Duty of Care: Graduation Day

A Ranma Fanfiction

By Mintaka14

"Miss Tendo, Mister Saotome."

They turned at the sound of Principal Saito's voice, and he found himself smiling broadly as he handed them the envelopes. He already knew what was in them, but it was a pleasure to watch the looks on their faces shift from apprehension to disbelief to joy as the contents sank in.

"We got in!" Akane gasped, her pretty face lighting up. "Full scholarship, we did it!"

She flung her arms around Ranma's neck, laughing, and Saito's smile grew wider as the dark-haired martial artist turned a brilliant red. Although, Saito noticed, he didn't pull away. In fact, he seemed to be hugging her closer.

"Hokkaido University," Akane sighed happily.

Ranma was looking somewhat poleaxed, but Saito couldn't tell if that was from the news or the girl in his arms.

"Yeah," the boy said, sounding stunned. He started to grin, and it spread as he looked down at the letter in his hands again.

Saito had suggested to the pair that all application and scholarship correspondence should be directed through the school. He had not mentioned the possibility of sabotage.

He could tell when their families were approaching from the way that Ranma and Akane practically jumped apart. Akane had a huge blush spreading over her face that would have been a complete giveaway if her father was actually perceptive, and Ranma was looking anywhere but her as the Tendos drew closer.

Akane's father would stop every so often to exchange portentous and self-important greetings with the other town councillors who were there. Kasumi, however, seemed to have a smile and a word for almost every person they passed. She stopped to speak to Mrs Nakamura who ran a fish stall at the market, and had a gentle smile for Mr Yamato, the local drycleaner. She even seemed to know the Tanakas who owned the adult lifestyle shop near the station.

Saito met the sharp eyes of the middle Tendo sister, and she gave him an almost respectful bow.

"Nabiki Tendo. Are you enjoying terrorising the professors at Waseda?" Saito asked with dry humour. She quirked an eyebrow.

"They're not as much of a challenge as you, sir."

He turned his attention to Soun Tendo, who was visibly tearing up at the sight of his youngest daughter clutching her graduation certificate. Kasumi had her hand gently on his arm.

"Mr Tendo, I'm so glad your family could be with us today. You must be so proud of Akane," Saito said, and repressed a sigh as Soun overflowed with excessive emotion. In between the sobs, he thought there was something about her mother and my little girl, but it was hard to make out the words. Saito wondered, not for the first time, how the man was able to hold it together enough to sit on the town council. He also wondered if this explained a few of the council decisions that he'd questioned in the past.

"Your daughter has been a pleasure to teach. Akane has shown so much tenacity in both her academic studies and her martial arts, and she has a bright future ahead of her."

"My little girl will be such a wonderful wife and mother, just like my Natsumi," Soun sobbed, and Saito gave him a hard stare that the man didn't even notice. "If only she could be here to see her daughter, to see the grandchildren Akane and Ranma will give us."

Saito shot a quick glance at Akane, who looked like she was going to explode. Her hand was gripping her graduation certificate too tightly, and it was starting to crinkle around the edges. Ranma surreptitiously brushed her other hand holding the Hokkaido envelope with his fingertips, and she sucked in a deep breath, letting it go in a hiss.

"Now, daddy," Kasumi said gently, "you remember you agreed that you would wait until after all their other commitments were sorted out before you started planning a wedding again."

Soun's tears had disappeared as if a tap had turned off. "But Kasumi, it's been months since we've seen any sign of Shampoo or Ukyo."

"Still, it doesn't do to rush these things," Kasumi said with a bit more steel in her voice.

"The sooner Ranma and Akane get married and join our families as we've always planned, the sooner Ranma can carry on the martial arts traditions of our school and they can give us grandchildren," Soun was almost whining now.

"Akane isn't going to take over the dojo?" Saito interjected, as if he didn't know Mr Tendo's answer. "She's a smart girl with a lot of drive, and she's a talented martial artist. She would be perfect for the role, if she wanted it."

Saito saw the flash of hurt in Akane's eyes when her father gave an indulgent laugh. His own eyes dropped briefly to the envelope she had hidden in the folds of her skirt. Soun Tendo was going to find out before too long that his daughter had her own plans, and Saito, remembering the past year of conversations and counselling with Akane, wished he could be there to see it when that happened.

"Akane has some good ideas about marketing the dojo," Nabiki said, sounding bored and disinterested. "She's thinking about starting up women's self-defence classes too."

She became aware of Saito's sharp look, and Kasumi's gentle interest.

"What? We're sisters, we've talked about things, and I listen. If you want to know what makes people tick, you learn to pay attention," she said almost defensively.

Soun's frown of confusion was gathering as he started to realise that something was happening outside of his little script for the future. Before he could say anything, his eldest daughter's hand closed a little more firmly on his arm, drawing him away.

"Daddy, remember you needed to talk to Mr Fukuhara," she said with soft inflexibility.

As the Tendos moved away, Saito glanced at Akane and Ranma, who were still close by and said quietly, "I take it you haven't informed your parents about your plans yet."

"No, not yet," Akane said. Ranma snorted.

"Given the circumstances, I think that's wise," Saito told them. "Have you had any thoughts about how you're going to manage the move to Hokkaido?"

"We've got a few plans in place," Akane told him. "Nabiki is going to help us – she's got a few contacts, and this time I think she's really genuine. She hasn't even charged us."

"I still think we need to keep an eye on her," Ranma muttered, but without any heat. "I know she's promised not to say anything, but what's to say she'll keep her promise if someone makes her a good offer?"

Akane huffed at him. "Nabiki's still my sister. And she may have her faults, but she never breaks her word once she's given it. It's part of why people keep doing business with her. You just have to be careful what she's actually promising." A slightly wicked smile tugged up the corners of her mouth. "And besides, I happen to have some leverage this time."

Saito found himself nodding in approval. The optimist in him might have wanted to believe that Nabiki had taken to heart their conversation in her final year of high school, and embraced sisterly love and loyalty. The pragmatist in him accepted that it was wise to have a few good cards in your hand when dealing with Nabiki Tendo.

They heard Genma Saotome's voice rumble over the dissipating crowd, and Saito saw Ranma and Akane tense up again as Ranma's father muscled his way towards them with his wife picking her way daintily behind him. She still had her sword strapped to her back, and it was drawing more than a few startled glances from the other parents.

Saito pretended he hadn't noticed it, and offered them each a polite, restrained bow.

"Mr Saotome, Mrs Saotome, thank you so much for coming today. You must be so proud of Ranma; he's worked very hard to achieve excellent results and graduate today, in spite of all obstacles." Saito couldn't resist the subtle dig, but they seemed to miss it.

Ranma's mother reached up to straighten her son's collar, her eyes misty.

"So manly," she said huskily, and Ranma ducked his head.

"Aw, mum," he said in pleased embarrassment, and staggered as his father clapped him on the back.

"About time to settle down and take over the dojo," the older martial artist harrumphed. Ranma clutched at the Hokkaido University envelope that he held out of sight at his side, and Saito saw the boy swallow and tense.

Saito narrowed his eyes, and made a mental note to track down a couple of former school friends who he knew were teaching at Hokudai to enlist their help for Ranma and Akane. It was above and beyond what he did for most students, but he had a feeling that this pair could be extraordinary if they were given a chance to strike out on their own, and they weren't likely to get that chance if someone like him didn't step in.

And besides, a small, ignoble part of him admitted that it would be deeply satisfying to foil the plans of their lunatic parents.

Ranma's dark blue eyes had morphed from reflexive panic to a look of hard purpose that Saito remembered from the last time the martial artist had faced down a foe on school grounds. He suddenly seemed tensed for battle.

"We'll do that when we're good and ready, and not before," the young man growled.

His father began to swell with ire, until Nodoka put her hand on his arm.

"Now is not the time or place to discuss this," she said with implacable gentleness, and Genma deflated visibly. With practised diplomacy, Saito pretended that he hadn't seen anything of the brief show of family tension.

He exchanged a few more meaningless pleasantries, and then the Saotomes moved away to join the Tendos near the gym entrance. Before Ranma and Akane could join them, Saito spoke.

"It's been a true pleasure to teach the both of you," he told them, and Ranma gave him a disbelieving look.

"Even with all the stuff that's happened?"

And Saito allowed himself a genuine grin in response.

"Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. I can honestly say that you are the most interesting students I have ever had in this school," Saito said, twinkling at them. "I'm looking forward to hearing about what you do from here."

Akane's bright smile lit up again. "Thank you, sir, for everything you've done."

"I'm going to university," Ranma said, sounding dazed at the thought.

"Yes, you are," Saito agreed. "I always knew you were up for any challenge."

The dazed look cleared a little, and Ranma grinned at him.

Akane inevitably fell into step beside Ranma, and Saito knew they probably didn't even realise what they were doing. As they followed their families out the door, they were bickering again, but Saito saw the way that Akane coloured as she looked up at the dark-haired martial artist, and the way Ranma's grin lit up as he leaned, ever so slightly, in towards her.

Saito shook hands with more parents, greeted and congratulated students, and as the gym cleared, leaving a disordered welter of displaced chairs and the odd program or two, Saito let himself relax a little. He tipped his head back, staring up into the rafters. Really, the contractors had done an excellent job on the repairs – he couldn't see any signs of the damage anymore.

Saito hadn't heard anything further from the Kuno family after receiving the official letter and documents advising him that Tatewaki Kuno would be transferring to another school, and he had spared a moment of pity for the principal of whichever school that was. It was a testament to the wealth and power of the family that no hint of the findings at Tatewaki and Kodachi Kuno's family home had made it into the news, and the reporting on Kodachi's little adventure at Nerima High School had died down with suspicious rapidity.

Ukyo Kuonji had not graduated with the rest of her class. Welfare had taken her into custody when they had been unable to trace any of the girl's family, but she had disappeared, leaving several outstanding charges of property damage.

There had been no further sign of either the yeti-ox-crane-eel creature or the strange boy that turned into a piglet, and Akane had remained tight-lipped, still crackling with fury, whenever the subject of pigs came up.

The past year had been considerably quieter. Whole months had gone by at a time without any visitations from cursed creatures seeking vengeance, or obsessed fiancées, and if Ranma and Akane were still dealing with such things, at least it didn't follow them onto the school grounds.

Saito took the quiet with a sense of relief, but he did keep one eye open in case Happosai returned. From everything Ranma had said, his elderly master had a very, very long memory for grudges.

After a further illuminating conversation with Ranma about his master, Saito had taken the precaution of making it widely known that he now kept a spray bottle labelled 'Woman Repellent' on his desk. He had looked into obtaining the powder that Ranma had talked about, but after hearing about the lengths that Ranma had had to go to in order to get his hands on it, Saito had decided in the end that coloured water and bluffing was good enough. Most of the students thought it was a hilarious joke. Some parents looked askance at it, and Miss Watanabe sniffed every time her eyes fell on it, but so far Saito hadn't seen any sign of the old lecher near his school again, and that was worth any amount of personal embarrassment that he might feel.

It could also be that the old goat had decided to leave the country, or been finished off somehow by one of his victims, but Saito wasn't that hopeful.

Saito stood at the window of his office, watching the last graduating students wander out the gates. One of them, his tie unravelled and his school coat loose, turned to grab the hand of the girl brushing short dark hair out of her eyes. The boy shot a quick look around the emptying courtyard to make sure they weren't being watched, and pulled her in for a kiss before he tugged her into a run to catch up with their families.

Miss Watanabe came up behind Saito and handed him one of the two glasses of champagne she was holding. He raised his, and they clinked their glasses together in celebration.

"We survived another school year," Saito said.

Miss Watanabe took a mouthful of champagne. "It's going to be a little dull around here next year," she said, her gaze on Ranma and Akane disappearing in the distance.

"I certainly hope so," Principal Saito said with deep and sincere feeling. "I'm not sure my liver could survive much more excitement."

The End.