PermanentPermanent 
Part 33
Mother dearest.
Ranma felt the cold steel against her throat, she paused and glanced at the 
woman holding the blade to her throat. 
"I'll ask you one last time. Where is my son?" the woman pressed the blade 
slightly drawing a small amount of blood.
Cologne was the first to speak. "Your son is gone. Killing this girl will not 
bring her back."
The woman glared at her and said nothing Ranma did not move.
"What do you mean?" she said coolly.
"Your son was taken from us by the cursed springs of Jusenkyo, no one regrets 
this more than her."
"Cursed springs?" Nodoka narrowed her eyes. "If what you say is true and my son 
is dead, they why is this girl using his name?"
"Because I am Ranma Saotome," replied the young sorceress calmly. 
"Explain," said the woman.
Cologne held her hand up and silenced Ranma before she could speak. "In our 
tribe, a woman may take the name of her husband if he dies honorably."
Nodoka stared at the girl for a moment, but she did not remove the blade. 
"Husband?" 
Ranma said nothing. She merely stared the woman dead in the eyes.
"My son is dead?" 
"He is no longer among us," said one of the young girls next to Cologne 
carefully.
Nodoka relaxed her arm slightly, it was all Talcum needed. She was standing 
opposite Nodoka and had moved behind her while her attention was on the elder. 
Her arm snaked up and pressed the back of the woman's neck sending her to the 
floor unconscious. 
"You never said anything about your mother being alive," commented Cologne as 
Ranma stepped away from the woman.
"Mother?" she was ignoring everyone around her and staring at the sleeping woman 
before her. "I...have a mother?"
Everyone in the room reacted in shock. "This is most unusual," commented Talcum.
 
 
Nodoka woke up about an hour later with an exploding headache. The young red 
head bowed deeply before her. "I apologize, Pop never said anything about his 
wife. I would have contacted you long ago had I known."
The woman sat up slowly and stared at her in shock. "Who are you?"
"Ranma Saotome," replied the girl simply.
"Who are you really?" she said calmly.
"That is the only name I know," replied the girl simply.
"Where am I?" 
"In my room, you've slept through the day. It's evening again," Ranma looked at 
the woman and sighed waiting for more questions.
Nodoka looked around the room and took in her surroundings; she was in a small 
room in the upstairs portion of the Cat Café. She looked back at the girl and 
sighed deeply. "My son is gone?"
Ranma simply nodded slowly and carefully. She knew that the woman was telling 
the truth. Her wallet had told her enough, and a magical background check had 
finished the story while she slept. Her eyes went up and down the woman's face 
over and over. Her feelings where numb and uncertain.
Nodoka stared back at her, tears forming in her eyes. Still she remained in 
control, "What of the agreement with Soun Tendo?"
"Your son knew nothing of that. I found out only after coming to Japan," replied 
the red head quietly.
"He died honorably?" asked the older woman with a distant look in her face.
Ranma stood up and faced away from her towards the window that overlooked 
Nerima. "I still search for a way to bring him back to us. It is all I live 
for."
Nodoka felt a cold shiver run down her spine at those words. She glanced around 
the room and noticed the unusual things that seemed to fill it. Rows of books, 
an unusual chest that sent cold waves into her body just looking at it, various 
crystals and bottles lined the walls. "Who are you?"
Ranma slowly turned around and recognized the look on the woman's face. Terror 
seemed to cross her features. "After your son left me, I began to search for a 
cure to the curse of Jusenkyo. Thus I began my path into the mystic arts."
Nodoka merely nodded, still numb from the news. "What of my husband?"
Ranma winced visibly at this, "He shared the same fate."
Ranma merely watched without words as the woman broke down into tears on her 
bed. She was uncertain of what to say or do. She wanted to scream the truth, but 
it would be a little too much for the woman to take at the moment. A small 
burning hatred formed in the back of her heart.
"Genma Saotome, for making that contract with my mother...I will make you suffer 
as she has." She walked towards the door with a distasteful scowl on her face. 
The probe she had done to the woman to find the truth in her words had also 
revealed that important fact. 
Nodoka stood up and grabbed her arm as she tried to leave the room. "Wait!"
Ranma looked back at her and saw unfathomable pain in her eyes, but also 
something else, a small light of hope. "Yes?" The words flowed from her mouth 
gently, but the grating emotions were still evident in her voice.
"Daughter...please, help me mourn my son," Nodoka pleaded with her and grabbed 
her in a rough hug.
Ranma felt tears begin to flow down her face as she returned the embrace. Not 
tears of sorrow, but of rage and pain. To hold the woman who gave birth to her, 
and not be able to speak the truth. It was almost too much to bear. She paused 
and stared at the wall opposite her. She wanted desperately to scream the truth 
over and over, but the angel's final words crept into her mind. She could not 
throw her life away yet; she had too much to do still. 
Genma Saotome would suffer for this indeed.
 
 
Below Cologne sat with her two charges patiently. She turned towards the pair as 
they waited anxiously. "You will not interfere with her. Allow her to do what 
she needs to do. She showed me what she saw in that memory crystal, and Genma 
Saotome will be lucky to survive the day tomorrow." She sipped her tea quietly. 
She knew that Ranma could tell the woman the truth, and also that she could very 
well die if she did. Unfortunately she also knew that it was her decision alone. 
She left her a way out, and hoped desperately that she realized that she was far 
too important to throw her life away on a promise.
"I wish I could say something in his defense, but I doubt if Ranma will kill 
him," said Ko li with a small smirk. 
"Hope lazy panda die," snarled Talcum.
"My dear sister, Ranma knows many things are worse than death," said Ko li with 
her smirk growing into a full-blown grin.
 
 
Soun Tendo looked up at his daughter quietly. There was nothing he could say. 
Ranma had betrayed them, lied to them. Nodoka had confirmed that Ranma Saotome 
was indeed Genma's son, and that she had never had a daughter. Watching her 
leave in a blind rage was more than he could take, he passed out on the spot.
He had no love for the honorless girl; she had almost gotten Akane killed. Now 
his daughter was cursed and he suspected his middle daughter was going out with 
a giant bird. Kasumi was also changed, albeit more slightly. She had learned a 
few spells of healing, but that was as much as he could tell. 
Still, he could not get her out of his life. Akane was dangerously loyal to her, 
and the engagement with the Hibiki boy still stood. Whether he liked it or not, 
giri demanded that he follow through with the agreement. 
At least he was an honest and honorable soul, even if that soul belonged to the 
witch. He had finally decided that Ranma Saotome was indeed evil. He had to do 
something, but what? Only one force on the planet scared him more than her. 
Getting rid of that had been the one positive thing in his life since she came 
along.
"Hello Tendo."
Soun slowly turned and almost paled completely. "What?"
"You and I need to have a little talk Tendo..."
 
Akane sat on the roof watching the moon. No more magical girls assaulted her; in 
fact, they actually seemed to be avoiding her now. The Sailor Stars ignored her 
completely, and Keiko seemed to have lost her powers for some reason. It was 
almost normal again.
She paused when she heard a familiar rustling above her. "Hello Kuno, what are 
you doing here?"
"I merely came to see how you were, it has been remarkably quiet since last 
night. I take it you have solved your problems?"
"Most of them," the girl nodded her head and lay back on the roof. "Things just 
seem to be going our way."
"I'm glad to hear that, my home is quiet as well. It bothers me at times."
Akane felt her face tense up. "You miss her don't you?"
"At times, I think I miss Sasuke more though," he stared up at the sky.
"Really?" Akane seemed surprised at this.
"My sister was never close to me, I loved her, but he has always been at my 
side. Loyal, steadfast, always ready to serve. I know it sounds like I had a dog 
or something, but Sasuke was more family to me than my own father."
"I think I understand," said Akane quietly. 
"Indeed, I fear I must be going now..."
"Have a good time with Nabiki," said Akane with a small smile on her face as she 
continued to stare at the moon.
Kuno froze and stared at her in shocked horror. "Wh..h..how?"
"You really think she can sneak by me? Come now Kuno, my eyes are better than 
yours in the dark."
The middle Tendo sister cursed and walked from her hiding spot on the roof. 
"You'd better not tell anyone about this."
"I won't, but you'd better start talking. What are you doing out here so late? 
Or should I ask?" Akane gave Kuno a careful glare and he blushed.
"I am an honorable man Akane Tendo!"
"Then why were you trying to sneak off with her in the middle of the night? You 
two were hoping I'd already be gone."
Nabiki raised her eyebrow. "Please Akane, this is Kuno we're talking about here. 
I'm dating a giant bird."
"Well, just don't force me to make you marry I giant bird. My sense of smell is 
better now too. You two have behaved yourselves so far. I've been keeping an eye 
on you for the past two weeks."
Both teens paled slightly and Nabiki blushed. "You have any idea what would 
happen if anyone found out I was dating Kuno?"
"Probably nothing, he used to be a complete moron, but now..."
Nabiki scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out at this. "Please, I 
wouldn't have touched him with a pole, even if he paid me."
The boy in question coughed into his hand. "I am still here you know."
"But, he did get better," said the middle Tendo. This seemed to satisfy Kuno and 
he ruffled his wings.
"Have fun you two, and behave yourselves or I'll rip your wings off Kuno," said 
Akane as she continued to watch the moon.
The boy spread his wings and was about to take off with Nabiki in his arms when 
a terrible scream followed by an explosion came from inside the house. The 
portion of roof where Akane sat collapsed in and she screamed as she fell into 
the home.
"Akane!" cried Kuno as he turned and jumped off the edge with Nabiki still in 
his arms.
The girl gasped and clung to his neck as a glowing blue light shone through the 
smoke inside. Akane stirred from her place in the rubble and slowly sat up 
shoving a board off her chest.
"What hit me?"
The three teens simply stared as a laugh filled the room.
"Heh heh heh heh heh. Well, look what we have here..."
 
Ryoga Hibiki wandered through the streets of Nerima. On his shoulder was a large 
sack of rice. "Honestly, sending me out this late at night for rice. If she 
wanted to be alone with that visitor she should have just said so." He cocked 
his head and stopped his monologue as an explosion sounded in the distance. 
"This place sure is getting weird."
TBC...
 
Ooh, I know you're going to hate me for this one! It's time for Permament to get 
back into gear!
Next time: The mysterious evil revealed! Also Ranma and her mother learn about 
each other.
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
URL Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/
 
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