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A Werewolf in Nerima

By: USA Tiger

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.

Author note: I’m back bitches!

Okay, before anyone reads me the riot act, I know it’s creeping up on almost three years since my last updated but I had a hell of a writer’s block, don’t know why I keep getting those for this story, and I couldn’t finish out the chapter no matter how many times I tried to work on it. I open it up, stare blankly at the screen and have to go work on something else. It majorly sucks big time. The story is not abandoned, I will see this through to the end, just sometimes my own brain doesn’t want to work with me. There was also the fact that we’re short staffed at my work place and there was a long period where I was working a lot of overtime, great money but killer on my creative process.

So two things before we start the chapter. One: chapter is shorter than how I usually write them, I’ve switched back to shorter chapters on all my fics to try to get them out faster. You know, when writer’s block doesn’t get in the way.

And two: I’ve got my own twitter account now @usa_tiger1983 where I post status updates, new chapters/stories and fic recs from time to time.

You guys are awesome as always, enjoy the chapter.

Thanks to my beta Silver-Tiamat from DeviantART.

Chapter 29

Mousse fought not to fidget as he waited on Kuno. He didn’t know the other teen all that well, they rarely interacted despite the fact they were both Ranma’s rivals. He didn’t know the Kuno girl either now that he thought about it, but then again he didn’t want to know that crazy girl.

“This better be good,” Kuno said as he swept into the room from the door on the other side. “My servant claims you wish to speak to me, about Saotome.” Kuno sat down on a cushion in front of a low table and studied Mousse as the robed teen sat down.

“I know of Saotome’s weakness,” Mousse said. Kuno snorted and waved his hand in dismissal.

“I already know if his fear of felines and that did not work out,” Kuno said with a shudder, he would like to never go up against Saotome like that again. The boy’s eyes had been so blank and full of wildness. Mousse frowned and pushed his glasses up on his nice.

“I am not speaking of the Nekoken,” he said. “This is something different, Saotome’s weakness is silver.”

“Silver?” Kuno repeated then rubbed his chin. “Yes yes… of course. Why did I not see it before? A demon such as Saotome would be weak to silver.” Mousse didn’t think demons were weak to silver but he wasn’t about to contradict Kuno since he wanted the other teen to give him money. “This does not explain what you want, why tell me that cad Saotome’s weakness?”

“I would like you to lend me money to buy silver weapons,” Mousse said. Kuno blinked then frowned, sipping the green tea that Sasuke brought in.

“Why would I do that? My cousin Taeko is a world-renowned hunter of beasts such as werewolves and demons,” he stated. “I can simply inform my cousin of what Saotome really is and let him take care of it.” Mousse felt his stomach drop a bit; he hadn’t known Kuno was related to any hunters. While that would take care of Saotome, Mousse wanted to be the one to do the deed.

“M-m-master,” Sasuke stammered. “Master Taeko is still h-healing from his injuries. He will not be able to fight for a while still.”

“Ah yes, I had forgotten about his run in with the bull creature,” Kuno said with a small nod.

‘Bull creature?’ Mousse thought to himself. ‘Does he mean Taro? I did hear he’s back in the area a couple of days ago.’

“Look, you don’t need your cousin,” Mousse said out loud. “I can do the hunting, I just need the weapons.”

“And why, pray tell, would I even consider that?” Kuno asked. “I know you are also one of Saotome’s rivals, the one who lusts after Chinese girl with the purple hair. I can see why you desire her, the girl is… pretty… in her own way, but does not hold a candle to Tendo Akane or the pigtail girl.” Mousse grit his teeth, Shampoo was beautiful and hell of a lot prettier than Akane or Ranma’s cursed form, he had to fight with himself not to strike Kuno down for insulting his future wife. “And yet I have yet to see you defeat Saotome in combat.”

“I can say the same of you,” Mousse said gritting his teeth again then decided on another tactic. “Look, we both know Saotome has never won those fights fairly due to his in-human nature.”

“Ahh… thou does speak the truth,” Kuno said rubbing his chin in thought. “But why should I trust you with this job? What makes you think that you are able to defeat Saotome now?”

“Well… I am a master of the school of hidden weapons,” Mousse said, taking out and displaying much of what he kept on his person. Kuno raised an eyebrow at the duck shaped potty and the live chicken but didn’t say anything. “Part of my training requires me to learn how to use several different weapons. That is in fact something all the village’s warriors are required to do, though most stick to one type in the long run. I’ve caught Saotome in my chains and hit him quite a few times but he was able to shrug it off due to what he is. But if the weapons were silver….”

“Ah yes, I see!” Kuno said as he caught on. “With silver being his weakness his tricks would no longer work.”

“Yes, exactly,” Mousse said as he crossed his arms and nodded. Kuno closed his eyes and meditated on the offer for a moment or two, with Taeko still healing from his injuries his cousin couldn’t go after Saotome himself plus as good as a hunter Taeko was… Kuno doubted the older man could stand against the pig-tailed man. Saotome was good, despite all his tricks and Taeko was not prepared for that just yet. Plus it would be much more satisfying if he were the one to bring down that demon and free his dear Akane and the pig-tailed girl. He could already imagine both beauties thanking him for saving them.

“Alright,” Kuno said as he came to a decision. “I will give you the money needed to buy the weapons needed /but/… only if we become partners and if I give the ending blow.” Mousse thought that over for only a moment, he needed the money really badly and there was no other way he was going to get it without stealing money.

“Alright fine, deal,” Mousse said.

“Sasuke!” Kuno called, the pint-sized ninja was instantly by his size with his wallet. Kuno took it and removed several banknotes from inside, giving them to Sasuke. Sasuke bowed then quickly moved to the other side of the table and handed the yen to Mousse. “If that is not enough then get in touch with my servant and he will deliver more.”

Mousse’s eyes bugged behind his glasses, this was much more than he had ever hoped that Kuno might lend him!

“Y-yes of course,” he said as he quickly stuffed the bank notes into his robes then started to put all his weapons back where they belonged. Kuno stood and turned his back on Mousse, heading toward the door.

“Sasuke, show…” Kuno searched for Mousse’s name not even knowing it to start with.

“Mousse,” Mousse said absently as he wrestled with his pet chicken Fluff Butt to get her back into his robes. “Get in there!”

“Mousse out,” Kuno finished then headed out the door. Mousse gave a show of triumph as he finally got the chicken back into his robes.

“See if I get that feed you like so much,” Mousse muttered then looked up blinking when he noticed that Kuno was gone already.

“This way Mr. Mousse,” Sasuke said. Mousse shrugged and tucked his hands into his robe sleeves and followed Sasuke back to the front door. As Sasuke opened the door, Mr. Green Turtle tried to force his snout in making the pair scream in fight and both rushed to close the door again, struggling against the weight of the giant crocodile before finally forcing Mr. Green Turtle’s head back out and slamming the door shut. Sasuke and Mousse panted as they leaned against the door. “I-I suppose it would be better to u-use the back d-door.”

“Y-yeah,” Mousse agreed. Sasuke lead the way again this time to the back door and opened it to the expansive backyard.

“I suggest getting out of here quick before Mistress Kodachi’s pet detects you back here,” the ninja said. Mousse didn’t need to be told twice, running out and leaping into the trees, jumping branch to branch to the wall surrounding the property and over it leaving the Kuno estate behind.

***

‘Damn that boy, now brother dear knows what can hurt Ranma-sama!’ Kodachi thought to herself in anger as she slipped down the hidden passageways that Sasuke and the other family ninja servants used back to her room. Sasuke had alerted her as soon as he was able to slip away from Kuno that someone was here talking about Ranma. So curious she slipped into passage ways and spied on the meeting, and damn it all it was one of Ranma’s rivals and had been speaking of using silver. Of course her dim brother still assumed Ranma was some sort of demon, did her brother not know that silver was traditionally used on werewolves? Maybe it was better that he didn’t know, thinking Ranma was a demon was bad enough.

Kodachi paced her room trying to think on what to do; she would warn Ranma of course of what happen so he would be prepared but what else could she do?

‘I could… try to stop that boy…’ Kodachi thought as she came to a stop. ‘Yes, I could stop that servant boy! I would be saving Ranma, he would be so grateful for my help and I would look better in his eyes.’

“Sasuke!” Kodachi called out loud. The short ninja instantly appeared out of the shadows by his mistress’s side.

“Yes mistress Kodachi?” Sasuke asked.

“Uncle,” Kodachi said as she pulled out one of her leotards from her closet. “The first chance you’re able, can you go and warn Ranma about what my brother and that boy are planning?”

“Of course Kodachi,” Sasuke said. “It will be the first thing I do when I leave but… can you please calm Mr. Green Turtle… he’s on a rampage again and you don’t want the neighbors calling animal control again do you?” Kodachi sighed, a mushroom shaped cloud escaping from her mouth; sometimes her neighbors were so unreasonable when it came to her baby.

******

“Why do you have a pet alligator?” Jasper asked as Kodachi jumped onto the roof behind her.

“Mr. Green Turtle is a crocodile, not an alligator,” Kodachi said with a little insulted huff on her pet’s behalf.

“Whatever, it’s a giant lizard and you named it ‘Mr. Green Turtle’?” Jasper turned and looked at the other girl.

“There is nothing wrong with that name,” Kodachi said. Jasper turned back around so Kodachi didn’t see her roll her eyes, why was she even surprised, it was one more insane thing to add to the list of weirdness around the area. “How true are the legends that silver is damaging to a werewolf?”

“Pretty true, for most weres anyway,” Jasper said.

“So there are some that are not?” Kodachi asked as she sat down beside Jasper.

“Almost all kinds of werewolves, and other were creatures, are weak against silver. I don’t know how that got out but it did,” Silver said.

“/Kinds of werewolves/?” Kodachi repeated.

“Yeah, there is more than one kind, most but not all werewolves you read in fiction or see in movies have a real life counterpart though not everything is the same. We call them the ‘cursed’ kind. Ranma, Sati and me are natural weres, we were born like this and if we bite anyone no one is gonna be a were because we’re not a cursed race,” Jasper said with a little shrug. “It’s the whole changing with the full moon that makes us all weres.”

“Curious,” Kodachi mused. “And the silver?”

“Well, not all were races are the same, it’s rare but there are breeds that don’t have the silver weakness,” Jasper explained. “And in our own kind, there are bloodlines that are immune to it.” She held up her hand and let the light shine off the silver ring on her finger. “Like my family from my dad’s side. But it’s possible that all the bloodlines can be traced back to one were who didn’t have the silver weakness. What’s brought up these questions anyway?”

“My brother was visited by the servant boy that purple hair hussy’s restaurant,” Kodachi said.

“You mean that Mousse guy I saw earlier,” Jasper said.

“Mousse…” Kodachi’s nose wrinkled.

“Yeah I think it’s kinda weird too but I think everyone is saying their names wrong to start with,” Jasper agreed.

“Well, yes, him. He informed my brother that Ranma is weak to silver,” Kodachi said then considered something. “Or believes he is. Is he?”

“I have no idea, we don’t even know who Ranma’s real mom and dad were, just that they were a werewolf and weretiger,” Jasper said. “I’ve never seen him handle anything silver since his first transformation. Actually now that you bring it up, we should test that. Maybe Ranma will be lucky. Ok, so your bro knows Ranma is a were?”

“Well no, he has this belief that Ranma is a demon,” Kodachi admitted.

“I don’t know of any demon races that are weak to silver, not to say there isn’t any,” Jasper said. “I’m not really an expert in demons. How’d ya brother come up with the idea that Ranma is demonic?”

“Brother has always believed that Ranma is either an evil sorcerer or that he is some sort of demon,” Kodachi explained.

“After Mousse told him he’s a werewolf he still thinks he’s a demon?” Jasper asked with a raised eyebrow. “How dumb is your brother?” Kodachi scowled and hit Jasper’s arm. “Ow.”

“My brother can be… well you know the reason why brother is like he is but he is not dumb. His school grades are very good despite how he acts,” she said then sighed. “And the Chinese boy did not come right out and saw Ranma is a were, just heavily hinted at it.”

“A hint your bro missed,” Jasper said as she rubbed her arm, Kodachi could hit pretty hard.

“Yes, he jumped to the conclusion that Ranma is indeed a demon as he always assumed,” Kodachi agreed. “The Mousse boy did not bother to correct him.”

“Well if Ranma was a demon, I doubt he would have to worry. I don’t know of any demons that are weak to silver. Unless, you know, they’re crossbreeds maybe,” Jasper said as she took her phone out and started typing on it.

“What are you doing?” Kodachi asked trying to look over Jasper’s shoulder.

“Texting Nabiki,” Jasper said then looked over her shoulder. “Do you mind?”

“Why are you texting her?” Kodachi asked. She had come out to Nabiki yes, the other girl knew what her life was really like, but she was also her rival for Ranma’s heart so including the Ice Queen wasn’t something she really wanted to do. She also didn’t bother to tell Jasper that she had already sent Sasuke to the Tendo dojo to warn Ranma.

“She lives with Ranma so she can warn him. Plus she already knows Ducky came here,” Jasper said as she hit send. “Silver is really damaging to were people; it takes forever to heal from unless you are immune to it.”

“Ducky?” Kodachi asked with an elegant raised eyebrow. “And by immune, you mean like yourself.”

“Mousse has got that water curse like Ranma, but he turns into a duck so ‘Ducky’,” Jasper said. “And yeah, we don’t know Ranma’s bloodlines after all, so for now we’ll treat it as if he isn’t immune.”

“If you are immune, then you have no weaknesses like other werewolves then. You don’t fear hunters like my cousin?” Kodachi asked curious.

“Okay, number one, I don’t fear your cousin; at all, I just hate his guts. That asshole got lucky when he killed the werewolf that gave him the rep he’s got,” Jasper said with just a tiny bit of a growl in her voice. “And secondly, just because I don’t have to fear silver doesn’t mean I’m not weak against other things that affect weres. I’ve got a hell of an allergy against wolfs bane.” Kodachi, who knew her poisons pretty well, quickly sorted out where she heard the name before.

“Aconite? Who wouldn’t, most species are some of the most poisonous plants there are,” she said.

“Well yeah, if you eat it,” Jasper said rolling her eyes. “I mean I can’t be around it without breaking out into hives or a bad rash. The whole ‘wolfs bane’ isn’t completely accurate in the same way the silver thing is. There are werewolves that ain’t affected by it, then there’s people like me.”

“Yes well,” Kodachi stood and brushed the dirt off her gymnast uniform. “I believe that is all I needed to know.”

“And now you’re going where?” Jasper asked.

“Well I have to stop that severing boy,” Kodachi said. “Brother Dear gave him the money to buy the silver weapons he wanted.”

“Err, what about that fuck-tard Takeo?” Jasper asked.

“Brother was convinced not to inform Cousin Takeo of what Ranma-sama is,” Kodachi said. “Of course Takeo isn’t about to go anywhere any time soon. He was beaten up pretty badly recently and he doesn’t heal as quickly as- why are you laughing?” She stared down at Jasper as the werewolf doubled over in laughter.

“I’ve got,” She started to say then laughed again. “I’ve got the video of that too! Jockstrap kicked his ass hard. It was one of the best things I ever watched. I didn’t know he was still laid up.”

Kodachi blinked then smirked. “You must show me that video some time.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jasper agreed as she took a breath trying to reign in her laughter. “Okay, so dumbass ain’t going anywhere I take it.” Kodachi shook her head.

“No, he does not seem to heal as fast as my brother and I,” she said. “Pity that, I had worked hard on getting him out of the house. In some ways, he and Father are too alike despite not being related by blood.”

“Alright, I’ll go with you then. No point of sticking around if my target isn’t even able to move,” Jasper packed up her few things into her messenger bag.

“I suppose… as long as you don’t get into my way,” Kodachi said.

“You’re the martial artist here, not me,” Jasper said holding up her hands in agreement. Kodachi nodded and turned, jumping off the roof. Jasper grinned, secured her bag then ran after the other girl, letting out a whoop as she followed.

****

Kodachi said duck boy told Kuno that Ranma is weak to silver. Kuno also still thinks Ranma is a demon… anyway; Kuno gave duck boy money to buy silver weapons.

“Huh…” Nabiki tapped her fingers against her knee. “That actually took longer than I thought it would.”

“What took longer?” Nabiki glanced over at Ranma, admiring his form as he did a headstand pushup, balancing on only one hand with the other behind his back.

“Kuno-baby and Mousse know your little secret,” she said. “Jasper just gave me the heads up.”

“Oh, great,” Ranma said as he gave a final shove then flipped up to his feet. He sighed as he grabbed a nearby towel and started mopping off his face and neck. “Well I guess that just leaves the old freak, Ucchan and your sister, though I think Ukyo might know already.”

“She’s going to find out at some point, Akane I mean. She might miss all the clues with Ryoga, though if what you said is true and he’s got the direction thing down now he might be able to stay away while he’s ‘P-chan’, but you going furry gonna be hard to miss during the full moon,” Nabiki mused. “And the full moon isn’t too far away. What are you going to do about that anyway?”

Akane thankfully wasn’t in the house, allowing the two teens to freely chat about Ranma’s lupine-feline nature. It has been a lot easier to hide her ‘new self’ both with the glamour charm and Akane’s brain adjusted to this new ‘state of being’ allowing her to sound more normal, as long as she didn’t get raging mad that is. Ranma avoided Akane like the plague when he could, knowing he could set her off with all his teasing.

“I’m not sure,” he said as he tossed the towel onto the porch and sat down beside his fiancée. “I guess the best thing to do is stay out of the city again.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard to rent a cabin again,” Nabiki mused as she searched on her phone. “Think Sati will be back by then?” Ranma frowned and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I never know how long these trips of her take. She doesn’t seem to think she’ll be gone for that long so I’m hopeful.” Nabiki nodded and closed her phone, leaning back on her hands. Life sure had changed in the last month for her and her family, much like it had when a certain panda and red headed girl showed up on their doorstep. But it was a good change she thought, she was getting to know Ranma much better, in more way than one.

Ranma let out a grunt as he sat down beside her, his back against one of the sliding doors that opened to the engawa. He too thought a lot changed, he wondered what everything would have been like if Sati hadn’t come into town, or if he wasn’t a were but a normal human. Well as normal as a human can be with a gender-fluid curse. Would he and his Mom finally get to be around each other as parent and child or would he still have to hide as a ‘cousin’ to the Tendos? And what of his relationships with the others…?

Still, there was no point of thinking about it, things were as they were and Ranma would just roll with whatever would happen next.

A thump in the yard drew the teens’ attention and they turned to see Sasuke kneeling before them.

“Saotome-san, Tendo-san, I bring a message from my Mistress,” he said.

“What, about Mousse?” Ranma asked as he folded his legs under as he leaned forward.

“Wha-?” Sasuke looked up surprised.

“About them and Kuno making a deal, money for silver weapons?” Nabiki asked in a bored tone as she tapped on her phone.

“How did…” Sasuke looked from Ranma to Nabiki then back. How did they learn about his Master Kuno and that Mousse boy already? Nabiki smirked as she looked up and waved her phone in one hand.

“Text from my favorite New Yorker,” she said as an explanation. Sasuke’s shoulders slumped and he sighed loudly.

“So I came here for nothing?” he said in a worn out voice.

At that moment the door into the house slid open and Kasumi stood in the door frame.

“Nabiki-chan, Ranma, I made some fresh lemonade and cookies if you want any,” she said smiling then saw Sasuke. “Oh my, one of your friends is here. Would you like some lemonade and cookies as well?”

Sasuke sighed again then stood, giving Kasumi a bow.

“That would be lovely Miss Tendo,” he said. Kasumi’s cookies were legendary and at least this made the trip worth it.

*****

Nodoka leaned her head back as she paused in front of the restaurant, looking at the sigh.

“Okonomiyaki Ucchan’s,” she read out loud softly. She straightened her back and gently straightened out her kimono before opening the door and going in.

“Welcome to Ucchan’s!” Ukyo called from behind the grill smiling brightly as she saw Nodoka come in. She paused for a moment, thinking for a moment that Nodoka reminded her of someone, before continuing. “What can I get you? The special? Or maybe the sea food?”

“Kuonji Ukyo?” Nodoka asked as she walked up to the counter that the girl sat behind.

“…. Yes?” Ukyo said slowly and suspiciously, her brown eyes narrowing a bit. “Do I know you?”

“My name is Tanaka Nodoka,” Nodoka said with a polite half bow. “… formerly Saotome. I am Ranma’s mother.” Ukyo’s eyes widened in surprise and she quickly started running her hands over her hair and straightening the bow on the top of her head.

“Mrs. Saotome! I mean Tanaka,” she quickly corrected herself, wondering about the ‘formerly’ part. Was she divorced from that bastard Genma? “I’m so happy to meet you, I mean Ran-chan talks about you sometimes, and to what do I owe this visit?”

“Is there a private place we can talk, and you can call me Auntie Nodoka,” Nodoka asked.

“O-oh sure!” Ukyo turned and leaned into the back where Konatsu was washing dishes from the afternoon rush. “Hey Konatsu, come watch the front for a bit will ya? I’ve got a guest.”

“Hai, Ukyo-sama,” Konatsu said as he rinsed his hands off and dried them on a hand towel, heading to take Ukyo’s place behind the grill. He wasn’t as good a cook for okonomiyaki but he did decently enough and there wasn’t likely to be very many patrons until dinner time.

“Thanks,” Ukyo said to him as she untied her apron and motioned for Nodoka to follow her up the stairs in the back to her and Konatsu’s apartment upstairs. Nodoka followed, studying the girl that Ranma called his best ‘buddy’ and one of the girls that her fool of an ex-husband had engaged their son too. Since learning about all the different engagements and what Genma had done to all those families, Nodoka had decided she should take the time to meet the other young ladies who battled for Ranma’s heart.

Honestly she was still rooting for Ranma to marry Nabiki, not because of the promise Soun and Genma made but because she wanted her son to marry one of Suzume’s girls. They were very close now, Nodoka knew that much, but her very manly son was so honorable to at least give these other girls a chance to win his heart. Plus she had another reason to come by and see Ukyo.

“So umm… this is home,” Ukyo said as she ushered Nodoka into the main room area.

“It is just you and that young woman down stairs?” Nodoka asked as she looked around.

“Yeah, Daddy owns the building until I’m out of school but otherwise I’m on my own mostly and… Konatsu is actually a guy and he’s my employee and roommate,” Ukyo said. Nodoka frowned as she turned to look at Ukyo.

“Isn’t that a little… improper?” she asked. “And why does he dress as a young woman then?”

“Well Konatsu was raised as a woman, he’s a kunoichi,” Ukyo explained as she went over to her little kitchen. “Sit down Mrs… Auntie Nodoka, I’ll make us some tea real quick. Anyway, Konatsu’s step-family treated him real bad, sorta like a modern day Cinderella you know? Me and Ran-chan helped him out and I gave him a job. He’s a big help around here.”

“That’s… very kind of you,” Nodoka said as she sat down at the low table in the middle of the room, adjusting her kimono around her. She still thought it was a little un-proper but Ukyo wasn’t her child and if her father had no problem with it then it was really none of her business.

“So… umm… what do I owe this visit Auntie?” Ukyo said as she came over with the teapot, letting the tea leaves soak in the hot water. “Not that I’m not happy to meet Ran-chan’s mother; it’s just kinda a surprise.”

“I understand dear,” Nodoka said apologetically. “I just wanted to meet all the young ladies whom my son is engaged to, to see as how one day I will be the mother-in-law to one of you.”

“Oh!” Ukyo said. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense… so I guess that means you’ll meet Shampoo also since you already know the Tendos.”

“Yes, and a young Kuno Kodachi,” Nodoka said as she started pour tea for the both of them, waving Ukyo off when the younger woman tried take it over from her. “No no, let me.”

“Kodachi? She’s not really one of Ran-chan’s fiancées,” Ukyo said giving a little sigh as she sat back again.

“But she is one of the young ladies whom is chasing after my son, she deserves a fair chance considering everything my fool ex-husband did to mess up the Tendo/Saotome engagement,” Nodoka very lightly scolded.

“Yeah… I guess,” Ukyo said her tone saying that she didn’t really believe that. “So, what do you want to know about me?”

“Tell me how you and Ranma met and go from there dear,” Nodoka said. “Ranma has told me a little but I would enjoy hearing it from you.” Ukyo nodded thinking it made sense then started out slowly.

She went back a little further, tell Nodoka about how she was raised by her father and their time on the road. Once Ukyo got really started, telling Nodoka how she met the woman’s son and how their fathers used their encounters for training and how they became ‘best buddies’, Ukyo found she couldn’t stop. The young woman talked about the feeling of hurt and betrayal when Genma and Ranma took her father’s food cart; how she felt being left in the middle of the road while yelling how they were supposed to take her with them.

Ukyo told Nodoka about her vow, how she gave up her woman-hood and would live as a male until she took her revenge on the Saotomes. Her training, not only, in the family business, but the family art as well. Pretending to be a young man while still having the thoughts and feelings of a woman, of going to an all-boys school and having to hide what she really was.

Ukyo’s eyes went distance as she next talked about completing her training and deciding it was time to complete her vow just so she could get on with her life. How she had tracked Genma and Ranma through parts of Japan, then China, only to return to Japan and settle in the Nerima district. Convincing her father to help her buy the building that would become Okonomiyaki Ucchan’s and to start her own business. Of enrolling in Furinkan High and meeting Ranma again; only to be shocked that while Ranma did remember her, Ranma thought that she had been a boy the whole time and learned that Ranma knew nothing of the arrange marriage between them until Genma confirmed it. Of how she forgave Ranma in the end and decided to keep their engagement even if Ranma was already engaged to Akane at the time.

Ukyo finally stopped herself before she spilt how she had used Ryoga many times to try to split up Ranma and Akane. She felt… much lighter now that she had gotten all that off her chest. Ukyo had never really had a chance to vent about what happened, had kept it bottled up.

“I am so sorry dear that Genma did this to you and your family,” Nodoka said once Ukyo wound down in her tale. “I should have tried harder to look for Genma and Ranma after Genma took my son but instead I let Genma do as he wished, he ruined so many lives of young girls and their families.”

“Oh, Auntie Nodoka,” Ukyo said reaching over to clasp her hands over hers. “Hey I don’t blame you; I don’t even blame Ran-chan. I blame the hell out of Genma, even now, but this isn’t your fault.”

“Thank you dear,” Nodoka said patting Ukyo’s hand gently then pulling her hands back and picking up a tea cup to steady her nerves. Her nose wrinkled a bit, the tea was now lukewarm at best but she drank it anyway. Ukyo’s story, told from the girl’s point of view, had shocked her a bit. Ukyo had twisted her life around for revenge, forcing herself to act like a boy instead of the young woman she was until her honor was restored. “That is kind of you to say. And yes, you are correct, it is Genma’s fault but his actions impact his family. That is another reason why I have come; I’ve agreed to deliver this to you.” Putting the cup of tea down, Nodoka reached into her handbag and took out folded pieces of paper which she handed to Ukyo.

Curious, Ukyo opened the papers and reach the top note, her eyes widening in shock the further down she got.

“W-what is this? This looks like an apology letter and…” Ukyo flipped to the next page. “A receipt for a yatai?”

“It is from the Saotome clan, Genma’s father Isao was deeply saddened and angered to learn what his younger son has done to your family. This is only a copy; the yatai itself will be given to your father. It will not make up for what Genma has done to you, but Isao insisted on doing something,” Nodoka said.

“Oh… that’s very kind of him,” Ukyo said still looking at the papers in shock. She supposed with her dowry returned, in a fashion, she could say her betrothal to Ranma was over. And to be honest, Ukyo didn’t know if she felt disappointment… or relief. Shaking her head, Ukyo put the papers to the side and grabbed her cup of tea ignoring how cold it had gotten. “That’s really… I don’t know what to think.”

Nodoka smiled sadly, refilled both their cups, and then clasped her hands in her lap.

“Why don’t you tell me of some of your adventures with my son, I have missed out on so much of his life,” she suggested.

“Yeah… yeah I can do that,” Ukyo said glad to have something to focus on, even if the subject was Ranma. “Hey, how about I tell you some of the stuff we did when we were little kids?” The two women settled in, trading stories back and forth about their favorite guy until Ukyo was needed downstairs to help with the dinner rush and Nodoka returned to her home.