I'm posting this for Bloodblade, you can contact him or send them to me and
I'll see to it he gets the message, including any public C+C


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


Standard Disclaimer: I by no means make any claim to the
characters or to the story of Ranma �.  They are the exclusive
property of Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Video, Kitty Productions, etc.
I am merely a fan who had an idea for a story and decided to share
it with others.


Please Note:
When dealing with a trans-genderal character such as Ranma it
sometimes becomes difficult to establish the usage of he/his v.s.
she/her.  In dealing with memories, I have used masculine as this
was Ranma's form at the time.  In other cases, it will depend on the
perception of the characters involved.  If he is male, or _thought_
to be male, the masculine terms are used, and vice versa.  I have
tried to catch each example of this, but if I have missed any, please
bear with me.

You can contact me at:
bloodblade@geocities.com
or visit my website at:
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920


Index:

<Brackets> are for thoughts.
[Braces] are for 'sign' language.
*Stars* are for sounds or actions.

                 ***///***

     Soun carefully examined the postcard in his hands.  There
was nothing truly remarkable about the card itself; on the front it
carried a picture of a panda eating contentedly amongst a bamboo
forest.  One edge was frayed slightly, showing a small split between
the layers of paper, and there was one small crease that cut
diagonally across the top left corner, marring the surface of the
glossy print.  On the back, the stamp was from mainland China, and
though the postmark was smudged, most likely by the hand of some
impatient clerk who had wielded the stamp, it was still possible to
make out its origins as having been somewhere in Hong Kong.
     Soun flipped the card over once again to the front, his eyes
searching for something hidden, something he may have missed, but
nothing new appeared to him.  One side coarse while the other
smooth, his fingers slid across the surface, but the exercise gained
him no more knowledge than his eyes had already given him.

"I don't suppose you have an answer for me, do you friend?" he
posed to the panda still munching happily on the green shoots.  He
didn't really expect an answer so he wasn't really disappointed
when none came forth. <Oh to be a panda some times.  Free and
innocent.  No cares, no worries, no... promises.>

With a small sigh, he once again turned the card over and read
again the words written in kanji.  The style of hand was easily
discernible though he had seen it only a handful of times in the past
ten years. The sight of it brought him indescribable pleasure and
glee, but over it rode a great sense of shame as well.  With a small
sigh, Soun half tucked the card into the left breast of his gi and
stood from the tatami mat.  He looked around the empty room,
examining carefully every detail, fixing it in his mind.  With a small,
slightly sad smile, he spoke aloud once more though there was no
one there to hear it.

"Today.  Today is the day that everything changes, and for that my
daughters... my treasured family, for that I am truly sorry."
Turning sharply towards the door he called out loudly to the rest of
the house. "Kasumi!  Nabiki!  Akane!  Please come here at once.
There is something I need to speak with you about."  Not even
waiting for a reply, Soun proceed into the interior of the house in
search of the three girls.  He hadn't noticed but when he had
turned, the card tucked into his gi came loose.  Fluttering and
twisting in the air as it fell, it finally came to rest with the picture
facing the floor.  The words written there, the words that had
turned the life of Soun Tendo upside down were clearly visible,
standing out sharply against the white.

                    Bringing Ranma from China.
                                        Genma


********
             THE YOUNGEST TENDO
             By Stephen Sparrow

            Chapter 1: Promises
                  *******

     Soun paused at the door to the kitchen, brushing aside the
curtain.  At the counter Kasumi was busily preparing the evening
meal, working meticulously away with a knife on the cutting board.
Several bowls that were already filled with raw chopped vegetables
sat to one side and a pot on the stove emitted a pleasant melody of
scents and spices.  This wasn't really his domain though.  Oh, he
knew enough about how to cook to get along, but it was nothing to
compare with his daughter's skill.  In here, she was the sensei, so he
would not enter while she cooked, as he would expect that no one
would intrude upon one of his classes when he taught.  He was
about to call out her name again when he paused, mouth slightly
open, to simply... watch.  His eldest daughter, his little girl, now all
grown up into a beautiful young woman.  Graceful in step and in
action, always with a friendly smile or kind comment, he watched as
she moved about the kitchen in her preparations, humming all the
while a pleasant wordless tune.  How wonderful it would be to
leave this all undisturbed, but the thought of what he must do
returned to spoil this perfect moment.

"Kasumi."

Pausing in her cutting, Kasumi grabbed a small towel to wipe her
hands and turned towards the door.  She wore a long yellow apron
adorned with a chick and the words "piyo piyo", protecting her red
skirt and white blouse from becoming splattered and stained.  A
pair of round framed glasses she used to read from a recipe book
rested out of the way in the hair just above her brow.  She gave a
small smile as she saw her father standing there expectantly.  She
never quite understood why he always seemed reluctant to come
into the kitchen whenever she cooked.  "Yes, what is it father?" she
replied as she continued to dry her hands against the towel.

"Could you please go and get your sisters?  I have something very
important to speak to each of you about."

"Yes, of course.  Just give me a moment to finish up here."

Soun gave her a small smile and a satisfied nod before ducking back
out behind the curtain and heading back down the hall to the living
room.  Turning back to the counter, Kasumi put the bowls and
other items to one side and took to pot off the element.  She untied
the apron from around her waist and placed it on its hook by the
fridge.  As she ducked past the curtains heading into the house, she
could not help but wonder what it was her father had to say.

                 ***///***

Soun returned to the living room and sat down on the far side of
the table, his back facing the yard.  As he awaited the arrival of his
three daughters, memories of the past came floating up to greet
him; memories from over two decades ago.

                 ***///***

                 !!!BOOM!!!

Soun tentatively removed his fingers from his ears and slowly
opened his eyes.  Standing from his crouched position, he turned
around to examine the location where the muffled explosion had
occurred.  It was intact.  The boulder adorned with the prayer rope
was still in place, so fully sealing off the cave mouth that not even
the smallest tendril of smoke escaped.

They'd done it!

Not yet turning from the sight of the sealed cave, Soun addressed
the man beside him.

"Saotome, you know what this means don't you?"

"Indeed I do, Tendo." replied the heavyset man.

"WE'RE FREE!" both chorused at once, gripping each other in a
hug and shedding tears of relief and joy. "At last we're free of the
Master."

After a moment more, they broke the embrace and their expressions
sobered.  Each making a formal bow towards the boulder.

"May you rest in peace, Master." Soun offered in his prayer for the
deceased.

"We shall never forget you." Genma said in respectful tones.

After a moment of silence, the two men straightened and the joyful
expressions returned to the two men.

"Come Tendo.  We must celebrate.  Let me buy you a drink."
Genma said slapping the smaller man across the back.

The two then headed off, skipping and laughing like young boys
towards the nearest town.  They proceeded to get themselves very
drunk that night, telling jokes and recalling tales of their adventures
together though leaving out any mention of the Master.  They
spoke of many other things as well, their futures for one.  The past
few years under the tutelage of Happosai had prevented much
thought other than the Art or survival.  This was the first chance
that either of them now had time for contemplation.  Soun felt that
perhaps it was time to settle down, found a dojo where he could
pass on all that he had learned, and to start a family.  Genma
scoffed at the idea, saying that they'd only just freed themselves and
he for one wasn't about to be tied back down. They argued the
point back and forth for over an hour, debating in somewhat foolish
detail as only a drunken mind could, the merits and follies of
marriage and personal freedoms... and of children. It wasn't until
the early predawn hours that they both finally passed out, a small
mountain of sake bottles surrounding them.

The next day rose with a brilliant sun in a sky that promised today
would be particularly fine for everyone out and about.  Well,
everyone save two.  Having finally awoke by late morning, Soun
and Genma found that several large men had come by while they'd
been sleeping, repeatedly beat them about the heads, scoured their
tongues with sandpaper, and perversely nailed a railroad spike with
a microphone hookup through their temples so that every sound
sent sharp white pain directly into their brains.  Well, at least that's
what it felt like.  Eventually the room stopped spinning, the ground
stopped heaving (and their stomachs) and the sunlight became
bearable that they were eventually able to continue with their
travels.

After traveling for several weeks together, the two came to a
crossroads.  Soun still had the desire to begin a quieter life whereas
Genma still had the call of wanderlust within him. So it was here
that the two parted ways with much back slapping and good cheer
and wishes of good health and fortune.  Soun traveled to Tokyo
where he worked as a sensei at a local dojo until he could afford to
establish one of his own to carry on the teachings of the Art.  By
chance, fate or fortune, Soun met a lovely and enchanting woman.
Kimiko.  You may scoff at the idea at love at first sight, but from
the moment they met, there was an attractive force between them
that they could both feel.   After a short courtship period, they were
wed and established a home and school.  Over the next few years,
their family grew in size from two to five, blessing the couple with
three beautiful, healthy daughters they named Kasumi, Nabiki and
Akane.

Genma spent the next couple of years wandering from place to
place, never staying in any one place for too long (as he tended to
wear out his welcome), and learning new techniques in the Art from
those he could, whenever he could.  In his aimless journey across
Japan, he was passing through a park when something caught his
eye.  Whether it was the way she gracefully moved along the path,
how the warm spring sunshine shone down upon her seemed to
make her glow, or how the fragrant breeze teased her hair and
adorned it with cherry blossoms, he wasn't sure, but like iron is
drawn to a magnet, he too was drawn to this woman.  Their first
encounter left Genma standing alone with a red hand print on his
cheek.  The details themselves are unimportant, but Genma was not
to be deterred and persisted in attempting to gain the attentions of
this mysterious woman.  Some left him with more sore and red
cheeks, though one or twice his antics gained him a favorable, if
amused, smile.  Magnets create fields that draw ferrous materials to
them, but given enough time, even an ordinary lump of iron can
become magnetic if it remains within this field, creating an
attraction of its own.  Despite all of his protests that he would
never be tied down, over time Genma created his own noose and
handed it to the woman who would become his bride.  That, and he
never suspected that Nodoka would actually get a piece of rope,
wrap him up in a neat little package, and sit on him until he
consented to the wedding. After a year, they too were blessed with
a child, a son born under the stars signifying Luck and Destiny.
They named the boy Ranma.

The two families met several times over the next few years, Soun
and Genma usually drank and  recalled tales of the years past, while
Kimiko and Nodoka would watch over their children play together
and told tales of their husbands.  At the end of each of these days,
they bid their goodbyes to take their sleepy or sleeping children
back home.  As if by ritual, the two men would give each other a
small smile and a nod before turning to escort their families home.
Though it was never spoken out loud, they had never forgotten the
promise they'd made, that someday, their two families would be
united in marriage.

                 ***///***

"Do you think he's fallen asleep?"
Akane looked to her sisters as they stood looking through the
doorway into the livingroom.   Kasumi and Nabiki had come into
the dojo while she'd been training and told her that their father had
wanted them all together to tell them something.  They'd only just
got back to find him sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

"Well, if he is, I'm sure he won't mind if we woke him.  Whatever
he has to tell us seemed very important to him." Kasumi replied as
she padded softly into the room and shook her father's shoulder
gently.  "Father.  Akane and Nabiki are here now."

Soun's eyes snapped open at the nudge and focused first on his
eldest daughter, and then on the other two girls still near the door
before waving them in.

"Ah, yes. I was just remembering something.  Please come here and
have a seat.  There's something I need to discuss with all of you."

Akane and Nabiki stepped into the room to join their sister and
father.  Akane was dressed in her gi, her long braid bouncing gently
against her back as she walked.  Nabiki was dressed in her casual
after-school attire that consisted of a t-shirt and cutoff shorts, and
as she crossed the room she spied something laying out of place on
the floor.  She bent over and picked up the small white card and
examined it briefly before extending it to her father.
"I think this is yours, Daddy."

Soun looked at the card, then opened his gi to examine the inner
pocket only to realize that there was nothing there.
"Ah, yes.  I must have dropped that."  he said taking the postcard.
"Actually, this is what I wanted to talk to you about."

"So who are these people, Genma and Ranma?" Nabiki asked as
she took a seat along side her sisters.

"Genma is a very old friend of mine.  He and I studied the Anything
Goes style under Master H... uhhh... errr... The Master.  Ranma is
his son.  The two of them have been on a training journey for many
years now and just recently they've been to China.  I just received
this postcard today saying that they will be coming here to visit."

"Oh my.  Will they be staying long, father?  I'll have to get the
spare room made up if they are."

"I'm not exactly sure, Kasumi."

"So why is it that they're coming here Dad?  Is it part of their
training mission?" asked Akane.

"Uh, no.  Not precisely.  You see... Ranma is your..." Soun cleared
his throat "That is to say... one of you will be engaged to marry
him."

The silence that followed that simple statement was nearly
deafening.  The three girls just sat there a moment, stunned.  They
blinked a couple of times as they slowly absorbed the information.
Almost as if by cue, all three frowned at Soun.  Not just any frown,
but the kind of frown that only a woman can give a man who's
displeased her.  The whole experience unnerved Soun greatly as he
began to sweat.  Nabiki was the first to find her voice.

"Daddy, you mean to tell us you've engaged us to a boy we've
never met based on a promise to a man you haven't seen in years?"
Soun managed to nod slightly.  "How could you do such a thing to
us?!?" He flinched back at the sharp tone Nabiki used but didn't get
a chance to recover as he was suddenly bombarded from three
sides.

"Father, you know that I don't have the time to get married right
now, what with my studies and my volunteer work at the clinic..."

"I mean, maybe Kasumi is old enough to be married, but Akane and
I are still in high school.  What do you propose to do about..."


"Marriage?  I don't want to think about that yet.  There's too much
of my life ahead of me to even think about getting married yet.
Besides, I already have someone I like."

"You do?" chorused Kasumi and Nabiki as they turned to regard
their younger sibling.  Somehow, even amongst all the chaos, the
two girls had filtered out everything else and heard that one
statement.  Akane blushed, embarrassed that she'd blurted out more
than she'd intended.  She turned slightly away to avoid grins and
slightly predatory gazes of her sisters, the whole matter with their
father apparently dropped in an instant.

"This is the first I've heard of this Akane." Kasumi said smiling
with Nabiki adding  "Yeah, come on Akane.  Spill it.  Who's the
guy? Do I know him?"

Akane blush deepened, but now a smile crossed her lips as well as
she turned back to address her sisters.  "Well, he doesn't really
know, but it's-"

 "Daughters! Please!"

Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi turned back to face their father.  Given
the slight respite over their distraction with Akane, Soun was able
to recover his mental footing.  Gone now was the nervousness and
embarrassment they'd seen on his face, replaced now with a
seriousness and a sternness they'd rarely seen on their father.
Normally their father seemed so easy going, so the sudden change
in his demeanor was not lost on the three girls as they sobered up,
sitting up straight once again, their legs tucked underneath and
hands in their laps.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't consider this matter so lightly,"
Soun admonished.

Nabiki took the lead again, adding a little roll to her eyes as she
spoke. "Well, how else should we treat it, Daddy?  At the risk of
repeating myself, you've engaged us to someone we've never met.
Get with the times, already.  Arranged marriages have been out of
style for decades.  I for one don't want any part of it, and I don't
think Kasumi or Akane do either."  The other two girls nodded
their ascension to the statement.

"Well, I guess that makes four of us then." Soun said softly with
just a hint of sadness behind his words.

That was not what the girls had been expecting to hear.  In fact
they would have said, given everything that had just been said in the
past few minutes, that those words would have been almost at the
bottom of list of things their father would say.  For the second time
in as many minutes, the girls shared a sort of stunned silence.

"You mean that you don't want this to happen too?" Kasumi asked
to which Soun nodded his agreement.  "Then why did you bring it
up?" she said with more than a hint of confusion.

"Because... because Genma and Ranma are coming. I was hoping
that this day would come some years down the road.  To be honest,
I actually hoped that this day would never come." He turned his
head slightly to the side, his eyes gaining a distant look as if he were
looking at something beyond the wall.  "No, that's not entirely true,
there was a time that I looked forward to this day with great
expectation." He turned back to face the girls, to focus his attention
once again on them.  "But things have changed since that time.  A
great deal in fact, but the engagement still stands."

The three girls turned to look at one another again, confusion
evident on their faces, before facing forward once again.  Again,
Nabiki was the first to speak up.

"Let me see if I follow this.  You're opposed to this engagement,
but you're saying that we still have to go along with it?" Again,
Soun simply nodded.  "Why?" she droned.

"It's not that simple, Nabiki.  I can't stop the engagement simply
because I no longer wish it to happen.  It's a matter of family
honor.  Giri.  The only way to break off the engagement is for
Genma to renounce it as well.  That may happen," <If it doesn't kill
him, or he kills me first.> "but, until that happens, _if_ it happens, I
would like each of you to consider this engagement to Ranma to be
official and that one of you will have to marry him to satisfy our
family's honor."

Each girl seemed to chew that idea over for a minute.  Not one of
them particularly liked the idea of an arranged marriage, they
downright despised it even, especially when it was to someone
they'd never met and on such short notice.  But each of them also
knew that since the matter hinged on their family's honor,
something that in their house was taken very seriously, they would
concede to their father's wishes.  One by one, they each nodded
grimly, Akane being the last.

"Thank you, my daughters.  You make your father proud." he
punctuated the remark by giving them each a warm smile.  "Believe
me, if there were a way I could spare you from this situation, I
would.  I only ask that you can forgive an old man for the
impetuousness of his youth."

Kasumi, Akane and Nabiki each gave a little smile in return.
Kasumi reached out across the table to grip her father's arm gently,
giving it a reaffirming squeeze. "Of course we forgive you, Father."
Akane and Nabiki adding their own nod.  "We all know that you
care for us deeply and that you'd never try to hurt us."  She settled
back into a sitting position before posing her next question. "I... I
suppose that if one of us were to... marry this Ranma, we would
take his family's name.  What is it, father?  I don't think you
mentioned it."

Soun stiffened at the question, almost like one would after hearing
a rattlesnake's rattle, caution mixed strongly with fear, and then he
seemed to sag a little as if in defeat. <Well, there will be no hiding it
soon, so it may as well come out now as opposed to later.>
"Saotome.  His name is Ranma Saotome."

Kasumi sucked in her breath sharply as she covered her mouth with
a hand, her eye growing wide in surprise.  Nabiki and Akane
instantly turned to her.

"What is it, sis?"

"Kasumi.  What's wrong.  Are you ok?"

Kasumi gave them a slight wave of her hand to indicate that she
was fine, but neither of them missed the slight glistening in their
sister's eyes.  However, they did miss her words as she spoke too
quietly for anyone else to hear. "Oh, father.  You didn't?"


"I SAID PUT ME DOWN YA' OLD FOOL!"

All four Tendos turned at the shout coming from the front of the
house.

                 ***///***

Ranma awoke feeling quite cold and damp.  Not the greatest way
to wake up, but not a terribly uncommon one considering how
much time she spent on the road training with her father.  There
was a dull ache in the back of her head and her mouth felt fuzzy.

*PLEAH!!!*

Oh yeah!  Cold, damp and a mouth full of wet panda fur. <This day
just keeps getting better and better,> she thought to herself as she
spat out the last few offending hairs.  She felt herself bobbing along,
draped over the large panda's shoulder as it walked along the
street, causing no end of confusion and concern for the other
pedestrians walking by on the street.  She raised her head in an
attempt to gauge where she was and almost regretted the action
immediately.  Her vision blurred for just a moment as the dull ache
spiked sharply from her movements.  Something flashed in front of
her face and it took another moment for her eyes to come back into
focus to identify what it was.


[Oh good.  You're awake.]

" Yeah, no thanks to you, Pop.  What's
the big idea socking me in the  head from behind?" she questioned
the large animal with the sign.

The panda whipped the sign behind its back before replacing it with
another.  She always wondered when he had the time to make those
darn things, or how he knew exactly what he wanted to say long
before he said it.  It was almost eerie in a way.  That and she never
could figure out where he stored them considering he wasn't
wearing anything.  On second thought... maybe she really,
REALLY, didn't want to know the answer to that one.  She
decided that such matters were probably best left for philosophers,
physicists... and proctologists, and pushed it aside as she read the
contents of the new board.

"I am _not_ getting sloppy!  That was a cheap shot and you know
it.  Now put me down so I can kick your ass and... hey.  Why'd you
stop?" she asked as she noticed that they had indeed stopped in
front of respectably sized house, bordered by a high stone wall.  In
front of them was a large set of wooden doors, a sign to one side
indicating that the compound was the 'Tendo School of Anything
Goes Martial Arts'.

[We're here, that's why.] the latest of the panda's signs read before
it was discarded and it put a large paw to the door, pushing it open.

"Oh no you don't!  I don't want any part of your crazy plan, do you
hear me?" She struggled to get out of the panda's grip and push
herself off its shoulder, but it had little effect.  She couldn't get
enough leverage from her position and there was almost no traction
between the wet fur and her bare feet.  The panda's grip tightened
in response to the squirming, pinning the girl's small body to its
large frame and effectively preventing her from escaping, but it
didn't keep her from trying none the less.  She started flailing
against the creature with hands and feet, but that too had little
effect.  "Put me down old man.  I ain't marrying some strange girl,
you got that?  Now let me go!  I SAID, PUT ME DOWN YA'
OLD FOOL!"

                 ***///***

Soun tried to place the voice but failed.  It wasn't any of the
neighbors, it sounded too young, so who could it... <Already?> he
though to himself. <If it is them, then we might as well get this over
with, and if it isn't, just a little more reprieve before the axe falls.>
he finished sourly.

At the sound of the front door sliding open, accompanied with
several more indistinguishable noises that reminded Soun of
someone struggling, he stood.

"I'll be back in just a moment, daughters.  I'm just going to see
who's at the door." and as good as his word, he headed down the
hallway to the atrium.

As soon as their father's back was turned and he was out of
whisper range, the three of them huddled their heads together.


"So what do you think?  Do you think he's serious about all that?"
Akane asked the other two.

"I think he's serious about not wanting this marriage to go through,
but I also thinks that if he can't break it off that he'll want us to
marry this Ranma person," was Nabiki's reply.


"I really hope it doesn't come to that, especially if what I suspect is
true." was Kasumi's melancholy response.

That caught the attention of the other two.


"You think something funny is going on, Kasumi?"

"I know she does, Akane.  Come on onee-chan, what is it?"

Kasumi looked into the probing eyes of her sisters, carefully
weighing in her mind whether to tell them her thoughts.  After a
second she concluded that if it didn't come out now, it would come
out a little later, and besides, they had a right to know.  Letting out
a little sigh she began.


"I think I recognized Ranma's last name.  It's-" anything more was
cut off as she glanced up to see her father running back down the
corridor at high speed, a highly panicked expression painted across
his face.  "Father?  What's wr-" for a second time in almost as
many seconds she was cut off as the answer to her query appeared
in the hallway, her eyes bulged and her mouth opened in surprise.

Akane and Nabiki turned to see what had startled their sister with
their own wide eyed stares and slack jaws.  Filling much of the
corridor was a giant panda standing upright, towering upwards of
seven feet.  Upon reaching the dining room, something instinctual
within Soun kicked in as he quickly turned and fell into a defensive
stance, prepared to defend his daughters from the crazed marauding
animal that had invaded his home.  He was surprised (and a little
disappointed) when it didn't charge but instead walked almost
nonchalantly towards him. It was then he first noticed the squirming
red and black bundle that the creature seemed to be carrying.

"Quit it, Pop!  Can't you see you're scaring them spitless?!?" came
the high pitched voice from the bundle, identifying it as a person.

By this point, the three girls had taken up position behind their
father, some of their initial shock having worn off and replaced with
mild curiosity.  The panda suddenly stopped a couple of paces from
the group and plunked down its charge.  The young red-headed
individual immediately stopped struggling and yelling and now
looked as if they wished they could disappear through the gaps in
the floor boards.

Seeing that the animal was no longer advancing, Soun relaxed
slightly, at least enough to drop his hands to his side and get a
better look at the individual before him.  The clothes appeared to be
slightly worn and overly baggy, as if they were handed down from
an older sibling.  The hair, fiery red.  He'd seen other young people
with unusual hair colours, such as green, blond, purple, blue, and by
the Kami, even pink.  Why it seemed so fashionable to die one's
hair such bizarre shades was beyond him, but this seemed to be
natural.  Of what he could see of the downcast face, young as well.
Somewhere in the middle teens if he wasn't mistaken.  And...
<...looks just like...> Raising a finger in his address "You-you
wouldn't be..?"

The individual before him squirmed a little more and reddened a
little in what he assumed to be embarrassment.  "I'm Ranma
Saotome.  Sorry 'bout this." the voice trailing off at the end.


<So it is...> Putting on his best smile, straining to make it appear
happy at least, he took a step forward and clapped Ranma across
the back.  "Welcome to my home young Ranma.  I am Soun Tendo,
and these are my daughters, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane." he said
indicating each in turn.  Each bowed slightly in greeting to Ranma,
and after a moment, he returned it awkwardly.  Continuing where
he left off Soun said "Where is your father?  I was under the
impression that the two of you were traveling together.  And-" he
suddenly broke off as he heard Kasumi's polite cough.  "Ahh,
forgive me.  I've had much on my mind this morning, but that is not
an acceptable excuse for neglecting my duties as a host.  Kasumi, if
you could prepare some tea and something to eat for our guest?"
She nodded and gave a slight smile, grateful for something norma
to be doing in this odd situation, and stepped lightly into the
kitchen.  "Please come in and have a seat, though I will have to ask
that your animal be left outside." he said as he guided Ranma into
the living room.

Ranma was still bit off balance mentally ever since he first entered
so it took an extra moment for the words to sink in. "Anima...Oh,
you mean Pop," he said as he sat down across the table from the
two other girls and got her first good look at them.  They were
both cute, though the expressions they were currently wearing
detracted from their appearance slightly.  The older of the two,
Nabiki he thought it was, regarding him analytically, as if weighing
him in her mind, while Akane seemed perturbed about something
from the way her lips were pursed.  He briefly considered the idea
that it was because of him, but almost immediately rejected it.
After all, why should she be?  He'd only just gotten here and hadn't
done anything to her.

"Pop?" Nabiki chimed in, obviously confused by the simple
statement.

"Yeah, Pop.  My Pop."  Seeing she still didn't get it he elaborated.
"Ya' know, my dad, father, parental unit, otoo-san?"  Surely that
should be plain enough for them to comprehend.

All three of them just gave him a strange look.  You know, the one
that says 'I think some of the wiring has come loose.' look.

Nabiki cupped her face with her hand. <Great.  First Dad springs
that little surprise about an engagement on us, then its the attack of
the giant panda, and now this.> Looking up again at Ranma "You
really expect us to believe that that panda standing over there in the
hallway is your father?"

Ranma and the others tracked to where Nabiki indicated, and all but
Ranma was surprised to see it scribbling furiously with a large felt
tipped marker against a wooden placard before flipping it around.
Managing the best forlorn expression a panda could, it indicated the
words written on the sign with the marker. [Don't you recognize
me Tendo?]

<Damn.  Forgot about that,> she thought as she realized their
confusion.  "Uhhh... yeah, ok.  Ummm... look, it's a long story, but
I swear it's the truth."  None of the Tendo's were paying attention
to her however, as the panda whipped out a second sign and wrote
[Can I come in now?]  None of them could scarcely believe their
eyes as the creature pulled yet another sign from who knows where
and began writing again.  Ranma clenched his jaw in frustration.
This was not getting any easier.  "Get over here, Pop.  I ain't doing
this all on my own," he said through his teeth.  With that the panda
paused mid sentence and walked over to the table before plunking
itself down, the latest sign forgotten.

Still slightly stunned by what just happened, Akane pointed at the
large animal sharing the table with them and turned to Ranma "Did
you train him how to do that?"

"Nah.  He figured that one out for himself, though I have no idea
where he get's them though." <And probably don't want to know,>
he added silently to himself.

Just when they though things couldn't become more confusing, it
did.  Kasumi walked in with a tray borne with a steaming kettle,
several cups and a small plate of snacks, setting it down on the
middle of the table for everyone to reach.  Smoothing her dress
beneath her as she sat, she said "Did I miss anything?"

Ranma gave a weary sigh.  He really hated explaining this, but it
was the polite thing to do for their hosts, and it didn't look as if it
was going to get any easier if he didn't.


"Why don't I start from the beginning.  I'm Ranma Saotome, and
this is my father, Genma."  The panda raised its paw and gave a
*growf* in what they could only assume was a greeting of some
sort before Ranma continued. "We've traveled around a whole lot,
but about a month or so ago we were in China."

The Tendos each gave a slight nod at this, the girls had heard this
earlier from their father.

"Well, one of the places we went was this training ground called
Jusenkyo."  Ranma briefly replayed the day in his mind, from when
the two of them first crested the rise to look down into the misty
valley of natural springs, to when they'd hopped on top of the
bamboo poles as they ignored the guide's comments, to the
moment his head popped free of the spring's surface and first
noticed _the change_.  The bitterness welled up for a moment and
he said under his breath "You know I'm gonna get you for this?
Doncha, you stupid old man?"  Ranma shook her head to clear the
momentary reverie before continuing.  "Anyway, Jusenkyo was
supposedly one of the more famous training grounds in the area, so
when Pop suggested it, we headed straight there.  Didn't look like
nothin' special, just a bunch of bamboo poles sticking out natural
springs.  Good for practicing ariel leaps an' stuff, but nothin'
challenging for us.  The worst thing that could possibly happen if
you missed was you got a dunk on the way down."  The panda
tried to look innocent at this, but the effort was ruined as it earned
itself a punch in the side. "Or so we thought.  The springs were
magical.  Cursed in fact, but we didn't find that out until after we
got knocked in.  Pop here got knocked into the Shaomonichuan,
spring of drowned panda, so he is really human, and I...I," Ranma
swallowed heavily, trying to choke down the lump that had
suddenly formed in his throat, "And I'm really a guy."

Akane looked puzzled at this "Why tell us that?"

Apparently the puzzlement was infectious "Huh?  What do you
mean."  Ranma replied.

"Look, this whole bit about your dad being a panda is a little hard
to swallow, but why bother telling us that you're a boy?  You are
one, aren't you?"

"Y-you mean you didn't notice?"  The four Tendo's gave a slight
collective shake of their heads.  Ranma studied their faces a
moment suspecting they were lying, finding it hard that they could
miss such an obvious thing, but there was only sincerity there.
They really hadn't noticed.  Maybe it was the oversized clothing she
had on that obscured her form, or the way that she used the
masculine way of pronunciation.  "Pop, isn't the only one who fell
in to one of the springs.  I fell into one too.  Nyaniichuan.  So now I
turn into a g-, a g-" Ranma's mouth couldn't utter the last word
though as he felt his throat constrict.

"A what?  A gorilla?  A groundhog?  A grasshopper?" Akane
supplied, but Ranma just shook her head.

<Look's like I'm just going to have to show them.> he thought to
himself.  Scrunching his eyes shut in embarrassment, his hands very
jerkily undid the top clasp of his shirt and spread the neck open,
revealing the tops of two fleshy orbs.

The three girls, just sat in stunned silence.  Soun on the other hand
had his hair standing on its end as he did the infamous Takahashi
finger pose.  He stayed that way too until Ranma once again closed
_her_ top. "You're a... a..."

"Girl." Nabiki dead panned.  "I think that's what he... she...
whatever, was trying to say earlier."  Ranma merely nodded once,
dropping her hands once again to her side now that the deed was
done.  "Why the heck did you engage us to a girl, Daddy?  Even
you should know the difference."

"But Genma had a son, I know that for a fact.  I saw him on several
occasions as a child before he left with his father on their training
mission."

"There's not much physical difference between boys and girls at
that age.  Did you actually 'see' that he was a boy?"

Soun opened his mouth, but no sound came out, before he closed it
once again.  True, he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, but he still
did know that Ranma, at least Ranma Saotome was a boy.  "No, I
didn't actually see it, but I do know that the Saotome's never had a
daughter together."  Nabiki just rolled her eyes a her father's blind
faith.

"So who is this really then?" Kasumi asked curiously.  "If Ranma is
a boy, then this girl here certainly can't be him."

Ranma launched herself up and stood quivering with fury and
frustration "I'M A _GUY_, OK?!?  G. U. Y.  GUY!" <Stupid old
man.  Stupid training journey.  Stupid Amazons.  Stupid
engagement.  Stupid training ground.  Stupid stupid STUPID
Curse!>  She found herself breathing heavily as she felt her control
slipping.  The fact that her father was just sitting there like a lump
was not helping the situation either.  This was not good, not good
at all.  But if a martial artist was a master of anything, it was a
master of themselves.  Control over the inner spirit.  Find your
focus, your center, and you could achieve peace.  Taking the advice
to heart, Ranma took several deep calming breaths, counting down
slowly from ten to one before continuing with her tirade. "Despite
what it looks like, I am a guy."  Her eye caught the still steaming
kettle on the tray and lit onto an idea.  "Look, as much as I hate
doing this, I'll show you."  She turned to Kasumi, "Do you have
any cold water?"

"Ummm," Kasumi wasn't exactly sure how to respond to the odd
girl.  First, she looked as if she were about to burst at the seams,
but now she was as cool as could be. "In the kitchen."  She thought
that was the right answer, but with everything going back and forth
so quickly she felt as if she had been spun around. <What did she
need cold water for?>

"Could you-" but she didn't even finish as Kasumi was already up
and striding towards the kitchen.  She returned a moment later with
a pitcher of water in one hand and a glass in the other, and passed
them on to Ranma.  Putting them down momentarily, she grabbed
up the kettle in one hand. "Ok, here's how it works.  Whenever we
get splashed with cold water, me and Pop here change into our
cursed forms, but with hot water, we turn back to normal."  To
emphasize the point she poured some of the contents of the kettle
over her head.

If they hadn't seen it, they probably wouldn't have believed it.
Heck, they just saw it and they still didn't believe it.  Ranma had
just unceremoniously poured the hot tea over her head, and just...
changed.  There was no real good word to describe it other than
that.  One moment she had just been standing there, but in the span
of about two seconds, _she_ was gone.  They watched in stunned
fascination as she grew taller while her chest shrunk, the shoulders
widened while the hips became narrower, and the bright red hair
changed to matte black.

Pouring himself a glass of water from the pitcher and held it over
his head, hesitating momentarily with the memory of how the
transformation felt, a sort of squirming just beneath the skin as his
anatomy rearranged itself. With one last small shudder, he tipped
the glass over and emptied its contents.  Once again, the Tendos
watched the process of Ranma's curse, only this time in reverse, the
bust and hips enlarging while the overall height and build faded, and
once again they saw before them the redheaded who had been
dragged in through their door.

Picture this; just this morning your father had told you that you
were engaged to a boy you'd never met, had that boy arrive being
lugged around by a giant panda, find out that said boy was not
actually a boy but a girl, have said girl claim that she was really a
boy who was cursed to become a girl whenever he came into
contact with cold water, have said girl proceed to demonstrate said
curse by going through a unbelievable and seemingly physically
impossible transformation.  Neither Akane nor Nabiki knew how to
respond to this bizarre turn of events, but for Kasumi the answer
was appropriately simple.  "Oh my." she said.   It was only through
Ranma's superior reactions that allowed her to catch the older girl,
preventing her from hitting the floor as she passed out.

"KASUMI!" Akane cried out in concern as she, Nabiki and Soun
rushed to the fallen girl's side.

Unsure as to what to do for the limp girl in his arms, Ranma
decided to pass her on to Akane.  "I-I think she's ok.  I think she
just fainted."  He watched as Kasumi was made comfortable, a
convenient pillow placed under her head and blanket draped over
her form.

As Akane placed a damp cloth across Kasumi brow, she heard her
sister beginning to awaken.  Her eyes fluttered for a moment before
opening and focusing on her sister's worried face. "Oh my.  I was
having the strangest dream just now and..."  She broke off suddenly
as she realized that she was not lying on her bed, but the hard floor.
That was odd.  When did...?  She sat up to look around, the blanket
collecting in her lap as the damp cloth fell to the floor with a small
thump.  It was then she spied the red-headed girl and the large
panda.  "Oh.  I guess it wasn't a dream after all."

"Are you ok, Kasumi?"  Akane picked up the errant cloth as she
studied her sister's condition. She did at least appear to be fine, her
colour was normal and she didn't seem disoriented in any way.
That eased the apprehension she was feeling, but didn't entirely
eliminate it.

"Y-yes, I believe so.  I just think everything hit me at once is all,"
she said, beginning to fold up the blanket that covered her legs
before passing it off to Nabiki.  Seeing that her younger sister
wasn't totally convinced, she smiled warmly and touched the other
girl gently on the arm.  "I really am fine, Akane."

Nabiki returned from the hallway having deposited the blanket and
pillow into the closet there before joining the others around the
table.  "So what happens now, Daddy?  I can't really see the
engagement holding if one of us has to marry someone who's half
girl."

"Hey!  I'm a guy, dammit."

Nabiki just gave Ranma a flat stare before poking the other girl's
breast. "And what do you call these then."

"Err... well... So I don't have a guy's body just right now, but I'm
still a guy inside."

"So are you saying that you want to go through with the
engagement, is that it?"

"Engagem... NO!  No way.  This is all the old man's faul-"

Soun could feel the beginnings of a large migraine start to settle in.
He rubbed at his temples, tuning out the conversation between
Ranma and his daughters.  This morning when he received that
fateful postcard, he thought that there could be nothing worse.  He
was wrong.  Things could always get worse, especially if Ranma's
curse was everything he said it was.  Something had to be done,
and quickly.

"Daughters, and Ranma, if you would be so kind as to let me have a
few minutes alone with Mr. Saotome.  There's much we need to
speak about."

[Yes, we'll want to catch up on old times.]

"Sure Daddy."  Nabiki turned to tap Ranma on the shoulder.
"Come on, Ranma.  Why don't we show you the dojo?"

"Ummm... alright."

The four of them stood up and were about to walk out into the yard
when they heard the front door slide open on its tracks and
someone enter the house.

Soun turned to look down the hallway, a look of fear pasted across
his face. <No.  Not yet.  Just give me a few minutes to at least try
to clear things up with Genma first.  Let it just be a delivery boy, or
one of my students, or...>

"Hello everyone.  We're home."

Soun turned pale <That's it.  I'm a dead man.>

Oddly enough, these same thoughts were echoed in Genma's mind
as well.  Many things throughout his life had caused him to know
fear, but nothing quite like this.  He had let Ranma do most of the
talking earlier, well, much of that was due to the limited capacity
for speech that he retained as a panda, but more so, the boy seemed
to have been handling the situation quite well by himself (that and
he was to lazy to do it himself).  But this, this Ranma wouldn't be
able to take care of, and it was up to him to take charge of the
situation.  Namely, grabbing his son/daughter by the collar and high
tailing it out the nearest door.  There was only one hitch.  One
cannot execute such a plan if one has been flipped over and is
looking at the ceiling.

Ranma straightened after soundly tossing her father to the floor.
"Look, Old Man, you already hauled me around town like a sack of
rice once today.  I ain't lettin' you do it again."

He was about to add another kick to his statement when he was
interrupted as a blue and white blur entered the room and attached
itself around Soun's neck.

"Otoo-san!"

Ranma looked over to see what looked to be a young girl in a white
and blue junior school uniform, either trying to strangle Mr. Tendo
or was giving him a fierce hug.  She appeared to be about six or
seven years old and had tawny coloured hair pulled back into two
braids.

Genma peered up from his position from the floor and pulled out a
sign. [Otoo-san?!?] His fear momentarily forgotten only to have
been replaced by confusion. <I thought Tendo only had three
daughters.  Then who...>  He didn't manage to finish the thought as
the reason for his initial panic came into view.  His eyes grew wide
and he thought his heart would stop.

"Oh, I see we have visitors."


Ranma faced the source of the voice and found himself looking at a
regal looking woman in her middle years.  Her chestnut hair was
done up in a neat bun and she moved elegantly in the dark blue
kimono she wore, a basket with groceries hung from the crook of
her left arm.  But it was her smile that truly caught his attention.
His memories had faded over the years, but there was a warmth in
that smile that he could never forget.

"Mom?"

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

              To be continued.
                    ^_^