Patience, Kodachi…. You’ve almost got him; now is not the time to choke.
The young gymnast took a deep breath as she concluded her argument: “So you see, brother dear, we have essentially been forced into a position where we must choose between our personal honor, or the very real possibility of causing our beloved Emperor to lose face on the international stage. Now, I don't know about you, but personally, I beleive that our country's honor far outweighs my own in terms of real importance. Wouldn't you agree?”
Tatewaki’s face was utterly inscrutable as he pondered all that his sister had just told him. In theory, there shouldn’t have been any conceivable response other than approval (if given reluctantly), but even she had to admit that he could be unpredictable at times. Indeed, she knew perfectly well that he could probably find some way to blame the whole situation on Ranma, which is why she had decided to bring his sense of patriotism into the equation.
Sadly, it appeared that her efforts were in vain. “That… that fiend! To think that Saotome would stoop so low as to invoke your love of our Emperor to solidify his craven desires! This deceit can not go unpunished!”
Curses… I really thought I had him. Fortunately, Kodachi had a backup plan. “My dear brother, do you really think the government would give his approval to this arrangement if it were naught but a ruse? Or are you saying that our beloved Emperor is not wise enough to see through any such trickery?”
“I… uh… that is…” This indeed was a puzzle to Tatewaki, for if he could see through Saotome’s infernal devices, surely the Emperor could as well. “Well, Saotome is a powerful sorceror; perhaps he weaved his foul magics to addle the minds of the appropriate authorities. The man is clearly willing to do anything to ensare as many women as possible.”
“Ah, but if that were the case, would he not have included your so-called ‘pigtailed goddess’ in the arrangement?”
Tatewaki seemed thunderstruck by this possibility. Of course the foul sorceror would have made certain to include the goddess in his harem. It was sheer lunacy to suggest that he would not want this to be the case… but what did that mean? “That means… that he truly did not desire this set of circumstances?”
“Of course he didn’t! In fact, the one behind our current predicament was none other than the redheaded harridan herself!”
“You lie!”
“My dear brother, in the last few days I have been made to see the truth about that woman and Ranma. You see, she has placed him under a curse which causes him to take on her form and likeness when he is splashed with cold water.”
“Preposterous! Why would my goddess do that?”
Kodachi couldn’t resist a sly grin, it was time to deliver the coup de grace. “I know not her motives, but surely, one of them is to drag the good name of the Kuno clan through the mud.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“It’s quite simple, brother dearest. You see, though I only learned of Ranma’s condition recently (and it is obvious that you doubt it), the fact is that the nature of Ranma’s curse has been common knowledge for months. Whenever the likeness of the redheaded woman is seen in public, they assume that she is actually Ranma in his cursed form, and take for granted that he is actually a man. Thus, when they see you constantly chasing after and cavorting with someone whom they assume to be male….” Kodachi stopped just short of stating the obvious conclusion—her argument would be much more powerful if Tatewaki came to it himself.
“I… with Saotome…” The elder Kuno’s face suddenly recoiled in horror as he realized what his sister was implying. “Are you saying that the common folk believe that I am actively pursuing Saotome?”
“That is precisely what they believe, my dear brother.”
“This… this is outrageous! Why would my pigtailed goddess do something like that?”
Kodachi sighed. “Because she is malicious and evil.”
“I… I… I need to see this for myself.” Tatewaki hurried out of his room, and before Kodachi knew it, her brother was off the grounds of the Kuno estate.
Well, that went about as well as could be expected. Much better, actually, given my spouses’ rather low expectations for my endeavor to begin with. I do hope that he doesn’t do anything too rash….
Ranma abruptly halted his conversation as the full implication of what had just happened settled in: Holy crap…. I can’t believe she just did that.
Of course, a comment like this, unvoiced or otherwise, is likely to provoke a response, and in this Akane did not disappoint: You can’t believe who did what, Ranma?
Kodachi. I… I think she mighta just took care of her brother.
What?! You're sure?
Well, no… not totally… but she’s gotten a lot closer than I ever thought she would.
This might have continued, had Shampoo not interrupted them. You will have to pardon my interruption, Airen, but your mother is waiting for you to respond to her question.
Ranma looked up to see his mother waiting rather impatiently for him to speak. “Uh, sorry, Mom. What where ya sayin’?”
“I’m saying that all this telepathy business seems a little far fetched to me. Nerima may be an unusual place, but it isn’t that strange.”
“But it’s true!”
Nodoka, however, still wasn’t buying this. “I think you should stop hiding behind outlandish excuses and tell me what’s really going on.”
“Here,” Ranma finally said in exasperation as he grabbed a small pad of paper and a pencil and placed them in his mother’s hands. “Write down anythin’ ya want.”
Nodoka was unsure what her son was getting at, but she decided to comply with his request. She finished writing a word down and handed the pad back to her son. Ranma glanced at the paper and read the word printed there: Umeboshi.
Akane and Shampoo immediately figured out what Ranma was trying, and both spoke aloud, almost in unison: “Umeboshi.”
“How… how did you do that?”
“It’s like we’ve been tellin’ ya, Mom. We’re psychic, or telepathic, or whatever. I read the word on the paper, an’ the two of them read my mind. Ya wanna try it again?”
“No… no, that won’t be necessary,” Nodoka replied. Granted, if it had been anyone else, she would have probably been skeptical, but this was Ranma—when he wasn’t focusing his attention on some martial arts skill, his emotions were almost always transparent, and right now, she saw nothing but sincerity in his eyes. The Saotome matriarch sighed. “You’re certain that there is no other solution?”
“Yes, Mom. We are. We wouldn’t have done this if we weren’t certain we had to.”
Nodoka sighed again, and when she looked up, there was more than a hint of resignation in her eyes. “I will need to speak to your Great-grandmother, Shampoo. I want to know exactly what my son has in store for him now that he’s entered this… arrangement.”
“Wait, does that mean you’re going to accept the group marriage?” Akane asked.
“Accept? Akane, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to ‘accept’ what you’ve done. But… but Ranma is still my son, and I’ve only just been reunited with him. I can’t simply abandon him just because he’s made a choice that I don’t approve of.”
Ranma wasn’t one to cry, but his voice was getting noticeably choked. “M-Mom?”
“You’re growing up, Ranma, and that means that you’re going to be making your own choices soon. And… as long as you’re willing to accept the consequences of the choices you make, I will not stop loving you.”
At this Ranma rushed forward and grabbed his mother in a tight embrace. “Thanks, Mom.”
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(Posted Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:10)
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