Chapter 21 Nodoka takes charge
"I swear, why am I such a water magnet, and why did I forget my thermos, Baka," Ranma said as she stormed through the gates into the schoolyard. "Oh man, I'm really not in the mood for this," she said as she saw Kuno stalk toward them.
"Ah, it is the beauteous Akane Tendo and the spirited pig-tailed girl. Have you escaped from that vile sorcerer, Ranma Saotome? How I regret that I, Tatewaki Kuno, upperclassman, the Rising Star of Furinkan High, the undefeated champion, also known as the Blue Thunder, was unable to free you from his clutches, Akane Tendo. Having to share a kiss with him, oh the horror you must have felt. I will remove that shame by allowing you to date with me," Kuno said, as he threw a rose at each of the girls.
They moved out of the way and with one voice screamed, "For the last time, I will never date with you." As Kuno soared gracefully over the school, Ranma turned to Akane and said, "Nice uppercut there, by the way. Let's get me changed back."
They ran to the guy's restroom. Ranma opened the door carefully and saw that it was vacant. She ran to the sink and started the hot water. Once it got warm enough, she changed back. Ranma quickly changed into the spare set of clothing that he had started carrying and left the room. "Thanks for guarding the door, Acchan. If we hurry, we should still beat the bell," Ranma said as he grabbed Akane's hand. As they entered the classroom, the entire class face-faulted as they saw Ranma and Akane holding each other's hand. Akane glared at everyone as they sat down at their desks, daring anyone to say anything. The room quickly went silent.
Then Ukyo walked into the classroom, her face white. "Ranma, is what Nabiki said true? Are you in love with Akane?"
Ranma nodded, his eyes never leaving Ukyo's face. If anything, her face got paler, and then the tears began to flow. She turned and ran off. Ranma half rose from his seat and then dropped back into it, and shook his head helplessly. 'Sorry, Ucchan,' he thought. Akane looked at her boyfriend in concern. "I gotta talk ta her soon, Akane, she's still my friend," he said softly.
'Oh man, it's going to be rough at lunch', Ranma thought to himself, just a little bit angry, 'We knew it was going ta be bad, but this is ridiculous,' looking at the huge pile of notes on his desk that he had received. It looked like his pile was almost as large as the one on Akane's desk. He could tell by the steam rising from the back of her neck, that she was furious. 'I really don't want to know what they asked her, do I?' he thought, 'She's worth it though.'
'I thought these were my friends, what kind of perverts are they?' fumed Akane, 'Lunch is going to be so embarrassing,' looking at the huge pile of notes on her desk that she had received. It looked like her pile was almost as big as the one on Ranma's desk. She could tell by the steam rising from the back of his neck, that he was furious. 'I really don't want to know what they asked him, do I?' she thought, 'But he is so worth it, though.'
"Ranma, wait up!" Akane called as she tried to catch up to her boyfriend. Ranma stopped and waited at the gate to the schoolyard. "Aren't you going to walk me home?" she asked.
"I can't, I got an errand ta run. It seems some girl forgot ta tell her boyfriend that her birthday was coming up. I had ta find out from Kasumi," he replied, with a smile, "If it wasn't for the note she put into my bento this morning, I wouldn't have known it was tomorrow. I need ta do a little shopping for ya, now."
Akane blushed. "Ranma, I'm sorry. I should have known that you had no clue when I turned seventeen. I'll see you at home then." She kissed him, and headed home. He stood watching her, his eyes tender as she walked out of sight. He shook himself and headed off to shop.
As Ranma walked toward the jewelry store, lost in thought, it began to rain. As he felt the familiar transformation, she woke up from her reverie and swore, "Damn, I shoulda been paying more attention. I even brought an umbrella this time." She walked into the store and started looking around for the other gift she wanted. After looking at several chains, she finally found exactly what she was looking for. She paid for it, had it boxed and gift-wrapped and put it in the sack with the other present. She started heading home when she saw Dr. Tofu Ono walking toward her.
She waved gaily and called, "Yo, Doc!" She lost her cheery smile as she saw the look of embarrassment on Tofu's face. He turned as if to avoid her, and then obviously changed his mind. He walked over to meet Ranma. "Doc, what was that all about?" Ranma said, "It looked like ya didn't want ta see me or something. Come to think about it, I haven't really seen much of ya since you got engaged ta Kasumi. Are you trying ta avoid me or something?"
Tofu blushed in embarrassment again. He stammered and said, "Yes, I guess I have been trying to avoid you, Ranma. I wasn't sure how you'd react when you saw me. After all, I basically took Kasumi away from you when I asked her to marry me."
Ranma giggled. "Is that what's bothering ya? I never had Kasumi in the first place. You're the one she always wanted. Something might have happened if ya hadn't proposed, but I'm happy for ya both. You two belong ta each other. Besides, didn't ya hear, Akane and I are a couple, now. Hey, you are coming ta her birthday tomorrow, aren't ya?" Ranma replied.
"Kasumi told me about it. I was a little unsure about coming, but this little chat has helped," Tofu said.
"Well, I don't think ya want ta disappoint Kasumi, Doc, so ya better show up," Ranma said with a smirk, "Seriously, I think the two of ya are perfect together. Speaking of not disappointing Kasumi, I gotta get home for dinner. See ya tomorrow, okay?" Ranma started heading home for dinner.
Nodoka stood in the doorway to the dojo watching Ranma and Akane sparring. While it was apparent that Ranma was still holding back, Akane was giving him a good workout. Even in the short time that she had been staying at the Tendo's home, it was obvious to Nodoka that Akane had gotten considerably better.
Kasumi and Nabiki were watching from the side. Kasumi had finished her workout with Ranma earlier, and she was just a bit sore. Then, they both winced in sympathy as one of Ranma's attacks snuck though a hole in Akane's defense and knocked her into the wall. Akane stood there gasping for breath, and then with a bright smile on her face, she attacked again driving Ranma backward with the force of her blows. Finally, Ranma called time.
"Good workout, Akane. How's the side feel where I got ya?" Ranma asked.
Akane smiled. "It's a bit sore, what did you think it would feel like, baka?" she teased, "I'm ready for a long soak. That'll take care of the soreness for tomorrow. I'm not that fragile anyway, remember?"
Ranma smiled in relief and replied, "I know that Acchan. I didn't hit ya too many times today, anyway. Your defense is getting real good. I can't hold back on my defense at all since your attacks are getting as good as they are."
Nodoka called out, "Ranma, if you're done, I need to talk to you."
"I guess we're done, let me get cleaned up a bit and I'll be right with ya," he replied. He poured a bucket of water over his head, shivering with the cold and the transformation. She grabbed a towel and began drying off as she walked over to her mother. The girls took that opportunity to head to the furo and get a long soak to ease their sore and tired bodies.
"Ranma, I didn't want to bring it up last night, but what are you going to do about Ukyo?" Nodoka asked.
Ranma looked pensive. "I really don't know. She's the only one of the other girls that Pop swindled out of a dowry to show up, but that doesn't mean that she will be the last. I can't be married to all of them, so while I can't just ignore her claim on me, I don't want to consider her a legitimate fiancée, either. I can't give her any more weight than any of the others that just haven't tracked Pop down. You saw the report, it's up to what, a dozen girls or so?" she replied, "I just don't know what the honorable thing to do for any of them is." She sighed in frustration. "I do like Ukyo, but I've told her I'm not interested in her as anything other than as a friend. Akane is the only girl I'm interested in. I think I made that pretty clear last night," she continued.
"I understand your frustration, dear. Your father has done his best to damage our family honor. I've been hesitant to do anything about it up until now, but as I said last night, I need to get involved. Now that you've admitted your attraction to Akane, I assume you don't want that engagement agreement ended, but just all of the others?" Nodoka asked.
Ranma replied, "Yeah, I'd kinda like that one to stay intact. If you can figure out a way ta break the others, that would be great."
Ranma waited for Akane to finish dinner, and then walked upstairs to her room with her. "Akane, I want ya ta have this, as an early birthday present," he said, as he pulled a small gift-wrapped box from his pocket, and handed it to her.
She unwrapped the box, opened it and removed a ring with a gold chain threaded through it. "I read of an American custom, where a guy gives a girl a promise ring. I want ya ta wear this around your neck as a promise from me to you. I know you're the girl I love," he said.
Her eyes filled with tears. "Ranma, I love you so," she gasped as she put the chain on. Her face glowed as she hugged him.
The next morning after everyone had left, Kasumi walked into the dining area to speak with her father, where he was finishing his paper. She gracefully knelt down in front of him and said, "There is a student named Tatewaki Kuno who has been attacking Akane every morning. Ranma has been defending her, but I think you need to make it stop. His sister is being a nuisance about Ranma as well," Kasumi said, "Perhaps you could enlist Auntie to help you.
The next afternoon, before dinner, Soun and Nodoka walked over to the walled Kuno estate. Upon reaching the gate, they rang the bell they found there. Several minutes later, a small man wearing a ninja outfit opened the gate and inquired, "How may I help you?"
Nodoka said, "I am Nodoka Saotome, and this is Soun Tendo. We would like to talk to Tatewaki Kuno. Would he be available to speak with us?"
The ninja answered, "My master is in the garden relaxing. I will convey your request to him." He shut the gate. After a few minutes, he returned and said, "The master will see you. Would you follow me, please?" He led them through a pleasant garden, filled with exotic plants, over to a secluded alcove overlooking a medium sized pond. There they met a tall, well-built, young man, dressed as a Samurai, with a bokken strapped to his waist. He bowed and said, "I am Tatewaki Kuno. I assume you are the parents of the Fair Akane Tendo and the Loathsome Sorcerer Ranma Saotome?"
"My son is a man of honor, a martial artist of great skill, someone I am proud to be able to call son," Nodoka began, with some spirit, "If you have fought against him and lost, it is because of his greater skill. I also understand you have been inflicting yourself on the one you know as the pigtailed girl. You are in grave danger of insulting my family honor if you continue in both fighting my son and attempting to date the pigtailed girl against her express wishes. If you do not amend your behavior, then my clan will have no choice but to call for a blood feud against you!"
"Why should I, the great Tatewaki Kuno, of the clan of Kuno, care what the Saotome clan thinks?" Kuno said boastfully.
"I wasn't referring to my husband's clan," she said, as she swung the sheath of her sword around so he could see the family crest emblazoned upon it. Kuno's face went white as he recognized whose crest that was.
He bowed, "Gomen Nasai. I meant no insult to either you or your clan. I, of course, will bow to you wishes in this matter, and will no longer be a nuisance to either of your children," he said, the wind taken out of his sails.
Nodoka bowed, and replied, "Your apology is accepted. See that you remain true to your word. You must inform your sister that she should follow your example. Her behavior toward my family is inexcusable as well. If she does not amend.."
Kuno interrupted, "Pardon, honorable Nodoka, I will take it upon myself to ensure the my twisted sister no longer pursues either of your children. I, too, have been displeased by her chasing of your son as well as the attempts on your daughter's life. You have my word of honor as a samurai of the house of Kuno, that she will leave your clan alone."
Soun said, "That was well spoken, young man. However, I am most displeased with you as well. It has come to my attention that you are attempting to date my daughter Akane, and claim that you control who she may date. Furthermore, you instigated the fights with the boys at her school. I find this behavior to be most dishonorable. It must stop at once. My daughter is not interested in you and has told you so many times. Do not pursue her anymore!"
"The Tendo family is a distant relation to myself, and therefore also under my protection, Kuno," Nodoka said calmly, "It would be prudent if your honored their request."
"Oh woe is me, to be told to forget about both the Fair Akane and the Fiery Pigtailed Goddess," Kuno emoted, "How could this day be any worse?" He suddenly heard his sister's maniacal laughter nearing him. "I will obey your most gracious request, now may Sasuke and I see you out," he said as he began herding them to the gate as fast as he could. Suddenly he bolted through the gate and left. Nodoka and Soun stared at each other, and then followed the ninja Sasuke to the gate.
The next day after school was over, Shampoo headed over to the restaurant. She groaned as she realized that Ryoga had followed her out of the schoolyard. She was concerned about Ukyo, she had missed school again today, and last night had been very quiet. 'Today, I talk ta her,' Shampoo thought.
"Shampoo!!" Ryoga called out as he chased her down the street.
"Stop chasing me, Ryoga," she replied, looking back over her shoulder. She ran down the street as fast as she could, trying to lose Ryoga. She cursed under her breath, thinking, 'How come this always happens to me?'
Ryoga continued to follow her. "Shampoo!" he called again, "Wait for me!"
As they ran by, a silent figure stood watching, hiding on one of the rooftops. The figure's face twisted with rage, as he thought, 'So, there's someone else chasing my beloved Xian Pu. Well, as she always used to say, Obstacles are for killing!' The figure chuckled grimly while he thought, 'Now to find that animal Saotome.' Silently the figure disappeared from view.
Later that afternoon, Shampoo entered the Ucchan's. Ukyo looked up from the grill, where she was cooking a seafood okonomiyaki. She looked like death warmed over. "Hi, sugar, where's Ryoga? Ukyo asked, "I thought you were going to bring him to work."
"Sorry, Ukyo, I forgot. I left him behind. I got so tired of hearing him say he loved me and wanted to date me," Shampoo said with a sigh. Ukyo echoed her sigh, looking sad. "What's the matter, Ukyo?" Shampoo asked, "I didn't think you cared that much about Ryoga."
"No, it's not that. At least you have someone who says he loves you," Ukyo replied, "Even if he is a bit crazy, and turns into a pig when wet. The person I love decided that he loved someone else. I can't even blame either of them, since I never told him how I felt. I never really pursued him very hard, just the occasional hug and bringing him lunch."
Shampoo shook her head. "Ukyo, it wouldn't have mattered if you had. There were only two women he was ever really interested in. You never had a chance. I'm just glad that Ranma never had to choose between Akane and Kasumi, because I don't think he could have ever done it," she said softly.
"If only I hadn't messed up the one time he got the courage to ask me out on a date. I know he was just trying to be friendly and get to know me again, but it still meant a lot to me. We'd had such a good time up until he brought me home. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did when he changed into a girl as I was kissing him goodnight. I tried to apologize, but it was too late. He never wanted to go out with me again even though I asked him out several times. I never did find out the bitch who threw the water balloons, either," Ukyo said with a sigh.
"Ouch, you know you really hurt him. He's very sensitive about that," Shampoo said. Ukyo looked so downcast that Shampoo hugged her.
"Shampoo! Why'd you leave me behind? If I hadn't have run into these two, and followed them, I never would have made it to work tonight," Ryoga said as he entered the restaurant. Ranma and Akane followed him in. Ukyo paled as she saw them holding hands.
Ranma whispered, "Thanks for understanding, Acchan. I need to do this for her." Then he said to Ukyo, "Ucchan, can I talk ta ya in private?"
Wordlessly, she nodded and led him upstairs to her apartment. They sat down next to each other. Ranma fidgeted nervously and then said, "Ucchan, I'm sorry I hurt ya so bad. I didn't realize that you were in love with me. I just thought you were only interested in me as a way to regain your honor. I should've known better. Ya got ta understand that I don't love ya, though. I love Akane, and once we're old enough, I plan to marry her. I know ya found out that we're a couple yesterday at school."
"Yeah, I heard. First, Nabiki made sure she told me, and then you confirmed it. It's funny, I think she was expecting me to go ballistic and attack one of you. That would've made a lot of sense, wouldn't it?" Ukyo said, bitterly, "Trying to win your love by fighting you or Akane. That would make me as bad as Kuno. No, all I can do now is wait and hope that you fall out of love with Akane, and I like her too much to wish that to happen. Pathetic, aren't I?"
Ranma winced, hearing the pain and bitterness in her voice. "Ucchan, don't waste any more of your life chasing me, please. You deserve better than that," he said gently, "You're a wonderful girl. I'm just not the guy for ya."
Ukyo began to weep. She said, "Dammit, I did enough of this yesterday, I promised myself I wouldn't do it again." Ranma looked helplessly at his friend, and then held her in his arms while she cried. After a few minutes, she composed herself, and Ranma released her. "Ranma, thank you," she said softly. She reached over and kissed him for a long moment, and then said, "I think we better go downstairs now. I'm sure I have customers waiting," Ukyo said. They rose from the couch and headed downstairs.
Akane was waiting at the foot of the stairs. She asked, "Ukyo, you're still planning on coming to the party tonight, aren't you? You're our friend, and I want you there."
"Yeah, I'll be there for a little while. We'll close early tonight and Shampoo and I will come. I don't want to lose our friendship, Akane, but it's gonna be awkward for a while," Ukyo said.
"Ryoga is coming as well. I still think he's a bit of a jerk for picking fights with Ranma, but he's not too bad otherwise. He promised to behave," Akane said, "We better run, Ranma, we still have schoolwork to do before dinner." Ranma nodded, and they went out the door.
"How'd it go with her?" Akane asked, as she walked with Ranma, holding his hand.
"As rough as I feared. I think once she cried herself out on my shoulder, though, she was over the worst of it. She did steal a kiss like I told ya I thought she would. I like your kisses an awful lot better, though," Ranma said, "Thanks for trusting me." He turned her around facing him and kissed her. "Yep, definitely like yours better!" he said.
Akane smiled happily. "We're need to hurry, Ranma," she said. Ranma picked her up and started running.
Ukyo felt a little better. As soon as she walked into the Tendo home, Akane had hugged her. Then she had whispered, "If you're up to it, why don't sit next to Ranma, too."
And that's what happened. Ranma found himself sitting between Ukyo and Akane. Shampoo was a little nervous, Ryoga had managed to sit next to her, but to her surprise, he had been a complete gentleman. The meal was again one of Kasumi's best.
Nodoka said to Kasumi, "This was wonderful, Kasumi. I want those recipes from you."
After they finished eating, Ranma and Kasumi went into the kitchen. Shortly, they came out, Ranma carrying the presents, and Kasumi carrying the birthday cake. She lit the candles, and set the cake down in front of Akane. Akane thought for a while, and then blew out all of the candles. "I hope your wish was a good one. Mine came true after all," he whispered to her.
Her heart in her eyes, she turned and whispered, "You wished that we would get together." He smiled and nodded. Akane smiled back at him. After everyone had gotten their fill of the cake, Akane began to open her presents. Kasumi, practical as ever, had given her a cookbook, entitled "Zen and the Martial Art of Cooking." Tofu had given her a book on pressure points. Nabiki had given her several CDs. Her father had given her a bracelet. Shampoo and Ukyo had given her some clothing. Nodoka and Gemna had given her a trip for two to a hot springs resort. Ranma raised his eyebrows at that. Akane just blushed. The present she especially liked was the one she got from Ranma. He had given her a folio containing photographs from the play, signed by all of the cast and crew, with a copy of the program. "This is the best birthday that I have ever had," she said, "Thank you all very much." Ukyo and Ryoga soon took their leave, since they all still had school the next day. Nodoka and Kasumi dragged a protesting Nabiki into the kitchen to help clean up, while Gemna and Soun did their normal after dinner activity of drinking sake and cheating at shogi. Shampoo went to the room she shared with Gemna and Nodoka and began working on her schoolwork. Ranma and Akane soon found themselves up on the roof. They sat comfortably together, arms around each other as they stared at the sky.
"Akane, I've been thinking. I think you're ready for some heavier training. Your balance is excellent, your speed is getting pretty good, and your moves are nice. I think it's time that you learn some of the ki attacks," Ranma said, "That means we need to go on a training trip or two. If they are interested, I thought we might ask Kasumi and Tofu if they wanted to go."
She hugged Ranma, and said, "That would be wonderful, Ranma! They need a chance to be away from all of this too. You and I will have so much fun. Oh well, we need to go back in and finish that blasted schoolwork."
Ranma grimaced and agreed. They spent the rest of the evening working on their schoolwork, taking time out for the occasional bout of laughter, usually followed by a bit of kissing. While it certainly took longer to get the homework down, it was much more enjoyable that way. Finally, the schoolwork was finished, which was fortunate, because Akane had been yawning for several minutes. Ranma reluctantly kissed Akane good night and then headed off to his room to go to sleep.
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Author's Note: I wrote this chapter deliberately as a Nodoka goes and fixes a problem chapter as homage to all of the fan fictions where she comes in and solves everything. Don't worry, she won't do it again, VEG.
As always, comments and criticisms are welcome. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and don't worry; I plan on several more chapters. There's a lot of ideas percolating, I just need to get them to gel.