Bab 202: The Other Bride
Izumi flipped through yet another bridal fashion magazine, her legs crossed in front of her on the mauve loveseat. She was grateful not to have to be at the center of the whirlwind this time, after her own recent marriage, but she'd forgotten since Ayako's wedding just how boring this part of the process could be. Still, she reminded herself, it would ramp up quickly enough, especially when one took into account the fact that the wedding she was currently coordinating had two brides to contend with. Further complicating matters, one of them had been awfully resistant to working on the wedding of late, and Izumi wasn't entirely sure why.
Hearing the scraping of curtain rings on an aluminum rod, Izumi quickly tossed the magazine onto the loveseat and looked up as a clerk led Akane out of one of the fitting rooms. Akane wore a calf-length white dress with short lace sleeves, laced in the front like a corset with a long length of ribbon. The skirt lay flat, almost flaccid against her legs without an underlying petticoat, as there was no such material built into the dress itself. Izumi tried her best to smile, but she could see in Akane's eyes that her future sister was as disappointed with the outfit as she had been with the last ten she'd tried on.
"That one's not bad, Ak…"
"I hate it!" Akane sighed, throwing her hands up in exasperation at her reflection in all three of the mirrors that surrounded her. "Why does everything cute have to be so damned expensive?! Like, simple I don't even mind, but even the basic stuff I like is too much to even bother trying on, 'cause I know it's never gonna happen!"
"Hey," Izumi said with a frown, sitting up on the loveseat. "We'll find something. We've got plenty of time. I promise, honey, I won't let you marry my sister looking anything other than your best."
Akane nodded with a quiet sigh, walking toward the loveseat. "Yeah, but you've got your hands full with her dress, for your school project and everything. And I know she hasn't been making that very easy on you lately."
With a tentative smile, Izumi patted the empty leather seat next to her, and gave the clerk a glance that clearly implied she should think about being somewhere else for a little while. Akane sat carefully, not wanting to damage the wedding dress she had yet to change out of.
"I'm not worried about that. I've been dragging Ranko kicking and screaming into cuteness for almost two years now. This is nothing I haven't handled with her a hundred times already." Izumi gave a confident smirk, but it faded somewhat as she noticed the tortured expression starting to form on Akane's countenance.
"Izzi, about that. This isn't her normal tomboy stuff." It felt so strange to call the person she'd once known as Ranma a tomboy, especially since she was in dresses a lot more often than Akane herself of late, but she didn't know how else to describe the amount of cajoling it normally took to get her to engage in certain feminine activities. "Ranko's… she's not okay. I'm really worried about her." Akane looked down at her hands, fidgeting with her promise ring against the backdrop of the white satin dress she wore. She wasn't sure how much Ranko wanted her sisters to know about the situation with her parents, but judging by how volatile her fiancee had been since receiving the news that her mother was in town, she felt that they deserved to know at least something.
Pursing her lips, Izumi nodded. "I know. It's not just clothes and stuff. In a lot of ways, it's like she's back to being the girl we first met. She won't talk, she won't laugh, and she barely even wants to sing. She's snapping at me and the girls, even the occasional customer. I don't know what happened, and she's made it pretty clear she doesn't want to talk about it. Are… you two are okay, right? You're not fighting or anything?"
Akane sighed. "Izzi… I hate to ask, because I know she's been pretty private about some stuff, but… How much do you and the family know about her biological parents?" I hope I'm not betraying you, Ranko, but they need to know at least something if it's going to affect you like this. They've more than earned the right to be trusted, she thought furtively.
Izumi's brow furrowed. "Not much. She changes the subject every time we ask. We know she and her father don't get along, and that he wasn't exactly father of the century. She told us that her dad raised her as a tomboy because he wanted her to take over his family business, and that he was really abusive to her. She said she basically doesn't know her mother."
Alright, Akane thought. So, at least no outright lies, just some holes in the story you could drive a truck through. I can work with that.
"Right. Well… we learned a few days ago that Ranko's biological parents are trying to make contact with her again. She's terrified of what that could mean for her and the new life she's built here, with me and with you all. I think she's distancing herself so nobody sees her fall, and she expects to, despite my best efforts to convince her that we're all gonna help look out for her."
Akane ran her fingers through her hair, gripping a handful of it between her fingers for a second in anguish. "Dealing with her father is… it reminds her of a part of her past she isn't proud of, and it hurts her to have to relive it, especially when she compares it with how much happier she is now. She doesn't even want to remember it, and that's part of the reason she doesn't like to talk about it. And honestly, it's a part of her past that she doesn't want us to see, because I think she's just crazy enough to believe that we'd think less of her for it." You girls especially.
Izumi bit her lip with a sad nod, waving the clerk away as she tried to approach again. "I was worried it would be something like that. But you're absolutely right, we will look out for her and support her. Hell, mama's wanted a crack at her dad for something like a year and a half now. But, it doesn't explain why she's regressing so much in every other way. The sadness, the anger, all that I get, but why push back on wedding stuff or singing? Hell, she hasn't even put her hair up since the night you proposed." Izumi managed a small smile. "The second time."
"I'm not sure – I can't get her to talk to me either – but I have a pretty good guess." Akane stood, motioning to her future sister. "C'mere, help me out of this thing."
The two young women disappeared behind the curtain of the fitting room, and Izumi began loosening the various zippers and ties holding the dress in place. "I just don't get it, Akane. Like, doesn't she know we're here to help her? Why is she so intent on pushing us away?"
Akane continued her thought. "I... How do I say this? Part of the reason that Ranko hates her dad is that every time Ranko's managed to get something good going in her life, he's showed up and wrecked it. Pulled her out of a school, moved her to another city, separated her from people she cares about, or worse. He doesn't ever care how much it hurts her when he does it, as long as he gets what he wants."
She looked up at herself in the wedding gown with a forlorn expression in her eyes. "I've been thinking about this a lot the last few days, because believe me, it's driving me insane that she won't let me in on this one either, and I have a guess. You know how, like, when a typhoon's coming, you sometimes take your most valuable, fragile things and pack them away to keep them safe? I think that's what Ranko's doing with, well, everything that matters to her, including all of us. I don't think she's pushing us away, Izzi. I think she's putting us away, for safe keeping, until the danger passes. And doing it because she can't bear to lose us or see us get hurt."
Izumi pulled the two sides of the dress open to make it easier for Akane to step out of it. "Gods. The poor kid! Typical Ranko, though, choosing to hurt herself more rather than let any of us get down in the mud with her. But then, what can we do to help her if she won't let us help?"
Akane slipped the dress to the floor, beginning to pull her pink tee shirt back on as Izumi returned the dress to its hanger. "Try to give her space, and don't push her on things if you don't have to. I honestly… I haven't seen her like this in a long time. She's scaring me, too, Izzi. Don't ask her a bunch of questions; as it is, I think I've probably said more than she'd have wanted me to. I'll encourage her to open up more to you, Hana and the girls. You deserve that. But Ranko… there's a part of her deep down where she keeps the things that hurt her the most, that she doesn't let anybody see. Even me, most of the time. She doesn't want people to pity her. Even now, after all this time, a part of her thinks your family still sees her as a homeless runaway. I swear, I don't know how that girl manages to have way too much pride and none at all at the same time, but she does."
Izumi put her arm around Akane's shoulders as the bride-to-be pulled her skirt back into place. "What do we do if her dad shows up? Kick him out of the bar?"
Frowning, Akane turned to face Izumi after pulling the curtain open to the brightly-lit bridal shop beyond. "Don't try to confront him. He's not like the clown she wrote Not Yours, Don't Touch about. More like Ryo… the guy who attacked her at the carnival last year. He's really dangerous, Izumi. I'm not even sure Ranko could take him. Not these days, anyway. Get me. Ranko if you absolutely have to, but me first if you can. But absolutely do not let your mom or your sisters stand off with him. Ranko would never forgive herself if he hurt one of you."
Catching a glimpse of the pair exiting the changing booth, the insistent sales clerk approached with a hopeful expression. "So, have we made our decision? When is the big day, anyway? I'll be happy to help wrap…" Seeing the glare in Izumi's eyes over Akane's shoulder, the clerk froze in her tracks.
The bride bit her lip, speaking emptily without making eye contact. "At this point, I'm not sure I know anymore." Getting the hint that Akane wasn't in a shopping, or at least a buying, mood, the clerk nodded with a little harrumph and stormed off to find a new customer to chase.
"Hey, Akane…" Izumi waited to continue until her companion had turned to face her. "I want you to know, you're family too. I can see the way this is wearing on you, and… we're all here to help you while you help her, too. You don't have to do this alone, either."
The younger girl placed her hand on Izumi's forearm with a weak smile. "Thanks, Izzi. I'll be alright, I think. It's just breaking my heart not to be able to fix this for her. I promised her I'd protect her, but I'm not sure I can save her from this one. And she really needs saving." Akane looked down at the cheap digital watch on her wrist. "She should be getting out of school in a few minutes. We should get heading to your place, and when she gets there, I'll try to get her to open up a little bit and we'll come up with a plan together. I don't know that she's gonna be in much of a mood to look at fabric samples, anyway."
"Sure," Izumi said, "but first, bubble tea. We both could use the pick-me-up, I think."
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