She passed by Kasumi's office, and heard sobs; she eased the door open, and found her mother a flower among a spread of papers. Her sobs punctuated the quiet office, painful squeals that cut Ranma to the core. She touched her mother on the shoulder, and snaked her arms around Nodoka's neck.
"Oh!" she stopped, and quickly wiped her tears before turning around. "Ranma." She sniffed the air. "You've... been busy..."
Ranma blushed. "We all needed some healing, I guess."
Nodoka nodded, her bloodshot eyes faintly glistening with memory. "Good. That's what sex should be - people sharing each other, healing their problems rather than compounding on them." She managed a faint smile. "That's how it was for us, at first..."
Ranma touched a hand to Nodoka's cheek. "Why were you crying, Mom?"
Nodoka took a deep breath, then picked up a faded photograph. "These were my friends from college. There's me; that's Megumi, Kyoko, Reiko... and Kimiko." Her smile faded with the last name mentioned. "I... found out what happened to the others. Damn Kimi... damn her..."
Ranma blinked. "What happened to them?"
Nodoka sighed. "Kimiko you heard about from Akane and Nabiki, most likely. She went bad... and dragged her eldest daughter with her. Kimi never had a clue of the monster she'd made... she never imagined that her own darkness would pass on and eventually destroy her." She shook her head. "Stupid, stupid..."
She closed her eyes, and pointed to Megumi. "She was always the most uncomfortable of us with the idea. After awhile, she warmed up to the idea... but, aside from the other girls, she always insisted on pleasuring men." She shook her head. "Kimi decided to give her some 'encouragement' toward other partners and situations about a year after I'd left. It wasn't fun anymore, but she couldn't get out. Eventually, she took some sleeping pills, and... found her own way out. Kimi started researching other methods of control after that."
A smile formed on her lips as she pointed to Kyoko. "Kyoko had this... energy about her. She always seemed to be upbeat and energetic. That all ended with Kimi's power drinks, though." She frowned. "She caught AIDS before Kimiko discovered the magical protections you kids have, and died twelve years ago."
Her hand clenched into a fist. "But Kimi... she really crossed the line when it came to Reiko." She shook her head. "Reiko was the first experiment for her tattoo magic; apparently she went too far. Reiko was an automaton; she literally couldn't do anything without Kimi's say-so. Kimiko decided that she could serve as a play-toy for someone else, and transferred control to the highest bidder." She frowned. "Kimiko apparently kept tabs on her; she died five years ago, no reason given."
She shook her head. "Ranma... I don't know if we can get you back to what you were. I want to take her notes to a friend of mine to see if he can come up with a cure; I can't come up with one as it is." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Ranma critically. "But I don't think you mind so much, being like that."
Ranma shrugged. "Well... I'd kinda like to be a guy again... but it wouldn't be all bad if I couldn't..."
Nodoka nodded slowly. "I understand. Sex and love change a person; our lives were never the same once we started our little business." She touched a hand to Ranma's cheek; this time, she didn't flinch. "Just remember to distinguish the two, okay?"
"I will," Ranma replied, smiling. "But Mom... what do we do now? What can we do now?"
See other episodes by Nightelf
(Posted Thu, 02 Jan 2003 10:35)
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