When Akane arrived home, alone, Nabiki was waiting for her in the entryway. As soon as her younger sister took off her shoes and put on house slippers, she dragged her up into her room, slamming the door behind her. Nabiki let go of her sister, and pushed her into her chair. She wore a cold stare.


    “60,000 yen,” she stated, monotone.


    Akane looked nervously downward. “That bad, huh?”


    Nabiki stood up. “This is your fault. I want my 60,000 yen back, and you’re going to give it to me.”


    Akane frowned. “I didn’t fight, though. That was all Ranma.”


    “He’s your fiancé, and you vouched for him, so my losses are on you.”


    Akane’s eyes filled with rage. “Not anymore! I broke it off with the asshole.”


    Nabiki’s eyes ran cold to match. “That doesn’t change the fact that you’ve lost me quite a bit of money.”


    Akane sighed. “You of all people know I don’t have that kind of cash, so I’m not sure what you’re hoping to gain here.”


    Nabiki flashed a predatory grin. “Looks like you’ll just have to do some work for me. It should be super easy, barely an inconvenience.”


    <hr>


    “Okay, Ranma, you should be good to head on home, if you’d like,” Tofu smiled at the boy who had been his charge this afternoon.


    Kasumi took Ranma’s hand, returning Tofu’s smile for the scowling boy. “Thank you so much, Doctor. We’ll be heading home!”


    The streets of Furinkan were relatively empty by this point, the pair’s only companion red beams of sunlight filtering in between the rows of houses. Ranma was not in a talkative mood, and Kasumi didn’t want to push him any farther than he’d already been. Waiting for them, in the courtyard between the walls of the Tendo estate and the main building, was Mr. Saotome.


    “Did the doctor fix you up, boy?”


    “Yeah. I suppose he did.”


    Genma nodded. “I’m disappointed in you. You let a girl take care of you like that, even your fiancée, and she’ll do nothing but pity you all your life. It seems I have been lax with your training. Perhaps I need to teach you a lesson before you eat tonight.”


    Kasumi moved past the father-son pair as they started sparring right there in the courtyard. She worked her way inside, and took over the task of making dinner from Soun, who had prepared all the mise en place for the stew she was to cook.


    When it came time to eat dinner, the entire household was silent. None of the Tendos really wanted to bring up the events of the afternoon, and the Saotomes were too busy stuffing their faces to respond, even if someone had spoken up.


    <hr>


    Ranma Saotome was having a wonderful day. Or at least, that’s what he was trying to tell himself. Akane and Nabiki had run off ahead on the way to school, purposefully putting distance between themselves and him. When he arrived at the school gate, he jumped over a heap of students piled up on top of each other, a few of whom were already waking up from their trouncing minutes prior.


    After he took his seat next to Akane, a few of his classmates approached him with condolences about his loss to Kuno the previous day. He dismissed their concerns, as all men should, and stuck his face in a textbook.


    By second period, the girl he lived with had managed to swap her seat, putting him next to a wordless boy with wispy black hair and bags under his eyes.


    Ranma tried to put on the best approximation of a smile he could manage. He turned to his new neighbor. “Hi, I’m Ranma Saotome, nice to meet you.”


    The boy now seated next to him looked him up and down, before scoffing. “I have no need to provide a name to one such as you.”


    Ooo-kay. Apparently, I’m the bad guy now, even to a gloomy guy like him.


    During lunch, and especially afterwards, everyone started to give him an even wider berth. Ranma focused on taking notes and trying to make sense of the lectures throughout the day. It was a welcome distraction from the harsh looks his classmates gave him.


    And finally, mercifully, the school day did end. Nabiki and Akane rushed home, leaving Ranma to trot back on his own. The skies above him, a pleasant blue the entire day, started to darken. Don’t fucking tell me it’s gonna rain today, on top of everything else!


    His pleas to any gods or spirits listening went unanswered. A sudden downpour began. Ranma hadn’t had enough time to jump under an awning before he felt himself being shrunk down.


    Almost as quickly as it rolled in, the rain cleared, the bright blue sky deigning to show itself after the stunt it pulled. The worst part of this curse is how water always seems to find me, and how I always seem to be soaking wet.


    After trudging along the river for some time, he finally crossed the threshold of the Tendo’s courtyard. Soun was leaning against the door, and began to approach when he noticed Ranma. Oh shit, hopefully I didn’t fuck up even more than I know I already have.


    Soun handed Ranma a towel, before clearing his throat and handing the teen a small note with both hands. “Your father departed today, and he left you a note.”If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Ranma grabbed the note with one hand, quickly skimming through it. His face darkened. “Yeah, figures he’d run at the first sign of trouble. Sorry ‘bout that.”


    Soun noticed the unease and relief struggling for dominance in the boy’s expression. He rested his arm around the boy. He could finish this conversation later. For now, the kid needed to dry off, and return to his default form, if that was what he desired.


    <hr>


    Soun’s all-girls beginner class was one of the highlights of his week. When he had resumed teaching nine or so years prior, he had made certain to split classes into co-ed and all-girls sections, with his daughters taking charge of the latter. While the classes didn’t entirely separate out into boys’ and girls’ classes, they might as well have been. He sat off to the side, ready to be on hand if they needed anything. Splitting the classes was a suggestion from his late spouse. The sentiment was echoed by a certain Nodoka Sao- well, at this point it might as well be Shimizu. It was she who had suggested corrections and modifications to the curriculum in the program’s infancy, and for that, he was grateful. Soun chuckled to himself after thinking of the refined swordswoman. I just hope there’s still something left of her child after she arrives. At the very least, she said that she’s booked out for a while and can’t easily come right away. I can use that time to run mitigation.


    The three of them had wanted a space where girls could learn to defend themselves in an environment that would be supportive. For that very reason, Ranma Saotome was ejected from the property for the entire forty-five minute class, with five extra minutes of buffer time beforehand, and fifteen minutes afterwards. He had been planning on simply confining him to the house during the class, but his recent actions had made that plan untenable.


    The currently running class was made of mostly middle-school aged girls, and the sixteen of them had crowded around the dojo to take part. Aki, one of his students from his advanced class, was also helping Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi so that each student had an ample amount of teacher attention. It was also designed to help Aki learn further by giving her a chance to teach others. Each of the four teachers had a line of four students, and they were running through stretches to limber up for the main part of the class.


    When they were teaching the intermediate and advanced classes, the students needed to do their stretches on their own, as he trusted them to know what worked best for their body. This session, however, was for the beginner class, where everyone followed the stretches of the instructors, to help develop a sense of what options existed. For this class, the instructors had picked to teach judo throws; earlier in the week, he had provided some of his teaching scrolls to them so they could refresh themselves.


    The four teachers grouped everyone into pairs. Akane demonstrated the first technique on Nabiki, while Aki and Kasumi stood by and explained what Akane and Nabiki were doing. Once the instructors had demonstrated from a few different angles, they let the students attempt to practice. They went around to the assorted pairs and made minor adjustments to each student’s form, to make sure everyone was safe.


    After the students had practiced sufficiently, the instructors called for everyone’s attention. They switched off so that Aki and Kasumi demonstrated the next technique and Akane and Nabiki explained. After running through a total of four different throws, with a small break after the first two, the forty-five minutes were finished. The class disbanded, and the students shuffled off home.


    Soun gathered the four instructors in a circle. The five martial artists exchanged praise and pointers, to help the teaching grow. They decided that next week, they would run through some Aikido techniques. Aki left the property, waving back at the Tendos. Once she was gone, Soun smiled at his daughters, and they went back inside.


    <hr>


    A cold tension permeated the Tendo household, as the five current members indulged in takeout bibimbap. Ranma sat directly to Soun’s left, with Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi sitting on the opposite side of the table. As promised, Genma Saotome was nowhere to be found.


    Wanting to leave as soon as possible, Ranma wolfed down his food. By the time his dining companions were only halfway done with their food, there was nothing left on his plate. After muttering quick thanks, Ranma made to stand up. His right leg would not budge. He looked down at it, only to find Soun’s left hand firmly pressed against his knee. The older man cleared his throat, quietly asserting that he would not yield, as he continued eating calmly.


    Ranma turned to face the man keeping him put. He opened his mouth, but Soun shot him an icy glare before any sound could form. He turned back to stare at the well-carved wooden table, and started drumming his fingers on it.


    Soun sighed. At least he’s not willing to pick a fight. After the remaining inhabitants of the Tendo household finished their meals, they picked up their dining implements, and disposed of them in the kitchen trash can. Soun released the pressure on Ranma’s leg, and the impatient teenager attempted to use the provided opening to race upstairs. He was stopped by Soun’s glare, which the young martial artist could feel even though his back was turned.


    Ranma returned to the table, while Soun’s daughters excused themselves to sit out on the garden patio. Soun sat himself down where Nabiki was previously, right across from Ranma, and stared directly into his eyes.


    After a five minute staring contest, Ranma sighed, rolled his eyes, and took his trash to the trash can as well, before sitting back in front of Soun.


    Soun cleared his throat, and then spoke. “As you already know by now, your father left this morning. As you don’t need as much space, I expect you to relocate to a bedroom on this floor.” He knocked on the wall dividing the dining room and the aforementioned bedroom.


    Ranma grimaced, but nodded. “Anything else, sir?”


    Soun nodded. “I’d like to take over your martial arts training, at least while your father’s away. Shall we start… Friday afternoon, after school, perhaps?”


    Ranma solemnly nodded back. Soun smiled, his expression softening. “Great. I expect you to focus on school until then, and we’ll see what level you’re at from there.” His expression softened further. “Now, let’s get you moved into your own room.”


    <hr>


    The following morning, Soun meditated at the shrine to his late spouse. The shrine itself was situated in the back corner of his room. It served as a way to help him to pay his respects during the long amount of time he was unable to make the trek out to the Tendo family burial site, where the ashes and headstone lay.


    The ornate shrine stood out against the plain character of the rest of the room, a simple tatami-floored, square room with a small attached closet. He had lit a small bit of incense on the burner of the shrine, and used the smell to center himself.


    After a short, meditative silence, he spoke. “I failed you by letting those two into this house. My only saving grace is that the father is gone, so I may yet be able to guide the son. But, it still stands that I failed to protect this house, as you once did.”


    Soun chuckled nervously to himself. “I may not be worthy of it, but I hope you’ll lend me your strength and courage to do what is right and just. I could use a lot of that now. Sao…” his tongue soured, and he felt unable to make it through the name he used to be able to use so easily for the man he once called a friend.


    “Genma,” he corrected himself, traces of venom flowing off his tongue. “Genma and I may not have had any courage on that fateful day, but you sure did.”


    After sitting in silence a bit longer, Soun stood up, admiring the name on the shrine. Next to the family name Tendo was the character for honesty, Nao. Harder to read was the next character, but Soun knew it by heart. It was the character for shrub, ki, hastily engraved across the worn down character for child, ko. In short, it read Tendo Naoki.