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~~This chapter is dedicated in loving memory of those whom died waiting for this chapter.~~
Promises Lost:
By Liz-Mun
Chapter 8
"Dreaming in Mono..."
Having walked within the empty streets of Nerima was strange, to say the least. The
city, in which craziness prevailed and was at a constant congruency with the massive
destruction caused by the resident martial artists, was at the moment calm, serene and
quiet. A little too quiet to be considered normal, but wouldn't that have been just part of
Nerima's charm? Even when things appeared sane, it was still insane.
Ryouga just shook his head to clear out some of that confusion.
Turning around a random corner -- he could've sworn he seen that DOCO poster three
corners ago -- he found himself standing in front of a very familiar establishment.
Welcoming the familiarity he headed toward the entrance, ignoring the nagging feeling in the
back of his mind to turn around and run away before it was too late.
The bells hanging on the entry chimed slightly as Ryouga pushed open the sliding
doors. His mind itched to try to remember why this place was so familiar. It was a
restaurant, that much he knew, but the lack of any goings-on or living beings felt so out of
place. This place was almost always bustling with activity, if his memory served him
correctly.
Ryouga was about to turn around and continue off on his quest, when he heard rapid
footsteps approaching him from behind. Turning around to see what the commotion was about,
he was startled as a blue and black blur raced out from one of the doors, and seemingly
attached itself to his waist.
"RYOUGA! Thank God you're back! Where have you been? Have you been eating correctly?
Oh how I... err... we all missed you!"
Blinking audibly enough to echo throughout the semi-empty room, Ryouga looked down
quizzically at the attached figure. The voice helped his mind deduce that the attached
figure was female. Yet, instead of instantly nose-bleeding and passing out, he merely stood
there confused. The fact that the figure had long hair eliminated the idea that it was
Akane. Not that she would act this way toward him, but it didn't hurt to pretend. His mind
then came up with the idea that it was perhaps Akari, but the hair was long and straight.
His heart nearly cracked in sadness at that. Suddenly his aura began to flare up at the
third possibility: Ranma. It had to be him! The jerk was perhaps playing another trick on
him; it was the only way to explain it. After all, he didn't know anyone else who would act
in such a way toward him.
With a growl, he grabbed the figure by the shoulders and shoved her back at
arm-length. He was about to yell at the pigtailed, costumed offender when he got a good
look at the girl standing in front of him. She was looking at him with a hurt, puppy-dog
expression as tears threatened to flow off her big, sparkling, chocolate-colored eyes.
While his body became fully paralyzed with shock, his mind took the opportunity to oil up
the gears up in his head.
This wasn't Ranma.
Going more into shock, the mind sighed and shrugged. It had tried. It was then
that the memory system stopped lagging and recognition swept across the wandering boy's
face.
"U... Ukyou?"
The familiar look of confusion etched back onto Ryouga's face. This couldn't have
been her. Ukyou was much more.... Ukyou!
Ukyou, on the other hand, merely giggled uncharacteristically then grabbed the
severely confused Lost boy's hand, dragging him to sit on one of the wooden stools before
the grill. Walking behind the counter, she began to prepare one of her specials.
"You've been gone for a long time, Ryouga. Everyone else had already given you up
for lost... but I still kept up hope that you would eventually find your way back. Heh, you
always do."
"Err... Right." Ryouga blinked. Already, his mind was trying to remember the
procedure on how to eliminate pod-people.
Ukyou, clearly oblivious to the strange looks she was receiving from her guest
continued. Her once cheerful expression turned sour, pausing him from his thoughts. When she
lowered her head, Ryouga got slightly worried, albeit curious as to what could have caused
such a mood change. Reluctantly, he placed his hand on her shoulder; cautious to snap it
back should it be a trick and the "pod-Ukyou" try to take a bite out of him. This idea was
kicked aside as several drops fell onto the sizzling grill, causing the salty discharges to
evaporate quickly. Ukyou was crying?
"U... Ukyou? What happened?"
When no response was given, Ryouga's curiosity flamed brighter. Standing up, he
reached over the counter and grabbed the okonomiyaki chef's shoulders and shook them
slightly.
"Ukyou! What happened when I was gone? Tell me!"
"You... you missed on a lot, Ryouga. Too much. I suppose you do have a right to
know." Ukyou sighed, hesitating to discuss the event. "Ranma and Akane...."
That was all he needed to hear. Part of his mind was yelling at him that this was
merely a Pod-person, he shouldn't believe what she was saying. The other half argued that
it couldn't have been a Pod-person; the only individuals he knew who cooked okonomiyaki with
such precise movements were either Ukyou or that one guy he met in his travels. Nice guy,
if not a little serious about family and such. He was completely exhausted when he had
crashed, literally, in front of that old man's cart so he hadn't paid much attention to his
ramblings.
Er... getting a little off the subject here. Still, Pod-person or not, it was bound
to happen. Akane didn't deserve a jerk like Ranma ... but... she seemed happy with him,
(when she wasn't kicking him into the stratosphere).
With a heavy sigh, Ryouga let go of Ukyou's shoulders and slumped back down on the
stool. The funny thing was that he didn't feel as bad as he thought he would. He expected
his heart to burst into pricking shards of glass, impaling his internal organs. Instead, he
felt lighter, as if a great burden had been relieved from his shoulders. It disturbed him
greatly. Here was a girl he had spent more than a year fighting for, and when he had lost
the battle, he felt relieved? Shaking his head, he reached over to grab his pack slipping
the straps over his shoulders. This action did not go unnoticed by Ukyou.
"W... where are you going?"
Ryouga looked up at his co-conspirator and somewhat friend, and gave a slightly
forced smile.
"There's nothing else for me here. Akane has made her decision, and I wish her the
best of luck with her life. Even if it is with that.... Ugh!" He paused slightly to sigh
heavily. Looking away, toward the door he continued. "Me? I guess I should head on back to
Akari's. I hope she's not out looking for me. I wouldn't want her to go through all that
trouble for me." With a more genuine smile, he looked back at Ukyou. "Tell everyone I send
my regards." With shoulders tilted back and his head held up high, he started to walk out of
the restaurant, determined to start over a new life with Akari, to finally tell her....
*SPLASH*
...To tell her she was engaged to such a klutz.
Ryouga-kodomo chided himself for again not looking at where he was walking.
Staggering up then kicking away the now empty bucket he growled audibly, his lisp apparent
in his cursing.
"Ry... Ryouga? Is that you?"
The boy winced. He had momentarily forgotten about Ukyou. Turning around he smiled
sheepishly and rubbed nervously behind his head.
"Yeah Ukyou... it'th me."
With a graceful handspring, Ukyou jumped over the counter and landed in front of the
boy then knelt before him. Turning the boy around to get a good look at him, the child
could only blush from embarrassment. Finally she simply held him out at arms length, her
eyes expressing confusion.
"But Ryouga... what happened to your P-chan curse?"
Ukyou had to admit it was slightly comical to see a young boy practically freeze
into a statue-like figurine. Ryouga shook himself out of the shock and looked at Ukyou,
eyes wide, backing away slightly.
"How... how did you...?"
Ukyou smiled Kasumi-like, even tilting her head to the side.
"Why... everyone knows you were P-chan! Even Akane knew."
Little by little, Ryouga could see his world crumbling before him.
Ryouga went even more into shock as Ukyou pulled the boy into a soft embrace.
"You poor thing! It must have been dreadful."
Definitely aliens, his mind assured him. He had expected to have his head
permanently caved by now or been laughed at... but this? Pitied? This was definitely not
Ukyou behavior.
With a struggle, he managed to break free from Ukyou's strong grip. The chef
blinked at the boy quizzically. Ryouga-kodomo faced her and bowed a farewell to her.
Raising back to look at her he quickly folded his dropped clothing and shouldered his pack
again.
"Yeah... thure. Wisten, I think I thould go now. It'th been gweat and aww, but I
weuwy have to get back to Akawi's and..."
"And What, Ryouga?"
The boy stopped and blinked at the Okonomiyaki chef who was then looking smugly at
him.
"Whuh... what dya mean, Ukyou?"
Ukyou merely rolled her eyes.
"What I mean... is Akari's a pig-lover. How will she react when she finds out her
boyfriend-turned-pig doesn't turn into a pig? Will she love you as much as I love you?"
"EEEEEHHHH????"
Ukyou grabbed the boy again, and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Stay here, Ryo-chan! I thought long about this. After Ranma... I realized you were
the one for me! How could I have missed such a wonderful person such as you before? You're
strong, handsome, a good fighter... How could I have been so blind? I don't want you to
leave! Not ever! I know! Let's get married Ryo-chan!"
Still in shock from the previous statement, it took every ounce of energy not to
pass out right then and there. He had to leave, and quickly! His struggling was put to an
end when he felt warm water suddenly pour onto his head. Using his regular strength he
managed to break free from the grasp and scurry out of the restaurant.... only to find that
he was no longer in the establishment, but rather a Christian-like church. Looking down
upon himself, he realized he wasn't wearing his clothing, but rather a very elegant black
tux. This wasn't good. He wanted a Shinto wedding!
His musing were interrupted as someone cleared their throat behind him. Spinning
around, he blinked as he saw Ranma wearing a typical bishop's garb. The pig-tailed menace
simply looked back and gave Ryouga a smile and a thumb up.
It took everything he had not to choke the idiot. Couldn't he tell that he was
being forced into this? It wasn't as if he hadn't tried to escape. After several attempts,
he found he couldn't leave. His feet seemed to have gone numb and stayed glued to the
ground at the altar.
He sighed in defeat as he heard the organ playing. Taking a quick glance at who was
playing his death march, he blinked as he found Shampoo, in cat form, behind the keyboard.
That was different.
Looking down the isle, his jaw dropped as he saw Ukyou, wearing a glimmering white
wedding dress, complete with real white roses imbedded into the corset as a flowery belt.
It was a strapless dress, and she wore long, silk gloves to cover her slim arms. The gown
touched the floor slightly, giving the appearance of an unearthly figure gliding on the
flowery red carpet. Her entire head was covered with an opaque lace, held onto place by a
golden, princess crown. It was if this wasn't Ukyou, but rather a princess plucked straight
from pages of a gaijin fairy-tale and placed before him.
He couldn't help but smile. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all. Feeling his heart
beat faster as Ukyou stepped closer to him, he gulped audibly.
No! He couldn't let this happen! He was devoted to Akari! There would be no other!
He clenched his eyes and tried to gather up enough ki. Maybe if he acquired enough battle
aura, he would break whatever spell he was in and make a run for it. His aura quickly
dissipated as a silken finger stroked gently on his cheek. Opening an eye, he peered down
at the veiled beauty before him.
"Don't worry, Ryo-chan, I would do everything to make you happy.
Ryouga gulped again, this time he felt his nose warming up quite rapidly.
Ukyou daintily pulled back her hand and reached to her veil. Slowly she pulled up
the laced cloth, revealing her features. What Ryouga saw caused him to tremble. It wasn't
Ukyou he saw, but rather Akari! To the eyes to the pouty mouth to even the cute, little,
pink strands over her ears, it was a complete replication of his love. Giving out an
audible sigh, he smiled broadly and reached over to embrace the pig-farmer, but stopped when
she spoke.... in Ukyou's voice!
"Do you like this, Ryo-chan? I said I would do everything to make you happy.... even
look like your love! You don't have to worry about anything anymore! I will take care of you
for the rest of your life. You're mine now, Ryo-chan! Mine!"
~~~~
Ryouga woke with a start. Clutching his tiny, child-like fingers to his chest, he
gasped back in the breath that was seemingly lost during his recent nightmare. Looking
around, disoriented and a bit frightened, he found his mother watching him with a worried
look.
"Ryo-chan. Daijobu?"
It was a nightmare, just a nightmare, he reminded himself. He was on an airplane,
going back to Japan. Soon he would be reunited with his father again. His mother was
already sitting peacefully beside him. Things that were once only in his dreams, was now a
reality.
Ryouga just gave a smile to ease his mother's worries and leaned against her. It
had been years since he was able to do this with her and these moments helped secure what
little sanity he had left.
Chieko wasn't at all pleased with the brush off of the incident, but let it slide at
the moment. She smoothed out his soft hair as to ease the boy's nerves.... and
unconsciously, her own. She had lots to wonder about: First and foremost, the curse his son
was now subjected to. Ryouga had explained to her somewhat, about the nature of the curse,
(with a little help of a visual demonstration).
After passing out, staggering back into consciousness, and then raucously blaming
her husband several times, she had calmed down considerably to think of the benefits.
Actually... only one benefit monopolized her mind at the moment. She had her baby
back! Years of involuntary abandonment could be repaid by just adding cold water! Not only
that, she had noticed that he had grown up to be such a handsome young man! In fact, it was
like having two sons for the price of one!
Her thoughts were interrupted as the pilot informed they had just landed in Tokyo.
As the lights lit up, everyone reached out to grab their carry-on items. Chieko instead
reached out and grabbed her son's hand and went with the flow of dispersing travelers. They
had no carry-on items of their own (all they did have were their large traveling packs....
which was a Hell and a half in itself to pass through customs with!)
After passing again through customs, retrieving their packs, and several detours in
between, Chieko and Ryouga finally managed to make it outside.
Placing the backpacks over each other, then sitting Ryouga-kodomo on top of the bags
for easy view, Chieko took a few steps towards the street to try to hail a taxi.
Ryouga took this opportunity to try to remember his nightmare. It wasn't as if he
enjoyed reliving it, but he still wanted to try to understand what was the whole point of
it. Ukyou had looked beautiful wearing that gown, but it was in actuality Akari... which
was only Ukyou in disguise. Grumbling he clutched his head to ward away the oncoming
headache.
He was so preoccupied with his inner turmoil, that he failed to notice a shadow
overlapping him. His thoughts were interrupted as arms grabbed him from behind, pulling him
away from the luggage, and then.... darkness.
~~~~~*****~~~~~
Wow... Took me months to come up with this crap? ^_^;;
Sorry for the long delay, my Muse seems to have returned, and I won't take her presence for
granted. I'm gonna make that gal work! Ooohohohohoho!!
Look out for next chapter coming soon. Hopefully sooner than this came out _;;
Now... if only the Muses for my other stories would come back to me!
Come Baaaaack! I promise you can have that hot tub!! *sniff*
Till next time y'all!
Daijobu- pretty much means "alright?" actually it should've been "Daijobu desu ka?" but I
was lazy.
Kodomo- kid, child
~~This chapter is dedicated in loving memory of those whom died waiting for this chapter.~~
Promises Lost:
By Liz-Mun
Chapter 8
"Dreaming in Mono..."
Having walked within the empty streets of Nerima was strange, to say the least. The
city, in which craziness prevailed and was at a constant congruency with the massive
destruction caused by the resident martial artists, was at the moment calm, serene and
quiet. A little too quiet to be considered normal, but wouldn't that have been just part of
Nerima's charm? Even when things appeared sane, it was still insane.
Ryouga just shook his head to clear out some of that confusion.
Turning around a random corner -- he could've sworn he seen that DOCO poster three
corners ago -- he found himself standing in front of a very familiar establishment.
Welcoming the familiarity he headed toward the entrance, ignoring the nagging feeling in the
back of his mind to turn around and run away before it was too late.
The bells hanging on the entry chimed slightly as Ryouga pushed open the sliding
doors. His mind itched to try to remember why this place was so familiar. It was a
restaurant, that much he knew, but the lack of any goings-on or living beings felt so out of
place. This place was almost always bustling with activity, if his memory served him
correctly.
Ryouga was about to turn around and continue off on his quest, when he heard rapid
footsteps approaching him from behind. Turning around to see what the commotion was about,
he was startled as a blue and black blur raced out from one of the doors, and seemingly
attached itself to his waist.
"RYOUGA! Thank God you're back! Where have you been? Have you been eating correctly?
Oh how I... err... we all missed you!"
Blinking audibly enough to echo throughout the semi-empty room, Ryouga looked down
quizzically at the attached figure. The voice helped his mind deduce that the attached
figure was female. Yet, instead of instantly nose-bleeding and passing out, he merely stood
there confused. The fact that the figure had long hair eliminated the idea that it was
Akane. Not that she would act this way toward him, but it didn't hurt to pretend. His mind
then came up with the idea that it was perhaps Akari, but the hair was long and straight.
His heart nearly cracked in sadness at that. Suddenly his aura began to flare up at the
third possibility: Ranma. It had to be him! The jerk was perhaps playing another trick on
him; it was the only way to explain it. After all, he didn't know anyone else who would act
in such a way toward him.
With a growl, he grabbed the figure by the shoulders and shoved her back at
arm-length. He was about to yell at the pigtailed, costumed offender when he got a good
look at the girl standing in front of him. She was looking at him with a hurt, puppy-dog
expression as tears threatened to flow off her big, sparkling, chocolate-colored eyes.
While his body became fully paralyzed with shock, his mind took the opportunity to oil up
the gears up in his head.
This wasn't Ranma.
Going more into shock, the mind sighed and shrugged. It had tried. It was then
that the memory system stopped lagging and recognition swept across the wandering boy's
face.
"U... Ukyou?"
The familiar look of confusion etched back onto Ryouga's face. This couldn't have
been her. Ukyou was much more.... Ukyou!
Ukyou, on the other hand, merely giggled uncharacteristically then grabbed the
severely confused Lost boy's hand, dragging him to sit on one of the wooden stools before
the grill. Walking behind the counter, she began to prepare one of her specials.
"You've been gone for a long time, Ryouga. Everyone else had already given you up
for lost... but I still kept up hope that you would eventually find your way back. Heh, you
always do."
"Err... Right." Ryouga blinked. Already, his mind was trying to remember the
procedure on how to eliminate pod-people.
Ukyou, clearly oblivious to the strange looks she was receiving from her guest
continued. Her once cheerful expression turned sour, pausing him from his thoughts. When she
lowered her head, Ryouga got slightly worried, albeit curious as to what could have caused
such a mood change. Reluctantly, he placed his hand on her shoulder; cautious to snap it
back should it be a trick and the "pod-Ukyou" try to take a bite out of him. This idea was
kicked aside as several drops fell onto the sizzling grill, causing the salty discharges to
evaporate quickly. Ukyou was crying?
"U... Ukyou? What happened?"
When no response was given, Ryouga's curiosity flamed brighter. Standing up, he
reached over the counter and grabbed the okonomiyaki chef's shoulders and shook them
slightly.
"Ukyou! What happened when I was gone? Tell me!"
"You... you missed on a lot, Ryouga. Too much. I suppose you do have a right to
know." Ukyou sighed, hesitating to discuss the event. "Ranma and Akane...."
That was all he needed to hear. Part of his mind was yelling at him that this was
merely a Pod-person, he shouldn't believe what she was saying. The other half argued that
it couldn't have been a Pod-person; the only individuals he knew who cooked okonomiyaki with
such precise movements were either Ukyou or that one guy he met in his travels. Nice guy,
if not a little serious about family and such. He was completely exhausted when he had
crashed, literally, in front of that old man's cart so he hadn't paid much attention to his
ramblings.
Er... getting a little off the subject here. Still, Pod-person or not, it was bound
to happen. Akane didn't deserve a jerk like Ranma ... but... she seemed happy with him,
(when she wasn't kicking him into the stratosphere).
With a heavy sigh, Ryouga let go of Ukyou's shoulders and slumped back down on the
stool. The funny thing was that he didn't feel as bad as he thought he would. He expected
his heart to burst into pricking shards of glass, impaling his internal organs. Instead, he
felt lighter, as if a great burden had been relieved from his shoulders. It disturbed him
greatly. Here was a girl he had spent more than a year fighting for, and when he had lost
the battle, he felt relieved? Shaking his head, he reached over to grab his pack slipping
the straps over his shoulders. This action did not go unnoticed by Ukyou.
"W... where are you going?"
Ryouga looked up at his co-conspirator and somewhat friend, and gave a slightly
forced smile.
"There's nothing else for me here. Akane has made her decision, and I wish her the
best of luck with her life. Even if it is with that.... Ugh!" He paused slightly to sigh
heavily. Looking away, toward the door he continued. "Me? I guess I should head on back to
Akari's. I hope she's not out looking for me. I wouldn't want her to go through all that
trouble for me." With a more genuine smile, he looked back at Ukyou. "Tell everyone I send
my regards." With shoulders tilted back and his head held up high, he started to walk out of
the restaurant, determined to start over a new life with Akari, to finally tell her....
*SPLASH*
...To tell her she was engaged to such a klutz.
Ryouga-kodomo chided himself for again not looking at where he was walking.
Staggering up then kicking away the now empty bucket he growled audibly, his lisp apparent
in his cursing.
"Ry... Ryouga? Is that you?"
The boy winced. He had momentarily forgotten about Ukyou. Turning around he smiled
sheepishly and rubbed nervously behind his head.
"Yeah Ukyou... it'th me."
With a graceful handspring, Ukyou jumped over the counter and landed in front of the
boy then knelt before him. Turning the boy around to get a good look at him, the child
could only blush from embarrassment. Finally she simply held him out at arms length, her
eyes expressing confusion.
"But Ryouga... what happened to your P-chan curse?"
Ukyou had to admit it was slightly comical to see a young boy practically freeze
into a statue-like figurine. Ryouga shook himself out of the shock and looked at Ukyou,
eyes wide, backing away slightly.
"How... how did you...?"
Ukyou smiled Kasumi-like, even tilting her head to the side.
"Why... everyone knows you were P-chan! Even Akane knew."
Little by little, Ryouga could see his world crumbling before him.
Ryouga went even more into shock as Ukyou pulled the boy into a soft embrace.
"You poor thing! It must have been dreadful."
Definitely aliens, his mind assured him. He had expected to have his head
permanently caved by now or been laughed at... but this? Pitied? This was definitely not
Ukyou behavior.
With a struggle, he managed to break free from Ukyou's strong grip. The chef
blinked at the boy quizzically. Ryouga-kodomo faced her and bowed a farewell to her.
Raising back to look at her he quickly folded his dropped clothing and shouldered his pack
again.
"Yeah... thure. Wisten, I think I thould go now. It'th been gweat and aww, but I
weuwy have to get back to Akawi's and..."
"And What, Ryouga?"
The boy stopped and blinked at the Okonomiyaki chef who was then looking smugly at
him.
"Whuh... what dya mean, Ukyou?"
Ukyou merely rolled her eyes.
"What I mean... is Akari's a pig-lover. How will she react when she finds out her
boyfriend-turned-pig doesn't turn into a pig? Will she love you as much as I love you?"
"EEEEEHHHH????"
Ukyou grabbed the boy again, and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Stay here, Ryo-chan! I thought long about this. After Ranma... I realized you were
the one for me! How could I have missed such a wonderful person such as you before? You're
strong, handsome, a good fighter... How could I have been so blind? I don't want you to
leave! Not ever! I know! Let's get married Ryo-chan!"
Still in shock from the previous statement, it took every ounce of energy not to
pass out right then and there. He had to leave, and quickly! His struggling was put to an
end when he felt warm water suddenly pour onto his head. Using his regular strength he
managed to break free from the grasp and scurry out of the restaurant.... only to find that
he was no longer in the establishment, but rather a Christian-like church. Looking down
upon himself, he realized he wasn't wearing his clothing, but rather a very elegant black
tux. This wasn't good. He wanted a Shinto wedding!
His musing were interrupted as someone cleared their throat behind him. Spinning
around, he blinked as he saw Ranma wearing a typical bishop's garb. The pig-tailed menace
simply looked back and gave Ryouga a smile and a thumb up.
It took everything he had not to choke the idiot. Couldn't he tell that he was
being forced into this? It wasn't as if he hadn't tried to escape. After several attempts,
he found he couldn't leave. His feet seemed to have gone numb and stayed glued to the
ground at the altar.
He sighed in defeat as he heard the organ playing. Taking a quick glance at who was
playing his death march, he blinked as he found Shampoo, in cat form, behind the keyboard.
That was different.
Looking down the isle, his jaw dropped as he saw Ukyou, wearing a glimmering white
wedding dress, complete with real white roses imbedded into the corset as a flowery belt.
It was a strapless dress, and she wore long, silk gloves to cover her slim arms. The gown
touched the floor slightly, giving the appearance of an unearthly figure gliding on the
flowery red carpet. Her entire head was covered with an opaque lace, held onto place by a
golden, princess crown. It was if this wasn't Ukyou, but rather a princess plucked straight
from pages of a gaijin fairy-tale and placed before him.
He couldn't help but smile. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all. Feeling his heart
beat faster as Ukyou stepped closer to him, he gulped audibly.
No! He couldn't let this happen! He was devoted to Akari! There would be no other!
He clenched his eyes and tried to gather up enough ki. Maybe if he acquired enough battle
aura, he would break whatever spell he was in and make a run for it. His aura quickly
dissipated as a silken finger stroked gently on his cheek. Opening an eye, he peered down
at the veiled beauty before him.
"Don't worry, Ryo-chan, I would do everything to make you happy.
Ryouga gulped again, this time he felt his nose warming up quite rapidly.
Ukyou daintily pulled back her hand and reached to her veil. Slowly she pulled up
the laced cloth, revealing her features. What Ryouga saw caused him to tremble. It wasn't
Ukyou he saw, but rather Akari! To the eyes to the pouty mouth to even the cute, little,
pink strands over her ears, it was a complete replication of his love. Giving out an
audible sigh, he smiled broadly and reached over to embrace the pig-farmer, but stopped when
she spoke.... in Ukyou's voice!
"Do you like this, Ryo-chan? I said I would do everything to make you happy.... even
look like your love! You don't have to worry about anything anymore! I will take care of you
for the rest of your life. You're mine now, Ryo-chan! Mine!"
~~~~
Ryouga woke with a start. Clutching his tiny, child-like fingers to his chest, he
gasped back in the breath that was seemingly lost during his recent nightmare. Looking
around, disoriented and a bit frightened, he found his mother watching him with a worried
look.
"Ryo-chan. Daijobu?"
It was a nightmare, just a nightmare, he reminded himself. He was on an airplane,
going back to Japan. Soon he would be reunited with his father again. His mother was
already sitting peacefully beside him. Things that were once only in his dreams, was now a
reality.
Ryouga just gave a smile to ease his mother's worries and leaned against her. It
had been years since he was able to do this with her and these moments helped secure what
little sanity he had left.
Chieko wasn't at all pleased with the brush off of the incident, but let it slide at
the moment. She smoothed out his soft hair as to ease the boy's nerves.... and
unconsciously, her own. She had lots to wonder about: First and foremost, the curse his son
was now subjected to. Ryouga had explained to her somewhat, about the nature of the curse,
(with a little help of a visual demonstration).
After passing out, staggering back into consciousness, and then raucously blaming
her husband several times, she had calmed down considerably to think of the benefits.
Actually... only one benefit monopolized her mind at the moment. She had her baby
back! Years of involuntary abandonment could be repaid by just adding cold water! Not only
that, she had noticed that he had grown up to be such a handsome young man! In fact, it was
like having two sons for the price of one!
Her thoughts were interrupted as the pilot informed they had just landed in Tokyo.
As the lights lit up, everyone reached out to grab their carry-on items. Chieko instead
reached out and grabbed her son's hand and went with the flow of dispersing travelers. They
had no carry-on items of their own (all they did have were their large traveling packs....
which was a Hell and a half in itself to pass through customs with!)
After passing again through customs, retrieving their packs, and several detours in
between, Chieko and Ryouga finally managed to make it outside.
Placing the backpacks over each other, then sitting Ryouga-kodomo on top of the bags
for easy view, Chieko took a few steps towards the street to try to hail a taxi.
Ryouga took this opportunity to try to remember his nightmare. It wasn't as if he
enjoyed reliving it, but he still wanted to try to understand what was the whole point of
it. Ukyou had looked beautiful wearing that gown, but it was in actuality Akari... which
was only Ukyou in disguise. Grumbling he clutched his head to ward away the oncoming
headache.
He was so preoccupied with his inner turmoil, that he failed to notice a shadow
overlapping him. His thoughts were interrupted as arms grabbed him from behind, pulling him
away from the luggage, and then.... darkness.
~~~~~*****~~~~~
Wow... Took me months to come up with this crap? ^_^;;
Sorry for the long delay, my Muse seems to have returned, and I won't take her presence for
granted. I'm gonna make that gal work! Ooohohohohoho!!
Look out for next chapter coming soon. Hopefully sooner than this came out _;;
Now... if only the Muses for my other stories would come back to me!
Come Baaaaack! I promise you can have that hot tub!! *sniff*
Till next time y'all!
Daijobu- pretty much means "alright?" actually it should've been "Daijobu desu ka?" but I
was lazy.
Kodomo- kid, child