Quantum Destinies A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic By Jurai Knight (sthesken@earthlink.net) Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome. Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them: The Quantum Destinies Homepage http://home.earthlink.net/~sthesken/fanfics/qd.html The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter: Earth 0.000,0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster) Earth +1.612,+1.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster) What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on): On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. A young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through a device of his invention, is now possessed of the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Also, the Nabiki of this timeline later snuck into Ranma's lab and used his device, not knowing what it was, accidentally copying the skills and memories from an alternate version of herself, one who went on the ten- year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. An unexpected accident has switched the mind of Professor Genma Saotome with that of his counterpart from one of the "Shampoo 1/2" timelines. Ranma has gone across to try and find his real father, only problems occur. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Chapter 9 - Sins of the Fathers, Part II He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. King James Bible Proverbs 28:13 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx *** Earth +1.612,+1.509 The trek to their destination took up the remainder of Ranma's time, but he had already made the decision to return as soon as he could reset his equipment. A digital clock on a nearby bank indicated he had only one minute remaining. He turned to eye the large greenhouse that sat behind the shop. Akane and Shampoo had simply wanted to charge right in, and the part of Ranma's mind that belonged in this world had wanted to follow their lead. But he suppressed the urge and managed to convince them to wait for a few minutes. He turned to his father. "" asked Ranma in Russian. "" "" answered Genma. "" Ranma is acting very strange, thought Shampoo, very casually eyeing the pigtailed boy as she pretended to study their objective. She followed Ranma's example and simply ignored Akane, finding a vague enjoyment in the act. What are we waiting for? Akane thought with a glare at Ranma and the others. She simmered with anger at his treatment of her, but she would wait until after her family was rescued to 'discuss' matters with him. Ranma watched the two clocks within sight, the one on the bank and another one a little further down the street. Both were digital, so it was easy to see the time from where he was standing. They both clicked over to the same minute at the same moment, and he closed his eyes in preparation for retrieval. Nothing happened. He waited another minute, hoping that the clocks were wrong, and still nothing happened. "Ranma?" finally asked Genma, wondering how he would be able to tell when the change had taken place. "It's still me, Father," said Ranma, too surprised to bother hiding their conversation in Russian this time. "Something is wrong." He blinked and suddenly looked a bit miserable, wondering if perhaps the Ranma of this world was even now waking up in his body, far across the parallel timestreams. A sudden fear that he was now trapped in this life gripped him for a moment, but he forced the fear down with some breathing exercises. "Are we through waiting?" asked Akane impatiently. "What have we been waiting for?" "Please be quiet, Akane," said Ranma politely, his outward form hiding the panic he felt from the possibility of being trapped in this world. "I am considering the situation." He turned to look at the building across the street. An urge to just charge in and start beating people up was hovering in the back of his mind, but he ignored it for now. Shampoo blinked. That had not sounded like Ranma at all. His voice had none of its normal cockiness and impulsive speech. It reminded her of one of the Elders of her tribe. "I will not be quiet!" shouted Akane. "What gives you the right to tell me what to do?" Ranma blinked, and the ice-cold gaze was back in his eyes as he turned to look at Akane. His voice was measured, but polite, as he spoke and said, "I am looking at the possible entrances and exits from the building. Our enemies obviously seem to expect us to just walk in through the front door, but I am weighing other options. If you want to help your family, you will let me finish thinking about this. If you want to just charge in there and risk getting captured yourself, then go right ahead. I will not attempt to stop you." Stupid tomboy, came the thought, why can't she just be quiet and let me take care of this? He shook his head at the odd thought. "People in glass houses..." murmured Genma. "What you say, Pop?" asked Shampoo. "Well, the greenhouse area is all glass," noted Genma, his head turned to observe the building that was their objective. "Why not simply stroll over and take a peek through the glass? Ranma?" Ranma considered that one, before finally nodding his head and saying, "Yeah, it sounds good. It would certainly be easier than going inside and tromping around. I'll be back in a minute or so." Without a single backwards glance, he was gone, a quick run and one bounding leap carrying him across the street to one of the neighboring buildings. "What now?" asked Akane, still impatient to rescue her family. "Now, we wait," answered Genma, watching the small figure of his son on the far roof. Amazement coursed through his body as he did a quick mental calculation of the force necessary to complete the leap that his son had so easily performed. I wonder if the physical laws are the same here? he thought. Ranma eyed the glass of the greenhouse, but he could see nothing from his current vantage point. He hopped down to the alley between the buildings and looked through the glass at several locations, but it was so fogged up on the inside that he could not see very much, only a vast jungle of various flora inside. So much for an easy recon job, he thought with a soft sigh. He bounded back to the others after trying to look inside at a few more places without very much luck. "What I wouldn't give for a good defoliant right about now," said Ranma as he came near the others. "I can't see a thing through any of that glass. It's too fogged up. Looks like we have to do this one the old- fashioned way, go in and bust heads." He cracked his knuckles and looked almost pleased at the prospect. He saw Shampoo nod, the Amazon seeming eager to get to the action part of the rescue, and Akane looked eager to go in as well. Ranma glanced at his father, receiving a curt nod of approval in return. With the other three forming up on his flanks, Ranma and his little posse strolled across the street, grim looks of purpose on all four faces. It was only a few moments to arrive beneath the slightly gaudy sign over the front door. They paused there, and then Ranma led the way into the building. Upon entering the structure, they saw the vast rain forest spread out before them, filling the glass-enclosed region from wall to wall save for a few small paths. Ranma quickly realized that their enemies and the other Tendos could be anywhere in this vast jungle under glass. He shook his head at the sight of the heavy growth, somehow looking much larger on the inside than he had imagined. "It's going to take forever to find them, if we all stay together. Maybe we should split up. Father, why don't you and Akane take the right half? Shampoo and I will take the left. I don't think anyone should be on their own." Akane appeared displeased as she said to Ranma, "Why do I have to go with Mr. Saotome? I can take the middle path by myself." She gave every indication of being stubborn about this, so Ranma decided to try something unexpected. "Because I don't think my father, being injured, should be out there on his own," said Ranma, earning a surprised look from Shampoo. "I also don't like the idea of you being on your own." But you are really tempting me to let you wander off and get stomped on, he finished the sentence in his thoughts. "Oh," said Akane, looking at him with growing anger. "So you don't think I can handle myself?" She put her hands flat against her hips and glared at him. "Honestly, yes," admitted Ranma slowly, getting tired of having to argue with Akane every step of the way whenever he made any sort of a decision. He saw her blink in surprise at his statement, then frown. "Last time I checked," she said smugly, "I was the only one who managed to conquer their fear, and confront the Sanslaygh. Isn't that right, Ranma?" She gave a smirk in his direction. Ranma's memory suddenly filled with images dredged up from that recent little adventure of his counterpart. A flood of fear from his new memories surged forward, about being trapped as a girl and everyone else treating a doppelganger as the real him, affecting him for a moment. He blinked and frowned, personally not caring in the slightest way for the cheap shot against his counterpart's pride, and he was very strongly tempted to tell her off. But he said nothing. Akane apparently took his brief silence as an endorsement of her actions, and she snorted, "Fine, then you go with Shampoo. I'll take the left... by myself." With that bit of defiance declared, the complete opposite of his initial suggestion, she tromped off into the jungle. Ranma muttered something under his breath as he watched her stomp off. Shampoo turned to Ranma and said, "It quicker if we all split up. You no mind, Ranma?" Ranma blinked. Didn't anyone listen to a thing I just said? he thought with an internal grimace. So it takes a little longer to explore this place. Why divide our forces and risk getting picked off one by one? That's just idiotic. He frowned and shook his head. "Yeah, I do mind, actually," said Ranma, looking seriously at the Amazon. "I don't think it's very good strategy to divide up and risk getting picked off one by one, if we have the option of pairing up. We can cover the same amount of ground almost as fast that way." He saw Shampoo frown at him. "You let Akane go by self," said the Amazon a little gruffly. "You no think Shampoo able take care of self?" "I didn't say that at all!" shouted Ranma, frustrated with this whole situation now. He lowered his voice, sarcasm undertoning it. "I told Akane not to go by herself, but does she listen? Of course not. Now you want to do the same and get mad at me for caring if you get hurt." Shampoo blinked. He cares more for me than he does for Akane? she thought with surprise, feeling a sudden warmth deep in her heart. However, her warrior pride was still aroused, and she looked at Ranma neutrally. She saw his resistance fade a little. "Fine. I guess you can handle yourself," Ranma decided, relenting. He saw her smile at him and then start to run off. He grabbed her by the shoulders before she could take a single step and turned her to face him. "Be careful out there, okay?" Shampoo gave him a confident grin, a little wink, and then rushed off into the verdant greenery. Ranma turned to his father and said, "This place is starting to give me a headache. I don't know if I could handle a lifetime of this." He turned to look at the remaining paths. "I suppose we could just listen for Akane's scream when she gets in trouble and find one of the enemy that way. What do you think, Pop?" He grinned at his father. "An interesting notion," admitted Genma with a faint smile as he studied the miniature jungle. "We should get moving though. I think I will be fine on my own though. We really could cover more ground singly." Ranma looked scandalized as he cried out, "Pop! Not you, too!" He frowned at the older man. "All right," relented Genma. "We'll go together." The two Saotome men moved off together into the greenery, Genma taking point. Now that the shock and dismay at his counterpart's life had finally begun to fade, he was finding that he felt far more alive than he remembered feeling since he was a teenager. Must be something in the air, he mused with a smile as he plodded along. Now that the two were alone, Ranma stopped and fully considered the idea that he might be stuck in this world forever. It would take months, maybe years, if it was at all possible, to build a new resonator. Some of the technology he needed might not even be available here, and the costs involved could be prohibitive. "Pop?" asked Ranma from a short ways behind him. "What are we going to do if we can't ever get back home? I don't know if I'll even be able to build a new resonator, especially with the way things are now." He frowned at the unpleasant predicaments this life offered him and said with great conviction, "And there is just no way that I am ever going to marry Akane Tendo!" "Not to worry, my boy," said Genma, adopting the other Genma's mannerisms so well that it spooked Ranma a bit. "When we get back to the Tendos', expect to see some changes made. I am certainly not going to force any son of mine into an arranged marriage, especially not at your age. Leave everything to me." He adjusted his glasses. He might have allowed Nodoka to bully him into accepting it in his world, not resisting her efforts at making Ranma get married long before he was ready, but Genma would be damned if it would happen again. This time Ranma would be allowed to choose when he wanted to get married, and to whom, and without any interference from anyone. While Ranma was thinking about his father's statement, they came around a corner and discovered one of their opponents, Mousse. The pair saw the white-robed warrior standing in the middle of the path, his hands concealed in his voluminous sleeves. Ranma saw Mousse's thick glasses catch the light in an almost sinister way. Mousse started to say something when Genma felt a breeze pass him, his son going by him in a blur of motion as he shot forward at full speed. Ranma had been feeling edgy, frustrated, and generally annoyed with this whole situation, and Mousse gave him a perfect outlet for all of his wrath. He was not about to waste time with needless posturing when he felt he would have the advantage of surprise by going all out while the Chinese boy was just making his opening statement. He gathered his Chi before his feet even left the ground, called out a loud "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" while still in midleap as he bounced off of a tree to increase his momentum, and then he hit Mousse without the slightest mercy at the end of the final arc of his leap. Mousse was inundated by a hailstorm of blows from Ranma's fists, caught completely by surprise at the sheer audacity of the other boy's actions. He lost consciousness somewhere between the two hundredth to three hundredth blow from Ranma's fist repeatedly hitting him in the face. The Chinese boy slumped to the ground in a heap, a few of his hidden weapons falling from his sleeves, unused. "Take that, you jerk," muttered Ranma as he got up off Mousse, catching his breath from the level of exertion. He grinned at an almost gaping Genma and took a quick bow. "Great technique, but it is kind of tiring. I guess he wasn't expecting to deal with an attack without first going through the usual exchange of manly threats." "Impressive, Ranma," said Genma, smiling at him and nodding his head. "Most impressive." "Yeah," said Ranma, a sudden grin on his face. Things seemed to be finally looking up. He stripped the robe off of Mousse and quickly tore it into long strips to tie him up with them, binding the other boy's arms together tightly, running a loop around the Chinese boy's neck and a second one to bind his ankles. At the end, Mousse looked to be in a rather uncomfortable position, and the length of silk around his neck would choke him if he struggled. Ranma looked satisfied at the result. "I see you still remember the knot-tying techniques I had you learn as a boy," said Genma approvingly. That had been part of the wilderness survival training that the Science Ministry had instructed him to ensure that Ranma knew. He nodded at the trussed up Chinese boy, seeing that Mousse would have to be an escape artist to get out of such bindings. "Yeah," said Ranma, hitting Mousse almost casually with his fist when it looked like the other boy might have been stirring. He used the remaining strip of silken cloth to gag the Chinese boy and stood up to survey their surroundings. "Now, let's go." The two of them continued on their trek through the greenery. ****************************** Elsewhere in the jungle, Akane was walking through a more heavily forested area of the greenhouse. "Just how big is this thing?" she wondered out loud. Her reverie was interrupted when a small piece of ribbon flew out from a tree and wrapped itself around her wrists like a pair of handcuffs. She tried to break free, but the harder she attempted to tear the ribbon the tighter it got. "OHHOHOHOHO!" came a chilling laugh from above Akane. She gazed upward to see Kodachi standing on a tree branch above and grinning down at her. "You have fallen into my trap, Akane Tendo. No substitutes can save you this time. Just come along quietly." "Yeah, right," Akane sneered. And with that, Akane jumped up, kicked the branch Kodachi was standing on, and shattered it beneath the gymnast. The Black Rose prevented her fall by using her ribbon to lash onto another branch and gracefully land several meters away. She gave an almost predatory grin at Akane. "You are only making this harder on yourself," she said with a manic undertone. Kodachi began hurling pins at Akane. The first struck the Tendo girl in the knee, and the second in the head. Deciding she wasn't going to play the pigeon in a shooting gallery, Akane raced forward at full speed, managing to avoid two more pins thrown at her. She then executed a leaping tuck and roll and came up standing right next to Kodachi. She very quickly grabbed the Black Rose by the throat and started choking. "Where is my family?" Akane growled, lifting Kodachi off of her feet slightly and tightening her grip slightly. "What have you done with them?" The gasping Black Rose didn't try to answer. Instead, she pulled a compact out of her leotard and held it in front of Akane's face. The other girl made the mistake of loosening her grip on Kodachi's throat in surprise, providing the Black Rose enough breath to let out a puff and blow the powder into Akane's face. A moment later, Akane hit the ground, unconscious. Kodachi stood there clutching her throat, a grim look replacing the usual manic smile, as she murmured, "You are fortunate indeed that I need you intact, else something... terrible would happen to you." The evil glint in her eye made one certain she meant every word she said. She wrapped her ribbon around Akane and dragged her off, making sure to hit every bump and rock on the way back. ****************************** As Ranma and his father were walking along, one of the sprinkler systems suddenly came on and splashed Ranma with a blast of cold water, his body quickly shrinking into its female form. The boy turned girl sighed as the change concluded in a moment. The elder Saotome blinked at the sight, somehow being just missed by the water as if it had been specifically targeted at his son who was now his daughter. "I hate this life," said Ranma-chan sullenly. It was an odd sensation to have his body shift like this into its alternate form, almost a faint tingling occurring, but it passed in less than a moment. She squeezed water out of her shirt, the cold, damp cloth raising goosebumps on her skin. It was the work of a moment to adjust the clothes to ride a little better on her shortened frame. "Fascinating," muttered Genma as he studied the result of the curse. He had all of the memories of previous changes his counterpart had witnessed, but first-hand experience was something else. "A complete morphological reconstruction of your physical form. It appears that even your mass changes." "Yeah, I'm not sure what to make out of that one," said a still sullen Ranma-chan, still squeezing a few drops of water from her clothes. "I know it's called magic, but there has to be some rational explanation for how it works. I just haven't figured it out yet." "I have some theories on how it might be occurring, but now is not really the time to explore them," said Genma. His scientific curiosity was intrigued by what he had just seen, but his practical nature was also well aware that the middle of a potential battleground was not the place to discuss the nature of Reality with his son, er, daughter. Perhaps it was a naturally occurring quantum shift that specifically modifies the body without affecting the mind? Or swaps the body, not the mind? "Let's just get this rescue over with," said Ranma sullenly. "Agreed." ****************************** Elsewhere in the greenhouse, Shampoo was carefully making her way through the brush, when she heard familiar, insane laughter. She spotted Kodachi standing in front of a tree, a manic grin on her face. "OHHOHOHOHO!" chortled the gymnast, like a demented, female Santa Claus. "If it isn't the little philistine." "Shampoo not philistine! Shampoo Chinese!" snarled the Amazon cutely. Kodachi sighed, "I forgot, you're intellectually impaired. We'll just go with bimbo from now on." "What you want with Kasumi, Crazy Gymnast Girl?" Kodachi smiled as she sneered a bit at the Amazon, "I wanted to lead Ranma and yourself to your doom. And it looks like I have succeeded." The Black Rose pulled a hoop from her leotard and threw it high above the Amazon's head. Shampoo remembered the boomerang pin from her previous encounters with Kodachi and tracked the hoop's progress, not completely taking her attention off of the gymnast. It traveled high up into the tree Shampoo was standing next to and severed a bunch of bananas, which struck the Amazon in the head, causing quite a mess. She looked back down just in time to have a pineapple, thrown by Kodachi, impact and burst all over her face. "I haven't made fruit salad in years," Kodachi laughed gleefully. Shampoo wiped the majority of the fruit off her face, and looked above Kodachi. A playful smile crossed her features as an idea came to her. "You forget coconut." Shampoo drew her sword quickly and threw it, like a spear, high up into the tree behind Kodachi. It sailed up into the branches and briefly disappeared. The gymnast did not look impressed. "Your aim is off you purple..." but the rest of Kodachi's statement was interrupted when a large coconut fell from the tree above and hit her solidly in the head. Kodachi's hands went to her skull as she grimaced in pain, and her expression turned villainous. "You wicked, wicked girl! I was going easy on you because I knew Mousse would not approve of my harming you. But I see you leave me no choice." Kodachi pushed in a knot of wood on the tree that the coconut fell from. Part of the ground Shampoo stood on raised itself up and hurled her into a covered pit. She rolled, her body absorbing the impact without injury as it came to rest on the densely-packed earth. As she stood up in the pit, she noticed two eyes glaring at her. From out of the shadows, the orbs revealed themselves to be attached to a hungry tiger that was waiting for its next meal. "You have a fun time, dear," said Kodachi as she skipped away, laughing her insane cackle, leaving the girl with the tiger. ****************************** Ranma-chan and Genma finally arrived where the Tendos were being held. They saw Kodachi waiting for them on some sort of gigantic plant stem. On a balcony nearby were held the majority of the Tendos, minus Nabiki, and the girl Ranma-chan now recognized as Minami, the ghost sweeper. The boy turned girl spotted Akane wrapped up tightly in some chains and suspended from the ceiling. Ranma-chan watched Kasumi wave happily to her as the cursed boy considered the best way to bring about a rescue. "Get me down from here!" Akane yelled at Ranma-chan, a cry that was ignored by the cursed boy. Having the troublesome, headstrong girl out of her hair suited Ranma-chan just fine. "Where is my beloved Mousse-sama?" asked Kodachi, puzzled to see Ranma- chan and her father looking so well. "He's a little, er, tied up right now," said Ranma-chan with a smirk as she spoke to Kodachi. "Tell you what. I'll make a deal with you. You give me back Kasumi, Mr. Tendo, and Minami, and I'll tell you where we left Mousse. Refuse, and I'll have to hurt you." It was very odd for Ranma right now; this Kodachi was like a warped reflection of the rather sweet noblewoman who he was only now just getting to know from his home timeline. Ranma-chan was actually bluffing, for the most part, uncertain if she could really attack the gymnast but deciding to brazen it out. "What about me?" Akane grumbled. "I thought you could handle yourself," Ranma-chan taunted as she looked up at Akane. She turned back to look at Kodachi and said with a smirk, "I'll let you keep Akane." Akane's battle aura began to glow a dull blue, and the chains started to bulge as she shouted at the top of her lungs, "RANMA! YOU'D BETTER HOPE THEY DON'T RELEASE ME!" "I don't think you understand the gravity of your situation," said Kodachi. "You aren't in a position to make demands." "Oh?" asked Ranma-chan, suddenly curious to see what Kodachi had up her sleeve. Out of the corner of her mouth, she softly whispered to Genma, "Try and make your way to the others and get them loose. I'll keep her busy." "You see," said Kodachi, her maniacal glee back in full force, "you have fallen into my ultimate trap. Behold!" Kodachi held her arms out grandly, and a huge plant she was standing next to began to move, slowly at first but becoming more animated by the moment, as Ranma-chan gaped at the sight. Surrounded by several broad leaves, a massive nest of roots secured it to the ground, providing a solid base for a thick, heavily-veined stem. A huge, oval-shaped bulb on the end of the stem opened up, revealing a mouth with a rather large number of sharply-pointed teeth inside. A thin stream of greenish drool lazily dripped from one side of the plant's mouth, and that only added to the unreality of the situation for Ranma-chan. Her arms held wide in an act of showmanship, Kodachi smiled in ecstasy as she gazed at her revealed secret weapon. "Witness the awesome power of a genuine South American man-eating plant, or in this case, a Ranma- Eating Plant. Mousse-sama and I found him while on our extended vacation. He was shipped here just last week and is very hungry. Aren't you, precious?" She made little kissing noises in the plant's direction, then spoke to it, "Now, sic her!" What I wouldn't give for a good defoliant, thought Ranma-chan for the second time that day. She noticed her father making his way to the others, so Ranma-chan knew that she had to keep everyone's attention on her. Plans of attack began to sprint through her mind. The plant roared its power to the skies and then moved its head to attack. It was much faster than Ranma-chan had thought, the head whipping out like a striking cobra to try and engulf her. Kodachi remained on her plant, closely watching the Ranma-Eater try to devour its prey. Kill her, my pet, thought Kodachi gleefully, her eyes focussed on the life-and-death struggle taking place before her. She watched the battle with glittering eyes. Ranma-chan evaded the first two attempts by the plant to devour her, the second one missing by inches, then started looking for a way out. She almost slapped herself at how long it took her to realize the most obvious one. "The damn thing's got roots," she said, dodging a third strike. "All I have to do is get out of its reach." Dodging and leaping to one side, Ranma-chan tried to run out of the plant's reach, but that tactic had been anticipated by Kodachi. She let out a shrill whistle, and huge strands of what appeared to be some sort of webbing extended themselves from the trees and interlocked, many of the strands shooting up into the ceiling. Once complete, a huge spider web now extended from tree to tree, as well as the ceiling, effectively sealing off the portion of the greenhouse Ranma-chan and the plant were in. Examining the new barrier quickly, Ranma-chan looked extremely unimpressed. She grinned up at Kodachi and said, "Like this is really going to stop me." She reached out to pull away part of the webbing, a rather confident smirk on Ranma-chan's face. She touched it, then quickly drew back, gasping in pain as a surprised look appeared on her face. A small trickle of blood dripped from a thin cut that had formed where she touched the web. "That's no mere spider web," Kodachi informed her opponent with a cold smile, "It is formed with razor wire. Touch it, and be sliced to ribbons. Now, remain where you are and prepare to be devoured." Ranma-chan's thoughts were filled with dire imprecations for a few brief moments. The plant continued with its relentless assault, which Ranma-chan continued to nimbly evade. However, after many leaps and bounds, she eventually got backed into a tree with nowhere to run. The giant plant reached forward, mouth opened wide to engulf her small form, then stopped, no more than a foot away from her. It then curled back and looked at Kodachi, quickly muttering something unintelligible to everyone but its mistress. Kodachi sounded annoyed as she said, "What do you mean, 'Is she white meat or dark meat?'" The plant muttered again, and the Black Rose answered once more, "I don't care what you are in the mood for. Just eat her!" The plant looked at Ranma-chan, then turned back to Kodachi and muttered something yet again. "I know she doesn't look like much," growled Kodachi sounding very annoyed now. She calmed herself and said, "I'll tell you what. I'll get you an entire cow afterwards if you are still hungry, is that all right?" The plant considered, then nodded its assent. I can't believe this is happening, thought Ranma-chan. I never thought I'd go out this way, killed and eaten by a piece of ambulatory greenery with an attitude. I hope you choke and die, you damn thing! "Good! Now devour her!" Just as the plant moved forward once again, a loud noise was heard from the other side of the web. A sword suddenly cut through some of the razor wire and Shampoo rushed quickly through the newly made opening. A huge and still hungry tiger rushed through the opening hot on the tail of Shampoo. Kodachi looked displeased at the interruption. "Why hasn't Mr. Meow eaten that damned Amazon yet?" she muttered. At least Mousse wasn't here to witness this. Ranma-chan's attention locked onto the tiger, and she felt the first wave of fear brush against her thoughts. C-c-cat, she thought, as she felt raw terror begin to grip her. Ranma normally liked cats, though. S-so why d-do I feel afraid? Ranma-chan stared at the tiger with a sense of mounting horror. C-c-c-cat, the boy turned girl thought stupidly, as her eyes remained locked onto one thing, and one thing only, Mr. Meow. The fear struggled to grip her mind as Ranma-chan clutched her head, frowning in concentration. There is n-nothing to fear. There is nothing to fear! The vivid memories of the Cat Fist training washed over her mind like an incoming tide, and tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes as she struggled to keep control. F-fear is an animal reaction. I am a human being of intelligence and w-will. I will not feel fear. I will not feel fear! However, the terror, combined with the high stress of the situation she was already in, was quickly overwhelming Ranma-chan's frantic attempts to regain control. The fear was ripping at her very sanity, shredding through the young scientist's mental disciplines. F-fear can b-be controlled. There is n-nothing to fear. Memories of claws ripping away at a little boy's flesh exploded across her mind. I c-can control this. Ranma-chan struggled with the fear, but she was losing. "G-get back," Ranma-chan muttered, eyes still locked on the tiger nearby. "I w-won't be defeated by a stupid fear. I refuse to s-submit to fear. My will is stronger than this f-fear." Ranma-chan was calling up all of the self-control exercises that she had been taught as a child, but it was too little, too late. "C-C-C-C-C-C-CAT!!!" With that declaration of supreme terror given voice, Ranma-chan ran up the tree and clutched onto a branch for dear life, looking down in absolute terror at the tiger. Sensing the fear in the newcomer, Mr. Meow ran under the tree, trying to climb up it and roaring with all his might. Everyone paused to watch the bizarre display of man and cat. Genma had managed to make it up to the others while this was occurring. He stared in horror at his son, the guilt of the Cat Fist training hitting him anew. He muttered, "Oh no. Not now." Akane turned far enough to look at the old man as she said, "Not now what?" "Ranma is afraid of one thing and one thing only," said Genma, staring at the failure of his son's valiant attempt to master the fear. "Cats." Shampoo appeared confused and asked, "How come?" Genma sighed, his attention more on Ranma-chan as he said, "It has to do with the Cat Fist training he received as a youth." Genma quickly described the process of wrapping young Ranma up in various fish products and throwing him into pits with hundreds of hungry cats. He explained how he did it day in and day out until Ranma snapped and came out meowing like a cat himself. Akane's eyes were open wide in shock as she asked, "What kind of a father are you?" "Pop. We gonna have long talk about this later," declared Shampoo as she waved her sword menacingly at Genma. Even Kodachi was sickened as she said, "That is beyond demented, even by my standards. You are truly a warped individual." "I have much to make up to Ranma," said Genma sincerely. He had not been the one to make the mistakes his son was now paying for, not exactly, but he was determined to help his only child as much as he was able. He went back to staring at the results of another Genma's tragic stupidity. Meanwhile, Ranma-chan had finally snapped, the brilliant intellect of a genius scientist thrown back into the darkness of her own mind. She curled up and started hissing like a cat, and her eyes fixated on the enemy below. Through narrowed eyes she saw Mr. Meow, bewildered by the turn of events, suddenly stop roaring and begin to slink away rather than be confronted by the bizarre human. He didn't move fast enough, as Ranma-chan hissed and leaped after the tiger. Just as she was about to hit the tiger, her body was snatched from midair by the Ranma-Eating Plant and swallowed whole. The plant turned and looked expectantly at Kodachi, who patted him on the head. "Good plant," said Kodachi pleasantly. Shampoo and Akane together shouted, "RANMA!" Son, thought Genma, eyes closed as a tear or two began to trickle down his cheeks. He vowed to the heavens to make everything right in this life, if only Ranma was somehow spared. Perhaps his heartfelt prayer was answered. The huge plant remained where it was, a broad grin on its mouth. Suddenly, the smile disappeared as the plant's jaws started to move violently, as though something was trying to get out. The level of violence increased, causing the head to shift and turn until, finally, a figure burst through the side of the mouth, making a huge, gaping hole in it. The plant recoiled in pain as Ranma-chan savagely tore through it using the Cat Fist, sending ragged shreds of plant flesh flying. Kodachi looked on, horrified, as she called out, "My poor, poor, Ranma- Eating Plant!" and began to cry. While the gymnast was distracted, Shampoo jumped up and severed the chains binding Akane. She then cut one of the chains loose and threw it to Soun and Kasumi. With Genma's help, Soun lowered his daughter down to the ground safely, before both of them climbed down as well. Shampoo quickly turned her attention to the still feline-like Ranma-chan, who had now backed Mr. Meow into a corner. Ranma-chan continued hissing at the tiger until Shampoo slowly walked over, bent down, and held out her hand, trying to calm Ranma-chan and get her to walk over to the Amazon. Genma wasn't sure if enough of his own son was present in the now catlike Ranma-chan to risk approaching closer, so he let Shampoo try and calm her down. After much cajoling, Ranma-chan calmed down and walked over to the purple-haired Amazon. Shampoo began to pet her on the head, murmuring soft words of comfort, and both of these actions helped relax Ranma-chan enough to sit on Shampoo's lap and curl up into a ball. Shampoo smiled at the rapidly relaxing form in her lap, but the peace didn't last. Ranma-chan was resting peacefully on the Amazon's lap one moment, and the next got punted out of Shampoo's lap and through the skylight of the greenhouse. "MMMMMMEEEEEEOOOOOOWWWWWW!" came a catlike, female scream, followed by a loud crash of glass. Genma glanced at Akane with a cold gaze, secure in the knowledge of what he must now do. He shifted his attention to the Amazon to see what her reaction would be, somehow certain that she would deal with the irate, youngest Tendo daughter. "I told you to hope they didn't let me go!" Akane shouted upwards at Ranma-chan's rapidly departing form. Upon hearing about the training of the Cat Fist, the anger Akane had felt at Ranma-chan's threat of leaving her chained up died down. However, the sympathy she had begun to feel was quickly drowned out by the affection Ranma-chan had shown Shampoo. Even when she thought she was a cat, Ranma-chan still flirted openly with Shampoo. Shampoo spun on Akane, "Why Akane do that?" "He was being a jerk!" screamed Akane. "You hear what Pop say," said Shampoo, getting angry. "Ranma think he cat, not boy." She moved closer, getting right in Akane's face, and looked her in the eye. "You no hit Ranma again." Akane stared at her, incredulous, and asked, "Are you trying to tell me what to do?" Shampoo dropped her voice and took on an almost threatening tone, "Shampoo say no hit Ranma again." Akane didn't back off, shouting, "I don't believe it! Where do you get off telling me what to do?!" Ranma told you the same thing, noted Genma, watching how the Amazon was acting as Ranma's champion in his absence. He saw both girls beginning to glow with an azure light. The tension between the two almost managed to ignite the forest. Fortunately, it was defused when Kasumi stepped between the duo. "Now, now," said the eldest Tendo girl. "We mustn't fight." Kasumi's peaceful aura worked a near-miracle as the two girls simultaneously broke the deadlock building between them. "Shampoo go find Ranma," declared the Amazon. "Make sure he okay." She gave one last, rather pointedly intense glance at Akane, then jumped up onto a tree, using it as a springboard to go through the hole in the skylight. A rather severely battered-looking, half-naked Mousse stumbled into the scene, lacking even his usual glasses, and Kodachi paused in the binding of her plant's wounds. After confirming that it would pull through, she rushed over to assist him. "Mousse-sama," said Kodachi, checking him over for injuries. His face was the worst of it; a broken nose, multiple contusions, and a split lip among the injuries. "Where's Saotome?" muttered Mousse, lisping slightly from the loss of an incisor from his upper jaw. He was intensely determined to have his revenge on the pigtailed boy, as soon as the room stopped going through the gyrations it was now doing, that is. "He's gone," said Kodachi, turning her attention to the remaining people. They were in the process of leaving the building, a grimly thoughtful-looking Genma in the lead. "I do believe we have been forgotten, Mousse-sama." A fireball hit the pair and engulfed them in flames for a moment or two. As the smoke cleared, the duo appeared singed, but very much alive. A coldly furious-looking Minami stood alone at the top of the balcony, having finally been untied by Genma before the others left. She casually discarded a gold scepter and began to form a ball of electricity between her palms. "Let me assure you," said Minami in a conversational tone of voice, "The two of you will soon be gone, but definitely not forgotten." A moment later, she released a brilliant lighting bolt at the duo, who barely got out of the way of the arc of energy. The two took off, with Minami following in hot pursuit, firing off spells of destruction as she ran after them. ****************************** *** Earth 0.000,0.000 Ukyo sat at her usual place at the dining table in shock. Currently, she was dressed in the traditional disguise used by the Kuonji Ninja Clan: tight black pants and a heavy, blue, short-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up a bit, the classical outfit of an okonomiyaki seller. Her long hair was tied back into a loose ponytail with a white ribbon. Her breasts were bound down, to her mother's displeasure, and she now looked like an attractive boy. Resting against the wall behind her was a rather large spatula, a polearm-like weapon that Ukyo had discovered in her youth she had a particular talent for. Her grandfather had encouraged her in this skill, training her to mastery with it. Since the days of her young childhood, she very diligently and rigorously trained in all of the weapons and the fighting techniques of the Kuonji Clan, but she enjoyed the feel of the large spatula in her hands, moving it about like it was an extension of her body. Akira Kuonji, her father, had managed to surprise her with about the very last thing that she would have expected from him. Ukyo's lunch now sat all but unnoticed before her, and she sullenly eyed her mother and father as they sat there before her, calmly drinking tea. They were allowing her some time to absorb the news, very shocking news as far as she was concerned. When Ukyo finally spoke, her tone of voice was one of quiet disbelief, "You want me to what?" "You're going with your father and I tomorrow morning to meet a potential husband for you," said Yukiyo Kuonji, her mother, quite calmly. The older woman's hazel-green eyes, identical to Ukyo's own, studied her daughter for several moments before speaking once more. "We've received word from one of the matchmaking services that we subscribed you to. They tell me that they've found a nice boy in Tokyo who comes from an excellent family background. We're going to meet him and his parents tomorrow." Ukyo just sat there blinking, taking it in. She finally asked, "Don't I have any say in this?" "Listen to your mother, Ukyo-chan," said her father in a solemn voice. "It's high time that you started thinking about your future. You are to be the next leader of the Kuonji Clan, and you should be grateful that we found you a husband. You've already rejected all of the local boys." "They're all perverts or weaklings," grumbled Ukyo. "I think I'm more of a man than any of the boys I go to school with." "That's another thing, daughter," said Yukiyo, velvet covering steel in her voice as she reproved Ukyo, her eyes staring at the male disguise that her daughter wore so disturbingly well. "This continuing tendency of yours to disguise yourself as a boy is becoming alarming to me for a girl your age. I know you did it because of your grandfather, but you are really a girl. Why do you persist in doing it?" A strong note of desperation entered her voice. "It's good practice for my disguise skills, and it lets me see the boys as they really are," replied Ukyo evenly, taking a sip of her tea. "If they think I'm a boy, then they talk to me like an equal. The girls my age that I've seen are all simple, flighty creatures, without any warrior spirit within them. If I have to choose between that, I'll act as a guy. However, so far, all I've found is that all boys are perverts. There isn't a real gentleman in the entire lot." "Promise me that you won't pretend to be a boy around the Saotome boy at least until after you meet him," commanded Yukiyo, her tone grim. "He comes highly recommended by the matchmaker. He has a bright future in the Science Ministry. Such connections would do our Clan well." "Feh," murmured Ukyo, making a slight look of distaste. He sounds like another pervert or weakling. This is so stupid. I doubt that this Ranma Saotome can possibly be any different from any of the local boys. "Ukyo-chan," warned her father, his expression darkening. "Yes, Papa," Ukyo sighed. "I promise that I won't disguise myself as a boy before I meet him." Afterwards, on the other hand.... "That's better," said her father with a smile. "You know that your mother and I have only your best interests at heart. Besides, this is only a preliminary meeting between the families. If things go well, then I'll find you a place to stay with some of our relatives in the area where he lives. That way the two of you can get to know each other better." "Yes, Papa," said Ukyo with a sinking heart. This doesn't sound like it's going to be any fun at all. She slowly got up and picked up her harness and battle spatula from their resting place against the wall. A dozen sharpened spatulas sat in sheaths across the front. With the ease of long hours of practice, she slipped the harness around her chest and slid the battle spatula into its sheath. She headed out the door with a heavy tread, simply saying, "I'm going to go train now." Behind Ukyo, her mother watched the departure of her daughter with sad eyes. Yukiyo got up from the table and went over to her husband. She softly asked, "Husband? Do you really think Ukyo will like this Saotome boy?" "Perhaps," said Akira Kuonji, watching his daughter walk off into the woods to one of her usual training areas. "I sincerely hope that she does, but our daughter will get married and bear children to carry on the bloodline. This Clan needs her to do so if it is to continue, and this boy, Ranma Saotome, may be our last, best hope for the Kuonji legacy to continue on. Until I had received word from Mitsuma-san, I confess I had almost given up on her. After what she did to that boy from the Moroboshi Clan," he trailed off, shaking his head at the memory. "I hope this all works out," said Yukiyo, laying her head against her husband's shoulder. She felt his arm go around her body and give her a warm hug. ****************************** Near the edge of the Kuonji Clan territory, a lone figure stood next to a tree, his hand resting lightly on a rope that ran far back into the thick woods, tied at irregular intervals to various trees. He was dressed in heavily travel-worn garb consisting of a long-sleeved brown tunic, black pants laced up the shins with yellow lacings, and a pair of comfortable, black, slip-on shoes. His unruly black hair was held back out of his eyes with a black-spotted, yellow bandana. He wore a large backpack, the straps resting comfortably on his shoulders, and there was a red and black umbrella secured to the top of the backpack. He was Ryoga Hibiki, and he was a man with a mission. Just let go of the guide rope, Ryoga, he thought as he stared out past the edge of the woods that marked the border of the Kuonji Clan's territory. He had been here for over an hour, hoping that his quarry might pass by this way and make things easier on him. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he lifted his hand from the rope that he had followed to reach this point. It was one of several that allowed the various members of the Hibiki Clan to function relatively normally in their high mountain valley. The first of them had been strung by the grateful villagers of Kikaitani when one of Ryoga's direct ancestors had stumbled into their valley centuries ago and helped the village deal with some bandits. Since that day, the village had maintained the tradition of stringing the ropes to assist their guardian and his descendants find their way around without getting lost and leaving them defenseless. Using the guide ropes was second nature to one born of Hibiki blood and raised in Kikaitani. Ryoga was one of the few who ever went this far out of the valley, but several years ago he had gotten the assistance of one of the villagers to help him string a rope to this point. Now all he had to do was walk forward. Ryoga took one step, glancing back to see that the guide rope was still where he had left it. He breathed a sigh of relief and then growled at himself for being so childish about this little fear of his. The worst thing that could happen would be that he got lost, and he knew that he would find his way back, eventually. However, he also knew that he would never be able to fulfill his vow of vengeance unless he kept on moving forward, and he took a second step, and then he took a third. A grim smile lit his face as he began to walk towards his ultimate goal, to finally prove his superiority in martial arts to the boy who had defeated him time and again over the years, ever since they were both young children. Ukyo Kuonji. ****************************** Nodoka moved through her kata with grace and speed, but her thoughts were troubled as her bokken slashed through the air. Her skillful strikes alternated between decapitating and eviscerating the imaginary foes that surrounded her. I hope that this first meeting tomorrow goes well. Ranma only seems to be doing it for my sake. She picked up the pace of her sword kata, trying to find her center in the purity of her movements, but her thoughts remained very troubled. Ranma hasn't shown very much interest in girls, only in his studies. Could I have rushed him before he was ready? She paused at the end of her kata as she took deep breaths. Her arms were steady as they held her weapon in place. "What troubles you today, Nodoka?" asked a pleasant female voice behind her. "Your moves lack their usual sureness." Nodoka turned around. Her friend, Achika Masaki, stood behind her with a worried look on her face. Nodoka relaxed her stance and swiftly lowered her wooden blade. She paused to wipe a line of sweat that had escaped the boundaries of her headband, and she sighed a little bit. "Has Genma done something?" asked Achika with a smile. She began to do stretching exercises as she talked, limbering herself up for today's match against her friend. "No," replied Nodoka with a smile. "It's not Genma. Ranma has his first meeting with a potential bride and her family tomorrow. I'm just feeling a little worried." "It's nothing to be worried about," said Achika with a smile. "I've been through it with Tenchi, and everything worked out fine. If the first potential bride doesn't work out, then move on to another that does. Tenchi and the Hino girl make a lovely couple. She dotes on him quite a bit," said Achika proudly. "I only hope that I can find a girl to make Ranma so happy," said Nodoka with a troubled look. "The three prospects I was given all come from fine families. One is even of high nobility." "Just let events take their natural course, my friend," said Achika with a smile. "Ranma is a fine young man, almost as good a catch as my own son. I'm sure that the women will be clamoring around him before you realize it." "I just worry about him so," said Nodoka, frowning, her thoughts already on the meeting tomorrow. She wanted it to be perfect. "I really don't think you have a thing to worry about," said Achika as she continued her warm-up exercises. She gave Nodoka a sly look. "Are you ready for a defeat today?" "That is a question I should be asking you, old friend," replied Nodoka with a smile, her troubles forgotten. For a time, she could pretend she was a teenaged girl again, when testing her skills in battle was all that had really mattered to her. ****************************** Ukyo finished her exercises with a proud flourish. Her battle spatula was returned to its sheath on her back, and she plucked several of her miniature throwing spatulas from their sheaths, studying the nearby target. With a 'kiai' yell she leaped into the air, both hands flashing out in precision throws. From one hand she buried the thrown weapons into the neck and head of the wooden practice dummy, and from her other hand the remainder flew to strike it in the chest and vital organs. She landed with a fluid grace, drawing her battle spatula once more. The forest clearing around her was soothing to her as she went through fighting movements that were centuries old. However, Ukyo was not so engrossed in her practice that she failed to sense the presence in the woods behind her. She pretended not to notice as she continued to slash and thrust with the spatula, allowing the presence to draw ever closer. There was only one person other than her grandfather who ever came to this section of the woods. She let the intruder approach within striking distance. Ukyo smiled when she heard the distinctive sound of air rustling against cloth rising behind her, and a distinctive battle cry. "UKYO KUONJI! PREPARE TO DIE!" The intruder had taken to the air in a long jump at her supposedly unprotected back. Her ponytail bobbed around as she hopped to the left and whirled around. Her spatula came up into a perfect block as the intruder's weapon slammed hard against it. The two figures then remained locked in that pose for a moment. The intruder was revealed to be Ryoga Hibiki, his black-spotted bandanna holding back his mop of unruly hair. His large backpack still rested on his back, but it did not seem to hinder him in the slightest. His determined expression was matched by one on Ukyo's face. His heavy umbrella and the shaft of her spatula pressed against each other as he slowly began to force her to give ground through sheer strength. "Ryoga," said Ukyo with a strained nod. "It's been a while." Her tone was pleasant, but the very determined look on her face did not go away. The soles of her shoes were leaving shallow furrows as Ryoga muscled her back. She felt a rather pleasant tingling running along her nerves at Ryoga's presence, an odd excitement filling her body at testing herself against him. They were sensations that she had begun to feel during their last few years of fighting against each other. "Ukyo," growled Ryoga with a nod of his own, his expression now darkening up even more as he felt a similar tingling sensation running through his body. These feelings only made him angrier. Damn you, Kuonji! he thought, confused as to why he would feel this way about another boy, but anger consumed the confusion. "It looks like I get to settle things with you sooner than I hoped. Prepare for a beating." "Heh. You're welcome to try, Ryoga," snarled Ukyo with a cocky look, whipping the shaft of her spatula free. Ryoga attacked again with his umbrella, and she blocked him once more. The stillness of the forest was only broken by the loud clash of their weapons resounding against each other. Her somewhat longer weapon was proving to be a slight disadvantage at such close range, and she managed to avoid getting hit by his umbrella by the slimmest of margins. She backed away from him a half pace as they circled around each other. Ukyo leaped backwards in a smooth somersault to put some more range between her and Ryoga. He's gotten a lot better in the last several months, she thought as she eyed her opponent. However, I've gotten a lot better too. She forced Ryoga to stay at range as the blade of her weapon slashed at him. Ryoga came leaping in as Ukyo took to the air as well, her jump carrying her a little higher than his own. She blocked his strikes in midair with the spatula and managed to land a hard blow with the flat of it onto the top of his head and making a resounding clanging sound. He plummeted face-first into the soft mulch of the forest floor as she landed gracefully on her feet about ten feet away from him. She stuck her tongue out at him playfully when he pulled his head up to see her. "Why, you..." growled Ryoga softly as he charged her once more. His umbrella strikes blurred by her head and body as she dodged and blocked deftly with her spatula. Ukyo was supple grace and strength combined into one as she evaded his attacks like water. Ryoga was growing frustrated. "Stand still and fight like a man!" "What was that?" asked Ukyo, somewhat angrily, in the middle of another leap. The amused look on her face had grown irritated. She began going on the offensive. Ryoga ducked under one of the swings of her spatula, but a lock of his hair didn't quite make it. It fell to the ground, unnoticed by both combatants. "Big talk from someone I keep beating up every time he manages to wander into my life." "You dance around like some kind of girl," said Ryoga tauntingly. "If you're going to dress like a man, then you should at least fight like one." His fist managed to find a chink in her defenses and impacted into her gut, forcing Ukyo back. He smirked and pressed his attack. Ukyo's spatula, backed by the full power of her shoulder muscles, slammed into his face in reply. Her following strike was a kick to his chest. She saw Ryoga blinking at the pain, but he didn't seem much affected otherwise. "Did I touch a nerve, ninja boy?" taunted Ryoga with another smirk. Ukyo growled and redoubled her efforts to attack. Now it was Ryoga who was doing most of the blocking and dodging as edged steel slashed and thrust at him. He managed to slow up her assault a bit with a couple of strikes that managed to connect, but they were off-center. Ukyo shrugged off the pain. The nerve of this... this jackass! Making fun of my femininity like that. Ryoga managed to disarm her of her weapon with a very powerful strike from his umbrella. It flew off and embedded itself deeply into a nearby tree. Ryoga smirked at her again. Ukyo leaped up and kicked him hard in the face for the smirk. Ryoga stumbled back, and his eyes crossed for a moment. Ukyo knocked the umbrella out of his hand with another kick. Ryoga backed off, and Ukyo eyed him for a moment with a cool smile. She stepped gracefully over his umbrella and blocked his path to it. Ukyo smirked, eyeing her spatula for a moment. "I don't need a weapon to beat you," she said with a grin. "Come on and try it," said Ryoga with a serious look. He gestured for her to come forward with one hand. They leaped at each other in a blur of fists and feet. Ryoga's superior strength was nullified by Ukyo's greater speed and ability to dodge. He shrugged off most of her blows, but very few of his strikes managed to even touch her. Her punches slipped by his guard, but Ukyo had to settle for trying to wear him down rather than a single knockout punch. The sound of a pair of hands loudly clapping stopped both young warriors in mid-struggle. They were both so startled to find that they had an audience that neither of them took advantage of the other's distraction. Ryoga noticed that he had the collar of Ukyo's tunic held tightly in his fist, the tingling he was experiencing at such nearness to his rival in martial arts skill feeling so very pleasant. He quickly let go and backed off, angry once again that he felt such feelings for his long- time sparring partner. A brief blush was on his face, but Ukyo didn't appear to notice. "That was a magnificent display, children," said the elderly man that seemed to materialize from out of the nearby edge of the forest. It was Genji Kuonji, the eldest of the Kuonji Clan, and Ukyo's grandfather. His monk's robes whispered as he stepped closer and a faint twinkle was in his ancient eyes. "I see that you have done some improving since I last saw you, Ryoga Hibiki. You do your family proud." "Grandfather," said Ukyo with some surprise. "What brings you out this far into the forest?" "Just enjoying a walk among the wonders of nature," replied the elderly man with a smile. He looked at Ryoga. "And what brings one of the wandering Hibikis to this area of the mountains? I think it's been a couple of months since your last visit, young Ryoga." "My guess is that the idiot has been practicing again and wanted another rematch, when he should know that he won't ever beat me," said Ukyo with a playful smile. She chuckled at Ryoga when he looked at her with a growl. "Am I wrong?" The elderly Kuonji stepped between then before it got violent again. "Don't tease the boy, Ukyo," he said reprovingly. "The Hibikis have been our allies for over two centuries. You two should try to get along better." "Yes, Grandfather," said Ukyo with her head bowed. A moment later her head snapped back up. "He started it though. He jumped at me from the trees." "You're the one that's always bragging about what a great ninja warrior you are," growled Ryoga. He pointed his thumb at his chest. "I know for a fact that I'm more than a match for you, Kuonji. I just thought I'd prove it to you. If you're so great, then how did I manage to sneak up on you?" "What was that, you jackass?" snarled Ukyo right back. "I can take you in a fight any day of the week!" She poked her finger hard against Ryoga's chest, her anger letting her ignore the pleasant feeling she got from being near him. "For your information, I let you get that close to me. The way that you stomp around, I'm surprised that you can sneak up on anybody. Some great martial artist you are." "Children," said Genji sternly. They both looked at him guiltily. He eyed them both, and the two of them wouldn't meet his eyes. He sighed gently. I wish I knew why these two felt it to be so necessary to antagonize each other. Still, it reminds me a bit of some of the many glorious fights between me and that old ogre, Shiro, Ryoga's great- grandfather. "You should be getting back to the house soon, Ukyo," said the old man. "Your parents are probably wondering where you are. You have to get packed, after all." "Ack!" Ukyo exclaimed. "That's right! I have to get going." In a blur of motion, she gathered up all of her weapons and resheathed them, and then she sprinted across the woods in the direction of the shrine. Ryoga watched the ninja girl go with a surprised look on his face. Genji studied Ryoga with a slight smile. "Walk with me, Ryoga?" asked the elderly Kuonji with a gentle smile. Ryoga shrugged and picked up his umbrella. They walked out into the forest on one of the small trails. It was quite peaceful. "Where's he off to in such a hurry?" asked Ryoga, a little gruffly. "Ukyo's going to the capital," replied Genji. "I don't know all of the specifics, but I imagine that the boy will be gone for a long time." He turned away to watch the wind blowing gently through the tree branches above. "He's- he's what?" stuttered Ryoga. He stopped walking and looked surprised. "He's going to the capital, I think to study the finer skills of our Clan's cooking arts with an aunt," said the elderly man. A very loud crashing sound started behind him and immediately began receding into the distance. He turned around to find that Ryoga wasn't there behind him anymore. A meandering line of broken trees went off into the distance. It looked like it was curving in the opposite direction from the Kuonji shrine. "Such a strange boy," he muttered to no one in particular. The old man smiled as he looked once more up into the trees. I wonder how long it will take him to get to the capital? Damn you, Kuonji! thought Ryoga as he ran in what he hoped was the right direction. If I have to follow you to the very ends of the Earth to finally defeat you, then I will! ****************************** Before the recent accident in Ranma's laboratory, Professor Genma Saotome was normally not a man for drinking. Dulling the mental faculties with the poison of alcohol had always seemed to him to be a silly thing for a grown man to do. His colleagues all thought of him as a dull sort, devoted to his work and his family. However, for the new Genma Saotome, drinking was a wonderful way to pass the time. The boy has a fine life ahead of him, Genma thought as he took a sip of sake. It burned like sweet fire down his throat. I'll see to it that he becomes a great martial artist. Ah, to have a chance to forget the mistakes of the past. This time I'll do it right. No more mistakes for this Genma, no sir. He grinned happily at his good fortune. Genma swallowed the sake remaining in his cup. He waved off the bar maid when she stopped by his table to pour another cup for him. He picked up the small bottle and served himself, leaving the girl to shrug and go on to the next customer. Genma took another sip of sake and grimaced at the burning taste. It seemed to taste differently than he remembered, but it was becoming more tolerable with each cup he poured down his throat. Still, I need some way to derail Nodoka's plans for a while. A wife is one of the last things that Ranma needs right now. The boy has the potential to be an even greater fighter than that ungrateful son of mine back home. A wife would only distract him from his training, all that constant yammering. Genma sighed. You were, and still are, the only woman for me, Nodoka-chan, he thought with a smile, the memories of the two versions of Nodoka blurring together in his mind as he thought about her. A tear formed in one eye as he remembered his wedding day. You were so beautiful that day, Nodoka-chan. Married life was a difficult adjustment at first, but it was so nice to have someone at my side, to warm my bed at night on a regular basis. A rather lecherous grin appeared on his face at the thought of his wedding night. Perhaps I could honor the agreement with Soun in spirit in this life, using this more obedient Ranma, thought Genma, staring into the rippling liquid in his cup. Heh. I'm sure that I can get the boy to obey me. After all, I am his father now. Of course he will listen to me. I'll just tell him I was confused when I woke up on that couch, but I'm better now. Yeah, that should work. I'll have to talk to Fuyutsuki-san in the morning though. An evil grin appeared on his face as he thought, Such a shame that Ranma's experiments will have to end, but he's going to carry on the Anything-Goes School now if I have any say in his life. He can forget all about science. He took another deep sip of sake. The taste was definitely becoming more palatable. He waved the bar maid over and told her to bring him another bottle. Perhaps I can use Nodoka's desires to engage Ranma to my own benefit, he thought with a chuckle. After all, it is perfectly legal in the Empire to have more than one wife. Think of all the dowries I could collect that way, and playing them off against each other would keep the issue of marriage in the distance- Genma blinked. Maybe it was the effects of the sake on his brain, but that idea didn't seem to be totally without merit. At that moment, someone sat down at his table. ****************************** Genma Saotome was doing something totally out of the range of his normal character when Soun Tendo would finally confront the man. Deciding that there was too much of a risk of failure if he did not take a much more active role in arranging Nabiki's future life with Ranma, Soun had decided to try a more direct approach with the Saotome family patriarch. Towards that end, he had detailed a small number of his most junior agents to watch Genma, explaining it as a training exercise. They had reported on all of his movements to Soun over the past several days. An hour ago, Soun had received a phone call from one of his men that Genma Saotome was in one of the small bars near his home, drinking. A relaxed social environment suited Soun's needs quite nicely, so he had taken advantage of this unexpected opportunity. He patted the carefully written piece of paper in his jacket pocket as he stepped into the bar. Soun spotted Genma at a quiet table towards the back, three empty bottles of sake near one of his elbows. He was staring down into a small cup of sake when Soun sat down next to him. Genma blinked his eyes and focused on Soun's face. "Greetings, Saotome-san," said Soun pleasantly. He gestured at the waitress to bring more sake without looking up. "My name is Soun Tendo. I don't know if you remember me, and I hope that you do not mind if I join you. I have a rather modest proposition that I wished to discuss with you that concerned your son." Genma was not as drunk as he must have appeared to Soun. Brief memories of his past in this life in regards to Soun Tendo surfaced in his memories. Theirs had not been a harmonious relationship, and Genma chuckled at one memory of stuffing a belligerent Soun Tendo into a garbage can for reasons that he could not recall at the moment. He smiled inwardly and thanked the gods for granting him this boon. This was going to take some careful handling. Ranma will thank me for this. I'm sure of it. "Tendo-san," said Genma with a slight slurring of his voice. "I am honored to remake your acquaintance. I believe that my son is going to the Imperial Academy with two of your daughters." After the barmaid brought them another couple of bottles, he poured Soun a full cup of sake and gestured for him to drink. "This is true," acknowledged Soun. It was a little bit early in the afternoon for him to start drinking, but it was for a good cause. He took a long sip of sake, relishing the sensations as it slid down his throat. "My daughters Nabiki and Akane have mentioned your son to me once or twice." "My son has also mentioned your daughters to me as well," said Genma. He poured another full cup of sake for Soun when he noticed that the other man's cup was getting empty. "I imagine that they are fine and upstanding young women. A tribute to the new generation of the Empire." "You are too kind, Saotome-san," said Soun. He took another deep sip of sake. It was a pleasant change of pace to relax like this. It had been a long time since he had let himself do so, not since before the death of his dear wife. He drained his cup of sake and held it out for another refill. An unknown number of cups of sake later, the two men were acting like the best of friends. Genma had managed to control his level of intake somewhat, but the world had taken on an even more pleasant fog than it had before. The bar maid removed another empty bottle of sake and replaced it with a fresh one. Soun slapped a bill down on the table with a drunken smile. "W-where w-was I?" asked Genma drunkenly. He blinked his eyes owlishly. "Oh, yes, my wife. Wonderful woman is my Nodoka-chan, but she's so stubborn. She wants my son to get... get married. She and I just need to find the boy a good wife." Genma took another deep sip of sake. He briefly wondered why he ever thought it tasted differently. "Marriage is..." said Soun before pausing. He took a moment to focus his thoughts. "Marriage is a wonderful thing. I miss my wife a great deal." Soun paused and felt a tear forming in his eye. He jerked his head back and harshly mustered his will to stop any more from flowing. I will not cry, he thought grimly. I am an important man in the Empire, in the Security Directorate. I must be strong for the girls. Soun's hand brushed against the pocket of his jacket. He suddenly recalled his reasons for seeking out Genma Saotome. He reached in and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. He carefully spread it out on a clean section of the table. Genma eyed it blearily. "What is that, Soun old buddy?" said Genma with a smile. He leaned down to read it, but his eyes wouldn't quite focus right. "The answer to your problems, Genma my friend," answered Soun with a smile. Now if I can just remember what it says. He paused for a moment before it came back to him. Oh, yes. Soun pressed one finger to the symbols printed on the piece of paper. "Your son needs a wife, right?" asked Soun, swaying a little in his seat. "Yes," answered Genma. He adjusted his glasses a little. They had slipped down a bit on one side. "The boy needs one to make Nodoka happy." Genma felt tears in his eyes. "Sign this paper then," said Soun. He managed to pull a pen from his pocket on the third try. "My Nabiki needs a husband, and she's already one of those chosen for your son by the matchmaker. You engage your son to my daughter, and we both win." Genma couldn't believe his incredible good fortune. This is just too perfect, thought Genma blearily. Nabiki will be the first in line, and I can even honor the agreement with Soun, that other Soun, in spirit. Oh, this is indeed a blessed day. I'm sure Nodoka will be pleased. Genma took the pen from Soun's hand. It only took him two tries. "I agree," said Genma with a smile. Soun nodded, eager to finish the deal and get home. He had a staff meeting in the morning. He could not remember if he had told his driver to remain outside. "That is... emimen... eminently agreeable," said Soun. He watched Genma make his mark, in rather good penmanship for his inebriated state, at the bottom. The two of them shook hands, both smiling. "You are a good... good father, Genma Saotome," said Soun as he stood up. The room seemed to be weaving in a not entirely unpleasant way. "We should do this... do this again sometime." "I agree, Tendo-san," said Genma with a happy nod. "You have lifted my spirits. I salute you." Genma executed a sloppy military salute and promptly let his head fall to the top of the table. Snoring sounds came from him a moment later. Soun carefully folded the paper and placed it into his jacket pocket. He checked it once or twice to make sure that it was in there before he staggered to the door. The weaving of the room was becoming a little less pleasant now. One of his men was waiting outside. "Are you all right, sir?" asked the Security officer. Soun could not recall the man's name at the moment. "I-I'm a little bit... drunk, son," said Soun with great dignity. He made a shushing sound as he raised one finger up in front of his lips. "You can't tell anyone I was in this condition. If you do, I'll have you... have you shot." Soun smiled. "Please drive me home." "Right away, sir!" snapped the Security officer with precision, before helping Soun into the car. He got into the front and drove off quickly, a snoozing Soun Tendo in the back seat. ****************************** *** Earth +1.612,+1.509 Shampoo found Ranma-chan after only a short period of searching. Based on the angle of Akane's punt and her knowledge of the area, she tracked her quarry to the rear of the local fish-market. The target of her search had pulled a dirty sweater from a dumpster and was playing with it. As the garment shredded under the "claws" of the Cat-Fist, Ranma- chan mewled with pleasure. As Shampoo came closer, she clicked her tongue to attract Ranma-chan's attention. Ranma-chan turned to look at the familiar shape, recognizing the Amazon almost instantly. Her thoughts were too primitive for words to convey, but she saw the Amazon as a warm lap provider, a companion, and also something more, something that was almost akin to a mate, but not quite. Instinct told her that without the proper smell and actions, she would neither mate nor have a mate. This person in front of her had neither. Still, there were ample warm feelings for the purple-haired girl, so, with a joyous "Meow," the redhead quickly pounced onto Shampoo, bounding into her with abandon, and knocking the other girl down with an animal- like cry of happiness. Sprawled out very inelegantly with her legs out in front of her by the weight of the redhead resting on her lap, Shampoo looked down with a bemused smile. Quickly rearranging herself into a more comfortable and ladylike position, she seated herself with her knees together in front of herself with Ranma purring there. Shaking her head in puzzlement, she wondered, Now how do I get you home? Resigning herself to a long afternoon, Shampoo petted her friend on the head as she muttered, "Silly Ranma." Ranma-chan looked up at the Amazon, a flickering of recognition in her blue eyes. "Mrowr," she drawled out slowly, smiling much like a cat would. When she saw Shampoo looking down upon her and smiling gently, the redhead lifted up her head quickly and placed a catlike kiss right onto the Amazon's lips. She then settled back down and curled up into a more comfortable position, resuming her purring. For a very long moment, Shampoo looked as if she was carved from stone. Unnoticed by either of the two girls, a few scraps of newspaper and some cherry blossoms lazily blew past. A second gentle zephyr blew some more past a few moments later. The Amazon's eyes were wide with disbelief as her trembling hand reached up and gently touched itself to lips. Ranma... kissed... me, she thought, as her thoughts finally lurched back into motion after an unknown amount of time. This had been a day of somewhat shocking events for the purple-haired girl. She brushed her fingers slowly along her lips, her gaze gradually moving down to rest on the sleeping figure in her lap. Her hand gently dropped back down upon the sleeping girl, a tranquil smile now on Shampoo's face. ****************************** Genma had separated from the group heading back to the Tendo household shortly after emerging from the greenhouse, and his glasses gleamed with reflected sunlight as he walked the streets searching for his son. As he searched, he reviewed his counterpart's life. As much as he hated to admit it, he came to the only conclusion he could: the man he was in this tangent was both a coward and a fool. For example, there was no real honor in the agreement behind the engagement between Akane and Ranma, only the foolish plottings of two men who had somehow never grown out of childhood. The bond between them was forged by the training under a perverted master of martial arts. The "joining together of the two Schools" was an alcohol-induced promise originally, but one that both were far too proud to deny when sober. It was a flimsy reason that he would gladly expose to the light of day if Soun did not agree to dissolve the agreement. Personally, Genma held honor to be important, a reflection of the heritage he was born to. However, he did not consider it to be the ultimate arbiter of all decisions. To him, honor was carried in the heart, and shown in the actions of a righteous man. For it to be used as a defense in the face of all reasonable thought offended Genma on a deeply personal level. The Tendo girl is obviously not happy with being forced to go along with such an asinine agreement, and Ranma most certainly is not, he thought, pausing briefly at a corner to watch the passing throngs on the street. He sighed briefly. Soun Tendo, that blubbering fool, relies on his daughters for far too much, more than any responsible parent should. If he tries any of his usual tricks, then I will simply assume the 'dishonor' upon myself for the sake of my son's happiness and unilaterally dissolve the engagement agreement. I need to get the boy out of that house, anyway. He won't be able to work on a solution to our problems there. Not to mention that the only person really worth a damn there seems to be Kasumi. A weight seemed to lift from his shoulders as he nodded at the choice he had just made. Then, his thoughts turned to the other great problem to deal with, one in which Ranma was not even aware of. That only leaves Nodoka to contend with, he thought. Genma sighed again, as his mind filled with memories of the highly traditional woman that this Nodoka Saotome was, a woman with peculiar notions on some things. Despite Ranma's curse, he would have to try to convince Nodoka of the boy's 'manliness.' If Ranma truly was trapped inside his counterpart's life, as Genma was, then there was little he could do to avoid it. They would need someplace to stay, after all. Still, it should not be too difficult, Genma found himself hoping. Ranma, in this life, has undergone and overcome trials that any ten ordinary men would have broken under. Even when in female form this other Ranma was very much a man, perhaps too much at times. But, I must remember to have a little talk with Ranma before we show up on Nodoka's doorstep. I am reasonably certain that we will no longer be welcome in the Tendo household after this night is over. Personally, Genma felt a faint twinge of regret at that, but he was convinced that what he was about to do was for the best. ****************************** *** Earth 0.000,0.000 Listlessly, Nabiki flipped through the pages of her magazine. It was one of the many fashion magazines that she was normally quite addicted to, but not today. It was very quiet in the Tendo household, too quiet for Nabiki's tastes. She set down her magazine and laid back on her bed, lacing her fingers behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling. Akane had gone to the movies, so she was not home when their father had been brought home by one of the men from the Directorate, the Tendo patriarch reeking of sake. Since she and Kyoko had put Soun to bed, the house had been quiet. With a sigh, Nabiki rolled up to a seated position upon her bed. "I can't believe how bored I am," she said to herself. Continuing her dialogue silently, she thought, If this was that other life, then I'm sure something would be happening now. Smirking at some of her new memories, she thought, Some sort of a challenge, a new enemy to test myself against. Something exciting would be happening. She fell backwards to lay on the bed again. It never stayed quiet for long there. Looking at her clock, she sighed, I can't believe it's been only one minute since I last looked at it. Nabiki suddenly smiled as she figured out something to do to pass the time. She was absolutely certain that it would provide her with some sort of distraction. Sitting up once again, she reached out with one hand and picked up the telephone in her room, and her fingers began swiftly stabbing at the buttons on the pad at the base of the phone. She listened to the line ringing, once, twice, and then three times before it was picked up. "Hello? Saotome residence," said a pleasant female voice on the other end. "Hello," said Nabiki pleasantly. "Is Ranma available? This is Nabiki Tendo calling." There was a pause on the other end. "Tendo-san?" asked Nodoka, a little surprised. "No, I'm afraid that my son isn't here right now. He and my husband left this morning to do some work in Ranma's lab at the Academy. They still haven't returned." Even better, thought Nabiki, finding herself eager to try Ranma's device once again, even if only to peek into that one life once again. It was amusing to visit, but she was glad that she didn't live there. She cleared her throat with a delicate sound and said, "Oh, I see. Thank you for the information." "Nabiki-chan," said Nodoka suddenly, and perhaps a little too eagerly. "I want you to know that I am looking forward to the meeting with you and your father this week." "Why, thank you, Saotome-san," said Nabiki with a smile on her face, and a pleasant tone in her voice. "I am looking forward to it as well." Her index finger slowly wound the phone cord around itself. "Ranma is an interesting young man." "I'm glad you think so," said Nodoka happily. "He works very hard at his studies, and he should offer any girl a wonderful future as his wife. Don't you think so?" "Uh, I'm sure he will," said Nabiki, suddenly feeling a little awkward at the unexpectedly high level of eagerness in Nodoka's voice. "My father is most interested in joining our two families. He feels that Ranma will make an excellent husband." "I'm so happy to hear that," said Nodoka, her voice carrying the full measure of her emotions. "But what about yourself, Dear? Aren't you looking forward to meeting my husband and myself? I just know that Ranma is looking forward to this meeting as well." "He is?" asked Nabiki, a faint note of surprise surfacing in her voice. "I mean, I'm sure he is." She felt oddly happy at the thought that Ranma might be looking forward to a marriage meeting between their families. "I am, too," she said impulsively, before a blush crossed her cheeks very briefly. She slowly continued to wind and unwind the telephone cord around her index finger repeatedly. "It was nice of you to call, Nabiki-chan," said Nodoka. "Shall I pass on any messages to my son?" "No, that's all right," said Nabiki calmly, regaining control of her own emotions with consummate skill. "I'll talk to him soon enough at the Academy." "Very well," said Nodoka pleasantly. "Goodbye now." "Goodbye," answered Nabiki, setting the phone back into its cradle. She rested her palms flat on her bed after hanging up the phone, staring out the window at the afternoon sky. Her thoughts whirled a bit. So, Ranma is looking forward to the meeting with me and Daddy, huh? she mused, crossing her legs and leaning forward to rest her chin in her palm. That honestly did surprise her a little, but it also brought a smirk to her face. Maybe I'll let him win once or twice to keep his hopes up. It wouldn't do for my future husband to be seen as totally outclassed by me. After all, he and I will know that he'll never defeat me on his own, she confidently smiled as she finished her thought. "Well, it's not like there's anything really keeping me in this house this afternoon," Nabiki thought out loud, hopping off of her bed. "I'll just go see what him and his old man are up to." She smiled as she changed out of the shorts and T-shirt she was wearing, and putting on a clean set of what she was now calling her 'martial artist outfit.' When Nabiki was done dressing, she headed out of her room with a confident bound and then down the stairs, two at a time. Pausing briefly in the front door area, she slipped on her shoes before heading out into the late afternoon sunshine. Her mood already lightened, she took in a deep breath and let it out, feeling happy. As she headed in the direction of the Academy, she hopped up onto one of the fences running beside the street she needed to head down and began jogging along it, her steps light and sure. Reaching the Academy grounds after many minutes of running, her breathing only a little deeper from the effort, Nabiki walked in through the main gates and shaded her eyes against the late afternoon sunshine coming over the main building. She saw that the grounds were all but deserted, only a few of the janitorial crew washing windows on one side of the building. She ignored them and walked into the main door. The lights were out when she stepped off the last step in the staircase leading down to the basement area. Pulling her small flashlight out of a pants pocket, she played it around the corridor, wondering if Ranma and his father were still here. Looks like there was some sort of a power failure or something. Ranma and his dad are probably gone. Still, I might as well take a quick check in his lab while I'm here, as long as I came all this way. She continued on down into the quiet darkness of the basement regions of the Academy, her small light giving off a small circle of illumination in front of her. The door to Ranma's lab was closed, and Nabiki put her hand on the knob and twisted it. To her surprise, the door was unlocked and opened quite easily, making only a slight squeak. She peeked her head in and called out, "Ranma? Are you in here?" As she did so, she brought her small light up and played it around the room. Ranma leaving the door to his precious lab unlocked had her a little disturbed. It did not seem at all like him. Nabiki's light revealed Ranma lying on the couch, his eyes closed, and he did not appear to be breathing. She inhaled sharply, surprised at the sight of him lying there and looking so still. She hurried over to his comatose form, noting the interface headset resting on his skull as she approached. A quick check showed that he was breathing, slowly and shallowly, and she relaxed muscles that had unconsciously tensed with concern and sighed with relief. She turned and looked at the resonator, seeing a few lights blinking on the device, but the monitor screen was dark. "What have you done now, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki muttered, her light moving across his face. He appeared to her to be sleeping, and she peeled back one eyelid to see his eye staring up at her, unmoving. The sheer emptiness in its gaze, almost corpselike, disturbed her, and she wondered if this was how she would have appeared to others if anyone had looked in on her during her own use of Ranma's device. It was a sobering thought to her as she let his eyelid close, her hand moving to rest lightly on his cheek. She could still feel her desires for him, the soft and pleasant tingling along her nerves engendered in her from his mere presence, and simply touching him skin-to-skin made her heart beat a little faster. On an impulse, Nabiki knelt down and gently pressed her lips to his, vainly hoping to provoke some sort of reaction, but he did not respond, and his body remained still and all but lifeless. To her surprise, she felt a single tear suddenly roll down one cheek, and she rubbed it away angrily as she stood back up and glared down at the pigtailed scholar. Crying was a sign of weakness, and Nabiki Tendo was not weak. No man was ever going to make her feel weak if she had anything to say about it. At least her getting angry at him helped push the painful feelings of helplessness away for a time. Damn you, Ranma Saotome, she thought in sudden frustration as she stood over him. She could shatter bone or bricks with her bare hands, move her body with lethal grace and speed, but, despite these abilities, she felt incredibly helpless as she looked down on his comatose form. Her gaze turned into a glare at him. You and I are going to have words when you wake up after this. You can count on it. Resolving to figure out what was wrong, Nabiki turned to study the workbench, moving her light around, and quickly noticed the scattered tools and the discarded component. She sat down in the chair in front of the small computer unit and hesitantly tapped a finger on the space bar of the keyboard, hoping that she would not disturb the experiment running. The screen slowly lit up, and one thought went across her mind while she waited, Where the hell is Genma Saotome? The screen finally lit up and scrolled out lines of text, the system updating the information displayed earlier, words that were both somewhat informative and disturbing all the same. *SWITCH TO EMERGENCY FUEL CELL BACKUPS HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. *SIGNATURE LOCK MAINTAINED ON TEST SUBJECT. *FUEL CELLS CURRENT POWER OUTPUT INSUFFICIENT TO ACTIVATE RETRIEVAL. *CAPACITOR TRICKLE CHARGER ACTIVATED. *TIME REMAINING FOR SUFFICIENT CHARGE: 05 HOURS, 22 MINUTES. Nabiki licked suddenly dry lips and quickly glanced over at Ranma's unconscious form for a moment. As she turned back to face the screen, another minute ticked off, and then the monitor darkened back into its power-saving mode once again. Checking her watch by flashlight, she noted the time was now 4:46. She sighed aloud as she realized that there were only two things that she might do now: restore main power to Ranma's lab, or simply wait for his backups to restore him back to this life. She grumbled in her thoughts, Damn you, Ranma-kun. After several attempts to figure out what was wrong with the power failed, a dejected Nabiki returned to Ranma's lab and closed the door securely behind her, locking it so that no one would disturb Ranma and herself. She briefly considered that perhaps her inability to restore power was just as well, since the surge might cause the computer to lose the signal lock. Also, she wasn't exactly sure why, but she felt certain that disconnecting Ranma from his machine right now would be a "Very Bad Thing." She did not know why Genma had not been here at the lab, so that left only herself to watch over Ranma until he awoke. Hoping that her batteries would hold out for the time remaining, she occupied herself by opening up and reading through Ranma's journal, after picking it up from where it was laying out on the workbench. She applied herself to puzzling out what she could from the mathematical equations and very densely-written scrawls of descriptive text done in Ranma's handwriting, finding what little she was able to understand to be simply amazing. Her level of respect for Ranma's genius cranked up another few notches, and she turned to look at the comatose boy with a smile. When he did not stir, but simply continued breathing very slowly and shallowly, her smile returned to a frown, and Nabiki felt a sudden urge of protectiveness rise up in her, directed at the pigtailed boy. She had not been able to protect her mother, but she would not lose Ranma. After all, she thought with a slight smirk, my own martial artist counterpart protects a weaker Ranma from enemies in that other world. So why should it be any different here? She silently vowed that she would do the same for her own version of the pigtailed boy, once she finally proved to him that she was the stronger fighter. Since Ranma was probably as stubborn as she knew herself to be, it would obviously take several more fights between them to convince him of that. After her victory during the last one, she was now certain that she was better than he was. She was also actually looking forward to the struggles to come between them before she managed to prove the superiority of her skills to him. The possibility of losing never even entered into her thoughts. Nabiki turned back to continue perusing the journal, part of her mind already contemplating the arguments that she would use when Ranma finally regained consciousness, even as the rest of her mind focused on studying the high-level mathematics and notes. However, after a time, the mild warmth of the room and the dry reading material combined to make her feel sleepy. With the couch that Ranma was currently laying on being the only furniture comfortable enough to take a nap on, she very carefully laid herself down next to Ranma, making sure that she did not dislodge his headset. Feeling unexpectedly contented and happy to simply be near him like this, she cuddled up against his body as she pretended that he was simply asleep. Nabiki drifted off into slumber. ****************************** *** Earth +1.612,+1.509 Ranma-chan slowly awoke, uncertain where she was. Eyes suddenly opening wide, she felt the front of her chest. The look in her bright blue eyes became dejected when she found herself in her cursed, female form. With a brief sigh, Ranma-chan also realized that there was something odd about where she was sitting, and she turned to the right to see Shampoo's eyes staring into her own. "Uh, heh, h-hello," stuttered Ranma-chan, the displaced scientist not quite sure of what to make of being in Shampoo's lap. The last thing that she remembered was staring down at a large tiger, and then her mind went blank. As the redhead scrambled off of the Amazon's lap, she struggled to remember what had happened next, but there was simply this gap in memory. She saw Shampoo simply looking at her with a questioning expression on her face. "Ranma not cat anymore?" asked Shampoo, noticing the very slight flinching movement in her companion at simply the mere mention of the word. The young Amazon saw the redhead shake her head in response, and she gracefully got up from her current kneeling position and smiled a cheerful smile. "Shampoo glad." "Uh, not that I'm complaining," began Ranma-chan hesitantly, "but why was I in your lap, Shampoo?" "Ranma act like cat," said Shampoo, noting Ranma-chan flinching once again at the word, "knock Shampoo down, and fall asleep in Shampoo's lap. Shampoo let Ranma sleep, and now Ranma is better, yes?" "Yeah," said Ranma-chan, actually feeling pretty good at the moment. I knocked her down? she wondered, noting with a slight sigh that the Amazon was several centimeters taller than this girl form. It felt odd to be so short, and Ranma didn't like it. "I feel better, but I would love to find some hot water now." "We go back to Tendo Dojo then," said Shampoo brightly. "Ranma get hot water there and change back to boy-type." "Sounds like a very good plan, Shampoo," agreed Ranma-chan, eager to change back. He agreed with his counterpart's feelings on the matter; he disliked being a girl. Together, the duo headed back home. ****************************** Genma tromped back into the Tendo household, dejected that he had been unable to find Ranma on his own. He hoped that his son might have returned already, but that hope was quickly dashed. Everyone else was there, except for Shampoo, who he guessed was still looking for his son. He prayed that the Amazon had better luck in her search than he had with his own. "Ah, Saotome, my old friend," called out Soun from the main room, seated at the main table and enjoying a cup of tea. "I see that you are finally back. Any luck finding the boy?" "No, Tendo," said Genma, sitting down at the table with a tired groan escaping his lips. The beating he had undergone several hours earlier made all of his subsequent walking a new experience in discomfort. He was glad to finally sit down and relax, but felt a little guilty for giving up on his search before finding Ranma. "Ah, well, I'm sure that Ranma will turn up," said Soun, taking a sip from his cup of tea. "While we wait for him, care to join me in a game of Shogi?" Genma thought about it. The way his counterpart played, it would be amusing to bring his own honest skills to the game. He was currently rated as a Master at Chess, Go, and Shogi in his own world, and Ranma had picked up a Grandmaster rating in all three games during their journeys. He had once witnessed the boy playing ten games of chess simultaneously, and his son's ability to pick out the patterns in his opponent's strategy was still quite astonishing to Genma. When he had once asked about it, Ranma told him that he could "see" the lines of force in his opponent's strategies and counteract them with his own piece movements. "All right," said Genma with a nod, getting up from the table and following Soun to the game table. He sat down and began setting up the board while Soun settled himself at his own place. Kasumi came out of the kitchen, her usual smile fading somewhat as she caught sight of Genma, but she went up to the pair. When she saw her father look up, she asked, "Can I get the two of you anything while you play, Father?" "Saotome?" "Just some tea for me would be splendid, Kasumi, my dear," said Genma politely, his thoughts already running through opening gambits. As near as he could tell from the memories associated with this game, cheating was pretty much the mainstay of this Genma's strategy. Most of the ploys were remarkably transparent ones as well. After the board was set up, he moved his first piece and then settled his attention on the game. Kasumi brought out the tea, earning a distracted Genma's thanks. Surprised that he never looked at her, the matriarch of the Tendo household noticed that he seemed to be unusually attentive to the game being played, ignoring all of her father's usual attempts to distract his attention from the board. She was also surprised to see that he never indulged in any of his own, usual attempts at cheating. Soun began to sweat as he started steadily losing piece after piece to Genma's relentless assaults. He took a long sip of his tea and grimly contemplated his options, but they did not look promising. His usual attempts at distraction in order to facilitate cheating were simply ignored by his old friend, and he saw that Genma seemed thoughtful about something. He was about to inquire about that when there was a brief disturbance at the front door. "We're home!" called out Ranma, slipping his shoes off at the entryway and waiting for Shampoo to do the same. The two of them continued on into the main room, where Ranma spotted his father playing Shogi and drinking tea. He was a little surprised at the sight, but he could tell at a glance that his father had Soun stomped. As he entered the room, he watched as Soun almost gratefully conceded the match to his father. "A good game, Tendo," said Genma, though he did not really mean it. He looked over at his arriving son and smiled as he said, "Welcome back, my boy. Is everything all right?" His gaze flickered to the young Amazon who came in with him, noting a brief blush that crossed her cheeks at his question. Inwardly, Genma smiled. He found himself liking the purple-haired girl more and more as time went on, and as he was able to remember more scenes of her and Ranma together. If he and his son were permanently stuck in this life, then he far preferred him to spend time with the young Amazon than the easily-angered and violent Tendo girl, even if Shampoo did have that strange curse. "Everything is fine, Father," said Ranma, glancing over at a silent Shampoo before looking at his father once again. "I apologize for making you worry." Soun and Kasumi regarded Ranma with mild to severe astonishment. There was none of the usual bluster and macho pride in his mannerisms, and the respect shown to his father was nothing short of amazing. Further study on this by the two was interrupted when Akane came walking into the room, apparently having heard the couple return. "Akane," said Ranma, tipping his head slightly in acknowledgement of the youngest Tendo's presence. He saw her simply turn her nose up and look away after glaring at him briefly, both gestures in apparent irritation at his proximity to the purple-haired girl at his side. He just shrugged a bit, but it was certainly preferable to her hitting him. Ranma walked past her and sat down into a kneeling position by Genma. "" asked Ranma in Russian. He glanced back at a still fuming Akane, noted Nabiki had also entered the room, and then he returned his gaze back to regarding his father. "" "" said Genma, his accent fairly bad but understandable to Ranma. "" "Ranma," interjected Akane, her anger levels rising a bit, "why are you speaking in a foreign language again?" "Please be quiet while I speak with my son, Akane," said Genma, his manner a touch cold, and he noted with some slight satisfaction that his addressing her in such a manner appeared to surprise the girl. He turned back to Ranma and continued in Russian, "" "All right, Pop," said Ranma, a little confused. As far as he knew from the memories of either of his two martial artist counterparts, his mother was dead. However, he did not question his father. He simply rose to his feet, signaled Shampoo to follow him with a look, and headed upstairs to the bedrooms to pack their meager belongings. Akane and Nabiki started to follow Ranma and Shampoo, one in irritation at being ignored and the other in simple curiosity, when they were halted by Genma's voice. "Please come to the table, girls," said Genma, moving from the spot where he had obliterated Soun at Shogi to his counterpart's usual spot at the main table. "I have an announcement to make, and it concerns you all. You too, Soun." He waited for all of them to seat themselves, formulating what he was going to say in his head. "What's this all about, Saotome?" asked Soun, puzzled by the change in his friend. He saw the other man briefly turn his gaze to his youngest daughter, his look unreadable even by Nabiki. "Akane?" Genma asked. Gaining her attention, he visibly straightened and became very serious. With an emotionless voice, he then queried the youngest Tendo, "Do you like being engaged to my son?" "Like it?" sputtered Akane, looking as completely surprised by the question as she had ever looked about anything. "Of course not! He's rude, thoughtless, and he flirts with every girl he sees!" Especially that purple-haired bimbo! finished Akane in her thoughts, too angry to speak the words aloud. "I wish I'd never met him!" "I see," said Genma, nodding slightly, his hand gesture cutting off Soun before he could begin to bluster at Akane for her words. He noticed Nabiki studying him with a clinical gaze out of the corner of his eyes. "Thank you for your candor on this matter. You may consider the engagement... ended." Silence reigned for the space of several moments. Nabiki's elbow slipped off the table in her shock. Surprise filled her rapidly blinking gaze as she attempted a recovery back to her usual cynical poise. "Oh my," said Kasumi, raising one hand to her mouth as she blinked. She glanced at her youngest sister to see how she was taking this news. Akane looked stunned. Soun exploded, "Saotome! What are you talking about? This is a matter of family honor, to join together the two Schools! How dare you make a decision like that?" "This was never a matter of honor, Tendo," said Genma calmly, noting that Soun seemed to be working himself into using the Demon's Head attack on him. Genma stared the other man down as he continued to speak, an unmistakable steel in his voice that the others had never heard from him before, as he said, "Now sit down and be quiet, Tendo. We are speaking as mature adults here, or at least some of us are." "But," blurted out Soun, looking utterly shocked, the Demon Head attack fading like a pricked balloon. "But what of the promise to unite the two Schools?" He suddenly looked about ready to cry, and his eyes began to fill with tears as the others watched. Genma sighed, amazed at the quicksilver nature of the emotions in the other man. He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing, and then said, "It just isn't working out, Tendo. Neither of the children are happy with the agreement, and we've forced it down their throats for far too long. I, for one, am tired of watching them do nothing but argue and fight." "But all married couples fight," said Soun, desperation in his voice. He began to babble arguments in favor of keeping the engagement going. "They're still just getting used to each other. It was always our dream to unite our two families, our two Schools. It kept us going during those dark days training under," he paused, teary eyes looking around before continuing, "the Master." "Blame it on the blows to the skull I took today if you must, but the engagement is off, as of now," said Genma, now glaring at Soun. "I refuse to sit here another day and watch Akane and Nabiki bully and victimize my son and Shampoo because both are too honorable to deal with either one of them as they have deserved for weeks!" Soun burst into a full-fledged wail of despair, blubbering a stream of incoherent words. He covered his face with one arm and began to cry even more fiercely about how "the two families will never be joined now," and other such phrases. Kasumi moved to assist her father, her calm words and gentle pats attempting to cheer the man up. She spared Genma a few looks that had less than her usual warmth for bringing her father to tears, blaming him for Soun's sorrow. Me? A bully? thought Nabiki, honestly surprised at being included with her sister in such a blanket description. She immediately discarded the notion as ridiculous. Opportunist, maybe. But, how can he call me a bully? She glared at Genma with a cool, disdainful look. Akane was still sitting quietly, apparently shell-shocked. She kept repeating one thought in her mind, The engagement is off? Genma sighed once more, even more certain that he had made the right choice in this situation. Other than Kasumi, and maybe Nabiki, no one in this family seemed to be a paragon of mental stability. He quietly ignored the cool looks that he was getting from Nabiki, her disapproval with him being quite obvious, but the looks from Kasumi bothered him. Personally, he didn't care if Nabiki disapproved of him or not, but he was troubled at hurting Kasumi. He turned to face the eldest Tendo daughter. "Kasumi," said Genma solemnly, "I wish to apologize for all of the ways that my bringing Shampoo and Ranma under your roof damaged the harmony of your household. If it is any consolation, I hold you in the highest regard of anyone I know, except for my wife Nodoka." Kasumi looked a little surprised at Genma's words of apology. ****************************** "Why we pack, Ranma?" asked Shampoo, watching him tie his bedroll around his packed backpack. At his request, she was now finishing packing Genma's stuff into the other backpack before they headed over into her small room to pack her own things. "My father is downstairs breaking the news to the others that this farce of an engagement is over," calmly answered Ranma, carefully checking the fit of his backpack for easy carrying. "Aiyah! Ranma mean that?" blurted out the Amazon, not expecting to hear that. She thought they might have been packing for some sort of training trip, not leaving for good. Her thoughts briefly went to the one person in this household that she would truly miss, Kasumi. The older girl was her friend, and, briefly, her fiancée, even though the last was thought with a sort of bittersweet happiness. "Yeah," said Ranma, tying down the fasteners on his backpack with the ease of a long-time vagabond. He wasn't sure where the thoughts of the other Ranma left off and his own began at this point, as he said, "Today was just a perfect example of why it won't work. We just end up arguing too much for either one of us to really be happy with one another. Let's just say that the old man finally saw reason." "Where we go?" asked Shampoo, tying shut Genma's pack. She glanced around the empty room and closet, nodding as she confirmed that everything was packed. "We're going to my mother's house," said Ranma, feeling an odd sort of deja vu at the thought. He had already returned to his mother once, after being away from her for a decade of his life, and that experience was about to repeat, sort of. He felt a bit odd about it for a moment, a mixture of joy and sadness, and his throat felt unexpectedly tight. "My father and I... are going home." "Shampoo happy for Ranma," said the Amazon, smiling at him in a gentle fashion. "Well, you're coming with us, of course, and I know my mother will welcome you once Pop explains things," said Ranma, looking at the purple-haired girl with a grin. He saw her smiling back at him warmly. The pair headed to Shampoo's small room, and Ranma watched as the Amazon quickly gathered her things, packing with efficiency and care. They heard some muffled shouting coming from downstairs, but Ranma had confidence that his father was dealing with the situation. ****************************** "My little girl will marry your boy, Saotome!" shouted Soun, his composure apparently recovered after a brief session of weeping and being supported by Kasumi's kind words. "This is a matter of sacred honor between our two families!" "It's over, Tendo," sighed Genma, wishing once again that his son and Shampoo were already done packing, so they could leave. "Just accept it. The engagement between Akane and Ranma is over. It's obvious that it was a mistake, and your screaming about it won't help things. I've been talking with my son, and he's made it very clear he wouldn't be happy to be forced into marrying Akane, and both Nabiki and Kasumi made their views quite obvious on the first day we met that they were not interested in Ranma. I am not going to make my only child miserable by forcing him to marry someone that he is neither interested in nor has interest in him, and I know you love your daughters enough that you wouldn't want them to be miserable either. So, be reasonable about this, Tendo. It was simply not to be, and it would be a tragic mistake to continue forcing the issue. Let the promise of two drunken, foolish men end, since that was all it started out as." Nabiki perked up from quietly glaring at Genma, surprised to hear him speaking so frankly about this whole engagement matter. "It's because of that Chinese girl that he has no interest in my little Akane, isn't it?" muttered Soun, collapsing back down into a sobbing mass of weeping, his surge of backbone faded. Akane stared at Genma, a sudden suspicion forming. "Shampoo is not to blame for this, Tendo," said Genma calmly. "It's been a long day, and I want to put it behind me. Just tell me that you release the boy from the promise, and Ranma, Shampoo, and I will leave here." "V-very well," muttered a defeated-sounding Soun, his blubbering fading for a moment . He turned miserable-looking eyes towards the other man. "But for breaking a man-to-man promise, you are no longer welcome in this house ever again, Genma Saotome. So take yourself, your son, that Chinese girl, and begone from here. I never want to hear the name Saotome spoken in this house again." That said, Soun Tendo wearily got up from the table, looking decades older than his true age, and began to cry loudly some more. "I'm sorry you feel this is my fault, Tendo-san, but I only do this for the sake of my son," said Genma, slowly standing himself. "Someday, I hope you might understand that." Genma felt tired. He had tried his best to present a reasonable argument, and the other man had jumped to a false assumption and would not be dissuaded from it. Shampoo was not at fault for this decision, but Soun apparently blamed her anyway. "I'm tired, Kasumi," said Soun, ignoring Genma now. He began to blubber more loudly, barely choking out the words as he said, "I'm going to skip dinner tonight and go straight to bed." He walked to his room with as much dignity as a crying man could manage, just missing passing Ranma and Shampoo in the hall. "Yes, Father," whispered Kasumi, staring after him with sad eyes. She went into the kitchen and began working on dinner to distract herself. Nabiki followed her father's movements with her eyes alone, before returning her gaze to Genma. Something did not add up here, but she could not understand what it might be. There's more to this than meets the eye, she finally decided. She was angry at Genma for the pain he had caused her father, and she intended to have suitable revenge for that. Nobody hurt a member of her family. Akane stared after her father in shock, but she was finally absorbing the idea that Ranma was no longer her fiancé, no longer anything to her. His family name could no longer even be spoken within hearing distance of her father. In a way, she was glad, especially after he was flirting with Shampoo right in front of her. They deserve each other, she thought with anger. Both of them are shape-shifting perverts. So, knowing this, why did she also feel such a sense of loss? Genma decided to wait in the front hallway area, away from the silently judging eyes of the middle Tendo girl. From what he could discern, Akane seemed to him to be too shocked by the change to feel the same as her sisters. They'll get over it, he decided. It was becoming more apparent by the minute that he and Ranma were going to be stuck in this world, possibly forever, and they had to adjust the conditions to something they could live with. That meant no more engagements, living in the midst of chaotic households, or having threats of manliness or death hanging over their heads. Ranma came walking down the stairs, a pack on each shoulder, and Shampoo following right behind him. Things were very quiet, and that could be either a good thing or a bad thing. He saw his father as he stepped into the main hallway. "We're ready to leave, Father," said Ranma, feeling a vague sense of relief to be heading out of this house, even if he was still trapped in this life. He silently handed his father's backpack to him, letting his own fall to land upon the floor with a thump as he picked up his shoes. He saw Kasumi come out of the kitchen area and silently regard them, her calm expression unreadable. Ranma suddenly felt a little bit guilty. Kasumi continued to look at the trio, emotions flickering in her eyes that were as confusing to herself as they were impossible to determine by the Amazon and the pigtailed boy looking back at her. Ranma suddenly bowed deeply to Kasumi, and he said, "Thank you for taking care of us, Kasumi Tendo. Words alone cannot tell you how much I appreciate your efforts." Kasumi, startled by Ranma's unrehearsed little speech, bowed to him in return, her expression warming with a smile, albeit a somewhat sad one. Ranma thought her gaze was as much on Shampoo as himself, but he could not be sure. The door to the main room suddenly slid open, and Ranma saw the other two Tendo girls looking at him, differing expressions on their faces. Akane regarded him with a slight frown on her face, and Nabiki was gazing at him with a calculating look. "So, you're leaving," remarked Nabiki, studying Ranma and his father to see if she could figure out what was different about them. They were both acting tremendously out of character, and it bothered her to not be able to judge their reactions as easily as she could before. They were like two different people to her. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she locked onto that idea, wondering why she might think that. "That's right," said Ranma calmly. "There's no reason to stay here anymore." His matter-of-fact attitude was irritating to Akane. Didn't he care? Was he so relieved to be leaving her? She herself felt an odd mixture of sadness and relief at no longer having the engagement being forced upon her, but she also found herself getting angry at Ranma for his cavalier manner as he was getting ready to leave. And she also found herself getting even angrier at Shampoo. Is he just going to walk out with that purple-haired, Chinese bimbo of his? she thought, wondering if something had happened between him and Shampoo that had helped cause this sudden change. Her fists clenching at her sides tightly, she glared at the pair. How she hated the two of them at that moment. Ignoring a wrathful-looking Akane, Ranma slowly walked over to Kasumi and gave her a gentle hug, a whispered "Thank you" going into her ear. He apparently surprised the older girl a great deal when he gave her a peck on the cheek, noticing the blush she was showing. He smiled at her as he stepped back, finding himself not wanting her to be angry with him for what had happened, at least. He turned away from her as Shampoo came forward and said a quiet farewell to Kasumi, her words too soft for him to hear. "No kiss for me, Ranma-kun?" said Nabiki wryly, a smirk on her face. Ranma considered it for a few moments, but he felt it would probably be unwise with both Akane and Shampoo watching. Apparently, Nabiki could tell what he was thinking because she suddenly got a surprised look on her face. He smirked at her and said mildly, "Only if you paid me." He found he enjoyed the extremely amazed look on her face at that statement. "Akane," said Ranma, finally turning his attention to the youngest Tendo daughter. "Ranma," said Akane through slightly-gritted teeth. The expression on her face was not pleasant. She shot a venomous glare at the Amazon before returning her attention to Ranma. Ranma bowed slightly to Akane and said, quite calmly and simply, "Goodbye, Akane Tendo." Akane was startled, returning the bow through reflex alone, her anger temporarily pushed aside in her surprise. Her hands remained clenched at her sides as she dipped her head. She rose from the bow slowly, her eyes on Ranma's face, an unspoken question in her gaze. Ranma turned from Akane, put on his pack and shoes, and the trio left the Tendo household in silence. Behind them, Akane went from an expression of disbelief to one of angry tears. With a growl, she stormed away to the dojo out back. The sounds of breaking bricks and shattering training equipment drifted into the house after a few moments. Eventually, those noises trailed away. Nabiki wandered up to her bedroom, already calculating how much she would have to make to pay off Akane's latest tirade. She was more than a little worried about the loss of such an excellent source of funds as Shampoo-kun was, since the cursed Amazon was no longer going to be going to school anymore. That would really cause a drain on her cash flows. Kasumi stood in the doorway long after her sisters had left. She watched the closed gate with, for her, a rare solemn expression, her heart feeling heavy with regrets. "Goodbye, Shampoo," Kasumi softly whispered. After a long moment, the eldest Tendo daughter shut the door and went back to the kitchen to finish the dinner she had been in the midst of preparing, when this bombshell had been dropped on the household. ****************************** Genma's stomach growled, and he looked startled at the unexpected sound. Ranma chuckled at the noise, until his own stomach also began to loudly rumble. Frowning, he turned to a silent Shampoo and said in a serious tone, "Not a single word." "We should get something to eat," said Genma. "We have a fair walk ahead of us this evening to get back to your mother's house. Having a meal will also give you and I some time to talk, Ranma." "That's a good idea," said Ranma. Checking his pockets produced an ominously small amount of currency. He turned to look at his father and saw a similar expression to the one he imagined was on his own face. Pangs of hunger were growing distracting to Ranma. "Shampoo not have much money either," said the Amazon when she saw Ranma turn to look at her with a hopeful expression. "Well, there's always Ucchan's," said Ranma, noting the expression of distaste that crossed Genma's face. "" muttered Genma grimly in Russian. For Shampoo's benefit, he then said in Japanese, "Very well, let's go get something to eat." A short walk brought them all to stand outside the storefront named "Uk- Chan's" on this world. Ranma suddenly felt a little nervous, especially when he realized that Shampoo's mere presence could spark a fight, and the last thing he wanted to get involved in was another battle. He put a hand on the outer door and took a deep breath. He turned to look back at the other two and said, "I'm going in. Shampoo, you might want to wait outside while Pop and I get some food and talk to Ucchan. Is that okay?" The Amazon looked annoyed and said, slightly grumpily, "Shampoo wait." Ranma and Genma went inside, leaving their backpacks outside with Shampoo. Inside, it was only moderately busy, the dinner rush already over. Ukyo was seen working behind the counter. Ranma smiled at her when he caught her eye. "Hey, Ucchan," said Ranma in a friendly tone, finding it remarkably easy to slip into the mannerisms of his counterpart. This Ukyo was perhaps even a better friend here than in the other Ranma's tangent, since she wasn't trying to get him to marry her. He was reasonably certain that this would go pretty easily. "My father and I'd like to order some food and chat a little with you, if that's okay." "Sure, Ranchan," said Ukyo with a weary smile. It had been a long day, and she was eager to close up and get some rest. Luckily, Sundays she was able to close earlier than normal if she chose, and it didn't take long to have the place empty of everyone but her and the two Saotome men. She ignored Genma for the most part, her desire for vengeance satiated, for now. "We'd like three of your usuals, if you please," said Ranma, looking around casually and comparing this version of the restaurant with the one in the other timeline. They were similar, and yet small differences existed, just enough to be noticeable. A stray memory prompted him to ask, "Where's Ryoga?" "Out. Lost. The usual," Ukyo said simply, with an undertone of irritation. She quickly prepared three of her standard okonomiyaki, figuring Ranma must have ordered a second helping in advance. She turned around when she heard the sound of coins clinking on the counter. Ranma had laid down all of the money that the three travelers had, fifty yen shy of enough to purchase all three. "You don't normally pay, Ranchan. What's the occasion?" "Well," began Ranma, uncertain how to tell Ukyo what had just taken place at the Tendo household. He decided to just come right out and say it. "The engagement between me and Akane is off. Pop and I left." It wasn't completely the truth, but it was mostly true, the failure to mention Shampoo accompanying them more a concealment than an outright falsehood. "Hitting the road again?" asked Ukyo, serving him and his father. She couldn't help but look a little amused and rather self-satisfied at the battered appearance of the older man when she glanced at Genma. It had felt unbelievably good to work off some of her anger at the man by pounding upon him like she did. "Something like that," answered Ranma, frowning slightly at the joy she apparently found in looking at the injuries she had given his father. "Pop and I are getting out of the neighborhood and going home. I just wanted to stop in, get some food, ask you a question, and then we'd leave. No big deal." "A question?" said Ukyo, a little surprised. "Just what sort of a question?" She saw Ranma wolf down his meal in his hunger, and a slight smile crossed her face at the sight. She continued to ignore the presence of Genma, who was being very quiet and only watching the exchange between his son and her with an odd look on his face. "Would you be willing to forget about your engagement to me?" asked Ranma, unsure how she would react. He saw her blink for a moment. "I know this must be a bit of a shock." "I guess I was just expecting to bring it up myself at the proper time," said Ukyo, not nearly as upset as Ranma thought she might be. She looked down for several moments, and there weren't even traces of tears in her eyes when she lifted her face. "Sure, Ranma. It's okay. In fact, it's kind of a relief." She smiled at him. Ranma suddenly put it all together: her slight irritation when Ryoga was mentioned, her calling her restaurant by the 'stupid' name Ryoga used for her, her unexpected ease at his asking her to break off the engagement between them, and the (slightly irritating, although he was not sure why) fact that she never expressed any interest in marrying him, like she did in the other Ranma's life. He did as she had a few moments ago, blinking in surprise. Ukyo and Ryoga? It all made a weird sort of sense, based on what his memories were now showing him had happened between them, complicated by the presence of Shampoo-kun posing as "Ranma," as he had been known at school as "Shampoo." "Friends?" asked Ranma, holding out his hand. He saw her look down at his extended hand and take it in a firm grip of her own. "Always and forever, Ranchan," said Ukyo with a smile. They let go their grips and Ranma began wrapping up the last remaining okonomiyaki in a paper napkin from the counter. He noticed her smile quickly fading into a frown as she looked over his shoulder at the window. Ukyo spotted Shampoo staring in through the window of her shop, a deep- seated anger filling the okonomiyaki chef's being at the sight of her purple-haired nemesis. Ukyo was certain that the Amazon was plotting more mischief against her. She figured that was the only reason why Shampoo was skulking around, so she could do something bad to her person or her restaurant. Ranma's hopes of getting out of here without any trouble went up in flames before his eyes, the angry flames that arose in Ukyo's gaze at the mere sight of the Amazon. Ukyo growled out a soft and angry, "Shampoo." Then she turned to heft her giant spatula, intent on bloody mayhem. Ranma half-leaped across the counter and jabbed a couple of fingers into a shiatsu sleep spot between her shoulders that Shampoo had once taught his counterpart here. He caught the chef's slumping body gently, a whispered apology on his lips as he laid her out on the floor. He made sure that she would be as comfortable as he could make her. "That went well," mused Genma, watching his son with a wry smile on his face. "I just hope that she's not too mad when she wakes up," muttered Ranma, wadding up a few towels to place behind her head. He stood up and faced his father, his hands moving to quickly finish wrapping up the last okonomiyaki for Shampoo. "We should go now. That nerve strike won't last long. I was just damn lucky that she was distracted, or it wouldn't have worked at all." When they got outside, Shampoo eyed the okonomiyaki presented to her skeptically for a moment, and she took a sample bite first. After a little incident with 'wallpaper paste style' okonomiyaki, she was cautious around Ukyo's food, but the hunger in her belly convinced her to eat it despite what her pride might say. Within moments, she was consuming it with voracious hunger, the taste of the first bite quickly overcoming her remaining resistance. She shouldered her pack when she was done, after wiping clean her hands and face with the paper napkin. The trio continued on their way across the city, moving through the darkening streets. Genma led the way, keeping his thoughts to himself as he guided them to the Saotome household. Behind his father, Ranma felt Shampoo take a gentle hold on his arm, and he patted her hand with his free one. Genma paused and let the two of them catch up to him. They had all been walking for a couple of hours. The pale light from a nearby streetlamp reflected from Genma's glasses as he turned to face his son, and a grim look was upon his face. The two combined into a rather eerie effect. "Ranma," intoned Genma. He took a moment to adjust his glasses a little to hide his nervousness. The two teens stopped in front of him. "Yeah, Pop?" asked Ranma, a little unnerved by the sight "We are near home," said Genma, while continuing to look rather uncomfortable. He paused and cleared his throat, before speaking once again, "Ten years ago, this Genma made a promise to this Nodoka that he would return with his son as a 'man among men', or else." Ranma did not like the sound of that, and, after a brief pause, he asked, "Or else what?" Shampoo looked puzzled. What are they talking about now? she wondered. She looked from one to the other. Ranma was being even more enigmatic to her than usual today. "The promise was that you must be a manly man at that time or commit seppuku," said Genma calmly, perhaps too calmly for Ranma's tastes at the moment. Seppuku? thought Shampoo. What is that? She did notice that Ranma had grown a little paler at the mention of the word. "I see," said Ranma, his mouth feeling a little dry. "And just what would I have to be like?" He thought about his Jusenkyo curse, and he wondered how they were going to overcome that particular argument against his manliness. "It is difficult to say," said Genma. "Nodoka is a very traditional sort of woman, but she has some odd ideas of how men and women should act." He paused and looked at Shampoo, an idea suddenly occurring to him. "However, Shampoo has just given me an idea." The Amazon looked even more puzzled. Ranma looked at his father, unintentionally mirroring the puzzled look on Shampoo's face. The odd grin that his father was giving the two of them disturbed him a little. He turned to look at Shampoo and tried to figure out where his father was heading with his thoughts. What could Shampoo do to help me prove my manliness? he wondered. "Peeping," muttered Genma, startling Ranma out of his reverie. "Huh?" grunted Ranma, before quickly shaking his head. "I mean, what do you mean by that?" "Nodoka would consider it to be very manly for you to peep at a pretty girl in the bath," said Genma, considering how he might work this angle. For a moment, he paused, wondering why he was even thinking about this as some sort of 'angle' in the first place. It disturbed him more than a little. Ranma got a wide-eyed look on his face, and memories of different, nude, alternate quantum Shampoos flooded his thoughts. A tiny trickle of blood ran from his nose as the images filled his mind. He immediately reached up and pinched his nostrils shut, focusing his thoughts when he turned to look at Shampoo, standing next to him. "Uh, heh," stuttered Ranma nervously. The thought of Shampoo naked was much more distracting than he had first anticipated, but he summoned his reserves and banished the thoughts away for a time. "Why Ranma and Pop look at Shampoo like that?" said the Amazon, appearing puzzled. She didn't quite understand what was going on, but she had picked out of the conversation between Ranma and his father that the pigtailed boy was going to meet his mother for the first time in several years and that he had to be manly. Then the two men with her had started to talk about peeping, and she had gotten a bit confused. To her, Ranma was very manly, and he had never tried to peep at her when she bathed. These Japanese are weird, she finally decided. "Pop, you cannot be serious!" yelled Ranma, his eyes looking a little wild. "She expects you to be a strong warrior, a paragon of manhood, and to also be a bit more perverted than I raised you as being," said Genma. "A bit?" Ranma yelled in surprise. Continuing as if not interrupted, Genma calmly analyzed the situation aloud, "So be reasonable about this, Ranma. I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think it would help." Shampoo clobbered the both of them, having grown tired of them speaking as if she was not there. She dusted her hands off as Ranma staggered back up to his feet, having been caught totally off-guard by Shampoo's sudden attack. "What the heck did you hit me for?" grumbled Ranma at the Amazon, making a mental note to watch out for Shampoo's willingness to strike him for perceived wrongs. He had not managed to get out of one bad relationship to just end up in another one. "Stop talking like Shampoo not here! Explain what you and Pop talking about." She assumed a listening pose, arms folded. "Fine!" muttered Ranma loudly. He shifted to Mandarin, so that he would be certain that she understood. "" He turned to face the fallen body of his father. "Does that about cover it, Father?" Genma made an affirmative sound as he recovered from his second beating in a single day. Luckily, this one was almost playfully light next to the one from this morning. He took some small comfort that Ranma had shared it with him this time, but he immediately felt a little guilty for thinking that way. "You forgot to explain to her how peeping comes into this," he said as he got back up to his feet. He adjusted the straps of his backpack, resettling it onto his shoulders. "Oh, yeah," said Ranma, shooting his father a dark look. "Thank you ever so much for reminding me of that part, Father." He turned to face Shampoo once again, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "Shampoo, to prove myself manly to my mother, my father thinks that I should peep on you while you're bathing. Now, I know that-" "Okay," said Shampoo with a nod, interrupting Ranma in midspeech. She saw him freeze in place for several moments, the oddest expressions crossing his face as he began to blink rapidly. "Okay?" asked Ranma somewhat faintly, looking very surprised. "Shampoo no mind if Ranma watch Shampoo take bath," said the Amazon, noting that Ranma's eyes suddenly looked a little glazed, and his mouth was now hanging open a small amount. It amused her for some reason to see him look so flustered, and he looked so cute to her when he was off- guard. Her ancestors knew that Ranma had been a source for puzzlement and confusion for her often enough during their travels together. Ranma quickly recovered his composure. He glanced at his father to see the older man trying hard not to laugh by busying himself with his backpack, adjusting the straps to optimize the weight load. With a sigh, Ranma nodded at the Amazon. He turned back to his father and asked, "So what do we tell her about the curse?" "The truth. What else?" answered Genma. "Despite what you might think, Ranma, that curse is a burden that would have destroyed many a lesser man. If dealing with it, and also the other myriad problems that it has caused you everyday, doesn't show true manhood, then I don't know what does. Trust your father, my son. Nobody is going to die." Not if I have anything to say about it, Genma finished in his thoughts. Shampoo looked at Genma for a moment, but her expression was neutral. Ranma's father had been sounding odd to her all day, nothing like the pompous old coward that she knew and tolerated because of Ranma. "Then let's go and meet my mother," said Ranma with a smile, his hands adjusting his backpack straps. Genma led them to a well-kept house in the modest neighborhood they had been walking in, but a minor difficulty delayed their approach when a splash of water from a passing car hitting a puddle changed both Ranma and Shampoo into their cursed forms. The trio quickly left and got some hot water, Ranma muttering under his breath the entire time. A short while later, with the two teenagers back in their proper forms, they all went up to the door and Genma rang the bell. As they waited, Shampoo took a gentle hold of Ranma's hand once again, a smile on her face. He squeezed her hand with his own. The door opened, and Nodoka Saotome stood there in a pale blue kimono, her eyes suddenly opening wide as she gaped at the odd trio standing on her doorstep, recognizing her husband in the lead. "Genma," she whispered, a smile on her lips. Her eyes glanced over at the young man standing there holding hands with a purple-haired girl. Ranma, she thought, certain that this was her son returned to her at long last. With tears in her eyes, she quickly swept him up into a motherly hug and cried out, "Ranma!" "H-hello, Mother," gasped out Ranma, imagining that he could feel himself smothering from her greeting. It reminded him more than he cared to remember of the welcome home that his own mother had once given him many weeks past. Just before he thought he would pass out, or force Shampoo to rescue him from his mother's arms, she let go of him with a teary-eyed smile. "Welcome home, my son," said Nodoka, and her heart took flight with her joy. Her husband and her little boy had come home. For the moment, she ignored Shampoo, her attention only on Ranma and her wayward husband. Immediately taking charge, she ushered the three of them into her home. Their backpacks were left by the front door with their shoes, and they were all led to the main dining area. Shampoo seated herself next to Ranma as if staking a claim to him. The three travelers had barely sat down when Nodoka disappeared for a minute into the kitchen to fetch the water she had been boiling water for tea. Ranma took the opportunity to examine the room they were now in, finding it to be well-kept and dust-free. The decorations were sparse, but arranged in such a way as to remind him very strongly of home. He felt a tightness in his throat, partly a result of the emotional roller coaster he had been on today. It felt so much like home here. But it wasn't. Genma also was finding himself overcome by a surprising amount of emotions, brought on by the sights and smells of the half-familiar house. It had seemed so simple a decision to come here; in a sense it was home, as the memories of his counterpart opened to him gradually, but it was straining his emotional resources to keep himself composed. He knew that he had to be strong for Ranma's sake, and he could sense the guilt lurking behind his son's eyes occasionally when he looked at him. Once they had both gotten a good night's sleep, they could begin making plans to rescue themselves come the morning. He was feeling very confident that, between the two of them, they would solve their current difficulties. However, if they had to build another resonator from scratch, it might take several years before they had enough resources to construct one. In the meantime, Genma would accept each happening as a new learning opportunity, like a form of field research. He busied his thoughts with composing notes on the paper he would write on this experience. Nodoka returned with a serving tray, teapot, and enough cups for everyone. She gracefully settled herself next to Genma and began to serve. It seemed to be a solemn moment, an unspoken agreement entered into by all present to accept a cup of tea and drink in silence. The gentle sound of the wind blowing through the trees was the only break in the quiet. Genma noticed that Nodoka was observing him out of the corner of her eyes, and he held himself with dignity. After he finished his tea, he turned to her and said with a note of formality, "It is good to be home, my dear wife. I have fulfilled the promise and returned our son to you, a true man among men. Say hello to your mother, Ranma." Ranma bowed to her and managed to say without his voice breaking, "Good evening, Mother. I have missed you." Nodoka's eyes were shining with unshed tears as she looked upon her son. She thought he looked so handsome and carried himself with such dignity and strength, the bearing of a true martial artist. She had so often pictured this day that to have it finally come true was making her the happiest woman alive. She softly whispered, her voice filled with emotion, "Welcome back home, my son." She then moved nearer to him without rising, her body coming to rest on the opposite side of where Shampoo was seated. "I have waited for this day for such a long time." Shampoo had caught the occasional questioning look directed her way from Nodoka, glances that the two men did not appear to notice, but she wasn't sure what to make of them. Remaining a silent presence, she offered her strength and support to Ranma as best she could. "I suppose I could spend the rest of the evening simply looking at you, Ranma," chuckled Nodoka. "However, I was wondering if you could introduce me to your young lady friend." She turned her gaze to Shampoo, a smile on her face. "This is my friend, Shampoo," Ranma blurted out, grateful to have something easy to talk about. He had been wondering what his own mother was going to do if he did not return. It left an opening in his usual awareness of his surroundings. "She came with us from China. She's an Amazon, and an excellent fighter." He noticed Shampoo smile at him. "Ranma good friend to Shampoo," said the Amazon. Forging ahead with true inspiration, she added, "He even watch Shampoo take bath." Ranma blinked, grateful that he had not been taking another sip of his tea at that same moment. Did she have to say it quite like that? he wondered with a furrowed brow. He had not been expecting to have the proof of his 'manliness' thrown out into the conversation quite so quickly. Genma raised an eyebrow. Well, she's direct, thought the older man with a slight smirk on his face. Nodoka seemed to be even more pleased with Ranma, and asked, "Is that true, my son? Have you been looking at this girl while she bathed?" "Uh, yeah," answered Ranma, suddenly having flashes of memories of seeing Shampoo bathing assail him. He grinned weakly, feeling that he could at least answer semi-honestly based on that sort of secondhand experience and said, "I mean, yes. Yes, I have." Shampoo looked a little surprised at how certain he sounded, but a hint of a smile seemed to be on her lips. "That is very manly of you, Ranma," said Nodoka approvingly. "A proper appreciation for a woman's naked body is the mark of a true man. Your father certainly enjoyed looking at me in the bath before we were married, after all. He never thought I knew." Genma was suddenly not quite as amused by this whole thing as he had been a few moments ago, and the memories of the other Genma's actions suddenly erupted into his awareness. The courtship between this version of himself and the woman seated near his son was quite a different one from the gentle romance he had built with his Nodoka. In a few ways, they were the same, but there were many embarrassing differences. "I did not want to rush into the discussion of some things, Nodoka," said Genma, adjusting his glasses slightly. "But there are some matters that you should know right now, about Ranma." He saw his son tense a little and glance at the katana resting in a rack over by one wall. The truth be known, Genma was suddenly feeling a little unnerved by it as well. He was not feeling as certain of his abilities to control this odd situation he found himself in, but he still intended to try. "Oh?" said Nodoka, turning to face him. "To begin with, the agreement with Soun has been cancelled, by my choice," stated Genma. "There will be no joining of the two families. It was a mistake that I deeply regret." He saw Nodoka blink in surprise. "But why?" Nodoka asked. "It used to be all that you spoke of when Ranma was born. To unite the Tendo and Saotome families was your dream." "It was a difficult decision, but the right one, I believe," said Genma. "It would have been wrong to force a marriage upon Ranma for the sake of the pride of two scheming, old men. I say he is a man, and a man should have the right to choose his own partner in life, as I chose you, my dear Nodoka." He smiled at her, and, for a moment, he let himself recall how very much he loved his wife, seeing so much of her in the lonely woman now seated across from him. He spoke as if to his own wife, so very far from him now, and his words had an effect on Nodoka. "Oh, Genma," said Nodoka, her eyes filling with tears again even as she smiled. "How can I disagree with something like that?" She could recall how earnestly he had pursued her when they were young, the brash young man she had fallen so deeply in love with. His leaving had hurt her deeply, and left her lonely for so long. But, seeing before her now the gentle-spoken man he had become, sounding so much older and wiser (obviously from his time on the road training their son), she found herself falling in love with him once again. It startled her and left her feeling how very much she had missed him. "There is one thing more that you need to know about your son, Nodoka," said Genma calmly. "He is suffering from a curse that some might say calls his manhood into doubt. Before I demonstrate it for you, I must ask this question. Do you consider Ranma to be manly, Nodoka?" He saw her look at Ranma seriously for a moment, then she broke into a smile. "Yes, I consider him to be manly," said Nodoka, nodding her head. "You raised our son well, Genma. He has fulfilled your promise. So now you may show me this 'curse' of which you speak. I doubt that it will change my opinion." "We'll see, Mother," said Ranma, before taking a moment to go into the kitchen to find a container and filling it with cold water from the tap. He returned shortly. "If you wanted water, Ranma, you only had to ask," said Nodoka, looking puzzled. "The water will allow me to show you my curse," said Ranma, feeling oddly distant and calm at the moment, some part of him realizing that this wasn't his life, only borrowed moments from another version of himself. "Hot water will restore me to what you see before you now, your son." With that said, Ranma poured the cool water onto himself, his body changing into female form. "R-Ranma?" asked Nodoka, looking faint. Genma was there at her side in an instant, supporting her. She closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at the girl before her now, dressed in the clothes of her son. "Ranma is cursed to turn into a girl in physical form when splashed with cold water, Nodoka," said Genma soothingly. "Hot water restores him to his normal form. The girl, Shampoo, becomes male with cold water. That is why she travels with us." He turned Nodoka to face him, her eyes looking a little glazed with surprise. "I know it is a lot to try and take in all at once, but you have my word that Ranma is still very much a man. This curse has given him challenges to overcome that would have broken another man. He has grown stronger from them." Nodoka looked at Shampoo, taking the container from Ranma and tossing the remaining cold water into the girl's face. She stared at the larger male form of Shampoo-kun, a thoughtful look on her face. Her gaze moved back to her son, now her daughter, as she considered the matter. "If you feel that Ranma is unmanly, then I offer my life as proof of my words when I say that he is," said Genma suddenly. "The boy has gone through so much, suffered so much, but these experiences have left him even more worthy to carry on the Saotome name." He saw Nodoka suddenly focus her eyes upon himself, a look of certainty appearing on her face. Ranma poured some hot water from the teakettle, rushing over to his father as he shouted, "Are you nuts, Father? If she thinks I'm not manly, then I should be the only one to pay. All that has happened is my fault, after all." He suddenly wasn't sure if he was speaking about the accident during the experiment, or his counterpart's misstep at Jusenkyo. He was brought up short when Nodoka suddenly smiled. "To have you both speak so very passionately in the defense of each other," said Nodoka gently. "How can I condemn either of you? Give me a hug, Ranma, and welcome home, my son." Ranma stepped towards Nodoka, and his vision suddenly grayed out. ****************************** Genma saw Ranma's eyes seem to go blank for a moment, and he saw the boy stumble into his mother's arms. She hugged him to her, crying about how glad she was to have him home once again, and how manly he had proven himself to be. A moment later, his eyes cleared, and Ranma seemed extremely puzzled. He saw the boy turn to look at him. "Pop?" asked Ranma, sounding very bewildered. "What's going on? Where are we?" Genma sighed, partly with relief, partly with dismay, and then he took Ranma aside to explain an edited summary of the day, taking care about not mentioning other worlds, not wishing to confuse the boy even more. Until he was finally retrieved from this timeline, Genma Saotome would give this version of Ranma the father that he should have had in this life. He was, oddly enough, finding himself looking forward to the challenge, as well as having the unexpected opportunity to observe the results of his son's device on one of his counterparts from the other side of the quantum barrier between worlds. ****************************** *** Earth 0.000,0.000 Refreshed from her nap, Nabiki snuggled comfortably against Ranma, reading from his journal by flashlight as she waited for his 'return.' A check of her watch revealed that the last minute before recall had finally arrived. Hunger had forced her to eat one of the two lunches sitting on the workbench, and it had been very delicious. Tempted to eat them both, she managed to control her urges. Her counterpart had been raised to eat as much as she could whenever possible, since it might be a while before the next meal if things went bad. Her will had repressed that particular desire. While checking her watch, Nabiki heard the system click back online. Blushing from incipient embarrassment, she moved before Ranma could awaken with her snuggled up to him like she had been all afternoon and went to sit in the chair by his workbench. She was not yet ready to show, much less admit, a weakness to her only rival in martial arts. Also, she wanted to control the pace of their relationship. As she thought about things, she saw the monitor light up as the system powered up to full activation. *TIME REMAINING FOR SUFFICIENT CHARGE: 00 HOURS, 00 MINUTES. *EMERGENCY CAPACITOR NOW AT FULL CHARGE. *ACTIVATING EMERGENCY RETRIEVAL SEQUENCE. PLEASE STAND BY. "Initiating retrieval cycle," intoned the computer's voice from the speaker. Several moments later was heard, "Retrieval cycle complete." Nabiki let out the breath that she discovered herself to be holding. She saw Ranma's breathing change suddenly, and she closed his journal, setting it aside. One of her trademark cool smirks appeared on her lips. "Welcome back to the real world, Ranma-kun," Nabiki said sweetly. Moving nearer to him, she reached down, grabbed his shirt, and half- pulled him off the couch while growling in anger, "Now tell me what the hell you thought you were doing." Ranma blinked his eyes open, seeing Nabiki's face in the dim light cast by the small flashlight pointing at them from its resting place on his workbench. There was a lingering weakness in his body, and it left him feeling woozy. He felt very hungry and thirsty, and his bladder was now informing him that relief should be sought soon. This caused him to be a little disoriented, wondering if he had somehow dreamed the day's events. Then, his mind snapped back to the present, and he was fully himself once again. His fears about being trapped in that alternate universe, possibly forever, were now gone. "I asked you a question, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki, lifting him bodily from the couch, but there was a falseness to the fierce tone she was using to mask her concern. She saw the headset fall from contact with him, the wire leading to the resonator hooked on something that prevented it from rising with him. "What were you doing in here?" "I could ask you the same question, Nabiki Tendo," said Ranma, his gaze taking in the darkened room. He suddenly realized what must have happened, and he was grateful for his foresight at installing several levels of redundancy into his system. He brought his gaze back to her face. "Why are you invading my lab?" "Oh, no you don't, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki, shifting into one of her 'interrogation voices.' She let go of him, finding it difficult to retain her composure otherwise. "I'm asking the questions here. Where is your father? What were you doing? Where did you go?" "If you don't mind, Nabiki," said Ranma with a little irritation in his voice, "I need to use the facilities for a few minutes before I answer any of your questions." Without waiting for an answer, he stumbled his way across the darkened room, opened the door, and made his way down the hall to the restroom. Nabiki decided to wait, but she was a little taken aback at the tone he used with her. She was concerned about him. Why couldn't he see that? She tapped her foot on the ground while she waited, occupying her mind with reviewing how her counterpart treated her own version of Ranma. She frowned at how differently her Ranma was acting from his counterpart in that other world. Ranma returned after several minutes, looking a little bit better than he had before. He had splashed some cold water into his face, drinking several swallows of cool liquid from the tap to reduce his thirst. He felt like he could drink a lake dry right now. His nose picked up the scent of food in the lab, and he homed in on its source unerringly. He opened up the remaining boxed lunch and began consuming it in true Saotome fashion. "I'm still waiting for an answer, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki coolly, her patience with him wearing a little thin. She watched as he rather unconcernedly finished his meal. Unused to being ignored, especially when interrogating a subject, she found herself frowning in frustration. "I don't see why I have to answer any of your questions, Nabiki," said the pigtailed boy as he dabbed his napkin against his face. "Although this might be a good opportunity to ask you about what you were doing in my private lab the other afternoon and now tonight." He looked at her, obviously waiting for an answer. "I wanted to know what it was that you were doing in here," Nabiki replied. "I tried out your machine, and it was... life-changing." She made a loose fist with one hand and studied it. "The experience was more than I bargained for." "I thought so, too, after my first time" said Ranma, relaxing his stance a little. He took a moment to study Nabiki, wondering just how much he could trust her with his secrets. He didn't really know her, but he suspected that there had been changes taking place inside her mind that left an altered Nabiki for him to deal with. Changes that were probably as profound as the ones he himself had undergone. For some reason, he felt inclined to trust her, at least somewhat, since she was the only other person in the world who could appreciate what they had both undergone. "So talk to me," said Nabiki, relaxing a little when she sensed him lowering his guard a little. "Tell me what's happened to you, and I'll tell you what's happened to me. Fair deal?" "Fair enough," sighed Ranma, actually a little grateful to be able to share his troubles with another, even if that person was Nabiki Tendo. He sat down on the couch and began to relate the events of the day, the accident, and some of his concerns about his father. When he was done, he looked at her face, seeing her mulling over what he had said. Idly, he thought, She's beautiful. He banished that thought away quickly. In turn, Nabiki told an intrigued Ranma about some of her own experiences from the alternate timeline she had visited. They briefly compared notes on places visited by their counterparts, finding a fair number of similarities. The duo shared a very brief closeness as they compared experiences with some of the people they knew from the two very different tangents, Nabiki finding herself reluctant to speak much about some of them. This brought them back to Ranma's main concern at the moment, and Nabiki finally broached the subject. "So you think your father now has the mind of that other Genma Saotome inside him?" asked Nabiki, knowing she found that to be a most unwelcome prospect. It wasn't exactly the same Genma from her martial artist counterpart's world, but she strongly suspected that this one would be as troublesome to herself and Ranma. She felt a great deal of sympathy for the pigtailed boy sitting next to her now. "Yes, I do," answered Ranma, sounding frustrated, "and my own father is trapped in that other parallel timeline now. Nabiki, what am I going to do? I don't know how I'm going to get him back." "We'll think of something," said Nabiki confidently. "We?" asked Ranma, raising one eyebrow. "Since when did this turn into some kind of partnership? I work alone. I always have." "Not this time, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki. "You already implicitly agreed to my help when you agreed to share information. Besides, who else could you turn to? I know that you haven't really made any friends here." "I never felt the need," said Ranma hesitantly. "I was so tied up in my work all the time. Besides, what can you do to help me?" "Aside from bringing my own formidable intellect, fighting skills, and good looks to this partnership, you mean?" asked Nabiki with one of her trademarked smirks. "After all, I am a better fighter than you are, and you might need me if Genma gets up to his old tricks or if any other troubles should arise." "You're not a better fighter than I am," growled Ranma, annoyed that he hadn't managed to do better than tie with her so far. "And don't go getting any ideas about acting as my protector, or something. Ranma Saotome doesn't need any girl protecting him." "You're pretty cocky for a guy who had his butt handed to him in our last sparring match, Ranma-kun" said Nabiki teasingly, watching Ranma frown some more as he stood up. She stood up as well, firmly poking her finger into his chest as she continued on, saying, "When you can beat me in a real fight, then we might renegotiate our roles, but for now just accept that I should be in charge. There's nothing wrong with being my sidekick. That other Ranma certainly has no problems with letting that other Nabiki deal with problems." "I most certainly am not going to become your sidekick," grumbled Ranma as he folded his arms and looked defiant. "Especially since I haven't lost to you in an actual fight. Sparring doesn't count. So, if anything, you should be my sidekick. I am the guy, after all." "What was that, Ranma Saotome?" asked Nabiki, a dangerous glint now in her eyes, a counterpoint to the cool smile on her lips. "If you can take me in a real fight, then I might consider it. Not that I really think you can," she finished truthfully. The tone of faint mockery in her voice was obviously grating on Ranma. "You really don't think I can beat you?" asked Ranma, surprised. His male ego was feeling the need to assert itself, and it was doing so with a vengeance now. "Guys are stronger fighters than girls. My martial artist counterpart is the best fighter among his peers in that other world, male or female, and I have all of his skills." "I can say the same thing, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki with her smirk back in place. Her pride was on the line here, albeit a certain amount of that pride was borrowed from that other Nabiki, but she refused to back down now, after hearing him say something like that. She intended to rub his nose in her victory over him and prove her strength to him. "So, what do you say? Do you feel confident enough to challenge me to a real fight? I promise not to hurt you too badly when you lose, and you are going to lose." "You're on," said Ranma, feeling his newfound egotism taking firm possession of his mouth once again. "Just name the place and time, and I'll be there." Both of them were now standing, practically nose-to-nose, wearing equally cocky looks on their faces. The almost companionable mood from a few moments earlier was set aside for now, and their rivalry was guiding their actions now. It intermixed itself with the undertones of attraction they felt for each other, producing a volatile combination of feelings. This had been building up between them for the past few days, lurking behind their eyes as they spent more time with each other. Both of them were actually looking forward to the thought of challenging each other like this. "Before classes, tomorrow morning, out in the playing fields away from the main buildings of the Academy," said Nabiki firmly. "Give me a good showing, Ranma-kun." "You can count on that," said Ranma with a grin, right before his face paled a bit and he staggered. His time spent under the influence of the resonator apparently must have drained him more than he thought, and he felt weak in the knees. He noticed Nabiki slipping a supporting arm around him, and the feel of her touch was pleasant. "We should get you home," said Nabiki, her concern for him slipping past the cool-eyed mask she had been wearing. "I'll help you to your house, and I don't want any arguments about that." "All right," agreed Ranma. He had been operating to a large degree on adrenaline after waking up. The food and water he had consumed helped, but he was still feeling weak. Together, the two of them shut down his equipment, gathered up his things into his bookbag, and they left his lab. Ranma took a moment to lock the door. They wended their way back upstairs, Nabiki refusing to relinquish her hold on his arm after he experienced another bout of weakness on the stairs and almost broke his neck. They arrived at his house, Nabiki insisting that she escort him inside despite his protests. He finally relented with a grumble, mumbling under his breath something about "pushy females." Nabiki let that comment slide, but she made a note to punish him a little for it in the morning. Nodoka greeted them at the front door, her face looking worried. She blinked when she saw Nabiki with Ranma, and she ushered them both inside with a terse, "Where have you been, young man? A pair of Peaceforcers brought your father home, drunk, a couple of hours ago." "He was with me, Saotome-san," said Nabiki, knowing that it was not exactly a lie. "We have not met, but my name is Nabiki Tendo." She bowed to Ranma's mother. "Your son and I were on a date." She flinched a little inside at the weakness of the lie, but it was the best she could come up with at that moment. "Well, Genma was certainly in no condition to tell me about your day when he came home," said Nodoka darkly. She then quickly brightened up and smiled very broadly when she asked Ranma, "Did Nabiki-chan say you two were on a date? How was it?" She briefly glanced at Nabiki, noting that the girl was dressed in a Chinese-style outfit like she had seen Ranma wearing during one of his morning practices. She found that mildly odd, but it did not diminish her happiness in the slightest way to see her son spending time with one of his prospective fiancées. And she still thought the Tendo girl reminded her of someone, but she could not quite remember who. However, seeing Ranma taking some initiative and making such an effort was gratifying to Nodoka. "Uh, yeah, date," said Ranma helplessly, "it was, uh, interesting. I can honestly say that it was a most memorable day." "I should be going now," said Nabiki smoothly, after watching Ranma fumble for words for the last few moments. "I'm afraid that Ranma is a bit worn out by what happened today. I suggest that he go to bed right away." She smirked at Ranma. "I'll trust your judgment on the matter, Nabiki-chan," said Nodoka with a smile. She turned to him and said, "You heard her, Ranma, so off to bed. You and I will talk in the morning." She turned back to a grinning Nabiki, missing the dark look that Ranma was giving the Tendo girl. "Will you be all right going home by yourself, Dear?" "Sure," said Nabiki brightly, "it's not far. I only live a few blocks away." She bowed in farewell to Nodoka. "Goodnight, Saotome-san. Goodnight, Ranma-kun." With that, she left. Ranma went upstairs, even more determined to prove himself to the smug Nabiki tomorrow. She was even more insufferably irritating to him now that she fancied herself his peer in fighting, and he did not much care for her take-charge attitude. He was the guy, so he should be in charge of their partnership, right? Not that we are partners, he quickly amended. While wondering about that, and about the problem of his father, Ranma fell asleep, his mind dropping into a dreamless slumber. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Special thanks goes out to D.B. Sommer for his kind permission to borrow from "Shampoo 1/2" for Earth +1.612,+1.509 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster), a very near parallel to the world in that story. For the original way that events played out on that alternate world, this took place in chapter nine of that story. The switch in Genmas has altered this other tangent even further towards a new destiny that will play out differently from the path of the original timeline. Thanks to my pre-readers for all of their help and advice: Michael Allen Jim Bader Donny Cheng David Eddy Doug_W D.B. Sommer T.H. Tiger