DISCLAIMER: Many of the characters and situations described in the following fic are owned entirely by Takahashi Rumiko, a woman I have the greatest respect and admiration for. Her creativity has even inspired the creation of a whole new branch of the Trek Universe, Therefore, any mentions of historical moment from Trek, Trek-Tech and characters and ships, which I shall endeavor to keep at a minimum, is entirely intentional. Within this story are characters who are from the Trek Universe, but not of Trek. These are my creations. All other characters that are integral to this story are her property. This is a work intended to share a concept, and perhaps my story telling abilities, There is no money to be earned by me or by anyone else from this work. I might also add, Paladin, Team Paladin, the Starship Purcheron and her crew, and Miss Kitty as she is here, ARE my property, and not to be used with out express consent from myself. I have worked hard to develop these characters and hope to use them in published works eventually. I choose to share them and their attitudes with you here. The character from OH! My Goddess belong to who ever owns them… sorry but my copies of this series mysteriously disappeared during a move
And now for sumpin' gnu.
On with the tale
PALADIN ½ - SHE'S THE ONE
Chapter 13 – The appetizer? Why a mallet of Course!
It took Paladin nearly two hours to find Ranma and Kitty. Luckily the boy had scampered in a nearly straight line from the school. Of course the meant that Jerrod had to do some roof hopping of his own. Once he was away from the school and on a rooftop he pulled out his disguised tricorder and scanned for Kitty's locator beacon. A subcutaneous implant that will be removed once Kitty reaches her actual adulthood. While most people wouldn't want any kind of device like this put in their own child, the Macon family was a far different case.
They also didn't like having an implant of this nature in them either, but the Macons were a very different type of people from anyone else. Jerrod, being the descendant of a genetically engineered human and his daughter being an accidental fusion of feline and Macon genetics, didn't want anything that could be prevented to happen to his daughter. That meant his little girl having an implant just in case something like happened today ever happened. Abduction planned for and abduction performed because of fear for the life of the little one are not distinguished by any nations law.
So, an implant in Kitty would allow for Paladin to take care of it without the locals even knowing about it.
Jerrod was just about to leap to the next roof when he caught sight of who he was after. Ranma was curled up in a ball resting his shoulders and head on Kitty's lap with her sitting leaned against a chimney. Landing as quietly as he could on the edge of the roof, Paladin knelt and spoke softly. "Kitty. It's daddy, are you okay baby? Just shake your head."
Kitty nodded that she was alright.
"Is Ranma okay too?" He asked
Kitty again nodded.
"Is he sleeping?" Jerrod asked one more question.
Kitty said very quietly, "He's purrin' like I used to daddy."
Jerrod's face formed a sad smile about that. 'Apparently Ranma isn't ready to come out of this yet.' Gently, Jerrod moved to close the distance between himself and Ranma. Slowly so as to not startle Ranma and make things worse. But not quietly, Jerrod was intent on not appearing to be trying to sneak up. The teen that believed he was a cat could be very dangerous at that moment and Jerrod wanted to startle him about as much as he wanted to step out an airlock without a suit.
Both of these are being very bad ideas.
Once Jerrod was within a meter of his daughter and Ranma he stopped and sat on the roof to wait.
Ten kilometers away, Nabiki had walked in the door of the Dojo and received a more than questioning look from Kasumi. "Nabiki, you're home early. Is there something wrong at school?"
'Today must be the day that Nabiki gets asked questions she would really not ever have to answer.' Nabiki thought to herself. "Nothing too unusual sis. Mr. Macon had an errand to run and cleared it for me to come home early to sign for a delivery he has coming today."
"I do hope he makes it home in time for dinner. I wanted to surprise him with one of the recipes in the new books!" Kasumi told her, "I only hope I bought enough ingredients for everyone to have plenty. Uncle does like to eat a lot you know." Kasumi said aloud, while thinking to herself, 'Greedy panda, hardly leaves any on Ranma's plate!'
"Yeah, sis, I know. So, where is daddy and the panda?" Nabiki asked in return.
Kasumi would rather have been able to come up with a new euphemism, "Oh, father and uncle had to go perform some civil service today."
Strangely enough, both girls shared the exact same thought at this point. That thought being along the lines of both fathers being arrested for being drunk and stupid in public, or at least detained to assist the police in their inquiries.
Unfortunately for the Tendou girls, this isn't the case as the aforementioned fathers were busy performing their civic duty. (Exactly! Twelve ounce can curls. Saki skeet. Kirin Ichiban Karate Kicks, and the most powerful thinking technique in their repertoire… Tequila Tae Kwon Do. In short another planning session where too much alcohol is used in the pickling of a pair of brains too small to make the proper associations to recognize anything beyond the altar and their kids before it on a Rorschach test.)
But there is something fortunate for the Tendou girls, the fathers were away performing their 'community service' and were out from under foot. In the grand scheme of things, Soun and Genma not being under foot is a far better thing than being home making proclamations of family honor and demanding Ranma keep the promise made and marry Akane NOW! Yes, it is much better for the household for the fathers to be away getting blitzed into a stupor beyond what they are normally when sober. That way Ranma is safe. Akane is safe. Nabiki isn't annoyed with having to find inexpensive ways to pay for repairs that happen when the fathers' plans explode in their faces. And Kasumi isn't stuck with cleaning up the mess.
"Well, since you are home early Nabiki, could you help me in the kitchen please? I know you don't like to cook, but it would be so much nicer for you to help me now and then. Like you used to?" Kasumi asked.
'What is she up to?' Nabiki thought to herself. But seeing the look in the eyes of her older sister, she couldn't very well say 'no.' Besides, she had to stay downstairs until the delivery so she could sign for it. So she allowed herself to be lead into the kitchen to help. Mostly, Nabiki's help in the kitchen turned out to be taste testing the new and exotic dishes that Kasumi had been preparing for dinner. The flavors and smells were completely overwhelming to Nabiki. She had known Kasumi was a good cook before, but this dinner was amazing. It seemed to be something Italian, but Nabiki wasn't quite sure. She did know that it was incredibly good and couldn't quite place the secret ingredient that seemed to be in everything Kasumi made.
She knew it was there, that secret ingredient always made Kasumi's food taste better than anyone else's did. It had to be a secret too; Nabiki made a mental note to find out what the ingredient was so she could cook the same way for her future husband. That thought brought to mind a very muscular pig-tailed boy that she fought the urge to blush over.
Luckily for Nabiki, the doorbell rang before Kasumi caught the slight blush Nabiki had starting. Nabiki fairly ran to the door to cover her minor reddening. There were a few very large packages and some smaller ones along with a few envelopes as well. All of it was also in plain cardboard or standard and plain paper. This intrigued Nabiki no end, but it left her no option than to open the delivery that belonged to someone else. It was against her nature to do it, but Nabiki managed to leave the packages and envelopes unopened and placed them inside the door to Mr. Macon's room. No easy feat for Nabiki, so she decided to go back downstairs and help her sister more. Maybe she could talk Kasumi into teaching her how to cook.
Not starting today though. Maybe this next weekend.
Or tomorrow.
Tomorrow would be better.
'The sudden decision to learn how to cook will go over like a lead balloon with Akane. But I want to be happy in a marriage someday too, dammit!' Nabiki rationalized to herself. Forgetting for the moment that the happy marriage she envisioned had much more to do with her little sisters fiancé than Akane normally would have with him.
On a good day.
At the same time Nabiki walked back into the kitchen and made her request that wound up giving Kasumi a very large and happy smile, the enticing aroma of an incredible feast wafted through the district. The few neighbors nearby, that were old enough to recognize the secret ingredient smiled happily. The Angel of Nerima had found 'someone'. Of course they knew the ingredient was in all her cooking, but the intensity of it this time was almost overwhelming to the unprepared. There weren't just a few men that caught the scent and thought, 'I wish I had somebody to cook like that for me!'
The circle of scent of the meal with the secret ingredient widened over time. Growing thinner, but remaining powerful still. It was the kind of scent that the people it was intended for would waste no time in returning home to be closer to the wonderful smell, and the meal it promised. Gradually the aroma became so thin as to be mostly indistinct to anyone.
And still the aroma spread until it had thinned to the point of being a few hundred molecules mixed in with billions, until it reached a rooftop occupied by three people, one of whom was in a trance like sleep. Ranma was finally sleeping normally with no purring and sprawled as he normally is on his futon at the Dojo.
Deciding it was safe to wake him, Paladin spoke, "Ranma, are you alright now?"
The response to Paladins question was a very loud rumble from the stomach region of the boy that was asleep. On a side note, there are some things that defy understanding. For most of history on Earth, the fact that the species canus was recognized as having the most sensitive olfactory organ of all the mammals on land, with the Blood Hound having the most sensitive for the species, there are fundamental slips in genetics. While this isn't normally the case when it comes to Homo-sapiens-sapiens, it is interesting to note that no one had ever tested the males of the Saotome bloodline.
It is an oddity to be sure, but in the mental and emotional priorities of the Saotome males there are three very important high level priorities that stand out. One: comfort. This is indicated by a desire to be dry and have a warm place to sleep. Two: an almost phobic desire to avoid pain, as indicated by the lengths to which one will lie about his son in order to keep from being, pummeled, kicked or beaten within an inch of his life. Or the terrible desire to remain unmalleted for at least an hour out of the day by his unasked for fiancée.
And third: a deep-seated desire to not be hungry. In the case of Genma this comes from gluttony. In the case of Ranma, well, see the reason for Genma. Ranma has never really been able to actually have a full belly because of the outright theft of his food by the man who is supposed to be his father. Of course this theft is disguised as a training technique. But speed training can only be used as an excuse for so long. As a result of this, the olfactory sensitivity of Ranma, especially, has become very sensitive when it comes to food. So, basically, if it's edible and specifically prepared by Kasumi Tendou, Ranma is ready to eat.
It should come as no surprise then that the reduced in potency by a factor of several million, Ranma was still able to recognize the hand that had prepared the food at the Tendou Dojo. That he didn't recognize what it was he smelled didn't bother the primitive part of Ranma's mind, it was Kasumi that had cooked it. It was this scent that caused Ranma to wake up.
"Wha'! What happened? Jeez I hope n'body got hurt! What is it with that idiot Kuno anyway?"
Jerrod was only slightly amazed than Ranma was more concerned that he might have hurt someone than his own condition. "Are you alright now Ranma?" he asked.
"I'm ok guess Paladin. I was kinda hopin' ya wouldn't havta know about my real problem with c-c-c-, those animals." Ranma said with real sadness in his voice. He didn't even look Paladin in the face when he said it. 'It's like the poor kid is ashamed of it! He's probably never had anyone really explain it to him. Genma! I was trying to find a reason to not like you, and you handed me a perfect reason on your own! This isn't about the panda though, it's about Ranma. He looks scared to death that I won't want to be his friend anymore. I have to squelch that idea right now!'
"Well, everything worked out well enough Ranma. Thanks for protecting Kitty by the way. I wasn't close enough to stop what happened, so I feel almost as guilty as the person who is at fault here. Not that he will even admit his guilt in it. Does that Kuno boy have a reason to hate you so much? Apart from his wanting Akane and your girl form to admit feeling they don't have for him?" Paladin asked.
"I dunno why ev'rythin' happens like this Paladin." Ranma said with a still dejected voice. "It jus' seems that when stuff's goin' ok for me, somebody does sumpin' stupid that I get blamed for. I guess you an' Kitty-chan 're gonna be leavin' soon. All I gotta say is, I'm sorry for all tha crazy in my life. But I dunno how to fix it. Ya know?"
Jerrod, grinning slightly, looked at his daughter and asked. "Kitty, did you say anything to make Ranma think we were leaving soon? I know I didn't."
"Nope Daddy! Ranma's my friend an' I don' wanna leave if he can't come too!" Kitty said.
"There you have it Ranma, we can't leave even if I wanted to. Kitty just won't let me. Besides, you're my friend. Friends don't give up their friends for silly things like this. You'd have to lose my respect and actually do something to hurt someone to make me even consider questioning my friendship with you. So, get that idea out of your head right now. Kitty and I are here for as long as we need to be here. Unless you want us to leave?""
"What?! Why would I want ya ta leave?!" Ranma exclaimed.
Paladins grin widened with a sparkle in his eye, and said. "I don't know. Maybe you're jealous and want my moose-boots."
At that Ranma smiled and stood up, picking Kitty up in his arms. Neither Jerrod nor Kitty protested this. Jerrod knew she was safe with Ranma and Kitty wouldn't let anyone she didn't trust pick her up anyway. 'Even though the ragamuffin trusts almost everyone with no thought about it.' Paladin thought. The three jumped to the road and began the walk back to the Dojo. It was too late to go back to school for Ranma anyway.
As they walked along and talked Ranma asked. "So yarn't mad about what happened?"
"Ranma, I'm not angry with you about what happened. It wasn't your fault, and no one was injured severely by you in any case. However, I am very angry with the Kuno boy and your father." Jerrod explained.
Confused, Ranma asked. "My Pop? Why're ya mad at him? He didn't do that at the school!"
"I know Ranma. But what happened at the school wouldn't have happened if your father hadn't used a banned training technique on you. Would it?" Jerrod asked.
Ranma had to admit that was true. "Yeah, I guess. My old man found this trainin' manual with the neko-ken technique an' didn't bother to read the whole thing. So I guess yer right that Pops would be kinda responsible for what happened today."
"Ranma, you don't have to tell me anything about it that you don't want to. You don't have to tell me anything about your hopes, fears and failures that you don't want to. When you are ready to tell me what you want me to know, you can come to me anytime and we can talk. That is what friends are for. There also for teasing and having fun times with." Jerrod said.
Ranma visibly relaxed while Jerrod was speaking, and really smiled. 'Man, it feels just like nothing is all that serious to Paladin. He don't blame me for stuff, unless I really am at fault. He even stopped me from apologizin' to Akane the other day, cuz he'd seen what'd happened and stood back and just looked at her until she apologized ta me. It's so weird ta have a friend that listens ta me, and waits ta have me get what I'm tryin' ta say out. I always thought it was cuz I was stupid and nobody wanted ta hear my side. Turns out I was right 'bout 'em not wantin' ta hear my side. Paladin is patient though, an' he never raises his voice ta anybody that I know about. Even when Kitty-chan's in trouble he's patient. How come I couldn't have a dad like him instead of the panda?'
Paladin heard the under the breath thinking that Ranma was doing, and grinned silently. He didn't want to replace Genma as Ranma's father. And the kid wouldn't really want that. "Ranma, you're my friend, warts and all. I do like your father, I just don't want to like him. Genma doesn't mean to be what he is. His own father was probably not any better than he is. You are different though. You have a gentle soul and a caring heart. Your father mostly seems to think only about how he can benefit in any situation. I don't like the things your father has done to you. In America Genma would be facing at least five counts of child endangerment, neglect and abuse. He'd probably also be facing charges of fraud and larceny. That's probably a short list as well.
In America your father would be looking at a very long time behind bars. For some reason, I don't think that a guaranteed three meals a day and shelter and a warm place to sleep would be a good enough punishment for your father." Jerrod said.
"Yeah, my old man wouldn't like not bein' able to get drunk, but he wouldn't complain 'bout the other stuff." Ranma admitted.
So they continued to talk while they walked back to the Dojo. Ranma feeling much better about himself and finding out that Paladin was still his friend even with his cat thing, and the curse and all the fiancée's Genma had lined up for him.
As they approached the somewhat smaller neighborhood of the Tendou Dojo, Jerrod made mental note of the progress of the demolition of the unoccupied building he'd had purchased. While making this note he idly wondered how far Nabiki had climbed up the paper ladder that had been established to confound and confuse. From the first day Jerrod had met Nabiki he had her pegged as very inquisitive and almost obsessive about finding out secrets. Her frustration at the mystery of who was behind Groont Development grew more evident every day. At times it was difficult to keep from smiling at her pre-occupation with the puzzle he'd set for her.
He had planned on hiring the girl today in any case. The credit cars he'd ordered from the bank had arrived at the Dojo the day before, so he made his call for the delivery of the other purchases then. 'I know a whole family that is going to be very surprised at dinner tonight.' He finished his thoughts with a laugh at an observation concerning the really bad poetic prose constantly spouted by Kuno made by Ranma.
At the same time as the Macon's and Ranma were returning to the Dojo, a drunken panda in the company of an inebriated Soun Tendou sneezed and shivered. 'Uh-oh. Something bad is going to happen to me. Someone is talking about me and I'm being blamed for it. Obviously it has something to do with the boy! What did he do this time?'
The concern for his own hide promptly sobered Genma as he began planning how he could be sure it was established and understood that it was his son's fault, and the Ranma should be the one punished for it. After all it was only right that the boy stand up and take it like a man, it probably has to do with the family honor. It's required that Ranma stand in for his father.
(Yes, the screwed up logic of Genma Saotome at its best. 'If it's my fault, Ranma has to pay for it when it's found out. If it's Ranma's fault, he has to pay for it then, only sooner because Genma will let the news out as soon as he knows. If it's Akane's fault, Ranma still has to pay for it. Because, in some twisted manner, no matter where in the universe happened, if someone gets lost, misplaces something or can't cook, take responsibility for their own actions or their socks don't match. It's Ranma's fault. Genma Saotome, Akane Tendou, Ryoga Hibiki, Tatewaki Kuno and a plethora of other individuals who are incapable of seeing fault in themselves share this logic.)
Meanwhile, back at the Dojo, Nabiki had just finished sneezing several times in a row. "Oh, my! Nabiki, are you catching cold?" Kasumi asked.
"No sis, I've been sneezing like that for over a week though." Nabiki admitted.
"Oh, then someone must be thinking about you in that case." Kasumi observed.
"Yeah, and when I find out who I'm going to make their life miserable." Nabiki declared.
The front door opened and a little girls voice accompanied by two masculine voices announced. "We're home!"
All three voices made Kasumi smile, while only one made Nabiki smile along. 'Well, that is different. Nabiki smiling at the sound of something other than money that was being jingled or rustled. How nice! I do hope Ranma can handle it.' Kasumi thought as she noticed the happy smile on her sisters face.
Kasumi had been keeping an eye on her younger sisters throughout their lives, Akane and Nabiki may think Kasumi was off in her own world, and Nabiki very often proved that she knew otherwise, but still. The persona portrayed by the eldest Tendou daughter did usually catch most people off guard, even Nabiki. That Kasumi had noticed Nabiki's behavior becoming more friendly toward Ranma over the time the Saotome's had been living there shouldn't be surprising. The fact that Kasumi even approved of the possibilities this brought along showed that she believed Akane to be undeserving of the gift that Ranma was.
'He has such unwavering loyalty to honor, with an unearned commitment to Akane makes Ranma far too good for Akane. Ranma needs someone who can keep him focused and under control. Nabiki has proven she can do that very early. It does seem that Mr. Macon being around has made it been easier to keep Ranma calm.' Kasumi was thinking. 'Although, it does also seem that Akane is close to erupting with frustration of being balked in her 'punishment' of Ranma.' This last thought bothered Kasumi, because she knew in her heart that Ranma never really deserved the level of anger that Akane exhibits.
"Kasumi, dinner smells great!" Ranma exclaimed. Because from the moment he consciously became aware of the smells coming from the Tendou Dojo, the more excited over the upcoming meal he became. Ranma had simple needs. He even promised himself that he wouldn't wolf down the dinner as fast as he could. He also promised himself that he was going to knock the panda into the next ward if he started the speed training at dinner too.
"Miss Kasumi. Whatever it is you are cooking must be illegal." Paladin said.
Smiling at the gentle teasing Kasumi asked with mock concern. "Mr. Macon, why ever would it be a crime?"
"Because to have to wait very much longer might be considered torture Miss Kasumi. It does smell wonderful, I'm afraid I may overeat this evening and beat Mr. Saotome in his speed training."
"DADDY!" Kitty cried, thinking her father was going to eat like Mr. Teddy does. Then she saw the pride in the eyes and blush Kasumi exhibited. Kitty lowered her voice to where only Ranma heard her. "Daddy made Auntie very happy!"
"Yeah he did Kitty-chan." Ranma replied just as softly. Ranma didn't notice that Nabiki was looking at him differently as well.
"Dinner will be ready in about an hour. Everyone please get cleaned up, especially you Ranma. Your clothes are dirty like you've been rolling around in tar or something." Kasumi observed and everyone left the dining room to do as told. Even Kitty didn't argue about having to take a bath. Nabiki offered to help her bathe too. Ranma got the bath first followed by Kitty and Nabiki, then Paladin.
Around the time Nabiki and Kitty were bathing Akane returned home a little late from school and was very upset that Kasumi had already prepared dinner. She'd planned on cooking tonight to make the baka pervert feel better about having gone neko at school again. She was still confused that Ranma hadn't sought her out afterward like he did the other times he'd changed like that. 'Maybe the pervert pretended to this time so he could get out of the math test today and go see his Chinese floozy. Well, the jokes on him. He'll have to take a make up test tomorrow and I brought his homework too. I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to prepare dinner for him if he wasn't faking. I just know he'll love it too!'
(Yes Akane was again trapping herself in the world of delusion.)
"RANMA! Where did you go? To see your hussy Shampoo didn't you!" The last wasn't exactly a question. Of course Akane being who she was, she didn't wait for an answer. Ranma was promptly malleted through the wall, across the backyard into the stone wall where he bounced into the koi pond. Akane's action had three side effects. The first was that Akane immediately lost her anger. The second, Ranma had been turned into a girl (again). The first two side effects were normally expected by the members of the household from long experience with Akane and Ranma. The third was unexpected because this normal behavior had not been witnessed directly by Paladin.
Akane, pleased with herself suddenly shivered in worry about what she saw when Paladin looked at her when she smiled to herself about the just application of punishment to the pervert. She saw a very cold anger in his eyes. His words weren't comforting in the least either.
"Miss Akane? Do you usually ask a question, answer it yourself with no evidence to support your assumption and then act upon your assumption?" Paladin asked. He then waited for the girl to answer the question he had just posed. He stared into her eyes the entire time he waited for her answer. The wait extended into five minutes.
"I take it that you do this very often and only to Ranma. Miss Akane, just because Ranma is your fiancé does not mean that you can hit him any time you feel like it!" Paladin informed her in a way that there was no mistake that he was very angry with her at the moment and it might be a very long time before she was forgiven, if ever. The really strange thing Akane noticed was in how he said it. At no time did he raise his voice but it seemed that there was ice and frozen steel in his voice with the last words he said. After he said it he went out to the backyard with a change of clothes and towel for Ranma and took the boy to the Dojo, followed by Kasumi with a kettle of hot water.
Nabiki and Kitty had just finished their bath and made it to the living room in time to catch Paladins statement before he went out to the back. Kitty looked at Akane with a very hurt expression and ran out to the Dojo to make her friend feel better. Nabiki stayed behind to let Akane know how badly she'd screwed up. With her own icy tone Nabiki explained.
"Akane, Mr. Macon was there when that idiot Kuno sprung a trap on Ranma and Kitty-chan was caught in it with him. Mr. Macon is not very happy with Kuno or Mr. Saotome right now because of that! And now it looks like he's added someone else to the list of people who have managed to get him angry. If I were you, I would see if there were any way I could stay unnoticed for awhile. I was wondering earlier why Ranma didn't look for you when he went neko. I think you managed to answer that question for me with what I gather happened to cause Mr. Macon to speak the way he just did! Your thoughtless and undeserved constant punishment of Ranma has pushed him away. I don't think it will take you very much more effort to really make sure he won't ever want to marry you. Good going sis, great way to look out for the family honor!" With that Nabiki went out to the Dojo herself.
Akane started to weigh what had happened in her mind. She couldn't believe that anyone could be upset with her for doing to the pervert just what he deserved. He WAS HER FIANCÉ anyway. She was entitled to treat him however she felt. Wasn't she? 'I don't think Mr. Macon has any right to speak to me the way he did. And Nabiki taking his side too. That's really not right! We'll just see about this! Nabiki thinks she runs the house, I think I need to show her who the boss really is. And as for Mr. Macon, I think he needs to be punished for speaking to me that way. I think dad might just see how much better it would be if Mr. Macon were told to go somewhere else and mess up the lives of other people.'
It wasn't very long before Jerrod and Nabiki lead Ranma back inside and to the furo so he could have another bath to get the pond smell off. While Ranma bathed again, Nabiki and Jerrod stood guard outside to keep Akane from fabricating another reason to hit him. Paladin decided to wait until after dinner and the family discussion that had increased by at least two topics since morning. 'There are going to be some changes made here. Ranma cannot continue with the stress being placed on him by nearly everyone around him. I imagine there will be a great deal of anger about the changes that are going to happen. At least from the panda and the tear factory. But everyone will be better off in the end.'
It wasn't very long after the minor excitement of Akane's eruption and Ranma's second bath for the day that the two fathers returned from their 'community service'. Genma was sober with worry over what he was going to have to deflect so that Ranma will have to deal with it. And Soun was busy memorizing the list of items for the newest foolproof plan to get the youngest teens married.
In this case the required items included, but were not limited to, a cigar lighter, and automotive jack, a fifty foot tape measure, a sewing machine treadle, one jar of crunchy peanut butter, a plush octopus doll and one pound of drier lint. Fortunately, neither patriarch will be waking up later wondering why they have these objects in their pockets, as they will be sober long before they go to sleep. It was just only dinnertime after all. They had decided it might be best to do their thinking and scheming earlier than usual so that they wouldn't forget what the great plan was. They had tried this tack before with the consequence of still not remembering what the plan had been. This time was unusual with sober Genma returning home with a drunken Soun.
The seating arrangements were altered on purpose for the first time since the Saotome's had come to live with the Tendou's. Now, Akane was placed between the two fathers, Kasumi sat in Akane's place with Kitty between Paladin and Genma. Ranma and Nabiki were farther up the table with Nabiki facing Akane. Soun had been moved to take Kasumi's normal place. There were three at the table who were very uncomfortable with the new arrangement. When Genma tried to demand things go back to normal, Ranma glared at him. When Soun tried Kasumi and Nabiki stared him down. And when Akane began to say anything about it, only Paladin looked at her. And the look he gave her promised that nothing was going to be the same ever again. In fact Paladin never said a word to her the rest of the meal and barely spoke to Genma at all.
What was even worse was Kitty wouldn't pay any attention at all to Akane and the fathers. There were no stories of her day, or the excitement when Ranma had gone neko at school. Dinner was quiet with a definite promise that even Genma could pick up on, DON'T misbehave tonight!
"Akane, after dinner tonight I want for you to help me with the dishes!" Kasumi said, without preamble. Her wonderful dinner for Mr. Macon had been soured by her little sister's behavior and it was past time to correct Akane's attitude.
"But Kasumi, I was wanting to spar with Mr. Macon tonight. I promise to help you cook dinner tomorrow instead." Akane whined. And as usual both fathers supported Akane in this whine and demand. Why should the little princess have to stoop to wash dishes when she doesn't want to? Especially when an uppity gaijin had insulted her and deserves to be shown where he really stands on the totem pole. Soun and Genma had wanted to see how good this Macon person was from the moment they had met him.
Kasumi did something that was so rare that even Nabiki couldn't remember seeing it happen before; she actually frowned. Then she said sternly, "Very well Akane, if Mr. Macon wishes to spar with you, the dishes will wait until you are done!" And with that she left for the Dojo, followed by Ranma and Kitty, Nabiki was very close behind and the two fathers looked at Akane without understanding what had just happened. Paladin only sighed over the whole thing. He had hoped to not have to do anything like this. But Nabiki had told him with the others, that Akane would very likely do something like this. 'Well, it looks like it's up to me to spank Akane then. And it will be a spanking. I have to make sure that old men understand that no interference will be tolerated.'
"I'll wait for you in the Dojo then Miss Akane." Paladin said sadly. He hated having to step into the place Soun should have occupied. But Star Fleet officers don't back away from a job that needs to be done because they don't want to do it. They do the job to the best of their ability. 'I may go ahead and spar all three of them and get it over with. I can set the conditions of the match and make it an honor requirement. But I suspect the two sots would weasel around any conditions set. And, judging by their lack of character, they may even try to get Ranma to do it for them. Oh well, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred!'
In the time that Paladin and Kitty had been staying with the Tendou's, Jerrods clothing tastes had begun to reflect Ranma's. He had begun favoring the more loose and flowing Chinese style of clothing, his were plainer in appearance, although the cut and workmanship indicated expensive. So there was no need for him to change into a practice gi. He went to the dojo and found his daughter sitting on Ranma's lap and the Tendou girls bracketing the boy.
Jerrod went to the center of the floor and knelt. To the unpracticed eye, it looked as if he were sitting with his back to the door. Ranma saw something very different, he saw a warrior preparing himself to fight an unworthy opponent. The look on his friends face was sadness at having to do something that was another's job. The correction of a child was always the proper domain of the parent. But Soun hadn't been properly parental in years, with the result of his daughter raising themselves and each other. Ranma knew that Kasumi had lost her entire childhood because of the loss of Mrs. Tendou and Nabiki had become very cynical in her outlook while Akane had become spoiled.
Ranma was saddened himself about the whole situation. His new friend had been pushed into one of the things that Ranma often found himself confronting. How to correct Akane properly without hurting her, or getting badly injured himself. That was one of the things Ranma wasn't very good at. He knew this was going to be more than just a spar. Akane wouldn't let it be. She'd call it a sparring match, but it would be as violent as she wanted it to be. Meaning Akane would be trying very hard to injure Paladin and make him pay for a perceived slight. He did look on it as a possible learning experience for a new way to deal with his most violent fiancée as well.
After about five minutes, the fathers and Akane arrived. Akane approached the center of the floor while Soun and Genma sate at one end of the Dojo. After a few minutes of waiting Akane said, "Well, Mr. Macon? Are you going to do this or not?" He tone was slightly mocking. Even now Akane was suffering from the delusion that she was the best martial artist in Nerima. When all the evidence that Nerima's resident expert was Ranma, followed by Ryoga and in no particular order, Shampoo, Ukyo, Mousse, Kodache, Tatewaki, and a list of others that was quite long before it reached Akane.
Paladin sighed loudly and said, "Yes Miss Akane. I'm going to do this. There are conditions to this little match however. The match will end when you have landed three blows of any type, or accede. And by the way, you will have a hard time sitting for the next day or so after this. I am going to spank you during this match."
Huffing indignantly, Akane said. "You wouldn't DARE!"
"Oh, yes I would Miss Akane. Do you agree to this now?" Paladin asked.
"OKAY, GET UP SO I CAN SHOW YOU HOW GOOD I AM!" Akane screamed as she set herself for combat.
"Miss Akane, I don't need to get up. When I move, you will feel it." Paladin said, keeping his back to her with his eyes closed.
What followed amazed even Ranma. Akane lunged forward, not controlling her anger at the presumption of Paladin and his refusal to treat her as an equal.
At the very last second, Paladin moved, slamming one hand to the floor and lifting himself in a spiraling twist that launched him into the air and behind Akane where he landed three rapid open handed strikes on her rear end. The move added enough momentum to Akane that she slid two meters further than she intended. Enraged, Akane spun on her heel and rushed Paladin again. When she was within arms reach she tried a spinning back kick that would have obliterated a practice dummy.
What Akane had overlooked was that Paladin was not a practice dummy that blithely waits to be struck. Paladin gently caught Akane's ankle and pulled her out of balance, then rapidly delivered five more opened handed strikes to her rear. Akane, to her credit didn't cry out, even though the strikes she received were each very meaty slaps with a sting and the sound of a small caliber handgun being fired. 'I can't believe this! He's got to be cheating! Ranma is the only person I know this fast.' Akane thought, then said. "I'm not going to hold back on you now Paladin! I'm going to break you for humiliating me in front of my family!"
Paladin only shook his head and stood loosely waiting for the next attack from Akane. He didn't have to wait long. 'The girl is fast for her skill level, but her level is still very low. Her anger does nothing but hold her back. Being allowed to behave however she likes has held her back as well. I really hate having to do this.' Akane leapt forward with a flying axe kick that Paladin calmly stepped aside and landed four more strikes to her rear. The final one brought a tear to Akane's eye. So far all the open handed slaps to her ass had landed within millimeters of the others, all on one cheek. She could tell that her bottom was red without looking, her bottom felt as if it were on fire the sting was so sharp.
And so the sparring match went. Every attack Akane made was met by a solid defense or dodge which resulted in her having several more palm print welts arise on her left butt cheek. Each strike Paladin landed the rapport would ring through the Dojo and everyone in earshot would wince. And yet, no one tried to stop it. Soun had tried early in the match, but found himself rendered unconscious with a brushing of Paladins hand along his neck. When Genma saw his long time friend and fellow master in Anything Goes fall into sleep, he decided on the better part of valor.
He cowered as far away from the sounds as he could.
Her breathing ragged and sob filled, Akane stopped for a moment with several yards between her and Paladin, who stood as if he hadn't done anything to exert himself all day. Tears running down her face she glared at him. She had yet to land a single blow to Paladin and he had managed to land at least a hundred slaps to her posterior.
The stinging she had in her left butt cheek was so bad she could barely stand, but she refused to let anyone see it. Paladin did though, "Miss Akane, there is no shame in admitting you misbehaved and were corrected for it. What I have done this evening is something that should have been done by your father years ago. This doesn't need to continue. I believe you understand what you did to deserve this. I also believe you understand that I will do this again if you need it. Behave properly and you will not be spanked, misbehave and be spanked."
Akane fell to her knees, she understood, finally that there were people that couldn't be threatened or intimidated. And then she cried, she cried hard the sobs making her quake with the realization of why this had really happened. Her father, who she loved hadn't trained her very long before her mother had died, and after, he had slowed in her training until he stopped. Her father had given up on everything until the Saotome's arrived. But then the life that Soun Tendou had shown only revolved around his own comfort and the 'future of the family style of Anything Goes Martial Arts'. Nearly constant idiot plans to get her and Ranma married, when anyone outside could see that wasn't going to happen, especially if she had anything to do with it.
Akane's tears began to flow even more freely as she realized what she had done. She didn't really hate Ranma. But she didn't love him either. Her behavior had been to keep him at a distance and keep him from falling in love with her. Not that it would do any good. The idiot fathers would still try to enforce a marriage between them. She cried now because she knew she was trapped into a cycle that the whole family couldn't get out of, all because of a drunken promise made before any of them were born.
She wanted to act, not help run a dojo. Akane wanted fame, not to be a housewife.
Akane kept crying.
Paladin gestured the rest of the family to go inside while he remained. Genma carried is unconscious friend to the house, trailing behind the others. Genma was worried; he'd never seen Akane cry like this before. 'If Ranma were any kind of a man he wouldn't have allowed this to happen to his fiancée. I'll just have to teach the boy a lesson about this in the morning. Letting that gaijin beat his fiancée like that!' Of course Genma missed the entire point of the exercise.
Several minutes after the others had gone inside Paladin knelt in front of Akane and asked, "Miss Akane, you understand why I did this?"
She nodded.
"I hope you understand that I didn't want to do it. I want you to know that while you have a very long way to go as a martial artist, it doesn't mean you aren't any good. I believe that with enough training and practice you could be almost as good as Ranma is. You do have the potential. Now when I say that I believe that you could be almost as good as Ranma, that is because I believe that Ranma is truly among the best in the world, if not the best. He's trained his whole life in the Art, while you have only trained for power and strength. You need to learn control, so to that end, you will not practice any more until I have trained you in a few techniques. You will begin this training after school this Saturday. Now, dry your eyes, go inside and ask Miss Kasumi to get that ointment I gave to her earlier. It will reduce the pain and allow you to sleep later. After you have the ointment you will wash the dishes and go to your room. Alright?"
Akane nodded again and slowly stood up, the stinging in her bottom giving her a very slight limp. For some strange reason, she actually felt better about everything now. Something had clicked in her mind of all the times she had made an unreasonable demand of her family and they had given in. Some people would have found it easy to blame her sisters too, but her sisters were only children when their mother died as well, and couldn't be held responsible. They gave in because it was expedient, and got Akane to quit whining. Soun had no excuse at all. And now, suddenly there is a real father figure in their home and her father tried to undermine the correction she had deserved. Akane couldn't quite conceive of the concept consciously, but deep inside, where her conscience dwelled, she knew she had crossed the line of unnecessary violence one time too many. And received exactly what she deserved for it and all the other times she had done so. Akane received punishment.
She promised herself to never, ever get punished like that again. Her butt was going to be sore for a week. Under her tear streaked face, Akane gave a small smile. She just realized that Paladin was going to teach her new techniques soon.
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commentary from the (alleged) mind of Gseven;
I've been asked to put my comments at the end of the chapters. I do apologize if it seems that I'm doing things my way instead of how you would rather have it done. In my experience in reading many of the other stories that have been posted, I have noticed that there are many who do this. I have found that this mode tends to impede the flow of the story, the omake that have also been inserted into the middle of many of the stories also trip up the flow. I don't complain of that, because it appears that is how the writers of these tales have been trained, taught or assumed it is to be done. It may also be that quite a few of them may actually have been writtten through forums or other means.
If others are comfortable with this, I don't have a problem with it. I am not. You will notice that several of the 'Notices of Progress' or lack of it have been removed since the upload of a few new chapters to this tale of chaos being brought into control. I removed them because they did seem to break the flow. Please bear with me concerning this. I have collapsed the chapters into a more cohesive bundle, so that the tale will flow from chapter to chapter better. I was trained in this way by my old literature instructor, but I am sure you don't want to hear about my time as an apprentice to Unmarked Twaincrossing.
I really do hope that all of you are enjoying the story as I have it portrayed. I have allowed some of the characters to have some freedom in their behavior now. Akane is one of them. She will begin to be somewhat more patient from now on, and far more introspective and willing to see her own faults.As will Soun. The next Chapter is nearing completion and will explain this more fully at the beginning, later there is a revelation the whole family is made aware of.
No, not that Jerrod and Kitty aren't from around anywhere they might know of, something else..
Well, I need to get back to the old carving station and get this next chapter polished and stained with old walnut and coated with urethane. I hope you will enjoy the next installment.