Truth Unfolding


Matching his pace to hers so that he didn't need to think about it,
Ranma looked up. "So, do you visit that park often?"

It was an unnecessary question, of course. He knew the answer. He had
been to the park three times and he himself had not planned the visits
in advance. She didn't even know him, so there was no way she could have
managed to be there specifically because he was, and yet the three times
he had been there, he had seen her. That strongly implied that she went
there on a very regular basis.

He did not blush though, nor berate himself for asking such a stupidly
obvious question. It was no accident that he asked a question to which
he already knew the answer. It was yet another one of Nabiki's rules. If
you lead with a question to which you already know the answer than you
can get a feel for how open and honest the other person would be with
you.

She looked up, smiling softly, and nodded. "Yes, I go there every day
after school."

"It's a nice park. Peaceful," Ranma commented. That implicitly gave his
reasons for being there and if Nabiki was right then Hotaru would
probably respond in a way that would give at least a hint as to her own
reasons for being there.

"I suppose," Hotaru said, a little sadly. "Everyone seems to enjoy it."
Except you, Ranma thought. I wonder why? Because she's lonely, you baka,
he retorted. You saw it in her eyes. She's lonely, and everyone there is
happy but her. She probably goes just to watch them, the same way you
stop and watch everytime you see a kid with his mother and there ain't
no-one around to see you. Funny... I go there to be alone, she goes
there because she is alone...

Ranma paused, trying to come up with another question. He could not ask
her about friends; if that was the reason she seemed lonely, he would
just hurt her. He could ask about her family or school, but he did not
want to seem to forward.

Moments later the silence remained, but Ranma realized that it felt
comfortable. He could not think of anything else to say that wouldn't
end with his foot in his mouth so he stuck with the ice-cream.

Hotaru for her part was afraid that anything she said might lead to her
revealing why she had no friends. He had said that his martial arts were
for defense. Had he really had a reason to save her, or was it just an
opportunity to use his art? She did not want to burst the bubble, to
pierce the appearance of friendship that surrounded them.

When she finished her ice cream, she looked up to see Ranma taking his
last bite. She smiled shyly, realizing that this was the logical point
for their acquaintanceship to end, but hoping that it wouldn't.

Ranma looked up then stood, holding out his hand to her. She took it and
stood. "So, how about I take you home? Just in case any of those guys
are thinking about revenge?" Ranma cursed his mouth the instant the
words left his lips and she paled. Damnit, it had been going so well,
why did he have to screw up now?

A moment later he realized that he had not really screwed up, as he
walked her home. Sure he had brought back her fear, but that had also
given her reason to accept his offer. Even now she was holding tightly
to his arm, which gave him a pleasant feeling.

It only took about ten minutes to walk to her home. When she turned back
at the door, he responded to an urge and spoke. "Maybe I'll see you
again sometime?"

The brilliant smile that won from her left him feeling warm inside. She
had not rejected the idea. Did that mean he finally had a friend, a real
friend?

He leapt to the rooftops and bounced from roof to roof, taking careful
note of the neighborhood's appearance from high up so that he would be
able to locate it again. 

He made it to the clinic about fifteen minutes before six and took a
seat in the lobby. He could see that the receptionist was putting things
in order to leave, which matched with Setsuna's comments about meeting
after closing. The last appointments had probably stopped coming in at
least half an hour earlier, and were now in with the doctor. 

---

Nabiki sighed unhappily as she entered the house. She could hear her
father in the living room wailing about Ranma's betrayal. She didn't
really know what to think about that, but she had seen Ranma's face when
Akane had called him Ishida-san and she would give good odds that he had
no idea what she was talking about.

Kasumi stepped into the hallway when Nabiki called out to let the houe
know she was home. "Did you see Ranma today, Nabiki? Yes, I guess you
did, you haven't got his pack with you anymore."

"Yes, I saw him, Kasumi. I... I don't think he did it, Kasumi," Nabiki
said, struggling not to let her emotions spill over into her voice. She
could hardly believe that she had thought that of him, that she had been
so harsh to him that morning, when he did not know anything about it.

"Oh my!"

Nabiki nodded then sighed. "I... I'm going to talk to Akane. She... she
deserves to know." And I want to know if she really is that happy about
it. I wonder how Ranma felt, being congratulated for something he didn't
do. "Is she in her room?"

Kasumi smiled and nodded. "Yes, I believe so."

Nabiki made her way slowly up the stairs, thinking about the past few
days. She didn't understand Akane, but Akane's reactions seemed to make
it clear that Genma, Soun, and Kasumi's assumption that her protests
were groundless was pretty unlikely. She would not have suddenly been
happy with Ranma, thanking him politely and asking forgiveness, if she
had really been in love with him.

Which made Nabiki feel somewhat less guilty about the feelings she had
felt growing during her instruction of Ranma. Unfortunately, those very
feelings had led to a feeling of betrayal when she learned what Ranma
had done, and resulted in her harsh reaction. Did she have any chance
left with him?

Nabiki paused for a moment to collect herself and strengthen her icy
mask before knocking on Akane's door just below the crooked duck plate.

"Come in."

Nabiki entered Akane's room. Akane lay on her back on her bed, staring
at the ceiling. Nabiki closed the door and walked across the room to sit
at Akane's desk.

"I was wrong," she said.

Akane sat up quickly. "You mean... he didn't?"

Nabiki sighed and looked down. "It happened, yes. That hasn't changed. I
even checked and verified through the computers at school that his name
has been moved to the Ishida registy. But..." She looked up, staring
into Akane's face, wondering what her sister really felt. "Ranma didn't
know. He didn't do it. All he knows..." Nabiki paused, trying to keep
from getting choked up.

"All he knows is he came to school one morning and learned that he was
no longer welcome in our home."

"And...," Akane stared at her, eyes wide, "and I... I thanked him..."
Moisture glinted in the corners of her eyes, catching Nabiki's
attention. So, you do care, at least a bit, she thought with
satisfaction and not a little sadness.

"Still... at least he's free now," Akane said, sadly.

"So you do like him, at least a little," noted Nabiki. "I began to
wonder at the end there."

Akane stared at her, then looked down at her hands, bunched into tight
fists. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. "I didn't like him,
Nabiki! I loved him!"

Nabiki's eyes grew wide and it was an effort to keep her jaw from
dropping. "But... but..."

Akane looked up, anger and guilt warring in her eyes, still dripping
tears. "I loved him! After Jusendo... I... I dared to hope. But... he
was right. He didn't say it. It was just my hopes, making me think that.
I realized after the wedding... it's not fair to him to make him marry
someone he dislikes just for honor, especially not after all that damn
panda father of his has done to him." She looked down again, her fingers
white where they dug into her palms. "He... he deserves to marry for
love."

"But... but the last week, all the malleting... he... he was trying to
be nice," Nabiki protested.

Akane glared at her. "Do you think I'm blind Nabiki? He was staying away
from the others, being nice to me, and all the time, his eyes were sad.
He had finally given in, Nabiki! After all this time fighting our
fathers, he was finally going to give in to his mother. He was giving
honor one last chance. And I realized... I realized that I couldn't do
that to him. I couldn't trap him in marriage... if I did... I'd be no
better than Shampoo or Ukyou."

It was a chastened and thoughtful Nabiki that sat on her bed that night,
staring wistfully at the easel with which she had taught Ranma so much.
She had thought at the beginning that Akane's protests had been merely
of necessity. Sure, she had occasionally helped derail their father's
plans, knowing that the pair weren't ready to get married. She had felt
her opinions had been confirmed during the short time that Ranma had
been her fiancee. If either had truly disliked the other, they would
have had no objections to leaving the situation as it was. Instead, they
had both sought to have her return things to the way they were before.

But the last week, watching Akane's behavior, she had revised her
opinion, deciding that somewhere along the line, love had soured. Now...
could it truly be possible that neither of them had been aware of the
other's love? That the protests that had seemed so transparent to her
and almost everyone else, had been taken at face value by the two
involved?

"Wherever you are now, Ranma... I'm sorry."

---

Ranma blushed hard when his thoughts led him back to the examination
Setsuna had given him that morning. He tried to focus on the
receptionist to forget those feelings but instead he found that the
arousal he was feeling was leading him to evaluate her in a light he
normally avoided and he turned away feeling embarrassed and hoping she
hadn't noticed.

A few minutes later she walked past on her way out and very openly
checked him out, not trying to hide it as her brown eyes traced his
muscles. Ranma was still blushing hard when Setsuna entered the room
after the receptionist had exited the building.

"Ranma, I'm glad you could make it," she began, but he held up his hand
and she stopped.

"Before... before we go on with this, I want to tell you some things
that happened to me today, and maybe you can help me figure out what
happened. I... it's not really your field, I guess, but Tofu-san was
always a big help when I couldn't figure out why people were acting
weird."

Setsuna took a seat on the bench beside him and gestured for him to
continue. She kept her eyes on him, watching his reactions, and inwardly
cursing her busy schedule. If she had just had an opportunity, just five
minutes of peace, she would have been able to know what was coming,
would have seen it in the Gates of Time. As it was, all she could tell
was that something had not gone according to plan.

"Well, when I got to school, Nabiki was waiting there on the steps. She
gave me my pack and said that her father had said I wasn't welcome home
anymore. I didn't know what was going on, but I guessed they had finally
found out that I defended myself from Akane's mallet. Up to that point I
thought they already knew."

"Then Akane... Akane apologized for her behavior all this time and for
her family's, out there in front of everyone! I didn't know what to
think, but I thought it was just because her father had broken the
engagement until she called me Ishida-san!"

Setsuna barely restrained a gasp. That's not right, how did this
happen? How did I miss it? What else has gone wrong?

"I suspect they think you changed your name, Ranma, effectively
disowning your family and breaking all the engagements."

"That makes Akane's behavior make sense... except that I haven't changed
my name!"

"Well... it certainly is unusual, but perhaps your mother? Hmm... I
think I've heard that name before, hold on just a moment." Setsuna rose
and walked over to the receptionist's desk, Ranma following curiously
just behind. She opened one of the drawers and flipped through a few
documents before sighing and sitting in the receptionist's seat. She
reached across the desk and flicked the switch on a power bar. 

Ranma watched as she booted the computer and caused it to bring up an
address book. A few moments later she was shutting the computer down
again. Standing she pulled a piece of paper off of the printer that
rested on a stand behind the desk, against a wall, and looked at it.

"I thought so. Ishida Nokomura. He's a lawyer, he's come in a few
times." She looked at Ranma for a moment, gauging his reaction. "If you
prefer to find out what's going on with your name before we look into
the scroll, we could go find this lawyer. He would probably know what to
look for, and he does owe me a few favors. Given that he has the same
name as... well, there may be a connection there, he might know what
we're talking off without having to do any research."

Ranma grinned. "That'd be great, Setsuna-san."

Setsuna lost herself in thought as Ranma followed her out of the clinic.
She locked the doors then took a moment to get her bearings, the
lawyer's address held tightly in her hands. She led off, saying nothing.

How had this happened? She had been so careful, preparing Ranma for a
relationship; she had definitely not intended to push him this fast. Who
had arranged this name change? Ishida didn't seem familiar, she did not
think it was Nodoka's maiden name.

How would this affect her plans? She wished that she could go to the
Gates of Time and find the influence that caused this, but she couldn't
leave Ranma to deal with this alone. From what he had said, he no longer
had a place to stay.

Ranma sighed as he followed Setsuna. She looked distracted and he
wondered if she was annoyed because he had not chosen to work on the
scroll first. It had, after all, been excitement over the possibility of
verifying the validity of that scroll that had started this whole
business. Was he wrong to expect more from her, to think of her as he
had thought of Tofu?

Setsuna knew where she was going, so it was not long before they found
themselves entering the lobby of an office complex. Ranma was mildly
surprised when Setsuna walked past the front desk, not giving it a
second glance. He understood when she paused by the elevator, running
her finger down a list of names. Several of them were clearly the names
of businesses, Ranma realized, which meant that this building must house
a number of different companies. The desk at the front of the building
must be for deliveries, Ranma mused, or maybe security.

Setsuna pressed the button for the elevator and they waited. Ranma
fidgeted nervously. Nabiki had advised gathering information about 
a topic before facing someone on it, but Ranma could see no other way to
get the information he needed other than by asking someone who would
know. Setsuna seemed to feel that this man might be able to help him,
but Ranma couldn't help but worry that he was headed for trouble. If
this was his name now, then this lawyer might be connected to someone
who had bought him from Genma, as that was the only way Ranma could
think of for his name to have been changed. If that was the case...
Ranma shivered.

A tone sounded and the elevator doors opened smoothly. Ranma followed
Setsuna into the close quarters, and watched as she pushed the button
for the sixth floor. It was the highest number listed so that was the
top floor. Did that mean anything? Ranma wondered, but didn't have any
knowledge in that arena. He had heard of penthouses but did that apply
to office buildings?

The elevator ride was quite short and soon Ranma found himself standing
behind Setsuna as she spoke to a receptionist. The door they had passed
through had Ishida's name enameled on it, and his name was present again
on the wall in the reception area. The walls were paneled with wood and
the floor was covered by a thick carpet, a soft brown with gold
highlights. 

The receptionist's desk was of a heavy dark wood that gleamed in the
warm light of the upward pointing lamps that dotted the room. A small
tree stood in one corner, covered in large rich green leaves, with a
furry trunk. There was a comfortable looking cushioned couch with a
gleaming metal frame against the left wall and both beside it and in
front of it were set low tables, their surfaces largely hidden by
numerous magazines.

Ranma turned his attention to the receptionist, a woman a few years
older than him with long black hair gathered in a ponytail. Her eyes
were framed by wire-rimmed glasses. With her gaze centered firmly on
Setsuna, he could not see the color of her eyes. She seemed to be asking
about an appointment and Ranma caught the distinct sense that she did
not plan to let them in without one.

Setsuna quietly but firmly, in a tone of quiet confidence that seemed
far from Ranma's usual arrogance and yet left one feeling certain that
she would have her way, gave their names, insisting that she pass them
on to Ishida, that he would see them, even without an appointment.

Ranma half-expected the receptionist to balk, but the confidence in
Setsuna's voice had its intended effect. Instead of objecting, she
pressed a button on her phone, not touching the receiver, still nestled
in its cradle, and stated their names quietly. She seemed surprised when
the response came.

"Send them in, Yuki-san."

She looked up and smiled, a smile which did not reach her eyes, and
pressed a hidden button. Ranma heard a distinct click from the inner
door. "Ishida-san will see you now."

Ishida was stepping around his desk as they entered. As soon as he was
fully past the desk, he bowed and introduced himself. Setsuna bowed in
return and Ranma followed suit, then examined Ishida as Setsuna made
the introductions. Ishida was a strongly built man with a head of
closely cropped black hair, wearing a western suit in a light gray. He
looked physically strong and seemed healthy, though Ranma did not get
the sense that he was a fighter or trained in the art. He had vividly
blue eyes that locked onto Ranma as soon as Setsuna mentioned his name.
Ranma straightened under Ishida's appraisal, responding as to a
challenge.

Ishida gestured to the leather cushioned chairs in front of his desk,
waiting as they seated themselves, Ranma to Setsuna's left, then
returned to his seat. He listened politely as Setsuna explained Ranma's
story, then nodded thoughtfully.

"The courts are generally rather slow, Meiou-san. I suppose it is to be
expected that in a situation where swift movement on their part would
cause problems that that is when they would suddenly become efficient."
He sighed and shook his head sadly, then leaned forward against his
desk, meeting Ranma's eyes once more. "Please believe, Ranma-san, it was
our intention to contact you before the court papers reached you." He
sighed and sat back even as Ranma sat up straighter. 

"So you do know something about this?" Ranma leaned forward, eyes
shining hopefully.

"I certainly do, Ranma-san. Your mother's father, who, by the way, took
his wife's name when he married, which is why your mother was not an
Ishida before her marriage, disapproved of Genma, but was unable to
dissuade her from marrying him."

He paused, watching the young man who sat across from him. Ranma
certainly was taking the insult to his father rather calmly. Perhaps
that should not be surprising, if the contract they had found was to be
believed. He nodded at this confirmation of their assessment. It looked
like Ranma might not have as much objection to their actions as had been
feared. Meiou-san looks as inscrutable as ever, he thought, I wonder how
she got involved? Probably detailed in the latest surveillance report.

"When he died, he laid a charge on my father, his brother, to watch over
Nodoka's children. Unfortunately, Genma vanished shortly thereafter.
Several times we almost caught up to him, but every time he seemed to
catch wind of us and disappeared again." A slight frown crossed Ishida's
face as he remembered the anger and frustration of those early years.
The inability of any of the elder Ishida's people to find Saotome Genma
had come close to causing a rift in the family. Resentment against the
man who made them look like fools was still common among Ishida's
operatives.

"After a number of years of pouring money into finding you and failing,
my father reduced our efforts to watching the public records and news
services." That too had nearly caused a schism. 

"When you showed up again at Furinkan, that was only the second
reference to you we'd found. My father held us back, afraid that if we
moved too quickly, Genma would run again. So we watched." He shook his
head, smiling faintly. "It was not easy. More than once I wanted to
strangle my cousin for letting that man take you from her." The elder
Ishida had literally suffered a heart attack when he was shown video
footage of Ranma's curse and Ranma's treatment at the hands of Genma
and the Tendos. He had spent nearly three months in the hospital as a
result. Ishida had no intentions of letting Ranma find out about that.

"At any rate, he held us back until they tried to force you into
marriage." Ranma was surprised at the genuine anger on the man's face.
"It wasn't the marriage that actually triggered our activities, but the
complete failure of any of the involved parties to even attempt to
resolve the situation. It was clear at that point that Genma would never
resolve the tangled mess of honor he had created, even when it destroyed
his house and nearly cost you your life." Nokomura's voice was filled
with disgust for everyone involved.

"After seeing how you handled the situation your father put you in, my
father was frankly impressed with how well you managed to turn out in
spite of being raised by... by that man." He shook his head then, his
face darkening. "I still can't believe that Nodoka was willing to even
consider holding you to that contract."

Ranma's eyes clouded. He himself found it painful to think of his
mother's willingness to enforce the seppuku contract but he still found
himself coming to her defense. "It is a matter of honor," he said
sharply.

Ishida nodded, which surprised Ranma. "That's not really the issue
there, Ranma. What irritates me," and he sighed once more, a sigh of
exasperation, "is that she's trying to hold you accountable for the
family honor when the Saotome name and honor has already been
irrevocably destroyed by Genma. While most of his acts of dishonor are
not known to the general public, nor to the authorities, they are common
knowledge among the reputable dojos. And that, of course, is the one
venue of greatest importance to your future."

Ranma nodded slowly. While he felt impelled to defend his mother, he was
pushed to fight his father's battles far too often. He himself felt deep
anger over Genma's trammeling of the family honor, especially in the
face of his hypocritical harping on Ranma's honor and Ranma's
responsibility to the family honor. Before his lessons with Nabiki, his
defense against that anger had been simple, a product of his rearing. He
simply didn't think about it. If he thought about the past, he would
inevitably grow angry or depressed, so instead, he had attained a
relentless focus on the present moment... a focus that had had a number
of deleterious effects on his life, but which had kept him sane and
happy in an otherwise impossible situation.

"As I was saying, it was after seeing how you handled the aftermath that
the decision was made. I am not the one to offer this, but if you ask
it, you will receive a formal apology from my father, Ishida Kamado.
Unfortunately, in spite of the dishonor your father has brought to the
Saotome name, had you renounced your name, given the responsibilities
the family has placed on you, you too would have suffered dishonor."

Ishida paused for a moment to collect his thoughts but Ranma said
nothing. It seemed to him that Ishida had admitted to changing his name,
but then, he had had that impression from the beginning. Hopefully
Ishida would soon explain why, and what it meant.

"It was when my father realized that no-one was doing anything to aid
you in resolving a situation where the only way that retained honor for
all involved was for you to commit seppuku that he finally committed us
to acting. He was afraid, I think, that you might eventually choose that
route, and chose to prevent it, even at the cost of potentially gaining
your enmity."

"My father had, even after finding the first mention of you in the
courts... which I'll tell you about later, held onto the hope that if we
could just get you back with your mother, she would resolve things by
divorcing Genma and bringing you with her... she could have... in my
opinion," he continued, his face hardening slightly, "should have, taken
the dishonor onto herself, as a recognition and atonement for the
mistake she made in marrying him, leaving you free of dishonor."

"There were secondary reasons for our actions and the final decision on
what to do was based on that first document from the court." Ishida
leaned back, looking thoughtfully at his diploma and licenses in their
gilt edged frames on the wall. "You probably aren't aware of this,
limited as your upbringing was, but the courts are not generally
amenable to interfering in the affairs of samurai families. Questions of
honor are not something the courts like to touch, and so they make it
quite hard for such issues to be brought to them, and even harder for
them to be resolved there."

"Were it not for my father's contacts in the judiciary, we would never
have succeeded. As it was, we found a sympathetic judge..." Ishida
straightened, glancing at Setsuna, who looked as unperturbed as she had
at the beginning of the conversation, before turning his eyes to meet
Ranma's once more. "We placed all the evidence of your case before him,
and we succeeded in convincing him to have you moved to the Ishida
register."

Ranma sat up straight. "So Akane was right!"

Ishida nodded. "We could not ask you. If it had been your decision, then
it would mean renouncing your name and being dishonored. Even what we
have done would mean dishonor in many circles, but as I said before,
most of the masters in the martial arts community in Japan are aware of
your situation and will not hold it against you." Ishida smiled softly.
"Indeed, I think you'll find a fair amount of respect for the fact that
you never once turned on your honor or the honor of your family, in
spite of your father's actions."

Ranma looked down, considering what he'd been told, trying to apply
Nabiki's lessons. He raised his head finally, glaring defiantly at
Ishida. "So... what does your father want from me?" he demanded.