At 12:16 AM 6/6/98 +1000, Ross Gilbertson wrote:

I have no idea where this came from. I just had to write it down.
If people think its worth continuing please tell me.

Will do...

YOUTH IS WASTED ON THE YOUNG: chapter 1

How true...

Akane Tendo read the postcard once more.
�Hi. Bringing Genma from China.
                            Saotome�

That should be "---Saotome."

She could barely suppress her nervous anticipation.
Glancing once more at the mirror she saw a vibrant middle aged
women in a fetching yellow training gi. Satisfied with her
reflection she went out to gather her children.
 �Oi, Nodoka, Soun��

Let me guess...you once read "Freaky Friday."

�Fiance!? Mummy how could you?� Nodoka said pulling off
her apron angrily. Akane leaned back surprised at her vehemence.
Nodoka was usually such a calm and reserved girl. Everything that
was respectable.

As it should be. Wait 'til Nodoka learns Katana...

�Now, now sis.� Her younger brother Soun temporised. A
lonely sensitive boy, the idea of a brother near his own age to
spar with rather appealed.

I don't know...I always had the opinion that Soun was older than Nodoka.

�Yes, Genma Saotome is the son of a very old friend of
mine who I trained with before I married your father. We always
planned that one day we would join our houses.� she said with a
faraway look. �If Genma were to marry you Nodoka, and carry on
the family dojo our promise would finally be fulfilled�

Add period here.

Soun turned quickly away so that his long black hair would
cover the tears, never far from his eyes, which began to drip onto
his dark green gi. *I thought I would be the one to carry on the
Dojo. I guess mum does think I�m too weak after all�*

Tsk, tsk. Typical Soun.

Akane for her part, much to her daughter�s disgust, was
completely oblivious, lost in some pleasant reverie. �At any
rate, Genma and his father Ranma will be arriving from China very
soon, where they�ve been training. They�ll be living here with us
for a while.�
�You expect me and this �fiance� to live together before
we�re married. Even if I agreed to the engagement��

It's "fiance�," with that accent on the e thingy...whatever they call it.

Akane leapt up at the sound of scuffling outside, cutting
Nodoka off. �That must be them!�
Nodoka following in exasperation (if more sedately) was
shocked to discover a fit middle aged woman in chinese-style
clothes and with a long red braid, wrestling a small panda to the
ground
on the front path. She arrived just in time to see her mother jump
into the woman�s arms.
�Ranma, oh its been so�. Ranma?� Carefully Akane hugged
her again. Yes there was still a problem. Slowly she reached out
to touch the offending protuberances before Nodoka slapped her
hands away.
�For goodness sake. This isn�t your friend it�s a woman!�
Nodoka bowed apologetically to the stranger and tried to drag her
mother away.
�Actually, I�m Ranma Saotome.� The woman confessed
awkwardly, hand behind her neck �Sorry about this.�
The last thing Akane heard as she fainted in her daughters
arms was Soun�s voice saying �Wow, you didn�t tell us your old
friend had a sex-change operation.�

D'oh!

To be continued...
Coming up: Nodoka adopts Mr Panda (briefly), Soun challenges Genma
and meet more of the cast in chapter 2 "Boring girls and Beastly boys!"

This is rather interesting and should be continued. However, I should
suggest for the sake of the plot that you really need to concentrate one of
two things: Akane & Ranma's relationship as an older couple or Genma &
Nodoka's relationship as engaged kids. Doing both with do disjustice to
both.