The world flew by outside the window, or did it even exist in the 
formless blackness beyond the glass? A young woman caught a glimpse 
of herself reflected against the darkness. The questioning look on 
the phantom's face gave her pause. The only certainty in her mind 
was uncertainty, as turbulent thoughts tumbled through her head. 
Was she leaving her family, rejoining it, or forging a new one?

The motion, and her internal struggles, both ground to a stop as 
the express reached the station. Checking her personal belongings, 
the young woman stood. It was time to leave her doubts behind. She 
walked through the carriage door to meet her new life head on.

The gray-white light of pre-dawn illuminated her last few footsteps 
as she finally approached the door. A glance at the paper assured 
that this was the proper place.

She was home.

***

A story from the Bet: Crippled, Body and Souls

By Kevin D. Hammel

From a story idea by Gregg Sharp.

Episode 6: Friendship and Family

Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publishing rights are 
held by Viz in the US and Shogakukan in Japan. My purpose is to 
honor the creator and her works. No infringement intended.

***

Nodoka awoke with a start. There it was again, a sound so subtle it 
was hard to make out, even amidst the quiet of a sleeping 
household. The Saotome Matriarch rose as she tried to identify the 
faint disturbance. She grabbed a robe from the wardrobe on her way 
to the door, and then followed her ears to the eldest daughter's 
room.

She had wanted to talk with Kasumi anyway.

Akane didn't know what to do. Her world, last night neat and 
orderly, had been consumed by chaos. Ryouga was P-chan. Uncle 
Saotome had run off into the night. And now... "Kasumi," she choked 
out. "Why? Why did you leave? Where did you go?"

The starkly empty room offered up only questions, and pain, in 
response. 

"Auntie?" Akane asked as she turned to the open door, not as a 
sixteen-year-old girl, but as a child who was utterly lost.

Nodoka looked at the girl, feeling again the pity she had for her 
own... daughter just a few months ago. She searched for words to 
offer Akane, but could find none. Turning abruptly, she left the 
room.

"No... Please... Please... Pl..." Akane's entreaties dissolved into 
tears again.

***

"Please get up, Kasumi-san," Ranma asked prostrate girl arrayed 
before him in apology. "You don't got anything t' be sorry about. 
I'm the one who screwed all your lives up, ya know!"

"Oh, Ranma... Stop that!" Nabiki said as she playfully batted her 
housemate. Her gaze shifted to her sister, "And you stop that too, 
Kasumi. Let's keep the past in the past." She looked at Ranma's 
wheelchair as she continued, "When we can."

Kasumi looked up into Ranma's eyes seeing neither anger nor 
forgiveness. "Thank you Ranma, Nabiki." She said, turning to each. 
She rose, the glanced at the kitchenette. "Let me prepare 
breakfast."

"Kasumi-san, wait." Ranma said as he rolled his chair in front of 
the eldest Tendou daughter. He looked up as he continued. "We work 
together on stuff like that." He smiled, "Why don't you let us fix 
breakfast this morning, okay?"

Nabiki offered a bemused smile as she saw Ranma move to the kitchen 
area. He hadn't helped with the cooking chores before today. But it 
was never too late to start. As she moved into the kitchen, her 
smile got bigger. After all, she had never been much for cooking.

Kasumi watched the breakfast preparations. Ranma seemed a little 
uncertain from time to time, occasionally glancing at Nabiki for 
confirmation on the ingredients for the morning miso, and the 
amount of rice needed. It was obvious that this wasn't how things 
usually were, but how they might be... now. After several minutes 
of study, Kasumi glanced at her sister, wordlessly asking for 
confirmation.

Nabiki smiled back and shrugged her shoulders.

"Kasumi, why don't you sit down at the table and rest a little? 
You've already come clear from Tokyo, so take a load off." Ranma 
said as he motioned to the table with his head.

"Thank you," Kasumi said with a bow. She was used to having help in 
the kitchen, but to have the work done by someone else... Why had 
she left anyway? They still needed her back in Nerima. She closed 
her eyes for a few moments, considering the magnitude of what she 
had done.

"Kasumi..." Nabiki whispered as she rested a hand over one of 
Kasumi's, "Don't worry. It'll be okay, I promise. You... you needed 
to get out of that house anyway. We all did."

"But, Nabiki-chan. Ever since Mother died. All I've done..." She 
shook her head negatively for a few moments, and then stopped. "I 
don't know."

"None of us know. But here, you can be something more than what you 
were back there. If you want to be, that is." She paused for a 
moment before continuing, "I know we... I think you can do a lot 
more with your life."

Kasumi considered Nabiki's thoughts for a moment. Maybe...

"Wo... wo... woha!" Came a series of yelps from the kitchenette, 
followed by the inevitable splash and a crash.

Kasumi and Nabiki turned to see a damp, female Ranma balancing 
three serving bowls with two hands. A board that had served as an 
impromptu table was on the floor, and a fourth bowl had been dumped 
in her lap. All her concentration was absorbed in keeping the 
remaining bowls precariously balanced.

Nabiki ran over to catch a bowl that was about to fall, then took 
another from Ranma.

"Sorry 'bout this," Ranma said sheepishly as Nabiki took the last 
bowl.

"You're okay, the food is, uh, mostly okay. So what's the problem?" 
Nabiki asked with a shrug of her shoulders.

In the brief time it took Little Sister to help Ranma, Kasumi 
cleaned up the mess that still remained on the floor. "Sorry, 
Nabiki, Ranma... I couldn't help myself." She said apologetically, 
while putting the last soaking paper towel in the trash.

"No problem. Just remember it's US now, not just you." Nabiki 
gently reminded.

"Okay, let's eat." Ranma said as she moved to the table.

Kasumi and Nabiki followed the girl carrying the fruits of her 
labors.

Breakfast wasn't too bad, either.

***

An enforced quiet reigned inside the woman's head. She had pushed 
out all external stimuli to seek answers within. Now, she listened 
only to her heart and soul. What would she do?

At first, only pain answered her entreaties.

She took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. She had to focus on 
the issues, not visual distractions. Nodoka had chosen the path 
honor had told her to take. It wasn't the easy route or even the 
one her motherhood had cried out for her to follow. But then, 
motherhood was in her past. It had been sold all those years ago 
for a scrap of paper.

She had hoped to find answers, not more questions. The bright flash 
of inspiration she sought eluded her ardent search. Perhaps things 
were only black and white on the page. It was harder to find right 
and wrong amongst the mottled shadows of the real world.

What would she do now?

She stood quickly, checking herself in a mirror before she returned 
to Kasumi's room. The price honor demanded had been paid; her 
daughter had been removed from the family registry. Perhaps it was 
time to be a mother for the rest of her life. She turned, and then 
left the room.

Akane was spent. She wanted to cry. She needed to cry. But... she 
couldn't. Her tears had dried to red streaks she could feel on her 
face. The girl felt almost giddy, dizzy for all the hurried 
breathing in concert with her sobs. With one hand over each eye, 
she took a calming breath.

Nodoka entered the eldest daughter's room to see Akane where she 
had left her a few minutes earlier. "A... Akane... chan?" She 
tentatively asked.

Akane heard Auntie's voice float down from above. In one fluid 
motion, she leapt up and grabbed the larger woman. The youngest 
Tendou wanted to cry, but her tears had long ago run dry. So she 
just wrapped her arms around the Saotome Matriarch. Small, dry, 
sobs shook her body as she tightened her embrace.

Nodoka tentatively put her arms around Akane. Perhaps this it was 
time for her to be what she could never be for her child, a mother. 
She tightened her grasp around the girl she would have been proud 
to call daughter. "I'm here, Akane. I'm here..."

"Thank you," Akane whispered. "Please, don't leave me, Auntie."

Nodoka had intended on leaving, earlier. But this young woman... 
this lost girl... had convinced her otherwise. Her daughter had 
been sacrificed on Honor's bloody altar. She had lost her 
motherhood, but not the ability and desire to be a mother.

Here was a child who needed her. Here she would stay. "Don't worry, 
Akane-chan. I won't leave you, I promise."

Akane felt a torrent of confirmation as Nodoka's tears rained down 
in a procession of warm rivulets along her neck. "Thanks Saotome-
san," Was the only response she could offer.

***

"Oh man! We turn down a new street and look what happens!" An 
exasperated, female, Ranma spat as she rolled just behind a 
completely dry Nabiki.

"I'm not the one with the curse, Ranma-san." She stopped then leapt 
the the side to dodge her schoolmate's wheelchair.

Ranma rolled her eyes, then slowed down as she waited for Nabiki to 
catch up. "You're telling me. Before... when I didn't care if I got 
wet or not, it was no problem and I didn't seem to get wet too 
much. But now... heck, I can't seem to spend a whole day dry."

"You know, Ranma... it really doesn't matter much to me... really." 
She slowed down Ranma's char by grabbing both arm rests. The 
crippled girl cooperated by letting go of the wheels. Nabiki knelt 
on one knee to look in the smaller girl's face. "I look at you, 
even now, and I see a guy I really care about... the first one ever 
for me."

She averted her vision, then closed her eyes as she continued. 
"Ranma... I know I took advantage of you... I bought who knows how 
many manga with the money I made selling pictures I took of you 
and... her.

Nabiki felt the still surprisingly strong grasp of two small hands 
on her shoulders. "Nabiki... uh... chan I guess. Let's not forget 
who she is... Akane. Your little sister."

Ranma waited patiently for Nabiki to compose herself and look up 
into her eyes again before continuing. "She's a nice... uh... I 
think I really love... uh... used to love her. We really don't need 
to hate her, she's a part of your family, being a macho tomboy'll 
never change that. I wonder what she's doin?"

Akane sneezed as she walked home from Furinkan. She hoped Auntie 
would keep her promise and be there for her today. A flat 
expression brightened to the tiniest hint of a smile as she neared 
her home. Familiar smells of fish, rice and spices announced 
Nodoka's presence before she saw her.

Maybe she could get through this after all.

Back in Kyoto, a nostalgic smell awakened a memory in Ranma's mind. 
Visual reinforcement came just a bit later when she spied a sign 
that brought her memories roaring g back to life... "Ucchaan's"

Ranma smiled at the sign. "I wonder if it's okinamiyaki Ucchan?"

"Huh, who's that?" Nabiki asked from her accustomed position a 
footstep or two in front of the wheelchair.

"He was a boy I played with every day when I was little." Her 
expression became ultra-cute as she gazed up at Nabiki, who had 
slowed and turned to look back. "Could we *please* see if it's 
him... Pleeeease?"

Nabiki flushed a little at Ranma's expression. It was weird how the 
cursed boy knew some parts of the 'girl act' perfectly, but 
others... "Good grief" Nabiki whispered before responding a bit 
louder. "Okay, Ranma. Let's go in."

***

Ukyou looked up at his grill to see a smiling girl in a wheelchair 
pushed by a taller one into his restaurant. He frowned a bit as he 
considered the story one of his regulars had told him about Ranma's 
return. There was no doubt in his mind, this girl was Ranma. Her... 
it was tough to even think of Ranma as a girl, but there was 
absolutely no doubt about... her gender.

Just as obvious was the fact she was Ranma. Though she had braided 
her black ponytail since Ukyou had last seen her, the chef knew 
that smile and those eyes anywhere. When they were little they were 
about the same height, but it seemed Ranma never had a growth spurt 
like Ukyou's.

To think... so much of his life wasted because of that girl... who 
now was just a cripple. The cook didn't even realize he had ruined 
another spatula until he looked down at the twisted wood and metal 
in his hands.

"Ucchan?" The girl asked tentatively, as the smile began to fade 
from her lips.

Ukyou took a breath and tired to calm his nerves. He wanted to beat 
this girl to a pulp to salvage his honor and maybe something more. 
But could he really restore his station by beating up on a 
wheelchair-bound opponent? It didn't matter; he still had to attack 
anyway. The useless weapon clattered to the floor as he took a 
second battle spatula from the rack. The empty shop would provide 
the venue for his vengeance.

He raised the spatula high, and shouted as he lunged to the girl. 
"Saotome, how could you do this to me?" A grunt acknowledged a hit 
as a solid object intercepted his downward swing. Looking to see 
what had stopped his attack, he saw his spatula buried a few 
millimeters deep in arm of the crippled girl's friend. Blood was 
already starting to drip from the wound.

The taller girl who had taken a position in front of Ranma forced 
out a question from between clenched teeth. "Is this how... you 
always treat guests?"

Ukyou's response was an angry shout as he swung at Ranma again, 
only to have her spatula stopped again, this time by a kick from 
Ranma's guardian.

Ranma rolled slowly back, her eyes awash in tears as she watched 
her best friends, old and new, clash. The smile at the reunion with 
Ucchan was gone, replaced by a look of concern for Nabiki. Ranma 
closed her eyes for a moment. She hated being a burden on Nabiki. 
She was even worse than Akane ever was. At least the tomboy could 
fight.

At least Akane could walk.

Nabiki used all her willpower to suppress the pain she felt in 
order to smile at the effectiveness of her block. Suddenly, she 
snapped a leg back then launched a kick to Ukyou's chest, hoping to 
stun her attacker. The impact of the blow ripped open the front of 
his garment.

Nabiki swallowed at what she saw. A girl's chest wrapped in torn 
bandages.

Ukyou took advantage of the distraction to take another swing at 
the Saotome girl, his attack again blocked by her defender's arm. 
Blood welled up in a new spatula wound as both combatants watched.

"Ucchan, what the HECK are you doin`?" Ranma yelled, tears 
unnoticed in her agitation. The anger and pain in the girl's voice 
cut through Ukyou's battle frenzy to his heart. He looked at the 
shorthaired girl's arm, and the blood slowly dripping from the 
ripped flesh to the floor.

What price was his vengeance? Would defeating a girl who couldn't 
defend herself even suffice to restore his honor? Or would it sully 
his honor even further? Would further injuring this new friend of 
Ranma's restore anything at all?

The spatula clattered to the ground, its owner lost in quiet 
thought. Nabiki finally allowed herself the luxury of a scream.

Jolted back to his senses, Ukyou lashed out again, this time with 
his voice. "Get out!" He hollered in response. "I... I lost 
everything I was for you... And all you EVER were was a girl!" He 
shouted. But then, what was he?

When Ukyou finished his tirade, a heartbroken Ranma turned her 
chair and slowly rolled to the door. Soon Nabiki was pushing the 
girl out of the shop. Only the quiet sobs of the establishment's 
proprietor provided a soundtrack for the scene.

Ukyou composed him... HER... self. She had to take some time to 
freshen up. Customers would be coming soon; she had to be ready. 
She would try to live her life now, whatever that meant. A frown 
crossed her face as she looked at the small red puddles on the 
ground. The shop needed to be tidied up, especially the blood.

***

It's been a while, I know. But, after a wonderful vacation visiting 
old and new friends in Houston and Atlanta, I decided to finish up 
a preliminary version of this chapter. I'm on a three timezone 
flight back to California as I write this. All I can say is thanks 
to Dave and all the people at 'AWA' who helped put me on track to 
finish this up.

As aside, the Akane-Nodoka scene was written as part of a FFIRC 
'One Hour Challenge".

Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think.

Kevin D. Hammel

October 8, 2000

========================================
khammel@anime.sobhrach.com
 kevinsff@pacbell.net
http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~khammel/
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