[DB's addendum: This isn't mine. It's Bloodblade's. I'm posting it to the
list for him. Same deal as the last chapter. You can send the email to me
and I'll forward it to him or you can send it to his address. Whichever is
easiest for you.]



Standard Disclaimer: I by no means make any claim to the characters or to
the story of Ranma �.  They are the exclusive property of Rumiko Takahashi,
Viz Video, Kitty Productions, etc.  I am merely a fan who had an idea for a
story and decided to share it with others.


Please Note:
When dealing with a trans-genderal character such as Ranma it sometimes
becomes difficult to establish the usage of he/his v.s. she/her.  In
dealing with memories, I have used masculine as this was Ranma's form at
the time.  In other cases, it will depend on the perception of the
characters involved.  If he is male, or _thought_ to be male, the masculine
terms are used, and vice versa, though occasionally I have used the
opposite to reinforce from time to time his current state.  I have tried to
catch each example of this, but if I have missed any, please bear with me.

You can contact me at:
bloodblade@geocities.com


or visit my website at:
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920


Index:
"Quotes" are for spoken words.
<Brackets> are for thoughts.
[Braces] are for 'sign' language.
*Stars* are for sounds or actions.

That said... enjoy! ^_^


***********************************

"Mom?  It's me, Ranma."

"Ranma?"  Nodoka was just returning from her short trip out to the market
and picking up Nuriko from school.  She wasn't sure what had been going on
before her arrival, but she couldn't help but feel that she'd missed
something important, like when you hear the punch line but not the joke.
Now that she had the chance, she took a closer look at the stranger in her
home that claimed she was their mother.  At a guess, the age was about
right, though it was hard to be sure because of the person's short stature.
The build didn't seem quite right either.  Much lighter than she would have
expected of someone who had spent the past decade training in martial arts,
though she knew that not everyone developed at the same pace, or in the
same way.  And the hair.  Red!  Ranma hadn't been born with red hair, his
had been black.  Then again, things like hair colour could be changed.  She
knew this all too well, having the need to touch up the small amount of
grey in her own hair every week or so.

But it was the eyes that decided it.  Those eyes blew away any argument or
doubt she might have.  She remembered those deep blue, beautiful eyes that
had looked up at her when she had first given birth to her son, and of the
many times she had seen them in her child as he grew.  They were the same
eyes that looked up at her how, filled with recognition and a sort of
desperate hopefulness that that recognition would be returned.  Without a
doubt, this was her child.  Her baby boy.  Her Ranma.


**********
The Youngest Tendo
by Stephen Sparrow

Chapter 2: Relations
**********


"Oh Ranma." she said as she swept him up in a tight hug, tears of joy
beginning to trickle from the corners of her eyes.  "How I've missed you
so."

"I've missed you too, mom." Ranma said, returning the embrace.  Though her
father had told her over the years that crying was for the weak and
unmanly, having no place in the Art, she just couldn't stop the tears from
flowing, and she found that she didn't even want to try.

Genma was flipping out.  How had she known that they were here?!?  The only
person he had told was Soun in the postcard he had sent.  But now that
Nodoka was here, he was as good as dead, and Ranma too.  There was no way
with the boy's curse that she would ever consider him to be a man among
men, which meant... which meant that both he and Ranma would have to commit
seppuku to preserve the family's honor.  Genma was a coward, and he knew
it.  He had spent too many years under the none too gentle tutelage of
Master Happosai not to be, and now there was only one thing to do.  He
didn't think that he would ever have to use this again, but if he had any
chance of keeping his furry hide in one piece, he needed to get away and
think.  Utilizing the 'Saotome Anything Goes Final Attack', he picked
himself off the floor and made a beeline for the garden doors.

Kasumi had been right.  She had hoped desperately that she had been wrong,
that it had just been some sort of misunderstanding of hers, or a queer
coincidence, but there was no denying it now.  Earlier, when she had asked
her father what Ranma's last name was, she had thought it sounded familiar.
And it was.  It was the same last name as Nana's before she came to live
with them, before she had married their father and become a Tendo.  Her
step-mother had been Nodoka Saotome.  She looked towards Akane and Nabiki
and was not surprised to see the shock on their faces as realization began
to set in.  Kasumi closed her eyes and shook her head sadly, a single tear
tracing down her cheek.  Never before had she been ashamed to be a Tendo,
but she could not fully forgive in her heart the actions of her father.

Ranma felt deliriously happy.  She was finally reunited with her mother.
Over the years when she had been training with Genma, she had often thought
of her mother, but the warm memories of her childhood had become faded with
time.  Whenever Ranma had asked her father about her, he'd been evasive,
saying little more that she was a loving, warm and caring person, and that
it had been necessary to take him away from her for the sake of the Art.
When asked why it was necessary, Genma always stated that he would go soft
if she was always there, hovering over him, ready to make the 'boo-boos' go
away.  A real man, a man among men, needed to know about pain, how to deal
with it, and how to defeat it.  Pain was everywhere in life, a constant
reminder that you were still alive, and that it never let up.  Pain is the
opponent of every true martial artist, and any opponent must be defeated.
_That_ is why they traveled, just the two of them, to train Ranma to be the
best martial artist there is, and to do that, he could not fear pain, and
he would never achieve that if his mother were there.
Ranma often thought her father was full of it, and this moment was no
exception.  This felt so right, being together again with her mother, that
it couldn't possibly be wrong.  A part of her wished that this moment
wouldn't end.

*WHAM*

Ranma gave a mental sigh. _Of course_ something would have to happen.  It
always did.  Twisting around out of her mother's grasp to see what the
noise was, she found her father sprawled out on the floor, unconscious.
Apparently he had tripped over the end of the table and knocked himself
out.  Trust 'good 'ol pop' to totally screw up the moment.

"Ranma?" the tone was confused at first, but it quickly turned suspicious.
"No, you're not my Ranma.  Who are you, and why did you try to deceive me?"

Ranma turned back to her mother only to be met with a sternly cool
expression.  "W-what do you mean I'm not Ranma.  Of course I am.  I'm your
son."

Nodoka considered the stranger in front of her, bristling slightly.  How
could she have been so wrong?  She had been so certain that this was her
long absent child, but it couldn't be.  When 'Ranma' had twisted in her
arms, she had felt something large and soft, brush up against her chest.
_Two_ large soft somethings that shouldn't... couldn't be there if this
person was her child.
"I don't know who you are, but you aren't my son, or anyone else's for that
matter.  Drop this foolish pretense and tell me who you are young lady."

***///***

"Daddy, who's that girl hugging mommy?"

Soun turned to look at his youngest daughter, Nuriko, still clinging to his
neck.  She had only been home a minute or so, but had noticed what he had
not; that Ranma was (currently) a girl.  True, his perception had been
clouded by his preconceptions, but such lapses in attention were ill
befitting a martial artist of his caliber.  Time and again his youngest
child managed to surprise him.

"That's Ranma, Nuriko.  He's your mommy's son."

"He?" he watched as her small face scrunched up in confusion.  "But she's a
girl."

Soun decided to admit defeat right then.  There wasn't any reasonable way
to explain to the young girl the curse that Ranma was under.  It was still
hard for even himself to believe and he had seen it happen.  Fortunately he
was spared the need to reply as he watched first Genma kiss the floor after
gracelessly tripping over the living room table, and then in a matter of
moments, witness a happy reunion between mother and child turn bitter.

"I'll explain later, honey." he said poking her gently in the nose before
standing up.  "Nodoka?"

"Yes, Soun?" turning towards his voice "Do you know who this girl is?" she
asked, indicating Ranma.

"Yes, I do dear."  He heaved a sigh.  This was going to be a long day, and
it was going to get worse before it ever got better.  "Please come over
here and have a seat." motioning her to join the place beside him.  "The
rest of you too, Akane, Kasumi, Nabiki, Ranma." he waved for them come over
as well, "Please, sit.  We will probably get this straightened out best if
we _all_ start from the beginning."

Genma had to be revived, then retrieved as he tried once more to make a
break for the door, and eventually got him to sit at the table with the
rest of group with a little help of an arm bar from Ranma.

Nuriko, on the other hand, had been quite fascinated with the large black
and white panda and its presence in the house.  Her several attempts to
poke and pet Genma were blocked by Nodoka (who couldn't understand why they
didn't just keep the creature outside) and she had to be told twice that
she couldn't play with strange animals before she settled down and Soun
could finally begin his speech.

"Though you three girls have already heard this, I think it's best that I
repeat it for the others." he cleared his throat, "About twenty years ago,
Genma and I had been training in the Art under the Master.  When the Master
uhhhh... met with an unfortunate end, we were both eager to get on with our
lives.  However, before we parted ways, we made a pact that would ensure
our future friendship and the continuation of the Anything Goes school.
When our children came of age, we would unite the Tendo and Saotome clans
in marriage."

Nodoka felt her annoyance and anger rise.  This was the first time she had
ever heard of this, despite the many opportunities.  Why had she been left
out of such a vitally important decision?  She shot Soun a cold glance,
which fortunately for him he did not see, otherwise he may not have had the
nerve to continue.

"However, many things have changed since that day." he looked at his three
eldest daughters, "Kasumi.  Nabiki.  Akane.  I hope you don't believe that
I betrayed the memory of your mother.  I still cherish all the time we
spent together, all the laughter and the tears." he gave his head a small
shake, "After she died, it felt like my heart had been ripped out, and I
hope that none of you ever have to go through the same pain that I did.  A
part of me died that day and I never thought that I would be able to love
again." he turned to give Nodoka a smile, her hard expression was now gone
as he had continued, "But I was wrong.  I did find love again, and I was
glad that you all approved of my marriage to your step-mother, Nodoka.  I-"

"GROAWWWRRR!!!!!"

Genma launched himself across the table, easily ripping free of his son's
grasp and barreled into Soun.  Now, it should be said that Genma is not the
brightest of individuals.  He is neither quick to take a hint nor avoid
simple traps, but not even his brain could fail to figure out what was
going on.  The warm smiles that his best friend gave his wife; the way
Nodoka seemed completely at home in the Tendo house; this mysterious fourth
daughter that he had never heard about.  It all came together to form a
decidedly unpleasant picture.

This day, Genma had gone through a spectrum of emotions.  Happiness that
the promise that he share with Soun to unite their two houses would now be
fulfilled.  Disappointment in his son that he would defy his father's
wishes in the matter of the engagement.  Confusion once he had finally
reached the Tendo dojo that Soun seemed less than overjoyed to see him and
Ranma arrive.  Stark terror upon finding Nodoka here and that she would
surely kill him.  And now... Rage!  Blinding, burning rage over this...
this utter and absolute betrayal.  But when Soun mentioned the word
'marriage', Genma went through another spectrum, from Ultra-violent... to
Infra-Dead.


Genma's cursed form easily knocked the smaller man to the floor and
effectively pinned him there, preventing his escape.  He wrapped his paws
around Soun's neck, intending to choke the life out of him, slamming the
other man's head against the floor repeatedly.  It was fortunate for Soun
that pandas don't have opposable thumbs or he would have found it
impossible to breathe, but as it was, the blows to his head were doing him
no good and having several hundred pounds of panda on his chest was slowly
smothering him.

Nodoka instinctively pulled Nuriko away from the table and out of the way
from the rampaging animal.  She didn't know what had cause the creature to
become so violent, but whatever the reason, it was attacking her husband
and she had to do something.  Nabiki and Kasumi both had jumped away from
the table like she had and Nodoka pushed Nuriko in their direction.  "Get
Nuriko out of here and keep her safe.  I have to get something." she said
before running up the stairs to the second floor.

Nabiki had learned a little of the Art when she was young, but hadn't
practiced it in years.  Kasumi was no better.  Both knew they were way out
of their league here and were relieved when they saw both Ranma and Akane
jumping into the fray, trying to pry Genma off of their father.   She knew
the length of Akane's skill in martial arts and of her impressive strength.
She'd seen Akane take on the total population of male athletes at Furinkan
and not even break a sweat, so she knew her little sister could handle
herself in this.  She didn't know the length of Ranma's skills, but he was
likely to be pretty good as well if he'd been training all of these years.
"Come on, Squirt.  This is no place for us."  Nabiki decided to leave this
to them and picked up her slightly protesting little sister and carried her
down the hallway and out of the house.  Kasumi could only nod in agreement,
following a step behind.

***

For Ranma, nothing was making sense.  Things had failed to make sense
almost from the moment she had gotten up this morning, and it became
increasingly jumbled as time went on.  The engagement, her arrival at the
Tendo dojo, her mother's presence, her acceptance and then her sudden cold
rebuff, Pop's weird behavior around mom, and now this.   Ranma could tell
that her father was really and truly angry from the way he was behaving.
There was no evidence of control or restraint that should have been present
from a martial artist.  He had simply attacked the other man savagely and
blindly.

Jumping up, Ranma grabbed onto one of Genma's arms and tried to pull the
furry paw away from the other man's neck, but found that her smaller female
form only slowed her father's pounding rather than halt it.  When Akane
joined in a moment later on the other side, their combined effort arrested
the motion entirely, but they could still not pry him off.  Genma seemed
oblivious to their efforts, continuing to focus on Soun entirely and the
three of them struggled in a stalemate for another few moments.  That is,
until they all heard a sound.

*schinkt*

Ranma subconsciously catalogued it as the gentle rasping of a steel blade
leaving its sheath.  She had heard it a couple of times while on the road
with her father, and it had always been associated with danger.  She could
feel herself tense instinctively, her martial arts skill anticipating and
preparing for an attack, but she couldn't let go of her father's arm yet.
Fortunately, the sound had apparently broken through Genma's berserker
state and he froze.  Taking advantage of the lack of resistance, Ranma and
Akane were able to haul the large panda's frame off of Soun, allowing him
to crawl free.  That now dealt with, Ranma turned to deal with the new
threat, allowing Akane to look to her father.

Ranma was surprised by what she saw.  The sheath, still partially wrapped
in it's silk covering lay discarded on the floor, the blade, however, lay
elsewhere.

Taking a step forward, Nodoka advanced on the panda with a determined look
on her face, the gleaming katana held firmly between her hands.

Seeing that the blade was not pointing at her, Ranma spared a quick glance
towards its intended destination though did not fully drop her guard.  Wide
eyed, Genma was back peddling himself into a corner, trying to put as much
distance between himself and the woman with the sword.  Seeing that her
mother did not seem to be letting up now that Genma had stopped, and that
the older woman continued to angrily advance, Ranma interceded by stepping
between her two parents and spread her arms wide.

"Get out of the way, child.  That animal is dangerous." she said gesturing
menacingly with the sword.

"I ain't gonna pretend I understand everything that's going on, but I'm not
gonna let you hurt him."

"Don't be foolish.  That panda is probably rabid and should be destroyed.
I'm only going to ask you to move aside one more time young lady."

That did it!  Nodoka didn't even see her move, but suddenly her hands were
empty and katana was in grasp of the red-headed girl. "I AM NOT A LADY!"
Ranma slammed the blade down into the floor, wedging the blade nearly a
foot into the boards.  "And you are _not_ 'destroying' anyone, least of all
Pop.  Now back off!"

Ranma rounded on her father, who looked quite pale, if a panda could be
said to look pale, and grabbed him by the scruff.  "And you!  I don't know
what the heck you thought you were trying to accomplish back there, but
since I just saved your worthless hide from being chopped up into panda
steaks, you're going to explain it to me.  And I mean _now_!"  Before,
Ranma could barely even budge one of her father's arms, but now she seemed
to have no problem dragging him bodily across the floor and into the
kitchen.

Nodoka wasn't sure what to make of all that just happened.  She'd never
been addressed by anyone in tones like that before, but somehow she felt
she had gotten off lucky.  She had been disarmed before she had known it.
One moment the hilt had been in her hands, the next it was gone.  She
hadn't even seen the girl move.  As she looked at the family blade,
indignantly sheathed in the floor, she noted how deeply it was wedged into
the wood.  She had lived around martial artists long enough to know that
this was a combination of strength and skill that few could even dream of
achieving.  She hated to think what might have happened to her if the girl
had decided to do more than simply disarm her.  Very lucky indeed.

There was some clattering and sounds of running water coming from the
kitchen, but there was likely little she could do about whatever the girl
was up to, even if she wanted to, so instead she turned towards the two
remaining occupants of the room.  Soun was coughing slightly and rubbing at
his throat to reduce the pain of the bruises that were already starting to
purple.  Akane knelt beside him, supporting him as he sat, a worried
expression across her face.  As Nodoka knelt down to join them, Akane spoke
up, though her eyes never left her father.

"Nana?  Do you love father?"

Nodoka was puzzled by the nature and timing of the question.  "What brought
this on, Akane?"

Akane still did not look up, but her expression became tense.  "Please,
Nana, just answer the question.  It's really important.  Do you love
daddy?"

"Yes, of course I love him, but what-"

"Is there anything that would ever make you want to leave him?"  This time
she did look up.  Her eyes held an intense seriousness in them.

Nodoka looked aghast at the question, "Akane, I�m shocked at you.  How
could you even suggest such a thing.  I love your father, and I plan to
stay by his side until my dying day."

Akane's face relaxed, and she smiled.  "Good, because I don't want to lose
you too."

Nodoka didn't understand the cryptic response, but she didn't have much
time to decipher it when she noticed some movement from the kitchen out of
the corner of her eye.  Turning, she expected the girl and the panda to
emerge once more into the living room having accomplished whatever it was
they had been doing.  However, she hadn't been expecting this.  A boy, some
sixteen or seventeen years of age, with black hair, blue eyes and wearing
familiar Chinese clothing walked into the room.  Behind him was an older
heavy set man wearing a light tan martial artist's gi and a white kerchief
that covered his entire head.

"G-Genma?!?"  If she hadn't been already sitting she probably would have
fallen over in shock.

"Hello Nodoka, my... wife."  It was hard to say what other emotions were
mixed in with that statement, but the sarcasm was impossible to miss.

<Oh no.> Her hand covered her mouth reflexively, <He already knows.  I
hoped I could break this to him gently, but he already knows.  How he must
think of me.> "W-When did you get here?"

"I've been here since before you arrived, Nodoka."  He walked over to stand
in front of her, "So, did you ever love me, or was our whole marriage
merely a farce?"

"No!  No no no.  It's not like that.  Please don't think that Genma.  I
loved you.  I wouldn't have married you otherwise."

"But still you'd pick him over me, the man I had considered, until now, to
be my best and oldest friend.  I've been faithful to you over all these ten
years, so why couldn't you be faithful to me?  Did he give you presents?
Promise you things I couldn't provide?  Did he worm his way into your
heart, seducing you, making you love him rather than me?"

Nodoka jumped up and slapped Genma across the face.  The angry flush in her
cheeks warred at odds with the tears falling from her eyes.  "Don't you
dare say that.  Soun is a gentleman and would never do such a thing."  The
tears finally won out and she fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands.
"I'm sorry Genma.  I-I'm so, so sorry.  I never meant to hurt you.  Blame
me if you must, but please, don't blame Soun."  Any more was lost as she
wept uncontrollably.

Genma's face, the red hand print stark across his cheek, softened,
saddened.  For years now, the thought had tickled at the back of his mind,
whispering ever so gently, that in the many years that he was away, his
wife may not have remained faithful to him.  His life on the road was a
lonely one, and there was the rare occasion where he had considered finding
companionship in the arms of another woman, but he had never acted upon
such an impulse.

It was in these times when the whispering made itself most felt, that if
such thoughts had occurred to him, then surely they must have occurred to
her as well.  Afterwards, he would always berate himself, both for his
weakness and his foolishness, quashing the whispering down into the
background once again.  His relationship with Nodoka was not some thing of
fancy or fleeting physicality, but something strong and enduring.  This is
what he had told himself to harden his resolve every time that he smothered
that quiet voice, that she felt as strongly towards him as he did towards
her and that they would always stay true to one another.

But still... a small part of him worried that they might have been right.

Now, it seemed, those near silent fears had been justified.  As he reached
a hand to his cheek, he realized that the stinging was gone, replaced by a
shocked numbness.  The earlier fear was gone, as was the rage, the
betrayal, every emotion seemed to have dropped away leaving him feeling
empty.

But there was one thing he had to know.  He knelt down next to his former
wife.  "Why him?  Why did it have to be him?  At the very least why
couldn't it have been someone else?  Someone I didn't know?  Please, tell
me that at least."

When her crying finally subsided she looked up at him and replied,
"Because... because we were both lonely people, and somehow... somehow we
managed to find comfort in being with each other.  When you went away on
your training mission with Ranma, you not only took my son away from me,
you took away my husband too.  I never meant to betray you, Genma, but you
were never there.  You were never there to be a wife to, never there to
hold, never there to love or to love me back." she paused, trying to find
the strength to say these next words, "I-I fell out of love with you, and
though I didn't know it at the time, Soun with his kind words and gentle
ways, found his way into the space you left in my heart, like I did with
him.

"And not just him.  I came to love each of the girls too like they were my
own daughters, and though I wasn't their mother, they loved me back and
welcomed me.  They all became family to me."

"Are the fireworks over yet?"

Everyone turned at the sound of Nabiki's voice.  She was standing there in
the doorway with Kasumi and Nuriko, the youngest girl had an ice cream cone
in hand and a tell tale ring of chocolate around her mouth.  When the three
of them had left the house earlier, Nuriko had been rather voluble about
wanting to know what was going on inside, and why they had to leave, and
what the panda was doing in their house, and...  However, neither Nabiki
nor Kasumi had answers to her questions, at least not ones that would have
made any sense to a six year old, from what they themselves could
understand of the situation.  Though, of course, Nabiki knew Nuriko's
secret weakness, and so when mentioned that maybe they should go get some
ice cream, there was a large 'Yay!  Ice cream!' from Nuriko, silencing any
further questions much to the older girls' relief.  Now here again they
stood, their quest for the elusive dairy product now complete.

"Yes, I think that it should be alright to come back in now.  Please have a
seat and join us.  You both should hear this."  Nodoka said waving them
over.  "And perhaps you might want to have a seat too, Genma.  This may
take a while to explain."

There was a *squink* sound, like a cork being extracted from a wine bottle
that made Nodoka realize that she had forgotten one other person, the
unfamiliar boy in the Chinese clothing.  The sound apparently had occurred
when he had extracted her katana from the floor and she watched as he
replaced the blade in its sheath before walking over to her.  He knelt down
at the table to join the others and held out the weapon towards her.

"I'm, errrr... I'm... sorry 'bout what I said earlier, Mom."  Apologies
were not something Ranma did very well, or very often for that matter, but
somehow he felt that this was important to say to her.

<Mom?> Nodoka looked the young man over.  This time there was no mistaking
the individual for a boy, the voice was too deep and the build was too
angular for even the most awkward of girls.  But the eyes, those deep blue
eyes were exactly the same as before.  "Ranma?  But... but you were that
girl before.  How...?  When...?"

Ranma gave a small sigh.  I looked like another demonstration of his curse
was in order.  "It's a long story." He began to stand up, "Here, just give
me a sec to go get some hot water and I'll-" he stopped as he felt Nodoka's
restraining hand on his wrist.

"No, wait.  I believe it's you.  I don't know what's happened to you or
how, but I believe it's you.  Whatever the reason is can wait until later,
but for now, please, just join the rest of us.  There is something that
needs to be said and you should be here to hear it."

He hesitated a moment before giving a nod.  She waited until he and the
others were all comfortably settled before taking a final deep breath to
calm herself and begin her story.


"Kimiko and I had come to be friends before she passed away.  Not close
friends really, we'd only seen each other a few times other than when Genma
and Soun got together, but when I heard about her death, I came over to
offer my condolences and my support.  Soun was a wreck.  He hadn't slept or
eaten in days as he seemed to crawl within himself with grief.  The girls
weren't doing much better either since the loss of their mother.

"Akane seemed confused and continually on the verge of tears, not fully
understanding what had happened and that her mother wasn't coming back.
Nabiki was suffering from strong denial, showing little outward emotion,
but what she did show seemed to be anger at something she could do nothing
about.  Kasumi was doing the best she could.  Being the eldest, she felt it
fell upon her to look after everyone else and to do the jobs her mother
had.  She had picked up some basic skills in cooking and cleaning from her
mother, but it was clear that she was overwhelmed."

***///***

The door opened and Nodoka was surprised to see it was young and tired
looking Kasumi who answered her knock and not Soun.  It took the young girl
a few moments to recognize her visitor before bowing politely.

"Oh, hello Saotome-san.  Please come in."

Nodoka did so, removing her shoes in the atrium before entering the house.
"Hello, Kasumi-chan.  I was hoping to come and pay my respects.  Your
mother was a friend of mine, I'm sorry for your loss."  She saw the little
girl's eyes shimmer for a moment before she gave a sniff and wipe her eyes
with her sleeve.

"Yeah, I miss her a lot."

She was trying very hard to look like a grown-up, to be strong and
supportive for her family, but she still looked like a sad little girl
trying to wear shoes that were many sizes too big for her.  Nodoka couldn't
stand to see the little girl suffer, so she knelt down and pulled her into
a hug.  Kasumi didn't resist the embrace as an up welling of suppressed
emotion from the past few days resurfaced.  She gripped the older woman
back as though she were drowning and this was her lifeline, she sobbed in
great heaves as her tears dampened Nodoka's kimono.  As she cried, Nodoka
gently stroked Kasumi's soft brown hair, and after a minute or so the tears
slowly decreased.

"I'm <hic> I'm sorry for getting your dress wet, Nana." Kasumi said as she
finally released her grip.

Nodoka just smiled gently. 'Nana' was the name she was called by the three
girls.  A couple of years ago when she had come by for a visit, she had
tried to get the four year old Akane to call her 'Auntie Nodoka', but the
closest she managed to get with the small girl was 'Auntie Nana'.  The
other two girls picked this up too and it had stuck, but Nodoka didn't
mind.  She though the name was adorable.  She had actually been a little
surprised when Kasumi called her 'Saotome-san', but she understood that she
had done it playing the role of the polite hostess rather than as a
familiar nine year old.

 "That's all right dear, I don't mind.  It's good to cry if you're feeling
sad.  It makes you feel better afterwards."  And it was true, Kasumi did
look better than she had when she first arrived, a little of the sadness
seemed to have been lifted from her.  "So, where is everyone else?"
"Daddy's the porch just looking out into the back yard.  He cries a lot,
but I don't think it makes him feel any better.  I think Nabiki is up in
her room.  She hasn't said much in the past couple of days.  I left Akane
in the living room to watch tv while I made dinner," her eyes widened
briefly, "Oh, no!  Dinner!  I left the stove on!" and with that she ran
down the hallway and into the kitchen.

Nodoka was only a couple of steps behind Kasumi, and from the sight she
found she could understand why the girl had been distressed.  Two pots were
boiling over and making a terrible mess of the stove top while a thin
stream of black smoke came from one corner of the oven.  Kasumi was
frantically turning the elements off and moving the pots to the counter,
but already the damage had been done.  The dinner she had so carefully
prepared was now ruined.  It looked as if she might begin to cry again when
Nodoka spoke up.

"It's okay, Kasumi."  She pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed the girl's
cheeks and eyes, removing the trails of old tears and the new ones forming.
"It's my fault that this happened because you came to answer the door.
Tell you what. Why don't you let me make you all dinner to make it up to
you?  And afterwards, I'll help you around the house.  Is that ok?" she
said finishing with a warm smile.

Kasumi returned the smile and nodded. "Un."

***

"After that day I would come by once or twice a week to help Kasumi clean
up, prepare a meal, or to be there to comfort the girls.  Nabiki suffered
from some terrible nightmares during that time, but aside from that, they
all seemed to slowly be returning to normal in the weeks that followed.

"Kasumi was still busy trying to take care of everything, but she didn't
seem quite so burdened as before.  Nabiki finally started opening up and
would talk to everyone again, and though she tried hard to hide it, I know
she still missed her mother deeply.  Little Akane no longer seemed as
confused over the absence of her missing parent and began to act like a
normal six year old again.  Soun finally came out of his depression and
became responsive once again to the needs of his family, though he still
seemed quite fragile in some ways.  With time, their wounds were slowly
starting to heal.

"We ended up spending a lot of time together over the next couple of years.
The house had been so quiet with Genma and Ranma both away on their
training mission that I looked forward to my visits with Soun and girls.
Towards the end I would see them nearly every other day.  Maybe it's the
mother in me, but I loved to spend time with the girls, teaching them and
watching them grow.  Sometimes Soun and I would just chat away for hours
after the girls had gone to bed.  It was nice just to have the company.

"I don't know when it really happened, but somewhere along the line, the
simple friendship I had with Soun became something more for me, and for him
too.  The point that we did finally realize the attraction between us was
over seven years ago.

"I don't expect you girls to remember it clearly, but little Akane became
terribly sick when she was about eight years old.  Your father took her to
see the doctor who said that she had the measles, but with plenty of rest
and care, her system would fight it off in about a week."

***

"I've finally managed to get her to sleep, but she's still fussing and
feverish.  I expect that she won't get much sleep tonight, and I'll need to
go and check on her in a short while," Nodoka said, walking into the living
room and having a seat at the table beside Soun.

Soun looked up from watching the late night news.  "Thank you Nodoka.  You
can't imagine what a relief its been having you here during this time.  I
really appreciate your assistance in helping me look after Akane."

"Oh, it's no trouble, Soun," she said, giving him a smile "I've grown fond
of all three girls and I hate to see one of them suffer so."

"Did you plan on staying the night again?"

Nodoka had stayed over the past four nights, ever since Akane first got
sick, so that she could stay close to the small girl.  "Yes, I think I
will, if you're sure it's not an inconvenience."

Soun gave a small laugh.  "If there is one thing your presence here is not,
it's an inconvenience.  Nodoka, you've so greatly helped me and the girls
over these past few years that you are welcome in my home anytime.  Akane,
Nabiki and Kasumi, they all adore you.  There was a large gap in their
lives after... after Kimiko died, but your being here helped to ease that
pain.  I think that they consider you to be a sort of surrogate mother to
them.  And I appreciate your presence here as well."  He gave her hand a
pat. "It's been wonderful being able to have someone to talk to, and just
being around is... comforting.  I'm not sure if I can really explain this
very well, but there's a certain additional warmness to the house whenever
you're here."

Nodoka felt her face flush from the unexpected praise.  "It's always been
my pleasure spend time with you and the girls, so there's no need to thank
me, but I appreciate the thought anyway.  It was a very sweet thing to
say."  She leaned over and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

That was all she had intended to do, just a simple friendly kiss on the
cheek, but as she was leaning back, she hesitated.  She wasn't sure where
the impulse came from, but she leaned forwards once again and kissed him
again, only this time on the lips.

Soun was a little surprised at first by the sudden and unexpected advance
on her part, but after a moment he found himself responding to the kiss.
It felt warm and soft and wonderful. They stayed like that for about a
minute, just holding each other, sharing the passionate embrace, when a cry
rang out.
"NanaaaAAA!"

They were apart in a flash.  Nodoka brought her hand up, covering her mouth
in shock. <How did...?  What was I...?  How could I...?>  Remembering the
cry, she focused on that and quickly stumbled to her feet.  "I ummm... I
need to go check on Akane."  And with that she was gone, leaving an equally
shocked and confused Soun alone in the living room.

***///***

"I really don't know what came over me that night.  I mean, I was a married
woman, and as a proper wife, I should be faithful to my husband," she said,
lowering her head shamefully, "But I hadn't been.  I kissed another man,
and found I liked it.  I was very confused and embarrassed over my actions,
and it was quite difficult to look Soun in the eyes after that.  I would
have avoided him completely if I could, but Akane still needed someone to
look after her during most of the day, so I stayed and tried to sort out my
feelings."

***

Nodoka was glad that Akane had finally gotten over her illness, her
temperature finally coming down to normal yesterday afternoon.  She was in
the process of brushing the girl's long dark hair when Akane spoke up.

"Nana?  Can I ask you something?"

"Sure you can, honey.  What would you like to know?"

"Well... ummm... did you and daddy have a fight or something?"

Nodoka blinked in response to the question, pausing momentarily in her
brushing before continuing.  "Why would you think that we had a fight,
Akane?"

"Well, I was over at my friend Yuka's house once and her parents had a big
fight.  Later Yuka told me that they didn't want to talk to each other for
a couple of days after that.  Is that why you don't talk to daddy anymore?"

Nodoka was a little surprised.  True, she had tried to avoid Soun in the
past couple of days, using Akane as an excuse to keep busy, but she hadn't
thought it had been all that obvious.  Apparently she had underestimated
the girl's observational skills and couldn't help but wonder if Kasumi and
Nabiki had noticed as well.  Probably.  She knew that Kasumi had a sort of
empathy, making her sensitive to the moods of others around her, and Nabiki
had a sharp mind, picking up on patterns   with decided ease.  Coming back
to the moment, she gave Akane a reassuring smile. "No, Akane, your daddy
and I didn't have a fight, but something did happen between us and I've
been trying to think about what to do."

Akane bounced around on her chair, a promising look on her face.  "Maybe I
can help.  Sensei says that I'm a good with problems."

Nodoka smiled again at the innocence of that statement, giving Akane's head
a small caress..  "That's very sweet of you dear, but I don't think that it
will help."

"But I wanna help.  I don't like it when you and daddy don't get along."
she punctuated the statement by folding her arms over her chest and going
into a full blown pout.

Nodoka couldn't help but give a slight chuckle at Akane's expression, and
when the little girl's face turned indignant she laughed outright.  "Ok,
ok.  I give up Akane, I'll tell you, but you have to put that pout away.
It doesn't look very pretty on a young lady." and when Akane finally did,
she continued.  "Have you ever kissed a boy, Akane?"

Akane managed to look utterly disgusted with the question, sticking out her
tongue, "Yeck!  Boys are gross.  Who would ever want to kiss one of them?"

Nodoka just smiled, "You might not feel the same way about boys in the
future."

"I don't think so.  They're all weird.  But what does this have to do with
kissing?"

"Well, there's two kinds of kissing.  One is a kiss that you give to
friends or family, and the other is a kiss that only grown-ups use.  I gave
your daddy a grown-up kiss."

"What's the difference?" she asked, not understanding the distinction.

"You'll understand some day, but basically a grown-up kiss is one you
should share only if you're  in love."

"So... does this mean that you're in love with daddy?"

Nodoka paused to consider that statement.  Was she?  She was a married
woman and it was disgraceful to even consider the idea that she might be in
love with another man.  But did she love him?  For the past couple of days
she had tried to come up with some explanation for what she'd done that
night.  The best solution she had come up with was that it had been a long
day and that she had been feeling tired and a little stressed in worrying
over Akane, so she hadn't really been thinking straight at the time.  She
had thought that that was the most likely answer, but could the answer be
much simpler?  Wisdom from the mouth of babes?

"I-I don't know, Akane.  I'll have to think about it, but I tell you later
when I figure it out."

"Promise?" she extended her right hand with the pinky out.

"I promise." she said, grasping the pinky with her own, "Now, let's get you
some breakfast and get you off to school."

***

<Am I in love with Soun?> The thought still seemed so foreign, so
inconceivable, that to even consider it was ludicrous.  And yet... she
couldn't shake the idea no matter how hard she tried.  Nodoka had been
brought up by her own mother to be proper and traditional, and that meant
being a good mother and wife, and being faithful to one's husband.  She had
lived her life around these lessons, and yet she had failed in them in some
way.  But how?  It just didn't make sense.  But then again, when had love
ever followed logic?

Nodoka looked around for something to do, for anything that would keep her
mind occupied and off of this increasingly taboo train of thought.
However, there was nothing left to do.  The kitchen had been cleaned, the
bathroom was scrubbed, the washing done and hung out to dry, and the entire
house had been dusted from top to bottom.  She'd even done some minor
mending of the girls' clothes where they had been worn out from play.  It
was all done, and it hadn't helped then either.

Realizing that this wasn't going to go away just because she wanted it to,
she finally decided to sit down and work this out.  Since obviously she
couldn't decipher how she felt about Soun, she decided to try a different
tack. <I married Genma Saotome, I am his wife and I love him. I love _him_
and no one else.> Nodoka frowned.  Why did it sound like was she trying so
hard to convince herself?  What exactly did she have to prove?

And then it hit her.

She _didn't_ love him, at least...  not like she used to.  Certainly there
was still an attraction she had for Genma, but it was dim, more like
friendly affection than any sort of romantic interest.  This realization
utterly shocked her.  She no longer loved the man she married.  She
immediately tried to recall his face, the things he said to her, the things
they had done together, and found that her memories too had become faded.

<Three years,> she thought absently, <It's been three years since I last
saw him.  Three years since he took Ranma away on that training mission.  I
wonder how he is and whether Genma is taking care of him right.  Is he
healthy?  Is he making friends?> These and a dozen or more questions
suddenly plagued her, but what bothered her the most was that she realized
she had not thought about her family in quite some time.  Weeks in fact.
This was her family and she couldn't even remember to wonder about them
from time to time?  She received the occasional letter from Genma, but they
were few and far between and didn't tell her much of what they were doing
other than training and the fact that they continuously moved around meant
that she could never send a reply, furthering their separation.  It also
didn't help that Genma or Ranma had never come by to the house in all the
time they had been gone, but still, why had this happened?

"Nodoka?  May I... speak with you for a moment."

She turned to see Soun standing in the doorway looking somewhere between
nervous and anxious.  Apparently he had grown tired of her avoiding him and
decided to confront her about the other night. <Perhaps it's best that I
apologize to him now rather than let this whole situation fester any
longer.  I can't imagine what he must think of me because of my
impetuousness.>
"Certainly, but before you begin, there's something I need to say."

"This cannot wait."  He came over and knelt across from her, back straight
and balled fists on his thighs.  His expression was serious, more serious
than Nodoka could recall him looking.

<He must be very upset with me if he won't even allow me a chance to try to
explain.> She thought with a slight frown.  She was about to break in
again, to begin her apology to him, when the unexpected happened.

He bowed to her, his brow touching the floor, palms splayed to the side.

"Please forgive me for my actions, Nodoka-san."

She blinked a couple of times.  "What are you talking about, Soun?  You
haven't done anything wrong."

"But I have." he said, still not rising from the bow.  "I deeply regret my
weakness.  I took advantage of you the other night, and though I cannot
forgive myself, I ask that you try to find it in your heart to forgive me."

<He took advantage of me?> If she wasn't confused before, she was now.
"Soun?"  He still didn't move.  "Soun, please sit up.  You're embarrassing
me."  He did so, but only reluctantly, though he still kept his head down.
"I don't know what you think you did, but you have never taken advantage of
me.  _I_ should be the one asking for _your_ forgiveness."

"No.  As a man of honor, I cannot allow you to place my shame on yourself.
When I kissed you the other night-"

"_You_ kissed _me_?  I was the one who kissed you, not the other way
around."   Soun finally looked up, surprised.  "I don't know what came over
me that night, but it wasn't your fault, Soun."

"But... but I thought that I scared you away.  You broke off so suddenly
that night, and the way seem to avoid me the past few days, I thought my
actions had repulsed you."

"I was avoiding you because I was embarrassed and confused by what I did,
not by what you did."  She placed a hand on his shoulder.  "Please don't
think of yourself as anything less than a gentleman, Soun, because you have
not treated me with anything less than friendship and respect.  I'm sorry
that my impetuous action put you through so much anguish.  I hope that you
can forgive me."

Soun seemed to chew on this new idea for a second before replying.  The
more he thought about it now, the more he recalled about the few moments
just before they had kissed.  She _had_ initiated the contact, but he was
just as guilty for not trying to stop it afterwards.  Frankly he was just
happy that she did not hate him like he so greatly feared, though why her
possible rejection of him scared him so he could not say.

"We've been friends for too long now for something silly like this to come
between us.  I forgive you if you promise to forgive my foolishness as
well."

Nodoka breathed a sigh of relief.  Finally this awkward situation between
them would be over.  "Of course I'll forgive you."  After a moment though,
she began to chuckle as a thought occurred to her.

Soun, of course, did not get the private joke. "Did I miss something,
Nodoka?"

"Oh, it just struck me what a silly situation this has been.  I mean, here
we are, two emotionally mature adults behaving like awkward teenagers," she
said before continuing to laugh softly.
After considering this for a second, Soun had to agree that it did seem
pretty silly for them to have behaved the way they did, and proceeded to
join her in laughing.  After a moment though, the laughter between them
died down and there was a pregnant pause as each didn't really know what
more to say.

"They're not going to do it, Akane."

The words were barely above a whisper, but they were still audible to the
both of them.  As the two of them turned towards the doorway, they saw
three small heads quickly duck around the corner, but not fast enough for
them not to be noticed.  Apparently school was out for the day.

"Kasumi.  Nabiki.  Akane.  Please come in here."

After a moment's hesitation at being discovered, the three girls walked
into the room at their father's command.  Each of them wore a guilty
expression on their face, like they'd been caught with their hand in the
cookie jar, shuffling nervously from foot to foot.

"I've told you before that it's not nice to spy on people.  Now what do you
have to say for yourselves?"

Each of them lowered their head shamefully, unable to meet their father's
eyes, as they all chimed out,  "I'm sorry, Daddy."

Soun let them stand there another moment before speaking again.  "Alright,
but don't do it again.  It's not polite to intrude on other people's
business.  I don't want any of my girls to grow up thinking that it's all
right to do that."  Soun knew that the chastising and their embarrassment
would likely be enough to prevent further incidents like this one.  "I
forgive you girls, but I want to know what it was that you found so
interesting about our conversation."

After a few more seconds of foot shuffling, Nabiki was the first to speak
up.  "We... we wanted to see if you and Nana were going to kiss each
other."

Soun blinked a couple of times at this.  This was not the kind of reply he
had been expecting.  "What made you think we were going to kiss each other,
Nabiki?"

"Well... Nana told Akane that you and her kissed each other the other
night.  She said it was a kiss that people who love each other do. We all
just wanted to know if you were in love with Nana."


<In love with Nodoka?> The thought seemed foreign to Soun.  He looked
towards Nodoka.  Certainly she was an attractive woman and wonderful person
to talk to.  She was an excellent cook, knew how to take care of a
household, and had done almost as much as he to raise his three girls in
the past two years.  But he had never considered her to be anything beyond
a friend, after all, she was married to Genma and he felt that he had never
truly gotten over the loss of Kimiko.

Still... there was always this feeling he got when she was around, a
feeling that wasn't there when she left.  It didn't feel like love, at
least not like what he had felt for his departed wife, but when the two of
them had kissed, there had been something more than what he would have felt
for just a friend.

Soun closed his eyes and shook his head in confusion, as if the motion
might cause a solution to fall loose.  What was going on?  Why should he
feel so uncertain like this?  He was a martial artist.  He'd spent a
greater part of his life learning to control his emotions, so why couldn't
he do something simple like figure out how he felt?

He opened his eyes and looked at Nodoka again, only this time he _really_
looked, taking in every aspect of her face.  His eyes traced the graceful
curve of her slender neck up to the tapered point of her chin and the
rounded lines of her glossy lips.  Her high cheek bones were set off by a
slight amount of blush that afforded a look of elegance and regalness,
framing the dainty nose between them perfectly.  Her soft chestnut hair
crowned her head in lazy waves, only partially covering the delicate
contours of her ears.

Soun had met his wife over twelve years ago, and from the day they were
married until the day that she died, he had never looked at another woman
with romantic interest.  However, as his gaze lingered on Nodoka, he could
feel his pulse quicken and a warmth well up from inside.

This was not love though, this was desire.  The earthly desire that any
normal person experiences when they behold an attractive member of the
opposite sex.  But when he looked into her eyes, he no longer felt confused
about how he felt.

They say that the eyes are the window to the soul.  As Soun looked into
Nodoka's eyes, he felt as if he would be swallowed up into those deep brown
pools, drawn into them by an inner beauty that equaled the outer.

This was not desire... he knew what desire felt like, and this was not it.
It was something he had not felt in many years, not since Kimiko passed
away.  This was love.

But it was wrong.  He should not feel this way about another man's wife,
especially that of his best friend, and he should not betray the memory of
his own wife in this way.  But he couldn't help himself.

<I'm sorry my dear Kimiko.  I swore to you on our wedding day that I would
never love any woman other than you, and I have tried to be faithful to my
word, but my heart has opened to another.  Please forgive me.>

He felt at odds with himself as his mind told him one thing, but his heart
cried out for the exact opposite.  What was he to do?  Which should he
follow? <Please, Kami-sama.  Tell me.  What should I do?>

As if in response to his silent prayer, a memory came to him from just
before Kimiko's death.

/*/*/*/

Soun sat in the uncomfortable chair next to his wife's hospital bed.  He
had sat there for the past four days, and if he hadn't needed to eat or
occasionally use the washroom, he wouldn't have been away from her side for
even a moment.  She looked so pale and fragile as she rested beneath the
sheets, and he watched as her chest gently rose and fell as she slept.

Four days ago she had collapsed in the middle of the living room floor,
totally unconscious, and he had immediately rushed her here to the
hospital.  The doctors had all been very nice and polite, but that didn't
matter.  From the moment they had told him that she had a malignant tumor
of the brain and that they 'were sorry, but there's nothing that can be
done for her', it wouldn't have mattered to him if they were Saints in
disguise.  He felt impotent, being able to do nothing other than slowly
watch his beloved wife die by inches.  It felt as though his heart and soul
were being dragged over burning coals and broken glass every minute that he
had to look at her in that bed, but as much as it tore at his very being,
he wished that it would never stop, because it meant that she was still
here with him.

"Soun?"

He looked at his wife's face.  She had apparently woken while he had been
lost in thought.  She had been unconscious most of the time she had been
here, only occasionally coming back into the waking world, and never for
very long.  He inwardly cursed himself for missing even a few precious
seconds because of his inattentiveness.

"I'm here, Kimiko," he said taking a hold of her hand in his while gently
caressing her forehead with the other.  "How do you feel?"

She lay her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes.  "Tired.
Very tired."

"Well, don't worry.  The doctors said that you'll be fine in no time."

She opened her eyes again and gave him a sad smile.  "Lying doesn't become
you, Soun.  Please, I'm your wife.  Please tell me the truth."

Soun felt his throat tighten up.  He hadn't wanted to tell her, to spare
her some small amount of anguish at the end, but he couldn't deny her
request.  He lowered his head and his voice became very soft.  "You... you
have a cancer of the brain.  The doctors say that they can't do anything to
help you, that it's too far advanced.  They..."  He felt his throat
constrict even tighter and he had to choke out the final words.  "They say
you have only a few days left.  Maybe... maybe even less."

"I see."  She had suspected something like this.  Her most recent waking
memories had been of this room, and each time she had felt weaker and more
tired than the last.  She would never see her daughters grow up to become
women, she would not be able to grow old with Soun.  There were so many
things that she would miss about her family because she wouldn't be there
with them, but perhaps there was one thing she could do before leaving this
world for the next.
"Soun.  There is something I want you to do for me."

"Yes.  Of course.  Whatever it is I will do it.  Anything."

"Promise me.  Promise me that you won't mourn me too long after I'm gone.
That you will go on with life without me."

"How can I do that?  You are my love, my life.  You mean everything to me,
how can I-" his words were silenced as she placed a slender finger on his
lips.

"Please Soun.  When I go, it will be very hard on the girls because they
are still so very young, but if they see that their father is always sad, I
think that it will be even worse for them.  Please be strong my darling, if
not for me, then for our children.  Promise me that my death won't be the
end of both our lives."

Soun felt ashamed.  Here was his wife, strong and noble at the end of her
life, while all he could do was to think of how miserable the rest of his
life would be without her.  He reached over and gave her a fierce hug, full
of strong, desperate emotion.
"I promise, Kimiko.  I will find some way to go on because you asked me to.
I love you."

"Thank you, Soun.  I love you too." she said in a whisper, returning the
hug.  A few crystal tears slipped from the edges of her eyes as she buried
her face in his shoulder.  "I-I'm so scared, Soun.  I don't want to die.  I
don't want to leave you or the girls.  Please, hold me and don't let go."

"Don't worry, my love, I will never leave your side.  When Death comes, I
will frighten him away.  I won't let him take you from me."

Kimiko smiled, this time taking comfort in the lie.  She fell unconscious
again soon after that, but he never let her go, not even when sleep claimed
him.
She passed away later that night, and when Soun awoke the next morning his
tears fell like the rain and would not stop.

/*/*/*/

Soun glanced towards the dojo, to the place where he knew her ashes rested
atop the family shrine, suddenly unsure what to do. <Is this what you would
have wanted?  Is this what you made me promise for?>

"Well, are you?"

Soun turned his head at the sound of Nabiki's voice, and as he looked at
his three daughters standing there, each one a small part of her, he found
his answer.

He looked back to Nodoka, back into those deep, dark eyes and said "Yes.
Yes, I am."  He took her hands into his, "I don't know if you can return
how I feel about you, Nodoka, but I want you to know that I do love you."

When Soun had looked at her earlier, Nodoka had felt a warm flush go
through her body.  She had received stares from other men who found her
attractive, but none of them had ever made her feel like this.  The way he
looked at her made her feel desirable and desired, but more than in just a
physical way.  It was something that she hadn't felt for several years now,
and she found she had missed it greatly.  But when he turned away suddenly
with a slight frown on his face, the warm feeling dropped away instantly,
replaced by an almost painful knotting in her stomach.

What was happening to her?  It was like she was on a roller coaster, on top
of the world one instant, then having the ground pulled out from underneath
her in the next.  Why did she feel this way?  Wh...?  Any further questions
she may have had were lost as his eyes came back to her.  When he spoke
those words, holding her hands in his own, it was like a dam burst inside
of her causing everything to come pouring forth in a single moment.  She
finally realized the reason for everything she had felt today and for the
past few days.

She loved Soun Tendo.

"Oh Soun, I love you too."  With a joyful tear in her eye, she wrapped her
arms around him and their lips met.  This time though, she was fully aware
of her actions and there was no hesitation on his part, but it was no less
wonderful.

Kasumi had enough sense to give the two of them their privacy and herded
her two younger sisters out into the kitchen, but that didn't keep the
happy grin from spreading across her face, matching the ones on her
siblings' faces.  Their daddy was happier than any of them had seen him in
years, and they were going to have a new mother.

***///***

Nodoka looked up from the table to meet Genma's gaze, though the silent
accusation that lay there made her flinch and turn away.
"I know that there is nothing I can say that will ever make up for what
I've done to you, but please know that I never meant to hurt you.  I wanted
to tell you years ago, how I felt about you, and how I felt about Soun, but
I didn't have any way of contacting you.  You never returned to the house,
and the few letters you sent didn't tell me where you were.  I spent close
to half a year trying to find you, visiting the dojos, training grounds and
monasteries in the areas that you had recently visited.  At each one, I
hoped to find some clue that would lead me to where you were, but no matter
how hard I tried, I couldn't catch up to you.  You would continually move
on from one place to the next, and the few times I met someone who had seen
you, you had already been gone for weeks.

"During this time, I hardly saw Soun or the girls, maybe only a handful of
days over the entire time, but every time I left, I knew I wanted to go
back and be with them.  Six months had passed and I was no closer to
finding you than when I started. I hadn't seen you or Ranma for over three
and a half years and decided at that point I had to go on with my life.  It
was probably the most difficult decision I ever had to make.
"When I returned to Nerima, I... I filed for a divorce."

She looked up into Genma's eyes for the first time since she started,
hoping to convey to him how trying it had been for her to abandon that part
of her life, but all she saw in his gaze was barely constrained betrayal
and fury.  She knew that he had heard her words, but it was too late, too
far gone for words to soften the blow.

"I don't expect you to believe me, but for what it's worth, besides the two
times that Soun and I kissed, I was never unfaithful to you while we were
still married.  From the time that I first realized that I loved Soun until
the separation was approved nearly a year later, I remained chaste and our
relation remained platonic.  We were married shortly after that though, and
Nuriko," she said, looking down at her daughter and gently stroking her
hair, "joined us about a year later.  We've all been living together as a
family ever since."


Genma was not a man of great wealth or of things.  What little he owned
filled no more than his traveling backpack which suited him just fine.  His
training mission with Ranma kept him constantly on the move, traveling from
one place to the next (sometime leaving with little or no notice), and such
a life didn't afford itself to many luxuries.  True, he would much rather
be rich and live a life of decadence, but for the sake of his only son and
the Saotome school of Anything Goes Martial Arts, no sacrifice could be too
great.

This didn't mean that he didn't have prized possessions, though these few
objects held sentimental rather than material value.  It was an odd little
collection; a figurine of a chubby little man he'd picked up in Osaka, a
single jade hairpiece from Yokohama, a small scroll adorned with images of
swimming koi.  Each trinket had a memory associated with it, but there was
one that he treasured above all the others; a lock of Nodoka's hair tied
with a small blue ribbon that she had given him on the day he left with
Ranma.  Whenever he held it, it had conjured up images of her face and
memories of their early marriage when their passions ran high.   It had
kept him warm on many a cold and lonely night with the silent promise that
someday, when the boy's training was complete, he would be back and they
would be together again.

True, the boy's curse guaranteed a delay in their homecoming, but he had
felt that such a thing would be temporary at best or could be gotten
around.  But that was not to be now.

His stomach aside, there were few things in Genma Saotome's life that he
considered to be important.  Five to be exact.  His home, his wife, his
son, his health, and his honor.  Not a long list, but it encompassed
everything he ever really needed.

Today he learned that Nodoka and Soun had narrowed this list to three.
Without him ever knowing, without a challenge, without a enemy, without a
chance to defend what was his to protect, he had lost two of the things he
held most dear; his home... and his wife.

Three.  Son.  Health.  Honor.  Not an entirely pleasant existence to look
forward to, but he had managed with little more than that for the past ten
years as he traveled across Japan with Ranma and he could do so again, _if_
he had the chance.  However, it appeared that that too would be denied him.
Nodoka had seen Ranma's girl form.   It was only a matter of time before
she understood the nature of their curses, and once she did, he knew there
could only be one outcome after that.

Nodoka had always been very traditional in her actions and ideas, and a
real stickler when it came to issues of family honor.  At least, she used
to be.  He could not see how she could look upon his attempts to raise
Ranma as a 'man among men' to be anything but a failure since their only
son was now also their daughter.  He knew that if anything remained of the
Nodoka he used to know, she would make him fulfill his end of their
agreement.  For he and his son to commit seppuku in order to restore their
family's honor.

Honor.  That's all that was really left for him now.

Yes, despite numerous actions to the contrary on his part, Genma Saotome
was indeed an honorable man.  It was a somewhat different code of honor
than what some men might follow, but it was coloured by personal philosophy
as a follower of Anything Goes Martial Arts; Victory was life.  Failure is
inevitable, but learn from it, and survive to win in the end.

On numerous occasions he had been forced to decide between his honor and
survival, and ultimately, survival would always win out since he had not
only himself to look out for, but his young son as well.  Dishonor could
always be redeemed, but only if you lived to do it.

Now he faced a similar crux.  To stay meant death to him and his son though
honor would be fulfilled.  To flee meant survival, but in that instance,
any shred of honor he may still retain would be irredeemably lost.

No choice really, but perhaps not all was lost.

Genma turned stiffly to face Nodoka, his gaze hard and level.
"Years ago, we made a promise together, that we would always love each
other and would be faithful to one another."  His eyes briefly drifted over
Soun and little Nuriko before returning to his former wife.  "Though there
were times when I was sorely tempted, I have never looked upon anyone else
the way I did you.  I've always kept that promise, and today I will keep
the last promise I made to you. But first," he trailed off, ignoring the
puzzled glance Nodoka gave him as he turned to Soun.  "There is one other
promise that I must first fulfill.  You _do_ remember our promise, don't
you Tendo?"

"Er, of course I do, Saotome.  Actually... about that..."

Genma's expression hardened.  "You're not trying to back out on me, now are
you?"

Nodoka tried to break in, completely confused by this new tack in the
conversation.
"What are you two talking about?  What promise?"

Both men passed a glance towards the other, then looked briefly at her
before turning back towards one another. "You mean you never told her?"
they chorused.

"Never told me _what_?" she asked a little suspiciously, leaning slightly
over the table.

Genma's expression turned serious again.  "Tendo and I made a pact twenty
years ago to unite our two families in marriage.  Bluntly put, to satisfy
our family honor, Ranma has to marry one of his daughters."

Nodoka's eyes went wide as she slumped back onto her heels.  She looked
between the son she had given birth to and the girls she had come to know
as daughters in a sort of mute shock before finding her voice again.
"Ranma... has... to... Oh, my." she finished, sounding very much like
Kasumi as she looked at her husband, actually, husbands in total disbelief.
<How could they decide on something so... so... vital to their children's
lives without ever telling me?  It was just so... completely irresponsible
of them...>, and then she realized that she was in no position to judge
them for their actions considering her own.

"Hey, Pop!  I already told you before.  I ain't gettin' engaged just 'cuz
you said so."

Ranma had watched quietly from the sidelines as the story of his parents
unfolded.  He thought he knew now what people meant about train wrecks or
car crashes; too horrible to watch... yet too fascinating to turn away.
For the first time in over a decade, he had a mother again, and a home too
he supposed, but as he watched on, all of that seemed to crumble and erode
away.  He hadn't lost his mother exactly, but somehow it felt as if she was
just as distant now as when he'd been training, even though she was a mere
arm's reach across the table.

And he felt... well, he wasn't sure what he felt.  Confused would probably
best sum it up, but there were small traces of other emotions intermixed as
well; anger, sympathy, and hurt betrayal.  He now understood why his father
had gone off the deep end and had tried to strangle Mr. Tendo.  But he also
thought he knew why his mother had done what she did as well.  Ranma cared
about his father... sort of... but he couldn't see how someone could keep
loving the big, fat, stupid panda, especially when he'd been away,
traipsing across Japan and China for the past decade.  It still felt wrong
the way that she had done it, though there didn't seem to be any right way
for this sort of thing to happen, but he felt he knew the 'why'.

He had said nothing throughout the whole of his mothers monologue as he
absorbed the story of what had gone on, but now that the issue of his
supposed engagement had come up again, he felt the need to express his
feelings on the subject that so intimately involved him.

Genma scowled at the sudden resistance from his son's corner and shot a
look in his direction.  Didn't he realize what was at stake here? "Shut up,
boy.  This is for your own good."

"No I'm not gonna shut up, Pop.  I'm not gonna marry some strange girl
because you made some stupid promise before I was ever born."

Akane slammed her hands down on the table and glared across at Ranma, face
slightly flushed with anger.  "Hey!  Who are _you_ to be calling _us_
strange?!?"  Her anger only increased as both Saotome men continued to
ignore her.

Genma clenched his jaw in frustration and anger, locking his gaze with his
son as he ignored Akane's outburst.  Why wouldn't the boy just shut up?  He
was going to ruin everything.
"I said; Be.  Quiet."

Ranma didn't know who the man was before him, but it was not the father he
had known for the past ten years.  It still looked like Genma, but the
whole mood of man had changed.  His father was stupid, arrogant, lazy...
but that person was gone now, replaced with someone hard, sharp eyed, and
driven to an almost feverish pitch.  This was someone dangerous if you got
in their way of achieving their goals, and right now, Ranma had become the
center of that someone's attention.  Ranma felt his defiance crumble under
his father's continued stare as he swallowed nervously, but he wouldn't
look away.  This was his life, dammit, and he wasn't going to submit to
some stupid engagement.

Soun watched as Ranma's earlier confidence wither under the older man's
stare.  "Genma.  This has been a long and stressful day for everyone.
Perhaps could we finish this tomorrow when-"

"NO!" Everyone gave a start at the strength of the denial. "No.  We will
deal with this now." <Because I won't have a chance to later.> "Will you
honor your agreement to me to marry a Tendo to a Saotome, or will you too
break your word to me?"  He hadn't been looking at her, but everyone at the
table knew who that biting comment was directed to.

Soun began to sweat slightly.  What could he do?  He didn't want to go
through with the agreement because he couldn't see anything but grief come
out of it for anyone involved, but he had to agree as to do otherwise would
violate his honor and his entire life as a martial artist.  What he
couldn't understand was why Genma was so adamant about it.  He wracked his
brain, trying to find some way that both of them could be satisfied when
and idea came to him.  He felt low to have even conceived it, like rubbing
salt in the man's already grievous wounds, but what other alternative did
he have?

"Actually," he said in a superior air that left a bad taste in his mouth,
"I think that promise was already fulfilled when I married Nodoka."

Genma was a little taken aback by that as he blinked in confusion.  He
shook it off after a second with a snarl, "Don't twist words with me Tendo.
You know perfectly well we meant our children when we made that promise."

"But we never specifically said it had to be them, either."

Genma fumed and clenched his teeth so hard that he thought they might
crack.  Why was Tendo fighting him so hard on this?  Why couldn't he leave
him with some small shred of dignity?

His eyes narrowed as he found the chink in his opponent's defenses.
"You're forgetting something, Tendo.  Once she divorced me, she was no
longer a Saotome," he said through his still locked jaw.  "Now, unless you
want to prove conclusively that have no honor, you will agree that Ranma
will marry one of your daughters.  I do not care which one," his gaze
passing over the girls, "even your youngest daughter, Nuriko, but It.
Will.  Be.  Done." Nodoka grabbed her child protectively, aghast that her
former husband could even suggest such a thing.  For Ranma to marry his
half-sister...

Soun wilted.  His last straw, flimsy as it was, was now gone. "Very well
Genma.  I-"

"No!  Genma!  Soun!  Please!  Not Nuriko.  It's immoral, it's... it's...
just not Nuriko.  Please."  Tears streamed from Nodoka's eyes as she held
her confused daughter.

Both men shared another glance as an unspoken agreement passed between them
and the nodded.  Neither one of them could ever stand see their wife cry.

"Very well.  Ranma will marry either Kasumi, Nabiki or Akane." Soun said in
a defeated tone.

Giving a grim nod, Genma turned to Nodoka.  "Will you give your approval on
this marriage?  Will you see to the future happiness of your son and
step-daughters?"

"I-I don't understand Genma.  Why are you doing this?  Why-"

"Nodoka," he said, showing only the second touch of softness towards her
since her arrival, "if our time together meant anything to you, just please
say that you will agree to this marriage."

"I... very well Genma," she said in the barest whisper, "you have my
approval in this matter."

Genma gave another grim nod, but it almost was sort of relieved as well, as
if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.  "Then, though I'm
saddened to see it go, I can leave this life with honor, knowing that my
son will be cared for."

Nodoka suddenly looked up at those words.  "Wha-What are you saying Genma?
You don't mean...?  You don't mean to take your own life just because I
don't love you any more?"

"'... take your own life...'?" Genma said slowly, not quite understanding
her statement.

"Yes.  Please, reconsider.  I realize that all of this must be devastating
for you, but there is so much to live for.  I may no longer be your wife,
but I still care what happens to you.  Don't do this."

She was trying convince him to live?  Why?  By every right she should be
demanding his death.  The fact that she was no longer his wife did not make
his promise to her any less valid.   He had sworn to her to uphold that
promise on the day that he left with Ranma, and he would honor it.  Not
that it would take much to convince him right now to let her take his life,
he didn't seem to have much left to live for.  Why?  It didn't make
sense... unless...

"You don't remember, do you."  It was a statement rather than a question.

"Remember what, Genma?" she said softly.

Her only reply was a laugh from him.  It was not a pleasant laugh.  The
mirth was tainted with bitterness and there was a hint of mania behind it.
Everyone at the table backed away from the large man, Ranma, Akane and Soun
unconsciously tensing, not knowing what might come, but on guard should he
decide to do anything.

"H-Hey quit it Pop.  You're freaking me out."

After another few seconds Genma's laughing subsided and his expression
turned dour as he studied his hands.  "The Kami must think me a wonderful
toy to play with, pulling me first in one direction, then the next.  Here I
am, preparing myself for death, and you tell me that I should live."  He
looked up to Nodoka's still cautious face, "I did not mean that I would
take my own life... I was offering it to you."

He seemed to be sane now, though for a moment she had thought that this
whole ordeal had pushed him over the edge, but Nodoka still could not
comprehend what was going through his mind.  "I-I don't understand what you
mean, Genma.  What reason...?"

His patience was at an end.  If she wanted to play ignorant, fine!  With a
sound that was half sigh, half snarl, he stood and grabbed Ranma by the
front of his shirt.  There was an indignant "Hey!" on Ranma's part, but
Genma ignored it.  "_This_ is the reason!" he said, and with one quick
toss, threw his son out into the back yard and into the koi pond.

As Ranma broke the surface of the water, shaking droplets from her hair,
_red_ hair, the feminine curves were unmistakable, especially in how the
wet silk shirt clung to her skin.
"Wa'd you do that for you big jerk?!?"

Soun, Nabiki, Akane and Kasumi had all seen the transformation earlier, but
it was still no less confusing now than it had been then.  Nuriko merely
stared in wonderment as only a young child can at such an unusual
occurrence.  Nodoka, on the other hand, could only watch in shock.  The
girl from earlier, the one she first met upon returning home, was back.
But this was Ranma, her son, the boy who had sat across the table from her
not moments ago.  Earlier, she had somehow known, _felt_, that these two
people were one in the same, but the actual sight of it threatened to shut
down her mind.

"It is a curse," Genma said in a manner-of-fact tone.

Nodoka looked up at his voice as cognizance began filtering once again into
her brain.
"A what?"

"A curse.  Much like the one I now bear.  When we were in China, we fell
into magic springs.  Now, whenever we are touched with cold water, our
bodies transform.  I turn into the panda that you saw, and Ranma turns into
a girl."

Nodoka's eyes widened as everything came in to focus for her.  What Genma
had meant earlier by him being there since before she had arrived, and why
the large animal had attacked Soun in a frenzy now made sense.

"The curses are only physical as far as I have been able to tell and will
reverse themselves with hot water, but it does not change what has been
done.  Because our son is also our daughter, I have failed to make Ranma a
'man among men', and in so doing, failed in the promise I made to you on
the day I left over ten years ago."
Realization dawned on Nodoka and her eyes widened further. <He doesn't
mean...?>

"Who you calling a 'daughter', you jerk?!  I'm a guy, dammit,", Ranma said
stepping onto the porch as she rung water from her pigtail.  "And what
stupid promise have you made this time?  You gone and got me engaged again
or somethin'?"

Genma looked to the boy turned girl, "I promised that if I failed to make
you a man, that we would both commit seppuku."

He never saw it coming.

"WHAT!?!?!  What did you go and make a crazy promise like that for, huh?!?"
Ranma yelled down at the prone figure of her father.  "Why's it I gotta die
just because of this stupid curse?!?"

"It doesn't matter," Genma said as he peeled his face from out of the
floor.

"Wha'd ya mean it doesn't matter?!?  Of course it matters!  Maybe you don't
care about living or not, but I do."

Genma reared up.  "Don't you get it, boy?  You're safe!  Why do you think I
forced the whole issue of marriage and got your mother to approve?  She has
promised to see you happily wed to one of the Tendo girls.  As long as that
engagement stands, you are safe from having to commit seppuku.  I alone
will die to atone our family's honor."

Ranma was shocked.  Was this really her father; the inconsiderate, lazy,
greedy, selfish bastard that she'd been traveling with for the past ten
years?   "P-pop?"

Genma clapped his hands on his son's small shoulders, "You're going to have
to carry on the school without me, Boy, but I know you'll make me proud."
With that said he turned once again to Nodoka, "Will you serve as my
Second?  You already have the blade here."

"Hey, wait a sec, Pop," Ranma said, grabbing on to Genma's arm, "This is
stupid.  There's gotta be some other way-"

Genma shook his arm free of Ranma's grip.  "What is your answer Nodoka?
Will you be my Second?"

"No."  Was the quiet response.

What little respect Genma had for his ex-wife was diminishing rapidly. "You
would have another do the job that is yours?"  He gave a derisive snort.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you would not honor me in this."

"Genma.  Please listen to me.  There's no need-"

"How about you, Tendo?  Will you stand in for her, taking my life like you
took everything else from me?"

Soun growled.  "Now see here Genma-"

"Shut Up!  Both of you just shut up and sit down!"  Nodoka shouted at she
just sprung to her feet.  There was a fire in her eyes that both men knew
well, the sign that she was at the end of her patience.  Grudgingly, both
men held their tongues, but still fumed at the insult done by the other as
they returned to their positions at the table.  When they were all seated
and she was sure that they were listening, she continued.

"I will not be your Second," Genma opened his mouth to say something but
she cut him off, "Please just listen to me, Genma.  I will not be your
Second, nor will anyone else.  You don't owe me your life, you or Ranma."
She shook her head sadly.

Genma looked at her in confusion.  She wasn't going to force him to commit
seppuku?  "Does this mean that you consider Ranma to be a 'man among men'?"

Nodoka looked at her son... her... child.  She had seen her son change and
heard Genma's brief explanation, so she knew that this person was still her
boy, but it was still hard to think of him as being a man of any kind... "I
don't know if he is or not," she said.  "I've only just seen him again for
the first time in over ten years, and for far too short a time to make a
judgement such as that."

"But... but what about the boy's curse?"

"It is a horrible thing to have happened to him, or to you for that matter,
but you said it changed your bodies.  It doesn't change your minds, does
it?"  Genma shook his head.  "Then what of it?  It shouldn't change who he
is.  He is my son, and there is not a single reason in the world that would
make me want to see him die.  I'm surprised that you would think I would
make you or him do such a thing."

Genma was more confused than ever.  "But what of the promise then?  Why did
you agree to it if you never intended for us to go through with such an
act?"

"Because..." she gave a heavy sigh, "because it was important to _you_.
You used to take Ranma with you on training missions when he was still in
diapers, carrying him on your back.  After he learned to stand and walk for
himself, you were there trying to teach him martial arts.  You first
proposed to take him away when he was only three years old.  I refused to
let you, of course, he was far too young, but it didn't stop you from
trying again.  You asked, pleaded, threatened and begged on many occasions
for the next two years, but was only when you showed me the contract that I
knew how serious you were.

"It was that last time that I knew it didn't matter what I said, that you
would take him with you whether I gave my approval or not.  I agreed to let
you take Ranma because I knew then that you and he would return.  If I
hadn't... if I hadn't, I think that you may have come to see me as an
obstacle to your dream of training Ranma to become the greatest martial
artist alive, and then you might never have come back to me.

"You were the one who proposed the notion of seppuku in that contract, not
me.  You were always so head strong, Genma, pushing ahead sometimes without
thought of the consequences.  It was one of the things I came to love about
you when we first met, that you never gave up, even if it made you look
foolish or that I might say 'no', but I also know that it caused you to get
into all sorts of trouble.  I didn't like the idea, but I also knew that if
'the prospect of death hung over your head', it might temper that impulse
so that you and Ranma would keep yourselves safe, and that you would raise
our son right."

Genma's first thought was that he was alive.  After psyching himself up to
go through with the event, it was almost anti-climatic to know that it
would not be necessary.  His second thought stemmed from the first.  The
reason he had escaped death was because his wife had never intended to go
through with the contract.  The only reason she had agreed to it was
because she had thought he would have left regardless, and that it would
keep him on his best behavior.
The accusations stung both hard and painfully.  He wanted to yell at her,
stand over her and tell her how wrong she was... but he couldn't.  The
reason her statements had been so painful was because how close they came
to the truth.  He _had_ considered taking Ranma away despite what she might
have said.  It would have only been for a year or two, or at least, that's
what he had told himself at the time, but to have left her permanently, he
wouldn't have done that... would he?

He wasn't so sure now.

Maybe it was the fact that he had come so close to dying, at least in his
own mind, but as he looked back, he considered many of his decisions of
past years and realized how foolish he had been.  The Neko-ken... the
engagements... Jusenkyo...  The list was long.  Still...

"I pleases me to know how much faith you had in me raising our boy," he
grumbled.

"And it pleases me to know that you thought I could make such a superficial
decision about my son and would order my family to kill themselves," was
her reply.

"Tou�he," Genma said after a moment, standing from the table.  "I don't
suppose there's anything left to say on the matter then.  Come along, Boy.
It seems like we've worn out our welcome."

"Uhhh... Sure, Pop," Ranma said, clambering up and reaching for his pack.
The whole situation left a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach.  It felt
sort of like running away again from the problem, but in the same instance,
he wasn't sure if he wanted to stay, or if it would accomplish anything.
His father wasn't wholly in the right, nor was his mother wholly in the
wrong.  Before he was even aware of making a decision, he had his pack on
and was ready to follow his father out the door, and out of his mother's
life again.

"We'll be back in a week's time to finalize the marriage agreement," Genma
said before turning to head down the hall and out the door, Ranma a step
behind.

"Genma, wait."

He halted at the insistent sound in Soun's voice, but his impatience was
clearly evident.  "What now?"

"Before, you said that the only reason you pushed the engagement so hard
was to protect Ranma from the seppuku promise you made.  It seems to me
that since that promise is no longer valid, then there is no reason to
force our children into marriage.  Will you now consider annulling that
agreement and allow them to decide their lives for themselves?"

"No." was the flat reply.

Soun sputtered, "B-but you said-"

"I never said it was the _only_ reason, Tendo, but it was the strongest.
Call me petty or spiteful if you want, but the agreement we made was an
honorable one and I will see it fulfilled."  He once again began to make
his way down the hall.

"Do you need to leave too, Ranma?"

The two men paused again, or rather, one man and one girl, at the soft
question.  Ranma turned around to regard his mother.

"I know this isn't the homecoming you were expecting or I had hoped to give
you, but I haven't seen you in a decade.  I had hoped that you might stay
so that I might get to know you again."

Ranma wavered.  He had been ready to follow his father out the door, to
distance himself somewhat from this chaotic and emotional encounter until
he could think about it more clearly.  But now he found himself wanting to
stay, to see his mother again.  He had been so happy when she had first
come in, but it all went downhill so quickly.  He didn't know what to do.

"Stay with her, Boy."

Ranma wheeled around to his father.  "What did you say, Pop?"

"I said to stay here.  I have... monopolized," the word came out sour,
"much of your life.  It's only... fair, that your mother have a chance to
see you as well.  It will also give you a chance to get to know your
fiancees better."

"Hey, Pop.  I still think this whole marriage plan of yours sucks-" He
stopped when Genma placed a large hand on his small shoulder.

"Ranma..."  Genma's expression was solemn, almost sad in a way.  Ranma
couldn't ever remember seeing his father sad before.  The older man gave a
small sigh before speaking in a quiet voice so that only he could hear.
"Ranma, I know that you dislike the situation I've put you in.  This
morning... this morning I didn't care how you felt.  This was to be the
completion of twenty year dream between friends.  You don't know how eager
I was for this day to come, there were times that I could almost taste it,
but now that it has come, it only tastes like ashes.  Today has changed me,
for the better and the worse I fear.  I may not have cared to hear your
complaints this morning, but I hear them now."

"So why don't you call this whole thing off, Pop?"

"Honor, son."  Ranma gave a small snort, and after a moment Genma returned
it with a small half smile.   "I suppose I deserve that.  My actions over
the years have not exactly been those of an honorable man, I can see that
now.  I only wish that I hadn't lost so much in order to come to this
realization.  You've always done so much better than I in that respect, 'do
as I say, not as I do'.  Honor should have been a larger part of my life,
and I see now that I have so little of it that I must hold onto whatever
small part is left.  This marriage agreement is one of them.  If there was
a way to break this off without losing more face than I already have today,
I would, but I can't see how.  I have no wish for you to marry a daughter
of that back stabber, but honor is seldom about what one wishes, but what
one must do.  Until I can think of something else, please, do this for me,
for us, for our family honor."

The red-head gave a slow, hesitant nod. "I... I understand, Pop.  I'll do
it."

Genma's face split into a wide grin.  "That's my Boy!  I know you'll do
your father proud," he bellowed, giving his son a hearty pound on the back.
"I'll be back in a week to continue your training, but I don't expect you
to slack off when I'm not here."

"Hai!"

Genma gave one last nod to his son, walked down the hall, and out of the
compound bound for who knew where.  It was the first time he could remember
ever being separated from his father like this, and even though he had left
only a moment ago, Ranma was sure that he was going to miss the big, dumb,
lazy panda.

"Ranma?"

He turned around, remembering now the large group of people waiting behind
him.  He stuck an arm behind his head a little nervously, "Errr... Sorry
'bout the inconvenience..."

His mother only smiled.  "It's no inconvenience, Ranma.  My home is your
home and you are welcome here anytime," she said in a playful chiding tone.

Ranma gave a small smile in return, letting his backpack slide to the
floor.  "Tadaima?"

"Welcome home, my son."


*************************************

Whoooooo!!!  Done!  At long last!  I've been struggling to finish this
thing off for months now, but I finally got through my pesky writer's
block.  I knew how I wanted things to progress, but I just couldn't get the
words out in the right way for the characters.  My fellow writers, I'm sure
you know what I'm talking about here. ^_^

I hope that everyone enjoyed the story, and as always, C&C is appreciated.


Next Chapter
************
Who does Akane like, and which one of the Tendo girls will be engaged to
Ranma?  All will be revealed.  ^_^


A very special thanks to all my pre-readers:
D.B. Sommers
Eslington, "the nervous author"
Aaron Ziegler
Greg Rhoades
Lawrence Ang
Louis-Philippe Giroux, "Phoenix"
Eric Chou








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