Returning Home
By David Farr
Part 7

	Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan,Inc and is
used here respectfully for the purposes of fanfiction. This story may
be redistributed only if unchanged and no fee is charged.
	This story and my other works of fiction may be found at:
    http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/

*****

	Akane's shoulders slumped as she saw her cute little pet, really a
certain dishonourable cursed boy, roll up his eyes and pass into the
land of oblivion. The anger she felt was old, but time had yet to
weaken it, leaving it burning just as brightly in her heart. To think
he would not only betray the trust she had twice laid on him, once as
a friend, the other as a pet, but also he forced Ranma to betray his
own fiancee by taking advantage of a warrior's promise.

	She knelt before her daughter, who still clutched the unconscious
piglet in her arms. "Ukyo honey, you take good care of P-chan, and
tell mummy when he wakes up."

	The little girl nodded vigorously. "Yes, mummy."

	Akane stood and turned away from her. As she walked back towards the
surprised group on the porch she heard Ukyo call out the piglet's
name, then catch something. She glanced over her shoulder to see Ukyo
toss P-chan in the air again.

	Smirking, Akane stepped back onto the porch. "Now, what were we
talking about before we were so rudely interrupted?" She asked calmly.

	Ranma shivered. "I don't want to be Ryoga's shoes when he wakes up,"
he muttered aside to Kasumi and was surprised when he got no response.
He turned to find the normally calm girl glaring at the little pig,
tiny tremors shaking her clenched fists. "Uh, oh."

	"Excuse me," Kasumi hissed from between clenched teeth, "I think I
left something on the stove."

	A shudder of horror passed through Ranma, this was one family you did
not want to get angry. He glanced out at his daughter who was still
playing in the yard, tossing the little black piglet into the air.
"Ukyo, come inside soon, it looks like it might rain soon."

	"I will daddy, the moment it starts," the little girl returned.

	"Just don't go far from the porch, rain hits fast around here." He
turned inside again. His mother, wife and father-in-law had already
returned to the table, and were sipping tea. Nodoka looked like she
needed it.

	"Well, that was a bit of excitement," Ranma said, dropping back into
place.

	"Is Kasumi okay?" Akane asked, glancing up from her cup.

	Ranma glanced in the direction of the kitchen, worry on his face. "I
think she has a few problems with what she just saw. Someone might
want to talk to her about it."

	Suddenly Soun found himself the focus of three gazes. Almost
reluctantly he nodded. "I shall do it." He stood and paced out of the
room.

	Left sitting in silence Nodoka glanced over at the slumbering form of
her husband. "Ranma, I wish you hadn't knocked him unconscious, it
would have been nice to talk to him."

	"He's not unconscious." Ranma lifted his cup and took another sip.
Out the corner of his eye he noticed his father twitch.

	"Why do you say that?" Nodoka inquired.

	"What pop doesn't know is that when he's out, he snores up a storm,"
Ranma grinned about his cup, then took another sip. Almost immediately
the human pile started snoring. He turned to Akane. "And you wondered
why I was such a deep sleeper."

	A slight growl slipped from Akane's throat. "DAMN IT MR SAOTOME, ACT
LIKE A MAN!" she yelled, leaping to her feet and throwing her
thankfully empty cup at the man. "All you EVER do is run away! Or go
PANDA! For GOD SAKE, GROW UP!" She stormed out the door, leaving Ranma
and Nodoka sitting in an oppressive silence broken on by the continued
snoring coming from Genma.

	Ranma looked at his mother. "Sorry about that. Ryoga is not a good
part of our history. He Akane's trust, by using his curse to sneak
into her room. I was kinda dreading this, and I'm afraid things are
just piling up."

	"Things?" Nodoka asked.

	"Yeah, well, we have to deal with all the girls that pop and I
managed to get engaged to me and one of them blew up at us today. Er,
not literally. Then we learn about pop's promise, and of course
Ryoga." He shrugged. "Akane doesn't deal with things well." A crash
came from upstairs, echoed moments later from the kitchen. "Ah, I'd
better head upstairs before she breaks something important. Like our
baby."

	Nodoka nodded, and watched as her son hurried out. She sighed and
turned to look at her husband. 'Where is the man I married? He was so
happy, carefree and strong in his honour. Did that foul old man do
this damage?'

	When Genma finally cracked his eyes open he found his wife sitting
over him in absolute silence, her family's gleaming katana resting in
her lap.

*****

	Soun had, rather cowardly, hovered outside the kitchen door,
listening to the sounds of domestic tranquillity inside. The rattling
of pots, the sizzle of foods frying, nothing seemed out of place.
Except that the cook herself was making no sound.

	When the crash of crockery shattering sounded, he knew he had to act.
"Kasumi, is everything alright?" He stepped out into the doorway.

	His eldest daughter was kneeling on the floor, collecting the pieces
of a broken dish. Her head snapped up, her eyes glowing with an anger
that pushed Soun back a step. Instinctively his hands went up into a
pain ward.

	"Oh, my. Sorry father." Kasumi's hand flew to her mouth and she
blushed in embarrassment. She looked down at the shards of crockery
and went back to collecting them together.

	"Kasumi, do you want to talk about it?" He walked over to his
daughter and knelt down, helping her to tidy.

	"He shouldn't have done it father," she whispered finally. "It was
just so rude, so wrong. Mother would never have let him."

	Soun reached out and wrapped his arm about her. "Is that what's
bothering you? That you didn't stop it? We treated the boy as we would
any guest, and if he abused our hospitality, then the blame is his,
not ours."

	A single tear rolled down Kasumi's cheek. "But I'm supposed to
protect my little sister."

	"Ranma wasn't able to stop him, and he did try if you remember. If he
failed, what can you hope to do?" Soun smiled. "Besides, Akane is more
than capable of looking after herself. Would she have accepted our
interference?"

	Kasumi looked at him. "No, I suppose not." She paused, then
realisation hit her. "FATHER! YOU KNEW!"

	*SLAP*

*****

	Cradled in his father's arm Ryoga sleep peacefully, finally calm now
that his mother's rage was spent. He had not cried, just been agitated
as Akane ranted under Ranma's watchful gaze. She had finally fallen
into a weeping storm, now bemoaning the unfairness of it all.

	Ranma flipped himself to his feet, gaining a gurgle of delight from
Ryoga. He slipped across the room and knelt next to her. "Feeling
better?"

	Akane nodded and looked up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy from
crying, and streaks left by tears wound their way down her cheeks. "Oh
Ranma, it wasn't supposed be like this. This was meant to be the easy
part."

	"I know, but we are doing well. We dealt with both Kuno and Ukyo, and
we're doing well at school." Ranma's smile started warning her heart.

	"But every time we turn around we find more problems. It's like we're
still travelling between worlds, waiting for something to go wrong,
watching every shadow." She struck the floor with her fist. "I don't
want to live like this!"

	"It'll get better Akane, it might get a little worse, but things will
calm down when everyone learns to accept our marriage." Ranma leaned
forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Even Shampoo won't chase me
forever."

	Akane nodded, a movement that brought her hair flickering into
Ryoga's field of vision. Playfully he reached out and grabbed a tiny
handful of the strands, dragging his mother's head closer.

	"Watch it Akane, your son's already knows how to boss you around."

	The pair laughed while Akane pulled her hair from her son's grasp.
Still smiling Akane turned her face to look up into her husband's
face. Once he'd hidden the love she found there behind a cloak of
insults, but now he simply smiled and let the warmth of his eyes
express himself.

	"Let's take this one downstairs to meet his grandmother," Ranma
whispered.

	"That sounds like a good idea." Akane returned, smiling.

*****

	The dinning room was peaceful, letting the sound of falling rain
filter in from inside. Ukyo and Nodoka sat opposite each other, their
hands out. Both had a single long string weaved between their fingers,
forming a complex cradle of strands. Ukyo was staring at pattern in
between her palms, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth in
concentration.

	"Okay darling, now pay attention." Ukyo's eyes shot up to gave at her
grandmother's hands. "The next step is like this." Nodoka brought her
hands thought, then separated them again, coming out with a more
complicated pattern.

	Ranma and Akane watched as their daughter attempted to reweave her
own string as Nodoka had just demonstrated, but ended up with a nasty
knot instead. She sighed, dropped the weave and in a quick series of
movements rewove the string.

	"Try again, little one. You'll get it, just like the other steps. It
only takes practise." Nodoka's tone was motherly and patient, and both
Ranma and Akane felt a pang of jealousy.

	"Mummy and daddy always say that too," Ukyo quipped as she
concentrated on her movements. Carefully she slipped her right index
finger under one strand while looping another about her left middle.
She smiled as the pattern came out, matching her grandmother's.

	Nodoka turned to look across at the pair standing at the door. "Well,
obviously they managed to learn some wisdom." She smiled quietly at
them.

	"Despite many people's best efforts," Ranma commented. He still
cradled their baby in his arms, using a gentle rocking motion to keep
him happy and away from anything he could grab. The pair walked over
to the kneeling pair, and lowered themselves next to them, Ranma
placing himself next to his mother.

	Without watching Nodoka performed the next and final step in her
pattern, keeping Ukyo's attention. "Is this little one my grandson?"
She peered at the bundle in Ranma's arms. "What did you say his name
was?"

	"We named him Ryoga," Ranma replied, watching as Ukyo tried to copy
the movements and ended up with something completely different, but no
less interesting.

	"Ryoga?" Nodoka's tone dropped. "Named after that boy who everyone
seemed so disgusted at?"

	Ranma slowly nodded. "Of all the time I've known Ryoga he's only ever
done one thing that I couldn't understand. Most of the time he's one
of the sweetest guys you'll ever know, honourable, protective and
loyal. As obsessive as everyone else I know, but at least he always
issued challenges when he decided to have it out with me. Friends are
hard to come by on the road, and he was always there when I really
needed him." His eyes quested about, at last resting on the
unconscious and bound pig. "Hey, where's pops?"

	Her face took on the likeness of a cliff. "He has gone upstairs to
pack his bags. We feel that he and I need some private time to discuss
all that has gone on." She softened, a smile once more coming to her
lips. "But I'm sure we will be back by the time you two return from
school tomorrow."

	Akane chuckled. "Somehow I think my father would prefer if you could
come back a little earlier. We'll be leaving Kasumi and him alone to
take care of the children." She smiled down at Ukyo as the little girl
gave a cry of delight at having finally managed to perform her
grandmother's trick.

	"Look, mummy, daddy," Ukyo squeaked, holding up the cat's cradle.
"Isn't it good!"

*****

	Miserable and alone a cream and purple cat wandered the through the
park. She cursed her luck, the bad drainage on the streets and drivers
who didn't care if they splashed pedestrians. Most of all she cursed
Akane Tendo.

	'How could he choose her?' Shampoo demanded of herself silently.
'How? I'm better than Akane. I cook better, I treat him better, I LOVE
HIM MORE! Why didn't he chose me?!' She looked about, and realised
that she didn't recognise any landmarks. 'Now I'm lost and alone. Even
great-grandmother has abandoned me.'

	With a gentle pitter-patter a curtain of rain swept across the grass,
drenching the cat and her surroundings. Shampoo quickly glanced about,
looking for shelter. She spotted a discarded cardboard box resting
beneath a park bench, and darted inside.

	Shampoo stared out down the alleyway, droplets falling past the flaps
of her makeshift hidy-hole. She watched as mist rose off the silvery
pavement, concealing the distant buildings and trees. Time past as she
watched the empty park before her, and the letting the rhythms of the
falling rain lull her off into a dream where a strong pair of arms
held her in a warm embrace.

	Water seeped through the cardboard ceiling, forming a large drop. It
hung for moment, then fell, striking the dozing cat below. Shampoo was
startled back awake, shaking her head to clear it. She stared out at
the rain once more, angry that her moment of peace had been stolen
from her.

	'Oh, Ranma, won't you come save me once more. Please.' A single
pitiful mew escaped her.

*****

	The feeling of hot water and the change coming of him awakened Ryoga.
Instantly he felt the sudden choking pressure that came with suddenly
having more lung capacity and no air. He shot upwards, breaking the
surface, and sending water splashing everywhere.

	He looked about, finding himself standing waste deep in the Tendo's
furo, and Akane staring at him. Gasping he dropped down, covering
himself beneath the water.

	"A-Akane!" he squeaked, his voice cracking.

	She was smiling sweetly at him, but he still felt uneasy. "I'm sorry,
I just got tired of waiting of you to recover on your own." She leant
forward. "Now, we are going to talk about wee, little, P-chan."

	"Um... can I get dressed?" Ryoga asked quietly.

	"And give you a chance to get lost? Get real." She sneered at him.
"Tell me Ryoga, what did you hope to get?" Before he could answer she
silenced him with a wave. "Forget that. Do you know how... dirty I
felt when I found out? I was disgusted at myself for having trusted
you and treated Ranma so badly when he tried to stop you!" Her glare
pierced him. "And all those accusations you directed at Ranma! You
even said he was dishonourable! YOU!"

	"A-Akane, I-I'm sorry."

	She never heard him. "And do you know how I found out?! It wasn't
even Ranma breaking his promise! IT WAS MY DAUGHTER!" She rose above
Ryoga, her face going red. "She figured it out before I did! FROM
RANMA'S STORIES! I lived them and she managed to figure it from second
hand recounts! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE?! To have a child turn
to you and ask why you didn't figure it out?!"

	She stood and sneered down at him. "Well, if you want to be a pet,
I'm sure my little daughter would be glad to keep you. After all, she
seems to enjoy playing with the curses." Akane spun on her heels and
strode out, not looking back at the man.

	Ryoga was just pulling himself out of the furo when the door was
shoved open, this time by the eldest Tendo daughter. Ryoga fell back
beneath the water, peering up at Kasumi. Her normally calm face wore a
frown. "Ranma has found some of your clothes. I would suggest that you
dress and leave." She slammed the door shut.

	Again Ryoga was most of the way out of the furo when the door was
shoved open. He fell backwards, sending a wave of water over the edge.
"Jeez Ryoga man, don't swamp the bathroom will ya." Ranma hopped
across the wet floor and perched on the lip of the bath. "They were
kinda rough on you, weren't they?"

	"She hates me," Ryoga moaned.

	"Nah." Ranma shook his head. "If she hated you I would never have
been able to convince her to name our son after you."

	"That's nice to know," Ryoga murmured. "YOU WHAT?!" He shot up again.
"Son?! DAUGHTER?!"

	"AAARGH! I'm going to have to tell it again!" Ranma cried, slapping
his forehead.

*****

	"Aachoo!" Ukyo brushed the tickling sensation from her nose and went
back to staring out at rain.

	"I hope your not coming down with something dear," Nodoka commented,
placing a caring hand on her forehead.

	"I'm fine gran'mama," Ukyo chirped. Smiling up at the woman.

	"Grandmother," she corrected absently. She certainly didn't have a
temperature. "Well then, someone must be talking about you then." She
smiled at the child. "Tell me darling, do your parents fight often?"

	Ukyo turned to look at her grandmother, a smile flashing onto her
face. "Yeah, they battle all kinds of monsters."

	A slight chuckle escaped from Nodoka. "No darling, that's not what I
meant. I mean do they yell at each or argue."

	"Sometimes," Ukyo shrugged. "Mummy can get real loud, but daddy says
she's like that 'cause she cares. You can tell 'cause she never yells
'cept when I do really dangerous or stupid things."

	"And when they yell at each other?"

	Ukyo looked thoughtful for a moment. "Daddy will simply stop and
watch mummy for a little while, and then they start talking again."

	Genma lumbered into the room, carrying his pack. "Nodoka honey, I'm
ready."

	Nodding, Nodoka stood. She directed one of her motherly smiles at the
child. "Thank you darling. You've been very helpful." She turned and
walked to her husband. "Come Genma, I think we have a lot to discuss.
And lots of catching up to do."

	"RANMA! HOW DARE YOU?!" The shout attracted the attention the entire
household. Everyone converged on the sound, just in time to watch
Ranma flip backwards out of the bathroom door, followed by a murderous
Ryoga. Ranma planted his hands on the porch, twisting his body to
avoid the thrusts of the massive umbrella. He sprang away again,
drawing Ryoga onwards.

	Nodoka gasped as Ranma's body pierced the veil of rain. She watched
as her son seemed to shrink and the black was washed out of his hair
by a beautiful red colour. Not to mention what happened to her chest.
Ranma landed on her feet and watched calmly as a wet pig thudded into
her chest.

	"Ryoga-man, you are just too predictable," Ranma complained, reaching
down and picking up the struggling piglet. He walked up to the porch
and paused when he saw the group assembled there. "Hehe, ah mom, meet
my female side."

	Nodoka looked appraisingly at her son turned daughter. She had
believed the tale, especially after the transformation of that boy,
Ryoga, yet seeing the Ranma change was, a shock. Certainly she was a
very comely girl, and it wasn't surprising that Genma had feared that
there would be a misunderstanding about the old promise. Worst of all
Ranma appeared at ease as a girl and seemed to unconsciously take up
some very expressive poses.

	Still smiling happily Ranma lifted Ryoga up before her face. "Come on
pig, I'm gonna find some hot water then we can talk about this at
length."

	"Ranma, your father and I are about to leave," Nodoka interrupted.

	"Well pig, looks like we're gonna stay like this just a little while
longer." Ranma shrugged, which did unladylike things to her breasts,
causing Nodoka to note to herself that she had to talk to her son
about it.

	Ranma looked at her father for a moment, then turned to toss Ryoga to
the red-haired child. "Hey Ukyo, look after him for me will ya."	She
grabbed her old man and dragged him off. "Excuse us, just want to talk
to him for a sec." They left a baffled family behind them.

	"What do you want boy?!" Genma demanded.

	"Listen," Ranma growled. "I want you and mum to get back together, so
I'm gonna give you some advice on dealing with women."

	The older man snorted. "Ranma, I am decades your senior, I think I
more about the fairer sex than you."

	"Then answer me this: Which one of us has the good relationship?"
Ranma smiled smugly at his father when he didn't receive an answer. "I
know the way you think pop. And I'm willing to bet you're going to
approach this like mom's an opponent. She's not! She's an ally! You've
got to learn to read her and react in a way that'll cause her to be
happy, but not in the short term, but long term. Don't say or promise
anything ya don't mean. Above all be honest, lying's only gonna cause
more problems later when she finds out. And believe me, she will find
out.

	"If you want to stay with her pop, you're gonna have to get past
whatever she feels about your distrust in her. Once you've settled the
bad blood, then you can get around to rebuilding whatever it was you
once had."

	Genma stared at his son, not expecting the seriousness in the boy.
The older man could see in Ranma's eyes that this was not just some
theory he'd come up with, but instead information hard won. He lowered
his head, acknowledging that his son was indeed wiser on this. "What
do you suggest?"

	"Don't let things sit. If she's not raging, then you should be
talking. Explain, don't excuse. Admit you've made mistakes, don't
cover them up. Tell her you love her, but don't use it too appease her
'cause then it'll mean less later when you use it to make up." Ranma
paused. "Most of all pops, be good to her." He smiled at him. "And
forget everything Master Happosai ever taught you."

	Genma grinned at the last comment. "I'm glad he didn't hear you say
that."

	Ranma shrugged and started guiding his father back to the others. "He
may be a great martial art, but his people skills leave a lot to be
desired."

	The farewell to Genma and Nodoka was a sober occasion. Everyone felt
as if part of their life was leaving with the greedy man, even though
they wouldn't be far away and the short trip between the houses wasn't
too much trouble. The entire Tendo family, including Nabiki who had
just returned home, stood on the front porch, waving good-bye as
Nodoka walked away, escorted by a panda sheltering her with a parasol.

-----

Author's Notes:

Ha, I remembered this time.

	Okay, timing. At least one person is kind of confused. Ranma and
Akane vanished shortly after Ranma learnt the Hiryu Shoten Ha (excuse
spelling, my collection is in a mess at the moment), but before the
next story (whatever that was.) Obviously none of the stories after
that happened. And for those who noticed, I removed the line where
Nabiki said she would get some catch-up work from Miss Hinako (part 2
or 3, she now simply says she'll see their teachers.)

	Soun knows about Ryoga's curse because he's in the bath when Ryoga
changes during the martial arts gymnastics story (Kodachi's intro). I
don't know if that happened in the anime. Also as far as I can
remember none of the other characters know.

	The Arnie look-a-like from last part will appear again, and his
little line is part of his signature style. Why? Well, that's to be
revealed when Tsubasa turns up again.

	Finally, I'm gonna be in sooo much trouble from the Shampoo fan club.

-----------
David Farr
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/
djfarr@ihug.co.nz		katsuhito@planetjurai.com