>From the Scriviner:
        Modifications and additions to the existing story. If you've got the
old copy, chuck it out, this has more stuff plus corrections. Please send
c&c... public or private, don't matter... but send it! 

Nibunoichi Muyo! (No Need for Halves!)

	This is set more or less in the Tenchi OAV continuity, with the tacit
assumption that episode 5 and 6 (the ones regarding Kiyone arriving and
Mihoshi moving out of the household) of the Tenchi TV series occurred after
OAV Volume 13. With regards to the Ranma continuity, this occurs in the
summer immediately after the end of the series, in other words after Vol. 38
of the Manga series. 

Rights belong to the owners. No sue. No cash. Nuf said. Read on...

	"They should be here in a little while, Tenchi," Nobuyuki Masaki said with
a smile, rubbing a hand briskly through his slightly charred hair, "I hope
we've got everything ready."
	"Sure thing, Dad," Tenchi replied a little irritably. This was
understandable of course, since he'd had to do most of the straightening up.
Good thing Ayeka helped a little... at least until she and Ryouko started
arguing again.
	"I hope we've got enough room. Your uncle said he'd be bringing a couple of
guests," Nobuyuki said thoughtfully.
	"Well, all of the guest bedrooms are ready," Tenchi replied, "And I guess
Ryouko's going to be doubling up with Washuu in her lab for a while. I don't
think she's too happy about it."
	The two men were seated on the living room sofa. Nobuyuki was a broad man
of about middle age with an unruly and rather oddly singed shock of gray
hair. His glasses were perched slightly askew on his nose, but he made no
attempt to fix them. His son on the other hand, Tenchi, was a slender and
somewhat handsome young man of about sixteen. His dark hair was close
cropped except for a long ponytail down his back. Both were dressed casually
and sipping some tea. It was pretty cold for this time of year, even for the
mountains and the tea was definitely helping.
	"I guess the girls are still taking their bath?" Tenchi asked after a few
moments. Much as he enjoyed their company, the few minutes of peace afforded
to him each day by their bath was welcome.
	Noboyuki nodded with a leer, dislodging a few more flakes of ash from his
scalp and mustache, "They were when I checked on them..."
	Tenchi rolled his eyes. His father. The pervert. This was one of those
things that made him glad he took after his mother. Washuu had probably
caught him peeping again. Or Ryouko. No, wait... Ryouko really didn't care
either way. "Dad! How many times have I told you not to--"
	Nobuyuki put a hand on his son's shoulder and replied seriously, "Tenchi...
son... please, indulge your father this simple pleasure! Besides, they left
the door open this time! It was practically an invitation."	
	"Dad. You're drooling," Tenchi replied levelly.
	"Sorry."
	"Hello! We're here!" a deep voice called out from the front door suddenly,
"Nobu-kun!"
	"Ahh... that should be your uncle now, Tenchi," Nobuyuki said as he stood
up, "I'll call the girls down..."
	He's got that look in his eye again, Tenchi thought. "I've got a better
idea, Dad. I'll call the girls down, you meet our guests at the door."
	The older man pouted, which looked totally at odds with his bluff face,
then shrugged, "Son, if you wanted to take a turn at peeping in on the
girls, why don't you just say so?"
	"That's not it at all!" Tenchi blurted.
	"I'll go answer the door." Nobuyuki replied grinning hugely. How my son has
grown, he thought with a proud smile.
	Tenchi sputtered incoherently for a few moments, before he finally headed
for the bathroom, still blushing slightly.

	Nobuyuki rounded on the front door and threw it open with a flourish,
smiling happily at his brother who was standing just outside. His brother
hadn't changed a bit in the nine years since the two of them last saw each
other. Still wearing the same ratty old training gi... still the same
glasses with the rubber band loops over the ears... still wearing the same
silly looking bandana to cover up his bald spot... although Nobuyuki had to
admit he couldn't see anymore hairs peeking out from under it, so it was
entirely possible that his brother had gone totally bald. He let himself
have a little snicker of pleasure at the thought.
	"Genma!" Nobuyuki called out with open arms.
	"Nobuyuki!" the other man replied happily also with open arms.
	Both men laughed happily and embraced, slapping each other on the back as
they did so, so heavily you would've thought they were trying to save each
other from choking.
	"It's so good to see you, little brother," Genma said smiling happily.
	"Same here, elder brother. We definitely don't see each other often enough,
that's for certain," Nobuyuki laughed.
	"Definitely, definitely... Ahh, yes... you still remember Soun Tendo, don't
you?" Genma said indicating the slender mustachioed man behind him. 
	"Yes, of course I remember, Soun," Nobuyuki replied, bowing to him.
	Soun, wearing a brown training gi with his long hair hanging loose, bowed
to Nobuyuki, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Nobuyuki-kun."
	"You were the fellow who replaced me when I left Master Happosai right?"
Nobuyuki asked, "How is the old buzzard anyway? Dead?" he added hopefully.
	Genma quickly slapped a hand over Nobuyuki's mouth and looked around
fitfully, "Don't say his name! He doesn't know we're here, you're going to
attract his attention!"
	Soun shook his head sadly, "No, I'm afraid not. Much to our misfortune the
Master is still alive and well and living in my dojo," he gave a shuddering
sigh then suddenly broke into open tears, "Why is my house so
afflicted?!?!?!?!!"
	Nobuyuki put a sympathetic hand on Soun's shoulder, "There, there,
Tendo-san... No wonder you need a vacation. I understand perfectly..."
	After a few moments, Soun had regained sufficient self-control to wipe his
face and stop sniveling. The three men closed their eyes and nodded
simultaneously, making affirmative noises, as though they had managed to
achieve an entirely new level of male bonding for the simple reason that
they had all at one point in time been under the little pervert's tutelage...
	"Pop! Mr. Tendo! Are you just going to stand there all day?! We've still
got luggage to unload!" called out a young male voice.
	Their reverie broken, all three men looked up the road to look at the
source of the voice. It was a handsome young man, probably around sixteen
years of age. He was well muscled and dressed in a red chinese shirt and
loose black pants. His long hair was woven into a braid and at the moment he
was balancing about four suitcases on each arm... obviously unloaded from
the van parked a short distance away. Behind him, four women were taking
down a few more bags.
 "I could use a little help, y'know!"
	Nobuyuki smiled again, "Ahhh... this must be Ranma!"
	"Say hello to your uncle, boy! Show a little respect, he is letting us stay
here for the summer vacation after all," Genma told his son gruffly.
	"Hi, Uncle Nobuyuki," Ranma said awkwardly, trying to find a way to
distribute the weight of the bags evenly, "I'd bow, but then we'd have to
pick everything up again."
	Nobuyuki helpfully took one bag then glanced at the girls. His glasses
seemed to glaze over as they approached, "And who are these lovely ladies?"
	One of the girls, a brunette with short hair fixed Nobuyuki with a level
look and a raised eyebrow... the keenly honed danger senses of a practiced
pervert and peeping tom kicked in, informing him that if he didn't stop
leering at her, something extremely bad would happen. Not necessarily
painful, just bad.
	Genma gestured to them and replied, "These are Soun's daughters. That's
Kasumi Tendo..." indicating a girl in her late teens who had long brown hair
and was dressed in a rather conservative dress.
	"How do you do, Mr. Masaki?" Kasumi asked, bowing to him. She was carrying
the remnants of the picnic lunch, which had been devastated on their way there.
	Nobuyuki smiled and nodded, "I'm alright, Thank you..."
	Genma gestured to the short haired girl dressed in loose slacks and a pale
blue blouse, who'd given Nobuyuki the evil eye, "This is Nabiki."
	The girl coolly smiled and bowed, "Nice to meet you."
	"Er... Likewise..." the elder Masaki stammered.
	"And Akane... Ranma's fiance."
	The third girl, rather cute and wearing a blue dress, stiffened and glared
at the elder Saotome, "I wish you wouldn't introduce me to people like that
Mr. Saotome!"
	Ranma also glared at Genma, "Pop, would you quit that?! If it's gonna
happen it's gonna happen when we say so."
	Nobuyuki laughed heartily and gave Ranma a powerful slap on the back,
"That's the spirit my boy! Oh, if only my Tenchi were so bold!"
	Ranma, staggered by the blow fought to regain his balance. He ended up
perched on one toe of his right foot and three fingers of his left hand. He
was supporting three of the suitcases on his back, a fourth on the back of
his left knee, one on the elbow of the arm which was in contact with the
ground, another on the back of his head and the last between his teeth.
	Unfortunately, no one noticed, because Nobuyuki was suddenly bowled over by
the fourth girl who's dashed out of the van at a dead run as soon as her
luggage was out of the trunk.
	"Wha--?" Nobuyuki's brain at this point it must be noted had deactivated
itself at the feel of soft female flesh rubbing itself against him through
cloth. He'd managed to come out of his fugue long enough to realize that the
girl was talking and everyone who wasn't currently busy trying to maintain
their balance, was looking.
	The girl, a beautiful brunette with long hair in a pony tail looked at him
curiously and with a little anxiety, "Uncle Nobuyuki? Are you okay? Your
eyes are glazed over... and you're drooling..."
	"Erhm-- um... who are..?" Nobuyuki sputtered, trying to gather his composure.
	The ponytailed girl laughed, helping Nobuyuki up to his feet, "Don't you
recognize me, Uncle Nobuyuki? It's Ukyou! Ukyou Kuonji!"
	Nobuyuki stared, "Ukyou-chan? Really? I hadn't realized you'd... grown into
such a healthy and lovely young girl!"
	"Well..." she blushed, "Thank you, Uncle Nobuyuki."
	Ranma gave a muttered, "'Elp." Which everyone ignored.
	Akane asked Genma, "Ukyou knows Mr. Masaki?"
	Genma nodded, "Yes. Ukyou's family lives a short distance away... truth to
tell, Ranma and I met Ukyou in a small village not far from here. The
Kuonji's and the Masaki's have known each other for years..."
	A look of concern passed over Nobuyuki's face, "Say... weren't you planning
on killing Ranma when you found him?"
	Ukyou nodded still blushing slightly, "Well, a girl can change her mind..."
	Nabiki gave a small, calculated smile, "Now, she doesn't want to end his
life... just end his life as a bachelor."
	"Well, he is my fiance," Ukyou replied, shooting an irritated glance at the
older girl.
	Akane scowled darkly at Ukyou from behind, the tell-tale blue glow of a
highly charged battle aura apparent around her. Ukyou felt the hairs on the
back of her neck sizzle under the heat of Akane's gaze. She turned to face
Akane, annoyance plain on her face. Ukyou's own battle aura was also
beginning to light up and the short grass at their feet was beginning to
smolder.
	Nobuyuki blinked in confusion, catching a whiff of the burning grass before
turning to Soun and Genma who were nodding in approval as Akane glared at
Ukyou. "Let me get this straight, Gen-kun... your son... my nephew has TWO
fiances?"
	Genma frowned impressively, "Of course not... Akane is his only true fiance..."
	"But he does have a lot of friends..." Kasumi replied innocently.
	"That's one way to put it, sis. Let's see," Nabiki began counting on her
fingers. "He has two fiances with reasonably good claims. One Chinese Amazon
who thinks she's married to him. One raving psycho who thinks she's a
fiance. A fiance who gave up after being defeated in competition, one idiot
who wants to date with him on a regular basis, numerous people who've got
the hots for him... oh yes... and one teacher who he likes to feel up on a
regular basis..."
	"'Is nuh like det et all!" Ranma muttered from his position... his shoulder
was coming close to giving out...
	"All that?" Nobuyuki laughed happily and slapped his brother on the back,
"Genma! You've raised a truly manly son! Nodoka must be so proud."
	Genma joined his laughter, also slapping Nobuyuki on the back. The younger
man winced, "Well, it's the Saotome blood, Nobu-kun... what can I say..?
We're irresistible."
	The two continued to laugh loudly and long even as the glaring match
between Ukyou and Akane moved down from Defcon 5 to 'throwing dagger looks
at each other'. Nabiki, who had been watching disinterestedly finally
chanced to glance down at Ranma, who was still straining to keep his balance.
	"Oh, Ranma... what are you doing down there?" Nabiki asked sweetly.
	Ranma muttered angrily through clenched teeth, "'Uld 'umbudy 'elp ee ere?!?!"
	"What's it worth?" Nabiki asked smiling down at him.
	Ranma was just about ready to offer Nabiki his left leg and right arm up to
the elbow when Akane stomped over to Ranma. She glared at him for a moment,
in all likelihood not noticing his position and shouted, "This is all your
fault Ranma!!"
	She took her two suitcases off of Ranma's back who was relieved for all of
four point two seconds. That was when she smashed the suitcases into his
head, then turned and strode towards the front door.
	Soun laughed nervously, "It's the long drive, it always gets people a
little snappish."
	Nabiki muttered under her breath, "A little snappish is one thing. You
didn't have to sit between the two of them while they were screaming at each
other for the past twenty miles."	
	"Now, now, Nabiki... it's not ladylike to mutter," Kasumi chided gently,
"We're all a little exhausted from the trip," she gave the sprawled Ranma a
sympathetic look, "Some of us more exhausted than others."
	Nobuyuki called out merrily, beckoning them in, "Well, come in, come in...
I'm sure you'd all like to have a chance to rest and freshen up. It is quite
a drive from Tokyo to here... I'm absolutely certain that our entire
household will be brightened up by the presence of every one of you."
	Genma had very little trouble noticing that his brother's eyes were still
somewhat glazed and that he was drooling ever so slightly, "Nobuyuki, calm
yourself... your training is showing."
	Ranma was manhandled, along with the bags the rest of the way into the
house with little trouble. It's pretty easy to believe Uncle Masaki studied
under Happosai, he thought, He could recognize the leer and that little
light that went on in his uncle's eyes as being the exact same ones the
little pervert had when he was thinking of something depraved.

	"Now... I want everybody on their best behavior." Tenchi said as he walked
down the stairs, leading three women, "My uncle, my cousin and their guests
are going to be staying here for the summer vacation and I'd like to keep
people from finding out that you guys are all from outer space... so no
fights..."
	One of his companions, a beautiful young woman with dark purple hair and
wearing a kimono answered quietly, "Of course, Tenchi-sama... we'll try to
keep as low a profile as possible. I'm sure you heard that Ryouko," she
added turning a sly glance towards the woman who was walking abreast of her.
	The attractive and confident looking woman with a wild mane of pale green
hair snorted, "What are you looking at me for Ayeka? I'm not the one who
blew up the kitchen ceiling earlier. You did."
	Tenchi sighed, "I'm talking to all of you. No flying around or passing
through walls where other people can see you, Ryouko..."
	"Hah," Ayeka sniffed importantly.
	"... or using Juraian forcefields in the house..."
	Ryouko gave a chuckle, "I think he means you, Princess..."
	"... or running weird experiments..." Tenchi added taking a glance at the
seemingly twelve year old red-head.
	Washuu, the actually twenty thousand year old red head in question, gave
him a double dose of the cute little puppy dog eyes routine with a healthy
serving of the 'Who? Li'l ol me?' expression.
	Tenchi grumbled as they reached the first floor, "You all promised me,
okay? I'm holding you guys to it."
	"Absolutely, Tenchi-sama... unlike certain space pirates who shall remain
nameless, I keep my promises," Ayeka said with a neutral expression.
	Ryouko glared at Ayeka, "And what is THAT supposed to mean?!"
	Ayeka gave a full throated laugh, "Oh my, Ryouko... if you can't even
remember how to speak basic Japanese, however are you going to pass yourself
off as a native earthling?"
	"Why you..!" Ryouko muttered, clenching a hand into a fist...
	"I thought I said no fighting," Tenchi snapped, "I haven't seen my cousin
Ranma in years and I don't want you two scaring him off."
	Washuu raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Well... you aren't usually this
authoritative..."
	Tenchi choked on what he was about to say next as Washuu continued, "Keep
it up though, Tenchi. I think they like it."
	Ayeka's eyes widened as she blushed deeply, "Wuh-w-washuu-san..! W-w-what a
thing to say!"
 	Ryouko's mouth twisted as she glared at Washuu, "Hey, Mom... cut it out."
 	Washuu gave Ryouko a sweet smile before she reached up and pinched her on
the cheek, dragging Ryouko's face down to her level, "Now, now Ryouko...
what did I tell you to call me?"
	"Ow! Hey! Stop that! Okay... okay... Washuu-chan! Washuu-chan!" Ryouko said
in a pained voice trying to pull away from Washuu's pinch.
	"That's better," Washuu said releasing her grip on Ryouko's cheek. She
stared off cutely into the distance, her hands clasped together and her
cheek pressed against the back of one hand, "After all what would our guests
think if they thought you an obviously old lady calling a sweet innocent
girl like me, 'Mom'?"
	Ryouko rubbed her cheek and glared again at Washuu who merely grinned.
Ayeka continued to blush and stammer, still trying to find a suitable retort
to Washuu's comment. She was obviously so discomfited that she didn't even
notice Ryouko's minor humiliation. Tenchi could only sigh and hope that his
cousin Ranma was as dense as he remembered.
	They reached the ground floor to find the guests were already seated on the
sofa. A young girl of about twelve, breezed in from the kitchen carrying a
large tray with tea and snacks for them. Tenchi smiled at Sasami. He was
glad he could rely on her at least.
	"Ah, Tenchi! There you are," Nobuyuki called out, "Everyone, I'd like to
introduce you to my son, Tenchi and our house guests..."
	"This is Ryouko," Nobuyuki said gesturing to her.
	"Yo," the space pirate coolly greeted with a small wave.
	"That's Ayeka," he continued, as Ayeka bowed formally to the new guests.
	"Hello," she said quietly.
	"Washuu-chan," Nobuyuki continued, gesturing to her.
	"Hi, everybody!" Washuu greeted in a saccharine voice. She was playing her
part as a twelve year old to a 'T' Tenchi noted.
	"... and you've all met Sasami. I'd like all of you to meet our guests for
the summer..." Nobuyuki continued, rattling off the names of their new
guests getting Nabiki's name wrong and earning him another cold glare.
 	Tenchi looked around after the introductions were done, having given
proper respect to his Uncle Saotome (who hadn't changed much that he
remembered, still big and loud) and to Mr. Tendo. He found Sasami and Washuu
both engaged in a conversation with the motherly brunette... Kasumi, was it?
Yeah... that was it... he could overhear them exchanging recipes. Akane
looked angry for some reason as Ayeka offered her some tea. All the while,
Nabiki and Ryouko watched everything quietly. Where was his cousin?
 	"Say... Dad, where's Ranma?" he finally asked.
	"Oh, he had to visit the bathroom for a while," Nobuyuki replied.
	Akane had her arms crossed and was fuming, "I still don't see why he needed
to have her take him there." Tenchi noticed that the girl put a slight angry
emphasis on the 'HER'.
	Nabiki nudged Akane, "Well, she did visit this house only last year, so of
course she knew where it was..."
	Nobuyuki stood up suddenly, followed by Genma and Soun, "Tenchi, I'm taking
Genma and Mr. Tendo up to the shrine... I think the three of us will staying
there, seeing as how we don't have enough room in the house for everyone.
Besides, I'm sure your Grandfather will want to meet with Genma... I'm quite
sure you can take charge of the household."
	"Sure thing, Dad..." Tenchi replied somewhat reluctantly... "Are you guys
coming down for dinner?" Tenchi asked.
	"Of course!" All three men chorused, before filing out the front door,
still talking and joking happily.
	Tenchi shrugged, "Okay..." he was already worrying how Sasami was going to
cook for all of these people. He'd have to help out in the kitchen again...
Maybe one of our guests knows how to cook... probably Miss Kasumi... it was
worth a thought... the rest of that thought though was cut off by a sudden
shout.
	"Ten-chan!!" called a voice suddenly from the hallway before a speeding
blur barreled into him.
	"Ack!" Tenchi cried out as he felt arms go around his neck. Arms... and...
waitaminute... those are breasts... he blinked rapidly and tried to focus on
who had glomped onto him... brunette... very cute... ponytail... I don't
recognize her, Tenchi thought to himself, Ayeka and Ryouko are going to kill
her, and I don't even recognize her... oh no... 
	Tenchi tried to pull away from the girl who was hugging him tightly and
sounded as if she was yammering at high-speed something about how good it
was to see him again and how she's missed him...
 	Nabiki noted to herself that the green haired girl... Ryouko... and the
girl with the purple hair... Ayeka, was it? Were giving Tenchi looks fit to
kill... maybe this would turn out to be an interesting month after all, she
thought with a small smile.
	Tenchi finally struggled out of the girl's grasp long enough to get a good
look at her and a deep breath, "Who are you?!"
	"That's what we'd like to know!" Ryouko and Ayeka snarled in unison.
	Ukyou gave Tenchi a confused glance then laughed as she realized, "It's
Ukyou, Ten-chan! Don't you recognize me?"
	"T-t-ten-chan?!" Ayeka sputtered indignantly.
	Tenchi's eyes brightened as recognition dawned, "Ucchan! It is you! I
didn't recognize you out of men's clothes!"
	Ukyou smiled easily, smoothing out the blouse she was wearing and replied,
"Well, you know how it is... things change..."
	"Tenchi..." Ryouko said in a low dangerous voice, walking to one side of
Ukyou, "Who is this woman?"
	"Yes, Tenchi-sama... I believe I would like to know as well..." Ayeka
responded flanking Ukyou's other side.
	Nabiki popped a rice cake in her mouth and grinned at Akane, "This gets
more interesting by the minute... Aren't you glad Ranma asked Ukyou along?"
	Ukyou looked to either side of her to find a woman glaring at her... she
didn't particularly like their preemptory attitudes... but now that she
thought about it, they vaguely reminded her of something... she frowned at
them both.
	"This woman," she replied, placing a hand to her chest for emphasis, "Just
happens to be Ukyou Kuonji. Tenchi's best friend. And you two are?"
	"Er... Ukyou... these are Ryouko and Ayeka..." Tenchi said, Some sort of
disaster was coming... he could feel it.
 	Ryouko quickly put her arms around Tenchi's neck and said in a smug tone,
"Yes... Ryouko. Tenchi's lover."
	Ukyou raised an eyebrow at Tenchi and gave him a small smile... she was
about to say something else when Ayeka suddenly pulled Tenchi out of
Ryouko's grasp.
	"You utter liar!" Ayeka shouted at her bristling with indignation, "You are
not his lover, Ryouko! Take that back."
	The two began to argue loudly and heatedly, so much so that the rest of the
room quickly lost the thread... Tenchi took the time to slip out from
between the two women and massage his neck... Ryouko had squeezed just a
little too tightly...
	Ukyou's gaze happened to meet Akane's for a brief moment and the two traded
grins. This scene certainly looked familiar...
	Sasami, Washuu and Kasumi were already standing at this point and walking
calmly towards the kitchen, still chatting amiably. Kasumi took a moment to
look back at the two women arguing and asked the girls, "Oh my... should
they be fighting like that?"
	Washuu shrugged, "Happens around here all the time. Nothing to be worried
about."
	Sasami nodded, "Yeah," before she took Kasumi's hand and began to pull her
enthusiastically into the kitchen, "Hey, hurry up, you told me you were
going to teach me how to make sukiyaki..."
	"Well, I think they would like something heavier for dinner..." Kasumi
continued mildly as they disappeared from sight.
	The argument continued, utterly ignorant of the loss of some of the
spectators and totally resistant to Tenchi's attempts to calm them down.
	Ukyou said wryly to Tenchi, "You sly fox... and here I thought you were the
shy type, Ten-chan..."
	Tenchi winced, "It's not like that..!"
	Ayeka finally raised her chin slightly, in an imperious manner and replied
haughtily to Ryouko, "How do you expect us to believe that you're Tenchi's
lover when his sheets are dry in the morning? After all... don't you wet
your bed?"
	"I told Washuu not to show that damn photo around!" Ryouko muttered
angrily, fists clenching... motes of yellow-orange light were beginning to
appear around her hand. Tenchi tried to move between them to derail the
argument, but realized quite intelligently that he probably would have fried
under those twin dagger glares.
	Ayeka gave vent to a full-throated laugh, half-heartedly hidden behind one
hand. Ukyou, Akane and Nabiki's eyes all widened at how much her laugh
sounded like Kodachi's.
	Interestingly enough, Ranma chose this precise moment to walk into the
room. At the sound of the laughter, He jumped straight up out of sheer panic
and clung to the ceiling, "AGHHH!"
	This, thankfully, was enough to stop the put the argument on hold for a
moment, as every eye turned up to look at Ranma.
	"What the heck is Kodachi doing here?!" Ranma asked, looking around, fearfully.
	Akane stood up and put her fists at her hips as she addressed the ceiling,
"Ranma! Quit fooling around. Kodachi's not here, that was just Ms. Ayeka."
	"Who?"
	Ayeka raised a hand and waved to Ranma, "That would be me. I'm sorry did I
startle you?"
	Ryouko muttered under her breath, "All you need to do to startle him would
be to show him your face." Ayeka whirled around to glare at her. Tenchi
turned to glare at Ryouko to keep her quiet. She met Tenchi's gaze meekly
before walking out of the room... it was either that or blow it up... she
fully intended to keep her promise to him even in Ayeka didn't.
	"Who? Me? Nah... I wasn't startled... I... um... I just figured I'd get
some... um... air up here... right... that's it."
	"Right." said Nabiki in mocking tones.
	"Hey, Ranma. Come down it's perfectly safe here!" Tenchi called up.
	Ranma finally spotted his cousin and gave a glad cry, "Tenchi!"
	He dropped down from his spot suddenly and clasped hands with his cousin,
both grinning happily.
	"It's been way too long, man." Ranma said.
	"Sure is," Tenchi replied, "You still practice Anything Goes Martial Arts?"
	"Yup. You still do Kendo?"
	Tenchi nodded. Both boys grinned and said at the same time, "Spar?"
	"Excuse us a moment," Tenchi said to the girls as he led Ranma out to the
front of the house.
	Ukyou smiled fondly at both men, "Every single time..."
	Ayeka and Akane moved to Ukyou, and asked at the same time, "What's going on?"
	"These two have been friendly rivals since they were five. Practically
every time they see each other they spar." Ukyou replied, "It's really
something to watch."
	Ayeka's ears picked up, "Is Ranma-san also trained in swordsmanship?"
	Akane smiled at Ayeka, "Sort of... Ranma prefers unarmed combat..."
	Nabiki stood up, "This ought to be interesting to watch."
	They all nodded in agreement and followed the two boys.

	Ranma and Tenchi stood in front of the house, facing each other. Tenchi
rested a bokken in over his shoulder...
	"So... you want this armed or unarmed, Ranma?" Tenchi asked.
	Ranma chuckled, "It's gonna be unfair either way. We'd better flip for it."
	Tenchi nodded and was about to reach into his pocket, just as the four
women arrived, "Um... Yes..? Was there something..?
	"Don't mind us," Nabiki said, "We're just here to watch."
	Ayeka nodded.
	"Well, if you're gonna watch anyway, somebody flip a coin..."
	"What for?" Akane asked.
	Ranma smiled at Tenchi, "To see who gets the advantage."
	"Fine. I'll do it." Nabiki said, pulling a five yen coin out of her pocket.
	Ranma rolled his eyes for a moment and muttered, "Yeah... you would have
the spare change..."
	Nabiki flicked the coin into the air and said, "Call it!"
	Tenchi and Ranma simultaneously shouted, "Heads!"
	The two blinked at each other for a moment then before both suddenly
shouted, "Tails!"
	Nabiki snatched the coin out of the air in disgust and slapped it on the
back of her hand, "Jeez... make up your minds you two."
	"Just like the old days." Ukyou murmured quietly.
	Ranma shrugged and Tenchi said, "Fine... um... Miss Akane? Would you mind
choosing whether its heads or tails for unarmed combat?"
	"What are you asking her for?" Ranma glared at Tenchi.
	Tenchi jerked back a little in surprise, "Why not?"
	"Ahhh... she'll just blow it like she usually does," Ranma muttered
disgustedly.
	Akane growled angrily at Ranma, "You stupid jerk! Fine, heads!"
	Nabiki lifted her hand up and showed the tails side of the coin, "I guess
it's armed combat, boys."
	"See what I mean? Jeez." Ranma continued to mutter.
	"Just shut up Ranma!!" Akane yelled.
	"Akane, stop picking on Ranchan." Ukyou snapped at her. 
	"Are they always like this?" Ayeka quietly whispered to Nabiki.
	"Not really... this is pretty mild for them." Nabiki replied deadpan.
	Tenchi grinned, "Guess I've got the advantage here, Ran-chan."
	Ranma returned the grin, "That's what you think. Fine. Let's do it." He
walked near the girls and peered under the supporting legs which held that
portion of the house off the ground. "Are the staves still down here?"
	Tenchi nodded, doing a few warm up exercises. 
	Ranma pushed a foot under the house and pulled it out with a six foot long
staff balanced on it. He kicked it into his hand as he walked back to his
position before, and began executing a complicated kata with it, whirling it
around his body in a wooden blur.
	"I don't see what the point of all of this is," Ayeka said after a few
moments... "Tenchi is sure to win."
	Akane looked at her in surprise but before she could say anything, Ukyou
shot Ayeka an offended look, "No way. Ranma'll win for sure. Ten-chan may be
very good, but Ranma's had a ridiculous amount of training these past couple
of years. He's a shoe in."
	Ayeka looked at Ukyou in surprise... she sounded as if she really likes
Ranma... well, if she's after Ranma, at least she won't be after Tenchi.
However, she wasn't going to let anyone getting away with thinking that
Tenchi was anything but the best...
	"You don't suppose you're not just biased?" Ayeka asked.
	"Are you sure you're not biased?" Ukyou returned. Surprisingly, neither of
the two women's tempers had flared. They were both intrigued at the
confidence the other had in their preferred fighter's skills.
	Nabiki smiled, "Either of you two ladies care to place bets on that?"
	Akane shot Nabiki a sour expression, "Don't you ever stop?"
	"I think that sounds like an excellent idea." Ayeka replied. "What about
it, Miss Ukyou?"
	"Fine... I guess I will bet. Ten bucks on Ranchan." Ukyou said after a
moment's deliberation.
	Akane rolled her eyes, and muttered, "A sucker born every minute."
	"What was that Akane?" Ukyou asked shooting Akane with an angry glare.
	Nabiki smirked, "Not enough confidence in your fiance, sis?"
	Akane frowned, "Fine then. Ten more bucks says Ranma wins."
	"The equivalent amount says Tenchi will win." Ayeka replied serenely.
	"Pass the cash over, ladies," Nabiki said with her hand out, "I think the
two are ready to party." 

	The warm up the two boys were engaged in had finally finished, neither
having heard the exchange. The two stood facing each other. 
        "First blood," both boys said at the same time. After that, hardly a
sound was made as the two stared at each other for the better part of a
minute. Neither moving a muscle, but weapons at the ready...
	Akane peered at the two of them in surprise... by the stance alone, she
could see that Tenchi definitely had the advantage...
	In the kitchen, helping Kasumi and Sasami work on dinner, Washuu's head
suddenly snapped up. She looked out the window wondering what was generating
that much energy... She saw the two boys facing off... What an incredible
amount of power! She thought to herself, He may even be a match for
Tenchi... amazing... hmmm... Sasami and Kasumi found themselves wondering
why Washuu was suddenly laughing maniacally.
	Ayeka barely saw the almost imperceptible nod the two boys gave just before
Ranma suddenly surged forward with a cry. He drove his staff directly at
Tenchi's midsection. Tenchi easily batted it aside and followed up
immediately by snapping the tip of his bokken towards Ranma's eyes. Ranma
responded by angling his staff to deflect the strike against the end of the
staff closer to him. 
	Both boys grinned, "You've been practicing, Ranma. You didn't use to be
that fast."
	"You too, Tenchi. You didn't use to have that much power behind your
strikes..."
	"Grampa's a pretty stubborn teacher."
	"Dad too..."
	"Are you two fighting or what?" Nabiki called out.
	Ranma twisted the lowered end of his staff suddenly, trying to sweep
Tenchi. Tenchi flipped back, out of range of his cousin's weapon. Ranma
raised an eyebrow in surprise. The moment's hesitation was enough for Tenchi
to close back in bringing his bokken around in a tight overhead arc. Ranma
flipped his weapon up quickly holding it across to block Tenchi's attack,
but nearly managing to get his hair parted.
	Ranma lowered his weapon suddenly taking a quick step backwards to place
him out of range, he twisted the staff to one side, dragging Tenchi's weapon
to one side and leaving him open for a split second...
	Akane whispered, "That's it..." as she saw Ranma tense slightly... he was
about to try and finish the fight...
	Ranma took a second quick step back as he simultaneously began to thrust
the end of his weapon at Tenchi with the speed from his amaguriken
technique. To Ukyou, Nabiki and Akane's shock, Tenchi somehow managed to
turn with Ranma's initial twist and already had his bokken in a ready
position to intercept Ranma's strikes... as if that wasn't shocking enough,
Tenchi was somehow managing to block all of them.
	Ukyou's jaw dropped, "I didn't realize Ten-chan was THAT good..."
	"Talk about the disasters that could've happened if Kuno were as good as
this guy." Nabiki muttered to Akane.
	Tenchi watched Ranma's attack pattern as he blocked... he couldn't see any
defense at all, it was an all out attack designed to keep the target too
busy to fight back... He counted beats as Ranma continued to attack and
continued to get blocked... before any of the girls could see it, Tenchi
parried aside a last attack and immediately aimed a riposte for Ranma's
midsection before the pig-tailed boy could bring his weapon back to a ready
position.
	Ranma saw the bokken heading straight for him and knew he'd never be able
to parry it in time, so he leapt straight up to avoid it.
	Tenchi too, was surprised he did not expect Ranma to move so fast... the
incredibly swift repeated attacks should've already given him some clue...
Before Tenchi could pull his weapon back from it's attack position, Ranma
had landed, balancing the tip of his staff on the edge of Tenchi's bokken...
Ranma was clinging to the staff, upside down, legs in a V above him to
maintain his balance. 
	It was now Ayeka's turn to gasp in surprise. She hardly expected such an
amazing display of skill from a human... relative or no relative.
	Ranma said to Tenchi, "Pretty good, cousin."
	"Not good enough, yet, I guess." Tenchi replied, "I haven't hit you yet."
	"And you won't if I can help it," Ranma shot back, grinning widely as he
cried out, "HAA!"
	Ranma used his staff like a pogo stick to vault off of Tenchi's weapon
setting it sweeping in a complex pattern around his body, as he flipped
over. Tenchi straightened his weapon swiftly and brought it around behind
him before Ranma could land a sweeping blow to his ear... Ranma's feet
touched the ground as he continued to whirl the staff around, in a downward
spiral... Tenchi dodged out of the way of most of the blows and blocked the
rest... both were beginning to tire.
	Tenchi spun around preparing to deliver a wide sweeping slash at Ranma's
neck. Ranma leaned backward, seemingly raising his staff to block but
somehow dropping it in the process. 
	Ukyou and Akane gasped in surprise, both thought that Tenchi had disarmed
Ranma, but neither had seen how he'd done it. 
	Tenchi actually had nothing to do with Ranma losing the weapon and stopped
in surprise. He glanced down just barely in time to notice that Ranma had in
fact managed to catch the staff between his crossed ankles. Ranma suddenly
straightened his feet, causing the staff to whip around, and should by all
rights have caught Tenchi in a sweep... however, Tenchi's weapon snapped
down, before the sweep could be completed tapping Ranma lightly on the chest
as he jumped over the sweep.
	Tenchi landed on the balls of his feet his weapon still at the ready. Ranma
was just standing with a mildly sour look on his face. Both boys looked at
each other for a moment before they broke out laughing.
	Ayeka applauded for Tenchi loudly. 	Ukyou smiled in nostalgia... so much
like the old days. 
	What Akane couldn't believe wasn't so much the fact that Ranma had lost...
but the fact that he was not only taking it calmly... he was taking it as if
he had been expecting it... No ranting, no raving, no pouting or
declarations that he 'could've taken the guy if he'd wanted to...', not even
embarassment that he'd managed to lose in front of... well... her.
	Nabiki merely shrugged, counting out Ayeka's winnings for her, with the
nominal reductions to be expected for her acting as the 'house'.
	Tenchi slapped Ranma on the back, "Why you sneaky devil! Pretending to get
disarmed, huh?"
	"Hey, it could've worked," Ranma shrugged, also still laughing. "Man you've
really gotten good."
	"You too... I've never seen moves like those." Tenchi replied.
	"Wanna try for unarmed combat this time?" Ranma asked with a sly grin.
	Tenchi looked mock thoughtful, "I don't know... I already won... maybe I
ought to quit while I'm ahead..."
	"In your dreams, buster," Ranma replied cheerfully as he kicked the staff
at his feet into Tenchi's bokken, knocking both weapons away, "Put em up."
As he assumed a ready stance.
	Tenchi shrugged, and also assumed a ready position... Akane couldn't place
the unfamiliar stance... it looked like nothing she'd ever seen before. Much
like her confusion at Tenchi's kendo stance and moves... he must've been
using a family sword style.
	"Now for round two." Ukyou said, still smiling. They always had two matches...
	"Go Tenchi!" Ayeka cried out, brimming with confidence in his ability.
	Nabiki quietly calculated the odds in her head and quickly asked Ayeka,
"Would you like to place a wager on this one, too? Double or nothing?"
	Ayeka nodded, "Certainly!"
	The stances were now totally different and both boys held themselves
differently... Akane could see Ranma's clear advantage in this one... she
would be surprised if it lasted more than a few seconds... She wasn't
disappointed. Neither was Nabiki.

To be continued...