A/N: Hey Guys! Here's the next chapter to the story, Chapter 13. Enjoy reading it and be sure to leave a review, so that I know whether you're enjoying it or whether you want me to change/add something. This chapter is also short but don't worry! I'll make sure to make up for it. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 13
Nodoka was rushed to the hospital as quickly as possible. Ranma was taken there too, just to check if there were any injuries the stranger had inflicted onto him. Everyone from the dojo was alerted to what just happened at the restaurant. They were all there at the hospital, waiting to see what the doctor would say about Ranma and Nodoka's health. Genma was crying at the news.
"Oh how could this happen? My son and my beloved wife are both in hospital! Oh why did this happen to me?!" He wailed in agony, getting sympathetic looks from everyone who walked past him. Normally Soun would berate his friend for being so pathetic but this was not the time for that. They were patiently waiting for the doctor to tell them what was wrong; who had stated that he would require at least half an hour to determine their condition. After a long hour of painful silence, the doctor finally came out of the room. He looked very grave.
"Mr Saotome?" He asked for Genma. Genma leaped up to him, his eyes frantic and worried. The Tendo family were right behind him, anxious to her the doctor's report.
"How are they?" Genma asked, hoping that the injuries were only minor.
"Your son is fine, he was just knocked out. However, your wife is in critical condition. She is very badly injured and will need a lot of time before she can become better again." The doctor stated. Genma facial expression became extremely serious as soon as he heard that.
"How long will it take until Nodoka gets better?" He asked, hoping against hope that it was only going to be a short amount of time. The doctor just looked at him with his grave expression, which meant that the answer wouldn't be good.
"At the very minimum, 2 weeks, however it will most likely take approximately 1 month for her to heal completely, as she has a low chance of surviving." The doctor stated. As soon as he heard that, Genma's expression just became more miserable. The Tendo family were all feeling sympathetic for Genma, Soun especially. He had lost his wife in a similar fashion and now it could happen to his best friend. He knew that Genma would need some time alone to contemplate this so he ushered his daughters to leave the room. Ryoga, who remained quiet up till this point, decided to follow the Tendo family.
Ranko was the only one who stayed with the Saotomes. She was feeling worried for them so she decided to stay behind. She quickly confirmed which room Ranma was in before rushing off to see him, with Genma in pursuit. She needed to talk with him about this. As soon as she got there she saw Ranma just staring into space. He seemed to be in deep thought about something. Genma had decided to talk with his son about Nodoka's fate and about what the doctor had informed them about.
"Alright boy, we need to talk about your mother." Genma said, his voice oozing with seriousness. It managed to even keep Ranma quiet, he would normally just make a snarky comment and move on. Genma decided to continue.
"I'm gonna be blunt with you boy, she may not survive her injuries. " Genma stated directly, not wanting to hide anything from his son. As he expected, Ranma's reaction was extreme, to say the least.
"What?! No way, you're lying pop!" Ranma exclaimed, not wanting to believe what he just heard. He did not want to believe that his mother would never get to see what he actually looked like after all these years. Genma remained expressionless.
"It's true. Now, we need to find out whom that stranger was and we need to show him why you don't mess with the Saotome family." Genma stated fiercely, wanting to beat down whoever the stranger was. Ranma looked at his dad for a moment before shaking his head.
"We can't beat him." He replied softly, which Genma was shocked to hear. This was coming from his son, one who was stubborn to the very end! What was going on?
"Did they hit you harder than I thought? What do you mean we cannot beat him?!" Genma asked, still refusing to believe that they stood no chance against the stranger as Ranma had just proclaimed. Ranma just stared straight back at him, his expression deadly serious.
"You heard what I said, pop! Whoever that person was, they're in their own league. I couldn't see his movement, that's how fast he was. He also just tapped my neck and I was knocked out cold. If he can do that, then we have no chance." Ranma stated. He really didn't want to give up but he had to face the facts. The stranger was ridiculously strong and quick. He would probably end up being beaten in no time at all.
Before Ranko or Genma could even try to object to Ranma's words, a vase, full with a bouquet of flowers, was transferred to Ranma's desk. The nurse said that it was a gift from an anonymous sender. After she left Ranma checked who the sender was. It turned out that the sender was the same person who attacked him and his mum yesterday. He was insulting him by sending this bouquet of flowers. Hope you get better. We wouldn't want your stupid mother to die while your unconscious, would we? That was what the letter said. Ranma gritted his teeth. He didn't care for a moment how strong the stranger was. The stranger insulted him and his family!
"I'm gonna get you back for this. I swear it." He growled through gritted teeth, getting very aggravated at the cockiness of the stranger. Genma just smirked at Ranma's words.
"Now that's my son talking! We'll get him back in the name of the Saotomes!" Genma proclaimed proudly, getting pumped up himself by his son's response. Throughout all this time, they hadn't noticed that someone was intruding the room. They merely chuckled before making their presence known by saying the next couple of sentences.
"Don't be stupid, you'll never win. You won't win with your current strength anyway." The mysterious person said. Ranma and Genma turned around quickly to see an old woman, looking at them pitifully. Genma immediately began stuttering.
"Mo-Mother?" He asked, not believing his eyes. Ranko just looked at Genma in disbelief. Did Genma just say that the woman in front of them was his mother? If so, then why was Ranma's grandmother here? Judging from Ranma's expression, she guessed that he didn't know about the old woman being Genma's mother either.
"Hello Genma. It's been a long time, hasn't it son?" The old woman asked. Genma changed his expression back to serious after hearing the tone of voice his mother was using.
"It has indeed. Now tell me, why are you here?" Genma asked. He had a feeling that his mother had probably planned to meet up with him and Ranma for some reason. She merely looked at him before replying.
"Why, I'm here to make sure that my grandson will be strong enough to defeat this stranger. The stranger is not human, so Ranma will need to train before he even thinks about confronting him." She replied, enjoying the looks of alarms on everyone's face.
"The stranger isn't human?" Genma asked. He only got a deadpanned expression from his mother in return.
"That's what I just said!" She replied, getting frustrated at the incompetency of her own son. There was silence for a while before Ranko decided to get involved in the discussion.
"If that's true then how is it possible for Ranma to actually beat them?" Ranko asked. Ranma and Genma both just nodded with her, all looking for answers. Genma's mother just sighed before answering.
"At least the girl has some sense. Anyway there's another dimension we can travel through. I have a special mirror, which is similar to the one Happosai possesses, that will allow us to travel to this other dimension. Now here's the best part, it's created specifically for training and surpassing your fighting ability." She stated. She loved the reaction she got for it. Everyone literally had their jaws on the floor from hearing that. It was always fun to see the reactions of people when she mentioned these things. Ranma was the first to recover.
"Really? There's no way that's true!" Ranma yelled. Everyone else was thinking the same thing. How could a dimension like that possibly exist? It seemed rather too convenient for it to be coincidence. Rumiko just looked at him.
"Don't complain, it's fortunate for us that it exists. Now, are you coming or not?" She asked, beginning to lose her patience.
"Hang on; are you saying that we all have to go to this dimension?" He asked, wanting to make sure that it was what she was implying. She simply nodded in response. Genma looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding as well.
"Alright then, we'll all go to this other dimension. It's the only option we've got." He stated with a commanding voice. His mother just looked at Ranko and Ranma, eying them suspiciously. She then blinked and began smiling at them, making them uneasy.
"So are we ready to go? You'll have to come along with us young lady." She stated, giving her a strange expression. Ranko looked surprised.
"Me? Why do I have to go?" She asked.
"Do you not want to come with us?"
"No, that's not it. It's just, is it really fine for me to tag along?" Ranko asked again, clarifying what she was asking this time. Genma's mother responded almost instantly.
"Of course you can. After all, you're Ranma's friend." She replied. Ranko blushed slightly when she said that. Hopefully it'll be more than friends later on. She hoped anyway.
"Ok then. Thanks Mrs Saotome." Ranko replied, feeling generous for the fact that she could stay with Ranma for support.
"Now dear, my name is Rumiko Saotome. You can call me Rumiko." Rumiko stated, smiling warmly at Ranko. She then changed back into her neutral expression.
"So, shall we go now?" Rumiko asked everyone. Genma thought for a moment before nodding in agreement to Rumiko's suggestion.
"Yes we should. The sooner we go the better." He stated, getting up to go. Ranma got up to face Ranko, eye to eye. He had a conflicted look in his eye, Ranko managed to notice.
"You sure you wanna come with us, Ranko?" Ranma asked, still holding the conflicted look in his eyes. Ranko was wondering why he was even questioning that.
"Yeah, of course I'm coming! I'm here to help you out! You're my friend, Ranma." Ranko exclaimed, catching Ranma by surprise. He looked in shock for a moment before smiling.
"Thanks Ranko." Ranma replied, still smiling at Ranko. Ranko was blushing slightly from that smile. That smile, it's mesmerising! She was still staring at Ranma, completely mesmerised by him. Ranma looked confused for a while. He waved his hand in front of Ranko's face, trying to snap her out of whatever got her blinked before blushing more fervently. Ranma was feeling concerned.
"You okay Ranko?" He asked, wanting to confirm that there was nothingwrong with Ranko's health. She was still blushing, trying desperately to respond.
"Ye-Yeah. I'm fine. Shouldn't we be going now, Rumiko?" Ranko asked, hoping to move on from this conversation. Rumiko and Genma just smirked at each other.
"What's the rush? You seem to be having a good time, Ranko." Genma stated, his mother in complete agreement with her son. Ranko finally managed to stop blushing and cleared her throat.
"I think its best that we go and not waste time here." Ranko stated, trying to desperately move on. Rumiko finally decided to agree with Ranko, but only because she was also desperate to beat the stranger down for attacking Nodoka.
"Alright then. Get ready, because we're about to go now!" She proclaimed. Genma had cleverly taken the time to write a note to the Tendos explaining what they were doing. He then joined everyone as they began to get sucked into the mirror. Ranko gripped onto Ranma's hand tightly as they were being sucked in. Ranma took a moment to look at Ranko. She was really attractive to look at. She's been there for me all the time, and so have I for her. He realised that through those times, they've gotten much closer. He felt a sense of hope as he saw Ranko blush at him. He was hoping, for some reason, that Ranko reciprocated his feelings, even though they couldn't be together. At the very least, I need to confess to her. I can't keep hiding it. He decided that when he was finished with the stranger, he would confess to Ranko about his feelings. That way, he'll feel a lot better about himself. Who knows? Maybe she does like me back? If she does then I have no idea what I'll actually do about it.