Content Warning for some disturbing imagery

An Honorable Lie
By: Jaqui K

Chapter 2: Mother and Daughter, Teacher and Student

She looked around at the inky blackness surrounding her in every direction, unsure where she currently was. Something she couldn't quite make out was directly between her eyes, partially obscuring her vision. However, when she tried to reach up to remove whatever it was, she found that she was unable to move either of her arms.

A noise from below caused her to look down, where she now saw the dark silhouette of a figure kneeling away from her. In front of this person was a low table, upon which was a handleless blade wrapped in cloth.

W-what? Where am I? What's happening?

"Ranma Saotome," came a voice that she quickly realized was her own. "You have failed in your vow towards me. Do you admit this?"

"Yes, Mother," the figure said in a neutral tone. "I admit my failure."

No. No, please. Not this.

She felt her hand moving over to her side. Looking there, she saw the hand gripping the handle of her family katana. She tried as hard as she could to resist, but was unable to keep herself from drawing the blade and holding it above her head. "You know what you must do then," she heard herself say.

No. Don't. Stop this please!

Silently, the silhouetted person reached forward and grabbed the tanto from the table. Holding the blade out in front of them, they paused for just a moment before trusting it into their abdomen.

She quickly looked up to avoid the sight, only to find a mirror hanging in the void in front of her. Her eyes widened as her reflection showed a talisman attached to her forehead. Even with it appearing reversed, she was able to make out the words written on the long thin piece of paper: 'Man Among Men'.

"It's okay, Mommy," said a tiny voice beneath her.

She looked down to find a very young, red haired girl looking back up at her. Even with the stream of blood and viscera continuously spilling onto the ground, the girl had a smile on her face. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to be the manly son you wanted," she said, "but now at least honor can be restored." The girl turned back around and leaned her head forward, exposing her neck. "I'm ready."

She felt the arms above her head getting ready to perform the downward slash of her sword. She tried to look away once more, but found that even this was no longer possible. She then tried closing her eyes, but it was as if her eyelids no longer existed. All she could do was look down at the red haired girl as she felt herself perform the final sword stroke.

No, please don't. Please stop. Stop it. Stop it! STOP IT!

X

Nodoka stumbled out of her house into her backyard, squinting her eyes slightly at the still morning sunlight. The previous night was particularly rough for her. While she would be ever grateful for the undeserved mercy of not remembering the details upon awakening, she still knew exactly what the nightmare was about. On top of that, while the frequency in which she experienced the dream tended to vary throughout the year, increasing to sometimes as many as twice in one week during early August around a certain child's birthday, this was the first time she ever experienced it two nights in a row.

That only served to reinforce her decision from the previous day. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, feeling the softness of the grass on her bare feet and her long ponytail lightly swishing behind her, casually noting how well the keikogi jacket and hakama pants still fit her after more than a decade in storage. She let herself get used to the feel of the bokken at her side, simultaneously preferring the familiarity of her katana and knowing how foolish it would most likely be to have right now. Then, after a moment of silent stillness, her eyes shot open and she sprung into action, quickly drawing the wooden blade into a slashing motion in front of her, immediately followed by a pivot of the feet and a follow up strike to the second invisible opponent at her side, finishing with a return to her previous position and placing the bokken back at her side, sheathing it.

A moment of pause and Nodoka continued again, drawing the blade into a strike, then pivoting this time in the other direction to-

Her foot caught on the grass and she stumbled forward slightly, the wooden sword banging into her thigh. The expression on her face showed the slightest of a grimace as she caught herself and returned back to the starting position. This time she gave herself two full moments before once again drawing the blade.

As Nodoka practiced, she did her best to avoid any distractions, focusing completely on her forms and nothing else. However, it seemed that the rust was not quite as thick as she initially thought and, after only a couple more stumbles, she was soon able to go through the routines with little thought, allowing her mind to wander to other things.

Draw, Slash, Pivot, Upward Strike, Reset

She thought back to the time shortly before her child was born. The arguments about training. She, hoping to pass on her own family's sword styles. Genma, desperately wanting an heir to his Anything Goes style which he said would allow him to unite his school with his friend's.

Draw, Slash, Pivot, Diagonal Slash, Reset

After much discussion, it was finally decided that if the child was a girl, Nodoka would train her in her style, and if the child was a boy, then Genma would be the trainer of his. That man seemed pretty satisfied at the decision, claiming that only a boy would be suitable to properly reunite the schools and he had absolutely no use for a girl. And, of course, the dice came up as Han, odd, in his favor.

Block, Draw, Slash, Pivot, Downward Strike, Reset

She was certainly happy for and loved her young son, but still she couldn't help but hold a desire for a daughter as well. Genma, however, had absolutely no interest in any more children. After all, he already got the heir he wanted. And if she was being honest with herself, with the amount of difficulties and hardships and compromises it took to have Ranma, she found that she wasn't sure if she would be able to go through that again, especially with the likelihood that the dice would just end up on Han again.

Block, Draw, Slash, Dodge, Pivot, Horizontal Strike, Reset

Of course, all those worries become moot when her baby was taken away fro-when Genma took Ranma on that training trip, insisting that a Mother's influence was weakening the child. That her son needed this in order to become a true man.

Dodge Back, Block, Draw, Slash, Dodge Left, Pivot, Strike, Reset

But now it seems she truly got her wish after all. The dice themselves rebelled and shifted to Chō, to even. She now had the daughter she always wanted. A daughter to train. A daughter to be with. A daughter for whom she'd find a way to make up for more than a decade of time stolen. A daughter who had to grow up for heaven knows how long without any parents. Why else would Genma not currently be there with her?

Dodge Back, Block, Draw, Horizontal Slash, Dodge Right, Pivot, Downward Stri-

Nodoka blinked as she realized her hands were now empty. Looking over, she was able to find her bokken now partially embedded into a nearby tree. She walked over slowly to retrieve her sword, trying her best to ignore the image once again swirling through her mind, and failing utterly. It seemed there must have been some new details in her latest nightmare as one part actually reached her waking memories. One tiny detail that managed to make its way through to her consciousness: a brief flash of bright red hair slowly falling to the ground.

The rest of the week was a blur that seemed never ending. The training to get back to some resemblance of teaching shape was grueling, and the other kind of learning she received from a trip to Shinjuku Ni-chome was a completely different ordeal. Finally, though, it was Friday afternoon and Nodoka found herself once more in front of the Tendo's front gate. She was again clad in the comforting feel of her kimono, her hair back in its crown style braid, her wrapped katana safely back in her arms.

Taking one more moment to prepare, she went up to the front door and found it unlocked. Entering the house, she called out, "Hello. Is anyone home?" She got no response, but heard voices coming from the back, so made her way over there. "Excuse me. I hope you don't mind, but I went and let myself in." In the back hallway, she found Akane and Nabiki, still in their school uniforms. Nodoka smiled, properly remembering her ruse and what she needed to do for her daughter. "Ah, hello. Is Ranma back from his mission yet?"

"Uhh…" Akane mumbled out, obviously nervous. Nodoka felt sympathy for her. From her previous interactions, it was clear the girl fully supported Ranko's decision. And now here she was having to also lie to protect someone she cared for.

"Oh, Auntie Saotome!"

Speaking of her daughter, Nodoka looked out the open back door and found the little redhead currently sitting in the koi pond, along with her pet panda. "Oh, Ranko, dear. What are you doing in there?"

Ranko gave a big laugh while rubbing the back of her head. "Well, Mr. Panda and I were playing in the yard and I wasn't paying attention ta where we were so we both fell in."

"I see. You should learn to be more careful, dear," Nodoka said with a well rehearsed smile as she helped Ranko out of the pond.

The redheaded girl's own smile faltered as she looked to the ground. "Sorry, Auntie. Ranma's busy on another mission."

This time, the smile Nodoka gave was able to be genuine. Yes, her child was quite busy it seemed. She heard the stories in the market about a bull-headed monster terrorizing a nearby public bath and the pigtailed youth that valiantly fought against it. Most of the gossipers talked about a boy named Ranma performing the deed, which managed to let Nodoka know that her daughter had not completely revealed her true self to the world just yet. All the more reason to tread lightly then.

"That's alright, dear. I know I'll be properly reunited with my child soon enough. Actually, there's something I would like to discuss with you."

The young girl looked up in surprise. "R-really? With me?"

"Yes. Now, go and get cleaned up. We'll talk when you're done."

"Okay, Auntie," Ranko responded enthusiastically as she headed into the house.

"Oh, and if you would, please change into something more proper for a young lady," Nodoka made sure to call out.

"Okay, Auntie," a somewhat less enthusiastic voice from inside called back.

Nodoka took a relaxed position at the table in the Tendo's family room, mentally preparing herself for what she was going to say. She had spent the better part of the week on it, and even now she was still trying to put together the right words, when Akane came up to the table with a tray of drinks. She thanked the girl and took one, casually noting the others that were here while she took a sip. Nabiki, who had a hint of worry under her calm exterior. Soun, who as usual carried his worry right on his sleeve. And…wait, someone was missing. "Where's Kasumi?"

"She's a bit under the weather at the moment," Akane said.

"Oh dear. It's not anything serious, is it?"

"No, she just needs to rest," Soun replied while using a handkerchief to wipe his tears. "The housework is taking something of a hit though."

Nodoka looked around at the current state of the family room. "Yes…I see." It was odd. When she was growing up and her mother was sick, she and her sisters made sure to pick up any slack the moment they were home from school. With three other girls in the house, they should be quick to help out however they could. Clearly an example would need to be made. "Is there anything I could help with? Oh, perhaps I could make dinner."

"Really?" called out three voices as the mood in the room seemed to brighten immediately. Nodoka directed her attention to the voice coming from the doorway and found her daughter now wearing a yellow and white sundress along with a white bow at the end of her braid. Although the dress was nice and certainly more ladylike, she could tell it was more than a bit threadbare. Oh dear, if this is the best outfit she has, that will definitely need to be corrected. One thing at a time though.

"Ranko, that outfit looks very lovely on you. And yes, I would be happy to cook for everyone tonight. I could use an assistant, though. Perhaps you would be willing to help me?"

"M-me, Auntie?"

"Of course. Every girl should learn how to properly cook. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure."

"Um, Auntie?"

Nodoka turned to see Akane with a hurt look in her eyes. "Is something wrong, dear?"

"Why didn't you ask for my help?"

The elder Saotome managed to hide her disappointment underneath her calm expression. Truthfully, she wanted a way to spend some one-on-one time with her daughter. However, she just finished saying every girl should learn and the poor child looked so eager. "Well, I suppose the kitchen is big enough for two assistants. Yes, I would be happy for your help."

Nodoka blinked as she felt a sudden gloom envelop the room and she saw the expressions of the other three. "Oh dear, is there something wrong?"

Akane sighed and looked down. "Well, to be honest I'm not that great at cooking."

"Not that great?!" Ranko repeated back with a sardonic tinge in her voice.

Akane grabbed a shinai that was under the table for some reason and held the bamboo training sword menacingly towards the redhead, in a manner that sparked Nodoka's interest. "And just what are you implying?"

Ranko took up a defensive stance opposite the other girl. "Oh, come on. Like ya don't know."

"Now, now. Settle down, girls." While this was making Nodoka feel nostalgic for the arguments she and her sisters got up to, there were obviously more important and proper things to deal with at the moment. "Don't worry, Akane dear. I'll help teach you."

"Really? You'll do that for me, Auntie."

"Yes, I'm sure I can make a fine cook out of you."

Soun quickly rushed over to her, tears once again pouring out of his eyes. "Is it true? Will you really be able to cure Akane?"

"It's not a disease, Dad," Nabiki retorted.

"Yes, Soun," Nodoka continued. "The girl just needs a few proper lessons." Quietly she wondered why Kasumi had not bothered to provide said lessons, but she knew well enough not to state such things out loud. "Isn't that right, Ranko?" Looking around, she found her daughter suddenly missing. "…Ranko?"

"Right here, Auntie!" the girl called out while reentering the room. "Sorry 'bout that. Mr. Panda just wanted something from me."

"Oh, that's fine, dear. Now, are you ready to help me with dinner?"

The redhead gave a huge smile. "Absolutely! More than anything in the world, Auntie!"

Nodoka, now clad in an apron, smiled as she looked over at her two assistants as they finished putting on their own aprons. "Now girls, make sure you both wash up properly as well. That's the first important thing before handling any food."

"Yes, Auntie," they both responded.

She hummed to herself as she got the ingredients needed on the counter. Ranko didn't need to know, but this cooking lesson would also provide the perfect opportunity for Nodoka to assess her potential new student beforehand. "Alright. Ranko, would you be a dear and cut up the vegetables for me?"

"Sure, Auntie!" Ranko said with a big smile on her face.

"Wait, you can do that, Ranko?" Akane asked.

"Oh can I?" Ranko said while picking up a knife and casually twirling it in her hand. "Watch this!"

Nodoka watched carefully as her daughter tossed several of the vegetables in the air. The girl then leapt up to slightly above them and quickly made a few slashes in the air. The now symmetrically sliced up vegetables all landed in a neat pattern into the bowl on the countertop as Ranko casually landed, performing one more quick flourish with her knife.

Excellent handling of the blade. Impeccable control. Peak performance. However, there is much to be said about her rashness as well.

"Excellent work, Ranko. That was a wonderful presentation."

Somehow, the grin on the young redhead's face managed to get even wider. "Ah, it was nothin' special."

"Now, it would have been even more wonderful if you remembered to properly wash the vegetables first."

"Heh, oops."

"Don't just brush this off, Ranko dear. You should take it as a perfect learning opportunity about-" Nodoka stopped as she felt something hit the back of her head. Turning around, she saw Akane quite aggressively cutting up one of the remaining vegetables.

Hmm, a lot of power and spirit going into the blade. Precision, however, could certainly use much improvement.

"There, done!" Akane declared with a satisfied look.

"Yes, that was excellent as well," Nodoka said. She then held up two very different sized bits of carrot. "Though next time, let's make sure to cut the pieces more evenly, shall we?" As a demonstration, she grabbed a few of the remaining carrots and cucumbers. After being sure to properly wash them first, she went over to her own cutting board and demonstrated her technique, making quick but precise and even cuts. She then took the sliced pieces and placed them in the wok on the stove. "You see," she continued while carefully stirring the bits of vegetables, "when they are all the same size, they will cook more evenly."

"Oh, I get it now. That's why there were hard chunks in my cooking before."

"That's cuz they were chunks of wood!" Ranko yelled out from the side.

Nodoka paused, then gave Akane the task of stirring the vegetables. She went to where the girl was chopping and looked over the splintered remains of the cutting board. Yes, precision will need to be a priority for her.

"What the heck are you doing?!"

She turned towards her daughter's cry to see Akane pouring a bottle into the wok. "I'm putting in white wine for flavor. Just like all great chefs do," she declared as she held up the very obvious bottle of vegetable oil. Nodoka very calmly walked over and pulled the girl back by her apron string moments before the contents of the wok burst into a fiery inferno.

"That is a good idea, but next time do make sure to actually use the wine." Making sure to use the right ingredients. Also a priority for her it would seem.

"Don't worry, I got this," Akane said as she went over to the sink and started filling up a bucket of water.

"No!" Ranko shrieked while rushing over to stop her.

Right. Priority number three: not burning down the kitchen.

After they got the fire correctly extinguished, Nodoka took the wok with the burnt food out to the porch. "Here you are, Mr. Panda. I have some food for you!" Well, at least we can make use of any mistakes to feed Ranko's pet.

Fortunately, there were still plenty of ingredients left to salvage things. She tasked the girls with peeling some potatoes as she started to get everything needed. As she was retrieving the meat for the main course, she suddenly found two plates of food presented in front of her.

"Auntie Nodoka," Akane said.

"Can you please tell us what you think of our dishes?" Ranko finished.

Nodoka was set to remind them that this wasn't a competition and that their task was to make dinner for the whole family, but the eager looks on their faces stopped her. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to use this as another teaching moment. "Oh, of course I would, dears. Here, let me try Ranko's first."

She took the plate of what she instantly recognized as vegetable stir-fry, grabbed a piece with a pair of chopsticks and took a bite. She made note of the interesting combination of seasonings combined with almost a smoky flavor. It reminded her more than a little of campfire food, which certainly made sense as her daughter was most definitely the one to provide the cooking on her trip.

"Very delicious, Ranko."

"Really? You mean that?" Ranko asked with a gleam in her eyes.

"Of course, dear," Nodoka said, placing a hand reassuringly on the girl's head. "Your future husband is going to be a very lucky man."

"Oh." Ranko's expression immediately turned glum, which was perfectly understandable. Still, if her child was going to be a proper woman, it would be best for her to understand sooner rather than later the sacrifices a woman must make to exist within society.

"Alright, now for Akane's." She looked over the plate of what was probably vegetable stir-fry that was a bit charred, grabbed a piece, and carefully placed it in her mouth. She noted the unusual combination of seasonings amidst the burnt flavor. It wasn't anything she recognized. Tentatively, she bit into the charred piece to taste the flavors within-

As Nodoka came to, she realized she was leaning back on her feet and that Ranko was holding her up. "I-I'm sorry," Akane said with a devastated look on her face.

"It's alright, dear. Be sure to keep trying." Making sure the food is edible. Certainly another priority. Well, at least Mr. Panda will enjoy it.

Nodoka needed to work on finishing dinner, so she decided to have the girls observe as she went through her routine. Occasionally, she would give them relatively simple tasks to perform, like starting the broth or setting the eggs to boil. She would also use tasks as opportunities for lessons, such as having Akane retrieve ingredients for her as a way to show how to properly read the labels, or having Ranko set up the prepwork to show the importance of making sure one is fully ready before going into a task.

In what felt like no time at all, she had almost all of the meal prepared and ready to be served. "Great work, girls. Akane, are the boiled eggs finished yet?"

"Oh no, the eggs! I completely forgot about them," Akane said.

"Great job, dummy," Ranko said with derision.

"Now, now. Be nice, dear," Nodoka lightly chided. "We can simply adapt. We'll put the eggs to boil now and they'll be a nice extra dessert when we're done eating."

"Oh, I can get them done quickly. Don't worry," Akane responded.

Nodoka smiled and shook her head slightly as she set a pot of water onto the stove. "Sorry, Akane, dear. Boiling pretty much has a set amount of time required."

"Yeah, but that's what microwaves are for."

Nodoka nodded in agreement before freezing as Akane's words fully registered to her. Hearing Ranko yell once more, she managed to turn just in time to see the explosions in the microwave blowing the door fully off of its hinges. As she watches the door sail through the air towards the miniature hot water heater above the sink, Nabiki stuck her head into the kitchen. "Hey, Kasumi says the pipe on the water heater is getting loose so-"

As if on queue, the microwave door crashed into said pipe, causing it to dislodge and spray hot water over most of the kitchen.

"-Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore," Nabiki finished.

The spray quickly slowed to a trickle and thankfully the water was not scalding. Still, Nodoka could only look over the now completely ruined food on the table. Perhaps we move 'not destroying the kitchen' to priority number one. The shaky voice of Akane off to the side distracted her from her thoughts however.

"Wha…what have I done?"

"Akane?" Nodoka turned to see the girl curled up on the floor, crying.

"I'm so sorry!" Akane managed to get out between sobs.

"Hey, it's alright, dear," Nodoka said while kneeling down and comfortingly rubbing Akane's back.

"I promise I'll never try to cook again."

"Now, now. Don't give up. You are still learning after all."

"Yeah right. Did you ever do anything near this bad when you were learning?"

Nodoka gave a smile. "Well, let's just say after my first time cooking for my family, it took my father three weeks before he could walk again."

Akane paused, looked over to Nodoka for a moment, and then looked down towards the floor. "...for me, it took my dad four weeks."

"There, you see? That shows you are improving."

"You…you think so?"

"Absolutely. Besides, I know who you're doing this for."

"You do?"

"Yes, you want to learn to cook for the sake of my child. For Ran…ma. So for that, you will stop at nothing. And I'll be here to help you achieve that goal."

"Oh. Thank you, Auntie."

"Good. Now let's get everything cleaned up and…where did Ranko go? Oh dear, I hope the hot water wasn't too much for her."

Soon afterwards, Nodoka was sitting at the table along with everyone else enjoying dinner. "Now, doesn't that taste good?" she asked as she calmly and properly ate her cup noodles.

"Yes, quite good," Soun simply responded.

"Delicious," Nabiki quietly agreed.

"You see? Akane boiled the water herself. Isn't that great, Ranko dear?"

"Yeah, great," Ranko muttered.

Nodoka smiled and then focused on her own meal. While the cooking lessons were certainly an interesting and informative distraction, now it was time to focus on what she came here for. Once everyone was finished, she calmly set her empty cup on the table and retrieved her katana. "Ranko, it's time for us to have a talk."

"O-oh. What did you want to talk about, Auntie?"

Nodoka stared down at the table, not wanting to see her daughter's eyes for risk of losing her nerve. "Hopefully, an opportunity to right several wrongs," she declared as she unsheathed the blade.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

The Saotome mother took a deep breath, preparing herself for what was next. Obviously an outright lie would be doomed to fail as cracks would inevitably begin to form. No, what was needed was the unbreakable veneer of a truth covering the deception. Though, to build up such a thing would first require shattering the initial flawed lie.

"Ranko, I know that you are not Akane's cousin."

The sound of someone quickly backing away caused her to turn and find her daughter trembling with her back against the wall. Looking around, she saw the Tendos with terrified looks and Mr. Panda gone completely.

"What are you talking about, Auntie?" Akane said in a nervous voice. "Of course she's my cousin."

"Akane, I knew your mother quite well, and she did not have any siblings." She then turned to the Tendo father. "And neither do you, correct?"

Soun just froze, not saying a word.

Nodoka turned to Ranko, who still had her back against the wall, but now had her head hung low. She steeled herself for what she had to say next, the words that would be the most difficult for her, precisely because she knew they were also the complete and absolute truth.

"Ranko, your parents abandoned you, didn't they?"

The redheaded girl looked up in surprise. "W-what?"

Nodoka managed to maintain her gentle expression despite her mind briefly flashing back to a memory of her young child holding her hand and excitedly pointing to several dresses in a store window. "They couldn't accept you for the young woman you want to be. The young woman you really are. So they abandoned you. Or perhaps you did the brave and sensible thing and ran away from them. That's why you are here, isn't it? The Tendos were kind enough to take you in." She gave a smile in Akane's direction. "That was very nice of them to do."

Ranko paused for a moment, glanced over to Akane, and then looked off to the side with a slightly wistful expression. "Yeah. It's nice having a home."

Nodoka smiled and went over to her daughter. Placing her sword carefully at her side, she knelt down and lightly cupped the girl's face with her hand. "And now I would like to help you out as well. Perhaps, if it's possible, you can do the same for me."

"What do you mean?"

"When my child was born, it was agreed that my husband would be the one to pass off his martial art knowledge. Part of me had hoped that one day, I would also have a daughter I could pass my family's style onto. It never happened though, and when they left on their trip I had completely given up on that dream. However, when you saved me that day, it made me realize I now have an opportunity to finally correct my mistake."

"W-wait," Ranko said with amazement in her eyes. "Are…are you asking me to…to…"

Backing up slightly, Nodoka took her sword and presented it in front of her with both hands while bowing her head.

"Ranko, will you agree to become my heir?"