Returning Home
By David Farr
Part 6
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/
*****
Ranma looked at the two piles of paper. One was Akane's and the
other was his and both were covered in writing. It was their homework,
and it was all finished. Three months worth of catch up, it was a lot to
do in less than a week, but as they'd proven so many times before, if
they worked together, anything was possible. Of course now they had to
figure out how to get two stacks of paper that towered over them all the
way to school.
"So, any thoughts?" Akane asked, looking at him. She was already
dressed in her school uniform. Thankfully that still fit her, despite her
maturing.
"We could ask Nabiki to help," he suggested. They shared a gaze
and quickly dismissed the idea. "Well, we could take some of it in today
and promise the rest for tomorrow."
Akane nodded. "Sounds best, but I think I'll go down and ask
Kasumi if she has any spare bags."
"We could use the pack." Ranma inclined his head at the black
backpack that rested on the desk they'd moved from Akane's room.
"You know how hard it is to find things in there. We always pull
out the strangest objects and I don't feel like explaining how we managed
to get a ten foot pole in a three foot bag."
"Right," Ranma agreed slowly, wondering if anyone would comment
on that kind of strangeness around them. "Well if you do that, I'll start
sorting out what we'll take today."
Twenty minutes later the pair stood in the front yard, holding a
collection of plastic bags full of paper. For anyone else it would have
been a load, but both easily slung the bags over their shoulders.
Chibi-Ukyo stood between her grandfathers watching them sadly.
Her spear was clutched tightly in her hand like a safety blanket, perhaps
her only comfort in this situation. On Soun's other side Kasumi stood
holding little Ryoga.
Akane smiled at her daughter. "Now you be a good girl for your
Grandfathers and Aunt. They'll look after you just like we would."
"Yes, mummy," Chibi-Ukyo murmured.
"And if pops decides to engage you to anyone you have my
permission to thrash him," Ranma added.
Chibi-Ukyo grinned, then glared up at Genma. "Yes, daddy."
"Hey pops, if you feel up to it, would you mind doing a little
bare handed sparing with Ukyo?" Ranma inquired. "I haven't had a lot of
time in the last week."
The old man puffed up with pride. "Of course boy, it'd be my
pleasure."
"Don't beat you grandfather too badly Ukyo," Akane added.
Chibi-Ukyo started waving, tears welling in her eyes, as her
parents turned and walked over to the gate. Ranma reached out and pulled
it open, waiting until Akane had stepped through before following.
As soon as everyone was sure they had gone Soun looked down at
the girl beside him. "So Ukyo, shall we get back to planning you parents'
wedding?"
"YEAH!" the little girl cried, stabbing at the air. She grabbed
the hands of the two older men and dragged them back into the house.
As Kasumi turned, gently rocking the baby, Nabiki emerged,
swinging her bag. "Hey Kasumi, better get Ranma and Akane moving, or else
they'll be late for their first day."
"They've already left," Kasumi replied off-handedly. "And don't
lie on the ground like that, you'll soil your uniform."
*****
"Hey! Wait up you two!" Nabiki called, running up behind Ranma
and Akane. She looked at them, weighed down by the large bags of paper.
"Some knew kind of weight training?"
"Very funny," Ranma shot back. "Nah, this is some of our
homework."
"Some?" Nabiki thought back to the massive pile of paper that she
had almost had to carry home. "I can see that." She shook her head.
"Thanks for not asking me to carry some."
"You're welcome," Akane replied, with a smile.
"Yeah, we know you aren't very strong, little sister," Ranma
quipped.
"Hey!" Nabiki paused. "I think I'll take that as a compliment.
Means I'm not as macho as Akane." She grinned, and got the expected
snorts of laughter from the pair. "Actually, I'm glad you two got out
early, it gives us the chance to talk away from the house."
"What about?" the others chorused.
"Yesterday, after school, I went to see Maiko Anzai, she's a
lawyer who specialised in family law," Nabiki replied. "I talked to her
about your little problem with Ukyo. She was a little sceptical, but I
think what she had heard from Arokawa-sensei convinced there was at least
a little validity in my story. We talked for a while, but she really
wants to meet the two of you and Ukyo."
"Then we'll have to see her, I suppose," Akane replied.
"We can call her and make an appointment when we get back from
school." She paused, looking up at the sky. "She did say one thing that
disturbed me a little." The other two peered at her in interest. "She
asked me who was looking after the kids, and when I told her, she
wondered if that was fair to Kasumi."
Ranma glanced guiltily at his wife, who returned the look. "We've
been thinking about that too," he admitted. "I think it's best, for both
Ukyo and Kasumi, if we put Ukyo into a kindergarten. It means Ukyo gets
to be around kids her age, you know, make some friends."
Nabiki nodded. "That would be best." Then she grinned. "But where
are you going to find a kindergarten that'll look after your little
terror?"
"You're kidding, right. This is Nerima. I'm sure we can find a
practitioner of marital arts nursery school teaching."
*****
"You should have seen their faces." Ranma laughed. "Not a one of
them had thought about how much marking they'd be doing when we handed it
in."
Ukyo giggled as they and Akane walked down the steps from the
school building. She was, as usual, wearing a smart boy's uniform and
carrying her spatula strapped to her back. "So that's why we haven't had
any homework so far today."
"Just wait until tomorrow," Akane was grinning, "when we bring in
the rest of the work."
"Hmm, why do I get the feeling we'll be having relievers for a
week or two?" Ukyo inquired, looking innocently into space.
Students were scattered about the schoolyard eating lunch. The
trio's arrival had, unfortunately, not gone unnoticed. A few of the more
prudent students were taking secretive glances, but most were just
staring. A peaceful lunch seemed unlikely, even if nothing untoward
happened.
"Nihao Airen!" Ranma was bowled over by an over energetic bear
hug. He sighed when he realised that one of his greatest trials had just
turned up, in the form of an ardent amazon.
"Hello, Shampoo," he groaned. Five years hadn't dulled his
memories of her. That cute smile, the purple ponytails and of course how
could he forget the vice-like grip. There was only one difference, Akane
was watching and he didn't have either a headache or a cat clawing him.
"Is that any way to greet your wife, son-in-law?" an ancient
voice inquired. They all turned to she Cologne balanced not far away on
her staff.
That set Akane off. "WIFE?" She stormed up to the old woman as
Ranma leapt effortlessly out of Shampoo's embrace.
"Do you have a problem with that?" The old ghoul asked calmly.
"YES! I'M his wife!" Akane stabbed her finger at her chest.
There was a long silence broken only by the wind in the trees.
Shampoo and Cologne stared at Akane, who glared defiantly back. Ranma
stood looking smug and Ukyo wondered when the crowd of students had
surrounded them. Everyone was hanging on every word of the drama playing
out before them. It had to one of the most interesting thing that
happened in Nerima.
"When did this happen?" Cologne demanded, peering at the girl
through slitted eyes. She turned to Ranma. "Son-in-law?"
Ranma shrugged. "About five years ago, give or take a couple of
months."
"Has Airen gone crazy? He no gone for five years."
Cologne frowned in thought for a moment. "Time travel,
son-in-law?"
"Something similar." He paused, then glowered at the old woman.
"And stop calling me that!"
"Not until I am certain that her claim is valid." Cologne replied
calmly. "I will remind you that you married Shampoo first, and thus it
takes precedence over any claim Akane has. Unless, of course, she has
some very convincing reasons."
"How about two children?!" Akane sneered, stepping up to the
amazon matriarch, hand on hips. Her words started excited chatter amongst
their audience.
"Aw, great Akane, why don't ya just yell it to the whole world?!"
Ranma groaned, slapping his forehead. "We were planning to let that
information ease out!" He listened for a moment to the discussions, then
spun and glared at a portion of the circle. "Who said that?!"
The students of Nerima had long since learnt the danger signs and
even three months of peace could not erase that instinct. It took only
moments for them to flee, leaving Nabiki and Kuno standing in the empty
schoolyard. The pair shared a shrug and strode off in separate
directions.
Cologne bounced over to Ranma and locked eyes with him. "You have
had children, with her." She nodded to Akane. "Was this all your choice?"
Ranma answered her gaze with his own hard glare. "No. It was
ours."
His eyes had already told Cologne what she needed to know. The
flair of anger at having his love questioned, followed by a wash of steel
as he calmed himself. That alone convinced her of what this normally
arrogant youth said. That and the fact he hadn't once called her an old
ghoul.
"I understand. Good luck in your life together then, Ranma,
Akane."
"NO!" Everyone's heads snapped around to stare at Shampoo. Her
face was contorted in anger and her raised hands were balled in to fists.
"Shampoo did not come to this country, put up with offensive Japanese or
learn horrible language to simply give up! Shampoo will have RANMA!" She
spun and dashed away, vanishing over the outer wall.
The four stood in the wake of her leaving, gazing after her.
Akane moved up next to Ranma, who unconsciously slipped his arm about her
shoulders. Cologne noticed this out of the corner of her eye, and
realised how little chance her great-granddaughter had.
"Wow, that was dramatic," Ukyo murmured.
Ranma's cold stare was turned on the old woman balancing atop her
staff. "Rein her in Cologne."
She turned to regard him from the corner of her eye. "And why
should I do that?"
"Same reason you've been doing everything, for the good of the
tribe. If she does something to Akane or our children, then I will start
a blood feud, and you will regret it." His voice held tones she'd never
heard from him before, a seriousness she hadn't expected.
"The same goes for me Cologne," Akane added. "And for our
daughter."
They turned, Ranma's arm still wrapped about Akane and walked
slowly back towards the school building. Those left in the schoolyard
stood silent for a while, watching the pair until the doors closed them
in.
"What of you?" Cologne asked suddenly.
Ukyo jumped, thinking she had been forgotten. "Me? What about
me?"
"You have a claim on Ranma, what are you going to do about it?"
"I... haven't decided yet," she admitted. "I do know that coming
between Ranma and Akane is only going to cause trouble." She stared down
at her feet. "The most I'll ever get out him is friendship."
"With Ranma, friendship means a lot." Cologne turned and pogoed
away on her staff.
*****
Unlike Ucchan's, the Nekohanten had not closed down during the
search for Ranma. Instead Shampoo's father, a man who was actually glad
to be away from China and his wife's people, was running the business.
For him all that meant was that he was making a few more decisions and
doing more of the cooking, even when the women were about he ended up
looking after most of the details.
His marriage to his late wife, something he had gained because of
his business knowledge, not fighting skills, had been a happy affair. She
had always acknowledged that he understood some things she did not,
unlike her grandmother. Her death, an unfortunate accident, had left him
with little desire to remain in the village, so coming on this voyage had
been a godsend. And being left alone was just too delightful.
So he had greeted Cologne's return with only the respect she
deserved, a respect she had not returned. They had only spent enough time
to unpack before heading out to talk to the boy Shampoo had set her
sights on. That meant he had just a little longer to himself, working in
his small room.
"So, how is the business?"
Apparently not very long. He looked up from the accounting books
to find the old woman hovering over him on her staff. "Everything has
gone well, honoured elder. With the recent peace more people have been
eating out and our profits have increased."
Cologne's eyebrow twitched, she once wondered what her
granddaughter had seen in this man, and why she had taken him as a
husband instead of a strong fighter. But when they had arrived in Japan
he had proven his worth. "Good, good. Don't start planning anything big,
we may return home soon." She ignored the disappointment he
unsuccessfully tried to hide.
"Did things go badly with Shampoo's young man?" he inquired,
slightly worried.
Warily Cologne nodded. "Yes, he has matured much while he was
gone and finally made his decision. There is much steel in him now, it is
unlikely he will bend to my manipulations anymore."
"And his steel has formed an alloy with one of Shampoo's rivals.
The Tendo girl I'm guessing."
Cologne shot a glare at the man. "You are much smarter than you
let on," she commented. "But that is a good analogy."
"How did Shampoo take it?" There was worry in his voice, and he
peered about, looking for his daughter.
"Not well. She has yet to learn when a battle is no longer worth
fighting. This can only lead to trouble."
"Ah." He paused to look at the amazon elder, who suddenly looked
all of the century she claimed. "And you blame yourself."
Once more Cologne glared at him, but her gaze quickly softened.
"I liked you better when you pretended to be stupid."
Shampoo's father joined his hands together and bowed again.
"Thank you honoured elder."
A slight chuckle escaped Cologne and she shook her head. "Have we
heard from Mousse?"
"Yes honoured elder. I received a call from a friend at the
animal hospital. Someone brought in a badly beaten duck wearing a pair of
cracked glasses. He's recovering, they'll call me when he's ready to be
let go."
Cologne bounced past him. "Good." She paused at the door. "Tell
me, have you made friends at all the animal hospitals?"
He adjusted his glassed and for a moment considered not telling
her the truth. "I was always scared that something would happen to
Shampoo in that cursed form of her's. It seemed like a good idea at the
time."
"Now I understand." Her words lingered after she vanished.
*****
The gates to the Tendo household creaked open, allowing entrance
to the arguing pair. A quiet discussion about Shampoo on the way home
had, as usual, degenerated into an argument. Many of their friends seemed
more comfortable to see them arguing like old times, but none realised
that it was just their way of communicating.
Both fell silent as they spotted a large panda playing happily
with a beach ball on the front lawn. They stared momentarily at him, then
shared a glance.
"Okay pops, what's happening?" Ranma demanded, striding up to his
father.
Genma had become so engrossed in his play acting that he hadn't
heard them approach. He started, losing control of the ball, which
bounced across the yard. Recovering from the surprise he whipped a sign.
[You can't go in there!]
"What have you done now, Mr Saotome?!" Akane demanded, looming
over him suddenly.
Genma spun the sign. [Me? Nothing!]
"Good, then you don't mind if I go inside." Ranma flickered
across to the porch out of the panda's grab. "Too slow old man!" he
laughed as Akane joined him. "See ya when you decide to stop being a
panda."
The two young adults headed inside, not seeing Genma's last sign:
[I don't want to die!]
Ignoring his father's behaviour, Ranma kicked off his shoes and
joined Akane heading towards the main room. He figured that if anyone
could explain his old man, it was Soun, his best friend.
"Hey, Mr Tendo, what's up with..." Ranma slid the dividing door
aside and stopped suddenly when he saw a woman sitting at the table,
drinking tea with the Tendo patriarch and Kasumi. All three turned to
gaze at them as they entered.
He had not seen her before, yet she seemed familiar, somehow, as
if he had felt the peaceful, if sad, gaze of those soft brown eyes
before. A light smile graced her lips, and she inclined her head towards
them. Next to her, leant carefully against the table, was a long cloth
wrapped object. The care with which it had been placed told him that
whatever it was, and some instinct said a weapon, it was considered very
valuable to her.
"Oh, excuse me." He bowed formally to them. "Sorry, I didn't
realise we had a guest."
Soun brightened at him. "Ah, Ranma, just who we were talking
about."
At that both Ranma and Akane tensed. They had long since learnt
to dread conversations starting with that phrase. Typically it meant
either a challenge or a fiancee. A hypothesis compounded by the presence
of a panda on the front lawn.
Meanwhile Soun had turned to their guest, who seemed to have
perked up a little. "Nodoka, may I present my daughter Akane and your son
Ranma."
"MOM!" Ranma exclaimed, staring at her in disbelief.
Nodoka Saotome stood, all hints of her sadness gone from her
face. She walked over to Ranma and started looking him over. "My boy! Oh
how you have grown! Mature, strong, confident, everything a man should
be. You remind me of Genma at your age."
"Oh my, what a fall," Kasumi murmured into her cup.
Nodoka turned her attention to Akane, give her the same
inspection she had her son. "Your father has told me of your intentions
to marry my son. I must say from the tales I've heard you two do seem
very well matched."
Ranma grinned. "Well, ya can't believe everything our fathers say
about us. They tend to get very excited when it comes to Akane and me."
"Your diction needs some work." Nodoka observed calmly. "I must
say I'm glad you are here. Soun wasn't sure if you would return today."
Soun squirmed under the gaze of Ranma and Akane for a moment,
before replying. "Saotome said something about going on a training trip
with Ranma," he offered.
Out of the corner of his eye Ranma spotted a black and white
furred head poking around the edge of the door. Wondering exactly his old
man was up to Ranma turned to look at his mother. "Can you think of any
reason pop would want to avoid you?" he inquired casually.
Shock blossomed on Soun and Kasumi's face, but Nodoka only looked
thoughtful for a second. No one heard the crash from the hallway.
"I suppose if he felt you had not been raised properly," Nodoka
mused.
"Huh? Why would that be a problem?" Ranma inquired, blinking in
confusion.
"Well, because of the promise."
Storm clouds gathered on Ranma and Akane's faces. "What
promise?!" the later demanded, joining the conversation for the first
time.
"Genma never told you?" Nodoka seemed truly surprised at the
question. "When Ranma and he left they signed a promise that he would
raise our son to be a man among men or commit seppuku."
Ranma smiled sickly. "Excuse me, I just remembered I have to go
take care of the panda." He leapt to his feet and stalked out, cracking
his knuckles in the palm of his hand.
"How could he do that to his own son?" Kasumi wondered, staring
after Ranma.
Akane looked at her askance as a loud crash sounded from beyond
the door. "Come on sis, you know how easy making promises is for him."
At that point, distracting everyone from the sounds of battle,
Chibi-Ukyo skipped in, beaming her smile at everyone. The little red
haired girl merrily made her way over to the table. Akane was glad to see
Kasumi had finally managed to get her to start wearing cute little girl
outfits and stopped her from carrying the spear about.
"Can I have some hot water?" Ukyo asked, looking about the table
expectantly.
"Of course dear," Kasumi stood, and started towards the kitchen.
Chibi-Ukyo skipped along behind her. "Thanks, Auntie Kasumi."
Nodoka turned to Soun, confusion written on her face. "Who was
that child?"
Soun seemed unable to answer, so Akane jumped in to save him,
after a fashion. "She's Ranma and my daughter Mrs Saotome. Her name is
Ukyo."
"Daughter? I have a grandchild?" Nodoka's voice sounded distant.
"Grandchildren actually," Akane corrected. "We also have a son,
who hopefully is upstairs sleeping." She glared at her father, who paled
and nodded.
"Grandchildren." Nodoka sighed, then paused and looked at her.
"But how? I mean you're still too young."
Akane sighed, Ranma was right about one thing, they were just
going to keep telling that story over and over again. She started
explaining about their long detour on the highway of life, and by the
time Ranma dragged an unconscious Genma into the room she had a very
confused mother-in-law.
"I'm afraid I'll just have to take your word on all of that. It's
so unbelievable, but you have no reason to lie to me." Nodoka looked at
her son who smiled back and dumped his father on the ground.
"So how much have you told her?" Ranma dropped into place next to
Akane, as Soun started tending his old friend.
Akane grinned at him. "Just the basics of the last five years."
"What? You left me the hard parts?" He stared at her with
comically exaggerated shock, then grinned to show he was only joking.
"There is more?" Nodoka asked in disbelief, looking between the
pair.
Ranma scratched the back of his head, knowing that what was
coming could make or break their newly formed relationship. "Well, um,
this happened before Pop and I turned up here, and it's probably why he
wanted to avoid you. You see he took me to this training ground in China
called Jusenkyo. We had this guide, and I remember he did try to warn us,
but Pop and I were so overconfident that we didn't listen.
"Jusenkyo is a valley with over a hundred separate springs with
poles placed strategically about it. The idea of the training is speed,
balance and jumping. Unfortunately the springs of Jusenkyo are cursed, we
discovered that when pops fell in one. Over the past couple of thousand
years various things have drowned there, and now anyone who falls in
takes that body."
"Pops fell into the spring of drowned panda, and I was kind of
surprised when a panda jumped out and tackled me. I don't think he
realised what had happened, maybe he was just too mad that I'd beaten
him. Anyway he knocks me off my pole and I landed with a splash and
surface to hear the guide saying that I'd fallen in the Spring of Drowned
Girl. Kinda a shock really." Ranma paused, looking at his mother, who was
watching him thoughtfully.
She seemed to be taking these things in her stride, as if none of
this was unbelievable. Or maybe she had passed beyond incredibility. "Yet
you have found a cure, for you are not female. Why would Genma still
worry?"
Akane answered before Ranma could. "The curse is such that the
transformation is only temporary. You can change someone back with hot
water. Unfortunately cold water reactivates the curse, making Genma a
panda and Ranma a girl again."
"And my husband felt that I would consider a son who turns into
girl could not possibly be a man among men," she guessed. "I see some...
validity to his point of view. Certainly if I met you first in this
cursed body of yours and had mistaken you for a girl, I would have
thought that way. Yet I cannot deny you are a man, apparently despite
your father. Facing your fears, responsibilities and duties head on is
definitely manly. You have fathered two children." She paused, glaring at
them. "I hope you fathered them..."
"Yes," both Ranma and Akane replied, nodding enthusiastically.
"And according to Akane and Soun you have shown your desire to
protect your family and those in need even at risk to yourself. I think I
can safely call you a--" She was cut off by what sounded like a cross
between the squeal of a pig and the cry of a man.
Ranma and Akane reacted as they did to every surprise, together
and suddenly. Trailed by Nodoka and Soun they headed out into the yard.
Kasumi stood on porch, her hand covering the surprised look on her face
as she stared at out the scene before her.
Standing in the centre of the yard, holding a still steaming
kettle in one hand, was Ukyo. Before her, busy trying to cover his
modesty with his hands was Ryoga, naked except for the bandanna he
always wore. Everyone stood staring for a moment as horror dawned on
Ryoga's face, then Ukyo giggled cutely, produced a glass of water, and
doused him.
P-chan looked at the faces standing not far away. Ranma was
looking smug, surprise, surprise. Akane was angry, but showing more
restraint than he expected to see. Behind them Akane's father was looking
relieved, while supporting some strange woman who was about to faint.
Worst of all was Kasumi who had quickly gone from shock to disgust.
There were options available to him, and most of them vanished
when the little girl (who looked kind of like the girls Ranma kept
pretending to be), swept him up and clutched him in a vice like grip that
would have put Azusa to shame. Akane stalked towards him, and he sought
the only escape left to him, unconsciousness.
-----------
David Farr
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/
djfarr@ihug.co.nz katsuhito@planetjurai.com
"Die-cast construction, it's a lost art."
- Optimus Primal, Beast Wars.