Three women sat around an image that floated in the air between
them.  It is not precisely correct to say that they were sisters, for
they had no mother or father.  Nor were they 'born' of the same source.
Nevertheless, they were sisters in a sense that went deeper than normal
sibling relationships.

      The image they watched was three-dimensional, and had no apparent
means by which it was being projected.  To another, the phenomenon
might have been thought of as inexplicable; but to these three, it was
trivial.

      On it were displayed the images of many planets; some teeming
with life, others cold and dead.  Words on the screen indicated various
statistics on the planets, and where applicable, the life which they
contained.  The sisters had watched planets start from the most
primitive of ecologies and evolve into galaxy-wide civilizations; only
to fall apart and devolve back into their primal state.  They had
watched this happen many times over.  All were on the brink of
something great; and all fell because of intrinsic weaknesses.

      "This has grown tedious for me," the youngest sister suddenly
declared as she brushed a blue lock of hair away from her pink eyes.

      "What has?" the middle sister asked, glancing up at her taller
sibling, though her spiky red hair nearly made up for the difference in
height.

      "All of this," she replied, gesturing towards the screen.  "This
watching, waiting, and hoping, only to have them turn on themselves in
the end, over and over again.  Indirect influence isn't enough.  They
are such children that we need to take them by the hand and guide them
if they will ever achieve what we want of them."

      "What are you planning to do?" the middle asked.  She could tell
that her younger sister had had a plan already in place, perhaps for
quite a while in advance, and had waited for this moment to put it into
effect.  After their latest setback, this seemed as appropriate a time
as any.

      "I will descend down to the universe and attempt to guide one of
these groups.  This planet shall serve as my nexus," the youngest
sister said, gesturing to one in the cluster.

      "But you will have to limit yourself in order to do that," her
older sister pointed out.  As great as their powers were, it would be
immensely diminished once in other dimensions.  Possibly to the point
where there was no difference between direct and indirect influences.

      "Yes, but there is no choice if our goals are ever to be
achieved."

      The middle sister thought over this for some time before
declaring, "All right, then I will descend as well.  My methods are not
similar to yours, so I will take another group and guide them as I
believe they should be.  I will choose this remote planet as my nexus.
Perhaps one of us will be able to succeed."

      Both turned to face the eldest sister, wanting to hear what she
thought of their plans.  Some moments passed before she spoke.

      "In the end, our goals will be achieved whether we interfere or
not.  It is only a matter of when.  As of now I am inclined to wait and
see what will be before taking action.  You are free to do as you wish.
Though I feel it is not a wise decision, I am curious as to how your
experiments will turn out."

      The two younger sisters nodded and then vanished.

      As she stared at the display, the eldest sister began to smile
slightly.

      "My Lady?" asked a figure which had just materialized by her
side.

      "It has begun," she told him, though her eyes never left the
image before her.

      "Yes, Lady Tokimi," D3 responded.

      The images of two planets were now displayed before her.  The
first would soon be renamed Jurai by its inhabitants, while the other
would eventually be known as Earth.

--------------------------------------------

No Need for Ranma!
(A Ranma One Half / Tenchi Muyo! / Sailor Moon Alternate History)

Chapter 1: No Need for Beginnings

Originally by Ammadeau (Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org)
http://www.thekeep.org/~amm/index.htm

Revision by Ginrai (ranmafics@hotmail.com)
http://members.tripod.com/lwf58/fan_fiction/ginrai/index.html

As always, C&C, questions and comments are appreciated.

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and its characters are property of Rumiko
Takahashi.  Tenchi Muyo! is the property of Kajishima Masaki.  Sailor
Moon and its characters are the property of Naoko Takeuchi.

Note: This is a revision of the prologue.

--------------------------------------------

On with the story:

      For the second time in two years the Masaki family had been
blessed with the birth of a child, a girl whom they named Achika.
Katsuhito was more than a little worried, as he cradled little Nodoka,
their firstborn, in his arms.  His wife had always been strong in
spirit, but unfortunately not in body.  The doctors were saying how she
had been lucky to survive this birth with such a frail constitution.
They had even advised abortion, which Katsuhito had found unthinkable.
Eventually though, as his wife's health continuously declined, he
agreed with them.  His faith was strong, but not as strong as the love
for his wife.

      But in the end, Itsuki Masaki wouldn't hear of it.  "The child
that grows within me begs for life," she said when hearing his request,
"Would you deny her, because of the possibility that she might end
mine?"

***

      While she had survived giving birth, Itsuki had been weakened; so
much so that for a year afterwards she was bedridden and unable to take
care of her daughters.  She tried to play with them each day, to be the
mother that both deserved, but it exhausted what little strength she
had.  Katsuhito did his best to keep visits short and low-key so his
wife could conserve her strength.  Because of this, their mother would
always be a distant figure on a bed to Achika and Nodoka.

      It wasn't long before Mrs. Masaki was in and out of the hospital
every week.  Despite having some of the best medical care, her
condition only worsened.  She spent the final year of her life in the
hospital, with Katsuhito making daily visits to be by her side.  Her
only regret was having her daughters grow up barely knowing their
mother.

***

      Only six years after the birth of Achika, Katsuhito became a
widower; though he was far from being alone, as the priest had his
daughters to keep him company.  While around the children, he did his
best to hide the pain in his heart from them, not wanting either to
feel such a hurt, or worry over their father being distressed.

      Nodoka, his oldest, was now eight, and despite being such a
tender age, had taken up some of the duties of a mother around the
house, such as cooking and cleaning.  Achika, even at age six, wanted
to help, but her father wouldn't allow it.

      Katsuhito had forbidden Achika to work, mainly so he could have
her happy and always by his side.  Though part of it was because of her
age, the main reason for this was that his youngest offspring was the
child that more resembled his dead wife and brought him the most
comfort to his grief.  To see the girl under any sort of pain would be
unbearable to him.

      Nodoka, on the other hand, mostly resembled his mother.  Possibly
due to responsibilities left behind that he did not want to be reminded
of, the former Jurai prince tended to ignore his elder daughter.  As
hard as he tried not to allow such a petty reason form a rift between
him and his elder daughter, Katsuhito was still only human and thus
gave more of his attention towards the younger of the siblings.  This
was something that he would regret for many years to come.

***

      Little Nodoka did everything she could to get her father's
approval, but nothing seemed to work.  Nodoka loved Achika dearly, but
she sometimes felt jealous of her sister, who got to play with father
all the time while she was barely spoken to.  After all, she was the
one who had taken responsibility for the chores and kept the household
working; but Achika, who didn't do any work, was the one father fussed
over.

      Though she didn't tell either her father nor sister, it deeply
hurt the young girl and made her feel like she wasn't part of the
family.

      All she wanted was her father to smile at her the same way he did
for her younger sister; to be told by him that he was proud of his
oldest daughter.

      It was while watching her father in his morning practice one day
that she came up with an idea.

      "Daddy, can you teach me kendo?" Nodoka asked him right after he
had finished his daily katas.

      Katsuhito looked a bit startled by the question.  "A little girl
like yourself doesn't need to learn kendo.  You should be practicing
girl things instead," he replied, hoping to talk her out of the idea.

      "I'm tired of girl stuff!  I want to learn kendo!" Nodoka
instantly answered back, raising her voice a bit.  'Besides,' she added
to herself, 'All that girl stuff never got your attention.  At least
this way we'll be together for part of the day.'

      Katsuhito tried to talk her out of it, but Nodoka was determined
to whine until she had her way.  The old priest eventually gave in, if
just to stop her complaining.

      "Our family's sword style is very special and also very secret.
You mustn't ever teach this to anyone else without my approval.  Is
that clear, Nodoka?"

      The little girl simply nodded.  This was too important for any
mistakes to be made; she finally had a chance to have her father's
attention.

      His voice became grave for what he had to say next.  "Nodoka,
this is serious.  Do you swear on your word of honor _never_ to teach
this to anyone else without my approval?"

      The seriousness in his voice caused her to contemplate about it,
eyes squeezed shut so as to concentrate better, for a few moments
before replying, "I swear, Daddy."

      Katsuhito nodded solemnly.  "Very well.  This is how we begin..."

***

      During her first week of middle school, Achika couldn't help but
notice that her sister always seemed to do everything alone.  Things
had changed between them ever since the elder Masaki sister had started
school.  At one time they were as close as siblings could be, doing
everything together, except when Nodoka was doing her chores or
practicing with their father.  Lately, though, they had grown somewhat
distant; rarely talking with each other or doing anything together
anymore.  Achika thought the reason for this was that Nodoka had made
friends at school and that kept her busy.  But from what she'd seen so
far, that appeared to not be the case.

      At lunch, Achika got up from the friends that she had just made
and approached her sister, who was eating alone.

      "Why don't you come eat with us?" Achika asked her.

      "I don't want to," Nodoka replied, not bothering to look up and
face her younger sister.

      "Why not?"

      "Just go with your friends, sister," she mumbled in reply while
chewing on some rice, signs of jealousy showing up due to the fact that
her sister could so easily become friends with others.

      Throughout the years Achika had grown to be sweet and gentle, in
many ways the very image of their mother, while Nodoka had grown to be
as stubborn as their father.  That's not to say that Achika didn't have
a determined streak in her, however.

      She grabbed her sister's hand and said, "You're eating with us
whether you like it or not!"  With that she started to pull Nodoka
towards where her friends were.

      'Maybe I was being a bit too harsh towards Achika,' she thought
as her sister was taking her further away from where she ate.  It was
when she was dragged halfway towards her sister's destination that
Nodoka laughed and relented.  She realized that it was silly of her to
be mad at her sister for being so well liked.  And she had been a fool
for staying away from Achika for so long.  'At least there seems to be
time to make up for that and be friends with her again.'

***

      'How did it happen?' Nodoka wondered sadly as she watched Achika
and her 'friend' chatting on the other side of the school yard.  Her
sister denied that she and Nobuyuki were anything more than friends,
but it was obvious to anyone who was looking how close they really
were; as if no one in the world existed but them.

      There was no major event that had brought them together, at least
as far as Nodoka had noticed, but little by little they had grown
closer, spending more and more time together, until Nodoka hardly saw
her sister anymore.  She was envious, but was it of Nobuyuki for
spending time with her sister, or of Achika for having found someone to
love?

      'Dammit, Nodoka,' she thought, staring at the ground, away from
the two friends.  'You knew that sooner or later your sister, with the
amount of friends she had, was going to find someone to love.  I was
just hoping that it would be later...  She's moving on.  Maybe it's
time that you find someone and move on as well...'  She sighed at the
last thought, whispering in a tone filled with melancholy, "Yeah,
easier said than done for someone who's spent more time practicing
kendo than ever attempting to socialize."

      "Nodoka!" a girl shouted as she ran up to the elder Masaki
sister, distracting her from her thoughts.

      "What is it?" she asked, glad to have her attention on something
else.

      "There's a pervert in the locker room!  He's stealing our
underwear and no one can stop him!  Please, you've got to help us!"

      Nodoka considered saying no.  The girls had all but ignored her
for close to three years of high school, but the moment they needed her
help, they came running.  However, along with kendo, Nodoka had chosen
to follow the path of bushido, and so was honor-bound to help those who
could not defend themselves.  She didn't like the idea of a hentai
getting away with anything either, _especially_ one who might be going
through her locker.  Grabbing a broom as a makeshift weapon, she
followed after the girl.

      Having reached the locker room, Nodoka didn't expect to see a
little old man jumping around like a jackrabbit, a bag filled with bras
and panties slung over his shoulder.

      With her broom held out in front of her like a bokken, Nodoka
shouted, "Stop!  What kind of sick old man steals women's underwear?"

      Stopping his current activities, he took one look at her and
shouted, "Sweeto!"  Right away the little pervert hopped off the top of
one locker and made a dive for her chest.

      Momentarily shocked at his course of action, Nodoka brought up
the broom in defense.  The old man, to her surprise, easily evaded it
and continued on towards his main destination.

      The miniature-sized hentai was stopped from his goal at the last
moment, when a large fist impacted against his head, sending him flying
across the room, knocking into a wall.

      Surprised at the turn of events, Nodoka looked ahead and saw a
young man standing in front of her.  He was about her own age, perhaps
a bit older, dressed in a white training gi and with his black hair
tied in a loose ponytail.  Nodoka noticed that with his glasses he
looked like a somewhat older and muscular version of Nobuyuki.

      Turning his head around to see if she was okay, he offered Nodoka
a somewhat awkward smile, before his expression hardened as his gaze
fell upon the old man.  "Master, this time you go too far!  I... I
can't stand idly by and let you molest this girl!"

      Getting up onto his tiny feet, the pervert had equally, if not
greater, serious look to him.  "After all this time, you actually think
you're good enough to stand up to me?  I'll soon show you the error of
your ways!"

      The old man cackled as he and his student began to fight in
earnest in the middle of the girl's locker room.  The other girls
started to flee the area of combat, most having first recovered their
articles of clothing from the bag, until Nodoka was the only other
person who remained, broom still held ready, watching the fight,
interested in its outcome.

      The ponytailed boy at first tried to take everything slowly,
knowing that his master was much faster than him and thus opted to
conserve his energy for the attacks.  A problem with said logic
immediately became apparent as the old man evaded anything within the
radius of the boy's attacks while sneaking in a few quick hits of his
own, laughing all the while.  Frustrated over the ineffectiveness of
his tactic, he let go of his initial plan and ran up to his opponent to
give a strong kick to the head.

      Right before the leg would have struck against his forehead, the
old pervert quickly brought up his hand to grab ahold of it.  Showing
strength that belied his age and height, he spun his student around and
flung him into the lockers, giving off a loud clanging noise upon
contact, emporarily stunning the youth.

      The boy, legs sprawled along the floor, tried to get up but to no
avail as he found his head hurting when trying to move it.  Through his
temporalily blurry eyes, he was able to see his master basically on top
of him, about to deliver what would have been a very painful blow.  All
of a sudden, the pervert shot out through the window like a rocket.

      Shaking his head so as to ease the pain, he looked up in surprise
to see Nodoka standing over him, the now broken broom held high and a
very satisfied expression on her face.  He couldn't help but notice the
way the light from an open window danced through her long brown hair.

      Nodoka finally took notice of the boy sprawled on the ground in
front of her and offered a hand to help him up.  He took it and she
pulled him up, expecting to be praised and even thanked for having
helped him out in his fight.  'And then he can ask me out on a date
since I know how to fight.  I mean, since he's also a fighter, he'd be
a perfect matc... slooowwww down, Nodoka!'  Cutting off her thoughts
for the time being, she peered back at the boy, waiting for any sort of
response.

      "You know," the boy finally said, "I really didn't need the
help."

      Nodoka's jaw dropped slightly.  Whatever type of response she
expected, _that_ was not it.  Feeling a slow burning in her hand that
held what remained of the broom, she decided on giving him a minute to
explain himself.

      Running a hand through his hair, the boy nervously said, not
making any sort of eye contact with Nodoka, "But thanks, it made things
a whole lot easier."  When he heard no response, he gulped and added,
hoping that he didn't do anything wrong to make her hate him, "By the
way, I'm Genma Saotome.  Nice to meet you."

      Nodoka, feeling a certain calm return to her, replied with a
small smile, "I'm Nodoka Masaki."  The smile became mischievous as she
asked, "Tell me Saotome-san, do you always hang around women's locker
rooms?"

      Genma suddenly became very embarrassed, turning slightly so as to
not see Nodoka.  "Well... no.  At least, not all the time."  Realizing
what he said, the ponytailed boy quickly added in, "But my master has
some peculiar habits."

      Moving in front of Genma, smile still intact, she pulled him by
his hair so as to make eye contact with him.  "Why do you call a man
like that 'master'?  And do you actually enjoy what you do?"

      He raised his hands and started to shake his head frantically.
"Nonononono!  I only do this because he makes me, so that I could learn
from him the other times.  You might not believe it, but he's one of
the greatest martial artists in the world and it's an honor to be able
to learn under him.  I hope to surpass him someday."

      Nodoka's smile became wide as she saw Genma's eyes shine with
determination.

***

      Nodoka usually didn't ask her father's permission for anything.
Having practically lived without his guidance for her whole life, she
didn't think he had the right to tell her what to do, not that he tried
very often.  Bringing a boy over for dinner without his consent,
however, wasn't something she could just do without having it start a
huge argument in front of her guest, which was the last thing the
brown-haired girl wanted to happen.

      "Daddy?" Nodoka asked him in the sweetest voice should could
manage.  It was the way Achika asked for things, and while it had the
highest chances of success, it also made Nodoka feel sick to her
stomach.

      Katsuhito studied his elder daughter for a moment.  She was
almost never polite to him, which meant that she was about to ask him
for something, most likely something he wouldn't be happy about.
'Okay,' he thought, 'She's being nice.  This means she wants something
from you.  Let's see what it is.  Then we'll reject it.'  He nodded his
head so as to allow her to continue.

      "Is it all right if I have a guest over?"  Nodoka looked back at
him with eyes wide, in as cute a manner as possible.  'So as long as I
don't have to see myself in the mirror...'

      "Who is this guest?" Katsuhito asked suspiciously.

      "Oh, just a boy that I met at school," Nodoka replied
nonchalantly, trying to sound casual.  She wasn't going to mention that
this particular boy had dropped out of high school to follow some old
perverted martial arts master around or that he was currently waiting
in the bushes outside the house.

      The old priest nearly laughed out loud in relief.  While he had
been upset at first to learn that his daughters were starting to take
an interest in the opposite sex (even more so that the opposite sex was
taking an interest in them), after a time he came to accept that his
daughters would eventually have to find husbands and start to have
their own families.  It helped that, when it came to Achika, he and
Nobuyuki got along so well.  Also from what he'd seen, it would be good
for Nodoka to have found someone.

      "Does this boy have a name?"

      "Of course he does.  It's Genma Saotome," Nodoka told him,
starting to feel the strain of the sweet girl act.

      "Genma... Saotome?" Katsuhito said slowly, surprise evident in
his voice.  He should have known that his eldest daughter would choose
to bring over the absolute worst boy possible.

      He had heard of Genma Saotome, probably every priest in Japan had
heard of him by now.  The boy was a pupil of the legendary martial arts
master, Happosai, who was more known for acts of thievery, lechery, and
just plain indecency more than his skill at martial arts.  Even though
he'd only been the evil old man's pupil for a few short years, Genma
had already made a name for himself in such areas as well.  There was
the possibility that the mere association with such a lecherous old man
had blown Genma's reputation all out of proportion, but when his
daughters were concerned, Katsuhito erred on the side of caution. He
had even heard that Happosai had taken another student in order to
spread his horrible ways.

      "There is no way I'm going to let Genma Saotome or anyone
associated with him in this house!"

      "But, Daddy!"

      "No, my word is final.  If it were just about anyone else, I
would be able to permit it, but that boy is just plain bad.  Nodoka, I
don't want you to see this Genma ever again, is that clear?"

      "What?!" Nodoka asked, very much surprised.  It was the first
time that she could think of her father actually giving her an order.

      "Trust your father's judgment on this.  You would be better off
never having heard the name 'Genma Saotome'."

      Nodoka nodded, acting properly submissive, while on the inside
was wondering what made Genma so special that he could make her father
suddenly interested in her welfare.

***

      Genma stood beside one of many trees around him, arms crossed,
anxious on seeing Nodoka again.  She told him to wait in the woods
while she talked with her father about possibly having dinner with the
family for the night.

      That was over two hours ago.

      'What's keeping her?' Genma thought, worried that something might
have happened to cause her to stay away.  The idea of Nodoka playing a
joke on him was out of the question; she didn't seem that way from
their earlier meeting.  That of Mr. Masaki forcing his daughter from
seeing him wasn't.

      From what little she told him about her father, Genma was able to
come up with a few conclusions.  One was that he knew how to fight.
Second, he was one of high morals.  Last, but certainly to Genma not
least, was that Nodoka _really_ didn't like her father, something that
the older man probably knew.

      The last two facts gave the ponytailed boy the idea that Nodoka's
request would be outright refused.

      'Will she try to do anything if that were the case?  If so,
what'll it be...'

      Thinking over the possible outcome, Genma never noticed the sound
of someone walking up to him from behind.

      "Genma," he heard someone say, the tip of a bokken pressed
against his back.

      "AHHH!" the boy screamed, leaping up onto a branch above.  He
looked below to see who his assailant was.

      "Hi!"  Nodoka smiled cheerfully, waving back at him.  "Sorry I
was late.  Had a few problems I had to fix.  But look," she said,
bringing up a bag she held in one hand, "I cooked us something to eat."

      The combination of the other person being Nodoka and that he was
very hungry caused Genma to become a blur, instantly appearing in front
of the girl.  Just as he was about to catch his prize, she pulled the
bag away from him.

      "First," she said, playfully tapping him on the head, "Why don't
we have a little sparring match?"

      "Wha?" Genma responded, mouth agape and eyes bulging.

      Nodoka giggled at the comical sight.  It was almost as if he
never sparred with a girl before.

      "Well, I told you before that I've been training in kendo for a
long time and you've been studying under your master for a while.  The
kendo club at school doesn't allow female members and my father refuses
to fight with me anymore, so I want someone to test my skills against."
That and she wanted to test out just how good this infamous martial
artist was.

      "I don't know if I should fight a girl," Genma admitted, sounding
embarrassed.

      "Why not?"

      "My master would kill me if he finds out, since he's always
saying that women shouldn't be learning martial arts.  He firmly
believes that a woman's place is being a housewife."

      "It also makes it easier for the letch when he tries to grope
them," Nodoka said in a serious voice.

      "Well," Genma replied, scratching his head, "I never did think of
it that way.  Though fair play isn't one of the master's best traits."
Wondering for a moment, he added, "And that never explain as to why he
wanted to give some jumping lessons to some high school cheerleading
squad."

      "See," she jumped in, "It's perfectly fine to spar with a girl.
Unless there's some other reason not to spar."

      "I also don't think it's okay to fight girls," Genma mumbled,
looking down at his feet.

      All of a sudden the gap between him and Nodoka closed.  Right
away she grabbed the front of the gi and pulled him up.  "What did you
say?" she grated out, in total disbelief over hearing something so
chauvinistic.  Not giving the other person a chance to respond, she
started shaking him hard, crying out, "I can't believe that you'd think
of something so stupid as girls being weak."

      Dropping him to the ground, on the verge of tears, she said, "And
I thought you were different!  How could you be so... so..."

      "I was just kidding!" Genma said, raising his arms in defense,
hoping that would be enough to calm her down.  Nodoka was the first
girl to actually pay attention to him, and he didn't want anything that
was, in a way, silly to come between them.  "Of course I'll be glad to
spar with you."  Internally he added the part about not giving it his
best, so as to not hurt her.

      "Really?" Nodoka asked, her recent hurt instantly gone.  Seeing
him nod, she giddily jumped up and down, practically purring out,
"That's sweet of you, Genma," causing the aforementioned martial artist
to blush beet red.  Turning around to go and pick her bokken up from
the ground, she added, "And you better not go light on me," not
noticing the boy wiping a sweat drop from the back of his head.

      "Light?  Of course not!" Genma laughed out nervously.  While
trying to act casual about it, he didn't notice the girl running
towards him, her weapon held up high.  It was only the sharp, whizzing
sound of the bokken falling upon him that alerted Genma of the attack.
Immediately sidestepping it, he leapt back away from the area, getting
into a defensive stance.

      "Glad to hear that," Nodoka replied, lowering her weapon down to
her side, a thin smile forming on her otherwise serious face.  "Because
I certainly won't."  Her eyes seemed to shine for a moment.  Once again
she initiated the attack, though much slower than before, seeing that
Genma was prepared for it that time.

      Genma, paying more attention, easily saw the attack intended to
strike his chest, and jumped up and over Nodoka.  The fact that the
attack seemed to be done on purpose alarmed him, almost as if she
wanted him to do what he did.  Eyes growing wide, he twisted to the
side on his descent, still getting clipped at the left foot, causing
him to tumble onto the ground.

      Catching his breath for a moment, he got up quickly in defense of
another another attack.  Instead he saw his opponent standing still and
patient.  'Okay, that's enough of this!' he thought, charging at her.
At the last possible moment he feinted to her right and, sensing the
bokken there to defend against the apparent attack, he lightly struck
Nodoka with the palm of his hand at her left shoulder, though with
enough force to push her back a bit, before moving away from the area.

      Nodoka looked stunned.  Then, eybrows furrowing deeply, she set
herself straight and charged.

      Grinning in determination, Genma got ready to counter with his
own attack.

      The fight carried on.  Fists tempered to smash through steel with
ease versus a style passed through the ages, one that could slay a
demon if necessary.  No words were spoken, both fighters being
relentless; punches blocked by wood and strikes completely evaded by
speed.  Each too stubborn, and filled with too much pride, to give in
to the other.

      It was when Genma slowed down, being winded from all the earlier
dodging, that the match seemed to be going Nodoka's way.  Staying as
far as possibe from her, he tried to make it look as if nothing much
has changed from the beginning.  Taking a deep breath and giving out a
sigh, he knew what to do in order to not lose the fight.  A technique
he only recently came up with -- not even the master knew it -- and
part of what he hoped to be a new school of art.  Standing perfectly
still, he allowed himself to slowly shift...

      Nodoka looked on in awe as she saw Genma disappear from her view.
"How... that's impossible!" she shouted out.  Trying to defend herself,
she turned around in an attempt to find her opponent.  "Where..."  That
was when she felt a presence behind her and tried to spin around.

      Upon reappearing, Genma held Nodoka's arms to her sides so as she
wouldn't be able to turn and strike him.  When she tried to twist,
though, her legs got tangled with his, causing him to loosen his grip
as she was able to turn around in time to see him fall forward on top
of her.  Seeing that she wasn't trying to fight back anymore, he
smirked and said, "I win," when, suddenly, he realized just how close
he was to his opponent.  That and how close her lips were to his.

      Jumping off of her, Genma quickly said, "I've never seen anyone
use kendo like that before."  He didn't expect Nodoka to be _that_
skilled and was quite impressed by the style.  In his attempt to cover
his own embarrassment, he failed to notice Nodoka being in a similar
situation.

      Trying to get over her sudden case of butterflies, Nodoka
replied, "It's my family's style.  I think my father and I are the only
living practitioners."

      Genma nodded thoughtfully to that.  "That might be useful in
beating the old freak... I mean training with my master.  Do you think
you could teach it to me?"

      "I wish I could, but before my father would teach me I swore an
oath that I wouldn't teach it to any other without his permission.  I
seriously doubt he'll let me teach you."  Nodoka looked regretful when
answering his request.

      "Yeah, but you hate his guts anyway.  Why should you keep your
word with him, _especially_ when he refuses to spar with you anymore?"

      "That's because he doesn't want to hurt his daughter... At least,
I hope that's it.  Anyway, I gave him my word and I will not go back on
it for any reason.  As a martial artist yourself, you also must respect
the way of bushido."

      Realizing that this was something which Nodoka felt was important
for herself, Genma relented.  "Okay, I guess I can understand that."
Remembering one of the reasons for her being here, and the growling
noise coming from his stomach, he asked, "Can we eat now?"

      The pleading look in his eyes caused Nodoka to laugh as she
nodded her head in assent, following him towards where she had left the
food.

***

      That day started a pattern where Nodoka would secretly meet with
Genma after school in the woods that surrounded her father's shrine.
She'd been meeting with the martial artist several times a week since
her father had forbidden her to see him.  Doing something against her
father right under his nose added to the excitement of their
relationship for Nodoka.

      Usually they would spar for a bit; Genma doing so for the
opportunity to practice with someone other than Happosai or Soun and
because it was the one thing they had in common, while Nodoka's reasons
were that it gave her joy to know that her years of practicing kendo
would help her become friends with a boy.  Afterwards they would sit
down and eat whatever Nodoka cooked for the day, discussing whatever
was of interest to them.  Most of the time it would be on how their
lives went; one interested on how it was to live on the road and the
other on how it was to live in a stable home with a family.

      While neither would admit it, both found in the other something
that they were longing for; a person, other than friend or sibling,
whom they could talk with and understand.  They were content to call it
a friendship for the time being.

***

      By daring to meet Genma by her father's shrine, Nodoka had made
it almost inevitable that the two would meet.  She had planned it that
way, hoping that his fear of the area would lessen so that one day he
and her father could meet.  With some luck, the old priest would
finally be able to see that Genma wasn't as bad as people made him out
to be.

      Genma was waiting as close to the shrine as he dared.  There was
something ominous about the place.  It could have been the bad
experiences he had had with the master in similar temples.  He told
himself that he had nothing to worry about since Nodoka had said her
father was away at some conference and wouldn't be home until the next
day.

      The ponytailed boy thought on how lucky he was that Happosai had
decided to take Soun off alone to bring him up to speed before they all
set out on training, giving him time to be with Nodoka.  Still, it was
inevitable that that master would return and he would be forced to say
good-bye.  Genma knew he was good, but he still was light-years away
from the master's skill.  And no one escaped the master for very long.

      He looked up to see if Nodoka had arrived.  She wanted to
practice with him, but had forgotten her bokken.  His offer to train
her in kempo was refused, reason being that it felt wrong for her and
it dropped her skill level considerably, causing any chance of sparring
to be nearly impossible.

      Nodoka had told him to wait right there, and while reluctant to
be so close to the shrine, he hadn't moved from the spot.  She had said
that she would only be a minute, but to Genma, waiting tensely, it
seemed that a half an hour had passed already.

***

      Katsuhito grumbled as he made his way to the Masaki shrine.  He
was in a bad mood.  Not only was the Shinto conference that he'd been
looking forward to for months canceled, but no one had seemed fit to
tell him _until_ he arrived there.  All that pointless traveling meant
nearly a whole day wasted.

      As he turned from the path, he noticed a boy waiting at the foot
of the shrine steps, who hadn't seen the priest because he was looking
up at the shrine in the distance.  Katsuhito was a little bit puzzled
at what the boy was doing there.  This was a remote shrine and thus got
few visitors, even so he had put up a sign saying that he'd be away for
two days.  'And why is the boy waiting at the foot of the steps rather
than at the shrine itself?'

      Katsuhito took a minute to study the boy.  He looked to be about
eighteen with dark hair tied up in a loose ponytail.  A white gi hid a
rather bulky frame, one that was almost entirely composed of muscle.

      With a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, Katsuhito
realized just who it was.  'So Genma Saotome dares to show his face
around here?  He must be casing out the Masaki temple in order to rob
it.  No wonder he wanted to get close to my daughter!'  Without
bothering to announce himself, Katsuhito drew his bokken and attacked.

      Only his battle-hardened reflexes saved Genma from what could
have been a serious injury had the blow connected.  He was surprised to
find an old man looking at him with murder in his eyes, holding a
bokken in a way similar to that of one who has mastered kendo.  The
white robes, those of a priest, that his attacker was wearing confirmed
Genma's worst suspicions.  He had finally met Nodoka's father and it
was obvious that the old man didn't like him very much.

      Genma didn't want to fight Katsuhito, but the relentless attacks
of the priest weren't giving him any other choice.  He had to start
fighting back just to avoid getting maimed.  The old guy was good with
that bokken, too good; he might even have been a match for the master.
Even when he was fighting back, it was obvious that Katsuhito was
winning.  He had to think a way out of this and fast.

      "Saotome School of Martial Arts Final Attack!" Genma declared,
hoping for some sort of opening.

      Katsuhito paused and adopted a defensive posture, readying
himself for anything.

      "Run away!" Genma shouted and did just that.

      The old priest was too stunned to follow, seeing the boy run off
into the distance while he felt himself slowly burning.  By the time
Nodoka had come down the stairs, he was in a rage.

      "Daddy, what are you doing here?" she asked, startled, as she
subtly looked around for signs of Genma.

      "_What_ am _I_ doing here?" Katsuhito asked in disbelief.  "I'm
the caretaker of this shrine!  What was that lout Genma doing here?  I
thought he was going to rob the temple."

      Nodoka laughed a little at that.  People sometimes called Genma a
thief, but she had never seen him actually steal anything from anyone,
and besides he had been too frightened of her father to go near the
temple even when he wasn't there.  Looking at the expression her father
had, she guessed that Genma's fears weren't entirely unjustified.

      "Oh, we were just going to have a little martial arts practice.
He's been helping me with my training."

      "I thought I told you to never have anything to do with that
man."

      Nodoka laughed again.  "Oh daddy, don't tell me you were serious
about that?"

      "I was dead serious and I still am.  Nodoka, you don't know the
evils that some men are capable of.  That one is just completely
untrustworthy.  You must never see him again."

      Nodoka didn't think this was so funny anymore.  She had gotten
used to seeing Genma every day; by now he was a part of her life.
"What gives you the right to say what I can and can not do?"

      "I'm your father!" he replied, feeling that was enough
justification.

      "Then why didn't you act like it?  You've done nothing but ignore
me since Mom died and now you want a say in what goes on in my life?"
Her anger reaching the same level as her father's, she shouted, "Forget
it, I'll do what I think is right!"

      "Nodoka," Katsuhito said in a very stern voice, one that a parent
gives their to their child when they're in trouble, "as long as you
live under _my_ roof, you have to follow _my_ rules.  I forbid you to
have anything more to do with Genma Saotome.  That man will only ruin
your life."

      Her body shaking in uncontrollable rage, Nodoka had the urge to
lash out at her father.  'How could you?!' she thought.  The man who
never treated her like a daughter, only the other girl in the house,
was now trying to force her into letting go of the one person that
brought joy into her life.  'Never once caring for me and now suddenly
acting like you do.  You think that makes my choice easy, don't you?'
Nodoka smiled internally.  'Maybe it is an easy choice.'  Reaching a
decision, she looked straight into her father's eyes.  "Well, then I'm
leaving home!"

      Katsuhito was shocked as he saw his daughter turn and walk away.
He never expected this sort of reaction from her.  "What?  Why?"

      "Because I love him!" Nodoka declared while marching away from
her stunned father.  Just before she was out of his sight, she turned
around and added, "And I don't love you."

***

      It was a very small wedding ceremony; there were only four
guests, all of whom happened to have been married recently, each in
ceremonies much larger than this.  Achika and Nobuyuki, and Soun and
his new wife all knew that the size of the wedding didn't matter to the
two people standing at the alter.  Katsuhito had forbidden this
marriage, even after his daughter ran away, but he couldn't stop the
love between Nodoka and Genma.

      Soon after the wedding, the newlyweds bought a home in Juuban.
Both deemed it as a good place to live as it was reasonably close to
Nerima, where the Tendous lived, and far away from Okayama.

***

      Genma inched through the house, large backpack slung over his
shoulder and a sleeping Ranma in his arms.  Why couldn't his wife see
that he couldn't possibly train the boy here, with all the
distractions?  They needed to be on the road, living hard off the land,
and traveling to exotic training grounds.  Not even a seppuku pledge
had been enough for that woman.  He had no choice but to sneak off in
the night, using the skills that his master had taught him.  Nodoka
would come to understand that this was what was best for the boy.

      As Genma crept over the threshold, he nearly had his head severed
by the katana that suddenly appeared at his throat, gleaming with the
reflected moonlight.

      "Going somewhere, Husband?" Nodoka asked him in a deceptively
calm voice.

      "Just going out for a stroll," Genma replied, failing miserably
to sound casual.

      "With our son?"

      "Thought the boy could use some fresh air."

      "And a backpack full of supplies?"

      "Well, that's just in case either of us wanted a quick snack."

      Nodoka sighed, "Go back to bed, Husband."

      Genma took one look at the steely determination in his wife's
eyes, not to mention her steely katana, and replied, "Yes, Dear."

      "And Husband?"

      "Yes?"

      "Don't even _think_ about trying this again."

***

      As both father and son arrived home from a day of practice,
Nodoka came up to greet them.  "And how was your day of practice?" she
asked Ranma, who had a look of pure joy on his face.

      "Was fun, Mom!  Pops showed off lots of neat moves and even
taught me a few things.  Like how t' kick!"  For emphasis, Ranma
brought up one of his legs in a similar motion that his father showed.
It didn't end up the way the young boy wanted it to be as he slipped
and fell down on his behind.

      Smiling endearingly at her son's eagerness to show what he
learned, Nodoka patted Ranma on the head and, seeing that he was on the
verge of tears, picked him up with both hands.  "There, there," she
said soothingly, bringing him up to her eye level.  "You don't become
good in one day.  It takes a lot hard work and practice to be the best.
Please don't cry, son."

      Sniffles turned into a full-out bawl as Ranma said through his
tears, "Bu... But what if I never get better?"

      "I'm sure you'll become good.  Especially with your father
teaching."

      "Really?"  Seeing his mother nod, Ranma asked, "So one day I can
fight other people and beat them up like in the tv shows?"

      Nodoka was at a loss at what to say.  Turning to Genma for help,
she only saw a blank expression in response.  "Well... yes.  Though you
shouldn't fight unless it's necessary.  When learning, people usually
spar with others."

      "Spar?"

      "It's sort of like practice fighting."  Nodoka's expression
became stern.  "Though you should never spar or fight with another
girl."

      "Why not?"

      "Because you might pick up bad habits and end up like the man who
taught your father."  When Ranma gave her a quizzical look, she added,
"I'll tell you more about him when you're older.  Just know that he's a
_very_ bad man."  She gave a sigh of relief when the youngster seemed
content with that answer.

      Genma, who had to that point been quiet, asked his wife, "Why do
you think that, dear?  I mean, we sparred quite a bit when young and
nothing wrong hap-- OUCH!"  He suddenly gave out a sharp cry of pain as
Nodoka's nails dug into his ear while she pulled on him towards another
room.

      Giving her son another smile, she said, "We'll be back in a few
minutes.  Just sit there and when I come back I'll get you some ice
cream."

      "Yay!  Ice cream!"

***

      Genma stood in the midst of a whirlwind as his wife got the house
ready for a visit from her sister Achika and her family.  The plan had
originally included the Tendous as well, but they had to cancel at the
last moment.  He didn't think that Nodoka needed to be this frantic,
the house had looked spotless before she started, but he knew that it
was a wasted effort to try to convince her of it.  Nodoka would not be
satisfied until the house was perfect.  It was, after all, the first
time Achika would visit the new Saotome home.

      "I'll just go out back and train the boy," Genma said a bit
nervously as he inched towards the door before his wife could find yet
another way he could help in her quest to eradicate all signs of dust
and dirt.  Ranma had been smart enough to hide in his room.

      "I don't think that's a very good idea, Husband," Nodoka told him
without looking up from her cleaning.  "Why don't you and Ranma take a
nice bath so you'll be ready for when everyone gets here?"

      "But they're not going to arrive for another hour and a half at
least," Genma said, trying to reason with his wife.  "We still have
enough time to get some training in and have a bath."

      "Husband," Nodoka said with a slight edge to her voice.

      Genma bowed to the inevitable.  "Yes, dear," he said and went off
to find the boy so they could have their bath.

      Unknown to Genma, one of the reasons that Nodoka was being so
determined in her cleaning was that her sister had recently taken ill
and she didn't want anything to be around to aggravate her condition.
She had tried to talk Achika out of coming, since they could just have
it next week when she was feeling better, but her sister wouldn't hear
of it.  Her younger sister wanted to see how Nodoka was doing and
Tenchi was eager to meet his cousin.  It was an odd coincidence that
Soun's wife had taken ill a little before and was now unfit to travel,
which was why the Tendous had to cancel.

***

      "Who's coming over, Pops?" six year old Ranma asked his father as
they both sat in the furo.  Genma was currently planning to stay right
where he was until just before the guests arrived.  He made sure not to
run the bath too hot for just that reason.

      "Weren't you paying attention to what your mother was telling you
yesterday over dinner?" Genma asked.

      "Course not, gotta keep you from stealing my food!" Ranma accused
his father before laughing.  "What did she say?"

      Genma laughed a little too.  It had been a stroke of brilliance
for him to disguise martial arts training as games.  He knew that
chopsticks duels over meals was one of Ranma's favorites.  Though he
made sure not to steal too much of his son's food, least he earn his
wife's ire.

      "Do you remember your Aunt Achika and Uncle Nobuyuki?"

      Ranma shook his head.

      Genma realized then that Ranma had only been a baby when they had
visited the Masaki house.  Even though they lived near one another, the
Saotome and Masaki families were rarely able to get together.  This was
only partially due to a certain father-in-law.

      "Well, they're going to be paying us a visit.  They're also
bringing their son Tenchi, who is about your age."

      Ranma though about it.  It would be cool to have someone around
who was his own age.  He loved his parents, but he always dreamed of
having a brother or sister.  'A cousin is almost a brother,' he
reasoned, interested in meeting with the other boy.

      Despite how well Genma and Ranma had made sure to clean up and
dress, Nodoka was unsatisfied.  It was ten minutes of washing noses,
behind ears, and adjusting clothes before she would declare them
presentable.  The doorbell rang only a few minutes later.

      Ranma immediately raced down to open the door, followed by his
parents.  When he did so, he saw two adults along with a boy around his
age standing outside.

      "Hi, I'm your cousin, Ranma," said the pigtailed boy.

      The shy boy smiled a little and replied, "I'm Tenchi."

      Ranma grabbed his cousin's hand and said, "Come on, let's go
play!"

      Before he could utter a word of protest, Tenchi was dragged out
into the backyard.  The adults all laughed as they watched Ranma show
off his martial arts training while keeping up an excited monologue for
his befuddled cousin.

      "I have a feeling that the two of them are going to be friends
for a long, long time," Achika commented cheerfully, her sickness an
afterthought at the moment.

***
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