In between, she was lonely.
“It’s... it’s me, Ryouga. I... I was Ranma.”
Ryouga blinked. “Very funny. I don’t remember Ranma being a girl...” His eyes narrowed. “Where are you hiding him?”
“I’m not hiding him - er, me,” she replied. “And if you want revenge for something... you’re a couple weeks too late.”
“What do you mean?” Ryouga replied, his head cocked to the side in confusion.
Ranma let out a deep sigh. “You ran after me because you were late for our fight, didn’t you?” She frowned; she wouldn’t have quite put it that way, as she’d waited three days for that fight...
Ryouga nodded evenly. “What does that have to do with you?”
Ranma sighed. She hated telling this story... “Pop... I don’t know why he did it, but he decided to use me to pay off an old debt. He turned me into this - into a girl - and sold me into service at a Tokyo brothel my mom had worked at long ago.”
Ryouga’s jaw dropped. He looked her over carefully; for the first time in several days, she felt like a piece of meat, something to be studied and prodded like some experiment. “You’re one of the tattooed ones,” he whispered. “How did you escape?”
“Mi- er, Kasumi... messed up.” She winced internally; she almost said the ‘M’ word again. “I killed her; one of Mom’s friends took away most of the bad tattoos.” She rubbed her hands against her forearms, missing the bulk that once was there. “I’m sorry; I’m still trying to get used to everything...”
Ryouga crossed his arms. “Prove it. Prove you’re Ranma.” A sly grin crossed his features. “What was in your mouth the first day we met?”
Ranma frowned. She hadn’t expected a question like this... “Um... chow mein bread, I think. I leaped on your head to get the last one, and caught it in my mouth.”
A deep, shaky sigh echoed from Ryouga’s lips. “That’s... close enough. You... look like Ranma... well, except for being a girl, and the tattoos... and you know about how we met.” He frowned. “Because of you, I’ve seen hell... but your father took you even deeper than you took me.” He turned around. “Take care with your new life, Ranma. If I see the old man... I'll send you his ashes.”
“Wait!” she shouted, then almost covered her mouth.
He turned around. “What is it?”
She bit her lip. Her call had been on the spur of the moment; she wasn’t sure what to do from here. “Do you... want to come inside for a little bit?”
See other episodes by Nightelf
(Posted Sat, 01 Feb 2003 08:37)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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