Caroline Seawright wrote:

[snip.]

What I meant was that since Genma stole the yatai, giving the Saotome
family a dept of honour to Ukyou, that Ukyou's destruction of the
Satoome house puts her in a dept of honour to the Saotome family.
Thus they both cancel out.

Cancel each other out? I'm not sure it would work that way. Would they not
merely owe each other debts? Hmm... destruction of the house... that was

Well, the way to cancel Ukyou's dept to the Saotome family - cancel her
engagement to Ranma. The Saotome family cancelling their debt to Ukyou
- give her back a yatai.
	

	There is one other way. The Saotomes can adopt Ukyou as their daughter 
thereby giving her an honourable place within their family. This does two things. 
One, it annulls the engagement. Siblings cannot marry. Two, it rectifies the 
situation with Kuonji Clan. Marriage is basically accepting a daughter into the 
family, hence the traditional name change. A dwory is almost like a payment to 
compensate for tha gainin of another child. When Genma took the yatai, but not 
Ukyou he in essence robbed them, and gave them a burden, Ukyou. She was girel 
without dowry and as such was undesirable for a wife and therefore a burden on 
teh family. She became a man to give her status withing te famioy and to 
protect some of the honour that was lost.
	It is obvious Ukyou's claim on Ranma, while valid, is not the right 
one. Akane and Ranma, or at least a Tendou daughter and Ranma,. where promised 
o each other before birth. This takes a higher presedence especialy under the 
circumstances of Soun and Genma's relationship, both friends and memebers of 
the same school, so in everything but blood, brothers.
	Since Ukyou can not marry Ranma, another way must be found to compensate the 
Kuonji family for the loss of the yatai. A yatai may be rerturned, but i addition the 
money that yaai would have gained over ten years must be returned. The yatai itself 
is insignificant and can probably be bought for about 100,000 yen or less. However 
over a tren year period that yatai could bring in several million yen. So it is a 
very large dowry. By adopting Ukyou, the Saotomes take the responsibility for the 
girl, provide her a new dowry, and give her status. She is no longer a burden to the 
Kuonji's and the original agreement is held. Ukyou becomes a memembr of Ranma's 
household.
 

Well, Ukyou put herself in that position, not Fate. She decided to be a
man for the rest of her life, and she decided to go after Ranma and Genma
to kill them. *shrug* That's her choice, nothing to do with Fate. She
could have delt with what happened better, but she chose not to. So it's
Ukyou's fault.

Fate gave her an engagement that she has had no real sign that it has no hope,
even though we all know that it does not. I was not refering to anything else,
not her dressing as a man(lifestyle choice, doesn't even make me bat an eye)
or her seeking revenge on the Saotomes.

	But honour also plays into her chasing after Ranma. She hated him because she 
was jilted at age six, causing her family a major amount of disgrace and thereby 
forcing her to become a boy to protect her family honour. As a boy she can seek 
vengeance by killing Ranma. I'm not sure if females can challenge a male to a duel of 
honour, but they can probably get a champion/second.