"Continuance of the Bloodline"
By: Gangsta Spanksta
A Ranma ½ and Gold Digger Crossover.
Chapter 1: Boy Meets Mom.
It was a quiet Sunday noon, with the only sound to be heard being the gentle flow of water coming from the canal in the background. The canal itself separated two distinct middle class neighborhoods and was surrounded with a chain fence on each side. A few seconds later, the tranquility of the scene was interrupted with the approaching sound of rhythmic clanging coming along one of the fences.
On top of the fence a figure dressed in a red Chinese shirt and blue silk pants could be seen approaching at a rapid pace. The figure was a young man, who was deep in thought. Despite this, he jogged along the fence with his eyes closed and a hand in each pocket. He was so caught up in his contemplations that he failed to notice his surroundings. Even so, he was able to move across the fence with great ease using pure instinct alone to guide him.
Eventually, the young man decided to slow down his pace. He slowly opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light outside. As the scenery in front of him came into focus he stopped completely. He stood there for awhile before looking up into the sky.
"Funny I didn't notice before. I don't think I ever really sat down and thought about Mom," he said, figuring that perhaps talking to himself about it, would make him feel better.
The young man then lowered his head and proceeded to close his eyes again. He tried to calm himself by desperately searching for his center. He smiled and wore a happy look on his face, despite having feelings of pain and regret on the inside for not knowing the slightest detail about the woman he called Mom.
"Well I can't blame her for leaving, with a husband like pop," he jested.
Once more, opening his eyes he felt good about being able to put down his father. Amused with himself, he decided to continue his jog along the fence.
"She musta been a freak anyway to marry him.", he said cheerfully.
His thoughts were interrupted a few seconds later when he lost his balance on the fence. Without noticing it, he stepped on a section of fence with a warning sign on it. It simply read, "Warning. Fence is loose."
Even though he was in a state of temporary shock, he managed to jump into the air as the loose section fell and eventually splashed into the canal below. Using great dexterity, he managed to gently land on top of the following section, letting out a slight grunt as he touched down as a means of releasing his initial shock.
Calmed and focused again, he smirked as he became amused at the situation. Even more so, he became amused with pride in his abilities and the skillful nature that he could used them in. He slowly shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes as he felt his confidence rise through his body.
"Man that was a little too close to comfort", he quipped before reopening his eyes while basking in the natural high he felt coming from his confidence.
Having forgotten all about his problems, Ranma happily took another step forward, to only lose his balance once more. This time it was revealed that the section of fence was labeled with yet another warning sign. The sign read, "Warning. This one is loose too."
Not being as confident as before, Ranma started to wildly flail his arms about. When both he and the fence started to align diagonally to the ground, he verbally revealed his shock while still desperately flailing about as he tried to regain some sense of balance. His valiant efforts at such were justly rewarded a few seconds later with a loud splash as both he and the fence hit the stream below.
"Just what I needed," scowled an angry Ranma-chan, secretly cursing whichever kami it was that just loved messing with her life like that.
"Are you alright, miss?" Came a gentile voice from above.
Not seeing the kami she expected Ranma-chan said, "uh..." as she looked up and saw a very eloquent and beautiful lady kneeling down with a concerned look on her face. The lady wore a traditional blue kimono and held a long bundle tightly wrapped in cloth in one arm while holding an old medicine jar in the other. The redhead below looked up admiringly at the concerned lady above and saw that the lady had dark reddish brown hair which slightly covered her ears.
"Uh yeah thanks," said Ranma-chan as she continued to absorb the lady above.
"Here hold on to this," said the woman as Ranma rose to her feet.
The lady leaned forward still holding the jar in one arm, as she held out the bundle and lowered it with the other. Ranma hesitantly walked forward still being in a state of awe. She just stood there for awhile with her mouth gaping open.
"Come on, grab hold," the lady continued, being amused with the young girl's antics, which she found cute to boot but didn't reveal because it wouldn't be proper.
"Oh..." Said Ranma as she continued to look up at the lady, not knowing exactly why.
Ranma finally regained some sense of normalcy and shifted her view towards the bundle, as she started to walk forward again. She grabbed onto the bundle with both hands and happily replied, "okay got it." She then placed one leg on the concrete wall, ready to pull on the bundle to help herself walk up the steep incline.
"Oh..." Ranma let out being surprised at the smiling face that met her, as she looked up. She paused for a second to study the face before proceeding to pull herself up. As Ranma was halfway up the incline the kind lady lost her balance, having overestimated her own strength, and let out an "ah," in surprise. The lady tightly held onto her end of the bundle but Ranma's own tight grip on the bundle forced her to start moving forward. When she eventually stepped off the edge, both women let out their respective shrieks, and fell together in slow motion into the cold water below.
While falling, the lady's medicine jar that was carefully tucked away under her arm managed to slip out. As the jar rotated midair, its lid separated, resulting in the slow release of a black powdery substance that quickly spread itself into the air above. A few seconds later, two loud splashes came from the canal. The substance meanwhile, slowly continued to gently make its way down, falling at the speed of a feather.
Ranma quickly recovered from her daze. She noticed that one of the lady's sandals was floating downstream. Feeling responsible, she promptly fished it up. She then turned around to locate its owner, but in doing so accidentally inhaled some of the powder, forcing her to sneeze. She coughed a few times as she breathed in more of it. As she looked through the haze that now surrounded her, Ranma spotted the owner sitting a few inches behind her. She then lowered her head in shame, being embarrassed about the whole situation.
"Ah, Uh... sorry I feel terrible," Ranma said blushing as she handed the lady back her sandal while starting to stare again.
The lady sat there drenched and disappointed as she looked down at what was left of her jar. It seemed to be of great importance to her. She spent awhile watching bits of it make their way downstream. Finally, she decided that there was nothing more to be done about it and turned to face the girl.
The lady became worried as she noticed the substance still hovering around the young girl. She paused and thought about it for a short while, before finally deciding that there really wasn't anything to be worry about. Her mood lit up and she once more smiled at Ranma before started to speak.
"You're a little clumsy. Aren't you?"
Ranma sat there being surprised. The lady was amused by this and place a hand on top of the young girl's head. She then smiled at Ranma with her eyes closed. Ranma on the other hand sat there overcome with the feeling of being loved. It was something that she always desperately wanted but received little of. She looked wishfully at the lady as she imagined what it would be like to have a mother.
"I suppose that's okay for a tomboy like yourself though," continued the lady, as she happily imagined what it would be like to have a cute little tomboy like Ranma as a daughter.
After both women spent a moment enjoying each other's presence, the older one finally got up as she remembered that there was something important she wanted to do today. She looked down once more at the broken jar and let out a sigh. Ranma also got up and put her hands behind her back while she happily smiled at the lady in front of her.
"Well take care! I'll have to be going now," said the lady as she looking back and waved at Ranma.
'What a nice lady,' thought Ranma as she waved goodbye. She watched dreamy eyed as the lady walked off. She stood there wondering what it would be like to be loved like that by someone. She thought about how she would gladly give up martial arts, something that she truly loved, for the chance of being with her mother. For a split second, she thought about her not minding being born a girl, if it meant not having to leave her mother behind for some ten year training trip that was part of her father's dream and not her own.
"Aw heck! What the hell am I thinkin' about!" Exclaimed an upset Ranma-chan as she quickly slapped herself hard on the forehead. She felt betrayed at her current train of thoughts. She then went on to rant about how emotional she gets while in her female form, as she angrily stomped on off home.
Later at the Tendo residence, Ranma-chan slid open the door and declared, "hi, I'm home."
Upon hearing the news, Genma came bursting out of his room, huffing and puffing as he ran down the hallway. When he started to run down the stairs he tripped and stumbled all the way down. If it was a non-martial artist that would have attempted this feat, he would have ended up with a broken neck. Unfortunately, Genma was a martial artist of quite some skill and came out of it without even a bruise or scratch to show for it.
Ranma watched in horror as her father stumbled down the stairs, causing her to flinch in shock. It showed all over her face, as she quickly became concerned over him. The fall did look awfully painful after all and she still did love the old man, despite him being the dirty rotten scoundrel that he was.
Once she saw that he was alright, the concern didn't last long. She became ashamed of him as she she started thinking, 'what kind of martial artist would let themselves fall down tha stairs like that.' She felt her usual feelings of not wanting to be associated with him return. She was about to scowl at him in disgust and make a jibe about him needing more training, when she was rudely interrupted out of thought.
"Come on Ranma! We're leaving, right now!", yelled Genma.
Genma started to run wildly towards his daughter and grabbed her in the process. He tucked her tightly under his right arm, applying extra pressure to insure that she couldn't escape. He then proceeded to head out the door, as quickly as he could.
"Uh! Wait! Hang on pops! Where's the fire!" Screeched an irate Ranma-chan.
She really hated being manhandled like that by the old man. The whole situation reminded her of her initial arrival at the Tendo Dojo. She remembered being carried in against her will, just to be engaged to somebody she never met before. She wasn't even allowed the decency to change back into a guy in order to save her some embarrassment. He didn't care that she wanted to start out getting to know girls on her own by dating them first. She hated how she had struggled to free herself from the clutches of the panda with all her might but to no avail. For some reason, her father could always overpower her in her girl form and what she hated the most was the fact that he took advantage of it.
"No time to explain! Let's just go!" Fussed Genma, upset that Ranma didn't realize the magnitude of the situation.
Before Genma could reach the gates of the compound, Soun stepped into sight and onto his sandal, causing the fat man to lose his balance. He began to fall while still holding his daughter in his arm. Soun wasn't about to let Genma run off, with the centerpiece of his dream of one day uniting the two schools.
"At the very least don't you think your old friend deserves some kind of explanation as to why you are leaving so suddenly?" Soun said being disappointed at his closes friend while wondering why he would betray him like that.
During the time that Soun was asking his question, Genma was still falling. Before hitting the ground he made sure that Ranma was under him to lessen the blow to himself. Soun meanwhile finished his speech, not being at all concerned about the petite redhead now being crushed by her overweight father.
As Ranma was being crushed against the ground by her father, her chin was painfully pushed into the gravel. She lay there with her eyes closed waiting for her father to get up. While waiting, a postcard that had previously fallen out of his pocket, gently glided its way down towards her. It eventually landed on top of her nose causing her to stir and open her eyes. She grabbed the card wondering what it was and began to read it.
The postcard read, 'I hope this letter finds you well, I'm coming for a visit. Signed Nodoka.'
Back inside the Dojo the three Tendo daughters knelt down together at the table and read the letter out loud, while wondering what had gotten into Genma. Genma of course was tied up and begging his friend to see reason while Tendo stood there with his arms crossed, waiting for Genma to calm down. Ranma watched these events unfold with great interest from the patio.
"Tendo, I'm begging you, to untie me and let me go! Don't make me explain. Just let me go. Please Tendo. Oh!" Whined a bound and desperate Genma.
"Calm down Saotome, you're not making sense. Take your time and tell us what the problem is," said Soun in a relaxed manner.
Ranma-chan lifted up a kettle and poured hot water on herself. She grew a few inches but instead of his hair becoming black as usual, his hair turned blond and was covered with black spots. Furthermore, his ears took on a more catlike appearance. Ranma-kun bit down on his fangs as he continued to watch the scene in front of him.
"That's the whole point, there isn't any time. I just gotta get outta here before she arrives.", explained Genma hoping that Tendo would come to his senses.
"Nodoka? So it's a woman coming to see him," said Nabiki, with her curiosity now peaked as she wondered what possible reason any woman would have to see Genma for.
"So who is this Nodoka person?", wondered Akane, equally as curious.
"Who is she? That's non of your business! ... Now is it?" Refuted Genma.
He had a slight hope that somebody would agree with him and thus change the topic. He hated being the center of attention and he hated the fact that anybody would question him, let alone his friend. If he wanted to leave and take Ranma with him, then it was his god given right to do so. Didn't they know that he would eventually return when things were safe?
'Oh Tendo, what a fool you are,' thought Genma as he thought about his friend's lack of trust.
"Hey!" Ranma yelled with outrage as he kicked his father in the face and then pulled him up by the collar. "Didcha stiff a waitress, or rob a bank? I think it's time you told me what's going on," he continued as he assumed the worst of his father.
The others meanwhile stared at Ranma in surprise as they noticed his hair. They didn't say anything on the account of it being Ranma. They were sure that the explanation would soon present itself like it always did. Besides that, they didn't want any distractions since they were currently more interested in what Genma was hiding.
"Whatever could you be talking about?" Responded Genma as if he were innocent. He was too upset to notice anything different about his son.
"I know you pops, you've done something terrible and now you're trying to run away before you get caught," lectured Ranma as he shoved his father down to the ground.
"Oh... how dare you speak to your father that way..." grimaced Genma as tears of desperation escaped his eyes.
Nabiki's face lit up that instance as she thought up a reason why a woman would pay Genma a visit.
"I know! You borrowed some money off her and she's coming to collect," she said thinking about the only reason she would ever pay Genma a visit, while Yen signs happily danced around inside her head.
"Or maybe she saw you the night you robbed her house and she fell in love with you on first sight," joined in Kasumi, not taking the conversation too seriously but thinking that they were playing some sort of game.
"I bet she's the waitress you stiffed at a restaurant," said Akane, knowing how much the Saotome's loved to eat and what a cheapskate Genma was.
"No! You're all wrong!" Screamed Genma, truly annoyed at the accusations. It was bad enough to be accused of crimes that he was guilty of, but being accused about things that he was innocent of was just too much. He then proceeded to use his Ki enhanced strength to break loose of the ropes than bound him. "She's, she's...", he continued while pulling out a microphone from null space. "Nodoka is Ranma's ..." he froze mid sentence as he realized his mistake.
"She's my what? Out with it!" Yelled an angry Ranma-kun with his arms crossed as he stared his father down. He hated it when his father involved him in his crimes. Who knew how much he owed from bills that the old man ran up under his name. What was worst was the possibility that this Nodoka person was another fiancée his father had engaged him to, in order to con some mark out of something. He was going to have to teach the old fool a painful lesson, he thought as he purposefully uncrossed his arms and cracked his knuckles.
Any sort of explanation he was going to get was interrupted with the arrival of a woman. Upon hearing the woman announce herself, Genma panicked and fell to the floor. He had the look of fear showing on his face. He started to insanely claw at the ground as he pitifully tried to hide himself. The best the fat martial artist was able to come up with was to cover his head under a blanket.
"Forgive me mother, I've never tried to harm anyone," he let slip, as he shocked everybody in the process.
"Saotome did you just say mother?" Asked Soun as Genma hid his head.
"Answer me, what did you just say," said Ranma as he grabbed his father's head and pulled him out of hiding.
"He called her mother," said Nabiki rising to her feet.
"You mean she is your wife?" Asked Soun, surprised.
Soun got into a good mood. He was happy to at last meet the wife of his best friend. At last they all would be one big happily family, he thought as he went to greet her. As he came to the entrance, he was met with a short, stocky and somewhat ugly middle aged woman. This was exactly the kind of woman he'd imagine his friend ending up with. Happy to see her, he proceeded to greet her but was let down when she informed him that she was from the sushi delivery service, here to pick up some plates. Just so Soun wouldn't mistake that woman as his wife, Genma felt the need to drive home the point.
Ranma was intent on getting the information he wanted out of Genma. He walked up to him and slammed his elbow onto his head, letting the old man know that this was far from over.
"Alright, so the woman that wrote you this mysterious postcard is?" Ranma demanded, once more crossing his arms.
Genma sat there nervously as he profusely sweat, trying to figure out a way to weasel out of this mess. He knew that he had to come up with a lie quickly, since there wasn't almost any time left. He would have to somehow convince both Ranma and the Tendo's that Nodoka was someone else other than his wife. Once he got their guards down, he would grab Ranma and sneak off unnoticed. But before he could put his plan into action, the girls got excited as they themselves figured out the answer.
"The woman that's coming is..." said Kasumi, so happy for Ranma.
"That woman gotta be Ranma's mother," interrupted Nabiki as she betrayed her cold image and showed that she really did care about Ranma with her emotional outburst.
Genma felt defeated. All he could do was reluctantly give his conformation. Upon hearing it Ranma took a deep breath and froze. He felt a stinging sensation come from inside his chest. His eyes looked like they were watering up, as he became pale. He wasn't sure what to make of the news. He wasn't even sure if he believed it. So he did the logical thing that all martial artists do in such a situation and shut himself down.
"This woman is my mother," said Ranma awhile later as he stared intently at the postcard, his only link to the woman who gave him birth.
"Hmm ... lucky you, Ranma," said Akane feeling happy for her fiancé.
Ranma sat there watching the dragonflies, as he thought about his mother. Akane walked up to him and joined him with a big smile on her face. She was truly happy for him and felt that he was very lucky. She inquired if he was happy to finally be able to meet his mother. She knew that she was excited at meeting the mother of the man whom she secretly loved. Ranma wasn't sure what to think anymore, so he told her as much.
He didn't have the slightest detail about the woman to be able to form an opinion. He wondered why his mother let his father drag him off on that stupid training trip. He wondered if she knew the kind of abuse he had suffered at the hands of his father, all in the name of the art. Yet he wanted to be loved so badly by her. Would this woman love him? Would he be the disappointment to her that his father had often alluded to? He couldn't take rejection from this woman, one that he desperately wanted to love him. He sighed on the inside, not knowing what to do.
As Ranma sat there thinking about how he felt, another lady greeted the Tendo household and was answered by Kasumi. Akane sprang up in excitement thinking that this time, it had to be Ranma's mother. She ran down the hall giggling, not being able to wait another second. She called back after Ranma, telling him to hurry up and come join her as she ran off.
Ranma sat there in shock. The moment he had both looked forward to and dreaded had finally arrived. He didn't know what to do. He stared in the direction that Akane had run off to, wondering if he should follow. He then felt his father's presence behind him. Genma walked up to Ranma and knelt down. He put a hand down on Ranma's shoulder in a show of support. Ranma was surprised at his father sudden concern over him.
"Listen Ranma, I've been doing a lot of thinking and it must be hard having a father like me," Genma said with some regret surfacing in his voice.
Ranma felt touched by the regret in Genma's voice and by the support his father was offering him. For the first time since he was little, he felt close to his father. He wondered if his father was really sorry for what he had done, especially for separating him from his mother. He wondered if he knew the hole it had created inside of him. Was there a chance now that she was back in the picture that they could become a normal family? As he felt the bond between them grow, he started to feel willing to finally forgive the old fool for all the crimes that he committed against him.
"And it's gonna get a whole lot worst!" Continued Genma as he snatched up Ranma in a single swoop. He squeezed his son tightly into his arm as he started to run. Ranma was caught off guard and before he could react Genma jumped into the koi pond with a smirk on his face. Ranma felt the sudden tingling sensation of the change ripple through his body. He only felt it these days whenever he tried to fight the change.
"Whatcha go and do that for old man," hissed an angry girl, with red spotted hair as she grabbed a defenseless panda by the neck, ready to clobber him while showing him her fangs. She really didn't want to be reunited with her mother in her girl form. Her father just had to ruin everything in her life. This time however, she was going to teach him a lesson that he'd never forget.
The panda growfed out a logical explanation.
"I don't know whatcha blabbin' about but I don't appreciate the fact..." expressed a boiling Ranma-chan as she shook the panda back and forth, thinking about the beating she would administer if he didn't come up with a good explanation quickly.
The panda interrupted her by holding out a sign that said, "I guarantee you will be unhappy if you meet her," trying to calm down his illogical and illtempered daughter and make her see reason. The ungrateful child was really starting to get on his nerves. He would later have to train her some more, in order to knock some sense back into her, he vowed.
Meanwhile at the front door, the Tendo's gather to greet the mysterious woman, who they figured to be the Saotome matriarch.
"Hello... I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for a Genma Saotome and his son," said the eloquent woman wearing a blue kimono, who had dark reddish brown hair with black spots on it. The Tendo's knelt down in front of her to show their respects while being overcome by her beauty.
"Hey that's the lady from the river," said Ranma as she and the panda peeked from around the corner. She decided to stay out of sight for now until her father could explain exactly what he meant by unhappy.
The Tendo's all knelt down at the table with their guest. They stared at her with curiosity. In front of the lady was a hot cup of green tea. It went untouched. She smiled back at them being equally as curious about the family that her son had been living with. They were all brought out of their trance, when a koi jumped up in the pond. Nodoka smiled at the family in front of her as she was about to bring up the reason for her visit again.
"So as I was saying, I'm looking for a Genma and Ranma Saotome."
Soun coughed on his fist, while Nabiki had her eyes closed. She felt guilty that they were going to lie to this poor lady. 'Genma better have a good reason for this,' she thought as she imagined what it would be like to be kept from her own child. She secretly plotted her revenge against Genma in case he didn't. She wouldn't let anyone use her without just cause.
"Yes. However, unfortunately ... unfortunately the two of them..." Soun stated with regret as he thought about his friend asking him to lie earlier. He remembered how upset Ranma-chan looked as she stood behind her father watching in confusion as her father made the request. "Genma and Ranma are away on a journey to work on their martial arts," he finally finished, feeling like a real heel for lying to such a nice lady.
Nodoka gasped in disappointment and then lowered her head and said, "oh I see," as Akane watched her with sad eyes. Akane swore that she would mallet the panda later if this turned out to be another one of his dirty schemes.
"Enough's Enough pops, now just tell me what's going on here," said Ranma as she squatted down while trying to have a serious conversation with a panda.
"I'm telling you," said the panda with a sign.
"You haven't said anything. Tell me who that lady is, and no more dodging the issue," she said while growing impatient, knowing that her father could beat around the bush all day long, especially in his panda form.
The panda raised a paw into the air and stuck out a claw and then shook it as he mumbled away. He then flipped the sign and it read, "She is your mother." 'That's the last straw,' thought Ranma furiously as she rose to her feet and bopped her father hard upside the head, leaving a nasty bump.
"In your dreams maybe. Someone like her haveta be pretty hard up to even think of marryin' a loser like you," scolded Ranma, upset that her father couldn't even come up with a good lie this time.
The panda growfed in protest. He couldn't see why his daughter couldn't get the facts straight. His expression quickly changed to being hurt. He mumble something out as he felt both depressed and insulted by Ranma's comments. As far back as she could remember, Ranma had never seen her father with his feelings hurt. She stood there stunned, feeling guilty for hurting him. She stared at him for awhile with regret in her eyes before concluding that what he said must be true.
"Then that lady really is my mother?", she said in a low fragile tone.
She liked the person she had met earlier. She seemed so kind and loving that Ranma had secretly wished that she could be her mother. She wanted to be adopted by the lady, never imagining the possibility that she would be lucky enough to actually have a mother in the same league as the nice lady she had met at the canal. Now it seemed that her wish was coming true and judging by what she thought of the person she met, she felt that surely someone so nice and loving could accept her despite her curse.
To prove his point, the panda dug around in his fur searching for something. It turned out to be an old picture. He held it out for his daughter to see. Ranma looked at the picture, as the shadows of the leaves moved across it as the wind blew. The picture had a younger version of her father in it. He still had his hair and was standing next to a kneeling Nodoka. Nodoka face was filled with pride and joy as she proudly held onto a laughing chibi Ranma-kun.
"My Mom..." Said a teary eyed Ranma-chan as she held onto the picture. She never wanted to let go of it now that she had it. She felt anger that her father had never shown her this picture before. She felt anger that he didn't even mention that her mother was still alive until now. This lady was her mother and Ranma loved her unconditionally. At last she would be able to get to know her again.
Back inside the Tendo household Nodoka happily sipped from her cup of tea, enjoying the company of the nice family that her son was living with.
"So Misses Saotome, you were left all alone, while Ranma and his father were away on their journey to improve their martial arts?" Asked a sad Kasumi. She was being serious for once, because she was upset about all the things that this lady had to give up, for the sake of her family. It reminded her of her own situation and what she herself had to give up for her own family. She wanted to go to college so badly but instead ended up being nothing more than a housekeeper. Life wasn't being fair to either of them she thought, while feeling an instant bond form between the two of them.
"Yes I've been waiting for them," said Nodoka, disappointed that after ten years of suffering she still was alone, unable to see her only child, who was the pride and joy of her life.
"That must have been hard for you," said Soun, feeling ashamed about the extremes that he and his friend were willing to stoop to for the sake of the school.
"It was, but..." Nodoka paused feeling hurt.
"But what?" Asked a concerned Akane, feeling the lady's pain.
"Being separated from them was difficult of course, but it was nothing compared to the day that Ranma was taken away," continued a teary eyed Nodoka while feeling regret over her decision.
Nodoka thought about the scene that took place inside the Saotome home ten years ago. The room was a mess from the struggle currently taking place. Nodoka was on her knees begging with tears, while tightly hanging onto Genma's gray gi. Genma looked down at her with anger while holding their crying baby.
"Please don't go. Don't take my baby," pleaded Nodoka, hoping that her husband would change his mind.
"No stop it Nodoka. This is for us," he said firmly while wondering what had gotten into his wife, they had previously discussed this and come to an agreement.
"Don't take Ranma away from me," cried Nodoka with a sudden outburst of emotion, not caring what she had previously agreed to. She felt that she couldn't live without her child. He was the center of her universe, her reason for existence. How could the man she loved so dearly take away everything she had in this world? Why couldn't he just forget about the stupid agreement? Didn't he know how much this was going to hurt her? Didn't he know that this would destroy her? Did he even care?
"Enough! Let go!" Howled Genma angrily as he kicked his wife on the face, knocking her off him. She fell to the ground surprised at his actions. Her dream of her knight in shinning armor instantly shattered with a kick of betrayal. She lay there and slowly started to sob, feeling both broken hearted and unable to rescue her child from the clutches of the man she thought she knew.
"Please forgive me Nodoka", said Genma feeling ashamed of himself.
He couldn't believe that he had kicked his wife in the face. He knew that he wasn't a very honorable man, despite him knowing the difference between right and wrong. He was a con artist and a thief, who had perfected the Anything Goes style with moves specifically designed for stealing. These moves scared him though because they could be used equally as well for assassinations. That was the reason why he eventually decided to seal them away. He felt that he couldn't even trust himself with them.
He would try to make sure that his son would turnout being more honorable than himself. He knew that he would be a horrible roll model for his son to look up to, despite whatever he might tell the boy about honor. He prayed to Kami-sama that his son would turn out to be a better man than himself.
"Come along my son," he said to Ranma as he held the crying boy tightly.
Nodoka was desperate at this point and ready to do anything in order to reobtain her child. She grabbed her sandal from her foot and snuck up behind Genma. Without warning she repeatedly hit her husband over the head with the sandal, yelling out, "don't go." She then bashed a bucket over his head several times, once more yelling out, "don't go." Finally, she knocked him out using the dining table as she yelled her final, "don't go," out before picking up her child. Nodoka then towered over her husband as she held tightly onto her son. He looked up at her with defeated eyes, having been overpowered and bruised by his wife. His cracked glasses were barely hanging to his face, ready to fall off at any moment.
"Please Nodoka, Ranma must learn to be a true master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts," Genma pleaded as he felt his dream slowly being crushed under the cold feet of his wife.
"Yes dear, I understand that," she said, remembering that she had originally wanted Genma to take Ranma on the training trip. She felt guilty for having given in to her feelings. Ranma needed to be strong, after all. She did not however feel guilty for the beating she had given Genma, he had after all betrayed her love with that kick.
"Then understand this Nodoka that Ranma must be raised away from distractions, such as a mother's love. Please Nodoka let me take the boy. Do it for Ranma's benefit," said Genma, deciding to play the con artist and swindle the baby away from her. He was going to play on Nodoka sense of honor and duty.
"For Ranma's benefit? ... For Ranma!" Said Nodoka as she decided to play along, not being fooled by the bad con job. She figured it wouldn't hurt to have Genma think that he had won. This was after all what she wanted, despite having changed her mind earlier. She needed to be strong now, for Ranma's sake.
As Genma left carrying Ranma in his arms, Nodoka knew that she did what was right. It was important that Ranma grew up to be strong. She knew that Genma was an excellent martial artist who would pass along his skills to his son. She could train the boy herself, but she felt that she would only be putting him in harm's way. That's why the whole idea of a training trip was her idea to begin with. Genma seemed more than happy to accept it when she had originally mentioned it to him.
She suspected that Genma had ulterior motives for wanting to take Ranma on the training trip, now that her image of him was shattered. But she saw how proud he was of his son and the love he had for him in his eyes. She was sure that he would take good care of Ranma and protect him. In the long run, it would be safer for Ranma to leave with Genma than it would be for him to stay with her. If only the price for his safety wasn't her own happiness. She sighed and whispered to herself, "for Ranma's benefit."
Back in the present, Nodoka was kneeling at the table holding a handkerchief to her eye, after she had finished telling the cleaned up version of her tale to the Tendo's. She felt regret for her decision and was an emotional wreck because of it, but she knew she had done the right thing. The Tendo daughters all had tears in their eyes after listening to Nodoka's tale. Soun himself, for once showed some self control as he wanted to leave a good impression on his best friend's wife. He however wanted to burst into tears at the scene, but would save it for later when he was alone inside his room upstairs.
"I see so you gave Genma custody of Ranma," said Soun once he had his emotions in control.
"That musta been tough as Ranma's mother," said Nabiki as her maternal instincts took over. She felt depressed knowing what a bad decision that turned out to be, as her thoughts turned to Genma.
"I trusted my husband," said Nodoka, not giving the real reason why she let Ranma go on that training trip.
Ranma hid behind the bushes outside having heard the sad tale using her acute hearing. She wanted to comfort her mother and hated her pops at the moment for taking her and causing so much pain to her mother. She had only heard the cleaned up version of the story, so she didn't know that her mother actually wanted her to go on that training trip. Not even Genma knew the full story behind the events in the past. Ranma was about to get up and walk to her mother to show some support.
"Don't get any closer," said the panda behind her with a sign, not trusting his daughter in the slightest. She would ruin everything he thought, as he contemplated back handing her on the back of her head in order to knock her out. He would do what was best for the both of them, if need be. He prided himself on his parental skills, as he watched over his daughter with concerned eyes.
"Okay pops", said Ranma-chan causing the panda to flip his sign asking, "what?" She rose to her feet, causing the panda to grunt out in fright as he flipped his sign to say, "S ... Stop..." She then proceeded to pour hot water over herself, which shifting her back into her guy form.
"I have no idea what you are so afraid of here, but I'm not going to run and hide anymore, old man," yelled Ranma at his father causing the panda to gasp.
"Before my husband left on his journey, he made a promise to me," revealed Nodoka as she was about to tell the Tendos about the seppuku pledge that Genma made, that involved him and his son in case he failed to make Ranma a man amongst men.
She was quite surprised when Genma came up with the pledge and later signed the contract. He had insisted that Ranma sign the contract by way of hand print, which the five year old was more than willing to do. She had no intention of having her child commit seppuku. The contract served more as a purpose of making sure that her husband wouldn't do anything foolish. She decided that she would later use this same contract as a means of making sure that her son would act manly in accordance to the definition she provided.
She really hated doing this to the boy, but it was of great importance that went beyond his and her own happiness, just like the training trip. She felt despair thinking about what she was doing to her son. But in the long run she thought it was the best for the future happiness of himself and his family. It was a tough decision to be made, but one that she needed to make as a parent.
"He did?" Asked Soun as he thought about how easily Genma could break promises.
"What promise?" Asked Kasumi.
"What exactly did he promise? Tell us," said Soun also wanting to know.
"Well, he said..." stated Nodoka as she wiped another tear away from her eye. She was interrupted out of her tale as she heard a young man arguing with someone. 'huh? Who's that boy? Could it be Ranma?' She thought as she got up and headed towards the patio to look out. She saw a panda holding up a sign in one arm and a bucket in the other. Next to the panda lay the redheaded girl that she met earlier, unconscious and with her eyes open. The panda's sign read, "Hello someone else's wife."
As Ranma argued with his father, he decided he had enough. He turned his back on his father and walked back towards the house. The panda disappointed in his son for turning his back on an opponent, grabbed him from behind. He then lifted his son up on his shoulder and carried him back to the pond, body slamming the foolish boy into the water.
As his now daughter rose up out of the water, he grabbed the bucket that was kept by the pond and used it to hit her behind the head sending her flying unconsciously to the grass. All this was done with amazing speed and accuracy, and before his wife was able to walk up to the patio, he knelt down beside his daughter wielding the sign, and the bucket in case he needed to use it again.
"It's you again? The girl from the river," said Nodoka being surprised to see the girl who she had wished for as a daughter earlier. She then froze.
"I had enough of ya, stupid old man," growled Ranma as she slugged the panda upside the head, after coming out of unconsciousness. Ranma then gasped as she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.
"Ra, Ra ... Ranma? But... But how? You're a girl!" Said Nodoka in shock, as everyone gasped in surprise, amazed that she was able to tell it was Ranma even though she was a girl at the time. The panda then proceeded to grab a beach ball out of a bush and play with it, so he wouldn't be noticed.
"Mo ... Mom? It's ah ... uh, a curse, I picked up on a training mission with pops. He uh... ah, took me to this accursed training ground," said a flustered Ranma, holding her head down while feeling ashamed of her current form.
Genma meanwhile was pissed that his daughter would put him on the spot like that. 'After all that I have done for that boy, and this is how he repays me, that no good, ungrateful son of mines,' he thought as he glared at Ranma, still holding the beach ball. 'Nodoka's gonna kill me!' He thought as he gulped, spotting the wrapped bundle laying inside the house.
"Oh Ranma!" Said Nodoka as she tightly hugged her daughter. "Don't worry dear, I'm not going to love you any less just because you're a girl, Ranma," she continued while in embrace.
It was true. She loved her child equally well, even though she was a girl now instead of the boy she had expected. She was however upset that her daughter had to suffer because of her husband's negligence. She couldn't imagine how hard it must be for Ranma to be stuck in the opposite gender from which she was born it. She was also disappointed because all her plans for Ranma were now ruined, with her being a girl. She would have to do her best to hide her disappointment from Ranma. It wasn't her fault after all.
"It's, ah... not as bad as it looks, Mom," said Ranma with a weak smile on her face. "The curse is reversible. Hot water changes me back into a guy, but cold water activates the curse again," said Ranma with disappointment in the last part. She was however happy, because as she had suspected, this woman that was her mother had accepted her, despite her being a girl. She felt that she was a good judge of character.
Nodoka was relieved. There was hope after all. If Ranma could change back into a guy like she said, then it may still be possible to carry out her plans. It wouldn't be as easy as before, now that Ranma had the curse, but the possibility for success was still out there. She felt herself cheer up as she squeezed Ranma tighter. This was good news indeed.
Later that day during supper, Ranma was sitting right next to her mother. She had unknowingly spent the day as a girl, as she followed her mother around everywhere. The thought of changing back into a guy, just never occurred to her as she was too busy being happy spending time with her mother. Nodoka didn't seem to mind either, she was too busy being happy to finally have her baby back after ten painful years of waiting.
"So Akane, they tell me that you're Ranma's Fiancée. Is that true?" Nodoka asked smiling at the girl after taking a bite to eat.
"Yes. But I..." said Akane nervously. She was happy to be interrupted by her family commenting on the food.
"So do you think that he's manly?" Asked Nodoka. She just couldn't help it. After all these years of planning to make him live up to what she defined as manly, she got somewhat corrupted by it and it became important to her for reasons other than what she originally intended. Ranma meanwhile looked nervously at Akane, not liking where this thread of questions was leading to.
"Uh huh," said Akane nervously after hesitating for a second. She didn't like being put on the spot like that about her feelings towards Ranma.
"Is he cool?" Nodoka asked, forgetting that Ranma was sitting right next to her.
"Uh huh," said Akane sweating, wishing she could be excused from the table.
"How about handsome?" She asked since she still hadn't had the opportunity to see her daughter's male form yet.
"Uh huh," she said after a short pause, hating to have to admit her feelings in front of Ranma.
"Think ya coulda stretched that pause any longer?" Whispered Ranma into her Fiancée ear, obviously upset with her.
She didn't think that Akane actually thought that she was attractive. Despite her having all these girls chasing after herself, Ranma had low self esteem whenever it came to Akane. She still felt hurt at being called a freak by her fiancée during her first night at the Dojo. Akane calling her a freak and a pervert whenever she was upset, didn't help how she felt around her fiancée either. It wouldn't be so bad, if they actually took the time to discuss these things in private with each other once.
"You know something? Ranma looks exactly like you?", said Kasumi.
"Really?" Asked Nabiki slowly. She then curiously looked up and saw Ranma and Nodoka sitting close together. Both of them froze in their respective positions upon hearing Kasumi's comment. They each held their chopsticks to their mouth while holding the exact same facial expression. Sure enough mother and daughter looked exactly alike, despite Nodoka having a formal hairstyle and Ranma having a wild uncombed mane. Nabiki smirked as she wondered how they would look together if Ranma had the same hairstyle as Nodoka.
Nabiki just couldn't pass this opportunity up, she thought they looked adorable together. Like all good photographers, she kept a camera nearby at all times. She quickly took a snapshot for herself. She decided that she would give them a copy later, that is after she developed the negative and charged them a small fee, minus the family discount of course.
"So Misses Saotome, how were you able to tell that Ranma was your son, when he was a girl at the time?" Asked Nabiki after interlocking her fingers and placing her hands slightly below her nose, as her thumbs rested on her chin.
"As you can see Nabiki, Ranma and I both have reddish hair that is covered with black spots," said Nodoka.
Ranma was surprised at what they had to say. She hadn't had the time to look at herself in the mirror yet. She sat there giving the conversation at the table her full attention as she listened intently to what her mother had to say. She wanted to know exactly what this was about, since it involved her.
"It is a trait that is unique to all females of my family. Since I know for certain that I am the only surviving member of my line besides Ranma, it was obvious that she was a direct descendant of mines. Given the girl's age, I was able to put two and two together," she continued.
"Ah, that makes sense and that would help explain why Ranma became a blond all of the sudden. I take it then, that that's a trait unique among the males of your family?" Question Nabiki as she tried to get all the facts. Nodoka was glad to hear this because it confirmed to her that Ranma was indeed able to change back into a guy.
"Buh Buh Blond?" Asked Ranma, after which Nabiki gave her a slight smirk as she watched Ranma grow upset. Ranma didn't like the Idea of becoming a blond. She had nothing against them, it was just that she enjoyed her black hair as a guy. The blond hair just didn't fit the pig tailed martial artist look that she was going for. Her red hair even if spotted, she didn't mind as a girl. She figured that if she had to be one, at least part of the time, she might as well be knockdown gorgeous. Nodoka meanwhile became concerned when she noticed her daughter becoming obviously upset over her hair.
"Aw man! That sucks!" Complained Ranma as she wondered once again why the kamis up there kept ruining her life. Now she would have to do something girly, like dyeing her hair. She wondered if her hair would still be black after changing into a girl and then back again. If not then the whole dyeing her hair thing would be pointless. 'Argh, this is just getting too damn complicated,' she thought and then became even more upset thinking that if Ryoga were here he would say that she was acting like a girl for worrying over her hair. She really hated that, because to her this was a good reason to be upset, not something girly at all.
"Stupid P-chan," she muttered under her breath.
Nodoka coughed on her fist twice, to quite down the chatter.
"Well not exactly Nabiki. While blond spotted hair is a trait amongst all males in my family, it is not a trait exclusive to my family alone," continued Nodoka.
"Okay that explains a lot," smiled Nabiki, "but I'm still kind of curious about why Ranma's hair only changed right before your arrival, Misses Saotome?" She asked while being glad that she always carried a small recording device around. She wasn't sure if she wanted to sell this information or not. She wouldn't if it put either of them at risk. She just was obsessed with keeping accurate records for herself.
"Well that is because of the accident Ranma and me had earlier at the canal. When Ranma was born I locked away his family heritage, so that he wouldn't have to suffer abuse and prejudice at the hands of others. I came over here today to offer Ranma the choice of accepting his heritage or living his life as he had before. But when I met him today in his girl form, the medicine jar with his choice in it, accidentally got knocked out of my hands. Ranma then inhaled its contents thus unlocking his heritage. Unfortunately Ranma doesn't have a choice anymore, the effects of the powder are irreversible, " said Nodoka sadly.
"So you and Ranma aren't exactly human?" Asked Nabiki shocked. She hadn't expected this but looking back at things like Ranma's quick healing ability it all made sense now.
"No. Not fully... Let's keep this simple for now. The complete effects of our heritage don't fully surface until puberty. Before puberty, we appear to be for the most part fully human just like everybody else. After the child goes through puberty though, its hair changes along with slight changes in the ears and eyes," Nodoka revealed as she uncovered her ear from under her hair to show that it was more catlike than the normal human ear.
"Besides these physical changes that you see before you, Ranma will also inherit some special abilities. If Ranma hadn't inhaled the substance that I was carrying he could have spent the rest of his life being mostly human. At the time of the accident, I didn't think much of it because the substance has no effects on normal human beings," stated Nodoka.
She didn't want to tell them too much yet. It was too dangerous of a topic. She had some trust in the Tendos, based on what Mr. Tendo and his eldest daughter had told her. They had kept Ranma's curse a secret for as long as the possibly could. But the fact remained that the secret did eventually get out. Granted this new secret was much easier to hide, it was also something that was far more dangerous if people found out about it. She would go through any lengths in order to keep her child safe, but it would be best to avoid such situations all together.
She eventually would have to tell them the truth if Ranma became part of their family. If Akane was to marry Ranma than she had the right to know what Ranma was and how it would effect her before deciding if she wanted to continue the engagement. She hoped not. Akane marrying her daughter went against her own plans. Plans she kept secret from her daughter for now but would later reveal to her. She was going to let Ranma make her own decision on it, similar to the one she once had to make. She would not deny her daughter the same opportunity that she had taken. But right now was not the time to reveal the whole truth to anyone. The situation was far too delicate for the time being and she wanted to first play all her cards right.
Both Ranma and Genma were surprised at what Nodoka had revealed. Ranma liked the idea of inheriting some new abilities. She wanted to be the best there was and inheriting something genetically from her mother wasn't cheating in her book. She never complained about any of her opponents abilities be it natural or supernatural. Ranma thought about Pantyhose Taro and smiled. She had been able to defeat him without the use of her new abilities, but she looked forward to fighting him again on much more even grounds. Just as she was getting to feel good about herself she thought about the downsides to her newly gained abilities. 'Oh great! Now I'm ah bigger freak than before,' Ranma-chan sighed internally.
Genma never knew that Nodoka wasn't fully human. Sure she had unusual hair that was spotted but that really wasn't so strange in his book. Genma was a chaos magnet long before the birth of his only son. He had seen many things in his lifetime. People with an array of different hairstyles was one of them. The Chinese amazon for example had different hair and eye colors compared to most people. He didn't think that that meant that they were an entirely different species because of it. Although now with Nodoka's revelations, he couldn't be so sure anymore.
Whether Ranma was Human or not, he too liked the possibility that it meant that Ranma would be more powerful now. That is if what his wife said was true. He never knew her to lie. She foolishly was far too honorable for that in his opinion. The thing that worried him the most though, was that it probably meant that Nodoka was more powerful than she appeared to be. That meant that she was more likely to be able to kill him for failing on his pledge to her. It was only a slight comfort to him that she seemed to have accepted Ranma despite her curse, since it didn't mean that he was off the hook yet.
Before anything more could be said, a loud banging sound came from the wall. Ranma and Nodoka both turned their heads to face the wall. They each had a similar expression of surprise on their face, when the wall exploded a few seconds later. After the dust settled an image of a purple haired amazon appeared in front of the now gaping hole in the wall. She stood there proudly holding her bonboris while looking around for Ranma.
"Aiya, Ranma go on data with Shampoo now?" She asked before spotting her target. She looked around the room and saw that Ranma-chan was sitting next to a gorgeous woman. Normally this would be cause for concern, but when she saw that both of them had the same expression on their faces and also had similar features, the huntress deduced that the woman was Ranma's mother. She didn't always jump to conclusions like some women, she thought while shifting her view to the kitchen destroyer.
"Aiya, warrior woman Ranma's mother. Shampoo so so happy, airen found mother," she squealed with her bubbly voice surfacing. One would hardly suspect that this girl was a natural born killer watching her current display of perkiness. Xian Pu smiled as she scanned the lady's aura. Ranma's mother was indeed a warrior of great skill. Xian Pu was pleased to have finally learned how to read auras, a few weeks ago. She learned it despite having little time to train these days. Kho Lon was such a slave driver. Xian Pu was even more pleased that her husband was finally reunited with her mother. She hoped that this woman would be a good influence on Ranma, because Ranma was a little rough around the edges from being raised by such a dishonorable panda-man.
Xian Pu couldn't wait to tell her great grandmother the great news. Surely, Ranma's warrior mother would comprehend the logic behind their ways. The logic that had so far eluded the simple male mind, due to its inability to handle the complexity of the amazon ways. 'Complicated for men anyway,' thought Xian Pu as she sighed while looking at Ranma with concern, not understanding how they couldn't even understand simple logic like that.
She felt bad for Ranma, despite being blessed with the ability to turn into a beautiful woman, her mind was still clouded, set in its male ways. Her Great Grandmother had told her that it was due to 'son-in-law' stubbornly holding on to her bad male thinking habits. For some reason, Ranma saw her blessing more as a curse. She just refused to accept her Jusenkyo blessing that the gods had bestowed upon her. Xian Pu preferred Ranma as a male due to her sexual preference, but she just wished that airen could sometimes think more like a woman. She smiled, there was still hope for Ranma though, all it would take was a little amazon training in the proper environment.
Nyannichuan to the amazons, was the one sacred spring of Jusenkyo surrounded by hundreds of cursed springs. It was the spring the gods created to decided if a lowly male was worthy enough to ascend into the heights of womanhood. One honored by the gods in this way had the ability to become an amazon warrior and gain full citizenship into the tribe. The spring was so sacred that it was blasphemy for a male to purposefully bless himself with Nyannichuan without the expressed permission of the council of elders. The punishment for such a heinous act wasn't just death, but any one of many long and painful deaths that took a minimum span of three months to complete.
"No need panda now?" She continued as she looked with deadly eyes towards the panda eating bamboo out of his bowl on the ground.
The panda quickly held out a sign that his wife couldn't see saying, "Hush, and I'll make it worth your while."
Xian Pu ignored the foolish panda's antics. Being an Amazon she would naturally side with Ranma's mother on any given situation and not some stupid deceitful panda-man. She gave one last glare towards the panda before walking up to Ranma, showing her her affections by giving her a big amazon glomp. Ranma started to sweat profusely while Akane began to boil under her skin, as she tried to keep her composure at the table.
"Ranma would you be a dear and introduce me to your beautiful young friend?" Asked Nodoka smiling with pride that her son was able to turn out to be so manly, despite having her curse.
"Uh, ah, eh well she's sorta one of my fiancées," muttered Ranma, as her eyes slowly shifted nervously towards Akane. 'Any moment now,' she thought as fear crept up her spine. After taking in a long breath Ranma continued, "Unlike the others that pops engaged me to, this one sorta is partially my own fault," Ranma said while lowering her head in shame. Unlike the other male members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew, Ranma didn't blame the problems he created on others. She distinctly remembered eating the prize with as much gusto as her father when they wandered into the village. It was not a case of her father eating the prize alone while she watched the fight and then was nastily surprised.
"Shampoo no fiancée. Shampoo amazon wife," Xian Pu said, trying to give her now female husband a helpful hand at explaining things to her mother. Ranma sure was lucky to have such a helpful wife, she thought as she looked down lovingly at the redhead she was glomping. Ranma on the other hand was sheepishly looking at Akane. The girl was grounding her teeth and snapped a pair of innocent looking chopsticks in half, sending pieces flying everywhere. 'Not good,' thought Ranma as she felt the sudden urge to bite her nails.
"Ranma what does she mean by wife and how is it partially your responsibility? Also, what do you mean by other fiancées that your father has engaged you to? How many are there? By the way, where is your father at anyway?" Nodoka asked her series of questions, wondering if her husband had carried out her plans of making Ranma manly. She didn't remember having discussed such a thing with him, but who knew, after all it was ten years ago.
A Few months ago, she would have been pleased to hear that Genma had engaged her daughter to a multitude of fiancées. Now however it was a problem, because her plans had changed. She really couldn't get mad at her husband for doing something that she had wanted him to do once upon a time. Genma meanwhile was trying to sneak off in order to save his life. He was stopped in his tracks by a glare from Nabiki that promised murder if he tried.
"Uh well... Ya see Shampoo being my fiancée is partially my fault..." she paused, entangling her fingers into her hair, "cause I accidentally defeated her in combat, kinda while trying to protect Akane. You see she was tryin' to kill Akane cause she figured out that 'Kane was hiding my girl side," she said with some regret for endangering someone innocent in one of her messes.
"Their stupid amazon laws, that go entirely against my own beliefs, say that an amazon hasta marry the guy that defeats her in battle. And all I did was accidentally knock her out while trying to shield that stupid tomboy. Lucky me, huh?" She asked angrily and as sarcastically as possible. She then glared at her father.
"And as for how many people that stupid old man engaged me to... I have no idea. There are at least twelve of 'em that I know about, but I figure another one of 'em is bound to show up and cause some trouble sooner or later," she then got an evil grin on her face, "Oh by the way as for pops... He's that big stupid ugly lookin' panda over there, ya know the one that's playin' with the tire. Sorry about that old man, but I can't lie to mom ya know," she said with a smirk, relieved to finally get all that off her big chest.
"Humph, husband just being stubborn," complained Shampoo.
"Shampoo, you should know there's moreta life than livin' in some remote and primitive amazon village," Ranma said honestly, feeling a bit more courageous now that his mother was around.
"How could you boy?" Asked the panda with his sign, as he shook his panda fist in the air while mumbling obscenities.
"Shampoo make panda rug now? Yes?" Asked Xian Pu, trying to make the situation more favorable, as she pulled out a pair of sabers from null space. She was hoping to leave a good impression on her mother-in-law. Nodoka was indeed impressed. She marveled at the uniqueness and quality of the craftsmanship of the blades. Nodoka thought that the girl before her would indeed make a good daughter-in-law, if that was what Ranma ultimately wanted.
"Oh that won't be necessary my dear, I have my own. But I appreciate the thought," said Nodoka cheerfully as she started to unwrap her bundle. She then proceeded to unsheathe the katana, letting it 'accidentally' slip out of her hand and sending it flying towards the unsuspecting panda, to only have it embed itself in the wooden floor right in front of him. Seeing this, Xian Pu let out a loud 'Aiya' as she was overcome with joy. She thought that her new mother-in-law was so cool. Genma on the other hand turned white with fear, making him look more like a polar bear than a panda. He held out a sign saying, "See what you did now, boy? She's crazy you know," when Nodoka turned to smile at Xian Pu.
Nodoka turned back to her husband and smiled, after the sign was gone.
"Oh don't worry husband dearest, I'm not going to kill you right now. In fact, I find it quite considerate of yourself, to have engaged my dear Ranma to all those Fiancées. Funny I don't recall discussing this matter with you though. But, none of that is important right now. However, I do wish to discuss with you other things that I've heard about, when we have some time alone, later. Like say Jusenkyo for instance, darling," she said as she walked up to her katana and pulled it out of the floor. Before she finished speaking, she lifted the blade up, letting the light reflect off of its smooth surface, before resheathing it.
"Now Kasumi, would you be a dear and get me some hot water. It has been so long since I've been able to see my son and husband in their uncursed forms," she continued.
"Yes Misses Saotome," said Kasumi, happy that everyone was getting along so well. It was also nice to have someone give her a helping hand in the kitchen for once. After Kasumi returned Genma and Ranma reverted back to their original forms.
Nodoka was acting civil towards Genma. But Nabiki noted that she didn't have much to say to him. Xian Pu was joyful that Ranma was all man again. She decided to express her happiness by showing her husband just how much she loved him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently places a kiss on his cheek. At that point Ranma knew he was doomed for sure. He could feel the battle aura growing around Akane. He didn't know of anyone else who could generate such intense anger. He gulped. Xian Pu seeing that her husband was distressed decided to make him feel better about his impending doom by giving him yet another loving glomp.
Ranma knew that he was going to get hit by a Chi powered mallet, no matter what he did now. He thought for a second and thought about how he really hated having someone force their affections upon him. He was going to free himself from the clutches of the amazon, no matter what the consequences. He was fed up and was going to use the only move known to work against the amazon special attack, the legendary antiglomp.
'Well here goes everything,' he thought, as he closed his eyes and calmed himself into a soul of ice. Then he skillfully placed each of his palms on top of Xian Pu's luscious breasts. He then opened up his eyes, looking his opponent straight into the eyes and then proceeded to grasp, getting a firm grip in the process to prevent any struggle. He then pushed her off of himself and watched her hit the floor hard, landing on her butt, but not before she gave out a loud 'Aiya' in the process.
It was truly a move that Happosai would be proud of. Unfortunately for the old lech, it was also a move that he would never be able to use in battle. Judging from the expression on Xian Pu's face she admired the skill in which Ranma was able to perform his counter move with.
"Ranma no baka!" Screamed Akane, as she revealed her dark side. With rage she grabbed behind herself and pulled out a huge titanium mallet from mallet space. While Ranma was able to figure out a counter move against the amazon glomp, he had never been able to figure out a counter move for the divine mallet of 'righteous' anger attack that all women possessed. Too bad for Ranma that righteousness was in the eye of the beholder. As he contemplated the events that lead up to his life till this point, Ranma said a quick prayer to Kami-sama.
He knew all too well what would happen next. Akane lifted up her mallet as expected and then swung it towards his head. He was hit smack in the center of his left cheek, sending him flying once again in the direction of the koi pond. A groggy Ranma-chan emerged from the koi pond a few seconds later, with a big nasty purple bump on her left cheek and her left eye swollen shut.
"Whatcha go and do that for, stupid tomboy," she spat out at Akane. She knew the answer, but she was getting tired of the constant abuse that she suffered at the hands of her own fiancée. She was really pissed off, as she wondered if Akane really liked hurting her like that. If it wasn't for her supernatural healing abilities, she was sure that she would have been dead by now.
"Why you no good, two timing, cheating pervert, you... you are worst than Happosai. I don't even know why I put up with you. How dare you cheat with Shampoo right in front of me and in my own house to boot? Ranma! You... You bastard. I don't ever want to see you again, you sex changing freak. Why don'tcha go splash yourself with some water and play with yourself. Idiot, as far as I'm concerned, the engagement is off," yelled Akane, loud enough so that all the neighbors could hear. She then ran up to her room mumbling things like, "stupid pervert," over and over again along the way.
"Way to go sis. Impress the mother why don'tcha," said Nabiki sadly under her breath.
"Shampoo be going now, forget still have ramen to deliver. Wo ai ni, airen," said Xian Pu, not seeing anything wrong with the situation, it was just like she said, she had some ramen to deliver. Xian Pu exited the house through another wall and then jumped over the fence and landed perfectly on top of her bicycle. Airen should feel lucky that she used her break times to visit him, she thought as she pedaled off to work.
"Look, you ungrateful boy! You go up there this instance and apologize to your fiancée," yelled Genma as he got up, ready to beat his daughter within an inch of her life if she didn't comply.
"No Ranma! You will do no such thing. I will not have my son spoken to in such a manner," said Nodoka as she drew out her katana, warning Genma not to try anything stupid.
"But No-chan ..." pleaded Genma.
"Don't you No-chan me. You lost that privileged a long time ago," responded Nodoka coldly. Ranma saw her father hurt for the second time that day. She wasn't feeling much better herself.
"Thank you Mister Tendo, I appreciate your hospitality and all you have done for Ranma. Unfortunately, my son and I have to be leaving now. I will not have your daughter speaking to him again until she is ready to apologize. Goodnight Mister Tendo," said Nodoka respectfully before she turned to Ranma. Soun just collapsed on the floor and burst into tears.
"Ranma get your belongings and say your goodbyes. We're leaving," said Nodoka to her daughter.
"But Mom..." pleaded Ranma.
"No buts Ranma, I'm your mother," scolded Nodoka.
Ranma hung her head in defeat. She didn't want to leave, she loved Akane and knew that Akane didn't really mean what she had said. The Tendo's were her family and she cared for them all. But she couldn't force herself to go against her mother's wishers. She would do what her mother wanted for now, but would later try to fix things, she vowed.
Ranma didn't have many possessions. She owned a few articles of clothing and that was it. All her allowance was spent on the occasional ice cream, paying off Nabiki and replacing her Chinese clothing that got ruined during fights. She ran up to her room to grab a few pieces of clothing. She then ran back down the hall and then paused at Akane's door. She wanted to talk to her so badly and apologize for everything she did that night, but couldn't. She was unable to say anything because she still felt hurt. After a short while of trying, she finally gave up and decided to run back down the stairs instead and try to apologize again tomorrow.
She stopped by the table and stuck her finger into the still hot cup of green tea. He was glad to be a guy again and wondered briefly why he had spent so much of the day in his girl form. He shrugged it off and walked over to Soun and placed a hand on top of his shoulder, carefully avoiding the streams of tears.
"Don't worry Mister Tendo, I try to work things out somehow. I'll Hope to be seein' you soon," said Ranma.
"Why thank you Ranma. You've always been a good lad," said Soun as he stopped his crying. He had always liked the boy, even though he felt that Ranma tended to avoid responsibilities.
Ranma ran towards the exit and was greeted by Nabiki and Kasumi. He smiled lovingly at them and they returned the favor. He looked over to Nabiki and could have sworn that she had wiped something off her face. He looked down at his shoes for a second, before looking back up and engulfing both of them in a big hug.
"I don't know if I'll get to see you two again. I'll try my best to, but just in case I don't, I haveta tell ya both that I love you and think of you two as my sisters. You're the first real family that I've ever had. Tell 'Kane I'm sure we'll figure out a way to work things out. I know she didn't mean what she said. Well see ya Kasumi and see ya Nabs. Hope this is only temporary," he said as he let a rare tear escape his eyes.
"Oh Ranma," they both said, with Nabiki feeling a bit awkward for letting her image down.
"Come back soon Ranma-chan, we'll miss you," said Kasumi causing a slight wince from Ranma. He shook it off.
"Yeah what she says, and don't think that just because you're moving that I'm gonna let you off the hook with those bills," smirked Nabiki as she gave him a wink. With that said, Ranma-kun turned around and ran to his mother who was waiting for him by the front gates of the compound.
"Well I'm ready to go Mom," Ranma said as he smiled at his mother.
"I'm glad to here that son," Nodoka gleamed with joy as she put a hand on his shoulder. Then together they walked along the Tendo compound, outside its walls. Before they left the outskirts of the property, Genma emerged from the shadows.
"Don't worry Nodoka, I'm not here to give you any trouble. I know I haven't been the best father or husband. Please forgive me, the both of you. But the reason I came, was to say goodbye to you Ranma and wish you luck. Despite what I have said, you make me proud. I hope you and Akane find a way to work things out and that you'll come back here to live. But I'm a realist and in case things don't turn out so rosy, there is something I want you to have. Back at the Saotome home, there are a few scrolls that I've written. They contain the secrets to the Saotome school's most powerful techniques. That is my legacy to you Ranma. The secrets of the scrolls are too dangerous in the wrong hands, so you must promise to only use them if the cause is just. I hope you're more worthy of the techniques than your old man. Well goodbye Ranma," said Genma knowing that this might be the last time he'd get to see his son.
"I promise pops and I hope to be seeing you and the Tendo's soon. Heck all that tomboy got to do is apologize right?" said Ranma as he smiled at his father. It wouldn't hurt the tomboy to have to apologize for once, he thought. Genma smiled back and then faded into the shadows.
Ranma and Nodoka walked off into the night leaving Nerima and heading in the direction of Juuban.
-(The End?)-
Author's Notes: I don't really like author's notes. :) So don't expect many in the future. I really just wanted to say that I'm not really a writer. Although, I think I do a pretty okay job for a fan fiction author, if I do say so myself. ;) However the point is that it is just a hobby that I like doing some of the time. So, don't expect frequent updates. I have some other stories that I want to write but I promise to hold them off until Chapter 2 is finished. Other than that I'd like to say wow, I can't believe how big this chapter has gotten. I was planning on staying between 15 to 30 k per chapter. So far, I'm happy with the results though. Hope you are too. :) l8rz and CYA. - Gangsta
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