Choices Made, Roads Taken.
Chapter 3: Timing is Everything
What has gone before: When Ranma's curse is revealed to Nodoka, she freaks and intends to enforce the 'man among men' seppuku pledge she obtained from Genma all those years ago. The only reason Ranma isn't already dead is because Nodoka wants to make sure Genma dies too.
Jeff Anderson has covered the distance from New York City to Nerima in four hours and hopes Ranma is still alive by the time he can find him. Time is running out as Genma has just been delivered into the waiting arms of Nodoka.
---
Kasumi and Jeff walked to the Nerima rail station, looking more like a young couple on a date than they had any right to. However, what they were talking about couldn't be considered a normal date discussion.
"What I don't get is why Ranma would consider himself bound by this seppuku pledge in the first place."
"Ranma is a strong believer in honor, both his own and his family's. That is why he accepts the engagements to both Ukyo and Akane, even though Genma's honor was questionable in arranging more than one fiancee. Ranma has great commitment to family honor."
Jeff shook his head "That's another thing," he said. "Honor is personal. To me, 'family honor' is a meaningless phrase. People can be honorable. Many people in the same family can be honorable, but the concept of an abstraction like 'family' having honor of it's own? Sorry, I can't buy that."
"I am afraid I will have to disagree with you Anderson-san. Family honor is paramount. Family comes first, the individual second."
"And I'm not arguing with that last part. I'll put my wife and son before myself any day of the week. But those are obligations I accepted with my eyes open and fully aware of the consequences. Ranma didn't get that choice."
"It is not Ranma's choice to get. The needs of family come first."
Jeff stopped walking. Kasumi stopped as well. Turning to Kasumi, Jeff asked quietly, "If you honestly believe that, why are you here? Why not just let Ranma die? It's what 'family honor' requires, isn't it?"
Kasumi had the look of a deer caught in a headlight. She didn't want Ranma to die. She knew that. That family came first, she had no doubt. She had been living proof of that since the death of her mother. Could those two beliefs be reconciled? Only if... "Ranma is family," Kasumi finally responded in a barely audible voice.
It was true. At some point, Ranma had become part of _her_ family. It wasn't just the engagement between Ranma and Akane. Ranma's link to her family may have been anchored there, but it wasn't the only point of connection. Kasumi routinely called Genma "Uncle" and had called Nodoka "Auntie" more than once. Which meant Ranma was part of her family.
"Ranma is part of my family," Kasumi said more firmly. "I do not want to see him die. If his mother only sees the curse and not the rest of Ranma, she would be making a terrible mistake."
"Nice to see that we're both on the same page." With that, the two continued walking toward Nerima Station.
After a minute, Kasumi turned to Jeff and asked, "Why are you here?"
"Like I told Nabiki, I consider Ranma a friend and I look out for my friends."
"There must be more to it than that."
Jeff thought for a bit before answering, "I look at Ranma and see great potential. No, that's not big enough. I see Earth altering potential. Power and ability and will and everything it takes to make a real difference in the world. I'll be damned if I'll see it wasted because someone mistakes the surface for what lies beneath."
It wasn't long before they reached Nerima station and found it dark and deserted.
"Oh my," Kasumi stated.
"What's wrong?"
"The sign reads, 'The Seibu Ikebukuro Line is closed for maintenance and minor repairs. Service will resume 5:30 Monday morning.' Hmm. We will have to walk to the Seibu Shinjuku Line south of here."
"I'm not sure we have the time. Isn't there a subway entrance around here someplace?" Jeff asked.
"The subway station is closed for renovations. Do not worry Anderson-san, it is not that far."
Jeff swore to himself and decided time was more important than security. Besides, Ranma obviously trusted Kasumi and Jeff had no reason not to. But a little misdirection wouldn't hurt. "Kasumi, do you believe in magic?"
Kasumi was taken aback by the sudden question. "Don't be silly. Of course I do," she answered.
Jeff pulled half a quarter from his pocket and handed it to Kasumi. "Then hold on tight to this and get ready to fly."
-----
Nodoka stared down upon the drunk and unconscious form of her dishonorable husband as he slept in front of the Saotome family shrine. She verified that Genma and Panda-san were one and the same with a bucket of water and a tea kettle. 'This just won't do,' she told herself. After a scathing glance at her son, she proceeded to the kitchen.
Some wasabi, a daikon and three imported habaneros formed the base of the hangover cure. Genma needed full command of his limited faculties in order to play his part in the upcoming drama. Otherwise, some might call what was about to happen murder instead of two people committing seppuku to redeem their dishonorable conduct. Pulling on a set of rubber gloves to protect her hands from the ingredients, she bent to the task of sobering up her husband. The tears in her eyes were chemically induced. That's what Nodoka convinced herself of anyway.
Meanwhile, Ranma whispered internally, 'Damn you Pops. Ya can't even hide right.' That he could still escape wasn't a question. Even carrying his father, he could outrun his mother. But that would be a greater stain on his honor than staying and letting his mother kill him. It wouldn't solve anything either.
The seppuku pledge was the Sword of Damocles hanging by a thread above him. Cutting that thread would let it fall and kill him, which was slightly better than walking away as far as his honor was concerned. Besides, with his luck, if he walked away, it would just track him down like the rest of his troubles. 'There has ta be a third way,' Ranma thought to himself.
'Maybe that's why I called Jeff. He's smart, maybe he can figure out something. But he ain't gonna make it in time. I havta do this myself.' With that, Ranma settled down and reviewed the situation with fresh eyes.
-----
Kasumi held half a quarter in her right hand and Jeff held her left wrist as they flew through the skies of Tokyo. Her eyes were wide as she experienced the novel situation of looking down on Tokyo from above. She wasn't scared at all.
'I wonder if Mousse-kun feels this way?' she thought as she flew over Sugamo Station. Two more stops till they started following the Joban Line instead of Yamanote Line. 'Probably not with those glasses. But still, this is wonderful.'
Jeff was glad that Kasumi didn't panic once they were airborne. She had done her prep work and knew exactly which trains to take to get to the Saotome home. They weren't using the trains, but following the rails worked almost as well. He'd flown carrying his wife many times. Kasumi was lighter than Anne, so she wasn't slowing him down as much.
"There, follow those tracks, the ones that cross the bridge by themselves," Kasumi directed.
Jeff shifted course and the two flew on through the night.
-----
Nodoka poured the red tinged liquid down her husband's throat as her son looked on impassively. The results were pretty much as she planned. Genma bolted upright, screamed like a steam whistle and gulped down two buckets of water she'd readied for just that purpose. Despite his haste, he didn't spill a drop. There was then a spasm of coughing and wheezing. By the time he regained control of himself, the Saotome clan sword was at his throat.
"Welcome home husband. Your training journey is over at last. All those long years with nothing but the occasional postcard to let me know that you and my son still walked the Earth. And here I stayed. Wondering, hoping, praying, that my son would return a 'man among men'. You thought a mother's love would harm Ranma's training. But you gave me an oath. An oath that if my son did not return a 'man among men', that both you and he would commit seppuku." Nodoka pulled out the time worn document with Ranma's hand prints on it.
Genma said nothing. He could already feel the tanto sliding through his belly. Ranma said nothing. He was still trying to think of a solution and couldn't be bothered with lesser concerns.
Nodoka continued, "It was bad enough that I did not hear from you once you returned to Japan. When I went to visit the Tendo's, they said you had gone on a 'training trip'. Yet there you were. Right before my eyes. You, pretending to be a panda. Ranma, my 'manly' son, pretending to be a girl! You failed me. You kept my son away from me for NOTHING! Ranma is not a 'man among men'. So you will die by your own hand as you promised me." Nodoka produced a tanto from inside her robes and handed it to Genma before readying her sword once again.
Genma, trying to delay the inevitable, spoke. "And where is the tanto for Ranma?"
"Your son... refuses to carry out his part of the ceremony. His dishonor grows that much greater. So I will strike his head from his shoulders myself. It is the only way any honor can be salvaged from the horrible mess you have created with your absolute failure."
Genma was shocked by Nodoka's revelation. He'd believed the boy was so bound by honor that he was surprised that he wasn't already dead. His wife was right. He had failed. With slow deliberate motions, Genma pivoted the tanto toward his own stomach.
Ranma saw his father turn the knife toward himself. He wanted to say his father hadn't failed, but his tongue wouldn't work after two and a half days of silence. Suddenly, his mother was behind him once more, bending him over the chopping block. He heard his mother's sharp intake of breath and braced himself for darkness.
"KI YAAAAAAH!" shouted Nodoka as she made the killing stroke. The impact ran up her arms as the blade flew from her hands and embedded itself in the ceiling.
From the doorway to the Saotome shrine, Jeff said, "I've got to work on my timing." His right arm was stretched out in front of him and the repeller field he'd created above Ranma's prostrate body was in danger of blowing out the roof until he heard the creaking of timbers and collapsed the field.
Ranma lifted a head that was still attached to the rest of him and looked at the new arrival. "Jeff?" he squeaked. Then he noted who was standing behind Jeff. "Kasumi?" Ranma's head swam, but he knew if it lost it then, he was in big trouble.
Nodoka didn't know if she should be angry at the interference or grateful that she had been stopped. "Just who are you to come into my home this way," Nodoka demanded.
"My name is Anderson Jeff and you already know Tendo Kasumi. We're here to speak on behalf of your son, Saotome Ranma."
"I Have No Son!"
"Well in that case, we'll just take the young man in front of you and go. Obviously, that suicide pledge can't be enforced on someone who isn't your son."
Nodoka stared daggers at Jeff. "You are a clever gaijin. Very well, I acknowledge Ranma as my son. I also have an oath from my husband that promises Ranma will return from his training as a 'man among men' or that both he and my son will commit seppuku. You know what that means don't you?"
Jeff had spent some of the flight from Teterboro to Pittsburgh thinking about the terms of the oath that Kasumi had told him about. "Well, I think Ranma's a man among men. Genma did what he said he would do. What's your problem?"
Upon hearing this, Genma considered the possibility that he might just get through the night alive. Realizing he still had a tanto pointed at his stomach, he set down the knife as if it had suddenly turned into Akane's cooking. Although he also wondered how the family sword had become stuck in the ceiling.
Nodoka grabbed a spare bucket and tossed the contents at Ranma, activating his curse. "You consider _that_ a 'man among men'?" Nodoka ground out.
"Yes, I do. That's just an exterior change. It goes away with a little hot water. Inside, Ranma is still Ranma. He's the best martial artist I know. He acts in an honorable manner when those around him do not. He routinely deals with things that would cause most people to run for their lives. His curse would have _broke_ a lesser man. But Ranma still keeps going, like the man among men that he is."
A small part of Nodoka rejoiced at Jeff's words. If Ranma was a man among men, then he was right to have refused seppuku. It wasn't a stain on his honor, it was a demonstration of it. She sought confirmation. "If Ranma is a man among men, why did you, Tendo Kasumi, help hide Ranma and Genma from me?" she asked quickly.
"For the reason that you have just demonstrated Nodoka-san. You saw only the curse. You didn't see Ranma. You judged him without knowing him. Ranma is not perfect. No one is. But I consider him part of my family and would not see him killed over an error in judgment."
It took time, but Nodoka's resolve slowly cracked. Kasumi did most of the talking and did an excellent job as Ranma's advocate. Things calmed down enough for Ranma to return to male form. Throughout the process, he said very little in his own defense. Eventually, Nodoka declared the oath fulfilled and gave Ranma the contract that she had carried for so long. Ranma tore the contract into confetti and burned it at the family shrine. Everyone gave a sigh of relief upon seeing the document destroyed.
Genma prepared to go pick up his pack from the bar he'd left it at and move out of the Tendo dojo. Now that he could see his wife again without worrying about seppuku, he planned on doing just that. Kasumi straightened up the kitchen and disposed of the rest of the hangover cure that Nodoka had made. It made an excellent drain cleaner. Jeff spoke with Ranma for a bit and then left Ranma with his mother. He wasn't overly thrilled with Saotome Nodoka, but getting Ranma out from under the suicide pledge in one piece had been his main goal and he had accomplished it. Barely.
Ranma, carefully choosing his words and watching his language, spoke with his mother. There were many things he wanted to say. He managed to say them. But the hardest part was saying goodbye. "I think it's about time to go."
"What do you mean 'time to go'? You just arrived. I finally have my son back after all these years. The oath from your father that was my curse is gone. I can finally be your mother as I have so desperately wanted to be."
"Mother, I've been here for almost three days. Most of that time was spent waiting for you to kill me. You swung your sword at me with the intention of removing my head from my shoulders to eliminate a stain on your honor that wasn't even there. It's a miracle that I'm even alive right now. I can't forgive you that easily."
"But I am your mother and this is your home."
"You saw my curse and called me 'thing', 'monster', 'unclean'. I look at you and all I can see right now is the woman who wanted me dead. I don't see my mother. I don't see my home. Not yet."
"Stay and you will find those things."
"No. The one thing I've learned in the last few months is that I have to start making my own decisions about my life."
"Then will you please choose to stay? If only for a little while."
"You must be where I get my stubbornness. But the answer is still 'no' mother. I have to make some decisions about how I will deal with the problems in my life. I can't do that in Nerima, there are too many distractions. I can't do it here. This is too close to Nerima, the trouble would just follow me.
"Jeff offered me a chance to get away from Japan for a while. I _choose_ to go. I know leaving won't solve nothing, but maybe I can find some answers. Jeff is pretty smart. I think he can help."
Nodoka held her son close and cried. "It's 'leaving won't solve anything' my son. Maybe this is for the best. But I will miss you so much," she managed between sobs.
Ranma returned his mother's embrace and said, "I'll come back mother. I promise." Tears, neither manly or unmanly, fell from Ranma's eyes.
END CHAPTER 3
-----
Chapter 3: Timing is Everything
What has gone before: When Ranma's curse is revealed to Nodoka, she freaks and intends to enforce the 'man among men' seppuku pledge she obtained from Genma all those years ago. The only reason Ranma isn't already dead is because Nodoka wants to make sure Genma dies too.
Jeff Anderson has covered the distance from New York City to Nerima in four hours and hopes Ranma is still alive by the time he can find him. Time is running out as Genma has just been delivered into the waiting arms of Nodoka.
---
Kasumi and Jeff walked to the Nerima rail station, looking more like a young couple on a date than they had any right to. However, what they were talking about couldn't be considered a normal date discussion.
"What I don't get is why Ranma would consider himself bound by this seppuku pledge in the first place."
"Ranma is a strong believer in honor, both his own and his family's. That is why he accepts the engagements to both Ukyo and Akane, even though Genma's honor was questionable in arranging more than one fiancee. Ranma has great commitment to family honor."
Jeff shook his head "That's another thing," he said. "Honor is personal. To me, 'family honor' is a meaningless phrase. People can be honorable. Many people in the same family can be honorable, but the concept of an abstraction like 'family' having honor of it's own? Sorry, I can't buy that."
"I am afraid I will have to disagree with you Anderson-san. Family honor is paramount. Family comes first, the individual second."
"And I'm not arguing with that last part. I'll put my wife and son before myself any day of the week. But those are obligations I accepted with my eyes open and fully aware of the consequences. Ranma didn't get that choice."
"It is not Ranma's choice to get. The needs of family come first."
Jeff stopped walking. Kasumi stopped as well. Turning to Kasumi, Jeff asked quietly, "If you honestly believe that, why are you here? Why not just let Ranma die? It's what 'family honor' requires, isn't it?"
Kasumi had the look of a deer caught in a headlight. She didn't want Ranma to die. She knew that. That family came first, she had no doubt. She had been living proof of that since the death of her mother. Could those two beliefs be reconciled? Only if... "Ranma is family," Kasumi finally responded in a barely audible voice.
It was true. At some point, Ranma had become part of _her_ family. It wasn't just the engagement between Ranma and Akane. Ranma's link to her family may have been anchored there, but it wasn't the only point of connection. Kasumi routinely called Genma "Uncle" and had called Nodoka "Auntie" more than once. Which meant Ranma was part of her family.
"Ranma is part of my family," Kasumi said more firmly. "I do not want to see him die. If his mother only sees the curse and not the rest of Ranma, she would be making a terrible mistake."
"Nice to see that we're both on the same page." With that, the two continued walking toward Nerima Station.
After a minute, Kasumi turned to Jeff and asked, "Why are you here?"
"Like I told Nabiki, I consider Ranma a friend and I look out for my friends."
"There must be more to it than that."
Jeff thought for a bit before answering, "I look at Ranma and see great potential. No, that's not big enough. I see Earth altering potential. Power and ability and will and everything it takes to make a real difference in the world. I'll be damned if I'll see it wasted because someone mistakes the surface for what lies beneath."
It wasn't long before they reached Nerima station and found it dark and deserted.
"Oh my," Kasumi stated.
"What's wrong?"
"The sign reads, 'The Seibu Ikebukuro Line is closed for maintenance and minor repairs. Service will resume 5:30 Monday morning.' Hmm. We will have to walk to the Seibu Shinjuku Line south of here."
"I'm not sure we have the time. Isn't there a subway entrance around here someplace?" Jeff asked.
"The subway station is closed for renovations. Do not worry Anderson-san, it is not that far."
Jeff swore to himself and decided time was more important than security. Besides, Ranma obviously trusted Kasumi and Jeff had no reason not to. But a little misdirection wouldn't hurt. "Kasumi, do you believe in magic?"
Kasumi was taken aback by the sudden question. "Don't be silly. Of course I do," she answered.
Jeff pulled half a quarter from his pocket and handed it to Kasumi. "Then hold on tight to this and get ready to fly."
-----
Nodoka stared down upon the drunk and unconscious form of her dishonorable husband as he slept in front of the Saotome family shrine. She verified that Genma and Panda-san were one and the same with a bucket of water and a tea kettle. 'This just won't do,' she told herself. After a scathing glance at her son, she proceeded to the kitchen.
Some wasabi, a daikon and three imported habaneros formed the base of the hangover cure. Genma needed full command of his limited faculties in order to play his part in the upcoming drama. Otherwise, some might call what was about to happen murder instead of two people committing seppuku to redeem their dishonorable conduct. Pulling on a set of rubber gloves to protect her hands from the ingredients, she bent to the task of sobering up her husband. The tears in her eyes were chemically induced. That's what Nodoka convinced herself of anyway.
Meanwhile, Ranma whispered internally, 'Damn you Pops. Ya can't even hide right.' That he could still escape wasn't a question. Even carrying his father, he could outrun his mother. But that would be a greater stain on his honor than staying and letting his mother kill him. It wouldn't solve anything either.
The seppuku pledge was the Sword of Damocles hanging by a thread above him. Cutting that thread would let it fall and kill him, which was slightly better than walking away as far as his honor was concerned. Besides, with his luck, if he walked away, it would just track him down like the rest of his troubles. 'There has ta be a third way,' Ranma thought to himself.
'Maybe that's why I called Jeff. He's smart, maybe he can figure out something. But he ain't gonna make it in time. I havta do this myself.' With that, Ranma settled down and reviewed the situation with fresh eyes.
-----
Kasumi held half a quarter in her right hand and Jeff held her left wrist as they flew through the skies of Tokyo. Her eyes were wide as she experienced the novel situation of looking down on Tokyo from above. She wasn't scared at all.
'I wonder if Mousse-kun feels this way?' she thought as she flew over Sugamo Station. Two more stops till they started following the Joban Line instead of Yamanote Line. 'Probably not with those glasses. But still, this is wonderful.'
Jeff was glad that Kasumi didn't panic once they were airborne. She had done her prep work and knew exactly which trains to take to get to the Saotome home. They weren't using the trains, but following the rails worked almost as well. He'd flown carrying his wife many times. Kasumi was lighter than Anne, so she wasn't slowing him down as much.
"There, follow those tracks, the ones that cross the bridge by themselves," Kasumi directed.
Jeff shifted course and the two flew on through the night.
-----
Nodoka poured the red tinged liquid down her husband's throat as her son looked on impassively. The results were pretty much as she planned. Genma bolted upright, screamed like a steam whistle and gulped down two buckets of water she'd readied for just that purpose. Despite his haste, he didn't spill a drop. There was then a spasm of coughing and wheezing. By the time he regained control of himself, the Saotome clan sword was at his throat.
"Welcome home husband. Your training journey is over at last. All those long years with nothing but the occasional postcard to let me know that you and my son still walked the Earth. And here I stayed. Wondering, hoping, praying, that my son would return a 'man among men'. You thought a mother's love would harm Ranma's training. But you gave me an oath. An oath that if my son did not return a 'man among men', that both you and he would commit seppuku." Nodoka pulled out the time worn document with Ranma's hand prints on it.
Genma said nothing. He could already feel the tanto sliding through his belly. Ranma said nothing. He was still trying to think of a solution and couldn't be bothered with lesser concerns.
Nodoka continued, "It was bad enough that I did not hear from you once you returned to Japan. When I went to visit the Tendo's, they said you had gone on a 'training trip'. Yet there you were. Right before my eyes. You, pretending to be a panda. Ranma, my 'manly' son, pretending to be a girl! You failed me. You kept my son away from me for NOTHING! Ranma is not a 'man among men'. So you will die by your own hand as you promised me." Nodoka produced a tanto from inside her robes and handed it to Genma before readying her sword once again.
Genma, trying to delay the inevitable, spoke. "And where is the tanto for Ranma?"
"Your son... refuses to carry out his part of the ceremony. His dishonor grows that much greater. So I will strike his head from his shoulders myself. It is the only way any honor can be salvaged from the horrible mess you have created with your absolute failure."
Genma was shocked by Nodoka's revelation. He'd believed the boy was so bound by honor that he was surprised that he wasn't already dead. His wife was right. He had failed. With slow deliberate motions, Genma pivoted the tanto toward his own stomach.
Ranma saw his father turn the knife toward himself. He wanted to say his father hadn't failed, but his tongue wouldn't work after two and a half days of silence. Suddenly, his mother was behind him once more, bending him over the chopping block. He heard his mother's sharp intake of breath and braced himself for darkness.
"KI YAAAAAAH!" shouted Nodoka as she made the killing stroke. The impact ran up her arms as the blade flew from her hands and embedded itself in the ceiling.
From the doorway to the Saotome shrine, Jeff said, "I've got to work on my timing." His right arm was stretched out in front of him and the repeller field he'd created above Ranma's prostrate body was in danger of blowing out the roof until he heard the creaking of timbers and collapsed the field.
Ranma lifted a head that was still attached to the rest of him and looked at the new arrival. "Jeff?" he squeaked. Then he noted who was standing behind Jeff. "Kasumi?" Ranma's head swam, but he knew if it lost it then, he was in big trouble.
Nodoka didn't know if she should be angry at the interference or grateful that she had been stopped. "Just who are you to come into my home this way," Nodoka demanded.
"My name is Anderson Jeff and you already know Tendo Kasumi. We're here to speak on behalf of your son, Saotome Ranma."
"I Have No Son!"
"Well in that case, we'll just take the young man in front of you and go. Obviously, that suicide pledge can't be enforced on someone who isn't your son."
Nodoka stared daggers at Jeff. "You are a clever gaijin. Very well, I acknowledge Ranma as my son. I also have an oath from my husband that promises Ranma will return from his training as a 'man among men' or that both he and my son will commit seppuku. You know what that means don't you?"
Jeff had spent some of the flight from Teterboro to Pittsburgh thinking about the terms of the oath that Kasumi had told him about. "Well, I think Ranma's a man among men. Genma did what he said he would do. What's your problem?"
Upon hearing this, Genma considered the possibility that he might just get through the night alive. Realizing he still had a tanto pointed at his stomach, he set down the knife as if it had suddenly turned into Akane's cooking. Although he also wondered how the family sword had become stuck in the ceiling.
Nodoka grabbed a spare bucket and tossed the contents at Ranma, activating his curse. "You consider _that_ a 'man among men'?" Nodoka ground out.
"Yes, I do. That's just an exterior change. It goes away with a little hot water. Inside, Ranma is still Ranma. He's the best martial artist I know. He acts in an honorable manner when those around him do not. He routinely deals with things that would cause most people to run for their lives. His curse would have _broke_ a lesser man. But Ranma still keeps going, like the man among men that he is."
A small part of Nodoka rejoiced at Jeff's words. If Ranma was a man among men, then he was right to have refused seppuku. It wasn't a stain on his honor, it was a demonstration of it. She sought confirmation. "If Ranma is a man among men, why did you, Tendo Kasumi, help hide Ranma and Genma from me?" she asked quickly.
"For the reason that you have just demonstrated Nodoka-san. You saw only the curse. You didn't see Ranma. You judged him without knowing him. Ranma is not perfect. No one is. But I consider him part of my family and would not see him killed over an error in judgment."
It took time, but Nodoka's resolve slowly cracked. Kasumi did most of the talking and did an excellent job as Ranma's advocate. Things calmed down enough for Ranma to return to male form. Throughout the process, he said very little in his own defense. Eventually, Nodoka declared the oath fulfilled and gave Ranma the contract that she had carried for so long. Ranma tore the contract into confetti and burned it at the family shrine. Everyone gave a sigh of relief upon seeing the document destroyed.
Genma prepared to go pick up his pack from the bar he'd left it at and move out of the Tendo dojo. Now that he could see his wife again without worrying about seppuku, he planned on doing just that. Kasumi straightened up the kitchen and disposed of the rest of the hangover cure that Nodoka had made. It made an excellent drain cleaner. Jeff spoke with Ranma for a bit and then left Ranma with his mother. He wasn't overly thrilled with Saotome Nodoka, but getting Ranma out from under the suicide pledge in one piece had been his main goal and he had accomplished it. Barely.
Ranma, carefully choosing his words and watching his language, spoke with his mother. There were many things he wanted to say. He managed to say them. But the hardest part was saying goodbye. "I think it's about time to go."
"What do you mean 'time to go'? You just arrived. I finally have my son back after all these years. The oath from your father that was my curse is gone. I can finally be your mother as I have so desperately wanted to be."
"Mother, I've been here for almost three days. Most of that time was spent waiting for you to kill me. You swung your sword at me with the intention of removing my head from my shoulders to eliminate a stain on your honor that wasn't even there. It's a miracle that I'm even alive right now. I can't forgive you that easily."
"But I am your mother and this is your home."
"You saw my curse and called me 'thing', 'monster', 'unclean'. I look at you and all I can see right now is the woman who wanted me dead. I don't see my mother. I don't see my home. Not yet."
"Stay and you will find those things."
"No. The one thing I've learned in the last few months is that I have to start making my own decisions about my life."
"Then will you please choose to stay? If only for a little while."
"You must be where I get my stubbornness. But the answer is still 'no' mother. I have to make some decisions about how I will deal with the problems in my life. I can't do that in Nerima, there are too many distractions. I can't do it here. This is too close to Nerima, the trouble would just follow me.
"Jeff offered me a chance to get away from Japan for a while. I _choose_ to go. I know leaving won't solve nothing, but maybe I can find some answers. Jeff is pretty smart. I think he can help."
Nodoka held her son close and cried. "It's 'leaving won't solve anything' my son. Maybe this is for the best. But I will miss you so much," she managed between sobs.
Ranma returned his mother's embrace and said, "I'll come back mother. I promise." Tears, neither manly or unmanly, fell from Ranma's eyes.
END CHAPTER 3
-----