COUSINS 3
A RANMA 1/2 FANFIC
BY
THE DRAGONBARD
This is an Alterverse, so some people may be OOC. I hope you like
it.
While I'm here, I want to yell about one of my pet peevees, no word
wrap on a web page text file. Many people just don't notice or care
that the lines on their text files just go off the side of the page,
making it a pain in the neck to read. If you're one of the people doing
this, would you please fix it!
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BEFORE:
Cologne and Shampoo are visited by a relative of theirs, who it's
discovered, is actually Ranma's mother, Nodoka. Ranma's marriage to
Shampoo is declared null and void, because he is infact an Amazon and
kin, thus doubly nullifying the law, and Nodoka confronts her family
about the curses. After absolving Ranma and Genma of the promise to
commit seppuku, Nodoka reveals some 'other' promises that Genma made to
her.
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I figure that this story is anywhere from two weeks to two months
after Cousins 2. Depending on what I decide later, the fight with
Saffron may have occured in that time, I'll decide later.
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"Kia!" The sound of wood on wood, and the cries of martial artists
in battle rang throughout to Tendo Dojo. This was not entirely a new
thing for this place, with Ranma and Genma Saotome's daily practice of
sparing before breakfast, but anyone watching would have seen, instead
of the Saotome men practicing outside, it was the Saotome 'women.' Or
rather, Nodoka Saotome, and her gender shifting child who were
practicing. Every moment, Nodoka lashed out with her bokken, only to
have it blocked by the one in Ranma-chan's hands, or she would simply
dodge the blow. It was easy for anyone with eyes to see that Nodoka was
on the offensive, with Ranma simple defending. Finally, at an unseen
signal from Nodoka, the two backed away from each other, and bowed.
"That was quite good, Ranma. Great-grandmother was certainly right
when she told me how talented you were." Nodoka said, reaching for a
nearby towel. "Your defense is almost prefect, but you definitly need
to work on your 'offense.' You never even once came close to hitting
me."
Ranma bowed his head to his mother. "Hai, I'm sorry Mom. I'll try
harder." Nodoka reached out to her child.
"Don't be sorry Ranma. I'm astonished that you've gotten as good
as you have this quickly. Your defense is almost as good as mine was
when I was your age, and I had been studying kendo for years. Within a
few weeks, I'll be able to really begin teaching you in 'my' families
martial arts school"
Ranma's mouth twitched into a grin as he reached for a towel.
"After fighting with Kuno all these months I've picked up quite a bit."
"Kuno?" Nodoka frowned, "Weren't you and Akane complaining about a
Kuno back when I still thought you were Ranko?" Ranma nodded.
"Yeah." He said. "Kuno is this crazy kendoist in Nabiki's class
who had a crush on Akane before I showed up. No matter how many times
she told him to go away, he just kept trying to get her to date him."
Ranma laughed. "When he found out that we were engaged, he challenged
me to a fight, and lost. Since then, no matter how many times I beat
him, the idiot keeps coming back for more. He calls me 'The Dread
Sorcerer Saotome,' cause he can't understand how I can keep beating him
since he's the 'Blue Thunder.' Though really, he's more of a Blue
Blunder. He thinks I use magic to win and keep him from 'his loves.'"
Suddenly, realizing what he had just said, Ranma started to dry her face
off with the towel, hoping that her mother wouldn't ask the next
question.
"Ranma, you said loves, since Akane can only be one of them, who is
the other woman he has a crush on?" Nodoka asked.
Ranma muttered something into her towel that Nodoka couldn't hear.
"What was that Ranma, I didn't catch what you said." Ranma winced
at her mothers word, 'catch.'
"I said, I am." Ranma said with closed eyes. "The jerk thinks
that my two forms are separate people, even though he's seen me change,
and he's got a crush on me too. Even though Akane and I keep beating
him up and telling him to get lost, it doesn't work!" <Here it comes.>
Ranma thought. Nodoka's reaction came, but it was not the one Ranma was
expecting as she began to laugh.
"Oh Ranma," She said, tears rolling down her face she was laughing
so hard. "My poor son. You're right, he 'must' be an idiot!" Nodoka
continued laughing as Ranma joined in. After a few moments, Nodoka
calmed down a bit.
"I'm going to go get something to drink," Nodoka said. "Would you
like anything?"
"No Mom, I'll just stay here and practice."
"OK." Nodoka quickly left the dojo, and stopped, right after the
door was shut behind her, and listened. After a few moments, the
silence within the dojo was broken by the sound of someone practicing.
Quietly, Nodoka peaked into the dojo, and watched as Ranma went through
a sword kata. That in and of itself wasn't surprising, since he had
said that he would be practicing. What was surprising was the fact that
the kata was for a complicated attack technique, and Ranma was doing it
flawlessly. Nodoka silently went back to her plan to visit the Tendo
kitchen.
Akane was already there, drinking some tea. "Hi, Auntie Nodoka."
She said, "How's the training going?"
"It's going quite well." Nodoka said, as she fixed herself some
tea as well. "Akane, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"When I was sparring with Ranma, I couldn't touch him at all, at
least not without puting more effort into the battle, but his attacks
were no better than they were when we started." Nodoka looked Akane in
the eyes. "I may not practice it, but I do know that one of the
principle codes of Anything Goes Martial Arts is to master any fighting
techique you come across, how to turn anything into a weapon. With the
level of skill he's shown, he should be able to break the defense I'm
using at least once and a while. Not only that, but I just saw him do
one of the most complicated attack katas for the sword that I've shown
him. And he did it almost perfectly." She shook her head. "What's
going on?"
"Auntie," Akane began, "Ranma has this macho attitude where he
thinks it's against his honor to hit girls. Has he told you that?"
"No," Nodoka frowned. "He hasn't."
Akane grew thoughtful for a moment. Then she frowned and looked
into her tea.
"When Ranma first showed up here, I didn't realize that he was a
guy a first, they had gotten caught in the rain. I thought that she was
a girl who seemed alot like me, someone who also likes martial arts."
Akane took a deep breath. "I invited her to have a sparing match
with me. She was so nervous around us, and I just wanted to be friends.
We met in the dojo. No matter how hard, or how fast I was, Ranma just
dodged my blows like he knew what I was going to do before 'I' did. We
kept going until I just decided to quit, I knew when I was overmatched.
Ranma won, but he never laid a hand on me. I don't know how he beat
Shampoo in the Amazon Village, but it was probably the same. Do you
understand what I'm getting at?" Nodoka nodded.
"Yes." Just then Ranma walked in with grin and some sauce on his
face. Akane saw it, and an aura of blue chi appeared around her.
"Ranma! You knew I was cooking dinner tonight!"
"Cooking, is that what you call it? Anyway I don't know about you,
but 'I' want to see tomorrow."
"RANMA!!! NNNNOOOOOO!!!! BAAAAAKKKAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" Mr. Mallet,
meet Mr. Face. Goodbye Ranma. Ranma added a new hole to the roof of
the Tendo home, while Akane stalked out of the kitchen. Nodoka stared
at the spot recently vacated by her airborne son and future
daughter-in-law. After a moments pondering, she walked over to the
phone.
"Hello, is this the Cat Cafe? This is Nodoka, may I speak with
Mousse? I'll hold."
"Mousse, this is Mrs. Saotome. I was wondering if you've ever seen
Akane use a mallet on Ranma? Uh-hu. Well, is it a part of your Hidden
Weapons School, since she seems to pull it out of nowhere? It isn't a
part of your school? Thank you. Is Great-grandmother there? No
thanks, I'll be over to see her in a bit."
Pondering the information she had gleemed from her conversation
with her cousins wishful beau, Nodoka wandered over to another part of
the Tendo home, where she knew Kasumi would be, cleaning the house.
"Kasumi?" She called out as she walked upstairs. Kasumi stepped
out of the bathroom, drying her hands, with that cheerful grin on her
face.
"Yes Auntie Nodoka? Is there something I can do for you?"
"I was just wondering, have you ever seen Akane use a mallet on
Ranma?"
"Why yes, I have. You know, it's strange, but he's the only one
she ever uses it on. She'll punch people, or maybe hit them with the
dining room table, but Ranma is the only one she ever uses that hammer
on, though she does do those things to him too. Why?" Kasumi asked.
"It's nothing," Nodoka said with a smile. "You know, you're
getting more and more like your mother." Kasumi blushed.
"Thank you."
A few moments later, Nodoka walked into the Cat Cafe, and with a
quick smile for her cousin, Shampoo, headed straight for the kitchen,
where she knew her Great-grandmother, Cologne would be.
"Greetings Great-grandmother." Nodoka said, bowing. "I have
something to ask you about."
"Yes, my child." The ancient Amazonian Matriarch spoke. "When
Mousse told me you had called, I figured out you were planning on asking
about the Tendo girls talent with a mallet."
"Exactly." Nodoka nodded. "When I spoke with Mousse, and he told
me that the technique wasn't a part of his school, I knew that you were
the only one who might be able to figure out where it came from."
Cologne motioned for her to sit, and as she accepted the offered seat,
Cologne began to speak.
"There have been legends for centuries of a technique, capable of
creating weapons from a warriors ki. These weapons were said to be
almost unstoppable. With it, a warrior could defeat with ease one who
was many times more skilled than they. However, the technique is
unknown to anyone alive. Or so I thought!"
"You mean . . . ?" Nodoka asked. Her eyes widening. After
speaking with Mousse she had halfway suspected it, but to have her idea
confirmed was startling.
"Yes." Nodded Cologne. "Our future daughter-in-law is the sole
possesser of this mighty technique."
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So, how do you like Cousins? I'll get around to writing part four
sometime later, after I finish Mother's Gift. Hope you like it.
>From the Pen of the DragonBard:
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*"There are more things in Heaven and Earth . . . *
*then are dreampt of in your philosiphy." *
*Hamlet *
* *
*"I can summon spirits from the vast deep!" *
*"So can I, but will they come when you call?" *
*The Tempest *
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