Private Bet #10 Chapter II
by Shade

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and affiliates are the 
property of Rumiko Takahashi, Rifts and 
Phase World are owned by Palladium. Other 
references like AMG, Darkstalkers, Devil Hunter Yohko
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, Irresponsible Captain Tylor,
NGE, BGC, Slayers, Tenchi Muyo!, Macross, Star Wars, and 
a whole bunch of others that may or may not be in here
belong to their respective owners.
~~~~~~~~~~
2d:(part 2)....Complications ensue.....
~~~~~~~~~

The Tendos� curiosity grew as the sounds of a 
scuffle drifted from the Dojo. They could hear some 
shouting and heated conversation but the distance and 
walls of the building in between made the exact words 
the two were saying indecipherable. Several suspicious thumps 
came a few moments later followed by complete silence.

Somehow the absence of sound was worse then the shouting.
The seconds stretched into minutes, the curiosity of Soun and 
his daughters had just reached its peak when the door slid open.

A smiling Ranma dragged his semiconscious 
father back into the house.
~~~~~~~~

�Once again, this is my dear old friend....

�Genma Saotome.� The bald, slightly overweight 
martial artist�s voice was subdued when he spoke this time.

�And my son.....�

�Ranma Saotome. Pleased to meet you.�

He smiled politely from his seated position, trying to make a 
good impression. It would make things easier when Ranma 
explained that he couldn�t accept the engagment. At least 
that wass what the Martial Artist and occasional Savior of the Galaxy
hoped, he still had a nagging suspicion that stopping this would be 
more difficult then just a simple �no�. 

None of the girls met his eye, Kasumi was staring down at 
her hands with a slight blush on her rosy face. Nabiki was observing 
her younger sister while occasionally stealing a glance of Ranma, 
trying for the *meek and proper prospective wife* impression.
Akane was still irked over being ignored earlier and pointedly refused to 
even look in his general direction.

{Oops, have I committed a social blunder?}

Ranma hoped not, his memory of proper Japanese manners was rather fuzzy though.
The closest thing to it that he �d encountered had been the Bushido 
Federation of the Onis and he doubted that those customs would be well 
received here.(1)

�Ah well then, these are my daughters.�

Soun could barely restrain himself as the 
dream that had sustained him through the 
master�s training and his wife�s death was 
at last being fullfilled. The Schools would be joined at last!

�Kasumi, she�s nineteen.�

�Oh my.� Kasumi hoped that she would be picked. Her 
expectations weren�t high though, Nabiki or Akane would 
probably be the one chosen since they were so popular.(2) 

�Nabiki, she�s seventeen.�

{Pick me! Pick me!!}

�And Akane, she�s sixteen. Pick any one you want 
and she�ll be your new fiancee.�

�Hmph! You better not choose me!�

Akane finally glared at this guy who she�d probably 
wind up engaged to anyway since neither of her older sisters
had her good looks. Only Docter Tofu hadn�t noticed that she 
was in the full bloom of womanhood and she was working 
on changing that.

�Um...I�ve got just one question for you Mr. Tendo.�

�Yes?�

�Exactly how drunk were you and 
my father when the two of you made this promise?�

�Uh....� Stammered the mustached father of three.

{How�d he know about that?!}

�I�m really sorry, but I�m afraid I�ve 
got to refuse your generous offer. See, I never 
agreed to this engagement business
and Pops...�

A slightly irritated look was shot at the instigater of this mess.

�...well I finally convinced him that I�m not going to 
be the one paying for *his* mistakes.�

�What?!!� Of all the responses they�d been expecting, 
this wasn�t one of them. Today seemed to be just full of 
surprises for the Tendo family.

�But this is a matter of family honor!!�
Soun wailed, his dreams crashing 
around him like expensive pottery at terminal velocity.

�I don�t care. If I ever marry, it�ll be for love.
 Not for honor, not for duty, and sure as heck 
not because my pitiful excuse for a parent thinks 
I�m some kind of merchandise to bartered away 
to the highest bidder. Hell, if I�d wanted a bride I 
could�ve gotten hitched a long time ago to any number 
of girls that asked, but I haven�t met the right girl yet.�(3)

{Though not for the lack of them trying.....}

The sound of crashing cash registers echoed loudly in Nabiki�s head.

{No! No! NO!!! This can�t be happening!! I finally meet 
a prospective fiancee and he�s NOT interested in this engagement!?!?!}

Akane�s mood improved slightly, at least
 this guy didn�t want the engagment too. Although that 
last comment about all the girls chasing him was rubbing a 
few of her nerves the wrong way. The nerve of him! 
What did he think he was?! God�s gift to women?!

Kasumi had yet to make a response.

Ranma studied the eldest daughter carefully, he really 
didn�t want to hurt anyone but an arranged marriage 
was where he drew the line. So far Kasumi had been 
the only one to make him feel welcome, the tea had 
been just the thing he�d needed after that match with his father.
He admitted to himself that he probably could let himself 
fall for someone like her. Ranma was sometimes dense but 
he wasn�t blind, even covered in that housedress he could tell 
that Kasumi�s beauty would be a rare and precious 
treasure once it was revealed. Add that to the mild psychic
abilities his partner had picked up and the genuine compassion
 he saw in her eyes and you had a woman that made going home 
something to look forward to.(4)

 If he�d been anything else except a Cosmoknight, Ranma might 
have just gone along with this engagement nonsense and picked 
the eldest daughter to live happily ever after with. But his duty made 
it too dangerous, no girl deserved to be put through the kind of chaos 
that Ranma routinely danced around with. He didn�t want to one day 
find out that one of his many enemies had killed or even worse captured 
someone he loved to use as a pawn against him. Ranma had seen it happen 
to a few other Knights before, it wasn�t pretty. Most of them had Fallen, in 
two cases Ranma had been forced to kill the Knights for succumbing to 
the darkness and the madness of revenge when their loved ones had been slain. 
It was one thing to strike down an inhuman demon that you knew beyond 
a shadow of a doubt was evil and deserving of death, it was another story
 entirely to raise your weapon against someone who�d you called friend 
and worked alongside just hours before. 

Or worse yet,even if by some miracle his spouse 
was able to avoid all the troubles and dangers that 
were as much a part of him as his Cosmic Armor.
He would still be forced to watch as the girl  he chose grew 
old and died peacefully as Ranma lived on physically unchanged 
by the years and decades as they rolled ever onward long after 
her remains had crumbled into dust.

Ranma had decided it was better to simply wait 
until he knew he could take that risk. He still wasn�t 
ready for a relationship of that magnitude.

The Tendo patriarch was finally coming out of his 
shock as the younger Saotome became lost in his 
deep thoughts. Since tears and pleading hadn�t 
worked it was time to switch tactics.

�YOU WILL MARRY ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS 
AND  FULLFILL THE PLEDGE  BETWEEN OUR SCHOOLS!!!�

Aside from making Ranma wish that Mr. Tendo had paid more 
attention to his oral hygiene the shouting had no effect.

�No.�

�Are you saying my daughters aren�t good enough for you?!!!�

The first stages of the Dreaded Demon God Of Terror Giant 
Head Attack started to emerge. The older man�s eyes started to 
glow like yellow coals as his tongue blackened and forked out

�No, I�m just not going to be forced to marry them.�

He tried to keep calm, how many times was he going to 
have to repeat these same words before it sunk in that 
Ranma was NOT going to be pushed into this?

�WHY YOU!!!� 

The terrifying image appeared overhead as Soun 
unleashed his ultimate attack to cow the boy into submission.
This dreaded technique had even defeated the dreaded master, 
a mere teenager didn�t stand a chance. The schools would be united by 
noon tomorrow!

Except that this young man�s sky blue eyes hardened and returned 
the manifested projected outrage glare for glare.

It was an attack and Ranma treated it like one. Offended pride and outrage 
was met by solid control and unshakeable confidence, the air around him 
chilled as the Knight briefly let a glimpse of the person lying within him show 
in his eyes. For the span of a heartbeat Soun saw a man capable of tearing apart
titanium steel girders like folder paper and who knew exactly what he 
was capable of and how to use it with deadly precision. It was like looking 
into the eyes of a giant predator, one that was safe as long as it was left alone 
but quite able to make the idiot that disturbed him regret it. Ranma had 
experienced worse things then this simple scare tactic, Mr.Tendo was way 
out of his league here.

Soun was locked in a staring match that would 
determine the decision of the Tendo-Saotome union.

He flinched, unable to meet that overwhelming gaze any longer.

Ranma grinned, there had never been any doubt in his mind 
as to what the outcome would be. 

�Won�t you please stay for awhile at least?�
Kasumi finally spoke up.

{Oh no.} That familar sinking feeling was back, 
Ranma swallowed hard as he looked at her  
silently pleading expression.

The region just below his ribs turned to jelly and the young 
Knight was suffering the oddest sensations in the vicinity of 
his brain as his logic centers melted.

Common sense lost to big brown eyes.

�Ah...sure, okay.�
~~~~~~

�He has no backbone when it comes to women.�

�You�re one to talk, Mr. �Yes Minako-chan, I�ll be happy 
 to do all the cleaning and the cooking�.�

�Have you ever tasted my wife�s cooking or 
seen a room after she�s cleaned it?�

�Uh, no. I can�t say that I have.�

�Trust me, I love her with all my heart but some 
things are better left alone.�

�That bad?�

�I�d rather not say.�

�Ah, I see. That bad huh.�

�Let�s get back to the Bet Entry.�
~~~~~~~

Pantha Zo�a  had struck again.

Cutey Honey looked up to see the 
shining full moon hanging overhead and
as if mocking her a faint image of her 
eternal foe grinned back evilly at the 
lovely warrior.

{�As long as mankind exists, so shall we!�}
Those were the words Dolmeck had taunted her with.

{�Then I will fight you each time you come back,  
Cutey Honey will not lose!! Even if I have to return 
again and again, I will defeat you!!!� }

She�d lived by that promise ever since she sent Dolmeck and
Pantha Zo�a back to the Hell that had spawned them. But Evil 
refused to die so easily, instead it took a different route. The
 weakminded and the easily corrupted were first seduced 
by Zo�a�s whispered promises then transformed into twisted 
and powerful monsters when they succumbed to the darkness within.

No sooner had the city been freed from a one menace then it 
had found itself threatened by an even more insidious threat
This night had been just another in a long series of running battles,
and once again the only real winner had been Panth�a Zo�a.
Honey could do nothing for the people that had been killed by 
Diamond Tarantula tonight,  nor could she say anything that would ease 
the suffering of those who had lost family and loved ones. Even 
when she finally killed the misguided fool that had taken Zo�a�s 
offer of power the villain�s soul was only sent to the Dimension of 
Darkness to feed the Dark Specter. 

Cutey Honey was a Battle Android, the most 
advanced one on the planet.

But even her indomitable spirit was starting to flag as the 
never-ending tide of youma continued to come......
 
Only a miracle could stop the slow but steady losses the 
forces of Light were taking in this War which could have 
only one eventual conclusion. 

A miracle called Ranma Saotome......
~~~~~~~~~
-Back at the Betting Plane

*WHUMP*

Shadow was the first one to pick himself 
up from the massive group facefault.

�Phaseworld Technology.....a CosmoKnight.....
....and now MAGIC TATTOOS?! Are you out of your mind?!!!�

The Cosmoknight he was addressing just looked smug.

�Is that even possible???!� The Guardian asked as 
Rowan pulled out his sourcebook.

�I�m afraid so, there�s nothing here that says he can�t 
get them since Ranma is *technically* still human.�

�You�re still hiding something from us aren�t you?�

�Yup� Zora finally answered.

Shadow pulled out his own sourcebook and 
rubbed his eyes, the beginnings of a killer 
headache starting to form.

Surely *THAT* couldn�t be legal.

(clip to part c)
~~~~~

(1) The Kunos would probably be the only ones who�d *like* it.

(2)*Shrugs* She�s been working to keep the family in one piece, 
can you blame her for a lack of confidence in her ability to catch a guy?

(3)How many of us have used this excuse before?  Ranma�s not as 
confident with the ladies as he sounds.

(4)If you�re wondering what the heck I�m talking about
 see Ranma 1/2 the Movie 2 and pay close attention to Kasumi in it.

Treason doth never prosper; what's the reason?
For if it prosper: none dare call it treason.

-John Harrington

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

-Dorothy Parker

I am his Highness' dog at Kew;
Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?

-Alexander Pope

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