Uyko wept, screamed, cried, and drank. Konatsu kept her from an acute case of alcohol poisoning. The two woke up on the floor of her restaurant beside a bucket of puke. The morning light trickled through the store front letting them know they had survived another night. She reached for the bottle again. It wasn't her plan to survive another day.
With an oddly masculine voice Konatsu gave her an order. “Put it down.”
She looked at him with blood shot eyes and pulled the cork out.
He threw a spoon through the bottle. “Don't shame his memory like this.”
Uyko looked at the shards of glass on the floor. She considered picking one up and cutting her wrists for a moment. It would definitely be a better way to go about it.
“I lost a friend too you know.” Konatsu abandoned his female falsetto. “I don't have that many.”
Uyko looked at the boy dressed up as a kunoichi. She gave him a sad nod. Seeing him as a small man dressed up in a kimino tore at her heart. She accepted Konatsu also lost one of his few friends. She gave him a sad look. “What now?”
“Take a shower.” He gestured to the kitchen. “I'll get started on our mess.”
She quietly obeyed, Ranma never gave up why should she. Ukyo walked through the back door and up the stairs to her home. She managed to get into the shower stall before she started sobbing again.
Konatsu poured the pot of puke down the drain then began to sweep up the mess. A small breeze pushed past him. The ninja hurled a pair of shuriken at an almost nonexistent sound.
Cologne caught the two knives in her old staff. Their sharp blades cut deeply into the gnarled piece of wood. She rocked back slightly to absorb the blow.
“Go away.” The boy's voice held an edge that she didn't think him capable of. “She'll kill you if she sees you.”
The ancient Amazon nodded. “And you?”
The cute kunoichi role had melted during this crisis and all that was left was a very hurt ninja. “I can't take care of my Mistress if you kill me.”
“I see.” Cologne heard the steel in the boy's voice. If he and the girl worked together he could at least achieve mutual defeat against her. For a moment she considered attacking the drunken boy to put an end to his threat. He was putting up a brave front. “I did not come here for a fight.”
Konatsu gave her only the slightest of nods. It was all he could do to hold himself back.
“If you have matters well in hand then I will leave you to it.” Cologne shook her head as she left the building. Mousse may have killed Saotome but he had earned himself a formidable enemy. She spoke quickly from the doorway. “I just wanted you to know that the beast did not succeed. It came back looking for his soul.”
“That just means his fate is unknown.” Konatsu glared at the woman. “He's still dead. Your boy saw to that.”
“Indeed.” Cologne left the small establishment. It would seem that her young charges would have a abject lesson in blood feuds. The elder decided then and there she would not shield her charges. If Konatsu or Ukyo sought revenge she wouldn't interfere. It was time they understood the consequences of their actions.
Through the thin walls of her restaurant Ukyo heard the whole exchange. Her sobs stilled as she digested the information. She came down a little more than twenty minutes later to find a simmering pot of soup and small note on the table.
The pink slip of paper contained a girl's hand writing. “Out of soy sauce. Back in a bit. -K”
Uyko looked in the pantry and found a five liter jug sitting on the back shelf. She let out a small sigh knowing that her retainer wasn't nearly that dense.
Dressed in a slightly oversized school uniform Konatsu walked into a pawn shop at the edge of the district. He fingered the old slip of paper. He really didn't want to do this but saw little choice in the matter. The elder was not to be trusted. She most likely had showed up to tie up any loose ends quietly. The fact he manged to put on a brave front only bought time, in his mind. He slid the worn ticket across the counter.
The owner looked at the date and the serial number. “Been more than ninety days kid.”
“I know.” He looked around the shop. Konatsu knew this place well enough to know his sword wasn't the only one for sale here.
The gruff man picked up the ticket and sat down on the bar stool. “I heard the news ya know.”
The boy nodded. Everyone had heard the news. A lot of people were worried about how things would change.
“Not going to off yourself with this if I give it back to ya are ya?” His voice was low and serious. “No suicide missions either?”
The ninja answered honestly. “Miss Kuonji needs protection.”
A stagnant air settled over the room as the man thought it over. The kind of protection this kid was looking to provide wold probably mean blood. He gave a small nod to the kid and walked to the back room. The man placed a black bundle on the table. “Had a break in a few months back. Some crazy girl looking for her Katrina.”
Konatsu unzipped the bundle. He unrolled the heavy black canvas across the glass counter top. A pair of matched swords, a compound bow, a dozen shuriken and another dozen throwing knives lined the bag. He drew the sword and got a feel for the blade. “I can't afford all of this.”
“That piece of shit you pawned here wasn't nearly worth the insurance I took out on it.” The gruff man narrowed his eyes. “Thirty five thousand yen.”
Konatsu handed over the yen quickly. His pathetic savings barely covered the sum. It was a fair price for the blade alone. He packaged the weapon back into the bag. He offered a deep bow. The transvestite accidentally slipped back into his falsetto as he offered his thanks.
The shop owner shivered a bit, young men were not supposed to say such things that way. “I'm gonna go shower now. Try not to thank me again.”
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(Posted Thu, 08 Sep 2011 06:44)
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