Here is my first re-write of THCOL, enjoy!
Hello all!
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Author's foreword:
I started "The High Cost of Loving" in September of 1996, shortly after
posting "The Second" and "Well, Well" to raac. The idea was to take a
few of the stories that I had written and combine them into a series.
The first story was "Money." The name was later changed to "The Money
Pit" since the title "Money" was already taken. Due to Real Life and
family business, I had to stop for a while. Now I have the time and
will complete THCOL. To that end, I have added a poem to the beginning
of each chapter/part. I will also be re-writing each chapter/part of
THCOL. The following story is the opening to THCOL and events in this
story will be referred to in later chapters. THCOL is set in the manga
universe of Ranma 1/2 and takes the place of vol. 36-38. The only
exception is the two stories in vol. 36 that are referred to in this
story. Please enjoy the stories, and remember, "There Can Be Only One."
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Each spring,
I would watch the birds
As they prepared their nests.
Year after year
I wondered if I would be able
To share in such as that.
A home to have.
A family to raise.
But most of all, Someone to love.
I had all but given up
On my hopes and dreams.
Until I met you.
You were kind and handsome.
With a smile,
You captured my heart.
I did not know
How to act or
Whom to tell.
So, I secretly
Wrote down
My love for you.
For such a love
Could not be allowed.
Such a love
Was not natural.
I had to keep
It a secret.
Even though in my heart
It felt so right.
With joy, I helped
To save you from danger.
With greater joy, I learned
That my love for you
Was not wrong.
At the same time,
You learned
Of my secret love.
You did not reject my love,
But showed your
Compassion for me.
Each day I work
Toward gaining your love.
To have a home
With you.
To raise a family
With you.
To share the beauty of love
With you.
"With You" by Suds-kun (Shaun Schillinger)
=======================================================================
Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction
"The High Cost of Loving"
"Chapter One - The Hero"
by Suds-kun (Shaun Schillinger)
Version 1: 10/10/96
Version 2: 1/14/97
Version 3: 3/14/98
Version 4: 3/27/98
=======================================================================
Ranma 1/2 characters are created by and copyright Rumiko Takahashi.
Published by Shogakukan Inc. and VIZ Comm.
Story copyright Shaun Schillinger.
Intended for the sole non-profit use of R.T. fans.
=======================================================================
Ukyou wiped the sweat from her forehead as she cleaned the griddle. It
was the last thing to do and she was almost done. She looked up and
watched Konatsu as he cleaned the tables and then returned to her
scraping. He sure was a hard worker, especially the time when she was
sick. He still needs to learn more about money management, though. The
memory made her smile and then grimace. The 500-yen hidden in the
okonomiyaki promotion was popular with the customers, but was
devastating financially. With a final grunt she finished her job. The
store was again making money and the customers really did like the cute
looking waitress.
"Are you feeling o.k. Ukyou-sama?"
Ukyou blinked her eyes and smiled, "Just thinking, Konatsu-chan. Are
you finished?"
"Hai! Everything is put away. I noticed you grimacing and was worried
if you had hurt yourself."
"Thanks, Konatsu-chan." Ukyou looked over the restaurant and smiled at
how clean and neat it looked. She put her scraper and other cleaning
tools under the grill. "You did a real good job cleaning, as always,
Konastu-chan. Do you want to take the night off?"
"What do you mean by, 'Night Off'?" Konatsu looked genuinely stumped.
Before Ukyou could respond, they both turned their attention to the
knocking at the door. Konatsu went to the door, looked out the window,
smiled and opened the door. In walked Ranma and Akane.
"Ran-chan! Akane! What are you doing here?" Ukyou quickly removed her
cleaning apron and put it away.
"Yo, Uc-chan! Are you closed up yet?" Ranma said, avoiding the
question.
"Hai, I was getting ready to clean up and relax." Ukyou turned to
Akane. "Well, since _he_ won't tell me, what about you, Akane. What
brings you two here this late?"
Akane elbowed Ranma and scowled at him.
"Ow! Okay! Uc-chan, Akane and I were going to a late showing of a
Jackie Chan film and were wondering if you and Konatsu would be
interested in going with us."
"Oh! I've seen him on television!" Konatsu clapped his hands as he
interrupted. "I've never been to a movie theater before! Ukyou-sama!
Let's go!"
Konatsu was almost jumping up and down with joy, his long hair slightly
bouncing. Ukyou looked at the cute face, then at Akane's and then
Ranma's.
"Well, it _has_ been a while since I went out." she replied. She
smiled as her mind began to wander. Besides, I'm not going to pass up
the chance to set beside Ranma in a dark Movie theater.
===
As the foursome stepped off the train, Akane looked at the newspapers
that were on sale and glanced at the headlines.
"Another gas attack? I hope they catch those sickos!"
Ranma noticed Akane's hands were clenched tight and beginning to shake.
"The police will catch them, Akane. I understand it's some crazy cult
that is trying to take over the world, or something like that. Just
like that Aum cult. Don't let it bother you so much." Ranma reached for
her hand, pried her fingers open and gave her hand a quick squeeze.
"Were here to have fun, Akane. I don't want you to be upset."
Ranma smiled at her and Akane returned a week smile at first and then
relaxed. "You're right, let's go!" She grabbed his arm and started up
the stairs to the street.
Ukyou looked on in shock. What's going on here? Those two were sure
acting strange.
As the foursome walked down the street, they commented on the different
shops that they passed. Konatsu pointed out some kimonos that he
thought looked cute.
"The one you've got on is beautiful itself." Ukyou looked at him and
noticed that he did have pretty good taste in clothing and make up.
She'd have to ask him where he gets that red lipstick.
Ranma made a comment about the kimonos and Akane, which earned him an
elbow in the gut. The two then stuck out their tongues at each other.
Akane stopped and pointed down the street.
"There's a coffee shop on the way. Let's stop in there and share a pot
of coffee. What do you think?"
Ranma rubbed his jaw and then nodded. "Sure, we've got plenty of time."
Konatsu grabbed Ukyou's hand and gave a slight tug. "Let's go, Ukyou-
sama!"
"Sure!" Ukyou laughed at Konatsu's actions. He was so excited and
happy, which was making her happy.
Akane grabbed Ranma's hand and mimicked Konatsu. "Let's go, Ranma!"
The four walked into the cafe and were quickly seated. Ukyou sat next
to Ranma, while Akane sat across from him. Konatsu sat across from
Ukyou.
While they waited, Ukyou looked around the cafe and saw a number of
young couples like her and Ranma. Unlike them, the other couples sat
facing each other as they talked and had their coffee. She liked their
seating arrangement better; she was able to sit next to her fiancee and
not across from him.
As they drank their coffee, Ranma and Akane talked about Ryouga's
latest date. Ukyou had never met this Akari girl, but from the way
Ranma and Akane described her, she really has it bad for Ryouga.
"After that, he ran around with the elephant statue still tied to his
back." Ranma was snickering as he described the date.
Akane continued. "Akari-chan was on top of the statue, calling 'Ryouga-
sama! Ryouga-sama!' Ryouga kept looking for her and eventually ran into
the lake. We let them stay with us as we set off some fireworks. Those
two are so shy around each other, I hope things work out for them."
Akane sighed and then looked at Ranma. "As long as you stop picking on
him."
"Hey! I tried to help them out! I tied Ryouga to that statue and then
got you and Akari. He just couldn't stay in one place or follow
instructions."
Akane stuck out her tongue and smiled. "I know, baka. I just like
teasing you."
As Ranma blushed Ukyou rolled her eyes, then looked at Konatsu. He had
a far off look on his face.
"What are you thinking, Konatsu-chan?"
The question startled Konatsu back to reality. "Ukyou-sama? Oh, I was
just thinking about how romantic that was for Ryouga-kun and Akari-
chan. It seems that they are meant for each other, but things just get
in their way. I'm sure everything will work out for them in the end."
"I hope your right." Akane offered. "Let's finish up, the movie will
start soon and we should leave now to get good seats."
In response Ranma picked up his cup and downed the contents in one
gulp. His face turned red and his eyes bulged out.
"Hot!"
Everyone laughed as Ranma stuck out his tongue and waved frantically to
cool off his mouth.
"Baka!" Akane said as she pulled him out of the cafe. Konatsu walked
behind Ukyou as they also left.
They didn't notice the waitress's comment of "What a nice couple" as
they passed.
===
"Hahahahahah" *gasp* "Hahahahah!"
Akane's laughter rang out through the Movie Theater, tears were
streaming down her face. A very serious Ranma poked Akane in the side.
"What's so funny? This scene is very serious! It's training!"
Ukyou sat between Konatsu and Ranma, with Akane on the other side of
Ranma. Both her and Konatsu smiled; it was quite obvious that Akane
thought Jackie Chan was doing a pretty good impression of Ranma.
The scene on the screen was that of Jackie Chan and an old man. They
were fighting over a piece of meat from their lunch. They each were
using their chopsticks to grab the piece and fend off the other.
===
Jackie was shoveling rice into his mouth, ala Ranma, when the old man
pointed at him. "Don't eat that rice, eat this." He pointed at the
plate of dried meat. Jackie grabbed a piece and as he picked it up, the
old man grabbed Jacki's chopsticks with his and slid them down,
dropping the meat back onto the plate. Jackie grabbed the piece and the
old man again slid it out of his grasp. This time he picked it up and
popped it into his mouth.
Jackie humphed and went back to his rice. As he continued to shovel, he
looked down at the plate of meat. He quickly grabbed another piece and
the old man slid it off the sticks and into an empty bowl. Jackie
picked up the meat and the old man slid it off the sticks and into his
hand. Jackie kicked his hand and sent the meat into the air and toward
his mouth. The old man snatched it out of Jackie's mouth. Jackie tried
to use his sticks to slide the meat of the old man's chopsticks, but
the old man let the meat slide down the sticks toward his hand and
pinched Jackie's nose with the other end of the sticks.
The action increased with Jackie constantly chomping at the piece of
meat and the old man faking him out or switching the meat with a stone.
Eventually the old man took pity on the starving Jackie and let him
have the piece of meat.
===
As the scenes changed and the movie continued on to a more quiet
moment, Ukyou looked around. Konatsu looked like he was really involved
in the movie. Ranma looked just as interested, but something about him
wasn't right. Ukyou narrowed her eyes to look at Ranma and Akane. His
arm was around Akane! What did that baka think he was doing?
Realization suddenly hit her between the eyes. Their stop at the cafe
and then the movie. This was a DATE! They asked Konatsu and her out on
a double date! Anger began to build up in her and Ukyou was ready to
punch Ranma, but she hesitated when she saw Akane. Her head was resting
against his arm and shoulder.
Ukyou slid down in her seat as her eyes started to become moist. What a
fool she was! They were trying to hitch her up with Konatsu, just like
they described about Ryouga and what's-her-name! Sure, Konatsu's cute
and treated her nice, but he wasn't Ranma!
She wiped the tears from her eyes and noticed Konatsu doing the same.
Panic rose in her heart as she wondered if he could read her thoughts.
She looked around and saw Akane wiping her eyes. She then looked at the
screen and saw Jackie in a passionate kiss. She audibly sighed in
relief. It was the movie.
Ukyou flinched a little as she heard Konatsu also sigh and then lay his
head against her shoulder. She looked at him and turned back to the
movie. "Oh, why not?" she thought, as a small smile crossed her face.
"This does feel pretty good, after all."
As the movie progressed, Ukyou absentmindedly put her arm on the back
of Konatsu's seat. She froze as she realized what she was doing. Again
she relaxed and enjoyed the moment. "This really does feel pretty
good." She thought.
===
The foursome entered the train station. Ranma and Akane were in an
animated discussion.
"I don't act like that!" Ranma shouted.
"Yes, you do!" Akane retorted. "You'd fight over food, just like they
did."
"Well, I _am_ going to try some of his moves with the chopsticks. Pop
won't have a chance!"
The four stopped dead in their tracks. The hair standing on the back of
their necks as time began to slow to a crawl. Ranma and Konatsu moved
toward Akane and Ukyou while the girls turned their backs toward the
boys and prepared themselves for something.
A rush of screaming people headed toward the exits as an ominous cloud
of gas emanated from a far corner of the station. Ukyou felt Konatsu
grab her hand and pull her to him, she noticed that Ranma had done the
same to Akane. The crowd of people was small and quickly made their way
to the exits.
Ukyou felt Konatsu let go of her hand, "Konatsu-chan!" she yelled as
she watched him dash toward a group of children. Ranma was immediately
beside him. Konatsu tossed a child into Ranma's arms, he then tossed
the child to Akane, and she to Ukyou. Ukyou handed the coughing child
to someone else who then ran out the exit. As each child was passed to
her, she could smell the gas getting stronger. Her eyes widened in
horror as she realized that Ranma and Konatsu were closer to the source
of the gas. She watched as Ranma grabbed Konatsu's arm after tossing
the last child to Akane. The two of them were looking pretty ragged and
stumbled toward the exits after her and Akane.
"My baby!" Shouted a hysterical woman. Ukyou looked in the direction
she was pointing. A little girl stood by herself, crying. Ukyou watched
in slow motion as Konatsu broke free from Ranma's grip and leapt to the
child. He quickly tossed the child to Ranma who in turn tossed her to
Akane.
Konatsu turned to look for more victims when a small explosion
occurred. He raised his hands to block the debris. When he lowered his
arms, Ukyou noticed a small canister at his feet. Before she could
raise a warning, the canister exploded and a cloud of gas caught him
full in the face.
"Konatsu-chan!" Ukyou screamed as Ranma jumped to Konatsu and picked
him up then jumped back. Akane grabbed both of them and dragged them to
the exit. Ukyou looked around and could see that they were the last
ones to leave.
Ukyou laid Konatsu's head in her lap as she stroked his hair. Tears
streamed down her cheeks. She could hear people screaming for help and
looked around. Her eyes came to Ranma and Akane. He was lying on his
side and coughing while Akane hovered over him, crying.
Ukyou looked down at Konatsu. His face was puffy and his breathing was
very shallow. She could barely recognize him because of the swelling.
He struggled as he raised his hand to her face and lightly touched her
chin.
"U...kyou...sa...ma...su...ki...da."
His hand fell back to his chest and Ukyou felt his body go limp.
"Nooooooooo!" she cried as she rocked back and forth with him in her
lap.
===
Epilogue:
Ukyou walked into the empty room. There was a dresser against one wall
and a low table in the middle. There was an empty place near the table
large enough for a futon. She kneeled at the table and looked at the
newspaper lying there. The newspaper was a week old. The headlines
read, "Gas Attack Kills Young Man." "He Went Back to Get My Baby!"
As Ukyou stood, a flash of color caught her eye. A bright blue bow had
fallen behind the dresser. She picked it up and looked it over. She
held it to her chest and then removed the white bow from her hair. She
tied the blue bow around her hair and closed the door as she left.
=======================================================================
A few notes:
I have a video montage of fight scenes from a bunch of Jackie Chan's
movies, "The Best of Jackie Chan." Two hours of non-stop fight scenes!
As you can tell from the story, one of the scenes made me immediately
think of Ranma and Genma. ^_-
The first gas attack in the Tokyo subway occured on March 19, 1995. It
was the action of Shoko Asahara and his cult AUM Shinrikyo (Supreme
Truth). Approximately 565 people were injured and five died. There
were other attacks over the next four months. A pipe bomb and
"mysterious fumes." Shoko Asahara used a 25 year old karate expert,
Yoshihiro Inoue, as an enforcer.
What do those words mean?
Ukyou-sama, suki da = Lady Ukyou, I love you
--
suds-kun (Shaun Schillinger)
suds1964@tir.com
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/8222/
"THIS time, we didn't forget the graaavy!" Cat & Mouse to Dog