RANMA 1/2: COUSINS
PART 2
By: The DragonBard
You can now send all C&C to my present e-mail address at
dragonbard@hotmail.com
The characters in this fan fic are not my property and are used
solely for entertainment purposes.
For all of those who mentioned that the name of Nodoka's mother
wasn't an Amazon one, since it wasn't the name of a HBC product, let me
remind you that Linlin and Ranran were both Amazons and didn't have
those kinds of names, as well as those two enemies of Shampoo's, but I
forget what their names were exactly.
This is an Alterverse, so if you feel that someone is acting OOC,
then you may be right.
Anyone who wants to archive this, just tell me and send me your
URL.
You may not remember it, but part one of Cousins was sent to the
FFML by my prereader several months ago, however he forgot to tell me.
No harm done. So I decided to put the rest of the series that I had
written so far on the FFML, and see what reaction it got. Hope you like
it.
And now, on with the story.
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Ranma sat on the roof top of the Tendo home, where he had slipped
off to, after showing his mother his male form. He couldn't believe it,
his mother finally knew about the curse. What's more, he was Shampoo's
cousin! Well, he thought as he chuckled, at least 'now' I know what
Moose was talking about that one day.
Just then, Ranma sensed a presence behind him, a familiar presence.
"Hello, Mom." He said. Nodoka looked at him.
After a moment spent like this, Nodoka moved and sat beside him.
Several minutes passed as the two quietly looked out on the lights of
nighttime Nerima.
"Why, Ranma?" She asked.
"You mean, 'why did you hide yourself from me?'"
"Yes."
"Because of that DAMN promise Pop made!" Ranma growled. It was
like something that had come out of Ranma's Neko-ken state, not a sound
that could come from a human throat. "I didn't even know about it until
that first time you came to visit us at the Tendo's. Then he up and
tells me that the curse might cause my own 'mother' to have me kill
myself!"
He closed his eyes and visibly calmed himself. "So," he asked,
"when do you want it done?" He tried to keep the faint tremor of fear
out of his voice.
Nodoka starred at him as if he was insane. "Promise?"
"The one to commit seppuku if I didn't become a 'man among men.' I
think this curse makes that a bit difficult to do!" Ranma muttered.
"Ranma," Nodoka said, looking at her son compassionatly. "I was
born an amazon, but I was raised here in Japan, so my idea of what it
means to be a man is. . . unique.
"My mother taught me that men should be strong in battle, but
subservient to women. My life here in Japan taught me that men should
be strong and dominant." Nodoka chuckled. "It certainly made things
somewhat confusing for me. But as I grew older, I finally figured some
things out.
"To truly be a 'man among men' one must have courage, honor,
loyalty, and compassion. And from what I've heard from your friends,
those are things that you have in abbundance. If I made you commit
seppuku, it would violate the spirit of the pledge, and destroy my
honor." Nodoka then got a gleem of mischief in her eye. "Anyway, any
guy with 'four' women after him, even knowing he turns into a girl has
got to be a man in anyones book!" Nodoka wrapped her arms around Ranma
in a tight hug. "I've waited so long for this. You are truly a man
among men, and you are my son!"
"Mom." Ranma choked out, barely keeping himself from crying. His
mother however was under no such restraint and let her tears flow
freely. As soon as the two felt strong enough, they seperated and
Nodoka dried her eyes. Then, her entire posture changed, becoming rigid
and formal.
"Ranma Saotome," she said. Ranma blinked and altered his posture
to match his mothers. Nodoka reached behind herself, and pulled out the
family katana. She held it reverently in her outstreched hands, as if
it was some sacred relic. "By his actions, Genma Saotome has proven
unworthy of the position of the head of this family. Will you, as the
eldest son, take up the duties that your father has left lacking?"
Ranma placed his hands over his mothers, took a deep breath, and
looked into her eyes. "I can't." He said.
"Mom, I'm just not ready. I can take on any physical challenge
easy, but this is something I'm just not ready for. If I take this now,
then I'll probably make just as many mistakes as he did, but for
different reasons. I'm just not ready." Ranma looked down at his hands
as they rested on the family katana. Nodoka relaxed her posture and
smiled as she quickly resheathed the family sword.
"Ranma, that is one of the most mature things I have ever seen. A
true martial artist knows their limitations, and strives to go beyond
them. I'm sure that when the time is right, you will bring great honor
to our family.
"Speaking of honor," she said as she stood up, "Let's go deal with
that disgrace of a father of yours!" With that, Nodoka turned to leap
off the roof. Ranma quickly followed her.
"Do you think he's even still here?" He asked "Pop's pretty good
at getting out of places when he wants to."
Nodoka smiled. It was the kind of smile you might see on the face
of an animal when it knew it's prey couldn't escape.
"Maybe, but I asked Great-grandmother to make sure he stayed
around. She said it would give her a chance to use some techniques she
hasn't used in a while."
Ranma grinned at that, a mirror of his mothers smile. Cologne was
easily in the same league as Happosai, his fathers former martial arts
sensei and the founder of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and seeing how his
father reacted around Happs, he would be cowering in fear just to make
her happy!
Downstairs, everyone waited anxiously for Nodoka and Ranma to
return. Only then could they know what the pronouncment would be, life
or death. The group stood when they saw Nodoka and Ranma walk in. The
two of them had very serious, very formal looks about them. Nodoka
walked over to her husband, and gave a nod of thanks to Cologne.
Genma's eyes were open so wide that they looked like they were about to
fall out of their sockets as he looked for some avenue of escape.
"Genma," Nodoka said, "I have found Ranma to be a man among men, as
per your promise. You are free from your obligation to commit seppuku."
All the Tendo's relaxed on hearing that, Genma nearly collapsed as he
saw his sentence of death reprieved. The Amazons did nothing as they
had known Ranma's fate for days. Nodoka had explained the promise to
them and they had all agreed that Ranma was indeed a man among men.
"However," Nodoka said, "You have broken your other promises to
me." Everyone tensed up again. 'Other promises?'
"Other promises?" Genma asked, uncertainly.
"For one thing, you promised that if Ranma and you left on that
trip that you would come back after at most five years, and that it
would be 'my' turn to train Ranma in 'my' family's school of martial
arts. You also promised to take good care of our son! And I do NOT
consider engageing him to Kami-sama only 'KNOWS' how many fiance's, and
dropping him into A PIT OF STARVING CATS, AND DRIVING HIM INSANE, TAKING
CARE OF HIM!!!!! GENMA NO BAKA!!!!!!" Nodoka screemed. And with that,
she pulled a bokken out of nowhere, and proceded to thrash her husband.
The bokken was moving too fast for anyone but Cologne to see where it
landed, but the cracking, tearing, and shrieks attested to the blows
effectivness. When she was done, Genma's arms were bent in strange
angles, and then Nodoka punted him through the wall. She turned around
and straightend her kimono with a smile, and looked at the family.
"Anyone for some tea?" She asked. Large sweatdrops appeared on
everyones head.
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So how do you like part two of Cousins? Don't worry, all you
Amazon fans, Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne will not be out of Ranma's
life, just no longer competing for Ranma. Whenever I get around to it,
I'll write Cousins part three, where Nodoka begins to train Ranma in
'her' family martial arts.
So, how do you like it so far? This is one of my earliest works,
so please be merciful.
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