The teacher begins class announcing "I'm sorry to say our vice principal has been temporarily suspended. We haven't been told the reasons why. I'm sure we all offer him our support, and hope that he's reinstated soon."
Ranma snorts, "I don't. Seeing as how I reported to the authorities his collusion in attempted child abuse. I hope he looses his job, and I've been called upon as a witness to see that he does."
The entire class looks shocked. The teacher manages to close his mouth, and ask "You reported him to the authorities for child abuse? How could you do that to him!"
Ranma looks at the teacher "Surely you don't want to go on record saying I should have covered up his behavior? Do you condone people in authority using their power to cover up child abuse, and being allowed to continue to run a school? In any case, he violated explicit orders from the school board. I understand the teacher's union is paying for his lawyer. They might get him off with a slight reprimand. On the other hand, if he claims that he didn't know what he was doing was forbidden, then the principal might also lose his job."
"You seem to know alot about it, Saotome."
"Just because the principal is trying to hush it up doesn't mean I'm going to let him. It would have been in this morning's papers if he didn't convince the editor that since child abuse was involved that they should keep quiet to protect the child. What a load of bullshit. They're just trying to protect the adults."
"Aren't you concerned about protecting the child, Saotome?"
"I am protecting the child. The principal didn't. The teachers didn't. I am. And I'll see as many adult's careers die that I need to to see to it. Do you still think we should wish him our support, Sensei?"
"Well, so far, it's just your word against his."
"He's already confessed to part of it. His trial will determine the rest of it, Sensei."
--------------------------------
Having unfortunately been splashed with cold water, Ranma is almost pounced by an overly affectionate Kuno. "Pig-tailed Girl! I've missed you for so ..." Kuno's greeting is unfortunately cut off by Ranma's foot in his mouth.
"Kuno, I'm bored of this whole noble samurai shtick. Don't talk to me until you're willing to be Tuxedo Kamen for a change."
"But, my love! I don't understand!"
"As long as you're the noble samurai, I don't want to listen to you. Go away until you're willing to be Tuxedo Kamen. You still get to use your red roses, so it shouldn't be much of a stretch."
"What vile spell has Saotome put on you?"
"I've told you my condition, now if you wont leave, I will." And with that, Ranma leaped for the rooftops."
Had anyone else heard this conversation, Kuno's later behavior would have been at least explicable.
--------------------------------
Nodoka answers her doorbell, to see a police officer, and a business man waiting for her. "Nodoka Saotome?"
"Yes?"
"I'm here to issue a restraining order." He hands Nodoka an envelope. "You are forbidden to get within 100 meters of Furinkan High-school, or to intentionally get within 50 meters of Ranma Saotome, or to remain within 50 meters of Ranma Saotome if you find yourself closer. If you fail to move as quickly as possible without risking injury to people away from Ranma Saotome, or if you approach the school, you will be arrested for contempt of court, and will not be able to receive bail until you have seen a magistrate. If you have any questions, there is a phone number to call on the bottom of the first page. I've also been asked to tell you that the vice-principal who tried to help you has been arrested. I hope the rest of your day will be more agreeable."
--------------------------------
It was the middle of class, when a rose, with a weighted lead stem, embedded into the teacher's desk, and a tuxedoed Kuno wearing a domino eye-mask stood on the ledge of Ranma's classroom window, and addressed Ranma, who was just waking from a nap "Fear not, Sailor Pig-tailed Girl, for though the teacher drones on, still you shall prevail!" At which point Kuno overbalanced, and fell backward out the window.
At this point it became obvious that he had been lowered by a rope tied around his waist, as the trailing rope went taught, before pulling Sasuke off of the roof, and landing him on Kuno's stomach.
The gossip in the classroom completely masked Ranma muttering to himself "I can't believe he went for it."
--------------------------------
Genma was hiding. Both Soun and Nodoka were hunting him down, and Nodoka apparently knew about his panda form. Plus he kept running into animal control officers, that were obviously prepared to bring in a panda. It might not be so bad to lay low for a while in a zoo, if it weren't for the fact that Nodoka would get wind of it, and he'd be a sitting duck.
So Genma was making an effort to stay male, however the last two bars he'd entered, told him that police were looking for him, and described him pretty well. And there was a mention of a reward. Two people pulled out cell-phones when he entered the bar. Genma hated being picked up by the fuzz. It was invariably painful.
This was all Ranma's fault. What should he do now? Grab Ranma and force him to stop all this craziness, or lie low until this all blew over? The posters on the police kiosk at the train-station decided things for him. No choice, but to steal a raincoat, and hike out of town. Things were too hot in Nerima.
Once Soun calmed down, he could grab Soun, and the two of them could get Ranma, and stop all of this.
--------------------------------
That afternoon, Ranma was relating to his doctor all of the incident surrounding Ukyou's dowry. The doctor mentioned "As you are my patient, and it's necessary that you feel free to tell me whatever is going on with your life without fear of my interfering, I can't act on the information you're giving me without your permission. But throughout your story of what Ukyou has gone through, I suspect that she too has suffered undue abuse from her father. Her father must have known that your father was dishonorable after the way he pushed you to steal food, yet he still made the arrangement with your father concerning the engagement. Then to assuage his family honor, he pushed all of the burden onto Ukyou, forcing her to live as a man, and to seek revenge. If you weren't telling me this in confidence, I'd be compelled to find Ukyou, and determine how much damage her living as a man has caused her."
"She seems to regard it as something beyond her father's control. As necessary once the dowry had been taken."
"If it were truly beyond control, then she would be unable to consider her engagement to still be valid."
"What do you mean?"
"If the engagement is still valid, then she never had to dress up as a man. Then it was her families choice to seek out revenge rather than tracking you down for marriage. Furthermore, why did the cost of the broken engagement and the duty of tracking your father down fall to her? It was her father who made the agreement that had been broken. Technically in a dowry, the arrangement is with the bride's father. The dowry belonged to the bride's father. The dishonor and need for recompense belongs to the bride's father. For all of this to be shoved off onto the daughter, and none of it borne by the father, is a flagrant abuse of parental responsibility."
"In any event, for the marriage to be placed on your shoulders, the dowry must be given to you to start your new life. Your father is not supposed to keep it. So as long as there's no way that the dowry can be given to you, there's no reason why the marriage applies to you. If your father still had the dowry, he could claim he was holding it until the marriage, but as it's gone, your father didn't 'accept' the dowry for you, he stole it from them. You are not honor bound to marry Ukyou, your family is honor bound to make good on the theft, which in your case is a much better situation. It means you could honorably separate yourself completely from the Kuonjis merely by reporting the theft to the police."
"But the Kuonjis still want the marriage, what's to stop my pop from making a new arrangement regarding me in order to get them to drop the charges?"
"Your father can't make a legally binding agreement with them regarding you as long as you are under the state's protection. Since the Kuonjis know about your status, and they know twice over that your father is a thief, they have no reason to expect you to accept the burdens placed on you by your father."
--------------------------------
It was the drugged food that ultimately did Genma Saotome in. Even knowing he had to get away as fast as possible, even knowing he was being hunted. Genma ignored the sign saying "Do not eat" and polished off half of the food before the drugs hit.
Luckily for him, the trap wasn't set by the police, or the animal control officers. Unfortunately it was set by his wife.
Genma awoke as a human, with his legs and arms bound to a chair using piano wire, and his wife honing the family sword in front of him. "Welcome back, husband, how was your trip?"
"Honey, I can explain."
"Please do. I have a list of things that need explaining. Lets see if you can find excuses for them all without knowing which ones I've listed. Tell me about your trip."
--------------------------------
"If all three of the Tendo daughters have rejected you as a suitor since you came under the state's protection, you're free to declare that the Tendos had nullified the engagement. Your father can no longer try to over rule you. In fact, since the engagement is more or less fixed on Akane, her objection would be sufficient.
"Alternately, all you'd need is Kasumi's statement that she wont insist on a marriage. As de jure head of her family, her word on this subject is law. This doesn't mean you have to stop dating any of the girls, if you want, just that you can now disregard other people's demands, both on legal grounds, and on honor grounds. And further, no one can use those relationships as an excuse to use pressure on you.
"Up until now, everyone has been using those relations as an excuse to allow them to do things to you, that they never really had the right to. Soun Tendo, in particular never had the right to try to bully you. If he was upset, he should have yelled at your father or his daughter. Yet he used the engagement as giving him the right to dictate to you. Now with him estranged from his daughters, there's no one he has the right to yell at, besides your father."
--------------------------------
A police officer took Ukyou aside. "We've received a report that someone named Genma Saotome stole a food cart from your family when you were six, and that until recently he's been living here in Nerima. Will your family be pressing charges?"
"Who reported it?"
"His son, Ranma Saotome. He says he witnessed the theft, as well as hearing Genma brag about it. He said it was supposed to be the dowry for an engagement between the two of you, but that his father stole it and disposed of it before there could be a marriage. He's also being sought for multiple cases of child abuse, possession of an endangered species, and Ranma Saotome suggested you might wish to file charges of child abandonment. Ranma has also connected him with a ten year old case of multiple animal cruelty, but the statute of limitations might have expired on that. The civil cases against him will still be outstanding, and will probably amount to hundreds of thousands of yen, if not millions.
Author's Note: I'm Flabbergasted. I posted a story called "Ranma, Half A Mail" And didn't give any kind of description of the story itself, except to say it was a bit of a whittle, "This isn't my best work, I'm afraid"
More people read it than any of my other stories. I mentioned that no one had reviewed any of my stuff in the last 3 weeks, and received more reviews than any other chapter. only one story has more reviews.
I'm grateful. I'm happy about it. I just have no idea why, or what I should do to get so many people to read my future output.
I said it was poor, I didn't describe it, and over 300 people read it. I just don't understand.
I apologize for the 'fuzz' double entendre. I don't know what came over me.
This is as far as I'd gotten before I stopped writing for over a year. I've writen another 5K words, and am nearing the end of the story. there are 2 major scenes still unwritten that I have to figure out, as well as about 5K more words. I'll post it as soon as I can.
Ranma snorts, "I don't. Seeing as how I reported to the authorities his collusion in attempted child abuse. I hope he looses his job, and I've been called upon as a witness to see that he does."
The entire class looks shocked. The teacher manages to close his mouth, and ask "You reported him to the authorities for child abuse? How could you do that to him!"
Ranma looks at the teacher "Surely you don't want to go on record saying I should have covered up his behavior? Do you condone people in authority using their power to cover up child abuse, and being allowed to continue to run a school? In any case, he violated explicit orders from the school board. I understand the teacher's union is paying for his lawyer. They might get him off with a slight reprimand. On the other hand, if he claims that he didn't know what he was doing was forbidden, then the principal might also lose his job."
"You seem to know alot about it, Saotome."
"Just because the principal is trying to hush it up doesn't mean I'm going to let him. It would have been in this morning's papers if he didn't convince the editor that since child abuse was involved that they should keep quiet to protect the child. What a load of bullshit. They're just trying to protect the adults."
"Aren't you concerned about protecting the child, Saotome?"
"I am protecting the child. The principal didn't. The teachers didn't. I am. And I'll see as many adult's careers die that I need to to see to it. Do you still think we should wish him our support, Sensei?"
"Well, so far, it's just your word against his."
"He's already confessed to part of it. His trial will determine the rest of it, Sensei."
--------------------------------
Having unfortunately been splashed with cold water, Ranma is almost pounced by an overly affectionate Kuno. "Pig-tailed Girl! I've missed you for so ..." Kuno's greeting is unfortunately cut off by Ranma's foot in his mouth.
"Kuno, I'm bored of this whole noble samurai shtick. Don't talk to me until you're willing to be Tuxedo Kamen for a change."
"But, my love! I don't understand!"
"As long as you're the noble samurai, I don't want to listen to you. Go away until you're willing to be Tuxedo Kamen. You still get to use your red roses, so it shouldn't be much of a stretch."
"What vile spell has Saotome put on you?"
"I've told you my condition, now if you wont leave, I will." And with that, Ranma leaped for the rooftops."
Had anyone else heard this conversation, Kuno's later behavior would have been at least explicable.
--------------------------------
Nodoka answers her doorbell, to see a police officer, and a business man waiting for her. "Nodoka Saotome?"
"Yes?"
"I'm here to issue a restraining order." He hands Nodoka an envelope. "You are forbidden to get within 100 meters of Furinkan High-school, or to intentionally get within 50 meters of Ranma Saotome, or to remain within 50 meters of Ranma Saotome if you find yourself closer. If you fail to move as quickly as possible without risking injury to people away from Ranma Saotome, or if you approach the school, you will be arrested for contempt of court, and will not be able to receive bail until you have seen a magistrate. If you have any questions, there is a phone number to call on the bottom of the first page. I've also been asked to tell you that the vice-principal who tried to help you has been arrested. I hope the rest of your day will be more agreeable."
--------------------------------
It was the middle of class, when a rose, with a weighted lead stem, embedded into the teacher's desk, and a tuxedoed Kuno wearing a domino eye-mask stood on the ledge of Ranma's classroom window, and addressed Ranma, who was just waking from a nap "Fear not, Sailor Pig-tailed Girl, for though the teacher drones on, still you shall prevail!" At which point Kuno overbalanced, and fell backward out the window.
At this point it became obvious that he had been lowered by a rope tied around his waist, as the trailing rope went taught, before pulling Sasuke off of the roof, and landing him on Kuno's stomach.
The gossip in the classroom completely masked Ranma muttering to himself "I can't believe he went for it."
--------------------------------
Genma was hiding. Both Soun and Nodoka were hunting him down, and Nodoka apparently knew about his panda form. Plus he kept running into animal control officers, that were obviously prepared to bring in a panda. It might not be so bad to lay low for a while in a zoo, if it weren't for the fact that Nodoka would get wind of it, and he'd be a sitting duck.
So Genma was making an effort to stay male, however the last two bars he'd entered, told him that police were looking for him, and described him pretty well. And there was a mention of a reward. Two people pulled out cell-phones when he entered the bar. Genma hated being picked up by the fuzz. It was invariably painful.
This was all Ranma's fault. What should he do now? Grab Ranma and force him to stop all this craziness, or lie low until this all blew over? The posters on the police kiosk at the train-station decided things for him. No choice, but to steal a raincoat, and hike out of town. Things were too hot in Nerima.
Once Soun calmed down, he could grab Soun, and the two of them could get Ranma, and stop all of this.
--------------------------------
That afternoon, Ranma was relating to his doctor all of the incident surrounding Ukyou's dowry. The doctor mentioned "As you are my patient, and it's necessary that you feel free to tell me whatever is going on with your life without fear of my interfering, I can't act on the information you're giving me without your permission. But throughout your story of what Ukyou has gone through, I suspect that she too has suffered undue abuse from her father. Her father must have known that your father was dishonorable after the way he pushed you to steal food, yet he still made the arrangement with your father concerning the engagement. Then to assuage his family honor, he pushed all of the burden onto Ukyou, forcing her to live as a man, and to seek revenge. If you weren't telling me this in confidence, I'd be compelled to find Ukyou, and determine how much damage her living as a man has caused her."
"She seems to regard it as something beyond her father's control. As necessary once the dowry had been taken."
"If it were truly beyond control, then she would be unable to consider her engagement to still be valid."
"What do you mean?"
"If the engagement is still valid, then she never had to dress up as a man. Then it was her families choice to seek out revenge rather than tracking you down for marriage. Furthermore, why did the cost of the broken engagement and the duty of tracking your father down fall to her? It was her father who made the agreement that had been broken. Technically in a dowry, the arrangement is with the bride's father. The dowry belonged to the bride's father. The dishonor and need for recompense belongs to the bride's father. For all of this to be shoved off onto the daughter, and none of it borne by the father, is a flagrant abuse of parental responsibility."
"In any event, for the marriage to be placed on your shoulders, the dowry must be given to you to start your new life. Your father is not supposed to keep it. So as long as there's no way that the dowry can be given to you, there's no reason why the marriage applies to you. If your father still had the dowry, he could claim he was holding it until the marriage, but as it's gone, your father didn't 'accept' the dowry for you, he stole it from them. You are not honor bound to marry Ukyou, your family is honor bound to make good on the theft, which in your case is a much better situation. It means you could honorably separate yourself completely from the Kuonjis merely by reporting the theft to the police."
"But the Kuonjis still want the marriage, what's to stop my pop from making a new arrangement regarding me in order to get them to drop the charges?"
"Your father can't make a legally binding agreement with them regarding you as long as you are under the state's protection. Since the Kuonjis know about your status, and they know twice over that your father is a thief, they have no reason to expect you to accept the burdens placed on you by your father."
--------------------------------
It was the drugged food that ultimately did Genma Saotome in. Even knowing he had to get away as fast as possible, even knowing he was being hunted. Genma ignored the sign saying "Do not eat" and polished off half of the food before the drugs hit.
Luckily for him, the trap wasn't set by the police, or the animal control officers. Unfortunately it was set by his wife.
Genma awoke as a human, with his legs and arms bound to a chair using piano wire, and his wife honing the family sword in front of him. "Welcome back, husband, how was your trip?"
"Honey, I can explain."
"Please do. I have a list of things that need explaining. Lets see if you can find excuses for them all without knowing which ones I've listed. Tell me about your trip."
--------------------------------
"If all three of the Tendo daughters have rejected you as a suitor since you came under the state's protection, you're free to declare that the Tendos had nullified the engagement. Your father can no longer try to over rule you. In fact, since the engagement is more or less fixed on Akane, her objection would be sufficient.
"Alternately, all you'd need is Kasumi's statement that she wont insist on a marriage. As de jure head of her family, her word on this subject is law. This doesn't mean you have to stop dating any of the girls, if you want, just that you can now disregard other people's demands, both on legal grounds, and on honor grounds. And further, no one can use those relationships as an excuse to use pressure on you.
"Up until now, everyone has been using those relations as an excuse to allow them to do things to you, that they never really had the right to. Soun Tendo, in particular never had the right to try to bully you. If he was upset, he should have yelled at your father or his daughter. Yet he used the engagement as giving him the right to dictate to you. Now with him estranged from his daughters, there's no one he has the right to yell at, besides your father."
--------------------------------
A police officer took Ukyou aside. "We've received a report that someone named Genma Saotome stole a food cart from your family when you were six, and that until recently he's been living here in Nerima. Will your family be pressing charges?"
"Who reported it?"
"His son, Ranma Saotome. He says he witnessed the theft, as well as hearing Genma brag about it. He said it was supposed to be the dowry for an engagement between the two of you, but that his father stole it and disposed of it before there could be a marriage. He's also being sought for multiple cases of child abuse, possession of an endangered species, and Ranma Saotome suggested you might wish to file charges of child abandonment. Ranma has also connected him with a ten year old case of multiple animal cruelty, but the statute of limitations might have expired on that. The civil cases against him will still be outstanding, and will probably amount to hundreds of thousands of yen, if not millions.
Author's Note: I'm Flabbergasted. I posted a story called "Ranma, Half A Mail" And didn't give any kind of description of the story itself, except to say it was a bit of a whittle, "This isn't my best work, I'm afraid"
More people read it than any of my other stories. I mentioned that no one had reviewed any of my stuff in the last 3 weeks, and received more reviews than any other chapter. only one story has more reviews.
I'm grateful. I'm happy about it. I just have no idea why, or what I should do to get so many people to read my future output.
I said it was poor, I didn't describe it, and over 300 people read it. I just don't understand.
I apologize for the 'fuzz' double entendre. I don't know what came over me.
This is as far as I'd gotten before I stopped writing for over a year. I've writen another 5K words, and am nearing the end of the story. there are 2 major scenes still unwritten that I have to figure out, as well as about 5K more words. I'll post it as soon as I can.