Ranma 1/2 is the property and invention of Rumiko Takahashi. The following story is not produced for any monetary or personal gain. Its sole purpose is to entertain using the characters and plots developed by Takahashi. ALL rights reserved
******************************************************************************
Ranma 1/2:
Prelude to Chaos
Akane and Ranma wet and slightly bothered began to remove their clothing as they entered their private bathroom. The taps were turned on and they both lay in the tub, Akane on Ranma's chest.
"I forgot that it was that time again," noted Ranma.
"You usually do," taunted Akane.
"Oh I remember..." Ranma would have continued but the currently female Akane had other ideas as her hand covered his mouth.
"Shh...I really could use a nice hot soak."
Ranma got the idea and wrapped his hand around Akane as the water rose around them.
***********
"Papa? Where's mama?" asked a small child with dark brown hair.
"Yeah, where's mama?" asked another small child with auburn hair and blue eyes.
"She resting with the babies."
"Babies!" squealed the children. "Can we play with them?" they asked in unison.
"Nope, they're sleeping also."
"Okay, bye papa!"
"Bye Papa!"
Akane waved his hand at the pair as they disappeared around the corner. Tired himself, he plopped down on one of the plush chairs they had placed in the hall.
"Akane, how's Ranma doing?" asked another voice that Akane recognized immediately.
"She's fine Nabiki, just tired."
"Hmm..."
"What?"
"No broken bones, no visible bruises...looks like you got off easy this time."
"Nah, I just didn't give her an incentive to attack me."
Nabiki gave him a thumbs up.
"Good plan. I'm glad my little brother learns from his mistakes, although it did take three times!"
The conversation died when they heard the sliding of the door.
Tofu stepped out with a bag in his hand.
"You can go in now," he told Akane.
"Are you sure it's safe for him to go in?" asked Nabiki.
Tofu chuckled.
"Yes, its safe for him to go in. She's sleeping,"
Akane went through the door Nabiki attempted to follow but a hand blocked her way after Akane entered.
"You can see your niece and nephew later, I think we should leave them alone right now."
Nabiki screwed up her face then relented.
"Alright, but only because you said so. This time, I want to have a say in their names."
"Come on Nabiki, you know better than I do that they probably have chosen them already."
"You don't have to remind me Tofu. I didn't even get a say when Kasumi had hers."
Tofu held up his hands defensively.
Nabiki grabbed him.
"Let's see what your wife is cooking."
Akane entered the room and found Ranma to one side of the bed. Of course, the twins were in her hands as they usually were. She had this uncannily strong protective maternal instinct. He softly walked up to the bed and watched over her. The back of his palm traced her face as he watched her with their children. She looked so beautiful in the light, so peaceful.
"Stop standing there and join me. I may be tired, but I can still tell when someone enters the room."
Akane complied with his wife's orders and slipped under the covers to hold her. She snuggled up to him and, as he expected, she was asleep within minutes. Akane was compelled to gaze down at her and their sleeping children. He had this overwhelming sense of peace and contentment while he watched them.
Ranma had never been one to let go of a challenge and yet again she had dished out another feat. Three days of labour! Any other woman would have probably asked for painkillers but not Ranma; no, she had to go through the whole thing and he had kept his mouth shut this time. He flexed his fingers reflexively. Good, they were still there. Maybe now he could get some sleep and hopefully someone else would do them the favour of looking after the kids for a while. He could still remember the first time...
***************
Akane had been trying to help Ranma with the pregnancy and though she did accept his help a couple of times, she often countered with a strange look in her eyes when he asked. There were some things that were near impossible for her to attempt as the pregnancy progressed into the final months. Naturally Ranma treated it as a challenge and had been failing to attain some of her objectives. She had not been very happy about her apparent inflexibility. She couldn't believe that she had to get Akane to help her dress or tie her shoes if she decided to wear them.
Being brought up a boy, Ranma had never really given any thought to the restrictions that came with pregnancy but those restrictions were surely making themselves known. Akane thought that he would have gone mad, but Cologne had visited and given Ranma advice. Akane thanked the kami for Cologne's interference. After the visit, Akane had been relieved when Ranma stopped trying to touch her toes or any of those ludicrous goals that she had set herself. Ranma had finally let him help her more, which for some reason, had him feeling a lot better about his role in the pregnancy than anything else. He finally had something to do for his unborn child and he was more than happy to accommodate his wife. After Cologne’s talk she had also become a little less irritable and that lead to more peaceful days for them. That peace did not extend to the rest of the family though.
Nodoka saw these final few weeks as an opportunity to try and pamper Ranma, and although Ranma was able to cope with it for the first week, it had steadily grated on her nerves until she finally started showing some anger towards her mother's ministrations. Nodoka thought that she just needed to give more motherly support, something that Ranma wasn't overly excited about receiving due to her mother's pampering, and that resulted in one Ranma with a short fuse and one perplexed mother. Cologne's help had also been a great asset in dissolving that situation. It seemed that living for all those years had given her a bit of wisdom.
The grandfathers-to-be also had a hard time since she continually scolded them for being lazy or drunk. Moreso, she kept a very close eye on her father to make sure he was scheming up anything for her children. She had made the threat that if he took any of her children on a training trip that she had not sanctioned, he would find out just how sharp the blade of the family katana was. Genma had shuddered and had taken up the role of the good ol' grandpa but Akane was not too trusting. He knew Genma was planning something. And if Genma did plan anything, Akane wanted a shot before Ranma got him.
The only person who remained mostly unscathed through the whole period before Ranma calmed down was Kasumi. However, that was to be expected. He guessed it might have been his fault in the beginning, but Ranma was still the same stubborn person. He wondered how Cologne had calmed her so quickly. Her stubborn, irritable demeanor had literally changed overnight to her usual lighthearted and cheery self. He just thanked the kami for their blessing.
The night after he had found her coming out of the woods, they slept under the stars until he took her in his arms and carried her back home. Daybreak would be hours away and as such, no one was up. He did not want to wake up anyone least of all Ranma who was still snoozing lightly in his arms. He wondered what she had been through and knew that she needed rest. He placed her in the bed, and undid her pigtail, allowing her hair to fall freely. Then he slipped in under the covers with her.
The next morning the household was as somber as it had been for the last couple of days. Everyone had assembled in the living room to eat except Shampoo, who was still out. When she entered she stared strangely at the procession in front of her.
"What you look so for?" asked Shampoo as she entered and visibly tried to control the tears that threatened to consume her. Tears that she had shed the night before where no one could see. "Ranma back home with perv....Akane."
They stared at her unbelievingly for a little while until Nabiki spoke.
"Shampoo, I don't know what your game is but we all know that Ranma isn't here. We just don't want to wake up Akane because he hasn't been sleeping well."
Shampoo shrugged. "Shampoo not understand
but Shampoo see Ranma return last night."
With that said the usually bubbly girl walked back to the Nekohanten with a lot
less bounce. She had seen Ranma and Akane. No one needed to tell her anymore.
The others did not believe Shampoo but Kasumi decided that Akane would not have wanted to miss lunch, plus she did not think that Shampoo was lying. The girl seemed to have changed quickly over the last few weeks and she always seemed to be watching over Akane's shoulder as if expecting something to happen. Kasumi slid open the door slowly and softly walked into the room. What she saw though made her gasp and smile broadly. Shampoo had not been lying and the proof lay in front of her. Under the covers lay her brother, and his wife, sleeping peacefully in each other's arms.
She suppressed the urge to rush over and hug them. Ranma still looked very spent and Kasumi knew that they both probably needed their rest. As Kasumi stepped back, she bumped into another woman.
"Auntie?"
"Shh...Kasumi-chan, we don't want to wake them up do we." Kasumi shook her head, as she understood what the other woman meant. They crept out of the room, slid the door shut and returned to the kitchen to prepare lunch.
An hour later, lunch had been prepared and the entire family sat down to eat. The scuffling of feet down the stairs alerted them belatedly to the arrival of the two teens both of whom were yawning uncontrollably. Ranma was brushing away Akane's hands as he tried to help her down the stairs though she did not complain at all about his unnecessary attempts to keep her descent steady.
Without so much as a hello, Ranma sat next to the table, albeit very uncomfortably and plied herself a huge breakfast which she began wolfing down. No one dared say a thing as the redhead decimated what lay before her. With a contented sigh she pat her tummy and leaned against her husband.
"It's good to be home..."
After that phrase, they were all knocked out of their initial shock and Ranma was greeted with kisses, congratulations and a bill from Nabiki.
With bleary eyes, she thanked them, ripped Nabiki's bill and pulled her husband's arms around her. Seconds later as she was allowed some moments of peace, she was sound asleep in his arms. Akane did the right thing and carried her back to their room for some more rest.
The return to school was a return to the usual routine. This time however, most were quite surprised to see an evidently pregnant Ranma walking back to school with Akane. Ranma was back at Furiken and the questions started pouring in much to Nabiki's delight. This time round, Nabiki played a different game with the students of the school. Ranma had become her little sister and hence the charge had become slightly higher that usual. 'Slightly' being the way Nabiki described the new charges to the rest of the school populace. Instead of just buying information, they had to first buy the right to ask a question, then buy the right for her to hear the question and determine if she could give it an answer, then buy the answer.
It was an ingenious system that rooted out most students except the die-hard Ranma fans. She had strangely made more money for the triple charge that she had at many of Ranma's fights. Some of the questions were ludicrous and others she wouldn't dare answer. Some of the questions were actually insulting. She couldn't believe that some doubted that Akane was the father of Ranma's child, or children, some believed.
Her little scheme though, did take most of the pressure off the duo, and any who attempted to harass the couple had to answer to Ukyou. She had become sort of a school escort for Ranma when Akane was not around. Ukyou was finally becoming the best friend that Ranma had always seen her as.
With Ranma came excitement, and the students were busy chatting about the new line of heirs that were to be borne into the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. A favourite had become guessing the name of the child. Wise students did this out of sight and ear of any friends of the couple. The not so wise found themselves taking trips to various and sundry places with the school infirmary heading the top of the list. 'Unplanned vacation time' was the nickname for anyone carried to the infirmary or sent home with bodily injuries for slighting the pair.
Ranma dealt with it as she saw accordingly. She tried to act the same, which for Ranma was a bit difficult since her bulging body did not afford her any of her previous flexibility or speed. She was still able to practice her martial arts although in a limited sense. Akane helped her and mothered her causing her to yell at him at times but usually the two of them got along pretty well. Even Nabiki found herself window shopping for baby clothing...though she would vehemently deny it if put to the question.
School had been school and Ranma and Akane continued to be bombarded with questions. The smart people went to Nabiki for the answers even though her prices had risen. The not so smart people went to Ranma and Akane for answers where, depending on the question, they received an answer; a yell, a bruise, or a month's free visit to the local hospital.
School break approached and then exams approached. Time was spent exercising and studying and waiting since the due date had passed by a week, then two weeks and with every minute extra that passed, the anxiety of the household grew. Tofu managed to calm everyone down except the fathers but they were usually quieted after a very large and very angry Ranma silenced them with a well placed fist or two.
Tofu was feeling anxious himself as he remembered his first encounters with a truly female Ranma. He thought that he might know what was going on. As the family doctor and as someone currently interested in one of the Tendo daughter's, Tofu was an adopted member of the Tendo Clan.
He met Ranma on the day after exams had ended while she was on the steps overlooking the koi pod. It had become a favourite spot for her when she did not feel like jumping to the roof. She was being constantly harassed by her mother that a woman in her condition had no business jumping on the roof.
"Ranma," Tofu called.
"Yeah, doc," she answered as she leaned against the wall frame staring at the pool of water.
"Has anything happened since last we talked."
"Nah, I haven't felt anything. No pains except for these two kicking me all the time." The last was said very softly with loving affection.
"Ranma, the reason why I asked is...well...I think I know why you're late."
"Do you?" she asked almost expectantly for an answer. She had zipped across to him and was shaking his shoulders violently. "Well what? Tell me already!" she cried impatiently.
"You're stopping them from being born," he told her with a straight voice.
She took a few seconds to digest what he had said, then her face became livid with anger. She forced out her reply trying not to sound angry but Tofu could easily see it from the change in her ki.
"What do you mean?" she asked with a strained voice.
"I don't mean that you are holding them back on purpose but I think your subconscious is. I think because of what happened with your first child, you're trying to protect your unborn children. For a normal woman that's a good thing… and its a good thing that you want to protect your children too," he added quickly. "But, you're not exactly a normal person are you, and you're projecting your will onto your children."
"So I really am keeping them back," she whispered to herself and after a few moments of mental discussion another question came to mind. "How do I..."
Tofu stopped her before she could even finish.
"Don't worry about it, I told Cologne and she said she knew about it but didn't want to interfere since she thought it would be better for the children anyway. Cologne said she would pass by and..."
"I'm already here as a matter of fact," the elder pointed out as she stood on her gnarled staff.
"So Ranma, how are you today?" she asked
"Fine enough you old bat?" Ranma replied but there was no malice in her voice.
Cologne just chuckled knowingly. She knew Ranma would never give up the habit and she didn't want her to either. It was a bore when everyone called you honored elder this, honored elder that. At least with Ranma she knew where she stood. Cologne shooed away Tofu.
"Now go away young man, this is not for you."
Tofu did as he was instructed.
"So Cologne what are you going to give me?" asked Ranma expectantly.
"These," she replied, and placed an album of photos next to Ranma. "Look at them and see what you think."
"That's it!" Ranma asked. She thought Cologne had some kind of potion or something.
"That's all I can give you."
Ranma shrugged and opened the album.
"Hey Ranma, what are you doing?" asked Akane as he found his wife pouring over a book.
"Hmm...hi Akane, come see this!" she told him excitedly. He ran over and realized it was an album. A baby album in particular. He gave her a kiss and sat down next to her. Together they began pouring through the album staring at each picture and reading the little captions which read, 1 mth., 2mths., 4mths., 1st walk, etc.
Neither noticed Cologne smiling from her perch in the background.
Before Ranma had been unknowingly concentrating layers of ki around her children, enveloping them so much that they had no chance of escaping the womb. It was proof of Ranma's innate ability to control her ki that she was actually doing it so effectively. If Ranma had gained so much control over those few months, Cologne wondered how much control over her ki Ranma would have after she delivered. Already as she watched the young couple, she could see the reinforcing outer layers starting to ebb away. Those were of course only the edge of the huge fortress Ranma had erected, but she was sure that thousands of years of Amazon history could not be wrong. Okay...well maybe once or twice she acknowledged grudgingly, but not when it came to women and pregnancy.
Then five days after exams...
Ranma and Akane were in the Dojo. Ranma was doing what she loved to do, practicing new moves that defied the movements that a pregnant woman should be doing while Akane watched worriedly.
He was worried and not only because Ranma was doing so much exercise but because she was overdue about three weeks. Of course in reality it was only about one and some according to Tofu but his opinion was being ignored by Nodoka and Kasumi. That was to be expected though as the two continued to treat Ranma as something fragile. Akane could see the strain on her when they double teamed her saying things like 'Ranma don't do that, you'll hurt yourself' or 'Ranma a pregnant woman needs her rest.' Ranma had listened to them- for about two seconds- before she continued what she had been previously doing. However, neither of the two older women had been able to persuade her away from her martial arts. Akane could see why. The Art had been part of her life, was part of her life and without it, she didn't quite feel the same. Nevertheless, he made it his personal mission to be there when she practiced, just in case. Luckily she only seemed to practice when he was around and not when he was at work. She had not told him to leave since he began checking on her. That was a great relief to him. As much a relief as seeing her walk to the furo after a workout that would have stretched a normal woman to the limit, and probably would have had a pregnant woman wondering what kind of drugs Ranma was on.
Presently Ranma was repeating simple Tai Chi exercises, which were relieving since they involved no great deal of jumping although with Ranma you were never quite too sure. Be that as it may however, he kept her in the corner of his eye as he read from the parenting book when strangely, she sat on the floor stopping her workout. It wouldn't have been the first time she had lost her balance but he did not hear her swearing to herself under her breath so it couldn't be that.
It took her weeks to master balance, and her center of gravity had been in constant flux for the last three months. He had seen her fall many times only to get back up brush off his hands, and start again. He wondered how she could still do it. She looked like an over-inflated balloon just waiting to pop though he would never say anything like that if she were anywhere close. He did after all value his life!
The last few months had been very interesting. Sometimes he felt like going crazy with all the madness in the house. The fathers were trying to take over everything. Kasumi and mother were trying to take over everything. Nabiki kept quoting prices out of habit and Tofu was still a mess although not as bad as before, when he was around Kasumi. He still stuttered when around her but did not go ballistic. Kasumi had not shed any light as to how he was able to do that but Akane found himself with more worries, and he did not need more. At least he had Ranma to hold on to and she had been strangely quiet for the last few weeks. Even when Ryouga had passed one day all she had said was 'hi' and had not attacked him outright. That was only one of the stranger things. Another was Shampoo.
Shampoo somehow knew when Ranma needed space and was always there when Ranma needed something that he could not help her with. She was able to get mother and the fathers to get off their back and was supportive in her own way.
Presently, Ranma was still sitting down on the Dojo floor, and a flash of excitement passed through Akane's mind though he suppressed it in a second. Many times in the last few days he had thought that Ranma was having contractions but most of the time she had fallen due to a lack of balance.
"Ranma, everything okay?"
Ranma stared at him confused. "I don't know. There was a slight pain and...wow..."
"What?"
"There it was again..."
"What was it?"
"It felt like a wave..."
"A wave..."Akane repeated unconsciously.
"Contractions!" they shouted simultaneously. Then all hell broke loose as Akane fell down...got back up... tripped as he ran for the door... got back up again... ran for the door but looked back briefly and hit the wall... slumped to the ground... got up again...made it to the door then stopped...then turned back to see Ranma fuming at him and drumming her fingers on the solid wooden floor. He then remembered that he was supposed to carry Ranma inside and went to lift her...then stopped again as he found himself again in two minds.
"Just get me to my room!" shouted Ranma, getting through the thick cloud of nervousness and panic clouding his brain. Akane regained his senses and ran into the house. Only when he looked down he realized that he had left Ranma in the Dojo.
Finally Akane got things right and they were in their room with all the family plus Dr. Tofu who had rushed over. Ranma was explaining what happened to the sane Tofu since Kasumi wasn't in the room. After he thought for a second, the verdict was abdominal cramps. Disappointed sighs filled the room from everyone in the house. As everyone filed out of the room, even Ranma sighed in disappointment. She was also hoping to get out of the situation she was in. She didn't want these children in her any longer.
Akane helped her as she sat up from her supine position then as she placed her feet on the ground, something happened: a stream of water wrapped itself around her legs, puddling at her feet. Ranma felt it, Akane saw it and Tofu turned around. In a matter of seconds Ranma was back on the bed with Akane holding her hand, and Tofu was issuing orders for all the other excited members of the family to get out of the room. All except Kasumi who had a little training from high school in first aid and who had read many of the books he kept on hand. Ranma's toughness to pain was even showing through her labour. That was, of course, before the real contractions began.
Akane sat there with Ranma through the first hour, then the second hour, which progressed to the third...and to the fourth. By that time, the fathers were way past drunk and were slobbering all over the floor. Nabiki and Nodoka were irritable outside the door and Tofu was not letting them in as yet. Kasumi was the messenger.
Usually Nabiki was the one people went to when one needed a question answered. Today however was not one of those days, as Nabiki joined Nodoka showering Kasumi with questions as she fluttered in and out of the room. Kasumi took no notice of them and they did not press her too much. One never pressed Kasumi for information. She made you feel really guilty when her ever-present smile fell.
Ranma considered herself a real warrior and for five hours she had lasted through the meanest contraction any woman had to face. Even when Cologne joined in as a medical consult, Cologne had remarked that these seemed to be rather powerful contractions Ranma was having. This of course was due to the fact that Ranma's incredible immune system was rapidly destroying the hormones her children were producing. The net result was that they began to basically spew out the stuff causing the most massive -and painful- contractions that Cologne had seen in her midwife years.
Slowly, Ranma’s cervix dilated as Tofu checked from time to time. It was around the six-hour mark that Akane's feet decided to cramp up and he thought he should go for a little walk. He released Ranma's hand.
One could commend Ranma's total concentration on her contractions, so much so that she had almost zoned out everything else. Akane almost got away...almost.
"Get back here you **##^^^^##*^^#***!!!! You did this to me you *$^##!!! Don't think you're getting off that easily!" she shouted at him using the most colourful language anyone had every heard her use. Kasumi even blushed at some of the implications. Ranma had in fact, grabbed Akane's arm and twisted it to a most unnatural angle. One had to give Akane credit that he had not shouted out. His lip was bleeding though since he had bit down on it and his hand hung limply from where Ranma held it in a vice grip. No matter how much Tofu pleaded with Ranma, she never released Akane's hand. Akane's pleads were met with smacks from her fist, and her constant verbal abuse. That was of course until the first really hard contraction hit her.
She screamed out in agony and crushed Akane's hand so thoroughly that his cries were turning into whimpers. He hoped he could survive this.
"Come on Ranma. Push!" he shouted at her. "Push! Push!"
"What the HELL do you think I'm doing!!" she shouted as she grunted and bore down.
Soon a single shattering cry was heard as a head popped out and Cologne tapped the child with the edge of her finger. And as Ranma continued pushing under Cologne and Tofu's encouragement, the baby slid out. With a ki controlled slice Cologne severed the umbilical chord and Tofu delivered the still slimy child in a wet blanket to his mother. The baby cried continuously even in Ranma's hands, until Ranma gave him a kiss. Only then did he quiet down a bit. Kasumi had to actually pry him out from Ranma's hands in order to gave him a bath. He objected to being taken away from his mother, but after he was wrapped up in some blankets and placed in a cot, he decided to go back to sleep. Nodoka and Nabiki escaped their confinement outside and rushed into see the child. When they attempted to take him out though, Cologne immediately rapped them on the fingers.
"Let him sleep!" she barked. "You can coddle him later. He needs to know his mother first before he knows anyone else."
Years of Amazon knowledge showed that the child needed to bond with his mother before anyone else. It was the only way for the child to immediately associate love with his mother. Cologne ushered them out of the room just in time before Ranma went into her second labour.
Akane had held his son for a few minutes before he returned to Ranma's side. His now bandaged hand was still throbbing from Ranma's firm grasp but he bore the pain without flinching. This time he was going to wait it out.
Ranma held Akane's hand for the whole hour before the child decided it had been in its prison long enough. This time, when the water broke, it only took a few minutes from contractions to the child sliding out of Ranma's birthing canal. This time, Kasumi did wash the child, a girl, before handing her to Ranma with the boy. Ranma held each in a hand as they quieted down once again. The boy didn't even make a sound as Akane took him from her and cradled him in his hands.
The rest of the family was allowed in to watch see the children for the first time but after a few minutes, they were then ushered out of the room in order to give Ranma and the kids some sleep. Soon afterwards as Akane continued to puff the pillows under Ranma's head, she fell asleep.
Usually children are born into the world and have to wait at least a day before their mother begins producing milk. Thus, newborns usually have a lot of energy when they are newly born in order to survive. It was the same with the twins except, with their parents genes, these kids had too much energy. The result was a miniature tug-of-war between the two siblings as they slept. Apparently, the same cloth was wrapped around both and was not sufficient. So the two as most twins do, began their first fight.
A still exhausted Ranma woke up six hours later by a pair of crying babies. Evidently they had inherited their parents' lungs. Ranma was treated to the dull throbbing of her breasts. Ranma’s metabolism was one of the most efficient due to her training, a byproduct of that training was the rapid response of her body to any hormones being produced, be they adrenaline or in this case oxytocin. Soon the twins were happily suckling their first meal under the watchful eye of their mother as she finally figured out why her breasts were throbbing..
The first few days saw the whole household reacting to the novelty of having children in the house. The grandfathers -when sober- would always prance around the house celebrating, which called for more sake. This inevitably had them drunk for the first week. Nodoka and Nabiki were more controlled though Nabiki was finding it harder to not smile around the house. Nodoka flittered around Ranma and her grandchildren, and although she knew they were much too young for her to start spoiling them with cookies and other sorts of treats, she couldn’t help but dream of the time when she could spoil them. Ranma allowed her and Kasumi to hold the children more than the others, except Akane of course. Akane was always near as the notion that these were his children had not worn off on him as yet.
Akane was happy and it showed. He literally glowed when he held his kids or saw them with Ranma on the bed that she used when she fed them when they were not sleeping.
A week after the novelty wore off the weight of the responsibility of taking care of two children finally started to dawn on both parents. Ranma slept sporadically since the kids woke her up two or three times a night to be fed. She still had phantom pains in her abdomen. Plus, she still had to help run a household and take care of the kids. Shampoo had been around to help lately as part of her punishment and Ranma was grateful for her mother's help with the twins. They constantly needed attention, care and changing. She never knew that children would be that demanding. She handled it all in stride though. As school holidays progressed, she became more accustomed to her role as Akane continued teaching classes as a part time job.
After the first month, Nabiki disappeared into Tokyo for her internship with some business company. Nodoka too had returned to her house after being sure that Ranma knew what she was supposed to do with the kids. She really didn't want to go but even she had to agree that Soun and Genma were becoming a pain. A big pain! She would have liked to stay with her grandchildren but she supposed it would make her daughter too dependent on her. A proper woman should be independent of their mother. Plus, Kasumi was still there in case Ranma needed something and Shampoo would come immediately when called.
Cologne visited the children from time to time during Shampoo’s mandatory punishment. Truth be known that this was better training to groom Shampoo into a leader than any combat training. Leadership meant far more than being the best warrior. Cologne knew that Ranma already had proven her leadership in the many battles she had fought with the others by her side. Now it was Shampoo’s turn to watch and interact with Ranma and hopefully gain some critical experience that she would need if she were indeed to gain the role of matriarch in the future.
Of the twins, the girl already had tufts of reddish brown hair while the boy was completely bald. So far for Cologne her stay in Nerima had been entertaining, she knew that her floor show was far from over. What a way to relax!
Comments:
Send to: ironmj@yahoo.com