The Three Saotomes

Part 20

The Final Day.

+++++++++

Ranma frowned as he stood outside the Saotome home, simply watching the door. After a long time, he turned away from it and clenched his fists at his sides. "It's not going to do me any good to stand here." He turned away and walked towards the Tendo Dojo.

He had been there since his mother had greeted the pair with open arms, he watched calmly as she gripped Genryu as tightly as she had him the day before. Genma was shaking like a leaf, just as afraid as he'd always been of her it seemed. However, Ranma had told him that the contract was taken care of, and that he and Genryu were safe. It was barely enough to get him to come along.

His mind still lingered on the look his mother had given him immediately after she had let the two men into her home. It was cold and distant, but somehow filled with pain. He had returned it with a mask of cold indifference, but inside, his heart was falling to pieces.

"Damn you woman," he muttered.

++++++++

A few hours later, Ranma smirked as his father and Genryu sat across from him at the table. Both looked angry with him, and he knew why.

"What the hell did you do boy?" snapped Genma.

"What needed to be done," replied Ranma with a shrug. "Really father, you should be glad. I made it so that you and Genryu were safe from our mother. Something we never should have been in danger from in the first place." His voice was ice cold as he said the last part.

"Ranma! Mom was... angry," muttered Genryu. "She slapped Pop, and yelled at him."

"Good, he got what he deserves then," replied Ranma with another indifferent shrug.

"Boy, your mother has filed for divorce," said Genma with a huge frown on his face. "What have you done? What did you do to her? She was my wife!" Genma stood up and grabbed the boy by his collar roughly, daring him to act like it didn't matter.

"Xianghua was my wife, you fat fool," snarled Ranma as he pushed the man's arms away forcefully. "How does it feel old man? Huh? I hope you enjoy the feeling, because what you've put me through is a hundred times worse."

Genma punched at Ranma angrily. "How dare you!"

The old man was pushed back against the wall forcefully as Ranma countered. "You stupid son of a bitch. I told her everything, you pitiful coward. Everything you did to the two of us, the Neko ken, the stealing, Jusenkyo, Joketsuko, Xianghua, Ukyo, this engagement, all of it. She knows everything you've done 'for the sake of the art'."

"Son, you have shamed..." started Genma as he stood up again and glared at him.

"You stupid son of a bitch! All I did was tell her the truth!" retorted Ranma angrily.

"Some things are better off..." interrupted Genma firmly.

"No! Don't even try that! You bastard! I've had enough of this from you old man! You're a failure, don't drag us down with you!" snarled Ranma as he jumped forward. "You've almost gotten us both killed more times than I can count!"

"You weren't prepared to give your life for the sake of the art?" roared Genma as he rolled across the ground with his son and kicked him off by flipping him away with his legs.

The two men stood out in the yard, facing off beside the koi pond. "Yes! But I'm not willing to die because of your stupidity!"

"Ingrate!"

"Loser!"

Nabiki walked into the room and sat down at the table with a frown. "What's going on? The whole neighborhood can hear those two."

"Family argument," replied the boy lazily. He didn't seem too interested in the whole affair.

"This happens a lot?" muttered Kasumi with a worried look on her face as she exited the kitchen.

"Every couple of months or so," said Genryu calmly. "Don't worry, they were both way over due. They'll be a lot calmer after they're done."

"Did your father say your parents are getting divorced?" said Nabiki with a small frown.

"Yeah, Mom's pissed. She found out about a lot of stuff he didn't want her to know about," said Genryu as he glanced at them. "I'm not too worried. Pop hasn't lived with her for more than ten years anyway."

"Oh," commented Kasumi with a small frown.

"I don't think it's that simple," commented Nabiki coolly as the two men exchanged blows and insults in the yard. Ranma appeared to be winning on both counts.

++++++++++++

"What is this?" said a shadowy figure as he walked through the streets of Nerima. He glanced down at the paper that fluttered against his leg and smiled. "Strongest Under the Heavens? Sound's interesting. Ranma Saotome? Well, it seems my search is finally over."

He shifted his bag onto his shoulder and started to walk away. "Starts Friday? I guess I'd better get going."

++++++++++

Ranma sat silently in the living room, Genryu, Akane, and his father, were all sitting around with him. Neither of the two elder Saotomes had spoken to each other much since their fight. They simply sat opposite one another, one occasionally glaring at the other for a moment. The heat was rapidly dissipating away from the situation.

Genryu looked rather uninterested in the whole affair, and simply read a manga lazily.

"When are you taking Ukyo over there?" said Ranma suddenly.

"Huh? I uh, I dunno," said the younger boy with a slight blush.

"You're going to take your fiancee to meet your mother?" said Akane with a slight smile on her face.

"Wife," corrected Genryu.

"Huh?" muttered Nabiki as she suddenly appeared in the room. Soun also poked his head in and frowned.

"I said, she's my wife. We got married about a week ago," grumbled the boy in embarrassment.

"Nabiki! You see there! Ranma was beaten to the altar by his younger brother! Will you keep your fiancee waiting so long? I insist that we hold the wedding at once!"

"Quite so Tendo, that boy of mine needs to be married. Our family can't lose face by having the first born marry so long after his younger sibling," agreed Genma.

"Oh, like it won't lose face by having a divorce on record?" muttered Ranma lazily.

"Your mother and I are working that out!" snapped Genma angrily.

"Really? Didn't sound like it from the way you were going on earlier," continued the boy with a small sigh. "Really, Pop, that's important information you didn't mention."

"It has nothing to do with you boy!" snapped Genma.

"Then why did you try and blame it on me?" retorted Ranma as calmly as ever. His father never could win a verbal war with him.

"Don't you two ever stop?" snapped Akane.

Both of them looked at her and blinked. "No, not really," said Ranma.

"The boy is right, it's healthy for a family to have disagreements," agreed Genma.

Akane hit her head on the table and ignored the pair from then on. It was a little much for her to deal with.

Ranma stood up and casually waved Genryu over. "Come on, let's go pick up your wife. It's still early."

Genryu blinked, and nodded reluctantly.

+++++++++

"What's with you man?" muttered Genryu as he walked beside his brother. "You were never this pushy before now."

"I'm just making sure all the loose ends are tied up neatly," replied the older boy with a shrug.

"Oh, why?" said Genryu obliviously.

"He's close, I can feel it," said Ranma with a deep frown.

"What? You never said..." gasped the younger boy in shock.

"Don't worry so much. I want everything to end soon. Once we get this mess cleaned up, we can get the Saotome name back on track. Clean up the messes our stupid excuse for a father made, and hopefully, come out on top in the end," said Ranma firmly.

"If we survive," finished Genryu.

"Yes, there's that part too," agreed Ranma lazily. There was something in his voice that the younger boy didn't like.

"You're thinking about what you're going to do about her aren't you? What are you planning Ranma?" the younger boy's voice was more worried than he ever remembered hearing it.

"I'm not sure, I really don't know yet. When the time comes, I've got a feeling I'll know what to do," said the older boy in reply.

"You 'feel' a little too much for me," snorted Genryu angrily.

"Heh, I've never been wrong before," said Ranma with a dark looking smirk.

Genryu paused; it was 'the look' again. "Oh man," he muttered under his breath.

++++++++++

Ranma paused in front of the Ucchan and frowned suddenly. He looked back at his little brother for a moment. "Hey."

"Huh?" muttered the younger boy in confusion.

"Which is it anyway? You never did say," asked Ranma.

"What?" said the younger boy as he blinked.

"Kuonji, or Saotome?"

Genryu frowned slightly. "Uh, I dunno. We were kinda drunk."

Ranma raised his eyebrow at this and smirked. "You don't know your own name?"

"Uh, no," muttered Genryu in embarrassment.

"It could go either way. Ukyo had the dowry, so it could be Kuonji. Then again, it might not. I'm not sure, we'll look it up when we get inside. It'll be on the marriage certificate." Ranma walked into the restaurant and smirked at his sister in law with his arms spread wide. "Hiya sis! We came to visit!"

Ukyo looked up from the grill, along with several customers. A few boys from Furinkan were there.

"Did he say sis?" muttered Daisuke as he looked at the 'boy' behind the grill.

"It sounded that way," agreed Hiroshi.

"Have a seat," commented Ukyo as she put two orders onto the grill and indicated a few stools in front of the grill. She didn't look entirely comfortable with them at the moment. Especially Ranma, she gave Genryu a glare that was meant to say 'What is he doing here?'

The boy hung his head a little lower and said nothing as he blushed even more than he already was.

"Hey Genryu, you never told us you had a sister," said Hiroshi as he walked up to the boy.

"Yeah, is she cute?" agreed Daisuke as he pulled up in the other flank.

"Huh? Genryu doesn't have a sister," commented Ranma as he looked at them for a moment. He didn't have to look at the glares the two younger kids gave him in order to stop himself from continuing. He winked at Ukyo and grinned. "I was just teasin Ucchan here. She's an old friend."

"Shut up you jackass," muttered Ukyo angrily.

"Now, now, let's play nice," said Ranma calmly. "We've got somewhere to go tonight, as soon as you can get away for a while."

"Where?" snapped Ukyo with a frown on her face.

"Visit mom of course. Plus, Genryu has to move," said Ranma lazily.

"Move?" muttered the younger boy as he looked at his older brother in shock.

"What, you were expecting to live with us? You've got your own life now buddy, and responsibilities," said Ranma with a light smile. He seemed entirely too cheerful with the whole affair.

"What the heck are you talking about?" snapped Ukyo angrily.

"Yeah!" agreed Hiroshi and Daisuke.

Genryu and Ukyo both gave them stares that should have struck them dead where they stood.

"I suggest you boys take off now, before you make them mad," said Ranma as cheerfully as ever.

"Um, right," commented Daisuke.

"Later," agreed Hiroshi as he rushed out the door.

"Are you nuts?" snapped Genryu.

"Huh? Why?" muttered Ranma in mock confusion.

"He can't move in here!" snapped Ukyo.

"Why not? You're married," said the older boy calmly as he took a drink from the teacup the girl had set down on the counter.

"Yeah but..." started Genryu in panic.

"But what? You can't keep freeloading off the Tendos forever you know. It wasn't my idea to rush things, it was yours. Most likely hers to be exact, but that doesn't change the situation," said Ranma calmly as he looked down at the liquid in his cup for a moment and frowned. "You really shouldn't spike your tea with sake. Rum taste better."

"It's all I've got," muttered Ukyo as she took her cup back and frowned at him.

"Whatever, Genryu can't stay with the Tendos anymore. I've already spoken to Soun about it," said Ranma calmly. "I might be able to put off a couple of days worth, but I don't really feel like pushing my luck. He's his own man now, so he's going to start acting like it."

"Just like you?" snapped Ukyo angrily.

"What are you so upset about? I thought you wanted this... oh, by the way. I need to see the marriage license too," said Ranma absently.

"What? Why?" snapped Ukyo.

"Because I'm betting neither one of you idiots knows your own name. You were probably too drunk to care at the time," commented the older boy. "We need to get it fixed on the family register. I figure you two can do that tonight, when you visit mom."

"That's not..." Ukyo stopped and felt her entire face grow red. He was right. She turned away and began to rummage under the counter for a moment. A few seconds later, she emerged with a paper in her hand. "Here it is."

"Great, thank you Mrs... Saotome!" said Ranma cheerfully as he opened the page and read it. "What a surprise."

Genryu looked slightly relieved, Ukyo probably didn't care either way, but had enough sense to take the page back and put it under the counter after Ranma handed it back.

"Well, now that's settled. So, when did you want to go?"

"Now is fine," said Ukyo calmly as she turned a few switches off on the grill. "Just let me clean up a bit first."

Ranma nodded and turned towards his little brother. "Go ahead and put up the closed sign. Go help your wife." He was surprisingly gentle when he said this to the boy. That made Genryu more nervous than ever.

"Ah, to be young and confused again!" said Ranma with a sigh, earning a glare from both teens.

+++++++++

"Can I help with something?" muttered Genryu as he peered into the small room behind the counter.

"Not really, no. I'll do most of it after I get back tonight. I've just got to change, and lock up," said the girl with a small sigh.

"Oh," said Genryu as he turned away.

"Are you sure you don't want him to help with that?" said Ranma as he poked his head into the room as well.

Ukyo growled and turned to glare at him.

Genryu was staring at his brother hatefully as well. "Stop being an asshole Ranma."

"Hey, Taro's my buddy, and you treat him like an asshole too. I don't want to hear it," said the older boy as he shuffled away.

"That's different!" snapped Genryu as he chased after him.

"Really? How?" said the older boy in retort.

"Shut up!" snapped Genryu.

Ukyo sighed and shook her head as she walked up the stairs to her room.

++++++++++

"Well, here we are," said Ranma cheerfully as he pointed at the Saotome home.

"Yeah, see you later," said Genryu as he started walking towards the door.

"I'll be here when you're done. Don't worry," said Ranma cheerfully as he started to walk down the street again.

"Hey... he's not coming?" said Ukyo in surprise.

"No," muttered Genryu softly.

"Oh," said the girl as she suddenly realized that it was a sensitive subject.

Genryu knocked on the door and shuffled nervously with Ukyo not doing much better beside him.

"Just a moment," said Nodoka from inside.

"What's your mom like?" asked Ukyo with a small frown on her face.

"Kinda late to be asking that now," muttered Genryu as the door slowly opened to them.

"Oh! Genryu! What brings you here at this time of day?" said the woman with a slight smile cracking on her face. "And who is this boy?"

Ukyo felt her stomach churn slightly at the woman's words, but managed a weak smile anyway. "Boy?"

"Mom, this is Ukyo Saotome... my wife," said the boy nervously. He had yet to look up at her.

"Oh... oh my," muttered Nodoka as the girl bowed to her.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Saotome," said Ukyo politely.

"No, none of that dear. You should call me mother," said Nodoka firmly. She had managed to recover rather quickly, and seemed to be taking the event in stride. "Please, come in."

The two young teens were shuffled inside quickly and Nodoka paused long enough to look down the street for a moment before she closed the door. Ranma was standing there, watching the events. The sun was starting to sink into the horizon, meaning he was little more than a silhouette at the time. Somehow, she knew he was smiling at them. Nothing more, he was just standing there, smiling at them like some sort of proud father.

She shook the feeling away as she turned to face the newlywed teens. There were other matters to attend at the moment.

+++++++++++

It was almost two hours later when Ukyo and Genryu finally managed to get away from the woman.

"Your mother is really nice," said Ukyo cheerfully.

"Yeah, she was overdoing it a bit," grumbled Genryu as they walked down the street. It was dark outside now, and the stars hung in the sky above; the moon and a few streetlights were all that lit up the streets.

"So, how did it go?" said Ranma as he appeared in front of them suddenly.

"Gack! When did you get there?" snapped Ukyo angrily.

"Sorry if I interrupted anything," said the older boy with a light shrug. He seemed pretty relaxed at the moment.

"No you didn't," muttered Ukyo as she looked away from him.

"Gee, that's too bad," commented Ranma as he started to walk along beside them. He smirked as he noticed that Ukyo had Genryu's arm in hers now. It obviously wasn't the boy's idea, but he wasn't arguing either.

"Jerk," muttered both of them at the same time.

"So, how was it?" repeated Ranma cheerfully as he ignored them.

"Fine, your mother is nice," said Ukyo with a light smile.

"Yeah, she is," agreed Genryu. "She seemed a little... off tonight. Like she was thinking about something else every once and a while."

"She has a lot on her mind," said Ranma with a shrug. Ukyo noticed his face fell slightly.

"Something happened between him and his mother?" she thought to herself.

"At any rate, I'm just here to kick you out of the house officially little brother. Here's your stuff," said Ranma as he handed a backpack over to the younger boy.

"What? You're kidding?" snapped Ukyo angrily.

"Great, I guess I can stay out in the park or something," muttered the boy dejectedly.

"Why? Just stay with your wife. I'm not asking you to father any grandchildren tonight Genryu."

Both teens glared at him for a moment, but calmed when he looked at them with a complete seriousness that was rare for him.

"Look, I'd rather have you over tonight myself. We've got a tournament to get to tomorrow. I want you in top shape, so I'd rather you didn't do anything like that tonight, even if you could." The older boy smirked lightly. "We've got a big day ahead of us Genryu, try and relax a bit, okay? You're taking this way to seriously."

"Too seriously? You aren't taking this seriously enough!" snapped Ukyo angrily.

"That's the secret to happiness," said Ranma stoically.

"Be serious," commented Genryu as he smacked the older boy upside his head.

"Just think of it as staying with a friend for a while. Really Genryu, I'm not trying to put you two in bed together. I just want you to get used to the idea, that you're married. You really should start acting like it. For god's sake, you used to be best friends, now you avoid each other like the plague. It doesn't have to be the perfect couple right away, try and be friends again at least."

"You know, this doesn't solve anything," commented Ukyo.

"Yeah, that's what makes it so much fun," said Ranma with a small, but genuine, laugh.

"Right, my big brother really is an asshole," said Ukyo with a sigh.

Genryu looked at her and nodded. "I could have told you that."

"Come on Genryu, we could both use a drink after this mess," said Ukyo with another sigh.

"Fine, but not so much this time. Who knows what could happen if we do that again," said the boy as he walked along beside her.

Ranma smiled and watched them go, standing alone in the middle of the street. He noticed that neither of them had let go of the other's arm throughout the entire conversation. That alone was a start, if nothing else.

That brought about change, perhaps they would fall in love? Perhaps Genryu would only see his childhood buddy, the boy he had played with all those years ago? Genryu had known Ukyo was a girl, but not until just before they left her behind. Maybe he should have done something sooner. Still, the innocence wouldn't last forever, sooner or later, nature would take its course, and Genryu wouldn't be able to deny that she wasn't a boy. It didn't seem to be a problem as it was.

Everything seemed ready, now the time had come for him to face down his destiny at last. He stood alone in the darkness and found he liked that position. Covered in the shadows, he seemed stronger than ever. "It's time you sons of bitches. Come and get me." His vicious smile, grew wide as he vanished into the shadows of the night. Nothing would stop him this time, he would win, and he had to win. There was absolutely no room for failure, he would fight until his last breath this time, and take down anyone who got in his way.

+++++++++

Nodoka felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at the flier that rested on the table. Ranma had seemed so different today than he was before. It was only a glance, but she could feel the difference. Genryu had answered many of her questions about him, and more so. He told her stories that the older boy had merely skimmed over. The boy seemed unaware that he was even doing it. It was obviously he thought highly of the older boy. Her new daughter seemed to feel the same way, although she hid it away. It was obvious that she thought highly of him as well.

Still, as much as she wanted too, there was no way she could dwell on her new family tonight. Because, now, everything made sense, and Nodoka Saotome, wished it didn't.

She knew exactly what was happening. "Oh, my son! What are you doing?" The words were a whisper as she looked out the window into the darkness of the night. A single tear fell down her cheek.

Ranma Saotome, was putting his affairs into order. Her son, was getting ready to die.

+++++++++

TBC...

Next time: At last! The tournament begins!