A Mother's Secret
By JaquiK
Chapter 5: Truth
Nodoka's anger had not dissipated in the slightest as she exited the all night convenience store with a bundle of now much needed supplies in her left arm, the whole while making sure to mind the other bundle she was carrying on her right. She shivered slightly as a cold breeze passed by providing another reminder that Autumn was fast approaching. This was certainly not the way she expected her 25th birthday to end.
Damn that woman. Damn that woman! She took a quick sip from her coffee cup and kept focus on her anger to distract from the ache still lingering in her heart. It certainly wasn't easy. All that time hiding and lying, more to herself than to anyone else. After all that, she thought she was finally able to find someone who could once again fill that empty void in her life. A woman who could truly accept her for who she really was. But then, she vanished completely without a trace. No indication of whether she was even alive or dead. Until tonight, more than a year later, when she showed up out of nowhere at Nodoka's apartment with a story and explanation that, while admittedly did make sense, was still very hard to accept. Then, almost just as quickly, she vanished again, however not without leaving something behind.
"Damn that woman! How could she-" A loud cry shook her out of her anger and directed her to what was actually important at the moment. "Hey, hey. It's okay, little one. I'm not mad at you." She continued to make reassuring sounds until the six month old child in her arms calmed down.
The child.
The son.
Her son.
She had a son now. She was a-
Nodoka shook her head and focused on getting home as quickly as possible, taking a shortcut through an alleyway. As she approached the other side, a figure she didn't see before stepped away from the wall and blocked her path. "Hey there, lady. You know, the streets can get pretty rough this time of night. I'd be more than happy to escort you home. For an appropriate fee, of course."
She stopped in disbelief at the ruffian standing across from her. "I have a child with me," she growled out.
"Oh, and we definitely don't want anything to happen to the precious little brat. Heck, I'll even give a discount for my generous services. Any cash ya got on ya should be about right. And maybe a little bit extra, if ya catch my meaning. Just so ya know, I do require payment up front."
Nodoka took a tentative step back. Even as out of practice as she was, a creep such as this wouldn't normally be a problem. However, her child with her made fighting absolutely not an option. As the man slowly approached and a gleam of metal could be seen in his hand, she spared a quick glance over her shoulder, hoping he wouldn't be bothered to chase after her.
"HALT, YOU VILE FIEND!"
Nodoka looked up to see a man in a dirty gi standing on the railing of a fire escape several stories up. She had to blink a few times as it looked like the man was wearing a bandana over his face in the manner of thieves in comedy stories.
The punk was also looking up at the strange newcomer. "Hey, ya weirdo, this don't concern ya none!"
The man on the railing seemed to stumble and sway slightly at those words, but he quickly recovered and made a dramatic pose, pointing right down at the other man. "Aha, but you made it my business you fool! It is the duty of any great and manly martial artist to defend the weak and helpless!"
Nodoka quickly decided that statement was referring to her infant child, but she couldn't help her eyebrow from twitching slightly.
"Now, you fiend! Face the power of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts: Grace of the Flying Mammoth!" The strange man then took a graceful leap off the railing, performing several acrobatic flips in the air, before landing with a bellyflop right on top of the confused mugger.
Nodoka blinked at the sight of the knocked out punk trapped under the body of her equally knocked out rescuer, until the sound of laughter in her arms broke her free from her shock. She looked down at her son. "Oh, you found that amusing?" Her child's smiling face looking back up at her caused her to smile and give a small laugh of her own. "Yes, I suppose it was. Well, it would be a bit rude to just leave our savior out here, wouldn't it?"
The young woman took note of everything she was carrying and glanced over again at her still unconscious savior. She'd definitely want to do this in one trip to avoid the would-be mugger waking up. She could technically handle the weight, but for the amount of volume she'd need to carry, well, she would need a little bit more shoulder room.
Nodoka let out a resigned sigh and then concentrated, letting the ki surrounding and protecting her 'curse' slowly dissipate. She looked at the still warm coffee in her one hand, and then gave another smile at the child nestled in her other arm.
"Hey, little one. Would you like to see a magic trick?"
X
Akane let out yet another groan while slumping further into her seat, her head buried into her arms on the desk. Not since everyone saw Ranma's 'magic trick' during his first fight with Mousse had so many students asking her what was going on with her fiancé. It was somewhat understandable. While he had worn the girl's uniform before, most recently when dealing with the Kunos' stupid sibling rivalry, he never actually went to class like this. Not helping was his actions during roll call. When the homeroom teacher asked what he was doing, his response was to simply shrug and say, "Wearing the uniform like I'm supposed to?" That actually managed to placate the teacher who then simply continued on. The others in the class were nowhere near satisfied by that answer though.
The pile of notes showing up on her desk during class was annoying, but at least ignorable. Less so was between classes when everyone came up directly. On top of that, even though Ranma was sitting right there in the desk next to her, most of her classmates went over to her instead. She lost track of the number of times she mumbled out "just ask the idiot himself." Honestly, she had no energy at the moment to bother helping out, even with some of the types of questions that were being directed towards the redhead.
No, at the moment she was more focused on what her sister had said. I need to worry about losing him? Please. It's not like I ever wanted the idiot in the first place. The whole stupid engagement was our parents dumb idea. I don't actually…
She turned her head slightly to look over to Ranma, who was still dealing with the few stragglers who had not yet given up on their interrogations. He seemed to be dismissing the questions with ease, although she could see moments of irritation poke through. Then he noticed her watching him, and he turned and gave a reassuring smile over to her. Akane quickly buried her head back in her desk and gave a quiet groan.
Whatever. He's just doing this to make his mom happy anyway. It's not like he's going to start going after guys or anything. And those other girls aren't going to go after him more because of this.
"Hey, Sugar?"
Speaking of which…
"What do you want, Ukyo?" Akane asked, not bothering to lift her head up.
"I was just wonderin' if ya knew what was up with Ranchan today."
Akane couldn't help but notice that the girl's Kansai accent was coming in a bit thicker than usual. "He's right there you know."
"Well, he ain't saying anythin', but maybe ya got some idea. I mean, actually goin' ta class in a uniform? And the opposite one ta boot?"
Akane looked up slightly at the gakuran wearing girl. "Seriously?"
"Hey, this is totally different," Ukyo protested while gesturing towards the boy's uniform she had on. "I got my own reasons for this."
"Ukyo's right," Sayuri said while walking up along with Yuka.
Akane let out another quiet groan. Great, even her two best friends were ganging up on her now. "Look, nothing is going on okay? I mean, Ranma's worn stuff like this plenty of times in the past. Heck, just a week ago, he was going around in a cheerleader outfit."
"Well, yeah," Sayuri said tentatively, "but there's just something different about this, you know. It's almost like…well…" The girl quickly looked around, then leaned forward, whispering the last part in Akane's ear. "It's like Ranma's a real girl right now."
Okay, that's it! Akane sat up and slammed her hands on her desk, grabbing everyone's attention. "Everyone listen up! Ranma hasn't changed, okay? He's still the same idiot he's always been."
Ukyo didn't look convinced. "But-"
Akane directed her attention to the okonomiyaki chef. "Hey, Ukyo, even though you wear the boy's uniform, you're still a girl, right?"
Ukyo blinked in surprise. "Uh, well, I mean…yeah?"
"And even with that whole declaration of revenge, renouncing your femininity, the all-boy's school. Even with all of that, you're still 100% girl."
"Um…I-"
"Exactly! You were born a girl, so you'll always be a girl, right?"
Ukyo stayed silent, and after a few moments gave the briefest of nods.
"Right. Same with me and Sayuri and Yuka. We were all born girls, so we'll always be girls."
Sayuri for some reason had a worried look on her face. "Akane…"
Akane's voice slowly built in volume and energy as she continued. "Yeah, and Ranma's 100% a boy. It doesn't matter what outfits he wears. It doesn't matter what kind of cutesy act he pulls. It doesn't even matter that he has that curse. He was born a boy, so that's what he is and will always be. There is no such thing as 'girl Ranma' and there never was, got it? She…" Akane paused for just a moment and looked down at her desk as her mind went back briefly to a sad little redhead first arriving at her home. She then finished in a much quieter voice. "She just doesn't exist."
Before anything more could be said the bell went off and everyone quickly rushed to their own desks as the history teacher walked in. Akane looked over, hoping to maybe receive at least a little bit of thanks for clearing up all the dumb questions. Instead, she caught Ranma staring back at her with a shocked expression for a moment before he quickly turned away. She let out a humph and focused on the teacher. So much for gratitude then. See if I go and help him out next time.
After a few minutes of yet another boring lecture, she noticed out of the corner of her eye one more note being stealthily placed on her desk. Akane was all set to ignore this one as well until she recognized the handwriting. Very carefully, she opened up the note and read the contents within.
meet me ALONE at the bike racks at lunch
I want to tell you
it's about my
we need to talk
Akane glanced over to find Ranma staring ahead with his chin resting on his hand and a bored expression on his face. Except…
No. No, it didn't make sense. This was Ranma after all. It would just be ridiculous. But, from the little she could see of his face, she would almost swear he actually looked…hurt.
Nodoka paused at the entrance to the dojo, steadying her mind. While her gentle exterior had not yet cracked, inwardly she could feel the old rage building once again. The rage she thought was finally conquered that last time she laid eyes upon her father.
No! You will not let this control you again. Always remember who you are. You are Nodoka! He can never take that away from you. And neither can that man in there.
Letting the rage pass through, Nodoka calmly entered the dojo. As she looked around, her heart broke slightly seeing the barren and worn state of the place. Over in the corner she spotted Genma and Soun, tangled up together and both still passed out. Walking over to the two, she tilted her head slightly taking in the sight in front of her before quietly unsheathing her sword and using the point of the blade to give her husband a very appropriate wake up call.
The cry and leap into the air was a bit impressive and it had the added effect of knocking back and waking up Soun as well. Nodoka moved towards the middle of the dojo, never dropping her focus away from the two. "Good morning, husband. Soun. And yes, it can just barely still be considered morning. However, I felt that you had more than enough time to sleep on your actions. Now, it is time for us to have a talk."
"N-Nodoka," Genma stammered out as he winced slightly, probably from a headache from the aftereffect of his long night of drinking, also probably from a completely different pain that Nodoka had to use all her discipline and inner focus to keep from smiling about. "Listen, you have to understand that I did everything within my power to train the boy right."
"Oh yes, Ranma told me much about what happened on your journey. Much that we will certainly need to go over. Perhaps we should start with that Neko-Ken training, shall we?"
"H-hold on there. That one was not my fault."
Nodoka's eyebrow raised slightly. "Oh?"
"Yeah," Genma responded with slightly more bluster in his voice. "It was their fault for putting the warning at the very end. I mean, who actually reads instructions all the way through before starting?"
Nodoka stared at the man for a moment, calming herself before continuing. "Even so, the fact that the only instructions were to tie the person up in fish sausage and throw them into a pit of starving cats should have been a warning in and of itself. And that certainly doesn't explain why you continued to do it several times afterwards."
"Hey now. Everyone knows exposure therapy is the best treatment for a phobia."
"I…that's…"
"Yes. I tried dried sardines, salted sardines, even fish cakes. Every failure just tore me up inside."
Nodoka blinked then shook her head, letting the building rage subside and refocusing herself once more. "If that really did hurt you like you claim, you would not have done it in the first place."
"I had to do something! The boy was starting to act weak and talking about wanting to do things other than his training. I even caught him sleeping with a stuffed animal of all things. Can you believe that? All my struggles and sacrifices for his manliness and he goes and does something so girly! I got rid of the thing immediately, but I did notice that it sort of looked like a cat. Luckily, that reminded me of the advanced martial arts technique manual I had, and I knew that was just what was needed to set him back on the path to truly becoming a man among men. Just like you wanted."
"Just like I…" Nodoka stopped and took a deep calming breath, once again asaging the anger before it could build up once-Oh, the hell with this!
"You!" she called out, directing her sword straight at Genma. "After everything I told you about my life. My own transformation. What my fa-what that man put me through. After all of that, you dare to put that farce you call training onto MY CHILD, and act like it was what I wanted?"
Soun, who had been quiet the entire time, now decided to speak up. "Transformation? What man? What are you talking about?"
Before Nodoka could respond, Genma decided to answer instead. "Oh right. You see, Nodoka was given a terrible condition by, I'm pretty sure it was a kitsune. Or maybe a tanuki. Anyway, it would cause her to turn into a man whenever she consumed, um, was it just sake or would any type of rice cause it?"
Nodoka blinked a couple of times before slowly and carefully responding. "Genma, that part was about my ancestor."
"Really? Um…well, however it happened, Nodoka could transform, too. And her father had the idea of raising her as a boy, even though she was born a girl. Can you imagine someone doing something that cruel? That's why it was so important that I make sure to raise Ranma as the man among men he was born to become. And to keep him away from any corrupting girlish influences that would make him weak and unworthy, no matter what it took."
Soun started to develop a concerned look on his face. "Um, I'm not so sure about-"
"Which of course prepared him to unite the schools."
The concern immediately evaporated into a large grin. "Oh yes, old friend. Uniting the schools is very important."
"And very soon, it will finally be done."
"Yes."
"Yes."
"No!"
The two men turned to Nodoka, who finally allowed her righteous fury to bleed onto her face. "That is enough! No more, Genma!"
"B-But-"
"I trusted you," Nodoka interrupted, her gaze to the floor, her voice suddenly going soft. "I actually thought I could trust you. I didn't think I could give Ranma the training that would be needed. I…I really believed you would provide the training of a proper sensei for my child. And now, I will have to live with that mistake. You, however…"
Nodoka slowly looked up and once again held her sword out in front of her. "...will soon not need to worry about such things."
Genma tried to retreat as much as he could until his back was flush against the dojo wall. "W-wait! What about Ranma?"
Nodoka's eyes widened for just a moment before narrowing. "No, the burden of failure falls solely on you. And it falls on me alone to carry out this task. Perhaps one day she will be able to forgive me for this."
"What? Who are you…" Genma's eyes were suddenly drawn to something past Nodoka's shoulder. "Ranma! What are you doing here?"
Ranma? Nodoka quickly spun, mind racing to figure out how she would explain her current actions to…an empty doorway? She was confused before a large crash caused her to turn back around, finding Soun still frozen in the same spot next to a large hole in the dojo wall where Genma previously stood.
Nodoka went over and looked out the newly made exit, but could find no sign of the man anywhere. Soun managed to break out of his shock and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He just needs some time to think. I'm sure he will be back soon enough."
"Not if he actually knows what's good for him," Nodoka replied, still staring ahead. "I really thought I knew that man. How could I get it so wrong?"
"Oh, it will be fine," Soun said with a big grin. "I'm sure he'll regain his senses and be back to his regular old self once we get the wedding all set up."
Nodoka looked over in shock, then batted his hand off her shoulder and backed away slightly. "I can't believe you. After everything that Michan went through, how could you even think to subject the same thing to your daughter? To her daughter?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You…you really don't remember me, do you? From back then? I don't think I look all that different to be honest, even with the transformation. And Ranma's appearance certainly should have clued you in."
Soun just stared in confusion for several seconds, before recognition finally hit. "Wait, Dochan?"
Nodoka could only give a slight nod as she slumped against the dojo wall. "I really thought I could swoop in and be the hero, rescuing the woman that I loved. Yeah, some hero I turned out to be, huh?"
"I…I don't understand. How?"
If Nodoka actually heard Soun's question, she didn't acknowledge it as she slid down towards the floor, ending in a heap. "After that, I couldn't bear the shame. I couldn't even dare look at her. So I ran. And I hid. I couldn't…I just couldn't deal with-"
Nodoka stopped as she felt a hand again on her shoulder. She was ready to bat it away again until she looked up and saw who it was looking back at her with concern in her deep brown eyes. "...Kasumi?"
Soun nervously looked between the two of them. "Oh, Kasumi. Please go back to the house. You shouldn't be hearing such things."
"No. She absolutely deserves to hear this."
"But, Nodoka…" Soun weakly protested, the look that he was giving providing more than enough confirmation for her.
"It is well past time that she was told the truth. The complete truth, Soun."
"What do you mean?" Kasumi asked with a worried expression. "What truth, Auntie?"
Nodoka couldn't help but give a slight smile at the name the young woman would most likely call her for the last time, if she would ever even speak to her again at all after this. "About me, Kasumi," she said, looking up with tears starting to form in her eyes. "About who I am. And who I used to be."
