Ranma 1/2: Geisha
By Kiwi Noriega
*STANDARD DISCLAIMER*
All rights are of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video and whoever owns the characters of Ranma 1/2.
NOTE: This piece of fiction is set in ancient Japan in the time where the Geisha were seen as idols.
This is also in draft form and has room for revisions. ^_^
Ranma 1/2: Geisha
Prologue
Cherry blossoms littered the hard pavement of Kyoto, the soft wind scattering the many petals around the street. The moonlight shone in the starlit sky, clouds dotting the evening sky. It was such a peaceful night where silence reigned and the shadows lived. Yet in the Tendo home, such tranquility was ill found.
Soun Tendo knelt weeping on the wooden floor, his cries joined by his three little baby daughters. The recent death of his wife had saddened him deeply as well as the thought of losing the only things he had left-his daughters. He never understood the agreement his wife had made with her foster mother years back when they had first gotten married. It was a time-honored tradition wherein if a woman of their family gives birth to a girl, that woman must give that child up to her mother or foster mother if she dies before the girl reaches the age of ten. In this case, Kimiko had given birth to three very healthy baby girls and all are below the age of ten, which meant that his wife's foster mother would definitely be on her way to claim the three girls.
"What am I gonna do?" he cried as he gazed down the two bundles of white cloths by his knee and his four year old daughter with tears in her eyes sitting behind her two younger sisters. He shifted his pack behind his back, all his belongings crammed into the medium sized piece of cloth. "Oh Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi...there's...there's still time...maybe I can--"
*CRASH*
Soun whirled in shock, his heart beating in his ears. In the doorway was an ancient woman and a young lady wearing an elegant kimono, her long wooden stick balanced perfectly on the hard floor, her eyes measuring his every feature. "Well, sonny, the time has come..." with that, the lady beside her swiftly picked up one of the babies in her right arm and cradled the four year old in her other.
"Carry the last one to our carriage, Soun, and say your last goodbyes." The old woman said, a small hint of sadness in her crisp voice.
With neck bent, Soun gently cradled his youngest daughter in his arms as he slowly made his way outside, watching somberly as the old woman and her servant boarded the carriage with his two daughters. He stopped short of the open doors and stared at the expecting arms of the servant. He froze, his pulse racing.
The old woman stared at him blankly and said, "Hand her over, Soun, and do not make me tear her away from your arms. Your girls will lead a life of wealth as Geisha, adored and idolized by all. I will take care of them. You're not going to be permanently separated from them."
Soun managed to scoff at her and answered, "I am not ignorant, Elder; I know that you have never favoured me from the beginning. You'd take the first chance to get rid of me. I-I have no doubts of your taking care of them, but I will not-I refuse to just disappear from my daughters' lives."
"Don't be foolish, hand her over, now."
Soun took a long deep breath, his thoughts whirling, the sounds of his daughters crying echoing in his ears. How could he escape? The elder had two of his daughters; there was no way he could ever leave without them. And yet, and yet if he gave Akane up, he would never see them again. And so he had the choice of either one or none. Blinking the tears from his eyes and the pain in his heart, he answered solidly, "No Cologne." And at the last moment before she could grab his only daughter left, Soun leapt away and up to the roofs, ignoring the screaming voice of the old woman.
"You don't know what you're doing, Soun! I knew Kimiko should've stayed away from you especially because of your master!! You coward!"
Roughly rubbing the tears away, he ran as fast and hard as he could, his last daughter crying in his arms as a single thought lingered in his mind, *Oh Nabiki, Kasumi...oh I am so sorry, my daughters...I will come back for you...I swear...*
And as the night continued and the dawn broke, not a single soul ever lay foot in the Tendo home.
-end Prologue
Notes:
C&C welcome at becknkal@addax.bc.ca and for more of my works, please visit the Anything Goes Ranma 1/2 Fanfic Page at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Temple/9371
Thanks and ja!
Coming up: CHAPTER 1: The Life of a Wanderer
Kiwi Noriega