"Did you really have to go and do that Ranma?" Akane said as they were all walking back home.
"That guy had it coming" he replied.
Ranma and Akane were not flying everyone back because they were tired. Akane had tired herself out trying to learn how to swim yet only succeeding in gliding for half a minute. While Ranma had been swimming also but later he got into argument with the driver who car was damaged by Toph's body. She was currently still unconscious on Ranma's back thus could not fly even if he wanted to as Toph would unable to hold on to him.
Though Toph was not unaware of it on a conscious level at least. What she did with that car was actually one of the many thing that drilled into her until became second instinct for her during her time as one of Konton's puppet benders. Along with having limited ability to stop bullets as extension to this ability was being able to bend anything that could potentially harmful to her body. She would automatically bend said object if that was possible for her. That combined with the facts that her bones and skin were naturally denser and tougher then most human nowadays anyway as result of her being earth bender from when bending was in its prime along with the car being a compact was how she escape being hit unscathed.
While Shampoo and Akane were consider for their friend as it was side of her they had never seen before. Neither were thinking about how she was acting while under the influence of her mental trigger nor how they too could made to enter the same state with just a single phrase at least not at the moment. What grabbed their attention was how she ran away after she had come to her sense and the look on her face. It seem as if she experienced heartbreak before and causing them both to wonder if she possibly had feeling for Ranma beyond just that of a friend. The two of them were pretty close as the same could say for all of them as they all had common bond after all. The four of them could not remember anything about their pasts beyond vague memories they got every now and then along with the fact that they were all cursed at the same time. However Ranma and Toph seem have been friends much longer then just six months at least that how they seem to act.
Haruna was grumbling about how she had deal with that idiot that ran a light and cares more about the damage done to his car then the possibility of what could have happened if he struck anyone other then Toph. The guy could have been convict of vehicular manslaughter for running the light when it was clearly yellow at the time.
Then there was Ryoga who carrying a pooped out Aura. The cursed panda girl had full day of running around and swimming so she was getting some much needed rest. She was still pretty young so that usually how it goes. The more active a little kid is during the day the faster they fall asleep on the way back home.
However because Toph was currently out cold and everyone else was too caught in their own thoughts they did not notice how Ryoga made a wrong turn on the way back to Haruna's. Even though he had improve slightly all it took for him to get completely lost was still just one wrong turn at the wrong moment when he was fully paid attention to where he was going.
Two Days Later….
The resident of the Nermia district were staring in shock at the sight of teenage boy around sixteen in age wandering around the area with only pair a swimming trunks and t-shirt on with panda cub at his side.
"Where the Hell am I now!" the teenager yelled.
Just then he felt someone pulling on his pant leg.
Looking down he saw a panda cub that held up a sign that image of them looking in both direction confused.
"Thanks I guess, Aura" Ryoga replied as he was not really expecting an answer to that question.
The next picture was of anger version of herself and then of her being with Ranma and Toph.
"Hey I am sorry it just happened. We were all caught up in our own thought and Toph was out cold and on Ranma's back just you were with me" he told her.
Ryoga then tried at least some sorta of feeling for Ranma's or Toph's location as then he at least have one of them lead back to Haruna's. However he had no idea they were no where remote area of either one of his friends.
"Huh? What is it Aura" Ryoga asked as cursed panda cub pulled on his pant leg again.
Hold up a sign that had arrow on it, his gaze was directed towards a what appeared to be a dojo in the distant.
"No its unlikely that will find Akane or Shampoo at that dojo as we have no idea where we are. So the chances of Akane being at that dojo are pretty slim" he told her.
His dark blue hair friend had thing about Dojo as whenever she saw one she had the this sudden urge to visit it and ended up challenge the those there. Though it was also tough for Akane to control herself and hold back when she really got going as not everyone was as tough as her friends thus she could not go all out against them. Also she had this strange ability to perform near her norm even with lower level of oxygen which shocked people. This also allowed her to get out of hold that normally cause other people to pass out from lack of oxygen.
Shaking her head Aura flipped her magic sign so the arrow pointed a little more upwards where the sign in front of the Dojo read 'Saotome Dojo'.
"That just what I expect from you as all that hanging out with Toph must be rubbing off on you as your able to pick up on things that the rest of us miss" Ryoga said though he then let out a sigh before adding "just because the Dojo has same last name as you and your brother does not mean they are related to you."
"Excuse me did I just hear you say that panda cub has Saotome as their last name" the two hear a voice asked
Turning around the two saw a tired auburn haired woman dressed casually with a large duffle bag slung over her shoulder. All in all she looked like that she just got off a long trip
Ryoga was about to say something else when noticed Aura tugging on his pant again.
She was hold up her sign with Ranma's picture on it and pointing towards the woman before them.
'Aura seem to think this woman is related to Ranma and her and her nose is hardly ever wrong when comes to ID her immediate family, an aunt, or an uncle. So this person might be able to help us get back home' he thought.
"Excuse Ma'am, if you don't mind me asking are you related to Ranma and Haruna Saotome in anyway?" he asked.
"Why yes I am. Ranma is my son and Haruna is my sister-in-law, why do you know them? Oh and my name is Nodoka Saotome by the way" she puzzled by the question this person asked because his strange panda cub companion.
"I am…" the fanged youth began before he was interrupted by Aura who had found some cold water.
"Mommy" the girl yelled hugging Nodoka as in her mind her brother's mother was also her mother.
"Mommy" she repeated shocked as this girl certainly could not be her daughter since she had red hair instead of black hair with white tips.
"Wait you are Nodoka…that same Nodoka that Ms. Haruna been taking to get touch with for months" Ryoga said out loud as he remember where he heard that name before.
"Okay this all so confusing let go to my house as we both probably tired from traveling" she said.
Some time later inside the Saotome Dojo living room…
"Let me get this straight your name Aura. You are my son's younger sister, is this right?" Nodoka asked.
Yup! Ranma is my big brother. He is really strong and nice and best friends with my Toph" Aura said
"You two are talking as if you live with him as my son has been dragged around by his idiot father for the last seven years" she said.
"Daddy! You know where Daddy is?" Aura asked as she had never seen her father before only knew of him.
"You two have never seen Genma before?" she asked and at this two nodded their head.
"Then how could you possible know Ranma and not Genma as well?" she then inquired
"When I first met Ranma it was six months ago. He was living with his aunt Haruna along Toph, Shampoo, Akane, and Aura here. There was and never has been anyone named Genma there for as long as I have known them" Ryoga told her.
"Did you say that Ranma and Akane are here in Japan right now with Haruna" the Saotome woman asked excitedly
"Yes, they are" the Lost Boy told.
"Wait right here please" Nodoka said as she rushed over to the phone and quickly dialed Haruna's number.
I would like to thank:
GraysonPaladin, cabrera1234, and Hiryo for reviewing Chapter 23