Suggested changes: {before : after}
On Mon, 30 Sep 2002 17:44:14 -0400 "L.S McGill" <lsmcgill@hotmail.com> wrote:
Decided to make the chapter split so this is Chapter 4 instead of 3. Not
many major changes here, but a lot of minor ones. Tried to make the
Ranma/Akane situation a little tenser. Tried to figure out a way of adding
dialogue to the Ke Lun {sction : section}, but since it's mainly her thoughts while
walking, not sure how to do that.
Kasumi had to douse Ranma with a glass of water to get him to stop staring
blankly out the door after the vanished Zhu Shu. He blinked at Kasumi as
the taller girl handed him the tea tray. "Why don't you take this and share
a cup of tea with Akane." Kasumi smiled, faint color still in her cheeks.
"And I {put : added} an extra cup in case your friend comes back."
Now? Now maybe she was someone he'd hurt really badly without meaning to
... He felt miserable. He wished he knew what that scene in the kitchen
had been about. Was Zhu Shu _really_ happy that he and Akane were engaged?
She _had_ been trying to get Ranma and Akane to stop fighting in the garden.
{ :}And he had to admit that this was the least angry he had seen Akane since
that first day, But what of Zhu Shu?
"Akane," he said quietly. "Zhu Shu is the girl who taught me all I know
about _being_ a female, little as that is." Ranma laughed ruefully. "I met
her the day I was cursed. She came storming into the {Guide's : guide's} hut and wanted
to know what kind of repayment Pops was going to make to her for knocking
her into a Jusenkyo pool. They went outside to talk about it and when they
were done, Pops told me we were gonna escort her to the next village as
payment." Ranma poured the tea for them both, surprised that Akane was
being so attentive and quite.
Ranma continued. "After lunch, we sparred some, and she made me feel like I
was a friend, not a rival. No-one's ever done that before, except you, that
first day." Akane smiled behind her teacup at that. "I kinda thought she'd
laugh at me when I was helping her dry the dishes after dinner and Pops
knocked over the bucket on me, but she just made him mop it up and scolded
him. Then that night, when I started to bleed all over the place, she had
not a single unkind word, and even told Pops to go back to bed. She helped
me clean up, and made a tea to help with the cramps... but she wouldn't
allow me to change {to : back into a} boy again." She sighed. "Actually, she shamed me
into staying female. I mean, if she could deal with it, I could, right?
She has to live with it all the time."
Akane scooted over to lean against Ranma, not caring that they were both
female. "So what was it you {saw.? : saw?}"
"I- I don't know. I mean I've fought all kinds of people, and I know a
challenging look well enough, but this was different. I mean, it was a
challenging look, but it wasn't at the same time, ya know ... It ..." he
trailed off, unable to find the words. He stared fixedly at the tea tray,
oblivious to the scene that had unfolded before {Akane . : Akane.}
Zhu Shu debated for a long while before nodding. "Zhu Shu on quest to find
{Husband : husband}. Must find {Husband : husband} to fulfill {Family Duties : family duties}." She sat the empty
plate back on the tray, then knelt in front of Akane. "Zhu Shu must marry
to have children. Is last of {Clan : clan}. Must bear heir. But, yes, Zhu Shu no
like men. Zhu Shu think maybe Ranma could make happy, be both what Zhu Shu
need, and what she desire. Travel with to see. Ranma be good friend, but
..." She nodded her head sadly. "Ranma not what Zhu Shu heart want and he
see only friend. No. Zhu Shu not serious. Ranma can be fool, but Zhu Shu
see truth. Akane can be jewel beyond price if can learn to control
impulses. If Ranma too much fool to see to see beyond surface ...." She
trailed off, caught between desire and family honor.
Shiwang sighed. "She isn't Ke Lun. She's the last of the {Clan : clan}. I know
she's not going to be happy with anyone she finds, but she has no choice.
Much as I disliked it, I allowed my daughter to arrange a marriage to the
only boy in the village with a pure enough blood line. I could have
straightend Sung Li out in a year or two."
Shiwang shook his head. "I am not perfect Ke Lun. I make mistakes. I
foolishly allowed my daughter to bully Zhu Shu about her desires and drive
the family of Fei from our village. Zhu Shu ... has never been the same
since." He sighed heavily then squared his shoulders. "Age does not always
wisdom grant. And duty must be done. What happened happened. I must
ensure the {Clan's : clan's} survival. Zhu Shu's happiness comes second."
"Perhaps if I had been, my {Clan : clan} would not have been nearly destroyed. I
trusted the Musk, trusted Clove. She betrayed us. Destroyed my {Clan : clan} with
her jealousy. She was waiting for us at the escape tunnel, gloating. I had
to kill her guard."
Morning at the Tendo Dojo. Ranma beating the tar out of his dad, who had a
hangover. Nabiki watching them from the dining room, figuring odds on who
would go in the {Koi : koi} pond first. Kasumi calling a sleepy-headed Akane down
for breakfast as Ranma did a head dive into the pond. Soun Tendo greeting
his family as if the fight happening in the garden was beneath notice until
Ranma stepped out of the pond and stripped his wet shirt off to wring it
out, all the while yelling at the panda and never noticing the stunned look
on Soun's face. Akane yelling at Ranma about feminine modesty. Kasumi
being the epitome of gracious calm. A normal typical morning.
As Akane and Ranma walked to school, Akane got irritated at Ranma's silence.
{ :}"Well! Don't thank me or anything! It's not like I was defending _you_!
I just wanted to make sure Dad didn't have the wrong idea about Zhu Shu!"
After the two girls chatted through breakfast, Zhu Shu helped Kasumi clean
up while telling her of her adventures so far, but omitting things that
Kasumi didn't need to know yet. All she told her was that she had traveled
to Japan with a friend and was staying temporarily at a Shinto shrine,
following which Kasumi insisted she come stay at the {Dojo : dojo}. She introduced
Zhu Shu to her {father, Soun, : father} and made arrangements for Zhu Shu to have the
{Dojo : dojo} for her training classes with her quintet of "friends". Zhu Shu
thanked him and so charmed Soun that he told her to think of him as her
father while she was there.
Afterwards, she went with Kasumi to the shrine to get her possessions, and
Zhu Shu introduced Kasumi to Rei. Kasumi's smile won another heart and soon
she and Rei were chatting like old friends. She helped pack up Zhu Shu's
few clothes and promised to tell the other girls about the {Dojo : dojo}, and arrange
to get all of Zhu Shu's stuffed animals sent over. She was happy Zhu Shu
had found her friend and had a place to live, but Zhu Shu could see the
slight wistfulness in her look too. She kissed Rei on the cheek as she was
leaving and told her that maybe she'd let her spy on her katas again
sometime. Rei blushed from her hairline down to her gi top as Zhu Shu gave
her a hug and made her promise to show up for lessons on time.
Kasumi smiled sadly. "I know how it feels dear. I've had to be the mother
to my whole family since Mother died. Even Father hasn't been the same.
Mother's death hit all of us so hard. Poor Nabiki does everything she can
to keep the {Dojo : dojo} solvent, and hides her hurt behind a wall of indifference,
and Akane feels like she has to carry the honor of the school on her
shoulders. They all have so many concerns that I just try to keep our home
a pleasant place so we all have our own safe haven. I know it makes many
people think I'm just a simpleton, but it's all I know to do. It's the only
way I can give Akane and Nabiki the freedom to be even as much normal
teenagers as they are." She sighed. "But it's lonely. I never get to go
out except for shopping and occasionally to go see Doctor Tofu, but I
fluster him so much he's impossible to talk to and I have to pretend not to
notice because he'd have a heart attack or stroke if I didn't. He nearly
killed poor Ranma the other day when I visited."
Kasumi looked out the window. "Hell. If I was any less afraid that it
would almost certainly be fatal for one of us, I'd seduce him." She rolled
her eyes. "But either he'd accidentally break me, or he'd have an embolism.
{ :}So I'm stuck with fantasies..." She sighed again. "Maybe when Akane and
Ranma are married and Nabiki has her own place; when I don't have to be the
mother..."
It was good Zhu Shu had blood-bonded to Shan Pu. It would give her the
chance to find someone she could actually be happy with, maybe even Saotome.
{ :}She certainly had no reservations about Zhu Shu's preferences, even if she
agreed with Shi she had to bear an heir. With the blood-bond added to a
marriage, Shan Pu's children would also be Clan Dragon, and with a pureblood
heir, the survival of the Clan would be assured. Shan Pu certainly wouldn't
object, her great grand-daughter had expressed her interest in Zhu Shu
clearly enough the night Zhu Shu had arrived, and Ke Lun had let her know
she approved. It had surprised her that Zhu Shu had sidestepped Shan Pu's
offer. Among Amazons, an offer to take a sister-wife was the equivalent of
a marriage offer, and it was just as binding by Amazon law. Had Zhu Shu
accepted, Shi would have had no choice but to allow the marriage to stand,
as Clan Dragon had always honored the {Amazon's : Amazons'} customs. While Zhu Shu would
have had to accept Saotome's attentions occasionally, Shan Pu would be happy
to make up for it the rest of the time.
Still, she wished she could have found out what Shi had seemed so afraid of
that he had hidden the {Clan : clan} away for so long. He had known that the Amazons
had avenged Clan Dragon, but he seemed certain that the Musk had had
something else driving them beyond just Clove. She would have given
anything to know what Clove had told him during their last encounter. What
was the shadowy fear Shi hid from? Why had he allowed Zhu Shu out on her
quest without her knowing of whatever danger lurked beyond the haven of her
home village? And did that shadowy fear even still exist?
Kasumi helped Zhu Shu back to the {subway : train station} and they quickly left the Chinatown
behind. Zhu Shu caught her breath and looked apologetically at Kasumi.
"Zhu Shu sorry endanger life and fail slay last assassin."
Passengers waiting in the Nerima subway were treated to an unusual show that
morning as trains unloaded. From one car, no one exited for several seconds
as Kasumi regally walked forward to the door. Every eye was upon her as she
walked and stunned passengers cleared a path for her. At the door, an
elderly gentleman bowed her through and offered her a hand to the platform.
She stepped lightly, then turned and offered her hand to a bemused and
slightly dazed Zhu Shu. She gave a small nod of her head to the rest of the
train, then, like a {Queen : queen} proceeding to take her throne, she turned and led
the Mandarin girl towards the stairs.
Nabiki was finishing her lunchtime business when one of her factors came
running up waving a photo. "Miss Nabiki! I just got this from an agent on
the {subways : rail system}! It was taken less than two hours ago! I got him to hold onto
the negatives until you told us what to do!"
"What _are_ you going on about?" Nabiki asked, bored. It had been an
excruciatingly dull day. Ranma and Akane hadn't fought all day and
Gosunkugi hadn't turned in his next batch of Akane pics for selling to Kuno.
{ :}She gave her factor a sour look and reached out to snag the photo.
All the way to the {Doctors : doctor's}.
* * * * *
Kasumi was waiting outside the {Doctor's : doctor's} office, a slight flush on her face.
"Oh my! what happened to Nabiki?"
Akane double blinked. "Kasumi? What are you doing here?"
Kasumi blushed. "Oh my ... um ... I'm afraid I caused Zhu Shu to pull a
muscle, so I brought her to the {Doctor : doctor} to be checked out. I thought that
after last night and, um ... well, I wanted to make sure she was ok. But
what's wrong with Nabiki?"