Nodoka 2/1
The Chroma Series
Act 00, Part 01

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DISCLAIMER:

Welcome to my world, a blend of a great many things, almost none of which are owned by me. It is a crummy world of plot holes, spoilers, gratuitous Japanese and spelling errors, poorly written, then poured into a blender, set to liquefy, spread on a cookie sheet and baked at three hundred and fifty degrees for half an hour. As my horrible metaphor proves, don't expect great art. I've never written a 'story' before. So, apologies to all of the creators who's creations are about to be abused.

This story is also likely to (eventually) contain references to things like sex, substance abuse (like Rice Wine), and other 'evils' of the world. None of that will likely be portrayed in neither a serious nor a respectful manner. ...Or maybe it will, who knows what I will do when I actually get to that part of the story... I sure don't (nor even if I 'will' get to that part of the story).

Either way, you have been warned!

~ This Fic is a Free Fan Sub, if you paid for it, then we all got ripped off~

"Speech"
'Thought'
{Author's Notes & *Translations* Feel free to skip these}

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**UPDATED*AUTHOR'S*NOTES**Please*Read**

This story is FULL of Japanese (and Chinese) and many culture notes. That is what "gratuitous Japanese" means, but I guess some people think the disclaimer means nothing. This is for instructional purposes, I want to give people who are interested, correct definitions for the Japanese words that get used incorrectly so often here, and in other places.

No matter how many people ask (all 7 of you), I will NOT make people scroll up to 50 pages up and down to read those definitions, especially now that this site will no longer allow people to highlight text and save their place in the chapter. If you do not like it, skip a line, it really isn't that hard, especially compared to what you are asking me to do to the many others who DO want to read them. It's ridiculous to ask such a thing, and one of the few 'suggestions' I will not entertain. No matter who asks, nor how. I am sorry if you do not like it, but that is how it will be done for this story.

These first chapters are really awful, but I will not being going back over work I did more than a year ago, I want to be able to see my progress. It does get better. If I kept going back, I would never get anything new done.

I am sorry to start this with a rant, I really didn't want to do this, but I got tired of explaining this to the handful of you who do not like it (apparently, after a year and a half several all came at once, they seem to come in waves). You are out numbered. If you are not interested in the Japanese language and their culture, then why are you into this stuff to start with?

If you want to comment on the content of the story, or the writing (please wait until you get close to the recent stuff), then I would love to hear anything you have to say, good, bad, or indifferent. I know these early chapters are terrible, no need to rehash that, and I will NOT be changing the notes, (though I had issues with formatting in early chapters line spacing as well, that gets fixed, once I figured out I had to reedit the chapters after I uploaded them, because the site removed my formatting), anything else, I would be happy to discuss. The terms are only defined once in the story like that, and then not again within the story, so it happens less often once I get the most used terms out there.

Again, sorry about that, now, on with the worst part of the story. If you can be patient, it does improve.

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PROLOGUE

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Mikuru Asahina was returning to her assignment after making her latest 'in person' report to her superiors when her Temporal Plane Destruction Device (TPDD) startled her with an error alarm and she felt herself drawn into a strange dimension. She opened her eyes and stopped screaming when she felt herself gently resting on something firm, what she saw reminded her of a witch's tower from old stories, complete with what looked like a cauldron. Not noticing the sparks coming out of her TPDD she looked into the cauldron to see what looked like a movie about a small boy with a short braid, learning the Martial Arts. She turned quickly when she heard someone cough, "Yes, yes, my favorite 'program'. Oh my, your device seems to be broken, let me see that... And don't touch that!"

"What, you mean this? Whoops!"

"Oh dear, you pushed the Cat-Fist training up a few years. That was not supposed to happen on this time line! Here, take your primitive device and go home, I think you have done enough damage here already!" The man tosses the TPDD toward the girl who has a hard time catching it before she continues her return trip, glad to be away from the scary man, who quickly pulls out a bucket of popcorn as his form shimmers back into that of a black cat, and says (with a full mouth), "This could be interesting... No sense letting a show go to waste." And he settles in to watch this new 'movie'.

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CHAPTER 01
The Art of Timing

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Somewhere outside of Tokyo, standing in a field, there was a man in his mid twenties wearing a dirty white gi, glasses, and a bandanna that is trying to hide the beginnings of his thinning hairline. This man was shouting what he thought of as 'words of encouragement' into a pit that he had dug. He was also doing his best to ignore the inhuman sounds and terrified screams of a child coming from the pit.

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Several hours later Genma Saotome strolls into his wife's beautiful home, carrying his still sobbing son by the collar of his tattered gi. He was about to toss him toward the bath to tell him to clean up when he felt the heat now directly in front of him as his wife, on the verge of a conniption fit, lost all of her anger the moment she heard her son sob out a tear-filled "'KAAA-TAAAN!"
{*'Kaa-tan = cutesy kids way of screaming Okaa-Chan, or 'mommy'*}

She comforted her son as she looked him over, seeing all of the cuts, bites, and bruises through his tattered and blood soaked gi. Shooting Genma a look that will give him nightmares for years to come, she takes her son to treat his wounds. After he was cleaned up and calmed down, she asked him to explain how he had gotten hurt so badly, only to hear the horrors of the Neko-Ken training from a firsthand participant fresh from the experience.
{*Neko-Ken = Cat-Fist*}

After taking some time to comfort her son and calm down, she promises Ranma "This will never happen to you again, I will make sure of it!" She gets him some dinner and then sends him off to bed.

Finding her husband sitting in his favorite place, at the dining room table, with an expectant look on his face, she once again had to stop and calm herself for a moment. "Husband, depending on how you answer the following questions I may find myself a widow, and you will not have a need to find food ever again. So, why is it that my four year old son looks like he was mauled by a pack of 'starving cats'?"

"Secret training technique. Supposed to make the user an invincible warrior."

"And you felt that was appropriate to do to a four year old, why? Where did you learn this technique? Do you even 'know' it?"

Genma pulls out the book of advanced combat, containing the secret, ancient technique, which is then snatched out of his hand before he can utter a word. "Let me see that!" *Flip*Flip*Flip* "Note: This training method is too stupid for real life. Anyone who would teach this to someone should have their head examined." Handing the book back to Genma with that page open, "So, you are telling me that you read this and thought, 'This is the perfect thing to do to my son'?"

"Well, I didn't read THAT part of it!"

"NANI-O?! You didn't read the whole thing before subjecting our son to this?" 'Kami-Sama, Onegai, don't let my son take after my husband! I beg you!'
{*Nani-o = polite way of saying 'what'*} {*Kami = God/Gods/Goddess/Goddesses, usually followed by a -sama*} {*Onegai = Please*}

"Well, um, it fooled me completely!"

"Dear husband, I do not, at this point, believe that would take overly much."

"Damn it woman, this is exactly why I need to take him on a training journey, away from your smothering, feminine ways, you dote on him so much he will end up soft!"

"The only things 'soft' around here are your head, your gut and ...THAT, husband of mine. I could call my father, I am sure he would let you off with a simple act of seppuku, I on the other hand, am not feeling so lenient, yet. You WILL live, but you will not only NOT be taking my son on this training journey, but you will no longer be his instructor in the art!"

"Nani? Then who will? YOU?"
{*Nani = Not the polite way of saying 'what'*}

"You think I can't? I happen to come from a long line of Samurai, and you will do well to remember that fact."

Genma could not manage to do anything other than stare at her and stammer.

"Apparently it's decided then, I will contact my lawyer to set up a post box so it can be forwarded when I am in one place long enough to receive it, and arrange payments to maintain the house. You like 'roughing it' so much, you will fend for yourself. I am feeling generous so I will tell them to give you an allowance of one thousand yen a week for your 'fun' money." The look on her face allowing no protest. "Assuming I return, I expect you to have done something constructive while I am gone, and if I am not happy with the results, I may well be in the market for a new husband."

Nodoka heads toward the phone to start making arrangements leaving her husband at the table to wonder why food hasn't been magically placed in front of him yet, "Something seems wrong somehow, I wonder what it is..."

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Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice...

Wendy and Marvin were playing fetch with Wonder Dog, and generally being useless.

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The next morning...

Ranma awakens to the sound of packing. Ever the curious boy, he runs off to investigate. What he finds is his mother running around packing gear and making phone calls, and his father standing around looking confused. 'Oh, 'Kaa-tan looks busy, and 'in-trup-et-ting' is bad manners, so guess should ask Oyaji!' Looking proud of himself, Ranma walks over to Genma and asks, "'Sup, Oyaji?"
{*Oyaji = impolite way of saying father, 'Pops' or 'Old Man', can also refer to one's boss*}

"Ranma, my boy, you are about to go on a long, and arduous training journey. There will be many hardships. But never forget, you are a man among men, and remember Oyaji."

"You not going?"

"No son, your mother will be training you now."

"But, Oyaji, thought you said 'women are weak!'"

"This might well be the last advice you get from me, so heed it well, boy,"

"But you said I was 'man among men'."

"That you are son, that you are, now listen to my advice," he bends down to whisper into his ear, "never let your mother hear you say that!"

"Say 'what', dear?"

"Nothing, nothing at all..." Genma tries (and fails) to smile honestly.

"OK dear, I have one thing left to do before we are ready to go. Ranma, we will not be back for a long time, say good bye to your father, we will be leaving soon, so grab anything you want to take with you."

"KAY!" Ranma waves at Genma and runs off to his bedroom to grab his 'treasures', while Nodoka walks back into the kitchen to call the maid service once again. "Yes, this is Saotome Nodoka, I spoke with you about service for my house until further notice. Yes, I would like to add some special instructions. While they are free to cook whatever they like for themselves, and wash their own clothing, they are specifically instructed to NOT do those things for my 'husband'. He is to take care of his own needs, and clean up after himself. Hai. Arigato-gozaimasu, I appreciate your understanding in this matter." A grin creeps across Nodoka's lovely features as she double checks to make sure she has packed all of the supplies and training materials she could find.
{*Hai. Arigato-gozaimasu = Yes. Thank you VERY much*}

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Ranma is just returning to the entryway shoving a Voltron figure, a rubber ball, some Kinkeshi figures and a deck of cards into his backpack, as his mother returns from going down her checklist. As Nodoka and Ranma gather up their belongings and head for the door, Genma 'thinks' aloud "What am I going to do with only thousand yen a week?"

"How about, 'Getting a Job'!" and with that Nodoka and Ranma head out front where a taxi cab is waiting for them with Ranma happily singing an old American song he had heard by a Doo Wop group named, The Silhouettes.

Looking out the window seeing the cab pull away Genma mutters to himself, "See what I mean, Soft! Tendo old friend, it looks like I may have failed you!" Deciding that he might as well get drunk, he begins to work on that.

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Genma was elated the next day when he found out that his wife had thought of hiring a maid for while she was away. The elation was just as quickly dashed to pieces when he discovered that her instructions specifically included making him pick up after himself, cook his own meals, making his own bed and doing his own laundry! He relaxed a bit when he thought, 'Well, after all, what is she going to do, make me? She would be just a woman! Besides, I am the boss, she is the maid!' Satisfied with his logic he went back to relaxing. It wouldn't be long before Genma was to realize that in fact he was NOT the boss, Nodoka was, ...and she wanted him to learn some responsibility.

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After checking into their hotel room, Nodoka decides Ranma could use a few days to recover from the mental and physical traumas of the previous day even if his body had already mostly done so. She begins pouring over the various scrolls and tomes she had brought with them, employing the amazing learning skills that have helped her family for generations, to be very successful, at whatever it is they do.

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Genma is awoken by the sound of the doorbell, or from his perspective gongs being beaten by his ears. Dragging himself off of what is, at least technically, partly his couch and lumbering over, he answers the door. After a moment to recover from being blinded by morning light piercing holes through his eyes and into his brain, he is able to focus on the person who woke him from his drunken stupor. To his considerable surprise, before him stood what appeared to be a young girl, dressed in a maid's uniform, her dirty blond hair had been trimmed into a bowl cut that curled in just above her large blue eyes.

'This will be easier than I thought.'

The small girl bows formally with a bright smile on her face, "Hajimemashite, Goshujin-sama. Hausu Maido, Fubuki desu."
{*= 'Nice to meet you, Master. I am the house maid, Fubuki.'*}

"Girl, you hardly look 8 years old, are you really the maid?"

Briefly, she loses her smile as she sniffles. Looking at the ground with her hands behind her she whispers, "I am 6, my mommy and daddy died 2 years ago and my grandmother helped train me as a maid and get me this job."

In his hungover state, Genma actually feels a twinge of sympathy for this poor girl's story, but it fades almost as quickly as he thinks, 'Kami-sama, I need more sake.', but aloud he says, "OK, come on in, kitchen is over there, the laundry room is back there, and if you need me, I will be in there." Pointing back toward his wife's comfy couch.

Fubuki finds it strange that the large man didn't really show her around or where she should be putting her things. Being the generally cheerful girl that she was, she took it in stride and began to familiarize herself with her new home and to see what needed the most attention. For his part, Genma did his best to resume his drunken slumber.

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"Goshujin-sama?"

"Goshujin-Sama?" *Poke*Poke* "Are you awake? I am supposed to make sure you eat now."

At the mention of food, Genma's stomach forces his brain to come around. "Ah, you brought me food, such a good girl." Smiling, Genma sits up, looking around for his plate. "Where is it?"

"Sumimasen Goshujin-sama, I was instructed to make sure you prepare your own food yourself. I will assist you if needed though."
{*Sumimasen = Pardon me, excuse me, sorry*}

"Well then, why don't you just make it then and bring it to me, I am sure that would be much easier."

"Demo Goshujin-sama, my instructions are quite clear on this point, I really need to keep this job."
{*Demo = But, even so, nevertheless, however, etc.*}

"Then I guess you really ought to do what I say then."

"But sir, it is the duty of a good maid to follow her instructions to the letter."

"No one will know."

"Goshujin-sama, I must insist..."

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Thirty minutes later passersby witness Fubuki running out of the Saotome home, tears streaming from her eyes. None of them aware that she had left her belongings behind, herself included.

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Nodoka finished reviewing her materials, and felt she had the basics down pat. 'Tomorrow the real workout will begin. Taking care of her house has kept me in pretty good shape, if I do say so myself.' Admiring herself in the mirror, Nodoka realizes she will need some better clothing for the adventure ahead. "Ranma-kun, I believe we should be prepared, so let's go shopping!"

"OK! Do I get a toy?"

"If you behave like a man, my son." Ranma smiles at this, dropping what he was doing, only to go back and put his toy away first and then following his mother as calmly as he could manage.

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Later that evening, after a nice meal out, they return to their hotel room, Nodoka with bags in hand and Ranma playing with his new UFO Robo Grendizer.

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THE NEXT DAY...

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Nodoka and Ranma awaken bright and early the next morning, donning their matching black silk dogi and warrior's braids. Ranma's was sleeveless, with a bright red lining and matching red sash, while Nodoka's had sleeves with pink accents and sash. With spirits high, they head out for the first day of training.
{*Keikogi or Dogi - Do/Keiko=Practice / Gi=Martial Arts Outfit*}

"Ranma, show me your normal morning warm-up exercises." Nodoka quickly picks up the pattern and begins trying to make her body match what her mind knows to do. They continue this until Nodoka feels her body is performing well enough and move on to the next exercise, as Nodoka gets used to the new movements and quickly begins to catch up to her four year old son.

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Genma once again is awoken from a drunken sleep by what seemed to be an earth shattering clanging sound in a pattern that seemed to him to resemble his doorbell. Also, once again, he lumbers over to be blinded by unforgiving morning rays as he opens his door, and is, again, surprised by what awaited his eyes slowly adjusted, the sight that slowly came into focus for him practically startling him sober, more shocking than even Happosai coming to take him on another 'training trip'. Instead of that demon, what stood before him was a monster of a man, with long black hair, a maid-like mask covering the top portion of his face with glowing yellow eyes, wristbands with chains wrapped around them, and his massive frame was stuffed into an ankle-length maid's dress, similar to Fubuki's except the sleeves were torn off and he didn't look near as cute in his. On his face was a wide grin filled with big, pointy, shark-like teeth that, if Genma wasn't mistaken (and he usually was), were metallic! So startled he was, Genma failed to notice that he had taken a few steps back, as well as failing to notice little Fubuki-chan hiding behind the figure.

"Kukukukuku, what a troublesome Goshujin you are! You who likes to make cute little girls cry. Well, there is a reason your wife selected our company, and you are about to find out what that reason is. So, enjoy it, my perfect service! That's me, Maid Guy!"

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After long hours of what could loosely be called 'debate', a deal was reached. Kogarashi would take care of Genma's personal needs, in exchange, Genma would provide Fubuki with training in The Art so that she would no longer have to be afraid of 'human garbage, such as himself'.

"Maid Guy's plan to deepen our friendship... IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!"

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In order to fill in the large gaps in her training Nodoka felt the best place to start was to find a ki specialist so she could augment her physical abilities and to help her catch up to her son's level more quickly. She had read the books on the subject, and understood it in theory, but putting it into practice was proving harder than she had hoped, it had seemed like second nature when she was a child, the rest of her family made it seem so easy.

She had her contacts scouring the nation looking for who would be the best ki trainer for them and where they were located, and it seemed as though her search has paid off. Descended from the legendary warrior, artist and Ki Master Toshimasu Maeda. Kyoshi Maeda had not only an outstanding pedigree, but also decades of experience teaching her skills to a very select few. But Nodoka's story had been conveyed and Kyoshi had agreed to meet with them and render her verdict. And here they were, approaching her home, clinic and dojo.

After receiving her guests and inviting them inside Kyoshi motions for them to have a seat, "Come, come, have a seat, let me take a 'look' at you." Her eyes seemed to twinkle a bit as they lose focus momentarily and then just as quickly return. "Oh my! Your letter understated the case here considerably. I didn't really believe it was true, I had assumed that technique had been lost to the ages where it belongs, as a bad joke in the footnote of time."

"Unfortunately at least one tome survived, and my mostly useless and neglectful husband not only found it, but used it on my four year old son!"

"I see, well I don't train men in my techniques, but he definitely could use the healing, at least I get to undo the damage done by a man. The mental trauma is clear in his aura, the longer it goes without treatment the more likely it is he could end up with a permanent, possibly debilitating disorder. This happened, what, 6 months ago?"

"Two weeks."

"Oh dear, it's worse than I thought, luckily you got him to me while it was still recent and he is still young." While Kyoshi was explaining, she began absently rubbing the back of Ranma's head while he visibly relaxed. Those who could see auras were treated to a rare sight as her aura shifted from one color of the spectrum to another as it flowed through her hand and into Ranma's head and blended into his own. Unfortunately for those present the only one of them who could see it well enough was Kyoshi herself. "By using my ki, I can heal the damage done to his aura and in turn heal his mind and body. It will take quite a few treatments, but if your ki control progresses far enough I may be able to show you how to do it as well. Now, why don't you sit next to your son, and I can help strengthen your aura as well."

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CHARACTERS USED

Here I will list all of the non-Ranma character's used in the Chapter and where they are from.

Mikuru Asahina - a time traveler from the distant future of Haruhi Suzumiya
Kogarashi the "Maid Guy" - the Title character from Kamen no Maid Guy
Fubuki - Also from Maid Guy
Kyoshi - Original character

The "unnamed" cat god - who has a name, and most of you should know it, from the Bet Series, by Gregg Sharp. Like all other characters, used w/o permission.

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End. Act 00, Part 01.

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MORE AUTHOR'S NOTES

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Well, that's it for Chapter One of my first fanfic, and as I thought, I still need a lot of improvement, hopefully I will get better as I go. Thank you for getting this far, all comments and criticisms are appreciated. I hope to hear from you! ;) Unlike most fics, it will be a while (several chapters) before I get to them arriving back in Tokyo. If this follows the plan, then maybe five or six chapters for Act 0, before they get 'home'. I do not know who Ranma will end up with, if anyone, all I can say for sure is that the way it is laid out in my head, it will not be Akane. I just can't see Nodoka forcing the two of them together, especially when she is so against it to start with. The up side is, she won't get a forceful haircut. So if you are looking for a Ranma x Akane story, this isn't it. Other than that, almost 'anything goes'.

I DID warn you the Japanese would be gratuitous, but I forgot to also mention 'random' it will also be pretty random. But I will try to always use honorifics where needed, and explain each one at least once... I will also continue to use 'Goshujin' for master when it's used (though I might use 'master' in other situations) due to the fact that Maid Guy uses Goshujin with out an honorific, and even if saying 'master-sama' sounded less weird to me, him just saying 'master' didn't imply the same level of rudeness, so I am going to try to stick with it.

Also, Yes, I am aware that Japan has child labor laws to prevent children from working full time until after the end of the school year (March Thirty-First) of their fifteenth year, after which, school is no longer compulsory and they are free to drop out and work full time. Someone thirteen or older is allowed to work, but only when the work is light and safe for the child. Children under thirteen are only allowed to work in the entertainment industry and only with permission from the Labor Standards Administration. AND in case you were curious, 'An employer cannot employ a person under eighteen years old for extended-hour or night-time work. An employer also cannot assign a person under eighteen years old to dangerous work, e.g., maintenance or repair of machinery during its operation and mining. A parent or a guardian cannot make a labor contract for a minor, in this case a person under twenty years old. This provision aims to prohibit a parent or guardian from forcing a minor to work for the parent or guardian's economic benefit. The parent or guardian cannot receive the wages earned by the minor in place of the minor.'

But on the other hand, child maids are not exactly uncommon in manga and anime, so that's what we are going with here. Fubuki was able to get permission due her grandmother and Zenjuro Fujiwara's help. The man has the money and power to have a public school remodeled or even closed down for a day for his own amusement or other personal reasons (without even prior notice, the school closing one the students all showed up to a locked gate).

And No, Kyoshi was not based on The Avatar Kyoshi, that was a happy coincidence, I took the characters from the historical figure's name and chose an alternate way to say them and didn't realize it until after the fact. So technically she is a mostly original character, loosely based on history and a bit of Samurai Girls.

UFO Robo Grendizer - Other names include Mazinger Z, Tranzor Z, and several other things.

Thank you again for reading, I hope you have enjoyed my intro story. C&C, R&R, B&B(Bed and Breakfast), all appreciated...