One of the few things that can tear me away from my current RahXephon
addiction:

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

"I'm home," Ranma called out tiredly as he kicked off his shoes in the
entryway area, closing the front door behind him.  Even after being
treated by Dr. Tofu and being assured that nothing was broken, he still
felt like he wanted to sleep for a week.  Luckily, the man was as
skilled as the ones that Ranma

perhaps 'the other Ranmas knew from their own lives' or something, as this
sounds off to me.

 knew from those other lives.  After

showing up at the house he and Kasumi lived in together and explaining
the situation, he had let them in with a professional smile.

As I recall, Kasumi moved back in with the Tendous. Or am I misremembering
things. Wonder if Ranma will pick up on that.

Dr. Tofu had worked on him first, since he was worse off.  The man had
flipped him around, adjusting wrenched joints and popping everything
back into place, all in under thirty seconds, even poking pressure
points that would speed healing.  Then, as he recovered on the couch
and drank some orange juice that Kasumi had kindly offered him,

Oh, well she's around now, I see.

Tofu

had repeated the process with Nabiki.  Hearing Nabiki yelp a bit as she
was getting fixed up had certainly made him feel a little better about
her beating up on him earlier.

that's a bit flat. How about

'...better about the liberties she had taken with her fists on him earlier'

It was nice to see Kasumi married and living a more normal life, but it
was also weird to see her anywhere else other than taking care of the
Tendos.

that parses off. something more like

'weird to see her doing anything other than taking care of the Tendous'

And there had also been something that felt a little false

about the smile she gave him, as if she was tense about something, but
it was probably just his imagination.  Kasumi was one of the happiest
people he knew, in any world he was familiar with so far, so he was
sure he had just been seeing things due to his exhaustion.  Besides,
Nabiki didn't seem to notice anything out of place, so nothing could
have been wrong.  He decided to chalk it up to a minor variance between
worlds and leave it at that.

But the readers know better. :)

After dropping Nabiki off at her house, he had come straight home.  All
he wanted to do was fall down and sleep.  He started to walk towards
the stairs.

After classes were over tomorrow, he needed to begin constructing a
copy of Ranko's device, but incorporating within it the ability to home
in on transponder units like the one he had instructed his father how
to create.  Of course, once it was built, he would then have to test
it, trusting in his own technical expertise that he would be able to
return to this world, to the transponder unit he would leave in his
lab.  If the test failed-

He'd better learn to like his new world. :)

"Hmm?" said Genma, coming into the room.  "Something happen on your
date with Nabiki, boy?"

Hmm. Did Ranma say he was going on a date with her? I don't remember him
telling his parents that.

Well, she was probably worrying over nothing.  They all seemed like
such nice girls, even Kenseiko's daughter, Kodachi, and she was glad he
was enjoying an active social life now.  It hadn't been good for a boy
his age to spend all his time cooped up inside some lab.  And he was
acting much more manly lately, so there was likely nothing for her to
worry about.

Heh. Nice look into her thought processes.

At least the exertions helped quiet the voices in her mind and their
concern over Ranma and her current irritation with him, especially that
he was acting

especially with his acting (perhaps)

 as if their kiss had never happened.  She rolled into a

sitting position as she rested her arms on her knees, still catching
her breath.  She knew she had to get herself in better condition, and
the only way to do that was hard work, pushing past her limits and
reaching out for more.  That damned Nabiki Tendo was making her look
like a fool every day during their sparring matches, and she was far
past being tired of it.

Yep. She'll need something to help give her an edge.

Kenseiko patted his hand on her shoulder, feeling comforted by his
presence.  "It goes very well.  She does the Kuno name proud."  Her
gaze moved to look at him, a slight smile appearing on her face.  "The
servants tell me that Tatewaki is showing improvement as well."

And he'll need even more, perhaps.

Lord Kuno grunted and nodded.  "He is very determined to defeat young
Ranma Saotome."  What he left unsaid to his wife was that Tatewaki's
desires for the Tendo girls were undiminished as well, especially for
Nabiki.

While Lord Kunou doesn't care, it is obvious what Kenseiko's desires
concerning them are. :)

"They go well," Kenseiko replied, closing the door and leaving Kodachi
to continue her late-night practice on her own.  "We agreed to hold it
in a few days.  Lady Arisugawa seemed most eager to have her daughter
meet Tatewaki."

Lady Arisugawa: I have to get my dyke daughter married to some man or there
won't be any heirs from my only offspring.

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

Defeat.  Failure.

Kinnosuke Kashuoh lay in his bed, his wounds wrapped in gauze, and
considered both words, finding a strong distaste for them.  He rested
in between a bandaged Lynx and Panther, and both catgirls were now
sleeping.  Tiger had been banished from his bed for her part in the
fiasco, for leading him to believe victory was within his reach.  He
should be enjoying that victory now, but he held only ashes.  The other
two had narrowly escaped sharing Tiger's fate, but they were on notice
that he would not tolerate any further mistakes.

Well, he did beat Ranma.

However, the truth of the matter was that it was all Ranma Saotome's
fault.  He

'He' here sounds like it's refering to Ranma. Might want to use 'Kinnosuke'
instead.

had stacked the deck in his favor against the other boy,

chosen his terrain carefully for their duel by exploiting a known
weakness in his enemy, and then was victorious over Ranma, savagely
beating him unconscious.  But he had won the battle only to lose the
campaign to claim Nabiki Tendo.

I'd hardly say he's lost the campaign. Temporarily thwarted, perhaps.

 >

This was only a minor setback for him.  He would let Nabiki have back
the pieces of her organization.  It no longer interested him, and pawns
were meant to be sacrificed after all, as he had sacrificed the Wolf
Pack when they proved too weak for his uses.  No, his only interest was
for the queen now.  He had let himself get distracted from that goal,
playing petty games with pawns.  But, once the queen was taken, the
game was all but won.

And in this case, she's effectively the king as well.

That left the matter of Ranma Saotome, the enemy king.

Hmm. I see his anger for Ranma has been elevated somewhat. A bit surprising
since he beat Ranma.

Where had Ranma learned how to fight so well?  Until several weeks ago,
he had been Akane Tendo's favorite target for bullying, displaying no
talent whatsoever for martial arts, apparently unable to fight back
even as the youngest Tendo gleefully tyrannized him.  But that had
obviously been a clever disguise of the pigtailed boy's true skill.  It
was obvious now that he was always much more than he had let himself
appear, and now he was even the new apprentice to the Arena legend, Jun
Fan Lee, also known as the Dragon.

Right. Forgot about that.

Kinnosuke frowned.  How he hated Ranma Saotome now, with a clarity of
passion that was almost liberating in an odd way.  The next time they
faced each other, there would be no clever tricks or traps.  It would
just be the two of them in single combat, doing battle in a Darwinian
test of fitness, and Ranma would fall before him, leaving the field
clear for him to claim Nabiki Tendo for his own as a mate.

well, from the way he was thinking, he would be taking Nabiki first, then
beating Ranma using the chessboard analogy. This seems a bit backward.

Kinnosuke sighed, his injuries still paining him a bit.  He knew he
needed some time away from this situation, time to heal and prepare.
Grandfather had suggested Whitehall, and it would be a simple enough
matter for him to transfer there.  Money and influence helped in such
things.

Odd that he'd be retreating that far, though I suppose it could be a plan to
lull Ranma and Nabiki into thinking he had been scared off and make them
drop their guard. Might want to add something like that.

In her bedroom, Tiger sat on her bed with her knees drawn up, dressed
in a sheer nightgown in pink

pink nightgown

Why could she not remember what had happened?  Just what had occurred
between her and Ranma during that fight?  There was this vagueness in
her memories from the point Ranma changed into that bestial mode, and
then her first clear memory was of waking up cuddled next to him in his
cot, both of them naked.  She suddenly felt confusion as she explored
these thoughts, and her personality governors redirected them away from
Ranma.  She sighed, feeling lonely for her Kinnsouke-sama, for the time
being having already forgotten her musings about Ranma.

Heh. An obvious drawback to the limiter device.

"Mornin', Ranchan," said Ukyo when Ranma turned around, standing there
with a bright smile on her face, holding an umbrella of her own.

might want to have her startle him since she sneaked up on him. Could have
it as her using her mad ninja skillz. :)

Even though it was raining, nothing seemed able to spoil her day now.

Ah, so Ryouga's going to find her, is he? :)

She began carefully removing them from the trunk one by one, but she
paused at one photo album in particular.  With a wistful smile on her
face, she flipped it open and began paging through it, remembering what
once was.  Various pictures of herself and Achika as teenage girls
filled most of the pages, and she stopped on one of her younger self,
shown flashing a victory sign at the camera while she hugged Achika
with one arm and grinned.  How long ago it all seemed sometimes.

It was a long time ago. You're old now.  ^_^

No matter how hard she tried, she could not remember his name, and she
did not know who he was.  She could not even remember this picture ever
being taken.  But looking at it always awoke something within her,
something deeper than conscious memories.

Odd. Why would she forget his name?

She carefully put all the other items back into the chest before
shutting the lid.  After picking up the small box, she stood up and
turned off the light as she exited the closet and closed the door.
There was a possibility, albeit a rather small one, that she would not
be returning from her task today, and she had to make sure the book
remained in safe hands.

Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser.

Achika bowed once to the small shrine and turned to face her daughter,
briefly bending over to pick up a water bottle near the edge of the
mat.  "Ryoko-chan, come over here and sit down.  I think it's time we
had a little talk, mother to daughter."  She took a drink from the
water bottle and picked up a towel to dab at the perspiration on her
face.

Uh-oh, Ryoko thought.

Yeah, that was my feeling exactly. :)

"Ryoko-chan, I've been doing some thinking ever since you came home."
Achika paused and studied her wayward daughter, briefly overlaying the
tough little girl she had once been over the beautiful and strong young
woman now before her, and she wondered where she had gone wrong as a
mother.  She had tossed and turned for two nights now, her mind caught
up in all kinds of fearsome imaginings about her daughter and this boy
she had brought to their home.  "Is there something you'd like to tell
me about that Ryoga boy?  Are you and he... involved?"

Ryoko: In what, a drug ring?

Achika: No.

Ryoko: Money scam?

Achika: No. I was something more sexual in nature.

Ryoko: You think we're pimps, then?

Achika: Nevermind. My fears were groundless.

"I'm not stupid, Ryoko-chan," Achika said a little crossly.  "You go
off on one of your training trips, I don't hear from you for a couple
of weeks, and then you show up on our doorstep with some strange boy in
tow.  What am I supposed to think, knowing my daughter has been alone
with some teenaged boy out on the road?

Ryoko: That he was lost and I'm helping him.

Achika: Like anyone is going to believe that one.

I was a girl your age once

myself.  I know what it's like when youthful hormones get going."

Achika; Why, at your age, left alone with some virile young stud like that,
I'd be getting it from him at least twice a day five days a week.

Ryoko: Mom! That's disgusting!

"All right," said Achika, relenting her tone a little.  "But I've come
to a conclusion from this event.  As your mother, who only has your
best interests at heart,

That line is always a sign it's time to run for it. :)

I've come to realize it's high time I arranged

a husband for you.  After all, your brother has a fianc�e, and he's a
full year younger than you are."

Ryoko: But Tenchi is a weenie. Left on his own, he wouldn't choose a woman
for decades without someone prodding him with a knife in back.

"Save it," Achika commanded, motherly steel reappearing in her voice.
"My mind is made up.  Now, I've spoken with your father, and he agrees
with me that a girl your age should start planning for her future,

Achika; Actually, he just looked fearfully at me and nodded his head when I
broached the subject. He's a good husband, that way.

and

part of that is having an arranged marriage to look forward to."

"But-"  She didn't want a fianc�.

"I've given it a lot of thought about who would be a good candidate for
you, and my best friend Nodoka has a boy who's only a little younger
than you."

Nodoka agreed to that? I would think the whole 3-4 fiancee thing would make
her think even poor Ranma has his hands full.

Achika smiled and pressed her advantage.  "Now I know this is quite a
shock to you, Ryoko-chan.  I remember how surprised I was when my own
mother told me that I was going to marry your father, but everything
worked out for the best.  Marriage is far too important a decision to
be entrusted to youthful lusts and desires,

Ryoko: Which is why one should get married later in life.

Achika: No, I might be too old to enjoy grandchildren then.

Ryoko: Why do I get the feeling this whole marriage thing is more for your
benefit than mine?

 but you needn't worry.

Nodoka's son is very handsome and well-mannered, and I'm just positive
you'll come to love him in time,

Ryoko: And if I don't?

Achika: Then you'll be stuck with him, like I was with your father, and have
to seek romantic encounters on the side, like I do. Just be discreet.

didn't have to deal with it today.  "Well, as soon as I talk to Nodoka,
we can arrange for you to meet him."  She strolled out of the training

hall and headed for the house, intending to call her best friend later
that morning and invite her out to lunch to discuss the matter.

"Great," Ryoko muttered dispiritedly at her mother's departing back.

Maybe Ryoko will come up with the idea of getting Ryouga to claim to Ranma
he's her boyfriend and to scare him away.

A plan doomed to miserable failure, but it would be fun to see the results.
^_^

Ryoko wasn't concerned, if it actually came to violence.  She had never
met a boy yet she couldn't beat into the ground in a fight.  It seemed
a good, workable plan, nicely simple and straightforward, practically
guaranteed to work.

Ryoko stood up and started her training, already feeling better.

Poor Ranma. Like he needs this as well.

While he had been unable to hear the whole conversation between mother
and daughter, having somehow found himself in a broom closet when he
had thought he was drawing nearer to the door to the training hall, he
had heard enough.  Poor Ryoko was obviously being forced by her mother
into a marriage that she didn't want.  As her friend, it was up to him
to do something about it.

Heh. Good.

Turning around, Ryoga began wending his way through the enormous house,
while he thought about how he would help poor Ryoko.  Maybe he could
offer to pretend to be her boyfriend?

Then again, maybe it didn't have to be pretend.  She was the first girl
he had ever spent so much time with, and she was really beautiful too.
A glazed look came over his face, and he drifted off into a pleasant
fantasy about the older girl.

Heh. Maybe he'd be better off doing that.

The unwanted feelings of intense attraction he felt for the ninja, and
the dark stain they left on his soul, would only be expunged when he
faced Ukyo in combat and defeated him.  Maybe when the other boy's
shattered body was laid out broken and bleeding in front of him, then
Ukyo's spell over him would finally be ended.  He would finally be
freed of this dark torment he felt inside, and the intense shame of
feeling attracted to another boy.  Then he would be free to love Ryoko,
if she would have him.

Ryouga: Damn that Ukyou for making me gay!

Ryoko came in with Ryoga in her wake, wondering about the expression on
the older woman's face.  "G'morning, Yumi-sensei."

Oh? Didn't know she taught Ryoko some things as well.

Drying her hands on a cloth, Yumi watched the girl.  "So, what can I do
for you, Ryoko?  How was your training trip?"  She slid her gaze over
to the boy with her.  He looked angry about something, she noted.

Nah. That's normal mode for Ryouga. Angry mode is when he's frothing at the
mouth.

Yumi's gaze narrowed.  A typical Hibiki, she mused.  She was about to
deny knowing anything about Ukyo when their words finally sank in.
They both thought Ukyo was a boy?  This could be entertaining.

Oh, she does have an evil streak.

"Sure, I know Ukyo," Yumi said with a smirk, setting her towel down.
"He's a fine young man.  He's staying with me while he's in town."

"Is he here?!"  Ryoga's gaze somehow became even more manic.

Yumi casually picked up her battle spatula from underneath the bar and
whacked him over the head wit it.  "Calm down, Hibiki-kun," she said in
a mild tone as he stood there, looking a bit stunned.  While her battle

missing 'spatula'

was looking a little dented, at least the blow seemed to calm him a

"Nodoka?  This is Achika.  Please pick up the phone if you're there.  I
wanted to talk to you about something."  There was a pause.  "Okay, I
guess you aren't home.  Please call me when you can.  Bye."  There was
a click heard from the other end as the call ended.

Heh. She really should have cleared this with Nodoka first.

"Saotome-san, it's so wonderful of you to visit," Kenseiko said with a
bright smile, but there was a touch of gloating in her gaze and voice.
She sauntered across the short distance that separated them as Nodoka
stood, then she bowed in greeting, taking care to remind Nodoka of
their relative social stations by the brevity of her bow.  It pleased
her greatly to see the slight tic that crossed Nodoka's face at the
gesture.

Heh. One takes ones joys when they can.

"Thank you for seeing me, Kuno-sama," said Nodoka, bowing back more
deeply in reply out of politeness, the honorific almost choking her to
say.

Kenseiko seated herself gracefully, gesturing for Nodoka to sit as
well.  "Please, we can forego the proper formalities when we're alone.
After all, you and I have known each other for a long time.  Tea,

bitch?" Kensaiko asked.

Nodoka drank her tea, occasionally glancing at the dwindling power of
the storm outside.  A Swiss-made grandfather clock sitting in one of
the corners gave off a deep tick-tock sound as the two women sat in
silence.  She felt decidedly odd, sitting and drinking tea with a woman
she had fought with in countless brutal battles when she had been a
girl.  At times, when it was cold, she still felt a twinge in her left
shoulder from the time that Kenseiko had snapped her collarbone and
savagely dislocated that limb.

Heh. Fierce battles indeed.

Kenseiko flashed back to battles past with the woman seated before her.
Nodoka had been the one foe in her life who had forced her to stretch
her combat skills farther than she would have ever done on her own, and
she could admit to feeling a grudging sort of gratitude over that.
Their mutual enmity towards each other had somehow forged an abiding
bond between them.  Thinking on it further, Kenseiko was startled to
suddenly realize that she felt much closer to Nodoka because of that
bond than she did with any of her peers among the nobility, as if she
and her hated nemesis shared a perverse form of deep friendship.  But
that was a ridiculous thought.

Heh. 'Respect' is the word she's looking for.

"I see," Kenseiko said finally.  Then she sighed, losing some of her
usual imperious attitude and feeling an unfamiliar concern towards her
old nemesis that surprised her greatly.  "What did that doctor tell
you?"

Hmm. I thought Kenseiko knew. I guess she never tipped Nodoka off to it.

Kenseiko sprang to her feet, grabbing Nodoka roughly by the front of

her kimono.  "This is exactly the sort of underhanded surprise you used
to pull on me when we were younger, whenever I managed to obtain any
kind of advantage over you!"

Getting knocked up? My, Nodoka must have had many chlidren Ranma doesn't
know about. :)

For the next several minutes, the only sounds in the room were those of
fists striking hard against flesh and loudly-grunted curses as the two
women grappled and pummeled at each other in their savage fury, rolling
around the floor of the room.  The pair exchanged blow after blow as
they raged against each other, struggling with each other fiercely.
But, after a time, it slowly began winding down as their emotional
frenzies finally expended themselves against each other, and then it
abruptly stopped.

That's what happens when you're old and tired. :)

"If you have a son, then Ranma will join the Kuno family register.  But
if you have a daughter, he'll stay a Saotome and Kodachi will join the
Saotome family register."

Hmm. Reasonable.

Ranma remained silent as Master Lee studied him.  The two of them were
on one side of the gymnasium area, as it was raining outside.  He could
see Nabiki and Kodachi sparring on the other side of the room, under
the watchful guidance of Coach Fujinami.  They looked like they were
going at it with their usual vigor, although Nabiki seemed a little
slower today, possibly due to lingering effects of her injuries from
last night.

Probably.

 "But you fought in the Arena," Ranma interjected.  He paused for a

moment, regretting his outburst.  He looked at Master Lee.  "I mean,
you showed the world that your martial arts skills were the strongest,
that you were the best."

For that year, anyway.

He had barely made it through the gauntlet of girls today, and using
the boost had been very tempting.  They might have taken him down, but
Ukyo had interfered before he was forced to unleash it.  While he was
grateful to her for her assistance, it bothered his pride that she had
helped him.  He didn't feel he should need anyone else's help where a
fight was involved, but he really needed to deal with that particular
situation before it turned into something more dangerous.  After all,
they could start showing up at his house or something.

Heh. That would take some explaining.

Ryoko blinked when Ryoga suddenly sprinted off and then leaped, taking
his umbrella in both hands, his mouth opening to scream.

Heh

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

Time seemed to slow for Ranma as he took a single glance at the human
missile heading straight for them.  Without thinking, he grabbed hold
of Ukyo and leaped for safety.  An instant later, it was like a bomb
went off as the window and that section of wall shattered inward, the
concrete and steel ripping aside as an enraged Ryoga Hibiki plowed
through it, his red parasol umbrella in hand and leading the way.

Heh. Cute

"Hey, some girl dressed like a martial artist of some kind just leaped
up to a big hole in one of the upstairs classrooms," one of the male
cadets suddenly said.  "And she's a babe."

Oh? What's Ryoko wearing? I don't think you mentioned it.

"He's a friend of mine, sort of," Ukyo replied, looking confused.  "But
I don't know why he's so angry."

Ryouga: You made me gay!

Ranma: Oh. I can see why he's mad at you.

"How dare you ruin my life, Kuonji!  Die!"  He leaped at Ukyo, and the
two on the ground rolled apart as Ryoga brought his umbrella down on
the area they had just occupied, deeply cracking the concrete floor.
The boy with the pigtail came leaping at him, and Ryoga batted him
aside without a second thought and continued charging towards Ukyo, his
current focus.  "I'm going to kill you!"

Heh. That will irk Ranma.

Whoa!  He's fast!  Even though he knew he wasn't in his best shape at
the moment, after what had happened last night and this morning, he
couldn't stand by and let Ryoga beat Ukyo to a pulp.  But he had been
caught offguard by Ryoga's speed, and the umbrella slammed him in a
solid blow across his midsection.  His trajectory carried him towards
the new opening in the wall, but he came to an abrupt stop when he
suddenly impacted headfirst into Ryoko's chest, burying his face in
between her breasts.  The sheer force of the collision stunned him and
actually knocked her back half a step.

And that won't endear him to Ryoko either.

"What the hell's your problem, Ryoga?  What are you doing here?  What

did I ever do to you to make you so mad?  Is this about that money I
owe you?"  She knew she was at a bit of a disadvantage here, with her
battle spatula currently in her locker, since the Academy had a strict
policy against students coming to class armed.

But since Ryouga isn't a student, it doesn't apply to him.

Ranma blinked, startled by the question as he dangled in the strange
girl's grasp.  "Uh, yes."

Heh. Now he's really going to get it.

with a roundhouse kick, and he flew towards the window, blasting aside
a few desks in his path and narrowly missing Ranma.  Ryoga impacted
hard into Ryoko, and the pair went sailing out the window.  She took
that opportunity to leap out the door, intent on retrieving her spatula
from her locker.

So much for the start of that fight.

Ranma took a moment to catch his breath.  His ribs were aching, and he
knew he was pushing his still healing body too hard.  He tried to focus
past the pain as he looked around for Ukyo.  He didn't see her, and
Nabiki was gone as well.

This is abrupt. Might want a scene break.

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

"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?"

You think Ryoko would have put him going in the right direction.

"Since we were both little kids," Ukyo said as they continued walking
alongside each other.  Her look was thoughtful, and maybe a little bit
sad.  "I thought we were pretty good friends, but I guess I must've
done something to make him hate girls."

Heh. She really doesn't get it.

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

Toga Kiryu leaned back, allowing his head to rest against the side of
the hot bath as his tense muscles unwound.  Of all his personal rooms
in the Kiryu Estate (his wing of the mansion being larger than most
commoners' houses) the bath was his second favorite.  The first was his
bedroom, since over the course of the last few years he had spent more
time there than anywhere else.

Hey, this seems familiar. :)

His eyes scanned the room, enjoying the texture of the place.  He had
never cared much for Japanese style baths, and had instead opted for
something more grand in an ancient Grecian style.  Fluted columns and
marble were everywhere.  The tub was built flush with the floor, like a
pool, and closer in size to one rather than a standard bathtub.  A
number of hand-sculpted statues of exquisite

statues depicting exquisite

The salary and inheritance had been a cause of consternation among the
Kiryus but Maasaki was a force no one ever crossed, even in death.
Those that tried never lasted long.  He had made the Kiryus into the
second most powerful zaibatsu in the Empire when he was alive, and had
personally held the Emperor's ear.  Having no proper successor was why
the Kiryu fortunes and prominence had slid slowly over the last decade.
No one had ever replaced the old man.

should probably be a paragraph break there.

  However, Toga would change all

that, once he was given control of the family.  Everyone agreed he
inherited Maasaki's wits (and rather decadent tastes when it came to
women), and it had been decided internally that he would be groomed to
be the successor of the family.  Such unanimity in a succession was
nearly unheard of.  There were always power struggles within the
nobility for the right to control the family fortunes when there was no
heir apparent, but the Kiryus agreed something had to be done to
prevent the downward spiral which hurt all, and it was likewise
decided Toga would be their best chance for salvation.  Oh, the members

the individual members

expectations, that he informed Laughlin he wanted him as his personal
butler.  The old man simply gave a flat, "Oh, goody," and promoted his
second-in-command to take over the house.  Kazuya was a good man, but
never managed things as well as Laughlin could.

Laughlin had.

He put Laughlin in the back of his mind and decided to personally
acquire the Tendo's

Tendo girl's measurements.

measurements.  Toga was the future, and while he

was not wont for emotional decisions, too many failures would result in
demotion and possible firing.  The task would be simple enough, and it
would be a break from his cover of being a simple

an anonomyous (sp?)

stockboy.  It would

Stay tuned for Part II of Yin and Yang.  Coming soon (as fast as I can
write it).

Am already eager to read it. Feel free to send it out after my giving this
to you. ^_^

Overall, at last Ryouga and Ukyo meet, though I expected things to be a bit
more resolved than it was. But at least they had contact with one another.
The Ryoko engagement thing threw me a bit, as I didn't see it coming.
Interesting change in the Nodoka/Kenseiko relationship. More civil than I
thought it would be. And nice bit with Ranma and his new master.

Looking forward to more, as always. Nice work once again.

DB Sommer

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