Disclaimer: The playground is by Rumiko Takahashi, I'm only swinging on the monkey bars. Remember to leave the grounds cleaner than you found them and please don't feed the Trolls. "Media Vita" ("In the Midst of Life") and "A Sto'r Mo Chroi'" ("Darling of my Heart" or "The American Wake") are Traditional. I'm using them as such. This story is archived at http://www.kawaiikunee.com/slp/ Release 1.2 (Dec. 04, 2000) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ranma and Akane: A Love Story Chapter 4: A Tapestry of Shadows Part A: Requiem for Solo Voice ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The memorials had taken six days to organize. Formalities, autopsies and such, would have been enough difficulty for any reasonable person; unfortunately, this was Furinkan, and reasonable people were thin on the ground. The details had been worked out, finally, by Nabiki -- the school's 'consensus' had turned to her more or less by default -- who had drawn Ranma, Akane, and Kasumi deeply into the planning. One of the biggest problems had been a simple question of protocols. The Furinkan district of Nerima was 'blest' not only with more than ten times the percentage of practicing or committed Christians than that normal for Japan, but also a substantial minority of persons for whom Shinto must serve in death as it had in life. (Under normal circumstances, of course, Shinto is not consulted about the impure and ritually polluted concerns of death and the dead. But this _is_ Nerima, and Nerima is a weird place.) The only things that everyone _could_ agree on was that; one, the students who had studied and played together should be remembered together, and, two, that the business should be taken care of as quickly as possible lest the hanging ill-luck should reduce the chances of those still lying injured in the area hospitals. Past that, the factions and sub-factions were locked in a state of very un-Japanese disunity. Nabiki explained to Ranma that Nerima was noted for the degree to which its inhabitants tended to fixate on their pet obsessions. Ranma noted that fanaticism made accord difficult, and speculated on methods of conflict resolution. Eventually, Nabiki simply decreed a compromise. Since Nabiki was well- known at Furinkan, and since Ranma had been spending time frowning ferociously, the decree was assented to with remarkable speed. Due to the widely disparate nature of the religious obligations involved, Nabiki had decided that the actual services for each victim should be held privately. Furthermore, since actual burial would not, of course, be possible, that there would be a mass memorial held instead, during which priests or monks of the various orders would observe certain basic rites. Fortunately, there was a local Shinto shrine priestess, one Sakuranbou Sakura, who was used to weird requests. There would also be music from the Furinkan Choir, and memorial displays for each of the deceased would be proffered for reverence and remembrance. This was to be done during a procession of grief, which would be held in some appropriate public place. At that point Kuno Tatewaki had surprised the whole ward with an unexpectedly generous offer. Nerima (very unusually for a Japanese city, not to mention a ward of Tokyo) has a public cemetery. It is limited in space of course, and normally requires both a significant fee and a significant lead time to reserve a plot there. The Kuno family, as it turned out, possessed a moderate piece of it as an ancestral holding. Tatewaki ordered a medium-ish piece of this holding set aside to hold permanent memorial markers for his fallen schoolmates. Not even a medium piece of the Kuno holdings at the cemetery would be enough for the bodies actually to be _buried_ there, of course, but the prospect of having a permanent, public marker filled the school as a whole with a most unaccustomed warmth for the once-annoying young man. Akane was so pleased that she broke down and kissed him on the cheek on the spot. This reduced him to a gape-mouthed shock, which induced Ranma to kiss him likewise, which sent him into instant unconsciousness. Which caused Ranma to tease Akane for the next several weeks. But you can't have everything. Ranma and Akane, although not part of the choir, had consulted with it to aid in choosing appropriate music. Since it had been necessary to schedule rites by Shinto, Buddhist and Christian priests, it had been decided to use a Christian hymn, but adapt and translate it to a more Japanese mien. This had been done. It had also been decided that Akane and Ranma should escort the bearers of the memorial displays to their resting place, but not carry any themselves. Finally, the weather service had been consulted to select a day free of the sudden constant rain; but Ranma had advised them that no such day was likely until the whole business was over, and so the time had been set. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "No, Kasumi-san," Ranma said, "I understand your concern. Indeed, I share it. The only problem is, Jei-san has never been squeamish about involving other people than his 'targets'. In fact, he has taken hostages to force a confrontation before. So I do not feel that simply being elsewhere is sufficient to assure Furinkan or Nerima's escape from his further attentions. More the reverse, actually." "I understand, Ranma-san. Still, I feel that _something_ must be done. It is unharmonious to simply await possible catastrophe." "I agree completely, Kasumi-san. I have already begun to apply myself to the creation of various weapons and wards against such evil. Also, I have created several of these." Ranma offered Kasumi a small origami goose. Kasumi accepted the item and examined it closely, observing the kanji inked in many colors by a neat, precise hand onto the paper of which it was composed. To her untutored eye they appeared to be of a protective or spiritual nature, calling on the Amida Buddha and a selection of beneficent Shinto deities for aid. "Is it a ward, Ranma-san? A protective influence?" "Only in a manner of speaking, Kasumi-san; it is, more precisely, an alarm. If Jei-san or any equivalent evil impinges on Nerima again, this charm and the others like it will give warning; firstly by reacting physically to his approach, and secondly by transmitting a warning to their creator, i.e. me. The pattern of warnings I receive should alert me to the location of the problem, hopefully before it gains its full strength." "I shall pray and sacrifice for your success in this matter, Ranma-san. Please also try to protect my younger sister." "I shall do so to the limits of my capability and her honor, Kasumi- san, I assure you." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Now a double column of Furinkan students marched up the hill towards the cemetery , under a steady, moderate rain. The first seventeen pairs held between them a line of seventeen fine wooden chests. Each chest held one of the memorial displays that the school and the victim's families had hurriedly assembled. To the left Akane, in black vest, shirt and pants, and wearing a black trench coat and hat, paralleled the line with a slow, sad, steady pace. To the right, Ranma, identically dressed except for her ever-present white silk scarf and lack of hat, did likewise, her scarlet hair darkened by the rain, which ran off its end in a steady stream down the back of her coat. Behind them all, Furinkan's one decent drummer was beating a slow, mournful *tap tap tap*, barely audible over the patter of the falling rain. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Your sister is worried about you. She seems to feel that you're going to start going out monster hunting and get yourself hurt." "Well, I don't have any real interest in _hunting_ monsters, Ranchan." Akane said mildly. "Just as long as they keep to themselves and don't come around and try to kill my classmates or the like." "But what," Ranma assumed a whimsical tone, "if they come around and only try to _maim_ your classmates instead?" "You know perfectly well what I mean. Now hush, you." "Yes, Acchan. Of course, Acchan. Don't hurt me, Acchan." "Unprincipled bully." "Uncommitted slacker." "One of these days, I'm going to _get_ you." "Promises, promises. On another topic, we need to keep track of the wounded. See how they're doing and if they're healing well. Particularly Sayuri-chan and that girl who kept you from getting spitted." Akane shuddered, "Yeah, I owe her big-time." She chewed her lower lip meditatively for a few moments, "We ought to talk to Dr. Tofu, I bet he can get us the info, or at least get us access." "Dr. Tofu?" "He's our family doctor; both GP and chiropractic. I had a huge crush on him last year." "But you're over him now and not disappointed at all, ne?" "Well ... mostly; but everyone knew he was completely gaga over Kasumi-oneechan anyway, so .... Hey! Wait a minute... why, you...." Her only answer was Ranma's silver laughter as the redhead retreated around the corner faster than Akane could follow. In laughing pursuit, Akane pounded down the street yelling, "Come back here, you!" Rounding another corner she was surprised by a flying sneak tickle attack that quickly rendered her hors de combat, with Ranma lounging beside her and smirking, "And the lesson for today, Acchan, is?" "Make your combat stance your everyday stance and your everyday stance your combat stance." To Ranma's raised eyebrow she sighed, and added, "And my sensei's a bully." Ranma raised a hand in preparation for another attack, "Alright! Alright! 'And don't sass the sensei.'" "Exactly." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- As the officiating priests (and priestess) finished the rites there came a hush, filling the cemetery with a silence that the ever-present rain merely intensified. The combined student body seemed to hover, as though they wished to put out a hand and pat their fallen comrades on the shoulder, or urge them on to class one last time. Then the hush was broken by the voice of the lead singer of the Choir. Media vita in morte summus, Quem quaerimus adjutorum nisite Domine? Que pro peccatis nostris justeira sceris. Sanctus, Sancte fortis, Sancte misericors Domine, Amarae morti ne tradas nos. In te speraverunt patres nostri: Speraverunt et liberasti eos. Requiem aeterna dona eis Domine, Et lux perpetua luceat eis. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Why hello, Akane-chan. I didn't see you at Furinkan, I'm glad you weren't injured." "Only a few scrapes and bruises, Tofu-sensei. This is my sensei in the Art, Bushiko Ranma." Ranma and Dr. Tofu shook hands. "We had wondered, Tofu-sensei, if you had any information on the status of the injured, especially Asano Sayuri-san, and Kuno Tatewaki's sister." "Yes, Ranma-san, I have been keeping up a bit; particularly on the patients I attended. Most are healing nicely, at the moment, but Kuno- san was very badly hurt; it will take her several weeks just to recover enough to leave the hospital. As for Asano-san, the last I heard, she was healing nicely from the physical trauma, but has shown no signs of coming out of her coma." "Do you think we might obtain permission to visit them, Tofu-sensei?" "I can't see why not, Ranma-san. They're in Nerima General...." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Then the second singers came in on descant, leading from basses to sopranos as the second set of verses went by in rounds. Finally, the third singers chimed in , in Japanese, as the seconds combined their rounds into a single, blurred chorus. Media vita in morte summus, {[Media vita in morte summus,]} In the midst of life we are in death, Quem quaerimus adjutorum nisite Domine? {[Quem quaerimus, adjutorum nisite Domine?]} Whom do we seek for aid unless You, Lord? Que pro peccatis nostris justeira sceris. {[Que pro peccatis nostris justeira sceris.]} Who because of our sins are justly angry at us. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Kuno Kodachi stirred weakly in her hospital bed, and pressed her brother's hand. Real life had turned out to not work like she had thought it did. She wondered how many other things she had been mistaken on. Then the door opened, and two girls came into the room. The first, she saw, was the redhead who had kept the monster from skewering her; the second she knew as Tendo Akane, and seemed to recall a blurred impression of her also protecting her and her brother from death. 'Such a great mistake to make,' she thought regretfully, 'it's embarrassing.' Ranma walked to the bed and surveyed Kodachi's visible injuries. Her face was marked by a bandage covering the left side, beneath which Ranma sensed a burn, which seemed to have been caused by a mingling of fire, acid and something poisonous. She nodded in confirmation of her suspicions, 'Yin shih charged spirit fire. That's going to _hurt_.' Ranma grinned crookedly at Kodachi and accepted a weak smile in return, "A piece of advice, lass. _First_ you take them down; _then_ you rant at them. Timing is important." Kodachi managed a breathy chuckle, "I shall follow your advice most closely, Ranma-san. Assuming I ever again get the chance." "Oh, I think that between us we can get you up and functioning again. Akane-san and I both owe you a debt after all. Have they given you a schedule of rehabilitation exercises, yet?" "No, Ranma-san, I believe they have yet to complete their schedule of surgery, and...." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sanctus, {[Sanctus,]} Holy one, Sancte fortis, {[Sancte fortis,]} Holy powerful one, Sancte misericors Domine, {[Sancte misericors Domine,]} Holy compassionate Lord, Amarae morti ne tradas nos. {[Amarae morti ne tradas nos.]} Do not hand us over to bitter death. In te speraverunt patres nostri: {[In te speraverunt patres nostri:]} In you our fathers placed their hopes: Speraverunt et liberasti eos. {[Speraverunt et liberasti eos.]} They placed their hopes, and You freed them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ranma drew Tatewaki aside from where Akane was visiting with Kodachi and lowered her voice. "You understand, Tatewaki-san, that even under the best of circumstances your sister will have to totally rearrange her life?" Tatewaki nodded, solemnly. "Akane-san and I will assist her, of course, but the primary burden will fall on her family." "We have no family save each other," Tatewaki said grimly, "I shall ...." Suddenly he looked down at his folded hands and bit his lip. "Ranma-san, you enjoined me to mend my soul ere I again called myself a Samurai." Ranma raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I feel that ... this challenge to my house requires the services of a Samurai, and I .... You enjoined me to mend my soul, Ranma-san, but I do not know how. Will you ...?" Ranma caught his eyes with her own for several seconds, looking deep within as though to see the state of his soul for herself. Then she nodded contemplatively, "Well, I don't suppose that it's much harder to heal two than to heal one. We will endeavor, in one way or another." "Thank you, Ranma-sensei." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Requiem aeterna dona eis Domine, {[Requiem aeterna dona eis Domine,]} Rest eternal grant them, Lord, Et lux perpetua luceat eis. {[Et lux perpetua luceat eis.]} And perpetual Light shine upon them. Media vita in morte summus, {[Media vita in morte summus,]} In the midst of life we are in death, Quem quaerimus adjutorum nisite Domine? {[Quem quaerimus, adjutorum nisite Domine?]} Whom do we seek for aid unless You, Lord? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The hospital room was quiet. Ranma stood by Sayuri's bedside and placed her hand, palm down, on her forehead. She frowned meditatively for a moment, then stepped aside and waved for Akane to try. Akane assumed the same position and concentrated. She did not reach a conclusion with anything like the same speed, and spent several minutes locked in struggle with her perceptions. Finally she frowned, stepped back, and spoke. "Ranchan, her body ki feels like it's in good shape, but I can't find her mind or spirit at all. It's like there's a fog, or a wall, or something." Ranma nodded, grimly, "Yeah. I get that too. My guess is that either she retreated into herself to escape whatever Jei-san did to her, or that she's being chained." "Chained, Ranchan?" "Yah. Jei or Somebody could have, err, locked up her mind's ki, so to speak. And in that case she won't get better unless somebody goes and rescues her." "Somebody." "Somebody, for instance, who is not you. On account of you are Not Yet Ready." "Oh, of course not. I wouldn't even dream of it," Akane replied in a bland, even voice. Ranma, preoccupied, missed the signs completely. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- After the choir had finished, Ranma stepped forward. Akane had wanted to assist her, but had proven incapable of learning the song quickly enough -- couched as it was in a mixture of Gaelic and English -- and so Ranma had diffidently asked if she might give the dead honor on her own. The request had, of course, been acceded to, by acclamation. And so Akane stood solemnly behind her teacher and, along with the rest of the crowd, was swept away. A sto'r mo chroi', when you're far away From the home that you'll soon be leaving, 'Tis many the time, by night and by day, That your heart will sorely be grieving. For the stranger's land it is bright and fair, And rich in treasures golden, But you'll pine I know for the long, long ago, And the love that never is olden. A sto'r mo chroi', in the stranger's land, There is plenty of wealth for the willing. Where jewels adorn the great and the grand, While our faces with hunger are paling. Yet the road may be toilsome, and hard to tread, And the lights of their cities may blind you. Then turn a sto'r, to the eastern shore, And the ones that you're leaving behind you. A sto'r mo chroi', when the evening mists, O'er Mountain and Sea are falling, Then turn aside from the throng and list' And maybe you'll hear me calling. For the sound of a voice that I sorely miss, For somebody's quick returning, Ohh! A ru'n, a ru'n, won't you come back soon, To the love that always is burning? As she sang, Ranma gathered power to herself; building an aura of blue and gold light that flared and grew, until at the climax of her song she seemed as a pillar of living flame. When she finished her requiem she stood momentarily motionless, burning like a star against the unceasing gray rain; and then she flared her aura and sent it out and up, like a great cry of rage against the dying of the light. And then the undertakers stepped forward, and lifted their spades, and the first clods of earth pattered down on the coffins, the sound muffled by the flowers that still bedecked their tops. And the mourners turned, and slowly walked away, Ranma and Akane last. And in the skies above Nerima the rain began to lighten, and the clouds began to part at last. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Next: Ranma and Akane: A Love Story Chapter 4: A Tapestry of Shadows Part B: Sunday Service 'Til next, Eric Hallstrom, 01/16/2001