(C&C welcome. Brief notes at the end.)



MOVING ON
a Studio ELL production
Standard Ranma/Tenchi disclaimers apply.

____________________________
Chapter One: Passing Through
----------------------------


"Hey buddy, what'll ya have?"

"Sake," the customer said, dropping a wad of crumpled yen on the bar.
"Strongest stuff y'got."

The bartender nodded, accepting the bills and pouring a glass. "Y'look a
little young, pal...you sure you should be in here?"

The young man shrugged, tossing back the drink and motioning for another.
"Nothin' stoppin' me. 'Sides, I been needin' t' get wasted for a looooong
time."

The person sitting next to him at the bar snorted. "I hear ya, kid." A
gloved hand raised a glass that was already half-empty. "Here's to
numbness."

The bartender shook his head in amusement at his patrons, and began cleaning
a glass. "You look like hell, y'know?" he addressed the new arrival, who was
nursing his second drink slowly, bleary eyes gazing into the liquor
sullenly.

"I been on th' road about two days without much sleep," the younger man
said. "Hadda put as much distance between me an' my life as possible before
it caught up to me."

The other patron chuckled. "Funny how life has a habit of that, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it," the kid replied, slamming back his drink. The bartender
poured him another, knowing this customer would be here for a while. "It
never ends, man. It never fuckin' ends."

"Where you from, kid?" the bartender asked.

"Tokyo," the younger man said, shrugging. "I guess, anyway. I spent so mucha
my life on the road, ain't no place really feels like home. Only home I
got's what I'm tryin' ta get away from...it's drivin' me up th' wall."

"So you came out here to breathe some of our country air, hmm?"

The kid chuckled. "Hey, I'd breathe raw sewage if it meant gettin' outta the
hell I was in."

"I wish I could get away from my hell that easily," the other customer said.
"Mine follows me everywhere I go. There's no escape."

"I can relate...this is the longest I've been outta my hell in months. I
keep lookin' over my shoulder wonderin' which one's gonna find me
first...with my luck, any minute now they'll bust down that door an' start a
fight with me." The bartender looked a trifle nervous at that.

"Bet you've never had your apartment blown up over something that didn't
even have anything to do with you," the other patron commented, motioning
the bartender for another refill.

The young man snorted. "You'd be surprised. It's usually indirectly my
fault, though...even when it ain't, they blame it on me. I'm just glad I
never get stuck with th' repair bills..." This comment made the bartender a
good deal more unsettled, but a paying customer was a paying customer.

"So who're you on the run from, anyway?" the other patron asked, brushing
aside a stray lock of teal hair.

"Pop, fiancees, an' a buncha idiots out t' kill me or kiss me or both."

"Fiancees *plural*?"

A snort. "Yeah. My pop's an idiot. How bout you?"

The teal-haired woman shrugged. "My partner."

"Lover? Husband?"

A blush. "No, I don't have either...never had the time or the chance. I mean
my partner...I'm a detective."

"Ahh, I see. Partner's a real pain in the ass then, huh?"

"My life's been hell ever since I was assigned to her," the young
policewoman replied miserably. "She's a walking disaster, a major screw-up,
and there's just no relief from her."

"Damn. Must be tough."

"Yeah...my career's gone down the toilet."

"So why don'tcha transfer somewhere else?"

A pause. "It's...not that simple, really. Besides, even if I did, she'd just
follow me, and it'd start all over again."

"Yikes. Real obsessive type...I can sympathize. I've got one girl that
followed me all the way from China t' try an' force me t' marry 'er."

"From China to Tokyo? She sounds really devoted..."

"Heh...not hardly. Just hardheaded...she's a Chinese Amazon, an' they never
give up when they're after somethin'."

"I take it there's no mutual attraction, then."

"Well, she's cute'n'all, but..." A sigh. "I just ain't interested in her
that way. I wouldn't mind bein' friends with her, but..."

"So why don't you just tell her that, friend?" the bartender asked.

A frustrated sigh. "It ain't that easy. I hate hurtin' people's feelin's...I
mean, I know I'm rude t' people a lot an' it ain't nice, but...I don't wanna
*really* hurt 'em, y'know? 'Sides, she'd just keep tryin' anyway. All of 'em
are like that except..."

"Except?" The detective asked.

"'Cept my real fiancee. I mean, th' one that's th' most legit...th' first
one they forced on me. She's as mad about th' whole thing as I am, but I
think sometimes..." He shook his head. "Nah, I know it ain't gonna work out.
It just ain't meant t' be. We can't even manage t' be friendly t' each
other."

"I think I'm beginning to see why you got out of there," the young woman
said. She turned to get a better look at the boy she was conversing with. He
looked to be seventeen, maybe eighteen years of age, dressed in rumpled
Chinese clothes. His black hair hung in a tight braid almost to his
shoulderblades, and bleary, red-rimmed blue-grey eyes peered out of a face
that had developed a respectable amount of stubble. Despite being halfway to
drunk and filthy from two days on the road, he was, to her somewhat blurred
vision, ruggedly handsome.

"I'm tired a' talkin' about it, though," the young man said. "So back t' you
an' yer partner...what's her deal? She a dyke or somethin'?"

The detective blinked. "You know...I never even *thought* about that..." She
shuddered. "God, I hope not. The *last* thing I want..."

The somewhat drunk young man gave her a quick once-over, hindered a bit by
his bleary vision. She was wearing a long, drab tan trenchcoat which
concealed her figure and to an extent her identity. He decided she'd
probably been wearing a hat at some point too, as evidenced by the somewhat
mussed state of her long teal hair, tied back at the nape of her neck and
tucked haphazardly into the collar of her coat. An orange headband kept her
bangs mostly clear of her smooth, pale forehead. Her hazel eyes matched her
delicate, graceful features. He gave her a grin. "Good t' hear...shame t'
waste a hot girl like you on another girl."

The young policewoman blushed at the compliment. "So is that how you get all
those women falling all over you?" she asked.

The boy blinked. "Y'know, it ain't, actually." He frowned at his glass.
"This stuff's messin' with me."

The bartender had a faint idea about where this was going, and quietly
slipped over to the phone to dial up a business acquaintance. Meanwhile, the
young woman shrugged. "Well, I still appreciate the compliment, even if it
is the booze talking." The two of them laughed, and drained their glasses
again, not noticing the disappearance of the bartender. The detective
extended her hand. "Makibi Kiyone."

The young man shook it firmly. "Saotome Ranma. Nice t'meetcha."

The bartender reappeared to refill their drinks just as they reached for the
glasses again. After a moment of drinking in silence, Kiyone commented, "I
bet those girlfriends of yours keep you awfully busy."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Fightin' all the time, gettin' caught up in the
middle of their fights, gettin' hit by 'em for one thing or another, savin'
'em when they get kidnapped every so often..."

The teal-haired woman blinked, then shook her head. "I meant..." She
blushed. "Well, you know."

It took Ranma a moment to catch her meaning, then he blushed as well. "Hell
no! I mean, no...I ain't done...y'know...nuthin' like *that* with any of
'em."

Kiyone stared at him. "Oh, come on...you can't be serious."

He nodded. "I am. I just...that stuff ain't that important to me. I got
enough t' worry about without that."

"Well, I guess I can understand that."

Ranma peered at her. "Why'd ya ask, anyway? I mean, no offense, but that's
awful personal."

Kiyone blushed. "Sorry. I guess...I don't know." She sighed. "I don't get
many chances to talk to cute guys, engaged or not...or do anything *else*
for that matter..."

The young martial artist nodded. "I thought it was guys that usually think
about that stuff all th' time, but I guess girls have needs too, huh?"

The detective chuckled ruefully. "I've always been too focused on my career
to think about it, and now I'm stuck here, with *her*...I've thrown away any
chance I might have had at a love life...or a sex life, for that matter."

Ranma snorted. "Bullshit. You're pretty, you're still young...y'got time."
He slammed back another shot. "At least you ain't gotta worry about bein'
forced t' marry th' first person you sleep with, or get beat up by th' ones
you didn't..."

The policewoman's eyes widened in understanding. "So that's why..."

"One o' th' reasons, yeah. That an' it just ain't somethin' I think about
much."

Kiyone sat silently for a minute, eyeing the younger man thoughtfully. Part
of her knew that the alcohol was putting ideas in her head that normally had
no place there, but as she contemplated it, she realized she didn't really
care. Logic be damned...tonight was supposed to be an escape. "Say,
Ranma..." she drawled.

The pigtailed boy turned to respond, but stopped short when he felt a warm
rush of air on his ear. The hot, heavy sensation was followed by a few
whispered words which caused him to spit sake all over the bartop. "What th'
hell!?"

Kiyone flashed her best smile at him. "Don't you think it'd be fun? Don't
you think it'd do you some good? I know it'd sure be good for me..."

Ranma flushed, and found himself unable to speak for a moment. He then felt
a card pressed into his hand, and glanced down at it. The bartender, who had
slipped him the card, nonchalantly began cleaning the counter. The young man
glanced from the card, up to the woman who was smiling at him, and back
again. Finally, he gulped nervously.

"Well...ah hell, why not..."

As they left, the bartender casually put away the little dropper bottle he'd
been using to doctor their last couple rounds. "Damn, I'm good," he said to
himself.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"Oh Kiyooooneeeee...."

A muffled crash.

"Kiyone? Kiyoooneeee...."

Ryoko groaned. "She's not here, Mihoshi! How many times do I have to tell
you?"

The ditzy blond skidded to a stop in the middle of the Masaki living room,
eyes brimming with tears. "But...but she's gotta be here! She's not at the
apartment, she's not on Yagami, where else could she be?"

"Maybe she decided to run away from home," Ryoko said, shrugging. Then, she
smirked. "Hell, maybe she met a man, and that's why she never came home last
night."

Mihoshi blinked. "Kiyone?" Gears turned in her head for a moment...then she
began wailing. "WAAAAH! She should've CALLED me!"

Ryoko sighed in disgust, and phased down off the rafter she'd been sleeping
on. There'd be no going back to sleep with this going on. Besides, she
thought with a smirk, it was just about time to wake up Tenchi...


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Dim sunlight filtered through the slightly grungy windows of the shabby
motel room, stabbing the eyes of two people who were rather not in the mood
to greet the new day.

First awoke the woman. After a moment of groaning and wincing from the
sunlight, she rolled over and felt a body next to her. Briefly, she wondered
when Mihoshi had crawled into bed with her. After a few moments of letting
the fog clear from her mind, using long-drilled mental disciplines to clear
the stupor from her sleepy brain, and discovering that the chest her hand
laid upon was rather firm, hard, and masculine, she sighed contentedly and
curled a bit closer.

Memories of the previous night stirred in her brain, pushing aside the agony
of the roaring hangover. Kiyone smiled. She hadn't had a night like *that*
since right after she graduated from the Academy. Her last lover hadn't been
nearly as attentive, either...

Pity this one was engaged. The detective sighed wistfully as she turned her
bleary, dilated gaze upon the scruffy young man sleeping beside her. Gods,
he was cute. A few years younger than her, to be sure, but when you were
used to seeing thousand-year old women chasing after sixteen-year-old boys,
a few years didn't seem that important.

A loud, obnoxious beeping got her attention, causing her to wince as she was
still just hung over enough that her head hurt like hell. Glancing at her
wrist, she caught sight of her emergency call alarm beeping, and sighed.
Planting a kiss on Ranma's cheek, she roused him. "Ranma-kun," she said
softly.

"Mmm? Wuzza?" the boy asked sleepily, then groaned. His head ached horribly.
So this was a hangover, eh?

She smiled apologetically at him. "I want to thank you...for last night. It
meant so much to me. But I have to go now. I'm on call, and there's an
emergency." She embraced her lover. "I hope we meet again..."

He didn't reply, but she didn't expect him to. After all, Earthlings weren't
as adept at dispelling the aftereffects of intoxication as many races were.
Gathering up her clothes, throwing on her trenchcoat, and walking out onto
the fire escape, Kiyone took a moment to look around, made sure nobody was
watching, then hit the recall switch on her wrist comm.

By the time Ranma was fully awake and aware, Kiyone was gone.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Mihoshi blinked as Kiyone shambled out of the transporter pod and into the
main corridor of the Yagami, naked save for a tan coat, bleary-eyed, and
thoroughly dissheveled. "Kiyone?"

"I'll be right there, Mihoshi," her partner grunted. "You go on and get us
headed wherever we're supposed to be, alright?"

Ten minutes later, the teal-haired detective walked onto the bridge of the
cruiser, hair still damp from a quick shower, uniform slightly rumpled as
she tossed it on hastily. "What's the situation?" she asked.

Mihoshi smiled. "It's all taken care of, Kiyone!" she bubbled
enthusiastically.

Kiyone frowned, her mind still trying to catch up. "Huh?"

The blond pointed to the viewscreen. "That ship out there went off-course
when their engines messed up, and they're fixing the problem but kinda got s
talled, and there was a big meteor coming right at them!" She beamed
sunnily. "But I destroyed the meteor, so everything's okay now."

The teal-haired woman frowned, and settled at the controls, calling up
sensor logs and examining the situation outside Yagami. One eyebrow
twitched. "Uhhh...Mihoshi..."

"Yes, Kiyone?"

"That meteor you destroyed..."

"Yes?"

Kiyone massaged her temples. She *really* didn't need this, with the
headache from her hangover. "Was one of the smaller moons of Saturn."

Mihoshi blinked. "Ummm...oops? I'm sorry...I didn't know...is that bad?"

The teal-haired woman fought down her temper, and sighed. "You'll have to
report it to headquarters. I don't think it's that big a problem, though.
It's not like any of those moons are inhabited or anything." She stood and
stretched. "Call me if anything happens. I'm gonna get some coffee."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


A black piglet seethed.

Akane was quite upset. Ranma had been missing for days, and nobody had any
idea where he could be. Of course, speculation had arisen that he'd started
a return trip to China, but everyone agreed that with Jusenkyo destroyed,
it'd be pointless. What cure could he hope to find, if indeed he was out
searching for a cure?

After inadvertently leaving the Tendou residence, and finding himself in
Kyoto, Ryouga had decided to try to track down Ranma on his own. He figured
if nothing else, he could find the bastard's hiding place, beat the living
hell out of him, then send a letter to Akane letting her know where he was.

Last night, Ryouga had been wandering the streets of a smaller, quieter
town, when he'd seen two people come out of a bar, walk down the street, and
go into a motel. A love motel, no less.

The woman had been unfamiliar. The man had, without question, been Ranma.

He'd been prepared to barge in angrily, demanding to know why Ranma was with
a strange woman, when he'd been caught unaware by a splash of cold water.
The thoroughly irritated piglet had tried to find a way to sneak into the
motel, and had naturally gotten lost and wandered out of town entirely.

As soon as he got his bearings, though, Ryouga vowed he was going to find
and tail Ranma.

And as soon as he got some hot water, he'd send a letter to Akane...


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ranma sat on the edge of an unfamiliar bed, head in his hands, trying to
force away the horrendous headache.

It had taken him a bit longer than usual to reach full awareness, but years
of ingrained instincts, keen senses, and training to be instantly alert upon
rising had quickly cut through most of the haze in his brain caused by last
night's drinking binge.

Realizing he was naked, sweaty, and bearing evidence of...rather intense
activities...had snapped him the rest of the way awake with a jerk.

"That's the last time I get drunk like that," he moaned softly to himself.
The events of last night were still largely a blur to him, but based on what
he'd woken up to, and the hazy recollection he could muster through the fog
in his mind, he knew exactly what he'd done.

A small smile touched his unshaven, bleary face. Oh yeah, he knew what he'd
done alright. And he'd enjoyed the hell out of it.

And now, she was gone. He dimly remembered her saying something before she
gathered up her clothes and left. He hadn't been awake yet, so he wasn't
sure what. He sighed. Maybe she'd regretted what had happened, or maybe he'd
proven a disappointment to her, and she'd wanted to make a hasty retreat
before he woke up.

With as little fanfare as possible, and taking great care not to aggravate
his headache, Ranma showered, dressed, grabbed his pack, and left the motel,
dropping the key at the front desk. He then set out to find a decent place
to have breakfast.

After last night's little workout, he was starving.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Kiyone dropped lazily back into her control chair, balancing a tray of
croissants on a console and holding a steaming cup of coffee in one hand.
She offered Mihoshi a croissant and an uncharacteristic smile as the blond
dug into the buttery treat with her usual enthusiasm.

After a couple croissants each, and once Kiyone had drained half her cup,
Mihoshi asked, "Kiyone? Why were you, um..." She blushed. "Well, that is, I
mean..." She glanced at her partner, cheeks tinged. "You were kinda naked
when you came aboard..."

Kiyone reddened. "Ah...heheh...well," she coughed. "I kinda spent the night
with a man."

Mihoshi's eyes widened. "Oooh! Wow, Kiyone! So *that's* where you were! I
was so worried..." She giggled. "Anyone I know?"

"Nope," Kiyone said, leaning back. "Just a ship I passed in the night."
*While dead drunk and trying to avoid you for a few hours,* she didn't add.

The blond nodded. That was hardly uncommon. Well, except that as far as she
knew, it was the first time Kiyone got laid since she'd known her, but...
"So, was he cute?"

A blissful smile crossed Kiyone's face. "Adorable," she said happily. "Oh,
Mihoshi, he was an absolute god. Really well built, killer smile...a bit
young, but damn he was good..." She practically glowed in remembrance of the
passionate encounter.

Mihoshi giggled. "So, are you seeing him again?" she asked.

Kiyone sighed. "Probably not."

"Aww, how come?"

The teal-haired woman shrugged. "He was just passing through," she said.
"Said he had a whole mess of problems he was getting away from at home. From
the way he was talking, I'd be surprised if he even stayed in Japan."

"Sounds pretty bad," Mihoshi agreed. "Hmm, well, we'd better hurry up back
ourselves, or we're gonna be late for work."

Kiyone blinked, then glanced at her watch. "AHHHHH!"

Yagami was just tearing through Earth's atmosphere at speeds that made the
hull shudder when Mihoshi blinked.

"Oh, wait...it's Sunday!"

Can a whole spaceship facefault?

"Miiiihooooooooooshiiiiiiiiiiii...."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ranma, currently female, sat at a small table at a cozy little outdoor cafe.
He sipped at his tea, nibbled a pastry, and watched the world go by. It was
Sunday, so everything was a bit sleepy, and that suited the cursed martial
artist just fine. It gave him time to think about what had happened last
night, what he was running from, and where he could go next.

Truthfully, Ranma had no idea where to go. He couldn't run from his problems
forever. On the other hand, he wasn't really willing to go back and deal
with the bullshit that was his life.

As the tea and some aspirin had soothed his aching head, and his mind had
shaken off the aftereffects of the sake, he'd begun to more fully remember
the details of last night. Ranma smiled. Kiyone...

"What'm I thinkin'?" he groaned. "How could I do somethin' so *stupid*?" As
if he didn't have enough troubles, he'd gone and gotten drunk and had s--
had s-- done *that* with a woman he didn't even know. When Akane found out,
not to mention Shampoo and Ucchan...

"What? What about when they find out? What're they gonna do, kill me? Kill
her? Kill us both?" he ranted to himself, unmindful of some of the odd looks
he was getting from the few other patrons. "They don't own me, I can do what
I want. Ain't that why I left?"

The more he thought about it, the more Ranma began to realize that there was
nothing wrong with what had happened last night. Kiyone was a nice,
attractive, and very lonely young woman. She had problems, just like him.
She wanted companionship, and didn't attach any strings to it. He'd given
her companionship, and received it in return, and they'd parted ways.

He kinda hoped he'd meet her again, though.

"Gah, I must be losin' it," he muttered. As the waitress came around to
freshen his tea, Ranma asked, "Say...y' happen t' know anyplace around here
I could stay for a few days, til I work some stuff out? Maybe somewhere I
can work off a room til I get ready t' move on?"

The pretty young waitress frowned. "Well, we've got enough help here, though
there's plenty of other places that could use cute waitresses..."

Ranma grimaced. "I'd really prefer something a little more outta th' way.
Y'know, somethin' more quiet an' less open."

"Well, there's an old shrine up in the hills near here. I'm sure they could
put you up for a bit..."

The pigtailed girl smiled. "Thanks!"


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ryoko smirked as she hung up the phone and sat down at the table. "Well, it
looks like Mihoshi found Kiyone alright."

"Oh?" Sasami asked perkily as she served breakfast to the family.

"You have an evil look on your face again, Ryoko-san," Ayeka commented.
"Isn't it too early in the morning for demonic shenanigans?"

The pirate snorted. "Actually, it's just that Mihoshi told me something
funny." Sipping her miso, she looked slyly around the table. "Seems Kiyone
got some last night."

Tenchi spluttered, nearly choking on his rice.

Sasami blinked. "Got some what?"

Ayeka turned red. "You...Ryoko-san, you shouldn't talk about such things at
the breakfast table!"

Nobuyuki grinned. "Well, I always wondered when that girl was gonna settle
down. Who's the lucky guy?"

The young blue-haired girl observed the reactions of those at the table,
blinked...then blushed furiously. "Oh, she *got some*..."

Ryoko nodded. "Yup. I always said that girl needed to get laid before she
blew a fuse..."

"Could we please drop this subject?" Ayeka practically shouted. "Besides,"
she said more calmly after a moment, "Kiyone-san's err...personal life is
hardly any of our business."

"Yeah, Ryoko, don't you have any shame?" Tenchi complained.

Ryoko laughed. "I just hope Kiyone isn't the last person to get lucky around
here for a while..." She leaned into Tenchi and purred seductively. "Say
Tenchi...it's Sunday...nothing to do allllll day..."

Tenchi slammed down his chopsticks across his bowl. "Heheheh...actually, I
promised some guys from school I'd help them out with a project." He glanced
at his watch, and stood. "In fact, I'd best get going."

"Have fun, Tenchi!" Sasami called after the rapidly vanishing dustcloud.

Ryoko pouted. "Awww..."

Ayeka laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "What a pity...the demon
woman is rejected again. Of course...what do you expect, when Tenchi-sama
clearly prefers a more subtle, demure woman. Like, for instance, me."

"Why yooooouuu...."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ranma trekked up the tree-lined path, the brisk air doing his body, mind,
and spirit a world of good. He even began to whistle a happy little tune as
he strolled, pack slung over his shoulder, toward the Masaki Shrine. Getting
directions and finding the right bus had been easy enough, though it'd
seemed a bit odd to him that the bus stop was placed so far from the shrine
itself.

He was glad of it, though. Just walking through the woods like this was very
relaxing.

All too soon, he was confronted by a daunting set of stone steps. Well,
daunting to a normal person. Ranma set up the steps at a brisk pace, taking
them three at a time.

As he neared the top, he caught sight of a young woman with thick, dark
plum-colored hair and red-violet eyes sweeping the steps. He paused for a
moment at the hair, afraid he was about to have an unwanted encounter. Then,
he took a better look at the girl, and relaxed.

Noticing him, the young lady bowed formally, unconsciously straightening her
pink kimono. "Welcome," she said primly.

Ranma bowed as well, reminding himself to be polite at places like this.
"Hiya," he greeted. "Is the priest of th' shrine in?"

"He is meditating right now, I'm afraid," the purple-haired girl said. "May
I help you?"

"I was kinda hopin' I could spend a few days here," Ranma said. "I'm kinda
on th' road, an' I don't got a place t' stay, an' can't really afford to
stay at a hotel." He paused. "I can make myself useful, I don't mind chores
at all. I just need a place t' crash til I figure out where I'm gonna go."

Ayeka frowned thoughtfully, sizing up the young man before her. He did
indeed look like he'd been on the road for some time, judging by his rather
dirty clothes, the stubble on his face, and his apparent lack of recent
sleep. "Well..." She leaned on her broom. "It's not really my place to say,
of course. Still..." She smiled. "I suppose you can at least stay the day,
until Katsuhito-sama is available." She bowed again. "My name is Ayeka."

Ranma bowed. "Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm Saotome Ranma."

The hairs on the back of Ranma's neck suddenly rose, and he whirled. A woman
with spiky cyan hair seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, a mischevious
smirk on her face. "Well well, looks like the princess has a new boyfriend.
Does this mean you're giving up on Tenchi, Ayeka?"

Ayeka turned red, glaring at the newcomer. "Ryoko-san, please do not behave
so crudely in front of our guest!" Composing herself, she continued,
"Saotome-san came looking for temporary lodging here, and it would do you
and the reputation of the shrine a world of good to be polite for once."

"Man, another one? Ain't this place crowded enough already?" Ryoko
complained.

Ranma looked between the two women, sensing something familiar here. He'd
been caught in the middle of an impending catfight often enough to tell the
signs. "Look...if it's really a trouble, I can go someplace else."

"Please pay Ryoko-san no attention, Saotome-san," Ayeka said. "She is a
freeloader who doesn't even pull her share of the load around here, and has
no place to say anything about who comes and goes. Though I wouldn't mind if
she *goes*," the purple-haired girl hissed through clenched teeth.

*Oh shit,* Ranma thought.

Ryoko seemed on the verge of a retort, then snorted and shrugged. "Heh." She
was at Ranma's side before he registered her movement. "C'mon then...I'll
show you to the house. You look like hell, y'know, kid?"

"Yeah, thanks," Ranma smirked, rolling his eyes. He turned and bowed once
more to Ayeka. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"So what was your name again?" Ryoko asked.

"Saotome Ranma." The pigtailed boy looked at his guide. "An' you're Ryoko,
right?"

"That's right."

After an uncomfortable pause, Ranma asked, "So...what's the deal with you
an' that Ayeka girl? Fightin' over the same guy or somethin'?"

Ryoko blinked at him. "How'd you know that?"

Ranma shrugged. "I've seen it often enough myself." He smirked. "It's nice
not t' be th' guy caught in th' middle for once."

The blue-haired woman snorted. "You've got quite an ego, Ranma." After a
moment, she smiled. "I think we're gonna get along just fine."

A few moments later, they entered a rather large house with a red roof. "Oi,
Sasami!" Ryoko called.

A young girl with hair the color of the summer sky emerged into the main
room. "What is it Ryoko?" she asked, then noticed Ranma. "Oh, hello! Are you
a friend of Tenchi's?"

"This is Ranma," Ryoko said. "He's gonna be stayin' a while."

The girl bowed to Ranma. "Hello! I'm Sasami!"

Ranma smiled and bowed. "Saotome Ranma."

Sasami took in the state of Ranma's clothes and face, and clucked. "Why
don't you have a bath while I finish making lunch...if all your clothes are
dirty, you can borrow some of Tenchi-niichan's clothes, and I'll wash yours
after lunch, okay?"

"Um, okay," Ranma said sheepishly. "Sorry to be a burden."

The girl smiled. "Oh, it's no trouble at all! Now off to the bath with you,"
she clucked in a mock-stern, motherly tone.

As Sasami retreated to the kitchen, Ryoko led Ranma over to the bath. "Cute
kid," Ranma remarked.

Ryoko chuckled. "Yeah, Sasami loves everybody, and everybody loves Sasami.
And she's a damn good cook."

*Sounds like she's a miniature Kasumi,* Ranma thought, with a slight pang of
homesickness. The pang passed as he remembered the reasons he left.

"Well, here we are," Ryoko said. With a mischevious smirk, she added, "If
you need some *help*, just let me know, okay?"

Ranma made a strangled sound, his eyes widening. Ryoko laughed loudly.
"Lighten up, kid, I'm just jokin' with ya." She patted him on the shoulder
and waved. "I'll bring down some clean clothes and put 'em in the change
room."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Moments before Sasami's lunch was ready to be served, the front door opened,
admitting Mihoshi. "Hi everyone!" she called cheerfully.

Sasami poked her head out of the kitchen, and smiled at the detective. "Hi!
You're just in time for lunch, it's almost ready!"

"Yay! I'm sooo hungry!" The blond clapped her hands together, bright blue
eyes shining.

The blue-haired girl paused. "Where's Kiyone?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"Oh, she's still asleep," Mihoshi said. "She got really drunk last night,
and then didn't get a lot of sleep because she slept with some guy she met
at a bar, and we had an early emergency call so she was really tired and
hung over, and then I blew up a moon and she was mad, then she was mad
because it was Sunday and we weren't late for work, so then she went to bed
and I got bored so I decided to come over here."

"..." Sasami replied intelligently. After taking a moment to wonder how
someone could say so much (and so thoroughly embarass someone who wasn't
even around) in one breath, she smiled. "Well then, I'll have lunch out in a
minute."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ranma examined himself in the mirror after his bath. He'd been surprised to
note the unruly growth on his face, and having no shaving gear of his own,
he'd found a pack of disposable razors and some shaving cream and set about
the task of tidying himself up.

Once that was done, he stepped out of the bath in his boxers, finding a set
of clothes laid out for him in the change room as promised, a pair of faded
jeans and a black silk wraparound tunic with a crimson sash. He quickly
dressed, noting with gratitude that the clothes were just about the right
size for him. Catching the unmistakable scent of delicious food, he stepped
out to get to know his hosts better, and find out if Sasami was as good a
cook as Kasumi.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"Oh, hello," the blond at the table said, noting the boy coming out of the
bath. "Who are you?"

"Saotome Ranma," he said, taking in the girl's gaijin appearance.

She smiled. "I'm Mihoshi! Pleased to meet you."

Sasami looked up from where she was scooping rice into bowls. "Much better,"
she said with approval. "You clean up nicely Saotome-san."

Ranma blushed. "Please, just call me Ranma," he insisted. "I don't got much
use for formality."

The blue-haired girl giggled. "Okay, Ranma-niichan. Come on, you must be
hungry!"

The room slowly began to fill with people as lunch was served. Ryoko and
Ayeka appeared at the table, sitting a good distance from one another. An
elderly gentleman entered with the purple-haired girl, and paused only a
moment as he noticed Ranma. He inclined his head to the unfamiliar boy.
"Well now, who's this then?" he asked.

Ranma stood and bowed. "Saotome Ranma," he said.

"Ah, yes, Ayeka mentioned you." The old man bowed. "I'm Masaki Katsuhito,
the priest of the shrine here. Ayeka tells me you've been travelling for a
while. Are you in some sort of trouble?"

The pigtailed boy frowned. "Not really," he said after a moment. "I just got
issues back home...family an' stuff. I kinda got fed up with it all an'
decided t' leave."

The old man nodded, carefully masking the glimmer in his eyes that said he
could very well relate to the young man's plight. "Well then, you're welcome
to stay for as long as you like."

Ranma bowed again. "Thank you. I promise to try not to be a burden."

With that, everyone settled down to eat. "So, Saotome-san," Ayeka said after
a moment, "Please tell us a bit about yourself."

"Eh?" Ranma blinked. "Not much t' tell. I'm seventeen, I'm a martial artist,
an' right now I'm just tryin' t' figure out my life, an' what I wanna do
about it."

"Come now, Saotome-kun," Katsuhito said. "If you intend to stay here while
you sort out your problems, it would probably be beneficial for you to talk
about what troubles you so." He smiled. "Besides, we all love a good story
at mealtime."

"Yes, Saotome-san," Ayeka said again, with a reassuring smile. "You needn't
worry. You can trust us." She shot a glance at Ryoko. "Most of us, anyway."

Ranma swallowed a bite of pickle, taking care to eat at a more sedate pace
around his hosts. *Don't wanna make a bad impression,* he told himself
inwardly. *Bad impressions get me into lots of messes I can't get back out
of.* "Please, call me Ranma," he said. He paused for a moment. "I'm the heir
to the Saotome Musabetsu-kakutou ryuu. I been on th' road most of my life
with my old man, trainin' all over Japan an' China. Th' last year or so's
been pretty rough, with some trouble we ran into in China, an' me findin'
out about a couple marriages Pop arranged. About a week ago, I finally got
fed up with it all, an' split."

The old priest raised an eyebrow. "A *couple* of arranged marriages, you
say?"

Ranma grimaced. "Yeah. My pop made a promise with his old trainin' partner
before I was born. Then, when we were on th' road, he made a few more
arrangements, usually to fill his belly. He sold me as a baby for rice an'
two pickles, then stole me back from th' guy." Ranma paused to sip his tea.
"Then, when I was a little older, he engaged me off t' a friend who I
thought was a boy at th' time, just so he could steal th' family yatai."

The others blinked.

Sasami's eyes widened in shock. "He...*sold* you!?"

Ryoko grinned. "Sounds like your old man is a grade-A swindler," she said.

"Such dishonorable behavior," Ayeka murmured, disapproval in her voice.

"Indeed," Katsuhito said, frowning. "Your father sounds like a rather
disreputable character."

Ranma snorted. "Tell me about it. My pop don't got a shred o' real honor in
'im, an' he's always bitchin' me out about honor an' duty..." He paused.
"Err, pardon my language."

"Your language? But if you weren't speaking Japanese, how could we
understand you?" Mihoshi asked. Ranma stared at her.

"Err, yes." Ayeka coughed. "So, your father placed you in a number of
untenable situations out of his own personal greed."

"Yeah," Ranma said, scowling. "Not t' mention a buncha other cra--stuff he
put me through." He paused. "Well, after we came back t' Japan from China,
he took me t' his old trainin' partner's place in Tokyo t' make good on th'
first engagement." He was quiet for a long moment, frowning.

"I take it this was not well-received," Katsuhito said.

Ranma snorted. "That's an understatement. Back then, I was still pretty
pis--ticked about somethin' that happened in China, an' didn't want any more
trouble than I already had. He sprang this on me outta nowhere, so of course
I was dead set against it.

"Well, th' introductions really didn't go too well, an' out o' Tendou-san's
three daughters, I ended up engaged to th' most violent, ill-tempered one,
who hated boys and thought all boys're perverts. A little run-in in th' bath
didn't help matters much.

"Then this crazy Chinese chick showed up. She'd chased us halfway across
China tryin' t' kill me, then when she caught up with us in Japan, she
suddenly wanted t' marry me. All over a stupid law her village has about
bein' beaten by an outsider in combat." He ate some more of his rice before
continuing. "Well, th' other fiancees Pop arranged for me over th' years
started showin' up, includin' Ucchan, my buddy who I thought was a guy until
she came lookin' for revenge. An' some other crazy people decided they had a
claim on me, or wanted t' kill me, includin' a guy I'd thought was a friend
but who decided I'd made his life hell an' wanted revenge.

"An' that's just th' normal stuff," Ranma concluded.

Everyone stared, trying to cope with the fact that the young man sitting at
the table eating lunch considered any of that normal. Even with the
histories and origins of the bunch seated around the table, Ranma's life
seemed a bit extreme.

Katsuhito frowned as something in Ranma's story sent up a red flag in his
mind. "Ranma-kun," he began. "This Chinese girl who you say wants to marry
you. You said she wanted to kill you as well?"

"At first, yeah," Ranma said.

The old man frowned. "Was this girl from a village called Niichieju?"

"Hey, yeah. How'd you know?"

"I've heard of many strange things in my lifetime," Katsuhito hedged. Then
he frowned. "If I'm not mistaken, is not their law regarding outsiders that
the kiss of death only applies to a *female* challenger?"

Ranma's sudden discomfort was hard to miss. After a moment, he sighed. "I
guess I'd better get it over with," he said. "Sasami-chan? Could you get me
a glass of cold water and a glass of hot water, please?"

"Um...okay," Sasami said.

Katsuhito fought to keep his expression neutral as he heard Ranma's strange
request. *Jusenkyo. Poor boy, you HAVE lived in interesting times...*


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Everyone except Katsuhito stared at the slightly damp boy as he concluded
his tale of the fated training trip through China.

"You poor, poor boy," Ayeka said.

"Well, at least you got a good-lookin' enough body out of it," Ryoko said.

"Ara ara," Mihoshi supplied.

"Ranma-niichan...does it hurt? When you change?" Sasami asked fearfully.

Ranma shook his head. "Nah, it don't hurt. Mosta th' time, I barely even
notice when it happens." He sighed. "I've had this stupid curse so long I've
gotten used ta it."

"And this...Jusenkyo...holds no hope for a cure?" Ayeka asked.

The cursed boy sighed. "It mighta. It mighta not. Sometimes I wonder...I've
had th' Nanniichuan in my grasp so many times...or any number a' things that
mighta gotten rid o' th' curse...but somethin' always went wrong. An'..." He
frowned. "I ain't even sure th' Nanniichuan woulda cured it. Th' last barrel
o' water from that spring was supposed t' be a weddin' present for when my
pop an' Tendou-san tried t' force me an' Akane t' marry. But their stupid
master thought it was sake an' drank it." He paused. "But after that, I got
t' thinkin' about that stuff. There's this other freak I know, name's
Pantyhose. He's Chinese, an' he got cursed in th' Spring of Drowned Yeti
Riding Bull Carrying Crane and Eel..." Noticing the expressions of
disbelief, he grinned. "Yeah, it's just as weird as it sounds." He sipped
his tea again, all the talking making him thirsty. "Anyway, after th' first
time he came around, Pantyhose went back t' Jusenkyo, an' poured some Spring
of Drowned Octopus on his back. So th' next time he showed up, his
weird-lookin' cursed form had tentacles." He paused. "That got me
thinkin'...what if Nanniichuan wouldn'ta cured me at all? What if I'd used
it, and insteada bein' cured, I ended up even more of a freak than I already
was?" He shuddered.

"And there's no way to test that and see what would happen?" Ryoko asked. "I
mean, you couldn't find a bug or something and drop it in both springs and
see what'd happen?"

Ranma shook his head. "Even if I'd do that to anything, even a bug, which I
wouldn't...Jusenkyo's gone now."

"Gone?" Katsuhito asked. "What do you mean?"

The boy sighed. "That's an even longer story, an'...an' I ain't really up t'
tellin' it right now. Basically, there was a really big fight at th' source
o' th' springs, an' th' whole valley got flooded. All th' springs ran
together. It'll be years before Jusenkyo gets back t' normal, if it ever
does."

Katsuhito drank his tea, and frowned. "You have been through much, young
man, in your short life. It's a credit to your willpower and the strength of
your character that you've managed to stay alive, much less sane, through
all of this."

At that precise moment, Ryo-oh-ki phased through the wall, and gave a happy
"Myaa!"

Ranma, naturally, freaked.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Rain fell gently from iron-grey skies in Nerima.

Tendou Akane sat by the doorway, looking out into the yard, watching the
droplets splash and ripple in the koi pond. Her knees were drawn up to her
chest, and her eyes were slightly red.

Not that she had been crying, of course. Not that she missed the stupid
jerk. Not that she cared where he'd run off to, or who he'd run off with.

That pervert didn't matter to Akane at all. He could dry up and die for all
she cared, or marry Kunou and have his idiot babies. Or any number of other
equally gruesome fates.

Thunder rolled, covering the soft, trembling murmur that passed Akane's
lips.

"Ranma no...baka..."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


The residents of the Masaki household watched in varying degrees of shock,
concern, and fascination as Ranma clung to the ceiling, shuddering in
terror. "C-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-"

"Miya?" Ryo-oh-ki mewed inquisitively up at the boy.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA!" Ranma screamed, skittering across the ceiling like a
demented spider. "Keepitaway!"

Sasami frowned, picking up the tiny creature. "Ranma-niichan, Ryo-oh-ki
isn't dangerous. She's very friendly."

"C-c-c-c-c-c-c-caaaaaaaat..." Ranma whimpered.

"Oh, I get it!" Mihoshi said. "Ranma's afraid of cats!" She smiled. "I had a
friend at the police academy who was like that!"

Sasami blinked. "Ranma-niichan? Ryo-oh-ki isn't a cat..."

Ranma stopped shuddering for a moment, and looked down. "N-not a cat?"

"Mya..." The sound made Ranma shiver, but he released his hold on the
ceiling and dropped, landing on his feet a meter away from Sasami. He leaned
tentatively forward, peering at the creature which had scampered up to perch
on her head.

"H...hey,  you're right. It ain't a cat. Huh. Sure sounds like one, though."
Ranma shuddered. "What is it?"

"She's Ryo-oh-ki!" Sasami said brightly. "She's...umm..." The blue-haired
girl frowned. "You know, I'm not really sure WHAT she is!"

"Cabbit," Ryoko said absently. "That's what Washuu calls 'em, anyway."

"Mya-mya-mya!" Ryo-oh-ki mewed in a singsong voice, looking up at Ranma with
big, shiny, cute eyes.

The pigtailed boy chuckled. "H-heh...I guess I could get used t' th'
critter."

With the situation resolved, everyone settled back down to finish lunch.
Katsuhito made a mental note to further question the boy about his
ailurophobia later. *Something isn't quite right...*

As Ranma finished, he sat back with a contended sigh. "Arigatou,
Sasami-chan. You're a wonderful cook."

Sasami blushed. "I'm glad you liked it, Ranma-niichan."

"Oh, and uh...I'm sorry I freaked you all out there," the cursed boy said.
"Th' thing with me an' cats is a long story." He shuddered. Then, he seemed
to remember something, and blinked at Ryo-oh-ki. "Uhhh...did that critter
come through th' *wall*!?"

The others shifted nervously.

"Eh...heheh...why, Ranma-san, that's just silly," Ayeka said nervously.

Ranma frowned. "I coulda sworn..."

Further pursuit of that line of inquiry was cut off by a call of "Tadaima!"
from the front door.

"Tenchi-niichan!" Sasami exclaimed. "Oh, I didn't think he'd be back so
soon..."

"Tenchi!" Ryoko exclaimed, dashing away from the table toward the front
door.

Two men walked into the room a moment later. Ranma noticed Ayeka tense
slightly, her eyes narrowed at the cyan-haired woman, who was hanging all
over the younger of the two men. Ranma figured him to be about his age. The
other was older, halfway between the boy's age and the old priest's.

"Oh? We have a guest?" the middle-aged man asked, looking at Ranma.

Katsuhito smiled. "Tenchi, Nobuyuki, this is Saotome Ranma. He'll be staying
with us for a while. He's had a rather rough time of it at home, and is
trying to distance himself from some of his...family problems."

Ranma stood and bowed. "Sorry to be a bother."

"Oh, it's no bother at all," Nobuyuki said, smiling. "After all, Tenchi here
could use all the help with these lovely ladies he can get. Right, Tenchi?"

Tenchi and Ranma both made identical strangled sounds at that. Rubbing the
back of his head, Tenchi laughed nervously. "Ignore him, Ranma-san," he
said. "So, how long are you planning to stay?"

Ranma shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I won't overstay my welcome, and I'll do
what I can t' pull my own weight. I just gotta figure some stuff out." He
paused. "Uh, these must be your clothes, huh? Sorry about it, Ryoko-san let
me borrow 'em cause all my clothes are kinda messy from bein' on th' road."

"Oh, that's perfectly fine," Tenchi said. "I don't mind a bit."

"Ranma was telling us something of himself and his troubles during lunch,"
Katsuhito said. "I'm sure he'll be willing to tell his story again for the
two of you later, once he's had a bit of time to recover from his long
journey here."

"Lunch!" Sasami gasped. "I don't know if I have enough left for you two,"
she said, tears brimming in her eyes.

Tenchi smiled. "It's okay, Sasami-chan, we ate before we came home. We
figured lunch was over by now here." He was silent for a moment.
"Ah...Ryoko...could you show a bit of restraint in front of our guest,
please?"

Ryoko pouted, but eased up on her display of affection for Tenchi.
Stretching, she wandered off to the living room and flicked on the TV. Ayeka
began helping Sasami clear the table, politely refusing an offer from Ranma
to help.

Katsuhito continued to sip his tea at the table. "Tenchi," he began,
"Ranma-kun here is a martial artist."

"Is that so?" Tenchi asked. "What style?"

"My family's school, Musabetsu-kakutou," Ranma replied. He eyed Tenchi. "How
bout you? I can tell you've got some trainin'."

Tenchi smiled. "Well, Grandpa trains me in our family's sword art. I don't
think I'm all that good, though."

"He does need quite a bit of improvement," the old priest said. "Perhaps a
vigorous sparring partner is just what the boy needs."

Tenchi sweatdropped. *Grandpa isn't vigorous enough as it is?*

Ranma shrugged. "Sure, I gotta keep myself in top shape. It'll be a change
from poundin' the heck outta my old man, anyway."

"Once you've had a chance to rest," Katsuhito said to Ranma, "I'd love to
see a demonstration of your skills."

The cursed boy hopped to his feet. "Heck, I'm rested enough now. I don't
like sittin' around doin' nothin' much." He frowned. "Got some older, looser
clothes I can spar in, though? I'd hate t' mess these up when I just put 'em
on."

"I have training clothes up at the shrine," the priest assured him. "Tenchi?
You coming?"

"Sure, Grandpa."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ranma wore a somewhat loose set of Shinto robes and stood on a short wooden
post, balancing easily. Katsuhito stood across from him, also balancing
easily, bokken in hand.

Tenchi gave the signal to start.

Ranma leapt forward across two posts, then went for a somersaulting axe kick
at the older man's head. Katsuhito moved to strike at the blatant opening,
intent on taking the boy down fast for starting with such a flashy move, but
found himself blinking in surprise when Ranma simply stood easily on the end
of his bokken, balanced on his toes. With a slightly cocky smirk, he dropped
from his perch, snagged the bokken between his ankles, and twisted to the
side, flinging the weapon toward the shrine steps. He then flipped back,
landing on a post on one hand, and sprang forward, his body horizontal to
the ground as he swept the surprised priest's foot out from under him.

By the time Katsuhito caught himself on the ground, Ranma was already three
posts away, in a crane stance.

Tenchi stared. "What the...!?"

The old priest stood, brushing off his robes. "I am impressed, Ranma-kun.
Your hardships aside, your training has left you with a level of skill many
people never reach in a full lifetime of dedication to the Art."

"I *have* dedicated my life to the Art," Ranma said, shrugging. "Everything
is training, and the true martial artist keeps one goal in mind: get good,
or get dead."

"Some of your father's wisdom?" Katsuhito asked, frowning.

The boy sighed. "Yeah, but it's kept me on my toes." He flipped effortlessly
upside down, balancing on a finger. "And on my hands."

Tenchi laughed.

The old priest smiled. "Well, Tenchi...it seems your training is going to
become more rigorous, at least for the duration of Ranma's stay with us."

The boy's laughter died abruptly. "Huh?"

"Ranma-kun," Katsuhito began. "Would you be willing to assist in the
training of my grandson?"

"Sure," Ranma said. "If I ever go back home, I'm supposed t' take over th'
dojo, so I need t' get some experience teachin'." He paused. "I didn't mean
that t' sound like I'm tryin' t' stay forever."

"Quite understood," the old man said. "With our combined training, I'm sure
Tenchi will become a worthy successor to the Masaki way of the sword."

"An' a good bit of unarmed skills, if I have anythin' t' say about it,"
Ranma said.

Tenchi gulped. *This...is gonna suck.*


          *  *  *  *  *  *



The two boys walked back up to the house, talking a bit, getting acquainted.
"So those girls," Ranma asked. "Ayeka an' Ryoko...fightin' over you all th'
time, huh?"

Tenchi blinked. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"They nearly got into it up at th' shrine when I first got here," Ranma
said. "I know th' signs of a catfight over a guy. Heck, I've been in th'
middle of it enough."

"You too, huh?" Tenchi shook his head. "I never will figure out women."

"You an' me both, man. So what's their deal any--HEY!" The boys had just
walked through the door, and Ranma had been greeted by a splash of cold
water on the head. "Alright, who's the wiseguy?" the boy-turned-girl asked.

Tenchi stared.

Ryoko dropped into view in front of the two, laughing. "Sorry," she said. "I
just hadda see it again." Then she frowned. "Don't get any ideas about
Tenchi, though," she warned Ranma, shaking a finger at the redhead.

"I'm a guy, dammit!" Ranma complained.

"Wh--what the...what just happened!?" Tenchi shouted.

Even as Ryoko wandered off again, Sasami ran into the living room with a
glass. "Here, Ranma-neechan," she said. "I heard the splash and figured out
what happened, so I brought you some hot water."

"Arigatou, Sasami-chan," Ranma said as she took the glass and poured it on
her head, reverting to male form. He handed the glass back to Sasami with a
smile.

Tenchi's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "R-ranma? What...?"

"C'mon, I'll explain while you show me where I'm sleepin'," Ranma said,
giving Tenchi a push toward the stairs.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ranma explained the curse as Tenchi hunted up a futon and some spare
bedding.

"So that's it," Tenchi said. "Wow."

"Yeah."

"Look, man, I'm sorry Ryoko did that to you..."

Ranma shrugged. "It's no big deal, really. I'm use'ta it. Th' curse makes ya
a water magnet." He chuckled. "Heck, one o' my fiancees spent a half hour
just pourin' hot 'n' cold water on me when she found out, just like it was a
new toy or somethin'."

Tenchi blinked. "ONE of your fiancees!?"

Ranma laughed. "Hey, I toldja I got girl problems." He grimaced. "And guy
problems too, but at least those ain't somethin' I gotta deal with too
much."

"Guy problems?"

"This one idiot that can't get it through his head me an' my girl side are
the same person. Total pervert."

"Ah." Tenchi tried to find an intelligent way to respond to that, but
failed, so simply proceeded to lead Ranma to the guest room. "Well, it's not
much," he said.

"Bout what I had at the Tendou place," Ranma said. "I don't need much, just
somewhere t' sleep."

"Well, it's certainly good for that," Tenchi said. He paused. "How'd you
beat my grandpa?" he asked.

The cursed boy blinked. "Huh? You saw, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah," Tenchi said. "It's just...I know he wasn't going all out, but
you knocked him down effortlessly."

Ranma shrugged. "He didn't even have his guard up. If he'd been goin' all
out, I mighta had t' work up a sweat t' put him down." He grinned. "I'm
gonna hafta ask him t' fight me without holdin' back sometime, t' see how
good he really is."

"You're...really devoted to it, aren't you?" Tenchi asked.

"The Art is my life," Ranma said. "Has been since I was old enough t' walk.
Oh, it ain't been easy, but nothin' worth havin' ever is. An' even with all
the hell my pop put me through, I dunno if I'd change any of it."

"Even the curse?" Tenchi asked.

The pigtailed boy hesitated. "I used t' think th' curse was th' worst thing
in my life," he said. "Sometimes I still do. But y'know? I've gotten a lotta
good out of it."

"Really? How so?"

"Well..." Ranma paused, then walked over to his pack. Rummaging through it,
he took out a small bag of sunflower seeds, and handed it to Tenchi. "Here,
take these an' throw 'em up in th' air." At the other boy's apprehensive
look, Ranma grinned. "Trust me."

"Okay, if you say so." Tenchi took a large handful of seeds from the bag,
and tossed them straight up, not looking forward to cleaning up the mess.

Three seconds later, he blinked. The seeds were all gone. "What the...?"

Ranma grinned, and held out his hands, which were full of sunflower seeds.
Not even a one had touched the ground.

Tenchi stared. "How'd you? I never even saw you move..."

"It's a trick I picked up from an old Chinese woman," the cursed boy
explained. "An' if it hadn't been for my curse, I'd never have had a reason
t' learn it." Replacing them in the bag, and putting it back in his pack, he
continued, "Th' old bat hit me with a shiatsu technique that made even
lukewarm water scald me. I couldn't change back because th' water was too
hot for me. In order t' get th' cure away from her, I hadda master that
trick."

"...wow," Tenchi said. "So is that how you learned it, grabbing things out
of the air, or what?"

"Nope," Ranma grinned. "Pullin' chestnuts out of a fire without gettin'
burned." He paused. "Well, until I figured out a less painful way, anyway."

"..." Tenchi replied, staring at Ranma. "Y'know, Ranma, your life almost
makes this house seem normal."

"Almost?" Ranma grinned. "I can't wait t' hear some of the stories you
have."

"Heh...heh." Tenchi sweated nervously. "Maybe later," he offered.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


After Ranma's bedroom was established, he decided to spend the rest of the
afternoon relaxing with his hosts and getting to know them better. Much of
this involved sitting in the living room, watching television, idle
chit-chat, and watching Mihoshi and Sasami play with Ryo-oh-ki.

Near dinnertime, Ranma was beginning to feel a bit like he was intruding,
especially after a person he had yet to meet emerged from somewhere in the
house and headed for the bath. "Who was that?" Ranma asked Tenchi.

"Huh? Oh, that was Washuu."

"Ah." Ranma frowned. "Oi, Tenchi, are you sure it's okay for me to stay
here? I mean, this house seems awful full already. I really don't wanna be a
bother."

Tenchi chuckled. "You're no bother, believe me."

"Yeah, but..." Ranma indicated the group in the room with a nod of his head.
"Like I said, it looks like a lot of people live here."

"Well, the place *is* a bit crowded at times," Tenchi said. "But it's a big
house, so there's plenty of room. Me an' Dad have our rooms, Ayeka and
Sasami have their room, Ryoko...more often than not ends up sleeping
wherever she passes out after getting drunk," Tenchi grimaced; that wasn't
entirely untrue, but he wasn't up to explaining that she generally slept up
in the rafters, "Grandpa stays up in the shrine most of the time, and Washuu
has her little nook." He paused. "Oh, and Mihoshi doesn't live here. She
just comes over to visit a lot. You'll probably see a lot of her roommate
too."

"And I thought the Tendou place was full," Ranma said with a chuckle.

Tenchi grinned. "What can I say? It's like a carnival. It never gets dull,
that's for sure."

"Well, if you're sure I won't be a bother, I really appreciate it. I will do
what I can t' hold my own, though."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Mihoshi breezed into the apartment as Kiyone was sitting down with a cup of
instant ramen. "Hi Kiyone!" she chirped merrily.

"Hey Mihoshi. Have fun over at Tenchi's place?"

"Yeah! Guess what? There's a new guy staying there! He just moved in today!"

"Gee, another new person living at the Masaki house. There's a surprise,"
Kiyone said dryly. Then she blinked. "It's a guy and not a girl?"

Mihoshi nodded. "Uh-huh! He's about Tenchi's age and he's really cute!"

"Heh. Well, there's a new one for you."

"And he has this weird curse or something...when you pour cold water on him
he turns into a girl. And hot water turns him back!"

Kiyone stared at Mihoshi. "Uhh..Mihoshi. Did you hit your head again or
something?"

"No..." The blond frowned. "Why?"

"...no reason." The teal-haired detective frowned. It was normal for the
abnormal to show up at Tenchi's place, but that sounded a little weird even
for this neck of the woods. Shrugging and slurping her ramen, she decided to
find out more. "So, what's his deal? Another alien? What?"

"No, he's an Earthling. He's a martial artist, and Tenchi's grandpa says
he's *really* good. I didn't see him fight though." She paused. "Oh, and his
name's Ranma."

Noodles and broth flew across the room, with Kiyone sputtering and choking.
"Ranma!? Saotome Ranma!?"

"Uhh..yeah, that's him." Mihoshi blinked. "What's wrong, Kiyone?"

Gulping her tea and cleaning herself up a bit, Kiyone looked up at her
partner. "That's...that's the guy. The guy I was with last night."

The blond blinked once, then twice. Then her eyes widened in understanding.
"Ohhh! You slept with Ranma-kun then! Wow, you're so lucky Kiyone!" She put
a finger to her cheek. "Maybe I should sleep with him. You think he would?"

Kiyone slapped her palms on the table. "NO!" Then she flushed, embarrassed
and slightly angry. "I mean..."

"Oh, that's okay, Kiyone. You saw him first, I was just joking." Mihoshi
yawned. "Well, I'm really tired, so I'm gonna go to bed. G'nite Kiyone!"

As the ditzy detective changed and crashed on her futon, Kiyone sat at the
table, mind whirling. *Ranma...I didn't expect to ever see you again after
last night. Now...it looks like I'll probably be seeing you again after
all.* She looked down at her ramen cup. *Do I want to? Would he want to see
me? Oh...what am I gonna do about this?*


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Clad simply in a T-shirt and boxers, Ranma lay in his futon, arms crossed
behind his head, staring up at the ceiling he'd likely be seeing for some
time to come.

*These people are really nice,* he thought, smiling. *A little weird, but
nice. I think I'm gonna like it here.*

Not for the first time, his mind wandered across the distance, back to the
old home and dojo in Tokyo, back to the people that lived there, back to the
others nearby who had been such an integral part of his life for the past
year.

He sighed.

*Pity I won't be stayin' here too long. It won't take those jerks long to
find me, and they'll trash this place, and that'll be the end of it.*

He forced his thoughts away from the life he'd left behind, and started
thinking about the people he'd be living with for a while. Tenchi, a
seemingly normal guy his age, a bit on the wimpy side, but there seemed to
be something more under the surface he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Katsuhito, the old priest who was obviously far more than he appeared. Ranma
looked forward to drawing out whatever the old man was hiding; he could use
a good challenge. Tenchi's father Nobuyuki, who he'd learned was an
architect and had designed the Masaki house.

He briefly thought about mothers, as learning Tenchi's had passed away some
time ago made him think about the woman he'd never known, the wife of Tendou
Soun, and the woman he'd come to know and be unnerved by for all her ideals
about manliness and honor, Saotome Nodoka, his own mother. A mother he'd
ached desperately to have, but now, even with the curse revealed, felt so
horribly uneasy around...

He then thought of Sasami. So cheerful, so nice, so cute, so intelligent,
such a wonderful cook. Very Kasumi-like...Ranma smiled. Sasami would make
some man very happy one day. And she called him 'niichan'. Big brother.
Nobody had ever called him that before, and he had no brothers or sisters of
his own. He found that the notion of having someone look up to him as a big
brother was...pleasant. Warm.

Her pet still gave him the shivers, though. But seeing as Ryo-oh-ki wasn't
an actual cat, he figured he could get used to it.

Ayeka, very polite and reserved. Dignified. Regal, even. She carried herself
in a manner that was so traditional, so formal, so Japanese...but there was
something else to her, too. Ranma had developed an innate sense for the
unusual. He just didn't know what was unusual about Ayeka yet...

Ryoko. Heh, there was a wild one. She reminded him a bit of Shampoo, with
her unrestrained and affectionate behavior, and a little bit of himself,
with her brash, sassy attitude and easy confidence. She also moved with
disturbing silence. Sometimes Ranma wondered if she even walked; for all the
sound she made when she moved, she might as well be floating off the ground.
A definite fighter, that one.

Mihoshi. She didn't live in the house, but she was obviously a frequent
visitor, and felt completely at ease around everyone. Then again, Ranma
mused, he doubted the blond ever felt uneasy around anyone. She was
completely scatterbrained, and cheerful to the point of obliviousness. For
all her bouncy, boisterous maturity, she acted more like a little girl
Sasami's age sometimes.

Lastly, there was the one resident of the house he'd had yet to actually
meet, as she never turned up for dinner. Her name was Washuu, and Ranma had
gathered that something about her made the others (well, Tenchi at any rate)
a bit nervous. He'd made an inquiry, and had been told simply that Washuu
got absorbed in her work, whatever that was. He'd have tried to introduce
himself to her, but couldn't for the life of him remember where in the house
she'd retreated to after her brief sojourn into the bath.

Ranma yawned, and closed his eyes. His last thought before sleep overtook
him was that it was nice to play at someone else's carnival for once.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


In another room of the Masaki house, a strange encounter was taking place.

"Myaa?"

"Buii! Bukii!"

"Mya...miya mya myaaa..."

"Bu...kiiiiii?"

"Myamya, mya!"

"Bu-ki."


          *  *  *  *  *  *

Just as a note, I'm using a heavily modified Tenchi continuity here, a blend
of the OAV and the TV series, with possibly a few references to TMiL. I'll
try to make it easy enough to follow what's what with the Tenchi crew.

In the long run, this is more Tenchi than it is Ranma. Or, more to the
point, this is a Tenchi story in which Ranma becomes a permanent fixture of
the Masaki household. The appearances of the Ranma cast will be scattered,
brief, and few.

C&C welcome. Hope you enjoyed the show.


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

Studio ELL: Back in Crack!
http://www.lurkerdrome.com
The Eternal Lost Lurker
lurker@lurkerdrome.com
http://www.livejournal.com/users/lurkerdrome



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