Upstairs Ranma was trying to remove Ranko from around his neck. The optimal word being trying. Who would have thought a little girl could be so strong.
Ranko, for her part, was bound and determined to not let go. She had found her daddy again and she was not going to let go.
“Ranko-chan would ya please let go. Then we can put ya in bed, ya must be very tired.”
“Donwanna. I’m not tired. Please Daddy I donwanna let go. What if you go away again?”
Ranma sighed. “Ranko-chan I’m not going anywhere, okay.”
“Promise?” Ranko finally looked at his face, her eyes shining with hope, despair, fear and emotions Ranma could not identify.
“Ummm …” One look into those aqua blue eyes and Ranma lost before he even started. He hated to see girls cry but this…. This tore into his soul. This was his daughter. He couldn’t explain how he knew that fact but he knew, and he would move mountains for her. “Yeah… promise,” he whispered softly. With that he held her close.
Ranko was happy. That’s the only way to describe her feeling. Her daddy promised he wouldn’t leave and daddy always kept his promises.
It was a beautiful scene as a father held his daughter. But this was Nerima and just tranquility would not last.
*GRRROOOOWWWL*
Surprisingly it wasn’t Ranma’s stomach but Ranko’s that was protesting.
“Hmm I guess that proves you are my kid,” Ranma smirked. He shifted Ranko a little to free one of his hands and then started to poke her in the stomach. “I suppose ya ain’t too sleepy right now.”
“Yeah a little hungry,” giggled Ranko. “Stop that daddy, it tickles.”
“Oh reeeaaalllllyyyyy. Well let’s see where else you tickle.” And thus, was a very one-sided tickle war started. Ranma made his way towards the kitchen as he mercilessly tickled his daughter with one hand.
Nabiki looked up from the where she was sprawled in front of the TV, sipping a glass of Tang while watching ‘Slayers’ on TV. “Keep that up and poor girl won’t be able to breath,” she smirked. Truth be told she was confused as heck on what to make of the little girl.
Ranma finally relented and stopped as he reached the kitchen doorway, letting Ranko huff for breath. “Hey Kasumi.”
“Oh Ranma, are you hungry,” Kasumi asked with a smile.
“Nahh… But I think Ranko is.” Ranko nodded.
“Hmmmm,” thought Kasumi, “well I have a little Teriyaki left over from lunch, would that do.”
“Most definitely.” Ranma placed Ranko in one of the chairs and sat down next to her. Kasumi quickly had a small bowl of Teriyaki and another of rice in front of Ranko. That’s when Ranko proved yet again, that she was Ranma’s daughter. She preformed a famous attack from the Saotome Ryu. The Tornado of Feeding Frenzy. In other words she shoveled down her food in no time.
Kasumi frowned. “Ranma, I do hope you will teach your daughter better manners.”
Ranma paled and started to sweat heavily. Akane glaring, he could handle. Kasumi frowning was another matter entirely. “Of course Kasumi,” he managed to squeak out. Kasumi smile and went back to her cooking. Ranma let out a breath and tried to calm he racing heart. That was scarier than a demon head…
After Ranko had satisfied herself, Ranma decided to bring up a question that’s been really bugging him. “Ranko-chan how did you get here?” Kasumi turned and looked at the girl as well.
“Well after mommy said daddy had gone away and that I was getting a new daddy I started to cry. And when I wouldn’t stop crying mommy got really, really angry like she always does and started shouting and shaking me and then threw me to get out of the house and said not come back till I stopped crying.” At this point Ranko started to tear up. Ranma reached over and brought her onto his lap, while Kasumi came around the table to sit in front of the little girl and took hold of her hand. “So I ran into the dojo and started to cry and cry and cry. *Sniff* Then there was this beautiful cat lady and she asked me why I was crying and..”
“Cat lady Ranko-chan? Can you tell us a little more about this cat lady,” asked Kasumi gently. Ranma flinched at the mention of cats.
*Sniff* “She was tall and very beautiful and look like a cat.”
“Anything else?”
Ranko thought for a minute. “I think her name was Basket. And she said she was from the Egipton Pantie-on. She said she was the Goddess of cats, children and pregnant women.” “Oh my… a… a Goddess?”
Ranma was stuck on a single though. ‘There is a Goddess of c.cc.c.ccats?’
“I think,” said a voice from the doorway, “I know what she means.” Nabiki strolled in and sat down at the table. “Mind you, I’m not too familiar with ancient mythology but I think there was an Egyptian Goddess of cats, children, pregnant women and pleasure called Bastet. I think she was depicted as having catlike features.”
“So she helped Ranko-chan,” asked Ranma. Maybe cats weren’t so bad…. Maybe.
“Most likely. She is the Goddess of children after all.”
“Oh my, how nice of her. Please, Ranko-chan, tell us more. ”
“Well.. the nice lady asked me why I was crying and so I told her how daddy had gone away and how mommy was being mean and how much I wanted to be with my daddy and how I hated mommy and she said not to cry and that she would take me to daddy but it would be in a par.. paramel dehimton but that it would still be my daddy and then Auntie Kasumi found me and here I am with daddy.” She finished with a smile, little red cheeked from the lack of breath.
It took a little while for the three listeners to decipher what she said.
“Eh. What’s a paramel dehimton,” asked a confused Ranma while Ranko hummed happily in his lap.
“You don’t think she means a parallel dimension do you?”
“Oh my! That’s a long trip.”
To say the three were stunned was to say water is wet. Ranko being from a parallel dimension was stretching things even for Nerima.
Nabiki spoke first. “But how did you know she was your daughter,” she asked Ranma.
“Donno. Just knew. Maybe if ya have a strong attachment to someone or something in one universe then the attachment carries over when crossing universes.”
Nabiki blinked at Ranma. “You just said something intelligent, coherent and not relating to martial arts. I think hell froze.”
“Nabiki that’s not nice.”
“Har har har.” Then Ranma noticed something important. “Kasumi. Your pot’s are overflowing.”
“OH MY!!” Kasumi ran to try to salvage dinner.
“Daddy.”
“Yes.”
“What’s a pregnant women”?
Ranma blushed and started to stutter. Nabiki collapsed on the table laughing.
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(Posted Sat, 17 Apr 2004 06:11)
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