Rhythmer's Fist Season 2; Trouble and Bass
'Ranma's Mother!'
The matronly woman stood frozen, as she watched the young redhead wrestling with a large panda in the fish pond in the back yard. After several moments, she was able to find her voice, "Oh my."
The panda froze from it's position of being dunked headfirst, managing to make its own fur become pale. The redhead looked up at the new arrival, and blinked, "Whoa, babe alert..."
"Ah..." the woman stalled, not sure what to say about the compliment, "th-thank you... young... lady."
Before the girl could say anything else, she was forced to dodge a rather violent blow from the panda, "Hey! Pops! Can't you see I'm talking with a beautiful person, here?"
"Great way to make an impression, 'girlfriend'," Akane commented from behind the older woman, causing her to jump. Akane meant to emphesize Ranma's current gender, allowing the redhead to realize the ackwardness the woman must be feeling from being scoped out by a younger girl.
Ranma was barely paying attention, as the panda's attacks became desperate. As she redhead easily evaded each blow as if it were part of a dancegroove, she noted that the panda was sweating, and not just from the workout or the water of the pond.
"[New Training Regimen; Come Catch me, girl!]" The panda's sign taunted, noting the word 'boy' was exed out.
Ranma shrugged, and gave chase. She estimated with her father's uncanny ability to run away, she should have finished this task in five minutes, before returning to look at the gorgeous woman that had arrived a few minutes ago.
"What an odd... girl," the matronly woman voiced, staring after them, "she seems like a great martial artist."
"She has skill," Akane replied, before yawning, "So, you're Ranma's mother?" Akane smirked, "I see where he gets his looks."
Nodoka just managed to withold her eye-twitch; a certain Brazilian woman was certainly rubbing off on the younger generation."
"Thank you for the compliment, but it's not a very lady-like thing to say."
Akane smirked, while stretching the morning kinks out, "I prefer being the tomboy, anyways."
"oh?" the older woman questioned, folding her arms with her long bundle inside the crook of her elbow, "You're certainly going about it the right way, hitting on older women. What would the young men say?" She leaned back a bit, and allowed a devious smirk to cross her face.
"Probably that they would pay good money to see the two of you together," Nabiki commented, walking by. Her comment was followed by Kasumi's giggle.
Akane thought the panache that the older woman delivered the quip was pretty darn familiar. "You sure I don't know you?" Akane asked, narrowing her eyes, and trying to picture where she had seen the woman before.
"Um... you said my son and husband were back here?" Nodoka asked, quickly dropping the smirk, and changing the subject.
Akane shrugged, dropping her question, "They... will be back momentarily." She decided it may be best to leave out the mention of Ranma and his father's curse for the time being out of prudence.
"Oh," Mrs. Saotome replied, a bit downcast, before she brightened up, "My son must be so active! Could you tell me a little about him before they come back?"
"Sure," the raven-haired girl replied, before recalling something, "Oh! I never told you my name, I apologise." The girl bowed before the older woman, "I'm Akane Tendou."
Nodoka had forgotten that she supposadly hadn't been introduced to the girl, "That's alright."
Akane lead them back to the tea room, where Kasumi had set the plates out for breakfast. Akane noted that her oldest sister was setting out an extra place. "So, what would you like to know about him?"
Nodoka found herself at a loss of what she wanted to ask, before an idea came to her. Doing her sincere best to hide her almost evil smile, the matriarcal woman enquired, "First, is my son manly?"
Akane blinked, and blinked again, "Um, is this a personal question? I mean he is a cute guy and all, but I'm kinda... you know... waiting?"
"Oh," Nodoka said with a frown, "Well, you said he was cute?"
"Yeah," Akane replied, "He's got a nice smile, even if it ends up more as an obnoxious smirk. And those gorgeous gray eyes of his. And the way he can move that tight little tush of his..." Akane made an act of smacking her lips, and then licking them.
"My, you sure he hasn't proven his manliness to you," Nodoka replied, feigning being taken aback by the girl's brashness. She mentally noted to smack someone upside the head for her bad influence.
"You sound like you're eager for grandchildren or something," Akane quipped, slightly irritated at the insinuation.
"Well," Nodoka's eye glimmered, as her smile returned, "That... and it is a contractual obligation..."
"What do you mean? Mrs. Saotome?" Nabiki interjected, finding the conversation a bit more interesting.
"Well," the older woman straightened out her kimono, and pulled out a parched sheet of paper from somewhere, "Before I would allow my husband to take Ranma on a training trip, he made a vow that he would make my son a man among men, lest they commit ritual suicide to atone for failure."
She laid the contract before the two sisters, before retrieving her bundle from the side of her. With skillful practice, she unwrapped the ricecloth from around it, presenting the sheathed Saotome Honor sword, "I will be their second, in that event." Her free left hand went to cover her left cheek, "Oh, I do hope it doesn't come to that..." In the kitchen, a plate had shattered on the floor.
Neither of the girls were paying much attention, as they were busy trying to breath again. They both snapped their wide eyes back to the obviously insane woman, allowing her to see their extremely pale complextions. At that moment, a certain redhead entered, dragging an unconcious panda, and looking at the other woman warily.
Nodoka noticed the two girls' eyes suddenly become wider, as they focused on someone behind her, "Hmm? Is there someone behind me?" As she turned, the sword she was unsheathing to show to two sisters the quality of the blade, flew from her hands, and embedded right in the floor before the now startled redhead.
"Oh, I'm such a butterfingers with this thing! Oh my, you're that girl that was playing with the panda in the fish pond? That's not a very proper thing for a young lady to do." Nodoka stood up, retrieved her sword from in front of the rigid still girl, and bowed, "May I ask your name."
The redhead shook herself out of her shock, but was still a bit out of it, "Um... R-Ran-"
"KO! RANKO!" Akane interjected, rather loudly. She quickly shot to her feet, before putting her arm around 'Ranko's' shoulders, "Hey, Ran*ko*, can I talk to you for a moment... in private?"
As Akane lead the shorter girl away to discuss certain life-threatening matters, Nodoka sighed, testing the balance of her sword, before kneeling at the head of the unconcious panda, "Why hello there, Mr. Panda..."
____________________
Akane and Ranma returned to find Nodoka chatting animatedly with new newly dubbed 'Mr. Panda', before she noticed the two girls' return. The girl she was rather familiar with, the one that was Petra's student, wore a nervous grin, while the other one had an expression of unamused disbelief. She turned back to Mr. Panda, and continued her story.
"Ranma so eager to affirm his honorable intentions, as you can see from his numerous handprints on the contract, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Panda?"
"Of course.. the only one who would marry a moron like Pops would be a bloodthirsty sociopath. Maybe someone shoulda mowed down the family tree at the roots years ago," Ranko replied in a dry tone, before turning back to Akane, "Hell, this is totally rhythmless."
"And I would hack like this, and this, and HAI, HAI HA-oops!"
"Huh?" Ranko turned around, just in time to bend backwards at the waist at a ninety degree angle, avoiding the blade that was imbedded in the wall next to her, vibrating just inches from her nose.
"Oh my," Nodoka replied, retrieving her sword, as gravity fully took hold of Ranko, and forced her to fall backwards. "I'm not very good with swords, still," She continued, removing her white headband from her demonstration of what she would be like as the second to her son and her husband's seppuku, "I guess I need to practice more often..."
Ranko remained in the shape of a right angle, as she continued to stare up into space. Nodoka didn't seem to notice, "Perhaps I should have them take turns instead of doing them both at the same time. It may take me more than a couple of swings to do the two of them at once, that could be messy!"
Ranko and the panda began to grow deathly pallor.
"I know! Ranma can go second, that way he can watch his father!" Nodoka beamed at the solution, clapping her hands together, forgetting she was holding a sword.
The panda stared at the blade, wobbling between its legs.
"Perhaps I should sheeth this thing before someone gets hurt," Nodoka joked, as she worked the sword from the wood floor. She then turned to the redhead, "So, Ranko, how is it you're associated with the Tendous?"
"Ah..." Ranko shifted her eyes to the side, "I'm Akane's cousin, or something..."
"Oh, that's a relief!" the older woman sighed, placing her hand against her chest, "For a moment, I thought you were Akane-dear's intimate lover or something rather. My imagination!" Her hand went to her cheek in chagrin as she finished.
"Hey, Panda-man, let's go have a little chat..." a now non-comatose Ranko enquired to the stone frigid panda, dragging the animal to the bathing room.
Akane's eye twitched, finding the comment well too familiar to her own instrutor in the Art of the Rhythmer's Fist, "You really do remind me of someone I know..."
"Um, so where's your father?" Nodoka quickly changed the subject.
"He's out at a town meeting I think," Akane replied, while wondering to herself why the other woman constantly became evasive.
"Oh, I was hoping he could explain a few things to me," Nodoka replied, before she perked back up, "So, why don't you tell me a little about my son, are you his girlfriend...?"
____________________
"Gee, Pop," a now male Ranma started in a casual tone, as he sat next to his father in the bath, "Truthfully, is that my mother? If so, you think her homicidal bloodlust is hereditary?"
Genma nodded solumnly, "Yes, Ranma, that truly is your mother. As for your second question, why do you-" Genma looked towards Ranma, and noticed the flat stare coming from his son, "oh..."
"Well, before I relieve you of the burden of ritual suicide, would you mind explaining to me WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING THROUGH THAT SKITCHED UP HEAD OF YOURS?!?"
"RANKO! I heard a boy's voice!" Nodoka entered, waving the Saotome Honor blade around, finding the bathroom nearly destroyed, and cold water spraying about, "I was concerned that a pervert may have invaded your privacy!"
"Ah, just me and panda-man rais'n a ruckus, heh... heh..." Ranko replied, still holding onto the faucet nossle.
"Well, I could have sworn I saw a pigtailed boy and a strange old man..." Nodoka mused, "I guess that was my imagination again!"
"I guess so!" Ranko replied, planting Mr. Panda's face into a nearby wall before he could sign anything.
Akane rolled her eyes at the spectacle, "Now I know where Ranma gets that dense skull of his..." Difficult to note if she was referring to Genma or his wife.
____________________
"A whole night?" Ranma dry-toned, staring at the three Tendou sisters inhabiting Nabiki's room.
"Well, she seemed so upset that she had... just missed you," Kasumi replied, managing to also sound chiding. Of course, her slight smirk and folded arms may have helped.
Ranma rolled her eyes, "I think there's an all-night rave downtown..."
All three sisters gained irritated expressions, but didn't voice their opinions. "And where is it being held?" Akane decided to ask, already knowing the answer coming.
"Somewhere... downtown..." Ranma sat on the bed and huffed, "I guess you guys won't let me skip out on this little sleepover, huh?"
"Ranma, she misses her son," Kasumi stated after an ackward pause, "Even if you can't be with her as a boy... at least get to know her."
"Hmph, well, with that little complication concerning MY DEATH, you'll forgive me if I don't miss her as much." Everybody easily noted the emptiness of the redhead's words. Ranma continued, after recovering from her internal wince, "Sorry if you guys have a problem with that."
"Good you noticed that we *do* have a problem with that," Nabiki snapped, turning away from the pigtailed girl that was currently infuriating her. "Here's a little fact for you, Ranma, There are three people in this room, who, no matter how hard they wish, will never see their mother again."
Ranma couldn't see Nabiki's expression, since she had turned back to her desk, but her heaving shoulders told the redhead of the middle sister's mood. Ranma turned to Akane, finding her leaning against the wall with her arms folded and eyes closed, her slightly opened mouth shuddered as she fought to control her breath, and a glance towards Kasumi found the eldest Tendou sister looking towards the floor with her hands clasped in front of her.
With a grumble, Ranma relented, "Alright, she might not be all that serious about the seppuku thing, but I ain't making any promises."
____________________
Ranma rolled over in the futon she was currently sharing with the older woman, sighing at her predicerment. "Ah well, just for one night, I guess. Ain't like she'll be here forever, and she does seem pretty lonely."
Ranma rolled back over, and stared at the ceiling in thought, "Still, it's kinda bothering me, why is it I don't want her to leave? I mean, the moment she finds out who I really am..."
"Ranma, is that you?"
At the sound of her name, the pigtailed girl leapt onto her father, fearfully staring at the woman she was sharing a bed with. "Ah... she... she didn't figure it out, did she?" Ranma felt the urge to wipe her brow of sweat; for the first time she could remember, she was losing her cool.
"My son..." Nodoka mumbled in a distant voice, earning Ranma's sigh of relief.
"Ah, she's just dreaming, that's cool," Ranma thought in relief, climbing off of Mr. Panda to return to bed. It was then she noticed a tear sliding down the older woman's cheek.
"Ranma..."
"Man, I... I guess she really does care for me..." With a firmed resolve, Ranma made a decision, and moved her hand to wake the woman, her mother, up.
::SNIKT!!:
"RANMA, WHY HAVE YOU BROKEN YOUR OATH?!? WHY AREN'T YOU ACTING LIKE A MAN?!?"
The Tendou sisters found Nodoka sighing contently in her sleep, a family katana imbedded in the wall above a shivering young pigtailed girl head, as she resided in the arms of a nervously sweating panda who was staring at the blade vibrating against his nose.
"Poor Auntie Saotome," Nabiki commented.
"Looks like she was having a pretty bad nightmare," added Kasumi.
Nodoka contentadly giggled in her seemingly peaceful sleep.
____________________
"Oh, I had such a refreshing night!" Nodoka cooed, as she came into the tea room stretching, and carrying the Saotome Honor Blade.
All the Tendous were present and accounted for, along with 'cousin' Ranko and Mr. Panda. The 'visiting relative' turned her head down towards the table where nobody would supposadly hear her grumble, "I'm glad someone did, you sadistic old-"
"Oh-oh my! I am so clumbsy with this thing!"
Like the clarion all of a red alert at defcon 5 under threatcon delta, Ranko snapped to attention, feeling the rhythm of things around her, including the bobbing of the sword being fumbled out of the sheath by the matronly woman. Effortlessly, Ranko started to twist out of the way, now prepared for the threat coming at her.
Imagine her surprise when the rhythm of Nodoka's fumbling hands changed to match her pattern.
"ACK!!!!" Ranko *BARELY* managed to contort herself out of the way of the sword, and stared at the blade that was imbedded where she had been sitting, before passing out.
"Perhaps I should keep this wrapped, to prevent further occurances..." Nodoka replied in a chagrinned tone, before moving into the kitchen to help with breakfast. It would be nice to help cook for a family, again.
____________________
"I thank you for your hospitality," Nodoka bowed to everyone present to see her off in gratitude.
"We all hope you return again, soon," Kasumi replied, giving a withering glance towards a comatose pigtailed girl as the Tendou Patriarch held her up by the back of her shirt.
Nodoka smiled, and turned to leave. Even if she didn't get to see her son again, she was glad to be around such a family, including her daughter.
"I wonder how long they intend to keep up that rediculous charade?" Nodoka mused to herself, giddy for seeing her child... and husband (she reminded herself... in afterthought), "I hope not too long, I really have to hear how they came across such interesting abilities to change like that..."
Nodoka's face grew into a devious smirk, as she walked out the front gates of the Tendou home. She had to admit, though, the reaction she got from Ranma when she thought she was asleep was priceless.
To relieve herself of some of her giddiness, she deftly unwrapped the sword she carried around with her, quickly unsheathed it, tossed it into the air, before spinning around, and twirling the sheath in her left hand.
Perfectly, the sword fell back into the sheath, before it was wrapped back up again. She ignored the incredulous stares from people out early in the morning, and continued to the trainstation. "I need to really stop playing with this thing, someone could get hurt!"
____________________
From one of the windows that faced the Tendou front gates, Nabiki chuckled. She had suspected, but that stunt outside the gates when Nodoka thought no one would see her clenched it. "Ranma-kun, that's one EVIL mother you have there."
'Ranma's Mother!'
The matronly woman stood frozen, as she watched the young redhead wrestling with a large panda in the fish pond in the back yard. After several moments, she was able to find her voice, "Oh my."
The panda froze from it's position of being dunked headfirst, managing to make its own fur become pale. The redhead looked up at the new arrival, and blinked, "Whoa, babe alert..."
"Ah..." the woman stalled, not sure what to say about the compliment, "th-thank you... young... lady."
Before the girl could say anything else, she was forced to dodge a rather violent blow from the panda, "Hey! Pops! Can't you see I'm talking with a beautiful person, here?"
"Great way to make an impression, 'girlfriend'," Akane commented from behind the older woman, causing her to jump. Akane meant to emphesize Ranma's current gender, allowing the redhead to realize the ackwardness the woman must be feeling from being scoped out by a younger girl.
Ranma was barely paying attention, as the panda's attacks became desperate. As she redhead easily evaded each blow as if it were part of a dancegroove, she noted that the panda was sweating, and not just from the workout or the water of the pond.
"[New Training Regimen; Come Catch me, girl!]" The panda's sign taunted, noting the word 'boy' was exed out.
Ranma shrugged, and gave chase. She estimated with her father's uncanny ability to run away, she should have finished this task in five minutes, before returning to look at the gorgeous woman that had arrived a few minutes ago.
"What an odd... girl," the matronly woman voiced, staring after them, "she seems like a great martial artist."
"She has skill," Akane replied, before yawning, "So, you're Ranma's mother?" Akane smirked, "I see where he gets his looks."
Nodoka just managed to withold her eye-twitch; a certain Brazilian woman was certainly rubbing off on the younger generation."
"Thank you for the compliment, but it's not a very lady-like thing to say."
Akane smirked, while stretching the morning kinks out, "I prefer being the tomboy, anyways."
"oh?" the older woman questioned, folding her arms with her long bundle inside the crook of her elbow, "You're certainly going about it the right way, hitting on older women. What would the young men say?" She leaned back a bit, and allowed a devious smirk to cross her face.
"Probably that they would pay good money to see the two of you together," Nabiki commented, walking by. Her comment was followed by Kasumi's giggle.
Akane thought the panache that the older woman delivered the quip was pretty darn familiar. "You sure I don't know you?" Akane asked, narrowing her eyes, and trying to picture where she had seen the woman before.
"Um... you said my son and husband were back here?" Nodoka asked, quickly dropping the smirk, and changing the subject.
Akane shrugged, dropping her question, "They... will be back momentarily." She decided it may be best to leave out the mention of Ranma and his father's curse for the time being out of prudence.
"Oh," Mrs. Saotome replied, a bit downcast, before she brightened up, "My son must be so active! Could you tell me a little about him before they come back?"
"Sure," the raven-haired girl replied, before recalling something, "Oh! I never told you my name, I apologise." The girl bowed before the older woman, "I'm Akane Tendou."
Nodoka had forgotten that she supposadly hadn't been introduced to the girl, "That's alright."
Akane lead them back to the tea room, where Kasumi had set the plates out for breakfast. Akane noted that her oldest sister was setting out an extra place. "So, what would you like to know about him?"
Nodoka found herself at a loss of what she wanted to ask, before an idea came to her. Doing her sincere best to hide her almost evil smile, the matriarcal woman enquired, "First, is my son manly?"
Akane blinked, and blinked again, "Um, is this a personal question? I mean he is a cute guy and all, but I'm kinda... you know... waiting?"
"Oh," Nodoka said with a frown, "Well, you said he was cute?"
"Yeah," Akane replied, "He's got a nice smile, even if it ends up more as an obnoxious smirk. And those gorgeous gray eyes of his. And the way he can move that tight little tush of his..." Akane made an act of smacking her lips, and then licking them.
"My, you sure he hasn't proven his manliness to you," Nodoka replied, feigning being taken aback by the girl's brashness. She mentally noted to smack someone upside the head for her bad influence.
"You sound like you're eager for grandchildren or something," Akane quipped, slightly irritated at the insinuation.
"Well," Nodoka's eye glimmered, as her smile returned, "That... and it is a contractual obligation..."
"What do you mean? Mrs. Saotome?" Nabiki interjected, finding the conversation a bit more interesting.
"Well," the older woman straightened out her kimono, and pulled out a parched sheet of paper from somewhere, "Before I would allow my husband to take Ranma on a training trip, he made a vow that he would make my son a man among men, lest they commit ritual suicide to atone for failure."
She laid the contract before the two sisters, before retrieving her bundle from the side of her. With skillful practice, she unwrapped the ricecloth from around it, presenting the sheathed Saotome Honor sword, "I will be their second, in that event." Her free left hand went to cover her left cheek, "Oh, I do hope it doesn't come to that..." In the kitchen, a plate had shattered on the floor.
Neither of the girls were paying much attention, as they were busy trying to breath again. They both snapped their wide eyes back to the obviously insane woman, allowing her to see their extremely pale complextions. At that moment, a certain redhead entered, dragging an unconcious panda, and looking at the other woman warily.
Nodoka noticed the two girls' eyes suddenly become wider, as they focused on someone behind her, "Hmm? Is there someone behind me?" As she turned, the sword she was unsheathing to show to two sisters the quality of the blade, flew from her hands, and embedded right in the floor before the now startled redhead.
"Oh, I'm such a butterfingers with this thing! Oh my, you're that girl that was playing with the panda in the fish pond? That's not a very proper thing for a young lady to do." Nodoka stood up, retrieved her sword from in front of the rigid still girl, and bowed, "May I ask your name."
The redhead shook herself out of her shock, but was still a bit out of it, "Um... R-Ran-"
"KO! RANKO!" Akane interjected, rather loudly. She quickly shot to her feet, before putting her arm around 'Ranko's' shoulders, "Hey, Ran*ko*, can I talk to you for a moment... in private?"
As Akane lead the shorter girl away to discuss certain life-threatening matters, Nodoka sighed, testing the balance of her sword, before kneeling at the head of the unconcious panda, "Why hello there, Mr. Panda..."
____________________
Akane and Ranma returned to find Nodoka chatting animatedly with new newly dubbed 'Mr. Panda', before she noticed the two girls' return. The girl she was rather familiar with, the one that was Petra's student, wore a nervous grin, while the other one had an expression of unamused disbelief. She turned back to Mr. Panda, and continued her story.
"Ranma so eager to affirm his honorable intentions, as you can see from his numerous handprints on the contract, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Panda?"
"Of course.. the only one who would marry a moron like Pops would be a bloodthirsty sociopath. Maybe someone shoulda mowed down the family tree at the roots years ago," Ranko replied in a dry tone, before turning back to Akane, "Hell, this is totally rhythmless."
"And I would hack like this, and this, and HAI, HAI HA-oops!"
"Huh?" Ranko turned around, just in time to bend backwards at the waist at a ninety degree angle, avoiding the blade that was imbedded in the wall next to her, vibrating just inches from her nose.
"Oh my," Nodoka replied, retrieving her sword, as gravity fully took hold of Ranko, and forced her to fall backwards. "I'm not very good with swords, still," She continued, removing her white headband from her demonstration of what she would be like as the second to her son and her husband's seppuku, "I guess I need to practice more often..."
Ranko remained in the shape of a right angle, as she continued to stare up into space. Nodoka didn't seem to notice, "Perhaps I should have them take turns instead of doing them both at the same time. It may take me more than a couple of swings to do the two of them at once, that could be messy!"
Ranko and the panda began to grow deathly pallor.
"I know! Ranma can go second, that way he can watch his father!" Nodoka beamed at the solution, clapping her hands together, forgetting she was holding a sword.
The panda stared at the blade, wobbling between its legs.
"Perhaps I should sheeth this thing before someone gets hurt," Nodoka joked, as she worked the sword from the wood floor. She then turned to the redhead, "So, Ranko, how is it you're associated with the Tendous?"
"Ah..." Ranko shifted her eyes to the side, "I'm Akane's cousin, or something..."
"Oh, that's a relief!" the older woman sighed, placing her hand against her chest, "For a moment, I thought you were Akane-dear's intimate lover or something rather. My imagination!" Her hand went to her cheek in chagrin as she finished.
"Hey, Panda-man, let's go have a little chat..." a now non-comatose Ranko enquired to the stone frigid panda, dragging the animal to the bathing room.
Akane's eye twitched, finding the comment well too familiar to her own instrutor in the Art of the Rhythmer's Fist, "You really do remind me of someone I know..."
"Um, so where's your father?" Nodoka quickly changed the subject.
"He's out at a town meeting I think," Akane replied, while wondering to herself why the other woman constantly became evasive.
"Oh, I was hoping he could explain a few things to me," Nodoka replied, before she perked back up, "So, why don't you tell me a little about my son, are you his girlfriend...?"
____________________
"Gee, Pop," a now male Ranma started in a casual tone, as he sat next to his father in the bath, "Truthfully, is that my mother? If so, you think her homicidal bloodlust is hereditary?"
Genma nodded solumnly, "Yes, Ranma, that truly is your mother. As for your second question, why do you-" Genma looked towards Ranma, and noticed the flat stare coming from his son, "oh..."
"Well, before I relieve you of the burden of ritual suicide, would you mind explaining to me WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING THROUGH THAT SKITCHED UP HEAD OF YOURS?!?"
"RANKO! I heard a boy's voice!" Nodoka entered, waving the Saotome Honor blade around, finding the bathroom nearly destroyed, and cold water spraying about, "I was concerned that a pervert may have invaded your privacy!"
"Ah, just me and panda-man rais'n a ruckus, heh... heh..." Ranko replied, still holding onto the faucet nossle.
"Well, I could have sworn I saw a pigtailed boy and a strange old man..." Nodoka mused, "I guess that was my imagination again!"
"I guess so!" Ranko replied, planting Mr. Panda's face into a nearby wall before he could sign anything.
Akane rolled her eyes at the spectacle, "Now I know where Ranma gets that dense skull of his..." Difficult to note if she was referring to Genma or his wife.
____________________
"A whole night?" Ranma dry-toned, staring at the three Tendou sisters inhabiting Nabiki's room.
"Well, she seemed so upset that she had... just missed you," Kasumi replied, managing to also sound chiding. Of course, her slight smirk and folded arms may have helped.
Ranma rolled her eyes, "I think there's an all-night rave downtown..."
All three sisters gained irritated expressions, but didn't voice their opinions. "And where is it being held?" Akane decided to ask, already knowing the answer coming.
"Somewhere... downtown..." Ranma sat on the bed and huffed, "I guess you guys won't let me skip out on this little sleepover, huh?"
"Ranma, she misses her son," Kasumi stated after an ackward pause, "Even if you can't be with her as a boy... at least get to know her."
"Hmph, well, with that little complication concerning MY DEATH, you'll forgive me if I don't miss her as much." Everybody easily noted the emptiness of the redhead's words. Ranma continued, after recovering from her internal wince, "Sorry if you guys have a problem with that."
"Good you noticed that we *do* have a problem with that," Nabiki snapped, turning away from the pigtailed girl that was currently infuriating her. "Here's a little fact for you, Ranma, There are three people in this room, who, no matter how hard they wish, will never see their mother again."
Ranma couldn't see Nabiki's expression, since she had turned back to her desk, but her heaving shoulders told the redhead of the middle sister's mood. Ranma turned to Akane, finding her leaning against the wall with her arms folded and eyes closed, her slightly opened mouth shuddered as she fought to control her breath, and a glance towards Kasumi found the eldest Tendou sister looking towards the floor with her hands clasped in front of her.
With a grumble, Ranma relented, "Alright, she might not be all that serious about the seppuku thing, but I ain't making any promises."
____________________
Ranma rolled over in the futon she was currently sharing with the older woman, sighing at her predicerment. "Ah well, just for one night, I guess. Ain't like she'll be here forever, and she does seem pretty lonely."
Ranma rolled back over, and stared at the ceiling in thought, "Still, it's kinda bothering me, why is it I don't want her to leave? I mean, the moment she finds out who I really am..."
"Ranma, is that you?"
At the sound of her name, the pigtailed girl leapt onto her father, fearfully staring at the woman she was sharing a bed with. "Ah... she... she didn't figure it out, did she?" Ranma felt the urge to wipe her brow of sweat; for the first time she could remember, she was losing her cool.
"My son..." Nodoka mumbled in a distant voice, earning Ranma's sigh of relief.
"Ah, she's just dreaming, that's cool," Ranma thought in relief, climbing off of Mr. Panda to return to bed. It was then she noticed a tear sliding down the older woman's cheek.
"Ranma..."
"Man, I... I guess she really does care for me..." With a firmed resolve, Ranma made a decision, and moved her hand to wake the woman, her mother, up.
::SNIKT!!:
"RANMA, WHY HAVE YOU BROKEN YOUR OATH?!? WHY AREN'T YOU ACTING LIKE A MAN?!?"
The Tendou sisters found Nodoka sighing contently in her sleep, a family katana imbedded in the wall above a shivering young pigtailed girl head, as she resided in the arms of a nervously sweating panda who was staring at the blade vibrating against his nose.
"Poor Auntie Saotome," Nabiki commented.
"Looks like she was having a pretty bad nightmare," added Kasumi.
Nodoka contentadly giggled in her seemingly peaceful sleep.
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"Oh, I had such a refreshing night!" Nodoka cooed, as she came into the tea room stretching, and carrying the Saotome Honor Blade.
All the Tendous were present and accounted for, along with 'cousin' Ranko and Mr. Panda. The 'visiting relative' turned her head down towards the table where nobody would supposadly hear her grumble, "I'm glad someone did, you sadistic old-"
"Oh-oh my! I am so clumbsy with this thing!"
Like the clarion all of a red alert at defcon 5 under threatcon delta, Ranko snapped to attention, feeling the rhythm of things around her, including the bobbing of the sword being fumbled out of the sheath by the matronly woman. Effortlessly, Ranko started to twist out of the way, now prepared for the threat coming at her.
Imagine her surprise when the rhythm of Nodoka's fumbling hands changed to match her pattern.
"ACK!!!!" Ranko *BARELY* managed to contort herself out of the way of the sword, and stared at the blade that was imbedded where she had been sitting, before passing out.
"Perhaps I should keep this wrapped, to prevent further occurances..." Nodoka replied in a chagrinned tone, before moving into the kitchen to help with breakfast. It would be nice to help cook for a family, again.
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"I thank you for your hospitality," Nodoka bowed to everyone present to see her off in gratitude.
"We all hope you return again, soon," Kasumi replied, giving a withering glance towards a comatose pigtailed girl as the Tendou Patriarch held her up by the back of her shirt.
Nodoka smiled, and turned to leave. Even if she didn't get to see her son again, she was glad to be around such a family, including her daughter.
"I wonder how long they intend to keep up that rediculous charade?" Nodoka mused to herself, giddy for seeing her child... and husband (she reminded herself... in afterthought), "I hope not too long, I really have to hear how they came across such interesting abilities to change like that..."
Nodoka's face grew into a devious smirk, as she walked out the front gates of the Tendou home. She had to admit, though, the reaction she got from Ranma when she thought she was asleep was priceless.
To relieve herself of some of her giddiness, she deftly unwrapped the sword she carried around with her, quickly unsheathed it, tossed it into the air, before spinning around, and twirling the sheath in her left hand.
Perfectly, the sword fell back into the sheath, before it was wrapped back up again. She ignored the incredulous stares from people out early in the morning, and continued to the trainstation. "I need to really stop playing with this thing, someone could get hurt!"
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From one of the windows that faced the Tendou front gates, Nabiki chuckled. She had suspected, but that stunt outside the gates when Nodoka thought no one would see her clenched it. "Ranma-kun, that's one EVIL mother you have there."