Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sealed Past ❯ Chapter 17 ( Chapter 17 )

Chapter 17

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Ranma's steps slowed as he came up to the door of Ucchan's. This one was going to be the hardest, for he actually had a genuine friendship with Ukyo. Even if this whole fiasco with the fiancées had almost ruined it completely.

 

He was grateful as he entered the restaurant to note that there were no customers present, probably because of the odd time he'd picked. Too late for breakfast but also too early for lunch.

 

“Ran-chan!” Came the cheerful call, followed by a brilliant smile. Ever since she'd paid Nabiki to find out what Ranma was up to Ukyo hadn't seen him herself and she'd been fighting this sensation of impending disaster ever since.

 

Ranma didn't smile in return, causing her worry to intensify. It didn't matter what they'd done or how bad the situation was, Ranma always had a smile for her. When he spoke, his tone was gentle, “I need to talk to you, Ut-chan. Some place private.”

 

She gave him her brilliant smile again as she forgot her unease, maybe he was here to propose! Gesturing for Konatsu to take over she ushered Ranma upstairs into the private quarters.

 

“Well?” She said expectantly as she served him a soft drink and sat down across the table from him.

 

“Three month's ago… when I started disappearing in the evenings, the reason for that was I bumped into a woman who—”

 

“You met another girl?” Ukyo demanded sharply, cutting him off.

 

“I said a woman,” Ranma replied just as sharply, “She's a senior at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University and almost has her medical Ph. D.”

 

“Oh,” she replied, relaxing, an older woman, so he hadn't been seeing someone else like she'd feared.

 

Ranma saw the tension ease from her body, and suspected the conclusion she'd come to. But he had no inclination to correct her false assumption. That'd just mean more questions. “Anyway, she is also a trained Shinto priestess and she was able to see my Jusenkyo Curse.”

 

“Got splashed with some water did you?” Ukyo said sympathetically, just imagining the scene. No one really took well to seeing the Jusenkyo Curse… especially for the first time.

 

“No, I mean she saw the curse on me, not my cursed form. I had to tell her that myself.”

 

Her eyes widened, Ranma had actually told someone about his curse? How weird.

 

“The point that she was interested in though, was why I hadn't had the curse exorcised.”

 

She blinked, “I don't think anyone ever thought about that as a cure. Everyone's always been so focused on finding the Nanniichuan[1] that the other possibilities were ignored.”

 

Ranma nodded in agreement, “Well she told me about the exorcism and offered to perform it.”

 

“You didn't pay her to perform it did you?” Ukyo asked wide eyed once more, “You know that most priests and priestesses are quacks.”

 

“No,” Ranma said with a shake of his head, “She never mentioned anything about payment, just help doing the proper research.”

 

Well that explained the frequent trips to the library that he'd been seen making during the first month.

 

“She managed to gather all the ingredients within three weeks of meeting me and then she performed the exorcism ceremony.”

 

“Oh Ran-chan I'm sorry,” Ukyo said sympathetically, jumping to conclusions again and believing what he was going to tell her. No wonder he'd been so distracted these last two months, to have hope offered and then so cruelly dashed, it made her want to strangle this unknown priestess.

 

“About what?” Ranma asked, confused by her sudden change in topic.

 

“That the exorcism failed.”

 

“But it didn't.”

 

“What?”

 

“The exorcism didn't fail.” Ranma stated with a broad grin, “In fact the reason the preparation took so long was that she wasn't just going to exorcise my Jusenkyo Curse. But every magical incantation that I've ever drank, smelled, or been dropped into.”

 

Ukyo blinked rapidly, unable to imagine in her mind the power needed for such a spell. “My god, everything?!”

 

Ranma nodded happily and to demonstrate reached for his pigtail and un-knotted the dragon whisker he still used as a hair tie. His black hair unravelled from its confinement and although it was thicker and longer after his initially demon transformation, it no longer grew at a magically induced rate. For good measure he reached for the vase of flowers on the table and stuck his hand into the water.

 

Ukyo had to blink rapidly once again to clear the tears that unexpectedly came to her eyes. Ranma was cured!

 

“The thing is something did happen, like it usually does for me.”

 

“What?” Ukyo asked sharply, her earlier anxiety reasserting itself.

 

“The exorcism overshot, not really an unexpected occurrence because of the amount of curses laid on me. But what the spell affected was rather significant.”

 

“Significant? How?”

 

“What the priestess's spell damaged was the memory seal that is placed on all souls to be placed within a new body. Sometimes, if the soul's a really old one, the person will have dreams about it, actually residue memories, which most people have. Sometimes the soul memories are extremely strong though and a reincarnation can make the connection that those events happened in a previous life.”

 

“So… what's happening? Are you having flashbacks about a murder or something?”

 

“No, I suppose affect and damage were a rather poor choice of words. She destroyed the memory seal entirely Ut-chan.” Ranma said bluntly, “Every waking moment, he's there, in the back of my mind telling me things. Even when I'm asleep, it's his dreams that I have.”

 

“You mean you're possessed?”

 

“No, he—I—we are the same. It's just a little hard blending the lifetimes together,” Ranma said as he rubbed his forehead. “I'm actually what you could call a reincarnation, for not only do I look like what he used to, but now I am him or we're me. It's rather confusing.”

 

“The priestess, who is actually a reincarnation herself, same soul but individual personalities and experiences for each of her lifetimes, her memory seal is still intact, is helping me through this.”

 

“How can I help Ran-chan?” Ukyo asked, fighting her growing sense of dread that he wasn't telling her something.

 

Ranma took a fortifying breath before he began, he was not looking forward to this last little bit. “You can help me by no longer calling yourself my fiancée and leaving me alone.”

 

“What!”

 

Ranma didn't even flinch at her scream of denial. “I can't live like this anymore. A prize that you, Shampoo, Akane, and even Kodachi are constantly bickering over. I can't handle his memories and experiences and balance it with my life with you guys.”

 

“What'd you mean?”

 

“Oh don't worry Ukyo,” Ranma said with a bitter laugh, “My fiancées aren't the only thing I can't handle. I'll be moving from the Tendo house and taking up residence elsewhere. I feel it best if I simply cut ties with everyone.”

 

“But why Ran-chan?” Ukyo sobbed.

 

“Because not only do I have the memories of my previous life I also have all of the instincts and training. Ever wonder why I have such an affinity for martial arts? Even when they preach peace and harmony, the martial arts are still ways of killing a man. And I used to do that—a lot.” Ranma said grimly. “What's more, I am a demon soul.”

 

“No, no, nooooo!” Ukyo wailed as Ranma stood.

 

“This is goodbye Ukyo,” Ranma said gently, “The only promise I made to you still stands. The promise I made of friendship. It was foolish of you to cling to the promise made to you by my father all those years ago—the offer was never his to give.”

 

“I won't give up Ran-chan!” Ukyo shouted as she surged to her feet.

 

“And as I said before, I am not a prize you can win. Goodbye and Ukyo...?”

 

Ukyo wiped away her tears and looked at the unyielding face of the man she loved.

 

“Grow up.” Ranma said without mercy.

 

Ukyo crumpled to the floor, tears blurring her vision so badly that she never saw him leave. Something deep in her gut told her, that it was over. It was truly over.

 

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Footnote:

[1] Nannichuan: the Spring of Drowned Man (Cited from “Ranma 1/2: Perfect Edition”)