Chapter 3

         It was a rainy day in Nerima Ward, Tokyo.  The sound of raindrops
beating against the roof was almost mesmerizing.  Looking down from Asgard,
Skuld could finally complete her contract.

         Insdie the Tendou Training Hall, tears of joy were rolling down
Soun's face.  *Today is the day that Ranma would arrive,* Soun thought
happily.  "Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane come here!" a very joyous Soun shouted out to
his daughters.  Soun had received a postcard from a long time friend and
training partner.  On one side of the card was a panda bear and on the other
side was a single sentence.  "Bringing Ranma in two weeks."  The postcard was
signed Saotome.  

         Moments later, all three of Tendou's daughters were sitting opposite
him on the dinner table.  Unknown to the three occupants, Kasumi had started
to glow after sitting down.  Kasumi was in a simply dress, Nabiki was in a
light blue kimono while Akane was wearing a white gi.  "The son of a very good
friend of mine will be arriving soon.  His name is Saotome Ranma.  If one of
you three girls were to marry him and carry on this training hall, then our
family's legacy would be secure."  Soun announced to his three daughters.  

          "Hey, wait a minute!  You can't just decide something like that!
Count me out!" Akane shouted with rage.

          "Maybe you should wait till you see him.  You never know, he might
be more handsome than you think." Nabiki happily teased Akane.  Which caused
Akane to look the other way.  Turning back to Soun, "Right, father?" asked
Nabiki.

          Nabiki's question caused Soun to laugh a little.  "He'll be here
soon," was the reply Soun used to evade the question.  Standing up, "Ranma and
his father have been on a training trip.  Recently they've crossed into
China."  Soun was now looking at the koi pond.

          "Oh, China!!" Nabiki commented with a awed expression.

          "So they trained in China.  That does not automatically make them
good."  Akane grumbled.

          "Is he handsome?  What is he like?" Nabiki asked.  In part she was
very interested and she also wanted to find out more about this so called
martial artist their father have engaged them to.

          Laughing again, Soun turned his attention back to his three
daughters.  "I don't know."

          The happy demure of Nabiki was now an angry scowl.  "You don't
know?"

          "I've never met the young man," was all Soun could reply.
          
           Kasumi was suddenly covered in a blinding light as the glowed
intensified.   

           As Soun searched the faces of his daughters to gauge their
reactions, he suddenly noticed Kasumi's red cheeks and stargazed expression.
"Is something wrong, Kasumi?" Soun asked his eldest daughter.  Over the years,
Soun had become overly protective of Kasumi.  This did not mean he cared any
less for his other two daughters.  It is just that Kasumi gave up her
childhood for the family.  She sacrificed more than any person should have to.
To this end, he was more protective of Kasumi than Akane or Nabiki.  

           It was strange that Kasumi had not uttered a word after his
announcement.  She would usually tell him politely if one of his ideas were
unacceptable and he would understand and give in for fear of offending his
eldest.  Yet today he had told each of his daughters something that would
forever change their lives and Kasumi had not spoken a single word.  He was
also a little worried that Kasumi's cheeks were a bit red as well.  

           Nabiki was not really surprised.  She knew something like this
would happen for some time now.  The Tendou family was a traditional family in
a modern world.  Arranged marriages were common back then, especially among
the middle and upper classes.  She was amazed that it had not happened sooner.
Kasumi was already 19, she was 17 and her little sister was 16, all were well
within the acceptable age for marriage.  Nabiki was just wondering what kind
of man her father had engaged one of them to.  Her thoughts were suddenly
broken by her father's question.  Looking up, Nabiki noticed the light reddish
tone to Kasumi's cheeks.  To some, Nabiki was not an emotional person.  She
always had this look of a predator stalking her prey on her face that earned
her a reputation for being cold hearted.  To those that truly understood her,
knew that this was not true.  She had learned to hide her emotions really well
after her mother died.  There were only few times when Nabiki wasn't wearing
her facial mask of uncaring.  This was one of those times.  One of the people
Nabiki worried about the most was Kasumi.  Kasumi was her older sister, but
she was also her mother and friend at times.  She was what kept the family
together when the outside world threaten to tear the family apart.  To see the
sister-mother of the Tendou Clan unhealthy worried her.

          Akane could not believe what her father was saying.  She hated boys,
they were so immature.  She did not know which was worse, Tatewaki Kunou
thinking he could become her boyfriend by trying to beat her up or the boys
that followed him.  Now her Tousan wants one of his daughters to marry a boy
he hardly knew.  Why couldn't the boys at her school be more like Tofu-sensei?
He was so mature but was in love with her older sister.  Looking up at Kasumi,
Akane finally noticed the reddish hue to Kasumi's cheeks having missed her
Tousan's comment before because she was busy being angry at him.  Akane was
instantly worried about Kasumi.  Kasumi was more like a mother than a sister
to Akane.  

          Kasumi could not believe how much she had enjoyed that kiss.  Part
of her, the part that was the mother and sister, told her she was betraying
Akane, but the other part, the part that was the suppressed female, rejoiced
at the experience.  It had been far too long since she had genuinely laughed
and enjoyed herself this much.  She had given up all hopes of ever
experiencing these kinds of feelings since Okaasan died.  This New Year was
one in which she would cherish for a long time.  She knew she was blushing and
hoped that Ranma did not see it.  It would embarrass both of them.  After
Ranma had whispered that he felt the same, made her even blush some more.
Lifting her head to see if Ranma was blushing as well, she final noticed that
she was not on the roof anymore.  She also felt three pairs of eyes focused on
her.  Looking toward the sources, she noticed that she was at the table and
was the attention of both her sisters and Tousan.  Numerous questions started
to come to mind : Why wasn't she on the rooftop with Ranma?  How did she get
to be where she was?  Why was everyone staring at her with worried
expressions?  The last question was why Nabiki wearing a kimono?  She had not
worn one ever since Ranma first arrived.  Knowing the easiest way to get an
answer was to ask, Kasumi did just that.  " Is something wrong?" Kasumi asked
also missing Soun's question.

         Finally getting a reaction from his eldest daughter.  Soun nodded,
repeating his question, "Are you feeling well. Kasumi?"

          "I'm feeling fine.  Why do you ask?"  replied Kasumi.

          "Father is just worried about you, Kasumi.  Your face is a bit red
and you've been staring out into space for the past few minutes."  A worried
Nabiki answered.  Akane only noticing Kasumi's condition a few moments ago
nodded as well.  

          "Thank you, fahter, Nabiki, Akane, but I feel fine.  Was there
anything else you needed?"  Kasumi asked.

          "I was just saying that a long time friend of mine would be arriving
soon and he was bringing his son.  If one of you were to marry him and take
over the training hall, the Tendou Legacy would be secured."

          Looking at Nabiki in her kimono and then outside at the weather,
everything finally made sense to Kasumi.  This was the day that the three
Tendou daughters first meet Saotome Ranma and his father Saotome Genma.  This
was something that she could never truly forget.  Her life was turned upside
down with Ranma's arrival.  Still with all the chaos she was glad at having
met Ranma.  She didn't know how she got here but living with Ranma for the
past year had help her adjust to the hectic events surrounding the young
martial artist.  Remembering that Ranma might need some hot water, Kasumi
stood up.  "Please excuse me father, I need to prepare something."   Walking
into the kitchen, Kasumi started preparing some hot water for her two newly
arriving guest, unaware of the stares she was getting from her family.

          Up in Asgard, two sisters were bickering.  "It's not fair," a woman
with white hair complained.  "I'm the goddess of love.  I should have gotten
this job."  Looking over at Skuld, "I bet you don't know the first thing about
love, seeing how you never had a boyfriend."  In Urd's mind, a game was being
played and to her, it was game, set and match.  She could not believe Skuld's
luck.  Here was the biggest love web she had ever seen in all her existence.
A boy by the name of Ranma was picking up fianc�es left and right.  Aside from
the fact that most of them were being forced upon him by his Oyaji and honor,
the fact still remains that the girls didn't mind having a fianc�e like Ranma.
He was handsome, strong, and had a sense of honor unparalleled except maybe
Thor's.   It did not help the situation any when Ranma did not possess the
knowledge or ability to handle the opposite gender.  Now here was Skuld, who
had been lucky enough to not only find a useful bug, but was on her way to
making a big impression on her first assignment.  Because of the bug, Kasumi
now knew that beneath the curse, Ranma was indeed everything she had wished
for.  He was kind-hearted, who else would put up with all this fianc�e
business, other than a hentai, which Ranma was not due to his social skills,
because he did not want to hurt one of their feelings.  Calling Ranma's life
exciting was an understatement.  Ranma's life could be considered the pentacle
of adventure and excitement.  Last, if someone even considered Ranma not being
handsome would be attacked by numerous raged filled women.  Now due to the
bug, Kasumi found that she could in fact love and respect him and her father
was giving her a chance at marriage.  All this was due to a computer glitch
which made Akane, Ranma's fianc�e, instead of Kasumi in the first place.  With
the Yggdrasil system back online, it transferred Kasumi back in time so that
now she could become Ranma's fianc�e instead of Akane.

          Skuld was fuming.  This was her first real assignment and here was
Urd telling her how unfair it was.  On top of that, her older sister made fun
of her by saying how she didn't know a thing about love because she never went
out with a guy.  Urd was the last person to be lecturing about this.  Urd made
Ranma's problems look like child's play.  Then again, looking back at Ranma's
file, if a person just went by Ranma's and Urd's problems with the opposite
gender, they might consider the two related by blood or something.  After
living with Keiichi and Belldandy for the past two years, though she still
thought Belldandy was too good for Keiichi, Skuld finally understood something
about love.  What was startling was that if she was successful, the similarity
between the two couples were astronomical.  Maybe in a way, her father, Kami-
sama, was giving her a chance to redeem herself after the way she had acted
when she first heard about Keiichi's wish.  Looking back at Urd, who was still
raving, she finally understood why Urd was mad.  First, Skuld had stumbled
upon the worse web of love the Fates had ever known.  Second, Urd was mad that
she had nothing to do with the relationship between Belldandy's and Keiichi
that she saw this as a second chance due to the staggering similarity between
the two or actually the female half.  

          Urd stopped raving as a look of understanding appeared upon Skuld's
face.  Maybe her younger sister had finally seen the light was going to give
her the chance at this contract.  Her hopes died as Skuld stuck her tongue out
at her.  "Arggggggggg," was the only thing Urd could think of at the moment.

          Seeing Urd mad, Skuld skipped happily away looking for some warm
water so that she could visit Belldandy then Kasumi.  She had to tell
Belldandy about Kasumi.

To be Continued

Chapter Four

         The silence of the night was broken by a shout emanating close by.
Suddenly a red-headed young girl with a pigtail slid into view from around the
corner followed by a large panda.  The encounter between girl and panda
attracted a crowd of viewers.  Rumors soon started flying around as to who
these two were, why the panda was picking on the young lady?   A few young men
even thought about helping the cute redhead.  That was until the panda ripped
a sign from the ground, bashed the young girl and carried her off.

Tendou Residence

         "I'm worried about Kasumi,  Nabiki." A worried expression could be
seen on Akane's face.

          "I am too, Akane." Nabiki was also worried.  *Ever since she heard
father's announcement, I've noticed that Kasumi has been acting strangely.
Could it be that Kasumi wants this engagement?  How does she know this boy?
Hmmm, If this is true then I think Kasumi was blushing* Nabiki smiled inward.
She just had to find out if it was true or not. 

          Akane could not understand it, one moment Nabiki was really worried
then the next she seems to be a little more relaxed and had that predatorial
look on her face like she was planning something.  "Nabiki, will Kasumi be
alright?" 

          "I'm not sure yet but I think so." Nabiki smiled for a second.

          As for Soun, he was just looking at the kitchen door.  Unaware of
the conversation between his two daughters, he had lost all his prior
excitement on meeting his best friend and was lost in worry for his eldest
daughter.  Of all his daughters, Kasumi would be the one he would miss the
most, if he ever lost her.  She reminded him of a time when laughter could be
heard from the backyard.  A time when the Tendous were truly a family.  A time
which seems so long ago.  A time when his loving wife was still breathing and
enjoying life.  Kasumi reminded him of Kimiko.  Kasumi was everything his wife
used to be and more so.  To Soun, when Kimiko died, the Kasumi that he knew
also died that day.  Gone was the carefree child who would laugh and play
games with her sisters, now there was only a motherly figure.  All too often,
Soun would be depressed at how things turned out in life.  He would hide
himself behind a newspaper in hopes that all the problems of the outside world
would help cover up the problems he had at home.  They were not physical
problems or financial ones, but emotional ones.  The ones that seem so hard to
remedy.

          All three Tendous were suddenly interrupted from their deep thoughts
by a loud commotion at the entrance to their home.  Nabiki, remembering the
postcard and the supposed arrival of Tousan's friend and his son, shot to her
feet and ran to the door.  Seconds later, Soun and Akane could see Nabiki
running back through the hall with a look of fright upon her face.  Following
the fleeing Tendou was a large panda carrying an uncooperative passenger upon
its shoulder.  Upon facing the Tendous the huge panda deposited its struggling
luggage.

          Looking at their new guest, Nabiki could not figure out if the red-
haired stranger was a he or a she.  Looking at Soun, "Are these friends of
yours Tousan?" Nabiki asked.

          Turning his attention away from the huge panda, Soun unable to say
anything due to the shock of the unexpected arrival of their two guests, could
only shake his head vigorously. 

          After a few moments their guest stepped forward, "I'm Saotome Ranma,
sorry about this."

          *So this is Ranma,* Nabiki thought.  "He is cute," she exclaimed.
*Might this be the boy Kasumi is interested in.  She has some good taste.  I
didn't know you had it in you sis.* Nabiki thought.

           The tension, broken by Ranma's statement, shook Soun out of his
daze as he gave Ranma a joyous hug.  Now after so long, the Saotome and Tendou
clan would soon be united.  Into the hug, a part of Soun's subconscious was
starting to tell him something was amiss.  As Soun's mind tried to contemplate
this train of thought, while hugging Ranma, he felt two foreign pieces of
anatomy a man should not have pressing against his chest.  Finally, reality
hit him.  Soun was hugging a young girl and not a young man.  Disengaging him
quickly, Soun again went into a state of shock.

           "What a disappointment.  What were you thinking, father?  Does this
look like something a man would have?" Nabiki, all the while was poking
Ranma's ample chest.  *Was I wrong?  This can't be the boy that Kasumi was
blushing over, he or she isn't even male.  Does this mean that Kasumi is a
les.. No!!  I will not accept this.  Something is wrong with this situation.*
Nabiki's mind was in hyperdrive trying to figure out what was going on.    

           Soun couldn't handle being in shock twice on the same day shook his
head before fainting.  

           "Would you please stop that?" Ranma asked Nabiki through clenched
teeth.  He was so embarrassed.  First, he was dragged to the Tendous kicking
and screaming like a child.  Then to top it off, their first impression of him
was of a girl and not a guy.  Finally, Mr. Tendou had to faint right in front
of him and a girl poking his chest.  *Could the day get any worse?* Ranma
thought to himself.

             *Ranma is here.* Kasumi smiled and started coming out of the
kitchen.  Suddenly she heard a thump sound.  She had forgotten about her
father fainting.

           Nabiki was thinking too deeply to have noticed Ranma's request.
Every few seconds, Nabiki absentmindedly squeezed one of Ranma's breast.
Something was missing but Nabiki did not know what.  *Arggggg!!!!* Nabiki
racked her brain for a plausible answer.  This did not make any sense and the
only one that did was absurd.

           Ranma noticed the new girl that had just entered the hallway and
could not help but notice the air of calmness that surrounded her.  She had
long brown hair and looked great wearing a light blue casual dress.  What
surprised him was that, she was heading his way with a kettle in one hand and
a towel in the other.  She was the only one that did not show any kind of
negative expression toward him since he arrived, although he just met her.
Suddenly Ranma was as shocked as Soun when this strange girl poured the
content of the kettle on him.  He felt the change take place.  He grew taller
and the clothing that was loose before now fitted him perfectly.  *How did
this girl know about his curse?* every fiber of Ranma's mind shouted at him.
All he could do was stare at her with his mouth hanging.  What was more
surprising, though Ranma could not see it, was Genma's expression.  It was the
look of a deer caught in the headlight of an oncoming car.  "How...how...how
did you know about my curse?" Ranma stuttered.

            Kasumi hated lying and knew that they would not believe her even
if she told them the truth so she avoided the question.  "Oh my, fahter
fainted!!"  Inward Kasumi was smiling to herself.  To everyone, she was acting
like the same old Kasumi they knew but deep down, she had changed.  Ever since
the kiss on New Years Eve, she realized what she was missing out on life and
could not bear to return to just being the Kasumi of before.  Hopefully she
could change that.  She wanted a happier life, a life where her smiles came
from her heart and her laughs were one of joy.  Looking down at her father,
Kasumi smiled.  Since Ranma entered their lives, father had not been the same.
The depression that had gripped his very being since mother died had slowly
vanished.  Throughout all the fianc�e problems, kidnapping and rivals, those
had been one of the happiest times the Tendous had experienced.  Looking down
at Soun, Kasumi was glad Ranma had entered their lives.  Maybe this time, she
could repay Ranma for his deeds which he had yet to accomplish and make him
happy.

          Nabiki had face faulted at the transformation.  *Curse?  What curse?
Where was the red-headed girl?  Where did this boy come from?*  these thoughts
were whirling around Nabiki's mind as she went into shock.  The day had not
been going well for her.  To top it off where once she was holding a very
ample breast, now was replaced by a muscular chest of a very handsome man.  No
woman, even someone like Nabiki, could stay calm when a woman's breast
deflates like a ballon in their hand.  Following Soun's example, Nabiki could
not handle the shock and fainted as well.  

To be continued

Chapter Five

     Kasumi knew that her actions would raise questions but she wanted to
defuse some of the animosity from the start.  Thinking back, the reason Akane
fought with Ranma was more out of anger toward Otousan and the forced marriage
than against Ranma himself.  Had the situation been different, Kasumi knew
Akane wouldn't have minded being engaged to Ranma.  As for Nabiki, she held a
grudge against Ranma as well in the beginning.  To her, Ranma was one of the
few people to ever deceive her.  He made her think he was a she when they
first meet.  Nabiki's problem had been solved and Akane's problem would soon
follow.  Overall, Kasumi's plan was working beautifully, except for the two
unconscious forms on the floor.  For the first time, Kasumi, the peace-maker,
had created chaos instead of preventing it and she had a smile upon her face
that suggested that she had enjoyed herself.

Few hours later

     Looking down at her two patients, she could tell that they were both
going to be reviving in a couple of minutes.  Kasumi was preparing herself for
the questions that she knew would eventually have to answer as she left the
room in search of Akane, Ranma and Mr. Saotome.  Hearing the sound of combat
from the backyard, she headed outside.  There she found Ranma and Genma
sparring over the koi pond while Akane looked on.  Walking up to Akane,
"They're really good."   It was more a statement than a question.  The only
answer she got from Akane was a nod of her head.  Even after a year of
watching Ranma in action, it still amazed Kasumi how good he was.  

      So far everything was peaceful.  Akane was not fighting with Ranma, the
house was not being destroyed and no enemies were around yet.  "Ranma, Akane,
Saotome-san, please come in.  *Splash!!*  Genma was now a panda having landed
in the koi pond.  "Father and Nabiki are about to wake up."  Smiling at the
sight, Kasumi headed back upstairs.

      "You're getting slow, Oyaji."  Ranma was laughing as he sprinted inside
the house and up the stairs, 5 steps at a time.  Akane and Genma slowly
followed behind.  Ranma was certain that none of the girls wanted to be his
fianc�e now that they had found out about his curse.  This gave him an excuse
to head back to China and find a cure.  Though it made him a little sad that
he would not be staying around here long because he really liked this training
hall.  Not to mention it had a koi pond which he could dump Oyaji in.
  
      *It was all a nightmare,* Soun thought to himself as he slowly woke up.
Opening his eyes, he soon focused on Kasumi and then the boy next to her.
*Who is this boy?  Is he one of my little girls' boyfriend? I'm so happy!!*
Sitting up, Soun turned to the strange boy.  "Who are you son?"

      "I'm Saotome Ranma, sorry about this."

      Quicker than the eyes could see, Soun latched onto Ranma.  "Ranma my
boy, I'm glad to see you.  Where is your father?"  Tears of joy were running
down his face.

      Trying hard to breathe, "He's on his way.  He had a little accident."
*Oyaji's friend is really emotional.*

      "I hope he's okay."

      Nabiki had awakened soon after Soun but decided to play the part of the
unconscious female so that she could hear what was going on without them
noticing her.  Opening her eyes and turning towards Kasumi, "Kasumi, I had a
really strange dream.  I've dreamt that Ranma here was a girl and she had a
pet panda."  

      At the mention of previous incident, Soun embraced Ranma a little
tighter to make sure he was a boy and that he was not still dreaming.

      "Don't be silly Nabiki.  Ranma is a boy."

      The fact that his middle daughter had the same dream did not registered
in Soun's mind.  "I'm glad that ..."  Soun stopped what he was about to say as
Akane had entered the room followed by a huge panda.  "It wasn't a dream?"

      "What is going on here?" Nabiki asked.  

      The panda was waving a sign, "I can explain."

      Nabiki had raised an eyebrow at that.  Akane was still too shocked by
the days event to contribute much except walk around with this look of "I'm in
the twilight zone.  Help me."  Kasumi was just smiling.  Things were getting
back to normal for her.  Soun was nodding his head.

      "Lets all go downstairs and let Mr. Saotome explain everything while I
make something to eat, " Kasumi suggested.

      "For an old man he has a very strong grip," Ranma muttered in between
his gasps of air.  Looking down at the man who had him in a death hug, "Can
you please let go!  I can't breathe."  

      In Soun's current state, Ranma's shout went unheeded.  Following his
eldest's great suggestion, Soun started to head downstairs with a struggling
Ranma in his arms.          

Moments later:

      *Only Oyaji could have a friend like this,* Ranma thought after finally
being released.      

      "So cold water activates the curses and hot water reverses it?"  Soun
asked while pouring the entire content of kettle on Genma.  Ranma was a boy at
the moment and didn't need any hot water.

      "Hot, but not boiling!!" Genma shouted in pain.  

      "So your problem isn't so bad after all.  Ranma meet Kasumi, she is 19,
Nabiki, 17, and Akane, 16.  Pick one of my daughters for a fianc�e."

      "Nani?" Ranma, Nabiki and Akane exclaimed.
 
      Nabiki quickly thought of a way to save herself from marrying Ranma.
"He definitely wants Akane."

      "Why me?" Akane angrily turned towards Nabiki.

      "Well, you hate boys and he is half girl."

      "Why would I want to marry him?"

      "Like I said, you hate..."

      Nabiki was cut off as Kasumi rose and went to kneel beside Soun.
"Seeing as how both Akane and Nabiki do not wish to be engaged to Ranma-kun
and because our family honor is on the line, I would like to volunteer,
Otousan."

      Soun could not believe it.  Kasumi had given up so much for the family
and now he was forcing Kasumi to marry Genma's son.  He desperately wanted to
united the two clans together but the very thought of Kasumi giving up more of
herself for the family was unimaginable.  Before Soun could act, Akane stood
and also knelt before Soun.

      "Tousan, I would not mind being engaged to Ranma."  *There is no way
I'll let Oneesan sacrifice anything more for the family.*  Akane soon glared
at Ranma.  *It's all his fault I have to do this.*

      *I know how Kasumi usually acts but this is strange even for her.  Is
this boy the reason Kasumi was blushing before?  Might as well join my two
sisters.  If he is the one then I'm going to do everything in my powers to get
them together if not then I could always make some money off of him.  He is
handsome.*  Nabiki got up and followed Kasumi and Akane's action.

      Kasumi was surprised at the sudden change in her two sisters.  *They're
trying to protect me.*  She smiled at the thought.  *But I really want this
engagement.*

      "That's my son.  The ladies' man"  Genma was weeping with Soun.  Soon
their two family would be united.

      Up in Asgard, Urd turned to Skuld.  "I thought you got rid of that bug?"

      "I did!! But for some reason, everytime I get rid of one bug another one
pops up around Ranma's file."

      "Strange.  Why isn't the Ultimate Force preventing this?  I'm going to
take this up with the Lord."

      "What about Oneesan?"

      "She's with Keiichi right now."

       Skuld still did not like the relationship between Belldandy and
Keiichi.  "We should still wait."

      "Fine.  This is your assignment after all.  If you mess up then you
can't blame me." 

      The two Norms turned their attention back to the mortal plane and one
particular individual.  The young man who was attracting bugs like a magnet.  

To be continued