Author's Note: Please note that I am not familiar with Japanese legal proceedings aside from what I've seen online in research and what is in the Ace Attorney video games. There will certainly be errors and inconsistencies.
Tribun: Yes, Genma got a lot of karma all at once. Much of his effort to avoid justice relied on deluded people with their honor being manipulated, people catching up to him one at a time, or his son acting as an unwilling barrier taking the brunt of the fallout. Now that the people involved are working together to such a degree and Ranma isn't there to nor even expected to shoulder the fallout, Genma gets his. Also, while more elaborate cat masks like those the ANBU wear would be far more effective, this was an effort thrown together that was built to fit around bulky late-1970s infrared vision headsets with something contemporary that they could get in a hurry. So, Hello Kitty merch it was. It also seemed to touch upon the humor inherent in Ranma 1/2, so I went with it.
I'm glad someone noticed that the sexist Genma's final defeat came at the hands of a little girl and appreciated the meaning. That was intentional.
I had considered Ranma not finding out about Ran's existence until later and surprising him with the Amazons, but I couldn't justify it. Ran is not just intimately aware of Ranma's suffering due to Amazon laws applied to an extreme, but also of the suffering of every cursed girl that ever got objectified or mistreated in such a manner. Warning Ranma about potential forced marriages trumps blindly helping Cologne's ambitions.
She would at least send a letter as soon as she could to the Dojo to let him know she was around even without merged ki-space. Merged ki-space already existed by the time I made my decision, and correspondence through it was a natural progression. His past still has consequences, though what sticks and what doesn't remain to be seen. As far as Ranma not lying to Ukyo, it doesn't seem to be in his nature to overtly lie. Doubly so when he's put on the spot. He told what truth he felt like Ukyo could understand.
Yes, Happosai shot himself in the foot a bit. He definitely faces risks he's ignorant of and is at a disadvantage, though I don't know if he'd extort a six-year-old child into fighting for him. Depends on how much of Ranma's story he learns in that time, and if his mind ever truly manages to associate the six-year-old body with an eighteen-year-old adolescent.
Ran has the maternal experience and instincts of many different women who have mothered children, including the regret of many of them at being unable to protect their offspring. She will protect those children in her care and she will try to raise them as best she can. Any embarrassment or confusion Girl Ranma may have had at doing so is overwhelmed by this berth of experience and memory. Ran also knows how important it is to parlay this event into an understanding of the importance of personal honor. Separating honor from the madness that is Joketsuzoku law? That may be another issue entirely.
Yes, this is a chapter of change, even if Ranma isn't aware of all of what happened on the Japan side yet.
WiseMack - I went with the manga age of 118 for Cologne, and subtracted ten years since this is ten years in the past. References to 300+ years old were anime-only, and I chose the age that made more sense.
Chapter 16: Freedom versus Obligation
Genma groggily opened his eyes, the bound man sedated but coming to in what seemed to be a complex chair of sorts. He was uncomfortable, restricted, sore, and lacking pants. Those things all combined into one instance were rarely a good sign. Everything around him seemed to have a dim blue tint to it and, when his eyes focused, he was aware of a strange fish with a lure on its head looking straight at him. Eyes widening, the man held his breath for several tense moments until he realized he was surrounded by air...and a strange transparent chamber connected to an array of tubes. This chamber was in turn surrounded by water. If he looked hard enough into the distance, he could see uniformed soldiers and police looking at the various creatures in the room and a few pointing at him.
With a flicker, a television in front of his seat turned on and a man in a suit was visible seated at a desk. Genma vaguely felt that this man was familiar, but didn't know exactly where he'd seen him before. "Mister Saotome, can you hear me? You should be able to speak now."
Genma, more than a bit disturbed by the surreal experience, narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I can hear you. What is all this? Who are you?" He slurred his words a bit, still not in full control of his motor skills due to the sedatives.
The man gave a smile, one which indicated a pleasure in his job which was rarely paralleled. "Oh, I'm the police detective whose arm you broke in Sapporo. My name is Hideki Nogura, and I've been chasing you all over Japan ever since you ran away from your fight with Mister Tachibana. I also designed your current accommodations. Welcome to the Pressurized Exhibit for Exotic Sea Life at Sunshine Aquarium in East Ikebukuro. The aquarium isn't going to be open to the public until next year, but it should hold you well enough for now. The owners of the place get paid for holding you in the meantime and JAXA gets to have its newest space toilet tested. That's why you lack pants, by the way. You'll be in there for long enough to warrant its use. Personally, I wanted to put you in a flooded gold mine at Sado Island, but this is more cost-effective for the short term."
Genma's eyes flashed with anger, but he smirked. "Really? You think you can keep me in your fancy fish tank?"
"You'll die if you try to leave." Detective Nogura said bluntly. "I mentioned that it's the Pressurized Exhibit. That means the pressures of the water around you are even higher than the pressurized chamber you're in right now. Even if your eyes and ears don't sustain harm from the water pressure and you manage to swim away without drowning, you'll either be incapacitated or killed by the bends when you manage to get outside." That made Genma's smirk vanish. It sounded boastful on Detective Nogura's part, but it was merely the minimum amount of information Genma needed to avoid making a stupid mistake. There were other contingencies in play like lacing the air, water, and food Genma consumed with a blend Dr. Tofu recommended for hindering his ki and strength. Genma had no need to know about those measures, however.
"Now that I have your undivided attention...you have the right to remain silent and you have the right to an attorney at your various trials. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Or more than one. You'll need several different lawyers just to handle all the caseload you've generated." Detective Nogura said, informing Genma of his rights.
"Just put my lawyer on," Genma said with irritation.
"What, you think this is one of those American crime dramas where a lawyer holds your hand through the whole process? The laws are different here, Saotome. Especially since you went against the military and made yourself an enemy of the Emperor and the Diet. You'll see the lawyers at your trials, through this screen, and not before. We're not foolish enough to have you sit in the courtroom, either. Either you'd escape or your wife would probably humble you again." Genma grumbled in response to the man's comments, finding that the latter was very likely. He felt weakened and knew that his wife and the collection of martial artists they had at their disposal could handle him readily in his current condition.
"That's all I have for now. There's a re-run of your performance on NHK General TV in fifteen minutes. The buttons for the television are on your armrest." With that, the man vanished from the screen and the scene was replaced with the tail end of a replay of the Takato Rhythmic Gymnastics Exhibition. Genma was left wondering if he could escape from this and if the Master would even bother helping him if he couldn't.
Nodoka had stopped at her home after Genma was situated and secure, or at least as secure as a man that wily could be. She half-expected him to escape again, but she couldn't be on watch 24/7. There came a point where she would have to trust the authorities to manage her husband. Fortunately, they were quite serious in doing so. The woman started going through the mail and tending to what bills needed to be paid in the interim, reminding herself she had an appointment to keep soon with her lawyer. Attorneys had descended upon her like vultures since the footage from Takato, volunteering their services to help her divorce and sue her husband, but one young woman who was a defense attorney had been preparing for the case in advance at the request of Detective Nogura. Family Court wasn't the woman's typical area of law, but she had a case ready to go and was clearly competent. Detective Ito also recommended her highly, so Nodoka was hopeful.
Thoughts of these things faded abruptly when the doorbell rang. Wondering who that might be, the embattled mother went to the door and opened it to find a couple she did not expect to see. One was a stern man in a business suit with short, black hair and blue eyes. The other was a woman with long red hair and slightly darker blue eyes.
"Mother...Father..." Nodoka said, having dreaded hearing from these two. They were the ones who insisted she marry Genma in the first place, and what she was about to do would go against tradition. It may well get her disowned.
"May we come in, Nodoka?" Sachiko Saotome inquired of her daughter while her husband Tenma stood silently.
"Ah, of course..." The kimono-clad woman opened the door nervously and allowed her parents to enter the abode. Exchanging their outdoor shoes for house slippers, Nodoka promptly showed them to their places around the table and went to get some tea for her guests. Upon returning from the kitchen, she saw that her father had drawn the Saotome clan's honor blade from its bundle. He was in the process of carefully inspecting the sword. This made Nodoka quite nervous, worried he'd demand she use the blade on herself for her husband's dishonor.
"You've taken fine care of the blade. Well-oiled and protected from wear by your ki. One would not know that it repelled a bullet." Tenma sheathed the blade and put it back in its wrappings, exchanging it for the tea his daughter poured and offered.
"Thank you, Father. It has served as an ever-present reminder of my duty. A duty I have had cause to question as of late, I must confess." She stated, her eyes a bit downcast.
Tenma looked to his daughter from his seated position. "What do you mean, Nodoka?"
Nodoka poured her mother and then herself some tea before sitting down on her knees in the traditional seiza position and gathering her thoughts. Sachiko was clearly a bit tense, and Tenma was unreadable. The abandoned housewife finally elected to speak. "When you told me to marry Genma, I accepted it as my duty regardless of my misgivings. I tolerated his faults for the sake of the family. You told me to obey and be subservient, to sacrifice if needed, which I've done. Heavily."
The woman looked worriedly to her father, but then her expression soon shifted to resolution. "I tolerated abandonment and silence both from you, who decided that I was under the care of my husband and no longer needed a father, and my husband who only wished to part himself from me. And worse still, my child has suffered inexcusably. I have no idea if I will ever see Ranma again because of my mistake in letting him go. Obeying Genma that day was the worst mistake I have ever made."
Continuing to gaze at her father, a man who she both respected and feared, Nodoka spoke softly. "I am simply fortunate that my son has cut ties with his father and has shown an understanding of honor beyond that which Genma could hope to intentionally teach. To protect that and to give my son some semblance of a life, I have little choice in what I must do. I must seek to divorce Genma and claim full custody of my child, even if it goes against tradition."
Tenma was stoic and looked upon his daughter for several tense moments before speaking again. "And the pledge you held so dearly?" Nodoka looked at her father in surprise. "Don't be so surprised. Just because we haven't spoken regularly does not mean I haven't been watching or asking your mother how you are. I'm well aware of the true reason you carry that blade like your child. The seppuku pledge which Genma gave you. I've merely considered your marital problems your own to this point."
Nodoka's head dipped, and a tear began to run down her face. "It was a lie, Father. It was always a lie. Genma used honor as a tool to get what he desires and...has continued that trend. That contract let him get full control of Ranma to where my child was never meant to know that I was alive. It was a mistake on my part that I will not hold against my child."
On hearing this, Tenma stood with the speed and grace of a kendoist in his prime. Nodoka worried that he would be irate or condemn her. She worried he would insist she rethink matters to avoid scandal or dishonor, but instead, he spoke softly and clearly. "Nodoka, there are very few reasons a wife could divorce her husband in ancient tradition. Fortunately, one of those reasons is abandonment. No one in Japan will be able to deny that your situation qualifies. To divorce Genma in these circumstances is not dishonorable. In fact...I have come today to eat crow and recommend it." Tenma would then bow deeply to his confused daughter.
"I formally apologize, No-chan." Tenma said, using her nickname. "I had a parental duty to ensure that the man you married was fit for you. In my haste to find a strong husband that allowed you to retain the Saotome name, I clearly failed in this regard. My failure to intervene at any point thereafter is also inexcusable." He rose, looking to his daughter with slightly softer eyes. "We've both failed as parents, Nodoka, and we both must seek forgiveness from our respective children."
Throwing formality to the wind, Nodoka rose and easily cleared the table before she embraced her father on the other side. She let the tears flow freely from her eyes without concern. "Of course...of course I forgive you, Daddy..." Tenma was awkward in such situations, but he stiffly returned the embrace before allowing it to become natural. The man had never gotten fully accustomed to physical affection, even after marriage. Sachiko simply smiled at the pair, glad that both were willing to work through their mistakes and become a family again.
Now they just had to find Ranma and bring him into the fold.
Ranma and his band of students had put away the okonomiyaki cart, changed into their normal clothes, and proceeded along on foot through the Akaishi Mountains. The trek from the summit of Kamanashiyama to points east was a good chance to train the girls. Kurumi needed to eat a great deal, so this was also an opportunity to teach them how to hunt with their martial arts skills. The girls all had prerequisite survival training, though Ranma hadn't planned on their hesitating to attack a rabbit. They had to settle for catching snakes and fish as a result.
Now the group was standing in the river with rolled-up pants and bare feet, training their precision and fast-twitch muscles to catch fish and put them in baskets. Ranma moved a hand into the spring using a washide hand position and pulled a fish from the water cleanly. Kurumi gave a gasp of awe, having never been able to just grab a fish from the water like that. Truly, a way to inspire Kurumi was to use edible props. Ranma smiled at the thought. "Right, this is a way to both catch food and improve hand-eye coordination. With enough speed, you'll be able to turn this technique into a modified form of Chestnut Fist trainin'. That one uses goldfish instead of bigger fish like this, though."
Kurumi looked to Ranma, processing what he said, before commenting. "What do we make out of the goldfish? Fishsticks?"
Ranma rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't actually cook the goldfish. I'm just sayin' one technique is related to the other. Give it a try and don't get frustrated if you don't get it right away. The more frustrated you get, the less likely it is to work."
With this, the girls got to their training. Ukyo was able to grab fish out of the stream very quickly. The fact that she'd been trying to practice the Chestnut Fist already was reflected in this, and the chef-in-training felt a strong sense of accomplishment from the move. By contrast, Natsume took a while before she was able to grab even a single fish and Kurumi wasn't able to grab any. After about ten minutes of trying, Kurumi began to cry. "I can't...I want fish! I'm hungry! Gah!" The five-year-old girl started to run after fish in the stream with abandon. Ranma wasn't expecting this, having not dealt with this sort of problem in his own training.
"Kurumi!" Natsume said urgently, making the younger sister freeze in place and look over to her elder sibling in spite of her sniffles. "The Master is trying to teach us important skills! Are you so quick to abandon that?" Being called a master in such a way was embarrassing, but the girl had managed to reign in her little sister at least.
"N-no, but it's n-not working..." Kurumi sniffled, her tears falling more slowly than before.
Ranma sighed and focused, trying to think of the right thing to say. Something positive...something positive... "Kurumi, are your hands movin' faster than when you started? Are they more accurate?" Ranma asked after a moment of thought.
Kurumi thought for a moment before giving a timid nod. "Yeah...but not fast enough. I'm still slow."
Ranma gave her a smile. "Well, then it's workin' little by little. You're not s'posed to get it all at once and it ain't a race. Ukyo's just trained more in this. If you don't get it today or tomorrow, keep tryin'. You'll get there someday. We'll share our fish with you until then, though we all might get to eat more once you master it." Ranma knew that hunger was a good motivator, especially for people like him and Kurumi, but he wasn't cruel enough to starve her. Just a little hunger worked too.
"Y-yes, Master!" Kurumi said, drying her eyes and getting an adorably serious expression on her face before trying again. They had okonomiyaki ingredients still, true, but learning how to live off the land was an important part of the Art. Hidden from the children and observing from a tree branch, Happosai regarded the training children below with a warmed heart.
There would be ample time later to teach Ranma about the charms of women. He was unknowingly setting himself up for success in that regard anyway.
After a bit more time, Happosai's care of children went beyond his strictness in training and he decided to 'quietly' help. Careful to use a plastic bag so that it didn't get wet, the aged Grandmaster tossed a small Happo Fire Burst into the water upstream. The bomb bobbed in the water and soon exploded violently. Ranma immediately took a combat stance on hearing the splash and explosion, waiting tensely for several moments.
"Ah! Look! Look!" Kurumi exclaimed, drawing Ranma's attention. A large number of fish, stunned by the underwater shock wave of the explosion, floated downstream toward them. The youngest child started to happily collect the fish, laughing in her excitement. Ukyo and Natsume bore confusion, looking to Ranma. The boy noted scorched and soggy wrappings flowing past them from the bomb, and the familiar tatters caused him to realize the likely source. He couldn't help but be confused. It was a strange feeling, knowing that the old lech was actually being kind for once.
"This is certainly swift, isn't it Ten-chan? It hasn't even been a full day." Sachiko said as she, Tenma, Nodoka, and the lawyer they'd hired entered the Tokyo High and District Court Building in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The building was a High Court and a District Court tied together in one location, selected so that any appeals Genma filed after the District Court decisions were complete could be heard by the higher court without altering the recording and display hardware they'd needed as conditions for Genma's imprisonment.
For today though, they were using the District Court part of the building for its attached Family Court functionality. This was the court allocated to family matters such as annulment, divorce, custody, and some juvenile cases.
"It has to be swift. Genma has lawsuits and criminal charges coming in from all over Japan. To protect Nodoka and the family from the financial consequences of his actions, it is important to ensure that we disentangle her from Genma as soon as possible. Extracting Ranma from his custody sooner than later is also essential lest the courts try to actually honor one of those marriage pledges." Tenma was a traditional man who respected the old way of doing things, but he balked at the selfish things Genma had done and the promises he'd made using honor as a weapon. He regretted not teaching his daughter more regarding the nuances of such things and not intervening sooner. At least his daughter and even his grandson were finally seeing that things had gotten out of hand.
One normally attempted to go through closed proceedings with a Conciliation Committee rather than go straight to adjudication in Family Court, but the nature of the cases involved made it necessary and even more beneficial for Nodoka to move to the more serious stages of the process. There was ample proof of Genma's failings as a husband to justify doing so.
It was with a measure of haste that they were guided into the courtroom. Japan did not have jury trials, but the matter was instead decided by a judge or a panel of judges. In this particular case, there was but a single balding judge sitting at a Judge's Bench at the front of the room facing inward. Against the walls on either side of him were stations belonging to the Defense to his right and the Prosecution to his left. The meaning of these stations differed somewhat in Family Court, but their roles would essentially be comparable in practice this time around. The Witness Stand was facing the judge in the center of the room, and a Defendant's Stand for the accused lay in the back of the room facing inward toward the Witness Stand and Judge's Bench. This station, however, had a large television screen set up. Various cameras were also seen in the room. When everyone had arrived and the time had come, a person spoke.
"It is March 26, 1977, 6:15 PM. Court is now in session." The judge spoke sternly after the screen across the room from him flickered to life. It displayed Genma's face, and his displeased expression indicated that they had his complete attention. "This is most unusual. Why is the husband of this debate not physically present?" The judge inquired.
"I can answer that, your honor." Takefumi Auchi was standing at what was traditionally the Defense's station and currently represented the husband's side. The man was middle-aged and had a comb-over and glasses, clearly overworked. "Genma Saotome is currently incarcerated in expectation of trial as a flight risk under unusual circumstances. As his charges are as of yet unproven, they should not be considered a mark against him in these proceedings. Indeed, his inability to be present should mark this as an illegal trial in absentia." Already the man was in a mode of damage control.
"Objection!" The lawyer for the mother, Chihiro Ayasato, held her arms crossed under her ample bosom. The well-dressed young brunette wore a magatama necklace around her neck and carried a stance of confidence. "While not yet formally convicted, the charges against him build a list of character references who can attest to his nature. He also managed to destroy his restraints and the solid wall of a cell in Kyoto's Prefectural Police Headquarters, proving normal and even extra-ordinary measures inadequate." The woman provided the report of the event to the judge for his reading, and his eyes widened at the images and information.
"These events were so dire that the Diet had to formally intervene and approve the construction of a special underwater cell to contain him. The reason for his remote participation is simply that he is that dangerous to the public and also that likely to escape if not held in the strictest of confinement at all times. Law has simply not fully caught up to the threat he poses, your honor. Fortunately, Family Court matters conducted in absentia aren't held by the same standards as those of criminal court. There are provisions typically employed when one party is abroad or otherwise unavailable."
"Hmm..." The judge pondered the matter. He didn't dare say so, but he had seen the madness at Takato on television that morning. He avoided doing research so as not to come in with preconceptions and thus avoid the need to recuse himself, but there was little question as to the need for this. The reports on what happened to the cell in Kyoto Headquarters were clear. There was also the fact that Miss Ayasato was correct. "There are such provisions in place, typically for American servicemen who married Japanese citizens and have since been redeployed elsewhere. I believe with that precedent in place, and the clear support of the Diet in this matter, we can accept this method since it doesn't hinder Genma Saotome's presence or representation in court."
Takefumi's eye twitched behind his glasses. There went his first defense. Things got worse when Chihiro took a ream of papers and flopped them onto her desk. The Judge blinked as the woman sighed. "These are written testimonies from all over Japan. While I have summaries, I present the un-redacted text to the court for reference and further analysis. We also have contradictory documents signed by Genma Saotome promising his and Nodoka Saotome's son Ranma to various families as proof of fraud. We have photographs, physical evidence, and other proof of his physical and psychological abuse toward Ranma Saotome. We have witnesses to speak on the stated matters. We finally have reports of Mrs. Saotome's expenses and income as well as records of her living situation as compared to her husband's to prove abandonment."
"I...I see...proceed." The Judge said. When the door opened and the judge caught a glimpse of many witnesses waiting in the lobby behind it, and evidence started being wheeled in including a section of a stone pillar with what looked to have claw marks gouged out of it, the Judge knew that this trial might take the rest of the night and into the next few days.
"N-No-chan..." Genma said in concern, looking at the image of his wife showing on his television display with a look of horror. Nodoka did not regard him with a response.
Ranma had traveled quite a distance on this particular day, cutting through the latest population area through Hokuto in the shortest way possible and moving between the group of cities to the south and the forested mountains to the north. He'd normally have ridden atop the Chou line straight into Tokyo, but this was training for the girls. For this and to keep from being observed, Ranma guided the girls along from training site to training site alternately on foot and on the Kinjakan-drawn okonomiyaki cart. The old martial artist watching over them never lost them, as Ranma wasn't interested in cutting the girls' training short for speed at this point. Happosai approved and wasn't being a pain, so Ranma considered the old man a non-threat for the moment.
Due to this pace, which saw them stop at various streams and quarries, evening fell before they could hope to reach Tokyo. The group of four children set up camp in a field just outside of some farmland and started to cook. Kurumi salivated at the various forms of Okonomiyaki being made, while Ranma tended to the rice and other dishes. Everyone had enough grilled fish and snake for the day, though some were kept in ki-space to keep it fresh for later use.
After the group had finished eating, with the exception of Kurumi who was still scarfing down her abnormally large portions of okonomiyaki, they laid on their backs and looked up at the dimming sky.
"Look, one of the stars is out already!" Ukyo said, smiling. The first pinprick of the night's light was indeed visible in the sky.
"That's not a star, Ucchan. That's Venus." Natsume corrected, earning a look of surprise from Ukyo.
"Surprised you know that, Natsume. Did you learn to navigate by the sky?" Ranma asked, impressed. While Ranma had always liked looking at the stars, they served another important purpose in survival. One could tell their direction by way of them. It kept one from getting turned around as easily at night and had been essential knowledge for when he and Pop had been swimming to and from China.
"Yeah! I don't remember all of it, but I always thought it was neat that we could see the planets. I want to get a telescope one day to see them closer!" Ranma never knew that about Natsume. All he'd ever known her to be was someone determined to pursue the Art and care for her sister. Of course, he knew that hand-to-mouth life could kill dreams when one's survival was involved. A small part of him wondered if he'd ever known childhood dreams at all. He couldn't remember any. What would have happened if he had wanted to do something other than the Art? Did he ever even have a choice?
Before he could think any further, he was aware of Kurumi's scream. Looking over in surprise and jumping to readiness, the group became aware of a massive form charging toward her. It wasn't easily identified in the dim light of the evening, aside from the danger it posed and the thundering sound its charge made. Ranma was rushing for Kurumi as soon as this registered. Ranma narrowly managed to grab Kurumi and jump out of the path of a blur that charged down on her. Only when the assailant stopped to eat something off the ground did Ranma recognize it.
"K-Katsunishiki?" Ranma blurted out in shock as the younger version of the champion sumo wrestling stood there, scarfing down Okonomiyaki.
"M-My fooooood!" Kurumi cried out, trying to get out of Ranma's grasp. "Stupid pig! You stole my food! I'm gonna fry an' eat ya!" Crying out threats wasn't the best move Kurumi could have made as the pig started to glare at her, but the pig had made a far less intelligent move in tearing apart and eating Ukyo's okonomiyaki in such a disrespectful manner. The enraged chef approached, glowing with a green aura as her ki manifested in her rage. Summoning a giant spatula from hammerspace, at least in relation to her current height, she rushed the giant pig.
"KYAAAAHHHH!" Ukyo engaged the creature in battle, body slamming it from the side before smacking it in the head. The creature, not expecting retaliation, took two solid blows before it attempted to defend itself, and Ukyo didn't allow the creature the time to regroup. Ranma winced as Ukyo employed her full arsenal while Natsume came over to check on Kurumi's well-being. Explosive Tempura, binding Yakisoba noodles, sticky batter bombs, all the things that Ukyo had refrained from using in her training so as to avoid missing out on its benefits were employed. Soon, after much angered crying and panicked squealing, the battered pig was on its back and hogtied with a twisted spatula handle.
"Huff...huff...Ran-chan, why didn't you help?" Ukyo asked while regaining her breath, at risk of turning her anger on him.
"Eh, you had it handled." He winced and kicked himself internally for blurting out the first thing that came to mind, but that thankfully seemed to be the right thing to say. Ukyo blushed a little at the recognition of her skill before she smiled at what she interpreted as praise. Any response died on her lips as someone else made themselves known.
"A-ah...are you all okay?" A girl asked, approaching nervously and looking to Ukyo. Ranma recognized her as a young Akari Unryu, the dark green hair with the pink highlights unmistakable. He wondered what was about to play out, recalling what happened when Ryoga defeated the pig.
"O-Okay? This pig just tried to run down my little sister for her food!" Natsume angrily stated with her fear abating and being replaced with anger. "If Master hadn't gotten her out of the way and Ucchan hadn't beaten it up, we wouldn't be 'okay' at all!"
Akari's horror showed on her face. "I'm sorry! He's on a strict diet and sometimes freaks out when he smells food! I-I'll be sure to tell Grandpa and make things okay...okay?" The girl seemed to placate Natsume with this for the moment before Akari walked up to the angered Ukyo and looked her in the face carefully. It was almost as if Akari was inspecting her. Then, after a tense moment, she embraced Ukyo. "I love you!" Akari said suddenly and unexpectedly. The shy girl broke the hug as quickly as she started it and ran away as fast as she could, leaving a stunned Ukyo. Only the wind across the plain could be heard for a moment, even Katsunishiki ceasing its squealing in surprise. The moment ended when the hammerspace spatula that was twisted around the pig's feet vanished, the creature falling over and grunting once as it rolled onto its side harshly.
Ranma, unlike the others, had some insight into the matter. The boy thus began to laugh loudly and uncontrollably while the others looked toward him in stunned confusion. Only when he stopped did he manage to speak. "C-c'mon, let's see where this leads. You too, Katsunishiki." The pig warily obeyed when his name was used by the strange boy, and the unlikely group followed Akari's path of retreat to the nearby Unryu Pig Farm.
'Mu Tsu! Mu Tsu! Where is that boy?' The child ignored his mother's call as he hid inside the basket. The herbal ingredients being shipped from Joketsuzoku to Yakusai were one of the few chances he had to escape the city without notice. Mousse felt bad leaving his family like this to visit the outside world, but he couldn't let Shampoo be left without him. His family tried to reconcile it with logic, but his mind was too childish and his obsession was too strong. Of course, there was an additional reason for his obstinance.
The child opened the letter he'd found in his room at home, where his drawings of Shampoo and a small lock of her hair were hidden. Getting that purple tuft had been painful for him, needless to say. The idea that someone could find it was disturbing. The contents of the letter were even worse, though.
'Mu Tsu. You are not wrong to worry about Xian Pu. Elder Ku Long is under the effect of powerful magics that have altered her mind, and her so-called-daughter Lan is the cause. The only way to free the Elder is to burn this letter into ashes and mix it into her tea for her to drink. If you burn the ashes fine enough and mix it in well, she will not even notice the taste or texture change. Succeed in this mission, and you will have saved Xian Pu and the Elder from Lan's manipulations, becoming a hero to the Joketsuzoku.
Let no one read this. In fact, burn it as soon as possible. The Council would not believe us anyway.'
The letter wasn't signed, but Mousse didn't think of that. All he could think of was saving Shampoo and proving himself to her at last! Soon, the cart holding his basket and the other herbs meant for Yakusai began to move and carry him from his home toward an uncertain future.
Loofah lit her pipe and took a puff as she watched the cart go. She smiled at just how easy that was to pull off. Even if the obsessed boy failed, he had nothing that could be traced specifically back to her nor had she technically disobeyed the orders of the Head Matriarch. If he perished trying, that would simply remove the short-sighted brat from the gene pool and be better for the tribe in the long run.
If she wanted to guarantee success against Ku Long, though, she'd have to enact some additional plans...
The collective group found themselves seated around a table, the mood somewhat tense. Akari and her grandfather sat on one end of the table, with Katsunishiki sitting behind Akari. The quartet of children sat at the other end of the table, wearing various expressions. Kurumi was glaring at the pig, which had been suitably chastised and regretted ever taking food from the girl. Natsume's glare alternated between the pig that assailed her sister and the farmers who should have kept it penned up. Ukyo wore an embarrassed and confused expression as she looked to Akari, and Ranma was simply waiting to see what happened.
"First, I should introduce us." The man said, regarding the children before him. "I am Butahito Unryu, the patriarch of the Unryu family and the head of the Unryu Pig Farm. We have bred sumo wrestling pigs for generations. This is my granddaughter, Akari." Akari nodded when introduced. "And this is our prize pig, the 14th Yokozuna champion, Katsunishiki." The huge pig did the same, though Ranma noted that he wasn't quite as massive as he'd be over a decade on. The fact that Ranma was in a six-year-old body helped with the illusion, though.
"Sumo wrestling...pigs?" Ukyo asked, surprised. She had no idea such a thing existed. Ranma had opened her eyes to other arts just as esoteric as her own, though.
"That's right. Pigs meant for honorable combat have been an important part of Japanese history for centuries. Akari also uses him as a form of transportation and protection. They take good care of each other. He is normally well-behaved, but he broke from Akari's control and hopped the fence after smelling good food nearby." This reminder made Kurumi livid all over again.
"Yeah, he charged at me and took my food! My next okonomiyaki's gonna be pork!" The pig squealed fearfully at Kurumi's declaration.
"Now, now. We can try to make things right by letting you stay the night. Akari said you were camping?" The grandfather inquired, trying to ease the tension. Akari kept staring at Ukyo, so this wasn't completely successful. Ukyo still felt a bit weirded out by this.
"Yeah. We're martial artists on a trainin' journey." Ranma said, explaining the situation. "We're just passin' through. We weren't expectin' to stick around or meet the local wildlife..." This made Akari tense up, which the grandfather noticed. He faced the only boy in the group and began to speak.
"Well, young man, there is something you should know. A rule of sorts. It takes strength to handle raising and training these pigs. Because of that, we have a test of sorts where only those who can defeat our prize pig can marry into the family. By defeating Katsunishiki, you're the only one right now who can claim Akari's hand in marriage." Akari looked surprised at her grandfather as he spoke to Ranma, and felt a need to correct him.
"No, grandpa! He didn't fight Katsunishiki! It was the boy with the bow!" Akari said, standing up and walking around the table before plopping herself between Ranma and Ukyo and hugging the other girl in blissful ignorance. "This is my Ucchan! My fiancé!" There was a moment of confused silence, though Ranma's mirth threatened to break through. The grandfather wasn't sure what to think.
Ranma rubbed the back of his head at the strangeness of this. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves next. I'm Ranma Saotome, Master of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." The ponytailed boy hadn't had a chance to use the title in an introduction before. It felt good on the tongue...
"I am Natsume and this is my younger sister Kurumi. We are new students of the same school, training with the Master in his travels." Natsume said with a measure of formality and respect. Kurumi broke this by enthusiastically waving.
"I'm Ukyo Kuonji... a friend of Ranma and student of the Kuonji School of Martial Arts Okonomiyaki. I'm also a girl!" Ukyo said with a bit of irritation at being mistaken for a boy again. She was even wearing the bow on her head properly this time!
Akari blinked for a beat, looking at Ukyo as if studying her for a moment before smiling. "Wow, a girl's strong enough to beat Katsunishiki? That's neat! You'll make a great husband!" Ranma had expected a very different response and the grandfather rubbed his temples a bit. Apparently, Akari didn't fully understand the nuances of marriage or traditional gender roles. She was only six though. Ranma didn't know what marriage was at that mental age.
"I-I'm also engaged to marry Ranma already! I can't marry you, sorry!" Ukyo blurted out nervously. Akari was confused but didn't get a chance to speak before a surprised Natsume did.
"You are to be the Master's wife? I-I didn't know that! I've been addressing you all wrong, Mistress! Please forgive me!" Ukyo nervously moved her hands in a placating gesture to Natsume on her right, while Akari kept clinging to her left side.
"I see...that will do for now, children." The grandfather said, trying to figure out how to piece this all together. "I'll lay out some space futons for you kids and we can discuss the matter more tomorrow." On one hand, he didn't believe Ranma's mention of being a master martial artist and thought these kids were playing pretend while out camping. On the other, the girl had beaten Katsunishiki. That wasn't something to take so lightly. Even grown men couldn't typically handle the prize pig.
Soon, enough, the kids were all sleeping in futons in the living room as if it were a big slumber party. Ukyo had snuck into Ranma's futon to cling to the boy. Akari, in turn, was clinging to Ukyo. The grandfather noted this and pondered splitting them apart, but elected to let them be. He had to sleep as well, and he needed to think of a way to explain to his grandchild why she couldn't marry another girl. Maybe he should have waited until she was older to tell her about that family rule.
