-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Shurtleff [mailto:gaijin@sfcmd.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2003 2:13 PM
To: Fan Fiction ML
Subject: [FFML] [Fanfic][Ranma/multi] A Mother's Love - chapter 2
Hiya Folks!
Here's the next installment of AML. Standard warnings applies
as usual.
Read at your own risk. :)
Requesting C&C. This is a first cut rough draft, so technical editing
spelling/grammar), style comments, and factual error stomping are all
appreciated. Per my own personal ethics, MSTings, 'Look, Ma. I'm a
comedian!', and 'I'm So Clever' quips and snipes will be
cheerfully ignored.
Many thanks to the various FFML and IRC members who provided
detailed C&C
of chapter 1. It's definitely a better tale due to your time
and effort.
This is a Ranma crossover fanfic, so it's time for the
Standard Fanfic Disclaimer.
------------------------------------------------------------
All previously existing characters taken from anime series
and used in fan fiction stories are owned solely by their
respective copyright and trademark holders. I don't own them
and I don't make any claim to them. Original characters are
owned by myself and I reserve all rights to their use.
------------------------------------------------------------
The HTML version of the story along with previous chapter(s)
can be found at: http://www.sfcmd.com/fanfic/mlove
Gaijin Productions presents:
=============================================================
A MOTHER'S LOVE
A multiple-series crossover fan fiction by Togashi Gaijin
This story is set after the end of the manga.
=============================================================
Chapter 2
Nodoka hummed a tune as she put the final touches in
preparing the morning's meal. Last night had been stressful
for them both, but things had actually progressed a lot
further than she had expected. They had talked long into the
night about her son's life and the various difficulties
challenging the young man. They had also touched on a few of
her own ideals and expectations; Ranma had been quite
surprised when she told him what her concept of 'manliness'
actually consisted of. She could tell he was uncomfortable
with the sheer breadth of knowledge required to be a 'proper'
man, and his almost total lack of knowledge about sex and
women in general was appalling.
The conversation became considerably more spirited when it
came to actually addressing the shortfalls in his upbringing.
She had been met with considerable resistance, of course, but
after she was able to associate virtually every scholastic
subject with some aspect of martial arts training, he'd
finally agreed - reluctantly - to a preliminary list of
goals. Naturally, her offer to instruct him in her family's
style of kenjutsu had been met with considerably more
enthusiasm. Now if he'd only show the same dedication to his
schoolwork.
"Morning, Mom! Mmm, smells good."
She smiled and looked over to her son at the doorway, who was
exhibiting visible evidence of his morning workout. "Good
morning, son. Now go and wash up, breakfast will be ready in
a few minutes."
"Sure!" He was gone in a blink.
Nodoka chuckled softly to herself. If there was anything that
could get a Saotome to move quickly, it was a well prepared
meal served in extra- large portions. She'd have to remember
to overstock the pantry now that her son was a part of the
household once again.
It took her several trips to bring all of the dishes out to
the table from the kitchen. She had just set the bowl of
tsukemono down next to the salmon and tamagoyaki when Ranma
came back down the stairs.
"That's very good timing, dear. Please sit down before it gets cold."
The food disappeared almost as quickly as it was dished out.
--------------------
"You'd better hurry or you'll be late for school," Nodoka
called up the stairs.
"I'll be down in a minute, Mom. I can't find my book bag."
"It's here on the side table, son."
After a brief flurry of footsteps, the misplaced article was
slung casually over a shoulder. Nodoka briefly fussed over
her son's appearance in that slightly embarrassing manner
perfected by mothers everywhere before handing him a large bento.
"Here's your lunch, dear. Now remember to come right home
after school; we have a lot of things to accomplish before
the day is over with."
"Err, can I go to the Tendos first? I'm kinda used to walking
Akane home after school every day."
"It would be better if you would ask Akane to come over here
after school first, son; I have a few things to discuss with
the two of you in private. You are welcome to walk her to her
house once we have finished, of course," Nodoka said with a
sunny smile. "Escorting a girlfriend home is a very manly
thing to do. Do come home right afterwards; we'll visit the
Tendos together later this evening to pick up all of your
other possessions."
"OK, Mom."
"Now off you go; your final exams are next week, and you can
ill afford to miss any more class time."
"Yes, Mom," Ranma replied with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
Nodoka chuckled as her son ran off to school. It was going to
be quite a task to get him to be even a little enthusiastic
about his studies. Fortunately, he was still very easy to
challenge as long as it worded in the proper manner.
--------------------
Akane glanced up at the unoccupied chain-link fence once
again. There was no macho fianc, casually flaunting his
abilities, no unthinking taunts, no hurled insults, no thrown
bag knocking the perverted idiot into the canal with her
resulting screech of outrage, no frantic hunt for hot water,
no last minute race to the gates before the first bell was
rung. Her walk to school was quiet and peaceful as it should be.
Then why did she feel so confused?
--------------------
Ranma bounced from roof to roof in an effortless glide. The
path from his mother's house to school was considerably
longer than the one from the Tendos', and there weren't any
long unbroken stretches of fence to walk upon. There were
also no canals to accidentally get knocked into and no old
ladies with their ladles and their eerily accurate aim
washing down the sidewalks and fences. There was, however, a
host of new construction to detour around. If he didn't hurry
he'd miss meeting Akane at the gates.
--------------------
"Yo, Akane!"
Akane turned to the sound of the familiar voice to see Ranma
running along top the fence of a side street. She paused just
long enough to wait for his spinning dismount. The idiot was
showing off as usual.
"Tada!" he exclaimed with a happy grin.
"Show off!" Akane spun around and resumed her trek. She could
feel her irritability rising rapidly.
"Ah c'mon, Akane. I got here as quick as I could."
"As if anyone would care."
Ranma stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the back of
his fianc,e. He had hoped that she would have gotten over
being mad from yesterday, but it seemed he was mistaken. He
started following her onto the school grounds, not making any
attempt to catch up.
"Akane, my fierce tigress of the hunt!"
*PUNT!*
Ranma quickly calculated Kuno's trajectory before he flew out
of view. Yup, she was definitely still mad.
--------------------
"SWEETO!"
Nodoka's quiet tea time was shattered by the all too familiar
cry. She held up hand and plucked the diminutive martial
artist out of the air before he could complete his intended
trajectory.
"And just what do you think you were doing with that little
stunt?" Her glare was cold enough to freeze the ocean solid.
After a quick twist and a backflip the perverted grandmaster
of Anything Goes Martial Arts was standing on the floor. He
made a production of casually dusting himself off. "Is that
any way for a sibling to greet her oldest brother? I'm just
trying to stay in character, you know."
"We've had this discussion before, Mukanjou, and you being
the eldest has very little to do with it - as you well know."
"Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying. After all, sis, you
are one absolutely stunning dame as a Japanese. Err ... not
that you aren't exceedingly beautiful all the time under any
circumstance, of course."
"Why thank you, brother, for your kind words." Frost dripped
from every syllable.
Mukanjou looked directly into the Glare of Death. "I'm in
trouble, aren't I?"
"Oh, I don't think so." Nodoka's glare turned predatory.
"Perhaps you were simply thinking of having another little
sparring session with me and Bronze? That can *easily* be arranged."
"No no no that's quite all right," he replied, shaking his
head vigorously in denial. "Once every other century or so is
more than sufficient for me, thank you very much. Besides,
I'm supposed to be on vacation, remember?"
"Unfortunately. You seem to be enjoying yourself entirely too
much, if you ask me."
"What can I say? I've got talent."
Nodoka briefly closed her eyes while she took a long slow
breath. "Do sit down, brother, and have a cup of tea."
"Why thank you, little sister, I don't mind if I do."
Nodoka plastered a smile across her face as she served another cup.
"Mmmm, delicious. Simply delicious! You always did know how
to find the best leaves. Not that it's really surprising, of
course, but still it's always a treat to share in the finer
things of life. I've always said that it's important to enjoy
life's little pleasures to the fullest extent possible."
Nodoka barely suppressed a groan. There were times that her
brother's enthusiasm was a just little difficult to take.
"I'm glad you enjoy the tea. Now, I believe that you have
something to deliver to me, correct?"
"Huh? Oh, of course. Just a moment; I have it in my pocket
somewhere." Mukanjou reached in and started pulling out a
variety of objects. "Let's see. Keys, handkerchief, wallet,
tobacco, lighter, comb, toothpick, that's not it, shaving
kit, spare shirt, sake, more sake ... hmm, better finish that
one off, ooh ...*that's* where that one went; a 92 G in black
lace! Just a sec, I know it's here somewhere. 82 C, 86 B, 79
D underwire, size 85, size 83, size 86 black lace biki ...
errr, never mind, you didn't see that, more sake, size 84
satin lace, 99 A ... 99 A? How the heck did that get in
there? 85 C, size 84 t-back, oh that's a beauty, another 84,
ah, *here* it is!"
Mukanjou set the large manila envelop down on the table
between them. "See, I told you it was in there!"
Nodoka glanced at the various objects piled next to her
brother on the floor. The stack was almost taller than he was
at the moment. She shook her head before reaching over and
emptying the contents of the envelope in front of her. She
picked up the pair of stud earrings that had tumbled out and
held them up.
"Are you sure there are no lasting effects when these are used?"
Mukanjou shrugged. "You should know that better than me.
Thenie is the one who made them in the first place, after all."
Nodoka put the earrings down with a nod. If her elder sister
said something would work, then it would work - period.
"You do realize the troll is going to notice when the boy
starts to use what you give him."
"I know. I have my own plans for those three, and it's not as
if the items were theirs to begin with."
"Can I help? It sounds like fun."
"I'd rather keep it a surprise for now, brother."
"Rats. Do let me know when you plan on starting; the
expression on the troll's face should be priceless no matter
what you plan to do."
"I believe I can manage that."
Nodoka quickly reviewed the various documents before placing
them in a tidy stack. "It looks like everything is in order.
However, what I don't see here is his license."
"Hah, got it the first try!" Mukanjou pulled out a scroll
tube and held it up. "I wanted to deliver this to him in
person, if you don't mind." The tube quickly disappeared back
into the pocket.
"Not at all. You know you'll have to stop teasing my son
along with Akane from now on, don't you?"
Mukanjou sighed. "Yes, I know. No more embracing the beauty
of Ranma's bountiful bosom, smelling the subtle fragrance of
her fiery hair, caressing the captivating curves of her pert
little derriere. Lost, all lost to me now. Ah, such are the
trials of life."
He bounced up to his feet and struck a heroic pose. "But
hold! Now that the good deed has been honorably discharged,
it is time once more to embark! The hunt for life's little
pleasures has only but begun, and it is up to me to unearth
these wonderful treasures for all to see! Farewell, my
sister, we shall one day meet again!"
In a blur he was off ...
"MUKANJOU!"
... only to halt suddenly a meter shy of the door.
"Yes, my sister?"
Nodoka pointed to the untidy heap still sitting next to the table.
"Oh. Right. Hehe, we can't leave that behind now, can we? Not
a problem, no indeed; it will just take a second and the
entire mess will be cleaned up, all spick and span, as clean
as a whistle, shipshape and Bristol fashion, you'll never be
able to ..."
Nodoka cleared her throat.
"Right away, sis!"
--------------------
Ranma glanced at the clock on the wall. Unfortunately, it had
advanced a mere two minutes from the last time he checked.
He'd promised his mother that he'd stay awake during class
from now on, but Ms. Ninomiya's antics were sorely trying his
resolve. And this was only the first day.
Damn it all, he was hungry! Won't that stupid clock *ever* move?
"Saotome!"
Oh, great. "Yes, Ms. Ninomiya?"
"It's nice to see you're not being a delinquent today. Please
read the next line out loud."
"Next line?"
"Yes, the next line of the story."
"Story?"
Ms. Ninomiya sighed. "Yes, the story the class has been
reading this year. Really, Mr. Saotome, you should pay more
attention when in class."
Ranma barely suppressed a groan. Ms. Ninomiya had spent
almost the entire period giggling over a picture book or
manga of some sort. How on earth did she expect him to
remember what was read sometime last week when he hadn't even
gotten home from China?
"Takizawa, read the previous line again for Mister Saotome's benefit."
"Errr..."
"Mister Takizawa?"
"Sorry, Ms. Ninomiya. I accidentally lost my place in the book."
"Hosokaya, what about you? ... No? ... Isayama? ... No? ...
Ashida? ... Tsunoda? ... "
"Are all of you deliberately being delinquents today?" Ms.
Ninomiya said with a huff, pulling a fifty yen coin from her
pocket. A raised hand at the side of the class finally caught
her attention.
"Yes, Miss Horiuchi?"
A petite brunette with glasses stood up. "Page eleven,
paragraph five, last line. 'and it was for him that Cathfa
made the poem beginning'."
Ranma silently thanked the girl as he opened the reader to
the proper page.
"Thank you, Miss Horiuchi. It is nice to see that *someone*
is paying attention. Now, Mister Saotome, the next line if
you please."
"Welcome to the stlangah who has come here."
"The word is pronounced 'stranger', Saotome. You need more
work on your 'r's, but there is hope for you yet."
Mercifully, the bell signaling the start of lunch finally rang.
--------------------
Nodoka stood in the center of the dojo and gave the interior
a quick examination. The walls were already showing a few
signs of wear from her son's recent efforts, and if events
turned out even close to what was planned the two of them
would soon be gleefully knocking more than few new holes into
the structure. Breaking in a new fight hall was always such a
joy, and spending time together repairing the damage simply
added to the pleasure.
Her thoughts turned to the last twenty years. It was
difficult to accept the number of serious errors in judgment
she had made in her plans, not the least of which was the
increasingly high cost of owning a residence inside of Tokyo
proper. It was somewhat ironic that Ranma's extended absence
had actually allowed her to maintain ownership of the two
adjacent properties while they were away, for her original
funds would never have covered the expense of feeding their
voracious appetites if they had stayed at home the entire
time. Genma's drinking by itself had been a strain on the
budget from the very beginning of their relationship;
fortunately he had never acquired a taste for gambling.
She had been close to despair when the house had been
practically razed by the girls' battle over a pillbox, of all
things, and the subsequent period spent living with the
Tendos had just added to the stress. Kasumi was a dear, but
her resentment over having someone else in her 'territory'
had been easy to see. With her funds virtually depleted and
the chaos surrounding her son it had become quite apparent
her original plans would be met with nothing but failure, and
failure was unacceptable.
Asking Father for help had been a humbling experience, and
one she had no desire to repeat. It had taken a little effort
to disguise the source of her new found wealth which had been
instrumental in effecting repairs to the household, but she
now had a steady income that was accessible only by her. Her
older sister could have rebuilt the house and erected the
dojo with little effort, but its sudden appearance would have
brought with it entirely too much unwelcome attention. It was
better simply to allow the extremely efficient Nerima
contractors to perform the work, and the results were quite
satisfactory.
Enough. She still had to finish tweaking her own reactions to
the marked differences between the daisho and her usual
weaponry. Sword fighting without her shield always felt so ... wrong.
The kendoka raised her twin bokken in a classic Jikishinkage
Ryuu kenjutsu position. She held guard for just a moment
before flowing into the first of several kata.
--------------------
Ranma bounced out the window at almost the same instant the
lunch bell sounded, barely pausing long enough to grab his
bento. He raced over to his favorite tree without even
noticing the one story drop. Having the first year students
up on the third floor and the third year students on the
ground floor was but one of many peculiarities at Furinkan.
Three leaps and a careful plop later, he was safely ensconced
in the tree's upper branches. His mouth watered in
anticipation while he unknotted the furoshiki. As much as he
enjoyed Kasumi's cooking, her bentos were never large enough
to satisfy his mid-day hunger. Mom's cooking was almost as
good as Kasumi's and she always served triple portions.
Amazingly, he was left alone long enough to savor every bite.
It took but a moment to stack up the bento and retie the
furoshiki. The lunch period was almost over and there was
just enough time to talk to Akane before they had to head
back upstairs for the next class. It took several minutes for
him to locate her; she was sitting on the bank next to the
soccer field with her friends Yuka, Sayuri, and Ume.
"Saotome!"
The pig-tailed youth sighed as he turned to face his
opponent. So close; he'd almost made it through an entire
lunch period for once. "What do you want, Kuno?"
"The time has come to put an end to your perfidy once and for
all. I strike!"
Ranma flipped out of the way of the sudden stop thrust. Kuno
was using the katana again. "Hey, watch it!"
The blizzard of slashes and thrusts continued unabated. Ranma
flowed around the intricate pattern untouched.
"What are you trying to do, kill me?"
Kuno stopped briefly, pointing with the sword. "Akane Tendo
and the pig-tailed girl will never be free as long as your
miserable existence continues. No matter the cost, my goddess
*will* be released from your bonds."
The blizzard of steel resumed unabated.
Ranma was more than a little fed up with bokken-head himself.
"I don't have time for this, bubblebrain ... Hah, too slow
... Still too slow ... You call that an attack? ... Even
Gosunkugi could aim better than that ... You might hit a
snail some day ... I'm over here, stupid ... Oh look! You
almost scared a fly ... Say goodbye, moron." Ranma quickly
chopped the sword from Kuno's grasp before planting his feet
on the ground.
"HIRYUU SHOUTEN HA!"
Ranma held his pose for a moment as the ki-fueled tornado
swept the hakama-clad youth off into the distance. Glancing
up at the clock, he groaned once before running into the
building. There was barely enough time to get back to his
seat before the bell rang.
--------------------
The next class was a homeroom study period. These could be
slow torture when Ms. Ninomiya came back from lunch at the
same time as the students, but there was always a better than
even chance that she'd be late and show up halfway through
the period. Fortunately, today was no exception.
Ranma glanced over at his reluctant fianc,e who was currently
working on math problems for tomorrow class. At least she
wasn't glaring at him like she did yesterday.
"Ummm ... Akane?"
Akane looked up from her studies, a neutral expression
adorning her features. "Yes, Ranma?" she replied.
"Are ... are you doing anything right after school?"
"Look! He's asking her out on a date!" "A date? I thought
they were married." "I wish my boyfriend was that bold." "I
don't see a ring." "He's so handsome." "What if he's finally
going to do it?" "Saotome? Yeah, right." "I still don't know
why she's always the lucky one." "I wouldn't mind doing it
with her." "Pervert!" "Tendo? She'd rip your arms off." "Not
her, the *other* her." "Ewww, gross." "Quiet, he'll hear
you." "But what a way to go." "You've *got* to be kidding."
"You ARE a pervert." "They make such a cute couple." "He's
such a hunk." "I wouldn't mind a bit of *that*!" "Honzo's at
it again."
Ranma had just about enough; what was *with* these people? He
stood up quickly and glared.
"Would you all just SHUT UP!?!"
The student rumor mill halted as quickly as it had begun.
Ranma sat back down, painfully aware of the stares and the
complete silence. "Akane?"
"I'm sorry, Ranma. I promised Yuka I'd be over to help study
for the tests next week."
Ms. Ninomiya chose that moment to walk into the classroom,
effectively cutting off any further conversation. Ranma
slumped into his chair.
--------------------
"Hello?"
Kasumi stopped scrubbing the kitchen floor at the sound of
the voice. "Just a moment please," she called out before
removing the rubber gloves, apron, and scarf. It simply
wasn't proper to receive a guest while dressed in dirty work
clothes. She smoothed a few wrinkles out of her skirt before
heading to the front of the house.
Kasumi wasn't particularly surprised to see the Saotome
matriarch waiting patiently at the door. What was a bit out
of the ordinary were the *two* carefully wrapped katana she
was carrying instead of her usual one, along with a large
cloth bag of some weight.
"Good afternoon, Auntie Saotome; please come in. Would you
care for a cup of tea?"
"Good afternoon, Kasumi. Thank you; that would be delightful."
A quiet scrabbling suddenly emanated from down the hallway.
The noise halted immediately before the two women walked into
the main room.
"Please take a seat, Auntie Saotome. I have a new tea you
simply must try; it will only take a couple of minutes."
Kasumi quickly hustled back to the kitchen.
"Of course, dear." Nodoka briefly scanned the room while she
sat down at the table. Soun was sitting on the edge of the
walkway facing the koi pond, his nose buried in his
ever-present newspaper. No one else was in the room at the
time, but there were signs of a hastily abandoned game of
shogi over in the corner.
Kasumi returned a few minutes later with the tea serving.
Nodoka spent a pleasant half an hour trying out the Shinju
Tsuyu Gyokuro tea Kasumi had recently discovered. The girl's
pastries were excellent as always, and the two swapped a few
more family recipes from their respective collections. Nodoka
set her cup down once the proper socializing had been completed.
"Kasumi dear, have you seen my erstwhile husband today?" A
brief hesitation in setting her cup down on the table was the
only reaction exhibited by the Tendo girl on this pronouncement.
"Of course, Auntie Saotome, he and Father were just ..." She
looked about the room. "He must have stepped out just before
you arrived, Auntie. Father? Do you know where Mr. Saotome is?"
Soun shook his head back and forth several times in the negative.
"Do you know where he went, Father?"
Soun repeated his gesture.
"Did Mr. Saotome mention when he would return?"
Again the silent response.
Nodoka's eyes narrowed momentarily when she noticed Soun's
hands shaking ever so slightly. "I see," she said with a
barely suppressed growl.
Nodoka turned her attention back to the eldest Tendo girl.
"In that case, I have a small favor to ask of you, Kasumi."
"Of course, Auntie Saotome."
"First, Ranma and I will be coming back over after dinner to
pack up his possessions, if that is acceptable."
"Why of course. That must mean Ranma and Mr. Saotome are
moving back home with you again. You must be very happy to
have your family together once more."
"I'm afraid that's not quite accurate, Kasumi dear. Ranma has
already moved back home with me; what Genma does from this
point on is entirely up to him. I do have a few items that
might influence his decision and had counted on my being able
to personally deliver them to him today. Unfortunately, I am
running a little short on time at the moment and must hurry
back before Ranma returns home from school."
She removed the bound ledger and a large manila envelope from
her bag and put them down on the table. Kasumi's eyes widened
slightly when she saw Nodoka place the wrapped Saotome honor
blade next to the stack. Picking up the other sword, Nodoka
stood up and gave Kasumi a formal bow.
"Kasumi, can you please make sure that these items are given
directly to Genma when he returns, and *only* to him? I
apologize in advance for asking such a favor of you, but you
are the only one in this household I would trust with such an
important task." Nodoka bowed once more.
Kasumi scrambled to her feet and returned the bow. "I am
honored by the trust you have placed in me, Mrs. Saotome. I
will do as you have requested."
"You have my gratitude, Kasumi. I will see myself out so that
you may safely secure the items for Genma's eventual return."
Nodoka bowed one last time before walking over to the
hallway. She stopped and turned to face the two Tendos.
"One more thing you should know, Kasumi dear; Mrs. Saotome no
longer exists. I am Nodoka Shouri once more, and I sincerely
hope our two families can remain on friendly terms in spite
of all the recent stress and turmoil. We shall return this
evening to retrieve Ranma's possessions. Good day." Nodoka
bowed briefly before leaving the residence.
Kasumi stared briefly at the empty hallway before responding
with the only comment the situation would allow.
"Oh, my!"
--------------------
END CHAPTER
============================================================
Mark Shurtleff
email: gaijin@sfcmd.com
irc alias: Gaijin -or- togashi_gaijin
fanfiction homepage: http://www.sfcmd.com/fanfic
============================================================
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