Chapter 17
The sun shone brightly over the Kuno holiday home on the final day of the family vacation and it was time for everyone to pack up and get ready to go home. Having prepared early, the Kuno and Hibiki families were already packed in their respective vehicles. The Saotome family, not so much.
"Genma?" Nodoka shouted carrying a small bag with her to the van. "Did you remember to pack up the beach towels that were on the balcony?"
I put them in the van already. Genma signed, holding a suitcase in one hand and his sign in the other. I even got us some new ones!
"Please don't steal from my family's villa, Mr Saotome." Tatewaki said
They're mine now, boy! The Panda answered before receiving a stern look from his wife.
"Genma dear," Nodoka said, calmly tapping the hilt of her katana. The panda froze at the glint of his wife's steely gaze and even more so at the sound of the steel she was holding. She then turned to face Tatewaki and smiled. "We'll have them washed and returned to you, Tachi."
Genma silently moved along and placed his suitcase into the back of the van.
"That's very kind of you, Mrs. Saotome." Tatewaki said. "Is that everything?"
"Almost." Ryoga said from the back of his van. "Just waiting on Ranma and Akane and then we can go home."
"Akane's here." Akari said walking along with her, carrying one of the twins in her arms while Akane held the other. "Has anyone seen Ranma and Kaori?"
"No," Ryoga said "We thought they were with you."
"Are we there yet, Dad?" Jiro asked, much to Ryoga's annoyance.
"We haven't even left yet, Jiro." Ryoga sighed. "We'll get going soon though."
Elsewhere on the beach, Ranma and Kaori were stood facing each other readying their stances. "Are you ready, Kaori?" Ranma asked, squaring up against her daughter.
Kaori smiled and cracked her neck. "Gimme your best shot," She said confidently "Old lady."
"Oh ho ho ho!" Ranma chuckled, ready to strike. "You'll pay for that!" She then lunged towards Kaori and the two redheads began a flurry of punches and kicks towards one another. Rights and lefts hammered against each other with greater speeds and greater impact, sending shockwaves around them and causing small sandstorms to form and dissipate.
"You're gettin' better, Kaori." Ranma said, proud of her daughter's skill.
Equally proud of her own skill, Kaori grinned from ear to ear. "Oh, I'm just gettin' started." She gloated. And with that, the pair clashed again sending out a massive shockwave of energy which pulsed throughout the beach and over to the villa where everyone was waiting.
"What on earth was that?" Nodoka asked, feeling the shockwave push into her slightly.
No idea. Genma signed.
"Probably just the wind," Akari said turning to face Akane, who had mysteriously vanished and somehow placed both twins in her arms without her noticing. "...And we've lost another Saotome."
Back on the beach, the sparring session was escalating in ferocity as the two redheads battled for both training purposes and of course bragging rights. Kaori lunged towards her father again before seeing that Ranma had vanished and ended up behind her ready to strike with her elbow.
The elbow missed as Kaori managed to dodge to the left and deliver an elbow of her own into Ranma's side, driving the wind out of her and causing her to drop to her knees. With the momentary advantage, Kaori went for the finish. Leaping into the air, she readied herself to deliver a strong and decisive final kick.
However before it could make contact, Ranma's hand shot up and caught Kaori's foot in mid air. She then pulled her daughter down onto the sand with a powerful slam and climbed on top of her victoriously. "Gothca!" she said smiling and flexing her arms. She then stood up and held out a parental hand.
"Darn it!" Kaori said reaching out to her father's hand and using it to pull herself up. "I nearly had you this time. How'd you catch me like that?"
Ranma smiled and crossed her arms. "A true martial artist is fully aware of their surroundings, Kaori." She said proudly as she went into teacher mode. "Until you can do that, you ain't got a chance at beating me." Just then, a large suitcase smashed on the back of Ranma's head, knocking her into the sand with a massive thud.
"WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TWO FOR OVER AN HOUR!" Akane shouted her face burning with rage.
"Dad, Mom's here." Kaori said kneeling over her father's fallen form. Always aware of your surroundings, eh? She thought to herself smiling. She's worse than Grandpa sometimes. "She looks pretty mad, too."
"Yeah, I noticed sweetie." Ranma said crawling out from the sand. "I think we'd better hurry up and get back now."
"Hi Mom," Kaori said trying to look innocent and hopefully evade her mother's anger by using an all-time favourite Saotome strategy; blame Ranma. "It was Dad's idea!"
"WHAT?" Ranma said, hearing Kaori throwing her under the bus. True enough, it was definitely Ranma's idea. But at the same time Ranma couldn't help think that she should have been shown some solidarity. "You little..."
"I DON'T CARE!" Akane shouted, pulling Ranma out of the sand by her pigtail. "Come on, we need to get going!"
Back at the van, everyone was starting to become impatient. "Where the hell are they?" Ryoga said staring at his watch. "We're gonna have to get going soon if we want to miss the traffic."
"Oh look!" Akari said, turning to watch the scene as the Saotome family emerged from the other side of the hill. "There they are!"
Jiro popped his head out of the van window and began waving. "Hi, Kaori!" He shouted excitedly "Hi Akane!" His face turned into a very sly grin as he spotted Ranma walking alongside her family. "Hi, Aunt Yoiko!" he called out.
"Hey!" Ranma shouted, jolting at the sound of Jiro's nickname for her. "Who the heck told you to call me that!?"
Smiling, Jiro pointed to his father. "My dad told me. " he answered. Just then, Ryoga and Akane burst out laughing, followed by Akari and Jiro.
Nodoka on the other hand was left confused. "Aunt Yoiko?" she asked. "What is he talking about, Ranma?"
"Long story, Mom." Ranma said turning a deep shade of crimson herself. "Long story."
