This was a truly enjoyable story.  I don't finish very many fanfics these 
days (though I've got my hopes for the future) but I couldn't stop 
reading this one -- great idea, and great fulfillment.  My only nitpick 
would be Ranma/s  telling the secret about his promise to his mother -- 
as I recall, he had no knowledge of the secret, or of his mother's 
existence, and I can't think of any way he'd have found out, even if he 
was simply hiding his knowledge.  It just didn't ring right.

High praise, indeed.  Thank you.

And thus the value of intelligent C&C is proven again. To tell the truth, I
haven't ever read the manga that introduces Nodoka nor have I seen those
anime episodes. What I had in mind when I wrote that bit wasn't that Ranma
told Akane about this as a secret, but rather that he told her ( and cried
on her shoulder about it) as just something important about himself to share
with her. I didn't know that he knew nothing about his mother before she
appeared for the first time.  I've got to think about this because I still
think his problem with his mother is one of the few things that could bug
him enough to make him cry openly.  I mean, this is a more mature Ranma, but
it's still Ranma, after all. *grin* I'm not sure how to fix this one given
the restraints of the story.

In order for this scene to work, Akane needs a cue to let her know that the
thing that is bothering Ranma is a B*I*G deal. And it's an important scene.
You know, it's real easy to write something like: "After nearly a year of
shared, secret intimacy both Ranma and Akane have matured quite a bit." It's
a whole lot harder to show it in action... know what I mean?  The P-chan
secret is ideal as a vehicle to show this happening.

Anyhow, if this is your first, I look forward to your future 'fics. (My 
first was something of an embarrassment :))

Well, actually it's just the first that I've finished. Robert Heinlein once
said that there are really only three stories: "Boy Meets Girl", "The Man
Who Learns Better", and "What Would Happen If..."  A big part of the charm
of the Ranma 1/2 story cycle is that it is easy to include all three in one
story, but my personal preference for writing is the second story... If only
they weren't so damned hard to think up. *grin* Given that this is the
ninties, I suppose that second one should be "The Person Who Learns Better."

Best,

Bob Barnes
rbarnes@moscow.com
Moscow, Idaho

When opportunity comes, the trick is to CATCH the red hat.