Father
Father
A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction by June "KaraOhki" Geraci
May 19, 2002
Rev. June 30, 2002
Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I'm borrowing her characters for a while. This story is being written for entertainment purposes, and may not be used commercially. Please ask me if you wish to post it anywhere.
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"And don't forget to watch out after Akane!"
"Daddy, I can take care of myself!" The look Akane gave her father to accompany those words was enough to make him subside, but it didn't have much effect on Ranma's father.
"That's right, Son! You keep an eye on that Kuonji girl, and watch out for Shampoo."
To Akane's amazement, Ranma nodded at his father and responded in a very soft voice. "Sure thing, Pop." Then he grabbed Akane's hand and ran out of the house before anyone else could say a word. Akane allowed Ranma to run three blocks before she planted her feet, causing him to stop short.
"What are you doing?"
"We need to talk."
Ranma looked utterly confused. "We already did. The night of the 'wedding'. Was there something we forgot?
Akane tried hard not to laugh. When Ranma had regained consciousness in a dojo empty of everyone but the two of them, he had immediately gone into defense mode. It had taken all of her patience and determination to make him sit down and talk to her. Since then he'd been jumping at shadows, waiting for everyone to figure out that his relationship with Akane had changed. "We didn't forget anything. I'm just curious about something?"
"What?"
"You're treating your father differently. Why?"
Ranma just stood there, and Akane could see he was thinking hard. Then he took her hand and started walking again, but in a different direction. "Wanna skip school?"
"Why?"
"'cause answering that question will take time. Lots of time."
*****
They settled down in the grass at the center of the maze. Ranma had chosen this spot because he would be able to hear someone coming long before he or she could be seen, and that would give them some time to be prepared.
"So you think I'm treating Pop different? How?"
"You were nice to him all the way back from Jusendo. I could tell he made you mad a bunch of times, but you never insulted him or hit him like you usually do. You even let him steal food from you."
"Hey, the food on the ship was lousy! I didn't see you eating a lot of it!"
"Come on, Ranma. There's more to it than that."
"Couldn't you tell how tired he was? I mean his mouth worked just fine, because he kept putting his foot in it, but something was wrong. He couldn't keep up with us when we were traveling from Jusendo to the coast, and he kept falling asleep on the ship. I think that whole trip took a lot out of him."
Akane rested her hand on her fiance's. "I've never heard you talk that way about your father before. The way you treat him, I thought you didn't like him much."
Ranma looked embarrassed. "He gets me really sore, and he's done some really dumb things, but he IS my father. And--" Ranma looked down for a moment, and when he raised his head Akane could see a faraway look in his eyes. "I never told you about the good stuff he did."
"I know how well he trained you."
"There's more to it than that. There was the time when I was eight years old, and I was so sure I was the best."
*****
Ranma headed down the road from school. He had been attending this particular school for a few weeks, and he knew that soon he and his father would be traveling again. He was wondering where their next stop would be when he realized that his path was being blocked.
Three boys stood there. Ranma recognized them from the school--they were in a higher grade. They were looking at him with contempt, and he wondered why.
"So, it's the great Saotome!" said one.
"We've heard your boasts. You can beat anyone at school." The boy speaking poked Ranma in the chest.
"Let's see how good you are," said the third. "After all, you're supposed to be the great martial artist."
Ranma barely had time to drop his books before the boys attacked. He used everything his father had taught him, but it didn't take long for him to figure out that he was outmatched, and in a lot of trouble. The boys had him down on the ground and were beating him unmercifully when a white blur came in from the side. Before Ranma knew it, all three of his attackers were out cold. Genma helped his son to his feet, and took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his face.
"What's going on here, Son?"
"I--they--"
Genma just waved his hands at his son, who was instantly silent. "I hope you learned a lesson. I know about your boasting, and look where it got you. It's time to go home."
*****
"What happened next, Ranma?"
"That was when Pop started to teach me about fighting multiple opponents. He also had a lot to say about keeping my mouth shut."
Akane giggled. "Looks like you learned the first part really well. I'm not sure about the second."
"Um, yeah."
"So do you have any more stories for me?"
"Lots."
*****
As the morning progressed, Ranma continued telling Akane stories of his years on the road with Genma. For the first time, Akane was seeing a side of her future father-in-law that she never had before, and she found herself respecting him more than she thought possible. It was also wonderful having a chance to talk to Ranma for the second time in less than a week with nobody interrupting them. Soon, Akane realized that she was hungry.
"Let's get some lunch. My treat." She started to get up, but Ranma grabbed her hand and pulled her down again.
"Not yet. There's one more thing you should hear."
"Oh?"
"If it hadn't been for Pop, I never would have come to Nerima. I never would have met you."
"I know that. He made the agreement with Daddy."
"No. That's not what I mean." Ranma took both of Akane's hands in his, but didn't speak.
"What is it?"
"When Shampoo was chasing us across China we kept trying to lose her, but she was too good a tracker. At one point we hadn't seen her for two days, and I really thought we had finally gotten away. It was raining really hard one night, and we were in our tent, resting. Suddenly Pop shoved me as hard as he could, and a second later a spear came through the side of the tent right where I'd been sitting."
Akane turned white. "Oh, Ranma." She pulled her hands free and wrapped her arms around her fiance.
"Akane, I didn't HEAR her, and I didn't FEEL her. I thought my danger sense was good, but I had no idea she was there! Pop knew. Pop was better than me, and he saved my life. I�m never gonna forget that."
"Neither will I."
*****
It was late afternoon when the couple returned home. Nabiki was upstairs studying, and Kasumi was making dinner. Soun and Genma were in their usual spot, playing. The two men looked up as their children entered, and before either could say anything Akane walked up to Genma and softly kissed his cheek. Then she walked upstairs without a word.
Genma looked at her as she walked away, and turned to his son.
"What was that about?"