Akane woke up slowly

A Heritage of Power: Chapter 1

A Father's Folly

The ideas and characters of Ranma ½ and Dragonball Z are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama, respectively. I claim no rights to any of the characters portrayed herein.

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Akane woke up slowly. The sun that filtered through her shades brushed the last few cobwebs from her sleep addled brain.

Rolling over, Akane cursed fiancées in general and pig-tailed bakas in specific. She used to be a morning person, but with so many distractions, sleep had become more of a necessity than a luxury. This morning she needed to be up early, though. Kasumi had asked her to help with spring-cleaning and Akane was desperate to prove her domestic capabilities.

 "Wake up sleepy head." Akane said as she gently prodded P-chan. A small snort was her only reply as she grabbed her bathroom stuff.

Downstairs, Kasumi was humming a cheery tune as she set out the cleaning supplies. The house had become far to disheveled from the constant battles and revelry that had filled the Tendo's days. Luckily Akane and Nabiki (amazingly enough) had offered to help, so cleaning should be a snap.

"Hey Kasumi, where should I start?", inquired Akane as she bounced down the stairs Cleaning was perhaps the one household activity she was actually good at, and she intended to show it.

Kasumi straightened, "I think the basement probably needs to be reorganized. Do you think you're up to the task?"

"Just wait to you see my Tendo Anything Goes Cleaning technique!" Akane said as she struck a mock stance.

"Only to be matched by your Nothing Goes Cooking technique?", asked Ranma as he flipped down the stairs and out into the yard, barely missing the bucket flung by his attacking father.

Akane watched for a moment as Ranma and his father flew through the air. Their moves were swift and graceful as punches and kicks were exchanged. Despite his bulk, Genma was full of tricks and surprises. Ranma, to his credit, handled each new move with finesse and skill. Soon, though, Akane's admiration was replaced by jealousy and she nearly spat, "Ranma no baka!"

Kasumi moved to intercept a livid Akane while trying to smile as gently as possible, "Akane, could you rearrange Ranma's face after you finish rearranging the basement?"

Akane deflated slightly at Kasumi's bright smile, "Of course, sis." Akane still had time to throw Ranma another dirty look before picking up a bucket of cleaning supplies and moving downstairs.

--

In the basement, Akane had begun the task of dusting and restacking the Tendo family memorabilia. From time to time she would come upon a school project or martial arts trophy that she intended to bring upstairs to show everyone.

Akane soon came to the section of family pictures. She smiled as she dusted off old black and white photos of her mother and father when they were younger. Her father had apparently kept his mustache, though it was far scrappier in his younger days. Her mother was a beautiful as Akane remembered. There were many photos: Her mother and father at carnivals and tournaments, her mother at a belt test, her father holding a baby Kasumi above his head, her mother coddling Nabiki, a laughing Nabiki holding something above Akane's head and finally, a photo of the entire Tendo family. In a hospital waiting room Akane's mother was holding a baby Akane who appeared to be wearing a monkey's tail behind her kimono. Beside her a tiny Kasumi, no older than two, was sitting. In one hand, a proud looking Soun Tendo was holding a newborn baby and in the other, a birth certificate.  Looking more closely Akane saw the name: Nabiki Tendo.

"Kasumi!" Akane yelled as she ran upstairs, the picture clutched to her breast.

"What is it Akane?" Kasumi asked from the kitchen.

Thrusting the photo before Kasumi, "Have you ever seen this picture?" Akane demanded.

"Why no. Where did you find it?"

"In the basement with all the old pictures. Why am I older than Nabiki? Where is Daddy? Why am I wearing a tail? Where is DADDY" Akane said, almost shouting the last part.

"Honestly Akane, I don't remember that far back, but I don't think you're older than Nabiki. Just look at yourselves now." Kasumi said, again using a soothing voice.

Akane, though, was not to be placated. "If Daddy had been lying to me…"

"What have I been doing…oof" Soun puffed as he was assaulted by 110 pounds of questioning martial artist.

"Am I older than Nabiki?" Akane said, pressing the photo into her father's face.

"Now Akane…" Soun chuckled gently as he tried to pry the picture away from his daughter. If he could destroy the evidence, this entire debacle would blow over in a few days.

"It seems to me, Father, that you have some serious explaining to do." Nabiki said coolly as she stepped out of the Tendo family kitchen. Soun managed a big sweat before fainting dead away.

--

Later, with everyone around the dining table, the inquisition began. Soun, seated at the head of the table, was sweating much more than the light spring weather demanded. Akane and Nabiki stared intently at their father waiting for the explanation to commence. Ranma and Genma, having at last found some presence of mind, sat silently down at their own end of the table.

Finally losing the last of her small measure of patience, Akane began "Daddy…"

"Honestly Akane, if you push him, he's just going to faint again." Nabiki interjected.

While lighting a cigarette Soun began, "Girls, it is finally time to reveal the truth about our family. Akane, I know this will come as a shock; even though you are a true member of the Tendo clan, you were adopted."

"WHAT?!?" Resounded through the house.

Obviously cracking under the strain of so many accusatory stares, Soun continued, "When Kasumi was a year and a half old, we decided to adopt you Akane. Kimiko, your mother, wanted another girl. Little did we know that she was already with child when we began the adoption procedure. When Nabiki was born, you were already our child."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Screamed Akane.

"You must understand, Akane, that I love you. You grew up much more slowly than Nabiki, so we told you that you were born last. Honestly, your mother and I never meant to hurt you. We wanted you to think of yourself as a Tendo, as part of the family." Finishing this, Soun finally succumbed to the pressures of the day and fainted dead away.

Akane, upon hearing Soun's last words, leapt from the table and sprinted upstairs crying the entire way. Seeing her tears, Ranma made an attempt to follow her, only to be stopped by a restraining hand from Kasumi.

"Give her time." Kasumi implored.

"But…Well…OK, Kasumi, but I gotta talk to her, ya know." Ranma said sheepishly as he stood up and moved towards the dojo.

"Yes Ranma, I do know." Kasumi said to his retreating form.

--

Soun awoke with a start. He was lying on the futon in his room. Perhaps it had all been a dream. He had just slept late and dreamt that Akane had found out. Even still, it was time to put the truth to rest; he would just have to make sure that particular picture disappeared from the basement. Opening his eyes, though, he saw Nabiki fixing him with a feline stare.

"Nabiki, what are you…" He began.

"Can it Daddy! There's just one thing I want to know. Why was Akane wearing a tail when she was visiting me in the hospital?"

It has been noted that Soun Tendo is not the brightest man in the Tokyo area. His skill at Shogi comes more from cheating than from any actual mental acumen. It was, therefore, unsurprising that he couldn't think up a lie in time. "I, ah… Well, that is that she…My baby is an alien. Wahhhhhhhh." Soun said, bursting into tears.

"A what?" Nabiki demanded. Cursed people were one thing. Gods and demons and ghosts were another, but in all her experience with the wacky goings on around Ranma, Nabiki had never heard a peep from the extraterrestrial corner of the paranormal.

"I…well… I guess I have proof." Soun said, resigning himself to letting the entire story come out.

"Show me now." Nabiki said slowly. First cleaning and now aliens. This day was just going from bad to worse.

--

The strength of one's toes is an often-overlooked factor in martial prowess. The Anything Goes School, however, taught that movement was essential. Consequently, the feet and toes were the foundation upon which devastating martial techniques were built. Fortunately for Ranma Saotome, his father had not neglected to teach him the 17 toe training exercises that Anything Goes practitioners had accumulated over the years. Hanging from the gutter above Akane's room was as easy as, say, running along a chain link fence.

Inside the room, Akane lay clutching P-chan to her chest. Her drenching sobs had subsided to occasionally sniffles. Still, Ranma noticed that tears continued to leak out of her eye and slide down her red cheek. Finding the right words for this situation required intelligence and sensitivity. Unfortunately, both were qualities that Ranma thought were absent in his makeup. Still, to see Akane in pain conjured strong emotions within Ranma's heart. Slowly, he reached a hand up to tap on the window.

At first, Akane had been overwhelmed by her father's, no Soun Tendo's, words. She was alone. No family, no name, even the memories of her mother seemed somehow false. Now, though, there was only a dull ache in her stomach when she thought about her family. Suddenly she heard a sound from the window.

Standing to open the shade, Akane knew it was Ranma. Who else could it be?

"You must like seeing me cry." Akane said bitterly as she peered out the window.

"Nah, it ain't like that and you know it."

"Why are you here, then?" Akane asked.

"I just, ya know, want to check if you're ok." Ranma stammered.

"Ok? I just found out I'm nameless. How would you feel?"

"Jeeze Akane, you're not nameless. Didn't you hear your Pops? He just did what he did to make sure you thought of yourself as a Tendo."

"That's just it, I'm not really a Tendo, I just think of myself as one."

"Well, see here's the thing. I was thinking while I was in the dojo. Ya see, your Pops, he cares a lot about martial arts and stuff, right?"

"So?" Akane said, not caring what Ranma was rambling about.

"So both he and your Momma trained you, right? So, where I'm going with this is, that all the honor of the Tendo clan rests in you. Hell you're even more of a Tendo than Nabiki and Kasumi if you think about it that way."

 "What?" Akane said, staring into Ranma's inverted face.

"Well, the Tendo's are martial artists. You're the only martial artist in the family, so you have all the honor."

"But I'm not really a Tendo." Akane said again.

"Like fun you aren't. Who am I going to marry?" Ranma demanded, "You of course! 'To fulfill the honor and destiny of the Tendo and the Saotome Clans you and I must wed'" Ranma recited.

"Ranma… Do you really mean that?" Asked Akane slowly.

"Of course. So that makes you a real, honor bound, butt-kicking Tendo." Ranma said proudly.

"Oh Ranma!" Akane exclaimed as she dragged Ranma in from the window.

"What!" Ranma tried to shout as he was muffled into a bear hug.

Perhaps Ranma would have stuck his foot in his mouth again, but Nabiki suddenly burst though the door. "Akane, you are not going to believe this…what's all this?"

"What won't we belive, Nabiki?" Akane said dropping an air deprived Ranma, her face red with embarrassment.

"Oh yeah, well I got Daddy talking again and well, let me just ask you this: do you have a scar on your lower back?"

"Yes, from where I fell on a rock at the beach. What does that have to do with anything?" Akane asked, a puzzled frown crossing her brow.

"Just come down to the basement."

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