Chapter 12: Legend of the Nyanniichuan
Tofu was in his office Monday afternoon, working his way through the patient lists. It was a fairly typical day, except for the sumo pig in his backyard. Akari had asked him to let Katsunishiki hang out there instead of the Tendo yard, just to give the pig a change of scenery. Tofu did not argue with the young lady. He knew Katsunishiki was not a mere dumb animal and might actually appreciate new territory. Besides, the pig was clean and having it there distracted the waiting patients, especially the children.
Akari and Ryoga were actually at Furinkan High School today. Ranma and Akane had to go back to class and the other two went with them to ease the pressure on the few looped strands still left. The farm couple planned on staying in the school library and reviewing some paperwork Akari's farmhands had brought down as well as balancing the books and working on selling the harvest. There were also sumo pig competitions to enter and other business that needed attending. Tomorrow, they would try staying at the dojo to see if things had finished healing.
While Tofu was working, he was also waiting for Mausu to make an appearance. The little spy was hiding at the testing facility where the DNA tests for the Saotomes were being run. As soon as the CODIS values were available for the three, Mausu was suppose to get copies before the analysis was done and bring the charts to Tofu who knew enough to interpret them. The more time they had, the better they could prepare a plan to deal with the results.
Finally, about 3PM there was a knock on the window. Tofu opened it and let Mausu is. "You know," he told the short man dressed completely in black. "You could just use the front door. No one knows what you have."
"Yes," Mausu answered. "But it's more fun this way."
Tofu just rolled his eyes. "Fine. Did you get the test results then?" he asked.
"Oh yes. You're going to love this. Have a look," Mausu told Tofu while handing him the results.
Tofu sat down and reviewed the three charts. Then he looked sharply at Mausu. "Did you tamper with these?" he demanded.
"Oh no, my friend," Mausu laughed. "This outcome would have never occurred to me."
Tofu whistled. "I need to call Olaf. I need him to go talk to the Jusenkyo Guides and get the story behind the Nyanniichuan. There's no way this is a coincidence."
The Tendo house was a little restrained that evening. Everyone was waiting for Tofu and the DNA test results to see what Ranma would have to face next, and the good doctor was late. They had started dinner anyway (Kasumi set aside two plates for her fiancé and a possible guest), but no one felt like talking. Nabiki had already called once to see what anyone knew – even she was on edge. Finally, the front door opened and Tofu shouted out, "Sorry, I'm late! Love? I have Mausu with me. Is that all right?"
"Of course it is," Kasumi answered. "I included him in the head count. I would have been insulted if he went elsewhere."
"Told you," Tofu was heard to tell the little man. Everyone could hear the two changing out of their street shoes.
Mausu was the first one into the silent main room. "Ye gads! What a somber room!" the little Mediterranean man exclaimed.
"Forgive me," Ranko drawled. "I'm just a little nervous to see what Jusenkyo has in store for me next."
"Magic and mayhem," Mausu said. "Magic and mayhem – but you may not actually come out of this that badly." Ranko felt her hopes rise.
"This is true," Tofu echoed as he walked in. "And it will be the perfect revenge."
"I'm not interested in revenge against Pops," Ranko said. "Holding grudges just isn't my style."
"I wasn't talking about you, Ranma," Tofu told him. "I was talking about the creator of the Nyanniichuan."
"You know who she is?" Akane asked.
"Not exactly," Ono answered. "Olaf said her name had been lost, but the circumstances surrounding her death have been preserved by the Jusenkyo Guides."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ryoga asked.
"A lot actually," Mausu replied. "It seems that the circumstances surrounding the creation of a Jusenkyo pool have a lot to do with how each one works. Each pool forms by a tragedy. The final results often reflect the specifics of the tragedy."
"You're losing me, Mausu," Ranko told him.
"Each pool works by a set of rules," Tofu said. "But none of the pools work by the same rules. They tailor themselves to the manner of their creation. It makes sense…"
"Not yet," Akane cut in.
"Did you want to learn or did you want to make smart remarks?" Tofu shot back.
"Get to the point!" Kasumi said with exasperation.
"Save it for the classroom, Ono!" Soun added.
"All right, but I need to explain something first. Hold on. The girl who originally died in Nyanniichuan did not fall in – she was pushed in and held under by her husband and father-in-law," Ono stated.
"WHAT?"
"She was killed because she was apparently barren, and they wanted her out of the way so the son could marry someone more fertile," he said.
"But she was sixteen years old!" Akane yelled indignantly. Was her body even ready for kids yet?"
"Actually, she was eighteen – Ranma was sixteen when he fell in. And the girl had been married for six years, but your point is still valid, Akane," Tofu told her.
"She was married at twelve? What sort of monster was her father?" Akari demanded.
"Whoa, whoa," Tofu cautioned her. "Those were very different times than today. People married early because they also died early. What you consider 'childhood' did not exist. A marriage at ten was not unheard of. Life was very hard. People had a lot of kids because many of them would never grow up and you wanted to have something of you survive beyond your death. Any girl that did not have at least one child by sixteen was considered barren."
"Holy…" Ranko mumbled.
Kasumi ignored the curse words and prompted, "All right. She was murdered and that has something to do with the curse?"
Ono nodded his head. "Ranma's friend Augustus was right – 'curse' is not exactly correct. When the girl was killed because she couldn't have children, Jusenkyo decided to avenge her. Both the husband and the father were drown within the year, but not at Jusenkyo. The story is that one was killed while fishing, and the other died when a bridge collapsed. The circumstances were recorded as 'odd' though and people blamed river spirits for both deaths. Jusenkyo also created the Nyanniichuan using the girl's spirit – and her genes. In remembrance that the girl was killed by her husband and father-in-law, when the pool creates a new shape, it – right or wrong – erases any genes from the old shape's father. The pool is a bit of a man-hater. It then substitutes the dead girl's genes in for the erased genes. Since the 'Y' sex chromosome (if it is present) is always from the father, and the dead girl only had 'X' sex chromosomes, then the new shape is always female – 'XX' not 'XY'."
Kasumi's eyebrows shot up: "Which means that Jusenkyo is not trying to resurrect the original victim – it's trying to give her children – but the mechanism only allows for female children." Everyone else looked stunned.
"Bingo." Tofu and Mausu cleared a space on the table and laid down the CODIS charts. Then he beckoned everyone to gather around him. "These are the CODIS charts for Nodoka, Ranko, and Genma. The CODIS test checks thirteen gene loci (or 'markers') and the sex chromosomes, but the sex chromosomes are not important here – they are only used to confirm the subject's sex – 'XX' is a girl, 'XY' is boy, 'YY' is not possible. Each loci consists of two gene sites."
"I thought there were millions of genes in the human body?" Nodoka questioned.
"Actually, there's way less than that, but way more than twenty-six. The exact number is subject to debate (1). These twenty-six are sufficient to identify someone and their parents – ignoring the case of identical twins," Tofu explained.
"What traits do these genes control?" Akane asked.
"As far as we know, these are 'junk' genes (2). Some people argue whether they are really genes at all, but we're going to call them that for this discussion. They are sections of the DNA that are there to basically provide spacing in the sequence."
"Why are there two sites per loci?" Ranko asked. "Is this that recessive/dominant thing?"
"Yep, every loci exists twice – one site from the mother, and one site from the father. The overall combination determines the effect of the genes. At any particular site, there may be a number of different DNA sequences - we call them alleles - that fit in the site. We number these possible sequences for our convenience. Look at the loci labeled 'vMA'. There are 28 different alleles that may fit into these two sites. Ranma, or rather Ranko, has two alleles 13 and 18 while Nodoka has alleles 15 and 18. Genma has 14 and 19. A parent will give one of their alleles to their child. It looks like Nodoka gave Ranko allele 18, but where did Ranko's allele 13 come from? It didn't come from Genma."
"So it came from the drowned woman then?" Akane quizzed.
"Yes," Tofu said as he switched to Nodoka's CODIS sheet. In each of her loci boxes, Tofu had circled one number. "I can trace one allele from Nodoka to Ranko for each loci. But if I look at Gemna's sheet," he said as he switched the CODIS sheets. "I can't find one allele of Genma's that Ranko shares."
"So Genma has no common alleles with the drowned woman at all? Isn't that unusual?" Soun pushed.
Tofu shrugged. "Maybe yes, maybe no. First off, we only know about 13 loci, so strictly speaking, there's roughly 30% chance of that occurring. We know very little about the woman other than her story – her background could be different enough so that this isn't unusual. And maybe, just maybe, the Nyanniichuan would do it's best to not allow a common allele if there was an option. If Genma has 14 and 19, and the woman had 13 and 14, the Spring could have chosen 13 – as I said, it seems to be a bit of a man-hater."
"Interesting," Kasumi mused. "That may be true in more ways than one." Everyone turned to look at her. "Think about it," she said. "A male is aware of his shape change and will do his best to reverse it as soon as possible. But if a woman falls in, she may not notice the genome change, especially if the magic is using her expectations to hide the differences. She may 'mate' using the altered genome, producing grandchildren for the drowned woman."
Tofu looked thoughtful. "Possible. Very possible. In which case, the preferred 'prey' for the Nyanniichuan pool are women, not men."
Ranko spoke up: "So, if someone was to get caught by the Nyanniichuan and use the Nanniichuan to reverse the process, they would still have an altered side, just not be aware of it. Just like a woman falling into the Nyanniichuan."
"No," Tofu said firmly. "That may not be true at all. Each pool is a law unto itself. The mechanism for the Nanniichuan may be completely different. For that matter, someone exposed to the Nanniichuan first may actually be cured by the Nyanniichuan and have their original genome completely restored. Cursed individuals may be handled differently. Animals would also be handled differently. Maybe women are not changed at all by the Nyanniichuan, but I think Kasumi may be right. All we have to go on are these CODIS sheets, the legend, and the knowledge that the magic has laws – but you have to find out what they are. Our speculation is just that – speculation. One thing is definite though."
"What's that?" Soun asked.
"The tests say that Genma Saotome is not Ranko's sire, but Nodoka is her birth mother," the doctor said. He watched the implications dawn on their faces. "Life is about to get very interesting…"
Toshio Kuno picked up the report again and looked at it:
Allele ratio to Nodoka Saotome: 50% Conclusion: 99.98% Birth Mother unless one of a set of identical siblings.
Allele ratio to Genma Saotome: 0% Conclusion: No relation.
He put the report down and spun his chair to look out at the Tokyo skyline. Something that might have been the ghost of a smile touched his lips. He spun back and pressed the intercom.
"Yes, Mr. Kuno?" a woman's voice answered.
"Please arrange for a bio-hazard team to be on call within 24 hours," he ordered.
"Yes, sir. Is there a problem I need to know about, sir?"
"No, Ms. Nakagawa. You can put the safety on the automatic weapon back on. I'm not expecting an attack by terrorists any time soon," he told her.
"Yes, sir. One cannot be too careful," she answered.
He chuckled. "This is true. That's why I pay you. But there are no problems right now."
"Yes, sir."
He released the button and spun back to the window. "There are no problems," he repeated. "Only oppurtunities…"
The guard brought Genma his meal just as the nurse finished checking on him. "Still here, Genma?" the man taunted the part-time panda. "I thought you laughed at me this morning and said you'd be gone by tonight? What's wrong, blackmailing your son not work out?"
Genma scowled at the man. The martial artist had managed to knit some of the leg together slowly. He was almost to the point of being able to put weight on it, but he didn't want to advertise the fact in case that red-headed little demon was still about. The foot was still broken, but you had to do one thing at a time. He'd love to know what the pain-killer was the little rat had injected him with though – it was definitely complicating things. The arm was completely fixed, but he kept the cast on. Again, he didn't want to advertise anything.
"Well, don't feel too bad," the guard smirked. "I'm sure Ranma is more concerned about his family than you."
Genma didn't feel like taking the bait. The c-c-c-cats were still haunting his dreams making sleep miserable so Genma was very groggy too. It didn't help that the guard was late with his dinner. Genma was sure they were feeding him last on purpose. The guard set the bowl of rice and the hard-boiled egg down with a cup of hot tea (the doctors were afraid that a transformation could strain the healing process, so there were no cold drinks).
Genma was also annoyed that Ranma hadn't showed up yet. He was sure the young man would have been here to beg his father not to reveal the Seppuku contract, especially after Genma had been unreachable until late yesterday. What was that boy doing? He was always unreliable!
"Still, the Tokyo prison is like one big happy family. They will help you forget that you don't have a family anymore," the guard pressed. He was getting slightly annoyed himself at not getting a rise out of Genma.
Genma needed to call the Miura Law Office tomorrow and see if they could help him get a new lawyer. Ine had told him to go to hell. Apparently, someone had found his journal by accident and turned it over to the cops. Ine had read it and quit. Miura was the lawyer who held the Seppuku contract. He didn't take criminal cases, but he was all Genma had. Hopefully the journal was safely locked away in an evidence locker.
The guard grew disgusted with Genma's lack of response and started for the door. "Ah, you're bloody worthless. It's a good thing your genes die with you!" he muttered loudly.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Genma grumbled at the guard as the man walked out the door.
"Screw you!" the guard shouted. "You'll find out soon enough!"
The next day, Genma demanded to call his lawyer and the guards agreed. A cell phone was brought to him and he arranged for Attorney Miura to come see him. Genma was a little surprised by that – Miura was known for not setting foot in the jail. Shortly, before lunch, Miura appeared.
"Thank you for coming," Genma greeted him.
"Oh, no problem, Mr. Saotome. Or do you want me to call you, Mr. Uchida now?" the man asked.
The question confused Genma somewhat. "I've been Saotome for a long time now," Genma told him.
"Yes, yes. Of course. We all need to work through these things in our own way," the lawyer agreed. "Now what would you like me to do for you?"
"I need a new criminal lawyer. That is, unless you handle these cases now?" Genma prompted.
"No, no, sir. I'm strictly a family lawyer. Trusts, wills, divorces…" Miura put added emphasis on the last word.
"Well, my last lawyer quit so I need a new one. I also need to apply some pressure to my wife and son. Do you still have that contract Nodoka and I left with you or did she take it away?" Genma asked.
"I can recommend a law firm just outside Nerima, Mr. Saotome. And, of course I still have the contract, sir. Your wife checked up on it last about three months ago. But as your lawyer, I recommend that you not add any additional pressure on your wife. You already have a solid case for a divorce – enough so that the judge will rule any disputed property in your favor. Since you don't care about child custody, I recommend you get the cash and get out. Then you can use the settlement to fund your defense. Given the news about Ranma's DNA test results, you may be able to claim temporary insanity when you attacked Ranma. That could keep you out of prison and land you in a hospital instead."
Genma's brain stopped for a second. He had heard the lawyer's words, but none of them made any sense. He remembered the guards taking a sample of his DNA and grabbed onto that. "What was that about Ranma's DNA?"
"Oh, dear," the lawyer said. "I thought that's what you wanted to talk to me about. Well, as your Family Lawyer, it's my duty to tell you. Ranma is not your son. When they compared your DNA against his, there was no commonality."
Genma's face went white. "Crap!" he thought. "One of those times I must have stolen the wrong kid back!" Then he had another thought: "But this may work out for me. If she's separated from Ranma, I might be able to convince this kid to turn to me. Better to have a servant even if he's not my flesh and blood, than not. I can tell this kid that I don't believe the tests." Out loud he asked: "Has Nodoka distanced herself from Ranma yet?"
Miura looked confused. "Why should she?" he asked back. "The tests say Ranma is her son."
It took a few moments for Genma to understand. Then his face turned red and his voice exploded: "THAT BITCH!"
In the end, it took a couple of taser shocks from the guard before Genma calmed down. The nurse also administered as much sedatives as he dared. Genma then became icy calm and ordered Miura to release the Seppuku contract to the cops with an order to explain that Nodoka had been threatening his life with the Seppuku pledge. She had also been threatening her son's life and should be separated from him immediately. He also wanted custody of all funds she had (having forgotten that he had already stolen it all).
As for a divorce, Genma was going to drag her through the mud and make her suffer as much as possible. She had betrayed him and would now pay…
A/N: Footnotes:
1) Before the Human Genome Project, scientists were expecting about 100,000 genes. Today, they believe there are about 24000. The exact number is subject to dispute. There seems to be a solid consensus that the number is more than 17000 and less than 30000 – depends how you define a gene (see next note).
2) The definition of what constitutes junk DNA is also subject to debate. Initially, if a DNA sequence didn't result in the formation of a protein by calling an amino acid molecule, it was considered junk. However, now we know some DNA is responsible for creation of non-coding RNA sequences that govern whether other genes are allowed to work as well as many other functions inside a cell (i.e. we are still learning – no big surprise).
A/N: And the Order of Nostradamus award goes to Flameraven1 who correctly guessed in a June 7th review that half of Ranko's genome comes from Nodoka and half from the drowned girl. Flameraven1 also nailed some of the logic I used to come up with that decision. The reviewer also correctly guessed Mara's objectives and some of the implications going forward. Not bad!
BTW: No, I didn't steal the idea from Flameraven1 – I wrote this back in November! ;-)
A/N: Next up: Chapter 13 is "Fanning the Flames". Chapter 14 is titled "The Burn" where "Combustion" will conclude. We will visit with Henna in the Epilogue of "Combustion". After a short (two week) break, the story of Ranma Saotome's "Detonation" will finally start. For those worried where this is going, remember Chronus's babbling in Chapter 10: "While Ranma is the Dragon, he is also the Phoenix."
A/N: 7/22/2014: Added some corrections provided by Weebee (Thanks!). Please remember Reviews are important! This story (and this Continuum) has improved because of them!