CHAPTER 10

-"RAN MEETS RANMA'S MOM… SHATTERED DREAMS"-

Ranma arrives at the Tendo Dojo, after defeating the Spanish ninja Vega…when he enters the living room, Kasumi sees him and greets him: "Oh, hello, Ranma! Already back from school I see."

"Yeah, what're you doing?"

"Oh, just preparing lunch, you know me."

Then Kasumi sees Ranma's shirt, it was shredded, and it makes her gasp. "Oh my! Ranma, what happened to you?"

"Nothing, just a little fight with a blonde wacko," Ranma tells her.

Still, Kasumi's concerned. "Are you all right Ranma?"

"Yeah, Kasumi, I'm okay. It's nothing really. Well, I'll go get dressed."

Later, Ran and Akane arrive to their house and learn from Kasumi about Ranma's fights, they rush toward Ranma's room and barge inside:

Ran's quick to speak. "Hey Ranma! Kasumi told us that you had another fight, is that true?"

Ranma says plainly, "Well, yeah."

Akane's worried. "But are you all right Ranma? You're not hurt aren't you?"

Ranma brushes off what's happened recently like it's nothing. "Nah, that guy didn't give me a real fight."

Ran asks, "Say Ranma, who was it?"

Ranma:" A weird blonde guy who called himself Vega."

Akane blinks. "Vega!?"

"Yep. But don't worry guys, that Vega guy won't bother me again…" Ranma assure the girls. In the back of his mind, he's thinking: I hope so.

SHADOWLOO HQ:

Vega has now returned to the base and is headed for the main chamber. When he arrives there, he sees Sagat, Balrog, Zangief, Rolento and Birdie waiting for him, as well as M. Bison himself. When Vega passes his comrades, he hears all of them chuckling and turning their faces away:

M. Bison says pleasantly, "Vega! So glad you made it back…how did it go in your mission? Did you get Ranma?"

Vega's worried. "Well…um…no…the thing is that…she got help from her friends and…they…outmatched me, yeah…so I couldn't get him."

Bison's tone of voice is a slight more menacing. "Are you SURE about that, Vega?…you'd never lie, right?"

Vega's sweating. "Um…NO!…you know me, sir. I'm a man of my word."

"Very well, then… Now, let's watch what's going on lately, shall we?"

Then Bison clicks his remote control and the wide-screen monitor turns on…and it was showing the video footage of the fight of Vega vs. Ranma. Vega sees it, gasps in shock, and his eyes go very wide…everyone assembled in the chamber sees the fight, from the beginning to the end. At the end of the tape:

M. Bison finally asks, "So, Vega, what were you saying about your fight against Ranma…? YOU say that she got help. I don't see anyone coming to her aid, and it looks like 'you' couldn't do anything to 'her'. She beat you up pretty good."

Vega's face has turned about a couple of shades of white from fear (of embarrassment, humiliation, or worse!). He can barely say, "Whe…where did you get it?"

Bison tells him, "Oh, THIS…? Courtesy of our partners, the Red Cat Gang…! So Vega, care to explain yourself?"

Vega's REALLY sweating now! "………!!"

"It appears that you underestimated this 'brat', the one that you said that you could take out…and failed."

Vega pleads, "Lord Bison, please, give me another chance! I..I won't fail next time!"

Bison smiles, gloating, "Be fortunate that I need you for later, because if not, I would have you executed right now."

Vega bows gratefully, visibly relived that his beautiful neck's no longer on the chopping block. "*Gulp*…thanks…thank you, Lord Bison! Thank you!"

"Now leave my sight Vega!" Bison angrily commands.

"Yes…yes, whatever you say!"

Once he steps outside, Vega makes plans:

Breathing a great sigh of relief, Vega says, "THAT was a close one…" Now angry, he swears, "That Ranma person is going to pay big for this! Oh YES, he will suffer! But before that, I will also have to pay a little 'visit' to that damned place!"

Later, in the Tendo Dojo, Ranma, Ran and Akane are practicing, when Nabiki walks in. "Hey Ranma," she greets her future brother-in-law.

"Yeah, Nabiki?" Ranma asks.

Nabiki tells him. "Come into the living room…your mom's arrived."

Ranma brightens up. "MOM? ALL RIGHT!"

For some reason, Ran's excited too. "Your mom, Ranma? Wow!"

Akane says, "Now you'll meet her Ran…come on!"

When they arrive to the living room they see Ranma's mother Nodoka. When Nodoka sees Ranma she's happy. "My son, how are you?"

Ranma excited to see her, too. It HAS been a while since his mother found out about his curse (one only has to read volume 34 of the Ranma ½ manga to see how THAT happened). Since then, Ranma's had to get used to his mother being in his life once again, after being separated from her for so long – no thanks to his idiot father, the dumb ol' panda; Nodoka's had to deal with the fact that her son, with just a splash of cold water, turns into a girl. And her husband's a panda half of the time… oh, well. Anyway, getting back on track here, the relationship between Ranma and his mother has gotten better since those days. And today, he can greet her warmly, "Mom! I'm so happy to see you!"

Mother and son embrace, and then Nodoka spots Ran. She's intrigued by this girl, who looks for the entire world like Ranko, her son's 'former' identity. "Oh my, who are you?"

Ran tries to introduce herself. "Um, my name is Ran," she says, bowing. "It's nice to meet you ma'am."

Nodoka gets a good look at this rather polite young lady, and remarks, "My my…you look so much like my son's cursed form…who are you?"

Ranma explains, "Well mom, it's like this…"

Then, everyone explains to Nodoka all about Ran, from her first appearance, her mysteries, her fights and help, until today. At the end, Nodoka's astonished. "Oh dear lord… so you say that you don't remember anything of your past Ran dear?"

Ran shakes her head, "No ma'am. I don't even know where I lived."

"And you don't even remember your parents?" Ran nods in response to her query. "Poor child, you must be having a hard time, right?"

Ran tells her, "Well, but, the Tendos and Mr. Saotome have being keeping me warm, and treat me as a part of their family."

Nodoka smiles. "How nice of them. And Ranma, what do you think of him, Ran?"

Ran doesn't think twice about her answer to Nodoka's question. "He's the best friend any gal could ever have. He's loyal, fun, and good at Martial Arts!"

"I see, and you, Akane. What do you think of her?", she asks Akane.

Akane replies, "She's cool, and she's a best friend. We are like sisters, she's helped me a lot, and with Ranma too."

"Oh! How?"

"It was her help that helped me realize my love for Ranma, and that helped me see my errors. She's been a lot of help to us."

Nodoka's impressed. "Really…" Then, to Ran, she says, "I must say, I'm very grateful to you Ran. It appears that you are one special girl."

Ran blushes. "Aw… Geez…Thanks a lot, Mrs. Saotome."

"No Ran, please call me Nodoka, after all, you're also part of my family."

Ran's pleased at hearing that part. Being part of a family made her feel…well, happy… Later Nodoka was hearing the rest of Ran's dark past from Soun, Genma, Nabiki, and Dr. Tofu (who'd came by the Tendo house a little while earlier) :

"So you're trying to tell me that you don't know anything about Ran?" Nodoka asks.

Dr. Tofu replies, "No, there is nothing on her. Not a medical file, nor a record, nothing."

Nabiki further explains, "Yes, and I found nothing. It's like she's a ghost."

Nodoka's a little bit worried about all this. "Dear lord, however is that possible? I mean, there's nothing on her?"

"Nothing," Soun tells her.

Nodoka turns to her husband, hoping for some good news in spite what's she heard today. "And how is she taking it?"

Genma honestly (for once!) tells his wife, "Well, at first she was confused and scared, but lately she's cheerful."

Nodoka sighs in relief, "That's good, the poor girl."

(Cue the Dream Sequence!)

Ran is walking in a foggy place, and then she hears someone calling for her

"Ran, please help me." a boy's voice says from somewhere in the thick fog.

Ran looks around. "Wha…who's there? Where are you?"

"Ran, I need your help! Save me!"

"Where are you, tell me?"

"Listen to your heart, let your heart be your guide, rescue meeeeeee!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait!"

(End of dream)

Then she wakes up, panting…-" Who, or what, was calling for me? Who was he?"

The next day, while going to school, Ran was talking to Ranma and Akane about her dream:

Ranma asks her, "So Ran, you haven't had any bad dreams have you?"

"Not lately," Ran tells him, "But, I had a weird one last night."

"Oh! What kind of dream?" Akane wanted to know.

Ran tires to explain, "In this dream, someone is calling for me, telling me to help him and save him. But I can't see this person."

Ranma considers that. "Well, whatever it is, we'll have to figure it out."

Akane adds, "That's right, and remember Ran, we'll always be there for you."

Ran's happy about this. She thinks of how blessed she is to have friends like Ranma and Akane. The very thought makes her blush, and so she smiles. "Thanks a lot guys. I mean it."

"Now, how's about a race to school…are you up to it Akane?" Ranma asks.

Akane hmph's, accepting Ranma's good-hearted challenge. "You're on Ranma! I've being training a lot and I want to put it to the test."

Ran encourages her friend. "That's the spirit Akane…so, let's go…!"

Ranma nods, "All right…On your marks…"

"…get set…" Ran continues.

"…LET'S GOO!" Akane finishes, and the race is on!

Then, the three of them dash to Furinkan, with Ranma and Ran in the lead. When they arrive, Kuno's waiting for Ran at the front gate, Ranma and Ran see him and groan. Ran, especially, moans, "Oh man, not THAT jerk again!"

Ranma shares Ran's sentiment. "Man, that Kuno doesn't give up, does he?"

Sweatdropping, Akane grudgingly admits, "Got to admit it though, he's persistent."

When Kuno sees Ran coming he dashes toward her. "Oh Pig-Tailed girl, I have come to set you free from that evil sorcerer Saotome, so you and…UGH!!"

Kuno didn't finish his sentence for Ran just punched him in the gut. Ran tells him off. "Listen jerk, I'm not in the mood for your lousy poetry. If you continue to insult my buddy Ranma, I'll kick you hard where the sun don't shine…got it?"

As he's getting up, Kuno implores, "But Pig-Tailed Girl, don't you see what I am trying to do here…? I'm trying to save you from this evil sorcerer Saotome!"

"No you're not! You're bugging me and my friend Ranma…and why do you keep calling him a Sorcerer anyway?"

"Cause he is…he's cast a spell over you and he's controlling you!"

Ran blinks. "Spell…? Controlling me? Are you whacko or something…? Where did you get that stupid idea?"

"He's keeping you away from me, and, since his arrival, all the girls are avoiding me."

Ran laughs, "Oh no Kuno, that's no spell that makes women reject you…it's YOU."

Kuno objects. "What!"

"You heard me. Women reject you because you act like a jerk, you treat everyone else as lowlifes, you think of yourself as God's gift to women…but to them, you are a big jerk, and that's why they reject you!"

Kuno can't believe what the object of his obsessions is saying. "Surely you don't mean that…!? It's probably that cursed Saotome's doing - he's making you say those awful things!"

Ran shakes her head, disappointed. Why hasn't Kuno gotten it through his thick skull yet? "There you go again, Kuno. Wake up and see the reality of things."

Ranma doubts that Kuno will EVER get it. In all the times he's known the poetry-spouting, sword-swinging upperclassman – Ranma knows one thing's for sure; despite his eloquence of speech, skill in swordsmanship, and upper-class attitude – Kuno's eternally dense as a brick. Or dumb as a rock, take your pick. Instead of booting the fool into the sky like he usually does, Ranma decides to be the better man and just turns to Ran saying, "Hey Ran, why don't we leave him, or we're gonna be late."

Ran nods in agreement, "You're right…"

Then they leave Kuno and attend classes. Later in the school day, during recess, Ran was talking to Ranma and Akane about the problem called Kuno. "So he's stalked you ever since you first came to this school?"

Ranma nods, "Yep, ever since I beat him up. But the real kicker was that he'd fallen in love with my cursed form."

Akane, who sweatdrops (knowing Kuno's obsession with her as well), adds, "From that moment till this day."

Ran asks the same question that all of us have been asking, "And, you haven't told that stupid Kuno that you and his fantasy girl are the same person?"

Ranma replies, "I've been trying, but, like his sister, he's just stubborn."

"So, why don't you show BOTH of them 'who' you really are…maybe that will solve a lot of things, don't you think so Ranma?"

Ranma begins to consider Ran's idea…and it hit him…why didn't he think of THAT before! GOSH!

"You know what, Ran? That's an excellent idea! I haven't thought of that - I'll do it…thanks a lot!"

Ran giggles, "No problem, Ranma."

"Say Ran, you think you can help me with this?"

"Sure Ranma…doing what?"

Ranma, with a sneaky grin, says, "You'll see…Akane, can you do me the favor of calling Kuno and Kodachi and have them meet me in the backyard of Furinkan High this afternoon?"

Akane says, "Sure Ranma…but why?"

"Oh… You'll see..." Ranma laughs. "You'll see…for this afternoon, all will be clear for them."

MEANWHILE, AT THE SECRET FORTRESS OF THE RED CAT GANG:

"I'd better make sure to call R and tell him that we will move our base of operations to Japan for the next phase of the plan." Dr. Wily tells the statue of the Cat Ghost King.

The Cat Statue agrees. "Yes, do call him Dr. Wily meow."

Bass complains, "I still don't like this. I still say that I should be the one for retrieving that blasted stone!"

Delia scolds – gently for a change, "Don't be stubborn Bass. It is R's job to do that, so stop your whining."

Bass mutters, "……………."

Dr. Wily taps his foot impatiently. "Just where in hell is that High Priest Erick? He should be back already!"

"He will return, Wily. You can bet on that." Delia assures him.

"Right you are, Delia." A man's voice says out of nowhere.

Startled, Bass jumps back about a yard and half. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Then, Erick emerges from the shadows. But, he's wearing a whole NEW wardrobe…He's wearing black armor-like clothing that covers most of his body with black iron gloves; around his waist is a long iron "skirt"-like accessory with sharp blades on the edges, and to top it off he's wearing a small silver skull necklace around his neck. Erick cheerfully says, "Hello you all…missed me?"

Delia smiles, "Welcome back, Erick."

The Cat Statue asks, "Erick, where have you been? You left without telling anyone meow."

"Oh, that. I just went out for a little walk to clear my head…didn't Delia tell you?"

Delia, rolls her eyes, replying, "I DID tell them, Erick, but they're just impatient."

Dr. Wily marches up to Erick and says, scolding him, "Listen here, Erick…we're in the middle of a very important mission here, so it's not the time to disappear when we need you…is that understood?"

Erick's mood darkens – and so does his facial expressions. Then, serious, he says, "First of all Wily, I don't owe YOU any explanations; second, I'm only here as a "Advisor"…that means that I only give advice to you guys…and third…", with an evil glare in his eyes, "Don't you EVER scold ME Wily, or I'll show you the many ways of death …" His eyes glow red, burning with unholy fire, "Is that CLEAR WILY?"

Dr. Wily gulps, cowering in fear, "Y-y-yes…yes sir…pretty clear…like…like water!"

Turning back to normal, Erick's all smiles again. "Good! Now that's settled, what's new Doc?"

Meanwhile, Akane manages to contact Kuno and Kodachi. (Meeting up with them was HARD, since she had to beat Kuno up to prevent him from hugging on her all the while and keep Kodachi from trying to poison her!) and delivers the message from Ranma to meet him at the backyard behind Furinkan High…of course, Kuno thinks that it's for a fight, while Kodachi thinks it's for a date.

5:00 pm, Kuno and Kodachi arrive at the school; now, they're waiting for Ranma:

"I wonder why that foul sorcerer wanted to meet me here…could it be cause he wants to surrender to the great Tatewaki Kuno?" Kuno wonders aloud.

Kodachi laughs softly, "Don't flatter yourself, brother dear. If he wanted to meet me here, it's because he wants to take me on a date!"

"I WILL NOT ALLOW IT! HE WILL BE PUNISHED BY THE MIGHT OF…"

"Oh, put a sock in it Kuno…!"

Then, they turn around and see Ranma:

Kodachi, with hearts and black roses(!) in the background, happily cries, "Ranma-Darling, you're here!"

Kuno sneers, "You're here for our duel, foul Sorcerer Saotome?"

Ranma flatly tells him, "No, Kuno, I didn't bring you here to fight either."

Puffing out his chest, Kuno triumphantly smirks, "So, you're here to surrender to me?"

Keeping the urge to beat Kuno up (and down, and around!) in check, Ranma calmly says, "That's not it either…I asked you both here to clear up some 'things' about me, and your platonic loves."

Kuno and Kodachi blink simultaneously. "What!"

Ranma starts, "Kuno, YOU say that you love your famous "Pig-Tailed Girl", right?"

"You're certainly right!" Kuno says, stating the obvious. DUH!

Ranma looks over to Kodachi. "And you Kodachi, YOU say that you love me, right?"

Kodachi says earnestly. "I do, Ranma! I do!" She's already dreaming of wedding bells, her darling Ranma in a white tuxedo with a black rose pinned to his magnificent chest and she in her black wedding gown… oh c'mon, people! Surely you wouldn't expect KODACHI to wear white, would you!?

Ranma interrupts Kodachi's fantasy, right as she's imagining the honeymoon night… which we WON'T go into detail about here, but let's just say that there would be a LOT of "O-HOHOHOHOHOHOOO!!" going on behind closed doors.

The author of this story, seeing where the narrator's going with this, yells, "OH, GET ON WITH IT!!"

"BUT, you say that you hate the –"Pig-Tailed Girl" right?"

Kodachi's dreams of marital, erm… bliss, are smashed into pieces upon the very mention of the 'Pig-Tailed Girl". Her mood darkens, and angrily she says, "I do, that hussy!"

Ranma turns back to Kuno. "And you, Kuno, you also say that you want to kill me."

Kuno's mad. "That's right foul sorcerer Saotome! Only then will the Pig-tailed girl will be free from your evil clutches!"

Ranma makes his decision. "Well, I'm afraid that there's something that BOTH of you must know. Something that has to do with your platonic loves…something that I should have done a LONG time ago."

Then Ranma grabs a bucket of cold water and pours it on himself. When Kuno and Kodachi see Ranma change into a girl RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, they were both shocked - Especially Kuno! "PIG… PIG…PIG-TAILED GIRL!?" he can only stammer.

Kodachi barely gasps, "RAN…RANMA-DARLING!?"

Ranma-chan says, "So what do you think, Kuno? As you can see guys, I was a girl all this time."

Kuno can barely speak at this point. "But…what kind of sorcery is this?…YOU are the Pig-Tailed Girl…?"

Ranma-chan smiles brightly. "That's right Kuno, and…" Then she takes a kettle of hot water and dumps it on herself, changing back into a guy…

And then Ranma then says to Kodachi, "… I was also your 'Darling', Kodachi…in other words, I'M the one that you guys love and hate at the same time…the Pig-Tailed Girl and I are one and the same!"

Kuno's stunned by this LONG-overdue revelation. "BUT…BUT HOW…!?"

Ranma explains, "You see guys, I'm under a curse that I got in China. When I'm splashed with cold water, I turn into a girl; when splashed with hot water I turn into a guy…"

After hearing this, the Kuno siblings are shocked to the max…they can't believe what they've seen. The person who they're in love with is the same person they want to kill… trying to wrap their minds around THIS is driving both of them nuts (As if they weren't nutty enough already!)!

Still shocked, Kuno thinks: NO, THIS CANNOT BE! THAT FOUL SORCERER SAOTOME IS ALSO MY PIG-TAILED GIRL…HOW CAN THIS BE!?

Kodachi looks like she's about to cry. Equally as shocked as her brother, she thinks: I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!…MY RANMA DARLING IS ALSO THAT RED HARLOT!…WHAT DO I DO?…WHAT?

Ranma thinks NOW's a good time to wrap things up… and maybe get out of Dodge (or Nerima, in this case) before the Kunos come to their senses and decide to attack him… or preferably, each other, he idly hopes. He says, "Well, now that both of you know the truth about me, what are you gonna do now? I mean, you can't love me and kill me at the same time…um…guys?"

Ranma sees that Kuno and Kodachi are still shocked and not moving at all – kinda like living statues, so he decides to leave them there. "Well guys, I'm outta here. See you later."

Ranma then leaves for home, leaving the Kuno siblings still lost in their respective shattered worlds.

Unfortunately, someone else saw the whole thing happen – R!

Surprised, R thinks: Wait a minute, isn't Saotome a guy? But, but he just changed into a girl! Then, he turned back into a guy again. How can he do that? Hmm…this must have been what Dr. Wily told me I'd find out for myself when I first came here. Then, the light bulb goes on in R's head. Ah, I remember now! I'd heard of a place in China called Jusenkyo. It's said to be some kind of training ground too dangerous to use because of all the cursed springs that are there. Out loud, he says, "So this is Jusenkyo's curse, huh? Hmph. Saotome, you're one weird individual. I don't know whether to kill you, or kiss you. Oooh, this is gonna be good. Maybe I can use his curse to my advantage. Heh heh heh! Oh, the possibilities…."

R then leaves the backyard of Furinkan High School, with an evil smile on his lips. To kill Ranma when he's a guy, or to seduce his girl form and then go for the kill? That was the question. He was equally willing to do both. May God in Heaven help us all…

Meanwhile, in the Secret Base of the Red Cat Gang, Erick was in his private dark chamber chatting with Delia. "Everything is going according to our plans, Delia. Soon, victory will rise for us," he tells her.

Delia's cheerful. "That's good, Erick-san."

"It is. Ah, what fun are we having with these pitiful mortals. They're sure a lot of laughs."

At this point, Delia's concerned. "Erick, what if that Cat Ghost King begins to get suspicious about OUR plans? What's going to happen? Will that ruin them?"

"I don't think so, and if he suspects or finds out…I'll just have to…kill him. I don't want any kind of problems, and you can have him Delia."

Delia chuckles, "You sure are very cautious, are you Erick?"

"That's right Delia, cautious… and smart…that's why I have won all the times in the past…right, Delia?"

"Right you are, Erick-san, right you are."

TO BE CONTINUED…