The second Tendou daughter explained to the first that the third was not their full sister as they'd always thought. Specifically, that the third daughter's father was a dragon of unknown name and type. Said first Tendou daughter listened attentively to the explanation, nodding eagerly at the appropriate points in the explanation. The second Tendou daughter finished her explanation of the parentage of the third Tendou daughter to the first Tendou daughter, the roles of first, second and third Tendou daughter, of course, being Tendou Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane, respectively.
Kasumi blinked as she absorbed the data that Nabiki had dumped onto her, her finger held thoughtfully against her cheek. You could almost see the wheels spinning in her head as she pondered, analyzed, processed, and considered the information.
Akane waited anxiously on Kasumi's verdict, nervously wringing her hands. Would she be accepted as an honorary family member? Or would she be summarily thrown out on her ass? Or viewed with disdain, her traditional sister frowning on illegitimate children? One thousand and one horror stories played out before the youngest Tendou's eyes.
"That must mean that Akane isn't Otousan's child, either..." she said at last.
Silence.
"'Either'?!?! What are you talking about, Kasumi-neechan?" Nabiki protested.
"You're saying that Otousan isn't Akane's father, yes?" asked Kasumi.
"Yes, that's what we're saying," Nabiki answered.
Kasumi smiled her innocent smile. "Well, I know for a fact that Akane couldn't possibly be Okaasan's child either," she declared as if she was announcing the birth of her own child.
"Ehhh?!!!" Nabiki gasped. This was a new one!
Kasumi giggled, as if she was telling a little naughty joke that wasn't all that naughty really. "Of course, you would be too young to remember, Nabiki-chan," began Kasumi. "Okaasan was never pregnant with Akane. There were some... complications during your birth. Okaasan needed a hysterectomy. She couldn't have possibly bared Akane. Not that I would believe for a second that Okaasan laid your egg, Akane-chan." That last bit was directed at her youngest sister.
Kasumi blinked at her. "Ara, isn't that painful, Akane-chan?" asked the eldest, suddenly concerned at the way Akane's jaw had become unhinged and was hanging rather a long way down. The others were not much better.
"My... EGG?!!" Akane blurted at last.
"Yes, your —as you say— egg," Kasumi said. Did Akane detect a twinge of humor in her voice? She wasn't sure. Kasumi suddenly got a dreamy look as she remembered. "Your egg looked so beautiful! You are a very special child, Akane, and it was such a happy day when you hatched. A healthy, strong, baby girl!" Kasumi said with a joyous air that wasn't shared by her sisters. "I still have the pieces if you would like them."
Akane's eyes bugged out. She was hatched from an egg. Like a freakin' chicken. Or a platypus. Or a lizard! A bug! A fish! A toad! Not like a human, who would've bore her young live.
"Wait! Aren't dragons... like lizards or somethin'?" asked Ranma suddenly.
Cologne grinned as understanding dawned. "Ah, I see! Dragons do indeed lay eggs. Which means that a dragon is a likely candidate for your mother, Akane. And I find it unlikely that a male dragon would spend time with human women when there was a female dragon available."
"But it's the father Ranma and his fiancées share!" Nabiki protested. "The genetic tests prove it!"
With a sad, disapproving face, Kasumi brought her face close to Nabiki's. "Unless you have a specific person to compare with, you can't tell which parent a girl gets her genes from, Nabiki-chan." She tapped the piece of paper which contained the results of the DNA test. "All this shows is that Ranma-kun and his fiancées share one parent."
Nabiki's head spun. Her assumption of Ranma and the fiancées having the same father was based on the fact that human women couldn't have five babies in a single year (unless they were multiple births, fathered by the same man), but now she knew that wasn't true. Akane hatched from an egg! But how could a dragon... oh. "Well, dur... this is dragons we're talking about. They lay clutches of eggs, which may have different fathers. All the mothers have to do is lay the egg and bug out."
Cologne nodded. "And probably the rest of you children were hatched the same way." She turned to her great-granddaughter, "This explains much. Soap must had left the part where you hatched out of an egg out, Shampoo." Shampoo didn't answer. She was too busy trying to wrap her head around hatching out of an egg like one of those Phoenix Tribe women.
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(Posted Sat, 31 Jul 2004 05:22)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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