I got permission to do this one a while back, so here is the first part.

***

	Saotome Nodoka sighed as she started to head towards the bus to
get to the area of town where the Tendo Dojo was located.  Hopefully, she
would find her son, Ranma, in the house for once instead of off somewhere
on a training mission with his father.  She did know that the boy had to
be dedicated to these dying Arts as it was not only the honour of her
family, but the honour of Japan that was at stake, but it was still hard
to realize that she was a stranger to her own son. 
	Nodoka smiled to herself then, at least she had Ranko and Akane to
keep her company and in touch with what the younger generation wanted,
although she did have to attempt to get Ranko to act more feminine.  It
was so nice to spend time with the girls, and give them advice on how to
become young women, especially since many of the women in Japan were
disregarding some of the older ways.  Still, perhaps it was time to broach
another subject, and try to arrange a marriage for the girl. 
	It was her right as the eldest female member of the family to look
for a good match. 
	Glancing at a book store window as she passed by, Nodoka noticed
something in passing, and after a minute of walking further turned and
rushed back into the store.  On the poster display was a handsome young
man that she imagined Ranma would be.  Fine black hair twisted into a
pig-tail in back, handsome features, and a kind, but slightly serious
face.  He was in a martial arts position, something taken from a back yard
somewhere while he was practicing, and it gave a vision of absolute
strength, compassion, and confidence all at the same time.  It was a
picture of the perfect male martial artist. 
	What had really caught her eye was the set of words on the poster. 

	"Saotome Ranma, Master of the Saotome Musabetsu Kakutou Ryu" 

	She went to the counter of the store and asked the clerk quickly
about when that poster was done, and if the picture of the young man shown
was that of an actor or model.  It was when Nodoka was informed that it
was not a model, but one of the people on the new hit television show,
'The Real World' that she realized that she had finally seen her son, and
that he was no longer living at the Dojo.  She had to find him, and if the
television company was refusing to give anyone their location, she could
at least find him through his room mates... 

	Natsume Kyusaku walked along downtown, worried about what was
going on inside the house he sent his daughter, Atsuko, to spend time in. 
While he didn't want to worry his son, he himself couldn't help go over
the numerous possibilities of what could happen.  It had become obvious to
him that the two alien women had deduced that Nuku-nuku was in fact a
highly advance android with a cat's brain, despite what he and Ryunosuke
might think otherwise.  If that was revealed to the world through this
television show, then it was very possible that the government would take
her to experiment on..  It was something he couldn't allow. 
	Sighing, Kyusaku walked into one of his usual haunts, a book store
he frequented for numerous magazines.  Living in Nerima district was not
very peaceful, even though Nuku-nuku did seem to do a lot of damage.  His
own apartment building had been damaged, not by his daughter and her
'friends' who were heavy into high caliber ammunition, but by a group of
'martial artists' who he suspected were also androids of some kind.  After
all, no ordinary human could cause such utter destruction with their bare
hands. 
	Kyusaku bumped into someone as he walked towards the counter, and
fell backwards, looking up, he was going to apologize when he noticed
something.  "Nodoka-chan, is that you?" 
	Nodoka looked down to where Kyusaku fell and smiled,
"Kyusaku-chan.  I see that you still can't walk somewhere without falling
down somehow, I would have thought your marriage to that woman would have
kept your head out of the clouds." 
	Kyusaku grimaced.  "It isn't like that Nodoka.  I'm just concerned
about my daughter, and I'm wondering if I shouldn't somehow get her back
home." 
	Nodoka helped him up, and they left the store.  "I thought you
only had a son, and isn't he quite young yet?" 
	he chuckled nervously, "Eh...Well, there's something I've been
meaning to tell you for a while Oneechan, and that's that we have a new
member of the family..." 

A SHORT TIME LATER... 

	Nodoka looked at the television, finally able to see the son that
she hadn't seen in such a long time.  She was glad he was so handsome,
just as in her dreams, and that the people he was living with were good,
well except for that Moroboshi Ataru.  How they could have let him even
get on television was disturbing enough, given his obviously over
exuberant attitude towards women, but to be going through her son's
underwear? 
	She looked of at Kyusaku, "So, your daughter, and my son are
living in the same place.  It's obvious they don't know, but from the
looks of things Ranma is nervous around Atsuko.  Do you think he realizes
that she's his cousin?" 
	Kyusaku looked at Nodoka, "That isn't exactly true Nodoka.  I've
already told you how Nuku-nuku started life, and what her body actually
is." 
	Nodoka looked at him, quietly and witheringly.  A trait shared
with all the females in their family.  "Do you accept her as your
daughter?" 
	He nodded, "Of course I do.  In every way that matters, she IS my
daughter, and I'm not going to see her hurt." 
	Nodoka replied, "Then as far as I am concerned, she and Ranma are
cousins.  Now otoutosan since this tape shows that they have an extra room
available, and it would be a good idea to keep everyone from knowing
Atsuko's true nature, then perhaps I should 'move in' with them for a
while, both to get to know my son, as well as keep family secrets.  Take
me to the house." 

THE NEXT DAY... 

	At the house, it had already been a fairly typical morning. 
Nuku-nuku had made breakfast as she always liked to cook, Washu observing
everyone and wondering when to try and add more to Nuku's memory banks,
especially since she was getting tired of fish, Urd blasting Ataru away
from her yet again, Ranma looking on with mild disgust, and Kyosuke
looking at everyone in a slight daze.  The only major difference was that
Mamoru had decided to actually stay for a while with the others at
breakfast. 
	"So Tux-boy, whatcha going to be doing today?"  Ataru asked as he
looked over at the man who had tied him up in the back yard.  It had been
something that had been unexpected, especially since his experience had
been that rich kids never lifted a hand to do their own dirty work.  They
always had hired muscle. 
	Mamoru's eyes' narrowed, "I don't think that's any of your
business." 
	Ataru smirked, "Aw, comon!  You gonna see that cutie Usagi again?" 
	Ranma's hand scrunched slightly around the newspaper, Urd and
Washu being the only ones who noticed this as they were on the lookout for
something unusual from him now.  Behind the paper, his face gained a
grimace as he thought about all the things that hentai had done, not only
in trying to grope him, but every female that came within range.  The guy
acted too much like Happousai to make him comfortable.  "I think that you
should avoid going after 'Odango Atama'.  Besides, I thought you were
engaged to that Princess?" 
	Ataru grinned, "Hey!  I'm a man who needs to get involved with
women from all over the place, not just one person.  What's the fun in
that?" 
	Mamoru looked the younger man in the eye, "Then I'm sure she'll
love to know exactly where she can find you, wouldn't she?" 
	Ataru turned to face him, "You wouldn't!" 
	Urd laughed, "No, he wouldn't.  But I did advise her to tune into
the show as soon as possible." 

==========================================================================
(camera: looking down at the breakfast table.  Ataru is frozen in shock,
his jaw hanging down.  He stares at Urd in disbelief. 

Ataru: You.... you didn't...  Urd: (smiling)  Yes I did.  Ataru: Nooo... 
Urd: Yeeeeeees. 

(Ataru's eyes slowly roll towards the camera.  In a panic, he suddenly
reaches for his bowl of oatmeal, grabs the spoon, and flings a chunk to
the camera.) 

Camera: sound - *SPLUT* visuals - darkness

Ranma's voice: Brilliant idea, you dummy.  Kyosuke's voice: Oh boy.  Urd's
voice: Real mature, that was.  Ataru's voice: I DON'T BELIEVE YOU TOLD
HER!!!  Ranma's voice: Hey man, you're NOT going to be doing that all over
the house.
==========================================================================

	While Ataru sat there stammering, Urd and Washu exchanged slight
glances at each other about Ranma.  His statement, including the quote
that only people in the restaurant would know about, was enough of a clue
for the two of them that something else was going on.  Combined with the
smell of Akie's that had clung to him, there was more of a connection
between Ranko and Ranma than he was admitting.  Washu winked suddenly, and
they started to giggle slightly.. 
	The doorbell rang and since Ranma wanted to get out of the dinning
area as soon as possible, especially with Nuku still acting cat-like, he
got up, "I'll get it." 
	When he opened the door, he got the shock of his life,
"M..m..mom?" 

==========================================================================
			=The Surreal World=

		(http://www.uh.edu/~rpm/sw1.htm) 
			Writer:  Hitomi Ichinohei

		Story Concept: Isabel A. "Izzy-chan" 
		Advisory Board:  Fanfic ML
			-M- Productions

			    PART 7

			  Family Ties... 

                            Part A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ranma stood there, mouth hanging open slightly at the sight of his
mother in front of him.  It wasn't that he wasn't glad to see her, he was
always happy whenever she came around, but there was also a fear of what
would happen if she ever found out about his curse.  To prevent the
possibility of committing sepuku, get to know his mother, and since cold
water is always more prevalent than hot, he became 'Tendo Ranko' whenever
she was around. 
	As was usual whenever something went wrong, he started to babble,
the interactive part of his mind shutting down,
"wha...but...when...how..." 
	Nodoka smiled at the handsome young man at the door.  From what
she had seen of him on the recordings, he was not only a very nice and
responsible person, but a very manly one as well.  A bit nervous, and
somewhat naive, but still very manly.  "My son.  I am so glad to have
finally found you.  It has been too long since we have known each other,
and with you away on so many training trips and missions, we have much to
talk about.  Come, help me with my bags, and we will go on a walk." 
	Ranma's mouth, still in it's stuttering mode, gave way to those
statements, and he looked outside to see Nuku-nuku's father with a large
amount of luggage.  "Mom, isn't that a lot of stuff for you to be visiting
for a few days?" 
	Nodoka smiled as she and Kyusaku started moving everything in,
"True my son, but I will be staying with you for a while.  Since you have
an extra room, and since Kyusaku-kun has been so kind to help, I will be
moving in with you.  Do not worry about having to pay my way however.  I
know you would feel that responsibility, but I can pay my own way." 
	Kyusaku laughed, "True Nodoka, and I would definitely say it is
about time the two of you got to know each other again." 

<TV bit>


	In the kitchen, a pair of ears caught the voices, and although she
hadn't paid attention to it initially, now perked up and ran to the front
door.  "PAPA-SAN!" 
	Kyusaku suddenly found himself caught up in one of Nuku-nuku's
rather enthusiastic hugs, something he found that she did whenever she was
separated from him for more than a little while.  With a smile in his
voice, he said, "Nuku-nuku, a little more gently please." 
	Nuku-nuku complied and looked up at her father, and started to
drag him into the kitchen.  "Nuku-nuku is so glad that Papa-san came! 
Nuku-nuku wants Papa-san to meet everyone!" 
	Ranma just looked at what had happened without comment, and
started to help gather up the luggage.  "Well, lets get all of this into
your room I guess." 

***

	Ranma and Nodoka moved the last of the luggage Nodoka had brought
with her to the room on the first floor.  True, he was nervous, but he was
also very glad that he was able to see his mother for the first time as
her son instead of her niece by marriage, 'Ranko'.  His eyes were starting
to get a bit wet, and he didn't want to start crying in front of his
mother. 
	It wasn't manly after all. 
	Nodoka on the other hand, felt no such restraint, and as soon as
the last of the bags were put down, she held his shoulder and turned him
towards her.  "My son.  I have missed you so much." 
	This was almost too much for Ranma as he suddenly embraced his
mother who was hugging him back for all she was worth, tears streaming
down her eyes, "You have no idea how long I've waited for this day mom. 
I've wanted to see you for so long, and I wanted to go to you
and...and..." 
	Nodoka pushed away from him a little, "I know.  I've been waiting
for this day for a long time as well, and there were so many times that I
imagined I saw you, and that I thought you were there.  It has been much
too long, and we are going to have a lot of time to find out about each
other." 
	That broke Ranma and he started to cry, suddenly wiping away the
tears, "Jeez.  I'm sorry about this mom, I never meant to cry in front of
you." 
	Nodoka smiled, "Crying for joy is not unmanly my son, despite what
you may think.  Being manly is being honourable, kind, considerate, and
concerned.  It means caring for others and putting their welfare above
your own, and it means being willing to sacrifice something important to
you in order for another to benefit, no matter the consequences.  From
what I have seen thus far, you have lived up to the promise that you and
your father made..." 
	Although Ranma was still smiling, still joyful, he couldn't help
the small feeling of apprehension at that comment. 

	After Nodoka had settled in, she and Ranma headed to the kitchen. 
It would be a little bit of a surprise to the others in the house, but
there were responsibilities and duties that she had to fulfill.  Having a
chance to be with Ranma at the same time was all the more pleasing.  "So
Ranma-kun, how have you been getting along with Akane-chan?" 
	Ranma winced, "Well, OK I guess.  She's...well...It's just
that..." 

<TV BIT>

	Nodoka smiled.  Her son was so much like his father, being a bit
tongue tied at times, and unable to really express what he was feeling. 
Still, all those years on the road had definitely made him strong in many
ways.  She wondered how many women really enjoyed the strong, silent type
like her son had become.  "It's OK Ranma.  We'll talk about that later,
but now it's time to get to know our housemates." 
	Ranma grimaced, "That's OK with me, but I wanna warn you about
Moroboshi.  He's a complete letch, he's grabby, and he's also a hentai in
every sense of the word.  If he does anything to you, tell me and _I_ will
take care of it." 
	"Do not worry about him, my son.  I doubt that he would enjoy
trying any such antics with me." 
	Ranma winced as he saw her pat the cloth bundle that she carried. 

	"I'm really glad to meet all of you, and I can see that my
daughter is lucky to have all of you as friends."  Kyusaku commented,
although he was keeping an eye on the two alien women. 
	Kyosuke smiled at Mr. Natsume.  "We enjoy having her around, after
all, she is very pleasant, and also very polite and cheerful." 
	Nodoka and Ranma walked into the room, and everyone turned to
them, somewhat surprised at this woman who had shown up.  The first thing
everyone noticed was that she was wearing a formal Kimono, with a nice
pattern along the shoulder, and the cloth wrapped bundle that she carried. 
The second thing that they noticed was the beauty of her face. 
	Nuku-nuku sniffed the air as she looked at Nodoka, having already
recognized that she looked a lot like Ranko.  Enough that the two of them
would be mother and daughter.  "You are related to Ranma-kun and
Ranko-chan?" 
	Nodoka smiled at Atsuko, "Yes, Ranma's my son, Atsuko-chan, and I
do consider Ranko my niece." 
	Nuku-nuku nodded, "Goody!  Ranko-chan works with Nuku-nuku at
Akie's!  She's a very nice person!" 
	Nodoka nodded to the young cyborg, "I know, Atsuko, and I'm glad
you're friends with her."  She turned to Ranma, "Would you introduce me to
your friends, Ranma?" 
	He smiled, introducing everyone who nodded as he said their name. 
"Well, the two guys sitting at the table are Chiba Mamoru and the guy next
to him is Kasuga Kyosuke.  You've already met Nuku-nuku, and these two
ladies are Urd and Washu, who are from off planet.  Moroboshi is gone
apparently, and personally I don't care where he's gone." 
	Urd laughed, "He took off, hiding his face and sneaking around.  I
don't think he wants his princess to find him here for some reason." 
	Mamoru smiled as he finished off the last of his coffee.  "Well,
I'm sorry I can't spend more time with you guys, but I have to get going
to school.  Studying for a career in medicine is not easy, which is one of
the reasons that I haven't been spending a lot of time around you guys by
the way.  It's not that I'm trying to be unfriendly, it's more that it's a
lot of hard work."  He smirked, "Besides, all of you should know since
you've experienced what Juku's are like." 
	Ranma and Kyosuke winced a little while Nuku-nuku was oblivious to
this statement, still talking to her Papa-san about everything that had
been going on in the house, and preparing to leave for work. 
	Urd, meanwhile, was taking a good look at Nodoka, stunned at how
close she and Ranko looked to each other.  It couldn't be a co-incidence. 
This whole situation bore further watching, especially since Nodoka said
she considered Ranko to be her niece instead of actually being her niece. 
If they were not related by family, then perhaps it was time for her to
try something to encourage Ranko and Ranma.  There were a few new recipes
that she wanted to try, and if they were successful, then she could also
try them out on Keiichi. 
	Nodoka smiled.  While Kyusaku wasn't actually related to her, it
was delightful to consider Atsuko a member of her family.  She certainly
was full of wonder and life, and had a kind of overpowering love of life
that was hard to get over.  Looking over her and guiding her would be a
pleasure, and since she worked with Ranko, it would be a double pleasure
to also guide the girl she considered as close to her as a daughter along
as well. 
	Kyusaku and Nodoka nodded to each other, "Ranma, Kyusaku and I
would like to talk with you for a while.  Let's go out for a walk shall
we?" 
	Ranma nodded, wondering what was going on, and left with them. 
	Kyosuke got up as well, "Ready to go Urd?" 
	Urd snorted, "In a minute kid.  I've got to finish my coffee. 
Meet you in the living room, OK?" 
	The young man smiled, "OK." 
	Washu looked over at Urd, "What were you staring at?" 
	Urd started, "Uh?  Oh, just how close Ranko and Nodoka look to
each other.  It's absolutely amazing how much they resemble each other,
more like mother and daughter than anything else." 
	Washu frowned, "Strange.  For a while I thought that Ranma was
seeing Ranko, given all the little things.  I guess I'll have to revise my
thesis on that, and visit Akie's. 
	Urd grinned "Well, I don't think they're really related.  Besides,
I have an idea in mind if I could use your lab this evening..." 

	After they had left the house, and all of the television camera's
behind, Nodoka began, "Ranma, you've already been introduce to
Kyusaku-chan, I believe." 
	Ranma's eyebrow raised at that.  "Yes, I have already been
introduced.  Why?" 
	Nodoka smiled at her son, "Well, there's something that you should
know, and that is Kyusaku-chan is your uncle.  That means I want you to
treat Atsuko-chan very well, given that she is your cousin." 
	Ranma stopped moving, pieces of a puzzle starting to fit together
in his mind.  He had already been suspicious of things given the way Mr.
Natsume said that Atsuko had been dumped into a pit of cats by accident. 
The way her mind worked, the speed and agility with which she rode that
bicycle of hers.  The friend she had who used large caliber weaponry, her
automatic reactions to Moroboshi trying to glomp her, and her utter
acceptance of such weird circumstances.  The way Nuku-nuku was able to use
her highly skilled senses, and the instinctual way she was able to fit
things together.  She was also a martial artist trained in the family
manner. 
	That meant there was something he had to do. 
	Ranma looked at his mother, and the person who was his 'uncle.'
"Give it to me." 
	Both adults looked at the young man wondering why he had a very
serious expression on his face, and what he was talking about. 
	"What are you talking about Ranma-kun?"  his mother asked. 
	Ranma's face remained serious, "I want the damned instructions on
the Neko- ken Training Techniques.  It seems every adult in our family
sticks their children with it.  It dies with this generation." 
	Kyusaku looked at Nodoka, who looked right back at him.  Turning
back to the young man, he stated, "I have no idea what you're talking
about." 
	Ranma's eyes looked slightly angry, "_Your_ daughter gets put into
a pit of cats, and starts acting like one.  _I_ get put into a pit of
cats, and am scared out of my mind by them.  The technique dies with this
generation." 
	Kyusaku shook his head, "Nuku-nuku's never been trained in any
'cat fist', whatever that is.  The reason she acts like a cat is that she
loves them.  She's always loved cats, and she fell into a lot of them when
she was younger.  Unfortunately, she also picked up quite a few of their
habits, and hasn't broken them yet." 
	Ranma snorted angrily, "Yeah right.  As if I'm gonna believe that
in this family." 
	Nodoka nodded, understanding what her son was talking about now. 
"Your uncle is a technologist Ranma, not a martial artist.  He would not
know how to train a person in any of the techniques." 
	He grumbled, "Fine.  But I'm gonna be watching out for her then,
no telling what that hentai, Moroboshi will try to do, especially since he
works with her.  And since you don't know anything about the martial arts,
I'm gonna start teaching her.  Living in the same house with that letch
will require her learning how to defend herself." 
	*It certainly explains why she's so much like Shampoo,* Ranma
thought to himself, *Even if she wasn't dumped into a pit of cats on
purpose, I guess being close to them in some way leaves their mark on
you...By the Seven!  If Shampoo act's somewhat like a cat because of the
curse, then the way I might act...* he shuddered a bit. 
	Nodoka noticed this.  "What's wrong my son?" 
	"Nothing mom," Ranma smiled as he got hold of himself.  "It's just
that I'm scared of cats, and I'll have to get that under control if I'm
gonna help take care of my cousin.  One question, is she older or younger
than me?" 
	Kyusaku smiled to himself.  With Nodoka there, watching over his
daughter, and her son willing to protect her from Moroboshi, he had a lot
less to worry about.  Who knows, perhaps contact with Nodoka would rub off
on Nuku-nuku and make her more human and lady like.  "She's younger than
you are Ranma-kun, but not by much." 
	Ranma nodded, "All right then.  It's about time I had a student
anyways." 

***

	Ranma groaned a little as she once again sent that little dweeb
Moroboshi flying into another wall.  He was certainly getting persistent
about chasing her, a prospect that Ranma didn't even want to contemplate. 
Combine that with the fact that he was looking through her underwear, and
you have a very uneasy relationship.  She considered herself lucky that he
had no idea about the curse. 
	Of course, the people who normally came by Akie's, in order words
the boys who happened to go to school with Nuku-nuku, were getting rather
annoyed at him as well.  Especially since he was bothering the cute new
redhead, and any cute girl that came in the doors of the family
restaurant.  They didn't really want to interfere with what was happening
to Moroboshi, however, especially since it seemed like Ranko had the same
sort of abilities that Nuku-nuku seemed to have, but with a rather large
temper, as evidenced by the number of Ataru outlines that were on the
wall. 
	The only reason the manager of the restaurant hadn't fired him yet
was because a lot of people were coming to watch the spectacle, more than
covering the damages, not that they were so unusual given
the...enthusiastic...playmates that the owners daughter had. 
	Ranma groaned, "Don't you find him at all annoying Nuku?" 
	Nuku-nuku, smiled at her friend.  "Ataru-kun is so playful
Ranko-chan.  What's there to be annoyed about?" 
	Ranma did a double take at that, "You mean you think he's just
playing a game?!?" 
	Nuku-nuku looked confused, "Of course Ranko-chan.  What else would
he be doing?" 
	Ranma almost dropped her tray at the thought of her cousin, who
was quite nice, but obviously naive, thinking that Moroboshi Ataru was
just playing games... 

***

	Washu looked around as she noted some of the repairs that were
going on at Akie's.  It wasn't too hard to find the place, and it seemed
nice enough, although somewhat like something Ryoko and Ayeka would do to
the house once a month on average, so it seemed normal.  *I guess that
what happens in the Masaki house is normal for humans.  No wonder they
keep talking about the house building boom.*
	Chuckling a bit, Washu opened the door and went in.  She just had
to see what this place was like, and to see if Urd's observations on Ranko
were correct, if only to confirm some things for herself.  Getting
information from second hand data was extremely boring. 
	Ranma, who was nearest to the door at that moment, turned and
bowed, giving a cherry greeting to the entering customer before she
noticed who it was.  "Welcome to Akie's, we hope that you will find the
food to your liking.  I would be honoured if you would followed me so that
I may serve you." 
	Washu was suddenly looking at Ranko very closely.  As far as she
could tell, the girl was full blooded Japanese, but she didn't know of ANY
Japanese with natural red hair, and Nuku-nuku didn't count since she was
an android.  And the resemblance between her, Ranma, and Nodoka was
uncanny, more like brother and sister than unrelated family members. 
"You're related to Ranma, aren't you?" 
	Ranma nodded nervously as she led the wily scientist to a booth. 
Given that her mother was now living in the same house, and would probably
hear about this, there was only one answer to give, even if she didn't
want to say the words. "Yes, but by future marriage only.  I'm Tendo
Ranko, the cousin of his fiancee, Tendo Akane." 
	Washu shook her head, "The family resemblance is amazing.  Tell
me, is your hair naturally red?" 
	"Yes, this is my natural hair colour."  Ranma replied nervously. 
*Well the natural hair colour for this form at least." 
	Washu looked at the features, noting very striking similarities to
Nodoka's face, "Can I have a couple of hairs?  I've never seen a red
headed Japanese female before, and it is rather interesting." 
	Ranma shrugged, but took a couple of hairs from her head.  If it
gave her a bigger tip, then losing a couple would not be too bad. 

LATER THAT EVENING... 

	Washu looked on curiously, taking a lot of notes, as Urd mixed
together one of her love potions.  She did wonder why this woman, who was
supposedly from off planet as well, was mixing together known chemical
combinations with some rather unusual creatures that seemed to come from
one of the late night televisions shows from America.  Could it be that
those late night 'slock shows' as Tenchi kept putting it, were really
films for training on how to make potions? 
	That one on the Doctor Frankenstien and his experiments to bring
dead matter back to life was interesting.  *Perhaps,* Washu thought to
herself, *I should invest some time tuning in the American stations.  It
wouldn't interfere with anyone else, especially since the late night was
day over here.  However, if I've got the gist of what Urd's doing, then
perhaps I can help to improve it.*
	"This is supposed to be a love potion, right?" she asked Urd as
the Goddess of the Past was adding a few drops of Honeydew extract to her
mixture, keeping in mind that it had to be disguised as a perfume. 
	Urd chortled, "Yep!  I figure that if I give this to Ranko so that
she can wear it on a date with Ranma, the boy might get a little more
enthusiastic." 
	Washu nodded, "How specific is it?" 
	Urd turned and frowned at her, "What do you mean?" 
	Washu calmly stated, "Will it target only Ranma or will it target
any male in the vicinity?" 
	Urd's face went a little red, "Well, I've never actually targeted
one person before, except for potions that are drunk, but it should work
out well in small doses." 
	Washu nodded, and them smiled widely, her head coming up with some
ideas.  "Well, I have an idea, how about a combination set?" 
	"Combination set?" 
	"Yes.  Two separate love potions that work together to that it is
specifically targeted for the two people.  I can help to improve the
formula a bit since we can also throw in some pheromones to the mixture." 
Washu eyes started to light up as the new challenge came her way. 
	Urd was uneasy though.  "So how would we do this?" 
	Washu had a smug grin, "As one of the universes greatest genius,
it is easy to come up with a plan.  What we do is have a cologne/perfume
combination that will work together.  Parts of the two will be absorbed
into the skin upon application and be present in the blood stream.  It
will also have the additional affect of making them want to put some on
every twenty-four hours.  Then the olfactory sensors will detect the
specific chemical key enabling the two to be attracted to one another. 
The only way for them not to want to put the cologne or perfume on is
after they've had sex about ten or so times." 
	Urd's face was slowly starting to grin as this explanation came
across to her.  It was so perfect.  Better than her own ideas, and such a
thing would be virtually impossible to detect by her sister.  If this
worked... 
	Both women started laughing gleefully as they cleared off the lab
bench to start working on a new formula... 

IN THE BACKYARD... 

	Ranma looked at Nuku-nuku as he was doing his usual evening kata,
relaxing a bit as was his wont.  She was speaking with his mother,
something that was only natural given that Natsume Atsuko was his cousin. 
He still couldn't get over it, he had an actual cousin, about his age.  He
had been alone for so long, and really had no close friends other than
those who wanted to kill him or marry him, so this was in a way a
blessing.  Someone he could just spend time with and get to know without
ending up in some sort of trouble.. 
	"Nuku-nuku, could you come over here a moment please?"  Ranma
asked the Cyborg cat. 
	Nuku-nuku smiled and came over.  "OK, Ranma-kun, what is it that
you want to do?" 
	Having gotten a better idea of her mind set earlier in the day
during the discussion with his uncle and the observations he had made at
Akie's, he decided that the best way to teach her the martial arts was to
treat it like a game.  He would assess her skills, which were above
average, and then if she was good enough, show her some of the special
techniques that he knew. 
	Of course, he expected this to take several months, and would be
looking out for her whenever Moroboshi was around. 
	"We're going to play a little game Nuku, where we are going to see
how fast you can move."  He began, "I noticed how you were playing with
Eimi-chan, and I wanted to see how well you can move.  If possible, I
would like to teach you a few things about how to move your body
correctly." 
	Nuku-nuku nodded, "Yaaaay!  Ranma-kun is going to play a game with
Nuku- nuku!" 
	Ranma chuckled a little at his cousin's child-like enthusiasm for
games.  While he was still unnerved about her cat-like behavior, and still
scared of all that it implied about his own mind and the curse he was
under, it was actually refreshing to see someone who enjoyed things with
such open hearted wonder.  Given what he saw of her 'friends', and from
what he had been able to piece together about her life from conversations
with her admires, Ranma was amazed that she remained so innocent and pure. 
Something that he would never be ever again. 
	He came close to her, "OK.  I'm going to position your legs now. 
Once that's done, all I want you to do is see if you can move your head
away from my hand as I try to touch you OK?" 
	Nuku-nuku turned her head to one side for a moment, not quite sure
what this game was supposed to be about.  "OK.  But after we're done, can
we play something more interesting?" 
	Ranma's eyebrow shot up at that comment.  He shrugged and said,
"Ah...Fine with me Nuku." 
	Without warning, Ranma's hand went in for a light slap to Nuku's
face... 
	A slap that completely missed her. 
	*OK.* Ranma thought to himself, *She seems to have good eye's and
reflexes to catch that, not that I would expect anything else if she has
cat like mannerisms.  Let's start speeding this up.*

<TV BIT>

	Ranma speeds up his attack, trying to slap Nuku's face. 
	Nuku's face show delight as the slaps start getting faster. 
	Ranma is finally doing about the chestnut technique. 
	Nuku is avoiding it.  "WEEE" 
	Ranma finally stops
	Nuku asks if he wants to do something else a little more fun. 

</TV BIT>

	Ranma shook his head in bewilderment.  Nuku-nuku had not only
managed to match the speed of his amaguriken technique my moving her body,
but had also managed to move in a very precise manner as to avoid his
blows by millimetres.  The really hard part for his ego to accept was that
she found what they were doing a lot of fun.  If Nuku-nuku was an
untrained martial artist, then she had terrific potential if he could
train her properly. 
	She could easily become better than him. 
	"You know Atsuko-chan,"  Nodoka said quietly from behind them, "I
think that you and Ranma are well matched.  Perhaps the two of you should
spend some more time together and get to know each other." 
	Nuku-nuku nodded, "Hai, Saotome-san!  If Ranma-kun likes playing
games like this, we should have a lot of fun!" 
	Ranma chuckled a bit, "Nu...Atsuko-chan, I definately think you
have a lot of potential, at least as a master of the martial arts.  As for
games like the one we were playing, the martial arts is full of games like
that, if you want to try to learn them and the rules that need to be
obeyed." 
	"You mean Ranma-kun plays games like this all the time?  Nuku-nuku
wants to learn the rules for this game!"  Nuku-nuku exclaimed wide eyed at
the prospect of so much fun.  It was like playing with Emi-chan, except a
lot more challenging, especially since Ranma had been moving so fast! 
	For the first time in his life, Ranma started a deep, whole
hearted chuckle which quickly turned into whole-hearted, pleasing
laughter.  He couldn't remember ever feeling this good about anything in
his life, and it was a real relief to actually feel something without
being threatened in some manner.  *Little cousin, I am definately not
going to lose track of you after this is over.  You've brought out a side
of me which I thought long buried in my past.*
	Nodoka smiled, pleased to see how well the two of them were
getting along.  While Ranma didn't know the true nature of his 'cousin',
it was apparent that he fully accepted her as part of his family.  It was
pleasing to her, especially since Nuku lacked the experiences that usually
replaced the innocence of childhood.  Ranma's years of training would have
given him those experiences, and given how he had reacted when she had
arrived, her niece would be a good influence on her son and vice versa. 
"I'm glad to see you like each other, but please Atsuko-chan, call me
Auntie instead of such a formal greeting." 
	Nuku's eyebrows raised a bit, and she quickly went through her
databank to pull up the appropriate file.  "You mean that you are a member
of my family, like Papa-san and Mama-san and Ryunosuke-san?" 
	Nodoka smiled even wider, "I would like to think so Atsuko-chan." 
	Nuku-nuku smiled and then quickly hugged Nodoka, "Nuku-nuku is so
happy to be with Auntie-san!" 
	Nodoka laughed a bit and said, "Not so enthusiastically,
Atsuko-chan!" 
	Meanwhile, Ranma had managed to calm himself down, and looked over
at his cousin.  "Well, Atsuko-chan.  We should get back to work on
teaching you this game." 
	Nuku-nuku nodded quickly at Ranma.  "Yes!!!  Nuku-nuku wants to
learn the game 'Martial Arts!'" 

***

	Urd and Washu were looking over the dozens of bottles that
represented their combined efforts to create a new fragrance specifically
dedicated to creating love and lust in the two people using it.  The real
test would be in how Ranma and Ranko reacted to one another, but they were
already celebrating success, Washu crackling crazily and Urd laughing like
a heiena.  It was actually scary how alike the two sounded. 
	"Well Urd, how many should we give to them at once?" 
	Urd's head turned a bit, "One each to begin with, and we give it
to them tomorrow." 
	Washu grinned, "You realize we only have a few months to observe
what happens." 
	Urd grimaced at that, "Yeah.  I wonder if we could arrange for
this thing to go on longer..." 
	Washu raised an eyebrow, it would make her observations on humans
more complete if she could have more time to observe ordinary people
instead of the human-juarinian combinations that she was more likely to
run into in the Masaki household.  Besides, the more time here meant more
time away from Mihoshi.  "Hmm...." 
	Urd herself was thinking along the same lines, except she was
wondering who in heaven owed her enough favours to pull this off.  She had
already asked for one to get on this show, but who could she ask to get
the show extended past the allotted time.  *I wonder....*

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART B... 

***

Hitomi

Ichinohei Hitomi
Hitomi@terminal.autobahn.mb.ca
http://204.112.189.3/~hitomi
"The beginings of wisdom is the ability to always ask questions."