Ranko 2/2: Cascaded Universe
Episode 1 New Students!: Why Does Her Mom Look Like Kasumi?
v 00
The third story in the "Ranma's Birthday Wish"
Continuum.
By Kevin D. Hammel
Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publishing
rights are held by Viz in The US and Shogakukan in Japan.
My purpose is to honor the creator and her works. No
infringement intended.
------------------------------------------------------------
As usual in the morning, Ranko and Akane were the first out
the door of the Tendou home. Today was Akane's turn to
lead. The two boys didn't pay usually didn't pay much
attention to the people who WALKED on the ground below, so
they didn't notice the four 'blonde' women on the ground
beneath them, all dressed in gis. The older two women
watched the boys until they ran out of sight, then
turned to each other and smiled. Nabiki walked by the four
commenting, "Hmmm...must be mating season," and continued
walking.
Finally, Kasumi walked up, but she was oblivious to her
surroundings, as she had a midterm today and was trying to
study as she walked. The tallest of the four women tried
to avoid a collision with Kasumi, but it was to late.
Kasumi ran into her, knocking both down. The visitor's
cheap blonde wig was knocked to the ground, and Kasumi
saw for the first time who she had knocked over...
"Excuse me, miss...oh my!" It was almost as if she was
looking in a mirror. Except for a few years age
difference, and the fact that the other woman was a
little taller, Kasumi was looking at her twin. The two
women helped each other up, and Kasumi hurried down the
street, thought she did steal a few glances back at the
woman she had knocked over.
-------
Keiko was sweeping the walkway, which connected the street,
house, and dojo. She noticed a group of four women watching
her. They were all wearing BAD blonde wigs, but seemed
interested in talking to her. She walked over to the gate.
"Hello, I am Tendou Keiko, welcome to the Tendou-Saotome
Family Center. How could I help you?"
The shortest woman spoke. She looked to have a build very
similar to Ranko's, though her face was rounder, and she
was probably ten years older. Keiko could not see her eyes
through the mirrored glasses she wore. "Good morning, our
daughters would like to enroll in your beginning martial
arts class."
"Would you like to come in? I'll get my partner. She's the
manager." Keiko turned and entered the house. The shortest
woman smiled.
"You see, Tendou, the Tendou name may come first, but it
takes a Saotome to run things." She said smiling with
pride.
"You mean it takes a Saotome to screw things up. Besides,
she's only a 'Saotome' by marriage," the woman who looked
like Kasumi replied.
Their banter was interrupted by the return of Keiko with
Nodoka. The small woman gasped at the sight. Nodoka spoke,
"I am Saotome Nodoka, and you are?"
The tallest of the two girls spoke first. She nearly
as tall as the woman who looked like Kasumi, slender,
but with an athletic build, and a cheap blonde wig.
"I am Sao..."
"Sour," the small woman interjected, "Sour Natsume. I am
her mother, Sour Sayuri."
The other girl spoke next. She was shorter that the two
tall women, but still taller that Sayuri. She wore a cheap
blonde wig with an elaborate hair ribbon.
"I am Ten..."
Sayuri jumped in again, "Tendon, Tendon Kurumi. Her mother
is Tendon Ikuko."
"Thank you, my what unusual names you have!" Nodoka said,
wondering what their real names were, and what their hair
looked like.
Ikuko whispered to Sayuri. "Like I said, it takes a Saotome
to screw things up. Are those the stupidest names you could
come up with?"
"No, Tendon, they are not."
The six women entered the dojo. Watching all four of her
guests walk, Nodoka noted the grace and strength of expert
Martial artists. She looked at Keiko, who had obviously
noticed the same thing. Nodoka whispered to Keiko "I wonder
what is going on?"
"Who knows? Before the day is out, we will!" Keiko whispered
in reply.
-------
The four guests had seated themselves on the floor of the
dojo, against the wall. Nodoka and Keiko stood a few feet
away. Keiko spoke first, "could you two girls stand and
assume a ready position?" Natsume and Kurumi complied.
Kurumi used textbook posture, and Natsume was relaxed, but
Keiko knew she was ready. "Impressive, for beginners. Let me
see how good you are". She lunged at Natsume, and struck
only air, but continued her motion and flipped into the air,
landing a solid blow on the girl. Keiko and Natsume landed,
facing each other. "You are no beginner, you have probably
been practicing the Art since childhood."
"Correct, sensei." The girl bowed. "It seems there is much I
can learn from you. I would be honored to train with you."
She looked you into Keiko's eyes.
"We will discuss training later. Let me evaluate your
friend." She faced Kurumi, noting she seemed to be
unfastening her hair ribbon. She feinted with a punch, then
struck with a kick. Taking the bait, Kurumi had entangled
Keiko's arm with her ribbon, leaving her open for the kick.
Keiko made it clear she could strike, then pulled back, not
wanting to injure the girl. "You also show great skill,
I am sure our children would like to learn your ribbon
technique."
Kurumi bowed. "Thank you, sensei."
Nodoka had watched the proceedings with amusement.
"Perhaps you might show us what you really look like.
Could you please take off those awful wigs?"
Sayuri stood up. Keiko and Nodoka already KNEW she would
be the one to speak. "I'm sorry, we went to the beauty
shop yesterday, and they ruined our hair. We decided it was
better to hide it under these wigs..."
Kurumi spoke up. "I would like to honest with you, sensei."
She pulled off the wig, revealing her curly brown hair. She
secured it with her ribbon. Soon Natsume had taken her hair
down as well, revealing black hair with long bangs and a
very long pony tail.
"Well, what about you two?" Nodoka asked, staring at Sayuri
the whole time.
Sayuri took off her wig revealing short black hair with long
bangs resembling those of her daughter. She bowed "I
apologize for the deception, Mrs. Saotome." That left
Ikuko. Both Nodoka and Keiko stared at her.
Ikuko swallowed once and removed her wig, allowing her long
brown hair to fall from under it. Nodoka and Keiko gasped in
unison, but Keiko spoke. "You look exactly like my daughter
Kasumi." Ikuko flushed bright red.
Sayuri spoke up. "Perhaps we can visit you later. We would
like to meet your family, after all you did say your
daughters would like to learn the ribbon technique, bye!"
She ran out the door, Ikuko followed. Their two daughters
didn't know what to do.
Nodoka walked over to Natsume, asking "what is your family
name, Natsume?"
"I use my mother's family name, Saotome."
Nodoka didn't know what to think. Kurumi spoke up "I use
my mother's name as well, Tendou. We do not understand
HER mother's deception," pointing at Natsume.
Natsume spoke again, "I am sorry." She bowed. "I will visit
you again tonight."
"We look forward to seeing both of you." Nodoka said, bowing.
With that, the two girls left to join their mothers.
Nodoka and Keiko gave each other puzzled looks, Nodoka
speaking first. "Perhaps some hot water will help us get to
the bottom of this."
Keiko replied, "yes, perhaps it would. If it does, I know
some people who will be in hot water!"
Nodoka went back inside. Keiko straightened out the dojo
and followed Nodoka, closing the door behind her.
-------
After school, Ranko led Akane home. The same four observers
who were there in the morning watched the two girls run on
fence, then perform their dismounts.
Natsume and Kurumi yelled in unison, "cool!" Then ran off to
talk to the girls.
A couple of minutes later, Nabiki walked by, commenting "So,
what happened to your pets?" She went a little farther then
stopped, doing a double-take. That one girl DID look just
like Kasumi. She ran home.
"Well, Tendou, it looks like you've created quite a stir."
"I don't care. It's wonderful to see them, Saotome."
-------
Natsume and Kurumi had caught up with Ranko and Akane.
"Wow, you two know how to walk to school in style!"
Kurumi enthused, "We saw two boys running on that
fence in the morning."
"That was us!", Ranko put in, "we go as boys in the
morning."
"No way, you have RED hair, and the boy who looked like
you had black hair." Natsume threw in.
"We change with water, becoming boys when cold water hits
us and girls with warm water. My hair is red when I'm a
girl, I inherited that from my mom. I see you two are
dressed to spar. Have you heard of the Tendou-Saotome
Family Center?"
Kurumi replied, "we stopped by there this morning.
One of the proprietors sparred with us. We will probably
train there."
"That's great, we live there! My mom is Tendou Keiko, my
name is Akane."
"I live there too! My mom is Saotome Nodoka, and I'm
Ranko. What are your names?"
"I'm Tendou Kurumi!"
"And I'm Saotome Natsume!"
"Maybe we're related. Do you two want to spar?" Ranko
asked.
"Sure!" The sisters replied.
Akane concluded the conversation by offering to let the two
girls in the dojo while she and Ranko got ready.
-------
The four girls squared off in the dojo. Natsume noticed both
Ranko and Akane were wearing gold chains with rings on them.
"What's with the rings on chains?"
"Ranko and I are engaged." She looked at Ranko and smiled.
Ranko spoke as she walked over to the wall, "That may seem a
little strange, but consider what you saw this morning." She
picked up a fanny-pack and removed a small green thermos
bottle, pouring a small amount of water into the cap, which
she then poured over her head, and changed. The boy then gave
bottle to Akane, who did likewise.
"Wow!" Natsume said. "So that's why you're engaged. Why do
you wear the ring on a chain?"
Akane spoke, "Well, the girl's rings were prettier, but
would YOU like to wear a small ring when you finger got
bigger?"
"No, I see what you mean!" Kurumi replied.
"And a guy-sized ring would be too big when we're girls, so
we keep 'em on a chain." Ranko added.
"Let's get ready," Ranko said, picking up his bokken.
Kurumi undid her hair ribbon and held it like a weapon.
It seemed Natsume used a staff. Akane was armed only with
his bare hands.
"Lets start!" Kurumi shouted, triggering a flurry of
activity.
The purpose of the sparring session was more for the
participants to try to find out capabilities of the
others than compete. Natsume and Kurumi had never seen
Kendo before, and were amazed at the speed Ranko handled
her bokken. Kurumi's ribbon reminded Ranko and Akane of
their match last year against Kunou Kodachi and her
Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics team, while Natsume's staff
was unlike anything they had ever experienced. After they
had tested each other enough, it was time for a break.
A winded Ranko spoke for all four, saying "That's enough for
today!"
"Let's get cleaned up for dinner." Akane said as he pulled
out a small red thermos bottle, using it to return to her
birth-form. Ranko did likewise. The two girls put their
bottles away and zipped up their packs.
The four headed upstairs for the bath.
-------
Dinner was nearly ready when Ranko got up to answer a knock
on the door. Two unfamiliar women were waiting there. Ranko
turned to ask her mother "Mom, were you expecting and
guests?"
Nodoka came to the door, holding a kettle of hot water,
"yes, if they will submit to my hot-water test."
"Of course Mrs. Saotome!", Sayuri said as Nodoka poured
the water over her head, then Ikuko's. "I hope you
aren't too disappointed." Sayuri said with a bit of sarcasm.
Nodkoa's anger flared. "What brought that on?"
"Perhaps we should go. Natsume, will you come over here?"
Sayuri's daughter joined her mother at her side.
"Let's go, perhaps we should train." Sayuri suggested.
Ikuko had had enough. "I will not leave this house until
I am told to leave! I'm tired of your meddling in my life,
Saotome! Last year, we went by the dojo, and it was empty.
The year before, at least I got a glimpse of my children
before you hauled us off to train again..." Ikuko looked
sheepish as she realized she had said more than she should
have.
Keiko had now come to the door, the dinner completed and
placed in serving dishes. "Perhaps we can come inside and
talk," She suggested, glaring at Sayuri and Ikuko.
-------
A minute later, all parties were seated in the living room,
dinner forgotten for now.
Keiko spoke first, "'Ikuko' you said something about seeing
you children..."
"Perhaps it would be best to start at the beginning...
Twelve years ago, you sent your husbands to retrieve a
cure for the curse they inflicted on your youngest
children."
SD Keiko and katana-wielding SD Nodoka chase SD Soun and
SD Genma down the street to a ship, which sails on a map
from Japan to China.
SD Genma and SD Soun run across a map of China toward an
area labeled Jusenkyo.
"After a long Journey, they finally made it to the Jusenkyo
training ground..."
SD Genma and SD Soun find SD Guide. "Welcome back sirs! You
wish to cure your daughters? Here spring of drowned young
girl. It fix them up good!"
SD Soun tries to fill jug with water, but falls in.
"Oh sir, so sorry you fall in, now you young girl!"
SD Genma notices a cloud of dust trailing a mass of women
chasing a small figure carrying a large bag. Happosai
(who's already SD!) bounds up to SD Genma. "Great place to
stand, my boy!" He executes a quick leg sweep, tripping
SD Genma, who joins SD Soun-chan in the pool.
A bit later, the women return triumphantly holding the
bag. After they pass, SD Soun-chan and SD Genma-chan get out
of the pool. They see the master bounding toward them
with a bucket. SD Herb can be seen in the distance. Happosai
uses a ladle to splash both of them with water from the
bucket, then runs back to SD Herb, saying, "Thank you!".
A black thought balloon appears above SD Herb's head, then he
walks back to his fortress with his bucket, looking somewhat
dejected. SD Lime and SD Mint shake their fists at the
master's back, then follow SD Herb.
The master comes back to his two favorite students. "Let's
get you two cleaned up, then we can spar. I hope you
girls are happy, I had to drop my haul to 'borrow' that
bucket!" The two SD girls show black thought balloons, but
follow the master. They come to a stream where Happosai
pulls out a bottle with an illegible number on it. He
washes both SD girls hair with it. Hearts appear above
their heads, and stars in their eyes. Happosai winks at
the camera, arches an eyebrow, and pulls down a curtain
on the scene.
"And that is how the next generation of Anything Goes
Martial Arts came to be. Using that horrible bucket, the
master locked the two men in their cursed forms permanently.
The new girls were given new names by the master while
under the influence of the shampoo, the effects of which
wore off after a few months. The children, Natsume and
Kurumi, were raised by their mothers for five years, until
the master came again."
"Hello, girls!" He heartily embraces SD Ikuko and SD Sayuri,
as only he can. "I need to speak to my daughters for a few
minutes." He leads the five year olds a short distance
then pulls out a large circlet which causes a black door to
appear. He leads the two girls through the door, then closes
it behind him. SD Sayuri & SD Ikuko try to open the door, to
no avail. SD Ikuko threatens to flood the area with her
tears.
Black Title card "Six Minutes later..."
The door opens and eleven-year old SD Natsume and
SD Kurumi come out and bow to their father. "Thank you!"
they say in unison.
"Not a problem, my dears." Happosai dismisses the door
and bids all a good day, embracing SD Ikuko and SD Sayuri
one last time before leaving.
SD Sayuri embraces SD Natsume and SD Ikuko embraces
SD Kurumi.
Ikuko turned to Kurumi. "Perhaps you can explain what
happened to you in the six years you spent with the
master."
Kurumi smiled. "Our father took us to Training Space,
a tiny dimension adjacent to Hammer Space. He taught
us new techniques as well as all of the normal subjects.
We even learned Mandarin. He really is a wonderful
man, just a bit eccentric. After six years with him,
he brought us back to our moms. We haven't seen him
since, but we are grateful for what he gave us."
"I finally convinced Sayuri that we should try to
visit you again last week. She had not intended a permanent
visit, I will admit I did." Ikuko got up and bowed before
Keiko. "I apologize for staying from your side so long. I have
kept the water all these years, in case Akane or Ranko wish to
use it." She finished in tears.
Kurumi embraced her mother. Akane rose to embrace her father,
as did Nabiki and Kasumi. Keiko smiled at the scene. She
never dreamed she would ever see her husband again, and
perhaps she never would, but she could not find it in her
heart to be angry. This girl and her daughter had seen hell
at the hand of that horrid master and needed understanding,
not anger.
Things did not go so well for the other family. After all,
there were FOUR Saotomes involved.
Sayuri looked at Natsume, "will you go with me to train?"
Natsume embraced her mother. "I love you, but I must stay so
I can be with the sister you never told me I had." She let
go.
Sayuri's emotions were unreadable behind the mirrored glasses
she wore.
Nodoka spoke next, in a firm voice. "Know this, if you go to
train, you will not be coming back, EVER." To punctuate her
statement, she summoned her katana from her back.
Sayuri turned to Ranko. "We have been apart for so many
years, will you train with me?"
"Akane's father has returned, bringing her new sister. She
will stay here and, as her fiancée, it will be by pleasure
to stay with her. I'm sorry." A few tears made it down
Ranko's face.
Sayuri embraced Ranko. "Your fiancée? You two are getting
married?" She smiled, though her expression soon gave way
to tears. "It may have turned out the way we had hoped,
but we never should have put you two through that."
"Nonsense, father! I love Akane, and you provided the means
for us to spend our lives together. Thank you!" Ranko kissed
Sayuri.
After some thought, Sayuri turned to Nodoka, bowing, "Saotome
Nodoka, may your daughter's other parent and half sister
stay here?"
Nodoka almost smiled. "Of course. Perhaps we can add Anything
Goes to our curriculum, with your assistance."
Sayuri smiled, but still looked at the floor. "I would be
honored to introduce new students to the School. Thank you
for showing your confidence in me, Mrs. Saotome."
"You are welcome, Miss Saotome. The food is getting cold,
perhaps we should eat."
It had been twelve years since there had been so much
conversation and laughter at the table, at least among the
Tendous.
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