This is the latest installment of a story. Some people even think it's a
good story. If you'd like to read it from the begining, you can find the
rest of it at http://www.akane.org/michelle If you read it, and would like
to tell me what you thought, or what you think I might be able to do better,
please reply to this message.
Many thanks to Krista Perry and Anand Rao for prereading and manga and lots
of other stuff that telling you about would take up more space than this story.
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Martial Arts Marriage Ceremony
Chapter 11
"Bring Me the Head of Ranma Saotome"
Akane woke from a dream of perfect happiness and beauty to a
morning that was surreal and confusing in a number of ugly ways.
Things had been moving very quickly, and now the joyful glow of
whispered promises and emotional disclosure was being eaten away
at a little at a time by way-too-early-in-the-morning grumpiness
and a growing sense of dread.
*What* had she been *thinking*?
Rubbing her eyes, she yawned, then glared at the clock on
her night stand. How could she feel good about a wedding she had
to get up this early for? And hadn't Ranma said something about
a need for secrecy and battle plans and something about wanting
to paint her toenails?
No, that last part was probably part of the dream.
What *had* he said? And why did she have to set her alarm
to go off so early? Something about sashimi?
Umm... No. Probably also part of the dream.
So what had been real?
Sitting in Ranma's lap. She was certain she remembered that
part. She smiled through the bleariness as she thought about
that. About how tense he'd become. How nervous. Now that she
knew how he really felt, his clumsiness around her was really
pretty cute. In a bone-headed Ranma-no-baka sort of way.
He *had* held her, though. Check. Which other parts were
real?
...she'd agreed to marry him. today. that part had been
real too.
_oh, my._
She understood why he'd asked. At least in a sense. She
remembered being confused; feeling warm and flustered. And
really really happy. In the conflicting emotions she'd gone with
her first impulse as she often did. This time it had been to
tell him yes and squeeze him a lot. Now, though, as the sky was
struggling from black to black and a little grey on one side she
wondered if her second impulse, the one that had suggested she
smack him and yell a lot, might not have been a better choice.
This was marriage, after all.
This was the rest of her life.
... She was really really scared.
It wasn't so unreasonable, she told herself. Ranma had been
scared too. Nervous. Fidgety. Really jumpy too. She wasn't
the only one who wasn't totally sure this was the right thing to
do. She clearly remembered sensing those emotions in him as they
talked.
How had he convinced her it was such a good idea when he
hadn't even been able to totally convince himself?
Perhaps ... Perhaps the best thing for her to do would be
to tell him that she'd changed her mind. He might be a little
disappointed, but...
Akane ignored the voice in her head that told her she had it
all wrong, that Ranma's fears and hers were based on totally
different concerns, and worst of all, that she was being a
coward. She decided to go look for him so that she could break
it to him gently.
***
"You mean he *still* no escape?"
Shampoo peered incredulously through the peep hole as Ukyou
retreated to make room for her. Sure enough, there sat Saotome
Genma, tied from head to foot in his chair. Occasionally he
would strain at his bonds, but they held tight.
Ukyou shrugged. "He's been like that all night. I hoped
he'd stay there while I got a few hours of sleep, but this is
ridiculous. I didn't tie him *that* tight."
Both girls contemplated their dilemma for a moment. Then
Ukyou sighed, and pulled out a pair of throwing spatula. "I'll
be right back," she promised.
Leaving the restaurant, Ukyou slipped quietly out into the
alley. It was nearly dawn, and they had no time to lose. It was
possible that the slug of a man had told the truth, but they
really weren't willing to take the chance. He wasn't terribly
cunning, but deception seemed bred into him just as strongly as
baldness obviously was.
She made her way to a tiny outside window, and pried it open
silently. Stepping away from the opening to let a little light
pour through, she contemplated the weapons she held. Sharp and
well balanced, she was sure that they would serve her well. She
waited.
Could he hear her heart beating? It seemed likely. His
back was to her, but even if his conditioning and reflexes had
gotten somewhat soft from his time in his friend's home, Ukyou
knew that his senses were still sharp. If she wasn't careful, he
would detect her there. She wanted to act quickly, to get it
over with, but couldn't risk revealing her presence, and with it,
her plan. He continued to sit where he was merely breathing
heavily. Almost heavily enough to cover her intended act, in
fact, but not quite.
He seemed to be gathering his strength for another attempt.
This was a good sign. He tensed, then began straining. Two legs
of the chair lifted from the ground, crashed back to earth,
lifted again.
Ukyou acted. In two motions too swift to be tracked by the
human eye, she threw both shuriken. They flew as an extension of
her will directly into the back of the chair where they sliced
half way through Mr Saotome's bonds just as the chair crashed
back to the ground. The chair's impact with the ground
beautifully covered any sound or motion that might have made him
suspicious. Ukyou smiled to herself, proud of a job well done,
and went to join Shampoo back in the restaurant.
***
Gosunkugi Hikaru had spent a very uncomfortable night. It
wasn't the fact that he'd spent the early part of it up a tree,
or the fact that, upon exiting that tree he'd fallen, causing not
only physical pain but a great deal of anxiety over the
possibility of being discovered, and the promise of more pain if
that happened. It wasn't the heavy photographic equipment which
he was no longer used to carrying so far or so long or so
quickly. It wasn't the harsh chemicals his hands and lungs had
had to deal with for the rest of the evening, or even the
sleeplessness. No, his greatest discomfort had been the moral
and emotional dilemma that he now faced.
When Saotome Ranma had first come to live with his beloved
Akane, he had worried. After all, Ranma was most women's ideal
of a perfect man. He was handsome, athletic, skilled. And he and
Akane were engaged. Even though her somewhat contrary nature had
made her say she didn't want to marry him, Gosunkugi had worried
that eventually his good qualities would win her over, but as the
months went on, the other girls showed up, the other challenges
had come, Akane's famous temper had begun to really show. The
two had seemed to argue more and more fiercely as time went on.
This had done wonders for Gosunkugi's confidence. The more
they fought, the more he felt that he may really have a chance
with her someday.
Last night though...
Before Ranma, it had been easy to spend time in his favorite
activity. The photographic study of Tendou Akane. He'd known
her favorite route home, the places she sometimes went to spend
time with her friends, which room in the Tendou home belonged to
her and what he could do to get a clear shot inside it. All that
had changed when Saotome came along. Even following Akane meant
taking your life in your hands now that he was around.
He must really have been distracted not to notice anything
last night.
And now here was Gosunkugi Hikaru with a handful of barely
dry photographs and a mind full of confusion. Ranma Saotome was
the enemy. Ranma Saotome had come between him and Akane. And
now Ranma Saotome seemed to be ready to take his dear one away
from him forever.
But she'd looked so happy.
That was his dilemma, then. He'd never want to hurt her.
Not even if it meant removing the man she always seemed to be
angry at or hurt by, but what choice did he have? On the other
hand, what could he do about it? As much as he tried to delude
himself, he knew that no matter what he did, he didn't have the
power to defeat Ranma. He couldn't even make him sweat.
But he knew someone who could.
***
Genma sat.
"This is really starting to get on my nerves!"
Shampoo put a hand on Ukyou's shoulder to remind her to
lower her voice. "I sure he escape soon. Has been twenty
minutes."
Fuming, Ukyou agreed. "Soon. He couldn't have just given
up *now* could he? That'd be just my luck."
"He not give up so easy. You no feed him breakfast, he
escape. Easy easy."
"Well, you may be right, but we can't wait any longer
either. By now Ran-chan knows we're on to him. It's possible
that the old man told us the truth. One of us ought to go on
ahead."
Shampoo looked at her partner in crime for a moment
considering. The old man *could* have been telling the truth,
but she found it unlikely. Surely he wasn't *that* foolish. Was
he? Spatula girl was right, though. They just couldn't afford
to wait any longer.
"You go. I wait here. Not wait long, though." She pulled
a small orange ball out of her shirt and held it up grimly.
"What's that?"
"Is secret weapon. I borrow from Mousse." She made shooing
motions. "You go. You no worry. I watch old man."
Ukyou shrugged, double checked her accessories/arsenal and
gave her erstwhile rival a playful salute, then she was gone,
heading in the direction of the temple where Mr Saotome had told
them Ranma and Akane would be.
As it happened, she got it right.
***
"Surely, it can not be!"
"I took these pictures myself, Kuno-sempai."
Though they filled his noble heart with dread and outrage,
Kuno Tatewaki (age seventeen) looked again at the shocking
photographs given to him by the short pale boy.
Kuno stood and raised a clenched fist to the sky. Streams
of tears ran from his eyes at the horrible outrage of it all.
"Oh! That a mongrel dog like Saotome would dare defile the
sanctity of my noble lady Akane's bedchamber! Tell me how such
things can happen to any maiden to whom Kuno Tatewaki has sworn
his love and protection. I must believe, Goforitu-kun -"
"That's Gosunkugi, sempai."
"- that this was some illusion -- some glamour caused by the
foul Saotome's filthy black arts! Surely even he would not stoop
so low as to forcibly ... The very idea flies against all
sensibilities! Tell me, young Datsumkuti-kun -"
"It's Gosunkugi, sir."
"When the scoundrel seized my fierce tigress, was he able to
subdue her by mere physical brutality, or did her great prowess
and might cause him to resort to hypnosis or - heavens protect us
- the foul product of some apothecary's labors?"
"She didn't actually struggle, sempai."
"But surely one such as herself can not be so easily blinded
by any amount of drugs or magics!"
"She seemed pretty happy, actually."
The noble scion of the house of Kuno trembled with rage and
confusion. "How can this be?!?" he demanded. "Have I failed so
miserably to break his influence over her? For months I have
allowed him to associate with her. In my innocence of the ways
of sorcery, I believed that the contrast between the wretched
Saotome and myself once securely formed in her mind would make it
impossible for her not to choose my great strength and virtue
over *all* who would compete for her attentions. I never
suspected that he would use these months to wear down her heart
and mind's natural repulsion to him by accursed enchantments!
Tell me, Koduredu-kun -"
"Gosunkugi."
" - how is it to be borne! The knave has defiled the things
most precious to me long enough! The gods have looked upon his
evil deeds and have passed sentence! I shall be the instrument
of their judgement! A righteous tool in the hands of divine
justice! This I swear! Ranma Saotome shall die!"
The bold young samurai turned his fierce gaze on his
companion, righteous outrage and resolve burning in his eyes.
"You have done well, pale one. I know now what I must do. I
must go to release my beauteous flower from the clutches of her
tormentor. But be assured that you shall be rewarded for your
role in this, good Gotoheru. And now, I must away."
Gosunkugi watched the departing looney of the house of Fruit
bats as he leapt out the window. "That's ... never mind." He
wiped the back of his hand over his face and it came away quite
moist. It had been a long night, and the ... excitement of his
conversation with Kuno-sempai had probably been a bit much for
his delicate psyche. Perhaps now he should go home and get a
little rest. Yes, a nice long lie down would be just the thing.
In fact, perhaps he'd just forget about home and have a nice lie
down right here on the sempai's floor. Yes. That was probably
the best thing for him to do.
***
She'd had enough. Ukyou had left nearly half an hour ago. The
sun was almost visible now, and she couldn't afford to wait any
longer. She studied the small object in her hand. Many times
she'd seen how they were used. Pulling the chord out of the top,
she studied the distance, then gently and silently tossed the
tiny smoke bomb through the opening Ukyou had created in the
window not much earlier. It landed behind some shelves well out
of sight of the prisoner. Shampoo leapt to the roof and waited.
***
Michelle Thatcher misha@cybergal.com
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Reality-ometer: [\........] Hmmph! Thought so...
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http://www.akane.org/michelle