Author's Notes: One of the things that's always fascinated me about Ranma 1/2 is that so much of the canon story requires everything to go just so - which in turn makes it a fanfic writer's dream series, because there's so many opportunities for the story to zag instead of zig and take things in an opposite direction. Somebody I know pointed me in the direction of a story called "Meeting Later", a Ranma/Akane story where the two meet a year after the events of canon started, having instead gone through their sides of misadventures alone first before ever laying eyes on each other. I wasn't particularly sold on the implementation, but the concept itself? Now, THAT I had to give it my own spin...
Chapter 1: A Fateful Family Reunion!
As the train doors hissed open ahead and the crowd began surging forward, Nodoka Saotome sighed forlornly to herself, hands instinctively clutching tighter at the hated precious burden that she carried with her wherever she went, its form solid and unyielding even through its obfuscating layer of cloth. She navigated the crush of the Nerima-kasugacho Station on pure auto-pilot, her thoughts a million miles away...
'Oh, dear, it's so late... It was good to see Ayame, Momoe and Yoshie again, but they gossiped for so long... I suppose it could have been worse; at least it kept them distracted from trying to talk me into filing for divorce from Genma again. Don't they understand? If I do that, then I will have lost any hope of seeing my son again... oh, Ranma... are you well? How I long to see you again...'
"Old man, why won't you tell me what we're doing here?! C'mon, this isn't funny!"
The voice - young, bold, and full of life, easily cut through the noise of the train station. It would have had little impact, other than to make Nodoka's ever-present wistful nostalgia grow just a touch deeper for a moment, had it not been for the answer it elicited...
"Ranma, will you give it a rest already?! I told you, boy, I'll tell you where we're going when we get there, it's too early yet!"
Nodoka's eyes went wide in shock, not even registering when somebody bumped into her from behind, muttering an apology before moving around her.
'I know that voice!'
Galvanized by that realization - which if anything was an understatement, for Nodoka knew that voice almost as well as she knew her own heartbeat; it echoed in her memories and was burned into her nightmares, she would go to her grave hearing that voice - Nodoka spun on her heel and sprinted in the direction of the voice. With uncharacteristic brusqueness she forced her way through the crowd, shouldering aside one or two slower individuals, and even stomping on the foot of one foolishly stubborn impediment to her progress. Her heart hammered in her chest with such force she felt it was going to burst through her ribcage, lungs burning with unfamiliar strain as she ran as fast as she could manage. The crowd around her opened up, and her heart leapt into her throat at what she saw... A familiar silhouette, clad in a dirty, travel-worn gi and a sweat-stained headband, standing next to a handsome youth in a red silk shirt.
"Genma Saotome!" She cried as loudly as she could, hope and sorrow ripping at her with equal aplomb as she mentally prayed for the man to turn around...
And turn he did, revealing a familiar face. "Yes? I'm sorry, do I - Nodoka?!"
Genma's pitch sharply yanked upwards as he screeched her name like a teenage girl, eyes going wide behind those old-fashioned, wire-rimmed spectacles he insisted on wearing, recoiling on one foot like a housewife confronted with a big, fat rat, his hands twisting into those funny little warding gestures that he'd always used as long as she'd known him.
Under other circumstances, Nodoka might have greeted her long-absent husband with greater fondness. But in this time and place, Nodoka only had eyes for the young man at Genma's side. A handsome, strong-looking man who looked at her with bewilderment, though she barely registered his expression as her eyes filled with tears. She flung her eyes around him in a mighty hug, cheeks growing wet as she wailed, "Oh, Ranma! Oh, my son! At last, you have returned to me!"
"Uh-wha? Who?!" Ranma babbled, but Nodoka was only half paying attention, instead squeezing her precious baby boy as if he might fly away if she dared to loosen her grip. She held him for at least a minute before she finally and reluctantly relaxed her grip, taking a step back so she could look him in the eyes, smiling in joy even as tears of relief continued to pour down her cheeks.
"Oh, Ranma, my beautiful boy... I had almost lost hope. Don't you remember me? I'm your mother, Nodoka..." She gently explained to him, heart fluttering like a songbird trapped behind her ribs.
"Muh-Mom...?" Ranma repeated, clearly overwhelmed. But then, wonderfully, recognition seemed to dawn and his eyes went wide with joy, before he threw his arms around her, crying, "Mom!"
"Oh, Ranma!" Nodoka sobbed, clinging to her beloved child once again, uncaring of the way her burden was pressed awkwardly against her chest by the tight crush of their bodies.
Finally, she reluctantly pulled away from her son and turned her attention over to her husband. "Why, Genma dear, what a wonderful surprise! You never let me know you were coming... I would have prepared something special for you both. Oh, but what am I saying? I'm just glad you're back, after all these years."
"Yes, well, um, I w-wanted to surprise you! Yes, that's it! It was going to be a surprise," Genma declared, his eyes glancing this way and that like they always did when he was sizing up his surroundings and preparing to make a quick getaway.
"Well, you certainly did!" Nodoka giggled with genuine fondness, even as she stepped over and pointedly took her husband's arm, gripping it with a strength that would have surprised the casual observer. "But now we need to be heading home - I'm sure you're both starving! Do you have your tickets already?"
Shortly afterwards
As the noonday sun was steadily blotted away behind a thickening veil of dark and heavy clouds, Nodoka hummed brightly to herself as she strode briskly through the familiar streets of Kodenma in north-east Nerima, drawn to her home like a moth to a flame. Every so often, she would glance back over her shoulder at her family as they followed obediently behind her, and her smile grew just that little brighter as she reveled in the sight of her son and husband home after so many years.
She might have been a little less encouraged if she'd paid attention to their whispered conversation...
"Okay, pops, what's going on here? Who is this woman, and why does she act like she knows us?" Ranma hissed to his father, trying to look innocent when the strange woman with her auburn hair glanced back their way.
"What do you mean? That's Nodoka; my wife and your mother," Genma hoarsely grumbled back.
"Pull the other one! No way a lady that pretty would marry somebody like you," Ranma jeered, reaching out and painfully tweaking Genma's cheek whilst Nodoka wasn't looking.
"Knock it off, boy! This is no joke!" Genma snarled in his softest voice.
Ranma stared dumbfounded at his father. "You...You really mean it? She is my mom?" When Genma solemnly nodded in affirmation, Ranma nearly exploded, spitting out through clenched teeth, "Then why didn't you tell me about her before now?!"
Genma grimaced, but before he could answer Ranma - or, more likely, spin some kind of outrageous lie, if Ranma knew his father - Nodoka suddenly drew to a stop and turned to face them both, still beaming radiantly as she announced, "Well, here we are, then!"
Ranma looked at the building that the woman - that his mom - had stopped in front of. It was, as far as he could tell, a comfortably middle class sort of place; a small but neat two-story house with a small yard enclosed by a high fence. He wracked his brains desperately, but nothing about the place seemed familiar.
'Crap! How do I tell her I can't remember a thing about the place?!' He lamented to himself, before glancing desperately over at his father, hoping he would know what to say under these circumstances.
Genma nodded solemnly, arms folding across his chest before he mused, "Matsubara Toshio did his job well, I see. That's a relief; I was worried when you told me about how our old home had been demolished."
Nodoka smiled, demurely nodding before she replied, "Yes, he truly was a miracle worker! Only you would think of challenging a master of Martial Arts Construction Work to build us a house if you could best him in combat, dear."
Ranma was staring wide-eyed from first his father to his mother and then back again, confusion written plainly on his face. "Demolished? New home? What?!"
"Oh, it happened about... eight years ago? There was a little... unpleasantness... with a gang that showed up and started causing trouble. Things... Well, between one thing and another, by the time they were gone, our original house had burned to the ground," And though she kept smiling as she said it, Nodoka hung her head and sighed softly, before shaking herself, Ranma able to tell from her tone of voice that it wasn't little and she was evading the whole story.
Then she cheerfully added, "Now, your father was difficult to get in contact with, since the two of you were always moving, so I put out a little notice in the paper. And once your father heard, he sent Matsubara Toshio, and I've been living here ever since. I knew my manly husband would take care of things!"
"But of course! I wouldn't leave my sweet little No-chan in the lurch like that," Genma guffawed, grinning proudly even as Ranma turned a half-shocked, half-appalled expression on his father.
'Since when do you talk like that?!' The dumbstruck youth wondered.
Oblivious to his son's disgust, Genma tried to reach out and romantically clasp his wife's hands, but she nimbly sidestepped around him and took up Ranma's hands instead, that strange long cloth-wrapped bundle tucked deftly into the crook of her elbow as she did.
"Oh, but it still wasn't home, my darling son - not without you here! How I've missed you all these years! It hasn't been easy, waiting here, counting every day, wondering when your father would finally deem your training complete! But here you are, and oh, you're every inch the handsome and manly son I've dreamed of for so very long! Nothing could ruin this day!" Nodoka cried joyfully.
And that was when, as if possessed of their own perverse sense of humor, the clouds opened up and pour forth a deluge of gentle spring rain, drenching the newly reunited family. Nodoka squealed girlishly as the cool liquid washed over her, flattening her hair to her scalp and soaking her dress in an instant; she tossed her head to clear her eyes, ready to laugh and usher her son (and also her husband) inside to the dry shelter of their new home...And that was when she saw that instead of her son, she was now clasping the hands of a sheepish red-haired girl, a huge panda bear looming over her with a set of wire-rimmed glasses hanging from one ear.
"Wh-Who are you? Wh-Where's my son?!" Nodoka gasped, staring dumbfounded at the stranger... the stranger wearing Ranma's clothing.
"Eh-hehehe... um, mom? There's something I need ta tell ya about that whole 'manly' thing..." The girl - Ranma - nervously said.
And just like that, it was as if some kami reached forth with their hand into Nodoka's skull and flicked off a spiritual power switch. The whole world went dark in an instant as she collapsed, unseeing and unhearing, to the rain-soaked pavement.
"MOM!"
Without a second thought, Ranma grabbed his mother, slowing her fall and lowering her gently to the ground. His stupid father made the guttural barks and growls of his panda form, claws clumsily tugging at Ranma's sleeve, but the faux-girl snarled in a rage and threw a backhand at him that would have cracked concrete if it had hit.
"Gerroff! I dunno what yer problem is, but mom needs help! Hold on, lemme see if I can find the key to the gate... got it! Well, what are you waitin' fer?! Pick her up, moron! You know I'm the only one of us with fingers, an' we gotta get her inside!"
Genma let out a slow, deep, almost whining sound, but stooped to scoop his wife into his thick bear-like forepaws, tucking that strange bundle into his chest in the process. Even unconscious, Nodoka didn't let go of it, and he looked at it with trepidation. But Ranma ignored his father, the boy-turned-girl busy working the lock to the barred gate that led to the interior of the estate that was, evidently, his family home. The hinges creaked even through the distinctive susurration of the rain, the gate swinging open to permit the girl and the panda to head inside, bearing their precious burden with them.
In the heat of the moment, Ranma was completely oblivious to the niceties of the house's interior - little details that he would later burn into his memory as he tried to wrap his brain around the idea that finally, he had a place he was truly going to stay forever, instead of picking up and leaving at his father's whim. Or because pops had gotten them into trouble yet again, at least. But right now, all Ranma cared about was getting his mother to her room and laying her down in her bed.
For lack of a better plan, Ranma hurried to grab some extra bedding, carefully piling it underneath his mother in an effort to soak up the moisture from her damp clothes. The faux-girl sighed in relief as he checked - yet again - to see that Nodoka was still breathing. And that was when Genma once again clumsily grabbed at Ranma's arm and began trying to tug him towards the door, whining and grumbling in panda-speak.
"Oh, will you cut it out?! What's yer problem? Go do somethin' useful and heat a kettle, will ya?!" Ranma barked at his father, punctuating his order with a clench-fisted swat to his father's pseudo-ursine skull.
Genma growled in bestial exasperation, but Ranma fixed his father with a look that the senior Saotome knew promised pain if he wasn't obeyed, the resemblance to Nodoka when she got that look all the more apparent with Ranma's current physical gender. Grunting in resignation, Genma turned and lumbered out of the room, heading back down to the kitchen on the ground floor, leaving his son and his wife alone together.
Ranma knelt at his mother's bedside for what felt like hours, desperately holding one limp hand tightly between his own. As the boy-turned-girl sat there, the ticking of a clock echoing like an engine of doom in his ears, his mind raced madly.
'Why did I never know you? Why did pops never tell me anything about you? Did I... did I do something wrong? Did you send me away with him because you didn't want me?' He wondered, feeling a strange burning sensation in his eyes at the thought, one that wouldn't go away no matter how hard he blinked.
A soft, feminine groan drew Ranma out of those dark thoughts, dragging him back to reality. He watched excitedly as Nodoka stirred and finally opened her eyes, oblivious to the relieved smile that had spread over his face. "Hey, mom, you feeling okay now?"
She looked at him sharply, and Ranma flinched; the look of shock and horror and disbelief in her eyes felt like knives slamming into his heart.
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?! Where's my son?!" Nodoka demanded, sitting up sharply, pulling her hand from Ranma's grasp and grabbing the covers that had been draped over her before yanking them up to her chin, a makeshift armor against the world as she scooted as far away from Ranma as she could get without falling out of the bed.
"Mom... I know it's hard to believe, but it's really me! I'm Ranma!" The redhaired girl pleaded desperately, unaware of the panda that came lumbering through the bedroom door behind her on its hindlegs, a kettle clutched in one forepaw.
Slowly, Nodoka lowered her blanket, staring wide-eyed at the stranger in her bedroom. "...Ranma? It's really you? But then, that means... that panda...?"
Ranma managed a crooked grin as he nodded, "Yeah, that's pops alright. Can't you tell? Would a real panda look this stupid?"
Genma let out a bark of irritation at the insult, but was soundly ignored by the rest of his family.
Nodoka hesitantly lifted a hand, gingerly reaching for Ranma's face. The fake girl did her best not to move, not even when Nodoka flinched just inches away from touching her. Ranma just watched Nodoka's trembling fingers, before the older woman took a steeling breath and finally placed her hand gently on Ranma's cheek.
"Oh, my son, what has happened to you?" Nodoka breathed, her eyes dark and sad as she took in the altered features, unable to stop seeing those haunting similarities now that she knew what to look for.
Ranma squirmed slightly under the attention, breath quickening at the unfamiliar touch, before he moistened unnaturally full, plump, girlish lips with a dab of his tongue and began to speak.
"I... ah... I dunno if you an' pop talked, or when ya last spoke, but about three weeks ago, we went to China-"
"I remember. Your father regularly sent me postcards about your travels. It was the one way I was able to feel a part of your life, however small," Nodoka interjected, smiling wistfully for a second before she once again looked serious. "The last postcard I received, it said you were going to visit a place called Jusenkyo - a training ground of cursed springs in the Byankhala Mountains...?"
"...Pops told you about that? Well, anyway, turns out that stuff about Jusenkyo being cursed wasn't just something they made to hype up the tourists. We both fell into different springs, and we came out looking like this."
Nodoka watched, dumbfounded, as the panda suddenly lifted its kettle over her... son's? Daughter's? Child's head and tipped it forward, sending steamy hot water pouring over Ranma's scalp. There was an indescribable effect, almost like a shimmer that rippled across Ranma's entire body, and then the red-haired girl was her ebon-haired son once more.
"Hot water will change us back, but cold water makes us turn into these stupid bodies," Ranma added.
"I see..." Nodoka slowly replied. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath to center herself, and then slowly rose from her bed... before she opened her eyes, fiercely clutching at the strange object she had refused to be parted from, and rushed over to Genma!
The panda-who-was-a-man retreated with shocking speed, but Nodoka kept perfect pace, deftly backing him into a corner as she shouted, "Genma Saotome, you utter fool! Did your vow mean nothing to you?! What were you thinking, turning my son into a girl!? I know I said I wanted a daughter as well, but this isn't what I had in mind!"
Genma grunted and whined, waving his arms as he pleaded pathetically in the panda equivalent of language.
"Speak up, dear! I can't understand you when you mumble like this!" Nodoka scolded him, struggling with the cloth wraps on her precious object.
"Mom, it works better if you turn him human first," Ranma interjected, deftly darting in and grabbing the kettle from his father's unresisting paw before yanking off the lid and splashing the remaining hot water squarely in Genma's face.
The disgruntled panda-turned-man spat excess water with a sour look, which morphed instantly into an expression of pure terror as Nodoka thrust into his personal space.
"Nuh-nuh-now dear, I can explain!" He stammered.
"What. Were. You. Thinking?! You do remember that you promised to make my son a man among men, right? That the only reason I let you go running off to Amaterasu-knows-where is because you vowed, on pain of seppuku, that it was all in the name of making him a manly martial artist! In what possible way does cursing him to turn into a girl achieve that goal?!"
Ranma flinched backwards as if struck, reeling as his mother's words cut him like knives.
"Seh...Seppuku?" He croaked through a throat that suddenly felt tight, as if somebody was crushing it, eyes burning and vision blurring as tears began to well in his eyes.
Nodoka's head whipped around, and he saw the guilt hit her like a tidal wave, for an instant. He didn't see it for longer than that because faster than even he could follow, she was right there in front of him, pulling him into a crushing embrace.
"Oh, my son, my beautiful baby boy, I'm sorry - it was just something silly that your father did! Mommy loves you, please don't be scared, this stupid curse doesn't count!"
Still holding Ranma tightly, Nodoka glared over her shoulder at Genma, hissing, "Is there a cure?!"
Genma went white; he knew what that look on Nodoka's face meant, and he hastily spilled his guts, happy to be doing so metaphorically rather than literally. "Th-The curses of the springs can be undone with the springs themselves! If you bathe in the spring of your original form, it'll cure your curse!"
"Wait, what?!" Ranma blurted in disbelief at Genma's revelation, for this was the first he'd heard of it!
However, Nodoka beat her son to asking the obvious question, snarling, "Then why are you both still cursed?!"
"The Guide didn't know where the Nanniichuan, the Spring of Drowned Man, was off the top of his head! He needed time to check the records! We intended to stay at a local village while he found the spring and got the water for us, but something happened and we had to leave China before it happened!" Genma pleaded desperately.
Nodoka audibly growled like a beast, releasing Ranma and storming towards Genma like a wrathful hannya. The cloth wraps fell away, revealing what Nodoka had been cradling like a baby to be an antique katana, and she took its sheath firmly in her left hand even as the fingers of her right hand wrapped around its hilt.
"Tell me the truth - You didn't intend to bring Ranma back to me at all, did you?" She cried, cursing as the blade seemed to catch in the sheath, eventually sending both blade and sheath flying through the air and almost hitting Ranma.
"St-Still so clumsy, eh, No-chan? I don't know why you insist on carrying that sword, you've always been better with your bare hands..." Genma chuckled weakly, clearly trying to make it sound conversational, only to wilt at the fire in Nodoka's eyes. Especially when she imperiously reached a hand backwards in Ranma's direction, her son handing her the unsheathed sword. She then blinked.
He'd handed her the unsheathed sword. No-one in several generations had managed to draw the blade without looking like a fool, and her son did it without even thinking.
"Ranma, put that away on the stand over there. Just the fact you drew it implies that I was very hasty. Although, Genma," Nodoka declared, drawing a pistol, "Where were we again? Oh yes… Who were you going to see if it wasn't me?"
"What the hell?!" Ranma blurted, mind wrestling with processing the fact his mother - his sweet, kindly, classically beautiful mother - had just pulled a kami-damned firearm out of her kimono!
Sadly, both parents ignored Ranma, Genma instead raising his hands in a placating gesture as he hastily confessed, "I was going to Furinkan! You remember, the pledge Soun Tendo and I made that our children would wed? The whole plan was to take him there, get them hitched, and hope that the fact he was married would make you overlook the curse!"
Mother and son both froze, staring at Genma in mutual disbelief as they tried to process what he had just said.
"...Just go ahead and shoot him, mom," Ranma growled, grip tightening on the sword he was holding until the hilt creaked under the pressure.
"Sometimes, I'm tempted," Nodoka darkly declared, before she double-checked the safety on her pistol was on and made it disappear back into her kimono as swiftly and as miraculously as it had appeared.
Genma audibly sighed in relief, only to pale as Nodoka turned a cold, haughty look on him that had even Ranma looking concerned.
"I am going to choose to ignore that I wasn't your first choice of destination. I am going to count it that your training journey has finally concluded, after all these years. And luckily for you, I am even going to consider your pledge to me fulfilled successfully, despite Ranma's... predicament. But hear this, Genma Saotome... Ranma is not going anywhere. Certainly not to Furinkan to move in with your old training partner!" Nodoka stated. She didn't bellow. She didn't rage. But every word was cold, precise, and carried the unmistakable weight of sincerity behind it, brooking no argument. Never mind the fact she nearly shot him.
And yet, Genma somehow drew himself up stubbornly and protested, "But it's a debt of honor!"
"I don't care - my baby boy is too young to get married, and you well know that! Besides, he only just came back to me after fourteen long years - there's no need for him to leave me again so soon! Does this 'debt of honor' have a time limit? If not, we can wait a few months, or…"
Without thinking, Nodoka reached out and dragged Ranma over to her, throwing her arms around him in a possessive embrace and glowering fiercely at Genma over her confused son's shoulder. Ranma watched in silent amazement as Genma grimaced, before his shoulders slumped and he sighed in resignation.
"...Yes, dear..."
Smiling, Nodoka released her grip on Ranma's shoulders, only to take his hands between her own, staring excitedly into the confused youth's eyes.
"Now that's all sorted out; Ranma, why don't we go out and get to know the neighborhood? Oh, you've been gone for so very long - it'll be so nice to show you around home again!"
"Uh... sure, mom, why not?" Ranma hesitantly replied, and was rewarded with a girlish squeak of glee from his mother.
That night...
Ranma sighed softly as his head hit the pillow.
'Holy crap, a bed - an actual bed! Not a futon, not a sleeping bag, not a big pile of leaves or hay, a real bed with sheets and a pillow and everything. I can't believe she actually had a room for me...'
He shook his head as he stared at the ceiling, trying to pull his thoughts into order.
'This is... wow, just, where do I even start to figure out today? I have a mom! I mean, a mom who's alive, not one who died or ran out on pop! And... well, just what kinda mom is she?! Carries a sword - carries a gun! - talks about suicide pledges, scares pop... well, okay, pop needs a scare. Can't believe that moron didn't tell me about the Nanniichuan cure back in China - why the hell did we leave the valley?! ...Okay, I suppose Shampoo chasing us outta there was partly my fault, but still!'
'...Man, this is gonna take some getting used to. Still, at least I'm home now. Home... man, ain't that word hard to get used to. Could be worse. I can't imagine how badly things would've gone if pops had gone through with his stupid idea to drag me off to get hitched to his old buddy's daughter. What the hell is that all about?! Would'a been nice to know that I'm engaged, pops! Stupid old man, can't you ever stop screwing with my life?!'
'Well... no matter. Mom clearly ain't having none of pops' crap. I'm glad she put her foot down - can't imagine me showin' up outa the blue would have gone down well, an' the curse would've only made things worse. No, looks like things are gonna get all normal for me now... Man, I ain't ever thought've myself as normal before. It's a weird feelin'...'
A great yawn escaped the tired youth, his eyelids seeming to gain ten tons in between one thought and the next. He sluggishly pulled aside the covers and wormed his way into his new bed, eyes gently closing as sleep stole over him.
'But... I think I can get used to this. If nothin' else, mom's a great cook...'
Minutes later, Nodoka peeked inside, and smiled hugely as she took in the sight of her son, home at long last, curled up in the bed that had sat empty for so very long.
"Oh, Ranma, I'm so happy that you're home... sweet dreams, my precious baby boy," She whispered, the doting grin never once leaving her face as she did.
She gently closed Ranma's door, but as she turned around, she found herself face to face with her husband, a sheepish grin on his face.
"You sure made sure Ranma had a cosy little room, No-chan. So... um... what's our bedroom look like nowadays?" Genma asked, putting on his best charming grin and pitching his voice to sound as seductive as he could.
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear, but since you didn't write ahead and let me know you were coming, my bedroom is still set up for a single person! I'm afraid you'll have to grab a spare futon from the linen cupboard and sleep in the living room tonight," Nodoka replied, sweet and innocent, looking at Genma with an expression as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
Genma sighed forlornly, shoulders slumping as he read the unspoken reprimand. "Yes, dear. I'll go and fetch it out now..."
As he turned and slowly lumbered away, he thought to himself, 'Okay, not great, but considering how I thought she'd react to Ranma's curse, I can live with this. A little Saotome smooth talk, some of that old Genma charm, and she'll be glad to have me back soon enough!'
'...I'm glad she didn't find out about the Nekoken, though...'
The next morning...
The Saotome family's first breakfast as a full family together was a quiet affair, all things considered. The sun was shining brightly in a sky that was mostly clear, save for a few white, fluffy clouds, birds chirping from the trees and beyond that, the general sounds of life in any decent-sized Japanese town stirring in the morning. Nodoka was smiling so hard it would have taken a crowbar to remove the expression from her face as she served up the morning meal, her attention largely fixated on her son, but she even deigned to favor Genma with the odd nod or glance of acknowledgement as they all ate.
Meanwhile, Genma slowly ate his miso soup and rice, and even as his stomach sang paeans of joy at finally getting to taste Nodoka's wonderful cooking after all these long years, he couldn't help but cast a woeful eye out the sliding door to the yard. Now, it bears mentioning that the Saotome residence's yard was about average for a lower-middle class house. But still, that wasn't exactly a great deal of space, and mostly it was just green grass, with a smattering of flowering shrubs and a small vegetable garden in one corner.
'Blast it all... Matsubara Toshio did decently at rebuilding the structure, I'll give him that, but still, this place is so small! It's maybe a third the size of the Tendo property... The dojo proper doesn't really matter so much - a real Anything Goes martial artist should be able to train any time, any where. But at least Soun's garden has the room to properly stretch out and train in...'
Oblivious to his father brooding over old jealousies, Ranma ate with far more enthusiasm, though still doing his best to be relatively polite in front of his mother.
"Mmm, that was good, mom! Thanks for the food!" He chimed happily once he'd drained the last of his broth.
"Why, thank you, son! I'm so glad you enjoyed it," Nodoka beamed proudly, before adding, "Now, it took a little doing, but I was able to get you a place in a local school, so here - take this map and you better hurry along, you don't want to be late."
"Uh, sure thing, mom," Ranma replied, only slightly hesitant as he took the proffered piece of paper.
"And what school did you find to take him in?" Genma asked, actually looking up from his bowl.
'I had some arrangements made with Furinkan High, so I'll need to cancel those, it seems...'
"Starting today, our son will be attending Kodenma High School," Nodoka proudly announced.
Both she and Ranma flinched in shock as a wide-eyed Genma suddenly crushed his bowl in one convulsive grasp, spilling miso-soaked rice all over the table.
"I refuse! You're not sending my son to Kodenma High! That school is full of lunatics!" He roared.
"You went to Kodenma High, and so did I," Nodoka calmly pointed out, causing Ranma's head to swivel as his attention shifted between his parents.
"Which means I know what I'm talking about! How could you send our son to that madhouse?!" Genma demanded, slapping the table for emphasis.
"I wonder, could it be because it's the only school that was willing to take our son at such short notice? Because I had no forewarning of our son's arrival, and thus no opportunity to set things up sooner?" Nodoka asked, the furrowing of her brow and the icy tone of her voice making it clear the questions were merely rhetorical. It was likely the only local school which would accept him, and wherever Furinkan was, it likely meant the Tendos.
"My son has spent fourteen years training with you in the martial arts. That I accepted. But being a martial artist does not mean I will permit him to be a brainless thug, capable only of thinking with his fists!" She declared, hands on the table and leaning forward slightly as she glared at Genma.
"Well, of course he's got to be more than that! I did everything I could to ensure he got as much schooling as he needed," Genma declared, almost as forcibly. "But still, Kodenma High -"
"Was the only choice. He's going, dear. Deal with it," Nodoka declared sharply. Then she turned to Ranma, all smiles again, "I'm sorry, sweetie, but do you think you can find your way to school on your own? Your father and I will be busy finding him work now that he's come home again..."
"Uh, yeah, sure, no problem, mom," Ranma replied slowly, though he couldn't deny the schadenfreude at the strangled noise Genma made.
"Then you better be off, dear, or you'll be late. Your new schoolbag is by the front door," Nodoka replied, as sweet as she ever was.
"Alright, mom, pops, see ya later," Ranma declared, springing to his feet and jogging towards the door. Sure enough, he found the bag just where Nodoka had promised, and it was a matter of a moment to snatch it up, pull on his shoes, and start sprinting out of the door.
'Okay, let's see... yeah, looks easy enough to find this Kodenma High place. Wonder what had the old man so spooked about it? I mean, ain't like that Junior High School he put me in was exactly high class! He's gotta be exaggerating... right?'
Chapter End & Closing Notes
And so, Ranma's first step into his new life begins! Fun fact; Kodenma High School is a Takahashi homage, and I'll be very impressed if anyone can name where it appeared amongst her works!
For future hijinks, we'll be looking at a combination of adaptations of "Ranma's side" of canon - the stuff that's going to seek out Ranma no matter where he lives - and almost certainly a fair bit of original content. As to what... well, you'll have to wait and see.
Pairing wise... well, we'll see. Very much leaning towards Shampoo, but things could get a little open, depending on how things turn out...
And no. Akane is NOT an option. Don't ask.