Chapter 3: Lightning Strikes and Thunder Rolls

As Ranma bent to pick up the second towel, Genma surged to his feet and yelled "Alarm Destroyer!" Lightning flew from his hand and caught Ranma in the side, lifting the boy off the ground. Ranma's head arched back in pain and his entire body was lit by the strike. The pig-tailed martial artist was flung against the base of the far wall of the property with a bone-cracking impact. A portion of the wall snapped and collapsed on top of Ranma.

Genma scanned the wreckage anxiously with his other senses. Ranma's aura showed he was severely hurt, almost critically, but he was alive and Genma was sure that he would recover completely. He hid his sigh of relief and turned to those on the porch. Everyone was in shock. He looked gravely at them and said seriously:"Now the lesson is over."

"Saotome, what have you done?" Soun asked him.

"What was necessary, Tendo," Genma told him.

"You just killed your son!" Nodoka exclaimed.

"Hush woman!" Genma ordered. "The insect is tougher than that. *I* made him that way. He'll be fine after a few months in the hospital." To himself, he thought "Hopefully that will teach her not to cross me as well…"

"That's not what she meant, moron. You are a complete monster to do that to anyone, never mind your own son!" Nabiki snapped.

"SHUT. UP." Genma answered Nabiki. "Go make yourself useful for once and call an ambulance."

Kasumi was ignoring Genma completely, staring at the rock pile that used to be a wall. "Oh my," she said absently. "I'm going to have to do the laundry again I think."

Tofu was also staring at the rock pile. He turned to Akane and said, "I don't think you'll make it to school today." The comment caught Genma by surprise.

Akane nodded. Her hands were held to her mouth. "This is not going to end well," she agreed.

"It has already ended,' Genma told her crossly.

Akane looked at Genma in disgust. "Not even close, idiot," she told him. At her words, the backyard exploded in sound and light.

Genma turned to where Ranma was. The rocks burying the young man were blown into fragments which were now circling in the air, caught in the midst of a fierce whirlwind. At the center of the whirlwind, Ranma Saotome stood, his eyes blazing with light. Genma didn't understand. He could see the pain in Ranma's aura. It was almost blinding, but physically Ranma was completely whole. The wind wrapped figure raised his hand, and the whirlwind's speed intensified.

Ranma's blazing eyes focus on Genma, and the martial artist's voice spilled out to Genma on a cold breeze. "You are an absolute fool, Pops. I warned you I had completely taken the Yamasen-Ken apart. I knew it was possible to take your vacuum blades and fill the vacuum with Chi. Without air to impede the flow of Chi, it would have a look and an effect very similar to a lightning strike. I knew immediately that you would see this as an 'ultimate' weapon. I also knew that you would sit on it and hold it for your own use." Genma stared at his son in amazement.

The whirlwind started to rise into the air as Ranma continued and he began to walk towards Genma. "You know, I was happy to simply match you as you raised the stakes, showing that you could never beat me at your own game. I was hoping you wouldn't cross that final line, even if I didn't back down. But you had to go for your ultimate weapon, so now I'm going for mine," Ranma said sternly. The whirlwind was rising further into the air and intensifying further.

Genma started the Soul of Ice technique. There was no way he was going to let Ranma drop a Hiryu Shoten Ha twister on him. Ranma began smiling again, despite his emotional pain. "You truly surprise me after all, old man. I didn't know you knew the Soul of Ice. Unfortunately for you, that's not the Hiryu Shoten Ha." With that, Genma lost sight of Ranma as the whirlwind fell on the part-time panda.

Genma stood in the center of a literal barrage of stones. He was smashed on all side by large stones and cut by the smaller sharper ones. There was nothing to attack and no way to defend himself. If he tried to get out, the storm just pulled him back in. Instead, he focused on speed healing again, burning a lot of power trying to stay ahead of the damage. But he had burned a lot of Chi on the "Alarm Destroyer", and exhaustion began to set in; soon he could no longer heal himself and the damage began to mount. When he reached a critical point of damage, the tenor of the windstorm changed and the rocks stopped hitting him, but Genma could feel the storm trying to tear him apart – a vacuum was being generated around him and he felt the whirlwind sucking air out of his lungs. Genma felt himself pass out…


Nodoka sat watching her husband come to. She had to admit her son was an artist in many senses of the word. Genma was worn out and beaten up, but Tofu said there was nothing seriously wrong. The Doctor also said that Genma was likely to be in some major pain for a week or so, but had left his prescription pad at the clinic, so Genma would have to drop by later (provided the clinic was open that is).

Kasumi had already called the school and told them that there was a family emergency and neither Ranma nor Akane would be in today. Nodoka had then helped Kasumi put together breakfast for everyone. Unfortunately, there was too much food out. Genma was passed out and Ranma didn't feel like eating. Nodoka was able to "mother" Ranma and coax him to eat something with some gentle nudges, but the young man's heart wasn't in it. Akane just sat by him and held his hand (something Nodoka approved of). Soun and Happosai were reviewing the fight without Ranma's help. Both of them agreed that Ranma was no longer Genma's student, but Soun didn't know where Ranma fit in exactly since Ranma never acknowledged Happosai as his Master. Happosai finally said he was happy to leave it that Ranma was his heir and that was that. Nodoka could tell that both of them were trying to draw Ranma out of his funk and into a minor argument, but Ranma wasn't budging. Nabiki was her usual flippant self (after a cup of coffee), but she left Ranma alone, choosing to banter with Akane instead.

Finally, Genma moaned and Ranma went to stand over him as he woke up. Genma sat up and initially seemed confused, but then slumped over sullenly. "It's over, Pops," Ranma told him quietly. "Whether you can stay here or not is up to you and the Tendos, but I will never follow you again. The Tendo family has already agreed to let Mom and me stay here. Officially, I will start working for Soun in the Spring. Akane and I will settle things between us in our own time, no one else's. In the meantime, I'm keeping my job at the Clinic and I will finish my schooling. I will also continue to learn my Arts; both Martial Arts and the Arcane, which is also a big part of me – something you never understood either." Ranma sighed then. "You have no further place in my education, Pops. Your job is done."

Genma looked sullenly up at him. Nodoka couldn't read her husband's thoughts at all. Finally, Genma grumbled: "Even if you expected the lightning bolt, how could you possibly build up such a resistance to it?"

"That's all you want to know from me?" Ranma asked with surprise.

"Yeah, that's all I want to know." Genma said darkly.

"I see," Ranma said. Ranma stood up and looked at the group around the breakfast table. "Akane?" he queried.

Akane nodded and rose from the table. She strode out to where Ranma was and said, "Help Genma to the porch. He's in the way here." She winced as she realized her choice of words, but Ranma just nodded and pushed Genma up and to the porch. Ranma's former teacher sat on a corner by himself. Akane then took a resting stance in the yard, feet slightly apart and very stable. She lifted her hands up half an arm length out, palms up. The young woman closed her eyes and began visibly concentrating. Her hands started to glow and a visible red Chi field developed around each hand. Both fields began rotating, using her hands as hubs; the field on the left hand rotating clockwise, the field on the right hand rotating counter-clockwise. As Nodoka watched, the fields began to glow more intensely and spin faster.

The seconds ticked by. After about ten seconds, the spinning fields became bluish. "Akane?" Kasumi called out. "I'd really like the house to stay intact, please?"

"Yes, ma'am," Akane answered. Nodoka started to worry as she picked up no trace of sarcasm in either girl's voice.

After twenty more seconds, Ranma nervously said, "Umm… I know you want to make a good impression, Akane, but any time now."

"It's all right, Ranma. I'm not storing up any more power – there are some birds in the discharge path. I'm just waiting for them to leave the zone so they don't get cooked." Nodoka's eyes widened at the girl's distant tone and the lack of anything remotely joking in her voice.

Suddenly, Akane opened her eyes. Nodoka noted that the whites of her eyes were a vivid blue. Akane yelled "Thunder Strike!" and rotated her palms to face each other while separating her hands quickly. Even though part of Nodoka half-expected it, the meter-wide lightning bolt that shot skyward in front of Akane still took her by surprise. The crackling boom nearly deafened her, and the house shook on its foundations.

Ranma regarded his fiancée with some concern, making sure she hadn't hurt herself. Nodoka joined Soun, Nabiki, and Genma in staring wide-eyed at Akane. Happosai let out some expletives and mentioned something about staying out of Akane's room. Tofu picked up the cup of coffee he had sat down when Akane opened her eyes and took a sip. Kasumi seemed to be rubbing her ears and trying to get them working again.

Nabiki was the first one to actually say anything. "Ranma, there's no bloody way Akane has been throwing that thing at you," she said in a deceptively calm voice.

"Ah,… NO," Ranma answered.

Soun spoke up with an obvious strain in his voice: "Akane… honey… you have to seal that technique away. The ability to throw a meter-wide lightning bolt just shouldn't be used in battle. Ever."

"Actually Daddy, I can't throw lightning bolts in battle," Akane told her father. "Lightning follows its own laws – not mine. I can make it appear it front of me, like I just did. Or, I can throw it from one hand to the other." She held up her hands about 30 cm apart and a bright crackle of lightning appeared between them. The noise was just as bad as before though.

"AKANE!" Kasumi scolded.

"Oops, sorry," the blue-black haired girl said meekly with embarrassment.

Ranma took up the story from there: "Actually, the second usage you just saw is the battle-worthy one. Akane can shape the noise by shaping the blast between her hands. She can stun several opponents at a time with the concussive sound."

"That's why I call it the 'Thunder Strike' instead of the 'Lightning Strike'. If I hadn't shaped that big charge I set off, every window within a block radius would have been broken and we would all be deaf for a week," Akane added.

"The problem with the technique is that it's very easy to disrupt. If she gets hit before she releases it, the power just dissipates. The trick is to build up a decent amount of power in a short time," Ranma finished.

"I also have to have complete control of the area around me too. If someone is standing in front of me, I cannot build up the charge," Akane said. "It's very showy, but it's also very limited.

"So, how have you been building up a resistance to it if she can't hit you with it," Nabiki asked.

"I've been leaping above her when she calls a vertical strike. It took a little bit to get the timing right – if I'm there too early, I disrupt the charge and nothing happens. If I'm there too late, I miss the bulk of the charge. It takes some discipline on both our parts, but we can pull it off as a training exercise now," Ranma admitted.

"So, you have been leaping into that monster?" Nabiki asked with a fair amount of disbelief.

"Let me repeat," Ranma answered. "Ah, … NO."

"I've been using much smaller lightning bolts for Ranma's training," Akane told her. "The highest we have ever used is a six second charge time, but it takes a lot out of Ranma right now. I only let him do that once a week."

"Takes me about twenty minutes to shake off the effects and my teeth rattle for the rest of the day" Ranma agreed. "We won't be upping the charge any time soon, if ever. The daily drill uses a mix of two and three second charges. Genma's technique rates about a three second charge time. I can shake those off quick enough." Ranma looked at Genma. "I warned you, Pops," he told the defeated man. "Akane has made me stronger than you could ever imagine: mentally, emotionally, and physically."

Genma didn't say anything or do anything other than slump sullenly, like a spoiled child that had just had his favorite toy taken away from him. Ranma looked at Genma for a minute and then started to walk away from the group and towards the dojo. Akane started to follow him and stopped, unsure of what to do. Kasumi started to get up, but Nodoka stopped her. Nodoka saw a golden opportunity and wanted it. She gently squeezed Kasumi's shoulder and got up from the table.

Quietly, she approached Akane from behind as the young woman watched Ranma walk away. She gently slipped her hands around Akane and gave the girl a hug from behind. "In a way, Ranma has just lost his father, Akane. Or at least, he's lost the last shred of the ideal version he had in his mind. Genma just hurt him a lot, whether Genma realizes it or not, and Ranma was hoping Genma would never go that far. You are his Fiancée, his Girlfriend, and his Best Friend. He could really use the last one. You don't have to push him, just be there for him. Go on," Nodoka quietly urged.

Akane smiled lightly, and then reached up and gave a squeeze to the arms enfolding her. Then she went after Ranma. Before Ranma made it to the dojo, Akane had caught up to him and gently grabbed his hand, being sure not to stop him from moving forward. No one saw the slight smile on Ranma's face but Akane. However, Nodoka was sure it was there. Nodoka did see that Ranma never pulled away from Akane's touch though. The older woman turned back toward the table to see Kasumi beaming at her. She winked at Kasumi as she went back to the table.

Soun looked over at Genma. "You might as well eat, Genma," he called out.

Genma grudgingly rose from the corner of the porch he had been sitting on. "And then what am I suppose to do?" he grumbled.

"Well, I suppose that's up to you," Soun told him. "You've acted like an idiot and alienated your son – again. Hopefully not permanently this time, but things will never be the same no matter what."

"I have no …" Genma said peremptorily as he sat down at the table and then stopped himself. Despite everything that just happened and the humiliation he felt, he could not say that. Part of him didn't *want* to say that, even now. Instead he just sighed and slumped in his seat. Everyone looked knowingly at him.

"You almost made Ranma very happy," Nabiki told him. "That would have solved a lot of problems for him." Genma just threw a dark look at her.

"In the meantime, as long as you are civil to folks here including your son, you can stay here," Soun told him. "I still would like to have a Shogi opponent." Nabiki threw a black look at her Father. Kasumi suppressed a smile at Nabiki's reaction. "Since your wife and son are still here, you may prefer that."

"However," Nodoka continued. "My son has arranged for room and board in exchange for part-time work at the Tendo dojo. While the arrangement includes his mother, it does not include his father. Also, there is still a matter of the Seppuku Contract between you and me." Genma went white as Nabiki rose to locate the Saotome family blade. Kasumi failed to grab her sister as she ran by. Tofu locked his facial expression waiting to see where this would go. Surprisingly enough, Soun didn't look worried.

Nodoka spoke again: "Admittedly, the Subject of the Contract has shown an outstanding behavioral pattern best described as 'A Man Among Men'. In the past several months, the Subject has (1) successfully romanced his True Love and convinced her to become his Girlfriend, (2) shown proper respect to the Laws and Ordinances of Nerima, (3) accepted further education as his circumstances demanded, (4) displayed a proper balance of Yin and Yang as befitting a male despite environmental influences, and (5) recently demonstrated a just how far he has grown as a true man. However, you and I have privately agreed that the appointed judgment time is the Subject's 20th birthday, not today, so the matter is still open." One of Tofu's eyebrows shot up. Nodoka had to stop herself from laughing as Nabiki reappeared and pressed the sword into her hands. The girl bounced back into her seat despite the dope slap Kasumi calmly gave her.

Nodoka decided to go for the kill now (so to speak). "Despite the fact that you are no longer the Subject's Teacher, you will still be held accountable in the (admittedly unlikely) case that the Subject fails at the final deadline. In fact, you are still responsible for influencing the Subject in a favorable manner through whatever means is still available to you. Given recent circumstances, I'm afraid there only two means available."

"And those are?" Genma asked with a slight shake to his voice.

"Well, the first is you can serve as a warning." Nodoka told him. "Admit that you have failed to provide a good example (proven by the Subject limiting his association with you) and commit Seppuku. Once the Subject sees the results, he'll understand the seriousness of the issue. I'm sure he will pass the final evaluation with flying colors." Tofu slapped a hand to his mouth in phony surprise to hide a smile. Nodoka suppressed her own smile.

"But my love!" Genma started.

"Spare me, Genma. That part of our life ended when you left me to fend for myself all those years ago. I thought that was readily apparent. I'm not interested in listening to the garbage. Should I prepare the sword and dig out the tanto or would you like to hear the second option?" Nodoka asked him. Kasumi managed to stop Nabiki from searching for a tanto.

"What's the second option?" Genma asked resignedly.

"Why, you can resolve to provide a good example for the Subject. You can take care of your wife and pay for her support, rather than let her son do it," she told him. She then pointedly looked at the dojo and continued: "I also understand that you have a child around here somewhere, and it would be an excellent example of personal responsibility to provide child support and even a college education for that child. Also, you really should begin to reimburse those you have borrowed from, especially in terms of room and board," she told him.

Genma began panicking. "I don't understand," he lied.

"GET A JOB!" the table yelled at him.


Footnotes:

(1) Shown in the story "The Date"
(2) Shown in "To Serve and Protect in Nerima"
(3) Shown in "Her Second Favorite Teacher"
(4) Shown in "Shape-Shifters"
(5) This story…


A/N: I had intended for the story to end here, but a few people requested to see how Genma's job hunting went. While I rarely change how a story will flow due to readers' comments (unless I have been shown to be violating my own Rules – which has happened), I do read (and appreciate) all the reviews and I am very open to side-plot requests (some of them which have been really interesting – like "The Date"). After working on it, the Epilogue grew to become a full chapter, so here it is...


12/17/13: Wording change to Nodoka's final paragraph - the child she is referring to is Ranma, not a second child. The first pass wording was confusing people. She's just commenting on the emotional distance Genma has just inserted between himself and Ranma. - My thanks to Supermangageek23 for pointing it out.


12/22/13: Updated Author's Note to be consistent with last chapter.