"Hey, Tomoko-chan, you okay?"
Tomoko Tanaka blinks, then smiles on seeing the young doctor sitting across from her. "Oh...as expected, Sakebu-chan. I was just thinking about poor Ran-chan."
Sakebu Kanna nods understandingly, slipping off her glasses as she rubs her auburn hair. She had been the trauma surgeon called in one bloody night when a young martial artist was brought in with a sword-thrust into his spine, paralyzing him from waist down. On hearing his full story, the doctor was grossly tempted to lay both assault-and-battery and child abuse charges on both the Tendou and Saotome clans. She hadn't had the chance...yet. Then again, there were OTHER ways, very NASTY, LETHAL ways, of delivering punishment to those who would abuse a poor boy like that.
She wondered if Hippocrates would approve.
The Mother Ocean certainly would.
"So where is he now?" Sakebu wonders.
"In Kyoto," Tomoko explains. "Turns out that Ran-chan had a 'secret admirer' who offered him a new place to live away from the idiots here!" In anger, she stabs at her food. "I can't believe that nonsense still exists!! An actual contract demanding someone be a 'man above men,' with SEPPUKU as the punishment if he fails?!"
"Believe it," Sakebu sighs. "Some people are so short-sighted at times."
Gazing at the nurse, the young doctor sighs. Tomoko had taken a liking to Ranma from the start, giving him a badly needed sense of belonging when it seemed that everyone he had implicitly trusted had deserted him. The pain Tomoko felt at Ranma's suffering was a real thing to Sakebu. And pain, both physical and emotional, was something Sakebu fought every day of her life, both in the realms of medicine...and in more non-traditional realms outside this hall of healing. "You know exactly where Ranma lives?"
"Um...yeah, I do; I can write back to him," Tomoko muses. "Why do you ask?"
"I want to go down and check up on him," Sakebu smiles, a glimmer in her eyes. "After all, he was as much my patient as he was yours. A little follow-up is called for, don't you think?"
Tomoko feels her face drain of colour. She knew what THAT look meant, ever since she had seen Sakebu use her...gift...to calm some drug users suffering substance withdrawal one night after a nasty gang fight. Learning this woman before her was a physical and mental symbiont, a human merged with an alien female warrior, a member of a race who'd been fighting evil and misery for over a hundred millennia across the known Universe, stunned her.
Being a Nendo-kata hadn't detracted from Sakebu's dedication to the medical arts. In fact, it enhanced her drive to heal people to a level of devotion that had often left her "normal" colleagues breathless. It wasn't enough for Ranma, unfortunately; Sakebu's healing touch couldn't regenerate central nervous system damage. But there was ANOTHER way around that problem...
...if Ranma would willingly give up his manhood.
"I don't think he'll go for it, Sakebu-chan."
"I think he will," Sakebu counters. "Think about it, Tomoko-chan. He was thrown out of his family because he didn't fit his mother's pathetic description of a 'man above men.' What better way to spit at that...than by becoming a woman full-time?"
Tomoko sighs. "I don't know, Sakebu-chan...I really don't..."
"Besides, there are practical problems," Sakebu muses. "I scanned the mind of that Chinese girl who crippled him in the first place the day she came by to try to finish the job. She feels she has no choice but to kill Ranma's female half; if she fails and goes back empty-handed, she'll be banished from her village or face worse. I doubt the police can hold her for long; she's biding her time, waiting for the chance to get out and finish the job. Though...if she does, then she kills her own 'husband'..." a wry smile crosses the doctor's face.
"Yeah, that's true," Tomoko muses...
* * *
Kyoto...
"Letter from Tomoko?"
Nabiki hums as Ranma opens the letter and plunges into it. A pleased grin then splits his face. "No way..."
"What?!" she urges.
"Tomoko-chan says that one of the docs who helped me when I got hurt wants to come see me," he points at it. "Guess it's some sort of follow-up or something..."
Nabiki hums, staring at the letter. "I doubt there'll be much for her to do," she then sighs. "You can't repair nerve damage, especially to the spinal cord."
"Yeah, I know," Ranma closes his eyes. "Still, if it wasn't for Tomoko-chan, I might've given up, especially after Mom..."
His voice trails off, a wave of pain and anger washing through him at the series of events that saw him literally become dead to the world, now living here in Kyoto alongside Nabiki. Her hand then falls on his shoulder. "So, would you mind if she came?"
"Course not," Ranma stares at the letter. "Sakebu Kanna..."
* * *
The next day...
"Thanks for letting me come here," Sakebu offers her hand.
Ranma nods, giving her a firm but friendly squeeze as Nabiki gives her a critical look-over. The doctor looked very young, a teenager in fact, with her hair in a bun, green eyes behind oval-frame glasses. Dressed in a stylish blouse, sweater and slacks, indicating someone who was financially well-off. Every one of her movements hinted at someone who wouldn't stop until the job was done; the mark of a dedicated surgeon. She could be mistaken for a child prodigy; Nabiki learned Sakebu was in her thirties. Top of her class in university, specializing in trauma medicine with a side degree in traditional healing. In short, the type of doctor Nabiki would want to have if she got into a very bad accident.
"We're glad to have you here, Sensei," Nabiki then shakes the doctor's hand. "Personally, I'd like to thank you for the help you gave Ranma. It...shames me that my family wasn't there for him."
Sakebu sighs, then stares at her. "I'm still contemplating going after your family and Ranma's parents for their part in this madness, Nabiki-chan. What happened was beyond inexcusable in my eyes. The demands of Bushido have no place in one's upbringing. You might say that's part of the reason I came here today."
"What do you mean?" Ranma wonders.
Everyone moves into the living room to relax. "What I mean, Ranma-chan, is that you should not be held accountable in any way for your emotional shortcomings. Was it your fault that you failed to be judged a 'man above men' after the shoddy way you were raised? No, of course not. Tomoko-chan told me about ALL the wonderful times you had with your father when you were on your 'training trip,'" the sarcasm flows in torrents from her voice. "Personally, I'd love to find those two idiots and strangle them, not just to give you some justice for your sufferings, but to make sure their archaic way of looking at things won't be passed on to the next generation. Who gave THEM the right to use you, then discard you like a used dishrag, not treat you like a human being? No one did! It's your life, Ranma-chan...and it's high time you took full control of it!"
Ranma and Nabiki exchange looks. They didn't expect something like this from a doctor. "What do you have in mind?" the latter then faces Sakebu.
The doctor smiles. "Let me show you something. Since you had to deal with Ranma-chan's curse, this might not seem so strange."
Her eyes glow as her hand reaches out. Ranma gasps as he feels something, invisible yet as relentless as the morning tide, encompass his body, then boost him out of his wheelchair...as if he was able to stand on his own! Nabiki gapes as Ranma literally walks to the bed, albeit with a clumsy, Frankenstein-like gait, then sits down. Only then do Sakebu's eyes revert to normal.
"Well?" she muses.
Silence as the two contemplate what happened, then both gaze at her. "What are you?" Nabiki wonders, her voice a whisper.
"I'm a Nendo-kata," Sakebu smiles. "You may have heard of us through whatever tales came out of Tomobiki and Oshika in the last decade or so, Nabiki-chan. I'm one of the Cold Flat Mound School, one of two schools now resident on Earth." She stares at Ranma. "And with my help...you can become one too, Ranma-chan. You could walk again, be a whole person again, be able to stand on your own. But there's a price to be paid for that."
"What price?" he stares at her.
Sakebu sighs. "Your manhood."
* * *
"What do you think?"
Ranma sighs, gazing at the starry night. He had transformed into a she after dinner to engage in one of her favourite pastimes. "I dunno, Nabiki," she admits. "It's VERY tempting..."
"That it is," Nabiki gazes at the small booklet in her hand. It was an official document prepared by the S.C.A.A...the United Nations' Special Committee on Alien Activities, the so-called "Men In Black"...concerning the Nendo-kata; there was little way you could learn of them over the Internet. Sakebu left it with them before going to her hotel for the night. "But you have to admit, it would solve almost all your problems."
"Yeah, it would," Ranma gazes at her legs. Useless thanks to Shampoo and her clan's barbaric code of honour...not to mention Akane's total indifference to the matter. But that didn't have to be true if Sakebu's offer was for real. There was a Wanderer, an orphaned bard, now in the solar system. With Ranma's approval, she would be brought down and they...
...would become one being.
"I wonder how much I'll change," Ranma sighs.
"According to this, fundamentally not a lot," Nabiki flips through the pamphlet, containing expert psychological observations of both the Cold Flat Mound and Outland schools. "Your feelings, morals and knowledge would remain intact, though it'll be augmented with the Nendo-kata belief in Unity; helping those who can't help themselves. Talk about becoming the perfect Good Samaritan. Any motor skills, like martial arts, will remain the same. But you get so much more. The telepathy, empathy, the telekinesis powers..."
"The lifespan," Ranma shudders, the temptation of having a life expectancy measured in millennia sending tantalizing chills down her spine.
"Hai," Nabiki grins. "You know, Kanna-sensei's right! Who the hell gave that panda and his wife the right to judge you!! They'll be dead in about thirty years anyway! Chances are, they won't have another natural child. So even if Hibiki becomes the new heir to the Saotome School, what's to stop you from reforming your family after they're gone?" her eyebrow rises bemusedly.
"Yeah, that's true..." Ranma grimaces, then closes her eyes. "Strange, isn't it. Honour meant so much to me until that night. Now...what I'm doing is so far beyond the pale..."
"No, it isn't!" Nabiki gently grips her hand. "You heard what I said when I came here! MY family failed you! They ABANDONED you just to coddle the panda and his wife!" In the wake of what happened to Ranma, she refused to call Genma and Nodoka by names anymore. "Far as I'm concerned, they deserve what's coming to them! All of them, even that PIG Akane likes..."
"Not him."
"Ranma?!"
"Nabiki, it was my fault that Ryouga got cursed," Ranma stares at her. "That's the reason I chose to stay silent about his curse even though he later decided to be Akane's little bed-warmer, use her to get at me. Chances are, he's probably admitted it to her by now. 'Sides, he's had little good luck throughout his life. He deserves a chance. I owe it to him, Nabiki..."
"Not that much," Nabiki counters.
"No, not that much," Ranma smirks, then sighs. "I hate them for what they did and yet...I still feel love for Akane and I still consider Ryouga a friend. Sounds strange?"
"Not really," Nabiki shakes her head. "I hate Father and Akane for abandoning you like that...but they're my family. I'd love it if they woke up, banished the panda and his wife from the house once and for all, then apologized to you for what they did. That would truly be divine justice in my eyes."
"We'll worry about it later," Ranma nods...
...then both tense as a subtle warmth, like the flowing of the morning tropical tide, rushes through them. Blinking, they don't feel the adrenaline, the flight-or-fight urge humans feel whenever confronting something strange. Calm serenity is all that rules them now. Without a word spoken, they turn to the window...to see a fair-sized boulder floating outside, a hollowed rock filled with water...and a dark mass pierced with two glowing eyes.
"Oh, gods..." Nabiki gapes.
Ranma blinks, then gently guides her wheelchair to the window just as a muscular tentacle, lacking the suction grips common to Terran mollusks, reaches out to her. "I'm scared," she whispers.
<<As am I,>> a calm voice, somewhat akin to Ranma's girlish lilt yet weighted with experience, replies within Nabiki's mind.
"Thank you for coming."
<<The Unity demanded it. My sister in the Cold Flat Mound School told me of the treatment you received at the hands of the 'panda' and his mate, not to mention Nabiki-chan's relatives. It demands redress...and no matter where we go, no matter what fate the Unity forces on us...we will ALWAYS be ready to redress the wrongs others have suffered.>>
Nabiki rises. "Um...I'll leave you two alone."
<<Please stay.>>
She blinks. <<Ranma-chan does care deeply for you, Nabiki-chan,>> the Wanderer mentally "smiles." <<Of all of your school, YOU are the one who physically came here to made right the pain you all caused her. Because of that, you deserve to experience, even by proxy, what Ranma-chan herself will experience.>>
Nabiki blinks, then stares at Ranma. The redhead gazes at her, a smile crossing her face. "Please...?"
"Hai," Nabiki nods. "I'll stay."
* * *
The next evening...
Sakebu sighs as she walks towards the small apartment block. Some Wanderers could be so damned impatient at times! She had just put herself down for a good night's rest when she felt the tidal wave of psi energy that heralded the start of the Crossing Over. Still, Ranma had pretty well decided to go through with it right after she left, so delay was impractical. A quick call to Matsuri Dokai in Tokyo informed her that Shampoo was still locked up, safe and sound. Perhaps, with a little help, the Chinese warrior-maiden could be convinced that Ranma was truly dead and she could go back home. All that was needed were the ashes of Ranma's old body.
Stepping up to the door, she moves to knock...then smiles as it opens, revealing Nabiki. "Hi."
"Well?" Sakebu muses.
Nabiki steps back...to reveal someone many would be hard pressed to believe was Ranma. Sakebu realizes that the Wanderer must've mixed the best attributes of Ranma's male and female forms to create this exquisite woman before her. As tall as Ranma's male form, she was model-slim, though still well endowed. Her hair was a dark chestnut shade, now tied into a simple ponytail. She wasn't cute now, she was mouth-watering GORGEOUS! Sakebu sighs, relieved that she had her own mate; Ranma would be one great temptation for any Crossed-Over Nendo-kata worth her salt!
"Hello, sister," Ranma smiles.
"Hello, sister," Sakebu beams, then embraces her. "How do you feel?" she gazes deep into the younger woman's eyes.
"Liberated, I guess..." Ranma shrugs. "I...you gotta excuse me, Sakebu-onee-chan. I haven't had much in the way of formal schooling, so I'll still sound like I did before I Crossed Over."
"It's alright," Sakebu nods as they step inside, then stops on seeing the draped cadaver on the living room floor. "I see you were thinking the same thing I was."
"So...how do we make Ranma-chan 'die?'" Nabiki wonders.
Sakebu grins. "Leave that to me..."
* * *
Within an hour, a field team from the S.C.A.A. sweeps in to claim Ranma's old human body (she disintegrated her old Nendo-kata body to ensure it never fell into the wrong hands; who knew WHAT someone could do with a Nendo-kata's DNA) and start the process which would see Ranko Saotome (on Sakebu's and Nabiki's suggestion, she kept her family name, though changing her given name to a more female form) registered as a permanently-landed alien on Earth.
Legally, Ranko had all the rights of a 16-year old girl native to Japan. Sakebu and her mate, Yuki Tetsujo, would be her legal guardians until she was of age. She would have to attend high school, do the college entrance exams in a couple of years if she wanted to press on for university. Once she became of age, she could vote and have all the other rights native Japanese possessed. As for marriage, Ranko wasn't too worried about that now, though there were mechanisms in place to help Nendo-kata when it came to legalizing a relationship with a future lifemate.
With that done, Ranma's body was cremated, a death certificate released for public record...and Nabiki and Sakebu began assembling other records for a quick visit to a maximum security prison...
* * *
"Who you?!"
Shampoo stares at the two women standing by the door of the cell. One she recognized as being Akane's sister; she had seen her in the Tendou home. The other, though looking about the same age, had an elder's eyes, deep with knowledge and experience. "It's good to see you again, Shampoo," Nabiki's voice is laced with sarcasm. "We got a present for you."
"What present?" the Chinese warrior-maiden hums.
"This."
Shampoo blinks as a small urn is displayed, the characters for SAOTOME RANMA drawn on them. "What...?"
"Ranma chose to end HIS life three days ago," Nabiki icily smiles. "He did so to take his revenge on you, his so-called 'wife'...for your crippling him with a sword thrust one night on the roof of the Tendou home some weeks ago."
Shampoo blinks. "You lie!!! Was girl-Ranma who...!!"
"Does the name 'Jusenkyou' sound familiar to you?"
Shampoo stops, her eyes turning to the other woman. "What you say...?" she shudders.
"<<'The Training Ground of the Cursed Springs,'>>" Sakebu switches to flawless Mandarin (she mind-scanned Shampoo before coming in). "<<Ranma was born male, but was taken to Jusenkyou by his gutless coward of a father a week before your tournament in Joketsuzoku. He fell into Nyannichuan, the girl-drown spring. He was a girl the day he fought you in your village...as well as the day you cowardly stabbed him in the back just to reassert your own worthless pride.>>"
She holds up a folder. "<<In here is his birth certificate, which clearly identifies him as a boy by birth. There are also legal documents that reveal that Ranma is the ONLY child born of Genma and Nodoka Saotome. And my sworn statement as Ranma's trauma surgeon about his curse. All this, plus his ashes, the death certificate, photos of the cadaver and the autopsy report, will be given to you when you finally get out of here and you're sent back to China. I prepared other copies just in case you decide to burn these; they will be sent by special courier to your village to ensure your leaders get them too.>>"
"<<No...>>" Shampoo shudders, the true horror of what she had done starting to sink in. "<<It's not true...>>"
"<<It is,>>" Sakebu snorts as she and Nabiki hand everything to the prison clerk. "<<For a cowardly attack, you get a coward's victory, Xian-pu. Enjoy the rest of your life knowing how much you FAILED not only your tribe...but yourself.>> Let's go, Nabiki."
"Hai," Nabiki nods.
Both turn, leaving behind a woman who sinks to her knees and begins to weep, her future now in shambles...
* * *
Nakano-ku, Tokyo...
"I hate being here, Onee-chan."
Ranko sighs, gazing out the penthouse apartment shared by Sakebu and Yuki in the downtown section of the Tokyo district. It was a spacious place, big enough for them and Nabiki, simply decorated to reflect Sakebu's and Yuki's tastes. However, the view would never appeal to Ranko; the living room windows opened up towards Nerima. Furinkan High School was visible from here...and she only had to concentrate a bit to see the large cherry blossom tree marking the location of the Tendou dojo.
Yuki's hands fall on her shoulders. "I know, Ranko-chan. You want out of this place and away from them as much as possible," the dusky-skinned woman sighs. "I don't blame you for that. We're getting the arrangements made right now."
"What arrangements?" Ranko wonders.
"The Crossing Over didn't solve everything about your gender-conflict problem, I'm afraid," Yuki sighs as both relax in front of the television. "You've accepted that you're a woman, that you'll be one for the rest of your life...but you don't intrinsically understand what being a woman means. Whatever you learned from your Wanderer-half applies to Nendo-kata, not Terrans. And, sadly, after you were cursed, thanks to the panda's 'man above men' demand on your behaviour, you chose to forcefully reassert your manhood even when you were female. You loathed any attempt anyone made to bring forth any feeling inside you that even HINTED at becoming a woman. Now that you've had to throw ALL of that out of your mind, you're left with a ton of questions that need immediate answers."
"So what can I do?" Ranko hugs herself. "The only way I know how to settle things is to destroy them with my fists, Yuki-onee-chan. Yeah, I want to learn how to solve things without my fists or my powers..."
"But you don't know how."
"Hai."
"Then you're going to go find out," Yuki smiles. "We've had you and Nabiki-chan placed into the Ishinomaki Girl's High School. It's close to where our sister school lives; you'll stay with them for the time being. They have mandatory classes for girls like you. Girls who've been raised in either a traditional lifestyle who want to be part of the twentieth century without feeling left out...or who were raised by abusive or uncaring parents. According to our sisters in Oshika, it's a good place to learn."
Ranko sighs, then nods. "Okay. Whatever you think is best," she rises. "I'm going down to a bathhouse and get cleaned up. Be back in a while."
"Don't take too long," Yuki smiles. "Dinner'll be ready in a couple hours."
"Hai."
As Ranko heads to her bedroom, the guardian of Eternity sighs. She knew exactly where Ranko would go: Nerima. Not all the way into Furinkan district itself, but probably close by. The conflict she felt over some of the people living there still raged in her heart. On the one hand, there was the love she felt for a girl with a cute smile and a friendship with the only boy she considered a near-equal in martial arts. On the other, that girl's betrayal when Ranko, as Ranma, was in a life-threatening situation and the boy's endemic refusal to acknowledge his own faults. Yuki sighs. She hoped that Akane and Ryouga weren't out on the town tonight; who knew WHAT could happen. As for the others responsible for Ranko's past miseries...well, removing them from this existence would be a good thing in the long run...
* * *
"Not so different than the day I first came here..."
Ranko sighs as she makes her way down the street toward a bathhouse. She was grateful that Yuki wouldn't interfere directly in case something happened. Much that she understood the need to cooperate whenever things got rough, there was still a part of her that preferred to do things, confront people, on her own. Once she was attending classes in Ishinomaki, she'd learn when that was appropriate and when it wasn't.
Noting an ice cream vendor, she heads over. He blinks on seeing the beautiful woman come up, then lavishes on an extra scoop after Ranko made her order. "Here you go!"
"Thank you," she hands money over.
"Oh, that's not all necessary..."
"No," Ranko smiles. "I don't like using my looks to take advantage of people. It's alright. Thank you again."
She walks away. "Nice girl," the vendor hums.
Ranko heads back toward the bathhouse, enjoying the treat, then jolts as a somewhat unwelcome voice bellows from behind her. "PIG-TAILED GIRL!!!!"
She side-steps, allowing Kunou to fly past her to crash into the asphalt by her feet, then carries on. The kendoist quickly recovers, placing herself in her path. "It pleases me so much to behold your timeless beauty again!!!" he produces a large bouquet of flowers, shoving them into her line of sight.
"How'd you recognize me?" she takes the roses and smells them, part of her surprised at her actually playing along with Kunou's fantasy. Then again, the other part snidely muses, ...the more direct approach NEVER worked with him!
He smiles. "Despite the change of your hair colour and the significant growth you've endured over the last few months, 'twas easy for I, Tatewaki Kunou, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School, to recognize my beloved pig-tailed goddess. 'Twas your confidant stride, the walk of a martial artist, that revealed you to me. That did not change in the past months!"
"Ah, I see," Ranko nods. "By the way, Tatewaki-kun, my name is Ranko Saotome. Please stop calling me 'pig-tailed girl.'"
"But of course, Ranko-san...WHAT?!?!" Kunou screams out. "Do you assert that you really ARE related to that scoundrel Saotome who so bewitched you and the fair Akane Tendou...?!"
His voice falters as a chilly stare rakes him, a cold feeling arcing through his body. "Tatewaki Kunou, if you desire friendship from me, be warned of two things," Ranko's voice is ice. "One, DO NOT speak ill of Ranma Saotome in my presence ever again. We aren't related but I cared for him, I care now for his memory, to see his memory sullied by words spoken from wounded pride. Two, DO NOT speak of that gutless coward Akane Tendou with such false and undeserving praise in my presence either. I've no need to be reminded of that little tramp more than necessary."
Kunou blinks, stunned. "Ranko-san...what has Akane Tendou done to raise such ire with you?"
Ranko nods down the street. "Attend me to the bathhouse if you may, Tatewaki-kun, and I'll be happy to tell you."
The kendoist readily nods. As they head down, Ranko explains the arrangement between the Saotomes and Tendous, how Akane was (to be fair) dragooned into it since she was the only martial artist of the three Tendou sisters. How that situation, tacked onto a gross misunderstanding between Akane and Ranma, led to the bickering and anger that finally saw the latter nearly killed at Shampoo's hands.
By the time both reach the bathhouse doors, Kunou is pale. "I...for a million years, I could not begin to believe the fair Akane Tendou was capable of such dishonourable behaviour!" he shakes his head. "Mayhap, I was wrong about Ranma Saotome."
"Ranma...had his problems, I'm afraid," Ranko sighs as she nibbles on the cone. "Sadly, the base cowards who sired him never thought once of teaching him how to properly explain his feelings to others, especially his would-be fiancee. That...in the end, I believe, is what truly destroyed Ranma."
"And hurt you deeply, Ranko-san."
"Yes," Ranko nods, staring at him. "Know this well, Tatewaki-kun. Ranma's parents have much to answer for because of all he's suffered for their worthless pride and hubris. I intend to see both of them and those who stand with them answer it in full just measure. They are the ones who are the true disgrace to my family name (hence the reason I've chosen to keep the name) and I intend to take them fully to task for it sometime in the future."
"I see," Kunou gravely nods. "Is there anything I can do to help you in such a quest?"
"There is, believe it or not," Ranko's grin turns savage. "Akane, I believe, has a new fiancee now, Ryouga Hibiki."
Kunou shudders. "Yes, I am well aware of that peasant! Many times has the Blue Thunder tried to defeat the scoundrel Hibiki for making such pretensions towards Akane Tendou. But given your shocking revelations of this fair evening, I think I shall look elsewhere than the one you now so viciously despise to bestow my loving attentions."
"True, but there is one thing you can do for me," Ranko hums. "Hibiki suffers from a curse inflicted on him in China. It was Ranma who inflicted on him that curse, though it was an accident; there was no malice intended in such action. Akane never knew about Hibiki's problem; she still doesn't know it now, I think. Hibiki forced Ranma into silence over the matter to not reveal his weakness to anyone...then, to strike back at Ranma for a plethora of perceived slights against him in the past, wound his way into Akane's bedchambers to be her nightly companion."
"WHAT?!?!?!" Kunou bellows. "Base coward!!! How dare he do such a thing, even to Akane?!! What sort of curse is this?!!"
"Merely splash the fool with cold water and he transforms into a piglet," Ranko icily grins. "One Akane knows as 'P-chan,' her little pet. Do so in front of Akane's friends if you can for the maximum effect. At school will be the best place. Further, if you do this, I desire that you make no mention of me being the one who revealed this to you, much less you knowing what happened between Hibiki and Ranma. Explain that you witnessed Hibiki transform when he was wandering around Nerima sometime ago, then recently learned of his spending time in Akane's bed. I should also warn you that Akane might get very angry at you for 'hiding' this from her, so you better be ready to defend yourself just in case."
"So I shall," Kunou nods, then gently grasps her hand. "And what happens to you now, Ranko-san? Where are you living if you do not live with Ranma's parents?"
"I live with another family in another district...and soon will be attending school far away," Ranko gently squeezes his hand. "I don't think I can ever...truly return your interest in me, Tatewaki-kun. I am flattered by your words and actions but...other things weigh heavily on my mind and heart now. It is best you let me go from your heart and seek someone else. Don't worry; there's always someone out there available for you if you go find her."
Kunou pauses, then sighs. "If you say so, Ranko-san. In the meantime, I've much to do this night and I bid you a good day. May we meet again at a more decent time."
With that, he withdraws. Incredible...he actually let me go! Ranko muses to herself, realizing that it was probably her revelations about Akane and Ranma that shook the kendoist so badly that he wouldn't think of forcing himself over her. Besides, even if Kunou did spill some things, there was no way to trace Ranko down since the records pertaining to "Ranko Saotome" were under special security seal at the Justice Ministry's alien registry department...a place no private investigator would ever THINK of going to look for data in case someone at the Tendou home believed Ranko had liaised with some family to get a new life for herself.
Sighing contently, Ranko heads into the bathhouse...
* * *
Two days later...
"What did you do to Kunou-chan anyway?!" Nabiki wonders.
She and Ranko relax aboard the Toohoku shinkansen bound for Sendai, both gazing out the window at the passing countryside. "You had reason to talk to Tatewaki-kun?" Ranko muses.
"'Tatewaki-kun?!'" Nabiki blinks. "Wait a second here, Ranko-chan! I know Nendo-kata can't have kids with boys! What the hell were you doing flirting with him?!"
Ranko waves her hand. "I wasn't flirting with him, Nabiki-chan, not one bit!" she laughs, then sighs. "I suppose I was saying good-bye to him, leaving him with some kind memories...and his dreams, too. When I got close to him, I sensed a lot of pain inside him. I could tell he was abused as a child. Kodachi-chan probably was, too. Their mother abandoned them when they were young. Sheesh, that seems to be the common story with all of us, you know that. Mothers dying and disappearing on us..."
"Yeah, that's true," Nabiki muses. "Plus, there's that aura you Nendo-kata pump out all the time."
"Aura...?"
"Shoot, you don't even realize it!" Nabiki scolds, then sighs. "I feel it every time I'm close to you, Sakebu or Yuki. This nice, fuzzy warmth that makes you want to forget everything."
"Oh...s-sorry about that," Ranko frowns. "I didn't mean to make you think I was influencing you in any way."
"Relax, it's okay," Nabiki muses. "But when Kunou-chan was with you, he probably didn't know what to do. You didn't reject him like you normally did, so he didn't have to pull the stops out on you. Add that to that aura of yours and poof!" she throws open her hands. "You got him wrapped around your finger."
"That would be a very tempting thing," Ranko muses, then stares at her. "So what were you doing talking to him for?"
"I didn't talk to him," Nabiki shakes her head. "I touched base with my old helpers at school to catch up on the gossip. By the way, nice thinking about Hibiki. Kunou-chan exposed him right in front of the whole school yesterday morning."
"Did he now?" Ranko smirks.
"Yeah," Nabiki shudders. "Akane was speechless, didn't know what to say. Kunou-chan then tells everyone that he saw Hibiki transform some weeks ago but never put the thing between him and 'P-chan' together until he heard about Akane having a pet. Then, and here's the good part, Kunou-chan looks at Hibiki and says, get this, 'Ranma Saotome had TEN times your honour!'"
"Ouch!!" Ranko winces. "Ryouga will NEVER live that down!"
"Yeah, maybe," Nabiki snorts. "Then Kunou-chan stares at Akane, the coldest stare anyone ever gave her, you'd never expect it from Kunou-chan of all people...and said 'I have no idea what may have prompted Ranma Saotome to care for you in the time he was with you...but if it is betrayal and perversion you seek, find it in your own mirror.' Then he walked away."
"How did Akane react?"
"She was in a state of shock all day. From what my friends could learn, Ryouga changed back, found her in class, then got to his knees and begged her forgiveness. She mutters 'It's alright' or something like that, then said nothing all day. When we get settled in, I'll call Mayumi and ask her to find out more."
"Don't bother," Ranko shakes her head. "We can't worry about it at this time, Nabiki-chan."
"True."
* * *
"Akane-chan, have you seen Ryouga-kun?"
"Um...I kinda lost track of him for a while, Daddy," Akane sighs, then heads to her room. "I'm sure he'll be back."
"Oh, alright," Souun nods, returning to his paper.
Once in her room, Akane closes the door, then sinks onto her bed, gazing at her hands. Hands that had hit her first fiancee at a critical moment, sending him into Shampoo's range for the deadly stroke that changed everything in her life...once, she had thought, much for the better.
Now...
"If it is betrayal and perversion you seek, find it in your own mirror," Kunou had said.
Akane shudders. Ryouga loved her...but he had hid something vital from her. She never even suspected he had a Jusenkyou curse! He had SLEPT with her, saw her NAKED (actually, now reflecting on it, he most often fainted, bleeding from the nose, by the time she got to the bra-and-panties stage), heard her most intimate secrets. Yet, had he...had he ever once told those secrets to anyone? Had he used those secrets for his own ends?
Shaking, she blinks as the door gently slides open, revealing a downcast P-chan. Akane watches the piglet stagger in. He wasn't physically wounded, but the emotional and spiritual blow heaved on him that morning was heavy indeed. To be exposed in front of EVERYONE at school...that must have hurt him badly. But then to be hit by KUNOU of all people with an insult like that...?!
Shaking her head, she reaches down to gently draw him off the floor. He doesn't resist. "Ryouga?"
He gazes doe-eyed at her. Akane bites her lip, then sighs. "Did Ranma do this to you?"
A nod, a low "Bwiii."
"No wonder you hated him so much," she muses, gently stroking his neck. "I'd be pretty mad, too."
He gazes at her. "Bweep?"
"You're gonna be in for it when school starts tomorrow, you know that," Akane muses. "The girls're gonna be merciless on you. I...I know you've never seen me totally nude, but they...!"
P-chan blushes, shying away. "I guess you are a gentleman, aren't you?" Akane muses. "Unlike some perverts we know..."
The piglet shudders. "Yeah, he's gone now," Akane sighs, then gazes out the window. "Or is he...?"
"Bweep?!"
"I dunno, Ryouga-kun. Something tells me he's still alive."
"Bwiii?!! Bwiiii!! Bweep!!"
She stares at him. "Yeah, I know what Shampoo said about him killing himself and all that," Akane hums. "And yeah, there's the death certificate and the ashes and all that, even though they're all in that jail for Shampoo when she gets out. But...funny as this sounds, Ryouga-kun...something just...doesn't sound right!"
"Bwee?"
"I mean...if Kunou learned about you, he should've put the whole thing about Ranma and his 'pig-tailed goddess' together. So why was he spouting that nonsense about Ranma having more honour than you?! It couldn't've been just to spit into an open wound..."
Silence falls. A knock is heard. "Akane-chan? May I come in?" Nodoka's voice hails from outside.
"Hai!" Akane places P-chan beside her.
Nodoka steps inside, then stares at the piglet. "Hibiki-san, you should've told me about this curse of yours," she sighs.
P-chan jolts, eyes wide, then bows his head ashamedly. "It was Ranma's fault, Mrs. Saotome...!!" Akane leaps to his defence.
"I see," Nodoka blinks, then sighs. "Well, that does explain your past animosity with...Ranma. Yet I've now come to understand that you have slept with Akane since you first met."
"Hai, he has," Akane sighs.
Nodoka frowns, staring first at Akane, then P-chan. "Taking advantage of a girl's innocence is not something I desire to see from you, Hibiki-san...especially now."
Akane blinks, then sighs. "On the contrary, Mrs. Saotome. Ryouga-kun hasn't ONCE taken advantage of me. Isn't that right, Ryouga-kun?!" she gazes at her transformed fiance.
"Bweep?!" P-chan stares at her.
"Every time I've changed, he's turned and looked away from me," Akane stares at Nodoka. "Every time we've slept together, he always slept physically separated from me, in a position where I wouldn't suffer any...well, you know!" she titters, blushing.
"I see!!" Nodoka smiles, gazing at Ryouga. "Well, if Akane-chan vouches for your good conduct as 'P-chan,' Hibiki-san, I shall raise no objections about it either. In the meantime, I best get on with dinner. It'll be ready in an hour."
"Hai!" Akane nods as Nodoka departs, then sighs.
"Bwii?" P-chan wonders as he hops back into her hands.
"I know, Ryouga-kun," Akane shakes her head. "It's been so weird here with Kasumi-onee-chan and Nabiki-onee-chan gone...!"
Tears flood her eyes as she lets P-chan go, covering her face as sobs shake her. Nabiki had been gone for five months, having left one night without a note explaining where she was going, much less why. She had taken everything, including, much to Akane's surprise, all of Ranma's belongings. Kasumi had left two months later, departing during the daytime when Souun and Genma were helping Nodoka with shopping.
Neither had even said good-bye.
At least Akane found out where Kasumi was when she was later wounded by Kodachi in a sneak attack driven by vengeance over Ranma's disappearance, then limped to Ono Toofuu's clinic. The elder Tendou daughter was now working for the young doctor, bunking at his apartment. In fact, their being together full-time had finally cured Toofuu of his own inhibitions towards her. The doctor had cured Akane easily enough.
What happened next was unexpected...
* * *
"Here you are," Toofuu hands her three file folders.
"What...?" Akane blinks, then sees the names: TENDOU AKANE, TENDOU SOUUN and SAOTOME GENMA. "Sensei...?!"
"I'm sure another doctor will see to your needs in the future," the doctor then puts away his material.
"But, Sensei...?"
He stares at her, cold anger and disappointment burning deep in his eyes. "At the start, I couldn't believe a word Nabiki-chan said about you just standing there and ALLOWING Ranma-kun to be stabbed in the back by that lunatic Amazon! But after what one of Ranma-kun's doctors told me, I must say I'm very disappointed in you, Akane...not to mention your father and Ranma-kun's father."
"Sensei...!" Akane pales.
"There is another doctor in this district who should see to your needs, by the shopping district," Toofuu repeats, turning away from her. "Do not darken my door again."
With that, he steps out. Akane remains in place, the horror of the moment sinking in, then hugging the files as if they were the last link to a more innocent time, walks into the lobby. Kasumi was busy with another patient. Their eyes lock momentarily, then Kasumi looks away. Akane shudders as Kasumi ushers the elder woman out, then turns toward her own office. "Onee-chan...?"
Kasumi closes her eyes. "If you want me to come back, tell Father that he is to forever banish the Saotomes from the house and disavow the agreement between us and them...in punishment for their outlandish rejection of their own flesh-and-blood," she sighs. "What you and Father did to Ranma-kun was wrong, Akane-chan. Until that is done, my fiancee and I will not acknowledge either you or Father. You are dead to us both...and Nabiki-chan as well."
Hearing that, Akane shudders, then races out of the clinic, a stream of tears marking her passage...
* * *
Akane sniffs, sitting up, then gently strokes P-chan's fur as she gazes out the window. She hadn't yet told her father Kasumi's ultimatum. All she could bring herself to do was place the files with the other doctor Toofuu recommended and made the necessary arrangements. She knew Genma had been locked out of the Toofuu Clinic one day with a notice on the window never to come back, much less bring his wife there even for emergencies. But she knew that sooner or later, it would come up...and she wouldn't know what her father might do in response, much less Genma or Nodoka.
She didn't know what to do. She could exercise some influence on her father and Genma, but Nodoka could counter that easily. The Saotome matriarch put considerable value on family honour and the honouring of agreements...in fact, it seemed at times that honour was all she truly lived for...and would never tolerate such a grave insult against her family's honour lightly. It was as if the whole Saotome family was tearing her's apart at the seams. Ranma pulling Kasumi and Nabiki one way, Genma and Nodoka pulling her and her father the other way.
Which way to go...?
* * *
"So how were your classes, Ranko-chan?"
Ranko smiles as she places her books down, then comes up to the kitchen to help Mal with dinner. "Really good," she smiles, falling in beside the Nendo-kata-turned-Oni to chop vegetables. "Home economics is going to be an interesting class."
"Curious," Mal smiles. "Reiko-chan and Belle-chan said the same thing when they took it last year. They haven't regretted attending them yet."
Ranko stares at the green-haired alien woman beside her. When Sakebu and Yuki sent her and Nabiki to Ishinomaki to attend school, they had kept the big surprise until they got here. Both would be living with a family of legends: Ataru and Lum Moroboshi, their sisters Nokoko and Mal Moroboshi, and their daughters. Since the beach house was getting crowded (though compared to the Tendou home, it was very roomy), Ranko and Nabiki were quartered in the basement, having been converted into a private apartment for two a decade before when Lum's friends Nassur and Benten Shigaten had spent time their awaiting the birth of their first child.
The first few days here had been surprising as Ataru and Ranko had swapped their life stories. Like Ranko, Ataru hailed from quite a dysfunctional family in its own right...but in his case, he was able to play relatives off against the other until he was in a secure place none of them could touch. On hearing of Nodoka's disavowal of her son, Ataru had sarcastically commented "try living with a mother who said to your face every day 'I wish I never had you,' then still thought of you as her 'baby?'" What might have been between Ranma and Akane earned sympathy from both Ataru and Lum; their pre-marriage battles were legendary. The matter with Shampoo was a surprise: the Moroboshi Clan were long-time allies of the Nyu-che-zuu of Joketsuzoku. But since Ranko was in many ways fundamentally different from Ranma, Shampoo's clanspeople had no grounds to pursue her in case they learned of her existence.
Ranko was quick to make friends with Reiko despite the latter being one of Nabiki's peers. Like the Nendo-kata-turned-Terran, the Noukiite-turned-Sagussan came from a lifestyle which placed very strict guidelines on personal behaviour. And like Ranko, Reiko had found the strength to break free of that life with the help of very wonderful people: her parents and aunts, along with the others of the Oshika school. Amora and Katsura were still young (both were fourth graders at the Girl's Primary Academy) and Haruka wasn't even old enough for school, but Ranko and Nabiki (much to the former's surprise) found enough time for them.
Nabiki had quickly fallen into familiar routines when she arrived at the Girl's High School. To supplement the income she still had from Furinkan and Kyoto, she quickly tapped into the Ishinomaki students' network, scouting out betting sources and learning choice information about various people. Much to Nabiki's delight, a red hot source of income was the Young Women's Academy. Atop an unusually high demand for personal gossip, there was an ongoing feud between the Academy and the local Citizen's Alliance, who wanted to see the "dyke's haven" shut down. Since the usual place of confrontation between them, outside the administration building, was visible from the Girl's High School, it was natural for bets to be run. Nabiki was quick to take control of the school betting pool (the past gambling mistress was soon to graduate), get it running to her own standards, then it was off to the races!
Speaking of which, Nabiki was now walking inside, looking at her personal ledger. "I'm home!"
"How were classes?" Mal wonders.
"Pretty normal," Nabiki smiles. "Reiko's with her friends at Belle's place, by the way. How were your classes, Ranko-chan?"
"Alright. Get much money?" Ranko hums.
"It was a good day," Nabiki smiles.
Ranko hums. A "good" day meant that Nabiki had made a profit. Mal sniffles. "Nabiki-chan, much that I understand you have quite a talent for finance and business, the manner you choose to gain such funds leaves a lot to be desired..."
"Relax, Mal, it's not as bad as you think!" Nabiki wags a finger at her. "The gossip I deal with here isn't as spicy as what I had to deal with at Furinkan or Kyoto."
"'Isn't as spicy?!'" Ranko wonders.
"Hai. It must be the philosophy the Women's Schools puts into everyone. Back at Furinkan, all people cared for was learning all the bedroom secrets of everyone's relationships, especially yours and Akane's...and they had no compunction about spreading it to anyone who'd listen. Here, they're not as interested in all the hentai stuff. What they consider important is the compatibility factor: how everyone meshes together and all that. You want to know what people're saying about your home ec. teacher?"
"What about Michiko?" Ranko blinks.
"Well, since Matsurigoto-sensei's lover isn't working here, everyone at the school wants to know what sort of lady she's like," Nabiki hums. "The majority think she's a very classy lady who wines and dines Michiko every chance they get together. Some people're just interested in where the two lovers actually MEET since this woman's supposedly all the way in Hokkaido and Michiko's down here. Most people say Aomori or Sapporo." She shakes her head. "This is so strange! I asked one of the girls if anyone was interested in Michiko's sex life, if she was actually doing it with this mystery girl of hers, and she looked at me as if I'd been dunked into the Nannichuan back in Jusenkyou! Weird!!"
"Well, if you wish to know, Michiko-chan and her lifemate have a very active sex life...or at least that's what Beloved and Lum-chan told me," Mal hums.
"I can't sell that information, Mal; no one wants it!" Nabiki throws up her hands.
"What Nabiki-chan can't sell isn't worth knowing," Ranko snorts, nibbling on a carrot, then her eyes glow. "Eh?!"
"What?!" Nabiki hums.
Ranko gasps as she runs into the living room just as the door opens, revealing Nokoko with a slender fellow dressed in the uniform of an okonomiyaki cook. "Ranko-chan, there's...!" Nokoko calls out...
...then gets knocked over as Ranko slams the newcomer with a delighted hug. "U-CHAN!!!!!!"
"Hey...wwwhoulf!!!" the newcomer gasps as her air is knocked out of her, then stares wide-eyed at her transformed friend. "R-r-ran-chan...?!"
"Oh," Ranko blushes. "That's right, you didn't know. Sorry about this, U-chan...!"
"Who is she?" Nabiki walks down, gazing at Nokoko.
The matriarch brushes her sleeves. "Well, Nabiki-chan, it turns out that Ranma Saotome had more fiancees than even he knew of!" she gazes sympathetically at Ukyou Kuonji.
"What?!" Ranko blinks, then spins on Ukyou. "U-chan, what's all this about?!!"
"Why don't you tell me your story first!" Ukyou demands. "How the hell did you wind up becoming a girl?!"
"Oh, right..."
* * *
An hour later, Ranko's eyebrow twitches, her fists clenching and unclenching as dark thoughts of turning Genma Saotome into a rug flow through her mind. "He...promised your father that we would be married...and he took your yatai as a DOWRY?!?!"
"Hai," Ukyou nods. "When you left me there, I went back...and that's when I stopped being a girl."
"You still are a girl," Nokoko muses.
"Not legally, Moroboshi-san," Ukyou sighs. "The family records were altered to have me declared a boy."
"Well, they'll be altered again," Nokoko sighs. "There's no way in Eternity that a friend of an adopted sister of my school is going to be treated like that, especially by her own father."
"He won't budge on the fact until I bring Ran-chan back, Moroboshi-san," Ukyou warns.
"Oh?" Nokoko glares at her. "Well, when he's choking to death after I telekinetically cut off his windpipe, we'll see how contusive he is to changing his mind."
Ukyou sweats, then stares at Ranko. "She always like this?"
"You're not the only one who got chucked out of your house when you were a kid, U-chan," Ranko sighs. "When Nokoko-onee-chan's brother Kaeru was reported to have died, her mother sent her to her uncle in Sendai to be raised as his own daughter. She even came to believe that Ataru was her cousin instead of her baby brother. Didn't help things much when she learned the truth."
"Oh," Ukyou shudders, then sighs, gazing at her transformed childhood friend. "So, your old man dumped you too, eh, Ran-chan? Geez, isn't that just like that asshole?!"
"Don't remind me about it," Ranko snarls. "And don't worry about your revenge, U-chan. The panda and his wife BOTH are going to pay for it in spades when I get through with them."
"It does raise one item of concern," Mal hums.
"What is it, love?" Nokoko gazes at her lifemate.
"If Genma Saotome did this to poor Ukyou-chan...might he have also done it to someone else?" the Nendo-kata-turned-Oni muses.
Silence falls. "That would be like that lazy panda," Nabiki sneers, her dark thoughts about her father's "friend" turning even darker, then she snorts. "Hey, why don't we put an ad in the paper and get people to write us?! 'Whoever got screwed by Genma Saotome, tell us all about it!'" she then laughs.
Nokoko blinks, then smiles. "Why not?"
Everyone gazes quizzically at her...
* * *
"What's this?" Souun muses.
In his hand is a copy of the Yomiuri Shinbun, open to the advertisement section. A double-column entry in bold print reads:
Souun blinks, then looks over at Genma, who was relaxing with a cup of tea. "Saotome-kun, what were you doing on the training trip anyway?" he muses.
"What do you mean, Tendou-kun?" Genma wonders.
"There's this ad in the paper here from some woman in Oshika wondering about broken promises and engagements you made while you were on your training trip with Ranma," Souun explains.
Genma's eyes bulge, tea exploding from his mouth. Akane and Ryouga stare quizzically at him. "You alright, Sensei?" the latter inquires.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine!!!" Genma replies.
"Dear?!"
Nodoka walks in, a copy of the Asashi Shinbun in hand. "What is it, Nodoka?" Genma stares at her.
"There's some advertisement in this paper concerning your training trip," Nodoka waves the paper. "What's this about you making engagements between our...son and other women?!"
Genma gags. "Can I see the paper, please, Mrs. Saotome?" Akane holds out her hand.
"Here you are," Nodoka hands it to her.
The Saotome patriarch quakes as Akane opens the paper, then turns to the classified section. "Hey, here it is!" she points, then blinks. "Nokoko Moroboshi?! What were you doing with her, Mr. Saotome?!"
Genma blinks, then humphs, a smile cutting across his face. "I never met the woman," he confidently crosses his arms. "I never ONCE went close to Oshika. Besides, what could a family of alien-lovers like the Moroboshis teach?!"
"That's true," Souun nods.
Nodoka sighs, then heads into the kitchen. Akane blinks, then stares at the paper, then she shudders as a familiar voice echoes through her mind. "If it is betrayal and perversion you seek, find it in your own mirror." Her eyes then fall on Genma. The Saotome patriarch was shivering, his eyes darting around the room, sweat pouring down his head. Akane turns back to the paper, then gazes at Ryouga. Her fiance had the same questioning look she had.
Both exchange a nod. Time for a training trip...
* * *
A week later...
"I...don't...believe...this!!!"
Ranko gapes at the pile of letters now on the counter at the Tiger Cub Cafe. Nabiki was busy reading each letter aloud. Beside her, Tatsuko Fujinami and Hei Sakurambou were writing essentials down on separate rolls of parchment (in case one was wrecked by a certain panda before it was delivered to its proper target). Ukyou, her chest now freed of breast bindings and dressed in a beautiful gi stitched with the cafe's insignia (two romping tiger cubs [think of the tattoos Crying Freeman's wife has...F.H.]), was serving okonomiyaki to the others of Nokoko's school.
"Just like the old fart!" Ukyou snarls. "Chances were, the instant they decided it was time to settle things, they would've gone to Furinkan and come up empty-handed, then sent back without shit!! What an asshole!!"
"So what do you have in mind?" Nokoko stares at Ranko.
The younger Nendo-kata sighs. "Killing him won't do a thing," she shakes her head. "I'm not keen on going after Nodoka. Yeah, she had no right to judge me on just one meeting, but she probably doesn't know a thing about this. But this is one thing that WILL happen: the Saotome School will not be allowed to continue."
"Always looking out for that pig, huh?!" Nabiki smirks.
"Yeah," Ranko sighs, then hums. "Wait a minute...!"
"What is it, Ranko-chan?" Mal wonders.
"Magic is energy, right?!" Ranko muses.
"Of course it is," Nokoko nods, then blinks. "Wait a minute. Are you saying...?"
Ranko nods. "Well, that would settle things somewhat between you and Ryouga," the matriarch hums. "Let me call Nicole..."
* * *
"This it?" Ryouga hums.
Akane stares at the sedate cafe across the street, then looks at the map she had obtained at the Onagawa train station. "Yep, this has to be the place," she nods. "Let's go inside."
Both cross the street, then step through the front door. "Welcome to the Tiger Cub Cafe," Nokoko calls out, then smiles. "You've both been expected."
"Eh?!" Akane and Ryouga blink.
"They're here!!!" Nokoko calls out.
Nabiki steps out of the kitchen. "Onee-chan!!" Akane gasps, stunned to find her older sister there. "What...?!!"
Wordlessly, Nabiki draws out a rolled parchment, then places it in Akane's hand. "Take this to your father," she sighs. "Make sure that the panda and his wife aren't anywhere close by when he reads this. Explain to him that if he truly holds our family honour dear to his heart, he will no longer consort with the panda and his wife anymore. Until they are gone FOREVER from the house, Kasumi-onee-chan and I will never come home again."
Akane shudders. "It's because of Ranma, right?!"
"Yeah," Nabiki nods. "I hurt him, too. I hurt him bad. But I did NOTHING like what you did that night! You destroyed him and his future just because you couldn't ONCE curb that damn temper of yours, especially when he had some LUNATIC on his ass wanting his head!! YOU destroyed him...and then, you ABANDONED him, Akane!!! You and Father BOTH disgraced our clan when you just allowed that gutless bastard AND his wife to forget Ranma EVER EXISTED, letting THIS honourless pig take his place!!!" she points at Ryouga.
Akane shudders. Anger from anyone else, she could withstand quite easily. Not from her sisters. NEVER from her sisters. "I...Nabiki..."
"And YOU!!!!" Nabiki spins on Ryouga. "You little spineless piece of garbage!!! How DARE you take advantage of my own sister just to get your worthless revenge?!! How DARE you compound what happened to Ranma just to hurt him AFTER he swore NEVER to tell Akane about P-chan...AND NEVER ONCE BROKE HIS WORD?!?! You want to know how GUILTY Ranma felt when he heard you were cursed?! How guilty he STILL felt even when you started sleeping with Akane?!! And THIS is the way you pay him back?!!"
Ryouga shudders, then looks away. Akane gazes at her sister, wondering if this damned nightmare that had overcome her family would ever end. Nabiki then walks to the counter. "Well, well, well, Hibiki-san!" she chuckles sarcastically. "You're now the sole heir of the Saotome School of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu, eh?! Congratulations! Have I got a surprise for you!!"
"What?!" Ryouga stares at her.
Nabiki grins. "You, my friend, now have six fiancees!! Isn't that nice?!!" she makes a dramatic wave with her hands.
Ryouga blinks. "SIX FIANCEES?!?!?!"
"Hai!" Nabiki nods, then looks over. "Hey, there's one right now!! Ukyou-chan, c'mon over here!"
Ukyou walks over, then gives the bandanna-clad warrior a serious look-over. "Well, not as cute as Ran-chan, but I can take him!" she nods, then gazes deep into his eyes. "But since you seem so keen on marrying Akane here, where's my dowry, asshole?! If you don't want me, you better cough up my family yatai!"
"WHAT yatai?!!" Ryouga jerks.
"Oh, you mean the panda didn't tell you?!" Ukyou snarls, then stares at a gaping Akane. "How he STOLE my dowry after engaging ME to poor Ran-chan, then ABANDONING me on the road all alone when he took off?!" she then glares at Ryouga. "How he never told Ran-chan SHIT about it, made it seem like some sort of game, then probably laughed at his latest scam, not caring that it totally FUCKED my whole life?!! THAT is what your 'master' is like, Hibiki!!! So, am I going to get my yatai back one of these days or what?!"
Ryouga blinks, then looks down as he considers what Nabiki and Ukyou just revealed, then he gazes at the former. "Um...can I see that parchment, please?" he holds out his hand.
"No, this is for Akane's father," Nabiki smiles. "But I'll give you the basic details free of charge since Akane does love you and I do want to see my sister happy even though I'm righteously pissed at her now for stabbing her old fiance in the back! Atop six fiancees, you will sooner or later have to pay a FIVE HUNDRED MILLION yen bill for stolen food, lost pets...wait until you hear what Ranma had to do when he underwent with the Neko-ken...not to mention apologizing to over FORTY families for the staining of their honour because of theft and shit knows what else!!"
She then claps her hands, beaming. "Boy, you two really were good friends for Ranma, you know that?!" she hums. "By doing what you did, you not only made sure Ranma didn't have to handle ANY of that, you actually VOLUNTEERED YOURSELVES to fight his battles for him! After all, when they all come after YOU," she points at Ryouga, then points at Akane, "YOU'RE gonna get involved!! After all, you're HIS fiancee now!!" she waves at Ryouga. "And your father and the panda are going to demand that you BOTH have to preserve the 'agreement' between the Tendou and Saotome families, uphold our honour...and wreck your lives in the process!"
Silence falls as Ryouga and Akane consider those words. The wanderer sighs, then stares at her. "Did he know?"
"Who?" Nabiki wonders.
"Ranma. Did he know any of this?"
"No," Nabiki shakes her head. "To him...it was a simple game. He never understood the shit his father pulled, all in the name of the damned Art...and the panda's stomach. Never understood what he would have to answer for in the end when people like Ukyou-chan came to collect on all of the panda's debts. Never understood how many lives were DESTROYED because he had to be a 'man above men' to please that gutless bitch the panda married!"
Tears brim her eyes. "In the end, he did understand one thing, though. It destroyed HIS life. He was a victim of the Art. Just like Ukyou-chan's a victim," she stares at her, then Ryouga, "...and you," then Akane, cheeks dampening, "...and you, too, Akane-chan...not to mention Father, Kasumi-onee-chan and me. And I'll be damned to a million hells if my family will be a victim of the Art and the bastard who teaches it."
Akane shudders, then reaches over to embrace her sister, her own eyes tearing. "I'm sorry, Onee-chan..."
"It's not me you have to apologize to," Nabiki sighs.
"But he's dead..."
"Yeah, he is," Nabiki nods, then looks back. "But the one who rose from his ashes isn't."
"Eh...?!" Akane turns...
...then cries out in horror as the woman in the corner booth rises, turning to face her, once again in her favoured red Mandarin shirt and track pants, her hair braided into a pigtail. Ryouga turns, then gulps as Ranko advances on them, her eyes narrowed. "Um...ah...hiya, there, Ranma! L-l-lookin' good...!!"
"Ah...hello, Ranma..." Akane faintly waves.
Ranko glares at her, then him, then moves to stare right into Ryouga's eyes. "By all rights...I should fuckin' kill you right here and now," her eyes glow. "It's actually quite easy for me. Just telekinetically block your windpipe below the top of your breastbone, where you can't punch a hole into it to get fresh air in, then let you choke to death. Being a Nendo-kata is so much better than being a crippled nobody that couldn't harm a fly! But I'm not going to," she smiles, her eyes returning to normal, then slaps his shoulder. "I'm not going to because I still think of you as my friend...and because you did something I could never do...and that's win her trust," she points to Akane.
Ryouga blinks. Akane gapes, then looks down, shuddering at the unspoken confession her transformed ex-fiance just made. Ranko sighs. "Now you know how it feels to have people hate you because of a curse," she growls. "It was ME who made Tatewaki-kun blow your secret wide open in front of the whole school. After all, you forced RANMA Saotome to silence over P-chan. You never forced RANKO Saotome...that's me, by the way...to do a thing!" she points to herself. "But despite all that, Ryouga, you still had Akane's love and, even more, her trust. Count yourself very blessed."
The wanderer shudders as Ranko turns on Akane. She flinches, then steeling herself for the inevitable, looks up to gaze into the taller woman's eyes. "If I was Kimiko Tendou," Ranko sighs, "I'd be crying right about now on seeing how my daughter turned out, hearing how she let her anger take control of her, how her LACK of control nearly saw someone killed, then because she allowed her anger to dominate the way she looked on her life, she refused to take even an ounce of responsibility for it."
Akane cries out, covering her face as she staggers to a chair. Ranko sighs, flashing an apologetic look to Nabiki, then leans on the counter beside her. The youngest Tendou shudders, then gazes at her. "I'm so sorry..."
"You want to make up for it?" Ranko hums.
"Yes," Akane nods.
"Okay. Then swear to me right now...that you will NEVER AGAIN practice Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu. That if you pursue your studies in a martial art for self-improvement and self-defence, you will practice a different art than that one."
Akane blinks, then her eyes widen. "Ranm-...Ranko...you're going to destroy...the Art itself?!"
"Yeah," Ranko nods. "Your sister put it very eloquently just now. You, Ryouga, U-chan, even Shampoo to a certain degree, all the others too...and especially my past-self...are victims of the Art. And I care for your sister enough to decide...that if it finally comes down to your sister's continued happiness or the Art's survival...then the Art will not survive."
Akane blinks, then nods, gazing into Ranko's eyes. "On my mother's memory, I swear that never again will I consider myself a student of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu. The Tendou School is no more."
Ranko nods. Ryouga walks up to her. "Ranko, I..."
"I can't take your art away, Ryouga," Ranko smiles at him. "It's your family's style and it's not Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu. Besides, I think Akane would make a fine student in YOUR family's art, wouldn't you think so?"
Ryouga blinks, then blushes. "Um, yeah...!"
"But, I can take something away," Ranko then reaches into her pocket to draw out a beautiful silver crystal chain tied to a pendant shaped like a cut ruby. She then wraps the chain around his wrist. "Your curse."
"Eh...?!" Ryouga blinks, then gasps as tendrils of energy seep out of all points of his body, flowing right into the ruby. After a minute, the energy fades, leaving behind a glowing crystal.
"There you go," Ranko takes the chain. "No more 'travelling Sunday dinner,' Ryouga. You're a whole man again."
"Um...ah...thank you," Ryouga sighs, then stares at her. "Um...what are you going to do with it?"
"As I said," Ranko's eyes turn cold. "Nabiki-chan's happiness comes first. For that to happen, the Art dies. BOTH schools."
"Well, there's something you better know, then," Ryouga grits his teeth. "It turns out that Mr. Saotome's and Mr. Tendou's old teacher, Happousai, has come back to really make our lives hell. He's living at the dojo right now."
Ranko stares at him, then her eyes glow. Ryouga shudders as he feels a...warmth...surge through his mind, echoed by images of the aged lech running around, stealing underwear and pawing every girl in sight. Ranko's eyes then revert to normal, the warmth fading. "Oh," she smirks. "Makes life interesting."
"He's good, Ranko," Akane warns. "The best I've ever seen."
"Well, he won't expect someone like me," Ranko smiles, then hands her the rolled parchment. "Take this to your father. It has a chi-field around it to ensure that ONLY members of the Tendou family can open it. Present it to him two days from now, at noon. Make sure your 'houseguests' are there. I will be there at 12:10 to ensure the Saotome School is destroyed and the Saotome family pays for the dishonour it has brought to U-chan and everyone else."
"Hai," Akane takes it, then stares at Ryouga. "Let's go."
Both head out. Ranko sighs, then gazes at Nabiki. The latter grins, gently grasping the former's hand...
* * *
Two days later...
"Father?"
"Yes, Akane-chan?" Souun looks up.
Akane steps down, one hand wrapped around the parchment, the other holding the dojo sign. Ryouga walks down beside her. Both kneel before Souun. The Tendou patriarch blinks, then notices the sign. "What are you doing with that?!"
"What I am doing is fulfilling a promise...and atoning for our family's shameful conduct," she announces...then effortlessly breaks the sign in half!
"Akane!!!" Souun gasps.
She lets the pieces fall down, then stares at him. "I have taken an oath, on Mother's memory. In atonement for my abandoning my first fiance in his time of need, which resulted in his being paralyzed by that lunatic Shampoo and his being expelled from his family, I will no longer consider myself a student of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu, nor carry on the Tendou School. It is dead."
Souun gapes at her, paling. "A-a-akane..."
"You have no right to do that!"
Akane looks up as Nodoka walks in from the kitchen, her hand on her katana. "On the contrary, Nodoka, I have every right to do that," she rises, walking around her stunned father to stare the Saotome matriarch in the eye. "I have every right to ensure that my life, the honour of my family, is not plagued by the dishonour and disgrace your family brought to this home."
She spits into Nodoka's face, then backhands her so hard, she sends the older woman crashing into the wall, the katana dropping to the floor beside her. Akane kicks up the sheathed blade with her foot, then tosses it. Ryouga catches it one-handed. As Nodoka tries to stagger back to her feet, Akane walks back, then holds out the parchment to her father. "Read it."
Souun blinks, then numbly takes the roll in hand. Snapping open the seal, he allows it to roll to the floor, his eyes falling over the neat writing. The words seem to blur to him, then the dates and events become crystal clear as a supportive warmth flows through him. Akane and Ryouga tense on sensing that warmth, then exchange a knowing smile. With that, the Tendou patriarch plunges in. After a moment, his eyes widen. "Six fiancees...?!"
"Hai," Akane nods. "I've met one of them. She's the one who had her dowry stolen from her. She was made to live as a boy, had her whole life destroyed by Genma Saotome just to ensure he had food to eat. She's been on a quest to locate Genma and Ranma since. She can never be a girl again until she's atoned for the 'crime' that GENMA committed against HER family. Atop that, by what was agreed back then, she is now Ryouga-kun's fiancee...since he is the heir to the Saotome school."
"Not anymore."
Both gaze at Ryouga. "I will no longer consider myself a student of the Saotome School of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu, much less it's heir," the wanderer announces, then stares at Nodoka. "Your husband never told me about the six fiancees that came with the position of heir to the Saotome School, much less the money still owed because of skipped bills AND all the other families who had their honour slighted when they had the misfortune to cross paths with Genma Saotome. That wasn't part of the deal, Nodoka."
Nodoka shudders, the accusations starting to sink in, denial flashing in her eyes. Souun sighs, then stares at Ryouga. "Do you love Akane, son?"
"Hai, sir, I do," Ryouga nods.
"Akane, do you love him?"
"Hai, Father, I do indeed."
Souun smiles. "Then you still have my blessings."
Footsteps are heard. Souun looks right to see Kasumi and Nabiki standing there. "Hello, Father, Akane-chan, Ryouga-kun," the former smiles. "It's good to see you again."
"Kasumi...Nabiki..." Souun shudders, then blinks as the warmth surges through him. Taking a deep breath, he stares at his elder daughters. "May I ask which one of you stayed with poor Ranma-kun when he was so shamelessly abandoned by his own family...and ours?"
"That was me," Nabiki holds up her hand.
"Thank you," Souun sighs. "You have done much to atone for our clan's crime, Nabiki."
"I know," Nabiki smiles, then her eyes fall on Nodoka, the warmth vanishing, replaced by a chilly glare the equal of the Arctic in mid-January. "To believe you were Mother's friend."
Nodoka shudders. "Indeed," Kasumi adds, then stares at Souun. "Father, a Miss Ranko Saotome is outside the front gate right now. She's come to see her family fully atone for the crimes they both committed against Ranma-kun, our family and the victims of Genma's and Ranma-kun's training trip...and to ensure the final destruction of the Saotome School of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu."
Souun blinks as the name rolls around in his mind, then readily nods. "By all means, bid her to come in."
"Yes, Father," Kasumi steps outside.
"Souun..." Nodoka gasps.
He stares at her, a deep flash of disappointment and betrayal in his eyes. "To believe I would've trusted your husband to adhere to a simple agreement!" he shakes his head. "To believe I trusted him to the point where I permitted his son...and YOUR son...to be abandoned like that! No, Nodoka...the only Saotome I will trust from this day on...is the one I can now never call my son-in-law."
Nodoka blinks, then pales as Kasumi steps back in. "Father, may I present Ranko Saotome."
Souun gapes as Ranko steps inside, then smiles. "May I ask how this is possible? Shampoo ran you through...!"
"She ran RANMA through," Ranko nods. "May I ask in return if you have heard of the Great School of the Nendo-kata?"
Souun blinks, then his jaw lowers as past news articles he read of some of nearby Tomobiki's antics come back. "Indeed, I have. The reputation of your Great School has preceded you."
"Thank you," Ranko nods. "The day my two halves...that which you knew as Ranma Saotome and a Wanderer of the Equatorial Deep Trench School summoned by Doctor Sakebu Kanna, a healer of the Cold Flat Mound School now resident on Earth...Crossed Over and became one...is the day the Ranma Saotome of old died...and I was born to stand in his place. Because of that, the Unity has demanded I come resolve the many problems left behind when Ranma was paralyzed and expelled WITHOUT REAL EXCUSE from his family."
Souun nods. Ranko then glares at Nodoka. The older woman shivers, realizing that her harsh words of six months before had now come back with a vengeance to haunt her and what remained of her family. "To believe...I contacted you out of a simple sense of humanity," Ranko sneers, pointing at her. "To believe that I did it to show you some kindness, out of my love for you, to let you feel relief that your family was still alive and well despite what happened at Jusenkyou. To believe that I had hoped that you would have put blood and a mother's love before honour.
"I was wrong," Ranko shrugs, shaking her head. "I know it now. You are no different than Genma, Nodoka. Because you condoned what happened by allowing Genma the chance to go on his training trip...because you allowed your son to be TRICKED into giving up his life if he didn't fit YOUR outdated description of a 'man above men'...because you allowed YOUR SON to have his life DESTROYED by an honourless fool who cared more for his stomach than preserving the family honour, not to mention the honour of so many others...then I will now happily take away from you and Genma what you took away from Ranma. Now...step outside."
Nodoka shudders, staring hopefully at Souun. The Tendou patriarch doesn't look at her. Ryouga rises, then drawing the sword, aims the blade at her throat. "The lady said to leave."
Nodoka gags, then staggers out the door, Ryouga and Ranko following her. As soon as she is by the koi pond, Ryouga backs off, sheathing the weapon. Ranko stares at the Tendous. "I ask you to bear witness to this," she sighs. "As you know, one of the six women who were tricked into believing themselves engaged to Ranma actually had her dowry stolen. She needs credible witnesses when she goes back to her father to claim her life back."
"Of course," Souun nods.
The front gate opens, revealing Happousai and Genma. "Hey, what's goin' on...HOT-CHA!!!!!!" the old freak gapes on seeing the chestnut-haired beauty by the front door, then springs for her...
...only to be caught in a telekinetic force-bubble! "Nice try, fool!!" Ranko smiles, her glowing eyes locked on his.
"Let me go, you brat!!!" Happousai screams. "How dare you do this to me?!! Let me go!!!"
"You're the Grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu?" Ranko hums, an eyebrow rising.
"Yeah?!!" Happousai sneers, then his eyes widen. "Oh, you must be Ranma, then!!! What brings you back here, cutie?!!"
"Your death," Ranko smiles. "By the way, my name's Ranko."
Happousai blinks...as a waterspout explodes from the pond to deluge Genma! The panda staggers...then finds himself yanked to his feet by an invisible fist as Ranko dodges left. Genma-panda is flung paws-first at Happousai, the grandmaster being spun around at the last second to see his death coming. Everyone gasps, some ducking away as the panda's claws rip through the aged master's body at the throat, decapitating him before he could do something to defend himself! Blood showers Genma as he is send head-first into the rocks beside the pond, Happousai's head dropping into the grass beside the tree as his body is crushed under Genma's weight.
Silence falls, then Nabiki tsks. "That is a dangerous animal there, wouldn't you agree, Onee-chan?"
"Yes, it is," Kasumi nods. "I'll call the animal control centre right now."
She heads into the kitchen as Ranko draws out the chain, the ruby still blazing with energy. Genma moans, turning over to gaze dazedly at his transformed child. "Say good-bye to your humanity, old man...not to mention the Art you destroyed so many people's lives with," Ranko grins, then drops the pendant on his chest.
Energy explodes, ripping through the panda relentlessly as the neutralized energy of Ryouga's curse fuses with his own to forever trap him in that form! People blink, then relax as the crystal disintegrates, Genma passing out from the onslaught. Nodoka drops to her knees, staring wide-eyed at the beast that personified the end of so many dreams. Ranko gazes at her, a touch of pity in her eyes, then Ryouga. "The sword."
The wanderer hands it over, then backs off. Nodoka shudders as Ranko unsheathes the blade, the finality of the moment shocking her into bracing herself. She then stares at the avenging spirit who had come to take back what she had. "Ranma..."
"Ranko," the Nendo-kata-turned-Terran intones. "You said it yourself, Nodoka. Ranma Saotome is dead. I now live in his place and I now take back what you stole from him...and much more. That crystal I had not only froze Genma as a panda...it also destroyed the parts of his mind that contained his martial arts knowledge and whatever memories he had of being human. In essence, he is just a simple panda, soon to be locked up in a zoo where he belongs. There, he will never hurt anyone again.
"As for you, know this," she sheathes the blade, then holds it up. "This sword will be presented to Ukyou Kuonji in re-payment for her dowry, the one Genma stole when he ABANDONED her on the road ten years ago AFTER he agreed with Ukyou's father to allow her and Ranma to marry DESPITE there being another engagement between Ranma and the Tendou family. I now have the family ledger and all other pertinent documents revolving around our clan; I took them from the Saotome house before coming here to deal with you. Genma is now marked as deceased via seppuku in atonement for his behaviour during the training trip. You are still part of the family, but if you remarry, you will be expelled from it. It is also marked that the Saotome School of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu was closed as of today, never to be reformed. If you want the house, it's yours; I have no need of it. But if you think of trying to come after me for what I did, much less trick someone into coming after me,
be warned of this...y
"Then kill me and be done with it!" Nodoka hisses.
"No," Ranko shakes her head. "By letting Ranma live, you gave him a chance to make a better life for himself away from the Art, a chance I will now capitalize on. I give you that chance now. If you remarry, remember not to judge any of your future children like you tried to judge Ranma...or they might come after you, too. Now, go...and don't ever cross my path or the Tendous' again."
Nodoka shudders, then rises, walking out the gate...just as sirens are heard, heralding the arrival of police and personnel from the local zoo...
* * *
That night...
"That was the hardest thing I ever had to do."
Nabiki stares at Ranko, seated by the tree beside the pond, then relaxes beside her. "Not really," she shakes her head. "Even if she did find out about all those things, if Genma was still up and about, he might've convinced her to let it pass by and people like Ukyou-chan would've still been screwed. You had to get Genma out of the way once and for all before you could make her change her views on things, Ranko-chan. That's perhaps one of the hardest things one can do concerning one's parents, especially here."
"Yeah," Ranko sighs, then stares at the dark building beside the house. "So what're the plans for the dojo?"
"We're going to rent it out to anyone who wants to use it," Nabiki smiles. "The income should more than compensate for whatever lost income the Tendou School could've generated."
"That's good," Ranko nods, then blinks as Akane steps out. "Hi, Akane. What's up?"
"C'mon inside for a second," Akane waves them in.
Both step inside, then head upstairs to Souun's room. There, Souun, Kasumi and Ryouga were kneeling beside the family shrine. A second memorial tablet now stood beside Kimiko Tendou's. Ranko smiles on reading the name. "No matter what, Ranko-chan...as you are now and as you were before the Crossing Over...you're a part of our family," Akane smiles as they light incense and pray.
After prayers are finished, Ranko stares at Souun. "With your permission, Mr. Tendou, I'd like for the sage of my adopted school, Matsuri Dokai...she serves as a Shinto priestess in Juuban...to come here to bless this shrine, for both the sake of your late wife and...whatever part of Ranma was lost before the Crossing Over."
"Of course," Souun nods. "And what of you now, Ranko? Where will you go?"
"Back to Ishinomaki," Ranko sighs as they head back to the living room. "I still need to learn what being a woman full-time is like...and that school teaches it better than most others. Besides, if I stay here, my presence will hurt Akane and Ryouga. They need the chance to put their relationship in order first, so it's best that any reminders of what was before are far away."
"Not forever, I hope," Akane sighs.
"No," Ranko hums, then gazes at Nabiki. "After all, I do desire to claim Nabiki-chan as my lifemate one of these days."
"WHAT?!?!" Nabiki shrieks.
Ranko gazes contently at her. "Nabiki-chan, you KNOW Nendo-kata can only have children with other women," she smiles.
The others gape at Ranko; they hadn't known THAT particular titbit about the Great School. Nabiki blinks, then sighs. "Forgot your kind were an all-female race," she slaps her head.
"How's that possible?!" Ryouga exclaims.
"Parthenogenesis," Nabiki explains. "What Ranko-chan's people do is telekinetically exchange eggs between their wombs, then let them merge together with their mate's eggs. Freaked me out when Nokoko and Mal explained it to me. Doesn't change when they Cross Over, either. Nendo-kata eggs can only combine with another Nendo-kata's or a female of a race they Crossed Over to be a part of."
Everyone gazes at Ranko. "You mean there're NO men among your people?" Ryouga blinks.
"Nope," Ranko shakes her head. "Haven't been any males in a hundred thousand years."
"Why?!" Souun blinks.
"Simple," Ranko gazes at Akane. "Akane-chan, when you entered puberty, when did you start becoming comfortable with the fact that when the time comes, you can bring life into this world?"
Akane blinks surprisedly at the bluntness of Ranko's question, then hums. "After my first period, I guess. Kasumi-onee-chan gave me a lecture on the facts of life then."
"Didn't you feel excited?" Ranko grins.
"Excited?! About what?"
"About giving birth, silly!" Ranko chuckles. "About the simple, wonderful fact that YOU are the one in your future family that can DO that! Yeah, you need Ryouga to help get it started, but when things are clicking away, it all depends on you!"
Akane blinks, surprised at the anticipation shining deep in Ranko's eyes, then smiles. "Yeah, I guess so..."
"I still don't get it!" Ryouga sighs.
"Baka!" Ranko snaps. "As guys, we can NEVER do that! Yeah, we help start it, then the girls do ALL the physical work for nine months!! Blessed Mother Ocean, Ryouga, don't you feel the LEAST bit ashamed about that?!"
"But that's the way it's always been!" Ryouga shrugs.
Laughter distracts them. "I don't believe I'm hearing this," Kasumi covers her mouth. "Here you are, Ranko-chan, all ready to be a mother...and yet not more than six months ago, as Ranma-kun, you were so adamant about asserting your manhood that you hated ANYTHING we did to bring out your female side!"
"That's true," Ranko muses. "But in the Great School a long time ago, things were different. We're telepaths, Kasumi-chan. We can sense each other's thoughts with the same ease you feel cooking a meal or Nabiki-chan has with finances. Back then, male Nendo-kata couldn't help but sense the sheer JOY females felt at bringing new life into this existence...and they wanted to feel that, too."
"Thus the Great Crossing Over," Nabiki smiles. "The males all became females, crafting the parthenogenetic codes in their DNA necessary to continue the race even if everyone was female...and that's the way it's been ever since."
"But Nabiki isn't a Nendo-kata!" Akane objects.
"There are two ways around that," Ranko muses. "One, we find a Wanderer and have Nabiki-chan Cross Over herself. Or, we could mate as is, I could impregnate Nabiki-chan at the same time I have myself impregnated...it'll be hard, but it's not impossible...and once our child is growing in her womb, her Nendo-kata-based DNA will alter Nabiki-chan's DNA through the umbilical cord. By the time she finally gives birth, Nabiki-chan will be as much a Nendo-kata...with all the powers and the lifespan...as I."
Silence falls, Nabiki shuddering at the thought of actually living as long...about 1300 years given the Wanderer's age before the Crossing Over...as Ranko. "So, Ranko-chan...does this mean you're in love with Nabiki-chan?" Kasumi muses.
"Hai," Ranko gazes at Nabiki. "She stood by me throughout this, Kasumi-chan...being crippled, the Crossing Over, settling down, going to Ishinomaki. Why shouldn't I choose her? Everyone in Oshika's been asking me, 'Aren't you going to handfast with that girl soon?! You're letting her slip through your fingers!'"
Nabiki blushes. "Ranko-chan, they DON'T say that!"
"Yes they do...telepathically, that is," Ranko gazes fondly at her. "In fact, even the handfasted ones say they're jealous that I have such a beautiful girl like you with me. I listen to them, Nabiki-chan. And I'm NOT letting you go."
Nabiki gazes at her, her cheeks flaming. Even after coming to fully understand the Nendo-kata way, she hadn't considered the full ramifications of becoming lifemates with Ranko...until now. She then stares at her father. "Um...Dad...?"
Ranko coughs. "Mr. Tendou, despite Genma's shocking betrayal concerning the agreement you dreamt of seeing fulfilled for so long, I would, in the interest of healing the wounds everyone have suffered over the last six months and more, like to see one part of that agreement become reality: a bonding between myself and one of your children. As you now know, I can only mate with a woman. And since Akane and Kasumi both possess loving mates of their own...and since I love her and would do anything to keep her happy...may I therefore have your blessing to pursue Nabiki as my lifemate?"
Souun blinks, then stares at Nabiki. "Do...would you mind this, Nabiki-chan?"
Nabiki blinks, then shudders as that beautiful warmth fills every part of her body. She didn't need to gaze on Ranko to know the Nendo-kata-turned-Terran was staring hopefully at her, her empathic "aura"...the aura which made Kunou let his "pig-tailed goddess" go; which firmed Souun's spine that very afternoon to finally see the horrid truth of what Genma had done behind his back...echoing her desire as loudly as a regiment of trumpeters. She then gazes into the redhead's eyes. The message is plain.
Only you, Nabiki...
Only you...
"No, I don't mind, Daddy," Nabiki smiles, then leans over to gently kiss Ranko on the lips. "Not at all."
Kasumi and Akane beam. "Way ta go, Ranko!" Ryouga whoops.
"Do I have your blessings?" Ranko gazes at Souun.
Stunned, the Tendou patriarch collapses in a heap of tears, bawling that his children were now married or engaged, happy lives stretching before them. "I think that's a 'yes,'" Ranko smiles.
The others laugh, Nabiki and Ranko holding hands. "Does that mean you have to go back to Ishinomaki, Nabiki-chan?" Kasumi hums.
"Yeah," Nabiki nods.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Souun wails, causing everyone to lean back from the shower of tears. "Nabiki-chan's leaving home!!! I'll never see her again!!!"
"Relax, Daddy!" Nabiki swats his arm. "Besides, Toranoseishin Finances are scouting me out. I'll probably have a job waiting for me in Sendai as soon as I graduate high school."
"What about you, Ranko?" Ryouga hums.
"I'll have to wait and see," Ranko admits. "Until now, all I've had is the Art. It doesn't lead far, so I'll have to learn some other life skills. Might mean a year at the Young Women's Academy after I graduate high school."
"A year at the Young Women's Academy?" Nabiki stares at her, then moans. "Oh, no, I'm dead...!"
"What's that mean, Onee-chan?!" Akane panics.
"The Academy doesn't have a prohibition on students becoming pregnant!" Nabiki panics, then gazes doe-eyed at Ranko. "Don't do this to me, Ranko-chan!! I can't afford to be pregnant when I'm trying to make my first clean million!!!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" Souun bawls. "I'm going to be a grandfather!!! What a happy day!!!"
Ranko hums, then kisses her. "Relax, sweetie! You can go make your million and let ME run the house!!"
Nabiki hums. "Then you BETTER pass your home ec. classes, honey...or else!!" she wags her finger.
Everyone laughs...
The End