By Lord Overon

Part III

Nodoka played with the little bundle in her hand. She wondered what the little bundle preferred her or the moving, dancing ball that hovered around her head. Probably the ball she concluded. Her mother had always told her that little children were always fascinated by the world around them and that their concept of the world was very different from an adult. For them, the world was always changing and was a song of colours, not pictures, but colours.

Colours. Nodoka knew what colours she liked, she also knew what she had to do later that day. One man professed knowing her mother so therefore she had to corner that man by any means necessary and extract some precious information from him. All she had to do was wait until the right moment came. A simple enough task, if her namesake hadn’t started pestering the man. She would have to wait a little longer. A little longer.

The only problem was that unlike her mother who was always absorbed with time and having patience with waiting for time, Nodoka did not have patience and she did not give any excuses either. So how was she going to get Genma in the same room with her?

A good question. She needed a good answer. Good answers did not pop up out of thin air so while watching the baby, she was furiously thinking. Something she had never been that famous for. Fortunately though, another handed the answer to her.

Soun and the woman she had thought to be his wife entered the house and immediately the woman made a beeline towards the kitchen where the other women were talking. Soun sat with Genma and they began playing a game of Shogi with Tofu watching as referee. From the frowns on the faces of Genma and Soun, she would think that they hated playing Shogi.

After five minutes, she realised that Nodoka had not come out of the kitchen to give her husband chores around the house. That meant that Nodoka’s chance had come.

She picked up the baby and handed him to his father who smiled as he began to hum a tune to the child.

"Genma-san, may I talk to you privately in the Dojo?" she asked.

Genma grumbled a reply that could not be made out by any in the room but his rising from his seated position conveyed his answer.

She walked briskly to the Dojo and sat at the centre of the room. He followed suit. She took a deep breath and began.

"How do you know my mother?"

Genma blinked. He had not expected her to be so forward but he had expected the question. He knew how to answer it but how could he answer it without leading to more questions?

"We trained together when I was younger."

"You trained with her!" exclaimed Nodoka.

"I used to be pretty good when I was younger," proclaimed Genma. "I could probably have given you a good work out when I was that age. Now, though, I’m sure your mother has trained you well. I can read the signs."

"Mom’s the best," replied Nodoka with a finality.

"Maybe," he replied.

She overpowered the urge to challenge him then and there. That was not the reason she had called him into the Dojo.

"If you knew my mother, do you know who my father is?"

Genma steadied himself. He had been preparing for that particular question for a long time.

"I know who he is (pause) but I cannot tell you. I have promised not to tell."

"What!" she exclaimed indignantly. "I came all this way for nothing!"

"Do not be so brash," warned Genma. "If I know, others may know. Plus I do not think your mother would have let you come if she did not think you would be able to figure it out by yourself." Genma blinked inwardly. That had probably been the best speech he had ever given. That was probably because someone else wrote it for him but then again, he had actually said it so he did deserve some credit.

Nodoka glared at him but grudgingly admitted to herself that he was probably right. Her mother would not have allowed her to come if she did not think she was capable enough.

"Now I have a game to finish," informed Genma as he rose to leave.

"Any hints?" she asked. A small request but she did not think it would affect his promise by giving hints. He did not think the person who was paying him would punish him if he gave a little hint.

"It was a good idea staying here," he replied.

She frowned at the answer then after a bit of thought, she smiled. Without actually saying it, he had told her that she was on the right path. She grinned. At least she was on the path; sooner or later something else was bound to turn up.

That was of course when she got that tingly feeling again. Mom was here again. It was a strange thing for her to visit so soon but sometimes her mom forgot that she skipped time when she travelled. What passed for hours in normal time could seem years to her when she skipped around.

As usual her mother waited just outside the confines of the compound and Nodoka easily made it there in a couple of leaps. She was though, totally surprised when her mother crushed her in a deep hug.

"No-chan, thank goodness you’re alright. I want you to be very careful until tomorrow. Those stupid… I don’t need to bother you with all that nonsense. I hope you gave Akane-san that dish I made?"

"Yes, they said to thank you."

"Oh that is quite alright. And did the child like my present?"

Nodoka gave her a grin.

"That good huh. Should keep him occupied when he gets cranky. Don’t laugh No-chan I did the same thing to you when you were small."

Nodoka still grinned through her mother’s playful admonishment.

"Oh mom, I almost forgot. Genma-san asked me to give this to you." She handed her mother the scroll.

"Genma-san. I would have thought he’d forgotten about me."

Tiempara took the bundle from her daughter and broke the seal with a smooth motion. She unrolled the hidden scroll inside and blinked in surprise. There was a note attached also. She smiled when she read it and a tear escaped from the corner of her eyes, but she did it well enough by passing her hand over her face that her daughter did not notice.

"Here No-chan. This will be more valuable to you than me."

"What is it?"

"Read it and find out," replied her mother, then as usual, she vanished.

Nodoka unrolled the scroll and her eyes bulged out in excitement. On it was written one of the few things that ever got her excited. How to execute a new martial arts technique!

Several hours later, Akane walked into the Dojo searching for her energetic yet a bit immature student. As usual she found her student practising something that Akane knew she had never seen before. She had given up after the first few attempts of trying to emulate what the young girl was doing. The girl’s teacher had done a great job and Akane knew without a doubt that Nodoka must be one of the best young martial artists out at the moment. At the moment because sometimes days could change an opinion as she could testify to in her teenage years. 

Nodoka, why don’t you come inside and eat? The others have left and there is still a lot of food remaining in the kitchen for a human vacuum such as yourself to consume. Nodoka stopped the particular kata she was doing and sure enough as a response to the word ‘food’, her stomach grumbled.

"Hai sensei, I am feeling a bit hungry."

Both giggled and returned to the house where they were joined by Nabiki, who was now coming home herself.

"Nabiki, you owe me," stated Akane in a serious tone.

"Whatever for?"

"I had to stay and listen to both Kasumi and Auntie lecture about how I should be out husband hunting. I was here all alone against the two of them. Have you any idea what that is like! They wouldn’t stop pestering me and I could not get a word in edgewise. Do you know they’ve already planned a trip for the both of us and they’ve instructed me to ask Nodoka and her mom to come along!"

Nabiki did not answer, Nodoka did.

"A trip, where?" she asked excitedly.

"I’m not going on a trip, and neither are you. Husband-hunting! The mere idea… Anyway, we still have to complete your training."

Nodoka’s face fell slightly, but not by much. Tomorrow she would begin her search for her father anew. Tomorrow.

She ate quite a substantial quantity of food but even her appetite was unable to cope with the amount remaining behind. After a quick shower, she retired to her room to think. School tomorrow, yuck!

Not school. Her father. The first thing to do would be to talk to that man they had seen on the street, the one who had mentioned a goddess. It was as good a place to start and maybe from there she would be able to get some more information.

Not tonight though, she needed rest. Mom had told her to be cautious for the next few days and she needed to be fully rested to do that.

School was as boring as she had come to expect it. Boys drooling over girls and girls in their petty scheming and chat. If she had had a normal life, she probably would have liked that, but she was accustomed to a livelier mode of life. That was exactly the problem, there was no life at the school. Everything was drab and spoke of uniformed order. It was so annoying to have to do the same thing over and over again. It was even worse since the school had recently been taken over by nuns since parents had started complaining about the previous administration. Nodoka had met religious people before and the only other job that could probably more boring than that was a librarian. Finally the last bell of the day rang signalling the end of the torture.

Nodoka rubbed her hands together. Time to get cracking! She should call and tell Akane-sensei but this shouldn’t take long and she was sure Akane-sensei would not mind.

She had found out earlier where the person called Tatewaki Kuno lived. All she had to do was talk to him. However, she had to get to the Kuno estate in the proper way. It would not do for her to start jumping on top of roofs in her excited state.

She resigned herself to walking at a brisk pace towards the Kuno estate and when she got there, she whistled at the spread. They certainly had a lot of money! She walked up to the massive door that seemed odd for the traditional appearance of the house. Before she could knock though, a small figure creaked open the door.

"Hello, how may I help you? Wait, you were with Akane-san, let me fetch the master. Please come in and sit."

Nodoka did as she was asked. Inside she found a sitting room that was more comparable to an English waiting room than traditional Japanese.

"How it aches my heart that my father still will not give up his obsessive infatuation with the foreigners," noted Kuno as he stepped into the room. "What pray tell graceful flower hath brought you into my presence?"

"Kuno-san, I was wondering if you could give me some more information about this goddess you were speaking of the other day?"

"Ah yes. I can remember the days of my fiery haired goddess who captured my heart. Indeed I can look upon no other woman but her and the fierce Akane Tendo. If only I had smitten the sorcerer Saotome before he took her from my honourable presence. Alas I still search for my goddess with the knowledge that my noble cause must unearth her for am I not the…"

"Brother dear, are you on again about that hussy of a woman who stole my dear Ranma-sama?"

"Sister, I would have you refrain from speaking of my beloved goddess in such a manner."

"And who is our guest?" asked Kodachi completing ignoring her brother’s attempts of defence.

"I am Nodoka…"

"I remember now, you are the same girl you was training with that wretched Tendo Akane."

"Kod…"

"Brother, how rude of you to interrupt while I am speaking!" replied Kodachi indignantly. She threw something at him and he instantly became a living statue. "Now where were we?"

"Um, I was asking about your brother’s pigtailed goddess? I was going to write something about her for uh…um a class," replied Nodoka. The last part being a flash of inspiration. It would not exactly be lying since she could write something about it for class, especially if anyone cared to know how she had grown up. If the girl would do that to her own brother imagine… Nodoka shuddered.

"That wench!" spat Kodachi, "She took my blessed Ranma-sama away from me!"

Nodoka’s face turned red for a second. No one insulted her mother like that or at least she thought it was her mother the boy had been talking about. Why else would he refer to someone as a goddess? In her brief moment of indecision as to if Kodachi was insulting her mother, Nodoka’s temper sizzled down. She would gain nothing if she argued with this woman. This something prickled her senses.

"Who is this Ranma?" asked Nodoka.

"Ranma-sama," corrected Kodachi, "is the most gorgeous man the kami has ever created. The very thought of him makes me shiver in anticipation. His body was chiselled by the gods themselves and his prowess was unmatched by any other. So handsome was he that others tried to enslave him and take him from me. First was that Tendo girl, then the chef, then came the barbarian. All of them tried to take him away from me, but in the end it was the harridan my brother calls his goddess that stole him."

"She stole him?"

"In the end that was what she did. I offered him to become my husband and no doubt Ranma-sama was waiting for the most opportune and romantic time to whisk me off into wedded bliss before he was taken from me. It had to be that wench. She was the only one I know who would prevent my Ranma-sama from claiming his rightful place at my side. The others were just minor obstacles."

"I see…" replied Nodoka, more unconvinced than before. The way this girl was talking, you would think that she owned the man. No wonder he left her!

"Oh how I pray for the day when he will return to shower me with kisses and I will not wait for within the day we will be married." Then Kodachi lost herself in thought. "You will excuse me, I have some matters to attend to."

"Ah...yeah, no problem."

Nodoka released a long sigh when the woman left. She had startled her by immobilising her brother, but what really got to her was the wild look in her eyes as if she wasn’t completely there. Nodoka didn’t think that she was, but then she wasn’t an expert. She rose to leave when a voice stopped her.

"I am able to talk now. It seems I have a certain tolerance to my sister’s potions. (pause) Ah the days when my goddess graced my eyes. Oh how we would dance our own ballet of love as we fought each other. For surely I could not date such a lovely creature without first showing her the might that was Tatewaki Kuno. But the heavens did not reward my skill for as soon as the day was at hand that I might win her hand in battle, the vile sorcerer spirited her away from my love."

"So you think that this Ranma…took…your goddess away from you?" asked Nodoka while carefully choosing her words.

"No, the lecherous cur enslaved her and clouded her mind so that she could not see that which was our radiant love."

"I see…" she replied. "Thank you Kuno-san. I think I will show myself out."

When Nodoka closed the heavily polished wooden door, she leaned against it and breathed a sigh of relief. She could handle bad poetry but so much at one time was stretching her to the limit.

All had not been lost though. She had found out some vital facts while she had been there. Her mother might have been this goddess Kuno was talking about and if that was the case, this Ranma might be her father. She would put a bet on this Ranma since from what she heard from Kodachi, he was a hunk. Any man who could get so many women to fall over him would surely attract the interest of a goddess.

Nodoka’s stomach grumbled and she found herself in a familiar part of town near a familiar restaurant. She smiled; she had found another source of good food.

"Hi Ucchan!"

"Nodoka, what on earth are you doing here! Aren’t you supposed to be training with Akane?" 

"Uh…no. Sensei didn’t say I had to come back to train," replied Nodoka.

"Technically that’s true," informed someone coming from being a sliding screen, "Although you should have some back to the Dojo right after school young lady."

"Sensei!" exclaimed Nodoka.

"Hai, and where have you been? If your mother asked where you were I would have no idea what to tell her."

Nodoka had the sense to look abashed. She had forgotten that Akane was a normal mortal and not any of her usual caretakers although they never really knew where she was at any time. They gave her a lot of leeway since her mom was who her mom was.

"Sorry sensei."

"So where have you been?" inquired Akane in a tone that was more demanding than asking. Nodoka had heard that tone on more than one occasion. She decided to answer truthfully.

"I was at the Kuno mansion talking to Kodachi Kuno and her brother Tatewaki," she stated.

"You were by the Kuno’s!" exclaimed Ukyou. "Why on earth would you go there?"

"Well the last time Akane-sensei and I were there, he mentioned something about a goddess…"

Nodoka stopped talking when Akane simply stopped listening and walked out of the room, closing the sliding door behind her.

"What did I…"

Ukyou shushed her.

"Please don’t talk about that girl or the boy Kuno always talks about. Talking about them still affects her although she would deny it."

"I…I’ll try not to," promised Nodoka.

"Now let’s see if Akane is okay shall we?"

They found Akane staring out the window.

"Sensei are you okay?" asked Nodoka.

"Yes, yes, I’m alright, just too many memories too quickly, that’s all. I think I’ll go home for a little rest."

They watched Akane leave and waited until they heard the distinctive ding of the elevator before they turned to face each other.

"Ukyou, who is this Ranma?" asked Nodoka.

Ukyou thought for a while.

"I'm not supposed to mention his name but he of whom you speak was our fiancee when we were younger."

Nodoka was a bit put off by Ucchan's strange phrasing of her answer but that was no less strange than some of the things the people she knew did.

"You mean he had more than one?"

"Yes, his stupid father engaged him to what, about ten girls…but anyway, Akane and I were two of his fiancees. He was also my best friend. I don’t think it is right for me to tell you what happened between the two of them, but he’s not here anymore. Mom won’t tell me anything but I think that Shampoo, an amazon girl from mainland China was finally able to drug him into submission. We tried a group of us, to get him back but we could not get him in their village. Hell, we couldn’t even find Shampoo."

"So you’re saying that this Shampoo kidnapped him?"

"Something like that, but we don’t really know. The facts make it seem that way though. It seems that something had happened between he of whom you speak and his mother before he left. I’d put my money on it that the old witch that was Shampoo’s great grandmother had something to do with it," replied Ukyou with conviction.

"So why haven’t you given up?"

"I can’t continue," replied Ukyou. "When I became Saotome, I promised not to look into his disappearance again. Of course that doesn’t mean that I don’t help the others who are looking. Nabiki and Kuno make a good team, though they won’t admit it."

"So what was Ranma like?" asked Nodoka.

"He…he had to be the most naïve boy in the whole world and his idiot father’s training did not help one bit. We were…best friends. I…I loved him when I was younger, at least I thought I did. He was practically the only boy who ever took any interest in me and who was good in martial arts. Besides, he had a lovely smile and a cute butt!"

"So what about now?"

"Oh well, remember I said I thought I was in love with him?"

Nodoka nodded.

"Well I guess I was once, but things change and after a couple of years I realised that I wasn’t really in love with him but with the idea that I would marry him and we would be together. Strange isn’t it? You only really understand things when you get older. If I had known that then, it would have solved many other problems."

Nodoka stared at her with uncomprehending eyes.

"Now off with you before your sensei gets worried."

"Hai, hai, I’m going."

Ukyou smiled as the girl left. She was a nice girl. Then she frowned a bit. She hoped Akane was okay and Ranma too, wherever he was.

Nodoka being Nodoka was not too inclined to go directly to the Dojo. Instead she took a path that would lead her to all the shopping places near the Dojo that would eventually end up with the Dojo being the last destination. She was going to the Dojo but that didn’t mean she couldn’t make a few stops along the way.

She had just finished perusing the stock of one of the stores she had been interested in when she felt a familiar presence. Well make that one familiar presence and another unknown one. Both were very powerful.

As curious as she was, she leaped up onto the top of the store and vaulted to a higher perch. She could see the dust cloud from a mile away and was immediately attracted. A chase was exactly what she needed to liven up her day. She made a beeline towards the cause of the disturbance and was surprised to find an old man-thing with a large bag on his back running away from a crowd of women and her uncle. Hearing some of the shouts, she leapt high into the air, and into the front of the fray.

The thing in front stared at her as it continued running and out of nowhere a word was shouted across "Sweeto!"

Nodoka watched in shock as the thing, which looked like a dried prune jumped towards her. She had never been placed in that position before but years of practice made her act subconsciously when the man tried to grope her. Her knee impacted with his head and after a second, he slid off.

The delay was all that was needed for his pursuers to catch up. The group of women with their strange weapons attacked the fallen man. Who knew that brushes and pot-spoons could make effective weapon especially when jammed up…That did not attract her attention for long though, another man standing off to the side did and she ran towards him and glomped onto him before he could react.

"Uncle Tee! Where have you been! Do you know that mother has been looking for you?"

"She has?" he answered while trying to pry the girl off.

"She was complaining that it was so long since she had seen you."

Nodoka wanted him to see her mom. She knew that her mom was very lonely and Uncle Tee was also very lonely. They were adults and got alone very well together, besides, she liked Uncle Tee. All she had to do was push the right buttons and wait for the right moment and presto she would have a dad. Well, another dad. The thing was that it was hard to get them both in the same place at the same time without someone else being there. She was however put off a bit from her train of thought when he cracked his knuckles.

"Haven’t had a good workout in years," he muttered. "So when can I meet your mother?"

"She’s supposed to pass by the Tendo Dojo later this afternoon. Do you know where that is?"

"Sure. I’ll see you later then. First I want to take care of some business." Then he disappeared, well actually he dissolved into thin air but it came out to be the same thing.

Nodoka blinked but this time she ran back to the Dojo. There was no way she was going to miss one of those fights!

Running into the house and kicking off her shoes, Nodoka ran to find her Sensei.

"Akane-san, Akane-san, where are you?" she shouted as she went through the house.

"I’m right here, Nodoka," replied Akane.

Nodoka found her and literally pulled her off her feet.

"They’re going to fight!" informed Nodoka.

"Who is?" asked Akane while being forcefully driven airborne by Nodoka’s speed.

"Mom and Uncle Tee!" she responded in haste.

That caught Akane’s attention and she dropped her feet on the ground and began running also. They ran out of the house and rounded the corner to the abandoned lot that lay next door.

When Akane saw who waited there for them, she dropped into a ready position.

"What do you want Tarou?" she snarled.

"Akane Tendo, long time no see. But I’m not here to challenge you. I’m waiting for bigger fish."

"Bigger fish? Is that what I am?" asked someone stepping out of a white oval suspended in the air.

"My dear Tiempara, I would never dare to call you anything else but a big fish."

"Shall we dance?" she asked. "It has been a long time since last we danced."

"Same rules as last time?"

She nodded.

"Good!"

And without further ado, he attacked. Well, that was what Nodoka told Akane afterwards. Akane herself could not follow the movement of the two combatants.

She could see then twist and turn and at times could see one blocking the others attacks but she knew from sight that they were leagues above her abilities. Even a certain pigtailed martial artist would be easily defeated by this pair.

She relied on her student to fill her in on the details since their movements were literally only blurs in the air. Familiar cracks could be heard as their movements frequently broke the sound barrier.

What irked her the most though, was that she was accustomed to seeing Tarou fight and she had never seen him fight like this before. He was faster by far and from what she could see, he said nothing. There were no taunting remarks nor any weapons being used, only two marital artists and their bodies in an intricately woven and perchance deadly design.

Akane could not help but stare as the two continued back and forth within the confines of the fence around the lot. The collateral damage was minuscule as compared with all the other fights she had seen Tarou in. This was what martial arts was truly about, this was the true Art.

As suddenly as the fury began, it ended and the two bowed to each other. Akane was so caught up in awe that she did not even bow, nor did the thought of clapping her hands as Nodoka was presently doing cross her mind.

"You’ve improved since last we’ve fought," assessed Tiempara.

"So have you," replied Tarou, "But we all know that the time for this is coming to an end."

"Maybe, maybe not. Let me see about that," she replied.

"I’m sure is there’s a way you’ll find it."

Tiempara nodded her head gravely. Tarou bowed again and in a couple of leaps he disappeared.

"Mom, just how do you do that?" asked Nodoka.

"In time you will know how. Some of it is illusion, some of it isn’t."

Nodoka frowned and Tiempara laughed.

"And how is your sensei? She seems rooted to the ground. Akane-san, are you alright."

Akane was startled when the white cloak suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Fine…fine." She shook her head. "What was that! I never knew Tarou could fight like that!"

"You’ll come to realise that there are a lot of things you never knew before. Take this…"

Tiempara handed her a little ball.

"If ever you need me smash it and I’ll be there."

"Mom!" protested Nodoka.

"It’s for your own good," scolded Tiempara, "Girls who don’t do what they are told can get themselves into trouble. Little trips during the afternoon can turn into big trips especially when I told you to keep your guard up today!"

"Yes mom," wilted Nodoka.

"And Akane-san, if you need any help controlling a certain young woman, there’s a friend of mine who has been asking about Nodoka for some time. Ciasa’s almost certain that Nodoka’s a born theologian."

Nodoka’s eyes cowered in fear.

"Mom, I promise I’ll be good and I’ll tell Akane-sensei where I’m going from now on," pleaded Nodoka.

"You better had," responded Tiempara. "Now give your mom a hug before she goes."

Nodoka complied.

"And be a good girl."

"Yes, mom."

Nodoka waved her hands in front of Akane.

"Sensei…sensei?" 

"Huh…oh yes Nodoka-chan. I was just thinking about that fight. Who is this Ciasa by the way?"

Nodoka cringed.

"She’s just this lady who likes to teach me a whole lot of stuff about strange religions and customs." Nodoka shivered. "I hate school," she muttered.

"I wish you asked your mother if I could spar with her."

"But...but sensei, she was right here, why didn’t you ask her?"

"Oh I’d forgotten that!"

Nodoka could not believe what she was hearing.

Hours later and a warm bath after teaching some martial arts classes, Akane and Nodoka sat down for a well deserved cup of tea or rather many cups of tea. The two of them sat there idly chatting until Nodoka’s patience finally began to wear out.

"Akane-sensei, I want to ask you a question?"

"Yes?"

"I think I know who my dad is but he is someone that if I ask you about him I think it will cause you a lot of pain."

"Ranma," replied Akane. "You think your father is Ranma."

"Hai."

Akane sat there for a while staring into space then she composed herself a little more a tried to act detached.

"Shall we go outside," offered Akane eventually. Nodoka nodded and followed. They sat on the steps overlooking the koi pond. Akane stared at the pond.

"I always remember sitting here and watching him and his father fighting over the pond. I always wanted to know how to do things like that and I guess I was very jealous that he could do it. Before he came here I was the best in the Nerima but after he came, I wasn’t even a real martial artist by their standards. Even Ukyou was better than me."

She turned to face Nodoka then turned back to the pond.

"We never really got along after we found out about the engagement. We always fought. He would always insult me and I…I would always hit him when I get really angry at him."

Nodoka noticed that Akane winced when she mentioned what she did to him.

"I…I always called him a pervert, even when he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Somehow everything always looked to be his fault but it really wasn’t when I look back on it. (pause) But you did not ask to hear about me did you?"

"Ranma was…Ranma. There isn’t any other way to describe him. He was insensitive at times but he was also honest. Something I always tended to forget. He was honest and kind. He was always kind to those who had been mean to him. He never held a grudge, not even against his father and believe me his father did a lot of stupid things to him. He was strong and fast, and stubborn too. He never gave up when it came to a fight and he never backed down from one. He was always there for me when I needed him the most and I never knew it. I never thanked him. I always think of what could have happened if he had not left with Shampoo."

"You loved him didn’t you?" asked Nodoka in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"I did," Akane replied. The simple truth. "I loved him for a long time but I guess I was too afraid. I always pushed him away just in case he would try something or turn into someone I didn’t like. I always questioned whatever he did. In the end, I never really understood how much he meant to me until Auntie Saotome asked me never to speak about him again, that he was not longer a Saotome. I never really understood why she did that and none of us spoke about him because of it."

Nodoka hugged her.

"I wonder what it would be like if I acted differently then. If I trusted him and believed him. I wonder if he loved me?"

"I’m sure he did," replied Nodoka.

"Thank you," replied Akane. "I…I think I will go take a bath."

Nodoka sat there thinking. If this Ranma had turned out to be her dad, what should she do? She was almost certain that he was. What should she do indeed?

She was so preoccupied in the thoughts that she failed to notice a black oval growing above until it was too late. By that time, she ceased to exist on the plane known as earth.

 Akane sat in the furo and soaked. Her thoughts however were very far from the enjoying the warmth of the water. She was thinking about him again. She had tried not to but it had never worked in the past. It was good that Auntie had asked them not to say his name. She didn't hear it so she didn't remember all the time but when she was alone and no one was around, she used to cry to herself.

She really had been stupid when she was younger. Always trading insults with him, hitting him, accusing him. He had always been there for her though, saving her from various martial artists and even killing for her when it really mattered. She had grown a lot since she was sixteen and she was more mature now. He had done a lot for her she realised. He was so immature but that could hardly be against him considering his upbringing. She had sometimes wondered what she would have been like if she had been on a ten-year training trip where she had only made two friends. Travelling alone with her father to different places. It sounded like a grand adventure, but the more she thought about it, the less likely she would have opted for that type of childhood.

She had never realised it when he was there but he had never had a childhood to speak of. He never talked of games that he played with others, only about training. That was all he did, training. That was all his father spoke about too. Training, nothing else mattered.

She had trained under Genma and she finally realised what living with that man for ten years had to be like. When he trained everything was part of training. She had been through it as an adult; Ranma had been through it as a child. She had never really understood how Ranma thought until she had been through Genma's training. Everything became an attack, everything a battle. Eating was a battle, talking was a battle even shouting was part of the battle. That was why he was always inclined to insult her. It was part of the battle. Someone did something wrong, part of the training was insulting them about it so that they would know what they did wrong and would try to do better. It was a strange was of motivating someone but that was how Genma did it; how Ranma tried to do it.

She had always thought he insulted her cooking because he didn't like it, but he had only wanted to motivate her to become a better cook. She had never understood then.

She had looked back on their relationship and she really could not find that much against him when she added it up together. Sure he was insensitive and tended to shoot off his mouth. He was arrogant and a jerk but he always did the right thing in the end. He was always there when she needed him the most.

She knew she had never been there when he needed her. With the Phoenix pill she had taunted him more than anything else. She had never really helped him train, never actually took a direct interest. She was worried, but she had never directly shown it. She had only done something when she was forced to, when Ranma had done something for her like the incident with Shinnosuke.

She still loved him. It had been almost seven years and she still loved him. Her friends had told her that the hurt would go away that she would find someone else who she felt the same way for. She had not been as complacent as auntie had thought. She had been out there, but she had never felt anything for any of the men she had gone out with. If anything, her love for Ranma had grown not died.

She could identify with Nodoka's mother. She knew Ranma and she knew that the Ranma she knew would never do that to a girl and not marry her immediately, but she had her doubts and they did not stem from Ranma. The weeks before he disappeared, he had been acting very strange. The only other time he ever acted strange was when one of Shampoo's potions had affected him. She knew Shampoo had done something but she could not find out; not because she didn't want to, she had tried, but because even with all the martial artists in Nerima they were no match for the Amazon village. A fact that she plainly knew after her second visit there. There was nothing that could be done. Even Happosai had tried something but the matriarchs had done something to him when he had attacked so that he could no longer enter the village.

She wished she could take back all those times she said she would never marry him or that he was a pervert or…but she couldn't. She would give anything to see him again, just to see him. Nodoka's mother was a goddess and surely she knew where he was. The next time she was Tiempara she knew what question she would be asking her and she hoped she would get a reply.

Akane suddenly felt a bit chilly and realised that she had been in the furo for a long time. The water had lost its warmth and was a touch on the cold side. Shrugging, Akane dried and changed and then set about finding her sometimes wayward student. Calling, Akane received no response. That was strange. Nodoka was a heavy sleeper.

After searching all the rooms in the house where the girl could have fallen asleep, Akane came to the logical conclusion that she was not in the compound. Nor was she practising anywhere in the area. Akane hunted for notes placed anywhere in strategic location and then in places where the notes could have fallen or be hidden.

Worry creasing her face, Akane pulled out her phone book phone Ucchan, the Kunos and the school. Nodoka was not there. Idly her hand fingered the little oval thing that Tiempara had given her. She did not want to use it and there would have been a time when she would not have used it because of her pride. She was older now, and pride meant a lot less to her than it had in her teenage years. Looking out over the koi pond, she crushed the oval object in her hand.

Nothing happened, worrying Akane even further, then a huge white glowing oval appeared over the koi pond and Tiempara seemingly dropped from the oval onto the rocks surrounding the pond. Before Tiempara could ask a question though, Akane was upon her.

"Nodoka's missing, I…I can't find her." It was amazing that even this close to the woman, Akane could still not make out her face but worry fought down that thought.

Tiempara stretched forth her hand to the area and concentrated deeply, then she felt something. A trace of something that had been. She knew where that had come from.

"They have taken my daughter, I must free her."

Tiempara opened her doorway and was about to step through when someone grabbed her hand.

"I'm going," stated Akane fiercely.

"Why? She is my daughter she is my concern."

"But she's my student and she was taken from my home. I would lose face I don’t revenge such a thing."

"We don’t have time to argue. If you're coming let's go. Just close your eyes and I will do the rest."

Akane wished she could see the other woman's face to get some hint at what she was thinking but whatever technique Tiempara was using to mask her face, its executed its job effectively.

Akane closed her eyes and strange sensations overcame her.

The two of them disappeared into an oval of white light and their existence on this plane ceased to be.

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