Part 3: Straight From the Horse's Mouth
So, now the mystery of how Ranma and Akane had felt seemed
to be laid to rest, and it seemed to Soun Tendo and Genma
Saotome that it would be best for them to leave Ranma and
Akane alone--allowing their children to sort out whatever
differences may have remained.
There certainly didn't appear to be anything out of the
ordinary to their parents, and whatever wasn't ideal would
surely never stand in the way of their impending marriage
plans.
Nevertheless, Soun and Genma continued to pester Ranma and
Akane every moment of every day that they could--asking them
about how things were going, remarking on how nice it was
that they were getting along, telling them that it was good
for them to be totally honest with each other, etc.
Thus, it was no real surprise to anyone that Akane began to
avoid her father. The real shock was that Ranma not only
withstood the constant annoyances, but he even encouraged
them to the point of making them weary of his enthusiasm.
Ranma had always prided himself on his friendliness. What
was odd were the number of people who now agreed with him.
The mystery of how Ranma came to have changed so much was
also a favorite topic for conversation. Some said that
Ranma looked different in some subtle way. Some said that
Akane had finally pounded some sense into Ranma. Some even
said that Shampoo had used another magical charm on Ranma.
Along with stories of Ranma's new personality, Ranma also
encouraged people to think that he was peacefully content
with his engagement to Akane, and that nothing in the world
would ever change his mind about marrying her one day.
A few people he spoke to would smile delightedly and
compliment him on his new-found resolve and excellent taste
in women--Akane had always been admired among Ranma's
classmates. Most other people, however, would smile
humoringly--thinking that Ranma was surely up to something
devious. Among the students of Furinkan high school, rumors
began to spread again about Ranma seeing a girl or two on
the side.
Tatewaki Kuno--a long time devotee of Akane--despised the
rumors (because he viewed them as an insult to Akane), but
came to find himself starting to believe them, anyway.
Whenever Kuno confronted Ranma, however, he found himself
unable to show anger toward Ranma.
What was even more disturbing to Kuno was that he began to
feel himself strangely drawn to Ranma. Kuno had always
despised the thought of being affectionate with men, and he
therefore began to engage in a healthy dose of "discipline"
(which his sister began to affectionately refer to as
"masochism training").
Kodachi, who had always taken delight in seeing Ranma, was
now thrilled whenever she spoke with Ranma. Ranma had
always seemed a little shy to her before, and now he seemed
very relaxed and matter-of-fact. Kodachi spent a few days
recovering from her happiness at Ranma's transformation.
There was one particular afternoon when Tatewaki Kuno's
irritation at himself began to overflow so much that he
actually found Ranma and lashed out at him.
Ranma had been strolling toward the entrance of the school
grounds, hardly seeming to have a care in the world, as Kuno
approached and cut off Ranma's path with his practice sword.
"Where do you think you're going?" Kuno growled.
Ranma took a moment to look around and casually said,
"Home."
"To Akane's home, you mean!" Kuno accused him.
"Right," Ranma agreed. "That's where I live." Ranma looked
at the sword and back at Kuno and asked, "Do you mind?"
"I think not!" Kuno said, keeping his brandished sword fixed
in Ranma's path. "I cannot allow this fiendish situation to
continue!"
"Huh?"
"You think you can seduce the fair, pure-hearted Akane with
nothing more than your presence and some ridiculous charade
of pretending to be a man!? I urge you to think again!"
"Seduce? Who said anything about seducing?"
"I did!" Kuno insisted, getting in Ranma's face. Kuno
lowered his sword and said, "You think Akane is charmed by
all this show of nonchalant strutting? It will avail you
nothing! I shall tear away that mask--!"
Ranma started to casually walk away.
"I wasn't finished!" Kuno blared.
"We can talk on the way," Ranma said, gesturing his offer.
Kuno stepped in front of Ranma and waved his hand at Ranma--
warding him from going any further. "We have nothing to
discuss, and furthermore we--!"
"Okay," Ranma said, casually walking away again.
"I'm talkin' here!" Kuno exclaimed.
If Ranma reacted, he showed no sign of it, but simply waved
to a few friends as he left the school grounds.
Kuno was never more upset, but the thought of having to
speak to Ranma bothered him so much that he screamed, "Curse
you, Ranma! You are not a man! I don't care what I have to
do, but I shall prove it!"
Some girls who happened to be walking by began giggling, and
Kuno wondered what it meant until hearing a rumor the next
day that he was desperate to see Ranma naked.
***
Akane, who had once seen Ranma naked, was only desperate to
recover her dignity and make her room the spotless shrine to
neatness it had once been. And now that she had found
something like karmic release, she found herself becoming
even more of a neat freak than ever.
She was also slightly annoyed that merely chopping wood with
her hands had not kept her in shape, and she was now jogging
three times a day.
In school, people noticed that she pushed herself a little
harder at physical education than usual, yet she always
seemed strangely calm and relaxed. This, naturally, lead to
a few rather annoying rumors that she and Ranma were
sleeping together.
Akane would furiously deny any such rumors while secretly
wishing Ranma would sleep with her, then would suddenly spot
him and become embarrassed at her own thoughts--which
invariably made her focus harder on training.
Ranma, himself, wasn't embarrassed about Akane anymore, and
he found it strange that he once thought of Akane as uncute.
It was a little disorienting, but he began to think of Akane
as a calm and gentle person with a very big heart.
And Ranma avoided intimate contact with her because he was
reluctant to shatter this image of her that had suddenly
appeared in his mind. All he knew was that it made Akane
seem extremely attractive to him, and he wanted to preserve
her that way as long as humanly possible.
***
Another extremely attractive girl, Ukyo, began noticing all
this odd behavior in Ranma. Ukyo was grimly amused at the
bovine stupidity girls displayed whenever discussing Ranma,
and terribly curious to hear Nabiki's reaction. Nabiki had
always proved somewhat insightful, but her reticence had
become more pronounced, lately. Ukyo didn't know what to
make of it, but she was determined to find out.
Ukyo, like Nabiki, was also not above using a little
dishonesty.
***
Late one day, Akane was helping Kasumi in the kitchen and
becoming particularly frustrated at her lack of success.
Kasumi had started out convinced that she could show Akane
that all that was required was a little more practice, and
to compare the art of cooking with many of the martial arts
disciplines she noticed Akane had mastered. Instead, Kasumi
was stunned at having to witness time after time how Akane
was simply unable to do the most basic things--like tasting
the food, making sure you follow the heating and timing
instructions, and using just the right amounts of the right
ingredients.
Kasumi actually became very irritated, and it took her a
great effort of will to merely escort Akane from the kitchen
without slapping her.
An hour later than she had intended, Kasumi had finished
cooking. Fortunately, she had left herself an hour to
spare, and so there was no time to waste on giving Akane
unnecessary warnings and making sure that Akane would be on
her toes.
The important part--making sure the food was hot and ready--
had been completed, so Kasumi breathed a huge sigh of
relief. She then grabbed her luggage and immediately left,
waving goodbye to Akane as she went out the entrance.
***
Ranma had become lost in doing schoolwork and in pondering
the great mystery of what hairstyle made him look best, when
he realized that he was hungry.
When he arrived at dinner, he was surprised to notice that
he was alone with Akane, and he was shocked to discover that
although Akane was serving him food, it was food he could
reasonably expect to survive eating. In fact, the food was
so good that he immediately realized that Kasumi was the
only one who could have made it.
Ranma was also relieved to discover that there was still one
thing that terrified him beyond reason--the prospect having
to consume one of Akane's meals. Instead of saying so,
however, Ranma only smiled and thanked Akane.
"Actually," Akane admitted with a blush, "Kasumi is the one
who made this."
"Oh," Ranma said, trying hard not to show that he already
knew. "Is Kasumi here?"
Akane cleared her throat and said, "Well, actually, I did
help a little bit with the food."
"Is Kasumi here?" Ranma asked again in the same friendly
tone of voice.
"Well," Akane said, sighing, "the truth is, I don't think
Kasumi actually used any of what I cooked..."
"So..." Ranma said, then after a pause, asked, "Is Kasumi
here?"
Akane turned and faced the television, deciding to switch
the channel, suddenly. "I wonder what's on..." she
pondered.
Ranma softly chuckled and said, "I get the feeling we're all
alone again."
Ranma looked at his food, finished it in a few bites and
then sat next to Akane, watching the TV. He did this in
such a casual way, however, that for several minutes, Akane
hardly noticed.
The program was somewhat schizophrenic. One moment, it was
a dramatic romance, the next moment there would be long
fighting scenes and chases followed by explosions, the next
moment there would be goofy slapstick and bad gags.
Normally, Akane was torn between a love for horror and a
secret penchant for game shows, but now she became
enraptured in watching something that was surely a
producer's worst nightmare.
Ranma usually preferred reading to watching TV, and working
out to reading, but he was more curious about what Akane was
thinking. "You don't have your weapons handy, you know," he
told her.
"I know," Akane said.
"And we are alone, right?"
"Right."
The program paused for a commercial break, and suddenly
there was dead air--a black screen and complete silence.
"Aren't you afraid I might try something?" Ranma said, after
a few seconds.
Akane turned to him and asked, "Like what?"
Ranma continued to look serious for a few moments, then
started laughing, just as the TV returned to its usual
blather of mindless advertising.
Akane frowned and gave him a look of dire import, then
quickly turned back to the TV.
Ranma wasn't sure for a moment, then inexplicably recognized
that look and shivered with apprehension. He then cleared
his throat nervously and said, "I spoke with Ukyo today."
"What'd she have to say?"
"Nothing much," Ranma said, thinking for a moment. "Just
how the business was going, for the most part."
"You liar," Akane said.
Ranma smiled and said, "No, really. I think Ukyo was just
being polite."
"I think Ukyo should mind her own business," Akane quipped.
"Akane..."
"Huh?"
"Well... It isn't nice to be jealous, you know?"
For a moment, Akane smiled in a way that reminded Ranma of
how Nabiki would smile--somewhat devil-may-care--and Ranma
started to sense that this whole situation was somehow
staged.
"Akane," he started again.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Am I just imagining it, or are you coming on to me?"
Akane was a little stunned. Normally, whenever fielding a
question like that, Akane would counter it by grabbing the
nearest blunt object and bashing Ranma over the head with
it--usually giving him a stern criticism in the process.
Now, it seemed to her that he could actually see what she
was thinking, and she was rather mortified to have been so
transparent. Then she realized that it was true and became
somewhat more mortified by the mere fact of what she'd been
doing.
Though his question and the manner in which he'd asked it
were like icy water thrown in her face, Akane suddenly found
herself staring at Ranma, willing herself to be calm in
spite of wanting to bite him really hard.
Ranma, nervous and apprehensive in a way he'd never
experienced before in his life, could only watch helplessly
as the two of them had several moments when it seemed like
there was an unspoken invitation in the air. Several times,
Ranma had felt an urge to grab Akane by the arms and throw
himself all over her, but he'd also fought it--knowing
somehow that he'd never see her the same way again,
afterward.
The feeling passed, and Ranma was a little relieved when
Akane said, "I don't know what you're talking about, Ranma."
Akane then laughed nervously and said, "Me? Come on to
you?"
Ranma flinched in surprise, noticing that Ukyo was sitting
next to him. He hadn't been aware of when she had come in.
"I agree," Ukyo said. "It's ridiculous."
Ranma and Akane were recovering from the intense shock of
suddenly finding Ukyo sitting next to them as Ukyo smoothly
continued laughing and nudged Ranma in a playfully
sympathetic way.
"Now, Ranma here," Ukyo continued. "Woo! That's a whole
other story. You should have seen him, today."
"What?" Akane asked, immediately curious.
"Well..." Ukyo started, looking at Ranma slyly and leaning
around to whisper something to Akane. For several seconds,
Ukyo whispered to Akane as Akane became redder with shame or
anger (or perhaps both). Ukyo then laughed delightedly as
Akane glared at Ranma, and Ranma scowled in innocent
confusion.
Akane then slapped Ranma and exclaimed, "You jerk!"
"What!?" Ranma asked, rubbing his face. "What was that
for?!"
"Oh, come on, Ranma," Ukyo nudged him again. She then
winked at him as she said, "You know what that's for."
Akane fumed for a few moments and then said, "I can't
believe you! Flirting! And right in front of Ukyo, too!"
"Whoa," Ranma said, trying to make some sense of this
conversation. "I did what?"
"Now, Ranma," Ukyo told him. "Don't try to deny it. I was
right there. You kept going on about how much more manly
you've become. Everyone in the shop could hear you. I
wouldn't be surprised if everyone in town is talking about
it."
Ranma took a moment to consider, and he found that it was an
unmistakably slanderous thing to say. Ranma had,
historically, been fond of describing himself, but only in
serious situations where it was his self-esteem at stake.
Had Ranma been a clever person, he might have found a way to
blunt Ukyo's foray, but Ranma was still thinking defensively
as he said, "But I really didn't..."
"You mean," Akane said, "you weren't going on about
yourself? So, you were kissing up to her?"
"No, I mean I wasn't--" Ranma tried to say, as Akane
interrupted him.
"Ranma, that is so pathetic!" Akane said. "I've seen you do
some low things before, but this is the lowest!"
"What?" Ukyo said, assuming a defensive position between
Akane and Ranma. "I thought it was kinda cute. I'd never
actually seen Ranma flirting with a girl before."
Ranma at last realized something that had been fighting for
attention in his mind. Why was Ukyo so insistent? If it
was a joke, she had definitely gone too far. Ranma decided
to try and get to the bottom of this, and he said, "Very
funny, Ucchan."
"Huh?" Ukyo said, flustered for barely a moment, "Hey, I'm
serious. You know I wouldn't joke about something like
this."
"Really?" Ranma said, trying to sound just a bit skeptical.
Akane had been thinking that Ranma was relapsing into his
normal routine, and now it seemed to her that Ukyo's story
seemed a little too convenient. Akane frowned as she
considered this, and Ukyo immediately picked up on what
Akane was thinking.
"Really," Ukyo insisted. "I'll bet you were putting the
moves on Akane before I showed up."
"No way," Ranma reacted, then immediately regretted falling
for such an obvious ploy.
Akane had always had a strange imagination, so she promptly
said, "Ranma accused me of being jealous."
Now Ranma was nearly becoming upset, but his common sense
had fully kicked in, and he said, "Well, now I'm accusing
Ukyo of being jealous."
"Oh," Ukyo said, "are you making a move on me?"
Akane turned to Ukyo and said, "Ukyo, would please just shut
up for a moment?" Akane then asked Ranma, "Okay, Ranma.
Just level with me..."
"It's not true," Ranma said. "I wasn't flirting with
anyone."
Akane continued glaring at Ranma for a few moments, then
shifted her eyes to Ukyo. "Ukyo, what is your problem?"
"What? You don't believe me?" Ukyo asked her.
"Why should I?" Akane asked.
"Because it's the truth," Ukyo stated flatly.
"Maybe I should ask around," Akane said.
"You do that," Ukyo said, knowing full well that it was
already one of several rumors, anyway.
Akane felt that the impasse had settled on her, so she
simply blew it off the way she would normally, saying,
"Well, I don't care even if it is true. Ranma can flirt
with whoever he likes."
With that, Ukyo seemed satisfied and she politely turned and
left.
Ranma and Akane were, of course, fully aware of what Ukyo
had done, and it might have seemed best for them to simply
ignore her. Instead, Ranma found himself marvelling at
Ukyo's audacity, and Akane was merely shocked that she had
believed anything Ukyo had said. Suffice it to say that
Ukyo had totally ruined the mood, and there wasn't a chance
that anything even remotely romantic was going to happen
that night.
***
That night, Ukyo had a visitor.
Nodoka Saotome--Ranma's mother--normally went from place to
place in search of cooking tips or historical trinkets of
the Saotome family whenever she wasn't house-hunting. Quite
often, she would find herself spending many hours listening
to the tales of those to whom she had found herself
referred. It wasn't unusual for her to have to spend the
night at an unfamiliar house or apartment.
In fact, she hadn't seen Ranma in several weeks, and she was
starting to worry. She knew that Ranma was in good hands,
and she felt deeply that Ranma himself was strong and
independent. Still, she couldn't shake the notion that
Ranma might need a mother's tender attention.
Nodoka was going by Ucchan's, and she initially thought
about passing by, but then she became curious. Ranma and
the others had told her about Ukyo, but there were so many
questions that Nodoka was anxious to ask her.
When Nodoka knocked at the door, there wasn't any response,
so she tried the door, and to her surprise it slid right
open. Nodoka reacted in alarm--thinking that leaving the
door open was simply inviting trouble to come in--and she
entered cautiously.
Meanwhile, Ukyo had been upstairs muttering to herself--or
rather, since Konatsu Kunoichi was likely lurking in the
shadows somewhere, she was speaking to him. In any case,
Ukyo felt alone with her thoughts and there was plenty for
her to think about. She didn't seem to care whether anyone
thought she was talking to herself. What was worse, she
began to realize that Ranma didn't seem to care, either.
"Ranma, you pathetic jerk," she muttered. "How can you be
so incredibly stupid? I can't believe just how massively
stupid you can be. What a complete and total idiot..."
Ukyo only really had one particular theme on her mind.
"I guess that must make me the world's stupidest woman," she
added, thoughtfully. "Someone with brains might have
noticed what a fool they were being made of. Or could I be
wrong?"
It certainly did seem to her that Ranma was slipping away.
Ranma's odd behavior seemed to signify a sudden change, and
what change could have come over him greater than some
involvement with Akane? It didn't follow with what she had
witnessed at the Tendo's, but something was telling her that
she needed to do something drastic, and quickly.
As she was stewing over this thought in her mind, and had
gotten up from bed for the third time in the past hour,
Ukyo noticed an intruder as she started down the stairs.
She almost gave herself away with a gasp, and then she
carefully continued down into her shop.
The intruder was swift and silent as a mouse and extremely
light on her feet in spite of seeming nothing out of the
ordinary. Ukyo noticed with irritation that this intruder
could have stolen any number of items from her shop by now,
and Ukyo was about to ask who it was when the intruder said,
"Ukyo!? Hello?"
Ukyo repressed an urge to shriek in surprise, and when she
calmed herself, she answered, "Hello."
The intruder, who of course was Nodoka, turned and smiled,
saying, "Oh, there you are. I'm sorry, but the door was
open so I let myself in. I hope you don't mind."
By now, Ukyo was starting to remember who this woman was,
and then all at once it came to her. This was the woman who
seemed to like Akane so much and wanted nothing more for her
son than for him to marry Akane. Ukyo then remembered with
some embarrassment that she had helped destroy Nodoka's old
house.
Ukyo was relieved that all Nodoka wanted was to sit and have
a conversation over a cup of tea with her.
To be sure, Nodoka was not a pleasant person for Ukyo to
talk to, but Ukyo had become bored and a little lonely.
Maybe speaking with the mother would endear her to Ranma,
after all. Ukyo had only seen Ranma refer to his mother
once, and it had been in a quiet and reverent tone of voice.
After a short time, Ukyo noticed that Nodoka was not
inclined to turn down an offer of sake, though she would not
allow Ukyo to touch it in her presence and wondered out loud
what Ukyo had been doing with it in the first place.
And though Nodoka drank and drank, there did not seem to be
any change in her mood or in the subjects she was willing to
discuss. Nodoka seemed to have a wealth of priceless
secrets regarding cooking lore, where to find special items
of clothing, and forbidden stories of particular warrior
clans.
Ukyo kept a tight lip about her past, offering few details
other than the fact that she had been betrothed to Ranma at
one point, but that, "things just didn't work out." She had
toyed with notion of attempting to win Nodoka's confidence,
but Ukyo knew that it would backfire if she pressed Ranma to
make a sudden choice.
Ukyo was also aware of how Ranma viewed her and she wanted
Ranma to maintain some respect for her as long as possible.
Nodoka asked her how things had gone for her before setting
up shop, but Ukyo glossed over it with as few details as
possible. Ukyo wasn't ashamed of her past, but she knew
that there was nothing romantic about having to go live with
her grandparents, either.
Before either one was aware of it, the nighttime had fully
settled, and Ukyo invited her to stay over. Nodoka was
pleasant about it and did not object too strongly, so Ukyo
felt that she had succeeded in taking this first step--
winning over Nodoka's trust. Nodoka was still a little
upset about the door having been unlocked, but no one was
perfect, after all.
By the time Ukyo had gone to bed, she had resolved to make
Nodoka's stay so pleasant that she would not help but
return.
***
Now, Ukyo was normally as pleasant and amiable as a person
could be whenever things were going well for her. That
morning, Nodoka was surprised to notice that not only was
Ukyo extremely easy-going, she fairly radiated confident
well-being in her attitude.
Ukyo herself, found that having an excuse to be nice and
nearly as well-mannered as this woman made her feel much
more secure. Though she had thought of a hundred defensive
criticisms and counter-accusations, Ukyo found herself
unable to say anything other than how beautiful the morning
was and how fresh the air seemed--especially with the scent
of breakfast to help fill the air.
Ukyo was therefore a little disappointed that Nodoka felt
the need to leave so quickly, but she thanked Ukyo for
letting her stay and made it clear that she enjoyed herself.
Then, just before she left, Nodoka made sure to sternly warn
Ukyo not to touch any of the sake, and this put Ukyo in a
bad mood all over again.
***
At the Tendo home, Kasumi and Nabiki had still not returned,
but Soun and Nodoka were sitting at breakfast as Ranma
stumbled in from having just awoken and Akane returned from
jogging.
It seemed Nodoka had found time to be invited over yesterday
but had somehow gotten preoccupied on the way. By way of
apology, she agreed to fix Ranma and Akane some nice lunches
as Soun was heating up the breakfast Kasumi had made for
them yesterday.
At breakfast, Nodoka smilingly reported her visit with Ukyo
and admitted that she felt very welcome there.
Akane skeptically asked, "Really?"
"Oh yes," Nodoka replied. "In fact, I'd really like for all
of us to go to her shop this evening for supper. If it's
not too forward of me, I think it would really help smooth
things over between herself and your family, Akane."
Ranma and Akane suddenly thought of what Ukyo had pulled
just last night, and though Akane felt a headache coming on,
Ranma began to think that his mother was probably right.
Ranma said, "Hey, now that's a good idea."
Ranma then looked at Akane and thought again, as Akane
glared at him narrowly.
"I mean," Ranma added, "Ukyo isn't going to go nuts and
trash her own place, right?"
Akane thought for a moment, smirked and said, "Yeah. That's
right."
Just then, Genma appeared (as a panda, since it was less
complicated than dealing with his wife as a man), as Soun
added, "And from what I've seen of her, Ukyo is someone who
appreciates honesty."
Akane rolled her eyes a bit, thinking how delicately her
father had used the word "appreciates." Nodoka, who didn't
seem to notice this subtlety, clapped her hands together in
delight and said, "Good! I just know that Ukyo will
appreciate our company. She seemed so tragic and helpless
living all on her own."
From her tone, it didn't seem possible that Nodoka might be
upset, but Ranma and Akane were nevertheless wondering
whether Nodoka hadn't heard some of Ukyo's tragic tale.
Ranma then wondered whether they had ever bothered to fill
her in on the details, then skipped the thought as Nodoka
handed him and Akane their lunches and hurried them out the
door toward school.
On the way, Akane asked Ranma, "Ranma, have you told your
mother about Ukyo?"
"Well," he answered, "a little bit."
"Does she know about...?"
"I don't think so," Ranma answered.
Just a glance between them was all they needed to convey the
fact that they weren't comfortable with this idea and that
they thought it was a horrible mistake, but they were going
to go through with it anyway just to make his mother feel
better, and that they were resolved to not breathe a word
about Ukyo's tragic past--or any more than they absolutely
needed to say.
***
As for the ugly turn of events that was to befall them that
evening, Ranma and Akane had both felt it in their bones,
and they both later said so, in that precise manner.
So, it might be best to skip ahead to the events of that
evening, and not bother mentioning how Ukyo had first taken
the news of the impending Tendo visit gleefully, then had
finally become bitter and resentful for some odd reason, and
then had mysteriously burst into tears in the middle of
serving a few customers. As has been stated, it was not
going to be a trivial matter.
But whatever Ukyo's mood the moment before their arrival,
Ukyo's mood had elevated to mythical proportions when she
saw them arrive, and Ukyo was even seemingly glad to welcome
Akane and her father. Ranma and his parents joined, shortly
behind them.
A table had been prepared for them and the shop closed, and
Ukyo cheerfully brought to their table a large dish that
appeared to be a kind of meat loaf.
Ranma and Genma were overjoyed at the smell, and they
immediately announced their intentions and ate. Akane,
overwhelmed by a brief vision inspired by Titus Andronicus,
was a little more reluctant--thinking that perhaps Ukyo had
butchered Nabiki and Kasumi, and had baked them into their
meal.
Akane then realized that reality was rarely as morbid as her
imagination, and decided to enjoy her meal.
For some time after they had eaten--or Ranma and Genma
anyway, who had eaten quickly--they were at a loss for
things to talk about. Ukyo sensed that Nodoka and Soun
weren't about to start talking, so Ukyo started by asking
them about whether the meal was pleasant and whether they
wanted something more to drink than the tea she provided.
After they were all finished and everyone except Nodoka
seemed thoroughly awkward about having nothing more to
discuss than the usual topics, Nodoka very formally thanked
Ukyo for the meal and then stunned them all by saying that
she believed Ukyo would make someone a very good wife
someday.
Nodoka then glanced around at all the amazed looks and
gaping expressions and asked, "I'm sorry. Did I say
something rude?"
Ukyo was the first to say, "No! No! I'm very flattered.
Really! I'm just glad you enjoyed it."
"That's such a relief," Nodoka said. "I hate to offend
people, you know."
"I know," Ukyo said.
"If you don't mind me saying so," Nodoka added, "you're very
pretty, too. It's hard to imagine you having trouble
finding a husband."
For just a moment, Ukyo seemed to have a seriously annoyed
expression which immediately softened into a reluctant
smile.
Nodoka, who had been watching Ukyo, said, "Oh, I'm sorry! I
didn't mean to be rude!"
"It's true, though," Ranma said.
Genma and Soun glared at Ranma, but Ranma merely smiled very
casually.
"It is, isn't it?" Nodoka said. "No offense, Ukyo, but why
in the world would you want to burden yourself with my son?
You must have men lined up who would want to marry you."
"Mrs. Saotome," Akane said, a warning note in her voice.
"No," Nodoka told Akane, "I want to hear. I'm very
curious." Nodoka turned to Ukyo and said, "Surely, you
didn't take that betrothal you received ten years ago all
that seriously."
Ukyo, caught off-guard by that remark, scowled, and Akane
rushed to say, "Maybe this is something we should talk about
some other time, huh?"
Ukyo then hurriedly said, "I don't, actually."
Akane, who hadn't fully realized that Ukyo was responding to
Nodoka's assertion was momentarily confused, and Ukyo used
the interim to continue.
"It's all water under the bridge," Ukyo added. "I say, let
bygones be bygones."
Genma, enormously relieved for that moment, cringed the next
moment to hear his wife speaking again.
"Is it, really?" Nodoka asked. "You sound to me like you've
given it a lot of thought."
For a few moments, there was complete silence. Soun was
certainly not going to say a word, and neither was Genma.
"I have," Ukyo then admitted. "And you know what? I'm
glad. I don't want to think about it anymore. To tell you
the truth, I'm completely over it. So, could we drop it?"
"Oh my," Nodoka said, sounding a little alarmed, "you really
sound upset."
"I'm not!" Ukyo denied it.
"Oh, but you are!" Nodoka insisted. "Clearly, this is
something that's been bothering you since then."
Ukyo grimaced again, trying not to sound upset and failing
again. "But it really doesn't! I mean it doesn't. I'm not
upset."
Nodoka looked at Ukyo pleadingly, but Ukyo just turned away,
and now Nodoka was the one who was upset. She turned to
Ranma and asked, "What is it?"
When Ranma looked casually undecided how to answer that,
Nodoka asked him, "What's going on?"
Ranma looked down, and he began to realize that no one was
going to help him. Nevertheless, he continued in silence,
until his mother said, "Ranma, tell me exactly how it
happened."
***
Now, the story of how Genma had agreed to marry Ranma to
Ukyo and then had stolen their family business--abandoning
Ukyo in the process--was a very well-known story to all of
them except Nodoka, and she grew more and more grim with
every detail that Ranma casually related.
Afterward, Nodoka merely said, "I see." Then she got up and
dragged Genma outside, where they talked heatedly for a few
minutes--or rather, Nodoka spoke heatedly and Genma mostly
just listened.
After listening for about minute or so, Ukyo wryly smiled
and said, "Boy am I glad I'm in here."
Akane glanced at Ukyo venomously and then turned away. At
that moment, Ukyo realized that she now had the upper hand.
Ukyo had not only won Nodoka's trust, but she had won
Nodoka's sympathy. And Ranma might defy his father, but he
would never defy his mother.
They couldn't quite understand what was being said, and
somehow having to imagine it was making them terrified of
what Nodoka might be demanding.
Ranma, in particular, was having several anxious moments--
thinking about all the possible demands she might make of
him to try to rectify the situation. Even ritual suicide
was not entirely out of the question.
A few moments later, Genma returned and said to Ukyo, "My
wife gratefully appreciates the meal, and she said she
enjoyed it very much. She also wishes to apologize for her
rudeness, tonight."
It seemed Nodoka wasn't returning, and she had left Genma to
deliver to them all the news of how the situation was going
to be settled.
Genma seemed very reluctant to continue for a few moments,
but then said, "I'm sorry, Soun."
Soun Tendo, who was a little surprised that Genma had used
his given name, could only stammer out, "What is it, Genma?"
"I'm afraid..." Genma said, "I'm going to have to retract
what we agreed before. It's only right that I..." Genma
sighed deeply and said, "I'm giving my blessing to Ukyo."
***
After Ukyo had grudgingly accepted, it only remained for
Ranma and Genma to pack up and leave the Tendo home.
As they arrived, Nabiki and Kasumi were also just arriving.
They were a little confused to see Ranma and his father
leaving, but they had seen Ranma and Genma go off on
training missions several times before, so they weren't too
surprised.
As he had packed, Ranma began to remember all the times that
he had insulted Akane and had made her feel that he never
really regretted any of it. Over and over he began to
recall Akane's anger and sorrow, and he felt now more than
he had ever that Akane had deserved so much better than the
way he had treated her.
He was disgusted with himself--and with all the changes his
personality had shown him how much better he could be, he
was all the more repulsed at his former behavior.
Standing at the front walkway outside the entrance, he felt
more regret than he could ever recall in his life, and he
took a look back to see Kasumi waving her usual, cheerful
goodbye.
Genma only put a hand on Ranma's shoulder and said, "Son, be
a man. Let's go, huh?"
With that, they turned and left the Tendo home.
Genma was half-expecting it--and hoping it wouldn't be true--
but before long, he discovered that Ranma had changed back
to a girl again.