Part Four
Upon returning to the Tendou home, Ranma told his mother what had happened. Needless to say, Nodoka was furious.
After the Saotome matriarch and her son finished packing their clothes, they confronted Soun and Genma, who were at their usual spot – seated in front of the Go board.
Nodoka pulled out Katana-sama and in one move, the Go board was made into two, which had gotten Genma and Soun's attention.
"Have you seen your daughter today, Soun?" Nodoka hissed.
Soun gulped. "She-she said she was going to Tofuu's to get those casts removed from her arms."
"Did she also tell you that she was going to attack my son after she was banned from using Anything Goes?" Off Soun's confused look, Nodoka continued. "Akane attacked my son today at Fuurinkan. She has broken the conditions of the agreement from the fight. I will no longer support this farce of an engagement."
Nabiki and Kasumi both heard the confrontation and entered the family room, Nabiki from the dining room where she was nursing a cup of lukewarm tea while Kasumi appeared from the kitchen.
"Now see here, woman..." Genma began before he found himself staring down the business end of Nodoka's katana. Almost immediately, Genma assumed the 'Crouch of the Wild Tiger,' bowing profusely, hoping that Nodoka would not make him commit seppuku.
"As I said, husband," Nodoka continued. "The engagement between Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendou is now dissolved."
"The schools must be united!" Genma shouted. "It is a matter of family honor!"
Once again, Genma found himself facing Nodoka's katana. "You have a lot of nerve to talk about honor given all of the stunts you pulled during your training trip with Ranma," Nodoka snarled. "You sold him for food – my personal favorite was that you sold him for a bowl of rice and two pickles, engaged him to no less than fifty different women, you racked up a line of debt in his name, oh and let's not forget the Cat-Fu training. If I hear that word come out of your mouth again, I will turn you into a panda-skin rug!"
"But...but...the schools...our dreams..." Soun wailed.
"Your dreams were to live off the blood, sweat and tears of my son," Nodoka countered. "Even a blind man can see what your intentions are."
It was at that moment, Akane came charging in. Nodoka noticed the bruises from her previous encounter with Ranma, the gi dirty and ripped in various places. The look on her face showed that Akane was not in the mood to listen.
Worse yet, she was armed with the Tendou family katana.
"RANMA!" Akane screamed. "PREPARE TO DIE!"
Akane charged...only to be knocked back into the table, the sword flying from her grip. Ranma stood in place, leg raised in a vertical split before lowering it back to the floor. Ranma looked down and picked up the Tendou katana. Gripping the handle in one hand and the blade in the other, Ranma snapped it over his knee, much to Soun's horror.
Ranma tossed the broken pieces of the sword to the floor before shouldering his backpack.
Genma tried one more chance to get his wife to reconsider. "Nodoka...No-chan...please..."
Nodoka silenced him. "It's over, Genma. The engagement is dissolved, as is all other engagements you made in Ranma's name. Furthermore, I am divorcing you, and both Ranma and myself are taking my maiden name. You are no longer welcome in my home, Genma. Don't come looking for us, or else it will be your belly on the chopping block."
Nodoka sheathed her sword and picked up her overnight bag. Together, mother and son left the Tendou Dojo – and Nerima - for good.
Two weeks had passed and the fallout from Ranma leaving the Tendou home was still being felt.
Ranma and his mother returned to her family home in Azuban-Juuban. Nodoka had sent out word to Ranma's ex-fiancées that the engagements were at the moment null and void, given Ranma's change in family name.
Cologne, however, was not going to be denied. The Joketsuzoku were renowned for their tracking abilities, and she managed to track Ranma down in Juuban.
Cologne, however was not looking for a fight. She had something else in mind.
Ranma was surprised to arrive home one day to find his mother playing hostess to the Joketsuzoku matriarch, the two women sipping tea in the sitting room, Cologne, as always, perched on her cane. Nodoka sensed her son's uneasiness upon seeing the ancient woman and calmed him down.
"It's okay, son," Nodoka said. "Elder Cologne has something to ask of you."
Ranma's eyes narrowed as he took a seat beside his mother.
"That was something even I was not expecting, sonny boy," Cologne remarked. "But I am not here to force you to marry Shampoo. However, at the same time, you possess incredible talent in the martial arts. And needless to say, this has been the most fun I've had training you. The council has sent me word, regarding the Kiss of Marriage. As of this moment, the Kiss between you and my great-granddaughter is hearby dissolved, as is the Kiss of Death. The council wishes to make you – or rather, your female half – a full member of the Joketsuzoku. I will personally adopt you as my great-granddaughter, or son if you prefer. There is no fine print, no catch. You have my word of honor regarding that. And this way, I can be free to teach you more of our Amazon techniques."
Ranma thought about it for a moment. Despite her magic potions, charms and the Cat's Tongue shiatsu point, Cologne wasn't that bad of a person. She had came to him out of humility with the offer to join her tribe. As an added bonus, Cologne would teach him (or her) more Amazon techniques.
Ranma nodded, accepting Cologne's offer.
In an instant, Cologne splashed Ranma with cold water, triggering her curse. "Get on your knees, please," the old woman requested.
Ranma-chan did as she was told, ignoring the fact that she was cold.
Cologne then kissed her three times: once on each cheek and the last on her forehead. "By my authority as matriarch of the Tribe of the Joketsuzoku, I pronounce you, Ranma Komiya, a full-blooded member of the Chinese Amazons."
Nodoka poured the kettle full of hot water over her cursed son's head, changing him back into his true form. "Congratulations, Ranma," she said. "You do your mother proud."
Rather than return to China and back to the Joketsuzoku, Cologne instead remained in Japan to train the newest member of the Chinese Amazons, relocating the Nekohanten to Azuban-Juuban.
Cologne had notified her great-granddaughter about the recent changes concerning Ranma. Shampoo was distraught, something that Mousse had taken advantage of.
In the ensuing challenge, Mousse had defeated a distracted Shampoo, becoming her new husband. This time around, Shampoo accepted Mousse as her new Airen. Mousse, in the meantime, couldn't be anymore happier. The pair accepted Ranma as a member of the tribe without incident, Mousse finally ending his rivalry once and for all...and avoiding the repercussions that he had witnessed Ranma unleashed on the more unruly members of the Nerima martial arts hierarchy.
Ukyou had taken the news the hardest.
She was considered the 'cute fiancée' of the Fiancée Brigade, and now that Ranma was gone, the cross-dressing okonomiyaki chef was distraught.
Fortunately, her father, having received word of the engagements' dissolutions and Ranma's name change, decided that the honor of the Kunoji clan had been restored. He had finally acknowledged Ukyou as his daughter, allowing her to return back to Osaka.
Ucchan's Okonomiyaki closed down in a matter of weeks, and Ukyou was back in Osaka, Konatsu following behind her. Father and daughter were soon reconciled, Kunoji allowing his daughter back into the clan, ending the rift between them once and for all.
Kasumi had prepared for that day beforehand.
Knowing full well that her father wasn't going to listen to reason, Kasumi paid a visit to the town hall. She had her name struck out from the Tendou clan roll and placed under her late mother's clan roster.
Thus, Kasumi Kannagi was spared the ensuing ridicule and insults that were aimed at the Tendou family. Even more so, she had taken the entrance exams for Tokyo University. Upon getting the acceptance letter, she had also discovered that she had qualified for a full medical scholarship.
The following day after Ranma and his mother left the Tendou home, she too had left the Tendou home, and Nerima behind. After playing house-mother for so many years to so many ungrateful people, Kasumi had finally had enough. She had forsaken her dreams of becoming a nurse long enough. Now it was her time to spread her wings.
It was at university, that Kasumi had ran into Happousai. As usual, the old hentai was up to his usual tricks once again, given the sack full of womens' undergarments and the mob of angry Todai females chasing after him.
"WHAT A HAUL!" Happi screamed. "WHAT A HAUL!"
"Good afternoon, Grandfather Happousai," Kasumi greeted.
Happi stopped running long enough to see Kasumi. "Kasumi! Fancy meeting you here!"
It was also long enough for the mob to catch up to the ancient pervert and beat him down with whatever items they had on hand.
"Pervert!"
"Lecher!"
"Underwear stealer!"
"Hentai!"
After the girls had retrieved their undergarments, they left the ancient pervert in the ground. Kasumi looked down at Happi, nudging him with her foot. "Oh my. Are you all right, Grandfather Happousai?"
Happi sprung from the ground, as if the beatdown did nothing to phase him. "I'm fine, Kasumi! What are you doing here?"
"I am attending university," Kasumi replied. "I have also renounced my name of Tendou and have taken up my late mother's last name instead."
"Why?"
Kasumi told Happi everything, leaving nothing out, describing everything in detail. Happi wasn't upset that Ranma had ditched Nerima. Even for a pervert like him, Happousai still believed in honor. And once Kasumi had told him that Akane had challenged Ranma with the stipulation of the loser banned from using Anything Goes not only lost, but had attacked Ranma twice afterwards, Happi was more than upset.
He was Pissed with a capital P.
"Why that little..." Happi growled, his aura showing. "Those two idiots have abused my school for the last time. Thanks for the update, Kasumi! Now if you excuse me, I got some students to punish."
Happi was off, leaping towards Nerima.
Nerima – sometime later...
Following Kasumi's renouncement of her family name and her departure from Nerima, things have not been going well for the Tendous and especially, for Genma Saotome.
The divorce had been made final, with the declaration that Genma had to pay back every single yen he had pilfered over the years, debts that had racked up in his former son's name. Through some twist of fate, the debt collectors had found out that Genma was hiding out at the Tendou Dojo.
Genma was for once, thankful for his curse. Whenever someone came by looking for him, a splash of water and Genma becomes Mr. Panda, playing with a tire.
The Tendou family was in a downward spiral ever since Ranma and Kasumi's departure. Soun had to keep Akane out of the kitchen, or else face her demonic cooking, forcing Nabiki to take up the role of cook. This was more than soun could take. He had to find Kasumi.
It was while Kasumi was in her English class when Soun came barging in.
"Excuse me, sir," the professor began. "We are in the middle of a class here. Please come back after class is over."
Kasumi looked over her shoulder and saw her ex-father. "Oh, no," she whispered.
Her roommate, a girl named Mika, caught her friend's expression. "What is it, Kasumi?" she asked as Soun headed in their general direction. "Who is that man?"
"He is...or was my father," Kasumi explained. "It's a long story, but I severed my ties with mt family before I came here."
"Kasumi, there you are!" Soun cried out, relieved. "Kasumi, please come back home. Your family needs you. I need you. Come back home, forget about school and things can return back to normal."
Kasumi leveled a even glare at the man she once called father. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tendou, but my place is here. I have no family, remember? I changed my name from Tendou to Kannagi. As far as I'm concerned, I have no father."
"Kasumi...please," Soun pleaded. "Come home."
"What about school?"
Soun tried to look dignified. "Now, Kasumi, school can wait. The Tendou family name is in shambles thanks to Akane breaking her promise and you need to help secure our legacy. There is a man who has a son in Okinawa who has reached the age of majority. If you marry him, then we can be redeemed."
"No."
Soun blinked. "No?"
Kasumi shook her head. "No. After what you and Genma did to Ranma and Akane, I will not go through with an arranged marriage. Now please, leave."
Kasumi started to sit down, that is until Soun did the one thing he rarely did towards Kasumi.
He got angry.
Kasumi cried out as Soun grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to her feet. "Listen to me, you ungrateful child!" he snarled. "You will do as honor demands and marry this boy! You will be busy taking care of the family home. You have no need for school!"
Kasumi's response was to slap the older man across the face.
Enraged, Soun pulled one fist back, preparing to knock Kasumi out cold...
...only to have someone grab his fist.
Soun's head spun around. He found himself looking into the face of one of other students. From the look of things, he was a martial artist, a member of the unversity's Karate team. "I believe the lady asked that you let her go, old man," he drawled in a Kansai accent.
By this time, several more students were on their feet. As it turned out, Kasumi Kannagi was one of the more popular students in Tokyo U. Teaming up with her roomate, who was a Business major, they both operated a part-time catering service for the students, which helped with putting extra money in her pocket. Kasumi's cooking had made her many friends and several of her loyal customers were in the same class as she was.
Customers who were part of the university's karate and kendo teams.
Seeing her former father try and force her out of school had forced them to react.
A second karateka had approached from Soun's blind side. One punch to the head was more than enough to stun Soun enough to allow Kasumi to get free. As Mika gently ushered Kasumi to the side, the group of students pummeled Soun to the ground. Then they carried him out of the class, out of the building and punted him out of the front gate, sending him flying in the direction of Nerima.
Upon returning to Nerima - by crashing into the market - he was ordered to face the Nerima City Council.
The battered patriarch of the Tendou clan stood before the Nerima Council, which consisted of eight people – three women and four men. Each person on the council was respected and admired by the people they served. Soun's seat was empty.
The senior member of the council, Yagasuki spoke. "Soun Tendou, is it true that your daughter, Akane Tendou, challenged her now ex-fiancee, Ranma Saotome to a martial arts match in which the stipulation was that the loser would accept a lifetime ban of not practicing their respective family style of martial arts?"
Soun nodded.
"So explain to this council as to why your daughter attacked Ranma after she had lost the match."
Soun had no explanation to give. Anything he could think of instantly died on his tongue. He slumped his head in defeat, knowing what was going to happen next.
"Soun Tendou," Yagasuki began, "your daughter's actions have tarnished your family name. As a result, we cannot have someone the likes of you to continue to serve on this council. As of this moment, you are ejected from this council, and your seat will be brought up for a special election. Because of the dishonor you bring to this noble council, you are banned for life."
Upon arriving at home, Soun's day went from bad to worse.
Waiting for him at home, was Happousai. And judging by how Genma was moaning in pain on the ground beside him, Happi was very displeased.
The ancient hentai was serious for once. "Soun. So nice of you to finally arrive home. Sit."
Soun did as he was told.
Happi puffed on his pipe. "I ran into your daughter...no, make that your former daughter today while I was out and about. She has told me everything that has happened here." The vein that was pulsing on Happi's head became more evident as he grew even more angrier. "I thought I taught you better than this, Tendou! The School of Indiscriminate Grappling may be based on adaptation and deception, but the school also prides itself on honor!"
"But Master..." Soun began.
"SILENCE, FOOL!" Happi bellowed, his aura making him three times his size, causing Soun and the recovered Genma to shrink away in fright. "You and Genma have defiled my beloved school for the very last time. As Grandmaster of the Founding School of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu, I decree that you, Soun Tendou and you, Genma Saotome, are forbidden to use my school ever again!" He then looked out at the training hall. "And to make sure that you two idiots don't practice the art behind my back..."
Soun knew what the old hentai was planning. "Master, please!" he cried out, reaching for him, only to have Happi snag his wrist with his ki-infused pipe and tossing him into the side of a wall. Soun was helpless as he watched his master bound out of the house and hopped inside the dojo.
"Happou Dai Karin!"
Happi then leapt out of the dojo.
KA-BOOM!
Seconds later, Soun had to shield his eyes as the Happou Dai Karin, or Happou Fire Burst, did its damage. The bomb, powered by Happi's ki, leveled the dojo, reducing it to a smoking ruin.
The Tendou School of Indiscriminate Grappling had ceased to exist.
Epilogue
Five years had passed since the destruction of the Tendou Dojo.
Since then, Nerima had returned back to normal, the way it was before Ranma's arrival. During that time, Happousai had disappeared from the area, after pilfering the womens' undergarments without any interference from Ranma, now that he was living in Juuban.
Before moving on to Sapporo, he had made official his choice of making Ranma his chosen heir and successor to the School of Indiscriminate Grappling. With Ranma's will and drive, he would soon reach Grandmaster status, allowing Happi to finally retire.
Genma Saotome was never seen again in Nerima. With the debt collectors and bill chasers pursuing him, he confronted Ranma while he was training with Cologne, and in the ensuing battle, while Genma was distracted, Cologne gave him the Full Body Cat's Tongue shiatsu point, right before Ranma splashed him with water, forcing Genma to remain a panda for the rest of his life.
Cologne then made a phone call to the local zoo, where the zookeepers picked the panda-fied Genma and carted him off to his new home.
Kasumi had excelled in Tokyo University's Institute of Medical Science.
Two years into her study, she had ran into Tofuu, who had also left Nerima behind. With the Nerima Wrecking Crew disbanded, Tofuu decide to relocate his medical practice to Juuban. Once Tofuu had finally overcome his 'Kasumi-itis,' he had asked Kasumi out on a date. The pair would later become romantically involved, which concluded with their wedding shortly before Kasumi's graduation from Todai. Kasumi Kannagi-Ono graduated at the top of her medical class, and works as a nurse alongside her husband in Juuban. She did not invite her former family to the wedding. The Tendou family instead ended up reading about it in the Tokyo Shibun.
As for the remaining members of the Tendou family...
The Tendou compound have shrunk to only the main house and the yard. Nabiki's blackmailing had kept the mortgage company at bay while she raised the money needed to keep the house. Once Nabiki was out of the equation, the mortgage company demanded that Soun Tendou make payment, or else he would lose the compound.
Finally, Soun agreed to surrender the area where his dojo once stood to the bank for a sizable check, but it wasn't enough to pay the house off completely. Soun managed to get a job working at the tuna cannery in Akasaka, where he became known as the 'crying man' as he worked twelve-hour shifts six days a week in order to keep the house and place food on the table.
Nabiki had went to counseling following Happi destroying the dojo. After nearly a year's worth of therapy (which had nearly drained her private accounts), Nabiki began speaking again. Despite this achievement, Nabiki could only speak a few words, showing that the trauma from her attack still ran deep. She never managed to go to university, given what had happened to her. The former Ice Queen managed to find a job that was a lot like her old profession – maintaining the books at a local law firm.
Akane was the hardest hit in the ensuing maelstrom. Like Nabiki, Akane was forced to relocate from Fuurinkan following the incident with Ranma. Not even her friends Yuka and Sayuri wanted anything to do with her. Akane graduated from high school and managed to get into a public university, while working part-time as a waitress. She had tried to reconcile with Kasumi, but Kasumi refused to speak to her, or her former family.
Despite all of this, the Tendou family remained virtual outcasts in the Nerima ward, since her actions that day she had attacked Ranma had all but destroyed the Tendou family honor. No one wanted nothing to do with them, nor were they welcomed anywhere in the town.
Inside the family room of the now-slightly run-down Tendou home, Soun, Akane and Nabiki were crowded around the TV set. Apparently, there was something on the TV that had their attention.
Apparently, the news was on and the main story was on the grand opening of a martial arts school, which took place during a local festival in Juuban.
The school was the Komiya School of Indiscriminate Grappling.
The reporter, a pretty-looking female, was standing with the dojo's master. The white Chinese shirt and black pants were a dead giveaway as to who the person was.
He was older, his hair pulled back into a ponytail instead of his usual pigtail, but there was no mistaking his identity.
"This is Anna Fujimori and we are here live in Azuban-Juuban at the grand opening of the Komiya School of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu, and as you can see here, it is truly a festive occasion. Standing beside me is the dojo owner and master of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu, Ranma Komiya. So first things first. What is Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu?"
"Well," Ranma replied, "Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu, better known as Anything Goes Martial Arts, is what the name itself implies. Literally, anything goes."
"Basically," Ranma continued, "Anything Goes is based on learning and adapting many different styles of martial arts by taking what works and discarding what doesn't. As such, the style is not really confined to just one way when it comes to martial arts combat. This gives the practitioner the advantage of adaptability and unpredictability in a fight."
"You've been making a name for yourself in various martial arts tournaments in the past couple of years," Anna pointed out. "Not to mention that you're barely out of college and you've decided to open up your own school. Why?"
"Martial arts is more than a hobby of mine," Ranma replied. "It's part of my life. I've been training in martial arts ever since I was four and I've been fighting ever since I was in my teens, so becoming a martial arts teacher was the next thing in line. It's always been a dream of mine to open a martial arts school and after college, I'm glad to see that my dream has become a reality."
"The other martial arts schools are jockeying at your doorstep to challenge the dojo master," Anna said. "You got anything to say to those who want to challenge you for your dojo sign?"
Ranma smirked. "Of course. You know where the challenge door is, and I'll respond. But I'll let you in on a little secret - Ranma Komiya never lose."
"Thank you Ranma for the interview," Anna said. Turning back to the camera, Anna concluded the report. "There you have it, folks. Ranma Komiya, dojo master of the Komiya School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. Back to you at the studio, Koji."
Ranma turned from the reporter and resumed chatting with the crowd. He was finally free.
That and he nearly swore that he could hear a grown man wailing from the direction of Nerima. Ranma ignored it and went back to the party.
END.