Subject: [FFML] [Fic][Ranma][Drama][Dark] Memoirs: Chapter 3, Almost Final.
From: Chad Hutchings
Date: 5/7/2002, 12:42 AM
To: ffml@anifics.com


I feel this could use a few touch-ups. It's been
proofread a few times over. check it out. I'll be
posting the final version tomorrow.

Memoirs Part 3: Memoirs of a God.
Have you ever had that dream where you're attending
your own funeral? Well...imagine that being a reality
and you have my current situation, For here I am,
kneeling at the grave of one Saotome Ranma, missing
and presumed dead nineteen months ago to the day, June
1st, 1998.
Saotome Ranma died long before that.
Here I was, reading his epitaph. In a way, I was the
one who killed Ranma. In a way I was a daughter to
him, in some ways a sister. But when it all comes down
to it, I was him.

"To our Warrior, who lived in honor, and died fighting
his shame"

I wondered how long it took Nodoka to think that up. I
wondered where she managed to come up with tears.
Maybe she was crying for her family's honor, which
would be especially ironic, as she was the one who
sullied it.

As I read the epitaph another grave caught my eyes and
I nearly facefaulted.
A man who I still recognized, now assumably 22 years
old, and looking better for it, was kneeling in front
of a tomb that was extravagant it worst. Printed in
bold, gilded letters across the tomb, upon which was
mounted a statue that one would assume must be that of
some goddess of love was "Osage-No-Onna, declared lost
on the same day as her captor, 6-01-98."
"I don't die that easily, pervert..." 
Kuno stood slowly. "I would prefer not to hear such
language in the presence of the departed and honored
m-...m-....my gods, you're beautiful. You look just
like she did!"
"Who would that be, Kuno-sempai?"
"That's Kuno-sensei to you, miss. And I speak of my
love who was lost to me so long ago."
I sighed and began to try and explain this to Kuno, in
the hopes that his assumably adult mind would
assimilate the information. "Kuno. The pigtailed girl
was never yours to begin with. She wasn't even
Ranma's, and she is -not- dead."
"Quoth Saotome Nodoka: 'she essentially committed
suicide when she killed Saotome.' My love is dead."
"Are you blind as well as dumb, Kuno? Look at me, damn
you!"
The former upperclassman looked up, and revealed his
face to me. I could not help but gasp as I noticed the
scar below his left eye. "Do not jest at my
disability, girl. I am not one of whom you would make
an enemy. In my foolishness I attempted to do as the
honorable Oedipus did, Fortunately, my sister, crazed
as she was, stopped me. This scar is the memory of the
day my heart was torn out, the day I lost my love."
"Kuno. This is the only time I will tell you this. The
pigtailed girl did not love you. She never did. And
She never will. Her heart belongs to no man, but she
does remember you, but never with fondness. Why don't
you, instead of brooding over a love you never had,
try to make things better for her sake, or, even
better, for your own sake."
"How do you know this, young one?"
"You could say we're kindof sisters."
Kuno nodded. "Then I shall do as you say." He lifted
the best-looking bouquet of flowers from the steps of
the tomb. "Do take these, child, and tell me your
name, for I feel you have done me some great service."
"Saotome Ranko, Kuno, and you'd damn well not forget
it."
With that I left, leaving the former fool to his
thoughts.

*          *             *

I couldn't believe it!
My goddess was alive!
I was ecstatic, to say the least.
But what the child told me, that was important as
well. 
The goddess was not mine to have, and never would be.
So I would have to make do with what I had.
I would have to go on.
Saotome Ranko. Things finally began to fit together.
I had a distinct feeling that I would see this girl
again.

*           *             *

"I never want to see that idiot again!" Ranko was
still going on about it.
"Calm down, honey...it's not like he actually hit on
you this time, at least. And it sounds as if you
actually got a message through to him." I made a
warding-off motion with my hands
'Please don't call me that, Ucchan! It makes me sound
like a raving teenage girl!"
I simply gestured at Ranko and said, "If the shoe
fits..."
Ranko, realizing what she was doing, began to calm
down. "Thanks, Ucchan."
"...Speaking of wayward children...do you know why you
aren't aging, Ranchan?"
"I don't know, Ucchan. I have to assume it's either
some side effect of the curse or the Chisuiton. but my
cursed form always looked the same anyway."
"Maybe it's time you visited Cologne, Ranma..." I
called her by her true name, hoping to get through to
her better judgement.
"I believe that is my cue," the old mummy scared Ranko
half to death as she landed in the middle of the room,
out of nowhere, pogoing on her cane "Well...I thought
it was you, granddaughter. As level-headed as ever, I
see." She gave a withered chuckle.
"I assume that to mean that you have no cure for me,
mummy?"
"For the curse, certainly not. I have no Nannichuan
water, and you are on probation, and are prohibited
from leaving Japan. Am I right?" 
Ranko simply nodded.
"I will try to remedy that, and I will also attempt to
counteract the lack of aging, but you must in turn do
something for me."
"And what would that be?" Ranko suddenly looked on
edge.
"I want you to join my tribe." 
Ranko did a double-take to make sure the old crone
wasn?t joking. "What? Why?"
"Simple, Saotome-san. You are the strongest warrior
for many generations past. With your blood
intermingled in our tribe we would become many times
more powerful. Second: You have defeated one of our
most skilled warriors, and nearly bested the Matriarch
in battle, and I don't want to have to give you the
kiss of death."
The old crone gently put out her third finger and
stared levelly at Ranko.
"And...third?" Ranko said, curious.
"You defeated Happousai. Not even I was able to best
that pervert in a one-on-one battle, and you not only
beat him, you literally slaughtered him." Ranma winced
"I do not want you as an enemy. I would much prefer
you as a student."
Ranko nodded slowly. 
"I accept your invitation, Matriarch, with the simple
request that I am allowed to remain in Nerima Ward."
"Granted, granddaughter, but there is to be no
killing."
"I can only guarantee that, if there is killing done,
that the killer shall not be me."

*              *                *

For once, I was actually happy to see Shampoo, and for
once she was not glomping me on sight.
"Hello, Shampoo."
"You're not Ranma anymore, are you?" Her Japanese had
improved, as had her perception of the situation at
hand.
"I can't say I am. Is that a ring I see on your
finger?"
Shampoo smiled genuinely. "Mousse challenged me last
June and finally won. He's been training very hard.
"Hello, Ranma." Mousse said with a bit of malice. I
hadn't even noticed him approaching, but he was
exuding no battle aura whatsoever, so I had no
worries.
"Not Ranma. Ranma is dead. This Ranko." Shampoo said
with a bit of a twitch.
Mousse looked confused for a second as I stood up.
"Congrats on the engagement, Muu-muu-chan. I'll be
glad to give you a rematch, soon. I can't promise one
of our man-to-man battles from way back then, but I
can promise that I have also trained, and therefore
will give you a run for your money."
"Great-Grandmother said that you are now a member of
the tribe, Ranko. This is a great honor, you know?"
Shampoo made an attempt to change the subject.
"I know, Shampoo. I just wish it had happened on
better circumstances."
"Like what, Ranma? You and I both know you never would
have married me."
I headed for the door. "This is getting uncomfortable.
Get one thing straight, Ranma is no more. I am Saotome
Ranko."
I left it at that and promptly exited the Nekohanten.
I would return soon, but I needed time to cool off,
and I had other loose ends to tie up.

*              *              *

"Ranko...you have to go to school! If you don't your
probation officer will get on my case!"
 "I will, Ucchan. As soon as I..."
"No, Ranko. You will attend school starting this next
Monday. It's the start of the Semester and you'll be
able to fit in in no time. Just do it, please."
"Fine, Ucchan, Monday. I promise. I'll be done with my
business by then anyway."
Ranko had resigned to her fate, thankfully. She had
been running all over town for the last three days,
and with the episode with Kuno, she seemed to be
losing her stability. I could only hope that seeing
the faces of some of the teachers would help her, as I
was nowhere near suited to mother a sixteen-year old
girl, much less one who was in fact a few months older
than I was, despite looks.
"But I'm not wearing one of those Sailor Fukus!" Ranko
shouted with a playful grin.
"Fine," I said. "You can go in your bloomers!"
By the time we stopped laughing Akane had come up to
see what the commotion was.
"Hey...guys. What's the fuss?"
"Nothing, Akane...Ranko was just discussing the finer
points of the Furinkan uniforms with me." I couldn't
help but burst into more giggles.
"Fine...okay" Akane nodded distantly and headed for
her bedroom.
Something was, once again, up.

*                 *                 *
>From teh diary of Tendo Akane

I had to brood, to think about it.
Everything was so good. I was with my love, and she
admitted her love to me, finally, for good, and I had
to recoansider my own heart.
Why was I always such a fool about these things?
Damn.
It all just seemed to tie back to the way I saw her
when she was holding Happosai in her arms, not the
embrace of lover?s that I had always dreamed of her
sharing with me, but as if she was unwillingly holding
some disgusting pile of refuse that she could not
remove from her hands.
Was that filth still there?
Would the blood ever wash away?
I guess it?s strange when I think about it. Most
people just accept death and get on with their lives,
working to the fullest so that they could honor the
dead.
I?d only mourned two losses in my lifetime. They were
Mother and Ranma. One of them came back to me, I
think.

*                 *                 * 
I exchanged a glance with Ukyo.
Something was definitely up.
Without another word I ran to Akane's room to find her
lying there, her face buried in a pillow.
"Akane! What's wrong?" I approached my fiancee, hoping
to comfort her.
"Oh, nothing."
"Don't pull that with me, Akane. What happened?"
Akane sat up on her bed and looked at me.
"I was listening to Ukyo and you joke and...do you
remember they day you left?"
"What about it?" This was not a subject I currently
wanted to bring up.
"Well...When I saw you over his body, I couldn't help
but to...fear you."
"I remember! Get to the point, Akane!" I really did
not want to talk about that day.
"But now...it's even worse. You're not the Ranma I
knew: You're smarter, happier, and even more tactful.
But when I see you now, you're like a little brother
or sister. But I still can't shake that memory of you,
sitting there, with blood on your hands."

*                     *                         *

I had to tell her how I felt about her. I had to tell
her how much I loved her.
Voices scream inside me. ?You saw the lifeless husk
that was in her arms that day. you saw how many bones
she had snapped. You new in your heart that Ranma was
dead from that moment on.?
Was it too late? No! Never! Our love could endure a
thousand years and still be running strong. I loved
Ranma from the moment I met her, and I still do to
this very day!
?You?ve never really met Ranma, and besides. Your
first kiss was worse than Shampoo?s. You hit her with
a table for God?s sake! You were always such a bitch
to her. You don?t deserve such a pure soul to call
your lifemate.?
Despite the doubts, I had to embrace her, to tell her.
I needed Ranma, and she needed me.
?Why would she want a violent sadistic tomboy like
you? Need you? You?re an idiot, Tendo Akane.?
I wiped away my doubt.
?Ha! You were cruel to her from day one-?
I swallowed my fears. 
?She wants to leave you and you know it. You never
even thought of her as male!?
And I gave my heart and my soul up to my love.

*                    *                  *

"Oh, Akane..."
Before I could say anything else the youngest Tendo
dove for my chest.
"Ukyo helped me. She made me realize that it was still
you who I loved..."
"Ukyo...?" I didn?t believe it.
"I could hardly believe it myself..."
"I knew that, if I could never have you as a love,
which I saw, once I got to know Akane, that I still
wanted to be your best friend," Ukyo said quietly from
the doorway of the room.
I nodded silently, tears coming to my eyes.
"I love you Ranma. There is no denying it. I spent two
years trying to regain my love. Do I have him or her
back?"
"I'm yours, Akane. Forever."
Having lost the last of her emotional self-control,
Akane gently glomped me as Ukyo winked and closed the
door behind her.
I held Akane all night that night, and we slept in a
lover's embrace, her fear gone, and my doubts
shattered.

*               *               *

"Look at her," a contralto voice near me piped up.
"With her short hair," a slightly deeper, more sultry
voice bubbled.
"Perfect body...she would have to have a perfect body"
It was the first voice again.
"She looks like a slut..." This one was a soprano,
cruel around the edges.
"Can't you three leave her alone? She looks so sad..."
Younger, but kinder.
"That's what you say until she steals your boyfriend,
Yuriko...but oh wait...you don't have one, do you?" It
was the soprano.
Cruel laughter filled the corner of the Auditorium I
sat in, awaiting the start of my term at Furinkan.
As I expected, very soon after a girl with long brown
hair came and sat next to me.
"Hi. I'm Yuriko. What's your name?"
I greeted her in standard fashion.
"Saotome Ranko. How do you do?"
"Saotome...I know that name. Are you related to the
Ranma saotome who was here a few years ago?"
"In a way, yes."
Confused by my answer, the girl continued on.
"Well...they say he just disappeared into thin air a
few months before his graduation. I wonder what
happened to him..."
"Something tells me he's still around." I said with a
knowing smile.
As I said that a teacher walked up to the podium at
the front of the auditorium.
"To those of you who are new, and for those of you
with short attention spans, I would like to introduce
principal Kuno!"
The cheers were deafening. Something must have changed
with this guy since I was last at Furinkan.
Then the unthinkable happened.
It wasn't the Hawaiian-clad psycho who stood up to the
podium, but Kuno Tatewaki.
"Hello, students, and welcome to what, for most of
you, is your second year at Furinkan High School.
There was another soft cheer.
"This year you will have options of taking our
Rhythmic Gymnastics, Ice Skating, Cheer leading,
Kenpo, and Kendo teams. I myself shall be teaching not
only the Kendo team, but also the new Western Poetry
course, which you shall be the first class to have the
option to partake in."
There was a chorus of 'wow's from the Students.
"For those of you who are planning on taking our
course in Abnormal Psychology, be sure to take notes,
as my younger sister will be making a visit next
Friday," Kuno cracked a slight grin as the students
erupted into laughter.
"That being said, I will wish you all a great semester
and I hope to see you all doing well. Thank you!"
Kuno exited the stage to a roar of applause.
"Ranko-san. We have to go get our schedules now,"
Yuriko tugged the sleeve of my Fuku.
We spent the next hour standing in line and chatting
idly, as I explained my past, according to the alibi
that Yoiko and Ukyo had set up.
"Wow, Ranko! So you must be a very good martial
artist..."
I shrugged, not wanting to look overbearing.
"Well hello, Ranko. We've heard so much about you!"
Three girls who I recognized as being the ones who
were picking on Yuriko earlier approached us in line.
"Ranko. This is Sayuko, Junior class F, Keiko from
Sophomore class C, and my sister, Yuki, from Senior
class D."
"Ohayo," I said with a slight glare, not wanting to
interact with these girls any more than possible.
"Well, Yuriko. I'll see you at home." Yuki lead the
group away from us hastily.
We finally got to the head of the line and found, to
my delight, that we were in the same class, and that
it was not Sophomore class C.
Just then an announcement buzzed across the school
loudspeakers. It was Sasuke. "Attention, students, the
school Kenpo team tryouts will be today. Be there!"
"Sasuke is the Kenpo coach?" I asked incredulously.
"Oh no...Sasuke is the principal's assistant. We've
had a different Kenpo coach almost every year. But our
new coach is supposed to be very good. Not even
Principal Kuno has seen her yet, though. Apparently
she called him at the last minute and he accepted,
having no alternative.
I wondered who it could be.
"Say, Yuriko. Want to go to the kenpo tryouts with
me?"

*                  *                   *

Two men sit casually next to a pool, staring in,
waiting.
One dwarfs the other, a solemn look upon his face.
Racked with shame.
What have I done? 
His words do nothing to betray his thoughts.
"How long has it been?"
The look that the other has on betrays nothing as he
smokes an old-fashioned corn-cob pipe.
"Twenty minutes"

*                    *                    *

As I came to the field where I had held so many
battles, I was not surprised to see many boys there,
hoping to show what they were made of. When I came to
the field Sasuke was there.
"What are you doing here, Master Ranma?"
"Ranma is dead, Sasuke, or haven't you heard?" I said
coldly.
The Ninja nodded sympathetically. He looked more or
less quizzical in a teacher's polo shirt and slacks,
and wore a golf cap to cover his head.
"So. It's Mistress Saotome, then. Is it?"
"We never had any bad blood, Sasuke. I?d rather not
have any with you now. Call me Ranko."
Yuriko gave me a perplexed look.
"I thought you were new here, Ranko...What's going
on?"
"It's a long story, Yuriko. I'll tell you when you're
older."
"Hello, class. Sorry I'm late!"
"Oh no..." Sasuke put his head in his hands.
"Pigtailed girl...why did you come back...wait...but I
thought that she was...?" Sasuke began looking quickly
back and forth between myself and another who was just
out of my view.
I turned around to see Yoiko, sporting a thin pigtail.
"Yoichan!" I tackled her to the ground.
"Ranchan! I didn't expect to see you this early!"
Yoiko acted as if a surprise had been spoiled. "Well.
Here I am. I decided to stay on one side of the law
this time. I thought I'd start in good old Nerima."
"Yoiko...this is probably not a place where you should
be working...remember how I told you that you looked
how I should if I was older?" I attempted to herd
Yoiko towards the campus exit.
"Yes...what about it?"
"Well...do you remember the Kendoist that was in love
with me?" I kept pushing.
"Vaguely..."
"He's the principal."
Yoiko finally stopped me from pushing her and turned
around. "Well...is he cute?"
"Sort of. He has a scar under his eye, and he's tall."
"Well...maybe I should try something new. I've always
wondered what a boy would taste like..."
"Pigtailed Girl!"
Before Yoiko could even act she had been glomped by a
tearful Kuno.
"Kuno-Sensei. I would like to introduce you to my
adopted oneesama, Yoiko."
"Saotome Yoiko..."
"That's Matsui Yoiko," I could tell this was a bad
start.
Yoiko pried Kuno off of her and shook his hand.
"Now, if you don't mind. I have a Kenpo team to pick."
Kuno regained his composure and walked off, sporting a
grin that wilted a few nearby schoolgirls.
"Is he always that much of a flake, Ranko-chan?"
"Perpetually, Oneesama."
"Well...maybe I should give him a shot. Say...why are
you here, anyway? You not only are way too old for
this, but you're also a better artist than I am.
You?ll make me look bad!"
As the tryouts wore on the applicants for the kenpo
team wore on. Naturally I was among the few who
stayed. As I watched Yuriko I realized that she was
holding back on me, she had definitely had some
training.
"And now, students, for a demonstration of the true
abilities of a martial artist, one of you shall duel
me."
I knew Yoiko would do this. 
"Ranko saotome. Please approach the ring we have
prepared, and get ready for our rematch"
We both took stances that were familiar, reminiscent
of that day...

*                         *                  *

>From the diary of Saotome Ranma:
As I stood in the rather unique sand-ring, Yoiko took
a rather odd stance.
"What's up, Yoiko? Are you going to try to mop the
floor with your hands?"
She was gently rubbing the ground in a circular
motion.
"Let's go, new girl!"
I hopped out of the way as Yoiko Screamed and punched
the ground as hard as she could.
"Houdou-Ken Strike Number 1! Koutsugou na Atemi no
Pottohooru!"
The ground below Yoiko seemed to be supremely
unaffected. Yoiko didn't seem to be in the least bit
vexed by this; in fact, she seemed to be rather
satisfied.
I leapt back, just in case.
"Auspicious Strike of the Pothole, Yoiko? What kind of
move is that? It doesn't even-"
I was cut off as I landed in a meter-deep pothole that
had somehow appeared behind me.
I immediately leapt up and took a defensive stance.
For once a semi worthy opponent and, more importantly,
something new to learn.
I used the momentum from falling into the hole and
spring boarded back at Yoiko, sacrificing strength for
speed in a quick few hundred slaps.
Yoiko stood there flabbergasted for a second. 
"H-how do you move so f-fa-"
"It's called training, sister. Welcome to the big
leagues."
This seemed to greatly anger Yoiko, as was intended,
but I did not expect the amount of battle aura she put
out to come out of a girl. She was far stronger than
Shampoo, or even Akane. This girl...was good.
"Houdou-Ken Strike 2! KogataJidoushaken!"
I blinked as I dodged her strike and sent her into the
ground, making a hole deeper than the one made by her
pothole strike.
"You're not bad, Yoiko. You could use some work on
naming your attacks, as a Compact-car fist just sounds
sorta silly, but you could probably beat Ryouga on a
good day. I, on the other hand, am too good for you."
"Screw you! Houdou ken Desperation Strike! Tansoukou
no Yubinofushi!"
I quickly leapt over her head and watched as she went
fist-first into a rack of barbells, bending the rack
and shattering a forty-five kilo weight.
She got up and began to charge me, using multiple
variants of each of her moves.
Now this was just pissing me off. This amateur,
thinking she could come anywhere matching my skill,
trying to fight me, actually thought she had a chance!
Yoiko warded off from her barrage as I began to leak
some battle aura. Well...at least the bimbo could see.
Maybe she wasn?t entirely hopeless. I?d go easy on her
this time. I began to ready myself for a quick hundred
or so slaps.
"Kachuu Tenchin Amaguriken!"
Yoiko dropped to the ground, covered in small,
feminine, handprints. I would never had used this on
her before. Was I losing my cool? Was I becoming the
monster that the police pegged me as?
Yoiko silently rose to her feet.
"Congratulations, Newbie. You've taken away my claim
as the only undefeated Women's prison circuit champ.
You have knocked me out of the ring.
"Don't feel bad, Yoiko. You've lasted longer than
most. If either of your last two strikes had connected
I'd be hurting." I tried to console Yoiko but she
shrugged me off.
"But I wouldn't have won. You are my superior in the
art, Saotome Ranko, and I would be honored to learn
something from you."
I nodded.
"Well...I don't have much else to do," aside from
planning my vengeance "So I'll do my best."
I surveyed my new student, per se.
She was sweating head to toe, panting in a way that
said she knew exactly how to pant.
"You know....the first thing you need to learn is how
to breathe."
"Pardon," Yoiko looked up, eyes exactly like my own,
seated with some deep, inner pain.
"You can't sit there bouncing and panting as if you
want to get your opponent to instantly attach herself
to your leg in an uncouth manner."
She immediately straightened up, blushing.
"Good. Practice that. Today's lesson is over."

*          *          *

As I bowed to Yoiko, following the fight, I noticed
that many of the other students were staring at me.
"You know, Yoi-chan, you've gotten better..."
Yuriko chose that time to speak up.
"Miss Yoiko...that was good, but Ranko-san...you were
amazing! How do you move so quickly?"
"I've been practicing the art for twenty years,
Yuriko."
"But you're only sixteen, Ranko"
"Er...Sixteen is what I meant. I rounded up." I tried
to grin sheepishly.
This seemed to ward off most of the curious students,
but Yuriko was looking at me oddly.
"Well...I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Ranko."
With that she ran off, something on her mind by the
look of it.

*           *          *

I couldn't help myself. Something was weird with
Ranko. She may have been the best I'd ever encountered
at the Ward, but this time she was inhumanly good.
"That was good, Ranko-chan. You've gotten even better
than when we first met, did you know that? You're
going to start upstaging me!" I tried not to let on
that something was wrong, but it was obvious that
Ranko was feeling it too.
"I know, Yoiko. A lot of things have been nagging at
me, lately."
As the students left, Ranko let her 'kawaii girl'
facade drop, and what I saw scared me. This wasn't the
Ranko I first met. This was someone...something
darker. Ranko was definitely in there, but something
was torturing her.
"Have you ever read 'The Count of Monte Cristo,'
Yoichan?"
"No, Ranko. Why?"
"It's about this man who gets so bent upon his revenge
that it almost consumes him, and in the end, he
finally realizes that it's eating him alive and leaves
before he can do any more harm."
"Get to the point, Ranko..."
"Do I have to leave too, Yoichan?"
I noticed that, for the second time since I had met
her, Ranko was on the verge of tears.

*          *          *

In the Ward: Month three: Diary of Matsui Yoiko.

Today I came to Respect Ranko more than I possibly
ever could have during our constant sparring matches.
I found that she was a person worthy of respect, and
even praise.
The entire incident started in our 'unadulterated
history' class. the teacher was talking about why
communist China was ineffective when considering the
aspects of freedom. He kept going on about how, since
the Chinese were never given the full scope of
information, since their input was limited. The
teacher stipulated that the lack of mental growth of
the Chinese was due to this.
What Ranko said startled everybody, as it was the
first time she had willingly talked aloud in this
class.
"You're wrong, you know."
The teacher bristled, he was really pissed!
"What do you mean by this, Saotome?"
'Well...first of all, your theorem upon why the
Chinese are deprived of knowledge is unfounded,
because the Chinese aren't truly deprived; I've been
to places where the stores of knowledge go far beyond
anything you could put in any of your textbooks. The
reason why they still have this knowledge is that the
Chinese government, being a Centralized Communism,
cannot possibly monitor all activity in China, It's
just impossible, especially when there are renegade
tribes running all over the place."
"Well, miss Saotome, why doesn't my book speak of
these people?"
"Probably because they don't want to be found by an
oppressive government, Sensei."
"I'll research this, Sao-"
"Furthermore, the very same treatment you call
abhorrent in the Chinese is being practiced by this
very ward, so you have no right to criticize them,
anyway."
"By this ward? What do you mean by this? Speak up,
Saotome."
"Only this, Sensei. You severely limit our input,
despite the...wonderful instruction. Your staff has no
idea how much torture it is, for at least myself and
probably a few others, it is to be surrounded by pink
twenty-four hours a day. You guys should realize the
torture you put us through with that alone.
Furthermore, our wardrobes would be antique if a
three-hundred year old Chinese woman was wearing them.
They're just plain ridiculous for us. Not every girl
in the world wears dresses every day, and bloomers
every time she's exercising, you know?"
The teacher was flabbergasted, speechless by Ranko's
boldness.
"I'm done with this. I'll see you tomorrow." Ranko
stormed out of the room.
We sat in silence for what seemed like hours. I had to
speak up.
"You know, she's right."
With that I got up and followed Ranko out, running to
catch up with her.
As we continued on I asked where we were going.
"To that idiot director Hans', of course! I'm mad now
and this has to stop!"
I kept pace with Ranko, and noticed a guard trying to
pick up something on a hand radio, something about a
riot with the ward B girls filing out of their
classrooms, heading towards Hans's office. That was
about when i turned and glanced behind me to notice
most of the girls following Ranko and I as quietly as
they could.
"We're behind you all the way, Ranko," Sera Arashi
called out.
"Yay Ranko! Get us our individuality back!"
We started to go on at a faster pace, some guards even
joining in with the cheers as they heard what Ranko
was trying to do. 
As we got to Hans's office he was there, a stern look
on his face, with two guards on either side of him,
all armed.
"What is the meaning of this?" The old man's voice was
a far fetch from what he was like at the orientations.
"We've come to protest, Hans! This personality
structuring is turning us into nothing but drones! We
want our individuality back!"
The old man seemed daunted by something in Ranko,
something dangerous. As he looked into her eyes his
frown slowly turned into something of a warm,
triumphant grin.
"I see, now. So our new Kenpo captain is also a bit of
a revolutionary, is she?"
Ranko didn't back down, she seemed to be pulsing with
anger, this was only offset by the tears of indignence
in her eyes, else nobody in the ward would have
doubted that Hans's life would end that day.
Hans began to speak loud enough for the entire mob in
the hallway to hear.
"Now hear this! One Ranko Saotome 
has petitioned me with a request that I can't refuse.
She has protested the treatment that you are
receiving, and I think I have a solution. I propose
that you girls form a committee to meet with a
committee formed by the teachers and guards that will
decide what to do with the wardrobes, modelling of the
rooms, and-"
The rest of Hans' speech was drowned out by cheers.
Ranko had given us a step up on our freedom.

*          *          *

It was about time!
Three months. It took three months for the girls to
finally get through the first step of their treatment.
Maybe this new girl was worth it after all. To think
that I had actually considered at the orientation that
she was going to be more trouble than she was worth!
This was going to be a good batch, this ward B. I owed
much to Miss Saotome Ranko.

*         *          *

I enfolded Ranko in a hug.
"Can you tell me what's wrong, Ranko?"
"I visited my mother a few days ago."
"You mean..."
"Don't worry, Yoichan. She's still alive, despite her
own efforts. She admitted herself to the Ward the next
day. I think they may be good for each other."
"Then why bring it up, Ranchan?"
"They were in bed together...it seemed like they
were...trying to make up for me, their mistake."
I held Ranko closer.
"They're fools, Ranko. You've told me that yours-"
"That doesn't make them not my parents, Yoichan. It
hurt, seeing them like that."
I held her closer.
"There's more, Yoichan. Did you notice that I haven't
aged since we met?"
"Yes...but I just thought you were in between growth
spurts..."
Ranko shook her head and disengaged herself from me.
"I'm not so lucky. I think it's the Juusenkyo curse
interfering with me. My girl form never aged before,
and since I'm always her, neither do I."
I nodded empathetically, wishing to all of the gods
that I could understand what she was going through.
"But doesn't that make you immortal, Ranko? I mean
there's certainly no human alive who can beat you
up..."
"That's the problem, Yoiko. I'll never grow up, I'll
never get older. I'll always just be Ranko, never
myself. I'll have to see you, Akane, and Ukyo die,
just like Sera. But I'll always be the Pigtailed girl,
the mysterious maiden that everybody either loves or
hates. I'll never have an identity."
With that Ranko ran off, and I let her go. She needed
time alone. My friend was dying on the inside, and I
knew it.

*            *           *

I sat in front of the short-haired artist with whom I
had made a lasting friendship in the last two years. 
"So what will it be, Akane? We should tell her."
Akane was sitting on the other side of my grill, in
the position opposite me that she had occupied for so
many meetings between us, and the dragon in the past
two years.
She gave me a look like I was asking her to slice
Ranko?s wrists.
"She?s not ready, Ukyo. Give it another month or so.
It can?t hurt. The dragon won?t hurt her, I know it.
Herb doesn?t work that way.
"If you say so, Akane. I still think we should tell
Ranko what?s going on. When people start lying it
always ends in pain."
"I?m not lying, Ukyo. I?m protecting my love."
"You?re hiding the truth, Akane, and that will only
hurt her."
Akane gave me a fearful look. "You won?t tell her,
will you, Ukyo?"
I shook my head. "This is your problem, Akane. It?s on
your head."
I got up from the grill and went outside to brood,
leaving Akane to her guilt.

*              *             *

I walked slowly home from the Kenpo practice. I?d let
Yoiko get to close to me, and, damn it, I knew it. Now
my curse was going to screw up her life too.
Damn my eyes. Why did I have to let her get so close
to me?
I was lost in thought, but not so lost that I didn?t
notice him following me. I knew who it was, and he was
back. He was also in for a surprise.
Luckily for that buffoon, his definition of ?following
me? somehow translated into walking into a brick wall
that was in the opposite direction from him that I
was.
Things were about to get interesting.

Disclaimer:

Surprise! I?m not Takahashi Rumiko! (btw: that means I
don?t own Ranma 1/2 or any of it?s characters). Yoiko,
Yuriko, Sera, and the bitches are all owned by me. Any
comments and criticisms, constructive, preferably,
E-mail to Inu_Ranma@yahoo.com

I love writing this fic and have made no profit from
it.

Apology: I want to make this fic eventually perfect,
so there will be frequent revisions, but I will be
doing a new chapter in between each revision until I
have finished with the plot of the fic, so don?t
despair.

Thanx to Kamui.
Special thanx to Figment. 3 in a row and still
prereading strong.
Very very very heartfelt special thanx to Riyousha
(LOVE!) for prereading, and being there.

Houdou-Ken is amusing.



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