AN: To any one but Kasumi, Happosai, Cologne and Shower, no one knows Hild beyond her being Ranma's lawyer at this point in time.
AN2: keichan2 asked if their was a joke about the name Valarie Slain. The joke is a Valkyrie is called the 'Chooser of the Slain' and Hild was once the leader of the Valkyries in this fic, so that's the joke. I chose a first name that sounds a lot like Valkyrie, and the last name Slain.
AN3: I am getting a lot of flack about my chapter length. Well, as much as I'd like to write longer chapters, I'm not so good at it. I feel more comfortable with the shorter ones, but this story is being too short even for my tastes, so I'll endeavor to work on getting them up to at least four thousand word chapters soon, ok? Thanks for keeping on reading this though.
A BLACK HEART STILL BEATS
CHAPTER FOUR
FREEDOM PART TWO
A MOTHER'S SAVING GRACE
In a very crowed limousine traveling on the streets of Nerima: Fifteen minuets after leaving the Neko Hanten
It had been discovered that the second limo had gotten two flat tires due to a Ryoga related incident, and everyone was now in one limo. Hild turned to the still female Ranma sitting next to her and asked "Are you sure you want to see your mother in that form?"
Ranma nodded and said "Yeah. I've gotta see if she can change her ways. I truly do love her, and I think she loves me, but this" Ranma said looking down upon her self "Has always come between us. I don't want to give her those papers, but I will if I must. I need to live my life as I see fit, and if she can stand this part of me, then she is welcome into my life, but if she can't…" Ranma trailed off there. Hild knew what Ranma meant. Ranma wanted his, or right now it was her, freedom, and she would welcome her mother along for the ride, if she could control her self. Hild gave the Elder Saotome woman a thirty five percent chance of not blowing it with Ranma. And she was sincerely hopping that Nodoka beat her odds, for Hild wanted to take Ranma and everyone else in the limo, and maybe even Ranma's mother, out to a congratulatory dinner tonight to celebrate Ranma pulling one over the Amazons, but if this did not go well, Ranma would defiantly not be in the mood to do so.
The Saotome residence: seven minutes later
Ranma stood on the doorstep ahead of all the Demonesses, Goddesses and Kasumi, and steeled her self for what just might be her hardest fight, and hardest loss, ever. Confronting her mother. After she felt she was ready, a feat which took a little over four minutes, Ranma knocked on the door.
After Nodoka came and answered it, she blinked at the sight of her now daughter Ranma and all the attractive and professionally dressed women, plus a thirteen year old girl in a woman's business suit, and finally Kasumi. Wondering just what her, at the moment, daughter had gotten herself into this time, she opened the door and said "Please come in Ranma, and your friends are welcome too."
As they sat themselves down in the living room, Nodoka asked sweetly "Do you want some hot water dear?"
Ranma sighed and got ready to face her mother "Not right at this moment. I need to talk to you in this form for now." Ranma said.
Nodoka stopped cold and asked "You aren't…"
"No I am not locked." Ranma sighed.
"Then why?" Her mother asked puzzled.
"Just sit down mom and I'll explain." Ranma said. Nodoka sat across from her daughter in an empty chair and stared at her, begging her with her eyes to just make some sense to her.
Sighing Ranma started "You know how pop's uses me like a bartering chip?" Ranma asked. Nodoka nodded fearfully, wondering just what her soon to be dead husband, if she got the correct feelings of things, had done now. "Well meet the first lady he sold me to. And, according to my calculations, he sold me to her long before the Tendo marriage pledge even." Ranma said with disgust in her voice.
"But that pledge was made before you were even born!" Nodoka exclaimed.
"Well this one was before he even married you." Hild said coldly.
Nodoka looked shocked as Ranma started to explain more "She's not a fiancée, her deal with Genma for me was much different, but the thing is, she'd like to be one." Ranma said with a small lopsided smirk. "I told her I couldn't even if I wanted to, which I think I might, because of all the other girls pops engaged me to. She then offered to help me get out of all the engagements I really don't want." Ranma then stated.
"How?" Nodoka asked slightly shocked at what she was hearing.
"I run, among some other things, a large law firm here in Japan. Ranma has hired me personally to help him legally and honorably get out of his other engagements. We have already taken care of the Amazons. It is just the Kuonji's and the Tendo's that are now left for us to deal with." Hild stated with a casual air of indifference.
"This is… most surprising, but why do you need to tell me this in your female form. I feel I'm missing something." Nodoka asked, suddenly afraid.
"We," Hild began, "before we took care of the Amazon engagement, served some papers to all present at the Tendo's, which was all the Tendo's except Kasumi, who I have also been employed to represent in this matter by Ranma, and your husband Genma. The papers were, among other various things, lawsuits and restraining orders." Hild smiled evilly. No where near as evil as she could, for that would give Nodoka a heart attack, but one evil enough to scare the living daylights out of her.
Looking over at her current daughter, she saw Ranma eyes were damp with tears. "Mom, I need to make a decision about you." Ranma said flatly. Nodoka's heart skipped a beat at those words. "I need to know, can you love me like this?" Ranma said, gesturing over her currently female body. "Can you give up the 'Man among men' crap and love me just as Ranma, your son and your daughter? I love you mom. I love you more then words can say, but, but you hurt me mom. Every time I see you and you spout off about manliness, I get hurt a little more. I can never be a 'Man among men' for I truly am half a woman. I am now even a Matriarch in the Amazon tribe, if you can believe it." Ranma then slightly chuckled. Then growing morose again, she said "Mom I truly do love you, and I want you in my life, but you've hurt me too much for me to just unconditionally let into the new life I'm creating for my self." Ranma then pushed a document and a letter in front of her mother.
"What, what are those?" Nodoka asked with a lot of fear in her voice.
"Your choices." Ranma said flatly, holding in her tears. "You've left me no choice mom, but to give you an ultimatum. If you sign the document on your right, you can be apart of my life as long as you abide by the rules written on it. If you feel you can not do that, you must take the letter on your left. If you sign the document and break contract, you will get the letter on your left soon there after. The letter will ensure that you will never be able to see me, or my family whenever I get one, for as long as you live. The document stats that I am free of your 'Manliness' obsession, and you will not require me to be so. Both contain other things of course, but you should read the document to see what they are."
Nodoka read the entire document, eyes wide at what it said. She finally realized just how bad and how hard she had pushed Ranma away from her with her with her fixation on her son being 'A man among men'. She cursed whatever had given her that ludicrous idea, and the she cried even harder. Ranma loved her. He, she, who cared, wanted to be with her, but Ranma was so frightened of her that he had to do this. She whispered "I am not even fit to be called a mother, am I?" As she reached for the pen sitting besides the document.
Ranma, and everyone else had heard the angry whispered question of Nodoka, and Ranma said in a hushed tone of voice, while Nodoka got ready to sign the document "I'm sorry that I have to do this to you mom."
After she finished signing, Nodoka looked up with an emotionally drained face and said "No, Ranma. I'm sorry I made you have to do this to me."
Then both mother and daughter collapsed into tears, and Kasumi, Hild, and Belldandy shooed everyone present, including themselves, out of the living room as the two Saotome women collapsed into each others arms while in tears.
Many hours later: at a French restaurant called Ivory Towers, in downtown Tokyo: at dinner time
After a good and long cry by Nodoka and Ranma, they re-got them selves presentable and headed over to a restaurant Hild had made reservations for them. Ranma had decided to in his female form, as a test for her, at the moment, mother. She needed to see if she truly could abide by the rules that she had set up.
They had all been having a good time, and making small talk for a while when Nodoka turned to her presently daughter and asked "Ranma, why do I get the feeling that there more to all this then what you've told me? Like what Miss Slain" she said, gesturing over at Hild, for she did not know her true name or true position, "Deal was with Genma?"
"That's because you haven't gotten the full story. And I won't give it to you for a while." Ranma said she then looked down and said "I'm sorry mom, but I don't want on one beyond who already knows to know."
"That's ok, for now dear. You will tell me some day though, right?" Nodoka asked in a worried tone.
"Yeah, when I'm ready, you'll be the first to know." Ranma said, looking up with a smile.
The rest of the dinner went very smoothly, so smoothly that Hild even asked Nodoka if she like to move in with Ranma and Kasumi.
"Where did you get them logging?" Nodoka asked, looking at her daughter to see if she was agreeable. Ranma slowly nodded her head, surprised that Hild suggested it. Though she thought it would be nice.
"My mansion has a guest house in the back that's quite large and no one uses. I would be honored if you would stay there." Hild told Nodoka.
Nodoka's eye's widened. Then narrowing her eyes she asked "This is… How is Ranma paying you for all this? Service like this is never free, and you are going way to far with it." Nodoka slightly accused.
Hild narrowed her eyes, and then sighed. "Miss Saotome, I make no effort to hide the fact that I am interested in a relationship with your child. As to why I made room in my guest house, it is because we can get to know each other better this way, living on the same property. Ranma felt it was prudent that until he is free from all engagements, he not live in the same house as me, and I came up with this as a way around that." Nodoka's eyes were still narrow, as she processed the information. "As to my fee, it was for three dates, with the option to have more if we find ourselves compatible." Hild said flatly.
Nodoka's eyes went wide, and she looked at Ranma. "She the first woman I've ever been really interested in mom." Ranma said softly. "I agreed to this because I really do think I could make it work out with her, and even if I can't, I'll be free of a bunch of loveless engagements."
Nodoka steeled herself and said to who could very well be the mother of her oh so sought after grandchildren, "Very well I except. I do want to get to know the woman who finally captured my child's heart better after all."
"And I look forward to getting to know you better as well." Hild said with a small nod.
Dinner was finished soon there after and they all went to their respective homes.
Hild's mansion: about two thirty in the morning.
Hild had no real servants living in her Midgard Japanese home, for when she needed them, she just summoned them. So when she felt her alarms get tripped by a Goddess teleporting through them, she was pissed that some snot nose Deity was disturbing her at two thirty in the morning! She wanted her sleep! When the knocking started, she considered, just this once, to break the doublet system she and Kami-Sama had come up with. Surly he would understand that a woman such as her self needs her beauty sleep, right?
As she got to her door, she flung it open to find it raining and a slightly drunk Urd was there looking at her with pain in her eyes.
Hild forgot all of her worries at that point. She saw her daughter's pain and then her daughter spoke with a slight slur, saying "Why mom? Why do you love him so? And why don't you love me?" And then, as Hild stood in silent shock at her firstborn daughters painful question, Urd fainted.
"I guess you were more drunk then you seemed." Hild sighed, as she lifted her daughter and brought her in to her house.
And in an office in Asgard, a father smiled.
EAN: Ok, it will be not the next chapter but probably the one after that when I get back to the fiancée mess. This chapter was dedicated to Nodoka and Ranma's relationship, and the next one will mainly deal Urd, Marller and Hild's. That one may take a while though, so don't expect next day delivery like with this chapter. I got REALLY inspired to write this chapter.