"You don't understand, Tendo. That girl looked absolutely like a boy then! By what I could see, there was nothing that wouldn't make you think that she was as flat as a board!" Genma barked.
Haruka's brow rose. "I don't know whether to be offended by his comments about my body, or be proud of my ability to fool people."
"Just consider him to be an idiot. I always do," Ranma told his wife.
"Ah, I see...."
"Stupid boy! Don't you understand how to give respect?" the Saotome Patriarch growled. "In any case, there was no reason for me to think otherwise, and I happen to be a very observant individual."
"As you say, Saotome. I, for one, can not doubt that you would know about all about the beauty that a woman can possess."
"I would?"
"Of course! You did marry, and your wife did bear your child, right?"
"Oh, yeah! And she did have reason to be impressed by my prowess. In fact, she insisted that I be a 'manly man' for her, and so I had to show her just how masculine I could be, which was no trouble for me, since I could last long into the night...."
His son's face took on a greenish hue. "Stop, stop, STOP! I don't need ta hear that stuff, and I don't want the image of it in my head!"
"Really. We don't need to hear... anything about that sort of thing," Nabiki muttered, her lip curling in disgust.
"In any case, you should know that I am a good judge of a lot of things, including female beauty, and the Art. I trained Ranma here to great levels, didn't I?" Genma asked the room in general.
"Ah, but how much is it because of you?"
"What was that?"
"Nothing...."
"Hmmm.... Well, you all should understand that I have the experience of a long and eventful life, and the wisdom that comes with it. And so I know better than you the roads that people should take."
"We'd like to be able to make our own decisions, thank you very much," Akane grumbled.
"But I would know so much better than you what those choices would result in."
"We both do, and so please understand that when we put you onto a path that we will be doing this because we see it will be better for you," Soun seconded.
"Exactly, and we are sure that this arrangement is for the best."
"And we'll know how to get past all the foolishness that doesn't need to be involved."
"So, listen to us, and know that we will be perfectly able to handle this part of what is going on. And we can make it so that nothing interrupts our plans again," the portly man intoned, glancing over at the sole blonde in the room.
That was when there was a knock at the front door, and the sound of a voice came echoing lightly to those in the family room. "Hello?"
"Oh my, our other guest is here," Kasumi murmured, and gracefully rose to her feet. "I'll go answer the door."
"This should be interesting," the middle Tendo daughter commented as her elder sister left the room.
Her father blinked at her. "Why is that?"
"Well, it should prove to be... helpful to have someone so interested in things like what is going on here around."
"She won't interfere where she doesn't have an interest in what is going on, will she?"
"No, I can honestly say that she only pokes her nose in where it's 'proper'. She might feel the need to help others, but she doesn't push her ideas onto others on a whim."
"I see. Then it should be welcome to have such a upstanding individual help us, if she can."
"Trust me, she'll want to do a lot.... Right, 'Uncle' Genma?"
The named man blinked at her. "Why would you ask me about it?"
"Don't you know?"
"I can't see why that would be the case...."
"Oh, it's quite simple... husband," commented a new voice drolly.
Genma's head snapped up, and his eyes went as they could. "No... no.... Nodoka?!"
"Hello, dear," Nodoka Saotome told her husband. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"
"I.... uh... um...."
"Well, it's great ta see ya, Mom!" Ranma called out, rising a bit to give her a hug.
She kissed the top her son's head. "You look well, Ranma."
"Mom...."
"Yes, yes... I know that you're grown now...."
"You'd never know it, sometimes...."
"Really?"
"It's nothin'."
"If you say so. But it is really good to see you. And you girls too."
"Nice surprise for you, isn't it?" Nabiki purred, looking rather satisfied with herself as she turned her gaze onto Genma, who was looking more confused and nervous by the moment, while:
(Posted Fri, 07 Apr 2006 23:30)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.