Ranma was happy! She was going to see her mommy again! It was so long, she didn't even remember what her mother was like anymore.
Genma didn't seem too happy, but Ranma didn't really understand why. Nor did she really understand why they had stopped practicing the martial arts, but maybe Pops was just worried he'd hurt her. She was sure they'd start again soon.
And besides, with Mommy and Pops together again, maybe she would soon have a little brother or sister!
They walked up to a small house, and the door opened. The auburn haired woman looked at them, then tentatively addressed the young girl. "Ranma?"
Ranma ran up and hugged Nodoka, yelling out "Mommy!" After a moment of shock, Nodoka hugged her back.
Life was perfect.
***
Four years later, eleven year old Ranma Saotome was of a different opinion.
Nothing seemed to have gone right. Genma refused to teach Ranma any more martial arts, saying that they weren't for girls. When she approached her mother about it, Nodoka had agreed! In fact, Nodoka had outright forbid Ranma from ever practicing Martial Arts again, saying they were for men, not girls.
Thus Genma slowly slipped out of her life. Though he still lived in the same house, the two almost never talked, or even acknowledged the other's presence.
But it didn't end there. No... Nodoka was nearly as impossible. It didn't matter to her when the teachers came over, suggesting that Ranma be put in advanced classes or even transferred to a different school more suited for such a gifted child. She'd tell them "No, Ranma's future is secured. She has no need for an advanced education, she just needs to learn the womanly arts."
Fortunantly, Ranma was still of an age were it was required she attend school. She knew her mother expected her to stop after middle school, though.
"But you're guaranteed a rich husband, dear." She'd say. "All you need to learn is how to take care of him."
Every hour of every day, Ranma was becoming more and more convinced that if she were going to ever become the 'most beautiful, most desirable girl in the world,' a true 'genius,' or even meet her handsome devoted husband... then she'd have to get away from her own parents first.
But could she? She could run away, but it would be hard on an eleven year old. True, she remembered how to live off the land quite well, and she had been going behind her parents' backs and continued to learn the martial arts as best she could... but that was still mostly theory, not practical knowledge.
But if she stayed, her parents would continue to stifle her, no matter how unintentionally.
What to do, what to do...
(Posted Mon, 10 Jan 2005 18:34)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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