Disclaimer: I still don't own Ranma ½ or Naruto!
Mother/Son Bonding
Nerima
"...And over there is the Furinkan High School. It's where I currently go to school, but I wouldn't recommend it. The Principal there is crazy, and so are some of the students." Ranma said as he and his mother passed the school.
So far, he had been just walking around the Nerima district and showing Nodoka around to some of his favorite places to go. Especially when things at the Tendou household got to be a bit too crazy. And at this point, the lad's seen more than his fair share of crazy. Everything from magic springs of things that drowned in the waters that can transform whoever falls into them, to a delusional wannabe swordsman who can't take a hint and speaks in the shakespearean tongue of ye olde fancypants time.
"Crazy how?" Nodoka asked.
"Well, let me put it to you this way. The principal is a total looney who has a bonsai tree growing out of his head, constantly patrols the halls while playing a ukelele, and carries around a tanto just to cut the boy students' hair into ridiculous bowlcuts!" Ranma replied.
Nodoka cringed. That IS quite crazy.
She couldn't help but ask "How the hell has that man not been committed to a mental institution yet?"
"Eh, it's mostly due to being a part of an influential samurai family, or something like that. I don't really know." Ranma replied with a shrug. "And quite frankly, with the way he and his family have been treating me since I got to Nerima I couldn't care less."
"Come on, surely you're exaggerating. It can't be that bad." Nodoka said.
Though after hearing how the principal of her son's school behaves on a daily basis, she couldn't help but think that it must be worse.
"I assure you that I am not exaggerating. Principal Kuno's son is a wannabe samurai with a penchant for speaking like he's some Shakespearean theater actor who's obsessed with both Akane and my female transformation, and is, barring Pops and old man Tendo's master, the single biggest pervert I have ever had the displeasure of meeting." Ranma said with a sharp edge to his words. "Not to mention the guy's sister is a martial arts gymnastics practitioner who is also the biggest cheater of the art by using weaponized versions of the equipment, bribery, and the use of near lethal poisons on the enemy team just so that her team will always win."
Nodoka visibly winced. That definitely sounds like total insanity to her. How the hell that whole family hasn't been committed to a mental institution yet is beyond her, but it likely has to do with them using their money to keep the people off their backs. As is the most common situation when it comes to rich folk in this modern era. Or any era, really. Honestly, Nodoka didn't want to take any chances when it came to one of these Kunos confronting her son while in the vicinity of this school, because if what her son said about the Kuno patriarch and his son, then she REALLY doesn't want to meet them.
Luckily it seems as though help has arrived in the form of Ranma's growling stomach.
Sheepishly, Ranma scratched the back of his head and said "Sorry, Mom. I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast before you showed up. Not that I'm complaining."
Nodoka giggled at her son's sheepish reaction to his own growling stomach, which in her opinion sounded like a starving lion, and took a moment to playfully ruffle her son's hair. Much to his chagrin, but you could tell from the playful smile on his face that he didn't mind. Ranma was just happy to have his mother back in his life.
"Don't worry about it, Ranma. Why don't we go out for lunch? You can show me the best places to eat in the Nerima ward." Nodoka suggested.
"That's a good idea. In fact, I know two places that would be perfect for this occasion." Ranma said as he started walking with a purpose. "Follow me!"
With a big smile, Nodoka followed her son as she was very eager to share a meal with her child for the first time since he was very young. It took about ten or fifteen minutes of walking, but eventually they happened upon one of the restaurants that Ranma had been talking about. An Okonomiyaki shop run by a certain spatula warrior.
No, I'm not making that up.
Anyway, as they entered the establishment it would seem that business was rather slow as there were only three other customers dining at the moment. Standing behind the counter looking bored due to the lack of customers to cook for was a young woman who looked to be around Ranma's age. She had porcelain skin, long dark brown hair which she kept secured behind her head with a hair band, and brown eyes. She was currently wearing the attire of an okonomiyaki chef which consisted of a short-sleeved blue blouse with white trim and the sleeves rolled back, and a pair of form-fitting black pants.
"Hey, Ucchan! Can I get a table for two over here?" Ranma called.
Hearing the sound of his voice quickly caused the young girl to snap out of her boredom as she looked elated to see him.
"Ran-Chan! Fancy seeing you here today!" she greeted with a big smile, even though she noticed the startlingly beautiful woman standing awfully close to him, but she'd ask about that later. "Why don't you and your friend there take a seat and I'll be right over to take your orders."
"Thanks, Ucchan." Ranma said with a thumbs up.
Nodoka watched the exchange with a level of fascination and suspicion that only a mother could have, but she held her tongue for now and allowed her son to guide her to a table where they could wait for their server. She was pleasantly surprised when Ranma pulled the chair out for her so she could sit down.
'My, what a gentleman my son has become in spite of Genma's actions! So manly!' she thought with glee.
As Ranma sat down across from her, Nodoka asked "So Ranma, how do you know that girl exactly?"
Ranma sighed as this wasn't one of his particularly favorite stories from when he was young. Especially since it was one of the times he had, unknowingly, helped his father pull off one of his scams.
Hey, give him a break! He was six years old and didn't know any better at the time!
"Her name is Ukyo Kuonji, and she was my first friend when I was a little boy. Though I didn't know she was a girl at the time since she dressed in boy's clothing and had shorter hair back then. Plus she kind of acted like a boy, too… Hey, I was six at the time and couldn't tell the difference at first glance, okay?" Ranma explained as he nervously scratched his cheek. "She also happens to be… well… one of my fiancees."
"I'm sorry, did you say ONE of your fiancees?" Nodoka asked in confusion. "I thought that Genma had already engaged you to one of Soun's daughters before you were born."
"It's a long and complicated story, but let's just say that because of Genma and his deceitful nature I've ended up having four different fiancees for completely different reasons. And they're just the only ones that I KNOW about! I have no idea if there are more or how many there could be!" exclaimed Ranma.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Ran-Chan." Ukyo said as she walked up to their table with a notepad and pen. "It was mostly your father's fault that my dowry was stolen and I was left behind when my own father engaged me to you."
The Okonomiyaki chef/martial arts warrior looked at Nodoka and gave her a friendly smile, not wanting to jump to conclusions about any more possible fiancees popping up.
"Hi there, and welcome to my shop. I'm Ukyo Kuonji, but you already knew that from Ranma's story."
"Such a polite young girl you are! It's very nice to meet you, miss Kuonji. I am Nodoka Saotome, Ranma's mother." Nodoka said with a smile.
"His mother? Damn, you look real good for your age! Hell, I almost mistook you for Ranma's sister, or at least his older cousin!" Ukyo confessed.
Nodoka just giggled and waved her off, flattered that people thought she still appeared so young. It was nothing special, really. Just good genetics which Ranma, thankfully, inherited from her. But it seems he inherited more than just his good looks from her side of the family, but Ranma also had a very beautiful heart as far as Nodoka could tell.
"So, what can I get you today? Your usual, Ranma?" Ukyo asked as she held her pen at the ready.
"Actually, I think I'd like to try the vegetarian okonomiyaki today. I've heard good things about that one. And I'll have a glass of ice water to drink." Ranma replied.
"I'll have a cup of jasmine tea to drink, and for the okonomiyaki, mmm… surprise me." Nodoka said.
Ukyo quickly wrote down their orders and professionally said "Okay. Your drinks will be right with you and your meals will be done shortly." before heading off to the kitchen.
As she was doing that, Nodoka took the time to talk to her son about the other fiancees that he knew he was engaged to and what they were like. She figured she might as well mentally prepare herself for anything that might seem a little too out of left field, as the saying goes.
***To Be Continued…***
Ending AN: Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated this story, I've had a lot going on in life. That's the thing, life gets in the way and you forget about things for a long time. But I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as I wanted to do at least one chapter each where Nodoka meets Ranma's multiple fiancees separately before they set off for the Alternate Timeline Naruto Universe, so you have that to look forward to. I will, however, be showing in the next chapter just how Ranma and the others will be going there. Also, I have posted two new stories that I hope to update called Neon Genesis GX Prime and Yu-Gi-Oh GX: Sunstorm's Advent, so go ahead and check those out if you want to. Once again I thank you all so much for reading, please don't forget to leave a review, and have a pleasant day!
Current Poll: It's been decided that the story for my OC son of Izuku and Momo will be a crossover. Which of these do you want it to be a crossover of?
Current Results:
Rosario + Vampire: 8 votes
Transformers Prime: 8 votes
Teen Titans: 6 votes
Legend of Korra: 5 votes
Yu-Gi-Oh GX: 5 votes
Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds: 5 votes
Naruto: 4 votes
Digimon(PM me which series you want): 4 votes
Ranma ½: 4 votes
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: 2 votes
Dragon Ball Z: 1 vote
How To Train Your Dragon: 1 vote