I don't own any of these characters or situations. They belong to someone else. Also this is done purely for fun, not profit. Any resemblance to persons living, dead, yet to be born, or visiting from other dimensions is purely coincidental. I'm doing this for fun.
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
I would like to thank the following, in order of appearance, from FukuFics 'dot' com for their input an pre-reading: Ellf, WarGiver, Phoenix, Pale Wolf, Shadow Wolf, Stratagemini, Yrael, and J. St.C. Patrick.
If I miss listing anyone, or misspelt their name (like last time), I apologize.
WARNING: If you don't like Nodoka in this story, be prepare to like her less.
Boldly going where others had gone before and meekly going where few have been.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Final Approach Ranma
Chapter 4
A Ranma/Futaba-kun Change crossover/fusion/whatever with a touch of Final Approach thrown in.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The unseasonable warm weather had turned into seasonable warm weather as three adults sat around the table, sipping tea, making light conversation and watching the world go by through the opened doors at the back of the house. The leaves on the tree by the koi pond swayed in the wind as a fish jumped periodically, hoping to capture a insect that strayed over the waters surface. After some tea and obligatory pleasantries, the mustached man who was the host cleared his throat somewhat nervously and addressed one of his guests.
"What did you wish to speak to me about, Mrs. Saotome?" Mr. Soun Tendo asked of Nodoka.
The middle aged, but still beautiful, woman placed her tea cup carefully on it's saucer, straightened a slight imperfection in her kimono and looked at the elder Tendo. "I would like to speak to you about formalizing an agreement between our houses," Nodoka answered evenly. "I would like to see about pairing my - son - up with one of your daughters."
Mr. Tendo's eyes lit up at that, before dimming, "I would like that, but what about the annulment of all the engagements by the Emperor?"
"That was for all previous engagements," Nodoka explained. "It has nothing to do with any future engagements that we may make after this is over with. Because of the Emperor's annulments, any new arrangement will be unhindered by any of my husbands foolishness."
Genma started to sweat a little more at Nodoka's words. Because of the warmth of the day, this went unnoticed by Nodoka and Soun.
Mr. Tendo's eye re-lit with a new fire. "Yes! Yes! Now the schools will be joined!"
"Precisely," Nodoka said. "The schools will be joined, which is what you two wanted in the first place and I'll get my grandchildren. Everybody will get what they want."
"Oh happy day!" Soun Tendo cried in buckets. Genma moved back to prevent himself from changing as Soun's tears spilled everywhere. Soun's tears suddenly dried up as he realized an important detail. "Wh-what if Ranma decides to marry this boy? What then?"
Nodoka smiled a crafty smile. "I don't think that will be an issue. I didn't push Ranma to be a 'woman among women' as hard as I did for no reason. I also took steps to keep him ignorant of some of the facts pertaining to being a woman, certain facts that I'm sure will make him more agreeable in the long run. After three months of being forced into being a 'fiancée', I'm sure he'll be more than happy to marry any girl we choose for him."
Soun rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Mrs. Saotome is more clever than I first suspected." He studied the woman who was now daintily sipping at her tea. "She may manage to do what Genma and I failed to do." After a few quiet moments, he ventured, "But - what on the outside chance Ranma does decide to marry this boy, what then?"
"Then I'll get what I want and we can move the engagement onto the next generation."
"The boy will not marry the boy," Genma declared pompously. "There is no way that my son would choose to live his life like a weak gir-erk!"
Nodoka removed the tip of the sheathed katana from Genma's gut. "Dearest," Nodoka said firmly with a touch of acid in her voice, "considering how many problems of honor you have caused, it would do you good to remain silent."
Genma could only nod as he held his sore stomach while regaining his breath. He hoped that his wife wouldn't be too angry with him if she found out about him having another scheme, er - deal without informing her. That Kuno boy offered a nice sum just to merely meet his 'daughter' and promised even more money if he could arrange it for her to date him. That money went a long way in covering Genma and Soun's numerous and extensive bar tabs, unfortunately not all of them. Because of that, Genma wanted Ranma to date this Kuno at least twice.
"Now then," Nodoka began ignoring her nervous husband. "Which one of your daughters do you have in mind for my child?"
"I was thinking of Akane, she would be the best choice," Soun said in a oh-so-wise voice. "They are the same age and both are martial artists."
"I was thinking more along the lines of Kasumi," Nodoka countered as she ran a finger over the rim of her teacup. "It's true that she's older than Ranma, but that only means that she would be able to bear children now and much easier than Akane would."
"But Akane and Ranma have so much in common," Soun pointed out. "Also since they had been engaged before all this started, they know each other and already get along."
Nodoka pondered that for a moment, then nodded in concession. "All right, but I want to make it clear that I still expect grandchildren as soon as possible - no more than a year after the wedding."
"How soon do you think the wedding should take place?" Soun asked as he took a sip of his tea.
Nodoka pondered this for a brief moment. "The sooner the better," she answered. "They were engaged before all this, then there should be no objection to a quick wedding - say the day after Ranma's obligations to the state are completed."
"That soon?" Soun asked, slightly stunned by the speed of what Nodoka was proposing.
"I waited long enough for grandchildren and do not wish to wait longer than necessary," Nodoka said firmly. "As soon as Ranma is freed from his obligations to the state, he will marry Akane."
Soun smiled a wide smile. "That shouldn't be a problem then. Akane and Ranma always have gotten along just fine."
"Excellent," Nodoka commented as she picked up her teacup.
The conversation was interrupted by a loud slam of the front door as Akane stormed through the room on her way to the stairs. "That arrogant, perverted jerk!" she screamed along the way.
Nodoka looked at Soun, his face still frozen in a smile, with with a cocked eyebrow.
"See?" he said dumbly.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
In the heart of the city, a man stood nervously pacing back and forth in front of an office. He stopped his pacing and regarded the gold lettering on the frosted window of the door. Running his fingers through his hair, he pondered if he was doing the right thing.
Mr. Shimeru stood in the narrow corridor just outside of the office suites. His lawyer highly recommend this particular company, even though the person running it was a foreigner. But Mr. Shimeru still hesitated at the door. Did he have the right to interfere with Ranma's life? Was this really something he wanted to get involved with? He sighed. On one hand what he was doing could be seen as an unwelcome interference, but if things were as bad for Ranma as his children led him to believe, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"If anyone objects," he thought, "I could always fall back on the excuse that I was checking out the background of my prospective daughter-in-law."
With the though firmly in mind that he was doing the right thing, Mr. Shimeru entered the offices of Richard Club, Private Investigators, Inc.
Soon Mr. Shimeru was ushered into a smallish, neat office that had file cabinets along one wall, a large picture of a group of men in uniforms - military Mr. Shimeru guessed - on the other wall, and a water cooler. The flat surfaces of the room were taken up with neatly arranged rows of nicknacks, odd looking objects, and framed black and white photographs. Mementos of a bygone era. There was a sizable wooden desk that dominated the room with comfortable chairs on either side. The chair behind the desk was occupied by a surprising elderly foreign man.
Mr. Shimeru could tell, even with the old man seated, that he was tall. The hawkish features of the man were accentuated by the thinning hair was combed back in a way that had been out of style for decades. He wore a suit was more up to date, but seemed to be old on the elderly man's frame. The man studied Mr. Shimeru with inquisitive blue eyes, while atop his desk, he rubbed his tobacco stained fingers together .
The whole room had an air of age to it that equaled the age of the man sitting behind the desk.
"C'mon in and grab a seat," the man said in very good Japanese as he motioned Mr. Shimeru into the room. "I'm Mr. Club, I run this agency. My secretary said you had a case?"
Mr. Shimeru nodded his head. "Yes. Yes, I do," he answered as he reached into his breast coat pocket and took out a folded sheet of paper. "I would like as complete background check on these people, as soon as you can manage."
Mr. Club took the folded sheet of paper and opened it. He seem to study the names and what little information that was on it intently. After a few moments, he raised his head and looked at Mr. Shimeru in the eyes.
"May I ask why you want these people looked into?"
"Their daughter may become my daughter-in-law," Mr. Shimeru explained. "I just want to see what kind of family she came from. Nothing ancestral you understand, just what kind of people they are."
Mr. Club nodded his head absently. "Okay. Seeing that your lawyer recommended me and he's a friend of mine, I'll get right on it. Is this your phone number?" he asked while pointing to a line on the sheet.
Mr. Shimeru nodded. "Yes, my cell phone number. You can reach me there most anytime - oh, if a woman picks up the phone, please feel free to tell her anything. She'll get the message to me."
Mr. Club's eyebrow raised at that. "Usually guys want to keep the dames in the dark about their snooping."
"Not from her," Mr. Shimeru said smiling at his private joke. "We're like one person, we don't have secrets from each other."
Mr. Club just nodded. "You should hear something from us in a few days."
"Thank you."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Sweeto!"
"On lord, not him," Ranma thought despondently.
The screams and squeals of the girls in the locker room were almost deafening. Many of the the girls fled the room while others stood and covered as much of themselves as they could. The little troll-like martial arts master was bounding between the girls like a pinball, groping and feeling each girl he came into contact with.
"Stupid, perverted old man!" Ranma's mind screamed as she made her way through the sea of panicked girls. "I'll show him-"
Happosai stopped his bounding around as his eyes fell up on the very familiar redhead as she came storming up to him.
"You old letch!" Ranma yelled. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"
"Why Ranma, my dear!" the old man said with innocent, doe-like eyes. "Come give your master a hug," Happosai said as he leapt.
Ranma was expecting the assault and prepared to meet him with a strong kick that she'd hoped would at least cripple the diminutive pervert. However Happosai's flight was intercepted by a steel fan that solidly connected to his face. The force of the blow was enough to send Happosai into the nearby wall below the opaque windows, cracking the tiled surface.
Standing between Ranma and Happosai was a man - an outlandishly dressed man.
Ranma's savior was a vaguely familiar figure with thin mask with holes for his eyes and a mustache. He wore a turban-like hat, with a moon symbol on the forehead, that covered his large, round head. He was also wearing a bizarre blue jumpsuit, a thick black leather belt and a white cape. He also wore white gloves and boots. In one hand he welded a oversized fan that appeared to be made of medal.
"Who... are you?" Happosai asked as he picked himself off the floor. Happosai's face was marred by a red stripe that went across where the hard, metal fan had belted him. "How dare you ruin an old man's fun!"
"I am the defender of justice at this school," the small, round headed and strangely dressed man answered. "They call me 'The Justice Maker'!"
Happosai blinked at the costumed man. "Whatever," he said as he reached into his gi. "I'll teach you to respect your elders."
Ranma hackles rose as she knew what was coming. She may have had put up with Happosai's antics in the past, but she would be damned if she did now. Ranma panned her head around, looking for some way of taking this fight outside and to take Happosai out if it came to that. The windows above and behind Happosai looked like the best option.
"Copping feels of innocent young girls is evil," The Justice Maker said dramatically. "You must be punished!"
"I'll teach you some respect! Cop this!" Happosai said as he withdrew and threw a Happo Daikarin in one swift move. He moved so incredibly fast and the Happo Daikari was heading for the Justice Maker before Ranma could even blink.
The Justice Maker stood his ground and used his fan to bat the lit Happo Daikarin back from where it came from. Happosai just had enough time to widen his eyes and comically go cross-eyed before the bomb went of in his face, sending him through the window and high into the sky trailing smoke behind him.
"Not bad," Ranma commented, impressed with the strange man's handiwork. "The old freak had it coming."
"Glad to be of service," the Justice Maker said jovially. "Now - I must be off!"
Ranma stood in the shambles of the girls locker and pondered the newest - and very interesting - person she'd met. He did seem familiar, she was sure of that, but where did she meet him?
Anymore thoughts were interrupted as principal Hirouin enter the scene followed by members of the wrestling team.
"What happened here?" the round headed principal asked, slightly out of breath.
"Well...," Ranma began, looking closer at the principal. He kinda reminded her of... "Nah, it couldn't be," she mentally concluded before continuing to explain what had happened.
"You've seen The Justice Maker?" Principal Hirouin asked with excitement and wide eyes. "You mean the legendary super hero that protects justice and peace at the school?"
Ranma blink-blinked at the principal. Come to think of it, Principal Hirouin's did seem to resemble... perhaps... Nah - couldn't be. "Um... yeah. I guess." Ranma finally said with a shrug.
"It sounds like you were fortunate that the Justice Maker showed up," Principal Hirouin said in a wise way. "You might've gotten hurt."
"Nah," Ranma said as she shrugged her shoulders. "Me and the old letch go back aways. I've always beat 'em."
"You've seen the Justice Maker," Motomura, the captain of the wrestling team said. "Impressive. We were hoping to see him ourselves."
"Ah - guys," Ranma said carefully. "You do know you're in the girls locker room, right?"
The three men of the wrestling team looked about them for the first time and noticed some of the half dressed girls who remained in the room during the whole affair. Three sets of eyes got large before blood erupted from their noses like three crimson geysers. Ranma looked at the three collapsed boys laid out on the floor while shaking her head.
"These guys are worse than Ryoga."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
In a vacant lot near the Shimeru's, a young girl moved gracefully through a series of complex katas. The look of concentration of her face was only betrayed by a repeating cycle of scowls and thin smiles that replaced one another every few minutes. It had been a interesting morning.
This morning Ranma almost came close to hitting Futana - at least she think she did - she wasn't really sure. Even though the thought of hitting Futana surfaced from time to time, Ranma reminded herself that the pervert was still a girl. Futana had not only snuck into her bed that morning, but somehow managed to disrobe Ranma without waking her. Ranma woke to the sensation of receiving a full body massage from a very amorous and naked Futana. Ranma thanked whatever god that was is charge of perverts for the fact that Futana was in girl form at the time. If she were a he, Ranma would have been at a loss at what to do.
Ranma was angry at the time and asked for Futana to leave, which she did with surprisingly little argument. The problem now was Ranma couldn't tell if she was mad at Futana for waking her like that, or mad at herself for actually enjoying the feeling of Futana's nude body rubbing up against hers. It was scary and exciting at the same time as well as pissing her off and frustrating Ranma in ways that were new to her.
The worse thing though, was that her new and different frustrations were exciting and... enticing in a weird sorta way.
And that was really pissing her off.
At least she thought it was pissing her off.
Sigh.
A twinge.
Ranma stopped in her morning exercises and concentrated on this other, new strange feeling.
"Something's... wrong," Ranma thought aloud. Furrowing her brow, Ranma moved into another set of katas and stopped as she felt another twinge. "What's going on?"
Coming out of her stance, Ranma thought on what could be the matter. It wasn't the weather, for it was mild and slightly breezy - perfect for working out in. It wasn't her balance - that was flawless from years of practice. It was something intangible... something just out of reach. Even through Ranma had been sleeping better now than she had in her whole life, she felt - fatigued.
Ranma shook her head, sending her red locks flying about. "Dammit, what's wrong now?" she groused to herself.
Picking up a towel, she wiped the sweat off her face and arms as she made her way back to the Shimeru's. She briefly thought back to the other week when Ryoga showed up. "He better not show up today," she thought with a touch of malice. "He does and tries that Kuno crap again, I'll turn him into a pig and mail him gift-wrapped to Azusa."
She walked slowly and enjoyed the air as it gently brushed passed her. Looking to the partly clouded sky, she marveled at the diversity of the shape of the clouds. Then, she felt a stronger twinge.
"What the hey...?" she thought, her irritability growing by the minute. Stopping just outside the Shimeru's, Ranma focused on herself. Nothing. She could find absolutely nothing - but there was something... With a shrug she entered the house.
"Morning Ranma," Futaba greeted as Ranma passed him in the family room. "How was your workout?"
"It was fine I guess," Ranma answered, keeping a sudden feeling of wanting to lash out at something from of her voice. "I cut it short though, I'm feeling a little tired."
Futaba nodded. "Breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes."
It was Ranma's turn to nod as she headed for the furo.
Ranma entered the bathing room and began to disrobe. She sighed. Something was definitely wrong, but she'd be damned if she could figure out what it was.
"I'm probably just stressed out about this coming weekend," she rationalized as she pulled off her bra. "I'm not looking forward to seeing my mom."
She stopped in her disrobing and sighed on that thought. For some reason seeing her mother was less than appealing. "This is my mom, for goodness sake," Ranma scolded herself, guilty that she should feel that way. "I should be glad to even have a mother, some people don't."
A twinge.
"Dammit," she thought. "Last thing I need now is to come down with something."
Slipping out of her loose silk pants, she studied herself in the mirror. Her eyes traced the curves of her body, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Finding nothing obvious, Ranma leaned forward and looked closer at her face. Still nothing.
Another twinge.
"Probably just something I ate," she mentally tried to dismiss the muscle spasm. "Can't figure what I ate to cause this though."
She sighed and removed her panties and stared...
... and stared...
... and stared...
"Oh my -"
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Futaba spied his sister stagger in, looking like death warmed over. "Morning sis," he said to his blanket wrapped sibling.
"Umm," a bleary eyed Futana responded as she weaved toward a chair and collapsed into it.
Futaba backed up, not wanting to get get caught up with Futana if she got sick from last night's drinking. Futana had a nasty habit of using whatever was handy to get sick into and wasn't bashful about it either. In the past she'd gotten sick while kissing, using peoples pants as air sick bags and other highly objectionable personal spaces. Futaba thought that Futana got her jollies out of grossing people out sometimes and couldn't understand why. Futana's head rested on the edge of the table, lolling about gently.
"Late night?" Futaba asked, slightly disgusted with his sisters antics.
"Uhhhh," was the groaned reply. Futana seemed to melt into the chair as she sagged lower. Her head seemed to become part of the table as she wasted away.
"You know, sis, if you don-"
"GGGGOOOODDDD!"
Futana's head shot up in response to the scream. she went crossed eyed for a second and almost fell out of her chair as a wave of dizziness hit her. Futaba jumped and looked about in a panic for a moment. Futaba and Futana stared at one another for a few heartbeats as the scream that had pealed the air faded .
"Ranma!" Futaba cried in concern and took off in the direction of the furo. Futana followed at a more pedestrian pace, holding her head in hand and weaving slightly as she did.
By the time the two siblings made it to the furo, Mr. Shimeru was already there. He had switched into his female form and had a comforting arm around a shaking redhead. Ranma looked pale and was sitting on one of the washing stools with her panties around her ankles. It was obvious that Mr. Shimeru was trying to keep Ranma from hyperventilating. After what seemed like a handful of minutes, Ranma seemed calm enough to talk.
"You okay?" Mr. Shimeru asked in a voice filled with concern.
Ranma only shook her head in reply.
"You okay?" Futaba asked lamely.
Ranma took a deep breath. "Sorry," she said softly. "I was - surprised. I know you told me, but I was still surprised." Then with obvious false macho, she added, "I'm fine, really."
All was quiet for a moment.
"Let's try changing you to a guy," Futaba suggested. "Okay?"
"No," Ranma answered evenly and mechanically. "I made a promise to stay a girl, and I'm going to keep it."
"This is just a test though," Futaba said calmly while placing a reassuring hand on Ranma's shoulder. "We want to see if you can change or not when you are on your period."
Mr. Shimeru added. "Yes, please. We are most curious how close your condition is to ours."
Ranma though about her hosts' requests, then nodded. "Okay," she said. "But only for a few minutes. I keep my promises." She mentally added with bitterness, "Not like a certain panda I know."
The Shimerus nodded as Futana filled one of the rinsing buckets with some hot water from the tap. After a short wait, she handed the water off to Futaba.
"Ready?" he asked the redhead who responded with a nod.
The hot water cascaded over Ranma's naked form with a loud splash. What the Shimeru's were facing was a wet and still female Ranma.
"Was the water hot enough?" questioned Mr. Shimeru.
"Yes," Ranma answered, somewhat shocked that she wasn't changing. Her eyes got big as the pupils got smaller. She let out a small, "Oh boy."
"Ranma? Ranma!" Futaba called to her, trying to keep her from going into shock. "It's okay."
Ranma stared at him for a few heartbeats before ranting. "Okay! Okay! How can you say this is okay? I'm bleeding - down there - for crying out loud! How can you say it's okay?"
Futaba had his hands on Ranma's shoulders and stared at her right in the eyes. Futaba concentrated using the techniques that Ranma had been showing him to shift into his girl form. "Because I do it every month. Trust me, it's okay."
Ranma open her mouth to say something and just as quickly closed it. She open it again - and closed it. Ranma let out a sigh, then nodded.
Futana was in her male form sniffing the air. "At least she isn't putting out pheromones like you and dad do when you are on yours," he said to everyone.
"Well that would definitely make it easier to handle," Futaba answered her now male sister.
"Fear-what?" Ranma questioned.
"Pheromones," Futana explained while wagging his eyebrows, "are chemicals that you put out for attracting the opposite sex."
"Attracting...," Ranma's voice trailed off.
"Yeah," Futaba said. "When I first had my period, I hadn't a clue what was going on. On top of that I had every guy - and I mean every guy - trying to pick me up."
Ranma stared at her fiancé with wide eyes.
"Don't worry," Futaba reassured Ranma. "If you were putting any, Futana would be all over you." Then added mentally, "more so than she is now."
Ranma looked past Futaba to Futana, who was back to being a girl, a very pretty and sexy girl, Ranma noticed. She studied Futana's lips and thought some surprisingly naughty daydreams. "All over me... I might not mind that," she thought back earlier that morning and imagined herself kissing those lips. "No! Don't think about that," Ranma scolded herself. Focusing on something else, Ranma traced the curves of Futana's body that weren't hidden very well by the thin blanket. A very thin blanket. "No! Don't look there!" Ranma's mind screamed.
Ranma instantly closed her eyes and mentally flogged herself for being such a pervert.
"C'mon," Futaba said turning Ranma's attention back to the matter at hand. "Let's get you cleaned up and I'll show you what to do."
Later, just before heading out to school, Ranma placed a handful of pads inside her school bag. "Female protection" was the term that Futaba used and Ranma tried to make light of the situation by trying to come up with a good martial arts style for it. None came.
"I'm not going to let a little blood, cramps, hot flashes and everybody getting on my nerves stop me!" Ranma proclaimed to herself as she unconsciously posed in a dramatic way that would have made either Kuno or Ryoga proud. "I can do this!" Ranma's pride was now mixed with her stubbornness. "If Futaba can do this, I can do this too!"
She let out a soft sigh, came out of her pose and rubbed her lower belly unconsciously.
"Not like I have a choice now," Ranma groused to herself. "I can't change back until I'm through. Stupid biology."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Ranma and Futaba were sitting under a tree in the school yard, resting with their backs to it. School was out for the day and they were waiting on Misaki to show up. She was involved in what was now called 'the incident' in Home Economics and she had to stay after and help clean it up. Who knew that making chocolate with an abnormally high caloric content would spontaneously combust? Ranma and Futaba passed the time waiting by watching the clouds go by and talking.
"Ranma I would like to ask you something," Futaba tentatively asked.
"Sure," Ranma responded with a shrug. "What's up?"
"Well you know when you were telling Misaki and I about your life and how people always told you about honor?"
"Yeah?" What about it?"
"Well it seems to me that you always tried to do the right thing," Futaba said while watching a bird shaped cloud go by. "While your father... well, does the opposite."
"Tell me about it," Ranma said forlornly.
"Then why do you listen to him?"
"Huh? Whatta mean? He's my pop, that's why."
"Ranma as much as we talk, I still don't understand you."
Ranma sighed as she spied a upside-down horse in the sky. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you have everybody telling you to do this or do that because it's honorable, yet the people that are doing the telling have questionable honor themselves."
Ranma remained silent as she measured Futaba's words. "Yeah," she finally whispered out. She knew her father had little or no honor, and had to admit to herself that she was beginning to question her mother's.
"I think you know more about honor than you think," Futaba firmly stated. "You just have to use it."
"Huh?" Ranma asked, breaking from her thoughts.
"I mean, maybe you should find your own definitions of honor, instead of relying on other people to do it for you. That way you won't have to worry about contradictions and be answerable to yourself."
Ranma sat up away from the tree to stared at Futaba.
"I think you already have a strong sense of honor, or a least a strong sense of right and wrong," Futaba continued. "All you just have to do is assert it and judge your action and the actions of those around you by it."
"I don't know...," Ranma began uncertainly. "When my mom or pop tell me something about honor, it seemed to make sense at the time."
"After what your father did to you, you still listen to him?" Futaba asked incredulously. "Ranma, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but that's just dumb to do that."
"I know!" Ranma snapped back. "But what else I'm I supposed to do?"
"Do what you think is right and honorable and to hell with what your father or your mother think."
"But my mom..."
"Uses her definition of honor to get you to do what she wants."
Ranma leaned back against the tree and stared off into the sky. She ignored the passing clouds as she weighed Futaba's words. It was a very disquieting conversation.
"Maybe you're right..."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Ranma was wrapped in a robe, drying her hair as she headed toward the guest room that was her home for the last month or so when she felt a hand trace along the firm cheek of her rear. She spun around to face her molester and found Futaba's sister Futana standing there with a lecherous smirk on her face also wrapped in a robe.
"Yes?" Futana asked while wangling her eyebrows.
Ranma sighed. "Don't you have anything better to do?"
"With a beautiful woman like you in the house? You must be kidding," she said in a way that reminded Ranma of Nabiki. Futana sashayed up to a now very flustered Ranma.
If only Futana wasn't so smooth about getting around Ranma's defenses.
"Look Futana," Ranma tried to explain 'diplomatically', "it ain't like I'm not flattered or anything, it's I'm just not interested right know. Okay?"
"Can I have just one little kiss," Futana asked coyly. "Is that so much to ask?"
"Yes," Ranma answered somewhat hotly. "Look, I'm not ready for... whatever it is you have in mind. I gotta I lot on my mind and I just don't wanna deal with this right now."
"Oh pooh," Futana pouted as the front of her rode parted slightly, exposing a lot of cleavage and twin swells of breasts. Ranma's eyes were fixated at the exposed flesh. This did not go unnoticed by Futana. "See something you like?" she taunted.
"Yes," Ranma whispered under her breath before snapping to the here and now. "I mean no! Just leave me alone, okay?"
Futana stepped up to Ranma and slide her arms around her. "C'mon," Futana said in a singsong manner. "Just one kiss."
Futana leaned closer to Ranma's face. Ranma grew more nervous with the conflicting emotions. Part of her wanted and actually longed to feel Futana lips on hers, another part wasn't so sure and resisted.
"Please stop," Ranma said weakly. Futana ignored her and pressed nearer.
"Please..." Ranma repeated hoarsely.
- WHAP -
Ranma was set free and almost fell onto her posterior. As she staggered about and regained her balance, both mentally and physically and she looked to her savior. It was Futaba looking very pissed at his sister who was on the floor and rubbing the back of her head.
"Stop picking on poor Ranma!" Futaba scolded at the older sibling loudly. "She's got enough problems without you making them worse."
Futana was rubbing the growing knot on her head and frowned slightly at her brother. "I'm just trying to show her how the other half lives, that's all," she said defensively. "I wouldn't have done anything."
"You know Ranma is dealing with a lot right now," Futaba said with an edge. "You're taking advantage of her weakness to... to try and bed her."
"Wa c'mon, bro," Futana said, picking herself off the floor. "I wouldn't have gone that far. I was just playing. Honest."
Futana moved off to her bedroom rubbing her head while Futaba steadied Ranma. "Are you okay?" He asked.
Ranma nodded her head jerkily, but didn't say anything.
"Why didn't you stop her?" Futaba asked. "You know you should just hit her or something - that's what I always had to do."
Ranma shook her head mechanically as she faced Futaba. "I... I... I don't hit girls," she said stammered emotionlessly.
"What do you mean you don't hit girls?" Futaba asked in a slightly exasperated tone. "Look, if someone - anyone - especially someone like my sis - who doesn't take no for an answer - tries something you don't like, don't be afraid to defend yourself."
"I don't hit girls," Ranma said in the same emotionless tone. It was obvious to Futaba that Ranma was still shaken by the encounter with Futana.
Futaba let out a sigh. "Look, let's go downstairs and talk this over. Okay?"
Ranma nodded her head jerkily as before and allowed herself to be led into the kitchen.
"So you don't hit girls? Why?" asked Futaba as he put a teakettle on the stove.
"Well I was raised to believe that woman were weak and needed to be protected," a now much calmer Ranma explained. She was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs with her head propped up by one hand.
"That's nice," Futaba said with a nod. "But why won't you hit girls?"
Ranma blink-blinked at her fiancé.
"Well they are weaker than men," Ranma defended softly. "And men are stronger so it would be wrong to pick on the weak."
"I... see," Shimeru thought aloud before addressing Ranma again. "So now that you are in your girl body, you are weak and it is up to me to protect you."
Ranma's eyes widened before narrowing, she clenched both of her hands in anger. "I'm not really a girl though," she defended. "And I'm the best martial artists there is, so I don't need anyone's protection."
"But you said yourself that women are weak and needed to be protected."
"That's for real women!" Ranma roared in frustration. "I don't count!"
"You forget," Futaba said. "You're on your period right now and that certainly makes you count as a real girl."
Ranma opened her mouth to say something smart, but lacking in the wit department, nothing came of it. Another part of her mind was staggering over the implications that she was now as much of a 'real girl' as much as a 'real man'. It was almost overwhelming.
"Being a girl hasn't made you weak, has it?" Futaba asked, forcing Ranma out of her thoughts.
Ranma slowly shook her head.
"Then I cannot offer better proof than that, that woman are not 'all weak and needing protecting'," Futaba said with a smile for added emphasis. "It's not the woman that are weak, it's your attitude toward them that is."
Ranma stared at the black-haired boy as he removed the teakettle from the stove, placed in on a tray with cups and in turn place the tea service on the table.
"He's so nice to me," Ranma thought absently, before asking, "What do you mean?"
"Well, it seems to me all that anyone has to do to defeat you - Mr. 'I'm the best martial artist of my generation' - is to send a bunch of women after you."
Ranma started to get angry, stopped, and then contemplated Futaba's words. After careful thought, Ranma still drew a blank. "What do you mean?" she finally asked.
"I mean," Futaba began to explain as he poured the tea into the waiting cups. "If I wanted to defeat you, all I would have to do is send four or five girls after you when you least expect it and they would take you down."
"No way!" Ranma said defensively. "There's no way a bunch of girls can defeat me."
"Futana almost did," Futaba pointed out, placing a cup before Ranma. "And she's not a trained fighter. I'm afraid with your attitude, you will fail against any woman - no matter how good or bad in martial arts she may be."
Ranma open her mouth and tried to say something in her defense, but nothing came of it. Futaba was close to the problem and Ranma's past actions, or lack of actions, around violent women spoke volumes in itself. During her reflections on her past, Ranma took a sip of her tea.
"You have already told me in our talks how other people manage to hit you based solely because they were girls," Futaba pressed. "I would say because of your attitude, girls are definitely stronger than you."
"You keep saying that it's my attitude - what's wrong with my attitude?"
"You need start looking at people as individuals, instead of men and women," Futaba said surprisingly sagely for a teenager. "There are women who are stronger than you, you have admitted that when you told me of an 'old ghoul'. Do you deny this?"
Ranma shook his head. It was true, in spite of Cologne being a woman older than dirt, she was one of the strongest and most skilled opponents she'd ever faced.
"As far as your attitude goes - you need you shift your thinking from man equals strong and women equals weak and instead concentrate on what person is strong and which person is weak."
Ranma stared at Futaba and tried to turn this over in her mind.
"Maybe...," Ranma said softly, "I'll try and do something about it..."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Mr. Shimeru patted his stomach in satisfaction at a meal well eaten. Futaba was also patting his own stomach, mimicking the older Shimeru. Futana ate quickly and made for the door, not explaining where she was going. Ranma herself was rubbing her belly carefully, for she was just past her monthlies and still felt a little weirded out by the whole experience.
"Man," Ranma commented, "your mom really knows how to cook."
Futaba only nodded, feeling too content to converse.
Mr. Shimeru leaned forward and propped himself up by his folded arms. This seemed like a good a time as any to broach the subject. "Ranma," he began. "I would like to talk to you about a proposal."
"A proposal?" Ranma queried. "What kind of proposal?"
"Well, when you were out shopping last weekend you ran into one of my associates," Mr. Shimeru explained. "He has a good eye for fresh talent and he thinks you have what it takes to be the 'next big thing'. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"
Ranma blink-blinked at him. "Haven't a clue."
Futaba knowing what his father was talking about piped in to explain it to Ranma. "He's talking about modeling or being an image girl."
Ranma blink-blinked at Futaba. "Modeling? I don't know," Ranma mused. "I mean I know nothing about it..."
"Well it's not that hard, it get tedious at times and sometimes you run into some weird people...
Ranma looked at Futaba with half lidded eyes.
"... Right. They might seem normal compared to the people you've known. Anyway it's kinda fun and exciting."
"Well," Ranma thought aloud as she waffled in uncertainty. "I really don't know."
Futaba smiled at Ranma. "Give it a try," he said more excited by the idea than Ranma. "It'll be fun."
"No pressure, Futaba, " Mr. Shimeru gently said as he turned his attention back to Ranma. "Well, you have time to think about it. There's no rush."
"Okay," Ranma said with a shrug. "I'll think about it."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Mr. Shimeru eased himself into the easy chair across from Mr. Club. "What did you find out?" he asked.
"Plenty," Mr. Club answered in a no nonsense manner. "You really picked a couple of loons for in-laws."
"What do you mean?"
"Well let's start with the dame, Mrs. Saotome," Mr Club began as he pulled out a thin manilla folder. "She is a master at an obscure kendo form. She has been stopped and warned about carrying her katana several times by the police and in spite of that, has been reported still carrying it. She also has been admitted to the Tokyo Mental Hospital for observation twice in the last eight years."
"Did you find out what for?"
"Not really," Mr. Club answered with a shake of the head as he pulled out a cigarette. "They keep those records under tight wraps. What we were able to find out was that the doctors considered her 'slightly emotionally disturbed, but harmless'."
Mr. Shimeru bowed his head in thought.
"That usually means that she's whacked out," Mr. Club continued as he lit the cigarette with a match, "but hasn't killed anybody yet." He shook the match out.
Mr. Shimeru sighed. "What kind of life has Ranma had?"
"Still, that's nothing compared to the the mister," Mr. Club continued, taking a drag of his cigarette as he pulled out a thick three ringed binder. "I've had to deal with losers like this in the past. Hate 'em. Guys have one thing in mind and it's nobody but themselves. They don't care who gets hurt or why as long as they get what they want."
"That bad?"
"If I were a younger man, I'd kill the bastard and dump his fat carcass where no one but the fishes would find it."
Mr. Shimeru studied the elderly man across from him. There was something in the man's eyes that told a story of hardness, death and remorse. A chill ran down his spine. Mr. Shimeru came to the conclusion that if Mr. Club was a younger man, he'd make good on his words.
"And their kid - the son, jezz, I feel sorry of him," Mr. Club said with a shake of the head. "That bastard of a father has sold his ass more times than a cheap whore sells hers."
"What do you mean?"
"Well from what I understand about this man's MO," Mr. Club said while blowing smoke into the room, adding to the atmosphere. "He finds a sucker with something he wants, whether it's something valuable or as worthless as a cheap drink, and arranges for his son to marry the sucker's daughter as trade and then takes off."
Mr. Shimeru sat and digested that for a moment. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, a whole lot of anything else's," Mr. club said as he opened the binder. "That asshole has a rap sheet that stretches from here to the States. He wanted for a lot of crimes - small stuff, you know, petty crimes. Wanted for questioning in several prefectures for child abuse - that would be for what he did to the poor dumb bastard of a son he has - and several families are still looking for him for slights on their honor."
"Hmmm."
"Yeah, a real sweetheart that Mr. Saotome," Mr. Club said sarcastically while leaning back into his chair.
"Anything on the son, Ranma?" Mr. Shimeru asked, fearful of knowing too much now.
"Nah, nothing really," Mr. Club answered while pulling out another folder with a few sheets of paper on it. "He's mostly his father's patsy in all this and has been cleared of his fathers doings in many courts. He may be wanted as a material witness against his father, if the law ever gets off their asses and pick him up."
"I wonder why the authorities haven't picked Ranma's father up yet?"
"Yeah, my thoughts too," Mr. Club said off handedly. "But you know how the police are sometimes: If it's not an immediate crisis, they don't deal with it. Why do you think gropers on trains got so outta hand that they had to have all female carriages on some lines?"
"Hmmm," Mr. Shimeru considered Mr. Club's words and concluded that there was more truth in them than he'd like to think about.
A quiet moment was shared by the two men.
"I gotta question for you though," Mr. Club said, flicking some ash into an ashtray. "When I looked into this pack of loons, you mentioned their daughter. I only found a son."
"Oh that," Mr. Shimeru said casually, having prepared a story just in case. "That's because the daughter was a unofficial recent addition to their family. She may not show up in any paperwork."
"Well that's good, at least she'd get away from these nut-jobs," Mr. Club said, taking another drag of his cigarette. "It would explain what one of my men found out."
"What was that?"
"Seems like her 'father' wanted to be sure he'd get something out of her like he did his son," another pause as he exhaled some smoke. "He apparently has accepted a 'meeting fee' or whatever they call it on his 'daughter's' behalf with some other nut-job of a family."
"I see..."
"Yeah, there's nothing like a father that prostitutes his kids, huh? Well, it's all there in our report," Mr. Club said. "If you have any questions on any of it, just give us a ring."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Misaki was looking through the latest issue of 'Supernatural Quarterly' when Ranma came upon her. She was sitting out again on wrestling practice and was waiting on Futaba to finish up and Ranma had just came from helping the Martial Arts teams with their practice.
"Watcha' reading?" Ranma asked curiously.
"Oh nothing," Misaki answered in her usual happy way. "Just looking at my horoscope."
"Horoscope? Like stars and stuff?"
Misaki nodded absently as she finished reading the section she had started.
"I never thought you'd believe in stuff like that," Ranma commented as she motion at the magazine in Misaki's hands.
Misaki answered with a shrug. "You never know what you may learn reading stuff like this," she said. "I've seem to find something every time."
Ranma sat next to Misaki, quietly lost in her own thoughts.
"Thinking about this weekend?" Misaki asked, breaking into Ranma's thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to it."
"That bad?"
Ranma nodded. "You know what's funny?" she mused out loud. "I never really saw how bad things were until I got away from it. I've only been here - what - a month? And looking back on what I thought was normal..." Ranma shook her head. "I'm just not looking forward to going back to that - even for a few hours."
"Well that's understandable," Misaki commented. "I hate to use the analogy, but you're like an abused child that thinks the abuse is normal because you grew up with it. Now that you're away from it and are now seeing it from the outside, well your perspective has changed."
Ranma could only nod.
"So how are you going to handle your mother?" Misaki asked out of the blue.
"I don't know," Ranma confessed. "She starts pulling this honor stuff and I get confused because... because..."
"She tells you one thing and does another?"
Ranma stared at Misaki for a brief moment. "Yeah. Something like that. You know I was talking to Futaba about this and he said that I should try to find and use my own definitions of honor instead of using anyone else's."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Misaki said with a gentle smile that made Ranma's heart just melt. "I've only known you about a month, but you seem like a decent person and probably are more honorable than the other people in your life."
"Yeah...," Ranma whispered as she tore her eyes from Misaki. "She's Futaba's girl!" Her mind yelled at her. "But," Ranma continued, "my dad's easy though. He's always been honorless, but what I'm I going to do about my mom?"
Misaki shrugged. "I think you should stand up for yourself - no one else seems to."
"To my mom!" Ranma exclaimed. "This is my mom we're talking about here."
"The same mom that let you go ten years ago?"
Silence fell between the girls.
"Um, yeah," Ranma answered weakly.
"If you had a child, would you let them go?" Misaki asked pointedly.
"Hell no!" Ranma shot back. "They'd have to pry my kid outta my dead arms before they'd..." Ranma voice trailed off then.
"There's more to being a mother than just giving birth," Miskai said as she wagged a finger at Ranma. "From how I see it, your mother gave up that right when she let you go knowing full well what kind of man your father was."
"My mom...," Ranma whispered. She shook her head. "I don't know what to do."
Misaki shrugged her shoulders, placed her hand over Ranma's and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Just be you, stand up for yourself and follow your own sense of honor."
Ranma raised her head and looked at Misaki. "How do you know so much?" she softly asked.
Misaki smiled one of those smiles. "I read it 'Mysticism Monthly'. They had and article on finding your Wa."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
In the quiet of the house, Mr. Shimeru fretted over the knowledge that he'd acquired. Futaba and Ranma had left earlier, heading off to meet Ranma's mother, leaving him in relative quiet for going over the files that Mr. Club gave him. It still didn't look any better than the first time he read through it.
Mr. Shimeru put down the binder that outlined the life and crimes of one Genma Saotome with a sigh and a shake of his head. With such a role model for a father it was a true wonder that Ranma didn't turn out to be a violent thug instead of the decent person he knew. He sat at pondered as to what to do. He couldn't in good conscience allow Ranma to return to such an abusive environment but in less than two months time the experiment would be over with and decisions would have to be made.
How to proceed?
"Ranma could stay here if she and Futaba got married," he thought. "But they themselves had ruled that out. They have no romantic notions between them."
"Apply for an extension? Yes, that would be a good way of buying time," Mr. Shimeru weighed that. "But time is all that it would buy. Best to keep that in mind just in case."
Mr. Shimeru thought deeper. "It may be possible to take this to court and show that Ranma's parents are unfit and legally become Ranma's guardian," he considered. "That runs into problems of different sorts. While there was plenty of evidence against the father, there was only scantiest hints against the mother."
Mr. Shimeru sat in his easy chair and tried to think of something.
He thoughts were soon interrupted by his eldest child.
"What's wrong dad?" she asked. "If your brow creases anymore, you'll ruin your good looks and your modeling days would be over."
"Huh? Oh. sorry," Mr. Shimeru said lamely. "I trying to figure out a way to help Ranma."
"Help Ranma?" Futana asked. "How? What's wrong?"
Mr. Shimeru sighed. "Well earlier this week I commissioned a private investigation agency to look..."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The day had come.
The day Ranma had been dreading for sometime now.
It had been over a month since she'd last been this way. On one hand this was like home, on the other hand her memories of the Tendo dojo were likened to a surreal madhouse. Of course her memories of the Tendo dojo were tainted by her recent experiences. But most of all, Ranma dreaded seeing her mother.
Ranma led Futaba, in male form, and Misaki down the sideway in the direction o the Tendo dojo. Butterflies were fluttering around inside her, unsettling her stomach as the trio made their way. She was not happy about visiting, but she did promise and one thing Ranma did do was keep her promises. Unlike a certain panda-man...
... or her mother for that matter. Nodoka did promise to try as see her when she could. Since the day that she left Ranma at the Shimeru's, Ranma hadn't even heard from her. Something that Ranma noticed.
"I hate this," Ranma muttered.
"It'll be all right," Futaba said re-assuredly. "You'll see."
Ranma sighed, not feeling reassured at all.
"Remember," Misaki said. "You're engaged to Futaba. I'm just a school friend tagging along."
"Right," Ranma said. "Last thing I want is for my mom to think we're not taking the engagement thing seriously - I don't think I'll ever hear the end of it."
"What would she do?" Misaki asked.
Ranma sighed. "She'll probably say I'm not being womanly enough or something... man I hate this."
"It'll be fine," Futaba said. "We're here for you." Futaba turned a smiled at Ranma.
Ranma felt a funny feeling, the same type of feeling she had when Misaki smiled at her. Ranma smiled back a genuine smile and tried to suppressed any more of the weird feelings. She'd been having too many weird feelings and it was making her feel... weird. It wasn't just one feeling that Ranma was dealing with, but a host of new and foreign ones, ones she wasn't sure existed
Acceptance? Honesty? Hope? Desire? And dare she think it... love?
No. Best not consider that last one - yet.
She knew it was one, or some combination of those, were involved in her feelings of discomfort. The fact that one or more of those feelings were cropping up with more than one person just added to her confusion. She also knew she was really too - afraid to investigate them at the moment or anytime in the near future.
All too soon for Ranma they neared the Tendo dojo. Misaki fell behind a step, allowing Futaba and Ranma to walk together, side-by-side. In this game, appearances can mean everything.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"... and now I'm trying to figure out what to do."
Silence fell between parent and child as Futana digested everything that her father told her.
"It's amazing that Ranma isn't nuts or something," she commented. Mr. Shimeru nodded his head in agreement as Futana picked up the thick binder with Genma's records in it and started flipping through the pages. "Now what?"
Mr. Shimeru let out a slightly frustrated snort. "I'm not sure, but I can't stand by and watch. I feel I have to do something."
Futana stopped her flipping of pages near the back of the binder. "You know that Ranma's father is making the motions of engaging her to a Tatewaki Kuno?"
Mr. Shimeru nodded.
Futana continued to read the last few sheets in the binder. "Say dad look at this," she said.
Looking over his daughters shoulder, he looked over what she was pointing out. He slowly shook his head. "So?" he asked.
A light came on in Futana's eyes. "Can I have a copy of this and borrow the family lawyer?"
Mr. Shimeru looked questionably at his daughter.
"I won't do anything unless I clear it with you," Futana explained. "I just want to get a legal opinion from our lawyer."
With a shrug and a nod, Mr. Shimeru gave Futana his permission.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Ranma fidgeted as her and her "fiancé", with Misaki still trailing, passed through the gates of the dojo grounds and made their way to the front door. Ranma distracted herself by noticing how little the dojo had changed, but she also felt that it was as foreign to her as the first time she'd seen it. A lot can happen to a person in a month - a whole lot.
"I don't know if I can go through with this," Ranma commented as the butterflies in her stomach upped their flight a notch.
"It'll be fine," Futaba said assuredly. Misaki also laid a comforting hand on the redhead from behind.
Ranma sighed and drew strength from her new friends. Straightening, she composed herself with one thought in her mind: "Why can't my friends and family be more like these guys?"
With a slender hand, Ranma reached out and knocked on the door.
After a short wait, the door swung open.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Notes:
Howdy!
As you can see, I've fleshed out Nodoka and Genma's characters somewhat in this chapter. I'm not trying to make them more sympathetic or anything like that, I'm just shooting for a little character development that also describes a bit of what motivates them. I'm trying to keep the characters as close to "in character" as I can within the requirments of the story, without turning them into parody's.
Whatta challenge.
Anyways, this reflects my feelings that the biggest villains in the Ranma-verse have always been Ranma's parents. No other villains or rivals, has come close to the amount of damage that Genma and Nodoka have done to Ranma's life. In the spirit of that, please feel free to hate'm as much as you want.
Mr. Club's orgins are obvious to any who has watched detective movies or radio shows from the thirties and forties. (No! I'm not that old!) There were detective names taken from the suites in a deck of cards - except one. Until now.
The 'Justice Maker' was used in the Futaba-kun Change! manga when released as single issues, but when the individual releases were put together into a volume, it was changed to 'The Friend of Justice'. Why I don't know, but Justice Maker sounded cooler to me so I used it.
Thanks for reading.