Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Honest Truth ❯ A Father's Betrayal ( Chapter 4 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Ranma 1/2 owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Viz. All original characters are my own. (* denotes thought. < > denotes panda signs)




The Honest Truth
a Ranma 1/2 story
by harmonious jade



Chapter 4: A Father's Betrayal




Soun looked at Genma as he returned to the table. "We are in a terrible mess, my friend."

"Yes, we are, my friend." Genma leaned his elbows on the table and set his chin in his hands. "There must be a way."

"If only we knew someone who could take care of that debt."

"So true." He sat thinking. Suddenly his eyes lit up. "Ah, I have just come up with the answer."

"What?" Soun looked at him excitedly.

"That," he said with a finger to his lips, "is a secret." Genma quickly jumped out the window and into the night.

The elder Tendo sighed. "He's been watching Ranma's animé again."



Kasumi frowned at the fathers before walking up the stairs. She stopped in front of Akane's door and knocked. There was much shuffling before the door opened slightly. "I brought you some cookies and milk," she said with a smile.

"Thanks Kasumi," she replied softly as she opened the door.

The eldest Tendo daughter looked around. Nothing seemed out of place, which was curious. She sat the tray down on Akane's desk and sat down on the edge of the bed, folding her hands in her lap.

"Is there something wrong," the youngest asked.

Kasumi took a deep breath. "I saw all that happened between Uncle Genma and Auntie Nodoka. It was not pretty. The things I heard upset me greatly, more than what father told me when they returned home with police escort."

She sat down beside her sister, laying a hand over hers. "They just pushed me aside when I said no. It really hurt my feelings."

She was quiet for a moment before she nodded firmly. "That is why I made a phone call soon afterwards."

"To whom?" Akane was curious as to who her sister would call after witnessing all she had.

"Dr. Tofu."

The young girl's eyes widened. That name was furthest from her mind! Tofu liked Kasumi a lot and acted silly whenever she was around. No telling how he would react on the phone. "Why Dr. Tofu?"

Kasumi smirked. "Akane, I have a secret. You must promise to me that you will tell no one."

This was a shocker. She climbed up onto her knees on the bed. "I promise!"

"Dr. Tofu and I have been... seeing each other for a while now."

Akane fell over in a dead faint. Her body hit the floor and twitched. This was the most incredible thing she had ever heard in her entire life!

"Oh my! Are you alright? Was that too much of a shock for you?"

She scrambled up to hug her sister. "No, not at all! That is wonderful. So, why did you call him? Just because you were so upset?"

"Partly yes. The other was to accept his proposal."

The young girl's jaw dropped to the floor. "P... pro... proposal?"

Kasumi smiled and nodded.

"Y... you're going to get married?"

Another nod.

"To Dr. Tofu?!"

Yet another nod.

Akane jumped to her feet and began to dance. She pulled her sister up to dance with her. She was so glad her sister had confided in her. It really made up for the lousy day she'd had. "I'm so happy for you! Why didn't you accept earlier?"

Kasumi sat on the bed after the dance, dizzy from the experience. "I couldn't leave you, Nabiki and daddy alone. I had too many responsibilities here."

"But that's changed because of what daddy did, right?"

She nodded. "There is one other thing. I told Ono-sama that I would marry him under one condition."

"What was that?"

"That you be a part of our family."

Akane blinked. Obviously her sister was really upset with Nabiki and their father. She was offering Akane a way out of the Tendo family and all the chaos. "I..."

"You don't have to decide now. I know it will be hard. Just as hard as it was for me to accept Tofu's proposal." She stood and moved to the door. "I'll come back for the plate and glass later." With that, she left Akane to think over her own proposal.




Genma finally arrived at the Kuno estate. He adjusted his glasses and rang the bell at the gate. An older gentleman approached and looked at him oddly. He straightened his Gi and cleared his throat. "I am here to speak with Miss Kuno."

"And you are," the man queried, a haughty tone to his voice.

"Saotome, Genma Saotome. I am Ranma's father."

The man's eyebrow shot up as he looked at Genma skeptically. "Please wait here." He walked back up to the house to find Kodachi.

The elder Saotome bounced from foot to foot impatiently as he waited. He knew that the chances of this working were pretty slim, but he hoped all that Ranma had told him about the Kuno clan was true. That would be in his favor.

The man returned and much to Genma's surprise, escorted him into the house. The foyer was huge, as was everything else in this house. He was taken to a large library and asked to wait.

As he waited, he looked at the books. One side of the room was covered in books about roses, how to grow them, the different types, and such. Another wall was covered in books about swords and Kendo. Yet another wall was covered in books about Hawaii and other island nations. *These people really are weird,* Genma surmised as he looked about.

Kodachi strode into the room wearing a long, black dress that clung to her shapely form. "So, Saotome-san. What brings you here?"

He put on his most convincing smile, "Ah, Miss Kuno. My, you are looking exceptionally beautiful this evening."

She blushed and brought her hand to her face to laugh. "Ohahahaha, you are quite the smooth one, MR. Saotome. Being the father of my beloved Ranma, you must be here to tell me something important."

"Oh yes. Ranma has decided that he wishes to disregard his other engagements and become engaged to you."

Her eyes widened and she squealed in joy. "My Ranma has finally seen the error of his ways! This is such a joyous occasion! But please, dear Saotome-sama. Why did my Ranma-chan not come tell me this himself?"

"Uh," he was going to have to think quickly. "Because, uh, he, uh, oh! He's out telling his other fiancées that his heart belongs to you." He clutched his chest dramatically.

She sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh, that is so sweet!"

"However," Genma interrupted.

"However?" She looked at him curiously.

"There are restitutions to be made. I'm sure you understand. But, in order to complete this transaction, a small... boon must be made to myself and his former iinazuke."

"Boon?"

"Yes, just a small sum, really. Nothing overwhelming."

"And this 'boon' will guarantee my engagement to Ranma?"

"You better believe it." Genma grinned from ear to ear.

"How much?"

"Oh, just a mere... three million yen."

She blinked slowly. It looked like she was thinking to Genma. He began to sweat and get nervous the longer she took.

Finally she smiled broadly and laughed. "You have a deal, Saotome-sama." She moved over to a painting on the wall of what looked much like Takewati. Pushing it aside, she revealed a safe.

Genma's eyes widened and his mouth watered. He watched her closely, memorizing the combination. *One... two... three... four... five. One, two, three, four, five? A child could remember that!* He supressed his laughter as she turned around with an armful of wrapped one thousand yen bills.

"Let's see. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten... twenty.... thirty! That makes three million yen." She swept the bills into a bag and handed the bag to a now physically drooling Genma. "How long will it take to get the other iinazuke paid off?"

"Uh, a few days at least. Yes, a few days. I'm sure Ranma will come see you soon. Well, I must be leaving!" He turned and hurriedly left the house.





Monday dawned bright as Ranma and Yoko walked to school together. Their weekend had been spent letting Ranma get to know his new family. He and Yoko spared a few times, much to his delight. He was very impressed with her knowledge.

He began to slow his pace the closer they got to Furinkan. After such a good weekend, he was not looking forward to going back to school. As they walked into the yard, Kuno was nowhere to be found. Neither were any of the other students. It was eerily quiet.

They checked the clock and found that they were on time and not late. With a shrug, they continued to class. Miss Hinako wore a big smile as she greeted them in her child form. "Good morning Ranma! Yoko! How are you this morning?"

"Uh," Ranma was confused. "Fine, I think. Where is everybody?"

"In class I would suppose. Please, come in and take your seats. Class will begin shortly." She skipped over to her desk and climbed on top to begin her lesson.

Ranma's eyes immediately fell upon the empty desk behind his. Akane wasn't here. The one person he was actually looking forward to seeing was nowhere to be seen.

Even Yoko was surprised to see Akane missing. When she sat down, she found an envelope on her desk addressed to her. She quietly opened it and read the letter inside.



Yoko,

I'm sure you're wondering where I am today. Well, Kasumi and I have left the Tendo household. She accepted Dr. Tofu's proposal and they're going to get married. Isn't that exciting? They are going to adopt me into their family. It's so sweet of Dr. Tofu to do this for me. We moved in with him this weekend. I've included directions to our new home. I've been moved to another school as well. I just hope I can find some friends.

Anyway, I also wanted to tell you that I've thought a lot about what you asked me. I'm glad I had Kasumi and Tofu to talk to this weekend. The three of us sat down and made a list. Ranma's good points and his bad points. Tofu suggested I do the same for myself, with their help, of course. I found out a lot about myself from those lists. Ranma and I are a lot alike... and... I... I hope you will talk to your grandmother on my behalf. I would really like to start over with him... just like Kasumi and I are restarting our new lives.

Take care of him and I hope to see you two soon.

Your friend,
Akane



She read over the letter several more times before folding it neatly and returning it back to the envelope. Looking at Ranma, she noticed that he was very depressed. He kept glancing back at Akane's empty desk.

Ukyo turned around and whispered, "Where's Akane? Ran-chan looks so depressed."

"We had a long weekend. I'll tell you in gym."

The okonomiyaki chef nodded and turned back to face the teacher.



Gym was right before lunch. At Yoko's request, Ukyo left them alone today. She understood after the other girl told her about the letter. They had also talked about the restitution made for the dowry. Ukyo seemed okay with it. She really did want to be friends with Ranma again. Plus, she knew how he really felt about Akane.

Ranma and Yoko sat under the usual tree, their bentos in their laps. Both were quiet. Ranma was brooding and Yoko was trying to figure out how to talk to him. Eventually, she opened her bento and spoke. "I know why Akane isn't at school," she said softly.


His head snapped up and looked at her intently. "Why?

"She and Kasumi have moved in with Dr. Tofu." She picked up her chopsticks and began slowly to eat.

"What? They left the Tendo Dojo? But, why?"

"The noises Friday..."

He cocked his head to the side. "I did hear Shampoo." It was a statement, not a question.

She nodded. "Shampoo and Cologne were there. So were Kodachi and Takewati."

"Kuno? Okay, that's odd. Who else?"

"Your father and Akane's father..." she trailed off, not sure how to phrase the next part.

"They had Akane with 'em, huh? But that doesn't explain why she and Kasumi went away."

Yoko took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy. She really hoped he didn't take things wrong. "Akane was there. But, she had been brought against her will."

"Wait... are you saying that Pops and Mr. Tendo forced Akane to come with them?" The veins on the side of his head were growing more and more prominent the angrier he got.

"Well, sorta," she replied. "They stuffed her in a sack and brought her along. When they released her, she told them that she wasn't going to do what they wanted."

"And what was that?" His jaw clinched.

"They wanted her to get them into the house. When she said no, Nabiki showed up and said she'd do it." She lowered her head.

"Well, that explains the way Nabiki was acting." He sat in quiet contemplation for a moment before putting his fist into the tree. The entire tree shook, making acorns rain down upon them.

Yoko covered her head with her arms. "Hey! Careful!"

He wasn't listening. His mind was spinning. How could his father do that to Akane? Cripes, how could her own FATHER do such a thing? He knew they really wanted to join the schools, but this was going too far. No wonder his mother had gone berserk.

She watched him and shrank back as his aura flared around him. Yes, she could counter anything he did, but he was still a lot stronger than she was. She watched him closely as he flexed his fists.

The bell rang telling them lunch was over. Ranma looked up at the clock and frowned. "I gotta go find Pops."

Yoko placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "No, Ran-kun. Your mother gave strict orders that Genma was not to see you before he paid off the debt. That means you can't go see him either. I'm sorry."

He looked at her dejectedly. "But... Akane..."

"Don't worry. We'll see her, I promise." She stood and helped him to his feet. Together they walked back into the school.



The next day started much like the last. The schoolyard was quiet when they arrived. Miss Hinako didn't drain him. Akane was still not there and Ranma was even more depressed. "That panda should feel the same pain I'm feeling," he mumbled as he sat down.

Yoko heard him and frowned. She wouldn't let him go talk to his father, but that didn't mean she couldn't. Her mind started working and she came up with an evil idea, something that would cause Genma as much pain as Ranma was feeling.

About mid-morning, Principal Kuno called Ranma into his office. "Ah, welcome, my boy! How are you feeling today? You don't look so good." Kuno grabbed him by the arm and led him inside. "Here, sit down."

He clapped his hands and several girls appeared. "See what you can do to make my friend here happy. Perhaps a massage! That always makes me happy." Kuno grinned as the girls moved over to Ranma. One began massaging his neck while another started on his feet. The third began on his hands.

Ranma was in shock. Principal Kuno had never been this nice to him. "Uh, sir? What's all this for?"

"You've been so good lately," grinned the palm tree topped man. "I thought you deserved it."

Several hours later, he emerged from the principal's office feeling much better. He thanked Kuno for his hospitality and went back to class.

"Where have you been?" Yoko asked when he reappeared.

He grinned goofily. "Principal Kuno and I had lunch together. I got a massage."

His cousin's brow furrowed in confusion. Why would Kuno act so oddly to Ranma? This was quite out of character for the Principal. First Takewati stopped challenging him. Now the Principal is acting weird. For that matter, where had Kodachi been lately?

Her thoughts were drawn away as class began. In the back of her head, she calculated everything she knew and it still didn't add up.



After school, Yoko left Ranma with Ukyo. The two talked as he walked her to her restaurant. On the way, he was glomped by Shampoo. Ukyo was not happy with the Amazon and slapped her with her spatula. The two girls fought until Ranma spoke up. "Why don't we all three go to the restaurant together."

Shampoo loved the idea and grabbed Ranma's arm tight. She hung onto him the entire way.

Yoko had gone the opposite direction, headed towards the Tendo Dojo. She jumped over the fence and into one of the trees in the yard. As usual, Genma and Soun were playing Shogi in the garden.

"So, have you paid it all?" Soun asked the bespeckled man.

Genma grinned. "Yes, and I have nearly a million left for us."

Tendo's eyes lit up. "A million! Just think of the sake we can buy with that!"

"I know. I'm so smart. Lucky for us, those Kunos are pretty stupid. She didn't even make me sign anything."

Yoko's eyes widened. No wonder the Kunos were acting so weird. Genma must have sold Ranma to them. She was growing angry when she remembered her plan. Determined to get Saotome back, she held back her anger. Pulling a small box from her pocket, she pressed a button.

Soun looked up as the phone rang. Frowning, he got up and went inside to answer it.

Yoko pressed another button and jumped over to land in the tree above Genma.

The elder Saotome heard a rustling in the trees. He adjusted his glasses and looked around. "Who's there?"

She tossed the water balloon at Genma and smiled when it hit its mark. A soaking wet Panda now sat at the Shogi table.

<Hey! Who did that?>

Yoko giggled quietly and threw the other balloon in her hand. BINGO! It hit Genma squarely on the mouth. She heard the footsteps running towards the gate. Climbing higher into the tree, she sat back and watched.

Soun exited the house. "Must have been a wrong number. There was nobody..." He saw his friend in panda form, a white foam around his mouth. His jaw hit the ground.

The back gate flew open and three men and a woman entered. They were wearing Animal Control uniforms. "There he is," the woman yelled. "Be careful in case he attacks."

Soon two of the men had ropes around Genma's neck. <What is going on?>

Soun stepped over to the woman who seemed to be in charge. "Um, what are you doing to my friend?"

"Your friend is a rabid panda? You should choose your friends more carefully, sir." She rolled her eyes and made a warning gesture. "I'll just make a quick call and get you some help." She picked up her cell phone and made a call.

Soon her guys were carting the panda to the truck. For some odd reason it kept holding up signs with words on them, mostly <Help!> They placed him in the cage and took off for the zoo.

Moments later, an ambulance arrived. The EMTs brought Soun a pretty white jacket and helped him into it. The elder Tendo began to cry. "You took my daughters away and now you've taken my best friend! What am I to do??" They helped him into the back of the ambulance and drove away.

Nabiki showed up just in time to see the doors close on Soun's crying face. "Hey," she demanded. "What's going on here?"

"Do you live here," the woman asked.

"Yeah. That was my dad you just put in the ambulance. What happened? Was someone hurt?"

"I'm sorry, dear. Your father was found in the company of a rabid panda. We have taken the panda in for observation. Your father will be taken to the hospital for evaluation." She handed Nabiki her card. "You may call me tomorrow for an update on his condition."

"But..." she tried to protest, but the woman ignored her and left. "What the hell am I supposed to do now?" With a sigh, Nabiki went into the house to think.

Still up in the tree, Yoko bit back the laughter that threatened to spill from her lips.




Ranma and Shampoo sat watching Ukyo cook. "She pretty good," Shampoo said. "But Shampoo better. Shampoo make Airen good dinner." She was still glomped all over him.

Ranma sighed and watched the TV. The show they were watching was suddenly interrupted for some breaking news.

"I'm here in Nerima, a place known to have unusual residents. Today, Animal Control discovered and even more unusual resident. A rabid panda was found on the grounds of the Tendo Dojo." Behind the newscaster were the open gates of the dojo.

Ranma looked up quickly. "Pops?"

The camera panned to show a large black and white bear being placed in a large cage. There was some white foam around its mouth. It held up a sign that said <Help! I'm being repressed!>.

"It is not known at this time if the panda actually bit the owner, however he has been escorted to the hospital for observation." Next they showed the EMTs loading up Soun who was trussed up in a straight jacket.

Ranma, Ukyo and Shampoo all stared at the TV in awe. "That Airen's father and Tomboy's father. What going on?"

"I don't know," Ranma said standing up. "But, I sure am going to find out."



Ranma landed in the back yard quietly. He padded over to the Shogi table. The board was still damp and he caught sight of something. Picking it up, he mused to himself, "Hm, looks like a balloon."

Scanning the area, he found more rubber. "Most definitely a balloon. And what's this?" One piece had a white creamy substance on it. He dipped his finger into it, sniffed and took a taste. "Ick! That's shaving cream. Someone set my pop up."

Before he could stand up, he was tackled. He looked up to see Nabiki clutching him tightly. "Oh Ranma! It's so terrible. They took Daddy and Mr. Saotome away! I'm here all alone. Don't leave me!"

Ranma shuddered and tried to pry the freaking girl from him. "They got what they deserved," he said surprising himself with his words. "Yeah, they did... for what they did to Akane. That was just wrong."

Nabiki sniffed. "What are you talking about?"

He snorted. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You were there. You were a part of it too. Now, let go of me." He pushed her away and stood up. "If yer lookin' for sympathy, go call Kasumi, 'cause you're sure not going to get it from me."

"I can't call Kasumi," she replied with a sob. "She won't take calls from me."

He raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "I guess she is upset with what you three did. You might want to get used to being alone, Nabiki. Looks like it's going to be that way for a while." He turned and bound from the yard.




Yoko and Nodoka exited Megumi's office laughing and chatting. Yoko had met her aunt and grandmother there to show them the letter from Akane. She was happy to have been proven right, especially in her grandmother's eyes. Presently, they were going to get ready for dinner.

Just outside the door, they ran into a rather wet Ranma. "Oh dear," said Nodoka. "What happened to you?"

Ranma merely grumbled. "I don't understand why that old hag has to clean the sidewalk every day!"

Yoko bit back her laughter. "Come on. Let's get you into some dry clothes for dinner." Grabbing the shorter redhead's arm, she led her cousin away towards their rooms.

As they walked, Yoko looked at Ranma. The girl seemed to be deep in thought. "You wanna change back for dinner?" she asked tentatively.

The girl shrugged. "Nah, I guess not. Do you have some clothes that might fit me?"

"Hmmm..." She thought for a moment. "Probably." They continued on to Yoko's room.

Yoko went into her closet to search for some clothes while Ranma undressed and dried off. "So, what did you do with Ukyo," Yoko asked.

"We just went to the yatti. Shampoo found us on the way. They started fighting, which I had to break up... again." She sighed. "At least they consented to just going and having a snack."

"That's cool." She exited the closet with several sets of clothes. Laying them on the bed, she let her cousin choose.

Ranma looked over them and chose the red knit shirt with blue slacks. "So, what did you do this afternoon?" she asked as she began to dress.

The other girl smirked. She knew exactly what she would choose. Picking up a kakhi outfit, she answered, "not much."

"Oh." Ranma paused, pulling up the pants and fastening them. "It was weird. We were watching TV and a special news cast broke in. The reporter was standing out in front of the Tendo dojo. We were surprised to see a large panda get hauled into a cage on the back of a truck. And then, I could have sword I saw Mr. Tendo being led into an ambulance."

"Oh my! What happened?" Yoko did her best to pretend she didn't know.

Ranma looked at her curiously, trying to find something, anything in her eyes. "They said it was a rabid panda and they weren't sure if the owner had been bit."

"That's a shame. So, was it really the Tendo house?"

She narrowed her eyes and growled. "You know darn well it was." She pulled the balloon pieces from her pocket. "I found these in the yard."

Yoko looked at the pieces and kept her face straight. She didn't say anything at all.

Ranma let the corner of her mouth turn up slightly. "Thanks," she said quietly.

The other girl raised and eyebrow and looked up. "What?"

"I said 'Thanks.' To be honest, that made me realize just how much of an idiot he is. After I found these," she said indicating the pieces of balloon in her hand, "Nabiki jumped me. She was all scared about bein' alone. I told her that she deserved it and so did Pops and Mr. Tendo. So, thanks."

The taller girl smiled with relief. "Well, you did say that he should feel the same pain you are feeling. I figured this was close."

The buxom girl laughed. "You're right." Her stomach growled, signaling it was time for dinner. "Let's go eat."


Somewhere in town at the Animal Control offices, a panda sat caged blowing on a harmonica. It held up a sign. <Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.> He turned the sign around. <Nobody knows my sorrow.>




The four women sat enjoying dinner. They were talking about how glad the younger ones were that Nodoka had accepted Ranma's curse. Ranma even felt comfortable sitting at the table in his female form. In Nodoka's eyes, he had more than become a man among men. However, she just wasn't sure who made him that way, his father or the situations he had been shoved into.

Their peaceful talk was interrupted by the head servant. He bowed deeply and moved beside the family matriarch. "Excuse the interruption, Amagawa-sama. But, there is this... woman out front with a large group of people. She claims to be Ranma-sama's iinazuke."

Three sets of eyes snapped to look at the man. "You must be joking," Ranma said in exasperation. "Didn't they get the hint the other night?"

Yoko winced as her grandmother raised an eyebrow at her. The matriarch cleared her throat. "Perhaps we should amuse this one and go see what she has to offer." She stood, causing the others to follow suit, and made her way out the front door.


Yoko's jaw hit the ground while Ranma banged her head against the wall at the sight before them. And extremely long limousine was parked before the gate. More than a dozen girls, all dressed in traditional kimonos stood between the back door of the vehicle and the gate. Ranma recognized them as the St. Hebereke School for Girls Rhythmic Gymnastics team.

The back door of the limo opened and out stepped a tall woman dressed in a feudal era kimono, complete with traditional makeup. She began to slowly make her way towards the gate. The girls began littering her path with black rose petals. Yoko clinched her hands into fists and growled softly. She knew exactly who it was.

"May I help you," Megumi said as the woman drew nearer.

Kodachi stopped and bowed low. "Honored Matriarch, I am Kuno Kodachi. I humbly make your acquaintance. I have come to present myself to the family of my fiancé, Saotome Ranma."

Ranma and Yoko both snorted. Kodachi lifted her eyes enough to see them. Her hands clinched into tight fists inside the arms of the kimono. *What are they doing here? They have no right to Ranma! He is MY fiancé!*

Megumi crossed her arms and regarded Kodachi sternly. "And what do you believe gives you the right to claim to be my grand nephew's iinazuke?"

She lowered her eyes again. "His father, Saotome Genma made arrangements with me that I would become Ranma's only iinazuke."

It was Nodoka's turn to growl. The younger ladies looked wide-eyed at her. Obviously, Genma was not going to be around much longer.

"I am sorry, Miss Kuno," Megumi began. "Saotome-san has no business arranging anything for Ranma. Ranma and his mother have been transferred to my family register. They will take Nodoka's maiden name and be welcome in the Amagawa clan. You would do well to leave immediately."

Nodoka looked at her aunt in shock. They were going to have a long talk after this.

Kodachi lifted her head and looked stunned. "But... but... I gave him a dowry to secure the transaction!"

"How much," Nodoka asked through gritted teeth.

"Three million yen."

The four women looked at each other. "That's more than what he owed," Ranma noted.

"Which means he's a lying ba..." Nodoka stopped herself and regained her composure. She turned to face Kodachi. "Dear, did you get a signature to prove his intent?"

The girl looked confused. No, she had forgotten that. "But... no, I cannot allow that hussy to take my Ranma!" She pointed at the shorter of the red haired girls.

"Why I oughta..." Ranma was stopped by Yoko who placed a hand on her arm. The taller girl shook her head and looked at her grandmother.

Megumi remained standing stoically before the others. "I will say again, Miss Kuno, that you really should leave immediately."

Kodachi growled and flung her arms outward. A barrage of knives flew from inside the arms of her kimono.

"Grandmother!" Yoko yelled as she and Ranma jumped in front of the Amagawa matriarch. They began blocking the daggers as they approached. The sound of metal on metal made them aware that Nodoka had unsheathed her sword and joined them.

Before the knives were all gone, the gymnast had produced a ribbon and a spiked club. She snapped the ribbon out towards Megumi.

The elder waited until the ribbon was nearly to her. Her right arm snapped out and let the ribbon wrap around it.

Kodachi grinned evilly. "I have you now, you witch."

Megumi grasped the ribbon in her hand and yanked.

Kodachi, not ready for the change, was pulled forward and tripped over her kimono. She fell flat on her face.

"Do you think that after what you did to my granddaughter that I would ever THINK about letting you anywhere near my grand nephew?"

Mortified by her predicament, she quickly ripped off the dress and ran to the limo. The other girls realized what was happening and tried to follow, but the limo pulled off quickly. They ran off down the street after the car, screaming for it to stop.

Yoko and Ranma had several cuts on their arms, but not enough to matter. Luckily the knives weren't poisoned. They turned to face the clan head. "That was cool," Ranma said with a grin. "How were you able to catch the ribbon without getting hurt?"

The elder grinned and held up her hand. It was glowing with ki. Everyone watched as she released the energy, which proceeded to incinerate the ribbon. The broad smile on Ranma's face warmed her heart. "Now, let's go finish dinner, shall we?"



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Thanks to everyone who has been reading this story. It is my first attempt at a Ranma fic and I really hope it has come out well. It'd be nice to get some feedback (hint, hint).