I think this section goes in the right direction plot-wise, but the long
history recounted by Tatewaki is tedious. There's very little variety in
his language, and the events he recounts are often told in the abstract
(viz., "Father was behaving crazily.") Consider the difference between
"Father tried to tell mother how wonderful Hawaii was" and a quotation
from Principal Kuno in which some specific virtue of Hawaii is extolled.
"Down Molokai way, dey got some parrots in dem palms that go a'squawkin'
all de night long, and de hotel bellhops, dey throw coconuts at dem to
shut 'em up. Ha ha, dat some sweet music to go to sleep to, my little
wahini."

Possible solutions:
1) more details, as above
2) Ol' Incapable starts talking, then the story segues into a flashback,
or a series of same
3) Someone gives Ranma excerpts of a diary to read

At any rate, Tatewaki becomes very introspective very quickly; it's
jarring, and could seem OOC.

DRM
-- 
My signature file, attending all mails:

Neither titles nor eloquence do we require, he said, nor an insidious
tongue
nor familiarity with saffron myths on painted scrolls, but patience to
disengage difficulties until matters disclose their essence without
opposition, because the most subtle understanding outweighs mountains.
          -- from Evan S. Connell, _The Alchymist's Journal_