Morning breaks and we find Ranma walking to school with Akane and Nabiki. Ranma is walking along fencetop, but seems to be doing it with half-closed eyes, and no energy to speak of.
"Ranma, did something keep you awake last night?"
"No, I slept like the dead. If I didn't have to, I'd still be sleeping."
"You almost are. Are you sure Happosai hasn't done anything to you? Remember when he split you in two, and your female half was keeping you up all night draining your energy?"
"If he is doing this, he's doing it from a distance. Pop is getting paranoid. He placed women's lingerie and sake near all of the entrances to our room to distract Happosai if he returns, but none of them have been disturbed."
* * *
During a break between classes, Ukyou approached Akane "Akane, what's wrong with Ranma? Has he stayed up all night trying to master a new technique?"
"No. he got alot of sleep. I thought it was because he angered Happosai, but Happosai'd be around gloating in that case. He seemed really happy last night."
"Did you two get into an argument?"
"No. Nothing like that. We've barely talked all day."
* * *
Nabiki could not stop grinning. The teacher, unused to being able to get a straight answer out of Kuno, had taken advantage of Kuno's change of behavior by asking him to answer most of the questions in class. Lying on the floor in a circle around Kuno were more pencils than all of the students had brought with them combined.
* * *
* * *
Throughout lunch, every time he opened his mouth, some piece of hard food would fly out of nowhere and bean him. Finally Kuno snapped, and grabbing a broom, proceeded to wield it like a boken, knocking foodstuffs out of the air. As soon as Kuno grabbed the broom, he began a litany of epithets, and the occasional food missile turned into a constant barrage. The rest of the room watched stunned; none of them had ever seen a food fight with only one participant before.
* * *
After School, Ranma had his daily checkups. While he was alone with Cologne, he asked her "It's unlike you to have helped me like this for two weeks without putting forward some scheme, or suggestion. I'm not used to seeing you so passive. Why haven't you done anything to try to tie me to Shampoo? Is it because you think I'm going to die?"
Cologne chuckles. Don't give up hope for a long life so easily. You already have most of the information for your answer already. I've been watching you actions especially carefully this last week (I know how you value your privacy, but you must realize you wont get that back until this mess surrounding you is taken care of). As I said, I've been watching you, and I notice how much more planning you've been using than you normally used to. I'll tell you part of it, and see if you can work out the rest. Consider it an exercise to see how your mind is being affected by the coin."
"Ok, what are the parts I'm missing?"
"Well, you are currently under more stress than usual. You still have your father and Soun pressuring you into a relationship with Akane. You still have Ukyou, Shampoo, and Kodachi pressuring you into marriage, and Akane pushing you who knows where. You now have your mother to deal with, and a possible death sentence hanging over your head. What are the possible options when too much pressure is put on an object; for example a ball of wood or a stone?"
"Well, if it can, it will shoot off in some direction or it will be crushed."
"Exactly. put too much presure on you and you'll either behave in an unpredictable manner, or collapse and become a broken person. Either would be bad for me. You know how much you've improved in fighting skills since I've come here. If you were to go back and fight the younger Ranma you were the day I met you, you could have left him a bleeding wreck. If I wanted a beaten, crushed man for Shampoo I could have done that to you my first day here, and carried you off to China, leaving no one here aware I existed. I know a hundred pressure-points I could have used instead of the cat's tongue. Follow that with the Hyri-Shoten-ha, and a dozen or so bakusai-tenketsu. I could keep it up all day until you eventually collapsed. I've never wanted you dead or crushed."
"So thats why all of your plans to trap me have had ways out of them."
"That's one reason. Why do you think Shampoo returned from China?"
"Because when she became cursed herself, she realized I was really a man."
"That's how I convinced her to return, not why I convinced her to return. I convinced her to return because I couldn't see any way of failing to improve Shampoo, and Shampoo's life if she came here. Even if you died tomorrow, she'd be better than if she spent the time in the village. I could never have guessed all that would have happened, but as long as I can guide things, I can protect her from things she can't deal with yet, and still let her fight and grow. If Happosai came to our village and ate Shampoo's first prize, do you think I'd have let them fight? Granted, I thought you really were female, and I thought Shampoo would probably win; but if I thought you would be a danger to her I wouldnt let her continue. Why haven't you killed Shampoo?"
"I couldn't do that!"
"You could. You had the ability before you learned techniques from me. You could have when she was merely that annoying hick girl chasing you all over China trying to kill you. Now you are friends of a sort. Why didn't you kill her then? Or defeated her, and broke both her legs and arms?"
"I would never do that unless I had no alternative."
"Which brings us back to why I'm not pressuring you. You need alternatives or you'll be forced to do something drastic and regretable."
"But if you make no move, how can you hope to win?"
"I've already won! Shampoo is a better person, and a better fighter. It merely remains to see how much I can win. You're not the only fighter I've taught here who would make a good amazon husband, you know."
"You'd marry Ryouga to Shampoo?"
"I could. If everything else falls through. I've even toyed with the idea of sending for more teenaged amazons. This place is crawling with potential suitors. If I were vicious and vindictive, Akane and Ukyou would have long ago been made into men, and married off to younger members of my extended family."
"How many plans do you have running at once?"
"Right now? None. Right now I'm just looking at all of the opportunities available to me, and making sure none of them get closed, for example I'm keeping you alive. Even I don't know weither you'll be Shampoo's husband three years from now or not. But the Amazons and Shampoo will prosper. Now do you understand why you and I continue to fight without either of us being truely defeated?"
"You're not fighting to win, or even fighting for fighting's sake. You're fighting to create situations that will create benefits to you and Shampoo... "
"You've grasped a good deal of it. there's still more to it than that, but you'll be learing that for the rest of your life. Like I am."
* * *
After school, Ranma finds his mother sitting alone, and asks, "Mother, tell me about your side of the family. I know I'm the last heir to the Saotome school, but Dad never talked much about our families except the three of us."
"Well, your paternal grandparents died when you were about 2, and since then, the Saotome family register contained only you, myself, and your father, with him as the head of the household. The Saotome line however goes far back, and we can trace our family lineage quite aways. I married into the family, leaving my own, rather large, family in Hokkaido."
Nadoka continued, "Before I married your father, the head of my family was my grandmother. Grandpa died when I was 14, and Grandma refused to pass down leadership of the family to Uncle. She was a real force of nature, and held the family together. I've quite alot of cousins up there, and still keep in contact with them through letters. I have 2 sisters and a brother, all of whom have families of their own. You've met them when you were younger, although I'm not sure how much you remember of them."
"I think I remember some of this. Wasn't uncle some kind of a musician? And one of my aunts made movies or something?"
"You do remember something, Your Uncle studies musical history, and collects instruments as a hobby. Your aunt and her husband made semi-professional films, and did some of their work at home. I'm surprised you remember that, you haven't seen them since you were about 4 or 5! Yes, it was 2 months before you turned 5."
"Is that where you studied Kendo?"
"Yes, I studied our family school, the XXXX school, but I wasn't the prize pupil, or the heir, my cousin was; and I never saw him beaten, except by his sensei, my uncle. For the most part, though, I was an extra daughter to the family, so there was no great trouble when I married your father, and moved to Tokyo. Nothing like your tangled web of obligations anyhow. Coming from my large family, I thought having only one child would simplify family obligations and family life. The spirits must have had fun tangling your life to get it to this point."
"Maybe it did keep things simple. Can you imagine if I had 2 brothers? Each with an amazon, and an abandoned fiancee? And what if it was unclear which Saotome had to marry one of the Tendos? Three daughters and three sons makes nine possible arrainged marriages. Trying to straighten out THAT mess would be a real problem."
Nadoka sighs, "I guess you're right. I want to discuss the making of this tangle with your father, do you have any idea when your father and Ranko will return?"
"I dont think that he'll be all that anxious to return, especially if you plan to use your katana to discuss it with him."
Nodoka is shocked, "You don't think I'd strike my husband, do you?"
"No, but family honor might reach the point where the only solution is the tanto. I think pop would rather wait and hope for a solution than press to resolve the issue."
"You two HAVE made rather a mess of things, but dealing with women has never been your father's strong point, and it's unlikely that he could raise you with out me to make you much better at it than he was. I'm hoping I'll find a path out of this that you two have overlooked."
"Mother, I think it's time I told you about my greatest weakness."
"It isn't food, dear, is it?"
"No, no, no. I didn't pick that up from Pop. I've done some things for food that on retrospect I wish I hadn't, but it was always a case of not realizing the consequences beforehand. I've never given in to something for food."
"Then what is it, dear?"
"This may not come out right. I don't like to think about it so I'm gonna go slowly. I have a phobia that other people think is trivial. If I need to, I can stand them for a short time, but it's one of the few things I'll run from. After too much, I black out. Akane will tell you how I behave when I'm blacked out; I can never remember afterwards."
"Oh dear, what is it?"
"Mom, I can't stand c-c-cats."
"How did this happen? Were you attacked on one of your trips in the wild?"
"No, it was the result of a training accident..."
"What did your father do to you this time?"
"When I was six, he wrapped me in fish sausage and dropped me into a pit. It was full of them, and they were hungry."
"That's horrible! But haven't you done anything to cure you?"
"Well, dad thought I should face my fear, so he tossed me in six more times. The last time I blacked out. When I came to hours later, Dad was still unconscious. Luckily I had only given him surface lacerations, or he might have bled to death."
"You knocked your father unconscious at the age of six while you were unconscious?"
"Well, I wasn't what you'd normally call unconscious. I was going to let Akane describe it, but I think I better start. I go into a trancelike state where I can access the technique pop wanted me to learn. It's extremely fast and vicious. Also since I'm not aware, I can fight without inhibitions, worries about consequences, or conscious thought slowing me down. I could fight my way through nearly anything while insane, but it's useless normally, because I can't think rationally. I fight to the end then; until I defeat the enemy, or the enemy retreats. I used it once on Cologne when we were nothing but enemies. She retreated, rather than turn our fight into a fight to the death. At first I thought I'd won, but later I realized she might have wound up fighting Shampoo if we continued. She's one of the few people around here with enough foresight to avoid fights that aren't to her advantage."
"Ranma, when I first got here, you gave me the impression that you are constantly fighting people, but aside from some verbal arguments with Akane, you've had only one fight I've seen, since we had dinner with Mousse the night I arrived. Do you really get into fights as often as you do in all the stories I've heard?"
"Yes, mom. Two days before you showed up, I got this coin stuck to me. As long as I'm wearing it, I'm possibly the most potent fighter in town. Cologne suggested that I might be able to beat her, even though she's more experienced than I. This coin was going to be the last thing I told you, because it is so new, but I guess it has had a noticeable effect. Mousse and I have a truce because he thinks it's unlikely that you'll decide I should marry Shampoo. Ryouga is dealing with problems of his own. Kuno is so confused that he doesn't know what to do about me. Happosai showed up yesterday, but I haven't seen him since. Everyone else wants to make a good impression with you, so they leave me alone. As long as no one new arrives, no one has any reason to fight me, and as long as the girls want to stay on your good side, they don't start fights I might get dragged into."
"How did you get that coin, Ranma?"
"That's another long story. I'd rather not go into it now. You should talk to Akane about my phobia." While Ranma says this, he slips out of the room to get Akane.
* * *
Akane sits down opposite Nodoka, and the two begin to talk. "Hello Akane, I've never seen Ranma so nervous before."
"Well, he really doesn't like to even admit he's got a phobia. Finding out about it was like drawing teeth."
"I don't mean about that. When I asked him about the coin stuck to his hand, he changed the topic back to the phobia, and left the room to get you. Why does the coin bother him so much?"
"It's really not my place to tell you yet. He's told me several times he plans to discuss it with you later, so I shouldn't discuss it behind his back. He really seems to want to tell you everything."
"Isn't that normal?"
"I guess so, but he seems to want to tell you everything about himself, including the things you might not like to hear."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, his phobia for one thing, the others I shouldn't mention."
"You're right, Akane. I shouldn't press you on that. I've got to give him time to tell me himself. Tell me about how you found out about Ranma's phobia?"
"Well, it started when Shampoo mailed herself to the Dojo as a cat. ..."
* * *
"After he kissed me in front of the whole school, I punched him into the pool. When I saw him next, he didn't remember any of it."
"Has my son even once warned you about any of the peculiarities in his life before you found out the hard way?"
"I don't think so. I've been surprised that he's been able to tell you about all he has before something has forced the issue. He doesnt like to mention anything he thinks of as a weakness. He's really changed since you arrived."
"For the better or worse?"
"I'm not sure. We're getting into arguments more often than we normally do, but they've all been small things. I'm getting along better with Ukyou, but that's because we've been worried about Ranma."
"Why are you worried about him?"
"I shouldn't have said that. I keep forgetting that Ranma hasn't finished telling you everything yet. He promised to tell you about all of that as soon as he thinks you're ready. It's not my place to tell you as long as he's not planning on hiding it from you."
"What could be more startling than two fiancees, another possible marriage claim, and a neurotic groupie. Plus a phobia that borders on schizophrenia, friends that polymorph from water, bizarre teachers both at school and the dojo, and bloodfeuds?"
"Believe me, there's alot more."
* * *
"Ranma, did something keep you awake last night?"
"No, I slept like the dead. If I didn't have to, I'd still be sleeping."
"You almost are. Are you sure Happosai hasn't done anything to you? Remember when he split you in two, and your female half was keeping you up all night draining your energy?"
"If he is doing this, he's doing it from a distance. Pop is getting paranoid. He placed women's lingerie and sake near all of the entrances to our room to distract Happosai if he returns, but none of them have been disturbed."
* * *
During a break between classes, Ukyou approached Akane "Akane, what's wrong with Ranma? Has he stayed up all night trying to master a new technique?"
"No. he got alot of sleep. I thought it was because he angered Happosai, but Happosai'd be around gloating in that case. He seemed really happy last night."
"Did you two get into an argument?"
"No. Nothing like that. We've barely talked all day."
* * *
Nabiki could not stop grinning. The teacher, unused to being able to get a straight answer out of Kuno, had taken advantage of Kuno's change of behavior by asking him to answer most of the questions in class. Lying on the floor in a circle around Kuno were more pencils than all of the students had brought with them combined.
* * *
* * *
Throughout lunch, every time he opened his mouth, some piece of hard food would fly out of nowhere and bean him. Finally Kuno snapped, and grabbing a broom, proceeded to wield it like a boken, knocking foodstuffs out of the air. As soon as Kuno grabbed the broom, he began a litany of epithets, and the occasional food missile turned into a constant barrage. The rest of the room watched stunned; none of them had ever seen a food fight with only one participant before.
* * *
After School, Ranma had his daily checkups. While he was alone with Cologne, he asked her "It's unlike you to have helped me like this for two weeks without putting forward some scheme, or suggestion. I'm not used to seeing you so passive. Why haven't you done anything to try to tie me to Shampoo? Is it because you think I'm going to die?"
Cologne chuckles. Don't give up hope for a long life so easily. You already have most of the information for your answer already. I've been watching you actions especially carefully this last week (I know how you value your privacy, but you must realize you wont get that back until this mess surrounding you is taken care of). As I said, I've been watching you, and I notice how much more planning you've been using than you normally used to. I'll tell you part of it, and see if you can work out the rest. Consider it an exercise to see how your mind is being affected by the coin."
"Ok, what are the parts I'm missing?"
"Well, you are currently under more stress than usual. You still have your father and Soun pressuring you into a relationship with Akane. You still have Ukyou, Shampoo, and Kodachi pressuring you into marriage, and Akane pushing you who knows where. You now have your mother to deal with, and a possible death sentence hanging over your head. What are the possible options when too much pressure is put on an object; for example a ball of wood or a stone?"
"Well, if it can, it will shoot off in some direction or it will be crushed."
"Exactly. put too much presure on you and you'll either behave in an unpredictable manner, or collapse and become a broken person. Either would be bad for me. You know how much you've improved in fighting skills since I've come here. If you were to go back and fight the younger Ranma you were the day I met you, you could have left him a bleeding wreck. If I wanted a beaten, crushed man for Shampoo I could have done that to you my first day here, and carried you off to China, leaving no one here aware I existed. I know a hundred pressure-points I could have used instead of the cat's tongue. Follow that with the Hyri-Shoten-ha, and a dozen or so bakusai-tenketsu. I could keep it up all day until you eventually collapsed. I've never wanted you dead or crushed."
"So thats why all of your plans to trap me have had ways out of them."
"That's one reason. Why do you think Shampoo returned from China?"
"Because when she became cursed herself, she realized I was really a man."
"That's how I convinced her to return, not why I convinced her to return. I convinced her to return because I couldn't see any way of failing to improve Shampoo, and Shampoo's life if she came here. Even if you died tomorrow, she'd be better than if she spent the time in the village. I could never have guessed all that would have happened, but as long as I can guide things, I can protect her from things she can't deal with yet, and still let her fight and grow. If Happosai came to our village and ate Shampoo's first prize, do you think I'd have let them fight? Granted, I thought you really were female, and I thought Shampoo would probably win; but if I thought you would be a danger to her I wouldnt let her continue. Why haven't you killed Shampoo?"
"I couldn't do that!"
"You could. You had the ability before you learned techniques from me. You could have when she was merely that annoying hick girl chasing you all over China trying to kill you. Now you are friends of a sort. Why didn't you kill her then? Or defeated her, and broke both her legs and arms?"
"I would never do that unless I had no alternative."
"Which brings us back to why I'm not pressuring you. You need alternatives or you'll be forced to do something drastic and regretable."
"But if you make no move, how can you hope to win?"
"I've already won! Shampoo is a better person, and a better fighter. It merely remains to see how much I can win. You're not the only fighter I've taught here who would make a good amazon husband, you know."
"You'd marry Ryouga to Shampoo?"
"I could. If everything else falls through. I've even toyed with the idea of sending for more teenaged amazons. This place is crawling with potential suitors. If I were vicious and vindictive, Akane and Ukyou would have long ago been made into men, and married off to younger members of my extended family."
"How many plans do you have running at once?"
"Right now? None. Right now I'm just looking at all of the opportunities available to me, and making sure none of them get closed, for example I'm keeping you alive. Even I don't know weither you'll be Shampoo's husband three years from now or not. But the Amazons and Shampoo will prosper. Now do you understand why you and I continue to fight without either of us being truely defeated?"
"You're not fighting to win, or even fighting for fighting's sake. You're fighting to create situations that will create benefits to you and Shampoo... "
"You've grasped a good deal of it. there's still more to it than that, but you'll be learing that for the rest of your life. Like I am."
* * *
After school, Ranma finds his mother sitting alone, and asks, "Mother, tell me about your side of the family. I know I'm the last heir to the Saotome school, but Dad never talked much about our families except the three of us."
"Well, your paternal grandparents died when you were about 2, and since then, the Saotome family register contained only you, myself, and your father, with him as the head of the household. The Saotome line however goes far back, and we can trace our family lineage quite aways. I married into the family, leaving my own, rather large, family in Hokkaido."
Nadoka continued, "Before I married your father, the head of my family was my grandmother. Grandpa died when I was 14, and Grandma refused to pass down leadership of the family to Uncle. She was a real force of nature, and held the family together. I've quite alot of cousins up there, and still keep in contact with them through letters. I have 2 sisters and a brother, all of whom have families of their own. You've met them when you were younger, although I'm not sure how much you remember of them."
"I think I remember some of this. Wasn't uncle some kind of a musician? And one of my aunts made movies or something?"
"You do remember something, Your Uncle studies musical history, and collects instruments as a hobby. Your aunt and her husband made semi-professional films, and did some of their work at home. I'm surprised you remember that, you haven't seen them since you were about 4 or 5! Yes, it was 2 months before you turned 5."
"Is that where you studied Kendo?"
"Yes, I studied our family school, the XXXX school, but I wasn't the prize pupil, or the heir, my cousin was; and I never saw him beaten, except by his sensei, my uncle. For the most part, though, I was an extra daughter to the family, so there was no great trouble when I married your father, and moved to Tokyo. Nothing like your tangled web of obligations anyhow. Coming from my large family, I thought having only one child would simplify family obligations and family life. The spirits must have had fun tangling your life to get it to this point."
"Maybe it did keep things simple. Can you imagine if I had 2 brothers? Each with an amazon, and an abandoned fiancee? And what if it was unclear which Saotome had to marry one of the Tendos? Three daughters and three sons makes nine possible arrainged marriages. Trying to straighten out THAT mess would be a real problem."
Nadoka sighs, "I guess you're right. I want to discuss the making of this tangle with your father, do you have any idea when your father and Ranko will return?"
"I dont think that he'll be all that anxious to return, especially if you plan to use your katana to discuss it with him."
Nodoka is shocked, "You don't think I'd strike my husband, do you?"
"No, but family honor might reach the point where the only solution is the tanto. I think pop would rather wait and hope for a solution than press to resolve the issue."
"You two HAVE made rather a mess of things, but dealing with women has never been your father's strong point, and it's unlikely that he could raise you with out me to make you much better at it than he was. I'm hoping I'll find a path out of this that you two have overlooked."
"Mother, I think it's time I told you about my greatest weakness."
"It isn't food, dear, is it?"
"No, no, no. I didn't pick that up from Pop. I've done some things for food that on retrospect I wish I hadn't, but it was always a case of not realizing the consequences beforehand. I've never given in to something for food."
"Then what is it, dear?"
"This may not come out right. I don't like to think about it so I'm gonna go slowly. I have a phobia that other people think is trivial. If I need to, I can stand them for a short time, but it's one of the few things I'll run from. After too much, I black out. Akane will tell you how I behave when I'm blacked out; I can never remember afterwards."
"Oh dear, what is it?"
"Mom, I can't stand c-c-cats."
"How did this happen? Were you attacked on one of your trips in the wild?"
"No, it was the result of a training accident..."
"What did your father do to you this time?"
"When I was six, he wrapped me in fish sausage and dropped me into a pit. It was full of them, and they were hungry."
"That's horrible! But haven't you done anything to cure you?"
"Well, dad thought I should face my fear, so he tossed me in six more times. The last time I blacked out. When I came to hours later, Dad was still unconscious. Luckily I had only given him surface lacerations, or he might have bled to death."
"You knocked your father unconscious at the age of six while you were unconscious?"
"Well, I wasn't what you'd normally call unconscious. I was going to let Akane describe it, but I think I better start. I go into a trancelike state where I can access the technique pop wanted me to learn. It's extremely fast and vicious. Also since I'm not aware, I can fight without inhibitions, worries about consequences, or conscious thought slowing me down. I could fight my way through nearly anything while insane, but it's useless normally, because I can't think rationally. I fight to the end then; until I defeat the enemy, or the enemy retreats. I used it once on Cologne when we were nothing but enemies. She retreated, rather than turn our fight into a fight to the death. At first I thought I'd won, but later I realized she might have wound up fighting Shampoo if we continued. She's one of the few people around here with enough foresight to avoid fights that aren't to her advantage."
"Ranma, when I first got here, you gave me the impression that you are constantly fighting people, but aside from some verbal arguments with Akane, you've had only one fight I've seen, since we had dinner with Mousse the night I arrived. Do you really get into fights as often as you do in all the stories I've heard?"
"Yes, mom. Two days before you showed up, I got this coin stuck to me. As long as I'm wearing it, I'm possibly the most potent fighter in town. Cologne suggested that I might be able to beat her, even though she's more experienced than I. This coin was going to be the last thing I told you, because it is so new, but I guess it has had a noticeable effect. Mousse and I have a truce because he thinks it's unlikely that you'll decide I should marry Shampoo. Ryouga is dealing with problems of his own. Kuno is so confused that he doesn't know what to do about me. Happosai showed up yesterday, but I haven't seen him since. Everyone else wants to make a good impression with you, so they leave me alone. As long as no one new arrives, no one has any reason to fight me, and as long as the girls want to stay on your good side, they don't start fights I might get dragged into."
"How did you get that coin, Ranma?"
"That's another long story. I'd rather not go into it now. You should talk to Akane about my phobia." While Ranma says this, he slips out of the room to get Akane.
* * *
Akane sits down opposite Nodoka, and the two begin to talk. "Hello Akane, I've never seen Ranma so nervous before."
"Well, he really doesn't like to even admit he's got a phobia. Finding out about it was like drawing teeth."
"I don't mean about that. When I asked him about the coin stuck to his hand, he changed the topic back to the phobia, and left the room to get you. Why does the coin bother him so much?"
"It's really not my place to tell you yet. He's told me several times he plans to discuss it with you later, so I shouldn't discuss it behind his back. He really seems to want to tell you everything."
"Isn't that normal?"
"I guess so, but he seems to want to tell you everything about himself, including the things you might not like to hear."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, his phobia for one thing, the others I shouldn't mention."
"You're right, Akane. I shouldn't press you on that. I've got to give him time to tell me himself. Tell me about how you found out about Ranma's phobia?"
"Well, it started when Shampoo mailed herself to the Dojo as a cat. ..."
* * *
"After he kissed me in front of the whole school, I punched him into the pool. When I saw him next, he didn't remember any of it."
"Has my son even once warned you about any of the peculiarities in his life before you found out the hard way?"
"I don't think so. I've been surprised that he's been able to tell you about all he has before something has forced the issue. He doesnt like to mention anything he thinks of as a weakness. He's really changed since you arrived."
"For the better or worse?"
"I'm not sure. We're getting into arguments more often than we normally do, but they've all been small things. I'm getting along better with Ukyou, but that's because we've been worried about Ranma."
"Why are you worried about him?"
"I shouldn't have said that. I keep forgetting that Ranma hasn't finished telling you everything yet. He promised to tell you about all of that as soon as he thinks you're ready. It's not my place to tell you as long as he's not planning on hiding it from you."
"What could be more startling than two fiancees, another possible marriage claim, and a neurotic groupie. Plus a phobia that borders on schizophrenia, friends that polymorph from water, bizarre teachers both at school and the dojo, and bloodfeuds?"
"Believe me, there's alot more."
* * *