When Ranma and the Tendo sisters came home, they could already see a huge limousine parked in front of the Tendo home.
"Who's that?" Kasumi wondered. "Father never mentioned he'd expect any guests."
"Much less anyone who'd be able to afford such a car," Nabiki muttered.
Akane frowned. "I can imagine who that may be..."
She was right. Right after they walked around the huge vehicle, Ranma could see a familiar figure standing at the front door, bokken at his side, and an enormous bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"Kuno!" he groaned. "What are you doing here?"
The young offspring of the house Kuno turned around and narrowed his eyes. "I do not see any reason why I should have to explain myself to you, Saotome! I came here on behalf of the pig-tailed girl and the beauteous... Ah, my fair Akane!" And he welcomed the youngest Tendo sister with spread arms. "Come and feel my embrace!"
"I'd rather hug a yak than you, Kuno!" Akane yelled. "Don't you get it in your thick head? I'm not interested!"
"Truly, you are shy, that can be the only reason why you continue to resist the advances of the blue Thunder. However, where is my pig-tailed beauty? I was hoping to meet her here as well."
"Hey, don't you get it, man?" Ranma yelled angrily. "She doesn't want to have anything to do with you!"
"Saotome, you are an ignorant ruffian and a vile liar! You have no right to speak for a graceful creature as the red-maned beauty whose name I yet have to learn."
"Her name is Ranma Saotome, you dolt!" Ranma growled through clenched teeth. "SA-O-TO-ME! You got that?"
"You insist on taking her as your bride as well, you villain?" Kuno angrily bellowed. "You cur! I should strike you down right where you stand! However, I shall be generous today and let you live. Indeed, I can see you are just jealous!"
"J-j-jealous?" Ranma stuttered and snorted. "Of YOU?"
"Of course! Why else would you try to take both Akane Tendo and the pig-tailed girl as your brides, while they both belong rightfully to me? You know you could never even compare yourself to my splendor! You are not of noble blood, you are a thuggish coward, and most importantly, you have no money! Whatever could you offer a woman?"
"Oh yeah?" Ranma yelled and took out the deed of ownership for his new mansion. "I'll have you know that I am now the owner of a huge manor, even bigger than your family's shabby little mansion - Rose Manor!"
Kuno looked at the piece of paper with slight interest. "Hmmm, this does seem genuine. But how could a vile man like you get into the possession of a manor that only befits a member of nobility? How many people have you threatened so they gave you this?"
"I won it legitimately, at the lottery!" Ranma shouted. "I threatened no one!"
"Ah, I see... but Rose Manor... Rose Manor..." Kuno rubbed his chin. "Ah, now I remember! Isn't that the run-down ruin at the edge of town? No wonder such a domicile would be appealing to you, Saotome! It's nothing but a big pile of rubble, befitting for a man of your caliber!"
"Oh, just shut it, Kuno!"
"Well, good luck with your nice little mansion, Saotome... until it collapses right onto your head! Fair Akane, are you certain you don't want to accept this lovely bouquet as a token of my appreciation?"
"Only when hell freezes over!" Akane grumbled.
"I see... Sasuke, start up the engine, we shall leave!"
"Yes, Master Kuno!" the ninja retainer's voice came from inside the limousine.
"Since when do you come by car, Kuno-baby?" Nabiki asked while she was eyeing the vehicle with curious (and greedy) eyes.
"My rickshaw is under maintenance, and you know how tiresome walking can be, Nabiki Tendo! Farewell, ladies... And Saotome? Try not to soil my limousine with your poverty, okay?"
And with those words, Tatewaki Kuno got inside the car, and it drove away.
"The nerve!" Akane grumbled. "I should have punted him up into the sky... along with his ridiculous flowers!"
"I'll show him!" Ranma snarled. "I'll show him that in the end, my mansion will look even better than his little house!"
"Do you have any idea how much that is gonna cost, Ranma?" Nabiki asked him with raised eyebrows.
"Oh! If you want, I could help you, Ranma-kun!" Kasumi smiled. "If you need someone to do the dusting..."
Ranma smiled back at her. "Thanks, Kasumi, but I think I can do this by myself."
Akane looked at him doubtfully, but shrugged as they entered the house.
In the living room, they could see both fathers sitting at the shogi board.
"Hello, father, Uncle Saotome!" Kasumi greeted them. "You're back already?"
"Yes, Kasumi!" Soun nodded. "We found a nice apartment Nodoka is interested in, but she is still uncertain, so she wants to spend the night at her friend's place, which is close to the apartment, so she she can take a better look at it tomorrow."
"She told us we could leave when I said I had some important business to take care of with our son," Genma grinned.
Ranma huffed. "You'd do anything just so you didn't have to do any hard work, right, Pops?"
"Ranma, don't you speak to your father like that!" Genma said sternly. "I didn't lie, if you're implying that. There's really something I need you to do."
"And what would that be?" Ranma sighed as he sat down.
"Well, your mother's new apartment is still a bit, how should I say... filthy. If it weren't for all the dirt in there, she would have instantly agreed to move in. But she said she'd need some strong man to help her..."
"Lemme guess, she asked you to do it, right?"
"Right," Genma nodded. "And since you know that I'm not too fond of such work, I want you to take my place."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, son! Just see it as a workout. You can help your mother, while I can stay home and take care of... more important business. And Nodoka doesn't have to know that I asked you, you could always tell her you volunteered..."
"Forget it!"
Genma blinked. "Huh? What do you mean, son?"
Ranma leaned back. "I'm not gonna do your work for you, old man! If you're too lazy to help your wife, that's none of my business. Just tell her you don't wanna help her and that's that!"
"B-but Ranma... you can't be serious! Her katana..."
"Yeah, figures you'd say that. Then I suggest you just do your best and help her!"
"He's right, you know?" Kasumi spoke up with a slight scolding in her voice. "And by the way, father, you could help them as well."
Soun looked up at his eldest daughter. "Ka... kasumi!"
"Why not, Daddy?" Nabiki smirked as she sat down herself. "You could help your best friend, Genma wouldn't have to do all the work by himself, and on top of that, you wouldn't always be so bored."
Soun looked at his daughters as if they had betrayed him. "Fine!" he finally huffed. "But you owe me, Saotome, you hear that?"
"But... but I couldn't possibly... work... Ranma, my boy, how could you?"
"Aw, I've had enough! You two are really the biggest pair of slackers I have ever seen in my life!" And with those words, Ranma jumped to his feet and ran out of the room.
In the dojo, Ranma sat down on the floor and took a deep breath. What a day...
"I've had it with those idiots..." he grumbled. "First Kuno arrives and acts as if being rich gives him the exclusive rights to be a jerk, and then my old man can't even help his own wife... and on top of that, he wanted me to take care of all his problems!"
With a deep sigh, he pulled out the diary of Phantomias he had hidden underneath his shirt. After he made sure that nobody was coming into the dojo, he opened it and began reading.
"Thanks to the secrets of Rose Manor, nobody ever managed to unveil my secret identity, allowing me to live my second, secret life..."
Ranma raised an eyebrow. Secret life? Not a bad idea!
He kept on reading: "During the day, I slept. At night, I went out to take revenge on all those who believed I was a failure at life."
He sighed. "Oh yeah, I know how that is. I'd like to teach my old man a lesson as well... and Kuno... and Happosai, too!"
He turned to the next page and was surprised when he saw the picture of a sleek vehicle that was equipped with several interesting gadgets and devices. According to the descriptions, this was the vehicle Phantomias used when he was prowling through the night.
Ranma pondered. While he never actually needed a vehicle to get around - not if he could easily jump faster from roof to roof than a car could ever drive - he was still interested in the mechanics. Nobody really knew this, but tinkering with machines and engines was one of his secret hobbies. For some time, he and his father had stayed in a part of Tokyo where a young mother with her daughter were living... and that daughter showed him how fascinating motors and engines could be, although she was more interested in racing than in tinkering. She was a real racing whiz, but Ranma liked her. Similar to when he had to leave Ukyo behind, he was sad when his father dragged him away from his friend. At least he didn't steal anything that belonged to the girl's family that time...
"I don't really want a car," Ranma murmured. "But a motorbike or something like that would be nice... Doesn't train my body, but would be still fun to ride. If only I had more money... than I could easily pay for the repairs on Rose Manor AND afford a new bike. Would be fun to try and install all of those little devices on it..."
He dreamily looked at the picture of Phantomias' special vehicle, but then sighed. "Oh, who am I kidding? My knowledge about mechanics is just enough to change a tire..."
He closed the book and leaned back against the wall. "Oh man... I wish I would still live in Juuban... than I could always ask Haruka for help."
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Sat, 03 Nov 2007 16:00)
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.