Early Warning, a Bet fic by GreggS.
Metroanime@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/greggsharp/index.html
char & situations tm their respective owners.
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	"So, Ranma Saotome dies in this timeline, because
his neck was just slightly more bent when Akane Tendo hit
him with a table just after the engagement had been announced?"

	"Yes," the cat agreed. "You can introduce a change
here without much concern. Ranma dies. Shampoo tracks down
Genma, who shows her the grave, Shampoo goes back satisfied,
and so on. Then Shampoo and her village die when Phoenix
Mountain and the Musk Dynasty join forces and eliminate the
amazons as a concern. Of course, it isn't long before the Musk
try to betray Phoenix Mountain as Saffron had planned, and the
Musk are also eliminated. Meanwhile, Akane has to come to 
terms with the fact that her temper just snapped a boy's neck."

	"So, nobody will miss this timeline. Good."

	"You're gonna owe me for this," replied the cat with
heavy-lidded gaze. "I'm still wondering exactly how you found
about all this."

	"I'd always wondered why so many of the amazon's
special techniques and manuevers had 'cat' references. When 
I checked into it, I found Cologne knew of a way to contact
you, though she never would except as a last resort to some
fate a lot worse than Shampoo going home in disgrace. 
She wasn't about to mess with this sort of thing, but I 
couldn't resist the chance to play with some REAL power."

	"Nice, that information will pay for the trip. We'll
see about the remainder of the debt, and it is low interest..."

	Nabiki shuddered and pointed to a spot in Ranma's
journal where she wanted the change to occur. What's a gamble
without high stakes and some risk? Unlike the other beings
involved, she couldn't pay with one day's worth of power, and
so...other...arrangements would have to be made.(1)

	"Here, this is the day after...after my mother died.
The change I want to plant is that one of the doctors sees how
my father is handling this."(2)
---------------------------------------------------------
	"Any friends or relatives?" Doctor Takahashi said,
wiping the lenses of her glasses. She could give him any 
number of drugs that could help Soun cope for awhile, but
she was considerably worried about the daughters.

	The youngest was looking angry, not really 
understanding her mother was dead. The six year old had
not cried at all, and that was even more scary. The eldest
was only eight and she had gotten over her crying to find
that she was going to have to be the mommy now.

	"Think, Mister Tendo." As she watched, the
sedative she'd given him earlier took hold and some ghost
of rationality began to manifest. Dr. Takahashi smiled at 
the girls sitting with their father.

	"I...know how to cook, I suppose I can take
over..." Kasumi began to sniffle again.

	"Yes..." Soun looked up at the doctor. "There's
an old friend of mine. In fact, one of my daughters here is
to be married to his son. An arranged marriage, a matter of
honor, you see."

	Kasumi stared at her father. Nabiki blinked but
her expression didn't change. Akane asked what an
arranged marriage was and was promptly hushed by both
of her sisters.

	The doctor got the name, called information, and
reached a Nodoka Saotome in short order. Genma wasn't
available, but upon finding out that some children were
going to have to fend without a mother...
---------------------------------------------------
	"Auntie Saotome!"

	Nodoka was watching Kasumi making a 
simple vegetable stir-fry. Kasumi had apparently already
learned something from her mother of cooking, but she
lacked polish. Nodoka was there mainly to answer
questions and keep any little disasters from occurring.

	"What is it, dear," Nodoka answered, 
thinking that the question would be about what she
could safely add to the stir-fry.

	"What's your son like? How old is he?"

	"Ah," Nodoka blinked. Where had THIS
come from? "He's just a little younger than yourself,
and I haven't seen him for almost five years now. I
have heard he's doing well, though. Dearest manages
to call or send a postcard from time to time. Why do
you ask?"

	"Daddy said that he'd arranged a marriage
between me and your son," said Kasumi with a pout.
She didn't notice as a few of Nodoka's hairs "toinged"
out of her normal hairstyle as the older woman was 
behind her. "I don't think I like younger boys."(3)

	"Arranged? Marriage? My son? Genma!"
Nodoka's pleasant calm evaporated for just a single
heartbeat. "Oh my. Kasumi, turn the stove off. I think
I need to speak with your father."
----------------------------------------
	"Yeah," said Akane as she looked over
at the doctor. "That's my big sister, Kasumi. She'll
be going to Junior High School soon."

	"I see," the young doctor replied. "Do
you get in fights like that fairly often?"

	"Yeah," said Akane with a grin. "Don't
tell Auntie Saotome! She doesn't like it."

	"Well, if your aunt doesn't like it, why
did you get into a fight?" The doctor was a little
impressed that the girl didn't flinch when he put
the disinfectant over a particularly large scrape.

	"They was saying bad things about
big sister," Akane lost her grin. Then leaned 
over to whisper as if imparting a big secret.
"It's cause Kasumi's got a boyfriend she ain't
never met."

	"Never met?" Doctor Tofu was
puzzled but the little girl seemed completely
serious, not mock-serious as if this were some
joke.

	"My daddy arranged marriage. She
gonna marry some guy name Ramen." Akane
nodded. "We have big family meeting. Daddy
had to take his pills but we remembered him 
talking about it. Ramen is Auntie Saotome's
son, she taking care of us since Mommy died."

	"Ah," Tofu shrugged. An arranged
marriage was a little unusual, but a lot of that
still took place. It sounded like two families that
were close making permanent ties.

	"So Ramen come and sweep Kasumi
away on his white horse!" Akane's eyes glittered.
"Just like in story books."

	"You're all done," Doctor Tofu informed
his patient. "Try to take it a little easier in those
fights now."

	"Okay, doctor!"
-------------------------------------
	"Yes, we need to talk." Nodoka paused.
"I am well aware of the agreement. I am about to
tear that contract up, because after the past eight
years of raising these girls and seeing Kasumi
get thoroughly wrapped up in this arranged 
marriage...

	"Yes, Genma. I know about your
arrangement with Soun to marry Ranma off."
Silently Nodoka added she still hadn't gotten
much of a response from Soun. Either he was
an emotional wreck, sleeping, or zoning on the
newest prescription change.

	"I have heard quite enough about the
contract, Genma! This is not about calling off 
your training journey. This is about preparing
for what comes after."

	Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane, listening
to Auntie Saotome from their position in the 
closet under the stairs, all squirmed a little. For
Auntie Saotome to raise her voice was unheard
of. Next thing you know, Kasumi would botch a
meal or Nabiki would be giving refunds.

	"Who's Kasumi? Soun's eldest daughter.
That's one of the few good things to come out of
this. Why? Because all three of the the Tendo 
daughters are quite nice. Kasumi's an excellent cook,
and a nice traditional girl, and I will be proud to call
her daughter."

	Kasumi's smile lit up the closet. The 
sixteen year old also blushed prettily. 

	"What do you mean it was any of his
daughters? Before you make that trip to China,
I want you to come by here. Yes, you can continue
the training afterwards. Because I want Ranma and
his wife-to-be, whichever one it is, to get to know
each other. He doesn't know? You think it'll have
an adverse effect on his training as his concentration
won't be entirely focussed. Well, then, I won't tell him,
and I'll get the girls to promise as well. Not until you've
brought him back from China, or when he's reached
his sixteenth birthday. How's that? Fine. Goodbye,dear."
Nodoka paused briefly as she went back to the
kitchen, the excited whispering of three girls coming
from a closet. She shrugged inwardly. Let them know 
about it, it was their lives anyway. And any one of
them would make an excellent daughter.
-----------------------------------------
	"We'll be leaving for the final leg of the
training soon," Genma nodded towards his wife.
"We're just stopping by to say hello like you said.
C'mon, Ranma."

	"OOoooohhh!" Three girls shot from the 
open door to get a look at the boy one of them had
been promised to. There was some disappointment,
though Auntie Saotome HAD assured them there
was no white horse and that her son was many things
but a handsome prince was not on the list.

	"Actually, dearest," Nodoka held the
wrapped bundle out where Genma could clearly see
it. "I have another idea..."
---------------------------------------
	Genma grumbled. Ranma tried to figure
out why these girls were being so nice to him. Nodoka
looked proudly at her son, being the object of three
girls' attentions. A sign of a man among men.

	"So when do we get to this training site?"
Akane asked excitedly. A break from the fights at
school, and this Ranma guy was kinda cute. Maybe
Kasumi wouldn't want him!

	Nabiki held her camera ready. Exotic sights
and a trip into a rarely seen part of China, just the thing
to regale her associates with when she got back. And
if she got the guy, instead of Kasumi (who was Auntie
Saotome's favorite), or Akane (who already had guys
fighting over her), then so much the better. She was
tired of being ignored by the guys, and if she just 
couldn't get the hang of the traditional skills, she had
other strengths!

	Kasumi smiled at Ranma, mindful of her
promise not to let him know about the arranged 
marriage, but she'd been waiting to meet him since
she was eight years old! How could she not take
the time to get to know him? To flirt with him and
see if he'd respond? To try to uncover the real
Ranma behind what Auntie Saotome had warned
her about "rough edges needing to be smoothed
out."

	Ranma smiled back at Kasumi, wondering
again what the heck was going on.
--------------------------------------------
	"Here, sirs, we come to training ground of
Cursed Springs- Jusenkyo!"

	"Did he say 'Cursed'? Dearest, are you sure
about this?"

	"It's a legendary training ground. Of course,
it's safe. All the really top notch martial artists train here."

	"Aw pop, this place don't look so tough."

	Nodoka looked over the map and tried to
figure out what they were talking about. 

	"So." Ranma looked at the three girls who
were tightening belts. Akane was wearing a traditional
gi, Nabiki a black jumpsuit sort of outfit, while Kasumi
had opted for a more Chinese style. "You said that 
you'd studied some of the Anything Goes style, but that
your father couldn't help you that much. What other
styles have you learned?"

	"Traditional ninjitsu," said Nabiki as
she leapt to the top of one of the poles. "Though
mainly my focuses are not in the martial arts."(4)

	Akane required a little more effort to reach
the top of the top of a pole. She wasn't quite as limber
as Nabiki. "Kempo mainly. A little Muay Thai."

	Kasumi wanted to make an impression. She
gracefully landed upon her pole as if weighing no more
than a feather. "Masaki style Kendo, a little Aikido, and
Hwarang Do."

	Nodoka listened to the Guide going into 
hysterics, but the man's accent was getting stronger
from the amount of stress. She understood from an
earlier conversation that all three were interested in her
son, and each wanted to both show off and find out
how good he actually was.

	"Oh no!" Nodoka's attention was jerked
back to where the girls had just demonstrated that
they were NOT used to moving as a team. Tournaments
and one-on-one matches, yes, and Akane was used to
plowing her way through school melees, but coordinating
attacks was completely different.

	"Those ones fall in..." the Guide was interrupted
as Genma was knocked into a pool by Ranma. "That
one fall in..."

	Nodoka's eyes widened as a large falcon 
pulled itself out of one of the springs and started 
making an odd noise. A Kasumi that she hadn't seen for
at least nine years was trying to get untangled
from the much too large clothing.  A dark brown wolf
snorted water out of her nose and looked sadly at
everyone around her.

	One of the pools exploded, and a panda
came up to attack Ranma, who was gawking at the
sight of all the animals. He fell, screaming, towards
one of the pools.

	"Okay," the Guide took a deep breath.
"That one fall in spring of drowned girl. Now 
whoever fall in spring take body of young girl."

	Ranma surfaced, looked at what was
hanging out of his gi, and screamed.

	The Guide backed away from the pools
and pointed them out to explain this all to the
uncursed customer. "That one fall in spring of
drowned falcon, that one fall in spring of drowned
child, that one fall in spring of drowned wolf. 
That one fall in spring of drowned panda. Each 
spring have terrible tragic story. Now whoever 
fall in spring take body of what last drown
in spring."

	"Dearest," Nodoka called out. "Do you
want to define 'safe'? I think we may have differing
definitions."

	Everyone's eyes snapped to the panda.
The panda fled. He was pursued by a young woman
in a gi, a falcon, and a fairly large wolf.

	Little Kasumi came up to her Auntie
Saotome and asked very politely if she could go
home now.
----------------------------------------------------------
okay, where does THIS go.
//scene of Ryouga getting knocked off a cliff,
this time by a rather large wolf?//
	Oh terrible tragic story sirs, about
wolf who drown in spring 14,500 year ago. What
kind of wolf was around 14,500 years ago. Big
ones. Really big ones. Hey, I coulda used 
spring of drowned shih tsu...

//scene: amazon village. this procession is 
enough to cause the various people to call a
halt to the current match. Nodoka gets hot
water. Everyone goes "Ah, Jusenkyo!" and
the match goes on. Now, however, Akane is
still wanting to take her anger out on someone,
and says the wrong thing. She gets challenged.
Well, it's just a little match, isn't it? Does NOT
turn out the way it did in Neutral Ground.//

//scene: Kasumi tries to get a romantic moment
watching the stars with Ranma, she sighs and
wiggles a little closer as if cold, a splash from  
the pond (Ryouga) turns the pair into a young
girl and a child. Kasumi sniffles as her mindset
also changes.//

//scene: Shampoo appears during the fight
between the Golden Pair and the team of 
Kasumi/Ranma. Kasumi gets splashed by
Kodachi and must withdraw. Nabiki takes
her place. Ranma gets splashed by Ryouga.
Ryouga teams up with Akane. Akane
wants to fight with Ranma. Shampoo enters
the contest, challenging the Golden Pair
that if she wins, then Ranma will be hers
and Mikado can have Akane. Everyone but
Mikado and Shampoo dislikes this idea.//

//scene: Kasumi begins leaning forward,
ready to awaken him with a kiss after he's
gotten knocked out in a battle with Happosai.//

mind you, i'm still tempted to have Kasumi fall
in Spring Of Drowned Saiyajin or Drowned 
Sailor Senshi. (That funny, Spring dry up 
immediately. Ah, is one use spring!)

oh well, ja ne.	
========================================
(1)- yes, i know, no affecting a timeline you're personally
involved in. Since she's not a goddess, she's being cut a
little more slack. Besides, the assembled beings want to
watch her reaction when things start going wrong. Most
gods of the myths & legends really enjoy putting down
uppity mortals.
(2)- her third mistake, as she could have altered it so that
her mother never died. Of course, as you read this, you
can just imagine Nabiki flinching as she sees what she has
wrought, can't you?
(3)- i know she's got it wrong, you know she's got it wrong,
neither Kasumi nor Nodoka realize she's got it wrong until
later.
(4)- Tiger Claw kung fu is a real style, ninjitsu you already
know about. Freestyle Kempo is pretty much an Anything
Goes martial art in Real Life. I'm not sure about the spelling
of Muay Thai, but this also is a RL martial art that's good
for brawling. Aikido seems to fit Kasumi's personality of
gentle deflection as much as any martial arts does. Hwarang
Do is a style that combines shiatsu techniques and some
wu shu/kung fu manuevers from other schools. I was gonna
make Akane good at Commando Training style, but figured
there would be complaints. Mind you, the style's perfect for
her. As for Masaki style kendo, sure i could use "Falling
Sparrow" or "Gentle Rain" instead, but Nodoka strikes me
as being "into" family so a family school works.