Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Choices ❯ Revelations ( Chapter 4 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

{} = Thoughts


Choices
By: Dyne <paradised@yahoo.com>
Part 3
Revelations

Ranma had been placed into many different awkward
situations before, but to be standing in front of his mother after turning
back into a guy made those older situations seem comparable like a
water molecule to the ocean.
"Ranma?" Nodoka asked quietly as she examined him from
head to toe, her quizzical expression never changing.
"Uh... I..." was all he could get out. He expected her to draw
her katana right then and there, not what happened next.
"Ranma!" she cried as she darted up to him and hugged him,
repeatedly saying "Ranma! Oh Ranma!" as if he was going to disappear
again. Even though his shirt was already wet from the rain and kettle
water, he could tell his mother's tears apart from the previous moisture.
"Mom... there are a few things I need to explain," he started.
"There's no need to explain anything right now. Let me take a
good look at you," Nodoka loosened her hug a little, but didn't dare let
go completely, "you've grown into such a strong man." She had only
looked at him for a moment before returning to the original hug, more
tears falling out.
"Mom..." he started again, but decided that nothing needed to
be said at all and returned his mother's embrace.

{I hope nothing's happened,} Ukyo thought as she slowly made
her way downstairs. It wasn't an easy trip for her at that moment.
Despite the long nap she'd just had, she still felt like she hadn't slept in
days. When she finally dragged herself into the kitchen she gasped at
the scene which she hadn't expected to see: Ranma and his mother
hugging.
"Oh, pardon me," she blurted, feeling a little embarrassed
when they turned to face her.
"Ucchan!" they both exclaimed at the same time and with the
same level of concern, "what are you doing out of bed?" She couldn't
help but smile and think, {Anyone who says that those two aren't
related will have to answer to me.}
"Come," Nodoka said as she slowly let go of Ranma, "let's go
back upstairs and talk." She looked back towards her, "Ranma, why
don't you carry her back up to her room? I'll join you once I cook some
dinner for us."
Ukyo had never seen anyone's face redden more than Ranma's
did at that moment, but he complied.
"Yes, Mother," he said and she immediately found herself in
his arms again as he carried her back upstairs. She looked back down
at Nodoka, who gave her a wink before leaving eyesight and getting to
work. She sighed and relaxed, enjoying the moment, brief as it was
and considering the rarity of its occurrence.

"Thanks again," Ryoga called as he waved to the police car
after Miyuki and Natsumi dropped him off in front of the Tendo dojo.
The three of them had a lot to talk about during the trip, and Natsumi
even reminded him a little of Akane. {Akane?} he thought, {Augh!
How could I have forgotten about Akane-san!} then dashed inside.
Amazingly enough, for Ryoga, he made it to the front door from the
gate without getting lost. When he entered, he found all the Tendos,
Genma, and Happosai (who for some reason was covered in dry mud),
but no Ranma. That didn't concern him though.
"Oh, good evening, Ryoga-kun," Kasumi greeted, "would you
like to join us for dinner?"
Ryoga glanced over at Akane, who was still in her school
uniform and looking perfectly healthy, albeit a little angry.
"Sure..." he said slowly as he sat, "thank you," then thought,
{Ranma you jerk! You tricked me! When I get my hands on you, I'll-}
Plans for immediate and brutal revenge occupied his mind during the
entire meal.

"I'm sorry I took so long in getting back, Ucchan," Ranma said
as he set her back on her bed and took his previous seat next to her,
"that Shampoo had to be satisfied with the length of the date. We
walked through that damn park nearly ten times!"
"That doesn't surprise me," Ukyo responded as she tucked her
legs underneath her blanket, unaware that he was watching them, "but
did you get what you wanted?"
"It almost wasn't worth it," he sighed as he pulled the map out
of his shirt, which is where he'd kept it since he left earlier, "some of
these characters are so worn that she could only translate bits and
pieces. Here's what we know: '... undo... form... by... springs...
kyo... seek... in chamber of... within... Temple... by... vors...
Musk... sty. But... cost of...'"
"Springs? -kyo? Musk? Could that have something to do with
Jusenkyo, Ranchan?"
"That's my guess too, especially since it mentions the Musk.
Herb and his cronies came to Japan for one of their people's treasures,
but that treasure only undid the effects of the Chisuitton. If a complete
cure exists, why didn't they look for it first?"
"Maybe they don't know about it. Maybe they couldn't find it.
Maybe someone from the dynasty already beat them to it. There are
too many things we don't know. I don't like how it says, 'cost of.'"
Ranma's spine tingled and he shivered a little when she said
"cost," it reminded him of his strange dream, not to mention that the
translation Shampoo gave him was exactly what he remembered from
it. He shook it off and said, "It doesn't matter. I'll do anything to get
rid of my curse! Even save the world if I have to." He grinned, {What
does a stupid dream prove anyway?} He didn't get to think any more
than that.
"Curse?" asked Nodoka's voice from the direction of the door,
"Ranma, are you cursed?"
Beads of sweat began to form on Ranma's face as he turned to
see his mother again. This was the second time she'd walked in when
he did or said something stupid.
"Oh, Mother..." he squeaked as he pushed dropped the map
onto the floor and pushed it under the bed. Nodoka walked up and sat
next to him. She didn't look angry at all, but she did look surprised.
"The food has to simmer for a while, so I came to talk some
more. Please tell me, Ranma, how did you get cursed? And by what?"
"It's a long story, Auntie," Ukyo answered for him, "he doesn't
like to talk about it though."
"It's fine, Ucchan. I was going to have to tell her about
Jusenkyo sooner or later, anyway."
"Jusenkyo?" Nodoka asked.
"Before I tell you about Jusenkyo, I want to ask you
something; When was the last time you got a letter from Pop?"
"Why, when you two were about to leave for China."
"That explains it." Ranma clenched his fists, "We went to
China in search of a legendary training ground that was supposed to be
as dangerous as it was useful, and only the best martial artists in the
world trained there. What we didn't know was that Jusenkyo literally
means 'Ground of Accursed Springs.' There are over 100 springs there,
each with it's own tragic legend, as the guide told us. But we found out
the hard way."
Nodoka's eyes widened, "You mean...?"
He only nodded, "Pop was first. Right after we started our
exercise, I knocked him into Shonmaoniichuan, the Spring of Drowned
Panda. I was completely caught off guard at seeing a Panda jump out
of the water that he knocked me into Nyaanichuan, or..." he swallowed
hard, "the Spring of Drowned Girl." then fell silent.

Nodoka almost couldn't believe what she had just heard! "So
you and Ranko-chan are-"
"One and the same person," Ranma finished for her, then
continued, "it was me that you pulled out of the river when you first
came to visit, and 'Panda-san' is really Pop. When we came back to
Japan, he took me to the Tendo dojo just to hide from you. I had no
idea if you were even still alive until we got your first letter of visit.
Then he told me everything about his promise to you." She began to see
an increasing tension in her son. "He is so afraid of committing
seppuku that he was willing to dishonor himself further and lie to you!
He even had me afraid enough for awhile. There were so many times I
tried to meet you as a man, but I'd either get splashed with cold water
or the sight of your katana would turn me away. That one time... wasn't
a dream."
"Ranma..." she started, but he interrupted.
"If Ucchan hadn't said something earlier that made me realize
that I don't have to put up with not being able to make my own
decisions, you probably wouldn't even be here talking with us right
now. And that's not all Pop has put me through to ruin my life in the
past 10 years!"
Nodoka blinked, "There's more?"
He nodded again, "I haven't even started yet. I don't
remember much before we left on our journey, but does the old lady
who lives next to us still have those five cats?"
She shook her head, "No, she died a year ago and her cats
were given new homes."
"Good."
"Good? But Ranma, you used to love playing with those cats.
They would never scratch you because you were so nice to them. I
remember that while you would get into fights a lot, you'd never hurt an
animal."
"Not anymore. Now, thanks to Pop, I..." he swallowed hard
again, "I... hate cats."
"What happened?"
Ranma began to tremble and looked like he was in pain. Ukyo
took the moment to step in and take over.
"It isn't his fondest memory," she said, "Gen- I mean,
Saotome-san read in a martial arts text about a technique called the
Neko-ken that was supposed make the learner invincible. So before he
even finished reading what was after the word 'invincible,' he locked
some cats in a cellar to starve them for a few days, attached fish cakes
and paste all over Ranchan, then... threw him into the cellar!"
"Oh my," Nodoka gasped, a bit of anger showing behind her
surprised expression, "how brutal!"
Ukyo continued, "Ranchan did learn the Neko-ken, but not
only does it make him invincible, it makes him insane!"
Nodoka looked back at her son, who was now as pale as a
sheet, "Ranma?"
"It's true, Mom," he said softly, "I don't remember anything
whenever it happens. And it wasn't until after I snapped that Pop
finished reading the manual. He finally noticed that it said, 'Only a
complete idiot would try and learn the Neko-ken.' Now if I'm around
any cat for too long, it triggers and I lose myself again."
"That's just terrible!" Nodoka exclaimed. She was trying to
keep a calm face, but anyone could see the flames beginning to ignite
in her eyes.
"There's still more..." Ranma sighed, "I know that Pop and
Tendo-san wanted their children to marry and unite the schools, which
is why I'm engaged to Akane, but whenever Pop couldn't afford any
food, he would sell me to a complete stranger or promise to marry me
to his daughter for fish and rice! He even dragged Ucchan and her
family into it all!" By this time, he was shouting.
"Ucchan?" she turned to the younger girl. It was she who was
pale this time, and it definitely wasn't because of her illness."
"I'm sorry," she lowered her eyes, "but I didn't tell you the
entire story."
Before Nodoka could respond, Ranma spoke first.
"I don't know what she told or didn't tell you, Mother, but I
can't blame her for leaving some stuff out. It was in Kyoto where we
first met when Pop sent me to steal okonomiyaki from their yattai."
"Steal? Your father sent you to {steal}?!"
"Yes, and it wasn't the first time, but this time I was caught.
Ucchan talked to her dad and got me out of trouble, so we became
friends. Everyday, Pop sent me back to the yattai to get more
okonomiyaki. If I beat Ucchan in a sparring match, it was free. If I
lost, we had to pay. After a while, her father noticed how close we
were and suggested to Pop that we be engaged. He wasn't too happy
about the idea, until Kuonji-san threw in the yattai as a dowry. Pop
didn't know what to do because he accepted, {then} remembered that
I'm 'supposed' to marry a Tendo. So he 'let' me 'decide.' During this
whole thing I had no idea about either engagement, and I'm
embarrassed to say this, but I thought Ucchan was a guy." Nodoka
would have had to stifle a laugh if she wasn't so angry. Ranma
continued, "Anyway, Pop came to me and asked me which I liked
more: Ukyo or okonomiyaki. Being a six-year old and happening to be
eating one, I foolishly said okonomiyaki. So Pop stole the yattai, the
dowry, leaving Ucchan in the dust at the side of the road! All this just
for his own fat stomach!"
"Ranma, Ucchan, I don't know what to say. Genma never told
me about any of this."
"I can give you a one-word explanation for it, Mother:
seppuku. Sometimes I think he had wished you died while we were
away just to get out of that promise. I'm sorry, Mother, but the
Saotome family honor has been completely destroyed. I truly am
sorry."

Ranma winced as he saw his mother raise her arm, but what
happened next was not what he expected. Instead of grabbing her
katana, she put her arm around him.
"It's not your fault," she comforted, "you were an innocent
child, and your curse was the result of an accident. To be able to have
the courage to face your fear and tell me all this is what counts. Even
when I thought that one incident was a dream, I knew from that
moment that you, my son, are a man among men. And Ucchan will
definitely back me up on it."
A new feeling welled up inside of Ranma as he began to
understand his mother's love. He didn't care that Ukyo was watching as
he embraced her in a tight hug and began to weep. All this time he had
been afraid to face her, but now he knew that there never was any
reason to fear. She was so understanding. He began to get the feeling
that she wouldn't have made him commit seppuku no matter what had
happened because he was her son. As the tears continued to flow, he
threw aside any idea that "it isn't right for a guy to be doing this," and
just cried into his mother's bosom. During this whole time, Nodoka
just held him and patted his back, reassuring him. Ukyo had to try very
hard not to cry herself as she witnessed the emotional scene, as doing
so would make her feel worse. During this tender moment, the rain
outside stopped and the clouds parted to reveal the setting sun.
After several minutes of silence, Nodoka looked into Ranma's
eyes and smiled, "Why would I ever have my own son kill himself?"
then lowered her eyebrows, "now your father, on the other hand..."
"You're going to make him commit seppuku? But the promise
was that if he does, I have to also."
She only grinned plottingly, "For your sake I won't. But I'm
going to give him a good scare and see how long it takes for him to
confess." Ranma was taken aback at what his mother just said. He
began to slide away, closer to Ukyo, as he could see the fire rage in her
eyes. He could have sworn that he could smell smoke coming from
them, but quickly realized it wasn't his imagination. Nodoka and Ukyo
noticed it too.
"Oh no!" Nodoka cried, "our dinner!" With a dash whose
speed could have easily rivaled Ranma's when running from a cat, she
ran downstairs and was back up before either Ranma or Ukyo could
recover from the near-sonic boom she had created. "I'm so sorry, you
two," she sulked, "it's completely ruined. We might as well order take-
out. Are you two okay with that?"
The two teenagers, sill stunned, only nodded.
"Good, there's a nice noodle place down the street that I'd
heard was quite good called the Nekohanten. Ranma, can you go call
them with our orders."
"Yes, Mother," he said, and once the two women gave him
their desired menu, he ran downstairs thinking, {If it's Shampoo who
delivers it, I have to introduce her. If it's Mousse, I might have to
fight... Why me?}

Once she saw Ranma leave, Ukyo saw Nodoka turn back
towards her and grin again, "There's something I needed to talk to you
about while he's away, Ucchan."
{What could she be planning?} Ukyo thought as she continued,
"I won't ask you about what happened during the 10 years after you
were abandoned, but have you realized that you're the only girl who
will ever have a legitimate claim on my son?"
"Because of the dowry, I know."
"That's not all. You're also the only one who can take care of
him better than anyone else. I noticed how he almost seemed to be
confiding in you when I came upstairs. Only the closest of friends do
that. I love Akane-chan like she was already my daughter, but there
was always something nagging at the back of my mind that those two
wouldn't work well together."
"Well, they don't get along very well, even though Ranchan
has protected her as much as anyone else. They like each other a lot,
but they'd never admit it."
"That's understandable because of their age and maturity level.
Hopefully they would grow out of it sooner or later. But after meeting
you, I can see that you two are already closer than he realizes and that's
the best foundation for a relationship."
"Auntie Nodoka... you mean...?"
"Yes. Ranma is old enough to choose for himself as to which
girl he marries between you and Akane-chan. But you, Kuonji Ukyo,
have my blessing."
Ukyo's eyes widened and before she knew what she was
doing, she leaped forward and hugged Nodoka in a near-bear hug,
"Thank you, Auntie! I promise to take care of your son!"
She only smiled and returned the hug, "Now you can't
celebrate just yet, my husband and Soun are still pushing him and
Akane-chan towards each other. But once I confront Genma about
what you and Ranma have told me, he'll have to admit that the only
way to restore the Saotome family honor, and most likely your family
honor as well, is to fulfill the promise where the dowry had already
been accepted."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I got a little over-excited. But Akane
and I aren't the only fiancés that Ranma has who are in Nerima."
Nodoka blinked, "There's another?"
"Yes, there is," Ranma said as he came back in, "and this one
was due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Oh, Ranma, you startled me. Can you tell me about this
one?"
He nodded, "In fact, by the time I'm done she'll probably be
here to deliver our dinner." He then proceeded to tell the story of his
encounter with the Amazons from China.

Back at the Tendo's, Akane had just finished her homework,
changed into her karate-gi, and was performing warm-up exercises in
the dojo.
{Ranma no baka!} she thought, {Why haven't you still come
home? I'm not going to let you off so easily this time!} She began to
visualize him standing in front of her, shouting taunts of "Uncute
tomboy! Flat-chested! Chicken thighs!" Despite her martial arts
training in discipline, she flew into a blind rage and charged towards
the vision, only to become equally surprised as she was angry when it
held up a hand and blocked the punch!
"AUGH!" she shouted, "Even in my imagination I can't beat
him!"
"You're not imagining, Akane-san," came Ryoga's voice from
in front of her. She blinked a couple of times and quickly noticed that
he was standing right where "Ranma" had been.
"Oh, Ryoga-kun, I'm sorry," she apologized as she withdrew
her fist, "I've just been feeling pretty stressed lately."
"Over Ranma, no doubt."
She nodded.
"I know how you feel. I ran into him earlier and he told me
you were sick, so I rushed over here as quickly as I could. Then when I
saw that you were fine and he had tricked me, I wanted to-"
"Just a moment," Akane interrupted, "you came over only
because Ranma told you I was sick?"
Suppressing a blush, he nodded.
"Ryoga-kun, I'm touched that you would do that even because
of a lie. Thank you."
"Y-you're welcome," he stammered.
And you're being here is good timing. I was about to ask Dad
if he wanted to spar, but I think I'd rather practice with you, instead."
"R-really?" he grinned and the seriousness returned to his face,
"very well then," and entered his fighting stance. "En guarde!"
"Don't go easy on me because I won't on you!" she shouted
before entering her offensive. Cries of battle could be heard around the
entire block. Everyone inside the home thought that Akane had finally
caught up with Ranma.

"And ever since she returned with her great-grandmother,"
Ranma concluded, "they've been using all kinds of trickery and
witchcraft to try and get me to marry her."
"My, son," Nodoka said as she smiled, "that's certainly putting
you between a rock and a hard place, but I won't interfere. Whomever
you choose is fine with me."
"Really?" he was taken aback, "Thank you, Mother." He saw
that she was opening her mouth to say something more but she was cut
off as the front door of the shop slammed open and within five seconds,
Shampoo was standing in the bedroom doorframe.
"Nihao!" she greeted, "Shampoo bring order. Total come to
2325 yen," then took a good look into the room, "Ranma, why you still
with spatula girl?! And who is other woman?!"
"Take it easy, Shampoo," he said, holding up his hands, "she's
my mother."
"Aiyah!" Shampoo's eyes sparkled and tossed the box of food
nearly into Ranma's face and bowed, "Is great honor to meet you,
mother-in-law. My name is Xian Pu, but sound like Shampoo in
Japanese." She had said the last sentence very slowly.
Nodoka stood up and took Shampoo's hand, "It's a great honor
to meet you as well, Xian Pu-chan. My son just told me the story of
how you two met."
"Aiyah," she nodded, smiling, "Shampoo will do her best to
make wonderful bride for airen."
{Here we go again,} Ranma thought as he handed Ukyo her
food and began to eat his own.
"Xian Pu-chan," Nodoka asked, "are you still working?"
"No, this last delivery. Store is closed."
"Good, can you come downstairs with me? I'd like to talk
with you."
"Yes, mother-in-law," she quickly bounded down the stairs
with Nodoka following behind.
"What do you think they're going to talk about, Ucchan?"
Ranma asked between bites as he wolfed down his noodles.
"Maybe the same thing she talked about with me," Ukyo
responded, trying to stifle a giggle.
"Oh, really? And what was that?"
"Sorry, Ranchan, but that's between us women only. And
don't try going to for cold water because it won't work."
"I know, but why do I have a bad feeling?"
"Because you're right about it."
"I was afraid of that." He sighed.
Ukyo only laughed, then coughed.

"You held back," Akane wheezed as she wiped the sweat off
her brow. Their spar had ended in a draw, only because Ryoga hadn't
given it his all, even though she had. "But at least you fight back,
Ranma always stays on the defensive so I never get to practice it."
"I'm sorry, Akane-san," he said, "I just don't want to hurt you."
"I've been hurt in spars and fights before, and Tofu-sensei can
easily fix me up. How else can I get better if I fight against people who
are already better than me?"
"Hmm... that makes me wonder. Does Ranma not attack you
because he's afraid he'll hurt you or because he's afraid you'll get good
enough to beat him?"
Akane pondered on that for a minute, then spoke, "I never
thought of it that way. Ranma does hate to lose."
"Do you think that's why you've been so stressed lately?
Knowing that if you fight him for real, he'll win?"
"Well... it would feel good if I won just once, but that would
only give him all the more reason to train harder."
"That's why you train harder, too. I'll help in whatever way I
can."
"You'd train me, Ryoga-kun?"
He nodded, "I can die a happy man if either one of us beats
Ranma in an all-out, non-handicapped fight. The summer break starts
next week, doesn't it? If your father will approve, I suggest you take a
long training trip."
Akane paced for a moment then looked back at him and asked,
"Would you come with me?" This shocked him.
{Akane-san, alone with me in the wilderness?} Ryoga thought.
The idea of travelling alone with her put too great of a weight on his
mind and he fainted.

"Ranma!" Shampoo called as she re-entered the room with
Nodoka and hugged him, interrupting his and Ukyo's conversation.
Their meals had long been finished, while Nodoka's had long grown
cold.
"What, Shampoo," he responded, crossing his arms and trying
to move away.
"Shampoo tell mother-in-law about map. She say she want to
help."
"You {what}?!" His jaw dropped.
"Calm down, Ranchan," Ukyo said, "think of it as another
person to help us find the ruins."
"Ucchan's right," Nodoka entered, "neither of you two deserve
to be cursed and I want to help you find this treasure."
"Mother..." he started, but she interrupted.
"Because you have school and training, you won't have much
time to do research or look for anyone who knows about this place. I'll
start doing what I can while Ucchan gets better. But Xian Pu-chan, will
you be able to get started before the rest of us?"
"Shampoo can ask great-grandmother for books on ancient
ruins," Shampoo said, "but will not tell her about map because
Shampoo promise Ranma."
{That's right,} Ranma thought, {I never mentioned that she
shouldn't }especially{ tell Mom.}
"I hope we can get started on this tomorrow at the earliest,"
Nodoka spoke again, "but now it's getting late and we all need to rest."
The three teens nodded.
"Where will you go, Mom?" Ranma asked, "The last train
probably left already."
"She'll stay right here in the guest room," Ukyo answered for
her.
"Ucchan, thank you."
"You're very welcome, Auntie."
"That's settled," Ranma sighed and stood up, pulling Shampoo
up with him, "Good night, Mother, I'll try to stop by on the way to
school tomorrow." He found himself being hugged from the other side.
"Good night, Ranma, I'll be here if you need me. And we'll
keep the map here, away from your father."
"Thank you," he was let go by Nodoka, "Bye, Ucchan.
C'mon, Shampoo." With that, he left. Shampoo still clung to him,
muttering "Aiyah" as he tried to pry her off the entire time telling her
that the date was long over.
"Bye, Ranchan," Ukyo said after them.
"Is she always like that with him?" Nodoka asked.
"No," she answered, shaking her head, "Shampoo is usually
twice as bad. I think it's because you're here to chaperone."
Nodoka only laughed.

As the day and week ended, bringing the start of the new,
Ranma, Shampoo, Nodoka, and Ukyo began their searched for the
location of the ruins. When Ranma heard that Akane was leaving for a
training trip over the summer break, he resisted the urge to follow and
began to track down several noted archeologists in the area. Several of
them had no knowledge of the ruin's existence. Others seemed to be
afraid once they looked at the copy of the map. Others denied that
there were even official records to confirm that the ruins even existed.
Shampoo had kept her word not to tell Cologne about the map,
or why she asked to borrow Cologne's materials. It still made it
difficult, however, to study them without Mousse or something else to
interrupt her privacy. All she found, though, was an encyclopedia-style
writing about the Musk. Nothing specific enough to use to locate the
ruins.
In the beginning, Ukyo was still handicapped because of her
illness. During that time she would help Nodoka pour over several
books from libraries about China and Japan's several historical and
religious sites. There was still no mention of any ruins similar to the
ones on the map. Once she had recovered, Ukyo began to visit all of
the shrines and temples in the city, hoping that any of the priests would
know something. However, the farther she went out, the sooner she
had to return home in order to open her restaurant. Everybody reported
their findings (or lack of) in a weekly meeting held in at the Ucchan.
The four began to have doubts about the authenticity of the map by this
time. But perseverance paid off and after one month of searching, they
finally got what they needed.
"Same as last week," Ranma reported, "I've gone to every
archeologist and anthropologist in the city, and they couldn't tell me a
thing! Some of them acted like they knew something, but wouldn't say
it!"
"I see," Nodoka sighed and turned to Shampoo, who just
shook her head, then to Ukyo. She looked as calm and dejected as
everyone else, but spoke.
"This week started out like the rest, but I went to one shrine
where the head priest wasn't able to help much because his
granddaughter had disappeared and he was searching for her. Her
brother claimed that she fell down a well but when they looked inside,
she wasn't there. Anyway, the old man referred me to another temple
that was run by a friend of his. When I got there I learned from the
lady caretaker that he was on a journey. She saw my disappointment
and frustration and asked me what was wrong. I got a strong feeling
that she was different so I showed her the map." She beamed and pulled
out her copy that had a red line drawn from Tokyo do a red circle to the
north, "She knew exactly what I was talking about and the exact
location of the ruins." Everyone else's eyes nearly popped out.
"Good job, Ucchan!" Ranma exclaimed after he recovered,
"Who was this person?"
"I don't know, but she was so nice and so smart, it was like she
was a goddess or something."
"That's great that we finally found it," Nodoka smiled, "are
you going to be leaving soon, Ranma?"
"I'd leave right now if my stuff was packed! But it has to wait
until tomorrow. It'll be a good chance to get away from Akane for a
while. Ever since she got back from that training trip, every time I see
her in the dojo she just looks at me and laughs like she was possessed."
"If Ranma go, Shampoo go too!" she announced, "Shampoo
tired of being cat and scaring Ranma."
"I'm not letting you go alone with Ranchan!" Ukyo glared at
the Amazon.
"You want fight?!" Shampoo challenged and produced her
bonbori.
"Let's do it!" Ukyo accepted and drew her combat spatula.
"Girls, please calm down," Nodoka said without raising her
voice. They listened and sat back down. "I trust both of you to watch
after my son. Don't you agree, Ranma?" All three women turned to
him and smiled.
{This is going to be a long trip,} he thought, sweatdropping.