Epilogue

Conclusions

1000 Words (Final Fantasy X-2)

     "[Xian Pu,]" Cologne said, glaring at her after she reported what had happened, "[it is the honor of the Amazon clan and your life that will be at stake if you do not win that young man as your own. As a matriarch, I order you to give that girl the Kiss of Death and kill her as soon as she returns.]"
     "[I will not,]" Shampoo didn't move a muscle, "[for Ranma's sake, I will not.]"
     "[You are signing your own death sentence, Xian Pu.]"
     "[Great-grandmother, would you really have the nerve to kill me?]"
     "[I have killed many in my life, and if you do not leave my sight in five seconds, you will join them!]"
     "[So be it,]" Shampoo reached back, undid her hair completely, letting all of it fall back, pulled out a knife, and held it up to her hair, "[I, Xian Pu, do renounce my Amazon heritage and status.]" The knife easily cut through the thick, purple strands, leaving her hair at a quarter of it's former length.
     "[Do you realize what you have just done? You are now an outcast.]"
     "[But she will not be alone!]" Mousse yelled as he stormed inside, "[I heard everything and will not allow her to be alone!]"
     "[Mou Su,]" Cologne said, "[are you willing to accept this foolishness as well?]"
     "[I am, Kuh Lon,]" he said without fear and produced his own knife and raised it behind him, "[I, Mou su, do renounce my Amazon heritage and status.]" Raven colored hair met with the purple on the floor.
     "[Mou su...]" Shampoo said in disbelief, he hadn't hesitated for a second.
     "[So it has been done,]" Cologne said, "[very well, I will return to China and report this disgrace. I give you two hours to remove yourselves and all your possessions from the Nekohanten. If you or any of your offspring should dare to ever return to the village, you will be killed on sight.]" She said nothing else as she pogoed out of the room.
     "[Mou Su,]" Shampoo said again in disbelief. He was acting so calm for being around her.
     "[Come, Xian Pu,]" he said, [it's time for us to start a new life. If you want to share it with mine or be apart, I will be happy either way. I just didn't want you to suffer on your own.]"
     Shampoo smiled as a familiar feeling welled up inside her, only this time is was much stronger than before and directed towards another man. She walked up to him, "Wo ai ni," she said as she put her arms around him and gave him a full blown kiss on the lips.
     [Perhaps I can live without Ranma after all.]

Drawn by Lady Hiko


     One week later, after Ranma and Ukyo returned, he gathered everyone in the Tendo household, plus Nodoka, and simply announced that he was severing all ties with the engagement to Akane and was going to marry Ukyo after they had finished high school. He also stated that he was not doing so because of his father's arrangement, but because he wanted to. He said nothing else as Genma pleaded with him and Soun threatened him. Ranma just simply grabbed his belongings and left, saying that it was time for him to return to his mother.
     "Maybe I was too hard on him," Akane said quietly as she still tried to overcome the shock, even after an hour. As soon as she heard him say that, she lost all interest in challenging him.
     "No, Akane-chan," Nodoka said, putting an arm around her, "even though I haven't known him for long, I can tell that Ranma has a place in his heart for you, but it is a different love, like a brother feels for his little sister. Maybe if you had gotten to know each other as friends before the engagement was forced on the two of you, things might have been different. But what's done is done, Ranma is a man and he will follow his own path." She looked over at Soun, who was just bawling, then to Genma who could have been mistaken for a statue, then back to Akane.
     "You know, Akane-chan, once the divorce is complete, there will be a Saotome available for one of the three of you to marry."
     "Auntie Saotome!" she shuddered at the thought. Nabiki voiced her opinion from the other end of the room, which wasn't a pleasant one.
     "Don't worry, none of you deserve that."
     "Don't scare me like that!" Akane felt her back twitch and she looked around nervously. Nodoka must have noticed it.
     "Akane-chan, what's wrong?"
     "Happosai hasn't been around lately and that worries me. Who knows what he's up to."
     "Yes, you always have to stay alert with-" she was interrupted by Kasumi, who ran(!) inside looking frantic.
     "It's terrible!" she said, "Tofu-sensei was hit by a drunk driver on his way from work!" A crack of thunder echoed across the sky.

     Akane never realized it, but she and every girl in the world no longer had to worry about Happosai stealing their underwear. Three days before, he was hiding inside a locker at the local skating rink waiting to assault one girl he'd seen and take her leotard. What his big mistake was that he picked the wrong girl.
     Here she comes, he thought, readying himself to pounce.
     Shiratori Azusa opened the locker and immediately screamed, "Oh! You're sssssssoooooo cute! Jean Claude!"
     Before the old man could react, she repeatedly bashed him over the head and gave him multiple bear hugs, all while shouting "Jean Claude!" The brain and nerve damage Happosai received was enough for him to become completely paralyzed and lose his memory. Nobody would ever know that it was Azusa who'd just done the world of women an enormous favor.

     Nodoka and the Tendo girls arrived at the hospital after all three of them had run through the pouring rain. They quickly found Tofu's room, he was unconscious but still alive.
     "How is he?" Kasumi asked the nurse monitoring him.
     "Not so good," she replied, "if he doesn't receive a blood transfusion within the next few hours, he could die."
     "Oh no..." Kasumi croaked.
     "The problem is, his blood type is very rare."
     "What type is it?" Nabiki asked. The nurse responded.
     "That's Ranma's type!" Nodoka realized and shouted.
     "I'll go get him!" Akane voiced as she dashed back out.
     Kasumi looked like someone completely different as she impatiently paced back and forth, waiting.
     Nabiki walked up to Nodoka and whispered, "Auntie Saotome, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
     Nodoka looked over at Kasumi, smiled, and whispered back, "Yes, if all goes well, there will indeed be a way for a Saotome to marry a Tendo. I'll bet Ranma never guessed he would have a brother. Let's just make sure there's hot water ready for him."
     Nabiki was stunned.

     "Damn this rain!" Ryoga cursed as he ran for shelter. He'd barely gotten his umbrella open in time before he would have changed. As always, he was lost while trying to find the Tendo dojo, something that would never change. He looked ahead and saw a figure heading straight for him!
     "Out of my way!" Akane yelled, not immediately realizing who she was passing, "it's an emergency!" As she ran by, she splashed enough water on him to trigger the curse. "That's odd," she said, looking back, "I thought that was Ryoga-kun," then sprinted forward again.
     Underneath his clothes, P-chan whimpered.

     Kuno Tatewaki stood in the open schoolyard, his mouth gaping open in disbelief. The rain had thoroughly soaked him, but that was not the important issue; he had been defeated in a Kendo match! What made it more humiliating was that it was a junior high student that had done so! Not only that, this student's records were supposed to be sent to Juuban Jr. High but were sent to Furinkan High by mistake, so he had to attend for one day while the mess was cleaned up. The student was only there for one day, challenged the captain of the Kendo Club, and defeated him without breaking a sweat!
     "I shall train myself to the utmost of my ability!" Kuno declared when he finally regained himself, "I shall hunt down this malefactor and smite him in a duel! Now what was his name again? Ohara... something."

     Konatsu dashed across the rooftops of Nerima on his way back from him training journey.
     "If anyone from my clan discovers I broke my leg when helping that little girl escape that falling tree, they'd have me commit seppuku. I hope Ukyo-sama isn't too mad that I'm three weeks late." He arrived at the okonomiyaki restaurant and stopped dead in surprise when he saw Ukyo putting up a new sign.

     It read, "Soon to be Okonomiyaki Ucchan and Ranchan."

Read the Author's Notes
Back to the Title Page

1