Returning Home
By David Farr
Part 7
Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan,Inc and
is used here respectfully for the purposes of fanfiction. This story may
be redistributed only if unchanged and no fee is charged.
This story and my other works of fiction may be found at:
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/
*****
Akane's shoulders slumped as she saw her cute little pet, really
a certain dishonourable cursed boy, roll up his eyes and pass into the
land of oblivion. The anger she felt was old, but time had yet to weaken
it, leaving it burning just as brightly in her heart. To think he would
not only betray the trust she had twice laid on him, first as a friend,
then as a pet, but also he forced Ranma to betray his own fiancee by
taking advantage of a warrior's promise.
She knelt before her daughter, who still clutched the unconscious
piglet in her arms. "Ukyo honey, you take good care of P-chan, and tell
mummy when he wakes up."
The little girl nodded vigorously. "Yes, mummy."
Akane stood and turned away from her. As she walked back towards
the surprised group on the porch she heard Chibi-Ukyo call out the
piglet's name, then catch something. She glanced over her shoulder to see
Chibi-Ukyo toss P-chan in the air again.
Smirking, Akane stepped back onto the porch. "Now, what were we
talking about before we were so rudely interrupted?" She asked calmly.
Ranma shivered. "I don't want to be in Ryoga's shoes when he
wakes up," he muttered aside to Kasumi and was surprised when he got no
response. He turned to find the normally calm girl glaring at the little
pig, tiny tremors shaking her clenched fists. "Uh, oh."
"Excuse me," Kasumi hissed from between clenched teeth, "I think
I left something on the stove."
A shudder of horror passed through Ranma, this was one family you
did not want to get angry. He glanced out at his daughter who was still
playing in the yard, tossing the little black piglet into the air. "Ukyo,
come inside soon, it looks like it might rain soon."
"I will daddy, the moment it starts," the little girl returned.
"Just don't go far from the porch, rain hits fast around here."
He turned inside again. His mother, wife and father-in-law had already
returned to the table, and were sipping tea. Nodoka looked like she
needed it.
"Well, that was a bit of excitement," Ranma said, dropping back
into place.
"Is Kasumi okay?" Akane asked, glancing up from her cup.
Ranma glanced in the direction of the kitchen, worry on his face.
"I think she has a few problems with what she just saw. Someone might
want to talk to her about it."
Suddenly Soun found himself the focus of three gazes. Almost
reluctantly he nodded. "I shall do it." He stood and paced out of the
room.
Left sitting in silence Nodoka glanced over at the slumbering
form of her husband. "Ranma, I wish you hadn't knocked him unconscious,
it would have been nice to talk to him."
"He's not unconscious." Ranma lifted his cup and took another
sip. Out the corner of his eye he noticed his father twitch.
"Why do you say that?" Nodoka inquired.
"What pop doesn't know is that when he's out, he snores up a
storm,"
Ranma grinned about his cup, then took another sip. Almost immediately
the human pile started snoring. He turned to Akane. "And you wondered why
I was such a deep sleeper."
A slight growl slipped from Akane's throat. "DAMN IT MR SAOTOME,
ACT LIKE A MAN!" she yelled, leaping to her feet and throwing her
thankfully empty cup at the man. "All you EVER do is run away! Or go
PANDA! For GOD SAKE, GROW UP!" She stormed out the door, leaving Ranma
and Nodoka sitting in an oppressive silence broken only by the continued
snoring coming from Genma.
Ranma looked at his mother. "Sorry about that. Ryoga is not a
good part of our history. He abused Akane's trust, by using his curse to
sneak into her room. I was kinda dreading this, and I'm afraid things are
just piling up."
"Things?" Nodoka asked.
"Yeah, well, we have to deal with all the girls that pop and I
managed to get engaged to me and one of them blew up at us today. Er, not
literally. Then we learn about pop's promise, and of course Ryoga." He
shrugged. "Akane doesn't deal with things well." A crash came from
upstairs, echoed moments later from the kitchen. "Ah, I'd better head
upstairs before she breaks something important. Like our baby."
Nodoka nodded, and watched as her son hurried out. She sighed and
turned to look at her husband. 'Where is the man I married? He was so
happy, carefree and strong in his honour. Did that foul old man do this
damage?'
When Genma finally cracked his eyes open he found his wife
sitting over him in absolute silence, her family's gleaming katana
resting in her lap.
*****
Soun had, rather cowardly, hovered outside the kitchen door,
listening to the sounds of domestic tranquillity inside. The rattling of
pots, the sizzle of foods frying, nothing seemed out of place. Except
that the cook herself was making no sound.
When the crash of crockery shattering sounded, he knew he had to
act. "Kasumi, is everything alright?" He stepped out into the doorway.
His eldest daughter was kneeling on the floor, collecting the
pieces of a broken dish. Her head snapped up, her eyes glowing with an
anger that pushed Soun back a step. Instinctively his hands went up into
a pain ward.
"Oh, my. Sorry father." Kasumi's hand flew to her mouth and she
blushed in embarrassment. She looked down at the shards of crockery and
went back to collecting them together.
"Kasumi, do you want to talk about it?" He walked over to his
daughter and knelt down, helping her to tidy.
"He shouldn't have done it father," she whispered finally. "It
was just so rude, so wrong. Mother would never have let him."
Soun reached out and wrapped his arm about her. "Is that what's
bothering you? That you didn't stop it? We treated the boy as we would
any guest, and if he abused our hospitality, then the blame is his, not
ours."
A single tear rolled down Kasumi's cheek. "But I'm supposed to
protect my little sister."
"Ranma wasn't able to stop him, and he did try if you remember.
If he failed, what can you hope to do?" Soun smiled. "Besides, Akane is
more than capable of looking after herself. Would she have accepted our
interference?"
Kasumi looked at him. "No, I suppose not." She paused, then
realisation hit her. "FATHER! YOU KNEW!"
*SLAP*
*****
Cradled in his father's arm Ryoga sleep peacefully, finally calm
now that his mother's rage was spent. He had not cried, just been
agitated as Akane ranted under Ranma's watchful gaze. She had finally
fallen into a weeping storm, now bemoaning the unfairness of it all.
Ranma flipped himself to his feet, gaining a gurgle of delight
from Ryoga. He slipped across the room and knelt next to her. "Feeling
better?"
Akane nodded and looked up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy
from crying, and streaks left by tears wound their way down her cheeks.
"Oh Ranma, it wasn't supposed be like this. This was meant to be the easy
part."
"I know, but we are doing well. We dealt with both Kuno and Ukyo,
and we're doing well at school." Ranma's smile started warning her heart.
"But every time we turn around we find more problems. It's like
we're still travelling between worlds, waiting for something to go wrong,
watching every shadow." She struck the floor with her fist. "I don't want
to live like this!"
"It'll get better Akane, it might get a little worse, but things
will calm down when everyone learns to accept our marriage." Ranma leaned
forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Even Shampoo won't chase me
forever."
Akane nodded, a movement that brought her hair flickering into
Ryoga's field of vision. Playfully he reached out and grabbed a tiny
handful of the strands, dragging his mother's head closer.
"Watch it Akane, your son's already knows how to boss you
around."
The pair laughed while Akane pulled her hair from her son's
grasp. Still smiling Akane turned her face to look up into her husband's
face. Once he'd hidden the love she found there behind a cloak of
insults, but now he simply smiled and let the warmth of his eyes express
himself.
"Let's take this one downstairs to meet his grandmother," Ranma
whispered.
"That sounds like a good idea." Akane returned, smiling.
*****
The dinning room was peaceful, letting the sound of falling rain
filter in from inside. Chibi-Ukyo and Nodoka sat opposite each other,
their hands out. Both had a single long string woven between their
fingers, forming a complex cradle of strands. Chibi-Ukyo was staring at
pattern in between her palms, her tongue sticking out the corner of her
mouth in concentration.
"Okay darling, now pay attention." Chibi-Ukyo's eyes shot up to
gave at her grandmother's hands. "The next step is like this." Nodoka
brought her hands thought, then separated them again, coming out with a
more complicated pattern.
Ranma and Akane watched as their daughter attempted to reweave
her own string as Nodoka had just demonstrated, but ended up with a nasty
knot instead. She sighed, dropped the weave and in a quick series of
movements rewove the string.
"Try again, little one. You'll get it, just like the other steps.
It only takes practise." Nodoka's tone was motherly and patient, and both
Ranma and Akane felt a pang of jealousy.
"Mummy and daddy always say that too," Chibi-Ukyo quipped as she
concentrated on her movements. Carefully she slipped her right index
finger under one strand while looping another about her left middle. She
smiled as the pattern came out, matching her grandmother's.
Nodoka turned to look across at the pair standing at the door.
"Well, obviously they managed to learn some wisdom." She smiled quietly
at them.
"Despite many people's best efforts," Ranma commented. He still
cradled their baby in his arms, using a gentle rocking motion to keep him
happy and away from anything he could grab. The pair walked over to the
kneeling pair, and lowered themselves next to them, Ranma placing himself
next to his mother.
Without watching Nodoka performed the next and final step in her
pattern, keeping Chibi-Ukyo's attention. "Is this little one my
grandson?" She peered at the bundle in Ranma's arms. "What did you say
his name was?"
"We named him Ryoga," Ranma replied, watching as Chibi-Ukyo tried
to copy the movements and ended up with something completely different,
but no less interesting.
"Ryoga?" Nodoka's tone dropped. "Named after that boy who
everyone seemed so disgusted at?"
Ranma slowly nodded. "Of all the time I've known Ryoga he's only
ever done one thing that I couldn't understand. Most of the time he's one
of the sweetest guys you'll ever know, honourable, protective and loyal.
As obsessive as everyone else I know, but at least he always issued
challenges when he decided to have it out with me. Friends are hard to
come by on the road, and he was always there when I really needed him."
His eyes quested about, at last resting on the unconscious and bound pig.
"Hey, where's pops?"
Her face took on the likeness of a cliff. "He has gone upstairs
to pack his bags. We feel that he and I need some private time to discuss
all that has gone on." She softened, a smile once more coming to her
lips. "But I'm sure we will be back by the time you two return from
school tomorrow."
Akane chuckled. "Somehow I think my father would prefer if you
could come back a little earlier. We'll be leaving Kasumi and him alone
to take care of the children." She smiled down at Chibi-Ukyo as the
little girl gave a cry of delight at having finally managed to perform
her grandmother's trick.
"Look, mummy, daddy," Chibi-Ukyo squeaked, holding up the cat's
cradle. "Isn't it good!"
*****
Miserable and alone, a cream and purple cat wandered the through
the park. She cursed her luck, the bad drainage on the streets and
drivers who did not care if they splashed pedestrians. Most of all she
cursed Akane Tendo.
'How could he choose her?' Shampoo demanded silently of herself.
'How? I'm better than Akane. I cook better, I treat him better, I LOVE
HIM MORE! Why didn't he chose me?!' She looked about, and realised that
she didn't recognise any landmarks. 'Now I'm lost and alone. Even
great-grandmother has abandoned me.'
With a gentle pitter-patter a curtain of rain swept across the
grass, drenching the cat and her surroundings. Shampoo quickly glanced
about, looking for shelter. She spotted a discarded cardboard box resting
beneath a park bench, and darted inside.
Shampoo stared out down the alleyway, droplets falling past the
flaps of her makeshift hidy-hole. She watched as mist rose off the
silvery pavement, concealing the distant buildings and trees. Time passed
as she watched the empty park before her, and the letting the rhythms of
the falling rain lull her off into a dream where a strong pair of arms
held her in a warm embrace.
Water seeped through the cardboard ceiling, forming a large drop.
It hung for moment, then fell, striking the dozing cat below. Shampoo was
startled back awake. Shaking her head to clear it, she stared out at the
rain once more, angry that her moment of peace had been stolen from her.
'Oh, Ranma, won't you come save me once more. Please.' A single
pitiful mew escaped her.
*****
The night was empty. Not peaceful, or quiet, but empty. Even in a
desert there were quietly scuttling creatures, seeking food, but this
world had none of that. It was a world where time stood still. People,
machines beasts, even the wind, had stopped suddenly between one instant
and the next.
And more than anything that scared them.
Night and day continued as the sun and the planets continued
their silent dance as a mocking tribute to whatever the locals had done
to themselves. The three travellers clustered about the crackling fire
had no desire to investigate. A day walking the eerie streets, carefully
avoiding situations that would end up dangerous if things started up
again, had been enough for their nerves. All they wanted now was to leave
the nightmare tableau and its oppressive silence.
Akane stared deeply into the fire, remembering the difficulty
they'd had simply getting wood. She looked across the fire at her
husband, who appeared jumpier than ever. "How much longer?" her voice,
barely more than a whisper, sounded like a shout.
A small block of metal was produced. The maker of this device had
made sure that this device would survive anything it's carrier could,
even the inset LCDs and buttons on the top couldn't be broken by less
than bullet hit direct on. "Charged in two hours," Ranma replied. That
was the only problem, it took almost twelve hours before you could use it
again.
"Tell me a story," little Chibi-Ukyo begged, hugging her mother's
arm.
Ranma cocked his head. "Sounds like a good idea." He looked at
Akane. "How about the Charlotte Cup? I don't think she's heard that one."
There was a long pause, filled only by the quietly crackling
fire. Akane nodded, and started telling the tale with the first outing to
the ice rink. None of the many situations brought more than a slight
giggle to any of the trio. Finally Akane described Shampoo's arrival, and
ended saying, "but that darling, is a story for another time."
Ranma lifted the portal spawner again. "Still another quarter
hour."
"You know, I never did find out what happened to Ryoga when he
dove in to save me," Akane mused. She felt little Chibi-Ukyo pull away
from her arm and she gazed at down at her.
"But mummy, isn't Ryoga P-chan?" Chibi-Ukyo inquired innocently.
Across the fire Ranma collapsed in surprise. Akane barely
noticed, her daughter's comments had added a keystone in a bridge between
the scattered clues and the truth. And her mind had just crossed that
bridge.
Ranma and P-chan fighting all the time; the insults Ranma had
paid to both the pig and boy, the same insults, just with different
apparent meaning; and all the presents P-chan came back with from all
over Japan. How could she have missed these things? More importantly, how
could Ranma not tell her?
"My warrior's promise," Ranma murmured, heading off her question.
"I made it before he became your pet." The sorrow in his voice told her
of the pain he felt. "I'm sorry Akane, I really am."
"When you told me about it, I never dreamt it was that." Akane
stared into the fire again. It's light seemed comforting. "How could he?
I thought he was so nice." She could not feel her rage, there was anger,
but the silence seemed to force it back into her, keeping her outwardly
calm.
"I don't know, you'll have to talk to him when we get back."
Ranma sighed. "If we get back."
"What?!" Akane's head shot up. "Ranma, I've never heard you say
that!"
"I think it's this place." Ranma looked into the darkness. "It's
so depressing. All this wasted time. Reminds me of our first year."
Akane nodded and glanced at the device Ranma held.
Ranma caught the look and read the display again. "Two minutes.
We'd better get ready to go. I don't want to stay here a moment more than
we have to."
*****
Akane opened her eyes, letting the memory of her discovery fall
away again. It was time for Ryoga to face his fate. And pulling a Genma
would not work anymore.
She picked up the bound pig and strode purposefully towards the
bathroom.
*****
The feeling of hot water and the change coming over him awakened
Ryoga. Instantly he felt the sudden choking pressure that came with
suddenly having more lung capacity and no air. He shot upwards, breaking
the surface, and sending water splashing everywhere.
He looked about, finding himself standing waste deep in the
Tendo's furo, and Akane staring at him. Gasping he dropped down, covering
himself beneath the water.
"A-Akane!" he squeaked, his voice cracking.
She was smiling sweetly at him, but he still felt uneasy. "I'm
sorry, I just got tired of waiting of you to recover on your own." She
leant forward. "Now, we are going to talk about wee, little, P-chan."
"Um... can I get dressed?" Ryoga asked quietly.
"And give you a chance to get lost? Get real." She sneered at
him. "Tell me Ryoga, what did you hope to get?" Before he could answer
she silenced him with a wave. "Forget that. Do you know how... dirty I
felt when I found out? I was disgusted at myself for having trusted you
and treated Ranma so badly when he tried to stop you!" Her glare pierced
him. "And all those accusations you directed at Ranma! You even said he
was dishonourable! YOU!"
"A-Akane, I-I'm sorry."
She never heard him. "And do you know how I found out?! It wasn't
even Ranma breaking his promise! IT WAS MY DAUGHTER!" She rose above
Ryoga, her face going red. "She figured it out before I did! FROM RANMA'S
STORIES! I lived them and she managed to figure it from second hand
recounts! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE?! To have a child turn to you
and ask why you didn't figure it out?!"
She stood and sneered down at him. "Well, if you want to be a
pet, I'm sure my little daughter would be glad to keep you. After all,
she seems to enjoy playing with the curses." Akane spun on her heels and
strode out, not looking back at the man.
Ryoga was just pulling himself out of the furo when the door was
shoved open, this time by the eldest Tendo daughter. Ryoga fell back
beneath the water, peering up at Kasumi. Her normally calm face wore a
frown. "Ranma has found some of your clothes. I would suggest that you
dress and leave." She slammed the door shut.
Again Ryoga was most of the way out of the furo when the door was
shoved open. He fell backwards, sending a wave of water over the edge.
"Jeez Ryoga man, don't swamp the bathroom will ya." Ranma hopped across
the wet floor and perched on the lip of the bath. "They were kinda rough
on you, weren't they?"
"She hates me," Ryoga moaned.
"Nah." Ranma shook his head. "If she hated you I would never have
been able to convince her to name our son after you."
"That's nice to know," Ryoga murmured. "YOU WHAT?!" He shot up
again. "Son?! DAUGHTER?!"
"AAARGH! I'm going to have to tell it again!" Ranma cried,
slapping
his forehead.
*****
"Aachoo!" Chibi-Ukyo Saotome brushed the tickling sensation from
her nose and went back to staring out at rain.
"I hope your not coming down with something dear," Nodoka
commented, placing a caring hand on her forehead.
"I'm fine gran'mama," Chibi-Ukyo chirped. Smiling up at the
woman.
"Grandmother," she corrected absently. She certainly didn't have
a temperature. "Well then, someone must be talking about you then." She
smiled at the child. "Tell me darling, do your parents fight often?"
Chibi-Ukyo turned to look at her grandmother, a smile flashing
onto her face. "Yeah, they battle all kinds of monsters."
A slight chuckle escaped from Nodoka. "No darling, that's not
what I meant. I mean do they yell at each or argue."
"Sometimes," Chibi-Ukyo shrugged. "Mummy can get real loud, but
daddy says she's like that 'cause she cares. You can tell 'cause she
never yells 'cept when I do really dangerous or stupid things."
"And when they yell at each other?"
The little girl looked thoughtful for a moment. "Daddy will
simply stop and watch mummy for a little while, and then they start
talking again."
Genma lumbered into the room, carrying his pack. "Nodoka honey,
I'm ready."
Nodding, Nodoka stood. She directed one of her motherly smiles at
the child. "Thank you darling. You've been very helpful." She turned and
walked to her husband. "Come Genma, I think we have a lot to discuss. And
lots of catching up to do."
"RANMA! HOW DARE YOU?!" The shout attracted the attention the
entire household. Everyone converged on the sound, just in time to watch
Ranma flip backwards out of the bathroom door, followed by a murderous
Ryoga. Ranma planted his hands on the porch, twisting his body to avoid
the thrusts of the massive umbrella. He sprang away again, drawing Ryoga
onwards.
Nodoka gasped as Ranma's body pierced the veil of rain. She
watched as her son seemed to shrink and the black was washed out of his
hair by a beautiful red colour. Not to mention what happened to her
chest. Ranma landed on her feet and watched calmly as a wet pig thudded
into her chest.
"Ryoga-man, you are just too predictable," Ranma complained,
reaching down and picking up the struggling piglet. He walked up to the
porch and paused when he saw the group assembled there. "Hehe, ah mom,
meet my female side."
Nodoka looked appraisingly at her son turned daughter. She had
believed the tale, especially after the transformation of that boy,
Ryoga. Yet seeing the Ranma change was a shock. Certainly she was a very
comely girl, and it wasn't surprising that Genma had feared that there
would be a misunderstanding about the old promise. Worst of all Ranma
appeared at ease as a girl and seemed to unconsciously take up some very
expressive poses.
Still smiling happily Ranma lifted Ryoga up before her face.
"Come on pig, I'm gonna find some hot water then we can talk about this
at length."
"Ranma, your father and I are about to leave," Nodoka
interrupted.
"Well pig, looks like we're gonna stay like this just a little
while longer." Ranma shrugged, which did unladylike things to her
breasts, causing Nodoka to note to herself that she had to talk to her
son about it.
Ranma looked at her father for a moment, then turned to toss
Ryoga to the red-haired child. "Hey Ukyo, look after him for me will ya."
She grabbed her old man and dragged him off. "Excuse us, just want to
talk to him for a sec." They left a baffled family behind them.
"What do you want boy?!" Genma demanded.
"Listen," Ranma growled. "I want you and mum to get back
together, so I'm gonna give you some advice on dealing with women."
The older man snorted. "Ranma, I am decades your senior, I think
I more about the fairer sex than you."
"Then answer me this: Which one of us has the good relationship?"
Ranma smiled smugly at his father when he didn't receive an answer. "I
know the way you think pop. And I'm willing to bet you're going to
approach this like mom's an opponent. She's not! She's an ally! You've
got to learn to read her and react in a way that'll cause her to be
happy, but not in the short term, but long term. Don't say or promise
anything ya don't mean. Above all be honest, lying's only gonna cause
more problems later when she finds out. And believe me, she will find
out.
"If you want to stay with her pop, you're gonna have to get past
whatever she feels about your distrust in her. Once you've settled the
bad blood, then you can get around to rebuilding whatever it was you once
had."
Genma stared at his son, not expecting the seriousness in the
boy. The older man could see in Ranma's eyes that this was not just some
theory he'd come up with, but instead information hard won. He lowered
his head, acknowledging that his son was indeed wiser on this. "What do
you suggest?"
"Don't let things sit. If she's not raging, then you should be
talking. Explain, don't excuse. Admit you've made mistakes, don't cover
them up. Tell her you love her, but don't use it too appease her 'cause
then it'll mean less later when you use it to make up." Ranma paused.
"Most of all pops, be good to her." He smiled at him. "And forget
everything Master Happosai ever taught you."
Genma grinned at the last comment. "I'm glad he didn't hear you
say that."
Ranma shrugged and started guiding his father back to the others.
"He may be a great martial art, but his people skills leave a lot to be
desired."
The farewell to Genma and Nodoka was a sober occasion. Everyone
felt as if part of their life was leaving with the greedy man, even
though they wouldn't be far away and the short trip between the houses
wasn't too much trouble. The entire Tendo family, including Nabiki who
had just returned home, stood on the front porch, waving good-bye as
Nodoka walked away, escorted by a panda sheltering her with a parasol.
-----------
David Farr
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/
djfarr@ihug.co.nz katsuhito@planetjurai.com
"Die-cast construction, it's a lost art."
- Optimus Primal, Beast Wars.