Part 3
Revelations
You're Not Alone (Final Fantasy IX)
Ranma had been placed into many different awkward situations before, but to be standing in front of his mother after turning back into a guy made those older situations seem comparable like a water molecule to the ocean.
"Ranma?" Nodoka asked quietly as she examined him from head to toe, her quizzical expression never changing.
"Uh... I..." was all he could get out. He expected her to draw her katana right then and there, not what happened next.
"Ranma!" she cried as she darted up to him and hugged him, repeatedly saying "Ranma! Oh Ranma!" as if he was going to disappear again. Even though his shirt was already wet from the rain and kettle water, he could tell his mother's tears apart from the previous moisture.
"Mom... there are a few things I need to explain," he started.
"There's no need to explain anything right now. Let me take a good look at you," Nodoka loosened her hug a little, but didn't dare let go completely, "you've grown into such a strong man." She had only looked at him for a moment before returning to the original hug, more tears falling out.
"Mom..." he started again, but decided that nothing needed to be said at all and returned his mother's embrace.
I hope nothing's happened, Ukyo thought as she slowly made her way downstairs. It wasn't an easy trip for her at that moment. Despite the long nap she'd just had, she still felt like she hadn't slept in days. When she finally dragged herself into the kitchen she gasped at the scene which she hadn't expected to see: Ranma and his mother hugging.
"Oh, pardon me," she blurted, feeling a little embarrassed when they turned to face her.
"Ucchan!" they both exclaimed at the same time and with the same level of concern, "what are you doing out of bed?" She couldn't help but smile and think, Anyone who says that those two aren't related will have to answer to me.
"Come," Nodoka said as she slowly let go of Ranma, "let's go back upstairs and talk." She looked back towards her, "Ranma, why don't you carry her back up to her room? I'll join you once I cook some dinner for us."
Ukyo had never seen anyone's face redden more than Ranma's did at that moment, but he complied.
"Yes, Mother," he said and she immediately found herself in his arms again as he carried her back upstairs. She looked back down at Nodoka, who gave her a wink before leaving eyesight and getting to work. She sighed and relaxed, enjoying the moment, brief as it was and considering the rarity of its occurrence.
"Thanks again," Ryoga called as he waved to the police car after Miyuki and Natsumi dropped him off in front of the Tendo dojo. The three of them had a lot to talk about during the trip, and Natsumi even reminded him a little of Akane. Akane? he thought, Augh! How could I have forgotten about Akane-san! then dashed inside. Amazingly enough, for Ryoga, he made it to the front door from the gate without getting lost. When he entered, he found all the Tendos, Genma, and Happosai (who for some reason was covered in dry mud), but no Ranma. That didn't concern him though.
"Oh, good evening, Ryoga-kun," Kasumi greeted, "would you like to join us for dinner?"
Ryoga glanced over at Akane, who was still in her school uniform and looking perfectly healthy, albeit a little angry.
"Sure..." he said slowly as he sat, "thank you," then thought, Ranma you jerk! You tricked me! When I get my hands on you, I'll- Plans for immediate and brutal revenge occupied his mind during the entire meal.
"I'm sorry I took so long in getting back, Ucchan," Ranma said as he set her back on her bed and took his previous seat next to her, "that Shampoo had to be satisfied with the length of the date. We walked through that damn park nearly ten times!"
"That doesn't surprise me," Ukyo responded as she tucked her legs underneath her blanket, unaware that he was watching them, "but did you get what you wanted?"
"It almost wasn't worth it," he sighed as he pulled the map out of his shirt, which is where he'd kept it since he left earlier, "some of these characters are so worn that she could only translate bits and pieces. Here's what we know: '… undo… form… by… springs… kyo… seek… in chamber of… within… Temple… by… vors… Musk... sty. But… cost of…'"
"Springs? -kyo? Musk? Could that have something to do with Jusenkyo, Ranchan?"
"That's my guess too, especially since it mentions the Musk. Herb and his cronies came to Japan for one of their people's treasures, but that treasure only undid the effects of the Chisuitton. If a complete cure exists, why didn't they look for it first?"
"Maybe they don't know about it. Maybe they couldn't find it. Maybe someone from the dynasty already beat them to it. There are too many things we don't know. I don't like how it says, 'cost of.'"
Ranma's spine tingled and he shivered a little when she said "cost," it reminded him of his strange dream, not to mention that the translation Shampoo gave him was exactly what he remembered from it. He shook it off and said, "It doesn't matter. I'll do anything to get rid of my curse! Even save the world if I have to." He grinned, What does a stupid dream prove anyway? He didn't get to think any more than that.
"Curse?" asked Nodoka's voice from the direction of the door, "Ranma, are you cursed?"
Beads of sweat began to form on Ranma's face as he turned to see his mother again. This was the second time she'd walked in when he did or said something stupid.
"Oh, Mother..." he squeaked as he pushed dropped the map onto the floor and pushed it under the bed. Nodoka walked up and sat next to him. She didn't look angry at all, but she did look surprised.
"The food has to simmer for a while, so I came to talk some more. Please tell me, Ranma, how did you get cursed? And by what?"
"It's a long story, Auntie," Ukyo answered for him, "he doesn't like to talk about it though."
"It's fine, Ucchan. I was going to have to tell her about Jusenkyo sooner or later, anyway."
"Jusenkyo?" Nodoka asked.
"Before I tell you about Jusenkyo, I want to ask you something; When was the last time you got a letter from Pop?"
"Why, when you two were about to leave for China."
"That explains it." Ranma clenched his fists, "We went to China in search of a legendary training ground that was supposed to be as dangerous as it was useful, and only the best martial artists in the world trained there. What we didn't know was that Jusenkyo literally means 'Ground of Accursed Springs.' There are over 100 springs there, each with it's own tragic legend, as the guide told us. But we found out the hard way."
Nodoka's eyes widened, "You mean...?"
He only nodded, "Pop was first. Right after we started our exercise, I knocked him into Shonmaoniichuan, the Spring of Drowned Panda. I was completely caught off guard at seeing a Panda jump out of the water that he knocked me into Nyaanichuan, or..." he swallowed hard, "the Spring of Drowned Girl." then fell silent.
Nodoka almost couldn't believe what she had just heard! "So you and Ranko-chan are-"
"One and the same person," Ranma finished for her, then continued, "it was me that you pulled out of the river when you first came to visit, and 'Panda-san' is really Pop. When we came back to Japan, he took me to the Tendo dojo just to hide from you. I had no idea if you were even still alive until we got your first letter of visit. Then he told me everything about his promise to you." She began to see an increasing tension in her son. "He is so afraid of committing seppuku that he was willing to dishonor himself further and lie to you! He even had me afraid enough for awhile. There were so many times I tried to meet you as a man, but I'd either get splashed with cold water or the sight of your katana would turn me away. That one time... wasn't a dream."
"Ranma..." she started, but he interrupted.
"If Ucchan hadn't said something earlier that made me realize that I don't have to put up with not being able to make my own decisions, you probably wouldn't even be here talking with us right now. And that's not all Pop has put me through to ruin my life in the past 10 years!"
Nodoka blinked, "There's more?"
He nodded again, "I haven't even started yet. I don't remember much before we left on our journey, but does the old lady who lives next to us still have those five cats?"
She shook her head, "No, she died a year ago and her cats were given new homes."
"Good."
"Good? But Ranma, you used to love playing with those cats. They would never scratch you because you were so nice to them. I remember that while you would get into fights a lot, you'd never hurt an animal."
"Not anymore. Now, thanks to Pop, I..." he swallowed hard again, "I... hate cats."
"What happened?"
Ranma began to tremble and looked like he was in pain. Ukyo took the moment to step in and take over.
"It isn't his fondest memory," she said, "Gen- I mean, Saotome-san read in a martial arts text about a technique called the Neko-ken that was supposed make the learner invincible. So before he even finished reading what was after the word 'invincible,' he locked some cats in a cellar to starve them for a few days, attached fish cakes and paste all over Ranchan, then... threw him into the cellar!"
"Oh my," Nodoka gasped, a bit of anger showing behind her surprised expression, "how brutal!"
Ukyo continued, "Ranchan did learn the Neko-ken, but not only does it make him invincible, it makes him insane!"
Nodoka looked back at her son, who was now as pale as a sheet, "Ranma?"
"It's true, Mom," he said softly, "I don't remember anything whenever it happens. And it wasn't until after I snapped that Pop finished reading the manual. He finally noticed that it said, 'Only a complete idiot would try and learn the Neko-ken.' Now if I'm around any cat for too long, it triggers and I lose myself again."
"That's just terrible!" Nodoka exclaimed. She was trying to keep a calm face, but anyone could see the flames beginning to ignite in her eyes.
"There's still more..." Ranma sighed, "I know that Pop and Tendo-san wanted their children to marry and unite the schools, which is why I'm engaged to Akane, but whenever Pop couldn't afford any food, he would sell me to a complete stranger or promise to marry me to his daughter for fish and rice! He even dragged Ucchan and her family into it all!" By this time, he was shouting.
"Ucchan?" she turned to the younger girl. It was she who was pale this time, and it definitely wasn't because of her illness."
"I'm sorry," she lowered her eyes, "but I didn't tell you the entire story."
Before Nodoka could respond, Ranma spoke first.
"I don't know what she told or didn't tell you, Mother, but I can't blame her for leaving some stuff out. It was in Kyoto where we first met when Pop sent me to steal okonomiyaki from their yattai."
"Steal? Your father sent you to steal?!"
"Yes, and it wasn't the first time, but this time I was caught. Ucchan talked to her dad and got me out of trouble, so we became friends. Everyday, Pop sent me back to the yattai to get more okonomiyaki. If I beat Ucchan in a sparring match, it was free. If I lost, we had to pay. After a while, her father noticed how close we were and suggested to Pop that we be engaged. He wasn't too happy about the idea, until Kuonji-san threw in the yattai as a dowry. Pop didn't know what to do because he accepted, then remembered that I'm 'supposed' to marry a Tendo. So he 'let' me 'decide.' During this whole thing I had no idea about either engagement, and I'm embarrassed to say this, but I thought Ucchan was a guy." Nodoka would have had to stifle a laugh if she wasn't so angry. Ranma continued, "Anyway, Pop came to me and asked me which I liked more: Ukyo or okonomiyaki. Being a six-year old and happening to be eating one, I foolishly said okonomiyaki. So Pop stole the yattai, the dowry, leaving Ucchan in the dust at the side of the road! All this just for his own fat stomach!"
"Ranma, Ucchan, I don't know what to say. Genma never told me about any of this."
"I can give you a one-word explanation for it, Mother: seppuku. Sometimes I think he had wished you died while we were away just to get out of that promise. I'm sorry, Mother, but the Saotome family honor has been completely destroyed. I truly am sorry."
Ranma winced as he saw his mother raise her arm, but what happened next was not what he expected. Instead of grabbing her katana, she put her arm around him.
"It's not your fault," she comforted, "you were an innocent child, and your curse was the result of an accident. To be able to have the courage to face your fear and tell me all this is what counts. Even when I thought that one incident was a dream, I knew from that moment that you, my son, are a man among men. And Ucchan will definitely back me up on it."
A new feeling welled up inside of Ranma as he began to understand his mother's love. He didn't care that Ukyo was watching as he embraced her in a tight hug and began to weep. All this time he had been afraid to face her, but now he knew that there never was any reason to fear. She was so understanding. He began to get the feeling that she wouldn't have made him commit seppuku no matter what had happened because he was her son. As the tears continued to flow, he threw aside any idea that "it isn't right for a guy to be doing this," and just cried into his mother's bosom. During this whole time, Nodoka just held him and patted his back, reassuring him. Ukyo had to try very hard not to cry herself as she witnessed the emotional scene, as doing so would make her feel worse. During this tender moment, the rain outside stopped and the clouds parted to reveal the setting sun.
After several minutes of silence, Nodoka looked into Ranma's eyes and smiled, "Why would I ever have my own son kill himself?" then lowered her eyebrows, "now your father, on the other hand..."
"You're going to make him commit seppuku? But the promise was that if he does, I have to also."
She only grinned plottingly, "For your sake I won't. But I'm going to give him a good scare and see how long it takes for him to confess." Ranma was taken aback at what his mother just said. He began to slide away, closer to Ukyo, as he could see the fire rage in her eyes. He could have sworn that he could smell smoke coming from them, but quickly realized it wasn't his imagination. Nodoka and Ukyo noticed it too.
"Oh no!" Nodoka cried, "our dinner!" With a dash whose speed could have easily rivaled Ranma's when running from a cat, she ran downstairs and was back up before either Ranma or Ukyo could recover from the near-sonic boom she had created. "I'm so sorry, you two," she sulked, "it's completely ruined. We might as well order take-out. Are you two okay with that?"
The two teenagers, sill stunned, only nodded.
"Good, there's a nice noodle place down the street that I'd heard was quite good called the Nekohanten. Ranma, can you go call them with our orders."
"Yes, Mother," he said, and once the two women gave him their desired menu, he ran downstairs thinking, If it's Shampoo who delivers it, I have to introduce her. If it's Mousse, I might have to fight... Why me?
Once she saw Ranma leave, Ukyo saw Nodoka turn back towards her and grin again, "There's something I needed to talk to you about while he's away, Ucchan."
What could she be planning? Ukyo thought as she continued, "I won't ask you about what happened during the 10 years after you were abandoned, but have you realized that you're the only girl who will ever have a legitimate claim on my son?"
"Because of the dowry, I know."
"That's not all. You're also the only one who can take care of him better than anyone else. I noticed how he almost seemed to be confiding in you when I came upstairs. Only the closest of friends do that. I love Akane-chan like she was already my daughter, but there was always something nagging at the back of my mind that those two wouldn't work well together."
"Well, they don't get along very well, even though Ranchan has protected her as much as anyone else. They like each other a lot, but they'd never admit it."
"That's understandable because of their age and maturity level. Hopefully they would grow out of it sooner or later. But after meeting you, I can see that you two are already closer than he realizes and that's the best foundation for a relationship."
"Auntie Nodoka... you mean...?"
"Yes. Ranma is old enough to choose for himself as to which girl he marries between you and Akane-chan. But you, Kuonji Ukyo, have my blessing."
Ukyo's eyes widened and before she knew what she was doing, she leaped forward and hugged Nodoka in a near-bear hug, "Thank you, Auntie! I promise to take care of your son!"
She only smiled and returned the hug, "Now you can't celebrate just yet, my husband and Soun are still pushing him and Akane-chan towards each other. But once I confront Genma about what you and Ranma have told me, he'll have to admit that the only way to restore the Saotome family honor, and most likely your family honor as well, is to fulfill the promise where the dowry had already been accepted."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I got a little over-excited. But Akane and I aren't the only fiancés that Ranma has who are in Nerima."
Nodoka blinked, "There's another?"
"Yes, there is," Ranma said as he came back in, "and this one was due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Oh, Ranma, you startled me. Can you tell me about this one?"
He nodded, "In fact, by the time I'm done she'll probably be here to deliver our dinner." He then proceeded to tell the story of his encounter with the Amazons from China.
Back at the Tendo's, Akane had just finished her homework, changed into her karate-gi, and was performing warm-up exercises in the dojo.
Ranma no baka! she thought, Why haven't you still come home? I'm not going to let you off so easily this time! She began to visualize him standing in front of her, shouting taunts of "Uncute tomboy! Flat-chested! Chicken thighs!" Despite her martial arts training in discipline, she flew into a blind rage and charged towards the vision, only to become equally surprised as she was angry when it held up a hand and blocked the punch!
"AUGH!" she shouted, "Even in my imagination I can't beat him!"
"You're not imagining, Akane-san," came Ryoga's voice from in front of her. She blinked a couple of times and quickly noticed that he was standing right where "Ranma" had been.
"Oh, Ryoga-kun, I'm sorry," she apologized as she withdrew her fist, "I've just been feeling pretty stressed lately."
"Over Ranma, no doubt."
She nodded.
"I know how you feel. I ran into him earlier and he told me you were sick, so I rushed over here as quickly as I could. Then when I saw that you were fine and he had tricked me, I wanted to-"
"Just a moment," Akane interrupted, "you came over only because Ranma told you I was sick?"
Suppressing a blush, he nodded.
"Ryoga-kun, I'm touched that you would do that even because of a lie. Thank you."
"Y-you're welcome," he stammered.
And you're being here is good timing. I was about to ask Dad if he wanted to spar, but I think I'd rather practice with you, instead."
"R-really?" he grinned and the seriousness returned to his face, "very well then," and entered his fighting stance. "En guarde!"
"Don't go easy on me because I won't on you!" she shouted before entering her offensive. Cries of battle could be heard around the entire block. Everyone inside the home thought that Akane had finally caught up with Ranma.
"And ever since she returned with her great-grandmother," Ranma concluded, "they've been using all kinds of trickery and witchcraft to try and get me to marry her."
"My, son," Nodoka said as she smiled, "that's certainly putting you between a rock and a hard place, but I won't interfere. Whomever you choose is fine with me."
"Really?" he was taken aback, "Thank you, Mother." He saw that she was opening her mouth to say something more but she was cut off as the front door of the shop slammed open and within five seconds, Shampoo was standing in the bedroom doorframe.
"Nihao!" she greeted, "Shampoo bring order. Total come to 2325 yen," then took a good look into the room, "Ranma, why you still with spatula girl?! And who is other woman?!"
"Take it easy, Shampoo," he said, holding up his hands, "she's my mother."
"Aiyah!" Shampoo's eyes sparkled and tossed the box of food nearly into Ranma's face and bowed, "Is great honor to meet you, mother-in-law. My name is Xian Pu, but sound like Shampoo in Japanese." She had said the last sentence very slowly.
Nodoka stood up and took Shampoo's hand, "It's a great honor to meet you as well, Xian Pu-chan. My son just told me the story of how you two met."
"Aiyah," she nodded, smiling, "Shampoo will do her best to make wonderful bride for airen."
Here we go again, Ranma thought as he handed Ukyo her food and began to eat his own.
"Xian Pu-chan," Nodoka asked, "are you still working?"
"No, this last delivery. Store is closed."
"Good, can you come downstairs with me? I'd like to talk with you."
"Yes, mother-in-law," she quickly bounded down the stairs with Nodoka following behind.
"What do you think they're going to talk about, Ucchan?" Ranma asked between bites as he wolfed down his noodles.
"Maybe the same thing she talked about with me," Ukyo responded, trying to stifle a giggle.
"Oh, really? And what was that?"
"Sorry, Ranchan, but that's between us women only. And don't try going to for cold water because it won't work."
"I know, but why do I have a bad feeling?"
"Because you're right about it."
"I was afraid of that." He sighed.
Ukyo only laughed, then coughed.
"You held back," Akane wheezed as she wiped the sweat off her brow. Their spar had ended in a draw, only because Ryoga hadn't given it his all, even though she had. "But at least you fight back, Ranma always stays on the defensive so I never get to practice it."
"I'm sorry, Akane-san," he said, "I just don't want to hurt you."
"I've been hurt in spars and fights before, and Tofu-sensei can easily fix me up. How else can I get better if I fight against people who are already better than me?"
"Hmm... that makes me wonder. Does Ranma not attack you because he's afraid he'll hurt you or because he's afraid you'll get good enough to beat him?"
Akane pondered on that for a minute, then spoke, "I never thought of it that way. Ranma does hate to lose."
"Do you think that's why you've been so stressed lately? Knowing that if you fight him for real, he'll win?"
"Well... it would feel good if I won just once, but that would only give him all the more reason to train harder."
"That's why you train harder, too. I'll help in whatever way I can."
"You'd train me, Ryoga-kun?"
He nodded, "I can die a happy man if either one of us beats Ranma in an all-out, non-handicapped fight. The summer break starts next week, doesn't it? If your father will approve, I suggest you take a long training trip."
Akane paced for a moment then looked back at him and asked, "Would you come with me?" This shocked him.
Akane-san, alone with me in the wilderness? Ryoga thought. The idea of travelling alone with her put too great of a weight on his mind and he fainted.
"Ranma!" Shampoo called as she re-entered the room with Nodoka and hugged him, interrupting his and Ukyo's conversation. Their meals had long been finished, while Nodoka's had long grown cold.
"What, Shampoo," he responded, crossing his arms and trying to move away.
"Shampoo tell mother-in-law about map. She say she want to help."
"You what?!" His jaw dropped.
"Calm down, Ranchan," Ukyo said, "think of it as another person to help us find the ruins."
"Ucchan's right," Nodoka entered, "neither of you two deserve to be cursed and I want to help you find this treasure."
"Mother..." he started, but she interrupted.
"Because you have school and training, you won't have much time to do research or look for anyone who knows about this place. I'll start doing what I can while Ucchan gets better. But Xian Pu-chan, will you be able to get started before the rest of us?"
"Shampoo can ask great-grandmother for books on ancient ruins," Shampoo said, "but will not tell her about map because Shampoo promise Ranma."
That's right, Ranma thought, I never mentioned that she shouldn't especially tell Mom.
"I hope we can get started on this tomorrow at the earliest," Nodoka spoke again, "but now it's getting late and we all need to rest."
The three teens nodded.
"Where will you go, Mom?" Ranma asked, "The last train probably left already."
"She'll stay right here in the guest room," Ukyo answered for her.
"Ucchan, thank you."
"You're very welcome, Auntie."
"That's settled," Ranma sighed and stood up, pulling Shampoo up with him, "Good night, Mother, I'll try to stop by on the way to school tomorrow." He found himself being hugged from the other side.
"Good night, Ranma, I'll be here if you need me. And we'll keep the map here, away from your father."
"Thank you," he was let go by Nodoka, "Bye, Ucchan. C'mon, Shampoo." With that, he left. Shampoo still clung to him, muttering "Aiyah" as he tried to pry her off the entire time telling her that the date was long over.
"Bye, Ranchan," Ukyo said after them.
"Is she always like that with him?" Nodoka asked.
"No," she answered, shaking her head, "Shampoo is usually twice as bad. I think it's because you're here to chaperone."
Nodoka only laughed.
As the day and week ended, bringing the start of the new, Ranma, Shampoo, Nodoka, and Ukyo began their searched for the location of the ruins. When Ranma heard that Akane was leaving for a training trip over the summer break, he resisted the urge to follow and began to track down several noted archeologists in the area. Several of them had no knowledge of the ruin’s existence. Others seemed to be afraid once they looked at the copy of the map. Others denied that there were even official records to confirm that they ruins even existed.
Shampoo had kept her word not to tell Cologne about the map, or why she asked to borrow Cologne's materials. It still made it difficult, however, to study them without Mousse or something else to interrupt her privacy. All she found, though, was an encyclopedia-style writing about the Musk. Nothing specific enough to use to locate the ruins.
In the beginning, Ukyo was still handicapped because of her illness. During that time she would help Nodoka pour over several books from libraries about China and Japan's several historical and religious sites. There was still no mention of any ruins similar to the ones on the map. Once she had recovered, Ukyo began to visit all of the shrines and temples in the city, hoping that any of the priests would know something. However, the farther she went out, the sooner she had to return home in order to open her restaurant. Everybody reported their findings (or lack of) in a weekly meeting held in at the Ucchan. The four began to have doubts about the authenticity of the map by this time. But perseverance paid off and after one month of searching, they finally got what they needed.
"Same as last week," Ranma reported, "I've gone to every archeologist and anthropologist in the city, and they couldn't tell me a thing! Some of them acted like they knew something, but wouldn't say it!"
"I see," Nodoka sighed and turned to Shampoo, who just shook her head, then to Ukyo. She looked as calm and dejected as everyone else, but spoke.
"This week started out like the rest, but I went to one shrine where the head priest wasn't able to help much because his granddaughter had disappeared and he was searching for her. Her brother claimed that she fell down a well but when they looked inside, she wasn't there. Anyway, the old man referred me to another temple that was run by a friend of his. When I got there I learned from the lady caretaker that he was on a journey. She saw my disappointment and frustration and asked me what was wrong. I got a strong feeling that she was different so I showed her the map." She beamed and pulled out her copy that had a red line drawn from Tokyo do a red circle to the north, "She knew exactly what I was talking about and the exact location of the ruins." Everyone else's eyes nearly popped out.
"Good job, Ucchan!" Ranma exclaimed after he recovered, "Who was this person?"
"I don't know, but she was so nice and so smart, it was like she was a goddess or something."
"That's great that we finally found it," Nodoka smiled, "are you going to be leaving soon, Ranma?"
"I'd leave right now if my stuff was packed! But it has to wait until tomorrow. It'll be a good chance to get away from Akane for a while. Ever since she got back from that training trip, every time I see her in the dojo she just looks at me and laughs like she was possessed."
"If Ranma go, Shampoo go too!" she announced, "Shampoo tired of being cat and scaring Ranma."
"I'm not letting you go alone with Ranchan!" Ukyo glared at the Amazon.
"You want fight?!" Shampoo challenged and produced her bonbori.
"Let's do it!" Ukyo accepted and drew her combat spatula.
"Girls, please calm down," Nodoka said without raising her voice. They listened and sat back down. "I trust both of you to watch after my son. Don't you agree, Ranma?" All three women turned to him and smiled.
This is going to be a long trip, he thought, sweatdropping.