"Excellent!" Genma Saotome declared loudly upon reading the message. "I knew the boy had it in him all the time."
"Oh," Nodoka said. "My boy is so manly that he can even sire children where the land is barren."
It was rather fortunate that Soun Tendo was not present to hear that last comment. Had either Ranma or Akane been there to hear it, things wouldn't have been much better.
The two had left the area of the dojo for more reasons than just have some privacy. Though they'd never admit that they, or at least Genma, were not quite welcome around their son and his family.
Sitting inside the room and watching the elder Saotomes celebrate were two young girls.
The eldest, with black hair and blue eyes, couldn't have been older than ten years old, and she sat seiza staring ahead happy that the message she had received on her village errands was pleasing to her parents.
Occasionally, she'd glance to the side where her six-year old sister, a cute blonde girl, was yawning in a bored manner and threatening to try again to come out of the demanding seiza posture, which she was only vaguely maintaining anyway.
Whenever the blonde's posture started to slip, the black-haired one quickly and quietly shook her head. Her eyebrows would point up nervously as she bit her lip and glanced toward their mother cautiously.
Eyes narrowed shortly before they rolled, the younger blonde nevertheless kept herself at least looking like she was sitting properly. Drawing a nearly soundless sigh of relief from the elder.
The black-haired girl waited to be addressed, and hoped to hear more about her mysterious and seemingly god-like elder brother. If she had known the message she had picked up in town had been sent from her brother, she might have been tempted to peek at it.
Might.
Though as she had that thought, she flushed nervously and quickly beat that hint of disobediance to her mother down.
Almost as if the woman could hear the thought, she turned to glance at the girls, consideringly.
The younger blonde was seemingly unaware of the look, but her older sister swallowed slightly.
"Ryoko, Joseibi," she said, smiling in the way that always made Ryoko hope for a ray of the sun that was her mother's love and pride.
The fact that Joseibi's name was included was both encouraging and nerve-racking. On the one hand, perhaps their mother was about to shine that acceptance on her younger sister, finally. On the other hand, perhaps Joseibi was about to do something to pull the other side of their mother to the surface.
"This is an occasion for celebration," she said. "You've become aunts."
"The Saotome line is secure," Genma declared happily standing up and practically dancing.
Joseibi watched this with a growing sense of impatience and irritation. The only reason the blonde hadn't gotten up and left yet was that the last time she had done that, things had gone badly for Ryoko and Ryoko was about the only one in her family that did anything to take care of her.
"Wai!" Ryoko declared, hands going to her mouth in likewise celebration.
"Now, Ryoko," Nodoka said, a trace of disapproval entering her voice. "The sentiment is appreciated but that is not the behavior of a young lady of our line."
"Hai, Okaasama," Ryoko said, cringing at the admonishment.
That had brought attention on her well enough, and a glimpse through downcast eyes said that Joseibi had shifted back to a true seiza and their mother hadn't noticed she'd been out of it.
"This frees up much concern," Nodoka said, sighing. "Some measures are no longer necessary. We should see about advantageously placing the two of you."
Ryoko blinked at that, not quite understanding what had just been said. She understood that her mother was speaking of marriage, but to date she had been instucted that she was not in a position to be choosy. She would have to find a man willing accept his wife's name.
In a blink the black-haired girl realized what had changed: she was no longer needed to carry on the family name. The realization left her with a curious sensation that she couldn't quite identify.
"Ah, before that, Nodoka-dear," Genma said quickly. "Perhaps now is the ideal time to give our daughter some real training."
Ryoko blinked again and fought the urge to widen her eyes. There wasn't likely to be anything of that, her mother had never consented for Genma to give them any training away from the house. She had always wanted to go on a training journey such as her brother had done, as other martial artists she had heard of had done, but Nodoka was always so concerned with safety.
"Indeed," Nodoka said after a moment's thought, much to Ryoko's surprise. "Some advanced training might make her twice as appealing to a powerful family."
Ryoko's eyes were wet with cheerful tears as she came to the conclusion that her mother was going to reward her for her long dilligence. She was going to be allowed to pursue her interest in the martial arts.
"Perhaps it would be good to take Joseibi as well," Nodoka suggested.
Ryoko blinked again, eyes drying.
"Okaasama..." she said quietly.
"What is it, daughter?" Nodoka asked, turning toward the girl, smiling beatifically, but in a way that left little doubt that she was merely trying to disguise her own dislike for the interruption.
"Joseibi-chan is not interested in the Art," she said hesitantly, ashamed that she would force her mother to have to hide such disapproval.
"Nonsense," Nodoka said. "My family are samurai, your father's are martial artists. The Art is in our blood."
Joseibi avoided snorting, even at six-years old and, as Ryoko said, less than interested in the Art, she knew more of martial arts than Nodoka did.
"But..." Ryoko said.
"However," Nodoka said. "I suppose it would not be any harm to see to some of her education myself."
Ryoko froze, staring down at the ground and shaking minutely.
Nodoka stood up and started walking toward the side of the room, toward where the family sword was.
Joseibi felt a trickle of fear as the woman did that. She wasn't yet certain of everything the sword imported, but she did know that Ryoko's joy from a kind word from...well, almost anybody...but especially their mother was more than matched by her sister's fear of Nodoka reaching for the sword.
And if Joseibi felt a trickle of fear, then Ryoko...
The younger girl glanced toward her elder sister and flinched on seeing the orange fire swirling in Ryoko's eyes and the smouldering where the black-haired girl's hands touched the floor.
"I'll go," Joseibi said in a casual way accompanied by a fake yawn.
Ryoko looked up in surprise and the fire was already dying from her eyes, but there was still fear there.
Fear for Joseibi mostly.
Nodoka turned to look in that calculated look of sunny approval that worked so well on the blonde's elder sister. Their father, however, was seeming rather uncertain about all of this.
Genma glanced toward the girls and thought seriously.
Ryoko, he had plans for. In addition to being a remarkably obediant child, unlike certain other children, the girl was a genius. He had never seen a code that could confuse her for even a minute. She had read some of the most deviously encoded training scrolls off like she was reading a grocery list. That instinctive code-breaking ability made her an incredible tool for the acquisition of techniques.
Joseibi, however, had Ranma's disobedient streak in full, Ryoko was the only one she even somewhat listened to, with no hint of either Ryoko or Ranma's genius for the fighting arts. Of what use could she be...
Genma eyed the sword behind Nodoka and decided not to risk saying anything.
"Then it is decided," Nodoka said. "Husband, you must swear that our daughters will make excellent scions of our combined blood."
"Indeed, Nodoka-dear," he responded. "I swear it on my li...honor."
Ryoko looked to Joseibi briefly and then turned a cheerful smile on to their parents.
"I shall count upon you, husband," Nodoka said enthusiastically.
****
Seven months later.
****
Ryoko sat nervously, holding the yellow-furred fox cub in her lap protectively as the strange adults walked around her, talking about things.
Two backpacks were leaning against the wall next to her, one much smaller than the other.
There was a large scroll on the desk in front of a beautiful blonde woman in a sleeveless grey dress.
A pink-haired woman looked toward the girls and gave an encouraging smile as they continued to discuss matters. The woman behind the desk eyed Ryoko and the yellow-furred fox through narrowed lids.
Ryoko swallowed nervously and lowered her head, missing the look of interest as the woman behind the desk noted the flash of orange wash over her eyes.
"No sign of the...father?" the woman asked, looking away from Ryoko.
"Nah, he got away," a blonde man said bitterly. "Had some technique or something to get out of trouble."
Ryoko blinked and looked up in surprise.
"Umisenken," she said in shock.
"Oh?" the blonde asked, glancing toward Ryoko again. "Fist of the Quiet Thief? Care to explain?"
Ryoko flinched and looked down again, realizing she'd revealed a piece of the family's secrets.
Understanding that there'd be no more talk from the girl on that matter she turned back to the situation at hand.
Which happened to be the girl.
"We'll need to find somewhere to house the girls until we can find their family," the woman said.
"I'll handle that, Tsunade-Sensei," the pink-haired woman said. "I'm sure I can find someone to take in a ten-year old girl for a few months."
"I could ask Hinata..." the blonde started to say.
"The two of you are going to be out of the village for a few weeks as it is," Tsunade reminded him. "Though, with Shikamaru already watching your boy, it might be possible for him to take one more."
"Two more..." Ryoko said quietly, holding up the irritated fox pup for everybody to see.
"I don't think anybody is going to take your pet, kid," the blonde said, smirking.
"She's not my pet," Ryoko said finally. "She's my little sister."
There was a long moment of silence and Ryoko seemed to shrink at the attention.
"Can I have some hot water?" she asked finally.
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(Posted Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:37)
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