King Of Fighters 1a: "Where's Ranma?"
a storyline in "The Bet"
http://members.aol.com/metroanime/main.html
WARNING WARNING: Xover fic, manga police
can go elsewhere now, please, thank you.
Ranma 1/2, UY tm Rumiko Takahashi. Oh My
Goddess tm Kosuke Fujishima. Tenchi Muyo
tm Pioneer. Gold Digger tm Fred Perry. Ninja
High School tm Ben Dunn, but i'm hoping this
hasn't Ben. Rifts tm Palladium. Devilman and
Cutey Honey tm Go Nagai, whose wife i've met
and is so incredibly cute that she must have
been inspiration for Belldandy...or Urd. You
Know Who is tm/c/etc the BBC.  El Hazard 
and Patlabor do not appear anywhere
in this fic, I think. Certain trolls are really going
to hate this story, which is my inspiration for
going ahead with it. Thank you.

-Yggdrasil Pool, Rainbow-shi, Asgard-ken, Heaven--
	"Aw c'mon, I think it'd be cool if I just
tweaked Keichii's wish a little bit..."

	"No, Skuld. I said Marller couldn't affect
one of the timelines, even one of those about to
remerge with a mainline, that she was personally
involved in. At least not directly. Same rule applies
to you. Besides, it's not my rule, it came from Him."

	"Oh." Skuld accepted that. Mortals could
get away with arguing with Him, at least better than
Limited Class License goddesses could. With great
power came great problems, usually. "Well, maybe
if I just tweak something like THIS!"

	Toltiir blinked. "You shorted out a 
navigational computer?"

	"It was prone to malfunction anyway."
Skuld smiled. "And now...for something completely
different!"
--Jusenkyo, China, 1992 AD-----------------------
	Ranma charged forward, leaping after
her father, currently a panda. The panda slammed
into a large rectangular booth, bounced off, and
continued running as if all the demons of hell were
after him.

	Ranma, having no concentration for
anything except the fleeing panda, crashed into
a boy who was walking up to the booth, himself
intent on asking directions from this stranger.

	The inevitable collision and tangle ended
up with three people inside a room that was quite
a bit larger on the inside than it was on the outside.

	Ranma, clutching her head with one hand,
put her other hand down on a certain switch as she
got up.

	Genma blinked, watching as the strange
booth slowly faded from view, making an odd 
grind-thump noise as it did so. He blinked again.
Realization that he wasn't going to be killed by 
his former son was quickly replaced with the 
absolute bone-chilling certainty of what would
happen when he told his wife that he'd lost her
son. The best he could expect would be time 
spent in the panda breeding program.

	Shrugging, Genma Saotome started back
down to the Guide's hut. With any luck he could
think of a way that he could explain it to his wife
that wouldn't result in seppuku.

---Twilight Empire, Staging Ground, 4400 NE------
	"Rannnnmaaaa!" Ryouga stared
where Ranma had been standing a few moments
ago. The catwalk was a smouldering ruin, with
the metal itself burning from the energy discharge.

	"Come on, Ryouga!" The Doctor
pulled at him. "This won't hold them for very
much longer. We've got to get back to the 
TARDIS!"

	Casting a last glance back where
Ranma had been, Ryouga followed the Doctor.
"Ranma, forgive me..."

	The Doctor ran to the console as soon
as both had reached the TARDIS. Flipping the
switch to close the door, he checked the various
gauges. "Good, self-repairing systems are back
on line."

	"Ranma..."

	"I know, Ryouga." The Doctor sighed.
"I saw Ranma falling, on fire, he...couldn't have
survived."

	"If I hadn't left the TARDIS..." Ryouga
looked miserable. He'd wanted his revenge upon
Ranma, but this...

	"Well, we can at least get you back 
where YOU are supposed to be. Since you 
came from Japan, I suppose that's where we
ought to go. Unless you had unfinished 
business in China?"

	"No," Ryouga shook his head. "The
only reason I went to China was pursuing Ranma.
Now...let's just go home."

	Troopers opened fire with energy 
beams capable of atomizing plasteel. By the
time they reached where the TARDIS had been,
it was long gone.

	Other soldiers surrounded the blackened
and shredded figure on the floor. "Check this out,
he's alive."

	"Damn, after all THAT and without
armor."

	A third trooper tapped on a combadge.
"Tell the Lords about this one. We have a prisoner
but he needs immediate medical attention. From
what I've seen, he's got combat potential."

---Twilight Empire, Asagiri Combat Zone, 4512 NE------
	The announcer's voice was a synthetic
one, custom designed based on the latest opinion
polls and translated simultaneously into thirty major
languages as not all species were physically capable
of speaking Galact. "AND HE WINS, AGAIN! THIS
IS INCREDIBLE, GENTLEBEINGS, RANMA 
SAOTOME OF PSIMECH INDUSTRIES HAS ONCE
AGAIN PROVEN HIS METTLE IN THE COMBAT
ARENA!"

	The crowd at "ringside" howled their 
approval, the wolfen literally doing so. 

	"Oh, and this brings us to our guest
today, Kelar Shubb of Psimech Industries. Kelar,
what of these rumors that after 	110 years of use,
you are ready to retire Saotome?"

	"Well, Senn," the mantis-being said over
a translator, "we've learned all we can from Ranma,
and we've made a tidy little profit. Right now, we
feel it is better for Ranma to retire and be returned
to his original time/space locus. After all, the odds
in any battle with Ranma are no longer really that
profitable..."

	"Ah, so he's going to be sent home.
That's wonderful, Kelar."

	"That it is Senn! I know if I'm away
from my grublings too long, it just brings an
ache to my heart. Of course, we DID put quite
a bit of money into him over the years, what
with all the training, rebuilding, biostabilizing,
psionic enhancements, not to mention the 
genetic reconstruction. Still, we made a nice
profit and our stock has steadily climbed since
we acquired Ranma. So we at the Board said,
oh what the heck!"

	"Considering Ranma's fan base,
this is a particularly good move, I'm told that
Psimech stock has increased 25% since the
announcement."

	"To which we thank all Ranma's
fans, and Ranma thanks you too. The propect
of finally returning home has just given him
a new drive that we haven't seen from him in
decades." The mandibles of the mantis clacked.
"In the meantime, thank you for your support,
all of you."

	"There you have it, and we return
you to ringside..."
-------Nerima, Japan-------
	Lightning flared. What was particularly 
strange about the lightning was the way the sparks
appeared in midair then accumulated into a circular 
shape.

	A body jumped out of the circle, wearing
a white gi, t-shirt, and something akin to lowcut
mocassins. "I'm back..." Ranma's eyes ran over the
way the streets looked. It had been so very very long.
Signposts in his native language, not Galact or 
Fethur, or Thiskul, but Japanese!

	The panda took three steps back before he
realized who it was. A sign appeared. [Ranma?!?]

	"Pop?" Ranma's eyes misted over. This
guy had sold him and screwed up his life more times
than he could count, but he was still his father. "It's been
so long..." It HAD worked, they had traced the timeline
and thought they had a lock on where he SHOULD be.

	[Where have you been for the past three
days?]

	"Three days?" Ranma thanked the kami.
Considering the odds they'd cautioned him on, getting
even this close was incredible. "Damn, pop. I thought
I'd never see you again. As for where I've been, well,
I don't think you'd believe me."

	[Tell me about it later, son. We have to go
meet a friend of mine.]

	"Sure thing, oyaji." Ranma smiled. He was
back, no more alien monsters to fight. There was 
ramen and okonomiyaki and rice to be eaten. He
didn't have to deal with alien things that were either
trying to crawl away from the bowl, or crawl away
WITH the bowl.

	Life was good.
-----------------------------
	"Ooo. It must be Ranma." Nabiki jumped
up and ran for the door.

	"Saotome...my old friend." Soun Tendo
walked briskly after his daughter.

	"Oh, I hope he's not younger than me." Kasumi
stepped towards the door, following her father. Akane
merely sat at the table and sulked.

	"Oh my!" Kasumi stared. He wasn't too
young. He was actually quite handsome though 
the material of his clothing looked a little...odd.

	Soun pointed at the young man.
"You wouldn't be..."

	"Hi. I'm Ranma Saotome. Nice place
you've got here." He bowed respectfully.

	Kasumi smiled. He was older and he
was polite. There was something odd about his
eyes too. He looked far more mature and adult
than one would expect from his years.

	"So, you've been to China, have
you?" Nabiki looked him up and down and
wondered about the possibilities here.

	"Oh, is that panda your pet?"

	Ranma smiled at Kasumi, projecting
calm. He thought he detected some minor 
telempathic abilities in the eldest daughter,
mainly she seemed to radiate niceness. This
could be interesting. "No, if you'll get me
some hot water, I'd be happy to demonstrate."

	"Oh, where are my manners,"
Kasumi bowed and motioned inside. "You
must be tired after your travels, please come
in."

	Nabiki raised an eyebrow. 
Kasumi...flustered? Well, it was quite true
that neither of them were getting any 
younger and the guys weren't coming by.
She was aware of her own problem, that
most of the guys were intimidated by her
and her reputation (well earned) for 
ruthlessness. Of having guys take her out,
only to bleed them dry. 

	Nabiki wondered about this Ranma,
there was an almost palpable aura of strength
about him, tempered with a deep sadness
as if he'd gone through some great trial
and survived.

	She caught Ranma appraising
her briefly and Nabiki stared. Just for a moment
she had seen something unexpected.

	Part of her success in dealing with
blackmail, information services, and the like 
was an instinct for knowing who and how far
you could push someone. 

	Ranma had killed. It was part of
that great sadness that he carried mainly hidden.
Back him into a corner and he could be VERY
dangerous.

	"So where is my friend Genma?"
Soun watched the young man carefully. A
martial artist had to be able to tell a lot about
an opponent by the way he moved. He 
could not read a thing about this Ranma.

	"Hmmm." Ranma looked at the
panda, then looked towards the oldest of
the three girls. "Miss, could you please
get me that hot water." 

	"Oh certainly."

	"So this is the BOY you've
made that stupid promise about?" A
girl in a sweaty looking gi was glaring
at Ranma.

	He looked at the young 
woman briefly with a smirk. "What
promise was that?"

	"Well, I wanted Saotome
to be here, but we had an honor pledge
made before your birth that you would
marry one of my daughters."

	"WHAT?!?" Just when Ranma
felt that nothing could ever surprise him
again. Nobody had done something like
this before, thankfully.

	Soun continued, oblivious to
the shock of his guest. "You've met
Kasumi, she's 19."

	"I'll be right there." Kasumi's
voice came from the kitchen. She was
checking her reflection in the window
as she waited for the kettle to heat.

	"This is my daughter Nabiki,
she's 17."

	The girl in the kimono smiled
up at him, continuing her appraisal and
finding she liked what she saw. The 
hidden anguish and danger merely added
spice to the deal.

	"This is my daughter Akane,
she's 16. Pick any one you want, she'll
be your new bride."

	"Ah." Ranma thought about
this. It was a matter of honor, and frankly
he'd spent way too damn much time alone.
The past thirty years had seen most of 
his friends on the circuit either retired or
killed.

	He glanced at the youngest.
She was angry though somewhat cute.
The middle daughter appeared to be
fairly intelligent, and  judging from her 
choice in clothing, was likely of a 
conservative nature. The eldest 
seemed either not entirely there, or
had retreated behind a shell to deal
with some personal tragedy but
did have some interesting qualities.

	"Mister, uhm, I'm sorry,
my father failed to tell me your name."

	"Tendo. I'm Soun Tendo."

	"Mister Tendo, then. I 
have just found out about this arrangement.
With three such lovely daughters, how 
could I possibly make such an important
choice based only on such scanty data?"

	Nabiki grinned. He had a brain,
and he knew to use it. That immediately
put him above most of the other boys she
knew. 

	"Don't even THINK about it!"
Akane glared at the BOY standing there.

	Ranma nodded and smiled.
"All right, I won't."

	Akane exhaled. How DARE he!

	"Here's the hot water, Ranma,"
Kasumi brought the kettle in. She smiled
at him as he smiled and nodded his thanks.

	"Uhm, you might want to sit
down for this." Ranma brought the kettle
over and measured a splash of hot water
onto the panda.

	"HOT! TOO HOT!"

	"Oh my!"

	"No way!"

	"Hmmph. I knew they were
weirdos."

	"My old friend! How did you?"

	"It was training in China,
that did this," Ranma explained. He 
quickly covered the salient points of the
Jusenkyo curse. "...of course that isn't 
even a patch on what happened after
that."

	"Ranma...you're cursed too?"
Kasumi looked down at the table. It had
all been going so well, too.

	"Oh my son, what a 
disappointment you are to your father."
Genma grabbed Ranma's gi and prepared
to throw him into the koi pond. Ranma
wouldn't budge.

	"Pop. Let go. I'll demonstrate
without disturbing the koi." Seeing that
his father wasn't letting go, Ranma touched
two pressure points and Genma's arms 
went suddenly limp.

	Akane excused herself and went
to the kitchen.

	"Actually," Ranma said as he 
smiled reassuringly at them, "compared 
to oyaji's curse, mine isn't so bad. I don't
like it, but at least I remain human."

	Akane returned and a moment later
cold water was splashed onto Ranma. "Dad,
you've engaged your daughters to a girl. How
could you?"

	Ranma raised an eyebrow at her.
"I'm a guy. The physical body is the only thing
that changes, and it can easily be reversed."

	"He's a pervert, a monster, and you've
engaged one of us to him!"

	Ranma shook her head and applied 
some of the still hot water from the kettle to
her head. "Pervert? Monster? It's a curse, it's
something you learn to live with. If I had been
in some horribly disfiguring accident, would 
that make me a monster? If I had lost a leg,
would that make me less of a man?"

	"You change into a girl! That's 
perverted!"

	Ranma shook his head, a little
saddened, but arguing with the girl wouldn't
change her mind.

	Kasumi  and Nabiki exchanged a
glance. While the curse was nauseating to
contemplate in certain situations, Ranma 
had made an excellent point about it.

	"There's more you should know,
but it's not important right now." Ranma
thought about it. "Tell you what, Mister
Tendo. Why don't we let THEM decide,
oh, about a week from now, which one of
them would be engaged to me."

	Genma blinked. "You're not
upset about this?"

	"Why?" Ranma shrugged.
"Frankly with all I've been through, 
some stability in my life would be most
appreciated. If it turns out that one of
these two can be a good friend, then
that's exactly what I could use right now.
Anything more, well, that takes time."

	Kasumi blinked. That was
certainly far more reasoned out than
she would expect from someone who
looked as young as he did.

	Nabiki grinned. Ranma
thought things out and was patient.
Two qualities that made for a good
business associate. This COULD be
interesting. It was a pity about the
curse though.
===========================
end part A, teaser of this idea.
	where to go from here?

What's different about Ranma? 

Psychologically and in terms of life
experience, he's 128 years old. He's
a LOT more mature and is no longer
having a lot of knee-jerk reactions to
his curse.  Because he doesn't feel
the need to be so macho, he's going
to be a lot less of a jerk. He's also had
to kill before, during an arena fight,
and he deeply regrets it even though
he's come to terms with the necessity.
As he's had to fight women over the
years, he isn't as reluctant to do so,
though he's sufficiently powerful he
will have trouble actually hitting 
anyone.

Physically, he's genetically re-engineered
to be stronger, faster, tougher, etc. 
Putting it simply, he's the best fighter
in arena combat games that include
full conversion cyborgs, psychic duels,
and alien creatures of all types. Using
biotechnology that is thousands of 
years ahead of what we have now...

Plus there's his backpack, and his 
clothing, both of which are replacements
for what he had when he arrived...

Unfortunately, because he has dismissed 
Akane already, she's going to be major
PO'd at him. Kasumi and Nabiki have 
major problems with his curse, but...

BTW: Ranma is going to be OOC from
the manga. Nabiki and Kasumi in TOS
start out as more rounded characters
but get increasingly cariactured as 
things go on (judging from the translation
of the last volume of the manga up on
the Ranma Project page). With a more
mature and considerate Ranma, would
they develop the same way?

ja ne,
gregg