What you are about to read is the second of a several part mini- series. Each part was written by a different author who chose or was assigned a character or family to write about, exploring that character's family history. It is our hope that these stories will provide a more solid foundation for the characters in the Ranma universe, and, of course, we hope that you enjoy them. ^_^ * * * * * The Ranma Preludes: Tendo by Mike Koos MEMORIES FOR A NEW LIFE "You're doing fine, Mrs. Tendo. We're almost there," the doctor reassured her. "We've got the shoulders out, now. All I need from you is one final, big push, and we'll be through." Kimiko wasn't entirely sure how she had heard and understood those words in her state of being. A jumble of thoughts and feelings rumbled through her mind, with little regard to just how much she wanted to find something comforting or familiar and keep hold of it, or use it as her anchor. Especially since her eyes didn't seem particularly able to focus on much of anything at the moment... not any of those... off-white? blurs standing around her, not anything. If the pain she had felt from the start was any indication, her body wasn't fit to complain, either. She had gone into labor almost a week later than anyone had expected. Was this child to be a boy, or a girl? Kimiko wondered again fleetingly. Soun... her husband hoped this baby would be a son. Their first child... Kasumi... was a girl, now three years old. Nabiki... their second child, and daughter, was only one year older than her new brother or sister. Privately, Kimiko wouldn't have cared whether her new baby was a girl *or* a boy. She knew Soun wanted a son, however... someone to pass what he knew along to. An heir, in the end, to take over the family business and name. Kasumi and Nabiki were his dear, dear little girls, but would she let Soun turn them into martial artists? Absolutely not. And what guarantee did she have that Soun or his friend Genma would not turn out to be exactly like their lecherous 'Master' one day? Kimiko did not want to submit *any* of her children to that risk... boy or girl. The 'Master' - Kimiko refused to accept the old man as anything but the pervert that he was - had even almost kept this child from being conceived. He insisted on taking Soun and Genma on what he labeled 'training voyages' - a shamefully misleading title, if Kimiko had ever heard one. But apparently even the 'Master' believed in ensuring there was always an heir waiting to one day take over the duties of the Tendo or Saotome families... and then, taking over for the 'Master,' himself. Seeing as how Saotome Nodoka had no children and Kimiko only had two daughters, the Master had allowed their husbands two weeks to - as he put it - "try again." Neither Kimiko nor Nodoka had appreciated that the old lech was implying that they, as women, were only around to give him an eventual heir, or to be targets of last resort for the man's perversion... the Master preferred to focus on younger women. Still, Soun was quite the romantic, if he put his mind to it. Kimiko had always liked that aspect of her husband; there was no denying that he was an emotional man. That, in turn, led to sensitivity. She hadn't objected when he told her in all seriousness that this might be the last chance they had to have a son. It simply wasn't sensible or economical to keep trying to have a son until they succeeded - or until they had the largest family this district had ever seen. And so, shortly after Soun and Genma had once again left with their Master, she discovered she was pregnant with what might very well have been her third and final child. She soon discovered that Nodoka was also expecting, and had let out one of the heaviest sighs of depression she'd known. Had the old pervert's plans come to pass? Kimiko thought of the child developing within her. Would this child be the boy that followed in Happosai's footsteps? Would her Kasumi and Nabiki grow up to fear the Master *and* their younger sibling? A sharp pain reminded her that she was needed in the Present. She tried again to make some sense of the world around her, though most of it stubbornly refused to be resolved. The only definite fact she knew was that her child was on the verge of being born, and she was going to have to worry about her son or daughter's safety from this point on... No one should have to contend with Happosai. A part of her almost wished she could keep her child inside, away from those who would use him or her for less-than-ideal purposes. But that wasn't a sensible choice, either. She would just have to ensure that her children remained safe, herself. And if that meant outliving the wretched old pervert, then that was what she was going to have to do! Kasumi, Nabiki and their new brother or sister would be raised correctly, *never* in the twisted ways the Master might prefer, only to satisfy his version of the martial-arts ethics. Maybe the three children *should* be trained in the art of musabetsu kakutou, so that each of them would be able to fend off the Master when the time came. She didn't want to deny Kasumi or Nabiki a chance at normal lives, but at the same time, female martial artists were not unheard of. It had been a topic she had discussed on occasion with Nodoka, given that she was quite concerned about their ability to face those in the world who would hurt them. Late one afternoon, while she shared a lunch with Nodoka at what many considered to be a small cafe, Nodoka had jokingly suggested that Kasumi and Nabiki should learn the Art. "What?" Kimiko nearly dropped her cup of tea. "Nodoka, surely you're not serious. I've watched what some of my husband's students put themselves through to learn the Art, and you know as well as I do that it's not an easy road to take... if you'll pardon the metaphor. Not even for those who have been martial artists their entire life." Nodoka nodded. "True." "So you're suggesting I put my daughters through all that? For what purpose?" Kimiko's shoulders slumped in a gesture of resignation. "Female martial artists are never held in the same regard as male martial artists." "There are places where female martial artists are considered superior to the male fighters." That caused Kimiko to blink. "Okay, I'm interested," she said, a faint smile forming on her lips. "Where are these places?" "One of them is in China, I believe. The village of the Nichieju, or something like that. I can't quite recall." "The Nichieju?" "Yes. Well... actually, I'm not sure if this village even exists or not. I 'discovered' references to it when I glanced through some of Genma's martial-arts books. All I found were a few vague references." Kimiko set her teacup on the table. "Then why tell me about them, if they might not exist? You yourself told me Genma's books have several things which don't make much sense, such as techniques which can traumatize one's own mind." Her friend smiled. "I merely wanted to keep you from being depressed." "I had a feeling you weren't being serious," laughed Kimiko. "Yes. You were right about that, too. I know you know how I feel about young women taking up the martial arts." Kimiko did. Nodoka considered fighting to be rather unladylike. While it was true that in this world, knowing how to defend oneself was a good skill for a young woman to know, Nodoka wished for a world in which women had the right to remain innocent and not have to make that choice... though she knew that her wish would remain just that - a hopeful wish, never to be fulfilled. Human nature conspired to keep such innocence from lasting long enough. But no one had ever said she couldn't help others to see the benefit of proper, well-mannered, ladylike behavior. The thought made Kimiko smile briefly as she continued to try to bring her new baby fully into the world. Nodoka was due to give birth somewhere about this time... would she have a new daughter to train to be a respectable person? Minutes later, her own daughter was born. * * * * * She gently ran a finger along the cheek of the newborn baby girl sleeping in her arms. So innocent... Kimiko couldn't help but think. The whole process of labor had taken less time than she believed it would, actually... this little girl had been anxious to get out and see the world for herself, as it were. A fragment of a giggle escaped from Kimiko's lips. Oh... she hadn't meant to do that. But she was still weary, both from the whirlwind strain of giving birth and whatever the drugs were they had given her to help with the pain. Ha, some help! She couldn't remember much about the delivery, however; most of it was a blur. Many people, too many for her to count... not that she could have done so. A lot of what she supposed was hospital equipment, as well. Oh, and something about her legs, which she only now recalled were still there. Would she remember more about it later? Oh, well... it really wasn't important now. There were other things far more important here, she reasoned as she watched her daughter sleep. Her thoughts drifted again. Two or so months back - she couldn't quite recall which, though she idly remembered she and Nodoka had both been in their third trimester at the time - Nodoka had stopped by the Tendo home to catch up on the events in her friend's life. Their husbands had yet to return from their training voyage with their Master, which had left both women alone in the interim. The solitude was worse on Kimiko; she had to depend on others to run the dojo and help her take care of Nabiki and Kasumi. "You're lucky," Kimiko exhaled, settling into the nearest chair. Little Kasumi was on what could be considered a rampage... alternating between innocent curiosity about practically anything and tearing about the house at speeds faster than light. It had taken a joint effort by both Kimiko and her friend to corner Kasumi and get the sisters in bed for the night. "You don't have any other children to worry about or a dojo to run." Nodoka frowned. "I do wish you would stop saying that as if it were a bad thing to have those responsibilities." She closed her eyes. "For one thing, I'm scared enough about having children as it is without you putting the idea in my head that a child might be too much for me to handle." Kimiko's expression softened. "I didn't mean it that way, Nodoka. I'm just worn down from chasing after Kasumi all day, in addition to trying to keep our only teacher from quitting. My husband won't be happy if he comes home from his trip and finds out his dojo is no more." "Not as much as my husband would be," murmured Nodoka. "Well, to him the Art is practically his entire life. You know that." A sigh told Kimiko that Nodoka did indeed know that for a fact. "Yes. Did I tell you that I'm afraid he might not react well if this child turns out to be a girl?" Kimiko gasped. Genma might not appreciate having a daughter, but would he take it out on Nodoka or their daughter? Or both? "I won't let him do anything like that," Nodoka said with quiet determination. "Neither will I," Kimiko pledged. "What about you?" Nodoka asked after a pause. "Will Soun mind if you have another girl?" The other pursed her lips. "I doubt it. True, he would like to have a son to pass the School to, yet I doubt he'll be as upset if that happens." Her friend seemed to be lost in thought. "Nodoka?" she prodded. Time for a change of subject. "Have you decided on what you might name your baby?" "No. That is something I would prefer to discuss with my husband." "That's a good idea." Kimiko felt guilty for suggesting otherwise. The sound of Nabiki crying abruptly came from the upstairs nursery. "Mommy!" Kasumi's voice called down to them. "I think you need t'change th' baby!" Kimiko drew herself up. "Kasumi still refuses to call her sister by name?" asked Nodoka. "Yes." "Have you thought about how Kasumi might treat her new sister or brother?" She had to admit that she hadn't given the question much thought. Even now, that she held her third daughter securely in her arms, she was not sure. How *would* Kasumi react toward her new sister? Kimiko had heard from other mothers about children being resentful or jealous of a new baby brother or sister. Nabiki was too young for this to be of much concern to her, but little Kasumi had already been jealous of the attention Nabiki had taken away from her. Worse, now there was another sister around to take all the attention away from Kasumi for a while. Kasumi probably wouldn't like it in the least. She wished Kasumi was only a little older... that way, maybe she wouldn't have to worry as much. It wasn't that Kasumi was at all spoiled or misbehaved; quite the opposite. Kasumi's current manner of protesting, in fact, was not to speak to anyone. That was a real shame. Kasumi was such a wonderful little girl... perhaps one day, it would be a boy that was so taken in by Kasumi that he had difficulty speaking to her. Yes, someday Kasumi would be rendering boys tongue-tied, as would her sisters... There was a knock at the door. She didn't hear it, lost in her thoughts as she was, so the knock repeated. Kimiko lifted her gaze to the door, calling out a weak "Come in...?" The door opened slightly. Kimiko could make out someone saying, "Remember, I can only let you visit her for about fifteen to twenty minutes. She does need to rest, and I'm sure you could use some sleep, too." Well, that did make some sense - the last time she'd glanced at the clock on the wall it had been three A.M. something-or-other. But who would be visiting her at three in the morning? "Also," the voice - a nurse? - added, "she might still be under the effects of the medication we gave her to ease her pain during labor, so she might be somewhat drowsy." "I understand," said a second voice. Kimiko's mind connected it first to an image... a face, then a name. *Soun*. Of course. Who else would be the first to be by her side at moments such as this? I must be more delirious than I thought, she mused. Another out-of-place smile came to her lips, and this time, she let it remain there. "Kimiko? Dear?" Soun said from the doorway. He took care to close the door behind him. She nodded. "Shh." No sense in waking their baby girl. "How do you feel?" *That* was a difficult question to answer. She felt drained from several hours of labor, disoriented from the painkillers, and yet inexplicably giddy in regard to the new life that was her daughter. Kimiko thought for a second and responded with what she hoped was a good enough answer. "Ask me that tomorrow and maybe I'll be able to tell you," she replied, wryly. Soun said nothing in response. She was vaguely aware of his movement when he came to stand by her side. He'd been so overwhelmed with joy after finding out he was going to have another child. Kimiko remembered the day; she was shortly into her eighth month when Soun had returned, with the news that he and Genma had finally gotten rid of their Master for good - or so they believed... then, he had noticed his wife's condition and promptly fainted on the spot. Later, after he had come to, Soun drank himself into further unconsciousness while celebrating. He was going to be a father for the third time, after all! He made an awkward attempt to address the subject. "So, uh... is this our daughter?" A stupid question to ask, really, but he couldn't think of much else to say. Kimiko tried to think about the tone behind his words for a few seconds. Was her husband disappointed that their 'final' child had turned out to be a daughter instead of a son? Would he spend the next couple of weeks crying an endless stream of tears whenever he looked at either of them? She edged the newborn forward ever so carefully. "Would you like to hold her?" Her husband warily took the baby girl into his arms, as though he were afraid he might crush or drop her... the precise same way he had behaved when holding Kasumi and Nabiki for the first time, Kimiko recalled. Newborns tended to have that effect on everyone. No doubt about it - Soun was a great father. There wasn't anyone else she would trust to hold their daughter at this very moment. Ah. Well, they couldn't keep calling their daughter simply 'their daughter' for the rest of her life, could they? "What..." The words weren't coming as easily as she had hoped. "What do you suppose we should... name her?" Stupid medication, making it impossible to see or think straight... She strained to keep her concentration. "Hmm... I don't know," Soun smiled, shifting the little girl in his arms so that he could get a better look at her. "Why don't we ask her what she would like to be named?" Unfortunately, all this moving around had caused the girl to wake up. She stared up at her father for a second... too young to make much sense at all of the information flooding in through her senses, but she knew that she had just been rearranged without her permission and that whoever this image was in front of her, it didn't look, sound or smell as comforting as the image that she had seen before falling asleep. The girl broke into a fit of crying. She has her father's tear ducts, Kimiko was tempted to say. Kimiko watched Soun try - rather unsuccessfully - to quiet their daughter down. Then he switched tactics. To her surprise, Soun pretended to be flustered and started to flood the room with his own tears. "Well, it worked, didn't it?" he would ask his wife later. It certainly did. The baby was so startled by the act that she quit crying and looked up at him in quiet bewilderment. "Kimiko, dear," Soun said at last. "What do you think about the name 'Akane?'" Kimiko blinked. Akane? They had discussed boys' and girls' names for weeks now, and 'Akane' hadn't been one of them. "Why 'Akane?'" The baby was beginning to warm to her father. "I see certain qualities in her when I watch her." Like the way her face had reddened when she cried, or her stubbornness, though Kimiko wouldn't be happy if she found out those were his primary reasons for thinking of the name. "She will probably turn out to be very strong." Oh. "Don't tell me you're going to force *her* to take up the Art, just because we don't plan to have any more children." Soun's voice turned solemn. "It doesn't have to be her. It could be Kasumi, or Nabiki. Or all three of them. The Tendo School of Musabetsu Kakutou mustn't be allowed to fade into oblivion, Kimiko. The Master would never forgive me. *I* would never forgive myself." Kimiko snorted at the mention of the perverted old man. "The 'Master.'" Would he have given himself that title if his 'students' hadn't behaved like spineless cowards in his presence? "I thought you said that you were finally rid of that pervert. Why would you care whether or not he would ever forgive you? Is the Art all that you care about?" "No. Of course not. But it's all I have. I'm too old to take up anything else." She was in no shape to argue with him on that point. "Dear...," Kimiko said, a part of her aware that she was beginning to nod off again. "Look at your daughter. *Akane*. Look at her. Can you tell me you honestly want to make her a fighter? Or Kasumi? Nabiki?" Kimiko thought she saw her husband's expression fall. "I... don't know." "At least give them some time to think about it. Let them grow, first. They might benefit from some of the breathing exercises, but beyond that, they're too young to be breaking boards and competing." Soun could see the logic in her words. "Perhaps you're right. I guess I just have a tendency to look too far into the future." "That's not a bad thing," Kimiko murmured softly. Sleep was catching up to her. "It's always nice to know that you've thought about our future..." A silly grin took shape on his lips. He was about to tell Kimiko that he couldn't imagine a future without her when he saw that she had fallen asleep. Maybe tomorrow, then. "There, there." He carefully eased the little girl back into her mother's arms, taking care to give them both a light kiss before he left. "Good night, Kimiko. And you too, Akane." --------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-readers: Mark Doherty, Paul Gallegos, Zen "Ranma 1/2" and its characters Copyright (c) 1998 Viz Communications, Inc., Shogakukan, Kitty Animation, and Rumiko Takahashi. Used without permission. This story may be freely redistributed, but it may not be altered substantially or used for profit in any way. I'd like to thank Paul Gallegos and all of the writers on the Ranma Preludes again for allowing me to be a part of this project. I know I used a few fanfic conventions, especially the use of 'Kimiko' as Mrs. Tendo's name. If this bothers anyone, I apologize. Send me your comments or questions at the address below. * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?