"Sealed Past" Ch. 18 [novella, Kagome/Ranma(Inuyasha), M]

Chapter 18

Ranma sat on the edge of Kagome's bed, bent over with his head braced upon his hands. The image of Ukyo's tear streaked face still haunting him. His own emotions in turmoil. On one hand, he was relieved to finally be free of the emotional entanglement he had with the young woman. But on the other hand—he also hurt because he knew that he'd hurt her very badly and could… no would do nothing about it.

"Ranma?" Kagome questioned softly as she pushed the door open with a slight whisper of sound. "Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want to be by yourself a while longer?"

"No. Stay." He replied shortly without looking up.

She stood for an indecisive moment in the door frame, looking at his bent head, his body expressing total dejection. Wondering what to do, before kneeling onto the bed and manoeuvred her body behind him.
He heard the bed-springs shift within the mattress as the bed gave under her weight and was comforted when she settled into position behind him. A little surprised when her hands began to run soothing circles upon his back.

"Who did you tell first?"

"Ukyo," Ranma replied.

"I take it things went rather badly with her?" Kagome said sympathetically.

Ranma sighed heavily and answered sourly. "Rather."

"There's a saying about love. That if you love someone, set them free to fly away. And if they return to you, they are yours, but if they don't, they never were."

Ranma frowned for a moment in thought. "I don't get that. How does it apply to Ukyo?"

"It doesn't really, but in another way it does." Kagome replied with a shrug, trying to arrange a better explanation in her own mind. "Ukyo loves you, right?"

Ranma nodded slowly as he raised his head and twisted it about to look at her.

"The thing is, she's used that love in the wrong way."

"How?"

"She's using love to create feelings of guilt and remorse within you, by saying in a way, "I love you, why don't you love me?" But that's not love. Not true love anyway," Kagome said with a shake of her head, her brown eyes growing momentarily unfocused with memory. "Yes, with true love, you also experience the emotions of jealousy and possessiveness on occasion, but you also want the other person to be happy. No matter what the cost to yourself. You just… want them to be happy."

Ranma twisted around on the bed, going onto his own knees as she was. He knew what she spoke of. What memory was haunting her eyes. Reaching out he framed her face with his hands, drawing her attention back to the present as he had intended. "I choose you Kagome. Don't ever forget that. I choose you."

She gave a weak smile in response, still haunted by the pain. He had almost not chosen her, but fulfilled a promise made to a dead woman. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and shuddered before pushing the memories away.

Ranma watched her eyes open after a small tremor had racked her body. Her eyes were clear now, no shadowy memories within. But how long would they remain clear? He wondered. He had almost not returned to her when she had set him free to fly. It didn't matter anymore though, he had a lifetime to make her forget.

"So, who are you going to tell next?"

He blinked at her, momentarily confused by the sudden change of subject, as the emotion charged moment was lost. "Tell…? Ah, tell. Well, Ukyo I wanted to tell first, because she was once my friend and in the memory of that friendship I owed her that honour." He grimaced with a frown, "I don't really want to tell Akane yet because she isn't talking to me at the moment. Kodachi… pop's never betrothed me to her in the first place, that was something she thought up on her own so I don't have to tell her anything. So I guess that leaves Shampoo."

"The Amazon?" Kagome asked idly, glancing over to an ancient jewellery box from the Feudal Era that rested upon her desk.

"Yes," he replied with a great deal of evident dislike.

"What? You don't like Amazons? Strong, independent women who are able to think and fend for themselves?"

Ranma snorted in a very canine manner, "Kagome, if that's your definition of an Amazon, then yes I like them. I like you don't I?"

Kagome chuckled at his very diplomatic response, shifting her attention from the ancient box.

"It's those particular Chinese Amazons that I have a particular disliking for, particularly their blasted tribal customs. Like, where's the point of marrying a man if the only credential needed is that he defeats you in a fight? If a guy defeats an Amazon in a fight anyway he's most likely not a very nice person."

"No, he might not be." Kagome agreed, finding it rather barbaric herself. Why would any woman, particularly an Amazon, want to marry a man who she knew could defeat her in a fight? That way she had no way of defending herself if he turned out to be a real bastard who enjoyed beating up women.

"It probably started out as a requirement for the tribal man to prove that he could provide for his wife, but somehow got expanded to include anyone, which might not have been the best idea for the Amazons." Kagome hypothesised.

"Back to the main point. How the hell am I going to break my engagement with Shampoo? It isn't only her I have to deal with, but her infuriating great-grandmother as well."

"Hum… they're both Amazons, with an Amazons' honour to those they see as a matriarch or elder, correct?" Kagome questioned, her brow furrowing with thought.

"I guess so," Ranma replied with a negligent shrug. Not seeing where she was leading to.

"So all we need is for… hum…. You know, I think I'll come with you this time."

Ranma blinked. Okay, that had made no sense at all. "Are you sure you want to come with me? The confrontation with Ukyo wasn't pretty, I'm sure that the one with Shampoo is going to be even uglier."

"I'm sure," Kagome replied confidently as she once again looked at the wooden box that sat across the room. "I'm very sure."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." Ranma warned.