Subject: [FFML] [Fanfic][Ranma] The Better Part of Valor
From: Vincent Seifert
Date: 1/30/2001, 10:32 PM
To: ffml@fanfic.com



I posted this to my webpage a couple of months ago, not posting it

to FFML because I was afraid I'd have to repudiate it.  :)  But it

went over well enough with the people who visit my page, so here it

is...



The Better Part of Valor



a Ranma 1/2 fanfiction by Vince Seifert (seifertv@csus.edu)



Ranma 1/2 characters and situations are copyright 1987, 2000

by Takahashi Rumiko.  Publishing rights (Japan) by Shogakukan

Inc.  Publishing rights (North America) by Viz Inc.  This work

is not intended to infringe those rights.



This story takes place in the A Man Among Women timeline (which

diverges from manga-canon at the beginning of v37) about 10 years

after A Man Among Women.  It won't make much sense unless you've

read the other stories:



http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seifertv/toth/other.htm



     ~~~~~



     Nerima lay prostrate under the afternoon sun, its residents

dazed by heat that left them without the energy to do much more

than sip cool drinks and hope their electric fans wouldn't burn

out.  The only relief from the enervating buzz of the cicadas was

an occasional soft chiming from the furin suspended from rafters

all over the district; people claimed that the sound of the

little wind-bells made the heat seem less oppressive.  Cynics

held that it was a conditioned reflex caused by the fact that the

furin only sounded when a breath of breeze happened by.



     The furin hanging in the walkway around the Tendo home, its

paper ribbon inscribed "Please, kami, no curses", sounded

faintly, then a little louder.  Suddenly it pealed a mad tocsin

and fell off its nail as a shaggy bovine form descended into the

garden on a pair of fluttering wings that should have been much

too small to support its bulk, whipping up a transient cyclone in

the space within the walls.  It carefully set the glowering

pigtailed man it bore in one huge hand on the ground, dropped the

gi-clad young man in the other hand less gently, and flinched as

the slim youth riding astride its neck dismounted with an

acrobatic vault.  "Mooo," it complained.



     The man glared at the beast, but before he could say

anything, two women hurried out of the house onto the veranda.

"Ranma!  You're back!  You caught them before they got to

Jusenkyo!  Thank goodness!" Kasumi exclaimed, as relieved as only

a housewife who had been fretting for three weeks that her

runaway sons would return home afflicted by Chinese curses can

be.  She came down the steps and embraced the teenager in the gi.



     "Uh, well, about that...."  Ranma trailed off.  He grimaced,

then pasted a pleasant expression on his face and nodded a

greeting to Akane.



     Kasumi let go of her younger son and looked at Ranma.  "But,

dear, Jiro-chan's just the same as he always was."  She glanced

at Jiro, suddenly doubtful.  "Isn't he?"



     "Mooo," the monstrous beast interjected.



     Reminded of the proprieties, Kasumi composed herself and

bowed to it.  "Thank you for bringing my family back from China,

Pantyhose-Taro-san," she said formally.



     "Um, I really hate to tell you this....."  Ranma trailed off

again.



     "Tell me what?"  Suddenly struck by an unwelcome thought,

Kasumi looked around.  "Where's Taro-chan, dear?"



     "And what happened to Pantyhose-Taro-kun's tenta...?"  Akane

broke off and put her hands to her mouth as her eyes widened in

horror, staring at the monster in the back yard.  It had a shaggy

pelt and great arms like a yeti, the head and hindquarters of a

bull, a crane's wings, and a tail resembling an eel, but in no

part bore any resemblance to an octopus.



     Kasumi paled.  "Taro-chan?" she whispered.



     The monster made an embarrassed lowing sound that was easily

interpreted as "Sorry about this, Mom."



     Kasumi fainted.



     ~~~~~



     Concerned faces surrounded her when Kasumi, supine on a

futon in the tearoom with a damp cloth on her forehead, awoke.

One of them was her elder son Taro.  "Taro-chan... was I

dreaming...?" she murmured.



     Several of the other faces grimaced.  "I wish," Ranma said.

He took a breath and inclined his head in apology.  "I regret to

inform you that our yak-brained son fell into the

Niuhoomanmaorenniichuan."



     "Oh, my," Kasumi said inadequately.  "The spring of drowned

yeti riding bull carrying crane and eel...."



     "I'm really sorry, Mom," Taro mumbled, still steaming a bit

where hot water had been poured on him.



     "Well, what's done is done," Kasumi replied with a sigh,

sitting up with Ranma's assistance.  "We'll manage, I suppose."

She glanced the other way to where her other son, a year younger

than Taro's seventeen summers, sat.  "At least Jiro didn't fall

into one of those dreadful springs?" she suggested hopefully.



     Ranma bit his lip and nudged Jiro with his elbow.  Jiro, his

posture upright and his face grave, shook his head.  "I'm sorry,

Okaa-sama," he said.  "I fell into one, too.  This is all my

fault.  It was my idea to run away to Jusenkyo."



     Kasumi, looking concerned, reached over and felt Jiro's

forehead.  "Are you feeling all right, Jiro-chan?"



     Akane looked more astonished than concerned.  "What happened

to the Rebel Without A Clue?  The kid whose motto was 'I didn't

do it, nobody saw me, you can't prove a thing'?" she said in

disbelief.  "Not to mention calling your mother 'Okaa-sama'

instead of 'Ofukuro'?"



     "He fell into the Jannanniichuan," said Ranma.  "The Spring

of Drowned Virtuous Man."



     Dead silence greeted this announcement, though Taro looked

like he was managing not to snicker with some difficulty.  Akane

finally found her voice.  "And telling the truth is a virtue,

right?"



     Jiro nodded.  "Yes, Akane-sensei."



     "Hah!  So confess, Jiro-kun-- it WAS you who put the octopus

in my bed, wasn't it?"



     Jiro looked at his hands and nodded again.  "Yes, that was

me.  I'm sorry I did it, and I'm sorry I lied when you asked me

if I did it.  I know I have a lot to atone for."



     "All the way home he kept trying to get us to stop at

temples so he could offer prayers to cleanse his karmic debt,"

Ranma grumbled.



     "I was going to offer prayers for you too, Otou-sama," Jiro

pointed out.



     Ranma coughed, looking suddenly uncomfortable.  "Yes, well,

that's neither here nor there."  He cast a furtive glance at

Akane, who appeared to find the ceiling intensely interesting,

then noticed something else.  "Kurone!"



     "Yes, Ranma-no-ojisama?" the youth massaging Taro's

shoulders said brightly.  Kasumi and Akane started; they hadn't

noticed him before Ranma spoke.  His baggy dark ninja-suit

probably helped there, but the way his long black hair was tied

up in a scalp-lock was definitely flamboyant.



     "Stop that," Ranma said gruffly.  "You're making Taro

uncomfortable."  Taro nodded gratefully.



     Kurone pouted, but complied.  "Oh, all right."  He released

Taro's tense shoulders with an affectionate parting pat.



     "Dear, would you be so kind as to introduce us?" Kasumi said

gently to Ranma, nodding politely in Kurone's direction.



     "I am kunoichi Saotome Kurone," the youth said proudly

before Ranma could speak.  He moved sideways on his knees a

little, placed his hands on the floor, and bowed deeply to

Kasumi.  "I am very pleased to meet you at last, Tendo-no-

okaasama.  I've heard so much about you, and all of it good.  I

hope to call you 'Mother' for real soon."  He ignored Taro's

choke and directed another bow to Akane.  "I'm glad to see you

again too, Akane-sensei."



     "Um, yes, it's been a while, Kurone-chan," Akane replied.



     "Oh, so you know each other," Kasumi said lightly, somehow

managing to convey a question along with the remark.



     Akane and Ranma exchanged glances.  "Well, I've mentioned

Kurone before," Akane said.  "We met at Ukyo and Konatsu's place

in Kyoto."



     "But I thought you said she was their daughter," Kasumi

objected.



     "She--"  Akane broke off and took another look at Kurone.

"Eep.  Excuse me," she said, reaching out and patting Kurone's

chest gingerly.  "Oh, dear...."



     "I jumped into the Nanniichuan," Kurone said cheerfully.

"Isn't it wonderful?"



     "It damn well isn't," Taro muttered.



     "Now, now, Taro darling, don't be difficult--"



     "'Jumped'?" Akane asked Ranma.  "As in on purpose?"  She did

a double-take.  "'Darling?!"



     "ME difficult?" Taro expostulated.  "YOU'RE the one who's--"



     Ranma nodded.  "As in that's the whole reason she went--"



     "--being difficult!  Carrying on as if nothing changed!"



     "--well, most of the reason, anyway--"



     "You didn't mind me 'carrying on' before!" Kurone protested.



     "--see, my idiot offspring stopped by Kyoto on the way to

China, and it was a case of, er...."



     "You were a GIRL then!"



     "Love at first sight?" Akane supplied, her eyes widening.



     Kurone looked puzzled.  "I'm a girl NOW!"



     "Well, something at first sight," Ranma said ruefully.



     "NOW, you're a GUY!  A QUEER guy!" Taro shouted, red-faced.



     "There's no need to be abusive," Jiro reproved his brother.



     "Shut your noisy face, you pompous-- OW!"  Taro clutched his

head where Ranma had clouted him.



     "I'm NOT 'queer'," Kurone maintained with dignity.  "I'm

just... adaptable."



     "Knock it off," Ranma admonished Taro.



     "Oh... my... god," Akane breathed, looking back and forth

between Kurone and Taro.  She grabbed Ranma's arm in sudden

panic.  "They didn't, um, did they?"



     "I'd be a lot less calm if I thought they had," Ranma said

reassuringly.



     Kasumi coughed politely, and the hubbub ceased.  "Do I

understand that you wish to marry my son?" she asked the young

ninja.



     Kurone nodded humbly, unable to see Taro's frantic

headshaking behind him.  "I love Taro, and I want to be his

wife," he said, blushing.  Fortunately, he didn't notice Akane's

reaction either.



     "Husband," Taro muttered, grimacing.



     "Whatever, Taro darling."



     "Will you stop calling me that?"



     "Out of the question," Ranma said emphatically, casting a

worried glance at Akane, who seemed to be having a lot of trouble

breathing.  "I'm sorry, Kurone, but you cannot marry Taro, and

that's that."



     Taro heaved a sigh of relief, but Kurone looked stunned.

"But, Oji-sama--"



     "No, I said."



     "But WHY?" Kurone wailed.



     At that Akane, who had managed to draw a breath, lost it to

another coughing fit and started pounding a fist on the tatami

matting.



     Ranma opened his mouth, then closed it again.  "Look, just

take my word for it," he said finally.  "You can't.  You just

can't."  A thought occurred to him, and he seized on it

gratefully.  "Taro seems to be opposed to it anyway."



     "He was all for it before he was cursed," Kurone pleaded.

"Oji-sama, I'm sure I can talk him around, given time.  When he

finally realizes that I still love him even though he's cursed to

change into a hideous monster, his love for me will revive!"



     "MY curse isn't the problem!" Taro burst out.  "OW!  Cut it

out, Oyaji!"  Rubbing another lump on his head, he glared

alternately at his father and his suitor.



     "I'm sorry, Kurone-san, but I forbid this," Ranma said

flatly.



     "But Oji-sama--"



     "No."



     Tears threatened to spill over from the youth's eyes, but he

maintained his composure.  "It's because I'm adopted into your

family, isn't it," he said, his voice trembling only a little.

Ranma paled.  "I'm technically his aunt, and you think that's...

weird.  But it's not like I'm related to him!"



     "Ack," Ranma managed.  He definitely didn't want that angle

pursued.  A miracle, that's what he needed, something to distract

the company before they put one and three together and got six--



     Crash!  "Nihao!"



     --but not THAT!  "Oh, shit," Ranma said with feeling,

goggling at three Chinese girls who had just made a traditional

door-disdaining entrance.  Two were twins, and one was a little

older, but all three were clearly related, and all were very

attractive in their Joketsuzoku battle garb... and probably even

more attractive out of it, from all indications.



     Reactions varied.  Akane had her face in her hand and was

shaking her head.  Ranma appeared to be in shock.  Jiro hung a

polite but wary look on his face.  Taro spun around with a glad

cry on his lips.  Kurone, a snarl distorting his comely features,

sprang to a combat stance between the intruders and Taro.

"Welcome," Kasumi said pleasantly, politely overlooking the

demolition of her shoji screens.  "Our house is yours."  She

didn't add "...so please don't wreck it," but the thought was

there.



     "I Lu Fa," the elder girl announced, drawing herself up and

gesturing to Taro.  "I come for airen.  Kurone!  You I kill!"



     "Try it," Kurone invited tersely, but his hand didn't stray

to the short sword at his side.



     The twins crossed the room in acrobatic flips over the heads

of the residents, landing neatly on either side of Jiro.  "I So

Pu," one said to everyone.



     "I Ro Pu," said the other.  They both snuggled up closely to

either side of a cringing Jiro.  "Wo ai ni," they said

affectionately in unison to their captive.



     Kasumi glanced at her younger son, who looked like he was

beset by temptation but managing to resist it by sheer force of

will and a cunning knot on his gi belt.  She turned to her elder

son, with only Kurone between him and a similar fate, but who

appeared to welcome the chance to struggle with temptation a

little himself.  Her raised-eyebrow look at Ranma spoke volumes.

Ranma's answering helpless shrug indicated eloquently that this

was one problem he'd never been able to figure out how to deal

with himself.



     "HAAAA!"  Lu Fa sprang forward, striking at Kurone.  Kurone

was ready, twisting aside and flinging something at the floor.

Pop!  A cloud of dense smoke puffed up, roiled briefly as impacts

sounded within it, and then cleared as a howl of pain filled the

room.



     Kurone staggered back, clutching his groin, his eyes

bulging.  "OW!  I didn't know they did that!  Ow, ow, ow...."

The males present winced in sympathy.



     "Aiya," Lufa gasped.  "You BOY!  I think you GIRL because

you chase airen!"  Her eyes widened.  "You GAY boy!"



     "I'm not gay!" Kurone managed.  "I'm MAD!"  He grabbed the

bowl of water Ranma had been using to moisten Kasumi's head-

cloth, dumped it on himself, and sighed in relief.  "Much better.

Why didn't you TELL me?" she accused Ranma, Taro, and Jiro.



     Ranma shrugged.  "You didn't ask?"



     "Really, you inconsiderate men!"  She wheeled on Lu Fa and

spin-kicked the surprised Joketsuzoku warrior out into the

garden, dropping her neatly into the koi pond.  Splash!



     "Lu Fa!"  Taro scrambled after her, but stopped just in

time.  "Damn, I don't want to get wet.  Jiro, could you give me a

hand here?"



     "Gladly," Jiro said, sounding relieved.  "Um, excuse me,

girls, a good deed calls-- So Pu, take your hand out of there,

please."  He extracted himself from the dual glomp sufficiently

to stagger out into the garden, an adoring twin hanging from each

side.



     "Just LEAVE her there, it's where she belongs!" Kurone

huffed.



     "Really, Kurone-chan, you hardly change at all," Akane

observed.



     "That's what I keep telling Taro-chan," Kurone said

wistfully.



     Jiro peered into the pond.  "Where is she?  Oh, I see her."

He reached down into the water and pulled out something that

wriggled.  "Here."  He handed his handful to his brother.



     Taro came back in, carefully carrying a large green frog.

"Isn't it supposed to be the handsome prince that happens to?"

Kurone asked him coldly.  "Why don't you kiss THAT and see what

happens?"



     "Oh, my goodness," Kasumi said.  "Is that--?"



     "Lu Fa," Taro confirmed, shooting Kurone a dirty look.



     "Breedeep," Lu Fa agreed sadly.



     "Spring of Drowned Frog," Ranma surmised.



     Akane giggled despite herself.  "How on Earth do you drown a

frog?" she wondered out loud.



     "Uh--"  Ranma looked absent for a moment, then shook

himself.  "Damnfino.  It doesn't matter."



     Taro picked up the kettle and tilted it above the frog.  Lu

Fa uttered a panicked croak and started to hop away, but the

splash of hot water caught her, and suddenly there was a Chinese

girl on the tatami.  SLAP!  "Fool, give CLOTHES before do that!"

she yelled at Taro, covering herself as best she could with

Kasumi's abandoned cloth.



     "Oops.  Sorry about that."  Taro looked away, blushing, but

couldn't help sneaking a peek.  Lu Fa noticed, and appeared to be

torn between clobbering him and preening for him.



     "Here," Jiro said, presenting Lu Fa with her clothing while

keeping his eyes well averted.



     Lu Fa dressed quickly, then glared at Kurone for a moment

before lowering her gaze.  "I sorry, Taro," she said.  She walked

over to Kurone, her bearing now submissive rather than proud, and

kissed her on the cheek before the startled kunoichi could move.

"Wo da airen," she said reluctantly.



     "WHAT?!" Taro shouted without wondering why Ranma was

pounding himself repeatedly on the forehead.  "Lu Fa!"



     "Is ancient Joketsuzoku law," Lu Fa said, her voice heavy

with woe.  "If outsider woman defeats Joketsuzoku woman, she must

kill her.  If outsider man defeats Joketsuzoku woman, she must

marry him."



     "I thought Taro defeated you," Ranma interjected, puzzled.



     Lu Fa shook her head.  "No, Ranma.  Taro strong, he

handsome, he nice.  I see, I love, I follow... also to help

sisters," she added, gesturing to where So Pu and Ro Pu were

attempting to cuddle with Jiro.  "But now I must marry Kurone."



     "But Kurone's a-- mmmph!"  Taro's excited cry was cut off by

Kurone's slim hand.  He struggled, but the kunoichi was stronger

than she looked.



     "Let me get this straight," Kurone purred.  "If I was a

girl, you'd have to try to kill me for defeating you, but since

I'm a boy, you have to stop chasing Taro-chan?"  She waited for

Lu Fa's unhappy nod.  "Everything's fine, then, because I'm

really a boy.  Wasn't that what you were compla-- er, saying

before Lu Fa and her sisters arrived, Taro darling?"  Kurone

lifted her hand enough for Taro to reply, but held it ready.



     "Yeah, but-- mmph!!"



     Kurone smiled at Lu Fa triumphantly.  "See, even Taro says

so."



     "You GAY boy," Lu Fa muttered.  "I no want marry gay boy.

No happy marriage that way.  Cold bed."



     "Well, you could just go back to China," Kurone insinuated.



     Lu Fa shook her head definitely.  "I follow law.  I marry

you."  She perked up a little.  "You marry Taro?  How you feel

about... what word?"  She turned to Ranma and said something in

Chinese.  Ranma choked, turned red, and started coughing.

"What?" Lu Fa protested.  "Not strangest thing!  Monster, frog,

gay-boy, how strange that?"



     Taro paled.  "You mean...?"



     "'Three-way', she said," Ranma wheezed in confirmation.



     "Hmm... do I get to be in the middle?" Kurone asked.  All

three looked blank as they pondered the possible combinations.

For a surreal moment, Ranma hoped fervently that the frog didn't

figure into any of them.



     "Ranma!" Akane gasped in outrage, elbowing him.  "What about-

-"



     "Hey, what about Jiro?" Ranma interrupted her loudly before

Akane could divulge anything... or force him to.



     Everyone looked at Jiro, bracketed by two amorous girls like

a Bible between a pair of suggestive bookends.  "Help?" his lips

shaped.



     "Speaking of three-ways," Taro muttered.



     "So Pu!  Ro Pu!  What's going on with you and Jiro?" Ranma

demanded.  The girls looked at him blankly.  Ranma switched to

Chinese and repeated his question.



     "Not enough," So Pu sighed wistfully.



     "No, I mean did he defeat you in combat?" Ranma said,

keeping a tight grip on his patience.



     The girls looked at each other and giggled.  "Sort of," Ro

Pu said.



     "Close enough," So Pu agreed.



     "HOW did he defeat you?  You two should have been able to

beat Jiro easily!  I ought to know, I've sparred with you often

enough!"



     "Tic-tac-toe," the girls said in unison.



     Ranma boggled.  "What?  How could you lose at tic-tac-toe?

No one over the mental age of eight could lose at tic-tac-toe

unless... they were... trying to...."  So Pu and Ro Pu smiled

winsomely and said nothing.  Ranma sighed and rubbed his head.

"Oh, great."



     "We both played," said So Pu.



     "We alternated moves," Ro Pu elaborated.



     "So we share," they said together, clutching Jiro

possessively.



     "He's not much fun this way, though," Ro Pu remarked.



     Ranma sighed again, turned to the others, and switched back

to Japanese.  "They say he defeated them both in combat, so they

both have to marry him.  The way I see it, they cheated, though,"

he said darkly.



     Whatever Kasumi was about to say about that was overtaken by

events, as So Pu scampered into the tearoom and came out with the

kettle.  "No, no, wait!" Jiro protested, but Ro Pu hampered his

escape long enough for So Pu to splash him with hot water.  The

Jiro that resulted looked about the same as he had before, though

rather soggier, but his demeanor was quite different.  "Hey,

babes!" he exclaimed.  The twins squealed in glee and pounced,

and this time he didn't resist.



     "Get a room," Taro called in derision.



     "Oh, my," Kasumi said weakly.  Akane covered her eyes with

her fingers and peeked out between them.  Kurone and Lu Fa

watched with amused interest.



     Ranma shook his head and bounded over.  With two quick moves

he peeled the girls off his son and pinioned them under his arms.

Jiro was left struggling on the ground under his foot.



     "Let's talk about this," he said levelly.  He repeated

himself in Chinese for the benefit of the twins, who hesitated a

moment, then nodded in a resigned way.  He set them on their feet

and let Jiro get up, but stayed between them.  "To begin with,

you're too young to get married," he said sternly to Jiro.  "And

they're even younger.  They're FIFTEEN, for crying out loud."



     Jiro shrugged rebelliously.  "They think they're old enough.

They think I'm old enough.  I don't know what YOUR problem is,

Oyaji."



     "Watch your mouth," Ranma advised curtly.  "I say you're not

old enough, and that's what matters."



     "Well, we could be engaged for a while, then," Jiro

suggested.  "You were old enough for that, so I'm old enough for

that."  He leered at the twins, who smiled warmly back.  "And

Grandma Nodoka says 'engaged couples can do this, engaged couples

can do that--'"



     "Couples, maybe!" Ranma roared.  "You're a TRIO!"



     Jiro stood his ground.  "Well, you were engaged to more than

one girl, weren't you?"



     Ranma flushed.  "Yes, and that's why I won't allow it," he

said tightly.



     "Jiro-chan, please come here," came Kasumi's voice.



     "Go talk to your mother," Ranma continued without missing a

beat.  "I have things to say to these two."



     "Well, shit," Jiro muttered under his breath, but he

slouched off toward the tearoom after only a moment's dithering.



     "Hold it right there," Ranma commanded when So Pu and Ro Pu

tried to get past him to follow Jiro.



     "But, Father!" both complained, then brightened.  "Wait,

we'll fix it," So Pu said.  They both jumped in the pond, and

suddenly there were four Chinese girls in the koi pond, two

clothed and two nude.



     Ranma's jaw dropped.  "Spring of Drowned Twins," he said

weakly.  "And I thought two of you were hard to handle.

Aiyaaa...."



     "That's just what Mother said," one of the girls observed as

all four engaged in a quick round of garment-swapping.  It took

only a few moments before they were all more-or-less decently

clad, and then all four of them streamed past Ranma.



     "Hey!" Ranma objected, grabbing the nearest two and wishing

he had more arms.



     One of the girls that had gotten away stopped and came back.

"Let her go, Father, I'll stay," she said.



     "Huh?"



     "We're both So Pu," the captives said.



     "I'm Ro Pu," the free one said.



     "You want both of us to listen to you, don't you?"



     "And we both want to be with Jiro.  This way, everyone can

have what they want!"



     "Uh, yeah, that makes sense," Ranma said dazedly, unhanding

one of the girls; she skipped away to join her sister by Jiro's

side.  "I guess...."  He refocused.  "Listen, you can't marry

Jiro!"



     "But he's so wonderful, Father," Ro Pu/2 sighed adoringly.

"I see why Mother Shan Pu insisted on marrying a Japanese man--"



     "--even though she said we couldn't have this one," So Pu/2

completed.  "She wouldn't say why, though."



     "Any boy you'd take as a student HAS to be good enough," Ro

Pu/2 said, nodding firmly.



     "She wouldn't let Lu Fa woo Taro, either--"



     "--but she wouldn't say why not--"



     "--she just turned red and had trouble breathing--"



     "--sort of like that short-haired lady in the corner was

doing--"



     "--so we all ran away, Honored Father."  Both half-twins

stopped talking and regarded Ranma expectantly.



     Ranma was silent for a moment.  "I have a really, really bad

headache," he said finally.



     "Poor Father.  Shall we rub your shoulders?"



     The offer was very tempting, but just then Kasumi's voice

floated out from the tearoom again.  "Ranma, dear...."



     "Coming," Ranma called back, trying not to sound as tired as

he felt.  He herded the girls into the tearoom ahead of him to

join the throng clustered around Jiro, who looked indecently

happy at the attention and was doing his best to make sure that

all four basked equally in the light of his regard.  "Yes,

Kasumi?"



     "I don't seem to be making much progress," Kasumi admitted.



     "Why can't I marry Taro-chan?" Kurone asked plaintively.



     "Why can't I marry Kurone?" Lu Fa demanded.



     "Why can't I marry Lu Fa?" Taro grumbled.



     "Why can't I be engaged to both, er, all four of them?" Jiro

suggested.



     It was the four-part Chinese chorus of "Why can't we marry

Jiro?" that exceeded Ranma's patience, though.  "SHUT UP!" he

thundered.  "Get this through your tiny little sex-crazed minds!

NONE of you can marry, engage, take as concubine, screw, or even

HOLD HANDS with ANY of the others!  That's FINAL!  Absolutely,

utterly, and completely FINAL!  GOT THAT?"



     In the shocked silence that ensued, Ranma contemplated the

family resemblance between the six-- no, eight-- young faces

turned towards him, and marveled that no one else had noticed.



     "Ranma, dear, we really must speak privately," Kasumi said.

Her voice was as soft and gentle as ever, but Ranma could see a

slight twitch under her right eye, and suddenly the truth was

just too heavy a burden to bear.



     "Yes, we should," he agreed.



     "Ranma?  Ranma!"  The voice from outside was that of a

terrified child, and it galvanized Ranma to bound outside as a

winged figure fluttered down into the garden.  He plunged into

the koi pond, heedless of the fish and his own Jusenkyo curse,

and was there to catch the alate youngster gently.



     "Shhh, shhh, it's all right," she soothed the bawling child

in her arms.  "You're safe now."



     "I was flying over the ocean and it was so far and I thought

I couldn't fly any more and I was gonna fall into the sea an'

drown, and then I got to land but the people yelled and ran

around and scared me so I had to keep flying."  Sniffle.  "And I

found the city but it was so big and there were big metal things

with wings that went around and around and they coulda chopped me

up into little pieces.  I dropped Mama Kiima's map, and I only

sorta remembered where you were.  I was flying around looking for

you and the sun was setting and pretty soon I'd HAVE to land, and

then I heard you yelling...."



     "You did very well," Ranma said softly, smoothing back a

lock of the child's white hair.



     "Mama said I couldn't do it," the child remarked, seeming

more composed.



     Ranma sighed.  "She meant you weren't ALLOWED to do it, you

silly featherbrain."



     "Oh."



     "But I'm surprised you were able to," Ranma said.  "Now,

there are some people you have to meet.  They won't hurt you, I

promise.  You're safe now."



     "All right."



     Ranma turned and hopped out of the pond, then came up the

steps and set the child she carried on the veranda, keeping her

hand.  The onlookers gasped; she was a little girl, perhaps nine

or ten years old, wearing a form-fitting garment like a one-piece

bathing suit, but that was not the astonishing thing.  Her

shoulders supported white-feathered wings that flexed slightly

open as she recoiled a little from the amazed looks.  "It's all

right," Ranma said reassuringly as the girl turned her head to

look up at her.  The girl's white hair was cut in bangs in front,

and braided into a little pigtail in the back, underlining the

uncanny resemblance between her young features and Ranma's

feminine face.



     Ranma's gaze wandered over the people in the tearoom,

lingering on Akane for a moment before stopping on Kasumi.

Discretion had done all it could, and now it was time to try

something else.  "This is Yokuma," she said clearly.  "My

daughter."



     ~~~~~ end The Better Part of Valor ~~~~~



     Don't take this too seriously; it's not necessarily what

"will" happen, it's just a flippant possibility.  It doesn't

really fit the tone or themes of AMAW, and is very nearly a

spamfic, but it's a little too long for that... so it's just what

it is, and I hope you enjoyed it.



     Thanks to Dave Roeder for prereading it.  :)



     -- Vince Seifert, 2000 Nov 15



Vince Seifert    Fanfic Analyst   FFIRC Frog

Prime:  seifertv@csus.edu

Backup: seifertv@myrealbox.com

Techie: http://webpages.csus.edu/~seifertv/

Fanfic: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seifertv/toth/

Ideas are worth their weight in gold.







-- .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List---. | Administrators - ffml-admins@fanfic.com | | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@fanfic.com | | Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject | `---http://www.fanfic.com/FFML-FAQ.txt ---'