One new scene from Spreading Wings for those still following the story.
C&C more than welcome and thanks to all who have written me. Your help
has been invaluable.
Several folks have been kind enough to offer their help in fixing my
formatting problems. Thank you one and all. I will be in touch with you
sometime today or tomorrow.
This will be scenes 28 through 30 of Spreading Wings for those still
interested in reading the story. I have tried very hard to correct the
formatting problems this time. If there is a problem with the
formatting, please make your advisements specific. I cannot fix a
problem that is not defined. I am here experimenting with a method of
typing which should allow my e-mail client and wordprocessor to produce
legible, ASCII copy.
Thanks to the kindly efforts of two FFML participants, I will be able to
install .zip files on the website for download and will have them up
sometime this week. I will also be constructing a credits and
acknowledgements page for those of you who went to the trouble of
sending me first rate and useful C&C. You have done first rate work and
deserve full acknowledgement of same.
A revised version of Scene 27, in html, will be on the web site some
time today.
Regards,
Don Granberry.
Most of the characters in this piece and the setting for it, were
conceived of by Rumiko Takahashi for her Ranma1/2 series of Manga. All
such characters and the setting are the property of Takahashi-san and
her licensees. All other characters in the piece are purely fictional
and any resemblences to actual persons living or dead are purely
coincidental.
Spreading Wings
Part I: The Burning Ring of Fire
Scenes 28 through 30
Daybreak in Nerima the following morning was glorious, but cold. Still
waters had a film of ice on them that morning, reflecting the sun like
panes of rippled glass. Ukyo looked out the window and seeing that there
wasn�t much wind, knew that the shoppers would be out in force by noon.
She rushed through her morning bath, then tore downstairs. A groggy
Konatsu was placing the last dish on the rack.
"We seem to have more dishes this morning than we did last night,
Ukyo-sama."
"How are we on everything else?"
"We are out of everything except dish soap, and there is very
little of that left."
"I�d better get on the phone and..."
There was the sound of a truck pulling up outside.
"Delivery!"
"Did you order supplies, Konatsu?"
The ninja shook his head.
It turned out that the deliveryman had been at her restaurant the
night before and knew that she would be short on everything. While he
helped her load the pantry another truck pulled up with fresh linens.
Then Mu Suu and Xian Pu showed up. By ten that morning the place was
shipshape and ready for business.
"I don�t know how I�ll ever pay you back for this, Xian Pu." Ukyo
said.
"No need,� Ukyo and Xian Pu friends now."
"Xian Pu..."
"We no have reason to fight anymore."
Ukyo�s blood ran cold when she remembered the note. She did not
go to get it. Ranma had sent a note rather than coming to celebrate with
her. She did not need to know anything of what it said. Little did he
know that he was sending the same message to Xian Pu. He still owed them
both great debts of honor, but both girls knew that his heart was now
out of their reach.
"How about some tea before the crowd starts showing up?" Ukyo
asked, forcing her voice to be cheerful.
"Sound good!" Xian Pu said.
Konatsu spent the last of his energy trying to make tea, but
fainted.
"I�ll take care of him," Mu Suu said as picked the little ninja
up, "He�s just tired."
The girls nodded as Mu Suu trooped up the stairs with the little
man draped over his shoulder.
Today will be another long, profitable day Ukyo thought. She
finished making the tea, doing her best to take comfort from Xian Pu�s
company and the fact that all her hard work over the years was now
paying off. She would stay numb for as long as she could. She had to.
The people of Nerima now had expectations of her. It would be extremely
bad form for her to all short now.
---------
Ranma Saotome looked at the three older men lying on the floor in
the main room and instantly realized there was no point in trying to
wake his father for their sunrise drill. He opened the outer shoji of
the engawa just enough to let himself out into the yard and forgot to
shut it again. The sky was a glorious, cerulian blue as a golden sun
rose majestically in the east. There wasn�t a trace of cloud in the sky
and the wind had calmed. The edges of the koi pond were frilled with
lacy ice, gleaming like gold in the slanting rays of the early sun.
Ranma leapt to the tallest rock in the garden and began an easy
kata. The rock was cold and jacketed with the white fur of a heavy
frost. He took joy in feeling the hard, rough surface of the stone
beneath his bare feet and even more joy in the fact that the cold did
not bother him. It was going to be a beautiful day.
Inside, Akane smiled at the three, nearly comatose men. She
wondered how long it would be before Ranma overindulged in this way. A
long time she thought. He hated not being in control of his body--most
of the time anyway. With a huge smile she decided to help Kasumi out by
doing the dishes. Once busy in the kitchen she was humming softly to
herself without realizing what she was doing.
The fresh, cold air coming into the room woke Westerlake and he
sat up with a lurch.
"If someone will show me where the fantail is, I�ll throw myself
over the side." He rasped in English.
Ranma heard him and came into the house.
"Are you all right, Biru-san?"
"Ungh," Westerlake responded weakly.
Ranma dropped down on his hauches and grinned at his overhung
student.
"I really should be going home," Westerlake said as he desperately
tried to focus his eyes on Ranma�s face.
"Need help?" Ranma asked.
Westerlake nodded.
"Akane?"
"Yes?"
"I�m going to walk Biru-san home. Okay?"
"Okay," Akane said in the voice of a little girl preoccupied with
a new doll.
It did not really take that long for them to reach the street,
but Westerlake looked as though they had just completed a marathon.
"I think Nabiki tried to kill me last night, Sensei." Westerlake
said as he leaned against the gate post panting.
"Don�t worry." Ranma said, "That�s pretty good sign she likes
you."
"Huh?"
"Her sister Akane and I have been in love for years. She tries to
kill me two or three times a day. It�s a good sign."
"Are all Japanese women like that?"
"All the ones I know are." Ranma said scratching his head, "Some
hide it better than others though."
"God! My head hurts."
"The vengeance of Nabiki is slow but sure, Biru-san. Just be
thankful she wasn�t thoroughly pissed at you."
They were headed west and Ranma was walking behind Westerlake
when he said this last. Westerlake turned say something but choked with
pain as the sunlight burned into his eyes. Thanks to the younger man�s
quick reflexes, Westerlake did not quite make it to the cold concrete.
"Now I know why vampires crawl into a box just before dawn,"
Westerlake said with a sick gurgle.
Ranma grinned.
"I hope you don�t mind my saying so Sensei, but you are
disgustingly chipper this morning."
"I love self-inflicted misery," Ranma said gleefully, "It�s fun
to watch."
Westerlake hawked and spat.
"One of these days I�ll remind you of this morning," he said with
an evil grin of his own. "You�ll hate it."
Ranma threw his head back and laughed. It felt good. He had never
done it before. Westerlake gave him a wan smile and staggered on down
the street with Ranma�s help. They did finally reach Westerlake�s house.
Ranma stayed long enough to see him safely into a furo of hot water.
"You aren�t going to lay in this thing drown are you, Biru-san?"
"Not so loud, please." Westerlake said as he covered his ears,
"The echo in here is atrocious."
Ranma placed a glass of water on the edge of the tub and dropped
two tablets in it. The water began to fizz.
"See ya Tuesday, Biru-san."
"Sensei, please just go away and let me die in peace."
Ranma took his time going back to the Tendo's. No one would be up
for a while and the morning was quiet and beautiful. He was in no rush
to be back indoors. Upon arriving he was surprised to find everyone
sitting around the table eating breakfast. Fortunately, his father was
sufficiently hung over that there was a substantial amount of food still
available.
"Good morning, Ranma!" Kasumi said cheerily, "Hungry?"
"You bet!"
As usual, the food was excellent. Ranma went at it with a will.
The rice was sticky with just the right amount of moisture. The eggs had
been cooked over medium and not a single one suffered from a broken
yolk. Once he was partially sated he noticed two things. The misu tasted
different but exceptionally good, and Akane was wearing a dress that
made her look as though she had been born married.
"Man, Kasumi!" He said enthusiastically, "This soup is the best I
ever tasted."
"Thank you, Ranma!" Akane said, beaming as brightly as the
morning sun.
Soun and Genma started, then silently vanished. Ranma was pretty
sure they ran outside but they moved too fast for him to be certain.
Nabiki froze in place with her eyes locked upon Kasumi. Kasumi nodded
vigorously with a proud smile on her face.
"And the kitchen is already cleaned up!" Kasumi chirped happily.
Ranma forced himself to stay calm and fixed his eyes upon the
happily glowing Akane.
"I really like the dress too, Akane." He said, then calmly sipped
at his tea. "Don�t we have a newspaper around here somewhere?"
Nabiki fainted.
---------
Yoshida had been happy when his daughter married. The man was not
rich by any means but a hard work chef that ran a first rate noodle shop
in a prime location near the train station. Things had gone quite well
for them until just recently. He sipped his tea and watched his two
grandchildren wolf down rice as though they had not eaten in a month.
Now days he made sure to pick them up every weekend. He was afraid that
if he did not keep them for a couple of days each week, they would not
get enough to eat. The yakuza were taking such a large cut from his
son-in-law�s shop that his family ran short on groceries each week.
Yoshida worked eighteen hour days trying to track down the extortionists
but they were crafty and ruthless. Most shop owners had families. This
made finding witnesses, difficult. Even his own son-in-law was leery of
being a witness.
The telephone rang. He walked into the hallway and glanced up at
the picture of his late wife before he picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Yoshida-san?" It was the young coroner.
"Yes."
"I have another one."
"Oh? Cause of death?"
"Hypothermia."
"Hypothermia?"
"Yes. Although, this fellow had such a horrible crick in his neck
I suspect he must have annoyed a first-rate chiropractor shortly before
falling into the water."
Yoshida threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Obviously
there are some people in this world you should not annoy, even if you
were a yakuza.
"What will you list as the cause of death?"
"Accidental exposure."
"Thank you for keeping me informed."
"Not at all, Yoshida-san."
"Good bye."
"Good bye, Yoshida-san."
Nerima: 2 Yakuza: 0, Yoshida thought with a chuckle. It is going
to be a beautiful day. He decided to take his grandchildren to the park.
Maybe their future would be secure after all.