COUSINS 3 A RANMA 1/2 FANFIC BY THE DRAGONBARD Well, here it is, Cousins part 3. I plan on making this one of my longer chapters, at least for now. But who knows what I'll decide after a while? Sorry that Cousins 2 took so long. I had to send it in twice before they posted it. Hope that this one doesn't have the same problems While I'm here, I want to yell about one of my pet peevees, no word wrap on a web page text file. Many people just don't notice or care that the lines on their text files just go off the side of the page, making it a pain in the neck to read. If you're one of the people doing this, would you please fix it! ====================================================================== BEFORE: Cologne and Shampoo are visited by a relative of theirs, who it's discovered, is actually Ranma's mother, Nodoka. Ranma's marriage to Shampoo is declared null and void, because he is in fact an Amazon and kin, thus doubly nullifying the law, and Nodoka confronts her family about the curses. After absolving Ranma and Genma of the promise to commit seppuku, Nodoka reveals some 'other' promises that Genma made to her. ====================================================================== I figure that this story is anywhere from two weeks to two months after Cousins 2. Depending on what I decide later, the fight with Saffron may have occured in that time, I'll decide later. ********************************************************************** "Kia!" The sound of wood on wood, and the cries of martial artists in battle rang throughout to Tendo Dojo. This was not entirely a new thing for this place, with Ranma and Genma Saotome's daily practice of sparing before breakfast, but anyone watching would have seen, instead of the Saotome men practicing outside, it was the Saotome 'women.' Or rather, Nodoka Saotome, and her gender shifting child who were practicing. Every moment, Nodoka lashed out with her bokken, only to have it blocked by the one in Ranma-chan's hands, or she would simply dodge the blow. It was easy for anyone with eyes to see that Nodoka was on the offensive, with Ranma simple defending. Finally, at an unseen signal from Nodoka, the two backed away from each other, and bowed. "That was quite good, Ranma. Great-grandmother was certainly right when she told me how talented you were." Nodoka said, reaching for a nearby towel. "Your defense is almost prefect, but you definitly need to work on your 'offense.' You never even once came close to hitting me." Ranma bowed his head to his mother. "Hai, I'm sorry Mom. I'll try harder." Nodoka reached out to her child. "Don't be sorry Ranma. I'm astonished that you've gotten as good as you have this quickly. Your defense is almost as good as mine was when I was your age, and I had been studying kendo for years. Within a few weeks, I'll be able to really begin teaching you in 'my' families martial arts school" Ranma's mouth twitched into a grin as he reached for a towel. "After fighting with Kuno all these months I've picked up quite a bit." "Kuno?" Nodoka frowned, "Weren't you and Akane complaining about a Kuno back when I still thought you were Ranko?" Ranma nodded. "Yeah." He said. "Kuno is this crazy kendoist in Nabiki's class who had a crush on Akane before I showed up. No matter how many times she told him to go away, he just kept trying to get her to date him." Ranma laughed. "When he found out that we were engaged, he challenged me to a fight, and lost. Since then, no matter how many times I beat him, the idiot keeps coming back for more. He calls me 'The Dread Sorcerer Saotome,' cause he can't understand how I can keep beating him since he's the 'Blue Thunder.' Though really, he's more of a Blue Blunder. He thinks I use magic to win and keep him from 'his loves.'" Suddenly, realizing what he had just said, Ranma started to dry her face off with the towel, hoping that her mother wouldn't ask the next question. "Ranma, you said loves, since Akane can only be one of them, who is the other woman he has a crush on?" Nodoka asked. Ranma muttered something into her towel that Nodoka couldn't hear. "What was that Ranma, I didn't catch what you said." Ranma winced at her mothers word, 'catch.' "I said, I am." Ranma said with closed eyes. "The jerk thinks that my two forms are separate people, even though he's seen me change, and he's got a crush on me too. Even though Akane and I keep beating him up and telling him to get lost, it doesn't work!" Ranma thought. Nodoka's reaction came, but it was not the one Ranma was expecting as she began to laugh. "Oh Ranma," She said, tears rolling down her face she was laughing so hard. "My poor son. You're right, he 'must' be an idiot!" Nodoka continued laughing as Ranma joined in. After a few moments, Nodoka calmed down a bit. "I'm going to go get something to drink," Nodoka said. "Would you like anything?" "No Mom, I'll just stay here and practice." "OK." Nodoka quickly left the dojo, and stopped, right after the door was shut behind her, and listened. After a few moments, the silence within the dojo was broken by the sound of someone practicing. Quietly, Nodoka peaked into the dojo, and watched as Ranma went through a sword kata. That in and of itself wasn't surprising, since he had said that he would be practicing. What was surprising was the fact that the kata was for a complicated attack technique, and Ranma was doing it flawlessly. Nodoka silently went back to her plan to visit the Tendo kitchen. Akane was already there, drinking some tea. "Hi, Auntie Nodoka." She said, "How's the training going?" "It's going quite well." Nodoka said, as she fixed herself some tea as well. "Akane, can I ask you something?" "Sure." "When I was sparring with Ranma, I couldn't touch him at all, at least not without puting more effort into the battle, but his attacks were no better than they were when we started." Nodoka looked Akane in the eyes. "I may not practice it, but I do know that one of the principle codes of Anything Goes Martial Arts is to master any fighting techique you come across, how to turn anything into a weapon. With the level of skill he's shown, he should be able to break the defense I'm using at least once and a while. Not only that, but I just saw him do one of the most complicated attack katas for the sword that I've shown him. And he did it perfectly." She shook her head. "What's going on?" "Auntie," Akane began, "Has Ranma ever told you that he's promised not to hit girls, not even in sparring?" "No," Nodoka frowned. "He hasn't." Akane grew thoughtful for a moment. Then she frowned and looked into her tea. "When Ranma first showed up here, I didn't realize that he was a guy a first, they had gotten caught in the rain. I thought that she was a girl who seemed alot like me, someone who also likes martial arts." Akane took a deep breath. "I invited her to have a sparing match with me. She was so nervous around us, and I just wanted to be friends. We met in the dojo. No matter how hard, or how fast I was, Ranma just dodged my blows like he knew what I was going to do before 'I' did. We kept going until I just decided to quit, I knew when I was overmatched. Ranma won, but he never laid a hand on me. I don't know how he beat Shampoo in the Amazon Village, but it was probably the same. Do you understand what I'm getting at?" Nodoka nodded. "Yes." Just then Ranma walked in with grin and some sauce on his face. Akane saw it, and an aura of blue chi appeared around her. "Ranma! You knew I was cooking dinner tonight!" "Cooking, is that what you call it? Anyway I don't know about you, but 'I' want to see tomorrow." "RANMA!!! NNNNOOOOOO!!!! BAAAAAKKKAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" Mr. Mallet, meet Mr. Face. Goodbye Ranma. Ranma added a new hole to the roof of the Tendo home, while Akane stalked out of the kitchen. Nodoka stared at the spot recently vacated by her airborne son and future daughter-in-law. After a moments pondering, she walked over to the phone. "Hello, is this the Cat Cafe? This is Nodoka, may I speak with Mouse? I'll hold." "Moose, this is Mrs. Saotome. I was wondering if you've ever seen Akane use a mallet on Ranma? Uh-hu. Well, is it a part of your Hidden Weapons School, since she seems to pull it out of nowhere? It isn't a part of your school? Thank you. Is Great-grandmother there? No thanks, I'll be over to see her in a bit." Pondering the information she had gleemed from her conversation with her cousins wishful beau, Nodoka wandered over to another part of the Tendo home, where she knew Kasumi would be, cleaning the house. "Kasumi?" She called out as she walked upstairs. Kasumi stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hands, with that cheerful grin on her face. "Yes Auntie Nodoka? Is there something I can do for you?" "I was just wondering, have you ever seen Akane use a mallet on Ranma?" "Why yes, I have. You know, it's strange, but he's the only one she ever uses it on. She'll punch people, or maybe hit them with the dining room table, but Ranma is the only one she ever uses that hammer on, though she does do those things to him too. Why?" Kasumi asked. "It's nothing," Nodoka said with a smile. "You know, you're getting more and more like your mother." Kasumi blushed. "Thank you." A few moments later, Nodoka walked into the Cat Cafe, and with a quick smile for her cousin, Shampoo, headed straight for the kitchen, where she knew her Great-grandmother, Cologne would be. "Greetings Great-grandmother." Nodoka said, bowing. "I have something to ask you about." "Yes, my child." The ancient Amazonian Matriarch spoke. "When Mousse told me you had called, I figured out you were planning on asking about the Tendo girls talent with a mallet." "Exactly." Nodoka nodded. "When I spoke with Mousse, and he told me that the technique wasn't a part of his school, I knew that you were the only one who might be able to figure out where it came from." Cologne motioned for her to sit, and as she accepted the offered seat, Cologne began to speak. "There have been legends for centuries of a technique, capable of creating weapons from a warriors ki. These weapons were said to be almost unstoppable. With it, a warrior could defeat with ease one who was many times more skilled than they. However, the technique is unknown to anyone alive. Or so I thought!" "You mean . . . ?" Nodoka asked. Her eyes widening. After speaking with Mousse she had halfway suspected it, but to have her idea confirmed was startling. "Yes." Nodded Cologne. "Our future daughter-in-law is the sole possesser of this mighty technique." ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com