Prior material in spoiler, new stuff is not.
- SPOILER - Show Spoiler
“This is a terribly bad idea and I will be saying I told you so.” Ranma told Washu just before he and his former roommates were transported down to Earth, specifically to Nerima.
On the other side of the brief lightshow, Ranma found himself on a reasonably familiar street near to Furinkan. The local populace was going about their daily business, and since it was a school day that eliminated at least five people who could cause a disturbance. Ukyo, Akane, Nabiki, and the two male Kunos would be at Furinkan. The female Kuno would be at her own school and likely wouldn’t be skipping just to track Ranma down for a random encounter. That meant aside from one such random encounter, he only had to worry about Ryoga, Shampoo, and Mousse.
His wrist computer beeped, drawing his attention as Washu’s happily smiling face appeared on a viewscreen. “Oh and since you’re out around normal Earthlings, I can’t have your little problem leading to injury.” She explained a second before he felt the limiting garment kick in. “Have fun!” Washu waved before cutting the connection.
“Washu!” Ranma yelled at the blank viewscreen. “That!” He sputtered in rage.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you if any wild animals attack.” Corina patted him on the shoulder.
“This isn’t the wild.” He replied with a deadpan look at the Seniwan girl. “And it’s not wild animals I’m worried about, though Ryoga could probably be called one.”
“Are you really that concerned with being attacked?” Adilynn asked, her eyes inspecting someone who was walking by and making a point to ignore the trio. “Is this planet lawless?”
“Just the people I know.” Ranma groaned. This had to be a big elaborate plot of some sort. Washu, Seto, some other shadowy figure waiting in the wings? It didn’t matter, he now had to play tour guide to two aliens, and was limited to being a normal human. At least he didn’t have to do it as a girl, though looking down at his wrist, he finally remembered that he hadn’t given Washu back to disguise field.
“Lighten up.” Corina rolled her eyes. “This is the first time we’ve ever been near a developing world. So come on, show us what life is like here.”
“I would be interested in seeing some of their computer systems.” Adilynn added.
“Well-- I think there’s a shop that has some computer stuff nearby.” Ranma tried to focus on the positives. He was back on Earth, he could explore some old haunts, and the people he was showing around were still his friends even after finding out that he been a guy the whole time he had been living with them. There were probably others, but he just wanted to keep things simple, and not think too much.
Several hours later, Ranma was starting to enjoy being a tour guide for the two aliens. Corina had done it for him the first night he had been at the academy, so now he was returning the favor. The orange haired girl was enjoying everything with muted excitement. Adilynn was caressing an old circuit board like it was valuable, and not simply picked out of the trash. The two GP cadets did receive some looks for wearing the pink and white uniforms but nothing more than a passing glance.
“I’m pretty sure that if someone throws something like that out, it’s not worth anything.” Ranma tried to tell the girl.
“No way!” Adilynn protested. “Circuit boards like this are a collectors dream! It’s all soldered together; there are transistors, capacitors, resistors, all these ancient microchips. No one makes anything like this anymore, not for thousands of years.”
“Alright.” He held up his hands in defeat.
“Is there any place to get a drink around here?” Corina asked while wiping from sweat from her forehead.
Ranma glanced at a vending machine that was serving drinks before writing that off because he didn’t have any money. It was a warmer day out and it would be nice to spend some time out of the sun. He was noticing the lower quality air as well, going from the perfect air out in space, to the quiet wilderness at the Masaki shrine, and now to a highly populated city made it very noticeable.
“There is one place.” He said slowly. School was just getting out for the day so Ukyo wouldn’t have her shop open for another forty five minutes or so. The only place where he might be able to swing free drinks and it had air conditioning was the Nekohanten. He could head over to the Tendo’s, but surprisingly he reasoned that visiting Shampoo would be the less volatile alternative. Corina and Adilynn should be able to handle the Joketsuzoku girl if she tried anything violent since they were both body enhanced, while Cologne had stayed out of the action for a long time now, and never made any threatening moves towards Ukyo or Akane.
“But if this purple haired girl challenges you to a fight, or tries to wash your hair it’s best if you say no to both.” He explained to the pair.
“Wash our hair?” They both asked before Ranma started to explain the memory erasing technique.
X x x x x x
“So how was your trip, Shampoo?”
“Oh too too fun great grandmother.” Shampoo gushed as she sat with her relative. Having been in China for the past week to see a cousin who had recently had a baby, she was happy to be back in Nerima, and would be tracking down Ranma later. “Epil’s baby is the cutest. I have pictures.” She produced the pictures from her travel bag and handed them to Cologne.
“I should visit as well.” The elderly woman smiled at the pictures. “But someone has to be here to make sure Son-in-law doesn’t get himself in too much trouble.”
“Maybe invite Airen?” She suggested. It would give her time to show her betrothed the village since he hadn’t had a chance to see much the first time.
Cologne laughed to herself. “If you could get him to go.” The elder turned towards the entryway. “Speaking of Son-in-law.”
“Airen?” She asked hopefully, spinning on her seat to see him entering into the restaurant, she smiled brightly, and was off her chair to bound over to him. “Airen!” She cried happily and glomped on to him, nearly bowling him over from the force. “You come visit now I back from trip?”
“You were on a trip?” He asked and her smile quickly evaporated. “Since when?”
“For last week.” She squeezed her arms tighter around his neck. “You no notice Shampoo gone?”
“I’ve been gone for the past two weeks, no one told me anything about a trip, so how could I know you were gone?” Ranma asked incredulously.
“Shampoo forget tell you?” She asked and he nodded. “Oh.” Cuddling up to him again, she sighed happily. “No problem then.”
“Ranma you seem to have a gift for overstating things.” A girl that Shampoo was just noticing spoke up. She had orange hair, her skin was tanned, triangle shaped ears, and was very tall. She was wearing a pink and white uniform of some sort along with a second but normal looking non-Asian girl standing off to the side.
“Who you?” Shampoo asked, gripping Ranma possessively.
“Interesting clothing you have there, Son-in-law.” Cologne hopped up to them on her staff. “And your two friends.”
“How bout I explain it over something to drink and maybe some ramen?” Ranma suggested.
“If it’s interesting enough.” Cologne looked over to her. “Go put your things up in your room while I get Son-in-law and his friends something.”
X x x x x x
‘I knew this would work.’ Ranma thought to himself as Cologne quickly poured them all a glass of ice water. Corina was sitting next to him and Adilynn was on the far side.
“So what have you been doing these past two weeks?” Cologne asked while taking a seat on top of the table. “I thought it was kind of quiet around here after you had that fight with your father.”
“How’d you find out about that?” He asked after taking a drink.
“I have my ways.” The elderly woman answered with a smirk on her wrinkled face.
‘Probably a certain duck or cat.’ He thought morosely, wondering how much Cologne actually spied on him.
“So? What have you been up to?” Cologne repeated her earlier question.
“Oh just having my life turned upside down.” Ranma responded casually. “How have you been? Still alive or did you just keep walking around?”
“Funny.” The old woman narrowed her eyes but refrained from bashing him on the head. “And your new friends?”
“We’re he-his roommates.” Corina quickly corrected her mistake.
“Roommates?” Cologne asked in amusement. “Has something happened between you and the Tendo girl? I can’t imagine her letting you live with two women.”
“It was just temporary.” He answered quickly. “And ya I’m not living at the Tendo’s anymore.”
“Where are you living then? If you’ve finally broken up with Miss Tendo, there is a place here with Shampoo.” The old woman suggested.
“It’s very far away and honestly I’m just visiting for the day to show my friends around. This is their first time in Japan.” Ranma answered after a moment of thought.
“Airen is leaving?” Shampoo asked worriedly as she bounced up to the table.
‘Whoops.’ Ranma realized his mistake in telling them any details on his living arrangements. “It’s on a special training trip. Invite only.”
“Hmm.” Cologne rubbed her chin thoughtfully while Shampoo pouted on her way to the kitchen. “Your friends carry themselves well but do not look like trained fighters. What are you up to, honestly?”
“Galaxy spanning empires, political intrigue, spaceships, solar system sized schools, crazy scientists thousands of years old, psychic trees.” Ranma ticked off various things that he had encountered and it earned him a smack on the top of the head.
“Don’t let that tongue get ahead of you, boy.”
“Well if I had some food, I wouldn’t have to talk so much.” He rubbed at his head and caught sight of Shampoo coming out of the kitchen with a tray full of food, and booting Mousse back through the doorway as an afterthought.
“Here go Airen.” Shampoo announced and placed a steaming bowl of ramen in front of him while pointedly ignoring anything for Corina and Adilynn.
“Shampoo.” Cologne drew the girl’s attention and Ranma noticed a switch between what he was hearing and the words that were being formed by the old woman’s mouth.
‘She must be speaking in Chinese.’ He reasoned, the translator built into his clothing was doing it’s job.
“Don’t be petty, go back into the kitchen, and get our other two guests their food. I invited them here to find out where your betrothed has been. Do not make me or yourself out to be a bad host, it reflects badly.” Cologne chastised Shampoo who quickly vanished back into the kitchen. The old woman turned back to him and seemed to switch back to Japanese. “I hope you won’t be too busy with your food to give me a straight answer.”
“I gave you a straight answer.” He told her through a mouthful of noodles. ‘They might be nuts but the Joketsuzoku make great ramen.’ Glancing at his former roommates who were watching the interplay with amusement. “I am, right?”
“He is.” Adilynn answered.
“I’ll get the truth out of you eventually.” Cologne sighed and stepped off the table to balance on her staff. “Be sure to pay on your way out.”
“Hey! You said.” Ranma started protest.
“If it was interesting enough.” Cologne interrupted as she hopped away. “Shampoo! Is that a delivery? Quit wasting time and get to it!” The old woman yelled as she entered the kitchen.
“We never got anything though.” Corina told him.
“Hmm.” Ranma stared down at his empty bowl. “Probably won’t either.”
“So, how was it?” Adilynn asked with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.
“Uh, heh heh.” He laughed nervously. “I don’t really have any yen on me either.”
“I assume that’s the local currency.” Corina tapped a finger to her chin. “Doesn’t really seem like our problem, right Addy?”
“No, not at all. No reason to pay for something we never had.” The black haired girl stood up and pushed in her chair.
Glancing to see if Cologne was around, he stood up and hastily pushed the two girls towards the doorway. “She’s mad at me already, so skipping out won’t really matter.”
X x x x x x
“So this is why you have been taking your time with Ranma’s enhancement.” Seto commented as she gazed at the ship in dry dock before her. It was certainly nowhere near the size of a Galaxy Police cruiser but large enough to be a perfect target for pirates. The hull was constructed of two sections, a white elongated octahedron made up the main body while a red outer hull formed a set of wings along the sides that curled up and over the cockpit. Seto smiled, expecting the ship to perform above and beyond the original specifications.
“Me?” Washu asked in mock indignation. “It’s hardly my fault that he has issues that need addressing.”
“True.”
“As for the ship, I had to make a few improvements to the designs.” The red head audibly preened. “And of course this is a fully joint operation between Jurai and the Galaxy Police, correct?”
“Of course.” Smirking at the thought of a united power like that, Seto turned away from the ship to look at Washu. “I will need Ranma to start his practical training soon. It’s not going to be beneficial for him in the long term to stay on Earth.”
“Agreed.”
“And when did you plan to tell him?”
“I was waiting to see his reaction. When he gets back tonight I’ll explain.”
“Excellent. Handling that would have been impossible without your assistance.”
“It was my pleasure, although I can’t take all the credit.” Washu shifted to look at a new child-like figure clad in a burgundy and black dress floating in the space to her right.
“I’d hope not Nee-sama.” Tokimi frowned cutely at the red head before addressing Seto. “Thank you for bringing that reality distortion to my attention. While I was able to restore most of the space time anomalies from the incident with Z, there are still many small ones that escape my notice.”
“I’m at a loss for words, having one of the Choushin thanking me.” Holding a hand up to her heart, she was flattered in the extreme that such a being would take an interest in her.
“Then I must be going. I have been distracted with other things and still need to correct the other anomalies that resulted from that.” Tokimi tilted her head and smiled before vanishing from sight.
“Shall we see what the children are up to?” Washu asked with an amused smirk.
X x x x x x
Ryoga paused in his travels to look at the three directions offered by the road intersecting the one he was currently walking down. ‘Hmm, left or right? Or should I just go straight?’ Taking off his backpack and sitting down on the grass to the side of the road, he sighed. ‘What’s the use?’ He thought, watching a small car plod along and come to a stop next to him. ‘One direction is as good as the other.’
Rolling down the window, an older man raised an eyebrow at him. “Young man, what are you doing way out here?”
“Just trying to get back to Nerima.” Ryoga answered.
“Nerima? Isn’t that in Tokyo? You’re a long way from there.”
“Which direction?”
“Direction? Well the road I’m on is going North. So if you take that one you’ll get there eventually.” The man pointed down the path to Ryoga’s left.
“Thanks.” Shouldering his pack once again, Ryoga started off down the road indicated.
X x x x x x
“Drop it, Nabiki.” Akane groaned as she made her way back home after school.
“So how much longer are you going to tell everyone that Ranma’s on vacation?”
“As long as Kuno keeps believing it.” It hadn’t taken long before Ranma’s removal from Furinkan had become public knowledge and Kuno had initially tried to start up his ridiculous morning challenges. In a moment of sheer brilliance, Akane had been able to convince him that Ranma was off on a training mission and would be coming back to challenge Kuno. This resulted in her unwanted suitor going off to dedicate himself to training. Of course it did have the problem of Kuno asking her every day if Ranma had returned.
Turning to her dear sweet elder sister, Akane narrowed her eyes. “And don’t you dare do whatever it is that you have rattling around your head.”
“Would I?” Nabiki asked innocently.
“Do I have to answer that?” She rolled her eyes and ignored any retort to enter her home. Not seeing Kasumi outside or in the kitchen, she continued on to the living room to greet her non-mercenary sister when she stopped dead.
“Oh hey, Akane.” Ranma greeted, waving as he casually sipped on some drink, and sitting at the table like he had never left.
‘Isn’t that just like him?’ She thought wistfully, noting that he had strange but upscale looking clothing on once again, and had a silver head band for some reason. ‘
“Welcome back.” Kasumi greeted from her place at the table. “Ranma stopped by with some friends.”
“Friends?” Akane finally noticed the two girls that were also sitting at the table. One was a giant with a deep tan and orange hair while the other looked normal but a strange ethnicity.
“These are my old roommates.” Ranma went on to introduce them but Akane tuned him out, realizing that these would be the two Ranma had seen naked.
The vein in her forehead throbbed and she had already knocked Ranma’s head through the floor before she realized that she was moving. “You idiot! You run off to space, leave me to deal with the idiots here, you show up with two girls you’ve been peeping on, and you act like I should be happy to see you?!”
“Nice to see you too.” Ranma groaned from beneath the floor.
“Akane, we have guests, can’t you wait till Ranma does something before you hit him?” Kasumi admonished her.
“I guess.” She answered, finally reigning in her anger.
“How interesting.” Nabiki took a seat across from the two new girls. “I take it you’re aliens? Do you speak Japanese?”
“Yes to both.” The tall one answered, watching Ranma pull himself back up. “I may not be familiar with Earth customs but is it customary to greet someone with violence?”
“Don’t be put off by my little spark plug of a sister’s violent outbursts. She is deeply and madly in love with Ranma but is also similarly in denial.” Nabiki explained.
“Hey! I don’t love him.” Akane corrected Nabiki’s earlier statement. “So why are you here?”
“I was in the neighborhood, thought I’d stop by.”
“With them?” She still wasn’t too certain about the two girls. They must have known about Ranma’s real gender by now and they were visiting here? “No offense or anything.”
“Honestly, I told Cologne the truth earlier and she didn’t believe me.”
“You went to see Shampoo?” Akane interrupted Ranma.
“I’m their tour guide.” He continued on without answering her question about Shampoo. “Not too sure what Seto’s angle is in all this.” Ranma mused to himself.
“Seto? That woman from the other night?” She asked.
X x x x x x
Ranma nodded to Akane and took a moment to rub at his head. He had barely felt the blow that she had delivered. ‘Guess even though I’m not strong, that doesn’t make me not tough.’ A small consolation considering Akane could just beat him into the ground all day long.
“So where’s Pop and your old man?” He asked. The brief conversation he had with Kasumi before the other two sisters had shown up had not reached that point.
“Happosai dragged them off for special training.” Nabiki answered.
“Phew, last thing I wanted to do was deal with him.” He breathed out a sigh of relief. Who knew what the little freak would have done now that Ranma-chan was no more.
“Actually it’s because of you. He wasn’t happy to hear that they let you run off.” Akane explained.
“Is this Happosai a good friend?” Corina asked.
“No, no, no, no.” Ranma replied quickly. “Be very happy that little monster isn’t here.”
“Your mom might have something to do with that. She’s been stopping by almost nonstop.” Akane spoke up again. “It’s the weirdest thing, your mom has some strange ideas about being manly and Happosai fits a lot of them but she absolutely despises him.”
“Well there’s a plus.” He reasoned. His mother couldn’t be truly crazy if she hated Happosai.
“Actually she’ll probably be stopping by any time.” Akane tacked on and cupped a hand behind her ear. “I can hear the doorbell now.” Ranma was about to make a sarcastic joke about how Akane’s humor had been worth traveling across the galaxy to hear, but stopped with the doorbell did ring.
“Ooh that was good timing, Akane.” Kasumi rose from her position to answer the door.
A partial smile appeared on Ranma’s face, imagining that it actually was his mother. With the curse gone he no longer had any reason to be concerned over a meeting. At least not with her demanding that he slit his stomach with a knife before his head would be taken off. Then again, Nodoka didn’t know about the curse, and Ranma still had little clue on what he was going to be judged by. So when Kasumi returned explaining to someone out of sight that their son was here, he panicked, and quickly reached for the disguise field.
The disguise field fully kicked in just as Kasumi came around the corner with Nodoka. The Saotome woman’s eyes rapidly scanned the room and upon finding only females they fell briefly before locking on him momentarily. Ranma caught his former roommate’s looking at him skeptically but ignored it to wave at his mother hesitantly.
“I thought you said my son was here, Kasumi?” Nodoka asked the Tendo girl, a suspicious tone creeping into her voice.
Kasumi wrung her hands nervously as her eyes widened to look like a deer in headlights. “Well-- he was here.”
“He had to go!” Ranma blurted out loudly, hopping to his feet. “A dangerous mission out in space-- with space pirates.” He explained, trying to come up with a more elaborate lie to for the inevitable questions. Ranma yelped in pain as Akane stomped on his foot.
“What are you doing?” The youngest Tendo sister hissed.
“Trying not to get my head cut off.” He answered in a voice too low for Nodoka to hear.
“As long as he’s being manly.” Nodoka beamed, appearing suddenly behind him, and placing her hands on his shoulders.
‘When did she move?’ Ranma asked himself.
“Midori-chan it’s great to see you again.” Nodoka announced and without waiting started to drag him from the room. “I need a word in private.”
“Uh-- okay.” He allowed his mother to lead him out in the hall, curious over her actions.
X x x x x x
“Developing planets are certainly different.” Corina nodded to herself, calmly sipping on a strange tasting fruit juice.
“Agreed.” Adilynn nodded in agreement.
“Think we should help Ranma out?”
“It’s too hot, he can handle it.” The other cadet waved her hand dismissively.
X x x x x x
‘Just keep calm Saotome, it’s just your mom, who thinks she is talking to a girl named Midori. Or she somehow made the connection and figured out that Midori doesn’t exactly exist, and-- and she’s going to demand you commit seppuku because your old man is a complete and total moron.’ Ranma’s shoulders slumped, realizing the stupid situation he had just put himself in. If he revealed himself to Nodoka now she would likely try to get him to fulfill Genma’s pact. If Midori simply vanished then eventually his mother would ask where she went.
“Midori-chan, did you hear me?”
“Uh-- no.” He answered after a moment of hesitation at the name.
“I asked who are your parents, dear?”
Ranma gulped and struggled to think up a lie. He could say Seto was his mother, but he didn’t know if she was monitoring this somehow and it might be taken as approval for her offer. “Well--“ He fidgeted nervously, considering just dropping the disguise and finding out if Nodoka was really as insane as she seemed to be.
“Oh, I’m sorry if my question was too personal.” Nodoka apologized.
“It’s alright.” He gave an internal sigh of relief. “But I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it?” Nodoka smiled pleasantly with her head twisted slightly to the side.
Ranma paused before asking. “Are you serious about the seppuku pledge?”
His mother’s face took on a more serious tone as she straightened up. “Every day since my husband and son left I have lived knowing that Ranma would live up to the pledge. I have never had a doubt until I was reunited with my husband and he along with the Tendo family continue to hound me, questioning both my honor and resolve.”
“I think I understand.” Bowing his head, he felt a serious blow to his desire to be around his mother. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
“Ooh, I’m sorry dear, I didn’t mean to snap at you.” Nodoka went back to smiling happily.
“But-- what would make Ranma manly in your eyes?” He asked, wondering what hurdle he might have to jump if Nodoka was this serious. His mother opened her mouth to respond before freezing and taking a moment to think about the question.
“Well-- obviously he should have many young ladies competing for his affection. I already know Akane-chan has feelings for him.”
‘She does?’ Ranma asked himself. If it was true then it was news to him.
“It’s so hard to put it into words.” Nodoka paused with her head cocked slightly to one side and put a finger to her lips in thought. “Obviously if he’s manly, he’ll have a healthy interest in women. Such as attempting to view beautiful girls in all states of undress. Viewing girls on the street, at the beach, or even in the bath.”
“Like peeping?” He stared at his mother incredulously.
“Vulgar but correct.” Nodoka nodded.
“If it’s vulgar, why should a guy do it?” Ranma crossed his arms under his fake breasts and shifted to put all his weight on one leg.
“A woman has to place a great deal of value into her physical appearance, a manly man needs to be able to appreciate that, and if she is womanly then she will appreciate his attention. Even if it intrudes into private activities.”
“So a woman is only womanly if she likes random guys staring at her nude and spending all her time worrying about how she looks?” He asked challengingly.
“Traditionally yes, a woman needs to spend her time making herself attractive to men. So it’s only natural that she should enjoy when she receives that kind of attention for her efforts.”
“Then I guess girls can’t do anything else, right?” Ranma had dealt with enough people before when he still turned into a girl who had treated him like he was just a pair of tits. So he felt insulted that Nodoka thought he should have enjoyed that, and as a man that he was expected to treat women like that. That was before he thought of the girls who were interested in him. “I know Akane does more than worry about her looks and doesn’t like when guys peep on her.” He remarked snidely.
“Akane-chan and her femininity is not what I wanted to talk to you about, it’s my son and his masculinity.” Nodoka glanced away nervously, a crack appearing in her confidence.
“Yes, Ranma.” Ranma almost sneered, beginning to get too worked up over Nodoka considering his death over whether or not he would peep on girls. “He’s manly enough, not whatever definition you have, but what would I know? I gotta spend my time prettying myself up so a man can come ogle me.” Turning with all the righteous indignation he could muster, Ranma stomped off away from his stunned mother.
X x x x x x
Akane simply did not know how to feel about these two former roommates of her fiancé. The giant one with the dark skin was open and liked to engage in conversation. The more normal one was quiet but highly intelligent. Past that Akane didn’t know all that much about them except that they were actually aliens. Having dealt with magical creatures and crazy examples of humanity, she found their alien origin to be almost mundane. She was slightly infuriated that they were quite closed lip about any details pertaining to life off of Earth.
“So why doesn’t everyone know about aliens?” She finally asked directly and the two shared a brief glance.
“As far as I know it’s the normal procedure.” Corina answered evasively before continuing at her disbelieving look. “Honestly—and you did not hear this from me—but I think this planet is being kept in the dark because it’s the royal vacation home for Jurai.”
“Earth is a vacation home?” She asked slowly.
“You didn’t hear me say that.” The tan girl looked around conspiratorially. “That’s information I’m not supposed to know and you were definitely never supposed to hear.”
“They really don’t care.” Ranma butted in, dropping into a kneeling position between Akane and Kasumi, still in his female form. “Bigger concerns, blah blah blah.” She continued, waving her hand flippantly.
“Midori!” Nodoka announced angrily, storming into the room, and locking her eyes directly on the cursed teen. “I will not be spoken to with such disrespect young lady.”
“Ranma, what did you do?” Akane whispered quickly, forgetting to refer to Ranma as Midori.
“Midori?” Ranma asked, completely unconcerned by her mother’s anger. “Nearly forgot that I still had this disguise field going.” Tapping a silver band on her wrist, Ranma’s form shifted into his true male one. Akane’s jaw dropped partially open and she quickly looked back and forth between son and shocked mother.
“Mi—what?” Nodoka stammered in shock.
“Ranma what are you doing?” She repeated loud enough for Nodoka to hear.
“Ranma? But—Midori—Ranma?.” The Saotome woman froze up. “You were a girl.”
“Not really, it was just a disguise field that made me look like a girl.” Ranma corrected.
“I—I—I need to sit down.” Nodoka jerkily knelt down, Kasumi rushing over to assist the woman.
“You couldn’t have found a better way to introduce the curse, could you Saotome?” Nabiki remarked sarcastically and with a hint of venom in her voice.
“That wasn’t for her.” He answered. “Just didn’t want to look like a girl anymore.”
“I don’t understand.” Ranma’s mother seemed to have moved past her shock enough to ask more questions.
“It’s a curse.” Kasumi was the first to speak up with an answer. “Ranma has a magical curse that turns him into a girl, usually it requires water.” The eldest Tendo sister fidgeted with her hands briefly. “That’s the super simple version.”
“Magic? A curse?” Nodoka appeared to be slowly catching on, even with the lack of a true explanation. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say something, stupid.” Akane snarled and lightly hit her unwanted fiancé over the head.
“I guess.” He conceded and she nearly hit him again before she realized that he was trying to compose a good way to explain things.
“Pop made me hide when I first met you, back when I still had the curse, and when you seemed serious about that pledge I decided I needed to stop waiting to get a cure.”
“But you were just a girl.” Nodoka spoke up, still quite confused, and looking around for confirmation that she had not be hallucinating.
“Just a disguise I got from space.” He answered and briefly activated the disguise to emphasize his point. “If you’re expecting me to carry about that stupid pledge, it’s not going to happen. I’m not going to be some kind of super pervert like Happosai. Besides I got other things I’m honor bound to do. And-- I just can’t accept that your thing with Pop is more important anymore.”
“I don’t know what to say.” The Saotome woman repeated mechanically, her shoulder slumping as she stared off into space.
Akane looked between the two with muted horror. What was Ranma trying to accomplish here? Sure his mother had some wild ideas on what a man should act like but was her fiancé really going to throw his mother out of his life over a misunderstanding?
“So how’s Earth so far?” Ranma suddenly asked the two girls from outer space.
She was just about to speak up and berate Ranma for being so callous towards his mother before she got a good look at his face. Ranma was a good liar when it came to impersonal things. However when it came to something close to him, he had certain facial tics, and was awkwardly evasive. Akane had missed it before because it was subtle but now that she took a second look, she could see it. Ranma wasn’t trying to be emotionally distant because he didn’t care, but because it was eating him up inside, and he wasn’t willing to let anyone see.
“It’s been very uncomfortable recently.” Adilynn answered.
Ranma nodded in understanding, this was a wildly uncomfortable situation. He was struggling to keep his composure, using the precious few tips he had picked up from living at the Masaki home to keep himself calm. It helped that he had several people in his life that seemed to genuinely care for him, unlike his own mother. Pausing, he found that realization to be thoroughly depressing.
“Ranma!” Akane’s shout broke into his musings just before she started to pummel him about the shoulders.
“Ouch! Hey quit it!” Being limited as he was, he couldn’t even run away from his violent tomboy fiancé.
“Then quit feeling sorry for yourself and talk to your mom, you idiot!” The youngest Tendo hit him over the head one more time for emphasis.
‘Fat load of good you two are.’ He glowered briefly at his former roommates who had sat idly by while one of the lawless natives assaulted him. ‘But I should try.’ Noticing all the eyes in the room were locked on to him, Ranma leveled a simmering glare to the onlookers.
“I think I left the oven on.” Kasumi took the hint and rose to rush out of the door.
“Let’s go check out that little pond outside.” Corina volunteered and pulled Adilynn outside.
“This is a perfect time for you to give me back all my clothes that you borrowed.” Akane motioned for Nabiki to follow her.
“It’ll be five hundred yen for making me search.” The middle sister reluctantly left the scene of an upcoming awkward conversation.
Sitting in the painfully tense room with just himself and Nodoka, Ranma cursed Washu and Seto for sending him down to Nerima for the day. This was likely all part of their plan. Was their goal to push him towards Seto and adoption? Or was it some emotional garbage about reconciling with his real mother? Either option was equally likely along with any number of plots that weren’t so immediately obvious.
Nodoka was the one to break the silence first. “I waited so long--.” She paused, staring down at the floor. “Everyday— every month-- every year— waiting for Genma to return and bring back my child.” She paused again, dabbing at her eyes with her kimono sleeve. “And then I heard that you were to go off into space, to do something no other man has done. At first I was so proud it felt like I would burst. But then I realized that I would likely never see my son ever again—and it hurt.”
Ranma swallowed the painful lump forming in his throat. He had spent his life never caring that he had another parent. But Nodoka had spent that entire time waiting for the moment he would return home to her. Crazy or not, he was starting to consider her position better. He remembered their first meeting, what should have been a joyous moment had been ruined by his father’s attempt to hide.
“I may have been overzealous in my expectations—but I wasn’t expecting my husband and son to hide and lie to me.” Nodoka finished disappointedly, sniffling but sitting with as much dignity as she could.
He looked away, ashamed of going along with his father’s ruse.
“As disappointed as I am in your character, I just—I don’t know how I am supposed to respond to it.” She visibly deflated, staring impassively at the floor.
Ranma breathed out through his nose and stood up. “Originally I accepted a life in space for a cure and when I finally had it within my grasp-- I hesitated-- until I met you. I was cured because I had to meet my mother as her son. When given the chance—I hesitated again.” Sighing, he felt like such a coward. “Even if you ask me to fulfill that contract I can’t. I’m a coward who will choose the obligations I made myself.” Squeezing his hands into his fists and closing his eyes, he hated admitting it. “So—go ahead and say I committed seppuku if that’s so important. Chances are—I’ll never be back to this planet, so no one will ever know.”
Sparing his shocked mother one last look and trying to hide despondency, he mustered his resolve, and tried to calmly walk outside towards the koi pond. Both of his roommates looked as though they had heard the entire exchange and made a point not to meet his gaze. Bringing up his hand, he hit several keys on his wrist computer. “Seto.” He demanded angrily. “I know you can hear me.” He growled at the blank viewscreen. “I’m done playing this game!”
X x x x x x
Nodoka knelt on the floor in complete and utter shock. Ranma had wanted to meet her as a man and had cured himself for her. This was all some sort of horrible misunderstanding! Slipping on her kimono in her blind panic to rush after her son, she ran out into the yard, and collapsed at his feet.
“Ranma! Wait--.” She had no further time to beg for understanding because the world vanished around her briefly. The oppressive heat of Tokyo was replaced with a gentle breeze and fresh air. Blinking repeatedly, she rubbed at her eyes, trying to come to terms with the vast grassy field she was now in. Nodoka traced the forested edge of the field until she couldn’t help but gape at the tree large enough to be a skyscraper that dominated the landscape. “Where—where am I?”
“Oopsies.” A woman she recognized as Kamiki Seto from the other night exclaimed with false surprise, a fan held in front of her face. “And to answer your question you’re aboard my ship, Mikagami.”
“Ship?” She asked intelligently, noticing that she was no longer clutching Ranma’s clothing, and her child was located a short distance away. The two women who were accompanying her son were nowhere to be seen, leaving just Seto, Ranma, and herself. A wooden table made up of a slice taken from one giant tree trunk sat nearby along with three chairs.
“It’s a very large ship.” Seto added, snapping her fan shut. “I thought you two could use some real privacy and maybe a second opinion. Please, make yourself comfortable. Would you like anything to drink?”
“O—okay.” She nodded and mechanically stood up to walk towards the table. “Some water would be nice.”
“Ranma.” The mint haired woman motioned towards the table, the black haired teen frowned but took a seat across from her. Nodoka jerked to the side as an attendant wearing dark green robes with her face covered appeared and poured her a glass of water.
Focusing on her child, Nodoka recovered enough of her faculties to try, and patch up the situation. “Ranma, this is all just a big misunderstanding.”
“I agree-.” Seto tried to break in.
“Please be quiet.” She interrupted the woman who looked at her in amused shock. “Son—please don’t leave.” She pleaded. “Whatever is going on—I know we can work it out. Please—please don’t leave me again.” She begged, wringing her hands with enough force to hurt. Nodoka could see a mix of hope and pain in her son’s eyes.
“If I may—perhaps this would be easier for you both if there wasn’t a death pact hanging over your heads.” The other woman suggested.
“But it’s--.” She pulled the old piece of paper out and laid it flat on the table. The ink was old and faded but even Genma’s terrible hand writing was still legible. Nodoka was going to say that it was all she had. This piece of paper had been everything to her, the one link she had to her husband and child.
“Would you rather a piece of paper, or the real thing?” Seto asked.
“My son.” She answered and felt tears start to fall from her eyes. But she couldn’t just accept him. He had to be manly, over a decade of her life had been spent waiting and expecting Genma to return, it couldn’t be for nothing.
“Then you don’t need this, do you?” Seto slowly drew the paper away from her.
“But he’s going to leave again—he’ll be on another planet! What am I supposed to do?” She asked the other woman desperately.
“Well since you’ve asked there are several means of communication available and Ranma may be soon in a position to visit Earth anytime he wants.” The tall woman explained and held up the contract. “He’s only lost to you if this is more important.”
Nodoka stared at the paper in indecision. “Our family honor will be forever tarnished unless--.” She paused and let out a ragged breath.
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Two options, since it doesn't really affect the story, does Ranma say screw you and your piece of paper that's more important, or do they patch things up somewhat and agree to talk things out?
