A Measure of Honor
A Ranma Nibun no Ichi FanFic by Anansi42
Disclaimer - This is a story based on characters owned and copyrighted by Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan Publishing, VIZ Communications and other associated parties: I'm only borrowing them for a bit. This story is written expressly for entertainment purposes.
Synopsis - Nodoka finds out about Ranma's curse. Will she fulfill the seppuku contract?
Note - I put Saotome Nodoka in Edogawa for a couple of reasons. First, Takahashi Rumiko was never specific as to Saotome Nodoka's address (though it is probably in Nerima) and I wanted her located far enough away to make it hard for her to visit the Tendo home every day. Edogawa ward is on the far side of Tokyo from Nerima: the distance is not easy for an everyday trip, even with Tokyo's fine mass transit system, but not so difficult for a day trip. Second is that I wanted Nodoka to live in a real place. Other fan-fiction placed Nodoka in Juuban Ward; but Juuban does not exist, as far as I can tell, outside of Sailor Moon's Neo-Tokyo. This isn't a crossover fic, so I didn't want to include anything from other anime series if I could help it.
Part Three - Revelations
------
Two women, one carrying a wrapped katana, the other almost completely obscured by a mound of packages, arrived at the Saotome home in Edogawa.
"That was fun, Ranko-chan! It's been a while since I had someone to go shopping with."
"It was fun for me too!" Ranma replied, surprised at the truth of her statement, "I'm glad you knew the town so well for the best places to shop."
"It just comes with practice. I learned how to live on a budget when my husband and son left for training."
The words were cheerful enough; but Ranma could hear the hurt in them. They made her-- him-- feel more than a little sick, "I'm sure that when… their training is complete, they'll come home." If it weren't for this curse I'd be home already; and if only I hadn't signed that contract, I could tell you. Still, even without the contract how could you accept your son like… this?
"I hope that it's soon. They've been training for over ten years, you know. I used to receive letters from Genma, but that ended after they went to China to train."
Ranma didn't really know what to say to that. I hadn't known about the letters.
"We're here. Why don't you leave the packages near the entrance? We'll sort them out after lunch."
"Okay."
"Can you give me a hand in the kitchen?"
"Sure."
"I'll start on the sandwiches. Can you prepare the salad?"
"Glad to" and this time I'll wash the vegetables first. The memory of that slip-up still caused her to blush in embarrassment. My very own Akane moment.
Working together, the two quickly had lunch prepared and arranged on the low table.
"I forgot the tea in the kitchen. I'll be right back."
"Okay."
Ranma knelt at the low table and looked around the dining room, catching glimpses of things she-- he-- remembered from so long ago. The painting on the wall was exactly as she remembered it; but there was now a picture beside it of a young family. She studied the picture closely: a young-looking Genma (What do you know! The old man actually DID have hair once.) was seated next to a smiling Nodoka, who held a cheerful boy in her lap that could only have been herself as a child. They looked happy to be with each other in a loving home.
Home.
Damn Pop.
Damn seppuku contract.
Damn me for goin' along with it.
She was so busy musing that she didn't even notice as Nodoka entered the room.
I wonder what Ranko-chan is looking at.
Ranma did notice when Nodoka gasped and tripped, with the tea tray.
SPLASH
That's hot! Wait a moment. Did Mom see this? - quick glance - She's got all the signs: wide eyes, glazed expression, body frozen in place out of shock… ah CRAP!!
Maybe I can get away…? No, I'm caught.
Lie?
To Mom?
No way. I can't do that. Besides, what would I say?
'Crouch of Fallen Tiger'…?
No, it'd be too much like Pop and probably wouldn't work anyway.
I'll just face what comes; but I sure wish I knew where Mom's katana was.
Nodoka's eyes grew even wider as she gaped at the young man now seated at her table.
But Ranko was just sitting there. She had been looking at something on the wall.
She studied the young man's features, surprise and fear fighting to gain dominance on his face. That face. There was something familiar about it…
Had Ranko been looking at the family picture? Was this young man doing so?
Nodoka studied that picture now.
Such a wonderful time: the three of us were together and happy. No training trip. No contract.
She looked back to the young man.
Where did Ranko go? Ranko couldn't have left so quickly. It's impossible. And I didn't hear anyone else come in, either.
She looked back to the picture: the happy child on her lap, those bright eyes.
Just like Ranko's eyes. I guess that's why I've always been drawn to her. Those eyes that reminded me so much of Ranma's in the picture. Ranko immediately seemed familiar, like part of the family. Other people joked that we looked alike, but I only saw something in the eyes.
She looked to the young man. His eyes were anxious, but also so… familiar.
He's sitting just like Ranko was.
The same clothes. The same pigtailed hairstyle.
Impossible.
The same eyes. Ranko's eyes. Her… son's eyes.
But what I'm thinking is also impossible.
"Ranko… Ra-Ranma?"
"Hai, mother."
"It-It's been a long time."
"Yes, it has."
To Nodoka's considerable credit, she didn't faint. She did, however, need to sit down. Without another word, Nodoka sat at the table, her expression inscrutable.
There was a long silence.
"Pass the salad, please."
"What?"
"Ranma?"
"Gomen, mom. Here you are."
"We obviously have a lot to discuss; but first we will eat lunch. You can then start by telling me what you have been up to for the last ten years."
"Alright."
Okaaay. Not the reunion I'd imagined; but at least she didn't whip out the katana first thing.
Where IS it, anyway?
After lunch had been cleared away the two sat in the living room. Ranma had shown Nodoka his curse with both cold and hot water, and his mother had watched with surprise but not the shock she had exhibited earlier. Ranma was now seated on the sofa, telling the story of his training trip. Nodoka, sitting across from him in her favorite chair, listening intently; a mixture of emotions crossing her face as she heard details of her son's life that Genma had never included in his letters.
And with good reason! He knows I would never have permitted much of the foolishness that he palmed off as 'training'. I can't believe that I allowed that man to take my son and do all the things that he did… did I hear 'Amazons'?"
"And it was after the run-in with the Amazons that Pop and I came back to Japan."
"And for most of the past year you have been staying in the Tendo home."
"Yeah. Pop wanted me to meet my fiancée, the only one he'd told me about at the time, anyway; and I guess it made a good place to hide out."
"But I don't understand why they wanted to kill you. What happened with them?"
"After Pop and I ate the first prize in their contest, I had to fight their champion or give Pop to them."
"Why would they want your father?"
"It had been raining that day, so he was in panda form. I think they wanted to make a rug out of him or something. Anyway, I beat their champion and earned the 'Amazon Kiss of Death'."
"The what?"
"I defeated her while in girl-type, and one of the Joketsuzoku Amazon laws says that an outsider female who defeats an Amazon must be put to death. It made sense to hide from Shampoo after that."
"You were hiding from a hair-care product?"
"No, Shampoo is the name of the Amazon I defeated at the tournament. It's really 'Xian Pu' but 'Shampoo' is close enough."
"Wait, have I met her? Is she a waitress at a restaurant in Nerima?"
"That's her; she works at the Nekohanten. Her great-grandmother Cologne runs the place and she's also an elder in their village. Mousse is the other Amazon who works there; he's the guy in the long robes."
"A male Amazon? Isn't that strange?"
"Well, men in their village are also Amazons; but Mousse is a pretty strange guy."
"All of this explains why someone came by the house a few months ago. I only learned later that she worked at the Nekohanten. She was wearing Chinese silks with armor and carrying two large clubs. She couldn't speak Japanese very well but she got her point across that she was looking for a petite redhead. I didn't know of anyone like that at the time, so she went on her way. What happened when she found you?"
"She tried to kill me again, repeatedly. Things got worse when she tried to attack Akane and I knocked her out. Another one of those bizarre Joketsuzoku laws came into play and said that Shampoo had to marry me."
"Even though she had to kill you?"
"She was trying to kill my girl side, who you've known as Ranko. I goofed by beating her as my male self, so now she was after each side… of… me… Why are you laughing?"
"Because the whole situation is absurd! Because after hearing about your training this is something that could only happen to you. Has she found out about your curse?"
"She has: I showed her the curse and she took it really hard. She left for a while after that; but she came back with a curse of her own. When she's hit by cold water, she now becomes a c-ca-cat."
"When did you develop a fear of cats? Cats used to come around the house before you left and you never minded them then. Son, I have the distinct feeling you haven't told me everything."
"I was hoping that I wouldn't have to, Mom. Pop had come across an old training manual for something called the Neko-ken, or 'cat-fist'. The technique's supposed to be unbeatable, but Pop didn't read the entire thing before he started training me."
"What form did the training take?"
"I'd… rather not say."
"Please, I need to know what has happened to my daughter-- son-- child-- oh, your curse can be confusing!"
"For me too, sometimes. In the Neko-ken, days before training starts the trainer first locates or digs a deep pit, then he fills the pit with all the ca-ca- - those - he can find. The pit is left alone, sealed, for days. The person to be trained is then wrapped in fish, fish sausage, fish paste, fish anything, and tossed into the pit to 'train' with the starving c-ca-cats. Training is repeated until the Neko-ken is mastered… or… Mom? You okay?" And where did that katana come from?
Nodoka had grown progressively more upset while Ranma had explained his father's most idiotic training technique. She had shot to her feet, anger coursing around her in a crimson corona, her knuckles standing out in white as her hands clutched the hilt of her unsheathed katana. She made a visible effort to control her anger and her ki aura subsided, a little.
"He actually did this?"
"Yeah."
"You said he did not read the entire manual before starting. What did he miss?"
"He missed the warning that Neko-ken training was an incredibly stupid and dangerous technique that should never be attempted. It also warned that the person being trained could die or go insane from the process."
"That sounds exactly like something he would miss, or even ignore. How many times was the training repeated?"
"I don't really know. My memory is a bit hazy around then but I did learn the technique, sort of. I have to be around… those… long enough to go out of my mind with fear before it kicks in and I become a c-cat, at least in my head. When I'm lost in the technique, the others call it 'baka-neko'; I don't remember anything at all. The only ways I've come out of it were for my curse to activate or if someone could calm me down."
"Who was able to calm you out of Neko-ken? Don't tell me your father did it." Her wry statement was met by laughter.
"Panda-baka? I'm told I'll have nothing to do with him in Neko-ken. When I first learned the technique there was an old woman nearby who was able to settle me down. Lately Akane has been able to do it."
"I'm glad she's your fiancée."
"I guess I am too, but remember she's not the only one: Pop engaged me to at least three families, including the Tendos, and Shampoo and Kodachi engaged themselves."
"I'm glad that so many women have found you desirable; so 'manly'."
"That doesn't mean I want all of them; at least not in that way."
"Why not? From what you've said and what little I've seen they're all attractive."
"At the heart of it, I guess I want to be the one who makes the first move. The only one of the fiancées I can do that with, and even then only sometimes, is Akane."
"So she's as attentive as the others?"
"No, actually she's just as set against the arranged marriage as I am. It's given us time to start to know each other as people first, instead of just as future marriage material."
"I don't know if I approve of such delays in your father's arrangement with the Tendos; but neither I am comfortable with the idea of an arranged marriage. It surprises me that Genma would even think of such a thing when he and I made our own choices in the matter. Your father's arrangement was not one that was revealed to me at the time; but for the moment I will support it, both because it is a promise and since you seem to care more for Akane-chan than the other fiancées. I reserve the right to change my mind later."
"I wish that would make the others stop chasin' after me."
"Even with one set fiancée, why not enjoy time with the other girls? That may give you a better opportunity to see what you want in a wife, or even a mistress."
"MOM!!"
"What? Such arrangements are not uncommon in Japan, especially for a man who is able to be discrete and who can show proper attention to all of the women in his life."
"Assuming I were okay with that, which I'm NOT, both Pop and Tendo-san freak out whenever something happens between me and one of the other fiancées, even if it only looks like somethin's up. That's not to mention the reaction from Akane and her sisters."
"I think I understand: you are receiving mixed messages from your father. No wonder you're taken aback when I encourage your manliness."
"Uh… whatever. If it were my choice, I'd only want to marry one woman. I'd also want to be faithful to that one person."
"Then that woman should be exceptional. Is Akane such a person?"
"I'm not sure."
"An honest assessment; but a surprising one considering the amount of time spent with her and her family. For the moment, let us assume she isn't the person for you and consider your other fiancées, at least those of whom you are aware."
"Well… okay…"
"What about Xian Pu? She is an attractive young woman and strong in her own martial arts. She is also apparently a good cook, respectful of family, and seems eager to please you. I find all of these to be admirable traits in a wife. Would you choose her?"
"Well, Shampoo may love me, at least she says that she does; but at heart I feel she's just following the laws of her village as she knows them. Returning to her village with a husband who had defeated her in combat would be a real feather in her cap but for me it would be like I was locked in a cage. Amazon husbands, and outsiders, have second-class status in the village. I would only be a 'trophy husband', nothing more. I couldn't respect myself if that were to happen."
"Your curse makes you appear to be a woman at times. Would that help your position in the village?"
"Cologne says it would; but I think that's just part of her scheming to get me to marry Shampoo. If anything, it'd probably change my status from 'trophy' to 'circus freak'."
"You could stay together in Japan."
"She's been groomed to be a village leader, to follow in Cologne's footsteps. In Japan, people look down on her because she's from China and has trouble speaking our language. In her own village she's respected as a warrior and as a future leader. She has too much waiting for her at home to stay here."
"Then what about Kuonji Ukyo? Like Xian Pu she is an attractive young woman and strong in her own… admittedly peculiar Art. She is successful in business, a good cook, desires a family, and is also willing to make you happy. Unlike Xian Pu she does not force herself upon you, though she certainly makes her feelings known. Would you choose her?"
"You forgot that Pop already took her dowry, the yatai cart, so that's another reason. Ucchan's family was betrayed by Pop, and I guess by me too; so I owe her something. I just can't marry her."
"And why not?"
"When I first met her I didn't know she was a girl; I thought she was a boy until after we met again in Nerima. Ucchan was about the only friend I made on the road with Pop, and I just can't think of her as anything else."
"A friendship can be a good start to a romance or marriage."
"But with Ucchan it feels to me like being engaged to my sister. I think its safe to say I care for her, maybe even love her; but only as a friend or as family, not romantically, as I think a husband would a wife."
"Then what about Kuno Kodachi?"
"Well, she's Kuno-senpai's younger sister and--"
Nodoka raised a hand, "Say no more. If she is anything like her brother it would be best to avoid her."
"She is, and I avoid her as best I can."
"I do not agree with all of your reasons for distancing your fiancées, nor do I approve of the assumptions you make that deny Xian Pu and Kuonji Ukyo their own say in the matter; but the final decision is not mine to make. What have you done about them?"
"I've tried to let them down easy; but that doesn't really work. Whenever I try they either get homicidal or begin to cry and I have a tough time dealing with that. I guess I'm hoping they'll just give up."
"That's not a very manly, let alone mature, attitude to take. Besides, from what you've told me they cannot give up."
"Yeah. They also think their claims are exclusive, so the 'manly' approach you've talked about before would probably just get me killed. I always meant to ask you about that, anyway. What does 'manly' really mean?"
"Your father hasn't taught you?"
"If he has, its been by showing me what not to do. I look at Pop, and Tendo-san too, but they're not the type of man I'd like to be."
"Don't be so quick to dismiss them, Ranma; I'm sure that they each have good qualities. Of course, it may take more work to find them in your father."
"You can say that again. So what does 'manly' mean to you? Sometimes when you've come by the Tendo home you mention things that you say are manly but I just don't get it."
Nodoka nodded and rose, "Change into fighting gear and come with me to the dojo."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It will be easiest to show you the basis for what I consider manliness in the dojo. Now change clothes; you should find a gi that will fit you upstairs."
"But I usually fight in these…" He was wearing one of his old Chinese outfits.
"I see. Then follow me to the dojo."
"What…" but Nodoka had already left the room. Ranma rose and followed.
I don't remember a dojo growin' up.
At the Tendo house, the dojo was in a separate building, apart from the family home. In the Saotome home, a dojo had been created inside the house. It wasn't quite as large as the Tendo's training room but that only gave the room a comfortable air of closeness. Entering from the house, on the left the kamidana shrine was visible high on the wall, across from that, to the right, was another set of doors. Around the walls were various racks filled with practice weapons and, hanging from the walls, several silk scrolls, each containing elegant kanji script.
Ranma looked around as he entered, "Wasn't this the den?"
Nodoka smiled as she opened the other doors, which led to the outside. "Also an upstairs bedroom and the greenhouse. I teach classes here three days a week."
Ranma's jaw dropped in surprise. "You teach? Anything-Goes?"
"I do not teach Musabetsu Kakuto. I instruct students in Aikido, Kendo, Kenjutsu, Iaido and various forms of Koryu."
"Those are mostly concerned with the sword."
"That shouldn't surprise you. Where the Saotome Ryu no Musabetsu Kakuto emphasizes improvisation and adaptation, my classes emphasize focus and control for improvement of the self. The use of a sword or other weapon reinforces to my students the need for awareness of their actions."
"Control is a part of Anything-Goes…"
"But only as an incidental thing. Control is not a primary focus of what you have learned."
"I'm… not sure I understand."
"Show me some of what you've learned and I will try to demonstrate. If you will show me three katas, any three you choose, please."
"Well… alright."
Ranma moved to the center of the dojo as his mother sat near the outer door. He took two measured breaths to center himself, and began.
His first kata was nothing special, just a basic exercise that increased in speed throughout its procession. He had chosen this kata out of deference to his mother as it drew heavily from aikido, though not so much on the 'open hand' techniques that were related to Nodoka's sword-based discipline. He had also intended it as a test. When Nodoka had visited the Tendo home, with her sword of course, she had demonstrated no more skill than that of a very dangerous amateur. Her occasional sword swings has panicked everyone, as they couldn't be sure which way the blade would go.
My Mom: the Cuisinart.
Glancing at his mother now Ranma saw that he, and everyone at the Tendo home, had woefully underestimated the woman. She was following his every move with a cool, appraising eye. She's at least as good as Akane, to follow this so closely. Let's take this up a notch.
Ranma shifted smoothly into his second kata, one intended to practice the aerial aspects of the Art that were the hallmark of the Saotome School of Anything-Goes. It wasn't easy in the smaller dojo but he managed it, moving through the kata in a blur of activity.
His mother's eyes were still following his every move, a slight smile touching her face. Clever boy. He's taking my measure while I'm evaluating him.
Wow, she may be up there with Shampoo in skill. I'll go all out in this last one; see if she can follow it.
Ranma had learned a great deal in his travels and later from encounters with martial artists who had come to challenge him. He ran through a gamut of their best now. He always enjoyed practicing a new discipline, as it pushed him to become better than he had been. Lately he had taken to incorporating those special techniques into his own, advanced kata. He channeled more of his ki, and his focus, inward to spur his body ever faster. As he did, he could feel himself being lost in the moment, caught up in the Art. This, this was his favorite time; pushing himself solely for the pleasure he found in the Art.
I wonder if Mom reaches this state as well. Does she immerse herself this fully in the Art? He suddenly sensed something in his way, but was unable to avoid it.
"OOF!!"
Ranma sat up from where he had fallen, his ribs smarting from the shinai that had been swung in his path. Nodoka raised the split-bamboo sword to a vertical rest position, and then returned it to a rack on the wall.
Ranma gingerly probed his ribs, feeling the bruise that was already forming. "Mom, why'd you do that?"
"I wanted to see your level of skill, and to me this includes your awareness. You could have avoided this but seemed… distracted."
Ranma felt his ears burn, "I was lost in the Art."
"Joy in the Art and in your considerable skills is understandable, but don't let that cloud your sense of where you are and what is around you. If you do, you could actually be dangerous to others or even yourself. Without awareness how can you properly control your actions?"
"Hai. I'll work on that."
"In the meantime it's getting late. Will you stay the night? I'd like to spend more time with you."
"Sure! I'll need to let Pop and the Tendos know where I am."
"Of course. You can use the phone in the kitchen."
"Thank you, Mom."
------
"Ranma-kun, where are you? We assumed you would be back this afternoon and it's already almost time for dinner."
"Sorry, Kasumi-san. I went to Edogawa today to shop and spent more time than I'd planned. I'll spend the night here and return tomorrow. Can you let everyone know I'm all right?"
"I can; but where will you be staying? I hope you won't have to spend money for a hotel."
"No, not a hotel." Ranma let his voice drop to a whisper, "I'm with Mom."
Kasumi's voice also dropped to a whisper, a panicked one, "But, Ranma-kun, if she sees you and not 'Ranko'… are you sure you'll be all right?"
"Mom's already seen the curse. I didn't intend to let her know but it happened anyway. So far things seem okay. We're catching up on a lot of lost time."
"Oh my, Ranma-kun, the contract…"
"She hasn't brought that up yet, and I hope she won't. Can you do me a favor, Kasumi-san?"
"Anything to help. What can I do?"
"Can you let the others know I'm in Edogawa, but keep the part with my Mom quiet for now? I'm sorry to ask that, but I don't want to get everyone worried."
"I'll tell them what they need to know, and see you when you return, Ranma-kun."
"I'll tell you all the details tomorrow, Kasumi-san. Thank you."
There was a soft click as Ranma hung up the phone.
------
"Good luck, Ranma-kun" Kasumi told the silent line.
"Kasumi, who was that on the phone?"
"That was Ranma, father. He's spending the night with a friend he met in Edogawa and will be back tomorrow. He apologizes for not letting us know sooner."
"Well, that's all right then. Saotome-kun, Ranma will be back tomorrow."
Genma GROANED. There are few more pathetic sights than a panda nursing a bad headache.
"Would you like more ice, Saotome-ojisan?"
Genma-panda started to nod to Kasumi but suddenly thought better of it. [That would be very nice. Thank you.] he signed.
Nabiki, now thoroughly rested, piped up, "What was he doing in Edogawa, Sis?" Nabiki was eager to have a talk with her prospective brother-in-law about keeping secrets. He's finally showing potential; now to teach him not to do that with ME.
"Oji-san, is there another fiancée you haven't told us about yet?" asked a tense voice. Akane was already going into 'Kill Ranma' mode; but looked ready to share it with any convenient Saotome.
Soun gave his suddenly sweating friend a sidelong glance, "Saotome-kun, I hope you haven't been hiding another fiancée for Ranma. The ones we already know about are enough of a concern."
Genma-panda looked indignant (as much as could be expected for a sweating panda wearing an oversized icepack) and signed, [I'm shocked, truly shocked that you would accuse me of that.]
"Saotome-kun…" Soun's demon-head was starting to come out.
[No! No fiancées in Edogawa! Honest!!] It would have been too dangerous to have them run into the wife.
Nabiki's eyes narrowed, "What about fiancées somewhere else?"
[Well, would you look at the time!] It's amazing sometimes how fast a panda with a headache can move.
Soun turned to his eldest daughter, "We should go ahead and start dinner, Kasumi-chan, since it looks like Ranma-kun and Saotome-kun won't be joining us."
"Dinner will be ready in a few moments, father." With Ranma and his father not eating tonight, there will be a lot of leftovers. Perhaps it could be used to start a picnic tomorrow. I hope Ranma can join us; he was so nice to Akane this morning, at least for a while. I hope that happens again. It makes meals so much more pleasant when people don't fight. Humming softly, Kasumi went to the kitchen to get the dishes.
Soun turned back to where Genma had fled, Saotome-kun, sometimes I wonder if its worth having Akane marry Ranma with all the surprises you spring on us. I want Ranma in the family; but sometimes I don't know about you.
------
Ranma and Nodoka were cleaning the dinner dishes when Ranma's curse was triggered again. Nodoka had turned to say something to Ranma, only to suddenly not see him there. She looked down.
"Ranko!… Sorry, Ranma. I didn't realize the rinse water had cooled enough to do that."
Ranma-chan gave her mother a long-suffering look, "It's OK, Mom. This curse just makes me a cold water magnet."
"How do you feel about your curse? I'm still a bit confused by it."
"I live with it, but don't like it. It actually isn't the physical change that's the worst but rather how it changes the way other people treat me. It doesn't help when people try to use the curse against me or take advantage of it to put me in uncomfortable situations."
"What people?"
"First there's Kuno, the one you've met. He got a look at me like this on my first day in high school and soon proclaimed me his 'pig-tailed goddess'. The idiot keeps chasing after me, even when I pound the jerk senseless in both of my forms."
"Has he seen the curse?"
"He has… more than once. He's also had it explained to him… more than once. He just won't understand."
"I had thought him to be dull-witted. I had no idea he could be so obtuse."
"Ob-what?"
"Stupid."
"Oh. He is that. Well there's also Kodachi, Kuno's sister. When Akane was asked to be a substitute on the gymnastics team, Kodachi tried to eliminate her before the competition."
"That is a dishonorable way to behave."
"I agree. Kodachi thinks of it as being proactive in a competition but it's just a dirty way to play. Even Kuno doesn't really like Kodachi, calls her his 'twisted sister'. Anyway, Akane got hurt in training and I wound up competing."
"You won, of course."
"Yeah, but it was humiliating. I was doin' all that rhythmic gymnastics stuff in a leotard. I hadn't been so embarrassed before in my life."
"Did people know it was you?"
"No, and I even used my own name, too. Sometimes I wonder about people."
"Was that all?"
"Not by a long shot! There was also the ice-skating match, the cheerleading, swimming and the beach, Happosai, the pictures, the Full-body Cat Tongue, Happosai, the traveling circus, karaoke, Happosai…" While Ranma told Nodoka about his/her life and trials in Nerima, they finished the dishes and moved to the living room.
Nodoka thought carefully, "So you don't like being transformed by the curse; but at practically no time has it truly hindered you. Your female form has actually helped you more than once."
"Yeah, but bein' a guy is a point of pride with me. Even Pop's training, dumb as it can be, is bearable because I know he has faith I can do anything if I apply myself. That I can be a 'man among men'."
"He wants you to become an exemplary man, as do I."
"Pop says that's tied up in bein' a good martial artist--"
"I agree."
"And martial arts is something I do better as a guy."
"Based on what you've told me I would disagree. At least let us say that you don't have the same abilities in both forms; but you are still a skilled martial artist in either one. That isn't important at the moment. Aside from your appearance and the way others perceive you, does the curse change anything?"
"Not that I can tell. It's still me, no matter what I look like."
"And when you truly understand that, you will have learned a valuable lesson."
"I suppose… but I still don't like this curse."
"No one is saying that you should." She rose and turned to go, "I will meditate on what I have seen and heard before retiring for the night. I suggest that you take advantage of the dojo once more before preparing for bed. You may use your old room upstairs; but the furo is now two doors down from your bedroom."
"I will, and thank you, Mom."
"Good night, Ranma. I will see you in the morning."
------
Ranma returned to the dojo in a borrowed gi. He reasoned that the clothes he came in had gone through enough punishment for one day, but rather than bother his mother with this he had washed them himself and hung them out to dry on the laundry pole in the back of the house, not unlike when he was on the road with his father. The sun had set hours before, but Ranma expected the night's light breeze to have the clothes ready to wear by morning.
He ran through the advanced kata his mother had interrupted earlier, feeling the energy flow through his body and the thrill through his mind. I still like this time the best.
But tonight he was trying to concentrate on the dojo as well: the things in it, the smooth hardwood floor, the grainy texture of the walls, the wood beams dark with age, the silk scrollwork around the walls. His mother said it was important, but he couldn't see why she thought it was so important.
These are just standard things around every dojo, except for the racks of practice weapons. What is it HERE that's so important?
He slipped on a part of the dojo floor and caught himself before he fell.
Whoops! I should wipe down the floor before washing up. He felt the spot where he had slipped. Wait, this spot has a different polish, it's smoother here than in other places.
People are supposed to slip here, but why?
The answer hit him almost as hard as his mother's shinai. They aren't supposed to slip unless they're unaware of what this spot will do. He scanned the floor, finding other such places, I hadn't slipped before because I missed those spots earlier or I wasn't moving fast enough for it to matter.
Mom's cleverer than I thought. This place is designed to enforce awareness. I don't see how awareness has anything to do with manliness, though.
He ran a barely damp cloth over the dojo floor to clean it before going back inside the house.
------
Being in his old room was strange. Part of that was because the room had been remade as an occasional guest room, so most of his childhood toys and other belongings were gone. It was also strange to be in a room he remembered as so much larger, as if he had suddenly grown to the size of a giant.
He lay on the futon and tried to sleep, but was disturbed by his thoughts.
Well, I've met Mom and she knows about the curse.
She hasn't brought up the contract yet, and that's good.
She also hasn't called me a 'man among men' either, and that's bad.
Damn Jusenkyo. How can anyone be an exemplary man when cursed to be a girl half the time?
I still don't get mom's thing about 'manliness' and the dojo. Isn't it manly to be a good martial artist? If that were the case I think I'd know it, or maybe that's part of the 'awareness' she's talkin' about.
I must be missing something, something very obvious; but I just don't know…
-yawn-
Maybe Akane's right when she calls me a baka… sometimes…
Further thoughts would have to wait as the pig-tailed martial artist finally reached a troubled sleep.