Kimiko's Legacy- a story in "The Bet"
part 1: "A snowball from hell"
outlined by Gregg Sharp

pebble supplied and thrown by Christopher 
Angel, god of moments. Pond supplied by
Rumiko Takahashi. Everything else is my
fault. C&C goes to Metroanime@aol.com
Flames go to Toltiir@aol.com. Henry Weinhardt's
makes some of the best root beer available.
add a scoop of Blue Bunny vanilla ice cream
and see if you don't enjoy this fanfic a lot more.

differences in the original pebble are because i'm
a techie sort of person and i got sidetracked in the
mechanism for the delay. Note that this is a short
outlined out version of what could be a major
series.
==================================
  	The God of Moments looked over Toltiir's 
form and snorted. "Bah," he scoffed. "Amateurs."

	Toltiir gave the tall god a sly grin, which
looked like it fit especially well in his usual black cat
form. "You think you could do better?"

	"He-er...da-um...shoot, yeah," the other 
responded, stumbling slightly over the godly restrictions
on swearing.

	Toltiir arched his head in such a way to 
indicate the viewing globe. "Go ahead."

	The mortal-turned-god hummed for a few 
minutes as he scanned the realities. "AHA!" He shouted
and pointed a finger at the globe he was viewing.

	Frowning at the image of a mortal woman in
the globe, Toltiir twisted his head to look back at the
much taller god. "What about it?"

	"All I need to do is request an interference in
Kasumi's pregnancy..." The Lord of Paradox blinked.

	"Yggdrasil subroutines have taken it over,
and produced an interesting interpretation, ne?"
---------------------------------------------
	Doctor Matsudeira turned to the young
couple, who were (as expected) grief stricken. "Now,
now, Mister and Mrs Tendo. We caught it in time,
we think. We'll have to put Kimiko here on 
chemotherapy for awhile, until we're sure we've 
gotten it all. This will still leave you with one 
ovary, and in a couple of years you can try
again."
----------------------------------------------
	Having been handed a book by
Grey (reluctant incubus working for the Rival
Relief Office) titled "Permissable Expletives 
For Use by Demigods & Above" the Protector
of The Norns turned to page 17. "Ara. Masaka.
Stupid Potato Subroutine. This inhales greatly."

	"So no children are conceived until
Akane's time, and because Kimiko Tendo was
using fertility drugs at the time..."

	"She gets triplets." Well, at least
THAT was going as planned.
---------------------------------------
	"I'm sorry, Mrs Tendo." Doctor
Matsudeira HATED moments like these,
which came all too often. One celebrates
one's successes and learns from one's
failures. When one is a doctor, those
failures have consequences beyond those
of (for example) a video game programmer.

	She nodded, reaching out to
hold the hand of the man who was crying
enough for both of them.

	"As you recall, when we found
the shadow on the xray we could have 
renewed the chemo, but you would have
lost your children. As it is, the cancer is
along the spine. We can go to radiation
therapy now, but..."

	"But you won't know more 
until the biopsy gets back. Wakatta."

	Matsudeira shrugged. "We
can hope for the best, plan for the worst."
-------------------------------
	"Hello. This is Kimiko. It has
been a long time, Nodoka. Can you come
over...I need some help." Kimiko Tendo
hung up the phone. "Soun, if medical
science can do nothing, then we must
see what else is available, ne? At least
losing that ovary did one thing for me,
they wouldn't have found this until 
much later if it hadn't been for that."

	Soun Tendo nodded. Who
did he know who would have any 
answers to such a question? Other
than He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named,
of course?
------------------------------------
	Nodoka stood next to
where Kimiko Tendo lay bedridden
as the three daughters lined up 
before them. 

	Kasumi bowed to her
mother, and performed a clumsy
iaijitsu manuever that almost ended
with her clubbing herself in the head.

	Nabiki bowed to her 
mother, and performed a similarly
flawed iaijitsu manuever.

	Akane managed the 
iaijitsu portion flawlessly, but as
the tiny bokken moved up to the
"eight-strike stance" it slipped out
of her grip and ended a short arc
by finding the top of Nabiki's head.

	Nodoka sighed and 
looked embarrassed as Nabiki and
Akane fell to scuffling. "Well, they
HAD the manuever down."

	Kasumi frowned and
tried again, this time performing both
manuevers flawlessly.

	"Very good, Kasumi,"
her mother said weakly. "That's my
girl."

	The other two stopped
fighting long enough to glare daggers
at their sister. 

	"Oh, not that both of you
aren't precious as well. Now your
mommy is very tired, so why don't
you go do your chores?"

	After a session of hugs
and the procession out of the room,
Kimiko looked over at her friend.
"You heard what the doctors have
said?"

	Nodoka smiled. "The 
doctors do not know everything.
A friend of a friend told me of a 
doctor, and I have tracked down
what this doctor has told me. There
is a woman who thinks we might be
able to add a few years yet before
you go on."

	"Ah, to see my daughters
develop a little longer..." Kimiko
sighed and sat back. "And where is
this miracle worker?"

	"A strange one, she is, who
would only help us after I met with her last
month. Even then, I had to prove I was a
warrior and that my word had honor. She
is a Chinese woman named Khu Lon.
I think the final reason she agreed to assist
you was that her great-granddaughter has
lost her parents recently."

	"Whatever the reason, if she
can help me to see that my daughters grow
up right, her help is quite welcome."
---------------------------------
	"Ah," Cologne sat back and
enjoyed the cool breeze of a fan. "This
intrusive technology may be a crutch,
but it can have its benefits."

	"Yes, honored Elder."
Nodoka bowed. The two listened to the
sounds of practice swords clacking in
the dojo as the Tendo daughters 
dueled with an...extra addition.

	"Nodoka, don't stand on
such ceremony, we've known each
other for, oh has it been two years
already?" Cologne nodded and 
sipped on some ice water. Decadent,
horribly decadent, she sipped again
to be sure.

	"You were wondering why
I brought my grand-daughter?" The
old woman's eyes met the samurai
woman's eyes briefly.

	"Well, yes." She HAD
been wondering that.

	"You've told me your own
son is on a training journey which will
take about ten years. Well, my Shampoo
gets all the martial arts training she needs
right there in the village. But, you see,
I want more for my granddaughter than
just being a topnotch Amazon warrior."

	"Ah," Nodoka nodded. "So
she is on a training mission as well, to
learn about the world outside your village."

	"Precisely." Cologne smiled,
pleased that Nodoka was keeping up with
her. "The Nichieju could use friends on
the outside, though our skills and fighting
prowess are great, we tend to be very
insular. We need to know what's going
on in the outside world, and if it should
threaten us, what we can do to stop it or
(if it cannot be stopped) avoid it."

	Kimiko's voice came from the
bed. "So you need friends. A safe house
for the travelling warrior, eyes and ears
that can relay to you what you can't get
locally, someone to ship you what you
can't find at home."

	"Precisely." Cologne nodded.
"We have a few, scattered about, mainly
married amazons who, for one reason or
another, are happier away from the village
but retain the ties to their homeland. We 
always need to find a few more."

	A loud curse in Mandarin
Chinese came and another girl's voice
started laughing, only to go into a
startled yelp and a lot of yelling 
thereafter.

	Nodoka excused herself to
see what Akane had done to Shampoo.
-----------------------------------
	"Hello, who are you, little girl?"

	"Is this the Tendo dojo, please?"

	"Yes, it is..."

	"Mister Saotome said his wife never
could be reached at home cause she was always
in Nerima at the Tendo place...uhm..."

	"You know my husband?" Nodoka
blinked.

	"THAT JACKASS LEFT ME BEHIND!"

	"You shouldn't talk like that, little girl."

	"Oh, wait'll I tell you what he did." The
little girl quickly explained the matter, and included
the phone number of her father who confirmed the
story.

	Nodoka put the phone down, smiled at
the little girl, and stepped quietly back out the door.
"GENMA SAOTOME, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?"

	Taking a deep breath, Nodoka went into
the house to have a nice talk with a little girl named
Ukyou Kuonji.
-------------------------------
	Ukyou Tendo, adopted daughter of Kimiko,
stood next to Shampoo Tendo, also adopted daughter
of Kimiko, who stood next to Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi,
natural daughters of Kimiko Tendo.

	The funeral had been brief, the cremation swift,
and Kimiko Tendo's urn was for now sitting in a place of
honor before her shrine.

	Cologne looked sadly at the spectacle, but death
had been a long companion of hers and she could shed no
tears for Kimiko. The children needed a strong presence now
anyway. 

	Kasumi broke from the line to place the prized
kendo trophy on the shrine. "S-s-see, mom. I did it. We
all did it. Y-you'd be so proud of us. And I got first place
in the Children's Cook-Off..."

	Nabiki put her own trophy next to Kasumi's.
"Mother. Archery. Second place. I WILL do better next
year. I promise you! Oh, and I placed in the top 10% on
the math finals, like that was a surprise..."

	Akane placed a broken piece of brick on the
shrine. "Mother, I finally got to where I can break a brick.
Anything Goes style doesn't lend itself well to tournaments,
but you know that."

	Shampoo said nothing. She had only known
Kimiko Tendo and Nodoka Saotome for the past two years
while staying with them, but they had treated her as equal
to any of the Tendo daughters. She simply placed a wicked
looking dagger on the shrine without a word. Whether
she was offering her services, or just the weapon, either
was impressive.

	Ukyou looked at those offerings. She'd only
known the Tendos for the past year, and there was some
friction between the others about this arranged marriage
stuff that Soun Tendo had gone off about to Nodoka and
Kimiko after she'd arrived. Still, she had been treated
fairly by Kimiko, and so simply offered a skillet with an
example of her Art- an okonomiyaki.

	Nodoka sighed, torn between grief for a 
dear friend, and pride at how the daughters had turned
out. Kimiko had lasted long enough to see them reach
eight years of age. That was years longer than the
doctors had given them. It was enough, she thought,
because Kimiko had always stated that she would 
fight long enough to see her daughters grow up.

	In many ways, they had.
-----------------------------------------------------------
	"<You,>" Shampoo pointed at the innkeep.
She described the two she was tracking. "<They here?>"

	"<No>," the little hole-in-the-wall inn wouldn't
last long if a Chinese Amazon decided to get angry.
"<They left some time ago.>"

	"<Grrrr. What was their names? That'll at 
least make it easier to track them.>"

	The innkeep studied the deskbook. "<Says
here, Genma and Ranma Saotome.>"

	"<YOU LIE!>" Shampoo stopped. The innkeep
was terrified. "<Genma Saotome? Ranma Saotome? I am
following a panda and a girl with the same names as...>"

	"<It's true! I also saw the panda transform into a
balding man in a white gi.>" The innkeep was volunteering
information in the hope that the girl would calm down.

	"<So...>" Shampoo stopped. She'd continue on
the trail, but send a message back to great grandmama. If
she didn't have an idea as to what was going on, nobody
would. She'd hold off killing the two, just in case there was
a chance they were related to her Japanese sword-sensei.
In that case, there were loopholes to the "must kill" law.
---------------------------------
	Nabiki ran back to the others. She had to get
her sword, after all, there was a panda molesting some
girl!

	"So, here you are." Nodoka stood like some
Japanese valkyrie, sword unwrapped and ready to draw.

	The panda that was carrying the struggling 
girl in saw Nodoka and came to a complete stop. The
panda's eyes fixed on the sword briefly, then saw a 
young girl with a large spatula behind her. And behind
HER was the very same Shampoo who had been chasing
them all over China.

	The panda grinned briefly, then went  into
Full Panic Mode. Ranma managed a startled yelp as she
was slammed into the doorframe as the panda made a
run for the border. Any border.

	Kasumi looked down at the unconcious
girl lying amongst the pieces of doorframe. "Oh my."
-------------------------------
	"Urkh." Why did his head hurt so much?
Ranma blinked his eyes and realized he'd somehow
turned male again while he was unconcious, they
were familiar with the curse?

	"Well, hello there. My name is Kasumi
Tendo." The girl smiled at him. "You just had a little
accident, but it should be fine."

	"Kasumi dear, I think I need to speak
to my son alone for a moment." Nodoka smiled as
she watched Kasumi, who was blushing as she
looked down at Ranma and walked away.

	Ranma blinked. "Mother?"
=========================
well, you can't say that this is just retreaded
story with one minor change and everything 
else staying the same, can you?
         where does it go from here? Kasumi
stakes a claim early on. Shampoo claims that
as a Tendo, and as an amazon that lost to
Ranma, she carries a higher claim. Ukyou 
feels that because of the dowry and the
agreement between her natural father, and
her adoption into the Tendo household as
well, that SHE is clearly the one with the
best claim to Ranma.
	Ranma isn't sure what to make
of any of this.
	The rivalry between Furinkan's
male kendo club (with the insufferably
chauvanistic Tatewaki Kuno) and the 
women's kendo club escalates.
	KUNO: "Ah, Akane Tendo,
fierce warrior! Ah, Ukyou, goddess of
okonomiyaki! Kasumi, how dare you
(a mere woman) cross bokken with the
Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"
	KASUMI: "You have forgotten
that the Girls' Kendo Club is also undefeated,
and you now face the...uhm Akane, Ukyou,
can you wait on pummelling him until after
I do my intro...*sigh*."
--------scene: "Ryouga, the lost boy"
	Ryouga: "Ranma, PREPARE TO
DIE!"

	Ranma: "Couldn't it wait until
morning?"

	Ryouga: "Justice can't...wait?"
Ryouga looks around. Nadoka has her
sword, Kasumi has her sword, Nabiki has
an arrow nocked, Ukyou has her big bad
spatula, Akane is holding a baseball bat,
Cologne is blinking owlishly at him from
her walking stick. Shampoo has forgotten
to put her top on. Ranma has just noted 
this last and fainted.

	Ryouga grins nervously. "Maybe
morning would be good, yeah."

Scene:  "The Golden Pair"
	Kasumi: "No, I want to be the one to
skate with Ranma!"

	Shampoo:"Shampoo want partner with
airen!"

	Uykou:"Ranchan, don't you think
we'd make a cute couple!"

	Ranma:"How did I get myself into
this mess?"

	Nabiki:"I'll tell you for 500yen."

Scene: "Late Night In Nerima"
	"Ah alone at last, eh, Ranchan?"

	"Silly Ukyou, why for you hug
Shampoo?"

	"Aaaaaaaaa!"

	"Hmph, silly Ukyou. No should
touch stuff if can't hold liquor."

Scene:
	Kasumi focussed, her two great
loves coming together in a single moment.
She tossed the bread, lettuce, tomatoes, and
turkey breast into the air. Without hesitation,
she drew her katana and made the "Cyclone 
Assault" manuever.

	Five sandwiches landed, perfectly
made as Kasumi sheathed the blade with a
practiced click. Kasumi blinked. Five? She
looked up. A large glob of mustard and
the fixings of the sixth sandwich landed
directly on her face.
	
Scene: "the Mousse-Ranma Challenge"

	Nabiki selling photos of the
various Tendo girls, and Ranma-chan.

	Ukyou selling okonomiyaki
from her portable grill.

	Kasumi selling sushi, prepared
with flourishes of tanto and katana.

	Shampoo and her great grandma
selling ramen.

	Akane grumbling about having
to take out the trash. Kuno's legs are sticking
up out of the trashcan.

	Ranma and Mousse look at the
surrounding circus and wonder what happened
to a simple challenge fight.

Scene: "Last minute scramble"
	Nodoka decides it is decision time.
Ranma has till the end of the week to choose a
fiancee, and it looks like it will be...Kasumi.

	Nabiki and Akane, jealous, try to
win Ranma on their own. Nabiki tries to seduce
Ranma, Akane tries to be nice to Ranma.

	Shampoo reinstates her claim on
Ranma, and starts ignoring Tofu-sensei to 
concentrate on Ranma.

	Ukyou has a WAFFy scene where
she realizes that she's just his "buddy" and
has to decide whether to destroy that and
her place in the family or to try to win Ranma
through trickery. Bet it all on a long shot, or
settle for having a family...

	Akane's pet pig, P-chan, takes
exception to all the attention being focussed
on Ranma and decides to get out of here, 
unfortunately Shampoo and Akane have
been fighting again and P-chan is scheduled
to be fixed.

======================
obviously, this could be thoroughly insane.
ja ne,
gregg