Nerima 20th Reunion
Nerima, 20Th Reunion
Started By: Perfume
It was the middle of a bright spring afternoon when Perfume
arrived back home. A modest shop that has stood the test of
time. She smiled at the sign as she entered 'Curses, Cures
and Antiques.'. She had changed the name a little while after
Silk had given the shop to her.
She was dressed in American styled clothing, stuff she would
have never worn in her youth. She was dressed in a pair of
jeans and boots, a gray pullover and was wearing a brown
bomber jacket. Her long pink hair had just a small trace of
gray in it, but her hair was pulled back in a long braid, her
face exposed to all. Cosmetic surgery had taken care of the
hideous scar she had detested so much.
Perfume went into the shop and dropped her bags at the door.
She had the mail in her hand, and it was full of RSVP's for
her reunion party. She had sent invitations to everyone that
she knew when she first arrived in Nerima. She just hoped
that the party would be sane for a change.
She knew that the children would be at Furinkan High school,
and the shop was closed today, so it was just her and her
husband.
She could smell food cooking in the kitchen and followed her
nose to where her husband was cooking dinner. This was going
to be a surprise, she was supposed to be gone for another
week.
She snuck up on Konatsu and grabbed him in a huge hug, and
completing the move with a massive kiss.
"I missed you. "
Konatsu dropped the ladle he had been holding in his right
hand and embraced his wife and returned the kiss. "Not as
much as I did you," he smiled, knowing very well how cliché
that sounded. "Had a nice trip, dear?"
Perfume grinned one of her mischievous grins. "I would say
so, Honey, I got it!" She pulled a pair of gold and bejeweled
bracers from the pocket of her coat. "the bracers from the
armor of god, the museum will love this piece. Dr Belloq II
almost got it before I did, though."
She still hadn't let go of her husband, after 19 years of
marriage she never got tired of the affection. "Enough shop
talk. ' She smiled brightly. 'We need to start getting the
reunion party ready, they'll all be here in a couple of days.
" She couldn't contain her excitement at seeing many of her
old friends again.
She smiled lovingly at her husband. A Bright smile that had
not changed at all in the last 20 years. It held the same
amount of love, if not more love, then it did when she first
fell in love with him.
Konatsu returned the loving look that his Perfume gave him.
"Well..." he said, a playful look on his face, "we _do_ have
a week to prepare, and you have been gone for a while..."
Perfume let her eyes drift over to the staircase, and then
back to Konatsu. "And the children won't be back for a few
hours." she responded, catching his meaning. She started
turning down the fire under the pot. "Last one upstairs is a
rotten egg!"
Perfume and Konatsu quickly made their way to the staircase
and disappeared up into the second floor.
About the same time in Kyoto, Happi-Chan was studying a large
leather bound book. Magic is such a difficult art to keep up
with sometimes. Her daughter Ryoko was sitting on the couch
working on her calculus homework from college.
The mother and daughter made such a strange pair sometimes.
The two looked so much alike that there was no way you could
mistake them for anything than mother and daughter.
Happi owed Ryoko her life. Years ago from Happi's point of
view (but only two from Ryoko's), Ryoko accidentally sent
herself back in time. Before she left she broke a fundamental
rule of magic and told Happi what she had to do to survive.
That one incident changed Happi's destiny forever.
She was no longer cursed, but stuck as a woman. Not that it
bothered her any, she loved Ryoko too much for it to be any
other way.
Happi grinned and shot a small fireball from her hand and
launched it at Ryoko. The younger woman didn't even look up,
she held up her left hand and countered the spell. She even
finished her calculus problem at the same time.
"Very good Ryoko Chan, your getting better." She smiled
warmly at her daughter. "when your done, Pack your bags. You
and I are going to Nerima. I want you to meet some of Mom's
old friends. "
Back in Nerima, at the Funryu mansion, Brush was finishing
the finishing touches on a cake she had made, while looking
over the latest magical items and books she had obtained. She
looked into her scrying globe, and smiled.
"Alex will be home soon. I think I need to be ready for him.
He'll want to see how the place has been kept up since he
left." She began to weave her own magic, causing the house to
begin to clean itself, and she went upstairs to change into
something...more appropriate for greeting her husband.
Ukyou hummed as she swept the front porch of the Dojo. The
kids was in school, her husband was practicing inside and
everything was generally as well as all could be. She was
happy. A nice restaurant and Dojo, a loving husband and two
adorable kids. Things didn't get any better than this, she
thought.
Ryouga WAS in the Dojo. About ten minutes ago that is. Right
now he had somehow come to the gates of New Furinkan high.
the old school had to be rebuilt from scratch after a very
large fight involving himself and Ranma. A pillar of green
light blasted upwards from the direction of the school
fields. Instantly Ryouga knew that something was happening to
his eldest daughter.
"MAYA!" the sight of her greeted his eyes as she ran, crying
towards him. She was sixteen and had quite easily attracted
the attention of Furinkans male population. She wore a yellow
and black bandanna like a bow in her long hair. Along with
her strength and fangs Maya had also inherited the habit of
causing mass property damage when upset off of her father.
Somehow she must have found the scroll with the instructions
for the Shi Shi Houkoudan at some point since she was fully
capable of performing the technique.
Ryouga gently hugged is daughter whilst running though a
list of probably reasons for her distress.
Ryoko and Happi-Chan were just sitting down to dinner when
the front door of the small house opened and closed. They
both knew what that meant. The call a moment later confirmed
it. "I'm home! Mages who want the books I got for them while
I was in Scotland should get down here and give me a hug!" It
was Silk.
Happi and Ryoko both smiled at each other and tried their
newest spell. At the same time the both said the word
"Blink".
Silk was a little surprised at finding the two red headed
mages appearing on either side of her. The hug she got from
both directions was not a surprise though.
"It's good to see you back, Silk-Chan" Happi smiled
especially in anticipation of a new spell book.
Ryoko reacted even more pleasantly. "Welcome Home Auntie
Silk, You made it just in time for Dinner."
Silk smiled, "Alright! Just let me put my bags away." The
still young seeming woman rolled her suitcase into her room.
Her room was filled with things from foreign countries and
stuffed with books and pictures, the evidence of fifteen
years of world travel. She stared into the mirror as she
unbraided her hair. It was the same face she'd worn for
years, and would wear for years. "So much the same." she
murmured, thinking about the past twenty years since she'd
left Nerima.
She had gone to med.-school and earned her MD, then discovered
that though she wasn't going to let anyone bleed to death in
the street, doctoring wasn't her real passion. Traveling was.
So she'd taken up writing, first as a correspondent for
International news services, then as a journalist, and
finally as a writer of books, both novels and nonfiction. She
was working on her fifth book at the moment. "Slanted Eyes.
Looking out at the world." it was her story, to date. She
didn't know why the editor wanted her to write it when she
was barely 38, and still looked like she was 24, but if he
was willing to pay, she was willing to write.
Silk walked into the kitchen and sat in her usual seat
across from Happi-Chan. "Perfume's party is tomorrow, right?"
she asked. She was always a little confused when she was
flying from Europe or America, as to what day it was when she
arrived.
Happi smiled at her young companion across the table. Like
Silk, Happi had aged very little in the last 20 years. It had
to have something to do with the amazon genes. Happi had
moved to Kyoto a few years ago for a job she took with the
college out there. Happi focused on a talent that she was
always good at, teaching.
"Perfume's party is in a couple of days, Silk-Chan." She
smiled at Silk and at Ryoko. "but she want all the out of
town people to show up early. She said we can stay at the
shop with her family."
Ryoko brightened up a bit more. Her and Chanel were good
friends and she missed her since moving to Kyoto. "this is
going to be fun."
The table was momentarily silent as they slurped their ramen
noodles. They all finished. Silk looked at the clock, then at
the others. They had no commitments, nothing keeping them in
Kyoto tonight, and their bags were packed. Not a word was
said. Silk headed for her room and grabbed her small bag, the
same one that she'd always kept packed when she had been the
proprietor of Curses and Cures. She met Ryoko and Happi at
the door. "Let's move." they headed for the train station at
a good clip. Roof tops are never as crowded as the streets in
Kyoto. Only in Nerima.
"...and your term papers are due in two weeks. Just a
friendly reminder. You all enjoy your break now." the
professor reminded his students as they poured out of the
class. "Ah..." he sighed, stroking his thick beard. It had
been a long time. A really long time. He picked up the
invitation on his desk. He rubbed it between his fingers, as
if he was trying to draw something from it.
"A reunion." he whispered softly. Looking into the mirror, he
hardly recognized himself. His soft brown hair was now down
to his shoulder and tied back in a slick ponytail. His face
was now covered by a thick beard that seemed to hide his
face; his eyes offering the only noticeable insight into him.
He looked pretty old; older than he was, anyway, but any who
knew him well enough knew that he was still as healthy as he
could be, had no rival with the blade, and could sing down
the moon. His session of thought was interrupted by a very
familiar voice. "Yoo hoo, DOCTOR Yamada. Don't you think we'd
better get going?" the voice said in a singsong way.
"Hrmph. Don't you know better than to interrupt your father
wen he's thinking?" he said, his beard climbing the sides of
his face to show what could best be described as a smile.
"Yeah, yeah." she said. Hurry up. Aren't you excited to meet
all your old friends?" Keisuke's smile faded. "Of course...of
course I am. Sari, are all my things packed?" Sari nodded.
"Yep, about fifty years ago! Hurry up!!"
Keisuke chuckled. She was a pretty young girl. She had raven
black hair that was tied into a long pony tail that reached
down to her waist. She was tall for her age. She was 15 years
old and almost as tall as her father. She was also very
pretty. Her face very closely resembled her mother's.
Keisuke sighed deeply. Her mother. He remembered that day
like it was yesterday. He forced himself to leave Nerima
after Sari was born. Nobody knew who her mother was and he
didn't want anybody to find out. Sari didn't even know, as he
had thought about telling her many times, but never could
bring himself to do it.
"Maybe she'll find out on her own..." he thought. "Maybe." He
walked out to the car where she was waiting and got in. "Oh!
You're done already! Maybe we'll get there by NEXT YEAR!" She
said sarcastically. That was one ting she had inherited from
him. "Yeah yeah. Let's go." Keisuke put the car in gear and
headed toward the airport.
~A While Later, in Juban~
In the busy section of the Tokyo city business district,
Moria Saotome stood in the doorway watching her oldest
daughter, Satori teach their afternoon class in the family
Dojo. In her late 30's, Moria's brown hair was tied back into
a single ponytail, but even at her age she still looked like
she was still in her late twenties than her thirties. As she
watched, one of Satori's student's charged her at her urging,
lashing out with a punch followed up by a high kick.
With a look of triumph at her daughters antics, Moria
watched as Satori blocked the incoming attacks and sent the
student flying to the ground head first, sliding on the floor
as he went before coming to a stop a few feet away, to the
surprise of everyone in the room
"Sorry about that, Throwa. I got a little carried away."
Satori said sheepishly as she walked over to help Throwa back
to his feet.
"That's okay, Tori." Throwa said as he accepted her help and
was soon back on his feet, dusting off his gi, and rubbing
his now sore jaw from where he had landed.
Once he was back up, Satori turned away, tightening the belt
on her gi as she glanced up at a nearby wall clock as the
chimes rang out through the Dojo announcing the hour. before
glancing in her mother's direction seeing that she was also
looking at the clock, as she walked into the room.
Clapping her hands once loudly enough to gain everyone's
attention, Moria began her announcement. "Times up everyone.
Class is now finished for today." she announced slowly as she
watched as the students stood up to bow towards her and
Satori. "All classes will be canceled for the next week or so
while my kids and I attend a reunion we're going to. I will
contact everyone on our return to Juban about when classes
will begin again."
The students all said good-bye and piled out the door
heading either home or anywhere else they usually go to at
this time of day. The last one out the door was Throwa who
was hanging back to say speak to Satori, as he stepped out
the door. A few moments later, he was out the door and
heading down the street, waving good-bye as he went.
"So what was that all about?" Moria asked as one of her
eyebrows raised up at her daughter in curiosity.
"Oh nothing, mom. Throwa was only asking me out on a date."
Satori said sheepishly as she turned away to head up the
stairs to the apartment that had been built above the Dojo,
with her mother close behind. "So when are we leaving?" she
asked, as she walked into her bedroom
"We'll leave sometime tomorrow afternoon. So start getting
packed for the trip so we'll be all set leave on time." Moria
said as she walked down the hallways heading for the
bedrooms. Satori closed her bedroom door behind her.
Knocking on one the doors, Moria opens it to reveal a young
boy about the same age as Satori sitting at a computer.
Looking up through a pair of circular eyeglasses to see who
was there he spots his mother. "What is it mom?" he asked.
"Jinpei are you all ready packed to go?" she demanded as she
stood into the doorway. "We'll be leaving tomorrow on the
Metrolink train for Nerima."
Jinpei nodded his head while pushing his glasses back up
onto the bridge of his nose as he turned back around to face
the computer. "I'm ready to go whenever you are, mom. Just
give the word."
"Fine then." Moria said as she turned around and closed the
door behind her as she left the room. Making her way to her
own bedroom, Moria flopped down on her bed, lying on her back
as she stared up at the ceiling. Turning over onto her side,
she picked up the invitation she had received the day before,
rereading it as she goes. It had been a long time since she
had seen the old gang, and was looking forward to seeing them
again tomorrow. 'I wonder how all of them are doing these
days?' she wondered silently to herself as she returned
the invitation to it's original spot. 'It'd be good to see
Ranma and Akane again after all this time too.'
At the Kunou Manor
Kodachi Kunou Maikaze sat alone in the main kitchen of the
manor. She quickly took a handful of pills, her daily candy,
she never missed a scheduled dose. Even all these years later
she was still grateful to the man who realized that she was
sick and got her the help she needed. Thanks to Mimiku she
had managed to have a great and normal life.
She knew her son Mamoru Should practicing his swordsmanship
in the training room. A room that she herself still used. A
Good diet and lots of exercise kept her body lean and trim.
More and more often as of late, Mamoru came home a little
late from school. She knew that he was really popular with
the girls in Furinkan, that could be the reason he was late
coming home once again.
She smiled softly as she picked up her invitation, she had
left it just under her display of Olympic gold medals. She
had regular contact with many of her friends in her youth,
but she had never been able to get really close with anyone.
Aside from Silk, Kodachi knew she could consider Perfume her
good friend, but she was never really sure about the others.
"I hope you two amazons will be there. I miss you both."
It was very late (or very early) by the time Silk, Happi-Chan
and Ryoko stepped off the super high speed bullet train that
had taken them from Kyoto to Tokyo in less then half the time
is would have taken them twenty years ago. They walked out of
the Nerima train station and into nostalgia. None of them
were very tired, having slept on the train, so they wandered
the streets for a while. about an hour later Silk led them to
the park, and to her favorite bridge. From there the trio
watched the sun rise.
Happosai watched the sunrise with her friend and her
daughter. Her mind awash with many thoughts of the past and
the future. She never liked the idea of being a woman at
first, but Ryoko was worth any sacrifice she had to make.
She smiled at her daughter, and wondered if she would ever
tell her the entire truth about her parentage. Maybe one day
she would, and maybe she wouldn't.
She moved closer to Silk. "Walter wanted to come along, but
I told him that my friends wouldn't understand why I was with
him." Happi was speaking of a fellow professor, the only man
she could get close to. One that Silk and Ryoko jokingly
called Happi's boyfriend.
"Do you think I should have brought him along?"
Ryoko was way too fascinated with the beautiful sunset to pay
much attention to what her mother was asking Silk. She had
really wanted Walter to come along. She still didn't
understand why mom wouldn't bring him.
Silk spoke softly, "I think you should have trusted us more.
We aren't going to make you look bad in front of Walter,
Happi. You shouldn't be afraid of everyone knowing that
you're as much a woman as anyone else, including boyfriend."
Even as Silk said the words, she was reminded that they were
hypocrisy, and tasted foul in her mouth. She knew Happi
didn't want her daughter to know who her father was. She
recognized that sentiment. She knew someone who had the exact
opposite problem.
Silk sat on the bridge rail for a moment longer, and once
the sun was fully above the horizon, headed them all towards
the Curses and Cures. No matter what Perfume called it now,
it would always be the C&C to her.
"This is Nerima?? This place is totally DEAD!!" Sari
exclaimed, looking out the window of the taxi. Her father
seemed to be lost in space, just staring out his own window.
"Can we get something to eat? I'm starved." she poked him in
the ribs. "Huh? Oh, sure. We can stop somewhere. Driver,
we'll get out here." Sari hopped out of the taxi while
Keisuke paid the driver. "Where are we gonna eat?" "Over
here. This is one of the best restaurants in all of Japan.
Keisuke and his daughter entered the doors of Ucchan's.
Down the street of the Ucchan, Fujiko Tamamiru entered her
shop. It had changed names in the last twenty years, just
like Fujiko had when she married. The shop was now called
Tamamiru Art Studios which was now next to the Tamamiru Art
Shop. She had to expand when her art career had taken off.
Of course, she only used the name when she made appearances
dealing with her career as an artist. The rest of the time
she used her married name and liked it that way. It gave her
a sense of anonymity when she was home.
Of course, the locals knew of her "double life". The locals
also could have cared less. Unlike others, Fujiko had elected
to stay in Nerima and now was involved with various local
causes. Especially with the Furinkan Drama Department (where
she taught part time) and Furinkan Hospital Cancer Ward. The
rest of her time was spent living with her wonderful husband
and their twin children, both fifteen. One boy and one girl.
They had just started to attend Furinkan High.
Fujiko looked like she had only aged a decade, not the
twenty that had gone by. This was due to both a healthy
lifestyle which included excessive doses of her favorite
activity and to her frequent trips to Avalon. Thanks to
Reihime, the sorceress she rescued from the fan, Fujiko had a
small, but powerfully rabid following in the fairy world.
She had even been commissioned to paint Lady Tatiana herself.
Right now, her children were pursuing their extra-curricular
activities so Fujiko had all the time in the world to
reflect. "Life has been good" she said out loud to no one in
particular "I hope the others have done well. Can't wait to
see the changes."
A sparkle appeared in the air in the Funryu Mansion, before
it turned into a rainbow-swirl portal. Two figures stepped
out of the Rift, then it closed, one wearing some sort of
armor, the other a young boy of about 16. The armor vanished,
revealing Alexander Funryu. Over the years, Alex had gotten
even taller, now being 6'11". His eyes were silted, like a
cat's, after several years of being half-griffin. He now also
had an odd tattoo of an armored knight on his shoulder, and
several other tattoos on his body.
Otherwise, he looked to be about 23, instead of his actual
age of 39. The boy looked up at Alex and said, "That was a
cool trip, dad! When are we doing it again? I want to go back
to Phase World." His father chuckled. "Soon enough, David. We
can't hang around in that reality too long, you know. Even
though you seemed to like the attention."
He looked down at his son, who looked almost exactly like his
father, except for the fact that he had his mother's blue
eyes. David quickly ran off, to go and find a game of hoop,
or a good sparring match with the Saotomes. Alex, however,
went into the mansion to see his wife.
Later on, Alex got up and checked the mail, with his five-year old daughter Minako in his arms. "Hey, dear, it's an invite to a reunion of the old gang. It'll be nice to see them all again and see what they're doing now." "Daddy, can I go too? Is Auntie Perfume going to be there?" Minako asked her father. The little girl looked exactly like her mother, but she had brown eyes like her father instead of blue. "Of course you can come. And I'm sure she'll be there." Alex put his daughter down as she went to her mother to tell her about the reunion, and to get mommy to help her get ready. He stopped briefly to send his son a quick message and alert him as to where he needed to be later.
At Curses Cures and Antiques
Perfume was the first person awake in the house. Somewhere
she had become a morning person, she didn't even require the
ungodly amounts of coffee to wake up that she once did.
She smiled at the sleeping form of her husband and kissed him
on the forehead. She was going to let him sleep in this
morning. She walked silently down the hall and checked on
Chanel and Yuu, both girls were still fast asleep. They could
still sleep a bit before she had to wake them up.
She started cooking breakfast downstairs. This was yet
another skill she had learned in the intervening years. It
took Kasumi several patient months to teach her.
Perfume looked at the clock as she worked. She knew that
Silk, Happi and Ryoko were supposed to be here in the
afternoon. That meant that they would be here shortly. She
decided to make enough breakfast for them also.
Konatsu, dressed in his usual feminine bathrobe ( pink one
with embroidered violets on it), slipped down the stairs and
soundlessly (thanks to his kunoichi training) sneaked up
behind his wife and looked over her shoulder while she
cooked, saying nothing.
Perfume was so wrapped in thought that she didn't hear
Konatsu sneaking up on her. She had just calculated how many
eggs the entire group could go through. She was just about to
reach for the eggs when she felt someone was standing behind
her.
Her warrior senses had not dulled at all over the years,
actually with all she had been through it had gotten better.
The only problem was that she sometimes didn't ignore it when
she should.
She spun around and found herself face to face with Konatsu.
She exhaled softly. "Honey, you startled me, I thought you
were still sleeping. " She kissed him softly. "Good Morning,
Honey"
"Good Morning, Honey," Konatsu kissed her back, his eyes
looking up from his wife's chest area that had made some
interesting movements when she spun around. "Today is the day,
no?"
Perfume smiled and she did not miss where Konatsu's gaze went
to. It made her feel great that he still found her desirable
after 20 years. "they should start arriving today. If I know
Happi's little family she'll show up 12 hours earlier than
she said." She had yet to figure out how Konatsu's hair was
always perfect first think in the morning. "We also need to
call the Hibiki's, we're going to use their Dojo for the
party."
"Should we call them now or after breakfast, you think?"
"After Breakfast honey, I expect that Happi and her troupe
will be here shortly." With that, the couple began
working together on making breakfast. The two always made a
good team, and cooking was no exception.
While they worked Chanel and Yuu woke up and made their way
downstairs. Parents and children exchanged early
morning pleasantries. The girls prepared the table for
breakfast.
"Chanel, Yuu." Perfume started as she flipped some
pancakes over. "Set three more places at the table, Happi,
Silk and Ryoko will be here shortly, they'll be staying for a
Few days. "
Both girls became excited, they both liked Ryoko her mother
and Auntie Silk very much. It was a special treat to have
all three over at once.
Atop the nearby wall to Furinkan sat a boy of maybe
14-15years of age and watched Ryouga hug his daughter. The
boy was fine-limbed, almost delicate and had a very
bishonnen-looking face.
"Dad!" he called out as he jumped down and landed
gracefully. Yukinojo, as was his name, nodded towards
his sister, Maya. "Some boys was giving her a hard time.
They made fun of her because of the sense of direction. I
guess the won't do it again, after that blast."
Yukinojo was the only child with the last name Hibiki
that actually had a normal sense of direction. Must have been
the Kuonji genes in him.
Ukyou stopped sweeping and looked up at the green
light. Judging from the size of it, it was Maya. "Honey," she
called out, getting no reply. "Honey?" She poked her head
through the door and saw that the Dojo was empty. "Not
again..."
Ryouga looked at his son and nodded. "Really... And I
guess you just had to use the bakusai tenket in order to bury
them right?" Yukinojo looked slightly nervous. "Well
uhhh..."Ryouga laughed and slapped his son on the back
(sending him sprawling)
"Ha! Don't worry about it! You were just looking after your
sisters honor!" Both Maya and Yukinojo smiled as the
trio headed back towards the Hibiki Dojo.
A few moments later...
"Hey, Yukinojo."
"What is it Maya?"
"I didn't know cacti grew in Nerima."
"Cacti? But cacti... don't... grow..." Yukinojo's
became silent as the truth dawned on him. "We're in a
desert! "Ryouga just turned to look at him. "Don't worry son,
I know exactly where we are! this is just a shortcut!"
Yukinojo had to resist the urge to pound his father at that
comment.
Back at the Kunou manor, Mimiku Maikaze had just gotten
home from an exhausting day at work. The incident with that
Hibiki child had caused a terrible ruckus, not to mention
the clean-up that had to be done at the blast zone. Why, oh
why had he become a teacher?
Not only were the students rowdy and unorganized, but
they had to blow up parts of the school as well. Gah, the
trouble he had to put up with and not discipline them. At
least he could come home to his loving wife and child, relax
for a bit before he had to check his lesson plans for
tomorrow's production.
The theater department of New Furinkan High was under his
administration, and the students weren't working as hard
as they should be for the upcoming play. Oh, that Hibiki
child! That was the worst in the whole lot of bad apples, but
how could he get angry at them? It wasn't their fault that
they liked to have fun rather than pay attention.
He entered the living room where he found Kodachi near to
the fireplace reading today's mail, "How was your day, dear?"
He asked with a wan smile. He brushed back a single strand
of his purple hair, which had gained some length over the
years.
Kodachi turned about, setting the gold medal she was holding
in her left hand back on the fireplace display. Mimiku could
see that she had a single tear in her eye.
She ran up and gave Mim a Huge affectionate hug and Kiss. "
I was reminiscing about the past, dearest, I guess I miss all
of our old friends, and I'm looking forward to seeing them
all again. "
She had not let go of her husband yet, but he could sense
that she was smiling. "By the way, did Mamoru come home with
you or is he still flirting with someone?"
"Gah, that boy.... He wasn't with me, but there was a bit of
ruckus after school today. He's probably the cause of it. I
told him to not go near that Hibiki girl." Mimiku sighed and
held Kodachi close in a warm snuggle.
"So, what's on your mind, suddenly reminiscing like this?"
He smiled kindly kissing her on the cheek so she could answer
still.
Kodachi smiled once again, She was happy that her son was far more popular
than
she had ever been. "Does he ever listen when a pretty girl is involved? "
She kissed Mim and let go of him for a second. She held up the invitation to
the
party, still smiling. "Perfume is having a reunion party, she invited all
the
old gang back. This was the cause for reminiscing."
Mimiku looked at the invitation, "Heh, they still know how
to start a party, eh? Well, I guess we've got to show them we
can still end'm" He chuckled at this, nuzzling her and giving
her a warm hug. "Well, Miss Maikaze, shall we go fetch our
son or take advantage of his leave?"
Kodachi grinned devilishly at her beloved husband. "Mamoru can take care of
himself for a bit."
********
Down the street from the Curses, Cures, and Antiques was the
newly remodeled Nekohanten. Not only has it become the
premiere Ramen house in all of Nerima, but also an
entertainment spot. Travelers and locals can come by and
enjoy delicious Chinese cooking while catching some Chinese
performers (mostly members of Shampoo's amazon tribe) and
traditional sword dances and such.
Rinse had left for China many years ago after a
heartbreaking incident. He eventually returned to Nerima
years later, but not alone. He had met Gel, a very beautiful
young Amazon from another tribe. They married each other and
had a daughter, Vidal. Rinse still looked young as does his
bride. Amazons were known for their slow aging process. Rinse
currently heads the Joketsuzoku/Amazon School of martial arts
next to the Nekohanten. Gel too is a teacher at the martial
arts school and Vidal, age 14, who is best friends with
Perfume and Konatsu's children, Chanel and Yuu.
"Rinse! Food almost ready." Gel cheerfully said as she tossed
vegetables into the air and skillfully sliced them with a
knife with a flick of her wrist. Rinse walked in wiping off
the sweat from his brow after a few hours of early morning training. He was
taller now, had a healthy built and wore a dark blue outfit
similar to Ranma's old red outfit long ago. He laid the towel
over his neck and kissed Gel from behind. She laughed a bit
as she yelled in Chinese, "Aiyaa! go wash up! Breakfast
almost done!" She playfully smacked his arm. A beautiful
young girl walked into the room her long violet hair bounced
as she smiled at her parents. "Good morning Vidal." Gel
said as Rinse kissed his daughter on the forehead on his way
to the shower.
"Mm! Chanel and Yuu told me that Auntie Silk, Auntie
Happi and Ryoko are coming to Nerima!" Vidal exclaimed as she
helped her mother set the table. Rinse poked his head from
the bathroom, "Your Auntie Silk will be glad to see how much
you've grown. Maybe you can show her your martial art skill."
Rinse obviously improved on his broken Japanese.
"I hope so!" She said as she did a couple sword stances with
a ladle. Vidal admired her strong Aunts very much. She
retained the old fighting spirit that was passed down from
her parents and the other Amazons.
********
Perfume was accurate in her prediction of the time of arrival for Silk and the
gang, as they showed up shortly after breakfast was done. "Tadaima!" Silk called
from the doorway, Grinning like a maniac. Thought the shop was no longer hers,
she considered it one of her homes. She had a lot of homes, none permanent.
"Heya Perfume-Chan!" She embraced her old friend, lifting the shorter woman off
the ground in a great hug she'd learned from her long ago.
Happi was equally pleased to be back in the shop. It had been too long since
she'd been here. She gave Konatsu a huge hug and then hugged Chanel and Yuu in
turn.
"My you girls have grown!"
Ryoko wasted no time, as soon as her mom let got of the girls she also attacked
the duo with great big hugs. "I've missed you guys!"
Perfume was a little surprised at being taken off her feet by Silk. She
returned the hug had the two not been martial artists they might have done
serious harm to one another with those monster hugs.
"It's good to see you again, Silk-Chan, You've got to come by more often." She
smiled at her friend. "I've missed you girl."
"And I you, Perfume." Silk grinned, setting her old friend back down. "This
time I'll be in Japan for a while anyway. I just got back from Scotland
yesterday, and I don't have to leave for six months unless I want to." For Silk
that was a huge amount of time to be staying in one place. Silk dropped her bag
on a handy counter and dug through it. She pulled out a video tape and handed it
to Perfume, "from an archeologist I met while I was there. Said you'd find it
interesting." she dug around some more, "I brought some things for a pair of
unruly teenagers, too."
****
Keisuke and Sari exited the building. "I dunno about the best in Japan, but
that was really good, dad." Keisuke just smiled. "I knew you'd like it." Keisuke
stopped outside the restaurant, looking across at the old shop...his old home.
Keisuke was having second thoughts about going back. For one, there was no
possible way there were going to recognize him right away. Sari looked up at
him. "Is that where we're going?" Before Keisuke could give an answer, Sari
grabbed his hand and dragged him across the street and into the building bearing
the sign 'Curses, Cures, & Antiques.'
Silk finished handing out the souvenirs, a small hand organ and a box of Swiss
chocolates when the bell on the door rang. Silk turned at the sound, as did
Perfume and Konatsu. All were accomplished shop keepers by now. They saw a girl
of about fifteen dragging an older man behind her. The man didn't look
particularly familiar, but the girl could have been Silk at that age. Her black
hair went down to her waist, and her eyes were the same snapping green. Silk
froze, one hand held slightly out towards the girl, "Sari?" her voice was soft.
"Keisuke?"
Happi was still smiling when she turned to greet Keisuke. She had seen less of
him than anyone else in the last twenty years. The first thing she noticed was
his change in appearance. He looked so much different than the day they had
their water-fight in the Hawaiian pool. Very handsome and distinguished, almost
like Walter.
Then she noticed Sari, and had to do a double take. It was like Silk from 20
years ago had stepped back in the shop. She looked like Silk as much as Ryoko
looked like her. There was no mistaking it, this girl was defiantly Silk's
daughter. She just couldn't believe it.
For a moment all she could do was look between Sari and Silk, she was
speechless for several long seconds. She finally recovered from the stunning
realization and tried to act casual about it, but her eyes told the entire
story.
"By the Gods Keisuke you've changed allot, I like it." She then smiled at Sari
and introduced herself. " I'm Happi, and I take it your Keisuke's daughter?"
"...yes ma'am." Sari said blankly, her eyes never moving away from Silk. Keisuke
stumbled. He was lost for words. He just stood there trying to figure out how to
explain to his daughter that he knew all along where her mother was and the
story he told her about her mother leaving for good was just a lie. His eyes
moved from his daughter to Silk. To say she would be upset would be the biggest
understatement.
Sari, on the other hand, was staring intently at Silk, studying every feature
of this woman she suddenly felt such a connection to. A feeling she'd longed for
as long as she could remember to fill the emptiness that lay inside her. The
absence of a mother. "...mother..." her lips formed the word, but nothing was
spoken.
Silk saw Sari's mouth move, and hoped that it was what she thought it was.
"Sari... my Sari?" her voice was uncertain, tinged with the fear of rejection,
with the fear of hatred, or of colder indifference. She stepped forward and
embraced the girl, pulling her close when the girl offered no immediate
objections. "Daughter." she whispered, "How I missed you." she paused,
"Please... may I claim that?"
Happi was stunned, so much for playing it casual. Everyone else in the shop
became silent in the face of the drama unfolding in front of them. Of a secret
not one of them knew about.
Ryoko approached her mother, she was about to ask her if she knew about this,
but Happi silenced her with a quick shake of her head. Happi put her arm around
Ryoko. She loved her daughter more than anything else. She had sacrificed all
that she was for her. She knew exactly what kind of pain and hardship it must
have been for Silk to be away from her daughter all these years.
Sari embraced her mother. Mother. The word still seemed strange to her. This
woman she was hugging, had she not been so drawn to her, would have been as
foreign as the rest of this town. What she wanted to do was just to ignore all
emotion and stick to common sense, like her father taught her to. But she
couldn't, she just couldn't. She found her mother and she held on to her for all
she was worth.
Keisuke stood silently and watched his daughter and her mother embrace each
other. This was going to be really hard for him. All he could do was wait for
them to face him with this.
Silk hugged her daughter tight for the first time in years, but her eyes rose
above her daughter's back to look at Keisuke. They weren't accusing, not angry,
just hurt. Their eyes didn't meet for long. "My name if Silk." the writer said
softly. "And I'm sorry I wasn't there." Sari suddenly felt a surge of love mixed
with pain wash over her like a wave. Silk still had her empathic abilities and
could use them. "I'm so sorry."
Perfume held her husband's hand as she watched what was going on. She had solved
many mysteries in her time, but this was the most mysterious of all. It hurt her
so much when she had to leave her family behind when she went on an expedition,
she knew what Silk had to be going through right now.
The emotions were just too thick in here. She wiped a tear away with her left
hand, and then motioned for her family and Happi's family to follow her into the
kitchen, to leave these three alone for a moment.
Sari released her hold on her mother to turn around and face her father to me.
"Dad...why did you lie to me?" Her voice was soft and gentle, but the pain was
evident. "Why didn't you tell me? Do you have any idea what I've been going
through? How I've felt? How I feel now upon meeting my mother??" She was
speaking louder now, becoming more angry, losing her grip. "I HATE YOU!! I CAN'T
BELIEVE YOU!!" She screamed at him.
Keisuke was silent. "I...I'm sorry. I can't really explain this to you yet. I
will sometime, but not now. I'm sorry, dear." He looked pleadingly at Silk, his
eyes begging for forgiveness.
Silk met his gaze, "I don't know why you never answered my letters, never tried
to contact me. All I know is that now that I found you, you can't run away
again." She laid her hand on Sari's shoulder, "Don't hate him, Sari. He loves
you. All you can do by hating him is hurt all of us."
"Because your father didn't want to be found." Silk said softly, "I looked, and
a few times I thought I may have tracked you down, but it turned out to be a
false lead. I don't know how Perfume managed to find him to send the
invitation." Silk's face was downcast. She should have known that this would
happen... but she had hoped...
Sari wiped her face with her sleeve, trying to calm down. She looked up at her
father. "Why you would try to keep me away from my mother for so long....I have
no idea. But I don't really care. This is just a little too much for me. I need
time to think." with that she walked out the store leaving Keisuke and Silk
alone.
Silk watched her daughter walk out of the door impassively. She could feel the
tears running down her face, but she wasn't aware that she was crying. She
looked at Keisuke. "Why?" was all she asked.
A long time ago, Keisuke wouldn't keep his mouth shut. Now he found himself
more lost for words than he ever had been. "Silk, I'm sorry." He cleared his
throat, trying to say more. "You weren't ready, Silk. You still had your whole
life ahead of you and Sari would've stopped that. I was trying to...to do you
good."
"So, you keep me from my daughter for fifteen years?" Silk sighed, as if
explaining to a small child, "Keisuke, I'll live many many years. Perhaps not as
long as Cologne and Happosai, but at least a hundred and likely more. I think I
could have spared twenty for my daughter." She looked at him again, "I already
missed so many. but I ask, will you force me to miss the rest?"
He shook his head. "No, you won't. I came back to Nerima with the intention of
introducing you to her. I just didn't know how to do it. You don't know how many
times I've rehearsed this in my head. I thought it would all just come to me but
then...then I saw you and...I wonder why I ever left you. You have no idea how
much I've missed you..." he said softly.
Keisuke accepted and they embraced. The tears rolled down Keisuke's cheek as he
collapsed into her arms. "I did my best. I tried to raise her as well as I
could. I hope I did well. I hope she's the daughter you've always wanted." he
said ethereally.
Silk laughed, "If not I know who to blame..." she grinned, rubbing his back.
"Now we just got to see if she'll ever forgive us."
Happi had watched the entire exchange in the front room, by peeping through the
kitchen's keyhole. She never even guessed that Keisuke and Silk ever had a
relationship at all, this was a startling revelation.
Ryoko heard Sari's reaction to the news and heard the front door slam. Her
heart went out to the girl. She never knew who her father was so she had the
same problem. Mom had told her that her father died a long time ago, but there
had to be more to it than that.
She whispered her idea to Happi and then waved to Perfume's family. Ryoko
quickly cast a spell making her vanish from sight. She was planning on
discreetly following the girl and see if she could be of some assistance.
It was several long moments before Keisuke and Silk released their hug, and
turned towards the kitchen door. They looked at each other, then nodded in
unison. "Come on out." their voices rang out. Silk stepped forward and pulled
open the door just in time to catch Happi trying to pull her head away from the
keyhole. Silk sighed, "You'd think a mage of your caliber would be able to cast
a teleprescence spell so that everyone present could see just what was going on,
rather then just hogging the keyhole." she muttered sarcastically.
Happi blushed and placed her hand on the back of her head. "Umm Sorry about
that Silk-Chan, old habits die hard."
----
Ranma smiled as he looked upon his students. It may have been 20 years since
the chaos that was Nerima died down somewhat after most of the main martial
artists left to seek their fortune, but it still seemed like it was only
yesterday to him. He was shaken out of his daydreaming as he subconsciously
dodged a barrage of attacks from one of his students. Countering the attack he
laughed. "Close Hari," he said with his usual arrogant smirk, "But if you want
to even touch me you'll have to be faster than that. Even Akane is faster than
you!"
He sweatdropped as he looked upon Hari's knowing grin and turned around.
Looking into the eyes of Akane. "Oh boy." was his last thought before she swept
him into an intimate kiss that left him breathless. In the 20 years they had
been married and after considerable explanation, Akane had taken to the insults
as if they were the world's most creative complements.
"Baka," she smiled as she left to leave the room, "I heard you." As she left
the training hall she stuck her head back in and said "Oh and don't forget about
the reunion!" That said she left.
"Get back in line!" Ranma mocked snapped at his pupil. Ranma took out the
letter he received a few days ago. "A reunion," he sighed, "It'll be good to see
all my old friends again." Ranma dismissed the class and grinned. Something's
changed and some stayed the same. He had a feeling that the chaos that was
Nerima was about to get worse...or better. (Depending on the person's view.)
Almost as if in answer to Ranma's thoughts, David Funryu stepped up to the Dojo
door. "Hi, Mr. Saotome." The boy looked like he was looking for some extra
training, sparring against one of Ranma's kids or students.
^^^^^^
A small distance away, a Chinese man dressed in a white Chinese robe walked
with down the street. This time, Mousse had his glasses on. Looking around, he
saw that he was in the right neighborhood at least. Not that it mattered. He
still didn't know why he had decided to go to this reunion. It was not like he
had been in touch with anyone he had known.
Sighing heavily Mousse trotted on, towards the address on the note.
* * *
Ryuu looked at the postcard he held in his hands and remembered. He remembered
the fateful fight where he had finally caught Ranma. Challenged him to a duel
and had beaten him in a match that required him to reach for strength he didn't
know he had. He remembered feeling at ease within himself for the first time in
years. And he remembered reviving the Kumon Dojo, surprisingly with help from
the friends he had made while at Nerima.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he looked around. The Dojo was prosperous.
A proper shrine was finally built for his father and mother. Ryuu sighed and
wished he still had his wife to share it with. He shook his head to forget the
past, ignoring the tear that coursed down his cheek.
"Yes." he thought, "A reunion would be a good thing."
*~*~*~*~*~*~
At that moment Moria was cruising the streets of Nerima in a rental car she had
picked up on her arrival in Nerima that afternoon, with her daughter in the
backseat. "It feels good to be back Nerima after all this time, Satori." Moria
said wistfully to Satori as they passed several buildings. "It looks like a lot
has changed in this town since I was last here."
Satori sat silently in the back seat of the rental car her mother had checked
out as they drove down the streets of Nerima in a rented car, on their way
towards the shopping district to visit some old roots.
"This place looks a lot smaller than Juban is mom. And there's nothing going
on." Satori said as she turned around to face the front of the car. "I don't see
what's so great about it."
"You wouldn't be saying that if you had been around 20 years ago. Things have
died down pretty well after all this time." Moria said as she glanced at her
daughter through the rearview mirror. "A lot of things happened back then. And
most of surrounded your uncle Ranma." she said as an afterthought.
"Stuff like what?" Satori asked, her interest piqued, as she sat up straighter
in her seat.
"Ask Ranma some of them." Moria said as she turned her attention back to the
road.
Satori simply went back to silence as she stared back out the car window.
They had just arrived in Nerima a few hours ago, after taking the early morning
Metrolink train to Nerima, and had checked into a hotel on the other side of
town. Jinpei had taken off on his own to do exploring of the city by himself.
While Satori chose to stick around and see her mother's home.
Suddenly the car makes a U-turn as and turns a corner, before coming to a stop
outside 'Curses, Cures, & Antiques'
"Here we are! One of our stops." Moria said as the car came to a stop. "Would
you mind waiting inside for me, Satori?" she asked as she unfastened her
seatbelt.
"Sure whatever mom," Satori said as she unbuckled her own seatbelt and climbed
out the side door. Straightening her clothes, Satori turned around to head for
the shop door and pushes it open, hearing the door chimes ring.
Looking around she notices that the front entrance looks empty of people even
though the front door had been open so she decides to call out to see if anyone
was there. "Hello? Is someone here?"
~Elsewhere~
Jinpei Saotome was walking through the streets towards the shopping district,
where he had agreed to meet up with his mom and sister. As he searched the shop
signs for the 'Curses, Cures, & Antiques' store, he almost collided with Sari
close to his own age, causing them both to stagger backwards.
With quick reflexes, he reached out to grab hold of Sari to stop her from
almost falling onto the sidewalk. "I'm sorry about that, miss. I wasn't watching
where I was going." he said sheepishly as he stared at Sari, taking in her black
hair, and red rimmed eyes in one glance. "Are you okay? Why were you crying?" he
asked concern in his voice.
Ryoko was watching Sari and Jinpei from the cover of her invisibility spell. She
really felt bad for the girl, she just didn't know how to help her at the
moment. She hoped that the young man she bumped into would help her out.
A male voice caught her attention.
"Neat trick, staying invisible like that I mean." After she looked around
bemused the voice spoke again.
"Up here!" Looking up she saw a fifteen year old bishounen-looking boy sitting
on top of a lamp-post. "Mind you, you should really try to at least conceal the
empty space."
Ryoko looked at him. "Wha?"
"Your little trick, for some reason it hides background ki energy and magic..."
Guessing that she might be a little confused he continued. "You're probably
wondering how I know this! I know it because of an 'accident' in a shrine when I
was younger, ended up letting me see things others have extreme difficulty
seeing y'know."
He jumped down and walked around her invisible form.
"Of course, without my little 'talent' someone would be hard pressed to spot
you... Unless they walked into you of course. Name's Yukinojo Hibiki, What's
yours?"
"He's right. Also, you may want to hide your scent as well." As the two looked
around for the source of the voice, David dropped his own technique and appeared
before them. "I'm David Funryu. Are you guys here for some sort of reunion your
parents are going to?"
Yukinojo looked at David and the spot where the invisible girl stood. "No! I
live here!"
Ryoko was exasperated, what was the point in an invisibility spell if everyone
knew that she was there? She dropped her spell and revealed herself to Yukinojo
and David. She appeared to be a beautiful young woman with flowing red hair. She
looked very much like Ranma's girl side.
"I'm here for the reunion." She smiled at the two boys. "I'm Ryoko, Happosai's
daughter."
Sari looked up at the stranger who had just bumped into her. "Excuse me? Oh,
I'm sorry. No, I'm not crying." she sputtered, quickly turning her face away
from Jinpei. She really didn't feel like talking to anybody right now. She was
still trying to make sense of her dilemma. "Nice to meet you." she said, not
looking back and scurrying away.
Sari ignored the strange looks the boy gave her as she walked as far from that
shop as she could. She paid attention to where she was going, though. She had
her father's sense of direction, and didn't enjoy being lost. After several
minutes of wandering she spotted a park with a river flowing through it. She
walked past the playground and towards a small footbridge. She walked to the
middle of the span and looked over the edge into the water, her mind churning
just like the river water. "Why did they do this to me?" she whispered softly.
"why couldn't they have both raised me? together like a family should be?" she
wondered out loud. Then another thought occurred to her, "maybe they don't like
each other anymore?" she thought, "Maybe they would have fought all the time and
screamed and yelled and gotten a divorce." Sari felt the tears start to trickle
down her face again. She didn't know which would have been worse. But what
scared her wasn't the uncertainty, but the growing dread that she was right,
they did hate each other and this meeting would be just that, a meeting, and
they would go their separate ways in a few days. Sari Yamada didn't know
whether to pray for or against it.
Nearby...
Scarf, who unlike almost all the other Amazons appeared to have aged, he
actually looked his age of forty. A few things had changed, now instead of
being cute, he was ruggedly handsome, also his face was now marked with a long
scar going from his hairline to his chin across his right eye, but he could
still see with it. Other than that his features were similar other than the
aging factor. A few steps behind him was a small boy with short brown hair,
looking around in wonder at the town.
As he was walking, Scarf heard the sounds of someone crying. He then looked
around and saw the back of a girl whose shoulders were shaking from tears.
Turning around to face the boy, he said "Ryogo, wait here for a moment, I'm
going see what's wrong with that girl." Ryogo nodded to Scarf.
Scarf walked over to the girl and tapped her on the shoulder and asked "Are you
alright?"
Fixing his glasses back into place on the bridge of his nose, Jinpei watched as
Sari go on her way with a concerned look on his features, Jinpei decides that
meeting up with his mother and Satori could wait, and turns around to follow
Sari towards the park. Keeping well out of sight at a distance, so that she
wouldn't spot him immediately.
As he arrives at the bridge he sees that Sari had started crying fully when she
had stopped at the bridge to gaze at the waters below, and was now being
approached by an older man as younger boy stood near by, and stopped at the edge
of the bridge deciding to wait and see.
"Hasn't changed much," Ryuu said with a wistful sigh, "Looks just about like
what is always has." He walked down the street, moving with a grace that comes
only with being a Martial Artist for years...a grace that came hard for him. As
he was walking, he stopped. It hadn't changed at all. The Tendo Dojo was still
up and seemed to be running well. The home of his old adversary. Ryuu shook
his head at the old memories. It felt good to be back.
------
At the C, C & A, conversation was stopped by the sound of someone calling. Silk
walked back out into the storefront with Keisuke in tow. "yes, someone's here."
Silk looked the girl in question up and down. "Moria Saotome's daughter, I
presume?"
Ranma smiled as he looked upon his students. It may have been 20 years
since the chaos that was Nerima died down somewhat after most of the
main martial artists left to seek their fortune, but it still seemed
like it was only yesterday to him. He was shaken out of his daydreaming
as he subconsciously dodged a barrage of attacks from one of his
students. Countering the attack he laughed. "Close Hari," he said with
his usual arrogant smirk, "But if you want to even touch me you'll have
to be faster than that. Even Akane is faster than you!"
He sweatdropped as he looked upon Hari's knowing grin and turned
around. Looking into the eyes of Akane. "Oh boy." was his last thought
before she swept him into an intimate kiss that left him breathless. In
the 20 years they had been married and after considerable explanation,
Akane had taken to the insults as if they were the world's most creative
complements.
"Baka," she smiled as she left to leave the room, "I heard you." As she
left the training hall she stuck her head back in and said "Oh and don't
forget about the reunion!" That said she left.
"Get back in line!" Ranma mocked snapped at his pupil. Ranma took out
the letter he received a few days ago. "A reunion," he sighed, "It'll be
good to see all my old friends again." Ranma dismissed the class and
grinned. Something's changed and some stayed the same. He had a feeling
that the chaos that was Nerima was about to get worse...or better.
(Depending on the person's view.)
Almost as if in answer to Ranma's thoughts, David Funryu stepped up to
the Dojo door. "Hi, Mr. Saotome." The boy looked like he was looking for
some extra training, sparring against one of Ranma's kids or students.
"Akane! Remi!" Ranma called out to his wife and daughter, "Its almost
time to go!" He looked over his shoulder at David Funryu. "Sorry
David," he said, "But I dismissed class early. We have a reunion to go
to. I'm pretty sure your father will be going as well."
He turned around only to be jumped on by his daughter. "Yo pops," she
said, almost exactly like he would have 20 years ago, "So who we
seeing?" "Well," Ranma replied, "We'll be seeing all my old friends.
I'm taking you along so I can show off my beautiful daughter!" he
smiled at Remi and kissed her forehead. "We should be going anytime
now. Hope your mother is ready."
"Maybe another day then." David shrugged and left, heading for the C, C
& A.
Breathing in the fresh air as she stared at her reflection in the
Koi pond, Akane sat on a large stone to bask in the warm rays of the
sun. Thinking about the reunion made old memories flow like running
water in her head. "I wonder how everyone's doing?" she asked herself
while summoning a brush from hammerspace. Over time her powers had
increased and now she could call up any object of her choosing. She'd also
learned how to channel her anger into her rarely used attacks for Akane
had also learned how to control her temper though several years of
marriage. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for her oldest son
Ranma JR who constantly got into fights because of his arrogant remarks
and hot blooded nature.
The wind blew gently, tousling her waist length strands out of
place. Brushing her dark hair behind her ears, Akane secured it with a
silver hair pin and hopped off of the stone when she heard her husband
call for her. Suddenly her ears picked up the sound of a loud ruckus
coming from the Nerima streets outside of the Dojo. The yelling and
screaming became louder and more congested as her son's clear voice rang
through the crowd. "Mom! Pops! Open the gates will ya?!" Sighing
heavily, the exasperated mother briefly peered over the Koi pond wall to
see a young black haired boy wildly running over cars and people while
managing to throw in a few kicks and punches to the large group behind
him.
Leaping up on the fence before flipping over the gates that Akane
opened, Ranma JR stood behind his mother as she gave a disapproving
stare at her young son. "Mom I can explain. I had everything under
control until their fathers got in the way." Apparently he faced a
difficult situation when fighting the mass of schoolboys AND adults from
the neighboring district. So when the moment allowed it, he made a "Fast
Break" (The rarely used Secret Saotome Technique of running away and
coming back to a fight when you've figured out a plan.)
"Not now. We'll settle this later," she stated calmly while standing
beside her daughter and husband. Nodding in agreement, the entire
Saotome family powered up, letting their flaring energy create a red
aura around themselves. Akane took a firm stance and gazed upon the
crowd outside their walls.
"Let's give them a 'warm welcome'!" Remi exclaimed while her dark blue
eyes gleamed with excitement.
"No," her mother stated. "This is only to scare them." Which the family
bluff did satisfactorily for the crowd of people slowly backed away from
the gates as they read the sign outside the stone wall: TENDOU-SAOTOME
SCHOOL OF ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL ARTS. Over the past twenty years the
small Dojo had tripled in size as it became the leading martial arts
school in Japan. News of the formidable family that owned it had spread
far and wide. Challenging one Saotome in battle was just plain stupid.
Challenging ALL FOUR Saotomes spelled out your death certificate.
With a look of fear in their eyes, the crowd dissipated and walked back
into the streets of Nerima. Sighing once again at the antics of her
young son, Akane merely sighed and led the others back into the house.
******
Fixing his glasses back into place on the bridge of his nose, Jinpei
watched as Sari go on her way with a concerned look on his features,
Jinpei decides that meeting up with his mother and Satori could wait,
and turns around to follow Sari towards the park. Keeping well out of
sight at a distance, so that she wouldn't spot him immediatly.
As he arrives at the bridge he sees that Sari had started crying fully
when she had stopped at the bridge to gaze at the waters below, and was
now being approached by an older man as younger boy stood near by, and
stopped at the edge of the bridge deciding to wait and see.
------
Sari started when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She must be a mess,
but there wasn't much she could do about it at the moment. She turned to
face the older man, not realizing what an affect her appearance might
have on him. She wasn't used to looking like anyone anybody knew. "Just
some family troubles." She mumbled, "I'll be alright. Sorry to bother
you."
Ryoko finally caught up with Sari, she was still staying to the shadows
until she could catch the younger girl alone. Something about the man
Sari was talkiing to struck Ryoko as familiar.
Nerima 20th Reunion Part 2