%Here's part 2

   "You may return to class now, Lady Kunou," said the Dean calmly, as
he folded his hands before him.  "I will be down to watch some of your
first class period, to see how the three of you get along."

% That should be a sight to behold.

Heh.  Entertaining for the readers, I hope.  ^_^

   "Very well, sir," said Kodachi.  She stood up, bowed to him, and
exited the room.

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

   Ranma had already been struggling at his training for an hour when
Nabiki came out dressed in a standard Academy training outfit for girls:
a T-shirt with 'Property of Imperial Academy Athletics Department'

% Heh.

I don't mind recycling jokes from earlier chapters.  ^_^

cadet Kodachi Kunou reporting for special training, Takami-sensei.  I
hope to learn a great deal from all of this."  She smiled brightly for
Ranma's benefit, pausing to look over at him.  She then settled herself
a short distance away from Ranma and began to stretch, taking it slow
when she noticed him watching her, even as he tried not to look like he
was watching her.

% Hehehe. This is going to go over real well with Nabby.

She is certainly not too happy with him for a variety of reasons right now.

   *Floozy,* thought Nabiki with a grumble as she worked out a kink in
her right calf.  She noticed the Dean come out and confer with Sensei
Takami about something or other, seeing the two men eyeing all three of
them.  When she turned to look at Ranma, she saw him giving Kodachi more
than a casual glance, and she frowned at that.

% He's going to pay for that, no doubt.

And she will see to that.  ^_^

   *I can hardly wait until this is all over,* Ukyou thought as she
turned her face to look out the window once more.  *I doubt that this
Ranma guy will be very interesting.  How exciting could it be to be
married to some scholar?  He probably doesn't even know how to defend
himself.  This is going to just be a waste of time.*

% Somehow, I doubt that.

Well, I like setting up ironic humor moments.  ^_^

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

   Nodoka scurried all over the house to get everything ready for the
arrival of their guests, a bright smile of contentment on her face.  She
was still a little astonished at Genma's vigor and passion that morning,
although he had been a little quicker and rougher with her than was his
norm.

% Heh. Well, he hasn't gotten any in over a decade, so he was a bit
enthuseastic. ^_^

Yep.  I'd say so.

   *First my son becomes all mysterious and a bit moody on me,* Nodoka
thought as she paused in her cleaning of the toilet, *and now my husband
is acting differently too.  It's enough to drive a woman to distraction.
Oh, I hope that this meeting tonight goes well.  I hope that Ranma and
the Kuonji girl get along.*

% Oh, I'm sure it'll be a lively meeting, all right.

Not as lively as I could have made it, but I am building slowly to the real
chaos.  ^_^

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

   Dean Fuyutsuki studied the paperwork on his desk as he waited for
his computer to download and process the data and images that he had
recorded of Kodachi Kunou.  She had sparred with Nabiki while Ranma was
sent off to run, giving the Dean an excellent opportunity to gather good
data on her capabilities.  He could tell that the two girls seemed well
on their way to a healthy rivalry, and he was certain that would focus
the Kunou girl on improving herself.

% Oh, I'm sure she will too.

Have no doubt on that score.

   "A fair bit below Ranma and Nabiki's level of performance, but still
an acceptable beginning," murmured Dean Fuyutsuki as he studied a slow
motion replay of the sparring match.  Nabiki's injuries had obviously
hindered her somewhat, but she still managed to defeat Kodachi in less
than two minutes time.

% That's going to anger her a lot.

Oh, yeah.  It did.   ^_^

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

   Akane fidgeted outside the gates to the Imperial Academy,

% Bit surprised to see her again so soon.

Well, she was supposed to follow Ranma home to challenge him, if he
did not fight her at school.   ^_^

this was going to be his third real fight in a single day.  His limbs
seemed to be radiating fatigue now, and he knew that Akane wasn't going
to let him past without fighting him.  Dropping his bookbag, Ranma made
his choice to end this once and for all by giving Akane what she wanted

>from him.  Maybe then, he thought, she would leave him alone.

% Nope. You'll be playing right into her hands.

Ah, but it wouldn't be a Ranma-esque moment otherwise.  ^_^

  Akane regained consciousness a short time later and saw that Ranma
was gone.  She held one hand to her face, feeling the bruise forming
there on one cheek, and smiled.  *I lost,* she thought dreamily.  *Now I
know I love you, Ranma Saotome.*

   Somewhere on his way home, a pigtailed scholar felt a shiver quite
suddenly run through him.

% heh.

As a few readers commented, "creepy"   ^_^

QD Akane seems to have a small fan base building, I have seen.

                  ******************************
   Tokyo was a very large place, in Ukyou's opinion, and it made her
feel more than a little like some sort of country bumpkin.

% Ukyou stuck a heyseed in her mouth to make herself more comfortable.

Heh.

   "I'm not nervous, Mother," replied Ukyou, as she endured the fussing
stoically.  *I just want to get this over with,* she thought calmly to
herself.  She had been trying to imagine what Ranma Saotome was like,
based on the description and photo obtained from the matchmaker.  At the
present, she imagined Ranma to be a rather dull sort, the type of boy
that held no interest for her.  *I want a life of adventure, and I doubt
that Ranma Saotome has any interest in that sort of thing.*

% Ye shall see.

Yep.

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

   Nodoka kept looking at the clock on the wall.  The Kuonji family was
going to arrive at any minute, and Ranma still wasn't home.  She stood
like a fretful statue in the doorway that led to the kitchen area, and
she only took her eyes off of the clock to briefly glare at Genma.  She
watched her husband sitting there in an unusually relaxed pose at his
usual place at the table, drinking tea, and the ease that he had in his
manner irritated Nodoka.  *Honestly,* she thought with some despair,
*that husband of mine has no sense of propriety.  Doesn't he realize how
important it is to find a good wife for Ranma?  He acts like he doesn't
care.*

% Oh, he cares all right. He cares a lot.  So much he just might get his
hands on as many possible brides as he can.

Well, he could try and break his old record for number of brides he
set Ranma up with in Shampoo 1/2.  ^_^

   Genma was feeling very mellow.  A brief stop at one of the little
pubs in the region had relaxed him with the help of only a bottle or two
of sake.  He was determined to regain his old level of drinking ability,
and he knew that regular training was the key to success.  He was also
finding that he enjoyed the respect afforded to a tenured professor at
the Ministry of Science.  Spending a few hours a day lecturing about
high-level mathematics and other subjects that he knew surprisingly well
now (finding the information readily available in his memory) was about
the easiest job he could imagine having.  He anticipated a comfortable
'retirement' in this life, enjoying all that it had to offer, especially
since he still had Nodoka and Ranma with him, in a certain sense.

% Professor Genma. It still sends a shudder down my spine.

Heh.  I guess it is a break from the usual versions of Genma.  ^_^

was being given
by Akira Kuonji.  "The boy has such promise.  He only needs the support
of a good woman now."

   Nodoka blinked, stunned.

% She should be happy that he is backing her now.

She is, but she's still surprised.

   Ranma came into the dining area, spotted Ukyou, and impulsively
called out to her, "Hey, Ucchan."

% Whoops!

Heh.  Let the fun begin.

 He suddenly realized what he had just
done and felt like a total fool.  He immediately bowed to the three
women, hoping in vain that his gaffe might pass unnoticed,

% Yeah, right.

Well, hope springs eternal.

with relief,
thinking that he had been silly to be afraid of seeing Ukyou.  But a
tingling in his body made him wonder if friendship was all that he was
feeling for the girl.  He could not bring himself to tear his gaze away

>from looking at her, and he thought that she looked so very appealing

dressed in traditional feminine garb as she was.

% Yeah. Something the memories of neither of his counterparts would have.

True.  She is quite a looker when she isn't in male garb.

   Ukyou was unable to bring herself to meet Ranma's gaze, and she
could not figure out what was wrong with her.  Her fingers twiddled with
each other under cover of the table as she tried to understand what was
going on.  He wasn't anywhere near what she had been expecting, and his
easy movements were a sure sign of a well-trained fighter.  Each time
she tried to look at him, her stomach tied itself into such a knot that
she had to bend over again.  She found herself wondering what he looked
like underneath his clothes, and her blush deepened as she continued to
stare at her cup of tea before her.

% Pretty strong initial reaction.

It's that Adam/Eve thing going.  ^_^

   For several minutes, the two teens seemed unable to speak to each
other.  After his initial, overly-familiar greeting, Ranma was not sure
what to say, so he contented himself with looking at Ukyou and thinking,
*She sure is cute.*

% My, Ranma has had a busy day with all of the girls he's acknowledged as
'cute'. First Nabiki, then Kodachi, then the teacher, now Ukyou. The only
one he really managed to avoid was Yohko and Akane (and even in Akane's
case he knew was turned on by her). ^_^

It has certainly been quite a day for Ranma.  The number of women in his life
continues to grow too.  I guess one of the big adjustments for people reading
this has been the fact that Ranma seems to have a sex drive in this story, one
not superceded by his ego, that is.  ^_^

   "You agree to an engagement?" said Akira, his hopes growing.  When
he saw Genma nod once, he brought out the marriage contract.  "Ukyou
does bring a very... a very good dowry with her.  She is to inherit our
family shrine and all other family assets when she marries."  As he
looked down to find the suddenly misplaced contract in his robes, Akira
did not notice the brief glow of avarice shining in Genma's eyes.

% Oh yeah, that will catch his interest all right.

Heh.  Yep.

   The contract was shortly signed and both men affixed their seals to
it.  Genma held out his hand and the two men clasped arms, securing the
deal with a pledge of honor between them.

% yeah, right.

Well, Genma might mean it for the few seconds he is making it.

"Your son certainly seems nothing like his portfolio, Saotome-san,"
said Ukyou's father with a slight twinkle in his eye.  "I came here with
expectations of someone more... scholarly... in nature, and now I find
him to be a young warrior as well.  He sounds like he might be just the
man for my little Ukyou."

   "What?" shouted Ukyou in irritation, temporarily forgetting her shy
feelings.  *He wants to go through with all of this?  Papa, what are you
thinking?*

% Why is she surprised? She knew he always wanted her to get married.

It is still a shock to her.  I guess all the surprises left her a little on
edge.

   *Genma has apparently taken my little speech to heart,* thought
Nodoka gratefully.  *I knew he would come through for me.*  She was now
secretly finding herself favoring the Kuonji girl to become Ranma's new
fiancee.

% Nodoka's pretty fickle too.

She just wants Ranma married.   ^_^

Ukyou reminded Nodoka of herself as a girl, for some reason,

% Why do I have a feeling we'll see that phrase pop up again when it comes
to the other girls? ^_^

Oh, it might.    ^_^

   "Excellent," said Ukyou's mother.  "I've seen more than enough to be
satisfied.  I truly think Ranma will be a good match for my daughter,
especially since my husband feels so strongly about it."

% She's not showing signs of desperation. Nonononono.

Of course not.  Don't think that.   ^_^

   *I can't believe this is happening,* thought Ranma

% It's deja-vu all over again. ^_^

Yep.

as he stared at
the tabletop, trying to control himself from pounding on Genma in his
mother's presence.  He glanced over at Ukyou and was captivated by the
bright blush on her cheeks.  *Well, maybe this isn't going to be so
bad,* he conceded, *since it isn't as if there's any agreement between
the families.  She and I could just, uh, date.*

% Yeah, Right. Like it will be as simple as that.  You think he'd know
better.

He's Ranma, more intelligent, but still not too bright when it comes to
women.   ^_^

That thought created a
fountain of butterflies in his belly.

   Ukyou continued looking down at the table, her blush finally fading,
as she thought sourly, *Judging by my parents, it looks like I'm going
to be stuck with marrying this Ranma guy now.  My father is sure not
going to let this chance to marry me off get away, if I know him.  I
guess I'm going to have to explain to Ranma how things are going to be
between us, after I get settled in.  Maybe we can come to some sort of
an understanding.*

% She changed her mind pretty quick.

Well, he is pretty attractive to her.  Wait until he gets a sight of her in
male garb.

   Both of them were now thinking almost exactly the same thing.

   *Maybe this won't be so bad.  What's the worst thing that could
happen?*

% And thus, by mutual consent, they doomed themselves.

Of course.  More of my ironic humor element.

% Weee. Another chapter of QD complete. Now I want to see the next one.
Each chapter is just like a can of Pringles. I want more than just one.
^_^

Heh.  Thanks for the compliment.  Now that I have my own computer,
I might be able to get my writing speed back up.

% Oh yes, on a general side note. I managed to talk Jurai-Knight into
allowing me to do a couple of side stories. With any luck I will release
the first chapter of one in the next couple of days.

Speaking imaprtially, I thought it was a good story idea.   ^_^

Later,

Jurai Knight

D.B. Sommer