[Episode 205171] [Episode 205171]Ranko smiled when she came out of the teleporter that connected Lake Hylia and Zora's Domain.
The water was warm. It was so pleasantly warm, it made her feel all fuzzy. Playfully, she twirled around in the water, turned to face her fiancee and spoke, bubbles coming out of her mouth: "Shampoo! Do you see? Water! Crystal clear, warm, life-giving, absolutely wonderful water! I just love it!"
Shampoo smiled at her currently female husband and gestured to the surface with her thumb.
"Oh, yeah... we probably should go out of the pond," the Zora princess chuckled bashfully.
When they broke through the surface together, they were faced with an unusual view... all of the Zoras were standing aligned at the edge of the lake, and it was every single Zora of the kingdom. In front of them, Ranma's parents were standing... and even King Zora himself had managed to drag his heavy self down here from his throne room.
"Brave heroes," he said in his gurgling voice. "Strong warrior Shampoo from the desert... and Ranko, beloved princess of our kind... thanks to what you helped to accomplish, our tribe was saved. And even though the heroes that helped you on your quest aren't here today... we still want to think of them, too, while we are honoring you. We are forever grateful..."
And with these words, the king lowered his bulky head. All around him, the Zoras fell down on their knees and paid their respect to their princess and the purple-haired Gerudo. Nodoka and Genma smiled at each other and lowered their heads as well.
Ranko was blushing so much, she almost turned green in front of them. She helped her fiancee out of the water and scratched her pigtail-like head fin. "Aw, gee, it was nuthin'... I would've done it either way... but, ya know... it was good to know that it was my tribe I could help. That is, one of my tribes."
Confused murmurs were rising among the Zoras, since most of them did not know of their older princess' mixed heritage. But Ranko didn't want to keep it a secret any longer.
"That's right," she boldly said and stepped forth. "I'm sick of lying anymore... you all might know that I am your queen's child, and only Princess Ruto's half-sister... but except for my family, and King Zora himself, I've never told any of you that I was born a Hylian."
A few sharp gasps could be heard, and Ranko half expected most of them to become angry. But they mostly were confused.
Nodoka realized what her child was about to do and brought her some hot water, and a pair of clean pants. Ranma's whole body was soaked, but she didn't bother about dry clothes right now. She quickly put on the pants, while the Zoras watched in befuddlement. She then accepted the hot kettle from her mother with a thankful smile... and poured its contents over her head.
The Zoras shouted out in surprise when, in front of their eyes, their beautiful princess turned into a young, muscular, handsome Hylian male with a black pigtail, wearing a pair of wet pants and nothing else.
"That's right, I'm half Hylian," Ranma said, not afraid of any consequences anymore. No matter if the Zoras accepted him or not, he knew he would be accepted by his family. And he didn't want to hide the truth anymore. "I was born as the son of your Queen Nodoka... and Genma Saotome, the Hylian standing in front of you." He gestured at his father.
Genma groaned. "Well done, son, now they will drive us away... just like in old times..."
Ranma ignored what his father said. "I was born and raised as a Hylian boy, and my father trained me in the martial arts... until we came to a place you might be familiar with. You know what I mean, right... the sacred grounds of Jusenkyo! Falling into one of the cursed springs, I now turn into a female Zora every time I come in contact with cold water."
He made a short pause, to see if anyone was getting upset. But everyone was watching him in astonishment.
Ranma went on: "So, I must admit, I was pretty anxious before coming here for the first time, and I never believed I would ever say this, but... I enjoyed being a Zora. And yes, I enjoyed being a princess!"
Genma had a strange feeling of doom when he heard his son speak those words. Cringing, he looked over to Nodoka... who had a proud look upon her face as she looked at her son.
"I now have a big family," Ranma smiled. "I have a younger sister, and I even consider King Zora as some sort of second father... and, to be honest, he and my Pops are surprisingly familiar, aren't they?"
Nobody laughed out loud, out of respect for the king, but Ranma could see how a few Zoras were smirking or even chuckling quietly because of his remark. This gave him the courage to keep on talking.
"As for the rest of you... well, whoever can say that he has two tribes he belongs to? Two homes to return to? Two families to enjoy? Because, actually, that's what you are to me: A big family. You accepted me, welcomed me as your princess and helped me to enjoy my stay. And the seven years I've spent with you were the seven most enjoyable years of my life. I know that there might be several among you who might feel disappointed, maybe even betrayed by my true self... but would it really be better to keep on living a lie? I don't think so! It will be weird, granted, but I want to keep on living as both: Ranma Saotome, man amongst men... and Princess Ranko of the Zora. Now it is up to you, if you accept me..."
'That's it...' Genma thought. 'The lazy days as King Zora's best buddy are over... no more lounging around in the hot springs... no more delicious - and free - sushi...'
Shampoo and Nodoka, however, looked at Ranma proudly. They knew he had taken a big risk by revealing his secret, but maybe now, that he showed him who he really was, by defeating Morpha in the Water Temple... maybe now they also were ready for the truth.
Shampoo stood at her Airen's side, willing to always support him, and gently took his hand. No matter what, they would always have each other.
King Zora waited as well. It would be for the best of all, he decided. He could not force the Zora to accept something they did not want, so if they decided to chase Ranma away, there would be nothing much he could do against it. But he would always support his wife's children, that's something he had sworn to himself.
And then, one of the Zoras decided to clap his hands. Hesitantly, other followed, until the whole crowd was enthusiastically applauding and cheering: "Long live Prince Ranma! Long live Prince Ranma! Long live Prince Ranma!"
Ranma couldn't help himself... the biggest smile of his life had just appeared on his face, and with pure glee, he leapt up, into the air, gave off a whoop of joy... and fell back into the cavern pond with a big splash.
Shampoo winced when she got a face full of water. "Good that Shampoo no has Jusenkyo curse..." she murmured to himself while wringing out her hair. "She wetter than cat in rain..."
Ranko surfaced, once again female and fish-like and spat out some water. She grinned. "I guess getting wet is now part of my life."
Everyone laughed at that.
Later, after turning back into a male again, Ranma joined his parents, King Zora and Shampoo in the throne room.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I've talked so much about me, and you all must be worried sick about Ruto... but don't worry, she's fine!"
King Zora smiled at the pig-tailed youngster. "Actually, we already know about that," he said. "Shortly after the ice melted, we received an outstanding vision, appearing in the waterfall... it was the face of my beloved daughter Ruto, and she told us all about the good news. I must say, I am rather proud as a father that she has now awoken as the Sage of Water. Of course, we all know about the old legends..."
"She also introduced us to the other Sages," Nodoka smiled. "I must say, it was quite the surprise to see that your old friend, Ryoga, has also become a Sage."
Ranma chuckled. "Yeah, who would have thought that... old rockhead Ryoga, a Sage... but I've gotta say, he makes a damn good Sage of Fire. After all, he helped to save his people from Ganondorf.
"So did you, son," King Zora smiled. "So did you."
Ranma grinned. "Well, I couldn't possibly leave you all on ice, 'Dad'."
"But don't let that get to your head, Ranma!" Genma scolded. "Being a prince doesn't mean you are allowed to start slacking on your training. There's still plenty much I can teach you, such as..."
Genma wanted to keep on speaking, but then he slipped on the wet floor... and fell into the water himself. His fur dripping, Genma-Moosh scowled at his family and raised a sign:
'I know what you are about so say, so don't say it...'
Nodoka snickered. "Oh no, Genma, I would never dare to say that you don't even need Ranma to kick you into the water anymore... you can perfectly make a fool out of yourself without any help."
'You had to say it, No-chan...' the winged, wet bear signed grumpily.
Shampoo brought her mouth close to Ranma's ear. "Airen... can we talk?"
Ranma nodded and followed his fiancee outside, to Zora's Spring.
The parents looked at each other and smiled.
"Let's give the children some time for themselves," Nodoka suggested.
"Agreed, dear!" King Zora nodded.
Together, Ranma and Shampoo leapt up to the huge tree that was rising out of the clear spring water. They sat down and looked at the spot where Lord Jabu-Jabu had been before Morpha had put its curse on Zora's Domain.
'I really hope he will come back soon...' Ranma thought.
"Ranma?" Shampoo spoke up.
Ranma frowned. She rarely called him Ranma when addressing him directly, she usually called him 'husband' or 'Airen'. He realized that something important must be on her mind.
"What's up, Shampoo?" he asked.
The Gerudo looked at her beloved one with a serious expression. "Shampoo... I... I have been thinking," she said, trying hard to speak proper Hylian for the first time. "When Great-Grandmother appeared... had appeared at Lake Hylia earlier, Sham... I was wondering: Is she starting to do the right thing. Will she... listen to reason? Does she think that Gerudo no are... that our tribe is not just a tool for Ganondorf's schemes?"
Ranma sighed. "I'm not sure, Shampoo," he finally said. "I mean, sure, she gave Link those magical arrows, and she warned them of that Shadow Demon that's going to attack Kakariko... but, after all she has done... after all she has said, I don't know if I could ever trust her. Do you remember the first time I met her? Do you remember what she called you? She called you an 'honorless traitor', and even worse, a 'half-breed's whore'. I will never forget these words, Shampoo... never!"
"W-well, Great-Grandmother... she was very upset that day, of course she would be. The traditions... have always been very important to her, and Shampoo is sure... I'm sure she would like to take it back if she could."
"If it only were that simple, Shampoo..." Ranma murmured. "After all, she brought those twin witches on our trail... that's what made us outlaws in the first place."
"It no is Great-Grandmother's fault!" Shampoo insisted, falling back into her regular speech pattern. "Elders Koume and Kotake were just using her to find us. She never attacked, only Twinrova witches did. Besides, everyone who is against Ganondorf is an 'outlaw' in their eyes."
"I have to agree with you there," Ranma grumbled. "Nothing against your tribe, Sham-chan, but those two old crones are really the worst example of how a tribe leader should be."
"Great-grandmother not like that, Shampoo knows..." the Amazon said softly. "And that... that is why... I want to ask you to come with me."
"Come?" Ranma wondered. "Where?"
"Gerudo Valley," his fiancee replied.
Ranma sighed again. "I see..." he muttered. "You want to know if you are right about her..."
"That one of the reasons," Shampoo admitted. "But if Great-Grandmother really had a change of heart, she is in great danger. Ganondorf and Twinrova would never accept a traitor in their middle, especially not one so close to the king himself. If they found out she helped us... than Ganondorf's wrath will be truly horrible!"
"I think I understand," Ranma nodded. "I never hesitated once when I realized that Ruto or Mom were in danger... you still love her, don't you?"
"She is my great-grandmother," Shampoo said. "Family ties are important among the Gerudo, just like in other tribes as well."
"But didn't you tell me yourself that your aunt... well... that Cologne has to do something with it?"
"She has to be alive," Shampoo whispered. "She has to. She always was like a mother to me, and great-grandmother cared for her as much as she cared for me. Only because of her influence became Auntie Nabooru second-in-command. And even if she was responsible for her disappearance... I still want to hear the truth from her. I will go. If you want to come or not, is up to you."
"Do you think I'd let you go back there by yourself?" Ranma asked and hugged her. "I would never abandon you. If you decide to go, I'll go with you. I will always stay by your side." He then chuckled. "Or do you think I would have married you otherwise?"
Shampoo chuckled back. "Airen beat Shampoo in combat, but Airen not really knew male who beat Gerudo warrior becomes husband."
"Well, we still are married, according to your tribe's laws, aren't we?" Ranma smiled and looked into her deep, blue eyes.
She smiled back at him. "Maybe we should have a traditional Hylian wedding ceremony... then we know for sure that we are married..."
"I have no objections..." he murmured while they slowly met in a soft kiss...
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(Posted Mon, 05 May 2008 18:01)
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