Ranma, now in girl form, picked an unconscious P-chan up by the 
bandana.  "You're lucky Akane wasn't watching," she muttered as she 
kicked Ryoga's clothes behind a convenient bush.  "Now behave yourself.  
I've had a bad day, an' I don't want you to make it any worse."
	Ranko, meanwhile, was slowly stirring.  "What was... who hit... 
Tachi, did you get the number of... the heir of the Saotome Ryu can't lose."
	Akane brushed at Ranko's bangs.  "Shhh.  You'll be all right."
	Ranma joined his fiancee and would-be daughter.  "Jeez, Akane, who'd 
ever think you'd be so mushy?"
	"This is all _your_ fault," the youngest Tendo daughter accused in 
a hushed voice.  "If you'd stopped the fight like I told you, my daughter 
wouldn't be hurt."
	"He- she's not hurt, well, not bad, anyway."  Ranma knelt down.  
"Right, Tiger?"  Ranko opened his eyes, and Ranma nodded.  "See, I told 
you.  Any kid of mine is gonna be a fighter.  H- she can take a hit or two."
	"I'll be all right," Ranko muttered.  He sat up slowly.  "Where'd 
Mr. Hibiki go.  I want a rematch."
	"That's my b- girl," Ranma crowed.  She playfully slugged Ranko in the 
shoulder.  "Now c'mon.  I hate standing in the rain."
	Akane tried to help Ranko to his feet, but the pony-tailed martial 
artist shook her off.  "I'm fine, Mom.  Really."
	"But Ryoga hit you so hard."
	"It's nothing!"  Akane took a hesitant step back, while Ranko turned 
away.  The rain hid the future girl's tears, but even so, she did not want 
her parents to see her cry.

* * * * *

	Ryo ran through Nerima.  _Now I see why Pop insisted I spend so 
much time exercising.  It seems like I've spent all afternoon jogging 
from one place to another.  And this rain certainly isn't making my life 
any easier._
	"Ha ha ha!  Can't catch me," a gleefully dirty old voice shouted.
	Ryo, when he heard those words, stopped dead in his tracks.  _Of 
course he'd be here.  It's his century, after all._  The pig-tailed boy 
looked around for a good spot to stage an ambush.  _I don't know what the 
sick pervert is up to this time, but whatever it is, he's got to be 
stopped._  A nearby lamp post looked ideal.  _And I'm the only one I know 
who can take him down at will._
	Ryo clambered up the rain-slick metal pole, then waited.  In less time 
than he would have preferred, Happosai came bounding along.  The old man was 
dancing madly through the puddles, letting a purple-haired girl get close 
enough to launch a futile attack at him before dodging away.
	_Purple-hair?  That's Spring!_  Ryo growled, baring his teeth much as 
Ryoga would have.  "You are mine!"  The pig-tailed boy tensed, ready to 
pounce on the Amazon and avenge the hurt she'd caused his family.
	Then reason hit him, and he stopped.
	Spring was chasing _Happosai._
	Happosai was the dirtiest old man alive.
	_No!  This isn't fair!  Spring deserves a thrashing, but then 
Happosai escapes!  To get my revenge, I have to throw justice away!  Can 
I do that?  Mom could.  She buried her entire past for revenge.  And Pop, 
he never gave up once in his whole life._
	Ryo shivered, his body reacting to the stress of thinking so hard. 
_I thought I could be cold.  I thought I could be ruthless.  I could lie 
to Mom, I could lie to Grandmother, all in the name of vengeance.  Well, 
I wasted an hour I couldn't spare just to cheer Grandmother up, so Ryo 
Saotome isn't as cold as he claimed to be.  But am I ruthless enough to 
let Happosai go?_
	The chase carried itself under Ryo's perch, and the boy jumped.  
_No, I'm not.  What does that make me?_  His leap-kick caught Happosai 
square in the jaw, and the little old man went down with a splash.
	Something shiny flew out of the pervert's hand; Spring jumped up 
and caught it.  "Thank you, pig-tail boy," she called back over her 
shoulder as she ran away.  "Dirty old man is strong opponent.  Spring no 
think she could beat by self."
	"Great," Ryo muttered.  "Like I didn't feel bad enough about this 
already." 
	Happosai picked himself up.  "I don't know who you are," he said 
menacingly, "but you spoiled my game.  Someone needs to teach you to 
respect your elders."  He threw a Happodaikarin at Ryo.
	Ryo was ready for that.  He caught the bomb in his left hand, 
licked his right index finger, then pinched out the fuse.  "Ordinarily, I 
don't like to fight."  He tossed the now-useless bomb away and took a 
step closer to Happosai.  "I don't even like to fight with you."  He 
cracked his knuckles.  "But you're a disgusting old pervert, Happosai, 
and if I don't stop you, no one will."
	"Oh, really?"  Happosai narrowed his eyes at Ryo.  "And what 
makes you think _you_ can stop _me_."  The old man began to grow, 
swelling like a balloon until his head was level with the surrounding 
buildings.
	Ryo held his ground.  "Because you've tried for three years to 
break into Bell-chan's bedroom, and in all that time I haven't let you  
succeed once."
	"Really?  Not once?"  The giant seemed impressed, and puzzled.  "I 
don't remember any girl named Bell-chan, though."
	"It hasn't happened yet.  I'm from the future."  Ryo's tone of voice 
shifted slightly, becoming more conciliatory.  "I hear you're something of a 
time traveler yourself."
	"I had this wonderful magic mirror," Happosai lamented, "but it got 
broken.  I found a magic locket that reminded me of my poor mirror, but I 
lost that, too."
	"You don't say?"
	"Yes, and it's all your fault!"  Happosai's voice echoed across the 
neighborhood.  "If you hadn't kicked me for no reason, I'd still have it, 
and that lovely girl with the purple hair would still be chasing after me."
	Ryo blinked.  _I knew this was all Spring's fault, but I didn't 
know how.  Now I need to find her more than ever._
	"Yes, it's all your fault," Happosai continued.  "You're almost 
as much of a spoilsport as Ranma."
	Ryo risked a quick glance at his watch.  "I should be," he 
taunted.  "I'm his son."
	"Well, then."  Happosai raised a fist the size of a small car, 
then stopped.  A loud hiss filled the air, and the ancient pervert 
started to shrink, deflating like a tire with the air let out.  "Uh, oh."
	"'Uh, oh,' is right."  Ryo walked over to the exhausted old man.  
"I told you I didn't like to fight."  He picked Happosai up and stuffed 
him in a nearby mailbox.  "But with you, I don't have to."
	Happosai protested weakly, but Ryo ignored his begging.  "I know 
you'll be back, but for now, at least, you won't be bothering anyone."
	The mailbox, who was really Tsubasa is disguise, disagreed, but 
by then Ryo was gone, sprinting through the wet streets in search of his 
Amazon half-sister.

* * * * *

	The rain started coming down harder, so Ranma, Ranko and Akane 
ran the rest of the way to the dojo in silence.  "You'll want to get out 
of those wet things and into something dry," Akane told her daughter once 
they were inside.  "You take a warm bath, and I'll find something for 
you to wear."
	"Yeah, Mom," the time-displaced teen said listlessly.
	Ranma stared after her departing fiancee.  "Uh, in the future, 
is your mo- is Akane so..."
	"No."  Ranko wandered in the direction of the bathroom.
	_Good,_ Ranma thought to herself, although she didn't know why.
	P-chan sneezed.  "I'm just gonna warn you one more time, Ryoga.  Be 
good."  He tossed the pig to the floor; P-chan stared at her evilly, then 
raced off towards Akane's room a fast as his little legs could take him.
	"Filthy pig," Ranma muttered.  She grabbed a towel from the linen 
closet and dried herself off as best she could.  _At least that much is 
normal.  I mean, I carried the stupid pig home the whole way, and I don't 
think Akane even noticed once._
	Kasumi, her arms full of folded laundry, walked into the room.  
"Oh, hi, Kasumi," Ranma said.  "Wait 'til you hear what happened to me 'n 
Akane today."
	Kasumi stopped.  She blinked once.  "Oh, my," she whispered.
	"What?  Did someone rip my shirt open again?"  Ranma checked his 
clothing; it was torn from his fight with Spring, but not in any 
revealing manner.
	"It's nice to see you again, Ranma," Kasumi said slowly and 
evenly.  "When you went back to China with Shampoo, we were all sure you 
were never coming back."
	"Went to China?  Shampoo?  What're you talking about?"
	Kasumi put a hand to Ranma's forehead, checking for a fever.  Ranma 
pulled away.  "Kasumi, what's goin' on?"
	Soun answered for his daughter.  "You and your father have dishonored 
us, Saotome," he cried from the top of the stairs.  The Tendo patriarch 
looked thin and haggard, and his robes had seen better days.  "How dare you 
show yourself here?"  The man's voice was thin and dry, like a skeleton 
left chained to a dungeon wall.
	Ranma paled.  Akane's father sounded unpleasantly like Cologne.
 ______
{B-{=__

	Only one chapter this weekend; the _Princess Bride_ story soaked 
up a lot of my writing time...