First the visit of Asuza, his Father and Emperor of Jurai and his wives Misaki and Funaho, with the first trying to retrieve Sasami and Ayeka from Earth. Even if both were finally allowed to stay in the Masaki house, it had some consequences as a few weeks after that his first wife Airi arrived with Tennyo, Tenchi's older sister...
....and Noike Kamiki Jurai, the adopted daughter of Seto and the "Official" fiancée of Tenchi, was in reality an agent of Jurai posted to watch the residents of the Masaki House and relay anything concerning their habitants....
Suddenly a shadow fell over him and he raised his gaze only to wide his eyes, to see the Juraian Emperor's Tree Ship hover over the Shrine.
' why have my parents returned here?'thought a worried Katsuhito.
A transport beam appeared in front of him and deposited three people there.
His Mother and Misaki showed faces what ranged from annoyance to resignation and his father……
At that moment all coherent thoughts left Katsuhito’s head, at the image of his dad’s face. A strange tick appeared in his left eye. With a straight face he walked to his mother’s location and spoke.
“Excuse me mother, I have to do something in the shrine before I can escort you to the house. I will be back shortly.”
With that last comment, he walked up the steps, separating him of the shrine, and opened the door to enter, taking care of closing the door behind him.
mwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
A thunderous laugh could be heard during the next minutes. It was so hard that the birds near the shrine got scared. Washu suddenly thought to sue whoever laughed that laugh.
The laughter finally stopped and Katsuhito left the Masaki Shrine with his face straight as always, stopping beside Funaho to who spoke.
“Thanks mother. We can go now.”
With that he started to walk towards the house, followed by a pair of giggling Empresses and a fuming Emperor.
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There was a knocking at the door, causing the inhabitants within to look up.
“I’ll get it.” Ayeka said as she went to the door..
She opened the door, and was surprised to see the smiling face of her mother on the other side.
A carefully ingrained mechanism in her mind went active. Her eyes got a "Kawaii" gleam, and her voice acquired a higher tone. The ingrained response from her childhood was automatically activated.
"Mommy!"
“My Baby!"
While Ayeka hugged her mother, she saw that Funaho and…Asuza were with her.
’What is going on here? And why does father have black and blue eyes?’ She thought, amazed that someone could do something like that to her father, the Emperor of Jurai.
“Misaki let us pass! I know what you’re happy to see the child again, but this isn’t the reason of our visit,” Funaho snapped with a tone that showed her current emotions.
Ayeka suddenly felt her mother stiffen slightly, before breaking her hug. Something that sent chills running up and down her spine. This did not bode well.
’This is SERIOUS! ‘ she thought.
“Ayeka, would you be so nice to call Tenchi and the others to the living room please? We have to tell them all about something.” Funaho said in a more relaxed tone.
“Of course, Auntie Funaho”
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“Do you know why our parents returned to Earth so soon, Ayeka?” Sasami, Ayeka’s younger sister asked her.
Tenchi, who walked with them to the living, said.” Yeah, it’s strange for them to return only two months after their last visit. I’m questioning myself if this is related with Noike or not.”
“I don’t know anything but, for the tone of Auntie Funaho and Mom’s reactions, I guess what this is something of the utmost importance. “’Maybe you have reason in part Tenchi’ thought Ayeka to herself
Noike had reacted to the sudden apparition of the Imperial Tree ship with surprise and excused herself with some last minute buys in Okayama.
’more like a last minute communiqué to Lady Seto’ thought Ayeka again.
Any other comment died in the moment that they arrived to the living room.
Asuza, Misaki and Funaho were seated in the principal sofa, with Ryoko, Mihoshi and Washu to the left of them. In the right side was Katsuhito, who had an unreadable expression on his face.
Once they were all seated, the first to talk was Funaho.
“I know what all of you and especially you Yosho, are questioning yourselves the reason of our unexpected visit after being here only two months ago, but something has surfaced recently to the light, something what happened nineteen years ago.”
“At that time we had a really big matrimonial fight and Asuza decided to take a vacation without us in some backwater planet, to clear his thoughts. The fact is what the planet chosen for him in that opportunity was Earth.”
Asuza chose that moment to take the word “I was with a friend clan of the Masaki during that time. One day I was invited to observe a tournament.
“In that tournament I met a woman of impressive skill with the blade. Her name was Nodoka, Nodoka Aoyama.”
“At the start we shared our common interest for the Art of Kenjutsu but slowly during the three months what I stayed here we begun to share other things. She was a strange mixture of vitality, class, distinction and, over all, honor. To her, honor was more than a word or precept, Honor was the base of her own life.
To the end of that period I was more than in love with her….I can say what I felt in that occasion only can be compared to when I asked to Funaho and Misaki to being my wives and when Yosho, Ayeka and Sasami were born. I was more than ready to declare my love to her…..but something happened.”
“W-What happened then dad?” stammered Sasami, while Ayeka only had a hand on her mouth.
Yosho then gazed the expressions of his mother and Misaki to know their emotions.
‘Both look a bit more calmed now, but they have a bit of anger yet in their souls’thought him.
“She was betrothed in marriage to another man, as consequence of a pact between clans.”
“She then asked me to stay that night with her, and I asked to her for why. She answered what if even if she married that man, what her heart was with me”
“I loved her that night. While I observed her sleeping body I felt shame of myself, for what a young woman showed more courage and dignity in accepting what the destiny reserved to her, than me , the ‘Emperor of Jurai’…. heh……such emperor what I am…fleeing from my own problems” said Asuza in a self-depreciating tone.
Funaho and Misaki embraced him and rested their heads in his shoulders.
“I admit what I’m angered but I can’t blame you for what happened then. I and Misaki played a big part in that event. You aren’t free of guilt but, if you want to see her again you’re free to see if she is in good state and….well lately our life has been a bit boring in the last 10 years and a new wife could… liven the things a bit” said Funaho in a mischievous tone. “What do you think Misaki?”
“Yeah….the things are lately too boring in Jurai and the games between three get too common soon…oops…I said that out loud?” replied a beetle-red Misaki.
Asuza meanwhile was thinking ‘Three women…..holy Tsunami, I pledge myself to your infinite grace……..I’m doomed. If Nodoka is the half of how she was back then, I will die of the sheer extenuation…… (Sigh)…..i least I’ll die happy.’ concluded him.
While Yosho and Ayeka’s thoughts were’ we didn’t need to know that much……’ Yosho got curious and asked something to his father.
“Father Can you answer me a doubt? What was the name of the man who married Nodoka?” said him.
“Let me remember …..It was Genma, Genma Saotome”
Katsuhito sprung like hit for a bolt and screamed “GENMA SAOTOME!?” Then he uttered one of the vilest curses in Juraian what he knew while he returned to his seat, what made Ayeka and Sasami blush.
“Watch what you’re saying in front of children Yosho!” said a pissed Misaki.
“What do you know about that name, son?” asked a worried Asuza
Sighing, Yosho started his tale. “Well, twelve years ago when Kiyone was alive, she found a child in the forest. The strange thing it was what the child acted like a cat. Somehow my daughter made him sleep, and a few hours later the father of the child appeared. For what he answered to me, I surmised what that man had trained the poor child in …the Neko-Ken.”
Funaho’s gaze darkened considerably
“Mother, I surmise what you know what The Neko-Ken is no?” quipped Yosho.
“Yes. Before of met your father, I saw the effects of the Neko-Ken in a village once” said her.
“And what is exactly the Neko Ken?” asked Misaki.
“Take a child between six and ten years, wrap him in dried fish, and throw into a pit filled with ravenous cats. Repeat until the student dies or learns the technique” said an angry Funaho.
The horrified and stunned faces of almost all the present there said ‘what kind of man does that to his own son?
“Of 100 students, 90 die trying. Of the ten what survive the training, nine become mindless berserkers. Only one with luck recovers from the insanity product of the Neko-Ken.”
When I knew what did Genma with him I denied him any right to recover the child. I even was thinking of adopting him but, somehow Genma retrieved Ranma from us, under our own noses. From that day I have a deep dislike for that bastard” snarled Yosho, who then extracted a photo from his wallet and gave it to his Father.
“this is a photo of Ranma with Kiyone and Tenchi. He is the child to the left of Kiyone and is the only image what I have of him”
When Asuza’s eyes rested in Ranma’s face, he turned ashen-white and muttered something to Misaki, who took the photo and had a similar reaction to Ranma’s image than his husband.
Funaho took the photo then and when she looked to the image, she sighed and spoke” If this child isn’t yours Asuza, we have a really big coincidence.”
What? Are you saying what Ranma is our half-brother!?” said a surprised Yosho.
“How can be you sure Mother?” asked Ayeka
“He looks the same than Asuza’s father when young. Even his eyes are of the same shade of blue like him.” replied a worried Misaki.
“We must find him with the utmost speed then.” said Yosho.
“Why brother?” asked a curious Sasami.
“If you think what I will leave Ranma in care of Genma Saotome, I prefer to be punished for Tsunami itself rather than do that! You weren’t there when I found him scratched and bloodied, sleeping in Kiyone’s lap….he had nightmares in the first week after snap out of the Neko Ken. He’s my brother and I will not let him to the mercy of a bastard like Genma!” spoke Yosho in such angered tone, what Ry-Ohki got scared and jumped to Ryoko’s arms to take cover.
“Miyaaa” was her reply to his tirade from her new position.
“Father please answer me if you know how to contact Nodoka’s family”
“I will contact their house immediately” replied him.
“Ryoko, please let us use Ry-Ohki to travel to Tokyo now.” Asked Yosho
Her reply was an “Of course Old Man.”
‘Finally I will complete my promise to you, Kiyone.’thought the Juraian prince while the preparatives for the travel to Tokyo were running with a high speed.
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“Ranma have you packed your things?
“Yes Mom, I’m ready to go.” said him.
“Then come with me to the dinning room to say our goodbyes”
Ranma walked then to the Tendo’s main room to close one chapter of his life…..and maybe start another….
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(Posted Sun, 13 Jun 2004 06:28)
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