You know, I'm beginning to wonder about that 'may become dark' tag- so far,
I've finished the first seven chapters and there haven't been any
indications of darkness. There have been a number of serious scenes, but
few I would consider dark. Of course, chapter 8 and 9 are where most of
the darkness come in, but...
Anyways, this is one of those two chapters which I REALLY felt needed lots
of work, the other being chapter 2 released last Monday. I really feel it
needs some fleshing out, and would greatly appreciate anything that anyone
could do to help me with this. However, someone pointed out another reason
why chapters 2 and 3 would seem disjointed- between Chapter 2 and Chapter
9, this is sort of a 'meanwhile, back at the ranch,' kind of fic. Chapters
2, 4, 5, and 7 (which I may break up into two chapters), the focus is on
Ranma and Akane. Chapters 3, 6, and 8, the focus is on the people at home.
Sorry if it seemed disjointed last chapter, but hopefully it will make
more sense now that I'm telling you this.
E-mail me for previous chapters (address at bottom of this), as I'm not
going to post back chapters on my web page until I'm finished with the
whole story, which won't be for several weeks as I've got to deal with
finals this week (this won't keep me from writing, but I expect it will
drain me quite a lot, slowing me down quite a bit) and it's the christmas
season, which means I won't have as much time for writing as normal. If
you want to read The Second Charlotte Cup, my only other completed fanfic
so far, then you can visit my web page (this address is also on the bottom
of this e-mail). Please send C&C, MST's, or anything else to let me know
you're reading this. Author's notes and disclaimer are in chapter 1.
Expect Chapter 4 next monday...
Until then, enjoy what I have so far...
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Chapter 3: An Ordinary Day in Nerima
As the train pulled away, Nodoka, Ukyou, and Shampoo waved. Genma nodded
to the departing train while his friend, Souun, cried buckets full of
tears. Nabiki and Kasumi had stayed home to look after the sisters.
After the train disappeared from view, Shampoo grabbed Ukyou and pulled her
along as she stepped in front of Nodoka. "Ranma tell Shampoo and
Spatula-Girl to help take care of Pregnant Girl. How Shampoo help?"
Nodoka blinked. "Um... well, I understand your great grandmother is very
skilled in medicinal arts... since the local doctor hasn't been around
recently, maybe you could get her to come and check up on her progress
occasionally. Otherwise... well, I may come up with some odd jobs I'll
need you two for."
Shampoo frowned. "But airen say you need so much help Shampoo could not go
with him... He say he take Violent Girl because she so unskilled she hurt
ones she try to help..." Ukyou smirked a little. 'At least Ranma trusts
me enough to tell me the REAL reason he's taking Akane with him instead of
one of us. Though I suspect that what he told Shampoo was also true... I
wonder if there were any other reasons he took her, though?' Ukyou sighed.
'Ranma, my son, why did you have to dump this on ME?' Nodoka sighed. "I
will soon, but not right away. It's still very early in the pregnancy- as
she gets closer to giving birth, I will need a lot more help. Ranma could
be gone for months, but right now all I want is your great grandmother to
look Natsume over." Shampoo's face tightened, but she nodded and bounded
away. Nodoka turned her attention to Ukyou. "Now, I have no idea what you
could do right now."
Ukyou sighed again. "That's okay. I think I know at least SOME of the
real reason Ranma didn't want me to go along with him. Nevertheless, mind
if I join you and meet the people I'm supposed to help you take care of?"
Nodoka smiled. "Of course you can."
* * * * *
"Well, thank you for coming!" Kurumi waved at the departing Ukyou. 'She
was a nice girl. I think I might enjoy staying here for a while...' She
turned to Nodoka. "Well, you and your family are definitely bringing in a
lot of help."
Nodoka smiled. "Thank you. I think you should probably thank the Tendous,
especially Kasumi, as well."
Kurumi blinked. "You aren't a Tendou?"
Nodoka laughed. "No... I'm Ranma's mother. Ranma is Akane's fiancee."
Kurumi blinked again. "Akane's engaged? Isn't she a little young?"
"It's an arranged marriage. They very well might have been married
already, if my baka of a husband hadn't stupidly placed him in the position
of having two OTHER fiancees..." Nodoka sighed. "Ukyou, who you just met,
is one of the others."
"Oh, no... Is this going to cause problems?"
Nodoka smiled comfortingly. "No, not at all. Ranma asked the other
fiancees to look after you two while he and Akane looked for your parents."
Kurumi smiled. "Good." She sighed. "I'm going to need all the help I can
get. My whole life, Natsume's taken care of me and helped me when I was in
trouble. Now that she needs help, I'm not really sure what to do... again,
thank you for all of your help..."
"Kurumi!" Came a call from another room.
"Coming, Natsume!" Kurumi called as she bolted in the direction of that
cry.
Nodoka just shook her head slowly. 'This is going to be a long nine
months...'
* * * * *
"They WHAT?!"
"That's right, Kuno-baby," Nabiki said between spoonfuls of ice cream.
"Ranma, Akane, and the Pig-Tailed girl have all left on a train to Osaka.
They could be gone for as long as nine months. Then again, they may only
be gone a few weeks, if they find the person who they are looking for
quickly enough."
"What manner of spell did that sorcerer place upon those two beauties that
enticed them to follow him?"
'The scary thing is, he's the sanest member of his family,' Nabiki sighed.
"Actually, Kuno-baby, I think Ranma's just trying to keep Akane away from
Ukyou and Shampoo while he's away. You saw for yourself how they don't get
along." Kuno reluctantly nodded- he had also been at the failed wedding.
"But... what inspired him to make such an attempt now?"
"Akane's and my... foster-sister... is pregnant. He's trying to find her
parents before she gives birth."
Kuno blinked. "A noble quest. I would not expect Saotome to attempt such
a thing." He looked at Nabiki. "The only reason I might think he would do
so would be... Is he the father?"
Nabiki's eyes widened. "You mean of the baby? No... but then again, we
don't know who is." At Kuno's dubious expression, Nabiki added "We know it
isn't Ranma, however."
Kuno nodded. "Perhaps I could perform some service to assist this woman in
these troubled times of hers. If she desireth it, I could attempt to find
the one who sullied her so."
Nabiki blinked. "I would not have expected that out of you, Kuno-baby.
Let me ask her tonight, and I'll get back to you."
* * * * *
Nodoka ran into the foyer as the bell kept ringing, quickly opening the
door. "Hello?"
"My great-granddaughter told me that you wanted someone to look at a
pregnant girl." Cologne hopped in.
Nodoka nodded. "That I did. Thanks for coming." She started leading the
withered old crone to Natsume's room in silence. They'd never truly gotten
along.
Cologne kneeled over her patient and began examining her. "Hello, child."
She quietly asked questions, she poked certain pressure points, and she
studied the chi lines. It took no more than ten minutes, and then she left
the room.
"Well, how did it go?" Nodoka asked.
Cologne quietly closed the door behind her. "Why didn't you tell me Ranma
was the father?" She whispered angrily.
Nodoka facefaulted. "What? Ranma isn't the father!"
Cologne frowned. "But the baby's chi lines are so strong- just like I
would expect from Ranma's child. In fact, there are only a few people
strong enough to father a child like that, and Ranma's the one I would
suspect the most."
Nodoka shook her head. "Natsume doesn't know the name of the father, but
she does know what he would look like- and so would her sister. Besides,
Ranma hasn't had the opportunity. It isn't Ranma."
"Perhaps you are right... but there are very few others who it could be..."
"Is there anything else I should know?" Nodoka asked.
Cologne shrugged. "She's quite healthy, and so is the baby. It's too
early to tell, but the chi lines make me suspect it may be a breach
birth... but we shall see- that kind of thing is very hard to tell.
Regardless, the baby will be strong. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be
going now." She started to leave, but Nodoka placed a hand on her
shoulder. Cologne looked at her with contempt. "If you were a man, I
would kill you for that."
Nodoka nodded. "But I'm not. Instead, I'm a concerned mother, and I want
to know what you would do if Ranma married someone other than Shampoo."
Cologne smirked. "Ah, of course. I have long been expecting someone to
ask this question. If Amazon laws are fulfilled, I will have no objection.
The only way for Amazon laws to be fulfilled, however, would be for Ranma
to marry another Amazon, or for Shampoo to die first."
Nodoka nodded. "And if Ranma HAD been the father of that child?"
Cologne frowned. "Then there would be a problem. I am considerate of
others, but the only way for Amazon laws to be fulfilled and for the woman
to not be completely dishonored would be for me to place her through the
vigor's of becoming an Amazon. If she survived the process, she would then
have to fight and lose to Ranma. If that happened, then she would have to
fight Shampoo. It's that simple."
Nodoka's eyes widened. "In other words, you'd put her through something
which would almost certainly kill the unborn babe." Cologne nodded.
"That's just... just... inhuman."
Cologne sighed. "Perhaps so, but it has kept my culture alive for five
thousand years." She started hopping away. "I'll be back from time to
time to check on Natsume's progress."
Nodoka just shook her head in disgust and returned to Natsume's room.
"Well, what did she have to say?" Natsume asked.
"You and the child are in fine health..." Nodoka chewed on her lip a bit.
"Natsume... are you certain Ranma isn't the father of your child?"
Natsume exploded into laughter. "What? Where did you get that idea?
Trust me, if it was Ranma, I would have let you know."
"Cologne said the chi lines indicated that the father was a very powerful
person- someone like Ranma in power."
Natsume shrugged. "Perhaps he was. But it wasn't Ranma- that I know for
certain." Nodoka smiled and left the room. "No, it wasn't Ranma," Natsume
sighed to no-one in particular. "But it wouldn't matter if he was..."
* * * * *
"I'm so sorry, Ranma!" Ukyou cried.
"I tried to be your friend, Ukyou, but after all that you've done, how can
I trust you?" Ranma turned around and started to walk away. Ukyou fell on
her knees and grabbed him by the back of his shirt.
"Ranma, please! I'll never do it again! I promise!"
Ranma turned to Ukyou. "If you could never marry me, would you be my
friend?"
Ukyou nodded desperately. "Anything! Just don't leave me again!"
"I'll never be able to trust you while you still want to marry me," Ranma
said to her. "So make your promise."
"I promise, Ranma!" Ukyou bolted upright and looked around. She was in
her bed, and it was completely dark around her. "A dream... it was just a
dream..." She sighed in relief. "But... what if that is the only way to
remain his friend? What if I have to give up my dreams of being... his
wife?" She shivered, and lay back down, unable to sleep. "Oh, well... I
suppose with Ranma and Akane gone we'll finally be able to see what an
ordinary day in Nerima's like..."
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Kuno is Red, Kodachi is Black,
You've got 4 Fiancee's, You're under attack!
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