As always, C&C is anticipated, accepted, and appreciated. All original Ranma1/2 Characters and Backstory Copyright Rumiko Takahashi, and are used without permission. Please Enjoy! Coutuva. Junko's Legacy - Part 2 - Version Two ---------------------------------------------------------------- Akane looked up at the clock, a small smile crossing her face. Reaching up, she gathered her hair back into it's familiar ponytail and tied it back with the red ribbon she had left on the table. It was almost 3:30, and her son would be home soon from school. That meant supper had to be made, and she had to move her laptop and papers back to her office. Rising from her chair, she walked her teacup to the sink and rinsed it out, then began to set up a new pot. As she passed the small cabinet beneath the phone, she was reminded that she had the production team coming after supper, and would have to dig out her files on the latest production her company had begun. Just as she removed the tea from the cupboard, she heard a car pull up outside the house, and stepped to the window to see who it was. It was far too early for her son to be home, and her meeting wasn't till seven o'clock. Her eyebrows raised slightly as she spotted the unfamiliar new jade-green Miyata sitting unoccupied at the end of her driveway. Just as she tried to figure out who she knew that would have such a car, the door shook with a firm yet quiet knocking. Straightening her dress, she turned and walked to the door, sliding it back with a smile on her face. It quickly dropped to a shocked gape as she caught sight of her guest. On the patio stood a five-foot tall red haired girl, looking to be about 16 years old. She stood demurely with her hands together in front of her, and her deep blue eyes looking back at Akane with nervous anticipation. She wore faded jeans and a denim jacket, and on her feet were a pair of expensive cowboy boots. Her flame red hair fell unrestrained about her shoulders, shining brightly in the late afternoon sun. After a second of mutual silence, the girl bowed quickly and cleared her throat. "Tendou Akane desu?" she asked, hesitantly. "H - Hai," Akane answered, her hand rising to her mouth. "Hajimemashite. I am Saotome Junko," the girl responded, smiling nervously. "Masaka...." Akane breathed, her face draining. "Ano... did I come at a bad time?" the girl finally asked, hesitantly. "Ahh. No. Gomen, Saotome-san. I was just daydreaming..." Akane replied, embarrassedly. She had been sitting staring at the poor girl for several minutes, still having trouble dealing with what she meant. "I... realize that my presence must be a bit unsettling, but I had to come," the girl responded, quietly. "I had to meet the woman that my father still talks about to this day, even though he has been happily married to my mother, Saotome Akiko, for almost 18 years," she continued, smiling slightly. Akane wasn't quite certain how to react to the statement. All at once, she felt flattered, happy, sad and angry, and couldn't decide which one was more prevalent. All she could muster was a quiet sigh. "Is... something wrong?" Junko asked worriedly, concerned that she may have struck a nerve. Her father had told her many times of her host's violent tendancies, and she was becoming nervous. "Ya... I'm fine," Akane deflected, her face slightly sad. "I'm just a bit shocked is all... I haven't heard anything about your father since..." she added, the words still too painful to say. "I know. He told me the story about my namesake, and how when she died, she literally took his life with her. After everything that he had gone through with his father, then what happened to him in Nerima Ward, her suicide was all he could take. It broke him... he almost committed sepukku himself," Junko noted, lowering her eyes. "It still haunts his memory to this day," she added, quietly. Akane was stunned. "Suicide...? Why?" she finally blinked, raising a hand to her gaping mouth. "Ano... you don't know?" Junko herself blinked, surprised. "No... I left Nerima myself a few months later... the rumors and stories about that made it impossible for me to be seen in public. I had to leave for my own sanity," Akane explained, shaking her head at the memory. "Gomen... I didn't know," the girl stammered, shaking off her surprise. "It turned out that the other Junko was in love with Otousan's cursed form... only she didn't know about his curse. He took her down to the riverbank and showed her his change, and she couldn't take the thought that the woman she was so in love with was not real. Later that night, she jumped off a nearby bridge," the girl explained, sadly. Akane slumped back in her chair heavily. "Oh my God..." she breathed, her face paling. "Hai. He spent a year travelling all over Japan in a vain attempt to forget the pain. He was never able to though, and eventually realized he never would. He finally settled just outside Izumo, which is where I was born," Junko continued, still quietly. "And I was ready to kill him for leaving me like that..." Akane blurted, as if not having heard Junko's last statements at all. "Nani?" the girl replied, finally noticing the strange look on Akane's face. "I was ready to kill him... I woke up the next morning, and he was gone. No word, no trace, no reason. My father and his father got in a big fight, and hated each other afterwards, even blaming me for forcing him away," Akane added, a catch sneaking into her voice. "The kids in the school were just as bad... they said he ran away, they said he was in love with Junko and killed himself over her, and some even said he was the one who killed Junko," she spat, wiping her face. "And I missed him... terribly. I thought he hated me, and that was why he left," she trailed off brokenly, covering her face with her hands. Within a few seconds, a painful sob escaped her cover, only to be followed quickly by a most unladylike sniff. Junko bit her lip, lowering her gaze to the tabletop. Abruptly, Akane wiped her face dry and composed herself, even forcing a small smile. "Gomen... I didn't mean to put on a scene," she explained, sheepishly. "Tell me about him, Junko-chan. Did he make out all right?" she continued, still wiping her face. Junko couldn't help but notice that her host's mood had improved somewhat, and took that as a good sign. "'Hai," Junko began, drawing a breath. "After settling near Izumo, he went to work at a Martial Arts School, starting as an assistant. After a time, he started his own school and taught the Art his way. He was a tough, no-nonsense teacher, and at first lost a lot of students to his demanding style. When the ones that stayed began winning competitions regularly, the school took off. Today, he is famous for the number of Grand Masters he has trained," she explained, her eyes sparkling with pride. "He met my mother when he hired her as a receptionist for his school. She was taken with him almost from the day she met him, but he wanted nothing to do with her or any other woman," Junko noted, her voice going momentarily soft. Akane gasped quietly, wondering if perhaps she knew the reasons why. It was about that time that she also wanted nothing to do with any suitors, and if it hadn't been for pressure from her family, she would likely not ever have married. Junko paused as she noticed the distracted look in Akane's eyes, waiting patiently until she finished her thoughts. Finally, Akane sighed and looked back toward her. "Gomen... go on, Saotome-san. I want to hear the rest of this," she urged, squaring herself in her seat. "Hai, Tendou-san," Junko responded with a sharp nod, then continued her story. "My mother somehow knew that deep inside, he was interested in her... as interested as she was in him. She persisted with her efforts to get past his stubbornness, and even though he was very mean to her in the beginning, he started to accept her. There were several heartbreaks for her along the way, but she never gave up. Eventually, my father came to respect her spirit and dedication, and finally allowed himself to love her, as he had wanted to from the beginning. Three years after they met, he finally asked for her hand, and they have been together ever since," she related, pausing once more to smile wistfully. "That's... wonderful, Junko-chan," Akane replied quietly, a small smile parting her visage. Inwardly, she felt like laughing out loud at the absurd irony. She had him; betrothed by honor and even living with her already, and because she hadn't taken advantage of the opportunity that had been handed to her, she was now listening to his daughter tell her what she had missed out on. As well, it was doubly ironic that he now owned a Dojo. After she left home and her sisters had married, there was nobody left to take over the family property, so it was annexed by the city after her father's heart attack. "Is something wrong, Tendou-san?" Junko asked, again noting an odd look in her host's eyes. "Ya... just thinking..." Akane replied, giving herself a mental shake. "So, I guess your mother must know the Art as well, ne?" she prompted, wanting to know more about the woman that had capitalized on her mistake. "Actually, she has no interest in the Art. She loves to watch my father work out, but after they married, she left the Dojo to have and raise me, then followed her own dream... breeding and training Dressage horses on our ranch," she continued, smiling at the thought. Akane sighed resignedly at the smiling girl, not really suprised by the story she was relating. She had always known that Ranma would likely succeed in his life, but she found herself again wishing that she had been with him. After he had left, she hated him for a long time, feeling he had abandoned her to the ravages of the rumour mill. As well, his disappearance brought home to her how much she really had loved him, and how much she hated being without him. Predictably, she summarily transferred her anguish to more anger, which she had also directed at him. After a few years and a failed marriage however, she calmed down and put her life back together, but only after forcing herself to forget the first man she ever loved. It had not been easy, but she had managed to build a 'life after Ranma', something that at one time she had considered impossible. Junko's arrival had threatened to re-invoke many of those memories, but to Akane's surprise, she found herself able to handle it... at least so far. "He never forgot you, Tendou Akane-san," Junko stated abruptly, startling Akane out of her thoughts. "Even though he loves my mother with all his heart, he still remembers you... and he still regrets being unable to explain why he felt it necessary to leave." Akane sighed once more. "Junko-chan, to tell you the truth... I never stopped loving him, once I realized that I did. For several years, I blamed all my problems on him... until I realized that I was the author of my own misfortune," she indicated, smirking. "As I sit here and look at you, the girl that could have been my daughter, I feel both happy and sad... it's a weird feeling," she stated, thoughtfully. "I'm happy that Ranma finally found the life he wanted so badly, but I'm also sad... sad because I let him get away. I had my chance... I realized that about 10 years ago. It's too late now to worry about it though... We've both moved on, both found our own lives," she smiled, weakly. "You're a beautiful girl... and you look just like your father. He must be very proud of you," she noted, a catch sneaking into her voice again. For several seconds, Akane went quiet, and Junko had the uncomfortable feeling that she was being examined. Eventually, Akane started to shake her head, a smirk crossing her face slowly. "I see you inherited the hair, ne? I always wondered how that would work..." she quipped, raising her eyebrows. "Ano... my mother has the same hair, and I have my father's eyes," Junko grinned, obviously amused. "Oh... then I guess it didn't... oh, nevermind," she flustered, waving off the thought. "Did he... ever... go back to China?" she continued, not entirely sure how to phrase the question. Junko had to laugh. "No, he never did. He would have, had things not gone so well at the School. He still changes into a girl, and we've... pulled a few pranks since we look so much alike," she continued, still giggling. "It sounds like you have a wonderful family, Junko-chan. Do you have any brothers or sisters?" "No," Junko responded, abruptly frowning sadly. "My mother can no longer have children... I'm the only child. Because of that, my parents have taught me both the Art and Equestrian Husbandry. My mother also taught me to ride competitively in both Dressage and Western Games, so I could teach one day," she noted, sighing resignedly. "That's why I'm in Nagano today... there's a show tonight in the Olympic Facility, and I'm entered. My horses are already there." "I figured as much. Ranma would have made sure his children were expert at something," Akane commented, smiling knowingly. At that moment, the sound of a door sliding open caught the attention of both women, and Akane's eyes widened. "Masaka...! Kito's home, and I haven't made supper...!" she gasped, rising from her chair and turning toward the sound. "Hiya, Mom... how was your... *..." a tall, handsome young man asked as he stepped from the hallway into the kitchen, his question fading off as she noticed the gorgeous redhead sitting at the table. Junko gaped back at him wordlessly for a moment, her cheeks gradually flushing beet red. Akane could only look wordlessly at the pair, eyes darting from one transfixed face to the other. "Ano... Kito, this is Saotome Junko. She's the daughter of an old friend, come for a short visit," she finally interrupted, snapping the eye-lock that the two teens had on each other. "Hajimemashite, Saotome-san..." the young man finally stammered as he bowed, utterly overwhelmed by Junko's presence. "Hai. I am pleased to meet you as well, Tendou Kito." Junko responded nervously, wringing her hands together on the table sheepishly. "Shimata..." Akane breathed, slumping back against the counter as she suddenly realized that she wasn't seeing things. "This can't be happening..." she groaned, shaking her head slowly. ==================================================================== END - Junko's Legacy Part Two A Ranma1/2 Fanfic by Coutuva Comments Welcomed, Flames Extinguished! coutuva@vecdev.com