peel the petals, one by one.
"You know," she said conversationally, "it would be immensely
gratifying to beat the stuffing out of you as I did Saionji.
More so, really, because I didn't realize at the time exactly
what the deal was with Himemiya-san, and I do now. Which is why
this duel is not going to end in the usual way. See, this duel
isn't really about the Rose Bride. You may think it is, but that
would be just one of a number of mistakes you've made, Toga-chan.
"I have absolutely no interest in the Rose Bride. So, when
I'm done with this rose, I'm going to stand up and walk away. As
far as I'm concerned, I've already won this duel. I have my honor
back. You and your pals can go ahead and revolutionize the world,
screw each other senseless, whatever you want to do, but you can
leave me and my friends out of it.
"I've had a lot of time to think about this, you see. I
thought about humiliating you the way you did me, but that would
require you to have some sense of shame - and I'm not sure you
have any. So I won't waste any effort cutting your uniform to
shreds, slicing up your face, or even shaving your head. It would
be a waste of my time. The same goes for breaking every last bone
in your body. As much as I despise you, it's just not worth the
time and effort." She regarded the stripped blossom for a moment,
then took her own black rose off and tossed it onto Toga's jacket
"Ja ne, Seitokaicho-san."
Ukyo stood up and began walking back to the staircase, where
her friends waited. Behind her, Anthy was calling out to her, but
Ukyo ignored her and kept walking. There was the sound of running
feet, and Ukyo felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Ukyo-sama..." Anthy began breathlessly.
"Don't call me that ever again," Ukyo interrupted harshly.
"I don't want anything more to do with you from now until the day
I leave this school. Do you understand, Himemiya-san?"
"But-"
"Do you understand?"
"No."
Ukyo turned and stared at the Rose Bride, who smiled in
confusion. "Let me make this perfectly clear. I do not want to
talk to you, see you, be around you, or hear from you from now
until I leave Ohtori Academy. My participation in the duels
ends now. If I or any of my friends see you in the East Dormitory,
we will throw you out. If I find any of your things in my room,
I will throw them out. Do you understand?"
"No."
"I guess it can't be helped, then." Ukyo started down the
stairs, and her friends filed down behind her. Anthy Himemiya
stood watching them, the smile on her face slowly changing into
a puzzled frown. Behind her, Saionji and Shiori helped Toga to
his feet. On the floor of the arena, Toga's cell phone lay where
it had fallen from his jacket. As it began to ring, Saionji kicked
it, and it spun out into the void, still ringing as it fell the
endless distance into the forest.
Unnoticed, the black and white roses fluttered to the floor
of the arena.
***
"So it looks like our best options are to either give Ryoga
here a true sense of direction for once or somehow find the path
between the worlds to wherever Ohtori actuallyis," Amy said after
reviewing the scrolls that Cologne had brought and the transcript
of Shampoo's interrogation of Happosai.
"Since even my powers added to yours would be insufficient
to reverse all of the spells and curses involved, yes," Cologne
replied.
"Kami-sama..." Hikaru inhaled sharply as he read the transcript.
"You pulled out his toenails?"
"Shampoo tell old pervert is last chance for whole truth and
nothing but truth, but he keep on lying. Have to make good on threat
then or lose face." Shampoo slurped her tea and regarded the magician
with bland equanimity. Gosunkugi shuddered.
"I think finding the path between the dimensions would be
easiest," Cologne said. "Assembling the materials would be much
less difficult than trying to counteract the curse of the Hibikis."
"I think you're right," Amy said. "What do you think, Hikaru?"
Gosunkugi put down the transcript with difficulty. "Yes. If we
can make our way to Ohtori we'll be at the nexus of all the magical
energies, and if we need to perform any spells it'll be easier to do
them there. Presuming, of course, that whoever cast the spell isn't
in a position to disturb us."
"I don't think that'll be a problem," Cologne said. "Shiro?
Come in here and tell our guests about your uncle."
***
"So, oto-san, what are we supposed to do about these
engagements?" Ranma asked the next morning at breakfast.
Soun Tendo looked at him. "What do you mean? You're
engaged to Keiko now. The engagement to Kuonji-san was never
valid, and as for Akane..." His eyes widened as he suddenly
considered the possibility that his daughter by blood might
actually object to the situation. He turned to Genma.
"Saotome-kun..."
Genma smiled. "I have no experience with daughters,
Tendo-kun. I'm sure you'll think of something appropriate
when the time comes. It's not as if she ever liked Ranma
all that much anyway, is it?"
Soun smiled back, his good humor restored. "You're right,
Saotome-kun. I doubt she'll have any problem at all."
Nabiki set down her chopsticks and stood up. "You two are
the biggest idiots I have ever met in my life." She turned on
her heel and left the dining room. After a few minutes, they
all heard the door to her room slam shut.
Kasumi looked around the table. Everyone was sitting and
staring after her younger sister except for Ranma and Keiko,
who were feeding each other pickled vegetables. "Oto-san, I
think you may be mistaken about Akane's attitude. I'll speak
with Nabiki."
Soun closed his gaping mouth and nodded. "Thank you,
Kasumi-chan."
***
The songs Ukyo is listening to at the beginning of the chapter are
"Outskirts" and "Too Long In The Wasteland" by James McMurtry; the
verse at the beginning of the last duel is from Rob Zombie's "Scum
of the Earth".
Comments and criticism welcome.