Part of "World Without A Ranma"

  I know some of you have been looking forward to Genma's grisly demise.
Now all is revealed - did my namesake get it in the neck? (after getting
it in the gut).  It has to be admitted - the latter is a hard target to
miss ;-)

  [Late breaking news - I've just heard the remaining 24 Ranma 1/2 manga
volumes I've ordered have arrived in the shop.  If you don't hear from
me in the next week you know what I'm doing ^_^ ]

Where's Genma?

  Tofu looked at his student.  Her finger was placed firmly on a valid
shiatsu point of the training dummy.  The only problem was ...

  "I don't think you want to hit _there_ in combat," he said.

  "That isn't the paralysis point for the right arm?" Kimiko asked,
sounding rather distracted.

  "Ah, no.  It's *whisper* *whisper* *whisper*," Dr. Tofu explained.

  "Oh My!" She gasped.

  "Is something bothering you?" Tofu asked, then berated himself for
his stupidity. "I mean, more than usual.  You're usually better than
this."

  "I didn't get much sleep last night, after our 'visitors' left I had a
chance to think things while trying to get back to sleep," she said. "Do
you realise that Genma's been gone over a week - Nodoka's husband, the
father of Ranma," she continued - indicating the form she was now
inhabiting, "and nobody really seems to miss him."

  "I wouldn't worry too much, he always struck me as a survivor," Tofu
said, trying to comfort her.

  "Maybe, but I do worry about what I've done to that family already.  I
couldn't face my old friend Nodoka if Genma's has got into trouble as
well," Kimiko continued, "Do you think it would be heartless to send her a
letter?  I've been putting off visiting her ..."

  "You think the shock everything at once would be too much for her?
Ranma's Jusenkyo curse, and his replacement in spirit by you?"  Tofu asked
quietly.

  "Not only that," Kimiko said, looking a little shame-faced, "she had a
touch of a sharp temper when I knew her."

  "There have been enough trauma in your life recently, what you need is
a proper break, why don't you take Soun out for a picnic or something?"
Tofu suggested.

  "Do you really think that's a good idea?" Kimiko asked.

  "Why, as your doctor, it's practically a prescription!" He joked.

  Kimiko looked at the handsome man she was training with and smiled, she
had been a little wary of training with a man - on their own - but it was
obvious he could be trusted.  It even grated a little that he didn't seem
to notice she was female!  "A picnic!" She said out loud, "I think that
would be a perfect idea!"  It would give her a chance to get to know the
new Soun better, her death had obviously left her husband a changed man
...

  "Well, in that case I declare the lesson over for today, tomorrow I'll
start showing you how to put some of the easiest pressure points into
practice*," Tofu decided.  On noting Kimiko's slight look of confusion he
explained, "It's not just a case of hitting roughly the right spot.
Shiatsu is based on the flow of energy, ki if you will, through the body.
The pressure points mark convergence of those lines of energy where your
strike can be used to disrupt the natural flow resulting in a wide
variety of effects."

  [* - The following explanation bears no known relation to reality, as
far as I know]

  "I understand that, but why do you say it's not just a case of hitting
the right spot?" Kimiko asked.

  "Well, for a start an individual�s ki varies, it can be disrupted by
illness or strong emotion.  You have to learn to sense the flows to be sure
of the effect and the exact area to target," he said - really starting to
get into 'lecture mode'.  "And finally, it's usually not enough to hit the
point - you have to use a little of your ki to give it a nudge in the right
direction.  Otherwise some kids wouldn't be able to get through the day
without having half a dozen points triggered by accident in brawls!"

  "It all sounds very interesting ..." Kimiko started, but trailed off in
fascination on seeing his glasses fogged up in an instant.

  "K-Kasumi, fancy seeing you here!" Dr. Tofu exclaimed, nervously holding
the training dummy in front of him.

  "I live here, silly," Kasumi replied with a smile.  "I thought I heard
someone wanted a picnic?" Kasumi continued, holding up a full hamper
basket.

  "Kimiko!  Did you hear that?  Kasumi wants to go on a picnic with me!"
Tofu told the training dummy.  "Oh, K-Kasumi, I don't know what to say,
it's all so sudden!"  Dr. Tofu said, staring into the eyes of the young
woman he was holding, wrapped in his arms.

  "She's over there," Kimiko said, holding back the giggles.

  Kimiko decided it would be best to leave him alone for now, at least now
she knew why Tofu didn't pay any attention to her - and she some small
idea as to why people avoided meeting him and Kasumi at the same time.  She
shut the door on the doctor dancing with his 'Julie-chan', the hapless
training dummy had already been hit in at least two paralysis points and
probably several other types she wasn't good enough to recognise yet.

  "Well, thank you very much for this, Kasumi - but you didn't have to go
to all this trouble," Kimiko said with a pleasant smile.

  "No trouble, it's my duty as a good daughter to help around the house,"
Kasumi replied with an even bigger smile.

  "It is a mother's duty, and pleasure, to perform such minor chores,"
Kimiko countered with an almost intimidating level of cheerfulness.

  "Why, it was no chore at all," Kasumi said brightly, effectively winning
this round.

...

  Kimiko sat down on the warm grass, next to her husband.  "Isn't it nice
to have a chance to get together, out of the house?" She asked.

  "Yes dear," Soun replied - after a brief moment to scan the area for a
certain daughter of his.

  "Another sandwich?" She asked.

  "Err, don't mind if I do," Soun replied absent-mindedly.  Something he
had seen was nagging at the back of his mind.

  "With or without bread?" She teased him.

  "Without ... Err, sorry - what was that?" He asked.

  Kimiko looked at him - "I thought you weren't paying attention, what's
on your mind?"

  "Nothing really, I just thought I saw ..." Black hair done up in
traditional fashion, Soun thought to himself, wearing a kimono, carrying
something long wrapped in cloth ...

  "Hmm?" Kimiko prompted.

  "No, couldn't have been," he said, besides - he thought - the person he
was thinking of would never have worn a black and white fur stole with
those clothes.  It didn't fit the look at all.

  "Well," she smiled, "now that's 'cleared' up, how about that sandwich -
we've got to keep your strength up, you know."  She reached for the plate,
stopping abruptly as 8 inches of cold, flower-patterned steel slipped
through her chosen sandwich, the plate and the ground underneath.  The
rest of the katana was slowly revealed as the silk cloth that had been
wrapped around it fell over the rest of the picnic.

  "Soun!  It _was_ you I saw!" The woman exclaimed as she righted herself
from the stumble she had taken.  "Oh, I've had such terrible news!" She
said, retrieving her sword on automatic pilot.

  Kimiko froze, why Nodoka hadn't changed at _all_.  She decided to stay
frozen while she tried to work out how to say what needed to be said.

  "Nodoka?" Soun asked, tears welling in his eyes from the reminder of his
lost son-in-law and the broken honour-promise.

  "Genma told you as well?" Nodoka asked.  "Such a tragic loss, of one so
young!" She exclaimed, waving the sword for emphasis.

  Kimiko looked warily up at the sword vibrating in the tree trunk above
her head.  No, Mrs. Saotome hadn't changed much at all.

  "And I hadn't seen him in t-t-ten years!" Nodoka finished and broke down
into tears, clasping Genma's old friend to her body.

  Kimiko watched the young appearing woman sob on her husband's shoulder
(and vice versa) with decidedly mixed feelings.  When she couldn't take
any more she tried gently interrupting them.  "What exactly did he tell
you?" She asked, not sure what to do if she knew the _full_ story.

  Nodoka pulled herself together somewhat, and let go of Soun.  "He told
me that my son died as a true martial artist, to save an innocents life.
It was, he said, a _manly_ death," Nodoka said, with an unreadable
expression.

  "Waaaaaah! It's true," Soun confessed, "my poor Akane is never going to
unite our families."

  "Where is Genma?  He hasn't been around recently." Kimiko asked, getting
a look in return that strongly implied it was none of her business.

  "Ah," Nodoka said, pulling the sword back out of the tree for comfort,
"I'll need to give you a bit of background first ..."

...

  Kimiko looked at the woman - and the fur stole she was wearing - in
complete shock. "You made your husband and son pledge that Ranma would
return a 'man among men' or they would both commit Seppuka ?!"

  Nodoka simply replied, "Yes."

  "And Genma is ..." Soun said, unable to finish his sentence.

  "Genma," Nodoka said with a fierce frown, fiddling with the fur wrap as
she spoke, "Genma didn't return with Ranma AT ALL!"

  Kimiko and Soun sweat-dropped and shared a look that spoke volumes.

  "Genma is currently in hospital recovering from peritonitis, a
perforated colon, blood loss, the re-attachment of a severed finger and
*mumble* *mumble*" Nodoka said, diminishing to an inaudible level of
voice.

  Soun wiped his brow in relief, "What was that last bit?"

  "Severely bruised testicles*," Nodoka said quietly.  "Well, what did he
expect?" Mrs. Saotome asked rhetorically, "I'd just slipped into the
bathroom to see what that panda wanted hot water for and there was a naked
man in there!"

  [* - There, I hope this, with the previous, is enough so that those of
you hoping for a dead panda aren't too disappointed ^_^ ]

  Soun crossed his legs and winced.

  "At least he was still a _manly_ man," Nodoka continued, "I hope I
didn't do any permanent damage."

  "And the rest?" Kimiko asked timidly.

  "Genma didn't make a very good job of the first blow, the penetration
wasn't bad - but he didn't have the momentum to slice across properly,"
Nodoka said, causing both Kimiko and Soun to turn green at the expressive
hand movements that accompanied the speech.  "I suppose he had more than
his fair share of fat to cut through as well.  Anyway as he readied for
the second blow I decided he _might_ be more use alive than dead."

  "The finger ...?" Soun prompted.

  "In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have tried to use the flat of the
sword blade to knock the knife out of his hands," Nodoka admitted.

  "Well at least he's alive, right Soun?  And not under threat of ritual
suicide any more," Kimiko stated.

  "Oh, I haven't changed my mind," Nodoka said with a strange grin.  "That
wouldn't be honourable.  I'm just delaying the mercy blow," she finished,
twirling the katana carelessly, close to Soun's head, to demonstrate what
she meant.

  ...

  "Soun ..." Came the quiet voice from the hospital bed.  The figure
resting there hooked up to an intravenous drip. "Soun, come a little
closer ..." The voice trailed off.

  Soun leaned over and held his head near to his old friend's mouth.

  "GET ME OUT OF THIS HELLHOLE!!"

  When the ringing had died down enough Soun tried speaking to his old
friend.  "What did you do that for, Genma?" He asked - his own voice
sounding strangely muffled to his abused ears.

  "Do you see this?" Genma said, pointing to the IV bag.  "And this?"
Indicating a sign that read 'Nil by Mouth.'  "I'm being tortured, I tell
you!"

  "Don't exaggerate dear, it doesn't become a warrior to complain," Nodoka
said, idly polishing her sword.

  "They say my cholesterol level is 5 times what it should be, with that
and my injury even when I can eat again I'm being put on a diet!"  Genma
exclaimed, his stomach growling loudly in support of his outrage.
"Branflakes" (Genma shuddered) "Skimmed milk, plain brown rice with no
seasoning, plenty of well-cooked vegetables - it's inhuman, I tell you!"

  "How is everyone?" Kimiko inquired as she returned, "I've brought you
all some tea."  (Pauses, looks at sign) "Sorry, Genma - none for you."

  "Thank you.  My - where are my manners!  We haven't been properly
introduced yet.  I'm Nodoka Saotome," Nodoka said, looking to Kimiko for
her response.

  "Err..."
          "She's Ranko Tendo - a niece of mine," Soun supplied quickly -
seeing that his friend had come too close for comfort to an 'honourable
end' and not too sure of Nodoka's likely response to the truth.

  "Thanks for the tea," Nodoka said, reaching over to get a cup from the
small tray Kimiko was holding.  Unfortunately this led the sword that was
resting on her lap to slip off and down towards Soun's feet.  Soun, in
turn, jumped away before he lost any toes and accidentally knocked back the
tray Kimiko was holding.

  Kimiko looked down at her, no - to be truthful, at this moment 'his'
body, hot tea staining her trousers.  Three voices sounded out as one, "I
can explain!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Author's Notes

  Next Episode - Kimiko, Soun and Genma explain. ^_^

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