(Writer's Note: For Urusei Yastura - The Senior Year, I chose the name "Sakurambou Hayao" as Cherry's birth name. I've decided to use that name in this storyline as well. G.)
"It has been a long time, Cologne."
The aged elder perked on hearing that voice, then turned to see a Buddhist monk no taller than she standing at the door to the Nekohanten. Blinking several times as she tried to recall his name, her eyes then went wide. "Hayao...?"
Cherry grinned. "I'm so pleased you remember me. Mind if I come in?"
Cologne cackled, beckoning the other elder inside. "You scamp!" she scolded him. "That's just like you, showing up out of nowhere to surprise me! What are you doing here, anyway?!"
Cherry walked over to the table closest to the bar, then took his seat before replying, "It concerns your 'son-in-law,' old friend."
Cologne froze in place on hearing her pet name for Saotome Ranma, then her eyes narrowed. "What's happened?"
The monk took a deep breath. "Allow me to explain..."
Later...
"So you finally decided to force your father to confront reality, eh?"
"Oh, Grandfather!" Kasumi perked, turning to see Happousai seated at the dining room table at the Tendou home, he calmly smoking his pipe. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she knelt across from him. "Hai. I didn't wish to do it, but his insistence on forcing that foolish agreement he made with 'Uncle' Saotome in light of what's happened between Ranma-kun and Akane-chan to date..."
"It's alright, dear. I don't blame you for that," the grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu cut her off with a dismissive wave of his hand, then he gazed at the ceiling. "Nor do I blame Ranma for leaving this place like he did after learning of what Akane was doing behind his back. I only hope that, wherever he decides to settle down, he won't forget to continue his studies in the Art."
Kasumi gazed on the diminutive man before her, then she sighed. "I'm glad that you're willing to let him spread his wings, Grandfather. It's something that Ranma-kun's deserved for the longest time."
"It's what he needs at the end, Kasumi-chan," Happousai concluded. "Now, personally, I don't know if it was because Genma was being lazy and wanted to leech off Ranma's hard work for the rest of his life -- or if he was genuinely concerned deep down and didn't want Ranma to experience what he did when he was learning the Art..." A pause, then he shook his head. "Bah!! The only true way for anyone to progress in the Art is to go out and do it on their own! Ranma doesn't need to be weighed down by trivial concerns like settling down with a girl or running a dojo. The Art isn't dependant on that! The Art is here!" He pointed to his heart, then his head. "Not anywhere else."
"Well, we'll try to make sure that if or when Ranma-kun decides to come back, he'll feel more welcome here," Kasumi vowed. "Akane-chan certainly has to apologize for the things she did against him, as do Ukyou and Shampoo. And this time, they won't be allowed to skirt around that. After all..." A sly smile crossed her face. "Ranma-kun's duty towards Akane-chan is muted in comparison to his other 'fiancees.'"
"It may become more muted very soon, Kasumi-san."
Both turned to the doorway. "Cologne-chan!!" Happousai exclaimed, then his eyes went very wide on seeing her companion. "Hayao?!"
"It's been a while, Happousai," Cherry said, grinning...
A half-hour later...
Where the hell am I now?!
Unseen by the people now relaxing in the Tendou living room, a certain black piglet was busy hopping down the stairs from the upper floor. Reaching the landing, he paused on hearing several familiar voices. Hey! That's Kasumi-san, Cologne and Happousai! the transformed Hibiki Ryouga declared, then he perked on hearing another aged male voice. Who's that?!
Quietly, Ryouga walked up to the doorway leading into the living room, then peeked around the corner to see who was there. A monk? the wanderer mused on seeing Cherry, then his ears perked on hearing Kasumi mention Ranma's name. What's going on here?
"...by this 'Crossing Over' ritual, Ranma-kun will finally be able to be rid of his curse?" Kasumi asked.
Ryouga tensed. Ranma's found a cure?!
"Perhaps. Ataru is not too sure about that point," Cherry replied. "On the one hand, you'll have the female Wanderer assume the form of Ranma's cursed half when she Crosses Over. On the other hand, the chances are there that the curse itself might carry over from Ranma's old body to his new one. In that case, Ataru believes that Ranma might gain full mental control over the curse. After all, water is divine to the Great School and Ranma will have to realize that to appease the curse, he will have to become a girl on occasion."
"Oh, I'm so happy!" Happousai wailed. "Please let it be so!"
Annoyed sighs escaped Cologne and Cherry on hearing their peer's declaration. The others in the room could easily guess what was going through the aged grandmaster's mind at the possibility of having TWO Ranma-chans to play around with. "Grandfather!!" Kasumi scolded.
"Never mind him, Kasumi," Cologne cut in with a wave of her hand. "What of the Neko-ken, Hayao?"
The monk shook his head. "That is even harder to predict. Now, with Ranma's soul about to be given a new and undamaged mind to inhabit, whatever physical brain trauma he received from the Neko-ken will be eliminated. As for the psychological trauma..."
"Nearly impossible to predict," Happousai finished.
"Exactly."
"Oh, dear," Kasumi fretted, then she perked. "Will the female Wanderer be able to help Ranma-kun in that case?"
"I believe so," Cherry answered, then a grim look crossed his face. "In fact, given the sheer scale of your sister's betrayal of Ranma's trust and love..."
WHAT?!?! Ryouga exclaimed. Akane-san betraying Ranma?!! Impossible!!
"...the female Wanderer might be the only thing that stands in the way of Ranma coming back to Nerima and extracting his own justice from Akane, Shampoo and Ukyou," Cherry finished. "With martial arts alone, he will hurt them badly. Adding Nendo-kata powers to that..."
A shudder raced through everyone else, including the piglet standing by the doorway to the room. Staggering back several steps as the words he just heard whirl through his mind, Ryouga then turned to leave. No. NO!! He had to stop this at once!
Now what?
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(Posted Tue, 17 Feb 2004 08:10)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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