Robin 1 / 2
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By Felix Webster (Felix Warstar)
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Chapter 6
- School and Family -
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All original Ranma ½ Characters and Back story Copyright Rumiko Takahashi, and all original DC Characters and Back story Copyright DC Comics Inc., and both are used without permission. Please don't sue... cause I have no money.
Any new characters are mine, but they can travel as their bags are always packed.
- - - -
Ranma looked at the facility, a set of four large buildings and the grounds around them, that was to be the school he was about to attend and sighed in defeat over the fact he was once again a stranger, a new kid.
Since he could drive to school in this country Bruce had given him an option as to where in the Gotham city limits he could go, Ranma had tried to suggest another city but was told to quit kidding around. Ranma finally picked the high school that served a good half of Little Tokyo. The place had a decent reputation for academics, and an above average sports program, but he chose it because with more kids with Japanese heritage he wouldn't stand out too much here.
The student parking lot wasn't too far from the main building, but the idea of a school even having a student parking lot nearly floored Ranma when Susan Dayer explained it to him when they started to look at schools. Taking a look around the lot at other student's cars made him realize that the civilian mode of the Red Bird was probably the best looking, both in condition and monetary value, car at the school so he activated a level two security setting just in case. Bruce wouldn't mind his precautions… much.
Shouldering his red and black american styled backpack, american styled as far as Ranma was concerned since it wasn't the old book bags he was use to for school nor the big road tempered packs he use to carry with his Pop, over his red sleeved black jacket and headed towards where Susan said the Office would be. Bruce had made a few comments about Ranma's choice in clothes since he had chosen an obvious theme. Not being able to convince Bruce that his Chinese silks wouldn't stand out THAT much he settled on black jeans, a black t-shirt under an open collared red silk shirt, and black designer running shoes edged in red. As was mentioned before he also had on a black jacket with red sleeves,
black cuffs and red stitching, that had a very velvet like feel to the torso and leather arms. Ranma had been told it was a variant on a Letterman's jacket that American students often wore so he felt it would pass well.
Ranma found the school office easily since Susan was good with directions. He had earned a few looks along the way, mostly from girls, which didn't surprise him and he ignored as he had more than enough female problems as it was. The school secretary had him wait in an uncomfortable chair as he wasn't the only new student nor the only transfer either into this new semester. He passed the time by pulling out a book on Greek mythology recently published after the Amazons had come back into man's world a few years past.
- - - - -
- Akane Tendo, please report to the office. -
"Wha?" Akane looked up at the P.A. speaker in confusion.
"Geez Akane, what you do this time? It's only the first day of the semester"
Sandra, Akane's friend with short light brown hair, poked playfully as the announcement faded.
"I don't remember a fight when we walked to school with you this morning"
Yvette looked towards the ceiling as if in thought causing her long pony tailed bark brown hair bob a few times. "Of course it could have been one of those faster than you can blink martial battl.."
"Oh ha ha." Akane rolled her eyes as she got out of her desk in her homeroom.
"Remind me again why I'm friends with you two?"
"We're the only girls in school who don't think your obsession with martial arts is totally weird," Sandra offered with an innocent smile, "just weird not totally weird."
"Or try to make you use that skill as muscle for our nefarious activities"
Yvette continued in complete seriousness.
"Ooo nefarious, nice touch," Sandra smirked at Yvette.
"I've been reading again," Yvette shrugged proud of herself holding up a thesaurus.
"Right, the comedy routines," Akane nodded and tried not to laugh as she set off for the office.
- - - - -
"I can honestly say I've never seen so many placement test from a Japanese transfer or exchange student Mr. Saotome," the Principal frowned at the records he was seeing. "And it shows you tend to only spend half years in school. How is it even like this?"
"My father use to pull me out for training trips around Japan and China"
Ranma replied emotionlessly.
"I see… I hope that trend does not continue here since we don't do placement test to make up the lost time," the Principal, a short man with very little hair left and a scrunched up face behind small round glasses always looking as if life was distasteful, pointed out in an unpleasant tone.
"Not likely sir since he's dead," Ranma answered coldly since he didn't like the little man. "I'm living with my Godfather now."
"What? Oh.. Ah.. Right… Bruce Wayne," the little man adjusted his glasses looking over the file again. "A big humanitarian.. donates a lot to Gotham education…"
"You wanted to see me Principal Freely?" a female voice asked from behind Ranma, causing Ranma to spin around in wide eyed shock as he recognized the voice even if it wasn't muffled behind a mask. A Japanese girl stood a little nervously as she played with a bit of her long raven blue-black hair. Ranma knew he was looking a Spoiler.
"Ah… yes Miss Tendo," the little man looked up smiling without meaning it.
"This is Ranma Saotome, he is a new transfer student and since he's in your homeroom, and since you owe for several more detentions, I figured you would be the right person to show him around the school."
"Tendo?" Ranma said to himself as the girl frowned at the Principal then smiled at Ranma.
"Hi, I'm Akane… and it seems your guild to our school," Akane greeted the new boy as the Principal hadn't said her first name.
"Ah.. Hi… I'm Ranma, but you know that already," Ranma stood and gave a polite bow which shocked Akane.
"You're recently from Japan aren't you?" Akane asked with a slight smile at the corners of her lips.
"Tokyo mostly, but I'm living in Gotham full time now," Ranma nodded. "Ever been? I mean Tokyo not Gotham since we're in Gotham right now… and I'm rambling."
"And you can ramble all you like ON your way to your homeroom and NOT in my office," Principal Freely stated firmly causing both students to leave quickly.
In the hallway Akane finally answered Ranma's question, "I lived in Tokyo until I was almost seven then my father moved me and my sisters here. I don't remember much about the place, only that I miss for reasons I really don't understand."
"You were there…" Ranma said to himself then stopped Akane and gave her a serious look. "Your father wouldn't be Soun Tendo would he?"
"Ah, yeah… how do you know that? Was Dad famous back there?" Akane blinked a couple of very confused times.
"Not really.. I don't know.. Our fathers were old friends," Ranma replied covering a quick pang of hurt. "They trained together, even created sister schools of Anything Goes martial arts…"
"You've trained in Anything Goes!?!" Akane gasped and a large smile showed on her face.
"Saotome School, one of the only two official schools of the style," Ranma nodded not smiling as it finally hit him hard that the daughter of the man he was looking for was running around Gotham at night in a costume like himself.
"The other school being the Tendo School of coarse."
"Oh is Dad going to be so surprised!" Akane either missed or ignored the change in Ranma as she was nearly bouncing from excitement.
"I would love to meet him too… My Pop left a few messages for me to deliver to Mr. Tendo before he passed away," Ranma stated not sharing the excitement. His mind was wrapped around too many facts like that Bruce had either missed the obvious or purposely not told Ranma that Soun Tendo was in Gotham.
"Your Dad died? Oh… I'm sorry to hear that. My Mother died when I was very young so I kinda know what losing a parent is like," Akane sobered and tried to be consoling.
- - - - -
"Hey Nabiki! Have I got something to tell you!" Akane bounced up to where her sister was eating her lunch.
"What is it this time? Sandra finally come out of the closet? Ms. Kulker change the recipe to the mystery meat so it actually has meat in it?" Nabiki looked up with a bored expression not bothering to push her glasses up, her way to hide the fact she was very tired.
"What? No and Gross!" Akane put down her tray strangely lacking any mystery meat. "I met someone who actually practices Anything Goes! The Saotome school of the style!"
"What!?!" Nabiki's eyes focused as the colour drained from her face. "Akane…"
"There he is… Ranma! Over here!" Akane wasn't paying attention to her sister as she stood up and got Ranma to notice her. Ranma came over with his own tray,
also oddly missing any mystery meat, and sat down where Akane indicated.
"Nabiki this is Ranma, Ranma my sister Nabik… what's wrong Nabiki?"
"Ranma Saotome? Akane don't you recognize the… no of course not," Nabiki frowned as she had little doubt in her mind just by looking at the boy.
"No, but I'm sure Dad must have mentioned the Saotome school at sometime.
what? What am I missing?" Akane blinked as Nabiki's glare turned up a full notch.
"Yes, tell us what we are both missing," Ranma joined in with a neutral tone.
"Good grief Akane! What is our stepmother's former last name? And what have we had to suffer through for years with her and her loss!?!" Nabiki kept it just this side of a yell as frustration hit her.
"Oh that, that's easy. Her last name was Sao… oh crap! It's Saotome!" Akane suddenly shot to her feet with wide eyes.
"Your Stepmother's last name was Saotome?" Ranma's eyes narrowed at the older girl with the stylish gold rimmed glasses and pageboy hair. "Nodoka Saotome?"
"Oh man, oh man, oh man," Akane repeated over and over as she sat down again.
"This isn't good…"
"Why isn't this good?" Ranma raised an eyebrow holding back the urge to demand for the pair where his Mother was.
"She thinks you're dead," Nabiki answered calmly as Akane started to recover.
"For years we heard nothing but her pining over the loss of you. She seems to make you out to have been the ultimate child when alive and the greatest loss now dead… hard to live up to."
"She thinks I'm dead?" Ranma blinked as the words hit home. "For how long?"
"Well, she came to live with us about a year after our Mother died. You and your Father were supposed to have passed away only a month or so before that"
Nabiki answered, her eyes in heavy concentration trying to remember that far back. "Daddy married her and brought us to Gotham about six months later… they didn't want the bad memories that Tokyo brought them any more. At least according to them."
"If you and your Father weren't dead then they ran to hide from him," Akane growled not happy about thinking something so dishonourable about her Father.
Her Stepmother she could believe of. "Wait, you said you lost you Father…"
"My Pop only died recently," Ranma replied holding back all sorts of conflicting emotions. "I need to see both of them as soon as possible… I was left honour debts that involve them."
"Both of them will be home tonight," Nabiki offered with an evil grin. "And I'm sure Kasumi, Akane, and me can clear our schedules to be there too."
Akane look at Nabiki nervously, "I'm not sure that would be such a good id…"
"I wouldn't miss this for the world, Akane, seeing our high and mighty Stepmother being caught in a dishonourable situation? I can't think of anything more entertaining," Nabiki cut off her sister still grinning evilly.
- - - - -
Ranma pause between classes to get a drink from a wall fountain when a shadow came over him from a taller teenaged boy maybe a year older.
I understand that you are from Tokyo, a cultured, almost arrogant, voice stated in perfect Japanese and then waited for an answer.
Ranma finished drinking then turned to look the boy over as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The older boy stood three inches taller that Ranma and with short blonde hair and round blue eyes showed that he was a gajin. He was dressed in very good quality clothes, all of expensive designs. Ya, I'm from there. Why?
The taller boy seemed confused at the rougher tone of Ranma's Japanese but then brushed it off, I am a bit of a Japanese culture fan, and am always looking for new avenues of information about that country.
I didn't pay that much attention when I was there so I don't know how much I can tell ya, Ranma replied giving the other boy a good once over as there was something familiar about him.
Anything would be helpful, but now is not a good time, the older teen hear a warning bell for class. I am Trent Keanu. We will talk again.
Ranma Saotome, Ranma countered as Keanu walked away, and I'm sure we will.
- - - - -
"That is a very comfortable ride," Nabiki stated after getting out of the back seat of Ranma's car. "I don't recognize the make or model though…"
"It's a concept car that Bruce had made for me," Ranma explained glad the interior shifted when it became the Red Bird, incase he had to have Spoiler in the car at a later date.
"Bruce?" Akane asked closing her door after Nabiki. The car was parked in the commercial lot next to the Dojo.
"Ah… Bruce Wayne. I'm living with him here in Gotham," Ranma replied as if it wasn't anything of importance.
"THE Bruce Wayne? The multi billionaire Bruce Wayne?" Nabiki exclaimed in shock. "I heard he had a new ward but… How Did You Pull That Off!?!"
"Pull what off? Bruce is an old friend of my Pop's, and he's my legal Godfather," Ranma looked slightly confused. "When Pop couldn't find my Mother,
or your Dad to take me in he contacted Bruce… it didn't occur to Pop to check for those two outside of Japan.
"I'd say you lucked out, living with someone so rich," Nabiki grinned as the two girls led Ranma into the living area of the building. "I mean we're doing okay with the Dojo running but it definitely isn't multi billion dollar okay."
"Your Father is teaching Anything Goes to a lot of students?" Ranma looked from taking off his runners in surprise.
"What? No. no, not a lot of students," Akane waved the question off. "Only family and a couple of his best instructors get that training. Dad came up with a lesser variant that seems to be popular. Calls it a version of karate."
"Karate? Not kung fu, or wu shu, or kempo? Just karate?" Ranma looked even more confused now.
"We aren't Chinese so people here wouldn't believe we had a kung fu style"
Nabiki smiled in response. "Wu shu and kempo aren't recognizable martial arts since people here don't know what they are. Heck, it's so bad over here that one of Daddy's students he actually taught Anything Goes called it Ninjitsu.
Daddy corrected him. Hard."
"I hadn't noticed the lack of proper knowledge in the styles, but then again I wasn't asking around about that stuff," Ranma shrugged not wanting to mention he had met several practitioners of different ninjitsu styles in his travels with his Pop, and found very little wrong with them.
"Our Dad should be back soon, and our Stepmother is probably picking up Sakura right about now," Akane stated offering Ranma a seat on a large blue couch that dominated the living room area.
"I'm surprised at you Akane. Here you have a martial artist, heck a practitioner of the same style that you use, and you haven't even asked him to spar with you," Nabiki smirked while trying to look flabbergasted at her younger sister.
"After he deals with our parents," Akane stated firmly not really paying attention to Nabiki as she had just stopped a familiar expression on Ranma's face, a slight twist of the lips she had seen recently… but not on a boy's face. "I'll go call Kasumi…"
"It's a nice home… well kept," Ranma tried to ignore the two girls banter, but not without a slight smile.
"Our Stepmother is militant about that. That and that every girl has to learn to cook," Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Cooking, cleaning, and all the things to keep a husband happy is all she believes a girl should look forward to."
"That bad huh?" Ranma lost the smile and sat on the couch finally. "I can do you one better…"
"Kasumi will be here before our parents," Akane stated coming back into the room and taking another section of couch sitting with one leg tucked so she could face Ranma. "So what can you top our Stepmother's 'proper girl attitude'
with? I heard you as I came back in…"
"How about an honour pledge requiring me and my Pop to have to commit sepiku if I wasn't raised to be a 'man among men' by the time I hit the age of majority?"
"What!?" both girls exclaimed in disbelief.
"I wasn't even told what it was when my hand print was put on it, even though I wouldn't have understood at the age of six," Ranma crossed his arms and his eyes held darker emotions not expressed on the rest of his face.
"That sounds harsh but probably isn't that hard to live up to," Nabiki remarked with a frown. "I know enough of the family style to know you're a strong martial artist even without seeing you fight… and you're a strong handsome guy on top of that, so you should fit the bill at least as far as I can see."
"You don't know her idea of manly… Pop gave me a good run down about that before he died," Ranma shivered as if suddenly cold. "She might find me manly if she came in and found us in a naked pile on the floor and both of you screaming in pleasure… according to Pop."
"Oh Come on, you're kidding right?" Akane laughed as she fought off a blush from the images that popped up. Nabiki was totally blushing.
"Might actually need more girls," Ranma shrugged obviously not effected by his own words which puzzled Akane more about him. "She barely considered Pop a man according to him. He was a thief and a scoundrel but she found him almost too moral since he wouldn't cheat on her…"
"You can't be serious… then what must she think of Daddy?" Nabiki didn't like the sound of any of this but she could see Ranma believed what he was saying.
"Maybe the loss of her first husband made her grow up a little bit," another female voice suggested causing Ranma to turn and look at a taller, slightly older, girl with brown hair cut to just past her shoulders. Kasumi Tendo smiled slightly, "Hello, I'm Kasumi."
"Ranma Saotome," Ranma stood and bowed politely.
"Ranma Saotome? Akane did say I wouldn't want to miss this and she was sooo right," Kasumi eyed the boy up and down and had to admit he did have many similar features to their Stepmother.
- - - - -
"This isn't possible!" Soun Tendo, an man in his mid forties with long brown hair tied back in a tight pony tail and a neatly trimmed moustache, stated in disbelief as Ranma finished his tale of woe, highly edited. Soun was still in the tailored business suit he came home wearing from having to sit through city council meetings earlier. A black suit with a rich brown tie. He was pacing as he refused to sit down trying to think of what it could all mean, "I saw the letter from the Government. Hell, I checked the records myself! Genma and Ranma Saotome died years ago… they were in a fire outside of Tokyo… they only found ash and.. and a matching set of bracelets with their names… OH THAT BASTARD!!!"
"Daddy?" Nabiki asked in concern from her position to the left of Ranma on the large couch as Soun's face went red in anger.
"That thief! That scoundrel! I don't know why I didn't realize it then!" Soun continued to exclaim loudly. Akane gave Ranma a concerned glance from his right also on the couch but the boy just shrugged as he was not offended, he had used similar descriptions of his father before. "He didn't die in a fire! He never would have worn an ID bracelet, in case he was trying to scam someone and they noticed it! The only reason for such a bracelet would be to make someone believe it was his body! HE'S ALIVE!"
"I don't know anything about a fire but my Pop died… he was only killed a few months ago while we were in China by a slow acting poison," Ranma corrected calmly so the anger wouldn't come. "He tried to find my Mother to send me home… when that failed he tried to find you to possibly take me in. And the end he contacted Wayne-sama as a last resort and charged me to find you and my Mother when I could."
"Wayne-sama? Bruce Wayne? You're living with Bruce Wayne?" Soun seemed suddenly fixated on that tidbit of information. "Why didn't he tell us? I mean he's an old friend of your Mother and Father… he even helped us move here when we needed to get away from Tokyo and our grief…"
"He helped you come to Gotham?" Ranma's voice and demeanour turned very cold as his eyes flared with brief anger. "He never mentioned that… in fact he never even told me you two were both here in Gotham. He knew I was honour bound to find you as soon as I could."
"Honour bound?" Soun turned and looked at Ranma directly in the eyes nervously. "You don't mean the pledge do you?"
"Of course I mean the pledge," Ranma replied narrowing his eyes.
"What pledge? The man among men one? Or is this something else?" Akane suddenly felt nervous and very afraid for her Father's well being. Her sisters mirrored the same concern.
"Ah.. well.. Akane, honey.. the pledge he's talking about... the pledge is…"
"Fulfilled," Ranma cut off the stumbling older man firmly.
"Fulfilled? I don't understand?" Soun blinked in surprise.
"What pledge!?!" the three girls exclaimed together in frustration.
"The pledge was for a Tendo and a Saotome to marry," Ranma smirked evilly as the girls gasped in shock and started to turn on their Father.
"You engaged us without our knowledge!?!" Kasumi looked at her Father with a expression of extreme hurt and betrayal in eyes.
"SINCE you are a Tendo and my Mother is a Saotome, in fact the Saotome line comes from her and not my Pop, then the Tendo and the Saotome houses have joined. Pledge fulfilled." Ranma continued getting to his point by having to slightly raise his voice at the beginning.
"But the pledge was for the schools to merge with a child produced from that union," Soun protested which actually stopped the three girls sighing in relief.
"That's covered too, if what I gleamed from Akane and Nabiki is right," Ranma kept the evil smile up as this felt more fun then it had a right to be. It helped the pain he was experiencing in the center of his being. "If I heard right I have a little half sister named Sakura, born to you and my Mother."
"Sakura? Yes she's mine but…" Soun replied more than a little stunned.
"So she fulfills that part of the pledge too," Ranma pointed out firmly. "I'll just have to teach her my style when she's ready."
"HA! Nodoka is going to hate that!" Kasumi burst out laughing nearly falling out of the comfy chair she was sitting in.
"Kasumi!" Soun scolded quickly.
"Why is my Mother going to hate it?" Ranma asked guardedly.
"Because Sakura is Nodoka's proper little girl. She doesn't want her turning out like the rest of us 'bad girls'. She's not to be a tomboy, not to be more interested in technology than boys, and not rebellious wanting to be more than a quiet little housewife," Nabiki explained trying not to laugh after figuring out why Kasumi burst out. "She won't even let Daddy teach Sakura the basics of the Tendo style like he did the rest of us."
"Well that just won't do," Ranma shook his head and crossed his arms in mock disappointment. "But it's your duty to inform her of that breach of the pledge not mine."
"What?" Soun's eyes shoot wide open as he looked very nervous before he calmed slightly. "I guess… after she's found out about you…"
- - - - -
Nodoka Tendo came into her home with her young daughter, who was all decked out in a ballerina dance outfit and not happy about it, holding her hand. Both Mother and Daughter could hear a lively conversation coming from the living room involving Nodoka's husband, his three Daughters, and a young man whose voice she didn't recognize. The sight of an unfamiliar pair of shoes confirmed the extra person. The group sounded like they were having fun.
"Who's that Mommy?" Sakura Tendo asked looking up with big innocent eyes trying to pretend not to have been picking at her much despised outfit.
"I don't know yet honey, probably one of your sisters has brought home a boyfriend finally," Nodoka replied as she helped her Daughter out of her jacket noticing the hole Sakura had made. "Will you please stop ruining you clothes,
it's unseemly for a proper girl to do."
"Yes Mommy," Sakura rolled her eyes when Nodoka turned to put away both their jackets.
"And don't roll your eyes at me young lady," Nodoka scolded before walking into the main house to see this boy.
"Soun? I take it we have Gues…" Nodoka stopped in mid sentence as the sight of the boy paused in a pose meant to describe something adventurous. The boy looked so much like her long dead older brother at that same age… only her brother had had dark brown hair and no long braid. "Ichiro?"
"Nodoka, dear," Soun was on his feet in a flash of martial speed that impressed Ranma, "you're home finally…"
"Soun… who is this boy?" Nodoka asked, her voice shook as she dreaded the worst.
"Ah.. dear.. this is.. ah.." Soun stumbled over his words not sure as to how to break it softly.
"My name is Ranma Saotome, and I believe you are my Mother," Ranma stated firmly as he looked the middle aged woman a good look. She looked like an older version of his female form… at least in the face. The small girl peeking out from behind her actually looked more like his other form that it shocked him,
she even had reddish hair.
"Ran.. Ranm.. Ranma?" Nodoka tried to form the name shaking her head more and more forcefully. "That's not possible! My son is DEAD!!"
"Nodoka, dear, he really is Ranma," Soun tried to calm down his wife.
"And how would you know!? You've never seen Ranma before he died!!" Nodoka screamed at Soun causing the girls to dive for cover behind chairs and couches,
including Sakura.
"He knows too much not to be Ranma… he knows about the pledges," Soun tried again to calm her down by trying to sound reasonable.
"Pledges?" Nodoka blinked as something didn't sound right.
"The man among men pledge for one," Ranma replied tightly controlling his mixed emotions about finally seeing his Mother, and how the girls portrayed her. "Of course if you don't believe me then you could call Bruce Wayne and he'll confirm it."
"Bruce? He.. he wouldn't lie about something like that," Nodoka said in a small voice as she fell to her knees. Sakura tried to go to her but Akane held the six year old back.
"Dear, it's really him… Genma and Ranma didn't die in the fire," Soun held his wife trying to comfort her. "I suspect Genma was trying to get out of a debt somewhere…"
"Genma? If this is… where is Genma!?" Nodoka asked in a tone of raising panic,
her eyes not focusing.
"Pop died," Ranma responded getting down on his knees to look the woman who was his Mother in the face.
"But.. but you said…" Nodoka stumbled over her words in confusion.
"Pop only died a few months back. He was poisoned and passed after weeks of pain and weakness…," Ranma explained turning his voice soft as he recognized the symptoms of shock in his Mother. "We tried to find you, and then Tendo-san but we couldn't so he sent me to live with Wayne-sama… I only found you because I go to school with Akane… Bruce didn't tell me you were here in Gotham."
"No.. no he wouldn't," Nodoka's eyes started to focus again. "We were running from our past… we made him.. I made him promise… you are truly Ranma?"
"Yes Mother, I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Ranma gave the woman a weak but hopeful smile as he said it with pride.
"OH RANMA!" Nodoka wrap her arms around the teenage boy that was her long lost son.
- - - - -
"But why not!?!" Nodoka asked on a loud protest. She was standing in the dinning room area where a traditional low table was used for meals. Soun,
Ranma, and Kasumi were positioned around the table.
"Well… for one, Bruce Wayne is my legal guardian here is Gotham," Ranma counted off calmly. They had come into the room to have a private conversation,
Kasumi included as representative of the Tendo girls. "Two, we've only been just reintroduced to each other and there are matters that need to be discussed, but not right now. And three, suddenly moving a teenage boy into a household of women is a sure sign of waiting disaster. I'm sure that sooner of later someone would walk in at the wrong time like say in the bathroom."
"He's living with a Billionaire, Nodoka, you and Father couldn't provide that well for him… Hell, you can barely provide for us and Father's a city councilman," Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Besides, what boy wants to live with a Mother who goes off to marry her husband's best friend?"
"Kasumi! That's enough!" Soun scolded firmly causing Kasumi to shrink back slightly at the rare sight. "We didn't know Genma was still alive, and the Japanese Government declared him dead so drop it. You are only here because you and your sister demanded a representative in this but to honest this is none of you business."
"Father?" Kasumi said in a tiny voice as she was shocked.
"Actually I don't really care about Tendo-san marrying my Mother," Ranma stated with a tone that matched his words, not caring. "But there are too many reason than I want to go into why it's I stayed with Wayne-sama. And money isn't any of them. He needs to have the responsibility that a ward brings… he was near self-destruction when I came to live with him. He lost his last ward to violence."
"Little Jason," Soun nodded sadly. "Shot to death on a night out with Bruce… it was only a few months after Bruce had actually adopted the boy as his son.
The man has had too much loss in his life."
"But you are my son, I have a right…" Nodoka tried to protest showing emotional pain but Soun put a hand on her arm to stop her.
"He's right. He needs to be there… He'll be living in Gotham, and I suspect coming over here very often, so you'll get a chance to know him at a comfortable place," Soun smiled in a comforting way to his wife then turned to Ranma. "And trust me Ranma this isn't the same woman that forced that pledge on you and your Father. Give her a chance too."
"Didn't say I wasn't going to," Ranma gave a slight shrug.
"Are you staying for dinner? I'd love to hear more about how Richard is doing," Kasumi asked, she realized the discussion was pretty much done and she could change the subject.
"He'll be staying since I'm sure he'll be hungry after we spar," Soun stated before Ranma could reply. Soun stood and smiled offering a hand up to Ranma,
"Come on and I'll show you the Dojo."
- - - - -
"So… that's our Brother?" Sakura asked as she knelt next to Akane and Nabiki.
She was in comfortable clothes and had her long red hair in one loose braid.
"Your Half-Brother," Akane corrected not taking her eyes off the Japanese teen warming up in a black silk kung fu pants he had fetched from his car. She felt her mouth go both dry and wet with drool saliva at seeing Ranma ripple his chest muscles. Someone sixteen years old shouldn't be that 'cut' yet, "We,
Nabiki, Kasumi, and me aren't related to him." She added in a very quiet tone,
"Thank the kami-sama that we aren't or life would be too cruel."
"Amen sister," Nabiki agreed also very quietly then her eyes tried to bulge out of her head. "I.. I didn't think a guy could bring his leg up in a stretch like that. Talk about being flexible."
"Flexible… good word for it," Akane nodded barely paying attention to Nabiki as Ranma stretched his right leg up next to his head forming a straight line up and down.
"So, what's the ground rules?" Ranma asked as she stepped from foot to foot noticing that Soun was finished stretching.
"As the style says… 'Anything Goes!'" Soun grinned then moved up with a foot sweep in a burst of speed. Ranma jumped the foot by barely leaving the ground but it was enough for Soun to carry through with a sudden two handed hit that shoved at Ranma's chest. Ranma landed on his butt. "I'd say three times unceremoniously on our respective behinds loses."
"Oh, and that's one for me," Soun stepped away from the raising Saotome boy and gave Ranma a wink.
Ranma dusted off his backside giving the older man a smile, "I should have expected a move like that, you did train beside my Father after all."
Laughing, Ranma moved in close to Soun at a nearly blinding speed to punch the man in the solar plexus but Soun simply started to fall backwards and Ranma missed, then he had to avoid a foot coming up to connect to his chin. Ranma used the foot to launch himself by putting both hands on it and allowing forward momentum to send him near the ceiling. When he got to the top of his upper movement he spun and recoiled in a ball then sprung out by pushing off with his powerful legs.
Ranma tried to tackle Soun with the impact of his speed but the older Martial Artist slipped away and used a hand to add more downward momentum to the boy.
Ranma didn't slam into the floor as he used a single flat hand to hit the floor, which rippled from the force, and changed his angle so he launched his body at the wall next to Soun. He did a sudden twist in the air and brought his foot whipping around to finally connect. Soun hit the wall hard, shaking the entire building, the slide down to the floor.
"DAD!?!" Akane was on her feet in an instant scared that Ranma might have hurt her Father.
"It's okay honey, I'm fine," Soun smiled to reassure his Daughters then groaned as she stood up. "Good change of tactics Ranma."
"One to one," Ranma nodded waiting for the man to set himself.
The two came at each other again, trading punch for punch and kick for kick,
both blocked most of the other's attacks until Ranma found his rear end on the Dojo floor a second time. Akane hadn't even seen the move that had put the boy there but the smile on Ranma's face said he had.
"Two for you," Ranma stated as he reset and the changed his stance which caused a brief look of concern to cross Akane's Father's eyes that the man quickly covered up. Ranma came in at twice his prior speed, moving gracefully from one move to the next even though Soun blocked each strike. It seemed Ranma expected each block because he moved onto the next strike barely touching whatever Soun used to block. Then it happened. Akane gasped as Ranma did a double handed thrust into her Father's chest which Soun blocked, but not with enough effort as Ranma broke through and Soun went flying backwards. Akane relaxed as her Father landed on his feet, even if he did slide back four feet before he stopped, but watched in horror as Soun's legs gave out and he slumped down to a sitting position. "Two all."
"I think that's enough," Akane stated trying to reign in her anger as she started towards her Father. "I think a little too much testosterone is flying around here…"
"Akane stay out of this," Soun cut his Daughter off as he pounded some feeling back into his legs. "Ranma has been taken by his Father on a nearly ten year training journey, I want to see if my choice not to have done the same with my students was a mistake."
Akane knew he meant her and her sisters.
"The training was both painful and incredible but I would have given it all up to have grown up in a real home," Ranma replied as he shifted from foot to foot again waiting for the man to be ready again. "The road wasn't always fun, or educational."
"I'm sure it wasn't, but at the age of sixteen you already have surpassed your Father's skills that I remember and he was much better than I was when we trained. If it wasn't for my constant training when not working I wouldn't have a chance," Soun pointed out as he stood up stiffly. "That last was Wu shu wasn't it?"
"Yes," Ranma nodded. "The elders at the village in China taught me some while my Pop was dieing… one even suggested teaching me their true fighting secrets but the others over ruled her."
"Let's leave three for another day, my Daughters are all on the edge of panic about this sparring session," Soun suggested, receiving a nod from Ranma, then allowed Akane to help him to a nearby wall to stretch out against. Ranma moved to another wall near Soun and dropped to both knees, closing his eyes in what looked like meditation. Soun thanked Akane then frowned, "Akane, take your sisters back into the house and make sure that no one comes out here until we come back in. I need to talk to Ranma alone."
"Dad?" Akane looked confused but did what she was told.
Once he was sure they were alone, truly alone giving a check for Nabiki, Soun came back to Ranma and knelt in front of him, "I hear there is a new Robin, so I'm going to assume that Bruce has introduced you to his nocturnal activities."
Ranma's eyes barely opened at the statement, "I don't know what…"
"Don't give me that," Soun countered firmly. "I've seen the tapes of the girl.
I've seen how she moves. You, more than Genma, I'm sure it was you who trained her… Commissioner Gordon claims to have met a male Robin, which I'm sure is you, but from one master of our collective style to another I know that girl wasn't trained by Bruce."
"How..?" Ranma opened his eyes fully as the shock started showing.
"The first time I saw Batman in action I recognized Genma's training and I knew who it had to be," Soun gave Ranma a slight smile. "I confronted Bruce about it years ago. I even helped train Dick Grayson to turn his acrobatic skills into an effective fighting style… I really wished Genma had been here for that since it was more his style, the high flying and such."
Ranma relaxed slightly since it was fairly obvious that Soun had kept Bruce's secret, but this on top of Wonder Woman just proved Bruce wasn't as careful as he thought he was being, "You aren't going to tell…"
"The women?" Soun moved his head to indicate those in the house. "Not a chance… but Akane's skilled enough to recognize the style similarities between you and that girl…"
"Right, Akane…" Ranma shifted uncomfortably. "About Akane…"
"Let me guess, you figured out she's.. I believe she's calling herself Spoiler," Soun finished for Ranma figuring that was probably the subject being broached.
"You know!?" Ranma sat up ram rod straight in surprise.
"Soon as I saw video of Spoiler in action," Soun replied not looking happy.
"In my role as a city counsellor I sit on the board dealing with the Gotham police, and I'm doing a study on our city's vigilantes so Gordon lets me see all the video captures of our heroes and villains. I asked Bruce to discourage her continuing her activities but it looks as if he wasn't successful."
"My fault," Ranma looked away slightly embarrassed. "She's got potential… and I could use someone my own age who understands this crazy life…"
"Don't you have that in that other Robin, the girl?" Soun looked confused.
"She's in the life already…"
"There is no other Robin," Ranma looked away again.
"What? I've seen the tapes," Soun insisted.
"That girl is me."
- - - - -
"Where is he Alfred?" Ranma asked in anger as he came into the mansion greeted by the ever present butler.
"What is the matter Master Ranma?" Alfred asked back calmly as he followed the storming teenager moved farther in the main hall.
"Where.Is.He!?!" Ranma stopped, spun, and asked in the coldest tone he had ever produced.
Alfred stepped back in shock as the boy looked ready to fight, "I'm not sure that in your current state of mind…"
"It's okay Alfred," Bruce interrupted from the second floor landing. "I'm up here Ranma."
"YOU BASTARD!" Ranma leapt all the way up and over the railing to land in front of Bruce. "You knew they were here! They both were in Gotham! You knew how important it was to me to find them and you didn't tell me!!"
"There's no reason to yell," Bruce replied calmly then headed upstairs towards the study.
A few moment's later Ranma started in again as Bruce took a leather back chair, "Why? Tell me why you didn't tell me!?"
"You weren't ready to see them," Bruce stated with a sad look in his eyes. "I know grief Ranma and I knew you weren't ready to see your Mother remarried and believing you dead. You still aren't but it's too late now."
"I wasn't ready? I probably would never be ready but I had to do it! My honour was at stake, and unlike my Father I take my honour seriously!" Ranma flopped into another chair with his arms cross.
"I wanted to wait until you had a vested interest in staying… I was worried that the shock would make you run," Bruce explained staying calm as he knew Ranma needed to vent.
"I won't run," Ranma replied quietly, "but I'm going to need time to forgive you."
Bruce was quiet for a few minutes then nodded unhappily, "I can set up my apartment in the city for you to stay for awhile. Barbra can run you when Robin. I can wait for when you're ready to come back."
"I'm not going to let this get in the way of work Bruce," Ranma looked up a little shocked. "Hell, Pop use to piss me off worst all the time but I never bailed on him. I'll stay at the mansion and I still want to work with you since I'm still new at this masked vigilante stuff… but I will ask for one concession to help make this up to me."
"What?" Bruce asked hiding his relief that Ranma didn't take his way out.
"Stop trying to push Spoiler out our work," Ranma stated firmly earning a raised eyebrow from Bruce. "I've talked to Tendo-san and I'll take responsibility for Akane's training, he agreed."
"You know?" Bruce looked impressed. "Fine. You can deal with her… You have a plan for her I take it?"
"A plan? Yeah, I guess," Ranma replied non committaly.
- - - - -
"Robin?" Spoiler asked as she walked out onto the roof of Little Tokyo's branch of Gotham Credit Union where Oracle told Control to have her meet the other girl. The fact that Oracle could cut in on her and her sister any time she wanted bothered Spoiler, but seeing Robin again wasn't so bad. "Robin? Are you here?"
"I'm over here," Robin-chan replied as she stood at the edge of the building with one foot on the railing looking out over this part of the city.
Spoiler walked tentatively up to the other girl not knowing what it was she wanted. She could see Robin-chan was in deep thought over some matter that must be important to the Girl Wonder, she just hoped it wasn't about her, "You called me here… what's up?"
"Why do you do it?" Robin-chan asked in a serious tone not looking at Spoiler.
She had her hands hidden by her black cape which draped her longer than the last time Spoiler has seen it.
"Do what?" Spoiler tried to sound confused even though she had an idea what this was about.
"Oh come off it Akane Tendo. Why do you dress up in silly clothes and swing around a city like Gotham at night?" Robin-chan looked Spoiler in the eyes finally. Spoiler could see pain in the red haired girl's eyes.
"He told you who I am," Spoiler sounded angrier than she felt. "He said he wouldn't…"
"Batman didn't tell me, I figured it out after we met earlier," Robin-chan replied as she turned back towards the city. "You don't hide it well. You move the same way when you are out of costume as you do in, that's a mistake we'll have to deal with. Now answer the question."
"We'll have to deal with?" Spoiler repeated a little shocked then shook it off. "How much do you know about me?"
"Your Father is Soun Tendo, who you idolize since he is the one who trained you to your current level. You're Mother died when you we little and still living in Tokyo. Your Stepmother is Nodoka Saotome, now Nodoka Tendo, who you and your older sister despise because she has old fashioned views of a woman's place. Your oldest sister is Kasumi Tendo, who will be in Pre Med at Gotham U soon. Your have another older sister, Nabiki Tendo, who is a bit of a stylish nerd and currently acting as… I believe you call her Control," Robin-chan started counting off with no emotion in her voice. "You have a younger half-
sister, Sakura Tendo. And today you found out you have a Stepbrother, Ranma Saotome, who everyone thought was dead. How's that for how much I know about you? I could go on."
"How do you know about that new stuff? It only happened a few hours ago"
Spoiler stepped back in fear as Robin-chan just showed the Batman had access to way too much.
"I might explain if you answer the damn question," Robin-chan nearly growled.
"Why do you do it? If I'm going to tell you I deserve to know why you do it"
Spoiler countered regaining a bit of confidence back.
"I don't know really…" Robin-chan pinched the brim of her nose as the question seemed harder than it should be. "At first it was because I learned a secret,
that turns out not to all that secret. Then I realized that Batman needs an active partner or he'll go over the edge, but that reason isn't enough. My Father trained me to actually do this when I was older but he never told me that was his goal so I didn't know until after he died. Don't get me wrong, I love being out in the night, I like the thrill of swing from roof to roof and testing my skills against so called villains… but is that a good reason to be out?"
"I don't believe that's the only reasons that bring you out here," Spoiler said moving back up to Robin-chan to stand next to her tried to see what the other girl was looking at or for. "I've barely known you and I've seen you risk your life for me. I've seen the drive to stop people who do wrong in you. I don't believe you could do anything but this here. You are so much made for this but you can't see it…"
"Why do you do it? Why'd you start?" Robin-chan asked again this time in less of a command.
Spoiler looked at Robin-chan's masked face then out at the city, "My family was hurt. My Father was threatened and he blew it off… then those bastards came and hurt my family. My Father and Stepmother were out watching a school play I was in. Nabiki, who was a bit of an uppity snob who could careless about my acting, stayed home with Kasumi who was babysitting Sakura because our Stepmother didn't want her precious little girl to get ideas of acting from me.
Both Nabiki and Kasumi know enough of our family style to truly defend themselves but the criminals who came where better… They broke Kasumi's left leg and nearly broke her right arm, the cast only recently came off. Sakura was tied up and thrown into a closet so she could hear and see Nabiki being tortured through the slats. Nabiki has only just started to be more out going again, she has several scars she covers up by wearing coveralls and such.
Sakura still wakes up screaming… and Nabiki doesn't scream out loud at night but I know she has nightmares. They left a note saying they'd be back if Dad didn't do what they wanted and that next time they wouldn't be so nice…"
"You're out here to find and stop them aren't you," Robin-chan didn't make it sound like a question.
"That's why I'm Spoiler, I'm going to 'Spoil' whatever plans they have"
Spoiler replied seriously. "As soon as I figure out who 'they' are… I know it was something to do with imported items from Asia but not a lot else."
"Imported items from Asia? That sounds familiar," Robin-chan repeated to herself.
"Why did you want to know about my reasons?" Spoiler asked noting what Robin-
chan had said and filing it away for later.
Robin-chan stepped away from the ledge and squared her shoulders, "If you were just a thrill seekers I'd would have just swung away, but I can see you have a goal… and likely a drive to continue after that since if you look away another threat might rear it's head."
"Batman made me a deal… Oh hell, I forced him into a deal about you," Robin-
chan continued after a moment of thinking. "He won't openly object to, or hinder your activities if I take responsibility of you training as one of us."
"One of you? You mean one of the Bat family?" Spoiler was shocked, of everything she could think of that this meeting would be about this never occurred to her.
"Maybe not a member of this so called 'Bat family', but as a hero, a member of the community at the very least," Robin-chan replied giving a small smile to the other girl. "But you have to accept the training willingly…"
"When do we start?" Spoiler asked sounding more than willing. She couldn't believe it. Batman was going to accep.. tolerate her.
"Next week," Robin-chan didn't sound surprised that Spoiler accepted. "I have to get ready for a trip this weekend so I don't have time to start tonight… and you don't go out on patrol without me with you. Do you understand?"
"Um.. okay," Spoiler didn't sound so happy about that. "Where are you going?
Unless it's a secret or something…"
"Wonder Woman is taking me to Themyscira for the weekend," Robin-chan answered as if it was a chore instead of a wondrous opportunity.
"Wonder Woman? Themyscira? Wow! Will I get those kind of invites once I'm accepted?" Spoiler's eyes seemed to gleam even through the mask.
"Probably… I don't know… I really don't want them now," Robin-chan shrugged then fired off her grappler. "Get some rest this weekend 'cause you won't get a chance to catch your breath when we start you training."
Spoiler watched the Girl Wonder suddenly go upwards very fast then turned back on her comm. "Control, you won't believe what just happened…"
/ - - - -
- - - - /
AN: Another chapter finally put from paper to computer. This was easier when I had a computer at work I could write on then either post from there or e-mail it home to continue when not working. This was originally chapter seven and Ranma-chan's time on Themyscira was chapter six but I realized I should get Ranma started finally in school and that had to lead to meeting Akane, there by meeting Soun, Nodoka, and the rest. It's a screwed up family.
I will be finishing chapter seven very soon I know I've said that before as it is almost finished on the computer. I hope to get eight and nine in and finished by X-mas as I want to get my 'Annual' side story out finally after a decent number of chapters. My idea is to introduce a regular character from the Ranma series each Annual, each with their own twist into the D.C./Batman crossover. Each Annual should come every eight to ten chapters, and I do plan to go that far since this fanfic has been a strong focus as of late pushing out my other stories I really need to get back to in the near future.
Let's hear it for Aquatranssexual Vigilantes.