----- Original Message -----
From: "Jason Liao" <jliao@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
To: <ffml@fanfic.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 01, 2000 4:09 PM
Subject: [FFML] [r.5][sF] I wonder...
While those of you who've read the little that I've submitted to the
list
know that I usually write things that are slightly crazy, this is
different in that the subject has been approached before, and that I
am
tackling it in a mostly conventional manner. However, while
relationships
in Ranma have been mixed in countless ways, I don't believe that
I've ever
seen this relationship done before.
Me neither
Or has it? It's hard to believe that such a potential relationship
could
be missed, especially considering that the more outlandish ones that
are
more popular.
---
"Sorry, Ranchan. But this is for your own good." Ukyou grunted
from exertion as she dragged Ranma up the stairway to her room.
"When you
wake up, you'll have consummated your marriage to your cute fiancee,
and you
won't have to take Akane's abuse anymore."
She's got to be kidding...he'll run as fast as he can. :)
She should have known that such a plan could not have succeeded.
After all, plans that involved food and Ranma always ended in
disaster.
Whether it featured Kodachi's newest dish, or Akane's leftover
cooking,
efforts to influence Ranma through his stomach always turned out for
the
worse. And as Akane, Genma, Shampoo, and Kodachi leapt from her
rafters
prepared for a scrap, Ukyou already know
^knew
that her efforts with her
"specially prepared" okonomiyaki had come to naught.
It was during a vicious kick to her side by Akane while she
exploded within their midst.
This sentence is sort of confusing. Ukyo exploded? Akane exploded?
I don't remember either of them swallowing anything combustible.
An unknown assailant quickly grabbed her by
the waist and bound her hands behind her back which she was coughing
from
^while
the unexpected attack. He then leapt away, with her trussed up and
too much in shock to manage a shout. Rather than run, though, the
man
waited at the edge of the cloud.
When the flour settled, and Ukyou had blinked her eyes clear of
the residual flour, she saw that everyone else had been bound in the
same
fashion that she had been, excluding Genma, who had kept clear of
the
fight itself and had been merely giving pointers to Akane.
This was all Ukyou was able to ascertain about the state of her
rivals, before she was turned around by the heavyset man who wore a
huge
spatula strapped to his back. She was then engulfed in a hug that
threatened to break her back. Ukyou found her hands unbound once
more,
but rather than fight the man who had beaten them so easily, she
merely
returned the hug. "Daddy!" she cried, delighted.
A short time later, after everyone's wrists had been untied, Kenji
Kuonji introduced himself, and asking after his daughter's health.
They
^asked
headed towards the cooking area after depositing a snoozing Ranma in
the
bedroom.
Most surprising to Akane was Kenji's attitude towards Genma. From
Ukyou's tale of her past, Akane would have understood anger,
threats,
bluster, or at least a demand for recompense. If she expected
anything,
it was not Kenji's grin, nor one to be reciprocated by Genma.
But if Akane's thoughts were ones of confusion, Ukyou's were those
of chaos itself. Certainly, she was happy to see her father once
more,
but how had he known that she was here? Why did he greet her so
warmly, when she had dishonored her clan so? And why did he seem so
friendly to Genma the Betrayer of their clan? Had he changed over
the
years?
What did that mean for her now?
As the rest of the party took a chair, Ukyou began preparations
for feeding her guests, but her father waved her over, wanting her
to join
him in the conversation. He took an exaggerated glance around the
room,
^an
exaggerated glance? A glance is something fast...perhaps he looked at
everyone's face in turn, or something like that.
and turned back towards her, beaming. "It seems that you've done
well
for yourself, Ukyou-chan."
"I've one of the better restaurants." she responded, her voice kept
in careful moderation, but the twitch of her lips threatening to
break
into a proud smile destroyed any illusion of humility at that
statement.
It conveyed the exact message that her father wanted to hear, that
she was
the best.
He rubbed his chin with his right knuckle for a moment, before
^omit comma
speaking again. "Most of my colleagues have problems with their
children,
who grow up spoiled, and think they can do whatever they want. I'm
glad
to see my daughter has a good head for business. When I retire,
I'll know
the Group will be in good hands."
Kodachi sucked in her breath at this statement, having thought
Ukyou to be a commoner merchant for so long. Shampoo, not quite
understanding the way economics worked in Japan, still heard the way
Mr.
Kuonji capitalized the word and realized the implied significance.
As
Akane was about to break in with a question, Kenji continued.
"You're
going to have to stop wearing those men's clothing, though."
"But what about my dishonor! You don't seriously mean that, do
you father?"
"I tried to tell you before, daughter," Kenji said, rubbing his
chin, "you can't marry your cousin. There is no dishonor. Uncle
Genma's
been pretty tolerant in covering for you, but I think it's time to
give
him a break, eh?"
"Cousin?!" The cry sprang from the startled throats of three of
his daughter's rivals, shocked at what they were hearing, but Kenji
paid
them no mind.
"I've spent so much time trying to track you after you ran away.
I would have found you sooner, but I had to be discreet, in order
not to
create a scandal."
"Please, Ukyou-chan. Come home."
Ukyou opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
And opened it and...
screamed "Bastards! I'm not falling for something like this!"
Her face contorted to a mask of unmitigated fury, and before anyone
quite
knew what had happened, she was wielding a battle spatula.
"Don't think I don't know what you're all trying to do, but it
won't work! Ranchan and I were fated to meet ten years ago," she
declaired, with tears streaming down her face "and he's MINE!"
^declared
With that, she released another flour bomb (much to the annoyance
of everyone, who had finally managed to remove most of the lingering
flour
in their hair from their previous encounter), and swept to her room
amidst
the confusion.
"You were right, Genma. She still has that obsession."
Genma gave an apologetic half-smile. "I suppose that we should
have done something back then, when it was becomming obvious that
she was
too attached to my boy, rather than chalk it up as childish
infatuation."
Kenji shrugged. "But how could we have known, little brother?"
As a shriek of impotent rage rang from the back, Genma said "It
seems as if Ranma has already gone back. I'll be going now."
As Genma turned to leave, Kenji suddenly remembered one more thing
he wanted to address. "By the way, what ever happened to that
okonomiyaki
cart I lent you?"
-tbc(?)
Won't you continue it, please?? (Best wide-eyed cabbit begging
impression)
---
As you can see, not weird at all. Making the story focus Ukyou as
Ranma's
cousin is something that I don't recall having been done before,
though.
Cousins, and a few other fics have Shampoo as Ranma's cousin, but I
find
that highly unlikely, given the animosity many Chinese have for the
Japanese, and the remote location of the Amazon tribe.
Agreed. This scenario is more believable.
It would be more likely for a Japanese national to have this
relationship,
wouldn't it? So, why the focus on Shampoo?
People can't think of any other way to get rid of her?
I also tried to make Ukyou rail against her fate, as most of these
'Cousins fics' don't seem to add a new dimension to the story, only
remove
a fiancee from the race. By keeping Ukyou as a contender, it adds
another
potential venue for conflict. Well, making her slightly gone mad
does
that too, but still...
Oh yes, Ranma can now call her "my crazy cousin," rather than "my cute
fiancee". That's going to go over REALLY well with Ukyo.
Nice to see you writing, Jason.
June