Ranma Fanfiction: Meeting Later 3

Akane Tendo stormed into her home, dumping her bag against the bottom of the stairs, reaching for the phone.

“Akane?” Kasumi asked, coming to see who had marched into their home, was surprised to find her sister there. Said sister held up a hand, listening to the phone ringing after calling the Saotome home.

“Come on, come on,” she mumbled, hoping Ranma would pick up, despite the fact that the helicopter back with Kuno meant she was home much faster than she expected he would be. At least Aunty should be there so she could explain why she was back at the dojo.

Fortunately Nodoka was much closer, coming up behind Kasumi, equally surprised by the appearance of Akane, the younger woman’s face showing streaks of tears. “Akane, what happened? Why are you back early?”

Akane dropped the phone, turning to hug both women, emotions churning, unable to start explaining.



Finally calmed down with a cup of tea in her hand, Akane finished retelling how Ranma had fallen during the fight with Kuno. Her face wiped of tear streaks, she seemed much better, concerned, but sparking with more and more anger.

“Kuno was so arrogant, as usual, but he went to have them call for the helicopter to bring me back to Tokyo. Ranma woke up just as I got him back to his room. He started apologizing, he sounded awful. Then he started packing, saying he’d challenge Kuno again, and when I turned back he was gone.”

Nodoka seemed calmed, knowing there was nothing wrong with her son physically. She sipped at her tea, looking at Akane over the table. “I don’t think you need to worry Akane-chan. My son is strong, but he is a somewhat poor loser. If it is over something important to him, he tends to feel failure as the end of the world.”

Kasumi’s eyes turned to Akane’s, watching her baby sister’s reaction to Aunty’s choice of words.

With a faint chuckle, Akane agreed with Nodoka’s appraisal, imagining Ranma looking for some kind of training method as they spoke.

“For now, I think I will take my husband home. A sparring partner will help Ranma calm down and focus on challenging this Kuno boy again, rather than feeling he failed you.”

“He didn’t fail me,” Akane automatically defended.

“In his mind he did,” Nodoka said. “In one respect, the timing of this event may be a blessing in disguise. I’m afraid that the engagement meetings, for both you, and that to my son, will be occurring in two weeks. For appearances sake, I couldn’t have you staying with Ranma and myself at that time, so this will allow you to settle back in here at home.”

“But I still get a choice? Right?”

“You will be given the choice, Akane. I will be in attendance to make sure you may back out if you so desire,” Nodoka said, letting the young woman calm before continuing. “I would ask, Akane, that you do not make that choice against you’re father’s promise, simply because you don’t like being forced into this.”

Akane seemed about to speak, then held her tongue, nodding for the older woman. Her head tilted as a new thought occurred. “What about Ranma’s other fiancée? Aren’t you going to meet her with him?”

“That will be after your meeting, later in the day.”

“Oh.”

“Now I think I will have a word with your father, and take my husband back home. “

Akane sat up, “Maybe I should come too, just to pick up my stuff?”

Nodoka smiled gently, but shook her head. “Perhaps when I know Ranma will be there would be the best time to use such an excuse?” Her mind didn’t add, ‘And absence makes the heart grow fonder.’



“The boy lost a fight with a stick fighter?” Genma scoffed, having finally convinced his wife to tell him what had changed. With Akane back at the Tendo Dojo, she was dragging him home. Even he was smart enough to know she didn’t think enough of him to not blow the engagement secret his wife was maintaining, Genma was just glad to be allowed back in the house again in winter.

“He lost a fight, yes, not for the first time. And not for the first time against an opponent who is more than human alone.” Nodoka eyed her husband over darkly. “Are you going to help him train for a rematch or simply mock him?”

“Can’t I do both?”

Controlling herself, Nodoka faced ahead rather than the idiot she married. Fortunately for Genma, her eyes spotted the Saotome family home, and the large pile of logs out the front.

Proceeding into her home, she removed her shoes for house slippers, and entered the main room, followed by Genma.

The phonebooks left on the table beside a half eaten beefbowl and a telephone, Nodoka’s eyes swept over the markings, pen circles around the number for the chestnut supplier Ranma had bought grosse from during his Amaguriken training attempts. More worryingly, the advert for a company that rented butane torches circled in the next book beside it brought disturbing images.

A ki shout and rack of shattering logs in the back yard, turned the older woman to proceed out to the veranda to look at her sun, sweating and shirtless despite the cold, the yard a mess of wood chips and log ends.

Breathing heavily, Ranma turned to his parents as they entered the scene of his training. “Ah, hey Mom. Akane’s gone back to her…”

Nodoka held up her hand, cutting him off gently. “I heard what happened. Sunset comes early in winter dear, so train now and we can have a long talk over a big dinner.”

Ranma resisted the urge to hug or thank his mother more than a nod. Looking at his pop, Ranma waved the old man out, “You better be up for some hard work old man?”

“Like a little girl who lost to a weapon user can do train hard?”

Ignoring Genma’s hard words to return inside, Nodoka continued to ignore Genma calling for ‘Time out’ between cries of pain as Ranma vented.

Ranma’s mother eyed the table again, hoping that Genma would keep Ranma’s training reasonable, then wondering what she was thinking with that!



Akane wiggled in her place at the breakfast table, her old school uniform feeling uncomfortable and foreign despite only being a few months since she last wore it.