The title is still tentative.  All I ask is that you keep the C&C
constructive.  I don't usually send out parts of an incomplete fic, except
to my pre-readers (Thanks Stephen and Alyssa!), but someone pointed out the
downside of that for a long fic, so here it is.  Let me know what you think!

Based on the characters and situations so well created by Rumiko
Takahashi and owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Communications and
others I have no doubt.  Please don't sue me!

Please send any feedback to belgarath@sprintmail.com and check out
my page at http://home.sprintmail.com/~belgarath for my other fics.

********    ********    ********

New Dealer, New Hand
(Tentative)

by
John Morales

****

Prologue:

Mu Tsu looked at Xian Pu as she fought.  The smooth grace of her
body, the blurring speed of her movements, the deadly power of her
attacks - Xian Pu was the finest fighter he had ever seen.  If Khu
Lon had her way, Xian Pu would eventually be a matriarch of the
tribe.  She would have the honor and respect that would make her the
most attractive mate in the village.  The funny thing was, none of
this interested him.

He had loved Xian Pu since before he had known any of this.  He fell
in love when they played together as children years ago.  He fell in
love with her open mind and her creativity.  Their mutual curiosity
had made their time together one of his fondest memories.  Even now
he could see the child behind the mask her great grandmother forced
her to wear.

Mu Lynn, Mu Tsu's mother, was an open-minded woman herself, but more
to the point, she was a very protective mother.  She had no
intentions of seeing her child, son or daughter, raised to be a
second-class member of the village.  When he turned six, she sent her
son to live with his uncle, who had left the village some years
before.  Mu Lynn had never expected the boy to return to Joketsuzoku,
but was pleased that he would receive a level of education and
respect her husband had always wished for.  She was shocked when he
came home at the age of sixteen.

Mu Tsu had learned many things during his years away.  His formal
education had included history and technology that his beloved Xian
Pu would never know about.  His uncle had continued his education in
the martial arts, and had introduced him to some very unusual foreign
styles.  Even more interesting, though, were the things he learned
from the customers of his uncle's export business.  Working in the
small office, Mu Tsu had picked up the basics of several languages
and customs.  Mostly though, he worked with the Japanese customers,
and as a result, his Japanese was quite good.

He had returned to the village with several things in mind.  If he
could just show the village what was going on in the outside world,
he was certain they would abandon their isolationist attitudes, and
welcome the new technology and alliances that would enable them to
make Joketsuzoku a great tribe for the coming millennium.  He also
knew that Xian Pu would see him for what he was, a man strong in
mind, body, and spirit - her equal.  He knew they would be together,
and together they would oversee the tribe's transformation into a
truly great society.

So, here he sat quietly among the trees, watching Xian Pu prepare
for yet another fight.  Nothing had changed.  The matriarchs could
not see the value of his many ideas, Khu Lon refused to allow him
near her great-granddaughter, and Xian Pu could not see him for what
he was.  He had argued many times before the council, and now he knew
he was just one step away from being banished altogether.  He dared
not even join the celebration surrounding the contest.

Mu Tsu was startled from his thoughts as he heard a commotion coming
from the contest area.  As he studied the people milling about, and
listened to pieces of conversation, he began to realize what was
going on.  Apparently, some outsiders had wandered by, and now Xian
Pu was going to fight one of them.  He felt his heart sink.  The
village's treatment of outsiders was one of the things he had argued
strongly about.  He hoped the outsiders survived.

He did not really think Xian Pu was capable of killing, but Khu Lon
had been working on her for a long time - he was not as certain as he
once was.

He watched as best he could, but even with his glasses on, he could
make out very little of the actual fight.  All he could tell about
the opponent was that she seemed to have an abundance of red hair.
Suddenly things seemed to stop.  It took him a moment to realize that
the mass of purple hair could not be seen above the log anymore, or
anywhere above the crowd.

"Oh god, no!" he screamed as he jumped from his perch.  'She lost!'
he screamed to himself.  The Kiss of Death could be the one thing
that Khu Lon could use as leverage to push Xian Pu over the edge.
Xian Pu had been able to avoid killing just by being such a good
fighter, but if killing became a point of honor...  This could make
his beloved's soul irretrievable.

****    ****    ****    ****


Chapter 1

Four months later:

The two walked down the street at a fast pace, but did not quite
break into a trot.  Ranma was in his blue Chinese-style shirt, and
Mousse was wearing some white robes.  They normally preferred to move
somewhat faster, but they were near their destination now, and did
not want to miss it.

Ranma looked back over his shoulder curiously.

"We haven't seen any sign of Ryoga in a while.  Think he gave up?"

Mousse laughed, not bothering to look back.  Even with his glasses
on, he could not see nearly as well as Ranma.  "Not likely.  He'll
catch up.  We haven't seen him since Kobe, but before that we hadn't
seen him since he chased that poor girl in Korea, calling her Ranma,
remember?  He still found us."

Ranma saw the humor, but had not been in the mood to laugh much
recently.  "No kidding.  How could he think that was me?"

"Gee, I can't imagine.  Small curvaceous redhead, wearing Chinese
clothing and carrying a duck through the market.  How could he have
thought that was you?" Mousse wondered aloud, trying to keep a
straight face.

"Yeah, well...  Okay, you've got a point."  He looked around again.
"Hey we should be about there.  Tendo Dojo, right?"

Mousse reached into his robes and pulled out a small postcard.  He
looked at the writing, frowning for a moment.  He spoke Japanese much
better than he read it.

"Yeah, Tendo Dojo.  You see it yet?" he asked, peering around as
best he could.

"Not yet, but according to the directions from the guy at the
station, it should be right around here.  In fact, look at that
sign!"

Mousse followed as Ranma broke into a run.  'Like I can see the
sign,' he thought to himself.

A man in a dark gi stood near the gate, sweeping the walkway.  He
looked up as they approached.

"Can I help you boys?"

"I hope so," Mousse spoke up.  "We're looking for the head of the
Tendo Dojo.  This is the Tendo Dojo, isn't it?"

The man looked them over for a moment before answering.  "Yes, it
is, and I am the Sensei, Soun Tendo.  I'm sorry, though, but I'm
afraid I am not accepting any new students at the moment."  He was a
tall man, and seemed to move with a grace borne of years of
perfecting the art.  His expression did not seem to show the
confidence Ranma would have expected from such a master, though.
Instead he just seemed tired.

"Actually, we're not here for that, Mr. Tendo," Ranma spoke up.  "I
was hoping you could tell me a bit about my family, and maybe help me
get in touch with my mother.  My father died recently, and the only
clue I have is a postcard he had written to you, but hadn't sent
yet."

Soun's expression became more interested.  "I'm sorry to hear that,
but who was your father?"

"Oh!  I'm sorry.  My father was Genma Saotome, and I'm Ranma.  This
is a friend of mine, Mu Tsu, but call him Mousse."

Soun did not react.  In fact he seemed to have frozen in place.

"Mr. Tendo?  Did you know my dad?  Mousse, give him the postcard."

"Why, yes...  Yes, I did."  Soun took the postcard Mousse offered
and read it over, taking advantage of the quiet to think of how to
respond.  "He was a good friend of mine for several years.  I'm sorry
to hear about...  I have actually been waiting for the two of you to
visit for a while now, err...  Your father and you that is."

Ranma's eyes went wide.  "Really?  So, you know how to get hold of
my mom?"

"Well, it has been several years, but I should be able to dig up my
old address book.  Why don't you both come inside.  Then you can tell
me what happened, as well."

****

"Kasumi," Soun called out as they entered the house.  "We have
guests."

A pretty young woman appeared in the kitchen doorway as they walked
into the house.

"This is my oldest daughter, Kasumi.  Kasumi, this is Ranma Saotome,
the son of an old friend of mine, and his friend, Mousse."

"Welcome!  Please have a seat, and I'll prepare some tea."

"Thanks," both boys replied in unison.

As they took seats at the low table, Soun took a deep breath.

"So, please, tell me what happened."

Ranma took a moment to find his center before beginning his tale -
talking about it was not his favorite thing.  "Well, me and Pop had
been on a training trip for a long time.  I'm not even sure how long
ago we left, but it was just after I started school.  We traveled
around Japan and some other countries towards the end.  Sometimes
we'd settle in for a few weeks or months in a camp or some village,
but for the most part we stayed on the move.  There was always some
training grounds he wanted to take me to, or some new technique he
had to find out about."

Ranma stopped as Kasumi served tea, and took a place at the table
herself.

"I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to interrupt your story."

"No problem," Ranma replied.

"Besides, it's good tea," Mousse complimented.

Kasumi merely smiled in response.

"So anyways," Ranma continued, "about six months ago, he tells me we
gotta go to this place called Jusenkyo in China.  And, ummm...  After
we got done there, we ended up in this village nearby, called
Joketsuzoku - that's where Mousse is from.  I fought one of their
warriors there in a contest, and I won.  The warrior, she, errr,
Shampoo that is, Shampoo decided to get some revenge, and followed us
when we left the village.  Eventually she found us camped out a few
miles away.  Mousse here, figured out what she was up to, and tried
to help.  He saved me, but my dad got a spear in the belly."

Mousse had his head bowed at this point.  "I'm still sorry about
that.  I still think maybe I could have...  I don't know.  Maybe I
could have done something more, if I had known."

Ranma put his hand on Mousse's shoulder.  "It's okay.  You had no
way of knowing.  You were just trying to save my life, and you did."

"No way of knowing what?" Kasumi asked, while comforting her father
who was crying quietly.  "I thought he had figured out what she was
doing?"

"I didn't know Ranma knew she was out there," Mousse responded.  "I
jumped in to block the spear, and Ranma and I ended up getting
tangled up with each other.  Either of us alone could have stopped
the second spear.  Of course, to be honest, I'm not sure I would have
even tried, I was more worried about the one 'human.'"  Mousse's
bitterness was obvious.

"What's that supposed to mean?"  Soun seemed quite angry all of a
sudden, instead of sad.

Ranma glanced reproachfully at Mousse.  He had not intended to
explain the curses to this man.  They should have simply gotten the
information they needed and left.  He did not have it in him to stay
mad, though.  He knew Mousse still felt guilty over not saving Genma,
and tended to get distracted when they told the story.

"Well, my Pop didn't look human at the time," Ranma started.

The two Tendos only blinked in response.

"See, those training grounds he took me to were cursed.  There's all
these springs all over the place, and if you fall into one, like both
my Pop and I did, you take the shape of the last thing to drown in
the spring.  When Mousse saw him, Pop looked like a panda."

"Are you serious?" Soun asked, his tone making his disbelief
obvious.

"I'm afraid so."

Soun continued to look skeptical.  "I find that hard to believe."

Mousse looked at Kasumi.  "Could I bother you for a glass of cold
water?"

"Of course!  I'll just be a moment," Kasumi replied quickly as she
got up and moved to the kitchen.

Ranma turned a pained expression on his friend.

"It will be much easier this way, Ranma," Mousse said emphatically.
"No reason to get bogged down in arguments that we could settle
quickly."

Ranma watched Kasumi come back in with the water.  "I guess you're
right, but you go first."

"Okay.  I finished my tea, is yours still warm enough?"

Kasumi immediately moved to serve some more tea, but Mousse cut her
off.  "No need to waste anymore, but thank you.  It was quite good."
Then he turned back to Ranma.  "Whenever you're ready."

Soun had lost track of the conversation some time ago, and was tired
of trying to catch back up.  "What are you two talking about?"

Ranma kept his eyes on their hosts, watching their reaction, as he
lifted the glass of water and poured it over Mousse.  There was a
certain sick satisfaction to watching someone turn white when they
saw the transformation the first time - especially when it was
someone else's transformation.

Ranma reached over and lifted a white duck from the cushion Mousse
had been sitting on.  "I'd like to introduce you to Mousse, in his
other form."

Father and daughter could only gape for a moment.

Finally Kasumi spoke up.  "This is the curse?  But I thought he
wasn't there when you fell in the springs?  Didn't you meet him
later?"

Ranma started to explain, but a plaintive "Quack!" made him stop.
Instead he placed Mousse back under his robes, and then reached under
to pour a cup of tea over Mousse.  The robe appeared to inflate and
Mousse's hands and head seemed to pop out.

"My tribe's punishment.  When I interfered in Xian Pu's attempt on
Ranma's life, Khu Lon, Xian Pu's grandmother, saw me and took me back
to the village.  They decided to curse me as a punishment and threw
me in a random spring."  Mousse seemed to shiver as he remembered the
events.  "I'd probably still be in a small cage if Ranma hadn't come
back to help me."

Ranma downplayed his role with a shrug.  "I owed ya one."

Finally Soun could speak.  "You use tea to bring you back to normal?"

"Actually, any hot water will do," Ranma corrected.  "Cold water
activates the curse."

****    ****    ****    ****


Chapter 2

Nabiki and Akane walked slowly home from school.  It had been a long
day for both of them.

"Are you sure, Nabiki?" Akane asked.  "Isn't there anything you can
do?"

"I've tried, sis.  He's nuts; you know that!  Everyone believes him,
though.  They all want to date you, and they all think the only way
is to beat you.  I talked to him, the rest of the Kendo club, even a
few teachers, but they don't want to make a stink about the
principal's kid.  He's crazy as a loon, and nobody's willing to say
anything."  Nabiki was frustrated for her sister, but also because
there was something she could not do.  She hated to see her sister
being harassed like this, but it had also become a problem to be
solved - one she could not solve.

"Well, I can keep beating the hell out of them all, but I'm just
getting tired of it all.  And I'm worried that something's gonna go
wrong one of these times.  If I slip at the wrong time or something,
I could be in big trouble."

Nabiki was more certain of that than Akane.  She knew from talking
to the Kendo club that Kuno had been holding back against Akane,
allowing her to save some face.  Eventually, though, he would grow
impatient, and Akane would be in big trouble even if she did not
slip.  But how to head that off?

"Akane, maybe you should let someone beat you.  Not Kuno, but
someone you choose.  Just to get it over with."

Akane's eyes went wide.  "No way!  Now you're nuts!  These guys want
to smack me around in the schoolyard to go on a date.  How am I
supposed to trust them on a private date?"

"Well, you don't have to choose one of them.  Pick someone that
hasn't been trying to challenge you.  There's gotta be someone you
wouldn't mind being seen with once in a while to avoid this mess."

"Yeah, right.  Like any of those losers would go along without
expecting something.  I just don't think I could trust any of them.
Besides, even if I did, Kuno'd probably challenge them for the right
to date me, and then I'd be right back where I am.  You know he's the
best in the school."

Nabiki frowned as she considered this.  "That is true, huh?  Well,
we have tomorrow off, and I'm here to help, sis.  Maybe we can think
of something."  She paused as they entered to remove her shoes and
call out "We're home!"

Kasumi appeared in front of them.  "How was your day?"

"Fine," Nabiki answered.

Akane only shrugged.

"Come into the dining room," Kasumi directed them.  "You should meet
Father's guests."

They entered to hear Soun's voice.  "So are such things common in
China?  I must say, we have all heard of secret Chinese magics, but I
had always assumed they were myths."

Across from Soun sat two young men.  The first was Chinese with
thick glasses and simple, long white robes.  Paradoxically, the other
was Japanese, but was wearing a Chinese shirt and had his hair in a
pigtail.  The first responded to Soun.

"Not really.  Not many people make it to places like Jusenkyo.
Ranma and his father were the first people to get cursed in some
time.  As I said, I was tossed in as a punishment."

"Don't forget Ryoga," the Japanese boy responded.

"Ryoga?"  Soun obviously had not heard the name before.

"He was chasing me to fight over some darned thing, but caught up
with us at the springs and fell in.  He changes into a black pig."
Despite the ludicrous nature of the statement, the Japanese boy
showed no sign that it was a joke.

"Turns into a pig?" Nabiki could not help repeating.

Soun immediately turned to his daughters and stood.  "Ah!  Come in,
girls.  I'd like you to meet the son of an old friend of mine -
someone who will eventually play a significant role here at the dojo.
This is Ranma Saotome," he said, indicating the Japanese boy.  "His
father was my best friend for many years, and the only man, besides
our master, to be ranked higher than I was in the Anything Goes
school."  Then he turned to the other young man.  "This is Mut-?  I'm
sorry...?"

Ranma spoke up for his friend.  "His name is Mu Tsu, but everyone
calls him Mousse."

"Ranma and Mousse, these are my other daughters," Soun continued.
"Nabiki and Akane, the youngest."  The two young women were dressed
in school uniforms.  The first was about medium height with a
serious, appraising look and short brown hair.  The youngest had
longer hair and seemed to move like someone who had trained in the
art, but had a wary look, and seemed ready to use her art at any
moment.

"It's a pleasure," Mousse said, inclining his head.

Soun looked towards his room for a moment.  "Why don't you talk, or
perhaps, Akane, you could show them the dojo?  Ranma, I'll see if I
can find a phone number for your mother."

"Hmmm...."  Ranma watched Soun walk down the hall.  "I wanted to ask
what he meant by that 'significant role' stuff."

"So did I," Nabiki added.

The two pairs seemed to size each other up for a moment.  Kasumi
considered her sisters and what her father said before making a
slight change in plans.

"Nabiki," Kasumi broke the silence.  "Why don't you show them the
dojo.  Ranma, if you would be so kind, I'd appreciate you showing my
sisters your curse."

"Curse?" both of her sisters replied.

"You mean all that magic stuff about magic about wasn't a joke?"
Nabiki continued.

"Huh?  I don't mean to-" Ranma never finished, as Kasumi continued.

"I don't know what Father meant, either, but if you are going to
play some role here, it likely means that you will spend some time
around here.  I guess that also depends on where your mother lives,
but better to avoid misunderstandings now, don't you think?"

"She's right, Ranma," Mousse concurred.  "Besides, it'll only take a
second."

"Oh, all right."  Ranma slumped in defeat.

"Thank you, Ranma.  Nabiki, take them to the dojo, and Akane will be
along in a moment."  Kasumi was already heading for the kitchen.

"What?"  Akane seemed upset.  "I want to see whatever this is, too!"

"And you shall.  They won't begin until you bring out the water I am
going to prepare."

"Water?"

Ranma and Mousse were laughing as they crossed to the dojo, but
Nabiki was silent.

In the dojo, Ranma and Mousse seemed to find their way around fairly
easily.  Nabiki, their supposed guide, actually stayed just inside
the doors, and said little.  Ranma was comfortable with the silence,
but Mousse finally decided to try and draw her out a bit.

"So, Nabiki, I get the feeling you don't spend a lot of time in
here."

"No, not really.  I used to train quite a bit, we all did, but I...
I found other interests," she shrugged.  "Akane is the only one that
stuck with it."

That made Ranma curious.  "So why did your sister want you to show
us around?"

Nabiki did not know what to think of these two, and she did not like
giving out more info than she got.  It was time to start asking
questions of her own.  "Probably because she's not as affable as I
am," she responded with a flat tone and straight face.   She watched
with satisfaction, as the two looked at each other confused.  "Now,
just what are you two doing here?"

Ranma spoke this time, a little worried at the tone of voice he was
hearing.  "Just looking for information on my family.  Seems your dad
knew mine.  I'm trying to find my mom."

"Why would my dad know more about her than yours?  Why not ask your
dad?"

He was certain, now, he did not like that tone of voice.  "I have.
Several times, in fact.  He never answers.  The dead have a way of
keeping secrets."

"Oh!"  Her surprise was evident.  "I'm sorry."

"You'll have to excuse my sister," Kasumi's voice came from the
doorway.  "Father has not had a head for business in recent years,
and Nabiki is ever watchful for someone trying to take advantage of
him."  Her voice was one of simple explanation, but the frown she
directed at Nabiki spoke volumes.

"So what's this curse?" Akane finally asked, the curiosity was
getting to her.

****    ****    ****    ****


Chapter 3

"Okay, thanks.  Sorry to bother you."  Ranma put the phone down.
"They said they've had that number for more than four years, and they
never heard of her.  They don't know who had it before."  Mousse and
Soun both frowned.

"I'm sorry, Ranma.  That's all I had on her," Soun said, looking
back through some papers just to make sure.

Mousse laid a hand on Ranma's shoulder.  "It's okay, Ranma.  We'll
find her yet."  He turned to Soun.  "Do you know whereabouts they
lived, Mr. Tendo?  We should get going soon, and if you could at
least point us in the right direction, it would be a big help."

Soun looked up from the papers at that.  'Going?' he thought.  "Why
don't you boys stay for dinner?  I'm sure it's been a while since you
had a home-cooked meal, and Kasumi is truly a wonder in the kitchen.
Maybe you could even work out in the dojo.  I'd like to see what your
father taught you, Ranma, if you don't mind."

Mousse raised his eyebrows.  "We are due for another match, Ranma.
When was the last time you got to use a real dojo?"

Ranma nodded his head reluctantly.  "I can't even remember.  Okay,
Mr. Tendo.  And thanks!"

****

Akane sat by her father to watch the sparring match.  She did not
think she had much to learn from these two, but her father insisted
she take a look.  Ranma did not even use any of the standard stances
while he waited for Mousse.

"With weapons or without?" Mousse asked.

"Like I said, you can use the weapons if you like, but you really
need the practice without them.  You're good with them, but you'll be
much better when you don't have to rely on them."  Ranma responded.

Akane was confused, Mousse did not seem to have any weapons.  Mousse
shrugged off his robes, leaving himself in a simple pair of loose
pants, and stretched for several seconds before taking an offensive
stance.  Still Ranma stood relaxed with his arms crossed.

Mousse launched a series of punches and open-handed attacks.  This
he followed with a fast combination of high kicks and leg sweeps.

Akane smiled as she watched.  She was confident she could beat him.
He was not even as fast as she was, and he was predictable.  His
moves followed one of the basic kata almost verbatim - it was just
faster.  The fact that none of the attacks came anywhere near Ranma
was to be expected.

Ranma pursed his lips slightly.  "That wasn't too bad, for a kata,
but you're still slow.  I'm telling ya, it's gotta be faster."

'That was a kata?' Akane wondered.  'And it's gotta be faster?  They
exercise that fast?'

"Okay, for real this time.  First strike wins," Ranma said, arms
still crossed.  "Ready...  Attack!"

Now Akane became worried.  Not only was Mousse a bit faster than she
was, he still did not come near Ranma.  Even so, she was pretty sure
she could beat Mousse.  His form was not quite perfected, yet.  In
fact, she could see a hole in his defense.

Just as Akane saw it, Ranma pointed it out to his sparring partner.
As Mousse went low for a sweep, Ranma hung in the air for a moment,
seeming to sit cross-legged about two feet off the ground.  Then as
Mousse came back around, one leg snapped out, catching Mousse in the
middle of the forehead.

Mousse had a sad frown on his face as he slid to a stop against the
opposite wall.  "I always make that same mistake," he lamented.

"Yeah you do, but you did better this time.  Usually you would have
made it much sooner."

Soun spoke up finally.  "Ranma, you don't seem to get much out of
these sessions.  I don't mean to insult you, Mousse, but-"

"It's not an insult, Mr. Tendo," Mousse assured the sensei.  "You're
right."

"When I need some work, Mousse uses his weapons," Ranma explained.

"What weapons?" Akane could not help asking.

The two young men looked at each other for a moment.

"Let's just show them," Mousse suggested.  "Besides, you could use a
challenge."

"It has been a while," was all Ranma had to say.

Mousse got up and walked to the middle of the dojo.  Picking up his
robes, and slipping them on, he got back into a stance.  "Ready?"

"Whenever you are."  Ranma was still relaxed, but his arms were out
in front of him now.

Akane felt her jaw go slack as Mousse pulled chains, axes, swords
and many other things - 'Was that a rubber ducky?' - from seemingly
nowhere.  He still didn't hit Ranma, but he was able to keep his
opponent at a greater range, and Ranma was actually blocking now,
instead of just dodging.

"You're going to have to attack sometime, Saotome!" Mousse taunted.

"Okay," came the calm reply.

Akane watched in awe as Ranma blocked and weaved his way past more
weapons than she could count, but his three quick kicks failed to
connect.  Mousse's last dodge left the two separated by more than
twenty feet.

"Nice try," he grinned, "but I'm a duck, not a sitting duck!"

He attacked again, and again Ranma threaded his way through the
barrage, this time knocking both of Mousse's arms wide and striking
him in the chest with both palms.  Mousse bounced off a wall landing
on his butt.

Ranma's smile stretched from ear to ear.  "Now you're a sitting
duck!"

"He still didn't touch you!"  Soun was obviously flabbergasted.

Ranma seemed more surprised by the man's response.  "He came close
several times," the young man pointed to several spots where his
shirt and pants had new tears.  "He hit me a lot the first coupla
times we sparred, but I know his style pretty well, now."

"It's not that Mousse isn't good - hell, I'm still trying to figure
out where all those weapons came from - but... but...."

"I know what you mean," Mousse said, standing up.  "I used to get
pretty depressed when we sparred.  At least, I did until Ranma
started training me."

"Ranma," Nabiki startled them all from the doorway.  "How long are
you going to be here?" she asked with one raised eyebrow.

Mousse and Ranma both looked at Soun for a moment.  "Till dinner I
guess," Ranma finally responded.

"Actually, I think we should all sit down and talk," Soun said.
"Let's go inside."