Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or Sailor Moon. They are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Naoko Takeuchi, respectively.

Yeah, I'm quite late… well, here it is. Basically, this is The Chapter That Would Not Start. Writer's block killed me for quite a while. Finally managed to get through it, though :)

I'm going to be writing the next chapter as if it was a part of this chapter, just split, so it should be out quickly. I know I said that before, but I mean it this time! Honestly..... oh heck :P

Thanks to prereaders: Kuno-Baby and Ranger5.

I'd also like to thank J. St.C. Patrick of
Chapter 7
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Nodoka Saotome sighed wistfully as she collected the bags of groceries that she had just bought. "Looks like I will have to visit the bank again." She said as she carried the groceries from where she had been sitting. Having had to scrounge around in her pockets for change, Nodoka had realized that the supply of cash was starting to run low. Nodoka shook her head and decided to worry about it when she didn't have groceries to cart around. Carrying the three gigantic bags of groceries for too long was too much of an effort for her, however. As such, she had sat down on a bench to catch her breath.

Generally she had enough money. Her husband had left her a large sum of cash when he left. He claimed that he had worked for it, although she had been skeptical. Still, wherever it came from, it had served to keep her out of debt while waiting for her husband to finally return. Unfortunately, ten years was a very long time, even with Nodoka's attempt to stretch it and earn more money.

Nodoka took several deep breathes before standing and dusting off her kimono. She picked up the groceries again and proceeded on her way. As Nodoka moved along, trying to keep all the groceries from falling out of her hands, her thoughts once again turned musingly to her missing husband and son. 'I wonder how they are doing? I stopped receiving letters, but I don't think my husband would just fold over because of some magic springs,' Nodoka thought to herself. She had thought about it often, wondering exactly why she had stopped receiving letters after her husband and son had gone to train at some magical springs.

'Maybe the magical springs did them in.' Nodoka thought to herself. It was a line of reasoning she had started down after not hearing word for several weeks after her husband and son were supposed to visit the springs. Once upon a time, she wouldn't have believed in magic. Of course… a year of magical monstrosities and magical girls running around the town had pretty much disabused her of that notion. 'No, that can't have been. I have to see them again.' Nodoka thought determinedly to herself, refusing to even think along those lines.

A short distance away from the worrying mother, a girl somewhat related to the matter at hand happily bounced along the road. It had been three days since Makoto had been in Nerima, and she was eager to get back. Unfortunately for her, she had been too busy to go the day before, and was planning on making up for that fact by bringing Ranma some of the cooking he had enjoyed a couple years before. Of course, she didn't know the great amount of good cooking Ranma had been subjected to in that time but, fortunately for her, Makoto's food wasn't drugged like a certain Amazon or gymnast's so often was.

As Makoto rounded a corner, her daydreams were rudely interrupted as she came face first against several large bags of groceries. Had either of the two involved been paying attention, they could have avoided what befell. Unfortunately, Nodoka was as wrapped up in her thoughts as Makoto, and as such both ran straight into each other, with Makoto losing her balance and falling over, accidentally taking Nodoka down with her.

"AAAHH!" Nodoka exclaimed as the girl crashing into her over balanced her. Nodoka fell backwards, landing on the pavement with a thump. The bags she was precariously holding flew out of her hands, spilling various food items onto the ground.

Makoto landed to the side of Nodoka, her hands unclenching as she hit the ground. Makoto had been carrying something as well, but as per the rules according to Murphy, that something left her fingers and fell to the ground. A rather large cake soon landed facedown in the pavement, ending its fitness for human consumption as bits of frosting splattered all over the ground.

Makoto growled as she saw the fate of her cake. She quickly pushed herself to her feet to take stock of the situation. Her cake was ruined. The lady she had knocked over was getting up, and had apparently dropped several bags of groceries. Makoto sighed as the good mood she had been holding collapsed all around her.

"Sorry," Makoto apologized as she offered a hand to the downed lady. Makoto felt that she should have been angrier, but her recent experience with Ranma was still hovering over her like a cloud that refused to be dispelled. The lady on the ground grabbed a hold of Makoto's hand and pulled herself to her feet.

"No, I should be the one apologizing." Nodoka stammered. "I'm afraid I was too wrapped up in my thoughts. My groceries didn't really help me, either." Nodoka kneeled down and started to put all of the dropped groceries back into their bags. Makoto knelt down and started to help.

"Was that your cake?" Nodoka asked, pointing to the cake that had broken on the ground. Seeing Makoto's sullen nod, Nodoka frowned. "Well, this won't do. I've caused you to ruin what looked to be a perfectly good cake. How about you come to my house and I'll help you bake another one?"

Makoto stood, backed up and shook her head. "No, that's all right. The cake wasn't that important," Makoto muttered.

Nodoka blinked at her as she continued stuffing food into the bags. Most of the food was packed, so it wouldn't get dirty. "Are you sure? It's my fault that you dropped the cake," Nodoka said.

Makoto moved past Nodoka while saying, "It was just going to be a present. It's nothing much."

Nodoka stared at her as she walked past. "A present? I truly am sorry."

Makoto shrugged. "I'll just have to find something else to give him."

"Ah, so it was a present for a boy, then?" Nodoka asked.

Makoto glared at her. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes." Makoto said, before sighing heavily. "I'm really sorry. It's just that it was a present for someone who I hadn't seen in a long time, and I've just now found him."

Nodoka nodded. "I understand. I know how it feels not to see someone you love for a very long time. Well, except I haven't had the feeling of finding them again. I really miss my son, Ranma." Nodoka said quietly. "I'd like to apologize again. Cherish the one you've found." Hefting her groceries, Nodoka turned around, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Hmm?" Nodoka queried as she looked over at Makoto's startled, wide-eyed face.

"Did you say Ranma?" Makoto asked her. When she saw Nodoka's hesitant nod, Makoto continued, "Ranma Saotome?"

Nodoka looked startled. "Why, yes. I'm Nodoka Saotome. I've been looking for my son that I haven't seen in ten years. Do you know him?" Nodoka asked.

Makoto shuffled her feet on the ground as she realized just who it was she had been rude to. "Um, yeah." Makoto said, nervous. "You see… well, he was the one I was going to give that cake to."

Nodoka grabbed Makoto's shoulders and stared at her, their faces inches apart. "You know where my son is right now?" Nodoka asked desperately. Seeing Makoto's quick nod, Nodoka's face broke into a great smile lighting her formerly somber features like the sun breaking from behind a storm cloud. "This is wonderful!" Nodoka exclaimed as she let go of Makoto and started dancing around, the groceries she had had problems carrying just moments before suddenly giving her no difficulty.

Makoto stared as the downtrodden woman was seemingly infused with vitality. "Um, Mrs. Saotome…" Makoto began. The skipping woman stopped bouncing around and blushed heavily.

"I'm sorry," Nodoka said as she blushed. "Its just that I haven't heard any word of him for a while, and now I find that someone knows where he is. And even better, he has to be nearby!" Nodoka exclaimed, triumphant.

"Yeah, he's in the Nerima ward," Makoto said. "In fact, since I was going to head over there, you could come with me!" Makoto said. 'This is Ranma's mother! I didn't know he had a mother… one that was alive anyway, but this is his mother! And I was so rude too!' Makoto screamed to herself.

Nodoka scowled, and shook her head. She pointed down at the smashed cake and said, "Not after what I did to that cake of yours. If it was for my darling Ranma, then it simply wouldn't be proper for me to let this stand. Want to come to my house, and I can help you bake up a new one, while you tell me all about my son?" Nodoka asked in a pleading voice.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt." Makoto agreed, realizing just how much it meant to Ranma's mother.
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A voice, seemingly composed of several different voices twisting together, echoed across the empty darkness, "Have you succeeded, Zandain?"

A simpler, clearer, female voice returned across the darkness, "Yes, master, I have. It was simple, really. All I had to do was give the gatherers a hard, physical shell. The powers of that young man won't be able to devastate them as long as they aren't damaged too severely."

"I see." The multi toned voice returned. "I trust that it works. I know you would not disappoint me. I have decided to send out the other. What do you think?"

Again, the feminine voice carried across the darkness. "Master, he prefers to be called, 'Soul Fire.'"

The displeased voice responded, "Have you all taken names, then? Very well, I will participate in this foolishness if I must. I must admit these 'names' are a convenient way of singling a being out, if nothing else. Do you think Soul Fire is a good choice?"

The female voice returned strongly, "I think he is the best choice you have. Unless you intend to release Masiev?"

"I think not." The multi toned voice returned. "I do not wish to release Masiev, ever. You know as well as I the potential Masiev has to be counterproductive.

A male voice suddenly echoed through the darkness. "Master, you summoned?" It asked.

"Yes, I have. Soul Fire, you are tasked with collecting the energy we need to live and thrive. Zandain will explain the state of things to you." The multi toned voice responded.

"Yes, master." Two voices rang out simultaneously.
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Nodoka hummed happily as she flipped through the phone book. The cake was in the oven and Makoto was sitting on a couch. Makoto had already explained how she and Ranma had met, and Nodoka had quickly warmed up to her. It seemed like Ranma was just as manly as she could have ever dreamed. Of course, Genma had kept assuring her of that in his letters, but it never hurt to have a second opinion.

Nodoka picked up her phone and dialed in the number she had just looked up. Nodoka waited patiently as the phone rang, but frowned as she got the answering machine.

As the answering machine beeped, Nodoka sighed and said, "Hello, this is Nodoka. Please tell Genma that I am coming by later today." Nodoka set the phone down with a click.

"Well, I'm sure they won't mind." Nodoka rationalized to herself. "After all, it IS the husband and son I haven't seen for ten years." Nodoka turned and began to move. "Is the cake almost ready, Mako-chan?" Nodoka called to the kitchen.

Makoto's voice responded, "Yeah, it's just about done. I'm taking it out now. It'll be ready to frost after it cools."

Nodoka walked in to the kitchen to see Makoto beginning to make the homemade frosting. It wasn't long before they were finished and Makoto began to frost the cake. Nodoka smiled and grabbed her own frosting and started to help her apply it. They worked soundlessly, each adding their own special touches to the cake.

Soon, it was done. The cake itself was extremely simple. It was simply a rectangular shape covered in frosting, with sprinkles added to it. However, beneath the surface lurked one of the tastiest cakes ever invented by mankind. Nodoka and Makoto were both excellent cooks, and had quickly discovered that their talents in the kitchen meshed quite well together. The result was a cake that looked simple, but tasted heavenly.

"This looks like it will work." Nodoka said pleasantly as she grabbed a box and set the newly made cake inside of it. "I'm sure they will love it."

Makoto nodded, unsure of how to respond. She had been rude to Nodoka before she had known that Nodoka was Ranma's mother, and was regretting it now. 'It looks like she doesn't even care, though.' Makoto thought to herself as she observed Nodoka's happy expression. 'I guess I can't be surprised. I felt much the same way when I first saw Ranma again.'

"Come on, let's head over and see if they are back yet." Nodoka said, picking up the cake and handing it to Makoto, who accepted it wordlessly. Nodoka grabbed her wrapped katana and set it on her shoulder. 'I don't think I'll need this.' Nodoka thought to herself. 'But it never hurts to have a weapon. Now, if only I knew how to use it.' Nodoka thought.

They both exited the house. Nodoka locked the door behind her, and then fell in step behind Makoto, since she didn't know the way there. As they walked along, Nodoka was tongue-tied. She had learned how Makoto and Ranma had met, but hadn't really learned anything else about Ranma, or even Makoto, for that matter.

"So, how is my son?" Nodoka finally asked as the two walked along. "You've seen him recently, right? How is he doing?"

Since Nodoka was behind her, Makoto's frown wasn't visible. "Well, he seemed healthy." Makoto began, before mentally smacking herself. 'Yeah, as healthy as any hyper powered martial arts master can get.' Makoto thought. She continued aloud, "His father must have been a very good teacher. He is one of the best martial artists I have ever seen." Makoto finished.

Nodoka smiled broadly, before her smile dropped. "I guess letting his father take him wasn't a mistake after all." She said softly.

Makoto turned her head to look behind her. "About that… what exactly happened? Just why haven't you seen him for so long?" Makoto asked her.

Nodoka frowned and sighed softly. "Well, about ten years ago, his father wanted to take him on a long training trip. I was against it, but he claimed I would make him weak. After giving me a vow that he would raise Ranma to be a man amongst men, he took Ranma and left. I was kept posted on his travels, but recently the letters stopped coming." Nodoka paused. She walked in silence for several seconds, before continuing, "But it doesn't matter now. After all, they are safe and sound, and I'm sure Ranma is as manly as can be." Nodoka said, smiling brightly.

Makoto nodded. 'I'm not sure what she means, but Ranma is manly by almost anyone's standards.' Makoto thought. She said aloud, "I'm really happy that I ran into you, even if I wasn't at the time. I didn't even know Ranma had a mother, since when I knew him his father was the only one with him. "

"I plan to remedy that." Nodoka said with determination.
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"Ranchan, is something wrong?" Ukyo inquired of the pigtailed martial artist. Said martial artist was slowly eating an okonomiyaki. "You're only on your second one, and you are eating so slow." Ukyo said, worried. The shop was closed at the moment, but the brown haired chef always kept the equipment ready in case her fiancé stopped by, like right now.

Ranma looked up at the worried chef. He swallowed the piece of okonomiyaki he had been chewing on and said, "Nothin's wrong. I'm just not hungry right now."

Ukyo stared at him, her eyes level with his. "Ranma, that's exactly the point. You live for food. For you to act like this means you either already ate a lot, or there is something wrong."

Ranma shook his head. "Sorry, Ucchan. I think I might be coming down with something," Ranma said. "That might be why I'm not so hungry." Ranma stood off of the stool. "Well, gotta run. You're a real pal, Ucchan," Ranma said, and left the restaurant with a wave.

Ukyo sighed as he walked through the door. "I'm a pal, huh." Ukyo said softly. "I'll still fight my hardest to change that." Ukyo muttered to herself.

Ranma himself was running across the ground. A quick look at the sky had revealed dark gray clouds. Unfortunately, those were the exact kind of clouds Ranma didn't want to see. He sped through the street and, with a quick shout of, "I'm home!" Ranma flew inside the Tendo Home as the first drops of rain started to fall. Upon entering, however, Ranma immediately took several steps back, as the sight of his father tied up and being held down by Soun and Akane. Kasumi wasn't present, while Nabiki just stared at the tied up man with a smirk.

"What's going on?" Ranma asked as his father tried to free himself of his bindings. However, the combined might of Akane and Soun, not to mention the ropes themselves, kept him from getting very far.

"Son, tell them to release me! It's a matter of life or death… for both of us!" Genma exclaimed as he struggled futilely. Soun shook his head as he observed the attempts of his friend to escape.

"Well, someone called and left a message about coming over, and to tell Uncle Saotome that." Akane, who had easily recovered within a day, said. It had been three days since the attack, and Akane had recovered completely.

"Really, Saotome," Soun said disapprovingly. "Have you cheated the entirety of Japan?" Soun asked him.

"No, only half, and some parts of…" Genma said, before shaking his head wildly. "This isn't someone I've cheated!" Genma declared vehemently.

Ranma crossed his arms as Genma gave up and ceased struggling. "Really, pops? Who would be coming for you, then?" Ranma asked.

"Your…" Genma growled out, then shut up. Ranma stared at him.

"My what?" Ranma asked. Genma turned his head to the side, keeping his mouth shut. Soun raised an eyebrow.

"Really, Saotome. Now you have me curious too. His what? His fiancée? No, you wouldn't be so quiet about something like that at this point." Soun said, pondering. "His aunt? His grandmother?" Soun suddenly frowned as a thought struck him. "His mother…?" Soun asked, before he paused, shocked. He got his answer by Genma's renewed struggling.

"Is that it, then? Is Nodoka Ranma's mother?" Nabiki asked the bald, sweating man. Again, he ceased his struggles and gave a sullen nod.

"I have a mother?" Ranma asked, shocked. The possibility had never occurred to him.

"Of course you have a mother!" The bound man shouted at him. "What, do you think I gave birth to you myself? I didn't know about Jusenkyo until we fell in!" Genma shouted at him, then turned green as he realized what he had just said.

Akane smiled broadly. "Well Ranma, it looks like things are finally looking up for you.

Ranma frowned. "My mother…?" He muttered, the idea still too much to handle. Just then, there was a knock at the front of the house. Soun, Nabiki, and Akane all spun and began to head towards the door.

A soft, feminine voice, the same voice as on the answering machine, called out, "Hello? Is anyone home?"

Without anyone holding him down, Genma exclaimed, "Tendo! I'm not here! It's a matter of life or death!" So saying, Genma suddenly burst through the ropes holding him hostage, grabbed Ranma, and dived into the koi pond, taking the surprised martial artist with him.

Both Nodoka and Makoto stood outside the door, waiting anxiously. They had heard a shout from inside, and then a loud splash, and then silence. They were both happy they had managed to get under cover before the storm hit. As they were debating whether to open the door themselves, it suddenly slid open, revealing the mustached face of Soun Tendo.

"Um, hello," Nodoka said, suddenly nervous. Soun gestured, and both of them stepped inside. As they did, they noticed the two girls standing beside him, both with curious expressions on their face. Akane blinked as she saw Makoto, while Makoto was shocked at how different Akane looked. All the anger she had seen before seemed to be gone… at least at the moment.

"Are you Nodoka?" Soun asked her, knowing full well the answer.

Nodoka nodded. "Yes, my name is Nodoka Saotome. This is Makoto Kino… I assume you've met before," Nodoka said.

Akane nodded. "Yeah, we have." She said. Nabiki frowned and gave her a sidelong glance, but didn't say anything.

"Please, come inside." Soun said, gesturing towards the living room. Nodoka nodded and moved inside, Makoto following her. They all sat down, facing each other.

There were several uncomfortable moments of silence, before Nodoka spoke up, saying, "Um… I heard my husband and son were staying here. Is that true?"

Soun nodded slowly. "Yes… it is. However, they have recently gone on a… training mission." Soun said, struck by inspiration.

Akane nodded. "Yeah, they left yesterday. Ranma has to keep up his martial arts, after all." She said, giving a false smile.

Nodoka deflated. "Oh." She said simply.

Makoto frowned as well. "He really isn't here?" She asked, dejected. However, sounds of battle took that moment to echo through the room. "Huh? What's going on?" Makoto asked as she quickly stood up. Nodoka stood as well, and both rushed through the house to where the sounds of battle originated.

Nabiki frowned. "You two had better go after them," She said. "No telling what will happen."

Akane glanced at her. "What about you?" She asked.

Nabiki smirked. "I'll be in my room. I'll be back down in… a while." She said, grinning. Akane frowned at her, but grabbed her father, both of them following after the other two.

Both Nodoka and Makoto had stopped, and were staring at shock at what appeared to be a battle between a small, lithe girl with red hair and a pigtail, and a large panda. Makoto stared as the panda executed a series of punches and threw the girl into a wall. Her hand snaked inside a pocket, feeling the familiar sensation of her henshin stick.

'That panda knows martial arts.' Makoto thought, dumbfounded. 'Is this one a monster as well?' She wondered to herself. At that moment, both the girl and panda realized they were being watched, and turned to the observers.

"Um…" Ranma began, as she saw a woman she had never seen before, as well as Makoto. "Oh, we have guests!" Ranma exclaimed, trying to sound as girlish as possible. The panda shuddered nervously as it saw the one woman he most feared at the moment… his wife, Nodoka.

"Were you just fighting that panda?" Nodoka asked, curious. 'How on earth did a panda become skilled at martial arts?' Nodoka wondered to herself.

"Ah…" Ranma started, before she caught sight of one of Genma's signs, which read, 'If you value your life, you AREN'T Ranma!'

Ranma frowned, but she agreed with him. Makoto was still around, and Ranma would rather be chased than be remembered as a transgender freak by her. "I'm Ranko, and this is my pet panda," Ranko said cheerfully. "Are you looking for someone?"

Makoto stared at Ranko's pigtail and sodden Chinese clothing. "Are you related to Ranma?" She asked.

Ranko shook her head. "Um, no! I just liked the way it looked. I had this style first, but he copied me!" Ranko said quickly.

"As you can see, Ranma isn't here right now." Soun interrupted. "If you like, you could stay for dinner?" Soun asked.

Nodoka nodded. "All right." She agreed. "But I insist that I help cook. Do you want to help too, Mako-chan?" Nodoka asked her. Makoto grimaced. She had forgotten to mention that Akane was Ranma's fiancée. Of course, she had also forgot to mention that Ranma had several, according to Akane.

"Um, sure… if no one else minds." Makoto said quickly. Akane glared at her, but nodded. As they all reentered the home, Ranko and the newly dubbed Mr. Panda following closely behind, Makoto set the box with the cake she had been carrying on the table.

"What's that?" Akane asked, pointing to the box.

"Oh, it's a cake I baked for Ranma. He isn't here, though." Makoto said, frowning. She shrugged. "If you guys want to eat it, it's fine with me." Makoto said.

Akane frowned as she realized that, once again, someone interested in Ranma was a good cook. Before she could comment, however, a slavering Ranko beat her to the punch. "Really!?" Ranko nearly demanded.

Both Nodoka and Makoto backed up as they saw the spirit of hunger made flesh rip open the box, cleanly slice off a piece using her bare hands, and devour the piece of cake within seconds. Before Makoto even realized it, half the cake was gone. As everyone stared at her, Ranko blushed and backed away from the cake.

As everyone else began to eat what remained of the cake, Kasumi chose that instant to speak. "Mrs. Saotome…" She began. "What exactly is that?" Kasumi asked, pointing to the bundle carried over Nodoka's shoulder.

"Oh, this?" Nodoka asked. "It's in case I have to make Ranma go through with his oath," Nodoka said sadly.

Ranko cocked her head curiously at Nodoka. "Oath?" Ranko asked. 'I can't remember making any oath… then again, I can't even remember my mother,' Ranko thought to herself.

Nodoka sighed and withdrew a piece of paper from the kimono she was wearing. "I really didn't want to bring this up," Nodoka said. "But I suppose I have no choice."

Nodoka set the paper on the table. "You see… before Ranma and Genma left, they both made an oath to me. Genma would raise Ranma to be a man amongst men… or they would both have to commit seppuku," Nodoka explained.

There was stunned silence at that proclamation. Ranko grabbed Mr. Panda's arm and dragged him from the room, while everyone else stared at Nodoka.

"Um, Mrs. Saotome, you wouldn't really make him go through with that, would you?" Akane asked, worried. 'If she finds out about the curse…' Akane thought to herself. 'No wonder Mr. Saotome didn't want her to find out!'

In response, Nodoka took the bundle off of her shoulder and removed the cloth. She placed her hand on the hilt and pulled, revealing the gleaming blade of a katana. Nodoka studied the blade, keeping her eyes off of everyone else. "If he has violated his oath, I will humbly serve as his assistant. Once they have taken their lives, I will follow them by slitting my throat with the exact same sword." Nodoka said, determined. Everyone else backed slowly away from her.

"But what does it matter?" Nodoka said with a smile. "I'm sure Ranma won't need to do such a thing. After all, from what Mako-chan has told me, my son is quite manly," Nodoka said, her voice full of cheer.

Soun wiped some sweat off of the side of his head as he said, "Err, yes. Ranma is quite manly. Manly enough to marry my daughter, even."

"Dad!" Akane hissed at her father.

Nodoka raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Nodoka asked.

Soun cleared his throat. "Well, a while ago, before Ranma was even born, we agreed that our two families should be united, bringing the two schools of Anything Goes together. To that end, Ranma has been engaged to my daughter, Akane, here," Soun said, pointing at the shorthaired tomboy.

"Why don't you mention the OTHER prior engagements, dad?" Akane muttered pointedly.

"What's this?" Nodoka asked of Soun.

Soun frowned. "Well, it appears that Genma had made several such agreements. As it is, Ranma has several fiancées," Soun explained.

Nodoka turned her head to Makoto, who shook her head. "I'm not a fiancée. In fact, I didn't even know he had any fiancées until just recently," Makoto said.

Nodoka put her hand on her chin for a moment, thinking hard. With a big smile, she clapped her hands together and said, "Why, that's wonderful!"

Everyone stared at her. Soun glanced at her sideways and asked, "How is that wonderful?"

Nodoka smiled at him. "Well, Ranma is past the having to find a girl stage… and even better, he has a lot of choices! He must be so manly! I almost want to tear up this contract right now, but I don't think he would ever forgive me for taking his word so lightly."

'I'm sure he wouldn't mind.' Akane thought sourly. How a woman could be so nice but insist on something so harsh boggled her mind.

From her position up the stairs, Nabiki frowned and furrowed her brow. She had already set up some plans to profit from the situation, but this wasn't what she had expected. Nabiki sighed deeply and thought to herself, 'Tell you what, Saotome. I'll go easy on you and give you a fifty percent discount.' Satisfied with her generosity, Nabiki moved back to her room to work on her other plans.
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"Alright, old man, what have you gotten me into this time?" Ranma demanded as she whacked the panda with a kettle of hot water.

Genma put a finger on his glasses and adjusted them. The shift to panda form always offset them. "Just what she said. In order for her to release you, I had to make a vow that I'd raise you to be a man amongst men, or we'd both commit seppuku," Genma declared. Ranma responded by punching him in the face. "Ow." Genma said simply.

"What am I going to do now?" Ranma demanded of her father. "If she finds out about this," Ranma said, pointing to her chest, "we're done for. And it's all your fault!" Ranma accused.

Genma shrugged. "There's a simple solution to this." Genma declared.

Ranma glanced at him. "Oh yeah, what's that?" Ranma asked. Genma smirked and splashed himself with a bucket of water.

'Don't let her find out!' Genma's sign declared, which earned him a whap on the head.

"Oh, Ran-ko!" Akane yelled. Ranma glanced at the panda and left.

"What is it?" Ranma asked. Akane grabbed his arm and dragged her outside. "Hey, what gives?" Ranma demanded.

"Oh, do you want to come along too, Ranko?" Nodoka asked him. Ranma paused as he realized what Akane wanted.

"Oh, um, yes I do, Mrs. Saotome," Ranma said. She tilted her head and whispered to Akane, "What are we doing?"

Akane whispered back, "Getting stuff for dinner. Come on. You can't be with her as a guy… I can understand that. But at least you could get to know her, beyond the whole seppuku deal anyway."

"So, are you a friend of Akane?" Makoto asked curiously as they trudged through the rain. They all had umbrellas, keeping them from getting wet.

"No, I'm Akane's… first cousin!" Ranma exclaimed triumphantly.

"Ranma's been living at your place, right Akane?" Nodoka asked her, to which she nodded. "Can you tell me anything about him? Makoto hadn't seen him for a while, but I'm sure you know a lot about him." Nodoka said to Akane.

"Err, I suppose," Akane said hesitantly.

Nodoka grinned and asked, "Is he manly? Handsome? Well groomed?"

Akane glanced at Ranma, who scowled back at her. "Um, yes, yes, and yes." Akane said slowly. Ranma's face cleared up of the scowl that had dominated it.

While Nodoka snagged Akane and started rapidly firing off questions, Makoto hung back and started walking along side Ranma. Ranma glanced at her nervously, but Makoto didn't seem to suspect anything.

After a minute of trudging through the rain and listening to Nodoka's increasingly embarrassing questions to Akane, Ranma began, "So…" but was interrupted by Makoto.

"You know?" Makoto asked. "I feel like the odd one out here. I mean, I brought Mrs. Saotome here to meet Ranma… but I don't really belong here. I'm not a fiancée or related to him or anything," Makoto muttered.

"Hey, it's not so bad. I only arrived a couple days ago… to visit." Ranma said, trying to cheer her once girlfriend up. "I feel out of place too." Although it wasn't for the reason mentioned. 'I still can't deal with the fact that I have a mother, and she is here.' Ranma thought to herself.

Makoto smiled. "I guess you do know the feeling," She said. "Once we're done here, I'll have to come back in a few days and see if Ranma is around."

"By the way, that cake you made was delicious." Ranma said, trying to change the subject.

Makoto glanced at Ranma. "Really? Well, Mrs. Saotome helped. That's probably the best cake I've ever tasted as well." The silence stretched on again. In that time, Nodoka fired off another question to Akane that had her blushing. Ranma shuddered and was glad she couldn't hear it.
-------------------------------------------
"Do you understand what you must do?" A voice echoed through an area of complete darkness.

A male voice responded, "Yes, Zandain. I understand."

"Good. Failure will be tolerated on this first mission, but only because we need to test out the modifications to the gatherers. There is but one more thing for me to tell you," The female voice said.

The male voice sounded confused. "What is that, Zandain?"

With a hint of amusement, the female voice said, "Soul Fire is a terrible name. You really should have picked a better one."

The male voice returned, "I think not. I like this name. After all, if I'm going to have a name, I think it should be one I prefer."

"Very well. Now go out and see what you can do… I'll be out there not too long after. Be sure to tell me when you've engaged all of the targets," The female voice said.

"Of course, Zandain." The male voice said, and then was silent.

END Chapter 7