"Grandkids, grandkids..." Nodoka sang happily as she put even more baby bonnets, diapers, pacifiers and more stuff into the wardrobe.
"Auntie, you don't have to do everything on your own. Here, let me help you..."
But when the oldest Tendo daughter wanted to stand up, Nodoka gently pushed her back on the bed. "No, not in your condition, Kasumi. You're in your sixth month now... as are the others. You need to take care not to overexert yourselves."
"I'll keep it in mind, Auntie..."
Out of nowhere, Konatsu appeared. As usual, he was dressed in his kunoichi outfit. "Here, let me give you a hand, Saotome-sama."
"Oh, would you call me Auntie already, Konatsu?" Nodoka smiled. "You're practically part of the family now."
"You are too kind," Konatsu said. He bowed and put the baby clothes away.
Nodoka sighed. This is going to be wonderful... so many babies... Say, Kasumi... have you written the invitations yet?"
"Yes... however... I still think you should invite your family to the wedding too, honey." She gave Konatsu a quick peck on the cheek.
The feminine boy blushed. "K-kasumi... you really don't want to meet them. My stepmother and stepsisters would ruin the beautiful wedding..."
"They can't be worse than Kuno-baby's parents, can they?" asked Nabiki as she appeared in the door.
"Nabiki! Don't move around so much. Think about your baby!"
"Aw, the little guy's all right," Nabiki smiled as she gently patted her rounded belly. "I don't believe what I'm doing... I never imagined I could be a mother, and here I am, with a bun in the oven..."
"What does the proud father say?" Kasumi asked her sister.
Nabiki huffed. "He? All he does is swinging that bokken around. Do you think he'd help one bit with the preparations for the wedding? No, of course not. If not for poor Sasuke, he would get nothing done at all..."
"That gives me an idea..." Nodoka said. "How about we celebrate in that big mansion his family owns?"
Kasumi and Nabiki looked at each other and immediately agreed that this was not a good idea.
"Honestly, the Kuno mansion is filled with traps, one hungry alligator, and in the basement... I don't really want to know where the screams are coming from... Whatever Kodachi is up to down there, it doesn't sound pleasant..."
"Speaking of Kodachi... don't you agree her belly has... extended over the past couple of months?"
They looked at each other. Then they chuckled. "NAH!"
Suddenly, Nabiki's hand flew to her mouth. "Urgh..." Then she ran to the bathroom.
"Nabiki?" Nodoka ran after her. "What's the matter?"
"I... I don't feel so good, Auntie..." Nabiki muttered. Then she leaned over the toilet bowl and retched. "UUUURRRRGGHHH..."
Nodoka's eyes went wide when she saw the green fluid that was coming out of the middle Tendo sister's mouth. "Oh Kami... that doesn't look healthy, does it?"
Nabiki took a few breaths, then she wiped her mouth and looked down into the bowl. "Well... for starters, I know that it's certainly not supposed to glow like that..."
SPLASH!
"Damn Pops, you don't have to hit me so hard," Ranma growled as she got out of the koi pond, brushing her wet pigtail out of her face."
"Do you think you're going to be a good father if you start slacking off now?" Genma asked. "Only who is a good student can be a good teacher. And you do want to teach the ways of our school to your children, right?"
"Sure... but I know that I won't throw my kid into a pit of starving kids," Ranma muttered, crossing her arms.
Genma sighed. "Make one mistake and you're branded for life..."
Akane, who had been watching the whole fight from the veranda with her father, raised an eyebrow. "One mistake?"
Ranma walked over to his wife-to-be and smiled at her. "How's the lil' dude?"
Akane smiled as Ranma felt her tummy. "He just kicked me... just like his father, he always wants attention."
"Well yeah, let's just hope he's not going to be as stubborn as his mother."
Akane grinned. "Well, if yo know so much about babies, how about you breastfeed him every now and then?"
Ranma-chan paled. "I... I'll pass..." she mumbled as she stumbled backwards.
Akane giggled.
Just then, three visitors arrived. It was a boy with a spotted bandana, who was walking in the middle of two cute girls who were just as pregnant as Akane.
"Hi everyone!" Ukyo waved. She wasn't wearing her usual chef's clothes but instead a light blue maternity dress.
"Hey you three," Akane smiled. "How are you faring?"
"Never better," Akari giggled. "Ryochan and Grandpa just finished bringing all of my stuff into our new home."
"So, all three of you have settled in already?" Ranma asked as she dried her head.
"Yup," Ukyo nodded. "Just wait until you see the place... it's at least twice as big as Ucchan's was." She sighed. "My own restaurant, run by me and my loving husband... my dream is finally coming true."
"Yeah, only that is isn't with the man you originally wanted," Akane smirked.
"Well, true, but I'm over that. Ryoga's been so good to me and Akari-chan... it would be a crime to dump him after all that."
"You're perfectly right, Ukyo-chan," Akari grinned, and the two girls hugged their fiance from both sides.
"Lucky devil Ryoga," Ranma grinned. "You got two cute girls at the same time."
"W-well, I must admit it is a bit weird... but then again, it's not really a problem here in Japan. Legally, I'll be married to Ukyo... however, they both know I love them both the same."
"As we do you, you silly pig-boy," Ukyo chuckled.
"Yeah, we love you too, you cute little piggy," Akari smiled as she leaned against his strong arm. Then she winced. "Ow..."
"Akari, what's wrong?" Ryoga asked in a worried tone of voice.
"Are you hurt?" Ukyo asked.
"I... don't know..." Akari murmured. "For a moment, everything down there felt so hot... as if my tummy was burning. And then, it was cold... but now, it's back to normal. Strange, I wonder what that was..."
"More meat!"
"Coming, honey!"
Cologne frowned as she watched Mousse put another plate of raw meat down in front of his bride. "Son-in-law, do you think it's a good idea to feed your wife-to-be all of this... meat?"
"Shampoo is hungry," Mousse panted as he ran outside again. "I can't let her starve."
The Amazon elder shook her head. "Honestly, child... I know that pregnant women have unusual cravings, but... that is the fourth plate of raw meat you've gulped down the last few hours."
"Shampoo... not know what wrong, great-grandmother," Shampoo mumbled while still eating. "But suddenly I feel so ravenous... and raw meat looks sooo tasty... need to eat it all."
"If you would at least use a fork," Cologne sighed. She had seen much in her long life, and she could tell that something was wrong with Shampoo. The way she tore into the bloody meat Mousse was bringing from the butcher... she almost looked like a feral animal. Even when not transformed into her cursed form...
The weddings took place during the following month, and they all were beautiful. The Tendo sisters had a triple wedding... and since all of their rivals got married as well, these weddings went off without any disturbances.
However, the strange happenings were not the only problems occuring during their pregnancies. Kodachi suddenly noticed that her lower abdomen was taking on a green color. Ukyo made everyone panic when she exclaimed one morning that her water broke, even though only seven months had passed... and then it turned out that even though she leaked unusual amounts of water, the baby still would not come out for a couple of months. Tatewaki swore that one night, he had seen the belly of his sleeping wife glowing in the dark. And when Konatsu woke up in the middle of another night, he could see that the furniture in the room of his wife were SHAKING.
It was enough to make everyone worry about the safety of the mothers and the children, so they went to see Dr. Tofu.
He took a good look at the girls. When he was finished with all of them, he had a very serious look on his face.
"What's up, doc?" Ranma asked him. "What did you find out?"
"Well, it seems as if everything is fine with your wife and the other women, Ranma," Tofu murmured. "They and their children are perfectly healthy. However... I noticed something unusual about two of them when I made some X-ray tests." He showed them the results, which were hanging in the next room.
Everyone's jaw dropped when they saw the strangeness in front of them.
Tofu gestured to the results. "These are the babies of Shampoo and Nabiki. As you can see, Nabiki's child is barely visible... since the whole area within her womb is bombarded by some sort of radiation."
"WHAT?" Nabiki yelped. "Are you saying I will get cancer?"
"No, strangely enough, these rays do not cause any harm at all, even though it appears as if they might be radioactive... the strangest thing is, the radiation is coming from the baby."
He coughed and turned to the next picture. "Now, Shampoo's baby... I'm sure you all can see these extensions, right?"
"Y-yes, but... what they mean?" Shampoo asked. As an Amazon warrior, she didn't want to admit it, but she was a bit afraid.
Tofu pointed at a certain area near the baby's behind. "This... is a tail."
Shampoo began to cry. "WHAAAAH! Shampoo knew it! Jusenkyo curse affect beautiful baby daughter..."
"That is a possibility... however... regarding the other unusual things I found out, I tend to believe that it is something entirely else."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Akane murmured. She had a bad feeling about all of this.
The doctor pointed at a few papers lying on the table. "These are some results I found out, but not by using X-rays. In Akari's womb, the temperature is changing wildly. At some point, it's as hot as a toaster, at other times, it's as cold as a fridge.
The amount of liquid in Ukyo's womb is constantly changing. The baby is in no direct danger, but I can't predict what will happen if this keeps up.
As for Kasumi's baby, I can't really find anything unusual..."
"Oh, my baby told me she's perfectly fine," Kasumi smiled.
Everyone looked at her.
"What do you mean, she told you?" Ranma asked.
"Oh my, I can't really explain it... it's as if she is talking to me in my head..."
"My daughter is going crazy in the head," Soun wailed. "WHAAAAH!"
"How fascinating..." Dr. Tofu muttered. "Telekinesis..."
Again, everyone's jaw dropped.
"TELEKINESIS?"
"No way..."
"From out of her womb?"
"How did THAT happen?" Konatsu was visibly worried.
"Oh, don't you worry, dear," Kasumi smiled. "I think it's a wonderful thing if a mother can talk to her daughter even before she is born..." And she lovingly looked down at her belly.
"I think I can be glad that nothing happened to me," Akane groaned.
"Well, that's not entirely true..." Tofu said as he produced another pair of X-ray pictures. "See, I made two tests with you, remember? And the results, well... they are different."
"What do you mean, doc?" Ranma asked.
"Well... on the first picture, her baby is clearly a boy. But when I made the second test... it was a girl."
A dull 'thud' could be heard.
Akane looked down at the limp form of her husband.
"He fainted," she muttered.
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(Posted Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:12)
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