TRIO C&C
(Gohan and Ranma are on the couch.)
Gohan: Let me guess, Usagi STILL doesn't want to do this story.
Ranma: Do you BLAME her?
Gohan: No. It's just that, I don't want to work with that Akuma guy
again.
Voice: Don't worry. I found someone else who'll be here for the rest
of this story.
Ran/Goh: Who?
Voice: Introducing... my character for a future Street Fighter game...
J. Bison. The son of M. Bison.
Ranma: Isn't that guy called Vega in Japan.
Voice: Yeah, so I guess his Japanese name would be J.Vega.
(J.Bison, a tall, muscular, but not quite as overly muscular as his
father, 17 year old, dressed in a black with silver trim version of
his fathers outfit, teleports into the room.)
Bison: The "J" stands for Junior.
Ranma:(Under his breath) Duh.
Gohan: Lets get started.
____________
Well here it is, the next two parts of this story. Your comments have
been greatly appreciate.
[Gohan: No problem.]
Mama's Hand
By
Douglas Helm
Edited/Co-Plotted
By
"Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl
Rated : R
Part V - Alone Again
"DON'T LEAVE, MOMMY!!!" Chibi-Usa cried early Monday morning. She
clung desperately to Usagi's leg, "I'm scared!" She howled and tried
to squeeze Usagi's leg tighter. <Mommy promised not to leave me.>
[Bison:(Raises an eyebrow) What's got the kid so worked up?
(The others fill him in.)
Bison:(Shaking with rage) WHAT?!?! After seeing the death of my
little sister at the hands of my fathers abuse, I am subjected to
watch it happen to ANOTHER?!!!
Ranma: We weren't too thrilled when we found out about this either ya
know.]
"But you promised," Chibi-Usa protest, "You promised you wouldn't
leave me!" Giving a sob of anguish, Chibi-Usa wrapped her arms around
Usagi and clung to her mother. "Let me go with you." Chibi-Usa tried
to compromise, "I'll be really good, I promise!!!"
"Gomen, I can't take you to school with me," Usagi said while hugging
the very upset little girl, "But my mom will be here and so will Luna.
"
"You're going away cause I was bad??" Chibi-Usa asked but it sound
more like a statement. <Even Mommy doesn't love me now... Why am I so
bad all the time?>
[Bison:(Psycho Power gathering around him) Never believe that child.
For the sake of your sanity, never believe that.]
"Usagi-chan, if you want to get to school on TIME, you'd better leave
now," Ikuko said gently.
<But I'm up early,> Usagi thought, <That's enough of a...> Then it
clicked in. Carrying Chibi-Usa out into the hall where a clock was,
Usagi said, "Chibi-Usa-chan, what does the clock say?"
Distracted for the moment from her worries that Usagi would be
leaving her, Chibi-Usa calmed slightly and looked around for the
clock. Sniffling, she said, "It says twenty to eight."
"That's very good. Boy, you're smart," Usagi said, "What if I promise
to be home at twenty to four?" She smiled slightly, "You can draw me
a nice picture and show it to me when I get home."
[Ranma: Well I'll be...
Gohan: She actually caught a hint.
Bison:(Raises an eyebrow) So I take it this girl isn't very smart?
(Both men slug J.Bison in the face.)
Bison:(Rubbing his nose) That was unnecesary.
Ranma: We're the only ones who can say stuff about her... got it!]
"Do I have to?" Chibi-Usa asked softly. <I'm scared.>
"Hai," Usagi said, kneeling to set the little girl down, "Now you be
good for my mom and when I get home you can show me the picture you
drew. You said you like to draw, ne?"
"Hai," Chibi-Usa said but still kept her grip on Usagi, her hopes of
keeping her mother with her were fading away. Hiccuping, she sniffled
and wiped a tear away. "I love you," she said softly, hoping that her
last resort would work.
"I love you too, Chibi-Usa-chan, but for ME to be GOOD, I have to go
to school," Usagi said. Then picking up Luna, she handed the Lunar
Cat to Chibi-Usa, "Now you and Luna have a good day. I promise I'll
be home at twenty to four."
Wrapping her arms around Luna, Chibi-Usa sniffled again and slowly
backed into a wall as Usagi unwrapped her comforting arms. Closing
her eyes, she felt her mother kiss her forehead before heading down
the hall and then the door opened and, after a brief pause, closed.
<Mommy, please come back to me!> she thought, a new set of tears
streaking her face.
[(J.Bison breaks down in tears and the ghost of his sister appears
standing
over him and hugs him softly. {BTW, this is one of his win poses.})]
<Mommy said she be back at twenty to four,> Chibi-Usa glanced up
towards the clock, <That's a long time away.> "I don't know..." she
said reluctantly. <What's school anyway?!?> Giving another sniffle,
she looked towards the door that her mother had left by. <Mommy,
please come back.>
[Gohan:(Going SSJ) "What's... SCHOOL"?!?!?!!! If I EVER get my hands
on that... that... BASTARD, I'll...
Ranma:(Growling) You'll wait your turn, just like everyone else.
Bison:(Glowing with Psycho Power) You'd better hope you get to go
before me, or there will be nothing left for you.]
"Usagi-chan?" came the voice of Makoto, "Are you okay?"
[Ranma:(Incredulously) OKAY?! How can ANYONE be okay after having to
deal with what she has had to?
Gohan:(Calming and powering down) She doesn't know yet.]
Usagi turned and looked towards her friend, "Hi Mako-chan, what's up?
"
Makoto sat down beside Usagi and gave her friend a worried look.
"What's up? Usagi isn't eating her lunch, that's what's up."
[Gohan: That's a SERIOUS cause for worry.
Bison:(Curious) Why?
Ranma:(Threareningly) You want another knuckle sandwich?
Bison:(Holds up his hands) Just asking.]
"Well..." Usagi began but trailed off. <How much should I tell them?
That monster might hear something. I can't risk that by blabbing, but
these are my friends.> Usagi struggled for a moment before making a
decision, "I can't come to the Senshi meeting today but Luna will
tell you why."
"Usagi, you can trust us," Makoto said, "What's the matter? Is it
Mamoru?"
"No," Usagi said shaking her head, "It's just... here's a little too
public a place." Makoto and Ami exchanged worried looks. "Gomen, I do
trust you but something might slip out and for the moment, I'm not
sure what to do."
"Okay Usagi-chan, if you say so," Ami said, "I saw you talking to
Haruna-sensei this morning before school started. She seemed rather
perturbed.
"Well I didn't do my homework. I didn't have a really good excuse but
I can't afford to get detention... at least NOT today," Usagi said,
"I said that I'd try and get what I could done for tomorrow along
with today's homework."
Makoto whistled, "Wow, whatever the heck happened between the time we
last saw you and today sure must have been something." Usagi just
gave a weak smile but didn't fall for Makoto's ruse. <What is she
hiding?!> Makoto thought, <Usagi, are you in trouble?!?>
[Gohan: It won't be her that's in trouble when they find out the
truth.
Ranma: I know, with all the people who have been reading this who are
out for Endymions blood, I'm almost starting to feel sorry for him.
(Pause.)
All: ALMOST.]
The thought of Usagi's cat brought a curiosity to mind. <I've never
seen a cat that followed a person around so much. I know that it's
content to ride on Usagi's shoulder but I didn't think it would watch
Chibi-Usa for most of the morning.> Glancing over, she saw Chibi-Usa
was chewing contentedly away on her lunch but was keeping a very
careful watch on Ikuko. Any unexpected noise made the little girl
jump. Getting through the morning had been rough and Ikuko didn't
have any illusions about the afternoon either.
"You were a good helper, Chibi-Usa-chan," Ikuko said, setting her tea
cup down, "I bet Usagi will be really proud of you."
"What about Daddy?" Chibi-Usa questioned.
<I wonder...> "Hai, I think your father would be proud of you as well,
" Ikuko said carefully. Her suspicions grew as she noted that some of
the tension flowed out of the little girl, "Do you help Mommy clean
the house?"
"No, but we pretend that I do," Chibi-Usa said, "This is good, Obaa-
san, arigato." She smiled at Ikuko. <Sobo said I was a good helper
and she thinks that Daddy will be proud of me!> "Luna-chan!" Chibi-
Usa called, "Do you want something to eat?"
[Bison: Sobo?
Gohan: Another varient of Grandmother... I think.]
"I already fed Luna, Chibi-Usa-chan," Ikuko said, "But maybe you
could get her some milk."
"'Kay," Chibi-Usa agreed and hopped off of her chair, <I miss Mommy.
I hope she comes back soon.> Chibi-Usa thought and through a glance
towards the clock which read, "12:30".
******
As Usagi came up the walkway to her house, the front door was flung
open and Chibi-Usa came running out. "Mommy!!!" she cried happily and
running to her mother wrapped her arms around one of Usagi's legs, "I
missed you so much!" Chibi-Usa cried.
Usagi put her bookbag down and, reaching down, lifted the little girl
into a hug, "Shhh..." Usagi comforted while stroking the girl's hair,
"I promised I would come back." She felt little arms wrap around her
neck in a hug, "I didn't lie to you. I'm home now."
"Mommy, please don't leave me," Chibi-Usa whispered out, "It was
scary." She snuggled against Usagi and shivered. <Sobo was nice but I
like having you around, Mommy. We do things together and I like that.
Picking up her bookbag, Usagi walked into the house and closed the
door. Once inside, she wrestled getting her shoes off with one hand
and toppled to the floor in the process. Both girls gave a yelp of
surprise and then Chibi-Usa took on a expression of horror as Usagi
rolled and hit the floor, banging her head in the process.
[(All wince.)
Bison: That had to hurt.
Ranma: I don't know, I've seen her take worse spills and then just
shake it off with a...]
"Ow!!!" Usagi whined while rubbing her head.
[Ranma: See?]
Usagi sat up, and reaching out an arm, took Chibi-Usa's hand, "You
didn't hurt me, Chibi-Usa-chan. I just tripped," Usagi reassured the
little girl, "I think a hug would make it better though." Chibi-Usa
was quick to oblige and gave Usagi a quick hug, "Were you good for my
mom?"
"Hai," Chibi-Usa said and nodded rapidly, "I helped her."
"Did you really?" Usagi said while standing and smiling at the pride
that was showing through in Chibi-Usa's voice, "I bet you were a good
helper."
"She was a very good helper," Ikuko said from the kitchen doorway,
"She is a very well behaved little girl." <Too well behaved. That
monster's got her trained not to be a normal kid!>
[Bison:(Grumbling darkly as he wraps his cape around him) Join the
club.]
"I'm very proud of you," Usagi said while picking Chibi-Usa back up,
<I'm happy to see you smiling.> "You know you should smile more often,
you look very kawaii when you do."
"Arigato Mommy," Chibi-Usa said and blushed at the compliment. "Here
I drew this for you," Chibi-Usa said after taking a neatly folded
piece of paper out of her pocket.
"This is a very pretty picture. You draw bunnies really well," Usagi
said, "It's very nice, arigato. Want to help me with my homework?"
Usagi asked. <I have a ton of it to do too.>
Chibi-Usa wrinkled her forehead and said, "Mommy, what's homework?!?"
Both Usagi and Ikuko stared at her in some disbelief. "Nani?" she
asked starting to worry again. <Did I say something wrong?!?>
[Bison:(Glowing again) I... will... KILL... him.]
The Sailor Senshi minus Usagi were gathered in Rei's room at the
Hikawa Shrine. Rei had been rather upset that Usagi was skipping a
meeting and didn't have the nerve to give her usual lame excuses.
"Rei," Luna admonished when the fiery Shrine Maiden was calmed down
sufficiently to listen, "Believe it or not, Usagi has more important
things to do today."
"Oh yeah? Like what?!?" Rei demanded.
[Ranma:(Sarcasticaly) Well gee, don't be too concerned.
Bison: THIS is one of her FRIENDS???]
"Just be quiet and I'll tell you!" Luna commanded. Rei took on a
stunned expression before grumpily sitting down at the table, "That's
better.
[All: ^_^]
"Last Saturday Usagi found a little girl. She had been physically
abused severely. If her story is to be believed, she Usagi's daughter
and she came from the future."
[Gohan: You may want to put a coma after "Last Saturday".
Bison: Ranma...
Ranma: Yeah.
Bison: You are in a relationship with Usagi... correct?
Ranma: Yeah...
Bison: And the author of your story has mentioned there may be a side
story with... you know.
Ranma: Yeah...
Bison: And this girl is Usagi's daughter from the future...
Ranma: Yeah...
Bison: So... does that mean you're Endymion?
Ranma:(Furious) NO! THAT'S SOMEONE ELSE FROM A DIFFERENT REALITY AND,
FOR YOUR INFORMATION, IF I EVER HAD A DAUGHTER I WOULD *NEVER*
*EVER* DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO HER! GOT IT?!!
Bison:(Intimidated and in a small voice) Just asking.]
"So what does that have to do with Odango Atama missing this meeting?
" Rei demanded.
[Ranma: I've said it before and I'll say it again. (Sarcasticaly)
Well gee, don't be too concerned.]
"Chibi-Usa is very attached to Usagi and is also deathly afraid of
anybody or anything that is strange or new. She's very timid," Luna
explained, "Usagi nearly didn't make it out of the house this morning.
She only managed to get to school ahead of time by promising to be
home at twenty to four. It would have been difficult to come here,
likely because Chibi-Usa would want to come and she's not ready for
that type of exposure yet."
"I have a few questions, Luna," Ami said.
"Go ahead and ask. I'll try and answer the best that I can but I
caution you all, DO NOT mention this publicly, at least for the
moment. Chibi-Usa is in Tokyo and she isn't saying how. Her abuser
might be looking for her."
******
"My Queen, I must leave for now," Pluto said.
Serenity, whose vision was slowly returning, looked towards Pluto's
voice. "You have not answered my question. Where am I?" <Endymion has
not been able to find me so far. I have a feeling he will find me
soon though.>
"You are with allies that I have found," Pluto stated, "They are
loyal to you and only you." Pluto's tone indicated that they had
better stay that way as well.
[Gohan: Hey, just bring her here, we'd protect her from that scum.
Ranma:(Darkly) Yeah, Pluto should be familiar with using us.
Bison: This is something I'm better off not knowing, isn't it?]
Before Serenity could protest Pluto's almost suicidal actions, the
Sailor Senshi of Time was gone. <Pluto, my little girl needs you more
than I do. May Kami-sama guide your hand in defeating him. I never
had the strength too.>
[Gohan: To, not too.]
Once again she was alone, but not alone in the struggle and for that,
Serenity was thankful.
[All: As are we.]
Part VI - Introductions
[Ranma: What the... another chapter?
Gohan: Looks like it.
Bison: Can our sanity survive another so soon?
Gohan: We'll find out.]
That morning hadn't been as rough as Monday morning but she still
missed her mother and didn't understand why Usagi couldn't stay with
her like before. As she turned back to the window Chibi-Usa thought
that she had seen a figure coming to the house but it was only a
woman walking along the sidewalk.
A minute passed and still Usagi didn't come. <Mommy promised that
she'd be here,> Chibi-Usa thought as she strained to see past the
wall, <Maybe she got lost...> That thought only served to heighten
her sense of worry. As another minute slipped by Chibi-Usa started to
feel a desperation. <Maybe... maybe Daddy found her,> Chibi-Usa
thought. The last image of her mother being flung across the room
rushing towards her. Squeezing her eyes shut to try and block the
image, Chibi-Usa whimpered slightly.
[Gohan: Maybe you should change that to, "Chibi-Usa thought, as the
last image of her mother being flung across the room, rushing towards
her passed across her mind.]
<I hope not!> Ikuko thought. "Honey, I'm sure that Usagi will be here
soon." Just then the sound of the door took both by surprise. Chibi-
Usa jumped and moved away to avoid the door. Her face changed from
one of relief to one of disappointment when she saw that it was only
Shingo.
After Shingo had taken off upstairs Chibi-Usa turned back to her
vigil but as another minutes and then two passed, her sense of worry
and the need to see her mother grew. <I gotta find Mommy! Maybe
Daddy's mad at hear 'cause I'm hiding. If I go find her, then he
won't be mad at her,> Chibi-Usa thought. Quietly she put her shoes on
and started to open the door.
[Gohan: Her not "hear".]
Jumping, Chibi-Usa turned around and said, "Obaa-san, Mommy isn't
here. I gotta find her!"
"Why don't you come help me. I'm sure Usagi will be here soon. She
probably got detention."
"What's de... de-ten-tion?!?" Chibi-Usa questioned.
[All: Grrrrrrr!]
"Honey, just close the door. Usagi will be back," Ikuko said again.
Reluctantly, Chibi-Usa shut the door. Turning, she gazed out the
window again and gave a sniffle. <MOMMY!!! Please come back! I'll try
really hard to be good!!!> And as another minute slipped by, the
little girl's eyes started to fill with tears.
[Gohan: Why do I sense that this is building to a clasic...]
******
"I'M SO LATE!!!!" Usagi wailed as she raced down the sidewalk
towards
[Gohan:(Sighs) Thought so.]
Her concern started to grow even more when she approached the front
door of her house and heard screaming. Bolting inside, Usagi was
nearly knocked over by the yelling. Most of it coming from Chibi-Usa.
Running into the living room Usagi found a very strange sight. Ikuko
was sitting on the couch with both arms firmly wrapped around Chibi-
Usa. Kenji was standing off to one side and was trying vainly to talk
with Chibi-Usa.
Chibi-Usa was putting up quite a struggle, trying to free herself.
She twisted and squirmed trying to get free of Ikuko's grip. Her
voice was hoarse from crying and she was howling at the top of her
lungs for her mother.
"MOMMY!!!!!!" Chibi-Usa howled and put a surprise extra effort to get
to her mother who had finally come home. Ikuko seeing that Usagi was
home let go of Chibi-Usa who shot, almost literally, across the room
and into Usagi's arms. Clamping on tightly, she hid her face and
cried a new set of tears. Her death grip broke no comprise; she was
not going to let go anytime soon.
[Bison:(Barely able to surpress his rage) That poor child... do not
worry little one. I have sworn that things like this would not
happen again if I could help and I MEAN it.]
"I got detention because my homework wasn't finished," Usagi said
sheepishly, "I told Haruna-sensei yesterday that I'd try my best to
finish all the homework from Friday and Monday." <I never even
finished Friday's.>
"You knew that Chibi-Usa was going to be looking for you," Ikuko said,
"Usagi, I know you want to help her but being this irresponsible
isn't doing her any good."
"I know. I'll try harder," Usagi promised.
"You're quite right, Usagi," Kenji said sternly, "Starting right now,
you won't be going anywhere until your homework is finished. You also
won't be getting any allowance if it's not done."
"And to make sure you do your homework, I'll be watching you," Ikuko
said, "That means you'll also be doing some of the chores I have to
skip over."
"But Mom..." Usagi started to protest.
"NO!" Ikuko said getting up and coming to stand in front of Usagi,
"You
re fourteen. You also decided that you'd try to help this little
girl. This is real life and it's time you started living in the real
world; You can't just `help' when it suits you." Ikuko matched
Usagi's gaze until Usagi looked towards the floor, "Do you understand?
"
[(All wince.)
Ranma: Yow! That's pretty harsh.
Gohan: Yeah. I hate to admit it though, it's probably necesary.
Bison: True, but I think the "help when it suits you" line was a
little too much. She's IS trying.]
The rest of the week past only slightly smoother. Wednesday morning
was even more of a struggle for Usagi to get to school. Chibi-Usa was
unwilling to believe that Usagi would be home when she said she would.
It broke Usagi's heart to the leave the little girl so miserable but
there was very little she could do.
The weekend brought relief for both Usagi and Chibi-Usa. Usagi wasn't
going anywhere and Chibi-Usa was quite happy about that. So Saturday
found Chibi-Usa sitting with Usagi watching the television and
enjoying the anime that was playing. Even though Ikuko had gotten her
a set of bunny pajamas to wear, Chibi-Usa seemed to have grown quite
attached to Usagi's pajama top and used that to sleep in.
Ikuko was just looking in on the girl at about ten that morning when
a knock came at the door. Going to answer it, she found Haruna Koume
along with the original police officers.
[All: Uh oh.
Bison: This can NOT be good news.]
"No, arigato, Tsukino-san," one of the officers said, "Tsukino-san,
we had the police department in Okinawa checked in on that address
that you gave us. After doing an investigation we've found that the
little girl is not your cousin's daughter." Ikuko furrowed her brow,
"We were wondering if you could have been thinking of someone else?"
[All: UH oh.
Gohan: This is going to take some SERIOUS explaining.]
"Hai, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. You might want to check
with my husband. He might remember someone," Ikuko offered, getting a
piece of paper she wrote down the phone number and address of where
Kenji worked before handing the paper to the officer.
"Arigato, we'll do that. Your cousin did give us a lead though.
Unfortunately the family moved to North America. She's unsure where
and we're having trouble tracking them down. Well we should go but
we'll let you know if anything turns up."
"Good-bye," Ikuko said and showed the two police officers out of the
door. Turning Ikuko said, "Haruna-san, would you like some tea?"
<SNIP>
******
Chibi-Usa sat in one of the examining rooms at the doctor's office
along with Usagi and Ikuko that Saturday afternoon waiting for the
doctor to come in. She was wearing one of those drafty medical
garments and was longing to wear the yellow sundress that her
grandmother had bought her. She had fallen in love with it as soon as
she had laid her eyes on the dress.
Jumping slightly as the door opened, Chibi-Usa stared wide-eyed at
the female doctor that entered the office. "Well hello there, and how
are you today?" she asked Chibi-Usa.
"Konnichiwa Sensei," Chibi-Usa replied formally. <I'm cold!> To
emphasize the thought, she shivered.
[Ranma: Tell me about it, those things must lower the temperature of
the room by 50 friggin' degrees.
Gohan:(Nods and then turns to Bison) It's something that happened in
a part of our chapter two that our author decided not to show.]
Chibi-Usa looked nervously at Usagi who got up and walked over to the
table. "Come on let's get this over with and then we can go get ice
cream," Usagi said. <Hmmm... ice cream. Oh! I haven't had that in
such a long time!> Taking Chibi-Usa's hand, she reassured the little
girl and helped her lay on her stomach.
The doctor carefully started the examination and as she worked she
kept up questioning Chibi-Usa about what she had been doing lately.
Occasionally, she would scribble something down on the chart that was
beside her and then continue to poke and probe.
After about five minutes the doctor said, "Okay Chibi-Usa-chan, I
just need you to lay on your side." Waiting until the little girl was
on her side the doctor said, "Okay now I want you to listen to me
very carefully." <Well here goes nothing.>
[(All wince.)
Bison: I HATE those types of examinations.]
******
As Chibi-Usa was getting dressed the doctor pulled Ikuko out into the
hallway to have a talk, "Well I see what you mean. I say that her
inability to have a bowel movement is due to stress. We'll try the
natural approach first, feed her bran or something along those lines.
Other than that she seems to be improving. The welts are nearly gone
but I'll give you another prescription for some more cream. The
bruising is fading and she's starting to gain some weight. Most of
the visible physical damage should be gone within another week or so.
The x-rays came back fine, well as fine as could be expected under
the circumstances." Both adults turned as the examining room door
opened, "Oh now that's a pretty dress."
[Bison:(Growling and glowing with Psycho Power) Inability to have a
bowel movement... welts... BRUISES... "under the CIRCUMSTANCES"!!!
THAT'S IT!!!
[J.Bison teleports.])
"Arigato," Chibi-Usa said, "Mommy, can we get some ice cream?"
"Hai, let's go," Usagi said, "I think we have some at home." <I hope.
Shaking her head, Ikuko thanked the doctor before leaving. <Oh Usagi,
you ate it all. I'll have to stop and buy some more. Better make it
double if Chibi-Usa is as big an eater as you are,> Ikuko thought and
gave a little giggle.
[(Both men try to picture Chibi-Usa eating with the same intensity as
Usagi.)
Both: ....
Ranma: You know... it's not like you've got much room to talk you
know.
Gohan: Same to you.]
Calling to his four traveling companions, he said, "It is time. To
plan for the capturing of Endymion's little Rabbit. But first, let's
have fun." From the darkness four sets of eyes glinted evilly,
hungrily waiting for the hunt to begin.
[Both:{Snarl, growl, threats of maiming, disintigration, and sending
them to some place that ISN'T another dimention.}]
End of Part VI
___________________
Bison:(Somewhere else) PSYCHO PILLAR!!!
(A gigant cone of Psycho Power raises into the sky and a, quickly
becoming familiar, cry of intense pain is heard. J.Bison teleports
back in.)
Ranma: Feel better?
Bison:(Smirking) You'd better believe it buster.
Gohan: And we'll be back.