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It was bright and sunny as Furinkan High School let out for the day. Avoiding his 'cute' and 'uncute' fiancées as well as his Amazon 'wife', Saotome Ranma leapt away across the rooftops in the direction of Nerima's shopping district.
Ranma had just landed on the street and was looking at the various stores, trying to decide where to look first for a gift for his mother's upcoming birthday when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me please. Are you Saotome Lan Ma?" a cute, melodious voice asked.
"Yeah, I'm Saotome Ranma, who're you? If my Oyaji promised ya somethin', you'll have ta talk to him," Ranma responded, turning to face the speaker. Before him stood a beautiful Chinese woman. While her body was similar to Shampoo's, Ranma could tell she wasn't a martial artist, at least not a serious one. Her movements were simple, lacking the finesse that came from practicing the arts. She had long, straight black hair and a pretty face that conveyed maturity, while her green eyes held a glint of mischief. Ranma blinked as he realized she was actually close to his age.
"I Ying-ying, Jusenkyo guide send me to find you, Saotome-sama," the girl replied with a smile. "He hear about what happen to Naniichuan that he send you. I here to make sure you receive cure this time. Please to follow me." Finishing with a slight bow she walked a short distance down the street, pausing to wait for Ranma to follow her.
Ranma blinked a few times as her words sank in. A goofy grin formed on his face as he raced after her. Never gonna be a girl again! Never gonna be a girl again! Never gonna be a girl again!...
After a couple of minutes Ying-ying stopped in front of a hotel. "This where I staying. I have tub of Naniichuan set up in room." Motioning for Ranma to follow her, she entered the Yasuyasu Kouchou Hotel.
Farther down the street Tendo Nabiki stood glowering, lowering her camera. Saotome, I'll make you suffer for betraying imouto-chan, she thought. Turning to head home she paused and shook her head, I've been around Imouto to long. These pictures will be worth quite a few yen though.
Ranma leapt out of the wooden tub sitting in the middle of Ying-ying's room and ran over to the bathroom. Ying-ying heard Ranma splashing himself with tap-water. The room itself was small and only provided a futon, television, and dresser. However, the room did contain the aforementioned private bathroom. Coming out of said bathroom, Ranma grabbed Ying-ying in a hug and spun her around, laughing in joy.
Ying-ying developed a rosy blush and thought, I wonder if he would like to go on a date. A second later she remembered the warning about his connection to the Joketsuzoku. Then again, if we did I wouldn't last long once his would-be-wife found out. "I is happy to have helped. Excuse please, I need to prepare for trip home."
Calming down, Ranma asked, "Er, can ya wait a couple a days? I have some friends that are cursed too."
Nodding, Ying-ying said, "I stay for few days. Tell friends to ask for me in lobby."
"Thanks." Smiling, he left and started roof-hopping in the direction of the Tendo Dojo.
Meanwhile, at the Tendo Dojo...
Nabiki sat on the couch of the Tendo-ke's living room with a self-satisfied expression as she counted the yen she had just collected. Pausing to look at the gathered crowd she almost felt sorry for Ranma.
Gathered around the table, Xian Pu, Kounji Ukyo, and Tendo Akane were looking at several pictures and generating very large battle auras. Nabiki idly wondered if the tatami they sat on would ignite from the degree of heat they were producing. She moved away slightly when the heat started to become too much for her, watching as Akane stood and stormed off to her room.
To one side Tendo Soun was alternating between sobbing about not being able to join the schools and entering the beginnings of his "Demon Head" attack. Beside him Saotome Genma was moaning about being "cursed with such an honorless son."
Nearby, Hibiki Ryoga sat with several thoughts running through his head. How dare he cheat on Akane! I'm going to kill him! ...wait, now Akane will be free! After I kill that bastard I can ask her on a d-d-d-d-date. Ryoga began to chuckle with a somewhat maniacal gleam in his eyes.
Mu Tsu was in the backyard reveling in Ranma's impending doom, describing the punishment Ranma would soon receive. His cheers went unnoticed until he started fantasizing about how "his Xian Pu" would finally accept him, at which point a bonbori flew out of the house and knocked him into the koi pond. Climbing out of the water and flying to the top of the perimeter wall he noticed Ranma literally dancing down the street chanting "Never gonna be a girl again!" Flying towards him, Kamo-Mu Tsu blinked in surprise as Ranma waved to him, not that Ranma could see the blink or would have noticed even if he could.
"Hey Mousse. I've got good news for ya. The Jusenkyo Guide sent his niece with a cure for my curse. I got her ta wait so you an' Ryoga can get cured too. She's at the Yasuyasu Kouchou Hotel, jus' ask for Ying-ying an' tell her I sent ya."
He would share his cure with me after everything I've tried to do to him, Kamo-Mu Tsu thought. The realization of just what was about to happen to Ranma and how little he deserved it hit Mu Tsu so hard he nearly ran into a telephone pole swerving to the side at the last second. Unfortunately, he failed to miss the mailbox next to it. Noticing Ranma continuing toward the Tendo's Kamo-Mu Tsu scrambled to follow Ranma down the street. Trying his best to stop him, Kamo-Mu Tsu flew in front of him and began quacking.
"Don't worry 'bout it, Mousse. Just get yer cure an' tell Ryoga about it if ya see him." Ranma proceeded to jump over the wall of the Tendo-ke and walked in the front door calling "Tadaima" loudly in a cheerful voice.
Kamo-Mu Tsu quickly flew into the Tendo's kitchen to get some hot water. One overturned kettle later, Mu Tsu rushed into the living room to see what was happening. Ranma was trying to simultaneously explain himself and dodge blows from five people. Mu Tsu considered shouting but decided it would be pointless since his voice would be lost in the fray the same way Ranma's was. Grabbing Xian Pu he attempted to pull her away from the fighting. He caught a nod of thanks from Ranma before a bonbori strike knocked him unconscious.
A minute or so later Ranma got caught by a lucky strike from his father and he soon found himself nearly unconscious as his other "friends" and "family" began raining down blows. His last observations before losing awareness were the sound of his mothers voice and the sight of Ryoga's umbrella approaching his face along with the maniacal gleam in the sometimes-piglet's eyes.
The end of Ryoga's umbrella tumbled through the air in the opposite direction of his strike. The Eternally Lost Boy failed to notice however as he was too busy staring at the sword pointed at his throat.
"What is going on here?" Saotome Nodoka asked, pressing the tip of her katana against Ryoga's throat. She might have gotten a response if the room's occupants weren't mimicking fish out of water.
Focusing on the bandanna-clad boy who had attacked her son she asked, "What is your name, young man?" Her tone of voice was cold enough to have caused everyone's battle auras to gutter, if they hadn't already from her shocking display. Even Nabiki shivered.
"H-Hibiki Ryoga," the fanged teen squeaked out.
"Thank you, knowing your name will make pressing charges against you much simpler."
"C-charges?" Ryoga asked in a voice that mixed fear with confusion.
"Attempted murder, of course."
"Eep!"
Nabiki sighed as she watched Ryoga run through one of the walls and winced at the sound of two more walls breaking followed by the perimeter wall. That's going to cost quite a bit to repair. Oh well, I'll add it to Ryoga's tab and collect whenever he shows up again.
Unfazed by Ryoga's sudden disappearance, Nodoka turned toward Soun, her katana following her glare. "Now, why were you attacking my son, Tendo-san?"
Unnerved by the gleaming razor-edge in both the katana and Nodoka's voice, Soun nearly passed out. Noting that Nodoka was in a very strong kenjutsu stance he stuttered out, "I-I-I t-thought you didn't kn-know how t-to use that s-sword."
Nodoka's eyebrow twitched, You needn't remind me. "Do not try to change the subject. Why did you attack my son?"
Gaining some backbone from his anger he shouted. "He was with some Chinese whore! If I had known he was going to do something so dishonorable, I wouldn't have engaged him to her."
Nodoka considered the Tendo Patriarch with hard eyes. Seeming to come to a decision, she spoke. "Very well, Tendo-san, since you do not want your daughter to be engaged to my son, I hereby declare the Saotome-Tendo engagement void. If you can't handle a small thing like infidelity then it is for the best." Not waiting for a response, she lifted her son's arm, supported him with one shoulder, and left the room. While the rest of the residents and guests remained frozen in shock, Nodoka made a quick trip to the guest room to grab Ranma's pack.
Coming out of her room, Akane watched Nodoka enter Ranma's room.
Thanking her luck that her son tended to keep the majority of his belongings packed, Nodoka grabbed the few loose items and left the room.
"Where are you going with that pack, Obasan?"
Nodoka turned to face the youngest Tendo. "Do you wish to be engaged to my son?"
Shocked by the unexpected question and the coldness in the Saotome Matriarch's voice she fell back into her normal response to questions about the engagement, though her current level of anger did taint her response. "To that hentai? Of course not!"
"Then you should be happy. While I had hoped you would be more understanding than that, that was your last chance. Farewell, Tendo-san," Nodoka said formally. Turning she continued on her way, leaving the young woman frozen in shock. Returning to the foyer where Ranma had been left, she calmly left with her son.
Soun sat blubbering about the schools never being joined. Genma tried to reassure him that things would work out, though he himself was trying to figure out how. "Calm down, Tendo-kun. We'll wait for my wife to cool down and go try and talk some sense into her when she's less dangerous."
"Less dangerous, Saotome-kun?"
"No-chan has always wanted to be a sword master, but is really clumsy with a sword — as you've seen. When No-chan gets angry though... Well, let's just say Yagyu Jubei would be jealous. Akane-chan's lucky her statement about the sword didn't cause a worse reaction from No-chan than voiding the engagement."
"So there's hope! Then it's Soun..."
"...and Genma's..."
" "Operation re-hitch the heirs!" "
The two quickly left for a bar to plan their latest scheme and hopefully forget about the problems that had just occurred.
Off to the side Akane had just entered the room, having finally come out of shock. "He's gone, he's really gone..." she mumbled. Trying to comfort herself she renewed her angry banter: "Good riddance, who needs that hentai anyway? The baka can go back to his Chinese whore."
"It wasn't a whore. That was the Jusenkyo guide's niece. She brought him a cure," Mu Tsu stated, having regained consciousness. Ignoring everyone's stares, he walked out of the Tendo-ke, leaving those present to consider the implications of his statements.
"He— he's cured? He wasn't being a hentai?" Akane mumbled in shock, growing depressed. Remembering Nodoka's actions she continued in a sad voice, "He's gone, Nodoka-obasan broke the engagement, and now she hates me." Realizing how serious Nodoka was she ran back up to her room crying.
Ukyo watched Akane leave with a look of pity. Thinking about the situation she cheered up significantly. "Hey, now that the Tendo-Saotome engagement has been dissolved, Ranchan and I can get married!"
"What you is talking about, stupid spatula-girl? Airen only marry Xian Pu." Her statement was enough to spark another fight.
Nabiki quickly used the distraction to leave the room unnoticed. I really screwed up this time. Akane was hurt and it isn't even Ranma's fault. I better find him and clear things up with Nodoka. After she calms down though, she thought, shivering as she remembered how quickly Nodoka had arrived, and the force in her strike.
By the time Kasumi walked into the Tendo-ke living room, it was empty. Looking around she took in the sight of the top half of a red umbrella embedded in the center of the table and the numerous holes in the wall.
"Oh my!"
{Thank you. If you see Ranma again give him my thanks for sharing his cure and tell him I'm sorry for failing him at the Tendo's today. Also, please give him this address,} Mu Tsu said, handing Ying-ying a small card.
{Very well, if I hear from him I will do so.}
"He did WHAT with a pit of cats? And just exactly how many times did he engage you?" Nodoka asked in a mixture of shocked rage and overwhelming sympathy and sadness. Having mistresses is one thing, dishonoring the family for food is quite another. When I get my hands on that worthless panda I'm going to shave him bald, glue fish products to every inch of his body and throw him in a pit of tigers.
Ranma had awoken on a train confused and surprised to see Nodoka sitting next to him with his pack.
Ranma merely nodded, lost in thought. Akane doesn't trust me, she obviously hates me. An' Ryoga actually was goin' ta kill me this time. Blinking out of his thoughts Ranma noticed his mother's expectant look. "I don't actually know. I stopped countin' fiancées after the seventh one showed up. Ukyo an' Shampoo are the only two that wouldn't leave. Kodachi's just delusional."
Nodoka blinked at that. "Well, those engagements are broken as well."
"That might work with Ucchan's claim but Shampoo is after me because of some backward laws from her village. Besides which, it's a matter of Family Honor."
Nodoka frowned at that but was broken out of her thoughts by her son's next question.
"Where exactly are we goin', Ka-san?"
"Seeing as how the Saotome-ke has yet to be repaired, we will be staying at my brother's house. Assuming he is willing to have us, that is."
"Keitaro, can you get the door?" a middle-aged man asked.
"Hai," a young, brown-haired man with glasses responded as he made his way to the door. Opening the door he encountered a young man and an older woman. Taking a moment to examine the pair he noticed the young man wore his black hair in a braided pigtail and had on Chinese style clothing while the woman had her red-brown hair in a bun and wore a formal kimono. "Uh, can I help you?"
"Keitaro-chan, is that you? You've grown a great deal since I last saw you," Nodoka said with a smile.
Keitaro stared at her for a moment before recognition shone in his eyes. "Nodoka-obasan? It's good to see you again," he said, hugging the elder woman. "What brings you by, and who is this?"
"Keitaro-chan, allow me to introduce your cousin Ranma. Ranma-chan, this is your cousin Keitaro. Keitaro-chan, is your father presently home?" At Keitaro's nod she continued, "Why don't you two get to know each other while I talk to Aniki? Assuming we may come in, of course."
"Uh, of course. Come in. Otousan is in the living room." Leading the two inside he gestured to the living room, leaving Nodoka to speak to the Urashima patriarch. "Come on, Ranma, we can talk in my room."
Leading his cousin down the hall, he entered one of the rooms. As he sat down at his kotatsu Keitaro said, "Sorry about the mess, I've been studying to get into Tokyo University."
Looking at the pile of books covering the floor Ranma shrugged. "Don't worry 'bout it. So, that what you plan on doin'?"
"Well, I made a promise when I was little to get into Tokyo U." His voice took on a depressed tone, "But I failed to get in this time."
"Better than me, I'm barely passin' my classes in high school."
"Maybe I can help you study if you're going to be in the area for a while. I'm sure I can handle at least that much. I wouldn't be failing so bad if I could just keep my focus."
"I can help ya with that. Concentration is part of the Art. I can train ya a bit if ya want. Heh, the main reason I have problems at school is I'm too tired ta stay awake in those boring classes. As far as bein' in the area a while, well, Okasan was goin' ta ask if we could stay here."
"Well, Otousan will probably let you stay since you're family. And we can help each other! That's great."
"I never knew how bad things really were for Ranma-chan. I am seriously considering getting a divorce from that... that... thing I called a husband," pausing, Nodoka took a deep breath to calm herself. "Forgive me, Aniki. I came to request that you allow my son and myself to stay in your home for the time being." The Saotome matriarch bowed to her brother after making her request.
"Of course you can stay. I've missed you, and it will be good to get to know my nephew." He smiled at the thought. "I'll contact Okasan and see if she will help with the divorce if you want."
Nodoka nodded as they continued the discussion, pausing when Ranma and Keitaro entered the room.
Examining her son for a moment, Nodoka asked, "Ranma-chan, I am considering divorcing... Genma. I would appreciate your feelings on the topic." The coldness in her voice as she spoke her husband's name sent a shiver down everyone's spines.
Ranma considered the idea for a few moments. He asked, "Does that mean we're gonna leave the Saotome clan an' join the Urashimas?" Nodoka nodded. After another moment of thought he continued, "I wish I could just..." Ranma bit off the rest of his sentence and tried again, "Urashima Ranma. I guess I could get used ta that. It would take care o' the problems Oyaji caused concernin' the Family Honor too." Almost as an afterthought he added, "And at the least it will throw Nabiki off our trail."
Nodoka and the others looked at him curiously. Noticing their looks he explained about Nabiki's 'hobbies'. The fact that she did this to keep the Tendo-ke funded didn't appease his audience as much as he had expected.
"I'm going to call Okasan and see if we can get the two of you moved to the Urashima ledger without a paper trail," the elder Urashima stated as he left the room.
"Hey, Keitaro, wanna go start trainin'?"
Keitaro looked at him for a moment, nodded, and followed him out of the room.
Nodoka watched the two leave the room, a small, forced smile playing across her lips. Maybe everything will work out for my son, for once. He deserves it after everything those people have put him through. Ranma-chan has really grown into a fine young man if he was willing to put up with everything he told me about. I really need to work on his grammar though. Sighing, she stood and left the room to see what her mother had to say. As she walked she remembered part of the conversation from the train ride, I also need to contact Ying-ying-san and let her know she can return home and thank her myself.
Keitaro watched Ranma stretch, trying to follow his example so he wouldn't pull anything when they started. Looking at his cousin's face he noticed an air of distraction and confusion.
"Ano... Ranma is something wrong? You look like you're a million miles away."
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."
"Worried about the divorce?"
"Nah, I'm actually happy 'bout that."
Keitaro raised an eyebrow. "Then what's wrong?"
Ranma hesitated for a few minutes. Walking over to a nearby rock he sat down and gestured for Keitaro to join him. Looking at his cousin he sighed, considering how to begin and what to say.
"Well, here's the short version..."
"An' now I'm not sure how I feel. I thought I might l-l-l... like Akane but now..."
Keitaro stared at him for a few minutes. No wonder he's confused! I'm surprised he isn't insane after going through all that. "Ne, Ranma?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't know if this will help you or not but whenever I get overwhelmed I take a trip. Sort of a retreat to relax and figure things out. Since you're going to be staying a while maybe you can try something similar."
Ranma contemplated Keitaro's suggestion for a minute or so before nodding and favoring his cousin with a smile. "Yer right. Thanks for the suggestion. Come on, let's see where you're at skill-wise."
"So, Ranma-chan, how was Keitaro-chan's first lesson?"
Glancing at his mother Ranma sighed. "Well, he has potential but he's clumsier than the tomboy."
Next to Ranma, Keitaro chuckled nervously.
Yasuyasu Kouchou - Peaceful Nightingale
After a couple of minutes Ying-ying stopped in front of a hotel. "This where I staying. I have tub of naniichuan set up in room." Motioning for Ranma to follow her, she proceeded to enter the Yasuyasu Kouchou Hotel.
"Is very embarrassing. I nearly get in tub this morning..."
Climbing out of the wooden tub sitting in the middle of Ying-ying's room, Ranma ran over to the bathroom and the sound of water running could be heard. The room itself was small and only provided a futon, television, and dresser. However, the room did contain the aforementioned private bathroom. Coming out of said bathroom, Ranma grabbed Ying-ying in a hug and spun her around, laughing in joy.
"I just took a cold shower! Man, I never thought I'd be so proud to say THAT..."