Nodoka's Love: Chapter Two by James M. Zema This work uses characters created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi. It is meant only as a sign of my respect for her creativity and to express the enjoyment I derive from her creations. The characters used within might vary slightly as this takes place before the series itself and diverges at that point. Some of the scenes within might be lime scented, but I don't believe this work deserves a lime or lemon rating aside from some subtle (or so I'd like to believe) inuendo, mainly found within Nodoka and Genma's thoughts. ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Nodoka's Love ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Ranma looked up at his father as they walked down the road, he would normally be jumping around but the weights his father was making him wear were a bit too heavy for that. He thought for a little while on how unfair that was and upon finishing his musing returned his attention to his father. "...and so that is what you shall do, Ranma," Genma finished with a flourish, "so get to it." Ranma stared at his father then concentrated and tried to remember what he had just said, even if he hadn't been listening at the time. "Umm, I'm s'posed to...umm..." His voice trailed off and he assumed his very best innocent expression as he tried to think of a way to say that he hadn't listened at all. After a few minutes, his fathers voice rang out from beside him. "Boy, are you or are you not going to help me start your mother's training now?" Ranma jumped and smiled brightly. "Hai! I was just going to, umm, how was I s'posed to do it?" he asked with his best puppy dog eyes. It didn't work too often on his father but every once in awhile he wouldn't get quite so mad, and on his mom it worked almost every time. Genma grinned as he looked down at Ranma. "Well, think back to when I first started training you, m'boy. What was the first thing you learned to do?" "Play keep away with the people selling food?" Genma glanced over at Nodoka, chuckled weakly at her frosty glare and said, "of course not, boy. You learned to fall first, just as any martial artist does." Ranma giggled at his father's pale face while Genma continued, "at any rate both your mothers and your training can be put off till tomorrow, this is the first stop we'll make. We're out of the city now so we can make camp early and get used to the wilderness, something we'll be in for a long, long, long, long..." Nodoka glared at Genma and said, "I believe we get it, Genma dear," in a somewhat less than cordial tone. "Ahem," Genma cleared his throat, looking towards the sky, "yes, well, it will be a long time anyway. So we might as well get used to it." Avoiding Nodoka's gaze he moved away from Ranma and started setting up camp. Ranma was still giggling as he let the heavy pack he was carrying pull him to the ground. His giggles subsided as he rolled over and watched his mother and father argue while working to set up the tent together. Stuffing a small fist into his mouth to stifle a yawn he wondered if he should help, he had been going on these trips since before he could remember (admittedly not that long ago) and what he had to do varied with each one. He wasn't sure what was different about this one, although the people sounded funny after the boat trip and he couldn't understand them anymore. He decided that he didn't have to help after he tried to stand up and his legs wouldn't work. He blinked a few times before leaving his eyes closed-- those weights were _really_ heavy. Ranma started as a hand touched his shoulder and he yawned as he opened his eyes to see his mom crouching down beside him. "Do I need to help now?" he questioned sleepily, trying once more to stand up before his mother motioned for him to stay where he was. "No, you stay where you are," she whispered, "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't hungry or anything before we went to sleep." Ranma looked at her with a slightly confused expression on his face then looked past her and noticed the tent walls for the first time. Looking around a bit more he noticed his father snoring in one corner of the tent, a blanket covering him and a small lantern resting beside his slumbering body. "It's already night, Mama? I wanted to go explore." Grabbing the hem of his mother's dress he asked, "can I go explore, Mama? I'll be real careful." "It's a bit late for that, Ranma-chan," Nodoka said with a smile, "you can go exploring in the morning before we leave." A sudden growl from Ranma's stomach caused her to smile down at him and continue in the same motherly tone. "Plus, it looks like you need to get some food into that little tummy of yours, you worked very hard today." Forgetting his desire to go explore, Ranma took the sandwich his mother handed him and quickly ate it before holding out a hand imperiously for another. His mother smiled a bit, glancing over towards Genma, before giving him the second one she had prepared. This time when he held out a hand she just grabbed it and tucked it down under the blanket which covered his shoulders and body. "You can have more tomorrow, before you go exploring and start training," she explained as he pouted. With that she finished up and after giving him a kiss on the forehead turned and headed over towards Genma, blowing out the light and laying down beside him. Ranma laid on his back for awhile before turning and looking at the black area where he could hear his dad snoring. He listened for a little bit then when he thought he heard two breaths very carefully got up, taking his blanket with him. Walking as softly as he knew how he crept over towards the sounds, freezing when he kicked something or made some other noise. Finally making it over he carefully laid out his blanket next to his Mom and curled up in it. So intent was he on making no noise that when his mother's arm reached out of the pile of blankets and pulled him up against its owner, he almost yelled out before stifling the impulse. "Good night, my little colt," Nodoka whispered as Ranma snuggled up against her and finally with a soft sigh fell into the land of dreams. The following morning Ranma awoke to find Genma standing over him, a small fan in one hand and the other with a single finger out and centered over his head. Sitting up and yawning he looked at his father in confusion, the purpose behind his current actions escaping his five year old brain for the moment. Finally he gave up and just asked, "whatcha doin', Papa?" while he rubbed a sore spot on the back of his head. Genma tossed the fan behind him and assumed a cross legged sitting position beside his son. "Son, I have decided to start your reflex training on this trip." "Reflex trainin'? But I already got good reflexes you said so yourself," Ranma proclaimed with obvious pride. "How come I need more?" In a firm tone of voice, Genma admonished, "Ranma, you can always use more training, no matter how far along you are in your studies. It's always possible to improve." "Is that why Mama is going to train with us this time?" Ranma asked, delighted that he was able to make that connection all on his own. "Err, yes, why that's exactly right, my boy," Genma assured his son, "so what have you noticed about your mother's training?" "Mama is carrying a pack just like me now! She ain't never never done that before this, she usually just cooks." Here Ranma paused for a moment to think about his mother's cooking and rub his stomach in anticipation. Genma's thoughts obviously ran in the same direction as his eyes glazed over and he started salivating. Ranma waited patiently then when his father snapped out of it asked, "can we eat now? Mama said when I woke up, I could have some more to eat." Genma visibly hesitated, then with a firm shake of his head motioned for Ranma to sit beside him. "Not just yet, my boy, first I need to see if my work while you were asleep paid off at all." Ranma walked over and sat beside his father, then turned and faced the tent wall as he was instructed. "Are we done yet?" Ranma asked when he was fully situated as his dad had told him. "No boy, now be quiet for a second and just concentrate." After several minutes Ranma suddenly jerked his head to the side, unsure of exactly why he did so but sure it was a good idea. A split second later his dad's open hand shot through the air where his head had been a second ago, the breeze stirring the young boy's hair. Ranma turned and gaped at the fist beside him then turned to his dad with an amazed look on his face. "How'd I do that, Papa? I dodged your punch without even seein' it." Laughing triumphantly, Genma pulled Ranma to his feet and answered, "I'll tell you later, son, lets go eat now." Taking Genma's hand in his Ranma walked out of the tent to where Nodoka was waiting for them, pulling his father behind him. Ranma pulled his hand out of Genma's soon after he saw his mother and ran over to explain how he had eyes in the back of his head now. ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Nodoka sighed a bit and rubbed her bottom with a slightly cross expression on her face. For all that she had liked the martial arts, she found that under Genma's tutelage none of the little she had learned was quite right, especially her ability to fall. He had Ranma helping her with that aspect, and all her mother's techniques seemed to be powerless when he was in "Sensei" mode. A title which she had never had reason to call him before, outside of those times he had come home slightly depressed after training with Happosai and she wanted to cheer him up. A frightened yelp escaped her mouth as Ranma yelled out from right behind her, "BOO!" and then started giggling. Nodoka glared down at her son from the branch she was holding onto and said, "just you wait, young man, I think you're getting entirely too much pleasure out of this." Giggling a bit herself and thinking that she at least had the jumping down, she smiled down at her son to let him know she wasn't really mad then let go and dropped to the ground. This time she only rolled three times before coming to a stop. She still had no idea how her husband and son managed to land from the heights they could reach without even needing to hop a little. Genma walked over and she quickly ran up to him and gave him a quick kiss, something that _did_ still work, before she ran over to their camp to start dinner. They had been traveling off and on for a few weeks now, stopping at various training grounds on the way and observing the scenery. Nodoka's own training had proceeded but she was quite certain she would never catch up to her son in martial ability. She still wasn't quite sure why Genma tended to have her test the training grounds first but it was actually quite fun at times. Even if it did leave her with a sore...body...most of the time she thought ruefully while rubbing the part of her that was currently sore. She took advantage of a break in the preparation of the stew she was currently making to look at her family. Ranma and Genma were currently sparring, the sight of her husband passing on his wisdom to their son almost made her wish she could do the same. However she didn't think that Genma would appreciate his son learning how to catch boys and cook, well he probably wouldn't mind the cooking. Genma never turned away from anything that filled his stomach.