Tatewaki Kuno was rarely shocked or surprised. After all, his particular worldview allowed him to always put a positive spin on whatever happened in his life. Anything not compatible with his little samurai world was ignored or twisted to make him the hero in his mind.
Some would call him deluded, insane or a bloody hypocrite but he didn't care. They were jealous because he was rich, handsome and the undefeated star of the kendo world!
But no matter how much he tried, it didn't help this time around.
The stack of official papers on his desk seemed to challenge him. He fervently wanted to deny what he had learned, to discover it was a lie, a cruel joke played on him.
There were limits on his insanity though. It took him a long time to stomach the very idea but he didn't have much choice in the matter, did he? Everything matched up to his everlasting chagrin.
"SASUKE!"
The diminutive Kuno family's ninja instantly appeared at his master's side "Yes, master Tatewaki?"
The young man took the offending papers in his right hand and shook them right in front of his servant's face "Sasuke! Are you certain, TRULY CERTAIN, there hasn't been some kind of mistake!?"
Sasuke's face fell "I'm afraid not, master Tatewaki. I triple-checked everything. You and him are truly bound by blood"
Tatewaki Kuno began to giggle, then started to laugh in a manner reminiscent of his 'twisted sister'. This was too much! All this time and both of them didn't have a clue!
Suddenly, he stood up and yelled in rage, throwing the papers, the damnable evidence, all around "This... This... is an outrage! A mockery! The gods couldn't be this cruel!!"
Sasuke could only sigh in defeat. In the corner of his eyes, he could see the Kuno family tree and the name of the aunt Tatewaki and Kodachi had never met: Nodoka Kuno. Of course, her married name these days was Saotome.
*****
At first, Tatewaki had asked Sasuke to find any kind of information on Ranma Saotome, his immediate family, his ancestry, everything... His secret hope had been to find some sort of scandalous secret that would make his engagement with Akane Tendo impossible.
The foul sorcerer Saotome was a dishonorable trickster and his father a common criminal. Surely, they couldn't have been anything more but burakumin at worst or had gaijin blood at worst. The Tendo were a proud samurai family. With such proof, he was sure he could persuade Soun Tendo to do the right thing and cast the Saotomes out.
So much for that idea... Not only Ranma was of samurai descent on BOTH his parents' sides (How the mighty had fallen, Tatewaki thought when considering Genma) but he was a Kuno by blood... His cousin, to be exact!
Apparently, the family hadn't been happy when Nodoka had married Genma. She wasn't disowned per se but was cut out of her share of the family fortune, getting only enough to live modestly on her own.
Genma and Ranma had no clue where Nodoka had gotten the money to live for the last ten years. A pity they never thought of asking.
*****
It took time for Tatewaki to calm down. His insanity was working overtime to put a positive light on the recent news.
"Brother dear? What are you making such a racket? Some of us like peace and quiet..."
Tatewaki wasn't sure if he was grateful or angry at his sister's interruption. Now the question was: How would she take the news?
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(Posted Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:41)
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