On Fri, 11 Oct 2002 15:42:45 -0400 "L.S McGill" <lsmcgill@hotmail.com> wrote:
Shan Pu looked after her, wondering what she'd done wrong when Ke Lun spoke.
"Ah, {great-granddaughter : Great-granddaughter}. I know you meant well, but can you not tell her
heart is lost to the girl as well?"
Even more so perhaps.
"You no talk to groom like that!" Shan Pu jumped into Akane's way and went
to shake her finger in Akane's face. Akane registered only that a strange
girl was moving to an attack position and reacted before recognition {sat : sank} in.
Zhu Shu looked upon the failure of all she cared about. {No-one : No one} could look at
her and not know her life would end along with that of one of her friends. .
The Loremaster turned and faced Shan Pu. "The law is clear, Daughter of Par
Fume. Death or marriage. Honor is met either way. You have been defeated by
Ranma Saotome. By law shall he {become : becomes : shall become} your husband. You have been defeated
by Akane Tendo. By law shall she {become : becomes : shale become} your wife. May love last as long as
life. The elders have spoken."
Up in her tree, Urd still sat in shock. The ultimate force had guided Shan
Pu to a resolution Urd had not expected, but it looked like it would be a
better way of making Shan Pu happy than any of her love potions . . . She
was relieved, but the Loremasters tale had stunned her . . . A goddess with
white hair and golden skin?
The ultimate force probably had even more to do with Akane's defense.
In a fortress in China, The masked man smiled at the news then tucked the
mirror in his sleeve. A week from now in China. He would have to move
{quicker : quickly}, but they couldn't have played into his hands better. The demon had
indeed been useful. Now to arrange his end of their bargain.
Soun Tendo wasn't sure he understood everything exactly, but it seemed to
him that incredible fortune had smiled on him. He beamed down at the empty
cup of {Sake : sake}, and Tao-Ching refilled it.
"I hate formal garb." A once more male Ranma said. "And I hate formal
ceremonies." He frowned at his {Samurai : : samurai} topknot and sighed. He pulled it
straight again before tightening the ties.
"You look very nice in it, dear." his mother commented. "Very {Samurai : samurai}. Now
fix your swords, {dear : Dear}." She went back to hemming the ankles of his outfit.
Ranma glared at his {sword : swords}. The katana and wakazashi were crooked. He sighed
again and straightened them {too :}. "I still don't get this. I thought she
wanted to kill me, and you say she's been hunting me down just to marry me,
so now Granddad's made a deal with the Amazons to marry me off to her."
"There's more to it than just that, dear. Your Father and Mr. Tendo did
something that the Amazons considered enough of a service to them that they
were willing to make a formal alliance with the Saotomes and the Tendos.
The elders came to Tao-Ching Hibiki to discuss how to approach the Saotomes
and the Tendos to arrange the alliance and he took them to your grandfather.
{ :}Your grandfather saw an advantage to accepting the alliance. Your
betrothal and marriage is a separate affair. You defeated Shampoo in
combat. Under Amazon law, that makes you her husband. Father is following
Amazon law as a token of good faith. He thinks your having two wives is a
sign of virility and he also believes that you must fulfill your duty to the
Saotome clan. The arrangement with the Tendos was made before your
grandfather decided that Genma was a grave mistake on my part, and whether
he regretted allowing the agreement to be made, your grandfather never goes
back on his word. This marriage to Shan Pu is also something he sees as
being honor bound to do because of the alliance."
"You are young yet, Ranma. There is still much time left for you to learn
the politics your elders play. Your grandfather sees an advantage; that is
all you must know for now. And you really should call Father 'Grandfather.'
{ :}He hates rudeness, son."
"That you will have to take up with your father, {son : Son}. I have every letter
he has sent me in the last ten years, and I have written him whenever I knew
where he was."
"So {pop : Pop} knew you were alive? I'm going to kill that panda!"
"You shall do no such thing, Ranma. Whatever you may do while sparring is
one {thing son : thing, Son}, but deleberately hunting down your father with murder on your
mind is my job."
"Aw, {mom : Mom}."{:
}
Nodoka sat back to continue working on the hem. "A man shouldn't be
embarrased when his mother displays affection."
"I'm just not used to it, {mom : Mom}. I mean, I just found out you even still
existed a little while ago, and it was in a rather embarrassing manner."
Nodoka gave him a raised eyebrow. "I would be, had you been male. While I
wish grandchildren, {son : Son}, you must be properly married to ensure they are
legitimate. I will not have you destroying our family name, {son : Son}. No matter
how manly it is too sow your wild oats, one should not do so with the
intended bride. No. Until the day you are married, you should not take
that risk."
"If they do, I have a formal {Kimono : kimono} for you." Nodoka smiled.
"He did. And I fully intended on making you carry it out too. One Genma in
the Saotome line is bad enough. Had he made you a carbon copy of him, it
would have broken my heart, but I would have had to redeem my family's
honor, {son : Son}. I heard you in the garden before Shan Pu and Ke Lun joined me.
Your words made me proud of you. You acted nobly in asking Zhu Shu to marry
you in an attempt to make both her and Akane happy. You accepted her
refusal with dignity. In all ways, you were a gentleman. Beyond that, you
have faced your curse and made a decision to make the best of it. A strong
man accepts what he cannot {change son : change, Son}. A lesser man rails against it. Your
curse would break many men, yet you learned to accept it, and that makes me
proud. It is no shame for you to be female at times, Ranma. Like a {Kabuki : kabuki}
player, it is a mask. Underneath, it has not made you less of a man,
indeed, your choice to learn more about being a woman shows you have enough
confidence in your masculinity to explore your femininity. All people
posses both yin and yang, my son, you simply posses the ability display both
equally. If you can learn to balance your male and female sides, you will
become a better man for it. In all ways, this shows that you will be a man
like no other. . . And to me, that shows that you will be far more than I
ever expected when your father took you off on his training trip."
Ranma gulped. "Um-gee . . . [Thanks mom : Thanks, Mom]."
The limousine pulled up to the Tendo Dojo in silence. The chauffeur got out
and opened the rear door for an elderly gentleman in formal garb as a
{Daimyo : daimyo}. "We have arrived at the address you gave me, Master Saotome." the
man said as he bowed.
The elder Saotome nodded. "Yes, my {grandson�s : grandson's} betrothal is to be here, as
the formal conclusion to the alliance. Thank you, Hiromi. I will call for
you when the ceremony is over.� He straightened his swords as the chauffeur
bowed and moved to stand at attention by the car door, then stepped forward
to meet Tao-Ching at the entrance to the {Dojo : home : dojo}.
Everyone ransacked the house, but no trace of her could be found until
Kasumi called from the family's {Shrine : shrine}. They piled into the small room to
find Kasumi sitting before a sword stand {sat : set} before the alter. On the stand
sat both of Zhu Shu's swords, minus ribbons. They faced in opposite
directions and from them hung the fine silver chain that held the Dragon
signet ring Kasumi was staring at tearfully. "She left the most important
things she owned. . . ." Her voice choked off.
"Calm your fears, {child : Child}." Ke Lun said from the doorway. "She would not have
left her weapons here if she had gone to die. Can you not see? She could
have made no more sincere a promise that she will return." She looked around
the faces depending on her for hope. "Her heart needs time to sort itself
out. Give her that time." She hopped forward to lay a hand reverently on the
blades. "When it is time, she will return." She traced along the delicate
carving of the dragon along the blade, so faint as to be just visible. "Do
not fear for the Dragon, my child . . . She will be back. . . ."