Epiphany

A Ranma 1/2 Fan fiction.
By Tripolar Disorder and Dragon Dagger

We do not own the characters from Ranma, nor do we want them.
We just wish to borrow their likenesses to present another view
on the Ranma story.  So please don't sue us.

****************************************************************

Nodoka was standing in the medical examiners office at the Tokyo
General Hospital.  She had received a call that her husband's 
body had been found in one of the water drainage canals.  She
had been asked to positively identify the body.

She stood solemnly as the short man in the lab coat pulled out
a shelf from the freezer used to store bodies.  He pulled back
the sheet to expose the face.

Nodoka nodded.  She recognized Genma, even after years of
separation.  Pride, realization and shock prevented her from
crying.

The examiner then told her that another body had been found near
Genma's in the canal.

Nodoka's heart stopped.  Another body.  

She asked to see the other body.  She was expecting to see
a teenage boy, her son that she hadn't seen since Genma took
him away from her.

The medical examiner showed her the other.  She was surprised
that it was Genma's friend Soun Tendo.   She had visited the
Tendos only a few days earlier hoping for word on her husband
and son, but he had not seen them.  

The examiner was not surprised.  He had already used fingerprint
analysis but a live witness verified it.  He took her statement
and allowed her to leave.

****************************************************************

As she walked down the street toward the Tendo Dojo, Nodoka
could not help but wonder where her son was.  Had Soun been
lying to her the entire time, because he too knew the truth?
That Ranma was dead, killed by the thoughtlessness of Genma.

She could not stop herself as tears welled up and began rolling
down her cheeks.  Genma was dead, and the location of her only
son had gone to the grave with him.

When she passed the entrance to a park, she saw children
playing.  She thought back to the day that Ranma left with his
father.  How Genma had slung the boy over his shoulder and she
watched as a crying Ranma stretched out his hand toward her.
She had watched them disappear down the road, a sickening
feeling that she would never see either of them alive again.

As the weeks, months and years passed, without any word she
had cried herself to sleep many nights.  At first she had tried
to be optimistic about it, but the letter he had promised never
came.  No pictures came in the mail, so she could at least see
how much her son had grown.  Nodoka assumed that they both had
died somewhere, or gotten killed.

When the rumors of a man fitting Genma's description seen near
the Tendo home, Nodoka had gone to see if maybe Soun knew where
they were.

She noted inwardly that Soun was always very jumpy and hesitant
when answering her questions.  

<He knew, didn't he.  He knew the truth and he was hiding Genma
from me.  Oh Kami, what happened to Ranma?>

She cringed inwardly, her thoughts focused on any number of
horrible things that could have happened to Ranma.  She imagined
her son's tiny, broken body, hastily buried in some shallow hole
in the ground.

Her train of thought was broken because she realized she was at
the Tendo Dojo.  She knocked on the gate, but no one answered.
She opened it and proceeded inside to the house.

Inside she found Ranko and Kasumi trying to comfort Akane.  It
was clear that no one had heard her knock, nor did they notice
her standing there.  Akane was buried into Kasumi's shoulder,
crying her eyes out.  Ranko was trying to hug both girls with
arms outstretched to encompass both of them.

Nodoka sat down near Kasumi.  She put her hand on Kasumi's other
shoulder.  Kasumi turned toward Nodoka, and each could see the
tears in the others' eyes.

"Auntie Nodoka, what brings you by?" Said Kasumi.  She tried to
compose herself.  

"I was called down to the coroner's office.  I saw your father's
body.   I went down there because they found Genma next to Soun.
They were aparently out drinking together."

Kasumi broke down and began crying as well, while still holding
Akane.  Ranko, upon hearing Nodoka's statement, stiffened 
slightly.  Nodoka noted that Ranko was holding her feelings in
to provide support to her cousins.

Nodoka moved closer to Kasumi, and put her arms around Kasumi so
the eldest Tendo daughter could have some support as well.

She knew that the girls would need support to get them through
the next few days.

****************************************************************

The next morning, Kasumi had managed to pull herself together
enough to make breakfast.  But with the mood in the house, the
food seemed to be picked at more than eaten.

Several sets of bloodshot eyes staring downward.  A sniffling
noise coming from one side of the table or another every few
seconds.

Finally Nodoka Spoke up.  She could not wait any longer.

"Kasumi, I must ask you a very important question.  I hope that
you will tell me the truth.  Was your father providing shelter
to my husband lately?"

Kasumi looked down, taking her eyes away from Nodoka.

"Yes, auntie Saotome.  For quite some time now."

This upset Nodoka further.  Their father had been making them
lie to her about Genma.

"Kasumi, where is my son?  Did Genma ever tell you what happened
to Ranma?"   A single tear slid down the Saotome matriarch's
face.

"Yes Auntie, I know where Ranma is.  Genma told us about the 
training trip."

"Where is my son?  I wish to know."

The girls all seemed to flinch.  They sat motionless for several
seconds until Kasumi spoke up.

"Ranma is frightened to meet you auntie.  He, we found out about
the seppaku pledge, and considering the cimcumstances he does
not feel at this time that you would see him as a man amoungst
men."

Nodoka was shocked at this.

"You mean.....My Son, Ranma...... Is still Alive?"

"Yes, he does so want to see you again, but he...."

Kasumi's statement was interrupted as Nodoka broke down and 
began to cry again.  Akane tried to support her, but was pushed
away.  She continued with her face in her hands for several
minutes.   Finally she looked up, and saw Ranko's eyes.

The girl was huddled in the corner of the room, curled up into
a ball.  Nodoka could bearly see her eyes under the red mop of
hair.  There were tears in the girl's eyes.  Like she wanted so
badly to say something to Nodoka, but couldn't.

Nodoka turned back toward Kasumi.

"She knows where my son is, doesn't she?"  Kasumi nodded.  "And
I suppose that you are hiding him from me?  Why?  What could
possibly be so horrible that I would not love my own son?

As her emtional state becme worse, her voice became ragged.

"I will never acknowladge the existance of that contract.  Do 
you have any idea how many times I have cried over the death of 
my son, simply because I have never heard from him since the day
he left with his father?  Do know how many nights I cried myself
to sleep because I thought I would never see Ranma again?  There
is nothing more precious to me, and yet you think that hiding
him from me is wise?  There is nothing, NOTHING that could have
happened to him that make me love him any less, if I could only
see him."  She hung her head.  "Please, I just want Ranma back."

A small shakey voice coming from the corner turned her attention
in that direction.

"I..I'm sorry mother.  I'm sorry I lied to you.  I'm sorry
that I hid from you.  I didn't know that it caused you so much
pain.  I really, really wanted to see you, but pops told me bout
that contract and he told me that you'd kill us both.  I wanted
to see you so bad I pretended to be Ranko Tendo, just so I could
talk to you and hear your voice again.  "

Nodoka sat stunned as Ranko slowly got to her feet.  She then
walked slowly over and put her arms around Nodoka.

"I don't want you to be sad anymore mom, mom?"

With that Nodoka passed out.

****************************************************************


Nodoka opened her eyes.  She could see Nabiki and Kasumi sitting
around her.  She could hear crying in the background.  She did
not recognize who it was however.

As her head cleared she could hear Akane repeating over and over
"She doesn't hate you.  She doesn't hate you."

She could also hear Nabiki and Kasumi quietly whispering between
each other.  They were discussing how much of a shock Ranko was.

Nodoka sat up slowly.  This brought the attention of all the
girls but one.  Ranko was back in the corner.  Her back was to 
the room this time as she was cowering in as small of a ball as
she could.  It became obvious as to who was crying.  

Akane had turned back toward Ranko.  And she continued to try
and comfort Ranko.

Nabiki was about to speak, when Kasumi put her hand over her
sister's mouth.  She learned 

"Auntie, I have to tell you a story.  I hope it will explain
some things."

Nodoka turned toward Kasumi, a look of curiosity on her face.

"Continue then."

Kasumi took in a breath and sighed.  She took another breath and
began.

"In china, in a province deep in the wilderness, exists a
training ground.  This training ground is referred to by many
names.  The pools of sorrow, the cursed training ground, and
Jusenkyo.  The training ground consists of many pools of water
each with a tragic tale of something that drowned in it.  These
pools are magic, and they curse whoever falls into one the body
of the creature that fell in it.

There is a spring of drowned man, drowned piglet, cat, Panda,
Peking duck, and spring of drowned girl as well as many others.

Any person cursed in such a way can be changed back into their
original form with hot water, but will take their cursed form
if they come in contact with cold water."

Nodoka sat puzzled.  "So what are you saying Kasumi?"

"What I am saying is that your Son has such a curse, because
Genma did not know how to read chinese.  What I am saying is
that the crying red-headed girl in the corner has not seen her
mother in just over ten years, and that she had to lie to her
own mother just because she feared for her life.  Feared that
her mother wouldn't love her because of her curse.  What I am
saying is that shaking mass over there is really your son, 
Ranma."

Nodoka turned toward Akane and Ranko.  Akane nodded "She's right
auntie, her name is not Ranko, its Ranma.  And I have never seen
her like this before.  We can prove that she is really your son.
Nabiki go get some hot water."

Nodoka stood up and walked over toward Ranko.  She kneeled down
next to the shivering, crying ball.

"Ranma, is that really you?"

The girl nodded, shakily.

"Ranma-chan, Please look at me."

The woman paused the moment it took for Ranma to look up and
into her eyes before she continued.

"Ranma.  I am truly sorry.  I can only hope that in time you
will forgive me for letting your father take you from me.  I
have had much time to reflect on what has and could have
happened."

She paused again as if searching for the right words and
continued.

"I just want you to know that no matter what happened then, and
no matter what happens now.  I loved you then and always will."

Ranma-chan only uttered one word as she threw herself into her
mother's outstretched arms.

"Mom!"

****************************************************************

OK, I made a massive rewrite from the original chapter one.
But I am much happier with the result.

Yes Ranma is Out of Character.  He just lost his Father.  He is
afraid is mother is going to cut off his head if he tells her,
but he doesn't have any other parents.  

He is alone, and he has always wanted to see her again.

And just when he thinks his Mother won't try to kill him, and
he tries to open himself up, she faints.

I don't care how much everyone thinks Ranma is the unemotional
fool.    But I have watched many Anime episodes repeatedly and
I think that even he can't handle everything.  

It is all part of the coming chapters plot.  I worte this with
a purpose in mind.

Tripolar

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