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Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma 1/2, of course, belong to Rumiko Takahashi (and lots of others). Sati Li, and any other strays that may appear, belong to me, unless otherwise noted.

A Werewolf in Nerima

By: USA Tiger

Author note: Thanks to my beta Silver-Tiamat from DeviantART.

Gah I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long to update. I had another case of writer’s block.

Chapter 28

For the last few weeks, Mousse had kept his head down and his mouth shut. Except for a couple of token attempts of fighting Shampoo in an effort to defeat her and become her rightful husband, Mousse had kept to the background. It started the night that Sati had come over to the Nekohanten two full moons ago for dinner and he had attacked her thinking she was a demon, hoping Shampoo would be grateful and see him with new eyes if he saved her. Foolish thinking, of course, as if Shampoo wasn’t able to protect herself from a simple demon or that Cologne would have let one close if it was dangerous. But love made a fool of everyone and Mousse was no exception.

Of course Sati hadn’t been a demon like he first thought; she was instead a real live werewolf. Mousse had heard of werewolves, of course, as well as other animals such as tigers and panda, but if you had asked him over a year ago if they were real… well he might have said no. He knew magic existed, but very few people in the village could use it at all and he never encountered any of the magical items that the village kept locked up tight. Jusenkyo had for the most part been forbidden to the villagers, not much had been known about it other than it was an old training ground that might have been cursed. That, of course, had ended up being totally true as Mousse had learned when he walked right into the spring of the drowned duck when he had snuck in to train himself. From then on, Mousse had seen or encountered several strange and magical things since he followed Shampoo to Nerima, Japan.

So having attacked and met a werewolf wasn’t high on the list of weird things that happened to him. Mousse had kept a low profile since that day and kept his ears open as much as he could and had learned that his rival for Shampoo’s heart, Ranma, was a werewolf as well. He assumed that werewolf Sati or some other werewolf had bitten Saotome as all he knew about werewolves came from American films which would explain why Ranma hadn’t been a werewolf before now. Mousse had ended up sending a letter to his mother asking for advice and to his internal delight she had sent a letter back telling him about a little unknown sub-rule to the Kiss of Marriage. Were-creatures were an exception to the Kiss of Marriage, a woman could pursue one if they wished but since they were so hard to control there wasn’t any shame if a village sister did not want to marry one. This was also because many sisters who did marry a were-creature often left with their new spouse. Mousse felt that Shampoo would finally give up on Saotome now, no matter what she felt for the teen Shampoo had to have more loyalty and love for Joketsuzoku than she did for Saotome. And even if for some bizarre reason Shampoo did decide to pick Saotome over Joketsuzoku, surely Cologne would stop her only Great-Granddaughter and heir.

As the days went past without all of them returning to China, Mousse began to have his doubts. There was, of course, that ‘training trip’ that Shampoo went on by herself without Cologne or her father Poe. A training trip that just so happen to fall on the last full moon and Mousse had noticed that Saotome was gone as well, he just knew his darling Shampoo had been with Saotome as she had come back with a very satisfied look on her face. She still went out to visit her ‘husband’ on an almost daily basis! Mousse didn’t like it and his hatred for Saotome rose every time Shampoo came back from seeing the other boy. Mousse had started to study what he could about werewolves; he wasn’t sure how much was true as everything he read were mostly legends. The only thing that could supposedly kill a were-creature was silver and that Mousse learned from movies instead of books. Still it was the only thing he really had to go on and already he was looking to buying silver weapons to use against his rival.

That was slow going for several reasons; not only was silver way out of his pay range at least for the amount he needed, but pure silver didn’t make good weapons or objects in general as it was too soft to hold any shape. So to get a decent weapon Mousse would have to buy blades made out of sterling silver, not only was that more expensive to buy, but he wasn’t sure if it would work as well. Did it have to be pure silver or did silver mixed with other metals work just as well? Mousse sighed to himself as he leaned back against the wall by his bed. He had a lot of planning to do and he needed allies to take Saotome down. He thought about asking Hibiki, they had worked together in the past against their shared rival surely the Eternally Lost Boy would love to take a crack Saotome. Nodding to himself Mousse decided to go looking for Ryoga the next day, who knew how long it would take to find the other teen with his lack of direction.

Downstairs in her private work room Cologne was bent over studying the contents of the failed potion Akane had made. /‘I will give the girl this much, she made quite the powerful potion even it was by accident,’ /Cologne thought to herself. It was too bad Akane was such a horrible cook which would make her a terrible potions mistress if she tired, if Akane had any real skill who knew what she could make but since Akane couldn’t follow simple instructions… Still if she could figure out what Akane had done, this new potion could be a great help to her village. Speaking of the Joketsuzoku, Cologne glanced up from her work to peer at the missive from the other elders sitting on her desk. Getting up, Cologne hopped over and picked up the letter again reading it.

Elder Kon Lon of the Joketsuzoku

After weeks of debating on the issue, we the elders council have decided that the Kiss of Marriage of your Great Granddaughter Xian Pu issued to one Saotome Ranma shall be at this point null and void. As such, all of Xian Pu’s honor shall be restored to her in the eyes of the village. We feel that while the Saotome boy would have been an asset to our village, the reveal of his werewolf and weretiger bloodlines puts our village at risk. As such, the Kiss of Death will also not be reinstated as we do not wish to cause trouble with the lycan community.

Our recommendation is that you, Xian Pu, and Poe are to return to the village. You may also bring Mu Tsu if you so wish but other than his mother not many would miss him within the village.

If Xian Pu wishes to continue to pursue the Saotome boy it will be without the backing of the village.

Cologne sighed as she put the letter down again, it was as she thought, her fellow elders had decided it was just too much trouble to keep trying to add Ranma to their gene pool. She couldn’t blame the others, she would have decided the same thing if it had been somebody else. After all, the amount of trouble they had with the lycan tribes in the past they didn’t want to borrow trouble when they could avoid it. Now she had to sit Shampoo down and tell her the elders’ decision though she had a feeling that her Great Granddaughter already knew that this would happen. What she was afraid of would be Shampoo’s decision. Deep down in the pit of her stomach, Cologne just knew Shampoo believed herself in love with Ranma and would chose to follow her heart instead of her brain. The question was did she support her Grandchild and continue to help her despite the fact there was a chance like many other village sisters and even brothers in the past she would stay with Ranma instead of returning home. Cologne sighed again and headed back over to her work table, right now she shouldn’t jump ahead of herself. Right now she should figure out the mess that the Tendo girl made and how to change her back. Shampoo and her love life would still be there when she was done.

*****

Ryoga beamed happily to himself as he led Ranma to his house. Not that Ranma didn’t know where he lived since it was usually the other boy who did the leading but knowing how to get home for once in his life without having someone lead him there or stumbling on it by pure luck was such a novel thing Ryoga couldn’t help but be in high spirits. Ranma easily noticed how high spirited his pack mate was and really who could blame Ryoga?

While both of them had spent most of their lives on the road, Ranma’s time had been a lifelong training trip while Ryoga’s time was simply because he didn’t have a choice as he couldn’t find his way. If Ranma had the same problem, he suppose being able to do something as simple as knowing how to go home was the greatest feeling in the world.

“I hope Mom and Dad are home,” Ryoga said as they passed the lot behind Ryoga’s house where they were supposed to have that man-to-man fight all that time ago.

“How are you gonna explain… well you know?” Ranma waved his hand at Ryoga, meaning the boy’s reawakened demon blood. “I know you said your parents would be ok with it, but you know it’s kinda a big thing.”

“Ranma don’t worry about it,” Ryoga said as he unlocked the front door of his house. “I’m home!”

“AWOOO!” Ryoga’s dog Shirokuro came bounding from around the corner, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth as she leapt up and landed on paws first on Ryoga’s chest knocking around onto his back. She started licking Ryoga’s face in greeting while her pack of puppies caught up with their mother and swarmed Ryoga as well.

“Ack! Shiro!” Ryoga gasped, in laughter, as he gently pushed his dog back so he could sit up. Shirokuro huffed and sniffed her master then gave him a confused look.

“Awoo?” While it still smelled like her master, there was something very different about Ryoga’s scent but she couldn’t figure out why.

“Oh my, what is all that barking about?” A female voice asked as a woman walked out from the kitchen. “Ryoga!”

“Mom!” Ryoga said happily as he quickly got up off the floor and picked up his mother in a joyous hug. Ayako Hibiki laughed with just as much joy as she embraced her only child in a hug.

“Oh Ryoga, I am so happy to see you’re home,” She said once Ryoga put her back on the floor. “You’re just in time, I was about to make lunch.”

“Is Dad here?” Ryoga asked. Ayako shook her head sadly.

“I’m sorry sweetheart, I just got off the phone with your father a few minutes ago. He’s lost somewhere in Canada,” she told him. Ryoga’s shoulders slumped slightly, he had really hoped his father Ryoichi would be here as well.

“Alright, do you think he’ll make it home any time soon?” He asked. Ayako shrugged her shoulders slightly.

“When it comes to your father, who knows?” She said, she missed her husband as well. It was hard being married to someone who had as bad of a sense of direction as herself but she wouldn’t trade her husband for the world. “Ranma-kun, how nice to see you again! I haven’t seen you since you and Ryoga were in junior high.”

“Hello Mrs. Hibiki,” Ranma said.

“Oh please, not that again,” Ayako said with a laugh as she pulled Ranma into a hug. “You know to call me Auntie Ayako.” Her attention was pulled from Ranma while Shirokuro whined softly and pawed Ryoga’s leg, looking at him confused still. “What’s wrong Shirokuro?”

“Awooo,” The dog answered looking between Ryoga and his mother. She got up and walked over to Ranma sniffing him as well, his scent was all wrong too. Ryoga sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Mom, there’s something I got to tell you,” he said.

A few minutes later Mrs. Hibiki and the two teens were in the living room, Ryoga explaining what had happened a few days before hand. Ranma chimed in, telling her about how much of a bad cook Akane was and how that was the reason the ‘potion’ had been messed up.

“Let me get this straight, this Akane girl attempted to make a potion, using a fake one from a book, and accidently created a real one that awoke your demon blood you inherited from your father, making you a full blooded wolf demon?” Ayako asked, one eyebrow raised at her son. When Ryoga nodded Ayako sighed, well it certainly wasn’t the strangest thing she ever heard or seen after all her only child turned into a pig with cold water. “Alright, let me see it then.”

“Huh?” Ryoga asked.

“Let me see what’s changed about you,” Ayako repeated. “You look like you usually do so you must be doing something to make you look like a human, let me see what’s changed.” Ryoga blushed, he forgot it was hard to get anything past his mother, and reached up to touch the black earring in his ear. It wasn’t necessary to touch the black stone when he wanted to bring up the illusion that made him look human or to bring it down but he did find it easier. In an instant Ryoga’s looks changed from human to his new demon features. Shirokuro gave a small bark in surprise at her master’s change. Ayako got up and studied her son, taking in the seemingly pupil-less green eyes and the pointed ears. She reached down and took Ryoga’s hands to look at his longer claw-like nails.

“Well it’s not too bad,” She said as she had him stand up so she could look at his tail. “Your tail is quite fluffy. You’re still my handsome son, you must be beating the girls off with a stick.”

“Mmoommmm,” Ryoga groaned in embarrassment.

“So what about you Ranma-kun?” Ayako asked as she turned her attention back to Ryoga’s friend. “Something has changed about you, I can tell just by looking.”

“Oh… well… umm…” Ranma stumbled over his words, looking to Ryoga for help. Ryoga shrugged his shoulders, it was Ranma’s choice if he wanted to tell Ryoga’s mother about his own Lycan blood thing. “It’s a little hard to believe but I found out I wasn’t as human as I thought.”

“Ranma-kun, both my husband and son have wolf demon blood in them, I’ve met their demon relatives at some point or another,” Ayako said as she sat back down on the couch. “And now my son is even a full blooded demon. Whatever it is, I’m sure I won’t be surprised.”

Ranma had to give her that, after having relatives that were demons and even having your son turn into a full blooded demon, a Lycan like himself wouldn’t really shock the Hibiki matriarch. Letting out a deep breath Ranma felt himself shift, grunting slightly in discomfort as his clothing got a lot tighter against his form as he put on more muscle mass and sprouted fur.

“Ohh!” Ayako said. “That’s… A werewolf? But you look a little bit like a cat too.”

“I’m a hybrid, my real parents were a werewolf and a weretiger,” Ranma said as he rolled his shoulders and shifted around trying to get his Chinese silks to fit better, he was starting to wonder if he should just go ahead and get a whole new wardrobe or maybe go Sati’s route and find a wizard to charm all his clothing to properly fit him in any form.

“Well you look very cute like that Ranma,” Ayako assured him with a smile, making Ranma blushed slightly under his fur but relieved that Mrs. Hibiki had accepted him so quickly.

Soon the sounds of Ayako and Ryoga talking in the background filled the air as they filled each other in on what was going on in their lives. Ranma started to wonder around the room, he didn’t get to be in this form very often, a lot less than Sati wanted him to be for sure but it couldn’t be help. Everyone but Akane knew about Ranma being a werewolf-tiger but since Akane would likely freak out if she knew, look at how she acted around Sati and Jasper, he kept his form a secret from her. It was… hard… do to so. At one time Ranma might have fallen in love with her but things just got to rocky and he was grateful he and Nabiki had become closer and the engagement moved to the middle Tendo sister. He thought, if nothing else, they could remain friends if he did chose to marry someone else.

A group of photos hanging on the wall caught Ranma’s attention and he stepped closer to get a look at them. He vaguely remembered the photos from years ago and when he had visited while pretending to be Ryoga’s sister but he couldn’t say he really looked at them. Most of them were pretty standard, photos of Ryoga growing up, of Ryoga and his parents Ayako and Ryoichi, of just Ryoga’s parents by themselves. He spied one of Ayako and Ryoichi’s wedding day in the middle of the group. There were others as well, ones of the elder Hibikis when they were around Ranma’s age. /‘Ryoga sure looked a lot like his parents at that age,’ /Ranmamused. One really caught his eye thought, a photo of Ayako in a school uniform with two other girls. He looked at it a few minutes, there was something familiar about the two girls in the photo with a teenage Ayako, something familiar that he couldn’t put a finger on. The girl on the right had dark red hair and blue eyes that were familiar, the girl also carried a bokken in her arms in a way that was so… Ranma blinked as he realized the girl looked a bit like his female form. Not the same of course, there was enough difference that had he been standing side-by-side with this girl you could tell they weren’t related but… /‘Wait… she looks like Mom.’ /Ranma realized. He quickly looked at the other mystery girl in the photo and picked out features he was very familiar with. The girl had a face similar to Nabiki but her hair was the same dark brown as Kasumi.

“Hey Auntie Ayako,” Ranma said as he quickly took the photo off the wall and brought it over to her. “Who’s this?”

“Oh,” Ayako took the picture and looked at it fondly. “That’s me from my days at school, I went to an all-girls school back then. Capitan of the Rhythmic Gymnastics and Rhythmic Gymnastics Marital Arts teams I was.”

“And the other girls?” Ranma asked.

“No-chan and Su-chan,” Ayako answered. “They were my best friends growing up. No-chan was the captain of our school’s kendo team while Su-chan headed the cooking club. She was quite the cook as I remember.”

“Would…” Ranma’s tongue darted out to lick the end of his muzzle before continuing. “Would No-chan be short for Nodoka?”

“That’s right, Nodoka and Suzume,” Ayako agreed. “Why?”

“My Mom’s name is Nodoka,” Ranma said. “That girl looks a lot like her.”

“Really?” Ayako said as she looked at the photo again. “It’s been a long time since I spoke to either one of them. We drifted apart after school. I went on to start my career as a champion Rhythm Gymnastics Martial artist then married Ryoga’s father. I don’t know what happen to No-chan or Su-chan really, except that I remember reading that Su-chan had died some years ago.”

“She kinda looks like Nabiki,” Ryoga remarked. Ranma nodded, he thought so too and knew that Mrs. Tendo, whom name he had never learned, died when the Tendo sisters were really young.

“You think my mom would remember you?” Ranma asked.

“Well I should hope so, if No-chan is really your mother,” Ayako said with a laugh then sighed. “We were friends for many years, I always regretted not keeping in touch with them.” Ranma nodded and headed out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Ryoga asked.

“Gonna use your phone to call Mom,” Ranma said over his shoulder.

****

Nodoka sighed as she placed her and Genma’s wedding photo into a box. The divorce had been finalized the day before, meaning she was no longer Mrs. Saotome having decided to go back to her maiden family name of Tanaka, and had finally set herself to cleaning out all reminders of her ex-husband from the house. Not that there was many, with Genma on a training trip with Ranma for over 10 years there wasn’t much past photos and some letters from the man. It hurt a bit to be putting all these reminders of her past away, sadly part of her still loved Genma. The man had been so sweet when they first met, Genma giving her little gifts and taking her out on little walks. She wondered now how much of the things he gave her he had stolen from somewhere now that the blinders were off. Nodoka would like to think that Genma hadn’t given her stolen gifts that at one time he might have really loved her, but 10 years of keeping her form their adopted child then to do all that he did to Ranma…

“Panda-no-baka,” Nodoka said with a small sniff, reaching up to wipe away the tears. She hated that she was still crying over the man.

Ring-Ring! Ring-Ring!

Nodoka blinked as she glanced over at her phone, startled out of her thoughts. Sniffing again and wiping away the tear tracks on her face, she walked over to the ringing phone.

“Moshi-moshi,” she answered then smiled when she heard the voice on the other end.

“Hey Mom, I’ve got a question,” She heard Ranma said.

“Of course, what is it dear?” Nodoka asked.

“Were you friends with anyone named Hibiki Ayako?” Nodoka blinked, she hadn’t heard that name in a long time. She, Ayako and their other friend Suzume had met in school when they were children and for several years were thick as thieves but after high school she had gone to collage while Ayako had started a promising career in the professional Rhythm Gymnastics Marital Arts circuit and Suzume had started dating Soun whom she had married and had their three girls. Suzume she had managed to keep in touch with but sadly not with Ayako.

“Mom?”

“Oh… sorry dear I was lost in my memories,” Nodoka apologized. “Yes, I was friends with a girl named Ayako while in school. Why do you ask?”

“Cause I’m over at her house and saw a picture with you two and another girl in it,” Ranma said surprising Nodoka. “Hey, the other girl in the photo with you two is Mrs. Tendo isn’t it? Cuase she looks like Nabiki.” A smile broke out over Nodoka’s face, Nabiki really did look just like her mother.

“Yes, Suzume is the girls’ mother,” She said. “Where are you dear? Th-that is if Ayako doesn’t mind…”

“I think she’d be happy to see you Mom,” Ranma said. “I think she missed you too.” Nodoka smiled again, it would be so nice to see one of her two best friends again. She quickly wrote down the address that Ranma rattled off then hurried off to the bathroom to wash off the evidence of her crying after she hung up. Maybe things were starting to look up.

****

“I hope you don’t mind but I told my mom where you live,” Ranma said when he came back in the room. “I think she might be on her way.”

“It’s fine dear,” Ayako said with a grin. “Might be for the better, if she tried to come at any other time well… you know us Hibikis, we might not be there.”

“Unless you’re Ryoga,” Ranma said as he sat down, his tail curling around his legs.

“Huh?” Ayako asked confused. Ryoga blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“The potion didn’t just change me into this Mom,” Ryoga explained. “Don’t know if it’s because I’m a demon now or the potion that did it itself but I can find my way around now.”

“You can find… you have a sense of direction?” Ayako asked. When Ryoga nodded she gave a shout of joy and hugged her son tightly. “Oh that is wonderful Ryoga! First Hibiki in generations to no longer be lost. Your father and I always felt bad by passing the family curse on from both of us but now for you at least you can find your way.” Ryoga blushed harder as his mother gushed about how happy she was that he no longer got lost like the rest of their family, all the while holding her son. He shot Ranma a glare as the other boy sniggered at him.

“So Auntie Ayako, tell us about Mrs. Tendo,” Ranma said as last, saving his friend from further embarrassment.

“Mrs. Ten- oh yes, Suzume did marry someone named Tendo didn’t she? I remember getting the invitation to her wedding but I couldn’t find it in time,” Ayako said. “Su-chan was a sweet girl, she was head of the cooking club like I said but if you got on her bad side, she would make you pay for it. I remember her father used to head a finance firm and taught her all sorts of tricks. She was always looking for a way to make money, she would cook up a bunch of sweet treats then sell them at school.”

“That sounds like Nabiki,” Ranma said with a shake of his head.

“The cooking part sounds like Kasumi,” Ryoga said.

“I’m sorry dears, but who?” Ayako asked.

“Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane family name is Tendo, they’re her daughters,” Ranma explained. “I’m engaged to Nabiki, I use to be engaged to Akane but really wasn’t working out.”

“You’re a little young to be engaged to anyone Ranma,” Ayako said with a frown. “And why were you two timing this Akane girl with her sister?”

“It isn’t like that Auntie,” Ranma quickly assured her. “It’s an arranged marriage, some promise between Pops and Mr. Tendo to join the two schools of Anything Goes. I was engaged to Akane at first cause of that but well… things didn’t go so great so Nabiki volunteered instead after we got to know each other better.”

“Oh! Oh I’m sorry Ranma dear, I shouldn’t have…” Ayako’s cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment.

“That’s ok, I know it looks weird from the outside,” Ranma said.

“Tell her about your other fiancées,” Ryoga said with a grin, watching as Ranma squirmed under his mother’s gaze.

“Other fiancées?” Ayako asked with a raised eyebrow.

“They’re all pops fault!” Ranma defended himself. “Well…. Except Shampoo, she’s mostly my fault but still… and Kodachi doesn’t count as a fiancée, even if I did agree to take her on a date.”

“Wait what? Why would you take that nutcase on a date?” Ryoga asked as this was all news to him.

“Funny thing is she’s not a crazy as she acts,” Ranma said. “She explained it all to me, Nabs and Jasper the other day.”

“So why-“

“Boys!” Ayako said loudly bringing their attention back to her. “You, explain. How do you have so many girls set to marry you?” Ranma sighed and explained out Genma had engaged him to several girls, starting with Kaori, whom he had been traded for the bowl of rice, two fish and a pickle, and Ukyo who’s family cart had been stolen then covering the other girls who had stopped by the Tendo Dojo looking for him one way or another. He also explained how Shampoo and Kodachi fit into all this.

“That man,” Ayako said with a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “How could No-chan marry someone like that?”

“It’s not mom’s fault,” Ranma defended his adopted mother. “She didn’t know until recently and she went off on Pops the first chance she got. She’s even getting a divorce from him now. And me and the girls are trying to sort everything out now finally.”

“Good, she should divorce that sorry sack of…” Ayako breathed deeply before she went into another rant. She already greatly disliked Genma Saotome from the few times she met the man when Ranma was younger but if she had known he was doing all this to his son… she would have tried anything to get the poor boy away. Ayako stood up, straightening her shirt then smiled at the boys. “Why don’t you to go find something to entertain yourselves with. Maybe do something about all that stuff in Ryoga’s room.” Ryoga winced slightly as he thought of all the souvenirs from his ‘trips’ he stored in his bedroom over the last couple of years.

“Sure Mom, we’ll get right on that,” he said over his shoulder as he quickly left the room, yipping puppies following after him. Ranma laughed and followed Ryoga out to his room.

“Wow… You sure do collect a lot of junk,” he said as he stood in the doorway, looking at all the stuff Ryoga collected. “Guess I never paid much attention last time we were here.”

“Of course not, you were too busy pretending to be my sister,” Ryoga said with a roll of his eyes as he stood in the middle of his room. “Can’t believe I fell for that either.”

“I thought I made a pretty good little sister,” Ranma said with a grin.

“Well, you were pretty good at being a girl,” Ryoga said with a smirk. “You listened to your big brother so well.” Ranma laughed, glad Ryoga had forgiven him enough for that trick to joke with him about it.

“So where do we start on this mess?” he asked as he stepped into the room. Ryoga sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy hair.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I can’t even remember what most of this stuff is.”

The boys started to sort through the mess, placing everything into different piles. One of things that were cheap or spoiled to be thrown away, another of items that were nice but Ryoga nor his family needed so they could be given away. Some of the things Ryoga had found over the last couple of years were really nice and either placed around Ryoga’s room or piled by the door to be placed around the Hibiki house hold. Sometime later the bell by the front gate rang and the puppies ran out of the room yipping excitedly.

“No-chan! It’s been so long,” Ayako’s voice drifted through the house.

“Oh Aya-chan, it really has,” Ranma heard his mother say, a slight waver in her voice. The boys peeked out of the bedroom door, watching the two old friends embrace in a hug, tears in both woman’s eyes.

“We should leave them for now,” Ryoga whispered. Ranma nodded, he hadn’t see his Mom that happy in a while and wasn’t about to spoil her meeting.

In the living room Nodoka and Ayako sat on the couch, a tray of tea and snacks sitting on the low table.

“It is so good to see you Aya,” Nodoka said with a sigh as she settled back against the couch, a cup of tea in her hand. “It’s lovely to see a familiar face from a happier time in my life after everything.”

“I can imagine,” Ayako said with a small laugh. “I had the displeasure of meeting your ‘husband’ a few times when Ranma-kun went to the same school as my son Ryoga. Of course I had no idea that he was your husband.”

“I won’t say I’m too proud of allowing myself to fall in love with Genma, but he was so charming at the time,” Nodoka said with a sigh. “I knew a little about his past of course, he was friends with Su-chan’s husband after all and Su-chan told me a little about their master but I had thought he moved away from all that. I don’t know if he really had changed and later reverted to his old ways or if he had tricked me the whole time.”

“I am so sorry to hear that,” Ayako said. Nodoka laughed a little and waved her hand.

“It’s not your fault, we drifted away by that point, you couldn’t have known,” she said. “But you went on to become a big star in your field, I read a little bit about it in the papers.” Ayako laughed and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Yes, I got lucky when I made it to all the matches on my own,” she said. “Ryoichi, that’s my husband, even made it to several matches to cheer me on.”

“How did you meet your husband?” Nodoka asked curiously. “Your family name is still Hibiki, did he take yours?”

“No no, Ryoichi’s family name is Hibiki as well, he comes from a distant branch of our clan,” Ayako said. “We met on this island near South America. Very odd place, I don’t think I ever caught the name for it, but it was filled with large reptiles that looked a lot like dinosaurs.”

“Really?” Nodoka asked a bit surprised. Ayako would sometimes tell her and Suzume some pretty crazy tales of things that happen to her during school vacations but this was one of the stranger ones, it almost didn’t sound real. Then she remembered her adopted son was a Werewolf-tiger hybrid that changed sexes when splashed with hot or cold water and thought it didn’t sound all that strange after all.

“Oh yes, being chased by a T-rex isn’t something you forget easily,” Ayako said with a laugh then sighed with a little grin. “My Ryoichi was so brave but he respected that I was able to take care of myself as well. We were surprised to find we were from different branches of the Hibiki clan and had to seriously think of what that meant for our future and any children. But we were in love, and still are, so we married and a year later I had Ryoga. The only thing we regretted is that we were unable to always be around for him with all three of us always lost.”

“At least your marriage worked out for you, I am glad to see you are so happy,” Nodoka said.

“Ranma-kun said you are getting a divorce,” Ayako said.

“Not getting, got one,” Nodoka said. “It was finalized yesterday and I am once again Tanaka Nodoka. I can’t say father was disappointed, he never did like Genma.”

“So does that make Ranma a Tanaka as well?” Ayako asked.

“I thought about it, the judge gave me full custody of my son,” Nodoka said. “But I decided Ranma should keep the Saotome name. It’s a good family, Genma is the black sheep. His father and brother were very disappointed to learn what Genma has been doing all these years and assured me Ranma will be welcomed in the family. Once the new school break starts I hope to take him to meet his adopted family on his father’s side.”

“I’m glad to see you both have support,” Ayako said. “Tell me about Su-chan girls, Ranma and Ryoga said she had three?”

“Ah yes, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane,” Nodoka said with a smile. “Lovely children, really they are. Kasumi picked up on Suzume’s cooking skills, though her temperament came from Su-chan’s mother. Remember her?”

“Oh yes, she was always so sweet,” Ayako agreed. “She always had snacks and tea waiting for us after school.”

“Nabiki is the most like Suzume I think,” Nodoka mused. “She has her drive and her love of numbers. Nabiki is a little more… brutal… than her mother had been when it comes to making money but from what I’ve seen, it’s Nabiki that makes sure all the bills are paid in the Tendo home. Akane, her youngest, on the other hand is more like Soun’s side of her family though she does have Suzume’s temperament.”

“Oh dear, I remember the rages Suzume went into when you pushed her too far,” Ayako said. The name Akane sounded familiar too then Ayako remembered the boys saying that she was the one that made the ‘potion’ that changed Ryoga into a full demon.

“Yes, but I think Akane’s fuse is a little shorter than her mother’s ever was,” Nodoka said. “She really is a sweet young woman, but sometimes her anger gets away from her a bit at times.” Ranma, who was listening in, snorted softly. Sometimes it was more than a bit, remembering how hard Akane hit with those damn mallets of hers. Of course it could just be him that angered Akane to that point… well him and Shampoo, the purple hair girl really got under Akane’s skin. “She and Ranma had been engaged to marry thanks to that betrothal that Genma and Soun set up but sadly that didn’t work out. But it was for the best, Ranma and Akane tend to get under each other’s skin.”

“I can’t believe you agreed to such a thing,” Ayako said with a shake of her head.

“Well Genma had already had the promise in place years before I met him,” Nodoka said as she slowly stirred her tea. “Suzume and I were enchanted with the idea of our children marrying each other, like in all the romance books, but well reality is much different from fantasy. Still, who knows, Ranma and Nabiki might marry in the end if Ranma doesn’t decide to marry one of the other girls instead.”

“Oh yes, Ranma told me a bit about all that mess,” Ayako said with a snort. Nodoka gave a tired chuckle and rubbed her forehead.

“You have no idea, that mess… I was shocked when I heard it all and who knows what else Genma has done over the years that we have no idea about,” she said.

“I’m surprised the police haven’t come pounding on your door,” Ayako said.

“Oh, they have once or twice in the past, but that was years ago,” Nodoka admitted. “I guess they figured out I really didn’t know where my ex-husband was or what he was doing at the time. Really, that should have been my first clue something was up.”

“Well at least you’re fixing things now,” Ayako said patting her old friend’s knee.

“I just hope it’s not too little too late,” Nodoka said with another sigh. Their conversation turned to other things, catching up on what they had missed in each other lives while their sons listened in with half an ear while clearing out Ryoga’s bedroom until Ayako called them both for dinner.

****

Mousse raised an eyebrow as he looked up at the Kuno estate, he had been racking his brain as to where he could get some sterling silver weapons and had finally came to conclusion that… he was just too poor to buy any. Of course he had already known this but that didn’t make buying the weapons any easier! For a while Mousse had thought about stealing the silver instead, there were plenty of stores that sold it, wasn’t there? Jewelry stores at the very least. Or a weapons shop that had premade sterling silver weapons? But no, Mu Tsu of the Joketsuzoku would not lower himself to a thief like that cad Saotome! Stealing his darling Shampoo like he had!

So he couldn’t buy any sterling silver with his own money and he refused to steal any like a common dirty thief, Mousse was stuck with the problem of how to get his hands on that silver. Then it came to him… if he couldn’t use his own money maybe he could borrow some. He heard that people got loans all the time for anything they wanted. He could borrow some money, buy the silver and have them fashion into weapons then once Saotome was dead and his Shampoo free at last, he could sell them back and give back the money. It was foolproof! But that left the burning question of where to get the money from. Mousse had considered a bank at first then remembered he wasn’t even in Japan legally and doubted any bank would lend him money without some sort of paperwork which he didn’t have. He thought for a moment of asking the Tendo girl Nabiki, she was some sort of loan shark wasn’t she? Then Mousse slapped his forehead and told himself not to be stupid, everybody knew not to borrow money from Tendo Nabiki if you could help it. Plus he heard that Saotome was engaged to her now instead of her younger sister Akane.

So who did he borrow from? Then it hit him, Kuno! The other boy was rich and hated Saotome as much as he did! If it meant getting rid of Ranma then surely Kuno would lend him money. After all Kuno had more money than sense, it shouldn’t be hard to talk him into it and who knew, if Mousse was smart, maybe he wouldn’t even have to pay the Japanese youth back. Plus Kuno could be another potential ally against Saotome with Hibiki, who he hadn’t been able to locate but that wasn’t surprising considering who it was.

/ ‘Well, here goes nothing. I’m doing this for you my darling Shampoo,’ /Mousse thought as he marched across the grounds toward the house. Half was across Mousse heard a hissing sound and turned around confused to see what it was. He let out a surprised yelp as a giant sized crocodile came out of the nearby pond that was on the property. Mousse stood frozen in place for a moment, his face as white as a ghost, the crocodile getting close enough that Mousse could see the tag hanging off the collar on the croc’s neck that read ‘Mr. Green Turtle’.

Mousse snapped out of his daze and took off running down the path toward the house with a frightened yelp, Mr. Green Turtle’s fangs snapping at where Mousse had been standing. The giant lizard made a loud rumbling growling like sound and took off after the intruder. Mousse glanced over his shoulder and cursed loudly, the crocodile was gaining on him fast! Reaching the front door Mousse began to pound on it.

“Let me in!!” He yelled. The door was yanked opened by an annoyed Sasuke, the ninja wearing a frilly pink apron over his uniform and a matching maid’s hat. Mousse was unprepared for the door opening and fell inside the house.

“Yes, what is it? Oh Kami-Sama!” Sasuke started to say only for it to turn into a yell of fright when he saw Mistress Kodachi’s pet bearing down on him with gapping maw.

Sasuke quickly slammed the door shut, Mousse rolling out of the way just in time so he wouldn’t be shut outside with the monster, and leaned back against it, his arms and legs spread wide to brace the door. Mr. Green Turtle hit the door full force, the door bowing under his weight for a moment then snapped back into its proper place. Sasuke breathed a small prayer of relief when the door didn’t break, his hand pressed against his chest over his franticly beating heart. Thank Kami, Master Tatewaki insisted the reinforced doors were put in! Mousse lay on the floor a few feet away breathing rapidly trying to catching his breath from his fright. Sasuke took a deep breath and straightened the hat on top of his head then marched over to the teen sprawled on his clean floors.

“A-hem,” Sasuke said his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at Mousse. “May I help you?”

Mousse tilted his head back and adjusted his glasses to bring Sasuke into focus, vaguely recognizing the tiny man as Kuno’s personal man-servant. Blushing in embarrassment Mousse quickly picked himself off the floor and straightened his robes about him.

“I… um…” Mousse coughed into his hand for a second trying to gather his thoughts from where they scattered during the near-death experience he just had. “I need to speak to Kuno.”

“And who may I ask is calling? And why my master will want to speak to you?” Sasuke asked.

“I’m Mousse and tell him it has to do with Saotome,” Mousse said. “Tell him I have a proposition for him on how to get rid of the thorn in both our sides.” Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Very well, I will tell Master Tatewaki he has a visitor and see if he will consent to meet with you,” Sasuke turned to walk away. “Wait here,” he added then left. Mousse sighed and slumped his shoulders slightly, well he had gotten in, now he just had to wait for Kuno see him.

*****

Outside on her usual perch, Jasper watched the whole event with Mousse and Mr. Green Turtle with snorting laughter.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe Kodachi gets to keep that thing as a pet,” She said to herself as she wiped her eyes. “It puts to shame any urban legend about gators in the sewers. But who the fuck was that guy?” Humming to herself, Jasper pulled over her messenger bag and dug through it until she found the files that Nabiki had sold her when she first came to Nerima. She flipped through them until she came to one with the photo on the outside matching the guy that had just went into the Kuno household.

“Mousse… where the hell do they come up with these names? Pantyhose, Shampoo, Cologne, and now Mousse? These are not normal Chinese names,” Jasper muttered to herself as she opened the file. “Sounds like one of the Archie characters except named after a fucking hair product now let’s see….” Jasper’s topaz yellow eyes darted over the words in the file. “Hidden Weapons master, from the same village as Shampoo, works at the Nekohanten, turns into a duck… oh what a surprise, hates Ranma’s guts. So he’s one of the psychos that’s always trying to kill Ranma then. Wonder what the heck he’s doing here.”

Jasper was kinda surprise she hadn’t run into this Mousse guy before now, the way the file sounded he was one of guys that fought Ranma on a regular basis over Shampoo. She vaguely remembered seeing him at the Nekohanten a couple of times but he just hovered in the background and Jasper just kinda wrote him off as someone unimportant. Humming to herself, Jasper took out her cell phone and sent a text to Nabiki.

‘is there any reason why the mousse guy would go over to the kuno place?’

At the Tendo Dojo Nabiki absently grabbed her phone as it dinged and had to read the message twice. “Mousse and Kuno-baby huh?” Nabiki said to herself. “This should be fun. What are you two up to?”