To see Nodoka respect Ryoga's wish despite everything that's happened, even as far as having gotten a date, "Thank you, ..." he spoke as delicately as he could in return, bowing his head briefly, 'She's not going to stop me, I kinda' wonder if it's more because Ranma hasn't exactly said...' he thought all the while as their exchange had left a more relaxing air.
"I'm afraid we lost sight of the conversation," Nodoka giggled with her palm in her hand, finding a little amusement in all this; despite how off it felt at first.
"We're supposed to talk about the masters..." Ranma looked to be mauling over the question as she knew that Happosai was going to be a difficult one as he tended to be a bit more handsy than anyone should be comfortable talking about.
"Oh, that's right..." Ryoga remarked, his voice trailing as it would appear that he had reached the same roadblock as his redheaded training partner. "There's two that I really respect and then there's..."
This brief pause sparked Nodoka's interest in a way that felt uncomfortable and tense, given the looks on the two former siblings she tilted her head to the side in curiosity.
"The weird one..." Ranma piped up suddenly as she decided to simply speak in hopes of redirecting Nodoka's nervous wonderment.
"Excuse me...?" she blinked as the words escaped the cursed teen's lips.
It was at that very instant that Ranma regretted her words and put a hand over her mouth, trying to dodge Nodoka's eyes by facing away from her and looking directly at Ryoga, "What I mean is..."
"He's got really strange training methods is all!" Ryoga answered as he rubbed the back of his neck as he fought off a nervous sweat, 'I should have thought this through... all this lying is getting exhausting,' he thought but knew that perhaps now wasn't the time.
"Real nutjob that one sure is!" Ranma added to bolster the lie as it was perhaps the only thing she could go on, 'I gotta' be number one and at this rate, I'll never get there...' she thought but had to admit she could certainly see why any reasonable mother would react to their gender shifting son being molested by a perverted old man with no idea behind boundaries.
"Such as...?" Nodoka prodded with undeterminable feelings towards the subject.
"Like The Bakusai Tenketsu technique," Ryoga answered nervously, unsure of how she was going to respond to this, hoping it would at least be better than saying they had a perverted monster as a master.
"What does that involve...?"
"It's pretty much crashing into a boulder while tied some ropes in hopes of seeing this thing called a "Breaking Point"..."
A sudden silence befalls the three while they wait for Nodoka's response, "A breaking point...? And wait you've been crashing into a boulder!?" she pictured the idea but to imagine that Ryoga had done this and to be here today with them.
"I know it sounds bad but it's what you gotta' do..." Ranko reached out to her mother in hopes of ending her worries.
"Mrs. Saotome..." Ryoga put his hand behind his head and looked off to the side, unsure of what to follow that up with.
"That's amazing!" Nodoka put her hands to her cheeks and envisioned Ryoga dressed as a Shaolin Monk in orange ropes taking a stance as another monk would slam a stone slab against the Lost Boy's chest.
"Huh...?" Ranko gawked as she had risen her hand to say something, only to bring it back down as if she suddenly lost the will to continue with the act.
"You're saying Ranma could be training like that?" An overly gleeful Nodoka asked.
"Y-yeah! Hehehe..." Ryoga replied feeling as though a great weight had suddenly from his shoulders.
To think that Ranma's own mother would be so into this that the redhead really had to wonder if having his mom wasn't what was holding her back but rather the fact that they had to live as a family, 'I kinda' wish we'd have ended up on a family training trip...' she thought before seeing that Nodoka's attention was on her.
"So when do you start or have you already started?" she questioned before recognizing how far she had shown her excitement, jumping from one question to another.
"I haven't had the chance! We were gonna' actually until we got sidetracked..." Ranma pointed not directional towards the training camp but towards the door leading outside.
"Oh yeah... they're probably wondering where we are..." Ryoga blinked as they had gotten so absorbed with convincing Nodoka that they had neglected to deal with his teachers.
----------------------------------------
Matsu was atop an unfinished hut as he wiped the sweat from his brow as he checked his wristwatch he could see that Ranma and Ryoga had yet to arrive, "Something feels off, maybe I should check on them..." he muttered aloud as he looked in the direction Ryoga he saw Ryoga heading out to.
"Did you remember ta' give Happosai something to eat, Mastu?" Chingensai inquired while he sat a red grand wooden archway with a blank sign in the middle, covered in quite a bit of sweat from the looks of it too.
"I thought you were master!" Matsu spoken with shock as he put his open palm over his mouth and with dread went off see if their captive had been alright.
"You better go check on Happy..." Chingensai warned as he picked up a hammer and wiped his brow before beginning to move at great speeds again.
Matsu jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he eventually reached where they had tied Happosai up at. He approached with caution as he could only see the back of the master's head. "Master Happosai...? Are you alright? I know you've survived longer days than this without food so I know you're still alive..."
All he could hear was the deafening sound of silence as the rope where the supposed master hung made a soft creaking sound while it hangs there.
"You don't need to ignore me, master, you're being awfully rude when you go around touching Ranma! Especially with how much Ranma means to Ryoga!" Matsu defended as he crossed his arms, getting the same reply as before.
Like a boss slowly swiveling around their chair in a concerning way Matsu waited to see an annoyed or hungry looking Happosai, only to see a watermelon covered in paint with the same skin tone as Happosai as on the sides of its head were balls of cotton stuck to the sides.
"Oh my..." Matsu placed his hand to his forehead and looked around before dashing back over to Chingensai. "Chingensai! Master Happosai's on the loose!" his voice echoed throughout the construction site.
----------------------------------------
Perched on a tree branch like some vulture waiting on its next meal sat the bald perverted sage while he overlooked the trail that Ryoga had taken to go see Ranma. Although he was a safe distance away from the path so he remained shrouded in the forestry.
"Chingensai...!"
A faint but familiar sounding voice struck Happosai's keen senses and he smirked, "Boys should have known I have my ways, hehe..." he muttered as he reached into his pocket and tossed some nuts to the squirrels guarding his post.
"Now where are those two...?" Happosai muttered like a child nearing a tantrum.
----------------------------------------
Sitting down on a cloth while on his knees the woolly Martial arts master drank from a teacup as he sat behind another finished home, taking a moment to bask in the beauty and reflect on the day's progress.
"Chingensai! Master Happosai's on the loose!"
He saw his pupil leaping towards him at breakneck speeds and finally stopped right before him, "I'll get to lookin'..." Chingensai groaned as he furrowed his brow, which despite being hard to see what noticeably bothered.
----------------------------------------
Back to the trio at Ranma's home, they sat in silence before Nodoka put her hands to her mouth, although she knew what she walked in on was something she as a mother had every right to intervene she was still one who deeply supported her son's needs to become the best he possibly could.
"I'm sorry to have butted in but how did you expect me to act when I saw you two..." she widened her eyes and looked away, covering her mouth with a closed palm and clearing her throat with obvious effort.
As if someone had whacked them on the back of the head the two flinched and felt their bashful nature rise to the surface, Ryoga's reason for it was due to his natural nature as for Ranma it was simply her lack of experience and inability to cope with these feelings that caused her to stop.
"So Ranma you haven't made up your mind and you're already kissing him..." Nodoka studied their response, starting with Ryoga and finishing on her child.
"I know! I know! Don't do anything till I make up my mind!" Ranma replied in utter embarrassment as she put a hand to her face and tried to avoid both Ryoga's and Nodoka's looks.
"I have to say, Mrs. Saotome, I'm a little surprised you haven't caught on sooner…" Ryoga spoke calmly, however, tapping the ends of his ring fingers over and over again like a shy bookworm.
"To be entirely honest I've had my suspicions…" Nodoka admitted with a rather serious air to her.
----------------------------------------
Nodoka wiped her brow as she stood with an accomplished smile, the level of effort she had put into cleaning her relatively small home was still something to be proud of as she reached behind her waistline to undo the knot that held her apron in place.
"Now that that's done," she commented as she took her apron to a nearby coat rack and hung it on one of the hooks, to her left and out the window she could see that her two favorite martial artists were busy improving their focus and their technique.
Facing each other no more than a few yards away was Ranma and Ryoga as the two sparring partners began to circle each other with their arms poised, Ranma started the assault first by striking with his right hand and then immediately following it up with an upper left hook, and then finally she spun with the momentum of her left hook to deliver a powerful kick to the right of Ryoga's torso.
Ranma's opponent was no stranger to his moves and was able to respond with all the patients and effort that had been awarded to him by the Saotome school of martial arts, with that in mind he was able to catch Ranma's first attack by catching it with his open palm.
Wanting to use this as his chance to counterattack the boy clad in yellow immediately saw that he would not have time to take advantage as a strong left hook was headed his way and was forced to block at the very last second but because his arm had been brought up to shield his face as Ranma's face skidded off his face and drove home with the momentum, the pigtailed boy's finally connected as Ranma's lower shin bashed against the lower side of Ryoga's rib cage.
"Don't give up dear! Oh, but neither should my Ranma…" Nodoka muttered to herself while her two sons continued their little exchange.
Being the oh so smug person that Ranma was he smiled confidently, shifting between stances as he allowed Ryoga to get his bearings well he nursed his sore ribs gritting his teeth as if someone had burnt cigarette butt on his arm but thankfully it was no more than a mere two seconds before the cursed man managed to push back his pain long enough to continue the fight.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
"My turn…" The stoic warrior replied, his voice dragged on as he spoke for groaning deeply as he exhaled slowly and calmly and once his breath was tempered he ran back into the fray.
With her hands clasped together in delight, Nodoka closed her eyes and turned around, "Maybe I'll make us some tea in the meantime..." She said, stifling her laughter as to not break the two boys focus, she zipped by with her uncanny speed, setting a teapot on the stove and even lighting it.
Behind them, the faint sounds of nature's creations and the occasional rustling of leaves played a low key tone in their moments of silence. Occasionally the sound of a chimp bellowing in the distance, their calls as endless as the trees that surrounded them.
"Oh good, I'm just on time…" Nodoka whispered for a bright smile on her face, hands hovering just above her lips has to hide her smile, barely catching will Ryoga said.
"Now that's what I like to hear," Ranma said as his cocky demeanor slowly transitioned into a friendly but competitive smile.
They moved as though they were dancing to the beat of a drum, yet again engaging in the ritualistic act of looking for an opening in their enemies defense neither aware of the dark cloud that hung just over the mountain near their home.
Straight up rushing the pigtailed boy Ryoga roared as he unleashes his own flurry of blows, although his voice was loud and thunderous... his movements combined with those of Ranma spoke with such a fluidity that one could almost compare it to a more intimate form of sign language.
Now with Ryoga leading his constant attacks forced the dark-haired man to play on the defensive, although given how confident his opponent seemed it was almost as if he enjoyed this.
Three consecutive strikes to Ranma's right immediately shot out, his eyes never left Ryoga's as he was able to back step the first hit, sidestep the second and ducked beneath the third.
"Ah!" Ryoga groaned as Ranma's foot dug into his stomach before he was sense getting back on his heels, this time, however, he ignored the shooting pain in his gut and instead decided to follow it further into this battle.
"Not bad Ryoga you nearly grazed me with that first hit…" Ranma replied smugly.
"I'm just getting started!" Ryoga exclaimed with a cocky but toothy grin.
"Heh..." the pigtailed boy scoffed but eagerly awaited Ryoga's attack as they exchanged confident stares, "Good cause I still haven't broken a sweat..."
"Just you wait... " Ryoga proclaimed as he pointed to him, his other arm clenched by his hip.
A powerful voice echoed throughout the valley as his cry for battle was only furthered punctuated by the clap of thunder that followed it after, the light in the battle dimming so gradually that it felt as though someone was intentionally and cinematically playing with the dimmer switch.
"Don't they see that it's going to rain...?" Nodoka asked in no in particular as from what she could see that the two were right back at it, meeting in the center to try and overcome the other.
Like an engine firing on all cylinders, Ryoga tried to meet Ranma's speed with his own, his arms flew faster and with less power although from what he could see was that Ranma was intentionally playing on the defensive, his inhaled sharply as his pupils thinned to pin needles and his fangs bared so hard that it might have seemed as though Ranma was facing some primal man-beast.
Ranma's persistent smile quietly died down as noticed how much pushback Ryoga's attacks were providing, completely unaware of the light drizzle that was slowly blanketing the land, the drops so faint that one might have not even noticed, especially the two martial artists that had slowly moved under the shade with how Ryoga was trying to desperately land one single blow.
"Come on, Ryoooga...!" Nodoka cheered, although they were near the trees she could still easily see the fight's progression.
Fighting back was now proving to be difficult as the dark haired boy was now wrinkled to the point that Ryoga's animalistic demeanor was but a reflection of his own. Suddenly as Ranma met one of his fists with an open palm, changing its direction to a downward vertical swipe.
"Got-" Ranma's eyes widened as that same arm Ranma tried to deflect only swung itself back and collided with the pigtailed boy's sternum.
"My boy!" Nodoka exclaimed as Ranma's back smacked into a tree, the vibrations from Ryoga's kick caused the tree to shake off the gathering droplets to fall from the branches and rain heavily over the two.
Neither seemed to acknowledge the damp spots slowly gathering on them, although when Ryoga had landed his attack he felt something wet slide by his cheek and then directly past his eyes. It took a second but before he could come to fully realize it his eyes widened when he a sliver of red hair and he found himself frozen, a blush across his face he watched Ranma slide her back against a tree to support herself before bashing the back of her palm on the trunk of the tree as her head was tilted down.
Ryoga paid witness to Ranma's resolve as her frustration struck the tree with her head arching up, her hair flicking water off her head as she quickly got back onto her feet but when she stood back up, she for a brief instance was able to see a confused and red-faced Ryoga shake his head and take his stance.
From Nodoka's perspective, she focused on her child to see how'd she recover from such a fierce kick, until shifting her eyes back over to Ryoga when she saw that Ranma seemed perplexed all of a sudden. "Hmmm...?" she blinked, tilting her head to the side like a deer in headlights.
Her suspicions faded as she saw that Ryoga choose to break the awkward tension but jumping headfirst into battle, exerted his face back to that prior intensity it was just moments ago, "Haaaa...!" he roared as he sought to close the gap between the two, his left arm cutting through the rain so quickly that clear liquid burst into small drops which splashed into the Ryoga's fist and out towards Ranma's face.
Ranma steadied her breath and put her arms up, closing her eyes for a second began to squint them until she felt a splashing motion hit her face, opening her eyes suddenly she side-stepped and rolled out to the side, standing up she quickly turned on her heel and straightened out her leg to kick Ryoga on his lower back.
"Wow, he's so adaptable..." Nodoka blinked and clapped her hands together.
"Ah!" Ryoga screamed as his head arched back and his mouth went agape; his body shifted to the side when struck too.
Her leg pulled back to make another devasting hit, "Ah...!" Ranma screamed, trying to land another hit only to end up being caught by The Lost Boy and being flung by her shin up towards a tree.
Ryoga reeled back and with both hands cupped his sides as he tried to straighten his back and subconsciously trying to put space between him and the projectile that was now his sparring partner, "D-damn..." he groaned.
While airborne the pigtailed girl opened her eyes and managed to see Ryoga from the corner of her eyes before shifting around in the air and instead of ending up like a bug on a windshield she countered his throw by turning around in midair and pushing against a moderately thick branch to catapult herself off like a superhero flying towards their enemy, arms out as she crashes into Ryoga's chest.
"Ahhhh...!" Ryoga cried as turned to Ranma at the worst time, getting struck and flying backward, skidding against the ground his head flopping down and landing on some dirt.
"Ha! I win!" Ranma exclaimed as she sat up on Ryoga's chest and then grabbed him by his collar.
"I-I get it..." Ryoga sighed as he let his spirit cinder, he opened his eyes in shock when he saw how close Ranma had become when pulling him in.
It was clearly her standing in triumph over him but given her position and the fact that Ranma was now a 'she', the lovestruck boy's eyes widened as he once again paid witness to the damp-haired beauty that was Ranma's girl form.
Said girl quirked a brow until remembering what she was and who she was doing this with, the redhead's face resembled the color of her hair as she stared back at him.
"What the...?" Nodoka's eyes widened as saw this little display.
Whistle!
The teapot inside signaled that it was ready as the Saotome mother even seemed to forget that fact, the noise from instead had been so strong that it even managed to cut through the sound of rain.
"Huh!?" Ranma and Ryoga gasped in unison as they looked towards the Saotome abode.
What they saw was an empty window as Nodoka was no longer behind it.
----------------------------------------
For a time there was nothing but silence as what had happened as innocent enough but it was pretty obvious the conclusions someone might draw from something like that.
"Y-you saw that...?" Ryoga swore he could feel the steam puffing out of his ears like a run-a-way train.
"At first I dismissed it as you just being a growing boy..." she commented looking off to the side, feeling a blush of embarrassment spreading across her delicate features. "Especially since it was before you came out about your feelings for Ranma..."
"Look, I get why you're worried but I can take care of myself..." Ranma muttered with her hands on her knees and a prevalent blush.
"You know I worry, Ranma..." Nodoka assured with a soft gaze.
"I get it..." Ranma muttered loudly enough for her and Ryoga to hear. "I'll even change back to a guy if that helps but I really wanna' get started with my training..." Ranma's said as she lowered her head enough to have the front of her bangs cast a shadow over her shiny blue orbs.
Nodoka upon seeing this found her eyes widening, to see her own child as a girl look so vulnerable that her need to parent felt like an overwhelming urge, 'I shouldn't! Ranma's a man! Although this does make me wonder if I would have liked a daughter...' she thought, clearing her throat. "I would appreciate that..."
To say that Nodoka was alone in that need to make Ranma happy would have been an understatement, as Ryoga looked as though he wanted to comfort her in some way but upon glancing at the corner of his eye he saw that Nodoka was just as fixated on Ranma as he was.
"So does that mean, Ranma can...?" Ryoga decided to probe as he focused on Nodoka.
"I suppose but please wait for the water to cool down..." Nodoka stated as she poured a cup of hot water from the teapot sitting in the middle of them.
"Thanks, Mom..." Ranma sighed as she lifted her head and reached out for the cup, her nerves were undoubtedly shot by now.
"Good luck, Ranma..." Nodoka stated as she drank her cup, looking to be in deep thought as her eyes were focused on the ground, recognizing this she blinked twice and then looked up and offered an attempt at an encouraging smile.
Ryoga could sense the uncertainty in the room and remained quiet for the time being, lowering his head and unable to hold back the gentlest of smiles forming on his face.
----------------------------------------
Deep within the woods, large gaps of forest between Ranma's home and the construction site sat Happosai hidden in the hidden among the leaves and branches, wearing a large Martial Arts elder sized squirrel costume as he sat on a branch with feet dangling off the branch like he was sitting on some swing set; binoculars in hand.
"They're probably wondering what took us so long..." Ryoga said as he jogged along his redheaded companion.
"Whatever, let's just try to get some training in..." Ranma answered as he was just behind the fang-toothed boy.
"I really think Master Matsu will like you!" Ryoga chuckled as he leads the two further in and closer to the camp.
"You mean that polite middle-aged man we saw?" Ranma asked as he recalled the average looking short man.
"That's the one! He's not the strongest but he's great with advice!" Ryoga exclaimed with a smile as he leads the two.
"He better be! Cause that dirty old sleazeball is trying to butt in!" Ranma shook his head at the idea of being touched by the perviest of sages.
"Sleazeball, huh...?" Happosai reappeared from thin air, high in the branches as he held a pile of water in one hand while still dressed as a woodland critter. "I'll show you, little lady..." Happosai mumbled as he was about to turn his bucket upside down on to have a rock smack into it and spill all over the bald man's rodent costume.
"Up to your old tricks I see..." Chingensai's voice filled the air but clearly not within Happosai's vision.
"I am...? You're the one using the trick old trick we used in our younger years..." Happosai glared at the direction of Chingensai's voice as his prediction was dead on.
"True, true..." Chingensai stated as he appeared standing on the end of the branch Happosai was in the middle of.
"You really wanna' get in my way...?" Happosai asked as he took a stance.
"There are other ways to get your thrills, Happy..." Chingensai stated as he took a puff of his pipe and blew smoke out. "Besides I'm rather fond of Ryoga and I'd like to make sure he doesn't see this as the place his chances of love were ruined by a pervert's insatiable appetite..."
"What do you expect me to do? We've been banned from all the hot springs in the entire village!"
"I expect you to be an adult about this, we won't be here forever anyways..."
"I ain't dead yet!" Happosai crossed his arms.
"Not like that..." Chingensai clarified. "I meant we're not going to be here at this site forever, soon we'll have to move onto another village, hopefully, one we haven't been banned from..."
"Maybe I'll just go see Ranma's-" Happosai began.
"If you stay calm I'll ask Matsu to go buy you some magazines..."
"...fine." Happosai pouted as looked away.
----------------------------------------
A large Ming Dynasty style castle sat at the foot of a large mountain, further south of that was a town divided in half as both men and women trained on opposites sides. There was no turmoil over this concept as it appeared widely accepted from how calm and focused the people appeared to be. Appearing to be no different from any other type of people, save for the fact that all these people appeared to have animalistic qualities.
"Lord Herb..." A man with wolfish features said as he took a knee before a person with their back turned to him.
The person in question flinched a second before sighing and looking away.
"I know you wish to keep this matter private but your responsibilities require you to meet people in person my Sire..." he looked up to the hooded figure. "All this time away may cause prices to rise Sir..."
"I will personally make up for the loss and deal with this how I see fit!" A loud and oddly feminine voice roared as she turned around and took a step forward to her advisor.
Taken back the wolf-themed man leaned his head back, "Sir! How can you allow such a thing? That money is for the prestige that is-!"
"Money means nothing without a King to lead it and a people to serve him! Fewer people means less prosperity!" Herb interrupted and put her hands around the collar of her advisor.
"So much like your father..." Sumac responded as he brought to a standing position by the strength of the hooded woman.
"Although I don't look it, I respected his views..." She stated as she pushed him away.
"His time has come and gone my Que-" the advisor quickly sought to correct himself only to see a ball of energy about the size of a baseball explode on his chest, sending him on his back.
"I am no ones Queen..." she mumbled as she pulled her hood down, unveiling a girl with three types of hair colors and fairly tan skin.
Sumac clenched his wound and wrathed in pain as he panted deeply as if struggling to be polite while hurting from Herb's ki blast.
"For I am Lord Herb..." She mumbled as she walked towards her throne at the end of the audience chambers.
"King of the Musk..."
----------------------------------------