Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and Full Moon o Sagashite are not mine.
Author's Foreword: I'd like to thank everyone for their C&C and support. It does a world of good for me to know that my efforts are enjoyed by others. Sorry this chapter took so long, it was a very challenging chapter to finish.
Fumbling for the Full Moon
By ToastedPine
Chapter 6
Genma sat cross-legged by the koi pond, throwing food in at random intervals. Ranma had skipped on their morning sparring again. "Undisciplined boy." He grumbled, mostly because he couldn't prove it. A lifetime spent with his son meant that he could read Ranma more easily than anyone else. The boy hadn't improved dramatically in the art, but he did suddenly have more focus, which didn't make any sense at all considering his tension with Akane lately. If anything, Ranma should be more distracted than usual.
He threw another pellet of food into the pond and watched as the ripples spread, both from the pellet hitting the water and carp moving to snatch it.
To be a father is a difficult, but to be a stranger is worse. Choices of the past are materials of the future; take care in their selection.
The doorbell rang.
I set my coffee mug on the table and quickly folded my paper before shuffling to the door.
"Hello?" There was no one at the front door. "That's strange..." I said, checking the polished brass mailbox to my right and finding it empty.
It was a sudden metallic glint that made me notice the woven straw basket on my doorstep... I could have turned away once I saw it-- taken the basket somewhere else and forgotten the whole thing, but part of me wanted to make sure.
'I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away,' my mental mantra lending me strength as I edged closer.
A small hand squirmed out from the blue blanket causing something yellow to sparkle. This was surreal: a baby in a basket, who would do something like this? My answer came in the form of an amber moon pendant wrapped around the baby's wrist, which told me more than I ever wanted to know; the plastic band next to it only served to further confirm my fears, "Eichi" in hiragana and "Sakurai" in kanji.
"Honey, was that the fertility clinic? About time they delivered the medicine."
I turned towards my wife, her fiery red hair and crystal blue eyes still as captivating as the day I married her seven years ago. She wore an adorable annoyed frown as she walked towards me while towel-drying a dish.
There was little surprise when clear blue became stormy gray as she saw the baby in my arms and damning jewelry in my hand. Her recognition was instant-- the towel dropped, the plate shattered, and her pleasant face twisted in a mask of rage.
It was over. I knew the life I built was going too well. The momentary indiscretion I was sure would never come back to haunt me had returned bearing pitchforks and torches, ready to burn everything to the ground. My first thought was betrayal; my closest ally was the culprit. My second thought was comfort; because that person did it with the purest of intentions-- and I refused to see it any other way.
I hurried into the house, leaving the basket to blow around in the yard, knowing the worst was to come but hoping that I could redefine the truth in her eyes.
The body of truth is often hazy, and what we see are derivatives of its form.
Mitsuki thanked kami when they landed on top of the audition building. She disengaged her arms from around Ranma's neck and put a hand against a nearby rectangular aluminum air vent to keep from falling over.
"I should've warned you about that." Ranma laughed, clearing his ear with a finger to bring his hearing back. For a girl who had throat cancer, she had a powerful set of pipes. He waited for her to regain her balance then asked, "You ready?"
"Yes." Mitsuki nodded
Ranma responded by summoning his battle aura. "Just do it how Hinako taught ya."
"Happo-Five-Yen-Satsu!" Green tendrils of ki flowed towards the five yen piece Mitsuki held between her two fingers. Much to Ranma's relief, the change was steady like Hinako's. The short twelve-year-old girl grew taller. Her hair, bound into two large spirals, came undone and lengthened. Ranma watched in interest as Mitsuki's face lost some baby fat, gaining definition along with fuller lips, and a more pronounced nose. Ranma began to sweat when he noticed that fuller curves were also part of the package. "Umm... Mitsuki, I think you should stop..."
Mitsuki's eyes, which had been closed until that point, opened. "Huh, why?" she asked but continued to drain ki, causing the denim shorts and yellow blouse she wore to give way to her expanding chest and hourglass hips.
Rip Pop Ranma unconsciously snatched the button flying towards him out of the air.
"KYAAAAA!" The scream brought his attention back to Mitsuki's, whose blouse and short were in tatters. The newly teenage girl struggled to preserve her modesty, using one hand to keep her shorts on, while the other to cover her chest with the thin yellow fabric. Unfortunately, the quick action only caused the shorts to rip even further, giving Ranma a nice view of her white laced panties which highlighted her smooth, creamy legs. On top, Mitsuki did manage to cover most of her new assets, but the way her arm was positioned pushed her breast upwards, making her cleavage look deeper.
All in all, it was a very provocative sight.
Perhaps it was because Mitsuki wasn't a violent fiancée, or maybe because she really was that good looking-- whatever the reason, Ranma had enjoyed the view longer than usual, which resulted in his brain blowing a fuse.
'I'm going to hell,' was Ranma's last thought before he passed out, implications of being a dirty old man weighing down hard like a fat panda on his conscience.
"Ranma!" She dashed towards him, reservations forgotten.
I rampaged in his precious sanctuary, ripping down bookshelves, and knocking down anything that wasn't bolted to the floor. I ignored my bleeding hands and destroyed everything that was within reach.
crash The plastic chair struck the glass framed portrait of us on our wedding day. Spider webbing spread from the point of impact, splitting the picture into a thousand jagged sections.
He pleaded with me, attempting to explain why he committed the one act that would hurt me the most. I leaned on the front of the desk for support after stumbling all over the place, too enraged to stand straight, it didn't matter; his entire study was already a mess.
I tried to block out his voice, to make myself deaf to the strangled words on his lips, and yet...
"Wait!"
"Not today, Mr. Ikari." His favorite stress-ball goes flying.
"I had no idea. She did this for us!"
I put everything I had into that glare. "That doll wanted you from the beginning! What's worse, she got it by following what was expected of her to the letter!" The baby started wailing-- not that I cared.
A small snarl formed. "Don't talk about her that way," anger... and then... retreat, "it was my fault. I... was weak." His shoulders slumped, his eyes hidden behind his bangs. The sour taste of stomach fluids reached the back of my throat at the level self-loathing I heard. I reached out involuntarily before pulling back.
"Leave." I commanded; he wouldn't listen.
Was it too much to ask that he give me peace with my anger, to find familiar solace in its blazing touch? He was so selfish-- he had committed his single act of adultery yet he refused to let me commit mine.
I felt around the desk and finally gripped something to throw. "LEAVE!" I let whatever was in my hands fly. It was a steel letter opener shaped in the shape of a dagger. My eyes widened; I screamed at him to dodge but my voice had abandoned me.
Fortunately, he turned at the last second shielding the baby in his arms as the sharp edge carved a shallow wound into his shoulder.
I broke down right then; what if that had struck him somewhere fatal? I felt his presence near me, mumbling assurances and apologies in my ear. They sounded empty-- not that it mattered; he was still able to calm the storm in my heart.
"It's our child now isn't it?" I asked silently.
"It is... if you want."
I laid a hesitant hand on the crying infant. "I'm not... mother, and you aren't your father."
He put his hand on mine. "And we'll never be."
So there we sat, amidst the chaos I had created, reveling in each other's presence, willing to forget the past because we both knew we were doomed to need each other.
Fleet footed emotions drive humanity; easy come easy go.
He sensed a presence... close, supporting, and warm. A gentle countenance bathed in a corona of light. 'So... I finally bit the big one.' Ranma thought, still light headed. 'It's pretty comfortable on her lap. Maybe I'll get to rest here for a while...'
Gentle calling, a pattern of rising and lowering tones, colored by concern, "--nma are... you awake?"
Ranma's vision cleared. "Mitsuki?"
"I'm so glad you're okay." She sighed.
'Hmm, something ain't right here...' The pigtailed teen furrowed his brows. 'I passed out-- ah geez that sucks. Why did I pass out? Something to do with Mitsuki... and lace... and... gah!'
Blushing fiercely, Ranma practically teleported to the other side of the roof, and his back to the scantily clad sixteen-year-old Mitsuki.
"Ranma-san?" She stood up, only to have her clothes succumb to the forces of gravity. "Ah!" She shot back down.
"I brought a pack... there's a spare set of clothes inside."
"H-hai." Mitsuki rushed to hide her embarrassment behind unfamiliar clothing.
We often turn our eyes away from the unpleasant; making sight and blindness one in the same.
The sky was peaceful, almost unmoving, that night. It was rare that the stars barely twinkled, offering their silent, unwavering encouragement. Not for the first time, I questioned why people in the cities chose to blot out heaven's mural with their artificial lights.
I felt a little guilty lying on the yard because of the grass stains that would inevitably be on my golf-shirt once I got up, but I ignored it favor of more pleasant thoughts. It had been six years since Eichi arrived. I had a family-- all was right with the world.
"Father, what are we listening to tonight?" The question led be back to reality.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot to turn it on." I pushed the button on the stereo. Soon the quiet melody of Bach's Air flowed out of the speaker in steady streams, and I ruffled my companion's wispy blond hair; the familiar feel of which, was a reminder of the past. Eichi had inherited some traits from Rei, and it was starting to show. I knew Asuka saw more of Rei in Eichi too, it was in her manner-- she was somehow... colder to our child. I pulled the body next to me closer. It was probably my imagination, nothing more.
"Is that the Southern Cross?" Eichi traced out a pattern with his fingers.
"Yeah, I think you're right. You should be an astrologer when you grow up." I was very happy to see that Eichi enjoyed the astronomy book I bought.
"I know a lot more now!" There was no mistaking the amount of pride that voice. "Alpha and Beta Centauri are those bright spots that look like stars over there."
"You might be smarter than your own father you know. I had no idea there were so many constellations in the sky." I said.
"You're still the smartest and best father in the world." I felt a warm mass cling more to my side. 'Father,' my spirit rose. I was being a good father wasn't I?
My resolution was holding firm and I couldn't have been happier.
Ranma finished adjusting the legs of the drawstring pants and stepped back to admire her work. "There." The girl turned teen filled out his Chinese style attire easily. Mitsuki's older form was moderately busty and at least a head taller than Ranma's own girl side.
"Umm... this should be okay shouldn't it?" Mitsuki shyly asked while inspecting herself from different angles.
"Heh, you'll be fine." Ranma grinned, eliciting a giggle from the girl-turned-teen. "What?"
"You're face was twitching all over." Mitsuki stifled another giggle when her pigtailed companion twitched some more.
Ranma sweated. 'I forgot that I was no good at keeping a straight face. We didn't have enough time to see how long the ki would hold, and Mitsuki hasn't practiced in this body before-- not to mention the tumor.' He focused ki into his retinas. 'Everything seems okay.'
"Ranma-san?" Mitsuki took a step forward, her unease beginning to show.
'Ah dang, she doesn't need this now. Think Ranma, think! Well, there's no use fighting...' Ranma dropped his false show of confidence. "I'm worried that you won't make it because of me. Maybe someone else could've done a better job. I don't know anything about singing and stuff."
The change in Mitsuki was almost instantaneous. "That's not true at all!" She insisted, catching Ranma totally off guard with her intensity. "Whether I get chosen or not for this is my problem. Don't worry, even if I don't make it, there'll be other chances."
This time, Ranma's smile was genuine. "You're right. And if they don't pick you, I'll beat the crap out of those judges!" He shook his balled fist.
"C'mon," Ranma picked Mitsuki up once more. "I'll drop you off behind the building so no one sees us land. Hang on tight!" The pair descended into the narrow alley's shadow.
Clothes make the man or woman. Do people dress to become who they admire?
"I'm not sure about this... shouldn't we get Eichi some proper clothes?" I heard father say to mama who was sorting through the boxes in the storage room under the stairs.
"Nonsense." Mama's smile didn't reach her eyes. She opened a box and held a white collared shirt and black pants against me. "They're fine isn't that right, Eichi-kun?"
Father looked sad, I didn't want father to look sad, like he was about to cry again. New clothes would be great, but I didn't want father to cry. "I like these father, they remind me of you."
"Oh Eichi-kun, you make your mother so happy." Mama hugged me, but she felt hard-- not soft and warm like before, or like father.
"Mama, you're hurting me." My arms stung from being squeezed.
"You'll be you're mother's good little boy." Something was wrong. Why was mama being so scary?
"Ow!"
"Eichi!" Father forced me out of mama's grip. "Asuka, let go!" Why was mama acting like this? Did I do something bad?
"I can't hold her... Eichi, hide in your room, quickly!"
I ran up the stairs, locked the door, and hid under the covers. Father and Mama were still struggling downstairs. I didn't know what to do. "Mama..." I whispered, longing for the days before she started changing. Dad said it wasn't my fault; mama was just ill. But she didn't have a cough or a fever. Mama was probably mad because I wouldn't be a good boy for her. Maybe mama would go back to normal if I showed her what a good boy I could be.
Doubt can lead to sadness, yet certainty is no savior.
'What if I'm not good enough?' Mitsuki shrank under the collective scrutiny of the four people sitting behind fold-out tables. She gulped and wished she was back in the other room with the rest of the girls. That hadn't been all that comfortable an experience either, but at least they hadn't been staring at her like this! And, despite what she had told Ranma earlier, this really was her one and only chance. She had heard of no other auditions any time in the near future.
"Interesting choice of clothes, is there any particular reason for going Chinese?" the woman sitting on the right asked. She was dressed in a flattering teal business suit. However, what really made her stand out though were her eyes, which carried a predatory gleam that had Mitsuki feeling like a mouse before a snake.
"Ah." Mitsuki squeaked when she realized that the scary woman was talking to her. She reached for her sleeve, the well worn fabric assuring her that she wasn't alone. "A friend lent these to me." She smiled. "To make my dreams come true."
The woman raised an eyebrow, and then smirked. "Not yet. Let's see what you got."
It is infinitely easy for an outsider to judge and prescribe, infinitely difficult for those inside to listen and act.
Hospitals were always so sterile, empty of all feeling, and painted from top to bottom in puke green. How could anyone get better in such an awful place? A few meters away, Dad was talking to the doctor, where they thought I couldn't hear them.
"How is she?" Dad wore that expression like he was about to cry again. Kami-sama, I saw it more and more the longer mother stayed at the hospital. I fiddled around with the torn helves of my report card... all A's. The sting on my cheek from where Mother slapped me earlier still was still fresh. What more could I do? I was doing my best!
The doctor rubbed his arm. "I can't say. Look, this isn't the first time this has happened Mr. Ikari. Your wife's family has a history of mental illness so you have to pay attention and find out what might be triggering her psychotic episodes."
I sat on the bench and felt Dad's eyes on me. "I... have no idea what it is," he said.
The doctor sighed tiredly. "She'll be ready for release in three more days, but if she ends up here again, I'll be forced to have the authorities step in. I can't, in good conscience, keep allowing such a dangerous situation to continue."
"I... I understand doctor." Dad's bow was almost waist high. "Thank you for your concern."
We went home, and Dad cooked me my favorite rice omelet. He tried to stay cheerful for me, and told me that everything was fine; mother would be home soon and good as new.
That was the last meal as a family we ever ate together. Mother attacked me again only a few days after her release. She didn't hold back and I learned the truth of my birth. I finally understood why I hated seeing Dad look like he was about to cry. He was apologizing to me for his mistake, telling me that it wasn't my fault, but not in the words he was too afraid to speak. I tried to hate him for that, I really did.
When Dad and I met with an important looking official, I told the man that I was ready to leave. Dad resisted at first, but we both knew he wasn't strong enough. I told him that I still loved him before he hugged me and swore that I would never be found wanting.
One of the judges played the tape that Mitsuki had sent with her application. It was a slow and soothing piano piece; a bitter-sweet melody that called for quiet affection.
"I've never heard this before." The woman in teal commented a few bars into the intro. "Did you write it yourself?"
"Yes... I did." The teenage singer closed her eyes and listened. This would be the first time singing in her new body. 'It'll be okay,' she thought, quelling the tension that kept threatening to rise, 'I believe in Ranma-san.'
Sufficiently calm, Mitsuki let the music take control. 'Eichi,' she thought, remembering the boy who meant so much to her. Taking those memories, she formed them with her soul and carried them into her voice, which was undeniably strong, clear, and pure...
When was it
that I fell for you?
I travel my rose colored memories,
To the
day when flower blooms were few,
And my heart was scarred by empty
pleas.
She sat beneath the night sky, on a grassy knoll near the orphanage, wishing to go back to her old home; to the place where she was welcome. Needing to feel better, she hummed a tune her father taught her.
"You have a beautiful voice." A boy she had never met before spoke. He had short cropped, wispy blond hair and the kindest purple eyes she'd ever seen. "But why is your song is so sad?" He held out his hand. "My name is Eichi, do you want to be friends?"
Like a savior
from above,
You were my one-winged angel.
Your tender care and
healing love,
Lit the darkness of my hell.
Years at the orphanage passed like a dream, Eichi becoming a constant presence in her life. Everything seemed bright and more colorful when he was around. They would often lie on the grassy knoll where they had first met, gazing at the stars, and appreciating music.
"You remind me of the full moon," he said, "always trying to hide, but too brilliant to miss. I hope one day that you stop hiding and let the world see you as I do."
She insisted she wasn't hiding so he asked her for a promise. Becoming an idol was one more step to fulfilling that promise. She'd shine for the world to show Eichi that she never forgot he was watching her.
I thought it
would last forever,
Until the day we had to part.
Your single
wing was never
Meant to carry me from the start.
"Please, don't leave!" She begged before Eichi could board the car with the tall, green-haired woman. Eichi gently let go of the woman's hand and walked towards her.
"Eichi, I..." She struggled to say the words she couldn't fully understand, and was surprised when he kissed to the cheek. "Don't force yourself Mitsuki." He pressed the moon pendant he'd always worn into her hands. "My going away present to you, it doesn't mean anything special. Goodbye, Mitsuki."
Will I find
the precious wing
To bear my fumbling answer?
I pray that you
can hear me sing,
Of the time we spent together.
The song wound down, leaving Mitsuki's heart pounding. 'I've never been able to sing so freely before! I feel like I can fly!'
"We'll have to get someone to compose a better arrangement." The woman's sharp eye's flashed. "Overall, I'm impressed that you can write a decent song." Swiveling her chair slightly, she addressed the other judges, who hadn't quite recovered from the performance. "I think we found our Idol, any objections?"
The three other judges shook their heads.
"Dismiss the rest of the candidates." She stood up and shook Mitsuki's hand. "Welcome to Seed Records Miss..."
"Um..." Mitsuki was dumbfounded. "Does that mean I pass?"
The woman grinned, "You got it."
"Yay!" Mitsuki cheered.
"So, do you have a name or do I have to make one up?"
Mitsuki blinked. She hadn't spent any time thinking up a name-- not that it mattered, there was one obvious choice. "Full Moon," She said confidently.
"Full Moon... I like it. By the way, I'm Nabiki Tendo, assistant manager. Satou-san wasn't available today so I'm subbing for her. Follow me to my office, I have a contract for you to sign."
Ranma waited for Mitsuki at the entrance of the Seed Records. He had been able to sneak a peak through the window earlier. "That girl's something else." He recalled how happy she looked performing and wished that he could have heard her sing.
The pig-tailed martial artist suddenly shivered. There was something awfully familiar about that lady who approached Mitsuki after she finished singing-- though he only saw the woman from behind. He hoped it was nothing, but knowing his luck...
"Care to explain what you're doing here Ranma?"
Ranma saw a surprised Mitsuki standing beside... the Ice Queen of Furinkan High. Worse, he was out in the open and the girl turned teen was wearing his clothes!
'Oh damn.'
Author's Rambling:
Special thanks to: Fallacy, Kiichan, Rei, Pale Wolf, for helping me iron this chapter out.
I hope this chapter settled Mitsuki's characterization for those who are familiar with her canon counterpart.
Yes, I ripped some characters from Eva-- though I tried to set them up more as analogues to this fic world than anything else. Rei isn't 1/2 angel here, and she's not genetically related to Yui or Gendo. There's a partially canon basis for Rei's origins that I adapted to justify this to myself, which I won't go into. Anyhow, she's there and she's 100 percent human. Who they are isn't really as important as how they affected Eichi so don't go running for the hills. There won't be a third impact blowing Mitsuki and Ranma to bits.